Purely My Life

January 2008

2008-01-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

So, urged by my co-workers who have decided to begin fervently keeping a blog, I decided I should probably update mine. It has been quite a while.

So, the first thing I noticed was that I have blogged at least once a month since August, and if I don't blog tonight, I will have missed the whole month of January. That doesn't bode well for ... what's the word I'm looking for here? dependability? consecutively? uniformity? I've been having this "finding the right word" problem all week. So, here I am blogging tonight.

Good news. Life is as normal as ever. Christmas break went well. I did a couple weeks in Kansas with the fam, and then a couple more in Daytona Beach with Justin. He started teaching me to surf, so that was probably the highlight of that trip. In the three weeks I've been back, I've been working like crazy to pay off the credit card bill for everything I spent over Christmas break. I managed to take care of that today and incurred no interest fees. Yay me!

Blah! I just took a sip of my coffee ... cold. My dang coffee pot apparently doesn't get very hot because I can't finish a cup before it gets cold. Note to self: use the other coffee pot next time. Speaking of coffee. I am a huge fan of the coffee ... machine? contraption? electronic device? ... (It is so much more than a coffee pot. In fact, it makes tea too!) that the Student Media Department installed in the newsroom. It is such as nice feature for our home away from home.

Resisting the urge to pick up the coffee mug sitting next to me because I know it will be disgusting, but it is so dang hard.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my rant this evening. Here's to January 2008, snow and new wintery socks. Only 14 weeks until summer!

Goodnight.

What is an MSR

2007-12-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

I have had a number of part-time jobs over the last two and a half years. In high school, I didn’t really need a job, but I wanted one. I wanted the extra cash because I hated having to ask my parents for money. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just taken their money. Not that the jobs have been bad, it really is what it’s called…WORK, sometimes hard work. I’ve had two photography jobs, an editorial position, and I’m currently a waitress.

The best job I ever had was taking baby photos for a company called Growing Family Fotos. They’re commissioned to specific hospitals in the Oklahoma City area and they hire between two and three photographers, or Moms’ Service Representatives, as they’re called, per hospital depending on the photographer’s availability. If you ever have the opportunity to do something around babies, do it. Seeing those tiny things made it feel like play rather than work. Plus, the pay was amazing.

I worked on commission. If you think about that for a second, all I had to do was go in a hospital room for 30 minutes, hold the baby, position the baby, and a couple snaps later I was loaded. What mother doesn’t want to buy their baby’s first photo?

What I really loved about the job was that I worked on my own time. I only worked Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On Fridays, I would go to Integris Southwest Medical Center, shoot about 5 or 6 babies, and be done. On Saturdays, I would go in about 9 or 10 o’clock, take about 6 babies at Deaconess Hospital, head over to Lakeside Women’s Hospital for 4 more, and then go home around 4 o’clock. Sundays were exactly the same except fewer babies, and I wouldn’t have to go in until after church. I worked three days a week, and I was making almost $800 a month.

Comparing that job to the one I have now, I don’t know why I ever quit. I do actually. It was summer. I wanted to work more hours, but I really didn’t feel like driving the 30 minutes to Lakeside Women’s Hospital every day. I asked to be moved to Norman Regional Hospital, but for some reason my boss never moved me. So I put in my two weeks, and applied at On the Border. Well, actually, I did that the other way around, and had three jobs for about a two-week period.

The beautiful thing about working on commission, and having a Web site for online ordering is that three months after you quit a job your customers can still order your photos. I got three more paychecks after I quit my job for Growing Family Fotos. The last one came at the beginning of August. I left May 25th.

--Briana Johnson

CMA Fall 2007

2007-12-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to take a trip to Washington D.C. with nine of my co-workers and three of our bosses for the fall College Media Advisor’s National Convention. The following is an account of the expedition from campus in Norman to the Hilton in Washington D.C.

The convention began Thursday morning, Oct. 24, so most of us flew out Wednesday afternoon. Brian Ringer, the director of Student Media, left before all of us so he could spend time with his brother and sister- in- law. Eight of us, Mike Mitra, Kelsey Witten, Breia Brissey, Ashley Carter, Lauren Parajon, Nanette Light, Natalie Avis, and me, left Norman Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., and the yearbook advisor, Lori Brooks, and newspaper advisor, Judy Robinson, left later that evening. The last to leave was Ashiq Zaman, the newspaper editor, who left Thursday morning.

