Photo of the Day April 30

My Ballroom Dance Recital was two days ago and Ma got this shot!!!!! I think it's freaking fantastic!! I'm doing the tango and am just sooo dramatic. Such a great night.
Love it!

8. Wicked

Book 8: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (A++)

Wow, I am so excited to do a blog post on this book because I am in absolute love with it!!! I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy it. I have shunned the musical for years because I hated the film and book The Wizard of the Oz so much!! I don't know what it was about it, but I never enjoyed the story. But Wicked!!! Now, that's a story.
It was so much deeper than just the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, whose real name is Elphaba. Through a five part novel, the reader follows the complete story from birth to death of the Wicked Witch of the West from the original The Wizard of the Oz. In its pages, the reader explores the magical Oz that Dorothy never shows you. And, Maguire does an unbelievably amazing job of writing a beautiful, emotional, deep story with undeniable detail and charisma. I could hardly put it down!!

From the musical Wicked

Not only are readers able to explore the behind-the-scenes of the classic book everyone knows but there's also deep discussion about life, death, evil, religion, and the rights of Animals - animals with souls that can speak, think, and feel. An example of these intellectual conversations appears in a banter between Elphaba and her lover Fiyero:
"You have no soul," he teased her.
"You're right," she answered soberly. "I didn't think it showed."
"You're only playing word games now."
"No," she said, "what proof have I of a soul?"
"How can you have a conscience if you don't have a soul?" he asked despite himself...

Elphaba and Fiyero

"How can a bird feed its young if it has no conscience of before and after? A conscience, Yero my hero, is only consciousness in another dimension, the dimension of time. What you call conscience I prefer to call instinct. Birds feed their young without understanding why, without weeping about how all that is born must die, sob sob. I do my work with a similar motivation: the movement in the gut towards motivation, fairness, and safety. I'm a pack animal wheeling with the herd, that's all. I'm a forgettable leaf on a tree."
"Since your work is terrorism, that's the most extreme argument for crime I've ever heard. You're eschewing all personal responsibility. It's as bad as those who sacrifice their personal will into the gloomy morasses of the unknowable will of some unnameable god. If you suppress the idea of personhood then you suppress the notion of individual culpability."
"What is worse, Fiyero? Suppressing the idea of personhood or suppressing, through torture and incarceration and starvation, real living persons...? (255-256)"
The entire book is equally as intellectually probing and downright deeper than a tale about a green-skinned witch.
Another favorite passage of mine is Fiyero's wife telling Elphaba about different types of anger.
"Tribal mothers always tell their children that there are two kinds of anger: hot and cold. Boys and girls experience both, but as they grow up the angers separate according to their sex. Boys need hot anger to survive. They need the inclination to fight, the drive to sink the knife into the flesh, the energy and initiative of fury. It's a requirement of hunting, of defense, of pride. Maybe of sex, too."
"Yes, I know," said Elphaba, remembering.
Sarima blushed and looked unhappy, and continued. "And girls need cold anger. They need the cold simmer, the ceaseless grudge, the talent to avoid forgiveness, the sidestepping of compromise. They need to know when they say something that they will never back down, ever, ever. It's the compensation for a more limited scope in the world. Cross a man and you struggle, one of you wins, you adjust and go on - or you lie there dead. Cross a woman and the universe is changed, once again, for a cold anger requires an eternal vigilance in all matters of slight and offense. (364-365)"
I find these statements about anger to be extremely respectful and most often correct.
My only problem with the book was the part IV In the Vinkus. I felt this part slowed the book down and didn't carry on an important part of the story. It developed who Sarima was and how that affected Elphaba and their life together, but wasn't as impressed with this part of the book. The first three parts were so amazing and beautiful that I felt let down when we ventured down into the land of Vinkus to confront Fiyero's wife. I just wanted Elphaba and Fiyero to stay in Emerald City forever as Elphaba did her secret terrorist work against the Wizard and Fiyero wrote letters to wife while loving on Elphaba. The sad thing was that character Elphaba wanted the same thing, but it wasn't meant to be.
My suggestion is to definitely read this book! I don't know about the musical, but if you whether you disliked The Wizard of Oz or not... you must read this novel!!!!

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Print.

An Open Letter to Stuart

Easter Day, April 24, 2011

Hey baby,

 It's been a crazy day with my family... as all days with my family are. I miss you very much, but I know that even if I was in Raleigh today, we still wouldn't be able to be together because you're so busy at work.

I woke up very early this morning because I had to sleep on the mattress from the couch bed meaning that I actually slept on the floor because you know how awful those springs are. Sparta and I slept in my old room together, which has been turned into a mash-up of mine and Anne's personalities. On the floor, there's an ocean of pink things like Hello Kitties and princess accessories which spell disaster for my feet should I step on them. Then on the walls there are cut-outs of celebrity pictures from Entertainment Weekly and a Cher poster on the ceiling from where I left behind evidence of my living in that room for over ten years.

