we are restless things.

yes, i will go, i'll be going there soon.

Sun, 24 May 2009 18:11:13 GMT

I've been kind of non-existent on DW for the past week or two, sorry about that. I wanted to take a hiatus from posting, but I was still reading everyone else's posts. I'm taking a real hiatus from LJ for I don't know how long, only reading a couple of people's and community's posts. I've just gotten really, really tired of fandom, and the fact that I have over 120+ "friends" over there and I only feel like I'm actually friends with about 30-40 of them. And I'm too much of a wuss to do some sort of massive friends-cut. I've met a lot of cool people through fandom, but now that I'm not into it anymore I find that I feel very distant from most of the people on my LJ friends list. I'm hoping that since this isn't a fandom journal that won't happen over here. Though I should say I'm a pretty introverted person, even on the internet, so if it takes a while to get to know me, please bear with me. I swear I'm a good friend once I get out of my very thick shell!

In other news, tomorrow I leave for Ohio to begin my summer research program (Research Experience for Undergraduates). I'm working with wolf spiders in a behavioral ecology lab, but that's really all I know at the moment. There are a bunch of different people working in the lab I'll be working in on a variety of different projects (mostly on sexual behavior), so I get to meet all of them and then decide where I want to go with my project based on what everyone else is doing. I'm hoping that I'll get to do primarily field work, and there's definitely a good chance for that, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I don't want to be stuck in a lab all summer again.

I'm really pretty nervous. I'm not a people person in any sense of the phrase, so going somewhere where I know absolutely no one, not even my employer, is a stressful situation for me. I have to stay in a dorm with a roommate, something I've only ever done before for six weeks in Norway. I had a single room when I had to live in the dorms my freshman year at university, then moved into apartments after that year. I have no idea who my roommate is going to be, if we'll get along, etc. I also have weird sleeping habits that I'm worried about. I need quiet, darkness, and a very powerful fan. I also sleep more than most of my peers (8-9 hours/night). I'm a super-light sleeper. I have an eyemask, ear plugs, and my iPod, so hopefully I'll be okay even if we don't have the same sleep schedule. I'm nervous that no one is going to like me, and I'll be that weirdo that no one really talks to, even though I know this is silly. Generally, people like me, when I allow them to get anywhere near me. I'm going to try my hardest to be open and unintimidating, but it will certainly be difficult and exhausting.

On Thursday the nine of us who are participating in the REU program get to go on a hiking/camping/rock climbing trip for the weekend at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. I've never really done anything like this before, so I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping to have a chance to do a lot more outdoor activities this summer, as there are apparently a lot of beautiful hiking trails around the town I'll be staying in.

I've also just begun the Couch-to-5k running plan. I've only done the first two days of the first week so far, and it hasn't been too bad.

Alright, I'm done now.

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literature should not disappear up its own asshole, so to speak.

Wed, 20 May 2009 15:50:29 GMT

I'm having a difficult time using a consistent rating system on Goodreads. I'm torn between two different ways of rating and I keep using them interchangeably and it's bothering me because then certain books have equal ratings that don't really have equal ratings in my mind. I will be less abstract so you can understand. Most of the time, I rate a book by how much I enjoyed reading it. Which seems like a good way to do things, at first glance. But sometimes I read a book which I think is really well-written, but that I don't enjoy as much as, say, a new book in a trashy vampire romance series that I've been following for years. This is mostly for emotional reasons. I know the characters well, and the book is silly and enjoyable even if it's not particularly well-written. But then it really bothers me that beautifully written books have the same rating as this trashy vampire romance simply because they didn't draw as much of an emotional reaction from me. This is all making me wish I could have two different ratings for each book on Goodreads: one for pure enjoyment and one for aesthetic admiration. How annoying.

Anyway, on to some actual book reviews. ( Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. )

( Dead and Gone )

( Welcome to the Monkey House )

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my admiration does not lessen my hatred one whit!

Sun, 17 May 2009 01:46:06 GMT

I got an A- this semester (in history of skepticism) and I only flipped out about it for, like, ten minutes! I haven't obsessed about it at all, really. In fact, I haven't even thought about it much. I didn't do my customary "grades I received this semester" post. Either Robby's nonchalance is rubbing off on me, or I'm improving by myself! Either way, I like it.

I found an old figure drawing book that belonged to my grandfather in our basement. I spent about an hour copying eyes and noses and lips. It's not a terribly informative book, but it gives me lots of things to copy for practice, so that's nice.

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can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Wed, 13 May 2009 03:34:10 GMT

In an attempt to acquire new hobbies, I am teaching myself to draw. I was bemoaning my lack of drawing abilities some weeks ago to Robby, and he told me that if I was really that upset about it I should learn how to draw. And I was like, "But you can't just do that! People are born with the ability to draw and the rest of us paeans are just fucked!" He quickly disabused me of this irrational notion that I have held for my entire life and told me to just start copying pictures as a way to teach myself some basic stuff. So that's what I'm doing! I shall have to be sure to keep it up. Perhaps if I am not too embarrassed I will post some attempts to chronicle my progress (assuming there is any).

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stories.

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:57:56 GMT

I thought I would have a lot more time to be on the internet when summer break started. I forgot that I rarely feel an inclination to get on the internet when I'm on break. I'm usually far away from my computer reading somewhere comfortable, and it's just not worth the effort, while during the semester I'm always on the computer or at my desk doing scholastic things, and it's nice to take a momentary break and do internet things. So, sorry that I've been a bit absent.

I'm really enjoying Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I keep buying books, though, and now I have this whole library of books that I haven't read. I used to be really good about only buying as many books as I was able to read, but with how much school crimps my reading habits, that plan has gone down the drain. Today I went to Borders and ended up leaving with No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Wall also by Sartre (includes five short stories), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, and Scary Stories Treasury by Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell. That last one I'm particularly excited about. It includes all three of the Scary Stories books, which kept me awake for weeks in my childhood years. I think I'm going to take a suitcase full of books to Ohio with me, since I won't have a library card.

I unfortunately have nothing else to say. My life is pretty much books at the moment.

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books read in 2009.

Fri, 08 May 2009 21:19:20 GMT

I figured I would put a copy of this up over here as well as on LiveJournal.

( Books read in 2009. )

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what'll i do with a trinket such as this?

Wed, 06 May 2009 00:26:27 GMT

I've been going through and deleting all of the LiveJournal entries I imported to this journal, and I keep finding myself thinking, "Wow, Laurie, what a colossally stupid idea." Retrospect. It's a powerful thing. I keep thinking of stuff I want to post about here, but I'm currently taking finals and spending all of my time studying/writing papers, so I don't have the proper amount of time to spend on a nicely introspective post. I must keep track of these ideas, though! They're so fleeting if I forget to write them down.

( Ideas. )

Also, hi to all of the people I have been adding latley! This is a sparse journal for now, but I will start being more active once aforementioned finals are completed.

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Fri, 01 May 2009 19:32:00 GMT

Hi!

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