38. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Book 38: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohen & David Levithan (A+)

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was witty, sarcastic, brilliant, beautiful, and hilarious! Cohen and Levithan take turns writing in first person with Cohen as Norah, the sarcastic girl who's a bit messed up and is trying out to figure out what a real relationship is all about, and Levithan as Nick, a heartsick boy whose obsession with music is the only way he can cope with heartbreak. Their story is sweet and simply the life-like confusion that all of us have dealt with in that final semester of high school.

From the movie adaptation from Columbia Pictures

Favorite moments include:
From Norah: "How does this work, the getting to know a new guy without revealing too much desperation for his undivided attention" (68)?
Nick: "When someone breaks up with you, their beauty - which you took such satisfaction in - suddenly becomes unfair. It's like that with Tris right now. She's even managed to arrange herself in the lamplight so the shadows hit in just the right way. It feels like a rebuke" (98).
Nick: "Singing in the rain. I'm singing in the rain. And it's such a f***ing glorious feeling. An unexpected downpour and I am just giving myself into it. Because what the f*** else can you do? Run for cover? Shriek or curse? No - when the rain falls you just let it fall and you grin like a madman and you dance with it, because if you can make yourself happy in the rain then you're doing pretty alright for  in life" (156).
My one disappointment in the book is how much cursing there was. I was reading the book aloud to Stuart on our trip to Charlotte and back and after one passage, he looked over at me and said, "You've reached the limit of how many times you can say "f***" this year!" However, it's a realistic writing style for two young adults in the throes of growing up in New York City. They've probably been hearing horrible words like that since they were in elementary school. While it kept with the flow of the book, there were some parts with a bit too much! There's cursing to be realistic and there's tasteless, overused curse words.
If you don't want so much cussing, I definitely recommend checking out the movie. It's one of my favorites! Michael Cerra, even though I'll pick Jesse Eisenberg over you any day... in this movie, YOU ROCK, SIR!

Works Cited:

Cohen, Rachel and Leviathan, David. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. 

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

Kodak Moment: Birthdays

I can't believe I'm turning 20 next weekend! It literally blows my mind. I hope, I hope, I hope that Stuart will be able to get off work, so I can see him. The plan is to go to the NC Zoo with him and my family. It would be the perfect birthday present if he could come along, too. In the mean time... here are some snapshots from birthdays past!!

19! I had Stuart in my life. <3

My 18th had a rocking cake!

I got Little Honda for my 17th birthday!! She was my biggest present yet!!

October Madness

 There's something about the month of October! There's always ridiculous drama! And boy has there been drama around here...
1. Mac escaped! Anna's crazy, peeing cat escaped from the house yesterday by breaking out through yet another window. He was missing from somewhere after 9:30 a.m. until after dark. I arrived from Raleigh near dinner time and joined the search for the missing cat. I walked up and down Milton and Pomroy. We had the neighbors helping. Joe had searched the entire neighborhood for hours. And, it was raining the whole time! Just when I was about to give up hope that we'd see him again, Joe started screaming from the backyard. Mac was lodged underneath our shed in the backyard! More than likely, he'd been there all along to try and stay dry. It took all three of us, a pole, and a mop to get him out from under the shed. Muddy and cold, he was perfectly fine, needing only love and warmth. Joe gave him a hot bath, and Anna cuddled him for the rest of the night while Sparta called for him through my bedroom door.

2. Midterm Week is in October. I've been working hard at all my classes, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good. Today, I got back my midterm that I took on Friday for American Authors. I got an F... my first. Usually, I ace literature and I was jokingly called "The Writing Beast" in my high school journalism class because of my natural talent for writing. Since transferring to UNCG, I have lost my confidence in myself and my talent as I continue to get back graded papers that are D's and F's. I have only made one A the whole semester! I'm completely floundering. I have one midterm left, and I'm not expecting a high grade on that one either. It's like I've lost my ability to write well anymore. Either that or I don't know how to write the way they want me to. It's been very frustrating, very discouraging, and very disappointing.
3. Stuart and I have recently not been doing so well. Everything is fixed now; we've talked everything through and have mended the parts of our relationship that had started to unravel. On Friday, we celebrated our one-year anniversary!! Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend it together. The Angus Barn took that away, but we did get to spend two days of my Fall Break together. For awhile there, it didn't look like we were going to make it... not even to reach our anniversary. Suddenly, a lot of things went wrong and there was a lot of miscommunication, misunderstandings, and misconceptions. It was a worrisome week wondering whether or not we were going to make it through. Everything is back to normal now. We've made promises to keep trying. We love each other, and we're holding onto that with everything we've got.
And number 4 deserves a blog post all of its own...!!

