I am getting ready for my move to Allston, not far from my current apartment but I am wishing there was a way to to teleport my stuff to my new place. As I have been packing I have been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls (one of my favorite shows). I don't think Lane gets enough attention as a character in the Fangirl world so here a great scene from her life. So I thought since I haven't blogging much lately I would post this video... Hope you will forgive me.
I am still reading Little Dorrit, but sorry Charles Dickens it is really taking me all the energy I have to get through your writing. Plus a month ago I put this book on hold and I was 92 on the list of 65 copies so I thought I would be done with Little Dorrit by the time my time came. I got the book last Thursday and finished it on Sunday, probably could have finished it faster if I didn't have to work those days. And to be honest I felt robbed because I thought the book was 331 pages and it was only 313, darn John Green for not writing 18 more pages.
I don't know if I can write about this book without giving away any spoilers and I think everyone should read this book. Yes it is is a Young Adult novel, but the story so so moving (carry tissues), and so beautiful that you can forget that it is young adult and just read it.
Basic plot- Hazel at 16 has a terminal cancer meaning she is living with it and medication and an air tank is keeping her alive. The action of the story quickly starts when she meet Augustus Waters at the cancer support group. He is hot (Hazel's words not mine) and she is surprised he likes her. But they do start a relationship and not to give too many spoilers... he uses his "Make A Wish" to take her to Amsterdam to meet an author they both like. The story goes on from there but like I said I don't want to give away a lot of spoilers.
Why I read- Because lately I have found a lot of quotes on Pinterest by John Green and they seem very motivational, so I was intrigued to read his writing. I first heard of this book when I one of the many fan pages for the Lizzie Bennet Diaries posted a video of Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh reading from the book, seemed quite captivating. (Wasn't able to post video here but here is link to video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8kpmifRpgc). Then my friend, who is working on getting a master's in Library Science for Young Adult Services posted about how she cried on the T while reading the book. So with all this I thought this was a book worth checking out.
good example
What I liked- As most of you know I'd rather live in the past than in the present so I spend a lot of time watching Period Dramas or reading books set in the past, but I found this book just as absorbing as any of those books and I will be adding Hazel Grace to my list of heroines to admire. While my friends who had read the book said they cried and it is about teenagers with cancer, I found myself laughing out loud on the T. It wasn't that it was a funny topic but just the honesty of it and the way Hazel and Augustus talked was just funny. But at the end I loved the characters so much that when it ended I did cry mostly because I didn't want it to end.
What I didn't like- I will say though it was a young adult there was some language that I didn't like, but I didn't think it was over used and I thought sometimes probably very truthful. I don't like swearing, however if I was going through what these characters went through I would probably swear too.
Over all great book, I don't know if I would put it into life changing as it has been labeled, but I am super glad I read it. Seriously have tissues on you.
This has been a good summer so far of some new books to love and some re-reads I adore. I feel very weird now that most of my books are packed up in preparation for my move.
I love Christmas but sadly this year has not felt much like Christmas. First I will blame the weather. The weather here in Boston has been unusually warm (I mean like 40s to almost 50s) which is great because I don't have to bundle up but it is sad because it doesn't have the feeling of Christmas in the air. No Jack Frost nipping at the nose and no real reason to climb under the blankets and drink hot coco. It is kind of sad because come February I will be complaining about the cold weather but now I kind of long for it to get the Christmas feeling. Second I will blame grad school/ full time job. I haven't had much energy to decorate my apartment and prepare for Christmas. But I have to say my office looks very Christmasy which feels nice and as finishing up the semester I am listening to Christmas music. So I get some Christmas feelings. I just wish I felt Christmasy on the inside.
One thing I love about Christmas is getting Christmas cards and sending Christmas cards. But I don't think this year I will get my Christmas cards out on time before Christmas is here so I am going to type a long post instead as if was a traditional Christmas card letter. This will be fun reflecting on the year past...
For me personally I don't feel like much has happened in my life (well I feel that no big event in my life has changed it). Last January I started my first semester in grad school. I took two classes one in Reference Library and one in Slave History. I only took two classes as I worked a full time job in Membership Accounting. In January my little nephew Jayden came into this world on January 14th, 2011.
