Harry Potter, and my weekend, and an observation about neither

So can I talk about Harry Potter just a little bit? If you haven't read it yet, and are planning to, I urge you to stop reading right here (and pick up again below where I will be changing subjects), because this post is bound to be full of SPOILERS!!!

So. It's over. It's done. No more Harry Potter books to look forward to, except maybe the rumored encyclopedia that J. K. Rowling may or may not be publishing in the distant future. I am sad about this. But I'm also happy that the story has finally come to its long-awaited conclusion. Having said that, however, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by the way it ended. Deathly Hallows was a very exciting and intense book - so much so that I actually had to stop reading after one particular chapter ended because things kept happening, one right after the other, and since I knew the next chapter was going to be more intense than the previous, I just needed to take a break! My fragile constitution needed a chance to rest before plugging onward. It seemed as if Harry and crew were constantly averting capture, and constantly in danger of death at the hands of some evil-doer, if not Voldemort himself. This part was great fun. And it seemed to be building towards a crescendo in which there would be the ultimate battle between good and evil. Well, I guess it got there. The battle was fought, people were killed, people showed their true colors, and good triumphed over evil, as we always knew it would. But oddly enough, I felt unfulfilled. The final battle between Harry and Voldemort seemed to be over in the blink of an eye, as if to say, "All right, I just defeated the most evil wizard in existence, saving the world from certain disaster - I think I'll have a nap." I was left, bewildered, wondering, Hey, whatever happened to ... and the list was a long one. I wondered why certain purportedly important characters had so little to do, I wondered what happened to certain people after the war was over, and though it may seem strange, I wondered why more people didn't die. Maybe it's morbid of me, but I would think that a battle of such proportions would have had more casualties. Yes, some of my favorite characters did not make it, but honestly, I felt the good guys got off pretty easy. And the epilogue, though well-written, still left me hanging. But wait, what about ... ?

All in all, though, I did enjoy the book and I'm sad that it's over. Though it wasn't my favorite of the series (that distinction belongs to book 5), it was entertaining and exciting as they all have been. And any Harry Potter book is a worthwhile read in my mind.

END DISCUSSION OF HARRY POTTER!!!!!

Okay, now that that's over, I just wanted to chat about some random things I've been thinking about. There is this guy at work. I don't know him, but I always see him in the cafeteria around lunch time. He's on the taller side, and the first few times I saw him, he seemed pretty average in build, if not a bit on the overweight side. And its funny, but he was always eating lunch with someone who looked like a shorter, stockier version of himself. Weird. But anyway, one day I noticed that he had suddenly lost a lot of weight. It's possible that he wasn't around for a while, because honestly, I don't keep track of those kinds of things. But for quite some time, he resembled a skeleton a bit too closely for comfort. Very very skinny. Then, just as suddenly as he'd lost weight, he seemed to be gaining it back again at an INCREDIBLE rate. Now he is no doubt overweight, and growing in size every time I see him. I don't know what caused this metamorphosis from average, to emaciated, to obese - maybe he has a thyroid problem, or he was sick and now he's healthy again, with a healthy appetite to boot. But it got me thinking. I noticed this change in a complete stranger - so it made me wonder what people thought about me! When I am on Prednisone, my face goes through some very noticeable changes. Even though the shape of my body does not change TOO much (unless I let my new-found appetite get the better of me), the roundness of my face gives the illusion that I am a much more full-figured person. When I started working here is 2005, I wasn't on any medications. I was thin and healthy. Then I had a flare-up and went on the drugs and got puffy, then my dose went down, then up again, then I was off it, then back on again, and now I'm off it (for good?). All this over the course of two years. But it just makes me wonder what the people who don't know about my disorder thought about my changes in appearance. Did they wonder? Like I wondered about the guy I always saw in the cafeteria? Or did they even notice? Hmmm.

On another topic, I had a very busy, but very lovely weekend. It was a three-day weekend for me, so I took advantage of the Friday off work by finishing up Harry Potter, and going to the grocery store for ingredients to the various things I was cooking for the weekend gatherings. Saturday afternoon I went to a barbecue at K and C's, which was really fun. I just love hanging out with their kids!! :) And I made a tomato artichoke dip that seemed to please, so I was happy about that. I had to leave early, though, for an appointment with some other friends to watch some old episodes of "Lost" and eat homemade Mexican food. I attempted a new recipe for Mexican Corn Casserole, which might have been good, but I think it was a bit undercooked. The baking is done in two sessions, and I had to do one at home earlier in the day, and the second one once we got to my friends' house. I think if I'd been able to do them back to back, it would have turned out better. Oh well. Live and learn. THEN, the next day I went out to the burbs for a pool party and barbecue, which was a jolly good time. It was great to just be outside all day in the gorgeous weather, and have a fun time with some great people. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but was EXHAUSTED come Sunday night.

Okay, anyway, that's all I have the energy to write about today. Laters!