48. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

Munkastrap

Book 48: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot (A)

I have been longing to read this book of poetry since I first saw the Webber musical CATS, which is based on this text. And it was everything I had hoped it would be!!
In the edition I picked up, Edward Gorey has beautiful, realistic black and white sketches of all of my favorite cats: Old Deuteronomy, Bustopher Jones, and Mr. Mistoffelees. Their stories are classic and sweet, little tales of a cat's comings and goings in bustling London.
My favorite was "The Song of the Jellicles," where Eliot describes what makes a 'jellicle' cat! His words are pieced together in a masterful way that brings life and character to these crazy creatures. It is the perfect little book for young and old alike. Even if you don't like poetry, this book is still for everyone! There's no way, unless you're an animal hater, that you can't laugh and fall in love with these up and coming practical cats!

47. Plan B

Book 47: Plan B by Charnan Simon (B)

I have got to stop reading these mediocre books! They're bumming me out!
This was a novella about a teenage girl who has life mapped out. She's in love with her boyfriend Luke, and they're going to graduate high school and go to college together in Austin, Texas. But when Luke becomes physical, the girl explains it to herself that she's "making love" not just having sex. Oh honey...
She, of course, gets pregnant after the one time without a condom. She and Luke are now faced with how they're going to handle the situation they find themselves in.
The ending isn't what you would expect!

Living Lesson No. 3

This semester hasn't gone as we've all planned, but I certainly have learned a lot in these past few months with "JoAnna." Here are some of life's valuable lessons I've learned while here in Greensboro. (And I hope my roommates appreciate this!)

Roommates

1. One bathroom is never enough!

2. If Mac squeaks, PUT HIM DOWN!

3. If the mail man won't pick up your mail, use a clothepin to tack it to the mailbox. Works every time!

4. Your landlord living in a different city is your friend!

5. Neighbors are nice... in small doses! If you see the pesky neighbor pull into her driveway, wait at least five minutes before stepping outside.

6. Kittens can escape out of windows. So can Mac-sized cats!

7. Never trust a puddle on the floor. I promise, it's not water or juice!

8. Fall Out 3 is entertaining to watch even if you don't know the storyline.

9. After the second time, riding the bus isn't a scary ordeal. And you can run after it and actually catch it!

Boyfriend and roommate

10. It rains in heavy doses everywhere. It's not just in Cullowhee.

11. Bigger kitchens are better... and messier!

12. Cats give hugs! And kisses!

13. Taste Yogurt Bar is the only place to get frozen yogurt!

13. Sparta will live from now on in a one-cat household! He demands it!

14. Best friends aren't always the best roommates. But you get by. You learn to take the bad with a grain of salt. You learn to hold your tongue and if you don't have the guts to say anything, then stop bitching. It's own fault that something didn't get fixed when you're the only person that didn't like the situation in the first place. You adapt. You love the little things, and that's what makes the place. Good times always follow bad moments. Dogs bark. Cat yowl. We laugh. We bicker. That's anywhere you live. It may be easier to run away, but sometimes, you get what you get, and it's your responsibility to make the best out of it. If that's not good enough, then fix the problem. If nothing's going anywhere, it's your call to step forward and try to make it better even if it's not your fault. But, it's got to be you. Don't let someone else speak for you. As soon as it's fixed, it's done. Don't bring the trash back in once it's already on the curb. No situation is impossible. There's always a common ground. And when there's not... bury their socks in the cat's litter box!!! 

House

46. Skin

Book 46: Skin by Rick Jasper (B-)

I was impressed by this short novel until the end. The ending ruined it all - it was anti-climatic, abrupt, and didn't fit the anticipation of the story.
High schooler Nick Barry has always been invisible... until the worst case of acne hits his face. Along with the oozing pimples, Nick experiences cold chills that freeze his bones, horrible nightmares of fire and death, and strange symbols etched on his chest. Strange occurrences spread across the small town like the priest's house catching on fire and a bully from school is viciously attacked in his bedroom. The police believe Nick is the culprit. With the help from a doctor, a nun, the crazy Catholic neighbor, and a librarian, Nick begins putting the pieces together and realizes his body is host to a demon!
Sounds exciting, right? And it was... but then the author just wrapped up the book with a not-so-exciting paragraph or two. I did enjoy the historical and fantastical explanation and theory of Nick's demon, but the ultimate defeat was disappointing.

