Finale Week

    Hey there, hi there, ho there!  It's Thursday yet again and can I just say I'm RELIEVED to finally be rid of finals week?!  Not only did I manage to get an 11-page literary review on Tumblr done in about 9 hours, but I also managed to pass it in a day early!  Yay me!  Year one of grad school accomplished:)  Now that I don't have any more homework to do, I'm in that awkward in-between stage of Spring where I have no idea what to do with all the free time I now have at my disposal.  I made a promise to myself that I would leave the apartment and venture out into the outside world, so I will try to make as many plans with friends as possible.  We'll see how that goes...but with my husband pushing me out the door it might not be as difficult as I imagine.

    I will say, having spent so much time inside this winter has really made me reevaluate my health and wellness.  As someone who suffers from Lupus, I really should be taking better care of myself.  I don't want to say I've let myself go, but I could be putting a little more effort into eating correctly, making a conscious effort to get outside on those nice days and really taking control of my health.  Even if it's just a low-impact workout routine, I need something to get my butt off this couch every week.  I'll be looking for programs and workouts that peak my interests, so if anyone has any suggestions for exercises geared towards joint health, let me know in the comments below!  I'm looking forward to getting back out there, visiting some local farmer's markets and getting back on track.

    Another part of this reevaluation has been the cleanliness of our home.  Obviously we don't have a lot of space in this one-bedroom apartment, but on days where I'm bored and don't know what I should do with my time, I might try cleaning up a bit and maybe reorganizing some things around here.  There are some days when I come home and get really annoyed and overwhelmed with the state of some of the rooms in this apartment and even though not all of it is my fault, I know I could do at least a little more to help clean up.  This weekend I'm planning on doing a massive clean-out of my closet and drawers, so everything that doesn't fit or I don't wear anymore is out of here.  Hopefully I can find the time and money to go shopping for the things I do need, (apparently every year I have to buy new shorts...).  I also need to get more professional outfits for teaching next year, so that would be fun.  Eventually my house will be the way I want it, but until then, I'll make due with what I have.

    Alright, so for TV this week there were a lot of season finales.  Here come the SPOILERS...

  It was not The Amazing Race finale this week, but it was the second to last episode.  The teams traveled to England to play on the Liverpool football pitch, which was super cool!  It did make me feel like I could have definitely completed that task in less time than some of the other teams.  How do so many people NOT know how to kick a soccer ball?!?  Regardless, all the teams eventually made it to the most difficult challenge ever: reciting a poem in Welsh.  This is something I might have actually be able to do because I've taken an Old English class before and it seemed pretty similar, (although I could be wrong).  The one detour that surprised me was the Blonde's shooting techniques.  How they managed to pull off a spot in the final three is beyond me, but I'm still rooting for Dave and Connor.  I was actually sad to see the Afghanimals go this time around, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the last we'll see of those guys.

  The Once Upon a Time finale was EPIC!  I wasn't sure if I would like Emma and Hook traveling through time, but then Emma screwed up her parents meeting each other for the first time, so obviously they had to make it worse.  That's just how these things go.  Anyway, my favorite part was after they got back and Emma realized that she wanted to stay and love Hook forever and they made out together on the patio and it was AWESOME!  Oh, and everyone else was way too happy, so they had to ruin everyone's good vibes with Emma screwing everything up AGAIN for Regina by bringing back Maid Marion, who was supposed to die so that Robin and Regina could be together.  I found it ironic that Snow had managed to ruin Regina's love life by trying to do the right thing in the past and now her daughter managed to do it.  I think Regina is just destined for horrible luck, so we'll see what she does after Robin makes a decision.  Obviously we'd assume he'd pick Marion, but now he has a problem with fate and the prophesy and all that Tinkerbell jazz.  The best and most cliff-hanging part of the finale was the end, where an blue princess came up out of the ground and appeared to shoot ice from her hands...  It seems like the rumors of Frozen coming to Storybrooke were true after all.  From the way they introduced her, it seems like Elsa might start out evil, but who knows?  Let me know what you think of this addition to the cast of the next season.

  Clearly Game of Thrones has just begun.  The best part of this week's episode was Tyrion's speech before his verdict was said to be reached.  The way he went off on everyone was just amazing and his emotional delivery was flawless.  Shae better run and hide now, because she'll get nothing but ice from Tyrion now.  I am a little disappointed that he didn't trust his brother to let him live, but then again this is the way Tyrion would've handled the situation, and boy did he handle it.  I can't wait to see what happens with him because they're obviously not going to kill him.  Unfortunately I'm having trouble remembering anything else that happened in that episode because that speech just blew everything else out of the water.  Daenerys was basically just trying to help all her new people with their issues, which was sort of boring actually.  That whole situation with "Reek" and his sister trying to rescue him was sad too.  At this point, I hope someone can just put Theon out of his misery.  I was hoping that Ramsay would get what's coming to him by way of Yara, but alas she did not succeed in her mission.  I do think they will come back in greater numbers, but this wasn't the highlight of the episode by any means.

