A couple of my friends post random ramblings every now and then and I thought it would be fun to give it a try.

Because of my last post, some of you may be thinking that I’m not enjoying school.  That’s not it at all.  I absolutely love school.  I enjoy every minute of it, including the homework and tests.  I just hate trying to decide what I want to do with my life.  I’d rather go to school just to go to school.

*****

I feel like I’m not doing very well with any of my goals this year.  I just can’t seem to get my head in the game.  I keep giving myself permission to slack off (not in terms of school).  I really need to focus and get back into things because I felt so much better when I was following my goals.

*****

One of the things I miss the most with my crazy schedule is reading the things I want to read.  I’m doing plenty of reading and I find the essays my teacher assigns interesting.  I just miss reading for pleasure.  (I never thought I’d say that when I was younger.)

When time allows, I read a couple of chapters of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.  I’m nearly through a third of the book.  I’m really enjoying it and I want to know what happens.  I wish I could read it more often. Oh well.

*****

Midterms are here and I get to take a midterm for all three of my classes on Monday, so I’ll be studying my heart out this weekend.  I’m not worried about my Doctrine and Covenants midterm because it’s not cumulative.  It’s just the second test in the class.  I think I’ll do okay on my English midterm, but I’m a little worried about the essay questions.  I hate essay questions with a passion!  I’m most worried about my Japanese spoken midterm because I don’t feel like I’ve had enough time to devote to Japanese.  I’m sure I’ll do fine because I’ve been doing great in class.  It just freaks me out a little bit.

*****

I handed in my research paper for my English class yesterday.  I chose to write about the frustrations of being left-handed.  It was really fun to research this topic, although I could be biased since I’m left-handed.  Still, I look forward to seeing how I do on this paper.  I think I might actually pull off an A.

Corey is quite literally a jack of all trades.  He can learn how to do something and be good at it without even trying.  It’s nice to have such a handy husband.  And, at the same time, it’s discouraging because I don’t feel like I’m really that good at anything and I feel like I’m sub-par compared to him.

I know I have talents.  I can crochet, knit, play the piano, learn foreign languages fairly easily, etc., but I don’t feel like I’m really superb at any of these things.  Yes, I do realize this could just be my self-esteem talking.  But, when I really stop to think about it, I don’t think I’m that good at any one of these things.  I can read crochet patterns like nothing else, but I can’t make up my own patterns.  I can play the piano, but I’m not a very good accompanist or I could never be a concert pianist.  I pick up on foreign languages really easily, but I’m not fluent in any of the languages I’ve been exposed to.

You may be wondering what brought on this train of thought.  Well, I’m trying to find my passion.  I think it would help me while I’m going to school.  I’m still unsure of whether getting a Bachelor’s in English is the right step for me.  I plan to stick it out and give a few more English classes a try because I don’t want to base my decision off of one class.  However, I don’t have a lot of leeway anymore to try different things.  I’m technically a senior with 95 credits for crying out loud.  But, those 95 credits aren’t really in any one particular subject.  My Associate’s degree doesn’t even have an emphasis.

There are a lot of things I enjoy doing, but I’m not sure if I want to do them for a living.  I love figuring out why people work the way they do, so psychology could be a good way to go.  But, I know I wouldn’t do well listening to other people’s problems all the time.  I’d get depressed and take their problems on as my own.  I love to read and that’s why, at this point, I’ve chosen to become an editor.  I’m only second guessing myself because I don’t have a passion to read like a few people I know.  They devour anything with words on it: cereal boxes, newspapers, Internet articles, books, etc.  Whereas, I only devour things that interest me.  I don’t do well being forced to read something I don’t want to because I just won’t do it.  Is an editor really the right way to go then?

I don’t feel like I was given enough direction when I was growing up, either by my parents or by my teachers.  I don’t feel like I was prepared for the real world.  The only thing my parents instilled in me was a passion to learn.  That’s why I’d rather go to school just to go to school.  I never really gained a good work ethic.  It’s only my perfectionism that keeps me going at work.  But, honestly, that only gets me so far.  My teachers didn’t really push me in any one direction either.  I was good at math (I had a theorem named after me in high school) and I was good at foreign languages.  So what, though?  None of the professions in those fields sound interesting to me.

This post is turning out to be quite the novel, so I better wrap up.  I hope I can find my passion, find something I’m good at, find something I want to do or be, etc.  Hopefully, I’ve made the right decision with graduating in English.  I guess only time will tell.

Yesterday, my financial aid finally came through! I was able to pay this semester’s tuition and register for Spring and Summer terms.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and it’s such a nice feeling.

I’m in the process of applying for financial aid for Spring and Summer terms.  Luckily, it shouldn’t be as big of an ordeal as it was for Winter semester because they’re part of the same year which has already been approved.

In a few weeks, I’ll begin the long process of applying for financial aid for next year and that’s what I’m not looking forward to. But, on the up side, our taxes will be fixed and we’ll have new taxes to go off of for next year.  So, I shouldn’t have as much trouble with next year’s application process either.  It seems like things will be less of a hassle from now on.

With all the walking I’ve been doing on campus, I decided I needed to get a new pair of shoes that were more comfortable and better for walking.  I went to a few stores before I found my dream pair of shoes.

