How I rate a book

If I don't finish a book, I generally don't rate it; it feels unfair to do so since I haven't read the whole thing. 

I have never rated a book 1 star, that I can remember. Presumably any book I'd rate one star would be too badly-written, and I would hate it too much, to finish reading. 

Two stars ★★ : I disliked or hated this book and it was badly written. The last time I rated a book 2 stars was in 2016, and from my note it doesn't sound like I disliked it that much, just that it was "silly" and had writing that wasn't very good.

Two and a half stars ★★½ : I disliked or hated this book and it was not very well written. The last time I rated a book 2.5 stars was also in 2016, and I was surprisingly more vocal (as it were) about my dislike for the book: I called it junk. (Interestingly enough, I rated it even though I DNF'd it; I guess I felt I had read enough to give it a rating.)

Three stars ★★★ : I didn't really like this book, or liked it well enough but found aspects of the plot or writing lacking.

Three and a half stars ★★★½ : I liked this book well enough; it was fine. This is probably the most common rating.

Four stars ★★★★ : I really liked this book! Maybe I even loved it.

Four and a half stars ★★★★½ : I loved this book! It's not quite worthy of five stars though.

Five stars (the rarest) ★★★★★ : I LOVED this book and it blew my freaking mind!!!

Things that cost book ratings a half star: 

• not being very well-written 
• having a stupid plot point, such as an issue that would have been cleared up in five minutes had the characters had an actual conversation about it
• something happens that makes me angry
• being too sad
• being too scary 
• being too confusing 
• the villain/s do(es)n't get a (good enough) comeuppance
• the problem/s was solved too neatly/easily
• having typos or errors
• being wrong about something factually
• being wrong about something in my opinion (may or may not be factual)
• flat, boring, and/or unlikable characters, especially two-dimensional female characters
• a character being too perfect, a Mary Sue or Gary Stu (what's the nonbinary version of this? Ary Slu?)
• a shoehorned/unnecessary romance 
• a flat and/or boring romance 
• the ending is not happy (enough)
• the ending is happy(ish) but not enough to make up for all the horrors the characters went through 
• the author made characters zany or snarky or sad or grumpy etc. instead of actually giving them a personality
• specific things or concepts that annoy me (sexism, ableism, meddling, etc.)
• being too violent (without cause or just to be edgy)
• being too gory or gross 
• the author didn't do (enough) research into something in the book that I know about
• overuse of verbs and phrases (we've all read a book where somebody smirked a million times)
• a character complains too much, especially if it's the exact same complaint over and over 
• falling into tropes and/or stereotypes
• the book was too short and should have been longer/explored things more in depth 

Depending on how serious the offenses (lol) are, several can add up to cost the rating a half star, or one or more stars. A lot of this depends on my mood and how annoyed it made me. Like a lot of readers, my star ratings are based on vibes.

Ideally I would be able to use a half star symbol, but when I try it's just a weird box. Bring back the half star, Blogger! >:( 

Times it is appropriate to decorate/advertise for holidays

 New Year's Eve/Day

The day of New Year's Eve, if desired. Stores may begin advertising their New Year's Eve decorations on December 20.

Valentine's Day

February 1. The holiday occurs in the middle of the month; that is enough time.

St. Patrick's Day

March 1. Ditto.

Easter

March 18. This one is tricky because Easter floats around on the calendar, so to speak. 

Cinco de Mayo

I actually do not want anyone who isn't Mexican to celebrate this day. It is a thinly-veiled excuse to get hammered and act racist. Celebrating by listening to Mexican music and/or dining at local Mexican-owned restaurants is fine for everyone. Do not celebrate, decorate, or advertise by committing cultural appropriation. Advertising may begin on April 20, but NO ALCOHOL ADVERTISING. Not even Mexican alcohol.

Mother's Day 

May 1, although I don't think anyone actually decorates for this (unless you are having a mother's day party, in which case, the day before or day of is fine). Advertising: April 20. 

Father's Day

May 20 (advertising). No one really decorates for Father's Day. 

Independence Day (Fourth of July) 

Decorating: the last week of June. Advertising: the day after Father's Day.

Halloween

Both decorating and advertising can begin no earlier than October 1. The holiday is at the end of the month; there is no need to decorate or advertise for Halloween in September. Generic fall decorations may be used from September 1 through November 30; explicitly Halloween/spooky-themed decorations must be taken down the first week of November (thanks to Día de los Muertos). A loophole exists thanks to The Nightmare Before Christmas movie; decorate your house with decorations from or inspired by the movie, and it can do double duty for Halloween and Christmas. I don't really like or approve of this, however.

Thanksgiving

Decorating: November 1 for explicitly Thanksgiving-themed decorations (generic fall decorations may be used from September 1 through November 30). Advertising: November 1.

Christmas

Decorating: the day AFTER Thanksgiving is fine, for your personal home. December 1 is preferred. November 1 is NOT acceptable; let fall and Thanksgiving have its due. I wish people would stop acting like people who hold fast to the no-Xmas-decorating-until-after-Thanksgiving rule are joyless fun-suckers; we are merely temperate, principled people who know the value of keeping holidays in their rightful place. Advertising: I don't want to see a single fucking Xmas tree/Santa/present/reindeer/snowperson or hear a single bleeding carol until December 1. I don't give a shit about Black Friday or your bottom line. Everybody knows when Christmas is and when and how to buy Christmas decorations and presents. Advertising interference is not needed. Every year a local radio station starts playing Christmas carols earlier and earlier; last year I emitted a howl of rage when I turned on the radio station on November 15 (NOVEMBER FIFTEEN!!!) to hear fucking Jingle Bells. The madness needs to stop. 

"The Day After Thanksgiving" by Brandon Heath

Christmas decorations can stay up until January 6, Ephiphany/Three Kings' Day.

Pet peeves at work

I wrote this ages ago, well before the pandemic. I haven't worked in person in a regular way at the library for well over a year. We're supposed to start working in-person again in September, which I'm both looking forward to and dreading. Anyway, enjoy.

