theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

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Archives for July 2018

Monthly Favorites | July

July 31, 2018 filed under: monthly favorites


1. I talked about the ice-cube tray that makes humongous ice cubes in my last Currently post and here it is. I actually bought this Houdini Ice Cube Tray* at Target, but couldn’t find a link to it. 

2. Hela Curry Ketchup *(Mild Sauce) is one of my favorite German items that I used to bring back from my visits back home, but which I can now buy here at the World Market (for a steep price, mind you, but it’s worth it). I usually mix it with mayo for a dip for fries, meat, or fish sticks.

3. I didn’t really need any more jeans in my closet, but after my other Old Navy skinny jeans ripped in the knee area (I guess, I could still wear them because ripped jeans are hip now), I saw these perfectly-colored, soft and stretchy CK Skinny Boyfriend Jeans* at Costco (of all places) and it was too good of a deal to pass up. Impulse purchases FTW.

4. I know it sounds ridiculous to be excited about a household item, but if you don’t have one of those stainless steel scrubbers* in your kitchen, I highly recommend you get one. I soak my Dutch oven, stainless steel pot, or ceramic pan for 5 minutes and then use the steel scrubber to scrub it clean. It’s so easy and effortless. You’ll love doing the dishes (ok, ‘maybe ‘love’ is taking it a little bit too far, but you know what I mean.)

5. After the spa treatment I treated myself to around my birthday (back in March), I bought this Dermalogica Multivitamin Thermafoliant* because I liked it when the skin therapist used it on my face and because I couldn’t say no. (Does that happen to anyone else?) But honestly, I am glad I caved, because this stuff is good. It smells nice, feels luxurious, and it heat-activated when it comes in contact with water, so it feels warm on the skin. I use it once a week (at night because it contains retinol) and it leaves my skin so smooth.

6. Caprese Salad. Need I say more? It’s summer and what else would you want to eat?

7. I’ve been running with Compression socks* more and I think I changed my mind about them. Initially, I didn’t really like the ‘tight’ feeling, but I think it was just something I needed to get used to. 

What was one of your favorite things this month?


* #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites.

 
 
 

6

Thinking Out Loud #22

July 26, 2018 filed under: Thinking out loud

+ This month has just been getting away from me. Anybody else feel this way? I mean, I literally blink and another month is gone and there is so much I want to do and there is always so little time. Argh. I don’t like feeling this way.

+ I am in a little bit of a blogging rut right now (can you tell?). It’s not that I don’t want to blog, but that except for some recurring posts, I don’t know what to write about.

+ Well, tbh, I have lots of things on my mind right now that I could write about, but I am either not ready to talk about them or haven’t had time to actually put anything down on (digital) paper.

+ Do you sell clothing at consignment stores sometimes? I sat at a Crossroads Trading Co. for 1,5 hours last weekend to get rid off some clothing, and then this guy went through my bag and didn’t accept a single item. This is not the first time it happened and the ‘excuses’ are so ridiculous (“not in style”, “not in good enough condition”, “we’re not taking stuff from Target, Old Navy, etc.”), especially if I see some of basically the same clothing on their shelves/hangers (and yes, from brands like Target and Old Navy, which only 2-3 of my items where from, BTW). I really only take the stuff to a consignment store that is in near perfect condition (everything else goes straight to Goodwill), but I had really, really bad luck at this consignment store and I think I won’t go back there. What do you do with your dispensable clothing items? Is Ebay still a thing people do? I haven’t had much luck with Poshmark.

+ We’re currently obsessed with Jack’s Urban Eats right now. It’s a Northern California local chain restaurant, self-describing as “jack’s  [/jax/ noun] 1. An urban cafeteria, serving award winning, farm fresh, affordable meals in a hip and laidback atmosphere”. Their food is absolutely delicious and tell me where else you can get a huge (build-your-own) salad for $8.50 ($11.50-$12 with meat) these days? (Pictured above.) They also have fantastic sandwiches.

