Night Boat to Cairo

I have more fun new projects which need my attention, but sadly, I don't have permission to access the information that I need and won't get it until tomorrow. How handy is that?

Yesterday I was reading an article on the latest airline quality report and saw that starting in June Spirit Airlines is going to charge people $5 per checked bag, if the trip was booked on-line. If you did it some other way (???), it's $10 per checked bag. My issue here is that because of the new regulations designed to keep me safe from people needing more than 3 oz of contact solution (oh wait, that's me), it's damned near impossible to fly anywhere and NOT check a bag, if you wear contacts. If I had gone on my trip to BWI/VA two weekends ago, the only way I could have done it without checking a bag was to wait until I got there to buy my contact solutions. And then I was going to have the YS bring the contraband back with her when she moved back to MI. That’s not going to work tomorrow for my Vegas trip, so I have to check a bag. Thankfully I'm not flying Spirit and won't ever be again, thank you very much.

As if flying weren't horrendous enough to begin with, they've now made it even more hideous and I've reached the point where I simply don't want to fly anymore. I was going to say that after Vegas, I won't have to fly again this year as I'm only going to Cleveland (and hopefully, Road America), but I just remembered I have a wedding in Austin, TX in June. Shit, more flying.

The Tigers lost their home opener yesterday in the 10th inning. Now, I don't want to second guess the skipper, Jim Leyland, but I do not understand why he put Joel Zumaya in to pitch the 7th inning for two innings and then Todd Jones, our saver, in the 9th when the game was tied. Okay, maybe I am second guessing him, but wouldn't it have made more sense to put in a middle reliever, say Jason Grilli?, in the 7th and possibly the 8th, then Joel in the 9th and 10th, and if need be, Todd Jones after that. Fernando Rodney did a great job for us in the playoffs, but he's normally a bit erratic and that's the Fernando that showed up yesterday (single, walk, hit batter to fill the bases). Ah well, it's one game, but it didn't stop HRH from calling me as soon as the game was over. I answered the phone "What? You called to gloat already?" as she lives in the GTA. She just laughed as she doesn't actually care about baseball, but simply enjoys giving me a hard time.

I did a load of laundry yesterday while watching the game (and since I didn't go to the gym, I lifted my hand weights and did crunches and leg lifts), because I wore a few shirts last week which I wanted to take with me to Vegas. Tonight I will be packing as I'm leaving right after work tomorrow. For once, I've planned my trip well, as the weather here is supposed to turn wintry tomorrow. Today it's going to be 70F with a 30-degree drop for tomorrow with a "wintry mix." And it's going to be 80-90F in Vegas. Yes, I'm taking my sunblock, but I fear that I'll be blinding people with my winter white legs, particularly the drivers.

Is there an age when a woman should stop wearing shorts? Because I'm feeling like shorts are inappropriate for a woman of my age, but if you think I'm wearing pants or jeans when it's 90F, you've lost your mind. Should I stop at Target today and see if they have some slightly longer shorts (not that my shorts are short short or anything), but if I'm uncomfortable in them, that probably means something, eh?

Another stolen book survey follows:

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I don't care, although certain books have to be hardover – Harry Potter, for one. I do like trade paperbacks, but won't go out of my way to get them.

Amazon or brick and mortar? Borders, generally, but will buy from amazon.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Borders, it's a Michigan original.

Bookmark or dogear? Bookmark. I remember back in the day I never needed to bookmark because I always knew where I was in a book. Now that I’m old, I need to bookmark. I despise dog-earing, and hate it when I lend my books out and people do that. So rude!

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? I put authors together, but other than that, it's mostly by genre or size. I know where most of the books are, though, and even when I move I try to put the books exactly where they were before.

Keep, throw away, or sell? Are you kidding? Have you seen my house? Books are everywhere. I can't even imagine throwing away a book! I have traded ones I hated back to the used bookstore so I could get more books, however. And I only trade in ones I hated (The Red Tent comes to mind).

Keep dustjacket or toss it? I definitely keep them.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? I read with the dustcover, but have learned to remove it when I lend them out because they've come back sans dustcover or with a ruined dustcover. Again, this pisses me off.

Short story or novel? Novels, I'm not a fan of the short story – except for Poe's.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Neither, I can't stand short stories.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Hard to say as I love them both. I, however, wasn't totally thrilled with the ending to Lemony Snicket, and since I don't know how HP ends yet (July 21), I will reserve judgement. If she kills off Harry, I will be severely PISSED OFF.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? As I do my reading generally while eating or at the gym, I stop when I'm done eating or when the hour is up on the elliptical.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Both, I love fairy tales.

Buy or Borrow? Oh, buy, but will borrow if it's something I’m not sure I'm going to want to keep.

New or used? Both, I'm not picky, but have a tendency to buy new more often, just because it's easier.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All three, including the blurb on the jacket cover.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy ending. Lemony Snicket almost killed me as I had to wait for each new book.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? ANY time I can get a minute.

Stand-alone or series? Both.

Favorite series? There are so many!!! Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series, Karen Kijewski's Kat Colorado series, Christian Jacq's Egyptian series.

Favorite children's book? Pokey Little Puppy

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Queen of Freedom Trilogy by Christian Jacq

Favorite books read last year? The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis by Jimmy Carter and The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

Favorite books of all time? The Eight by Katherine Neville

Least favorite book you finished last year? I know I’m going to be taken to task for this one, but it was The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

What are you reading right now? The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald

What are you reading next? Either V for Vendetta or Vanity Fair