• when I'm sitting at the reference desk and someone asks for another librarian 
• what am I, chopped liver?!?
• when no one takes me seriously, including students, because I look like a student
• when someone I've been helping with research in the archives asks another librarian for help
• and they totally know I could help them so it's clear they don't want me
• and my colleague doesn't know I've helped them previously so *she* dives into the archives to look for stuff that I totally could've looked for and found 
• and that's very nice of her but it feels like she's doing my job for me, plus I feel guilty since she's already so busy
• and I'm mad at the scholar for going over my head
• especially since it's something they never even asked me for help with!!!
• when people expect me to have an encyclopedic knowledge of eeeeeeeverything in the library. like lol yeah right
• but it bugs me because I also kind of feel like I should know everything we have
• when instructors ask us to do a library visit/instruction session with their class the week of, or, God forbid, the day before their class meets, especially during the busy season
• like yes, we were just totally sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting for you, this won't inconvenience us at all
• when people dump their crap donate items to us that we totally already have 1000 copies of, but by all means, give us your old junk
• when people assume they can just waltz into the special collections and riffle through our archival holdings themselves. Oh did you go to library school? No? Then you can't. 
• relatedly: when patrons want to access something in the archives and the other librarians just... let them into the off-limits-to-patrons room without even checking with me!!!
• when people LICK THEIR FINGERS to turn pages, especially of archival items!!! *shudder*
• when people bring food and drinks into the special collections reading room even though I specifically told them not to. You're not special and our rules do apply to you.
• gods just remembering that time a girl put a FRESH PEELED COCONUT on an ARCHIVAL BOX and it left a WET STAIN on it still gives me rage of the librarian variety. I'm having angina just thinking about it
• when I have to be at work for something first thing in the morning right after I've worked a night shift
• when people studying in the library don't throw away their trash or clean up crumbs, etc. ESTE NO ES UN HOTEL!
• when people studying in the library don't turn off the lamps they've been using when they leave and then I have to because no one else cares
• when someone comes to talk to me at the reference desk but they stand at the side of the desk instead of coming to the front of the desk in front of me like a normal person, even though there's no one there. like wtf???
• when my coworkers send out passive aggressive emails that are totally aimed at me
• when people are suuuuper slow to leave at closing time. Like I've already rung the buzzer and flicked the lights on and off and told you personally that we're closing. This isn't a store or restaurant where they close the doors but let you hang out for longer, just LEAVE already. 
• shoutout to the patron who kept trying to have a conversation with me ten minutes after closing time in the face of my repeatedly telling her we were closed and she had to leave 
• 
• also shoutout to the patron, who when I straight up told him we were closing and he needed to leave, asked me if he could have a couple minutes more. *John Mulaney voice and face* NO!
• when people ask me "are you busy?" at the reference desk. Yes, I am busy, I have specifically chosen to work here on this very public desk in the library labeled "REFERENCE DESK" where other librarians have helped you before/which is where your instructor told you to go get research help on my own personal project, it's not like the main/most important thing in the library is helping patrons or anything, I'm definitely going to turn you away
• like honestly I'm just social media-ing in the times between helping people 
• forreal dude just roll up and ask me your question
• when I see a student hovering near the desk while I'm already helping someone and I say "do you have a quick question?" and the student says "yes, I need help with [finding sources for their paper, something that is going to take at least fifteen minutes and for which they are definitely going to have to wait for me to be finished with the student I'm currently helping, obviously, don't play]"
• when a student asks me if we have a certain book. I realize this is very standard in libraries, but these are Gen Z students who absolutely know how to use the internet, there is no way they don't know about the library catalog because we make all freshmen do a library scavenger hunt and/or we've personally demonstrated how to look up books and articles in their classes, just go to the library website and click on Library Catalog, my dude
• I don't typically mind this but it's annoying when I'm helping someone else with a real research question
• when students walk allll the way from the back of the room where the printers are to the reference desk at the front of the room to ask for help with some tech problem when they could have just asked the computer lab worker, who is situated at the middle of the room in an obvious separate desk, for help
• when I catch students getting physical in the study rooms. Gross. Like hello, these are STUDY rooms, do not "get a room" here. ESTE NO ES UN HOTEL! 
• the same goes for couples getting cozy on our giant bean bag. Like do you want to have to tell the admin assistant you got body fluids on the bean bag? Because I'm not going to be the one to do that, lovebirds.
• when students are loud
• when the printers don't work
• when the student workers get too comfortable and treat their shifts like a social hour or study time only. You're here to work, so even if there's not a whole lot for you to do, look around and see if anyone at the printers looks like they need help, computer worker
• when people (especially student workers, who should know better) listen to music or videos without headphones, or when they have the headphones but the audio is WAY TOO LOUD and the sound is still very audible
• when the wifi doesn't work, which is MOST OF THE TIME!!! This is a UNIVERSITY and a UNIVERSITY LIBRARY besides!! Students come here to study!! Like WTF!!!
• when I contact IT about this and they're like hurr durr we can't do anything
• when it's too cold or hot
• and we don't even have control over the temperature in our own library!!! Freaking physical plant department does, and of course they can't be arsed
• when people ask me for stuff with a very "you're The Help and I'm your boss" kind of energy
• you know, like this is The Devil Wears Prada and they're Meryl Streep and I'm Anne Hathaway. Just like spiritually/mentally flinging their designer coat into my face
• Like obviously I'm going to help you! That is my job! I just don't like them putting on classist airs about it
• obviously all of the typical librarian and archivist pet peeves apply too 
• when people ask me for things they've already asked me for, especially if it's something I had to work to get, such as a thesis from an obscure part of the archives area. Like did you not read the email I sent you? We've been over this? Hello?
• when people come talk to me for no reason (depends on my mood). If it's not information based, I don't know how to handle conversations, and you're wasting my time and the time of anyone waiting for me to be available for questions.
• I'm especially thinking of white baby boomer men. White baby boomer men are soooo annoying because they think they are so charming and funny, and they usually aren't. I hate the stupid jokes they make. I'm a huge target for them at that front-facing desk, as any young woman in the service industries knows.
• when someone incredibly technologically ignorant is trying to do something at the computers and keeps asking me questions about the simplest things. I know it's not their fault but it's still annoying to me. Like ma'am, you should know how to how to use email if you're in college/applying for a job. I especially dislike when they ask me for help every 30-60 seconds and make me get up from my desk every time instead of just admitting they're going to need my help for every single step of the way and can I please sit with them and help them. Like let's be real here.

Daily routines I'm trying to develop

• drinking green tea every morning from a cute mug, using my adorable little lavender kettle to heat up the water for the aesthetic
• ripping off yesterday's sheet in my book-themed one-a-day calendar
• getting dressed instead of staying in my pajamas all day
• checking my Outlook inbox and dealing with emails instead of letting them pile up (I am absolutely letting my Gmail emails pile up)
• sitting at my desk to work from home
• eating salad for lunch/dinner 
• doing something creative, whether it's making a friendship bracelet, rearranging furniture, or reading a book
• lighting a candle in the evening
• doing my nighttime skincare routine
• journaling (ideally long-form but at least in my 5 year, 1 line a day journal)
• moisturizing my feet and using pillow spray before bed

Things I miss from my old apartment

not to scale rendering of the kitchen/living area. bedroom & bathroom not included.
imagine there are kitchen cabinets above the counters I've shown here

