Sushi Night!

November is speeding right along taking the sunshine and good times with it. I have so many papers piling up and I am beginning to think that my efforts to get them done before Thanksgiving will be in vain. I do keep this thought in mind, however, that each time the semester speeds up and I think that there is no possible way to get all my assignments done... I do. Somehow, despite the height and depth of my procrastination I get it all done (all praise be to God, He really is too good to me :)).

Anyway, amongst the endlessness of homework, papers, and tests I am given small, beautiful opportunities to do something fun and new and out of the ordinary. This week's fun has been brought to me by my incredibly thoughtful sister-in-law and brother. They sent me a package containing almost everything I would need to make sushi for the first time! And make sushi I did. And it was awesome.

I was somewhat nervous about the whole process, but I was able to skype Alisha, my sister-in-law, and she talked me through it. I have to say that I had so much fun! It really isn't hard once you get the hang of it. I love it because there are so many different options to go inside the sushi. I made mine with cucumber, avocado, carrot, cream-cheese, green onion, and salmon. It turned out to be very tasty and even my boyfriend, Sam, liked it (and ate a lot of it). I made enough to share with Sam's sister and brother-in-law. It was really great to just hang out in the middle of the week and eat some delicious sushi. Moments like that are kind of nice; the time when one can just take a break and enjoy good company and good food. It clears my mind and is good for my soul.

So I want to send out a special thanks to Alisha and Rob for completely making my week and giving me a chance to take a break from the monotony and grind of school! You guys are seriously the best!

Mail

There are a million things I need to be doing at this moment, but I am really excited about something. MAIL. I love it all: letters, packages, postcards. It just makes my day.

I started sending letters before I could even write. My cousin and I would color pictures for each other and send them in the mail. When we did learn to read and write, there was a constant flow of Lisa Frank letters and postcards between the two of us. My second most faithful correspond-er is my grandmother. I have always lived decently close to both her and my grandpa, but when I went to boarding academy she began to write to me about everything going on at home. I love getting mail from her. When I received her last letter the thought crossed my mind of how lucky I am to have these letters from her. I love everything about them; the neat,cursive handwriting, the pretty floral stationary, and most of all the fact that I will have this piece of her years from now. How amazing is that through letters we can save conversations, essentially, with people we love in their own, authentic handwriting? I save every piece of mail I receive. Cards. Letters. Postcards. I just have a feeling that some day I will be immensely grateful to have the words of the people I love, written by them, in their hand, on their special stationary. Sure, it is probably more efficient to send an email or Facebook message, but knowing that someone took the time to write you a letter by hand holds so much more value, in my opinion. Or to know that someone put together a package based thoughtfully on the things you love.

Recently I have received such mail: a letter from my grandma, a card and package from my Aunt Michelle containing CHOCOLOVE, my absolute favorite chocolate in life, and a package from my Aunt Corrine containing fresh Wisconsin cheese. Yes, you read it right. Fresh Wisconsin Cheese. And yes, my family is AMAZING.

So here's to snail-mail and its simple, quaint, and beautiful tradition. And thanks to my family for the supplies to get me through college!

Gosh, I love da Packers

Last weekend was fall break, and it was quite possibly the best fall break thus far. I took a long, 10 hour trip down to Atlanta with the Hanaway family and my sister. Among the amazing events that took place (which I will save for their own specials posts) was my very first Green Bay Packers game. I was somewhat saddened by the fact that my first game would not be at Lambeau, but it was amazing none-the-less. Here are the highlights in case you weren't able to catch the game:

As you can imagine, they have me pretty worried during the first half, but Aaron didn't let me down! Besides the fact that he is incredibly enjoyable to watch, he is a great QB and really a great guy from what I can tell:

"My goals have changed...I don't really desire any more to be the best quarterback in the NFL because I want to be remembered as one of the best men who ever played quarterback in the NFL." - Aaron Rodgers.

I love you, Aaron.

I have said it before and I will say it again: Packers fans are the best fans. By the end of the game we had taken over the Georgia Dome (so much for defending it, Falcons fans). There were very few Falcons fans who stuck out the whole game; most of them deserted at the beginning of the fourth... and they weren't very happy... or nice.

And of course one of the best things about the game was the people I got to go with! That Hanaways are seriously the best for letting my sister and me crash their trip!

Tailgating

5-0. Read it and weep.

My beautiful sister and I

What I'm Reading

1. Jane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte

The first time I read this book I was about 12 years old. About half-way through it creeped me out so bad that I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Give me a break; what isn't creepy about strange laughter permeating throughout a mysterious mansion? Lucky, I was given another chance to read it for Women's Lit. I cannot describe to you how much I love this book. The depth of emotion, the struggle between heart and mind, the tension of moral uprightness in the darkest of circumstances, is incredibly heart wrenching and... brilliant. Read it. You MUST read it. And I dare you to not feel sorry for Mr. Rochester.

