Arnold, Alaska, and really good coffee

It is a rainy and windy day in Southern California. I had planned to do a fun painting activity with the kids this morning, but since I don’t trust the 19-month-old to finger paint in the house, that was quickly removed from the to do list.

I fear baseball practice may be cancelled as well. Apparently Mother Nature missed the memo that storms are not welcome here in May.

We SoCal people are wimpy like that.

Since there is not a lot to report on the children front (they are playing "army" right now) I thought I would share a few current but random thoughts:

First, so my friends from out of state can stop emailing me, I heard about Arnold yesterday. How could you not? It is the leading story on the morning news- maybe another reason I need to break my addiction to The Today Show. I’m glad he is no longer our governor...for a number of reasons. I think California realized a long time ago that he was a typical politician.

I am sad for his kids.

The only thing that surprises me is that no one found out sooner. I bet Gloria Allred is really pissed. She made a big deal out of the groping allegations during the recall election in 2003, when this was right under her nose. Missed opportunity, Gloria!

All that being said, I still like Kindergarten Cop.

I told you this was going to be random.

Second, I just finished reading Caribou Island by David Vann. I had to put my name on the waiting list for it at the library. I wanted to read it because it is the first novel by Vann who has won a number of awards for his other works, and the setting is Alaska.

I have had this weird fascination with Alaska for the last year. I am unsure why. I have absolutely ZERO hunting, fishing, or survival instincts.

The book starts with the main character building a cabin from scratch on a remote Alaskan island. He does this without a blueprint or plan. His wife goes along with it, even though she opposes the idea completely. The couple has two children, both with their own issues. I won’t go into any more detail, but to say that that the characters have no redeeming qualities. There was nothing likable or relatable (is that a word?) about them. Likable characters are not a must for an enjoyable book, but here, the overall tone was depressing.

Stylistically, Vann didn’t use quotation marks around any of the dialogue...and there is a lot of dialogue. You get used to it as you read but, creative license aside, it was a little unsettling especially when reading at midnight.

Overall, it was disappointing.

Finally, the former governor and this book remind me of living in Charlotte. We were there when Arnold was first elected and my favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings was go for a run then hit a coffee spot with a copy of the Observer or a book.

My favorite spot was Caribou Coffee.

I wish they would come to California.

I like their mochas and slogan- Life is short. Stay awake for it.