+ This week I’ve been thinking a lot about our budget. I like crunching numbers and I enjoy the budgeting process, but it can also be frustrating if you’re trying to set priorities and numbers don’t add up the way you’d like. Good thing is that this month I get a third paycheck. Is anybody else on a bi-weekly pay schedule like me? I used to get paid bi-monthly before I switched employers and I thought I wouldn’t like the bi-weekly pay schedule, but I must say, I am actually happy about it now. It’s easy to trick your brain into thinking it’s extra money (which, of course, it really is not. I wish).

+  I’ve switched out my coffee mug at work and I swear coffee tastes better out of a new mug. I don’t care what you think.

I am linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud again.

6

Currently | July

July 23, 2018 filed under: currently

EXCITED ABOUT | seeing my giraffe friends on my weekend runs around the neighborhood. I run by our local zoo and the giraffes always peek over the fence and it just makes my day.

READING | A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

LOVING | the opportunity to run with my friend Susi this month.

WEARING | my Birkenstock sandals. All day, every day.

EATING |  Perfect Bars* (well, really just 2-3x per week). I love these protein bars so much. I’ve tried many, but these are the best by far. What are your favorites?

DRINKING | Iced water. I am usually not a big fan of iced water (I prefer room-temperature), but I got this cool new ice-cube tray that makes these humongous ice cubes and it cools down the water just enough for it to be refreshing, but not hurt my throat when I am drinking it.

WATCHING | 90-day fiancé*. Oh boy, I just need something to distract myself from the misery that is the news these days. This show is miserable, too, but in a different, more entertaining, less depressing way. Haha.

MAKING | space by taking stuff to the consignment store and Goodwill. I made some progress in my closet and 2nd bedroom and it feels good to get rid off some stuff. Can this still be considered spring cleaning? No? Ok, fine.

ENJOYING | evening walks with J at the park.

THINKING | that I’d really love it if summer breaks were mandatory for adults, too!

LOOKING FORWARD TO | the SF marathon*. (Well, I’ll be running the half, but still.) I can’t believe it’s that time again. It’s going to be fun!

TRYING | free items at the supermarket. Do you use the Safeway app*? They offer free items to try every once in a while and last week, I got $6 guac for free.

What’s up with you currently?


* #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites.

14

July Link Love

July 18, 2018 filed under: link love

 

Around the Interwebs

American life is becoming one long, daily, repeated exercise in trauma.

18 gmail settings that will change how you think about your inbox.

What your ability to handle horror movies says about you. No, thank you, I don’t need that kind of stress in my life and I don’t care what it says about me.

This made me think of you, Kate. It’s time to say goodbye to topsheets for good. (FYI, they’ve never been a thing in Germany.)

8 things to do on your way to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The power of positive people. Are you one of them?

 

Around the blogosphere

Airing of grievances (or husband and wife pet peeves). Thank you Bridget for always being real. That was hilarious.

Getting the garden you always wanted.

Jenna always has great tips on what to do around here. What to Do in Northern California in July.

Cool Trick: Multiplying by nine on two hands. 

 

Craftiness

10 step-by-step summer doodles for your bullet journal.

How to add a built-in bra to clothing. Has anyone tried this before? Does that work for larger chested ladies?

 

Deliciousness

We made a slightly adapted version of this tortellini recipe this week and it was delicious!

Easy black bean burger. Yum.

Perfect for summer! Refreshing Orange Pineapple Popsicles.

Healthy Cherry Chicken Salad.

 

Share a good link with me in the comments!

5

Recap | 10k Davis M00-nlight Run 2018

July 17, 2018 filed under: fitness, linkup, running

The Davis Moo-nlight Run might be one of my favorite races. It’s local, it’s an evening race and it’s just so much fun. I also have a sweet spot for Davis (what can I say? It’s where J and I met many, many moons ago.)

After I had to DNS at last year’s race, I was so happy and excited to run it again this year. Even more excited because my friend Susi had signed up to run with me and then my friend Nelli (and her friend Laura) signed up literally the night before to also join us for this fun evening race with glowing swag.

