Wuthering Heights has been controversial from its very beginning. It is two parts romance, six parts mental dysfunction, one part ghost story, and engaging from beginning to end in any adaptation. People love it because the characters are batshit crazy and extreme in ways most of us never even dream of being, yet they confront very common issues.
Heathcliff : Everyone thinks they are above me. I'll show them.
Catherine : I love the dark brooding handsome bad boy, but I love the sensitive, sweet guy who can give me a better future too.
Edgar : I like this girl, but damn, she is crazy!
Isabella : Heathcliff is so attractive and dark. I bet I could change him. He'd never hurt me. He loves me. Right?
Wuthering Heights also does something pretty unique that internet fandoms do all the time. It continues on and shows you the children of the pairings you know and love and how they interact beyond the watchful eyes of their parents. Where the first half of Wuthering Heights is damaging and harsh, passionate and brutal, the second half offers redemption. Little Catherine is sheltered and naive, but because of her father's love she is never afraid of loving after she's been hurt. Hareton is raised as a savage but his independence from being neglected allows him to think for himself and resist when he thinks something is wrong. Linton, being the product of a one-sided love and an over protective mother never learns to be anything but spoiled and selfish, and in being selfish he brings everyone together and promptly dies. Thank goodness, because he was an annoying little monster. But, this rant has gone on far too long. On to fangirling!
When I really enjoy a story or a set of characters, I usually make things and then hide them away so nobody will ever see my secret shame. I have recently been informed that this is silly and I should share the things I make, even if I don't like what I make because my passion could inspire someone else to get into the things I like.
My first creations are always fashion.
I would have made the boys too, but I only use Modcloth clothes, and they don't have a great selection for men.
Rome is one of those major cities that everyone fantasizes about seeing at least once in their lives. It's been glorified in our imaginations by movies as old and glamorous as Roman Holiday and as new and quirky as The Lizzie McGuire Movie. We fantasize about seeing the Coliseum and imagining its former splendor and tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain and having some fantastical wish come true. But what would I do in Rome if I had the chance to go?
1) The Vatican City
The Vatican is the world's smallest country, fitting snugly within the city limits of Rome. Even before Christianity, it was considered a sacred place. It's name is derived from a Latin word meaning seer or prophesy, making it a hub of activity. Once chosen as the center of the Christian world, it attracted artists who painted, sculpted, and built it up to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
2)The Pantheon
One of the best preserved Roman buildings in existence, the Pantheon is a temple built in honor of all gods. That's what "Pantheon" literally translates to. The Oculus at the top is a topic of debate. Some people say it's main function is light, some say it was seen as a link to the gods themselves, and others say it was used as a sun dial. In any case, it's something I would love to see for myself.
3)The Roman Forum
This is by far my favorite and the one I would be the most excited to see. It was the first inhabited part of Rome and one of the most active areas once all of Rome was built. Due to debris build up over the years, the forum is now a full 25 feet lower than the street level of Rome. The best part of all this is that the public is allowed in! One day I hope to walk where the Romans walked and see what they built.
June 15th
The Best Part of Travel
Solveig and Stevie wanted to go see a castle, and Tammy and I weren't feeling it, so the group split two ways for the day. They saw the castle (which they assured me was gorgeous) and Tammy and I decided to got explore Old Town on our own. As is usually the way with travel, things did not go as we had planned.We got off the train in the morning and set out for Old Town, using the lions along the street to guide our way. What we didn't realize was that, while the lions could have guided us to our destination, we were heading in the opposite direction of the right way. When the street stopped looking familiar, we found a themed spa with a lush garden in front. We wandered down the garden path until we found a bench. We rested and laid out our plan for getting back to where we thought we wanted to be. Well rested and ready to find our way, we proceeded to get even more lost. We happened across a shop that had gorgeous masks and silk and lace in the window, so we went inside. This turned out to be a sneaky sex shop. As mature ladies, the obvious course of action was to giggle our way through the shop. The shopkeepers thought we were funny and watched as we figured out what the shop really was. Not far from there, we found a hill that rose suddenly in the middle of the street with a park on top We stopped there a while and watched as some people barbecued, some people walked dogs, and a large statue of a naked man sat there, judging us for getting lost. We were starting to get hungry. We set out for food and happened upon a cute (touristy) cafe where we got wine and cake because on vacation we eat what we want! .
This was the best cake ever.
Then we decided to move to the tables outside to enjoy the weather. I (in Solveig's jacket that she got a few days before that she hadn't even worn yet) stole Tammy's hipster glasses so I could be Hipster Ariel
And then Tammy took them back.
