This is about Nothing...basically

Oh, hey everyone. I just thought I'd blog about what I've been doing for the past few weeks which is...uh....nothing. Well, that's not true. I started a new blog (see last post) and I've been trying to post pretty regularly on that site because it gets stuff out there and I have an online presence, while this blog is just for the fam who see me way more now that I'm unemployed and living at home. (fun times) So yeah, that's been interesting for most of the posts I just go....blergh, no one cares if I've started trying to eat better and working out. This post sucks! But I wrote a new post today which I think was actually pretty entertaining or at least I think I made some funnies so we'll see what people think.
I've applied for a bunch of jobs and I actually got a call back from one today!! So hopefully I won't be unemployed anymore because I want to buy new clothes!! And I can't! Except Mom just bought me two new pairs of shoes so that was nice too! (one was a pair of flats for like twenty bucks! and the other were converse sneakers because I want them again) Anyway. Money, I needz it. Also loans start in October so it would be nice to build up a chunk of money to start paying those off. Also I have no coverage for my eye doctor so I kind of have to start paying for my contacts as well as other things. Good gravy, do people know it's really mean to kick newly graduated college kids off their parents' insurance when the economy sucks, and there's no way to find jobs, and also when the said newly graduated college student doesn't know what they are doing with their lives?????? Yes. It is mean.
Anyways, I've also started revising my book again, because it could be better. And what I mean by I've started revising is that I bought post-its of different colors (I haven't mentioned my love for post-its but I love it) and I've printed my manuscript out and then I've watched a full season of Dexter, got hooked on Last Chance Highway on Animal Planet, blogged on this blog and my other blog, and watched loads of YouTube videos in procrastination attempts at not dealing with my manuscript. Oh and I've done laundry too! So today! I'm starting! I will! It's gonna happen....except that Ghost Hunters is new tonight.......
uh-oh.

New Blog

Helloooooo everyone. I started a new blog at www.lilredwritinghood.wordpress.com I'm still keeping this blog for my personal news but the new blog is more general stuff, more professional type blogging. Hopefully it's like professional type blogging. So if you want to start following that blog that would be awesome and maybe if you like it you can suggest it to other people too. I'm going to try and blog at least once a week so I can be consistent. It's just a way to get a bigger online presence if I ever get picked up by an agent so that I have a way to sell my books to people. Check it out and let me know what you think!!
That's all the news for now!

Real World

Well, it's been about two weeks since I've been back from New York and I must say it is wonderful to be so close to nature. Keep in mind that I am not really a outdoorsy person but at home nature is very close at hand and I apparently like to keep my options open. The only nature you get in New York is the trees among the cement sidewalks and the rats in the subways (I totally saw a rat in the subway and I was all like 'I've never seen a rat in the wild...of a New York subway station before.' Gross)
So I apparently haven't caught you up on the last week of New York. So my book group won out of 10 imprints for being the best imprint! Suck it literary nonfiction imprints! Romance Imprints rule!! Anyways, it was kind of amazing because I was the one who came up with the idea for our lead book title and I also wrote the first chapter to it because I was bored one day during speakers (Mom now says I should finish it. Writing a chapter is one thing! Writing a whole book with like a plot and characters and arcs and themes is a whole different ball game!) I also went to Promises, Promises which stars Sean Hayes who played Jack on Will and Grace and Kristin Chenoweth who is AMAZING!!! She was in Wicked and Pushing Daisies and The West Wing and I love her! Sean Hayes was so cute and so funny and the dancing was amazing! So glad I got to see it! The last night we had a party on the roof of one of the girl's in my magazine and book group who lived in Greenwich Village and it was super fun and very New York and a good way to spend the our last night in New York.
I am now sending queries to literary agents in an attempt to get my book represented. A query is a one page letter that is supposed to hook an agent into wanting to read more of the book and possibly taking it on to sell to publishers. It is very hard to boil your book down to two paragraphs but that's what you have to do. Then you basically get rejected until you finally don't. Or you can get rejected by everyone and have to write a different book and shop that book around and hope someone likes that one. Being a writer basically sucks. But if I can't help but make up stories, well.....I guess I should keep doing it then.
So I'm home and unemployed or as I like to think of it "assessing my options" or even better "taking a vacation" while searching for a job. I'm not even sure what I should do but I'm going to give myself a year and if I haven't figured anything out by then I'll go back to school or become a stripper or something. (I totally wouldn't be a stripper! First off, I'm not flexible and second, you know....morals and stuff).
My friend from college who I happened to live with freshman and sophomore year got married this weekend and I was one of her bridesmaids! (there was, like, a hundred million other bridesmaids.) Anyways, it was really fun to be there and be a part of the wedding even if I didn't get to actually spend much time with my friend cuz she was so busy with everyone else. I did bond with her ten year old sister and two of her friends from high school so that was pretty cool.
I'm also possibly starting up a blog in which I don't blather on about my life but I write things about...I don't know, what I think about the publishing industry and YA books and life in general. I haven't really figured out what I'm going to write about but it will be another way for me to develop a presence on the internet because as a writer you have to have a platform now where you can promote yourself and your work and since everyone who reads this blog is basically related to me I assume that you will all buy my books already (AND READ THEM TOO! Even if you don't like it. Just lie and tell me I'm amazing. Trust me, it will not give me a big head. Shannon can attest to my horrible lack of confidence sometimes).
So now...PICTURES!!!

