Wow, I haven't posted in a long time. Haha. Spring break happened, and then this week was kind of busy, and... yep. Haha.
Here's an update on my life: I love working out.
I've always thought that I just wasn't athletic, and that was that. I've never been really in shape, and I've never exercised regularly. Until the Rock Solid Challenge. If anything, exercise is the habit I acquired from it. I just feel so good and productive all the time when I exercise regularly, and it's a feeling I've never had before. Not that I'm an unhappy person, it's just a different kind of happy. I know it's stupid, and very much a dilemma of every girl, but self-image is something that I struggle with sometimes. All of my sisters were like sticks growing up, and I didn't, for lack of a better term, even out, until later in junior high. It didn't help that I just ate junk ALL the time. (It's a wonder I'm not 300 pounds, I basically grew up on Wendy's.)
But then I started to work out, and I just feel healthy. My body hasn't changed THAT much (because it didn't really need to... which is still kind of hard to see sometimes), but I feel very different. It's just good. I just never gave it a good try before, so I didn't realize the effect it would actually have on me. It's not like I'm a track star or pro athlete, I definitely started slow and am still working my way up, but it's getting easier.
As if the feeling wasn't enough, I don't feel guilty reading or watching TV when I work out. Usually, if I do it at home, I feel like I should be doing something else. But if I do it when I run, it's not me avoiding homework because I am doing something productive at the same time! It's great.
I was talking to my mom about this at dinner a couple days ago (I was in Salt Lake to see Beauty and the Beast), and mentioned that in the next year or two it would be a big accomplishment to run a half-marathon. She was really excited and wants to do it with me, and train during the summer. It's something I never saw myself doing, because I didn't think that I could. I know that it'll be SO hard, but I think it's a good goal. And even kinda fun. :)
Never thought I'd consider running fun...
3.24.2012
3.11.2012
83 - kindle
I know I've mentioned it a few times, but I feel like I need to officially address something.
I love books. I love physical books. I love reading them, turning the pages, even smelling them (on occasion). There was a time in my life when I always had a book with me, and there was nothing and no one that could stop me from reading it when I wanted.
That being said, I have always been against kindles. (Like I said, I know I've mentioned this before. But I've read so much anti-kindle stuff recently, so I felt like I should explain myself.) I naturally shy away from anything that promotes the idea that paper is obsolete, especially books. My dad bought the first generation kindle when it came out several years ago, and I was mostly disinterested. Then I was mostly offended. (Don't ask, I'm not sure why. Haha.)
My parents have asked and asked if I wanted one for years, and the answer was always no. And I thought it would always be no. Then I met someone at Utah State who carried one around, and I messed around with hers for a while. Then, I decided that I had perhaps judged them too quickly...
So I now have a kindle touch.
I still buy books (in fact, I just bought three online yesterday), and I still read books. I have discovered that I can buy the super cheap cheesy romance novels on my kindle (Most of the time I don't have much of an interest in paying $10 for them in book stores because I don't know if I'd ever read them again) and then save my money for the books I really want to buy. I still browse Barnes and Noble (one of my favorite activities EVER) and buy on a whim. I still read my books over and over again. I'm still building my library. But now I don't have to spend money on a book I know is going to get ruined in Mexico. (Thanks, Mom.) Plus, many of the cheap cheesy romance novels are actually free! And all of the books published before 1900 are free. (I mostly want to own those, though, so that's not a great incentive.)
Also, I can connect it with my library account. It doesn't have nearly the selection that an actual library would have, but since I don't live in the city where my library is anymore, it's great! Come summertime, I'll go back to checking out books. But for now, getting them instantly without having to be in Salt Lake is fantastic.
I just felt like I had to defend the usefulness of the kindle. It doesn't take away from my inherent bookishness. It definitely hasn't replaced my obsession with spending all of my money on books. Print books are still much better than my kindle, but I'm not ashamed to say that I like my kindle as well. :)
I love books. I love physical books. I love reading them, turning the pages, even smelling them (on occasion). There was a time in my life when I always had a book with me, and there was nothing and no one that could stop me from reading it when I wanted.
That being said, I have always been against kindles. (Like I said, I know I've mentioned this before. But I've read so much anti-kindle stuff recently, so I felt like I should explain myself.) I naturally shy away from anything that promotes the idea that paper is obsolete, especially books. My dad bought the first generation kindle when it came out several years ago, and I was mostly disinterested. Then I was mostly offended. (Don't ask, I'm not sure why. Haha.)
My parents have asked and asked if I wanted one for years, and the answer was always no. And I thought it would always be no. Then I met someone at Utah State who carried one around, and I messed around with hers for a while. Then, I decided that I had perhaps judged them too quickly...
So I now have a kindle touch.
I still buy books (in fact, I just bought three online yesterday), and I still read books. I have discovered that I can buy the super cheap cheesy romance novels on my kindle (Most of the time I don't have much of an interest in paying $10 for them in book stores because I don't know if I'd ever read them again) and then save my money for the books I really want to buy. I still browse Barnes and Noble (one of my favorite activities EVER) and buy on a whim. I still read my books over and over again. I'm still building my library. But now I don't have to spend money on a book I know is going to get ruined in Mexico. (Thanks, Mom.) Plus, many of the cheap cheesy romance novels are actually free! And all of the books published before 1900 are free. (I mostly want to own those, though, so that's not a great incentive.)
Also, I can connect it with my library account. It doesn't have nearly the selection that an actual library would have, but since I don't live in the city where my library is anymore, it's great! Come summertime, I'll go back to checking out books. But for now, getting them instantly without having to be in Salt Lake is fantastic.
