Rated

There's a website called http://www.ratemyprofessors.com that allows students to rate their professors based on their degree of easyness, their clarity, their helpfulness, and even their appearance (you can add a hot tomale if you think the professor is "hot"). I've been on there before to see if any of the professors I'm going to have next semester have been rated, and it's pretty funny reading some of the comments. (And FYI, Union people-Union's on there, too.) Anyway, the site has a list of the top 20 funniest comments about professors, and it's too hilarious not to share. What is your favorite one? I think I like numbers 16, 8, 5, and 1 the best. (I so hope I never end up on this site.)

20 You can't cheat in her class because no one knows the answers.
19 His class was like milk, it was good for 2 weeks.
18 Houston, we have a problem. Space cadet of a teacher, isn't quite attached to earth.
17 I would have been better off using the tuition money to heat my apartment last winter.
16 Three of my friends got A's in his class and my friends are dumb.
15 Emotional scarring may fade away, but that big fat F on your transcript won't.
14 Evil computer science teaching robot who crushes humans for pleasure.
13 Miserable professor - I wish I could sum him up without foul language.
12 Instant amnesia walking into this class. I swear he breathes sleeping gas.
11 BORING! But I learned there are 137 tiles on the ceiling.
10 Not only is the book a better teacher, it also has a better personality.
9 Teaches well, invites questions and then insults you for 20 minutes.
8 This teacher was a firecracker in a pond of slithery tadpoles.
7 I learned how to hate a language I already know.
6 Very good course, because I only went to one class.
5 He will destroy you like an academic ninja.
4 Bring a pillow.
3 Your pillow will need a pillow.
2 If I was tested on her family, I would have gotten an A.
1 She hates you already.

In other news, I think Oprah controls the news content here in Knoxville. It seems like whatever topic is being discussed on Oprah ends up on the news that comes on after the show. For example, on Monday the show was about crystal meth addicts and the news did a segment on local meth labs. Then today the show is about pornography addiction (and gospel singer Kirk Franklin is a guest talking very frankly about his own struggle), and the news advertised their own story about the disastrous effects of pornography addiction on families. And this is not the first time I've noticed this. Is this a local phenomenon, or have other people picked up on this trend?

I watched the finale of The Biggest Loser tonight since there was no "fresh" episode of Gilmore Girls, and I wish I had watched more of the show before. It was really really amazing to see the transformations these people underwent. Some of them lost over 100 pounds. That's a small person, for crying out loud! I wish I could just watch it every day so then maybe I would be inspired to do something about my own weight problem. But as it is, I'm just a fat girl who can't seem to think she's worth the effort it would take to lose that weight.

I'm hopeless.

A traveshamockery of epic proportions

Okay, kids, get comfy. It's time to vent.

Today in my research class aka the Class From Down Under (and I don't mean Australia), my professor called our attention to a new project underway by the cell phone company Dot Mobile. Apparently, the company is condensing the great literary classics into short text messages that students can download for studying. They are launching the project in January and plan to have all of Shakespeare's works complete by April. So basically Hamlet boils down to "2B or NT2B?=???" and Romeo and Juliet becomes "Romeo, Romeo--wher4 Rt thou Romeo?" The beautiful complexity of Paradise Lost is reduced to "devl kikd outa hevn coz jelus of jesus&strts war." Forget that these little messages really serve no study purpose since they don't even capture all of the plot points or aid in the comprehension of the finer points of the work. Forget that they couldn't possibly help a student understand Hamlet's soliloquies even if they know one little line.

What really irks me about this is that such a project takes a literary classic and strips it of the very thing that makes it such--its "literariness." There is no literary quality in a text message. You can't appreciate the theological nuances of Paradise Lost or Divine Comedy by reading a text message. You can't appreciate the artful quality of a well-placed Shakespearean pun in a text message. And even simplifying Hamlet to a mere plot summary does nothing, for any student of literature knows that Shakespeare ripped off most of his plots from other people. What makes Shakespeare great is not the stories; it's the way he tells the stories. It's their literariness.