Life can be Funny

If you had told me that I'd fall for a guy and that he'd abruptly leave me for another girl, I'd have believed you. That sounds like my kind of luck. I wouldn't have pictured him to be an actual Viking, though.

If you had told me that two years after I'd been accepted to Western Carolina I was going to transfer to another university only to transfer back to Western within a semester, I wouldn't have believed you.

If you had told me I was going to fall in love with a guy that I'd spend over a year or more in a long distance relationship with, I would have laughed and said, "I'd never go for that type of relationship. It would never work."

Funny how life works! It makes you laugh.

I love you, Stuart!

My Only Sunshine

Continued from Please Don't Take my Sunshine Away...

I sat outside the church after the ceremony. Everyone else filed past me to the Fellowship building in the other parking lot for the reception. I waited for Stuart... and waited... and waited... and waited...! He was part of the wedding party, remember? That means he had to partake in the official wedding photos. You know how those go! I sat in between the brick pillars that used to hold the sign of the church quietly singing "You are my Sunshine." I had listened to the famous bit at the end of a very appropriate Katy Perry music video, "The One That Got Away."
I had to get Stuart back! The loss of him had made everything clear! Don't you hate that? When losing the most important thing is when everything clicks into place and you know you want them more than anything? Or even it? Being able to have kids and you can't. To have one more conversation with your mom even though all you did was fight. The love of your life. But, sometimes... it's too late. I prayed with all my heart that it wasn't too late for Stuart and me.
Everything that got in our way - my lack of communication, The Viking and everything that went with him... suddenly, all the songs I listened to that applied to The Viking now applied to Stuart. I didn't think of The Viking anymore when I heard them. I thought only of Stuart. I think that was the kicker for me - the moment when I knew.
Finally, Stuart joined me at the brick foundation. It was awkward, then I just blurted out all of these things that didn't make sense anymore coming out of my mouth. They were all so organized in my head. Now, it was a mess of strings of words. But, I told him I was going to fix this, I had made a mistake, and I wanted him back!

He looked at me skeptically. I certainly hadn't fought this hard the day before when he'd broken up with me, I'm sure he was thinking. To Stuart, the day before was the end. That was it! It hadn't worked out, and now it was time to learn to move on. But I held on too hard! I promised that things would change, I would change, and we'd be better.
He promised we'd talk later. Now wasn't the best time. I nodded.
"It's not a no or a yes. It's a maybe. Can we talk tonight?"
I nodded.
"Are you going to the reception?" he asked.
"No," I answered quietly. He was supposed to dance with me during the reception. What if they played our song? Anything by Carbon Leaf, Paramore, Eminem, We the Kings? We were supposed to act like a normal couple that didn't add mile after mile after mile to their vehicles every week to see each other. It was supposed to be us celebrating the beginning for another couple. I had sat through the wedding. I couldn't put myself through the reception.
I had the longest drive home... longer than the five hours to Cullowhee from Raleigh, longer than the drive from Cullowhee to Mount Holly to Raleigh... it was a long half an hour filled with tears and too many thoughts.
That night, I called my mom and exploded into tears...!

Movie Minute: Battlefield 3

The new Battlefield video game has arrived, and Stuart is in love with it!! He and his friends have their "guy time" by getting on their XBoxes and playing for a few hours at least twice a week.

45. The Vampire Diaries - The Struggle

Book 45: The Vampire Diaries - The Struggle by L. J. Smith (C+)

<3 Damon

Ok once again, WHAT? The television series just got that much better because this novel completely falls on its face. There must be one heck of a screenwriting team behind the TV show because there is no way they got the awesomeness of the script from the books. I am once again disappointed, and I don't think I'll be reading The Vampire Diaries original series anymore. I do have one of the spin-offs - Stephan's Diaries - that I'm going to give a try.
The Struggle took a deep downfall from The Awakening. At least with The Awakening, the reader was being introduced to the characters and learning about the town. Now with The Struggle, you already know the story and it's basically the exact same as the first book: Stephan has a wall up, Damon is pissed off, Bonnie talks in a scary voice whenever she gives a premonition, and Elena is just pathetic. Seriously, how can such an awesome, strong, confident character on TV be based off a materialistic, bitchy, mess of a girl from the book? It is so disappointing. I really don't understand how these books got to be so popular.
Out of 234 pages, only two major things happen: the emergence and development of the character Damon and trying to get back Elena's diary from Carolina before she outs Stephan as a murderer in front of the whole town during Founder's Day. The rest... blah, blah, blah, blah!!! 'Oh, Stephan, I love you!' 'Oh, Elena, we can't be together because it's too scary!' 'Oh, Elena, be my Princess of Darkness! And, don't ever talk to your friends or family again or I'll drain them of blood.' It gets old real quick! And then Stephan proposes and Elena accepts??!! Unrealistic and stupid!!!
These characters suck (no pun intended!)!! Watch the television series!

