Accomplishments

So as our time in Galway comes to an abrupt close (sure, we've been here 3 months, but it seems like we arrived yesterday!), I have been trying to fit in as much as possible. Thankfully, the weather here has been gorgeous so I've been spending a lot of time outside, soaking up the Galway sights. When I'm not doing that, I am rushing to finish all the library books I checked out, watch all that I need to by way of online television/movies, and savor my last bits of Irish culture.

Told you I've been spending time outside! Look how happy I look! WARM WEATHER YOU ARE MY HEAVEN.

Here is what I've accomplished:

1. Last night I finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

I hope Mark wasn't too disturbed by the cover. If you know him, you know why.

Suggestion #1: Read this book.  

Suggestion #2: Do NOT read this book right after reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because you will wonder if Jonny Boy and Nicki (that's what they're called IRL, I swear) are co-conspirators of one of the greatest literary schemes ever successfully pulled off. What masterful scheme do I speak of? Well, it's the one where they write the same book, changed the titles and the characters' names and then convince two different publishers that they have a truly unique and groundbreaking work on their hands. Well done Jonny Boy and Nicki K. I'm impressed and simultaneously disappointed. I'm not the only one that noticed either (although this article's author says Krauss' work is better, whereas I believe they are equally as good for varying reasons). Whatever the case, let it be known: The wool is not over my eyes!

Google Image Search: Wool Over Eyes. This is what comes up. I guess Jonny and Nicki get the last laugh.

You should read them and see for yourself. But beware...the ending of Krauss' is shockingly devastating. (Don't say I didn't warn you.)

2.  I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to all things pop culture. I can name all the Spice Girls (REAL names, too--none of that Baby Spice business). I can sing pretty much every lyric to any song playing on the radio, whether I like it or not. I have seen quite a few movies, cult and otherwise (what up Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo).

Oh Ozone. How I love thee. And I pretty much wanted to be Kelly growing up.

But I will even admit that there has been a major gaping hole in my pop culture knowledge, and that hole was Star Wars.

 
Yes, Star Wars (which I shall now embolden for no particular reason other than it's Star Wars). I had not, until recently, seen Episodes IV, V, or VI. I have always known that this was a MAJOR faux pas on my part, but I just thought I'd missed the boat and that was that.

Enter Mark. He loves Star Wars. He read the novels, still to this day watches his DVD of Ewok adventures more than once a week, and knows the difference between each edition of the films. To be his mate, I had to swim to that long gone boat, hop on (whether the rebel alliance liked it or not) and finally watch these films.

As I'm sure you can expect, I loved them. I don't know why I didn't watch them sooner. They have everything you need. Great character development, exciting action scenes, a plot that gives the audience just the right amount of information, etc.

If for no other reason, you should watch Star Wars so that this commercial, while already brilliant and wonderful, can be that much more amazing.




By the way, the following commercial is equally important, but didn't get shown at the Superbowl, so you may not have seen it.



FYI, posting these videos is Accomplishment #3.

Just because this post is getting extremely long, I won't go on with Accomplishments 4-100, but suffice it to say, they're quite accomplished. (And no, I'm not using my post's length as a way to get out of addressing the fact that #1-3 is all I've accomplished since the last post. God, blog reader, you are so cynical!)

And with that, I'm off to accomplish more.