Another actual conversation.

Zav: Never sing an Italian song while you're shaving. I told you it was too soon for me to shave, Mom.
Mom: Well did I hold a gun to your head?!
Zav: A metaphorical gun. A gun of pressure.

I'm slighly horrified by this

Salt n' Peppa and Ice T are described as "vintage" in the BSG book I'm reading right now. Do I feel old. When the character said "vintage hip-hop" I didn't really know what she meant since I can't think of what vintage hip-hop would be. And then: Wow.

Rethinking digital education party times.

So earlier this month I blogged about Cushing Academy getting rid of their books and redesigning their library. I still am against getting rid of all the books in a school library (that is dumb). BUT that does not mean that I am against using digital readers instead of textbooks.

My mom sent me this article about how other schools are using digital media as learning tools, replacing textbooks with Kindles and iPod Touches. I think that is a BRILLIANT idea. I hate textbooks, unless they are English textbooks (as those are never out of date, like say history or science textbooks--I mean, O. Henry's short stories and T.S. Eliot's poetry ain't a-changing like these times). I would MUCH rather have gotten issued a Kindle in college and used that instead of getting stupid textbooks that I never ever used (*COUGHCOUGHSCIENCECOUGH*). I could still be using a Kindle and get books that way, and lots of classics are free on there, I hear. Or are like a dollar.

Though if laptops and stuff are used instead, then there are still the problems of limitless distractions and whatnot. But those of us who've been in college classes recently have dealt with that anyway (I am guilty of reading emails and reading things that have nothing to do with class while in class).

Though if you think about it, textbooks do give you the opportunity to write all over the place (and possibly doodle). I doubt it would work quite so well on a digital reader.

The end is at hand.

No, I'm not talking about 2012 or Armageddon. Though for someone like me, what happened at Cushing Academy is close.

The private school in Ashburnham, MA has decided that the future is completely and utterly digital, with no room whatsoever for books. Literally. They've recently gotten rid of their 20,000+ collection of books, to make way for what they believe is the future.

I'm sorry, but don't you think that's a little extreme?

David Abel, the Boston Globe journalist who wrote the article, says that Cushing is replacing the traditional library with a $500,000 "learning center" where students will be inundated with digital technology, like the $42,000 they'll be spending on flat-screen TVs that will show Internet data, $20,000 on little study spaces where students can use their laptops, and $10,000 on digital readers (think Amazon's Kindle). Oh, and did I forget to mention the $50,000 coffee center, complete with a $12,000 espresso machine, that will be replacing the reference desk?

So okay. I get it. The future is now, blah blah blah. But really. I hope this does not become a trend because people start to think books are "out of date" or whatever. I don't know how many of you have tried to read books on a computer screen before, but you can only stare at backlit text on a white background for so long before you feel your eyes and your brain start to fry. After all, books on e-readers aren't free (ka-ching!), and not all of them are available. What about rarer texts? Books that aren't available on Kindle or whatever Sony e-reader they're getting? Students will have to use e-books via computer, and that bites.

Plus, I'm sure one or two of those digital readers will have an "accident" with the absolutely-necessary lattes the reference desk-cum-coffee shop will be dispensing. In a room full of electronics. At a high school. SMART.

I don't see why the school couldn't have built on their library's digital resources while still keeping the books around. They claimed they didn't have room for them (in the library). So they gave them all away. It's not like they made money off of getting rid of the books; they already had that money, probably from the ridiculous tuition they charge the families of their students. So what was the point? They really didn't want to think of some way to compromise? That's just sad.

Abel also makes another good point: How many teens do you know who have spent any period of time online without checking their e-mail, IMing, or at least wasting time on some other site? I don't know about you, but that seems pretty much impossible. If they're going to be spending hours reading books via the Internet, they're going to be talking to their buddies and reading FML.com or surfing Facebook. End of story.

Perhaps most disturbing to me is that the students didn't seem to care at all. I know that when I was in high school, I took out books all the time. I love to browse the stacks in libraries and bookstores, and I feel really sorry for any future generations (or my own) who won't have that chance. By taking away books you're denying a great resource to any kid who wants to use it--after all, not every student hates to read.

If this turns into some sort of trend, I'm not sure where it will lead us. Yeah, digital media is the future and all that, but books have been around since the 1400s. The printed word has been around for thousands of years. With the development of digital media, what will happen to it? What will happen when literature can be wiped out of a personal library with the click of a mouse?

My red Apple.

So after losing my first iPod I've ever owned after having it for about 3 weeks, I've decided to give myself a second chance. I just ordered another iPod nano online, with a slight discount since apparently B&N is somehow affiliated with Apple (who knew). Yay nine dollars off--that was pretty much the sales tax. Anyway. I feel better about it because I got the (red) one, the kind that gives a part of the proceeds to AIDS relief in Africa, which is cool. I am also wasting time by loading a bunch of my CDs onto my iTunes, and I discovered a string quartet interpretation of Red Hot Chili Peppers songs that Olivia let me put on my computer. It is very strange to hear "Under the Bridge" in classical strains, but I am enjoying it nonetheless (thanks Olivia!).

I'm also thinking of later getting an iPod shuffle to bring to the gym, since I am forbidding myself from bringing the nano there as someone stole my old one there(those naked thieving bastards). The shuffle has a clip on it so it will keep me from setting it down and forgetting it. But that won't happen for at least another couple of weeks when I have an extra fifty bucks lying around (ha).

Dancing is fun, and Darcy is sexy.

Two things about yesterday.

1. Zumba is super fun. We danced for pretty much a straight hour. And it wasn't just all old people. There were a few girls I went to high school with (all older) and, oddly enough, the mother of a childhood friend (we did some catching up). But we were moving around so much it didn't really matter who I knew because we didn't have much time to talk.

2. Lost in Austen might be one of the most entertaining and sexiest reincarnations of any Austen creation I have ever seen. Characters were given way more depth and were much more complex (and likable, I found) than in the original novel (except Collins who was even more repulsive, a difficult feat). I have never been more in love with Darcy than in this BBC miniseries and I urge all of you who are interested in men to check out this scene in particular, and I will most likely be dreaming of it for weeks to come: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNw9vDj-PCs

Also, and I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm in love with Wickham too. I LOVED him.

And a fun surprise about Caroline Bingley. I'm not going to tell you what.

Random thoughts to help me combat boredom.

