Rereading The Fault in Our Stars

So we're going to have a little bit of blog whiplash today because, after spending two days talking about Pretty Little Liars, now I'm going to talk about the Fault in Our Stars...

I recently reread the novel, written by John Green. I loved it the first time around (you can see my review here) and thought it was just as good the second time around. In fact, I think I might have gotten more from the book the second time around, and I had a few new insights into the book, which I will share with you now...

(Warning: This post will probably not make much sense if you haven't read the book, and may contain some spoilers.)

First of all, I listened to the book on audio the first time around, whereas this time I read my print copy (which I won from the generous FootyNutGuy on YouTube. Thanks!). I enjoyed both listening and reading to the story, but they're definitely different experiences. In reading, I could reread things and underline them, whereas in audio I usually just let the tape keep going, even if I didn't quite get something. Also, I loved that I could underline in the book, and I did so frequently.

So I had this one insight while rereading that I'm really excited about, which is this: You know how Gus  plays that video game with Max Mayhem? And how Mayhem always lives through his adventures, no matter what. I read a line in the book where Hazel says, "Spoiler Alert: Mayhem survives." And suddenly it dawned on me...Mayhem survives. I think this character can be read not just as a statement on heroism, but as statement on the chaotic nature of our world. Mayhem survives. Everything else dies or falls away, but chaos continues on. I don't think it's a coincidence, therefore, that his name is Mayhem. And either way, as John Green says, books belong to their readers (although personally I think that's up for debate..but that is another blog post for another time!).

For those of you who have read the book, I was wondering what you made of the phrase "Literature buries but it does not resurrect?" What does that mean to you? I understood a lot of the ideas in the book, but that one I just can't seem to make sense of, and it's stuck with me since I read it. I mean, I feel like I have a sort-of idea of what it means...but I can't really verbalize it.

Okay, so let's break this down. Literature doesn't resurrect. That seems pretty clear. Literature can't bring people back from the dead. Very true. Although I would argue that it can make their memory last longer, so that even people who never met them know about them, but then again...that still doesn't make them alive. Hmm...that definitely challenges the whole idea of being "immortalized in literature." As for literature burying people...I just don't know what to make of that. Does that only mean people who are dead already, or those who are alive, too? I guess you could say that literature "buries" alive people in that, it captures that in that one moment of time, and maybe only captures one aspect of their personality. But is that the same thing as burying them? Burying, to me, means to further obscure something, to put it deeper into the metaphorical ground. I don't think literature does that...but maybe I'm wrong.

Also, another thing that left me puzzled: So, you know how Hazel and Gus have that picnic where everything is orange? And remember how Gus touches Hazel, and Hazel instinctively flinches away? Then later Hazel is reflecting on that moment, trying to figure out why she flinched. At first, she reasons that she flinched because the whole moment and the supposed romance seemed so manufactured and forced. Like, everything was too perfect, and Gus had that speech that ruined the conversation, etc. That seemed like a perfectly logical reason to me. But then, apparently not satisfied with that first answer, Hazel later decided that she flinched because she's afraid of hurting Gus. Why, I wonder, did she need that second reason?  The first one makes sense to me. While I agree that she probably is afraid of hurting Gus, I don't think that's what made her flinch in that particular instance.

Then again, maybe it was both things! Afterall, people usually have complicated, sometimes inscrutable reasons for their behavior. Sometimes there's not just one reason for someone's behavior. People are complicated.

I also noticed that everyone in this novel - and I do mean everyone - is so incredibly well spoken and insightful. Even the taxi driver has that line about sin and freedom! I noticed this while reading, and it seemed a little unrealistic to me that absolutely everyone in the world speaks like a liberal-arts major...BUT it is fiction, and I do enjoy the beautiful writing and the great lines, so I'm willing to let it slide.

After rereading this time, I also read through John Green's "Only if you've finished TFIOS" tumblr, which provided further insight into the book. For instance, John Green said that the Dutch Tulip Man really does symbolize God, not just in An Imperial Affliction, but in his novel as well. I didn't catch that in my reading, but it's an interesting idea. (This also brings up a lot of questions, like is a symbol really effective if the author has to tell you about it, and should he be telling you about it, but again...another blog post, another time). Also, he says that Hazel's line "I do" at the end is a symbolic marriage, which is interesting. Again, I didn't catch that, but "Oh, it's a symbolic marriage" is not something that usually just pops into my head. Oh also - he pointed out that Gus' movie starting first foreshadows....what happens to Gus in the end. Interesting! I thought that was really cool.

Side note -- isn't it crazy that we now live in a world where you can communicate directly with authors and ask them questions, even as you're reading the book? Imagine how different English class would be if we could talk to Nathanial Hawthorne while reading the Scarlet Letter...

Oh, and PS. I am actually writing a TFIOS fanfiction...of sorts. It's a crossover between the novel and John Green's YouTube series "The Miracle of Swindon Town," which follows the journey of the fictional Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers soccer team. That is why I reread the book in the first place...to familiarize myself with the source material. Yes, very serious stuff. Also, I just, like, wanted to reread it. Anyway, you can read the story, The Fault in Our Football, here. It's very silly, and it's been fun for me to write.

PLL Season Finale Recap

Yesterday I posted my predictions for the Pretty Little Liars finale, so let's see what I got right.

First of all -- whew! That was quite the finally. They sure know how to build suspense on that show -- the text Paige got, Mona walking out.

Then again, I saw a lot of the big twists coming. Like, as soon as Emily said she was going to an Inn with Nate, I knew something was up with him. Inn's are NEVER good on this show. The writers must have had a bad experience at a B&B or something...

Also, I knew something was going to happen with that gun. Have you guys ever heard of Checkhov's gun? Well, Checkhov, a playwright, supposedly said that if a gun appears on the mantle in the first act, it's going to end up shooting someone by the second act. Or, in other words, if the writer brings something like a gun into the story, they're going to USE it. They brought it in for a reason. And they were making SUCH a big deal about Caleb's gun, showing it all the time and what not, and how he so deliberately set it down in the light house. So I knew someone was going to get shot. Although, I have to say, I was surprised it was Caleb.

