The Hunger Games

Drop what you are doing right now. I don't care if you're watching a movie as you read this. I don't care if you're planning on taking a nap or going to the mall later. Forget those plans. What you must do right now is go to the nearest bookstore and purchase one of the best books I have ever read. It's called The Hunger Games. The author is Suzanne Collins. The book takes place in futuristic North America which has been renamed Panem and separated into 13 districts. After a rebellion, District 13 has been eliminated. So the government can avoid another uprising, they like to let their people know they still have ultimate control. Because of this, every year each district has to send one boy and one girl between the ages 0f 12 and 18 to the Capitol to participate in The Hunger Games. They are put into an arena and forced to fight each other. Only one contestant will survive. To make matters worse, it is televised and all of Panem is watching. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is so likeable that it is impossible not to root for her. I know you might be thinking the book sounds too violent and twisted. But for those of you who need a little pleasure, there is a romantic plot weaved into the storyline. This book will be liked by both genders equally. And once you fall in love with it, there is good news for you. There is a sequel. And the final book in the trilogy comes out this August which trust me, is an excrutiatingly long wait. I promise, if you read this book you will be forced to give up sleep. Work will not get done until you have completed this book. So follow my advice; you will not regret it.

Remember Me

I saw Remember Me last night and it broke my heart. Regardless of whether you're a Robert Pattinson fan or you hated him in Twilight, his performance as Tyler Hawkins will work its way into your heart. If it doesn't, you must not have one. The entire film is an emotional rollercoaster from the opening scene until the credits begin to roll. With stunning performances from Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, and Chris Cooper, Pattinson had a great cast behind him the whole time. The acting was so flawless that you can not remain removed from the events unfolding. When everything goes from great to awful, you're heart will sink in your chest and you will feel as if the heartbreaking tragedies are actually happening to you. The film covers many different forms of heartache ranging from the loss of a loved one to being harassed by peers. My advice would be as soon as you finish reading this, go to the nearest theater and purchase a ticket-even if you have to go alone. Word of warning: bring tissues and leave your mascara at home.

Have you ever felt so sad that you couldn't breathe? Have you ever felt so fragile that you couldn't handle being in a room full of people? Because I, Shelby Marks, have felt this way before. I feel this way now. I never knew that anyone could feel this much pain. Especially when nothing physically harmful was hurting you. The phrase "heartbroken" really doesn't begin to cover it. It's more like heart exploded or heart shattered. Nothing's left. And the pain can well over at any moment. It's constantly there, but sometimes, even when I think I've got it under control, it leaks out. All of a sudden I go from perfectly calm to a mascara stained mess. And that's when the hyperventilating starts. Sometimes this happens out of the blue. Other times, it's provoked. Like when I pass Abercrombie & Fitch at the mall. Or when I get a text message and my heart sinks when I realize it's not going to be him. I will never hold his hand again or even get to see him one more time. I'm trying to cope; I'm trying so hard. But whenever I think I've made progress, something new reminds me of him and I'm right back where I started. I can't even say the name Mark out loud. I can barely even think it without crying. The worst part was when my friends asked about him right after it happened. They didn't know anything had changed, but the tears that poured down my face clued them in. Crying in public is the most embarrassing thing, but I find myself doing it more and more. Eventually I have to find a way to contain it, but right now I can't think straight. I can't come up with any rationanl way to stop. I wish I could hate him, but as much as I try to justify doing so, I can't stop loving him. And I'm started to worry that I never will.

Untitled I guess?

I was curled into a ball hugging my knees to my chest. I drew in ragged breaths that shuddered through the hole in my heart. The gaping wound that would not be stitched up. I bit down on my lower lip to hold in my quiet sobs. I hadn't left my room in two days. Not to take a shower, not to eat. Meals mysteriously appeared at my door three times a day. A single knock signaled there arrival. Mom was worried so I ate what I could without bile rising up from the pit of my stomach. I had barely slept and hadn't uttered a word to anyone. I wasn't sure my voice worked anymore. My insides were breaking and spilling out through the cracks. I thought heartbreak was supposed to bring numbness; I needed that phase to come soon. The raw pain ravaging my body was too much to bear. I have sixteen missed calls on my phone. My friends must all know by now. I've heard the doorbell ring, the hushed whispers, but no one's ever tried to come up to my room. For that, I was greateful. I'm a mess and I can't think of anything that will make it better. No amount of hugs or smiles, kind words or baked goods will help. Those gestures are hollow; most things are now. Life itself is hollow; empty. As soon as he spoke the words, I shut down. I've missed my favorite shows, homework goes undone. I think I've missed a few tests and I know I had an essay due at some point. Sooner or later I'll have to go back to school. I'll have to fake a tiny bit of happiness for my mom's sake. I hate to worry her so I'll have to paste on a smile and prepare for a whole lot of denial. But my heart is leaking and I don't know if I can stop it. I can't hide it just yet. I can't control it, can't hide the zombie in my eyes. Right now, I can't even begin to take the first step to being okay.

