Thursday, 10 May, 2012
9

Bonding With My Blog: “Summer Cleaning”

QOTD: What books would you recommend for summer reading? I’m currently going through The Hunger Games trilogy!

Could…could it be? Is it summer 2012? I don’t know why it’s taken me a whole week to realize this, but here it is! SUMMER 2012! I feel compelled to break out into High School Musical’s What Time Is It? but I’ll spare y’all.

One of the best things about summer, to me at least, is having more time on my hands than I need to do absolutely nothing but reflect. Three whole months to just tell life to s-l-o-w the heck down and think about where I am right now. And all those writing and health and personal goals I brushed aside during the school year in favor of studying? I just wait ’til summah, summahtime. Well, summahtime is here and everything I am thinking and feeling can be summed up in a single face: O_O

I mean, where do I even start?
I spent a good while today catching up with my thoughts and scrolling through my blog dashboard. Lately, I feel like I’ve been scrambling for ideas of what to blog on, which is silly because there are endless things to talk about – what I’ve been cooking, which books I’m reading this summer, where I’ll be traveling abroad, what I am writing and the like. I have a nice layout, helpful resources, social networks. I have 180 wonderful followers, and yet a part of me feels like I’m not giving The Red Angel blog my all. It seems as though there is something missing.

I need to figure out what I want this blog to be about.
READ MORE

Tuesday, 08 May, 2012
4

Author Interview: Getting to Know Maureen Wartski

Hooray, it’s May! At long last, I am finished with final exams and have now returned home to relax for two weeks before summer school starts. To give you an idea of what I am up to for the next three months, here’s my agenda: May 8 – May 14: Relax, blog, read The Hunger Games, go to the dentist, rejuvenate

