HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween!

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Watch Jason Isaacs Take The Mickey Out of Orlando Bloom

Morbid Creativity

For Halloween, Mom is going to dress up as Count Dracula for her office Halloween fest. She and Dad made a life-size replica of a coffin out of cardboard boxes. Then they went down to Florida, asking me to do something with the cover. This is what I came up with.

Lack of Motivation This Way Comes

I have a Biochemistry Exam this Friday. I have a Shakespeare Paper due this Thursday. I am a Biology Major, but I want to write the Shakespeare paper more than I want to study Biochemistry. Well, that's probably to due with the fact that I am very behind in Biochemistry. I am a chronic procrastinator, but last week, I decided to break the curse by brainstorming and outlining my paper for English. I finally succeeded in coming up with a good thesis, and a general idea of how to write the paper, of what I want to say. The result is that I have neglected biochemistry for a week. Oh, well. I get to drop my lowest exam score, and replace it with my quiz grade (and as of now, I've accumulated enough points to count as a C, and the max thus far in the semester is a C+). But I just don't feel motivated enough in biochemistry to go for the A. I'm actually (kind of) hoping I get a B, maybe even a B-. I want to be human; I don't want to be the person who makes straight A's in college because she didn't have a life; and I want the experience of something less than an A, so I can say I really worked for something (counterintuitive, I know). Well, we'll see. This exam on Friday - I'm not worried about it, but I know I'm not going to do well because I can't foresee having the time to catch up and study before Friday. Man am I getting lazy. But, on the bright side, Jason Isaacs is as wonderful as ever!

Latest Flame

I know it seems that every time you turn around, I'm writing about another guy, and how good-looking and talented and desirable that man is. Now is no exception, and before you say anything about my fickleness or idleness, I would just like to say a few things for the record, to clear the air, so to speak. First of all, I do have other things to do with my time, and probably better things at that. However, I choose to spend most of my time looking up things that interest me, and the only thing that those things have to do with biology is that they are alive. Regardless of how I spend my time, neither my education nor my grades suffer for lack of attention. Second of all, I may happen to come under fire because I very often do seem to transfer my affections from one actor to the other. One could almost say that my affections are fleeting and shallow. While that is partially true, I would like to point out that the amount of time and effort I put into idolizing these men is inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend (or don't spend) on my personal love life. You might remember that during the relationship I was in last semester, my interest in Johnny Depp, and all others (aside from Sean Bean...him I don't think I could ever give up) fell to naught, and then when that relationship ended, my focus returned to its berth. I would also like to add that this post serves only as a formal induction into my hall of fame because the man in question has actually been an unofficial member longer than Sean Bean has held the throne. I bet you're wondering who he is, so let me tell you: his name is Jason Isaacs.

It's debatable which of his roles you might remember best, if you've seen any of his films. He was in Black Hawk Down and Windtalkers - but I didn't see those. I did see him as Captain Hook in Peter Pan, as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter, and the most memorable role by far is that of Colonel Tavington in The Patriot, pictured here. As you might have guessed, he is British, and he usually does play the bad guy. His role in The Patriot was brilliantly evil - he has a talent for playing the bad guy, just like Sean Bean. But when Jason Isaacs acts the bad guy, you feel no pity for him at all - you hate him, you despise him, and you want him to die, as his character usually does. That's talent. And yet, in real life, he's an incredibly likable guy. Search his name on youtube and you will find some really hilarious interviews of Jason Isaacs that really expose his intellect and fun-loving nature. I confess I've liked him since I saw The Patriot seven years ago, and I like him all the more now that I know he got into character by calling Mel Gibson "Melanie" on set. His commentary on playing Lucius Malfoy is hilarious! And to catch of glimpse of how well he plays a bad guy, watch this clip from The Patriot. Jason Isaacs can be seen most currently in the show The Brotherhood, with new episodes weekly. I don't know what it is about British Actors, or actors who always get stuck playing the bad guy, but those are the actors that I am most drawn to. Below are some pictures of Jason Isaacs in his various roles or on the red carpet. Yummy!

Comment est-it?

