Research Papers and Breaking Dawn... yes, Breaking Dawn

Today is a lovely day off with my husband. Thank you Liberty for deciding to extend the holiday. I will be spending a majority of the day (well, it feel likes it right now but in truth, I'm already 4 pages into the 8-10 page length) finishing my research paper. My second to last assignment for my grad school class. I have my last quiz due by Friday and I am done! But I also have my next class's work as well. The syllabus is incorrect as are my blackboard modules. My professor told us this and was pretty vague as to which assignments actually below in which week. That is frustrating. Oh well, if I do too many assignments and accidentally do the ones for next week I suppose that wouldn't end up being such a negative situation. It's just stressful. It feels like I've been involved in a lot of stressful situations lately. I'm generally not an overly stressed person, but if you look at my postings for the past month you'll see that life has been kind of crazy recently. I think (and hope) that it will settle down here shortly.

In other updates, I finally caved and bought and read Breaking Dawn. Everyone I talked to said it was their favorite and Meyer did such a great job wrapping up the story. So I figured that since it was her fourth book that maybe the literary style had picked up a bit. On the back of the book one of the reviews says something about Rowling handing her magical wand to Meyer. Rolls eyes. No comparison, sorry. Now, if you are a Twilight fan then you reserve the right to be all hyped up about the books and movies. In my mind, it was a good idea that was poorly executed. I had heard from other fans that it was the modern day Romeo and Juliet. Where was the Romeo and Juliet comparison? I was waiting for them all to die at the end. That would have been much more "realistic" and then could have possibly ranked the grade of "B". But a happily ever after? I understand the reasoning, I do. But how is that ending anywhere similar to Romeo and Juliet? Everyone ends up where they want to be... correct? I can see how some people would think the Twilight franchise is a "tragedy", but I don't think that's what the crazed out fans are looking for when they make the reference. The book was far too drawn out as well. Now, the fans who are not also Harry Potter fans will wonder how a person can say that when Rowling's books continued in length with each progressive book. The difference being, Rowling's narratives were much more interesting (I know, a matter of personal opinion there), had many more characters involved which added flavor, had so much more history to draw back on (Wizarding history that she created and didn't just randomly throw in at the end, it was in all of her books), and was not redundant and repetitive. I don't think anyone who's a fan can deny that the mention of liquid topaz and being chiseled from stone was a little over the top. Now, having finally finished the series, I give it a solid C. Could have been great, but I just don't think Meyer has matured as a writer quite yet. She said she might return to the Twilight world eventually. I look forward to seeing what she pens in the next few years with some more experience. I have decided that I am Team Jacob. Not necessarily as pertains to who Bella should have ended up with, but who is the more lovable character. Again, a matter of opinion. I've always had a thing for "cocky". No, I am not a fan of Taylor Lautner. Quite honestly, I don't understand how the fans who are in love with the books can handle it. The movies seem to take so much away from the books. Not the script but everything else. If there's one thing Harry Potter does right it is the cinema. Now, I am a Harry Potter fan, but I'm not over the top about it (I don't think). The reason I bring out these comparisons is because the rest of the world seems to. They don't seem to understand how someone can enjoy Harry Potter but not be enthralled by Twilight. In my mind Harry Potter, the films and the books, rate a solid A+. Well written, mapped out clearly, good character development throughout the entire series, entirely believable until the very end (I didn't think the characters stayed true to themselves in Breaking Dawn, but it is Meyer's world so what do I know), and appealing to male and female audiences. Again, Twilight will receive a C. Sorry fans out there. You reserve the right to disagree and be abashed and think it is the best book/movie in the history of literature/cinema. This is just my opinion. I am a book snob though, unfortunately.

My husband said that maybe we can go shopping later to buy me something pretty. We've tried to find something pretty for me for awhile now. I'm just too picky! Maybe I'll just find some new clothes or something to satisfy my itch. He's such a good husband though. He made me a delicious breakfast this morning and wouldn't let me help at all.

Ugh, 4-6 more pages about the importance of social interaction in the preschool years. Thankfully, writing comes easily to me and I can make up transition sentences like bull to make the paper the proper length. I also enjoy this topic and since I worked in a preschool and hope to go back to that environment someday I feel strongly about that age group and proper methods of social interaction. We needed 10 articles and the paper is 8-10 pages long. One page per article. Cake. I'm just being lazy. The first half only took me about 1 hour (including all the breaks to read a book, check facebook, and blog) so I could have it done in about half an hour if I didn't allow myself to get bored or distracted. That's not going to happen. But it will definitely be finished shortly. Then I can relax for the afternoon and evening. Maybe get some reading done for my quizzes.