About a GOOD Decision

It's time for Kateri to tell a story.

This is another story of Kateri's, but one that is far more pleasant than a story about a near fatal family car accident; I can assure you.

This is the story of how Kateri came to be living, and writing this post, here in Santa Barbara, instead of Modesto, CA.

I will also now discontinue referring to myself in the third person. It sounds presumptuous. 

So this time, almost exactly one year ago, I was starting back at the JC in Modesto and being a full time dancer with Central West Ballet. It was a fulfilling lifestyle. I always had somewhere to be or something to do. If I had any free time I spent it either reading or being a Writer. Everything was. very. serous. *makes serious face*
But there was a problem with that statement: the single word "always."
I have come to the conclusion that life should almost never be always anything. But mine was. Always busy. Always tired. Always hungry. Always sheltered.
Not a bad life by any means. But still, always.
So about this time a year ago, my step-grandma, The Biologist, visited my home for the first time. She told me about the City College here. It was one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. It was one of the top City Colleges in the nation. It was on the beach.
It was perfect.
So, about a year ago, I decided that it was time to retire, so to speak, from life as a bun-head, from life living at home, from life as a Modestan. So here I am.
Boy, has it been a roller-coaster! I moved in with my grand-folks in Camarillo, which is about 45 mins. south from here. I found my little cubby hole here in Santa Barbara and moved in. I made new friends. I was gone for two months because of a family emergency. I started school.
But I'm still me, and as a matter of fact, I'm becoming MORE me. Every day.
I have time to do that now. I don't HAVE to be a ballerina to be me, not if I don't want to, at least. I can be a writer, and at heart I can always be a dancer.
If there's one thing that is always, it's the whole world that's out there. With stories reaching to infinity.
Go find them. Go make them.
But don't stay in one place.
You are not a tree.

The Latest Three

The Latest Three

It's time for me to round-up and tell you what I thought of the last three books I've read.

Summer break is over now, but I am the lucky chick living in Santa Barbara, where September is usually the hottest month of the year. When I first visited last year, towards the end of November, it was a good 82 degrees. So, at least I won't have to cry too much for the loss of another summer break. I've got sunshine and beach time still coming my way. 

With the accident and the pressure to find myself a job, I didn't read nearly as many books as I was hoping to read, and, if you recall me mentioning such a thing, my supposed re-reading kick never actually got a proper kick-start. But I will remedy that with at least one title as next I'll be re-reading Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, and the two final books in the trilogy,Linger and Forever, that, for whatever reason, don't ask me how, I haven't gotten to yet. So excited!

But yes, for now, here are The Latest Three!!!

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery

"Where can one find more noble distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?"

I have done it. I have finally done it. I have included a quote from a book I read, here on the blog, and this occurrence has been brought on by the fact that this book was pretty darn filled with good quotes, ones that made you, after reading them, re-read and re-read. This book also has a HUGE vocabulary, sometimes overwhelming, but always impressive.

While this book was based on the relationship of an old, fat, and ugly hotel concierge, Renee, and a small, rich, genius, and suicidal twelve year old girl, Paloma, it felt much more to me that it was about the relationship between Renee and Monsieur Ozu, a wealthy and kind Japanese man. While I as disappointed in the lack of relationship between the two different females (they didn't meet till half way through the story, which I don't often like), I did quite like the relationship between Renee and Ozu, somewhat of a Cinderella story that is the best kind of heart-warming.

In the end, I really enjoyed this novel. A different, engaging, thought-provoking story. At times, I felt it was a bit pretentious, but when you get to know the characters you realize that just sort of comes with the territory. And trust me, there were some moments in this book that really shined. I won't likely forget them. I love it when moments in literature are strong enough that they can carry on with me.

Great characters, great writing style, fun, unique setting (fancy French hotel where people be so rich, they buy out the whole floor, damn!)

