By Golly, Ollie!

  • Fall Festivities

    Fall Festivities

    5 comments on Fall Festivities

    fall festivities(1)One More Time for Autumn

    Autumn is definitely upon us in Michigan. The leaves are taking their sweet time changing colors, but the weather is lovely. The sun is warm, but the breezes are cool, and the windows are begging to be propped open in the afternoons. Last weekend, the boyfriend (that handsome fella’ in the flannel jacket) and I and two other couples took advantage of the perfect weather and spent the afternoon at a cider mill.  When we arrived, we made a beeline for beverages…along with everyone else that was there. The line of eager cider-sippers wrapped around and around, but it didn’t take too long to get ourselves a cuppa and some donuts for dipping. I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted apple cider so good before. The apple flavor really shined since it didn’t have to compete with all the sugar and spices that are present in most grocery store ciders. Afterward, we rode out to the pumpkin patch and meandered amongst the vines until we found a pumpkin that called our names.

    jack-o-lantern-1Then, this weekend, we had another get together. We chowed down on chili and carved our pumpkins while listening to spooky soundtracks. Mine is the kitty with a bow tie. He’s so dapper.

    Batman Graphic NovelsGraphic Novels part II

    I mentioned two weeks ago that I was in the process of writing up my review of Frank Miller’s Batman: the Dark Knight Returns. It’s taking me a lot longer than I expected. I find that reviewing graphic novels, especially superhero graphic novels, is challenging because I have no other personal reading experience to compare it to. Luckily, the boyfriend read my mind without evening realizing it; he just let me borrow the rest of his Batman graphic novels. There are so many to choose from!

    Books On My Radar

    I cannot lie. I’m not bothering with books this weekend because Amazon just delivered the video games I ordered. I’m not even looking forward to work this week because it’s only going to get in the way of me playing Final Fantasy 9 for hours on end.

    playstation gamesStar Ocean Til the End of Time ♥ Final Fantasy 12 ♥ Final Fantasy 9

    Do you like reading graphic novels, and do you have any you can recommend? Or, do you have a favorite superhero?

  • Pig-a-palooza

    Pig-a-palooza

    5 comments on Pig-a-palooza
    Foggy Morning n Michigan
    When the seasons change, Michigan mornings become foggy. The drive into work is never fun, but this street lamp that created a halo behind a tree at 6:00 in the morning was worth a few moments of admiration.

    Autumn is Here!

    And I celebrated by going to a pig roast with the boyfriend (he has a friend that  hosts one every year). The friend sent the invite out about a month ago declaring September 27th was going to be the perfect day for the pig-a-palooza, and boy! was it perfect. The weather was warm for late September– about 80 degrees– and even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to provide shade, the temperature was actually quite nice (warm but breezy). The location was perfect too. We drove out to a beautiful house in the country and admired the Halloween decorations in the yard, the miniature horses cantering around in the fence behind the barn, and the trees lining the property that were just starting to turn orange, yellow, and red. A wonderful porky and bacon-y aroma wafted from the smoker situated near the barn, and pig-a-palooza goers huddled nearby, waiting for a treat with watering mouths. As the cook started carving the pig (because it really was a whole pig), people sneaked up behind him and pulled tender, juicy meat from the belly and scampered away before they got caught. I waited patiently, and it was worth it. Later, the boyfriend and I headed back in to town, and we watched the sun settle behind a cornfield. (Where must he live if “in town” includes sprawling cornfields?)

    batman
    Reading Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson (illustrator), and Lynn Varley (illustrator)

    Graphic Novels

    Even after discussing my reading habits last week, I cracked open yet ANOTHER book– Batman: the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. This is outside of my comfort zone because 1. I don’t often read graphic novels (I read some Sailor Moon manga back in high school, but that was it) and 2. I wasn’t sure if I would like it because I’m not really knowledgeable about the world of superheroes (especially DC). Color me surprised though– I actually enjoyed it! So much so that I snagged the boyfriend’s copy of Final Crises. Thoughts to come soon!

