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New Year's Resolutions - Revisited: The Book Club Of One (me)


Again??

It is funny how life is cyclical. I made so many changes in my life yet here I am with little change. I picked up my whole life and moved it to the beach. Do you think anything has changed at my HMO? No. I have been re-diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and ordered to take the Chronic Pain Clinic courses all over again...same garbage, just a different setting.

The weather is wonderful these past few days. My social anxiety keeps me from heading to the beach and reading my book like the rest of my being wants to do. The good weather brings me a bit of energy and coherence so I am hoping to use it to catch up on my good intentions of blogging that I had before my health and life went to hell in a hand basket.  I thought I would start by revisiting my resolutions. What were they? Reading more books, keeping up my plants, and trying to whiten my teeth.

Well, moving killed several of my plants so I guess I will have to try to replant them. I also tried whitening my teeth but after one application to my upper and lower rows with Crest Whitestrips I was in agonizing nerve pain in my mouth for a week. So that's out for now at least. Finally, I have little excuse not to read. That is where I will pick up then, reading and replacing/watering my plants.

Doing one of my favorite things: Reading a book on a beach.

 I am a big fan of the following authors: Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston, James Rollins, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown. I have books by many other authors like Ted Bell, Daniel Silva and Michael Crichton. Those books I get from my brother after he reads them. I can take or leave them but apparently have have taken them all and now it is a question of whether or not I will read them. I did read a couple books recently and I am in the middle of one now. I would like to talk to you about those now.

Also, I will throw in a couple 'before' photos of my plants so I can keep a record of their progress. As it stands, I am sure it will just be photos of dirt for a bit but fingers crossed it will change as time progresses. I am not sure how well my mostly tropical plants will fare in this foggy, coastal location so my hopes are not too high. Ok...time to talk books....

It is a common question between my brother and myself: What are you reading? I have so many books on my bookshelf I can barely keep up with naming them let alone reading them. Shopping for and buying books is a great deal of fun for me. I buy many and the rest I get from my brother. So far this year I have read the following two books:

JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and Vincent Van Gogh's The Letters Of Vincent Van Gogh. I am currently reading a compilation of short stories put together Neil Gaiman called Unnatural Creatures.

First off, The Casual Vacancy. I have to begin by saying that I just adore JK Rowling's writing style. Her descriptions are intelligent and innate. That makes for good reading all by itself but add to that her prodigious imagination and you are talking about a real reading experience that immerses you into a detailed world you feel familiar and comfortable in because you are there. I have read all seven of the Harry Potter books. I just loved all of them. I had seen a couple of the movies by the time I had read the first of the books so I went into it with a biased mind. I assumed it was 'dumbed' down for a child's mind but I could not be more wrong. The content, the words chosen and the grammar are all sharp and can entertain the most sophisticated mind. There are some authors, like Dean Koontz, for example, that make me feel it was written for a partially illiterate person. I like Koontz' stories so I read a book of his every now and again but his simple use of words, his need for redundancy and explanation really make me feel embarrassed to be reading it, how above him I feel. Not to mention how insulted I feel.

When I read the first of the Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, passion ignited in me. You know, that feeling you get when you know you have a good book in your hand....and that even better  feeling you get when you know there are SIX MORE in the series yet to be read! The content surprised me. She did not dance around the darker subjects. Spoiler Alert: That boy was abused. There are many other heavy, mature, real world topics that JK Rowling introduced in that series, to name just a few, bullying, death, murder, threats and violence. She adds wonderful imagination and creativity, wonderment and (I hate the term but....) whimsy as well. They are balanced books. There is no hint of Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret. I, in no means, am bashing that book, I read it when I was a little girl but what I mean is that the Harry Potter book series should not be used as a pre-teen handbook. But at the same time it could be. I read the series in my late 30's. The magic of JK's writing is that it spoke to me. I could relate to it. At the very same time a 12 year old boy....pretty much the opposite of me in every way... can sit there reading the same words and they are speaking to him.

