ze swimmer. ;)

to all of you who know my secrets, this one was a fun one. well... at least the title was, hahahaha. :) (you know who you are~)

i liked this story. even though ned was kinduva delusional person who crashed random people's yards to swim in their pools (i'm in your yard, swimmin' in yo' pool). also, crash their parties. i really liked how cheever didn't just give us all there was to know about ned as the story opened--the reader gradually learns more and more about the character until we can finally figure out what happened in the end. that's why i love stories! they're like mysteries and i love mysteries so much. maybe that's why i like psych and bones question mark? the ending was kinda sad too. also, i was questioning reality the more that i learned about ned OHNOINCEPTIONATTACKAHHHHHHHH and yeah. zat is all.

a&p... how 'bout b&r? and muse:already gone

just finished reading a&p.
this was another thing like hemingway's, making a story out of the mundane. however, updike's story seemed to flow a little bit better to me. the descriptions were very vivid, so the scene unfolded rather smoothly in my mind. going back to our discussion yesterday on who exactly were the characters, it seems that sammy (the narrator), stokesie, lengel, "queenie," and the girls. i consider "big tall goony-goony" (best impromptu name ever) a character even though she didn't talk, as she was part of queenie's group. the girls seemed to not be as much separate characters as much as queenie's minions, so they were very minor characters.
additionally. i shall never view vanilla ice cream the same ever again.

muse:
she had wanted to be with him for the longest time. he was her crush, after all. being a hormonal teenager, the world revolved around him and all he did. she would get flutters in her chest every time he looked at her, smiled that crooked smile and mumbled a shy "hi." every time she hung up after a phone call with him, she would fall into a blissful reverie. so when they finally came together, she thought she would be happy.

she was so wrong.

two days in, and their first fight. it was over something trivial and stupid, but it still broke her heart. that night, there was no phone call, no dreaming, just emptiness. the next day, though, they continued on as if it never happened. from then on, that was how they existed. teasing until tears, lather, rinse, and repeat.
even after their first kiss, the cycle continued. but she was already so deep, she didn't want to get out. so when he finally decided to end things then and there, she refused.

"no," she had argued. "we can make it through. we love each other, we can make it!"
he only shook his head before turning around.
"i love you so much. i love you so much that i want what's best for you. and what's best for you is life without me in it."
and as his footsteps echoed through the empty school hallway, she knew that as he left, so did her heart.

review of belle starr and muse:wrecked

the second day of the class!

reading "the man who knew belle starr" was... kinda painful. i tried to figure out why i disliked the story so much... and i think it was these things that drove me crazy.

• belle starr didn't seem to be a believable character. though she lived for adventure and whatnot, i just couldn't comprehend any of her actions really. our discussion today in class really helped to enlighten me on her behavior. after i figured out why she acted the way she did, i was able to chip in to the conversation.
• i guess the characters themselves seemed rather flat. though mcrae could be considered a dynamic character since he underwent such a dramatic change in the story, i really disliked his characterization. 
• the plot was... mundane, with the little twist of belle starr being who she was. 
• details... bausch did a good job with them. he really did. i was able to picture everything as i read it. i still didn't like the story overall. 
• short clipped dialog. though that's how conversations go actually in real life, it still didn't quite come across that well for me. mcrae was scared, sure, but... i just didn't like it. maybe i don't like western stories?
• the ending. mcrae changed. but how he changed was completely unclear. bausch just made it seem like he just... changed. he wasn't mcrae anymore. but then who was he? and how did he change?

okay! those are all the points.

time for a short. inspired by lake adventures today. :) kinda. ish. along with just life in general. all involved know who they are.

muse:

the first thought through his mind was, "i'm going to die." he'd never thought that anyone could do this to him. he had gathered so many people around him, guarded himself with so many faces to keep the ship afloat. but one by one the masks dissolved, turning the boat into a single plank. and he was left drowning in a deep, cold,  bluish-gray ocean in the middle of nowhere, where no one would find him. "maybe she was right," he thought. "maybe i am just a shipwreck." and with that, the driftwood sank, leaving him to tread water. a few breathless moments later, and the voice continued filling his ears with the memory. "i don't think i have the capacity to deal with you." he covered his ears and let out a cry. he was really going to die. as the waves continued to pound relentlessly against his gradually tiring body, he made up his mind. gathering resolve, he held his breath, closed his eyes, and ducked beneath the waves. "because maybe," he thinks, "maybe she's better off without me."