I've just been surfing the web, searching for new ways of procrastinating. I went to IMDb, a favorite haunt of mine, and looked up the film Atonement. Atonement stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. It's an independent drama, I believe. As I was looking through the pictures, I noticed something: Keira Knightley is breathtakingly beautiful in every single frame. Keira Knightley is one of my favorite actresses, along with Rachel Weisz, Juliet Binoche, Emma Thompson, Julia Ormond, Kate Winslet, and Anne Hathaway. One of the things all of these actresses have in common (aside from being truly phenomenal actresses) is that they are all wonderfully beautiful. As I was looking at more screen caps, I got to wondering: what is it like? What's it like to have every movement you make, every expression, every everything be beautiful? Not an earth-shattering question, I know, but still one that gave me pause.

And yet I still procrastinate. I have biochemistry to attend to. My class lacks two lectures, one from Wednesday when class was canceled and one from Friday when Dr. Sylvia simply told us stories. We should have covered one chapter in that time, and like most of my class (I presume), I have yet to do any real work or studying on that particular chapter. Of course, now, the entire chapter will be up to me to learn all on my own, as my class is now joining with the other section (the honors and majors section), and they've already covered it. But I still procrastinate. I will a while yet. I'm listening to Johnny Mathis sing Christmas music, wearing my new soft and fuzzy sweater, indulging in the heat that University Housing recently turned on, with one hand curled around a steaming cup of coffee, all serving to make me happy.

It's been some weekend. Starting on Friday, I burst into tears when Becca asked me how my day had been. Then I went with Rebecca to Food Lion so I could buy some champagne (the only alcohol I semi-like), only to have them refuse to sell alcohol to me as Rebecca was underage. I hate breaking rules, but what I hate even more is breaking a rule that is neither posted or widely-known. I left Food Lion feeling like a bad person, as if I had tried to purposely break the law (or some rule of Food Lion's that I've never heard about before). I'm not a rule-breaker; give me a box and I'll make my home in it happily. Anyway, we went to Harris Teeter, where the wine, beer, and champagne selection is the largest I've ever seen, and the cashier wished me a happy belated birthday, and then proceeded to inform me that when she turned of age, she was going to be drinking the only alcohol she liked, vodka, from morning until night. I wished her luck with that, and left with my precious cargo, of which I have yet to finish. Then, at about 3:30 am Saturday morning, the fire alarm goes off. Rebecca and I trudge off outside, downstairs, by the dumpsters. This is the second time in a month the fire alarm has been pulled in the middle of the night. It was cold, and blurry, as I was wearing a tank-top and shorts and no glasses. Some guy offered me a tootsie roll; nice guy. The alarm blared for fifteen minutes, then we were allowed to go back inside - which is when I discovered that I'd only been asleep for half an hour before the alarm went off. Funny. On Saturday, Rebecca and I ate lunch at the Cheesecake factory, then went to Old Navy, where I bought some clothes, including the fuzzy sweater I now wear. Then we waited in heavy traffic for two hours just so we could pick up Rebecca's friend from the State Fair. That was a fiasco I do not wish to repeat. Today, I slept late (very late), then set about procrastinating.

Here's a bit of sunshine: I'm a mommy. My seedlings have sprouted. I planted them shortly after my birthday, and up they've shot. One row is spearmint and the other is peppermint. Don't ask me which is which because I can't remember.

A First for Everything

And today was no exception. Today was the first day I've ever cried in class. My Biochemistry professor announced this morning that she was officially on leave from the university, and in two hours, she would be leaving the University for an indefinite time. There was nothing she could do about it; she wasn't even supposed to be here this morning, but she'd moved mountains just so she could tell us this in person. Dr. Sylvia felt she owed us that much respect. She said her hands were tied and she couldn't tell us the why, only the what. She said it was her decision to take her leave of the University, and it was for medical reasons. She'd give anything to change the facts, she'd move heaven and earth if it would do any good, but it wouldn't. As she is a medical doctor - a neurosurgeon at that - she should know. And that adds a note of terrible finality to her leaving us - I think she dying. People, myself included, started tearing up and telling her that we'd miss her and asking if there was anything we could do for her. And then she consoled us! We didn't even have a lecture today - she simply told us stories - from visiting Berlin back when it was still divided to the trials and tales of her communist friends. She tried to make us laugh with every story, and she never once lost her composure. That speaks of tremendous personal strength, to me. Dr. Sylvia is probably the best professor I've ever had - out of all the professors I've ever had, she's made the biggest impression on me, and I've only had her for two months! I am truly going to miss her.

