last minute cramming

Update: I leave tomorrow. TOMORROW. Oh my.

In light of my quickly approaching departure from American culture, I've been doing a little cramming lately. Tonight we had a full Thanksgiving spread for supper, I had a burrito for lunch, and I'm up late watching X-Files ("Paper Hearts" episode). I love this show. A zillion thanks to Phil for introducing me to Mulder and Scully.

And on another note, this may be the last time I type from American soil for awhile. I'll pick up again sometime next week, and will definitely be typing in a British accent. Until then, cheers.

Also, here's the address for my travel blog, incase anyone missed it:
http://acrossthepond-dr.blogspot.com/

on a rainy monday

It's finally starting to sink in that I'm leaving for England this Friday... and that I'm not coming back until June. Crazy. It's been planned for so long that I've accepted it without really giving it too much thought. But now that suddenly I have just a few days left sleeping in my bed, in this house, in this country, it's all sinking it. Yikes!
I will miss my sister's graduation, my friend's wedding, an entire rugby season, and so many other things. I think that is what's getting to me and making me feel a little panicked--I'm cool with leaving so soon, I just keep forgetting how long I'll actually be there. I'm not too worried about getting homesick though... but I will miss my cat.

Tonight I went out to eat with my ILHS classmates as a sort of goodbye thing. My lovely friends Dani and Amanda bought me an umbrella (perfect for England!), a photo album, and a box of "international" chocolates. Oh, and today was also significant because I finally bought my backpack for Europe--one of those big backpacking backpacks that makes me want to go climb a mountain or something outdoorsy. I can't wait to start packing.

Side note... today it rained. I love the rain, especially after so much snow. Rain makes the whole world so much more enchanting, especially the misty rain that's settling in on Eau Claire right now. Oh beautiful. Thanks God.

Friday 5: Movie characters... who would I be?

So, in order to satisfy my compulsive desire for making lists, I've decided to create a regular outlet--the Friday Five. Oh so clever. So basically, a new top five list every week. Yes, this is quite indulgent, but I'm pretty excited about this. And, to start things off, this week shall be...

If I could be any movie character, who would I be?

Now, this was much more difficult than I anticipated... mostly because every time I think of a ridiculously cool character (Wolverine, Jason Bourne, Bruce Wayne, any of the Spartans from 300, etc...) I realize that they are not actually very happy people. Or they die. Who would actually want to be Batman? So depressing. So, anyways, here you go.

5. Juno (Juno) - She's sarcastic, witty and clever, plays guitar and dates Paulie Bleeker. And she has a hamburger phone.
4. Marty McFly (Back to the Future) - He travels through time, rocks out to Johnny B Goode on stage, and saves the day.
3. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) - She's clever, ahead of her time, makes fun of people, and marries Mr. Darcy.
2. *TIE* Eowyn (Lord of the Rings) or Mulan (Mulan) - This is a tie since both of these are really similar. They both disguise themselves as men, go to war, bring down the biggest bad guy (the Witch King and the chief Hun) and go home to marry the love of their life and be awesome for the rest of their lives. Just fantastic.
1. Robin Hood (all versions of Robin Hood movies) - Need I explain? He's an outlaw, a leader, the best archer, a savior, and he constantly outsmarts his enemy and gets to camp out in the woods with his best friends and the love of his life. And, when he dies, he becomes a legend. Pretty sweet.

Honorable mentions: Cosmo Brown (Singing in the Rain), Dana Scully (X-Files), Princess Leia (Star Wars), Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Tyler Durden (Fight Club), Maximus (Gladiator)

So, if anyone reads this and feels inspired, comment with your list. =)

reading list for 2008

I'm feeling very inspired at 4 am, so here's an ambitious reading list for 2008 (ambitious considering I sadly haven't read all that much since high school)... Suggestions welcome!

Reading List for 2008

To Reread
Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Watership Down by Richard Adams
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Finish
Fade by Robert Cormier
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

To Read
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

just gushing

I finally got the chance to see my two most anticipated movies of 2007, Juno and Atonement. And, amazingly, they both pretty much stood up to my expectations. I had two incredibly different experiences with them, though...

Juno, after a rough start, completely won my heart and by the end I just wanted to give the entire movie a hug. I saw it with three girlfriends and we left the packed theatre with whimsical grins and immediately began gushing about the movie. We quoted the moments that made us laugh or made us cry (sometimes both) as we wandered through the slushy parking lot, throwing jelly beans at each others' mouths.

Friend 1: "Oh, I can't wait to be pregnant. Obviously not now, but someday."

Friend 2: "I know, I am so excited about being pregnant someday.

Friend 3: "That movie made me want to be a mom."

Me (unspoken thoughts): "That movie made me want to make a movie. The pregnant thing didn't really cross my mind."

Either way, Juno was just so much fun. It was quirky and clever and emotional all at once. None of the characters fit a stereotype (except perhaps Rainn Wilson in the first 5 minutes) and the movie kept constantly surprising me. Just overall lovely. Go see it!

