Going Bovine, sans reading

Ok, the fact that I finished The Sweet Far Thing today (complete with readers' guide, I love reading Libba Bray's answers!) and that Vita's blog post about Going Bovine was the last one I'd read upon completion was just TOO much of a coincidence to ignore. The ever-awesome Readers' Guide mentioned GB, and just from that brief description and Vita's blog I know I must get my hands on ASAP.

Key phrases leading me to this conclusion:
"bizarre... dark comedy... mad cow disease... road trip... unique... loved it... Gonzo..."? (possible Muppet reference? :D)

You had me at "bizarre".

MUST. READ. THIS. BOOK. *brainspazz*

Anywho, thought you guys should know that I'm officially a HACKER IN TRAINING!!! Moohaha. I may have to start typing my posts in LEET and calling you N00BS!

Nah.
Not really.

But I AM really learning computer programming in math class. I can haz a happy because:

1. It's very much non-math related. (i.e EASY)
2. I WANT to be able to hack teh stuffs. ;)
3. The "extra credit" is also insanely easy because my dad taught me some of the basics when I was like 8. And some HTML too. Whatever. I'm still REALLY happy that this is easy non-math, and that we're going to do this for the next 4 weeks.

(Urgh, my hands are freezing. This is a sign of poor circulation or something, right? It's *supposed* to be fall, but in 3 days it went from humid and cloudy to freezing and cloudy. Alright, not exactly freezing, but freezing to me. It's 67 degrees INSIDE my house. Meaning it's probably colder outside... *checks MSN* Well no wonder. FIFTY-SEVEN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!!!! Daaaaanggg. I *like* the cold, really I do. But only when that coldness is accompanied by holidays and hot chocolate and postcard snow. THIS is not normal. I love Indian summers, colored leaves in November, and gradually increasing amounts of snow starting in December. I'm used to having to deal with this last stage until well into April, but I don't like it... hmpf.)

Oh, that's my question; how's the weather where you are? Do you wish it was different or are you not a whiny baby like me?

Going Bovine, sans spoilers

Going Bovine.

AHHHH.

Okay, I'm forcing myself to keep my mouth shut on this book. If either of you are planning to read it (which I think you should), don't let anybody spoil it for you. I know it's not as widely anticipated as, say, Harry Potter and there are far less chances for you to GET spoiled, but I think the book loses a lot of its impact if you know what's going to happen. Actually, you may be able to guess what is going to happen as soon as you read the first page - I don't know. I couldn't. Sure, I had some ideas, but it could have gone in any direction. In fact, I won't even tell you if any of my non-defined ideas were correct or not. Because I am that mysterious. *

You might not like this book. You may find it over-the-top, overly complicated, or just bizarre. It's not for everybody; of course, no one is going to like everything, but I think that Going Bovine is more... difficult to digest for those of us who like our books linear and completely logical.

That said, I loved it.
Like, seriously. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. However, the consolation prize came in the form of something even better. It's not even the plot that really makes me love Going Bovine; it's the themes and ideas and characters that linger on every page. Don't get me wrong, the plot is one of the most unique things I've ever read - and I mean that in a good way. But... meh. I know everybody says this, but you really do have to read it to get it, you know?

Yes or no?
Porcupine.

* and/or obsessive.

NINJAS PWN

Just wanted to note that I'm not dead. I could be soon (slight exaggeration), but at the moment I'm just suffering from scratchy throat, plugged nose and tiny fever. As it turns out, camp is not a good place to recover from a cold. I blame Rebecca.

Camp was still awesome regardless of my state of health. We made friends (hello JENSEN [yes, I'm serious, I met a guy named Jensen]), did stuff, ninja-ed to our hearts' content, and danced. There was a lot of dancing.

Hopefully, I'll have recovered soon, until then, I trust you are both feeling better than me and wish you to remain that way.

-Ninja out!

Let's all ride the FAIL BOAT!

For a fail boat ride,
I have earned. Lack of keyboard
Usage causes FAIL!

-- A haiku dedicated to my failyness.

Team Edward vs. Jacob: Ummm... I'm honestly going to go with Jasper, because he is OBVIOUSLY TEH SMEXIEST. **Sexy sexy face! I'm all about the looks ;)**

Alex: So true. My "sad book" of choice is The Outsiders. Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold... *sniff*

Optional question: Yes or no?

eh, eh, eh!

I'm about to order a "won't you be in nerdfighterlike with me?" t-shirt.
Excuse me for a second:
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Ahem, sorry. :*)

In other news, I got "Going Bovine" by Libba Bray and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins in the mail today (I ordered them off Amazon; they didn't just magically appear, sadly). I'm only on page 23 of "Going Bovine," but so far it is yummish. Adoration is due to Libba Bray. I promise I'll read "The Hunger Games;" however, I'm such a big fan of Libba that anything she writes takes priority over most things, my apologies.

Jacob or Edward?
Easiest answer: NEITHER. I hate the both.
However, if I HAD to choose, I'd go with the slightly less abusive/creepy, which is Jacob. I'm sorry, but Jacob isn't a good boyfriend. He fawns over/kisses Bella even when she makes it (relatively) clear that she is Team Edward (Team Switzerland = a lie. Leave the good people of Switzerland alone, geeze). He is nearly as overprotective as Edward and is generally an irritating guy.
Lol, he does remind me of a typical clingy, overdramatic teenage boy, though. Somebody I know is in a similar (albeit less extreme) scenario and to be honest, it annoys me so much. He's the worst part, but her reaction is so irritating too... asfgdhsl. SLAP HIM AND BE DONE WITH IT, thanks. *
He wraps this up nicely by imprinting on a baby. Sorry, Stephenie Meyer, but that IS creepy, no matter what you say.
On the other hand, there is Edward.
I'm not even going to get started on him, because if I do, I'll never finish. Suffice to say, I HATE HIM.

Cupcakes or muffins?
Mm, muffins. Either chocolate chip or lemon poppy-seed; both are delicious. <3

Maybe I just have books on the brain, but... favorite author?

