Greetings. I hail from my college dorm room. Where I am terrified. I wish I'd been able to post this yesterday or the day before, so that it could have the light-hearted tone I wanted it to. I was busy packing and trying to fix my very troublesome computer and saying goodbye to family. All preparation for today, my first day at college. Anyway, it will still be mostly light-hearted. Forward ho! I'm continuing my Summer To-Do Lists. Coming after the first, and the second, this is the third part. . . Is that obvious?
1. Finish Skulduggery reviews and ask Derek to read them
I surely did. Definitely one of the high points of my summer.
2. Find another fantastic series to read (it's excruciatingly hard to find fantastic fantasy books)
I half succeeded. I found The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, which isn't exactly a series, and I found the Theodosia series by R. L. LaFevers, which I don't precisely love, but it's enjoyable enough.
3. Read, read, read (Just relax and read. I haven't done so in many summers.)
Not so much. When I did read a lot, near the start of summer, I was also working on my tan so I wasn't really relaxing. And then I read less and less as the summer went on.
4. Write at least 13 short stories
Sigh. Sadly, no. But I started one I like.
5. Finish any other stories
Sigh.
6. Watch, watch, watch (I love movies. So many movies, so little time.)
I watched a reasonable number of movies. I think I watched all the new releases I wanted to see.
7. Blog, blog, blog (So many ideas, so little time!)
I'm pretty disappointed in how little I blogged.
8. The stuff I SHOULD do (reading physics, reviewing chemistry, preparing for college)
I'm not as disappointed in how little I did this, but I still didn't do it much.
9. Try to meditate (see, 'cause I'm not even sure what that entails)
I finally did the day before yesterday, using this article. It was fun.
10. Try to make habit of drinking hot beverages every morning (to avoid colds like I have now)
I made a habit of doing it sporadically. I really have to start working on it, though, if I want to stay healthy through the school year.
11. Do new stuff, it's fun (Doesn't have to be "exciting," as long as it's new.)
I think I did a good amount of this, and that's partly why I didn't do a lot of the other stuff. I think I really meant, "Do SPONTANEOUS stuff," stuff I never really thought about doing but did when it presented itself. I think I did well. I went on a couple trips with my mom to historic and/or scenic locations, went to several movies in theaters, got my first pedicure, stayed at a distant friend's house for two nights, walked around town by myself and got much better with the crossing of streets and such, got a comment from Derek, planted tomatoes, went wading when our roads flooded, went bowling, water-baloon fighting. looking at tiny baby frogs at the pond, and lots of other little activities where I just went with the flow.
I learned a good deal. I changed a good deal. Overall, this summer was a good deal. I'll have to post more about it later, but I'm tired now, and being tired isn't helping me feel better after five minutes of an overly depressing Personal Safety talk that was part of my first day. I'll have to post about that too. Geez, so much to post about, so little time, and seriously, so little time. I can't gaurantee how often I'll post once school starts on Monday, or even before then, but I hope to post enough to help me get through it all.
Showing posts with label summer to-do list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer to-do list. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Summer To-do and Summer Done
Continuing my Summer To-do List...
1. I published those Skulduggery reviews I promised, got a comment from Derek Landy himself (!!!!!), and got three new followers. Thanks, Kallista, Queen Nessie, and Legolas!
2. Find new series. I was literally about to give up on finding any books to love, when I found The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. It's not a series. Yet. I hope it turns into one though. I look for books that make me care. I care about characters, so I look for books with phenomenal characters, but it seems whenever reviews praise a book for its characters, it's a dull book with bland characters. However, Neil Gaiman praised this book for its "heart," and I think maybe that's what I'm looking for. J. J. Abrams also described heart, as when he sees a movie and FEELS something. (He was speaking of his movie Super 8, and it did have some heart, but to be honest, it wasn't that great). When I started Girl Who, I thought it would be a quirky story with creative puns, settings, and concepts. It is, and that's enjoyable enough, but it also encompasses several original yet universal insights into the human condition, and its heroine, September, is likewise original yet relatable. And that's what made me really care. Not the cities of cloth or elaborate fairy feasts or intriguing plot points, but September and her friends and enemies and the insights they provide. I've read books that made me care MORE, it's true. Nonetheless, I had to go through at least a dozen books (half way) to find one book that made me care. In other words, it's pretty worth the read.