Speaking of which, is he alive!? It seems like it. Which is a relief, because he is my favorite of the love interests, and I especially like how he's helping the Liars out, so it would be so sad for his run on the show to end. Also - who shot him? My guess is that Nate was not fully dead and managed to stand up and shoot him. Maybe Caleb even took a bullet for Emily.

One twist I didn't see coming though - Toby!! Ahh! I can't believe he's part of the A-Team. I read this interesting interview with Tyler Blackburn, who plays Caleb, and he said that they filmed several different possible A's - Caleb, Toby and Paige - and even the cast didnt' know who the writers had chosen until last night. So that's an interesting bit of trivia for you. How crazy would it have been if it were Paige!?

Also, looking back, I feel like there were a few clues about Toby. Like his mysterious tattoo with the date of Ali's death on it, and how he was out of town. This blog post also pointed out that Toby was the one who brought back Dr. Sullivan - maybe it was because he was the one keeping her hostage! Ah! (Speaking of which, whatever happened to ol' Doctor Sullivan?)

Oh also - looking back on it - I guess I should have realized that something bad was going to happen with Toby after they made such a big deal about him in the first part of the show. Seriously, that slow motion running and hugging was a bit much.

Oh also, what about the mysterious phone call that Emily got telling her to get out of the house? Was that one of the A's trying to...help her out? Or just lure her away from one crazy person to another? Also, how is it that the A's can see EVERYTHING!? Also  - side note -- how is that there are so many crazy people in this one town?

So next season it's going to be interesting to see what happens with Toby. We the viewers know something that the Liars don't, so that should be fun to watch. I wonder how and if it will come out that Toby is an A?

Also...I have this feeling that there are other A's out there. Like Garret, probably, since Mona talked about him while she and Toby were walking to the hospital. But I feel like there are more, even beyond Garret. We shall see...

Also, one thing I'm hoping get's cleared up: Why exactly are Mona and Toby and the others so intent on ruining the Liar's lives? I mean, what's their motivation? Did they ever talk about Mona's reasons in the last finale? I don't remember. I know they all hated Ali, but why spend so much time hurting her friends?

Oh also - as for my predictions yesterday - I predicted that Nate was A, which is wrong. But I also predicted that he was her stalker from rehab, which was right. Also, it's still not clear about why Maya was with Noel Kahn, and how he ties into all of this. Anyway, we shall see... I can't wait for the Halloween episode!

Pretty Little Liars - The BetrAyal.

So you guys....tonight is the night. The summer 2012 finale of Pretty Little Liars!! And it's once again time to speculate about what's going to happen. (See last finale's speculation here.)

So, I'm not exactly sure what's supposed to happen on tonight's finale. Last season the message was pretty clear: A is going to be revealed. Of course, there turned out to be another A. Maybe on this finale, we'll learn who the other A is?

If you'll recall, in the last second of last week's finale, they showed two A's passing something back and forth. So maybe there are THREE A's? Since Mona is locked up...

I think something weird is definitely going on with Maya's "cousin," if he really is her cousin. I suspect not. I heard someone speculate that maybe he was the stalker Maya mentioned that she had at the rehab place. But then, the stalker could also be Noel Kahn? Something weird is also definitely going on with Noel and Maya...why were they hanging out? Why was she at his house?

Speaking of Maya, it seems like the Liars might be closing in on what exactly happened to her, so maybe that will finally be wrapped up in the finale. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe Noel killed her, or at least was an accomplice. But then...didn't he give the liars that video of his cabin? So maybe not... But if A isn't in cahoots with Noel, why do so many creepy things happen at his cabin?

I also think that, in this episode, Ezra is going to find out that Aria went to visit his ex-girlfriend, and I think this might be the thing that breaks them up. They've been fighting a lot in recent episodes, and it seems like the break up is coming...so sad!

Oh, and what about Paige? Personally, I don't think she's A...I think she's just another angry person in Rosewood, tormented by Ali.

Oh, and let's not forget another one of Ali's victims - Lucas. Remember when, earlier this season, Aria found those blue pills in his camera bag, the ones that might have come from Mona? I hope that gets resolved in this finale.

Honestly, I think at this point, the list of people who A could be is longer than the list of people it isn't. Maybe it's everyone! Maybe that's the big twist at the end of the show. But why would EVERYONE be out to get these four girls? I don't think Lucas and Paige would torture them out of a desire to get back at Ali. That just doesn't make any sense.

Also, how does Spencer's sister tie into all of this? And Wren? Oh God, I hope Wren isn't evil. He's too nice! And cute! Of course, it's always the foreigners...just kidding.

And what about Jenna? Did anyone notice that exchange between Jenna and Nate last week? When he was like "I know you saw me, girl." Something about that seemed off. I had a feeling that he was talking about something that happened earlier, something serious, based on Jenna's expression. Maybe he was the one that Jenna was hiding out from.

Whatever happens, it looks like it's going to be a super scary episode. Did anyone else see that part in the preview, when Emily picks up the phone and the scary voice says "You have One Minute." Yikes.

So what is the ultimate betrayal!? Guess we'll find out...I'm a little scared to watch.

PS. WetPaint has a really good speculation post. 

PPS. Okay, just for the official record, so we can see if I'm wrong later, here's my best guess about what's going to happen: Mona escapes from Radley dressed as a nurse. Emily get's lured to A's lair. A tells the liars to go to Ali's grave. Maybe one A is with Emily and one is at the grave, maybe Mona. I think the other A will be revealed and I think it's...either Paige or Nate. Maybe both. If I had to pick one...Nate. 

The Jennifer Weiner Debate

Hello everyone!

