And the NaNo Comes in the NIIIIIIIIGHHHHT!

I may have spent the last couple of weeks watching old StrongBad e-mails with my brother. And if you haven't watched them go to HomeStarRunner.com RIGHT NOW and become addicted.

Anyhoo.... I have a couple of things to say, and since today is still technically Tuesday, this will be my Two for Tuesday post too!

1. As much as I absolutely adore blogging and love all of you wonderful people that lurk around and read my ramblings and comment and everything, I just can't keep up with posting regularly. So I've decided just to make the announcement that I will try to post once a week, but that is the most I can say. I've kept my schedule up on the side (because I don't want to have to remember all that when I get back to a place where I CAN post regularly), but it's just not gonna happen right now.

So I will be here, just not as often, which I haven't been anyways, but I feel better making it all official like.


2. My life is chaos. I'm doing research for my thesis (SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT) and working on two other lengthy papers - 1 for my PostColonial class and 1 for my Age of Romanticism class, and teaching English Comp where we are about to start the dun dun dun Research Paper.

So of course, the most logical thing for me to do is obviously to add another writing project onto my life! NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for anyone who doesn't know) starts in like 6 days. SIX FREAKIN DAYS! I am so psyched about this year. So very very psyched. I am starting something completely new and I've been plotting it in my head and in scribbly notes for a couple of weeks now and I think this is the most I've ever planned something out before giving in to writing a scene or two. It's a YA fantasy and there are magic powers and evil scientists and PEOPLE DIE HORRIBLE DEATHS which is something completely new to me and my writing. I usually go out of my way to keep people alive. It's kind of ridiculous. But this project is much darker and I'm so excited about it.

I was sitting in class today and I suddenly broke into this huge goofy grin thinking about it and the professor actually asked if I was okay. Which was kind of embarrassing, but I really didn't care, because I'm SO EXCITED.

But here is the bad thing. Three times a week I have to get up at 4:30 in order to get to campus a little early before I teach. Which means that I need sleep and I need to fall asleep before midnight. Preferably no later than 11, but whatever.

This novel has decided I don't need sleep as much as I need to figure out why the hay bale Gavvet died in the first place. And WHY Devvon is acting like such a jerk. And what exactly is Evva's deal?! And why there are trees EVERYWHERE in the novel. And so my writer's brain goes in circles like a hyper-active little puppy while my logical brain tells it to shut up or it's going to have to lock it outside and for Pete's sake be quiet the neighbors are trying to sleep.

But I can't even get too upset about my writer's brain being so hyper because I'm SO SO EXCITED about this novel!

What about you? Are you doing NaNo? Is your story idea haunting you like Nearly-Headless Nick? Does your writer brain keep you up at night?

Two for Tuesday: Stupid is as Stupid Does

Sometimes I have to laugh at my life, because things happen to me. Things that should only happen in a sitcom. Really.
People ask me if it's "too soon" to tease me about these things. In my opinion, it's rarely too soon to laugh at yourself. Because if you can't laugh, you're gonna cry. and laughing is ALWAYS the better option!

1. A couple weeks ago I was teaching my 1201 class. I had just split them up to do some group work and turned to go back to my desk.

FYI this is the floor in my office. So stylish, no? (sarcastafont engage!)

I happened to be wearing these shoes:
I love these shoes.
As I turned something happened that I could never ever duplicate. No matter how hard I tried.

I put the heel of the right shoe through the bow on the left shoe and BAM

crashed to the ground. Yes. Flat on my face in front of the class.

They all went dead silent and one of the boys jumped up to see if I was all right. I was fine, but the heel was still caught and it took me approximately 4 minutes to untangle it. Okay, probably more like 10 seconds, but it felt so much longer. I waved the student away and managed to stand back up.

But man was I totally self-conscious about my feet for the entire rest of the day.

As soon as I got back to the offices I had to tell my colleagues and we all laughed until our sides ached. I was glad to offer some levity to the day.


2. This Saturday I took the GRE Literature in English test. Talk about a brain implosion. 2 of my friends and I signed up to take it at the same location together so we could provide moral support for each other.

We finally found the room where we were supposed to take the test and the proctor, who was absolutely hilarious, started to get us into rows based on the test we were taking. Everyone was chatting as the proctor went around to check us in.

