1. Okay, I know it’s Thursday afternoon. But I had a few minutes and so here I am. Plus, it’s going to be FREEZING tomorrow morning (I know it is already, where much of you are) so I will mostly likely be focused on conserving body heat and not coming up with witty, fun things to say.
2. So: I got a Mac. I did! I’ve had it for about a week now, and am still learning my way around. I must admit if is VERY pretty and runs very well, although I do feel occasionally like an idiot when I can’t figure out something really basic, like, say, how to SELECT ALL. (It’s command+A, but I am embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to figure that out.) Part of the problem was that I forgot to look at the manual that came with it until I’d had it an entire weekend. D’oh! But everything I’ve ever learned, computer-wise, has been trial and error, so it’s all good. I’m even writing this on a Mac Livejournal client, although I haven’t quite figured out how to use it, either. I think there’s a way to preview/save drafts/etc, somewhere. Again: work in progress.
3. Speaking of work, a box of tip-in sheets arrived today for me to sign for Along for the Ride. These are the single sheets which will then be inserted into the hardbacks so they can be sold as signed copies. Regular readers will remember that in the last months of my pregnancy, I signed THOUSANDS of these sheets. I signed them while I watched Friday Night Lights, and House, and while I ate cookies. And I signed a lot of them when my mom was in the hospital and very sick and I needed something totally mindless to focus on, because I didn’t want to think about what might happen to her. This time, though, it’s not nearly so many of them, probably because Penguin remembered I, um, never finished all the ones they sent me last time. I mean, I had a baby! But still. I am warming up my wrist as we speak. Then, later, I’ll plop down in front of the TV with my pen and GO!
4. On the TV front, somehow I missed that the finale of Friday Night Lights was last night. What? I am so confused. It just kind of disappeared, and then it’s back and now it’s over? What’s up with that? Clearly I need to go check my DirecTV setup to get to the bottom of this. If I missed it, and can’t catch it again, I will literally CRY. All over my tip in sheets.
5. Lastly, I FINALLY got around to watching American Teen, the documentary, last night. It was SO GOOD. Now, I admit I am a bit biased as I like things having to do with high school. (Go figure.) But seeing all these kids going through their senior year…it was just really compelling. And shocking at times. I mean, I never knew anyone who sent a guy a naked pic of themselves. Yikes! I related the most to Hannah, the girl who wanted to be a filmmaker and felt like she didn’t quite fit in anyplace. Like her, I got dumped at the very beginning of senior year, and it CRUSHED me. For serious. Like, going to school was really, really hard and I’d see my ex and just want to hightail it to the parking lot. Unfortunately (or, actually fortunately) me missing school because of this was out of the question. So I just perservered, and eventually things got better. I am such a nerd, because I kept trying to tell Hannah this last night while I was watching. “It’s okay!” I said to the TV, “Just go in once, and endure it, and you’ll be all right!” My husband, on the computer in the other room, kept saying, “What?” and I’d tell him I wasn’t talking to him, I was talking to the TV. Which sounds kind of psycho, now that I think about it. Like I said, I feel strongly about high school. Too strongly, clearly.
Stay warm, everyone!
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Hi Sarah!
Hi Sarah!
Its -30 here in Illinois! A MAC!!! Congradulations!
-Caroline
p.s. cant wait for : along fo the ride!
I saw American Teen a few weeks ago, and I really loved it. The Notre Dame girl was awful, though.
Not sure if they’ll be re-airing the FNL finale on DirecTV or not but NBC is starting their re-airs of this season tomorrow night so you *will* eventually be able to watch it…
Just so you know, DirecTV will replay the finale on Friday at 8 PM.
Our receiver died (again!!) in the middle of it last night, so I downloaded it earlier to watch on my Apple TV. :-\
Congrats on your Mac! I love them oh so much.
