Question & Answer

So, I like the idea of having an interactive blog. I started this (much longer ago than it seems, in fact) in an effort to develop my casual, chatty, nonfiction voice. And heck, I'm not sure how much it's really developed, but I've had a blast meeting new folks on here and, although my updates have been more sparse as of late, rest assured that I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going a little slower.

Just a few excellent example questions.

Reading comments is always super fun, and I try to respond to everyone, but if you guys are like me, I don't always notice when someone replies to my comment.

That got me thinking, what if I throw this out there? Ask me something—anything. A serious question, a funny question, a random question, off-the-wall, it's all fair game.

I think this could be fun, and I'd like for you guys to have the chance to get to know who I am better. Especially since you've been good enough to follow, read, comment, or any of the aforementioned.

I've never tried this before, so it could be a little sloppy, but here's what I'm thinking. I'll give you guys a couple of weeks to get your questions in. You can post them as comments, or ask me via Twitter (@Pencil_to_Paper).

So, ask away, and ask before August 10th, and let's see what we come up with?

What do you say?

Up for a little Q & A?

A Little Bit of Geekery

Well guys, guess what. Today was both E3 and WWDC. Playstation and Apple announcements all in one day. My tech-obsessed and nerdy self really can't handle much more excitement.

Let's face it, I game all the time. In fact, I'm usually gaming when I should be doing probably anything else. Like, say, writing, or keeping my blog up to date. (I feel the shame.) I've been so excited for any whiff of news about PS4 since rumors first surfaced that a new console would be out soon.

All the months of being teased and tempted with blogger speculation and general whispers finally culminated in tonight—Finally, we know what PS4 will look like. Now if only I could get my hands on one right this second...

And the games! Oh, the games that will be coming out soon, not only for PS4 but also on PS3. I really can't even... There's simply not enough time in my day for all the play I want to do.

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked.

I'm 50% excited about PS4, 50% distracted by the Watch_Dogs ad in the background.*

And then Apple, you sly dog, announcing iOS 7 at WWDC this year.

If you guys have followed my blog for awhile, and a lot of you have (THANK YOU, you folks are fantastic), then you know I love Apple. Any and all things Apple. It's what I grew up using. The only kind of computer I've ever owned. And when they hit the cell phone market? Well, all my days of switching SIM cards when I got sick of whatever phone I currently used were over. From the second I picked up the original iPhone, I was hooked.

But okay, I admit, some of the new phones out there that aren't iPhones have been starting to look pretty nifty. The thing is, like I said, all I use is Mac. iPhone seamlessly moves between my iMac and my MacBook Pro, and everything is where it should be, and my calendars sync, and my iTunes—well, you get the idea.

And it's just like Apple to announce something that completely obliterates any piquing interest in any other kind of phone just as that little tickle of stagnation hits. See, upgrading from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 didn't feel like much of a change as far as the operating system. But iOS 7 look to be a serious reimagining of iPhone's OS. And I honestly love everything about it. At least as far as I can tell from this video.

Now if only I could get a solid release date for iOS 7. Then my tech-brain would be satisfied.

As it stands, I'll be content eagerly waiting on both counts!

*Copyright, all rights reserved to Sony. No infringement intended.

A Date with the Couch

Much like the tale of poor Gregor Samsa, as of late I've discovered I've undergone some sort of twisted transformation. Fortunately, I'm not an insect. (If you have NO idea what I'm talking about, go read The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka.) No, instead, these past few weeks have seen me transform into the stereotype of a reclusive teenager obsessed with video games.

Yes.

Video games.

And not just a few, and not just mildly obsessed—I mean, I'm not going to lie. I really love video games. And I've got my 'defense of gaming' argument all set up; you'll read about it (if you stick with me!) later in this very post. But seriously guys, it's been ridiculous lately. My productivity has absolutely plummeted. I spend most of my time firmly planted on the couch, Playstation controller clutched tight in my hands, concentration devoted entirely to the game.

It all started when I graduated—maybe even a little before then. I was rebelling against responsibility, I think, and maybe trying to make the most of the days I have left in which I can afford to shirk all my duties and sit on my backside for hours on end. Either way, it happened.

The first game that really sucked me back in was Fallout. Followed quickly by Fallout: New Vegas—I mean, come on! Post world-as-we-know-it open world game space in which my actions and decisions actually impact the outcome of the game? Excellent.

Then there was Deus Ex, which was just cool in this super high tech futuristic way. But what really got the ball rolling on my too-much-time-spent-gaming kick was Dead Island. A zombie game. An open world zombie game. Yes, I was super excited for this game even before it actually came out! Because, in case you didn't know, horror movies of all kinds are a guilty pleasure of mine. I love zombies. So a zombie game set on a tropical island that you can explore completely? I'm there.

Me at midnight, pleased as punch.

And I was. At midnight. To pick up my reserved copy.

And let me just say, I was one of maybe...four girls there for the midnight release? In which the store was practically full? And I'm pretty sure all the other girls were there because their boyfriends were.

So yeah.

Then, to top it all off, I got back to my apartment, popped in the game, and couldn't get past the first five minutes of gameplay without dying. Seriously. I died about seventeen times before I gave up and went to bed angry.

