An Update On The Life of Someone Who is Unemployed

    Howdy-ho everyone, it is officially Thursday and I am officially still not hired by anyone in particular...  Oh well.  That being said, I have made some progress that I assumed was impossible, given the current state of things.  Since being let go on Monday night, I have received one email notifying me that my resume and application are currently under review as well as an impromptu phone interview yesterday with a company that may allow me to work mainly from home, which would be super sweet!  Not sure what I'd be doing exactly, but I'll take it.  Fingers crossed for me to get a job by the end of February! (or hopefully sooner than that, if I keep progressing at this pace)

    I forgot how hard and long applications can be, (that's what SHE said?).  It's annoying filling out all this information that you think is unnecessary.  Most applications take about an hour to complete by themselves, let alone creating a completely new cover letter from scratch for each job you are applying to.  You have to be convincing and you have to sell yourself, both of which I am terrible at.  Just yesterday, after my random phone interview, (which I was NOT expecting, let alone prepared for), I remembered about a dozen things I could've said that I'm good at that would've made me seem perfect for this job, but alas, I never said any of those things.  Instead I told her where I lived...which I'm sure is important, however not viable enough to warrant giving me the job.  Hopefully I don't screw myself with my inability to speak directly to people...
    Although this has been a shock to me, my family has been very supportive and caring in my time of need.  My husband was the first person to bring me ice cream, which has helped me immensely in coping with my unemployment.  I've accepted it and have hopefully moved on to a better place, but I'm glad I have my own support system who are willing to help me with anything, including finding another job.  I'm not the type of person you'd think would get fired, and they know it, so it's nice that they have my back.  It's always good to have people in your life who know the real you and who love you for who you are.

    So while I'm dealing with all of that, I still have homework and various reading assignments I have to do, (like the one I should be doing while I'm doing this instead...oops).  Technically this is also homework, so it's justified.  It's tough to juggle all of this together at once.  Like yesterday, my phone interview happened right as I was about to leave to catch the bus to campus, and because I thought the call was important, I stalled in getting ready and was then late to catch the bus, (after running, in the cold, both up and down the hill behind my house, then had to trudge back up again).  Needless to say I was exasperated, but I'm not sorry I took the call because I could get that job.  Sometimes it can be hard to decide what's more important, and I'm sure I'll have to make more of those decisions as the days go on as well as in the future.

    On a completely different note, as some of you might know I am completely obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  There is another reboot in the works from Michael Bay, who will probably ruin it, but at this point I'm not one to judge.  Recently there were pictures leaked of the turtles in all their CGI glory, along with a possible movie poster.  Supposedly the pictures have since been pulled by Paramount, but you can still see the turtles for yourself here.  Although I am extremely skeptical about this production, I will obviously be seeing it in theaters this summer to either confirm or deny my suspicions of a horrible reboot.  More on that to come, as soon as I get a glimpse of a trailer.  I found out about the turtles pictures on Nerdist News, which is a subdivision of the Nerdist Channel on YouTube.  They cover various nerd news and updates on popular nerd culture, so if you're interested in anything from Skyrim to Dr. Who, you can watch Jessica Chobot here on Nerdist News and explore more of the Nerdist Channel.
    That's all I have for today.  Tomorrow I will be posting again on my ENGL 889 page about sponsors in literacy and how they shape the way we write, read and perform in schools, (and outside of schools).  If you'd like to follow my progress in the "Walk My World" project, you can do so through my Instagram link as well as through my Twitter page.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
   

Highs and Lows

    Hey everyone!  Welcome back to the work week, (for most of you).  This weekend was great for me because I met my very first nephew on Sunday!  Tanner James was born around one o'clock Sunday afternoon to a warm welcome from a very happy family.  They are coming home this afternoon so I will be making plans to visit again this weekend once they get settled in.  Welcome to the world little buddy!  I am so happy to be your auntie and can't wait to spend more time with you!!