As you know, everyone speaks here in a loud voice and screams. My Southern accent (which somehow I managed to escape speaking in all while growing up) has arrived on my tongue in the strongest of fashions. It wouldn't be going away until I leave Gaston County again... Gassten Coun'ee. There are a bunch of screams,  barks, and meows. Remington hates Sparta and Sparta hates Remington and Piddy Paws seems pissed at both! Ma talks about the hardships of life and how line dance classes are going. Then she screams about something. Kate talks veryreallyfastandIcan'tkeepup and then screams that Seth pinched her or something. And Anne just screams in general before lapsing into babbling.

Nothing has changed except the size of Remington. He is blossoming into a handsome young cat! His tail is a giant Q-tip of a puffball and his face is round and regal like a lion. He's hardly bullet gray anymore taking on a deep, dark brown and saddle tanish color. But good grief has he gotten HUGE!!

Ma and I went to church this morning to listen to a lovely sermon on the Resurrection.  Shockingly enough, there weren't any extra videos about the crucifixion or any skits.  Typically, my church can get a bit theatrical on holidays but this Easter, nothing but the fog machine during worship hour. Afterwards, we dined at Sonic and got burgers - hers with tots, mine with fries.

Then it was calm until Kate and Anne showed up. I wandered around in the backyard with  Sparta and read a few chapters of Wicked. Then I played Endless Ocean 2 on the Wii for awhile after switching from NetFlix (which I'm now sharing with the family via the Wii system). Last night, I showed everyone Stomp LIVE, which was a huge hit!! We didn't get to watch the whole thing  but I made sure they saw the newspaper bit and the sink part. Anne has now found my  NetFlix and is currently watching the Strawberry Shortcake movie.... help me!!!

When Father showed up with Anne, I ran over to his house to dump Sparta off since he was so upset over being in a house with other cats. Then, I drove back to Mount Holly for the annual egg dying and egg hunting.

  Speaking of driving, Little Honda got an oil change yesterday thanks to Seth and she'll need brand new tires tomorrow. The current tires are completely bald and worn down to the metal. I feel horrible for never noticing and being an official Terrible Car Owner.

I'm missing you and Nutmeg!!! I didn't get nearly enough time to play with the hamster and rest with you before I had to go back to school. Two more weeks, baby, two more weeks!!!!!!

Dinner is a-cookin' and we dine at 6:00-ish. Remington and Piddy Paws have to be locked in the laundry room because they beg for food that badly... more like steal food that craftily. When they were put up for dinner last night, I let Sparta out of the back bedroom and bragged about what a good cat he was. He never tried to grab food once. Kate is peeling the egg shells off of Ma's deviled eggs and later we're going to be enslaved to peel potatoes for her mashed potatoes. I'm sure there will be another chore or two because of this massive ham she's baking. Yes, that's right: ham! As you know I despise ham, so I get to eat corn-on-the-cob and orange sherbet for dessert! Yay for me!! And now Kate has been fired from shelling eggs because apparently she... sucks.

Dinner was a colorful affair of Seth eating everything in sight and making love to the honey glaze on the ham and the rest of us shouting over each  other to pass something or other. It ends calmly with fake Scottish accents and orange sherbet and apple pie. How all three of things go together, I don't know... only at Ma's house.

I best go,  baby!! I'm am so, so proud of you and I can't wait until this summer!!!! It's going to be so great to be with you and Nutmeg with Sparta on a regular basis! One big happy family... with Fox!! :)

Yours,

 Lex

Photo of the Day April 24

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

This is a photo of a house in Greensboro that Joe, Anna, and I hope to rent. It's a bit of a fixer-upper but it has great potential. Currently, the room that would be mine has fluffy white carpet and bright baby pink walls. The kitchen is open and airy! The living room has a brick fireplace with a wall-to-wall built-in bookshelf.
I think  that with some honest work, this house could be home!!! My bedroom is the on the right side, second window.
And yes, there's a cat on the rafters!

Kodak Moment: Nutmeg

So... Morgan and I got a hamster. We hadn't meant to buy one this early - it was supposed to be a summer pet, but last night, we looked at a pet store's hamsters and we fell in love with this one.

Meet Nutmeg, named for her brownish fur and Morgan's love of cooking!  She a sweet, very active hamster! Since she's been home, she has run on her wheel non-stop!!! She's awesome!

Meeting Sparta

Food time!

Coming home in a box

In her exercise ball because she was chewing up her box

New home

The Tough Romantic Questions Part 4

1. How would you describe the most romantic night of your life?

WNC Nature Center

I think that was the entire week that Morgan and I had alone in the apartment between the end of exams and Christmas Eve. We got to experience each other without the school work, the jobs, and the roommates. It was the perfect opportunity to strengthen our relationship and say good bye before we started our long distance relationship.

2. How would you describe "intimacy?"
Being completely exposed by sharing thoughts, experiences, and passions. I find it to be less physical and more of verbal explorations of each other.

3. How would you describe "love?"
You're willing to sacrifice your life for theirs because it'd be easier than living in a world without them.