The Return of The Native

I’m back! I feel so alive! So rejuvenated! I’ve rekindled the passion I have for reading. I used to read all the time – I read almost every spare moment I had in high school. Then I came to college, and that went out the window, replaced by homework, studying, and surfing the internet. I had very little time to read the large novels that had been my primary fodder, and my shortened attention span wouldn’t allow me to read anything of passing interest. Thus, lacking time and deserving books, I let my personal reading fall by the wayside. Don’t get me wrong – I still read. I reread some of the greatest books I know of: all the Harry Potters, The Sevenwaters Trilogy, The Mists of Avalon, Shakespeare’s Comedies, Jane Eyre, Jane Austen’s novels and short stories, The Outlander Series, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I even read some new stories – or tried – Villette, The Once and Future King, and others – I tried to read them, and someday I’ll finish them. But it had been so long since I’d come across a book I just couldn’t put down. Then came my birthday, and I received two new books: The Inheritance, by Louisa May Alcott, and The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier. It was as if something just fell into place – I read the inheritance that very night and finished it. Then I began The Dark Mirror, and that too I couldn’t put down. Then I began reading Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, and I was amazed at how much I loved that book – that too, I couldn’t put down. Then I bought Foxmask, another Juliet Marillier book, and it was torture to put that book down. Monday night, I was almost two-thirds done with it, but I could not for the life of me put it down – I read until three that morning just to finish it. That’s almost two thousand pages that I’ve read since my birthday three weeks ago, and it feels wonderful! I didn’t so much read them as devour them, and I’m eager for more. That thirst, that passion that I had for reading is once again ablaze. And after finishing Foxmask, I felt so alive. The thing is, when I read like that, I am entranced and lost within the creative minds of great authors, such that when I emerge, my creative juices are positively raging to get out. I have to write, I have to draw, I have to sing – anything to release the storm within! And once I calm that tempest, I hope I’ll have another series of books to read to build it back up again! Go read something! I've made a new feature - My Favorite Books for each month - check them out!

Full Circle

I had a revelation today. Not a great one; nothing momentous, least ways not to anyone but me. In French class, we were reviewing how to form a question. There are two forms a question can take. The first is a question word (such as Quand, Que, Qui, Où, and so on), followed by "est-ce que" followed by the subject, and then the verb. For example: Qui est-ce que vous êtes? Who are you? (Literally: who is it that you are?) The other form of asking questions is much simpler: question word, verb, hyphen, subject. The first question would become: Qui êtes-vous? Who are you? The inverted order of verb followed by subject is indicative of a question in Spanish, English, and French. As I wrote out several questions for my notes, I remembered that I had encountered this form of questioning, verb-subject, in French, many years ago. In elementary school, before I had any real concept of the English language, I had already learned some of the French. I'm sure you did too. Maybe this will jog your memory:

Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?

Dormez-vous? Dormez, the formal second-person conjugation of the verb dormer, to sleep, and vous, the formal-second person pronoun: you. Dormez-vous: Are you sleeping? I had known what it meant over ten years ago when I learned the song, but today I realized that I could dissect it grammatically and really understand it. I have never studied French formally, between the time I learned that song and the time I began this semester. I have dallied in French to be sure, watched French films, read a book written completely in French, even created a blog and gave it a French title, but ever since it was introduced into the pattern by a simple song, that particular strand has been an aimless, meandering thread, cast aside to watch while other, perhaps more important threads continued my life's story. But now, that single strand has finally been re-woven into the pattern of my life. I don't know how to describe it: the connection is so amazing to me. It represents a circle of knowledge, how something I learned ten, eleven, twelve years ago finally makes sense. The circle is complete, yet not finished, for a circle has neither end nor beginning. And now I'm getting philosophical. I have known that everything I learn builds on something I learned before, but never has it stood out so boldly as it did today.

