My Antonia

I just finished reading My Antonia by Willa Cather. It started slow, but once I was engaged in the characters and setting, it really took my imagination back to the late 1800's and early 1900's. I could really feel the atmosphere of those times. Not just the physical and lifestyle differences, but the differences in social interaction among people, when day-to-day life was less complex, but perhaps harder in comparison to the things we take for granted nowadays.

I can't remember the last time I read a fictional book for enjoyment. It may have been on occasion during high school or college, but I don't think so. I think it goes back to 4th or 5th grade. Once reading becomes forced and "graded", it loses its luster. After taking up non-fiction reading immediately after graduation from Carolina back in May of 2005, I really learned to love reading again. Especially when they were books I wanted to read, and when I began reading them for good reason. I shall revisit those books in future postings. But my reading of My Antonia can be attributed to a friend who let me borrow it in a sort of pact we made. As a reader of non-fiction, and he being one of fiction, I suggested we trade fiction for non-fiction as to advance both of our interests. I think there should be a good balance between the reading of fiction and non-fiction, to balance the functioning of the right and left brains; in essence, balancing the rational, analytical mind with the creative, uninhibited mind. I intend to strike this balance as I move forward in life. Thanks Chris, for helping me begin to tilt the mental scale back to my personal equilibrium.

Gardening?

I'm no gardener. Nope, never really was. But I just turned 23 and I think I will be. The more you're around gardeners and gardening, the more you start to like it. And if you already like it, the more you start to love it. I didn't know that until recently. I work in advertising sales and circulation for Carolina Gardener magazine, and I was listening to Linda Cobb speak about English Roses and cottage gardens at a symposium in Concord, NC. The passion she had for her garden, and for gardening in general, hit me like a ton of bricks, or top soil. At the brunch before her lecture there were small bags of Shasta Daisy seeds provided by Taylor Glen Gardens. I brought the seeds home in hopes that I would plant them. I live in an apartment, and the small piece of paper that explains how to plant and care for the daisies says they will spread. I guess I could cut them back, but that sounds like a bad idea. Why inhibit their natural growth pattern? So planting them in a pot may not work. I'm not sure, but I think I'll plant the seeds one way or another and see what happens, because when I really stared at the seeds and imagined a living plant emerging and flowering, it's hard not to plant them, even if it is just to watch nature at work. Nature, pure and powerful.

UNC Alumni in Greensboro, NC

I moved to Greensboro, NC, back in August of 2005, after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2005. When I got here, I didn't know anyone, except a handful of friends who I had went to college with at UNC. Fortunately, I joined the Alumni association and received emails about post-graduation opportunities and events. One of those was a basketball game-viewing party at Ham's to watch Duke vs. UNC. It was hosted by the local Greensboro Carolina Club. What a perfect way to meet more people, talk about the days at Carolina, stay in touch with the university, and expand on the college experience that went by so quickly after four short years. Here is the link to a myspace account for the local Greensboro (GSO) Carolina Club:
http://www.myspace.com/uncalumni

If you're "one of us", or just a huge Carolina fan in the surrounding area, let me know and I'll make sure you're kept abreast on upcoming events and such. Go Heels!

Finally got around to ordering contacts today. It took about 2 months to get an eye exam, try out a couple of lenses, and finally place the order for the ones I like. That seems like a long time to wait for your vision to be crisp. Fortunately, I had a month of trial lenses, so I could see well during that period, but it still took some getting used to because I went almost a year without contacts. My new set of contacts should be here "within a week." We'll see...

...At least I'll be able to see my cards for poker tonight. Poker, by the way, is such a fun game even when the gambling isn't a big factor. We play with a small group of people and have a $5 buy-in, while 1st, 2nd and 3rd place win a certain amount of money. How many activities can you think of that cost $5 (or make you money if you do well!) and will provide a few hours of fun with your closest friends? A movie is about $7, bowling can be well over $5, and even an arcade where the main currency is quarters can eat at your pocketbook like, well, like me eating through a box of fudge rounds (which I highly recommend, as my snack of choice since elementary school). So if you're playing poker for fun, and not for money, it can be just as exciting and rewarding. Keep that in mind next time you're in Vegas.

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Ok, so this wasn't really my first entry. But I had to go back and edit it. Who wants to start off there blog with an entry that says "Welcome to my blog!"? Well, not me anyway. So, I'll start off with a top 5 list of reasons why you should start a blog if you haven't already:

5. It lets you express yourself and get whatever it is that's on your chest, off.

4. Um, can you say LOW-cost?

3. Your friends probably have one...don't let them one-up you! You haven't in the past, right?

2. It's the wave of the future, and you know it! If you don't know it, now you do it. So do it.

1. Because, you can.


My testaments have only just begun. Yes, you may get bored. Yes, you may hate what I have to say sometimes, or all the time. Yes, you may not care what I have to say. Yes, I'm the greatest. Yes, you may disagree with me, or you may agree with me so much that you want to move in with me and become my best friend. Finally, you may wonder why I ever started blogging in the first place. As my best friend would say, "Muahahaha," wonder on!