October – ah! What a month! I complain about busyness often, but this month really was the busiest I’ve had in perhaps ever. The beginning of October consisted of quite a bit of babysitting and a number of morning shifts at the coffee shop I work at. (Morning shifts meaning I woke up at 4:30 more than once a week – I thought I was a morning person. I thought waking up at 6 almost every day of my own free will made me a morning person. 4:30 and I are not quite friends yet.) The middle and end of the month were made up of two trips I took, one local and one 2,000 miles across the country. In the midst of all that I got sick, and if I’m completely honest, am still somewhat under the weather. So all in all, it was a bit of a crazy month folks. But a good one. A very good one.

Books 

The Goldfinch – To be fair, I’ve only read about a quarter of The Goldfinch. And I’m not quite sure I’ll be finishing it. The story itself began interestingly enough, and I’ve a feeling Tartt concludes the book in a similar fashion, however, the prose and I don’t get along well, the profanity is really starting to annoy me, and based on some literary reviews I’m not quite sure the book is worth my time. I may come back to it though. We’ll see.

Ramona – I read this Western Uncle Tom’s Cabin about three years ago and have never been able to shake the effect it had on me. Essentially Ramona centers around a young woman of both Caucasian and Native American heritage who is raised by a Spanish family in Old California. Although the book technically is considered a romance, Jackson uses the story to shed light on a dying way of life and to make known the injustices that occurred when the cultures that make up the protagonist collided. Ramona made me see, appreciate, and understand my home state in a way I hadn’t before. I’ve been enjoying my reread of this forgotten gem.

Movies 

This has got to be the weirdest mix of movies I’ve seen in a concentrated amount of time. How I got from Terrence Malick to ET to John Hughes is beyond me.

ET – I’ve finally seen it. (You can’t harass me about that anymore Katelyn.) Definitely not something I would’ve watched on my own time, but I did enjoy it. A classic for sure.

The New World – I can’t expect anything of low caliber from Terrence Malick. The New World is an interesting meditation on relationships – between man and nature, man and man, man and himself – as well as on the mingling of cultures and the implications of that. Like any more artistic/thoughtful movie, I feel I need to watch this one again to fully grasp all its meaning.

The Mission – For some reason, this film reminds me a bit of The Last of the Mohicans with the clash of cultures and values in a world somewhat unfamiliar. Although not very well known, this is one I definitely recommend as its themes center around conscience and mercy. Also, the soundtrack is gorgeous.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Hilarious. That’s all I have to say.

Bedtime Stories – Rewatched this while babysitting and the ten year old in me remembered how much I loved this quirky, silly, sweet little story.

All the Pretty Horses – To be fair, I watched this on a plane ride, and although I absolutely loved the book, I fell asleep midway through the movie. In my defense I was exhausted and had anti-nausea medicine in me so it wasn’t that I was bored. But I do want to watch it again all the way through because I love the story and the soundtrack is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Music

Hadestown – I genuinely was not expecting to like this, but I loved it. The folk music and the mournful, myth-like story worked surprisingly well together. If you read my last post you’ll know I don’t completely agree with the musical’s implications, however I do believe the story has important themes about the responsibilities that come with loving another person.

Adventures

Lake Trip – The mountains aren’t too far from my hometown so our senior class took a trip up there for a few days. I forget sometimes that California has such large mountains so close to home, and leaves that change color! The leaves around here stay green and then turn a dull brown color and then die, so it was nice to see some orange and gold sprinkled amidst the pine trees. And of course it was great to spend time with these people that soon won’t be my peers anymore. (Gosh, that’s a strange thought.)

Georgia – I’ve been waiting for this trip foreeeeeever. When I went to summer camp out there I never expected that my life would become so focused on that side of the country. As some of you know, I went out to Georgia again for an interview for a gap year program I applied to where – if I get in! – I’ll be studying apologetics and worldview in a very Christ centered community. That was the initial reason for my visit, but as some of you also know, there may or may not be someone rather *ahem* important out there. Okay actually very important. So, as he can testify, we spent quite a bit of time together as we were finally in the same state. It was quite the big trip and I felt somewhat like the pieces of the next chapter of my life were laying themselves out for me. Crazy stuff. But God is sovereign and good through all this unfamiliar territory.

Local “Hike” – My best friend and I thought we had found a long winding hiking trail through the hills, it turns out it was really just a quick walking loop that happened to be on top of a hill, but it was still nice. Our tennis shoes really weren’t needed but we did have a nice panoramic view of downtown LA, the mountains, and the local hills. ‘Twas good.

Whew! That was my October, tell me about yours!