Vegetarianism

So I haven't updated in a really long time, and I apologize for that. I stopped having things to talk about and got incredibly busy with schoolwork for the past semester.

I could recap everything that happened in my life but I don't really feel like it.

Right now I recently finished reading a book entitled Eating Animals by my favorite author Jonathan Safran Foer. This book is his only non-fiction piece and it's about his discovery of what exactly we're eating when we eat animals, along with the way that these animals are treated when they live on factory farms. So, I decided to become a vegetarian. So far I'm doing well, it's been about two weeks and there has been no meat consumption. I did eat a piece of cake at a graduation party before I realized that cake has eggs in it and I can no longer eat non-vegan cake. I haven't cut out dairy from my diet yet, just because it's so prevalent in everything that I eat. I'm hoping that eventually I'll either be able to cut it out or only buy products from places that treat their cows humanely.

I am also currently in a production of three one-act plays in New Haven. The plays go up this upcoming week, on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of June. I'm hoping that whomever would like to go will come. Tickets can be bought here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/114112

or at the door.

I have also started exercising at the gym. I got a gym membership for the summer at Southern's fitness center. I went Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week and it wasn't that bad. I'm hoping to get to about 135 pounds by the time the semester starts up again, and continuing to get back to my old weight of 120. I would be happy if I stayed at 125, however.

As well, in July I will be studying abroad for the entire month in Spain. I'm incredibly excited and I hope to use this blog to keep everyone back home updated on what I'm up to overseas.

Long Time, Let's Play Catch-up: Books, Knitting, Revolutionary Road

So I know it's been a really really super long time. Haven't felt much like updating. But now I do, so here it goes.

I finished a lot of books since I last wrote. One of my favorites was one entitled The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall. It's about a mother and daughter who have escaped the Russian Revolution and have moved to a Russian-owned parcel of land in pre-revolutionary China. It does sound a little weird and far-fetched. I mean, why would I want to read a book about a Russian girl in pre-Communist China? It makes no sense. But it was suprisingly good. The writing was very fluid; I had a hard time putting it down. The characters were well-rounded and I felt emotionally invested in the main character, as well as the many side-plots that were going on around her. In the end they all tied together for a nice bang. So, this is definitely a book I would recommend.

I also just finished David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Great book! I absolutely love Dickens style of writing. I sometimes try to keep in mind that he got paid by the word, and there are certain characters, such as Mr. Micawber, that I think may have been written with a personality that lends itself well to exaggeration and long ranting. I was kind of expecting something more similar to Great Expectations, if only because Jane Austin's novels are so very similar to each other. But it took a completely different turn of events, and I ended up with tears in my eyes towards the end.

As far as knitting goes, I finally finished a humongous project of three baby blankets for my neighbor across the street. She had triplets instead of just one, and I had promised her I would make her a baby blanket when she had just found out she was pregnant. They are adorable! They're names are Anna Faith, Owen Sotir, and Eli John. I made each a different color: one pink, one light blue and one dark blue. It was my first time using a cable needle and trying to make something with a cable knit, so I was a little nervous at first. But the repetitive nature of the blankets made it so that eventually it came to be second nature, and after only a short while I didn't need to look at the pattern at all. They turned out absolutely beautifully and I am so proud of them. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of them before I gave them to her, but I do have the pic that I saw that made me decide to use this particular pattern. This is the blog that I discovered the knitting pattern at: http://thecakeplate.blogspot.com/2008/08/luca-cabled-baby-blanket.html

Lastly, I just have to say a few things about Revolutionary Road. I saw this movie two weeks ago, and I was sorry I hadn't seen it sooner. I know many people have told me that the critics didn't like it, but I have no idea why. The movie opens with drama and it ends with drama. It was like an Edward Albee play written without the major ridiculousness. It seemed to me so true to life, so genuine. I could relate to exactly what it was the characters were going through; the feeling of being trapped into what society dictates how life is supposed to be led. It tugged at my heartstrings and brought me along for a wonderful ride. Both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio gave outstanding performances, and I think everyone should watch this film.

