I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the book has a very solid message–about how some of us feel like ‘aliens’ in the world–in other words, outcasts who don’t belong. I dig that message. On the other hand, the prose was very flat for me. This was a quick read not because the writing was so great, but because it’s really more of a novella (a slim 150 pages) and because the chapters are SO short. Seriously, some chapters are one sentence long. Like this:

Sometimes, this is a whole chapter.

Or this:

Here’s a deep, profound statement that is SO deep and SO profound that no other words are necessary in this particular chapter.

(That last sentence was longer than many of the chapters in this book.)

I kept reading because I wanted to see if the author would turn the story into a true science fiction tale (which she really doesn’t). I will say that the ending was probably my favorite part of the book. I can’t say that I enjoyed the characters much, if at all. Mal is kind of relatable most of the time but other times he just annoyed me because he is so stinking emo. I was sad that his dad deserted the family and his mom was an alcoholic, but…I don’t know. I didn’t care about his character as much as I should have.

To sum it up, I think the book had the potential to be better than it is and I was left disappointed.

I was kind of perplexed by the basis of the plot–how could scientists not even suspect the potential consequences of a meteor hitting the moon? I get it, that type of oversight is what makes the whole plot possible, but it just seemed too easy to say, ‘oh, the scientists underestimated the impact.’ Anyway, I just decided to go with it and consider the possibility. The result is a real horror story, actually–tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mass casualties. This story speaks to most people’s primal fears about the truly uncontrollable aspects of our lives.

As a narrator, Miranda kind of irritated me at first, but I think that might have been intentional. At the book’s start, she is a typical teenager–whiny and fairly self-centered the majority of the time–but as the story progresses, she turns into quite a mature, responsible survivor. Eventually, I appreciated her character and wanted things to turn out okay for her and her family in the end.

Speaking of which, the ending fell a *little* flat for me. It wasn’t corny, but it felt a little too tidy. Put simply, I feel that more of the main characters should have died; realistically, that’s probably what would have happened. But overall, I enjoyed the book and have already bought the other two books in the trilogy (which, to my surprise, turned out to be companion books rather than true sequels; however, I’ll still be reading them both).

I’ve read and liked Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, so I was intrigued when I heard about The Future of Us. The premise is really clever–what if you signed on to AOL in 1996, only to find yourself looking at your Facebook profile 15 years in the future?

If Goodreads allowed us to give half stars, I would have given this 3.5 out of 5. This is such a cute book! I loved all the 90s references–AOL, Windows 95, scrunchies, VCRs…the list goes on. As with many novels that have some time travel element, the details get kind of dicey here and there. But overall, I found The Future of Us really fun and sweet. The ending is pretty ambiguous but I think it fits the story.

Lastly, I’m kind of surprised at the scathing reviews for this on Goodreads. Seriously, the book is not that awful! It’s not my favorite, but it’s hardly a waste of time either. In fact, if you want a nice, lighthearted YA read, I recommend this.

I’m kind of glad I’ve seen the movie version of The Shining because I already know how the story ends. I’m still reading the book and it’s interesting, but for some reason I keep falling asleep whenever I try to read it! It’s really annoying. It doesn’t matter if I read at night or during the day, either. So weird. I’m going to finish reading the book, but at this rate, it’s going to take me a while.

I had to work on Saturday but it was a pleasant, short shift. So I’m off tomorrow, which is really nice. Even though I don’t love working Saturdays, I do like having the following Monday off (good way to avoid a Case of the Mondays, you understand).

M and I had a case of spring cleaning (or winter cleaning, I suppose) earlier today. We cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and counters–it looks so much nicer in there now! And I feel even better about having done that because right now I’m watching Hoarding: Buried Alive on TLC and it’s freaking me out. I don’t know why I’m so addicted to these trainwreck shows. I have no reasons. I always feel terrible for the hoarders and their families, especially when they acknowledge that they have a disorder but they don’t know how to overcome it…it’s so sad.

Anyway, I plan on being very lazy on my day off tomorrow because that is what I do. I’ll probably spend a good part of the day doing some secret knitting and watching a lot of Netflix + Amazon Instant Video. Such is the life of a semi-hermit!

My first thought was to say Diana Gabaldon, but then I would feel guilty because I still haven’t read her latest Outlander novel. (I’m not a good fan lately!) Also, I met her back in 2007 and, in my starstruck state, couldn’t manage more than “I LOVE YOUR BOOKS I’M SO EXCITED TO MEET YOUUUU!!!” So yeah. Not sure I would do well in an interview with her.

Actually, I think I’d like to interview Anita Shreve because I adore her books and I find her writing style very inspiring. There’s a distinctly dark quality to her novels and I get the sense that she’s gone through a lot of pain in her life. I don’t expect that she would talk about that with a complete stranger, but I would like to hear about her writing process.

I’m one of those knitters who HATES swatching. I’ve been known to make sweaters without making proper swatches first (because I am too lazy/impatient to take that small, yet very important extra step). Happily, this swatch in particular serves a very special purpose, so I don’t mind making it: it’s for the beginner knitting class that I’m teaching at the library later this month!

I’m pretty excited because sign-ups are almost full. I’m a wee bit nervous about teaching the class, but I feel confident in my skills, so I’m not too worried. I’m just glad that I’m able to incorporate knitting into my job–I feel very lucky!

