None Whatsoever

I definitely should have done more homework over this three-day weekend. I mean, I'm not necessarily doomed this week but I'm not exactly in the best spot either. From the looks of my Google calendar, this week doesn't look too bad. The problem is that next week I'll be completely dead if I don't get a certain amount ahead. Thank goodness for four day weeks after three day weekends that followed the week of drowning in homework.

The reason for my having next to no homework done right now at 7:38 Monday night after a three-day weekend? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hands down. Yes, I hung out with friends and did things, but honestly. I watched most of season five, and I watched seven episodes of season six today. I would have watched less of season six, but I really really wanted to get to the "Once More with Feeling" musical episode. Which, by the way, is a product of television GENIUS. No lie. Well, that episode was really only part of my need to keep watching episodes. The other large part of inability to focus on productive things today was my Spike/Buffy shipping that's been happening since Spike crashed into Sunnydale. Things keep happening with those two, and I want to keep watching to see more! I mean, I'm ridiculously close to slapping Buffy and hugging Spike with everything that keeps happening. Well, figuratively obviously. If I did either of those things literally I'd probably die because they'd kill me. Or, in actuality, I'd probably be crazy since they're both fictional characters.

Anyway, on that note of crazy I really do need to go read about 90 pages of Gravity's Rainbow and probably a few other things before I go to sleep. AND because I have no self control I'm going to watch the return of Chuck that will be happening in about 15 minutes.

I really have no self control.

None whatsoever.

Easy A is Easily... Not

I just finished watching Easy A, a movie I was actually quite intrigued to see (despite and because of its previews). I'd heard some things about it, mostly good, so I continued to be interested. However, after I watched it I'm feeling a strange mix of love and hate for the movie, but mostly disappointment.

I'll start with the things I liked. I LOVED Emma Stone. Honestly, I feel like her performance was probably the best part of the movie. She was enjoyable to watch, which honestly was a good thing because if she wasn't the movie would have probably been horrible. Her family was also an upside to the movie (oh hey! A good family for once with parents who actually function as human beings who might actually care for their child?! What is this madness?!).

Now, before I move on to what I didn't like I'm just going to put this on the table because I KNOW that a major reason why I didn't like the movie is going to be this: I am a Christian. I grew up going to church, I believe in God and in heaven, I'm a (trying really hard to) love everybody type person, and I honestly believe that God is a huge part and a huge truth in my life. I try really hard not to push that on people (in huge part, I feel, due to my Lutheran upbringings. Lutherans aren't really big on in-your-face-proselytizing) although I do hope that people realize they can come to me with any question they might have and would receive no judgement on my part towards them.

And now I'm going to admit it, I was pretty offended by the movie.

I tried so hard not to be offended, you guys. I really really really did. I knew going into the movie that Amanda Bynes played the over-stereotyped, bitchy, blond, over-zealous, judging, Christian and that I doubted anything else in the movie would soften that. Although I did appreciate Olive going and attempting to read the Bible, going to different churches, mentioning the fact that Marianne (and her friends) were extremists, and a few other tiny mentions that not all Christians are crazy, but these mentions were a little far and few between. I also had SERIOUS problems with the depiction of Marianne's dad (the pastor) especially at the end due to some of my own past experiences that I don't really feel like going into on the internet at this moment in time.

And before anyone reading this feels the need to point out the injustices done by Christians in both large and small scales, and that Christians have marginalized people for centuries, and whatever... Just don't because I know this already. I just don't understand the constant need in the media to point out how horrible Christians are. People wouldn't feel a need to harp on someone of a racial minority if they were offended due to their ethnicity being negatively stereotyped. People are horrified by old Disney cartoons and children's books that depict gross representations of different groups of people. So why do I feel guilty? Why do I currently feel that I shouldn't be such an easily offended Christian? Why do I feel like I'm not allowed to be offended by this movie?

I'm annoyed that a movie that seems to promote imaging people complexly, that we shouldn't believe everything we see and hear, and there's so much more to people than we realize has every character except the main one be predictable, flat, and stereotyped (except *perhaps* her parents and the teacher she liked). I disliked that I felt that I wasn't allowed to identify with the movie because part of my identity was tied to the villains in the movie. And, honestly, I so identified with Olive, but I felt it ripped away as I felt judged by everything else in the movie. Why am I not allowed to share in these things?

And why can't there be movies that portray normal Christians? Why can't there be TV shows about perfectly normal kids who are Christian? Maybe in my highly offended state right now I can't quite remember them, but beyond the Christian movies I've seen (produced by Christian companies that are often cheesy and campy) I can't think of movies/tv shows/or too many average books with a main character or a friend of the main character who was religious AND normal.

