Air

Well I'm writing today's blog post from my brand new Macbook Air!
My other laptop died a few days ago and I was able to buy the new one with a combination of my Christmas money and my Savings. I love it!
The only downside is that with the crashing of my previous computer meant I lost all of my files-- which means that book I was five chapters into writing and the FanFiction Newsies story that I was 9 chapters into. Thank the Lord, though, for uncles who are technologically savvy! I gave my laptop to my uncle and he promised to extract my files and photos (and possibly some of my music, though most of that survived via my iPod. Still I lost some good albums like Coldplay and the Killers.)

In other news, one of my very best friends got married yesterday. It was a beautiful ceremony and I cried through most of it. I never thought I would be that bridesmaid, but it was more than I could handle. Then, of course, I nearly lost it when the Maid of Honor (another of my best friends and also the bride's identical twin sister) choked up while giving her speed. In fact, I'm pretty sure half the gymnasium choked back a sob at that one.
Everything about the wedding was wonderful. The bride was able to have a friend of hers sing "All I Ask of You", her favorite song from Phantom of the Opera (her favorite movie) and the song she's been telling us since Junior High was going to be in her wedding.
I love her to death and am so excited to see her starting the rest of her life with a man who loves both she and God so deeply. I pray they have many long, joyful years together.

Only two more days until it's time for my brother and I to head back to France and there's plenty I need to get done in the meantime. Just today I need to dye my hair, have lunch with my grandparents, go to Northpark, hit up my LCS (local comic bookstore), and start packing. Let's not mention how many people I need to visit and say my goodbyes to ASAP.
Arg, I'm getting stressed just thinking about it!

Condom Vase

Well, I just pulled a Charlie.
For those of you who aren't big YouTube watchers, that means I just spent eight minutes recording a vlog only to find upon playing it back that the microphone wasn't working. Am I going to bother re-recording? Of course not. Now I know what everyone I Skype with has been talking about for the past few months. It's one of those times that I seriously wish I had a Mac. . .
Well, I'm currently exhausted. Today has consisted of throwing a lingerie shower and all that entails. Let me tell you, that's a much harder feat than I thought it would be. I feel accomplished, though. Even if only five other people showed up besides myself and only I and one other weren't related to the bride. We can probably chalk that up to poor planning and major procrastination on the part of the Maid of Honor and myself (mostly the latter, since it was mostly my responsibility).
It was a fun ordeal, though. We played pin-the-sticky-rhinestone-on-the-bride's-finger using one of their engagement pictures, guess how many condoms are in the jar, design panties for the butt-shaped cookies, and a game with bangle bracelets where if you said "sex", "honeymoon", "wedding", or "marriage" whoever caught it got to steal one of your bangles.
The Maid of Honor won the condoms but refused to take them home, so now I'm stuck with a vase full of condoms in my room. Guess it's the new decor? Wow, that would be interesting. No, I'm thinking of either using it to pull pranks on unsuspecting friends or giving it to the Best Man so he can litter it in the bride & groom's getaway car.
In anticipation of the wedding, the Maid of Honor and I went to get our nails done yesterday. We got tips at a place her mother suggested. It wasn't until afterward that we found out she only got her eyebrows done. Great. My mutilated fingers are overjoyed to know they do eyebrows well.
The guy who did mine even had the gall to say, "You bleed a lot." Oh, thanks. Pretty sure that's your fault-- not mine! They don't hurt as much today, but that salon is never seeing my face again. . . or my aching cuticles.
T minus 6 days until the wedding and I'm stoked. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm excited. This time next week, one of my best friends will be married to the love of her life. There's nothing more beautiful than that!

5 Things I'm Thankful For Today

Yeah, I know it's way past Thanksgiving, but is it ever a bad time to count your blessings. Today just seems to be one of those days where I notice all the little things I'm thankful for and I thought it was worthwhile to share those things with you!

1) Glasses/ Contacts
-I mean, seriously, what if I had to go around running into walls and being unable to see anything just because glasses and contacts hadn't been created. Life would be incredibly less awesome if I couldn't tell who you were when you were more than five feet away from me. Yes, my eyesight is honestly THAT bad.

2)Warm chocolate chip cookies
-Since Kerri & Aaron's house doesn't have Internet connection, I have to drive to either Starbucks or McDonald's in order to get online. I know I could probably get away with just plunking down and opening my laptop, but I find that extremely rude, so I generally at least order a Dr. Pepper so I don't feel like a complete bum. Today I added chocolate chip cookies to that order and they were too good to not brag about.

3) Getting to see my brother tomorrow
-For those of you who aren't aware, my brother is my best friend in the entire world. He's pretty much the coolest person you'll ever meet and I'm of the personal opinion that we should have been twins. Anyway, I've been in Waxahachie for these two months that he has been in Paris. This is probably the longest we've ever been apart and I miss him. I get to pick him up from the airport tomorrow and I can't wait!

4) Internet Connection
-Living without internet connection is the weirdest thing ever. Honestly, I've probably gotten a lot more done since I've been without it, but I will definitely be super happy when I can get it in my apartment when we get back to France. At least I'll get to catch up on all the vlogs I haven't had time to watch since I moved here.

5) Cell Phones (smart phones in particular)
-They're just the best. There's really no need to point out why. I think you're well aware.

What are you thankful for?