I had seen a few commercials for Skechers Shape-Ups so when I noticed them in Dillard’s, they weren’t too surprising.  But, I walked right by them because there weren’t any styles that caught my eye.  However, in Famous Footwear, a style of the Shape-Ups did catch my fancy, so I decided to try them on.

Once I put these babies on, they were as good as mine.  They’re the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever worn, hands down, no competition, that’s that.  They look like they may be heavy, but they’re not.  The soles are made of foam (see diagram below), so they’re as light as a feather and I feel like I’m walking on a mattress specially designed for my feet.

The Shape-Ups claim to do many great things: improve posture, improve blood circulation, tighten abdominal muscles, strengthen the back, firm buttocks muscles, reduce cellulite and tone thighs, and firm calf muscles.  In fact, the tag line for the shoe is “Get in shape without setting foot in a gym.”

Before I put them on, I was wondering if a shoe could really do all the things Skechers claimed this shoe could do.  Once I put them on, I immediately noticed a difference in my posture.  It actually hurt to slouch, which has always been the opposite for me.  So, I bought them for the sole (no pun intended, ha ) reason that they were the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn and the added bonus of them improving my posture, and the best is yet to come.

Yesterday was the first day I had a chance to wear and walk in them all day.  It took me a few minutes to get used to the way they force you to walk, but I’m golden now.  By the time I walked from the parking lot to my class, my calves were burning.  (This isn’t just a small jaunt.  It takes me about 10 minutes to get to class from the parking lot I use.)  They literally and figuratively kicked my butt.  However, even though my calves were on fire, my feet weren’t.  Not once did my feet start aching while I was walking, which is a big deal for me.   This morning, my legs are sore, but my feet feel refreshed and ready for a new day of walking.

Now, whether these shoes will do everything they claim to do remains to be seen.  But, for now, I’m sold and I highly recommend them to everyone.

PS – There are even styles for men.

In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past … and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves … and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love–the light and the dark, the warm and the cold–in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of Linger, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie’s blog.

I have a very eclectic taste in music.  It may not be as eclectic as some, but I don’t seem to stick to one genre more than another; it just all depends on my mood.

Until I was in high school, I didn’t really listen to music.  Before that, my older sisters always had control of the radio, so I was forced to listen to their music.  Although I have fond memories of 80s hits, that genre isn’t my favorite; it seems too corny now.  In fact, almost all things 80s seem that way, which includes some of my favorite movies, unfortunately.

Once I got into high school, I started to listen to four styles of music: movie scores, religious music, Broadway show tunes, and The New Kids on the Block.  Now, I still love movie scores, religious music, Broadway show tunes, and even NKOTB, but my preferences have broadened and I also like alternative, punk, indie, industrial, rock, and some pop.

When I first liked NKOTB, they played in concert in Utah.  I wanted to see them so badly, but I wasn’t able to go.  Other than that one time, I had never had an itching to see anyone else in concert.  Particularly, bands like Green Day and Nirvana (when they were still around), even though I love their music, because of the unwanted “high” factor.

In recent years, however, I have wanted to go to a concert more and more just to experience one.  I tried to get tickets to the NKOTB concert in Utah last November, but they sold out way too quickly.  I almost saw Linkin Park, but I didn’t know about the concert until the tickets were sold out or too outrageously priced.  So, all my attempts to be one with the “cool” crowd has gone unrewarded … until now.

I really like Muse and I’ve really wanted to go to their April concert since I first heard about it in December, but I didn’t think I was going to be able to.  First, it’s on a school night.  Second, it’s the week of my niece’s wedding.  And third, the cost.

After I heard that a lot of my friends and even my boss and three of his kids are going, the draw to go became too unbearable.  I threw caution to the wind and bought tickets yesterday! (Okay, I really didn’t throw caution to wind.  That’s not something I would do.  I checked my syllabuses to see if anything pertinent is due on April 5. I only have an English paper due on April 6, so I’ll just have to get that done early.  I decided my niece’s wedding didn’t matter as far as the concert was concerned because she’s getting married April 8, and the only reason I was worried in the first place was having to take more time off of work.  I realized I don’t need to take time off for the concert, so that relieved a lot of the unneeded stress.  And, Corey and I figured out a way to do it financially and I’m considering it my birthday present for this year.)

I’m so excited to go! I think it’s going to be great fun and I’ve heard that Muse puts on a fantastic show.

I know the best combination when reading a novel is to have good prose and a good story.  However, in many cases, novels don’t always have both.  Most often if a novel has good prose, it’s difficult to understand, takes more time to read, and is hard to get into (e.g. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen).  Whereas, a novel with a good story, is usually easy to understand, a “fast read,” very easy to get into, and in many instances has sub-standard writing.  (I don’t think I need to name names. )  Which do you prefer to read?

Personally, it all comes down to why I’m reading a particular novel.  Am I reading it to gain knowledge, increase my vocabulary, or to become well-read?  Or, am I reading it for entertainment, to escape the mundane, etc.?  For an everyday read, I would choose a good story over good prose.  Although I find eloquently written works to be refreshing from poorly written ones, I just don’t seem to enjoy them as much because it takes more effort to read them.  Let’s face it; I’m lazy and I want things to be easy. But, on the other hand, I have enjoyed reading a few “classics” in the last couple of years.  I’ve enjoyed broadening my horizons and becoming well-read.  I think the key for me is to find a good balance, so that reading is more than just entertainment all the time.