An all caps post.

I just got the COOLEST set book EVER.  It's for my Food Management course.  I am so freaking excited about this class that I was literally shaking while reading my set book.  There is the online programme incorporated with the book and you can invent your own recipes!  It's so amazing.  I want to sign up RIGHT NOW.  The book has pages and pages of recipes for all sorts of different things as well as history of famous chefs and their impact on cookery.  I've never wanted to read a course book cover to cover before in my life before this.  Needless to say, this is definitely one book that Varsity bookstore won't be getting back at the end of the semester.  

Alas, I have to wait six more days until I can actually go to the class though.  Typical.  I can't wait.  I've never wanted summer to end and classes to start so badly before.  I'm kind of wondering what's wrong with me.  I really hope I do alright in this class.  I'm starting to get afraid that everyone is going to be really ahead of me and that I'll have a long way to catch up.  I hope not.  I'm planning to work hard at it anyway.  This is something I really enjoy and I really hope I don't screw it up.  Honestly, I can't think of anything else I would rather be.  Wow, I'm going to feel really stupid if my career choice does actually change.  I don't think it will though and I really hope it doesn't.  It's either this or the swim school.  I. Do. Not. Want. To. Work. At. The. Swim. School.  Despite how much the rest of my family, and especially my father might want me to.  It's like he's a spider and the rest of us are flys.  He keeps trying to descretely (or not so much in his case) lure us into the web that is the family business and wrap us up tight and keep us there.  I don't want to be a fly in that web.  No thanks.  

I love getting excited about cooking though.  Cause then I actually believe that I might be successful and get to do what I want to do and go to the places I want to go.  And write in run-on sentences apparently.  I still claim that I'm undecided when asked what I want to do.  It's a need to know basis and not everyone really needs to know.  I think I'm just afraid that if I do tell them and then fail later on that they might think yeah, I saw that coming.  Why do I think so badly about people?  That's so weird.  I love people, but I'm also terrified of them.  Strange.  

I think I'm going to skip Arrested Development tonight and learn how to mentally convert ingredients into the metric system. 

Current song: 

Down by Jay Sean.  I think Lil Wayne gets really excited about the fact that he sings about the economy.  That line doesn't really fit with the rest of his part of the song, but I can imagine him feeling really smart and getting excited about the fact that he mentioned current affairs. Hahaha.  Silly rappers. 

That book survey and Arrested Development

Tis very late.  2:20 AM.  I have such a bad habit of staying up late.  I'm usually on the internet or reading and I always think the thing I'm staying up late for is so worthwhile... until the next morning when I realise how pointless it actually was.  Oh well.  Tonight's excuse is Arrested Development.  I'm only on the first season, but it's freaking hilarious.  With each episode I risk suffocation from having to hold in my laughter so as to not wake my sleeping suite mates.  Arrested Development is taking an ungodly amount of time to load, however, so I decided to read Hayley's blog while it buffered.  She completed a fun survey which I am now going to copy.  

1.  What author do you own the most books by?  

Jo and C.S. Lewis

2. What books do you own the most copies of? 

Philosopher's Stone.  (3)

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? 

To be honest, I didn't even notice until I read this question.  That's probably how I would have said it. 

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? 

Fred Weasley, Oliver Wood, Neville Longbottom, The Doctor, Quentin Jacobsen, Jim Halpert, Bruce Wayne, Jason Bourne, John (You Don't Know Me by David Klass.  Read it.).  

5. What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding pictures books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)? 

Holes (7). And I think I've read GOF 5 or 6 times.  Something like that. 

6. What was your favourite book when you were ten years old? 

Holes by Louis Sachar.  I kept re-reading it before I discovered Harry Potter.  I did realise one possible glaring error in that book though.  In the beginning of the Yelnats's story we are told about the boy in Latvia who had to carry the pig up the mountain with the water running upstream and then failed to carry Madame Zerroni (sp?) up the mountain and sing to her and was, therefore, cursed.  Then we were brought to the present Stanley Yelnats who broke the curse by carrying Hector Zerroni up the same mountain and singing to him... in Texas.  I might be missing something and if I have missed something that huge after reading it seven times then I will... I don't know, read it again I suppose.  As well as hang my head in shame. 