• My kitchen, which had roughly four times more counter space and kitchen cabinets as my current one, as well as a neat little nook for my trash can so it didn't stick out like a sore thumb. One side of it was a long countertop which served as a table & was fantastic for baking/cooking. I really miss that kitchen.
• My walk-in closet. It was this little cube off my bedroom that was like four or five feet square, which doesn't sound like a lot, but the use of space was so economical. There was a rack on each side, with a flat shelf on top that I put my sweaters on. I now technically have two little closets, but there's a lot of wasted space due to my house's weird shape & design choices. My current closets are too short to have a top shelf above the top racks. 
• My hall closet, which was small but fit a lot of things. It had one tall open space for a broom/mop, and the rest was partitioned off into shelves 10-12 inches apart & square. I have no storage area whatsoever in my current house. There is a metal garden shed next to my house for my use, but it's rusty and creepy and full of spiderwebs and really hard to open. 
• the turnaround time for things to be fixed. I got to know my apartment's handyman pretty well. It takes forever for my super to send somebody to fix my stuff, unless they might be in liability (aka that one time my carbon monoxide alarm needed a new battery and they thought I meant my smoke alarm). 
• My electric stove, which was sleeker and easier to clean (not to mention safer) than my current gas stove.
• the fact that I lived near families and got to see other people's holiday decorations and had children come trick or treating every Halloween. Every weeknight at 7 pm or so a child from the family who lived below me used to practice their trombone. My house is in a secluded place where I just have like 20 feet of empty land surrounding my house in two directions and 12 in another. It's pretty isolated and has kind of a neglected air, despite my best efforts. If any children go trick or treating on my street, they are too scared to approach my house. I don't miss the noise or my former neighbor's cigarette smoke or having to watch the amount of noise I made, though. 

Websites I used to do a lot of shopping at until they turned out to be owned by evil entities

1. Forever 21 (sweatshop labor, Christian hypocrisy)
2. Modcloth (owned by Walmart)
3. Amazon (human rights abuses)
4. H&M (sweatshop labor)
5. Wayfair (made money by selling furniture to the concentration camps where ICE dumps the people they kidnapped)
6. In N Out (gave money to the Republican party in the California elections)
7. I still shop there occasionally but JC Penney's, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Macy's have all been racist to employees/customers of color at one point or another
8. I cancelled my UCLA Visa because it was facilitated by a bank that funded pipelines, and have not signed up for Ulta or Barnes & Noble credit cards for the same reason.

My perfumes: rollerballs and purse sprays

I mentioned in my previous post in this series that I was inspired to write about my perfumes after watching KathleenLights' perfume collection video. However, I own too much perfume to put it all in one post, so I decided to write about my full-sized perfumes first, and then write this post about my rollerballs and purse sprays. These are a longish glass tube, usually the circumference of a dime or less, that look like this. Mini rollerballs are roughly the same diameter, but a much shorter cylinder. The reason I have so many is because many of them were free gifts with purchase, plus rollerballs and purse sprays are much cheaper than full-sized perfume bottles.

Coty Exclamation Blush - This is the OG. A cousin of my mom's gave me this little perfume bottle for my 10th birthday. I LOVED it. As a nod to the name, the bottle is shaped like a fat exclamation mark, with the bottle as the point and the cap as the top part of the !. The bottle is frosted glass, and it made me feel so grown up. I still have it, although it has definitely gone bad. I remember it smelling girly and baby powder-y. I put this in the purse sprays category because it's too small to be full-sized.

Vera Wang Princess - I have already written at great length about my love of this perfume. I use the rollerball a lot and it has somehow not gone bad (it's pretty old but not as old as the big spray). I also have a mini rollerball that I take in my traveling makeup bag, but the ball part is broken.

I bought this trio of Clinique Happy rollerballs that came with three Pop Lip Colour lipsticks in a cute tin box.  I love the tin but I keep forgetting to use these perfumes.

Clinique Happy - This is one of my favorite perfumes of all time. This citrus perfume smells like oranges and high school to me. Instant summer and instant happiness. My mom and sister and I used to shop at the high-end makeup counters at Macy's when they had their free gifts with purchase promotions, and we got a lot of good makeup and perfume deluxe samples that way. I loved that tiny bottle, which had an orange plastic cap. I now have a purse spray tube and a small rectangular bottle. I should start using this again now that it's spring.

Clinique Happy Heart - This was in the set with Happy and Happy in Bloom, both as mini perfume bottles and as the purse sprays I have now. This smells much more floral than Happy, but it's definitely related. Now that I think about it, I had the mini bottle of Happy Heart, while my sister had the mini bottle of Happy (we shared stuff all the time though). Happy Heart's cap was flamingo pink.

Clinique Happy in Bloom - I think this one is a newer scent? This is the third purse spray in the Clinique perfume set. This smells like Happy but with more floral. I honestly cannot tell the difference between this and Happy Heart.

I bought this set of Clean small rollerball perfumes from Ulta for $10. Tbh I wouldn't really recommend them. I hardly wear them, as they are all rather odd scents.

Clean Air - I like this one the best, I think, but I can't really describe it.

Clean Rain - I have no idea why but this smells almost exactly like Clinique Happy, despite not having any citrus notes whatsoever. So weird.

Clean Skin - This one smells like flowery baby powder, the kind old ladies use in their toilette.

Clean Blossom - This also smells like old lady flowery baby powder, but with more floral. This is probably the closest one to regular perfume.

Clean Warm Cotton - this smells exactly like laundry detergent. Disgusting. I'm trying to sell it on eBay but no one wants to buy it.

I bought this trio of Tocca purse sprays from Sephora. Tocca perfumes are so lovely and feminine. Unfortunately Tocca makes me think of toca, which is the Spanish word for touch, which is odd for perfumes.

Tocca Giulietta - smells a little bit like fancy floral soap, with amber underneath. Sweet and feminine.

Tocca Stella - haven't tried this one yet but I'm sure it smells amazing.

Tocca Florence - idk why but this smells exactly like jasmine despite not having that ingredient.

I have almost all of the Pacifica rollerball perfumes, not counting their more expensive crystal ones. They all smell amazing and have gorgeous packaging. Most of them have a little heart on the inside of the flap you pull up to open the box that says "you are so beautiful", which I think is very sweet. These are my most-used fragrances, because I am afraid to use too much perfume and rollerballs give you the perfect amount. Plus you can just grab one and swipe it on. 

Pacifica Sugared Amber Dreams - I bought this because it has little unicorns all over it. The scent sounded delicious, and it does smell like frosting, but unfortunately it's cloying and doesn't last very long. At least the packaging is cute.

Pacifica French Lilac - This smells so good, exactly like lilacs. The packaging box is really cute; it's lilac-colored with little lilac flowers all over it. This is one of my most-used rollerballs.

Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava - This smells so delicious! So summery and fruity and yummy. I'm Latina so I love guayaba-flavored/scented things. Love this one for summer.

Pacifica Persian Rose - This smells exactly like you're burying your nose in a rose. (I'm a poet and I wasn't even aware!) Gorgeous scent. I also use this one a lot.

Pacifica Island Vanilla - This scent is nearly indistinguishable from Sugared Amber Dreams. It is a tad less cloying, and is more vanilla-y, but that's it.

Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom - This one smells delicious, like a lemon dessert. I love that it's citrus but doesn't rely on orange or grapefruit. There should be more lemon perfumes! Whenever I see this perfume, this song starts playing in my head. I like this one for spring and summer.

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange - This one also smells delicious, like a real orange instead of a perfume orange, if that makes sense. I like references to Tuscany and Italy because I lived there for a month, and I love oranges because I'm from the IE.

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia - This smells exactly like gardenia blossoms, heady and gorgeous. Love this one for spring.

Disney Snow White Wishing Well - This rollerball came in a really cute cardboard tube package that is illustrated in a Snow White style, and the frosted glass tube has gorgeous SW designs as well. I bought it because Snow White is my secondary Disney Princess (I'm very pale and have dark brown hair), plus the packaging is so cute. It has a tiny gold apple charm. It smells like very sweet artificial apple.

Disney Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Beauty - This is the same kind of rollerball and packaging as above, but of course with B&tB packaging. It has a tiny bronze mirror charm, like the enchanted mirror in the movie. Cute rose packaging as well. It surprisingly does not smell much at all like rose; it's a sweet slightly floral scent. Belle is my primary Disney Princess, in case you were wondering.

Kensie - this is a medium-sized purse spray that I got from an Ipsy or Boxycharm box. I haven't tried it yet.

Demeter Perfume Oil in Paperback - I had to buy this one because it's supposed to smell like a paperback book. It kind of does? It smells cozy and comforting. I have to smell this again. Unfortunately it's very oily on the outside of the bottle for some reason. This is a mini squared rollerball.

Nest Black Tulip - This one smells nice, although not as floral as one would think. The packaging for all the Nest fragrances are sumptuous illustrations of flowers and plants, very pretty. Mini squared rollerball.

Nest Indigo - This one smells really good, a bit heady. Mini squared rollerball.

Blossom Honey Jasmine - I bought this perfume oil rollerball because it has dried flowers floating in the bottle and it looks really cute. It smells sweet, more like candy than flowers. 

Addison & Gates Fleur d'Osmanthus - I got this as a bridesmaids gift from my future sister-in-law. The packaging is very reminiscent of Art Deco and stained glass windows, especially the ones from the Beauty and the Beast castle, with lots of roses. It's a floral perfume and it smells really nice, kind of musky and feminine.

Carolina Herrera Good Girl - I think this is the original Good Girl perfume. This perfume is so sexy and smells amazing. The rollerball was a free gift with purchase and came in a velvet slip cover.

My perfumes: full-sized

I just watched YouTuber KathleenLights' perfumes video, where she lists and describes all of the perfumes she currently has, and it inspired me to do the same. I will be sticking to just the full-sized perfumes that I have in this post, as Kathleen stuck to her full-sized perfumes in her vlog.

Vera Wang Princess - As a teen, I spotted this perfume in a magazine's spring giveaways calendar and instantly knew I wanted to win it more than I wanted anything else.  I sent the magazine an entry email, begging them to choose me for the giveaway. My pleas must have worked, as I won it! Sadly, the perfume has gone bad, despite my keeping it in my fridge for the last 2 years, but I still have it. The bottle is shaped like a heart-cut jewel, the cap is a gold crown inset with purple stones, and the perfume is lilac-colored. It even comes with a removable, wearable ring! No perfume more *me* has ever existed. This is my favorite perfume ever, due mostly to the packaging. It also smelled very nice, with notes of flowers I like and chocolate. There have been several other Princess perfumes with different themes, but I haven't ever felt motivated to try them out (the pink one with the silver crown cap comes closest). I may repurchase VW Princess if I come across it in Marshall's or something for a good price.



Animale Chaleur d'Animale - This was a gift from one of my uncles and aunts when I was in high school. The smell was a good mix of citrus, floral and metallic, and it made me feel grown up. The cylindrical bottle has a giraffe-spotted cap and an attached metal manacle with a short dangling chain, due to its animal theme (I think the name means Animal Heat). Probably not the most appropriate for a young girl, but oh well. I think I still have this but should find out how to get rid of it, since it's gone bad. I believe this perfume has been discontinued.



J. Del Pozo Halloween - This is a medium-sized perfume that was part of a gift set that my uncles had given my grandma. It's purple, so I got it when she passed away. I don't know what happened to the lotion and body wash, but I don't use perfumed stuff like that anyway. This is floral and very cloying. It's in my house somewhere; I last used it to spray down my doorway in hopes that would keep bugs from coming into my house. I'm not sure why it's called Halloween; there's nothing Halloween-y about it. I'm going to get rid of it since I'm pretty sure it's gone bad. I think this perfume is discontinued as well.



Cartier Baiser Vole - My dad gave me this perfume. It was a perfume that my grandmother's older sisters wore, and she would "borrow" it from them as a girl. My grandaunt had asked my dad to buy this for her and the bottle arrived after he left for Mexico, so he bought another in person and gave the online purchased perfume to my sister, then bought me one as well so we could both have this nostalgic family perfume. The bottle is very classy and rounded, but unfortunately this perfume just smells metallic on me. I still use it every so often when I want to wear something that is fancy and clean but not floral or citrusy. There are a thousand versions of this but I think I have the original one. The name means "stolen kiss", which, hello, consent.



Clinique My Happy: Cocoa and Cashmere - I think these are supposed to be spinoffs of Clinique's iconic Happy (my favorite Clinique scent). I got this one because it was purple and I wanted to get a free gift with purchase. It smells nice but is not really the type of scent I like (and unfortunately it doesn't smell like chocolate). I need to try this more. I do like the bottle, very slim and elegant and a lovely shade of purple. It feels small for the price, but perfume is expensive so it probably technically isn't.



Bebe Bebe Starlet - I bought this one at Marshall's because the bottle is purple and shaped like a heart, my perfume weakness. It's cute and smells nice and was a decent price. I have 3 other Bebe heart perfumes, the mini versions that came as a trio. The star charm on mine doesn't have rhinestones. I think this perfume is technically discontinued as well, due to Bebe being a very 2000s brand.



Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Twinkle - Few other perfumes after VW Princess have made my heart beat the way this and its purple sisters did. As I am not made of money, I couldn't buy them all, so I chose this one because the bottle is the cutest (I had a coupon code). It smells really nice, although if I spray it at close range on my arm it smells like cat pee, at least initially. But I think the cat pee smell is avoided if I spray, delay, walk away. Does anyone know why all of the Daisy perfumes have such similar names? It's confusing. This perfume was limited edition so it's no longer available through Ulta or Sephora or even the Marc Jacobs website, sniff.


Yves Rocher Apricot - I completely forgot about this one because I keep in the fridge to keep it from going bad, as it's such a season-specific scent. This is a really nice smelling apricot perfume that was a gift from my aunt a few years back. It's such a great summery scent, and it's from a natural brand. Unfortunately this perfume is discontinued.

