Overheard at the mall...and a long overdue book review!

So, yesterday I'm shopping at the local moneyhole (aka the mall) when I had the following two experiences.

1. Conversation between two teenagers (maybe 16-17 years old) viewing the Armani store windows:

T1: "Like, that dress is so totally cute."

T2: "Totally."

Pause.

T1: "Like, do you think that store is, like, expensive or something?"

2. I was wandering the makeup counters at Macy's while the store music system was playing a song by The Pussycat Dolls (and btw...when did PCD songs become appropriate mall music?) when I hear someone singing along to the words loudly and with abandon. I turn around to see a rather pudgy, 50+ woman in stretch pants and gold flats rocking out and singing at the top of her lungs "Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don'tcha, baby? Don'tcha?"

I have no comment to make (except maybe "like, when did the word "like" become, like, the only word in like the whole English language because, like, I totally thought the only word left was like, "dude." like, ya know?) I just report 'em as they happen and I'll leave the comments to you, my audience (and apologies for the long time, no write and all that).

***warning*** - the following paragraph contains some "R" rated language!

In dating news - coffee guy seems to have fallen off the planet after a trip to San Francisco although we did have a pretty lively e-mail discussion going for a while there. It could be because he wanted to shift our first ever meet from coffee to boogie boarding and I pushed back for coffee because, even with all the weight loss (50 lbs. gone and I bought a size 12 dress yesterday! That's right, people! I just wasn't prepared to handle first date stress AND bathing suit stress simultaneously. However, in the meantime, I've struck up a nice conversation with someone I'll call Literate Guy (as in his e-mails are actually funny and literate as opposed to the one sentence "Me man. You woman. We go cave now. Ugh." e-mails that have been showing up). Now, I know that guys are not all that big into communicating, but geez! Some of these things are so unintelligible that I can't tell if they guy is saying "you're a hot piece of ass" or "I'm eating a pizza so I'll pass." Whatever...

And now, on to the books.

I'm still strolling my way through the Amber Chronicles re-read and have slipped in a couple of dating and romance advice books, but those are no fun to review so I'll just stick to the fiction as usual.

"The King's Own" by Lorna Freeman is the sequel to "Covenants" that I reviewed a little while ago. The author picks up the story of Rabbit and his developing magical abilities as he returns to the garrison town of Freston in Iversterre at the king's command. King Jusson has take up residence in the town and his presence along with Rabbit's starts bringing the age-old conflict between "humans" and "magicals" to a head once more. Through in a murder, a hidden necromancer, and Rabbit's conflicting bindings to his elven relatives and the Faena Laurel and "The King's Own" is another page-turning, wild ride that keeps the reader's attention to the very end. Freeman really knows how to keep the action and suspense going so that you arrive at the conclusion of the novel almost as hungry and exhausted as the protagonist is. She's one of the few authors I've ever read to whom I can honestly say "a little break in the action now and then to catch my breath could be a good thing." I'm so pleased to have discovered this author and can't wait for the next installment in this series.

And, just because I have to be fashionable and trendy, I stretched outside my normal sci-fi and fantasy bounds to read "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger. Although I found the constant dropping of brand names to be a little wearing, the book is quite funny and the main character is as likeable as her boss is hateable. It's definitely a must-read for anyone who's ever had a "boss from hell" and has had the daily debate with themselves about whether to keep slogging away for certain professional and career goal reasons (and maybe salary, too) or tell the asshole where they can stick it and walk out. I still remember my first boss from hell - her name was Hilary and she was the manager of a clothing store that I worked at in Newport Beach. It was my first job out of college. I was the assistant manager and was determined to work my way up in the company to eventually being a buyer and having a fabulous career in fashion. Then Hilary came along. On my first day, I was reprimanded because I failed to re-fill the staples in the stapler while I was at the cash register alone and had a line of about 15 people (some with returns to do) and I chose to take care of them and wait to deal with the stapler until after the rush had cleared up. The reprimand was given in front of customers and when I turned to immediately go take care of the stapler issue, I was reprimanded for worrying about silly details such as staplers when there were customers waiting. On my second day, I was reprimanded because I had not said "good night" to Hilary the evening before when my shift was over. To put this in perspective, two days before I started the job, I had broken the little toe on my right foot. Then I worked an entire shift standing in a retail store for eight hours on said broken toe. By the time my shift was over, my foot was in agony and all I could think about was getting the heck out of there, taking my shoes off and maybe icing my foot down. When my shift ended, Hilary was on her dinner break and had told me before she left that if she wasn't back when it came time for me to leave to go ahead and go. The next morning when I came in, a very nasty note about my "unfriendliness" and how I needed to "improve my attitude" was waiting for me. This was the same girl who, a few months later when one of our sales associates poured scalding hot water from the steamer over my arm by accident, followed me into the bathroom where I ran to put cold water on my burned and blistered! arm to yell at me for leaving the floor without permission (did I mention the store was closed at the time?) and telling me to suck it up and quit being such a baby. Needless to say, I gave my notice not too long after that and that was the end of my big fashion career. Will Andy, the heroine of "Devil," do the same? Or will she stick it out and become the next Anna Wintour? Check the book out to see (or just go to the movie which opens this weekend).

That's it for now. If I don't have time to write again until after the holiday, Happy 4th of July, everyone!

KJ