For the eight of us that were scheduled to fly out of Will Rogers World Airport at 3:40 p.m., it would be an 11-hour travel day. The flight out of OKC took off on time, and we arrived into in Kansas City for our three-hour layover on time. However, little did we know that our three- hour layover would turn into the layover from hell despite the two- hour lunch that kept us all in stitches.

After eating the most expensive chicken tenders I’ve ever had and buying a couple magazines, we headed through security. Let me explain how difficult it is to go through security with eight journalists. Each of us brought our laptops, which required us to spend 10 minutes taking off our coats, shoes, and belts, pulling our laptops out of our bags and putting them in the bins. I also need to mention that our photographer, Mike, had an expensive digital camera along with two laptops that he had to put in the bins.

Once we made it through security for the second time that day, we were unable to find any available seats. We finally found a patch of carpet, but as soon as we got settled in to wait the next hour, the fire alarm for the entire airport went off.

No one moved. I personally was hoping it was a false alarm. Unfortunately, it was not. Every traveler had to evacuate the airport. We spent the next half hour standing outside in the cold next to people who have no concept of second hand smoke.

Once we were allowed to re-enter the building, you can imagine how long the security line was. I say line, because that’s what it was. It eventually split into two after a guard checked everyone’s ticket individually. However, worse than the second hand smokers that were invading my space outside the airport was a teenage girl and her younger brother behind me in the line. First, the girl was on the phone and practically screaming at her friend. I heard every word of her conversation. Second, she threatened to leave her younger brother, who was probably twelve, about six times. Two distinct occasions I can remember were when he refused to get up off the floor and when he refused to get off his skateboard. Yes, he was on his skateboard in line in a busy airport.

Once we finally got up to the security guards, Lauren couldn’t find her license. It took a good 10 minutes for her to find it. Not only was the guard agitated, but so were the hundred or so people in line behind us. Fortunately, we were able to board the plane immediately, but it still took off a half hour late.

I have never been so ready to get off an airplane. Not counting the number the chicken tenders did to my stomach at 10,000 feet, it was the worst flight I’ve ever been on. The lightning and rain made the flight extremely rough, and the seats were as hard as President Lincoln’s Georgian marble throne. If I ever considered flying Southwest again, no matter how cheap the flight, please remind me of this experience.

So you would think that the adventure would be over once we landed, but it’s it wasn’tnot. To save money we decided to fly into the Baltimore airport instead of Reagan in Washington D.C. The plan was to ride the Super Shuttle to the airport. We had to wait 20 minutes for our driver to arrive, and then we had to cram eight people into a van designed for six. At this point we really didn’t care. It was 11:30 p.m. and we just wanted a bed.

Byo is apparently an extremely cautious driver. It took us an hour to get from the airport to the Hilton. It should normally only takes between 30 and 45 minutes. Once at the hotel, we relaxed a little. Breia and Mike went to the front desk to check us into our rooms, while the rest of us waited in the lobby.

In the process I managed to bust my ass. I was sitting on my suitcase, the handle of which is broken. I’d been pulling it by a strap since the Baltimore airport. All of a sudden, my suitcase decided it wanted to roll out from under me. I let out a yelp and hit the floor where I proceeded to lay for the next five minutes out of embarrassment and hysteria. I blamed it on lack of sleep.

Fortunately, that was the last crazy event of the day. One of our rooms was upgraded to a parlor room because they only had one double room left. It was an incredible upgrade. The room was amazing, but of course it wasn’t mine. Breia, Kelsey, Natalie, and I got the shaft. We had the regular old double room, but I’ve never been so glad to see a bed.

