Writing

I've been trying to catch up on my podcasts today, since I've got oh, more than a hundred that I haven't listened to backing up on my iTunes.  To be fair, it's my own fault, and I don't listen to my podcasts that much anymore, since I only listen to them when I'm going to bed, and I fall asleep pretty fast, so I keep having to rewind them. 

But, today I was listening to Writing Excuses (a - go figure - writing podcast by Brandon Sanderson - who happens to be a favorite author of mine, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler) and they happened to be talking about Discovery Writing in their podcast from May 16, 2010.  They discuss the fact that there are two kinds of writing - outlining and discovery writing, and people write in various shades of those styles. 

I always knew I was the kind of writer who didn't really outline.  For me, outlining takes the fun out of it.  Once I get the ideas down on paper, they stop popping into my head and tormenting me.  If I outline, then they go away because they're down on paper.  I outlined a lot for a long time.  But I also found that my outlining was stifling the story I had to tell because the way I outline limits me.  That's just how I am with them - if I outline, then I'm not doing what I love, because I'm done by the time the outline is done.  Outlining with bullet points is somewhat better, but I don't like doing that much either. 

The interesting thing about it is that most discovery writers like myself have trouble with the ending.  I don't.  I'll have a solid beginning and a definitive ending, but my trouble is the middle.  It's how I get from Point A to Point B.  That's always been my failing.  I'll get a big chunk of the beginning done and be very happy with them, and I'll have the end of the story bouncing around in my head, but half the time, I can't figure out how to get to the idea that's bouncing around in my head. 

My next problem is that once I get the end written down if I don't wait until I write the middle, then I lose the desire to write it.  My project for NaNoWriMo last year was a fanfiction that I eventually plan on rewriting in my own world when I finish it as the story it is now.  I don't see it going to the same place if I rewrote it as a novel or as the whole trilogy.  The thing is, I started in the middle with what I had written and built from there before I skipped to a scene in the middle because I got bored and I got stuck.  From there, I wrote a small chunk, and then I jumped to the end, where I wrote more than half of my word count for NaNoWriMo in the last maybe...seven...chapters.  Then I let it sit for a while as I attempted to get over burnout.  And it's still sitting there, since I've edited and put up the early things I had and have managed to get to a point where I'm still in the middle.  The ending has been sitting there for more than a year now, still riddled with typos, rushed sentences, and probably an out of character narrator.

I can't say I'm hugely proud of that particular attempt at the end of that story, but this set of stories would probably be considered trunk novels as they stand right now.

I've also discovered in the past couple of years that I just don't rewrite things.  Oh, I've rewritten my little flash fictions and short pieces, but I've never actually gone through a novel and rewritten anything more than a sentence or two in editing.  I've tried, but I don't know what I'd do different in a lot of cases, such as the Robin Hood (BBC) fanfiction that is my main fanfic project right now.  I've considered rewriting it once I'm done, but I don't know where else the storyline could go.  I suppose that might be because I have so many other ideas, but the plots I get are usually set once I've written them.  In my mind, that's the only way they can go. 

That's just me, though.  Always has been.  Maybe I can actually do that someday.  That would be nice, considering that I want to get published and all...

Across The Universe - Last Unicorn

A friend of mine sent me this video a few days ago - it's a beautiful song, and the video accompanying it is from one of my favorite movies of all time - The Last Unicorn.

Long Time...

In my attempts to get all of my work done on time, it seems that I allowed my blog to fall by the wayside.  Obviously, I didn't mean to.  It was just crazy for the last month of the semester.  I had so much to do with all of the classwork that I didn't really have a whole lot of time for much else. 

I've been on break for about a week now, but I'm just getting over the nasty cold that hit me a week ago.  I got sick on the fifteenth, right before my last final.  I had a fever and my throat was very swollen and it was not fun.  Thank goodness that my English final was simply editing groups for the research paper we did as our final project.  Mine was on Star Wars and how it is the Hero's Journey (as presented by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces) and how that makes it very appealing to the people who watch it.

And then I lost my voice on Sunday.  I've still got a cough, but my voice is mostly back at this point.  It's just sort of irritating, though.  Not much I can do about it.  I'm just glad that it's over, even if I'm not happy that it's taken away a week of my vacation.  I only have about two weeks left at this point.  As a freshman, I have to go back two weeks early for Interim.  Not cool.  But, I get to do research with the Ecology prof at my school, so I may start that during Interim - we're going to be researching bat calls and the different kinds of bats in the area.  It will be very interesting, I'm sure. 

I've also got my schedule worked out for the next semester, and I'm excited.  The only thing is that I have Arthurian Legends (which is actually one of the classes I'm taking) on the brain....

Why?

I don't understand why I have SO much stuff to do.  This weekend I had an English essay to edit and a lab report to write for Biology...and I also have my History paper to rewrite if I can.  It's an optional rewrite, but seriously, there is so much to do.  It's not fun, that's for sure.

I'm done with my reading for the night, but I'm not looking forward to trying to get that paper done.  I only have tomorrow to write it at this point.  And it's a four page paper.  So, I may be stuck with the grade I initially got (which was fair, and it was only a B, not anything below that) instead of actually getting anything higher...

That's just life, though.

That being said, why do I really have to be so busy?

What I Actually Did Write...

So, I'm looking back at the document now, and I have to say, part of what I did write at the beginning of the month wasn't bad.  I definitely need to edit a bit of it, but it wasn't bad.  Nor was the beginning of the story I tried to start on the second day.  All in all, it looks pretty okay.  It's just a matter of actually fixing it up and working on it now.  Not a problem, really.  Unlike last year.  My draft is still sitting there mostly unedited...not a great idea...

This is Not Fun

This is what happens when I'm sick all weekend.  I have to put things off.  My biology lab report only got put off until Monday.  But with lab and studying for the test on Tuesday, I'm left to write my English essay on Wednesday.  When I barely had a start on it. 

I do not relish this situation.  Actually, I rather dislike it.  I'm almost done with this essay, but I'm so tired of writing it that it isn't even funny.  And I've only been so busy today that I've only been working on it for a little while. 

That's my rant for tonight....I need to go finish the essay and then go to bed so that I can actually get up for the class it's for...and so that I can study tomorrow for the chem test on Friday.  This is not a fun week...

Review: Moulin Rouge!

The first thing I have to say is that Ewan McGregor makes this movie what it is.  I'm a bit of a fan of his, I'll admit, but this movie, along with some of his other performances, proves that, unlike his Star Wars co-star Hayden Christianson, he actually has a whole truckload of talent.  That also means that he actually can act, and he isn't popular just because girls think he's cute or because he's in Star Wars. 

Moulin Rouge! is the story of a penniless writer who has newly come to Paris, and a courtesan who is oblivious to the deadly disease she has.  I will say this - this is not a movie I would recommend for younger children, really.  It's a good movie, but not something they should probably watch, I don't think.

Christian, the young writer, falls desperately in love with Satine, who is a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge, which is where the title comes from.  The problem?  Satine is supposed to be giving her attentions to the Duke, who could be the making of her career as an actual actress and the Moulin Rouge as a theater.  Bigger problem?  She's in love with Christian, too.  And they have to hide it from the Duke because he's fallen in love with her (Well, actually, it's more like he's fallen in lust) and he would kill Christian if he found out.

This is overall a very good movie - the performances of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor were absolutely wonderful.  I'd say it's four and a half out of five stars, personally.  It really makes me wish McGregor would sing more - he has a gorgeous voice. 

The Mean Kitty Song

Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

This is a new sort of post I have decided to do.  It's not because I don't have anything to say, but because I think this could be fun to do sometimes, or more often in general.  My intent is to write reviews of movies I see, books I read, and new CDs I get. 

The first of this series of reviews is a movie that came out a little while back - G.I. Joe.  The title, and the titular organization in the movie, stands for Government Issue Joe.  In this case, the Joes are the best of the best from military organizations across the world. 

Enter Captain Conrad "Duke" Hauser.  On the surface, Duke is fairly easy to read.  He's a no-nonsense commander in some ways, but his closest friend is part of his battalion.  They bicker as he and Rip Cord (affectionately known as Rip for most of the movie) pass the time when they are in the middle of a top-secret mission. 

Their mission?  To transport the nanotech warheads designed by a weapons company called M.A.R.S. 

Along the way, they get ambushed by a group of soldiers, led by a woman later revealed to be the Baroness, an operative (who actually is a baroness) who means to take the warheads from Duke's battalion.  Explosions abound as she and her soldiers go after the warhead case.  There is only one way that they can lose: Duke, of course.  And guess what?  Duke wins.  Thank goodness for plot armor. 