So here I am, bored at work. My boss is out of the office, so no fear of being caught with nothing to do (though I might ask for a project or something when she gets back). What shall I talk about?

I am going to start aerobics classes next week through the Burlington Rec Center, yay! Dance cardio = fun times. I hope I don't know anyone there from high school and haven't talked to them since... that's what happens at the gym. It's super awkward to see someone I haven't spoken to in four years or more, especially if I didn't even talk to them that much before. Or maybe it's more awkward when you used to be friends or friendly or whatever, and then feel obligated to "catch up" with them. Sigh.

I also found out it's very hard to read while running on the treadmill. I don't think I'll do that again.

I really like that I'm ten minutes away from where I work, but I do miss Lexington Center, when the company was located there. It's so nice there! So many cute little shops and places to get food, and the farmer's market every Tuesday. Plus it's pedestrian-friendly, though I only really like that when I'm a pedestrian. Usually they're all, "I'm going to walk in the middle of the street without looking so you'd better stop if you don't want a manslaughter charge on your hands."

I am about 10 books into my challenge, yay! I should update it on Goodreads, the best site in the world (besides Google!).

Anyway I see my boss rolling into the lot, I'd better get going! Enjoy your day.

My brother is a murderer.

Zaven, the bearded wunderkind, now has blood on his hands. And possibly goose poop.

As some of you may know, Zaven plays golf on occasion with his buddies. Some of you also may known he is not the best shot on the block. And so, it may not come as a surprise that he missed his target the other day at the course. Or did he? Was his target really the hole, or was it, in fact, the GOOSE THAT HE HIT???? HMM??

Yes, little (not really) Zaven nailed a Canada goose. It didn't go down right away, oh no. Imagine Zaven flailing his arms around while leaving his body stationary; that's how he described what the goose was doing.

One of Zaven's buddies then told him it was a course rule to put the poor creature out of its misery; and so, he reluctantly made his way down to where the spaztic bird was flopping around. He didn't want to kill it, but he thought it was his duty.

And what happened next, you ask?

It landed in the water trap and drowned. How lucky is that?

New website obsession!

I love Bookmooch.com. It's the greatest. :)

Lexington Dayz.

These past two days have been filled with fun and adventure that have to do with the town of Lexington, which those of you who don't live near me might remember as one of the historic sites of the Revolutionary War. Everyone else, you probably know it as that town with a block of restaurants and hair salons. Oh, and a farmer's market every Tuesday (which everyone within distance should go to). And Wilson's Farms. Ah Lexington, how I love you.

Anyway. I dragged my brother Zaven on this wacky trip I had envisioned as a nice slice of local history and a fun way to get some fresh air--we'd hike the Minute Man Trail (or whatever the hell it's actually called). It's five and a half miles from Lincoln (close enough to Lexington) to Concord, and it's supposed to be a very nice walk.

So we set off from the Visitor's Center, where we entertained ourselves for a while by looking at all of the expensive crap they sell at the gift shop. (Anyone want a $10 cowboy hat? I think it was supposed to be a ranger's hat but that was a Fail. I was also particularly taken with the tri-cornered hat keychains, and Zaven enjoyed the musket-shot cases, you know, the ones that look like horns.) We forgot a map, and I wondered aloud if we should go back and get one, but no, we had gone too far (probably about 500 yards). We quite enjoyed the wooded part of the journey, and then we quickly came upon a main road, which led over a highway. Zaven of course was thrilled with walking over a highway, but I digress.

For the next couple of miles we walked through boring residential Lexington, stopped every now and then by a tourist family biking to Lexington Center who asked us where to go (we had just about as good an idea as them). Eventually we saw the spire for the church in Lexington Center, and headed in that direction (after watching the hapless family go down the wrong street--they were too far ahead to warn them). Of course, I'm in a historical mood and so I insist we go to all of the touristy places we usually completely ignore, like the closet-sized Tavern and the Visitor's Center. It was at the latter where I decided to ask for a map.

Oh cruel irony. As some of you may already have gleaned, I discovered with chagrin that we had gone the COMPLETE OPPOSITE WAY of the Minute Man Trail. No wonder there were no interesting signs ("This soldier died on this spot at this time.") like Zaven was hoping for. No wonder we were stuck walking through boring suburbia.

And we still had to walk back.

Luckily, the walk back seemed much faster, probably because Zav started random sing-alongs with the Smashmouth song "All Star" and "I Don't Need Anything But You" from the musical Annie (in which he had recently played Rooster). At least we know which way to go next time. Oh yes, there will be a next time.

Today I went to Lexington Center again, but this time I drove. And it was much more pleasant.

I met three of my friends in front of a not-so-fancy Italian restaurant called Mario's, where we had a tasty dinner and a grumpy waitress. I also found a hair in my salad, but that's neither here nor there. After we had a fairly mediocre yet filling meal, we went to Peet's Tea and Coffee, where Eric and I discovered the delicious Jasmine Lime Green Tea Breezer (if you ever go to one of these you NEED to try it, it was amazing). And to cap it off, we sat on a bench and listened to a teenage boy playing Celtic music on a fiddle, which was awesome. I like to imagine that he was a runaway who left home with nothing but a backpack and his violin, living off his music and the kindness of strangers. Or not. Whatever. It was still fun. I missed the ice cream though, because I had to get home to work on BSG. Hooray.

What an exciting past two days I've had. I'm sure you were just as excited to read about them as I was to experience them and then relive it all on this delightful blog that I fail to update regularly.

Sorry loyal readers.

I know I've been a real flake about writing in the blog, but really I am going to step it up (I hope). I now have an office job where I will be in front of a computer for like nine hours four days a week, so I'm thinking I'll want to procrastinate at some point and BOOM there my blog will be on my list of bookmarks. So here's to blogging efforts renewed.

More updates. I'm 7 books into my challenge out of 50. Hooray! Here's the list:

1. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
3. 1776 by David McCullough
4. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
5. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
6. Austenland by Shannon Hale
7. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

43 more to go! I'm working on The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek right now... I really like it but man is it DENSE. This will probably take me a looong time to finish. I'm also reading Lake Rescue, BSG book #6, in an attempt to prepare myself for my new job. And I'm totally counting it toward my 50.

Gross-out time at the gym.

In the locker room at the gym, I expect to see other women changing. Sports bra? No big deal. Underpants? Expected. Maybe I'll even get the occasional quick flash of boob, and yes it'll be embarrassing but we'll all move on.

