Flowers

Tonight was my final meeting at the committee of a local charity, where I've been secretary for a little while. I resigned late last year, once I found out I got my internship, and it was good to hand over the position to someone else today. There were nice comments about big shoes to fill, and a card that people signed for me with little messages — and they gave me flowers! I've been on this board for several years, and I don't remember anyone else ever being given flowers, so it felt like a really big deal to me. I was so touched — it was just such a nice gesture.

Totally made my day. Flowers!

Hairspray

I have a confession to make.

I watched Hairspray today, and while I didn't love it, I did fall a teeny bit in love with the character played by... wait for it... Zac Efron.

It's not Efron himself. I've watching all three High school musicals (come on, the movies were cheesy but they were cute), and most of 17 again, and... well, he's a cute kid.

I think it was more the situation. The main character, Tracy Turnblad (poor girl never stood a chance), is plump, and therefore something of a social outcast. She's always had a huge crush on Efron's character, Link Larkin (I want to know who made up these characters' names — Tracy's best friend is Penny Pingleton), and when one day he brushes up against her accidentally and actually looks and smiles at her, her cup is full to overflowing.

I remember so well being that girl in high school. Rather than being plump, I was all skinny and pimply and knobbly-kneed, but I can remember feeling so unattractive and when my huge crush at the time not only smiled at me but tackled me (for no particular reason) in a field... I was just so happy. So full of joy. So happy I can't describe it.

I guess watching the romance between Link and Tracy just brought me back to that feeling. I never ended up going out with my Link, but I love the character just a little bit for being that boy that gave a girl that same joyful feeling. It doesn't matter that he never knew — but he paid her attention and he smiled at her. He was kind to someone who knew she wasn't seen as attractive; he made her feel special. And for that, I fell a teeny bit in love with him.

(OK, spying on him in the men's toilets is somewhat creepy. But I like the first couple minutes of the song.)

New author challenge 2010

Because I don't have enough challenges already, I decided on one more: The new author challenge (2010).

The rules, in brief, are as follows:

1. Between 1 Jan 2010 and 31 Dec 2010, read works by a certain number of new authors.

2. You can choose to read 15, 25 or 50 new authors.

3. A maximum of a third of the new authors can be from anthologies.

I'm going to aim for 25 new authors this year — and if I can get to 25 by August (or thereabouts) I might aim for 50 for the whole year. We'll see. (Update on 11 August: OK, I hit 26! I'm going for 50.)

1. The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss*
2. The hunger games by Suzanne Collins*
3. Poison study by Maria V Snyder*
4. The final empire by Brandon Sanderson
*
5. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. Ash by Malinda Lo
7. The thief by Megan Whalen Turner
8. Girls like funny boys by Dave Franklin†
9. Sasha by Joel Shepherd
10. Mystic and rider by Sharon Shinn
11. Mira, mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison
12. Kushiel's dart by Jacqueline Carey
13. What my mother doesn't know by Sonya Sones
14. The poison throne by Celine Kiernan
15. The blue by Mary McCallum
16. Knife by R J Anderson
17. The hollow kingdom by Clare B Dunkle
18. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher*
19. Girls in trucks by Katie Crouch
20. Kitty by Deborah Challinor
21. Mistwood by Leah Cypess
22. Soulless by Gail Carriger
23. Play dirty by Sandra Brown
24. Crossing over by Anna Kendall
25. Tsunami blue by Gayle Ann Williams
26. The maze runner by James Dashner
27. Mansfield by C K Stead
28. My way to hell by Dakota Cassidy
29. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
30. The personal shopper by Carmen Reid
31. Stillwater Creek by Alison Booth
32. Candor by Pam Bachorz
33. Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
34. Cecelia Holland in The dragon book anthology
35. Homeland by Clare Francis
36. The chocolate run by Dorothy Koomson

* Great author — would highly recommend.
† Would not recommend this author.