Harry Potter survey, HELL YEAH!

Before we start, hope everyone had a good 4th of Julio! And now, a Harry Potter survey.

Harry Potter- Tell about a scar on your body.

I have a scar on my elbow from running on the pool deck at a swim banquet my freshmen year of high school. My swim coach shouted out that there was only one cupcake left. It was worth it.

Ron Weasley- Something you’re afraid of.

Animal-wise I am terrified of star-nosed moles, especially when they eat worms. And bears. Bears freak me the hell out. Except panda bears.

Hermione Granger- A subject you know a lot about.

Easy: Harry Potter. And history/Lit.

Draco Malfoy- Closest green item to you.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : ) It's my third time reading it. I'm on Chapter Twelve: Magic is Might.

Severus Snape- Your favorite Alcoholic beverage.

Frozen margaritas, particularly strawberry.

Rubeus Hagrid- Your favorite animal.

I really love giraffes. I think a giraffe would be a pretty badass Patronus.

Luna Lovegood- Something about you other people find weird.

Haha, well, a lot of things. That I play Xbox or that I leave tips in dollar bill origami shapes. Or that I'm filling out a Harry Potter survey.

Neville Longbottom- Your favorite flower.

Forget-Me-Nots.

Nimphodorah Tonks- Something you would change about your appearance.

Um, just going back to the same pants size I was in high school would suffice haha.

Fred and George Weasley- The last prank you pulled on someone, or someone pulled on you.

I haven't really pulled any pranks lately or at least of epic proportions. I scared one of my co-workers while we were cleaning a theater this past weekend. I know, it was spectacular.

Voldemort- If you were to make a Horcrux, it would be…

First of all, I would never make a Horcrux. But, if I must, then it would be...my copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Moaning Myrtle- The last thing to make you cry.

My friend's passing.

How many of these have you read?

I follow a blogger who always posts interesting tidbits, and I thought this one most alluring.

According to BBC most people will only have read 6 of the 100 books listed below:

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

I find that a little less than disconcerting, particularly because most of these are classics.

Here's my count, in bold, of the books I've personally read - and I mean entirely or the entire series:

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

A grand total of 31. I'm actually glad I came across this list because I've been looking for a good classic to read for the summer. I've been rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (3rd time) preparing for the movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which comes out July 15. So excited. My best friend, who when we were 10 bonded over our passion for Harry Potter, are dressing up and going with an ensemble. I've never done that, and usually dislike when people do, for a movie. But for my favorite story of all time...I just have to. It's such a sad thing to realize that Harry Potter is coming to an end on screen. Although I didn't really like a lot of the HP films, it was still something, especially when the book series was over. Oh well, at least there's Pottermore (J.K. Rowling's new HP website), but still, I miss those characters. No story will ever compare. I think the first book I'll want to tackle off this list will be "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. My favorite English teacher from high school loved this book, and his opinion is one I truly respect. This list just reminded me of it. I think I'll pick it up tomorrow : )

Oh, and if you want to follow the blogger I mentioned, her blog is called "Adventures, Languages, Cuisines, and Randomness" - she's far more interesting to follow than I am, and she's always got a nice tidbit to share.

Relationships.

Both my relationships have been...so...packed with emotions. If only someone could step into my shoes. There's just no way to explain them to someone without conveying how it actually was, how they actually affected me. Sure, telling someone conveys enough. I mean, do I really want someone else feeling the way I felt? Not necessarily.

Still...

It's crazy how people have relationships, and how each relationship is completely different than any other couple's. There are similar circumstances, of course. Similar experiences so to speak. But only that couple will ever feel what they felt with one another. Only that couple will leave an imprint on the other the way they have.