I just felt like I had to defend the usefulness of the kindle. It doesn't take away from my inherent bookishness. It definitely hasn't replaced my obsession with spending all of my money on books. Print books are still much better than my kindle, but I'm not ashamed to say that I like my kindle as well. :)
3.09.2012
3.08.2012
81 - Busy Bee (Also, Reading Riot nos. 9 & 10)
So... the last couple weeks have been extremely busy for me. In fact, I probably don't have time to write this blog post. But I'm giving myself some free time because I am in desperate need.
My books for last week and this week were the rest of the Hunger Games series. I read both of them last week, but I'm still counting it... Haha. I just haven't had much time for reading this week. I had a paper due on Monday for Literary History of the Early Americas (I wrote in on captivity narratives in the early 18th century), and I had a paper due today on Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" in Literary Analysis. Now, these essays were for Lit classes, so my typical high school write-it-in-two-hours-before-I-go-to-bed-and-get-an-A routine would not hold so well. If I was smart and organized, I would have drawn out the writing of these papers over several days. Did I do that? *shakes head, sadly* Sunday night and Monday morning were spent writing and re-writing my 800-1000 word essay on captivity narratives. And from 5 PM to 11 PM yesterday, I was living and breathing prosody for the four-page Owen paper. I also have to give a speech tomorrow, so Tuesday was spent writing that. Of course, I had reading assignments in ALL of my classes, so I had to fit those in during meals and going to the gym.
It may seem like a lot of work, but I actually really enjoyed writing about "Dulce et Decorum Est". It's a poem that I've seen every year since I was a sophomore in high school, and it was really fun to really pick it apart and find hidden meanings. I know that English majors get made fun of because it seems like they make stuff up for their own benefit. How do I really know what Owen meant why he wrote his paper? Did he really deviate from iambic pentameter on purpose? Mostly their analyses seem pretentious. And, I have to say, I don't care. I have no idea what Owen really meant. I can't just go talk to him about a poem he wrote about World War 1. Mostly because he's dead. But I do it for me. I do it because, for all I know, I'm the only person who's thought about his poem in a certain way. It may seem like I just make fancy stuff up to fit into the context, but, to me, I'm weaving a story. I'm making the poem come alive. Not for anyone else, just for me. The same goes with prose. There is a reason the English is not a science -- there are no exactly correct answers. And that's what I love about it. There are new things to say about a poem or a novel every time you read it.
Ok, my little rant is over. Haha.
They were excellent. The third one started off a little slow, mostly because it was laying the foundation for the ending, but it was still so good. I read Catching Fire in an afternoon and Mockingjay the next day. Haha. I got that sad feeling that comes after a good series. I wish that there were more books. But Suzanne Collins really wrote the ending well, and I am very happy with them. They deserve all the hype they're getting. (Not that I'm so knowledgable... haha. I talk about books like I'm the end-all critic. I'm apologize if I ever sound arrogant or snobby...)
Anyway. Happy Spring Break! Mine starts on Monday! :)
My books for last week and this week were the rest of the Hunger Games series. I read both of them last week, but I'm still counting it... Haha. I just haven't had much time for reading this week. I had a paper due on Monday for Literary History of the Early Americas (I wrote in on captivity narratives in the early 18th century), and I had a paper due today on Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" in Literary Analysis. Now, these essays were for Lit classes, so my typical high school write-it-in-two-hours-before-I-go-to-bed-and-get-an-A routine would not hold so well. If I was smart and organized, I would have drawn out the writing of these papers over several days. Did I do that? *shakes head, sadly* Sunday night and Monday morning were spent writing and re-writing my 800-1000 word essay on captivity narratives. And from 5 PM to 11 PM yesterday, I was living and breathing prosody for the four-page Owen paper. I also have to give a speech tomorrow, so Tuesday was spent writing that. Of course, I had reading assignments in ALL of my classes, so I had to fit those in during meals and going to the gym.
It may seem like a lot of work, but I actually really enjoyed writing about "Dulce et Decorum Est". It's a poem that I've seen every year since I was a sophomore in high school, and it was really fun to really pick it apart and find hidden meanings. I know that English majors get made fun of because it seems like they make stuff up for their own benefit. How do I really know what Owen meant why he wrote his paper? Did he really deviate from iambic pentameter on purpose? Mostly their analyses seem pretentious. And, I have to say, I don't care. I have no idea what Owen really meant. I can't just go talk to him about a poem he wrote about World War 1. Mostly because he's dead. But I do it for me. I do it because, for all I know, I'm the only person who's thought about his poem in a certain way. It may seem like I just make fancy stuff up to fit into the context, but, to me, I'm weaving a story. I'm making the poem come alive. Not for anyone else, just for me. The same goes with prose. There is a reason the English is not a science -- there are no exactly correct answers. And that's what I love about it. There are new things to say about a poem or a novel every time you read it.
Ok, my little rant is over. Haha.
They were excellent. The third one started off a little slow, mostly because it was laying the foundation for the ending, but it was still so good. I read Catching Fire in an afternoon and Mockingjay the next day. Haha. I got that sad feeling that comes after a good series. I wish that there were more books. But Suzanne Collins really wrote the ending well, and I am very happy with them. They deserve all the hype they're getting. (Not that I'm so knowledgable... haha. I talk about books like I'm the end-all critic. I'm apologize if I ever sound arrogant or snobby...)
Anyway. Happy Spring Break! Mine starts on Monday! :)
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