Movie Minute: Beginning the Thanksgiving Turkey

Thus, I begin TURKEY COOKING!!! I was absolutely petrified that the bird was going to come out dry and horrible! But you know what? It actually wasn't that bad!! It wasn't my mom's turkey, but it was very good! Stuart actually got home an hour earlier than expected and fixed us one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I've ever had. The only thing missing... mashed potatoes!!! We were both quite upset about that!

Photo of the Day November 25

On Thanksgiving, I met up with Stuart's mom for a picnic lunch. While I was waiting, I explored Shelley Lake Park and found something called a Wish Tree. Sparingly over the branches, colored paper danced against the yellow and red leaves. Wishes were written on the paper, things like "I wish I could take his pain away," "I like girls and I'm a girl. Sorry Mom!," and "I wish I could make up my mind."
I have a big wish, one I've had for over a year. So, I wrote it down on a green slip of paper and tied it to the tree. Here it dances in the wind for anyone to read: I wish Stuart and I could be in the same city for more than a weekend!

Movie Minute: Sparta vs Mac

Sparta and Mac meet for the first time. It got much more intense than this video, but you can't have the camera on all the time!

Photo of the Day November 24

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! I'm missing out on my family's Thanksgiving to be in Raleigh this year. No, it's not like that. Believe me, I won't be spending any of the day with Stuart. He left this morning at 9 a.m. and he won't be back until about 11:30 tonight! I'm here with Sparta and Nutmeg celebrating with four papers to write!!! Oh yes, it's paper time!!
But for right now, I'm lounging on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on a New York webcam and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on NetFlix! Check out this awesome screen cap I got of Kung Fu Panda!
Later, I'm in charge of putting the turkey in the oven. Yes, even at 11:30 at night, Stuart and I are having a Thanksgiving dinner. We have a 10-pound turkey, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing, and the BIGGEST PUMPKIN PIE EVER!!!! It's going to be good eating for the rest of the week!

Finding a Winner

In preparation for my transferring back to Western, I traveled to Cullowhee last weekend to look at houses, apartments, and mobile homes for my new residence. It was stressful and frustrating: I had one weekend to do it in! This time, my criteria for housing was very different than my Greensboro home.

1. I was looking for one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes. Yes, I said two-bedrooms. And, not because Stuart has suddenly had a major change of heart and wants to come back to Cullowhee with me. Nope, I have a new roommate!! I know what you're thinking... "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" I've been burned by roommates since I first attended college. My freshman dorm experience wasn't superb, probably because neither my roommate nor I had ever shared a room before, certainly not a room that small. Then, there was my Cullowhee apartment, which was strange but stressful many times. Then, there's my current home with a peeing cat and other issues.
Honestly when I first looked for places to live in Cullowhee again, I was strictly looking at studio layouts and one-bedroom apartments only. Then, something changed. My boss at The Western Carolinian newspaper, JC, decided that his one-hour commute to campus cost too much, and it was time for a change. Jokingly, I told him he should move in with me! He actually agreed, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Let's be honest... I'm not in the best health to live by myself! In fact, it'd be quite dangerous for me to live alone and off campus. Who would spoon feed me peanut butter if my blood sugar dropped? Who would be able to get me off the ground and into the house when my energy was zapped? I'm sure JC hasn't thought about these implications and may he never have to deal with them, but they are consequences of my life, consequences that I have to think about and put first whether I want to live with someone or not. I am excited to live with JC though. He and I have had two years of working experience together, and if you can't work together, you probably shouldn't live together. I have never had but minor issues with JC, and I've always been proud to be his employee and admired his work ethic. This weekend, we even had a trial roommate scenario as we shared a room on campus to sleep. His personality is relaxed where mine is high strung. He worries easily about the types of things that I typically sit back and relax about. I'm learning to see him not just as a boss but as a loyal friend. And best of all is that even though he's a guy, he has been Stuart-approved to live with!!

