Sunday, August 28, 2011

Mac or PC?

Location: Bedroom floor
Listening to: HP & The Half-Blood Prince
Days Til College: 3!!!
Followers: 45!!!!!!!


WELCOME NICOLE!!!! :) It makes me happy that you decided to follow my random musings. Thanks!

You guys. I have a dilemma. My current laptop is an ancient, dinosaur of a Dell that used to belong to my mom before she got a new computer last year for her business and decided, instead of gifting me a new computer for college, I could have her hand-me-down one. This thing is at least 5 years old and still runs on Windows XP. The keys are literally falling off and refusing to reattach. Every once in a while, the fan makes this terrible wheezing sound, like it's seriously considering just giving up and dying right now.

In other words, it's time to start looking for something new.

My problem lies in deciding what kind of laptop I want to buy when I have the money to buy a new one. All I really use my computer for is sitting on Facebook or blogging, writing papers, listening to music, and occasionally playing games, which any PC can do.

But, with a future career in journalism, one day I might need to run Photoshop or InDesign or other big, graphic-design-ish programs that I learned how to use on a Mac and that Macs are generally more capable of handling.

As my mom likes to remind me, if I ever have an in-house job at a newspaper, they will most likely provide me with the computer and programs I need to accomplish my job, so I could easily just get the less-expensive option now and just be bestowed a new one when I graduate and get a job. But, if I end up having to freelance, I'll need to get the computer and programs on my own, so it might make more sense to get what would be most practical in the future now, just in case.

And computers are always, always changing and there's always something bigger and more capable coming out.

And I'm working on a pretty limited budget. If I get a PC, I could afford one by Thanksgiving. If I go for a Mac, I'd have to wait longer.

The whole thing just kind of blows my mind.

I really need your help, guys. Are any of you tech whizzes who can break down the differences (performance-wise and cost-wise) between Macs and PCs for me? Because that would be extremely helpful. If you're not a tech whiz, which do you use: Mac or PC? What do you love and hate about it? Which would you recommend to someone like me?

And do you have any recommendations for a specific model (Mac or PC) that you think would fit my needs? Because I really have no clue where to start with this.

Sorry for a post that only begs for your help. I promise I'll write something to amuse you soon!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

New (School) Year's Resolution

Location: Bedroom floor
Listening to: Kaleidescope Heart by Sara Bareilles.
Days til I move: 10





First things first, sorry about the abrupt end to my last post! After a few surgeries for broken bones, my cousin and his girlfriend are both fine. They apparently got in a several-car crash and had to be air lifted to a hospital. My cousin has been discharged and his girlfriend only has a few more days to stay. Thank you for your concerns!

The other day at work, I made pretty much the best decision of my life after one of the girls gave me her cell number when she learned I was leaving to go back to school in a few days and I kind of thought, "Wow, I actually made a friend."

I used to be really outgoing and boisterous and bubbly alllllllll of the time. Then, my senior year, I started getting really bad anxiety and missed a lot of school because we didn't know what was causing my weirdly rapid heart beat and for most people, out of sight means out of mind, so when I got back, I was kind of surprised to learn that most of my friends...weren't really my friends anymore.

Since then, I kind of withdrew into myself a little. I started feeling awkward around people and worrying too much if they liked me or if they were even listening to what I was saying (one time at a bonfire, I was in the middle of a story when I realized everyone was tuned out, so I just stopped talking and no one even said anything and anytime anything like that has happened since, it slays me) and started turning back into the shy kid I used to be.

I don't like being shy. It just makes me even more worried about what people think, because I don't want them to think I'm not talking for a reason or that I don't have anything to say or that I don't like them.

So I'm going to stop being shy.

When I'm not worried about what people think about me, I make friends. Not even on purpose. I just be me and then eventually I'm like, "Hey, when did this person go from someone I kind of knew to someone I text and hang out with?" So this year at school, I'm not going to worry.

When I'm around kids in class, I'll talk to the people around me.

When I'm with Brad's friends (who I'm a million times more shy around because it's actually really important to me that they like me), I'll try to join in conversations and actually give more than one word responses.

When I'm around my friends at school, I won't hold back. I'll just be me and if they don't like it, they can deal with it.

