I love to read. I like to read lots of different books, most of which are fiction. I think I generally like fiction better because at the end I know that no matter what happened in the book, it wasn't real. Those characters I connected to are not real people, no matter how real they may have seemed. When they die or have something horrible happen to them I am sad because one of my new friends just got hurt, but at the end of the day I can separate the fact from the fiction and be perfectly fine with the outcome.
That being said, I tend to stay away from non-fiction.This is mostly because I know that I can't just fake my way out of the sorrow and heartache I have for the characters in whatever non-fiction book I may be reading because they aren't characters at all. At the end of the book when a character dies or has some kind of horrible circumstance, it is real. Every person you meet in a non-fiction book is out there somewhere, living their life and suffering their pains (if they have them).
I don't know why, but I have been on a non-fiction kick lately (I define kick here as having read two non-fiction books in the last three months that weren't assigned by a professor). Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I am growing up and opening myself up to the strife of the real world. I am okay with reading about real issues for pleasure (does it count as reading for pleasure if it makes you cry?) and accepting that they are real. I might not be able to save the world and solve the issues presented, but I can make myself a little more aware of them and help in what little ways I can.
The two books that have prompted this musing are Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I highly recommend both of them (one of which I already mentioned in another blog in May) and think that many of you will enjoy them.
Orange is the New Black is about a woman who enters the federal prison system ten years after committing the crime of which she was convicted. The book chronicles the interesting make up of the group of women in the low-security prison she is sent to and brings up some very interesting issues with how the system is handled. The book reads like a letter from a good friend, and at the end of it I felt like I knew some of the women personally. The whole thing is made even better knowing that Kerman now works with non-profits to improve how they use media to get their messages out.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about cells taken from a woman in 1951 that have since been grown and regrown in the billions and used in extensive medical research. These cells were the first human cells to successfully live outside of the human body and have led to the polio vaccine, HPV research, and countless other valuable medical miracles. The main issue is that they were taken without the consent of Henrietta Lacks or her family. I am not a science person at all, but Skloot was able to write all of the technical science in a way that I had no problem understanding. I was able to get past the science and look at the issue of cell ownership, how research has been done in the past, and a very moving story about how Henrietta's family has dealt with finding out years later that a part of their mother was not only still alive but very important to medicine. Like Kerman, Skloot has taken the issue to heart and formed the Henrietta Lacks foundation, and proceeds from the book are donated to ensure that Lacks' grand children will have resources to go to college.
Moral of the story: don't be afraid of non-fiction. I don't think I am anymore.
Moral of the story 2.0: go buy both of these books. They are wonderful and you won't regret it.

Things to remember after moving to the desert:
1. You will start to get tanner no matter how much SPF 75 sunscreen you use. I'm okay with being a bit more tan/less ghostly pale that I was, but it seems a bit ridiculous that even after generously applying and reapplying sunscreen I am still noticably darker.
2. 100 degrees is a nice break from the heat.
3. Where shade in the heat didn't make that much of a difference in the midwest because the humidity was so high you always felt like suffocating here it means the difference between life and death.
4. STOP FORGETTING TO PUT THE REFLECTOR THINGY IN THE DASH OF YOUR CAR SARA. One day my luck will have run out and they will find a baked Sara souflee because I forgot to put the sunshield up in my car when I ran into the grocery store.
5. Upper arm strength is key when you have to carry in all of the groceries ASAP so they don't die in the trunk of your car.
6. Do all of your baking at night. I started baking a chocolate cake after 9 because this way the house won't be unnecessarily heated during the day when it is god awful hot outside.
And last but certainly not least...
7. I really am a desert rat at heart. By far the most beautiful sunsets and natural scenery I can recall seeing in my time.

23. George Harrison was 23 when the Beatles released Revolver.
23. Twenty-three is the ninth prime number, the smallest odd prime that is not a twin prime.
23. Nobel Prize-winning economist John Forbes Nash, the inspiration for the film A Beautiful Mind, was obsessed with the number 23 and it featured prominently in his nervous breakdown. He claimed that Pope John XXIII was in fact himself, the evidence being that 23 was his favourite number. Nash also published only 23 scientific articles.
23. Michael Jordan wore number 23.
23. 23 is the atomic number of Vanadium.
23. Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times. 
23. Psalm 23, also known as the Shepherd Psalm, is possibly the most quoted and best known Psalm.
23. The 23 in South Africa refers to the 23 conscientious objectors who publicly refused to do military service in the Apartheid army in 1987. The following years the number increased to 143 (in 1988) and 771 (in 1989), with Apartheid being dismantled from 1990 onward.
23. The sum of the first 23 primes is 874, which is divisible by 23, a property shared by few other numbers.