 Why am I going on about Harry Potter when I am supposed to be talking about JK's newest book? Well, I may have gotten carried away because I love those Potter books so much. That, and I need to put down a backstory of my feelings for JK Rowling. See, The Casual Vacancy was released dubbed as the author's first book "for adults". I know we are all supposed to try not to compare this book to the HP series but it is difficult and it would be plain wrong to not mention both books because it is  the same author after all. When I read TCV I went in knowing it was not meant to be anything like the HP series and it was for adults. This may have biased me a bit but I don't think anyone can fully detach themselves from such an epic series and from being utterly curious what JK Rowling's definition of a "book for adults" would be. My take: A book for adults just mentions horniness and boobs more. That's it. Other than that, I really have NO CLUE why she even bothers to mention one book is for one age group and another is for someone else. It ruined a bit of my reading experience as I read her awkward, forced adult themes/issues. There were more adult issues in HP if you ask me. I don't need to hear if someone gave someone else a boner to feel adult.

The main concept of the book is a third person view, actually several third person views, of a death in a small village and the reactions of each walk of life influenced by it. The book was well written which kept me reading steadily. I read the book in a month's time. It was not hard to put down but I did look forward to picking it back up before bed every night. The characters are well developed, which is saying a lot if you consider how many characters are highlighted in the book. The story is an age old one, politics, social class separation, greed, pride, jealousy, lust... This creates a sort of timeless feel. A timeless feel can be good and it can be bad though. It is old, played, predictable all of which this book is, but it can also be classic, familiar and relatable which this book is as well. Sure, every single person in this little town is a miserable, horrible person, but that is no reason to not like a book. I am a JD Salinger fan, after all. I am used to wishing I could pick the characters up out of the book with my fingers and wash them in my sink then shake them into making the right decisions before sticking them back in so I can continue reading about Holden or Seymore. It is similar with the folks in The Casual Vacancy.

In the end I would not recommend this book to my brother. I would recommend it to Harry Potter adult fans, not the young ones. I would also recommend it to anyone who is just curious because that is enough to get through the book. It does read well, it reads intelligent...if you ignore the hard-on and tit mentions...and if you are looking for something to kill some time, it will not let you down. It is a small adventure that takes you not very far from home. Were I to give ratings I would say three out of five....things.

The next book I read this year is written by Vincent Van Gogh. It is translated by someone else but the bulk of the book is completely comprised of the letters that Vincent famously wrote to his younger brother, Theo. The reading is a bit heavy, the wording is a little rough but that does not stop this book from being anything less than fascinating. I am a huge Van Gogh fan and Impressionist art fan. look at a painting. I try to put the brush in my hand and my mind into their head.
A favorite Van Gogh of mine.

When I went to the Musee D'Orsay in Paris for the first time, I broke down and cried in the Van Gogh room, and again in the Monet room. I find the work of those artists and their colleagues incredibly moving, intelligent, fascinating and pleasing....more but I just don't have the words to describe the feelings I get from spending time with those paintings. For me, the painters are to their paintings as musicians are to their music. A week ago I went to see Morrissey live. We saw him live less than a year ago. This time we were against the stage. It was the closest I have ever been to him...the man, the legend, the hero, the genius, the sexy, sexy, sexy beast...And I cried. I cried like a teenage girl seeing The Beatles for the first time. That is what I did when I "saw" Van Gogh at the D'Orsay. Sure, I have seen a few of his paintings before. I have a membership to two museums in San Francisco and I frequent them often. I frequent the Monets, the Van Goghs, the Cezannes. What made me cry this time is seeing so many in one place. I don't ever just


What could get a person closer to the artist than reading his personal diary? That is what The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh does. That is why I like this book. There is so much I learned about what this man, this beautiful, gifted, amazing artist, went through. What influenced him, how he felt about himself, his art, God, his family, women, woman, where he lived, his influences and friends. He is a descriptive writer, not that surprising, who wrote to his brother with complete honesty. He was always trying to be a better person.
An example of one of the pages. They included photos of the actual letters and some of the sketches he enclosed with his letters to Theo. I also earmarked dozens of pages to remind myself to look up the actual art he was referencing in the letters. 

