The One Where I Update You On My Life

Could this be considered an Ishness post? I've never done one before, so I'm not exactly sure of the protocol. Let me know in the comments! 

For the uninitiated, "Ishness" is hosted by Deborah O'Carroll. She and other participating bloggers talk about what they've been doing lately... I want to talk about what I've been doing lately. So. Let'sa go-o.

LIFE-ING
I got a job! After several stressful weeks of searching, a local hardware store hired me as a cashier. If you ever happen to visit... first of all, how did you find out where I work?? Second of all, do not ask me to direct you to the ladders because I do not know where we keep the ladders. We carry everything from paint to propane to potting soil, from things that kill bugs to things that kill moss (I live in the Pacific Northwest where moss is a Big Problem), from whitewood-that-is-actually-gray to hula hoops. I don't know where any of these things are.

I don't know who made this gif, but I want to give them all the credit because Totoro hula hooping is just too cute. Also, I'd like to thank them for making a hula hoop gif that doesn't feature a half-naked woman. 

I've never cashiered before, so this is a good learning experience for several reasons. 1) With cashiering skills, I can now get a job at any store. 2) I'm forced out my cozy eggshell in order to politely and happily interact with strangers for long periods of time.
My (far more) introverted (than I thought) soul did not, initially, like interacting with strangers for long periods of time, but now that I am getting used to it and have worked on changing my attitude, I don't mind it as much.
Plus, it's a great opportunity to people watch! There are many, many, many different types of people who peruse hardware stores.
Here are some of the most interesting people that have come through my line:

-The old woman who bought $600 worth of soaker hoses. I asked her, "Do you have a big yard?" and she said, "No, but I have a lot of plants." Her plan was to hook up all the hoses and snake them through the yard so that she wouldn't have to use a sprinkler to water her plants.
-The man with the Star Wars t-shirt and the Chihuahua named Yoda.
-The old, deaf couple who told me "Thank you" with their hands, their eyes, and their smiles.
-The woman who wore her blue tape as a bracelet and looked far more regal than royalty.
-The man whose money made the cash register smell like cigarette smoke every time I opened it.
-The man who yelled at me for double checking that I got a price right.
-The talkative woman who went on and on about how easy it is to hide the true nature of things. Even people can put up a facade and you would never know until you marry them. (That story went from very philosophical to very sad in a very short amount of time).
-The woman who said she was having a s*** day (quite literally) because her husband had stepped in dog poop.
-The lady trying to discourage her elderly father from buying Mountain Dew.
-Oh, yes, and the two teenage girls trying to beat up their friend who had taken refuge behind the service counter. That was an interesting morning.

I also got an Instagram account where I post pictures of books with (what I hope are) witty captions.

WRITING
My goal since finishing the fourth draft of my novel has been to write a short story a week. So far, I've written two and edited down the VBS skits to an acceptable length.
My first story is about a musician whose mother always sits in the front row of his concerts. The second story recounts the Terror of having to evacuate one's dorm at 3:30 AM because someone on the boy's floor burned orange chicken and set off the fire alarm (based on a True Story).

READING
Somehow, I've managed to read seven books so far this month. I read Rosie the Riveter, which is about women in World War II. This is research for my next novel, which I will talk about in another blog post. What did I learn from this book? Mainly that if women in the 1940s could leave their homes and children to do hard, physical labor and raise the production of planes from 60 a month to 360 a month (and all while maintaining their waved hair and makeup-ed faces) so that their men could win the war overseas, then I can be a part-time cashier without bemoaning my life.

Contrary to popular belief, THIS is Rosie the Riveter, not the lady with her sleeve rolled up saying, "We can do it."

I also read The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones (the third and fourth books in the Chrestomanci series). I enjoyed them immensely. I liked The Magicians of Caprona better, though, because of the parts with Punch and Judy. Also because of Benvenuto the Cat.