What Dot mobile is doing is giving students yet another excuse not to read. As if they need any more. And what's worse--they've had a professor consulting with them on the writing of these text messages. I just can't even begin to understand that. So I beg you, go and read a book! A real book! (If you want suggestions, I'd be happy to supply them.) Put down your Cliffs Notes, don't go to SparkNotes, go to the real source and eat it up, every last morsel. Will that take time? Duh. But all things worth doing take time. That's part of what makes it worthwhile. A text message? With the push of button, you can delete it and it's gone. Literature? Literature is forever.

If you want to read about this, click here. And a Google search of dot mobile will pull up other results as well.

I hate doing school work on a break. And on Saturday night, no less. I have no life. One of my dear friends, however, had a sweet little baby girl on Thanksgiving Day. Welcome to the world, Bethany Kathleen!

ETA: You know what I don't understand? HoW dO PeOPle tYpE lIKe thIs? It tAkEs WaY LoNGer tHaN tYpING noRmaLlY. Plus, it's annoying. Can anyone explain this phenomenon to me?

In case any of you were waiting with bated breath to see if I would get up at the crack of dawn to go shopping, I thought I'd update. I did in fact wake up at 5 am, and my dad and I set out for Target. And of course everyone else in Bartlett was there, too, which explains the line that was snaking all the way around the side of the building when we got there a little before 6. My dad and I had a plan, though, so we split up, with him going for a tree in the Christmas area and me heading for the electronics. He definitely had the sweeter end of the deal, let me tell you. Everyone was in the electronics department, and I do mean everyone. (I think I may have even seen George W. checking out the PS2 games.) So I grabbed the digital camera I was going for, and proceeded to spend about 15 minutes just trying to get out of that area. It was crazy and chaotic, but oddly entertaining. I'm weird, what can I say? Dad and I met up in the Christmas area, where he was holding my very first Christmas tree! They had little 6.5 ft. prelit trees on sale for $29.99, so I got one, along with some red and silver ornaments to put on it. I am so excited about going back to the apartment in Knoxville and decorating my tree! Liz and I can have a tree decorating party! I am so excited! (I know I already said that, but really, I am so excited!) I love the Christmas season!

And in other news, it seems that I can't in fact hate the new Pride and Prejudice forever. It in no way will replace the position that the A&E miniseries holds in my heart, but it was really very good in its own right. The ending was actually superior, I thought. (Don't hate me, Jessica and Kathleen!) The ending was completely not based on the book or the other movie, but it just made me sigh with happiness, and I love the character of Mr. Darcy. (The actor in this movie is not Colin Firth, but he did a wonderful job.) The dialogue was almost identical in several scenes, and the pace of the dialogue rivals that of Gilmore Girls. Naturally the events were very compressed, and I think in some instances more detail would have helped, but I was very pleased overall. The only true complaint I have is that the actor who played Mr. Bingley was not as good as the one in the A&E version (nor as cute, if I may be superficial), and the way Mr. Bingley was portrayed in this version made him seem a little too vapid. There was also this one particular servant in the Bennet house who just randomly appeared in scenes humming to herself, and I thought it was really annoying and pointless. (Does anyone remember that being in the book? I don't.) I have to say I really wanted to hate this movie, and I still don't know why anyone felt that there needed to be another version of this beloved book, but I recommend seeing it nevertheless.

Anyway, that's all for now folks! Have a lovely weekend!

ETA: Looks like this will be Alias's last season. Apparently ratings have greatly decreased this season. I wonder if that could be because they killed off one of the major characters? Nah.

I think my family may have the briefest Thanksgiving celebration of anyone. My grandparents came over at 11, we ate a little after 12, and they left by 2:15! Later this afternoon my mom and I are going to go see Pride and Prejudice so I can finally decide if I should hate it forever. And then tomorrow my dad and I are toying with the idea of going shopping early in the morning. We'll see if that actually happens, though. I do love my sleep.

