Turkey day and hectic sweet potato mania.

This week, starting on Thursday and running straight through until Sunday, I am doing three Thanksgivings. I find this to be hysterical since I'm not a big Thanksgiving person in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I' m big on being thankful and eating, but I dig those things year round. After Halloween, I'm totally ready for Christmas. I then proceed to irritate everyone who is anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving. Whoooops. Sorry guys ;)

I also cannot believe I'm going to be twenty two in pretty short order here. Time flies as soon as you hit 16, I swear. It's not that 22 is that old. I feel both older and younger than that at times. Overall though, time flies (whether you're having fun or not).

I miss a lot of people back at CCU, and I'm hoping desperately that I can visit them sometime soon. I would love that. I would love to see them before I embark on whatever adventure I'm getting dealt next in life.

Speaking of adventures,

ALL OF MY GRAD SCHOOL APPS ARE DONE. They are done. It is out of my hands entirely (which doesn't really sit so well with me. I suck and doing nothing and being patient. Here it goes...)

I am LOVING the New Moon soundtrack right now, and I am asking Angela to take me with her when she revisits the movie because I really dug it (I know...I'm dorky. )

Tomorrow I'm bodyshopping ALL day. Then, bring on turkey day part one. At least I kill food.

Quick highlights from England

-an 8 hour flight is long and uncomfortable
-an 8 hour flight is not as bad as a 24 hour flight from Australia
-a lot of australians, who have a butt ton of vacation time, come on European vacations
-Bath, England is gorgeous and full of culture
-London is busy, fast-paced, and essentially a European New York with a couple hundred years of extra history
-Bristol, England is not gorgeous. It's quite full of industry and although it has some neat features, it doesn't offer the same beauty that other parts of England do.
-England is not big on ice.
-Their car seats are better designed than ours are.
-Showers can be an adventure, and the water is very different all over the country.
-Canada has a lot in common with England.
-I've met a couple from Newcastle England, a man from New Zealand, a handful of Brits and 10 Aussies.
-Australian people are nice and use fun words like "kip" and "mate." They really do. I met a lady who runs a cattle ranch in the outback and talked to her for several hours over dinner.
-I love England.
-I do miss cold drinks.

Girly tomboy hypocrite

So today I start my first day of work at the Body Shop, and I realized I am doing exactly what I have told myself I shouldn't be doing: I am judging my fellow employees and the clientele prematurely. Everyone I have met so far at the Body Shop has seemed fully competent, very helpful, and kind. Yet, I am still joking around about putting on a fake, girlier personality to be a believable salesperson in a store full of beauty products. I'm full of it, and I'm stopping that now. So here's the facts as I see them

-I, admittedly, feel that seven items of makeup everyday is a lot of makeup. However, I understand the reason for the makeup requirement. For starters, how can we legitimately sell products we don't know much about and have no personal experience with? Having used the Body Shop products over the last couple days, I know I am going in with at least my experiences to go on for the first few days until I get educated about the rest of the store. Furthermore, I have to admit...it's good makeup. I love what it does for my skin, and they have some great neutral colour choices, so I won't look like a baby prostitute, which could really be possible wearing so much makeup. The items also don't feel heavy. Body Shop makeup gets an A in my book.
2. I have a huge tomboy side. I love to watch football, hockey, and soccer. I love to play poker. I curse...a lot. I live in t-shirts and jeans. However. I am being a bit of a hypocrite pretending that I am not the kind of person who shops at the body shop. I used to love their lipgloss and body butter lines, and I only stopped using them because the Strongsville location closed. On top of that, I wear some makeup nearly everyday, even if it is just concealer and mascara.
3. I am smart. I am capable. I also love to buy flavoured lipgloss, smell nice, and feel good about how I look.
4. The Body Shop and I might be a very good fit afterall.

Product reviews are certain to follow after I get educated about the products. Until then,

Your pedicure loving, action movie attending writer.

As a movie loving bookworm...

WARNING: Harry Potter 6 spoilers will appear in this entry. If you haven't seen the movie and you still intend to, stop reading.

I love books. I love movies. I love books more than I love movies. That being said, I feel that I am a relatively fair book-as-movie critic. I will admit when I enjoy the movie more than the book (the newest Pride and Prejudice, anyone?). I also understand when they cut elements out of the film that appear in the book: they cannot reasonably include everything.

