'twas the Night Before Christmas

I have always loved the Christmas season. Though our culture has shifted the focus of this holiday to the commercial end of things, there's still something about Christmas that makes me smile. I think it has something to do with the lights. Seeing bright (if slightly tacky) light displays everywhere gives me a really funny, happy feeling. It always has. However, I think my absolute favorite part of the season is Christmas trees. The smell, the lights, the ornaments, I love everything about them. Whenever I'm feeling sad in December, I like to turn on the Christmas tree and just sit with it in an otherwise dark room. Something about it is incredibly calming to me. Yes, I know I'm strange. 

Christmas Eve is such an exciting day. You can feel it in the air, no matter where you are; last minute Christmas shopping, the smell of baking cookies, Christmas parties full of laughter (and screaming children). In my household, we spent a good part of the day together putting together Harry Potter lego sets to arrange around the base of the Christmas tree. As non-traditional as we are, it was still great fun! Even though the dog kept dropping her soggy toys all over the pieces and the cat kept sitting on them, we were still successful and our arrangement looks quite lovely, if I do say so myself. 

Now, all that's left is to fall asleep so that Santa can come to visit! Though it's against my normal sleep schedule, I mean to try! I love the excitement of coming downstairs on Christmas morning! It's something I'm not sure I'll ever outgrow! 

Merry Christmas, everyone! No matter your faith, I wish you happiness!

Creative Energy

It's so strange getting back into a routine once you've been working on something totally different for a while. During National Novel Writing Month, I was writing at every possible moment. All of my creative energy was channeled into that one source. Since I was also working with a specific goal and deadline, I was able to push myself harder and meet with greater success than ever before. Of course, now that it's over, I don't really know what to do with myself. For a few days after NaNoWriMo ended, I was mentally and creatively exhausted, so it was nice to take a step back and rest my mind a bit. Now, however, I'm starting to feel a little do-less. I have this excess of creative energy floating around and I'm having a really difficult time directing it. I jump around from one project to another, without making any real progress on any of them. I need to finish the cross stitch designs that I've been working on, but I'm feeling so scattered. I need to refine my novel, but I don't know where to start with that. I should keep up with my blogs, but I feel like I can't really capture anything interesting to say.
On the bright side, this has led me to the desire to learn something new or to return to the projects that I haven't worked on in years. It's been ages since I've picked up a pair of knitting needles, for example, and my jewelry making supplies have been in my closet for longer than I can remember. But this desire to start something new is a bit scary as well. I feel like it's likely to be a total disaster. I know that practice makes perfect, but that first project, the place to start, is eluding me.
I have so much creative energy bouncing around my brain, that my head wants to explode, but I need the inspiration to channel it into a new project, the inspiration to take that first step...

New Project

As those of you know know me in person will no doubt be aware, I take far too many pictures of my cat, Phantom. She is kind of like my baby. I know, its pathetic. I am destined to become a crazy old cat lady, and I am surprisingly okay with that. Anyway, onto the point. I decided to put those pictures to use and finally succumb to joining Tumblr. So, in addition to this blog, I am also running a Tumblr account based on Phantom's daily adventures. If you like cats or just want to humor me, check it out, promote it, be amazed at how cute she is or how lame I am, any of that.
http://phantomthetemplecat.tumblr.com/

She is also now on Twitter as @TheTempleCat and she'd love some more followers. Or she would if she really understood what Twitter was. I'm also on Twitter as @AydenAlendil. Feel free to follow me as well, though I don't Tweet that much.

Until next time, farewell.

NaNoWriMo

Hello Everyone,
By this point, I doubt that anyone is still reading this, and I must say that I find that totally understandable. I did just drop off the face of the Earth for a month. But I assure you that I had a reason! As many already know, November is National Novel Writing Month. For those who have not yet been enlightened, NaNoWriMo is an online challenge in which participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. If that sounds like insanity to you, let me assure you that it is. 50,000 words in 30 days boils down to 1,667 words a day, if you write every day. If you happen to get behind, it can be a nightmare to catch up. What's amazing, it that people all over the world undertake this challenge, even established writers like Maureen Johnson.
Though I've attempted to participate for several years, something always got in the way. It seemed that every November I would wind up with a romantic crisis which dulled my creative spirit and desire to write. These break ups were VERY poorly timed, I must say. However, this November, I decided that nothing was going to get in the way of me giving NaNoWriMo my all.
I am proud to say, that this year, I succeeded! Despite falling behind over Thanksgiving break, I managed to catch up on my word count and hit the 50,000 word mark last night. I'm really pleased with myself and excited to wrap up the story and edit my first draft over the next few months. I feel like I've accomplished something I can be proud of!