This attack throws Duke and Rip, the only survivors of the attack on their battalion, into the world of G.I. Joe, a top secret organization made up of the very best soldiers and operatives from around the world.  And guess what?  They asked Duke to join them a while back, only he doesn't remember it.

For the sake of not spoiling the movie, the plot stops here.  Overall, I give it five stars out of five.  The acting is good - Christopher Eccleston (who some may know the Ninth Doctor on Doctor Who) plays McCullen brilliantly, and Channing Tatum makes Duke engaging and does a brilliant job making the character seem very layered, among others.  The rest of the cast played their characters nicely, but Eccleston and Tatum jumped out at me more than the others did.  Some of the romance was a bit cheesy (okay, Scarlet and Rip is VERY cheesy and a bit cliche) but the action more than makes up for it.

All in all, a great movie.  It's very balanced, and the best part is...there's at least one more (possibly up to three from what I've been told) to come.  

Okay...

So, I'm looking at the Word document I have open, and I'm starting to think that trying to participate in NaNoWriMo this year was not the best idea. 

It's not that I don't have the inspiration - I do.  I actually want to write again.  It's just that the last time I participated (last year), I had really severe writer's burnout at the end of it and I couldn't write for months.  I don't really want to have that happen again, particularly where I am right now.  I need to write. 

So, I'm up to 2,100 or so words when the goal is like 3,300ish.  And there's not a whole lot of time left for the night.  Brilliant, right?  Not smart.  And I'm off to try to finish this before I go to bed...I can at least try...

NaNo

So, tonight is the start of NaNoWriMo.  I've been looking forward to this for a while now, and it has finally begun.  50,000 words in 30 days.  Let's see if I can actually do it or not.  At this point, I sort of doubt it, even though I'm already done with the word count for the day.  I don't know where I'm going with anything or what I'm really doing, since I tossed my plan out the door last week in favor of actually writing something instead of trying and failing to write one of my novels.

That being said, I've got my 1,667 words I'm supposed to have, even if it was a bit difficult to get them this time around.  Ah, the joys of being a writer...

And now back to work.

Halloween...

It's sort of funny now that I think about it.  This is the first year I haven't actually dressed up as anything.  It's also the first year that I haven't been associated with Trick-or-Treaters, too.  Last year, my sister and I handed out candy...well, she did.  She wouldn't let me help...  But it was still really cute...

This weekend, I got to spend most of it was Daddy, and that was more than good enough for me.  I'm so glad that I was able to do that.  Dog, cat, and Dad make for a great weekend.  Plus, I got to watch Star Wars, and all, and Dad watched part of it with me.  That made me very, very happy.  He doesn't usually have time to sit down and watch a movie like that, so it was very special.  And I'm off to bed, since I have class in the morning...

Wedding

The wedding was beautiful.  It was not quite the same as either of the other weddings I have been to, but it was still very nice.  The color scheme was white, black, and red, and it was simply beautiful.

I can't really even think of that many words to describe it.  I just think it was gorgeous.  And it doesn't help that I'm a bit tired and I have to get up early tomorrow for church so I don't have a whole lot of time.  Plus, I think it was kind of indescribable, really...

The music was very pretty, and so was everything else in general.  The dinner at the reception was phenomenal, too.  It was simply nice home-style food, like shredded cheesy potatoes, two different types of meat (pork and chicken), and some vegetables.  It was really good, and they had the wedding cake as a small cake, and then a bunch of cupcakes.  Those were delicious, too.

Daddy!

I'm home with Daddy tonight.  Despite that Mom (I know you're reading this) is in Florida, I'm happy that I get to go home - plus, I get to see Dad, which is always a gift.

Tonight has involved going to a wedding rehearsal for the wedding Daddy is performing tomorrow, then the rehearsal dinner - which was pizza and quite enjoyable - and then coming home and watching part of Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.

Really, I'm just happy to be home with Dad right now.  It's nice to be home in general, but it's even better when I get to see Daddy.  That's really special.  I miss being home with him and Mom so much that it's not even funny.

Bio Work

That's pretty much all I've work as far as work goes today, other than lab and English this morning.  Just bio homework, a lab report, and a bunch of reading.  Fun, fun, fun.  And I'm tired again. 

And the thing is, I want to actually write now, but I can't really do that - I don't have time today.  Well, that's an excuse.  I just have other things to do that are a little higher on my priority list.  Like school, sleep, food....that sort of thing. 

I'm also sort of bored right now.  I don't know why exactly, but I really am.  This'll be a fun night trying to get that chemistry reading and status update for the paper we have to write...  Or not.  I'm off to try that tonight, then I'm off to bed...ugh...

Lots More Stuff to Do

Busy, busy week ahead of me.  Tonight I did all of my chemistry work for this week up until Monday.  It's nice to have it all done, I have to say that much.  It's been a long, long time trying to do all of it, but I had a lab report to finish, reading to do, homework to do, a pre-lab to do, and it's all rather tedious at points.  Still, it's not that bad.  Tomorrow is bio, so that will be just as fun, I know.

The only annoying thing that's really happened today was that the lights went out a little while ago.  For twenty minutes.  Brilliant, right?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  My roommate was absolutely thrilled because that meant that she couldn't do the project that she has due tomorrow morning.   That is one example of why you don't wait until the night before to do your big project... It's nice to actually sleep.

And, despite the fact that I frequently end my blog entries this way, I think I'm going to go do that now.

What A Great Day...

My day has been amazing.  It's sort of late now, so I'm going to bed right after this, but I had to post this. 

It started out as usual, but then I found out that my composition class had been canceled, as Dr. J was sick this morning and he couldn't get an e-mail out or anything. 

So, I got to spend my morning relaxing and working on my research project a bit.  I ended up going over to the library to get a book, and then I had more free time.  I talked to Dr. L, then had lab, which was really fun and only lasted an hour and a half.  That's REALLY short of Biology labs.  They're usually two and a half to three hours, at least.

 After that, I went over to the campus post office to mail something.  Then I went over to the mailboxes only to find that I had a package to pick up.  So, I backtracked across the campus to the post office to get my package.  I ended up with an Amazon package.  I had absolutely no idea what it was. 

So, I went back to my dorm and opened it, only to discover that my mom had sent me a present.  She sent me the DVDs of the Star Wars Original Trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) that I had asked her to add to my Christmas list because I only had them on VHS and I wanted to watch them.  My day was absolutely made by that.  I had been having a really good day, but that made my day amazing. 

Oh, Fun...

Good thing about today:  my laundry is all done and the paper I spent most of my weekend on is edited and turned in.  I'm hoping that I get a good grade on it...who really knows, though. 

The fun part is that's only the start of the week.  I've got an annotated bibliography due on Thursday that I need to work on, plus biology homework, my chem paper status update, and a history test on Monday (can we say not cool?) and I'm not happy about any of it being right now. 

What I really want to do right now is just take a couple of days off of work and read my books.  My actual pleasure books rather than school books.  Those are so much better than the big dry textbooks that take forever to read.  I've barely gotten a chance to read a good novel since I got here, and I miss it dearly. 

And because of that, I now miss home.  I'm going to bed before anything else makes it worse...

Books, Books, Books

I love my books.  I've got about half a dozen fun reading books from the library right now.  The local library by the college allows college students who live on campus to have a library card, and it's awesome.  Despite that my workload, I've actually had time to read two of them all the way through - Backup by Jim Butcher and I Am Morgan le Fay by Nancy Springer.  The former is part of a series that I love - The Dresden Files, which is currently at a dozen books, plus an anthology of short stories that comes out two days from now.  I can't wait to read the one that's set after the latest book, Changes.  It's going to be awesome with the way the book ended...and since the working title and the summary has been released already, even though the book doesn't come out until the end of March.

Anyway.  I have four other books - Graceling by Kristin Cashore, which is a book I've wanted to read for a while after a friend of mine recommended it, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb, which are the middle and final books of the Farseer Trilogy.  I've read the first one (Assassin's Apprentice) and loved it, and I want to know what happens to the main character, so it's sort of important to actually read the end...  For me it is, at least.

The last book I have is a Robin McKinley novel - she's a favorite of mine, particularly with The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword - Outlaws of Sherwood, which is a Robin Hood book.  And since I'm on a Robin Hood kick as well as an Arthurian Legends kick, I figured I'd like to read that one.

And that's it for those books...Now I just have to read all of them before they're due...

I Have Nothing to Say Right Now...

For once in my life, I think I'm actually out of things to say.  At least for now.  After all, it IS the weekend, and I DO have work to do that I don't feel like doing even though I'm going to do it anyway because it's due on Monday. 