Goodreads

In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Cat Winters

This was a debut new release I was really looking forward to, and let me just start off by saying that I loved it! I think one of my favorite aspects of this book is it's fright factor, which, for me, was done expertly. Now, if you are all into blood, guts, and gore scare factor then this book is likely not for you, though there certainly is some blood in this book. The frightening bits are like the kind where you sit in bed, alone, in the dark or under a flickering lamplight, and wonder. That's it. You wonder and your imagination does all the work for you. Well, Winters definitely fills in some of the gaps herself, but the build up to those moments is beautiful. Not overdone at all, so much so that you start to believe that she's not going to take you there...and then she does. Not that I was sitting freaked out in bed at night from this one, per say, but it was enough to stick with me after reading it. Kateri like.

I also really appreciated the romance in this book. Though you know before reading it, assuming that you read the summary inside, that Stephen, our mc, Mary Shelley Black's, young sweetheart, is killed in the First World War, you still get the whole falling in love roller-coaster, only with twice the heart-break because, well, he dies. But he's not gone.

AND he doesn't just come back for a little smoochy opportunity with Mary Shelley, not that there's not any of that either, but it was truly believable that this was a ghost, a spirit, an in-human and therefore unpredictable and unstable entity, which made things believable and so much more interesting.

Great setting, great characters, great creepy, eerie atmosphere!

Goodreads

Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen

I was SO READY to get to this book for two main reasons. A) I LOVED The Truth About Forever and Just Listen. B) What's summer without a fun, summer read, right? This book, I'd have to say, is pretty much one of the best summer reads out there, if you ask me. It's about the summer that changes everything. I've certainly had a summer that changed everything (if you saw my last post), and I certainly learned a lot from it as well. So it was great to read a book in which the main character goes through the same thing. I totally got the small beach town setting. The major emotions Auden, the mc, goes through were very believable and basically, well, kept me along for the ride.

It was hard for a bit, handling Auden's parents, neither of which I liked very much. But of course parents, as all people are, are flawed. Her's just happen to be so in a way that made their relationship more dysfunctional. Even the part where Auden starts to separate herself from her mom for the first time, as I believe all women do to a certain degree at some time in their lives, was relatable for me. The boy, as I know you're sitting there tapping your feet saying,"OK, Kateri, but what about The Boy?", is awesome. Even he's flawed, but then again, I guess that's what the book is sort of about. Flaws, and dealing with accepting them. That, and second chances. That, and learning to take first chances. I mean come on, after all, it's summer. And summer only comes once a year.

You probably knew this was coming...

Carpe Diem.

Goodreads

Hey, It Could Happen

First off, Happy Back To School all you Back To School-ers!

And congratulations on starting another school year, which means you survived the last one, or also possibly means your kids survived the last one, or also, also possibly means you survived teaching the last school year...

I'm just trying to get all the angles here, people.

Anyway.

It's that time of year again. Buff up your red apples and sharpen your pencils. If you can believe it, we've got MORE knowledge to stuff into our brains.

Let me start out this new beginning by making a bold and ambitious statement...

because all good new beginnings warrant a bold and ambitious statement, if you ask me.

I am hereby deciding that it is my goal for the new semester to make sure I post at least one blog post a week.

One blog post a weeeeeek!

But now to get to the reason for my blog post title.
I try not to get too personal on the blog. I like to share my interests (yes, mostly including books) and other positive things that happen in my life. Or pictures. Or poetry.Or food. Or things that are really old and really cool.
Well, this one's going to be a bit different, and definitely a bit personal. But stay with me, folks, just stay with me.
So let's get to it.
I had another period of MIA-ness these past few weeks of summer because of a rather dramatic event that happened in my life. On June 29th, my parents and 13 year old sister were in a serious car accident while driving to visit me at my new place in Santa Barbara for the first time.They were on the I-5 when they were hit from behind by a drunk driver and rolled anywhere from 2-10 times (yes, sounds strange, I know, but no one's really confirmed a number yet) off the freeway, thankfully landing upright on all four wheels. My dad was hurt the worst; he was airlifted out with a head injury, aspirated lungs, and multiple broken bones in his left hand and forearm. My mom had broken ribs, a broken and dislocated arm, and fractured bones in her right foot. My sister escaped with only cuts on her right arm, which certainly weren't pretty but healed good and quick, and a sprained ankle. Dad was in ICU and rehab for about six weeks total, Mom was out by July 19th, Banana was only in for 3 days.
Most important thing?
They are all out of the hospital now. Healthy and recovering.

