Damn, that boy is… *sa-woon*!¹

For all my talk of fictional boyfriends, I don’t really get all that hyped up about actors. Cory seems to be the exception. He can do no wrong in my book and this photoshoot in this month’s issue of Cosmo just cements this belief of mine. He’s just utter and dreamy perfection! The best part is that he’s down to earth and has a great sense of humor, too.

I’ve said this from the very moment I saw the first episode of Glee, and I’ll say it until the day I die: I heart you, Cory Monteith!

1. Brownie points for you if you get this reference!

For the first year or two after the injury, I’d get odd flares of pain in my knee area. Sometimes my knee would lock and I couldn’t unlock it because of the pain. Other times I couldn’t bend it because it felt like the tendons behind my kneecap would snap clean in half if I did. No matter what happened, I’d end up having to massage my knee with my fingertips in the hopes of easing whatever was tensing in the area so that I could use my knee properly and go about my daily life without hobbling around.

Just yesterday morning, I was thinking to myself that I hadn’t had any problems with my knee for roughly the last two years. That was nothing more than a passing thought until after dinner last night, when I hopped off my dinner chair and almost keeled over from the pain in my knee. I guess I had been sitting oddly in my chair or something, because my knee just wasn’t having it. I made it over to my couch and felt like all the muscles around my knee had become incredibly tense and stiff, which was unusual because I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Still, I managed somehow loosen the feeling of tightness in my knee so that I could get around the house for the remainder of my day.

When I woke up this morning and tried to move my knee, I ended up screaming in pain. The last time I screamed in pain over my knee was when I injured the damn thing! I couldn’t sit up because that hurt my knee. I couldn’t bend my legs because that hurt my knee. I couldn’t reach down to touch my knee in an attempt to massage it because that hurt my knee. Basically, I couldn’t do anything because it would hurt my freakin’ knee. I ended up laying in bed for an hour, staring at my ceiling, contemplating what on earth I could do since I basically couldn’t move at all without screaming in pain.

Somehow I managed to maneuver my body around so that I could do what I could for my knee, as I was not going to put up with being immobile all day. Now, my knee is unlocked, but there’s something still not quite right with it because it still feels very tender and sore. Guess I’m bedridden for the rest of the day until I can figure out what, exactly, is causing all of this…

I had a sudden craving for fruit when I was grocery shopping last weekend, but I never really did anything with my purchased strawberries. However, while rummaging around in my fridge, I came across the following things:

• Dark chocolate squares used in fondue cooking
• Heavy whipping cream
• The aforementioned strawberries

Of course, being the dessert-a-holic that I am, I decided to combine all these ingredients to make a yummy desert. I set about making chocolate covered strawberries using my double boiler to melt the chocolate and boy, are they delicious! They’re low-maintenance too, as I covered my plates in saran wrap before I set each chocolate dipped strawberry on it before cooling so I don’t even need to scrape the chocolate off the plates when cleaning them.

The best part, though, is that I can justify eating loads of these at once because underneath the chocolate is strawberry… and everyone knows strawberries are healthy!

Below is my take on the 2010 Academy Awards. This covers both the red carpet (an abbreviated version compared to the one I did for the Golden Globes as my list was starting to get too lengthy with my elaboration) and the results of the awards portion of the evening.

The Red Carpet
Hits: Amanda Seyfried, Anna Kendrick, Cameron Diaz, Carey Mulligan, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Kristen Stewart, Meryl Streep, Penelope Cruz, Queen Latifah, Rachel McAdams, Sandra Bullock
Misses: Charlize Theron, Diane Kruger, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sigourney Weaver, Tina Fey, Zoe Saldana

The Awards
Highs

• Christoph Waltz winning Best Supporting Actor (Inglourious Basterds)
• Up winning Best Animated Feature Film
• The Young Victoria winning Best Costume Design
• Sandra Bullock winning Best Actress (The Blind Side)
• Kathryn Bigelow winning Best Director
• Avatar not winning Best Picture

