The Hunger Games

Those of you who know me, know that reading and books are a huge part of my life.  I remember the first time I went to the public library, when I was in grade 3 (about 8 years old) and I just went crazy!  I couldn't understand the concept of being able to just pick whatever books you want, and take them home with you!  Just take them!  Libraries blew my mind at the point.

That was about the time that I really got into reading seriously.  I would go to the library every two to three weeks with my mom, and usually get up to twenty books, and somehow I would manage to read them all!  I guess eight-year-olds have a little more time on their hands than university students.

But even though I no longer have the time to read twenty books a month doesn't mean I don't have time to read at all.  I love rereading books I've already read, which people think is weird, but the way I see it, if I loved the book the first time, why wouldn't I love it a second or third time?  And if I wait long enough before rereading it, I forget most of the details, so it's not like I remember every little thing that happens.  It's like rewatching movies: when you find a movie you love, you'll want to watch it more than once because you love it!

But I also adore finding new books, either by authors by whom I've already read something, or through recommendations from friends.  This is how I stumbled upon The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.  Some people I know have read it, and I've heard only good things about it, so I decided to read it.  I figured, if enough people thought it was good, it's bound to be pretty good.  I was wrong.  It's not pretty good; it's amazing!  I only started it a couple days ago, but I'm already half way through, and I would probably finish it tonight if I didn't have school work to do.

The Hunger Games is set in an alternate society in what is referred to as formerly North America.  In this society, at some time before the book starts, there was a war where a large number of the people died or were killed at the hands of the government.  Now, every year, to remind people of the downsides of rebelling against the government, there is a competition called the Hunger Games.  Twelve boys and twelve girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen are placed in a giant arena and it's basically a battle to the death, last person alive wins.  The story is told from the point of view of a sixteen year old girl named Katniss who becomes on the competitors.  So far it is an amazing book, I highly recommend it to anyone.

High: I had a really amazing weekend and I'm still living off the memories!
Low: I have a test tomorrow that I am not even a little bit ready for.
Thankful: for amazing books. :)

love <3

Surprisingly Eventful

I've been wanting to post something for a few days now, and I would come to the New Post page, and just stare at the blinking cursor for...half an hour, then close the page and leave.  I felt like I had nothing to really say, and that nothing has really happened lately.  Which is ridiculous, because so much has happened!  From just the most basic mundane things (starting another semester of school, starting my new job as a lifeguard/swimming instructor at my school's pool) to the slightly more exciting stuff (a new video on my youtube channel, plus the first week of our great new youtube collab channel) to the very exciting milestones (last Sunday was my 21st birthday, and it was a blast!!  Let's just say there was a limo, some champagne, and an amazing amount of fun!).

Do you guys ever have weeks like that?  Weeks where nothing really big or major has happened and you kind of feel like it has just been normal and unexciting and nothing has really happened, but then you look back on it and lots of things have happened!  Maybe I'm not making any sense, or maybe you totally get what I'm saying.  Either way, the last two and a half weeks had seemed rather uneventful to me (except for my birthday, of course!) but looking back on it...uneventful is not the right word at all.

I want to just go back to the new youtube project that I'm part of.  I mentioned it way back in April, when I first knew that I was going to be involved in it, but now it's really happening.  This past week was our first week of the channel.  Basically, there's five of us and we each of our own assigned day of the week, from Monday to Friday (I'm Thursday).  On our assigned day we post a video.  Most weeks will probably have some sort of theme or something that ties all our videos together.  It's really fun, because three of the girls (Olivia, Kourtney, and Sam) are from the US (Illinois, I think) and the other girl (Elle) is in London.  It's really cool that we're all kind of far apart from each other.  It's really fun getting to know each other.  And, I mean, it would be really great if lots of other people watched our videos but, really, this is for us, and I think we'll keep doing it no matter how many subscribers we get.  It's just a really fun exciting new aspect of my life and I'm really excited about it!

love <3

Small, Uncomfortable Planes

I hate flying.  No, wait… that is a huge lie.  I love flying.  I love that we have the ability to travel thousands of kilometers in a matter of hours.  What I actually hate are airplanes, which is where I am at the moment.  I am in the aisle seat, which is actually my preferred seat because I’m kind of claustrophobic.  There’s an older woman beside me, in the middle seat, and she seems nice enough.  There’s a guy, probably my age, in the window seat, he also seems like a nice guy.  But, of course, the problem: the guy sitting in front of me reclined his seat back pretty much the second the seat belt sign was turned off.  I have long legs, so my knees are digging into the back of his chair.  I don’t know how it’s not making him uncomfortable, because it’s killing me.  And then, there’s a little kid sitting behind me, and he occasionally kicks the back of my chair.  It’s not so bad, but it sure as hell is not great.  Plus, being in the aisle seat, my entire right arm keeps getting hit by flight attendants, people going to, or coming from, the bathroom, and the food cart.  My funny bone hurts like hell, and my upper arm will probably be bruised for the next two and a half weeks.  Perfect.

Plus, to top it all off, this isn’t exactly my favourite flight to be taking.  I am flying back to school, after Christmas break, for the winter semester.  Yay.  I am just sooo happy to be starting another fourteen weeks of stressing myself out beyond belief over things that won’t even matter in six months.  Super.  I mean, it’s no secret that I think university is a huge waste of both time and money.  Ah well, at least I am now more than half done my undergrad.  I guess there really is a silver lining to this cloud.

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It is now a couple days later and I've been back home and back at school for two days.  Woopie.  Actually, it hasn't been that bad.  I've only had to sit through five hours of lectures in two days, which is more than tolerable.  Plus, I've been planning my birthday party, which is very exciting.  Maybe I'm a huge nerd, but it's my 21st birthday.  I can't not have a party!  I mean, turning 21 isn't as huge a deal in Canada as it is in the US and other countries, but it's still a milestone birthday, and it's still something that I'm really excited about celebrating.  What kind of stuff have you guys done for your milestone birthdays?

High: two day week.  'Nuff said.

Low: I still haven't finished unpacking, and my room is kind of a huge, disastrous mess.  Sweeeeeet.

Thankful: for being able to reconnect with my friends after break.

Since I started this blog, I've been counting how many books I've read over the year, and occasionally counting down to things I'm anticipating in the near future.  But this year I want to try something different.  So do you guys have any ideas for things I can count throughout the year?  Let me know!

love <3