We left and suddenly found what appeared to be a major sporting event.
Somehow, we found our way back to Solveig's and passed out for the night.
June 16th
CHIBORI!
Today was the much anticipated day that we got to go to the fun park! I was so excited. You know how everyone is always saying that clowns are scary? All lies. There was a hilarious clown on a unicycle telling jokes as we got there. It was raining, but damn it, we were having fun at that fun park whether we liked it or not! We started on a roller coaster for little kids called The Lady Bug, which was a lot scarier than I expected.
Stevie, Solveig, and I getting psyched for the ride!
We rode lots of rides. Some spun us. Some bounced us. One shook us up and smashed us into each other. We went through the fun house.We even went on a haunted house roller coaster that was genuinely scary.
That night we went out to a club called Sommar to meet up with Lisa's friends. We met Oscar and Erik and we hung out with Axel again. After the people we went with left (Solveig and Stevie at 11-ish because Stevie wasn't well and Lisa and Trevor were tired at 12-ish) we kept saying we were going to stay just one more song, and then a better one would come on. Lisa left us in the capable hands of her friends, and when we wound up still out at 4 a.m. , Oscar just let us sleep at his place instead of us trying to find our way back to Solveig's.
June 17th
Waking up in Stockholm
We got up at noon- ish and Oscar brought us to the train and told us how to get to Lisa's. We stopped by Lisa's, grabbed our stuff, and then had a cozy day at Solveig's house. I finally took my heels off and saw that in dancing with them on all night, blood had pooled up under my toenails. It was SO painful, so the day of rest and games of Bullshit were a perfect fit.
June 18th
The Vasa/Skansen Debacle
Solvieg had work on this day, so we went vintage shopping in the morning and then we parted ways. Tammy and I wanted to see Skansen and Stevie wanted to see The Vasa, so we split up saying we would meet at Skansen after we were done. Well, when we arrived Skansen was closed. Stevie arrived at he Vasa with only half an hour to spare. We thought we would give her some time to explore, not knowing she was thinking the same thing. It was several hours until we met up, and when we found out that we had all spent the day just sort of waiting, we decided to go to the mall.
Later on in the night, Lisa and Trevor wanted to meet up for a movie. They took us to an awesome candy store, which unfortunately did not take cards without a chip in them. Then we saw Snow White and the Huntsman, which Trevor and I agreed was just Joan of Arc without the character development.
June 19th
The Summer House
Stevie left at early o'clock in the morning for America. She had been on a study abroad even before Sweden, so I'm sure she was quite ready to be back in her own bed. Solveig got up to do things before we got up, and wound up getting to the train a few hours before we did. We went to catch up with her so we could all take the same bus to Max's family's house in the woods. We made it, got to the little town, and got some stuff for the barbecue. We went to a second bus stop to wait before then long walk to the house.
Also, Tammy and I got pizza in the town. So yummy.
That night we barbecued, went swimming at the lake (where there was a stand off about who should jump in first.Max lost. Tammy and Lisa didn't go in at all.) and we played charades and bullshit. Solveig and I dominated everyone else at charades and Trevor was going to come out to hang out, but it was too late.
June 20th
To ze Subway!
Back at Solveig's this day. Solveig and I wanted to go out and explore and Tammy wanted more sleeps, so off we went! We hit up some more thrift shops, but I didn't find anything I wanted. We went through Old Town again and then it got cold so we decided to tour the coolest subway stations.
Then we went to the store to gather supplies and Max came over for dinner and another billion games of bullshit. We stayed up much too late.
June 21st
Fleeing the Country
We got up way too early after being up far too late. Groggy as hell, Max and Solveig kindly took us to the station where we caught Swebus back to the airport. We waited at the gate playing the puzzle game again until our flight arrived. Once we got to Germany, we realized how nice long layovers are. We were rushing from the moment we hit the ground, until we were stuck standing in the longest lines full of the crankiest people. It was like Disneyland, but with no upside. We stood in line until we got on the plane, where we were seated in the middle. It was long and uncomfortable and I was so happy when it was time to land. Unfortunately, the pilot apparently hadn't been paying very close attention and we weren't at the right altitude. We had to circle around way too many times to remember and it made me feel ill and cranky. Then we landed and had to go through security. I learned that I quite easily could (should) have brought alcohol back into the country, because apparently being small, white, and female, I was incapable of sneaking anything in to the country. They didn't even try to look through my bag. Then we made our way home where I promptly passed out.
