Sookie: The Books

I love the show True Blood. Last summer, my girlfriends and I had a Sunday night ritual: I got off work at 8:00, and six of us would descend into my basement in various states of sweatpants/pajama attire with bottles of (appropriately) red wine. Occasionally a guy friend would try and intrude on this girl-time (and would immediately regret it, failing to realize that thanks to the technological magic of the DVR, we could watch any scene featuring sexy Viking-vampire Eric over...and over...and over, before continuing with the episode). The whole concept of the show makes it so great. It combines two opposites: the elegance and exoticism of the supernatural world (think Interview with a Vampire, before you think Twilight) and pure white-trash, hillbilly South. However, True Blood does not get original credit for this off-beat, unique idea. It started with Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Here is my recommendation: read the books. If you are a fan of the TV series, you will be a fan of the novels, and they are different enough you won't feel like you are re-living the same content. For starters, the TV show is obviously a drama. The books run more along the dark comedy genre. Sookie still kills evil supernatural housebreakers - but she proves less concerned with the emotional effects of murdering another soul, and more focused on which solvent will best remove werewolf blood from the linoleum. The plotlines also begin to diverge very dramatically after Season 1/Book 1. Maryann (who, along with her increasingly graphic woodland orgies, takes up a majority of Season 2 airtime) merits a mere chapter in Book 2. And further proof of the differences? Let's just say Lafayette did not survive this long in book-world, and Sarah was not even a character in the novels (let alone one Jason could envision seducing over bbq). These changes are a good thing though. Rather than ruining the original concept, True Blood instead offers you, as a reader/viewer, double the small-town murder, sex, scandal, and drama.

So. You have over a month until True Blood (the show) starts up again and ideally, you have at least a few days off before you start that awesome post-grad career you have lined-up (less ideally, you have a whole lot of time to read these books between sending off even more cover letters from your parent's basement). So, dive into the series and start catching up! If you are up to speed, book 10 (Dead in the Family) comes out on Tuesday!

Earth Day

Earth Day happens this week on Thursday, April 22nd.

Now, I've had a lot of "green guilt" throughout my undergraduate career. Thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of my International Studies major (and my interest in the environment) I've gotten to take classes ranging from Environmental Justice to Contemporary Social and Environmental Issues. This has allowed me to see how our big actions (like the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China or the Narmada Dam in India), or our little actions (like poor waste disposal leading to the Pacific "trash islands") as humans have started to really impact the environment. Unless you're planning to go into Environmental Law, a career in the public policy, or the not-for-profit sector, you probably won't ever have a measurable impact on these major problems. But you, individually, can make small changes in your day-to-day life that will impact the Earth for the better (note: it is MUCH better for the environment to make small, long-term changes, than big changes that last for only the duration of Earth Day). So what can you do this Earth Day and beyond?

1). Educate yourself: Don't know what the definition or impact of things like desertification or deforestation really are? Never heard of the Three Gorges or Narmada Dam until this post? Don't know the difference between using incandescent bulbs and CFLS? Educate yourself. Use wikipedia, GoogleScholar and the movie Avatar as a starting point to learn more about the effect we are having on our environment. The more you know, the more prepared you will be to talk about these issues and to take action about them.

2). Take the little steps: You know all those changes you've been meaning to make, but have yet to get around to? Make a conscious effort to bring your green-friendly grocery bag to the store, instead of using 4-5 plastic bags every time you shop. Switch out your plastic water bottles for a reusable metal one. If you insist on using plastic bottles, recycle them! Turn off the lights when you are not in a room (or much more importantly, when you are not home), and don't let the faucet run when you are not using it (i.e. while brushing your teeth or shaving). Walk, carpool, drive the speed limit, fly less, and use paper products more responsibly (print on both sides, for example). Turn off your car if you are going to let it idle for more than a minute. And the big energy waster you might not have known about? Keeping things plugged in when you're not using them. So if your cell phone, or iPod, or computer is not charging, unplug the charger!

3). Share: Here's one you might not have suspected. You need a little black dress for an event. The amount of resources and energy that goes into producing and transporting a new dress is actually measurable. So if your girlfriend already has one that you've had your eye on, borrow it. Not only do you save $ that you can be better spent on a manicure, or taking your friend out to lunch, but you also positively impact the environment.

4). Hit the theaters: Go see DisneyNature: Oceans. This movie looks adorable, cool, and interesting, and Disney will also make a donation to The Nature Conservancy to save coral reefs if you attend this movie Opening Week. (And carpool when you and your friends go there!)

There are probably a million more big and little changes that you could make beyond these. Let me know if you have suggestions, or any good websites/articles to check out. Happy (almost) Earth Day!

The Real Victory Lap

The actual victory lap has begun. Yesterday marked the one-month countdown to my college graduation. For seniors with an impending send-off from Champaign, this makes everything around and about campus take on a sudden, undeserved sheen. As far as I can tell, we react to graduation by glorifying college this last month in several different, key ways.