2. The Age of Innocence, By Edith Wharton, and A Room of One's Own, By Virginia Woolf

Both of these books were read in Women's Lit. The Age of Innocence gives a remarkable portrayal of Old New York; a topic that I had never read about and did not have much insight on. The descriptions are detailed, but not tedious and they make it easy to put yourself directly in the story; like you yourself are following Newland Archer through the parties, gossip, and scandal of the Countess. While the story-line is somewhat frustrating, the issues about society, class, and the way we perceive people is so timeless and applicable even today.

A Room of One's Own is an essay by Virginia Woolf about women in literature. It is interesting and she makes many solid arguments. In her essay, Woolf imagines that Shakespeare has a sister who has the same level of brilliance and talent, but who is never able to gain a creative outlet because of the constraints on women at the time. Good essay, not exactly leisurely.

3. Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare, and All for Love by John Dryden

What I am told is that All for Love was Dryden's attempt to "tidy up" Shakespeare's version of Antony and Cleopatra. It seems almost blasphemous to think that Shakespeare's work would need fixing, but I am human, so I appreciate the closure that Dryden gives in All for Love. He ties up a lot of loose ends and expounds on some of the issues that Shakespeare doesn't.

4. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

On top of all the assigned reading I have to do in Women's Lit, I have had to pick another book by a woman author and write a report on it. I picked this one because I started it this summer and I know I won't get a chance to finish it unless I make it a priority. If it is for a class, I can justify outside reading. Isn't that sad? Anyway, so far I am really enjoying it. It isn't a very difficult read and it is about a culture that I haven't read much about: China. The story is about two farmers who strive during the good years of harvest and make it through the difficult times of drought. I think I like it because crops and farming are things I can relate to; especially the feeling of having no rain. I haven't finished it yet, but so far I would recommend it.

Love

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,

Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning

If I lacked anything.

"A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here":

Love said, "You shall be he."

"I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,

I cannot look on thee."

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame

Go where it doth deserve."

"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"

"My dear, then I will serve."

"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."

So I did sit and eat.

-George Herbert

American Honey

Since summer is officially over, as of today, I feel the need to send it out with one of my favorite summertime songs. I like this song especially because it reminds me of my own up-bringing. And now, because I tend to be wishy-washy, I feel as though I let the summer pass by without truly enjoying its beauty. I guess it can be hard to see the beauty in sitting at a strawberry stand in 87 degree weather; although I am sure it is there somewhere.

Gone for so long now, I gotta get back to her somehow; to American honey.

Celebrity 100

"The men and women on our annual Celebrity 100 list--the most powerful people in the entertainment business this year--earned $4.5 billion over the last 12 months by starring in films, playing basketball, walking the catwalk and more. But they also rose to the top by garnering influence."

-Forbes.com

Let me start by saying that I like watching movies, sports games, even America's Next Top Model. I like listening to music and going to concerts. It would be pointless and false to say otherwise. But something about the above quote just doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Are we so engrossed in the media that we freely put 4.5 billion dollars into it?

According to Forbes' Celebrity 100 List, the most powerful people in the entertainment business have more than just money. Lady Gaga took first place above Oprah because of her social status, which is built off of her 32 million facebook fans, and 10 million Twitter followers who are known as "Little Monsters."

The astounding thing about this has nothing to do with the moral issues involving the fact that Lady Gaga herself has this much influence (that in and of itself has serious implications about youth in America), but the obvious obsession we seem to have with celebrities in general. We watch their every move and hang on their every meaningless "tweet."

How backwards is it that people in America throw a fit over the amount spent for the protection of this nation, yet mindlessly throw billions of dollars into the entertainment business? And the ironic thing is that these people don't even realize it's a business. We are being sold these celebrities the same way we are being sold food in the grocery store or electronics at Best Buy.

When did simply enjoying something become a 4.5 billion dollar industry? Why must we take fun, even sometimes good, things to the extreme? Maybe we are trying to over-compensate for all the bad. Maybe we think that if we simply smother our depressing lives with entertainment we won't notice the state that we are in. But then we take the good and push it to such extremes that in the end it isn't helping us; it's consuming us. Music, movies, sports teams; they're consuming us.

And I guess the bottom line isn't (solely) that the entertainment industry is filth. I think the real issue is our pathetic attempts of ignoring the pain, hurt, and filth in our own lives. We are taking every chance we can get to escape from reality. But if we don't start keeping things real, we are going to lose ourselves.