Bit of Ivory

I feel very Hogwarts-ish.
I’m wearing my skirt, my knee socks, my loafers, my long-sleeved white
shirt, and my sweater. And carrying my wand.
I still need to finish making my tie and start my robe. By Wednesday
(which is when my ward is having their Halloween party).
It’s going to be tight, but I think I’m going to make it.
Today my sisters and I went to Papyrus and bought parchment-looking
stationary. I’m going to take it, my bottle of ink, and my quill with
me to class on Halloween itself. I’m also going to use my shoulder bag
instead of my backpack, and stick Quidditch Through the Ages
and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in it. I think it
will complete the ensemble very nicely, don’t you?
I’m very excited.

Richard Harris died today,
of Hodgkin’s disease. I feel awful.
Because no matter how much I tell myself that this is a terrible,
horrible, tragic thing. . .
I can’t help but feeling a little excited.
Because now we’ll get a new Dumbledore in PoA.
I am a bad, bad, person.

Oh, hey! I got another review on SQ! From clear back on Friday. Shows
you how long it’s been since I got a review there, I hadn’t even
noticed.
And whoever it is even liked it! Yay!

A curse on all you Bujold fans. I just finished Shards of Honor.
How many books are there in this series? 13? With several short stories
thrown in for good measure?
I really don’t have time for this. . .

Hee. I loved the interviews on The Leaky Cauldron. They
were simply awesome. Mellie
did a great job of asking the questions we all want to know the answer
to– the shipping questions, of course. I can’t tell you how long I’ve
heard that Chris Columbus is an H/H shipper, which of course concerned
me; if Columbus put H/H into the movies, then all those H/H shippers
would be convinced that it’s the way things are going to turn out.
Because of course JKR agrees with everything they put in the
movie. Anyway, my fears appear to be unfounded. Columbus deliberately
foreshadows the events in GoF. Yay!
I also loved how Daniel managed to put his opinion out there that Ron
and Hermione are going to get together without even being asked. Good
for you, Dan!
I must say, though, that I just can’t understand why people think Chamber
of Secrets is the worst book in the series. It’s my favorite. It’s
got a strong plot, explores some very interesting themes and moral
concerns, has a nice twist ending, a killer climax, and enough comic
relief to balance the darkness (and some scrumptious H/G goodness ).
What’s not to like? In fact, I’ve always expected more from CoS than SS
as a movie, simply because it’s a better book, with a better narrative
structure. I mean, in SS, you’re already 100 pages into the book before
you even get to Hogwarts; whereas in CoS there’s only the smallest bit
of re-hashing of SS before you’re off and running.
So why don’t people like it? Is it because it pales in comparison to Prisoner
of Azkaban or Goblet of Fire? I personally like PoA the
least of all the books thus far– with all the setup JKR gave Sirius,
and the supposed danger Harry was in, the ending was, frankly, a
let-down. Plus Harry was REALLY stupid in that book. He deserved every
feeling of guilt he got for sneaking off to Hogsmeade. And Snape always
makes me so mad in that one; no matter how much people like RJA have convinced me that
Snape may not be the cold-hearted villain I originally percived him as,
Snape better have a darn good reason for his actions in the Shrieking
Shack before I completely trust him. I love GoF, it’s tied for my
favorite actually. But when I need an HP fix I usually grab CoS simply
because it’s shorter. Plus the ending of GoF is such a cliffhanger (of
sorts, there is some resolution but not nearly as much as I’d like)
that it leaves me dissatisfied.
Anyway, I’d sure like to know what you think. Is CoS your least
favorite book? If so, why? Give me some good solid reasons, because
right now it’s totally inexplicable to me.

This
is SOO sad. Panda Express is one of my favorite restaurants. This
particular location is a block from my house, and only opened about 4
months ago. We were so excited when the sign came up that they were
building it– a Panda a block away? What could be better? (The only
thing I can think of is that a Ben and Jerry’s just opened a block
away, too–a different block, but whatever.) Yesterday, my supervisor
walked into work and said “Emily, you’re really not going to like
this– Panda Express is on fire.” According to this story from the
BYU paper, it could maybe open again in a week. That would be good.
But in the meanitme, we have to drive the mile to the next closest
location for our Panda and Gilmore Girls fix tonight.