Reading his book after knowing his paintings so well as I do makes me want to go right back and see all his artwork in this new light. Even if you are not familiar with most of his work, reading this book makes you want to search out and see as much as you can. What is also fascinating is reading the words from the mind of a madman. Van Gogh is famously a manic depressive who suffered from bi-polar disease. Reading about the world through his eyes is captivating as well as educational. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Van Gogh, Impressionist Art, Paintings, Museums, Struggling Artists, social and mental illnesses and old country Europe. I know I plan on visiting many of the places he lived or visited because of this book. I give it four out of five....things.

Finally, I want to mention the book I am currently reading, put together by Neil Gaiman, Unnatural Creatures is a fun compilation of short stories that range in  publication dates of 1885 to 2013.
The part I like most about this book is that there are 17 different stories so I get to read a whole new story every night before bed, in it's entirety. Some nights I am reading a few pages and other nights I am reading several. It is satisfying to begin and complete a story every evening. That way I have a little time before I fall asleep to contemplate it. Part of the proceeds of purchasing this book go to support creative thinking and writing in youths. It is the creativeness that comes inherent with a book featuring unnatural creatures to begin with. I thrive off of the imagination of other authors. That is what reading is all about for me, taking images and words given to me by the author and using my own imagination and mind to take it just that much further. The reading is pretty simple in the book. I imagine it is written for a younger audience.
Example of one of the stories.

Keeping that in mind, I give this book four out of five....things. I have 8 more stories to go though. If I continue reading a story a night, I should be finished with this book by next weekend. I then get the fun of choosing a new book altogether. Weee!

I promised a couple photos of my plants so here they are, in all their patheticness....

I just planted some more Morning Glories in this pot. You can see the miserable stick left over from the move is not doing well.

I made a ridiculous attempt to hang a tomato plant. Not enough soil for this guy to survive I am sure.

Actually, BOTH my Hibiscus plants are very happy so there are some good things out on my patio.

Another happy plant is my Nasturtium. I learned recently that it prefers to be in half shade so I moved it to this corner of my deck. It is producing nice colors. 
Books, Pain
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New Year's Resolutions

There is something about newly sprouted plants that excites me.

Ah yes, it is that time of year. Time to take stock, look back at what you have done, what you would like to have done and what you might have changed. Time to look forward to things you would like to do, changes you would like to make to your life and yourself  to make it better/happier/easier/fulfilling/etc.  I have three this year. They are simple, sure, but they are all to better myself and my life.


The first resolution is that I plan to water and take care of my plants better. It sounds simple, but it isn't for me. Last year, with all my traveling, I realized that my garden looked far better when I returned from vacation because someone else was taking care of my plants! I like my garden so much it is a shame that I let so much die. I have a beloved bonsai Japanese Maple Tree, two Anthurium, several spider plants and an herb garden indoors. Outside, I have tomatoes and peppers that I may get rid of to make way for mostly only trees. I have a Loquat tree the BF grew from seed, a Lemon tree, an Orange tree and a 10 year old Plumeria tree. There are also plans to revive two vines I keep wanting to grow together around the patio area; a Morning Glory and a Nasturtium. I hope to get enough energy soon to organize the outdoor plants and plant some new ones. I have seeds for a Papaya tree and a Bird of Paradise bush.

My bonsai as of January 2014

The second resolution is to read every day. I tried to do this in a previous year but my illness took over. Now that I am feeling better I can catch up on the bazillions of books I have.

Reading by the pool.

I am currently trying to finish Dan Brown's latest book Inferno. I have read all his others like a good reader. Yes, his books are overly popular but whatever gets the general population reading and talking about books is great. My absolute favorite authors are Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They are a dynamic duo when they come together to write thrillers. They have a new one out that I have yet to borrow from my brother called White Fire. 

White Fire is the latest in what they call the Pendergast series. Agent Pendergast being the star of the series, of course. The first of the series is called Relic and it has to be the scariest book I have ever read. They made a movie out of it that was a major flop. I couldn't even get through half of it, it was so terrible. But reading the book is a whole other animal. I used to read it in my bed when I lived alone. I would be next to a pitch black window and I would try to peer out looking for a monster that was surely not there. Oh what fun it is to be scared like that. The writing of all the Pendergast series is brilliant. Do check it out if you like thrillers and are looking for a solid, trustable output of books.


