Friday, March 28, 2008

Oh my cell phone, it has three modes...

1) No network coverage; 2) AT&T coverage but no bars; 3) Four bars and still unable to make a call. This last one is its new favorite mode- I get so excited because, finally, something must have happened to give Cingular clients in Los Angeles consistent, reliable coverage. HA. At one point yesterday I tried four times to call my voicemail and all four times I either got complete silence or a series of weird beeps or the series of beeps that means the call failed*. Just now I tried calling my mum, and despite the four bars, the calls still failed before a connection could be made. I think I shall march my irate, congested self straight down to the Cingular place by Whole Foods and give them the winter of my discontent (and hopefully my cold as well. Then those employees can pass it along to their supervisors, and so on).

Enough complaining (for now). I just finished (or am on the brink of finishing- I'm not quite certain yet) a very important Project. A very important Project (well, to me), and Something that was fairly ambitious for me. But I can't talk about It anymore than that for now.

Oh- last of all, for now, I was wondering if you friendly readers could give me some advice- I'm looking for some good books to read. Preferably fiction, preferably not dealing with war, politics, horror, or romance. I'd been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, but wasn't enjoying it too much and Marli said she didn't like it. So I tossed it back in the bag of books I'd gotten from the library. Then I picked up House of Leaves, and, oh lookie there, it's a horror novel. DANGIT. I did read the first few pages, but then just sort of flipped through it. Tales of terror and I do not mix well (why would I ever want to read about someone experiencing extreme psychological/emotional/mental/physical distress for my entertainment?), but Mark Danielewski gets really creative with some of his text layout, which I found quite fascinating and cool. Yay creative typography, boo horrid plot.


*What is with these beeps, anyway? Why can't some nice, calm computer voice just tell you what went wrong? I don't know what "boo boooo beeeeep...boo boooo beeeeep" means. Instead of some dumb chime, why not "call failed" or "the network is busy right now" or "switch to verizon!". I might heed that last voice...

6 comments:

zaoelpis said...

for a neat yarn, I liked "City of Dreaming Books," which I read over Christmas break.

Eliminating war, politics, horror, and romance as subject matter seems to cover just about anything, potentially, but I suppose it leaves you with plenty of options, really. There's spiritual books, and pretty much anything by Lewis, Chesterton, or L'Engle, whom I can never avoid mentioning when somebody wants a book recommendation. :-)

There's also fun books of the sci-fi or mystery sort - I like Asimov or Christie for inventive and relatively tame tales. (Not horriffic, or overly political.)

And, there are a lot of classics that might still make your list. Moby Dick, The Hobbit, and Old Man and the Sea qualify, though most of Shakespeare wouldn't.

Lastly, there's a copy of Symmetry and Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Vibrational and Electronic Spectroscopy on my shelf if you want it. ;-)

Marli said...

I just read Foucault's Pendulum, which was not my favorite thing ever, but was VERY interesting. Full of weird philosophy ideas.

And I've been reading a ton of Agatha Christie lately. Always good.

And I always always recommend anything by Tolstoy. They are political romance novels, but not silly or bothersome ones.

Anonymous said...

sounds like you need a new phone! That's funny that in such a populated place there is little cell phone coverage. Is is just because of your phone or is it because of your location?
Love you!

Anonymous said...

oh and as for book, I am finishing "the call of the wild" and "white fang" by jack london. I've really enjoyed them, not sure if you've read them but they are worth it.

Dave Knaebel said...

Hi Taya,

I would suggest that you call 611 from a place that has reception and talk with att. Otherwise, yes, walk it in to an ATT store and see about a new sim card, etc.
Love,
Fopa

Dave Knaebel said...

oh...

and what's a "book"?