Types of skincare routines I have

The ideal, super long skincare routine where it's the night before but at least an hour before my bedtime, so I can take as long as I want without cutting into my sleeping hours

1. Remove eye makeup with 1-2 Almay Oil-Free Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Pads
2. Remove face makeup by either washing with my Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil, or by using e.l.f. micellar water and a cotton round
3. Wash face with Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
4. Tone with this knockoff of Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 that I found at the dollar store, or with First Aid Beauty's Facial Radiance Pads. ALTERNATIVE: face mask
5. Apply Neogen Dermatology White Truffle Serum in Oil Drop that I got from a free gift with purchase set all over my face, neck and chest except for my eyelids since I got a blocked pore there once after using it there (I skip this step if I used a moisturizing face mask)
6. Roll this overpriced jade roller that squeaks all over my face as directed to help the serum soak into my face
7. Apply eye cream to undereye areas and eyelids. Currently I'm using a sample of Clinique's Pep Start Eye cream
8. Apply face moisturizer. Currently I'm using a sample of First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Cream on my face, and CeraVe's Moisurizing Cream for normal to dry skin on my neck and chest 
9. I've started using Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion on my pimples, but I'm not sure where it fits in this skincare routine
10. Apply Rimmel lash serum

The usual skincare routine that I do like 10-15 minutes before bed

1. Remove eye makeup with the Almay eye makeup remover pads. If I've only worn eyeliner that day, use the 2 sides of 1 pad, 1 for each eye. (Skip this step if it's 10 minutes before bed)
2. Remove face (and eye) makeup with face/makeup wipes. Currently using Pacifica Rose Water Makeup Removing Wipes. 
3. Wash face with the Neutrogena ultra gentle hydrating cleanser. 
4. Apply eye cream.
5. Apply face cream to face, neck and chest. 
6. Carefully wipe moisturizer from pimples and apply drying lotion.

The skincare routine I do if I have 5 minutes before bed

1. Remove all makeup with makeup remover wipe.
2. Wash face with face wash
3. Apply eye cream.
4. Apply moisturizer.

The skincare routine I do if I have 1 minute before bed

1. Face wipe
2. Rinse face with water
3. Eye cream
4. Moisturizer

The skincare routine I do if I haven't put on any makeup or sunscreen that day

• Nothing, or, just moisturizer and eye cream

The skincare routine I do when I'm staying the night at my parents' house

1. Remove eye makeup with baby oil and 1-2 cotton rounds
2. Remove face makeup with No7 makeup remover and a cotton round
3. Wash face with Clinique facial soap bar
4. Apply Neutrogena Eye Cream
5. Apply face moisturizer. Currently it's Clinique Pep-Start Hydroblur Moisturizer

The skincare routine I do when I'm traveling

1. Try to remove eye makeup with e.l.f. eye makeup wipes that I have to dampen with water because they've dried out. Give up.
2. Remove makeup etc. from face with makeup wipes
3. Wash face using face wash sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag
4. Apply eye cream from the sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag
5. Apply moisturizer from the sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag

I was in the bathroom when they handed out...

1. social skills
2. sex appeal
3. puberty
4. regular-sized foreheads
5. athletic ability
6. good balance
7. self control
8. the knowledge of what to do in social situations
9. good, even teeth
10. the ability to make friends without some sort of scaffolding such as school
11. melanin
12. confidence
13. mental fortitude
14. math skills (higher than simple algebra)
15. decisiveness
16. perseverance
17. energy
18. the desire, knowledge, and ability to network
19. the appeal, knowledge, and ability to date
20. courage

Pantone's Colors of the Year 2008-2019, ranked

This is extremely subjective.

1. Ultra Violet, 2018: sick name, gorgeous color, evocative of royalty, not too bright or too blue/red, perfect. Yes, this is my favorite color; what about it?
2. Radiant Orchid, 2014: bright, cheerful, the color of the most expensive and exotic flowers, unfussy, unprecious, not overused, my second-favorite color.
3. Blue Iris, 2008: The color in the header image does not reflect this shade at all. It's a purplish blue, like a dark periwinkle. Literally the color of blue irises, one of my favorite flowers.
4. Turquoise, 2010: such a fun, bright cheerful color. So pleasant and versatile. Hard not to feel better when you look at it.
5. Emerald, 2013: rich, opulent green. Bold but replenishing, deep yet uplifting . Use it for jungle, forest, tribal, Victorian, just about any type of look. 
6. Living Coral, 2019: maybe it's the influence of the #rainbowlife Instagrammers I follow, but I actually like this color. Bright, summery and sunny but girly and fun rather than an eyesore. 
7. Tangerine Tango, 2012: girl, this is red. I just googled the shade name and the actual Tangerine Tango is like Living Coral but with more red. It's nice, whatever. 
8. Greenery, 2017: this is fine. The curtains my father chose for the bedroom I sleep in when I visit my parents is this color. Anyone suddenly craving fresh Granny Smith apples?
9. Serenity, 2016: aka the "It's a Boy!" color. snooze (although I guess that's the point)
10. Rose Quartz, 2016: wait, they chose both these colors for 2016? Baby blue AND baby pink? Did they not see the unfortunate baby shower implications? Like it is a pretty color, and millennial pink was/is a huge thing, but still. Pick a side!
11. Marsala, 2015: this is actually the prettiest brown I've ever seen, but it's nearly invisible next to all these other colors. The color in the image above doesn't represent it well at all.
12. Honeysuckle, 2011: it's Barbie, bitch. I googled it and while some varieties of honeysuckle are bright pink, none are as bright as this color (I think). 
13. Mimosa, 2009: all I see is mustard, and mustard is gross.

Storage hacks that suck

I live in a very small house (I hesitate to call it a tiny house because those are smaller), so I am always looking out for ideas to maximize space, usually on Pinterest. I've read the vast majority of the hacks out there, and many of them are useless due to the way my house is set up. Here's what I mean:

