absence (...whoops!)

Hello everyone who is happening upon my blog right now! I sincerely apologize for my absence as of late. I would say that things have been absolutely insane, but that wouldn't be the entire truth. It'd be half of it, but not the whole thing. Mostly it's just that I've been incredibly lazy & ridden with writer's block. Unable to do almost nothing except schoolwork/studying (occasionally...again, whoops!) and watching things on Netflix (most recently being the rewatching of How I Met Your Mother). So I'm just going to catch you up really quickly!

Since my last post, I have finished reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Honestly, I think that I didn't quite get what was going on throughout (I intend to reread it), but I did like the way it ended, because it seems that almost no one does (except Paige). After I finished that, I started reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, which is the first book in the Infernal Devices series, which is also the prequel series to The Mortal Instruments series. I am almost three-quarters of the way through (according to my Goodreads), and I am really enjoying it! More than I thought I would, actually. But either way, I am loving it and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, Clockwork Prince! :)

Nextly, things with school are going alright at the moment. It's almost time for my Spring Break though, which means that I get to go HOME! My train home leaves at 6:30 on Friday evening, and I don't have to be back here until the 10th. (Seriously, no one has any idea how PSYCHED I am.) However, it being almost time for a break, that means those dreaded midterms. Last week I had a test in Precalc which went pretty well as far as I know, even though we haven't received grades on those yet. Then, on Tuesday (yesterday, ha), I had an essay exam in my Focused Inquiry class, which is a cognitive thinking class specific to my university in place of English 101, and it sucks. But that's a story for another day! Anyways, I think for the most part the essay exam went alright. Mostly I'm just glad that it's over and I don't have to think about it again...at least until we get them graded and handed back...(seriously, I'm shuddering just thinking about it). But the good news that I got from taking that exam is that we don't have class tomorrow! Which is just wonderful.

Continuing on the subject of exams, I had an Anthropology exam today. On this exam, there were supposed to be 60 multiple choice, 10 fill in the blank and then a choice of three short answer questions. In class, after the exam booklets for the multiple choice and fill in the blank/short answer questions were all handed out, the T.A. realized that she had accidentally copied some of the multiple choice booklets with the answers in them. So my professor says, "Well, you guys get a Spring Break treat: You only have to take the fill in the blank portion of the exam!" Any normal person would probably be psyched about this, however, I am not normal, nor did I do a ton of studying for this exam (I started yesterday), so I was kind of pissed off! I was thinking that without the multiple choice section I would do a lot worse because I would actually have choices, that the answer would have to be there. But I didn't get that. Ugh. Although, on the brighter side, the professor sent out an email later saying that there would be a m.c. test on Blackboard starting on Friday at noon until the Wednesday after Spring Break! So that's wonderful & I am DEFINITELY taking advantage of that. :)

I know, I know, I keep talking about Spring Break and you all are probably thinking "Well, what are you doing for it!?" (You're probably not asking that, but that's okay.) WELL, dear readers, over Spring Break, I am planning on doing almost absolutely nothing. Nothing but relaxing and sleeping in the midst of some crazy renovation preparations. (And I mean crazy.) There will definitely be some visiting of my high school, and lots of delicious food & people to see (hehe). I am terribly excited, so I just figured that I would share it with you!

And that's all for me right now. I hope you all are out there being lovely and doing great things. And always listening to some good music & hanging out with terrific people. Keep on keepin' on.

<3

books & books

So as it can be seen here, I have a goal this year to read twenty books. I know that this may not seem like a lot of books, but considering I'm a first year college student and there's a lot of work that comes along with that, I figured it'd be a nice goal to have.

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do, ever. In high school, I was hardly ever caught without a book in my bag or in my hands, and sometimes I was even reading during my walk to & from classes. But at the end of the last school year and over the summer, I was severely lacking in the amount of books I was reading. Mostly I was just rereading old favorites, which is nice, but there are so many fantastic books out there that must be read. So this is my goal for the year, and maybe (hopefully) the amount of books in next year's goal will be more.

This far into the game, I've read five books (well, six if you count one that I started at the end of 2012 and finished after the new year). They are:

1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

This is a book that I had to read for my Focused Inquiry 2 class. For the most part, I did find it interesting. However the fact that I had to read it and take note of all of the characters, vocabulary and write chapter summaries made it infinitely less appealing (as I think it would for everyone). 

2. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Okay, well I'm not actually sure if this one counts, considering I had already read it before. BUT I DID READ IT IN THE YEAR 2013, so there's no denying that and it's going on my "read" list.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book, I feel, was a long time coming. For the longest time I could not get myself to pick it up, simply because it was "too popular" (yes, I was that person), but one day I found myself at a Barnes & Noble. I saw it there and it was $9, so I said to myself, "Why not?" Once I finally read it, though, I couldn't put it down. I finished it within 24-hours of starting it, and I was way more pleased with it than I thought I would be. So much in fact, that I almost immediately ordered Catching Fire. 

4. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

This is another one of those books where I found myself at the bookstore thinking, "Why not?" So I bought it, and honestly? I was extremely disappointed. I'm not sure why I wanted to read this book so badly, but I did not like it. Since I had heard a lot of good things about Eugenides, I figured why not try this book out? It took me a little bit over a week to finish this book, and that felt like eons. 