I dunno about you, but I drool over these editions of Diana Wynne Jones' books.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, however, took up most of my reading time this month. Several people whose bookish opinions I trust raved about this series. I tried reading it a year or two ago and couldn't get into it because of the clairvoyancy. This time, however, I pushed passed the first two chapters and read the entire series in two weeks. There is SO much in The Raven Cycle to talk about. I'd like to re-read the series and do a full review on it sometime in the near future. What I'd like to say now, however, is that, yes, Maggie Stiefvater's writing style is just as beautiful as people have said, her characters are flawed and real and wonderful, and her plot is unique and wacky. Also, yes, this series does have "questionable" content if you are a Christian. I say "questionable" in quotation marks because I have a lot of thoughts about this content. I would like to address this in a separate blog post, but, as I said, I'd like to re-read the series before I talk about it more on my blog. For now, I will say that I enjoyed the series a lot, but if I were to recommend it, it would be with extreme caution (at least until I can explain my thoughts about it). 

One thing I can say without re-reading the series is that THESE COVERS ARE SO GORGEOUS.

Now, I'm reading The Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve in preparation for the movie that Peter Jackson is making. I'd forgotten how much I like Philip Reeve's prose! I also plan to start the fifth Chrestomanci book soon. 

WATCHING

I watched Sherlock Season Four and it was So. Good. The middle episode was my favorite (mostly because of Mrs. Hudson). I had to pause the last episode several times to say "WHAT??!" I didn't like season three or the Christmas episode, so I was glad to enjoy Sherlock again! If Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat were to end the series here, I would be happy because they wrapped up the storylines and character arcs fantastically.

And now it's time for a confession:

...

...

I love sitcoms, and I have been watching quite a bit of Friends and Cheers since getting home from school. I started watching Friends at school, and I started watching Cheers again because I wanted a show where I could take a break from all my worries (sure would help a lot). Y'know, sometimes I want to go where everybody knows my name, and they're always glad I came. Cheers is a great show to make you feel that way.

"NORM!!!!!"

MUSIC-ING

I've been listening to my usual variety of contradictions. Jazz followed by '70s rock followed by classical music followed by Christian rock from the '80s followed by the Hamilton or La La Land soundtrack followed by heavy medal Middle Earth music.
The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had its 50th anniversary a few weeks ago, so I've been listening to that a lot. In fact, I had to force myself to stop listening to it so that I wouldn't get tired of it. It's an incredible album, though. I watched a documentary on how the Beatles made it, and they pioneered several techniques and sounds with this album. They were a truly legendary band (but perhaps that's another blog post, too).

Let me know what you've been up to recently! What have you been reading? What have you been listening to? I love getting comments, so don't be shy. 

Recent Discoveries

Since coming to college, I have been exposed to so many new genres, movies, television shows, and music! I want to share them with you, my friends.

Television:

Do you remember a few years ago when everyone raved about the show Adventure Time? I never watched it, until last semester. This cartoon is a random and colorful show about Finn the Human and Jake the Dog and their adventures. They fight a lot of monsters and rescue a lot of princesses. Although the show is random, there is always a moral to the story, even if that moral is somewhat odd. If you like fun and creative shows, then check out Adventure Time! (Also, episodes are only thirteen minutes long, so that's a plus!)

Monk is another show that I have heard a lot about but have never watched before. My roommate owns the first few seasons, we started watching them, and I love it! Monk is like a mix between Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. He is a private detective who is fantastic at deduction, but he is also extremely OCD and germaphobic. This combination makes this murder-mystery show charming and unique.
I have also been introduced to Psych (yet another show that I have heard a lot about but never watched), though I've only seen one episode of that so far.

The Office is a show about the office antics of a paper company. I have seen the same seven episodes of this show multiple times on account that they are the favorites of my friends. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this show, as it is pretty funny.
My roommate has also introduced me to the show New Girl, which would be a lot funnier if it weren't so dirty.

My friends watched this and recommended it to me, so I watched it over Christmas break. While I enjoyed the 80s setting and the uniqueness, I thought that the plot and characters could have been better developed. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to season two!

Movies:

I loved The Goonies! It was like Indiana Jones and Tintin except it featured children. It has all the elements of a good adventure story (pirates! friendship! bumbling sidekicks! a monster! ice cream!) and reminded me a lot of the stories I enjoyed as a child. Good old Steven Spielberg.
We also watched The Sandlot, Little Rascals, and Second Hand Lion which also feature children protagonists. All three movies were lovely.