The next morning, I actually Googled the game to figure out what I was doing wrong. Here I was, thinking, "Game glitch!" But no. Literally I was just running down the wrong hallway.

I was off to a great start.

In the end, I ended up spending just about seventy hours of my life on that game. Just that one game.

Also, I wrecked a staggering number of vehicles. See evidence below—

Exhibit A—by the pool.

Exhibit B—into some bushes.

Exhibit C—down the stairs.

It gets worse.

The next game that completely engulfed my time and my life was Skyrim. Another open-world game with side-quests galore! To date, I have spent 100+ hours on it, and guess what? I'm not even finished with it yet!

Most recently, it was Silent Hill: Downpour—but in my defense, I've been obsessed with this game series since I played the first one back on the original Playstation. And it only took me thirty hours. Yeah.

But it's not even just serious or involved games like Dead Island, Skyrim, or Silent Hill.

I've also started spending a lot of time on games like Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and Mario Party. I've become obsessed with getting gold stars on each level, or unlocking all the extra characters.

I keep telling myself that it's fine—and honestly, at this point, it's not too bad. I'm still working, so I'm not a lost cause. But remember my last post, where I was talking about how I haven't been writing?

Yeah. This is one of the reasons why. And it's not a good reason. It's just a convenient one.

In some cases, video games actually do inspire my writing. Especially if I'm in the mood to write something scary, which is often. At least, I usually start writing with the intent to end up with something scary. So games like Dead Island and Silent Hill aren't completely a waste of time.

But the truth is, it's more convenient and much less work to just let these games take over my time.

However, remember how I said I have a defense of video gaming? I'm getting to that now!

There's this really cool thing that happens when you play a video game—it's somewhere in between reading a book and watching a movie. Especially when you're dealing with a game with a solid, interesting story (like the Uncharted series!). It's more interactive than reading a book because you control movement and actions. It's more involved than watching a movie because not only do you see and hear cutscenes and dialogue, you're immersed in the story as you play through it. So playing video games can be a really involved experience in which for a few hours (or, if you're me lately, more than a few hours) you get to ditch reality, step out of yourself, and let your imagination run wild.

In that sense, as a creative person, I really appreciate what gaming brings to the table. It's never a bad thing to get your creative juices flowing, and if playing a video game makes that happen, I say that can't be a bad thing!

That being said, definitely I need to work on cutting back how much time I spend playing games. Because in that sense, it is a lot like reading—I can sit down thinking I'm just going to play for a little while (I'm just going to read a couple of chapters...) and before I know it, half the day is gone.

So, is it just me? Or are any of you guys game obsessed, too? :)

Attack of the Lazy

As you may have noticed, it's been quite some time since my last update!

For this, I am truly sorry.

I wish I could give some sort of long-winded but legitimate excuse about being super busy with countless important things... Alas, I cannot. I did get busy a couple of weeks ago—I spent about a week in Colorado visiting family!—but after getting back, I haven't really been doing anything important.

So long story short, I have no excuse.

Can you ever forgive me?

I hope so.

Anyway, moving on! I have a couple of things I want to share with you guys, but they both deserve their own posts. So I'll just allude to them here, and let you get excited to read them when they come up. It WILL be soon, I promise.

First is Aggie Ring Day. If you've noticed my Ring Day Countdown Clock on my blog, then you've likely also noticed that Ring Day came and went, and without any blog post about it. That is soon to change, my friends. On top of my admitted laziness, while I was away from my desktop I was unable to go through the pictures I took that day. Now that I'm back home with my beloved iMac, I can finally sift through the pictures and find the best of the best to include in my post. So pictures and paragraphs praising my lovely new Aggie Ring are soon to come. I can't wait to show you guys!

Here's a sneak peak! ;)

Secondly, I wanted to blog about my trip to Colorado. It's always a lot of fun seeing family, especially when story swapping happens. I spent several evenings sitting with my parents and my uncles talking about family history, their childhood, anything and everything. It's such a treat to get to listen to these slice-of-life anecdotes. One, in fact, I'm attempting to write. Bits of it are fictionalized, of course—it's one of those tales where 'nobody knows the whole story'. But still, I just thought it was interesting. One of these days, maybe I'll post an excerpt. Anyway, the problem with getting the Colorado post up and running is this—for once, I didn't take many pictures myself. I come from a family of photographers, so Dad took a bunch of pictures, not to mention video, and my Mom took the other half of the pictures. As soon as I get copies from my parents, I'll be going through them and picking some out for the CO blog post.

But listen, I know it's kind of a cop-out to write a blog post about upcoming blog posts, so let's talk about something else now.

I've been thinking lately (I know, it's dangerous.) about life and how it's going and what I'm doing and where I want to be and what I want to do. I know, a mouthful, right? The thing is, I've always been a homebody. I like being around my family and I like being in my comfort zone. But then again, every time I visit another state, I think about how cool it would be to live there. Or how interesting it would be to live somewhere else, even if just for a year or two. And then my cousin (who you'll hear more about in my Colorado post), she got married in Hawaii and looking at her pictures made me think, how cool would it be to live in Hawaii?

Seriously. What's wrong with this picture?

Okay, so that's kind of a no-brainer, I guess.