The race goes through a residential neighborhood in East Davis but the start and finish lines are in an industrial part of town, which means there is plenty of easy (and free) parking. J and I arrived about 2,5 hours before race start, so we could meet up with Susi, get something small to eat and pick up our race-packet. Then we met up with the other girls, used the restrooms, warmed up and gathered at the start line.

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This race includes a 5k, 10k, and half-marathon loop course and a half-mile fun run for kids under 12. The Davis Moo-nlight Race is the final race in Part One of the NorCal Tour de FIT series, four races over the course of 6 months (that’s why the medal looks so weirdly piece-of-pie-shaped this year, because if you run all four races, the four medals interlock into one super-sized medal).

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I personally haven’t participated in all four events, but I might consider it in the future. I thought the medal was pretty cool though and the t-shirt was also pretty fun again this year.

1197 people had signed up for this race, 1175 actually finished this year.

The half marathon started at 7:00 p.m., the kids fun run started at 7:30 p.m. and the 5k and 10k races started together at 8:15 p.m. They pushed the start time back a bit, because summers in Davis are hot and temperatures become a little bit more bearable when the sun goes down. It was still close to 90F when we started.

They changed the course around a little bit and I liked it a lot. It went through some neighborhood parks and was varied enough to not get boring. And temperatures really started to drop quite a bit after the first couple of miles.


{Official race photo – it was too good not to get it. I am smiling!}

J was waiting for us at the finish line and he took some photos when we were coming in. We high-fived, got some water, and then wandered the post-race expo. We collected our awesome medals and then picked up a well-earned pint of beer and some snacks. The medals were an extra $5 upon registration, but all runners deserve medals. Scientific fact! And these ones have a cow on it (Moo-nlight – get it?) and glow in the dark. I mean!

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It was a fun race and I really enjoyed running it with Susi. Even though she said that she hadn’t really been training for the distance, I was thrilled that she wanted to run this race with me. We settled for some running – walking – intervals and that worked out well. Not every race is about a PR, but about the experiences and fun with friends. The whole atmosphere was so energizing that it even inspired my (non-running!) husband to consider signing up for the 5k next year. Say what?  (← I am putting this in writing so people can hold him to it!).

Here are the Davis Moo-nlight Run Pros & Cons:

Pros:

+ It’s local!

+ It’s very well well organized.

+ There is plenty of  free parking. 

+ They have easy race day packet pick up 

+ The course was a mix of street and green belt through East Davis.

+ Great course markings + cheerful volunteers!

+ Great tech shirt.

+ Instant results checking after race.

Cons:

+ No medals for 5k and 10k participants (unless you pay an extra $5 for a finisher medal – which I am glad I did though!)

+ No free race photos

+ Relatively small expo.

+ Only 2 water-stops for the 10k (I am glad I brought my water bottle along this time).

I know the heat is what most people complain about in regards to this race, but it doesn’t bother me too much.  It’s probably not a PR race course for most people because of the heat, but the cool swag and evening race atmosphere makes up for it, IMHO.

Do you do races just for fun sometimes? How about evening races?

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I am linking up with Marcia Erika, and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run.

18

On social media and sponsored content

July 12, 2018 filed under: blog stuff


Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

Have you ever recommened or reviewed something on your blog? Have you tagged brands, friends, and places on Instagram? Have you ever thought twice about it?

The other week, I posted my ‘Monthly Favorites”. It’s been a regular post on my blog for a while and it’s one of my favorite posts to write. Not because it’s life-changing content (it isn’t), but because I simply love sharing the good stuff with you guys. And I appreciate when you share the good stuff with me, too. That’s what friends do.

However, I read something last week that made me stop and contemplate if it is ok to just “recommend” (and link) things on my blog and social media anymore. There are so many rules now.

Just to be clear, I am not making money of this blog (or other social media platforms) and I have never posted anything because I was asked to post a review or because I was offered something in return.