1. Hang organizers from your doors! I have exactly two doors in my house. One is the front door, and one is the bathroom door. I am loath to hang organizers on either. It would look weird on the front door, and I have never seen or heard of anyone putting organizers on their front door. There is a towel rack attached to the back (inside) of my bathroom door, as well as some hooks, keeping me from putting a hanging organizer there. I also think it would look weird to put it on the outward side of the door, since guests (and anyone who looks through the windows) will see it. Such is my dire need of places to store my shoes that I would consider putting an over the door organizer on my bathroom door anyway, except for the main reason: these organizers always come with thick metal square hooks to hang them from the top of the door. These are always too thick to let you close the door properly, because whoever first came up with them did so in a time in which all doors had a 1/4 inch gap all around (I'm guessing) and no one has changed the dimensions since, even though now the gaps are 1/8th of an inch or less. I live alone and don't mind having the door ajar when I use the restroom, but it's awkward when guests come over. I had an over the door organizer on my bathroom door in my last apartment, and when my private father needed to use the restroom, he forced it closed and ripped twin chunks from the door frame. I was worried I wouldn't get my deposit back, but luckily the landlord didn't look up. As you can see I don't want to go through that again. Plus a non-ugly shoe organizer/rack is hard to find unless you want to spend a lot of money, which I never do. I have two closets, but they have heavy folding doors with handle pulls right in the middle of the narrow panels. It's a nightmare. 
2. Store things under your bed! Listen, my bed is approximately two centimeters from the floor. It is a nice-enough modern bed with squat plastic feet and a padded headboard that is so short it is blocked by my pillow, since I have a box spring and a mattress and I think the manufacturers assumed everyone would just use a mattress. Use bed raisers! Pinterest yells at me. My bed's squat plastic feet? Are shaped like rectangles on their sides. All bed raisers are built for round or square bed feet, even though low-slung beds have been having a moment for some years and you'd think someone would get a lightbulb over their head and make bed raisers for rectangular feet. But no, I am doomed to have (four centimeters of) wasted space under there. I briefly thought of resting the feet (plus the hidden one in the middle) on cement blocks, but what if the legs slipped off? I don't know how to make that stable. Oh, how I wish I hadn't been seduced by the low price and padded headboard and bought a bed that was actually high enough to slide my under the bed rolling organizer under. I actually wish I had had the brains to buy a storage bed with drawers underneath and a bookcase for a headboard. That would have been ideal. 
3. Hang organizers/pot lids on the inside of your kitchen cabinet doors! Do none of you have shelves in the middle of your cabinets that go all the way to the front of the cabinet? There is just not enough space there. 
4. Store dishes and pot lids vertically, or on a stacking organizer! Use shelf risers! Again, shelves in the middle of all but my below the sink cabinets. I guess I could try taking the shelf off its supports in one of my bigger cabinets, but it sounds like a pain. 
5. Use the wasted space above your doors! My ceilings are incredibly low. I can just reach up and touch the ceiling downstairs without any effort, and I've whacked the upstairs ceiling several times when taking my shirt off over my head. I think it's 6.25 feet high, and maybe 6.5 feet high downstairs. There is no space above the doorways, let alone wasted space.
6. Any kind of modification that requires actual construction: this is a rental??? I mean I wish I could install a tiny broom closet between the studs of my house, or build under-stairs shelves that you can pull out, or hang cubbies on the wall. I'm not even supposed to be using that many pushpins for my pictures. 
7. Use an old chest or trunk as a coffee table! My "living room" area is so small I can't have any coffee table at all. I have one ottoman and it's against the foot of my lounge.
8. Use the dead space behind doors! See #1. Also, my doors don't have that kind of dead space behind them. 
9. Install shelves or rails below your kitchen cabinets! Low ceilings strike again. I have narrow counters as well. 
10. This is not an impossibility, but I kind of hate articles that suggest you get all-new furniture. What do I look like, a Vanderbilt? I have half a dozen chests of drawers from 2 different childhood bedroom sets as well as the childhood bedroom set of a cousin's cousin (hand-me-down squared!). My chaise lounge and plastic storage drawer unit were inherited from my grandma, my table and chairs from my best friend when she moved, and my garment rack from my parents or my sister. The only new furniture pieces are my bed, my bookshelves, my other plastic drawer units and my kitchen cart, all of which were scooped at low prices. Do I look like I have money to buy all-clear furniture, or furniture with hairpin legs? What I get is what I have. 

Anyway. I'll stick to trying to wring as much storage space out of my tiny weird closets as I can. Share any tips you have in the comments.

random: Michelle's Very Productive Sunday

I don't feel like writing a book review, but I wanted to talk about my day yesterday. I often have low energy due to a medical condition, so it's not unusual to be loved by anyone to spend an entire weekend just sitting on my couch watching Amazon Prime videos since I don't have the energy to run errands or clean. However, yesterday was a high energy day, and I was able to accomplish several things:

1. I washed all the dishes in the sink! Well, there's still a few things, but they're of the "this just needs a cursory wash" variety. I've been known to leave dirty dishes filled with water until interesting mold colonies grow in them. I don't believe in drying dishes by hand, so I put them in the dish rack to drip/air dry.
2. I filled my morning pillbox. This is not a big task but I've been known to neglect it. 
3. I organized and rearranged my bathroom counter! I had been procrastinating on crocheting a suitable hemp cord to hang a card catalog drawer on my wall in order to store some of my hair products. I had bought the drawer (it's not really a drawer for a card catalog since there are oval holes bored into each side and no iconic drawer pull/placard situation, but it is related to card catalogs in some way) at my school's library book sale...in Spring 2017. Yes, a year ago. On Friday I finished crocheting and braiding the hemp cord, then strung it through the drawer's holes and hung it from the Command hooks I'd stuck to the bathroom wall shortly after I bought the drawer last year. Then on Sunday, I removed almost everything from my bathroom counter, which you almost couldn't see through the mess, then put everything back in an orderly way. My hair products didn't end up fitting in the drawer due to the hemp cord having to go exactly through the middle to keep the drawer from tipping, so I filled it with smaller thinner things like my glasses cases and sample skin/hair care packets. I put most of my hair products in the shower organizer hung on the opposite wall. I had purchased a fancy oval engraved metal tray from Dollar Tree (it looks SO much more expensive than it is) to organize my bathroom counter in a pretty way, and I put my face products and most-used hair products in it. I also put things in drawers and wherever they are supposed to go, instead of letting them sit on my bathroom counter. I'm very pleased with how everything turned out!
4. I put away the folded clean clothes I had left sitting in my clothes hamper for weeks. Whenever my hamper is full, I take it to my parents' house to use their washer and dryer, then put the clean clothes in the hamper to bring them back to my place. When I leave the clothes there instead of putting them away, though, I don't have anywhere to put my dirty laundry and I end up heaping it on the ground where the hamper usually goes. My hamper is filled with dirty clothes now, so it looks like I'm going to have to repeat the process this weekend...
5. I sorted and put away many of the clothes that were lying on my bedroom floor. I still have to put away some pants and skirts, and figure out what to do with some sweater dresses that I can't really hang, but my floor is way cleaner than it was before. There are still clothes strewn on the floor of my other room, but baby steps...
6. I forgot to say that I made my bed before step #4 and 5, as I use it as a surface to sort my clothes before putting them away. 
7. I rearranged several furniture items in my bedroom. A few days ago I had decided that the location of one of my chests of drawers didn't work for me. I had placed it against the wall facing the window with a mirror on top so I could use it as a vanity and display my prettier makeup products, but my blinds let a lot of light out, and the mirror reflected it, doubling the amount of light keeping me awake at night (I prefer a pitch black room at night and have trouble sleeping when there's too much light). I moved my vanity (a different furniture piece which was below the window) over a few inches, removed everything from the top of the chest of drawers, cleared the path of any obstacles, then dragged the chest of drawers over to be next to the vanity. I then re-placed my vanity items on the chest (along with a lipstick organizer and acrylic makeup drawers organizer that had no home). It looks a bit packed there, as there are some other chests of drawers against the wall perpendicular to the vanity chest of drawers and my vanity, but I checked and all of them have drawer clearance. I had thought of dragging it back to the other room where it used to be, but I want to have as many of my clothes drawers together as possible. 
8. I moved all obstacles and rolled my hanging clothes rack over to where the chest of drawers used to be. It was previously against the middle wall in the other room, which is not load-bearing (and my bed is already against that wall, gritting teeth emoji), and I decided it made more sense to have it be by my closets (I have two tiny closets since my ceiling slopes down A-frame-style). Besides, the wall by my closets is load-bearing. I also went ahead and rearranged the clothes on the rack to be in a certain color order. There is enough room by the clothes rack to...
9. hang my Mexico shadowbox and put up command hooks to hang my Mexican purses. I did the Command picture hanging strip process for the shadowbox and stuck on the Command hooks for two of my purses (I have to wait until I can hang up the shadowbox in order to see where to hang the other purses). 
10. I also hung up a small mirror I'd bought from the cheap front section of Target (it has hearts all over it like my bedspread), a $1 wooden wall decor item that matches my other wall decor, another wall hanging decor item from Target's cheap section, and did the Command picture hanging strip process for a framed poster I hadn't put up (my VW Bug poster I've had since grade school. It doesn't match my room theme but I can't let it go). I also hung up my wooden Wonder Woman comic book cover art plaque thing over the vanity chest of drawers. I can't put the big mirror there since my ceiling slopes down.
11. I also rearranged the items on my other two chests of drawers, the ones I didn't move. I had several makeup organizing items on the floor, and after I moved the vanity chest of drawers to where it is now, I moved them to be on top of my left chest of drawers, moving the other items that had previously been there to the right chest of drawers. I now have almost all of my makeup organizers on that chest: 4 liquid lipsticks/lipglosses organizers, one compact organizer, 6 mini tin buckets/cups holding more lipglosses, and my big magnetic whiteboard that holds all of my Colourpop Super Shock Shadows (I glued/stuck magnets to the backs of them). My small magnetic whiteboard is on the right chest of drawers because I have a small mirror hanging on the wall next to the big whiteboard and I don't want to cover it up. I put more sticky magnets on the backs of some of my single eyeshadow compacts (and 2 small eyeshadow duos) and put them on the small whiteboard.
12. I filled my evening pillbox as well, another small talk I often neglect.

