Saturday, July 20, 2013

One of my newest favorite movies.

I am no movie expert, in any means. I watch good movies, but I watch a ton of bad movies as well. But if there's one movie I think that people should watch...it's Warm Bodies.


Yes, this movie. No, I have not read the book (I really want to, but I haven't had the chance yet) but I find the movie hilarious. Here's the basics of it: Massive zombie apocalypse. Many people are zombies, but there is the stereotypical organize group of humans that is trying to win the whole thing. The main character's name is R, a zombie. He has friends, if you can consider two zombies to be friends, and the entire movie is narrated through his mind (hilarious). Basically he falls in love with a human and becomes more and more human every day.


Here's what I like that movie. First off, the main character is an awesome actor. He also plays Beast in the newer X-Men movies and he's pretty good. In fact, the entire cast is pretty good and for the most part they aren't that well known. This movie plot is pretty cheesy, and they do well with it.

There are some really interesting concepts in it that kind of make you think more about the zombie end of the whole zombie apocalypse thing (because as you are fighting for your life against zombies you really need to know what the zombies are going through and make decisions based off of that, right?). For instance, you get to hear why these particular zombies like to eat brains. They gain more than just a tasty treat from it, and it was a little cool and something different. Seeing it all from a zombie's perspective is different in general, which is probably another reason why I like it.

Another thing, inner monologue. This guy is kind of funny. It's probably one of the most honest inner monologues ever, at least to me anyway. I feel like I talk very similar to him in my head so maybe that's my connection with it. The amount of times he tries to not be creepy as a zombie is pretty funny. Also, watching a zombie become human again is pretty funny.

In general this movie is a pretty fun movie. It's pretty light-hearted and something you could watch multiple times. It's one of those movies that I could have on while doing other things but still know what's happening. Like I said, not a movie expert, but this has been one of my recent favorites and I definitely splurged a little bit and bought it for myself so I could watch it whenever I wanted. This movie is different, and kind of picks fun of the zombie apocalypse without being ridiculous. Love could definitely end the zombie apocalypse.


Now if only I could get my hands on the book.



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

So I don't like snakes. Big deal

There seems to be so much seriousness going on these days, and I feel like I should lighten the mood with things that happen to me, or things that pop into my head, that distract me from things such as offensive magazine covers or people who can't learn that protesting does nothing.

Today I had a preschooler confess their love for me. Awkward, yes. What makes it even more awkward was that he was in trouble at swimming lessons. He was swimming away from the wall when we had clearly told him that he needed to be at the wall with the class. When I brought him back to the wall (apparently I'm just that great of a swimming teacher where I can teach him to swim away from the wall but not towards it?) I was asking him where he was supposed to be. Instead of telling me where he was supposed to be he leans in and goes "I love you". Now this kid is an affectionate kid from what I can see, but I had to take a step back. I repeated the question multiple times asking him where he needed to be, and he continued to tell me he loves me. Eventually I gave in and gave him the answer and he immediately stopped telling me he loved me and said "Ohhhh." Really? Really? You swam away from the wall telling me "I'm not at the wall!!" Goodness. Preschoolers these days.

I also had to face my fears today. Mice and Snakes. Not at the same time, and honestly I really should grow up and get over it. The mouse story is an interesting story, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, so we'll just go with my irrational fear of snakes. Ok, I guess the fear isn't irrational. They're super creepy, and if it's poisonous it can easily kill you. Not a terrible thing to be frightened of, right? Well the fact that I was on edge because they were in the same building as me is a bit more irrational. There was a reptile and amphibian zoo at the library today for the summer reading program, and as I heard all those kids ohhh and ahhh over snakes, I cringed. I didn't even see a single one, yet I was freaked out the entire time. I just really don't like snakes.

My next topic....Miley Cyrus and her stupid new song. First off, I heard it on the radio today and it has been stuck in my head ALL day. Seriously, the most frustrating thing ever. The song is terrible. I mean honestly, Miley can't even think of a more creative way to tell all her "haters" that she can say whatever she wants because "it's her mouth and she can say what she wants to." Not sure if that's a direct quote, but meh. Also, why are people shaking their butts like they're in a strip club? The only strip clubs I've seen are the tv/movie versions but I'd rather not think of people do that. I guess I just don't understand a song that says "we like to party" and all the ways you like to party. Seriously, be more creative. My bad, I guess I'm just one of the haters. But according to your song that doesn't matter because someone else loves you, so thats good. I'm glad you have someone else Miley.

Bieber. Yes, my next thought is Bieber. All I have to say is, I told you so. He's become quite the stinker, and I totally saw it coming (yes, I said stinker. I don't want to be cursing and such. That's wrong. I leave that one up to the Biebs).

And that is pretty much it. That's what I've been thinking about all day (or what's happened to me). I find it to be a nice break from reality, because I really don't care to think about what's going on in my life at this time. And now I'm going to attempt to sleep another night during a heat advisory. Portable AC, please keep me cool.

Maybe next time I write it'll be something cooler, and more creative and thoughtful. We'll see.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Where do I go from here?

