Christmas Feis!

Thank goodness for the written--or typed--word, because I'm coughing so much right now I wouldn't be able to manage saying all this aloud with my actual, you know, voice. I wasn't too dizzy today, which is a huge relief, but the coughing is not getting better at all. It might be getting worse. I had a hard time getting through the Christmas feis today, but it was worth it in the end because it was so much fun seeing everyone and all. I managed to win my treble reel composition competition--wow, that sounds pretentious, hehe. Basically the competition rules were you invent your own treble reel step and then perform it, and I got first, which still amazes me because I liked other people's steps too and I didn't even really get to practice mine or anything or even finish composing it until right before the competition today because I've been sick! I'm very grateful. The prize was a box of Cadbury chocolates (YES) and fifty dollars, so . . . heading back to see "Tangled" again? Maybe! :D

Most memorable moment of the day, however, was when I brushed against a pillar, and glanced at the arm that had done the brushing to see it COVERED IN ANTS. Hundreds of ants. I'm still shuddering; I hate ants something fierce. I don't even know how they transferred so fast. Uugh, I managed to sweep and shake them all off in a kind of frenzied panic, but I've still got this horror that there's still some on me, somewhere. I hate ants.

The weather was really warm today. It didn't feel like almost-Christmas at all.

Christmas Holiday So Far

"Let me explain. --No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
-Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride


My Christmas Holiday (Thus Far) 'Sum up':

1. Watching “(500) Days of Summer” on the plane and coveting a little boy’s jester cap
2. Eating my dad’s amazing pancakes for breakfast
3. Realizing my baby sister’s vocabulary is a million times more advanced than I had imagined it to be
4. Realizing I lost all my Mario Karts Wii skillz over the past semester
5. Baking chocolate chip cookies and then scoffing them
6. Typing, printing, and then decorating menus for my little brother’s play food café
7. Tossing frisbees at the park
8. Eating carrots and watching “Star Trek” with Lathspell at two in the morning
9. Staying up until four in the morning writing a chapter of my novel with my quill pen and inkwell
10. Singing Christmas carols at the family Christmas party
11. Running around outdoors blowing mist from our mouths and pretending to be dragons
12. Attending dance lessons again
13. Trimming the tree with plastic leis
14. Reading The Pioneers, All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Mark of the Horselord, and Eagle of the Ninth all at once without getting too confused
16. The promise of Rollercoasters and Rembrandt
17. Dancing a silly sibling dance to “Cat and Moon”
18. Finalizing the menu for the Second Annual Tolkien Birthday Feast
19. Taking a nap on the sofa with Elhendur
20. Looking forward to “It’s a Wonderful Life” and mochi on New Year’s Day!

A Day in My Life, Dec. 17

I originally thought this would be a boring day to talk about. Finals week is winding down, and all I had planned for today was studying and work.

Luckily for you all, however, I am extremely bad at sticking to plans, especially when I'm the one who made 'em. So--here's my second installment of 'A Day in My Life'!

This morning I had to get up at six-thirty to go to the university with my grandmother. Some days this week I've had exams late in the day, and so have been able to sleep in and ride the bus to school, but today my Hawaiian Studies exam was scheduled for 7:30 in the morning. Luckily it was a take-home, group exam, and since my group and I work well together I'm pretty confident we got an A. I was out of there by eight-thirty.

Now, I would have liked to have just gone back to the apartment then, but I couldn't, because I was scheduled to work at my library job from 4-6. So instead, I had almost eight hours to kill. Planning to use that time by studying for my Physics final tomorrow, I walked to the school library and found a nice and quiet alcove to study in. Or, well, to sleep in. I was really tired.

Yeah, I ended up sleeping for a little over an hour, and had really strange dreams. I know that I dreamt that I was watching "The End of Time", and that it was entirely about people asleep in an enormous library, which shows you how exhausted my imagination was! 

Erm, once I woke up I realized this was no good, so I left the library and found a bench under an enormous tree. I don't know what type of tree it was, but it's really big and beautiful, with a bright green, feathery canopy that looks like lace with chips of blue sky peering through the openings. I studied there for a few hours, broke for lunch, and then studied some more. My steely resolve to study non-stop did crack at one point and I then spent over half-an-hour playing solitaire on my iPod (Terpsi) while listening to the soundtrack of "Devdas", but all-in-all it was a productive day. I didn't even watch any episodes of "Primeval", can you believe it? Although really it wasn't as hard to avoid as it might have been; the show lost a little bit of its grip on my heart after *spoiler* and *spoiler*. I still love it for the most part, but feel that some elements of the story could have been executed much better.

I also went back to the library to see if they had the actual novel version of "Devdas" (they do) and "The Witch in the Wood" by TH White (they do), and after finding the books and getting all excited about them I left them on the shelves despite the protests of my bookworm heart, because after all I'm heading home on Saturday and don't trust bringing library books with me on a trans-ocean flight. Something to look forward to in the Spring, I guess. I also found a book on the book sale rack that I thought might be interesting. It's called "The Enchanted Cup", I think, and is a retelling of the story of Tristam and Isolde. I didn't buy it though, because I had no money with me. And besides, I don't know if it's any good.