    Unfortunately that is the only good news I have this week...  I was regrettably let go from my job last night.  It was an unforeseen circumstance and one that I will not soon forget.  I cannot begin to describe my grief upon experiencing my very first, and hopefully last, termination, but I understood the company policy and that I had severed it inadvertently.  Although I had been unhappy there as of late, I will truly miss all the friends and colleagues I have gained over the last three years there.  I wish none of this had happened, but it was my fault and I will have to live with my repercussions.  I got right on the job hunt last night, however I have certain qualifications I have to adhere to based on the rest of my schooling and my internship coming up this fall.  I wish I could have the freedom to chose any job I can get, even a job in a school system besides the one I already have, but I can't and it sucks.  Hopefully I will find a new job by the end of February, but we will see.  Keep your eyes open for me and your prayers thoughtful.
    On a positive note, after the first week of classes I've found that, yet again, both courses seem to relate well with each other, making my semester a lot easier.  I've been immersed in my reading and trying to keep myself otherwise occupied from my current predicament.  Now, on top of my readings and various assignments I'm also looking for employment, so it's a bit distracting.  In about a week I will be attending a meeting for prospective secondary intern students, so I'm excited to finally put in my picks for schools and learn a little more about the process.  Fingers crossed everything works out in my favor!  Lord knows I need some help these days...

**(SOME) SPOILERS!**

    On the television front, I have yet to watch The Bachelor due to all this drama happening in my real life, but I have heard who got eliminated and I am glad it wasn't anyone in my top three, however I also heard that Nikki was a bit cheeky this week, so we'll see if she can handle this in the long run.  I managed to watch the 200th episode of How I Met Your Mother and it was fantastic!  I'm glad they did a back track on the mother and the ending was so perfect!  I'm still not sure where Lily is going, nor do I know when or where she reconciles with Marshall before the wedding, (should be next week if they find Barney, which they should).  I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

    I've also started watching a newer show, based on my recent infatuation with Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  Dracula on NBC has finished it's first season, with little information regarding a second.  It follows the life and happenings of a really hot version of Dracula, or Vlad in Impaler, as they call him.  I find the suspense and plot line interesting, (in addition to the obvious charisma of Dracula), and hope it is renewed for a second season, however I won't keep my hopes up.
    So that's it basically.  I don't have a lot to report, seeing as the baby and losing my job have taken up the majority of the last few days.  I haven't had a lot of down time following the start of classes, so I will be back Thursday with a hopefully more educational post, (but who knows?).  I will also post my "walk my world" from this week.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Walk My World

    Here we are, on a Friday.  I apologize for the lateness of my post, but I was busy all day with reading, then a much-needed family night.  Trust me, it was entirely worth it.
    Speaking of family, I have some great news!  My sister-in-law is being induced tomorrow and will have my highly anticipated nephew this weekend!  I am so happy for her and I'm very excited to become an aunt.  My only hope is that when I have my first child I am as lucky as she is to have all the love and support that her family has given her.  They've had a pretty rough time the last few months and her family dropped everything and made room for them and the baby, gave them a place to stay and a new job to help support them.  My in-laws are the most selfless, honorable people I've ever met in my entire life.  They surprise me every day with their unwavering kindness.  I suppose that's sad for me to think that that kind of love is unnatural or special when it should always be that way.  Regardless, I have no doubt that that child will be brought up in the best of circumstances.

    On a less emotional note, I have started classes this week, as you all know, and have been engrossed in reading and other preparations for future projects and case studies.  I will be posting on a new page later today directly connected to my Special Topics course about our readings pertaining to participatory culture.  I have also been making preparations to start an observation case study on a student at the school I substitute at.  I already have consent from three different parties, so as soon as I get her class schedule we can start!  I'm super excited to start looking at her writing and see what connections and inferences I can make.

http://wiobyrne.com/walkmyworld/

    In addition to the blog posts and readings for my Special Topics course, we are trying to participate in the "Walk My World" challenge, which is a research study created by William Ian O'Byrne, (you can follow him on Twitter here).  The purpose of this project is to explore the use of digital texts to see how people connect and communicate with each other.  For ten weeks, I will be posting a picture or video snippet of my life accompanied with the hash-tag #walkmyworld in order to provide a glimpse into what my "world" is like.  There are no guidelines or requirements to the posts, but it has to be about your life.  I take that to mean I can continue to post random pictures from various moments of my life, but more diligently.  That is to say I haven't been keeping up with my Instagram as of late, so I will be posting at least once a week for the next ten weeks or so, starting next week.  Should be fun, and I'm excited to be participating in someone else's research!  If you'd like to participate or learn more about Will or the "Walk My World" challenge, you can visit his website here.

