Blueberries

finding the amuseries in life and sharing them with you ~

[similistic]

Books of 2024

Favorites:

- Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim I wouldn't exactly call it a prequel to Six Crimson Cranes/The Dragon's Promise, but it's set in the same world. It tells the story of Shiori's step-mother. I liked SCC/TDP, but I liked HRC better. The protagonist is more mature and the story feels more fresh.

- Bookshops & Bonedust and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree YA-ish modern high fantasy with LGBTQIA+ characters presented in a very matter-of-fact way.

- The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston Time travel-y popfic romance.

5-Star Ratings in 2024:

- A Witch's Guide to Burning by Aminder Dhaliwal I was following this story on Aminder's Instagram account. Really enjoyed it and decided to buy the physical copy both as a gesture of support and because it's cool with the embellished text.

- Lessons in Chmiestry by Bonnie Garmus As a chemistry major (sort of), I got a lot of recommendations from people to read this book. I also heard a lot, both good and bad, about it before I read it. I was pleasantly surprised, perhaps because of the criticism I was prepared for. I think if you read it as pure fiction (as opposed to historical fiction) it works quite well. There were some neurodiversity stereotypes I didn't enjoy, and that is a legit criticism. CW: sexual assault.

- Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Very "classic" feeling prose. Historical fiction based around the life of a woman born around the time of WWI and then grows old into the 1980s and 1990s.

- Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler A fun graphic novel. Wholesome, with a clear moral of the story.

- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner This book is essentially the memoirs of a mixed-race Korean American who is grieving her mother's death (her mother is the asian parent) and all that that implies (culture, identity, etc.).

- The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green If you are familiar with the vlogbrothers Youtube channel, this book basically reads like a collection of video transcripts. The topics chosen, the "voice" of the writing, etc.

[similistic]

They said you were leaving, someone's swept your heart away~

I heard "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton on the radio today and I was once again (yes, this is not the first time) struck by how badly I wanted to read a Zutara fic based on/inspired by this song.

I'm imagining an AU where Iroh uses his White Lotus connections to place Zuko with the Southern Water Tribe after his banishment. Hakoda (and Kanna) foster Zuko, so Zuko grows up with Sokka and Katara.

Then one day, when Katara and Sokka are out fishing, they stumble upon the Avatar, and that part of the plot plays out as usual, with Admiral Zhao standing in for Zuko's role from the canon?

At the end of that whole section, Katara announces to the tribe that she's leaving the SWT to travel with Aang (cue the song).

Somebody who writes ATLA fanfic, please help a girl out. XD

[similistic]

Books of 2023

Favorites:

- Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay It's a sci-fi-esque BatB retelling.

- Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans by Jenny Wang Pretty much what you would expect based on the title. The book really resonated with so many parts of my life, my struggles, etc. I'm also the exact target demographic of the book so, take that with a grain of salt. I don't think I'd recommend the book to someone who isn't Asian American, and perhaps even more specifically from a Chinese culture.

- Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do by Eve Rodsky This book/game/concept has been all over social media, but I think the book really goes into so much more depth and background. If you just get the game/cards or read an article or see an interview, you might think you understand how the "cards" work but there's a lot of prep work that goes into it before you start "playing" and the book lays it all out with a lot of caveats/warnings/pitfalls/issue management, etc.

5-Star Ratings in 2023:

- The Duke and I + When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn I read the entire Bridgertons series in 2023 and they were great fun. "Duke and I" is book 1, the story of Daphne (which is covered more or less in season 1 of the show). "Wicked" is book 6, and is Francesca's story (a younger sister who barely exists in the first book).

- Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani Short story format fairy tale retellings with a feminist bent.

- Stargazing by Jen Wang Graphic novel about two Asian American teens navigating their lives in middle school. Based on some details from the author's life I believe?

- In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang Another graphic novel. This one's about a gamer with some like, social justice themes.

- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa I read all the "Legendery Edition" "Legend of Zelda" graphic novel volumes. As someone who didn't play the games growing up, after talking to my husband, apparently the graphic novels basically follow the plotline of the different games.

- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith I believe I picked up this book because I saw a trailer for the movie? A sweet YA love story.

- The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks The format, structure, plot. All very interesting. Pulls you in and makes you root for the characters.

- The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers A picture book that treats death and loss in a sort of roundabout way. I don't think anything is ever said directly.

[similistic]

Books of 2022

Favorites:

- Owen by Kevin Henkes It’s a children’s book about a mouse who is very attached to his security blanket. XD

- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler A very eerie post-apocalytpic/dystopian science fiction novel. The story is set between 2024 and 2027, so reading it in 2022, as a resident of California, was a bit chilling and very thought-provoking.

- Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb This is book 2 of the Rain Wild Chronicles series, and to be honest, I don’t highly recommend the other three books in the series, and I’m not sure I would have “favorited” it as a stand alone. But it’s the most dragon-centric book of the series and I really enjoyed her treatment of dragons and their lore.

5-Star Ratings in 2022:

- The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Young man coming of age, vintage Americana.

- Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater Basically a look at what happens to Merida from Disney/Pixar’s “Brave” after the events of the movie.

- The Partner Track by Helen Wan Young, female, Asian lawyer, trying to make partner at her firm. Dealing with racism and sexism. Slight “Devil Wears Prada” vibes.

- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne Fun romance novel. Enemy to lovers trope.

- 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne Fun romance novel.

- Mad Ship by Robin Hobb Book 2 of the Liveship Traders trilogy.

[similistic]

Books of 2021

Favorites: (in order of date read)

- Graceling by Kristin Cashore This was recommended to me by Diana (again LOL), although I had heard of it before, it hadn’t really been strongly on my radar. Graceling is book one in the series and my favorite by far. I think the main characters reminded me a little of On Fortune’s Wheel, one of my old favorites (that I should reread again soon I think). Fire is book two, and I gave it five stars. I also read and enjoyed books three and four, which got 4 and 3 stars from me respectively.

- Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A non-fiction collection of letters on the topic of many things, but based on suggestions on how to raise our daughters.

- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip A recommendation of Elizabeth Lim’s favorite fantasy novels. I described it as "Tolkien-esque, but made more palatable for younger readers."

- Dear Girls by Ali Wong I thought it was sort of feminist and empowering, but in a very different way than Dear Ijeawele. More like a sleepover with your high school/college girlfriends.

- Dealing with Dragons / Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede Another Elizabeth Lim recommendation from the same Instagram reel. I ended up reading al four books in the series, and enjoyed them all, but the first one is the best, in my opinion. A very nice “unconventional princess” story. Talking to Dragons is book four and is very tongue in cheek about traditional hero stories.

- A Court of Thorns and Roses / A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Recommended to me by basically everyone, but I finally caved when someone told me that ACoTaR was a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I’m a sucker for BatB retellings and I was not let down. ACoMaF is very very different (the same friend described it as a Hades/Persephone retelling). The plot of the series can give you a bit of whiplash. I also read and enjoyed book 3 but thought it was much weaker and it didn’t make me interested in reading book 4, which came out this year.

- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers Loved it, wanted more, but book two isn’t slated to come out until next year, and I don’t trust publishers to keep their word so I’m trying not to hold my breath on it. The world reminded me weirdly of The Giver (Lois Lowry), even though it... is not at all related. Robots.

- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang A genderbent retelling of “Pretty Woman” where the main female character is austistic. I read it and then immediately wanted to reread it.

5-Star Ratings in 2021:

Fiction--

- The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu Really epic; Asian inspired world building.

- Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier Another Elizabeth Lim rec; Wild Swans (ATU451) retelling.

- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir More similar to The Martian than Artemis was, but with a more fantastical element.

- Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Lim’s “Wild Swans” retelling; Asian-inspired world building.

Nonfiction---

- The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard Consumerism and it’s impact.

- Educated by Tara Westover A memoir written by someone who grew up off the grid.

- Dear Memory by Victoria Chang Poetry in the form of letters that really resonated with me, as this woman’s life closely paralleled that of my close family.