I thought since it's Thanksgiving and all I would extend a most hearty "Thank you!" to all of my subscribers. Thanks for reading my various and sundry thoughts on life, love and other mysteries. (A little POG shoutout for you, Brennan!) I am thankful for my little xanga community.

I'm also thankful for: grace, Jesus's death and resurrection, my amazing parents and my goofy brother, my marvelous friends who let me call them at 2 am if I need to, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, books (new and old), good hot chocolate, a glowing fire, down blankets, my iPod mini (aka Cotton Candy), music in general, the ability to sing somewhat decently, my guitar (aka Tocame), my movie collection, my years at Union, my professors at Union (most of them, anyway, haha), my assistantship to UT, my apartment in Knoxville, my roomie in Knoxville (hi Elizabeth!), my car, Starbucks caramel apple cider, my neurotic dog Sandy, Diet Coke, my Instant Messenger friends (all 3 of you, haha), etc. etc. There's so much to be thankful for. How blessed we all are! I challenge each of you to remember to give freely what has been freely given to you. Enjoy the holiday!

This week on Gilmore Girls...

Rory and Lorelai open the episode with banter that seems terribly forced and contrived, and again I think that they made up far too easily. Rory is introduced to Paul Anka, who only lets Rory into his crazy psychotic universe after Rory puts sugar on her toes for Paul Anka to lick off. (Yes, that is really what happened.) Lorelai then gives Rory a hatbox full of post-it notes with things Lorelai thought of while they were apart and wanted to remember for when they made up. (Apparently Kirk went skeet shooting. Then took up tai chi. Babette recorded her cats meowing and made a record. Lorelai tried reading Beowulf then quickly gave up. You know, the usual.)

The gals make their way to the diner and enter Luke's to the fanfare of Lorelai's poor imitation of a drumroll. There's an uncomfortable exchange between Rory and Luke where Rory asks Luke if anything's new with him, and you can practically hear Luke's guilty conscience screaming out his little secret. Hep Alien (Lane's band) has this big shot with some record label dudes at a gig, and Rory promises to attend and film it all. After that Rory informs Lorelai that she and Logan aren't talking but doesn't go into the dirty details.

Then comes one of the best scenes in the episode. Lorelai brings Rory to the inn, where Sookie literally hyperventilates when she finds out that the estranged pair are now un-estranged. Michel comes in and says "Rory!" in an uncharacteristically enthusiastic but nevertheless cute voice, then tries to cover it up. I love Michel.

Cut to the band, who is going over their set list for the big gig. All of the band's songs are named after girls, and Lane suggests that it would be nice if Zach wrote one about a girl named Lane since they're dating and all, but Zach says her name's not good for a song, only cliches rhyme with Lane (like rain and pain), and Brian's all, "But you could totally write a good song about Lane." Zach remains unconvinced; Lane looks vaguely disappointed. The anvil of foreshadowing falls with a loud bang.

Rory and Lorelai at the inn. Lorelai tells Rory about Chris's unexpected phone call, and the girls speculate about what the "good news" could be. Lorelai decides to call up Chris and meet up with him. They meet up in some random restaurant, exchange this weird hug filled with the awkwardness of a year's worth of separation (brought on by incredible stupidity on Chris's part, but do they talk about it? Of course not! That would be communicating, and no one on this show does that!). Anyway, Christopher's rich grandfather died and apparently left him enough money to buy 10 Third World countries, and he wants to share the wealth with Rory and Lorelai. Lorelai of course refuses the money but promises to talk to Rory about it to see if she might want something.

Liz drops into the episode from the "we need another subplot" bag, and she's at Luke's trying to prepare her Thanksgiving meal for 12, even though she's completely devoid of any culinary skills and Luke ends up doing some of it for her. When she runs upstairs to check on her other food (that turns out to be mostly ruined), Luke follows her and spills his guts about the kid. Why in the world he thought it would be a good idea to tell his blabbermouth sister about it before Lorelai is beyond me, but hey, they've gotta create drama. Liz immediately guesses who the mother is since Luke's a "serial monogamist" and then asks what he's going to do about it. He says he's not sure since Anna hasn't contacted him about it, April seemed completely unconcerned, so he feels like if they want to forget about it then he can to. Riiight, Luke, right. Irresponsibility is so not your forte. Liz is kind of like, "Are you sure about this?" but doesn't press the issue, which in my opinion was a bad call.