**SPOILER ALERTS GALORE**

    On a completely different note, I did get to watch the latest Bachelor, Bones, Castle and How I Met Your Mother episodes from this past Monday.  So far my current Top 3 ladies for The Bachelor are Renee, Andi and Nikki, but we'll see how long that lasts.  I'm just glad that Lucy Lewd went home, finally.  I really like these girls because they seem really down to earth, they're not too young or immature and they seem to really have his best interests at heart.  Again, not sure how it'll turn out, (my father insists that he never picked anyone at the end), but I feel god about this Top 3.

    Bones made me cry AGAIN this week.  I'm not sure what it is with all these TV shows tearing at my heart strings, but apparently they're in a phase.  Wendell was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal bone cancer, so he now has a 10% chance of living through chemo and other treatments.  I died a little, not only because he's been on the show for so long and has been an undeniable asset to the team, but because Brennan SHOWED EMOTION.  If you've watched the show for as long as I have, you'll understand that when Brennan shows emotion, it's a big deal.  Her being sad at his diagnosis, which SHE discovered, shows that it's definitely a hard pill to swallow.  I wish him all the best in this season, but I'm definitely expecting him to die in the finale...fingers crossed I'm wrong.

    Castle was your typical Castle plot again.  After the tumultuous burning building episode we kind of needed a break from the drama.  I was happy to see Alexis (hopefully) break it off with Pi, seeing as he brought nothing more to the story and was basically dead weight in her life.  We'll see if she caved next week, but I'm guessing they're officially over.  It's sad that that was the highlight of that episode for me.

    How I Met Your Mother is getting more and more daring with their story line as we saw Lily and Marshall finally had the fight they needed to have, but it ended in disaster.  Lily ended up leaving in a random vehicle after calling an unknown person for a ride out of the inn.  She didn't say where she was going either, so we could be following her anywhere next week, but I'm most curious to see who it was that she called.  Marshall will most likely be heartbroken so close to the wedding, but we all know from previous episodes that Lily makes it back in time for the ceremony with everyone else, so we'll see what happens.  We haven't seen the mother in a few episodes either, not since she helped Marshall, so I'm eager to see her during the wedding reception.
    That's all for this week.  I'm expecting to post pictures of Tanner when he arrives, so look out for those on Tuesday, but for now I'm going to try and enjoy my weekend.  Here's to more reading and two blog posts today instead of one!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Leveling Up in the World

    Hey all!  Welcome back:)  It was a nice weekend for me, despite working, (and then realizing I have almost the entire week off...lame).  Still no baby boy from my sister-in-law, but we will definitely see him by the end of next week if it doesn't happen soon.  Can't wait to be an auntie!!  Other than that, nothing really exciting has happened yet, so unfortunately it's another Tuesday rendition of Boring Blog, which, apparently, a lot of you actually like, so maybe I'll keep this going.
    Also, this is currently happening in the classroom I'm in today...not sure why someone would keep something so obviously creepy in a Social Studies classroom, but who am I to judge?...

    First things first: I start my final semester of courses today!  First class on deck is "Special Topics in English Teaching" with the wonderful Alecia Magnifico.  I am most looking forward to my classes this semester, especially this one.  The class I have tomorrow is "Teaching Writing in the 21st Century," which sounded very interesting to me.  I'm looking forward to broadening my horizons as an educator and learning more new and captivating ideas this year to prepare me for my internship this fall.

