Easter Preparations

I haven't even started. Nothing, null, nada. Luckily, I don't have to make two family dinners for 16 people like it used to be for a few years, but still, there are things that should be accomplished before Easter. :P Guess if I start early next week, I should have enough time to get more or less ready. I love Easter; I think it may be my favourite holiday. Full of life and hope and joy. I hope we'll be blesses with lovely spring weather this year. It'd be great.

And I need to start posting here on a regular basis. Doing it in panic on a Friday rather spoils the fun. ;)

College

I'm catching up with college stuff. A bit late, I know. And again, I have to fight an absolutely desperate urge to skip classes. I know I'll be there eventually, but oh, I'm so tempted. I'm tired with being on a tight schedule day by day. I need one day with no schedule at all. Not sure it's gonna happen before July, though.

All in all, I'm happy about our two weekends off in April. It'll be good to be home on a Saturday morning for a change. I don't even remember what it feels like. ;)

MTA: Been meaning to post about it ever since our classes last week, but didn't get around to doing it until now. Okay, girls, your presentation on Dali was spectacular! I've learned so many interesting things! It helped me really appreciate his paintings, for the first time in my life. True, he was crazy ;), but a genius artist at the same time. So, Queen, Daisy and Rosunia - thank you! :)

Précis 5

Now, Read it Again

Like old friends and favorite haunts, some books reward revisiting

 

Link: http://www.newsweek.com/2009/06/26/now-read-it-again.html

What proves our love for certain books and their characters better than the worn-out paperbacks we own?

We may have ambitious reading plans, yet we keep going back to our favourite novels. For most of people, such a habit seems to require some sort of explanation or justification – but does it really? In fact, is there any difference between a fully justified, scholarly perusal of a novel and its an unpretentious, comforting, yet another reading? Those most widely re-read: Dickens, Austen and Shakespeare seem to fit both purposes simultaneously – and perfectly too, for that matter. Our rereads are our refuge and our promised land - a place where we form friendships, sometimes even better and stronger and in real life.

There are so many reasons that keeps us glued to the particular story for years. Well-loved characters. Well-known and therefore safe settings. Voices we love to hear over and over again. Phrases we recall every now and then. Favourite anecdotes. A particular style of writing. Sometimes it is even as though the authors themselves have become our close friends in the process.

Whatever the reason, one thing is clear – our beloved rereads reveal, very efficiently, quite a lot about ourselves – and probably more than we would like to. Maybe this- and not those numerous new volumes, untouched by us- is where our sense of shame for being reread addicts comes from?

Vocabulary:

1. haunt (n, countable) - a place that you go to often: The restaurant became one of her favorite haunts. I went back to visit my old childhood haunts.
2. to teem with (phrasal verb), usually used as (be) teeming with- to be full of (life and activity); to have many (people or animals) moving around inside: The river was teeming with fish.; streets teeming with shoppers - sometimes used figuratively: My mind is teeming with ideas. - teeming (adjective ▪ the city's teeming [=bustling] streets
3. mob (n, countable) - a large group or crowd of people who are angry or violent or difficult to control: The angry mob smashed store windows and attacked people on the streets. ▪ The police had to be called in to handle/disperse the growing/gathering mob.
   - informal - a large number of people —usually + of ▪ On our walk, we were passed by a mob of bicycle riders. —often plural: Mobs of teenagers filled the room. The team was greeted by mobs of excited fans.
4. gaiter (n, countable) - a cloth or leather covering or worn over the lower part of the leg especially to keep the legs and ankles dry when hiking —usually plural ▪ a pair of gaiters
5. tribute (n, countable) - something that you say, give, or do to show respect or affection for someone: The concert was a tribute to the musician. Yellow ribbons were tied on trees as a tribute to the soldiers at war.
6. perennial (adj) - existing or continuing in the same way for a long time: Hot dogs are a perennial favorite at barbecues. [=people always like to eat hot dogs at barbecues]

- happening again and again: Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river.

7. dab (n) - a quick, small touch: She gave her eyes a few dabs with a handkerchief.
   - a small amount of something: a dab of paint ; You've got a dab of ice cream on your shirt.; a dab of butter/perfume
8. whodunit (n, informal) - a novel, play, or movie about a murder where you do not know who committed the murder until the end: It was both a page-ripping whodunit and an admired literary novel.; the classic whodunit as exemplified by Agatha Christie.
9. pitcher (n, countable) - the player who throws the ball to the batter in baseball: He was a great pitched in our league. Who's the best starting pitcher in your new division?
10. credulous (adj) - too ready to believe things, easily fooled or cheated: Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense.; a credulous audience

Planning

Are you a planning person? I'm not - and I so often wish I were, because I constantly feel like I'm behind on everything. Planning has some really bad associations for me, from the (rather remote) past, which is why I avoid it like a plague. And it's really stupid of me, because planning does make your life easier. You just put things on paper, cross them out when they're done, and voilà - it's as simple as that.