The third resolution is kind of embarrassing but it is to take good care of my teeth. The reason why is two-fold. One, I lost my insurance so I can't visit the dentist. In fact, my dentist himself, who is also a family friend, told me that it was not worth the money to add it to my COBRA or other supplemental insurance because it is far too expensive and not worth the money in the end. The other part is that I am not commuting anymore. What does commuting have to do with my teeth? I am a floss addict. ADDICT!!! I love flossing. I love the feeling in my gums, I love the oral fixation, I love everything about it. Problem is, I only floss while driving. Unsafe? perhaps. This means that during my 1.5 hour commute, each way, I would use one of those little one handed floss do-hickeys. That added up to two brushes and two long, drawn out flosses, at least, a day. Now? Not so much. So, my resolution is to make time to floss every day at least once. I will also whiten with some strips. It sounds so lame but it is still a resolution so I am mentioning it.

Just looking at this photo makes me want to run off and floss.

There is a hidden fourth resolution which I eluded to in the last blog and that is to blog more. I know probably every single part time blogger like myself likely says that but I am still saying it. I hope to blog every week which means every seven days. See? I am getting this one in just before the 14th. To keep myself on track I hope to send out a mini blog every month to go over how my resolutions are keeping up. It can be beneficial to readers as well as to myself because I will share what I am reading and how my plants are producing. It can be like our own book club/garden club. I will post next a starting blog to show my plants before and the plan is to show how they look at the end of the year and it will be a whole different story.

A small glimpse of my bookshelves.

Please follow along and please share with me any gardening tips you may see I need, specially with pruning because I am horrible at this stuff. Also, I would love it if any of my readers are also reading the same books that I am. If you are currently reading Dan Brown's Inferno I want to hear your opinions. I will post mine at the end of this month. I love to have comments and hope to interact with any readers I may have. Happy New Year!
Books, Crafts
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Every Blog Written This Week: I Resolve To Blog More In 2014

Redwood tree I grew from seed. I have plans to make a bonsai out of it.

And I am no exception from the title of this blog. Who wants to check in on a blog that is so sporadic? I mean, I already have a blog that is all over the map in subject matter. I guess that isn't entirely true. The title is Airplane Food Critic and that pretty much covers my blog. Confused? You are not alone. Lots of people wonder about that name. See, I like to travel and I post lots of blogs about travel... hence the Airplane. I also love food and I post a lot of stuff about food, health, and recipes... hence the Food. I threw in the Critic because I am usually pretty cynical/critical. At least, that is what my boyfriend tells me. Just kidding. Just kidding.

Actual airplane food I had on the way to Europe.

Also actual airplane food I had on the same flight.

So this is a little catch up blog to fill my self-imposed quota of a minimum of one blog a week. Getting this one in before the 7th day of the year is already a challenge. I thought I would use this time to let everyone know where I am and where I plan to go this year.

In the past couple of years I acquired a chronic illness. After being hospitalized for over a week in 2012 I began my career as a drug guinea pig as the many, many, many doctors, naturopaths, homeopaths, psychiatrists and more tried to determine how to best treat my condition. After a year or so of being on disability I finally lost my wonderful job making champagne. A few months before I lost my job, the BF also lost his job, just to add to the fun. While I was the pill test dummy I was unable to drink alcohol, drive a car or work. I finally have been able to cut down the medications at present time. This, by NO means, implies that I am fixed. I am still very sick but at least I can do 'normal' things again, albeit with lots of pain.

Me, then.

My year 2013 was not as horrible as it sounds though. We were sitting on our balcony in beautiful Zermatt, Switzerland, looking up at the Matterhorn when we found out the BF lost his job. He considered it to be a blessing because he was not happy with Zynga at the time. To add to the positive side of losing that job, he got a severance package that is larger than half of American's annual salary. Then he got unemployment on top of that so we were not struggling there.

Taken by me, literally from our balcony sometime around when we found out the news.

