As of today, I have a guarantee that I WILL be going to grad school!  I’m not sure where yet exactly, but I without a doubt will be a grad student somewhere come September!

Should it really be this difficult to find a guy who likes both football and crossword puzzles?

I definitely did not plan to read these books.  I was vaguely familiar with them, what with the movie being released and every teenage girl in the country swooning simultaneously.  I had pretty much decided that they were too popular to bother with at the current time, and didn’t quite get all the hype. 

Boy, do I get it now!  Also, I have to almost shamefully admit that I am no better than any pre-teen girl who has devoured these books, and I can swoon with the best of them!  I was lent the series by a friend (who is even older than me, note) who described the books as “pre-teen erotica” and confessed to reading them like her “brain was on fire.”  Both of these evaluations are completely accurate, and I expected nothing less as she is a very reliable source of opinion. 

The series consists of 4 books: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.  The general plot consists of a clumsy, seemingly average girl named Bella who moves to small town Washington to live with her slightly estranged father.  While getting to know her new surroundings, Bella meets Edward Cullen and his family, who turn out to be vampires that feed on animals as opposed to humans.  Now, Edward is a complete and total honey, and he and Bella fall head over heels for each other, which is basically the subject that most of the first book and the rest of the series revolves around. 

I won’t ruin any story lines, heaven forbid the 2 people who read this blog should someday want to read the series themselves.  The ill-fated pair go through many a troubling time, what with vampire battles, the werewolves next door, and it wouldn’t be a teen novel without plenty of angst, lust, and indecision.  It doesn’t help that Edward has to resist snacking on Bella throughout the entire series. 

The thing that really gets me (and I’m assuming the rest of the female audience) about these books isn’t the stellar plot or the detailed description of Edward’s chiseled jawline.  It’s the way the main couple interacts, and the feelings and emotions that practically flow off of every page.  These books shamelessly target hormonal females, and hit their mark dead on.  The love between Bella and Edward is something straight out of fantasy, perfect and never ending.  He loves her more than life itself and would do anything to keep her safe.  She is always beautiful to him, and being apart is almost painful for both of them. 

The books are quite tame, any parts that may concern parents are countered by responsible moral decisions.  There is lots (and I mean LOTS) of kissing and cuddling and nuzzling, described in such a sensual way that the emotional connection described instills a sense of longing in even the most stoic readers.  Reading these books was very nearly an exhausting experience, I felt slightly drained after finishing each one. 

Overall the books are an easy read and have enough action to be entertaining but are well enough written that you can really care about the characters involved.  At times it was difficult to choose sides, and my empathetic nature had me feeling the pain of my favorites.  I would definitely recommend the series, but with a grain of salt and perhaps a cold shower!

I am finally finished with this horrible semester, hallelujah!  I am now off to my place of birth to see my family for Christmas!  Yay!  And then I get to come home and have another Chrismas!  Yay!  And then I get to go to OK and have yet another Christmas!  Yay!  Will the joy ever end?

Merry Christmas to everyone, travel safely, and I hope to see you soon! 

Love, Me. 

This weekend I was very honored to be asked to take my friend Angela’s engagement photos.  I have never been asked to do anything like this before, and it was very exciting!  I was a bit worried about the potential for bad weather, but it turned out to be absolutely perfect, a bit brisk but clear and beautiful.  Our timing couldn’t have been better, and we caught some gorgeous sunset shots with very pretty light. 

It was great to finally meet Russ, and photographing these two was so much fun!  The whole atmosphere was very relaxed and lighthearted, which was great because I was already nervous that I wouldn’t do them justice.  They complement each other so well, and their interactions were very fun to observe.

We started out near Barker’s Island at the spot where Russ proposed to Angela, and finished up at Billings Park with a quick stop at the pier in between.  I feel like we got some really great pictures, and I am extremely glad that Angela and Russ liked them as well!  Here are a few of my favorites:

A group of girls in one of my classes are always going on about their relationships.  It seems like all they do is complain about their significant others: how inept they are at listening, their lack of commitment, their inability to ever clean out the fridge.  I began to wonder what they actually liked about their boyfriends, and I posed this question to them a few days ago.  I received such answers as “he’s cute,” “he can cook,” “he’s good in bed” (keep that to yourself, really) and the ever-popular “he’s going to buy me a pretty ring.”  These responses not only told me a little about the type of girls I was dealing with, but also made me think a bit about love and what I would like it to be.

I think you should not only love a person for their kindness, understanding, intelligence, looks or sense of humor, but also all of the little aspects of them that really make them different from any other human.  There are millions of kind people, and a pretty face is not difficult to come by.  But not everyone will look at you with just that expression when you do something stupid, or understand your obscure movie references. 