Lows

• The Princess and the Frog not winning Best Original Song
• Up in the Air walking away empty-handed

I haven’t seen An Education so I can’t make a case of Carey Mulligan deserving the Oscar over Sandra Bullock, nor have I seen The Hurt Locker so I can’t argue that it fully deserved to win Best Picture, even though I’m told it’s a phenomenal movie. Still, I am very happy that Bullock won Best Actress because she truly was amazing in The Blind Side and the Oscar could not have gone to a more deserving person. As for Best Picture, I’m just really glad Avatar didn’t win. A Best Picture winner needs the full package – directing, editing, script, acting, etc. Just special effects alone isn’t enough to get a movie to win the Best Picture.

Overall, it was a pretty good Academy Awards. I felt that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin weren’t as funny as I expected them to be, but they were decent enough. Neil Patrick Harris’ entrance, though, was by far and away the best part of the evening in terms of the presentations/presenters. I also thought it was a little unnecessary to have the dancers perform to the nominated songs in the middle of the awards, particularly as the awards organizers were so insistent on trying to minimize the length of the ceremony. And while I still think that having 10 Best Picture nominees is a little excessive in an age where there really aren’t that many amazing movies made each year, I’m pretty pleased with most of the awards results.

Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman

Summary: Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) and his job as a corporate downsizing expert is placed into jeopardy and as a result, his cherished isolated and baggage-free (both physically and metaphorically) lifestyle comes into question and under threat

5 Words/Phrases: Great use of dry humor in the script; very surprised to see Anna Kendrick in a non-Twilight film¹; the two main characters were believable satires; humorous observations about jet-set life; spot-on casting

Most Impressed By: The dynamics between Ryan and Natalie (Anna Kendrick) really added to the film

Least Impressed By: A particular turn in Ryan’s personal life (can’t say anything more without it being a spoiler!)

Comments: I know Clooney is always superb in these roles, but I really loved him as Ryan in this film

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

1. Kendrick plays one of Bella’s friends in the Twilight films.

This is what I was greeted with when I stepped through my front door:

• A huge hug from my mother
• A squirming brother who tried to get away from me when I hugged him (typical!)
• Two overexcited dogs who kept licking my face and jumping up and down in their glee
• The smell of a home-cooked meal (Italian pork roast with rice, yum)
• The Food Network playing on our TV¹

That, combined with the facts that I rocked my last two exams of the week (note: it IS possible to kick ass on a Chinese exam if you devote your life to studying it the night before!), got to shower in my own bathroom, and got sleep in my own bed in my own room, made for a very, very happy me. It’s so good to be home!

I don’t have anything specific planned for break, but all the free time I have this week probably means I’ll dabble in some crafting. If anyone is interested in another crafting giveaway of mine, it might be a good idea to stay tuned to this blog for the next week or so… just a tip ;)

1. I don’t get the Food Network at school, so I always watch it if possible when I’m at home.

The last line cracks me up every time!

Gone are traitorous best friends. Gone are dirty lying ex-boyfriends that waffle between wanting to transition into becoming friends after the breakup and getting back together. Gone are all the relationships in my life that I have been hanging onto for far too long without practical reason.

I am a strong and independent woman who deserves care, respect, and honesty. If the people in my life can’t give me those things, then I don’t see why I should keep them around.

I know who I am, I know what I want, and I know how I want to live my life. If I hang onto all of these relationships that cause me nothing but pain and hurt and hold me back from achieving my full potential, I am not going to get anywhere in life.

I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen.

It’s time for me to finally free myself from the boundaries my ex-friends and ex-boyfriends have managed to set for me post-friendship/relationship breakup and cut them out of my life. I need to detoxify from the poisonous effects of maintaining relationships with these people. I refuse deal with other people’s crap anymore for the sake of sentimental reasons; it’s time to be practical and move on.

I thought about making a list of the highs and lows of the Games, but I decided to make a list of just the awesome moments (in no particular order) instead. No one likes to dwell on the negatives, right?