  Agents of Shield had their finale as well this week.  They finally brought in Nick Fury, after a long wait.  He wasn't even really an integral part of the episode; just a guy with some cool sunglasses on.  I think Fury came back partially to prove a point: that SHIELD isn't dead yet and there's always hope.  The action was lacking in this finale, but I don't think we needed it.  The exchange between Skye and Ward was awesome, especially when May came out of nowhere to exact her revenge.  The situation with Fitz and Simmons was heart-wrenching.  I wanted them to live so badly and I got my wish, but just barely.  We still don't know how Fitz is holding up, but we do know he put how he feels about Simmons out in the open, (FINALLY).  My favorite part was when Deathlok got the message from Ace through Skye and stomped Garrett's face in.  Sadly he didn't stay down for long, but Coulson fixed that with some alien technology blaster.  I like the looks of the new team and hope they are able to rebuild what they lost and more.  I'm eager to see how they fit this story line into the next few adaptations of the Marvel universe in film.  I'm also eager to see how they put Skye's supposed "father" in play and what role he'll have in the new season, especially if he's in league with Cybertek.
    That's all I have for TV reviews this week.  I'd say those finales were all pretty spectacular!  This weekend Godzilla comes out and I think I may want to go see it.  I usually don't do scary movies, (yes, Godzilla would count as a "scary" movie, at least per my standards), but this remake looks way too good to pass up.  Other than that, nothing special going on for me.  Possibly arranging some meet-ups with friends, but otherwise cleaning house.  I may start one of my books I got for Christmas, (GASP).  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

    *In accordance with Lupus Awareness Month, tomorrow is "Put on Purple" day to raise awareness for Lupus.  Everyone should wear something purple tomorrow to show your support!*

Home Stretch

    I hope everyone is having a good week so far.  Thursday happens to be one of my favorite days because it's that much closer to the weekend.  I definitely think next week should be just one giant weekend with all the work I have to complete.  The end of my semester is coming and I couldn't be more calm.  Usually I'd be extremely stressed thinking about all of the papers and projects I have to do before the beginning of May, but this year it's different.  I'm completely aware of the amount of work I have to do, but I'm not worried.  I have faith in myself to get everything done on time, or even early.  It's always nice to get a break for the summer.

    Three of my assignments are relatively large: a literature review, a unit plan and a multimedia narrative.  For the literature review I have to read an entire book and focus on a central issue regarding 21st century literacies.  I've created a unit plan surrounding one of my favorite movies, Harriet the Spy, using both the book and the film to draw conclusions around identity and character development.  For my multimedia narrative I'm supposed to reflect on my semester and make light of my experiences from the course using multimodal technologies.  I think I'm going to use Storify, which is a site dedicated to mashing up various aspects of social media to create a coherent story.  I'll be posting my thoughts and rough draft of this project tomorrow on my ENGL 889 page.  All of these projects are labor intensive and require a huge amount of reflection and organization.  I'm curious about what I'll discover while working on all of these simultaneously.  I've already found that some of the readings I've done in both classes have the potential for crossing over.  I'm looking forward to getting down to business and putting as much effort into these as I can muster.  I may even share one of these finished projects on here in my ENGL 889 page, so stay tuned for a finished product.

    On top of this school work, I've been working on finding a summer job.  So far I haven't had any bites yet, but I'm still waiting to hear back from two places that seemed promising at first.  Honestly, I don't know what will happen with either of them, but I'm still trying to keep my options open.  Hopefully I'll hear something from one of them by next week, but who knows.  Honestly, I didn't think I would be on the job hunt again so soon.  I've also never applied for summer jobs before, so most of the application deadlines for opportunities in my area have been closed since mid-March.  It's actually more stressful than my projects.  The good news is that the after school program goes until mid-June, so I have some time left, but not much.  I'm praying for some much-needed beach time, so fingers crossed.
    As for TV reviews, they're very similar to last week.  Heads up for some SPOILERS...

  The Amazing Race brought the laughs this weekend with the Globetrotters attempting to ride the smallest donkey's in Italy.  Or maybe they just looked tiny underneath Big Easy?  Needless to say it was another frustrating week for me, being a fan of the Globetrotters.  I didn't like that they went home, but I have to say I can't really defend them this week.  They've been having trouble reading the directions on their road block cards...or maybe just with common sense.  Besides screaming at my television every time the Globetrotters were on screen, it was a decent episode.  I didn't like that Brenchel won again, but I have to give Rachel props on her calligraphy skills.  Is it sad that that road block was one of my favorites?  I would've loved to have taken that one on, but alas, I don't think my dad and I will ever make it to the Amazing Race.  I can still dream though.