So, yeah.  This pretty much just me rambling again.  Mainly because I don't have anything else to say and I'm sort of bored.  I have work to do, but work isn't fun.  At all.  And I don't want to watch a movie right now, either.  I just don't.  Instead, I've chosen to just babble on my blog...that's what I get, though....

Of the Lack of Decent Romance in Merlin...

So, I have lots to do in the next couple of weeks.  And I'm not really looking forward to most of it.

And I'm sort of on a Merlin kick again.  I've gotten all the way up to Season 3 Episode 4.  The season is really good so far, but I seriously don't like what they've done to Morgana.  It's just not right, even if it does sort of keep with the legend.  It would also be nice for the sake of us Arthur/Morgana supporters if some action would take place in that relationship.  I don't like the Arther/Gwen thing.  I don't like her that much, and if she's with anyone, it should be with Lancelot.  I don't get a say, though.

I don't think anything's going to change, though, so why complain?  They didn't change for the fans in season three of Robin Hood.  They only made things worse as they went along.  Like the character who was made of stupid....

Anyway, I'm not going to go into it, I'm going back to work before something else distracts me...

I Ask for Your Prayers...

I just found out an acquaintance of mine is in this ICU after 48 hours of severe illness.  All I can say at the moment is that I am so very thankful for Facebook and that people announce things like that on there. 

This will be a short post, and I may perhaps return later today to post my usual entry...I just wanted to get this out there for anyone who is willing.  Please pray for Tony and his family.  I don't know what's doing on, but this kid rarely fails to bring a smile to any other conferee's face at the conference we both attend in the summer.  He's sweet, adorable, and a bit of a dork - all of us at the conference love Tony as a friend and brother in Christ. 

Minor Comments on Being a PK

Only a week and a half until I get to go home with Daddy.  I have to say, I'm really looking forward to it.  Mind, I do have a bazillion things to do that weekend, with a test coming up and all, but I'll make it. 

It's going to be exciting because I get to go to a wedding and take pictures of Daddy performing it.  I love being a priest's kid.  It's actually quite a lot of fun.  I don't really get how people get that misapprehension that PKs are always either really good or really bad. 

It's like the girl with the curly Q in that nursery rhyme book I read when I was little.   When she's good, she's very, very good, and when shes bad, she's very, very bad.  I remember that book like it was yesterday...that and things like Go Dog Go, Hop on Pop, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and all sorts of other stuff.

I've noticed that about me...I like to reminisce...it's rather fun, really.  It's only a matter of saying a few things that are deep or so make that fun...

Bad Timing...

I need to stop trying to write these right before I go to bed.  It's really not a great idea. 

Mind you, I've been suffering through my History paper for a while, and I need to do something else for the time being.  This paper is not fun at all.  It's a persuasive paper on how Frederick Douglass kept his humanity while he was a slave.  I don't like this paper at all.  If it was an essay, it would be easier.  It's the pursuasive stuff I don't like. 

Either way, I have to get over it.  It's due on Monday, and the draft should be done by Thursday so that I can talk to my prof about it.  Then it will only be a matter of editing it, I hope.  I don't really want to have to do more than that, to be honest.  Not this week, at least.  I've got an essay to edit for English, and that bibliography...and a bunch of other stuff...joy of all joys. 

This is going to be a fun week...

This is an Interesting Week...

So far this week, I've had a ton of stuff going on.  I have a History paper due next week, plus an English paper.  And then there's the fact that we have a movie in English on Thursday night.  It's just going to be very interesting coming week. 

I have a lot of work to do, really.  I also have an annotated bibliography to do, plus a bunch of other stuff...like my reading for class and some pleasure reading when I get the books I requested from the library.  That will be fun.  I asked for several books that I've been wanting to read for a while, but I always forget about them when I go into a bookstore.  The first one of the trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice) was really good, so I'm hoping that Assassin's Quest and Royal Assassin are as good as that.  Who knows, though.

That being said, I need to go to bed.  I'm tired...

I Love Weekends

This past weekend has been an absolute blast.  Even with Armadillo home for the weekend and only four of the normal crowd hanging out, it's been great. 

Well, other than the Bears losing to the Seahawks...  That was a bit sad.  I watched that earlier while I was working on my lab report for Biology.  It was a fun thing to do, but it was a bit of a disappointment that the Bears couldn't pull off a win when they had so many chances.  I'm not going to rant about that, though.   They're the Bears...they tend to not be the best most of the time.  Sometimes they pull something out of the hat, but not always. 

Anyway, yeah, it's been a semi-quiet day.  Phantom, Private, Tank, and I had dinner together, along with Phantom's friend from his hometown, Sir Breaksalot.  And no, his nickname doesn't come from him breaking things...it comes from him breaking himself a lot.  He asked me for a nickname, so that was what he got.  It was quite hilarious.  And then Phantom took a webcam pic of him from his Mac...that was so funny...

And I need to go to bed now.  Class at 8 AM tomorrow.  And a test.  Joy...

Quiet Day

Today was not a busy day at all, really.  I didn't get up until late today, and ended up going to lunch and relaxing for a while.  I made a couple of phone calls, and did my homework, but I didn't really accomplish anything otherwise.  Which I find disappointing. 

I mean, I did finish my History homework, my Biology homework, studied a bit for my test, and started on my lab report for Biology.  I was going to write that today, but I just didn't have time, so it's tomorrow, and then hopefully I can start on my History paper on Frederick Douglass.  It should be interesting to try to write that, since it's supposed to be 4 to 5 pages with like...1.5 line spacing on my usual font.  I don't really like that, as it's going to be a ton of work trying to write that.  Ugh.  I shouldn't be complaining, but I can't help it...and then I have my annotated bibliography due for my research project for English...no wonder I don't have time to write or anything.  I'm too busy doing other junk.

On the plus side, Tank and I watched another movie - this time it was The Pacifier...that's always a fun movie. 

And now I'm off to bed, as I actually have to get up tomorrow to go to church and all...

What a Blast...

The last couple of days have been an absolute blast for me.  I've been crazy busy with all of the stuff I've had going on, but it's been great.

I had an essay I needed to write today, so I spent most of my afternoon working on that.  First I had to find the actual source I needed for this essay.  That took forever.  Absolutely forever.  The subject I picked is the clock tower we have on campus.  It's a landmark, and that works for the assignment.  The problem was that no one actually knew when it was put in or anything about it. 

Eventually, someone managed to find something for me that worked, and off I went...I ended up sitting outside on the concrete (which is cold when it's only fifty-odd degrees...) and writing about half my essay.  I'm much happier with that half than I am the other half.  Oh well, though.

And after that, I went to dinner with Tank and Phantom, since Armadillo went home this weekend.  Apparently, he also got a haircut, which should be interesting to see on Monday. 

The BBC (the cafe where we eat sometimes - our meal plan kicks in at 6 PM over there for certain things) got their Wii out for Reading Day, since only a few of us were actually still there.  They had the Wii Sports, and Mario Kart.  I got to play that, and the best I was in was 2nd the whole time...the best I ended up placing was 3rd, but it was way fun. 

The best part, though, was after Private showed up for dinner.  Turns out, he had Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which the BBC used to have, but they've lost the disk, so we couldn't play it.  But, he had his own copy with him on campus, and he ended up going to get his Wii (since he didn't have it set up) and we got to play that.  I got totally pummeled, but I've only played that a little, and besides, I'm not that good at it to start with. 

It was great, though.  And then me and Tank ended up watching Sense and Sensibility, and that was awesome.  And I'm going to bed now before I fall over...

What A Day

Today has been amazing, just like a lot of my days.  I'm still really happy right now, despite the fact that I've pretty much lost my voice at this point.  I think it had something to do with laughing so much today....

I spent about 9:30 AM until 11:25 AM in the library looking for books for my English research project.  We have to write about an event that happened in the last seventy years or so, with nothing later than 1999.  My topic is Star Wars, the phenomenon it has caused in the culture, with a bit of the mythology and a few other things tossed in depending on what I find.  I ended up with 16 things requested from the reference library with what I found, plus another that I need to get from the public library here.  And then I had to run and talk to my English and Chemistry profs about a couple of things.  Then I had lab.

The fun part was dinner.  I was having dinner with Armadillo (who went home for the weekend, since it's a long weekend, though his computer was stolen like right before he left...) and Tank when a couple of our other guy friends joined us.

Phantom and Private, as I will temporarily dub them for lack of better nicknames, went with us back to Armadillo's room to watch the Turkish Star Wars...which was just sad, I should point out...and a few other things in the kitchen next to his room (he and his roommates have the room at the end of the hall, like me and my suitemates do) and watched that and Turkish Superman Returns...it was quite entertaining.

