Hannah Rae's Blog, page 32

Trivia Recap: 10/26

The Players: Mary (English teacher), Hannah (English teacher), Alex (coffee shop owner), Darren (math professor), Victoria (veterinarian), Ben (social studies teacher), Brock (technology stuff, marketing stuff, animation stuff, and graphic design stuff)

Opening Category: Harry Potter

Hint of the Day: Saw

Round One:

Mary got King's Cross without a moment's hesitation, Ben and I thought KitKats were divided into "arms" or "legs," but Darren corrected us with his deduction that the correct answer was "fingers." Four fingers, four KitKats. It makes so much sense, yeah? We got it right. We also got Bodies of Water (Lake Tahoe; we all knew it!), Sporty Anniversaries (Darren and/or Ben got this, but we missed the bonus), and Halloween TV (a few of us knew Friends, but Darren knew Sean Penn was at the Halloween party). It was a decent round.

Round Two:

Halloween Music was fun. We listened to three songs and identified them: "Werewolves of London," "Zombie," and "Monster." Then we figured out "Movember" (No-Shave November) for Charitable Causes, "Teddy Roosevelt" for US History, and "elephants" for Zoological Terms. I was thinking the answer might be either "hooves" or "parliament" (as in a parliament of owls, what with owls being a Halloweeny creature) and was pleased to see that my idea of "parliament" was actually in direct relation to the clue, which required us to know which group of animals a "memory" referred to. And then we got Horror Films too because of the clue: Saw. Darren told this great story about someone who's kid is named Sebastian Artemis Something-with-a-W because the person's favorite movie is Saw. I thought this was a Billy Ocean Moment because I didn't realize Darren was sharing the story due to the hint of the day. But then as soon as the clue was read, Brock was all like, "Oh, I know!" and wrote down "Saw" on a napkin and slid it across the table. I thought it was great because, like I just said, it seemed like a Billy Ocean Moment (which I do realize Kristin has yet to explain in the Facebook comments...), but Darren said it wasn't a Billy Ocean Moment because he told the Sebastian story because he suspected the next answer would be "Saw." But I argued it was a Billy Ocean Moment because I wasn't aware of the intent. So maybe Kristin can clear that up when she reads this blog. Regardless, we got the answer right but missed the bonus.

Halftime Sheet:

I KNEW EVERY SINGLE ANSWER ON THE BOTTOM AND WAS SO EXCITED! I WAS SUCH AN ASSET! NOT ONLY HAD I READ THE MAJORITY OF THE BOOKS, BUT I'D WATCHED SOME OF THE MOVIES AND I TEACH SOME OF THE CONTENT! YAY! IT WAS AN AMAZING FEELING! The top part was hard, though, and we missed two. 18/20

Round Three:

We got the question about the NBA (I just hate the sports questions, unless they're about swimming), and a bunch of us knew "Mothman" for Creepy Creatures. We got one of the two answers for Solar System, which meant we got the points but not the bonus. American Artists was figured out by Ben and confirmed by Darren, and then Working Film Titles was pretty much the same thing. Brock was a real asset with all things actors/actresses, though, so we got some bonuses.

6-4-2:

This was about a new M&M color that caused controversy and the answer is a color that rhymes with "urple." If you said "Purple," you're correct. We got it for four points.

Round Four:

Beer Me required us to know Jimmy Buffett songs, and while we all knew Jimmy Buffett was the answer, we did not get "Fins" as the two-point bonus (even though this was Brock's prediction). Classic TV had to do with that Charlie Brown Halloween special. Brock was convinced it would come up tonight so he researched the proper title beforehand, but it wasn't the title we needed to know: it was what Charlie Brown received in his Halloween basket instead of candy. The answer? Rocks. Mary got it right away. She wrote down the answer on a napkin and promptly dropped her pen as if it were a mic. It was right and we got seven points. World Geography required us to know things that started with K and ended with I. Ben figured this out. (Please see the map) Halloween History is where things went to shit. The team was almost split. I forget exactly how the question was worded, but it was something about what the Irish used as jack-o-lanterns in place of pumpkins. We had options and I think they were cabbage, turnip, coconut, and maybe... watermelon? I'm not sure about the fourth one. Darren, Victoria, and I were confident that it was Turnip. Know why? Because it WAS Turnip. But we went with majority rules -- Cabbage -- which was wrong wrong wrong. I was very disheartened because I grew up eating turnips. My grandfather on my mom's side used to tell me that if I ate turnips, my hair would be curly, and my hair is curly(ish) so I think he was right. Anyway, that cost us a point.