But the point is, I'm starting to wonder if maybe the reason I get so excited at the thought of moving is because I'm secretly desperate for a change of scenery. Vacations are great, don't get me wrong. But honestly, they're usually just long enough that I wish I could stay longer. My trip to New York, for instance. Amazing. Action packed. And we definitely did a million and one things. But I was only there for a week, and you just can't do New York in a week. Just about the time things get comfortable and familiar enough to really relax, I had to leave. And then this trip to Colorado. Another week long trip, and I wasn't ready to leave at all.

Don't get me wrong, I do love Texas. I mean, I was born and raised here. I feel like, at least for me personally, you can't grow up in a place and not feel at least a little bit at home there.

But you know, the older I get, the more I realize that moving doesn't have to be forever. If I decided to move out of state, or even out of country, it's not like I'm committing to living there forever, whether I end up liking it or not.

It's sort of a weird thing that's happened, now that I'm older. When you're young, home is where your parents are. You live where they live. If they move, you move. If they don't, you don't. But then, you grow up. And you realize you have all of this freedom. You get to make choices yourself, and suddenly you don't have to be where your parents are if you don't want to.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud, really. Food for thought, and all that.

What do you guys think? About relocating. Sometimes I think I need to just get out of my comfort zone. A sure-fire way to do that is to pick up and move. But it could be a little drastic. Anyway, I'm just babbling at this point.

So I'll wrap it up.

And go back to looking at pictures of tropical islands.

Oh, and writing. I'll be doing that, too.

Rut Vs. Groove

Have you ever wondered what exactly the difference is between a rut and a groove? I have. I figure, a groove is something comfortable, familiar, positive even—a habit or schedule you're happy with. A rut can be comfortable, definitely familiar, but the way I see it, people aren't always happy to be stuck in a rut. They've much rather get in a groove.

Or maybe that's just me.

At any rate, the past couple of weeks have found me struggling to get back in my groove and not stuck in a rut. It isn't exactly working out so far. Basically I've been reliving the day where I'm going to get the groove thing going. Only it's turning out to be more of a rut. I've been spending my days being generally unproductive, and each day I think, 'Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I'll get out of the rut and into the groove.'

As you may have guessed, I'm definitely in more of a rut than a groove.

But at least I'm working on it, right?

I've got some free time on my hands this semester, which makes it really easy to get sucked in to kicking back on the couch and doing absolutely nothing. (Or playing video games*, if you must know.) So the challenge for me is to use my time wisely instead of wasting it. So I've been really trying to focus on writing. I want to make a real habit of it, a daily thing. And not just a sentence or to. Typing out emails and text messages just don't cut it. They aren't making me a better writer. The things that will better my writing? Writing, of course. And reading.

And honestly, I can think of way worse ways to spend my off time. I mean, I love writing. And I love reading. So really, I'm not sure what this rut I'm in is all about. Expect maybe a general laziness on my part.

But anyway.

September. How is it already September? That December graduation date is sneaking up on me—It'll be here before you know it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But at least September is a good month. For a couple of reasons.

In just a little over a week, I'll finally be getting my Aggie Ring! (WHOOP!)

I'm super stoked for this, you guys. I mean, I'm really freaking excited. And happy. And my parents are coming, and we're all going to be excited and happy together. So there's that.

And toward the end of this month, I'll be taking a trip to Colorado with my parents. My cousin is getting married. Well, she's getting married in Hawaii. But they live in Colorado, and that's where they're having their reception. The best part? I mean, besides the visiting Colorado part? Since I only have one class this semester, I'll be able to be gone for like a week and still only miss one class day.

Excellent.

No 100s! No 100s!!!

But perhaps the most exciting development in my life right now is that Texas has finally decided to calm down on the heat wave. Why, just the other day I took a trip to Starbucks and sipped my coffee outside. OUTSIDE. A miracle. The forecast for the week down here may be full of 90s, but that's much better than the triple digit misery we'd been having!

I may be a bit premature, but I don't even care—Fall is in the air, you guys. I can feel it.

I love Fall.



*specifically, one video game. Dead Island. Which I recently acquired. And boy, I do love killing zombies... What? No, I'm not ridiculous... Okay, maybe a little ridiculous...

A Change of Sorts

If you're reading this, then you've likely noticed the new layout happening over here on my blog! I've been trying so hard to find a new layout, a new design, a new anything to spice it up. I'll just be honest—what I had been using...well, I'd been using it for quite some time. And I was ready for something a little different.

This here is my new layout, folks. What do you think?

This is probably only the third true 'revamp' I've done. This is mostly due to the fact that I know little to nothing about HTML and the like, so once I get a template working for me, I'm hesitant to go back to the drawing board.

But it was time. I hope you guys like the new layout. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure that it'll really stick around. I'm still in the process of looking at other options. Actually, I've been spending the bulk of my time trying to figure out how to make one of my own. Or at least use one of my own photos for a background. I have high aspirations, but unfortunately it's much easier said than done!

That being said, I'll probably leave this up for a little while. I may keep tweaking things.

So if you come back to my blog tomorrow and things look different, never fear! It's still me here. And all is well.

And don't worry—I've got more blog posts in the works.

I was just excited about the proverbial face-lift my blog has gotten.

What do you guys think? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

Also, for you Facebookers out there, feel free to mosey on over to Pencil to Paper on Facebook and "Like" what's going on over there!*

We're having fun over on Facebook! I'd love for you to join in! :)

*Yes, this is a shameless plug.