--Briana Johnson

Gallons

2007-11-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

It all started with a drink of Dr. Pepper.
“Does this taste funny to you?.” I asked Nathan.
He took a sip from the white paper cone.
“I can’t really tell, he said. “I’ve always thought the Dr. Pepper here tasted funny. I think it has something to do with the temperature in the line. It’s too cold.”
Yea, it like burns going down,” I said after taking another sip.
“Hey, did you know the line holds over 10 gallons,” said Nathan in a matter of fact tone.
“There’s no way,” said Jessica jumping in the conversation. “The boxes are only five gallons.”
“That’s just the syrup,” Nathan said. “I’m talking about the carbonation too.”
Drew walked up to the circle we’d formed near the bar.
“I wonder how many gallons we go through a night?” Nathan half stated half asked.
“Well, let’s see,” I said. “Our pitchers make five glasses and there are probably two pitchers to a gallon. So 10 glasses per gallon.”
“Wait a minute,” Nathan said. “There are 128 ounces in a gallon. How many ounces do our cups hold?”
“Either 12 or 16 I would think,” I said.
Scott, our manager walked by just at that moment.
“Hey, Scott,” I ask. “How many ounces do our glasses hold?”
“The plastic ones?” He asks. “Uh, 16 I think.”
“Ok, so 8 glasses a gallon,” Nathan said.
“We’re trying to figure out how many gallons of pop we go through a night.” I explain to Scott.
“Oh I’d say probably eight during the week and 22 on the weekend,” Scott said.
“I like how we’re the only four people in this entire restaurant not working,” Nathan said.
Satisfied with Scott’s answer we dispersed and pretended like we were working.
About 20 minutes later I walked up to Nathan.
“I think 22 gallons is too few,” I said.
“You’re probably right,” he said.
“Hey Scott, I said. I think 22 gallons is too few.”
“Probably,” Scott said.
“I mean that would only make like 170 glasses,” I said.
“Oh, I was just guessing syrup,” Scott said. “The carbonation is three to one so it’s probably closer to like 300.”
I went to fined Nathan who had walked off.
“Scott changed his estimate to 300 gallons,” I said.
“He goes from eight to 300,” Nathan said. “That’s quite a jump.”
“Yea, I know,” I said.
I turned to find Jessica.
“Scott changed his guess to 300.”
“What?,” she said in disbelief. “He went from eight to 300?”
“Yea,” I said. “He wasn’t factoring in carbonation. I’ve got to figure this out now.”
After making tortillas for my last to-go order, I grabbed the pad next to the micro. I made a list of every server on the floor. Red 1, Red 2, Blue 1, Blue 2, Brown 1, 2 and 3, Orange 1 and 2, Yellow 1 and 2, Purple 1, 2 and 3, Green 1 and 2, Cocktail and Bar.
Nathan, Jessica and Drew joined me at the to-go micro, and together we estimated how many tables each server has a night based on what section they’re in. After averaging four people to a table, we came to the approximation of 520 guests a night. I divided 520 by 8 and got 65 gallons.
“Now that’s closer to Scott’s first estimate of 22 if you factor in the three to one ratio of carbonation,” I thought to myself.
I headed to find Scott.
I got 65 gallons,” I said showing him my paper. I explained the process to him.
“Oh, if you just want to know how many guests we have on an average Friday, I can tell you that.”
He added two numbers together on the pad and comes up with 792 guests.
“But also, most people have more than one drink,” I said. It was an epiphany moment.
“And you have to factor in ice,” he said.
Jessica, Nathan and I sat down at the nearest table in cocktail.
792 guests times 2.5 drinks each. 1,980 glasses. Say each glass contains only 12 ounces once you factor in ice. Now you have 10 glasses a gallon. 1,980 divided by 10 is approximately 200 gallons.
I’m satisfied with this estimate. I proceeded to find Scott to tell him and get checked out.
As soon as I got home, I got a text message from Jessica.
“You forgot to factor in what the employees drink.”
I sent her one back.
“There’s the other 100 gallons in Scott’s estimate.”

My Dream Vacation

2007-10-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

I caught his eye as I was returning from the bathroom. His yellowed dentures smiled back at me with a nervous yet excited expression. His once full head of dark brown hair was now a coarse snowy white, but his eyes still held their youth, especially during an occasion such as this.

He fidgeted with the top button on his short-sleeved plaid shirt and pulled at the leg of his pleated khaki pants. Those were not going to be comfortable during the 15-hour flight, but this was his first flight. How was he to know that a 15-hour plane ride involved screaming babies, snoring businessmen, and tormented five year old little boys who loved to kick the back of your seat? Plus, that was his style. He’d been wearing the same thing for as long as I could remember, and if memory serves me right he even had the same thing on in our first picture together. I was his first grandchild, and a granddaughter at that.