When I lost my job we took a trip to Kauai for the longest we have ever gone for to celebrate our birthdays. As a severance package from my company, they gave me full pay and insurance for the remainder of the year. Again, not suffering much. Now, I do suffer. I have my chronic illness that isn't giving me any sign that it is letting up or planning on leaving any time soon. It does keep me from doing things I would like to be doing....like working. I don't feel very useful sleeping all day.

Oh boo hoo, I lost my job. Let's go on vacation!

The year was also pretty good to us in the travel department as well. Actually, it was excellent if you consider the fact that I was literally bedridden for the first four or so months of 2013. Still, we managed to go to Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France in May/June. I spent a few days in Santa Cruz for the Woodies on the Wharf and I spent several days camping and wine tasting in the Anderson Valley/Mendocino area. We did the Kauai thing for our combined birthdays where we went skydiving among other things. I got to spend a week in a gorgeous home in Tahoe to celebrate a friend's 30th where it snowed like crazy for two days. I sure loved that. We ended the year in Monterey where we had a blast in the super warm weather kayaking, bike riding and visiting the Aquarium. (subscript: the BF paddled and peddled for me).

New Year's 2014 in Monterey, Ca

That is a summary of the good and bad of the last year. The good and the bad for 2014 as it stands right now is as follows. Video game companies are literally knocking down our door to have the BF work for them. Up until now he has been turning them down to get the right one. He has it narrowed down to a few, meaning he will have a very good job on his terms before next month. I still am unable to work because I can not be up and moving for more than a few hours a day unless I pump myself full of pain killers and other meds so I am not really looking too hard for a 9 to 5. I have decided to pursue a career in art though. I have a collection of photography I plan to organize and sell along with my paintings. I also plan to take this blog, my travel experiences, my travel knowledge and my writing skills and make a book and/or a series of books. My neighbor is a published author so I hope to use her connections and knowledge to help write travel books that inform as well as entertain. I feel there is a niche for that type of book. The type of book you read for pleasure and entertainment while dreaming of or at least being inspired to be traveling to the same places I go. If my readers are unable to travel to Europe, I hope to bring them there. If my readers are able to go, I hope I inspire them where and when to go and to go more often. I also hope to help remind others of trips they have already been on.


In the meantime I also hope to use the time alone, once the BF goes back to work, to better myself beyond starting a business. I hope to make a schedule to keep my life in order. This is a great thing to do, specially at the beginning of a new year, for anyone. I need a schedule to keep myself busy or I will feel like a useless, pitiful slug. Others might need a schedule to keep their regular life in order. A schedule helps to retain new year's resolutions as well. I will go into detail about my resolutions in a later blog. (Hey, I gotta pump at least one out a week here!) Wait a second, I just realized, blogging once a week is a resolution in and of it's self! I think I just changed my resolutions from three to four. Look at that! I am bettering myself right in front of your eyes! On my schedule I will make time for learning new things, working towards making myself some income, planning trips, coming up with (hopefully healthy) recipes and keeping my body as healthy as I can.

Now I must go and make my schedules, notes and other fun things to keep me on task. Please enjoy my 2014 blog. I have a feeling it is going to be a great year.

Happy New Year
Books, Pain
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Travel - Books



I spent an hour today in the bookstore. We have a fantastic locally owned bookstore here. I love going there just to flip through the different books. The section I spend my time in depends on my mood or what I am interested in at the time. I have worn the rug in the cookbook section and the travel section. I have found some real gems for cheap in the used section on several occasions too. This trip was in one of my favorite places to spend time, the Mystery/Thriller section. I am going on vacation and I need a new book.

As an avid reader, I have blown through thousands of books in my time. I enjoy reading a great deal and never am without a book that I am in the middle of. I have a list of favorite authors whose book releases I track. I have a sort of schedule. I usually know the next two or three books I am going to be reading at any given time. Vacation books are different. The book I bring on vacation has to be different. It must reflect the vacation I am going on. Depending on the location of my destination I read at different times of day. On a trip to Paris I will be reading mostly on the airplane, then at night before I go to bed. If I am on a tropical vacation I begin by reading on the plane but most of the reading is done during the day while laying out on the beach.
Breakfast on our balcony in Kauai

When I went to Ireland, I read a murder mystery book set in Ireland one time, and another time I read The Lost Painting, partially set in Ireland.
When I went to Paris last, I read "The Judgement of Paris" by Ross King because it was about the revolution of Impressionism in France.