* This is a somewhat unfair reaction... seriously, though. *frustration*

Alex's Fool Proof Remedy for Bad Days

I'm writing this on a Wednesday. The reason being that ever since we started this blog, Wednesdays have seemed a little more depressing to me. If someone asks me how I am on a Wednesday, I say I'm sad because there's no blog on Wednesday. They usually don't understand what I'm alluding to.

I got the idea for this blog from Kayley of the fiveawesomegirls.

It's nearing the end of September which means that school has started and we're settled into a new routine which we will keep for the months ahead. The new, excitingness of school has worn off somewhat, and now it's just kind of there, making you wake up early and trek through halls filled with oodles of people who are just as tired as you. I'm completely theorizing here, seeing as I don't actually go to school, but that's a minor detail. I feel your pain.

"One of those days" is becoming a common phrase. Crumminess seems to be all around. It is with that in mind that I present to you...

Alex's Fool-Proof Remedy for Days You Wish Would End Already

When I'm feeling shitty I have two options:

1. I can go to my bed, hide under the covers and wallow in it. or
2. I can grab my laptop and try to cheer up.

I'll be honest, sometimes I don't even bother thinking about this choice, I just sink into the default of option 1. However, after I've cried about it, I want to forget about it and move on so that brings me to option 2. There are also times when I skip over the wallowing and have a laugh. Either way, I end up at option 2.

Once you've gotten to your computer, you'll want to head straight over to YouTube.

I'm about to give you the gift of Jensen Ackles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgd30bjQmes&NR=1

I hope you enjoyed it. I've seen that guy with my own EYES. He was 20 feet away from me. He is made of awesome. If you're reading this, Jensen, don't get a fat head, and my sister Caitlyn says hi.

Once you have Eye of the Tiger stuck in your head, go to the vlogbrothers. You can watch anything really but I kinda like these two for being cheered up in general:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t7E4amWDqI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u3midgppbw

If you're just angry at the world, Hank can sympathathize:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azp91hVsQHY

If someone insulted you and that's part of why you feel shitty, this should do the trick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1M5VHF3no

These aren't my absolute favourite vlogbrothers videos (well maybe the insults one and of course, The Anglerfish) but I like to watch them when I'm in the depths of despair.

Then I'll read something funny or happy. Maybe The Mortal Instruments (any part with Jace. Or Simon. Or Magnus.), or Harry Potter, or Paper Towns.

If all else fails, read something sad, and just cry. Like that City of Glass scene with Clary and Jace near the final battle (if you've read the books you KNOW what I'm taking about). Or maybe Looking for Alaska, After. Or the part in Deathly Hallows where Harry's walking to the forest.

The world is not short of sad book scenes. Find one. Read it. Be sad about something that's not your life.

After that just watch Gilmore Girls.

It's an extensive process, but if you don't feel a little bit better at the end of it, you should seek therapy.

*notes: a few optional procedures that I personally enjoy*

-If you're angry sometimes it's good to destroy stuff. Grab a unicorn piñata and beat the crap out of it.

-Put on Scream (from HSM3) and sing along to Zac Efron while stomping around your house.

-Run. Preferably outside.

-Write a blog about the crap that is your day.

Dreams 'n Things

I feel like a bowl of soup. Italian wedding, plz. Yum. Itty bitty meatballs FTW. ALSO: The Sweet Far Thing is so jokes. (I know I'm behind on the whole reading thing, but still. Jokesness.

Off topic much?

Ah well. Questions!

Vita: *shudder* Ok, I used to hate the Wicked Witch of the West, so I had this dream that everything was spinning, in black and white, and the Witch would steal me through the window and take me to the freako anti-Oz, with the monkeys. What freaked me out more though was the spinning. Honestly, it felt like real spinning. I had this about twice a year until I was 8 or so.

Alex: Hmmm, I'd like to say less than this, but right now I'm at around a 3.5.

Not that I would ever do anything illegal or anything just to "fit in", but I'm not currently at one of my social butterfly peaks. How I interact with people depends almost solely on my mood, i I'm feeling crappy don't expect any pleasant chatter, I'm complain and we'll both end up wanting to punch each other. I DO enjoy talking to people, I don't particularly like initiating conversations, at least with people I probably have nothing in common with. I've tried that on multiple occasions, and they stare at me. It's awkward. I'd like to blame them for being so small-minded, like "Don't associate with this person, they are incorrectly insane for not bringing up homecoming/whateverthehell within the first 5 seconds." I need to work on my "general smalltalking" skillz. :/

When I'm around people I know, or talking about something I'm informed and interested about, yeah, I'll talk any one's ear off. It just depends.

My question: Cupcakes or muffins? What kind? (Can you tell I'm hungry?)

*is in a hurry*

If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, it'd be _______
Mrrrr, I'd have to say... uh... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, for rereadability purposes. According to the forces that be (Spell-Check), rereadability is not a word. I don't care. I'm going to use it anyway. Because I'm worth it.
It's 1/2 of my 2rd favorite book ever (a title which is disputable because I have about 15 books all jockeying for a 2nd place position; so far, the closest it's come to is a tie between The Book Thief, Deathly Hallows, and The Bell Jar, all of which are shadowed only by To Kill a Mockingbird which is, without a doubt, the best book ever written) but the reason I'd probably have to chose it over the others is because no matter how many times I read it, it still has a great effect on my emotions and overall brain area. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me want to snog * the book jacket from head to toe, and it makes me want to bury the whole thing in the ground and never look at it again. ** Most importantly, it embodies the very heart and soul of what is probably the most brilliant series of books in the whole entire plexiverse *** and I think I would cry the rest of my life away if I had to be parted from it forever.
'Course, I'd still be pissed as hell that I'd only get to read one book... but there you go.

