Finally!

Okay, now this will probably make my mom upset, but for awhile now I've decided that I don't like Nicholas Sparks' books because they're too formulaic and just play on women's emotions and always have some tragedy. Finally, finally, I read a review that explains what I mean - I think the Last Song finally pushed people over the edge.

http://jezebel.com/5505618/the-unbearable-monotony-of-nicholas-sparks

The Unbearable Monotony of Nicholas Sparks

David Germain of The Huffington Post calls Nicholas Sparks the "melodramatic machine." Machine's a good word, because it seems like he churns out dreck at an alarming rate. Worse, there's some kind of unspoken understanding that women like this crap.

I'll admit I haven't seen all the Nicholas Sparks movies — just the awful, no good, terrible A Walk To Remember and the sorta-hot-when-old-people-weren't-on-the-screen one, The Notebook.

But I don't even think I could see The Last Song, since the poster alone makes me want to barf.

Which is not to say I don't like trash. I like trashy books and trashy movies. Just not this particular shmaltzy, vanilla trash. It seems like the blandness is part of the formula, though — readers and viewers know what they're getting into, and it's nothing too scary, too weird or too outside the box.

Nicholas Sparks' romance/tragedy stories are like Hallmark cards: Much of the emotion can be summed up in a simple picture and a few words. A couple hugging on a beach or kissing in the rain. Words like "last," "remember," "message." There's no mental challenge here; no cops or circus freaks or savvy New York women with shoe obsessions. Just normal, everyday white people with issues. To some it's boring; to others, that's the appeal.

Sparks has a completely different (delusional) take:

"You read me because you don't know what to expect. Is it going to be happy? Do they get together? Do they not? Does someone die? Does Richard Gere drive off a cliff in South America? You don't know, and so you read for a surprise. And to be honest, the more books you write, the harder it is to surprise people."
Please, we all know that if Richard Gere is going to drive off a cliff, it will be straight into the arms of his one true love. Couples embracing on a beach. How surprising!

That was an article from jezebel.com. I know my mom and a few other people will not approve of this blog, but I agree! And I have been saying this for years . . . now that too many of Sparks' movies have come out, people finally get it.

The Giggles

So tonight in class, my third of the day, I either just got really tired or was fed up, or something, but I got a case of the giggles and I could feel it coming but was trying to suppress it - sort of like when you're in church and not supposed to laugh, but you want to and it makes you laugh even more because you're not supposed to. That's how tonight in class was. Luckily my teacher let us go into groups and I instantly burst into laughter and I was crying because I was laughing so hard. I just don't know what was wrong with me but I was laughing, crying, and trying to hide it from the teacher! lol

Kickin' Back

Well, I made it through the test though everyone in the class basically ran out of time and couldn't do as great of a job as we wanted on the essays. I mean, it's really difficult to write 2 essays using 4 texts on each essay. I mean, that's a lot of stuff to get through in an hour and 15 minutes. At least everyone left feeling the same way I did, so I know it wasn't just me!

Although I didn't have to worry about school today I was sort of in a funk and in a bad mood - don't really know why but sometimes it just happens. Then at work we got super busy and at least it went by pretty quickly. School again tomorrow but my 2:30 class is a furlough day, yea! I know, I know, I'm paying for the class and not getting taught and we can't do as much in class as we should because the teachers are forced to do furlough days. But, it's sort of nice to have a break now and again :)

Big Test

I have a big test today at 2:30 for my Restoration Literature class - sounds like fun, right? I have literally been studying all weekend . . . only left my apartment to go to work and have lunch with Lindy and Sherri on Sunday. It's been a long, exhausting weekend and can't wait for this test to be over. Luckily I just found out that my late-night class is cancelled today so I will get out of class early and have enough time during my break of classes to catch up on the reading for my OTHER classes since I didn't get to them this weekend. Just need to get through this test and get caught up on reading and then I will be good to go :)

Bachelorette Part-ay Weekend

Well last weekend was Amy's bridal shower and then this past weekend was Amy's bachelorette party. A group of us went to Murphy's to celebrate and spent the night at one of the bridesmaids' parents' home that they own there. It was so gorgeous and nice and she is so lucky that it's in her family and she can go whenever :)

We spent the night Friday and then did some window shopping and wine tasting on Saturday. We hit up some great La Morenita's when we got back and then I headed home to Redondo on Sunday. The pile of homework is growing and needs to be attended to!

Poetry <-- How Many Different Ways Do I Hate You?

A part of the graduate program at CSU Dominguez Hills is that each graduate student is required to pass a graduate exercise, which is basically excising a poem. A few guys from my classes and I took the graduate exercise in January and then just got a letter in the mail that I didn't pass [neither did a few of them, so at least it wasn't just me!] but now it was suggested that I sit in on a poetry class this semester so I learn what to do for the next test. The test is given each semester, but I need to pass it and then also go back over it the following semester before I can graduate. If I don't pass it soon, then that means I have to wait longer to graduate, just over a test, which is no good. So now I will be taking a total of 4 classes - though at least I don't have to pay for the 4th class, and hopefully learn a lot. Here we go - crazy semester!


But I do have to say that I strongly dislike poetry and have never enjoyed it. I also haven't taken a poetry class in probably 8-10 years. No wonder I didn't pass this stupid test!