So if you're on Twitter or read Jezebel or follow book-news at all, you've probably heard about Jennifer Weiner and the on-going debate about "chick-lit" and the literary world. Basically, Jennifer Weiner, along with many other female writers, believes that her writing is dismissed by the Literati simply because it is written by a women. She argues that if she wrote about the same subjects (marriage, family, divorce, body-image) but was instead a man, she would be more likely to be featured and reviewed by esteemed publications, like the New York Times. She points out that the writers that Times and others champion - Franzen, Michael Chabon, and recently, Chad Harbach, are all men.  She seems to be arguing that her writing has as much literary value as the writing of these men, but that it is dismissed by literary publications because it was written by a woman, or because it deals with so-called "women's issues."

I recently started following Jennifer Weiner on Twitter, and she talks about this issue a lot. She also gets a lot of backlash about it, and frequently gets into fire-y debates with people on Twitter. One argument people make is that there are women featured in the Times - she's just not one of them. But by far the most common argument I've seen is that she should stop complaining. She's a Best-Seller and seems to do pretty well for herself, and, some argue, she should be glad that she's published at all, and that she receives the publicity that she does (she's recently been on several talk shows) instead of complaining about what she doesn't get.

So I started to wonder...is that a legitimate argument? What do you think?

I agree that it can be kind of irritating to see someone who's already so successful asking for yet more success, more recognition. As Rilo Kiley once said, "it's a sin when success complains."  It almost seems like she's being ungrateful, and that she just wants more, more, more.

So when someone on Twitter the other day said basically that, Weiner responded that she felt, since she does have so much success and is relatively famous, she feels obligated to speak up. She seemed to be implying that she's trying to use her fame to help all women get a leg up. Since she does have so many followers and is in the media a lot, she has more of a voice than other women writers.

I think, in some ways, that sounds like a pretty legitimate argument. After all, she probably doesn't really need the Times reviews in order to sell books - so maybe this isn't all about money. Although I do sometimes wonder if, at some level, it is about her own personal validation. Like, maybe it's not enough for her to be a best-selling author - maybe she needs to be accepted by the Times in order to feel like a real author. But overall, I do think it's commendable that she uses her fame to raise these kinds of issues.

My only other issue with her claims is this: I'm not sure I would rank Weiner's work on the same level as those literary giants reviewed by the Times. That's harsh, I know, but somewhat true. I thought her book of short stories, The Guy Not Taken, was truly excellent. But other works of hers that I've read - Good In Bed, and Best Friends Forever, for example - were only so-so. They were entertaining, and the narrators had interesting inner-lives, but they weren't the kind of books that left me thinking about them for days. I read Chad Harbach's novel, The Art of Fielding, which has been praised extensively by the Literati, and there's just no comparison between that novel and one of Weiner's: Fielding was much more complex, dealt with bigger questions and issues, and really challenged me as a reader.  I hate to put a fellow woman down, but to praise her just because she's a woman wouldn't be fair either. This isn't a gender thing. I have no doubt that a woman can write a novel as complex and engaging as Chad Harbach's, but so far, I don't think that woman has been Jennifer Weiner.

Obesessing about photos from the City of Bones set

Okay guys, I gotta put the reviewing and the life-updating on hold for a second because...

Oh my God, have you seen the photos from the set of City of Bones? They are phenomenal.  I really can't believe how awesome it looks - it looks just like I pictured it, or better. It's so crazy to think that it's going to be a real movie!

I don't think I've ever been this excited about a book-to-movie adaptation before. Okay, well, maybe Harry Potter - but I was so young when those started filming, and I didn't really use the internet to keep up-to-date with the filming back then like I do now. With the Hunger Games, I was curious to see how they turned it into a movie, but it's not really a world you want to go live in, you know?

Okay, so let's gush about the pictures

This one is absolutely my favorite. Look at the best-friendship in action! I think the costumes are so perfect, too - Simon in the hipster blazer, casual tee-shirt and cool sneakers. Like he's trying hard to look like he's not trying to hard. And then there's Clary, who really isn't trying hard but still looks cute and artsy anyway - with the worn-in boots and the plaid shirt. I wonder if the costume designer bought worn in boots or if they just have some way of making them look worn in? Anyway, the two of them look adorable together and it's so cool to see it in "real" life.

Ahhhh! It's Jace, attitude and all.

Ah, Jace Wayland does not approve of your smoking habits, Jamie! You need your lungs in good working order. You don't want to get winded while running after demons! But...the outfit is great. Love the gear and the runes.

Okay, so I'm trying to figure out what part of the book this is from. I'm guessing the part where they go to Magnus' party, and Clary borrows Izzy's clothes...although I don't remember the other Shadowhunters bringing their weapons to that. But they probably did and I've just forgotten. Also, love the shoes on the girls. I have to say - I feel like Alec's outfit is flashier than what I would've imagined Alec wearing. I feel like he's too shy to wear something that sexy. But maybe that's just what gear looks like. I can totally see why he caught Magnus's eye at the party, though, dressed up like that...

Ahhh this isn't even really a huge moment, but it's just so cool to see it coming to life!! So even something like this is exciting!!

Java Jones! Where Clary listens to terrible poetry with Simon.

The alleyway! Where Clary and Jace have one of their first conversations

The movie looks really good so far, and it's only the first week of filming! I love seeing books I love turned into movies especially when, like with this one, it looks like the producers are actually doing a good job with it. Also, I'm extremely impressed with the fans in Toronto who have been tracking down the sets, taking pictures, and reporting back to all of us. Good job, guys. My only request is that everyone be on the look-out for signs that Lilly and Jamie really are dating. I personally think it's a publicity stunt but...who knows.


I got all of these pictures from the TMI Source website. You can see more pictures and news there.

PS. Haven't read the books? You can see my reivew of Books 1-4 here and Book 5 here.

A Divergent Opinion on Divergent

I read a lot of books this summer, and I have a lot of catching up to do on my reviews. And as much as I hate to start off my review catch-up with a less-than-favorable review...I have something I really need to say.

I just did not like Divergent that much.

I know, I know. Crazy. The book has been a crazy best-seller and has a devoted fan base. So maybe it's me, not the book. But I think I have some pretty legitimate reasons for not liking it.