4. If someone you were in a relationship with were to become mentally disabled, like through the means of a car accident or stroke, would you continue in the relationship with them?
Morgan and I were actually just talking about this quite recently. He said, it'd depend. I said without a doubt, yes, I would continue being in the relationship with him. Would it be hard? Absolutely! I'm not scared of hardship if it deals with staying with the person I love or not or else I wouldn't have willingly and knowingly jumped into a relationship that I knew would become long distance in less than four months. If Morgan became disabled today, then I'd spend my life taking care of both of us.

5. If you were to become a mother of a child who was born with some type of birth abnormality, how would you react?
That's hard to say because I'm not a fan of children to begin with. I'm assuming my feelings for my own child would be different from my overall attitude to children. I would hope that my heart would melt and I would feel that "mother bear" protectiveness that I have felt for my boys and Kate or any animal I've ever come across. And if that happened, then it wouldn't matter that my child wasn't perfect medically. I'm not perfect medically! It'd be a shock and a major adjustment but I'm sure we'd all get through it. As long as I never became like one of those mothers in a Jodi Picoult novel... if I ever acted that sad and desperate, just take me out.

6. If Morgan had to travel for one reason or another, and you were not able to come along, how would you react in waiting for me?
This question is null and void.We all know how I'd react. I'm reacting to it right now . I've been reacting to it for four months.

7. If you were offered five million dollars in exchange for leaving everything you have behind (including Morgan), would you do it?
I've always believed in the Moulin Rouge-philosophy of love before money. No, I wouldn't leave Morgan for $5 million. What would I have? That buys me nothing that equals or is greater than him in return.

8. If someone you were in a relationship with were to become physically disabled, would you continue in the relationship with them?
More so than question 4. I could handle physical better than mental but the answer still stands. Yes.

Photo of the Day April 20

Last April, I was doing this: running amok in Cullowhee Creek and discovering awesome things! The boys and I walked from the Ramsey Center all the way down to the Creek Lot past Walker Hall through the creek discovering awesome things. Here we found a bike!

The Tough Romantic Questions Part 3

1. What type of relationship did you have with your parents while growing up?

A very good one. I told my mother everything, like literally everything! I hardly had secrets from her, and things I did keep from her I felt guilty about. I wasn't quite as close with Father. Ma was around Kate and me all the day because she taught at a high school. Her hours were our hours. Father got home later, but he was still a part of the family. When I was young, he and I used to wrestle in the den. It really helped my boundless energy and wild side.

2. How do you get along with your parents now?

Um... not like the above at all. A lot of stuff, a lot of mistakes made and mean things said happened during my high school years. It changed everything and there's no going back. I see my parents now as more of advisers instead of "mommy" and "daddy." I wasn't rebellious or "bad" that led to this estrangement. I never broke a curfew or smoked weed in the backyard with my friends. It was more we butted heads and didn't forgive each other for our own personalities. My mother and I are both very emotional, and not in a weepy way, but I think that caused much strife as I grew into my own person. I was too independent by the time I was in high school to feel like I still needed to be parented and it caused a lot of arguments. But there were other things, too... there are always other unspoken things.

3. Do you enjoy spending time with friends and relatives, or do you prefer to be alone?
If you had asked me this four years ago, I would have told you I enjoyed being alone. I wanted to curl up in front of the fireplace with a book and not be disturbed. I lashed out at anyone who interrupted me while I was writing my latest book. Now, I enjoy the company of others more. I find it to be beneficial and comforting. Though it does depend on whose company I'm keeping...

4. When you spend time with friends, what do you enjoy doing?
I love being outside and being physical. Ultimate Frisbee, hiking, walking the dogs at the animal shelter. I also love Movie Nights. I used to have Bad Horror Movie Night with the boys. Now that we're broken up, I have cinematic movie nights with Chris or with Morgan. I also love doing quiet, individual tasks in the presence of each other. One of my favorite days with Chris was where he camped out in my dorm room the week before exams and we studied, worked, or played Internet games all day only to break to go to the dining hall. That was an awesome day.

5. When you spend time with your family, what do you enjoy doing?
Mad Gab with Ma
Wizard with Father... that's all that needs to be said

6. When there is nothing to do, how do you entertain yourself?

Reading books, writing my book, blogging, Facebooking, and watching movies or TV on NetFlix. NetFlix has gotten me through so many long hours waiting for Morgan to get home from work!

7. Who do you consider your best friend and why is that?
That would be Chris and MK. I can tell them anything and get two completely different responses. They've been there through the good and the bad. We've had fights and we always get back together. They have stood the test of time.
I also consider Morgan to be my best friend but in a different way. Morgan and I might never have been close had we not ended up dating but now that we are, I tell him everything like I would a girlfriend. Nothing is too personal or too silly to tell him. He knows everything that happened to me last year and I know most everything about him and what he's thinking as he's thinking it. I love how open we are with each other.

8. In your past relationships, what led to the breakup?
My first boyfriend broke up with me. We were just meant to be friends, honestly.
The next guy was actually MK. We were never a couple but I honestly thought we would be. Unfortunately, it was he who thought we were meant to be friends and I was forced to stay that way.
The next guy left me for another girl.
The next guy I broke up with because he smoked weed, was clingy, and I realized I didn't love him and I wasn't ever going to love him. It's funny this question came up because I actually spoke to this guy for the first time in a year yesterday. I told him how sorry I was about what happened between us and to please forgive me for what I did and how that affected everything. He was very open to it and gave me a hug at the end of it all. I don't know if I feel better about anything that happened between us, but I feel now that I have no unfinished business left and can move onto to UNC Greensboro confidently and at peace.