    Second thing: Pokemon update.  I have now obtained all eight gym badges and have made it to the chambers of the Elite Four, (FINALLY).  It literally took me about four hours to get through just that section, battling all of the trainers on the long and winding road up to the Pokemon League.  After reviving at least three of my top Pokemon about six times, I made it to the Pokemon Center before the main building, (thank God for that, because I don't think I'd make it very far without one.  I thought it was a little ridiculous to have THAT many trainers on the road just to enter the area where the Elite Four are.  Then each of them have four Pokemon each level 63 and higher, plus the Champion who has a whopping SIX Pokemon level 65 and higher, so I'm in for a rough night if I try to take them on.  The gym leaders were too easy and Victory Road seemed a bit too difficult for the amount of preparation I was given, so we'll see how that goes.  I might try to level up a bit more before attempting to take them all out, (I'm currently at about 75 with my top two Pokemon and around the mid-sixties with the rest of my party).  I am most proud of the legendary Pokemon, Yveltal, who I was able to catch on my first try, which almost never happens.  Props to me!

    In general, I'm a huge fan of water and fire types, however I can see now where it would benefit from having a grass or psychic type in combination with these types.  This is the type of strategy and planning I was looking for when researching this game as a type of literacy.  There are different kinds of people who play: people who play to get through the game, people who play to catch all the Pokemon they can get their hands on, people who want to get higher level Pokemon as fast as they can, people who want to find all the hidden items, artifacts and other gems around the game, etc.  Game play ultimately depends on what type of person you are, and it's interesting to see me categorized among them.  I haven't played like this in a very long time, so I'm still getting used to immersing myself completely in the game, (much to my husband's dismay).  Since I've played older versions before, I went into this thinking differently than someone who would just be starting out fresh without ever having played the older versions.  There are also people who have played every single version up until this point, and they are used to playing a different game than I am, having experienced some of the newer versions that I have not.  I'm interested in continuing to log my progress and even write in a journal to gather data so I can maybe turn this into something beneficial.  We shall see, but I'm enjoying myself nonetheless.
    So that's basically it.  Nothing exciting or substantial happening with me this week.  Starting my courses, baby maybe and possibly taking on the Elite Four before I get dragged into the homework routine again.  I will be catching up with all my shows today and tomorrow, so there might possibly be another TV review on Thursday if I have nothing else to talk about.  Also I've added two more tabs to the top of the blog: "Open Letters" and "ENGL 889."  The first tab will be dedicated to various individuals/situations I find particularly interesting/amusing/annoying/etc. while the second will be dedicated to responses for my new Special Topics course in English Teaching, which will be linked to my class' blog page.  Feel free to check both tabs out and I will keep you updated on posts via Twitter, etc.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Reviews Galore!

    Hey all!  I promise I'm not rushing this time, (even though it seems like Tuesday's post did pretty well for itself, all things considered).  I start my last set of classes on Tuesday, so this may very well be the last random post for the winter vacation.  We'll see how much work I have next week.

    The first thing I'd like to address is that it's my Nana's birthday today.  She would've been 71 today if she hadn't passed away three years ago tomorrow.  I miss her a lot and sometimes I wish she was still here so I could ask her questions and get her opinion on things.  I know I'm an adult and I should be able to think for myself, but sometimes everyone needs a second opinion.  I was her oldest grandchild and shouldered a lot of responsibility.  I took today off because I wanted to celebrate her life rather than her death and so that I could go see her because I haven't in awhile.  I usually bring her flowers because she loved them so much and I hope the little pop of color will help her think of spring and of all the gardening we used to do together.  I'm still somewhat bitter about the amount of time we got to spend together before we were rudely interrupted, however I am grateful I at least got to say goodbye.  I love you now and forever always Nana<3

    So to keep myself happy and in good spirits today, I will start out with my review of the latest Bachelor, as promised on Tuesday.  I would like to take a moment and recognize a select few ladies for their potential and their utter embarrassment on public television.  SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