How peer-pressure-able are you?
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being "I don't give a shit what people think of me" and 5 being a "EHMAGAH PEOPLE *hides*") I'd probably be a 3. Right in the middle. I don't know, make of that what you will, psychoanalyze that away if you so wish. I'd be lying if I said that I don't care what people think of me. I do care; I think it takes a genuinely unique person to be able to go about their daily life with no regard to other people's opinions of them. Sometimes I get really self-concious, but it's not to the point where it cripples my ability to interact with people. I don't know if this is really on-topic, but a fair amount of people who don't know me well think I'm shy, but I don't think I am. I think being shy implies that you're somewhat scared of talking in public or whatever. I don't mind public speaking or participating in class (I often do both) but I do tend to listen rather than start talking non-stop. I mean, it really depends on where I am. There are times when it's nearly impossible to shut me up.
I don't think I'm too easily influenced. Well, maybe into some small things... I'm sort of "go with the flow" on a lot of subjects. If it's something I feel really strongly about, though, you may literally knock yourself out trying to persuade me otherwise. I've never been forced into doing anything horrible.

Did you ever have a recurring nightmare/bad dream as a child? If so, what was it?

* I haz teh British?
** this would never happen because my resolve would weaken and/or collapse after approximately 32 seconds. Just so you know.
*** apparently this IS a word; I'm not sure what it means, but it sounds big. My apologies if it's secretly some dreadfully offensive term.

Translink Sucks

Tomorrow I am going to Vancouver. I am meeting up with (hopefully) a huge group of people [knock on wood] to tell our politicians we need immediate action on climate change. I'm taking the bus/sky train. I'm not happy with Translink (as you've learned from the subject).

We used to have a bus going from where I live, directly into Vancouver. I liked this bus. It had the comfy seats and it was easy to travel on. Get on, read a book for 50 minutes, get off in downtown Vancouver.

As you've probably heard, Vancouver is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics. So we've got this new skytrain going from the airport to downtown Vancouver. My bus route was cancelled.

Now you have to take the bus to this skytrain station and then transfer onto the Canada Line and I am not happy about this. Yes, it's going more frequently, and yes, in other circumstances I like the skytrain, but this is going to be more hassle-y. Now I have to take a transfer, and reflecting on this it sounds kind of selfish that I don't want to get off a bus and go up an escalator to board a train, but still, I get to be petulant about some things and this is one of them.

When I was in Toronto this summer, I went on the subway for the first time. The subway is okay, but the skytrain is way cleaner and I like to be able to see where I'm going. I found the subway extremely disorienting. You go underground and go in one direction, then a go deeper underground to go perpendicularly and then you come up to ground level and it feels like you should be in the same place but you're not. What I'm saying that it's weird to go underground in one place and come up in another. Especially when you don't know where you are in relation to where you were. I like to know where I am. I have a good sense of direction and I'm good with maps, and it really bothers me when I don't know where I am.

I like the skytrain. Apart from the fear that my limbs will get caught in the door or we'll crash into another train, it's a pretty ace way to travel. With all this consideration, I'm still not happy about my bus situation.

But then I realized something: I'm opposing change. Aren't I suppose to be an advocate of change? Environmentally and politically?

So I'm going to make an effort to go with the flow on this one. Tomorrow, when I board that train, I'm not going to be thinking about how much it's costing me to get downtown, I'm not going to be thinking about how much I'd rather be on my comfy bus seat. I'm going to try and accept that no matter how resistant I am to the skytrain, it's not going to bring back the bus. I'll even try to enjoy the trip.

For this, I pat myself on the back.

Also I promise to take some pictures of the gathering. I'm so excited.

q: If you could read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I'm going to say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Closely followed by The Half Blood Prince, Pride and Prejudice and City of Glass. No, actually I think I'd go with City of Glass. No! I DON'T KNOW! Maybe Looking for Alaska... no, not that. City of Glass or Goblet of Fire........ please don't do this to me.

q: Do you have a favourite quote?

I, like Rena, love quotes. I don't remember too many, but I get a kick out of reading them. They're kind of divided up into categories. You've got taking action quotes(1), Gilmore Girls quotes (2), Harry Potter quotes (3), feminist quotes (4), inspiration quotes (5). You want me to choose one? *laughs manically*

1. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi ; "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world; in fact, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

2. Rory: "Do something to make me hate you." Lorelei: " Uh, go Hitler?" ; Rory: "I need you. I can't go this alone. I need my Mommy, and dammit, I don't care who knows it."*

3. Harry: "Proud? Are you crazy? All those times I could have died and didn't? They'll be furious..." ; Also that one in DH where Harry's talking to Dumbledore for the last time. Something about whether it's "real" no time to find the quote...

4. "A women needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle." ; "The thing women have to learn is that no one gives you power. You just take it." Rosanne Barr

5. "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt ; "It is our choices that show us who we really are, far more than our abilities." J.K. Rowling ; "If you want to be happy, be." Leo Tolstoy ; Dr. Seuss's "Oh, The Places You'll Go" is wonderful.

These aren't really my favourites, they're just ones I could assemble quickly (relatively speaking) to show examples of my categories. Maybe we should have a quote-off. That would be fun. Next week?

q: Do you have any attachments to inanimate objects?

I guess. Does a bus count? Hehe. Not really, I suppose. It's all just stuff. It's not a part of me. It's just what surrounds me.

q: We need a database of questions already asked... okay: To what degree do you care what people think about you (on a scale of 1 to 5)? Have you ever succumbed to peer pressure?

I'm tired, so I'm sorry if this is a bit sloppy. Are you both going to start reading The Hunger Games?

*I wish I could look through GG quotes all night, but alas, I cannot.

Quickie.

Wow, it's actually NOT after 10 pm, mostly because 10 pm tonight, I'll probably be extremely sugar high and nowhere near a computer.

HAPPY TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY, MATEYS!!!

I've known about this since I watched an episode of "Wife Swap" featuring the people who founded it. Great excuse to be annoying. (Not that I NEED one...)

Answer to Vita's question:

WHY must you make me choose?