9. Have you ever been in a relationship and broke from it by engaging in an affair with another person?
No!

April Always Gets Me

It's that time in the semester where I literally waste before your very eyes. It's like a magic trick except there's nothing magical about it. It's that part of April where I'm so stressed and so busy that I get sick and hardly eat anything and just run off of fumes until after exams.
I was waiting for the bus this morning - I take the off campus transit bus now because gas prices are too high and I have to save every mile for trips to Raleigh - and thinking about last summer. In fact, I've been thinking a lot about last year because I had a run-in with not only The Viking but also the girl he left me for... twice (twice as in we ran into each other twice... though now that I think about it, he did technically leave me for her her twice.). We passed each other as they entered and then we left the Courtyard Dining Hall, and the whole ordeal really shook me up since I haven't seen either of them in over a month, and I had prayed that I would be lucky enough to miss them across campus for the rest of the year. Lady Luck just wouldn't have it.

Anyway, last summer I arrived back in Mt. Holly pale, pasty, beyond thin, and exhausted beyond belief. I do believe I spent the first week or so of my summer sleeping constantly, zoning out with my iPod's ear buds crammed down my ear canal, or watching the television screen flicker away until the family came home from school. Then, I'd retreat to my room for more sleep. I was a walking zombie, broken and completely at a lost with how to cope with what happened freshman year and how I was going to handle sophomore year in three months.

Then as the big rumbling bus picked me up at the stairs that lead to the lower parking lot of my apartment complex, I walked on and took a seat in the middle to watch the scenery float past as we barreled down the insane hill of a driveway and out onto Highway 107 for drop off/pick up students from the University Peaks. The leaves have been flourishing on trees only now for the silky white nests of newly born caterpillars to devour them. I remember every spring going out in the yard after school with Kate and running around scooping up caterpillars and putting them in boxes. We'd give them names and treat them like pets until we either accidentally killed them or they spun themselves into a bushy coccoon where we'd then become bored and forget the boxes. The next spring, we'd do the exact same thing.

As I'm bogged down by my long distance relationship, which has now been made harder by not being able to talk on the phone beofre 7 p.m. because of no free minutes (and guess what time Morgan has to go to work!) and recently the loss of Skype by my laptop being infected again, along with papers and final exams, I wish more than anything to romp about the backyard with Kate chasing after caterpillars. The desire to be childlike overcomes the guilt of murdering innocent caterpillars.

The bus rolls up another insane hill that is the Peaks' driveway. I feel that as soon as the driver lets go of the brake we'll plummet backward down the hill with no way to stop then crash and flip upside down in a terrific and horrible explosion that my boss will write about in The Western Carolinian. But we don't. The bus continues on past the endless giant brick that is The Peaks Apartments and down a small drive to campus where our reflection oozes across the tinted mirros of the Ramsey Center.
Campus has changed since spring began. Students exist again. They're not just rushing to class. They're ambling along the new UC lawn and fountain. They're gathered on the banks of Cullowhee Creek in bikinis and shorts sunning themselves with a laptop on a blanket. They're walking dogs along the Intramural Fields track and playing Ultimate Frisbee. It actually makes me not want to transfer to UNC Greensboro. However, I know this is all a short happiness. This scene only lasts the last and first month of school. You'd never see this from September to March... unless it's snowing, and that's a different scene entirely.
I wonder how long my exhaustion will last after final exams. If I ever get a job in Raleigh (please anyone call me for an interview), it's doubtful I'd get my week of sleeping and utter laziness like last summer. Since recently I've been experiencing harsh headaches and nausea again, I've been wondering if I ever completely got over my mono last semester. My body tells me, "NOPE!"

And so April goes on... I leave for Raleigh on Wednesday and then to Charlotte to be with my family for Easter. I've been away from Charlotte for too long! I plan on sitting outside all weekend long and soaking up Gaston County air! I can't think of a better way to spend my time...! Please, I pray, no rain!! Knowing Lady Luck... it's gonna rain..............cripes!

Observation Skills Equals Wisdom

These are just a few of the things I've learned in my 19 years without a text book or a teacher telling me so...

1. No matter how shy a dog is, when given the right attention and love, it can always become the happy dog it once was. This cannot be said for an aggressive dog.

2. While McDonald's may use real chicken in their nuggets, they don't tell you what part of the chicken they're using!

3. Saran Wrap always wins!

4. No matter what cool trips to faraway lands your friends have taken, some times the best experiences are being locked up in the house during a storm with no electricity.