2. Everywhere we looked, the places were high up on a hill, slope, or the side of a mountain. That's what you get when you live in the mountains!! However, it was crucial that JC and I find somewhere close enough to campus, but also that wasn't so far up a mountain or ridiculous terrain that we couldn't get out for food or classes when it snowed a few inches! That's a major thing I never had to think about when looking for places in Greensboro. SNOW and ICE!! It's become a major concern, especially after the horrible winter in 2010-2011. I had to reschedule one of my exams, and the first week of classes for the spring 2011 semester were cancelled due to snow and that students couldn't get back from their homes because Balsalm Gap was closed. There were quite a few places we looked at that it just wouldn't have worked. The slightest possibility of ice, and our cars would have not only spun out but we would have pitched over the side of the mountain and crashed landed at the bottom after hitting every tree, rock, and shrub on the way down!!

January 2011, Cullowhee

3. As always, Sparta is an issue, but this time there's Nutmeg, too. Any place that would take too much money to heat - even if we didn't heat the place as well as we could to cut down costs - would have been too cold for the fragile body of a small hamster. Over the summer, she nearly died from hammie heatstroke when Stuart's air conditioner was broken. For me to pop open the cage lid and find a frozen Nutmeg inside would leave me scarred for life!! Many places in Cullowhee don't allow pets under any circumstances. JC and I passed up a lot of great places just because of Sparta. I don't believe Nutmeg would have been an issue since she's in a cage, but people are scared of what damage a pet can do. Even the apartment complex I lived in last time I was in Cullowhee - they no longer allow any pets! Cats can claw, pee, break window screens, and cause noise problems... and those are only the bad behaviors of Mac! Even though Sparta has lived in three rental places with no damage (if you don't count the flea fiasco, which I fixed!!!), it isn't enough. Pets are just not allowed in Cullowhee.
After a weekend of searching (an adventure that deserves a post of its own), JC and I believe we've found our place! The ironic thing about it is that we actually didn't find it the weekend I was up there! I haven't seen the place, but based on JC's descriptions and photos, I think it'll be perfect!!!

• It's a good location to campus
• It has special parking at the base of the mountain in case of snow and ice
• It has large-ish bedrooms
• The landlady seems nice, friendly, and not nearly as scary as some other people we met
• It's the perfect price, and includes water, sewer, and trash pick-up
• Sparta is only $75!!

WIN!

Movie Minute: Anne Uses a Camera

This summer, the family visited me in Raleigh, and we all explored the science museum at the heart of the city. Anne, my five-year-old sister, has recently learned the mechanics of my mother's camera. This is her in front of the exhibit about honey bees taking pictures of herself!! She has some quite interesting poses!!

Please Don't Take my Sunshine Away

On the morning of Day One without Stuart, I slept way later than I'm used to from nursing the side effects of staying up half the night with my roommates and their partying friends plus the added help of a martini glass of homemade strawberry daiquiri without the mixer (yes, I stereotypically turned to the guest that's always invited to a party: alcohol. But, I didn't even have a whole shot of rum and that was it. I was so completely sober that I was in charge of taking the so not sober people to Spartan Mart for more alcohol. Drinking the daiquiri was more symbolic than anything else as it clearly didn't alter my mind or mood).
That day, Stuart and I were supposed to attend a wedding together, his best friends' wedding to be exact. Stuart would be a groomsman; I would be an audience member, and together we would dance away the night at the reception together, him in his tuxedo and me in a little flowing dress. Upon waking, the realization that none of this was going to happen was crushing. Suddenly, I had to see him!
With only an hour to get ready, I had Anna straighten my wild hair and help me pick out a dress. I raced around the house like a madwoman before jumping in my car for Winston Salem. It was the longest, most agonizing drive. There were so many things I wanted to say, there were so many things I had to say!

