Lemming, In Search of a Cliff*

so, i worked the other night, for the harry potter release. let me say this right off the bat: i'm somewhat agoraphobic, that is, i'm a bit uncomfortable in and around big crowds. i don't "freak out" so much as just start to fidget, pace, and well, okay, have small freak outs. i did all those except maybe the freek out. it wasn't that bad, actually. crowded, yes, but the crowd was orderly and everyone seemed to have a good time. though, i would of given anything to of stuck a sock in my store manager's mouth. he kept barking instructions over the p.a., no one was really listening and yet we had no choice but too listen because the p.a. sound had been turned up. he barked instructions about all kinds of different things. its not even important what he was barking about.

we had a variety of things going on that night. costume contest, tarot reading, face painting and, the coolest thing: owls. real live, little bitty owls. one of them was about the size of my fist. i wanted to take the little guy home, i figured that princess emma would like a feathery, taloned friend. then again, maybe not.

we had folks start lining up to get their book early. they just had to be the very first person in line to get the book. i was excited about the book, too. if for no other reason than it was the final one and i could put this particular boywonder wizard to bed. i was in charge of the countdown, that is, i got on the p.a. after my manager started to get horse (thank god) and i started counting down until the magical hour of 12:01 am. then the frenzy began.

here is the best way to describe it: controlled chaos. a cliche, i know, but that's what it was. honestly. i started to play with customers. that was fun. every now and again when one came up longingly, i'd ask "what would you like?" they'd say "harry potter" and me being who i am would say simply "oops, we just ran out." the looks of sheer shock were priceless, but of course we had plenty so they got their little, as mike rowe from dirty jobs would say "slice of heaven." the strangest thing was the eyes of the customers. they locked onto the book i had in my hand and watched it, much like a dog watches a ball or bone. i tested this theory, i would move the book back and forth up and down and their eyes would follow... for a split second the lights were on, but nobody was home, if you get my meaning.

i got my book that night, too.

i finished reading it monday night before i went to bed. now, in the interest of anti-spoilers i shall endevour to not give anything away.

did i like the book? it was okay, but it wasn't my favorite. prisoner of azkabahan is till the reigning champ-een on that score. it was the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst (that distincition in my opinion goes to chamber of secrets). it answered some questions, but left quite a few unanswered. it cleared up the whole snape thing, but neglected to answer some of the questions i had about harry and his family. the epilogue, why did she have to write that? she should of left it alone. i also felt that at time, the book was forced. particularly some of the perdicaments that harry got into, it felt to me that rowling had to think fast a couple times to get harry out of something she wrote him into.

in a few weeks, i'll re-re-re-read the series from beginning to end. to get the whole. maybe i'll change my mind then.

*originally posted at opendiary