We then return to the band, who is doing a sound check before their big gig. Zach's got his guitar in a wad because Brian has been working on a song about Lane, but instead of dealing with his jealousy, he turns on the jerk button--he just snaps at everyone, throws out the set list, causes a huge scene, and it ends with Gil tackling Zach on the stage while everyone boos. So then Lane goes to find Zach after this debacle and she wants to know what's wrong, starts crying because he let her and the band down, he says that maybe people in a band shouldn't date, they kind of break up (I think), and that's it. Seriously people, communicate!

This is getting way too long (sorry!) so I'll try to wrap it up. Rory decides to ask Christopher to pay for the rest of Yale, and so of course this will cause major issues with the grandparents, whom Rory wants to be rid of. A ton of people converge on the Dragonfly for Thanksgiving, during which Luke surreptitiously calls Anna, but hangs up when he just gets their answering machine. He has the perfect opportunity to tell Lorelai about April when she tells him what Chris was calling about and that Rory's going to take the money to pay for Yale, but does he tell her? Noooo. Because that would be too easy. And then what would they write about? During dinner Rory gets a call on her cell phone, and guess who it is? Not Logan, but his sister Honor. She's calling from the awful Huntzberger dinner to tell Rory that Logan's an idiot and she's sorry to hear they broke up. This is clearly news to Rory, who thought they had just had a fight, but Honor said Logan told her they broke up. Rory goes back to the table in shock, the chefs bring out 80 turkeys and a gazillion pounds of cranberry sauce, and the end.

This wasn't completely in order, but I tried to group the individual storylines together. And I read somewhere that the next new episode isn't until January 10! So this blah episode is what we have to mull over until then?? What's happened to my show??? I hope Rory and Logan stay broken up, Luke better tell Lorelai about April or I'm gonna get violent, and World War III is going to break out when Emily and Richard find out that Christopher's paying for Yale. Drama, thy name is Gilmore Girls.

Less than twenty-four hours from now I'll be on my way home! I have one class tomorrow from 11:10-12:05, and then it's Memphis here I come! I'm not gonna lie, I'm completely excited. I don't think I ever used to get this excited about going home when I was at Union, and I guess that's due to the fact that then I was an only an hour away so it was much easier to go home. And plus at Union I felt more like myself, so I didn't want to go home a lot anyway. But bottom line: I'm really looking forward to going home and seeing my family. And my brother apparently has an awesome tattoo on his back now, so I'm looking forward to checking that out. If I wasn't completely terrified of the pain, I would consider getting a tattoo, but I'm a big wimp so I don't think it'll ever happen. And then there's the fact that it's permanent. Knowing me, I'd get something dumb like "I love Gilmore Girls" and then in ten years wonder what in the world I was thinking. So no tattoos for me! (And really, who am I kidding? Can anyone really see me with a tattoo? Probably not.)

Anyway, I'm off to try and do some work before tonight's "fresh" episode of Gilmore Girls. I wish they would quit calling them "fresh" episodes. It's not like fruit or clean laundry, people. It's TV.

A Brief Update

Waking up at 9 when you need to leave for school at 8:30=bad. (But it's fortunate that the leaving at 8:30 is more of an arbitrary, obsessive thing on my part and not a necessity. I don't have class until 10:10, but I like to get there early so I don't have to walk a mile and so I can get a little work done. This morning I did well to brush my teeth and wear clean clothes. Sigh.)

I've decided that alarm clocks are an ineffective means of waking me up. I have 3, and they don't do the job so well. What's an exhausted, stressed grad student to do?

I've decided that I'm stupid. Really. How come everyone else in grad school can think of intelligent questions to ask or smart things to say and I just sit there wondering what in the world is going on half the time?