I walked across the terminal waiting area and sat down across from him. He was gently wringing his hands in his lap – a nervous habit wrought out of years of never being idle. I caught a glimpse of the grease underneath his fingernails. He’d worked as a mechanic for over 40 years, and even owned his own garage when I was young. I loved to spend time at that garage drinking grape soda, eating roasted peanuts with him and all of his friends, and playing on all the machines. Well, that is I loved it until the day I got my waist-long hair caught in the wheels of a dolly. I loved that garage almost as much as he did.

I watched him talking with my sisters, parents, cousin, and grandma. He was by far my favorite grandparent. He was the one who read me by first Bible story. He was the one who took me on my first lawn mower ride. He was the one who helped me make my first birdhouse. He was the one who taught me how to win at Tic-Tac-Toe. He was the one who played Pretty Pretty Princess and the matching game with me for hours. He was the one who let me fix his hair with ribbons and bows. He was the one who dressed up like a clown for my sixth birthday party. He was the one who took me to Branson, MO every summer since I was five. He was the one who sparked my interest in this trip in the first place.

We boarded the plane, and I slid into the window seat. I normally prefer the aisle, but I wanted to be able to see when we flew into Jerusalem. I’d been studying Ancient History and Hebrew for six years preparing for this trip.

He slid into the seat next to me.

“Briana, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us along on this vacation. It really means a lot to your grandma and me.”

I smiled back at him. I couldn’t imagine seeing Israel without him.

--Briana Johnson

Destruction

2007-10-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

As soon as the rumbling stopped, she bolted from the closet where she and her husband found shelter. She barely paused to take in the damage in her own room as she yelled after her husband, “The boys!”

He was already halfway up the stairs.

She turned the doorknob and pushed. It didn’t budge. She pushed a little harder and a little more frantically. There was still no movement. She turned slightly and put her bony shoulder and all 118 pounds in to the door, pushing with everything in her. Slowly, things began to give way under her weight. She relaxed for a quick breath, re-adjusted, and through the two-inch gap she’d made between the door and frame, caught a glimpse of the path of destruction left by the twister through the gaping hole that used to be her daughter’s wall.

“Joey?” she called in a shaky voice.

A slight groan came from inside. Panic overtook her as she gave a strong shove that could have moved a mountain. The full view of the destruction overwhelmed her and she froze in the doorway.

The black rod iron bed had been overturned and imbedded into the wall. Clothes, books, shoes, and purses formed the pile that had been blocking the door. The gilded mirror on the wall over the bed hung crooked, but gave her a clear view into the closet. Underneath clothes, hangers, and pieces of the broken shelves, she saw her daughter’s leg.

She gripped the bed frame firmly with both hands as the ceiling fan flickered and sparked above her head. She yanked, jiggled it a bit, pulling Sheetrock with it as she freed the bed from the wall. Climbing over the mess, she reached for the closet doorframe to steady herself.

She took a deep breath and began removing the pieces of shelves and articles of clothing from the pile. She pulled off several pairs of Lucky jeans, a letter jacket, and a handful of sweatshirts, digging like a dog for his favorite bone until she suddenly stopped as she saw her daughter’s face.

Her heart sank as she dropped to her knees. Tears began to soak the carpet as she lay there doubled over – motionless. She heard her husband’s heavy steps coming down the stairs – slowly – too slowly. The pain. The wave of heartache overtook her as she lay there amid the destruction next to the body of her only daughter.