During that semester I went to my first Boston Celtics game. It took me back to all basketball games I used to go to with my mom and step-dad when we cheered on the Seattle Sonics. I am happy to report the Celtics won. But I felt I spent most of the semester studying. So I will skip ahead to the summer.
In May, my month off before summer school. I went down to Cape Cod. I had only been there once before with my dad and step-mom but it was in November and I am sad I don't remember much of it. But this was a nice trip. Tried to dip my toe in the water but it was far too cold to get in any further than my toe. Also during May I celebrated my 25th birthday in a three day event. My birthday was on Thursday and originally I had nothing planned because it was on a work day, but then my co-worker had tickets to the Red Sox game he wasn't able to go to. So I bought them from him and went to the game. Red Sox won it was a great way to celebrate. Then on Friday night some of my co-workers and I went out for drinks to celebrate my birthday. Also almost all my co-workers wore pink for my birthday and threw me a little party with my favorite things (harvest cheddar sun chips, Dr. Pepper, and German chocolate cake) I love my co-workers. Then on Saturday as a gift to myself I got my hair cut and treated myself to a pedicure. My hair cut was a big deal because I had been growing it out since August for my younger sister's wedding but then she told me I could cut it. And I did really short. Also on Saturday my friends went out for Karaoke. I wanted to do something I had never done before for this big birthday and loved it. My friends and I sung "Baby" by Justin Beiber, attempted to sing "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and we did one Spice Girls song. It was lots of fun. I wonder how I will top it for my 26th. For other post on my birthday click here.
My friend and I singing.
Next on my fast pace moving May was a trip down to Atlanta to see one of my best friends. We didn't do anything too touristy as I kind of wanted to see her life. I had never really been to Atlanta so it was lots of fun getting away from Boston for the Memorial Day holiday and just hang out. I loved Atlanta and if I was to move south of the Mason Dixon line I could see myself living there. It had its southern charm but where my friend lived it had a good indie vibe. I am not indie but I like to pretend to be sometimes. I am happy to say I will be going back there soon when I watch my friend become a Mrs.
Sadly in June my grandma, on my dad's side passed away. It is sad but it is also really great now she is up in heaven. We pulled out all her photo albums and filled up a ping pong table and 2 card tables with all the photo albums she had. We were able to go through them and take the pictures we wanted. I got a lot of pics from my childhood that I didn't even knew existed. For other post on my grandma click here.
Then I had to start summer school where I took Technology for the Information Professional. I learned about HTML, CSS, and other geeky things. But June was also a good month as I watched my younger sister get married. Weddings are another time I love. It is great watching two people who are so in love with each other commit their lives together. I also loved when my sister told her husband that he will always be her number 2 in her life as God is her number 1. And I loved when her husband put on chap stick before kissing her (it was so him). For other post on my sister's wedding click here.
My cat hiding
Most of July was spent at work and at school. I was writing more on this blog, which was nice then by August I was a full out blogger. I was also getting ready for my move. I grabbed boxes from my job or if I saw them sitting on the street. My cat was starting too get worried so she started hiding in the boxes.
I also attended another friend's wedding in August in upstate New York. I must say I like going to weddings where I am not busy doing other things so I can just kick off my shoes and just dance the night away. I did dance the night away and it was lots of fun. For other post on that wedding click here. (I love having this blog to sort of remind me what I did through out my year).
My cat blocking my reading
Then September 1st I moved. The move all went very well even with Hurricane Irene hitting the weekend before. I had some really good friends that came over in the storm and helped me pack. I spent labor day weekend unpacking and getting everything ready before school started this semester. This semester I am taking an Introduction to Cataloging and Historical Methods and still working my job. Next semester I will be going in as a full time student where I will be taking my last two core requirement Library Science classes (Evaluation and Management) and I will be taking my first Archiving class in which I will have an internship to do. It is not set up yet but I am really looking forward to being a full time student.
I am getting ahead of myself... back to this semester. I have tried to be better at juggling work and school but still remembering to take care of myself by taking naps even if they are for 20 minutes, hanging out with my friends even if all we do is crash on the couch and watch a movie. The big news of this semester is that my really close friends (practically family) had their little baby girl Brianna on Oct. 20th. I was so happy when I saw the first picture of her I began to cry. Then when I got to hold her I was over joyed. (If you haven't figured it our I love babies).