When she got to me my name wasn't on her list. So she checked her other list. Not there. So we looked at my ticket and I realised, to my horror, that whether I made a mistake or there was a computer glitch (a theory I strongly support as I swear I double and triple checked before signing up), I was registered to take the test at a different campus of the same school.

Yeah.

The proctor told me to take a deep breath and said she'd make a call to see what she could do for me. She pulls out her phone and the entire room goes deathly silent as she announce, "I've got a girl here who came to the wrong testing center. Can she take the test here?"

I am sure that my face went BRIGHT. RED. as everyone turned to look at me.

Fortunately I was able to take the test and it wasn't a problem. But after the proctor moved on I turned around and my 2 friends and I started cracking up as I threw up my hands and said, "Only me!"


How about you? Done anything hilariously stupid recently? Do tell, I could always use a good laugh!

Two for Tuesday: Forgotten TV I Love

Somehow our family finds our way to random TV that we love, but that very few people seem to have heard of.

1. The Pretender.

This is one rare instance where everyone in our family loved a show. From my parents to me and my sisters to both of my brothers, this was the one show we could all watch together. I just started re-watching it and I love it still!

Michael Weiss plays a man who has been trapped inside "The Center" for the first thirty-something years of his life, running simulations to solve mysteries, crimes, problems, whatever. Now he's escaped and he can become anything and anybody that he wants to be. The show quickly develops an intriguing mystery as the background of Jarod and the relentless Miss Parker and their entanglement with The Center are slowly unveiled.

Weiss does a fantastic job of playing the innocence and joy of someone discovering the world for the first time. And it doesn't hurt that he's pretty easy on the eyes as well ;)

It only lasted 4 seasons and then there were 3 movies to try to wrap up loose ends, which was fairly effective. Definitely a show I recommend!

2. Dave the Barbarian

This short-lived glory of randomness needs to be released on DVD. For serious. This cartoon is SO random it definitely isn't for everyone, but if you like stupid hilarity, you should watch the bits that are posted on YouTube. Here's one for your viewing enjoyment!


Any forgotten TV you love, that most people haven't heard of?

Two for Tuesday: Back to School

1. I am so excited for school to start. I get to see my school friends again and, because of my schedule, I actually get to see all 4 of the other senior TAs on a regular basis. Can't wait to try some of my new ideas for teaching. Excited about having Dr. G again. Can't wait to start some real work on my thesis.

2. I am so not ready for school to start. I was supposed to read a bunch of stuff over the summer. I did, but not for school. I read like 40 books this summer and only 5 of them were in any way related to school. I don't want to go back! I am scared about pulling my thesis together. I am nervous about the new professor I'm taking. I really don't want to know if I'm off the poo list of another professor, but I hope I am since they are one of my thesis advisers (and I know the "they" is technically not grammatically correct, but we have no other generic pronouns, so I like using they and you can't stop me). I'm scared about all the romantic poetry we have to read. I don't want to try to figure out what I'm going to do once I graduate.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

So there you have it. Eek! What are your feelings about the start of the school year?

Two for Tuesday: Lovely Books

I'm ba-ack.

Pete's sake. I didn't mean to be gone so long, but I feel much better after that break. Now I need to find time to visit all y'all.

I have been on a major reading binge - whipping through novels and audiobooks like nobody's business, so I thought I would share a couple of my favorites with you :)

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry. I've kind of fallen in love with Julie's writing. I started Secondhand Charm yesterday and I'm already half way through.
The Amaranth Enchantment is kind of a Cinderella twist, but so different it isn't really. If that makes any sense. Anyhoo - those of you that have been around for a while know my love for/fascination with good fairy tale-esque stories or retellings. Julie's characters are fun, resourceful, witty, and engaging.

A quick non-spoilery review. Poor Lucinda lost everything when her parents were killed in a terrible carriage accident. Sent to live with her uncle and his abrasive wife, Lucinda not only has to deal with the harsh words and blows of Aunt, but with the faint air of scandal that overhangs her parents and their death. When a ragged thief breaks into her room, a rumored witch visits the shop and leaves an unusual stone, and she has a chance encounter with the prince, who is certain they've met before, Lucinda's life takes a turn for the worse, but all of these events may just lead her back to where she belongs, if she can figure out where that is.