3. Read, read, read. Like I said, I was discouraged by all the boring books out there. Maybe I'm just picky, but I tried many popular books and wasn't interested.
4. Write 13 short stories. No good. I didn't get a single one written yet. We'll see how this month goes.
5. Finish any other stories. No good. We'll see, once again, how this month goes.
6. Watch, watch, watch. Was doing okay with this. I loved The King's Speech. But now the Wii isn't working and I haven't been to the rental store in a couple weeks.
7. Blog, blog, blog. I could be doing perhaps slightly better, but it's hard to top my performance during the last few weeks. =) I have a post on God and religion coming up. Just as a warning.
8. Stuff I SHOULD do. I did a bit of that last night in fact, but I should be doing more.
9. Try to meditate. Not so far.
10. Drink hot beverages. Not so far.
11. Do new stuff. Um, yeah. I guess. I did try loitering, but as I'm not familiar with it, I was properly baffled by those obstacles called "streets" and the guides known as "Walk/Don't Walk." You can probably guess I don't spend a lot of time in town. I actually tried to get a tan this year. Most years, I don't worry about it, because it leads to wrinkles and I like my skin pale just as much as I like my skin tan. But this year, I had a book to read outside (Girl Who Circumnavigated) and I thought it might be fun to get that glow I see on kids who spend every moment outside. On them, a tan looks like adventure. Let's see if I can fake it. Not the tan. The adventure.
(By the way, I used to add a Fact of the Day to every post, but I think, from now on, I just do that now and again.)
1. I published those Skulduggery reviews I promised, got a comment from Derek Landy himself (!!!!!), and got three new followers. Thanks, Kallista, Queen Nessie, and Legolas!
2. Find new series. I was literally about to give up on finding any books to love, when I found The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. It's not a series. Yet. I hope it turns into one though. I look for books that make me care. I care about characters, so I look for books with phenomenal characters, but it seems whenever reviews praise a book for its characters, it's a dull book with bland characters. However, Neil Gaiman praised this book for its "heart," and I think maybe that's what I'm looking for. J. J. Abrams also described heart, as when he sees a movie and FEELS something. (He was speaking of his movie Super 8, and it did have some heart, but to be honest, it wasn't that great). When I started Girl Who, I thought it would be a quirky story with creative puns, settings, and concepts. It is, and that's enjoyable enough, but it also encompasses several original yet universal insights into the human condition, and its heroine, September, is likewise original yet relatable. And that's what made me really care. Not the cities of cloth or elaborate fairy feasts or intriguing plot points, but September and her friends and enemies and the insights they provide. I've read books that made me care MORE, it's true. Nonetheless, I had to go through at least a dozen books (half way) to find one book that made me care. In other words, it's pretty worth the read.
3. Read, read, read. Like I said, I was discouraged by all the boring books out there. Maybe I'm just picky, but I tried many popular books and wasn't interested.
4. Write 13 short stories. No good. I didn't get a single one written yet. We'll see how this month goes.
5. Finish any other stories. No good. We'll see, once again, how this month goes.
6. Watch, watch, watch. Was doing okay with this. I loved The King's Speech. But now the Wii isn't working and I haven't been to the rental store in a couple weeks.
7. Blog, blog, blog. I could be doing perhaps slightly better, but it's hard to top my performance during the last few weeks. =) I have a post on God and religion coming up. Just as a warning.
8. Stuff I SHOULD do. I did a bit of that last night in fact, but I should be doing more.
9. Try to meditate. Not so far.
10. Drink hot beverages. Not so far.
11. Do new stuff. Um, yeah. I guess. I did try loitering, but as I'm not familiar with it, I was properly baffled by those obstacles called "streets" and the guides known as "Walk/Don't Walk." You can probably guess I don't spend a lot of time in town. I actually tried to get a tan this year. Most years, I don't worry about it, because it leads to wrinkles and I like my skin pale just as much as I like my skin tan. But this year, I had a book to read outside (Girl Who Circumnavigated) and I thought it might be fun to get that glow I see on kids who spend every moment outside. On them, a tan looks like adventure. Let's see if I can fake it. Not the tan. The adventure.
(By the way, I used to add a Fact of the Day to every post, but I think, from now on, I just do that now and again.)