Some other big happenings in my life is if you have been following this blog you might have seen some changes in my life. In October I was kind of going through an identity crisis (more of a purpose crisis). I was wondering what I was suppose to be doing with my life. I have always wanted to be a wife and a mother and that felt so far away from me. That I honestly didn't know what to do. Of course this has a long back story of being upset at God. But some where in between my A Page from my Diary (Sept 28) to my Thought for Thursday (Oct. 20th) and even now my life has really changed. I still don't know what I am suppose to be doing but I lean a lot more on God to remind me to live in the moment and He has a beautiful future for me. I am also reminded on a constant basis that I have been blessed so much that I need not worry about the future for it too will be blessed. I am also letting go of my past (mostly my mistakes) so I can move on to a bright future.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I hope even with all the stress comes from this Christmas time that you are able to remember the real reason for the season. It is not about presents, decorations and parities. It is about getting together with loved ones (friends and family) and celebrating the greatest gift of all when God gave us his son to live and then die for our sins. I was just told about this article from the Huffington Post on the Real War on Christmas a good little reminder.
Linus explaining what Christmas is all about.
I was talking to a married couple in my bible study and the wife was telling me she was worried about her kids having a good Christmas. She wasn't worried about the gifts necessarily she just wanted he kids to have a great Christmas. It reminded me why I love Christmas so much. I can't tell you everything I have gotten. But the memories that stick out to me was spending the night at my Mema and Grangran's house waking up on Christmas morning with all my family there. Then after eating a huge meal my mema would ask if any of us wanted dessert but we were too stuffed to say anything. Then when I got older I remember two years I made my dad cry (good cry) over the gifts I gave him. One year it was picture of me sitting on his lap resting my head on his shoulder the other year was I wrote him a poem about how I needed him. Other Christmas memories are my uncles fighting over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma University football and my mema who was as mild as a mouse usually but when we played chicken foot she was the most competitive woman. None of these memories cost much money and have little to do with the gifts it is more about the time we have had together.
Now the one thing I am looking forward to is getting home and when I land I know my dad will be there and he will give me one of his big hugs all of which will tell me I am home and loved. (I guess I am getting a little homesick in eager anticipation for Christmas).
So there is my Christmas, year in review, letter. I hope you enjoyed.
I have had more one previous "sorry post" but since I started trying to write every day I hoped I would not write another "sorry post".... but I feel it has been a week since I have been on here. :(
If you have been reading my blog you know I have been going through a move and right now at my home I still don't have Internet. But I am happy to say I am unpacked and that makes me very happy because now I feel like I am in my new home. My cat is still getting used to this new place but I am sure soon she will be owning it.
Victory Garden with Prudential building in background.
Though I have been working around the clock I have made time to explore my new neck of the woods. I have walked through the Fens or the Fenway (for those out of town). Yes it has the same name as the baseball park but its a park like a garden not park like a baseball field. There is this part of it called the "Victory Gardens" started in WWII but still exist today as little individual gardens for people of the city to use their green thumb. Even though I don't like fall because that means winter is coming I can't wait to see the fall foliage here.
On another one of my walks around I also found a garden called the Riverway. It had lots of cool trees. One that drooped so low I imagined Emma and Mr. Knightly from the Miramax 1995 version (my favorite),minus the cars and the shopping area behind it. It was still very beautiful and fun to discover new places. I took my notebook their and got some writing done on my story, which felt like a nice break from my busy weekend. This is another place I look forward to walking around here with the fall foliage.
Tomorrow is the first of September... it's time to move, time to start school again, and time to prepare for fall. But as I was putting up the September calander in my office (dry erase) I wondered what colors to use. I didn't want to use pure fall colors because September feels more like a time of transition. So I actually googled "September Colors" and I got a range of colors. From blue, red, purple, green, golden orange, maroon.
I found these color templates Pomegranate and Patchouli a fun artsy blog with lots of pictures and fun quotes.
So even though fall might be coming embrace color still...pleaes people don't just go to browns and blacks now that calander has flipped.
Sorry if I don't post tomorrow I will be moving tomorrow.... can't wait for this experience to be over.
This is my cat from over the weekend making sure I take her too.