•   Claire- I like Claire, really I do, but I feel like she's just way too into this.  Everything excites her and she seems to be impervious to any negativity whatsoever.  This could be a good thing in the long run, but I found her to be very annoying for her first one-on-one with Juan Pablo.  She seems to have it set in her mind that he's already perfect for her and that he could be "the Juan" she's been longing for after only about a week, so we'll see if she lasts.
• Renee and Cassandra- I like these two because they are "the moms" of the group and they have that in common with Juan Pablo.  He treats them differently because they have children and he understands where they are coming from on a deeper level than any of the other ladies can understand, so for that I commend them for taking the risk.  I know that he can't chose both of them and although Cassandra has shown remarkable maturity for a 21-year-old, I think that Renee would be a better fit for him and his little girl.  We'll see if I'm right.
• Nikki- She is a little ball of sunshine, (not in the almost fake way that Claire demonstrates), but it's manageable and controlled.  Juan seems to like her a lot and she's obviously great with children being a pediatric nurse, so I feel like she'll go far if he doesn't get too attached to some of the other ladies.
• Lucy- What a gem this one is.  I'm all for being comfortable with your body, but unfortunately we don't live in a world where public displays of nudity are acceptable, (outside of nude beaches and certain European countries).  I like her attitude thus far; she seems nice, genuine and relaxed, not at all caddy or anxious about dates and what-not.  But I honestly don't see her as proper mom material for Camila, so I think that's the ultimate deal-breaker for me with her.  That and the fact that her job as a "free spirit" probably won't go over very well with him either.
• Victoria- I AM SO GLAD SHE'S GONE.  I actually had high hopes for her, being 24 and from Brazil she seemed to have at least something in common with Juan Pablo.  Alas, I was terribly wrong...who would've known she was an adult?  Her behavior at the group date was appalling to say the least and reminded me of something you might have seen in The Real World house, rather than The Bachelor.  Definitely not mommy material and the self-inflicted dramatic rampage was completely unnecessary.  Have a nice flight back home to Miami.

    Those are my immediate thoughts so far after seeing the last episode.  If you want to read a great and thorough recap, check it out here at Entertainment Weekly.  Literally made me laugh out loud reading it.  Can't get enough of that satire!

    Another review I wanted to do was for the new Pokemon Y game for the Nintendo 3DS, which I purchased yesterday, (after almost no deliberation).  Yes, I am an adult and yes, it's awesome.  After about 24 hours I've accumulated 84 Pokemon in my Pokedex, one gym badge and a new fossilized Pokemon that I am very excited about, (he's called a Tyrunt and he will eventually evolve into a Tyrannosaurus Rex-type thing).  I've logged about 9 hours of game play so far and I'm very impressed with the graphics and overall layout of the game.  I am currently in Ambrette Town getting ready to move onto the next coastal city.

    If you're curious, the three starter Pokemon you are given to chose from are Chespin, (grass-type rodent thing), Froakie, (water-type frog thing), and Fennekin, (fire-type fox thing).  As opposed to the Professor of this region giving you the choice of one of these three Pokemon, your characters meets with his or her friends to decide amongst themselves.  It's a weird concept, but I understood why after we met with the Professor and he gave us three more Pokemon to choose from: Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.  To say that I was excited would've been an understatement.  After having a coronary, I chose Charmander, (obviously).  I have always chosen fire-type or water-type Pokemon from each game, so I got to choose both this time.  For my main Pokemon I chose Froakie, solely because it was a frog and it was adorable.

    I used to nickname all my Pokemon, but I now find that to be tiring because there are about 12,000 more Pokemon now than when I started back in 1998, so I stuck to nicknaming just a few so far.  My Froakie's name is Remy, (something French, so I used Remy LeBeau as inspiration because it's a ninja frog).  I named my Charmander Drogon because it'll eventually become a fearsome dragon lord due to Mega Evolution, which is also new to this series.  Only certain Pokemon can mega evolve and you have to possess a certain stone to make it happen.  For example, in each game, Pokemon X or Y, Charizard mega-evolves differently, (see picture above).  Depending on which game you get, the mega evolutions vary.  I'm excited to see what other special secrets there are in the game as I go along.

    Another thing I like about the game is that you can connect wirelessly with anyone else who has either game to trade, battle, etc.  I remember the good old days of linking up with cords and you had to sit right across from someone to battle them on a tiny screen.  Now you can be worlds away with the right Internet connection and battle in 3D.  Pretty neat, huh?  I haven't met anyone else who has this game, so let me know in the comments if you do so we can play together!  I'm still figuring out how all this new technology works, so bare with me, (I haven't used a Gameboy since they were still called Gameboys...).