[similistic]

Do you have enough charge left in that introvert battery for me?

evergreen_on_the_horizon, “A Delicate Balance”

[similistic]

Books of 2020

5-Star Ratings in 2020:

- Becoming by Michelle Obama I felt it was well-composed, almost like a persuasive essay? With just enough personal anecdotes to draw you in and make you feel connected. But you definitely come away from it knowing that she had a message she wanted to get out into the world.

- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb I think this book made me see therapy in a more generous light, coming from a semi-conservative Asian-immigrant family where talking about mental health is still a bit looked down upon. I also appreciate that she says straight up that therapy won’t work for everyone, and that it has its limitations even when it does help.

- The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung This is a story of a female mathematician of mixed race descent, and that is already a great start. It has bits set in WWII Germany, and I also love historical fiction so. I don’t want to give anything away so, highly recommend if any of that appeals to you.

- Anxious People by Fredrik Backman I sort of described this book as similar to A Man Called Ove, but with an ensemble cast instead of a single main character. Has similar themes, although the plot and structure is different.

- Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim Recommended to me by Diana; the author was her college roommate I think? It’s a lovely fantasy story mixing in a lot of Asian elements/myths/folklore, which is always an A+ idea for me. It’s a duology, and the second book, Unravel the Dusk, is also nice although in my opinion the beginning is stronger than the ending. I definitely got Tamora Pierce vibes from it, and I love me some Tamora Pierce so.

Favorite:

There was only one book that got the “Favorites” tag from me this year. I liked it so much I bought a copy.

- Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg It’s basically a really methodical set of suggestions for communicating clearly with your loved ones about tough and/or emotional topics.

[trusmurff]

A Beauty and the Beast AU where Belle realizing she loves Beast isn’t at some dramatic climactic event but during some randome everyday moment. Like, she’s filing her nails and just kinda glances up at him and he’s like doing something just as dull and it just kinda dawns on her that she loves him but she doesn’t voice it cause she isn’t exactly ready to confront thoes emotions and what they mean so she goes back to filing her nails but then is starts raining glitter and Beast is defying gravity in a glowing ball of light and the castle is changing back and everyone becomes human again. Then everyone is left in silent moment of shock and confusion and Belle, being completely unaware of what it takes to break the curse, is just staring around in horror while everyone freshly humanized comes running into whatever room she and Beast were in (probably the library) expecting to see something other than human Beast in a heap on the ground and Belle across the room in a chair frozen in shock and confusion and everyone just kinda looks at each other for a couple of seconds not realy sure what to say cause nobody is entirely sure what happened other than the curse was broken. Then Beast finaly gets up and looks around and realizes what this means and looks at Belle and is just like “you love me?” And Belle is just like “wat?”

[bairnsidhe]

ALTERNATELY: Belle falls in love slowly.  As a result, Beast turns back into a human slowly.  She overhears him singing in the shower (it’s amazing how old pipes echo) and realizes it’s that song she was trying to teach herself on the piano (okay, that the piano was teaching her).  It’s sweet and mundane, and lovely.  Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Beast is humming nervously as he looks at the fur clogging the drain.  He thought at least he’d be free of male pattern balding since he’s cursed!  Later, Belle gets a cold, and Beast brings her soup and sandwiches, and she curses at him because how dare he have such a hearty immune system, and he chuckles and leaves it.  After he’s gone, she notices he cut the grilled cheese on the diagonal, crusts off, exactly right.  Beast, downstairs, trips and falls, because the sudden lack of toe-claws threw off his balance.

And so on and so forth, so slowly she doesn’t really see it, she just assumes her memories were colored by her fear.  Until one day, as he goes out to tend his roses, she yells “Bye, love you!” and when he comes back in, all excited, she nearly beans him with an encyclopedia, because “WHAT THE FUCK, WHO ARE YOU?” and Beast is just “You seriously didn’t notice me turning back into a human?  You are so smart… and SO DUMB, I BEEN NEARLY DYING EVERY TIME, WHY DO I LOVE YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL DISASTER WOMAN!”

And Belle goes “…what?”

