Blogging returns

Sorry for the long delay in posts. A quick trip to Florida with stops in GA and SC made it difficult to stay on top of the exciting world of living at home. I was a teensy bit worried that the living at home bit would also be invalidated because I got a tattoo in FL without any real discussion with the parental units. No worries though. Still living at home for the following year.

More book reviews because quite frankly all I do is read and watch trashy tv. A review of the tv shows I watch would be embarrassing...

The Girl Who Played With Fire: Sequel to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which I was not a fan of, but I do like this one. It's less gross/disturbing and has more insight into the characters. However, as my little sister pointed out- you don't really get a plot line until 300 pages in. The author could have used a serious case of editing. 7/10

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: So so so so good. Fun, lighthearted and incredibly interesting. It's set up as a series of letters which makes you feel like you're missing out on all the details but that mystery keeps the book fresh and exciting. It's a quick read. 9/10

Gone With the Wind: The movie is surprisingly like the book. It's probably one of the best film adaptations of a novel. All the best lines in the movie? Originally in the book. Makes the book not so exciting a read if you remember the movie. Granted, I do know several guys who thought Gone With the Wind was about a singing family who escapes from Nazis over the mountains (not sure which is worse- that so called Southern boys at a Southern college didn't know Gone With the Wind or that they confused it with Sound of Music...) so perhaps it's worth the read. 8/10

Other exciting news- I got an iphone for my birthday and it's finally up and running. It's amazing. Much love for the new gadget. Which is good because my computer is officially obsolete at this point. I had to order new memory for my laptop so I can update the OS on it. In the past 4 years, my computer has received a new hard drive, battery, power adaptor, memory, OS. You'd think I should just buy a new one. Sadly, I cannot afford to do so until the school year starts. And after buying all this stuff, I might want to wait on the expense of a new computer. Especially because I'll want to use the extra money I do have to go visit my friends in DC. One of the No Luck Clubbers just got a job in DC and is living with several good friends of ours. I'm very jealous of this arrangement.

Apology in advance

There will be a dearth of updates for the next week. I will be out of town and MIA. Hopefully, said out of townness will provide me with more appropriate blogging material.

Figuring out my future...

I have this annoying habit of speaking in an accent for hours upon end sometimes. Tonight, for instance, I said a phrase or two in my "Southern sophisticated debutante" accent of a persona that I created once and ended up speaking like that for the rest of the evening. My poor mother. She has to put up with so many pet names. When I use my southern voice, she's "Mama" and when I use my Indian voice she's "Mamaji", British and she's "Mother" or "Mum", and when it's just a normal day for me I call her "Maj". So many names. But I digress. There was, at least, a point to the accent this evening. I have decided that of all the regional personas found in the US, the most romantic and sophisticated is probably the Southern persona. Not that all Southerns are sophisticated. No, no. Just that the Southern ideal is the most glorified. After all, there isn't really an ideal "Bostonian" image or "New Jersey" image. Therefore, I have decided that if I am to ever adopt a regional attitude, I want to be Southern.

I imagine I could assimilate fairly well.
I was an officer in one of the largest national sororities (sorority life = Southern).
I love to talk (women who gab and gossip = Steel Magnolias = Southern).
I love Chik-fil-a (Chik-fil-a = Atlanta = Southern).
I love Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola = Atlanta = Southern).
I own my own set of pearls (pearls = Southern).
I love warm weather (heat and humidity = the South).
I love lemonade (drink for warm weather = Southern).
I have tons of sundresses (sundresses = Southern).
Really, the only hard part would be learning to refer to my father as "the Yankee".

On a completely unrelated note, I have set a new goal for myself. I want to travel to all 7 continents before I turn 30. That leaves just 9 years to hit up Australia, Antarctica and South America. I'm figuring roughly $20,000 total would be necessary due to flights and the Antarctic boat/ship I'd need. Gotta start saving... In a perfect world, I'd have a substantial sum saved so that in 2014 I could go to the World Cup in Brazil and then hop on down to Argentina where I'd then take my Antarctic cruise. World cup, South America and penguins- oh my!

Another weekend in WV

Thursday night I went out on the town. Big birthday and all. I went to a bar with a few friends and when the waitress found out it was my birthday, she told me to talk to Allen, the legend of a bartender. Apparently, Allen is generous with newly 21 year olds. So I went to visit Allen. It ended up being a surprisingly fun night at home.

The next morning wasn't exactly a picnic, but the day was relaxing. Until that evening. When I went to work. I had to work from 9pm-3am to do the "floorset". Floorset is when the lowly worker bees rearrange the entire store in the most inefficient/drawn out process ever created. I ended up being at work until 4:30 am. The kicker? I had had so much caffeine to stay functional that I then could not fall asleep when I got home. Two days with less than 8 hours sleep between them. Rough.