But this does not mean that I was expecting to see a fully naked woman standing in front of a mirror, ass facing outward. Not pleasant. We're not in Europe, lady.

Next stop, Chuck E. Cheese.

I can now add dressing up and acting as Spot the Dog at B&N storytime to my resume. Man that suit was difficult to move in.

SO AWESOME.

I got an interview at Pearson Education!!!! And it's for a real job! In its English department!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH SOOO AWESOME

My ultimate challenge.

The other day I was thinking about the sheer amount of the books I own. I knew it was just absolutely ridiculous, and so I made a huge and life-altering decision. I am going to stop buying books until one of two things happens: 1) I finish 50 of the ones I own, or 2) a year goes by. Whichever comes along first.

I have also created rules that I am going to follow:

1. Gifts of books will be accepted.

2. I cannot use gift cards to buy books.

3. I can borrow books from people or the library, but those will not count in my list of 50.

4. I can abandon a book if it's too awful to finish and I've read at least 50 pages, but it will not count in my final 50.

So there you have it. I am challenging myself to stop being stupid and crazy, and to save some money in the process. And yes, maybe I did have a "last hurrah" and buy four books on the day before I decided to start the challenge (I took advantage of the buy 2 get the 3rd free sale on B&N classics--The Three Muskateers, The Call of the Wild & White Fang, and Bulfinch's Mythology--plus I also bought Macbeth), but at least I've started and have already chastised myself about thinking about getting any books. I've already started to think about everyone shopping at the store as lucky for being able to buy what they're shopping for.

And in case you're all wondering, I've told enough people at B&N of my challenge, and at least one has promised to make sure I don't give in to temptation. He actually saw me with two books in my hand the other day as I was leaving the store and said with a suspicious look in his eye, "Now, you didn't buy those, did you?" No worries, man. One was already mine... and I borrowed the other.

Books, again. Also, Ziggy Marley is the devil.

Okay, I have so many books that I own and haven't read that I'm starting to feel pressured. How weird is that? I took out a book from the library yesterday (I finished it already anyway) and felt weird, since I have so many. And then I borrowed the second Percy Jackson book from my friend Erika and THAT made me feel weird because I was starting to read this other book that I won from GoodReads! I shouldn't be feeling panicky because I'm not reading haha. I'm just ridiculous.

On a side note, I plan on taking advantage of the buy 2, get the 3rd free promo at B&N for the B&N classics. I want White Fang/Call of the Wild, The Woman in White, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Hell, I might even buy six books and get two free. Plus I want that tote bag (in green!).

I'm sure you're all also wondering about my Ziggy Marley reference in the title to this post. To make a long story short, I HATE HIM AND HE SHOULD NEVER ENTER ANOTHER RECORDING STUDIO EVER. I have been listening to his infuriating children's album at B&N for FAR too long (at least 2.5 months!). It will drive any normal person to insanity. Go ahead, check it out somewhere. I dare you.

There is nothing fresh about Fresh Pond.

Last night was trivia night. Once a week my friend Sarina and her boyfriend James go into Boston or Cambridge, meet up with his friends at a pub and play trivia they hold there, and I go with them when I can. I was really excited because I hadn't been to trivia since last summer, and you all know how much I love random trivia questions, especially when I know the answers. But there was a tiny problem: James needed gas. No big, right?

Wrong.

As we drove into a Shell station in the Fresh Pond area (it was a little sketchy, and as Sarina said the projects were nearby), we heard this metallic scraping/rattling sound. "James, is that your car?" Sarina asked. The next thing I know, the guy who is running the service shop comes out and asks with a bewildered expression, "What's going on?" Well, that's not a good sign, is it?

Turns out something is wrong with James' car, I don't know if it was the wheel or the brakes or what as I don't pay attention to things like that. But we were stuck at this gas station for however long it would take the guy to fix it.

To my great relief, it only took about a half hour (in which time we ate a pack of fruit-flavored Mentos that we took off the shelf of the snack shop--we paid for it, don't worry). And to my surprise, the guy didn't charge James! James still gave him $20, but man that was nice of him!

And we still made it to the second half of trivia.

Some dating advice for men.

At work on Monday, I noticed this guy who walked up and down the romance aisle, where I was (ironically) putting away books. That in itself is weird, but this didn't occur to me until this conversation happened:

Guy: "So have you worked here long?"

Me: "Yeah, pretty long." *pause* "Do you need help finding something?"

"No no no, I'm okay." *pause* "I just thought you were pretty so I thought I'd say something."

*forced laugh* "Oh, well thank you."

"You're welcome." *starts to walk away, stops and backtracks* "Not to be weird or anything, but... do you think maybe I could give you a ring sometime?" *makes one of those stupid hand gestures that is supposed to indicate a phone*

And this is my favorite part:

"Like maybe we can go kayaking or something?"

I told him no, first because he was not attractive and second because HE IS A STRANGER. I lied and said I had a boyfriend so I would not hear anything more about it. But KAYAKING? Seriously??? First of all, what a weird thing to ask a girl to do. Second of all, why the hell would I go kayaking with this complete and total stranger? I don't know if he's any good at it, I don't know if he'd be able to save me if I flipped my kayak over (which, let's face it, would most likely happen).

Here's the cherry on top of all of this. Later that day when I told my friend Eric, he told me that the same thing happened to another girl in the music section, except the guy asked her to go rock climbing. The manager of the music department then told her that Maxim or some other guy magazine ran an article about asking women out on dates, and one of the tips was to ask them to do a sport.

Here's a tip from an actual woman: That only works if 1) it's a sport that doesn't have the potential to drown you, and 2) you ACTUALLY KNOW THE GIRL. I would hope most women are smart enough not to go kayaking with some guy who thought they looked pretty at a bookstore.

But maybe that's just me.

My fifteen minutes? (I sincerely hope not, it would have been a waste of 15 minutes,)

Most of you know that I have been "promoted" to fiction lead at B&N. I put that in quotation marks because I am not getting paid more, and I am not technically full-time despite my 8-hour shifts five days a week. But that is not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to relate an odd event that happened on my first day back, while Kelly was training me in the wonderful world of projects.