EDIT
I know I literally just posted about how I made some changes and whatnot, but...I've made some more changes. Again. Not just because I'm weird and I can't commit to a new design, but actually because of an issue with the 'Comment' feature. The issue being that with the new template I had, there wasn't a way to leave a comment without a few extra steps.

So. I've got another new look happening now. I think I like it. I'm still toying with it in Photoshop to see if I can't personalize it a little more, but by using a background instead of a template, it's easier for me to customize my blog using Blogger's page editing tools. So consider this The Revamp, Take 2.

What do you guys think?

New layout. 2.0.

A For Effort

Hey guys! I've read a million times that when one has failed to post a blog in awhile, one shouldn't apologize for it and/or point out one's absence. But rules were made to be broken, right? So. I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I'd say it's because I've been busy, but that's not totally true. I have, in fact, been busy enjoying not doing much of anything. If that makes sense. But I am finally taking a moment to sit myself down and write up a little something for you all.

Proof that I don't always suck at Math!

First of all, some excellent news! I'm officially finished with that pesky Business Math class! And guess what? I made an A! A freakin' A!!! This is cause for celebration. That's what I think. Because despite the fact that I did much better than I'd anticipated, going to class and wrapping my brain around equations and numbers even just long enough to apply it on test day was like pulling teeth. So I'm very proud to say that Math is behind me.

So there's that.

I've also begun the countdown to the start of the Fall semester. I go back and forth on how I feel about that. In some ways, I'm excited for school to start again. Especially because, honestly, I'm just taking one class. And it's a writing class. So I'll get to really focus on that and that alone, which is awesome. But thanks to Math, this summer seems so short. Like it's flying by and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not ready to start being responsible again. (Yes, I've basically shirked all of my responsibilities this summer. It's been great!) And I'm not ready to leave my friends back home. But the good news is, only 38 more days until I get my Aggie Ring! That's practically less than one month! Yes, I'm super excited.

I've already commanded my parents to make sure they aren't working when Aggie Ring Day rolls around. Because I expect them to drive down and celebrate with me. (Ring Day is a HUGE deal down in College Station. I mean, a really big freaking deal. You will get a glimpse of just how big a deal it is when mine rolls around and I blog about it.) I keep telling them, "Don't you want to be there to see what all that money paid for?" I also keep telling them, "Be glad I am not a boy. Because boy's rings are basically twice as much as the girl one." I'm not sure that's making them feel any better about the cost. But—I admit it—I don't care! Not that I don't care how much in the sense that I don't appreciate what they did for me, but I look at it this way. I will wear my Aggie Ring for the rest of my life. So if you divide the cost of the ring by the projected amount of years I am statistically likely to have left, it's really not that much.

But anyway. More things that I am excited about.

I have a new computer! It is an absolute beauty.

My temporary set up.

If it looks like it's set up on a table...in my kitchen... Well, that's because it is. But that's only temporary! Being home for the summer means struggling to find extra space for new things I acquire. In the case of this computer, there's simply no room in Dad's office. We already have something of a Mac Museum happening in there. But I have plans to relocate it to my desk at my apartment when Fall rolls around. The best part? It's so big, I think I'm actually going to have to rearrange my desk. Probably I will need to move the shelf thing off of it. I don't mind. I've been using a laptop since I started college. Don't get me wrong, I love my laptop! But there's something very pleasant about using a desktop computer. I had almost forgotten how much I love it. Especially for writing. Which is basically all I'll be doing next semester. So I'm pretty thrilled. Isn't it beautiful!?

Also. I started working again, sort of. Picking up odd jobs and doing a little work from home for my old boss. It's nice to be getting paid again, even if it's just a little spending money. That's about it for what's going on in my life at the moment. Besides the unbearable heat going on in my neck of the woods right now. So many days over 100º. And no rain. I would throw a party if we could just get one really good thunderstorm. I'm just sayin'.

I hope everyone else's summer is going wonderfully!

I'm Kreativ, mmmKay?

I was recently informed that Maggie over at Maggie the Artist passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award to me!  How lovely. Thank you, Maggie!

It seems I have a few questions to answer. It goes along with accepting the award, and all. So here we go!

What is my favorite color? Purple. Pretty much hands down. I've always loved it. But honestly, I really like a lot of colors. So purple is my top pick, but the runners up are many!

What is my favorite animal? Dogs. I'm such a dog person. I really love dogs. Particularly my dog. But, again, I'm kind of an animal lover all around. But I just have to go with dogs on this one. Puppy love, you see.

What is my relaxation place? Oh, this is tough. Because I could pick the place I go the most to relax, or I could pick the place I'd most like to go to relax. How about I just do both? The place I typically go to relax is my room. I also go to Starbucks to just kind of hang out and exist and de-stress, but when I really need to relax, my best bet is where I live. Because there is where I can find peace and quiet. Now, the place I'd most like to go to relax? That's a bit more abstract. Like, think 'cabin in the woods', or 'quaint little house on the beach'. Somewhere with a view, preferably. If I ever travel to that perfect place, I'll let you know.

What is my vacation hot spot? Again, tough. I do so love vacations. My three favorite states I've actually vacationed in are New Mexico, California, and, most recently, New York. All lovely states. All great vacation spots.