In other news, I think I may have found a church. Two successful visits in a row=promising. Let us hope for more of the same. And lo and behold, exegetical preaching is not dead. Praise the Lord! Seriously, praise Him! For everything.

ETA: Christmas music=happiness.

Yesterday was a good day! I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which didn't disappoint. It was definitely different in tone from the previous ones, no doubt due to the change in director, but it was a nice change. Also definitely darker, both in terms of plot and cinematography, but there was still quite a bit of the humor that you find in the books. Of course they left out a lot of stuff, but that's to be expected when you're dealing with a massive tome like HP 4. I am still deciding my final feelings, but I can tentatively say that it might be the best yet. (I do still miss the old Dumbledore--Richard Harris--though. Michael Gambon isn't the same. And the actors who played Krum and Cho Chang left much to be desired, but oh well.)

Then after that I went to a play at UT with Sheena and Katie. Our friend Dustin was in it, and he was fantastic (especially compared to some of the other actors), and then we went to IHOP, which I haven't been to in forever. I had the stuffed french toast combo, and it was seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten. Seriously, you must try it if you go to IHOP.

On today's agenda: a marathon viewing of the real Pride and Prejudice, the A&E miniseries (for a truly inspired commentary on this version, go to Jessica's Xanga.) I'm going over to Sheena and Katie's later this afternoon, and we're going to watch all five hours of it. They haven't seen it, which is a true travesty, but they have seen the new one, so I'm interested to see how the A&E version measures up for them. I don't care how great the reviews are, Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet is just wrong!

I Know They Didn't!

WARNING: This entire post will be dedicated to Gilmore Girls, so if you couldn't care less about the show, leave now. (Although really you should rethink your priorities.) And if you didn't watch last night's episode but intend to, don't read any further.





Okay, now onto the main event--last night's episode. The big bombshell first. Luke has a daughter. A daughter. What in the world is happening to my show?! Last time I checked, I wasn't watching Days of Our Lives, but this is so a plot they would do! Granted, the way we found out about it was unique but I just can't accept this as a good direction for the show to go in. Even though I knew it was coming because I read everything about the show I can find, I was still secretly hoping that all of my sources were wrong about this, but they weren't. So I'm going with denial. I don't believe April is really Luke's daughter. After all, the girl is 12. Couldn't she have messed up the results? And why haven't we heard of this Anna woman before? When Rachel was brought up in season one, it was implied that she was one of Luke's only serious relationships, if not the only one. But now Anna? Seems far too convenient for my tastes.

And Rory. I get that Jess woke her up from her apathetic stupor and she was motivated to get a job and change her circumstances, but her behavior in that newspaper office was absurd. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's completely unprofessional to harass an editor day after day after he was nice enough to give you a good reference but informed you he doesn't have any openings. But what irks me even more is that her nutty behavior was actually rewarded. Can't something just be a little bit difficult for her for once? I mean, why couldn't we have seen her looking around, going to interviews or something? Why did we instead get to watch her practically get on her hands and knees and beg for this job, when she probably could have found one somewhere else? (Someone did call the Dragonfly about a reference, after all.)

I was absolutely thrilled that Lorelai and Rory reconciled, but it seemed to me that it all was a little too easy. Here's what the dialogue could have been:

Rory: Hey Mom!
Lorelai: Hey Rory! Long time no talk!
Rory: Yeah, well, you know, I've been busy being an Emily clone. But guess what? I got a job! And I'm going back to Yale! Even though it's the end of the semester! And I'm going to find my own place to live! Can I come over?
Lorelai: Of course you can! Let's just put all that baggage behind us and hug in the front yard!
Rory: Okay, here I come!

I mean, seriously. It was that fast and that easy. Rory did apologize and say she'd "messed up," but I was expecting a little more than that, I guess.