Abundance

I haven't written in awhile, I know. I just finished this novel, Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund. It's a novel about the reign of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. It's told from her point of view.

I read in the author's notes at the end of the book that much of the novel was taken from actual journal entries and letters that were written by her, and only a little of it was speculative, which excited me at first.

However it took me an incredibly long time to finish the novel. It did get to be a little boring, since she seemed so out of touch with what was actually going on. I felt bad for her. The author portrayed her as a victim of circumstances. She was married very young, to a man who was afraid to have sex with her, and was completely unprepared in running a country. She had no idea how to keep up with what was really going on in France and seemed completely oblivious to everything. So, overall, it made for a very boring middle, and I was sighing with relief when I had finally finished the book. I feel as though the author was trying to make you sympathetic to Marie Antoinette's plight, but I just felt like she should've tried harder to understand France and the French's people's needs. Since she didn't really try at all.

I definitely would skip over this one, unless you're a Marie Antoinette fanatic.

Knit Socks, Curious Incident, and The Spot

So I haven't updated in awhile, so there's lots to talk about.

I finally finished knitting my first pair of socks!! Pictures will come. They were definitely a challenge, especially with me never having knit in the round before, but I have to say I'm really proud of them, and the second sock came out perfectly. I'll also post the pattern for anyone whose interested.

I've started knitting a baby blanket now. http://thecakeplate.blogspot.com/2008/08/luca-cabled-baby-blanket.html is the URL to the pattern I'm doing. It's coming along very nicely, it looks real sweet and I'm excited to complete it. My neighbor is having TRIPLETS instead of just one, so I have to work quickly.

I finished reading a few books as well. Well audibly, i finished listening to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It is, for anyone unfamiliar with it, about a 15 year old English boy with Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism). In the story, he's writing a book about the mysterious murder of a neighborhood dog, but it's so much more than that. It is an incredible book and I would recommend it to anyone. It really gets into the mind of a person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and you come to realize and understand how differently they view the world than a normal person. It's cleverly written and a wonderful book to read (or listen to, in my case).

I also finished reading a book called The Wild Irish. It is about Elizabeth I, towards the end of her reign, and a female pirate from Ireland, and their stories and how they intertwine. You would think with such a premise and with two strong historical female figures, that the book would write itself and be decent. However, I found that it dragged in a lot of places and it took me awhile to finish it. Nevertheless, the ending was better than I expected. I wouldn't paticularly recommend this book unless you were paticularly interested in the subject of female irish pirates in the late 16th century. It follows Ireland's story more than England's, so be prepared when you pick it up.

And lastly, some good personal news. At the beginning of December I will be appearing as Gloria in the student-directed one-act play The Spot. More details will come when it gets closer to the date.

Twilight

So I recently finished the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and I thought I'd share my first reactions.

I was able to read it in about three nights, so it really only took me a couple of hours. I thought the flow was nice, and once I started reading it went by so quickly. It seemed like a much bigger book than it actually was.

Overall I thought it was a good storyline, kept me engaged. However I found it to be a little superficial. Although the character development of Bella and Edward were good, the rest of the world just didn't come alive for me. I know a lot of people compare it to Harry Potter, which I think is unfair. When Meyer is interviewed she distinctly says that she wasn't writing to make a statement or to do anything, it was just for her pleasure, and it shows. There's no real message or morals or hidden symbols in the books, which makes them less interesting. With a lot of other fantasy books that I read, I like revisiting the characters and hearing their thoughts over and over again, because I feel like they're live people just waiting for me to visit them. Especially with Harry Potter, I get transported to this other world that I feel I will never fully explore. With Twilight, she even admits doing no research on vampires, and the fact that they play baseball alone is a little off-putting.

It was a good read, I might go and read the other copies just to see what happens, but it's definitely not on par with J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, Lewis, or other contemporary fantasy writers. And I probably won't read it over and over again, which says a lot.