Rereading the classics

Today, while listening to NPR, I caught a segment about the book, Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books You Haven't Touched Since High School. The author, Kevin Smokler discussed what this process was like, and how you can take away something completely different from these books a second or third time around.

I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird and I hadn't read that book since 7th grade. Perfect timing, because a student I was tutoring happened to be reading To Kill a Mockingbird for class and I was able to go to work and discuss the book with the student. How lucky was that? I did have a deeper appreciation for this book the second time around, and it got me thinking about what other books I want to reread. Thankfully, I have a Goodreads account and I can continue to add books to my "To Read" list as I think of them.

Some of the books I would like to reread are:

The Great Gatsby (before the new movie hits theaters!)

Cold Mountain (ok, not quite a classic yet, but I had to read this book my senior year of high school)

East of Eden

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Things Fall Apart

Wuthering Heights

I'm sure I will be adding more to this list!

Golden Globes 2013

Red carpet favorites from the 2013 Golden Globes:

1. Emily Blunt in Michael Kors

2. Jessica Alba in Oscar de la Renta

3. Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen

4. Anne Hathaway in Chanel

5. Claire Danes in Atelier Versace

Photos from Just Jared and People

Busy

I've been busy lately, and neglecting this little space.  I've recently started going to the gym in the evenings after work, and then studying for the GRE daily.

I'm taking the GRE in January, and in the time leading up to the test I'll be continuing to research schools and programs. I'm trying to find a good fit for myself with my work experience (and undergrad experience). This is proving to be difficult. My BS in Biology can be transferred to other areas fine (not worried about that), but my work experience is scattered all over the place. I'm trying to be optimistic that something will work out and I can get myself on a positive track.

 I am at the point of my life where I am ready for a new challenge. Things are getting boring and I haven't been setting new goals for myself. So, I'm finally setting some goals. 1) Getting back in shape 2) Working on career development. No more laziness!!

5-Year Journal

I've always liked keeping a journal. The only problem is (as seen here and elsewhere), I sometimes suffer from writer's block and lack of creativity. Whenever I'm going through a problem in life, I can't stop writing, because writing is one of my coping mechanisms. However, when everything is going well, or just a little on the boring side, the pen stops.

I'd like to push past this and force myself to write through all experiences-good and bad-but in the meantime, the 5-year Question a day journal has caught my eye. I've seen the 5-year journals before and I think they are a great idea. This journal prompts you with a question a day, on multiple topics, for 5 years. It would be fun seeing how your answers change through the years. But, another aspect I like is the new random topic to write about. This journal has very little space, but the question might be the little spark that you need to write a more substantial journal entry or essay.

Definitely an item I can see myself buying in the future.

Journal and photos from Modcloth.

Thanksgiving 2012

Jessica Pratt

I recently stumbled upon the music of San Francisco based singer, Jessica Pratt. Her voice seems to be of a different decade, 60s or 70s perhaps?  Beautiful and haunting. Definitely worth a listen.
Her album just came out November 6.

This is the first track on the album: Night Faces

Halloween

On Halloween night I went over to my friend Kati's house to watch scary movies. Halloween is usually the only time that you will see me watching a scary/horror movie. I'm such a wimp! We didn't dress up, but Kati's dogs did. They looked adorable in their jailbird and skunk outfits.