  Once Upon a Time answered some questions for us this time around.  We finally found out what Zelena is planning to do with all her body parts, why she wants to go back in time and who's brain she needs.  How she plans on getting it is a whole other story...and it's probably not pretty.  You know what else wasn't pretty?  Rumple and Zelena's make-out session...EW.  There was a time when I thought any romanticism with Rumple would've been gross, but I'd give anything for Brumple to be whole again, without Zelena.  She's becoming an annoying wicked thorn in everyone's side, so I hope her demise is quick and painful.  My favorite person from this week was definitely Regina.  With her acting brave and working hard to help everyone, it's obvious that she's turned over a new leaf.  Also, her kiss with Robin was AMAZING! (and so over due).  Needless to say I can't wait to see what next week has to offer.  Especially with Hook being so shady, now that he's pissed about the curse.  Still hoping for a Emma/Hook ship to happen!

  Game of Thrones was also great this week.  I don't think I'm the only one who loves the dynamic between Arya and The Hound.  It won't last, but I like that they hinted at Bravos as a potential ending point.  I would like to know what Baelish wants to do with Sansa, but honestly I think she's safer with him.  I wouldn't want to go back to King's Landing under any circumstances, even to save poor Tyrion.  I definitely don't think he'll die, but his dialogue with Podrick was so moving!  He really is the best squire ever.  We're still not sure who actually killed Joffrey, but at this point I'm just glad he's dead.  Obviously, if you've read the books, you do know who killed him, but I haven't gotten that far yet, so I think we'll find out soon.  Another one of my favorite relationships is the one between Daenarys and Daario, who proved he was as badass as he claimed to be this week.  From the look in her eyes at the end of that miserable excuse for a showdown, she likes what she sees.  I'd ship them.  There were a lot of things I didn't like about this episode though: Sam sending Gilly to that nasty brothel, Jaimie raping his sister near their dead son's body, (c'mon man, even Cersei wouldn't do that...), and those damn cannibals killing and eating everyone.  Poor Stanis doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore, so I don't know why they even bothered giving him a two minute scene.  Who knows what will happen next week, but from the looks of things it's going to be good.

    I'd like to take this opportunity to mention something I'd like to start for the summer.  I'll be reopening my book reviews page and starting a summer reading list.  Now that I'll have more time to read, I can keep you guys updated on my progress and what books I'm reading through my GoodReads page, which has become severely neglected since I started classes.  I'm not sure about how much time I will give myself to read each book, but I don't really believe anyone should put a limit on reading time, so I think we'll leave that up to chance.  I will be reviewing each book once I finish them, so be on the lookout for which book I will start reading first, starting as soon as I finish all my projects.
    That's all for reviews this week.  I think it would be good for me and all the work I have to do to take a break next week, so unless something ridiculous or miraculous happens, there won't be a blog.  Sometimes you need to take a break in order to get stuff done, so that's what I'll be doing.  I'll have my recaps and reviews of next week's shows and hopefully more interesting information regarding my life for May 8th.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Oh, and this...

Changes

    Hello all!  As you might have noticed, I didn't post on Tuesday this week.  This was slightly because of pure laziness, but as I was debating whether or not to post at 11:30pm I realized that maybe I shouldn't.  Maybe I should post once a week instead of twice.  So I've decided to limit my blog posts to just Thursdays because of my lack of interesting educational content and the fact that my semester is ending, so my work load will only increase.  Plus, by Thursday I would've watched all my important shows so I can talk more about them.  So basically what I'm saying is that I'm downgrading for now.  Hopefully this summer I can update and expand my book list to include more reviews.

    I haven't really been up to much lately, just getting caught up in my work and praying that this last month of school goes by quickly.  As I have mentioned before, I started my new job on Monday and even though the weather was a bit dreary it was still fun.  I can't wait to go back tomorrow and I can't wait until May when I can be promoted to Site Director at a different location.  More hours and more money would make me very happy!  I also have another interview next Tuesday with the summer camp in this area, so hopefully I will come out of it with a summer job as well.  I'm feeling really good about this opportunity and getting to work with children is a lot more fun than retail, so I'll take it!

    Speaking of working with children, I've been working one-on-one with one kid in particular for a case study I'm doing in one of my courses, of which I'm supposed to be working on right now.  She goes to my local school where I substitute and she's one of my favorite kids.  I've made a good impression on the eighth grade class and I'm glad they know me and think that I'm the coolest sub ever.  It makes me feel great to know that they look forward to seeing me.  The kids at my local school have made such an impact on me and my outlook on teaching, so I don't know where I would be without them.  The case study has been a complete success and I'm going to be really sad when I don't get to see them anymore next year when I'm doing my internship.