5. If the technology for iPods and iPhones still didn't exist, we'd all be ok and survive.

6. Writing a good story takes more than just a good or new idea (that's a dig at you, J.K. Rowling!)

7. Journalists aren't always out for blood... or sometimes not even the truth!

7. A Child Called "It"

Book 7: A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer (A+)

Wow...
Just wow...
This book is the first part of a trilogy that tells the first hand account of David Pelzer's childhood where he was mentally, emotionally, and physically abused by his mother. It went on for years. According to the back cover, it was "one of the most severe child abuses cases in California history."
I have never been so distressed and horrified by what an adult human being could do to a child. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the story and learn how David escaped because that is in part two The Lost Boy.
To read this book, you need two things: a strong stomach and a hard heart. I can't believe I didn't cry or sob hysterically. Probably because it was so surreal, so horrendous that I haven't been able to fully process it all yet. The book was so realistic in its accounts that I couldn't put it down. In fact, I read the whole thing in less than a day.
The mother in this story changed overnight and began attacking one of her boys. And there was nothing anyone in the family could do about it. David was not allowed to play or even look at his brothers. He was called horrible, vile names and told that he'd never amount to anything. He was hardly ever given food, and once, his mother starved him for ten consecutive days. She poisoned him with a mixture of clorox and ammonia. She purposefully left pork in the fridge for weeks so that when she threw it out and her son ate it from the garbage for want of food he would get food poisoning. She stuffed and smeared his baby brother's soiled diaper in his face and told him the eat its contents. The horror goes on from there...
The will of that child and how he has manged to lead a completely normal life now is unbelievable to me. It's more than an inspirational story... it's something that I can't even wrap my head around. Honestly, I have no idea what thoughts I have about this book because I am so... just so... I can't even express it. I don't know if I could survive if I had been David nor do I know how I could survive if I had been one of his brothers and had watched that happen to Kate or Anne every day. I was actually more shocked by how the father and brothers just allowed the mother to do that to their own blood than I was by what the mother was actually doing to the child.
I have no idea what else to say... just I can't believe that could happen to a child. I can't believe that can happen in our society.

I just lost another shred of my innocence.

6. Triss

I have decided to add a couple of rules to my "read 100 books by the end of the year" goal.
1. They must be longer than 40 pages.
2. Audio books do not count. Reading is reading. And, listening isn't reading!

Book 6: Triss: A tale from Redwall by Brian Jacques (A-)

Another amazing book from Redwall! Unfortunately, they will never be any new ones. Quite recently, Brian Jacques passed away and part of my childhood died with them. The Redwall books literally got me through my horrible middle school years. Jacques was the first person I ever wrote fan mail to (he didn't reply but I got a lovely packet from the Redwall people with a cool bookmark). I started with either Redwall or the sequel of Mattimeo and continued reading endlessly from there. I thought I hadn't previously read Triss... maybe I just hadn't finished it. But it was a familiar and comforting story to return to.

Triss is the tale of a female squirrel who is a slave at the kingdom of Riftgard, ruled by evil ferrets. When she and her two friends escape, Triss swears she'll return to free the slaves. Simultaneously, a badger lord's son and two friends set off on their own adventure and of course both parties meet up at Redwall Abbey whose occupants are currently battling a three-headed adder snake that is terrorizing the local Mossflower woods. When the ferrets of Riftgard follow the escaped slaves, all the story lines of the badger, the slaves, the ferrets, the Abbey, and the snakes tangles up into one plot and the excitement is unbelievable! 

Two problems with this story involving characters:
1. The Abbeybabes of Redwall: These tiny terrors are a headache to read. They're running here, they're running there, and they're getting into everything. And, you can't understand a word they are saying:

"Burr, straight in ee barff oi apposes" (82). 

"It not fair! Roobil be a molebabe an' 'im gotta likkle tail, but I bee's a mousebabe wiv a long tail. Not fair, Farver Habbit" (110).  

And so it continues, but even these tykes cannot compare to the horridness of the character Scarum the hare.

2. Scarum is a gluttonous, lying, proud hare who goes with the badger and an otter to have adventures far from home. He is constantly eating everything and gets into the most horrible trouble. The Abbeybabes couldn't have a chance in competing with him. He's smug and lazy, and I cannot stand him!!! Oh, and he won't shut up!

"You, sah, are a flippin' grubswiper, a pirate! Huh, deprivin' a poor young 'un like me vittles. You'll stunt my growth. I'm warning you, if I die, it'll be your rotten fault" (46).

"Might have for you rotten lot, but it took quite a bit out of me, wastin' my artistic an' poetic talents on a pack o' soup-guzzlin' buffoons, wot. I say there, Furrel, you charmin' molemaid, keep pourin'. This blinkin' beaker's only half full - keep goin', me pretty one" (333).

"I, er, spotted it in the kitchen an' just took a small nibble, nothin' too drastic, wot... Yes, sah, barely a smidgen. Don't know what happened to the rest of the confounded trifle. I expect those moles guzzled it. Small types, but incredibly greedy, those molechaps..." (345).

That hare drives me bonkers. I practically skimmed through his parts because I didn't want to read whatever lies he was currently saying. I found him neither funny nor cute and his floundering about ruined the book a bit for me.
Overall, it's not the best Redwall book in my opinion. However, it is a good read and gives you some nice Redwall history that I and some other folks enjoy learning. The ending was very majestic and one of the good creatures dies in an honorable, moving scene. It was nearly tear-inducing!

