Book Exchange

First, I want to write that at Trader Joe supermarket yesterday my total came to $8.88. The cashier remarked on this, that it's a lucky # in China. I said, "Yes, I lived there 2 years ago." He said his mom was born there, his grandma in Hong Kong, and his great grandmother in Macau. If he hadn't said, I wouldn't have thought him to look half-Chinese but then I could see it. While there, the song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" played :). Reminded me of my very brief sejour in San Fran last fall. Thought it fitting, playing in a Cali-based supermarket.

After lunch, I decided to read another French short story and take a nap. I was falling asleep with the light on, so figured a nap wouldn't hurt. Woke up an hour later feeling yuck. Like, not well rested, dehydrated, kinda sick. Don't you hate when you feel you deserve a nap then it makes you feel worse? I held the ladder while my dad cleaned out our gutters. Then I left for a meetup book exhange (my first time). It was a group of introverted ladies but conversation flowed more after we described our books. I felt slightly like a cop-out b/c in my mad dash to bring a novel there, I chose a book I hadn't read, at least I don't think so. It's Frances Mayes' (R-MWC grad!) "A year in the world." It's about her travels in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Greece, Turkey. I was relieved someone "took" it to read b/c it wasn't a great sell, ha. I was somewhat glad to hear the woman next to me is also living at home (she's older) and also experienced a downsizing at a job she hated. She knows now what field to pursue. I was going to pick a book about a fantasy world accessed thru a London tube portal (quite similar to the British movie I watched this morning where the main character leaves Jane Austen's time to arrive back in London via a porta-potty!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwhere Another woman beat me to it but that' ok. I picked Barbara Santana' "Between the Stars" about a young biracial woman in San Fran in the 60's (going back to beg. of post!). I really think parallels in life happen for a reason.