It was around this point that Victoria and I got involved in a deep conversation about the Irish and their crops. Specifically, we discussed how similar turnips and potatoes are. At one point, Victoria thought I said that I didn't like potatoes... but who doesn't like potatoes?! I said this aloud. Victoria countered with, "There are so many good things that come from potatoes."

"Vodka," I said.

"And French fries," she added. "Vodka, French fries... there are so many options!"

A bit later, Victoria went up to pay her tab and came back to the table acting just as she normally would. Maybe three to five minutes passed. Then, out of nowhere, she seemed to be bitten by an enthusiasm bug and exclaimed quite out of nowhere, "Hannah! Hannah! Hannah!" And then she ducked her head, produced a maroon hat with a pom-pom on top, put it on her head, and said with great exuberance, "I got this hat!"

This made me laugh... and then I laughed again when, a few minutes later, Ben (who was very dad-like in taking a selfie) counted down from three to one and told all of us to smile... and then Victoria, in the midst of the photo op, ducked her head once more in order to put on her new hat.

The answer to Getting Into Costume was Uma Thurman and the bonus was June, but we missed that.

Final Round:

I believe we were in second place going into the final category, which was Olympic Countries, and even though we utilized Ben's four-napkin map, we missed the answer and placed somewhere below the top three. It is what it is, right? What matters is that there was much laughter and a photo opportunity. Until next week...

My Dentist is First-Class... Like an Airline!

I've been grinding my teeth at night, and for those of you who know me, I really care about my teeth. I mean, here I am at forty-one years old and I've never had a cavity. (Don't worry: I just knocked on wood!)

I can remember being at the dentist's office a few years ago for a six-month cleaning and checkup. After Bre scraped away plaque, brushed my teeth, and then flossed them, Dr. Mike came in to examine my chompers. He most likely said something along the lines of, "If everyone had teeth like you, Hannah, I would be out of a job." The man always says wonderfully kind things like that; he's a gem of a human.

At that appointment, I asked him what he did all day, because from where I was sitting (literally: in one of the comfy chairs located in one of the building's front rooms) it seemed like the hygienists were doing all the hard work. Dr. Mike just waltzed in at the end of the appointment, complimented my teeth, asked about my house and my job and my parents, and then meandered away. So I wondered aloud, "What do you do all day, Dr. Mike?"

"Oh, I spend a lot of time sitting around," he informed me. "Every now and then I run down to Sheetz for a coffee."

Dr. Mike was kidding, obviously. I knew he did things; I just didn't know what they were. Today, however, I had a glimpse into the other part of my dentist's job.

I had an appointment after school to be fitted for a night guard... because of the teeth grinding, you see? I'd gone in and had the mold made a couple weeks ago, but now I needed to see someone and make sure the night guard was a good fit. The person I saw was Kaitlyn, and when she came to retrieve me from the waiting area (approximately thirty seconds after I sat down... and I was ten minutes early for my appointment!), she led me waaaaaaay far back into the hospital. We went, like, the whole way down the hallway.

Guys. For real? I'd been back there on a handful of occasions -- that's where the spinny x-ray thing that scans all the teeth in my whole head is located -- but I'd never gone into one of the rooms at the back of the hallway! That's where Kaitlyn directed me, though, and so that is where I went.

The night guard required some grinding, and each time Kaitlyn left the room to take care of this grinding, I explored my surroundings a little more. The furniture was nicer in this back room. All of the stools were padded and one of them had the most interesting back. I don't know how to describe it, so you'll just have to trust me that it was interesting. There was also the BIGGEST bottle of Listerine I'd ever seen in my life (it had a pump) and a menu of things I could request. Like first-class on an airplane. (I am merely imagining that a menu such as this one exists on an airplane because I have never flown first-class to know for sure.)

When Kaitlyn returned, I asked her about the menu because I was legitimately intrigued. When Bre cleans my teeth, there's no menu. I don't have the option of chapstick or a blanket; I've never needed to request the wifi password because how could I do anything but lie there with my mouth open, talking to Bre about dogs and books and life between scrapes and rinses?