I have a LOT of favorites, but ONE of my favorites about life in general is this:

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life; It goes on."
-- Robert Frost

I have a lot of others from books and movies... impossible to pick just a few, I think I just exploded a little. Seriously, unless you want a 50 page list, I'm going to stop myself right here.

My question: If you could only read one book for the rest of your life (unrealistic, but I wanted to make you both explode. Good thing I don't have to answer my own question...) what would it be?

Life's Lists

Sniff. Snurfle.

Reasons why the Suckage Meter of my life is rising from "Low" to "Moderate" right now:

1. Some lovely little bug has attacked me and is making my nose runny, my eyes water, my throat scratchy, and my general head area more tired than usual.

2. I've barely started the project that I was supposed to have a meeting for today (that I missed).

3. I'm teetering on the edge between "comprehension" and "complete and utter befuddlement" in Chemistry and Algebra.

4. Despite the fact that the only thing I have going onto until late September/early October is school, I have NO TIME or energy to do ANYTHING.


Things that are currently annoying me:

1. People who say "I hate drama" but are the ones that start it.

2. People who say "I hate people who say 'I hate drama' but are the ones who start it" because the person saying that is usually at least partially to blame, too.

3. The fact that I technically don't have to read The Catcher in the Rye two chapters at a time, but I really should, because reading ahead means a ton more work searching back through the book when we get to those chapters in class.

4. People who get all mad and pissy when their oh-so-obscure indie band becomes popular. You're not the first person to like their music, you certainly won't be the last; if you can't handle having to share your beloved musician with other people then maybe you should stop listening to music because a whole lot of bands become popular WITHOUT SELLING OUT. Knowing little-known bands doesn't automatically make you cool or the envy of others.

5. People who label other people. It's stupid, it's immature, and you can bet that you're being labeled by someone too, so don't even bother. For the record, "hipster" is such a goddamn obnoxious name; chill the f@!% out.


Things I want to do:

1. Drop any "logical thinking" classes (i.e. math & science) from my schedule and sign up for Law and WorldLit

2. Find and eat Rasberry Scones from Great Harvest Bread company.

3. Pre-order "Going Bovine" by Libba Bray (it's not much of a pre-order seeing as it's coming out in, what, two days? but still).

4. Stop complaining, which brings me to

5. Discuss books.

Are we still doing the book club, guys? Were we going to read "The Hunger Games" by whatsit? It's supposed to be good; I know that you like it, Alex (duhr, you recommended it), and apparently so does everybody else except for me (and a few other million people) who haven't read it yet. *thrusts dagger into chest* I think it's a good idea, but I'm confused as to how we were planning on doing this... like, should we all blog on one day to discuss the book? Or do we just convert our blogs on our regular days into book discussion type things? Or should the book discussion be a part/section of our regular blog posts? Enlighten me, please. :)

Do you have any feelings towards an inanimate object?
I think I already put this in comment form, but yes: towards most books, just because I am so opposed to replacing the book industry with online books. NO NO NO NO NO, I don't want a freaking Kindle.
Also, towards quite a few childhood toys/stuffed animals. Towards a lot of the stuff I have, really. This is why I have such a tough time cleaning: almost everything I have has some sort of emotion context and/or imagined purpose in my mind.

Do you have a favorite quote? If so, what is it?

[I'm just going to go ahead and tell you mine because I can't hold it back: "Basically, what we have here is a dreamer. Someone out of touch with reality. When she jumped, she probably thought she'd fly," from The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides.
Most of my favorite quotes come from books. Yay for book nerds!]

PS, sorry for being so obnoxious and complain-y, it's just one of those days.

You can't teach on old dog to live in a glass house

I've just finished re-reading Paper Towns and as Vita and I concurred on Twitter, the second reading of Paper Towns is way deeper than the first.

The first time I read it, I thought it was hilarious. It was well written and kind of slow in the middle, but it was a great story. I loved it. But then when I read it again, it had so much more meaning and it was way better. I just got the theme and the idea that it was like a whole different book. Still funny, but really different.

Then something happened the other day and it all kind of came together in this epiphany of sorts and it changed the way a see people in a big way. I haven't stopped haven't expectations of people, but I've stopped haven't expectations about them.

On another note, next Monday, I'm taking part in a flash mob to send politicians a message about climate change. It's part of avaaz.org's tcktcktck project and basically we're going to try and get a bunch of people to show up at 3:30pm next Monday and take videos and pictures of it then send it in and have it compiled into a huge video to be shown to politicians. At last count there's about 1800 events going on and it's going to be huge.

What we're doing at our event is we're going to gather and then disperse and at a certain time everyone will freeze wherever they are for 4 minutes. Then everyone's alarms will ring and we'll try to "wake up" politicians by flooding their offices with phone calls.

If you guys want to check out events in your area, the link is this: http://tcktcktck.org/events/major-moments/global-wake-call

Most of them are happening at 12:18pm because December 18th is some big conference with for world leaders in Copenhagen, but there may be some after school and if not, feel free to organize your own.

This is the video that inspired our stunt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&feature=video_response

Happy birthday to my sister, Maddy, who has recently entered teenagerdom. May you have many ansgty outbursts and aggressive fits and survive until age twenty.

A Sentimental Thing

I just had the oddest moment.

It started out normal, my mom and grandma are hovering over a patternless crossword, (they're addicted-- to the PATTERNLESS kind. Hardcore.) and they ask me for a dictionary; to make sure they have all the vowels right in the word "chafes", not particularly a hard word, but "you never take chances in pen...". So I automatically wrap my hand around the side of this shelf-desk thing, and feel for the duct-taped old leatheryness of "THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY-- Second College Edition, and bring it to them, only to be met with, "Well, why didn't you bring the new one? It's more accurate."

What "new one"?

I was actually a little hurt by this. I'm emotionally attached to a dictionary.