Anyway, the episode was really good in that stuff actually happened (as compared to other episodes this season where the most exciting thing is a $5,000 purse), but I'm really nervous about where things are heading with the Luke/Lorelai/daughter angle. And now Christopher's going to reappear as well! Why must they keep playing the Christopher card? Good grief! Missing: one favorite show. Gilmore Girls, come back!

Thanks for indulging me in my rant. For someone else's viewpoint, you can go here. Also, I'm considering putting all of my TV-related blogs on my old blogspot account. That way people can just go there for that if they want and those who don't care about that stuff won't have to read it. What do people think? Would anyone go read the other blog? I'd post any news about Gilmore Girls and other shows that interest me, and provide weekly commentary on GG and Everwood. Tell me what you think!

Treasure in a Binding

Today I held treasure. Treasure in the form of a first edition copy of Sense and Sensibility and then in the form of a copy of the Vulgate printed in 1554. I wish you could have seen the detail in the Vulgate--the illuminated initial caps and the delicate script. It was absolutely wondrous. And then I got to peer at a 15th century manuscript of the Latin Psalter which had some incredibly intricate designs. I love books, and I've got to tell you, they just don't make them like they used to.

And I've also got to tell you I'm incredibly excited about this movie. Four days!

EDIT: And if anyone wants to get me a Christmas present (and I know you all do), I really really really want this book. I'm such a nerd. Isn't it great?

The Gilmore Girls Forum is back! I realize this information may be of no consequence to anyone else, but in case it is, I'm sharing it. Plus, my life is composed of small pleasures, and posting on this forum used to be one of them until hackers crashed the system back in the spring. The first time it happened the forum was back up pretty quickly, but then the hackers struck again. I don't know who would care about destroying a fan forum, especially one devoted to Gilmore Girls, but the world is full of sick people. Anyway, for months I checked the parent site for information, but all they could tell me was that the forum was down, they were looking into ways to protect it better, and they didn't know when it would be up again. So I despaired and quit checking the site as often. And then earlier today I was feeling hopeful, so I went to the site, and lo and behold--the forum was restored last month! I can't tell you how excited I was, but try and picture it if you can. I had tried going to other forums, but it wasn't the same since I'd come to know certain members of the other one, and it was just so much better.

I'm so happy! It's like I've found my long-lost friends! (And you can all quit judging me in your heads. We all have our idiosyncrasies. I'm just very open about mine.)

My new colors are in honor of the Vols, who broke their four-game losing streak, beating the Tigers 20-16! Good ole Rocky Top! Elizabeth and I were actually there for this momentous occasion, and on the first row on the fifty-yard line, no less. It was a great first game experience for me, even though when we left at the end of the 3rd quarter the Vols were down by 3. (We were kind of bored and VERY hungry.) There is definitely something intoxicating about seeing this sea of orange fans, and I couldn't help but get caught up in it all.

Last night I was reunited with a dear friend. Kerri was one of my really good friends during high school, but as college progressed we lost touch. We got back into touch in the spring when she invited me to her wedding shower and wedding, and we had a good time catching up. At the time, I thought that was that. Then the other weekend when my mom came to see me, who should we run into at the mall but Kerri? Turns out she and her husband live in Knoxville! Brad goes to the law school, and Kerri teaches fourth grade. They had me over to their house last night for a yummy home-cooked meal, where I also met Brad's sister. We had a great time talking and laughing, and then we went to the discount theater (of whose existence I was woefully unaware until then) and saw Fantastic Four, which was more entertaining than I thought it would be. I love it when you're able to pick up with a friend right where you left off, and that is how it was with Kerri. I think there will be other good times in our future.

That's all on my front. School continues to be completely draining. Only three weeks left, which is both exciting and terrifying.

I'm (not so) Famous!

Dear readers, humor me for a moment and let me share what I deem to be exciting news. (Keep in mind that my threshold for excitement is very low, as I spend most of my time reading boring stuff, so even the wind blowing is exciting.) Anyway, the following is an excerpt from this week's AskAusiello column, an online column on TVGuide's website that deals with all the latest scoop on several different shows:

Question: Please tell me someone (SPOILER) isn't really going to die on Everwood (Ask Ausiello 11/2)! I'm so crushed about that! How "major" a character are we talking? — Erin

Ausiello: Major enough to coax Greg Berlanti back into the fold.