Congratss on the Mac! Sometimes its good to take a chance and try something new
Oh my gosh, I do the exactt same thingg. I will talk to the t.v. And my sister, father and mother will all just look at me with this face that says what the heck are you doing? Haha
You’re not alone
wow its very cold here too… appleton, wi…i think it’s like -15 and dropping, we got off school today because of the temperture!
Mrs. Dessen,
Exactly what kind of Mac did you get?
Friday Night Lights starts tomorrow! I AM SO EXCITED. I didn’t think I’d like the show but after you talked about it I decided to go for it…and then immediately asked for season 1 and 2 for Christmas…and then immediately had all day marathons! I love love LOVE Friday Night Lights.
Yayyy for Mac’s! I got a macbook in September and love it. I’d been using a mac before that though. I think you’ll find that once you learn all the shortcuts (I don’t know many since I mostly use it for music, pictures, and internet) it is so nice to use. :]
Mrs. Dessen
i just love our books. i have read every single one, and i must say im cometly hooked.
cant wait for along for the ride
It’s also freezing here! But I know it’s colder where you are; January’s in Manila are cold, but not THIS cold.
Anyway, congratulations on the Mac!
I can’t wait for the new book too.
I’m in Southern California, it’s been really hot here lately-summer time hot; today it was very close to 90 degrees, and I wish it was colder, send some of the cold this-a-way =)
It has been 85 degrees here in sunny SoCal for the past week. It is so weird to think that it’s freezing where you are and so warm here. (Sorry, I’m not trying to rub it in.) Anyways, I hope you stay warm and have fun with your Mac!
its 9 degrees F today and that is just about the high for the day.And the sun hasnt even come up yet!!
The finale for Friday Night Lights was on last night. I know that NBC is going to start their run of this season tomorrow night, so if you can’t catch the finale anywhere on DirecTv, it’ll be on about thirteen weeks from now. =/
Yay for Macs, Friday Night Lights, and new books!
ive had macs my entire life and love them. to me theyre so much easier to use than pcs.
i watched American Teen and while I was interested in the kids I did not like it, I may be a documentary snob but it was just not well done in my opinion, and it could have been. i actually talked to jake on facebook because to me him and hannah were the very best in that group of kids. my high school was not as cliquey and i wish they were able to experience high school where I went where they wouldnt have felt as isolated
Ahh I’m so looking forward to getting my Mac :] I know it’s shallow (and I’m getting one for far more than this) but it’s just so dang PRETTY.
Love love.
Along For the Ride Release
Hey Sarah! On the UK Amazon, it says that Along For the Ride is due for release June 11th, but US Amazon says the 16th (my birthday, eep!). Could it be possible that us dudes in the UK are gonna have access to your book first? I mean, I know the official UK release is always like 6 months after the US release, but I always get mine imported from the U.S. anyway (I prefer their covers. Plus I’m not patient enough to wait).
Just thought I’d point that out. You rock as always, have a great weekend!
Silverpistola xxx
Welcome to the Mac family!
congrats on the mac!
Congrats on the Mac, Sarah! I’ve been a Mac user for a year now and have not had any problems… I love it. But regular use does take some time getting used to.
Good luck on the tip-in sheets! I was fortunate enough to get a copy of Lock and Key with one inside – your hard (well, tedious) work signing is much appreciated!
I just want to say thank you for always blogging about Friday Night Lights because your constant excitement over the series persuaded me to look into it myself. Now, I’m kind of obsessed, so thanks haha. =D
Friday Night Lights must continue in season 4 is all I can say. American Teen is an incredible movie, I even blogged about it on the SD Diarist trying to get people to watch it. I even called Hannah a “classic Sarah Dessen protagonist” at the time. http://sarahdessen.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/recommended-viewing-american-teen/
FNL only had thirteen episodes for season 3. It’s re-screening on NBC from this month. It’s rating on DirectV were seen as a positive but they need to retain the audience on NBC to have any chance of renewing. The finale made it clear that renewal needs to happen as there are some great ideas. The creator of the show, Pete Berg was on The BS Report yesterday and I would definitely recommend getting on itunes and downloading that episode. Really interesting stuff!