Now, I have read all of the Harry Potter books, and I have seen all of the movies. I had my gripes when the directors and producers cut out minor characters (Peeves) and limited Quidditch scenes (or cut them out all together), but for the most part, I understood. I love it when they add witty one liners and comical scenes, when they change scenes to get an artsy shot or an angst-filled take. HOWEVER, what I don't like is when producers distort major aspects of a books plot line in the movie adaptation. It seems to me that if you want to adapt a book into a movie, it's because the book was good and people want to see it come to life. If you want to change the story, WRITE YOUR OWN DAMN BOOK AND TURN IT INTO A SCREENPLAY.

I saw the 6th installment of Harry Potter last night, and I must admit that if I look at is as just a movie (and forget the books ever existed), it was probably the best one of the movies yet. The dilemma here is that I can't forget that the books ever existed. I understand MOST of what they changed, but here are my qualms:

1. Harry was not petrified in the movie when Dumbledore died--That, to me, is a pretty major plot change because Harry could have chosen to step in and try to save Dumbledore, which the books make it clear he would have done. Doesn't that change things?
2. They cut out the Hogwarts battle all together- Bill never gets mauled by Fenrir, no one is injured, the school isn't destroyed, NOTHING. That was kinda the climax of the book, wasn't it?
3. They added a weird Ginny and Harry running through the forest/Weasley house fire scene, which, in my estimation, served no purpose except for to look dramatic.

All in all, the movie was funny and well done. My concern is that the producers seem to have less regard for the original story with each movie. This one proves that they don't even have to stick to the same plot line--what does that mean for the seventh ones?

I feel like the beginning of the first part of the seventh movie would have to be a running script (like a star wars intro) listing all of the things we missed in the sixth like

1. Oh, PS--everyone feels guilty about helping Snape reach Dumbledore because they all believed in him and cleared his path...
Also, Ron has a brother named Bill---he was mauled by a werewolf, but he isn't a werewolf. He's marrying that chick from the fourth movie--remember her?
Oh, you should also know Ginny didn't cheat on her boyfriend, they broke up before she and Harry got together....we forgot to mention that. Eeep, also: McGonagall is now headmistress.
Oh yeah...Harry and Ginny kinda broke up too...but wait, they were never really together so...

Aw, hell....just read the books.

I'm done ranting now. As I said, mostly well done, but if you're going to cut things out because you say it isn't possible to do the whole book, please don't take the liberty of adding major plot twists that simply didn't exist in the story.

Sincerely,

Your loving reader and viewer.

Part-time, part safe

I got an offer for a part time job today at the natural beauty company The Body Shop, which is good news because I am running into dire straights for money. I will still need to find another job because working 20 or so hours a week will not be enough to pay my bills longterm, but I have to be grateful for finding something because now I will not be homeless.

On top of that, Angela and I are going to go stuff our faces with a certain secret dinner food at a bug and fruit themed restaurant tonight, so I really cannot complain today. Potterfest continues tonight at my apartment at 9 (the fourth film), and then a group is going to see the sixth one tomorrow night at midnight, woooo!!!

On today's agenda: vacuuming? (maybe later....), reading for awhile, postponing thinking about grad school and narrowing my choices.

Today's theme: Chin up buttercup, I insist.

Finding my sea-internet legs...

For those of you wondering, my sea-internet legs are my jelly-locked knees, resulting from my nerves about stumbling onto the internet to post my thoughts for the world to peruse. While it would be lovely to get a band of readers and devoted friends to read this, I think it will serve me well to sort my thoughts out on well...not paper. Ultimately, writing is what I do, and I love to read. Blogging seems like a good fit for those interests. So welcome to my world; I hope you enjoy the ride as much I do.

Yesterday was such a good day. I spent all day on Kelley's island with my boyfriend (Travis) and his family (they own property on the island). We took a long bike ride around the coast of the island. The scenery was stunning, the bike ride was painful, and all-in-all, things were wonderful. Afterward, we went swimming in the lake to cool off and ended the night walking around town and roasting a single smore by the campfire. I couldn't have created a better day, really. I love lakes, smores, campfires, and beautiful scenery, so it was a winning combination. I wore 50 sunscreen, and I still managed to get burned across my nose and my freckles are forming colonies and planning a mutiny--thanks Ireland!

Today, in contrast, was a lot like a camel--it had its ups and downs. I started off the morning nearly finishing the third season of lost and grocery shopping, which was painful because it reminded me about the fact that I have to find a job soon because I am really running out of money. I cleaned just about the whole apartment, sent out some more resumes, hit Taco Bell with Danielle, and baked two pans of shortcake.

Onto another post-graduate day tomorrow. I have an early job interview with an insurance company, which I'm not optimistic about, but I'll give it a decent shot.

Okay college graduate, enter the world.