Graduation, Japanese Food, Rant

Hey....So, I know I haven't been writing real posts in a while.  So, I thought I'd pop back in to update everyone on how things are going.  First, 31 Days of Halloween is a bust.  I tried, but I've just got too much going on to keep up with a creative post every day.  So, um...I apologize in advance to anyone who was looking forward to that.  It's over for the year.

I've not been posting much because life has not been that exciting.  I mean, I'm enjoying it, but it's not really something you post on your blog about, you know what I mean?  But, I do have a few big things to announce.  In August, I got my MLIS, so I am officially a librarian (in educational status only).  In job title, I'm still doing the same thing I was doing before.  BUT...there have been some postings in my area, so I'm applying for jobs and will keep y'all posted if something comes up.  Right now, though, I've not heard anything.

In other news, there is a guy I'm somewhat interested in.  He comes to a lot of my library programming, so I see him at least once a month.  Sometimes more.  And he's super sweet, my  parents have met him and they like him (although I don't know if he knows those are my parents....).  Yeah, so I finally sent him a friend request on Facebook.  And we've talked a bit.  But, mostly, I'm the one initiating everything.  So, I can't really say that he's interested in me.  But, he's cute, sweet, a hard-worker, and he's Catholic.  So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Let's just hope that he also loves anime and we'll be good to go.

But, in all seriousness, I'm not really sure that he's interested.  Conversations fizzle out pretty fast, and he never starts them.  Doesn't sound too interested to me.  But, that's okay.  I'm not head-over-heels myself, either. 

Since I'm now out of school (and still single) I've been picking up new hobbies.  One of which is Asian cooking (mostly Japanese).  I can make onigiri (rice balls) easily enough, and have started rolling my own sushi using canned tuna.  But, my latest trip to the Asian market brought back a box of sweet rice flour and some Adzuki beans.  That's right--I'm making sweet red bean mochi!

Finally, I just want to have a little rant against one of my Facebook friends.  This is a girl I went to school with, but we don't really talk anymore.  I probably should just unfriend her, but for some reason, I've stayed in touch.  Anyways, long story short, her boyfriend broke up with her.  It happens.  It's hard.  I get it.  But, all of her posts lately have been about how terrible he is (because he broke up with her) and how hard her life is now (because he broke up with her), and how strong she clearly is (because she's taking this breakup so much in stride), and how she is SUCH a good person (because she would do ANYTHING for people, but they won't do anything for her).

Okay, so I'm going to break this down piece by piece here....

1.) Your boyfriend dumped you.  This happens to people all the time.  It's sad.  It's frustrating, and I'm sure you wish you were still with him.  But, how does that make him a bad person?  I know I wouldn't want to be with someone who didn't want to be with me.  Don't make him the bad guy for wanting something different in life.  It's not as though he cheated on you.

2.) You were dumped, but that's not the end of the world.  Your life does not suck.  You don't need to post about how you are so lonely and always drinking wine.  That doesn't sound healthy.  Go out with your friends.  Get a hobby.  Do SOMETHING instead of moping around like this, and looking for crumbs of affection from your Facebook fan-base.

3.) You're not being strong if you have to keep posting about how strong you are.  Strong people don't talk about how strong they are (at least not without prompting).  They just live their lives and show you they can handle themselves.

4.) She is NOT the kind of person who would do anything for people.  We used to be friends, and while she expected the world of me, she let me down time and time again, to the point where we stopped talking.  That's why I'm wondering why I'm still Facebook friends with her.

End rant.

I hope y'all are doing well.  I'll try to post more to keep you in the loop.  Goodnight, and sleep well! 

Graduation and Adulting

My graduation anniversary was a few days ago.  That means I graduated from college THREE YEARS ago.  I've been adulting for three years now, and I'm not sure how I'm doing it.  I sometimes wonder if someone is going to come up to me and whisper "I know you're not really an adult.  You don't work full time, you still watch cartoons, let's face it--the only difference between you now and you as a kid was that now you can afford to buy all that junk that you used to make your parents buy for you--and you have a car.  That's it."

I mean, I'm not worried, per se.  But, my brother is graduating tomorrow, and my own graduation is coming up at the end of the summer.  I'm starting to realize that soon I won't even have school to back me up.  I'll just be an adult (or someone cleverly masquerading as one).

