Treading Water

I fully believe that midterms are meant to divide the weak from the strong.

It's like being in a pool and being asked to tread for 16 minutes. Halfway through, your coach swims up to you and adds 10 pound weights to your ankles and tells you to keep it up for the next couple of minutes. So every muscle strains, and impolite four letter words pop up into your mind repeatedly. Every so often, you start a serious debate with yourself over the possibility of quitting. But eventually, the weights do come off. It becomes a little easier to breathe; the idea of completing this 16 minutes of treading doesn't seem as daunting as it did a moment ago. However, your brain quickly reminds you that there are at least 5 to 6 minutes left of this task and the idea is enough to add its own 10 pound burden to every muscle in your body. The end feels like it will never come.

I am sitting at an awkward place where only one of the weights have been removed from my feet. It is an interesting feeling that is forcing me to re-evaluate the process of treading as a whole. I'm exhausted, I'm hitting a limit - and every day I have to remind myself that it will be worth it. God does not waste experiences, even awkward one-footed weight ones. 

November is an interesting time here in Boston. According to many who have lived here for at least a couple of years, I am being spoiled by the weather. It is supposed to be cold, cloudy, and miserable from now until April. I even had a roommate tell me that if I wanted to stay productive, to just stop looking out the window.

Now, maybe this is my Texan showing, but I'm pretty sure it's fairly cold and cloudy. In fact, it has been raining all day and probably will for the next few days. 50F here is not the same as 50F at home, and it is even worse in the rain. If there is not a reason to leave, then don't. If there is, you better hope that you have a great pair of boots and the wind isn't strong enough to flip your umbrella inside out as you walk. (This happens a lot more than one would think).

So yes, I am in a current state of being a little black rain cloud.

October is a long month to push through, but it has been completed. November brings the promise of a break and December the promise of home. 

Good luck to all my fellow student friends out there, we are almost there!

Until next time,

Kaity

Between a Book and a Fun Place

Dearest Readers,

I am aware that I have been lax in my responsibilities when it comes to posting on this site. The goal was to give y'all a summary of my week so that you could enjoy my journey with me. But throughout last week and this, I realized that I'm not doing anything special. I have two more years of schooling left and it is really exactly as it sounds. I work, I study (usually in the forms of reading hundreds of pages of articles and then writing a summary over it), I go to class, and every blue moon I socialize with other human beings.

While other people are off on new adventures, I am still very much stuck behind a desk. I am quite a Plain Jane - and recently that has started to bother me. Currently I reside in a fantastic city that is rich with our country's history and full of multiple cultures. This should be a time of growth. It is time that I chased those dreams that have quietly lived in the back of my mind for so many years. Time to learn so much more than the knowledge that comes with books. Oh, but where do I find the time?

That is the predicament I have found myself in for the last couple weeks. My mind has been in a tug of war for my yearning of exploration and the responsibilities that I have. At some point, I am sure that I will find a balance.

So there is a quick little update.

All the best,

Kaity

Dracula Untold

Rating: 

Through a mix up at a local theater, instead of enjoying the Boxtrolls, I found myself watching Dracula Untold. (We received these tickets for free, so I was not one to complain).

Sadly, I have not yet read the original works, but I can tell you that this movie was fairly well done. From what I have gathered through the summaries on Goodreads, this movie is set before the book.(I am also very unsure after this movie if the book fits in at all.)

Vlad Dracula (Luke Evans) had a dark childhood and has found himself free of being The Impaler for the Turks for over ten years. Of course, things do not stay all that peaceful when the Turks ask for more than just the regular payment for the Sultan. They want 1000 boys for their armies as well.

There is a belief that Vlad has been killing the Turkish spies (that are not supposed to be in the country anyway) and this is payment. The truth is that there is a monster in a cave who can kill Turks with its bare hands. Is there a chance that this monster could be Vlad's hope to saving the boys so they do not go through the same torment he did?

There is a nice play on the origin of Dracula's name as well. We see the transition from "Son of the Dragon" to "Son of the Devil" with a nice bit of character development. It's a bit gruesome in some areas, although it has a little bit of something for everyone. Action, love, revenge, and an interesting ending. This movie was clearly set up for a second installment, although they could leave it as it is as well.

Fair warning: If you enjoy Twilight type of vampires - this movie is not for you. The vampires stick with their traditional powers, although CGI helped add a bit of a twist.

I enjoyed the movie and I hope you do as well.

And Then There Were None

Rating: 

I am one who enjoys a good mystery or horror book every now and again. October definitely sets me in the mood to devour as many of these tales as I can lay my hands on.

It is sad to say that I have never read this classic before now, but I did enjoy it. The style of writing took a bit of getting use to. Christie sticks with a more blunt, active style of writing - which is completely fine once you get use to it. It also adds more to the story because it keeps it rolling at a much quicker pace. 

There were beautiful twists and turns that I am sure most stories nowadays borrow from - but I can honestly say that I was incorrect in my assumption of the murderer and how the entire story would come to a close. 

The murder is set up around a poem known as "Ten Little Soldiers". It's quite a dark child's tale - although most of what I heard growing up tended to be. The victims follow the pattern, which makes another fun guessing game as you are reading through.