[similistic]

Reblogging because I love this and want the able to find it again :3

[similistic]

Books of 2019

Last year I decided to do myself a favor and make a separate “2019″ shelf on Goodreads so I wouldn’t have to filter out the children’s books I read with my kids from the books I read for myself that I actually thought about and reviewed and whatnot.

Apparently read 32 books in 2019 (my goal was 15 XD).

Favorite books read in 2019:

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden (YA Fantasy, with Historical Fiction elements) This is the third book in the Winternight Trilogy, all three of which I thoroughly enjoyed. The first book, The Bear and the Nightingale, felt very much like a “fractured fairy tale,” which is one of my favorite sub-genres. I felt like the second book, The Girl in the Tower, was the weakest although still very good. All three books in the series got 5 stars from me, which is also saying something, I think.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Historical Fiction) Set in post-revolution Russia, Count Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol hotel. The story gave me major A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Bachman) vibes without being at all like that book in plot. Something in the way the two characters are developed I think just draws subtle parallels in my brain. It’s like a “coming of age” book...where the main character is already an adult?

Other 5-Star ratings in 2019:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (YA) A book that relatively-gently opens your eyes to the topics around the “Black Lives Matter” movement, but sounds sincere and honest rather than trying to push any sort of political agenda.

Circe by Madeline Miller (Greek Mythology/Fantasy?) A retelling of the story of Circe from Greek mythology (most well-known for turning Odysseus’s crew into pigs), told from the perspective of Circe herself.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (Science Fiction Short Stories) I really like science fiction that touches on social topics and focuses more on humanity rather than on the actual scientific advances/differences, and Ted Chiang seems to agree with me on that. This collection includes the short story, “The Story of Your Life,” which the movie “Arrival” (2016, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner) is based on.

[similistic]

Books of 2018

Apparently only two (non-children’s) books achieved a 5-star rating from me this year, and none were tagged “Favorite.” Not sure if I’m getting more picky/strict in my ratings or if I just read way more children’s books than “adult” books?

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley: This is part of the same world/series as the more well-known The Blue Sword. Diana Inadomi recommended the series to me after she found out I bought a copy of Beauty (a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”) by the same author. I’d definitely say the series was written for a younger audience, elementary to middle school range, but I still really enjoyed it, and if you’re the type of parent who is looking for a book with a “strong female protagonist” this sort of fits the bill. I kind of put it in the same area of my brain as the Tamora Pierce books I loved (and still love).

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter:  This was a memoir-like novel(?) about the author’s grandfather (and grandfather’s siblings) during WWII. It’s mostly set in Poland but does touch on the life of Jewish people in other areas of the world during that time. I feel like books/stories/movies of that time period are always a strange and beautiful combination of depressing and uplifting.

[Edit] Okay, just counted. 142 books children’s books and 63 “adult” books. Not terrible.

[similistic]

Breastfeeding a Newborn

Imagine there’s a magical floating alarm that goes off above your head. Everyone can hear it, and they might look over (or they might not), but you are the only one who is compelled to stop whatever you’re doing, and sit down. For fifteen minutes you can perform any task that only requires your dominant  hand, you may even stand up and walk around briefly to retrieve small items, but you cannot sleep. Then for the next fifteen minutes you can perform any task that only requires your non-dominant hand, again excluding sleep. For the following five minutes, you must stand in one spot with both hands by your sides. After that you are released and can do whatever you want.

This alarm goes off every two hours throughout the day, twelve times a day, every day for at least two weeks.

[similistic]

Love Languages

So I was watching the “Ask Jen and Ben” episode on arguments (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWfhGnvBofM) and they mentioned that their relationship struggled a little after they had their first child until they realized that their primary love language had changed. And that made me wonder if mine had changed after having my first child.

I dug back in my chat archives and found both the link, and my results from 2014:

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

Acts of Service: 12 Physical Touch: 7 Quality Time: 7 Words of Affirmation: 2 Receiving Gifts: 2

Retook the quiz and here are my results for 2018:

Acts of Service: 11 Physical Touch: 6 Quality Time: 6 Words of Affirmation: 5 Receiving Gifts: 2

So it’s really interesting that “words of affirmation” has jumped up a bit, but my primary love language is still the same and is still quite strongly dominant compared to the other love languages. Something for me to ponder more upon I think.

