Flash of Genius

Tina Fey is a comedic genius.
I know this is not a novel idea, but the truth remains the same. The woman is hilarious.I just watched (for about the fortieth time, mind you) her first appearance on Saturday Night Live as vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and, no matter how many times I watch it, it continues to make me laugh out loud. I am a supporter of McCain/Palin, but I can still admit that Tina Fey's impersonation is dead-on. There are numerous other videos, including the vice-presidential debate and Palin's interview with Katie Couric, but the Hilary Clinton/Sarah Palin season opener remains my favorite.
I'm sure most of you have seen this video already, for everybody and his brother is talking about it.
Literally.
It's been all over the news; it's been replayed on YouTube about a million times; it's been emailed around several times. However, if you've somehow missed it, please go check it out now.

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/I cannot imagine how anyone could watch this video and not laugh out loud, but I'm totally open to being proven wrong.
I've decided that I will watch 30 Rock this year when the season starts on October 30. It look like something right up my alley, don't you think??

Autumn Days

It's fall break at Mississippi State, and, if you've ever been here after most everyone leaves for a holiday of some sort, you know how unbelievably, almost eerily quiet Starkville can get. Personally, I don't mind it too much; it gives me a rare opportunity to hole myself up with my books, my movies and my own introspective thoughts.
I just minutes ago finished the fourth movie I've watched since Friday; I've read an entire book since Friday afternoon; I've taken care of some school work; and I've cleaned my apartment from top to bottom. I've also taken full advantage of the fact that I could sleep a little later than usual, and I've enjoyed practicing my violin for longer than twenty minutes (because that's usually about as long as I can practice without thinking my neighbors are going to blast their own stereo's speakers trying to drown me out...).
Even though my classes don't meet Monday or Tuesday, I still have assignments due via the internet, and I also have to work both days. Therefore, even if I had wanted to, fall break really wasn't much of an option for me this year. (I won't pretend I wasn't initially disappointed; I had visions of myself frolicking through autumn in New York City--very You've Got Mail, you know?-- with Ben before graduate school brought those thoughts to a squealing halt.) I really have made the most of it, though, and I've made myself put my books down and take a little break to do some things for myself that usually I push aside because "'school comes first."
Now, for those of you extroverts who can't imagine how I could possibly be satisfied entertaining myself all weeked, I promise I haven't spent every waking moment alone. I did, in fact, venture out of my apartment and interact with the world around me a little bit, so rest easy.
Friday night I hung out with Alex and helped him pack for his own (much envied) trip to New York City. He and number of his good friends are going for the break, and I cannot wait to hear all of their stories when they return. I was able to hang out with a few of them while they were packing, and they were telling me all about their strategies for "clubbing," showing me their "impressive" dance moves and cracking me up nonstop with their hilarious plans to take the city by storm. Oh, to be a fly on the wall...
After that, I hung out with Nick for awhile, laughing and reminiscing about junior year, of all things. Lucky for Nick and I that I have photo evidence of just about every event that took place in our college careers, because (and I'm unbelievably ashamed to say this) our memories are starting to get a little mixed up; without pictures to back things up, there's no telling how we would remember things.
Saturday I spent most of the day in Columbus with my mom, and it was nice to have a little change of scene, even if only for the afternoon. Last night I read and watched movies, two of my favorite pasttimes.
I'm looking forward to this week because, even though I do have a number of assignments to take care of for school, it's always a plus when class is cancelled. I think that fact will remain true no matter how old I get and no matter how many classes I take. As hard as it is for me to believe, this weeks marks the midterm point, and the semester is now on a downhill slope! In a way, that's just the refreshment I need; on the other hand, it makes me wonder if I shouldn't be studying instead of having a movie festival...

The Conformist

Since Day decided she would resurrect her movie review blog, I, in turn, decided I would start a book review blog to step up my game as well.
Consider me a total conformist.
Check out http://thebook-keeper.blogspot.com/ for all of my observations, opinions and speculations on everything from historical fiction to classic literature to romances to nonfiction. (I don't read a multitude of those, mind you, but they manage to sneak in every now and then...)
And don't worry... I'm going to update this blog just as frequently as ever. I know there were several of you wringing your hands with worry, fearing the very worst. I could never leave; I've got too much left to say.

Family Matters

I miss my family.

This thought popped into my head yesterday morning when, for some unexpected and random reason I was ready for work a whopping 20 minutes early. (Usually I am running out the door at least 5 minutes past the "at the very latest" time I've set for myself...) I was laying on my bed, listening to music, and it hit me.

I miss my family.

Lots.

From May of 2007 until this August, I was virtually free of responsibility and wasn't really tied down to a whole lot. I was never buried under the mounds of homework that so frequently suffocate me now; I was never running from one group meeting to another, squeezing a few hours of work in between there somewhere; I was almost always available to take phone calls and return texts and visit people on a moment's notice.