First, for those of you who don't know, Divergent is the first book in a triology (I think?) by Veronica Roth. The book follows Beatrice aka Tris as she goes through an important ceremony that will determine the rest of her life. In Tris' world, everyone is divided up into different factions, and all the factions have defining characteristics - one group is full of keen minds, another full of thrill-seekers, another full of totally selfless people - that last one is the group Tris is part of. However, when kids in this world turn 16, they get to decide whether they want to stay with their group or join another one, leaving their family and the life that they know behind. The book begins just as Tris is about to make this important decision and follows her as she deals with the consequences of her choice.

I think my biggest problem with this book is that it was just so predictable. I predicted literally every big "twist" in the plot. I don't want to list them out, because that might ruin it for other people, but if you've read it, you know. I predicted who was secretly evil, and what their secret plan was, and who all the characters truly were. So there were no surprises, and, since the book relies heavily on plot, that kind of ruined it for me.

It also felt really over-done to me. Maybe that's not fair to the author, though. It's not her fault that a billion teen dystopians have been published in the past few years. Then again, I read Lauren Oliver's dystopia, Delirium, just a little while before I read Divergent, and even though it contained a lot of the same elements that all these books seem to contain (conflicting love interest, evil government, weird rules, etc.), Delirium didn't feel like something I had read before. It was still exciting and it still surprised me. Reading Divergent I just felt like, "Oh God, not another bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold. Not another plucky-yet-vulnerable heroine."  Also, the dividing-factions thing seemed like kind of a rip-off of Harry Potter.

Then again, I do wonder if it's really fair to always claim that other works "rip-off" others. No book is ever truly original, and if you look closely, you'll see that the same basic ideas get recycled over and over again. But as Picasso once said, "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." And I think that when an old idea is used in a great story, then you don't notice, because you're too wrapped up in the story. And I just couldn't get into Divergent.  I mean, it was somewhat entertaining, but I found myself skipping through huge chunks where I felt like nothing was happening, and by the end, I had no real desire to continue reading the series.

Library Orientation and The First Day of Class!

Hello everyone!

We're almost caught up here on my life here in Chapel Hill...except that, as I post these, more things happen, and then I have to post about them later. But anyway, at least from now on I won't be talking about things that happened the week before...well, hopefully not.

Anyway! After my exciting weekend, I woke up bright and early on Monday morning, all ready for The School Of Information and Library Science Graduate Student Orientation.

Or, rather, I wish I could say it went like that. In reality, it was rainy and cloudy when I got up, and I just wanted to stay in bed. I also had a really bad stomach ache...but I thought maybe it would get better as the day went on.

Wrong! It actually got worse. And I had to sit in the same room from 9:30-12, which was basically torture with my stomach hurting so much. I wanted so much to really take in the orientation and to meet everyone, but I just really wasn't in the mood to socialize or pay attention to the speakers. It's hard to focus on anything else when you're in real physical pain.

*But* a few good things came of it. First of all, they gave us all free reusable bags AND a reusable, metal water bottle. Hooray! I just lost my old water bottle, too, and I left all my reusable bags in Tampa. I'm hoping to gather a few more bags in the coming weeks. They're a pretty common free-giveaway item, and I think a lot of people give stuff away the first week, so hopefully I can make this happen.

And, the highlight of the day: I got the secret code to the grad student lounge for the library school! I feel so cool now.  I'm totally going to go in there and...lounge. Also, who knew grad students had their own lounges? If I had known that, I would've come to grad school a lot sooner!

I left the orientation at lunch time, even though it went till 4:30. I just couldn't make it. It was really too bad though, because they had a delicious catered lunch and I had been looking forward to it. At the time, though, I couldn't even think about eating. I came home and just sat around and started to feel better after a while. I hope I didn't miss anything too important at orientation, though. And hopefully I'll still have a chance to meet my classmates. There are welcome-events going on all this week, though, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Then yesterday, Tuesday, was the first day of class! I only had one class, in the morning. In it, we'll be learning how to do web design, how to use Dreamweaver and Excel and other techie things like that, so that should be good for me. Oh also, we get lockers in library school, which is nice because it gives me one more place to stash all my stuff.

I have to say, it actually felt really good to be going back to school. Before the first day, I had been worried that I would feel too old or bored, but I was happy to be there. I like school, most of the time. I like learning and meeting people and feeling challenged. Plus, 22 does seem really young to start working, when you'll be working for the rest of your life, although I know many people do it. Anyway, as I walked onto campus this morning, with other students streaming all around me, I was glad I was going to school and not work.

After class, I did some homework in the library. Yes, homework already! Then I went and putzed around campus, just looking for free stuff or things to do. Then I went back to the library and worked on my in-state residency application, in which I had to list every place I've spent more than 4 consecutive days in the last 3 years. Fun! Not.

Also, I just had to share this picture:

Those are students lined up to drink from the Old Well on campus. Campus tradition says that if you drink from it on the first day, you'll have good luck/good grades all semester.  But no amount of luck or tradition could make me stand in that line when it's 95 degrees outside. I went back at 4pm and there was no line! And that's why I'm a grad student...

First Weekend in Chapel Hill

Okay, so we're almost all caught up on my first week in Chapel Hill. All that's left is the weekend, which is, of course, the best part of any week, and this past week was no exception!

I started the weekend off at the Carolina Inn, an old, beautiful Inn on the edge of campus, full of Southern charm. The Inn has a big yard in front of it, and on Fridays in the summer they have live music on the lawn. There was also food, but there was a long line for it, so my friends and I decided to go to dinner instead, after enjoying the music and socializing for a while.

So off we went to Franklin Street, home of many restaurants here in Chapel Hill. It was also within walking distance of the Inn, which was nice. We tried a few places, but none of them could fit us in (a lot of kids had their parents in town, it seemed.) Finally we ended up at an Indian restaurant way down almost at the end of Franklin Street. I had never been there before or even heard of it, but it was delicious! I got a vegetable somosa plate, which had some other stuff on it...chickpeas...and I'm not really sure what else. Whoops. Oh well. This isn't a food blog, after all.

