Thank You, Internet

I'm sure every writer has at least one author that they look up to.  I have quite a few.  One thing about the Internet, is it allows you to learn more about people you wouldn't otherwise know.  Before the Internet, people just read books and didn't really know much about the people who wrote them.  (I assume.  This was before my time...)  Thanks to the Internet, I now follow some of my favorite authors on twitter, read their blogs, and even watch their Youtube videos.  I love it.  Before, authors had a lot of anonymity.  They still can if they want to (although maybe not to the same extent), but they can also interact with readers a lot more.

Not only is this great for the authors, it's also great for the readers and those who hope to become published authors some day.  I love that I can learn more about the people who write such great books.  As someone who wants to be an author, I enjoy learning more about what being an author's really like.  If I'd been born twenty or so years ago I wouldn't have that.  I don't even know if I would have wanted to become an author.  It's entirely possible that I would never have paid attention to the fact that someone put a whole lot of work into each book that I pick up.  I may not have considered writing to even be a career possibility.

The Internet is great for many different reasons, but I am incredibly thankful that it has allowed me to interact with amazing authors that never would have been possible before.  I may even have the Internet to thank for bringing the career of writing to my attention.

Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to write a quick Thanksgiving post.  If you're in America, I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving, and if you're elsewhere in the world, I hope you're have a great day even though it isn't a holiday.

My dad's side of the family is getting together this weekend, but for today it's just my grandma, dad, sister, brother, and me.  My mom is unfortunately at work today, but someone has to be at the hospital even if it is Thanksgiving.  My grandma and sister are downstairs while everything cooks right now.  (As you can tell, I'm being a great help.)  Everything was already put together last night, and today just really involved sticking stuff in the oven to cook.  We should be eating really soon!  I can't wait for the dressing!  That's the best part of the Thanksgiving meal.  (My family has a dressing recipe that's just amazing.)  And of course pumpkin pie is another amazing Thanksgiving food.

I got up early to watch the Macy's parade for the first time in a few years.  I used to watch it every single Thanksgiving, but then I got older and discovered the joys of sleeping in.  Since then, I've usually only caught the end of the parade.  Today though, I was supposed to help my sister cook, and I was determined to actually see the whole parade.  Our dog Poppy woke me up just before my alarm this morning by coming into my room and laying on my chest.  After that I was wide awake, which under most circumstances would be good because I'd actually get up, but I really didn't want to move her.  She looked so peaceful sleeping there even though I was in a slightly uncomfortable position, so I laid there a little longer than planned.  I still managed to catch all of the parade.

Ji's mom made a Korean dish called kimbap today, and she wanted us to have a roll of it.  I'm not really sure why, but Ji brought it over to us about an hour ago.  It was an interesting experience.  It wasn't that I didn't like the kimbap.  It's just not something I'm used to eating.  I think it's something I could get used to eating if I had it over and over, but it's probably not something I'd seek out.

Since it's Thanksgiving, I'll do a little list of things I'm thankful for:  family, friends, our dogs, books, writing, Harry Potter (especially the fandom), J.K. Rowling, the Internet (that may sound stupid but really think about all it's done), the fact I have a chance of going to college even though applications are stressing me out recently, and all of the other things that make me happy.

I hope all of you Americans enjoy your Thanksgiving meals!  I'm ready to go eat all of our awesome Thanksgiving food!