Do I have a boyfriend? I do not. I'm one of those single ladies.

What color scheme did you wear in outfits this week? Color scheme? Oh dear. I'm afraid this week I've been too lazy for that. I wear jeans a lot. Does that count as a scheme?

What movie did you watch last? I watched the new Star Trek last night with my parents. Much fun was had by all!

What is your most used phrase? It changes. Lately? "Excellent."

Do you study or do you work? I would say, I work hard at studying. Especially this summer, what with my unfortunate (but necessary) run-in with Math. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

What is your favorite number? Probably 5. Or 17.

What are the names of your favorite friends? Well now that's just mean. I'm definitely not playing favorites. So there.

Do you drink soda, and if so, do you prefer Pepsi or Coca Cola? I actually don't drink sodas much anymore. I gave them up for quite some time—honestly, there's nothing nutritionally worthwhile in them at ALL—although lately I've admittedly succumbed to a soda or two. When I do, I enjoy Mt. Dew. Also, Sunkist. Or Sprite. (Let's face it, despite their utter unhealthiness, I do think they taste pretty good.)

What items do you carry with you always? Well, my iPhone is basically surgically attached to my hand. I also always carry my camera, my Kindle and/or my iPad, wallet, gum... All of this—except the phone, which you'll recall rarely leaves my hand—I carry in my purse. Which I also carry with me all the time.

What is your favorite day of the week? I don't know. Not Monday. Maybe Friday or Saturday. Or Sunday. Weekends are good.


And, now that my 'interview' is over, I get to pass on the award! I'd like to give this one to my good friend Bennett, of Grits 'N Gravy. Much much love to her! Be sure to pay her a visit!

Mavericks = Champions!

Guys, I'm so excited. I just got through watching the game; Dallas Mavericks v. Miami Heat. I'm a die-hard Mavs fan, and I was so hopeful that we'd wrap up the series before Game 7 and stick it to Miami on their own turf. And WE DID IT. And yes, it deserves an entire blog post. A short one, but still.

This is the first championship for the Mavericks in 31 years—the first championship in the franchise's history. It's a pretty big freakin' deal, that's what!

I watched the game at home with my family, and we were all cheering our boys on. Tucker got overwhelmed by all of the shouting, clapping, et cetera, and retired to my room for a large chunk of game time. I can't stop smiling. We played a great game tonight, and I've never been more proud to be a Mavs fan.

Congratulations, boys. You deserve it!

Dallas Mavericks. 2011 NBA Champions!

First-time NBA champions, from left, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry
show off their hardware after a Game 6 victory. (AP Photo)*

*Click the photo for its source—AOLsportingnews.com

Summer Makes Me Lazy

I know, I know—It's breaking some cardinal rule of blogging to acknowledge and apologize for my extended absence. But rules were made to be broken, right? I know it's been some time since my last post, and though it's really not important enough to go on and on about, I feel bad. I keep sitting down to work on posts, particularly my Kindle review, but I've officially caught the Summer Lazies. I just haven't had the gumption to do anything.

But I want to catch you guys up on what's been going on with me. Not so much as an excuse—not like, "See? Look what I've been doing! THIS is why I've been MIA." No. Rather, consider this the internet equivalent of sitting down to chat over a cup of coffee—we've just got some catching up to do.

Here we go. I'm going to make a list. I thought it sounded fun.

10 Things That Have Happened Since My Last Update

1. I got my car back! Yes, I was starting to think the time would never come. But the repairs were finally finished. Mostly. I still have one thing that needs fixing, but the part is on national backorder. So one of these days I'll have to take it back in. Whenever they get the part. Fortunately I've been told it will only take one day. I plan to hold them to that.

Good as new!

2. I took a road-trip to Austin! I was down in College Station, quite restless, and so I decided to embark on a mini-road-trip. I visited this great book store, Book People, that I'd been told I needed to check out. It was awesome! I picked up two new books. A classic; As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner. The other I chose simply because the title caught my eye. "I Was Told There'd Be Cake". It's a collection of essays. It's actually really funny. At least the ones I've read.

Hello, Austin!

Book People.

My purchases.

3. My car mileage, uh...spelled out? my birth date! I thought it was neat.

4. I added another coffee mug to my collection. This one came from a great little coffee house in College Station called Sweet Eugene's. You probably can't tell from the picture, but it's a rather hefty mug. I have a thing for mugs. And when I saw this one, I knew I had to have it. And now I do.

5. I rescued two baby bunnies! My dogs scared them out of their little hiding place under some bushes. Heroically, I herded the canines back into the house and saw that the little rabbits made it to safety. Under a different bush. Adorable.

I totally didn't even use zoom to take this.

6. I have been whole-heartedly cheering on the Dallas Mavs in the playoffs. I picked up some Finals gear—the place I went had TONS to choose from. Sadly, I could only afford three shirts. But they're good shirts. And I've worn one every game since. (Side-note: We totally kicked butt tonight. I'm so excited. I literally just finished watching the game and then retreated to my room to write up this post for you guys!)

Mavs gear galore!

7. I have officially ordered my Aggie Ring! Since I've been back home and not in College Station for most of the summer, I had to order it via mail. I sent off the form a few days ago, and have now begun counting down to my Aggie Ring Day. Which, if you care to know, is September 16th. I can't wait!