It was copyrighted in 1981, and I understand words like "w00t" are constantly being added, but the spelling of "chaffes" will not change. That dictionary and I go waaaay back, and even though the cover is falling off and there's 4 layers of tape going down the spine, I refuse to throw it out. "THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY-- Second College Edition" were pretty much the first words I ever wrote. In painstaking careful, yet still sloppy 4 year old lettering. I still remember my mom making me do that. I'd read "The American..." and she figured if I could read it I could write it. So, good use of an hour in 4-year-old-time. I think she still has the paper I copied it onto. Most of it is this big, all caps serif font, that was easy. But "Second College Edition" is in small subtitley italics.

Haaaarrrddd. >:(

I did it anyway, and THAT is a show of dedication. I'm in love with a dictionary.

My question: Do you have any similar attachments to an inanimate object?

WARNING

Just so no one freaks out, I wanted you to know that I put a New Moon countdown wideget in the sidebar.

I can get rid of it quite easily but I thought it was funny and since we're such big fans I thought it was a must have widget.

Three Days Later

Today is a stark contrast from the cold and rain we had on September 11th; that strange kind of rain that's barely visible but feels like a sheet of ice against your skin. Today it's sunny and warm, almost as if the weather knows how to appropriate itself for the occasion. Friday, we needed a solemn reminder. Today, we look ahead to the future, to a better place.

Don't forget, but do move on.
But when and who do you forgive?

Am I to believe that, as many Christian Americans think, those 9/11 terrorists are already suffering in Hell? Am I to believe that, by the twisted logic of their own fanatical extremism, they're being rewarded in Heaven? What if I don't believe in either place? What if I'm as unsure about death as I was when I was six? Why should we lean on religion to solve all our problems? How will entering an eternal resting place help stop the violence here on Earth? Does it matter what happened to those dead terrorists as much as what happened, what's still happening, here, right now, as a repercussion of terrible actions?

Don't look to punish the past; look to improve the future.

My mom tells me that she listens to racist people; she listens to what they have to say. She says that other people, non-racist people, often sound slightly appalled when she tells them this. She says that if you don't listen, how will you understand? If you don't listen, how can you convince them to think differently? If you don't listen, if you just talk and talk and talk, nothing you're saying will penetrate the other person's thoughts.

I think it's true. I think that my mother is one of the defining reasons why I try not to hate.

One day during recess in elementary school, one of my friends called something "gay." Clearly, she meant in the degrading sense, not the sexual preference sense or the happy-joy sense.
I didn't know what this meant. The only time I remembered hearing what "gay" meant was during Chorus while we were learning a Christmas Carol as part of our Winter Holiday Assembly; "don we now our gay apparel, fa la la la la la la la la."
When I got home I ran the word by my mom.
"It's when two boys love each other or two girls love each other."
Being nine, I needed some clarification and asked my mother if being gay was bad.
"No," she replied, "it's just different."
I still think it's one of the most accurate descriptions I've ever heard, something that describes so many different conflicts in the world.
It's not bad, it's just different.

People everywhere are different. Those terrorists who attacked us, they're different.
Are they really, though?
I am not defending their actions. Nothing - NOTHING - justifies what they did, what they're still plotting to do.
But haven't we done the same thing?
Oh, not terrorism, not by our standards. We don't try to hurt a group of people just because we don't like them. We don't kill randomly.
But we've done awful things under the name of spreading democracy and we've justified our dismissal of hurting peoples by claiming that it's none of our business or we lack the funds.
We're looking to exterminate the terrorist organizations, and I must say that I agree that they need to be stopped.
But look at it from another perspective.
Aren't they, as Americans, the only country to have ever used a nuclear bomb, yet they aim to rid the world of nuclear weapons?
Aren't they, as Americans, fierce defenders of free will, yet they invade other countries in direct contradiction to our governments or even our people?
We're all one world, aren't we? Aren't we all people? We're all animals and organisms and we all live in the same place. Genetically, we're only 1% different from our neighbors.
Why do we persecute each other?
Why do we think that that tiny bit of variation in all of us, that little piece of DNA that does make us all wildly different, is enough reason to kill and ignore and torture and hate?

Despite the mistakes America has made, despite the questionable judgment we've shown, despite the occasionally true negative stereotypes associated with me, I am still proud to proclaim that I am American.

I'm proud that I live in a place where I can be, and am, friends with people from all different races, people who may have been born in other countries. I'm unashamed to be liberal. I'm unashamed of what I believe in. I'm thankful to live in a place where that's possible. I'm thankful that I live in a country where virtually everyone is sorry for 9/11. I'm thankful I live in a country where my worst day is better than some people's best days.

I only hope that we learn not to retaliate with our hearts, not our heads, guiding us. It's not our job to kill. It's not our job to attack. It's not our job to terrorize people we don't like. I know that sometimes war is the only answer. I'm not naive. I'm glad that the Allies fought back during World War II because Hitler wasn't going to be stopped by words alone. If somebody attacks a country, they've earned themselves that retaliation. I want the terrorists to be stopped. I want them to stop hurting us, and North America, and South America, and England, and Europe, and the rest of the world, and their own people in their own country, but I'm thinking of the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere, where innocent people live, people who don't want a war, people who may or may not dislike America but who don't think that massacring three buildings full of similarly innocent people is the way to resolve our problems. I want my government to think before they act.

People shouldn't pay with their lives.

A Myriad of Things

I'm watching Beauty and the Beast right now. What a funny fellow that Beast is. He's so angry, but sweet in the end. They're about to dance! Awww. Ew, Gaston is such a creeper. Now it's over. *sigh*

You may or may not notice that I tweaked the blog layout a bit. The column our main text is in is a little wider. Hope you don't mind. I also changed the layout on my personal blog which you may have seen. I'm trying to think about a good logo for a header for this blog, but I don't have any really awesome. Any ideas?

I got my course info this week and I'm unusually excited about getting started. This semester I'm taking Language Arts, Essentials of Math, Planning and Visual Arts: Mixed Media. I'm most looking forward to art because apparently there's some image editing in there. But yeah, it's exciting.

