Monthly Archives: December 2011

Whatcha Readin’ 2011 Edition

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So, I’m fairly certain the last book I listed for 2011 will be finished in the next two days, so it’s probably safe to assume this is my book list for 2011. As you may notice (compared to years past; see the Books tab for details), the introduction of the Kindle has sped up my reading considerably. Well, that and the fact that I tend to have downtime at work where I can read on my iPhone in stealth mode. 😀 THANK YOU KINDLE APP!

So I give you, without further ado, my 2011 book list:

New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
Birth of a Killer (The Saga of Larten Crepesley) – Darren Shan
Rant – Chuck Palahniuk
Fiet’s Vase and Other Stories of Survival, Europe 1939-1945 – Alison Leslie Gold
A Matter of Taste – Fred Saberhagen
Ur – Stephen King
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Under the Dome – Stephen King
A Question of Time – Fred Saberhagen
Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher
Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
Misery – Stephen King (reread)
Séance for a Vampire – Fred Saberhagen
Pygmy – Chuck Palahniuk
The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
Storm Front – Jim Butcher
A Sharpness on the Neck – Fred Saberhagen
American Gods – Neil Gaiman
Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula – R. H. Greene
Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
The Devil You Know – Mike Carey
Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
A Coldness in the Blood – Fred Saberhagen
Ocean of Blood – Darren Shan
Horns: A Novel – Joe Hill
Full Dark, No Stars – Stephen King
One for the Money – Janet Evanovich
Stranger than Fiction – Chuck Palahniuk
The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pullman
Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
Club Dead – Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris
Fool Moon – Jim Butcher
Vicious Circle – Mike Carey
Needful Things – Stephen King (reread)
The Vampire Diaries – The Awakening – L.J. Smith
Dead as a Doornail – Charlaine Harris
Grave Peril – Jim Butcher
Dead Men’s Boots – Mike Carey
The Vampire Diaries – The Struggle – L.J. Smith
A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
The Vampire Diaries – The Fury – L.J. Smith
All Together Dead – Charlaine Harris
A Clash of Kings – George R.R. Martin
From Dead to Worse – Charlaine Harris
A Storm of Swords – George R.R. Martin
Dead and Gone – Charlaine Harris
A Feast for Crows – George R.R. Martin
Dead in the Family – Charlaine Harris
A Dance with Dragons – George R.R. Martin
Dead Reckoning – Charlaine Harris
Self-Made Man: One Woman’s Year Disguised as a Man – Norah Vincent
Summer Knight – Jim Butcher
Thicker than Water – Mike Carey
Frankenstein – Mary Shelly
Nightmares and Dreamscapes – Stephen King (reread)
11/22/63 – Stephen King
Death Masks – Jim Butcher
Looking for Alaska – John Green
The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman
The Naming of the Beasts – Mike Carey
Deryni Rising – Katherine Kurtz
Blood Rites – Jim Butcher
Drowning Ruth – Christina Schwartz
Palace of the Damned – Darren Shan
Deryni Checkmate – Katherine Kurtz
Riding the Bullet – Stephen King (reread)
The Help – Kathryn Stockett

What are YOU reading? Post up your faves here or ask me about my reading list. Book nerds unite!

What I’m Watching

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So, somewhere into the new TV season (the line is so blurred now I have no real idea where it starts) here’s what I’m watching of the new releases so far:

Grimm: I LOVE this show. It’s like Harry Dresden as witch hunter. LOVE IT.

Once Upon a Time: Love this too. I’m intrigued as to how they’re going to work a second season into this, so we shall see. Deliciously good so far, though.

Suburgatory: Yeah, yeah, I know. I was hoping it was more Emma Stone in Straight A, but I’m holding out hope. It has some snarky funny moments, still.

The New Girl: I think I’ve finally given up the ghost on this one. I love Zooey Deschanel, but her doe-eyed innocence does not save this at all. It’s too much, IMHO.

Happy Endings: Surprisingly, this one cracks me up. A lot. Watched it on a whim, and settled in for the season. I like it.

Ongoing shows I’m watching:

Okay, I know, these aren’t “new” shows, but they are shows that have withstood the test of time, and I’m still tuned in:

Parks and Recreation: This cracked me up from day one, but now that I work for the government? Oh yeah, epic funny.

The Office: I LOVE THIS SHOW. If you’ve ever worked in Corporate America, you get it. Too funny.

House: I’m kind of over this one, but I loved the first four seasons and have committed to going down with the ship. The fact that Cuddy is nowhere to be found is a HUGE plus. God, I hate her.

That probably sums up my “regular TV viewing”. What are YOU watching?

How to be a Government Employee 101

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As many of you know, I recently went from being an accountant in the public sector to government employment. Now, before any of you get any ideas, I want to make a few things perfectly clear: a) I LOVE my job, b) I LOVE my coworkers and c) I have learned a LOT, and quite honestly it’s no better or worse than my former job, just a whole hell of a lot different. Let me explain.

While I’d imagine a good number of you understand corporate bullshit, you have NO IDEA about government bullshit. It’s the same bull, but it’s been twice as long since they mucked out the stall.

That said, and maybe because that’s been said, I’ve discovered that government employees (at least in my experience, but maybe that’s because I’m in local government) will bend over backwards to help each other. Probably because a lot of us have gone the public to government route, and everyone remembers having to basically relearn everything. Because the rules are completely different, kids. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

Government is very interesting in that they have some VERY SERIOUS RULES about when shit has to be done, and VERY SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES if you don’t get it done, and done correctly…but they want YOU to wait until the last possible minute for them to provide you with the information you need to do it. (County government, I’m looking at YOU. And yes, I know the shit probably rolls downhill from the State, and downhill to there from the Feds, but there you go).

So, you end up extrapolating data based on theoretical numbers, and then, two days before you have to GET SHIT DONE, you get the real numbers and have to redo EVERYTHING.

Okay, I’ll admit, I have 90% of the work done, it’s just a matter of plugging in the new number, but do they not realize how MANY different forms I have to fix this on? It’s not that it’s a lot of WORK, but it’s a DAMN lot of CHECKING. And double checking. And triple checking. Because if you screw up ONE number, you’re hosed. (And this is where the lovely helpful government people come in. THANK GOD for them, or I’d be drooling in a corner right now. You know who you are. Thank you).

That said, there were days too when I wanted to bash Corporate America over the head with a two-by-four, and this is basically the same thing. It really does take at least one year in government work before you get a feel for what is going on, because you have to go through all the processes and figure it out before you can feel like you’ve got a handle on things. So I’m halfway there. I’ve got budgeting and mill levies and end-of-year resolutions down pat, now. Next up…ELECTIONS!

Stay tuned, people. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a big ‘ol rant come March. Just sayin’.