Phone Blog!

Hello world, I'm blogging from my phone! This isn't something I plan on doing very often. I don't think my phone was built to handle this sort of thing on a regular basis. But for current lack of a laptop, and the computer being in my parents' bedroom where my mother is currently sleeping, I give to you my first phone blog!

I'm afraid to write anything too lengthy in case I lose the connection, so I'll just do a few short blurbs about things I may elaborate on later.

Bioshock is pretty awesome. I think I've played it almost every night this week. Braid is great too. A pain in the ass sometimes, but a great game.

I'm excited about Coraline. I hope I get a chance to read the book before I go see the movie.

It's already February! What will the groundhog say? In south Louisiana, I don't think what the groundhog says has much bearing on the weather. It does whatever it wants. =p

Jury duty has been moved to Tuesday. My first time, don't know what to expect, quite nervous. Hope it's not too bad.

A tip for Wal-Mart: if you're gonna have something fixed, make sure it works before you give it back to us to use. And do something about that outlet in the wall! That's got to be a fire hazard or something, even if we aren't using it.

Ok, I'm done. Good night everybody!

~Gretchen aka The Coconutter~

To Twilight, or not to Twilight?

The wonderful thing about BookSwim and/or libraries is that they let you read something you're not sure about without wasting your hard-earned money on something you might not end up liking. For instance, Twilight.

I don't really know anything about the series, except that it's a vampire love story. Obviously it's ridiculously popular, so it must be somewhat good. On the other hand, I just pulled up the Goodreads page for the book, and the numbers aren't doing it justice. For being one of the most popular books on the site, users have given it some terrible reviews. For every five-star rating, there's at least seven one-star ratings and essay-length criticisms.

When Harry Potter came out, I wasn't interested at first, for no particular reason. My mother bought the first one and started reading it. One day she got up to go to the bathroom and I just happened to glance over at the book and see what page she was on. I started reading and was still reading when she came back and told me to give it back. After that I was hooked. I haven't actually finished the series; after Book 5, I was a little aggravated with Harry and his moodiness, so I wasn't as quick to pick up the next book.

Getting back to the point: I have taken a chance on a new popular series before, and it turned out ok. I'm sort of willing to do it again, but with so many bad reviews (from readers, not critics) I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to regret that choice. It's not about wasting my money, it's about wasting my time. Once you read a book or see a movie, you can't un-read or un-see it. It's there in your head forever. =P

If anybody has an opinion to offer, feel free. Otherwise I'll just debate on my own.

~Gretchen aka The Coconutter~

P.S. -- Prior to writing this post, I read a few pages of the Midnight Sun excerpt from the author's website. I hated it, but I shouldn't let that cloud my judgement. It was an incomplete rough draft, and those don't always do a person justice.

New Beginnings

So I haven't updated this blog in a really long time. Oh well, these things happen. Here we go, fresh start!

I'm still a people greeter at Wal-Mart, and though that may not seem like a big deal, I'm actually very proud of myself. This is the longest I've ever held a job. Not that I was always getting fired from my other jobs, but most of them were just summer jobs. I've officially made six months employment at this Wal-Mart, going on seven. Woohoo!

I'm in technical college now, and so far it's really working out well for me. I feel like I'm finally working toward a degree I could give a damn about. (Computer Network Support, for those who were curious.)

On the internet front: I don't do much posting on DeviantArt these days, but I'm still an avid supporter. Check out the bottom of my page for links to recently posted works. I am thoroughly addicted to Twitter and GoodReads. I won't give out my Twitter name here, mainly because if you're reading this post, you probably found it through my Twitter page anyway. My Goodreads shelves are displayed on the sidebar; you should definitely check them out.

Bookswim is also among my new faves; it's like Netflix for books. Some people might ask, "Why not just go to the library? It's free." True, and I'm definitely a supporter of the library. But the thing is, you might not live next to a library that has a wide selection. Bookswim doesn't have everything (Their manga section is definitely lacking, but I prefer to buy my manga anyway), but they do have many popular titles. If nothing else, it's worth browsing. If you want an invite, let me know and I'll send an email your way. If my understanding is correct, we both receive a discount.

At the moment I have nothing else to say. I may change my mind later, but for now I'm done.

Sincerely,
Gretchen aka The Coconutter

P.S. -- I'm a bad girlfriend. I forgot to mention that I'm still with my boyfriend whose name is Tim aka Possum who I love very much and want to be with forever and ever the end. ^_^;;