It's Christmas in more than half the world right now! According to the NORAD Santa tracker, Santa is making his way through Portugal right now. I'm just writing to wish everyone out there an extremely merry Christmas!
Christmas is the time of year that I look forward to every year. I love giving presents (love, love giving presents), and honestly, I love getting them just as much. In my family, every Christmas Eve we eat Donatos Pizza, and Christmas day we eat cinnamon and orange rolls for breakfast before opening out stockings and presents. This was the first year that I was able really buy people gifts (thanks to my more than generous parents and my excellent job at the library), and I'll admit, I may have spent more than all of my roommates combined on presents this year, but it was all more than worth it. I know that Christmas has been horribly commercialized over the years, and people complain every year about how much Americans want to "get get get" on Christmas when we should just be enjoying each other's company and celebrating Jesus's birth, but still. I think that giving presents is more than appropriate and one of the best parts of this holiday!
That being said, Christmas is more than just about that. Christmas is celebrating the new life of Jesus, having been born about two thousand years ago. To celebrate this, my family, our friend Hai Ming, and I are watching The Nativity Story as we wait for Christmas to arrive. It's a wonderful way to spend this holiday season.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. One more year is almost over and another one is beginning.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Rain Rain Break the Window
Coming back into reality can be horribly startling at times. That's the best way
to discern an excellent book from a simply okay book. It's the excellent books
that make you forget where you are in time and space, entirely blocking out the
clock, one could spend hours reading an excellent book and think it was only
minutes. Perhaps, of course, in my particular office this may be a problem, but
it's all worth it in the end.
I hadn't, in a very long while, read a book that made me forget myself, become absorbed wholly in the story, the plot of another world beyond my own. It's a wonderful thing when such books are found, they are to be treasured for their wonder and remarkability. I finished The Soldier's Wife today, it was one of few books that I have read that come from the "adult" section of our library. I've been, little by little, trying to transition myself over from the teen section, but it's a scary change, the teen section has been my home for nearly ten years now, I know those shelves like the back of my hand. It was really an especially odd time to choose that book to read because I am trying desperately to finish off a 2011 reading challenge, of which I pledged to read 30 books in one year. I have a number of books from my ever familiar teen section checked out, each of which I could finish in less than a day instead of the three that it took to finish this one. Yet it was apparently a good choice, The Soldier's Wife was much more wonderful than I could have anticipated. I read most of it on our office during breaks between shelving books, and the cliffhangers were horrible when I found that I had to leave again to shelve. But the last section of it, the last bit of that wonderful book, was stunning. The last time I cried over a book was back in July, rereading the Harry Potter series, but this book more than deserved the tears that were shed to it. I cannot spoil it for anyone, that would be more terrible than the worst of crimes. Let me be the one to assure all readers, however, that I, at least, fell in love with this book. There were certain parts that I didn't approve of, which I expected after picking it out of the adult section, and there was one little plot tail at the end that has been a little overdone, at least in what I have read, but overall it was too enthralling, too engaging, to be put down for longer than absolutely necessary. It was after I finally read those last few words and closed the pages that I realized how much I had missed - the calm albeit dreary day had long since turned into a torrential downpour that threatened to break the window above me, and half the people from my office were gone, already having started another cart which I had completely zoned out of. These are the best kinds of books. For a few hours today, I was living on an island occupied by German soldiers during World War II. Those were certainly scary times.
