Libraries and Future Reading Material

I adore libraries. Yes, I've talked about this before. I could spend an entire day in a library if you let me. I think I just like libraries because it's an endless supply of new information for free. Plus, the information can be about anything. It can come in the form of new stories, both fictional and not; It can be learning how to perform a new task. Sure, you could say that the Internet has all of this "for free" as well, but the Internet and books are two very different things. I'm not saying I don't like reading blogs (I do, and have wasted many hours doing such), but even a book written by a blogger is a whole different experience.

Usually, the other positive that goes with checking out books from a library is convenience, but as I've gone on, I've found libraries to be lacking in the convenience department.

Libraries on colleges are not as convenient as you would think. For one thing, all of their books are academic. I know right? Who thought of that ridiculous idea? Pish. Because of that, for awhile now I've been trying to get a library card for the public library here. It seems that they don't want me to get a library card here.
The first time I went in, they told me that I needed some proof that I was living in the town. So as was suggested, I brought in my lease as proof. Today, that didn't work. Not recent enough. Bah.

Therefore I've given up on trying to get a library card in this town. Sigh. I just wanted to be like the adorable little girl who was enjoying a book at a cafe table, a pile of books stacked past her head. Truthfully, the reason I wanted a library card was for books to read for spring break. 'Tis coming up, and I want to have some good reads.

For the time being, I'm going to get some books from my hometown library for spring break. This works fine, the only issue is getting them back home afterwards. We'll worry about that later.
Right now I'd like to give you a little peek at the books I'm planning on reading in the future.

52 Loaves by William Alexander

The Butcher and the Vegetarian : One Woman's Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis by Tara Austen Weaver

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

The China Study

The Sorcerer's Apprentices by Lisa Abend

Wow. They're all food books. That's odd.
These are all books that have caught my eye  or I've heard about somehow. I've heard both good and bad things about some of them, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to read them myself. I'd like to form my own opinion. Currently I have them all on hold, but we'll see if I get to all of them. Some of them might not be checked back in by the time it's spring break. As of now, they're just desired future readings.

Sleeping in yesterday? Probably not a great move for my sleep schedule. I was wide awake late into the night, and I sort of dozed off for a few minutes at eight tonight. Maybe I just can't sleep normally. Or maybe my body gets angry when I try that crap. I dunno.

What books are next on your to read list?

Bakery Breakfast, Libraries and Travelling Solo

I love the feeling of a nice venturing day. Those days where you happen to do things that aren't scheduled, but just errands for things you want to do? That's what I mean.

I started out the morning with a bakery breakfast with two of my friends. I'm not used to eating breakfast at 10 though, so I naturally woke up at 8:30 and waited.
I didn't do much after that until I walked down to the library. Oh goodness, I love the library. It turns out that my card was expired though! Huh. It felt like I had just gotten it renewed. I went in search of only a few specific books...

... and as you can see, I got a little overexcited. I tend to. The book on the top intrigues me most because it's a collection of essays from women who have traveled the world alone.
As I've talked about before, I really want to travel somewhere. Yeah, I know I'm not the only one out there who wants to travel, but I'm not talking about family vacations somewhere. I really want to go somewhere I can explore, even if it's like California. Actually, I really want to go to California and explore things like the Chinese Theater, The Walk of Fame, and Hollywood. Whenever I mention this, I get the reply of, "Okay, you should do that! Who would go with you?"
That's where I hold my tongue. Truthfully, I want to go by myself. However, when I throw that idea out there I instantly hear the warnings of how a girl shouldn't travel alone, because it's dangerous for a girl, blah blah blah. I know that women will always have an elevated risk in traveling, but I'm hoping this book could educate me on safer solo travel and other solo traveler know-how.

Plus there were groceries that were purchased today. I should have bought more green peppers.

So I can eat them like this.

Long run tomorrow... Oh dear. I'm scared, especially since I've been feeling a little off. I hope I'm not getting injured.

Have you ever travelled solo?

Advisors, Room mates, and Things I Have Learned from Fictional Characters

Now that all of that Superbowl fun is done, let's get on with the week, shall we?

Who watched the Superbowl out there, anyway? I asked around my hall and no one was watching it! How disappointing. Perhaps it's just because I enjoy football and the commercials. Seriously, even if you don't like football, you watch it for the commercials, right? Here's my favorite:

...That sounds a bit odd, watching television to see advertisements. Anywho.
Of course, I was a fool and forgot my camera, so no pictures of the festivities. I really ought to get better at that. Stories are more fun to read with pictures, aren't they?

I had a meeting with my advisor today to discuss majors, next term, and career paths. Also known as the advising hold appointment. I met with my "official" advisor, who was a nice guy. At first, I felt like he was just another one of the advisors who tell you just the basic details, but he was really able to go in-depth with me. He was... dare I say it? Helpful! That's not always the case.
The odd thing about making advising appointments and such is that I feel a lot more on top of things than other students. I've asked if other people had made their appointments, and some of them didn't even know it was time to do that yet. When showing my advisor all of the things I'd been thinking about, he even mentioned how ahead I was in studying up information on these things than other students. It just seems... odd. Aren't I supposed to be lax like other people my age? More power to me I guess.

