Non-adventures in medicated reading

It's July 1st! Which besides being Canada Day also marks the midway point through the year. So how am I doing with my 20,000 page reading goal? Only 5,769 pages turned, you say? Let the excuses begin!

Since about mid-January I've been taking an SSRI and anti-anxiety medication. I started them for a lot of reasons that I don't want to get into, but let's just say they've helped. But not without some side effects. One being nigh uncontrollable dizzy spells. The second being an overwhelming blanket of boredom and apathy, and the inability to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. Pretty much the only enjoyable activities I've been able to get into lately, other than lying in bed face-down, is watching Oliver Age 24 videos on youtube and playing Candy Crush: the most addictive and soul-crushing ADHD game on the planet. I can't even find the spark of interest to play Xbox anymore, which I'm sure puts me at the bottom of the totem pole of pure sloth.

I've tried getting through A Dance with Dragons, because surely magic and gratuitous sex scenes can get me back into reading, right? But no luck. I've checked the ebook out from the library a record six times without completing it. My doctor warned me SSRIs can cause a lack of interest in sex. Perhaps my version of this is a lack of interest in fictional wizard-y people having sex.

Regardless, I'm still super glad I started taking the medications. And I don't mean to discourage anyone from taking them. But the side effects have been a (non)wild ride. Try functioning as a human being when you simultaneously have somnolence and insomnia.

So, my goal for July - December? Still the remaining 14,231 pages. I'll give it a ... hey, I just got another life in Candy Crush! Excuse me...

I Forgot To Be Famous

Finished Almie Rose's ebook of essays, I Forgot To Be Famous: On Dating, Relationships, and Getting Screwed and Screwed Over in Beautiful Los Angeles from a Writer Who is Trying Her Best, which was just released today. Almie runs the fantastic blog Apocalypstick that I've been following ever since I started this one. I'm 100% jealous of her wit and ability to pull off a sexy lion costume.

Here are some snippets from the book.

From "How to Get a Musician Boyfriend"

Be bold. Don't be too drunk. Drink Pepsi-Cola. Be a proud American. Quote your favorite childhood films. Ask, "Did Dunston ever check out?" Think about what would happened if we still used salt as currency. Try and imagine a new color. Maybe pretend to be British. It's your life.

From "Ex"

I don't care if this goes against all of my feminist teachings: I want to feel like a prized thing, like the Arc of the Covenant or the Silver Monkey that those panicked children had to assemble in The Shrine of the Silver Monkey on the show Legends of the Hidden Temple. I never had anyone that gorgeous who wanted me. Who actually picked me. I have dignity, it's just that it's attached with Velcro.

From "The Zombie Apocalyps(tick)"

So I'm asking right now, should a zombie apocalypse come, can someone adopt me into their group? Though I have no real skills, I do have a vast knowledge of zombies in pop culture and some great cutting remarks. Kill Zombie Nicolas Cage and I'll assure you, "That's okay. His career was dead long before he was." And in the end, that might be enough.

Her ebook is published by ThoughtCatalog, and available for just $2.99 at Amazon.


52 pages
5,769 out of 20,000 page goal