Kaitlyn told me that the folks who visit the back rooms are often there for long stretches of time. Sometimes they spend up to two and a half hours there! I can't even begin to imagine spending more than thirty minutes or so at the dentist's office! It's astounding to me! And guess what. For a lot of those procedures, I think Dr. Mike is involved! He's not getting coffee at Sheetz; he is saving human mouths!

While I was lounging on the very comfortable chair in the way back room of the dentist's office, I was also listening to the conversations occurring around me. Dr. Mike must have just pulled an infected tooth in one of the nearby rooms because he was talking to a patient about antibiotics he was going to prescribe (I had no idea dentists prescribed antibiotics!) and wondering if she wanted the tooth for under her pillow. I love that guy. He's so amusing!

Eventually Dr. Mike popped in to see me. Not because he had to, mind you, but because he's wonderful. He asked about school and I told him the year is good, but I'm trying for early retirement by making a name for myself in the publishing world. Then I gave him my business card.

In the midst of this exchange, Kaitlyn returned to the room and so I asked if she'd also like a business card. She did.

After Dr. Mike left, Kaitlyn asked me about the plot of my book and I filled her in. She said, "Oh! Is this the one Bre was telling me about? She really likes it!" That made me happy. It also makes me happy that Kaitlyn is going to check out The Way Back and give it a go.

That was my visit to the dentist. I seriously love those people so much and if you need a new dentist (or even if you don't!), you should go to Littlestown Dental Associates and tell them this blog sent you.

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

I had dinner with my friend Alex tonight. We went to Mela's and got smashburgers (I got mine on an impossible burger) and had good talks. One of the things we talked about was my brother. I don't quite remember how he came up in conversation, but whatever Alex said made me say, "That was around the time that Pip was working at Eighty-Two, wasn't it?"

And Alex said, "Yeah, it was. He was such a good guy. I always liked your brother."

I confided, "He had such a crush on you."

Alex was flattered; Pip was a good-looking guy. "It's so weird you bring him up," she said, "because I was literally just thinking about him yesterday."

It was at this point that I noticed the song playing over the speakers. It had just begun and it was Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"... which was Pip's ringtone for the longest time.

Now it's my mom's ringtone.

When I pointed this out to Alex, she got a sad-but-happy smile, lifted her glass, and said, "To your brother."

I think he was there. I think he was listening to our conversation and I think he probably blushed when he heard me tell Alex that he had a crush on her... but I think he was also glad that I informed her of said crush.

Other things that happened tonight are:

Alex introduced me to her friend Ilsa, a manager at Mela, and I gave her my business card. She likes to read and is going to check out my book! Alex and I planned a First Friday book release party for December... so stay tuned for details! We have quite a wonderful drink planned, along with some other surprises! Alex posted her selfie on Instagram and tagged Reese Witherspoon. I think Alex is one of the most photogenic people I've ever met (she's beautiful!), so I hope Reese acknowledges the post, contacts Alex about a modeling career, and reads my book. I returned some pants to American Eagle. It was a wonderful experience. The girl working the register was sooo kind and she's a reader too! Therefore, I gave her my card. I hope she checks out my blog and my book.

That's all for tonight. I need to watch me some Jeopardy and veg out on the couch.

Eavesdropping on my students...

,Poseidon Jr.:

I think it's crazy that there's an infinite amount of numbers between one and two.

The Smile:

[displaying a sideways look that might contain amusement, but might also be riddled with true wonderment] Oh, man... You're gonna have a freakout when you find out how many numbers are between zero and one.

[lengthy pause as students continue doing their assignment, not looking at one another]

Poseidon Jr.:

[in the most serious of tones, lifting head as if to impart real wisdom] There are the same amount of numbers in the world as there are numbers.

Sometimes being an artist is disheartening.

I have a penpal named Chris. He lives in New England and I live in Gettysburg and we email every other week or so. Looooong emails! Not only does Chris create enjoyable, somewhat off-the-wall music... he also writes beautifully. In my last message to him, I was telling him about a few men I've had crushes on (and sometimes even dated) who didn't have the best teeth. I mentioned this teeth thing on more than one occasion in my email to Chris and so when he responded, his opening paragraph was as follows:

"First and by far most importantly, I appreciate your strange obsession with teeth. Teeth carry great import, as there are many teeth all around us all the time, and so life is not to be considered fully lived until these various teeth are taken into account. I will take this opportunity to recommend ,The Story of My Teeth, by Valeria Luiselli. She is a treasure, and that book is quick, strange, and wonderful."