When looking up classes to add next term, I decided I was just going to look at classes that sounded intriguing. One that caught my eye? C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. OH MAN YES. Despite being a higher level, I talked to someone who knew the teacher, and that the only thing you need to do is read all of the books beforehand. Um, spring break by the pool? Entirely doable.

Speaking of books, Julie and Julia came into the library for me today. I know that it's very 2009, but I want to read it! Reading about cooking and food make me want to learn how to cook.

Before I forget, it's once again Monday and I'd like to include a Things I Have Learned From Fictional Characters. I'll make it short, since this post is already pretty long. Today's lesson comes from Goofy:

Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. We all make mistakes, we all have times were we look... goofy. Do we freak out about it? No! I know that I've gotten pretty bad about things that aren't that large, and I've gotten better at not being so tense about it.

Okay, I lied. I do have one last thing to say. As you know, I've had some tension with my room mate. The thing is, one of the main reasons has been because we just hadn't been feeling like friends anymore. However, the last two days she seems like my good ol' pal again. It's nice. I mean, she even bought me a doughnut when she went to Portland!



Old Dirty Bastard. One of the most delicious doughnuts ever.

 How freaking nice is that? But it's not even the doughnut. It's nice to have my friend back.

And so I say adieu to you! Hope your evening is grand!

Was your advisor helpful in school? Or did you have to be more self-relient?

Library Visits and Fashion Through the Ages

Oh my goodness! If I didn't have today off, I don't think I would have been able to get all of my work done for tomorrow.

Today I was just really tired. Gee, I wonder why? Nicely enough, nothing has been really hurting me. I'm quite sore in the hips, but no pain. When I went to the physical therapist, he said it would be alright to run the week after the race if I didn't hurt. So... I think I might try and get a little run in tomorrow. We'll see!

Since today was a day of homework and such, I ended up wandering over to the library for some studying. This also meant that I was going book exploring, despite the fact I probably won't have time to read them. I'll make time! (Probably not the best idea.) I picked out three books:

These are the type of books I read for FUN. What?

Books are like people. They come in every shape, color and size. Books are diverse, with interests in any subject imaginable. No two books are really alike... well, except for reprints. You get what I mean.

With my books being mostly about fashion, I started brainstorming some fashion ideas. Then I thought of something that I think would be really cool. What if you created an inspired stylized look from every decade for a week at a time? Such as, wear outfits that were inspiried by 1920s fashion for a week, then 1930s the next week. That made me realize that could cost a lot, and I don't have the money of a movie star who has a walk in closet. However, I still want to do something with that idea. I just don't know what yet. (I know my favorite outfits would be inspired by 1920s... I love that style!)

Or it could just be that I like flapper dresses.

On the subject of brainstorming ideas, I've been thinking of a lot of mini goals that interest me. Things to improve health, happiness, all of that jazz. Right now all of my ideas are blurred together, but maybe I could make something out of it.

The week begins once again, and I'm not ready. I better pretend I am.

What is your favorite decade for fashion?
(I also love the fashion from the sixies just because there's such a huge range of styles. I did a group project on the sixies once, and so I have a pretty decent idea of the fashion.)

Libraries and Going the Distance (Or Not)

I am quite excited that tomorrow is Friday! Yet there is still much to do this evening.

Yesterday I saw a poster for another play tryout! Do I want to do it? Yes, of course! Then today one of my hall mates texted me and mentioned that she wanted to try out for it. How exciting!

Hello Third Floor Library, have we met?

This brought me to going to the library to look up books for monologues. I have been to the library as mentioned before, but I had yet to check out any books.

If you got a chance to look at my first post, you'd see that I have a habit of taking facts from books a lot, or quoting said information. Where do you find books other than the library? This takes us back to this summer, where I would visit the local library multiple times and check out as many books as I could carry. Were these novels? Ha, if only. No, these were books on information like how to succeed in college, finding out the secrects to being financially savvy. Pretty much how to books and factorial books. Weirdly enough I love this type of stuff.

Fast forward today. I look up some monologue books and go find them. One would be enough, yes? I grab three. It seems like I would be good for the day, but what's this? Something has caught my eye! Some books about writing are on the shelf. I skim it, but find nothing of interest. Wait! What's that on the next shelf? Books about food? I am interested about finding out proper nutrition more... I wonder if they have- Fast Food Nation! People always tell me to read this! And let's look at those nutrition books...

This led to me getting  this pile of books:

There's another one in my backpack as well. The question is, when am I going to be able to read these? I have until December 2.

This morning I was planning to run 5 miles, as my training schedule I made said. However, it did not happen. I was having serious issues this morning. It wasn't that my legs were tired, I just couldn't breathe! I don't know what was going on. I ended up running 4. I don't feel very guilty though since

1. I ran an extra mile earlier this week to test out my new shoes.
2. I did Aerobics tonight, which was fun! I was surprised that it didn't totally kill me. I think I'm gaining some endurance!

Truthfully, I think I put more mileage on my training schedule than the one I took the main idea from. I'm doing fine as far as I'm concerned.

The aerobics thing was part of a campus activity... that ended up ending at 9:40. Add me taking a shower, and you've got the reason for the post so late in the evening. Time to go dry my hair!

How do you feel about libraries? What books do you usually go for?