I was considering not writing about this on the blog at all--too personal, too dreary, too tender of a spot to touch. But things are calming down. I am back in Santa Barbara in my little cubby-hole of a room trying to find a job and fit in reading, writing, and research, getting ready for fall semester to start. For me, most of the healing process of going through a traumatic experience like this is on a mental level. The fact that I could have, as fast as you can snap your fingers, become an orphan and lost my baby sister too is finally starting to feel like a real thing. I've learned from this experience that I take a while to fully process difficult realities. I hold my emotions in. I try so hard to be strong and positive for others. But this has negative repercussions as well. You have to cry sometime, and that's when family and friends come in. I came out of this experience a different person, humbled, matured, determined to grow up. And I realize that growing up is something I haven't really been able to understand until now. I'm sure I got a lot more growing up to do; after all, I'm 20, but this experience has definitely given me a push off the diving board.

But like so many other things that happen in my life, regardless of importance, this experience made me see something I love, literature, in a new light. Have you ever read on the back of a book that the poor kid's parents died in a car accident?
My reaction would normally be, "Car accident, how original."
Which I don't necessarily feel bad for thinking, per say, because a lot of authors and movie makers use that story line. But now I can't help but think, Hey, it happens.
It happened to me.
I was just lucky enough to not become an orphan, something I'm grateful for every day. But if I think that when I read about the orphaned kid from the car accident then what do I say to the back of the book with the kid with divorced parents? The evil step-mother? The typical swoony boy? The summer that changes everything?
These things happen. They are real. Fantasy is great, it's one of my favorite genres in fact. I love a good post-apocalyptic dystopian as much as the next Hunger Games fan. And these genres can incorporate these serious, real-life subjects just as beautifully.
I think it's our job as readers to understand this and not dismiss things just because they're ordinary or commonplace, because what is literature?
I'd like to say it's the ability of a writer to use their words to make the ordinary extraordinary, and I mean this in it's purest definition. A word is just a word, but used in the right context it can become art. The littlest thing in life can be art, a walk to the park, a trip to the post office, heck, even traffic if a writer can pull it off. The biggest things can be art too, like a major car accident.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when it comes down to it, a book might appear to be ordinary, and perhaps it really just is, but it might also be extraordinary.
And remember, it--whatever "it" may be--could happen to anyone. Be grateful you have those you love.
And, as a rule, always...
Carpe diem.

The Latest Three

Hello everyone!

I have been quite indisposed for the past few weeks

...months?...

I dunno, perhaps my absence covers both June and July.

But that's beside the point I suppose.

I'm here now and I've got a review of the last three books I've read.

So here goes!

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

I finished this one around early June and I so wish I had it with me so I could put in some good quotes from it, which isn't something I often do. However, if I were able, I would. If you've heard a review about this book before then you've likely heard something about Tan's affinity for storytelling and, boy, is that a well deserved statement. You have to understand, I love language. It's the first thing that got me into reading and writing, probably more so than plot. This book definitely fits that category. There's very little plot in place of the opportunity to delve deeply into the lives of these Chinese women from multiple generations. The stories, especially I feel the ones from the past, are enchanting, gripping in a way that doesn't have you sitting on the edge of your seat but rather feeling as if you have fallen into a dream, one of longing, sorrow, history, culture, color, and, of course, joy. Not a fast read for me, but then again I hardly noticed, which is a good thing. My mom's favorite Amy Tan novel is The Kitchen God's Wife, so I'm definitely looking forward to that one.

