A Post of Shameless Self Promotion...Again

Some of you have read my book. Some of you haven't. And don't think I don't know who you are.

But no need to fear! Coming soon to a Kobo store near you (well, near everyone, since it's online), will be the critically acclaimed best-seller* "Love, Happiness, and Other Lies My Mother Told Me".

And, if this isn't enough excitement for one evening, my second book is going to follow soon after! That's right, folks. This time I'm serious. This time the book will actually see the light of day. I solemnly swear that my second novel, "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting", will be available for purchase before the end of the year. This year. 2012.

The book will be available exclusively as an e-book. What that means is it will be significantly cheaper than if you were buying it in the store as a hard copy. So make sure your friends, relatives, co-workers, and complete strangers all buy this new book!

Watch for updates in the coming months. But in the mean time, follow me on Twitter as Krista Lee Woodman, and on Goodreads.


*Note: not acclaimed, not actually a best-seller.

Adventures in moving, part 1

I'd like to start off by apologizing for the lack of blog posts in the past few weeks. But there's a good reason for it.

Girlfriend and I are moving; since she's starting medical school in the fall, we've decided that we'll sell the house and move closer to the school.

Selling a house is horrible.

First you have to fix the place up. So all the little things you've been able to live with have to be repaired. All the things you keep meaning to do have to be done. And it takes time. A lot of time. And money (thankfully, not too much money).

And you have to keep the house clean. I feel like it's a ridiculous game: let's keep the house so clean that it looks like no one lives here. Which means sweeping and mopping every day. And hiding anything that might suggest that someone lives in the house.

It also means that I have to hide the dogs before anyone comes over.

Well, not really "hide". More like rush home from work, scoop the dogs into the car, and drive up to my parents' house for a few hours.

Adding to the general pain of house-selling is the fact that Girlfriend decided to go away for the week. And we just listed the house on Monday. Meaning that I am doing all the annoying little tasks on my own.

So, moral of the story is this: there won't be many blog posts in the next few weeks (well, maybe when I'm on vacation in a few days I'll be productive), and most of the posts will be about moving.

Enjoy!

It's the end of the world...now what?

So, the world is coming to an end. For argument's sake, let's imagine that the end is taking the traditional "rapture" format (as opposed to the much more likely zombie apocalypse).

I'm a little hazy on the details, but I'm pretty sure these guys are involved:

You've been a good Christian your entire life. This is your big day! you're going to go hang out with the big guy upstairs, while the rest of us suckers spend the rest of our lives in the burned-out remains of Crap Town.

There's only one problem: what about your pets? What's going to happen to poor Fluffy when you've been taken up into the loving arms of Jesus? Fluffy's going to be left behind with the rest of us sinners (Jesus knows what Fluffy did to your carpet).

No need to fear, Dear Reader! For the low, low (up-front) price of $99.99, I will take care of your pet! That's right - Post-Rapture Pet Care is here for all your rapture & pet-related needs. I'll be here to make sure Fluffy is fed, watered, walked, and loved as long as he lives.

Simply attach a tag to Fluffy's collar with "In case of rapture, contact Random Acts of Randomness", and I'll take care of the rest.

(*Please note: this service is restricted to dogs and cats only. I don't want to be stuck with your snakes, mice, or children in the event of the rapture. )

(**Also note: no refunds in case the rapture is averted.)

Confessions of a Book-aholic

As you may or may not remember, Girlfriend is starting medical school this coming fall. A few years ago we made an agreement: once she got into med school, we'd sell the house and live together year round (instead of continuing long-distance for another three years). So I've been trying to get the house ready to sell.

Part of this is going through all my stuff and deciding what will make the move and what will be donated to Goodwill. I decided to begin with my books.

I love my books. I love to buy books. I'm not a huge fan of borrowing them from the library; they sometimes have a musty, "old book" smell (I realize that some people love library books for this very reason). I love the look of my books on the numerous bookshelves throughout the house. But I realize that I need to purge before this move. And now, thanks to my Kobo, I can get rid of some physical books and still read a digital version at a later time.

While Girlfriend has spent the past two weeks in Europe, I've spent time fixing the house and going through my books. I managed to fill 3-4 boxes with books to take to the used bookstore, and I had a bit of an epiphany as I was going through the shelves:

I don't own enough books.

I mean, I have a lot of books. But not enough. It took me less than an hour to go through all of them and pick out the ones I want to keep. And now there are gaps on the shelves. Gaps just aching to be filled with new, wonderful books!

So how to solve this problem? Visit chapters.ca, of course! A few clicks here and there and presto! new books.

Unfortunately, my new books haven't arrived yet. And Girlfriend will be home tomorrow night. I had planned to incorporate the new books into the book shelves while she was gone, making it look like they'd been there all along. Now my plan has been foiled and I will have to admit that while I have managed to purge the shelves of some excess books, I unfortunately have found 6 new friends to join us on our move.