Neglect

I've decided that it's high time I stopped neglecting this blog and use it for what it was intended to be-- an outpouring of my quirky and strange personality into print.
So here's what's going on in my life right now:
1) I'm currently living in a town called Waxahachie with my soon-to-be-married best friend, Kerri. I work at a daycare that she found me a job at and I love it. The kids can be terrors sometimes, but I adore them (most of the time). I spend most of my time with Kerri and her fiance (who spends every waking moment of his free time at the house), except when I go visit my hometown on some weekends.
2) My family (aka. My parents and younger brother) is currently living in Paris, France. No, we're not French-- which is very obvious if you've ever met my very Texan self. No, we have only been living there since August (as well as the three months spent thee in 2009). I go back on December 20th and will be staying there until roughly April.
3) For the few of you who read my post at the beginning of the year concerning my wanting to read fifty books this year-- I'm currently a fourth of the way through book fifty now! Maybe I can hit sixty by the New Year?
4) I participated in NaNoWriMo this year. (Google it.) Sadly, I failed, seeing as I kept rewriting because I didn't like the first few chapters. However, the program did give me enough of a push to actually start writing the story that's been bouncing around in my head for months now. I'm 7,849 words into it and it's titled, "Loyalties". So let that jump-start your imaginations.
5)Lastly, for those of y'all who follow me on FanFiction, I'm still working on the "We Run the Papes" sequel. I haven't scrapped it or anything, so you can stop holding your breaths. Oh, and I've titled it, "How the World Turns". It might change, but I like the sound of it. So, then again, it might not.
So there's your five point update on the life and times of Kirsten Erin. Hope things are interesting enough for your tastes.

Judging a Book

"Don't judge a book by it's cover."

How many times have you heard that saying? For me, it's one time too many.

I was at W.H. Smith, one of two English bookstores in Paris, today. I probably spent about two hours there, because I am one of those people who haunts the store until I'm sure I've seen every book. I like to know my options and am especially fond of finding a good book I haven't heard of yet. 

Since we moved back to Paris a month ago, I have hardly stopped reading. I just bought the last book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins today; I'm currently reading Brisingr, the third book in the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini; and have read more than a few novels. It's like a feeding frenzy of books. I'm just devouring them systematically and loving every second of it.

Anyway, the point of this post is the fact that this phrase popped into my head while I was perusing the merchandise in the bookstore. I realized that I almost always judge books by their cover. In fact, it's pretty rare that I don't. Let's face it, though. How many books have you picked up recently with crappy covers and fantastic stories? Probably not too many.

I don't do this intentionally. An interesting cover tells me a lot about the story inside of it. If the cover is captivating, I at least have to pick it up and read the back. If the cover is boring or creepy, it's highly unlikely that I'll even bother with it. That is, unless I've heard a few great reviews. 

(Example: Looking for Alaska by John Green was a good book. It wasn't fantastic, but I liked it. The cover is extremely cheesy, though. I wouldn't have even bothered to read the back if I hadn't heard so many good reviews for it. Then again, I almost didn't read it because the back didn't convince me any more than the cover did. . .)

Moral of the story?: JUDGE EVERY BOOK BY IT'S COVER, KIDS.

Just kidding! Sometimes it's okay to judge a book by it's cover. The cover says a lot about what's inside of it. It's the same way with people. You can find out a lot about a person by the way they look and the clothes they wear. But don't be deceived! That's not all there is to the story and sometimes covers can be deceptive. Sometimes it's worth the plunge to find out maybe the cover wasn't so representative of the story after all. 

Basically, there is no moral to the story. This is just the rambling thoughts of a nineteen year old girl who's a little too introspective and reads way more than is probably healthy. 

The Hunger Games: A Legitimate Review

I have now finished the Hunger Games.
"Wow, that was quick!" you may be thinking. I'd have to agree.
I devoured this book. (Figuratively, of course.)
Those of you who read my First Impression post are probably confused. Did something in the book change? Did Suzanne Collins's writing suddenly transform? No, the truth is that a great plot can even salvage bad writing.
Now, to be fair, it wasn't terrible. I followed most of it easily and I can easily say that I've read worse, just not in a published book. The story itself was captivating and had me riveted, though. I could wait to see what happened to Katniss. I was eager to find what lay in store for her in the final pages of the book. Mrs. Collins proved her skill in creating both an enthralling story line and a slew of fascinating characters with more depth than I had expected. I found myself connected to Katniss, Gale, Rue, Peeta, Haymitch, even Effie.
While her odd writing style, fragmented sentences, and obnoxious punctuation were irritating; they didn't detract from the story nearly as much as I had expected. They certainly prove that her footing is firmer in the television industry she is emerging from. Yet, her feet aren't stuck there and she seems to be prying them loose.
By the way, I will be shelling out those extra euros for the second and third books in the Hunger Games trilogy.

The Hunger Games: First Impression

I have heard so much about this book that I suppose I was expecting something on par with any of my favorite books. Ever a fantasy lover, I picked up the Hunger Games after the many raving reviews I heard and expected a great literary thriller on par with Starlighter by Bryan Davis or something of that nature.
What I received, after reading only the first chapter, is a thick wave of disappointment. Now before you start attacking me here, I am only on the first chapter and I do plan to continue reading. Prim has just been chosen for the Games (don't act like that's a spoiler-- it's on the back of the book) and I want to know what happens next.
The plot line itself isn't what bothers me. Up to this point, it's kept my attention, which is more than I can say for the first chapter of quite a few good books.
No, what irritates me is Mrs. Collins' writing. Her style is odd and disconnected, though written in first person and hard to read. Perhaps I'm expecting too much, having just finished the second book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini only hours ago, but I still can't rid myself of this distaste quite yet. Her grammar is atrocious and makes me feel like I have that itch that's just under my skin, so that no matter how hard I scratch, the irritating feeling can't be eradicated.
Okay, I'll stop ranting before the pitchforks and torches start lining up outside of my apartment. I would like to be able to go to the bookstore in peace. However, if the novel continues in this fashion, I doubt I'll be shelling out any more euros for the rest of the trilogy.

See my review upon actually finishing the book here. :)