    So that's my post for today.  Now I'm going to grab some lunch and see how much farther I can get within a reasonable hour; I ended up losing track of time last night and played until 3am...not good.  If you have any comments, tips or predictions about The Bachelor or Pokemon X or Y, let me know in the comments!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Digital Chats and The Final Countdown

          This week marks the last week of my vacation.  Sadly I didn’t accomplish much of anything, but I’m hoping to be more productive in the coming weeks, partially due to the fact that I should have more actual work to do.  I’m excited to start my final two courses: Special Topics in English Teaching and Teaching Writing in the 21^st Century.  I’m excited partially because one of my classes is taught by the same professor I took Digital Literacies with.  Should be a good last hurrah before I start my internship next fall.

            In other news, I got new glasses yesterday!  I have had the same red pair since 2006, with no change in prescription, so I thought it was finally time to change it up.  Plus I’ve been squinting even with my glasses on lately, so for my own sake I didn’t want to have any more headaches from strain.  It was difficult to choose a pair of glasses because I’ve been so used to my old pair and we’ve been through a lot together, so I was a little unwilling to change at first.  But with a little help from the nice eye guy and my wonderful husband’s opinion, I decided on a completely different style and I love them!  I will miss my signature red, but hopefully these will be just as good, seeing as I stuck with the pop of color.  Here’s to new beginnings and a new style!

            This week I will also be attempting my first online chat sessions.  The New England Bloggers Network will be hosting a blog chat tomorrow night through Twitter which I will be participating in.  Also through Twitter, there will be a “Digital Learning” chat from the National Council of Teachers of English, (NCTE), this Sunday night at 8pm if any of my teacher friends want to join me in that one.  This is my first attempt to participate in one of these digital chats, so wish me luck.  Hopefully it will help me better understand that type of community in the event I’d like to participate more openly in the future.

            For my TV menu this week Castle returns as well as How I Met Your Mother, so I’m looking forward to getting caught up with those episodes which aired yesterday, (as some of you already know, I do not have cable, so I watch everything the day after through Hulu and Netflix through my Roku box).  Also, premiering tonight is the new season of Face-Off, which is a show on the SyFy network about make-up and special effects artists competing for a contract and cash prize.  They are already in their 6^th season and it’s extremely interesting to see what they come up with for various themes and characters.

            Keeping with my Victorian Era kick, I’ve been thoroughly invested in The Tudors series on Netflix, (I’m already on season four…after about a week, maybe?).  Even though you know what’s going to happen to some extent, it’s still a very well done series, so I’m interested to see how they ended it.  Since I’ve been watching Reign as well, this story line ties directly into it, being that Mary, Queen of Scots is related to the Tudors line of succession, (Margaret Tudor, sister to King Henry VIII is her grandmother).  I was thinking about starting The Borgias series after I finish with The Tudors, so let me know what you think in the comments.

            That’s it for this week!  I can’t post a review of The Bachelor from this week yet because I haven’t seen it, but I will Thursday, (maybe), if it still seems relevant.  As for the rest of this week, it’s pretty much wide open.  My sister-in-law’s due date is this coming Saturday, so I could be an aunt as early as this weekend!  Fingers crossedJ I’m hoping we can visit, but we’ll see what happens.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

OOPS...TV Stuff

    Hey guys, so I'm going to apologize early for this one because I honestly haven't even picked up Divergent and totally got wrapped up in other things so far this week.  Sorry!  I'm also currently a chapter away from finishing the first installment of the Game of Thrones series and I hate starting a different book while I'm still working on another one.  I promise to have a mild review with questions/concerns up by next Thursday.

    My distractions were also partially due to the fact that I got roped in to a new television program on Hulu called Reign on the CW.  If you are unfamiliar with the show, it supposedly follows a fictional version of Mary, Queen of Scots through her adolescent years as she attempts to save her country by forging an alliance through marriage with France.  So far it's been less than historical, however it's a nice plot line with all the made-up characters that never existed.  I will be tuning in for the second half of season one on the 23rd.

