I'm Eating French Fries for Dinner

BAH! My classes start tomorrow! I'm excited, but also kinda surprised that it snuck up so quickly. It feels like just a few days ago that I was complaining about my roommates and staring down a 4 month vacation. Whew! But at least now I'll have something new to keep me occupied.

I'm a little disappointed in my lack of progress with the HP series. I'm still working on HBP, but I'm planning on finishing it tonight as soon as I clean my room and get everything ready for tomorrow. I'm at the part just after Harry has entered Slughorn's real memory. I think I can get through a hundred pages in one evening.

So yesterday I visited Melissa, who is living up here now, and we watched Miss Congeniality. It's such a good movie, although whenever I watch movies with my sisters, we are never short on laughs. I'm debating also watching Across the Universe while I clean my room and get organized tonight. I suppose we'll see.

T-Minus Nine Days Til Classes Start

So I have a fairly good sized chunk of HBP done so far (although I'm not yet halfway through it). When I read this book for the first time, I didn't like how the first 2 chapters were side stories versus being about Harry himself, but this time, I thought about it and it actually makes sense. I liked the first chapter, which is reminiscent of the first chapter of GoF in the sense that it at first seems totally unrelated but then turns out to be a perfect intro to the book. I think it was a good way of showing how the Muggle population was affected by Voldy's return and also introducing the idea of Fudge not being Minister. The 2nd chapter, where Snape and Narcissa make the Unbreakable Vow, obviously creates situational irony since we know that Snape is obviously a double agent (although we really don't know anything since Snape is a triple or perhaps quadruple agent). Anyway, now that I'm used to it, I don't mind the fact that the first 2 chapters are seemingly unrelated.

Nate and I watched The Black Dahlia last night. I had wanted to see it for the longest time after first hearing of the actual murder case, but to be honest, the movie wasn't too good. Ok, well, that's not really true. It was a good movie, but it wasn't what I was expecting and I wish that they would have done it differently, like focusing more on the actual murder instead of the many sex partners of the main character, who was an investigator. The actual case is very frightening and horrible, so my advice would be to look up the tale but avoid looking at photos. They are really disturbing. Also...you know the Heath Ledger's Joker scars? I think they may have been inspired by this case.

Anyway, on a more pleasant note (or perhaps not), my 2nd roommate, Katie, is moving in tomorrow. I'm excited to see her, but I don't know how I feel about living with her right now. I know we'll get along fabulously, and I'm pretty sure we would make good roommates since we're friends but not best friends, but I've gotten so used to it just being me and Stefanie (who is like a part time roommate since she's rarely here) that I'm worried another person will sort of throw off the balance. I know that this is just me fretting needlessly about people like I always do (i.e. Katie and Kari visiting, etc), so I guess I'll just have to wait and see what it'll be like.

This Post is Actually About Books and Movies for Once

So by some sort of happy coincidence, I find myself ready to go to work 1 and 1/2 hours before I need to even think of being there, so I figured I'd do a post.

I finished OotP! But there's something I feel quite bad about: this book has never made me cry. I know, I know, Sirius's death is horridly tragic, but the first time I read this book, I already knew that Sirius died. I didn't read the whole series when it first came out, but my grandma bought me all of the earlier books when they all came out, so I owned all of them. Before I got into the series, she told me that someone dies in the 5th book. Thinking it was Ron or Hermione, I pestered her about it until she finally said, "Sirius dies!" And I was just like, "...Who?" It's really bad, I know. I do love Sirius, but since I knew it was coming and at the time I had not attachment to him, it was never that sad. But like I said, I feel bad about it now.

So now I'm onto Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, of course. I'm only on the second chapter, but I hope I can get through this one pretty quickly.

So there are 2 new movies I want to talk about. First, Vampires Suck. It's a parody of all of the recent vampire related movies (i.e. Twilight) and shows that have been littering the entertainment circuit recently. The trailer is hilarious, and I really want to see it! It actually comes out today, so maybe I'll get a chance to. Here's the official trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHkPJ1ACLrg

The 2nd movie is the film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read the book last summer, and it was completely awesome. There are 2 more books in the series, which I hope to eventually read, but for now they're just making the 1st movie. I'm really excited to see this one too!

Not an Exceptionally Interesting Day

So I have yet to finish OotP, which I'm slightly disappointed about, but there was a lot going on yesterday, so...I plan on going to the gym today and reading while I get the crap kicked out of me by an elliptical.

I'm still worried about my tuition check, which still hasn't come in. As odd as it sounds, I really want to pay for school and buy my textbooks now. It's frustrating that I can't, and meanwhile the prices for the books I need are increasing everyday. I just want to get this done, and the fact that I can't is stressing me out.

I'm really glad that it's rainy today. Hopefully it'll stay cool all day, because we have turned off the A/C in my apartment. Our electric bill for last month was more than 3 times what we normally, so we're trying to save electricity. That's part of the reason I want to go to the gym today: so I can hang out in the A/C (although since I'll be working out and sweating, it probably won't really matter).

Anyway, I'm off.

Fun Times

I actually had a really great time with my friends this weekend! We went to the mall, walked around downtown, went to the beach, watched a bunch of movies, etc. I realized that I'm actually kind of an awful friend because when I'm not around people, I forget about the reasons that I like them and think only of the things that annoy me slightly about them. I'm glad that this weekend made me realize that. Maybe now I can work on it.

Anyway, I'm a bit further in HP - we read a lot at the beach. I'm at the part when Umbridge almost catches Sirius in the fire. I think after this week I'll at least have OotP done, and hopefully some of HBP done as well. I was thinking that I'll take a look at an anthology that I had to get for class so that I'm at least a bit prepared for it when the time comes.

