HP Numero Uno

I'm taking French semester. Level two. Even though I took four years in high school. And it's hard guys.

I have a hard enough time pronouncing english words and remembering them and how to spell. So adding a new language.... C'est très difficile. 






Since I pretty much learned how to talk and the english language besides the constant language around me..... through reading, I thought maybe I was approaching French wrong.




I know it'll take a long time to trudge through- since I'll have to look up a lot of words and think a lot more than normal, but I bough Harry Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone in French!!

Made me very happy to get it in the mail.

Isn't the cover cute?!?






PS. Is the fact that I put the post title in spanish an indication of my French proficiency? 

I have returned

from France.  Pictures to come.

Still recovering from jet lag as I have to wake up at 5:30 for my classes two days a week (that made it sound wimpier). So tonight, which may or may not also be my birthday, I am in my pjs, eyes already squinting from being tired, watching the nanny and blogging. Guess the 20s really are the most exciting time in your life.

Buuut I did get sushi. And chocolate ice cream. So I'm good.

And I did get a chance to read Mockingjay in between my classes. You guys read it? That series still reminds me of the Twilight series even though people say it isn't the same at all. Same with the Uglies series.



PS. Any advice to convince my parents that The American University of Paris is where I need to be? (Though it is *quite* a bit more expensive than BYU... anyone want to support me and my dream?)

PS.PS. Any tips to help me convince my mom to get an English Bulldog or French Bulldog puppy??

{naomi's ever-adorable Kingsley}

I mean, just look at those cute faces!!

Bam!

So I was reading Ursula Le Guin's "Why Are American's Afraid of Dragons" for class. She is talking about how important imagination and fiction are.

I'm loving this quote:

"So I arrive at my personal defense of the uses of the imagination, especially in fiction, and most especially in fairy tale, legend, fantasy, science fiction, and the rest of the lunatic fringe. I believe that maturity is not an outgrowing, but a growing up: that an adult is not a dead child, but a child who survived. I believe that all the best faculties of a mature human being exist in the child, and that if these faculties are encourages in youth they will act well and wisely in the adult, but if they are repressed and denied in the child they will stunt and cripple the adult personality"

This essay can be read on good books preview here.



I really like how she emphasized how important having an imagination as a kid is to our adult lives, and the distinction she made about maturity.

Agree? Disagree?

(You can tell I'm in summer school by the amount of naps I take)

      "For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
       For he that diligently seeketh shall find"

1 Nephi 10:18-19

Really enjoying my Book of Mormon classes so far. It's like English, but we are studying scriptures!

{photo via}

PS. Had to bring in one poem we loved and one we hated for my Fundamental Literary Interpretations class and I brought in this gem by Mandy. I may have to frame all her poems and put them on my wall someday. Love them. (Hers was the one I loved... duhh. Oh and if you read this Mandy, my teacher said to tell you good job!)

Driving

{Lookeee! Don't I look so blissful that I was back with my friend??}

So whenever I go on roadtrips, I am always the one in the back sleeping. I never drive, mainly because people know that I'm not the best driver.

Driving through the mountains as  we made out way to Rexburg, ID going through Salt Lake City first, I was reminded of my upcoming drive to BYU for the summer term and grew concerned of my ability to a) drive there without falling asleep b) getting lost and c) getting my car UP the mountain as it has a hard time on our local hills.

But I'm sure it'll be fine, and the video below sure made me feel better about my driving skills. When I first saw it I was in Idaho with a bunch of friends and I literally had tears streaming down my face. When I showed it to my sister, I was cracking up but it wasn't quite as funny. I hope your experience watching it is like my first time!

oh hai

who has two thumbs and is going to BYU for summer term??

ME!!!

yup. just registered tonight. Not sure if I picked a good place to live though? Wyview apartments?

Yay or nay?
( Can I get someone to give me the low down on it??)

Who Am I?

{ffffound}

So this semester I am taking a Human Development class. It's actually more of life coaching class because I'm pretty sure the teacher spends more class time telling us how to improve ourselves and discover who we really are, more than the class material. It's pretty interesting (and I say life coaching because his main job is life coaching people).

So for our final project we are writing about who we are. Basically we talk about our personal and professional goals, significant memories in our lives, our favorite books and movies because they reflect on who we are, etc.

One of the requirements is getting ten survey/interview responses to the question "Who Am I?"

So I have people to ask, but to you, my bloggy friends, I am wondering-

  Who am I?

PS. I'd appreciate it mucho if you left a lil somethin somethin. Just a few words or so. Merci!

Scarlett v. Katherine

So for my Shakespeare class we were watching the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton version of Taming of the Shrew, (Which was totally hilarious and wonderful if you haven't seen it) and the entire time I knew that Katherine (Elizabeth Taylor) reminded me of someone.

It bugged me the first half of the movie, and then it totally clicked!


um hello! Katherine= Scarlett !!










but the it's not until the end of the movie when she is "tamed" that she realizes that she can get a lot more by doing what he wants.

I know there is controversy over whether Katherine actually believed her last speech or was just saying it, but personally from how the movie depicted her, I interpret it as if Scarlett was saying that to Rhett. It's not that she believes it, because honestly I don't think you can break either of their spirits, but that Scarlett was willing to do anything in order to be successful and safe and taken care of. I think Katherine is the same way.