Before Wedding! I'll get better pictures soon. You know like when we're actually in our dresses and not in robes.

Rooftop in Greenwich!

Ends almost here

Well, I've fallen behind on my blogging! Sorry! But really, I don't do anything exciting, at least not during the week. Unless you count sitting in a windowless room learning about book publishing all day as exciting, which I'm sure some people would totally count. I am just not particularly one of those people. Also, I've spent so much time in a room full of literary snobs (not all but most of them are English majors and it may be hard to believe but I am not the worst grammar nazi in the world.) I think I am rejecting the basics of grammar as a rebellion of being in that room. Take a look at the beginning of this paragraph. Some of them would call it quits just trying to copyedit this blog. Oh well, what am I going to do?
Another thing I've noticed is that people in book publishing refer to the midwest as middle america as if it is some strange and mysterious place. Uh, yeah, Minneapolis and St. Paul are two of the most literary cities in the country. Thanks, Midwest!
I don't believe I've written about my book group. Hmmmm, Okay. So for the book publishing part we form a book imprint (like Hachette publishes the Twilight books but is really a part of Little Brown) and then we have to launch five fake titles. I somehow managed to talk my group into forming a romance imprint called Bodice Books even though half of them think romance books are trashy (which they are not! At least most of them aren't!) The other half I had to take to Barnes and Noble to buy a romance novel because they hadn't read a romance novel before....for real. One of the girls was horrified to learn (through reading her new romance novel) that there is sex in romance novels! Oh good God. You see what I must put up with? (Becky understands what I'm talking about!) Anyways, we're finally getting to the point where we are accepting that we are a romance imprint and moving on. Thank Jesus.
Alright, recap of fourth of July weekend! My roommates and I went to karaoke with some other people from my magazine group (everyone hates their book groups which are different than their mag groups.) and I sang Just Dance by Lady Gaga with a friend. Saturday, my roommate and I went to Memphis which won the Tony for best musical this year. It was awesome and sad and I'm glad I went to it to see the original cast! Sunday was the least patriotic July 4th I've ever experienced. We went to a street fair down by the seaport in the financial district which was odd to see sail boats next to skyscrapers but it was fun. We made sure to watch the fireworks because it was our Italian roommate's first time in the US during the fourth. I was like, "Oh, well if I was home we'd be having a boat parade and delicious food and we'd light fireworks off ourselves because it's somehow more impressive if we managed to buy a pretty and big firework. We had Monday off and I went to see the Last Airbender. DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY!! I personally love the TV show which I realize marks me as a nerd (as if y'all hadn't realized that yet) but the adaption was HORRIBLE!! I was like, thanks M. Night Shamaylan (Sp???? Oh, who cares really?) for ruining a really good show! You had so much to work with and you managed to turn it into crap. Awesome!!



Yesterday my roommates and I went to play trivia at this bar (extrememly hard trivia. the only round we did well on was the revolutionary era round and that's pretty amazing because I don't like American history). At this bar, you buy a beer and get a personal pizza free and since I'm cheap and also hadn't tried pizza since third grade when Dave made me eat a piece (yeah, haven't forgotten about that Dave!) I figured I should try it again. I mean, I'd discovered I liked guacamole and sour cream all in the span of last year maybe pizza had developed into my tastes.



Nope. Still gross. I was really really hungry though so I ate half of my pizza. You should all be impressed. I had pizza in New York and I hated it! My raspberry beer was good though!