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year? 

Breaking Dawn.  I didn't even complete it.  I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.  

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year? 

Paper Towns.  I have read quite a lot of books in the past year, but that was definitely the best.  I feel kind of stupid about saying that about a YA book when I also read things like The Catcher in the Rye, but Paper Towns made me think the most.  I like books that make me think.  

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be? 

Probably Paper Towns.  I have lent it out quite a few times and have always gotten positive feedback so that's good.  Other than that, probably You Don't Know Me.  It's just so funny. 

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? 

I really have no idea.  Paper Towns, but only if I can make it and for the sole purpose of the BP station scene during the road trip.  That is my favourite scene ever.  Or maybe they could remake Eragon because that movie was horrible.  Attractive main character.  Horrible actor.  And PLEASE, would somebody get Galbatorix an accent!?! 

11. What book would you least like to see made into a movie? 

This is kind of weird, but I'm also going to say Paper Towns.  I just know that things would be lost and I know that John Green himself says that movies are supposed to be different from the books they are taken from, but I don't want it to be different.  There are so many great quotes and ideas in that book and I don't want anyone to experience them in any other form.  I know that sounds really insane and kind of control freak-ish, but I can't help it.  

12. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.  

I'm sitting in a Mini-van.  Katherine is driving and Hank is in the passenger seat.  I am sitting in the back bench seat next to John and he is convincing me to sign up for blogger.com (So I woke up the next morning and did).  "Cows!" says Katherine. 

And for kicks, I'm going to add a Harry Potter dream.  I am with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and Voldemort is on the loose.  We run to a nearby elementary school and try to hide all of the muggles in a gymnasium.  Then we run out onto the playground and look up into the sky and see Voldemort flying on a Hang-glider.  Cut scene to a river surrounded by trees.  Hermione and Harry (Ron wasn't there) are on a pontoon boat riding to confront Voldemort and fight him.  Cut scene to one of the banks of the river where there is a battle going on.  Luckily for Harry and Hermione the U.S. Army has agreed to help them out on there fight against the Dark Lord.  Also, the U.S. Army have Corporate Alliance Tank Droids. 

13. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult? 

Twilight or the Alex Rider series.  That latter is actually good and I really enjoy them, despite their main audience being 12 year old boys. 

14. What is the most difficult book you've ever read? 

Crime and Punishment.  I sound kind of vapid for saying that, but I couldn't really pay attention to it enough to understand anything.  It just sort of leaked out of my brain. 

15. What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen? 

I've only seen Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.  Hamlet, I suppose. 

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?  

Hard to say.  I guess I'll just go with a completely non literary response and say the French because of their food. 

17. Roth or Updike? 

Updike.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? 

I've only read David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day.  I loved it and want to read more of his stuff.  David Sedaris definitely.  I'll check out the other guy too. 

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? 

Shakespeare

20. Austen or Eliot? 

Austen.  I'll check out Eliot too though.  I keep meaning to do that.  I'll add it to the list. 

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading? 

Probably The Great Gatsby.  It's here at school with me though so I will definitely read it.  

22. What is your favourite novel? 

Goblet of Fire and Paper Towns.

23. Play? 

Pygmalion or The Importance of Being Ernest. 

24. Poem? 

The Lark Ascending 

25. Essay? 

As I've said David Sedaris is awesome.  I do like this one a lot which I read in school.  

26. Work of nonfiction? 

I don't really read a lot of nonfiction books.  Harry, a History by Melissa Anelli

27. Who is your favourite writer?

Jo.

28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today? 

Stephenie Meyer.

29. What is your desert island book? 

Goblet of Fire or perslaps Paper Towns.   

30. And... what are you reading right now? 

Paper Towns for the third time.  After that I'll probably reread "Catcher in the Rye" or "Me Talk Pretty One Day".  Or maybe a Jane Austen book for Danielle.  

That was fun.  I haven't done a survey in a long time.  It's now 3:25.  Back to Arrested Development! 