    On the Radar

    I blame it on Stephen Hawking; I have my eye on these books that tell the stories of young adults turning to physics in order to make sense of the tumultuous world around them.

    On My Radar - Physics

    Evidence of Things Not Seen by Lindsey Lane ♥ Falling into Place by Amy Zhang ♥ The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

    How is Autumn treating you so far (or if you’re in the Southern hemisphere, Spring)? Do you have any traditions for this time of year?

  • I Finally Finished Another Series: Twilight

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    [Warning: this post may contain spoilers]

    I’ve done it! I’ve really done it! I have officially completed two entire series in my 26 years of existence. I spent the afternoon of Labor Day power reading the last 200 pages of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. And this GIF of Kristen Stewart sums up my feelings over losing several hours of my life to the book:

    I avoided the Twilight saga for as long as possible. I had heard too much about the bland characters, the poor writing, and the sketchy romantic relationship to know that this was one book hype I should probably avoid. And! When Twilight hit the shelves, people compared its popularity to Harry Potter. As if it were even in the same league! But somehow, someone talked me into reading the series. I went in totally prepared to hate everything about it, but if I’m honest, I don’t actually hate the series. Not all of it, anyway.

     

    When I read Twilight, I was surprised. Surprised by how much I didn’t dislike Bella and Edward and Jacob. Surprised by how easily I was swept up in the fantasy of Bella’s budding romance with a sparkling vampire. Surprised by how I did not want to put the book down– not even for Fallout 3, which I had just purchased that weekend, and this is kind of big deal. I ended up reading it in two days even though I’m a pretty slow reader. I was just…hooked! I mean, obviously I could tell the quality of story telling and character development wasn’t the greatest, but for some reason that didn’t even matter. Twilight has this junk food quality about it. I compare it to cookie dough, which is unhealthy, but I cannot help gobbling down spoonful after spoonful of it anyway.

    New Moon made me even weaker in the knees. While Twilight focused on Bella and Edward’s relationship,  New Moon, focused on Bella and Jacob’s friendship, and I adored that. I freaking loved Jacob Black in New Moon– in all the books. I finished book two just as quickly as the first book. I had to because the second movie was hitting theaters, and I ended up dragging both my parents along to see the film.

    Then, my love for the series ended abruptly. Eclipse happened, and I fell out of love with the series. Eclipse was so boring; I actually skipped nearly an entire chapter of this book because it could not hold my attention– the one where Bella is sitting about a campfire with Jacob and his family/friends, learning about shape shifters. I consider myself Team Jacob, but not even he could keep my attention during the info dump. To make matters worse, Bella turns into a jerk– she was over-compensating her faithfulness to Edward because she finally realized she had feelings for Jacob too.

    I didn’t think it were possible, but I started to like Bella even less in Breaking Dawn. Edward too. Because they were just so, so mean. Their attitudes were so unappealing that I ended up putting the book down for two years. I regret doing that because the last 200 pages of the book were such a doozy; attempting to finish the book became a challenge. I ended up skim-reading to the end, but nothing really happened anyway. I thought it was going to be this battle royale– Cullens and Co. vs. the Volturi. I thought that’s what New Moon and Eclipse were building up to, but they just talked through their differences, and everyone lived happily ever after. It was anti-climactic. [Note: I actually saw Breaking Dawn part II in theaters before finishing the book, which was also a mistake because, while I liked the movie’s ending a little better than the book’s ending, it was still a “cop-out”, and this affected my attitude towards the book.]

    I of course dragged my mom to see all the movies, and I think I preferred them to the books despite Kristen Stewart’s emotionless acting and all of the cheesy fight scenes. I liked the scenery and I loved the music. Also, I liked this guy and his abs:

    Taylor Lautner, you are so dreamy.

     

    Have you ever read the Twilight saga? Did you love it or did you hate it? Or, do you fall somewhere in the middle like myself?

  • The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan #Review

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    The Lover's Dictionary

    The Lover’s Dictionary
    Released:     January 2011
    Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★☆☆
    Synopsis:     A modern love story told through a series of dictionary-style entries is a sequence of intimate windows into the large and small events that shape the course of a romantic relationship.