    As for television this week, (from Sunday onward), I have a lot to review, so SPOILERS ahead...  First up is The Amazing Race, in which after all that hard work pushing the blonde country singers down to last place, it was a non-elimination round, (DAMN you Phil!).  It seems as though every time there's a team that should obviously go home or really needs to go home they do not go home.  First they saved Team "Brenchel,"which was a travesty, and now this.  All I know is that I hope the Globetrotters make it to the end because they are literally the best part of this show so far.  I am happy about their upcoming trip to Italy though.  Finally, somewhere that's not a third-world country!

    Next is Once Upon a Time, and BOY was it a doozy...  I mean really?  Did you HAVE to kill off Neal?  I understand the concept of "a life for a life" but WHY does it always have to be Rumple or Neal?!?  I'm betting that they will bring him back somehow, (probably another death...), but where and when I cannot say.  I just know that without that event, this episode probably would've been pretty boring.  Although I do like the relationship between Regina and Robin now that she finally realized he's her OTP.  Again, not sure when that will end up actually happening, but I'm looking forward to it.  Next OTP should definitely be Emma and Hook, now that Neal is dead.  I'm predicting some vulnerable consoling to happen within the next two episodes.

    How I Met Your Mother finally ended on Monday and there were mixed reviews on the ending.  It was bittersweet to see it end and you could tell that at times the actors were not acting when addressing their feelings about leaving each other.  There were a lot of tears shed by me that night.  My opinion of the finale was that it was good.  It filled in the holes and closed all the gaps that we needed to see closed.  I think everyone hoped a little on the inside that Ted and Robin would end up together, but it just seemed impossible.  Looking back, I would have noticed that this whole story was about Robin, but it took until Ted's kids noticed it for me to really think about it.  Although the mother was an important character, (as in no one would've been where they are now without her), and she made Ted happy, Robin was really the main lady in his life.  I had a feeling it should end the way it did when she panicked about the locket, but like everyone else, I knew she would marry Barney and be "Aunt Robin," so I didn't think anything of it.  But in the back of my mind I thought, that's strange, it feels wrong for her to not be with Ted right now...  I guess I should have seen it from then on, but I wasn't disappointed with the finale at all.  Also, if you didn't cry when Barney held his daughter for the first time then YOU HAVE NO SOUL.  I'm just sad it's over and they're trying to do it again with different people.  We'll see how that goes.

    Lastly, Agents of Shield was very interesting this week as we see Agent May get caught up in some drama.  I also had a bad feeling about the other lady at The Hub with red bits in her hair, (her name escapes me, but it's bad news bears).  I think she'll play some sort of role with compromising S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America, but we'll have to wait and see.  I don't know how I feel about Skye and Ward either...maybe it's the age difference?  Ward and May looked even worse together, so I'll give it a shot, (if it even happens).  Deathlok's character is getting really intense too.  What did they do to him?  It doesn't sound like he's doing these things against his will anymore, so who knows who he's working for and what made him change.  Coulson went crazy in this episode and understandably so; he's paranoid about everyone knowing things that he doesn't.  I wish someone, (mainly May), would give the poor guy some answers!  The "clairvoyant" didn't help either, (can you say creepy?).  I'm curious to see how this episode will play into Winter Soldier and also next week after it happens.

    That's all I have for this week.  As for Winter Soldier, I'll be seeing it this weekend with some friends and I cannot be more excited!  I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge of the Marvel cinematic universe and I'm also excited to potentially see another trailer for the TMNT.  To prepare ourselves, my husband and I are having a Marvel Movie Marathon, (say that five times fast), starting today to lead up to Saturday night.  Everything from Iron Man to The Hulk to The Avengers will be watched.  Another exciting thing happening this weekend is Game of Thrones is FINALLY BACK and I can't even watch it because I don't have HBO, but I will find a way!  Hopefully I haven't forgotten what happened last season already, but I don't feel like watching the Red Wedding again, so I'll deal with the recap that's bound to come before.  Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and I'll talk to you again next Thursday!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Burn Out

    Welcome to Thursday everyone!  I really could use a weekend right about now, so I'm glad it's finally here.  Not to do fun, exciting things one would normally do on a weekend, but mostly to catch up and finish/start all the work I have to do by next week...

    For starters, I have not one, but TWO heavy-duty revisions to do, one of which is due by tomorrow, so I better hustle.  I also have a rough draft of my 10-page case study due Wednesday as well as a proposal for a unit plan due next week as well.  On top of all that, I still have to read another book before Wednesday and stuff to get done for my new job, (testing, fingerprints, etc.).  I felt so overwhelmed yesterday I thought I might cry, but I stuck it out.  Meanwhile, my body decided to play a cruel trick on me and make me feel like I got hit by a car...  Needless to say it wasn't the best time for a flare, but I feel better today, thankfully, and hopefully it won't come back anytime soon.

