Taking a break...get it?

Pic of the Week

That, my friends, is a fractured 5th metacarpal. I crashed into someone on the bike path who wasn't paying attention.  Because of that injury, I may postpone typed updates for a few weeks as I'm typing this one-handed and it's terribly tedious.  Seeing a specialist this week though, so I'll keep everyone updated.

Utah, people working together...

Pic of the Week

Zootopia gets intense.  Loved spending some QT with this pile of QTs.

What's going on?

This week I said goodbye to the kid I've been nannying for the last year.  He's moving with his mom to New Orleans, so this was our last week together.  It's been fun hanging out with him once a week, he's a cool kid.  I'm gonna miss him.  

I purchased some more cheap airfare for a weekend trip to Utah again.  Came out to spend some time with the nieces and nephews.  We went swimming (for about 20 minutes thanks to a thunderstorm in the area), played at the park, got pizza, watched a couple of movies, had a dance party, the usual.  It was really fun.

And that's about all that's going on around here right now.

What I'm reading

A recommendation from a friend.  It's a teen romance novel set in Provo, UT.  The main character is a bisexual high school kid dealing with going to school in a town where everyone is Mormon, but he isn't.   It's honestly a delight.  And I think it does a great job at treating the church fairly from an outside perspective.  It's factual, but fair.  It is interesting that they got so many things right about the culture in Utah, but there were a couple of things where, as an insider, I thought, "We'd never say that." or "That's not how we'd say that."  Kind of funny. There is some sex in the novel, but nothing explicit. Highly recommend this read.  Especially if you want some perspective into what it might be like to be a gay Mormon (yes, there's one of those in the book, too.)

What I'm listening to

The Man Enough Podcast. This episode was a FASCINATING conversation.  I can't even do it justice, just check it out.   

The back side of water!

Pic of the Week

Made the trek with some friends down to San Juan Capistrano (famous for the swallows) for some live outdoor theater (we did not see any swallows).  The show was...fine.  But it was fun to get out, and also to see live theater again.  Plus we saw You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, which I was in in high school and haven't seen since then and it was a DELIGHT to experience it again even if it was just...fine.

What's going on?

Summer is in full swing around here - which is probably good since it's rapidly coming to an end.  And since life is kind of returning to normalish maybe, that means outdoor activities!  I've been to a couple of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, done some picnics in some parks, some paddle boarding, even went to a taping of The Masked Singer where we saw 2, yes TWO, contestants get unmasked.  And no, I will not reveal here who they were.  

The weather is warm and that is mostly pleasant, except when I'm walking and the sweat starts rolling down my face, or when I'm sleeping and I wake up because sweat is rolling down my face, or I'm just sitting here doing nothing and sweat is rolling down my face.  Basically summertime is sweaty around these parts.  And really, it's not even the height of summer weather yet.  It usually doesn't get unbearably hot until September.  So. 

I landed my first professional audiobook gig!  My friend who does audiobooks all the time said that if I really want to make a go of this industry, and I really want to work, I should be open to narrating romance.  Even if it's under a pseudonym.  And my first book is a romance novel.  Gay vampire romance, in fact. And the first book in a series, so that might mean more work in the future. I'm happy to point you in the right direction to hear that once it's released if you're interested, but since I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, I'll let you know when something more...accessible comes along. I will be narrating romance under a pseudonym, though.  My friend's pseudonym is Lidia Dornet and we thought it would be fun/funny/marketable if we shared a last name, so I will also be narrating under the Dornet name.  ;)

ALSO, in that realm, I've gotten some great feedback from my project team for Ronan Boyle (see my last post for more info on that) and look forward to doing more work with them. 

What I'm reading

Fun, thought-provoking story about what happiness is all about.

What I'm listening to

I don't think you can be too picky or focused as an audiobook narrator, but I would, ideally, like to focus on children's and YA literature.  To that end, I've been listening to a LOT of award-winning audiobooks in the genre.  Some good ones so far:

In 1970, amid turmoil and social unrest due to the Vietnam War, 4 students were killed on the campus of Kent State.  This book is written as a group of people who were in Kent, OH at the time, telling the story of what happened from various perspectives.  It is beautifully done, wonderfully informative, and eerily relevant.  Definitely check it out.

This book tells ten stories of kids who all live in the same neighborhood.  They are all connected, and are at once funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and human.

This is also a sweet, funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking novel about a Native American kid who grew up on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest, but decides to transfer to the local public school in the nearby town to get more opportunities.

What I'm watching

I was honestly a little worried this was going to be terrible, but I think they did a great job with it - corny jokes and all.  The cast is great, the story is fun and adventurous, and the nods to the ride are beautiful.