All of the guests to this ominous  little island has been accused taking an innocent life in one way or another, although the majority beg ignorance about the matter. What it quickly boils down to is that there is someone on the island who believes they must die for their sins and, if they don't find who it is quickly, they will never leave. But there are ten of them and ten little soldiers, is there any hope at all?

I could quickly see why this story would become an instant classic and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys such books. 

Painting the Roses Red

Communication is key to a successful life. Be it at work, in school, with friends or family - our lives revolve around the ability to communicate our wants and needs with each other. As a teacher we tend to find ourselves the mediator of lines of conversation between multiple parties so that our students will be successful in our class and classes to come.

This principle has been repeatedly drilled into my head since my first education class freshman year of college, and rightfully so. However, the more I started to grasp the reason behind this statement, the more it seemed that this important rule slowly slipped out of the minds of my teachers the higher I climbed the academic latter.

What I've come to find out is that here in Wonderland, communication is a rare, undependable bird. People may find themselves left out of an important notice. The readings for this week may have never been posted. Or, more consistently, lack of clarifying that the queen wanted red roses and not white ones less than 24 hours before she is expected to walk the garden.

So what do we do, you ask? We grab some brushes and paint those accursed flowers red. 

 

The problem here lately is that these five cards are very tired of painting a new set of roses each week. In fact, some of them have thrown down the brushes and have started to demand clearer instructions. And, let's be honest, at this stage of academics, it shouldn't even be a problem. Syllabuses should have been established on the first day, not the end of the fourth week. Project guidelines should be posted at least a week in advance of the due date.

But I digress, because what can you do? If the queen refuses to clarify instructions, we must try our best to tend the garden and hope that, when the time comes, we can quickly paint over our mistakes and she won't notice. 

Prayers would be appreciated. 

Until next time,

Kaity

The Thirteenth Tale

Rating : 

The Thirteenth Tale is an interesting little novel set in Great Britain that revolves around the complex realities of being a twin. Vida Winter is one of Britain's most famous authors and, as all good people do, she is dying. She has come to the belief that there is only one more story for her to tell, and that is her own.

Margaret Lea is a quiet woman who lives at home with her parents and works in her father's bookshop. She has done a few biographies here and there on people she has found interesting, but more for fun than for fame. She is quite surprised when Ms. Winter contacts her to become her personal biographer, especially being that Margaret had never actually read any of Ms. Winter's works until that point.

Margaret has her suspicions about working for Ms. Winter - because this isn't the author's first biography. Every time someone has come to take down her story, Ms. Winter creates an extravagant one that cannot be farther from the truth. But, according to the story teller, one particular individual finally convinces her to eventually tell the truth.

This story isn't a light-hearted one; more of a dark mystery. Not only do we learn of Ms. Winter's twisted family past, we also gain incite on Margaret's family as well. There is a bond between the two women, although in a different way than one might think. But all is revealed in time.

I enjoy a good mystery and Setterfield beautifully added a few twists that I did not fully see coming. For me, the book was a bit sluggish in some areas, but they did help clarify obscure facts to the story. It also takes a little while to get use to the writing style, being that it switches back and forth from the past of Ms. Winter, the past of Margaret (although rarely), and the present. Once you gain a feel, it is easier to read.

For once, I was given what I believe was a complete ending. After reading series for so long, I forget that one book can be only one lifetime. I won't say that the ending is happy, but it is not obscure and fits the story line well. There is a bit of a Prestige twist (although I think I know the answer this time).

Twins have always fascinated me, and I would be curious what a couple of people would think after reading this book. I would recommend this story for a rainy day where you are trapped inside. Maybe with a fluffy creature to pet and a nice cup of tea.

Enjoy,

Kaity

Working Girl

I don't think that I have always appreciated what I've had.

I am lucky - I am one of the few people in the world who have grown up with loving families, great education (academically and socially), and many opportunities to work.

In the last 5 years I have worked 5 different jobs. Many of them overlapped each other and were for short time periods, but I did it. I was stretched, pushed, and sleep deprived, but I took away lessons that easily applied to other fields. One of those was every day that you went into work, you prove again and again why they chose to hire you. Working hard gets you places (and good references).

Right now, it isn't easy for people to find a job. These past five years, I have had most of the jobs handed straight to me. Looking for a job with no leads was a very different experience for me.

The first week of September I was in a state of panic. The reality that I was now financially independent and had no job was unsettling. I applied at places that were hiring and weren't and pinched every penny I had. (I still do the latter - good practice).

But God is good. As my mother has told me over and over since moving here, God doesn't bring you this far to drop you on your butt. He didn't - he actually provided more than I asked.

I am proud to state that I am now employed with one of The Container Stores up here in Massachusetts. I get to help people organize their lives in creative ways each and every day. This is a passion of mine, and now I get paid for it!

I don't know how this job will connect with teaching, nor the past five years of customer service, being a camp counselor, color guard tech (okay maybe I can see that one), or RA life,  but I'm trying to keep an open mind. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new, even from those classes that you feel are pointless.