    That being said, I had a lot of fun filling out paperwork today for my new job, (that's funny, isn't it? "Fun" and "paperwork" in the same sentence...)  I have no doubt that my new superiors as well as the other staff members are really fun, caring and genuinely good people.  I was even reunited with one of my old friends from summer camp, who now runs the local branch summer camp.  Hopefully we'll be working together this summer because I'd really love a chance to get back into summer camp, even if it's only day camp.  I have no idea what I would do, whether I would just be a basic counselor, or if I could potentially fit into one of the program areas.  I was thinking about my strengths and realized that camp really isn't a good place for reading or writing, it's more about the outdoor activities.  I think since I've already done recreation that I would be good at that, but I'd like to try something new, (but relatively easy), like arts and crafts or drama, something I might be good at but have little to no experience in.  We'll see, but I hope my summer is just as fun as my new job should be!
    All the work I've been doing has kept me pretty busy, but at least it's mostly good news.  Unfortunately, that means I really don't have a lot to report on today...  I didn't get to meet with my favorite focus child this week, some of my shows weren't on or I haven't gotten to them yet, (like Arrow, which I heard was really good), and it's just been a really hectic week.  I did, however, learn about a premier of the first trailer for the new TMNT movie coming out this August, (SQUEEE), so I've linked that video below.  I can't tell just yet whether or not it'll be great from a TMNT fandom standpoint, but I do know that I'm really excited about it!  Even if it might be bad, I HAVE to see it.

    That's it for me.  Time to get cracking on some stuff before I run out of time.  I'll be posting another blog post tomorrow about a lesson on cyber-bullying we did in class today and Tuesday.  That will be in my ENGL 889 tab, so look out for that!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Beware the Ides of March

    Hello again!  It's Thursday already and oh, how the tides have turned.  Tuesday I was filled with hope and happiness and today not so much.  A lot has happened and by now I've already been able to remedy some of my situation, but even I can't work miracles.
    First off, I've had a sinus migraine for the last two days, which would've been great if I were still on vacation and didn't have stuff to do.  For instance, the two revisions I have to do on the papers I passed in before vacation, which I thought would be fine.  I always think my work is satisfactory and when I miss the mark on something I get frustrated and disheartened.  Who wants to do a revision?  Nobody.  Then, to add to my disappointment, one of my prospective teachers for my internship contacted me to let me know she was no longer interested in working with me.  Now I only have two teachers left in my remaining intern pool and I'm hoping they don't crap out on me because I have no other options.  I'm starting to panic because the form is due by next week and I'm already down by one.  What's to stop the other two teachers from backing out on me too?  This whole situation has been awkward from the start and only makes me more anxious.  I just want this to be over and know where I'm going already.

    On top of all THAT, I was (mis)informed about my eligibility for financial aid and REALLY started to panic because of the amount of money I would need to pay for my internship.  Thankfully I fixed everything with the financial aid office and am covered for next year with at least half time status.  With my job situation still in limbo, it was hard for me to envision paying off a personal loan without any money coming in.  Speaking of jobs, I found out through my potential employer that one of my references, (my old boss), got transferred, so his contact information I had been giving to other potential employers was invalid, which caused a lot more problems for me than he did originally...  With ALL of that stuff having happened in the last few days, this weekend will be a welcome relief, at least for a little while.  I went from elated to struggling within 24 hours and it wasn't fun.  At this point, I've accepted the fact that revisions are a necessary part of school and shouldn't be viewed as a punishment.  The fact that I don't have a particular due date helps too.  I'm in a much more positive mood now that I've assessed my situation and applied the necessary patchwork solutions for now.  You wouldn't think my life would be this hectic and stressful without a job to burden me even more.

Hidden Harley Quinn foreshadowing?

    All of that aside, I have two new television reviews for you this time.  As some of you might remember, I believe I've mentioned the fact that I watch Arrow on the CW every Thursday, (because it airs on Wednesday and I watch everything on Hulu Plus).  It's really one of the only good shows on that channel, which is frequently plagued by good-looking murderous teens who always seem to end up at a dark club.  Anyway, Arrow follows a traditional DC comic book storyline about a green-hooded vigilante figure protecting his city from injustice.  If you've been following the series, you should be caught up to what I'm about to say about this week's episode.  If you aren't, then I suggest you should start from the beginning, especially if you're looking for a new show to watch.  Watch out for these spoilers!  We left off with Oliver agonizing over the realization of Slade being alive and ready to kill his entire family, but we don't really focus on that in this episode.  It was all about the Suicide Squad, (another DC reference).  Including Diggle and his ex-wife/lover, (weird), there are also con men involved in this team of ruffians.  They end up dealing with an old terrorist "ally" of Diggles when they find out he's harboring some sort of chemical weapon that I'm still unsure about.  The whole story line was great, but the best part, by far, was one scene in the base where we hear one sentence uttered by what we can only assume is the Harley Quinn, judging by her very familiar tone.  Although it may just be a one-time gig for my favorite DC villain, there's always potential in these shows, so we'll see.