Works cited: Jacques, Brian. Triss: A Tale from Redwall.

New York: Penguin Group, Inc, 2002. Print.  



Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day April 13

Morgan and I volunteered at the no kill cat shelter in Cullowhee today. While it was very gratifying to be helping out and doing volunteer work, both of us walked away with several scratches and bite marks. One cat, Oreo, doesn't know how rough is too rough while playing and he bit me til I bled! I'd still adopt him anyway if I could.
This guy is a roly poly of a cat!!! It's basically a fuzzy barrel with legs!! He's extremely adorable and is available for adoption at the Catman 2, Inc shelter! Morgan and I call him "Toad Cat."

Half Way There

You know those times when you have a week where everything has to be done, everything is due?! For college students, that is the entire month of April!

On Thursday, Morgan and I celebrated our six-month anniversary!! While we were both very excited about it, it wasn't much of a celebration! There was too much to do. Morgan just got promoted at work. I returned from Raleigh today to work on a group presentation in Speech Communications and I really need to be off-book on my Acting I script. Oh, and I just learned that I have a project due in News Writing on Thursday and I have articles due to The Western Carolinian on Friday. While I was in Raleigh, it seemed all Morgan and I did was try to find me a job for over the summer. And, it's going to be like that all of April.

I'm scared to know what mine and Morgan's relationship will be like when there's not a crisis. When we were together from October to November, we were constantly worrying about what would happen when we were separated along with Kate was in the hospital. In December, I was trying to apply for a transfer to UNCG while Morgan was concentrating on graduating. Then near Christmas, Morgan got bad news about his family that continued to escalate through January and February. In January, we started our long distance relationship, and I returned to an apartment with a flea infestation to battle while Morgan adjusted to apartment living. I applied for a transfer again, this time to UNCG and NC State. Then in March we nearly broke up... twice, because of the long distance and incompatibilities. We spent much of the time crying and/or frustrated at our circumstances. Recently, it's been a battle of getting me a job over the summer and how to move to Raleigh while looking for a house to rent in Greensboro and making sure I transfer successfully in the fall while keeping my grades up and turning in projects on time for my last weeks at Western Carolina. It's a lot!

There's also Sparta to consider. As he has a "lovely" habit of throwing up his food after each bite, I'm constantly hovering over him with a roll of paper towels in my hand. Also, I worry about how the constant traveling will affect him since I no longer feel safe leaving at him at home after he escaped from the apartment twice and was lost in the woods!! I love that cat to death but some days..... I wonder if he's worth the fight. Until.... the week I left Sparta in Raleigh for Morgan to care for because I was returning in a few days. I'd never been so lonely in my apartment! There was no furry face to greet me after class and there was no one to say good night to. There was no obnoxious meowing all day! Losing both Morgan and Sparta... now that's something I can't stand! And, I won't ever do it again!

* * *

The crazy thing is I'm not the only one going through all this mess. Well, I am with the long distance relationship maybe but not with the school work.

My friends are all going through the April Crunch too. I don't know why professors think it's a good idea to escalate work at the end of the semester. Don't they know that everyone else does it too and that we as students no longer have the time or energy to put as much effort into their classes? And it just happens to be the time they assign the most point-worthy assignments, the "Big Ones," the ones that could save or ruin the grade you have or have not been trying to earn. It only makes sense that one of my classes is going to suffer because I'm trying to put attention and time into the others that I have causing me to forget at least one that fell behind.

I saw Jonathan in the library today. He told me he'd been there for nearly four hours straight!

I know some people who have slept in the library overnight because there's just no point in spending 20 minutes that they could be studying or working to walk back to their dorm room.

It's insanity!! And it should be stopped..... but I'm too busy to do anything about it!!!!! I might have just enough time to finish writing this and make a Facebook group for action. If people can overturn the Egyptian government through one, I can take down professors' crazy lesson plans with a Facebook group, too!!!

Go social media!



Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day April 11

I am so ecstatic because summer is just around the corner... at least for college students it is!! I am beyond excited because I am drained, exhausted, over worked, and ready to be with my boyfriend on a regular basis! I want to stop living out of a suitcase and stay in one place for a few days. I'm sure Morgan feels the same.

This photo was taken last summer in the Outer Banks. I got stuck a sink hole while walking Candy on the beach! That was such an amazing trip! I can only hope this summer goes just as awesome in Raleigh and Greensboro, NC.

The Tough Romantic Questions Part 2

And here goes round 2...

1. If you had never met Morgan, who would be your boyfriend right now?
Um, there weren't many suitors lined up at the door. It was Morgan or no one really. And I wasn't even looking at him as if he were a candidate. It just sort of happened.