Can I be vulnerable for this post?(If you want a more ligh hearted post click here.) Some of you guys are family or close friends and others of you are strangers who I only know because of this blogging world... but you guys share your lives through stories of vacations, pictures from wedding showers, or pics of your kids I don't have that to share all I have is my heart. (Okay that sounded really emo...maybe I should die my hair black and listen to punk music.)
These last few weeks I have felt very lonely, actually to be completely honest I have felt alone for most of this year. But these few weeks is has bubbled over and I can't hide it any more. Well, I can't hide it as well as I thought.
Have you ever felt alone and there were groups of people around?
That's how I feel, I have lots of friends but I still feel alone. I think (and maybe my thinking is not accurate) most of my friends are transitioning to new phases in life, getting married, being married, having kids, or just preparing for new and better things. I feel stuck, stuck in my sameness. Even though I am going to grad school, which should be cool and exciting chapter in my life it doesn't feel new and exciting. I feel that nothing in my life can really change till I am done with school, and I may not be done for another two to three years. Until then I am left in this feeling of not knowing what to do with my life.
I am also moving from my apartment I have lived in for three years, the last year by myself. It has become home to me, and it has felt very lonely packing it up by myself. I don't even like to pack for a trip by myself and that is for a weeks time, packing up my life has just been odd. Having my apartment full of boxes, and last night it felt weird packing up the last of my books. You book lovers will understand that books are like dear friends and putting them away just feels odd. If my future roommate is reading this please know I am SO looking forward to being your roommate and decorating our new place, I am just going through a mix of excited and sad feelings all at once.
Also these last few weeks I have felt like I am a low priority in my dad's life. I won't go into all the details of my dad and my relationship even though for the most part it is great now, just with our history I feel I easily slip into times when I doubt it. This is one of those moments. We have a time we talk every week and the last few weeks we haven't been able to talk at our usual time. He has been late, because of other things going on. I don't want to blame my family but I have felt left out because I am the only one of my siblings who isn't married or doesn't have a kid. That alone has made me feel very lonely and kind of lost, and asking what am I doing with my life?
I can't wait to be back in school when these feelings get swept under the rug because I am too busy to feel anything but hecticness (that's not a word but it should be). Come on September 2nd.
During that semester I went to my first Boston Celtics game. It took me back to all basketball games I used to go to with my mom and step-dad when we cheered on the Seattle Sonics. I am happy to report the Celtics won. But I felt I spent most of the semester studying. So I will skip ahead to the summer. 
I am getting ahead of myself... back to this semester. I have tried to be better at juggling work and school but still remembering to take care of myself by taking naps even if they are for 20 minutes, hanging out with my friends even if all we do is crash on the couch and watch a movie. The big news of this semester is that my really close friends (practically family) had their little baby girl Brianna on Oct. 20th. I was so happy when I saw the first picture of her I began to cry. Then when I got to hold her I was over joyed. (If you haven't figured it our I love babies). 
I was talking to a married couple in my bible study and the wife was telling me she was worried about her kids having a good Christmas. She wasn't worried about the gifts necessarily she just wanted he kids to have a great Christmas. It reminded me why I love Christmas so much. I can't tell you everything I have gotten. But the memories that stick out to me was spending the night at my Mema and Grangran's house waking up on Christmas morning with all my family there. Then after eating a huge meal my mema would ask if any of us wanted dessert but we were too stuffed to say anything. Then when I got older I remember two years I made my dad cry (good cry) over the gifts I gave him. One year it was picture of me sitting on his lap resting my head on his shoulder the other year was I wrote him a poem about how I needed him. Other Christmas memories are my uncles fighting over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma University football and my mema who was as mild as a mouse usually but when we played chicken foot she was the most competitive woman. None of these memories cost much money and have little to do with the gifts it is more about the time we have had together.
On another one of my walks around I also found a garden called the Riverway. It had lots of cool trees. One that drooped so low I imagined Emma and Mr. Knightly from the Miramax 1995 version (my favorite),minus the cars and the shopping area behind it. It was still very beautiful and fun to discover new places. I took my notebook their and got some writing done on my story, which felt like a nice break from my busy weekend. This is another place I look forward to walking around here with the fall foliage. 
This is my cat from over the weekend making sure I take her too.
Dear lovely readers,