I have shared referral links in the past, but I always disclosed that they were referral links (where you and I might get a small incentive to try a service), but I want to emphasize again: those were never direct cooperations with the companies of these products. I wasn’t asked to pass them out, in fact, you’re not really supposed to “advertise” them, but only give them to friends and family. If you’re a customer, those referral links are automatically given out so you can spread the word if you’re happy with the services/goods they’re providing. That is also how mouth-to-mouth propaganda works.

So, what about sponsored content?

According to what I googled and read about the topic (and I honestly hadn’t really thought too much about it before), there only is a need to disclose that you’re writing/posting sponsored content when you actually have a relationship with a specific brand or company, which means you get paid or compensated to talk about them and share their products. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an endorsement guide about disclosing a material connection between advertisers and endorsers. 

If there’s a connection between an endorser and the marketer that consumers would not expect and it would affect how consumers evaluate the endorsement, that connection should be disclosed.

It specifically says that if you have no business relationship with a product or business that you’re promoting, you don’t have to disclose. It also says that if you’re including links to product marketers or to retailers as a convenience to your readers, but are not getting paid for them, then there isn’t anything to disclose.*

Phew. Ok. That seems logical and reasonable, right? 

Well, hold your horses.

Here’s what’s happening in Germany.

I am bringing this up, because I’ve recently become aware that, apparently, the EU (in general, and Germany in particular) has been going a little bit crazy lately with privacy laws, copyright restrictions, and yes, also covert advertisement warnings.

I’ve read that people (sorry, this is in German, but maybe you can use Google Translate to get the gist) got sued (or run the risk of being sued) for tagging places or companies in their Instagram pictures, because they didn’t label them as “advertisement”, even though they only shared it for fun and were not affiliated or compensated for anything.

I heard that some even got sued for tagging a friend — a FRIEND! — on Instagram, because it was suspected (with no factual basis, as far as I know)  that the friend “compensated” them to do so.

This is a little bit insane.

Who is affected? 

So far, it looks like the people that were targeted had larger follower numbers and had posted sponsored content before. The (maybe false) assumption is that if you posted sponsored content once, everything going forward is potentially sponsored content.  So, while these new “rules” mainly target influencers, it pretty much has all German bloggers and social media users currently in a tizzy because everybody is confused and worried about how to use social media “correctly” in order to not get sued. I mean, as if the GDPR wasn’t enough already.

It also raises a few questions for me: When exactly is someone considered an influencer? Just exactly how many followers do I have to have to be considered an influencer? I am assuming that people with large followings are looked at first, but who says that you can’t have a ‘professional looking’ Instagram account and many, many followers without posting any ‘sponsored’ content? This is where the line gets blurry and where the grey zone begins.

I think the rule should simply be (and apparently is in the US right now) that you have to disclose if it IS sponsored content, you don’t have to disclose if you bought something with your own money and just recommend it to your followers. Period.

But the recent cease-and-desist warnings in Germany have practically led people to label EVERYTHING as advertisement (just to be on the safe side), even if they haven’t been compensated, are not affiliated with a brand, and have not been asked to mention a product, restaurant, place, or friend (← still can’t get over this one!).

I’ve been seeing all these (German) Instagram posts now that have a disclaimer at the beginning of each and every post that something is Werbung (advertisement) (as it should be), but also that something isn’t Werbung (Werbung ohne Auftrag – advertisement without contract).

Labeling everything as advertisement can’t be the answer.

If everything is labeled as ‘advertisement’ now, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of actually making real advertisement stand out to the audience? Doesn’t it mean that the desired distinction between sponsored and not-sponsored posts is being lost?

It seems like you can’t do anything on the Internet anymore without running the risk of being sued.  I understand that covert advertising and sharing content without proper credit or disclosure are a big no-no (as they should be), but this is going a little bit too far.

