Sunday Funday is a weekly(ish) post I’ve started to recap the bookish (and sometimes not-so-bookish) happenings in my life the past week! Feel free to participate, just link back!
March 16-22, 2015
Life
This week has been a real roller coaster. Have you ever had a period of time when you were really excited and really nervous at the same time? Or gotten really good news and really bad news close together so you’re not really sure what you’re supposed to feel, as being too happy or too upset seems to extreme? This week has kind of been like that.
I know I’ve mentioned here and there about an exam that I’ve been prepping for since January. It’s not a final or midterm, as I graduated from college last May. It’s the GRE, the graduate school entrance exam required by many schools in the US (and possibly elsewhere, I haven’t checked to see if it’s used internationally). It’s basically the SAT for graduate school, and while I’ve taken my fair share of standardized testing in my life, I haven’t been under such pressure to do well on one since I took that SAT when I was 17. I’ve worked really hard on studying (which is why it’s been a little quieter on the blog this month especially) and usually do well in school, but at the same time it’s exhausting having to learn all of the nuances of the test as well as re-familiarize myself with concepts that I haven’t had to focus on in a while (like math, seeing as I was an English major). It’s also a little nerve wracking considering every graduate school will give different weight to how important the test is, and it can be frustrating knowing your performance on one test can impact your entire student profile.
I’m taking the test tomorrow, and it’s scary knowing that months of preparation will be over in just 4.5 hours. I’m trying my best to relax today so that I’m not stressed or burnt out when I take the test, catching up on Crown of Midnight and doing a little blogging. Sorry for the stream of consciousness in this post, but I wanted to update everyone on why it’s slowed down a little here (although I’ve still managed to post several times every week so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself) and will be back in blogging action after tomorrow!
Also, amidst the studying and preparing for the exam I received some fantastic news: I’m going to Disneyworld! My boyfriend’s extremely generous family gifted us a trip there for his graduation present, so we have been starting to plan and while it’s overwhelming it’s also SO MUCH FUN. We’re HUGE Disney people and I’ve been to Disneyland numerous times as well as Aulani (the Disney resort in Hawaii), so visiting Disneyworld has been a huge dream of ours for a long while now. I’ll be doing updates about our Disney planning and vacation experience as fun little side features on my blog for anyone who’s interested!
Books
So I bought Crown of Midnight on a whim a few weeks ago, thinking I probably wouldn’t love it since I had such mixed feelings about Throne of Glass. I’m eating my words though because it’s SO GOOD. I just finished part one and I was not expecting the twist! (Also the romance is getting me right where it hurts, guys). After I take my exam tomorrow I will be treating myself and ordering Heir of Fire and The Winner’s Crime, as I’ve been on a fantasy kick lately and am extremely eager to find out what happens in both series!
Blog
What Happened Here This Week:
Tuesday: Top Ten Books on my Spring 2015 TBR
Wednesday: The Cover Struggle
Thursday: I rave about The Winner’s Curse
If you’ve stayed this long, thanks for listening to my ramble! I hope you have a successful upcoming week and find some time to read!
I seriously love Crown of Midnight! I hope your test goes well and exciting for Disneyworld!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Best of luck on your exam!! At least you have your trip to Disney world to look forward to- that’s awesome! I love the Disney world resort in Florida. I’ve never been to any of the other ones, but I’ve heard they’re great as well. 🙂
I’m also reading Crown of Midnight right now! I’m LOVING IT. I’m over 50% the way through and I know how you feel about the romance! It’s picked up so much from Throne of Glass, I’m completely enthralled with it.
Good luck on your GRE exam! I haven’t taken it yet but I’ve studied a bit for it — it’s so overwhelming! I hope that you get an amazing score for graduate school! I’m so glad you’re enjoying Crown of Midnight. I can’t wait to read your review! Yay! I love Disneyworld! How long will you be there? Have fun planning your trip!!
Thank you for the good luck wishes! We’re planning on being in Disneyworld about a week (it seems so big that we’ll need at least that much time to see everything!)
A week! That’s awesome. Disneyworld is magnificent and you’ll be able to go through all the theme parks. You definitely have to catch the fireworks. It’s just beautiful.
Do you go often? Any tips for can’t miss shows/restaurants/etc?
Yeah, I’ve gone a number of times since it’s only 3-4 hours from me. Epcot is a great park that lets you visit different countries and taste their cuisine. If you like pastries, France is the best place to get them. Before you leave, you have to see the acrobat show in China. If you want to eat at a sit down restaurant, you can look up the menus online. You’ll have to call in for reservations. If you like Mexican, San Angel Inn Restaurante was delicious and the view was beautiful, as well. Also, can’t miss Illuminations Firework and Light show at night — gorgeous!
Hollywood Studios: you have to see Fantasmic! Indiana Jones was a lot of fun and the Beauty and the Beast. If you like rides: Rock n Rollercoaster and Twilight Zone! If you’re a fan of Star Wars, that’s a great ride to go to!
Animal Kingdom: Rides: Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and a lot of rides to have encounters with animals like the jungle trek and Kilimanjaro safari. You also have to check out the tree of life, it’s the center of Animal Kingdom and it’s beautiful to walk through. The Lion King show was the best, in my opinion. The Finding Nemo show was cute, too! The Rainforest Cafe restaurant is my favorite! It feels like you’re in a rainforest, it’s breath taking.
Magic Kingdom is my favorite theme park! They have the water show and the fireworks show at night. There are two parades, in the daytime and one at night. Magic Kingdom also has the best and most character meets — if you’re interested in that. It’s A Small World is a classic ride, a must go. Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (haha), Under the Sea and the Tomorrowland Speedway were awesome. There are a lot of attractions in Magic Kingdom! Be Our Guest restaurant is the best! There are also dessert parties at night for some restaurants with great views of the fireworks. Cinderella’s Royal Table is amazing but really pricey.
As for water theme parks, both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach were good. Blizzard Beach is for the older group. There’s also Downtown Disney, it’s great at night. To eat: there’s T-Rex (it’s like rainforest cafe but more Jurassic), Fulton’s crab house — also a bit pricey but delicious and you’re eating on a boat haha and Bongo’s has great Cuban food. Other than that, Downtown Disney is fun to walk around and see shops like the Lego Store — it’s so cool (I love Legos haha).
Planning where you go and eat is such a smart idea. Time goes by so fast when you’re there, before you know it, the park is closing haha
Thank you so much for all of this info! We’re doing a day-by-day itinerary so this really helps! (And we’re also super into meeting characters 🙂 )
No problem! The Disneyworld website will be your friend. They have all the times listed for entertainment and when and where characters will be! 😀
Not to brag, but don’t stress too much about the GRE. I took it before it was revised in 2011, which made the test a whole lot easier by eliminating analogies and antonyms. I’ve tutored the old and new GRE verbal section, and as long as you score in the top 50% of each section, most grad schools will accept you. You’ll be fine, good luck!
PS: Those admins are Nazis about taking anything with you into the exam room! I saw someone get disqualified after those 4+ hours for WEARING A WATCH. No joke. Turn out your pockets, and leave everything at home, because it’s not worth the risk!