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!