And then, Atonement. Atonement finally came to Eau Claire yesterday. I did not know what to expect, other than the trailer and the short portion of the beginning of the book (brilliant so far) that I have read. I went at 1:30, and because most everyone was busy or at work, I decided to go alone. I'd never gone to a movie alone before, but I loved it. And it was one of the best movie going experiences I'd ever had. The threatre was relatively empty (perhaps a scattered dozen others) and so the audience was respectfully silent. The movie progressed slowly, taking its time. At times it felt like it was building toward a beautiful epic moment, a climax of some sort, but then it would change unexpectedly and surprise me until I really had no idea how it would end. And let me tell you... I was decently moved by this movie throughout, but it wasn't until the last ten minutes that the emotional core of the movie is exposed and then I just cried. This movie is devastating yet beautiful. Just beautiful. Powerful.

The credits rolled on and the theatre emptied, leaving me alone to digest everything with the gorgeous soundtrack accompanying. Such a perfect moment... I was able to watch the entire credits with no one to distract me or bug me to leave. When they were done, I simply wandered out, walked silently to my car, turned the music off in my car and drove silently away. Thoughtful silence. I went home and downloaded the soundtrack on itunes right away (amazing), then just sat back and listened, still going through the movie in my mind.

And that is the story of two of my favorite movies of the year. Two totally different experiences, but both memorable in their own way. I love movies (just thought I'd throw that in case anybody missed that).

And the moral of the story is, go see Juno and Atonement. Also, as much as possible, go into Atonement knowing NOTHING (or as close to nothing as possible).

mossy thicket

I love the smell of fresh paint. Call me crazy, but I just love freshly painted rooms. Glorious smell. So anyways, this reflection is not completely random--I am currently repainting my room. I found a shade of green (with the beautiful name of "mossy thicket") and have painted 1 and 1/4 of my walls with it.Also, I should explain the murals (you can only see one of them there)... After I graduated 8th grade my family moved from California to Wisconsin. About a week before my first week of high school, I had the impulse to paint on my walls. So I got a ride down to Sherwin Williams, picked out two shades of gray and one shade of green, and went to town. The paintings you see are (prepare yourself for the true extent of my nerdy love for Lord of the Rings) the Argonath from FOTR (you can see them in the movies... those giant statues on either side of the river toward the end of the movie). Well, I decided to touch them up a bit with deeper values and all that good stuff. It's been fun. But my room is such a mess right now that I've been sleeping on the couch for the past week (my bed is covered in layers of stuff). Maybe I'll do a before and after picture, While You Were Out style, when I'm all done. =)

oh, snow... and 2008

This winter, I grew quite fond of snow. I'm not sure what brought about this change, but I'm glad. Life is better when you're not mad at the weather every day. It's not that I had a problem with snow itself--just what it meant. Snow means COLD weather; it means I'm in Wisconsin, and not California for winter; it means no rain for months; it means a weary and crusty white substance that overstays its welcome. This winter, however, is possibly the first time I haven't missed rain. I've been truly excited about the entire winter season. And I love this new excitement.

Emily (pictures above and below) and I went out the other morning to snap some potential senior pictures (her senior pictures, NOT mine) in a beautiful snow fall. I am so thrilled about how they turned out.

It was snowing for perhaps the fourth day in a row and was just absolutely enchanting outside. I really do love it when it's snowing.

And now for my New Year's resolutions. I usually forget about these within a week and have fun looking back on them and laughing at myself at the next new year ("I said I would do what?"). But either way, they're too fun to resist. So, here are my goals for 2008 for anyone to see (and to hold me accountable too):

1. Run a marathon. I'm trying to get into the NY marathon this fall with Jenny and Sara (Mountain View Sara). I'm terrified, but super pumped.

2. READ MORE. When I'm reading, I feel like the truest version of myself (if that makes sense). I need to set aside more time for just reading and writing and all those beautiful things.

3. Attack my scrapbooking box. For the past 8 years or so, I have collected photos, cute little scrapbooking things, ticket stubs, napkins, stickers, albums, postcards, blah blah blah, and they have accumulated into what is now a closet drawer, a giant under-the-bed storage thing, and another large closet storage container. And how many pages have I ever actually created? 2!Pathetic! I don't expect to be a master scrapbooker (in fact, I hope to never become a super scrapbooky person... it's just not me) but I need to at least sort through all that STUFF this year.

4. Cut back on my "addictions" ... caffeine, gum, and chocolate. I used to never drink soda (diet or regular) or coffee. Never. Not until the very end of high school when I discovered my secret soda passion--Vault Zero. Ugh! Now I am a caffeine addict who uses black tea and diet soda (and the occasional morning Vanilla Caramel creamer with coffee) to cure my headaches and chews 30-50 pieces of gum a week (and yes, I have counted).

[Hmm... running out of ideas, but 4 is not enough... I need 6... hmmm....ooh! I know!]

5. Wear my retainer! Sorry if this borders on gross, but I seriously need to start wearing my retainer again. I had any combination of braces/expander/head gear/temporary retainers/spacers/rubber bands for about 6 years of my life, and I do not want to go through that again. Sadly, once high school hit I got super lazy and only wear it about 3 times a year (when I feel really guilty all of a sudden and remember). So yeah, no excuses anymore!

6. And, this one should be automatic, but I need to spend more time with God. More prayer, more reading the Bible, more standing up for Him. And God, I really need your help with this (and with all of these actually).

Well, that's all for now. I know there's a million zillion things I need help with, but this is a good start. And, let me just add, I am SO excited for this year. 2008 (yay, an even numbered year!) will be SWEET: Winchester and Europe, Olympics, Shannon and Aaron's wedding, and all the other amazing things I don't know about yet that God's planning. Can't wait!