I've only had two relationships. But let me tell you...two is more than enough. I wish I had experienced that "stupid-doesn't-count" relationship(s). But unfortunately, both of mine were serious. It's crazy to me mostly because they still affect me to this very day. I've learned more from them than I have from any other type of relationship. Perhaps because the topic of love is very dear to me. I'm a romantic at heart, though it may not seem like it, all I want, all I need, is love. But really...isn't that everyone?

I don't know. Recently I've been reassessing things. Not going to say what exactly. But I want to help someone. Someone I was once very close with. Fate is the deciding factor here. I'm finally over it, and I'm finally semi-understanding it. Only time will tell I suppose.

Be strong when things fall apart.

Happy Birthday, Liz.

My friend from high school passed away on June 13, 2011. Today's her birthday. I never had someone I've known pass away before. I went to her wake Tuesday and it was so emotional. I didn't know how to handle it. I still don't know how; it just feels so surreal. Liz and I weren't best friends, but we had known each other since elementary school. In high school, we went to New York together with my best friend Caitie on the AP English Trip and shared a room, as well as some make-up tips and boy secrets. There are so many pictures of the three of us together on that trip...

When we got there, we sat down for a little over 10 minutes in the room where her family and friends were. There was a slide show of pictures; Liz as a baby, Liz graduating as one of the Top 20 Seniors in our class, Liz always smiling. She really was always smiling, and if she wasn't, as soon as she saw me, she would give me a huge grin that would always make me smile wide.

Being in the room was too much, I didn't want to see her body. In my mind, she had passed on into heaven, but I did say a quick prayer for all those so greatly affected by her passing. I can't imagine how the family is coping. I didn't cry until just before we left. There was a collage of pictures of her with family and friends for remembrance. On it was a picture of Liz, me, and my high school friend Roselyn on graduation, smiling jubilantly into the camera. And there was another of Liz, Caitie, and I in New York. I started bawling. Like crazy. I was overcome by emotion, such a sense of finality and realization swept over me, such a sadness.

We left shorty after that. The car ride was mostly silent, then started gravitating toward how we were supposed to cope with losing Liz. By the end of the night, it was like it had never happened. Things fell back to normal.

But then I remembered. I remember her smile. I'll remember her. Forever.

Semi-eventful weekend.

I decided I'd start off with my Friday morning. I saw the midnight showing of Super 8 and it was awesome. To sum it up, it was like The Goonies and E.T. got together and had a baby. The directing was superb (high-five J.J. Abrams!), the story touching, and the acting wonderful. I couldn't believe how well those kids acted. The movie reminded me so much of my childhood I couldn't help but feel nostalgic, even though I didn't grow up in the 70s (which looked wholesome and feel-good).

On Saturday my parents and I went to my dad's old military base in Los Alamitos for an award ceremony. They presented him with a very nice plaque, signed by the people he worked with during the 10+ years he worked there. It was interesting seeing my dad reunite with past buds. There's so much about my parents, about their pasts, that I want to know. It seems like at times they forget just how interesting they actually are.


As my favorite rapper Drake would say: "Oh you fancy, huh?"

Afterwards, my dad had to take off to go to work (poor fellow) and I returned home to hang out with my friend Guido (the one who's in the Marines). He's just as I remember, thankfully. Awesome and funny. We had fun catching up; there was just so much to talk about that we made plans to catch up next weekend too. He presented me with one of the best birthday gifts ever: a Russian hat from Kirghistan (who were formally Soviet ruled apparently).

Observe:


(I tried looking very serious, just like a Soviet, which is probably why I came out looking super creepy - ignore shadowy cross in background. The little red star at the top has the Soviet logo stamped in the middle.)

It's a high quality hat, and I am going to try my best to incorporate it into my wardrobe come winter. I seriously love odd, rare gifts like these. I will treasure it.

Today I wanted to put in my 2 weeks for my movie theater job. I was written up for not acting like a Coked out Starbucks barista, basically. Oh, and for not selling enough AMC Stubs (which are $12). I sold one. One more than anyone else in concession, next to the new guy. I refused to sign my write up and now I'm pretty sure my GM hates me. Alas, I don't plan on staying there much longer anyhow. Did I express how much I loathe that job?

