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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.
The Sunday Post #311
On The Blog Recently
In My Reading Life
As the TikTok kids say, I'm back on my bullshit! I stopped writing Sunday Posts a few months ago because work got too stressful, and I wasn't reading. I'm back now! My park ranger season ended on Halloween. I won't be in the park fulltime again until spring (assuming they hire me back fulltime when I re-interview for my job in January). Now that I have free time, I have books to read! And blog posts to write. And bookshelves to reorganize because I have a severe space shortage.
Since it's Nonfiction November, the first two books I want to tackle are A People's History Of The United States by Howard Zinn and The Life Of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir. They're both chunky beasts. It'll probably take me a whole month to read them.
In The Rest Of My Life
I guess the biggest news is my work season ending! I survived my first summer as a park ranger. It was completely exhausting. I think I'm still trying to mentally process everything that happened. I saw amazing things and gruesome things. Being a first responder in the wilderness is no joke. I met people from all over the world. I learned a lot. I got pepper sprayed in the face. Fun times. This was the most stressful job I've ever done, and I thought about quitting constantly, but I don't regret attempting it. I think it made me a better human.
If you have any questions about my park ranger nonsense, please ask! I'll try to answer them in my next Sunday Post. (This is me begging for blog post content ideas because I have none.)
Halloween happened! Of course I went trick-or-treating with Brooklyn. She was a superhero, and I was . . . cold. Winter is coming for sure. Brooklyn had fun, even though she's a little weirdo who cares more about looking at decorations and petting dogs than getting candy. When I was a kid, we sprinted from house to house to get as much candy as possible. Brooklyn's trick-or-treat experience was more of a causal stroll through a neighborhood. At least she appreciated the work that people put into their spooky decorations.
Speaking of spooky things, which social media sites are you using now? I came back to Twitter after a summer away, and there has been a massive explosion in the number of trolls. I'm not interested in hanging out with terrible people. I don't like Facebook or Instagram because they show me ads and "suggested posts" instead of the accounts I follow. I just want to talk about books and be happy! Where do I go for that?
Follow Me On The Spooky Things
Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!
Congrats on your first season as a Park Ranger!! I am sure you saw so many things. What a great experience!!
ReplyDeleteYour little trick-or-treater looks adorable. I agree with her that the decorations and other kids’ costumes are the most fun part of the holiday (but I’m a few decades older than she is).
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Just write your work experiences! We will love them. I use FB mainly for recipes LOL. Twitter I look at quickly in the morning to see if I missed anything overnight then I don't look again. I use Bloglovin'
ReplyDelete(when it works) to catch up on blogs.
Pepper sprayed in the face?!?!! You definitely have to write that one. Happy to hear you made it through the season and will have some reading time now!
ReplyDeleteI mostly go to blogs and Goodreads. I wish GR had a better format to encourage the social aspect. Gold star for making it through your first season. I didn't realize you had to re-interview. It has to be pretty satisfying to have made it through that challenge. Brooklyn is adorable. I cannot get over how big she is.
ReplyDeleteI think I've read a little alison Weir. Been a few years. Congrats on your park ranger break. Love the cool vehicle. :) Seriously though- yes we used to run from house to house too. Must have ALL the candy...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the social media thing either. I'm trying to stick with Twitter for now but it's gonna be tough, I think. Although I don't tweet that much anyway. I'm thinking of starting a Discord server linked to the blog where people can hang out and chat. But yeah that's not the same thing as finding a good social media site.
Brooklyn looks adorable. Probably ok she is not so interested in candy. I didn't know what it was until I went to kindergarten (small rural town) and I didn't have any cavities until I was 19.
ReplyDeleteI see I'm not the only one asking the Twitter question. My personal twitter where I follow a bunch of interests is a mess but my only book twitter is ok. I'm watching it for now. I don't know where I would go. I do use Goodreads a lot. I am with you exactly on FB. I only look at my groups for my neighborhood and COYER and post on my blog FB page. Looking at the feed is almost only ads. Actually notifications works better for what I need to see. The other place to see people is the Sunday posts :).
Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Ah.. I love that photo of Brooklyn. What a cutie.
ReplyDeleteTwitter definitely has some weird stuff going on at my end as well. But Instagram is also kind of weird at times to be honest.
Have a great week and happy reading.
Brooklyn is too cute!!!! I'm all about TikTok. I'm on that thing until all hours of the night...every night...I can't stop. Help me! I think I've watched every dance video to Meghan Trainor's "I Made You Look" or whatever it's called. Can't get enough of that stuff! Anyway, go on their and search "booktok" and "librarytok" and stuff!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI’m mostly active on my blog and Instagram. Instagram has a new option now where you can just see the posts of people you follow and/or you can mark favorites and there’s an option to just see them. It’s found my clicking on the logo at the top. I’m glad you enjoyed your experience as a park ranger. I never realized that it was seasonal work but I guess that it makes sense. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your work is bringing such interesting things for you. Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteI read Howard Zinn's book when my daughter was taking AP History in HS. She needed help slogging through that tome, so we read it out loud to each other.
ReplyDeletehttps://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/11/sunday-salon-voting-edition.html
Brooklyn looks absolutely adorable in this picture! I have been wanting to read some Howard Zinn for a while - but with so many books hollering at me to read them, I kind of forget about him.
