Monday, December 28, 2009

harajuku

I cringe at the thought of posting twice in one day; it feels like I'm talking too much, but my brain is throbbing with thoughts that I need to dump somewhere. I just spent the last two hours at Barnes and Noble with my grandmother, perusing the fiction aisles, looking for a nice, colorful novel that would keep me busy on a peaceful Monday night. I couldn't remember the name of the author who wrote Fight Club, so I picked up The Shiningin fond memory of that one Friends episode (The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends).

In light of my recent bout of nightmares, I've decided to focus on a different, somewhat more...indirect fear: that of little boys with creepy invisible friends who predict murder. I'm only on page 113, but am already in love with this book. I am in love with those neatly sliced rounds of ham in the freezer at The Overlook, "stacked like poker chips"; the snide thrill of the situation—imagine being trapped on a snowy mountain for three months in a hotel haunted by ghosts!; and Jack Torrance himself. There it is again! The mysterious, magnetic attraction to men who need professional help. Ha!

Did I use semicolons correctly in that last paragraph?

I won't be reading any further tonight—my head hurts, probably from dehydration, probably from reading in dim light, probably from some annoying connection with my heart (whose pain has resorted to a dull, squelching sort of palpitation)—but wish I could. I want someone to read to me by candlelight, preferably in a low British accent. If you're willing, let me know.

I need to be back in school...ah, the nerdiest of passions. I've been reading pointless articles about all the things I wish I were* learning, in hopes that I will return to school brimming with knowledge, but my efforts are proving fruitless; I've already forgotten most of what I've read.

I've been breezing through a variety of folk songs (mostly Bright Eyes), as well as grinding through a few gnarly electric guitar songs, and although the sadness and coldness of both genres can be appropriate for the season, I would like to play something happier. Any suggestions? (And no Taylor Swift, please.)

*I looked up the phrase "I wish I were" vs. "I wish I was". If bad grammar disturbs you as much as it does me, then you may be interested in this: one should use the phrase "were" in reference to something that is not so (for ex. "I wish I were in Italy"); on the other hand, one should use the phrase "was" in reference to a state of being that existed or could have existed (for ex. "If I was unkind, please forgive me.") Perhaps this is hindsight bias, but after reading that last paragraph, I realize the difference is obvious. Present tense vs. past tense. Oops. I feel foolish.
**This post is weird and formal.

3 comments:

Nick Carraway said...

Easy with your semicolon use. Vonnegut hated semicolons. He said that writers who used them are lazy and just want to prove that they've been to college.

Chuck Palehniuk wrote Fight Club.

JS said...

Ah, but I love semicolons! Just wondering if I was using them correctly. Thanks though.

Nicole said...

"There it is again! The mysterious, magnetic attraction to men who need professional help. Ha!"

dear god is this EVER the story of my life.