Today we went to the offices of Hyperion publishing (although I wanted to visit Disney Hyperion which is there YA imprint and be like, I love youuuuuu. You should publish my boooookkk! Kthxbai!) Then my roommates and I went to 16 Handles which is a frozen yogurt place that has 16 flavors and you can put as many flavors as you want in your container and you can put however many toppings you want on it and they price it by the weight and it was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. We need one of these!! Anyways, this weekend is our last weekend so we're going to try and go to another show and go out dancing and maybe hit up Rockerfeller center or something tourist-y. I'll update y'all soon!

Goodbye Magazines

Well, the magazine section of SPI is over and boy am I glad. Although there was a lot of interesting things about magazines I don't think I will pursue a career in magazines. There's just something about books... Anyways, we presented our finished fake magazines on Friday (my group didn't win but we didn't think we were going to). There was a magazine called Seersucker which focused on the preppy lifestyle which is apparently a thing. It really is just an east coast thing where people go to polo matches and hang out on their yachts. So basically it should just be called douche magazine and everyone would understand. They didn't win either thank goodness.
On Saturday I went to Phantom of the Opera and it was amazing! It also sparked the broadway bug in me and now I want to go to a million and one shows! I also ate at this place called Ellen's Stardust Diner (or something to that effect) and all of the waiters sang songs because they're all trying to be on broadway someday.
Sunday, my roommates and I went shopping! And ran into the gay pride parade on 5th Avenue which was pretty much amazing! I took pictures!
Tomorrow starts the book part of the program and I am excited because a different woman runs this section and I also love books. It seems like this section will be more relaxing than the magazine section which is good because I would like to do things other than sleep on my weeknights! So we'll see if I like book publishing enough to stay in New York or...if my current feelings continue...if I decide that the only part of book publishing I want to be a part of is the part where people are publishing my books!
Pile of Free Magazines we were given throughout last three weeks!

Spot the Naked Cowgirl in Time Square!
Float from the Gay Pride Parade!

Constant State of Tiredness

So I guess everyone wants to know what I'm doing exactly...Well, I'm sitting in a room that is set at the temperature of freezing-my-ass-off, listening to people from the magazine world speak for about nine hours a day. I am always hungry. I am always cold. I am always uncomfortable because I am a person who sits on her feet and the chairs in our lovely igloo room do not allow that.
I have learned all sorts of things like CPM's that's cost per thousands, and unique viewers, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I have learned about the business models of the Huffington Post, Consumer Market, Mother Jones, Spin, Rolling Stones, LIFE (It is now a website with really cool pictures on it so you should go check it out) and so many other magazines/content websites that I don't even know what to do with myself.
At the end of these three weeks we are launching a fake magazine brand that must be unique in its idea and expand into print, web, and social media. My group is made up of about ten girls and we are launching a magazine that supports eco-friendly fashion and beauty but will also have a section on green lifestyle. My job in this group is Web Marketing and Business Manager. I really don't have to do anything on the business side thank God because it turns out that numbers and I don't mix (as if Dad wasn't aware of that all those nights in high school when he tried to teach me math and I ended up crying). My job (as well as another girl) is to develop a facebook page and twitter account for our fake magazine and help the web editors come up with blogs for our magazine website. So I'm actually feeling pretty good about that. I knew all those hours on facebook when I should have been doing homework or writing would come in handy sometime! And thank God I joined twitter this year because it's apparently really big. Also something called foursquare is really big too. It has something to do with your city and you become mayor of your city by doing things on foursquare blah blah blah. Everyone hear gushes about it but I really think it's a big city thing. Who has time to become a fake mayor of something on the internet? No one. Or at least not me.
Hmmmm, what else have I done in a week and a half. I visited the offices of Everyday with Rachel Ray and got to eat some pieces of a porkchop made in their test kitchens where they test recipes to put in their magazine. I have fallen in love with too many magazines to count. I have discovered that I could never ever EVER be a vegetarian like one of my roommates (She said she's like a sixth generation vegetarian so it's the way she grew up. But she's also from California so that's not really a surprise.) I have applied for a paid internship which I most likely won't get but hey, it's worth a try and networked with some SPI (summer publishing institute) alums and got a card! I have visited the Empire State Building and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and also lazed in my apartment for an entire day because that's what eleven hour days do to you. (Insert Shannon telling me not to whine about my hours).
And now for something completely different...PICTURES!!!


