Happenings of the Month: November 2016

Whew, what a month! I wonder if yours was as full as mine!

Entertainment of the Month:

• Movies/TV:

I don't watch many shows on NBC, but one of their newest, Timeless, is proving to be an exception. The show follows the exploits of historian Lucy, Delta Force soldier Wyatt, and programmer Rufus as they travel through time, fighting to save history from the destructive efforts of Garcia Flynn. As they work, though, they find that each choice they make in the past has consequences in the future, and the mysterious Written House may be a bigger problem than any of them realize. Though I am slightly worried about the potential longevity of the program, I am really enjoying it so far.

• Books

Shadowed by Grace by Cara Putman is set during World War II, on a front of the war that I rarely read about – Italy. In addition, instead of focusing on soldiers in a physical battle, it tells the story of a soldier, Scott Lindstrom, whose job it is to protect the art and architecture of Western Civilization. The story also focuses on Rachel Justice, a photojournalist who has plunged into the war in hopes of saving her dying mother by finding the father she never knew. Though the end of this book is a tad chaotic, it's a super cute story and a wonderful look at a fascinating chapter of history.

• Music

"It Is Well (Instrumental)" – Bethel Music – This is an incredible song off of Bethel Music's interesting album Without Words: Synethesia. I've had the song nearly on repeat this month. It is so nuanced and passionate and gorgeous.

"Mars, Bringer of War" – Gustav Holst – This is the first movement of Holst's classical masterpiece, The Planets. The whole piece is amazing. One of my absolute favorite pieces of classical music.

My Life This Month:

So much craziness this month. I'm headed into finals, and I've reached that point in the semester where I'm stressed out about finishing projects but I can't quite summon the energy to do them. It's not a pleasant situation to find oneself in. But this is where some internal discipline comes in.

I didn't participate in NaNoWriMo, as you may have guessed from my last post. I was actually intending to write 5000 words of Raiders' Rise, but the month got away from me (and school required all my focus), so I only accomplished a few hundred words. Still, it's better than nothing. And I am looking forward to making some progress during my break.

Thanksgiving was nice and relaxed at my house. The whole family was home for once, so we hung out and played some games. We watched The Man From Snowy River, which I hadn't seen since I was young. It was cute. It was nice not to have classes that day, for sure, and it's always nice to have some family time.

I didn't go shopping on Black Friday. Over the last few years, I've become more and more disillusioned with the whole thing. It's such a celebration of greed, and we keep pushing it further into Thanksgiving. The irony is enough to make me sick. I mean, is it really necessary to start a big sales event at 6 pm on Thursday and make your employees work in a stressful environment instead of enjoying the holiday with their families? It's frustrating to me, and I've come to the place where I don't want to support it anymore.

I was quite disappointed with myself in not getting my monthly video up on my YouTube channel. But I just didn't read much this month, and life was a little too crazy to film. I'm really excited about next month's video, though! I'm going to do a wrap-up of my favorite books of 2016. So that should be fun.

Other Web Happenings:

When Writing Can't Be Your Life | Alyson Schroll (Guest Post on Go Teen Writers) – This post addresses the issue of life getting in the way of writing and was a major encouragement to me.

What's the Word? | Studio C – The always entertaining sketch comedy group Studio C captures the frustration of forgetting that one word you need…

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What was your month like? Have you experienced any of the things I mentioned? Did you do NaNo? Tell me about your November in the comments!