    Also on my radar for television, (as this has been a lazy week of roaming about the house with little to nothing to keep me busy), is the new season of The Bachelor, which I've already warned you about.  The only reason I'm watching is because of Juan Pablo, which is somewhat obvious.  Also, I've heard that there's a Phi Mu girl amongst the potential bachelorettes, so I will be following her progress as she is automatically my favorite by default.  I will not be able to live tweet the show, however, due to the fact that I have no cable and have been watching online the day after it airs.  As soon as there's a show on Sundays that I enjoy, I will be live tweeting that.

(DIOS MIO...)

    In addition to the new Bachelor, Cougar Town has returned for a fifth season and I could not be more excited!  I have loved this show since its inception and I think it's hilarious.  If I had to rank it, it would fall somewhere around New Girl in my "favorite comedy" pool.  I can't wait to see how they work the new plot line of this season!

    Well, that's basically it.  TV has been controlling my life now that everyone is coming back from their winter break.  Castle returned this week, (tearing at my heart strings), as well as Agents of Shield and Bones set to return this coming Monday with How I Met Your Mother.  I have a lot more that I'm following with new shows popping up on my radar every few days, but I'm only morally invested in a select few.
    I enjoy these shows because of the variations in plot structure and character developments as it pertains to my knowledge about the two.  I think TV does lend itself to a larger infrastructure of literacy that we have yet to explore, but try telling that to an "obese" child addicted to Adventure Time who spends hours of uncultured time on the couch some some Cheetos...  I'm sure I'll learn more about the differences as I continue my digital literacy studies next semester, but for now I'll just let TV be entertainment.  I only have about a week left before I start my last two classes and I want to make the most of this downtime while I have it.  Again, sorry this post is short!  If you have any questions or just want to talk about any of the shows I listed or any of the ones you watch, let me know in the comments or Twitter or anywhere really.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

YouTube Drama and The Life of a Hermit

    I hope everyone had a fabulous post-holiday weekend!  It definitely feels like January now...  These frigid temperatures are set to stay with us up here in the north east for awhile, so I'm trying not to skimp on heat.  That being said, I have spent a great deal of time indoors as of late and I am not ashamed of it.

    Whilst inside, I have been paying close attention to the drama that has risen out of YouTube lately dealing with Grace Helbig.  For those of you who don't know, Grace is a YouTube personality and classy individual who, until recently, uploaded video blogs to her main channel "DailyGrace" on the MyDamnChannel network.  Since her contract with them seems to have expired, Grace has chosen to start over on her own channel, thus preserving her content, (since MyDamnChannel wouldn't let her keep her old content on the "DailyGrace" channel siting copyright issues).  It seems as though Grace and MyDamnChannel had a falling out of sorts, however everyone seems to be happy now and Grace has her new channel from which to control her own content.

Subscribe to Grace's new channel here!

    This is all well and good, but when you move channels and go from over two million subscribers to less than 500,000, it takes a bit of wind out of your sails.  Grace has not asked any of her original subscribers to switch, however the Internet has taken it upon itself to educate the masses and let them know what's going on.  Grace's many friends through YouTube, including author John Green, Mamrie and Hannah Hart, her brother Tim, and many more came together to draw awareness to this change.  The amount of YouTuber support throughout this ordeal has proven to be very beneficial for Grace and extremely uplifting.  I've never seen this type of support before from an online community and it was great to get to watch all these people support Grace in her endeavors.  She still has a long way to go, but if she stays true to herself she should be just fine, if not better than before.