Kelly was showing me how to do stuff on the computer, when a group of three high school kids came up to us. The girl with the video camera asked, "Would you mind answering a few questions about the book The Shack?" But you have to read it in a Boston accent and imagine gum-chewing. I'm not sure I remember gum-chewing, but I feel like it adds more to the character and the overall scene, don't you?

Kelly and I looked at each other, at the camera, and back to the girl. "Um. Have you read it? I haven't read it."

"Nope."

The girl told us it was okay if we hadn't read it, she'd just ask questions about religion and God. (Side note: The Shack is about a man who goes to a shack and meets God. This is after his daughter is raped and killed. Another side note: They were from Austin Prep. I didn't know girls even went to Austin Prep.)

So, being the kind-hearted soul I am, I volunteered to be the one in front of the camera that day. I will not go into details; I'll just say she asked me about God and whether he has a plan and if everything happens for a reason, yadda yadda yadda. You know the drill.

And so, I will go down in the archives of Austin Prep for years to come as the worker at Barnes & Noble who volunteered to talk about the book The Shack for some seniors in high school. I didn't even have my name in there, and I hadn't even read the book (I was their book expert apparently).

Burlington and Vicodin. And a sad departure.

Well, the two aren't necessarily related, but a) I'm back in Burlington for good (maybe) and b) I had my wisdom teeth out this morning.

Yes, a wisdom teeth removal. Not exactly my cup of tea, but hey, it wasn't so bad really. The put me under and I felt like I was there for five minutes. I don't even remember falling asleep; all I remember is feeling a bit woozy, and then the next thing I knew, hey he's tying up some stitches. Crazy. I'm still numb and that is one part I don't like. But right now I'm in bed, reading and cruisin' the net, and my diet currently consists of pudding and scrambled eggs. This is the life I tell you. Why can't every day be like this? Minus the surgery.

Anyway, let me catch you all up. Remember how I told you I was going to the Friends of the Library Book Sale? Well, overall I think I spent about $25 if you combine the three trips I took. The last day I went, I spent $17.50 and bought 17 books. How great is that? I'm now working on getting those read. What else can I do today except sleep, eat soft foods, do Internet stuff and read? Not much. Especially since my mother will not let me do anything else.

In my last few days in Ithaca, I decided I'd finally take advantage of the natural beauty of the region (after all Ithaca is Gorges). I can't believe I'd never gone to any of these places before. I feel like I took it all for granted. The day before I left I went to Buttermilk Falls with a book and some time to kill, since I had no idea where anyone else was. And on a whim, I decided to hike it. In my flip flops, but whatever. It was incredible. I had no idea there were mini canyons right down the street from me. And if you know me at all, you know I love canyons, or the idea of them. I've never actually been able to go to one before, since I assumed they were all in the Western states or something. Not so! It was beautiful and I definitely plan on going back.

The day before my mom had come up to help me move out, and we went to Taughannock Falls, which were also incredible. Unfortunately we could only look at them from afar, we didn't really have time to go hike down, and my mom is not one for hiking anyway.

And the day I left, my friend Sara and I decided to get up early and go to Lucifer Falls. Holy guacamole. THAT was by far the most incredible and most beautiful place I'd ever been to in Ithaca, if not ever. There was a trail leading to the falls, which are taller than Niagara, and even before we got there we went through the gorge there, passing mini waterfalls all along the way. And then, we got to Lucifer. Amazing. I will post pictures later, when I'm not on my laptop that I'm afraid to put pictures on since, you know, it died twice in the past year.

And then, I came home. I cried for like the first entire hour. I miss Ithaca so much, it became my home and now I don't know when I'll go back. After all, I'm working full time at Barnes & Noble and don't get two days in a row off, ever. Unless I ask way in advance.

Oh, there's another thing. My temporary job. I say temporary because I am technically only there until September, something I found out recently. At first I was kind of miffed, but then I thought about it. This opens up so many opportunities for me. I could a) find a better job, or b) take lots of road trips come September. I think I'm leaning toward the latter. My friend Katy has already mentioned going down to New Orleans, which would be so awesome. We shall see!

I've also been toying with the idea of moving to Tucson, Arizona. I have always felt a pull to that area of the country, not only because it's always warm but because of the natural beauty of the region and just a deep desire to go there. And Tucson is perfect, because a) it's where the University of Arizona is and they have a good library science program (plus if I live there for a year I would be able to pay the resident tuition and not out-of-state), b) it's in Arizona, and c) it's a four-hour drive to my aunt's place in Las Cruces, NM from Tucson. So that is a possibility, though I think my Mom will freak out when she reads this (right Mom?). IT'S JUST AN IDEA DON'T PANIC.

Anyway, that's my life up to now. Any thoughts? Concerns? Random comments?

Apologies!

I am sorry for abandoning you all for so long! It has been quite a crazy couple of weeks let me tell you. For one thing I have finished college and graduated (exciting!). I also had an entire week of senior events and probably gained back five pounds but I will work on that later. All I know is that I have a week of blissful days off and nothing pressing to do. I am going to the Friends of the Library Book Sale tomorrow though which may put a dent in my checking account. We shall see. Hopefully I will not go crazy but we never can tell with me and cheap books.

Side note...

So when I went to post a comment on my mom's blog (yes she has a blog and she named the site after me! www.tahleensmom.blogspot.com haha), I saw a little handicapped symbol next to it. WHY I ask you would the computer need to indicate a comment being handicap accessible? Someone please explain it to me because I don't understand.

Another problem I might need a 12-step program for.

I bought 13 books today. THIRTEEN. I only spent $9 but still. I did a count of the books on my bookshelf and I have not read 46 of those books. Oh, by the way, those were only the ones I have here in Ithaca, they do not count the ones I have back at home in Burlington.

I'll never read all the books I want to read. Gah.

On a side note, Olivia introduced me to Green Star market, and though I've always known it existed, I have found a new grocery store. God help me.

The (less than) glorious return.

I had not entered the gym doors for over three years. The last time I was in there was I think the very beginning of my second semester in freshman year. But I have recently decided to be healthy and exercise, and so here I was, standing in the entrance with my student ID and little gym bag.

Let me just make this clear: I hadn't been there in years. I forget how things work. Which was why I was hesitant and a bit nervous (dumb I know but leave me alone). Turns out there was good reason for me to feel my inexperience.

When I got down to the locker rooms, I wasn't sure if there were locks for me to use, so I asked the girl at the desk; then I asked if I had to sign anything, but apparently I just had to give her my ID card. As I was walking into the locker room, I looked at the combination lock she had given me and realized I hadn't used a lock since high school. Yes. I had forgotten how to use a lock.