    The other show I watched tonight was The 100, which premiered its pilot episode this week.  According to the description and from what I gathered from the show, it centers on a small cluster of humans on a space shuttle almost a hundred years after a nuclear disaster destroyed the Earth.  Obviously some people escaped to form this group and they are attempting to maintain the population to keep themselves alive for as long as they can, (or until they find a habitable planet).  Cue the imprisoned teens, 100 of them, sent to Earth to test the environment, because they're "expendable."  The range of their crimes vary from serious murders to mindless pranks to just having been born.  The teens touch down on Earth, not knowing what they'll encounter or how much radiation they'll be exposed to, but their reactions were priceless.  Even though the premise seems very "Hunger Games" like, there were a few issues I spotted.  One being the obviously pretty cast, although that doesn't hold true for everyone this time.  I do like the fact that one of the original April O'Neils from the 80s TMNT movies is one of the main characters.  Unrealistic attack sequences left me scratching my head, (why didn't she lose her leg in that monster's mouth?).  And the kids' rebellion screamed Lord of the Flies.  It's only the pilot, so I will keep watching because it seems interesting and very unnatural for the CW, but I'm hopeful for it's success.  If anyone else wants to sound off on this or on the developments in Arrow thus far, you can do so in the comments below.
    Well, sadly that's all I have for this week.  Like I said, I'm looking forward to this weekend because I actually have plans.  I have a baby shower on Saturday and dinner with family Sunday, so it should be a good time.  Hopefully I'll have more good news by next week, but we'll see.  I'm getting tired of saying that and then coming up with nothing, so I won't be making any more promises.  I'm just going to enjoy the time I have to myself and keep looking forward.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Panic Mode

    Hello there everyone, it's already Thursday!  This week I've been super busy, which has been both nice and horrible at the same time.  Nice because I'm not just sitting around doing nothing and horrible because I've been running around trying to get everything done...  I'm doing my best not to get discouraged with my job search, but I'm taking a little break this week from looking so I can look more next week while I don't have classes.  I also have two papers due this week, (one was due yesterday and the bigger one due tomorrow...yikes!), so I haven't had a lot of free time to peruse the Internet.

    One thing I am feeling a bit uneasy about is the internship I'm lining up for myself for next year.  This whole process has been daunting, to say the least, as well as uncomfortable.  It's literally like we're on a dating show; the interns visit prospective teachers to see what it's like in their classrooms, then, at the end of the month, we put our top three choices on a form and send it in to wait for a response, (the teachers do the same thing, only with their top three interns).  During this period of observation hours, you have to go into their classes and watch them teach.  I've always been one to sit in the corner and watch, responding to anything the teacher might say to me during the time we have together.  It's all very nice and you get to see what it's like to be in there with them without the responsibility of actually teaching.  More of a fly-on-the-wall thing.

    My issue right now is that everyone in my group of interns kind of already has their top three, which I think is supposed to be "secret," (I don't think we're supposed to tell anyone who we like the best just in case it doesn't work out or they're seeing the same person).  It's awkward most of all because I know a few people who have been seeing my favorite teacher when I'm not there and I'm afraid that we're going to lose that connection we made the first time I saw her.  I also don't know what everyone else is doing when they're in there: Do they help her out?  Organize classroom supplies? etc.  I never know if I'm doing too little or more than enough to make myself known and show that I'm interested, but you just have to wait and see.  It's frustrating because I don't want to lose out on my top picks by putting all my eggs in three symbolical baskets and having none of them put me on their lists.  It's a very confusing, stressful process and I already can't wait for it to be April so I know where I'm going to be.

    I guess I'm just nervous about potentially not finding anyone...  I want to make a connection with someone in a way that is comfortable for both parties, but it seems so forced sometimes.  You have to think about being with this teacher for an entire year, not getting sick of them, supporting their teaching style and being there for them when they need you.  That's a huge deal, and if everyone else isn't freaking out about this like I am then they are completely desensitized.  I'm also the type of person who HATES not knowing ahead of time what's going to happen.  I'm a planner: I have to plan EVERYTHING.  If I don't know what's going to happen, I get anxious and I do research, (if possible).  For example, while watching a TV show on Hulu that has already aired, I will look up the recap of the episode online to see what happens.  I do the same thing with movies, books, etc.  I don't know why, but I just don't like surprises.  With my life already unbalanced, I feel like I have no idea where I'll be next month, let alone next year.  I have to figure out what's going to happen to me, preferably soon.