1). Regression: Remember that bar you loved freshman year? Maybe the doorman looked the other way when he noticed that your fake id had expired in the late 90s, or that the gender portrayed on that little card did not match your own. It may have been that it was the one bar that did not charge your young self cover, or perhaps you just went there to listen to your favorite tunes and to dance with your friends on Wednesday-Saturday nights. After two or three semesters of loyal patronage, however, you wised up. You realized that other bars on campus actually had toilet paper in their bathrooms and washed their floors more than twice a week. You ditched your old favorite hang-out for the lure of tp and non-sticky surfaces, and until now, you haven't looked back. What's changed? You're about to graduate. This is your last chance to revisit the bar where you met that one guy whose name you no longer remember, where you lost your favorite clutch and where you learned that taking off your shoes in a bar is never a good call. Those of you that are spending this last month heading back to freshman year haunts in spite of the noxious wave of an unknown smell that hits you when you walk in the door are currently going through this phase: regression.

2). Over-indulgence: You're not really hungry for Chipotle, you don't need the calories that Chipotle contains, and quite frankly there are four Chipotle restaurants in your hometown (where you'll be moving back temporarily after graduation this summer). Yet, this is your last chance to eat at this Chipotle, here on Green Street, in Champaign, IL. Surely, you had some memories here, and you don't want to waste your last month as a college senior by eating a Lean Cuisine in your apartment. No, you will properly live it up; you will go get that burrito bowl! So, the over-indulgence mentality sets in. Now, if you feel this way about a chain restaurant, imagine how you'll feel about that small, local burger joint, or that little nail salon, or that boutique that you've always loved. You will eat, drink, and shop until you drop this last month simply because this is it: your last chance to do all those mundane things that weren't really that great for four years, but have all of a sudden become inexplicably glorified because of their imminent retreat from your life.

3). Avoidance: You cannot deal with the fact that it is almost over, so you spend every weekend away from campus, away from the poignant reminders that your time with the Alma Mater, the Quad and the Murrow Plots is almost at an end. You visit your boyfriend, your great-aunt, and picturesque national parks, but you have as little as possible to do with Champaign: it's just too painful.

Seniors, whatever stage of pre-graduation panic/mourning/acceptance/flat-out-senioritis you are in, this is it: the real victory lap. One month and counting! Scary, exciting...YIKES. What are your thoughts, and how are you coping with/enjoying the last days?

Soy Un Desastre

When I studied abroad in Granada, the host mom of a friend told her one day "Eres un destastre." Translation: You are a disaster. She meant this in the most loving way possible, but it was an accurate description of a girl that was always running late, losing everything from homework to keys, and arriving home from tapas in the wee hours of the Spanish morning. Since then, we've adopted the phrase 'desastre' as a description to be used in place of its English equivalent. Here's a recap of my recent desastre moments:

1). My friend wanted to go to Champaign's one and only gay bar for a birthday drink last week because of both the impressive size of its dance floor and the 1/2-off prices on her favorite cocktails. The moment I had been waiting for finally came around midnight: they were not only playing Lady Gaga, but specifically, a great mash-up of all her popular tracks. You all know of my love for Lady Gaga and her music, so naturally I was getting my very enthusiastic groove on. Intense dance moves + giant puddle of someone's spilled drink = disaster moment # 1. Most people fall and their feet slip out from under them. Since I was in the middle of some sort of uncoordinated gyration/shimmy combo to "Love Game" when my foot hit the puddle, I fell forward, and onto my knees hard. The result? Days later both my knees are an intense mixture of blue, purple, green and black, plus a giant scrape. I don't know what's worse: the fact that I have to show up to my church for Jeremy's confirmation on Tuesday looking like a 7-year old that took a tumble off her bike, or the fact that it is physically painful to crawl across my bed to open/close the window. Definite desastre moment.

2). I have sleepwalked twice this semester. Not into the living room, or my bathroom, like a normal person. But into my roommate's bedroom. When I sleepwalk, I have absolutely no recollection of doing it, no awareness that I ever got up out of my bed, walked into her room, started shuffling things around on her desk or responding to questions, before returning to my own room. Since I have no idea any of this is going on, the real desastre moment doesn't hit until the next morning, when my roommate and her 31-year old boyfriend have to approach me about the subject over breakfast. "So...that was awkward when you came into the room last night...again." We then have to ponder, over Frosted Flakes and Honey Nut Cheerios, just what in my subconscious brings me to their room time and again, between the hours of 3-5am. Desastre moment # 2.

3). I cried during The Last Song. No, my eyes didn't just slightly well up. I actually cried. Tears fell, sniffling ensued. The last time I out-and-out sobbed in the theaters was during Oscar-winning Million Dollar Baby. Nice to know that a Nicholas Sparks film produces the same effect. Desastre #3.

What are your desastre moments?

