The Universe Does Like Me

I don't think a lot of people know who Isaac Marion is so lemme 'splain: He is the author of "Warm Bodies", a strange, apocalyptic take on Romeo and Juliet where a zombie saves a human girl and slowly learns how to live again.... literally. I picked up this book after I saw the trailer for the movie way back in 2013. You know, that one with Nicholas Hoult in the red jacket that everyone was calling "a zombie version of Twilight"? Yeah, that one. When I saw it I thought, "Huh, this looks weird and cool. Let's give the book a shot."

I read it in less than a day. I sat at work flipping through the pages between helping customers. Needless to say, I loved it and I have reread it numerous times and underlined my favorite lines. Like this one...

"The burning red taste of blood floods my mouth. The sparkle of life sprays out of his cells like citrus mist from an orange peel, and I suck it in."

It's gory but, like.... beautiful??? I know it's a cliche thing to say, but Marion has a way with words and I wish I could write like him.

The book brings up terrific questions about life and what it means to be human. It makes you appreciate things like airplanes and Pad Thai. And it's funny.

It also has a special place in my heart because I read it when Skippy was on deployment. On some nights, I'd read random chapters to help me get to sleep.

Skippy just left last Friday for another deployment, so for such a post to appear on my Facebook feed was very, VERY strange. I had to learn more about it.

Cinderella had a coffee shop to drive to. 

I quickly threw on some real pants, wrung out my hair as best as I could so it wouldn't soak my shirt, snorted some Nasonex to tame my allergies- BTW screw you, California weather- and set out on an adventure in my yellow bumblebee of a car.

My right eyeball hasn't been quite right since the day Skippy's Welcome Home banner scratched my cornea. "Seek out Optometrist" is on my to-do list.

Behold the magical disappearing and reappearing coffee mug!

We talked for the next hour about random stuff. How he's currently living in a van (not down by the river!), how he thinks RV parking prices are too expensive, sink baths, and which canned beers actually taste good. I showed him pictures of me as a zombie in the haunted house I'm working in and said if he was in town for another night, I could get him in for free. We agreed Aztecs should not wield chainsaws. I was the only person who showed up to the meetup.

Though I'm horrible at talking to new people, it was really nice to sit down and talk about life with someone. It's so hard... actually it's impossible to find people in California who aren't afraid to open up and share their opinions. That's just not something they do. It's annoying.

So thank you, Isaac Marion, for a much needed night of conversation. Thank you for signing my books and spelling "joining" wrong. Thank you for making me get off my bitter ass and for showing me San Diego does have good things to offer. I'll probably frequent that coffee shop now because the employees are friendly and they have a giant beer selection.

And thanks for the advanced reader's edition of "The Burning World"! I'll post a crappy cartoon review about it!!