Gandhi once said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

I have been away from here for a time. My sincerest apologies. My world has been a little back and forth (and sometimes upside down), and I haven't known what to make of it all. Instead of coming on here, I kept busy. I felt it was a good thing to do, and I still think that it was. Nothing terrible happened, per say, just the facts of life. So here are the facts of the past couple weeks. I will start with the good stuff, as that's generally best for me.

1. I finished my fifth and final short story for Creative Writing. I am not excited about poetry, but I will endure it and perhaps even surprise myself. I've been doing that a lot lately in my writing.

2. I reconnected with TJ. I hadn't spoken to him in almost a year, so it was nice. I'm supposed to see him this week while he is visiting, but I'm not going to excite myself too much considering the friendship died so suddenly before.

3. I wrote my Chaucer paper for British Literature. The topic was why the Wife of Bath is favored to the Pardoner. I think it turned out well. I will see when break concludes, providing the professor sticks to her plan. I won't hold her to it. Samantha and I pulled an all-nighter with the paper. We hung out at Barnes from 8-11 and Fargo Coffee Co. from 11-6 something (last Tuesday). That was quite the time. Too much coffee, but a lot of fun. I like making new friends from school.

4. I have spent a lot of time with Brian and a bit with Piller. It's harder with Piller because of work schedules, and the fact that Brian doesn't have a job right now helps his case. I'm having a good time with both, as per usual.

5. I saw Amanda and Meredith from book club a couple times since my last post. We attended the midnight premier of Alice in Wonderland last Thursday/Friday (review below). I also went to Three Lyons with them because Mer's sister was in town and she wanted her to meet the friends. I am having a lot of fun with them, to be short. We attend various events and they are always a good time. :)

6. Every good segment should end with pie. Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats made the pie for the get-together she and her husband do at her mother's house every Sunday. I decided that I wanted to make it for Wednesday, because it's a holiday pie, but first I had to make a test pie. So I did!



Good news...I saved you a bite.



Bad news...I ate it.




And now that pie has been discussed...I will proceed to two unfortunate events since my last post.

1. My beloved Sirius Black (cat) has left this world. My mother put him to sleep last week after he got "the cat illness" as I call it. Basically, he was getting violent and starting urinating everywhere. His sister has been limping for weeks from him attacking her. It wasn't good. And I couldn't take him because he hates new environments and he is also used to being outside...was used to being outside. I couldn't have him at my apartment. I keep trying to think on what I could have done, but it's too late for such considerations. I don't want to write about it anymore. Here is the first picture I have of him as a baby. Adieu, mon chat.



2. The flood is here. This is the second year in a row for us, and it's getting a little ridiculous. People complain a lot about how the news talks about it too much, but why wouldn't they? I understand that some of you like in the center of town and aren't affected by it, but my parent's are affected by it. It pisses me off when people act like it doesn't matter and that they just want to get out of school or work for a day or two, even if they don't end up doing anything. I'm going to my parent's house tomorrow to help defend the cal de sac. My apartment doesn't matter because it is in the center of town, but I'm not going to sit back while my family defends their house alone. People can make jokes about it and play drinking games in its honor, but I actually give a damn.

Here are a couple shots that my step-mom took of the cal de sac today...



Getting ready for bagging tomorrow



Little Schice guarding the fort




I don't want to burden the readers with any further ranting or bitterness, so I'm going to get onto what I really wanted to talk about...

MOVIE REVIEWS!!!

1. Alice in Wonderland (no spoiler alert here)
When: Thursday/Friday midnight premier (March 4/5)
Where: Century 10 Theatre
Who: Me, Amanda and Meredith
Stars: 4

I really enjoyed this movie. I give it four out of five stars simply because it's a remake from the books and other film adaptations, and I wasn't big on the 3D experience. The costumes, musical score, actors, digital features, etc. were all top notch in my opinion. I wanted to hug Johnny Depp for playing such a goofy Mad Hatter. He never lets me down. Anne Hathaway surprised me in her role, because she isn't normally in such films. Helena Bonheme Carter was lovely, as usual. Crispin Glover made me laugh because I kept thinking of his role as the "creepy thin man" in Charlie's Angels, and I wanted him to pull someones hair. He didn't. I won't give anything away here because people should know the story by now. Just know that I enjoyed it.



2. Up In The Air (spoiler alert)
When: Sunday Sunday Sunday! (March 14)...or maybe it was Saturday?
Where: My apartment
Who: Brian watched a bit...but it was mostly just by myself
Stars: 4

Another good film! I am not used to seeing George Clooney in a movie of that nature, and I'm not used to seeing Anna Kendrick in anything outside of Twilight movies (poor girl). The film gets four stars for being another book-to-movie adaptation, and such movies will never get five stars. I'm sorry, but they won't.

All I really want to say here is that I was SHOCKED When Alex (Vera Farmiga) ended up being married with children at the end of the movie. Ryan (Clooney) did not see it coming, and neither did I. That scene made me yell "You bitch!" at the screen. I apologize for being obscene, television, but I was upset by that moment. I didn't really want them to be together, but I grew a soft spot for Ryan towards the end, and I just wanted him to be happy. How non-Jenna of me, I know.

Also, I loved when Ryan took pictures with the cut out version of his sister and her fiance. Despite his unwillingness to do it at first, he really pulled through and did his part. Way to go!



2. Remember Me (spoiler alert)
When: Monday (March 15)
Where: Century 10 Theatre
Who: Myself and Goooolia (my sister)
Stars: 4.5

This film is taking the cake out of my three reviews, partially because of Robert Pattinson and partially because I was surprised at how amazing it was. Emilie de Ravin, who is apparently in LOST, did a great job as Ally. My lovely Robbie Pat finally came through for me. I am not a Twilight person and I'm not usually on any "heart throb" band wagon, but I have quite an attraction towards him. I was happy that his acting skills showed up. Better late than never, I think.

The September 11 (2001) part was a crafty twist in the movie. I know some people are sick of it, but that plot really tied in really well. The death of Ally's mother and the realization that Tyler's (Pattinson) brother had committed suicide added depth to the film, bonding the two characters together. I think the romance was unique, even though it was based on the whole "you were a bet" storyline, which is traditionally overdone. Pierce Brosman was a terrible father, but slightly redeemed himself in the end. Chris Cooper did not redeem himself. He's an amazing actor, but his characters always suck.




I think that's a good catch-up for now. I should really try to clean something before bed. Tomorrow I have to take my car in because something is off with it, and then it's off to the cal de sac for bagging.

Cheers!