60. Things Fall Apart

Book 60: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (C-)

Gosh, I hate this book! I hated it in 10th grade, and I still hate it now!! And, this time I have to write a paper on it.
Why this book sucks:
1. WAY TOO MUCH DETAIL
2. The ending is abrupt and out of nowhere with too little detail
3. The names are too hard to pronounce and I keep getting them mixed up
4. What is going on with Ikefuma?
5. Why can't Okonkwo love his son and stop beating his wife (especially during the Week of Peace)?
6. I greatly dislike proud characters.

Also to Mr. Achebe, I don't appreciate you calling Joseph Conrad a racist. First of all, Heart of Darkness is better than Things Fall Apart. Secondly, everyone was a racist back then. You can't call Conrad a racist because every white man was on his high horse back then thanks to imperialism and straight up pompousness. Just because he wrote a book about it showing Africa from the white man's perspective doesn't mean you get to go around hatin'. That is how he saw Africa. It's his opinion. Yes, I'll agree that Conrad had a love relationship with the word "black," but he was a descriptive writer. He may have needed a thesaurus but that's no reason to call him a racist. So there!

Western Carolinian Issue 1

Here is an article I worked on for Issue 1 of the spring semester at The Western Carolinian newspaper. I am very excited to be back as News Editor, and I'm looking forward to what this semester has to offer. Already, there's been a lot of news drama already in all capacities!! I had two days to do this article!

WCU signs off on massive directional signs
By Lex Menz, News Editor

"The Western Carolina University Campus is experiencing a transition in decoration and direction.
New signs of all sizes have popped up in front of campus buildings and roadways directing students, faculty, staff and visitors where to go and how to get there. Ongoing for a few years, the project has caused interest, controversy, and a bit of hilarity.
Wiley Harris, director of Facilities Planning, Design, and Construction, said WCU has worked on the new sign concept since 2009. Harris and his staff placed three different sizes and panels of white and purple signs from the APCO Signs Company in Atlanta around campus starting at the beginning of the semester.
"All of the signage should be in place by the end of next week, if weather permits," Harris said. "At that time a representative from APCO and the university architect will review all in-place signs and correct any errors."
Last week, students posted a photo of one of the signs on Facebook. The campus bookstore's sign had a printing error and spelled "University" incorrectly. The snapshot went viral across Facebook's Western Carolina University network, spreading from student-to-student and even official University pages.
"The misspelled bookstore sign was taken down a couple of hours after it was installed, soon after the misspelling was noticed by university staff," Harris said. "The sign company has since provided a new sign, which has been reinstalled at no cost to WCU." ..."

Keep reading the story HERE at The Western's Carolinian's website! 

40 out of 100

When I first began blogging, it didn't take very long for me to want to write but not have any topics to write about. So, I headed to the World Wide Web in search of un-original ideas of what to write about. Soon after I went searching and found some good stuff, life started taking off and I had either lots to post about or not any time to write.
Now that Morgan and I are separated by five hours of driving time, I have ample time on my hands... time that I don't want to use sitting around and thinking. So far, I've cleaned the kitchen, done three loads of laundry, bought groceries, picked up my rental books for classes, gone to the library, reorganized my DVD shelves, reorganized my book shelves, watched two movies, and caught over half of a program on Discovery (by the way - LOVE their new catch phrase: "The world is just awesome"!) about Nostradamus. Now, I will actively participate in Chris Brogan's post "100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write." This is number 40.

Ten Guilty Pleasures (in no particular order):

1. Scarves
  This has been a recent development. I've started collecting scarves. I used to think, What's the point? It's a fluffy hangman's noose. Now, scarves are awesome and I love to use them to accentuate an outfit!

2. Snow Globes
  Everyone knows I love snow globes!!! It's why I got two for Christmas and two for my birthday this year!! It's what I crave!! Snow globes just make me happy - to shake something as hard as I want and watch the glitter and snow come tumbling back down on whatever object in a bubble. I love the designs of the base, I love the snow inside, I love the way the water sounds as it sloshes against the glass, I love the ones with "special features" like music and being able to stick pictures inside. The only problem with snow globes as I learned from Sparta is that they are breakable!

3. Teddy Bears
  I love a good teddy bear to squeeze. They're huggable and soft and furry and have cute little ears.

4. Movies

  My first movie in theatres was Disney's Pocahontas. It was 1995, the year Ma was pregnant was Kate. I was so moved by the movie I wanted to name my new baby sister "Indian." Unfortunately for 4-year-old me, it didn't stick but it began my passion for movies of all kinds!! There's nothing I love more than curling up in bed or on the sofa with a blanket, maybe a teddy bear, a bowl of popcorn, a glass of lemonade, and some candy to watch an epic, sad, romantic, or funny movie. It's good for a romantic date. It's good for friends piling together and having a good time. It's a perfect way to pass the time and get out of your story and into someone else's.