Here’s
another search that brought people here. Can someone tell me why my
blog comes up on that search, but RJA’s, which actually
contains (excellent) fanfic on Snape’s love life, doesn’t?

I am very tired this morning, mostly owing to the fact that I was up
late working on my tie. It’s going to look awesome when it’s done. I’m
getting more and more excited. Hopefully after Halloween I’ll be able
to finally move my blog over to my brother’s server (it’s just a
question of time, and deciding on my domain name), and I should be able
to post some pics soon.
Whenever I mention being up too late, or being tired, or anything of
that sort, my roommate has taken to saying “No more Harry Potter!”
Ostensibly, this is because I’ve been reading Chamber of Secrets
before I go to bed. I haven’t made very much progress so far, because I
keep falling asleep. So the idea that Harry’s to blame for me staying
up late falls apart– until you realize what’s made me stay up late before
I get into bed and start reading CoS. Now there, she has a point. I’m
playing around on the internet– usually visiting Sugar Quill or looking for news
at the Leaky Cauldron,
or reading everyone’s blogs, or working on my own (and since I met
everyone in the SSHPF,
and they gave me the idea to start a blog, even blogging is
Harry-related), or chatting with RJA or Teri, who of course are
fanfic people. And you know, the more I thought about it, the more I
realized that HP is taking over my life.
I love it.
And of course, I am free to ignore Jen when she says “no more Harry
Potter!”, ’cause she was up just as late last night sewing the gold and
red strips together for her Gryffindor tie. Plus she played Gnome
Toss (which is actually a really fun card game) and Chamber of Secrets
Trivia with as much gusto as myself and my sisters. CoS Trivia is
really fun, BTW. Rather than using the Trivial Pursuit model this time
around, they’ve set it up like a Quidditch game– you’ve got Chasers
and Keepers and Beaters and Seekers, and you have to have the Quaffle
in order to score, and ostensibly you can catch the Snitch but still
not win the game, because it’s worth 150 pts., etc. The questions are
pretty easy, though, especially with the multiple choice. I didn’t miss
any of them– I even got the wording right on the “what does the Heir
of Slytherin write on the wall about Ginny?” question (and her
skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever), and knew what D. J. Prod
of Didsbury said he turned his wife into in the Kwikspell course (a
yak). Hopefully I’ll get to play this one more, because while no one
wants to play against me, this one has teams, and everyone wants me on
their team. Anyway, Jen’s almost as much of an HP nut as I am, so
she’s got nothing to say in the matter.
So as I was reading CoS last night, I’d just gotten to where Nearly
Headless Nick invites Harry to the Deathday party, which is on
Halloween. Now, I’ve just recently put the two facts together, that
since Lily and James died on Halloween, and so did Nearly Headless
Nick, they share the same deathday (I knew the two facts seperately, of
course). I started to wonder when Harry was going to remember that his
parents died on Halloween and start observing it. Then I remembered
that Interesting Things always happen on Halloween. I mentioned this to
Jen, and she couldn’t remember what had happened in Prisoner of
Azkaban on Halloween. I reminded her of Sirius’ attempt to enter
Gryffindor Tower and his subsequent attack on the Fat Lady– and I
started thinking. What if Sirius picked that day to attack Peter for
more than just the reason given in the book (that everyone would be at
the feast, so he could get into the tower)? What if he decided to get
his revenge on Peter on the very day that, twelve years earlier,
Pettigrew had betrayed his best friends? And then it happened–
Plot bunny.
The day after the SQ fanfic
tournament entries were due, I might add. Oh, well. I’m still
going to write it. It’s taken this long for me to get a plot bunny, I’m
not going to let it go to waste.

I just finished my wand.
Well, not completely. I still have to paint the handle and varnish the
wood, but I’ve got the wood all whittled to a nice point, and the
handle is all sculpted.
It looks AWESOME.
Now I just have to decide what color to do it. What kind of wood would
Penelope Clearwater have? I think I’m leaning toward cherry– or maybe
oak.
I’ll have to look at the varnishes to decided for sure.
But it’s so fun to wave it around and say “Wingardium Leviosa!”
Hee.

