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.

Smartpen

OK, so there is this really awesome pen that I would give anything to have, although I know I'm not getting it anytime soon. It's from Pulse and it's called a smartpen. you can check it out here. And I really suggest you do. Take a look around the website and look at the demos. It's frickin amazing.

Basically, it's a pen that records everything that the teacher is saying while you write, and records what you're writing at the time. So when you review your notes, all you have to do is press the play button with the pen on the paper you used, and it'll playback what the teacher said. You can even tap on your notes at a specific point. This way you never miss anything. Also you can upload your notes and the recordings to your computer. You can share them online with friends. It's really awesome.

Of course, the cost of something like that is, well, a lot. And it isn't a necessity. So I'll just have to wait until my parents are feeling generous one Christmas in order to get it. And besides, I'm not going to be in school for that much longer (crossing my fingers). It would've been awesome to have that in high school though.

Losing Weight & Textbooks

So I started keeping a mini food diary on my computer earlier this year, but it was too hard to keep track of on my computer since I wasn't going on it every single day.

But yesterday I bought myself a cheap composition notebook, and have decided to keep up with it. I keep reading recently that studies show that keeping a food diary helps you lose weight, and those that do usually lose more weight than those that don't.

The reason I'm becoming so adamant about it is because I've gained probably five or six pounds this summer, and fifteen pounds since I stopped going to NYU. The constant exercise I was subjected to at my studio, plus the walking around, helped me keep to a nice weight. However, now that I'm home and not jumping around in dance two times a week, I've put on a few pounds.

At first it wasn't a huge deal, but now some of my clothes aren't fitting properly and I can't put on the jeans I worked so hard to be able to fit into. I'm determined to lose this weight. Obviously two weeks isn't enough time, so a goal of by the end of the summer isn't plausible. I'm going to shoot for getting most of the weight off by the end of the semester, and reward myself if I get it off before the beginning of November.

On another note, I like to be prepared for the start of classes, and I'm really upset about my child psych class. The teacher decided two weeks before classes that it was finally time to put in her order for the textbook, and it just appeared. Now I have to spend another $60+ to get another textbook on top of the other $240 I've already spent. Most of my books are newer editions, so I've been having a hard time finding good deals on them. With the fact that refund checks don't come right away, it's hard to shell out so much cash for textbooks without any relief in sight.

Well, that's all for now. I'll keep you posted.

Robbie Greenberger

I'm sorry to say that my friend Robbie died last night due to an eight month battle with leukemia. He was a great, happy guy and he died too young.

I've only known him for what seems like a short time, but would have been about a year come September. He came up to me while I was sitting outside at Housatonic Community College and asked me if we had homework. I remember he reminded me of this guy I knew in high school who was kind of dorky but I liked. We had breakfast/brunch/lunch together every Monday and Wednesday in the cafeteria, sometimes venturing out for Dunkin Donuts. We'd talk or do homework. After awhile we went out on a few dates. Even though it didn't work out we remained close friends. He loved ninjas and rubber ducky's. What I'll remember most is his smile and his love of life. I'll remember introducing him to CryBaby in his basement and the walk we took at night on the beach. His understanding nature and me coaxing him to wear a Halloween costume during classes that day. He was a wonderful person and I only wish that I got to know him longer. He was planning on transferring and majoring in marine biology, and now he will never get the chance.

His death only underlines the fact that we all have so little time in the world. I was planning on calling him to say hi and let him know that I was thinking about him, and now it is too late. We must always do what we want to do today, say what we want to say to those we care about now. It's true that they might not be there tomorrow. We'll never know what the future brings and we must seize the moment. Robbie, you will be missed and whenever I see a rubber duckie I will always think of you.

Net Neutrality

I just thought I'd take a quick second to make everyone aware of something we have called net neutrality, since it's currently becoming an issue on the Congress floor.

Net neutrality is what prevents companies like Optimum and AT&T from making websites they want you to see faster and websites they don't slower, or preventing you from seeing certain websites altogether. Net neutrality forces them to give you their great service to the entire internet.

Their is a bill that is going to be on the House floor that will preserve net neutrality. And there is something you can do about it to help keep the internet's creative freedom thriving.

Check out savetheinternet.com for lots more information, and write your congressional state representative telling them your views on the issue.

The internet is a place where everyone around the world no matter how rich or poor they are can come together and view the same content and express themselves. Let's please try to keep it that way.