Sunday, November 27, 2011
It's Almost Over
Finally, my long long long educational career is coming to an end! I can taste the sweetness of completing this goal in my mouth! Whatever will I do without the hours of reading texts, studying notes, writing papers, and creating presentations?! I'll have to find a hobby... or better yet... nothing. Doing nothing. What a concept. Nothing. It is quickly becoming my favorite word in the English language. So, what will you be doing today? Nothing! Any plans for the weekend? Yes... NOTHING! Do yo think you could... NOPE!... I'll be busy... doing NOTHING! AHA!!! I'm delirious with excitement and anticipation.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Summer 2011
Summer 2011 Rocks!!!
I haven't written a blog in over a month, the whole point of blogging was to practice writing to the world, not just privately. However, I had an epiphany this summer and have been very busy just trying to enjoy my life. Something I had forgotten to do in the last several years.
For a long while now, my life has been filled with high aspirations and to-do lists that I felt the had to be completed at all costs without consideration to everything else. They defined my behavior. I had to work three jobs, I had to get straight A's in school, I had to graduate with as many possible certificates in the shortest period of time, I had to keep my house spotless, I had to... had to... had to... blah blah blah.
What I failed to do, was have to enjoy time with my friends and family. I failed to keep in touch with my friends, never going out socially with any. I failed to visit my mother, though she was ill. I failed to enjoy time with my husband because I always had things on my list... things I felt had to be completed. No more though... it was like I woke up and realized that I just missed a big chunk of my life, waiting to have nothing left on my to-do list, before I could do anything enjoyable.
Now I have come to realize that there has to be a happy balance. Yes, I have to work three jobs, because my family needs me too. Yes, I have to finish college because I promised my mother and I have come too far to quit now. And yes, my house does need to be cleaned more than usual because I have five dogs and it can get pretty gross. But, I can do other things... have fun... be young, and the world isn't going to come to an end.
This might seem like common sense to everyone, but I just got it. Literally, this summer it finally hit me and I haven't been happier. Hopefully, when the next semester starts I can continue this happy balance... not feeling forced through everything in my life, but wanting and enjoring the events.
I haven't written a blog in over a month, the whole point of blogging was to practice writing to the world, not just privately. However, I had an epiphany this summer and have been very busy just trying to enjoy my life. Something I had forgotten to do in the last several years.
For a long while now, my life has been filled with high aspirations and to-do lists that I felt the had to be completed at all costs without consideration to everything else. They defined my behavior. I had to work three jobs, I had to get straight A's in school, I had to graduate with as many possible certificates in the shortest period of time, I had to keep my house spotless, I had to... had to... had to... blah blah blah.
What I failed to do, was have to enjoy time with my friends and family. I failed to keep in touch with my friends, never going out socially with any. I failed to visit my mother, though she was ill. I failed to enjoy time with my husband because I always had things on my list... things I felt had to be completed. No more though... it was like I woke up and realized that I just missed a big chunk of my life, waiting to have nothing left on my to-do list, before I could do anything enjoyable.
Now I have come to realize that there has to be a happy balance. Yes, I have to work three jobs, because my family needs me too. Yes, I have to finish college because I promised my mother and I have come too far to quit now. And yes, my house does need to be cleaned more than usual because I have five dogs and it can get pretty gross. But, I can do other things... have fun... be young, and the world isn't going to come to an end.
This might seem like common sense to everyone, but I just got it. Literally, this summer it finally hit me and I haven't been happier. Hopefully, when the next semester starts I can continue this happy balance... not feeling forced through everything in my life, but wanting and enjoring the events.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Reading Reflection: Virtue
Virtue - A Fairy Tale
by Amanda Hocking
Published May 27th 2011
by Amanda Hocking
Published May 27th 2011
In a world filled with magic, love might be the final answer in the eternal battle between good and evil. When Lux is tasked with retrieving the virtuous Lily for his master, his entire world is put in jeopardy. Lux must battle goblins, demon dogs, and sea dragons to rescue the one he loves, and that's only the beginning of what he must face...