Whoops.

(Note: for those of you who are curious, I purchased the following books - 3 Sookie Stackhouse** books and 3 historical fictions by Sharon Kay Penman)

(**additional note: I realize these are trashy, but I'm enjoying them so shut up)

A Random Post of Seriousness

I'd like to start off with an apology to my readers: this post will not be my normal style of post. As the title implies, this one will be serious (don't worry, I'll get back to my usual style soon).

About a month ago Girlfriend and I went on a vacation to Florida. This was to celebrate Girlfriend's graduation, as well as to pass the time until she heard back from med school with regards to her acceptance (side note: she was accepted).

We travel quite often, usually taking at least one major trip a year. We've been to Florida together before, as well as Cuba, London, and Amsterdam. And, since we live together, we fill out one customs form.

However on this trip we were told that the US doesn't recognize our relationship. I realize that they don't have the same enlightened legislation we enjoy in Canada, but I was confused: this happened while we were still in Canada. We were at Pearson Airport in Toronto. Sure, we were going through US customs, but we were still in Canada.

Let's look at what he said: the US doesn't recognize same sex relationships. That is incorrect. Sure, as a whole the US doesn't allow for same sex marriage. But there are currently 6 states that do (New York, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Hampshire). Several other states recognize civil partnerships between same sex couples. (**note, there are 23 states that allow first cousins to marry)

In contrast, Canada was the 4th country in the world to legalize same sex marriage.

There are other things to look at than just gay marriage:
- In the US there are still states where it's illegal for gays and lesbians to adopt children
- the US now allows openly gay people to serve in the military; this is as of 2011. In Canada it's been since 1992
- There are at least 19 states without any protection for LGBT employees (meaning, you can be hired/fired based on your orientation)
- The Boy Scouts of America is allowed to exclude people from the organization based on sexual orientation
- Sodomy was illegal in some states until 2003

Although we enjoyed our vacation to the US, it was still very nice to return home to Canada where our relationship is recognized.

In closing, two things. First, this wonderful quote from "Dear Abby", in response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighbourhood:

"You could move." - Abigail Van Buren, "Dear Abby"

And finally, this:

Amazing gift ideas for the random person in your life

Today is the last day of May. So, naturally, it's time to start thinking about Christmas shopping! I know you're all wondering what to get me this year, something that I would really, really like to see under the tree. Or maybe you're not wondering that at all. Maybe you have no intention of even buying me a gift. How inconsiderate of you.

For your convenience, I have compiled some wonderfully random gift ideas. You can use them to shop for the moderately insane person or people in your life.

Topping my list this year is the Super Dictionary:

This is the most awesome dictionary ever published. Ever. For instance, if you were wondering how to correctly use the word "skin" in a sentence, use this book:

And what if you wanted to know the difference between "paint" and "painting"?

You can buy** this wonderful dictionary through sellers on Amazon, where the starting price is $230. It's also available on ebay. 

(**buy this for me)

Next on my list is the heartwarming story of a boy and his father. Of course, I'm referring to Darth Vader and Son. This book is a steal at $14.95, and tells the story of a young Luke and his father.

Buy it before George Lucas turns it into a movie and ruins the franchise even more.

Finally, while we're looking at something aimed at the random children in your life, there are these wonderful onesies:

The red Star Trek onesie should be reserved for "expendable" babies. They (the onesies) range from $15.99 to $18.99 and can be found on the Think Geek website.

Happy shopping!

The Coming Apocalypse: Update

A few days ago I wrote about the end of the world. There have been a few things in the news lately that make me think that the end will be coming even sooner than expected. Horrific, terrifying things. Things that cannot be explained.

I am talking, of course, about Justin Bieber's concert in Norway. According to TMZ (an incredibly reliable source of information), 49 girls were injured with 14 taken for emergency care. Injured because they were so excited to go see Justin Bieber perform. It boggles the mind.

If you google "Justin Bieber Norway", you get the following results:

• Justin Bieber Causes Chaos in Norway
• Justin Bieber's Norway Concert: Nearly 50 fans injured
• Justin Bieber - Norway Cops Threaten State of Emergency 

The last one is my favourite. Really? A "state of emergency"? Isn't that usually reserved for storm damage or earthquakes or tsunamis? 

The video below shows the seriousness of the situation. 

According to the girl in the video, everything he does is good for everyone, and his music is amazing. Truly, he is like a god.

So maybe I should take it back. Maybe this isn't a sign of the apocalypse. Maybe Bieber has been sent to protect us from the end of days. Maybe we should all embrace our inner teenager and go running down the street, screaming after Justin Bieber's car.

Or maybe it's been a long week and I need a nap.