It could be the way their hands look when they are doing something they’re good at, or their particular smell, or the look on their face when they are concentrating especially hard on something.  It could be the way their hand feels in yours, the color of their eyes right after they wake up in the morning, or the way they hum to themselves when they think no one is listening.  Tiny details that maybe no one else notices, things that happen every day but are, to you, special. 

I know that I would want someone to love me for small things as well as large things.  Maybe how I giggle when I have had too much to drink, the style of my handwriting, or the expression on my face when I’m trying hard not to laugh.  In the end, I think that the little things play a huge factor in relationships and memories.  They are the hardest things to change, and the hardest things to forget.   

I’m not suggesting that the aforementioned girls are shallow and don’t have meaningful relationships.  It just seems like maybe they should take some time to count their blessings and realize what a good thing they have, instead of being unsatisfied with a bare ring finger. 

Ever since high school I have always had male friends, and ever since high school I have been accused of being in love with them.  Granted, this was not always completely off base, but generally it was assumed that if I spent any time with a member of the opposite sex I must have romantic feelings for them.  Needless to say, it got (gets) very frustrating constantly deferring endless queries about my romantic involvement with platonic male friends, especially when they are coming at me from all angles.  Friends, parents, siblings, even extended family.  You don’t even live in the same state as me and have no idea who this person is!  How are you so convinced I am in love with him?  Hell, my dad still gives me grief to this day about one of my high school guy friends. 

So, this begs the question: Can men and women be just friends?

Personally, I believe that they can be.  I also believe that a friendship can evolve and grow into something more, but not always, and not necessarily for both people at the same time (life’s a bitch, eh?).  Transitioning from a friendship to a relationship can in some ways be easier.  You already know a lot about each other and how you get along, and there’s a certain comfort level already in place that might take more time to develop otherwise. 

Then of course you come across the issue of “not ruining the friendship.”  This is a tried and true method of letting someone down “easy” when you don’t share their feelings.  It doesn’t feel good to hear it (trust me) and in my opinion it’s kind of a cop-out.  If you don’t have feelings for me, just tell me.  I can take it-I wouldn’t be out on a limb expressing my own feelings if I couldn’t.  It just seems kind of like b.s. because if you did have feelings for me, you probably wouldn’t be ignoring them just for the sake of our friendship, now would you?  No. 

If both parties feel the same way, more often than not I think it’s worth giving it a go.  If your friendship was really that strong to begin with, it will probably increase the odds that your relationship will be as well, and decrease the chance of you hating each other when it ends.  Plus, is knowing that you both feel it and not trying it really that much better than trying and it not working out?

If you are a friend of mine that happens to be male, be aware that the following statements are guaranteed to be true:
1. My family assumes that I am in love with you.
2. I have been asked no less than 3 times one or more of the following questions: If we are dating, if you are “special” to me, or “what’s going on with you and so-and-so?” 
3. My grandmother loves you and has used the word “adorable” to describe you in some way. 

My apologies.  I live in fear of ever actually dating one of my guy friends, because I can only imagine the caliber of those I told you so’s. 

It all began some years ago when I was roughly 12 and watched Night of the Living Dead.  Not a good film.  It’s very old, black and white, and I guess one of those “classic” horror films (read: more cheesy than scary).  Being the pansy that I am however, it scared the crap out of me!  Zombies attacking everyone, people boarding up windows and doors, a zombie corpse (redundant?) on fire beside abandoned gas pumps.  Then there’s that part at then end when you think everything is okay, then the guy opens the basement door and OH MY GOD there’s another one with just the whites of his eyes showing, and he comes staggering out to get you.  Thus began my fear of zombies. 

I only exacerbated the situation by watching Dawn of the Dead my junior year of high school, and then again about a week ago in order to “face my fear”.  Thanks, roomie.  The question is, why am I so afraid of zombies?  I am an intelligent person, I know they aren’t real and people aren’t goingto start rising from their graves, suddenly hungry for a human flesh sandwich (Flesh, it’s what’s for dinner!).  My logical side is consistently roundhouse-kicked by my very overactive imagination, and zombies continue to scare me half to death (though not near enough to death to cause me to yen for brains.) 

I have come up with a few possible reasons why I am so freaked out by the undead:

1.  Zombies F-ing Eat People!!
The reason being chased by a man with a chainsaw seems preferable to a zombie is because the zombie wants to EAT ME!  That whole concepts is freaky enough, and totally gross!  There’s also the fact that if a killer with a chainsaw hacks me up, I won’t die and come back from the dead as a chainsaw-wielding psycho.  Getting stabbed or shot with some normal weapon at least leaves you the option of survival.  One nibble from a zombie and you can just call it a day!