I got to the church an hour early (my first mistake). I walked in in my knee-length forest green dress with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. It's my favorite in my closet. And there was Stuart! He wore a chocolate brown tuxedo with shiny brown shoes, auburn vest, crisp tie, and a fall-inspired corsage on his chest. He was the most handsome I'd ever seen him, and because of what had happened the day before, it was socially unacceptable for me to hold his hand... forget pulling him into my arms for a long, passionate kiss, which is all I wanted to do. He was beautiful; he was looked like any movie character at the prom, wedding, or masquerade ball scene where the lovers come together in their best dressed and exchange shy, loving smiles. Except this time... there were no loving smiles. It was tense and awkward and heartbreaking.
I signed the guest book and Stuart escorted me into the beautifully decorated church. I was left alone in the middle of the pew with nothing to do for an hour. I was in agony! To distract myself, I picked up the Holy Bible and began reading ravenously.
It was the worst torture I had ever put myself through... or so I thought. Then the wedding started. Ashley was so breathtaking and beautiful in her white flowing dress! It was perfect for her! And as soon as she started walking down the aisle, she and her maid of honor started tearing up. I kept glancing at Stuart, but his back was turned to me. I sat through the quick ceremony blinking back tears and trying not to lose it. I was heartbroken, the bridge and the groom were getting exactly what I had dreamed of: a beautiful wedding, and the man I love more than anything was looking the best he ever had ten feet away and he wasn't mine anymore.

To be continued...

44. The Vampire Diaries - The Awakening

Book 44: The Vampire Diaries - The Awakening by L. J. Smith (B)

I am absolutely in love with the CW TV series based on this book! However, the book... not so much. I feel like Smith doesn't have the skill to write as well as she could, but the novel has become popular because it's another one of those boy-vampire-meets-human-girl novels. It really is a knock-off of Twilight, but there's no loving Cullen family. Instead, there are feuding vampire brothers.

Damon (L), Elena, and Stephan (R)

Elena is your stereotypical high school queen! She is everything anyone would want to be - beautiful, skinny, blonde hair, cheerleader, Homecoming Queen, and any man can be hers! She even has an entourage following her throughout her school day. Her dark feelings about her parents' sudden death in a car crash are hidden away in her diary. Along comes Stephan Salvatore - handsome, Italian, and vampire! He resists Elena at first, but eventually succumbs to her identical beauty to a past love, Katherine, that he and his brother, Damon, murdered. Katherine, unable to decide between the love she felt for both brothers, changed them both into vampires, which led to Katherine's withering away to dust by the sunlight and the Salvatore brothers' forever-long feud.
However, when Stephan comes to Fell's Church, VA, murders occur in high numbers. An old man is attacked, a high school girl has her neck slashed, and the high school history teacher is drained of blood. Stephan can't explain it. He's often found blacked out in the woods, in the cemetery, in the high school boys locker room. He is racked with guilt at his inability to control his thrist for blood and decides to leave town when Elena declares her love, even after he tells her what he is.
Ok, pause! Here is another crazy, stupid girl who doesn't run when a bloodthirsty monster announces he's undead and wants to snap her neck and drain her. Bella, are you listening to me right now? In the television spin-off of this novel, Elena actually pushes Stephan away for two episodes before the inevitable "I'll love you forever no matter what you are." Here, Elena is completely blind and stupid and probably possessed by something unnatural at the way she throws herself at Stephan without thinking! Even Bella had more self control than that. And, I'm not saying that's horrible fiction, I myself being a Twilight fan, but the way Smith wrote Elena... it was just dumb! It's like the girl who goes back again and again to the guy who beats her up. Ladies, take a stand!!! Dump the testosterone-filled loser and quit chasing after the vampire!! In both situations, your life is in peril! 
The show is definitely so much better than this book! The show not only has beautiful actors playing the vampires (oh Ian Somerhalder, you are my Edward Cullen) but they really expand the very simple plot of the novel. I've only made it through The Awakening and I'm on the second season of the show, but the series makes a whole lot more sense and is more entertaining on TV than I think it'll ever be in the book.

43. Aquamarine

Book 43: Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman (B-)

I really did expect more from this novella. After reading the praise of the author on the back cover, I thought the tale was going to be an explosion of description, beautiful adjectives, and such detail! But really... Hoffman uses the same adjectives and descriptions so much that they lose their magic. At the end, I shrugged and thought, "Well, I got another book out of it for my goal." There was nothing magical about it.
Two girls are spending their last summer together before one moves away to Florida with her grandparents. One night a horrible storm rocks their coastal town, and a mermaid is washed into the local swimming pool. The girls help her find true love during her brief time in a club's swimming pool. The mermaid, Aquamarine, wasn't some fantastical creature from the ocean's beauty. She was actually spoiled and snobbish. The character wasn't at all fascinating as the girls thought she was. Aquamarine was quite plainly a b____!
This book excelled in its beautiful blue-inked sketches at the beginning of every chapter. They were the spark the text was lacking. I looked forward to seeing what sketch would appear on the next chapter more than I anticipated the plot of the book.

