I Admit It, I'm a Twihard!

Yes, I'm obsessed with Twilight. How did this happen? I have NO idea!!

How It All Started

I can't totally remember how it all started. I think it was a month and a half ago when I was emailing/texting with my cousin Donna about me driving up to LA to visit. I think she asked what I was doing that night before I said nothing, watching Twilight on DVD. OMG .. suddenly intervention stepped in!

She insisted.. no TOTALLY insisted I not watch the movie but send it right back to Blockbuster and then read the books instead. I though oh, how silly. I can just watch the movie, and then read the books later right? NO. She was soo soo dead set on me not watching the movie before reading the book that I finally agreed and put the DVD back into its envelope, sealed it up, and dropped it in the mailbox. The next time I saw her she handed me a big bag of the four books in the series. HOLY MOLY they were big! Each book was 2 or 3 inches thick! I was really taken back. I'm a casual airport reader. I read some fiction, some business books, mostly magazines. The last time I sat down with a book that size was when I read War & Peace in high school! Oh wait, I never really read it and copied a paper off someone else! Sorry Dad! I knew you knew! Who cares now? I have two college degrees! See kids, cheating pays off! TOTALLY KIDDING!

Anyways, Donna gave me the books and I kind of forgot about them for a bit. Honestly I get so many magazines (Runner's World, Running Times, Time, Shape, Self, Pharma Executive, Medical Marketing & Media, dental magazines.. wow I'm a party!) and usually read those at the beach and I really don't read books as often. Mostly when I travel. So she asked a few times and I felt kind of bad saying no, I hadn't started then yet. Then, when I was packing for my trip to Paris to visit my mom I put the first book Twilight in my bag, added some magazines, and then added another book my friend Jenna gave me just in case Twilight wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I mean come on, vampires? Teen romance? *eye roll*

But I was wrong.. so wrong!! :o|

The Flight to Paris

I was flying from Phoenix to Charlotte and Charlotte to Paris. On the PHX - CLT I started to read Twilight about halfway through the flight. I never put it down! Seriously! I have major airplane ADHD too. I was lost in the story almost immediately. Its been years.. many years since I was in high school, but reading Bella's first encounter with Edward, and then all the times after that hoping he'd be in class, hoping she'd see him in the cafeteria, looking for his car in the parking lot.. oh wow, it brought back the memories. Both in high school and college I pined away after a guy, and 10-15 years later I'd almost forgot about it. But reading this book and hearing Bella's thoughts and it striking so clearly with my own personal memories.. well I was a goner! I was swooning over Edward myself before I was halfway through the book.

Not to say as you get older things get less exciting, but honestly I think they move faster. You don't spend months exchanging looks, glancing and looking away, going to school, hoping, waiting, etc the way you do when you're younger. We grow up, become more bold, get more confidence, and usually make some type of move if we're interested. But deep down inside all of us have to remember back when we were younger, unsure, shy... and totally enamored with someone we didn't know would ever talk to us, much less think would ever fall in love with us! (I least I hope everyone feels that way and *I* wasn't the only starry eyed 15 year old dreamer!)

So I read all the way to Charlotte, got on the flight to Paris, and read all the way to Paris. I then arrived in Paris at 630am the next day and attempted to keep going the next day without a blink of sleep. I was rudely awakened! Or should I say instantly sedated! Due to reading Twilight the whole way and not sleeping on the way to Paris I had horrible jet lag for 4 days in Paris! I was only there for 7 days! It was horrible!

So upon arriving in Paris I was then occupied with being on vacation, sightseeing, and catching up with family. But during the slow times, I thought about Twilight, and was dying to continue reading. Unfortunately I didn't bring the next book with me! So ... each time we passed a bookstore in Paris I asked if they had books in English. NO! :o( At one point we walked by a big bookstore and I saw the next book New Moon in French and honestly almost bought it. Um, my French is really sub par. It would have taken me weeks to read in French and translate/understand in my head.

Finally - I went home, and was able to start reading again. Halfway through reading New Moon I decided I really wanted to watch Twilight the movie to bring more vividness to what I'd pictured reading the book.

The Movie

So I watched the movie.

*crickets*

*crickets*

*crickets*

Wow, I was so disappointed. :o( I thought the movie was terrible. The acting wasn't that great (Kristen seemed so awkward, I didn't feel the chemistry), the special effects were horrendous (Edward running and jumping from one tree to another was on the King Kong movie level of prehistoric), and the meat of what makes you love Twilight and the love story it portrays and the appeal Edward draws was totally missed in the movie! In the book I felt the way Bella felt (I think) and felt anticipation, excitement, apprehension. In the movie.. I just watched an awkward girl and a guy with too much lipstick act oddly around each other and then suddenly kiss. :o( boo. Fail.

The Next Three Books

I was really disappointed by the movie and just wanted to go back to the books. I went back into reading the second book, but felt rushed just to get to the third. No spoilers I promise - but in the second book things weren't as I wanted, but I knew for there to be a third and fourth book they had to get there. So I just wanted to rush through and get to the next book!

So I finally finished the second book, then the third, and finally the fourth. I took to bringing the books to work with me and reading them at lunch. I swear the universe was against me the weeks that I suddenly would have lunch meetings 3 out of 5 days in the week. Usually I'm excited for those. Free food! Good food too! But at that point I saw the free lunch and some meeting as just time wasted that I could be using reading Twilight! YES! I was obsessed!

Life After Twilight

So finally a week ago I finished the last book Breaking Dawn. :o) Yay! I was happy with the way the series ended, but was sad that the series had ended. It was kind of like watching the series finale of Friends. I was happy how it worked out, but sad to let go.

I had heard mid-4 books that there was a 5th "book" in the works that had been abandoned and I could read that. It was an unfinished manuscript that had leaked showing the story from Edwards perspective. Oooh.. Edward.... sigh..

I was a little happier to hear there was more to come, but again, still sad to leave this fantasy world. Since finishing Twilight I hate to admit I think about the stories and books more than I'd like to admit. It still hits me as strange that a teenage vampire love story could appeal to me so much, but in a way I like that it has. I can't even think of the last story, show, movie, whatever that I have been so into. The books are great, its a great story and world, and I'm sooo happy that my cousin talked me into reading the books.

It strikes me as odd when I talk about Twilight and about half of the people I know suddenly stop and touch their heart and say, wow, its about as good as Harry Potter. Really? I've seen the first Harry Potter movie but that's it. I can't imagine the big appeal behind the books. I think with Twilight everyone can relate to their first love, or their first infatuation. What is it that is so great about Harry Potter?? I'm on the fence now about starting that series.. at least that one has so many books it will keep me entertained until 2010! But oh no! Who will read the stacks of Pharma Executive I have piling up?! haha.

Anyways, I love Twilight. Too much. For anyone who hasn't read Twilight, I wish they would.

Thank you Donna ... you've introduced me to a new addiction! Maybe I can finally get over marathon running now! haha jk.