I hadn't, in a very long while, read a book that made me forget myself, become absorbed wholly in the story, the plot of another world beyond my own. It's a wonderful thing when such books are found, they are to be treasured for their wonder and remarkability. I finished The Soldier's Wife today, it was one of few books that I have read that come from the "adult" section of our library. I've been, little by little, trying to transition myself over from the teen section, but it's a scary change, the teen section has been my home for nearly ten years now, I know those shelves like the back of my hand. It was really an especially odd time to choose that book to read because I am trying desperately to finish off a 2011 reading challenge, of which I pledged to read 30 books in one year. I have a number of books from my ever familiar teen section checked out, each of which I could finish in less than a day instead of the three that it took to finish this one. Yet it was apparently a good choice, The Soldier's Wife was much more wonderful than I could have anticipated. I read most of it on our office during breaks between shelving books, and the cliffhangers were horrible when I found that I had to leave again to shelve. But the last section of it, the last bit of that wonderful book, was stunning. The last time I cried over a book was back in July, rereading the Harry Potter series, but this book more than deserved the tears that were shed to it. I cannot spoil it for anyone, that would be more terrible than the worst of crimes. Let me be the one to assure all readers, however, that I, at least, fell in love with this book. There were certain parts that I didn't approve of, which I expected after picking it out of the adult section, and there was one little plot tail at the end that has been a little overdone, at least in what I have read, but overall it was too enthralling, too engaging, to be put down for longer than absolutely necessary. It was after I finally read those last few words and closed the pages that I realized how much I had missed - the calm albeit dreary day had long since turned into a torrential downpour that threatened to break the window above me, and half the people from my office were gone, already having started another cart which I had completely zoned out of. These are the best kinds of books. For a few hours today, I was living on an island occupied by German soldiers during World War II. Those were certainly scary times.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
We are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
I've been trying to blog a new post (post a new blog) for hours. Nothing I starts gets more than a paragraph (short paragraph) or two in before I discard it. This is ridiculous. Because of my blogblock, you all are now welcome to know some interesting points about my life. Because I need to post something.
Our study smells like syrup, cat pee, or flowers. One of those.
The beta fish right next to me was flipping out just now - literally. Flipping out and in the water of his bowl.
I have discovered my love of the forties. The forties in England.
There is a Salsa Dance Party going on next door right now.
Jessie and I just watched the season finale to the first season of Doctor Who with the eleventh doctor. Still haven't seen the most recent one. It's driving me crazy.
I have been trying to get my scanner to work for TWO WEEKS at LEAST and it is still being absolutely unresponsive to any of my requests. I may light it on fire. Legit.
The song playing right now is "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room"
There will be ten days until Christmas as of 28 minutes from me writing this.
No seriously, if you didn't see anything wrong with that, reread that song title.
My arm still hurts from ladling mashed potatoes for two hours yesterday. I consider that pathetic.
Our study smells like syrup, cat pee, or flowers. One of those.
The beta fish right next to me was flipping out just now - literally. Flipping out and in the water of his bowl.
I have discovered my love of the forties. The forties in England.
There is a Salsa Dance Party going on next door right now.
Jessie and I just watched the season finale to the first season of Doctor Who with the eleventh doctor. Still haven't seen the most recent one. It's driving me crazy.
I have been trying to get my scanner to work for TWO WEEKS at LEAST and it is still being absolutely unresponsive to any of my requests. I may light it on fire. Legit.
The song playing right now is "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room"
There will be ten days until Christmas as of 28 minutes from me writing this.
No seriously, if you didn't see anything wrong with that, reread that song title.
My arm still hurts from ladling mashed potatoes for two hours yesterday. I consider that pathetic.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
First Final
It's December. That means Christmas. I wish that was all that it meant. December means exams. Like, this week. Some lucky people are already done with them. Done with exams! I want to be done with them. Right now. But no,all of my exams are on Thursday - the last possible day. All of them. I'm so tired of studying. I'll never get through all of the material. Never. I'm going insane. I'm supposed to be studying last now. I've been studying for the last couple hours, at least. I want to do dishes. I want to clean the house. I want to blog or draw or anything but study. If I just don't go to any of my exams, I'll still get Cs in all of my classes. That should make me feel better, right? I think it should, but it doesn't. I hate this. There are three other people in my house taking exams. One of them is done already. One has resigned herself to studying only tomorrow morning, and one is out studying at her boyfriend's house. In my living room there are four people - two couples - who are not in college and so not taking exams. They are relaxing. They are hanging out. They are being sociable (within their respective couples). I have another night of this psychological torture before my exams come. I just want all of this to be over. Right now. Why isn't this over yet?
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