We managed to spend the remaining hours discussing a Star Wars parody that we're going to try.  Who knows if it'll work, but we're already working on the script and everything, and we've got big plans...and we're going to be trying to do it on five college students' budgets...which would equate to basically no money, since we're all pretty tight on the cash it looks like...

Anyway, I need to go to bed.  I'm about to fall over....

Joy...

My Bio test is finally over.  I'm so happy that it is.  Mainly because that means that I'm free for another couple of weeks...until the next test.  And then that test will be murder, too.  Just like this one and the one before it. 

I have to admit, my Biology class is a very hard one.  Dr. C. is a good teacher, but he's only in his first semester teaching, so he's still learning the ropes, just like I am, only in a different way.  It's just a hard class in general.  There's so much information in it that I can't even really describe it.

I'm just glad that the test is done and I don't have to worry about it anymore.  Only now I'm going to be worried about my grade, what do you want to bet? 

Still, that's going to be fun.  And I have English tomorrow...I should probably go to bed, actually...

Lots of Stuff to Do...

I feel like I'm running out of things to say today.  I've been rather busy for the last few hours, really.  While I didn't have English this morning, I did have my Biology lab.  And I have a bunch of stuff to do this week. 

Thankfully, it's a short week.  We have reading day on Friday, and I figure that I'll get as much as I can done this weekend if possible.  Right now I have a bunch of Chemistry stuff I need to be doing.  Among other things, I need to pick out that journal for our Primary Literature Project by Thursday...I don't think the one that I found that looked interesting is going to work, so I have to find another one...which is annoying, since I don't understand the titles of half of the journals that are available to us.

That being said, I also have an essay to write this weekend.  And then I have my usual Biology work - reading and writing another lab report for next week.  It should be rather interesting.  And then I have a paper I need to at least get started on for History.  It would really be nice if I could get it done this weekend since it's a long weekend and all.  It isn't due until a week from Monday, but I would like to get it done, so I can go talk to Dr. F. and see what he thinks of the draft before the week is out.  Plus, I sort of have a Chemistry test next Monday.

Actually, I have a Bio test tomorrow...and I need to go back to studying for that.  I can't wait until it's over...

Long Day and Funny Things

Today has been very long. 

To start with, I had my usual Chem, Bio, History cycle, but this time, the freshman lecture was between Bio and History.  So, I spent four straight hours in lecture.  Or a lecture of some sort.  I'll admit, my favorite two things were the ones on the ends.  Chem and History are the classes I'm enjoying the most, though Biology is really quite interesting, and Dr. C. is very funny.  He ends up being quoted on my Facebook quite frequently, which is funny.

He's actually gotten to the point where he stops after he says something sometimes and looks at me and asks 'that's going on Facebook, isn't it?' because he realizes how funny that is or how he's left himself open to it.  It's really funny half the time...like when he said "Go-go Gadget lab groups!" the other day.  That was really funny.

Apparently I have to give him a list of things that he should never say again in class at the end of the semester.  The joys of being a freshman with a teacher in his first year...you get lots of Facebook quotes, that's for sure...

Another Sunday, Another Drive Home

It was a long drive home today.  Not so much that it was a long drive - I was quite entertained by talking to Daddy, who drove me back today.  It was just that we left at 7:15 AM for the 8:30 AM service at church, and then we went to another service that Dad had at 11 AM.  And then it was all the way back here. 

I have to admit, I'm pretty sad right now.  Rather lonely, too.  I miss my parents and sister and grandma so much.  I wish I was with them or that they were here.  It's going to be easier as time goes on, I know, but I don't like it.  I may get to talk to Mama every day, but it's just not the same without her hugs. 

However, I do have lots to do this weekend - I already finished an essay for English that is due tomorrow (I had to edit it today because I forgot my book when I went home for the weekend - blegh, not cool of me).  And I really just have reading and studying to do (Bio test on Wednesday) at this point, but I need to finish it for tomorrow.  No English on Tuesday because we're meeting tomorrow for a freshman lecture between classes...eh, I don't have a choice, so why bother complaining right now..

Shopping!

I've had an amazing day today. 

Not only did I get to spend it with my mom, sister, and grandma while we went shopping, but we found a bunch of bargains that were just amazing!  I ended up with this beautiful silver purse that looks like it has chainmail on the outside for less than three dollars!  It was originally a sixty-five dollar purse!  And I got it for like 5% of the original price! 

I got another one, too, that's pink and pretty and iridescent for the same price.  It's so bright and happy that I can't help but smile because of it.  It's just so cute!

I also got a couple new shirts - though one is more of a dress that I wear with leggings - from One World.  That is my absolute favorite brand.  It is absolutely amazing.  It's so brightly colored, and they're really expanding out now as far as the styles and things they sell are concerned.

I also got a necklace and earrings (for under $10 - Thank you, Mama!) for my dress for the masquerade that we're having on campus at the end of the month.  I also got a really pretty mask for it, too...

So, I'm happy, and I'm off to bed, as usual.  Good night...

Good to be Home

Once again, I'm home, and I'm happy to be back.  It's only until Sunday morning, but still.  It's home, and my parents are there and so is my little sister.  And my grandma is visiting from Florida until Sunday, too, so I got to see her again!  I've missed Grandma so much since the last time I saw her, and before that, when it had been months. 

I wish I could go home more often...but, for one thing, I can't because I have too much to do to go back home every weekend.  This time, of course, I have a valid reason not to be coming home again for a while, and it makes me sad.  My family is going to Florida without me while I freeze my rear off up north.

That's not going to be fun.  But, still, I'm very happy, because I'm done with class for the weekend, I've got a short week coming up, and I get to spend the weekend with my family, the way it should be. 

NaNoWriMo

So, last year, I participated in this writing even called NaNoWriMo.  That's National Novel Writing Month for those of you who don't know what the acronym stands for.  That is a competition where you write 50,000 words between 12:00:01 AM on November 1st and 11:59:59 PM on November 30th.

It's a really hard competition, really.  I spent most of my month a little behind when I scrapped my first go at it after day one.  That equated to being 1,667words behind.  That is not a good place to be, really.  I did catch up, and I managed to stay a bit ahead through most of the month.  I even finished three days early last year, though I felt like I nearly killed myself by doing that.  I did kill my muse by doing that, actually.  I had writer's burnout for months after that.

I'm thinking about doing it again this year, despite the fact that I have tests and several papers due in November.  It is debatable whether I am going to do it or not.  I'm thinking about taking a different approach and writing a series of unrelated multi-genre oneshots - one a day until I have the word count for the month.  I'm also thinking about starting one of my Robin Hood BBC fanfictions, Beauty Will Rise.  If I do that, then I would write whatever I could and try to finish Never Surrender, which is my current Robin Hood fanfiction, at the same time or try to finish that one, then start BWR and try to write oneshots while I'm doing that.

I really don't know.  I'm just playing around with ideas at the moment, and besides, I happen to have a history exam on November 1st.  Funny how that works.  I think I have a Bio test and a Chem test that month, too, as well as my Chemistry review paper and several English drafts...

Well, at least it's more than three weeks away and I can think about it while I'm writing my English essay and my paper on Frederick Douglass for History next weekend...

R.I.P. Merlin

R.I.P.

Merlin

4:03 PM - 11:56 PM

Dearest little Merlin, 

I only owned you for eight hours, but I loved you dearly.  You were my new little friend and companion.  You made me very happy.  

You were my first fish.  You were beautiful - your scales were such a pretty orange-gold color, and you were such an active little thing.  

I loved watching you swim around in that beaker after I brought you back from lab.  You were the most amazing fish I had ever seen.  

You loved your cup when I put you in it - you kept swimming up and down and zipping around.  You were so pretty, and so very adorable when you did that.  

I will treasure the few hours we had together.  I loved you, little buddy.  I will never forget you, Merlin.  You will be missed.

Love, 

Kiera.

FISHIE!

Today has been a very good day.  I’m really happy right now for a number of reasons. 

The first of those is that English went pretty well, and it was quite interesting.  I got my first paper back, and I got a really good grade on it, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. 

I ended up meeting with Dr. J (my English prof) after that to go over my second essay, which the final draft of is due on Monday at the latest, at my request.  He gave me a lot of great pointers and commented on a lot of stuff that I could improve. 

In the end, despite the fact that my draft has a million little marks on it, I’m really happy that I’ve gotten all of that advice.  I’m about halfway done editing it, and I’m aiming to get it done tomorrow night, which would be really nice.

The best part of my day, however, was my new little friend.  His name is Merlin.  He’s my new goldfish. 