Current musical obsession: My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson.  It comes in spurts.  Also Fire Burning.  Freaking love that song! 

I fail at being fashionably late.

I am not fashionable and I'm usually a pretty punctual person.  Put those together and you get me.  I also fail at blogging.  Oops.  I have six drafts that are currently being worked on.  They consist of one blog describing in great detail my trip to Fort Worth for a Wizard Wrock show, another which describes my experiences in my summer job (which I just quit), another rant about the earth and how we should take better care of it, another Harry Potter one which was supposed to be posted right after the first Harry Potter blog I wrote, and yet another rant about Glenn Beck and Fox News. 

So I haven't seen my friends from church in probably about 8 months (since Christmas break) because I've, as mentioned earlier, been working for the majority of the summer at a place that schedules me on Sundays.  I would usually ask for Sundays off, but that is the day that literally makes my paycheck (more on that later).  So I've been worried that my friends from church/ college and youth ministers think that I'm one of those kids who have, shall we say "fallen from grace" since leaving for college.  We usually got lectured about once every month about the students that used to go to our church, but would then stop attending and stop reading their bible because they were too busy partying.  We would hear gossip about them even more often, which I have no problem admitting is pretty sick.  Oh, church.  Although we are baptists it's like we have our own little form of excommunication.  We would see or hear about someone acting in an "unbiblical" manner and have one big juicy gossip session where the most informed person would, with their eyebrows arched and their eyes open wide, let slip all of the details to a very enthralled, albeit usually small audience.  Then we would go out of our way not to mention it again even if the person was once a friend of ours.  

So, having not shown my face in church in a very long time I was slightly worried that I would be the one that was gossiped and wondered about.  I don't really know how much I care if I have been all this time...  Anyway.  That's been my day. 

I also failed at being fashionably late yesterday when I crashed a flute party (Yes.  You read that correctly).  My good friend Danielle was throwing a flute reunion party at her house which my friend Bailey, having been a flute in the high school marching band was invited to, and Sarah Joel, and I, having not been flutes, were not.  So Bailey invited us and we were planning on crashing the party because they are all pretty cool people who wouldn't mind if we just showed up randomly.  Or at least that's what Bailey kept telling me.  I, on the other hand was having second thoughts, as always.  I was afraid that Danielle would be angry at us for showing up.  I was looking forward/ apprehensive about the party all week and the night before, started dreaming up scenarios where Danielle was really angry and told me to leave.  I was so apprehensive in fact, that I spent 2-3 hours baking a peace offering in the form of glazed sugar cookies when I should have been sleeping.  The plan was to meet at Sarah's house and arrive together an hour and a half late to Danielle's.  Bailey was going to go in first since she was the only one of us that was invited.  Sarah would go in approximately one minute after Bailey and I would go in third.  Then Joel would go in wearing a black wig since all of the flutes were girls.  I can't express to you how hilarious it was for Joel to have agreed to wear the wig and how much more hilarious it was to actually see him wearing it.  He's not really the kind of guy I would think would do something like that.  Joel and I were crouching behind Sarah's car outside Danielle's house before I went in and I was enjoying watching him struggle with the hair in his eyes.  

"How do girls deal with long hair?  It gets all over your face."  

"Well we start by brushing it for one.  That usually helps."  

"Dangit!  I forgot to wear tight pants!"  

That was when I practically keeled over with laughter.  I could not believe I just heard those words come out of his mouth.  

Well it turns out that the peace offering was unnecessary, but not unappreciated.  She actually seemed really happy when I walked in the door and said that she thought she should call our other non flute friend Lorraine to come and join us.  If only we had waited 1 more minute we could have had a bigger reaction because some other people walked in right after Joel.  Oh well. It ended up being a pretty fun party and Joel, Bailey, Sarah, and I spent it committing the usual tom-foolery.  

I'm also going to start listing books/blogs/music I've been listening to at the end of each post.  If I remember...

Book currently reading: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Song I currently can't get enough of:  Knock You Down.  I know, I know... the cheesiest lyrics ever.  I don't care; I freaking love this song. 

I'll talk about Blogs some other time.  I haven't been very good about keeping up with them.