Borders: A Tribute

They were one of my favorite places to hang out before the movies. My best friend and I went several times together to browse and learn more about each other's favorite things to read. She went through the fantasy area while I was found in the Music History or Women's Studies selections. I bought my first feminist book there and made it a tradition until last Friday to buy all my feminism books from Borders.

The employees I talked to (both at my job and on  my days off) were nice and friendly. Contrary to popular thought, Borders wasn't staffed with rude jerks. I never had a terrible experience there. I liked that it always smelled freshly-painted for so long. Don't know why the last thing is interesting, but had to mention it (at least, for the location I frequented).

They were great competition for Barnes & Noble. Borders was the laid-back, on-the-porch-storytelling sibling to the sophisticated and sitting-by-the-fire-during-a-cold-winter coziness of B&N. They sometimes had books that the other didn't have. Contrary to popular thought (again), we never eyed each other suspiciously across the way. If anything, we always high-fived each other for staying around for so long in the lieu of the e-reader boom and the economy.

Sure, their CDs were ridiculously expensive and their member's program never made sense (to me, at least). But I never went there for those reasons and never held it against them.

~

To all the employees, I wish you nothing but the best as you work your last days. May there be a new job awaiting you at the end, along with benefits and good pay. If Barnes & Noble builds more stores and starts hiring for them, we hope you join us, if you want to. As we B&N employees watch our competition and compadres fade into history, we are not cheering. It is a sign of the economy. And nothing worries people more than lost jobs that will never be found or reincarnated.  As this year churns on with more uncertainy, and the debt issues continue to drag out, we sometimes worry "will we be next?"

We all don't know. Such is the uncertainty of life.

Farewell, Borders. You were more than another bookstore. You were fellow booksellers doing the same thing under a different system and coats of red paint. Thanks for everything you have done for your local communities and loyal customers.

Borders
1971-2011

Things That Happened While I Was Not Posting...

in bullet list form for easier reading!

• I had a serious wake-up call about my current job last week. Now, I'm on the search for a new, full-time job. 
• Haven't studied the GRE completely in about two weeks. Good thing I have almost two months to study...
• I have considered never posting on Twitter again. Unless a long stretch of my life suddenly gets exciting.
• I saw Driftless Pony Club at a show and got their EP Expert autographed. They're great live.
• Got a metric ton of Women's Studies books from Borders, since they're going out of business.

  Speaking of the last thing, I have avoided the topic of bringing up who exactly I work for. Honestly, I wanted to avoid getting fired for saying bad things. It is time, in lieu of Borders's closing, to reveal. But for those who have read the few times I mentioned it and put the pieces together, it is probably easy.
  I work for Barnes & Noble. I have been there for almost five years (this coming November). Thanks to this job, I have met so many great writers from all over the country. Had fun experiences with customers and co-workers. It was a wonderful place to work while I was in college. But it is time to move on.
  I need full-time, consistent employment. In this economy, that is a hard thing to find. There has to be something there that will fit me.

  And that is what transpired in the last week or so. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna make some more posts to make up for the lack of them...

Things I Learned Listening to My Music Collection

I'm honestly bankrupt on blog post ideas, so here are some insightful/mostly-goofy thoughts I tweeted while listening to all my music for the Top 50 list I'm planning... and yes, the title is the hashtag I used (for all but a few).

• I'm being haunted by King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man". The trick is figuring out whether that's a good thing or not. 
• "Poppies" by Patti Smith is awesome.  
• Crystal Stilts: how to imitate Joy Division correctly. 
• Tom Petty is the best of all my Southern relatives put into one person.
• Fleetwood Mac's Mystery to Me gets better with each listen. It may rival Tango in the Night, like big time. 
• No Steve Miller, I wasn't expecting you to be a space cowboy. 
• Bob Welch-led Fleetwood Mac kicked major ass.
• I am a secret fan of King Crimson. Did not know that. 
• Hoshit, A Silent Film = Editors + Keane 
• The Weepies made me realize that I rarely enjoy low-tempo pop. 
• Unlike the chick in Jerry Harrison's "Rev It Up", I can't steer with my knees.
• Neutral Milk Hotel is still weird. And the lead guy reminds me of Jonathan Richman.
• Nope, still don't like the Eagles. "Hotel California" is pretty good, though.
• Franz Ferdinand's debut album is actually excellent, despite my initial thoughts.
• Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has aged well.  
• Bruce Springsteen is actually excellent, despite my initial thoughts. 
• Steely Dan's last two albums try too hard to be Aja 2.0. And FAIL. 

~
I'm betting half of y'all will be going "LOL no1curr".

And I'll respond with this and end it:

original from here

It's that old-time meme feeling...