Stuart and Fleetwood

Photo of the Day October 10

This was taken last night at Carowinds... Scarowinds!! It's a major theme park on the state line of North and South Carolina. If you're a NC or SC resident, it is a MUST to go! My sister Kate gets a season pass every year. For Halloween, Carowinds goes creepy with Scarowinds!! Employees are dressed in the most horrid, creepy, twisted costumes imaginable and are meant to frighten, startle, and petrify you! If that's not enough of a thrill, you can walk through tunnels and trailers converted into different themed horror houses, like Cornstalkers and Child's Playground. People pop out of the darkness and scare the crap out of you with screams, loud bangs, and there was even a guy with a chainsaw.
Typically, this isn't my scene. But it is Kate, Seth, and Stuart's! They love this stuff!! I. DO. NOT! However... in the spirit of the season, I wanted to tag along and be a part of the group. At first, I was petrified! Stuart and I were about to enter our first horror house, and I literally froze. There wasn't any power on earth to get me to walk forward as Kate and Seth skipped off to meet their fate in the vampire-themed tunnel. I know Stuart was disappointed, but there was NO WAY I was going in there.
As the night progressed, I started relaxing and went into three different horror houses. I kept my eyes to the ground and clung to Stuart and Kate's shirts like they were lifelines. No one was getting near me!! I ended up having fun and got the largest lollipop imaginable for being brave!!
Below a moment of non-scariness! Kate and I got a picture on the" boardwalk!"

37. The Tempest

Book 37: The Tempest by William Shakespeare (B) (C+)

Not my favorite Shakespeare! I found the whole story to be lacking in... I don't know, Shakespearianess. I've never read one of the comedies until The Tempest, and it wasn't what I was expecting. And, I actually like Shakespeare!
A storm crash lands the king of Normandy, his son, and his company on what appears to be a deserted island. Actually, the storm was magic from the marooned Prospero who is dishing out revenge. His brother took away his seat as duke through treachery that involved all who are now on the island. And stuff happens...
I know that's horrible of me as a reviewer, but I was really not enthusiastic about this book. It was for my Critical Approaches in the Study of Literature class... yes, the one with the cackling professor. Later, I'll be writing a major research paper on some kind of critical analysis of the piece.
It was just such a bizarre story. And, it put me to sleep. Maybe this book shouldn't be getting a B......
The only interesting aspect of the story was trying to figure out what Caliban, the twisted son of a witch, must have looked like. In my reader, there was a segment in the middle that showed drawings and photographs of several interpretations of how Caliban must have looked or was costumed for plays. They ranged from your stereotypical monster with a big mouth and a long tail to an obese man with an "Old Greg" type appearance. However overall, Shakespeare, I was not impressed, sir. What was the point of this work?

36. The Painted Veil

 Book 36: The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (B)

I'm a person who likes to watch movies before reading the book. I don't think it ruins the book at all. Sure, I know the ending of the book (most of the time) but I find the movie to be a nice overview of the novel then I get to read the extra bits the movie had to leave out. It's a win-win situation. The movie isn't ruined for me because it wasn't like the book and the book isn't ruined because I saw the ending. I, like most people, end up getting disappointed when a book-turned-movie doesn't end like the book. Like My Sister's Keeper.... WHAT?!?!?! Where did that ending come from???? That was just stupid!!!