I did find a children's anthology of poetry that Sir Walter de la Mare put together, though! And I read it all, too--it was a nice break from studying and stress. De la Mare is one of my favorite poets, have you ever read his "The Listeners"? If you haven't, you must go read it now. I've got it memorized. Anyway, the poems he chose were fun to read, and he wrote notes to go with them explaining them to his young readers and encouraging children to really engross themselves in the poetry and giving tips on how to enjoy poetry (read each poem aloud slowly; savor each word; envision what the poet is describing and compare it to the reality, if you've seen the reality, etc.). It was really interesting. I particularly liked this line of his that I copied out in my journal right there in the library so that I would remember it:

"Whatever you admire you look at with all yourself in your eyes; and your love for it adds to its beauty."

Isn't that in itself a beautiful saying? He was explaining the merits of poetry, and I certainly agree with him on this. That's why it's possible to read so many poems about the same subject--the sea, for example, or a songbird, or rain--without getting sick of them, because each poet loves the subject in a different way, providing a different lens for the reader to look at the subject with and appreciate the subject through. Does that make sense? I hope it does.

And this quote was just thought-provoking:

"When I was seven I loved rhymes and jingles. When I was fourteen I thought I hated poetry, partly perhaps because I had been made to learn it for a punishment. When I was about fifteen I suddenly realized that when the poet Homer said that his great hero, Achilles, in his rage went out 'black as night' he meant black as night. It was like a flash of summer lightning over a lovely country of hills and forests."

I puzzled over this. What exactly does de la Mare mean, do you think? What is the discovery inherent in the line? I thought perhaps he meant that he suddenly understood the power of the words, that Homer could have said 'black as pitch' or 'black as coal' but instead chose 'black as night' for a purpose. That led me into an interesting musing on the meanings of words and word choices when describing things--do we really think about the words we choose, or do we just write 'black as night' without considering the implications and beauties of the word 'night'--all its airy coldness and sparkling dark--, and not stopping to think if we want to evoke the earthy coarseness of 'coal' or the shining thickness of 'pitch' instead? Perhaps I even got the entirely wrong impression from what de la Mare was saying! I'd love to hear what you think about it.

Anyway, musings aside, I did finally go to work, and did my job (which today was mostly sitting behind a desk and being bored and studying to fight the down-time). Today was only the second time that I've been the one to close up the place, but I enjoy shutting everything down, I've always liked cleaning things and putting things in order and putting things away. It's somewhat meditative. Tomorrow's my last day of work this semester, but I'll be back next semester, thank goodness, because the people I work with are awesome!

After that there's not much to tell. I returned to the apartment about six-thirty in the evening, studied some more, chatted with my family via video Skype (I love Skype!!), and stressed just a teeny bit. I also ate a couple squares of Cadbury Caramello, mmmmm!

Now I'm lying on the floor of my room, which is where I sleep, and am trying to: A) Not think about my exam tomorrow, and B) Not think about all the packing I'm going to have to do tomorrow! I'm such a procrastinator, alas.

It's really hot and humid right now, my ceiling fan's going, and I'm exhausted. I am also excited about finally going home for Christmas.

And . . . yeah, that's my day! I'll try to write up another post tomorrow, but probably will fail because I'm going to be BUSY! Merry Almost-Christmas to you all!

Holmes and the Holidays

http://www.storiesnow.com/

The above link might be of interest to my fellow bookworms, as it has a quite good selection of old audio plays based upon various works of literature available for free listening. The Sherlock Holmes ones are particularly fun. I don't know about you, but I enjoy old radio plays. I even have the entire BBC Lord of the Rings radio play on cd, and I love listening to them.

Being in a rather Holmesian mood, I am thinking now of that new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out on Christmas day. I do not know if I shall go to watch it, as it seems like it has a rather good Watson and a rather dreadful Holmes, so I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?

But anyway, that in turn has me thinking of Christmas! I am eagerly looking forward to the day, and was pleasantly surprised in church this morning when I saw the Advent wreath set up and the first candle being lit. I hadn't realized we were entering Advent yet! I love Advent--Family and prayer and the decorations going up and the decorating of the tree--and the singing Christmas Carols in Latin! Here's a celebratory carol for you--one of my favorites. Merry Advent!

(P.S. Don't forget the Lord of the Rings fan film "Born of Hope" is being released online on Dec. 1. I'm looking forward to that, too!)

Reading and Panicking

So . . . . I have a paper on "Beowulf" Due on Friday, a Russian quiz on Friday, a Physics quiz on Friday, a Jeopardy! style quiz on Athens tomorrow morning, and about sixty pages of Hawaiian studies reading to do. 

Panic ensues.