Apology

I have been informed that I did not satisfy everyone with my last blog; it seems they expected my New Moon review to be longer. Of course, I do have more to say, as always. Last time, I didn't have time to write much, but I do now. New Moon was incredible and since I've seen it twice, I feel I have the right to judge. If that doesn't seem like enough, don't worry, I will be seeing it again. But I have to say, the downside to New Moon was the downpour of new Jacob fans. Unlike Edward fans, they are wrong. They have no idea what they're talking about and they must be crazy, because there is no way a sane, coherent, and sober person would pick Jacob over Edward. Last year, people knew that. But this year? I am appalled. The amount of Team Jacob t-shirts I've seen lately is disgusting. And really, the whole Team Jacob thing is just shallow. Why do women love him all of a sudden? I think we can safely say it is because of the thirty pounds he gained, all of which flowed nicely into his muscles and washboard abs. I get that he is maybe a little attractive (if you're into that kind of guy), but he has nothing on Edward Cullen and he never will. So many friends of mine (my own sister even) that I thought were loyal Edward supporters, jumped ship as soon as Jacob took his shirt off the first time. And then when he cut off that awful hair, the women in my theater went wild. And not just young girls-middle aged women were yelling and cheering when Jacob was standing out in the rain half naked. If you don't believe me, go see it in theaters sometime; try to go during a busy showing. You'll see it. Of course, you'll see the avid fans with their shirts and jackets. But its the sneaky fans, the ones you don't expect, that will ruin your movie. The middle aged woman with the sensible haircut? Yeah, she'll be the one hyperventilating when Jacob rips his shirt off. The boy who looks annoyed his girlfriend's dragging him to a chick flick? He's going to be loudly shhhing her while she talks during an action scene. Maybe even shouting at the screen like hes at a football game. You're laughing and shaking your head in disbelief now, but I've seen and heard it all. But even with those annoying fans, the movie is worth watching. Even if you didn't like the first Twilight.

NEW MOON

I can't believe how long its taken me to write this! I have now officially seen New Moon. As expected, it was a thousand times better than Twilight. No comparison. The action scenes and special effects were incredible and the wolves looked completely realistic. The acting itself was better and the few cheesy quotes found in Twilight were nowhere to be seen in the sequel. And luckily, Eclipse is coming out in JUNE!!! So, fellow fans, we do not have to wait an entire year!!!
Life is complete.

Work

Work was awful last night. I work at a kids' party place and while I usually like my job, these kids were terrible. And that's saying a lot because I generally love kids. They yelled, they ran, they fought-I've rarely seen anything like this before. The birthday boy was rude, selfish, and spoiled. It was annoying to watch his mother dote on him when he behaved this way. He yelled at me, called me mean, and laughed when another kid threw his hand back, knocking a piece of cake out of my hands and onto the floor. Haha, very funny, kid, thanks for that. And of course I had to clean up the mess. Not only that, but the mom told our manager that my co-worker and I weren't doing a good job, which is ridiculous. Just because her crazy kids were out of control, didn't mean we were to blame. Maybe being taught some manners would have helped, but I'm just throwing out suggestions here. After that, we had to yell and strongly enforce every rule, pretty much killing the fun. But that's what the mom wanted, so that's what she got. A party that barred the kids from having fun. At the end, she had the nerve to complement us on how well we did. Even though she didn't tell the manager that. And she did this after telling our manager that we were basically terrible at our jobs. Thanks, but telling us "thank you" doesn't really help. What would be great is telling our manager that we did well, and that she was mistaken when she complained about us earlier. That would have been nice, but I guess she didn't think of that. She better have given us a good review on the survey.