Back to my old Stephen King obsession

There exists a small, used book store...

Thousands and Thousands of books....on shelves, in racks, in boxes, and scattered in small piles on the floor.

The store owner...with his simple cash register, hidden behind a counter piled high with books.

Basically...my dream come true.

Do you remember the movie version of "The Neverending Story"? Remember the dark, mysterious book store into which the bullies chase Bastien? Heaven!

So...

I was in that little book store the other day, browsing through thousands of paperback novels, when I came across a book of essays on the works of Stephen King. I scooped it up, found the man behind the counter (hiding in his book fortress), paid, and brought my treasure home.

Reading one essay this morning led me to a revelation...why I fell in love with horror fiction (specifically Stephen King novels) at the tender age of 10.

It seems so obvious now...why I chose Stephen King as opposed to the Babysitters Club, or any other popular teen fiction of the time...

Horror allows us to say: "Thank fuck I'm not THAT guy!"

Sure, it scares us, grosses us out, etc. But it gives us an excuse to believe that our lives aren't so bad.

During my childhood, I needed that security more than anything.

My first (and still favorite) Stephen King novel was Misery. I have read it an uncountable number of times. I have owned, and worn out 4 paperback versions of the book (copy 5 is on my book shelf today). Paul Sheldon's pain and fear made my pain and fear look like lollipops and rainbows....and I loved him for that. I won't come right out and say that Anne Wilkes bared some striking similarities to a certain maternal figure in my life...but lets just say, at the tender age of 10, I felt Paul's fear of this woman. At least MY real version of Ms. Wilkes wasn't going to chop off my foot, or make me eat my own thumb (at least I hoped not!)

Every couple of years I turn back to my Stephen King collection and read through them all, just as a reminder that I could have suffered WAY more than I did. And I guess, that makes me smile.

The weather....

Ok, so I know that talking about the weather is considered "small talk"...something you only do with people when attempting to start a conversation (or get out of one)...but come on now....we have something to talk about this year.

Growing up on the west coast, snow was a very rare sight to see. Sure, we had it, and there are pictures of me as a child playing in the snow...but honestly, it happened maybe once a year...or so my memory says! :)

I spent some Christmas' in Ontario (Ottawa and Toronto areas) as my mom's side of the family lived there. That is when I was truely exposed to real snowfall. I actually had to wear boots, and a snowsuit!!! There is a story that I remember faintly, about the day my grandfather took me out for a walk in the snow, and it was up to my chest (I was around 5 years old at the time). It was the first deep snow I'd seen, and I hated it...because I couldn't walk..understandable right? lol

So then I start going to university in Kingston Ontario, and I get my first "surprise" snow. I was at the movies with a good friend of mine. He was from Ontario, so nothing surprised him. Anyway, we went into the movie theater, and it was a nice clear evening, nothing happening outside, nothing supposed to happen outside. 2 hours later, when the movie was over, we walk outside to hail a cab, and to my surprise, the snow is up past my ankles...I didn't know what to think...I thought maybe the world was ending or something! lol My friend assured me that this was to be expected in the WINTER....duh! :P

Kingston, On. was also my first real exposure to frigid temperatures. I remember walking over this bridge...and the COLD COLD wind almost made me feel like curling up in a ball and dying right there. Hell with the pub...I couldn't believe that the world could get so cold (of course it was the wind chill off of the water, but still)....

And then I move to Nova Scotia. At this point I am totally used to winter and snow and cold temperatures. UNTIL THIS YEAR!!!! lol...I don't think I've ever witnessed such a bizzare change in temperature and weather in a single month ever. I bring this up because yesterday it was -17 with a wind chill of -23 or something...brrrrrr. Right now, there is snow falling like crazy out, at least 5 cm have fallen...but that's not the weird thing. The weird thing is that they are saying that by midnight the temperature will climb above freezing, and by tomorrow, it will be +8 outside. So this snow will soon turn to rain and make a hell of a mess! And this isn't even the first time, I think it's at least the 3rd time that we've gone from cold and snow, to a spring thaw in less than 12 hours. I don't remember this happening last year!

I think there is something weather-related in all of our experiences that are making us aware of the damage that has been done to this planet. Vancouver gets 10cm of snow in one day, while Nova Scotia's latest "nor-easter" is going to turn into gentle rain. Hmmm...makes me scratch my head and think...how long will this planet really last? Maybe next winter the palm trees will start to sprout in PEI and there will be Blizzards in Mexico....

I hope not!!!

When you're alone.....

I've been observing my own behaviors over the past month, and have realized that there are many things that I do when I'm alone that I do not do when my husband is around.

A great example of this is my (almost obsessive) methodical repeated checks of my favorite websites. When my husband is around, I may check my email once a day...facebook maybe once ever 2 days...and favorite video production sites once a week. With him away, I'm checking all of the above at least 5-6 times a day. Always in the same order...and now that I've started this blog, I may include this in the loop of obsessive checking! :)
I suppose this is an attempt to fill in those moments of anxiety or boredom...and I guess it works...so no harm done.

Another thing I've been doing while I'm alone is reading in the bathtub. I have done this with my husband around, but not to this extent. I believe that I have been having a minimum of an hour long bath every night, and always with a book in my hand. In the month that my man has been away, I have finished 3 Steven King novels (Duma Key, The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three) and I am now working on the 4th one (The Wastelands). Again, no harm done as I am reinforcing my reading skills, and I smell REALLY GOOD!!! :)

I guess the other thing that I have been doing, is SINGING....oh my....
I have mp3's from my favorite musicals on my computer, and they have been playing on a loop. I am dancing around the house singing along to songs from Rent, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors....*sigh* I wonder if I sound good to anyone but myself. I would say no harm done, but I cannot speak for my poor pets who have extra sensitive ears! :(

So why do I choose to write this, well, I don't think anyone will read this for one thing, and I'm looking at it as a journal, one which is written for me. But I figure maybe I'll start to enjoy this, and maybe my husband can read my "blog" while he's away, for updates on my innermost thoughts? lol
We'll see.....