Traveling: Las Vegas

This past weekend, I went on my first trip to Las Vegas along with my grandmother, mother, and four aunts. I had an incredible time with them as we celebrated recent birthdays, including my grandmother's 80th. When we weren't drinking cocktails in the lounge or sharing delicious dinners, we were at the slot machines until all hours of the night. I didn't win any big jackpots - and let's not talk about net total spent on the trip -but I felt like a winner because I was there with my family and you can never lose when going out with them. We know how to celebrate in style. Sappy, I know, but it's true. We've already started talking about our next trip in 5 years for Grosi's 85th birthday which will include a recently turned 21 year old cousin. I can't wait!

Crafting: Cardinal Cross-Stitch

Finally finished the little cardinal cross stitch kit. Well, mostly finished. I haven't figured out how to make the French knot for an eyeball. But he looks fine without it. It seems like he is closing his beady bird eyes to take in the peaceful nature surrounding him. Yes, I did give my cross stitch a little backstory.

Reading: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

I picked up this book because I thought it would be the perfect for me. Back cover description: 

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with... Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. 

 I had read books by John Green and David Levithan before so combining them into one book was like this unbeatable dynamic duo. I immediately latched on to the idea of meeting someone with the same name because as a Liz with a fairly common surname this could potentially happen to me. Add in a musical and I .

What I learned is I really need to stop reading back covers because I get all caught up in how I think it will go based on that brief description and it is almost never right. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book at all. It's more like that feeling that people get when they see a movie based on a book. They always say "Well, I imagined it differently and the book is much better." Same deal here. 

There is no doubt to who wrote which chapter. John Green inserted his typical nerdy tone of an average kid with few friends while David Levithan experimented with form in his chapters. For example, Levithan's will grayson spends much of his time online so capitalization is rarely used and dialogue is told as if it it was being messaged.

 Did it replace the other books I read by these two authors? No. There wasn't enough emotional resonance for it ever to achieve that. But I don't mind that at all. Though the book wasn't life-changing, it was a very pleasant read to distract yourself from whatever might be bothering you.

Thinking of my favorite part, I thoroughly enjoyed John Green's opening chapter about picking friends, picking noses, and picking your friend's nose. And no, the book did not suffer a shortage of musical numbers. In fact, there was a bonus musical number in the back where John Green and David Levithan discussed how the book came into being. Now it just needs a soundtrack...


Some videos about the book that might spark your interest more than I might have done here in this post.
[ John Green reading an excerpt of the first chapter ] [ John Green promoting the book on its Amazon page ]

Watching: Fall 2012 TV Schedule

Here's a list of what I'll be watching and/or obsessing about this fall. I might update this later to add some of the shows I'm on the fence about. But right now, these are the shows I desperately want back in my life. 

 9PM - Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

9PM - The Good Wife (CBS)

10PM - Homeland (Showtime)

8PM - How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

8PM - Raising Hope (FOX) 

9PM - Happy Endings (ABC)

9:30PM - Don't Trust the B in Apt 23 (ABC)

10PM - Nashville (ABC)

8PM - 30 Rock (NBC) 

9:30PM - Parks and Recreation (NBC) 

10PM - Elementary (CBS)

8:30PM - Community (NBC)

10AM - Young Justice (Cartoon Network)

Stats: Aubergine August 2012

Success! How awesome is this? According to my stats, 69.9% of my pageviews came during Aubergine August. I consider this a bonus success to completing my main goal of wearing purple for 31 straight days. 

Fun fact: I love graphs and charts.

Reading: The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

I first read The Realm of Possibility in high school and I liked it instantly for its relatability. When I was bored, I would go to the library to pick it off the shelf and read some of my favorite passages just to be reassured. Years later I would walk into libraries or bookstores to make sure it was in stock. So when I heard that David Levithan would be at this year's National Book Festival, I decided to give in and buy what I consider to be a hugely influential book from my high school years. I thought I would get him to sign it for me at the book festival, but it turns out that I will be out of town that weekend, but that is besides the point

 

Anyway, I do not regret this purchase at all. I picked it up immediately and read it in a less than a day (which is less impressive than I make it sound - it's only 210 pages).