Guess who that Erin is? Me!!! I read Ausiello's column every week, since I am a professed addict of Gilmore Girls and want to read everything I can get my hands on concerning the show, including spoilers. Anyway, Ausiello is a huge Gilmore fan who actually made a cameo appearance on the show last season, and so not too long ago I made it my personal goal to get a question in his column. Since then I have emailed Ausiello faithfully every week with different questions, but to no avail. Last week, I decided to change my tactic. His recent favorite show has been Everwood, which I also happen to love, so I thought maybe if I asked a question about a HUGE (or as The Donald says it, YOOGE) spoiler he'd revealed the previous week I would have a better chance of getting in the column. Plus, not as many people ask about Everwood as Gilmore Girls. And sure enough, when I read the latest column, there was my question buried halfway down! This probably interests no one but me, but I just had to share. (And really, if you're a fan of shows like Lost, Alias, Everwood, CSI, and of course GG, among others, you should check out the column! But only if you don't mind being spoiled every once in a while!)

Side note: in case you don't know what a spoiler is, it's any info about a show that comes out before the episode with said info airs. For a good example of a spoiler site, go here.

It's a Hard-Knock Life

I had hoped grad school would be the end of having to do useless assignments, a.k.a busy work, but nooooo. I find myself confronted with them all the time in one of my classes. I am currently trying to find out what England copyright law was like in 1720, who wrote a review of Coleridge's Christabel in 1816, or where the manuscript for the Civil War diary of Mary Chestnut is housed. These queries (and they are just a few of many) are supposed to teach me how to research, and I have become quite familiar with practically every database known to man (or at least those relevant to work in English studies), but I cannot find the answers to any of these infernal questions. I've spent at least five hours here and there on this one assignment, to no avail. If this is what it means to be a professor (and I really really really hope it's not), then forget it. I'm going to work at Sea World.

Proud (?) to be a Vol

According to one of the ads on facebook, Playboy has ranked UT as one of the nation's top 10 party schools. Even better, they're currently on campus through Nov. 9 looking for girls to pose. I've never been so proud to be a Vol. (I wish there were some sort of sarcasm indicator, kind of like a bold or underline feature or something, but then again I guess part of the point of sarcasm is that it's more subtle.)

In other news, the latter part of this semester is both creeping by and slamming into me full force. How can that be?

Random tidbits:
1. I just got The Riverside Chaucer, brand new, for $40 on ebay (note how much it costs on Amazon). I'm not gonna lie, I'm totally jazzed. (Are the kids still saying "jazzed" these days? Were they ever? If I'm saying it, probably not.) I was even more jazzed by the fact that a class I'm taking next semester requires it, so I had a legitimate reason to buy it.

2. It's way too warm here to be November. If we're having to run the air conditioner in our apartment in November, there's a problem.

3. You know you're a college/grad student when the closest you come to cooking a "real" meal is Hamburger Helper. And you like it.

4. I love how all of the trees seemed to change color at the same time. It's positively magical. Isn't God a genius? Seriously.

(I had the weirdest urge to end this entry with "And then I found $5." What's going on??)

To Be Young Again

Tonight me and some friends went and saw Chicken Little. In 3-D. To steal a phrase from Rachel, I'm not gonna lie; it was fun times. For an hour and a half, I felt like a little kid again. It was great. I recommend the movie to anyone who just wants to soak in some goofiness and finds the idea of animated characters singing a karaoke version of a Spice Girls song appealing. (That last part is really in there, I promise.) And before you mock me for going to a "kid" movie, we were not the only adults in there sans children. Cartoons are cool, my friends.