I got him after my Biology 110 lab.  Dr. C tried to use them in the experiment today.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for the fishies), using them to test how much oxygen they used in cellular respiration in a solution of water that was saturated with oxygen.  The yeast that we used worked wonderfully, but the fish did not.  They did not use up a whole lot of oxygen from the water during the three hours we were in lab.

So, Dr. C. said that four of us could take a fish back to our dorm rooms and keep it.  I’m going to get a tank this weekend and then I’ll get to keep the fish I’ve wanted for the last month. 

All in all, awesome day. 

Papers and Castle

Okay, I have this much to say about school:  I don’t like having to write a bleeding paper for every class I’m in.  English, I knew it was going to happen (it is composition, after all).  History, I saw it coming.  Biology, it makes sense.  But for Chemistry, it does not.  And I don’t have that much time to actually pick the article for my paper to be written about.

So, yeah.  Not happy about that.  And I’m going home this weekend, so I need to have it picked by Friday.  Joy, joy, joy…

Otherwise, though, Castle was awesome.  A murdered bail bondsman and a treasure map to a fortune in precious gems.  They also threw a Catholic priest into it, too, which was interesting…and I was a little annoyed about how he was thrown in there and the plot.  I’m not going to go into details because of the spoilers it would entail when I like to try to keep this blog somewhat spoiler free if I can…

Great show, though.  I can’t wait for next week’s episode…hehehe…and hopefully some progression in the Castle/Beckett relationship…

Homework. AGAIN.

Today has been filled with homework.  All of the homework for tomorrow that I didn’t do yesterday because my day was completely filled up by everything that I had going on…which basically consisted of sleep, food, and hanging out with Armadillo and Tank.  We went for a hike in the woods by our school (and didn’t get lost!) after lunch, and it was a lot of fun. 

Except for when we found leeches on the bottom of a rock.  That was not fun.  That was actually rather disturbing.

On the plus side, we saw a bunch of deer, too, and the deer didn’t seem to be afraid of us at all. 

Apparently one of the freshman actually fed them a couple of weeks ago, though. 

I don’t know, really.  Still, I’ve had all of the homework I meant to do yesterday to do, but it’s done now, and I’m happy.  And watching Merlin again.  I love that show…I’m almost done with season 2 now, which is good…I like being caught up.

Now if only the internet would be nice to me and let me watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  I don’t want to miss episodes like I did last year when I neglected to watch them for a week or two….

Anyway, I’m off to bed.  Early day tomorrow, what with class at 8 AM…

Never Again...

That is the last time I am ever staying up that late. 

Last night was pretty fun, all in all, minus the sheer exhaustion at the end of the night…morning….whatever. 

But yeah.  I was up until 4 AM last night.  Never.  Happening.  Again.  I learned my lesson the first time.  I’m not going to repeat that while I’m in school no matter what happens.  After it if I have a night shift at something like…say, a veterinary clinic, that is a different matter entirely. 

The point is, 4 AM is far to late for me to stay up.  Or early.   Whatever you want to call it. 

We watched All Dogs Go to Heaven, which was one of my all-time favorite movies when I was younger. 

Funny thing is, I never noticed exactly how short the songs were.  They all seemed to be so long and amazing when I was little.  Now they seem tragically short because I love them so much.  I always have, and I always will.  That is an amazing movie, that’s for sure.  I could watch it over and over again…I’ll probably end up doing just that, albeit spaced out, now that I have it on DVD. 

Can we say repeat of childhood?  I did that so often with All Dogs Go to Heaven (both of them) and A Troll in Central Park…  I need that on DVD next, I think.  I’m really enjoying watching all of the older movies I watched back in the 90s when I was little.  It’s amazing how good they are. 

Well, maybe not.  They are from a different age, and so much better than nearly everything on TV these days. 

“All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind.”  -- Anabelle (the whippet angel)

This Will Be Fun..

I figure I should probably update this before I head over to get something to eat for dinner - I'm going to be hanging out with Tank and Armadillo again, so who knows if I'll actually have any other time to post this.  It IS Friday night, after all.  Usually we watch a movie on Fridays now, apparently.  I guess it's going to become like a weekly thing. 

I don't know what we're going to watch yet, but it'll probably be good.  It'll be, more than likely, from the movies I brought, or the ones that Tank brought...or the ones in the thing downstairs.  You just have to give them your ID to get the stuff there.  Apparently Armadillo's ID lives there half the time.  I find that quite amusing.  Though, we do play games and watch movies in the evening sometimes.  Frequently, actually. 

But yeah.  I don't have a whole lot more to say, and they're coming over in a few minutes and we're going to go to the BBC to get some food.  That cheeseburger sounds really good about now...and fries...hehehe.....

Off Topic

Okay, so I'm going to go totally off topic tonight and talk about Merlin, the BBC tv show. 

It is amazing. I love the acting in this, even if some of the things they do are a little annoying (such as the fact that I've been told Morgana turns evil, even though she's not really even inclined toward that where I am right now, in the middle of the second season. 

Mind you, my best friend has watched most of the second season already.  She doesn't provide me with spoilers, but she's irritated that Morgana is one of my two favorite characters - the other is Arthur.  And go figure, I like Arthur and Morgana together.  In this particular version, though I've heard some that say that she's Arthur's sister, she is King Uther's ward.  Her father was killed in Uther's service, and he was Uther's closest friend before his death. 

I happen to like Arthur/Morgana still, though they've toned a lot of hints of that down in the second season so far, unfortunately.  I also like Gwen/Lancelot...and Merlin with no one, really...maybe Freya, but I'm not really sure at the moment to be honest.  And she seems like a character of the day.  And the last time I liked a character of the day as the romance of a main character, she died.  Great, right?

So, I have to say, the first season of Merlin was amazing.  The second season is almost as good, but not quite.  They really did find some great actors and actresses to play characters of the day recurring characters.  Like Morgaus, who apparently shows up in season three...I wouldn't know, since I'm only in season two, and there are only like three episodes of that released and online so far.

I like having people put it up, though, when it's only aired in Britain.  It's nice to be able to actually watch it...

And now I'm going to go back to rooting for Arthur/Morgana in the episode I'm watching...

Tuesday Was....Lecture, Lab, Lecture, Extra Credit...And Today..

I had to go to a lecture last  night after I was done with Bio lab today...and while the lecture was quite interesting at points, I could barely hear the speaker because people were talking.  And I had extra credit stuff to do for Bio, as well.

Our class average on the first test was seven points below what Dr. C wanted it to be, so he handed out a set of questions that were seven points in total of extra credit.  The catch is that they was that they were due at 9 AM this morning.  You don't have to do it, but it would be good.  And if you're not satisfied with your grade, it is highly recommended.  I, personally, am not satisfied, so I turned it in

So, I spent like three hours trying to do that last night.  I don't know how much I got right, and I took a wild guess on at least one or two, but hey, what can it hurt?  If I get the points, I get the points.

And then I had reading to do for Bio, too, and I have to worry about my History test on Friday.  Yay.

Today was actually pretty good, after I got over the fact that I didn't get the grade I wanted for the class.  And then I went to Yoga with Tank, and it was awesome.  I think I need to get a mat for it, though...

Bed now...just like usual...  I get to sleep in this time!  Yay!  No class at 9:30 tomorrow!

Just Great...

I'm having a bad day.

Well, I suppose I should say that I had a bad day.  It's pretty much over now, which I'm happy about.  I don't like it when I have bad days.  It's beyond frustrating, and I don't enjoy it at all.

The best part is, I still have the rest of the week to go.  And looming at the very end is a history test that I know I'll do fine on, but the fact that it's looming isn't a good feeling.

So, I'm really not going to go into detail on why my day was so bad.  I don't want to, and I probably need to head to bed soon, since I have class at 8 AM tomorrow.  Yay...

BEARS!!

My dad surprised me with tickets to the Bears-Packers game about a week ago. 

Tonight, I actually got to go see the game - it was amazing!!!  Despite the fact that the Bears aren't exactly playing like the undefeated team they are, it really was great. 

For one thing, Devin Hester decided not to have dance practice on the field and zig-zag all over like he has been.  He actually ran the punt all the way back to the endzone in a relatively straight line - it was about as straight as he could make it with guys trying to push other guys into his way and knock him down, as it were.  And he only had one butterfingers moment where he dropped a ball he should have had. 

That, for one, was awesome.  That and Johnny Knox's talent could really make the Bears great if they actually use them right.  We've got a bunch of great players who can catch a football, and a great quarterback when you actually keep the defense from getting to him.

It's not Cutler's fault that the offensive line that is supposed to keep the defense off of him fails to do what they're paid millions to do.  It's not his fault that the offensive coordinator tells him to throw to spots rather than people. 