I’m laughing out loud at the husband in the other room thing. I do this all the time, talk to the TV, I mean, and it drives everyone crazy. Good to know I’m not alone:-)
fnl
Hi Sarah,
I’m a long-time reader, delurking to let you know that there is an article in NYmag this week about Taylor Kitsch:
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/53325/
Thought you might be interested!
Best, and looking fwd to your next book,
Jamila
cold there? lol
Hey Sarah!
Right now, where I live, we have no school because the buses wouldn’t start! It is -46☼C with the wind here! To me, that is cold!lol. Keep writing in your blog, it is something to read when i’m supposed to be doing homework so THANK YOU for that!
I really enjoy your blog- it’s awesome to see what you actually do in the run of a day. I just wanted to say if it’s true that you live in North Carolina that it is NOT cold there at all!
Bye! Heather.
nymag article
Ps, Apologies if someone else already mentioned it!
- Jamila
I’mglad the snotty apple store guy didn’t turn you off. You’ll love it when you get used to it. Yeah I talk to the tv too :0)
Angie
hi!
My name is Lauren. I’m 17 and from Lexington, NC. I have never really been into reading until this year (my senior year!), when the local library’s book mobile starting coming to our school, allowing us to check out books to read. It was mandatory for every class to read everyday for atleast 30 minues after our lunch everyday. At first I was clueless on what books to start getting into. Then I saw a book called “The Truth About Forever”, which really caught my attention. So I grabbed it off the shelf and though I would try it out, not knowing that thereafter, I would fall in love with Sarah Dessen and everybook she has written.
Your books seem to written to me sometimes. It has been amazing how many of your books I have been able to relate to! I just want to thank you for writing these books and making my reading sessions something to look forward to everyday! I cannot wait to read “Lock & Key”.
—Lauren Leonard (ncstatevolleyball86@yahoo.com)
I really loved American Teen too, especially Hannah, it was so fun rooting for her. And I’m glad you still feel so strongly about high school because it gives you the ability to write fantatic books about it for the rest of us (even though we may not all be in high school anymore)!
~@lison
I was lucky enough to see American Teen at the Seattle International Film Festival last June and the director came for a Q&A session. As soon as it came on DVD I got it on Netflix and watched it about 3 times in a day and half period. I just think it is such a fantastic documentary.
just thought I’d give you some perspective on cold! in Waterloo, Iowa yesterday, it was colder than it was in the North Pole, Moscow, Russia, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Antarctica. and last night we reached record lows of -34. and school has been cancelled for the past 3 days on account of the freezing temps.
i hope you can find ways to stay warm!!
I read in some forums that lots of people had trouble with direcTv recording FNL so you’re not the only one. You can find the episodes online if you can’t wait until they air on NBC.
I live in upper Maryland which isn’t too too far from you and its only been like 8° here. It’s freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!!!
ooo i have that documentary 3rd in line for my movie queue. i hope it’s as awesome as i think it will be
sarah!
Sarah Dessen, I just have to say that your stories inspire me. When I read them, I get lost in them. I feel as if they are real life to me (considering I am in high school). And as I’m reading this, I am re-reading This Lullaby because its my all-time favorite book!!!!
With much love,
Katie
fnl
Happy Friday Sarah!
Congrats on the mac, you will enjoy it and no worries it took me forever to figure out how to copy and paste (command C and then command P by the way-the command key is one of your best buds!) as for friday night lights, since I don’t have directtv, i can give you a link to watch it if your tv messed up. i’ll add you on facebook if you want and give you the link because i don’t have it at the moment. hope all is well-Lisey
Hi
Hi Sarah! I hope that you have your wrist all warmed up for those sheets that you need to sign. And I hope that you have a ton of good shows to watch. Like you, I absolutely LOVE House. Only I haven’t seen a new show come on yet. I am still watching. I know that Along for the Ride will be awesome. All of your other books have been. I haven’t read them all yet, but I have read a few. I just finished Dreamland and I loved it! Only is was so sad about what happened to Caitlin. I especially loved Cass. I don’t know why, but her I do know that I love her indpendence. Today was FREEZING. My legs were numb as I walked down to my bus stop this morning. I hope that you stayed warm and cozy!