• Alexandre Bilodeau winning Canada’s first gold medal at a home Olympics
  Alexandre was totally deserving of the medal and he seems to be like a genuinely nice guy. The fact that he beat the Australian-but-really-Canadian-athlete-who-got-rich-from-distributing-malware Dale Begg-Smith was pretty good icing on the cake, too.
• Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo’s gold medal in the pairs figure skating
  Shen/Zhao had the classic comeback story and were the sentimental favorites to win the competition. They skated spectacularly and now they can ease into retirement with the gold medal! Not only am I ecstatic about their win, but it was also very nice to see the Russian pair (Kavaguti/Smirnov) being kept off the podium.
• Evan Lysacek’s gold medal in the men’s figure skating
  HE SKATED SO SPECTACULARLY! It would have just been wrong had he not won gold. Hopefully Plushenko and the rest of Russia will stop complaining about how Plushenko allegedly deserves the gold more than Lysacek. I mean, Plushenko calling his silver medal “platinum”? Really, Plushenko? Really? Besides, Plushenko’s routine was boring to watch.
• The three medalists in the women’s figure skating
  All three of the women who medaled in women’s figure skating were spectacular. Kim Yu-Na skates with such grace, poise, and elegance; Mao Asada was the first to land a triple axel in the competition’s history; and Joannie Rochette had such composure in the face of the tragedy of losing her mother days before the competition. I have no words to describe how utterly remarkable these three women are.
• Shaun White’s gold medal for half-pipe
  Call him the Flying Tomato, call him the Animal. Whatever name you use, Shaun White is flippin’ awesome and I am so happy that he won the gold.
• Apolo Ohno becoming the most decorated US Winter Olympian in history
  Apolo is amazing. Enough said. (And I don’t think it was fair of him to be disqualified in the 500m men’s short track speed skate.)
• Hannah Kearney winning gold in the women’s mogul
  She’s so adorable! I absolutely loved how she narrated her montage in her post-competition interview.

There were many more awesome Olympic moments (obviously, I didn’t watch the whole of the Olympic Games in its entirety); these just happen to be my top favorites!

On an unrelated note, thanks to all those who nominated and voted for my blog in the 2010 Bloggies in the Best Teen Weblog category! I didn’t win, but it really means a lot to me that people took the time to recognize my blog in the awards process.

Feeling… tired. Like, perpetually so. I think most of this is stemming from the fact that I am so busy that I haven’t gotten a chance to sleep in for weeks!

Studying… non-stop. This week is midterm for me, so I have exams and/or papers every day this week. I have so much I need to do to prepare for each exam and I’m starting to panic about whether or not I can get all my prep work done in time.

Excited… for spring break! I can’t even explain how much I am looking forward to go home. It’s not that I’m unhappy at school, but I definitely need a break from school, work, and friends.

Applying… to my first-choice study abroad program for the next academic year. I have one last portion of the application to submit and then my application is complete! I should hear back from my program about my acceptance in about two weeks.

Craving… my mother’s home-cooked food. She is the best cook I know, hands down, and I don’t particularly enjoy eating cafeteria food day in, day out.

Loving… my close friends, both online and offline. (You all know who you are.)

Organizing… my life in a shiny new planner. I’ve never used one before, and I’m now finding that I can’t live without it. I use it to keep track of everything, from what I’m doing to how much money I spend.

Saving… money. I’m rigorously keeping track of my expenses for the first time ever, and once I have some kind of idea how much I need for food, transport, etc. each week I’m going to figure out what is the best percentage for me to deposit into my savings account from every paycheck. If I want to travel as much as I hope to in the next few years, I need to work on saving every penny.

Thankful… that my busy schedule has proven to be a blessing in disguise. There’s been more drama this semester than any other semesters, if that’s even possible, but luckily I am not directly involved in any of the drama since I’m too busy to be around to cause any.

Keeping… all those affected by the Chilean earthquake this past weekend in my thoughts and prayers.