On Saturday, I finally finished unpacking completely. I was almost completely done before Saturday. I just had little things left, like hanging my mirror and putting up decorations. So now everything is completely done...well, almost. I still have to hang a few things, but I'm putting that off because I'm afraid of hammering. I'll post pictures soon, though, when everything is really done!

After that, I went with some of my new friends to the exciting town of Saxaphaw. What is Saxaphaw you ask? Well, it's out in the country...It used to be an old mill, but someone converted it into a nice shopping area and neighborhood, so now there are a few nice restaurants out there and even some apartments. Also, a kayaking place. Also, on Saturdays in the summer, they have live music at night and a farmer's market. If you're curious, you can read more about the story of Saxapahaw here. 

At the farmer's market, we sampled some delicious, local cheeses and some watermelon. I love cheese. Just throwing that out there. We also listened to blue-grass music, which people tell me I'll start to like the longer I live here. We'll see.

The scene in Saxapahaw
Source

My friends and I also went to a really good restaurant called The Eddy. I was surprised to find such fine dining in such a rural location, but such is the magic of Saxapahaw, apparently. The place was packed. They had a lot of interesting looking options for dinner, but I wasn't that hungry and, at this point, I had already spent way too much money eating out that week...so I opted to just skip dinner and get dessert. That's better anyway, right? I got a delicious piece of Tres Leches cake, made with salted caramel. It was very, very good. Oh, and my friends and I got complimentary cheese platter! Craziest of all, we had been thinking about ordering one, but then they just gave it to us. For no reason! I love North Carolina!

Porch at The Eddy
Source

The Eddy again
Source

Trivia, Buns, and Free T-Shirts

Yesterday's post was dedicated entirely to everything I did on my first Monday in Chapel Hill last week. Well, the rest of the week was not quite a jam-packed as Monday. I think I felt like I had to get everything done in one day, for some reason, and then I didn't have much to do for the rest of the week. I'll tell you the highlights.

On Tuesday, I went to another event put on by the same grad student organization that hosted The Amazing Race on Monday. That night, the event was trivia, and I was with the same team again. The Trivia questions were surprisingly hard. I was expecting a lot of pop-culture stuff, but they covered more serious topics, like geography and politics. One of the questions: What country in NATO has no standing army? I guessed Costa Rica, because I know they have no army, but I wasn't sure if they were in NATO.

The answer is...Iceland!

Anyway, Trivia was alright, but we were all pretty tired of it by the end. Afterwards, my team went out with a few other teams to a bar in town. At the bar, we were all settling in, having a nice time chatting when suddenly someone got on stage and announced that it was time for...dun dun dun...trivia! Just when we thought we'd escaped! But this trivia was a bit more fun, more focused on pop culture. Lots of questions about the Olympics, of course.

On Wednesday, the grad activity of the day was volleyball. Several members of our team couldn't come, so we merged with another team. Honestly, we did terribly in volleyball. I think we may have had the lowest score in the tournament. In our first game, we were matched against a really good team, full of tall, athletic-looking people. They completely stomped on us. I think the score was like, 16-2 or something. It was a bit discouraging, but we still had fun. We got to play again, because there were so few teams in the tournament (I think some people had had enough of the "grad games" by that point.) Afterwards, my team and another team went out to a local burger place called Buns. It was delicious! They had every kind of topping and combination imaginable for your burger. I got one with goat cheese. I also got a salted-caramel, milkshake. Delicious. I also got sweet potato fries...and I have to say, they weren't the best I've had. Not crunchy enough for my tastes.

Buns
Source

On Thursday - we had the last of the grad student events. No games this time. It was orientation, and man, was it long. It went from 1-6:30! For the first few hours, we were just sitting in a big room, listening to people talk about healthcare and career building and all that kind of stuff. Then we got to talk to real-life UNC grad students, who told us all the secrets to grad school, like how to get your friends in to sporting events. After that, we went over to the gym, where there were a bunch of different organizations with tables set up. Not clubs, but things like the UNC Book Store and The Center for Environmental Safety. That kind of fun stuff. Honestly, it was pretty boring. They had allotted an hour and half for it in the schedule, and it really only took about ten minutes to get through. I mostly just wandered around with my friends from my team and we tried to find free stuff. I got a tee shirt, a tote bag, a couple pads of sticky notes, some pens, and a koozie. Yeah! I also updated my voter registration. Woo hoo!

Then it was the moment we had all been waiting for: Free Food. The grad school put on a really nice reception for us, complete with delicious finger foods and desserts. There was amazing coconut shrimp and really good brownies. I loved it! I also sat at a table with my friends from grad games and several English Lit PhD students, which was fun, especially since I'm an English major. We had a very in-depth discussion about bros, their various habits, and the different kinds there are. I had no idea there was so much variety - there are hipster bros, nerd bros, preppy bros...Maybe one of the PhDs will do a thesis about this phenomenon!

On Friday I had a very nerve-wracking speed-interviewing sesh which you can read more about here.

I also went to an interesting local event at the Carolina Inn...but I feel like this is a long enough blog post for now. Soon enough we'll be all caught up! We'll cover my exciting weekend next time...

Adventures in Chapel Hill: Monday, The DMV & The Amazing Race

So, here I am, still trying to catch you up on everything that's been happening since I moved to NC. Well, anyway, after many days of moving, I started to settle in to Chapel Hill.

Even after all the unpacking, I still had a lot to do before school started, and last Monday was a very busy day for me, which culminated with a very eventful, fast-paced trip to the DMV (no joke) and a long run around the UNC campus.

I started the day out right with an appointment at career services in the library school. After that, I left headed to Franklin Street, which runs along campus and is full of shops and restaurants. I had lunch at B-Skis, a wrap place which I would not recommend. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it was only so-so. According to one of my friends, it's only really good if you've been drinking.

Then I had to pick up my new North Carolina car insurance, so that I could later get a NC driver's license. The people there were very helpful, except, when I asked if there was a grocery store nearby, they gave me directions to one that didn't exist. Or maybe it does exist, and I just couldn't find it. But either way, I ended up driving along the highway for far too long. I even passed into a different county, at which point I was like, "Yeah, probably time to turn around." For the billionth time that week, I wished I had an iPhone.