Goodreads

The Shadow Cats, Rae Carson

I actually had no idea that Rae Carson was doing these series of e-novellas based on the world of her GoFaT trilogy, which is one of my most favorite trilogies to date at the moment...CAN'T WAIT FOR THE BITTER KINGDOM TO COME OUT!!!!! This story, however, is told from the perspective of the main character, Elisa's, sister, who is the crown princess of Orovalle. It was awesome to get perspective not only from a character we've thus far only seen through one lens, but who also is both kick-butt and flawed at the same time. It's a super quick read and so worth-it for Carson's fans. You'll gobble it up in one sitting. For those of you who haven't introduced yourselves to Carson's so far two-part AH-MAZ-ING trilogy...DO IT. FIRST. Then get back to me and we'll talk that story and then you can treat yourself by reading this one. Capisce? 

K, awesome.

Oh! And before I forget. She's also got two others, one from Mara's perspective and one from...uh...HECTOR'S!!!!

Goodreads

Leviathan, Scott Westerfield-Author, Keith Thompson-Illustrator
Now this book is likely going to make it to the top 10 FAVORITES of my 2013 reading list. What I'd like to call a really memorable read and also a really fun one. I loved the world that involved so many unique aspects like fabricated life forms, steam punk, WWI, and really well written and well developed characters. Not that I always like to differentiate between female and male readers, but I feel this book is a good one if you want to appeal to both genders, especially since it's told in alternating third person perspectives from the two main characters, Alek and Deryn. And boy is it awesome the way Westerfield interlaced these characters adventures. A really gripping, enjoyable, and--surprisingly--believable read all the way!!!
Can't wait to read the last two!!! Oh, and the illustrations? So great! They really enhanced the adventure and allowed me to get a great idea of what Westerfield's world was supposed to look like. Not distracting of my reader's creative license in the least, but rather, creative license inducing.
;)
Goodreads

New Things Means New Things

I was planning on doing this post exactly a week after I moved into my new place in Santa Barbara,

wait...

Did I mention I got a place in Santa Barbara?

So I got a place in Santa Barbara,

and things around here are going pretty swimmingly.

One of the biggest things I've been noticing is how big changes in one's life can mean changes,

even little ones,

just as well.

So here's a little list of the new things that have come of other new things in my life:

1. Drinking tea, specifically chai tea. My folks are coming down to visit me today and apparently bringing a coffee pot with them, but since then I've been without one and forced to drink tea in the morning, since I'm basically addicted to caffeine now. But it's been yummy! Especially with copious amounts of honey.

2. Tins! I've always claimed that I collect vintage tin boxes, but now I can call myself a true collector as I've gotten one for just about everything from pasta to bracelets to pencils...and the list keeps growing. One of these days I'll have to show off my collection on the blog. It's pretty sick.

3. Barely having time for things like internet, reading, and writing. Not that I place those thing equally in value or anything, but they were definitely healthy parts of my normal day to day diet before. Now I've been so busy with moving and making friends that it's been harder to make time for those things, but I also think that mostly has to do with the fact that I have totally lost my home routine and I'm still trying to find one here/have the time of my life living on my own in this great city for a summer. I mean, I understand the importance of staying focused, but writers need to live too, if only a little.

4. Visiting the THREE lovely independent bookstores here: Chaucer's, The Book Den, and Granada Books. I've been to them all and bought books and they're all fabulous! Santa Barbara definitely has a great literary community. Hopefully somewhere down the road I'll be able to get a job with one of them.

5. Speaking of literary community, there's also a great library here, which leads me to the next new thing. I finally got a library card! Shocking that I didn't have one before, right? Well, moving all my books down here has definitely proven difficult (I still haven't gotten them all in here!) and I'll have to go through the same thing down the road when I move after graduating from the city college here. So I'll definitely be using my library more often...and buying only the ones I read that I love or the sequels to books that I'm really excited about...like Maggie Stiefvater's The Dream Thieves coming out in a few months!!!