Either way, that was an awesome game, and my throat's a bit sore from screaming...

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

I don't really have a whole lot to say about today.  I'm rather tired at this point, too, so that does not help. 

Really.  It doesn't. 

But it's been a pretty good day.  I'm all done with my homework for tomorrow, and I just have a lab report to write for Tuesday, and a book to reread for English that day so I can take the quiz.  I'm currently hoping that there aren't many, if any, questions from the documentary we watched on Thursday on it.  I'm still trying to get that completely out of my head.  It was graphic and horrific, and I SO would have appreciated a disclaimer on that so I didn't almost get sick watching it. 

But, yeah.  That and homework, and spending a bit of time with Tank was all I did today, really.  And I finished Sherlock and watched Merlin.  That was fun. 

I'm going to bed...

King/Queen of the Hill....or Bench

I have to say, today has been awesome. 

Mom and Grandma came up today with my little sister to have lunch with me.  I miss them so much and it was so great to see them.  We went to Chili's, which is my most recent favorite restaurant.  Their Cajun Pasta is amazing.

Lunch was awesome, and not because of the food.  I also gave Grandma a tour around the campus, which I apparently did well on.  That's good, I suppose.  I also found out that I got a package when I was showing them one of the buildings.  They put these blue slip/notecard-like things in our mailboxes when we get packages, only the one that I got was SO not there yesterday.  That might have had something to do with the fact that I checked at like ten o'clock in the morning...but it does say that the package arrived on the twenty-third, which was Thursday.  Whatever, though.  I just have to wait until Monday.  Fun, fun, fun.

Did I mention that I cut my finger on a string a few days ago?  Brilliant, right?  Only I would do that.

After Mama, Grandma, and my sister left (which was really sad and not fun seeing them leave), I ended up finishing the last episode of this BBC series I've been watching, which is called Sherlock.  It's an amazing show, that's for sure. The guy who plays Sherlock Holmes is amazing - he is to Sherlock what Christopher Eccleston is to Doctor Who.  Meaning he's perfect for the part, and his acting is simply amazing.  Mind you, the only reason I'm comparing them is that Christopher Eccleston is my favorite Doctor.  Probably always will be (I love Nine (Eccleston), though I haven't seen a whole lot of Ten - David Tennant - or Eleven - Will Smith, I think the guy's name was). 

I digress.  Sherlock is amazing.  I'm not thrilled by some of the references in it, but it's great otherwise.  Sherlock is brilliant - he has the most amazing sense of deduction, and he noticed almost every minuscule detail.  He calls himself a 'high-functioning sociopath' (in the first episode) but I'm not really sure that fit, to be honest.  Not that it really matters.

Now I'm back to finishing up Season 2 of Merlin so that I can watch Season 3, which has just started coming out in England, and my last Netflix DVD, which has been sitting in my desk (yes, in my desk) for almost the whole month I've been here.  Great, right?

I ended up doing History homework with Tank, and then we went to have dinner at the BBC (which is our cafe, not to be confused with the television station) with Armadillo.  That was fun.

And then we watched another movie (Howl's Moving Castle, which is one of my all-time favorites.  Armadillo had never seen it, and he liked it, so we're happy about that).  Then Tank and I ended up watching Armadillo play various video games that he kept changing because he got tired of one or another.  That's him for you, though. 

We ended up going outside after that - I had to go put the DVD back in my room first, and when I walked outside, Armadillo and Tank were having a mini-war over the bench and trying to keep each other off of it for the heck of it.  I joined in and it became an all-out war. Tank and I won.  It was so much fun!  And it was great exercise, and none of us could stop laughing.  It was seriously great.

And I got to talk to my best friend amidst this - that was a great talk.  I miss her a lot, too...

And I'm off to bed now that I've updated this, as I need to get up and get ready for church at a reasonable time tomorrow morning.  I've already got my outfit picked out.  Yay.

It's Over...

The tests are over.  Thank goodness.

So, yeah.  My day went pretty well after the tests.  I feel like I did pretty well in Chemistry, but not so much in Biology.  What's done is done, though.  Can't change it now.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.  I might have done a whole lot better than I thought.  I doubt it, though. 

Most of the rest of my day has been spent with Tank and Armadillo.  They're awesome, for sure.  We really do have a blast.  Like when we were watching Castle on Monday.  That was so much fun.  We watched Ever After (great movie) and just hung out together for the most part. 

All in all, it was a really great day, but I'm really tired at this point.  So, I'm off to bed once again...

Oh, the Joy of Tests

I hate taking tests.  And above all, I hate taking two tests on the same day.  And having to study for both of them at the same time.  It makes me very nervous.  Very, very nervous.  Almost as much as when my instructors were saying that we needed to study.  Yeah. 

I suppose I shouldn't complain, though.  I only have a Chemistry and Biology test.  A couple of guys in my class actually have a Psychology test the same day.  They have like five hours between them, but still, that's not fun. 

I'm just a little scarred - okay, a lot scared - that I'm going to fail them.  And I can't fail them, because I need those grades, and if I don't get them, I can't go to Vet School after college. Joy of all joys...

I put a lot of pressure on myself.  And I need to go back to studying.

Just Another Day with Tests Looming

Today has been a great day for the most part.  The only problem I've had is the fact that my Biology and Chemistry profs keep mentioning the fact that there is a test in both of those classes on Friday.  Ten minutes apart on Friday, I might add. 

I'm not looking forward to having to do both of them within that space of time, and I'll admit that I'm a tad freaked out.  Thankfully, I only have a tiny bit of homework and some reading for History to finish.  Okay, so I actually need to start the reading.  I have the Constitution to read, and about thirteen pages of the textbook.  So, ick.  There are two sets of discussion questions to do as well.  Double ick. 

And the best part is, my roommate is sick.  She thinks she picked up strep throat from a friend of hers in the other hall.  That would be awesome, wouldn't it?  Yeah, I know, sarcasm isn't a very good idea, but I'm just thrilled by that, since I usually end up getting sick when other people around me do...  So, yeah.  I can't say I'm happy about that, and I'm hoping that it's not by tomorrow night...

Every Once in a While

It was really nice to be able to relax today.  I did all of my homework for today on Sunday or Monday, and it was nice to just have to do tomorrow's homework and all today.  It gave me an opportunity to actually not have to worry too much about all that I have to do.  Admittedly there are two tests looming on Friday (Chem AND Bio, only ten minutes apart!), but I've been calm enough and relaxed enough that things have gone well.

I've actually even had a chance to catch up on my writing a bit, which I think is a very good thing.  I've got a ton of writing I want to do in my spare time, and I can't get to it usually...like the Netflix that I've had for a month and have only gotten about halfway through...  Whoops? 

At this point, however, I am going to go to bed, considering that I am tired and must get up at 6:30 in the morning.  Good night...

Castle!

A warning, this post is bound to be a bit shallow.  And possibly filled with a few spoilers.

My favorite show on TV right now is the one about a mystery writer and a homicide detective - Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, respectively.  The show is now in its third season as of tonight's premier, and it is phenominal. 

I've been told that it's like Bones, only better.  I don't like Bones, though. Too much gore.  Castle, however, is perfect.  It's a whole lot cleaner for one, and there's usually not a whole lot of actual gore.

Tonight's episode was amazing.  I'd seen the first eight minutes on the preview ABC released a while ago, and I loved it.  But, it left it at a double cliffhanger.  So, I had to wait until tonight to actually see the rest of the show.  It was worth the wait, that's for sure.  Three months of waiting after screaming at the television during the live broadcast of the season finale was worth it.  Except for the part where (spoiler) Castle is in a relationship. 

Me being me, I'm a Caskett (Castle/Beckett) fan and I want them to get together, though it would probably end the series, from what I've been told.  Either way, it was a great episode, and I hope I wasn't too spoilery. 

I do find it funny, however, that Beckett's frustration with Castle is that he won't go away for the longest time, and when he's gone, she misses him desperately.  Interesting, really...

School Again...

Today was back to school, as usual.  Got up, went to church (with the bishop giving the homily and con-celebrating!), had a great time at coffee hour because I got to see most of the people who usually come to church there, and a bunch of other people who don't usually go there. 

Then, it was the long trip back, sitting in the car talking to Mama while trying to do homework.  I say trying because I got very little done.  I actually only have a lab report to write for Tuesday at this point - otherwise, I'm done, so I'm rather happy about that.  I still have a chem lab report to do this week, but that's not due until Thursday, which is good, at this point.