Virtue is a fairy tale for young adults with action, suspense, and romance.
Virtue is a fairy tale for young adults with action, suspense, and romance.
I just finished Amanda Hocking's book Virtue, and the only way I can sum it up is that it was a very sweet book. I don't want to give anything away, but I thought the premise of the book was wonderful and creative. The characters were very endearing and I loved them immediately.
However, because I did find the whole premise and construct of the book so interesting I wanted more. The story seemed rushed, from the development of the characters to the story line. It felt as though I was speed reading through the novel. She could have added 400 pages and I wouldn't be bored. Besides the book seeming a little short, it was a wonderful read. Sweet and endearing, and a great quick read.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Stalkers Getting Fatter
Stalking is a lost art. The days of hiding in bushes and peering in windows are over. Dark glasses, trench coats, large brimmed hats are things of the past; distant memories of simpler times. Back in the day, there was an ambience, tricks of the trade, and certain skills necessary to successfully stalk. It took a particular amount of proficiency; hiding in bushes unbeknown to the world or secretly living in someone’s attic space undetected. These undertakings require patience, agility, and strategic development.
However, the use of present day technology has made these aptitudes almost entirely unnecessary. Sure, advancements in visual and audio equipment just added a fun twist to stalking adventures, but now with the popularity of Facebook who needs to wait patiently behind your bushes for the perfect time to peer into your windows.
The hunt begins.
However, the use of present day technology has made these aptitudes almost entirely unnecessary. Sure, advancements in visual and audio equipment just added a fun twist to stalking adventures, but now with the popularity of Facebook who needs to wait patiently behind your bushes for the perfect time to peer into your windows.
The hunt begins.
The new aged stalker simply needs to know your name.
Step 1: Find Friends, a few more keystrokes to enter any information and there you are, smiling back at them in your profile picture.
Step 2: Submit Friend Request, and the pursuit begins.
Step 3: The wait. Will you say yes, no? How long will it take minutes, hours, days, weeks? It doesn’t matter, stalkers no longer have to suffer the elements or risked being caught by nosy neighbors, in the comfort of their own home they snack and wait idly for your response to their friend request.
Step 4: It happens, Accepted Your Friend Request.
Step 1: Find Friends, a few more keystrokes to enter any information and there you are, smiling back at them in your profile picture.
Step 2: Submit Friend Request, and the pursuit begins.
Step 3: The wait. Will you say yes, no? How long will it take minutes, hours, days, weeks? It doesn’t matter, stalkers no longer have to suffer the elements or risked being caught by nosy neighbors, in the comfort of their own home they snack and wait idly for your response to their friend request.
Step 4: It happens, Accepted Your Friend Request.
There is all the information they need at the touch of a mouse click. They no longer have to wait patiently down the street on Thursday night, your garbage filled with intimate treasures of the week are unnecessary. They already know what you’ve been eating, wearing, reading, etc. Driving behind you obscurely, making sure to stay at a safe distance undetected, learning your daily patterns. Pointless! You’ve already told them where you were, where you are, and where you will be going. Not to mention detailed maps providing exact locations, little red dots signifying the stalker's prize (you).
Though Facebook is a legendary resource for communication, beware, it is contributing to the obesity of our stalkers. We have to keep them guessing, even just a little, exercising not only their bodies, but also their minds.
Remember, the majority of stalking victims knew their pursuers.
So, take a look at your friend list. Anyone putting on a few extra pounds? Not as limber as they once were? Failing to deliver their usually witty responses? Maybe, just maybe, it’s because they’re not getting their daily dose of stalker exercise.
Instead of having to scale your wall to know what you’re wearing, they only have to click on it. So do what you can, help stop the growing obesity of stalkers.
Remember, the majority of stalking victims knew their pursuers.
So, take a look at your friend list. Anyone putting on a few extra pounds? Not as limber as they once were? Failing to deliver their usually witty responses? Maybe, just maybe, it’s because they’re not getting their daily dose of stalker exercise.