Though this didn't happen over the weekend, I finally upgraded phone-wise. From a crappy Samsung Intensity II with a cracked screen to a beautiful, pristine iPhone 4 who I named Fiona Apple after, you guessed it, Fiona Apple. I love my baby! Owning an iPhone is like having a child almost. I prepared for its arrival, buying it a case and LCD protector screen prior to her delivery. Whenever I'm holding her, I'm extra careful, like she's the most fragile thing in the world. Then there comes the fees. $30 or so a month, making sure she runs right with an unlimited data plan. Though her getting to me was a huge hassle (I hate the Verizon store in Ontario), she's finally here. I'm pretty much addicted to it already.

Oh, another thing: hung out with Josh and went to go eat some crepes after I bemoaned over what happened at work. I got the Banana Chocolate crepe. And I used a cool iPhone app called Instagram to make it look even more awesome (I love, love, love that app).



Aren't crepes the greatest?

Majormajormajor.

As of June 8, 2011 I am officially a History major. I recently discovered I have the same amount of units in History as I do in English, which tells you two things: 1) I am behind and 2) I need to catch up. As crazy as it is to me, I actually enjoy my History classes oodles more than my English classes. The amount of reading is daunting. I'm taking 3 History classes Fall quarter including a lab for Physical Geography (definitely not looking forward to that). I'm nervous but excited. The one class I actually did exceptionally well in this quarter was my History class, or History 200: A History of the United States to 1877. It got me through my other classes knowing that I was successful in at least one other subject besides English.

Another bit of news is that I'm considering joining the National Guard after graduation, namely for their student loan repayment program (they'd cover up to $50,000 in loans I took out for school, which is more than enough). It's a 6-year-contract in order to qualify for the student loan repayment program so I'm taking my time deciding if I really want to commit myself to the military for so long. At the same token, the National Guard is not as huge a commitment as joining one of the four main branches of the military (Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy). I do have to go to Boot Camp (Basic Combat Training) which will not be fun, but at least a one time only thing. Still, 10 weeks of hell is going to suck! Running everyday, getting physically assessed every few days, no contact with the outside world except through letters, having to march 15km (roughly 9.3 miles) at least once, experiencing the Nuclear-Biological-Chemical (NBC) chamber, waking up before the crack of dawn (the hardest part), etc. Honestly, if only the National Guard didn't have to go through BCT...

Alas, I'll still have to keep in shape throughout my years of service, performing at least 17 push-ups, 60 sit-ups, and running 2 miles in 19 minutes every so often to stay a reservist (that is based on age and as a female). However, after BCT, I only have to report for duty one weekend of every month, usually doing things around base like cleaning, etc., and not only do I get a monthly stipend on top of having my loans repaid, I get to stay where I live, reporting to the base closest to wherever I live.

Like I said, it's only an idea. Mostly if I can't find a job right after graduation. I'm creating plenty of "back-up plans" preparing for the worst once I get out into the Real World. There's just no way I can move out and get a Master's without having a semi-professional job.

A bit of exciting news is that my good friend Guido is back from Afghanistan! I'm super thankful and just beaming with happiness that he's back home. Definitely catching up and hanging with him soon (Universal Studios!). But when I told him about my plans and possibly joining the National Guard he flipped out and I quote: "I hate the fact that you started this conversation" which honestly shocked me. He told me he thought that it might change me...and seeing how he's changed, I don't know. I kept saying it's the National Guard, not the actual Army, etc., but he still sounded worried. While I'm touched he's looking out, I'm not sure if I'm the kind of person who will change, especially if I joined the National Guard. I don't know, but it's another thing to consider. I know I'll have a semi-different mindset, but I know I won't be brainwashed. Still, I'm shocked over his reaction. Is it really so horrible...