Anyway, the movie wasn't the worst thing I'd ever seen in my. It has a good message that gets distorted by hypocritical views (that are brought to light, I suppose, if you are an easily offended Christian) so if you haven't seen it and you're still interested it could be worth a rental. I, unfortunately, will be a little disappointed (but still loving Emma Stone/Olive and her capacity to still try and love and understand and forgive people in the movie).

WTWA: In my Children's Literature class we got those scholastic book orders you used to get in Elementary school, and we get to order books from them! WIN!

Lost and Found

Lately I've discovered I've been leaving behind a lot of things. And when I say that I mean like I left my rain jacket at my parents' house when I moved back to college a week ago (and when you live in Western Washington, losing your rain jacket in January really isn't a good idea), or yesterday I left my TARDIS emblazoned pencil case that holds all of my school supplies (and normally my zune, but thankfully that was at home) behind in the library. I may also be losing my mind in the process, but that's incredibly likely due to the circumstances outlined in yesterday's "post" (or whatever you want to call the blurb I made yesterday)

This made me think of other things I've left behind. Decisions I've made to let some friendships weaken in some way or another for some reason or another, or other decisions to forgo certain life paths in exchange for something different. It makes wonder where the never found material and immaterial things we leave behind end up. The Island of Misfit Toys? That space behind the washer where I'm sure all of my left socks ended up?

Regardless, I'm just happy the library has a lost and found. And that someone found my Doctor Who pencil case I've had since my sophomore year of high school for me. I think with everything else that is going on, losing that forever would have been a sign I should drop of out school.

Day 5: That is All

Again, barely posting in time but the post is still here. However, I'm somewhat drowning under large amounts of reading (in the forms of weird theory books that refuse to use words that you can actually understand), studying I still need to do, and work responsibilities despite the fact it's only the second day of school! Plus, if I don't take a break every now and then, I will go crazy. Due to this unfortunate reality of mine, I don't really have an extended amount of time to post anything too substantial.

I will say, however, that I do not like the new Starbucks logo. I'm not a graphic designer or anything, but it looks weird.

That is all.

Woah, Where Did November Go?

It has been about a month since I last posted, but in my defense it has been a ridiculously crazy month. First of all, it was Nanowrimo so every time I thought about posting here I would feel guilty because that writing time really should go to that. Nano, by the way, went pretty well. And when I say pretty well I mean that I managed to finish by writing 30,000 words in the last 3 days of November. I just barely managed to finish by hitting 50,000 words at 11PM on November 30th, but hey! I still finished :D Then, my classes went into insane mode (despite the fact I had my midterms in October) because I had a bunch of projects and just... insanity. The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 premiered (although, really, that's more of a reason to blog than not to blog) and I've just been attempting to keep up with my life. I also seriously considered switching my major, but now I think I'm back to sticking with my major but perhaps switching an endorsement or two.

Which reminds me, they make it way to difficult for people to become teachers (in my opinion). Don't they want more teachers? Or is this some failed attempt to try and get smarter people as teachers? Admittedly, I had some really amazing and really intelligent teachers throughout my compulsory public school career. Then again, I also had some really under qualified and not very intelligent teachers. However, I really don't think the number of loopholes you have to jump through in order to become a teacher makes it so you get smarter people as teachers. I think the ones who are smart will jump ship, and then you just get the ones who aren't smart enough to realize they should leave and the ones who are smart but crazy enough to stay. I'm hoping I fit in the latter category, because for some reason elementary/middle school teaching still seems to be the path I'm choosing. I did pay $85 to register to take some state required test in order to get into the teaching program at my school, so that right there shows some decisiveness. $85 though XD

So now, I'm currently hanging out in my apartment that has been very excellently decorated for Christmas (complete with lights, fake fireplace made out of paper with stockings hung by it, Christmas tree, two mini trees, nativity scene, and more tinsel than someone should own) on a Friday night, trying to decide what project I should work on or what final I should study for. Mostly this is because it seems like everyone I know already has plans or has to work, so I'm just hanging out here like a lemon.

Oh! Speaking of being lame and hanging out by myself I bought World of Warcraft the other day as a "Yay! You finished Nanowrimo!" present. In my defense, it was purchased because I told a friend I would play it with him over break (so, see, I'm using it to be social with people I know) and because they had a crazy deal to buy $90 worth of World of Warcraft for $20. So, I was already planning on buying it, AND THEN they made it super cheap. Sign from the universe. I haven't bought a subscription for it yet, though. That's going to be my, "Yay! You're done with finals and fall quarter!" present to myself. And I fully realize that's probably why they made the game so cheap, because then you'd be roped into paying them your soul $15 a month for the rest of your life when you wanted to play it.

On that note, I'm going to end it here. I've posted quite a few videos on WeThreeChallengirls this month (including one HERE at the Harry Potter movie premier) and I also posted a video on my personal channel today that I meant to edit and post a month ago where I show you the part of my yarn stash that I have at college. That video is HERE. Watch those if you have the inclination, and I will see you in a month next time :D

Wait, it's November?!