Instead of having to scale your wall to know what you’re wearing, they only have to click on it. So do what you can, help stop the growing obesity of stalkers.
Monday, May 30, 2011
My Car Accident Experience
Since I am new to blogging, I am not entirely sure what information I wanted to share via internet. Thus far, I feel that a good place to start is to write about activities surrounding life, specifically my life. With that said, I forgot about the almost near death experience that occurred on Saturday. I am highly exaggerating, but it does make a good story so here it goes...
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I headed to job #3 to fulfill my five hours of work per week. It was a great day and one of the first real days signifying the onset of summer. The smell of honeysuckle lingered in the air, the sky was a clear blue with cotton ball clouds scattered in the horizon. With my windows rolled down and my four-legged best friend, Destiny, in the passenger seat I thought to myself, this is going to be a great day.
I passed over the small trestle bridge on the highway and made sure to admire the boats lining the ocean, it was my favorite part of the drive. This also signified that in about a mile or so I was going to have to get in the right lane, ensuring I veered to the right on the upcoming fork in the road. I put on my right blinker, looked in my mirror, and made sure to check my blind spot. The coast was clear and I got into the right lane.
Suddenly the small flatbed truck that was in front of me started to veer into my lane. I was in the worst position possible. I had already past the truck's rear tires so slowing down to let him pass was mot avoiding the collision. However, I wasn't far enough up where I could speed past him into safety. My only option was to slam on the breaks and steer my car as far right as possible. In doing so, Destiny's poor little face hit the dashboard and I scraped my tire violently along the curb. The truck still hit me, swiping across the left side of my tiny red car. The left side view mirror bent forward and I could hear the angry screeching of metal on metal coming from the front end of my car. I couldn't pay attention to my car or the truck at this moment, because I had to ensure the safety of my best friend.
After I made sure Destiny was all right, I looked up to see that the truck had pulled over into the emergency lane in front of me. They were pretty far up and I am slightly on the lazy side, so I put the car in gear to drive up to the truck and give them a piece of my mind. As I started driving up, so did the truck, I thought, maybe he's pulling into a parking space? But no, he passed the first entrance, then the next, and finally had gotten back on the highway heading north.
He was leaving!
My hands started to shake and I could feel the anger bubbling in my chest.
I thought to myself, this son of gun ran me off the road and is leaving the scene, without even having the consideration to check on my well-being. Jerk!
Well I wasn't having it. I put on my left blinker, checked for oncoming traffic, and veered onto the highway myself. I put my hand on Destiny to steady her and slammed on the gas. My tiny little car shook and convulsed in protest, but I figured it could at least catch this truck. I got into the left lane, passed the truck, quickly got into the right lane in front of him. I slowed down and with my whole arm out the window motioned for him to pull over.
Surprisingly he did. I followed suit.
At this point, my anger had subsided and I wasn't entirely sure what my next course of action would be. I got out of the car looked up. A short, mid 30's, bald man, with intense blue eyes was glaring daggers at me.
"I had my right blinker on," he exclaimed throwing his arms in the air. I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms acoss my chest. Giving him my best: bitch, bring it look.
"That would have matter if... I WASN"T ALREADY IN THE LANE!" I yelled at him. My sudden outburst caused him to stop mid step. His eyes widened and he only stared.
"That's not even the point," I continued, "what kind of jerk runs a girl off the road and then drives away?! Is that how you were raised?" I asked heatedly. "Is that how you would treat your mother?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't even think I hit you... I wasn't sure if you were going to stop," he stammered, "I wasn't sure what you wanted to do."
"Well in the future, you at least get out of the car and make sure the person is okay," I responded. By now I lost all steam in my argument. My hands dropped to my side as I motoned to my car, "I don't care about the car, it cost $500 dollars it’s the fact that you just left like nothing happened.
