back to the books

Welcome back to school. Yipee. And I realize it doesn’t exactly come through in the typed format, but my tone was intended to be a bit sarcastic there. Laura and I were just commenting that this time last year we were packing for Europe, so forgive me if I’m not bouncing off the walls with excitement at the prospect of three more months of winter and school. =)

Last week I was complaining to Zach about how unprepared I felt for this semester and how much I was dreading it. He simply said, "I wouldn't worry too much about it. When you go and get your books you'll be all excited again."

And sure enough, he was right. As much as I hated standing in line at the bookstore for an hour yesterday to drop $180 on new textbooks, I couldn't help myself--I got a little chill of excitement about what I would be learning this semester. That cranky, pessimistic side of me couldn't quite shut up the ridiculous nerd in me.

School brings out the best and worst in me. One moment I'll be practically singing about how much I love analyzing short stories, and the next I'll be vehemently ranting about the stupid inconsistency of my Philosophy professor. I can spend the morning filled with enthusiasm and passion for life, and by mid-afternoon be going out of my way to criticise everything in my path while suffering from a caffeine induced headache. As my sleep decreases, my range of emotions increases--a very unforunate fact for those that have to suffer through my company throughout the week.

So for those of you who have the lovely pleasure of hearing me occasionally vent through my frustrations or gush with excitement (because I believe both are equally painful), I apologize. You are saints. Absolute stars.

Mmm books

Awhile back I posted the following reading list for this year...

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

Wow, I must have been CRAZY. How I'm supposed to finish all those books in a year is beyond me. I mean sure, if this was my gradeschool self when all I made time for was reading, I could do it. But really? Now? Anyways, the point of this is not to wallow in self-pity about my schedule, but to just sort of update that list now that the year is half way over.

I can actually check a few items off that list...

Books I have read in 2008 as of July 22:

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - This book is fascinating. I recommend it to anyone who thinks they would enjoy living in the brain of a woman while she goes crazy.
• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - Saw the movie, loved the movie, then found the book--loved it. This book, more than just about any other, makes me want to be a writer. It's one of those books you read and wish you had written it. 
• Atonement by Ian McEwan -  Saw the movie in the middle of reading this book. This author can spend 3 pages describing a single thought or sigh. Beautifully devastating.
• The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks - bought this for 1 euro in a bookstore in Germany
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - yeah, yeah, I know... someone in England told me to read this and I bought into all the hype and gave it a chance, heh
  
• Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley - reread this... childhood favorite. I love Robin Hood.
  

Right now I'm slowly but surely hacking my way through As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Ugh. But it's a book I'll have to read anyways this coming fall for a class called Representations of the Dead, so I might as well get a head start. 

So, yeah, just felt like writing about books for some reason. If anybody's reading this at home and thinks to themself, 'Hey, I'm inspired, I should go read a book,' here is my suggestion:

THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy

I believe that they're actually making this into a movie in November, so this is the perfect time to pick up this incredible read. I can't describe it. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. Just give it a chance.

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. =)

future most vivid

First post, first post... there is so much pressure to dazzle and impress with this first post that I find myself quite intimidated. I'm not sure what subject would be worthy of the focus of this post.

Well, I guess I could explain the wacky title of this blog-- Future Most Vivid. Although it does have a poetic sound to it, its roots are much nerdier. For those of you not fortunate enough to be familiar with the ridiculous language that is Greek, future most vivid is a term I found in my trust little Greek grammar book (thank you Davis). I'm not sure what it means (I said I was familiar with Greek, not intimate), but I just thought it was a beautiful phrase that should be exposed to the world and not confined to a grammar book. So, there it is.

Well, that's enough procrastinating for one afternoon. Stay tuned, and God bless.