That is quite a lot! I know there's 11 bullet points but each one lists several smaller tasks. I still have tons of cleaning and organizing to do, but I feel like I've done so much. I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to do all that in one day, after getting up at noon!

Mac & cheese dishes that are not actually mac & cheese

The name macaroni and cheese (mac & cheese or mac 'n' cheese for short) is, or at least should be, self-explanatory. However, it appears that most people forget the very first word in the name and proceed to throw together any type of pasta with cheese and call it mac & cheese. This, in my opinion, is wrong.

The following is a list of so-called "mac & cheese" dishes that, alas, were not.

• Evol Truffle Parmesan Mac & Cheese: this dish, while delicious, is made with tubetti pasta. Tubetti means "little tubes" in Italian. Macaroni noodles are also little tubes, but tubetti resembles uncurved large macaroni cut into even shorter (straight) tubes. Verdict: not mac & cheese.
• Lean Cuisine Marketplace Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese: it just amazes me how brands will market their dishes as "mac & cheese" and then brazenly list the ingredients below the name, including the type of non-macaroni pasta in the dish. I mean hello??? That's like saying your brand's leather jacket is genuine leather and then putting 'man-made materials' underneath. This entree is made with cavatappi pasta, which is like if macaroni noodles were all connected into ribbed spirals. It does not count as mac & cheese.
• any boxed mac & cheese mix made with shell or character-shaped noodles: this one is especially frustrating because usually these are by Kraft, the gateway for most of us to the world of mac & cheese. Shells are not macaroni, and character-shaped pasta is cute, but neither type counts as mac & cheese. 
• Panera Mac & Cheese: literally small shell pasta in alfredo sauce. Not mac, and while technically their sauce is not alfredo but white cheddar, it is not the right color. They barely tried. Not mac & cheese.
• Chili's Pepper Jack Mac 'N' Cheese: First off, macaroni & cheese should not be spicy. This dish was hot enough that it was hard to taste the cheese, which is a minus in my opinion. Secondly, this is rotini pasta!! Rotini doesn't even look like macaroni in the least! At least tubetti and cavatappi noodles sort of look like macaroni noodles, if you squint a little. This outrageous insult against mac and cheese gets this star:

Here are some food blogger infractions: This cookbook writer on The New York Times whose recipe called for any type of pasta; Martha Stewart, who should definitely know better; Ina Garten, ditto (plus it sounds too fancy and kinda gross); this food blogger who was led astray by Kraft's shell mac & cheese; another using big shells; slow cooker big shells; medium shells; another "any shape"-er; this student who used PENNE and rightfully deleted the webpage; this hypocritical website; oh look another cavatappi recipe; several AllRecipes offenders whose recipes contain fusilli, big shells, mini shells, and rotini; and my personal favorite: this food blogger called Mac and Cheese Chick who made a knockoff recipe for Panera's mac (shells) and cheese using rotini!!! There are probably tons more but I got tired of looking for them.

So in googling pasta charts for this post, I realized macaroni (the type in boxed Kraft mac & cheese) has a different name in Italian, and probably the other types of macaroni noodles do as well. What does this mean for my pedantry? Well, since mac & cheese is an (I'm assuming) American invention, let's go with the English names for the proper pastas used in mac & cheese dishes. Mac & cheese dishes can be made with:

1. traditional macaroni noodles (like in the Kraft m&c boxes)
2. elbow macaroni
3. that big smooth macaroni that is just like elbow macaroni but a bit bigger

That is all. Thank you for your time.

Update: November 23, 2016
A few weeks ago I went to Panera and ordered their mac & cheese, and it appears that they have changed their noodles. They are short, very wide versions of macaroni noodles and are no longer small shells. I texted my BFF, who is basically a Panera expert, and she confirmed that the noodles indeed used to be small shells! It appears this blog post has brought about positive change. Bravo, Panera!

A list of authors I have met, so I don't forget

-Diana Pavlac Glyer, author of The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. I met her at LionCon in 2008, where she presented about her book and its topic. She told us that CSL basically rewrote parts of "The Lay of Leithian" because he didn't like how JRRT had done it, contributing significantly to the version we know today.

-the Fug Girls, who signed my copy of Spoiled. I've read their blog for years and am a member of Fug Nation, so Heather signed my book with "Hola, lover." á la her JLo parody posts. I heard them on a YA panel and met them at their signing at the 2012 LA Times Festival of Books.

