Strange Weather We're Having...

So, I went to The Weather Channel this morning to see what the temperature would be like. Today? High of 63 with "a good deal of sunshine." I didn't know that description was an official weather term. Then, they list the low for tonight, along with a link that leads to great advice: "How To Cheat The Wind." haha.

Sounds kind of like a novel title.

Heath Ledger Is Dead

...what?

Mourning Two (Superficial) Losses

1.) I highly recommend avoiding Cheese Nips 4-cheese variety. They are disgusting. But, unfortunately, I have to somehow consume a whole box of them since I bought them yesterday. Ah well. Such is life.

2.) Today I researched where I could watch/purchase in DVD of a show that me and my sister liked to watch back in the day. It was called "State of Grace" and it was brilliant. I discovered that it was canceled after two seasons, and it's not on DVD. :( Though there are several petitions I found online attempting to combat this.

I'm Glad He Had A Dream

So, I finished my book. woo hoo! For the most part, I liked it, but there was one plot point at the end (won't spoil anything in case you want to read it!) that did not make sense to me at all. If the author had done the exact opposite thing with the plot, it would have made muuuuuch more sense to me. Oh well.

It seems appropriate, at least during this very moment, to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King. I'm glad he did what he did. During a rather tame (but rather fun) game of truth or dare at Kalin's Christmas party, Amy was asked at what moment in history would she have liked to have been present. She said, "On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as Dr. MLK gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech." The more I think about it, the more that moment in time appeals to me.

So, happy MLK day!

Bleh, Sniffle

I am sick.

Currently, I'm sitting up in my bed. I was tucked in by a very dashing gentleman a little while ago, but I'm not tired anymore.

My restlessness could be because I decided to finish High School Musical 2. If that movie won't get you all riled up, i don't know what will. Yes, it's true, several scenes/lines/situations/facial expressions/overt cheesiness made me laugh out loud. But I heartily admire their spunk and shamelessness. And, let's face it, I'm a sucker for any sort of musical.

I've recently started a book called The Memory-Keeper's Daughter. I shamefully admit that it was the cover that first drew it to me ("ooo, it's so artsy!"). But then I turned the book over and read the back description and was even more intrigued. It featured a set of twins born in the 1960s. One, a boy, is perfectly healthy. The other, a girl, had Down syndrome. In a split second decision, their father (without his wife knowing) gives the girl to a nurse to place in a home for mentally challenged people, since she won't live very long anyway, and tells his wife that the daughter died. The rest of the story tracks the man, his wife, the nurse, the boy and the girl through many years into the future. It's a really good book. Several things drew me to it. One, of course, was the focus on the girl with Down syndrome and how her life was so radically different than the one her father envisioned the night that he essentially abandoned her. Genetics, of course, draws me in every time. :) The book also describes a lot of the psychological damage that this one event has caused the man and his wife. The man has an obsession with photography and perception. He craves for things to be permanent and assured in his life, but the overwhelming guilt and shame and decades of lies about his daughter haunt him. His wife never recovers from losing her child, even though she has a son who is perfectly healthy and talented (I haven't finished the book yet, so I don't know if she ever finds out her daughter is alive...we shall see!). She desperately tries to cover up the hurt and loneliness with alcohol, extramarital affairs, and (gasp!) a successful job independent from her husband. One of my favorite aspects of the author's writing style is her acute awareness of how the characters perceive each other, and how their thoughts and motivations are FAR different from how others perceive them.

Okay, maybe I should finally get some rest.

Chapter 1

So, this is it! All the cool kids were doing it, so I thought I'd join in. I have a Xanga that I never update anymore, but these blog layouts are better and cooler and more artsy. Surely that will make me change my ways and update at least once a day.

I think I'll change, but really, who can tell?

I'm at a very interesting place in my life at the moment, sort of a pause between two monumental movements of a symphony. Done with undergraduate, waiting to hear from graduate. eeeeek!

I hope to see more of you!