Actually Getting Stuff Done is Not So Easy

Hey All,

So this is my first weekend of the new semester with homework, and it's not even a lot of work, but I just couldn't get it done.

I think I discovered that there are just too many distractions in my own room and apartment, what with my roommates being close by, the TV on, food to buy and cook and eat, chores to do, things to clean, doors to paint, rooms and drawers and desks to reorganize...again.
There were just too many better options than doing my homework.

So I packed up my stuff and headed to campus. I've been sitting in the library for a while now, and I'm actually really hungry, so I'm about to go get some food and go home, but before that, here's how I figured out how to get my work done:

1. Figure out the ranking of the work by which is hardest to easiest.
2. Start with the second easiest piece of work to ease you into getting into the right frame of mind to really concentrate and focus on the work.
3. Do the hardest work next. Get it out of the way as soon as you are in the right frame of mind to work.
4. Steadily work down the hard line until you arrive at the easiest piece of work you have, and end on a high note! It's easy, right?

I know this doesn't sound very appealing because it's still not fun, but I like to work on a reward system.

Obviously for a class's worth of homework, it's not going to be a reward like a shopping spree or anything, but it could come out to a scale kind of like this:

1 Easiest: listening to two songs to rest your eyes and relax your brain

2nd Easiest: 10 minutes on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest; try not to lose focus, but you've earned a short break

2nd Hardest: something sweet, if there's a vending machine nearby or you just happen to have a little candy/chocolate in your backpack/purse. Studies have shown that chocolate helps you recall what you've learned, so this is as much a treat as it is a study mechanism

1st Hardest: a short walk around the library/study area you're occupying. rest your eyes and hands, as well as relax your brain by getting up and stretching your legs a bit.

This is assuming you have four classes that each give you homework for the weekend like my classes do. you can switch up the rewards to your preferred degree of homework, but remember not to overdo it. These rewards are meant to help encourage you to finish your work, not help distract you.


That's all for today,
Thanks for reading!
Amy Liz

Infernal Devices: Clockwork Fandom

Hello All,

I hope no one logged onto this in the desperate hope that I had any kind of new information about Cassandra Clare's upcoming Clockwork Princess book (March 19th, 62 days from this very moment), because, unfortunately, I don't. I just have a lot of love and emotions.

So I just re-read Angel and Prince, and I've been going through Clare's blog posts about CP2 and I just need to say that I have no idea how this story is going to end and I'm very anxious about who lives, who dies, what the HELL Tessa really is, and WHO SHE ENDS UP WITH!

 Art Source: cassandraclare.com

I've never had a story stay with me for so long after finishing the book than I do with Clare's Shadowhunter stories. I have friends that don't really like the Infernal Devices, but I love them; the uniqueness of the unfamiliar customs, locations and traditions of not just another country/continent but of another century brings a new level of detail and intricacy to the storyline.

I love the characters; Tessa starts out insecure and unsure of herself, but is constantly loyal to her beliefs, and incredibly independent, as well as smart/sassy and funny. She doesn't let Will or Jessamine's bad attitudes get her down, just counters them with sass (boo ya!).
William Herondale is an interesting beast; he feels everything with a passion that I didn't understand the first time I read through the books, and I "get it" just a little bit more now, but I'm still caught between finding his emotional extremes reckless or endearing.
James Carstairs; OMFG I LOVE JEM. He's soft spoken but never lets anyone speak over him, he's kind and thoughtful and he's not self-pitying, despite his very valid excuse. I know that Clare has pretty much set up this whole story for him to pretty much die in the middle of it, but I'm pretty sure I will mourn his literary loss like an actual dead friend instead of a fictional character, because I want Jem and Tessa to be together with an absurd passion that won't leave me alone.
I mean, to me, their relationship just sounds so much healthier than a relationship with Will would be. From the first moment Tessa meets Jem, she becomes happier, like a weight is lifted off her shoulders, and as their friendship grows, absence from him grows from missing him to an almost physical hurt. Her first kiss with Jem is described as breathing air, while kissing Will leaves her breathless -last I checked, it was really really good to breathe. Jem is consistently caring and thoughtful, and his obvious affections are shown gradually, with more regularity.