Q: What math class are you in? Is it considered advanced?

I used to like math. Adding and subtracting and multiplication and all that jazz. I was good at it. I like graphs. I understand fractions. What I don't get is the reason for all this advanced math. Who is actually going to use trigonomotry in their life? Who cares about calculus and that stuff. I think that once you have an understanding of the key principals of math, you're set, unless you decide to be an accountant of mathematician. Instead of showing our work, I think we should be learning to use a calculator.

There's three options for math once you get to grade nine. You've got Applications of Math which is really simple stuff for people who struggle with "regular" math. Then you've got Essentials of Math, which is what I'm taking, which is for "challenged" people. And then there's Principals of Math which is the real hard stuff for people who can handle it.

Although I'm sure I could handle Principals, I'm taking Essentials because my mom refers to it as 'life skills math'. Instead of patterns and shapes, I'll be doing personal banking and wages, salaries expenses.

It's still math and I'm still doing trigonometry, but at least there's some useful stuff thrown in there.

So yeah, Essentials of Math is for stupider people, but I'm not taking it for that reason. I mean it's nice perk to be able to say I'm in the math course designed for challenged learners, but the real reason is so that I can learn my way around a spreadsheet. Hooray.

Q: What expressions are weird?

When in doubt: GOOGLE! I found a linky. So I'm going to respond to a few of these one what I thought they meant, and then you can click the linky and see what they REALLY mean. OR you could just take my word for the truth. You decide.

"Put a sock in it" means be quiet. I always though it meant to literally put a sock in your mouth and shut up. Apparently not.

"Cold turkey" means to give something up. I always though it meant like after Thanksgiving you're going to start dieting so you give up eating cold turkey on sandwiches and stuff.

"Son of a gun" is an exclamation or adjective. I though it was just something you said when you started to say son of a b**** but then you realized there were sensitive listeners around and tried to tone it down.

"The big cheese" means an important person or boss. I thought it was because the head mouse gets the big cheese.

That's all for today folks. Check out that linky and you might just learn something.

Q: Would you rather be a ninja or zombie?

It's funny you should ask. Well not that funny. But I'm going to a camp in a couple weeks and the theme is Pirates vs. Ninjas. I'm being a ninja, because a) they get to be stealthy and b) pirates are too cliche. So if it were a choice between wanting to eat brains and getting to wear black a kick people, I'm going to go with kicking people every time. NINJA out.

Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Math.

Boooo.

I'm in Algebra X, which although X is the Roman numeral for 10, stands for Algebra eXtra, which is annoying. (I forgot to mention I'm a bit of a word/English/grammar nerd.) Right now it's a slightly advanced class, but we're doing the first 6 weeks of review or something. (really pretty simple stuff like 10 + x= 15. x=? It's irritating that we have to SHOW WORK for this. Duh. It's what mental math is for. Anything you can't do in your head is why they invented calculators.) I think that's a bit long for review, but maybe it's because I simply DO NOT like math.

I like to talk around things, and it's really annoying I can't explain my thought processes. One answer is right and everything else is just WRONG, and I hate that. We're also learning to use a ($89) graphing calculator, that my mom will kill me if I lose or break, which is very easy. I have a feeling it will get insanely hard though, because the teacher is strict and doesn't explain anything. She probably would if I asked her after school in private, but like you Vita, I can't do it. Is it some kind of pride thing? Or maintaining the illusion of complete smartness? I just think she'd laugh in my face if I told her anything.

But, in happier maybe-my-school-doesn't-totally-suck news:

I'M JOINING THE SCHOLASTIC BOWL!

How could I not? With an announcement like, "Do you like random facts? Do you want to compete with other people for the title of SUPREME TRIVIA MASTER? Scholastic Bowl is for YOU!"

(And I'm only slightly exaggerating that...)

My question: Who would you be if your name was Kim Rowena Lettice Butterkent?

Whoa. (draft on and about 9/11)

Hmmm, I TRY and I try to start draft posts the day before I'm supposed to do them, but things never seem to work out. I'd better just wait until Saturday night. (Staying up til 2 in the morning FTW!) I'm such a procrastinator that way. Vita, if I forget to delete the drafty part at the beginning of this blog again, there's your answer. :)

Whoa. Vita, I'm sorry if I'm being a snoop, but I read your (now still in draft form) post on 9/11 and it's really good.

I actually posted on (and about, they have the same meanings sometimes...) 9/11 on my other blog. (NOTE: I'm NOT abandoning this blog, but I started my solo one after we started this, because one day I had a ton to say but it was a Wednesday I think so I didn't want to "clog" this blog with all my random crap. It's mostly become a forum for my randomest thoughts and funny pictures I find, and, well, tons of other things that don't follow this format, although this DOES work very well, and memes and things that require a Mr. Linky. (You guys can go stalk me there if you want, I stalk both of yours from time to time.)

Ah. I've accidentally hit "publish post", instead of Ctrl+D like you're supposed to do. Force of habit. Should I delete this? Is there any way to get this back in draft-only form? Should I delete that part where I blabber about Vita's draft? She'll probably post it, but it's not 9/11 on monday you dork. Irrelevacy FTL. What now I'm blogging to myself oh run ons you're so funny. You know what I am going to keep this as it is for the time being. If you guys find it by the time it's gone you can comment on it, but I'll still post on Saturday too.

Did I even spellcheck this?

Math, That Well-Known Killer of Dreams

Math makes me feel so incompetent.

About half of my class is made up of freshman, which isn't a bad thing, except that most of them are better at math than I am. As a sophomore taking Algebra II, I'm technically one grade level ahead for math; however, so many sophomores take Algebra II that it's almost considered on-level. I believe the county is trying to get Algebra I to be the new on-level course for eighth graders sometime in the near future.

Not that I want to hinder eighth graders' ability to learn, but I hope this doesn't happen before I graduate from high school. I'm not great at math, and it gives me a little bit of confidence to know that I'm technically advanced.