From Music Memoirs, the blogmistress asks us (a week ago) to list:
"Top 5 songs or albums from the first half of 2011"

This may be a hint at my end-of-the-year list, but hey! Here we go:

1. Mondo Amore by Nicole Atkins (standout track: "Hotel Plaster")
2. Salt on Sea Glass by If By Yes (standout track: "Eliza")
3. Verdugo Hills by Caroline (standout track: "Swimmer")
4. Fluorescence by Asobi Seksu (standout track: "Deep Weird Sleep")
5. Zonoscope by Cut Copy (standout track: "Sun God")

Aaaaand the ladies take over the top 4! Whoo!

A brief note

Things have gone upside for me in the last week or so. This is why I haven't updated since the Reading Challenge review. I plan on unleashing more reviews upon this fair site, along with the usual posts of randomness y'all have come to enjoy(?).

On a side note, I ordered the English versions of Haruki Murakami's two earliest novels. And yes, I'll be reading those for the Challenge. Awesome!

Either way, I will see y'all next week.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011: Book Review 1 of 5

South of the Border, West of the Sun
By Haruki Murakami
Barnes & Noble link

*Note: this is the first of five reviews for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge*

When it comes to writing about lost love in an earnest tone, Haruki Murakami delivers in spades. If you need further evidence, please consult Sputnik Sweetheart and Norwegian Wood. He writes another story of lost love, and this time, there is nothing that stand between the two... well, except the two. Lovers go to battle with their own demons in South of the Border, West of the Sun.

Hajime, a middle-aged man, has a wonderful life: a loving wife, two adorable daughters, two successful jazz clubs, and riches that one could only dream of. And yet, his heart and mind are on a long-lost friend, a woman named Shimamoto. Years pass without them seeing each other, maybe never again. A series of strange events, including Hajime seeing Shimamoto and following her throughout the city (which them leads to a guy paying him to stop following her), have them finally meet up. But, after years of living between their last union, Shimamoto is carrying her own secrets.

The characters are a mix of interesting and surprisingly bland. Hajime's only interests are reading and listening to music, which make up for his otherwise... dull-as-dishwater personality. Though, in the beginning, he ends up showing a semblance of self-awareness:

That ultimately  I am a person who can do evil. I never consciously tried to hurt anyone, yet good intentions notwithstanding, when necessity demanded, I could be completely self-centered, even cruel. I was the kind of person who could, using some plausible excuse, inflict on a person I cared for a wound that would never heal.

-page 48 of the book

Even with that, Hajime doesn't seem to learn from his own reflections (see: his confessed affairs while his wife was pregnant). While having the same interests, Shimamoto is more interesting. Then again, we didn't read about most of her life. Hajime is hiding nothing, not even his honest (yet despicable) confessions.

Hajime and Shimamoto try to reignite that flame, but their mortal enemies (themselves and their problems) prevent it. He is afraid of hurting others just to get what he wants, while she has hidden issues keeping her from getting close. It is sad yet human. We all come along with baggage, even if your life was ideal. Yet, there comes a time to either let it all get lost in Baggage Claim forever; or, set it aside and give your shoulders a rest and asset what you've been carrying around for so long. Both characters are going for the former approach.

Shimamoto's life remains a mystery. Why can't she give herself fully to Hajime? From all the little details about her clothing and jet-setting-like lifestyle, my guess is she is either married to a wealthy man (e.g., Yakuza) or is a high-class prostitute. Even if she had one of those things going for her, couldn't she say "screw it" and just do whatever she wanted? Or did something else happen? We'll never know and guessing only leads to more confusion.

Even with the rich details of the nature of relationships and how problems plague people, this remains my least favorite Murakami novel. Maybe I was expecting more to transpire. There was much satisfaction to knowing how Hajime is, but knowing absolutely nothing about Shimamoto seems unfair. But the one-sided perspective is possibly the point: Hajime talks about himself so damn much that we (and he) never really pay attention. Or that, when we read beyond his words, see what he's observing and not commenting on, we learn the truth. Dramatic Irony 101 right there.

South of the Border, West of the Sun is a good read into the nature of men and women, but offers only that. Why should we expect advice? Human nature doesn't come with instructions.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: all bold quotes are from the novel and were written by the author himself. Those words are not my own.

Minor updates on the cruelty-free front...

• The Body Shop's shampoo and conditioner is becoming less and less great with each usage. Seeing great results from the acne treatment and hand sanitizers. Body wash is so-so. Due to expenses, may avoid everything else but what I ended up liking.
• Alba Botanica and Jason have great deodorants. They work very well and don't leave stains on my shirts.
• No luck yet on finding great body mists. The search continues...
• Found a great body wash: Kiss My Face Anti-Stress (smelling like pine trees and ginger). Doesn't last very long in the shower, but will try again.

Even though I'm going cruelty-free on beauty and personal products, I'm not going vegetarian. It is honestly something I cannot do. I rarely do eat red meat, but I can't live without my fish and chicken.

No Leaping Bunny guide yet. Will continue to update.