It's the end of the world as we know it...

And I feel fiiiiiiiiine!

If you're reading this, then the Mayans got it wrong. The world, in fact, did not end on December 21, 2012. According to timeanddate.com, the end of the world was supposed to occur at 11:11 UTC, which is 3:11 am PST. I'm not sure when exactly you're reading this, but I set it to go live at 8:00 am EST (or 5 am PST), which means if you're able to read it, rejoice!

We're all still here.

Unless heaven has internet access, of course. Which is entirely possible, I suppose.

I've been fairly amused by some of the hype this week, including the fact that NASA felt the need to engage in myth-busting. Seriously, NASA. Pretty funny.

I particular liked this answer:

Q: Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
A: The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

What?! Do you mean to tell me that the ancient astronaut theorists quoted on the History Channel aren't credible scientists?! Really? Heresy, I tell you!

Anyway, I remember the first time in my lifetime that the world was supposed to end. With countless doomsday scenarios predicted since then, it seems amazing we'd actually taken it seriously at the time, but hey, I was a sophomore in high school. Melodrama was my specialty.

I vividly remember that day, actually. It was during football season, and I was a cheerleader. My friends and I figured that if the world was just going to end that afternoon anyway, why bother going to practice?

The radio had been reporting that apparently the sun would explode at precisely 3:00 pm EST, but one of my friends pointed out that it would take approximately 8 minutes for the effects of the explosion to reach us. So when school got out at 2:20, we figured we had 48 minutes to live. So we did what any good high school girl would do, and sat on the hill overlooking the football filed and ogled football players instead.

And I have to admit, we also kind of envied the football players. With all that gear on, they might actually stand a chance of survival.

So there we sat, eating cookies, drinking Diet Coke, giggling at cute boys, and listening to our local Top 40 station on someone's boom box, counting down the minutes left until impending doom. And just a few seconds after my watch ticked 3 pm, we heard a big BOOM!

Cue high-pitched girly shrieking and 12 cheerleaders jumping up and down and hugging one another. And then, to add insult to injury, this came on the radio:



Niiiiiice.

Anyway, it took a minute or two to realize that the boom couldn't possibly have been the sun exploding, because as pointed out previously, the effects wouldn't have reached us that quickly if the sun had actually exploded at 3 pm. (I know, I know...none of us had taken Physics yet.)

And then once 3:08 passed and we were still here, we realized that, duh, the loud sound was actually construction happening on one of the portable classrooms. But by that point, practice was almost over, so we decided to just knock off early and go home.

Anyway, the world didn't end that day.  And since it didn't end today either, you might as well fill up your e-reader, and I have just the ticket for you! My boxed set, Dani Spevak Mysteries Bundle, is part of a massive promotion today FOR ONE DAY ONLY!

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There's also $990 in prizes up for grabs, including a $500 Amazon gift card and a Kindle Fire HD. So click on over and browse for some great reads, and when you're done shopping, be sure to click on the Prizes page and enter to win!

Happy reading and happy holidays!