    As you may know, I've been following the YouTube community closely since the beginning of last year, (it feels weird to say that...).  I have 52 subscriptions and watch a few vloggers religiously every day, including Grace.  Seeing as my viewership has varied over the course of a year, I plan on experimenting and exploring with new channels and people this year, including Grace's new channel, in order to track her progress.  It's been an exciting year for YouTube and I can't wait for what this year brings, including the YouTube documentary Vlogumentary, which is set to come out this year.  If you want to know what's happening in the YouTube or online community as a whole, check out Tubefilter, "the curator of online video," including news, reviews and more.
    In other news, because of the new year, my husband and I have decided to implement some new rules and goals for our lives this year.  One of them being the "no spend" rule for January.  This idea came from my wonderful mother-in-law, who practices this rule as well.  All you have to do is not spend any money you don't need to spend.  Obviously bills and groceries are necessary, but going out to eat, going to the movies, shopping for clothes, etc. are off limits until February.  That way we have money to save for more important things.  It also teaches us to appreciate the things we have and enjoy ourselves from home, which I have no problem with.

    That's it for today.  I'm in the middle of a Star Wars marathon with a cup of coffee and I plan on continuing throughout the day.  I've also started reading Divergent, so if you have any questions for me about the book, or anything about reading in general, I will be answering them on Thursday through my Twitter account with the hash-tag "#LaxDivergent"  Tweet me your questions, comments and predictions! (if you are reading it with me for the first time)  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

PS: For your viewing pleasure:

Jimmy Fallon Late Night with Justin Timberlake: "History of Rap"

   

Winter Vacation: First Snow Day of 2014

    Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had fun gorging themselves on Chinese food and binge drinking with friends.  Now that the holiday season is officially over, we can now move our focus to the wonderful aspects of winter vacation.  Usually this means nothing to adults, but to those select few who do still appreciate winter there are still fun times to be had.

    I know I speak for a lot of people when I say snow SUCKS sometimes.  For those who haven't had the pleasure of living in a cold-weather climate, driving in it can be extremely dangerous, especially for those people who think they're invincible with four-wheel drive.  Schools close, kids emerge and begin construction on their various snow homes and winter weaponry.  You can usually see adults shoveling, or more likely snow-blowing their way out of their driveways.  As a kid, I was always enlisted to aid my father in shoveling the driveway in order to learn how to do it properly.  My sister and I had tiny shovels and we'd start a path from the porch to the driveway and go on from there, (usually in no particular direction).  It's a fond memory I have of winter and I plan on teaching my children the same way, (or rather Tom will, seeing as I'm awful at shoveling nowadays and can't seem to stay outside for longer than ten consecutive minutes...).

    I have something called "Raynaud's Phenomenon,"in which my extremities lose circulation rapidly in the colder weather.  Because of this, my hands and feet will feel a burning sensation whenever it gets too cold outside.  This prevents me from grabbing my steering wheel, shoveling, cleaning off my car, etc.  Basically just going outside hurts and it's very inconvenient, but I've managed for this long.  I'm hoping that, in the future, I will find some gloves that will work to keep my hands warm, but so far, no luck.  I'm lucky enough to have a husband who will selflessly clear snow after a hard day's work.
    Needless to say winter hasn't always been my favorite time of year due to my medical problems.  However, I do enjoy sledding/tubing, skiing and ice skating.  My dad used to take us sledding in certain places, as I supposed a lot of people have done.  In fact, I think my dad is the reason I enjoy all of these things, seeing as he took us outside the most.  I owe him a lot for my love of winter sports and for teaching me to not be afraid or hindered by my medical issues.  I love him more for that.

    As for now, I enjoy staying indoors, curled up on the couch in my sweatpants with a movie or a good book.  Speaking of that, I am officially starting my reading for the month of January.  I will only be reading one book seeing as I have less than a month and I need to stop once my spring semester starts up again.  I will be reading Divergent by Veronica Roth to start that series.  Eventually I would like to read all of them, but until I have the time I will start with the first installment.  As I have stated before, on Thursdays I will be talking about my progress in the book as well as my feelings and inferences as well.  I am excited to start reading again for leisure:)
    Enjoy your snow days if you have them.  I will be hanging out in my apartment for the next 48 hours avoiding the outside world as best I can.  I see a nice mug of hot cocoa and some home made mac and cheese in my near future, so I will leave you to your various engagements in winter merriment.  Tell me about your favorite parts of winter in the comments below!  I will be continuing my Harry Potter Marathon.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.