But yeah, not a whole lot of things to say right now.  I miss my family, as usual, and I'm wishing that I was at home...my trips home go much too fast when I go.  And then it takes forever to get to the next one.  I have to wait like three weeks this time to actually get to go home again.  I hate waiting so long. 

And now, off to bed, since I have class at 8 AM tomorrow...

Why is it Always Crazy?

It seems like that's all my life ever is anymore.  Crazy, crazy, crazy.  I'm constantly going, even without Theology this semester (which I'm thankful for, all things considered.  I don't think I could handle another class when I had labs when I did) and only History Club as my outside of class stuff.

But seriously.  It seems like all I ever do is homework and go to class anymore.  I don't really like that part.  I love everything else, but all of the homework is going to kill me eventually.

I shouldn't complain, though.  I, at least, take the time when I need it and don't end up pulling all-nighters light some kids do.  My roommate tried to do that and failed.  She ended up sleeping for three hours instead of staying up working.  It was kind of interesting, in that regard...and then there was the lamp incident, which resulted from her going home last week and staying out really, really late, getting back at 2:30, waking up at 4:30, and not being able to sleep again until after classes.  It was quite interesting, and it is a story for another time.  I have church tomorrow, and I have to get up early.  Off to bed with me...

Back at Home Again

I'm back home, now!  I'm happy about that, for sure.  I'm back this time for a church function tomorrow, and to go to church on Sunday.  I'm watching Robin Hood series two right now, while I watch my little sister.  I have a ton of work to do this weekend, though.  A bunch of reading (for Chemistry, History, and Biology), a lab report to write up for Biology (that's due Tuesday), and an essay for English (which is also due Tuesday).  And I happen to know for a fact that I have two tests this coming week - Biology and Chemistry, both on Friday.  Ten minutes apart.  Starting at 8 AM.  I can't say that it will be easy, or that I'll be able to do well on both of them, but I'm going to try.

Funny thing is that they (my Chemistry and Biology profs) talked about making sure that they weren't on the same days.  I find it slightly amusing on one regard that they managed to do that anyway...

Another really funny thing is what my Biology teacher said today.  We were talking about cells and what a Golgi Apparatus was at one point, and he was a little behind as far as where class time was.  So, in summary of the Golgi Apparatus, he said "Funny name, looks like pancakes, does magic!"  It was so funny that the whole class started laughing.  He really is a hoot sometimes.  It's like he never sleeps, the way he's constantly bouncing around with energy.  He doesn't seem like he's more than a college graduate, but he's got a Ph.D. and everything.  Dr. C is pretty awesome in a lot of ways.  He's a very interesting teacher, to say the least...

Thursday Night...

I suppose I'm going through a lot of these nights where I really don't have a lot of things to say.  Or I'm too tired to post, like now, when I've just managed to finish all of my homework and I'm exhausted.  And it's only like 9:30 at night.

Hence, I've not got a lot to say, and I'm practically falling asleep at the keyboard.  I don't really know why I'm this tired right now, to be honest.  I shouldn't be.  I've gotten enough sleep, and I haven't been working THAT hard.  I've been doing all of my work, yes, but I haven't been doing things like running on campus or anything.  Or going to the fitness center or anything.  I should, though.

That said, I'm going to bed.  Good night.

Heroes Die

Yesterday I mentioned that most of my favorite characters die.  I can think of a large number of them, but I will refrain from actually stating many of them, as most of them die later on in their books, movies, or shows.  Mainly they seem to be the heroes, whether they are the main hero or a more understated one that no one really sees as a hero.

A good example of the former is Anakin Solo.  He was one of my favorite characters of all time from the Star Wars Expanded Universe.  I've ranted about him and how he shouldn't have died, or how his fate was never actually set in stone as far as death - the book he died in never actually said that he was dead.  Just gone.  Which means he could have just passed out or something.  That, however, is yet another blog post for later when I'm in the mood to just rant about Star Wars.  I've done that before, too.

Anyway, Anakin Solo.  He was a hero in the big sense of the word.  Everyone in his world - his galaxy - knew that he was the best hope for the war against the Yuuzhan Vong.  He was the obvious hero.  And he died because he was being stupid and went off on his own when he was wounded.  Some boys (granted, not all) are really stupid sometimes.  That is one example.

So, he died, and everyone mourned him.  As a Hero.  (Yes, there is a reason for the capital h.)

An opposite example is Archie Kennedy.  He is a character from the Hornblower series.  He is a character in the books, but he's not a major one, and he's actually very different from the character in the movies.  In the movies, he's actually a combination between several characters. The character that I'm referring to as the one I like is the one in the movies, played by Jamie Bamber (who also happens to be in Battlestar Galactica, which I have never watched...but I've heard that it's quite popular).  He starts out as this very young seeming Midshipman when he meets Horatio, and they become friends as they serve together on the Justinian.  They overcome a few trials together as friends, and they go on to serve as officers on the Indefatigable under Captain Sir Edward Pellew.

The first four movies are spent on the Indy, and they go through things like helping out with a rebellion against Napoleon in France and many other things.

Eventually, they are transferred to a different ship after both of them are promoted to leftenant (lieutenant).  The captain is paranoid and rather ill, and eventually it leads him to fall down a ladder into the hold...only he claims to have been pushed, and that there was mutiny going on.  Which, conveniently, there was.  For the first time since he had thought there was.  In the end, the four lieutenants forced the physician to declare the captain unfit for duty because of the way he was acting.  He took that as mutiny, and things only went downhill from there.

Once they ended up where they were stationed in the Indies, after a huge battle, the lieutenants were put on trial for mutiny, and the fact that someone had supposedly pushed Captain Sawyer into the hold.

In the end, a very injured Archie Kennedy walks all the way from his bed in the holding cell/infirmary (Hornblower and Buckland, the two who were not injured had cells, while Bush and Archie were in a barred infirmary or sorts) to the courthouse in full uniform, even though he's had a fever and is recovering from a gunshot wound to the gut.  He confesses that he pushed Captain Sawyer, even though he didn't.  Just so that he can save the lives of his friends.  He died because of that, and not because the punishment for mutiny was hanging.  Because, in walking all the way there on his own right and taking the blame, he pushed himself too hard and his body failed. 

If it hadn't been for the way he gave his own life for Hornblower and Bush, they never would have lived.  They and Buckland would have been hanged.  He sacrificed himself for his best friend in the world, Horatio, and he was happy to do it.  He was a hero in ever sense of the word.

But it's still odd that nearly all of my favorite characters die.  I think it is because I always pick the noble, heroic ones.  Does that say anything odd about my taste in characters?

Another Crazy Day and Short Entry

Today has really been crazy.  Between class and Lab and it just being crazy, I honestly can't think of a single thing to say.  English is fun, but I have another essay to write.  This one is connecting the work of James Agee and Walker Evans from Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.  We have to pick one picture from the photos that Evans took, and connect it to Agee's text from the book.

Easier said than done, I say.  Particularly since I'm absolutely not sure where to go.  At all.  Or what picture to choose.  Ugh.  I love my class (and I did love the readings from A Canticle for Leibowitz that we were doing...until I got to the end of the first book in the novel...and it ended tragically...why do my favorite characters always die?  That can be a subject for tomorrow), but I dislike the essays.

It is English Composition, though, and I really shouldn't be complaining.  I'm glad I'm not an English major, that's for sure.  I don't like writing essays, for all I love creative writing.  Or maybe it's academic writing.  I don't know.  I just know that I don't really want to write this essay, and I'm going to anyway.  Such is life...

Busy, Busy Once Again

Today has been really busy - go figure.  I had my usual three classes, plus the freshman program stuck in there, too.  So, I was out of my room from 8 AM to noon.  And then I had lunch with a girl in my history class who sits next to me.  She's really nice, and we have a lot in common, includingt the fact that we were both homeschooled for our whole lives before coming here for college. 

My roommate also got back around 2:30 this morning.  I wasn't aware of this fact, as I was out cold long before then, but she was awake when I got up this morning (surprising, really) after only two hours of sleep.  She's currently napping because she's so tired.  Two hours of sleep will do that to you. 

And I'm just finishing up rereading stuff for English and then I'm done with all of the homework I have to do tonight.  So, just the rest of the stuff I need to do this week, which shouldn't be too hard.  And, on the plus side, the essay for bio is done and edited.  I just need to send it to my prof, and I'm good to go on that count.  Now it's just a bunch of other stuff left that I shall be doing tomorrow.  Fun, fun, fun. 

...Okay, Maybe Not So Much

So, maybe I lied about having a most interesting blog post today.  I spent most of my day studying in my room.  Unfortunately.  I ran into my mentor for the freshman program while at the on-campus cafe, but that's really the only thing I can think of that is remotely interesting to say. 