2. What was your first impression of Morgan?

The first time I met Morgan he was invited over to the apartment by CC, my roommate. He burst into the apartment and wandered into the kitchen with a huge bag of cooking utensils and a blue and white cooler filled with frozen shrimp. Immediately, he began to cook and bang around pots and make things sizzle on the stove. I found him to be very sarcastic and had a strong personality as he completely ignored me sitting at the dining room table reading and yelled at CC over the sounds of cooking. He never said a word to me or glanced my way until he turned around and said, "Do you want some of this?" Thus began our relationship of him wanting me to try new things and me stubbornly refusing yet admiring him for trying.

3. What do you consider the most important values in a man?
Honesty
Tenderness towards both animals and people
Strong faith
Passion in more than one thing or activity
Family

4. What is one characteristic that you find in a guy that makes them most attractive?
Knowing when it's ok to be silly and when it's good to be serious

5. Besides family members and Morgan, who is your closest male friend?
That would be MK and Chris. Chris and I tell each other everything. He's my rock. I want his opinion before I do something. I want his opinion on other people. The way he refuses to conform to someone else's standards is admirable to me. He is who I look up to.
MK and I are inseparable souls. When we're together, we have each other and that's all that matters. I don't want a life without MK. I tried once and failed. Now that we're back together, I'm not going to make that mistake again.
Both of these boys I couldn't love without. They're like my human teddy bears. I need them to hold and squish and to hug me back.

6. What are the things you admire most about Morgan?
I love that Morgan keeps himself in shape and healthy. He puts a lot of thought in what goes into his body and how that affects him. Exercising, running, and weight training are all very important to him and it's a breath of fresh air to see that in today's McDonald-loving age.

I love (and some times hate) his refusal to go along with something, how he never gives in or conforms to what someone else believes, feels, or says. He never takes anything for face value. He won't BS you so don't BS him!

7. When it comes to life in general, what do you feel is the most important thing of all?
Time. Use every minute every day every week every month of every year. Don't waste of second!!! We aren't promised tomorrow so don't put off what you could do today. Tell everyone you love them. Hug and kiss! Don't ever give up hope and don't stop loving someone just because they made you upset for a minute or two. You never know when you could lose them.

8. How would you describe "happiness?"
As in what that means to me? Happiness... "is a warm gun." Sorry, I had a Beatles moment. And I don't even like the Beatles. Happiness is not the Beatles. Honestly, I don't know how to answer this question. I've never thought of anything like that before, what a word means to me. I know happiness when I feel it. I can't really describe that. Christmas... those are usually my happiest days.

9. In reviewing your life, what would you say your biggest mistake was?
No comment.

10. What do you do now in order to ensure that you never make that mistake again?
Know what the limits are.

11. What do you consider to be your three major strengths?
My imagination and creativity
My passion for things/hobbies/activities that I love
My hope and faith

12. What do you consider to be your three major weaknesses?
My lacking self confidence
My spiteful tongue

My inability to forgive and forget

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day April 9

To celebrate our 6-month anniversary, I decided to cook dinner for Morgan. Now as all of you know, I can't cook! Morgan definitely can. So I went to a friend and asked for a recipe I was sure I could make: chicken Parmesan.

It started out great until I realized I forgot the Shake n Bake breadcrumbs. But we made it work. The major problem came after we ate. Both of us, me more than him with my overly sensitive stomach, got very sick afterwards! The marinara sauce as bland as it was did not agree with either of us!!!

Well at least it looks great!! And the stuffing was good too! ....I ain't cooking again!

The Tough Romantic Questions Part 1

These come from the "100 Questions to Ask before Marriage" blog. I was surfing through the Internet and thought they'd be interesting to answer since I've finally got some time of my hands and really wanted to post something! That could be a dangerous combination!!

Starting with the 'Do You?' Section, I would like to add a side note that Morgan doesn't know the answers to some of these questions. ...Huh.

1. Do you consider yourself to be an honest person?
I do indeed!! One of my strong beliefs in life is to never, ever lie! I can recall only three times I ever told a straight-faced lie, and one was to get out of gym class in 2nd grade. I wasn't so much lying that I was injured but I lied and said my dad wrote the letter when I had written it in class because he didn't have time that morning to write one. Though I was a kid, I still regret telling that lie. The others.... I try not to think about them. Then, my belief crumbled under pressure. It won't happen again.

2. Do you believe that love involves following your heart or your head?
From my personal experiences and what I've seen, you follow your heart when you love someone. I've done many stupid, stupid, retarded, lame, dumb mistakes out of "love" and gotten burned. I've seen my own family members and many friends do the same thing. So, I believe that you follow your heart for love but that I also believe you won't have a well-rounded, fulfilling relationship unless you also follow your head!

3. Do you still have feelings for someone what you once shared a relationship with?
I do. And I don't think Morgan will be surprised to hear that. For one person, I still have feelings of respect and a family-type of love. He knows who he is. The other... well, I can't really say what kind of feelings I still have for him. They're just as confusing and hurtful as our relationship was. I hope those feelings disappear.

4. Do you have an specific plans for the future when it comes to your permanent relationship?
As in this relationship? We plan to get a hamster over the summer. :) Due to our circumstances, that is as far as we're allowed to specifically plan right now!

5. Do you believe in living with someone before you married to them?
No, but I'm not exactly being the best model of that right now. I believe that if Morgan and I lived in the same town or had a place to stay that wasn't each other's apartment, we would not be living together.

