Search This Blog

Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of the year again! This year, I have three big resolutions and for each, I've devised some steps that will hopefully help me follow through with those resolutions.

So without further ado, here they are:

1. Lose 70 pounds, which will get me most of the way towards my ideal weight. Ok, I think everyone resolves to lose weight (I know I do every single year), but here's to hoping this time will be the time it works! To achieve this goal, I will:
  • Consistently journal what I eat on Sparkpeople.com. It's hard to lose weight if you don't know what you're eating :)
  • Regularly exercise. I plan to start out with 30 minutes of cardio three times a week and gradually increase the time and number of days I work out. I'll start strength training after a few weeks and maybe in the spring, I'll start the C25K again.
  • Avoid soda and processed foods as much as possible.
  • Eat more vegan foods. I'm not horribly fond of eggs, and dairy products make me break out badly, so this is probably something I should do anyways. Plus, the more vegan I eat, the healthier my food is likely to be.
  • Cook 104 new recipes, which is the equivalent of two new recipes a week (on average). I love to cook so I don't really foresee this being a problem.
  • No excuses! Thirty minutes of exercise and ignoring some sugar cravings is a small price to pay for around 20 years of extra life.
2. Stay up to speed on my homework! I'm a graduate student but I haven't quite grasped the fact that I need to actually work and not goof off and go out with friends. It's ok to have a break once in a while, but I need to focus on my education first and foremost. Steps to achieve this include:
  • Doing a little bit of work for every class everyday.
  • I have a planner that allows me to plan my day out hourly. I will make a detailed schedule for my day every morning (and this will include free time, exercising, and cooking) and I will STICK TO IT!!!
  • Once I have a topic for my seminar papers, I will read two scholarly sources for each one every week. That's really not a lot of work if I spread it out like that.
3. Lastly, I will focus more on my own creative writing by:
  • Writing at least 1000 words a day, five days a week, but I will be aiming more towards the 3000 words a day mark.
  • Writing at least one short story each month.
  • I will revise the short stories I wrote last year.
  • I will finish the last 20,000ish words of my 2008 novel and do one revision of it.
  • I will outline and write at least 50,000 words of a second novel (this will be what I use for my Writing the Novel class).
  • During November, I will participate in and win NaNoWriMo.
And those are my New Year's Resolutions for 2011!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Supernatural = Procrastination!

Because I have so much free time (yeah right!), I went ahead and bought the first four seasons of Supernatural. Yay! Another thing to keep me away from writing my seminar paper!

I might do reaction blogs to the episode like I've been doing with Merlin (speaking of, I should watch episode 2 tonight after I've given up on my homework).

I like to do what I can to help out the Procastinator's League of America :P

If You Were Gay - A Fanvideo



Best fanvid. Ever.

Too hilarious for words. Just watch (especially if you enjoy Merlin) and laugh your @$$ off :)

Finals Week = Torture!

I'm an awful student, a disgrace to the graduate community, an imposter in a community of intellectuals. Why? Because I haven't even started my final projects for this semester. And they're all due between Friday and Wednesday of next week.


Fml. I keep telling myself I'm not going to procrastinate. That I'll finally be the "good" student I keep telling myself I'll be every New Year's Eve. Does it ever work? Nope.
Instead, I'll be pulling a crappy seminar paper together at the last minute and turning it in, too tired to really care if I do a good job or not and just happy to finally be able to sleep.
What am I going to do next semester when I have three seminar papers to worry about?
Fml.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Student Blogging: Great Idea or Asking for Trouble?

I've been thinking about doing a blog with my composition students next semester. I think it would be a great way for students to post responses to readings (especially since we'll be reading lots of literature) and tentative papers topics or thesis statements that their peers can then comment on. Students could also use it as a way to brainstorm ideas for writing if they're at a loss for ideas. I also think my students (who are from the millenial generation) might be more comfortable with starting conversations and sharing ideas online before bringing their personal views to a face-to-face classroom.

The thing is, I've never tried to do a classwide blog like this before. It could be a potential disaster just waiting to happen. I'm curious as to if anyone has any ideas about this. Have you ever tried it and how did it work for you? What did you have them blog about? Do you have ideas that I could try to incorporate into my own classroom?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Burlesque


I went to see Burlesque over the Thanksgiving holiday. My thoughts?

If you want to see a fantastic, visually exciting film, this is it. If you want to see lots of great singing and dancing, this is it. If you want to see a cliche romance with an appropriate amount of humor, this is it.

If you want to see good, serious acting, go somewhere else.

The actors were clearly chosen because they had the voice to perform the demanding singing roles and the moves to do the dancing and contorting. They weren't chosen for acting.

But really, that's fine. I didn't see the movie for good acting, I saw it because I love to dance and I love to watch people dance. Most likely, I'll buy this when it goes to DVD and watch it in secret when my roommate's gone.

I'll probably dance and sing too.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Merlin Likes Pretty People



This just cracked me up!

Merlin Season 1, Episode 1

Woot. Here are my thoughts on the first episode of BBC's Merlin. While at times I may be sarcastic, please be aware that I dearly love each and every episode. I've seen every episode multiple times.