My favorite character in the book? Dog, Lucinda's self-appointed pet goat. How frawesome is that?!

The other book I just finished is The Fledgling by Jane Langton. Such a sweet, poignant, lyrical book. I got it on audio and it kept me enchanted all through my commute over the past week.

Georgie knows she can fly. She's sure she's done it before - or was that a dream? No. She's sure she can. Unfortunately, every time she tries she merely tumbles down the stairs until her entire family is worried that she will really hurt herself. The call of the flock of Canadian geese inspires her, and it seems like one of the geese - the most majestic and largest of all, has taken a personal interest. Set in Concord, with a background of Walden pond, and a family entrenched in the study of Henry Thoreau, Langton paints a beautiful picture of a dream that just might come true.

So how about you? Read any good books lately? Do tell!

Two for Tuesday: Toronto!

I'm Ba-ack!

It was such a fun weekend and Naomi and I had a blast. We drove up a day early so we could spend some time sightseeing. Being the nerdy sisters that we are, we did not do the "normal" spots most people visit in Toronto.

Here we are waiting for the bus

1. We went to the Toronto Reference Library.
Oh. My. Werd. This place is huge and gorgeous and I totally wish I lived close to it. There's even a waterfall inside, but it was under renovation, so we couldn't really get the full effect. :(
But the rest of it? So worth it.

Those are elevators in the center. They're glass, so you can see  everything as you ride

How cool is it having the plants growing over the edges?!

Are you drooling yet?

Plants! Everywhere!

The books. Oh the books! And the plants and the ... everything. Seriously. We just walked around kind of drooling.

2. We also went to the Lilliam H. Smith Branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Guarding the library entrance

Guard, guard, guard

Yes, that's right. One library is not good enough for the Thompson sisters. No, we must go to two. :) But the real reason we went there is because it is the home of the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books. They have a whole room dedicated to displays of children's books of various kinds, shapes, and sizes. So. Cool.

The theme right now is reptile/amphibians. There were glass cases with books laid flat, and each one had a theme, like Frog, or Crocodile, or Tortoise. And then all the books inside were connected with that theme and there were little plastic frogs or crocodiles or turtles. For example, they might have a case with an early copy of Frog and Toad are Friends along with a copy of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass open to the page with the frog messenger and a copy of a children's natural history with a page about frogs and their habitats and habits and then a book of children's poetry with a poem about a frog. So much fun.

I love this t-shirt! 

There were also larger display cases where they had a series on the Franklin books. These had sketches and paintings from the artist and stuffed animals and books and other things connected with it. They had a whole shelf of things on Aesop's tale of the tortoise and the hare with books ranging in size and illustrations. We couldn't take any pictures inside, but it was well worth the trip since Naomi and I love children's books so much.

I don't think she's making out with the gryphon, but I'm not sure.

So that was pretty much all we did - we walked through downtown to get from one to the other and had a lot of fun doing that, but we didn't "go" anywhere else. Maybe next time we'll see some of the more "traditional" sights, but we had fun!

Do you like to visit out of the norm places when you go on vacation? Have you ever visited a super cool library?

Two for Tuesday: New Things

I am very excited because I have learned two new things in the last week.

1. I learned how to knit. Okay, not everything, but the basics. I even made a cute little swatch. See!

I learned how to knit, pearl, do ribbing, increase, decrease, and cast off! Whee!
My friend is teaching me and she said my stitches are very neat and even. :D I have crocheted and sewed and cross-stitched, but knitting always looked scary. Now I want to try EVERYTHING.

2. Re-watching the final season of Lost in under a week is not recommended.

Okay, so this is much more lame than the other, but it is nonetheless true. On Sunday we watched like 7 episodes and then yesterday watched the finale and a bunch of the special features. As of 11:00 last night, my sinuses and eyes were still itchy and sore from all the crying I did. I liked the last season, but after the last week, I love it.

I did not do this just for kicks. I am moderator of the "Lost in Memory" panel at Polaris on Saturday and I was scared that I would not remember well enough to talk about it. Hence the rushed watch. You'd think I could have started back in February when I signed up, but apparently I like waiting until the last minute. Which is another thing I have come to a greater realization of this week.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

But then I would have to call this Three for Tuesday, and it just doesn't have the same ring.