That's probably a bad thing.  Mind you, I've gotten a lot of my homework for the week done already (I'm proud of myself) and what I have left is very manageable, to say the least.  Just reading and discussion questions for history, the pre-lab work and a little reading for chemistry, and some reading and homework for biology.  I'm already done with all of this week's reading for compostion, so pretty much done, since both of the essays are just about done...one of them just needs to be edited.

On another note, my roommate still hasn't come back after she left on Friday.  It's now Sunday night, and there's been no sign of her....  Well, we'll see if she's back by the time I get up tomorrow, then...

When Nothing Happens...

It's been a rather boring day so far.  There's not a whole lot left, of course, but the point remains.  As far as the day goes, I managed to oversleep (I was not happy) and then kill about half of the homework I needed to finish over the weekend.  I just need to finish my bio paper and do the reflective response due in a couple of days and most of the big stuff will be out of the way. 

That being said, all I really did today was homework and goofing off.  I cannot say that I truly did anything remotely interesting today, and I'm actualy fairly tired right now.  Because of that, sadly, I do not have a whole lot to say.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better as far as a blog entry...

Mafia Mania

Most of my night tonight was spent playing Live Mafia, which is basically the same as the regular card game.  If you've ever played said regular card game, you know what I'm talking about - the one where if you get a face card, you're a member of the mafia and you kill people until you get caught.  If you get a joker, you're a nurse/angel, and you can save someone who's dead, or someone in general, depending on how you play the game. 

We spent a good two and a half hours playing two rounds of that game.  It was so much fun!  At first, it was really freaky, because everyone was jumpy and all creeped out.  You could hear the screaming a mile away, practically.

I spent the first round wandering around, mainly.  One of the other girls and I actually saw one of the 'mafia' kill two people and then bolt.  It was actually rather amusing in a number of ways.  The second round I did the same thing basically.  I was a random townsperson both times.  Go figure.  Admittedly, I actually kind of wanted to be one of the 'mafia' during the second round...it would have been kind of interesting. 

At this point, I'm really tired.  I'm going to head to bed in a few minutes.  Sleeping in tomorrow.  Yay.

My Luck

It's just my luck that I keep having days that make me a little more than flustered.  With yesterday and the incidents that happened then, today should have been easy...but no.  Not only did I leave my water bottle in my English classroom (it has since been retrieved, no worse for being lost), but I just can't rememeber things that I need to remember.

On the plus side, all of my homework (which I think is going to quickly become the bane of my existance)  is done, and I know there's going to be a quiz on either Tuesday or Thursday in English.  I don't know which reading it will be on, but I suspect that it will not be on the novel that we're reading (A Canticle for Leibowitz), which we're three chapters into so far.  Great book, by the way.  I'd definitely recommend it. 

So, two essays, some editing on another essay, lots of reading, and another quiz that I need to do over the weekend...life is crazy.  Crazy, crazy, crazy. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better, less flustering day. 

Only a little over a week until I get to go home...

Why?

Today has not really been my day for trying to get this post written.  I've wasted more time than I can figure out trying to get my internet (I've been at it for more than an hour and a half, at least) to be nice to me so that I can get on here.  Firefox doesn't want to work...and Internet Explorer doesn't really either. 

That most likely would be because EVERYONE on campus is trying to do their homework online.  Which somehow deprives the person who actually did their homework earlier from getting on the internet...I'm not sure that's exactly fair, but there's not much I can do about it.  Except maybe do my homework later...which is a very bad idea.  Knowing me, I would somehow manage to fall asleep reading, even if it was say...A Canticle for Leibowitz, which my English Comp class is supposed to read for tomorrow.  I, however, have been done with my homework for hours.  I've just been battling computer issues rather than being productive.  And that kind of annoys me.

On the plus side, I went to the History Club meeting, and it was actually quite interesting - we're going to be having a masquerade dance for Halloween, which is going to be awesome.  No doubt about that.  I'm rather excited for that. There are also a few other things that were figured out (like trips to see historical stuff and so on - one of the things we're going to go see is a war museum, which should prove to be very intersting), and it was overall pretty cool.  Definitely something I'll go back to, I think. 

And I'm off to bed, since this is now posted...I just hope that this doesn't happen every night for the rest of the semester...

Trolls

There aren't a whole lot of things that bug me as much as trolls do.  Now, I don't mean the school mascots for the schools that have them as such.  I mean those people who post nasty things or lurk in forums intent on bashing people.

They are, to say the very least, one of my biggest pet peeves. And I mean one of my very biggest.

It's cruel and just plain horrible to pick on someone for no reason.  It's even worse when you think you're right for doing something like that.  People do not deserve flames for their creativity. 

If you're going to give them constructive criticism, you don't need to be rude.  You don't need to be harsh.  Be gentle and tell them why you didn't like what they did.  You don't have to bite their head off just because they don't characterize someone properly or something.  You don't need to simply tell them that you don't like it.  Find something that you actually like about their work, and tell them that you like that, and then you can tell them what they did 'wrong' and how to improve it.

People who flame irritate me to no end.  I block flamers.  What annoys me even more is when said flamers retaliate and send you an annoying note from another account.  And then they don't ever let it go. 

Flamers need new hobbies.  I am not one of said hobbies.  Nor should anyone else be.  End of story. 

And tomorrow, we will return to our regular rant-free programing.  Thank you.

Back to Work

So, I'm back to school today.  Sitting in my dorm room right now, actually.  I miss home already. 

Today was quite fun, though, other than the homework that I had to do.  It was mostly reading, and the history assignment was actually quite interesting.  It just took forever, that's all. 

Lunch was at Chili's today - that's one of my favorite restaurants.  Their Cajun Pasta (with chicken) is phenomenal,  as are their steaks.  The pasta is my absolute favorite, though.  It's absolutely amazing - it as a ton of flavor in every bite, and it's always wonderfully prepared. 

The rest of the day was quite, once Mom dropped me off here.  Dinner was tater tot cassarole (brought from home) and a cup of hot chocolate.  Yum. 

Off to bed.  'Night.

One Down, One to Go

Once again, I have managed to leave this until very late.  I need to stop doing that.  Whoops. 

Anyway, today was great - most of it was spent at church and then working on my essay for English Composition.  I did manage to finish it, for all it took two tries.  And two days.  Oh, well, it's done and I'm happy with it.  I'm just hoping that my teacher is, too. 

So, all that's left for tomorrow is some reading, an online history quiz, and going back to school.  Not really looking forward to leaving, but I know that I have to go back.  I have class on Tuesday, after all. 

The part I'm not looking forward to is that I have to write another essay for school.  The freshman thing requires a reflective response on the address given by the president of the school.  It's due a week from tomorrow...fun...

A Good Day

And I've started this one a little later than I meant to...okay, a lot later than I meant to.  I guess I'm not really that used to actually going to bed at a decent hour anymore.  I'm not exactly thrilled by that thought. 

Still, today has been a pretty good day - hanging out for most of the morning, hanging out with my best friend later, watching a movie with ice cream...  All in all, a pretty darn good day.  And, even better, I've gotten a nice chunk of my English essay out of the way.  I'm still a good 175 or so away from where I need to be (thank you required number of words...), but I don't think it will be too hard to do that tomorrow along with the reading I need to do for composition and history.  Then I'll be done with my homework for the weekend, and I'll be able to focus on the science stuff when I get back to school on Monday night and then again on Tuesday night after bio lab. 

It does look as though I'm going to be dropping Theology for this semester (which would make me feel a whole lot better, since I'm a little stressed about the other classes), but I think that will be okay, since I'll still be taking 15 credit hours and all.  I feel better about doing that, though, seeing as I spent between four and five hours studying last Thursday night.  It will be nice not to feel quite so burdened this semester.

One of the best things about this weekend is being able to spend it with my family and being able to go to my home church.  I like that.  I miss the people there a whole lot.  Probably because they're another family for me, and they are all so wonderful to me and everyone else who attends church there, visitor or member...

And I'm going to bed now.  Gotta get up early in the morning...

Home Again, Home Again

After class today, I got to go back home for the weekend!

It does make me wonder exactly why we start three days before a long weekend and disrupt the schedule (since we don't have class at all on Monday).  But hey, I'm not complaining.  I got to come home this weekend, after all. 

The only bad thing about that the Wii decided to stop working while I was gone. So no playing on it, or even doing the Wii Fit or anything else.  Oh, well.  I suppose watching TV is just as good...or not.  I don't get to hit (virtual) things (enemies) if that's the case.  I guess I can't really complain, though.

So, I just have an essay to write this weekend, and some reading to do for my history class - and a quiz for that class, too...