I've not yet read The Story of My Teeth (I only found out about it on Sunday morning), but I do intend to. One, because Chris recommended it, and two, because I am apparently more aware of teeth than many other people tend to be.

After his paragraph about teeth, Chris explored the idea of "making it" as an artist. It's something we've occasionally gone back and forth about in the past, because the thing is... being an artist is hard. You know my friend Bre? She cleans my teeth; I wrote a blog about her a few weeks ago. Well, the last time I was at the dentist, Bre asked me if I have someone in charge of my website and social media pages. I was like, "Nope. I do all of it," and she was astounded that I manage to balance everything.

I'll admit that balancing everything is quite difficult, but for the most part, I enjoy sales and marketing. I'm actually a really good salesperson! If I weren't in the field of teaching, and if I didn't like writing and art so much, I think sales would be my backup career. Either that or event planning. It's just that all this self-promotion stuff isn't especially fun when there's no immediate growth.

Growth doesn't happen overnight. I get that. I mean, if Harry Styles got his hands on a copy of The Way Back and told his fans about it, I'm sure my sales would increase drastically, but that's not real life. (Although, if you have a Harry Styles connection -- or a connection to any celebrities, for that matter -- feel free to recommend The Way Back to them.)

I guess I'm just feeling kind of... blah. I shipped out so many books and wrote so many handwritten letters and when I look at the map, the blue dots are disappearing rather than multiplying. It makes me really sad, you know? My marketing manager Mary suggested that this may be because people have purchased The Way Back and are no longer reading it online. I guess this could be true. But it still makes me sad when I see a drop in engagement. Does that make sense?

There are obviously good things that are happening in relation to my novel's recent release. I mean, I was ecstatic to receive that five-star Goodreads review from a complete stranger! Sharon, whomever she may be, totally reinforced the fact that I can write... aaaand I tell a pretty decent story.

Last night, I was texting with my friend Katie who is just an absolutely amazing human. We went to college together, and while we don't see one another on a regular basis, she has been soooooo supportive in my attempt to broaden my readership. She shares my posts on her Facebook page, tags her friends on my posts, participates in my #TheWayBackSelfie funness... Katie is terrific!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm SO APPRECIATIVE to everyone who has gone out of their way to help me gain followers... but that even while I'm feeling appreciative, I am still sometimes feeling glum because I want to see results. Does that make sense?

As Chris so eloquently put it, "An artist is now kind of expected to be a half-businessperson (an entirely different skill set, needless to say) and promote [him/herself] through all the relevant, accessible-to-anyone paths that you already seem to be pretty adept at building a world (read: brand, after a long sigh) in. Which is fine, just a bit bizarre and distracting from the art at hand, that there's a voice quietly nagging you as you create: will this sell?" And then, because he is Chris and because he is wise beyond his years, he added in regards to writing, "We really don't do this solitary act for its own sake, we do it to reach out to other people, to identify with them, to give them a sort of hug through the page."

I think I am going to sign off here so that I can give myself a hug through the page. I've been neglecting Bas, Lucy, and Bert for weeks because I've been so wrapped up in promotion of The Way Back. But remember how I said in Saturday's blog that I experienced all those sleepless nights around the same time Bas was experiencing sleepless nights? Well, in the book I'm writing now, Bas has a major headache.

That's where I left off two or three weeks ago.

Guess who's been dealing with a lot of headaches lately? This girl. And I think I know why. Therefore, I'm off to do one of the things I do best: write fiction.

A pretty solid Sunday

The first good thing that happened today was that I received an order of pants from American Eagle. I've been needing some new jeans, but haven't wanted to spend the money on them. I finally caved, however, and purchased a couple pairs last week. I've learned to shop for pants online because the stores rarely have my size... which is extra-long. Also, I absolutely hate this new high-rise fashion that's been in for the past couple years. I know a lot of people are really digging it, but when the waist of my pants hits my bellybutton... Ugh. I just can't stand it. AND it often gives me a stomach ache.

Well, not really a stomach ache. More like a muscle ache right there in front of my stomach. I think high-rise pants are insanely uncomfortable, and while I understand that some people love them, what I don't understand is why companies need to switch over to only making high-rise pants while that style is popular. What about those of us who like mid-rise or low-rise? Huh?

