Catch-Up

Catch-Up Part I
I have mentioned before that my dad has pancreatic cancer. Last November the Doctor said that if my dad and cancer were boxers he would beat on the cancer. He gave my dad six to nine months. I took it hard, my whole family did. This winter was rough, my dad got skinnier and skinnier. However, the cancer didn't move and got smaller. My dad kept up with his chemo and slowly he got stronger and put back on some of his weight. A couple of weeks ago he packed up his traveling kit and headed north on his iron horse. They didn't make it to Alaska, but he made it to Canada and had a good time. He came back exhausted, but happy. Then comes the good news, his cancer is still not moving or growing. Dad is official off chemo and is feeling good. This story still doesn't have the Hollywood ending, but the doctor is thinking maybe he should have bet on my dad.

Catch-Up Part II
Friday I had the day off and I got to hang out with the ever joyous Little Nell. We went to University City, had lunch at Pi ( http://www.restaurantpi.com/index2.html ). Pi has the distinction of serving pizza to the President. The President liked it so much he has order it since his visit to St Louis. We thought if it was good enough for a president, it was good enough for us. Oh my was it yummy. We ordered the East Loop, a thin crust pizza with pesto and chicken and lots of delicious cheese. Not trying to get in any debates about which pizza style is best, but the waitresses' shirts proclaiming no provel was a good sign. The place was hopping and we were lucky to get a table they were so busy.

After pizza we walked next door to Knitty Couture ( http://www.knittycouture.com/ ). Knitty Couture is not my usual knitting venue, but Friday was about thinking outside my usual box. We shopped ( I bought some Kid Silk Haze in toxic green) and then sat and knit with the shop owner. I felt like a rookie with two knit hall of famers, but they were both so gracious I clacked merrily along with them. The weather was beautiful and the company fabulous, it was a great afternoon.

Catch-up Part III
I did it, I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I loved the book so I was a little unsure of how I would feel about the film. I felt the scope of the book would be hard to distill down to a two hour film. I was impressed that the adaption was so well done. The essence of the story and important details were retained to make the movie very palatable. What really attracted me to book was the love story between Henry and Clare. In many ways the story reminded me of The Odyssey. Henry's journey is through the important events of his life, and Clare has to wait for him to return to her.

I think my only disappointment was the soundtrack. The novel had a very distinctive hardcore soundtrack in my head. The producers decided to take away that edge and give a softer more romantic ambiance to it. I was expecting a little more Ramones and got a lot more Soundscape Channel.

I am hoping this isn't a spoiler, but I was impressed the movie did not deviate to far from the ending of the novel. No Hollywood endings here.

The Time Traveler's Wife or How I Learned to PlayAway

I work in a library, and trust me any romantic ideas you may have about libraries are not what I do. There are few perks to my job with the exception of having more access to books, Cd's, DVDs, and audio books. With that said, I have become addicted to audio books. I love them, they make my commute to work and any jaunts around town better. Plus, I don't feel like such a dolt around my friends when they talk about all these great books they have read, I can now say, me too. One day while cruising between floors in the library I chanced upon a co-worker with a cart of audio-visual material and spotted something new, a playaway. Playaways are like little single title audio books which play independantly of a Cd or MP3 player. They come with a strap and they fit in a purse or a pocket. The one right on top was the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Time Traveler went home with me that night. I just so happened to be ready for a new book and this one was perfect.

I loved the story, I was expecting something more like H G Wells and was delighted to find characters that were so much more delightful than I had expected. The plot jumps back and forth through time, telling the love story of a couple struggling with the male character's uncontolable leapfroging back and forth through time. The couple, Henry and Clare, span my generation, I feel like I could have danced next to them in clubs or bumped into them at an art opening or shopped next to them at Borders. They were very accessible to me. I laughed with them, cried with them, and waited for every moment I could find to listen to the story. They literally went everywhere with me for two weeks. The book was so popular Hollywood decide to take a stab at a movie version. I don't want to see the movie I loved the novel so much I am afraid it will ruin my imagine of the characters. I may relent on this point.

The book did well with me, the format not so much. I like the idea of the playaway, not the actual playaway. It was great to have the portability, but the open buttons on the playaway were annoying. I kept losing my place and being sent back to go. Unlike Cd's you could not just go back to your track, but on playaways getting back to your place in a chapter required a great deal of back and forthing to get close to your spot. I got really protective of those buttons, don't touch my buttons. In the end, the vulnerability of those buttons made me not want to check out another one, but like the movie, I may relent on that point too.