Me and My roommates at my birthday dinner at the Hard Rock!

Sex and the City cosmo!!

This is the Woolworth building where we go to class and freeze all day long!

This last one's for Shannon!

Empire State of Mind

Hellooooo Everyone,
I'm writing from New York City. I've only been here three days and boy does it seem longer!! I've spent the last three days at the Summer Publishing Institute (SPI) classroom listening to speakers about magazines. The magazine business is kind of in a precarious situation right now so a lot of what we are learning is how to merge online with print and how to incorporate digital readers like the iPad and the kindle and whether we should charge for content and so on and so forth.
We actually get to listen to a lot of high up people in the magazine business. The Executive Editor from the Food Network Magazine talked to us today and we were taught how to network by the Mingling Mavin. She actually didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I'm apparently very good at talking to strangers.
Hmmmm what else? My roommates are pretty cool. Their names all end in -ina so I'm the odd man out in our apartment. Eating here is kind of hard because none of us have any kitchen supplies. Right now I'm eating and using a paper towel as my plate. Classy! I got yelled at by a subway cop my first day for nothing but I was all "whatever dude!" and went on my way. Living in New York has actually made me revert to my study abroad mode because NYC is such a different culture. I am in the "Don't look anyone in the eye and keep to yourself" mode which is pretty useful.
Well, that's it for now, I guess. I'll have more later and I managed to take a few pictures of the Woolworth building so I'll post those soon.

New York New York

Hey everyone I'm just writing quick to say that I'll be trying to write at least once a week about my time in NYC on this blog so stay tuned for more news! I leave tomorrow very very early!

Also I finished my book....sort of. I still have some stuff to revise and tweak and add in but I have the bulk of it down. Right now it is exactly 50,000 words which is the minimum word count for a standard novel. It's also the longest thing I've written! Oofta! Anyways, I'm working on it a little bit more before I send it off into the unknown publishing world.

So I will report back soon with news of NYC!!

Last Day of Normal Classes!

Hellooooo everyone. So, uh, a lot has happened in the last month. So much that I was kind of like...Whoa! Spread out good news! I can't take you all at once! So anyways, I'm sure most of you have heard that I got accepted into the NYU publishing program that I applied to. Columbia rejected me right away (I didn't want to go there anyway!) and I was put on the waiting list of the University of Denver program and I didn't really think I had a chance of getting into NYU and then I recieved my glorious acceptance email (yeah, email!) And then I proceeded to freak out.

I am very excited to spend six weeks in NYC but also scared because..hello, it's New York! And also I've watched a lot of Law and Order:SVU episodes, so that can't help the paranoia. Anyways, I'm going to live on NYU campus (hopefully) and our classes are in the Woolworth Building. Do you know what the Woolworth Building looks like? Because if you don't you should google it. Yeah, skyscraper. Me and publishing in a skyscraper. I head off to NY in the beginning of June and return July 16th or so (maybe with a job but if not, a lot of experience that could help me get a job in the Cities publishing houses.)

The next good news I received was in the form of my English Capstone and Nonfiction writing Professor. My capstone is made up of an academic paper as well as a creative writing portion. For my creative writing portion, my professor told me I could work on my book (the book I've been writing and rewriting for the past 4 years). I met with my professor before we discussed it in our class (everyone has to read everyone's stories) and to my surprise, he said that he was impressed and thought it was a good story, with good characters with obvious needs for revision. (I was expecting the "Don't quit your day job" advice which I would have disregarded but actual liking was the best thing I could have gotten. And yeah, I know I need to revise and revise and revise. Little known fact: Authors can revise forever. Basically their agents have to rip the manuscript out of their hands for it to be 'finished')
My professor was impressed with it so much that he began asking around for anyone in the industry to read my book (The professor is a published nonfiction writer with a whole stack of books of essays so he knows people.) He found me a contact...a very impressive person to send my writings to. Like Salman Rushdie big! Like HOLY CRAP THIS GUY IS GOING TO READ MY NOVEL?? (not Salman Rushdie. I'm keeping the name under wraps in case someone googles me and reads this blog!) Anyway, I'm sending my novel to someone very high up in publishing at the end of this week.