Haha, oops. Look at that. October just kind of flew by, didn't it? Well, it did for me anyway. My life got a little crazy with school (and midterms), social life, and just general life-ness. I definitely thought a lot about blogging, but a lot of it came down to not being interesting enough to say, or me not being sure how to put it into words. Meh.

However, this month is November, which means I have lots of things to put into words! 50,000 of them to be specific. For those of you who don't know, I'm doing Nanowrimo (stands for NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth). Nano, during the month of November, is a huge online-based challenge where everyone participating tries to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. You can write more than that (or less than that really) but the somewhat arbitrarily picked number by the folks over at http://www.nanowrimo.org is 50,000. You can view my profile and progress HERE at this link. I'm a little behind right now at almost 5000 words, but every year since 2007 I'm always behind the entire month. But then I write 30,000 words over Thanksgiving break. Makes me wonder how much I could write if I had more time to devote to it. I'm going to try and be less behind this year, but since I'm getting The Force Unleashed II and Fable III from my brother this weekend, my free time is going to be a little... divided. Plus, my homework is only building on itself, so what free time I do have is limited enough in itself.

Speaking of which, homework is really what I should be doing. I'm currently trying to write a paper for my Japanese class (in Japanese) about this book called The Pillow Book written in the early 990 in Japan by a woman we don't actually know the name of (it's attributed to a Sei Shonagon, but Shonagon is a title based on her position at court and Sei was gotten from her father, so no one knows what her real name was). I've been enjoying my research a lot as I'm super into literature (especially classic literature, big surprise), but I'm getting a little intimidated by the paper. But tonight I will start to conquer it! Hopefully. Maybe.

This could be interesting.

See! Look! I have excuses!

Oh, blog. I feel I have neglected you. But my schedule has been crazy! Seriously, look at this awkwardly screen captured picture of my schedule!

Not to mention the increased travel time it takes to get to class compared to last year, increased time for food making and chore doing (dishes, etc), need for alone/me/fun time, a social life, early morning trips to the rec center, and then pile on mounds of homework and you've got quite the full schedule. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage nine (eight? I can't remember) more weeks of this, but I'm sure I'll manage. I always seem to.

But, October just started and I LOVE October. That slight chill in the air, pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes, increasing ability to drink tea and wear scarves, impending holiday season starting with Halloween, and the fact that it's Nanowrimo preparation month! Yes, I know. I'm crazy. I have officially declared October to be "Prepare for a month of crazy noveling"-month. I feel it's necessary, even though the preparation is more mental as I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm writing about this year. It's actually a sequel to my first Nanowrimo novel, so it'll be interesting writing a sequel.

In other news, I really enjoy walking. Yes, it does take at least 30 minutes to get to my classes from my apartment due to the fact my classes are in school buildings about as far away as they can be from my apartment, but I enjoy those 30 minutes. The weather has been so nice lately, it almost seems ridiculous not to walk (if I have the time). There have been a few mornings where there just would not have been enough time to walk, so I took the bus. Still, I'm hoping to keep up this walking habit while the weather decides to keep up the nice-ness of it.

And, I realize this is another quick post, but I really do need to go read some Native American poetry for my English class. I admit that I spent all day yesterday playing Halo and watching TV and movies instead of doing homework, doing laundry, getting groceries... so now I'm paying the price.

And I forgot to buy aluminum foil for the recipe I wanted to make for dinner. Fail.

Oops Part 2

It seems the further I go into August the more times I simply... forget. It definitely was not a conscious decision not to blog yesterday. It was more that I just got busy doing other things. I've started using MyPlate to track what I'm eating which I think has been working really well. It's nice to be able to see everything with the graphs and the tables, and it's nice to have a concrete goal I'm shooting for. It's a lot easier to eat healthier this way than to just vaguely say, "Oh, I need to eat healthier". And I enjoy the little graphic of the glass of water filling up as you track how many glasses of water you've had that day. Anyway, yesterday I was working on that and exercising so I made sure I stayed near my calorie goal. I also got Mockingjay in the mail, so yay! I'm not done with it yet, but hopefully soon. Then we went out to dinner and went computer shopping for my mom. She's been using my brother's old one for a while and it completely died about a week or so ago. By the time we came home after all of this, I felt ridiculously tired (for reasons I'm not quite sure of) so I just went to bed and read Mockingjay for a bit. And then I just... fell asleep. Haha, yes.

So, that's sort of two days skipped now. Except I'm going to do what I did last time and just blog twice today. Again, I think it counts.

Okay, I think "Wednesday's" post is going to be short. Which is fine, because I feel like Tuesday's post was a little long...