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go build a blanket fort with the Snuggie my grandma gave me.

Nearing the End

Hey, guys!  I know it's been a while since I've posted, and this is just going to be a short one...but it looks like I'm almost done with grad school.  That's right.  Five more weeks of classes (including this one), an internship (culminating experience) that should end in June, and I graduate in August.  Then...well, who knows what comes next!  Probably get out of the house more, look for full-time work, finally have time for a boyfriend...Crazy.

Hope you guys are all doing well.

I'll try and post again soon.

~em

A New Job, Summer Reading, and a Great White Whale of a Book

May I just take a moment to talk about how THRILLED I am with my new job?  I absolutely love it!  The people are awesome, the work is fun, and the time simply flies by!  (Plus, I got my first paycheck today, and was rather pleased with what I saw).  And did I mention that I work in a library?  Yes?  No?  Well, I work in a library and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!

So, yeah.  Life after college isn't looking too bad.  True, I miss my college friends, but I am so happy with where I am right now...I feel as though God has some really good things in store for me, and I can't wait to see what He has planned.  Life.  Is.  Good :)

I'll be posting some more book reviews real soon.  Currently reading a few books at once, so hopefully one of these should finish up in the next couple of days.  Sarah and I are still reading Moby-Dick, which is surprisingly good, but very strange.  Also, I'm attempting to tackle my LXG Reading Challenge this summer, starting with King Solomon's Mines.  Moby-Dick, meanwhile, will count towards my Summer School summer reading theme.

Speaking of summer reading, did I mention that the summer reading program is starting up at my library in a few days?  I'm really excited.  You all should see if your local libraries are hosting summer reading programs.  They're a fun way to earn some cool prizes, and read a lot of good books :)

I'm a College Graduate...Who Let That Happen?

So, yesterday, I graduated from college.  Emmy Hart, BA in English.  I have no idea how that happened.  And I don't really think it's hit me yet.  I mean, I don't think it's going to really going to hit me until The Brother goes back to campus in August.  Then, when I'm sitting here, all by myself, or preparing to go to my JOB...then I'll start freaking out about how college is over and stuff.  Right now, I think I'm in denial.  But, the ceremony was nice (even though I got pretty sunburned).

So, that being said, this is officially SUMMER!  And summer means Summer Reading!  I know I posted about this on my blog about a week ago, and I got a few comments, both via the blogosphere and in person.  And although it was really close (literally 2 to 1), it looks like my theme this year is going to be "Summer School: Books I Didn't Read For Class, But Was Supposed To."  I'll be posting later tonight, seeing as I've almost finished my first book of the summer.

Just a quick rundown for Summer Reading this year....I'll be including a page, just like I always do for this season.  Summer starts today, and goes until my little brother returns to college (ie., sometime in August).  I'll be reviewing books here, and on Goodreads, so be sure to check out my reviews there, as well!  For the "Summer School" books, I'll make sure to include not only a review, but also the class the book was for, and the reason I didn't actually read it.  I hope this is a lot of fun :)

If you guys have any book suggestions, remember: I work in a library, so I'll be able to pick up your suggestions as soon as possible.  Just let me know!

Although, I'll be honest, I do have a few books already lined up in the que: Dresden Files 3: Grave Peril (Jim Butcher), Three Bags Full (Leonie Swann), and The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson).

Have a great summer, y'all!

(I still can't believe I've graduated......)

Graduation

I graduate in a couple of hours.

*Hides under the bed*

Tomorrow

I graduate tomorrow.

*Takes a deep breath*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Runs away in a panic*

Summer Reading Prep 2013

My graduation from college is less than a week away.  And I'm already thinking about my summer reading challenge for the year. (Are you surprised??  I'm an English major who is going to be working in a library!)  So, that being said, it's time to start thinking about what I want my summer reading theme to be.  And also, how to establish the boundaries of what summer is for me (since I won't be going back to school for a little while).

To start: summer boundaries.  For summer 2013, summer starts after I graduate and will end with my brother returning to college in the fall (which is basically where my summer would end if I was going back as well.)  I'm going to hopefully start a graduate program in the spring.  So, Summer 2014 will be bookended by my graduate classes.  For now, that's all the summer I'm going to try and figure out.