The worst of it is, I'm so not sure about what I should study first or focus on first, I just kind of dither and end up not getting anything done at all! Ai! I think I'll do a good solid couple hours on the essay, or at least an hour, and then I'll switch over to Russian, and then I'll switch over to studying Athenian trivia, and then repeat. Gah, I hate tough decisions. 

One good thing about today: I walked to the public library about twenty minutes from campus and checked out four books: Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson; Sabriel, by Garth Nix; Dragonspell, by Donita K. Paul; and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Unfortunately, due to the old building being knocked down and a new one being built, the library no longer has the enormous selection it used to (Fire and Hemlock is gone!!), and is actually housed in little trailer things on the grounds of an elementary school. But at least I was able to find four books I was interested in, eh? I got Kidnapped because my mind has been inexplicably filled with Alan for the past week or so, Sabriel because I hadn't finished it when I had to return it to the library last weekend, Dragonspell because I believe one of you recommended it, but I forget who (stand and be recognized!), and The Graveyard Book because this way I'll be able to finish it without wearing out the copy at Barnes & Noble.

Tomorrow marks one month (Aug. 24-Sept. 24) of sophomore year for me. Goodness, it seems to have gone by quickly. No complaints from me in that regard, though; it means that Christmas is coming closer!

Now I'm off to the ancient land of Heorot and meres, where dragons flow like gold across the sky and young warriors can grow old and still die heroes. Goodness, I love "Beowulf".

Laptop!

Yess, precious, at last I have my own laptop computer, complete with webcam. I'm typing on it right now, and it's marvelous. Many of you probably know I've been waiting for it for months, so it's almost incredible to hold it in my hands at last!

Last night I was working feverishly on a short story until the wee hours of the morning--well, more like four A.M. I am very proud of it. Which is something, since my writing has been so dissatisfying to me as of late. And yes, I know I need to post the next part of 'Nighthawk'; it's completed, so I'll do that ASAP. Also, Andromanche, I have not yet finished your birthday gift. Yes, I'm horrible. I'm sorry. It's inching forward . . . I've been writing a lot of good beginnings and endings to stories, recently, but then the middles refuse to cooperate, and it's maddening.

Anyway, I was then roughly awakened by my frantic mother this morning after sleeping in and nearly missing my appointment with the doctor. Nothing like a couple of immunization shots to start the day off well, hm? Well, anyway, both my arms are now sore, but at least there's a few less diseases in this world to worry about.

And afterwards, of course, my father finally took me out to get my computer. Yay, I'm so excited! So you'll excuse me if I cut this post short so as to acquaint myself with my new computer, won't you?

(Linden, I'm currently debating about his name. After the Gawain debacle, I'm a little wary . . . 'Merlin' might be interesting, but if Nimue comes along, I'd be sunk. What do you think?)

Oh, and another thing: a belated Christmas gift for me arrived in the mail today. To be more specific: I am now a proud owner of one of the 'Tolkien Ensemble's CDs. Thanks, Mum and Dad!

PS-I will post a little about my Christmas soon, as well as a little surprise and a challenge for my reader friends, and a question or two about literary foods. All will be made clear.

Aloha!

I don't know how much of a common knowledge this is, but 'aloha' means 'hello', 'goodbye', and 'love'. I'm using it in the 'goodbye' sense in this post, because--yes, I leave Hawaii tomorrow to return to my home and hearth.

There are exactly 31 minutes until my final Philosophy exam, so I cannot write as much here as I would like; I want to get to the exam early and do some last-minute studying. But I wanted to say farewell from Paradise before I left for my own personal Paradise--home.

Hawaii has been remarkably good to me. I've found good friends, read good new books, and have been relatively successful academically. I also adjusted to seeing cockroaches scuttling about, and the blazing hot sky, and the rainstorms that surge from the sky without warning. I have not yet adjusted to the normalcy of geckos running around the apartment I'm living in; I still get so excited and think they are adorable.

All my friends--lucky blighters--had their last exams on Wednesday, so they're already gone. I'm almost done packing my bags; I'll finish today. Oh, Laura and Kat, I did send your Christmas gifts; I hope you get them.

Will I miss Hawaii? Well . . . yes, I will. I'll miss the Barnes & Noble that I haunt every weekend; we became very good friends over the course of the semester. I will also miss a couple of my professors--but I am very glad at the prospect of never seeing some of them again! I will also miss my weekly walks to the library, and the geckos, and the friends I've made here.

But I am still eagerly looking forward to going home. And my mom tells me that my siblings are all counting down to the day of my return instead of Christmas, isn't that funny? One of my first acts as reinstated eldest child will be to make cupcakes with all the little ones; that should be an adventure. And I'll practice my Irish dance every day, and enjoy my time home with all my heart.

After all, I should. In just three weeks, I will be back here . . .

Anyway--love to all, and Mele Kalikimaka!!

Time to Start Getting Into the Christmas Mood!

Here you are, my first gift of the Christmas season: My favorite Christmas carol sung by one of my favorite musical artists. How brilliant is that?