Well, hello there. Anyone who's reading this is more than welcome to have any input, because in all honestly my brain hurts and I'm not completely capable of making decisions or thinking at this time. Also, my eye lid is swollen, but I suppose that has nothing to do with any of this. As those that know me personally know, my husband is at engineer school (139 days left!) and this leaves us in different states (though not too far apart, I could easily drive there in a day, and it would be much more enjoyable if the drive were interesting the WHOLE way and not just part of the way). This has definitely been hard on me so far (in all honesty, the last few days leading up to it were rough and today has been hard) but I know I need to keep trucking on and just counting down those days. We're obviously apart for a reason at this moment (minus the obvious which is engineer school) and I'm really working on trying to figure that out.

One of the things that has really been on my mind the past few days is what to do with my life. I really like my library job. I love it actually, which is one of the reasons I stayed put. I knew that as a library assistant I couldn't exactly take a 5 month sabbatical or anything like that, so in order to have this job as my own 5 months from now I had to stick out the 5 months. He also doesn't really need to worry about me while at school, though I am hoping he worries a little, it's nice to know he is thinking about me and all. Basically I don't want to get in his way while he's training, and if it were a longer period than 5 months I probably would have thought of going with him. I probably would have actually. Sorry, that's just a question I get a lot when they hear how long he's at school, and it's starting to drive me nuts. It definitely doesn't make me feel any better about this situation, so if that's what you're thinking please stop. OK, back on topic. The library job is a huge part of why I stay put. It's really helping me to think about what my next move is career wise and all of that. Unfortunately, I'm feeling stuck. Not like I'm stuck in some crappy job sort of thing, stuck as in I have ideas and I'm stuck on the whole where to move forward with them thing. So, here's the plan. I'm going to attempt to rattle off my ideas and if you are feeling particularly nice or if there is something I'm obviously missing you can shout it at me or something. I'm looking for just a little bit of help and a push in the right direction.

Here's what I'm wanting. It's the dream job, but I am so unsure where to start. Basically what I want to do is work on reading. Work on reading with all ages, but not in the how to read sort of way (though I can definitely help with that too). I want to work with kids while they're reading something for fun (yes, reading is fun!). I want to help them kind of find ways to look deeper into their reading. I want them to see foreshadowing and to use context clues. I want them to make inferences without making them feel like they are pulling their teeth out (that's kind of what it felt like for me at first). When I was a kid and I was homeschooled that wasn't really something we worked on. I didn't work a lot on summarizing what I read (from what I remember) or any of those inferences and such (I definitely did context clues though). I'm not saying that my mom was so terrible at teaching she skipped that part. I love how she encouraged us to read and put little pressure on us. But I'm just feeling like when I got to public school that was one area that I was behind on. I think my mom got so wrapped up in doing all these other things for us that it kind of just fell by the wayside. No biggie. I know my mom isn't the first homeschool parent that this has happend to, and I know she isn't the last. I want to be able to help with that particular area. Here's why I think it's important:
1. Kids do these things all the time. They are constantly using context clues, they are constantly looking for descriptions to use and are making inferences. They do these things without noticing it. It seems that once there is a label stuck on it, or once it's with a book and not a video game or movie they lose interest or seem to think it's hard work. I want to show kids they are perfectly capable of all of that with a book. It took me a long time to really master that, and I still struggle with it.
2. Reading increases intelligence. And working with these particular parts of reading helps even more. I want it to just become a habit for kids to really look into a character or a particular scene. It makes for more intelligent discussions, a stronger vocabulary, and I think it makes it easier for them to apply these things to real life. There's absolutely no reason that they can't do this. I think that without the pressure of a test and in a group smaller than a classroom they will learn and succeed at it.
3. It is kind of a big dea to know these things on the state tests as well as the ACTs. Kids will be much less stressed about all of this if they are able to do it in an environment that is stress free. It will be one less aspect of the test that they are worried about (trust me, I have intense test anxiety).

So now my big question is how. How do I accomplish this? Reading is something I'm very passionate about, and I know that anyone can be a reader. I don't gobble up books the way that I used to, but I still read. I still pull things out of it and learn many things from each and every book I pick up. I would love to do this in some sort of a small group setting. Maybe like a book club and have different age groups or even interest groups. I am also very into the idea of tutoring. I feel pretty confident in the Language Arts area and am more than willing to help people out whether they are private, public, or home schooled. My biggest concern right now is where to start. I would love to get involved with homeschoolers and the homeschooling community with this. I would love that. I just need to figure out what to do and how to accomplish that. How do I reach this goal and get paid for it? I don't know at all. So that's where you as readers come in. If anyone is reading this that is. Where do I go from here? Who do I talk to? I need help finding a starting off point, if there is one. Maybe I just picked something super impractical and need to start focusing on other areas of my life. 

This is what I want to do. I don't want to be a classroom teacher. A whole classroom of students is not my thing. Small groups and individuals, that's where I excel at my job I believe. I think I can give them all the help and attention they deserve, but that doesn't happen in a large group setting. I even can supply books!!!! 

So, people of the internet, where should I go from here?

Just two of my 4 bookshelves out of my personal library. Thanks to my husband for making them for me.