6. I got an iPhone! I've still been figuring it out, but it's going pretty well. I'm still pretty sure that I won't be on it all the time; I've never been good with staying attached to my phones, but this one is definitely going to be my favorite phone, I can tell. Oh hey, I got an instagram. I think I accidentally got two somehow, but if you'd like to follow look up thekateriransom.

7. Having my own space! This definitely means that I have my own bookshelves as well. I'll have to post pics soon, once I get them all here, that is.

8. Well, you knew this was coming, though I actually haven't visited as much as I'd like to...

but anyway,

THERE'S THE BEACH!!!!

Charge the Beach

We'll go charge the beach

We'll go Run, Run, Run,

over every little piece of shell

crunchy, soft,

caught in the curls on our head

between the prickle of our eyelashes

We'll go splash in the spike of the waves

hop-scotch over white froth

mouths hungry, peppered with salt

take one more step

sand falls from beneath you

froth gurgles, churns, turns back to you
swallows up your toes, cold

sun breaks through what's left of you

wind pulls you back together again

We'll go charge the beach

We'll go yell at the horizon

Beat the waves to the swallowing

Swallow it up ourselves

Drink, Drink, Drink

Now we are the same

Now we can lie down

Now we can stay

Those Who Dance at the Bottom of the Hill

So today I have a story for you all.

I have just moved down to Camarillo, CA and have been getting acclimated pretty well down here. I've been moving into my room, moving my stuff down from Modesto, getting ready to move into a new place in Santa Barbara (more on that later), and being quite successful in making The Biologist's cat, Henry, love me. I've also been doing my best to get in the habit of staying in shape, being that I'm no longer taking dance class and rehearsal six days a week. 

My grandpa, R2's, place is on a steep hill and there's a lovely street that goes down hill, past some large and lovely houses, and straightens out with a gorgeous view of the valley and sometimes, if its not too foggy or smoggy, the not-too-distant coast. It also ends in a little, quiet court, partly shaded by trees, where I've been doing some dancer things to help stay in dancer shape...sort of.

I've done this a fair few times, made some nice conversation with neighbors, stayed in pretty good shape too. The other day, however, something interesting happened at the bottom of that hill, and it got me going on this whole inner-dialogue, which had to do a lot with writing, hence the reason why I'm sharing it with you today.

So I'm turning the corner to the bottom of this hill. The June fog is hanging somewhat sickly in the air. The wind feels slightly sharp against my cold skin, and I know I've got a steep hill to climb back up again.

But as I'm working my way down, I begin to hear something truly stunning. It's piano music, a piece I've danced to before in a hot, sticky, cramped studio once upon a time...not too long ago. 

And immediately, the street around me changes in the only way an inspiring piece of music can do. I wasn't about to work out, I was about to dance. By that time, I figured one of the houses not too far up was playing the music, either by instrument or recording I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I got to the bottom of the hill and became a dancer, even though I was in a sweat shirt and running shoes. No one could see me. I was alone. Just me and the music. And it was wonderful.

So the reason I bring this up. 

It's not specifically because of my side of the story but because of the music player's side. Because perhaps that person, whether they were playing it themselves or not, didn't know that there was a girl, who was new to the area, getting ready to take on the big, open world by herself, taking a moment to dance to the music at the bottom of the hill.

They didn't know it and yet their music was inspiring someone.

I think writers should be the same way. So many of us have something musical inside, whether it be with notes, or colors on paper, or words on a computer screen, but we doubt whether those personal things should be shared with the world. Who is watching? Who is listening? Who cares?

I wonder if that person in that big, beautiful, white house knew that I was even down there, that there was someone else enjoying their morning in a similar, yet different, way. 

So next time you're busting through that impossible word count or fretting about sending your baby out into the world for the first time, remember this story as proof.

You shouldn't hide the music that's within you

because you never know who might be dancing to it way down at the bottom of the hill.