Most of the books for these types of trips I read are a little bit thought provoking and insightful.

Today I had to pick out a book for my trip to Hawaii. What I look for in a book that I am bringing to Hawaii is anything but thought provoking. I want an easy to read, fun, exciting book. I like the book to be set on the ocean, in the tropics, in a jungle or other warm, humid place. In the past, I have brought along some Clive Cussler books.
Clive Cussler is a very simple read with very simple characters. There is action sprinkled with cheesiness. His writing is not juvenile, just simple. One thing I like about his books is that he always puts himself in them. It is very egotistical but always hilarious and silly. His books center around a group of renegade scientists who work for NUMA, The National Underwater Marine Agency. The books are categorized as "techno-thrillers" but unlike other authors in this field, like Michael Crichton, Cussler makes no attempt to be realistic, but rather eccentric and outrageous. I like this in a "lay-on-the-beach" book.
Another great author that I have taken to Hawaii is James Rollins. In recent times, Rollins has been writing a series of books about the same group of people called the Sigma Force which are basically "killer scientists". I read the Sigma Force novels as they come out but these are not the ones I like to bring on my vacations as much as James Rollins' other novels. In the beginning of his career writing as James Rollins he wrote a series of fantastic adventure books set in jungles, caves and underwater. There is no connection between these books aside from how great they are. One time, I was on an 8 day vacation and I blew through one of these books so fast that I ran to the bookstore on the island I was staying on to get another. The best books of his for reading in a tropical setting are Amazonia, Excavation, and Subterranean.

A book I read recently would be perfect for a tropical vacation but unfortunately I have already read it or I would be bringing it on this trip. It is Michael Crichton's last book, Pirate Latitudes.
Set in the Spanish occupied Caribbean, this book has everything you could ask for in a pirate book. I would imagine that Congo would be another good book by this author to bring on a tropical vacation but having seen the movie, I am reluctant to bring the book on vacation because if I do not like it, I have no other option. I prefer to read the book BEFORE seeing the movie.

So there I was, standing in the middle of the Mystery/Thriller section, browsing the various authors. I was looking for an interesting title or cover. Something with water, jungles, boats...something that implies lots of action, espionage, killing, science or something along those lines. It is risky to pick out a book whose author you are not familiar with. You may not like their style and then you are stuck on vacation with something that you do not like. I did this with Dean Koontz. I did some research on him and found that he wrote some thriller books but I then found that his writing style is too juvenile like he is writing for kids or illiterate people. I found that very distracting. I was stuck camping and had two of his books to read. I got through them, but was disappointed. This trip is going to be 10 days of relaxation and good times so I decided to go with an author that I am vaguely familiar with just to be safe.

The book I settled on? Don't laugh. Matthew Reilly's Six Sacred Stones.
Why? First, Matthew Reilly. I have read one or two of his books before. His books are insane, literally. They are lightening fast paced, completely unbelievable, action packed, and ridiculous. To give you an idea of what I mean, in one book I read a long time ago, there was a point in the story where the main character was underground next to a harrier jet (also underground for some reason), chained to a nuclear weapon, surrounded by corrupt Marines, being attacked by Nazis while psychotic monkeys escape their nearby cages, the area is beginning to flood and prisoners infected with a racist, engineered virus are running amok. Get the idea? Crazy books. I think Reilly fulfills the "easy reading" and "thriller" part of my criteria. The book is set all over the world but mostly in jungle-like settings like China and the Congo but also places like Egypt, England, Zanzibar and Ethiopia. I guess they have to get the six sacred stones into the same place or the world ends or something like that.
I look forward to reading it. I will feel a little bit like I am cheating on Jack Reacher though. I am on book 5 of a 14 book series. I will return, Jack!
Books, Planning
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