Swallowing my pride, I went back to the girl and asked her to show me how it worked. She gave me a weird look but showed me anyway. As I walked back into the locker room with a deflated ego but new-found knowledge, I opened a locker and started to change. I opened my bag and took out my pants.

Only to realize it was a T-shirt. Awesome.

Let me paint a picture for you: Me, in a locker room, in my underwear, holding a T-shirt, a confused look on my face turning into one of frustration and an Oh-my-God-I'm-an-idiot expression. So, even more embarrassed than before (which is saying something), I turn in my lock to the girl and tell her what happened; I'm sure she didn't care to know.

To sum up the rest of my story, I went home and got the correct apparel, went BACK to the gym, and actually did run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Here is the happy part: I ran two miles with only two walking breaks! Hooray for me!

I might need to enter a 12-step program.

So I've recently realized I have an addiction to shopping at Wegmans. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a grocery store that is actually a wonderland. I go there at least three times a week and it is not good. I try to be good when I'm in there but I end up spending lots of money anyway... Whatever. At least I'm buying good stuff and not junk (<3 organics section <3). Anyway here are some recent discoveries I've, well, discovered that have made my life just that much better.

1. Quaker Chewy Granola bars. They are 90 calories each like the Special K bars I used to buy (no more!), have less sugar than SK bars, less fat, and better flavors. And they are cheaper. And more come in each box (10 vs 6! That is a lot wouldn't you say so?). So I was ecstatic to find these needless to say.

2. Oikos Greek yogurt (from Stonyfield Farms). Not only does one serving have only 80 calories, it has 15 GRAMS of protein! That is insane! I love it. PLUS it is superthick and has active cultures in it for digestive help, AND it is delicious. The only big problem is it is pretty expensive. But I think I love it too much to go back to regular. Oh Greek yogurt you have spoiled me.

3. Almond butter. Though this might turn out to be a downfall instead of a boon. It is more delicious than peanut butter and is probably better for you. Unfortunately I tend to eat it right out of the jar waaaaay too often and find I can't stop myself from taking just a little bit more. Next thing I know half of it is gone. Oops. Also this is pret-ty pricey as well. So I think I'm going to have to stop buying it. :(

4. Luna bars. They are delicious, have most of my daily vitamin needs, lots of calcium and protein, and are 180 calories each (except Chocolate Raspberry which has 190 but that is not even worth thinking about). I eat one every day pretty much. They are so good.

5. Vitamin D supplements. Apparently nobody gets enough Vitamin D (it comes from sunlight) and it's necessary because it helps you absorb calcium. No Vitamin D = calcium deficiency. The supplements I bought obviously don't taste like anything but hey they are softgels and who can resist those I ask you? Not me. They are delightful and way easier to swallow than my huge multivitamins (boo to them, they taste bad).

I also love the baking section which could turn out to be a problem.

A penny for my thoughts. If only.

I was having a lovely morning. It was relatively warm (though overcast) and even though the campus smells like poop thanks to the newly mulched areas (why they think looks are more important than smells I will never know), they had FINALLY turned the fountains on!!! I have not seen the fountains for almost an entire year, as they had turned them off for construction purposes.

My morning, however, took a sad turn when I attempted to make a copy in the library. The copy machines will not take coins (why would they, it's not like that would add revenue or anything) but insisted I use my ID Express instead (money that is on my ID card, sort of like a debit account). I remembered that I had a small balance on my card and thought I'd have enough for one 10-cent copy. The balance on my card: 9 cents. Of course.

So I was literally a penny short and could not do a thing about it. I did not get my copy, and I did not get a penny for my thoughts, which I would have gladly used to copy said thoughts through the use of the copy machine.

Thoughts on America.

I don't know if it's because I was listening to Bill Bryson read his book I'm a Stranger Here Myself (a collection of columns he wrote about America) or what, but as I was driving home today I noticed some things.

As I was driving down the NY Throughway, I glanced to the right of the road and felt a thrill go through me when I saw a hawk eating a dead animal. I thought it was so cool and I think the word "majestic" might have skittered across my mind, but then I realized something. It's really sad that such a natural occurance is cause for such wonder, especially because it is something we seem to think of as rare. At least I do; I've seen a hawk eating an animal three times in my life, all in the past year. We've paved over so much of our country that birds of prey are almost a sort of entertainment, especially when they've got something bloody in their talons. I also realized the thing it was eating was probably road kill.

Another thing I noticed, and this one is about our eating habits, was in the Gulf Mart at the Ludlow Plaza on the Mass Pike. I was looking around for a small snack and I wanted almonds, so I was looking in that general area. Do you know they didn't have any plain, raw almonds? Everything was salted, and spiced with some unnatural flavoring that shouldn't have been on a nut in the first place. I think one of them was jalepeno flavored. Why can't we just get almonds because we like the taste of almonds? If I wanted jalepeno-flavored something I'd have looked for a jalepeno. I wanted something that tasted like almonds. The sad thing is I probably could have found some sort of food that was almond flavored.

Anyway, those were a couple of thoughts I had. I know, I'm so poignant.

Screw you public safety.

I didn't turn on my blinker last Thursday while I was on campus, and OF COURSE the car behind me was a cop. He was really nice and didn't give me a ticket, but he gave me a campus summons. I had no idea what this entailed and I didn't see "failure to turn on signal" under the list of fines, so I didn't really think it was going to be too bad.

Ha ha, jokes on me.

I brought my summons to Parking and Traffic Services yesterday, thinking I'd be dishing out $10 or $15. WHAT THE HELL WHY DID IT COST ME 45 FREAKIN DOLLARS. Really???? It was a FIRST OFFENSE for me ever, I've NEVER been pulled over before this, and they charge me $45?? I hate you public safety. I hate you and your smug charging ways for stupid reasons. It was 9 p.m., who the hell was going to be affected by my not turning on my signal?? Gah.

Loveliest of music, grace me with your eternal presence.

Why oh why did I not go to Pandora sooner? This is by far the most useful website I've come across in quite a long while. I now can listen to music in WHATEVER GENRE I FEEL LIKE. It is an amazing feeling. Plus only a few commercials, so awesome.