I didn't start this post as a "reasons why I want Jem and Tessa to be together" update, I just wanted to gush about the books in general, in the hopes that it will stop distracting me for a few weeks so I can start classes and my show and my internship without wondering what will happen in a book I won't see for another 60+ days.

Maybe I'm crazy, but does anyone else kinda read books and, like, picture them in your head like they were playing out like a movie? Well, that's how it happens in my head when I'm reading, and when I read the Infernal Devices, everything has this not-quite sepia filter, but like everything's covered in a sort of Steampunk fog/smog. It adds another level of interesting to my reading of the books, because I've never read anything Steampunk before, but it's just one more thing that endears me to these books.

I like meeting all of the Shadowhunters with names that we recognize, like Lightwood, Fairchild, Herondale, Wayland, etc. and wondering how we get from these characters to the ones we meet/will meet in 2008/2012. It's also really interesting to get this new level of Council and EnClave politics that we only peek into in the Mortal Instruments series.

I need to end this post somewhere or it will never be finished. So here it is: I love these books, I love Clare's writing and stories, and I will be impatiently waiting for March 19th to arrive.

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

UPDATE:

OMG THE INSIDE COVER JACKET SUMMARY OF CLOCKWORK PRINCESS HAS BEEN RELEASED, CAN'T FUNCTION OMG

here it is, for those who are curious

Late Christmas for the Roomies

Hey all,

So I got my best friend/roommate her Christmas gift like super early, but because the place that I ordered it from was having a rough online ordering process and failed to notify me that my thing was backordered, I wasn't able to physically "get" her present to her until after she had already left for Kansas for the winter break.
No biggie, we just said we'd give gifts after break.

However, I forgot to get my other roommate something. So me and T. went to this cute little local bookstore nearby and were looking through some stuff, and we both thought that it would be so funny if I got M. a copy of 50 Shades of Grey. Now, M. is NOT the type of person to be into that at all, or interested in getting it for herself, anyway. T. and I have both had some "interesting" conversations with her about her "inexperience" -which, if she's asking me, then she must be pretty desperate, haha.

So yeah, I was going to get her that and a calendar with cool pictures of London.
...Until I realized that freakin' book is $16 in paperback. PAPERBACK! Are you freaking kidding me?

So not interested in spending that much money for a gag gift...even if it would have been really funny to see her reaction when she opened it.

That's all,
Thanks for reading
Amy Liz

A Goal of Mine...

Hello All,

So for this semester, I'm taking my first ever non-fiction writing course. For anyone who knows me or has read any of my past entries, you probably realize that this is a step in a very different direction for me.

So to get myself ready for this class, I wonder if anyone can give me any suggestions of good non-fiction books to read. It looks like we're mostly focusing on introductory level stuff, like personal essays and stuff like that.
I'd love to research the art of non-fiction as best as I can, even if I'm not thrilled by the idea of writing it, myself.

So if you've got suggestions, please comment under this post!

Thanks!

here's a picture of a cute puppy for your cooperation:

Happy 2013

Hello All,

So I've been thinking about what to do for my New Year's resolutions and about what's coming up in 2013.
I've got:

• Speechless to make into the best debate/learning show the Emerson Channel has ever seen -ever!
• My internship with Candlewick Press to impress people at
• My four classes to beast
• The 32nd Annual EVVY Awards Script to build, supervise and make amazing
• Figuring out how to be a part of Orientation Series next summer
• and....figuring out what i'll be doing for the rest of the year

I've got a lot to do in the next five months, and I think I'm going to be as busy as ever, haha.

So for my resolution, I don't think I could really boil it down into one kinda smallish thing to say to people unless it's something like "my resolution is to make this year the best that i can possibly make it."

I guess that's good enough, right?