You guys! Look at how good I’m doing, already writing a new post! Only two weeks later (much better than my previous record). Thank you so much for all of your encouragement on my goal :]
I feel like I’ve been a little strapped for time lately and I don’t understand why. Here’s a helpful comparison list:
Things I Had Time For In College:
-Being a student (going to class and workshops, reading, studying for exams, writing my thesis)
-School activities and clubs (Nameless/Produce/MEAT etc.)
-Hanging out with friends almost every weeknight/weekend (watching movies, making dinners, planning and attending elaborate theme parties including two murder mystery parties for more than 15 people which Andrew, Chris and I WROTE OURSELVES)
-Writing an entire novel/blogging at least twice weekly
-Ballet
-Getting enough sleep (usually)
-Creating baked goods
-Making friends
-Stalking many fashion blogs/fixing my hair/not wearing a sweater, boots, and jeggings every day
-Reading for fun
-Watching a million hours of various Korean dramas
Things I Have Time For Now:
-Having a job
-Going to my job each weekday
I am a little confused about what has happened here? I know that after school I was pretty burnt out. But I always felt like I was the kind of person who thrived in a busy environment and felt best with a lot of different things to fit into my schedule. Ever since I’ve started being a working person I feel like more and more of these things I used to enjoy have fallen by the wayside and I’ve just been in too much of a state of inertia to get going again. Right now I feel like I could be doing a lot more with myself and I really need to kick it into gear.
I am feeling happy that I’m at least making baby steps to return to my blog (and it’s good to make goals on here because I am accountable to you guys haha). I also want to find more after work activities I can do. Last week I got a new library card so I can start listening to audio books while I am traveling! I also just ordered some books today so that I can start studying for grad school tests again. And I went to the gym at work last week to try it out and took a pretty good class, but another goal I will make is that I really want to find a dance class that I like (because that is the best and most fun way to exercise!).
I also have to try to make more time for myself, because it feels really good. This weekend I cleared almost everything from my schedule and Tom and I spent most of it together doing relaxing and fun things (going to brunch, walking around the MOMA, watching things we’d been meaning to on Netflix, and having afternoon tea at Crown and Crumpet (the loveliest!)). Then today I spent a peaceful afternoon listening to rain falling on the roof of my cozy apartment, and just catching up on all the things I have to do for next week.
Anyway, it’s also been a while since I talked about a book I read, so here is a little book review:
Right now I just finished reading a Jodi Picoult book. Why, you will ask. The answer is, because it was physically put into my hands while I was bored and not really doing anything else, and then I had to finish it because I find not finishing books unbearable. This is also why I read The Help by Katherine Stockett (well, it mostly is why I read The Help) (also I read The Help so that I could imagine Emma Stone flouncing around in flowery dresses and pretending to have a southern accent in her oh so sultry and beautiful voice) (but seriously, I hated The Help).
To be fair I’m not super familiar with Jodi Picoult’s work, and I have never sampled of her seventeen available novels, because I have not really had any desire to. The Jodi Picoult book I read is called House Rules. It is about a boy with Asperger’s syndrome who has a fixation on forensic science. The “hook” is: is his fixation (which creeps other people out) enough reason to believe he is capable of a murder in the small town where he lives, or are people just being insensitive jerks who don’t understand his disease? The story is told from six different perspectives (the voices are very similar, but at least they are differentiated by their fonts?). One of the opening scenes I quite enjoyed because it struck me as emo to the point of hilarity: the brother of the boy with Asperger’s (his name is Theo) is feeling neglected so he skateboards over to a house that he often visits (he often visits the house to peek in through the windows at the happy family who lives there). The family isn’t home so Theo breaks into the house to make himself an emo ham and cheese sandwich, and fondle the family’s stuff, and fantasize about having a more normal life. Then when the family comes back from their little boy’s hockey practice Theo stands outside the window and watches them have a family dinner and weeps inside. BECAUSE TEEN BOYS DO THAT. This later becomes a plot point.
Anyway, I stuck with the book through the end. I spent most of my reading time feeling very concerned that I had solved the mystery in chapter three or four (the worst feeling!!!) (I did) (but not because I am brilliant at deductive reasoning or anything , more because I have read a lot of books as you know and it is hard to surprise me) (I would love to be surprised though and also I would like to have superior deductive reasoning skills).
Overall I didn’t think that it was particularly interesting, but then, who am I? Just some idiot who hasn’t written seventeen novels. I am sure that takes a lot of work. I could also see the merits and why Jodi Picoult can sell a lot of books, because it was an interesting idea and the story was quite well paced (the hallmarks of good commercial fiction).
That is my review! I am a bit rusty, but hopefully we will get back into my Ivanhoe level of literary analysis (ahaha).
Until then!! <3