If only I had known about this my freshman and sophomore years, and had actually listened to my friends last year when they first spoke of it. But maybe if that were the case I would not have developed my deep and abiding love of country music. (Possibly to the delight of my car passengers, but they will just have to deal with it dammit.)

I hope it won't be as busy as I think it will be.

Tomorrow is going to be a looooong day. Granted most of it is my own doing but hey, I will be going nonstop pretty much until the wee hours of the morning.

I start class at 8. For whatever insane reason I have decided to get up at 6:15 (or try to) to get some yoga in before the day really starts, and to have time to eat breakfast. (Side note: I love breakfast. It is my favorite meal/time of the day, and recently I have only been able to eat a real breakfast, meaning not a Special K bar, on MWF because I don't have to be at school until 11. I get up early, do about 45 mins of yoga, and then take the time to eat a bowl of cereal or oatmeal with berries or almonds, and make a cuppa tea. It's fantastic.)

So I'm in class until 10:40, after which I have a 2.5 hour break during which I will probably finish up hw that I am inevitably not doing right now. It's either that or proofing pages for Year in Review, a yearbook-like publication The Ithacan puts out each year that is basically a collection of stories and reviews and profiles from the year. I was an idiot and said I would be the proofreader (I better get paid goddamit). Then I have class from 1:10 until 3:30. I have a half hour before working online for an hour, then fifteen minutes to get to a lecture I want to go to on Shakespearean comedy (yes I know I am a loser, leave me alone).

After this lecture (which I have no idea how long will last), I am going to see Amy Goodman and some other dude who is a blogger accept the Izzy Award (not too sure on what exactly that is but I don't really care). I am looking forward to this because she is supposed to be a really good speaker, she is on NPR for those of you who haven't heard of her. And she just published a new book.

After this event (note: I have no idea how long this one will last either), I will be going straight back to the Ithacan office to proof until the cows come home. I really hope the cows are nearby and not in Fiji or something, escaping this cruel turn in the weather. (There were snow flurries today! SNOW FLURRIES! What happened to the sun and warmth? What the hell I just brought home my winter jacket and all I have is a leather one! Curse you Jack Frost, I hate you. I hope you melt.)

I should be studying.

So as most of you know I have an intense case of senioritis. Right now I should be studying for my environmental bio test that is in an hour and a half--I have to do it now because I decided not to last night (though I did study for like an hour and a half, but I think I fell asleep at some point during that time). So yeah. Should be doing more productive things. But I had to tell someone about this one dude who looks like he might be a librarian or something.

He has THE worst hair I've EVER seen in my life. Apparently he's not self-conscious about his giant bald spot on the back of his head, because he's grown hair that is far too long all around it. Like, his hair is longer than average for a man. Plus it's gray and looks fairly greasy from where I'm sitting. Gross.

Well that's my quick "by the way." I'm sorry I haven't posted recently, I've been busy writing papers that I should have written long ago (before break) but took/asked for extensions for instead. Yes, all three of them. This is something I just realized as I typed it. I'm so bad.

Another new favorite web series.

It's called "Drunk History." Here is the link for the first episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V_DsL1x1uY&feature=channel

It features Michael Cera. Watch it and enjoy it.

I'm sure he didn't mean for it to sound like this.

My brother: "Hitler ruined that mustache. He's a dick. Now no one can wear that mustache again."

Umm, I think there are a few million more reasons he is a dick other than the fact that he ruined a facial-hair look.

Let me get philosophical.

So I've been reading a lot of difficult books in my senior seminar class; about children forced to become soldiers, and little girls forced into prostitution at ages as young as five. It's been rough to read these accounts and then discuss them in class, especially because we're left with this sense of, what's the point of what we're doing? What are we doing that is so damn important, what are our problems compared to theirs? I am so grateful that I was born where I was born, and into a family that loves me. But I still have to deal with my own unhappiness on occasion; it makes me feel stupid for worrying about the things I do and the way I look and act.

I think this class might be my favorite this semester, which is incredible since I didn't even want to take it in the first place. I've seen this pattern in honors courses: The ones I'm really excited for I hate, and the ones I don't want to take are fantastic. The last class for honors that I took and really enjoyed was Biotechnology. Go figure.

I am also really grateful for the group of people that make up our class. We all come from different backgrounds with different experiences, and none of us are afraid to share those. I think we are becoming closer than a normal class would because of this--at least, I feel a kinship to them that I never expected to feel. I think this class is doing me a world of good, even if it's only exposing me to issues I'd never stopped to think about before. Awareness is key; that is one thing we all came to agree on today.

I hope the class will continue to be so great as the second half of the semester goes on. I am kind of looking forward to writing our final (20-page) paper, because it's not research, it's all personal. I like those kinds of essays because it makes me look at myself and who I am, what makes me do the things I do, why I am the way I am. And honestly, I probably won't come to a conclusion. But I'll at least have entertained the notion, and that is certainly something.

Black tulips and birthdays.

So in science writing, we're reading Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire. I'm really loving it so far, and I want to read his other stuff; but the last chapter we read, on the tulip, has made me want to read something else too. He had a whole section on black tulips, and the mania in Holland during the 1600s (I think that was the century) where there were competitions for this, and tulip bulbs were more precious and valuable than anything else. I thought the idea of a black tulip was evocative, intoxicating and chilling at the same time; the symbolic significance of a black tulip is also impossible to ignore, especially with the greed that accompanied them in Holland. There is in fact one tulip, called the Queen of Night, that is almost black--Pollan described it as a deep purplish maroon, the darkest a flower can be without actually being black. He also mentioned Alexandre Dumas' book The Black Tulip, a book I'd never heard of, that centers on one of the competitions in Holland to cultivate a black tulip and the lives that are ruined in the process. I think I would like to read this book someday.

Something else I was thinking about recently is how far my interests have expanded as far as my reading list goes. Since my birthday is coming up, though I'm not sure how many people who read this are actually close enough to want to buy me a birthday present, I think I'd like those who do to get me a random book. Maybe one they think I'd enjoy, one that just looks good, something crazy from a section I've never really looked at before--just as long as it looks interesting. I don't know if this will actually happen, or how many presents I will actually get for my birthday, but I think it's a nice idea anyway.

Snippet of my life

Here's a quick update:

My parents and youngest brother came to visit me this weekend, and we had a grand ol' time. I haven't eaten so well in weeks.