Speaking of textbooks, I'm getting kinda nervous about buying mine. My check from my college fund was sent to my parents' house, and they didn't post it until today, so I might not get it until Wednesday or Thursday. This is problematic because I can't order my books until I cash that check, and I only have 22 days from today until classes start. The prices keep going up, and if I don't get my books soon, I might not get them before my classes start. But I'm trying really hard not to stress about this, because worrying about it isn't going to get that check to me any sooner. I'm trying to make that my mantra of sorts. Que sera sera - what will be will be. It'll work out. Hopefully.

Kind of going along with the school theme is my new school plan. In order to get into the College of Education, I have to have a gpa of at least 3.0, which I can do, no problem, but I'll be taking a lot of classes and they're 300 level courses, so they'll be difficult. So my goal is to A) keep my grades up, B) do my homework in a timely manner to avoid procrastination, and C) Actually do the readings. I think I can stick with it.

I've been listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel lately. I downloaded their greatest hits CD, which my dad introduced me and my sisters to when we were pretty young. I love their music. It's really well written and very good to sit and read to or to listen to on a rainy day. I love their hooks, like in America and The Boxer. So pretty.

TGIF...Wait, Maybe Not

Today is the day my friends from back home come to visit. Wish me luck.

I'm kidding. I'm sure it'll be fun. I just hope I can handle them for a whole weekend. Especially Kari. I can usually only handle her for about 5 hours. So I guess we'll see.

I'm still at about the same spot in HP. My 15 minute breaks, while lovely, are a bit too short for me to really get anywhere reading wise. This may actually be why it's been taking me so long to get through the series. Hm...

I sold another book yesterday. Nothing specially, just my Logic textbook, but still, $40 will really come in handy this weekend.

So right now I'm listening to the Glee version of True Colors. It's so pretty. I like the original version too, but this one is lovely. If you get a chance, make sure you listen to it.

No More Class!

AHH! My summer class is officially done! Woohoo! This is the first time all summer that I haven't had any classes, so it's basically like the start of my summer break. Kinda depressing when you realize that I had 4 months off of GV and only 3 weeks off of class. Oh well. At least now I have more of my gen eds done and can move on to more interesting and important classes at GV.

I'm working on HP - I'm only at the part where Harry sees Sirius at Grimauld place for the first time, so not very far, really. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to read now that I don't have class. My goal is to get through the rest of the HP series in 2 weeks. It shouldn't be hard - when I'm not working, I'll probably be at home doing nothing.

After I post this, I'm going to make strawberry cupcakes. It's not nearly as cool as it sounds, as it's from a box mix, but I'm sure they'll taste pretty good. I'm going to take some to Nate and then have some here for this weekend.

So I'm working really hard to get my finances under control. I don't have a lot of debt, but I don't have a lot of money either, so I'm just trying to ensure that I will never not be able to pay for something important, like rent or utilities. I figure that being organized about this now will really benefit me when I'm struggling later on in the semester. It's gonna be hard to get hours and everything, so hopefully I'll be able to get everything sorted out before then.

Nate's birthday is coming up, and I still need to get him a gift. I'm waiting until after I pay tuition and buy books to get him anything, but I know exactly what to get: Seasons 1 and 2 of Good Eats with Alton Brown and a new skillet. Nate really likes Good Eats, and since he doesn't have cable at all, I figured that getting him the dvds would be a good idea. I really hope he likes it!

Well, time to get baking!

Done with Four and on to Five

So just really quickly before I go to class...I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! I started reading it out loud to myself since there was no one in my apartment and it went by so quickly! Ah, that one is my favorite in the series. Now I'm on to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Whew. The series looks much shorter from this side of GoF.




Tomorrow is my last day of class! Well, technically, today is the last real day, since we're review for the exam and then taking it tomorrow. I then get 3 weeks off of class in which I will be working my butt off to make a lot of money. We shall see how it goes. I'm happy, though, that I now get to do what feels like essentially nothing for the rest of the month. Ah, sleeping in!

Back for a Bit

So since Nate got back, I've basically been there every day, which is why my posts are so sporadic. Sorry. BUT I found out that he isn't going away for any more band camps because the other school that he teaches at has their camp at their school (lame). It works for me, though, because I get to see Nate on a much more regular basis than I first thought.

So I finished Better than Beauty, and to be honest, I was slightly disappointed in it. At first it had good tips and everything, but then it just became a bit snobby and kinda obvious, like, for example, saying not to speak ill of people while speaking ill of a hypothetical person for speaking ill of someone else. It had a few good pointers, but it got to the point that I kept putting off reading it because it was really tedious.



I'm almost done with HP (I'm just after the 2nd task), and it shouldn't take me long to finish it. I plan on spending some good quality reading time today. I'm actually really disappointed in my reading list progress. I've only gotten through 1 full series (10 books), half of another (3.5 books) 2 novels, and 4 tip books, which don't even really count. I'm not even halfway through my reading list, which is a lot more reasonable (i.e. shorter) than last year's. Oh well. I'm gonna finish HP and then borrow a bunch of novels from the library. Hopefully I'll be able to do a lot of reading in the next 3 weeks.

So two of my friends from home, Katie (not the one I'll be living with) and Kari (who I'm kinda not too fond of, but whatever), are coming to visit me this weekend. I'm really excited to see them, since I haven't really talked to anyone other than Nate, Megan, and Stefanie in the past few weeks. Well, that's a lie, I had a texting conversation with Amanda (a former roommate that I still like) this morning, which was nice. But I'd like to do things with people, like walk around downtown or go to the beach. They'll be staying at my apartment, so I'm doing my best to clean it up and make it smell nicer...not that it's disgusting, I just want them to be blown away by the awesomeness of my place. That probably wouldn't happen if it stunk.