  • We start the episode with an obviously CGIed view of the castle. It's not too bad thought. It only took me about five viewings of this episode to notice it.
  • After that, we see the first execution. Notice that the punishment for practicing sorcery is beheading. When does Uther change this to burning? Read a history book on the Salem Witch trials and thought "Gee, that's so much better than what I've been doing!" Coming up next...pressing!
  • There has got to be a better, less conspicuous way to save Gaius from falling to his death than moving an entire freakin' bed from one end of the room to another!!! Really, Merlin, you had to know you would be found out with that one.
  • Lady Helen is ruthlessly murdered by the mother of the man previously executed so said mother, also a witch, can impersonate Lady Helen in an attempt to exact revenge upon King Uther. For all the talk about how magic isn't all bad, no one seems to use for anything but trying to kill Uther with the one exception of Merlin. Maybe Uther's got a point, people...
  • One of the reasons I watch this show: Arthur
  • Will Merlin ever investigate those voices he keeps hearing?
  • I don't think they had tomatoes in Merlin's time...
  • The first encounter between Merlin and Guinevere is utterly charming. "I'm in disguise." One of my favorite moments of the entire episode.
  • Our first viewing of Merlin's utter lack of respect for things that don't belong to him. Didn't your mother ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?
  • "I've told you you were an ass. I just didn't realize you were a royal one." Best burn of the episode.
  • "I could take you apart with less than that" Real subtle, Merlin.
  • It's Pirates of the Caribbean! Oh, nope, it's just BBC ripping off Hans Zimmer. Seriously, does anyone else think the soundtracks are nearly identical?!?!
  • And then no one notices the glowing eyes as things mysteriously start blocking Arthur's path all by themselves.
  • "There's something about you, Merlin. I just can't put my finger on it." Did I mention the slash fandom for the Arthur/Merlin pairing? I wonder where it came from. For those of you curious, read some of the slash fiction here: http://legendsofmerlin.com.
  • Finally, we get to investigate the mysterious voices! And who could it be? Why, it's the Great Dragon (or, as I've started calling him, the Great Slash Dragon [not my term, btw] because really, he keeps trying to pair up Arthur and Merlin with his whole "Your destinies are intertwined" and "You are destined to be together and destinies are inescapable" spiel. )
  • Merlin, although I suspect you're the bottom in the Merthur relationship, your impersonation of a girl is horrible.
  • "Believe me, I'm not ordinary." Real subtle there, Merlin. Let's advertise that you actively practice an act that Uther loves to execute people for.
  • If your singing act puts people to sleep and makes cobwebs grow all over the place, you may want to consider a different career.
  • Merlin's reward for saving Arthur is getting to be his manservant? Worst gift ever! I can't imagine what Christmases and birthdays were like in the Pendragon household...
And that's all for today, folks! Episode two will hopefully be posted soon!

Darren Hayes - Insatiable


This is one of my new favorite songs. Please enjoy!

A beautiful tango between two men


This is a Cirque du Soleil performance from their show, Zumanity. It was the first adult-themed show, meant to show "the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil." I think this half-dance, half-fight tango is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Merlin

My new obsession = BBC's Merlin. And when I say obsession, I mean it. It's become a fangirlish type obsession. I've purchased a new, region free DVD player just so I can watch the complete seasons of the show (which, by the way, can only be bought from the UK if you want more than just season one). So as soon those get here, I'll be MIA for a very long time. I'll have to rewatch the seasons, then rewatch each episode with commentary, then watch all the special features, etc. You get the point.

Anyways, I told you that to tell you this. As soon as I get those DVDs, I'll likely be commenting on each episode. My own little Merlin review blog...thing...yeah. So if you like Merlin, tune in. If you like me, tune it. If you don't like Merlin or me, well then, I'm not quite sure why you're here in the first place...

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Mental drain...

Guh. School.

I'm exhausted. I have a twenty-four hour headache (luckily, it's not a migraine).

I have so much work to do for my classes. I allow myself to watch two hours of TV a day (one with lunch and one with dinner), but I'm feeling guilty already just for giving myself this one small break.

Oh, and there's all the financial issues I have to deal with because I have no ability to budget whatsoever.

The only good thing is that for the next two weeks, my students are having days and peer reviews, so I don't have to lesson plan or worry about what I'll be teaching.

And I haven't been able to read for fun. At all. This makes me very sad. Unfortunately, I don't see myself doing much fun reading for quite awhile...

Saturday, October 16, 2010

I have a confession to make. I have no concept of controlling my own finances, and I have no ability whatsoever to save money. Right now, I'm so far in the negative that I don't think I'll even be able to get out of the negative next month. I'm worried I'll be completely broke until my refund check in January. But, like I said, I'm awful at managing my own money. Even now, when I'm over half a grand in the hole, I'm trying to find ways to buy stuff. It's nothing important. I want books and I want some skirts and tights. I could easily live without all of these. I have about 600 books I haven't gotten around to reading and honestly, I don't like my legs and usually try to refrain from wearing tights and skirts. I just think it looks good on other people and now, I want it for myself. But I have no money. But I'm still trying to spend money.

Do you see the problem?

Maybe I should seriously consider therapy...