2. Zombies Are Some Tough Bastards! 
Zombies can take some hits before they go down.  You pretty much have to nail them in the head or they will just keep a-coming, missing limbs and all.  They don’t have any arms?  No biggie, they’ve still got a mouth!  Also, it’s not like they’re going to starve to death waiting for you to come out of your hidey-hole.  If you’re dead, you don’t exactly need a lot of nutrition.  So zombies don’t need to eat you for sustenance, they just really really want to because you are so yummy.  Why can’t they just eat each other?  Why does it have to be living flesh?  Although, if a zombie bit another zombie, would that zombie just come back again, perhaps as a super-zombie?  I digress…

3. Last but not least-Zombies Are Really Hard To Get Away From!
Come on, we’ve all seen the movies.  Zombies can smash through windows like nothing, most of the time they can run really fast, they can take a whole mess of bullets without breaking stride…how is this going to end well?  Also, they don’t sleep, won’t die unless you inflict a serious head wound, and are impossible to reason with.  At least in a hostage situation you can attempt to cut a deal.  Once the zombies find out where you are they are going to come get you, relentless and hungry.  I have come to the conclusion that if zombies attack and I decide to hide out at our house, I will probably last about 15 minutes.  Let’s see, there are no guns, the windows and doors are pretty weak and easily smashed in, and hmm, what was it?  Oh, I AM REALLY AFRAID OF ZOMBIES!  I will most likely be curled up in the corner in the fetal position suckingmy thumb, not out on the front lines battling hordes of the undead! 

Personally, I feel that these are very understandable reasons for being freaked out about zombies.  So be advised: if you are going to play a prank on me and it involves zombie-like things in any way, be prepared to be kicked, punched, or elbowed somewhere vital and unpleasant. 

For quite some time I have been keeping an eye out for some type of Thai Peanut Sauce.  It’s either not carried or hidden very well in mainstream grocery stores, and I apparently don’t need it badly enough to venture to a specialty store.  So, when I was out and about yesterday and came across a jar, I snatched it up triumphantly.

I couldn’t resist the urge to cook with it that very evening, and after brainstorming for a few minutes while surveying my food supplies, this is what I came up with:

I tossed some angel hair pasta into a pot of boiling water, and while it was cooking I sauteed some shrimp (frozen, the lazy version), chopped onion, and snow pea pods in a pan with some olive oil, a dollop of the peanut sauce, and a touch of spice mixture-garlic, basil, thyme, parsley and chives.  I had the onions and shrimp going the whole time, but waited to throw in the pea pods until the end so they wouldn’t get too mushy.  When the noodles were done, I tossed them in a very small amount of the peanut sauce, just enough to very lightly coat them, and combined them with the sauteed mixture. 

It turned out better than I expected, and was actually quite delicious.  The amount of sauce was perfect, enough to get the full flavor but not overwhelming.  The vegetables were cooked perfectly, onions no too soft and the pea pods were tender crisp. 
Should I make this again I would probably add more vegetables, probably those that you might find in a stir fry.  If I liked peppers I would have added them for the color alone.  The angel hair worked, but I could see linguini working equally as well if not better.  The sauce gets an A, I am looking forward to trying it in different dishes, and probably as a dipping sauce for meat.  It would be excellent to use for Pad Thai, if I ever get the ambition to make it.

So, I’m trying to get all of my graduate school whatsits organized, which is quite the ordeal considering the number of schools I am applying to and the hoops I am required to jump through for each.  Application shenanigans aside, right now I am focused on studying for the subject GRE examination in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, which I take in 2 weeks.

This is a doozy of a test, featuring 180 multiple choice questions!  ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!  Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?  That’s way too many opportunities for me to screw this up, and how did they decide on that number anyway?  They might as well have just rounded it up to an even 200 while they were at it!  This is pencil and paper too, no fancy computerized version like the general GRE.  I will be crouched over a cramped desk with little or no surface area trying my darndest to correctly answer 180 flipping multiple choice questions.

36% of this exam is centered around Biochemistry.  I will have had 2/3 of a Biochemistry course going into this exam, the rest I am attempting to teach myself.  This would be all fine and dandy if I hadn’t put it off for a bit too long (read: until now), and now I am fully expecting to bomb the crap out of this exam.  No big deal, just a $140 blow to my ego and horrible scores sent to my top grad school choices. 

Okay, doomsday is not imminent, and I will probably do at least halfway decent on this horrid exam.  However, if I happen to fall into a Biology induced coma, talking to me about something non-biological like literature or art history and I should come around.