     

    My Thoughts

    I am smitten with the format of The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan. The novel is a series of dictionary entries, and each word represents a feeling or a thought or a moment that occur during the course of a romantic relationship. The entries are brief, but Levithan’s writing is powerful. If you’ve been in love or if you’ve been hurt or if you’ve been in love with the idea of love, then at least one passage will resonate with you, knock you down, leave you breathless. This was mine:

    corrode, v.
    I spent all this time building a relationship. Then one night I left the window open, and it started to rust.

    The Lover’s Dictionary is told in alphabetical order instead of chronological order, and while I appreciated the creativity of the storytelling, I did struggle with the story as a whole. At first, I thought I was reading vignettes about many different relationships. It wasn’t until the end that I realized it was about just one relationship. I ended up giving the book a quick, second read-through so I could gain a better understanding of what I had just read. I also feel like I may have picked this book up at a bad time. The Lover’s Dictionary isn’t the happiest of novels. For every entry about love and butterflies, there were twice as many about drinking too much, distrust, and complacency, and it weighed heavy on my heart.

    I recommend this book…but not if you’re falling in love because it will just “harsh your mellow”. And not if you’ve just gotten out of a relationship because it will make you feel even worse. Everyone else should give it a go though!

  • Writer’s Block Anonymous

    Writer’s Block Anonymous

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    During my freshman year of college, I had one teacher say something to me that, for better or for worse, determined my college career. “This is a well-written piece, and I know of a small, on-campus publication that would love to print it. Have you ever thought about studying English?” The following semester, I disregarded my parents pleas to study business, and I declared a major in English. But with an Emphasis on Practical Writing. It was a compromise, you see; in case creative writing never worked out, at least I could write interoffice memos really well. And I never did submit my essay to the small, on-campus publication.  This isn’t about regret though. Not really.

    Shortly after college, I stopped writing, and after I stopped writing, I stopped dreaming. I could fill up a notebook with all of my excuses, but it all boiled down to the value I placed on myself as an individual and myself as a writer, which was zilch. Aside from these sporadic blog posts, I haven’t written anything in about 4 years.

    Last month, I got a new supervisor at work, and after work I stopped by her office to chit-chat. Honestly, this lady terrified me, and this was my way of testing the waters. For some reason, I mentioned that I used to love to write, but lately it’s caused me a lot of anxiety. I mentioned that fear of failure kept me from telling stories, even though I recognized this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The next morning, she approached me and told me she ruminated over our conversation from the previous day, and it upset her that I wasn’t writing anymore. She printed out a quote and stuck it to the whiteboard in my office:

    There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. –Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

    Then she told me that I need to start writing again because I’d never be satisfied otherwise. This caught me by surprise because for once, someone seemed to give a damn– someone other than my mom and dad, who have to encourage me to keep writing because they are my parents***. But, the encouragement didn’t stop there. Once a week, she asks me if I went home and wrote. She sends me encouraging words and pictures in e-mails, like the Rumi quote above. She turns accounting lessons into life lessons into reasons why I need to write.

    Sometimes I forget why I write because I read articles about writing for an audience and writing for publishers and writing for money and writing for fame and writing for change. Sometimes that burden is too much because at the end of the day, most of us started writing for ourselves. Because art nourishes in a way that accounting never could. So, last weekend I wrote. On the back side of neon orange-colored printer paper. With an equally orange pen that had the perfect amount of inkiness to slide across the page with ease but without coating the side of my hand with black smudges. My hand started to cramp after just a few minutes because I haven’t written with such vigor in a long time.

     

    Footnote:
    *** It’s like when I was really young, I used to say I was going to be a tiger when I grew up. Or a cowboy-girl. I’m certain it was met with, “Honey, you can be anything you put your mind to”. I obviously could never become a tiger, but good parents don’t discourage big dreams. (Cowboy-girl, on the other hand, is still a potential job title that I may or may not strive for once I gain a little more work experience.)

     

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.