--Briana Johnson

History of Campus Corner

2007-09-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Campus Corner, as today’s students know it, is a fairly new scene. The original Campus Corner was developed in the early 1900s to serve the needs of the students and faculty of the University of Oklahoma.
Before the university constructed the residential towers south of campus, all student housing was located north of Boyd Street, even Greek housing, and students were not allowed to have cars on campus. Therefore, it was necessary for students to have access to establishments within walking distance.
One of the original establishments was at 575 University and it housed a bookstore, school supplies shop, and restaurant on the ground floor. It was known as the “Tee Pee” because of its dance floor on the third level.
A tragic fire in 1929 destroyed most of what had begun on Campus Corner, but thankfully that led to further expansion later on.
The original building at 575 University became home to Rickner’s Bookstore and the ballroom became known as “The Organ Grinder” for a time until Randy Ratcliffe purchased the bookstore upon Ray Rickner's retirement and continued to serve OU students for books and school supplies.
In 1935, McCall’s, which is currently Harold’s, opened for business. Harold Powell, the owner of Harold’s, began his clothing career at McCall’s while still in high school.
In 1947 the Boomer Theater was constructed. The theater stopped showing movies in the mid 1970s when concerts became its primary use. All that remains now is the marquee.
By the 1950s, Campus Corner and downtown Norman were both booming. OU’s enrollment was increasing, as was then President George Lynn Cross’s campus building project. At that time, Berry Road was considered west Norman.
In the 1970s, malls and strip centers began to spring up farther west of campus near I-35.
The Red Dirt Café, which was a local hot spot for hordes of sailors and bobbysoxers throughout World War II and the anchor of the music scene in the 1980s, has been purchased by Rob Goodner from Tim O’Brien and reopened as the Red Dirt Bar & Grill.
But that’s not the only change that has been made on Campus Corner. Five years ago Campus Corner was a ghost town, but since the Sooners won the National Championship in 2000 the area has slowly began to grow.
Some of the major additions to Campus Corner since that victory include a number of bars, restaurants, and shoe, accessory, and clothing shops.
The top bars include Louie’s Deli & Bar, which occupies the former Campus Corner landmark Town Tavern, Logan’s Sports Bar, which is located in the old Quarterhouse, Al Eschbach’s Hall of Fame Sports Bar & Grill, which opened in what many years ago was a TG&Y variety store, Seven47, which is a trendy restaurant-bar located in an art deco building with a rooftop patio that for many years was University Cleaners, and The Deli, a late-night bar that for years has featured some of the best-received musical groups in the area.
The top restaurants include La Luna Mexican Restaurant, which was formerly the Lovelight Restaurant and, before that, the Copper Kettle, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Lori Treisa’s Ruby’s All Night Diner, Turquoise Café, The Pita Pit, the long standing Hideaway Pizza, New York Pizza & Pasta, and the newest and most interesting sandwich shop, Fat Sandwich.
Clothing venues include Aisle7, Olive J's, Antique Garden, Harold’s, Tulips, Shoetopia, Savvy, and this year’s newest addition Lucca’s.
Rainey Powell, Campus Corner Merchant’s Association President, told Hub Staff Writer Lauren Lagor in a March 28, 2007 article that eleven new merchants would be joining the Campus Corner scene by August.
With the approval of the new swim complex, changes being made on the south side of campus are also affecting Campus Corner.
Over the summer Jimmy John’s moved from its corner location to a smaller venue next door, and a new Starbucks now dominates the corner as the first big name company to invade an area once home to only local establishments.
In the next month, O’Connell’s Irish Pub will be moving into the former home of Al Eschbach’s Hall of Fame Bar and Grill.
Pad Thai, another venue being relocated to make room for the new swim complex, is renovating the space at 119 West Boyd and will be moving into it soon.
Norman’s only hookah bar, Moe’s International Grocery and Hookah Bar, will be staying at it location on the south end of campus one more year before relocating. Owner Moe Davani is unsure where his store will move to, but he told Oklahoma Daily writer Mary Gray in a Sept. 9, 2007 article that he would like to be either near the intersection of Lindsey Street and Classen Boulevard or off Asp Avenue on Campus Corner.
Since the commencement of classes about a month ago, students and football fans alike have been enjoying the new and improved Campus Corner. Hopefully, we will continue to see improvements in the future.

--Briana Johnson

A Rough Birthday Party

2007-09-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse is one of the newest and most popular restaurants in Norman, OK. It opened May 10, 2007 and is located between Lindsey St. and Main St. off of I-35.

It is a branch of the original BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria born in Santa Ana, California that has exploded across the nation in the last ten years. Since the opening in Norman, the company has opened another store in Oklahoma City, Tampa, FL, and McAllen, Texas and five new restaurants opening by Winter 2007.

Granted a party of nine is a bit of a struggle for even the more proficient waiters, letting a table sit for fifteen minutes without drinks is unacceptable and going thirty minutes without taking any orders is outrageous. Another thirty minutes was spent biting nails to subdue hunger until the food arrived. Within ten minutes, two pizzas, three chicken pastas, two sandwiches, a bowl of soup, an order of bruchetta, and a cup of spinach and artichoke dip had been devoured, though it would take another twenty just to get paid out.