Then came the really fun part of the day: A trip to the DMV. Now that I had my insurance settled, I wanted to get my license as soon as possible. I hadn't been planning on doing it that day, but I went home and started calling different DMVs, asking if they took appointments and how long their waits typically were. I called a DMV in a very rural area and the lady on the phone said, "Well, normally we have about a two hour wait, but if you came in right now, it probably wouldn't take you but 20 minutes." Well, that was just too tempting to refuse. It was about 3:15 when I called them. The town was about 35 minutes away, according to Google, and the place closed at 4:30. I had just enough time, I thought, to make it there and take the test before they closed.

Well, it turned out, Google was wrong, and it really took me more like 45 minutes to drive there. The whole time, I kept thinking that I must have missed a turn, because I was on the highway for what felt like far too long. That was very nervewracking, and at one point, I thought, "okay, if I don't see the sign for the town soon, I'll just turn around and give up." Then, lo and behold, I saw it, and I was taken through a series of twisting roads that eventually led me to the "main street," of this tiny town. The main street consisted of a Food Lion and a Wendy's and maybe a car dealer lot. That's about it. Then I couldn't find the sign for the DMV, and I almost gave up again, but then, again right before I turned around, I found it. Moral of the story: When you think you're lost, keep pushing on, because you're probably almost there.

So. The DMV. I arrived at exactly 4:00. (I know this because the little ticket I got said so.) I was number 339, and they were on number 330, but at first the numbers started to go very quickly. Within the first few minutes, they were already at 334, because apparently some people had left, and I was thinking that this was going to be a piece of cake. Wrong. Eventually, the line returned to a more typical DMV pace, and the clock dragged slowly to 4:30. I started to wonder if I had driven all this way, only to be sent home when they closed. To make matters worse, the girl who was right in front of me (338) got called up at exactly 4:25. She had first come into the DMV only seconds before me, and I started to think about how terrible it would be if I had missed my chance by only a few minutes. If only I had left my house a few minutes earlier, I thought!

Well, it turned out, they didn't kick everyone out at 4:30, they just stopped letting people in. I finally sat down with one of the DMV people at 4:40, who was not very happy with me. "You know we close at 5, right?" She said. "Yes," I said, "But I drove all the way here from Chapel Hill, so I would really appreciate it if you could see me today." And then I threw myself at her feet and cried. Not really, but I almost did. "Well," she said, "We'll see how much of the test you finish today. You might have to come back." I'm convinced she said that only to torture me. I did actually finish the test on time. She gave me a few hints on the signs-recognition test, like when I couldn't identify an oddly-shaped yellow sign with no words on it, she said "It's a place where children go to school." Then I sped through the written test, which was actually on a computer. For the most part it was easy, although I did get a question wrong about what happens to you license the first time you get a DUI. I was terrified that, after all this trouble, I wouldn't pass, but luckily I did.

Then I got my picture taken. I decided not to smile because I smiled in my Passport photo and it ended up looking not that much like me. But I think smiling might have been better...because now I just look really angry.

Angry face

After the DMV, it was time for yet another adventure: The Amazing Race, UNC Style. The race was put on by a grad student organization, in order for all the new students to get to know each other. We were put on teams and forced to run all over the campus - for fun! Luckily, I had a really cool team - Team 8, later Team 13 after we accidentally lost our 8. We were all very competitive and determined to win. Also, it was cool, because everyone I met was from all over the place and came from all different backgrounds. It was nice, too, because we were all new in town.

Anyway, The Amazing Race ended up being a little nuts. Everyone started out at the Old Well, and the judges gave us one clue, which would lead to another spot on campus. There, we would have to complete a task before getting another clue which would, in turn, lead to another spot. My team immediately figured out the first clue and we sprinted over to the Coker Arboretum. There, we had to do a sack race, and we all hopped our little hearts out. One of our team members scrapped his knee but he pushed through it like a trooper.

Oh - fun fact - there were originally supposed to be 10 of us on the team, but only 7 showed up - all the girls and well, one guy, but he was late. Typical, really.

The Old Well, our starting point.
Source

Anyway, things were going well, until we got to the second challenge, where we were forced to do a Sodoku puzzle. A couple people on our team worked on the puzzle, and when they finished, it turned out they had done something wrong, and they had to start over again. Yes, the judges actually, amazingly, checked the puzzles. We were worried that we would get really behind in the games but then, like the brilliant team we were, we came up with a plan.

So, don't tell the judges this, but we actually overheard another team reading the clue that lead to the next station, and we figured out what it was and went there, while two members of the team stayed behind to finish the Soduko. We decided they would meet up with us later. But, we realized, you needed at least six people to do the challenges at the stations, so what were we to do? Well, we just recruited some random girl that we saw on the way to the next station. We were like, "hey, want to help us with an activity?" And since people are very nice and friendly here at UNC, she said yes.

That station was easy, but the next one proved more difficult. There, we had to spin around with our head on a bat and then sprint up the track. Again, we recruited a very nice girl to help us, who turned out to be a senior here at UNC. Oh also, one girl on another team spun around the bat, started to run, and just fell to the ground instead. That was a little scary.

For the final challenge, we had to walk up the stairs of the Wilson Library with books balanced on our heads. Very difficult, but we did it of course. We sprinted back to the last stop - the Old Well again, where the officials were waiting for us with water and donuts - just what you want after a long run!

Wilson Library
Source

As it turned out, we got third place in the Amazing Race! There was no prize for third place, though. But we do have bragging rights. There were at least 30 other teams in the race!

There were more events like this all last week...but I'll have to write about them later, as this is getting kind of long.

Grad School Job Fair!

