BEING THE TEMP: A New Chapter

I spent part of last week high up in the Sears Tower working for a private equity firm. A really interesting experience--same old executive assistant work, but nice people and a beautiful environment.

Shocked myself by being a bit intimidated by being so high in the Sears Tower--visions of 9/11 and the World Trade Center. But, the security is tight and you sure could not beat the views! The first morning was clear enough to be dazzled and then it was overcast. By the second day we were literally in the clouds as Hurricane Gustav arrived in Chicago.

I was beat by Friday--not enough sleep three nights in a row--but the weekend has been restorative. Watching great movies and reading great books. It has been awhile since I have been able to say that. The first novel of a former real estate professional, Donna Milner's After River, was shockingly wonderful. She is at work on novel #2 and I cannot wait. Sure hope she is not a one-trick pony. Then, I started Fire in the Blood another translation of a newly discovered novel by Irene Nemirovsky. Wonderful! Last year I read and enjoyed Suite Francaise for a multitude of reasons--her personal story and how the novel was discovered and came to be and then translated. At that time I meant to research whether any more of her magnitude of work had been translated. Fire in the Blood is a newer release--the manuscript thought to be partial, and then discovered by researchers. Really a magnificent book.

And, we rented a few DVDs and got two absolute winners. P.S. I Love You has it all--romance, humor, sadness, joy, silliness, and beauty. And, Autumn Hearts a Canadian film based on the book Emotional Arithmetic by Matt Cohen with Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, Gabriel Byrne, et al. Another deeply moving and beautiful film. Must have gone straight to video, but it is a keeper--a classic that I must own.