Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts

Friday, February 24, 2012

Words with really smart friends

I love any kind of word games, & have several on my iPad. Spell tower, Word Welder, etc. I am even halfway good at some of them...but Words With Friends, not so much. After getting up, goofing & sitting in my dr's office to deal with the shingles on my bum, blood test checks, & a thousand other hings with my 6 month check-up, dad saw that the waiting time would be hours & I was so uncomfortable that we rescheduled. Shingles be damned. Got home & was still awake when a friend started a game with me. I had gotten the game on sale months ago but hadn't really played, & had only played like twice if that. As an ex-English teacher & linguistics masters student, I feel a need to seem half competent, but I'm really not. I didn't even realize you could make 2 words on one play until my much smarter friend I'd it today. They must think 'her meds must be impeding her thought process' or if I play someone who doesn't know me think they are playing a 12 year old. Embarrassing? Yes. Beaten? Badly. Fun? Yes, & the sad little competitive me tries so hard & am on a child's level, & that's actually insulting to kids. I'll keep playing though, & maybe one day beat a 7 year old.

 

 

Saturday, February 4, 2012

How ebooks helped bring me back to reading

 I will always love a physical book...the feel, the weight, the particular paper used, the smell, the cover art. After I got sick, I found the mere combination of holding a book open while reading was exhausting. After 7-8 pages I wouldn't be able to continue. I couldn't believe it-it sounds impossible to not be able to simply read. I used to read 3-5 books a week, & losing that was another of my great griefs of being chronically sick. After I got an iPad, I got the kindle app, & recently started checking out ebooks from the library & getting free or cheap books through the Amazon kindle store. I find that having black pages & white letters helps tremendously. 

Today, I finished my 1st book in 5 years. Although my joy is tempered by the tear stained pained eyes from what morphine can't cancel out, I still am so proud of myself. It sounds so pathetic, but going from reading 5 long novels a week to nothing in 5 years, well, I find my joy where I can. 

P.S. my book was 'Sleeping Murder', by the brilliant Agatha Christie-a Ms. Marple mystery