I have recently noticed how much I snort when I laugh, and I don't know if it's because of the weather or if my septum has deviated at all in the past few months. I wouldn't know if I snore--but that would make an unfortunate addition to the ridiculous amount of sleep talking I do.

I have been drinking incredible amounts of tea lately. Like, at least three cups a day, which is a lot for me. I never used to drink tea. That is a lie, I actually drank it quite often in London, but not to this extent. Green tea is best and I am excited because I got a box of Tazo tea of the Zen variety at Target for a very good price.

I have not skipped any of the books I'm supposed to read this semester as of yet. I am quite proud of myself; plus I get to add books to Goodreads because of it. (And also rack up points for my 2009 school year challenge in which I am participating. Yes, we get points for reading certain types of books. I have 55 right now.)

The Oscars are on tonight, and so I will probably not do as much reading tonight as I would have hoped. So that will put a wrench in the previous tidbit I gave you all, but hopefully not a large one. I do need to read Vampire Academy by Tuesday... hmm. And the first half of A Long Way Gone. Perhaps I spoke too soon. I will prevail, I think, but let's all hope for my reading anyway.

Read my story!

Hooray, I'm a published author! BSG put my raccoon story on the site! Read it here: http://beta.beaconstreetgirls.com/club/critters-club

You need to scroll down a bit, but they actually used my full name and it's there! :) :)

Why is there pressure to be thin. Damn you society.

Man, diets suck hardcore. I'm hungry. And it's too late to eat anything because it will just sit in my tummy and make its merry fat way to my hips and bum. Life is so unfair.

If only I were Santa Claus. Then I could be fat and it would be totally acceptable; in fact, it would be expected. Santa's got it easy man. I bet he's on vacation on a beach somewhere, drinking Mai Tais and basking in the glory of a blazing sun. While I'm hungry and cold in Ithaca, NY, trying to write a paper that is pretty much 100% bull at the moment. Oh senior year, the things you do to me.

When you make plans with someone, is it so hard to call them to cancel instead of waiting for them to call you to let them know they're ready? Is it??? This seems to be a pattern in my life. What the hell.

Ah Christ this movie is so good. Love it.

It's the Halloween scene, and now I think the mom is drunk. What kind of mother doesn't notice that her only daughter has shrunken three inches and has grown a grotesquely large head? I don't care if he's covered by a sheet. E.T. does not look like Drew Barrymore, no matter how you look at it.

Oh gosh, E.T. looks like one of those guys on Cops. He's drunkenly stumbling around in a ratty bathrobe.

And now he's a cross-dresser.

Oh the joys of rewatching movies from childhood.

Ahaha Elliot is ca-raazzyyyyyy. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! BACK TO THE RIVER, BACK TO THE FOREST! I GOTTA SAVE THEM!!!!" Tons of frogs are jumping EVERYWHERE. Way more than there were originally. And then he kisses some girl (as the characters in the movie E.T. is watching do). And they all save the frogs by dumping them out the window.

And yes, Elliot is still drunk.

More thoughts on E.T.

There was a scene on a school bus. I want to know what crazy place they live where the children have all decided to incite mass chaos like what I saw. I don't remember standing up and throwing random pieces of paper and various other things around at my peers.

Also, dear character, there is no need to repeat "Where's he from? YOUR ANUS??" three times. Once is enough thank you, and no, it's still not funny.

And holy crap, I totally didn't get the first time around that E.T. got drunk by drinking an entire six-pack, and Elliot in turn got drunk as well. WHAT. YOU SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGING UNDERAGE DRINKING STEPHEN SPIELBERG.

I'll probably be posting more on this, so brace yourselves.

I'm sorry, what?

I don't know if it was because I never watched the uncensored version of E.T., if I didn't know what the word meant when I watched it, or if I just forgot (highly unlikely, but possible...), but I am watching it now and think that Elliot came up with possibly one of the greatest insults a 10-year-old boy can give: "penisbreath." I wasn't sure I heard correctly, and so thanks to the wonderful world of DV-R, I rewound it and watched it again. Yep. Penisbreath.

What?

Life as a social eater with no one to eat with.

I don't know why, but over the past few months (I guess you could say senior year), I've been yearning for the chance to eat with people. I do occasionally, like I'll go out to dinner with friends once in a while, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Not everyone will go out to eat, especially since we're all poor, and it's not very homey in my house--and ingredients cost money, too. It seems we're all just eating quick and easy meals with no time to spend talking and socializing, no time to savor what we're consuming (and, to be fair, a lot of what we're eating probably wouldn't be so great to savor).

I like sitting down and talking with friends for a while, maybe drinking a glass of wine, with good food on our plates and in a comforting atmosphere. I've rarely been able to find that here. The only time that really stands out in my memory, when I had a really good time out, was at the Sigma Tau Delta banquet at Pangaea restaurant. I believe they billed it as good food, fine wine, and great conversation, or something like that. And you know, that's exactly what it was--I loved talking to the people at my table and just enjoying all of the tastes, smells, sounds and sights around.

I don't know where this is all coming from, all I know is that I miss eating with other people. I think it should be a social thing. It is so incredibly lonely to sit on the couch with the TV as your only company and eat a bowl of pasta all by yourself.

JEOPARDY! has disappointed me.

This is the most boring episode of Jeopardy! I've ever seen. Or at least the most boring categories. One of them is "Delaware." I mean, come on. Unless you live there, I guarantee you don't know much about the state. Even if you do live there it's questionable. Oh, and another is "Fundraising."

Also, Alex Trebek is entering those "Bob Barker" years... He's still going, but he probably shouldn't be. He's starting to say things that don't make sense.

It's a good thing I'm bored. Now you get to read my exquisite prose, huzzah.

So I'm bored and I don't want to do the gross amount of homework I have to do for science writing. What shall I do instead?

Waste time on my blog, of course. Do I have anything to talk about? Of course not. But whatever.

Oh, here's something good: my computer works again. Though after I got it back the first time, I couldn't find how to get on wireless, so I had to bring it back today. But it was a quick fix.

Glory in my post, ladies and gentlemen. It is born out of much strife.

In other news, I have found a new obsession that is probably not good for me. It is called Goodreads.com and it is making me buy/read way more books than is healthy. Though there are support groups on it for book-buying addicts. Ha. It CAUSES these addictions. But at least I'm in a couple of book groups and can indulge in literary conversation that is not overpowered by 21 theater students at 8 in the morning. (Yes, that is what I am dealing with this semester, by the way. I'm pretty sure there were four people who were not some form of theater major, myself and my friend Bryan included. At least it's an alternative to coffee. Hey, I didn't say it was a good alternative.)