[jspark3000]

Sometimes I forget to listen. I forget to let a friend be. To tell their whole story and paint their full heart into the air.

I’m too eager to respond with a fix, a solution, a plan. I interrupt the art. I look for a pause to jump in and offer all sorts of articulate banter, when this isn’t what they want. They just want to speak until they’re out of breath, and then meet eyes and feel like they’re okay and understood and not alone. It’s a beautiful thing, and I want to let it happen. I want to let them finish painting in their own words. And then maybe I will understand. — J

[similistic]

Thank you for being aware, and for trying to listen more.

[similistic]

Books of 2017

Looking at my tags, I either forgot to do this in 2015 and 2016, or I messed up my tags. Probably the former since you know, baby.

Anyway, favorite books of 2017!

(In order of date read.)

Into the Labyrinth by Margaret Weis (Death Gate Cycle, fantasy) - This book is the sixth in the series. I grabbed it from the free table about 6 years ago when I was living in SD, and only just got around to reading it. I thought I’d try it out, and if I liked it, I’d read the entire series. I did in fact like it, and I went to the library and picked up book 7, which I rated 4 stars. But even though I enjoyed both, I didn’t feel compelled to go back and read the series from the start. So, good job to Weis for making them good stand-alones?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (post-apocalyptic scifi) - I usually like post-apocalyptic stuff, especially if the cause is something super believable. This book is set in the midwest/great lakes region, which made it that much more relevant to me, having lived there for several years. The main characters are part of the Travelling Symphony and I enjoyed that image of a sort of...renaissance-y entertainment caravan.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (chick lit) - Will is quadriplegic and Lou(isa) is hired by his parents to be a sort of caretaker. The book shows how the relationship between the two develops, and there are a few bits of background story that turned out to add more depth to the story than I expected. The movie does pretty well by the book, but I found Emilia Clarke to be distracting in the role of Lou.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (chick lit) - I pretty much love all books, movies, and TV shows that feature characters on the Asperger’s spectrum, especially if they find someone they can connect with. So that’s this.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (YA fantasy) - If you’ve read Fangirl, then this is basically the story that Cath was either writing or writing from. It’s kind of a Harry Potter-esque world of teenagers with magic. I liked the the way Rowell explained the magic in this world though.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (YA fantasy) - Picked up this book because I saw it on Diana’s to-read list. It’s a stand-alone novel that kind of reminded me of bits of other books, but not in any clear way: the Karavans series by Jennifer Roberson (Deepwood), the Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone), The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron, etc.).

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (historical fiction) - The story of a girl of one of China’s ethnic minorities, intertwined with the history of pu’er tea.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson (non-fiction) - This was featured in one of Jenn Im’s favorites videos and I thought I’d give it a try. I ended up liking it not so much because the message was a revelation, but because it succeeded in reminding me of something I already know and showing the importance of your attitude when it comes to approaching life.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (fiction) - A surprise favorite. I went into this book not knowing at all what the story would be about. It’s sort of a feel-good novel but runs a little deeper than just a fluffy fun read (although there’s nothing wrong with fluffy fun reads). I definitely cried reading this, LOL.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (fiction) - Picked this up because I liked A Man Called Ove so much. You can definitely feel Backman’s style in this book even though it’s a different subject matter than “Ove.”

Bonus children’s book:

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen - Best. Here’s a 2-minute video where you can listen to someone read it for you while you look at the pictures: I Want My Hat Back. Enjoy.

[similistic]

Glorp

noun, verb.

the act, sound, or feeling of a thick slime bubble popping;

an act, sound, or feeling reminiscent of a thick slime bubble popping

[similistic]

Thoughts from an E-mail

This is mostly posted for @waitingforgodot0​ . I had wanted to include her in the e-mail I sent tonight but I couldn’t recall her e-mail addy. (Wow, when was the last time I said “addy” instead of address.)