Have you learned anything new lately? A new skill? Something you realized about yourself? I also just realised that I like the "realised" spelling better than the "realized" spelling. That z feels jarring.

Tata!

Two for Tuesday: What I love about the 4th

of July that is!

Every year when we talk about our plans for the fourth of July, my Dad and I always have the same answer. We like to go to a town nearby. They have a parade, and a craft fair, and carnival food, and a really good fireworks display. So yesterday, none of us had to work (shock!) so we went over pretty early in the afternoon and made a day of it. It was so much fun that I had to share what I love the most.

1. Fireworks. I love them. I forgot my camera this year, so I don't have any pictures. But fireworks are amazing! The skill and science that goes into creating them and putting the show together and coordinating it with the music - it blows my mind! They're beautiful, intense, and entertaining!

2. The sense of  community. My Dad and I love going to this town because it's just that - a community! And everyone who comes on July 4th is a part of that. They've got the softball teams and the gymnastic groups and old tractors and the Civil War reenactors and the bands from the high school marching band to the seniors brass band sitting in the back of a wagon - all in the parade. It's so cute and fun and interesting. And when it gets dark and everyone gathers around the lake and there are people everywhere you look and you chat with the family behind you and share glow sticks and hold your breath as those first "test" rockets go off. Then the music starts and the show starts and everyone is united in such a unique way. They always play the same (or very similar) set of songs during the firework show and I love it, but this year there was a problem with the sound system. In the middle of the first chorus of "God Bless the USA" the sound cut out and there was a universal "HEY!" of frustration from the crowd. After a few seconds it came back on, but during the second chorus it cut out again. But that time, everyone just kept singing. It was a really special moment to have hundreds of people singing through the song.

I am proud to be an American and I am glad to live in this country! So here's a little music to continue the 4th for you :D



Next weekend our town does their fireworks display. I like that they spread it out so I can go to more than one!

Two for Tuesday: Lame Edition

I woke up and realized I hadn't written a post for today. And that I had NO idea what I wanted to write about. But I'm trying to keep myself on schedule for the summer so I had to do something.

So here are 2 random facts about myself:

1. I hate talking on the phone. Like with a passion. Like I will do anything to avoid calling someone. Or answering the phone. Or whatever. I would rather text, e-mail, wait until I see them, smoke signals would be better than talking on the phone.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

2. I have about a trillion stuffed bears. I got one for every Christmas since I was born until last year. And I bought them for myself. I named them (almost all) with names that started with "B" such as Bernard, Belinda, Boo, Betsy, Bob, and so on.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

This is pretty much one of the cutest GIFs ever.

Now it's your turn! Tell me a random thing or two about you!

Two for Tuesday: Books you HAVE to go read. Now.

I have been doing SO much fun reading since I got out of school. It's like I'm trying to suck up as much "fun" stuff before I get bogged down in theory and having to analyze everything again.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Sorry, I just can't seem to resist these adorable LOLCats!

And I recently read two amazing books that I wanted to plug a little bit because I loved them so much.

The first is Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Seriously. Read this book. Oh my goodness it's like amazing. See I even went all italicky on you to show you how serious I am. I found the beginning a little bit slow, but then I was all ZOMW I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ALMOST DONE NO I DON'T WANT IT TO END WAIT WHAT THE HAY BALE OH MY WERD FREAK OUT AND WHOA.

So read it.

Here's my Goodreads review (because I'm lame lazy and don't want to rewrite the thing.)

Honestly, at very first I was interested, but not totally sucked in. Yeah, that didn't last long. Oh my goodness I love this book. I love Tris and Tobias and Caleb and Christina and Will. These characters are so vivid, so vibrant, so astoundingly real that you just can't help but hold your breath for them.

Beatrice has known for a long time that she's just not selfless enough to spend her life in Abnegation. But that means she has to choose a different faction and turn her back on her family. Easier said than done. And now that she's in the middle of Dauntless initiation she's even more confused as to where she belongs. She's taken a new name, making new friends, and even getting a tattoo (or two), but does all of that really change who she is or who she wants to be? And what will she do when everything she's worked for starts crashing down around her?

Go. Read. Love :)


And the second book is Myra McEntire's Hourglass.

