Life with Madi

But it's leaving me!  All the leaves have fallen, the weather is turning from chilly to downright cold, and it's set to snow tomorrow.

NO FALL DON'T LEAVE ME MY INSTAGRAM WILL NO LONGER BE BEAUTIFUL

In other news, I saw Looper today and it was 50 shades of AMAZING.  If you don't know what my threshold for amazing is, think about it this way- it's right up there with The Dark Knight Rises.  And THAT'S serious.

I really thought Joseph Gordon Levitt's prosthetics were going to be distracting in the movie, but they actually weren't.  He was still his handsome self, as ever.  I'm always in such awe of actors like JGL- just years ago, he was this little indie movie actor and now he's an enormous star.  Plus he created and runs HitRecord.com, which is the coolest site ever.  I just love his passion for everything.



In other, OTHER news, I did the perfect pen bun today.  That's when you stick a pen in your hair.  Ah, the life of a writer.

Am I the only one thinking of Bullitt when I see this?

Gotta love a good car chase with a sexy man behind the wheel.

Happy Valentine's day!
















And a little parting advice from Ernest Hemingway....


Happy Valentine's day, all <3

Because I can't stop watching it.


This looks so cute, and I'm in love with both Emily Blunt and Jason Segel.

PERF. Can't wait.

Also, check out my new vlog by clicking on the link in the upper right!

Until later,
Cooper

Let me tell you something- on a college campus, couples spring up like WEEDS within the first few weeks.  So you can see just why I'm in that teenage-girl state of mind right now- reading romantic fiction and watching wonderful, sappy movies.

It's love, and it's grand, folks!  Whenever I'm in this sort of mood I always watch the best romantic movies- and sure, I'll break out The Notebook from time to time, but I like the ones with those understated moments of romance...the ones with other, bigger plot lines, but adorable love stories hidden in the folds of the movie.  Those love stories, in my opinion, are so much more lovely.

Here are some of my favorite clips from some great movies proving my point.

Stranger Than Fiction: Flours

Maggie Gyllenhall is a baker, and Will Ferrel brings her flours.  FLOURS.  This is so darn sweet, and the random inputtings of 'I want you' are hilarious.


Big Fish: Circus Scene



This has got to be one of the most beautiful moments in film history.  I love Ewen's face throughout this whole scene; it's longing and mystification and all that great stuff.  And the concept of time, how it stops but then starts up again, super fast, is kind of brilliant.   I just love how he's stepping around things, pushing popcorn out of the way, ducking through a hoop....so lovely.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides: 'She has a name'



I'm going to be honest with you, I've never much been a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  However, I love mermaids and adventures and all that sort of thing, so I went to see the fourth one and could not help but SWOON at this side romance.  It's incredibly sweet.

Amelie: Meeting Nino


I could not make a list like this and leave out Amelie and Nino.  Obviously they're kindred spirits.

Let me know what you like to watch when you're in a lovey-dovey mood!  I'm curious.

Until tomorrow,
Cooper

I found this video on Tumblr (where I always seem to find my videos) and it chronicles a ton of movies made or released in 2010 and shows clips of them montaged together, set to music.

Wow, that was a horrible description.  Just watch the video and be thankful that people are creative enough to make these little things called feature films.

Well, I went ahead and took the plunge, and I applied to be a web reporter for the university magazine here.  I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen- maybe a request for me to turn in my application from the editor, maybe no response back for a while.

But the editor emailed me, asking for an interview! So I did, and I got the job.

You may be thinking 'well done', or maybe 'jolly good' (I don't know where you live), and believe me, I was at first, too!

And then I went to the all-staff meeting and got so damn stressed.  It seems like everyone already knows what they're doing and is incredibly seasoned at it, too.  It's not terribly different from when I was on yearbook, except for the amount of publications you make and the frequency of deadlines is a little bit higher, and yet I'm still stressed out the max.

I keep telling myself that this is exactly what I felt like when I was a lowly sophomore on the yearbook staff, my first year as a writer.  I had no clue what was going on and I didn't always like being on the staff.  But at least there were others that were just as clueless as I was!  Here, it's only me and two other girls.  Crazy.