May 15 – June 19: Summer classes

Mid-June – Beginning of August: Travel abroad, independent research

August: Volunteer at local hospital with psychology mentor

Folks, this may be my busiest summer yet! Share with us – what summer plans do you have?

~~~

In other exciting news, we have author Maureen Wartski here with us today. Maureen was born in Japan and is a lover of art, writing and nature. Her novel, Yuri’s Brush with Magic, is geared toward middle-schoolers and was a 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist.

The book follows two siblings who find the strength within themselves to deal with challenging circumstances. The book centers around motifs such as folk tales, painting, sea turtles and the importance of family relationships – just to name a few. 

READ MORE

Saturday, 28 April, 2012
3

Seven Tips for Surviving Exam Week

QOTD: Please, my friend, share with me us some ways to get through this terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week of tests and deadlines and exams. Anything. 

1) Pandora is your best friend. Or Spotify, or Youtube or whatever means you use to listen to music. When I’ve got my headphones on, I stay in the zone and have a lower chance of falling asleep over my notes. And when you’re tapping a foot or typing with your fingers to the beat of your favorite band, studying just becomes that much more fun. For some sweet tunes, check out Mipso Trio. 

READ MORE

Friday, 20 April, 2012
6

National Poetry Month: Reading Between the Lines

QOTD: Share your favorite poem with us! What’s the name, the poet and the reason why that poem is your favorite?

So a friend of mine showed me a book of poetry today called Leaving Saturn by Major Jackson, and I remembered – it’s National Poetry Month! I haven’t been doing a very good job with keeping up with the time and date because at this point it feels like the days are all blended together what with the end of the semester, but I knew I couldn’t not blog about this–even if the post is short!

READ MORE

Monday, 16 April, 2012
5

My Latest Obsession: “Brown Satchel” from Mossimo Supply Co.

QOTD: Would you rather indulge on an airplane ticket to the Bahamas or on a brand new iPad?

What you see to the left is my trusty, old handbag of 10,896 years (just about). My bag officially retired from its carrying duties yesterday. I got a little teary, especially since I’ve had it such a long time, but I felt it was finally time for us both to  move on. *sniffle* You have served me well, dearest blue-floral-satchel! 

I went shopping this past weekend to find the perfect new handbag – which is always really, really hard. A handbag needs to have just the right amount of pattern and solid color. It has to have a lot of pockets. It also needs to be big enough to put a couple of books in. The chemistry between me and my handbag also has to be strong. We can’t get tired of each other too fast, you know. 

But more often than not, when I do find something that I like I get really attached and I know that bag is the one for me! Which is what happened when I set my eyes on this baby yesterday: 

READ MORE

Saturday, 31 March, 2012
2

Carolina Basketball On My Mind

QOTD: What’s your favorite winning-game moment in basketball history? Share a Youtube video of that moment if it’s available!

Yesterday, I had one of those surreal moments when something really exciting happens, but then after that moment passes you aren’t sure if it happened at all. I was playing weiqi (围棋) with one of my friends in the Pit, which is the heart of UNC-Chapel Hill campus culture, after my last class of the day. A pomegranate Jamba Juice smoothie in hand, I was contemplating my next move when Kendall Marshall emerged from around the corner. 

It is not news that, following the Tar Heels’ defeat in the Elite Eight and a short but intense period of fans waiting for an answer, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson all decided to enter the NBA draft. In fact, they announced their decisions yesterday, right before Marshall walked through the Pit, and I didn’t even know the waiting game had been over until after he left and my friends told me. 

When I looked up and saw the tall, looming figure of Marshall walking in our direction clutching his own large Jamba Juice smoothie, I glanced at my friends with a sort of shocked, panic-stricken look on my face and then scrambled to my feet.
READ MORE

Sunday, 25 March, 2012
4

The Importance of Reading Sllloowlyyy

QOTD: Have you read The Hunger Games and/or seen the movie? If so, thoughts? If not, are you planning to join the hype? 

My reading and writing sanctuary this past summer at the Interfaith Chapel connected to the local hospital.

I used to pride myself on being a slow reader. When I was younger, I would read under the table during dinner and under the covers past bedtime, traveling across the world with nothing but my imagination to keep me satiated and my newly found friends to keep me company.I can’t swim in an ocean or even a pool to save my life, but I love nothing more than to swim in a sea of words.
READ MORE

Friday, 23 March, 2012
2

“Summer Plannin’ Had Me a Blast”

QOTD: Who’s ready for summer?? 
(Hint: Everyone’s answer should be yes ;))

I meant to blog these past couple of weeks, but I literally haven’t had time for anything other than school, sleep and meals! I am shocked–and, honestly, fearful–of the fact that March is almost over. I feel like I am floating. I wish time and space would stop moving so that I could find a way to get my feet back on the ground. Sadly, things don’t work that way. Life moves so fast that it’s easy to forget who I am–going to class after class, meeting new people and saying goodbye to those who will soon start a new chapter of their own lives. I have to remember not to be left behind. 

Lately, I have been writing my current literary project, researching internships and looking for other opportunities for the summer and next semester. Should I stay in Chapel Hill for summer school, or spend time in Boston? Would I benefit from another trip to China, and if so, how can I make it valuable and different from all my other previous trips? Ahh, there are so many factors to consider!
READ MORE

Wednesday, 14 March, 2012
6

Happy Midterm Week and Awards Day

QOTD: When was the last time you had an unexpected surprise?

Well I have three tests this week and one paper due, but Miss Deanna Barnhart brightened me up by giving me some awesome awards: the Lucky Meme and the Sunshine Award! Thank you for tagging me! :) These were super fun to fill out.

Here are the rules:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
4. Tag 7 authors.
READ MORE

Thursday, 08 March, 2012
10

5 Creative Ways to Cut Back on Food Waste

QOTD: Share some tips with us on how you work to decrease the amount of food waste in the trash can! 

One of my biggest pet peeves is food waste. Throwing away leftovers and sour milk makes me cringe, and I can’t help but think about how this extra trash could have been minimized if only the food had been consumed perhaps a day or two earlier. That’s a lot of money wasted. Not to mention the kids starving in third world countries and the damage being done to the environment.

Obviously food waste can’t be completely avoided, but there are several ways to make sure your trash can isn’t smelling of rotten bananas and days-old chow mein at the end of the week. Here are some tips that I’ve learned during my one-and-a-half years as a college student so far:

READ MORE