Anyway, enough about that for the moment. Now that my month of insanity is over, I should be back to posting with more regularity. I'm also working on getting a Tumblr set up and will post the link to that when it's up.

Family Matters

On Saturday, I began the all-important big sister roll of preparing my little sister for college. Of course, I may be starting a little early considering that she is 8, but that's beside the point. After receiving yet another lecture from her (someone scratched "fuck you" on our apartment door at some point before we moved in. Emma does not approve.) we began our quest for adventure.
Earlier that week, I'd received a tip that a nearby museum was holding an animal presentation, so we headed that way (with the source of the tip in tow, of course). The Wagner Free Institute of Science is only a few blocks from campus, so it was a relatively easy walk, even for Emma with her shorter legs. Though I really shouldn't be saying that. At the rate she's growing, she'll be as tall as I am soon. Sigh.
Anyway, moving on. I would highly recommend the Wagner Free Institute of Science. They are funded entirely on donations, yet incredibly well run. Their upstairs exhibit contains samples of coral, rocks, minerals, all sorts of preserved animals and even dinosaur bones! For the kids, they run a scavenger hunt that takes them to all corners of the room, answering questions. I was certainly worn out from it! Also, the institute occasionally hosts special presentations and classes - all free! The one we attended - Fangs! - was run by the Elmwood Park Zoo who did a fantastic job. Their presentation included snakes, an opossum, bats and several other critters. Emma and I both loved it!
After the exhibit, we proceeded to an afternoon of cookies, exploring the campus and carving pumpkins, definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions. Usually, I take a lot of pride in my pumpkins, though I think Marco may have outdone me this year with his rather realistic looking fox.
Overall, a wonderful day or sister bonding and adventure! (Emma particularly liked the ice cream available in the dining hall.)
On another family related note, I received a package from my mother today. At first, it seemed to be a basic Halloween treat surprise - funky stockings, caramelized popcorn and some delicious chocolate! But as I was sorting through the candy container, I discovered that it contained more than candy. Dispersed through the sweets were several condoms, some even flavored.
I'm not entirely sure what to think about this, so I've decided to find it entertaining. Oh my mother... I love her.

Observations of the Squirrel Variety

Since coming to Temple, I have spent many hours sitting in the grass, watching what is going on around me. As Temple is a rather large school, the majority of people who pass me are strangers. Their faces blend together until they all start to look the same. But with continued observations, I start to recognize a few faces and learn to pick individuals out of the crowd.
On a remarkably similar note, I also spend a good bit of my time watching squirrels run around. At first, they all looked, well, like squirrels. They were adorable creatures who ran around gathering food and being cute and furry but none of them really stood out to me. The more I watch, the more I realize that I am seeing the same squirrels in some of the same places. For instance, I have been seeing one particular squirrel running around my favorite sitting places. He (or she, its hard to tell when they don't stay still very long) has a very distinctive tail, that thins out near the tip, in regards to fur. Seeing him every day makes me smile, and is rather like seeing a friend. The other day, I was sitting with a (human) friend who had an apple for lunch. Said apple turned out not to be particularly good, so we offered it to the squirrel. This led to an adorable and entertaining scene of the squirrel trying to carry the entire apple in his mouth. He actually managed for several feet before giving up and eating some of it right there.
But anyway, I digress. I meant to sum things up with a really insightful statement. I guess that what I'm trying to get at is that people are like squirrels. Despite many similarities that make them blend together, with a bit of attention and observation, you can find distinct features that set them apart as unique.
Either that, or I'm trying to say that squirrels are adorable.