Sometimes I drive down Hamilton toward Campbell on my way to Home Depot or Whole Foods or something. Whenever I pass that on-ramp for the 17 I think of Mr. Haas and I kind of wonder what he's up to, if he's still living in that house with the crazy long driveway at the top of the mountain with his wife. I think about his barn full of huge tubs of golf balls and all those scrap wood birdhouses. I think about his front patio that looks weirdly like it belongs in a winery and his back deck with the crazy view that feels like it belongs in some kind of resort lodge. Recently we attempted to re-stain our deck and just that relatively simple home-maintenance task sort of overwhelmed me. I can't even imagine how long it must take Haas to re-stain his deck. Or just maintain it on a regular basis. I feel like people our age don't really know how to do these home-maintenance tasks that people in the generation above us kind of considered common sense. I can't imagine someone our age, one of the people we went to school with and grew up with, building their own house. It just seems crazy to me. I recently read "A Man Called Ove" and at the time I didn't really think of Haas, but now that I'm writing this it does kind of make me think of him. Like he grew up with a different outlook on life and a different way of living? I wouldn't necessarily say a different set of values, but from a certain perspective that could be true. Sometimes I idly wonder if he's even still alive. Maybe he died and his wife is living in that house by herself. Or maybe she died and he's living there by himself. Or maybe one died and the other moved. Or maybe both died. Or maybe both moved because the house and garden/orchard was getting to be too much, or they wanted to be closer to their kids and grandkids. I remember when I met his wife I was a little surprised. Haas always felt like a complete entity to me. It was hard to imagine that he had an "other half." I mean, I knew he was married, but actually meeting his wife made it real? And I couldn't imagine him with children. But I know he has children and that they have children. Maybe by now he has great-grandchildren, I don't know. I never visit Lynbrook anymore. I think all of the teachers I would've visited are no longer there. (Just looked it up. I guess Mr. Peck and Mrs. Korsunsky are still there.) I dream about it all the time though. I wander the hallways and my brain mashes it together with either my elementary school acquaintances (the ones I wasn't even friends with, and can't even remember the names of once I wake up, yet their faces are so clear) or my college friends. I have this recurring dream where I'm there at night or very early in the morning, and I'm peering into the windows of different rooms in different buildings looking for where Haas has moved to, because I /know/ he's still there, he's just changed rooms. Or I go to his old room but a new teacher is there and it's always a young, male, math teacher who is really friendly and tries to be helpful. Usually he tells me that Haas has moved to the other side of the building, but when I go there I still can't find him. Almost every time I end up running through the hallway in the band building through the little courtyard that goes to the art/choir building, but I can't run fast enough, and by the time I'm almost there the bell has rung and students are streaming out of the choir room in the opposite direction and pushing me backwards faster than I can move forward.

[similistic]

Whitney

Feeling nostalgic after my sister’s wedding. (Congrats!)

1. I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA) I need a man who’ll take the chance on a love that burns hot enough. to. last.

^ Always going to be my sister’s song. <3

2. Just the Lonely Talking Again (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtssG0CYv48) Are you really ready for love, boy? Or is it just the lonely talking again?

3. Love Will Save the Day (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEQ4yAFiJkY) Forget this fear and frustration.

4. Didn’t We Almost Have It All (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDR3IMSntlc) Remember when we held on in the rain?

5. So Emotional (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YjSHbA6HQQ) And when you talk - I just watch your mouth.

6. Where You Are (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCepTmI6nUg) Oh these lonely times - they never, seem to end.

^ One of my favorites.

7. Love Is a Contact Sport (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8lNHRSwihs) Turn me on and see.

8. You’re Still My Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXErR30httw) Nothing can change it.

9. For the Love of You (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ROT1A751Y) And a song, soft and long.

10. Where Do Broken Hearts Go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa3tfVjGCQ8) Can they find their way home - back to the open arms of a love that’s waiting there?

^ One of my favorites. I always like to listen to it with Celine Dion’s “Call the Man” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL3-RExDlU4).

11. I Know Him So Well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Exj5hubaw) Wasn’t it good? (Wasn’t it good?) Wasn’t it fine? (Wasn’t it fine?) Isn’t it madness, he can’t be mine.