Naomi Watts and Edward Norton as the Fanes

That being said... The Painted Veil movie with the handsome, cool Edward Norton was much better and smoother than the actual novel. As someone who has a keen interest in both literature and film, I see why the film producers did what they did to the movie to make it not the book. The book moves at a slow, steady pace and is only told from Kitty Fane's point of view. The movie taps into the cultural happenings that surround them in China and bring that to light for some action and speed. Also, the ending in the movie was MUCH BETTER than the one in the book.
Kitty is reaching middle age and still hasn't been married off. When Walter Fane arrives and proposes, she says yes just to move out of her mother's house. Walter is head-over-heels about Kitty, but Kitty couldn't care less about Walter the bacteriologist. Together, they sail from England to Hong Kong where Walter is doing research. In Hong Kong, Kitty meets Charlie Townsend, a charming politician who is everything Kitty has ever wanted in a man. Together, they have a long-lasting affair. When Walter finds out about it, he threatens Kitty with an ultimatum: I'll divorce you or you come with me into the heart of a cholera epidemic and be by my side. Horrified, Kitty runs to Charlie and asks him to run away with her, but he disappoints her as an adulterous man always will. Kitty is forced to travel to a small village in the Chinese countryside and be exposed to the worst cholera epidemic the country has ever seen.

Naomi and Liev Schrieber (Charlie)

The novel is beautiful but lacking. I'm not so in love with the movie to know that the book needs a bit more. I think having Walter's point of view would have been helpful in developing that character. Instead, he is a mystical figure that is hardly ever seen just read about in Kitty's never-ending string of thoughts. They never resolve anything and the ending isn't anywhere near as moving as the film's. I had also hoped to find the historical aspect as depicted in the movie with China's nationalist movement and more details of the cholera epidemic but found none whatsoever. The book, drawn out and a bit tedious, is just a story of a woman who has committed adultery and must deal with the consequences. Being in a cholera epidemic is just in the background...

A Conversation with Mac the Cat

Mac, why do you pee on the floor? Just why?! No one else pees on the floor. Not the kitchen floor, not the living room floor, not my floor, not in front of every door we have in this house!! And why do you always aim for the air vents??? I think you secretly know that if you pee in the air vent your scent will be filtered through the whole house. It's really quite remarkable your crafty intelligence.

"I may look cute and cuddly, but inside... GRANITE!!" - Cats & Dogs

Fleetwood doesn't pee on the floor. Sparta... he's a cat too, you know... doesn't pee on the floor!! He pees in a box like you're supposed to! Every day, he uses his litter box how ever much he wants to and no one gets mad. He doesn't get shouted at. He doesn't get scolded. He lives a very relaxed life as a very well-behaved cat. Don't you want that type of life too? You could even argue that Fleetwood pees in a box considering the backyard is boxy. He doesn't get yelled at. He is treated like king... mostly because he's a dog. But not just any dog! He's a good dog. A very good dog that pees in a box. Nutmeg pees in a box for crying out loud!!!!! In the same box she sleeps in!! You don't have to sleep in your litter box. You don't have to go inside except to use the bathroom!!! SO USE IT!! 
I find you to be a frustrating cat. You're freaking cute, but it's difficult to like something that pees on the floor. Do you know that your pee stinks? Like STINK stinks! Not just stinks! STINK stinks!! There's a big difference. Sparta's pee stinks because it's in an enclosed box and you can occasionally get a sniff of it. No, your pee is circulating through the ventilation system of my house! Your pee STINK stinks!!!

Mac stealing Sparta's Kitty Kube

I just thought I should let you know about this. I wanted to warn you that your balls will be cut off... ASAP! It's time, dear boy! You've crossed the line of leaving your litter box behind to be cool and use whatever scrap of floor you can find. Well, now it's war and you're going to vet, let there be no doubt that!! It's time for the birds and the bees talk, sir. Bees sting and you'll never catch a bird. I'm sorry but it's true. Also, there aren't any females in this house... not any females for you anyway, and while Sparta may take it like a girl, I don't want to watch or clean up afterwards. If I wanted to see some action like that, I'd watch real cats do it on Animal Planet. But on my bed... it's sick!!!

Stalking the hamster

So you're heading to the vet, sir! Enough is enough and the time has come for you to lose your manhood. Crossing your legs isn't going to solve anything. Have a good time and send us a postcard. I'll be scrubbing the house with vinegar and spraying every inch with Febreeze. By the time you get back, it'll smell like you've never been here before! And that's the way it'll stay! Bon voyage!