Well, since Rebecca and Teri have both posted their lists, I figure it’s finally time for me to post mine. So here it is:

100 Things about Emily

1. I’m 22.
2. Which means I’m divisible by 11.
3. 2002 is also divisible by 11 (182 times).
4. Which means that when my birthday makes me divisible by 11, the year is also divisible by 11.
5. My great-grandmother turned 99 this year, which means she shares this odd factoid with me.
6. She’s the only great-grandparent I have left.
7. All four of my grandparents are still around, though.
8. I love my grandparents.
9. In fact, I’m very close to all my extended family.
10. Almost all of us live here in Utah, so we get together often.
11. Family is very important to me.
12. Which is probably why I live with my sisters.
13. I have other roommates, of course.
14. My in-room roommate, Jen, and I have been best friends for seven years.
15. Which is a very long time for me to have a best friend.
16. All my other best friends before her moved away after about a year.
17. Jen and I have a lot in common.
18. But we are very different, too.
19. For instance, I’m an English major.
20. Jen’s majoring in Math Education.
21. I dislike math.
22. I haven’t taken it since I was 17.
23. But Square 1 TV was one of my favorite shows as a kid.
24. Figure that one out.
25. Jen and I met in junior–high orchestra.
26. We both played the violin.
27. Neither one of us do that anymore.
28. Instead, we joined the choir in high school.
29. I love to sing.
30. But I’m not especially good at it.
31. Oh, I can carry a tune and all.
32. But I’m not a soloist.
33. Therefore, I love to sing in choirs.
34. Officially, I’m a soprano.
35. But I usually sing alto.
36. Because I can also sing really low, and there aren’t enough altos in the world.
37. My senior year I tried out for our A Cappella choir as a first soprano.
38. I made it as a second alto.
39. I actually don’t mind all that much.
40. My other best friend, Nicole, is also an alto.
41. We met in 8th grade science class.
42. Nicole and I have a lot in common.
43. But we are also very different.
44. For instance, she had about a million boyfriends in high school, and got married at 19.
45. I have never had a boyfriend.
46. But I haven’t given up hope yet.
47. After all, I do live in Provo and attend BYU.
48. BYU’s unofficial motto is “Ring by spring or your money back!”
49. I wish they really did give tuition refunds if you’re not married by graduation.
50. Because then I would get a lot of money back in April.
51. My emphasis in the English major is Editing and Publication.
52. But I don’t know if that’s really what I want to do with my life.
53. Right now I’m considering getting a Masters of Library Science.
54. I’d like to work in a public library as a Children’s librarian.
55. Children’s books are my favorites.
56. Which explains a lot, really.
57. Especially my obsession with Harry Potter.
58. I’ve read them all at least 15 times.
59. I tend to read books I like over and over again.
60. I think I’ve read Pride and Prejudice at least 150 times.
61. I love to read.
62. It’s all my brother’s fault.
63. He taught me to read when I was four.
64. I haven’t ever stopped.
65. Which is why I’m an English major.
66. I collect stuffed animals.
67. Lately I’ve been naming them after Harry Potter characters.
68. Lately I’ve been naming everything after Harry Potter characters.
69. I named a Ponderosa
Pine tree “Ron.”
70. I haven’t visited Ron lately.
71. But I’m going up there tonight, so maybe I’ll stop and give him a sniff.
72. I took a tap dancing class last year.
73. I wasn’t very good at it.
74. But I had a blast.
75. I now know how to do the Shim Sham.
76. And the Time Step.
77. This semester I’m taking Social Dance.
78. So far we’ve learned the Foxtrot and the Cha-Cha.
79. We’ve just begun Waltz.
80. I’m having a great time.
81. Although some of the guys in my class aren’t very good dancers.
82. Unfortunately, these guys are the ones I usually end up dancing with.
83. The guys in my class are almost all younger than me.
84. This makes dating them rather difficult.
85. Not that I’m against dating younger men.
86. The guy that I like is younger than me, actually.
87. But all these guys are pre-mission, which means they won’t even be available for two more years.
88. It also means they are immature.
89. I think I was born old.
90. I’ve always been more mature than my peers.
91. This has often caused me to be a social outcast.
92. Another reason why I read a lot.
93. I tend to remember completely meaningless things.
94. Which is why no one will play Harry Potter Trivia with me.
95. Because I know that in HPSS Hagrid had a crossbow and a pair of Wellington boots outside his hut.
96. Stupid thing to remember, really.
97. Jen calls me a walking encylopedia.
98. I don’t usually like to talk about myself.
100. But I think I could easily write 100 more things.