* In accordance with the Knox College honor code, I hereby state that my sole source for this information was Wikipedia.** While I realize Wikipedia isn't exactly a reliable resource when it comes to academic integrity, it's my birthday, so I will cry if I want to (and pretend like Wikipedia is the end-all be-all of knowledge). ***
**The George Harrison one I knew without Wikipedia.
***Blogger should have footnotes so one can properly cite one's sources. 

1. Graduation robes were originally designed to keep people warm in the cold halls where commencement usually commenced. They are now a fashion statement meant to separate new graduates based on how well they can stand sitting in 100 degree weather while wearing stifling black clothing in the sun. *
2. It is possible  for me to wine 1st place in a race on Mario Kart if no one can see the screen and I am riding a bike that looks like an adorable ducky.
3. Snapple fact #480: You can tell which day a loaf of bread was baked by the color of its plastic twist tag.
4. This day in history: Helen Keller was named a communist by the FBI 1949. 
5. Knox has an award simply called "Outstanding Senior Award." **
6. Knox College has only had 19 presidents since its founding in 1837.
7. Some buffets have started to say they are "All You Care To Eat" buffets rather than "All You Can Eat." I think this is a very positive, if minuscule, step in the right direction.

If you can't tell, it was a very Knox-y weekend.

* I learned this while attending Knox College's 166 graduation ceremony from both the program (origin of the robes) and some of the graduates (they were very uncomfortable with the heat).
**One of my friends got it this year, because he really is outstanding.

But I haven't been blogging lately. Does that mean that I am not?
I've been busy with living life, mentally preparing to turn 23 (that's a big number), spending my last days in the midwest, and gearing up for a big move. For those of you who don't know, I am moving to El Paso, Texas, in just under two weeks.

I know, I know. I am moving from somewhere cold and green to somewhere hot and (more or less) brown. But do not forget that Las Vegas was the first environment I ever knew, and it is a desert. Also, I hate the cold. I think a year without snow will do me some good. I spent most of this past winter trying to figure out why my feet were always numb and came to the conclusion that I am a cold-blooded creature, most likely a turtle. I do like to hide from people. Though I would imagine the claustrophobia would inhibit my living in a shell.

Another thing I have heard is, "You're moving to Texas?" Yes. Yes I am. I am reconciling this fact with the knowledge that El Paso is only a few miles away from New Mexico and El Paso-ans (El Paso-ites?) do not speak with the southern drawl that is typical of Texans. Don't get me wrong. I have plenty of family from Texas and the South in general. But I have such a tough time not getting distracted when someone speaks with the very slow, twangy dialect that is so prevalent in the South. My mind just starts to wander and I try to guess the next word the person I am speaking with will say and start to have my own conversation in my head. This habit doesn't really lend itself to productive conversations when trying to get to know someone new.

I also don't speak Spanish, something I hear is pretty prevalent in El Paso since you can turn toward the South from just about anywhere and see Mexico. I'll just hope that I meet every person that speaks German in town so I can communicate with people and make friends. Or there is also the option of learning Spanish...The thought of that just sends chills down my spine. It's been so long since I switched gears and started learning German that much of Spanish pronunciation is gone from my mind.

But I'm sure I'll make plenty of new friends with all of the cacti in the desert.

I googled, and Google responded with quotes from Peanuts. Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for quotes. And peanuts. And Peanuts. 

Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you. -Charlie Brown to Snoopy

Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.-Also from Peanuts

That I haven't been blogging about all of the things I have learned for fear of not being able to go through them all and choose only 7 a week.*

*The above statement is false. I have been learning things, as one learns things all of the time. I have simply been too busy lazy to actually keep track of them like I should in order to maintain this blog.

Instead of keeping track of learn-y things, I have been a busy bee in terms of:
1. Reading awesome books. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. I highly recommend both for very different reasons. The first is a gothic thriller set in Barcelona. The second is a memoir about a woman's year in a federal prison camp. Go buy them, download them, or check them out from the library. They are wonderful.
2. Traveling to El Paso to meet members of the boyfriend's family and see where he grew up. I went sand sledding. It was wonderful. I think that was the first week my hands have been warm since November.
3. Toying with the idea of making a cooking blog to keep track of the adventures in the kitchen. This is mostly in response to my new rule of trying out at least 1 new recipe and/or perfecting one recent attempt at a new recipe a week.
4. Cleaning in preparation for the arrivals of several house guests. My most recent college roommate visited this past weekend, the roommate from before her and her boyfriend will visit this weekend, and my parents (dramatic music) will visit the weekend of Easter. Fun times have been and will continue to be had.
5. Trying to plan Easter. I have never done a family holiday before. I might hide under a blanket until it is over.
6. Getting pinned by the boy. Ain't he sweet?

Anyway, there are the excuses. Enjoy.