As I write this, I'm just returning from a job fair with the University Libraries here at UNC. See, with the school year starting, a lot of the libraries are looking for graduate assistants and, of course, a lot of us graduate students are looking for jobs. So someone had the brilliant idea to bring all the employers and students into one room and do kind of a speed-interviewing thing. It was very nerve-wracking, but, in some ways, I also kind of enjoyed it, and it was definitely a learning experience.

There were about 30 students there and only about 8 open job positions. That's a lot of competition! So that is always very nerve-wracking.

I thought I personally did well, but there is always a question of whether someone is better - more experienced, better suited to the position, more poised - whatever. I thought I did a good job of presenting all my strengths, and I think I talked pretty fluidly but...since there was so much competition, I'm not confident enough to be like, "OH yeah, I definitely got a job."  I wouldn't want to be that arrogant anyway, since it would probably come back to haunt me.

I say I enjoyed it because I really do enjoy talking to people. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the kind of jobs offered. I was worried that the job tasks would be pretty basic, like shelving and checking out books, but a lot of them offered hands-on archive experience, and since I'm specializing in archives, that's really great for me. Also, all the people seemed really nice, and really interested in helping the students and giving them experience, so that's always good.

Also - I'm happy to report that being an English major may have actually helped me in this situation. (Take that, engineers!) Almost all the jobs required strong writing and communication skills, and when people see that you were an English major, they immediately know you have that (or, at least, hopefully you do).

Since I did just get back from it, I thought I would jot down some tips for you guys - and for my future reference, too. A lot of this is based on mistakes I made or saw other people making, or things that I thought other people or I did well.

The number one thing, I think, is to be sure of yourself. Even if you don't feel sure of yourself, you have to fake it! And even if you're not totally sure the job is for you, act like it's your most ideal job ever. I think it's bad to come off wishy-washy.. For example, I heard a lot of people say that they weren't sure what they wanted to specialize in here at library school. It's true that school hasn't even started, so lots of people are still figuring stuff out, but to me, if I were an employer, that would seem like a bad sign. After all, if your not serious and committed to something in school, who knows if you'll be committed to the job? What if you change your mind about the concentration, and then decide to change your job?

Also, I heard someone say "I know I'm not exactly what you're looking for." Don't say stuff like that!! Don't point out your flaws, just focus on your strengths. It's not like you're hiding something or lying. You're just representing yourself in the best way.

Also, one thing I've learned about job interviews is that you can never be too enthusiastic, or provide too much information about yourself. For me, interviewing can be really hard, because I don't really feel comfortable talking about myself, especially about things I've done and accomplished. To me it always feels like bragging. But you're supposed to brag in a job interview, right? Well, not brag. Don't be snobby, but just be honest about what you've done, and again, highlight the good.

Also, on that same note, for this job fair, I brought samples of blog entries I'd written. Not for this blog, but for an organization I blog for. I felt a little weird about that - like I was being an over-achiever. But then I remembered that being an over-achiever isn't a bad thing in a job interview.

And my final advice - something I really should follow myself - is that after the interview is over, try to forget about it. I know that's hard. Right now, I'm honestly sitting here replaying everything and over-analyzing everything. I keep thinking about how one of the interviewers never smiled when he talked to me. Did that mean he didn't like me, or is he not a smiley guy? And how another interview spent way less time talking to me than the girl before me...But okay - I should stop doing this, right? Because there's nothing I can do about it now. I know I did the best I could, and now it's over and I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Moving to North Carolina: Part 2

In case you didn't see this post, I moved to North Carolina!

When we last left our heroes, they had just had some southern fried chicken and picked up furniture from the thrift store...

On Saturday, my mom and I actually had some free time, since we spent all day Thursday and Friday running around. We had breakfast at the Foster's Market in Durham (there is also one in Chapel Hill). We both got eggs sandwiches, made with two giant herb-flavored biscuits (more biscuits!). They were delicious and very filling. (Of course, about two days later, I read some article about how eating eggs is worse for you than smoking. But oh well...everything in moderation.) Then we went over to the Sam's Club in Durham and got a membership for me. Woo hoo! Now I can buy giant boxes of Cheerio's!

Foster's Market
Source

We drove back to Chapel Hill and walked around the UNC campus a bit. I spotted building where I'll have most of my classes, but unfortunately the door was locked, so we couldn't go inside.

In front of the Old Well, a classic symbol of UNC

Walking out of campus, we came along Franklin Street, which is the main business area in town. It has lots of cute little shops and restaurants. We stopped in Sugarland, a bakery, because they were advertising beignes and my mom had always wanted to try them.  They were very good, and the store was so cute!

Sugarland
Source

We also went into some of the stores on Franklin Street, hoping to get a UNC Sweatshirt for me, but there wasn't much selection of sweatshirts this time of year. Can't imagine why...

Then it was time to say good-bye to my mom. I drove her to the airport in Raleigh, and, as I drove away, I realized I was really on my own now, in a completely different state. That was a very weird feeling. Actually, I keep having moments like that - where I realize that I'm in North Carolina. It's easy to forget sometimes, because it doesn't really look or feel that different from Florida most of the time. But then something will remind me- whether it's a southern accent in the grocery store or a NC license plate. And then I'll realize that I'm here, smack dab in the middle of the East coast, away from everyone I know. It's a weird feeling.

After I left the airport,  I went shopping for decorations for my room. I got some very cute, nice stuff at the Marshall's and T.J. Maxx in Durham. I've decided to go with a lavender/light blue/grey color scheme, which doesn't look as crazy as it sounds, I swear. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the room fully decorated.

After a hard day of shopping, I went to a Mexican restaurant with my roommate. It was delicious and very authentic. I saw things on that menu that I had never seen on any other Mexican menu. For example - I got a seafood chimichanga - it was filled with scallops and shrimp. I love seafood, so that was great for me. It even came with some guacamole on the side, which you don't always get included.

Finally - after dinner - my roommate and I came home and attempted to put our futon together. The man at Walmart said it would be easy (It would be easy, they said!) But oh, it was not. There were so many tiny parts, and the pictures in the instructions were not very detailed, so I had a hard time figuring out which way things were supposed to face. We were about half-way through the directions when we realized one of the arms of the couch was facing the wrong way. At that point, we just gave up and decided to try again in the morning. When we did, we finally got it put together, but I'm still a little scared to sit on it! However, I did feel quite accomplished when I got it finished, probably similar to how the people at NASA felt when they landed the Mars Rover.