    On a slightly happier note, let's talk about TV this week!  The two shows that I watched were Agents of SHIELD and How I Met Your Mother, and both had an amazingly good storyline.  SPOILERS AHEAD!...  So the main event in Agents of SHIELD was most definitely the blue man torso in T.A.H.I.T.I. when they broke into the "Guest House."  There are apparently many speculations about who this guy was, what species he is and where he comes from.  My husband and I took a guess and figured he may be one of the frost giants from the Thor series, which seemed most probable to us considering the relationship Thor has with the Avengers, (SHIELD as part of the Avengers), and also the appearance of some familiar Asgardians for the next episode, so we'll see about that.  We are also still researching other alien possibilities from the Marvel universe, including the Kree and an alien tribe on Centauri IV, but without any real clear clues as to who this may be, we're stuck wondering, probably until the end of the season if the previous episodes are any consolation.  I would also like to point out the fact that whatever "drug" Coulson and Skye were injected with has obvious alien properties, so now they have that to bond over.  What's that all about?  If you'd like to voice your opinion on this development, voice your opinions in the comments below.

    How I Met Your Mother was really sad this week, at least in my mind.  First with everyone realizing that this may be the last time in awhile that they will all be together in one place.  Then they hit us with a fast-forward to Ted crying over The Mother's comment about a mother being there for her daughter's wedding, which apparently made everyone believe that she's going to miss her own daughter's wedding, (meaning death).  I think, after this many years of not knowing, if they have the mother be dead at the end of all this, it might actually make sense.  I can see why a lot of people may be angry about waiting this long only to find out that she's already dead.  But I can see where the creators are coming from.  Why else would Ted spend this much time and effort telling his kids about how he met their mother?  I would have to go back to the very beginning to see how he started this conversation, but he may be paying homage to her in his own way.  She did tell him to not "live in his stories," but isn't that exactly what he's doing?  I don't know, I just know that I haven't wanted to cry like that about a television show in awhile, (not since "Same as it Never Was" from the TMNT animated series).
    I think that's it for now.  I have a paper to write!  Speaking of, my topic is actually quite interesting; it's about exploring the possibilities of technology as it pertains to understanding our students as people instead of just students.  I hope I do the subject justice.  If you want to learn more about what I'm researching or what I'm reading about digital literacy, let me know and I can put links to all my resources on my class page.  This weekend will be most welcome, considering I actually have plans and I can relax a little!  I have a birthday party tomorrow night and family dinner with the in-laws on Saturday, so that should be fun!  Spring Break starts next week too and, although I'm not going anywhere, I hope my husband and I can find some time for just the two of us.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

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.
   

Redemption and Christmas Happenings

   Hello all, it is another fine Tuesday here in New Hampshire and boy is it friggin cold...  It's been snowing off and on for the last couple days and I don't think it's supposed to get above 35 degrees tomorrow, so that's fantastic.  Although I am looking forward to having a few days off from work.

    As some of you may know, I had what I hope to be my LAST grammar final tonight.  I literally just got home from campus, and I have to say, I'm a lot more optimistic this time around.  It helps that the professor is weighing my graduate project heavier than the midterm I basically failed.  Even though I'm 80% sure I'll be fine, I'm still playing the waiting game at this point.  Send positive vibes, good prayers and happy thoughts my way as I await my imminent future.
    Now that I'm done with this final, I can refocus my energy on more important things, including the enjoyment of my winter vacation.  So far, I've got a birthday coming up, (more on that next Tuesday), Christmas events as well as more shopping to do before next weekend.  I also have to finish my revision for my Digital Literacies project I did on YouTube, which I will share here if you'd like to read my ten-page paper on YouTube celebrity.  Let me know in the comments and I'll try to make it happen.  I would also like to make time for my friends, (if they still exist at this point), of whom I am severely lacking.  I'm already planning a weekend trip to Maine in the coming months, so who knows what else could happen?  My social calendar is starting to perk up.

    At this point, the plan to decorate the apartment is going slow...  We got our own 4' tree, (see above), complete with lights, bobbles and jingling garland.  We also grabbed our own personal ornaments from our parents to put on our tree.  My husband came up with the idea of picking out only one of our own ornaments while picking nine of each other's ornaments, thus simultaneously creating our own little tradition.  It was really great to go through all of his ornaments, some of which I had never seen before, and pick the ones I thought would look great on our tree.  It feels great to be able to tap into our history while creating a new history together.

    I want to take an opportunity here to tell all of you that one of my favorite TV shows is BACK: The Sing Off!!!  I am beyond excited about this and look forward to watching with my husband this season.  If you are into A Capella and need a new show to watch, this is it!  Check it out here:)
    I almost forgot to tell everyone that I joined Bloglovin', which is a site dedicated to bringing bloggers together to share and follow each other.  It's a really great community, so if you'd like to start blogging or would like to get your foot in the game to meet new people from all over the world, this is a great place to go!  You can check out Bloglovin' and my profile here.
    That's all I have for today.  Unfortunately I have been devoting most of my time to work and my studies, so I promise my Thursday Blogmas post will be chock full of Christmas stuff.  I will be rating and ranking my Top 5 Christmas albums, so if you have a suggestion for one that should make the list, let me know in the comments!  I'll be taking a poll on my Tumblr and Facebook, (links are at the top of my page!), so be on the lookout for that!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Daily Routine and Disney Analogies

    Hello there!  It feels like it's been awhile, but I guess it really hasn't...  I had a busy week last week, but I'm proud to say that I actually caught up with my work this week already and only have my grammar assignment to do for Thursday, (snaps for that).  It feels good to not be behind or have to cut out some necessary reading just to get things in on time.  Hopefully I can keep this up!