On the up side, the food is impeccable and the décor is unique. The first sight is the back wall. It is the bar and an enormous set of shelves lined with every kind of liquor imaginable with an immaculate television right in the middle. Across from the bar, floor to ceiling windows give a beautiful view of I-35 and Main St. At the base of the windows, large plush circular booths accommodate two to six guests, and at the top of the windows, four flat screen televisions are placed evenly to give every table a view of the game.

With nine guests, trying several of the items on the menu was easy, and there is no doubt that everyone could find something that meets his or her tastes. Make sure to try one of their handcrafted beers and the famous pizookie.

—Briana Johnson

Not Impressed

2007-09-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

A magical red umbrella and a reference to ‘Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious!’ does not characterize “The Nanny Diaries” as a “modern-day Mary Poppins.” If you were to make a “modern-day Mary Poppins,” at least make it a decent movie.

“The Nanny Diaries,” directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, was based on the novel The Nanny Diaries, written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.
Though the directors cast of some of today’s well-known stars like Scarlet Johanssen, Paul Giamatti, Laura Linley, Donna Murphy, and Chris Evans, the movie was bland and lacked a primary theme.

The movie begins with Annie Braddock (Johanssen) a college graduate who is unsure what to do with her life now. After an “unexpected” run-in with a wealthy young boy and his mother in Central Park, Annie goes to work for the Upper East Side family as their nanny. The movie was full of countless clichés: saving her future charge from being run over in the park while his mother is nowhere to be found, being forced to live in a shoe box of a room next to the washing machine, catching Mr. X cheating on his wife, and catching the eye of the rich “Harvard Hottie” who lives on the 12th floor of the apartment building. The movie was so unbelievably predictable it was funny.

The one thing the directors got right was the cast. Nicholas Reese Art plays Grayer, the spoiled, lonely, fun-deprived, adorable little boy with the biggest brown eyes you’ve ever seen. He is by far the best actor in the movie and the most developed character. Johanssen’s performance was mediocre. Her emotions seemed forced at times, but who can blame her with the script she had to work with. Laura Linley does a decent job as bitchy self-centered Mrs. X, and Paul Giamatti does a fantastic job playing the workaholic father with maybe two lines total.

The only reason to see this movie would be to compare it to the novel, but be forewarned that it will be an outrageous disappointment. The film was a cheesy cliché that should have never made it past screening.

--Briana Johnson

Best Friends

2007-09-03T08:57:00.001-07:00

Best Friends, by Martha Moody was first published June 4, 2002. It was Moody’s first attempt at a novel, and a bit of a rocky one. Though, Best Friends was named a National Bestseller, the book received countless negative reviews. The story, told in first person through the main character, Claire Mann, chronicles 20 or so years of a friendship between Claire and Sally that birthed during their freshman year of college as roommates. Together they go through deaths, births, new jobs, and a slew of men.

Moody is fairly new to the writing scene. A physician from Dayton, Ohio, her first piece of literature was short story titled “Like the Arrival of Angels” that was a finalist for The Best American Short Stories. She also occasionally writes articles for the Dayton Jewish Observer under the byline Martha Moody Jacobs.

Most readers say Best Friends is missing one key detail: a dramatic ending. After numerous dramatic scenes of death, drug use, and pornography, it leaves readers expecting something tragic to end the twisted tale of these two friends. However, the fact that no such dramatic ending exists enhances the reality of the novel. Rarely in life are there dramatic endings that solve all the problems. People, or in this case characters, must learn to cope with their hardships and go on living.

Moody uses an adequate amount of dialogue that is both clear and concise to portray her characters. However, oftentimes there is no attribution indicating who is saying what. Re-reading the passage may be necessary to get the full grasp of the scene. However, Moody also employs a soliloquy-like prose in which Claire’s thoughts run rampant. These long entries of her thoughts are responsible for much of the plot and character development. This method is adequate based on the style of the novel as a whole, but a bit juvenile as a writing style.

A suggested audience for Best Friends is females between the ages of 18 and 40 because anyone between those ages can relate to the college experience, marriage, divorce, or childbearing. Aspects of the novel such as the pornography and the AIDS epidemic restrict the novel to at least a PG-13 level and limit the audience around 40s due to cultural differences.

Since the publication of Best Friends, Moody has written her second novel titled The Office of Desire that was released Aug. 2, 2007.

