Uncategorized 
Comments Off on Work Day Work Day
Today, by noon, my dirty laundry was sorted AND I had laundry in both the washer and the dryer, I made lunches for my hubby and my youngest, took my kids to school, made appointments for their parent/teacher conferences, hand-repaired an article of clothing to wear, diced the rest of the ham I started on yesterday, got the hambone simmering on the stove, made my bed, did 10 minutes on the elliptical, started my scripture study for the day, and managed bits of organizational paperwork. Look at me go! Now, as you can see, I’m catching up here, since I fell behind over the weekend. (It was both a busy and a tired weekend. My son’s Saturday basketball game was at 8:30, and with 9:00 church this year, well–it felt a little rough.)
Of course, now I’m wondering if it isn’t a little ironic that I’m catching up from the weekend by reviewing Gordon Korman’s Slacker…anyway. I bought Slacker from Scholastic once upon a time; I believe it came in a Gordon Korman two-pack, and since I liked whatever it was paired with, I figured why not? Besides, a book about a serious video gamer might just be a good fit for my son.
Fast forward to December, and I pulled it out to consider as a Christmas gift for that very son; I hadn’t listened to very much of it, however, before I decided that I didn’t actually WANT to give it to him. I normally love Gordon Korman–he consistently combines slightly-over-the-top with triumphant feels in a satisfying and enjoyable way–but Cameron Boxer stays kind of a jerk for just long enough that his eventual turn-around didn’t really feel believable. (Plus, as a parent, I found his commentary about his “lifestyle” to be incredibly annoying. If your lifestyle is essentially parasitic and wholly selfish in nature, it’s not something to be proud of. ) I felt sorry for Cam’s sister, I was annoyed at his parents, and–yeah. On the other hand, his frustration with the PAG’s growth was kind of fabulous, the Harvard-obsessed senior was hilarious (in a slightly disturbing sort of way), and the ultimate triumphant feels were pretty great. If my son finds it at school, he’ll probably get a big kick out of it, and that’s cool.
I just don’t need to gift it to him.