Breathing in the margins

As you may have guessed from the sporadic nature of my recent posting, I've been pretty busy lately and much of my usual reading time has fallen by the wayside. What little time I have is usually eaten in rushing to somewhere, so my iPod's on but I'm not really relaxing. So last night, with no particular plans other than checking NCAA box scores (...Siena? Isn't that in Italy somewhere?), and no Easter or Spring Break travel looming on the horizon, I stayed in, finished the book I've been carting around all week (THE ORGANIZED LIFE by Stephanie Denton) and read another, cover to cover.

I'll tell you this, I had a great time. This will probably sound terrifically implausible, but when I have time to do a little bit of reading for fun I feel like the rest of my life is in order somehow. I guess that's what it really means when people talk about hobbies; the way my mom can sit through 45000 high school basketball games as long as she has her knitting with her, my sister's newfound triathlon obsession, my old roommate's penchant for forgotten '90s music. It's that pause button that allows you to collect yourself before going back into the fray.

I hope you have time to read, or enjoy one of your hobbies, this weekend. Here's what I'm reading:

- Adam Langer, ELLINGTON BOULEVARD (yes, still)
- St. Augustine, CONFESSIONS -- this has been on my to-read list for a long time, if only because I am often quoting his line "O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet." Soon I will see whether I have been misquoting it all this time.
- Quincey Pierce and Knute Breiding, CLASSIC COCKTAILS -- a how-to book I got in a kit for my birthday. Thanks, Aunt Trish!