Chapter 1's illustration

I think the story is better written for young readers. While it was in the young adult section that sported popular fiction like The Vampire Diaries and some twisted supernatural college-appropriate stories, the novel is clearly meant for middle schoolers. I was surprised it in the young adult section, because isn't there a popular family friendly movie about this little book? Well, young adult or not, it deserves to be in the juvenile section.
If you're looking for a quick read or a new bedtime story for the kiddies, this is definitely the book that spark their imaginations. It has a simple plot that won't give nightmares, and it teaches important values like friendship and courage. Looking at the novel from a young reader's viewpoint, I was impressed, but definitely 14 or younger.

42. The Buddha of Suburbia

Book 42: The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi (B)

I read this book for my English 348 class. I was surprised by the choice, but as I continued to read... the choice became perfectly clear. My professor is in love with the idea of "national identity." It is a passion of his that he expressed to me when I interviewed him for a features article in The Carolinian. He also seems to have an interest and loves to debate about the interpretation of sex in literature. Several poems and as the novels continue through the semester, sex has become quite prominent. The Buddha of Suburbia is no exception.
At first, I was not a fan of the novel. A half Indian, half British teen is growing up in the suburbs of England with his bizarre father who is carrying on an affair behind the back of the miserable, pathetic mother. Karim, the teen, tries to find out who he is in a country that sees him as black and treats him like a foreigner. He's complicated, strange, and messed up from his kinky sexuality and his Indian father leaving his British mother for a very commercial, flamboyant woman named Eva. His parents' relationship and their fall-out is complicated and ugly. One of my favorite moments in the text comes from a visit to the upper class aunt and uncle's house.
"Once I remember Mum looking reproachfully at Dad, as if to say: What husband are you to give me so little when the other men, the Alans and Barrys and Peters and Roys, provide cars, houses, holidays, central heating and jewellery? They can at least put up shelves or fix the fence. What can you do" (29)?
Karim continues to wonder about the differences between what Eva calls "interesting" and "ugly people" later in the text after his parents split.

"When Eva had gone and I lay for the first time in the same house as Charlie and Eva and my father, I thought about the difference between interesting people and the nice people. And how they can't always be identical. The interesting people you wanted to be with - their minds were unusual, you saw things freshly with them and all was not deadness and repetition... Then there were the nice people who weren't interesting, and you didn't want to know what they thought of anything. Like Mum, they were good and meek and deserved more love. But it was the interesting ones, like Eva with her hard, taking edge, who ended up with everything, and in bed with my father" (93).

 The novel is very adult and debates the idea of how to identify with who you are based on other people's interpretation of you.
I'd recommend it for people who are more interested in reading about deep characters than they are a storyline or an interesting, exciting plot. Nothing really much happens in the novel, but the characters are deep like something of Michael Cummingham's.

Works Cited:

Kureishi, Hanif. The Buddha of Suburbia. NewYork: 

The Penguin Group, 1990. Print.

Photo of the Day November 14

In an effort to eat better and live a happier life, I am finally doing what everyone has told me: I'm changing my diet. Yesterday, Ma took me out to good ole Wal-Mart and we picked up some lovely fruits, whole grains, and organic goodies. This here is my new favorite snack! But don't pat me on the back yet, it's only day one... and I still have Halloween candy left! We'll see how this goes!
But after a whole night of complete sleep and with sleeping on a full pillow instead of my "flillow" as Stuart calls it and a whole bottle of water this morning, I'm feeling very alert and active! And, I like it! 

One Year, One Month, and Four Days

Stuart broke up with me today...
It's over. 
And as the realization of how much I've just lost crashes upon me, I can't write any more. I need some time because right now, it just hurts so much.

Movie Minute: Kid Licking Corn

My kid sister Anne is absolutely ridiculous! She has energy like you wouldn't believe and comes up with the craziest ideas!! Check out what she did one night at dinner with a cob of corn.