My professor (of French) asked me to stay behind and speak with her after class today. I didn't know why, but I hoped she didn't think my good performance in her class owed any aide whatsoever to cheating. She didn't. What she did say was that I was doing excellently in her class and had I been a bit younger, she would have had me be a French major. She really seemed put-out that I was graduating in May and wouldn't be able to major in French, because she said her department needed students like me. That really made my day. Really really. It's not the first time that I've been told this - I was actually pulled out of class by my tenth-grade Spanish teacher so he could tell me that I could go very very far in Spanish, and that I should major in it in college, speak it, even teach it if I wanted. That too made my day. The funny thing: I've never ever been challenged by either Spanish or French. I hope that doesn't make me seem proud and haughty; language seems to come easily to me, and I've never had the need to apply much effort to any foreign language class to succeed. I wonder what would happen if I did.

Fall Break is Here!

And so is the end of my second biochemistry exam. Yay! I've been studying non-stop for this exam, so hopefully I did well. Now I'm torn between getting my biochem homework for monday done or piling all my biochem stuff under the bed and pretending it doesn't exist. I think I'll go for the latter. But, the room's a mess, and I need to pack my stuff up. I have to pile up my dirty laundry because I studied so hard this weekend that I didn't do any laundry. I have to do some dishes because I haven't taken the time to do dishes. I have to bring home a lot of homework because I've been to busy to do it. And I'm bringing home my bottles of Jim Beam and Gordon's Vodka because I don't want them anymore. Dad will like Jim Beam and Mom will like the Vodka. I'm going to stay away from hard liquor for a while; I did get drunk over the weekend to the extent that I couldn't walk straight and I fell asleep a second after my head hit the pillow - that was both fun and funny. But I don't really like hard liquor. Anyway, then I have to pack the presents I bought for Becca and for Mom's birthday's, as we are celebrating them over the break. Then I have to go get money because I need to buy gas and I want to stop at the package store on the way home because I want to get Mom some apricot liqueur or something else interesting. And then I have to take out the trash and recycling because Becca either does not know how or she simply refuses to do it. I don't know. Then I'm going to clean my side of the room because it needs it badly. Then I'm going to eat lunch and wait for Becca to get out of class so we can leave. Yikes, that's a lot.

Mr. Brooks

"Consider Mr. Brooks: a successful businessman; a generous philanthropist; a loving father and devoted husband. Seemingly, he's perfect. But Mr. Brooks has a secret--he is an insatiable serial killer, so lethally clever that no one has ever suspected him--until now." - Synopsis from Yahoo! Movies

I went to see this movie last Friday night, and I expected something simple - a simple crime drama, in which we see the good but unorthodox cop take down the seemingly wonderful man with a murderous secret. Boy was I wrong. I don't even know where to begin when I describe how wrong I was. First of all, it was funny. I did not expect funny. Dane Cook is one of the main characters, so I guess I should have expected that. But, I thought the film would be a serious drama, a personal conflict and a thrilling hunt for a psychopathic killer. Not so. So not so. Second, I thought Mr. Brooks (Kevin Costner) was going to give another lackluster performance, but I have to say that he really pulled the role off well - very well. Third, I thought it would have a cut-and-dry ending, no questions, no possibility of a sequel. Wrong again. It's actually been proposed as the first part of a trilogy. I guess you can infer that I really liked the movie. I really liked it. When it comes out, go and see it.

Friend bearing friends

Today, Kim, Darren, and Susan drove up from Charleston to fly out of Raleigh's Airport. They came and visited Rebecca and me, and they came bearing gifts: two new phones. Two new, very sleek, very shiny, new razors. Oh, yeah! And, Kim came bearing a very good friend of ours: Jack Daniels. She had two 50mL bottles of Jack and one 50mL bottle of vodka. We both took a simultaneous shot of Jack - pretty dang good! That was my first official shot, and I look forward to many many more. I'm supposed to be going down to Charleston some time soon to get really really drunk - and I am very much looking forward to it! But now I have a Shakespeare midterm tomorrow that I have to study for now. Jack will just have to wait.

Farewell, Friend!

Today, my faithful Verizon phone, once the main star of the Orlando Bloom film Elizabethtown, has been displaced. Deactivated. Replaced. Tomorrow, I'll receive my new phone, courtesy of Darren and Kim, and while I look forward to that, I will miss my current phone. So, to my old phone I say: vaya con díos amigo, vaya con díos.