I know it's kind of late for a new years resolution, but this is my new school year's resolution. I am going to stop being so shy. I am going to make friends this year. Good friends. The kind you have for life.

Do you guys have any tips for a shy girl turned friendly girl turned shy girl on how to not care so much about what other people are thinking about her? Have you ever been in a situation where you decided you didn't like being a certain way, so you were just going to stop? Leave advice in the comments!

More later. :)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

I LOOOOVVVEEEE SCHOOL

Location: Bedroom floor
Listening to: Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire


You guys. I have another new follower. You have no clue how excited I am that so many new people decided they don't hate me this summer. It's definitely brightened things up on my end. Welcome to TayTay! :)

So, believe it or not, but I am more excited to head back to campus than I was to leave for college in the first place. Is this normal? I mean, you guys remember how freakishly excited I was to go last summer, right? I'm kind of shocked that anything could surpass that level of excitement. But I've done it. And here's why.

Reasons I'm More Excited To Go Back To College Than I Was To Go In The First Place:

-I'll actually have a social life. This summer has been beyond boring for me. The only time I ever really saw anyone I wasn't related to was when I went back to my college town to visit Brad. So it'll be great to be back on campus where I have friendships and people I can hang out with and opportunities to meet new friends.

-I'll be able to see my boyfriend as much as my heart desires. I don't care what anyone else says, long distance suucckkkssss. And that's coming from a girl who still got to see her boyfriend every other week. While it's completely worth the effort and I wouldn't have changed anything about this summer (except maybe that I wouldn't have been far away to begin with), being three hours apart was hard. And I am MORE EXCITED THAN I CAN POSSIBLY EXPRESS to be back within walking distance of my wonderful amazing boyfriend and able to spend so much time with him that he'll probably get sick of me. :)

-I'm a nerd. I really like school. Like, I love sitting in classes and learning things. I don't even mind homework that much, usually. I'm super excited for my classes this semester and to once again make an attempt at getting a 4.0 GPA.

-I'm a huge nerd. This year, I scored myself a job in the Communication department office where I'll get to be make photocopies and file things and get to know all the professors in my home department. And I'm really excited to do that. Because, and I know this is lame, but I think it'd be cool to be friends with my professors. Or at least for them to know who I am for once instead of just being a face in a class that they teach every semester, every year.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but I can't think of any at the moment. I was just informed that my cousin and his girlfriend got in a really bad car accident. So, I think that's it for today.

More later.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

I Wish I Was A Writer

Location: Couch
Listening to: Dr. House be fabulously snarky


So, I just finished reading a book that made me realize how much I respect authors of Historical Fiction.

I mean, I love and respect all genres of writing. I know it's extremely difficult to create people and places and events in your imagination and try to convey them in words that will help other people see them the way you intend. I used to want to be a fiction writer before I decided that journalism is probably a more realistic route to take.

But Historical Fiction is something else. Not only do you have to invent your own characters with their own lives and personal events, but you have to be accurate to the period. And any true events you may include. Because if you're not, people will notice. And they will not be happy.

The series that got me thinking about this is written by the incredible Jennifer Donnelly (the books: Tea Rose, Winter Rose, and Wild Rose). Without giving too much away (because these books are fabulous and intricate and wonderful and you should read them yourself without me spoiling them for you), each book follows different members of a family over the course of 40 or so years, starting in the late 1800's and ending in the 1920's.

The first book focuses on Fionna Finnegan, a young woman working at a tea factory in the 1880's in Whitechapel while Jack the Ripper roams the streets. The second follows India Selwyn Jones, an aspiring doctor, and Sid Malone, East London crime lord at the turn of the century. The third, Willa Alden, mountaineer, and Seamus Finnegan, adventurer, around the time of the first World War.

It just astounds me that anyone could incorporate real events and people into their fictional world. Sometimes it seems like it could be easy, because history has written parts of your plot for you. Other times, it's unbelievable that anyone can figure out how to incorporate a true story and one of their own invention so seamlessly you find yourself Google-ing fictional characters to see if they really did the things that the author said they did.

Mostly, I'm in awe of anyone who can write more than 20 pages about a topic and have it make sense and be enjoyable to read. That's a pretty cool talent.

Is there a certain genre of writing that you admire more than others? What do you think would be the hardest thing to write? What do you think would be the easiest? Leave your answers in the comments!

More later!