Update

Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams

Yep it's Dilbert in a book. Incredibly funny in parts, incredibly lame and drawn out in others. In general I find Dilbert somewhat hilarious though and if you've ever worked in an office setting chances are you will be able to see yourself and coworkers in his comic strips and other rantings.

3 Stars

Weekend in Paris by Robyn Sisman

I loved the descriptions of Molly's first impressions of the city of Paris and the fact that she visited alot of the same places that we went (ie. Jardin du Luxembourg). My experience in the city was in spring and not in what I'm guessing was fall when she was there. The actual story was pretty lack lustre. Yes I know it's chicklit but I still have standards. I can think for myself and would like to have some figuring out to do rather than just waiting for her to figure out the guy is a jerk or meet her father.

3 Stars (only because it is in Paris)

In other news, I got my new car!! I love it. It is so much fun to drive and has a million different fancy things. Man is it nice to have a car with "fancy things" i. power locks... this car however has so much more than that.

My experience at Crowfoot MINI was amazing and if you ever are in the market ask for Divina she is the best. She knows her stuff but isn't pushy in the least. I had a not so good experience with another sales person there buit Divina rocks.

I did sell my Cobalt which was a little bittersweet since it was a good car to me. Really nothing was wrong with it I just wanted more. Oh and I found it! lol

I am going skiing this coming weekend which I am pretty pumped about, should be fun. Plus I made a bunch of progress this past week on my course material. I did about 2 chapters a day. Hopefully I will be ready for my exam when May 2 gets here!!

Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

This was a great book and very eye opening. Some parts were hard to read (ie. foot binding) but overall the story is of the powerful friendships that Chinese women would form with one another. This is an amazing story of friendship while still describing the life of rural China. A great book!

4 Stars

Car News...

It is with mixed feelings that I announce that I have sold my car. It has been a great little car to me but I want more. I took it through the car wash one last time today and it felt oddly nostalgic.
But in other news!! I bought a new car. A 2009 MINI Cooper and I get to pick it up on Thursday! Is it practical? Heck no! But that's what I have Ian and his Mazda3 for. :)

It will look something like this:

Yep I'm pretty stoked. It is so much fun to drive and corners amazingly. Yes I spent a bit more than I should of but oh well such is life!

Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

A slow start and a slow ending but a pretty good middle. Definilty not one of her better novels! It's told from the male perspective which is just fine. The only problem is the dragging at the beginning and the end.

I got quite caught up in the family dynamic and I was quite grateful that it wasn't as smutty as some of her others (ie. Wideacre trilogy or Wise Woman)

3 Stars

Misleading Advertising/Promotions

I am a graduate from the School of Business, I have a Management degree. I do understand the basic concepts of advertising and even the psychology of the consumer and blah blah blah. What annoys me to no end is the bait and switch tactic that leaves you feeling totally screwed.

A good deal is advertised so you go for it...oh you happened to choose the exception to the rule not the deal. But the idea that you are pulling the consumer in with one price associated with another product is ridiculous! Yes I read the fine print, numerous times but your fine print is misleading and refers to other fine print.

Also if the fine print is in relation to an asterisk next to something...don't you think it should be on the same page of the brochure???

Thankfully I am consumer savvy enough to realise that if a deal is too good to be true it usually is. It was. It annoys me nonetheless.

Something a Little Different

I am participating in a challenge on GoodReads that is intended to get you to read genres you wouldn't necessarily otherwise. It has worked! So far I have managed to squeeze something from my collection into one of the categories but this one was sitting on Ian's shelf and I gave it a shot.

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Why is this not my thing? Well to begin with it is a "graphic novel" which is in my opinion a glorified comic book. Yes it has more substance than Betty & Veronica or Archie & Jughead, but it is a comic book nonetheless.

The storyline is a man (the author?) interviewing his father to write a comic about his time in Nazi Germany. This book involves his father and mother running from the Nazis and tells of what life was like during Nazi occupation and once Jews (of which he is one) start being shipped off to the concentration camps.

Ofcourse it is somewhat disjointed since it keeps flipping back and forth from his father telling the story to the author and father and what they are actually doing (ie. going to the bank). This is the first ina series so I am sure that the other talk about life in the concentration camps and after as well. I won't be reading them to find out. Maybe if Ian had them on his shelf as well I would give them a shot since they are a super short read, but he doesn't so i will have live in wonder.

Another thing that bugged me about the book is how it was cutoff so severly. Yes I know this is a series but shouldn't there be some sort of closure? Or is it just a good number of pages? I digress...

My weekend

I went to a workshop on saturday to help me prepare for the first exam I need to write to get my CHRP (Canadian Human Resources Professional) designation. I was glad I went since it really helped me narrow in on the other things that I should focus on studying for the upcoming exam that is May 3 or 4th.

Sunday we went skiing and it was amazing. The hill had about 24cm of fresh snow and it snowed all day so powder galore. My legs are certainly feeling it today but that is a good thing. It was awesome!

I also did a bunch of reading as you can see below...


Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

This book is set circa WWI and tells the story of a woman whose sister dies. As the book progresses the circumstances surrounding such become more and more suspect.

I didn't care for the storytelling style of jumping around from point of views and also periods in time. The story itself was pretty good though.

3 Stars


If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

In order to read this book you need a pretty strong stomach for domestic violence. It is the memoir of Janine Latus whose sister was murdered by her abusive boyfriend. Reading the book though you see that the family history is quite troubled and Amy (the murdered sister) is not the only one who is subject to horrific abuse. This book was absolutley riveting and horrifying (in a repulsive sort of way) all at the same time.

4 Stars