Finally, I understand all of the references! I saw E.T. for the first time a few weeks ago. I thought the villains were underdeveloped, until I began wondering if they were made that way on purpose because the movie is from Eliot and E.T.'s point-of-view. If it is from their point-of-view, then it makes sense that the government is really hazy because that is how they would appear to a small child and an alien with no knowledge of earth culture. After I realized that, I liked the movie more.

Music:

I'd listened to Hamilton before coming to school, but I didn't fully appreciate it until last semester when I listened to it again. Upon first listening, I was too caught up in the changes that Lin-Manuel Miranda had made to history to enjoy the whole musical. When I listened to the musical again, however, I was captivated by Miranda's rhetorical prowess. Even though the musical isn't totally historically accurate, he has presented to his audience the basics through catchy tunes, created lovely character arcs, and gotten young people interested in history, which I think is fantastic! My favorite songs are "Non-stop," "You'll Be Back," and "Burn."

Petra is a Christian band from the 70s, 80s, and beyond. I had heard some songs before because my parents listen to them occasionally, but I started to listen to them on my own last semester. I love their sound and their lyrics. This Means War and More Power To Ya are my favorite albums.

Three of my friends are huge fans of the band Twenty One Pilots. This band is very hard to describe since their music could fit into several genres. They use a variety of instruments from ukulele to synthesizers to drums. I like them because their music is unique and their lyrics are relatable. I also like them because there are only two members of Twenty One Pilots and they write and perform all of their music themselves.

Welcome to Night Vale is not a CD but a podcast. It is a radio broadcast from the friendly desert community of Night Vale where strange things are normal. Mysterious Hooded Figures? A dog park that no dogs are allowed in? Mind-controlling glow clouds? A ban on wheat and wheat byproducts? These are all normal occurrences in Night Vale. This podcast very weird and very creative. It is also very nihilistic, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep listening to it because of that.

Genre:
I took a class on Gothic Literature last semester and loved it! I learned the components of Gothic fiction and am now able to pick out Gothic themes in books and movies that I read and watch. Some common themes are seclusion, a damsel in distress, a run-down family mansion lived in by a decrepit family, and supernatural happenings. The Gothic genre birthed the horror genre, which I have also been introduced to this school year. Through the horror movies that I have watched, I learned that I do not mind supernatural horror, but horror that could happen in real life really freaks me out. That being said, I enjoyed watching The Shining and The Others, but hid behind a blanket for most of The Silence of the Lambs and Split.

I want to talk a little bit more about Split (beware of spoilers). This movie is about three girls who are kidnapped by a man with Multiple Personality Disorder/Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). It deals with themes of abuse and mental health.
Kevin and his multiple personalities were delightful. The audience got glimpses into several of his personalities, and that was fun. It was cool to see him going to his counselor, too. I thought they portrayed his mental illness well.
The end of the movie, however, was horrible. A twenty-fourth personality emerges in Kevin's body and it has superhuman abilities. He kills several people because they are too pure—they have not had anything bad happen to them, and since Kevin was abused as a child, this twenty-fourth personality thinks that he has to inflict pain on those that have never felt it. He doesn't kill the main character because he sees that she has been abused, too.
I didn't like this movie because the ending was so horrific and gruesome. I also didn't like it because the ending was too open-ended for my taste. The guy is not caught and punished for his deeds. The girl does not escape her abusive uncle. I left this movie feeling scared and unsatisfied.

The lesson that I've learned from this—and with the horror genre in general—is "be careful little eyes what you see." I've dabbled in the horror genre this year, and though I've enjoyed some of it, I don't think it's a genre that I will watch a lot of in the future.
As storytellers—whether through writing, movie-making, painting, podcasts, or music—and especially as God-created storytellers, we have a duty to create life-giving art (thanks to my friend Stephen for that phrase!). We also have a duty to engage in life-giving art. We have to use discernment in what we fill our minds with.
I wish I had the eloquence right now to sum up all the thoughts in my head, but I don't, so I am going to direct you to this post by DJ Edwardson.

Have you seen or heard any of the things on my list? What did you think? What do you think of the horror genre?