The Jennifer Blogs

I feel like the past few days I've had a lot to blog about, but not a lot to say about each individual thing, so thought I could put it all together in one neat little blog and tie it with a bow, then deliver it straight to your computer. How's that sound? Splendid! Let's get started!



BOOK STUFF:

 I recently finished reading the book 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It's the first time I've read any of her books and I am hooked! I don't know if they're all this good, but I chose this book based on the story, not on the author. It's about a school shooting, which my kids think is very morbid -- that Mom can't stop talking about a book she loves that deals with a school shooting. Anyway, it's a great book. You always get to hear what the victims and their families go through, but this one also lets you see inside the shooter's family. The parents -- so distraught -- wondering what went wrong. The shooter himself -- bullied from his first day of kindergarten through the day of the shooting. This is a book I won't forget for a very long time. And I actually hope I never forget the way I felt after finishing the last word. The things we say and do really matter. You have two choices in every situation in which you deal with others - treat them kindly, or don't. Period. If you treat them kindly you may just make someone's day. If you don't, you could be the one to push them over the edge. And maybe neither, but won't you feel a lot better knowing that you treated them kindly anyway?




GEEK STUFF: 
Speaking of the book I just read, it's the second one I finished on my Kindle. I'm so in love with this wonderful electronic gadget! I am currently reading "Size 12 Is Not Fat" on the Kindle, and "Life of Pi" on paperback. I still have a lot of paperbacks that my mom sent me from the US from before I had my Kindle. Books are just so expensive over here. And with the Kindle I don't have to worry about taking up room trying to find places to store them all. I also downloaded The Renaissance Soul on the Kindle. Can't wait to delve into that one! Oh yeah, and Bitter is the New Black.
I'm only a few chapters in to "Life of Pi," by the way, but it's *very* good!




RADIO STUFF:
 I've been reading out loud a lot lately -- practicing, I tell the kids and my husband. I hope to get a job (or two, or a thousand) reading for books on tape, so I want to make sure I can read well. It's not as easy as it seems.
My friend Robin sent me a job ages ago with information on how to apply for a job reading for books on tape - someone was looking for demos. I didn't have my studio here at the time -- it was still on its way from Japan -- and then things got busy and I never did submit anything. I did, however, finally finish recording a short demo of me reading from a book and put it up on the website yesterday.
Oh yeah, the website. It's no longer up at www.jenniferpagemedia.com, but it will be again one day. For now it's on a back site. I'm designing this one myself so I can update it whenever I want to. That's important to me -- to try to keep my demos fresh and the page looking current. So if you want to see what I've done so far -- keep in mind it's STILL under construction -- it's at web.mac.com/radiojen/JPM.




SINGAPORE STUFF: 
I'm meeting a friend Monday at the Bird Park. She's got two kids close in ages to my two. I've only met Nicky once, but we've corresponded by email a lot since before I moved here. I really like her. She's normal. I like normal. You don't find a lot of that here. Nicky is going back to the US next week, so it'll probably be the last time I see her until after summer.
Alicia has been busy with a friend in town and then will be going back to the US soon. That kind of bums me out, cuz who will I hang out with? Who will get me into trouble, and then get me out of it? 
Marso & I were supposed to meet with some of Don's friends here in Singapore. They'll only be here like another month and then are going back to the US for a year. They're missionaries, and are very busy with some training they're conducting before heading back to Florida. We've missed out on seeing them twice, and I'm kind of bummed about it. I cannot begin to tell you how homesick I've been (off and on) for the past couple of months. Seeing some people who know my dear friends back in the US was supposed to make me feel a little closer to home. I hope I get to see them before they leave.




US STUFF: 
Speaking of the US, I got a nice letter today from my friend Melanie and a package in the mail yesterday from Mom. Mom sent microwave popcorn, a sarong, a couple of tank tops, a t-shirt, some pictures and some American candy. Nothing beats letters and goodies from home.