Baptism in blood

The most awkward thing in the world is perhaps having the toilet clog at 2:30 am and there is no plunger around. And after trying for twenty minutes to flush the clog out, finding out there was a plunger downstairs after all.

Started reading Casino Royale, the first of Ian Flemming's James Bond books. It's pretty awesome. Not only is it more fulfilling than the movie, but it's also considerably different. It starts out with Bond already in France, having resided there for a few days to increase his winnings to take on Le Chiffre. He almost gets bombed outside, and Vesper is, might I say, described as incredibly attractive (in stunning detail) numerous times. Hell, if she's basically the girl on the cover, and she's hot for a drawing.

It also provides the most in-depth rules of Baccarat I've ever seen, even better than Wikipedia. It actually made me understand the game before Bond went to play it, which made the dramatic show-down at the table between him and Le Chiffre that much more dramatic. I highly recommend it, and I'll be moving on to the other few novels in order for the rest of the summer.