5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Alright, here's the second one that I know you've been waiting for. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as well. I remember back in May (or somewhere around there, I really don't remember), one of my friends was picking up the series for the first time, and said that she enjoyed the first book, but the second one just felt like a repeat of it. I completely disagree. While they share similar aspects, I don't think that the two are very similar at all. 

As for what I'm currently reading, there are two books. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (which, honestly, is my main priority), and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, which I've been wanting to read since I saw the movie (but I'll put more about these once I've finished them!). 

So, there you go. Your little peek into my world of books and opinions on them, with guest appearances by short reviews. There will be more in the future, so stay tuned for that! 

Ta-ta for now! :)

days turned right side up

You know, for a day that didn't start out the greatest, it sure didn't end up too badly!

Let's start from the beginning: I woke up. Granted, that part wasn't too terrible, because 1) My first class is at eleven am, and 2) My alarm goes off at nine forty-five (which is not bad, not bad at all). So that was not how the morning started off badly. Well, I take that back.

Part of my dream last night involved my ex-boyfriend, who is still in high school & who I also no longer talk to. However, that is a story for another day, or possibly not at all. Anyhow, that was the main reason why morning started off not well. Having him in my dream just pissed me off to no end, because it didn't make sense why he was there in the first place.

Then, while getting ready for class, I'm putting on my makeup. Eyeliner, concealer-type stuff for under my eyes, and I decide to go a little crazy and put on some red lipstick (daring, I know). So, I put some on. Then I close the tube and blot, decide I need a little bit more, and when I open the tube (not different from any other time I've opened it by the way), the whole freakin' lipstick detaches itself and pretty much jumps out of it and lands on the counter. I was not happy about this for a few reasons, and they are: 1) This tube of lipstick was $26. Now, I don't usually spend this much on makeup of any kind, but I had a gift card (which I forgot to use on the purchase, stupidly), and I had wanted it for a while, because I wanted a red lipstick & I like the brand. And 2) This was only about the third time I'd ever worn it. So I just grumble about, put the lipstick back into the tube and put it on my shelf, finishing my getting ready portion of the day more than a little frustrated.

Add in the fact that there were supposed to be tests in choir on how well we knew our parts, and I was not a happy camper.

So I continued to go to my first class. Then to the dining hall because hungry. Ate a chicken patty (which made me slightly happier) and some cereal, then went back to the room to practice my part in Haydn's freakin' Mass. Seriously, that thing is crazy long and we have to know ALL of it.

After practicing, it came time to actually go to choir. When I got there, I was sitting in my seat going over my part in my head when some guy gets up from his seat a row back and sits next to me in the empty seat beside me. He says, "Are you in Anthropology? At four?" I was startled, so I just said, "Yeah..." We then proceed to talk about what the assignment actually was that was due on Monday, and the class in general. Then he asked me what I was in choir for, for fun or for a major, and I said that I was Undeclared and I missed choir (though not at that moment, because Mass). He said he was a guitar major and had to take the choir for four semesters, and that this semester was his last one. At the end of our relatively short conversation, he said, "My name's Stephen, by the way." "I'm Tess, nice to meet you." He started to say something, then stopped. Then, "I was gonna say see you from a distance later, but that would be creepy." I laughed and he sat down.

I don't know, guys. It was a weird little moment, but that was the first time anyone's just come up and started talking to me. It felt nice to be noticed, I guess, because I'm not, usually. So, needless to say that made my day a little brighter. (Along with the fact that the instructor thought we did better than on Monday and decided not to make us get up and sing by ourselves, hooray!)

After that it was just a normal day. I got an iced Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks, on which they wrote a name that looks nothing like mine, walked back to the dorm and pretty much just waited until Anthropology. I saw him there, but I don't know if he saw me because we were all the way across the room from each other. Plus, I was looking.

So that's how my day flipped from being dreadful to not bad at all. It's the little things, guys. Remember that, and you'll be golden.

Stay excellent. :)

P.S. I also got a box-full of twinkle lights & snacks from my parents, so that wasn't a bad thing either.

an introduction of sorts

Hello to whoever finds themselves stumbling upon this blog, here.

This is the blog that I am (hopefully) going to be keeping up with about every week or so. I am going to post, most likely, about what's going on in my life, what books I'm reading, etc., etc. I am going to start off with introducing myself some...

My name is Tess and I am currently a freshman in college, no major declared as of yet. Here is my face:

(Hard to believe that picture was taken on my cell phone, right?)

I love to read; in high school I was rarely caught without my nose in a book, or a book in my bag. The most recent series that I've gotten into would be The Hunger Games series, which I am enjoying a lot more than I thought that I would. (My friends had tried to get me to read them earlier, like last year, but I was just so stubborn that I didn't even pick on up until January.) I also am constantly watching movies and TV shows, and listening to music. 

There are currently a lot of books on my to-read list, which you can find: here, where you can also find what books I've already read and what I'm currently reading (even though I'll most likely end up sharing that here as well). Next up on that list: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 

So here is my so-long for now, and I will catch up with you guys soon. I hope you're well and smiling, as you should be.