I have never heard of a tip-in sheet! Where do you get them? Yeesh, I should know this since I was a Penguin intern. (Please don’t tell them I’m uninformed.)
American Idol
I forgot if you watch American Idol or not, but I thought you might want to know that a former UNC Clef Hanger is competing this season. His name is Anoop Desai and he graduated from UNC last May. You can find the video of his performance here, if you’re interested: http://www.rickey.org/?p=11028
haha, I just watched American Teen yesterday. I’ll probably be Googling Hannah and Mitch soon to see what they’ve been up to since the DVD extras were filmed.
I am SOOOO glad I made it out of high school (’94) before the Internet and cell phones hit the masses. Our small-town gossip was bad enough just on land lines.
Hey Sarah!
Hey Sarah, I love your books!
congrats on the mac! =
Surprisingly, it’s actually warm where I live =/ haha
I’ve always wanted to watch American Teen, but I never got to it
Again love your books!!!
Mac’s are wonderful, aren’t they? I will NEVER go back to PC now that I have my mac. Plus I got a beautiful purple hardcase for it, so it’s even prettier.
ps. I know you used to be a Veronica Mars lover. Did you hear about the impending movie? (And by impending, I mean Rob Thomas is in the process of writing it). Personally, as a Veronica Mars fangirl, this gets me excited.
This doesn’t partain to the blog…
but I took the quiz on which Lock and Key character I am, and I was Cora!!! I was curious as to which character you were considered?
=]
Yes, why is it so freezing here?!! I don’t even know. I’m sitting here in front of my own Mac (I got mine for my birthday- I’m a wreck with computers) and I’m bundled up in a hoodie and blankets.
I couldn’t buy lock & key for the longest time because I was flat broke, but I finally got it for Christmas from my parents. I just finished it and it made me really really happy, thank you. It was great because there was so much I could relate to (USWIM)! And the influence family has on you was profound and clear and it was so human.
I was especially surprised by how you described Nate’s relation with swimming. As a swimmer I’ve seen my fair share of swimmer dad’s/mom’s and they DO exist and they DO push their kids to the limits of their extent because if you swim that’s all you have time for… so your parents want your best out of you. It’s fun until people push you too hard and then it stops being fun and you quit.
It was really good and as usual, it made me want more.
Thanks again, I’ll be back next week to comment.
i live in Canada, so i go by celcius, not fahrenheit.
yesterday i think it was like -40 degrees celcius,
dont know what that is in fahrenheit but it was COLD!!!!
Haha what a coincedence, I just got myself a mac too. Love it!! Which one did you get?
Macs are awesome right?
Ive had one since June, a white MacBook and I LOVE it. Its so much better and more refreshing than a PC, which, broke. At any rate, you’ll love Mac.
http://perezhilton.com/2009-01-18-veronica-mars-creator-working-on-big-screen-version
I was on one of my Hollywood gossip sites and saw this post. Thought you might be interested.
Veronica Mars Movie!
Saw this on Perez Hilton today…
In a recent interview, Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas confirmed that he’s penning a movie based on the cult-fave show!
However, TV show star, Kristen Bell, hasn’t signed on for the project just yet. Thomas confirms he’s “in talks” with the actress.
As far as the plot line goes, this is all he was willing to reveal:
“The one thing that I will say is where it will pick up. I know we did that F.B.I. ‘what if’ thing, but we would not go to that place. I think it would open just days before the Hearst College Graduation. So Veronica would be sort of at the end of her college career.”
Exciting stuff!!!