Michelle

Fun fact: I was named after the Beatles' song "Michelle." I like to tell this anecdote when I meet new people, because quite frankly, being named after a Beatles' song is ever-so-slightly more interesting than being named because of my parents' simple preference for 'Michelle'. If I were named for an interesting great-grandparent, or an English monarch, or a Catholic saint, I would probably brag with undeserved frequency about that as well. However, our family names (Lola, Hazel, Philomena) were not in vogue in the 80s, and rather than having a penchant for historical figures, my Dad loved a hippie-band from Liverpool. (I can only assume I got the name Michelle in particular because my parents didn't want to name me Prudence or after a song relating to LSD).

Now, unfortunately for me and my extreme love of telling this story, a lot of people don't know the song "Michelle." It's not my favorite Beatles' song ("Hey, Jude" has that honor), but it's in the top 5. Further, it won the 1966 Grammy for Song of the Year, teaches basic French phrases, and holds direct responsibility for the fact that (slightly exasperating, mostly endearing) Customer X at the fine-dining restaurant where I work calls me "ma belle" every Tuesday when he comes in for dinner. Basically, even if it's not your favorite Beatles' single, it is a great, Grammy-winning song, and you should know it. So, to those of you that are unfamiliar with the song that resulted in my name, check out this single from Rubber Soul. I will probably try and make myself sound more intriguing to you one day based upon my relationship to "Michelle" and I need you to know what I'm referring to.

Final fun fact: Paul McCartney rarely performs this song live anymore, but he performed it as a dedication to Michelle Obama in 2009.

Confirmation Present

I have been trying for awhile to determine what gift to give my 14-year old, male sponsee for confirmation. (Jeremy: if you read my blog, stop now. Present spoiler alert). A religious gift would be obvious. However, for guys there seem to be only three options: a Bible, a cross and a saint medal. If Jeremy were a girl, the religious jewelry options would be endless, but (alas) I'm stuck choosing between the three-boy friendly options. Here is the issue: his family is huge. Some aunt, or grandparent, or second cousin will surely one-up whichever one of the three I choose and purchase on my modest college budget. Is it even worth trying to compete? Ultimately, probably not.

So I have decided my back-up gift will be books. This might sound lame, but Jeremy and I have a long reading history. We both spend way too much time reading and back in the day, I would read him and his sister whole kid novels during summer babysitting sessions. I turned him onto the Harry Potter books ten years ago, and accidentally got him into the Sookie Stackhouse series last summer (Yes, the novels the True Blood HBO show is based on. Appropriate for a 13-year old boy? Absolutely not. Further proof that he chose the right sponsor. Already sneaking books wildly inappropriate to his age level = doing me proud). Since I've already done enough damage in the adult supernatural department, I am trying to choose books that I liked throughout the years that, while not religious in theme, have something to do with living a good life. Here is what I have so far (and I am 100% open to, and looking for, other suggestions):

1). The Alchemist, Paulo Cohelo: In this fable, an Andalusian shepherd boy dreams one night of a treasure in the pyramids in distant Egypt. He sells his belongings and leaves home to follow his dreams. Along the lengthy journey, Santiago meets everyone from camel-drivers to kings to (you guessed it) an alchemist that teach him life lessons. This is ultimately an optimistic story about finding happiness, and one that promotes the idea that it is not the destination, but rather, the journey that matters in life.

2). The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery: I actually gave this book to the new baby of good family friends for his baptism when I was in high school (so, I'm sensing a religious-gift-theme with me and this book). This is a beautiful little story that I first read in 6th grade, but that I think holds relevance for all ages. The narrator of the story has crashed his airplane in the Sahara desert, and is alone with very little food or water, when the Little Prince approaches him. The Little Prince explains that he lived on a small planet, just him and a beautiful rose, which he loved very much, until one day when she lies to him. He leaves his planet and travels to six other planets where he meets a King, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter and a geographer (all of whom live alone on their tiny planets). The Little Prince is unimpressed by their occupation with the concerns of the grown-up world, and of their lives without love. By the time, he crashes on Earth, the Little Prince realizes he loves his rose and must make an extreme choice to get back to her. A great parable about love, responsibility, growing up and imagination.

3). Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman: This one is slightly different from the other two, but it's a neat book that I think Jeremy might not otherwise come across. In this novel, Lightman (an MIT professor) essentially explains Einstein's theory of relativity through a series of 30 short stories. Each chapter is a different, disconnected "dream" about a world in which time functions completely differently: a world where time is circular (and people must repeat their successes and failures), a world where time is frozen, a world where everyone knows one year in advance that the world will end (and responds appropriately), a world in which time flows backward (sort of Benjamin Button-esque), etc. If nothing else, this book makes you realize that in spite of Einstein's "dreams" time functions one way (passing too quickly), and it shouldn't wasted without the people you love or on the pursuits you are not passionate about.

Too deep? If so, I promise to Miley-bash or celebrity-gossip in my next posting. Any other book suggestions? I am still looking for several more! If you haven't read any of these, I recommend ALL of them. Fast reads and you get a little something out of them.

Thanks for reading (and for your comments)!