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Summer List
I haven't forgotten you! I've just been editing five posts all at once so that I may post them all at once. They're reviews of Skulduggery Pleasant, and I hope to get Derek Landy, the series' author, to read them. *Insert big hopeful smile here.* It might seem like a long-shot to get a famous author to read an obscure blog, but Derek is awesome about interacting with his fans and reading their work, so it's not inconceivable that he'd read this. (I hope I didn't just jinx it.) Even if he doesn't, I'll have five fresh posts for anyone interested in phenomenal books.
I really want to post a summer to-do list. Other people have posted them on their blogs, so I'll just, um, copy them?
1. Finish Skulduggery reviews and ask Derek to read them
2. Find another fantastic series to read (it's excruciatingly hard to find fantastic fantasy books)
3. Read, read, read (Just relax and read. I haven't done so in many summers.)
4. Write at least 13 short stories
5. Finish any other stories
6. Watch, watch, watch (I love movies. So many movies, so little time.)
7. Blog, blog, blog (So many ideas, so little time!)
8. The stuff I SHOULD do (reading physics, reviewing chemistry, preparing for college)
9. Try to meditate (see, 'cause I'm not even sure what that entails)
10. Try to make habit of drinking hot beverages every morning (to avoid colds like I have now)
11. Do new stuff, it's fun (Doesn't have to be "exciting," as long as it's new.)
I may add more later.
So far this summer, I've been productively lazy. I've already done something new by helping out at a local school to sort of herd children around in their summer camps. I got paid too! I won't stop there, though. I'm wondering about loitering. You know, hanging around town, going wherever I feel like going however slowly I feel like going. That sounds like enormous fun. And yes, I have a cold. Sniffle. It helps me drink hot beverages, though. I think I MAY have meditated, but as I said, I'm not sure what that means. Too lazy to Google it. Haven't done much I SHOULD. Haven't blogged much. Seen and enjoyed quite a few movies (first to mind are Inception and Toy Story 3, which were both okay). Haven't finished any stories. Started a couple short stories. Read several books (most only halfway through). No luck yet. Sometimes I wonder about my goal to find a new obsess-able series (or two or three). It distracts me from serious work. But I just need something to really care about, you know? "We act as if comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." -- Charles Kingsly (Of course, I'm also enthusiastic about comfort and luxury...)
Now and then, hopefully once a week, I'll update you on how I'm doing on this list. I'll definitely update you at the end of the summer.
Look out for the reviews. I'm close.
I really want to post a summer to-do list. Other people have posted them on their blogs, so I'll just, um, copy them?
1. Finish Skulduggery reviews and ask Derek to read them
2. Find another fantastic series to read (it's excruciatingly hard to find fantastic fantasy books)
3. Read, read, read (Just relax and read. I haven't done so in many summers.)
4. Write at least 13 short stories
5. Finish any other stories
6. Watch, watch, watch (I love movies. So many movies, so little time.)
7. Blog, blog, blog (So many ideas, so little time!)
8. The stuff I SHOULD do (reading physics, reviewing chemistry, preparing for college)
9. Try to meditate (see, 'cause I'm not even sure what that entails)
10. Try to make habit of drinking hot beverages every morning (to avoid colds like I have now)
11. Do new stuff, it's fun (Doesn't have to be "exciting," as long as it's new.)
I may add more later.
So far this summer, I've been productively lazy. I've already done something new by helping out at a local school to sort of herd children around in their summer camps. I got paid too! I won't stop there, though. I'm wondering about loitering. You know, hanging around town, going wherever I feel like going however slowly I feel like going. That sounds like enormous fun. And yes, I have a cold. Sniffle. It helps me drink hot beverages, though. I think I MAY have meditated, but as I said, I'm not sure what that means. Too lazy to Google it. Haven't done much I SHOULD. Haven't blogged much. Seen and enjoyed quite a few movies (first to mind are Inception and Toy Story 3, which were both okay). Haven't finished any stories. Started a couple short stories. Read several books (most only halfway through). No luck yet. Sometimes I wonder about my goal to find a new obsess-able series (or two or three). It distracts me from serious work. But I just need something to really care about, you know? "We act as if comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." -- Charles Kingsly (Of course, I'm also enthusiastic about comfort and luxury...)
Now and then, hopefully once a week, I'll update you on how I'm doing on this list. I'll definitely update you at the end of the summer.
Look out for the reviews. I'm close.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)