This does not mean that I am going to be published. The worst he could read it and not do or say anything with it. He could give me some feedback and still not pass on it. He could like it enough to send it to a literary agent who could not pass on it and send me some feedback. Or this literary agent could take me on and we could work on my book and upon selling my book to publishers. Now the last case scenario is very very VERY unlikely and I am totally aware of that. It's a pipe dream. I follow enough authors to know that rejection is part of the business. I am prepared for years--YEARS!-- of rejection before I get published. So even getting feedback from people in the business would be incredibly helpful and amazing This is a very BIG opportunity for me...so yeah FREAKING OUTTAGE!!!

In other news, today is my last day of class. I spent it finishing my 40 page manuscript of essays for my nonfiction class. Two of the essays are rambles about how I can't smell and also why being from here means you don't freak out every time it floods. There's also an essay on swinging (as in a swingset)and I use it as a metaphor for graduating and the future. I'm not at all certain that this metaphor works but I don't care anymore. I'm graduating and NYU can't reject me based on grades anymore and I will now be foraying into the land that isn't based on a grades system. Thank you, baby Jesus. I don't have any finals just one myth test (oh by the way, I'm consistently beating my friend in that class mwhahahaha) which is only on the past week of material so it should be easy! That being said, this week will be devoted to making sure my book sucks as less as possible before sending it off into the unknown. SQUEEEEE!

Oh yeah....I have a blog I should be writing...oops.

Yes, I am a poor blog writer. I'm sorry!! You'd think what with me wanting to be a writer and all that I would be better at updating this blog but alas that is apparently not how things work in Mallory's world. Anyways, so my last blog was at the end of last semester. And this blog is a month away from my last semester of college...ever...as in I'd be done with school after sixteen years...as in I'd have a degree...as in OH MY GOD I NEED TO FIND A JOB!!

Yeah, fun times. Well in case some people are not aware, I've applied to three summer programs (which a roommate has dubbed Publishing camp) that run six weeks and teach me all about the world of book and magazine publishing. This is because I have no idea what I want to do with my life. A career counselor asked me what I wanted to do and I said, "I want to be a writer." and then she looked at me with her sad eyes and talked about some temp agencies that I should sign up for. Anyways, these programs are at Columbia University, NYU, and Denver University. I'll be contacted around April 15 or 16th to find out if I made it in to any of them. Right now, I believe my chances are pretty slim to none which is why I'm looking for jobs in Fargo but if I do get into the programs it would be pretty cool. Being an editor or a literary agent would be kind of awesome especially if I get to work in the YA sector (That's Young Adult). I think the U of Denver seems like the one that would fit me most because six weeks in New York kind of scares the pee out of little midwestern me.

That's what's going on with my life. Sure I've got classes and I'm currently taking my Writing Capstone (see my last blog for my harrowing History Capstone account) but it's going much better. I really get along well with my professor and I'm writing about the quality of YA literature because that is what I want to write. This capstone has an academic paper but also a creative writing part and I get to work on the novel that I've been working on for four years. Yay! And also boo! and also Holy crap! Yay because I'm finally getting actual help on my book (and there needs to be a lot of help) Boo because I've already rewritten my book three times and it's tough! and Holy crap because I'm that much closer to maybe becoming an actual writer!

I'm also taking Greek Myth from a favorite Professor and two friends. One of these friends is competitive about grades because he always wants to be the smartest. I hate, hate, HATE, when people are like that. It doesn't usually matter to me but I've consistently beat him grade-wise and now I feel as if I need to keep it up because he's kind of a jackass and he needs to take a chill pill.

Anyways, I may blog about why I think everyone (not just teens) should read YA literature (young adult) but my good intentions may fall to the wayside as I am reaching the final month of college.
If by chance, you want to just try a YA book on my suggestion that would be awesome!
I just read a thrilling murder-mystery that I started last night and finished today because it was so intense! It's called The Body Finder by Kimberley Derting.
If you want to read possibly my favorite author of YA right now (I love too many) then John Green's book Paper Towns is amazing and beautiful and hilarious. I didn't know what to do with myself after I finished reading it because I spent most of the time going "I'll never be able to write like this!! I should just quit now!!"

Anyways, those are suggestions that would be cool if someone actually took because I love talking about books with people. You can always ask me to lend you the books too! Cuz I haz them.

I also enjoy getting book suggestions...leave them in the comments??