The same thing is true of flare jeans. That's what I bought because I love a good flare... but flare jeans have been unpopular for quite a while now. Finally, the world has returned to proper sense and we're moving away from skinny jeans.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/58cc22_d64cedf6801e423bba4fe86b99f65520/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Don't get me wrong: I have some skinny jeans and I do like them... but flares are my jam.

In addition to two new pairs of flare jeans, I got these very cool salmon-colored, wide-leg, lightweight corduroys that I can't wait to wear! They might be my new favorite pants... We'll see. I tried them on earlier today and they're incredible.

So the pants delivery was a great start to my day! And then I got on Goodreads to see if one of the Goodreads librarians had updated the synopsis for Just Whistle (no one had) and noticed that I have two reviews for The Way Back! And they're both five-star reviews! My student True Crime Lover left one of the reviews and it's such a good review. She explored and commented on a side of Piper that I hadn't even considered. The other review, however, is from a complete stranger in Chicago. This is what she wrote:

How great is that?! It made my day!

Maybe even more good things will happen between now (3:48PM) and before I go to bed, but if they do, you'll have to read about them tomorrow because I'm signing off and heading to my studio to do some art. Later, gators!

A Look Around Hannah's Brain

I had dinner with my friend Jori last night and she said something that I took to be a huge compliment. We were talking about how much she enjoys reading her friends' writing and she commented on the fact that she felt she could probably, if she chose to, write some sort of nonfiction book. She could, too! Jori is wicked smart and her vocabulary is excellent and she puts her words together in ways that make me laugh. Once, while suffering through a cold, she explained her muddled thoughts as existing in "a snot fog." I still use this expression every time I have a cold; I love it!

Anyway, last night Jori said she could likely put together some sort of nonfiction work, but that she doesn't have characters living in her head like I do... with all the intricacies of their lives. And then she mentioned how it's so fun to read my stuff because she gets a glimpse of what's going on in my head all the time. "You can't turn it off," she pointed out, "and I can't imagine that."

But I can't imagine not having all these lives in my head. I mean, what would I think about if there weren't clusters of characters occupying my thoughts?

Admittedly, Sebastian is the ultimate character, and in January, you guys are finally going to really get to know him. Fair warning: you probably won't love him as much as I do. No one ever seems to. Bas is so incredibly real to me that I'm almost incapable of putting him into words... ALMOST. Because, I mean, putting Sebastian Porter into words is pretty much my favorite pastime.

Last night, while driving home from Jori's house, I was thinking about Bas. This is nothing new as I'm thinking about him constantly, but I thought it might be interesting to those of you who don't have characters living in your head to know what a typical 35-minute drive home is like for me.

I run through dialogue all the time. Bas is nearly always the star of this dialogue, and the people who he interacts with are usually Lucy, Bert, and Nol. The timeline varies constantly. I mean, Bas has been with me since I was in the fourth grade, and while he appears as a child in flashbacks, the book that truly tells his story is Kick It One More Time. You don't have access to this quite yet, but someday you will. He's in his early twenties in Kick It, as are Lucy and Bert.

Uptempo, Down, which is what I'm working on now, is set about ten years after Kick It, making the Lake Caywood gang thirty-five years old. In Running Through the Words (you'll get to experience this in January), everyone's forty-five, and Come and Go So Quickly takes place two years after that, so... forty-seven years old.

Last night, while driving home, I imagined an exchange with Bas as he stood at the refrigerator, looking for something to satisfy his hunger. He wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a flannel that hung open to expose his bare chest. Lucy walked in and wondered what he was doing, and when he said he was hungry, she suggested he eat a piece of fruit... there were oranges in the fridge. He wanted something crunchy, though, so then she recommended chips. Bas didn't want to be unhealthy, however, so Lucy, feeling frustrated at this point, told him to eat some nuts... "Which are not kept in the refrigerator," she added, annoyed that he was standing there with the door hanging open. They were in their thirties in that scene and it's a scene that's never been used in a book. It likely never will be.

After that, I flashed back to his twenties, when he was on crutches after a car accident, and envisioned him hobbling around Lake Caywood with his best pal Bert. Dialogue accompanied that too, of course, as Bas-and-Bert dialogue is my favorite dialogue to write, period.