ReplyDeleteI haven't noticed the trolls on twitter so far....
Sounds like a stressful, but intriguing job. Congrats on getting through the season. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteBrooklyn looks like she had a great time (I can't imagine not wanting the candy) and I love that she appreciated the decorations.
ReplyDeleteI don't know of a social media place that isn't totally annoying either. Sigh.
I'm glad you're getting a break! I hope they hire you back in the spring if that's what you decide you want to do. Brooklyn is ADORABLE!! I love her costume!
ReplyDeleteSo you have to re-interview for your own job? Sheesh, that's harsh. Wish I had some advice for where to go to talk books, but I avoid social media like the plague.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Brooklyn had fun trick or treating! Henry was too young this year, so thankfully I didn't have to go out. Enjoy your break from work!
ReplyDeleteA park ranger sounds like an interesting job but I’m sure you could have done without the pepper spray! Brooklyn looks so cute!! Have a wonderful week ahead!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Sounds like you had an interesting summer. Love Brooklyn's costume and her attitude. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteBrooklyn is too cute! I'm glad you have a break now from work, the park ranger job sounds so interesting! I love the Jack image, he's a favorite. Happy reading this week, I've wanted to read Alison Weir for a while.
ReplyDeleteIt must feel great/weird to have time and energy to read and do other things. Since I'm sure most of us don't know anything about what it takes to be a ranger, whatever you share will be interesting to us. I read so little nonfiction and I always forget about nonfic November, so I'm not prepared with a few things picked out. Maybe next year. Social media. Sigh. It's a pit and yet sort of a necessary evil sometimes. I gave up on Twitter ages ago, keep FB and IG active mostly because I can see what my kids post. But during the few months prior to elections, I avoid them like the plague - too toxic! There are better places to get my information. Hope you have a great week and enjoy those books! thanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
OMG AJ I had no idea being a park ranger was so stressful! When you visit parks as a tourist, and a respectful tourist like we were, the only contact whe have is at the information desk to ask for a map of the park and see if there is a special exhibit. Then we are on our merry way and except if we encounter a problem, we don't talk with rangers again! So I'd like for you to tell us the bad and the good! Also how com that you ended up being pepper sprayed??
ReplyDeleteEverybody is dying to hear about your experiences as a park ranger. I'd like to know what animals you saw and what's the most surprising part of your job.
ReplyDeleteA People's History Of The United States by Howard Zinn is a book I've wanted to read since it first came out (Am I just imagining that it was in the early 70s?) I'm eager to hear what you think about it.
There must be a story in being pepper sprayed in the face... (did I miss it?). Bill Brass, "Why I Came West" has a humorous chapter about the times he got hit with bear spray (and living in an area with lots of bears, he's never sprayed one). I loved the story about when he decided to steal his date's breath spray while she was in the bathroom only to suck down pepper stay. Here's my review on his book:https://fromarockyhillside.com/2022/07/catching-up-on-my-reading/. Brooke is cute and really growing up fast.
ReplyDeleteWow man! Pepper sprayed in the face?! Yikes. I'm sorry that happened, and all the other gruesome stuff too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Brooklyn is one of a kind. That was funny that she wasn't even interested in the candy.
As for social media, I hate Twitter too and am starting not to care much for Facebook except to check in with family. But Instagram is my preference. I snooze the recommended accounts for 30 days each time, and I agree the ads are annoying but I try my best to ignore them. Seems that ads are the driving force these days. I'm tired of being advertised to, actually.
You should write a book about your park ranger experience! Seriously
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your first year of being a park ranger! You have to re-interview again? every year?? I don't know that I have specific questions; I kind of just want to know everything!! Any crazy stories of people you encountered?
ReplyDeleteAw, Brooklyn is so cute! One of my nieces doesn't like chocolate or most candy, but she'll still trick or treat. LOL
Lauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net
You got pepper sprayed in the face?!! I'd like to hear that story. That stuff is awful! I sprayed a little in a trash can just to see if it still worked because it was old and nearly died *not literally* from the fumes alone! Can't imagine having it aimed in my face.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Instagram mainly. My blog posts automatically to Twitter, but I'm not ever on there except to retweet giveaways or fellow bloggers posts. I'll probably delete my personal account and leave the book one. I "favorite" all my Instagram peeps I want to see and just scroll through that. If I get a bunch of ads I just go through and mark that as "I don't want to see this anymore". It seems to help.
Park Ranger is such an awesome job!!! I am curious which park you worked at, but you don't have to tell me if you want to remain anonymous. Were you living in the park, or at home? Are you an EMT? I trained as an EMT, but didn't ever actually work the job, lol. One of my impulsive bad ideas.
ReplyDeleteAdorable Halloween picture!
Lol. Sorry. Forgot to change from anonymous. This is me!
DeleteYay for surviving your first season as a park ranger! It sounds absolutely insane and quite the experience. Instagram drives me crazy with the algorithm! It shows me more of people it thinks I want to see then people I actually follow. Brooklyn looks absolutely adorable! I like her take on Halloween though I was always on the side as getting as much candy as possible. I hope you've had a great week!
ReplyDelete