-Pam Muñoz Ryan, who signed my copy of Esperanza Rising and the copy of The Dreamer that I bought after her talk at the 2013 Annual Frances Clarke Sayers Lecture at UCLA. I told her how I loved ER growing up but I don't think she heard me. My sister came with me because it's also one of her favorite books growing up, and she brought her Spanish copy of ER for PMR to sign. She was like, huh, there's a Spanish version? which I thought was weird because it's a book about a Mexican girl? Of course there is? There are Spanish versions of pretty much all books?

-Peter Sís, who signed my copy of The Dreamer at at ALA Annual Conference 2014 and said he really liked PMR, that she was such a nice lady. I told him how I loved his illustrations in The Whipping Boy, one of my favorite books growing up, but he was in signing mode and didn't really pay attention.

-Marissa Moss, author of the Amelia's Notebook books, which I loved so much growing up. I told her that as I chatted with her a bit at her Creston Books booth at ALAAC 2014 (it is the publishing company she owns!). She is super nice. I entered to win an Amelia doll and I think an Amelia books set, but I didn't win :/

-Kate DiCamillo, author of usually animal-centric books that I love. I actually had no idea she was going to be at ALA Annual 2014, but lo and behold she was next to Peter Sís. If I had known I would have brought my copy of The Tale of Despereaux for her to sign, but as it was I think I bought a copy of The Magician's Elephant and she signed it. I don't see it in my LibraryThing so I'm going to have to do some searching.

-Margarita Engle, who wrote a couple of award-winning books, one of which I read for a children's literature class. I met her at ALAAC 2015 where she signed a copy of Enchanted Air, her poem-memoir about feeling divided between her two worlds of LA and Cuba, and I'm mad because I didn't realize who she was until I read the back of that book. The booth worker didn't tell me who she was and if I'd realized I would have been able to chat with her about her books (I read and loved this one) and being Cuban! Ughhh

-Gigi Pandian, who signed her book Quicksand for me at ALAAC 2015. I hadn't heard of her but her book looked interesting.

-This doesn't count as "meeting" per se, but once a few years ago I was at a Christian concert, volunteering with World Vision. We were to don orange vests and go with child sponsorship flyers to the front of the auditorium/stage while the heartrending video about sponsoring children through WV played, crouch down in front of the first row so we wouldn't block their view of the video, then hand out the flyers after the video and the WV representative's remarks. I went to the base of the stage with the other volunteers and knelt on the floor, avoiding looking up at the people we were in front of since this was awkward already. When the video ended I straightened up, and I found I had been kneeling at the feet of Rick Warren.

When it comes to meeting celebrities and especially authors, I am very much of the Troy Barnes school of thought, which is why I never want to meet Neil Gaiman, as I would hyperventilate and pass out and that would be embarrassing for everybody.

Reasons I miss school/college:

• learning fun/interesting new things
• get to choose classes that interest me
• interesting class texts/readings
• must carve out time for reading/writing (between work and chores/errands/gym I have no free time)
• around lots of people my age who are doing the same kinds of things as me
• built-in friend groups (classes, dorms etc.)
• great classmates/teachers (when you get them)
• extracurricular activities/groups
• cafeteria/campus cafes
• structure
• can schedule classes to have several half days or entire free days a week (even when I was taking five classes a quarter I was in class way less time than I spend now at work full-time)
• vacations, especially summer
• programs, especially learning abroad 
• campus life in general
• reason to buy school supplies
• you can wear whatever you want as long as it's not inappropriate
• familiar (I was in school from ages 5-24)

Reasons I do not want to go back to school:

• expensive (am already several $Ks in debt)
• homework
• exams and quizzes
• have to study 
• can't read for fun/have to read what's assigned/things that aren't interesting to me
• lack of motivation to actually do the work
• if actually going to school, would have to quit work ($)
• online programs mean missing out on 70% of what makes college fun
• PTSD from grad school; would rather slit own wrists than get a PhD at this point
• impractical (I would rather do regular college than grad or postgrad and there is literally no point)
• really I just wish I could go back to my college days but you can't step in the same river twice

Dragons I have appreciated

Apparently today is Appreciate a Dragon Day. Who am I to let this auspicious holiday go unobserved.

• Smaug (from the book, although I tolerate CumberSmaug). He's awful, but he's badass. Never over using gemstones to make armor for his chest and belly!
• as awful as the books are, Saphira (I don't remember her name exactly), the main dragon in the Eragon books. She's cool.
• Mushu from Mulan, of course. 
• I also liked the Great Stone Dragon a lot and have always sorta felt disappointed that he didn't come to life like Mushu did. And when Mulan sits in/under the statue while it rains???? Most badass seat ever
• I feel like I read at LEAST one book where the girl protagonist (a princess usually) befriended the dragon, turning that trope of dragons vs. princesses on its head. I feel like this happened in the Frog Princess books, among others.
• The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame. I love that dude; he's the Ferdinand the Bull of dragons.
• The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin. This is actually the only thing by him that I've read, and it is lovely and sad.
• EUSTACE WHEN HE WAS A DRAGON omg I knew I was forgetting someone important
• the image of the red and the white dragons from underground fighting each other in The Once and Future King has always stayed with me, but idk if I appreciate them
• I feel like there are scads of other dragons I've read that I'm not remembering
• the most recent dragon book I've read was called The Dragonwatcher's Guide or something. It's a "nonfiction" scrapbook type book for the newbie dragon scholar. I liked it.
• Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon (the movie, I've never read the book)
• Puff the Magic Dragon feels forever

Guide to writing

1. Write
2. Edit
3. Don't give up
4. Don't be afraid

number of these that I am doing: zero

Happy 4th of July

My mom came in my room after working this morning, took one look at me and said, "You look like you've accomplished a lot today." I was like YEAH I DID. Here is a list of today's accomplishments:

1. I slept in until after 10 am. I have to get up at 7:30 for work so this is a BOON.
2. I finished the book I was reading (this will probly be written about in a separate post as there are actually several [well, 3] books I was reading at one time).  
3. I wrote about it in my reading journal.
4. I got dressed. (A sundress and a sports bra totally count as getting dressed.)
5. I bought The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet with Barnes & Noble's 20% off coupon for this holiday weekend. So psyched to read it.
6. I downloaded today's Nook Free Fridays selection.
7. I checked my email.
8. I Facebooked and read some articles on the Internet.
9. I entered for some Disney giveaway.
10. I bought this purple P&P shirt I've been eyeing forever from Out of Print since they're having a sitewide 30% off sale right now!
11. I haven't yet but I'm going to download the free ebook of Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which I got from Open Road at ALA Annual last weekend.

Things I still need to memorize

-"When You Are Old" by Yeats
-the werewolf monologue in Prince Caspian

-"You Are Old, Father William" from Alice in Wonderland
-Psalm 139
-To Be or Not to Be
-my work passwords