Then I flashed forward to Uptempo, Down and considered a scene I'm currently writing that involves a sleepless night, a major headache, and an unexpected visitor. I don't want to say more than that because I'm still working on it don't want to give stuff away since you'll get to read it at some point... but I bring it up because until I started writing this scene, I -- like Sebastian -- was having sleepless nights. Weird, right? Once I got his experiences down on paper, though, I was able to sleep again. It took me about a week to figure out what needed to be done.

Back to last night's car ride... From there, I zipped ahead a decade or so and remembered this date night Lucy and Bas had where they were talking about heavy issues. This is a scene you will probably never be able to remember because I've never written it and likely never will. There are so many plotlines that never make it onto the pages because to put everything that Bas, Lucy, and Bert do into a book would be like putting every miniscule detail of your day (or mine!) into a book. And who wants to read that? It'd be boring.

The thing is, I have all the nitty-gritty details of Sebastian in my head. I love that guy. Granted, I love all of my characters, but I love him the most and know him the most. I think, as a whole, I'm pretty good at taking constructive criticism... but I will admit that it's hard when a reader tells me she doesn't think Bas would behave that way. If another character wouldn't behave that way...? Okay. But not Sebastian. I know him soooooo well. And he is complicated! He's artistic and moody and not always easy to like; he sometimes struggles to put his thoughts into words and this can be maddening. He's a phenomenal friend, though, and he's with me constantly. I mean, it's not even so much that I think about him as I live with him... if that makes sense.

Alright. Now that you think I'm sufficiently crazy, I'm gonna end this. I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my brain!

Trivia Recap: 10/20

The Players: Darren (math professor), Mary (English teacher), Phil (complicated computer things, but also waiting tables at the moment), Kristin (English teacher), Hannah (English teacher)

Opening Category: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Hint of the Day: I didn't understand this at all... I'm just going to include the picture so you can see it. Even after playing the entire game, I still don't understand what the hint was in reference to.

Round One:

So Kristin thought to look up The Nightmare Before Christmas about an hour before trivia and, thanks to her quality planning, she knew that Paul Reubens voiced the character of somebody. We got Into the Pool (it was about swimming) because we all knew that medleys are comprised of four strokes, but Darren and I were the two who were aware that Olympic-sized pools were 50 meters in length. I went to the eye doctor today and that came into play when we had to identify an organ that's examined by a tool that is spelled something like ophthamalogicalnessicalization, and then we didn't get this really hard question about the County Fare. We had to name populated counties in the United States and we didn't know them. But we did know that a flugelhorn has a wider horn than a trumpet and that was our bonus category so it worked out okay.

Round Two:

TV Theme Songs was the opening category and all of the shows came from HBO. Phil desperately wanted Curb Your Enthusiasm to be among the songs played... and it was! He was so pleased! The song just makes him happy. We also knew The Sopranos, but we were stumped on the third song until Mary suggested True Blood (even though she's never seen it). Kristin supported her completely, and even though Darren was on the fence, he went with it. And it's a good thing he did because Mary was right! Mary also knew the answer to the Shakespeare category (King Lear) immediately. We were down a Ben this evening, but we managed to earn the points in Presidential Potpourri. If our presidential genius had been able to attend, we might have gotten the two-point bonus, but he was off doing Ben things and so we were without his presidential knowledge. Darren got us the points, though, and that's ultimately what matters. Darren, Phil, and Kristin then put their heads together and figured out a bunch of SNL-inspired movies, too.

(Somewhere in the midst of all this, Paul Reubens was mentioned again... which makes for a "Billy Ocean Moment." Maybe this time around Kristin will explain what this means in the Facebook comments because she's the one who truly understands what a "Billy Ocean Moment" is. At this point in time, the entire team refers to such things as "Billy Ocean Moments," but I'm not sure any of us could explain why a moment is classified as such.)

Halftime Sheet:

We aced this! The top half had us identifying characters in TV shows; the bottom half had us determining US cities spelled from the abbreviations of elements on the periodic table. I should have taken a picture of this so you could better understand it... but it was honestly a genius scenario. And we got it even though I didn't wear my "I wear this shirt periodically" shirt!