I mean think about it, why is it ok to wear a t-shirt with a big brand logo in public, but you can’t wear the same t-shirt in a picture because you’re running the risk of being accused of advertising for the company? How often do we recommend something to a friend or co-worker, share where we bought a piece of clothing or home decor, or, or, or… . We should probably walk around with a #advertisement sign around our necks because that kind of advertising happens all the time. 

Technically, these are all endorsements that encourage someone to go buy that same thing from that brand. The difference is that we’re not compensated for this kind of recommendation and I don’t think we shouldn’t be punished for it either. 

A word of caution

I went back and purposefully looked through my Instagram again and I must say there are a ton of posts where people tag brands and companies, restaurants, cafés and places (me included) and there is no mentioning of advertisement (because I assume you, like me, don’t have sponsored content or otherwise you disclose it).

I assume that people, like me, tag on Instagram because this is what social media is for:  we share because we like something and tag as a convenience to our readers. (Not sure how often I have been asked about an item or place in my pictures, so why not include the information from the get-go?)

However, I’ve definitely also seen posts that potentially *could* be sponsored posts and which are not properly labeled. I am not trying to stir up a discussion, it’s just something that I am more aware of now and maybe you should be, too. The FTC is not taking this to the level of Germany (yet), but there are rules in place that people should know about.  If you are working with a company, make sure you’re on the right side, legally-speaking. (This article explains how to properly disclose sponsored content.)

I really hope that they’re getting a grip on these issues in Germany. I am all for protecting consumers and understand the need for clear rules and regulations, but if bloggers and Instagrammers are becoming the targets of lawsuits for merely showing a product or tagging a company or place that they’re not in any way affiliated with or compensated for, I am asking myself if these so-called “consumer protectors” are bored out of their minds or if they’re just after money?

This is a ramble. I don’t know if total transparency on the world wide web is possible, but I can’t imagine that tagging everything as advertisement is a solution to this particular problem. As always: a few bad apples ruin the fun for everybody else.

Your thoughts?


* This is what I read and how I understood it. This is not legal advice. Educate yourself.

 

17

Real Life | Spending Summary 2018 – Q2

July 9, 2018 filed under: budgeting, finances

Here were are, at the end of the second quarter of this year and it’s time to look at our spending again.

If I compare to the first quarter, the spending has shifted a little bit. As I said in my earlier budget  post, these quarterly updates will show easily how spending varies throughout the year and why it’s so important to budget for your true expenses (e.g. save ahead for less frequent, but regular payments like insurance premiums that are due bi-annually or annually and also build up funds for unexpected expenses like a car repair).

I pulled this handy pie-chart out of YNAB*, the budgeting software I’ve been using for over 3 years now and which I have reviewed here. 

As a reminder: these are percentages based on money spent, not based on my (take-home) income.

 

If you recall, 29% of our spending went to car maintenance in Q1. Luckily, we had the funds for it. We didn’t have any car maintenance costs this quarter (hooray) but spent some more money on health & fitness related expenses. We also spent some money on travel, which is a much better use of my money, if you ask me.

Here is how it all broke down:

Home (31% – was 30% in Q1) – home expenses include mortgage/taxes, utilities, and maintenance cost and stayed around the same this quarter. 

Groceries (19% – was 13% in Q1) and Dining Out (8% – was 8% in Q1) – Our grocery spending went up just a little bit for the last three month if I look at the dollar amount, but it appears to be a larger percentage of our overall budget because of how other spending worked out. Our actual spending for dining out was lower, but the percentage stayed the same this quarter. I know that is a little bit confusing (at least to me) if you don’t look at the actual dollars spent.

Once again, groceries and dining out are still a larger chunk of our budget (26% of our overall spending this quarter) and I am still working on bringing this down, but man, it’s hard. We don’t have an Aldi in NorCal (I want to weep when I see what other people pay for their grocery hauls at Aldi) and I feel like we’re already shopping pretty smart and don’t waste any food. I also don’t want to eat rice and beans every night. Tips welcome.