It’s also interesting how having a job that forces you to deal with the public can actually change your personality a bit. I’ve always been very shy, but over the years that I’ve been dealing with people at work, I’ve had no choice but to come out of my shell over time. I’m still not an extrovert, but it’s definitely easier for me to talk to strangers now. Several years ago, I NEVER would have thought I’d have the opportunity or confidence to teach (not one, but three classes!) at my job. Now, it’s really not a big deal at all! What a relief.

If I had to estimate, I’d say I have around 50-60 different colors of nail polish. Probably closer to 50, since it’s been a while since I actually counted but I did get rid of several shades (and promptly replaced them with new shades, ahem). But I was surprised when I realized that I had NO gold polish! At all! I had tan, brown, bronze…but nada gold. Until now, obviously.

From l-r: Essie Luxeffects As Gold As It Gets topcoat; Milani Good Morning Sunshine; L’oreal Amazon’s Flash; Wet ‘n Wild Fast Dry The Gold and the Beautiful.

The Essie and Milani shades definitely lean more yellow, while the other two have deeper gold tones, I think. I’m going to try the Essie over the L’oreal first to see how that looks, but I’ve seen pics of people using the Essie over other colors–black, green, even on bare nails and it looks really pretty either way.

The movie has pretty crappy reviews but I liked it well enough. Can’t say I’d watch it again but it was okay. Actually, I was more impressed by the music–can’t call it a soundtrack, really, since apparently a real soundtrack for the film was never released. The music overall is pretty sparse, but there’s a beautiful, instrumental version of “We Three Kings” (the Christmas song) that plays over the credits and I really like it.

I somehow managed to stay up until midnight last night! I’m definitely getting old though, because it was difficult and I just wanted to go to bed. M and I watched Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper to help keep me awake.

We spent the first day of the new year with my family. My parents’ house has become a gathering place for all special occasions–birthdays, holidays, and the like. My sister and brother-in-law were there, too. We always start out by eating the yummiest of food (Filipino food FOREVER) and then we sit around the dining room table chatting.

Inevitably, the conversation turns to the paranormal, haha. For some reason, my family loves to talk about their ‘personal experiences’ when it comes to ghosts. I always feel left out because I’ve never had a definite experience and the questionable one I did have was most likely something from a dream-induced state. I used to be a HUGE fan of the show Ghost Hunters–I watched faithfully and bought into it, but over time I’ve changed my perspective about the supernatural/paranormal. My family isn’t very scientifically-minded (and that’s not intended to be an insult or anything; it’s just a fact). I’ve become more skeptical as I get older and, in recent years, have been introduced to the awesomeness of people like Carl Sagan. It’s really interesting how drastically our beliefs can change over time.

oh! I forgot to mention that I completed my December blog-a-day! I didn’t miss any days, woohoo! I’m going to try to keep up with my consistent blogging in January. And I’ll hopefully post about more substantive things…maybe. Sometimes I just can’t muster up any deep thoughts. And when I do write, I *still* feel the urge (even after all these years of blogging) to censor myself sometimes…because I think what I really want to write will sound silly or weird or…something. I don’t want to overshare all the time, but I do want to write more honestly, if that makes sense.

I’m off work tomorrow and Tuesday (EXCITE!) and I’m planning on getting some secret knitting done and relaxing in general. I hope your 2012 is off to a great start!

This post was inspired by Manda and Moni.

January

M and I visited the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA.

February

It snowed. A lot! A crazy amount of snow for Virginia Beach, to be honest.

March

I started getting into fitness and losing weight. (sigh) I've definitely fallen off this wagon. I'm kind of sad about it, actually. Maybe I'll get back on Wii Fit in 2012. Also in March: I FINALLY bought a DSLR!

April

I put the new Foo Fighters CD in my car and didn't take it out for MONTHS. Seriously, I've listened to this hundreds of times by now. It's that good.

May

I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool with my knitty girls and kc went with us for the first time! YAY It was sooooo fun!

June

I put my new Nikon to good use and participated in the 7 Days (self-portrait) group on Flickr for the first time. (Unfortunately, I missed the latest round! I'll try to join next cycle.)

July

I turned 31! And after years of work-related stress, I interviewed for a new job...AND GOT IT!

August

Roughest month of all (maybe ever). My then-boss killed himself. I started my new job four days later. Hurricane Irene hit (and spared us, thankfully). Spent way too much time numb, crying, numb (lather, rinse, repeat), thinking about a lot of things I'd never had to consider before.

September

I settled into my new job at the library and finally realized that I was meant to work in a library all along. If only I'd realized this years ago!

October

My nail polish stash grew...and grew...and....I'm still buried under it, actually...

November

I had a very stressful month at work (loooong story...it's not the work, it's certain people). As always, my dogs were there to cheer me up (mopey faces aside).

December

M had a birthday and we also celebrated five years together. I gave myself a break and chose not to knit for family this year, yay me.

I’m pretty sure I’ll do another YIP for 2012 because it’s really been helpful having these photos to jog my memory. 2011 was super emotional for me, in positive and negative ways. What I’m hoping/resolving to do in 2012 is be more productive with my emotions…less bitching, more DOING, if that makes sense.

I’m not going to say that 2011 sucked entirely because I did make at least one very big, positive life change (new job FTW!), so I’m just hoping that 2012 is that much better. May you have an even better 2012, too.