5. Small Towns

  I say I'm from Charlotte but technically I live outside of one of North Carolina's major hubs. And while I'm not a fan of the small town I grew up in, I am a fan of small towns in general. The small town I lived in just didn't have enough money to turn themselves into a growing, happy-go-lucky small town like Sylva or Belmont. These two towns have quaint downtown streets with rustic shops and 1900's general stores. Morgan and I went into the Belmont General Store and bought two sodas in glass bottles to drink while looking through the wire yard critters, plethora of flags, and old time bicycles on the ceiling. There are apartments over the shops. There are welcoming flags on the lamp posts fluttering in the breeze. There are smiling people walking their dogs and pushing strollers. You can tell the shopkeeper has been working there since his father worked the place. I just love the vibe!

6. My iPod

  I never knew I'd use my iPod as much as or more than my laptop or cell phone. I hardly leave home without out it! Recently played includes:

"The Only Exception" by Paramore

"Monsters" by Hurricane Bells

"Show me How you Burlesque" by Christine Aguilera

"Beneath the Mire" by Opeth

7. Lemonade

  I've been addicted to the stuff like people are addicted to coffee since becoming a teenager. Don't ask me why. I just love it! For me, it goes with every meal and desserts... except for Oreos.

8. Reese's

  Have you had one? Then you know!

9. Books

  My mom has a home video of me reading Dr. Suess's Are You my Mother when I was four or five. I didn't know how to read, but I had asked Ma and Father to read to me so much that I had memorized every page! There it started and it has continued with Morgan looking at me the other day and saying, "You've read more books than I know about." My favorites include Wuthering Heights, Vulpes the Red Fox, anything by John Irving and Jodi Picoult, and The Hours by Michael Cummingham. They put me into worlds I would have never known and have inspired me to write my own.

10. Holidays

  I love holidays!! And I hate when other people mess mine up! It seems to happen every holiday probably due to my unrealistic, high expectations but every time I have them and they're HIGH! I want majestic fireworks and watermelon on the 4th of July. I want "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," crackling fires, twinkling lights on the Christmas tree, warm blankets, and presents under the tree on Christmas. I want a good, moving church service, a light-colored dress, and dyed boiled eggs on Easter. I demand a creative costume and too much candy on Halloween. I better see something pink on Mother's Day and a tie on Father's Day. And because I've never made it to three months with a boyfriend before, tomorrow will be a holiday for Morgan and me. My high expectations demand him to be home for the holiday!

Off Campus Living 101

The first publishing of my new column in The Western Carolinian. Welcome to "Off Campus Living 101!"

"Good day, everyone, and welcome to Apartment Living 101, a residential choice class requirement. Your fellow classmates are in the other residential choice class, Dorm Living 102. This is not a class you can add/drop or withdraw from after fifth week grades. You either succeed or you fail. Also, this is a two-semester course. You must attend both semester courses to pass.

In this course, you will learn how function as an independent adult in four major areas: interaction with roommates and land lords, cooking and housekeeping, bill payments, and maintaining good grades in an off campus environment. By the end of the semester, you should be able to demonstrate cool headedness in dealing with a partying neighbor and healthy cooking skills that do not include order-in pizza or Ramen noodles. You should also be able to get your rent check in without a verbal reminder from your roommates and maintain a parent-approved GPA. You will need to rent or buy the following books from the campus bookstore for the semester’s reading assignments:

1.      Fifty Meals on Fifty Dollars a Month

2.      How to Juggle… a Job, Classes, Housework, and Free Time

3.      When the Good Neighbors Go Bad

4.      Channel Surfing: an in-depth look at how to share the TV among two or more people with pull-out TV remote diagram

5.      They Will Never be Cheery: dealing with the landlord

6.      60 Ways to get Evicted

You may also want to bring a copy of your lease as different establishments have different regulations.

If you have a pet, I suggest signing up for Apartment Living 101.02 for a deeper look into how to approach your landlord on the subject, how to afford it, and how to convince your roommates it is a good idea.

For the final exam, I will be conducting thorough and surprise searches of your apartments at the end of the semester. Cleanliness and healthy food choices are the main areas I will be concentrating on. I will also be conducting interviews with your roommates, neighbors, and landlord to determine how well you have applied what we learned this year.

 This will be a great experience, and I cannot wait to see how each one of you will handle this major adjustment! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or particularly funny stories, please contact me by email or visit me during my office hours at the Old Student Union Building.

You are dismissed! Please have your books, lease, and a one-page paper of why I moved off campus by the next class."

Done.

On Tuesday afternoon, I wrote the last words of my novel "In the High Five."
I cannot even describe the feeling. I felt so free!! To be completely finished with this great project I have dedicated six months of my life to.
Now it's time to reread, reread, reread, reread, and get it ready for publishing! But for right now this minute, I'm celebrating as I have been for the past two days!