Autumn

From the porch bathed in soft twilight,
I catch a glimpse of a sliver
of a moon in a rainbow-hued sky
and the stark outline of trees bereft of leaves
that casts long, interwoven shadows
upon the lawn littered with the lingering
remnants of summer. I marvel
at the quiet music of the stars
twinkling to a secret silent rhythm,
content in their single purpose.
They are unaware of the fear and vastness
of the huge unknown that looms
above and before me,
and in the serenity of falling night
I am undone.

Overcomer

You've had control of me too long. It's time for you to leave. I'm through with the negativity, the lies, the constant assaults. I'm through feeling like I'm worthless, through feeling sorry for myself, through believing that I'm a failure. I can't keep waking up every morning wish I hadn't. I can't keep questioning every move I make, wondering if it's the right one. I can't keep looking in the mirror and hating the reflection I see. I can't keep doubting my faith, doubting myself, doubting God. That's just what you want me to do. You taunt me and tempt me, whispering seductive lies and distracting me with my own insufficiency.

But no more. The power you had over me is gone. I will not bow down. I will not yield. I am a daughter of the Most High God, and He bought me with the blood of His Son. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and it is for freedom that I have been set free. So I stand firm. I will not be burdened again by the yoke of slavery, of sin. I demolish all arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the word of God. I take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. I cast my cares on the LORD, for He cares for me. He LOVES me, desires me, calls to me to come out of the darkness and into the light. He showers upon me blessing upon blessing, mercies that are new every morning, grace that can't be measured. He is from all things, in all things, and by Him all things were created. My flesh and my heart may fail, my life may dwindle to a vapor, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. He is my light and my salvation, so I will fear you no more, for there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear. Through Him I have in my possession the very power He used to raise Christ from the dead. Through Him I have the victory. Through Him you are defeated.

Get behind me, satan. You are welcome here no longer.

I am posting what is going to be my last survey. I know I'm wildly popular and everyone loves to "tag" me for these things, but I'm all surveyed out. (I'll pretend I'm wildly popular rather than just assuming that everyone tags me b/c I'm either a) a pushover who will do whatever people want, or b) a xanga addict who will most assuredly read everyone's subscriptions and be prompt to respond, or c) all of the above.) I do of course reserve the right to change my mind at any time and post surveys every day for a week if I so choose, but don't hold your breath.

Three Names You Go By
1. Erin
2. Hetzel
3. Pretzel (I don't really go by this, but when I meet new people they think it's so funny to call me this.)

Three Parts of Your Heritage
1. German
2. Latin American (Salvadoran, to be specific)
3. Irish

Three Things That Scare You
1. Failure
2. the Unknown
3. Walking to my car at night

Three of Your Everyday Essentials
1. Lip Smackers
2. Colored pens
3. Car

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. A hoodie
2. Totally trendy ankle socks
3. My newest pair of jeans

Three of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists:
1. Caedmon's Call
2. Switchfoot
3. Nichole Nordeman

Three of Your Favorite Songs - at the moment (this is so hard-I have a bazillion favorites!)
1. "Reflecting Light" by Sam Phillips (for you Gilmore Girls junkies, this is the song that Luke and Lorelai danced to on their first "date")
2. "Life is Wonderful" by Jason Mraz
3. "My Love Hasn't Grown Cold" by Bethany Dillon

Three Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love)
1. Laughter
2. Hugs
3. Trust

Three Physical Things about the Opposite Sex that Appeal to You
1. Smile
2. Eyes
3. Dark hair

Three of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. Reading
2. Gilmore Girls (as much as I love it, it's a hobby)
3. Writing

Three Things You Want to do Really Badly Right Now
1. Have some Marble Slab
2. Dance with someone under the moonlight
3. Laugh with Emily Vassar (I miss you, Em!)

Three Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Italy--all of it
2. New York City
3. Chicago

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Sky dive
2. Write a novel
3. Get my PhD (please, Lord)

Three Ways that you are stereotypically a Chick/Guy
1. Cheesy commercials can make me cry.
2. I give my heart away too easily.
3. I feel prettier with makeup on.

Three of Your Favorite Cities/Towns
1. Seattle
2. Jackson, TN (seriously)
3. Chattanooga