#1 Read all of Jane Austen’s Novels (6/6)
Here is, in my humble opinion, the order of greatest to least.
1. Pride and Prejudice – Yes it’s cliche. In the words of Prudie from The Jane Austen Book Club, If there were a contest, Elizabeth Bennet would be homecoming queen.
2. Persuasion – I find myself wanting to assign blame to Lady Russell for not encouraging Anne and Captain Wentworth to get together at first. But if she had encouraged the match when they were younger, we would not have a story. Nor would we have the beautiful heat wrenching letter by Captain Wentworth’s hand.
3. Sense and Sensibility – Okay, call me a blasphemer. Although I enjoyed reading the original story, I have to say that this is a case where I liked the movie better than the book. Hear me out. While I love Miss Austen’s story, she woefully ignored the dialogue between her characters. Major props to Emma Thompson. She created much of that dialogue by scratch to snag her Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
4. Emma – I really can’t stand how much of a brat Emma is, but without this story, we wouldn’t have my beloved Cher from Clueless. P.S. Doesn’t it creep you out how much of a father figure Knightly is?
5. Northanger Abbey – I get that she’s trying to make fun of gothic novels, but this one is a bit weird with an abrupt ending. But it DOES have my favorite Jane Ausen quote. “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
6. Mansfield Park – There’s a reason no one ever says “Mansfield Park is my favorite Jane Ausen novel.” If I could put this at number ten I would. Don’t bother with this one unless you have challenged yourself to read all of Miss Austen’s work. Or if you need a really good example of Neoclassical literature with an emphasis on proper human conduct.
#14 Renew My Passport
This week, I got something very special in the mail. I had almost forgotten that I completed and sent in all the paperwork necessary to renew my passport. Now I’m an important step closer to getting to England this summer. I suppose I really need to get down to the business of booking our flight.
#11 Visit Five Museums
I have been to five museums since beginning my 101 project. Actually I’m sure I have been to more than five, but here are my favorite five.
1. Washington DC – Smithsonian Institution: National Museum of American History (While trying to keep track of 10 8th grade boys)
2. Detroit – Detroit Institute of Arts (Matt and I enjoyed the Rivera mural especially)
3. Toledo – Toledo Museum of Art (This one is cheating a bit, but it’s really a favorite)
4. Chicago – The Art Institute of Chicago (A lovely afternoon spent before my train back to Toledo)
5. Pittsburgh – Carnegie Museum of Art (Robert and I were taken aback by the Tyrannosaurus Rex)
# 89 Visit with an old friend.
A few weeks ago, Matt and I went down to Columbus to do some Christmas shopping. We had the chance to hang out with our friend Mary. We used to work with her in our younger, hipper bookstore days. Since we hadn’t seen each other in about two years, we had a lot to catch up on.
There is a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye about how she avoids getting back in touch with people from her past. “When someone recognizes you in a grocery store nod briefly and become a cabbage.” For awhile after I read this poem I felt like I shouldn’t try to get back in touch with people because I shouldn’t bug them. But after our catch up with Mary I realize there is everything to be gained from getting together with old friends.
#88 Graduate with a Master of Arts in Teaching English
This actually happened back in August, but it has taken this long to get the pics on my computer. I had to take the afternoon off on the second day of school. We drove three hours down and three hours back for a less than two hour ceremony. But it was really important to me and I’m happy we went down. 
#45 Become more involved with the union.
I will not say much about this one since it involves the union from work. I will say that between all the emails I wrote and ballots I counted this week, I am VERY involved. 
#26 Watch an entire series of a TV show
I realize that to some die hard Dr. Who fans, this may not count. I did however watch all four seasons of the Dr. Who show that aired most recently. In the process, I may have developed a tiny crush on David Tennant.
#83 See a Scary Movie in the Theatre
Okay. We saw Sorority Row in the theatre and it turned out to be more funny than scary. The seven people in our row, made fun of the entire movie. I think we may have annoyed the four other people in the theater. It turned out to be really fun. Check!
#5 Plan a trip that visits literary sites
This summer Merah and I had the chance to go on a trip to New England. Great stops along the way included Walden Pond, near Concord, Emily Dickinson’s house in Amherst and one of Robert Frost’s houses in Derry. Merah was a great sport and got out of the car at all the geeky stops. This is me getting to touch Emily Dickinson’s house.
#94 Go to a wine tasting and get the wine I want – not just the cheapest
This one wasn’t too tough. I went with Heather and Elizabeth to a local store for a wine tasting. They guy who runs it is a total wine snob, but he makes sure to have reasonably priced wines on his tasting list. This one went well with a picnic dinner in the park. 