"All right, I get it. I really am sorry," he said as he walked around my car making sure everything was in order. "Everything looks alright though; I don't think there was any kind of damage."
"Neither do I," I said, "it was more of the point." I knew there was no damage. I'd seen it when I got out, but... I don't know it was the point. He kind of smirked at my response and gave me a sideways glance. I was certain he was questioning my sanity, but I didn't care. Common human courtesy would have you stop to ensure everyone was okay. At this point, we parted ways, he walked over to his truck and I walked to my little red car. Right before I got in, I turned around to shout one more thing, “Have a great day.” His gri was fullof humor as he looked back.
"Yeah you too."
So that was the story of my Saturday afternoon, it was still a great day. Now I just had a dramatic story in addition to the great experiences of my day.
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I headed to job #3 to fulfill my five hours of work per week. It was a great day and one of the first real days signifying the onset of summer. The smell of honeysuckle lingered in the air, the sky was a clear blue with cotton ball clouds scattered in the horizon. With my windows rolled down and my four-legged best friend, Destiny, in the passenger seat I thought to myself, this is going to be a great day.
I passed over the small trestle bridge on the highway and made sure to admire the boats lining the ocean, it was my favorite part of the drive. This also signified that in about a mile or so I was going to have to get in the right lane, ensuring I veered to the right on the upcoming fork in the road. I put on my right blinker, looked in my mirror, and made sure to check my blind spot. The coast was clear and I got into the right lane.
Suddenly the small flatbed truck that was in front of me started to veer into my lane. I was in the worst position possible. I had already past the truck's rear tires so slowing down to let him pass was mot avoiding the collision. However, I wasn't far enough up where I could speed past him into safety. My only option was to slam on the breaks and steer my car as far right as possible. In doing so, Destiny's poor little face hit the dashboard and I scraped my tire violently along the curb. The truck still hit me, swiping across the left side of my tiny red car. The left side view mirror bent forward and I could hear the angry screeching of metal on metal coming from the front end of my car. I couldn't pay attention to my car or the truck at this moment, because I had to ensure the safety of my best friend.
After I made sure Destiny was all right, I looked up to see that the truck had pulled over into the emergency lane in front of me. They were pretty far up and I am slightly on the lazy side, so I put the car in gear to drive up to the truck and give them a piece of my mind. As I started driving up, so did the truck, I thought, maybe he's pulling into a parking space? But no, he passed the first entrance, then the next, and finally had gotten back on the highway heading north.
He was leaving!
My hands started to shake and I could feel the anger bubbling in my chest.
I thought to myself, this son of gun ran me off the road and is leaving the scene, without even having the consideration to check on my well-being. Jerk!
Well I wasn't having it. I put on my left blinker, checked for oncoming traffic, and veered onto the highway myself. I put my hand on Destiny to steady her and slammed on the gas. My tiny little car shook and convulsed in protest, but I figured it could at least catch this truck. I got into the left lane, passed the truck, quickly got into the right lane in front of him. I slowed down and with my whole arm out the window motioned for him to pull over.
Surprisingly he did. I followed suit.
At this point, my anger had subsided and I wasn't entirely sure what my next course of action would be. I got out of the car looked up. A short, mid 30's, bald man, with intense blue eyes was glaring daggers at me.
"I had my right blinker on," he exclaimed throwing his arms in the air. I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms acoss my chest. Giving him my best: bitch, bring it look.
"That would have matter if... I WASN"T ALREADY IN THE LANE!" I yelled at him. My sudden outburst caused him to stop mid step. His eyes widened and he only stared.
"That's not even the point," I continued, "what kind of jerk runs a girl off the road and then drives away?! Is that how you were raised?" I asked heatedly. "Is that how you would treat your mother?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't even think I hit you... I wasn't sure if you were going to stop," he stammered, "I wasn't sure what you wanted to do."
"Well in the future, you at least get out of the car and make sure the person is okay," I responded. By now I lost all steam in my argument. My hands dropped to my side as I motoned to my car, "I don't care about the car, it cost $500 dollars it’s the fact that you just left like nothing happened.
