Touring Vermont Like A Tourist

Last weekend I got to visit Vermont with my friends, Shannon and Molly. It was really nice to see the place I care so much about, and share it with two, dear college buddies. I recorded some of the stuff we did and put it together in this video.

P.S. I'm getting more and more excited and anxious about my move across the Atlantic, but I'm also going to enjoy these last three weeks at Pine Lake. More updates to come.

I'm Caught Up On Game of Thrones

I finished Season 4 of Game of Thrones (GOT) on June 25. I know this because I published the news as a Facebook status. Oh, the power of social media. I wasn't a GOT enthusiast at first, I must admit. I got to the second season and was devastated on account of the death of my favorite character (a cliché at this point, but it's true). And the beginning of Season 2 is slow. So I stopped watching GOT for, like, a month. My friends chastised me. They tried to provoke me into watching it by talking about it in front of me. I'm notorious for shouting things like, "SHHHHHHHH!!!!" because I do not tolerate spoilers. I will not take that bullshit. And yet I did not budge. Retrospectively, perhaps my timid psyche couldn't handle any more deaths of the characters I love/d. Mid-June, we had a newcomer to the Farmhouse (my crib). She is a GOT fan as well. I was living with three people--THREE--who wouldn't shut up about the damn show. There's only so much shushing a poor girl can do. So I got over myself and finished the second season. The third and fourth were a blur, I watched them so fast. And now that it's over, I don't know what to do.

Like, I actually don't know what to do with myself. Before GOT I had a pretty standard schedule. Rise, read, work, chill, bed. The exposure to GOT fucked up my routine. Cramped my style. While watching GOT, my life became something like this: rise, GOT, work, GOT, GOT, bed. You'd think I could just go back to the way things were before. I'm trying. But it's like there's a clog in my system. I also had a couple dog-sitting gigs in a row, and I started socializing (shudder) more. Basically my mojo is out of whack (just when it was beginning to settle!) and, in addition to some other valid factors, it's all GOT's fault.

All complaining and blaming aside, I actually enjoy the story quite a bit, despite all the graphic gore and sex. GOT gets at the heart of what really matters to each character (and, hopefully/at least superficially, asks the viewer what matters to him or her). I happen to love characters. LOVE THEM. Or, I get attached easily, especially if the story is well told/shown. GOT is brimming with characters. It's great. There's a variety in GOT that's hard to find in most contemporary stories, as well as a tremendous depth. Depth is hard to find across the board, not only in fantasy series. I think it may have something to do with capitalism. Some writers are not given the time they need to spin a good story. Or, some only subpar writers are getting published because "that's what the market is demanding" or some shit. I'm not an expert, but with a quick glance I can see that good stuff is rare, and GOT is good. And I'm glad. :)

I'm making YouTube videos again. Or something. Here's the Kiss, Marry Cliff: Game of Thrones one I made this morning: