Grades are in! :)

This is already on my Facebook but just showing it to show hard work pays off! Also, not working 50 hours a week makes school a lot easier. Now that I'm employed again, I'm planning on keeping these grades as the standard. Hopefully A's across the board next semester! :)

Book Review Update:
I didn't read the past two weeks because I was cramming for school but I should catch up this winter break. Gossip Girl on the CW officially ended this Monday. :( It was predictable and a litte rushed, but I think the fans got what they wanted. Here's one review you can read that's favorable and here's another that's a little more critical. I'm genuinely very sad to see it go, even if it was kind of lackluster towards the end.

'til next time, stay classy! ♥

-M

Gossip Girl: All I Want Is Everything

I'm about a third into the fourth book. Sorry there's no topher (two for one) today. Also, I was getting registered for next semester so I apologize for the late post.  Need to get better about that!

 
Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 215

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary:

Without giving too much away, here are the main events that occur during Christmas and the New Year:

The book starts off with Chuck, Kati, Isabel, Serena, Blair, and Aaron heading out to the club for the Black and Whie Ball that Serena and Blair are hosting (they are friends at this point). She tries to distract herself with Aaron's new friend (Miles Igram) while Serena is busy flirting with a rock star named Flow. Aaron doesn't really like what's going on because he's secretly into his step-sister, so he's been pretty distant lately. Flow makes a shout-out to Serena and Blair, but invites Serena to party with her afterwards which causes the rumor mill to start talking. Everyone ditches Chuck, Kati, and Isabel because they're passed out in the limo while everyone else is about to head to the afterparty. Aaron doesn't want to a be a third wheel so he also splits. As the rest of the group loads up, Nate and Jenny are passing by the club and Serena invited them to join. Nate is kind of bored with Jenny already (although he won't admit it) while Jenny is still very much in the moment. She eagerly accepts the offer but the moment they get into the car, it becomes extremely awkward because everyone runs into each other for the first time since 1) Blair and Nate broke up and 2) Nate and Serena being in the same room since the Blair reconciliation.

At school the following Monday, everyone is treating Serena like a complete celebrity because of the run-in with Flow. Blair is getting told to rewrite her essay to Yale after blowing her interview, Jenny is speaking up in class about sex, Dan's not putting out to Vanessa because he wants his first time to be more poetic, and Nate can't stop comparing Jenny and Blair. During the break, Blair and Serena head off to St. Bart's while Jenny and Nate go Christmas shopping before Nate heads to Maine. As they walk in the park, they get taped being kind of kinky and it's leaked to the internet by accident.

Meanwhile in St. Bart's, Blair tries to lose her virginity to Miles but Aaron ends up walking in on them before anything happens. Dan and Rufus see the video and tell Jenny (who is mortified). When Dan eventually finds out that the tape came from Vanessa's camera, he hates her and writes his first poem since before him and Vanessa started dating. He called it "Sluts" and sends it to Vanessa after a period of not talking. Although it hurts her feelings, she realizes the poem is a gem. She then sends it to the New Yorker to have it published. He gets a letter from the New Yorker on New Year's Eve that he's being published. Initially, he's enraged because he had no idea it was even submitted but then he actually ends up getting back together with her because of it. At this point, Nate is trying to get back together with Blair, Aaron is getting over Blair with Serena, Serena is ditching Flow's heavy attempts to impress her, Jenny is ditching her punishment to go see Nate (who really doesn't care at this point), and poor Flow is getting rejected a second time by a heartbroken Jenny. Ken Mogul sees Vanessa's tape and thinks her cinematography could be useful so he goes to the park to see her in action on New Year's Eve. This is when Dan makes up with her and they share a New Year's kiss.

Thoughts:
First of all, I apologize for the longer review. I guess I went a little hay-wire since I didn't do two books. There's a lot of ground to cover since there's a lot of social activities for these characters going on. There's also a lot of feelings and doubting so I just kind of listed that stuff. It seems really fast and forced, but I'm trying to leave the juicy details out. After all, it's supposed to be a summary, not an entire outline (lol). By the third book, you start seeing some weaknesses in the writing. When Von Ziegesar reintroduces characters, she uses mainly the same descriptions. Ex.) "Ms. Gios is always getting nosebleeds and was thought to have some rare contagious disease. All the girls were afraid to touch the handouts she gave them. (page 65)". It's an okay description but it's pretty much the same thing as the second book (almost word for word). She could've changed it up a little since she does this with multiple characters and places (the Humphrey apartment, Rufus, Cyrus, etc.) Also, the whole "Flow following Serena around thing" didn't really have a point in the plot other than to show that Serena was seriously wanted. I don't think it was needed. That's the only criticism I'd have. It was still very entertaining.

Also, these came in the mail today. Yipee! I pre-ordered the book so I'm thrilled it finally got here.

til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

late entry.

So I didn't have time to write last night but that doesn't mean I forgot. I was just in a funky place. Something weird went down in my house last night (a break-in attempt?) and I was a little out of whack. I didn't even sleep much. However, today brought some good news. I have some really understanding teachers this semester so that's helped me a lot with my full plate. Also, I heard again from the author of The Happiness Project. Initially, she e-mailed me back but only gave me a one sentence reply. Needless to say, I was a little bummed since I had taken the time to carefully craft the e-mail: long enough to give background but short enough to be bareable (lol) and then ask for some advice. I didn't know which of the three e-mails she gives to send it to, so I sent it to all three (hahaha, desperate, much?) but luckily, today she had the time to read my e-mail again and gave a more heartfelt reply:

"Hi Michelle --
Thanks so much for your kind email. I'm thrilled to hear that my work resonates with you. 
It sounds as though you’ve done a lot of thinking about what really makes you happy and the conditions that you need to feel happier as you make decisions as you move forward. I wish I had some easy advice! What works for me is to Be Gretchen—Be Michelle. The more I think about, and put into action, the truth about my own nature, temperament, interests, and values, the happier I get. But it’s very hard to do! Good luck, I'll be thinking of you. HAPPY 2012! I very much appreciate you taking the time to write. 
Warmly,
Gretchen"


Pretty cool, right? Anyways, I cried about my past for the first time in a really long time. Looking through my phone, I think I had an emotional response to the acceptance I finally embraced wholeheartedly. Then, today I read an article on Huffington Post that explained what I felt pretty well:

"I learned that a hard edge and stubborn spirit can only get you so far. I began to see the wisdom in acceptance, surrendering to discomfort. Softness is not in opposition to strength; it supports it. Where I used to see my ex as some malevolent demon, "el esposo diablo," I began to see him as a hurt, fearful child cowering in a corner. Compassion seeped into the anger, softening its edges and allowing me to downshift. Anxiety, which had been a constant companion, was slowly replaced with a calmer mind."


These past few days have just been days where I've felt very overwhelmed...in a good way.
Recovering from a mild stomach virus, my classmate (who I'm not even close to) helped me out a lot and I'm just more thankful every day...especially for Eric.


'til next time, stay classy!♥