Travel (13% – was 0% in Q1) – hooray! I happily spend some of our hard-earned money on travel and this quarter I was lucky to be able to attend my lovely friend‘s wedding in D.C., explore the city and meet up with another dear friend while I was there. Win-win and money well-spent! 

Health & Fitness (11% – was 4% in Q1) – we had a few health-related expenses, but this category also includes my gym membership and my running-related expenses (two race registrations this quarter).

Cable & Internet (6% – was 4% in Q1) – that expense pretty much stayed the same, just appears larger because of the way overall spending worked out.

Shopping & Misc. (3% – was 1%) – All the spending that doesn’t really fit into other categories, e.g. our identity guard monthly fee and other purchases.

Transportation (2% – was 2% in Q1) – spending stayed the same, mainly gas and parking fees. Thank God I don’t have a long commute.

Cellphone (2% – was 2% in Q1) – spending stayed the same.

Gifts (2% – was 2% in Q1) – birthdays, notecards, just because.

Household (2% – was 1% in Q1) – spending doubled due to replacing some household items we ran out off. (This is a category that varies throughout the year for sure.)

Personal Care (1% – was 2% in Q1) – This category includes all toiletry items, makeup, and haircuts. (I didn’t go to the Sephora this quarter, which helped. Ha.)

Clothing (1% – was <1% in Q1) –  yeah, still not spending much on clothing, but I did buy some new sandals and jeans.

Donations (<1% – was 0% in Q1) – I want to give more. End of story.

Overall, I am pretty happy with how this quarter went. Our spending is (mostly) in line with our priorities and we didn’t have any big unexpected expenses in the last three months. (We do have a minor repair pending on the house, but this will fall into next quarter because it hasn’t been completed yet.)

How did you feel about your spending in Q2? Did you meet your goals or did you have to deal with any unexpected expenses?


* This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by YNAB for mentioning their product. I just share it for transparency’s sake. However, the post does contain an affiliate link. If you feel like you need a budget software in your life, download the fully functioning trial version and give it a shot! If you like it, you can use this link to activate the software and we’ll both get a month free!

13

What I read in June

July 5, 2018 filed under: books

Solid month for me, 5 books in the books for my 2018 reading challenge. I am a little behind, but there is still a good chance I can make it.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (★★★★☆)

I love Kristin Hannah’s descriptive writing style, I am usually a fan of stories that tie up somewhat neatly in the end, but in this case, I would have traded the extended story in the last few chapters, for a bit more character development in the earlier part. This story is dense and heavy as is, set in the Alaskan wilderness and dealing with the erratic behavior of a POW veteran, who gets abusive with his wife and daughter. As you might know by now, I always get a little extra-critical when a mental health diagnosis is brought into a book just for “sensation-mongering”.

The story was compelling and kept me engaged, but for my liking, it packed a little bit ‘too much’ into the plot line. I mentioned that before in reference to other books. I happily trade a little bit more depth and focus on the story of a few characters than learning too much of every peripheral character in the book.

Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo (★★★★☆)

Set amidst the unstable political climate of Nigeria in the 1980’s, Yejide and her husband Akin find out that being a modern couple in Nigeria is not easy. After they met and fell in love at university, the two get married and old customs and family traditions expected them to start a family right away. When Yejide fails to get pregnant (which, of course, is blamed on her), the family pressures Akin to take on a second wife that will bear him children, even though Akin and Yejide had promised each other that they’d live a monogamous marriage. Their relationship is in danger of breaking under the societal pressures and their individual attempts to rectify the situation. Their story is heartbreaking and ultimately revealing about the many taboos that still can’t be discussed in this patriarchal society and it shows the desperate measures couples take when biology refuses to align with societal and personal expectations.

The girl with all the gifts by M.R. Carey (★★★☆☆)

“Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair.”  