--Briana Johnson

My 494 word biography

2007-08-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

I have been called a bookworm. I have been called a snob. I am a slob and I am a perfectionist. I have been called a Jesus freak. I have been told I was going to hell. I have cheated and I have been cheated. I hate relationships yet I am a hopeless romantic. I have been known to get things done fast and I have been known to procrastinate until the last minute. I could not begin to tell you who I am. I can only tell you facts.

Most of my time is divided between sleeping, going to class, working on the OU yearbook, and working at On The Border, but in my free time I like to read; I take the time to write often whether it be fictional or just my thoughts for the day; I like to listen to music, sing and play my guitar; I also love to travel and wish I could do it more; And like most people I enjoy watching movies and television and hanging out with my friends.

Currently, I am reading “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. You may be wondering why I would voluntarily torture myself with this book. One of my goals in life is to write a novel. Not just a novel, but to write novels in addition to a 9-5 job as a copy editor for a publishing company. In my opinion, to write great novels you at least need to have read the classic literature therefore I torture myself with books such as Great Expectations. But the things I read for my own enjoyment are books such as “Best Friends” by Martha Moody, “The Firm” by John Grisham, and “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver.

The most recent movie I have seen is “SuperBad”. I went to see it instead of working on an article that was due the next day. Needless to say I forfeited sleep just to get the article done. The movie, which was written by the star and writer of another hilarious movie, “Knocked Up”, was by far the funniest movie I have ever seen. Though, I am not sure if that is a good thing because it was also the most vulgar movie I have ever seen. My favorite movie is obviously “The Notebook”, but my obsession with vampires makes “Van Helsing” a close second.

My short-term goals include getting a 4.0 this semester, saving up enough money to pay for a trip to Washington, D.C. in October and improving my writing through practice on the OU yearbook.

My long-term goals include traveling around the world, getting a job that I am happy doing, and starting a family. I stress the long in long-term goals, but these are things I think about.

My focus is my future, but I never miss an opportunity to experience life today. Education is important to me and I view experience as the best education you can get.

My Boys...

2006-11-13T21:31:00.001-08:00

These boys are some of my best friends in the world! I had the best weekend with them last weekend! I miss them so much when I'm at college so I cannot wait until Christmas break! A whole month to catch up and spend time with them!

Infatuation

2006-11-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Lately I've developed this infatuation for quotes! I had this extra journal in my enormous box of journals and the other day I just decided to fill the thing with quotes. Quotes about everything: life, love, family, dreams, faith...pretty much just everything! So I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you guys! You may have heard them before but thats okay.

"Someday someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else" - Unknown

"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within" - James Baldwin

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone." - Bill Cosby

"The supply of good women far exceeds that of the men who deserve them." - Robert Graves

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to live the width of it as well" - Diane Ackerman

♥ SISTERS ♥

2006-10-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

I love my sisters! We had so much fun the other night taking these pictures! I love college, but I miss being away from them! We definately get along better now that we don't see each other every day though! It's definitely improved our relationships with each other! :D They're so crazy I just love them!

Four Generations

2006-10-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

My great-grandmother has been in the hospital a lot lately. So, Tuesday my mom drove up to Tulsa from Lufkin to see her. I decided Thursday I would go too because I wanted to see my mom, my grandma and my great-grandma! We had a really good time, and my great-grandma was doing really well! I took these pictures while I was up there because I was afraid I would never get to take anymore pictures of them together...I was right. Today, my mom called and my great-grandma passed away. I was upset at first, but I know that she lived a good life. She was 86 and had practically spent the last year in the hospital. I know she's in a better place. But what was amazing to me was how well she was doing while we were there! It was nice. She recognised us and talked to us a lot. It was so amazing to sit in that hospital room with four generations of women and just talk to each other about everything! Me being the "granny" and knitting the whole time! :D I'll remember that visit for the rest of my life! I love my family so much!

Knitting

2006-10-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the picture, I am knitting! With the help of the internet, I have taught myself to knit. I was totally influenced by Grey's Anatomy. If you're not familiar with the show, Meredith starts knitting to keep herself from dating. I wouldn't say I'm knitting to KEEP myself from dating, but more so in the place of dating. As a result of all that happened this summer, I am not a big fan of serious relationships right now, but being a girl there is still that desire to have someone that cares about you and wants to be with you. So knitting is my solution. It takes my mind off that desire.