Of Movies and Halloween

Hello all,
First off, I must apologize for the delay in this post. I had a project and several midterms last week (all of which went rather well, by the way), so blogging had to be set on the back burner for a while.
Since my last update, I have kept up rather well with my resolution. My movie experience now includes Beetlejuice, Little Shop of Horrors and The Shining. Though I felt the Beetlejuice dragged a bit, I loved Little Shop of Horrors and The Shining. Little Shop was hilarious, with fantastic musical performances and an incredibly quirky plot. The whole carnivorous plant makes me wonder what sort of drugs the writer was on at the time, but the overall result was a fun movie that I'd happily watch again and again.
In The Shining, I see a brilliantly put together horror movie. I have always been drawn more to psychological horror and suspense than blood and gore. I feel that The Shining handled itself beautifully. As a filmmaker, I greatly admire the cinematography of The Shining. Every shot was aligned beautifully to maximize the overall impact. However as a viewer, that was a really bad night to be alone in my apartment.
On a different note, I am incredibly excited for Halloween! I love getting dressed up and the excuse to do so, makes Halloween one of my favorite holidays. Also, my sister is coming to visit me this weekend, and I plan on having her help me carve some of the 7 pumpkins that are currently sitting on my windowsill. Between that and baking cookies, I expect to have a rather fun day. Though the exact nature of my costume is still a work in progress, I am having a ton of fun with it. Now I just have to find some sort of Halloween even at which to wear it...

Movie of the Week

I have decided on a new goal for myself from this point onward. Every week, I plan to watch at least one movie that I have not seen before. As a film major, it seems important to me that I expose myself to as many films as possible. Just as reading all sorts of books helps improve writing ability, I feel that watching a variety of films can make you a better filmmaker. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I have fallen into the habit of watching the same movies over and over again because I find it comforting to emerse myself in the familiar characters and stories. However, I hope to break that pattern and watch as many new movies as possible in the next few months.
Assuming that I manage to stick with this goal, I hope to start posting a series of entries to share my thoughts and opinions on these films. I'm sure there will be many cases that you'll be astounded by what films I have managed to avoid seeing over the years.
I suppose that's it for now. Wish me luck. Comments are always welcome. Feel free to suggest films to watch, ask questions or let me know what topics you'd like to hear about.

Disney Mania

I admit it. I am a TOTAL sucker for kids movies, particularly those of the Disney variety. I really am an 8-year-old at heart sometimes. Most of the movies I see in the theatre these days are kids movies and I have been known to drag a date along now and then (they have been remarkably patient about this). 

Many of the more recent children's movies are full of the charm and creativity that I have found lacking in most of today's blockbusters. So often, I go to see a movie and find myself experiencing deja vu. Casting different actors in the same roles does not actually change the plot... Though I still enjoy these movies, none of them are quite as enjoyable to watch as a seemingly simple children's film. 

The other night, for instance, Leanne and I sat don for the evening to watch Tangled, which is my favorite Disney movie ever and very high up there on my all time list. The magical story, the charming music, the thoroughly three dimensional characters and the excellent wit of the film makes me smile no matter how many times I watch it. I could rave about the merits of Tangled all day, but I imagine I would bore most of you. However, I will say that if other filmmakers put half the effort into their explosions into their characters, far more memorable and beloved films would be produced. 

Just my little thought for the day. 

Introductory Blog Post

Well, here I am, starting a new blog and for whatever reason, you are reading it. So I will now take this opportunity to welcome you to my little corner of cyberspace. I hope that you'll choose to stay a while.
Before I launch into tales of my wild adventures or long rants (of the mostly harmless variety, of course) allow me to introduce myself.
First off, my name is Sarah. I am a Film and Media Arts major at Temple University. I currently am living with my fantastic roommate Leanne, her rat, my cat, and my two fish. (So expect occasional stories of our exploits)
As far as life style goes, I am a self-proclaimed nerd. A significant reason I began this blog is that I continuously find obscure books or movies that inspire long rants or vaguely insightful thoughts and in many cases, I find very little occasion to share them.
On the subject of the blog itself, I don't plan on being constrained to any particular topic or theme. Last year, I was the co-author of a blog featuring movie reviews. However, we couldn't often sit down and watch movies together, so it kind of faced into the background. However, we would like to rekindle it at some point, so keep an eye out in the future. I plan to update this at least once a week. Hopefully I'll find a routine and stick with it. But in the meantime, updates may be a bit sporadic.

Anyway... I'm sure you'll learn far more about me by reading the blog itself than by reading this lame introduction. Also, I'm a bit bored with discussing myself and am having difficulty coming up with witty ways to detail my life. So look for my next update, I assure you that I will improve things by then... But the first entry of almost anything is bound to suck just a bit, right?
I'm going to keep telling myself that.