Round Three:

Who knew Snoop Dogg and Tom Petty had so much in common? The first category was Triple 50/50: Celebrity Birthdays. We got two out of three, earning us the points. Medical Maladies was easy (skin cancer), and Page to Screen was a shining point for me because although we all knew The Help, I was the only one who knew Kathryn Stockett wrote the book. I love that book! It's soooo much better than the movie, and the movie is great! Foreign Brands had something to do with a French man dropping the H on the end of his name and Darren figured out that Bic was the answer. Wouldn't Bich be a horrible last name? I mean, if you were to add a T to the end... Well, it would just be an unfortunate last name. And then NFL stadiums was the last category. Now, I'm gonna try to do this justice. Each time we have a football-related question, Mary knows what she's talking about. It astounds me every time. She knows who's in which "conference" (this is a term I learned tonight) and educates The Educated Friends. She'll be like, "No, that team is an AFC team, not an NFC team" and it all sounds French to me. Like the stuff Bich was probably saying when he was talking about razors and flushable bathroom products.

6 - 4 - 2:

The only thing I remember from this category is I suggested "Belgium" for four points, because I had a vague memory of what the flag looked like, and Phil thought it was a great answer. I wrote down on my notes, "Hannah suggested, Phil believed." Darren said he wanted a shirt that said that. We got the answer right because Phil believed and pushed us to turn in the clue a bit early.

Round Four:

TV Sitcoms was easy (Family Ties and Growing Pains), but did you guys know that one of those white boxes used for Chinese food is named after oysters? We didn't. We got that one wrong. But Kristin pointed out that the great thing about coming to trivia is that "You learn shit."

"Like your age," I said, because right before that Kristin had commented on the fact that she was forty-eight and Darren gave her a look. And then she said something like, "Oh, come on, Darren. You're only six months older than I am." But this made Darren realize that he's not forty-eight, and he's still a ways away from being forty-eight, and so he reminded Kristin that she's actually only forty-seven. Soooooo, that happened.

Bodies of Water was an unfair category because Adam pronounced the African countries incorrectly and that threw us off. He pronounced Guinea as Guyana and we got it wrong. But, whatever. Rock Bands was a fun category because we got the clue about a California band with three members in their sixties, and they apparently released two recent albums, and we were all stumped... but then Phil suggested the Red Hot Chili Peppers even though he didn't think they were that old, and Kristin went to town about their ages (maybe this is actually where the birthday/age discussion came into play) and how they were older than we thought, and we were right. Well, Phil was right. Kristin believed. She believed hardcore, in fact, and I'm glad she did because we got the points. And then Kristin also got the American Authors category (Pearl Buck, China, The Good Earth) without even thinking about it.

Final Round:

We only wagered two points because Phil and Darren did complicated math. The category was Notable Americans and the question was something about a used furniture dealer in 1947. I forget the answer, which is horrible and anticlimactic for you as a reader, but what you ultimately need to know is that we got it wrong and ended up in second place.

We lost by five points instead of one this week, but the winning team isn't from around here so they let us choose the opening category for next week. We chose Harry Potter!

So that's that. And I still don't understand the hint of the day.

Cats vs. Dogs

Here's an age-old question that'll no doubt result in some debate: Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Whether you believe me or not, I am a cat person. Does this mean I don't like dogs? Of course not! I have two terrible terriers -- Augusta the Kerry Blue and Arlo the Airedale -- and despite their incessant barking, dirty feet, and rambunctious behavior, I love both of them very much. In fact, the love I feel for them is equal to the love I feel for my cats... but I am definitely a cat person.

I have four cats, though most people have only ever met Harvey. He's the sociable kitten, after all, and the only feline in the household who tolerates Augusta chewing on him. Therefore, when people are over and the dogs are inside, if a guest is going to experience a cat sighting, the cat that guest will be sighting is Harvey.

The fellow I'd like to talk about today, however, is Kip.

Kipper's full name is Christopher Charles and he is four years old. I adopted him at a time in my life when I absolutely NEEDED a kitten.

Wanting a kitten and NEEDING a kitten are two different things. The wanting stage lasted for quite a while, but the needing phase occurred when I spotted a kitten under my neighbor's shed and ran outside to save it... only to realize that the "kitten" was actually a squirrel.

One might be shocked to learn that I didn't rush to the local SPCA and adopt a precious wonder later that very day. What I did instead was begin monitoring the shelter's website and filling out applications and waiting for the purrfect kitten to present himself to me. I wanted a longhaired cat... and I wanted a male... and (ideally) I wanted him to be grey or orange.

I ended up with Kip, who is part Maine Coon* and part Norwegian Forest Cat. (I know this because my mom gave me a cat DNA test for Christmas one year.)