Stamped and ready to be sent!

8. I bought True Grit. The day it came out. This may not seem like a big deal, but I've been desperate for it to make it to DVD since I saw it in theaters. In fact, I plan on watching it. Tonight. Right after I finish this post. I love it.

Seriously, I love this movie.

9. I started my one and only summer class. Business Math. If you'll recall, Business Math and I had a run-in a couple of semesters ago. Unfortunately, I didn't fare well in this run-in. But I'm back, and ready to take this class on again. My first class was today, actually. And it went really well. Surprisingly, I know someone in class with me. And the professor seems nice. He's awkward, but funny, which is something I appreciate.

My parking permit makes it official.

10. I have seen my parents off at the air-port. Which is a first for me. It's their anniversary this month, and they took a trip to California to celebrate. Leaving me to watch the house and the dogs. It's been kind of fun, really. The house-sitting, I mean. I've had a really laid back week, although I have some serious cleaning to do before they come back. But that can be our little secret, right?

Dad sent me this. The view from one of the places they stayed.
Yeah, I'm jealous, too.

So there you have it. Ten things. Summer has definitely gotten off to a busy start! And I'm already counting down to the end of my Math class. It's still the beginning of June, and already so much is going on. I just know I'll have more to catch you guys up on next time! Until then...keep your eyes peeled for my Kindle review. It's coming soon!

How is everyone else's summer going?

The Little Things

It feels amazing outside tonight.

I just spent the last half hour or so driving home from a rendezvous with a friend of mine and her boyfriend. We spent several hours chatting at Starbucks before relocating to Macaroni Grill to continue our conversation over dinner.

I'm stuffed beyond reason, just by the way.

On the drive home, I opened my sunroof and rolled down the windows. I hung my arm out the driver's side window for the majority of the trip. I put my new favorite song on repeat (Meyrin Fields, by Broken Bells, if you're interested). I let the wind kick up my hair, I sung at the top of my lungs (even though I didn't know all of the words), and I took the long way home.

It was exhilarating.

Nothing fancy, no speeding, no big deal really. But then again, that's something I've always appreciated.

The little things.

Like moments alone in my car, a cool breeze, great music, and soothing darkness.

Sometimes the little things make the biggest difference.

"Strong and content I travel the open road."

—Walt Whitman

100 Facts About Me

So, as some of you know, I'm on Twitter. And lately, one of the 'trending topics' has been "100 Facts About Me". While I managed to resist literally sending out 100 tweets with facts about myself, I started thinking this might be a fun topic for a blog post, and a fun way for you guys to get to know me a little better.

Interested?

Then keep reading.