The futon, in progress

Sunday afternoon, after the great futon debacle, my roommate and I went off to the public library to get cards. You guys know I love my books, so that was high-priority thing for me. Interestingly, the library is currently located at the town's mall, while it's regular location is being renovated. It's kind of a weird feeling, walking out of the mall with library books. But I was thrilled to get the card, and I immediately put myself on the 90-person waiting list for Gone Girl. Maybe I'll get it before I graduate!

 While at the mall, we also checked out a delightful gourmet grocery store, called A Southern Season. Oh my God, that place was amazing. Their candy display was a work of art. They had all these different colored candy-fruit slices and chocolate truffles. They also had a nice deli, where I got a prosciutto sandwich, which is one of my favorite kinds of sandwiches.

Source

After the mall, my roomate and I went off to Walmart yet again. And then, while in Walmart, we had the brilliant idea that we should go to the Maple View Farms ice cream store, which is famous here in Chapel Hill. So we called them up and got directions. Neither of us have smart phones, so we had to do things the old fashioned way. The drive took us out on the highway and then out into the country, and at first I was a little afraid that we were lost, but eventually we found the farm store. The ice cream was delicious, but it was the setting the really made the trip. The store had a big front porch with rocking chairs where you can sit while you eat your ice cream. It overlooks corn fields and sprawling green hills and a small dirt road. It was beautiful out there, and rocking on that porch, I really felt like I was in North Carolina.

Source

The Porch
Source

The view from the porch

My ice cream: Orange Dream and Double Chocolate

Upon returning to "town," I waxed my car, which was a big job but not very exciting. Then, finally, to finish out the day, my roommate and I watched the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics with our newly-installed cable. The highlight, of course, was the Spice Girls reunion. Also - does anyone know where the Queen was? And Price William? Oh well, as long as Kate Middleton and her hair were there, nothing else really matters...

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about my first few days here!

Moving to North Carolina: Part 1

Hello everyone!

I know I haven't been updating much this summer. Truthfully, I just felt like I didn't have much to say, because there wasn't much going on in my life (although I did read up a storm...reviews coming soon!). Also, it was summer...I was feeling lazy. But now I'm about to go back to school, and I'm in the mood to be productive again. Plus, things are actually going on.

For example, I recently moved from Florida to North Carolina! This actually happened a week-ago, but I've been busying settling in and haven't had time for blogging. But now I can sit down and catch you all up.

My mom and I left Florida at 7 AM on Wednesday morning. My mom had originally suggested leaving at 4 AM, but I veto-ed that. I have to say, though, there are some definite advantages to starting early - there is less traffic, and by noon you've already accomplished so much. I loaded up the car then night before. Here's a tip for those of you moving: Take stuff out of the boxes, and just put it straight in the trunk! That's what I did with all my clothes, and I was able to fit a lot more in.

We ate almost every meal on the road at McDonald's. I hate to say it, but I loved it. Those Egg McMuffins are just so good! And their coffee! It's not something I would eat every day, but it's fun every once in a while.

We finally stopped in Fayetteville, NC, just an hour outside our destination, Chapel Hill. We decided to do this so that we would be fresh and ready to start shopping for furniture the next morning. Also, I didn't have a bed set up in my new apartment, and it would've been rough to sleep on the floor after driving all day.

To be honest, I had been dreading this drive before we started out. I haven't ever been on a really long car trip, and I thought it would be so boring. But my mom and I listened to the audiobook of Holly Black's book White Glove, and since it's a fast-paced book, that really made the time go quickly. Plus, it was kind of nice to just sit and look out the window for a whole day.

On the road, entering South Carolina

Thursday morning, we got up early and finished the drive to Chapel Hill. When we got there, I was happy and relieved to see that my apartment was actually really nice. I'd never seen it in person - I set up the whole thing over the internet. So really I was just glad to see that it actually even existed. I was scared it had all been a scam.

Once we unloaded my stuff, we set out in search of furniture. I had none. I sold everything in my old apartment when I moved because I figured it would be cheaper to just buy new things. And I was right! We ended up finding this really nice thrift store, the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Durham. It specializes in furniture, and they had a ton of stuff, most of it very reasonably priced. Things went so quickly though! There were several nice dressers, all $50, and by the end of the day they were all gone. I got a desk for $20, a dresser for $35, a nice, cushy chair for $35, a bed frame for $15, and 2 lamps for $5 each. Most of my furniture apparently came from some apartment complex that had just remodeled. So there were about 20 of the same chairs, and 20 of the same desks, etc. We bought my actual mattress new at Sam's Club. 

You know you're in Chapel Hill when there's a giant ram in Walmart...

BUT, we didn't actually pick the stuff up until the next day. Then, we rented a U-Haul and went around and collected all the things that we had paid for the previous day. Thankfully, my mom drove the U-Haul so I didn't have to, and everything went pretty smoothly.

In between shopping and moving, we also tried some of the local restaurants. There is a lot of good food around here! We had breakfast at Breadmans, which was decorated all in UNC paraphernalia, of course. I had eggs, hash browns and a biscuit. The biscuit was especially good and really made me feel like I was in the South (the real South, Florida doesn't count.) Continuing with the Southern Food, we had lunch at Mama Dips, which serves traditional Southern Food. I had fried chicken and yams, which were especially delicious. They had some kind of syrupy, sugary sauce on them - I don't know what it was, but they were amazing! Also, the restaurant had a very cute front porch with rocking chairs. Finally, we also had some fo-yo and Yo-Po, or Yogurt Pump, which is practically a Chapel Hill institution. They have delicious, cheap frozen yogurt. I went there all the time when I lived in town 3 years ago, and I had been craving it ever since. I was glad to be back!

Mama Dip's.
Source

More about the move (and the food) tomorrow!