And right now, my biggest question is what my reading theme will be for the summer.  Here are a few of my ideas.  Please feel free to tell me what you think of these/add your own.  Since I've started this blog, I've had three summers worth of reading themes.  Just to refresh your memory, they were:

2010: Gothic Novels
2011: Scary Stories/Mythical Monsters
2012: A Summer in Middle Earth
2013: ????

And here are some possible themes for this summer:

Summer at Sea: Maritime novels and stories (ie. Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Typee)

Summer School: All those books I didn't read for class after all... (Lolita, The Sound and the Fury, Bleak House)

Summer of Psychos: Watching horror movies and reading the books which inspired them (The Exorcist, Psycho, The Shining)

A One-Author Summer: Choose to focus theme on the writings of just one person (John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Jeanette Winterson)

So!  Just let me know which of these themes you like (or if you have another awesome one, please suggest it!  When you give me a theme, try to include a few book titles as well, so I have an idea of what sort of reading this would be!  I'll be posting a poll in the sidebar, and will announce my theme a week from today!)

Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Final Finals

This week is my last official finals week as an undergrad.  And I'll be honest, I'm not sure if it just hasn't hit me yet, or perhaps I'm finally starting to become comfortable with the fact I'm graduating, but honestly, it doesn't look like things are going to be too bad.

 

I completed my Detective Fiction final this afternoon, after a coffee date with a friend.  I have a paper due on Wednesday and a collection of creative writing due on Friday.  Other than that, I have another coffee date tomorrow, dinner with a couple of my professors on Wednesday, and I'm helping out a friend with her acting final on Thursday.  Time has finally slowed down just enough, and I'm preparing for summer.  This is really the first time since the semester started that I'm actually looking forward to school being over, for real.  I mean, I wish it would last forever, but at the same time, I need a bit of a break.

 

What will my summer consist of?  Books, mostly.  I'll be working at the local library, and participating in two book discussion groups (on top of my own personal reading schedule).  I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to start with, but I know for sure that Sarah and I were planning on reading Moby Dick together.  I was supposed to read it for class last semester, so I'm looking forward to reading it for real this time around.

 

Going off book recommendations, I've started a few new series that I'm really looking forward to completing.  The first is The Dresden Files.  This is a series about a detective wizard named Harry Dresden, who solves supernatural crimes (like rogue wizards, vampires, werewolves, hell-spawn; you get the idea).  Anyways, I'm on book two, Fool Moon (book one was Storm Front).  As you can probably guess from the title, this is a werewolf book.  Personally, I preferred the first one, but I heard that the series gets better and better, so I'm looking forward to reading onward.

 

Also, I've been reading the Space Odyssey books.  (You know, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc.)  And those have been really interesting.  I just finished book two last week (2010: Odyssey Two).  I've been told that the other books aren't really worth reading (I'm guessing like the last two books of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series), but even so, I'd like to read them just to say I did.

 

After I finish Fool Moon, I'm going to attempt to wrestle Cloud Atlas into literary submission....before finals are over.  Or whenever the library closes.  We have a week of senior activities coming up.  I hope that they don't mind if I keep the book during that time....

 

In other news, I've been drinking WAY too much coffee, so I'm super-hyper and my metabolism is racing.  That means I'm jittery and hungry.  And I'm at work.  Not a good combination, people!

Reason #1 Why I Can't Wait Until Summer

Summer will mean I'll have time to read!  Even if I'm working, chances are pretty high that I'll have more free time than I do right now.  There are a few jobs I'm looking at, but the most hours I'd be getting (as of right now) is 20.  That only averages out to about 3 hours a day, leaving plenty of time to do with as a please.  And that's going to be nice, especially after having a schedule that doesn't end for the day just because my classes did.  I'm really looking forward to that part of work when you come home and you don't have to do homework afterwards.  And of course, it'll be nice to get paid in addition to all that.

According to my Goodreads account, I have a whopping 503 books on my to-read list, in addition to all the titles listed in my little reading list notebook.  In short, I have a lot cut out for me, and while I'm looking forward to it, at the same time, I'm a bit overwhelmed by just how much I have to tackle.  Still, it should be fun.

The biggest issue is just going to be figuring out which books to start with.  But, then again, that's always a fun problem, not something too terribly painful ^^