I'm starting a book group in a small circle of friends at IC too. I think the first choice is going to end up being The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which just won the Newbery Award. And it's funny, because I was not the one to suggest it, though I've been wanting to read it; my friend Olivia did. I'll let you all know how big a failure this latest endeavor turns out to be. Hopefully it won't fail at all, but we'll see.

And in case any of you are wondering, I love country music, especially Rascall Flats. Whom I am listening to right now. "God bless the broken road / That led me straight to youuu." I know I'm annoying. What can I say. I enjoy their lyrics and melodies.

With these final words, I'll leave you with a final image as well. It's from Halloween. Guess who I am; bet you can't do it. And don't say anything if you knew already, that's CHEATING.

And no, I'm not the one on the right.

I do have a reason.

I'm sorry everyone. I know I haven't updated in a while. But I have a really good reason.

It all started last Wednesday night, when I went to turn on my computer and got this message against a black screen:

"There has been a disk read error. Press Ctl. + Alt. + Del. to restart."

I did this, and got the same screen almost immediately.

After about five more panicked tries, I called home. For a half hour, I was crying to my parents about how I can't NOT have a computer AGAIN and to make a long story short there were many tears and I was very upset. But I eventually was able to fall asleep after writing out my science writing homework on a page of notebook paper (geez, when was the last time I did that?).

The next day I brought my computer into the good ol' Student Computer Repair Center, where they immediately told me that it was my hard drive. AGAIN. I told them that they had just replaced my hard drive in November, how could it POSSIBLY be broken? He told me it was probably defective. Fantastic. But he also told me that I could call them and get something called an Advanced RMA, and they'd send me another hard drive for free. So this I did. And found out I needed to go BACK to the SCRC and have them find the serial number on the actual hard drive. So after all this, and a fairly long conversation with some dude in India, I now have my hard drive at my house. If only I had the operating system disk and Microsoft Suite... that's on its way too. Hopefully.

I can't wait to get a Mac.

No one tells me anything.

This is a conversation that happened on Sunday night at 11:30 p.m.

Mom: Are you working tomorrow?

Me: No, I'm not.

Mom: Good. So then you're coming to the funeral with us?

Me: WHO DIED?!

Apparently my Auntie Louise died and no one told me. Until late the NIGHT BEFORE THE FUNERAL. Oh, and did I mention she died on Wednesday? That is almost an ENTIRE WEEK after the fact.

So I got to see my first dead body.

The next morning I entered the church with my family, and sawthe open casket in the distance. I quickly turned to my brother and said, "Oh God, I've never been to a wake before..." I'd only been to my grandfather's funeral, and my parents wouldn't let us kids go to the wake, which I have to say I'm thankful for. I wouldn't have wanted my last glimpse of my grandpa to be when he was dead. I like to remember him like he was when he was alive, not like how I'll probably remember Auntie Louise now. I mean, she was 92 years old, so it was probably her time to go, but it was still sad.

The day got slightly better when the der hayr went off on his crazy eulogy that made me make a face at my brother more than once during the ceremony, and the deacon's awesome heavy Worcester accent (like a Boston one) made us crack smiles we quickly tried to hide.

I don't know if you know this, but my family is loud. During the eulogy when the der hayr said something funny, my dad let out this staccato (and slightly delayed) "HA!" which made me and my entire immediate family look at him in alarm. Then Nishan and I tried not to laugh too hard. I mean, after all, we were at a funeral.

So after all this and the short ceremony at the cemetery, we went to a lovely luncheon served in an ice-cold church rec hall that was an event hall, a basketball court, and a theater all in one. And more of the loudness that is my family ensued. Because, you know, both of my dad's brothers were there too, not to mention all of the cousins on the Ovian side. I'm surprised no one lost their voice.

Ah, family functions. If we have this much fun at a funeral, you can only imagine what my graduation party will be like.

What has my life become: a walk with Virgil. I think this might be somewhere between the sixth and seventh circle of Hell.

So a few days ago, I registered on Goodreads.com in an attempt to find an online community in which I could participate (it gets frustrating reading the comments of tweens and knowing that you can't tell them to get a goddamn brain). As I added books I've read and surfed the site a bit, I came across a few lists. One was Best Young Adult Books Ever or something like that, and being the children's lit nut that I am, I clicked myself on over to see what was up. Imagine my horror when I saw Twilight was at the top of the list, above A Wrinkle in Time, The Giver, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Holes, and various other great and timeless children's novels. I wrote a comment about Twilight being up there. This sealed my fate.

I soon got an e-mail alert that someone named Sara had replied to the thread. Her response: "=0 you mean you don't like twilight????"

I responded that yes, that is what I meant. As if I hadn't been clear enough.

This soon led to a debate between me, Sara, and a kid named Carter about the merits and/or enormous flaws in the series. Of course, I was the one who was the opposition. And so this argument went on for a few days (I'm ashamed to admit it's still going on -- I just posted another response), with Sara telling me that "SHE LOOOOVVVES HIMM" and that they were meant for each other and that she loves him more than her own life blah blah blah blah. Yeah, that's a GREAT thing to be teaching young girls. "It's okay to COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN when your boyfriend leaves you." Outstanding job, Stephenie Meyer.

Yesterday night was my realization that Twilight has completely taken over my life, in a totally different way from how it takes over the obsessed tweens that frequent beaconstreetgirls.com. I can't escape it. I saw the movie last night for educational purposes (I had expected more than what I got to be honest, wasn't too fond of it; I did a lot of eye-rolling and if the theater had been empty I would have fake-vomited at some parts), as the movie ties in with two of my jobs (BSG and B&N). I can't get through five posts at BSG.com without encountering a fanatic 12-year-old (or younger) foaming at the mouth about how Edward Cullen is "sooooo hot" (by the way I have to edit "hot" to read "cute" too many times to count) and how Twilight is the best book in the entire world (this makes me sick -- what would Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and Sophocles and the Bronte sisters say to that?). And now, here I am, arguing with two kids about it. I found out last night that Sara is 11 freaking years old. What the hell. What am I doing??? I'm going completely insane, that's what. God help me and my independent study on teen vampire fiction next semester.