"All right, I get it. I really am sorry," he said as he walked around my car making sure everything was in order. "Everything looks alright though; I don't think there was any kind of damage."
"Neither do I," I said, "it was more of the point." I knew there was no damage. I'd seen it when I got out, but... I don't know it was the point. He kind of smirked at my response and gave me a sideways glance. I was certain he was questioning my sanity, but I didn't care. Common human courtesy would have you stop to ensure everyone was okay. At this point, we parted ways, he walked over to his truck and I walked to my little red car. Right before I got in, I turned around to shout one more thing, “Have a great day.” His gri was fullof humor as he looked back.
"Yeah you too."
So that was the story of my Saturday afternoon, it was still a great day. Now I just had a dramatic story in addition to the great experiences of my day.
Summer Reading
Every summer I get excited about upcoming books. Since class is out, I can devote hours a day to reading, my true passion in life. At this moment, I already have a list of books and series compiled that I am very excited to delve into. First, Charlaine Harris' 10th Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead in the Family, came out May 4th. Traditionally, I read the entire series over again and then run to the bookstore the day of to purchase the next. However, the last book left me pretty disappointed and wanting more, so I stopped my compulsive buying urge to check out some reviews first. They weren't as good as I liked, I'm willing to wait for the paperback to come out. Though, from the reviews, it seems that this book is leading into something more exciting in the next. It doesn't matter, I love Sookie and will continue to love the characters that Harris created.
James Patterson's 10th Anniversary is also out now. With Lindsay getting married I am super excited to see how everything goes. The last few chapters in the last book had me skipping to the end to make sure everything was going to be alright, it was tough to read but everything turned out okay. I also recently read the first of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, which are a little young for my taste, but still interesting It was a great easy read and I'll probably look into the rest of the books for the summer.
The two books I am most excited about are Amanda Hocking's Virtue and Lauren Kate's Passion. The latter is the third book in a series about falling angels and love. I picked the first book, Fallen, out of the shelf because I loved the cover art. I also bought a copy for my niece and we both fell in love with the story. We are waiting eagerly for this next book to be out, June 14th cannot come quick enough. Virtue should be out right now, as soon as I'm done with this blog I'm going to try to download it from my Nook. I found Amanda Hocking's books accidentally while browsing and fell in love with her stories. The Trylle Trilogy and My Blood Approves were exactly what I needed in a stressful moment in my life, I read all of them within four days. I have read the preview for Virtue and I hope I sleep tonight instead of staying up and reading the whole thing. I love Hocking's back story and it is truly motivational, wish her the best in all future endeavors and I will definitely be looking for more of her work.
I figure this list should get me through a week or two.
James Patterson's 10th Anniversary is also out now. With Lindsay getting married I am super excited to see how everything goes. The last few chapters in the last book had me skipping to the end to make sure everything was going to be alright, it was tough to read but everything turned out okay. I also recently read the first of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, which are a little young for my taste, but still interesting It was a great easy read and I'll probably look into the rest of the books for the summer.
The two books I am most excited about are Amanda Hocking's Virtue and Lauren Kate's Passion. The latter is the third book in a series about falling angels and love. I picked the first book, Fallen, out of the shelf because I loved the cover art. I also bought a copy for my niece and we both fell in love with the story. We are waiting eagerly for this next book to be out, June 14th cannot come quick enough. Virtue should be out right now, as soon as I'm done with this blog I'm going to try to download it from my Nook. I found Amanda Hocking's books accidentally while browsing and fell in love with her stories. The Trylle Trilogy and My Blood Approves were exactly what I needed in a stressful moment in my life, I read all of them within four days. I have read the preview for Virtue and I hope I sleep tonight instead of staying up and reading the whole thing. I love Hocking's back story and it is truly motivational, wish her the best in all future endeavors and I will definitely be looking for more of her work.
I figure this list should get me through a week or two.
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