Here is a list of things about Kip that bring me joy:

He has the quietest, softest, most beautiful voice. He rarely uses this little voice of his, but when he does, it makes me so happy! His tail is magnificent! It's long and feathery and soft. He enjoys sleeping in the bathroom sink. Sometimes I find him curled up there, sound asleep. His tongue is defective. Kip makes a total mess when he drinks! Rather than slurp the water into his mouth, he somehow splatters it everywhere. He finds pleasure in silly things. For instance, he just scampered back and forth across the kitchen floor as he chased a piece of stuffing from one of the dogs' toys. He loves tomatoes as much as I do! At night, Kip hops onto the kitchen counter and sneaks grape tomatoes from their container. In the morning, I find partially chewed tomatoes and seeds on the tile floors. He drools when he's really happy, and even though it's not my favorite to have him drip drool onto my chin and clothes, I do find the behavior endearing. He helps me type! Just a little while ago, he walked across my keyboard and tried to title this blog "ikijk." I vetoed the suggestion, obviously, but did want to credit his attempt in my post.

There's one thing about Kip that is not my favorite, and that's his love of pooping in the bathtub. If he has to vomit, he'll do it in the litter box, but if he has to poop, he prefers the bathtub. This isn't the worst thing ever, seeing as the tub is right there beside the toilet and Clorox wipes are an incredibly handy cleaning product, but I would admittedly prefer him to do all of his business in the litter box.

Alright. That's my blog for the day. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll someday get to meet the furry-footed bathtub pooper, but until then, you'll have to settle for this silly writeup and Kip's adorable photographs!

*Speaking of Maine... I'm still looking for some readers up north!

My mom had an idea...

Leave it to the retired librarian to come up with a (potentially) brilliant idea.

As we were talking on the phone the other week, my mom wondered, "Have you considered reaching out to the hometown libraries of the bands on The Way Back's playlist?"

I hadn't, but once the suggestion was made, I wasted little time in doing my research and collecting addresses. And then I took the suggestion a step further and gathered mailing addresses for libraries in the cities on my Christmas Goal list.

Suffering through several bouts of finger cramps and deteriorating handwriting, I composed handwritten notes (on original stationery for sale on my Etsy page, no less!) that explained my mission: to broaden my readership and gain followers across the United States. This took some time... but persistence and patience are two of my strengths, so I got it done!

When addressing cards to the libraries located in cities on my Christmas Goal list, I included a printout of the blog that went into detail regarding Mr. Read Aloud's idea for a Christmas Goal. Hopefully, the librarians will read it and offer assistance!

Once The Way Back became available as a paperback, I ordered a whole bunch of copies and signed them. Then I addressed a bunch of envelopes, placed a book in each one, and visited the Gettysburg post office. Jack, a very nice postal worker who likes octopuses even more than I do, helped me out. I think it probably took him just as long to type in all the addresses, print the labels, and adhere them to my packages as it did for me to address the envelopes, insert the books, and go to the post office! Jack was a trooper.

Now the books are in the mail and all that's left to do is wait... With any luck, some new blue dots will pop up on the map in the near future. These are the spots my period-four students and I will be monitoring:

Amherst, MA (The Suitcase Junket and Bella's Bartok)

Asheville, NC

Austin, TX

Bend, OR

Billings, MT

Burlington, VT (Phish)

Chicago, IL

Columbus, OH

Denver, CO (The Lumineers)

Duluth, MN (Trampled y Turtles)

Huntington Beach, CA (Reel Big Fish)

Las Vegas, NV

Los Angeles, CA (Weezer)

Nashville, TN (Old Crow Medicine Show and Rayland Baxter)

Philadelphia, PA (Don McCloskey)

Seattle, WA

Upper Arlington, OH (Caamp!)

How fun, right? Also, I have two requests:

Regardless as to where you live -- whether it's in Gettysburg, PA, or Honolulu, HI -- it would be super cool if you'd request The Way Back at your local library! If you have a literature-loving friend in Maine, please tell him/her to visit my website. My marketing manager Mary is very bothered by the fact that Maine is the only state on the east coast that doesn't have a blue dot yet. I don't have any friends in Maine, so it's not an easy fix for me, but I'm hoping someone reading this blog does have a friend in Maine! Fingers crossed...

(If it's easier to just share this blog, I think you can do so by clicking the Facebook "f" or the Twitter bird at the bottom of this post.)