Math highlights one of my key faults, really. When I get frustrated with something I don't like (math, chemistry, and the like in particular) I tend to procrastinate, put little effort into trying to work it out, or give up all together. It's not a good way to handle things, but I don't know how to force myself to persevere. I guess there comes a time when you simply have to suck it up and just do it.

I wish I was in a slower-moving math class, sometimes. This wouldn't work too well in practice, because a) there's too much material to cover and b) we'd inevitably end up spending most of our time on the few units I have little to no trouble with, but it seems more comfortable in theory. The sad thing is, I'm only entering the third week of school, most of our math so far is little beyond review, and I'm already struggling. I should get help, but I hate asking teachers to go over material with me individually (because it seems so awkward, and because I always feel like I'll be seen as severely academically challenged if I still don't understand how to do it after asking them).

I know I'm not stupid; I do pretty darn well in most of my classes. Algebra and Chemistry, though, those two kill me. If I could stop doing math and math-oriented science classes, I'd like school so much better.

When I consider my interests and academic strengths as compared to the so-called "larger picture," I get somewhat discouraged. I want to have a career that will both help people and interest me, and to be frank, I have no idea what I'd be good at. My dearest aspiration is to become a Young Adult author, but there's no guarantee that will ever happen and I need a job before (or even in addition to) that. A doctor seems out (too much pressure and my noted lack of logical skills) and I think I'd end up hating a career in law (even though I love debating and mock trials). I have to idea what I'm going to do with my life, and that's frightening; I know that most people change their mind, majors, and careers many times, but everybody seems to have some sort of vaguely realistic goal except for me.

Rena, I'd rather be a Ninja, hands-down. C'mon, Ninjas are freaking silent assassins. They've captured my heart.

What math classes are you guys in? Are they considered "advanced" in your school system, or even to you personally?

The Little Things

Since becoming a Nerdfighter, I've defined the difference between geeks and nerds. Sometimes the words are used interchangeably, but I believe they are very different indeed.

GEEKS: Geeks are people who excel in some area, like math or science (although it could be anything else). They can be social outcasts simply because no one relates to their love of their craft. They realize that they are geeks, but they don't love and appreciate it about themselves. They might be self-conscious about it.

NERDS: Nerds are like a awesomer version of geeks. They don't have to excel in anything in particular, though they often do (even if it's just a voracious appetite for reading). The difference is that nerds realize that being a nerd is awesome and they embrace it. Being a nerd is something you love, whereas being a geek is just something you are. Nerds really like stuff.

Being a nerd, as John put it, is allowing yourself to unsarcastically like stuff, and I think it's also letting yourself do things you like to do, no matter how unusual, simply because you like them. After that if you really love doing things that are unique and special and weird, that makes you aNerdfighter. Sense?

Now for the categorization...

First and foremost, I'm a book nerd. I love to read and discuss books. I love characters. I love stories. I love good books. I love Harry Potter. You two both expanded on this so I will brieflydivulge my Harry story:

When I was sevenish, my mom and sister were reading Harry Potter. I wanted to as well, because anything my sister did was something I wanted to do. My mom said they were a bit advanced for me and set a goal: when I finished all the Magic Tree house books, she and I could read HP together. I agreed. I then went on to devour the remaining twenty books in two weeks. Looking back I wonder what would have happened if Harry Potter hadn't lived up to my expectations. But it did. So I read the first four on my own and fell in love (reading with my mom was way too slow seeing as she had four kids and was pretty busy). I waited for the fifth, and then the sixth and then the last. In between (and after) I re-read the books multiple times. It's sort of embarrassing to me that I've read Deathly Hallows so many times I've lost track. I used to fall asleep listening to the audiobook on my iPod. For years I would talk about HP constantly. Whether Snape was good or evil was a conversation my family revisited every week. (I knew he had to be good)

Apart from Harry, I like reading Jane Austen, simply to have read Jane Austen and I think I will set a goal next year of reading one classic each month and then blog about it.

And then there's the other wonderful book series and authors like John Green, The Mortal Instruments, Sarah Dessen, Suzanne Collins, etc.

I think it's the little things, too, that make me nerdy, I wrote this blog post yesterday about that.

1. I like to make lists.
2. I love to dance (even if there's no music).
3. I love musicals.
4. I love making obscure references.
5. I love to laugh (even when no one said anything funny).
6. I love to play dress-up.
7. I like to skip down sidewalks and hallways.
8. I like to stand in the pouring rain.
9. I like to run the last bit home.
10. I like to watch foreign films and documentaries.
11. I like waving signs at the side of the road.
12. I love bumper stickers.
13. I love dropping spare change.
14. I am an environmentalist.
15. I'm an activist.
16. I like to be informed on global issues.
17. I like to talk in an English accent.
18. I like riddles (even though I'm terrible at them).
19. I like knock knock jokes.
20. As Rena said, I'm a Nerdfighter Nerd (I love being a Nerdfighter.)
21. I blog.

How am I NOT a nerd?

Alrighty, this is a draft, only containing my nerd subcategories and explanations...

In one vlogbrothers video, John describes being nerdy as being overenthusiastic about something and not being ashamed of it. I am this way about a number of things.

HP NERD-- I am. Yes. I started reading them a little later than everyone else (not because I was slow or anything, I just associated big book = long and boring. I was wrong, of course.) but once I started reading them I couldn't stop. By that time books 1-4 had already come out, so once I had finished those and I had to wait a year for Order of the Phoenix, I was like "NOOOOOOOO!!!"

Is it possible to be a Nerdfighter Nerd? I'm nerdy for all of Nerdfighteria, Hank, John, all the little in-jokes in the vlogbrothers videos, I love it/them. I WILL move to Nerdfighteria. ;P

80s games nerd-- Yeah, I suck fantastically at WiiAnything and Guitar Hero and anything that has been released in the last decade, but I will KICK YO SORRY BUTTZ at Pacman, Tetris, Space Invaders, anything of the primitive animation/awesome music variety.

