Catching Up

Since most of my last posts have been political I thought I would catch my readers (both of them) up on what is going on in my life.

Not much. That's what's going on in my life. Actually not really, it just seems that way sometimes. My hours at Red Butte have died down, which is always sad. I love that job so much; it is tedious at times, but I could not ask for a more beautiful workplace, better coworkers, or better bosses. To fill in my time (and to make money of course) I am going to start substitute teaching soon, which will be annoying, but also fun. Even though I will not have my own class or anything, I am excited to be back in schools.

Speaking of school, I can't wait for the semester to be over. I love that I am in school and I love working on my minor, but it is just getting to that time where the semester needs to be over and conveniently, the time when the semester actually ends. I am taking three classes this semester: I love one of them but rather dislike the other two. My Literary Forms class is like AP English without the awesomeness of Mrs. Coon, and my Shakespeare class just...well, it sucks. It is boring and I think that Shakespeare is overrated. Yep, you heard it here: overrated. (Which some may find a bit odd, seeing that I will continue to contend that J.K. Rowling is a genius.) My last class, my Literary History class, is pretty great for the most part. It is a history of modernism and I have enjoyed much of what we have read so far, which, to be honest surprised me. I was always a little leery about reading Charles Dickens and James Joyce, but I find both authors to be captivating; I can't even begin to say how much I enjoyed Great Expectations and the Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. We recently started, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner and though I am not very far, it seems promising. Another book that we read in the class was The Great Gatsby. I had read this before, as a junior in high school, and only remember that I found nothing memorable about it. This time, however, wow. It is beautiful. It speaks to my interest in both history and literature and the comment it makes about the destructive power of the "American Dream" is amazing. This is from the last page of the book:

"And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes-a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. And as I sat there, brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out Daisy's light at the end of his dock. He had come such a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it. But what he did not know was that it was already behind him, somewhere in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning-

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Wow. Really, without going crazy pointing out everything in the passage that I love, all I can say is wow. Anyway...

I am looking forward to next semester, my last semester (hehe, for real this time; no last minute decisions to study something else. Atleast, I think not...) And well, I suppose that's it. School, work, trying to maintain some semblance of a social life... that's really it. Here are some pictures from the last month or so...enjoy!

A few of the girls at Chrissy's wedding shower.

At Chrissy's wedding:

One of the awesome things about working at Red Butte is working at their Halloween activity. Here are some of my awesome costumes.

A kitty! Actually, I was Puss in Boots, but you just can't see the awesome polka dot rainboots I wore.

A hippie: it was surprising how many people commented that this was a fitting costume for me. I used this costume twice ( I was too lazy to come up with another costume) and both nights my friend Yasmine worked with me and we made quite an interesting pair.

A vampire: I don't know if you can really see them, but my fangs were awesome!

Little Red Riding Hood (sorta)

A cowgirl (sorta. Ok, I admit it, some of my costumes were a bit half-assed. Meh. ): Yes, I know that I am a nerd.

This is the awesome pumpkin that I carved. Yeah, I know it. It's awesome.

Amber and I playing in the leaves in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Emerson's finger, Me, Jen, and Ryan at Jen's birthday party.

Jessica and I at the Tavernacle.