However, I had the pleasure of playing hostess to three of my friends who came to visit this weekend. I had fun showing them around town and just getting to hang out with them. We made sangria and played catch phrase. Excellent end to my weekend. This weekend also helped me realize that I feel truly blessed by the people in my life. So many wonderful people that I am lucky enough to know.

Looking/Acting my age

Yesterday was when my sister, brother and I taught a dance class. Well, they taught and I learned along with the middle school campers. At the end of the session, the campers asked the three of us who was oldest. Their response when I said I was? "Shoot, you're the smallest one!" It was a trifle bit demoralizing.

And then today, I went to buy a bottle of wine. Exciting first purchase and all. I picked out a nice Spanish red table wine that had the Pythagorean theorem on the label. Perfect for a math/Spanish major, no? Anyway, my mom bought her own wine and then I went to check out. The cashier asks for my ID. He analyzes it for a long time and then finally says "Okay, I guess I'll give it to you. Happy birthday. We can just pretend your mom got it." Um, excuse me? Why do we have to pretend my mom bought the wine? My license clearly states that today is my 21st birthday. Last I had heard, on your 21st birthday you can legally purchase alcohol. Not your 21st and 1 day birthday. So why are we pretending my mom had to buy the wine I can clearly purchase myself? Very confused.

I did it.

My original goal in creating this blog was to be employed by July 15th. It is now July 15th and I am employed. Both full time and part time. Good job, me.

Having secured gainful employment rather soon than I expected and having only minimal hours at the mall, I have lots of time to devote to pondering life's biggest questions.

1. How long could you live in a CVS? You know, in one of those hypothetical "nuclear fallout" type situations. The over/under is 2 years at the moment.

2. Why is always so hard to adjust to a new brand of toothpaste? On a tangentially related note, I got a new toothbrush today. It's got lots of bells and whistles and my goodness do I feel all of them when I brush my teeth. It's like a mini massager for my teeth. It's great.

3. What is the appeal in Silly Bandz? Don't get me wrong; I own several. Hell, I got my mom to splurge and buy me a pack of alphabet shaped bands today. But really, what is it that makes them so appealing???

4. How important do you have to be for your death to be ruled assassination and not murder? Would the death of a state political official like Sec'y of State be important enough? Or must you be an international/national bigwig?

5. How close to full Asian would I look if I died my hair black and wore dark contacts?

Yesterday, today, tomorrow

Yesterday I helped my mother paint our computer room. I think every single room in our house has been redecorated at least once, probably two or three times, since we moved in. Granted, when our half bath downstairs came equipped with 2" pea green shag carpeting... Remodeling is to be expected with an old house. The house is easily a 100 years old. Peeling off panels and wallpaper from the walls is like being an archaeologist. "Ooh, wallpaper that ugly has to be from the 70s" or "Guess this used to be the baby boy's room"

Today, I was more of a hindrance than a help to my mom in completing the redecorating process. So instead, I removed myself from the situation and embarked on a youthful spree. It's been raining torrentially these past few mornings so my sister and I decided it was a prime situation for a dance in the rain. We ran outside and were completely soaked through in under 2 minutes. We frolicked up and down the street. We even waltzed together at one point. My most extremely intelligent moment of the day occurred during this rainy adventure.
Myself: "You know, I don't know when the last time was that I've been this wet..."
My sister: "...uhhh, when you took a shower yesterday morning"
...Right. Forgot about that whole showering business.

Tomorrow, I am going with my sister to teach the Thriller dance to a bunch of middle schoolers. I don't actually know the dance yet and I'm rather uncoordinated at times so this could be quite interesting. I'm also planning on finally buying the sweatshirt material backing for my still unfinished sorority t-shirt blanket. The backing is all I need at this point.

work, work, work

So I've been working at the mall the past two days. I've come up with a short list of things I think about while working.

-Why is this 75 year old grandmother holding up a lace mesh thong? Oh dear... why is she now telling me she prefers thongs because she likes how the fabric (or lack thereof) lets her cheeks breathe...

-This is obviously West Virginia because I have mutual acquaintances with most of my coworkers (who I had never met)

-Wow, someone who has heard of W&L? Shocking.

-Do I really look just like a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL? Uh, thanks?

-Tester body sprays should be banned.

-I much prefer reorganizing the clothes and racks and putting things away to pestering people while they shop.

-Being surrounded by fitness apparel makes me feel utterly pathetic. It makes me want to go work out or something, a foreign sentiment.

Sadly, I have to work tomorrow at the same time as the World Cup final. I'm sure I'll have many more thoughts to share...

Living with my brother

This weekend my parents and little sister are gone to her new student orientation in Delaware. Meaning my brother and I have the house to ourselves for two days. It's really painting what next year will be like. For starters, my brother just got a new girlfriend. Being the over protective big sister, I've been grilling him for details and asking him when I get to meet her. That introduction might be tomorrow, actually. I'm working at my bra selling job and the girlfriend will apparently be in the mall. He's trying to arrange a way for her to come shop while I'm there. It's rather endearing how he takes my request to meet her seriously. I have to say, this girl better make a good first impression. She's already been knocked down a peg because she loves Twilight. Sigh. What is it about those books/movies that appeal to girls?