    This week is the week I get to pick my last two classes ever, (the internship for next year is technically a class, however it is still an internship, so I will treat it as such).  It's surreal how long it's been since I first started college, to be here after getting my Bachelor's degree this past winter, getting married this summer, and now finishing my Master's degree already and going on to finally become a teacher!  It's so awesome, and I feel like I've gained so much more from this experience than I had ever hoped to.  You always hear people talk about the benefits of higher education and how it's definitely worth it to make the sacrifice and do it, but I don't think you actually appreciate it until you're done.  Actually, I can see myself not knowing what to do after all this work every day for the last five years.  Luckily I'll have lots of grading, lesson planning and curriculum development ahead of me...JOY abounded.
    I've also realized I really have to work on better motivating myself to do things.  Whether it's just a simple phone call to someone or cleaning the apartment to getting to the gym, (last time I went was probably April?....I think....that's horrible).  I need to work on getting myself out from behind this computer and actually DOING things, things that make me happy.  I was thinking about maybe getting back into baking, since I did it a lot when I lived with my dad.  I really enjoyed making things for other people, and I'm not very crafty, so food was a natural choice.  You can ask anyone about my Blondie brownies;)  I just miss cooking in general and I wish I didn't have to work late so I could take the time and prep meals for the two of us.
    I've been so focused on school and work that I've been in a lull for a long time and I don't know how to get out of it.  It's like, right after the honeymoon in June I just went right back into my routine without really getting a chance to have everything sink in and enjoy it.  It's like nothing even happened...and that's partially due to the fact that we've been together for so long that it just felt normal to be married and that nothing significant had occurred because we already felt it.

    I actually had an interesting thought the other day about us.  I had determined our wedding theme, (much to the distaste of my husband), to be "Beauty and the Beast" inspired, because I love that movie so much and I like to think of us symbolically as "beauty" and the "beast," (nothing weird there).  Our color scheme was dark blue and yellow, (with some teal), I had a full A-line dress, and I danced with my father to "Tale as Old as Time," (I can't even watch the movie anymore because I tear up just thinking about it...).  From an aesthetic standpoint, I think we nailed it, even though there were a few things I wish we could've had, like glass covers for floral arrangements on the tables, (like the rose).
    The one thing I hadn't thought of until now was our story, and how it corresponded to the story in "Beauty and the Beast."  As an English student, soon-to-be teacher, I like to analyze and pick apart story elements and themes because that's what I do.  The story, to me, symbolizes impressions, acceptance and that not everything is what it seems on the outside.  "Don't judge a book by it's cover," comes to mind, (because she loved books, get it?).  When I look back on how we met, it made sense to me because we didn't necessarily like each other at all.  I thought he was an older, weird guy who sweat a lot and he just thought I was cute.  There was absolutely NO intention of going further with our relationship.
    So we were friends, mostly acquaintances, for quite awhile, until I went off to college, after I went through what could possibly be one of the worst summers of my life to date.  He was there for me when no one else was, when he probably should have just let me be, but he didn't.  We grew together and I think the beginning of our relationship wasn't perfect, but it worked out.  There were times where he rescued me, in a way, from myself and things I would've done if it hadn't been for him stepping in and taking care of me, and for that I'm eternally grateful.  I just thought that, even though the theme of the wedding was solely for my benefit and it wasn't exactly right from a visual standpoint, I realize now that it sort of fits perfectly for our relationship.  I am in no way a product of Stockholm syndrome nor do I agree with bestiality, but I think the underlying message of the story holds true to our relationship, and I'm really happy about that.  My prince is real <3

(Photo Credit: kivalophotography)

    That's all I have for this week.  Very mushy and so-on, but it was a relief to get all that out!  I'm going on another trip this weekend, to Vermont, to spend time with some friends.  I might film the experience, however I'm still backlogged from the last few weeks of footage, so we'll see.  Since I'm so on top of my work, maybe I'll actually get on that.  It's getting closer and closer to the holiday season, so that means I'll be both extremely annoyed with all the retail aspects and really happy about all the family time coming up in the next 40-ish days, (don't judge me, I'm not exactly counting the days yet).  If you're interested in following me, my links are on the right and the tab for my YouTube channel is now up top.  Keep checking back for updates on my latest upload!  On Thursday I'll be doing a bit on multi genre projects, so be on the lookout for that!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.