You remember that show "Lost"? Remember when they started doing "Flash-sideways" instead of "Flashbacks"? I don't. I stopped watching it by then. But I heard it was pretty cool.
Facebook just changed their layout A.GAIN. Suddenly, Notes came back. You know - those things that you were always tagged in if you had Facebook[-obsessed-friends] 5 years ago.
I kinda thought they went away, or were buried in the internet's gaping blackhole belly, retrievable only via virtual-bungee-cord-apparatus, and it just wasn't worth the effort to find out what "My Life in Beatles Songs" was at age 19.
Then suddenly, BAM! There are my old Notes, hanging out on my sidebar. And my first one up there is from 2 years ago. It's one of those questionnaires, those "100 Truths" things that you copy-paste and then answer, tagging all your friends whose answers you want to see (and who are about to see yours).
I just reread my answers. It's weird. But not because I've changed in the way I might have expected. If I filled it out today, 95+ answers would be the same, or along the same lines. But would I say it the same way?
There's something self-awarely-clever about some of the answers, like I'm totally relaxed, despite having (apparently) just spent the night in a hotel after a canceled flight. A flippancy that now feels foreign and makes me feel exhausted by contrast.
Here are my honest-to-goodness copy-and-pasted answers for 95-100. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2010 Me:
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: Noooo
95. Did you sing today: Yeah… well I was singing 20 Dollar Nosebleed and I thought it was New Perspective.
96. Do you miss anyone: Yeah but it’s always lower when I know I’ll see people I miss really soon, and a lot of them I will.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go: Depends when I would be able to do this, and if I’d change anything.
98. The moment you would choose to re-live: Hm something indescribable so I can describe it.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love: Not too much…I’m not afraid of something I doubt will happen anytime soon.
100. Are you afraid of posting this as 100 truths: NO! I’M THRILLED I’M DONE WITH THIS!
I mean, yeah. That sounds like me. It sounds like me when I'm at my best during the summer, when I don't have to think about anything for months. It sounds like me joking around with my best friends (many of whom I have not seen in a year now).
I guess I just have a lot more to worry about now.
And the truth is, the difference between then and now is this: Then, I would fill out one of these questionnaires. Now, I wouldn't.
Or...
I guess it's hard to say for sure. Maybe I would fill one out if all my friends were doing it, and maybe I would be snarky as ever. Anyone want to ask me 100 poorly-written "questions"? :P
How about you? Did you fill out these things? Have you rediscovered some old "notes" or things you've written that you thought were buried far away?
~Tome~
Friday, April 19, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Book Review: PICTURE PERFECT by Alessandra Thomas
WHY I PICKED IT UP: A few reasons: there was a lot of buzz about it on Twitter, I'm trying to become more familiar with New Adult titles out there, I'd love to support more indie authors, and hey, it was 99 cents!
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Cat used to model and have no problem with the boys. But while recovering from an accident, she gains 60 pounds. When she returns to school, where she's studying fashion, her boyfriend drops her like a hot potato, and she becomes obsessed with feeling fat. Cat seeks counseling and receives unusual advice: to be comfortable in your body again, model nude for a drawing class.
Through the class, she meets Nate, a boy who claims she is perfect the way she is. Though Cat starts loving her own skin, she isn't sure if it's just Nate's love for her or her own self-image adjustment. Although she doesn't care either way at first, the question resurfaces when she stumbles on a troubling secret from Nate's past.
THE POSITIVE:
*Totally relevant subject material. I'm personally a huge supporter of the New Adult genre, and body image issues really do permeate one's identity throughout college -- not just in high school. Cat's struggle is believable.
*Even though Nate is a crutch for Cat for a while, the novel does stress the importance of finding it within yourself to be comfortable with your body, not just relying on the words of others.
*Because Cat is a design student and Nate is an architecture student, Thomas weaves those two fields together into the story in an interesting and fresh manner.
*It flowed well throughout, making it a fast and light read.
THE NOT-SO-POSITIVE:
*I was not prepared for the three and a half instances of, uh, erotica in the novel. And though not everyone would consider that a negative aspect, those sections did make me wonder when we'd get back to the plot, and why the rest of the novel did not have the careful crafting and attention to detail that those spots did. Disclaimer, though: I have yet to not be bored by a sex scene in a book. Unless it includes murder somehow? This did not include murder. (Um spoiler? Haha.) *shrugs*
*For a New Adult novel, it felt more like YA writing + Adult content, instead of a blend.
*Many of the metaphors played off of old cliches (i.e, instances where something felt like "a knife in the stomach").
*Most of the novel, I felt like I was waiting for the bass to drop, and when it finally did, the conflict/resolution was predictable in general, but parts of it tested my suspension of disbelief.
OVERALL RATING: Not really my type of novel and I felt unimpressed. I can see a market for it, though; perhaps I'm just not in the proper demographic. And it is definitely important that novels address this kind of subject matter, so I'm glad Thomas did so.
Review Haiku:
Relevant subject.
The writing did not wow me.
Detailed sex scenes though.
~Tome~
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Cat used to model and have no problem with the boys. But while recovering from an accident, she gains 60 pounds. When she returns to school, where she's studying fashion, her boyfriend drops her like a hot potato, and she becomes obsessed with feeling fat. Cat seeks counseling and receives unusual advice: to be comfortable in your body again, model nude for a drawing class.
Through the class, she meets Nate, a boy who claims she is perfect the way she is. Though Cat starts loving her own skin, she isn't sure if it's just Nate's love for her or her own self-image adjustment. Although she doesn't care either way at first, the question resurfaces when she stumbles on a troubling secret from Nate's past.
THE POSITIVE:
*Totally relevant subject material. I'm personally a huge supporter of the New Adult genre, and body image issues really do permeate one's identity throughout college -- not just in high school. Cat's struggle is believable.
*Even though Nate is a crutch for Cat for a while, the novel does stress the importance of finding it within yourself to be comfortable with your body, not just relying on the words of others.
*Because Cat is a design student and Nate is an architecture student, Thomas weaves those two fields together into the story in an interesting and fresh manner.
*It flowed well throughout, making it a fast and light read.
THE NOT-SO-POSITIVE:
*I was not prepared for the three and a half instances of, uh, erotica in the novel. And though not everyone would consider that a negative aspect, those sections did make me wonder when we'd get back to the plot, and why the rest of the novel did not have the careful crafting and attention to detail that those spots did. Disclaimer, though: I have yet to not be bored by a sex scene in a book. Unless it includes murder somehow? This did not include murder. (Um spoiler? Haha.) *shrugs*
*For a New Adult novel, it felt more like YA writing + Adult content, instead of a blend.
*Many of the metaphors played off of old cliches (i.e, instances where something felt like "a knife in the stomach").
*Most of the novel, I felt like I was waiting for the bass to drop, and when it finally did, the conflict/resolution was predictable in general, but parts of it tested my suspension of disbelief.
OVERALL RATING: Not really my type of novel and I felt unimpressed. I can see a market for it, though; perhaps I'm just not in the proper demographic. And it is definitely important that novels address this kind of subject matter, so I'm glad Thomas did so.
Review Haiku:
Relevant subject.
The writing did not wow me.
Detailed sex scenes though.
~Tome~
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