100 Facts About Me.

1. I'm a sucker for horror movies. Even the bad ones.
2. I have a thing for purses. I can never have enough purses.
3. Pizza is my all time favorite food.
4. I'm kind of an emotional roller-coaster.
5. I have a genuinely eclectic taste in music.
6. I can't remember a time in my life without a pet. Or pets.
7. When I was a kid, I desperately wanted a boa constrictor.
8. The first book I ever finished was dedicated to my Mom, and was more or less an argumentative proposal of all the reasons that my parents should buy me said boa constrictor. Also, it was fully illustrated by yours truly.
9. I'm a Apple girl for life. It's all I've ever owned, and it's what I grew up with.
10. I started writing at a very young age. It's what I've always wanted to do.
11. I am a better writer when I am reading.
12. I love anything and everything related to Starbucks.
13. I have kind of an obsessive personality. When I like something, I love it.
14. I sometimes have this recurring nightmare about my teeth falling out/getting yanked out/rotting away. It's a big deal to me.
15. I'm a worst-case-scenario kind of person. But I'm working on being more optimistic.
16. I'm an avid picture-taker.
17. I've never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanut butter and honey all the way!
18. I still watch Spongebob Squarepants.
19. At 23 years old, I am still afraid of the dark, especially when I let my imagination run wild.
20. I love BBQ sauce. On almost anything. Except desserts. Or breakfast.
21. I am completely a dog person.
22. I was a total tomboy growing up. Sometimes, I still am.
23. I've never been out of the country. I'd love for that to change.
24. I used to take piano lessons. I wish I had continued.
25. Once I filmed a commercial. Well, my Dad filmed it. And it never aired. But at a very young age, I was printing up copies of little stories I wrote (and illustrated) and trying to sell them at garage sales. I figured a television spot was the next step to greatness. And, as I recall, I skipped a piano lesson to film it. (I conveniently didn't remind Dad to take me.)
26. I cry. A lot. Sometimes even during particularly emotional commercials. Or just ones that I find particularly emotional.
27. I love beer. I'm not sorry.
28. I actually DO sometimes wish my life was a musical.
29. I like to play video games.
30. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
31. I'm an adopted only child, and my parents are fantastic.
32. I cried during Barnyard.
33. My first car was a Volkswagen Beetle.
34. I know all the words to Barbie Girl. Still.
35. I love thunderstorms.
36. I'm not very good at multitasking. I can't talk on the phone and watch TV at the same time. I WILL get distracted. And I'm terrible at reading more than one book at once.
37. I'm a creature of habit. Big time.
38. I play the drums. But just casually.
39. I'm addicted to texting. Probably literally.
40. Chocolate is my weakness.
41. I am extremely body conscious. In a negative way. It's something I'm working on.
42. I want to live on a plantation. I think it'd be a great place to write—so much history. Plus they're beautiful.
43. I feel more comfortable with my elders than my peers.
44. I'm extremely nostalgic and I hate change. Usually.
45. I collect movies. I have a ton of them.
46. I don't know how to roller-skate. Or roller-blade. Or ice-skate.
47. I used to play basketball. I wasn't terribly good, but I love the sport.
48. My best birthday party ever involved a Shetland pony named Dr. Pepper and lots of pony rides. Also, a Littlest Pet Shop toy. It was a little cat with a purple ball of string. The cake was great, too.
49. The older I get, the more squeamish I get.
50. If I don't get enough sleep, I turn into a crazy, emotional, irritable basket-case.
51. I didn't really learn how to do laundry until last year.
52. I still don't really know how to cook.
53. I hate confrontation. It makes me extremely uncomfortable.
54. I pretty much have to sleep with at least one fan on (sometimes two). Really I only don't use one when I'm sick and running a fever.
55. I still wear my high school ring. I'll retire it when I get my Aggie ring this fall. WHOOP!
56. I've worn glasses since 6th grade, but I've only ever owned two pairs. I have an excellent track record with not breaking my glasses. I'm also probably legally blind without my glasses. My eyesight is awful.
57. I'm not wearing pants right now.
58. I don't have a single piercing. Not even my ears. Chalk that one up to laziness.
59. Working in retail has made me that much more cynical about people and their level of integrity and respect in general.
60. I love cloudy days and cool weather.
61. One of my guilty pleasures is Paris Hilton. I just love her.
62. I'm an expert napper.
63. My absolute favorite musical is Fiddler on the Roof. (And I got to see it live while Topol was still playing Tevye! Best day ever.)
64. I'm actually kind of a neat freak. It just...comes and goes. Sometimes I clean all night, just so I can wake up to a squeaky clean apartment.
65. Puppies make my heart smile.
66. I share my bed with my dog.
67. I've had two dogs that were 'mine'. A Black Lab/German Shepherd mix named Cowboy, and a Boston Terrier named Tucker. Both are equally capable of taking up the entire bed.
68. Music is a huge part of my life. It can cheer me up, or facilitate fits of crying, or make me feel like a total badass, or make me hunger for adventure, or make me feel nostalgic, or... Well, you get the idea.
69. I have a serious fetish for shoes with extremely high heels and extremely pointy toes. So hot. But no, I have not mastered walking gracefully in them.
70. I really love to vacuum.
71. My two favorite contemporary authors are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I am constantly trying to borrow their styles. For instance, I inherited my tendency to use sentence fragments from the brilliant Mr. King.
72. I pride myself on an extensive vernacular.
73. The thesaurus is my best friend. Mark Twain really did say it best—"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
74. I take serious issue with people who refuse to see foreign films because they "don't like to read".
75. I also take serious issue with people who refuse to read period.
76. I'm allergic to cats. But that hasn't always been true. It makes me sad.
77. Shrimp kind of grosses me out.
78. Dieting has led me to discover a plethora of new dishes which I now enjoy frequently. But it isn't always easy. (Pizza is my absolute favorite food, remember?)
79. I sing like a maniac in my car. It makes me feel like a rockstar, even when I can't hit all the notes.
80. It drives me crazy when I can't think of the word or expression to describe how I feel.
81. I love Uggs, and I don't care if you don't.
82. I used to have a credit card. But not anymore. I'm not good at limiting my spending.
83. When I'm enjoying myself, I can be in a place for hours. But when I get antsy, I will find a way to escape and entertain myself elsewhere.
84.  I was a Girl Scout. But just for a little while. I didn't like it. Girls can be such bitches. (Pardon my French).
85. I'm 1/4 Hispanic. Not that you could tell from my ghostly pale skin.
86. I may be young, but I'm still a conservative Republican. Haters gonna hate.
87. I've always lived in Texas, but only got my first pair of legit cowboy boots last year.
88. Blue jeans are my favorite thing to wear.
89. The only drug I ever tried was a cigarette. One time. It was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted.
90. When I was a kid, my favorite toy was this awesome plastic Sabertooth Tiger. I used to bury him and my other dinosaurs in my Great Grandmother's front yard. One day, I buried him and forgot where. To this day, he remains somewhere in that old Texas dirt. And I still miss him.
91. I have an overwhelming collection of stuffed animals. And I still keep a few on my bed. (Don't judge me.)
92. I wish I could have Liam Neeson narrate my life. Anthony Hopkins would also be acceptable.
93. My favorite show is The Simpsons. I think Homer is my secret soulmate.
94. When I'm drunk, I morph into a crazy combination of Homer Simspon and Spongebob Squarepants.
95. I'm kind of embarrassed that I'm sharing some of these things, now that I think about it.
96. I'm actually quite shy most of the time.
97. I've gone to five different colleges. Dallas Baptist University, Tarrant County Community College, Navarro College, Midland College, and finally Texas A&M. I have an Associate's in English from Navarro, and I'll be getting my Bachelor's in English from A&M.
98. My concentration is Creative Writing and my minor is Sociology.
99. I can't whistle.
100. I love my family and my friends (and my dog!) more than anything.