Plus throughout that entire movie the quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding kept popping into my head:

 "The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants"

If Katherine's husband Petruchio thought she was totally submissive to him, she could totally influence him more and be more in charge than if he was suspicious, because let's face it, woman in that time had very little individual power.

ATTN: BYU-ers

So I know I told you guys that I was applying for Winter 2011 at BYU (hope I get in!)  But I was considering doing the Visiting Student program and coming for the Summer term.

So my question is: Would you recommend it? I was thinking of trying to get into a religion class or something. If I can get in that is. 

I was wondering if any of you had stayed for the summer term and how the campus is different during that time of year, if there are still a lot of people on campus and such.

Or would you recommend maybe doing the Independent study instead and stick to my hometown's summer school?

Thanks for your input!

Madness

Is it odd that probably my favorite quote from Hamlet is: 

 "Lord, we know what we are, but/ know not what we may be." (Act 4. Scene 5)

Spoken by the mad Ophelia.

Obviously there are tons of quotes from this play that we always hear :To be or not to be, that is the question, etc.

But I really like what Ophelia was saying there. Because we can recognize what we are in this moment, but can we every really know what we can become, what we can accomplish, what we can influence? 

PS. Since I am writing my paper on the differences in the portrayls of Ophelia in Branaugh's version and the version with Mel Gibson, here are her two scenes of madness from the two films. 

Which is your favorite portrayal? Which one makes you feel like she is truly mad and makes you feel more when you watch it?

Gibson version with Helena Bonham-Carter:

(Start at the seven minute marker)

Branaugh version with Kate Winslet:
Winslet's version is much longer as Branaugh put the ENTIRE play into the film.

Part 2 after Laertes comes back











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Personally I loved the Kate Winslet version better. I just found it more haunting and pitiable. I felt like Helena could have done an AMAZING job, but it just didn't do it for me. I was kind of disappointed. When kate is cracking up in that second video it is totally unsettling and sad.

You make me swoon kate, with you amazingness.

I may eat my words later but...

I kinda really miss school.  *so* ready to go back in a few weeks.

It's not that break isn't fun, or even that I particularly enjoy all of my classes, but I sure do get satisfaction in completing an assignment or getting a good grade on a test I studied really hard for. Maybe I should have gotten a job over the break? After all that holiday shopping I could sure use some extra cash...

I know I will long for the days of sleeping in, and reading and hanging out all day when school finally rolls back around, but I can't help being excited to be back in the desk, pencil in hand. (Guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence right?)

Suppose I can't complain though, after spending the day shopping with my sister, gorging ourselves on a japanese buffet, hearing that our offer on the house has been tentatively accepted, and planning on doing manicures and facials, right??

Hope all of you are doing smashingly well, whether you are in school, about to go to school, working, doing both, or doing your own thang!

A waste of time?

Isn't it the worst when you're all tired and a little out of it due to lack of sleep, but you don't want to take a nap because you have stuff that needs to be done? And so you keep yourself busy, yet everything you are doing is pointless?

{found here}

For example, I got much less sleep than I need last night, and I have a math midterm that I desperately need to study for. Therefore I cannot afford to take a nap. Unfortunately I hate studying, like I would rather be writing an essay or doing massive amounts of homework than study, so I trick myself into going on the internet and listening to podcasts or making some food.                                                        

And so, I could in actuality be sleeping instead. Which is all I really want to do.

Guess I'll sign off and study.... you know, unless I find something else to distract me which of course will happen will not happen under any circumstances!

Update: I totally talked to my Aunt for about an hour literally like 5 minutes after posting this. *Go me!*

Frankly my dear,

watching Gone with the Wind for a History of Film class, doesn't seem much like work to me.

Of course writing the paper on it might be a little more work. Well worth it though.

PS. Quite a seductive pose for the 1930s isn't it?

Touché Mac...

Ok, apparently I spoke too soon.

Macbook Pro has taken revenge for the atrocious peanut butter assaults.

As *if* peanut butter wasn't already dangerous...

Which reminds me of my friend asking me why I was eating peanut butter (back when I was vegan) because "isn't there butter in it?" Oh Sarah, your only ditzy moment will live on forever in my memory..

Today I came home and realized that I left my laptop on all night, plugged in, screen up. I tried to revive it to no avail, and ended up shutting it down by holding the power button down. It's revenge? To be determined *not* to turn back on. Yes, that's right. EVEN though it is completely charged and has no reason to be unresponsive to my attemps to awaken it, it remains shut down.

Tune in next time (wednesday for the follow-up after my genius bar appointment) to find out what happens next!

P.S. It is WAY easier to type these out on macs because it tells me when I mess up easy words, and instead of just trying various combinations, I find myself googling the word.

Oh and I denifitely started school this week.... classes are only so-so

But I feel that I do need to add that I thought I had escaped for the most part, studying the bible at school. Apparently not, as my first class is going over it for literary reasons. I am all for knowing the bible stories, since they are great stories and have been referenced to in TONS of novels, but I think think the four years of theology classes were a little bit of an overkill. Alas my plans are foiled again....