Anyway, I've been thinking about changing it, step by step. So, there's something I'm totally copying from my friend, but it's worth stealing (I'm sure you won't mind, B, when you see this ;)).

There's this project: http://dayzeroproject.com/ which gives you a chance to make your own list of things you want to accomplish and then to track your progress. I don't want to do it online (surprise, surprise ;)), but I like the rules (which I'm posting beneath, copied from this link):

The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities. 

Me being me (as in, not a planner), I know I may have problems with coming up with 101 goals - but how about 10 in 101 days for a start? :D Sounds like a good idea, at least to me. Wish me luck. ;)

Looks like we all need a break

It's been a while since October, isn't it? And it's still quite a long time till our summer holidays, so no wonder we all feel tired and unmotivated. Or at least, not motivated enough.

I've just sat down and started doing my homework (about time ;)) and thought I'd share a link to the online dictionary I often use and find quite helpful and user-friendly: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/. There's also the regular Merriam-Webster one online: http://www.merriam-webster.com/, but the first one seems a bit more accessible, at least to me.

Hope you guys are doing okay!

Sigh

I so haven't felt like posting this week. I suppose it's just my turn to feel tired and discouraged. Do I even need to add that I don't look forward to tomorrow's tests? :/

At least I'm finally fully recovered. It took me a while, but it's nice to be in good shape again.

This will have to do for a post; now I'm going to comment on your blogs. I haven't been there for a while - sorry about that.

Précis 4

Please Stop Writing!

Why do even the best Novelists lose their literary magic after a few books?

Link: http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/20/please-stop-writing.html

The article's author is very partial to mystery and detective stories. A good story and its hero can make even a many hour wait at the station bearable, if not too short. Finding such a writer is a falling-in-love sort of experience, but the real mystery is why these authors stop writing great books after a while.

David Baldacci, Alan Furst, Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Meyer, all authors of serial, many volume novels, are among those who should have stopped writing a while ago. One may only hope that J. K. Rowling will stick to her shrewd decision to write only seven Harry Potter books.

Some writers, like Michael Connelly, try to escape that fate by writing several series at once – and it seems to work. Others, apparently in search of continuing profits, use Conan Doyle's device of his hero Holmes' faked death, which was used when the author succumbed to his readers' pressure. It is understandable that writers find it hard to part with the characters that made them rich and famous, but their decision to continue at all cost often seems wrong.

With literary writers, the question 'when to stop' is equally valid, even though there are many answers to it. Some, like Harper Lee, are the authors of just one novel. Others had a long career with its peak at the end. A few, like Normal Mailer or L. M. Alcott, switched genres successfully.

Unfortunately, while the authors keep agonizing over this question, to their readers the answer is pretty obvious all too often.

Vocabulary:

1. hunky (adj, informal) - attractive and usually well-built: the film's hunky leading man; That actor is so hunky!
2. firecracker (n, countable) - a small paper cylinder that is filled with an explosive and that produces a loud noise when it explodes: boys setting off firecrackers
3. gambit (n, countable) - a planned series of moves at the beginning of a game of chess :A gambit usually involves losing a piece, such as a pawn, in order to gain an advantage later in the game.
   - something done or said in order to gain an advantage or to produce a desired result: a conversational gambit; Their opening gambit in the negotiations was to demand a wage hike.
4. condo (n, countable, AmE) – condominium - chiefly US : a room or set of rooms that is owned by the people who live there and that is part of a larger building containing other similar sets of rooms; a building that contains condominiums
5. to stall (v) - to avoid doing something or to delay someone in a deliberate way because you need more time, do not want to do something, etc. [no obj]: Please stop stalling and answer the question. [+ obj]: Try to stall them until I get the place cleaned up.
   - to stop progressing or developing [no obj]: The economic recovery has stalled. His career has stalled in recent years. [+ obj]: Budget problems have stalled the project.
6. to summon (v, formal) - to order (someone) to come to a place: The queen summoned him back to the palace. She was summoned to (appear in) court.
   - to ask for (someone or something) to come: She summoned a doctor. - to get (the courage, energy, strength, etc., that you need to do sth) by making a special effort : She couldn't summon [=muster] the strength/energy to finish the race. He finally summoned up the courage to ask her out on a date.
   - to ask or order a group of people to come together for (a meeting): The president summoned a meeting/conference.
7. fallow (adj) - not used for growing crops, not planted: fallow land/fields; allowing several fields to lie fallow
   - not active or productive: a writer who has been going through a fallow period ; There were too many promising ideas lying fallow at the company.