I should have known that this book wasn’t really for me before I borrowed it, but when I initially read the summary, it wasn’t clear to me that I was going to enter a “The Walking Dead”-kind of scenario. I am not much of a fan of dystopian novels to begin with, so there was a little bit of eye-rolling going on when I realized what this book was about. The writing was compelling enough for me to finish the book (and I was kind of curious how it was going to end), but the plot itself was too far-fetched and gory for me.

Did you ever have a family by Bill Clegg (★★★★★)

June Reid’s life is turned upside down when she loses almost her whole family in a horrific fire. She decides to just get in her car and drive off and leave whatever is left of her life behind.
At first, I was a little bit annoyed by the ever-changing changes of narrators and time perspectives, because I felt like I couldn’t keep all the narratives straight, but the way Bill Clegg wove together this story of loss and resilience was nothing short of amazing and it all came together perfectly in the end. I could feel myself drawing a family tree in my head, connecting all the different characters, while I was reading the book.

Bill Clegg managed to emotionally connect you to all the different people in this story without giving one absolute priority over another and that is usually a hard thing to do without it feeling superficial or too discombobulated.

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday (★★☆☆☆)

To be quite honest, I just didn’t “get” this book. The description says “Asymmetry explores the imbalances that spark and sustain many of our most dramatic human relations: inequities in age, power, talent, wealth, fame, geography, and justice.” and while I can see how these concepts are part of the narrative of this book, I failed to see a coherent message.

The book is divided into three novellas: “Folly” tells us the story or Alice, a young editor, and her relationship with a much older renowned writer, Ezra Blazer. “Madness” tells us about Amar, an Iraqi-American, who gets detained by immigration officers in an airport on his way to the Middle East. The third part, “Ezra Blazer’s Desert Island Discs”, which is in form of an interview between a journalist and Esra Blazer, was supposed to connect the seemingly unrelated first two parts. The first and second novella had a “short story” feel to them and the only thing in common that I could see was that they’re set around the same time during the early years of the Iraq War. I failed to see the thread that connected the novellas and the third part didn’t really help either, so the book as a whole didn’t really make sense for me and I honestly had a hard time finishing it. I’d be curious of your thoughts if you’ve read it.

What was your favorite book last month? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.

18

Hello July

July 3, 2018 filed under: about me

I guess I shouldn’t start this month with the question of how it could possibly be July already. That would be ridiculous, right?  

But, just just in case you weren’t aware, the first 6 months of this year have vanished. Poof. Gone. It’s definitely summer here now in the Central Valley and we have the temperatures to prove it. I wish I had a nice, long summer break planned, but alas, I am holding on to my hard-earned vacation days with a tight fist. Are you planning a vacation this summer? Where are you going?

Here’s what’s happening this month:

+ If I can’t take a real vacation, I try to work with what I have. I am so thankful that I have a flexible work schedule and can pretty much move around my work hours as I please. So, I worked an extra day last week so I can take Thursday off, and with tomorrow being a holiday and Friday being my regular day off, I get a 5-day weekend. Woot!  

+ I’ll be running two races this month: I’ll run a just-for-fun 10k at the Davis Moo-nlight Race again and then the SF half marathon (for the third time) later this month. It’s going to be fun!

+ I am excited for a few books that I have lined up for this month and can’t wait to sit in the backyard this weekend to read and sip iced-coffee.

+ I will finish watching the FIFA World Cup although I haven given up on picking a ‘winning’ team, because this is the craziest World Cup in a while. So many of the favored teams have been knocked out one after another. I guess, we’ll find out which team can sneak their way to the title this year!

+ I had long-overdue phone call with a friend back home on Sunday and I am going to see my friend Susi this month, which I am happy about, because girlfriends make the world go round, am I right?

I guess I don’t have much more to say about this month. I am planning for more grilling, ice-cream, and relaxing when I can.

What will your July be like?

19

Hi, I am San – German native, dual-citizen living in beautiful Northern California. Runner. Knitter. Crafter. Reader. Writer. Proud aunt, sister, and friend.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and don’t intend to stop any time soon. If you are looking for personal content and making a  genuine connection, you’ve come to the right place.

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