Now, however, my life is just about full to capacity, and my schedule is like its own little rubik's cube--there's only one way that everything everything fits, try turning the pieces another way and you'll just end up with a big, confusing mess. I've been able to fit my friends into this pretty well, for so many of them are battling their own hectic schedules, but my family presents a bit more of a challenge. When I'm awake studying at 2:00 in the morning, they're undoubtedly (and enviably) asleep; when they can talk at 3:00 in the afternoon, I'm in class; when I get out of class at 9:00 PM, they're putting kids to bed or preparing for bed themselves.

Some days it seems like I'll never hear their voices again.

I know people say this all the time, but my family means the absolute world to me. We're a pretty small group, we've been through some tough times together, and we're pretty close. So many of my "-isms" and my special memories are wrapped up in them.

I guess tonight I just want to say that, if any of you are reading this, I love you and miss you very much. There are a multitude of reasons that I'm glad the holidays are fast-approaching, but the greatest of those by far is that it brings me closer to a time I know we'll all be together. Sometimes, when I don't think I can read one more theory or write one more assessment observation, I think about seeing all of you very soon, and that makes my work seem manageable.

My goodness... am I a total cheeseball tonight, or what?

A Nose in the Book

I finished the most amazing book last night.
Many of you know that I am an avid reader and will devour just about anything that even remotely piques my interest. Lately, however, I have had absolutely zero time for reading outside of class reading. I have been reading The Sound and the Fury since early August, and I'm still only about halfway through it!

Anyway, I was at Wal-Mart Wednesday afternoon (I had delayed the trip as long as I possibly could, but I couldn't put it off any longer...) and was perusing through the book/magazine section, which is always the last thing I do anytime I go to Wal-Mart. I can almost always find something that looks interesting or something I've heard about, and it's almost like my consolation prize for making it through the trip.

"Congratulations, Lauren Springer. You've made it to the finish line without being run over, getting into a fight with an unhelpful sales associate, or simply giving up and going home. Although there's probably several items on your list you were unable to locate in our metal-roofed megastore, we'd like you to go home happy. Please consider this morsel of current fiction our way of saying 'thanks.'"

That being said, I was browsing through the paperbacks and came across Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Of course I've seen the preview for this movie, which comes out in about two weeks; it is played on TV about every 8.6 minutes, how could I have missed it? I did not, however, realize it was a book...

Consider me interested.

I read the short description and, being a firm believer that the book is always better than the movie, I was hooked. It sounded funny; it looked like a quick-read; it was just the sort of mindless unreality that my how-many-articles-can-a-person-read-about-existential-therapy mind was craving.

Sold.

I brought it home, and, a little more than 24 hours later, I'm finished. I could not have loved it more. Laugh-out-loud funny, sweet, and totally unrealistic---everything I needed it to be. If you're looking for a fun read, I highly recommend it. I won't go into the details of the story, for I know some of you will at least go see the movie, but just know that I highly recommend it. This book is such a great find, and if the movie is half as good, we're all in for a treat.

"Norah looks like the only use she has for the word fun is to make the word funeral."

Seriously, it's hilarious. It's racy, mind you, but it's hilarious.

But, as that guy on Reading Rainbow used to say, you don't have to take my word for it.

One Fine Day

Today has been the greatest day.
The past week-and-a-half or so have been pretty hectic schoolwise, but today was kind of a big breath of fresh air.
Allow me to recreate it for you now.
I woke up at 5:00 (yes, AM) to print off the final draft of my paper for my presentation this afternoon. I then took a shower and headed to work, once again thrilled at the beautiful fall weather.
I didn't really do too much at work, but the time passed pretty quickly anyway.
After I got off work, I headed to the library to meet with Lauren, my presentation partner, to go over our material one last time. We made our way to class, ready to fully educate our classmates on the ins, outs, ups and downs of anorexia. We decided we would just bite the bullet and go ahead and be the first group to present.
It really went great.
I have been worried about giving this presentation since the first day of class (in case you didn't know, English majors don't give a multitude of presentations; it's more of an independent field of study), but we did a really good job. I was still glad to have it over with, however.
At the end of my class, we got our test scores back from the test we took last week, which was my first test of graduate school. I was a little nervous about the test and was anxious to see how I had done. Please allow me to shamelessly brag on myself for just two seconds while I say... I got the highest grade in the class!
Perhaps all those hours of studying really are paying off?
Anyway, after I got that bit of good news, I went to my night class, which seemed to pass much more quickly and interestingly than normal. Before I knew it, it was 8:00 and time to go home.
Nick came over and hung out for awhile, and I was so glad to have a few hours to just relax with a good friend and take a deep breath.
As I finish writing this, I can't wait to fall into bed and get a superb night's rest.
If there's one thing God continues to teach me during this phase of my life, it is to truly take note of and appreciate the little things. For the first time in my life I think, I actually know what that means.