End of the semester...finally

Helloooo everyone. Yes, I am fully aware that I have not written for months and months but to be honest. I haven't really done anything exciting. Well, that's not true but Senior year is proving to be the hardest year yet. You think they'd want you to have fun the last year before you have to grow up and get a job but as of right now...not so much. Well, I'm only a day a way from the end of the semester and I don't have to take any tests, just finish papers so I am very very happy. All I really have to do is finish my Senior Capstone on Ida B. Wells (which you are all invited to read if you'd like...though it'll be about twenty pages long and probably boring to you.) and a take home test from Russian History (Leon Trotsky..kinda my new favorite person) and then I'll be free to return to my home where my parents make me supper and I don't have to write about anything for two weeks. Grr.

Anyways...here are some pictures of events from this semester so that I don't have to write about them! Yay laziness!

Homecoming at Mick's (the Concordia hangout)


House picture



I'm not really sure what we're supposed to be doing here...but it's a funny picture nonetheless.


Roommate Thanksgiving Dinner...I'm carving my turkey.

Yeah, so that's all for now. I came up with another subject I wanted to blog about so I'll probably write another blog soon....hopefully.

Back to School for Senior year...eek!

So it turns out that when I'm not in a different country I don't have much to blog about. So after about two months I finally did something to blog about. I moved into my house this week! Yay, however, the previous tenants of our house decided that cleaning wasn't necessary when they left and my roommates didn't really feel the need to clean when we weren't all living there (there's six of us in all) so Monday was dedicated to cleaning our house. And clean we did...the whole day. and that didn't include our individual rooms that included our living room, kitchen and laundry room. It was disgusting but now we know whatever dirt is about it's our dirt.

Tomorrow is our first day of school and I'm kind of excited. I have a history filled semester and I loooooove history. I'm 21 now so I can safely go to parties without feeling as if the cops will burst in and give me a minor! I like getting a schedule again after months of not having one and if the weather is going to act like fall I might as well be back in school.

Well, that's about it. I have one last day of freedom and then off to homework and studying. I can't believe I'm going to have a degree after this year. Ahhh!

New Post New Post after...like two months.

Oops. So I guess I should probably tell everyone what I've been up to since I've returned from Norway.

Which hasn't been much to be honest.

I've read a lot of books (and just bought eleven new books).

I've worked a lot (at a job I wasn't going to work at but I need money so)

I turned 21!! Woop Woop!! (And apparently built up some sort of tolerance in Norway because I had a martini and five shots--starburst, chuck Norris, upside down pineapple, scooby snack, and a redheaded slut--who knew?)

Written around three or four chapters in my rewrite of my book (which is pretty good fyi)

I haven't gotten a tan.

I haven't been swimming that much.

I've only been to the lake twice.

I haven't printed my pictures from my semester abroad.

I haven't started researching for my History Capstone.

I haven't moved into my house.

But things have been pretty good

New Blog! Just for a few months

I will not be posting on this blog until...probably June because I'm in Norway!!

You can see my adventures in my new blog! adventuresinnorway.blogspot.com

Updating when there's no news

I was told to update my blog but unfortunately there isn't much to update on.
Christmas was fun. I got a lot of good gifts which is fun. New Years was...anti-climatic but I think that's what happens when you open at 6 that morning and go to sleep at 12:10. Whatever, Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper kept me entertained for two hours and Shannon and I watched a movie so that was fun. Not very wild, but what are you going to do.

We put Toby down yesterday because his ear tumor came back. Like you can imagine, it sucks. A lot. He was a good dog. Well, he wasn't so much his first year but he was so cute you could forgive him. After that he had naughty streaks that were pretty entertaining. So yeah, it sucks not having him around.

Preparations for Norway are under way. I'm trying to figure out how many books to pack. Everyone keeps telling me that I'm not going to have time for reading. Uh, yeah, I will. It's not like I'm going to pass up going to Oslo or something to read. I'm not that lame. But I need books. I do. I need them.

I had my last day at Ristreto on Saturday which was kind of boring though one of my coworkers got me a nice journal as a going away present which was very nice and unexpected.

In blog news, I may be getting a new blog specifically for Norway. I'll let you know when I set up a profile and where. One of my roommates used a travelblog site that made her blog into a nice glossy book when she got back which is pretty cool. So I might use that.

Uh, that's all for now. Sorry this wasn't more exciting or entertaining.

Christmas is Coming...Mallory's stressing out

Hello all.
The lesson of this week is procrastination.
Yes, I may be one of the best procrastinators of all time. I'm amazing at it. I rule at procrastination. If procrastination was actually a good thing I would have an awesome talent. Alas, it is not.
But I've written to teach you different ways to procrastinate if the need should arrive.

