This has been a trying week. I am SO EXCITED that we are getting a receptionist for real next week at work! YAY YAY YAY!!! Now i don't have to be three people at once anymore! It will still be a difficult couple of weeks since the general manager will be in Aruba (she really needs it), but i won't be the only person answering the phones :)

Good news: I found a great book club! I finally got around to picking up the book last Thursday (the meeting was on Tuesday) and the book... well, it's White Noise by Don Delillo, which is the worst piece of utter crap if have read in a while. Not only is it trite and tries to be "deep," it's also a transparent, heavy-handed, sexist, racist, classist propaganda post-modern wanna-be. Now, i'm forgiving about almost all the previous offenses in literature. Usually, an author manages to transmit the notion of a flawed and not trustworthy narrotor in a first-person narrative (which this is), but Delillo did nothing of the sort. No context criticism whatsoever. I'm even OK with the narrative being generally alienating until the final 100 pages. But if one doesn't manage to be at least ironic and witty in one's offenses, don't bother me. I don't want to read you.

Needless to say, i was apprehensive about the meeting.

I thought to myself, "self, what if these people liked this book?" My only saving grace was that i knew they all could have done what i did: look at the back of the book, read all the reviews, and think, "hey, this looks pretty cool." So i went. I dreaded it, but i went. It was in Cambridge -- just across the river from us, so i drove. It was cold. It has been all week. No daily walks from South Station to work for me. When i got there, two of the members were standing outside because the door was locked, and no one was coming to the door. Finally, one came out to rescue us. She hadn't heard the doorbell.

We all put down our coats on the couch and put on some water for tea to warm the soul and lungs. And then it happened -- instant clicking on all parts. There were a couple women my age, one probably 6 or 7 years older, and a gentleman in his 30's somewhere as well. We drank our tea. We ate cheese and chocolate. We retired to the dining room for our purpose: to discuss the book.

Fortunately, we all hated it! With the exception of one, but she hadn't gotten very far into it (i, however, was turned off by page two), but she had good reasons for liking it. Our conversation was stirring. Not necessarily as charged in the political realm as i was hoping, however everyone generally agreed with me on most counts, and everyone was generally well read and intelligent. I had a great time, and i was so relieved! The books we wanted to pick out for future meetings were all agreed upon, varying in type, time period, classic status or lack there-off. The next book we read is The Davinci Code. I'm excited.