I just finished this on Saturday and I didn't want to put it down. From the very beginning I was hooked on Emerson's voice. I hit this one line, which I can't remember exactly, but it was about a guy screaming like a lady who's forgotten to take her panties off the line when the preacher comes to call. I mean, who comes up with a word picture like that! I loved it. Definite laugh out loud moments, but a lot of intensity too. Time travel, hot guys (yes plural), mysterious men, loving family, and did I mention TIME TRAVEL?! So fantastic. You totally should go read it. Like right now.

Emerson just wants to be normal. Which is really not easy when you have to walk through southern belles just to get into your house. But she really doesn't want to see this new "consultant" her brother hired. She knows he's just trying to help, but she's had enough of hokum and hospitals. Then she meets Michael and he sees the things she sees. And he tells her she's not seeing ghosts, she's seeing time ripples. And she just might have more power than she could ever have realized. But what is she going to do about it? And what is Michael hiding? They have the opportunity to change everything, but can they trust each other enough?

Both lovely ladies have blogs and stuff (you can get to them by clicking on their names) and, if you haven't bought either of the books, they're both ON SALE and you can get to that by clicking on the titles.

So those are my two for Tuesday... have you read anything you loved lately? DO TELL! I'm always looking for my next fab read :D

Two Truths for Tuesday

Wow! Look at that! I've started back on my schedule again!

Try not to die from shock or anything. I've also started my bloggy rounds again, trying to get back around to you lovely people who haven't given up on me despite my spotty appearances and spastic posts.

So today, for my Two for Tuesday, I have once again decided to steal from the Roecker sisters and post truths as well.

1. I am enjoying my summer off of school a little too much. So much that when I had a day of work cut from this week I kind of didn't really care. It's been a lot of years since I had this amount of time on my hands and I think it's gone to my head. I wouldn't mind if I was actually like writing or something, but I'm not. And worse, I don't feel bad about it. Not really. Case in point. Yesterday I did the following:
a. sleep in until 10:30 (completely unheard of unless I am sick)
b. read the rest of Cruel Love by Kate Brian (my guilty pleasure in YA books)
c. try to log into my school account, which won't load
d. lose all desire to work on my syllabus
e. read 2 chapters of They Say/I Say to make myself feel like I am accomplishing SOMETHING
f. write my blog post about the winners of my Tuscan Tales contest
g. read some blogs
h. snicker over Sarah and LiLa's posts on procrastination
i. continue to read blogs
j. decide at 2:15 I should probably eat some lunch
k. slump around trying to find something to eat
l. put a frozen chicken and cheese quesadilla in the toaster oven
m. get the mail
n. dance around because I got notification that I was awarded a scholarship
o. decide to fill out the acceptance sheet later
p. hide award letter in room in order not to think about it
q. eat quesadilla while watching Torchwood on Netflix streaming
r. keep watching Torchwood
s. help Mom pick lettuce from our garden for dinner
t. watch more Torchwood
u. go to Wal-Mart with Dad to buy frozen pizzas
v. eat dinner with the family
w. read some more of Divergent
x. start another episode of Torchwood
y. get ready for bed
z. write this blogpost
As you can see. I have an entire alphabet's worth of stuff and nothing really productive. At all.

2. I didn't really know what to write about for today so I made a random list and am pretending that it is a real post and that I am NOT totally ripping off multiple other bloggers.

So what's your truth today? Are you feeling lazy now that summer is here? Or are you still busy, busy, busy?

Two for Tuesday: Parody

This is a weekly meme idea I stole borrowed from Kate Hart. I discovered it when I linked to one of her posts via Twitter last week. Basically you post two of anything, but you have to connect them somehow. This seemed like a lot of fun and a way for me to easily expand my blog content to make it a little more regular and varied.

Sunday, inspired by a video Catherine linked to her Facebook feed (yes I am involved in way too much social media), I started browsing around for fun videos to use in class about plagiarism. It's always such a dull topic and I was hoping to look for ways to liven it up when I came across this hilarious and well done parody.

First I will post the original Carrie Underwood music video, because the other one is funnier if you've seen this. Also because, for reasons I just don't quite fathom, I absolutely love this song.



Second, here's the parody version.



Hope you enjoyed!

Thumb update: I go to an orthopedic tomorrow, so hopefully I will have good news then :)