A Road Trip Getaway

Sometimes you just need to get away.

And sometimes you just want to. A think a little combination of the two is what I had been experiencing for quite some time now.

Solution?

Plan a getaway!

This is precisely what myself and my friend Megan did this past weekend. We planned it about a month in advance. I started saving up. And, of course, getting excited. (I mean, really excited.)

Our original plan had been to drive to Austin and just hang out. Grab a bite, see the sights, do some shopping. But then my life took a few turns, I started looking into graduate school, researching good programs. I turned up a good creative writing program at Texas State University in San Marcos.

San Marcos isn't a whole heck of a lot farther away than Austin and I was itching to check out the campus (I'd initially looked into Texas State when I was trying to decide where to transfer to after getting my Associate's) so I suggested that we add San Marcos to our road trip itinerary.

Lucky for me, Megan was all for it! Then the plan became a drive down to San Marcos, a look around the school, then driving back up and stopping through Austin for shopping and general fun on our way back to College Station.

Then I realized something. San Marcos has an outlet mall. A really great outlet mall. We're talkin' Pottery Barn, Neiman Marcus, Juicy Couture, Gucci, Fendi, Coach, Puma, Lacoste, Lucky, Ed Hardy, Calvin Klein, BCBGirls, Guess... Basically, I flipped out.

Since Megan was also up for shopping, our plan changed again. Austin got nixed completely.

Don't worry, Austin. We'll come back to you soon. 

Because you have a California Pizza Kitchen...It's only a matter of time.

New plan? Get an early start, drive down to San Marcos and check out the campus, then head over to the outlets to shop our little hearts out.

Saturday could not come fast enough.

When it did, I was up at six and ready to go at seven forty-five. I picked up Megan at eight, and after a pit stop to fill up the gas tank, we dropped by Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up. Then we were on the road.

The drive was really pleasant. It didn't seem too long, and it only rained on us a bit. By the time we made it to San Marcos, the sun was out and there was a great chill in the air. The perfect day.

We actually spent much more time checking out the campus than I thought we would. Megan was just as curious as I was, and spending two or so hours there gave me plenty of time to get a great first impression of the school. And take a lot of pictures. I mean, a lot.

And here they are! Apologies in advance; there's a ton of 'em.

This is the first building we saw. It's lovely!

Old Main again. We climbed a lot of steps on this campus!

I believe this is the back side of Old Main.

Welcome to Texas State University!

I don't know if it's easy to tell, but it just keeps going down!

Lots of steps and lots of trees!

This is the library, which we did go inside. It's lovely!
And on the 7th floor, they have some exhibits. Very fun!

Arial view of campus from the library!

The Bobcat. Texas State's mascot.

The Stallions. Just beautiful!

One more angle on The Stallions, because I love them!

LBJ.

One of my favorite buildings. Love the architecture style!

View #2 of the building I love!

My favorite huge tree!

I. Love. Trees.

Um, HOW cute are these little guys?

I seriously love this campus.

Look at this little guy! The only one who didn't flop into the water when I approached.

THIS is their theater! For plays and such! In the middle of the pond! Awesome.

So, again, obviously I went a little camera happy. And honestly, that's not even half the pictures. But I've already flooded you guys with plenty.

All in all, I really loved this campus. It's gorgeous, lots of trees, lots of shade. And very hilly! (My TOMS held up amazingly well, and we seriously did a ton of walking!)

We went on a Saturday, which is why there aren't any people in my pictures. It was really nice to be able to get a feel for the campus without being overrun. But I'm already planning on dragging my parents down to look again, and get more information, so I look forward to seeing how the place feels during the week when classes are going on.

After we finished checking out the campus, we were positively famished. We'd passed this adorable Saltgrass Steakhouse on the way in, so we decided to run back out to that. It's such a cool building! Apparently it used to be an old mill. And the view is great—you can see the river! I didn't get a great picture inside, but I got one of the outside.

When we left here, we were stuffed. Delicious!

Historical marker, hoorah!

We really enjoyed the break from walking, and the food was fantastic. We really took our time and enjoyed ourselves.

And after eating, we were more than ready to hit up the shops!

I only got a couple of pictures at the outlet mall. I'd intended to get more, but I got a little carried away with the whole shopping thing. But we walked all around the shopping center—it's outdoors, and the weather was lovely. It was absolutely a blast.

Our first stop. I was in hog heaven!

We went in to a ton of the stores, but mostly window shopped. It was just really fun to see what all they had. Though I won't lie, I found several things I want. I may be making a trip back soon!

After we finished shopping, we stopped by the Starbucks in the outlet mall to grab something to drink before the drive back home. I didn't get too many pictures because we were in a hurry to get back—we both had pups waiting at home for us!

Starbucks. A constant in my life. Delicious all over the world.

The drive back felt longer than the drive there. Probably because there's way more excitement involved in actually driving toward the destination as opposed to away from it. Still, it wasn't bad. And it wasn't too long.

And I slept like a baby.

It was a fantastic trip. A great way to let go of some stress, take some time to just enjoy ourselves. The perfect day-trip getaway. I can't wait to start planning the next one! Austin? Houston? San Antonio? Who knows!