College life is a disappointment

Well before you see the title and assume that I hate my freshmen year of college, let me explain.  I love my college.  I haven't taken any classes yet but I imagine that I will love the classes as well when they happen.  But the actual social living aspect is underwhelming thus far.  

Expectations: 

-Being best friends with my roommates

-Being able to decorate my room akin to a Pinterest dorm board

-Being able to make my dorm feel like home

Reality:

I talk to my roommates but am not particularly good friends with them

My roommates are nice but they each have their own friend groups.  So I make small talk and conversation but that's about it.

My room still does not look like a Pinterest photo

I find that there is little time for room decorating and that it is really hard to replicate Pinterest anyway.  So hello bare walls and dark corners.  

My dorm feels like a hotel room or sleepaway camp or a bad mixture of both.

There are constantly hordes of people I'm not friends with in my room, chatting and yelling and laughing which basically makes me feel like I'm an intruder in my own room.  Or even more alone than I should be feelings.  

Anyways, classes begin soon and isn't that the reason I came to college?  Hopefully, classes help smooth everything out and keep me busy.  

That was a random but necessary life update.   

Life Update: Books, makeup, dorm shopping, CHEAP NAIL POLISH

This has been one of the busier weeks of summer this year.  There's so much college stuff to prepare for and I kid you not, at least half of the time, I'm doing something dorm shopping related.

The case I got for my Macbook

Anyways, Best Buy recently had a deal on the Macbook Pro where you get $200 of the original price ($999 from $1199) which is amazing!  Even better, entering in your college email address gets you a coupon code for an additional $100!  So my gorgeous Macbook Pro ended up being $899 (with an additional tax).  Not the cheapest laptop, but I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this beauty.  Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to get used to the operating system.   

I started reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand about a week ago.  It's a monster of a book (in that it's really long).  I love it.  If anyone's studied Ayn Rand before, they would know what an interesting character she is and this book basically sums up all of her ideas and philosophy.  I am also trying to finish all the ARCs I got from BEA so I can have reviews up in a timely manner.  A book review will be up soon!

And as all of my friends know, I am kind of addicted to makeup.  It's just SO fun.  I stopped by Sephora and all of their Sephora by OPI polishes are BUY 3 FOR $10.  Each polish usually retails for $9.50.  THAT IS SUCH A STEAL.  I already have a ton of nail polish so I only bought three but all fellow polish-aholics need to get their butts to Sephora.  http://www.sephora.com/nail-colour-P217311?skuId=1391168

Really random post but I enjoyed writing it.  

Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

You probably know Matthew Quick as the guy who wrote the novel Silver Linings Playbook (which happens to be a fantastic movie!).  His newest novel, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, is set to be published August 13th and I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an ARC of the book. I definitely had high hopes.

Today is Leonard Peacock's birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather's P-38 pistol. 

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school's class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches. 

In this riveting book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock could have easily gone melodramatic or whiny but it was narrated it a way that did not distance me as a reader. Leonard Peacock, the protagonist, is a disturbing character and there is really something off-putting about the way he casually talks about death, murder and suicide. In a way, it was funny to hear him talk about these morbid things and hate on everyone/everything around him. His quirkiness and oddness makes him sympathetic but even then, there were times while I was reading when I was like "whoa man, that's weird". His honesty is refreshing.

"But really -- why do some people post the correct ways to commit suicide on the Internet?  Do they want weird, sad people like me to go away permanently... is there an answer for that too?  I Googled but nothing concrete came up.  Just ways to complete the mission.  Not justification." 

The story is told with flashbacks scattered through the story, giving bits and pieces of Leonard's background, slowly building up until the reader finally gets not only why Leonard wants to kill his ex best friend and off himself but also the elements of his life which brought him to this point.  I thought it was cool how there were footnotes at the bottom which gave detailed history on the other characters, as well as Leonard's own snarky commentary.  I usually think of footnotes as optional (I can see my English teacher's disapproval already) but in this case, you are missing out if you don't read them.  This is where a lot of the history and humor lies.

This book was funny, and it was dark, raw and edgy.  It features characters that you feel ambivalent about.  This is not your typical "depressed teenager" story and you will definitely be surprised when you get to the end.  I do wish there was a teensy bit more resolution, especially since Leonard's relationships with some major characters are left open for interpretation.  But I suppose that's life.  Not everything ends up the way one expects it to, or even at all.


   

FF Friday #1

 How do you handle a book you don’t like? Do you DNF or do you power through?

I am usually really patient with books, especially if they have a lot of hype (yes, I'm that person).  Otherwise, I usually give the book a few chapters because a lot of books (especially the classics) start off slowly.

The only exception would be if the plot is becoming a little cliched or if it's so predictable that I don't want to waste my time with it.  I recently started a YA dystopian novel which featured a "strong" female heroine, some magical property that makes her special and the requisite love triangle. I was like screw this.

  

Wasting Time

I was thinking about the quote that goes "Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted" or something like that and realized how perfectly that applies to this summer.  My last summer before I head off to college, my last summer as, by all definition, a kid.  I can watch ten episodes of Adventure Time in a row  without seeming too pathetic, play Animal Crossing on my DS and just be "blowing off steam" and nap for hours and it'll all be fine because I'm a growing girl.  But in six weeks, that's all about to change.

There is no such thing as free time in college, only time used up and time that you should be using productively that you aren't.  There is no such thing as basking in the sunlight that slips in your room in strips while lying on the carpet while reading chick-lit.  After all, shouldn't you be adding to your knowledge of pieces from the literary canon?  No online window shopping, only budgeting; no jog-walking, only intense workouts; no wandering around town into cutesy, rather wandering around the city for interviews.

Right now, I should be doing something productive.  And I'm not.  But I'm okay with that.

Out Of Print Haul

Most of the time, I feel superior over other people because I seem to be part of the dying population of people that actually reads.  But what happens when just feeling superior internally is not enough?  What if I have to wear my higher intelligence for all the neanderthals surrounding me to see and be in awe of?  Well that's where Out Of Print comes in!  When they see me in my literary couture, they'll be like "OH LOOK AT THAT SMART GIRL I WISH I WERE HER".

Just kidding, I'm not that pretentious.  But Out Of Print clothing is my newest obsession.  I ordered four things (two things for a friend) so here's a mini-haul of what I got!

Canvas pouch with Edgar Allen Poe-ka dots #winning

That beautiful face. 

The Bell Jar was and is still one of my favorite books.  

These two are for my friend: a Hound of Baskerville shirt and a Great Gatsby pouch

Anyways, the shirts are really nice quality and feel really soft.  They are also made in the USA so yay for helping the economy!  Apparently, with every purchase you make, they donate books to children in Africa (yay for philanthropy!).  

Since I am broke at the moment, I must wait awhile before buying anything else on the website but as of right now, I want everything on the website!  

first post

I don't know what this blog will turn out to be but I hope it turns out good.  Welcome to a place of musings and adventures, rants and raves, snippets from my life.