6. Do you feel that a high value should be placed on money or relationships?
Relationships, yes. Money, no. And Morgan and I often have disagreements about this because he's very practical like my father. I think Father would enjoy that fact in Morgan as he saves and budgets in a very similar way that I watched my Father doing as I grew up. Maybe this is because I'm enthralled with the Moulin Rouge-themed idea that truth, beauty, freedom, and love are to be placed above all else (except for faith of course) and that I don't care about the money. It's great to have but an overflow is not necessary for my happiness.

7. Do you feel as if you are a trusting person? If not, what makes it difficult for you to trust others?
I'm not a trusting person. Ask the guy who screwed me over why.

8. Do you believe when people are just dating that it is ok for them to date more than one individual at a time?
As long as they up front and honest about it, why not? It's up to the other person whether it's ok or not for themselves.

9. Do you feel as if you are able to get along with others well, or do you feel as if most people do not understand you well?

Ah, a question after my own heart. No, I don't feel that most people understand me. You can ask my friends and they'll tell you that I'm one person at one minute and turn into someone else the next. I'm happy; I'm sad. I'm creative; I'm on a different planet. No one, including myself, knows what is going on inside my head. And, I kind of like it that way. I'm so used to no one gaining VIP passes into who I am that I stopped handing them out.

10. Do you currently have any type of financial goals for your future?
Uhhh.... ha! Not really. That probably scares Morgan.

11. Do you have a book that you consider your favorite of all time?
Wuthering Heights
Vulpes the Red Fox, this is the only book that I've read more than 3 times. This book with its description and characters, even with the crappy ending, I can never turn away from!
The first four pages of The Hobbit. They make me happy!

12. Do you view someone that you know or know of as a "hero"?
William Wilberforce. He fronted the movement to abolish slavery in England and its colonies. His life story depicted in the film Amazing Grace makes me cry every time!! That man... I want his passion about everything in life! I would love to have the type of marriage he had with his wife. I would love to make that kind of difference in at least one country. I would love to have that kind of determination and belief in something and fortitude.
"NO MATTER HOW LOUD YOU SHOUT YOU CANNOT DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE!"

13. Do you often feel as if you are a victim of circumstance?
I am ashamed to say yes.

14. Do you suffer from a habit that you consider to be bad?
I bite my lower lip until it's all chapped and dry.
I grind my teeth, which drives Ma and Morgan up the wall!
I adapt my personality depending on who I'm hanging out with....

15. Do you feel as if you are a positive or negative person?
Depends on what question you're asking me on what day. This morning, that was a negative morning!

Instrumental Awesomeness

Morgan's roommate Fox often plays music while we sit around the apartment - me waiting for Morgan to come work, him waiting for his friends to get online so they can X-Box together. And one night, he played this song. It was so amazing and beautiful and calming yet haunting!! I immediately fell in love with it.
Take a listen!!! You will too!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day April 6

I was having a particularly awesome lunch that day! Cup of grapes, blueberry bagel, lemonade, and a chocolate muffin in the brown bag!!!! It was the perfect way to relax before interviewing two guys for my story in The Western Carolinian. You can check out the story on "Cullowhere" here!

5. My Side of the Mountain

Book 5: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (A - )


Georgina Deeb

I forget how horrible and awful George's ending are typically are. In Vulpes the Red Fox, she killed off the fox after a big hunt with a single shot and that was it!!! In this book, a boy named Sam runs away to his grandfather's land in the mountains and begins to live for a year in the woods. It's not because of some distaste for consumerism. It's not because he wants to be Thoreau though he is called that by his friend "Bando," a lost school teacher. It's because he's a young boy at that age where they want to run away from home. So he does. He tames a peregrine falcon, lives off the land on nuts and meats, and turns a hemlock tree into a house.

But the ending SUCKS!!!! Acceptable endings would have been:

1. Sam decides for himself to return to New York City
2. His family shows up to collect him and Sam mysteriously disappears but some people whisper they see a "wild boy" in the Rockies or in Appalachia
3. Sam dies!!! Even this is better than the actual ending, like in the film Into the Wild, which is based off a true runaway

The actual ending is Sam's entire family that he ran away from shows up on his mountain and immediately begins to build an actual house. Sam calls them out on it, saying "you're ruining everything!" and he's right! And then not even four sentences later, the boy shrugs and gives up. And, his family moves in and builds an actual house just because the mother got offended by how journalists described her in newspaper editorials. George writes such beautiful, beautiful books about the forest and the wild then ends them like this!! I wanted to throw the book against the wall. If it weren't for such a horrible ending, this book would have an A+. I forgot how amazing the book is since I last read it in 7th grade. But that freaking ending!!! It makes me want to scream.
Otherwise, the book is unbelievable starting with a boy in a tree worrying about a snowstorm then flashing back to the beginning of the journey. There is so much character in the boy written on a level for middle school students but just as enjoyable for adults as well. I hope that the two sequels, The Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain, aren't tainted by the Gribley family trying to modernize everything.