My leading man wouldn't be a century old sparkly vampire who doesn't drink human blood. He'd be Daniel Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans. So I suppose my standards are just as crazy. Not nearly as embarrassing, of course. What man wouldn't aspire to be DDL?

And on this episode of Hoarders...

My mom was frustrated with the job I had done with cleaning my room so the other day we attacked and reorganized and thoroughly cleaned. Three trash bags/goodwill bags later, my room finally feels like my room and not the guest room. I have a desk and space to sprawl- both necessities lacking from the prior room arrangement. Cleaning my room led to the discovery of yet more treasures. These treasures consist of money actually.

Found:
15 Somalian shillings
5 Jordanian piastres
5.29 Euros
10 Slovakian korun
11 Israeli new sheqalim, 10 Israeli agorot
6 Swedish kronor
9 Czech korun
8 Croatian kune, 50 Croatian lipa
5.42 British pounds
7.10 Mexican pesos
150 Italian lira
4 Nepalese rupees
31 Canadian cents
100 Egyptian piastres
1 Putt Putt coin
1 flattened penny with a design of hearts that say "you are very special to me"
about $5 worth of pennies

I'm telling you, coins were just being found everywhere. It was like an Easter egg hunt. Most of these are leftovers from my sister's crazy jaunts last year, but some of the Euros/pounds were probably mine as well.

Read, Read, Read

It seems like all I do lately is read. I read when I get up, I read when I go to the pool, I read late into the night before bed.

Thus, time for book reviews.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:
Alright, I had been hearing a lot about this one. Everyone seemed to just love this trilogy (this one being the first one). I even read the intro and was intrigued enough to buy the book. Anddddd..... I was disappointed. It was good, but not great. It was pretty disturbing. Reminded me of a really sick/twisted L&O: SVU episode. Good and gross, but not terribly deep or impressive. Just a good way to pass the time. 6/10

The Help:
My mom recommended this one to me. I more or less picked it up on a whim and was hooked. The characters are incredibly realistic and developed. I kept making predictions that were all shot down in the end and so I appreciated how the author wasn't predictable. Plus, the one real joke of the whole thing was more than sufficiently funny to make up for the seriousness of the rest of the novel. 9/10

The Forgotten Garden:
Random find on our many bookshelves at home (definite perk to living at home... especially all 7 Harry Potters). Good, not as fun to read as The Help, but equally as gripping. Written from 4+ perspectives with each perspective equally appealing. I was disappointed with the ending, but otherwise pretty good. 8/10

In other exciting news, one of my friends from school will be in Charleston for the evening on Wednesday. Excitement.

Lesson planning!

All I really have to do on the work side of things in the next month is start my lesson plans for the year. It's a bit nerve wracking to realize I am the sole figure responsible for making sure these kids learn everything necessary. I'm completely confident in my abilities, but that doesn't relieve all the pressure. I'm also not one hundred percent positive whether the work I've already outlined is too difficult, too easy or just hard enough. It's like the Goldilocks dilemma of lesson planning. Argh.

Also on the Goldilocks spectrum is the subject of what to wear. I want to look professional and older, but not dowdy. I want to dress my age, while still coming across as commanding. I think this more or less means I need to invest in more heels. Surprisingly, for a short person anyway, I'm not always crazy about heels. I love the height they give me and the way they can make an outfit look, but they're terribly uncomfortable to wear all day. Strange to think that I used to wear heels to high school. Then again, I think I've provided more than enough evidence as to how strange I was then... But once I commit myself to wearing heels, a new dilemma presents. You see, I have rather small feet. Size fives usually. At Target, this means I can fit into a child size three. They just don't make cute shoes for small feet. Most people with feet my size are either a) children or b) really really old people. Neither age group tends to be in the market for anything other than sensible shoes. Ew. And when I wear flats sometimes? It looks like my feet have either had all the toes chopped off or suffered Chinese foot binding.

However, on a completely unrelated note, I'm really enjoying this nothing ness. My work schedule for the mall job hasn't been finalized yet so I find myself going to the pool. I haven't spent hours at the pool in years. Probably not since after my sophomore year of high school, honestly. I've had a job every summer since. Also, yesterday provided entertainment in a different fashion. One of my friends rides horses and invited me out to her barn for a mini riding lesson of sorts. Much more enjoyable than I expected. Granted, half the time we were walking around with my horse on a lead so it's not like I had to do much.... All the same, I'm a fan of the sport. My friend is trying to convince me to actual start taking riding lessons. It's tempting. After all, my summer is pretty much a blank slate.