Haaaaaappy New Year!
I can't believe it's 2010. Where has the decade gone?! I started college in the fall of 1999, so basically my entire adult life thus far has been in this decade. I've gone from Chicago to DC to Sunnyvale to Sacramento, and earned a BA and a JD along the way. I've worked in DC, Korea and Atlanta, made new friends and sustained old ones, and have tried to be a faithful, caring person. As crazy as things have been in the world and in my life, the blessings this decade has brought far outweigh anything else. That being said- bring on 2010!
Resolutions
I have a few resolutions that I'll keep private, and other random ones. For instance, I resolve to get furniture and make my apartment into a home. I also resolve to spend less time on my laptop, and more time reading. I also resolve to make friends.
NU
My Wildcats played in the Outback Bowl on Jan.1, and once again they lost in overtime, once again BREAKING MY FREAKIN HEART. We lost it because of of Kafka's five interceptions and Demos' two missed FGs, and almost won it because of Auburn's dumb ass mistakes and that NU drive that keeps them going and going until the end. Too bad it came down to that very last drive. Next year Northwestern will make it to the RoseBowl, and we'll win. It'll happen.
Northwestern basketball is 10-3. I hope they make their very first NCAA tournament ever this year. Let's make it happen NU!
Apartment Life
Sarah came and visited last week, and it made me realize how sad and lonely this place really is. I really need a couch, and a throw rug, and some more furniture. And a bookshelf. And some picture frames. I think I have a lead on a free couch, and I recieved an Ikea gift card for Christmas (thanks P&J!). So that's a start. I've lived here almost four months and all this place has is a bed, a bedside table, a table and four chairs, and two stools. Pathetic.
SherlockHolmes
Watched SherlockHolmes. It was good. The story was pretty lame, and it was a little frenetic, but what saved it was the acting. RobertDowneyJr. and JudeLaw were so damn charming, you couldn't help but be entertained. They had a great bromance, were equally fun, smart, rough and tumble, and witty. I think it was worth watching just for that.
HungerGames
Read a GREAT book called HungerGames by SuzanneCollins. It's a young adult novel, but man oh man, it was a totally engaging read. Plot wise, it's kind of a tamer, sci-fi version of the Japanese novel BattleRoyale. The main characters are smart and likeable, the story is paced well, and her descriptions really draw you into this world. And the way that she paints this cruel, callous, unequal society that uses the hunting and killing of teenagers as sport and enteratinment, it doesn't actually seem that far fetched. All in all- two thumbs up.
Avatar
Watched Avatar. First of all, I watched it in 3D, which I thought was sucky. Not because 3D was sucky, but because when you're already wearing glasses, 3d glasses are really sucky. And the coolness of things being in 3D didn't outweigh the suckiness of the 3D glasses. I just ended up with a large headache.
Anyways, I thought the story was blah- a million other movies have had the same plot and the same story devices. Dude goes in thinking his ways are the best and the natives/country folk/religious folk/infiltrated folk are backwards and misdirected, dude makes various blunders, dude learns the ways of the land, the accepting natives/country folk/religious folk/infriltrated folk feel betrayed, dude does something to redeem himself/save them, and they accept him back in. This movie had all of that, plus the obligatory training sequences, plus a love triangle, plus an evil corporate executive.
That being said, the visuals in this movie really were amazing. The Navi were amazing, and the animals and flora and fauna were amazing as well. It made me want to go to there. It really was a lovely film to watch.
At the end of this (long-ass) movie, I learned that white people are very very bad. And humans are pretty bad as well. Blue people are good, and will fight you. Unless you become one of them and conquer a giant red pterodactyl. Then you're ok too.
LostSymbol
Just finished the LostSymbol by DanBrown. BAD. Really really bad. At least the other two had some interesting history and theories, and a plot that (sort of) moved. This one had all the clumsy dialogue and plot devices, but the historical/conspiracy parts were booooring, and the plot was even more ludicrous.
JerseyShore
I saw about ten minutes of this show when I was in LA, and had to turn it off because I felt myself getting dumber. I was at the gym last night, and the tv in front of me had it on, so of course I watched and read the subtitles. And yo-- Snookie got punched in the face!!! It was craaaazy! I didn't even know who she was, and I was shocked. I got so into it, I plugged my headphones into the machine to hear what was going on, and stayed on the elliptical an extra fifteen minutes to watch the beginning of the next episode. Everyone on that entire show is dumb as rocks. Especially Snookie. But it's not cool for a grown ass man to sucker punch a woman in the face.
Before this show, I had no desire to go to the JerseyShore. Now, I have an active desire to never go to the JerseyShore. So thank you Snookie, JWowwowo, Situation, Ronnie, and the rest of you losers. That's just one more place I will hopefuly never go to before I die.