Several tactics you can use:
Watch TV (not very original)
Go on a reading spree (Nerdy yet not productive)
Decide to write stories for your three roommates instead of buying them presents (have only finished one)
Become obsessed with John Green author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. Proceed to watch the million and one videos said author and brother have made on youtube.
Join Nerdfighters where nerdiness brings more awesome into the world!!
Go to Twilight (...for the fourth time)
Make Puppychow for your roommates
Only do the homework that's due the next day right before you go to bed or get up early and do it then.

(Things I should be working on:
Revising my two stories, and writing my research paper for Advanced Fiction
Working on my News writing presentation on women journalists,
rewriting my article so that it doesn't suck so much for news writing. Buying Christmas presents, packing to move out of my apartment.)

These are just some of the procrastination skills I have employed this week. I hope you have learned something and go out and procrastinate like the master herself. i.e. ME!

Victorious

Well, our stupid state didn't turn blue. But apparently our county did! So there's that small victory. And the big one where we have a new president whom I can actually stand behind! Now all we have to do is get through this lame duck period and we'll be on our way.

As for news about me, well, I'm double majoring now in History and English. It may be a news to people outside of my immediate family but I have no clue what I'm doing with my life. I want to write and be a writer and get published, however, that doesn't pay the bills immediately. So I have to figure out if I want a career in something else. Should I be a professor? If so, in what? Literature, creative writing, history? (Yeah, I like history!). Or should I try to be in publishing? Or should I have a job that doesn't relate in any way to my majors? Should I have a job that just pays the bills so I can write but doesn't go anywhere?

You see my dilemma. I'm having a hard time with the last option just because I'm used to the idea of a career and getting a career and holding that career. It could take me years and years and years to get published and I don't think I want to get stuck in a job that sucks. So I'm going to the Career Center on campus to see if they'll tell me what to do with my life because right now I'm overwhelmed.
So I'll let you know when I know what the H I'm gonna do after graduation.

Shannon is sooo going to be annoyed with this entry. Oh and I'll post Halloween pictures soon too.

Dear Baby Jesus

I think you performed a little miracle down here. Our normally red state, always red, all the time, has turned a beautiful shade of blue. Now, I know it may not stay blue for three more weeks and I know it will turn back to red almost immediately after the elections but I am amazed by this turn of events all the same. I had to ask someone if I was dead because it seems to me this miracle would only happen if I were dead.

Hopefully, our little state will remain blue for a little while longer but if not, thank you, Jesus for allowing me to see the day when we turned from red to blue. I dream of one day being able to tell my grandchildren (or my future second cousin hooray!) that we were blue for one whole election...maybe the MOST important election. We shall have to wait and see.

Sometimes Days Can Be Sucky

And today was one of those days.
I don't want to get into what made the day bad but I can get into what made it better.
First, my sister. Cuz she knows the reaction I want to get.

Second, my old friend Robyn who I never hang out with came to hang out with me. We've known each other since eighth grade. That's a very long time at least for me.

Third, Enchanted, because it's a funny movie with good songs.

Fourth, Pride and Prejudice because it is a wonderful wonderful book and movie and it makes me happy everytime I watch it. It's my cry movie, my get-well movie, and my comfort movie. Yes, Mom and Dad, Spice World has been replaced but that's what happens when people get older. Their tastes mature and grow. There's only so many times I can watch the Spice Girls get into all their crazy shenanigans before I get tired. (That's not true. I could still watch it!)

The good thing that came from today: I realized that when people tell me I can't do something, I just get pissed and decide I'm going to do something. It's good to know I'm not discouraged that easily.

Word!

With my freeze ray I will stop the world

Oh Dr. Horrible....you complete me.

And on a separate note, I'm published!! Sorta.
I started writing book reviews for our campus newspaper and my first one came out today! Hooray! I'm not sure if anyone actually reads our school newspaper but they should because my review is amazing. Just trust me, it is. I wrote it on Ender's Game, one of my favorite books. You should read it if you haven't already. (Dad likes it, and Shannon likes it, and Mom liked it, and Elliott liked it) Get on the Ender's Game liking train people!!

In other news, I don't think I'm cut out to be a journalist. It's a different style of writing than I'm used to! I could spend waaaaay more time on a tiny paragraph (or even one sentence) than I do on any of my scholarly papers. Sheesh!

Sorry for the short post but I have European History soon. I have to go learn about Socrates and Plato (SOOOOO Boring).