The night of I tried my first beer! I barely sipped it past the neck of the bottle because it was so GROSS! That was bitter and nasty. I can still taste it on the back of my tongue. So yeah, I'm good on that front. CC and Morgan got a kick out of my disgruntled face though. Then they put a Pixie Stix in the beer. This is what happens after the first EXPLOSION:

We won't be doing that again. Another thing that Pixie Stix shouldn't mix with: cupcakes! A friend and I put Pixie Stix powder on the icing of our freshly made cupcakes... just no!

So there's been much to celebrate, but this time I'm celebrating with sparkling grape juice. At least with that I can guzzle it out of a big glass bottle and pretend I'm swigging down wine. But that's a no on the beer! (I knew there had to be a reason I had never tried it before)

Another reason to celebrate is I've met this guy... I really like this guy. And, I'm so thankful for him because he is a breath of fresh air. You know, even if nothing works out between us... it doesn't matter. I am happy either way because I've finally met a NICE guy, someone who looked me in the eye first, someone who didn't immediately grabbed and kissed me (and still hasn't) before we talked for over an hour watching Ghost Rider while waiting for "Sons of Anarchy" came on, someone who didn't start off as my best friend so it's not awkward, someone who just showed up in my life and took me completely by surprise, someone who kept me from swearing off men and going off to become a nun (no, seriously...I thought about that, but I'm not Catholic). I am just so happy!
And with the ending of my book and finding this new person, I have kicked The Viking completely out the door. I didn't even ask him where he was going. I just said "OUT" and out he went without a glance back at me nor I at him. It took one long helluva a year, but it was a year I needed because now I am back on feet, back in the game, back believing in the romance of things, and I HAVE FINISHED A NOVEL! No one, not a heartbreaking guy or a friendship turned sour, can take that away from me!!

Cheers!

The End

***Just a side note before we start: I was given my Western Carolinian staff polo shirt today and my boss said I was the first sophomore to become editor since the year 2000!! I am beyond thrilled and proud! Cross your fingers that I do well!

~ Jude got to visit this past weekend, which was great! I don't recall if I mentioned that River returned to the group. I believe I did. Either way, this makes the only boy I lost over the summer to be Jude who took a leave of absence from Western Carolina this year... or at least this semester. We'll see what happens in January.

~ Professor Guinness is up to her usual craziness. Last week, she asked a girl to spit in a spoon then threatened to swallow the spit. She was then surprised when we the class confessed that we found her intimidating.

"Ma'am," I wanted to say, "you were just about to swallow someone's spit from a spoon. In fact, I'm still waiting for you to go to the trash can and swallow it. And you're surprised because...?"

She really is a neat professor. Today, Guinness showed us a clip from Borat. Yeah, she's one of a kind! I'm eager to meet with her one-on-one this Friday.

~ All of you know I'm a writer. I am a staff writer for the campus newspaper. I write my own novels. I have been since first or second grade. I distinctly recall writing religiously in third grade. Recently, I have been working on a novel loosely based on my freshman year, in particular my story with The Viking. As you can imagine, it is a highly emotional book for me to write and there have been many occasions that I have broken down into tears or had a aesthetically pleasing movie moment of a single tear wiping mascara down one cheek. For the past four nights, I have been writing and going over the climatic scene in the novel and it gets me every time. I apologize to my friends for being particularly out of focus, not caught up in the conversation, not mentally there, and getting too lost in my thoughts. I am completely wrapped up in this scene, especially now because I'm stuck. I have no idea what I want my characters to decide next. Well, I know where I want them to go but I have two ways in my head that they can get there. The question is which path. It could change the whole outlook of the book if they choose one way over the other. What I need is to take a step back, detach myself from what happened last year, and let it be about the characters. What do I want the audience to get out of this? I want them, particularly young adult girls, to be strong and independent and not have a man have any amount of control over them as The Viking did and still does have over me.

On November 24, it will be one year since The Viking called me while I was at the DMV with Chris and Nicole to tell me he was leaving me for another girl. That moment will forever stay in my mind in vivid detail how I told him I still wanted to be friends, how I was beyond shocked as I didn't see it coming, how I tried to control my voice so he wouldn't know I was upset, how Nicole begged to stop at his room when we returned to campus so I could kick him as it was coincidentally enough "Kick a Ginger in the Shin" Day as declared by Facebook. I will never forget that same night when I called up Adam to tell him the news to find out not only that Adam already knew but that The Viking had previously begged Adam to "break up" with me FOR HIM! And yet somehow... I still have feelings for this person! I can't believe myself!

I am dedicating an entire novel to you, sir, so that I may release everything you did to me and move on with my precious, valuable life.

There is hope though. I have budding feelings from another guy. Hopefully, he may return them. In fact, I have mentioned him in my blog and to make things interesting... look over at the poll to the left and vote for who you think I am referring to! Should be interesting to see the results!