I just don't fit in with the staff yet and I don't know the ropes of the whole operation, and that terrifies me.  I'm so used to running in and out of the yearbook room when I was in high school and having a solid place where I belong on the campus, and now I feel that I've tried way too hard to get that  back.

I'm probably overreacting, like always, and it will most likely get easier for me as time goes on.  However, for now, it's terrifying, and I'm terrified, and I keep chanting inspirational phrases in my head like a mantra.

On a brighter note, I'm going to go see My Idiot Brother tomorrow with some new friends of mine.  I'm excited!  Here's the trailer, for those of you that aren't familiar with the movie:


I'll update you on the movie after I've seen it, but my sister already told me I'd like it, and I think I trust her judgement.

Enjoy labor day weekend,
Cooper

It's my second day at CSU and so far things are bittersweet.

Let's start with the bitter (it's always best to end with the sweet):

1. I miss my southern hospitality!  People aren't exactly rude here, but they're content in their ways.  I guess if someone opens the door for someone else and they don't say thank you, it's not a big deal because it's just...expected?  I don't know what I'm saying.  Is it too much to ask for a simple 'thank you'?!

2.  Being far away from family.  I could not get to sleep last night because I was going back and forth in my mind about being so far away for so long.  It was awful!  I think it was just me being me, though- over-thinking something to the point that it makes me upset.  I need to get used to this enormous adjustment but it's going to be really hard at this point.  I've realized that, in entering adulthood, instead of taking baby steps I've taken three gigantic hops.  This could end well or very badly.  I'm hoping for well.

3.  I obviously don't know how to take care of myself very well when I'm not at home.  I took a shower last night and woke up this morning with my hair greasy and disgusting- I left conditioner in my hair.  GROSS. There are also still boxes and piles of clothes shoved into my closet that I desperately need to unpack.  I'm hoping all of this stuff is just going to take time- time to get adjusted, time to get used to things, time to get used to being far away.  BUT HOW LONG AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT?

And now the sweet:

1.  My dorm is adorable.  I'll post pictures later, but with my family's help and my inspiration, Secrets of a Stylist, the place turned out awesome.  It's so country vintage (hahaha).

2.  The roommate- not anything like Leighton Meester in The Roommate (whew).  Much less creepy and super friendly- in fact, we're a lot alike in a lot of ways.  Luckily we like the same music and the same decor and she's not a partier or anything like that.  It's going to be nice.

3.  This campus is gorgeous.  I got lost today (it's so big- sort of a bitter but sort of a sweet, too) and just walking around aimlessly I realized how beautiful and green it is.  I love it!

4. I've got Netflix on my computer and there's always Hulu.com, so whenever I want to watch my favorite shows to keep me company, I can.  There's nothing like a good Pushing Daisies marathon to keep the pangs of homesickness at bay.

Those are my first impressions so far.  This college experience has been a bumpy one, but I'm expecting to get stronger and to adapt more to Fort Collins (and especially to the distance, yikes).  I mean, it's only been my first two days!

Until later,
Cooper

I haven't seen 13 Going on 30 in FOREVER, so I watched it tonight.  Of course, it was adorable, as always, but I just cannot get over how cute Mark Ruffalo looked in it.

Remember when I talked about how I was reading Water for Elephants here?  Well, it soon became one of my absolute favorite books.  I convinced my sister to read it and so now that the movie is out, my sister, my mom and I all went to the Colleyville Cinema Grill to see it.  We were so excited that we arrived an hour early, and we were first in line for the movie theater.  That's dedication, folks.

My frustration began with me believing that Harry Potter came out today.  WRONG-O.  I had to go to a Redbox and a Family Video just to figure that out. Bleh.

Actually, my frustration just stems from that.  Also, I'll be stuck on a bus tomorrow for five hours with a few more people than I'd like to be....but I just need to remember to ignore the ones that make me feel anything less than the happiest version of myself.  Mantra.  Chant it, Cooper.  After all, tomorrow is supposed to be a fun day!  The publications department is going to this journalism conference in Austin, and it'll be my 3rd year going.  It's so great- not only do I learn butt loads of journalism techniques from some of the best in the biz, but I get to explore Austin.  So fun!

I wonder if Hailee Steinfeld ever gets this frustrated.  Yes, she is my Day 17- the person I would trade lives with for a day.