Watching: Winter Hiatus List

With winter hiatus upon us, I present my list of TV shows I will be watching to keep myself sane as I wait for the return of most shows.

• Friends (seasons 1-10)
• Mad Men (season 1-4)
• The Good Wife (season 1)
• Boy Meets World (seasons 2 & 3)
• Circus (PBS miniseries)

As you can see, there is a decent mix of 90's nostalgia and current critically acclaimed shows with just a dash of circus documentary. Just what the doctor ordered to get through those long winter nights. 

Read: Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey

One day a couple of friends and I began a book club called The Bell Curve of Awesomeness to read outside of our own literary preferences. Parrot and Olivier in America is certainly a change of pace compared to my typical young adult fantasy and science-fiction reads. Set post-French Revolution, Olivier de Garmont (a fictionalized Tocqueville) travels with British manservant Parrot to write a book about America.

I found the book mildly interesting, which is a compliment coming from someone whose knowledge of the French Revolution is derived from A Tale of Two Cities and high school textbooks.But from a writing perspective, a tip of the hat to Mr. Peter Carey. He captured the voice of both verbose, aristocratic Olivier and snarky Parrot  very well. Part of me dreaded reading Olivier's POV chapters only because it would take me much longer to digest what he was narrating.

At first, I didn't quite agree with the character development or ending. The moviegoer in me was hoping for the moment where Olivier and Parrot went from "irritated with the other's existence" to "BFFs". But thinking back on it, I'm glad Carey didn't make it too predictable. Though if they ever make a movie, you know they'll end up best bros for life.

It was refreshing to read a quality book. Parrot and Olivier in America was a finalist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, which it unfortunately didn't win. Will I read another book based around the French Revolution and its aftermath? Probably not. I'm just not a French aristocrat type of a reader.

Listening: Pandora Playlists

Here at work, I listen to Pandora most of the day to pass the clerical time away. So, here is a list of songs that often pop up on my playlists and that I do not have on my iPod...yet. I've included embedded YouTube videos for you to sample.

Study: Access to Internet vs. Success at Blogging

The results are not surprising. Having no internet access at home negatively affects my attempts to be successful at blogging.

But I plan on remedying the situation by (finally) getting internet at my apartment. For those of you who don't know, I moved into my apartment in August, and to this day do not have cable or internet. Many people are shocked to learn this; myself included.

You might ask, how can I live in this digital age without cable or internet? Honestly, I haven't been completely cut off from the internet since August. I still have access at work, which is pretty obvious given that I've created a blog. Using the internet at work means limiting the amount of time I use online and which sites I visit, which is a good exercise in self-control. Often I'll stay at work a little later so I can have some "me" time online, where I don't feel guilty about checking Facebook or Twitter or writing a blog post.

It's been difficult though. I have to confirm post-work and weekend plans in advance. I don't have immediate answers to questions like "What other movie was so-and-so in?". But for the most part, this has been a positive experience for me.

I've watched most of my DVD collection, which I had never bothered to before when I had tv and reruns at my fingertips. I've done more reading, crafting, some cooking, some cleaning, and most importantly, getting out of the apartment. I make plans to watch current tv shows with friends. No longer am I sitting on the couch, wasting time on the internet with the tv on in the background. I'm not putting off plans so I can stay home and watch such-and-such tv show when it premieres. Instead, I watch it on my lunch hour at work or make plans to watch with a friend later.

In sum, not having cable or internet is my solution to the loneliness that living by myself presents. Plus, it's cheaper.

Having said all that, I plan on getting the internet in March so I can keep up with this blog. As a dear friend once told me, "Liz, GET THE INTERNET. It will fill you with a joy you have forgotten you could feel."

Intro: Another year, another attempt at blogging.

Welcome to the customary first blog post where I try to explain why I created this blog in the first place.

A very brief history of my blogging: create blog, set guidelines, post a couple of times over 2 weeks, lose interest and/or patience in blog for not being everything I would like it to be, and give up. Repeat as desired.

Obviously it will be completely different this time. Not.

Through this blog I hope to bring some order to my day-to-day life. I have this idea that categorizing and compartmentalizing my life will make it easier. However, the hardest part seems to be actually carrying out these plans for an organized life.

In addition, I will use this blog as an outlet for the lack of social interaction in my daily life. Not saying that I'm completely friendless. But living alone does not satisfy social needs. Lately I've been talking to myself around the apartment. So instead I'll post what random thoughts I have while left to my own devices. Expect cooking disaster stories, reviews while I cycle through my DVD collection, photos of my craftiness, and everything in between.

I chose starting a blog over a journal because throwing out my voice into the void (Internet) might bring back a reply. Which is something no ordinary journal can do.

Let's see where this takes me.