Spring Semester Schedule

Here is my schedule of classes at Western Carolina University come January. I just added my final class today... I'm finally going to take out that Math liberal arts requirement! I have been putting that monster off for two and a half years!
Monday:

1. English 394: Film Adaptation from 11:15-12:05
2. English 350: The Renaissance from 12:20-1:00
3. English 242: Cultural Studies of Nonwestern World Literature

Tuesday: 

1. English 200: Intro to the English Major (yeah, what...?!?!) from 9:30-10:45
2. English 303: Intro to Professional Writing from 11:00-12:15
3. Math 170: Applied Statistics from 12:30-? 

Wednesday:

1.  Same as Monday

Thursday:

1. English 303: Intro to Professional Writing from 11:00-12:15
2. Math 170: Applied Statistics from 12:30-?

Friday:

1. Same as Monday and Wednesday

It's going to be an English semester, that's for sure!!

Movie Minute: David cook Live

I saw David Cook at the South Carolina State Fair in October 2009. It was freezing cold and drizzling, but man, are those fans fun!! I had an amazing time! This is one of his singles, "Come Back to Me."

Photo of the Day November 8

This weekend, I got a pet sitting job! From Friday night to Sunday night, I babysat two crazy puppies who were the size of grown dogs, a fat cat that thought it was a monkey, and two beautiful horses!! The horses were definitely my favorite! I've been obsessed with horses for as long as I can remember and used to take horseback riding lessons (the only sport I actually enjoyed). When I grew out of having someone telling me what to do while riding, I gave up the lessons. But, I have always wished for my own horse!! This weekend was great because I pretended that Prancer (right) and Shirley (left) were my own! The weekend went by way too fast!

Cullowhee - Where I Wanna Be

So it's now official.... For the past month, I have been deciding how I want to where I want to continue my college education. As you all know, UNCG has not been as great as I had hoped, and upon visiting Western to see my friends, I realized how much I missed being in that crazy, cold place. Yes, I complained about it a lot and it took some getting used to, but I realized I made a mistake and I want to go back.

Fun at WCU

My friends are there.
There's a nice, steady job waiting for me there.
There's a Creative Writing minor there.
There are two animal shelters there that I have loved and worked for and miss.

Kitten at animal shelter

I made a mistake, and now I'm taking the steps to reverse it. On Wednesday, I had a phone conference with a Western Carolina adviser from the English department. We talked, discussed, and planned out my return. That night at midnight, I registered for 13 credit hours of classes at Western Carolina. All that's left is to transfer over my financial aid (which no one seems to know how to do) and then I'm back!! I'm a Catamount again!!!
I am so excited about this! Justin is going to give me back my spot as News Editor and I will shadow him for the position of Editor-in-Chief. I will get to hang out with my friends, be at a place I know and respect, and my adviser is freaking awesome!!!!!
The only downside is I lose the short commute to Stuart's place. He will, of course, remain in Raleigh, and it's going to be hard for both of us. I hope we'll make it through just like we did last time!

Photo of the Day November 5

This is one I had to share! This is Stuart being Stuart on his webcam back when he still lived in his parents' home. This is when we first start Skyping. His camera sits on top of his laptop lid, and his desk always got in the way! This was also back when Skype was cool and had interactive games to play!!! And now it's lame... and the games are gone!!! WTF, SKYPE?!?!?!

Photo of the Day November 1

Happy Halloween!! Last night was a bit of a bust. I miss being a kid on Halloween... In fact, I miss being a kid on all the holidays. It feels like the magic is gone. My parents would get me a costume every year, and we'd go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for hours, me and Kate! Now, that I'm transitioning into being an adult... I can't go out trick-or-treating. I can't be with my family because there's class the next day at 9:30 a.m. And while my roommates are fun, when you don't drink like me, not even a little... being around drunk people isn't nearly as fun as YouTube and MTV make it out to be.
Thankfully, I had Stuart with me. He had the night off - probably the only holiday he'll get off - and he tried very hard to make the holiday special. He personally does not participate in Halloween, but after I begged him to dress up in his chef coat and pants, he put on a happy face and tried to get me to cheer up. We ended up holing up in my room with a gigantic bag of candy and watching Maneater, a film NetFlix called "horror" but was clearly the most tamed horror film I've ever seen! Harry Potter was scarier!