Movie nerd-- I just like movies. A lot. Older movies, in black and white is a plus. (But, all 80s movies are equally as freaking jokes. Alex, why I didn't comment on your blog is because I knew that it would become this 3 paragraph love confession for The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, etc... Wow. I think I just stopped myself from rambling. This moment should be recorded for posterity. All I will allow myself to say is that I LOVE these movies!) Oh, and I like any era comedy movie. Things that are funny rarely change. (Well, unless it's some kind of topical reference, like in the way people say MJ jokes aren't funny anymore...)

A related nerd category is that of QUOTE nerd. I am an example of this brand of nerd. Some of these quotes come from the above movies, but some come from scientists, poets, overall quotable people... *here is where a list of 4000 quotes I love would be, but since I can never manage to pick my favorites you should know I'm not listing ANY of them because then I would have to list ALL of them.*

Another related nerdegory *new word* is TRIVIA NERD. I am on an endless quest for random trivia. Not useful trivia, like memorizing Nobel Prize winners, or the periodic table, but just knowing off the top of my head that Donald Duck cartoons are banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants, or that 13 people a year are killed by vending machines falling on them.

I'm also what I'll call a general Nostalgia nerd. Pre-YouTube, once the oooollld VHS was worn out, it was taken as a sign that the wear-outer should just grow up. Since the invention of YouTube, fellow nostalgia nerds have taken the time to upload all 11 parts of any obscure 90s kids movie you can think of. I've rediscovered them and they are still as awesome as I remember. Cheesy, but awesome. I think I've also confessed my love for the Muppets/Sesame Street/Arthur/Disney/Pixar/et cetra... AWESOMENESS.

I'm kind of a Drama Nerd at heart, too. In 2nd grade, my teacher ran this thing called Fairy Tale Follies, which were little plays, fractured fairy tales in the sense that they were expanded so that everyone would get a part, (i.e: 6 beauties and 6 beasties) and re-written by 2nd graders. I fancied myself quite the scriptwriter for a while... Oh, and in 3rd grade this went on again, this was our "audition":

"Okay, girls, line up at the front of the room."
*lining up and such*
"When I point to you, roar."
*girls 1-5*: "roar."
*Tiny Rena*: "ROOOOAAAAAWWWR!"

And guess who got the part of Beastie number 5???

FTF was only available to the 2nd and 3rd graders, though. :C So, in middle school I thought it would be awesome to get back involved in "drama" again. Unfortunately, the director/(librarian) is a *perdone moi francias* Capital B-izznitch. She was totally against casting 6th graders, so only one girl, (who I kind of knew, who was also a b-nizzle...) managed to get a part. (and rubbed it our faces. She went around singing "Michelle" ("ma belle, Frenchy frenchy frenchy..."), which WOULD HAVE been appropriate if "The Beatles Slept Here" was a musical, which it wasn't, why I have no clue... but because in the play "Her mother named her after the song because she was soooo beautiful.", so this girl equated her character with a reason to inflate HER ego.) By 7th grade, I forget what I was doing around audition time, but anyway I missed them... and last year Mrs. B was against me joining because I "didn't have a drama reputation" or something. Just because I'd never been IN a production. Hmpf.

(rantamania finally reared its head within this post...) Nonetheless, I still do love drama and all that, but I think I missed auditions... but if there's any "backstage" work hat involves NO ART I'd gladly participate.

My question: If given the choice, would you rather be a ninja or a zombie?

Nerdfighteria!

Being a Nerdfighter is a badge of honor for many, and I feel that it's important to reevaluate why we are, indeed, nerdy. Luckily, I am an expert nerd and thus have many ways to fulfil the nerdish criteria of Nerdfighteria (if such criteria exists... which I feel it does, although it is rather lax, as I feel it should be):

It goes without saying, but I'm a Harry Potter nerd, of course.

Unlike some people, I wasn't a die-hard fan from the start. My affection towards the entire Harry Potter world came in bursts at first, with little lulls of indifference inbetween.

I remember the first time I read the books and in which order, as well. No, I didn't go 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 like a normal person; I started reading the books in third grade, I think, when only numbers 1 - 4 were published. I read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets first; I'm not sure why, and I don't remember how well I understood everything, not having the previous one for background knowledge, but there you are. My sister got this book (the English version from one of our family's British friends) as a birthday present and let me read it. I then read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (in the order). My mom works as an assistant librarian at my elementary school, and I used to go to work with her in the mornings before school started. Bored one day, I picked up the book and started reading it. To be frank, I read the other two books simply to round off the series; I don't think I was particularly attached to them. I know I liked them, but not more than a number of other books I had read.

I started getting more interested in them in fifth grade, which was around the time that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released. My best friend at the time was a HUGE Harry Potter fan and I sort of rekindled my love for the books because she was always going on about them. * This lasted into sixth grade, but middle school = hell and I got caught up in the various endeavours of my fellow seventh graders.

My interest leveled off until about a year and a half ago, a few months after the last book came out. I re-re-read the series and borrowed my sister's copy of Deathly Hallows; to be completely honest I had avoided reading it because I didn't want to read about characters I loved dying (I think anyone who had read the other books expected at least a few people to die). I read it, wept appropriately, and avoided reading any of the books until a few months after that, at which point I completely re-read the series and fell in love all over again. A year later, they're still some of my favorite books, and I only wish I had been more involved all the way through. They mean so much to me and they genuinely deserve all the attention they get. In case you're wondering, my "Harry Potter phone number" is 7-6-3-1-4-5-2. :)

Moreover, I'm a booknerd, which is like a bookworm, but more obsessive. I LOVE books. I having a deep-seated resentment towards those people who claim reading is boring because I really don't see how any literate person could think that. In many important ways, books have shaped and changed my life since I was a tiny, tiny person.

I'm also interested in politics. Not going into them, but following them. I believe it's important for us to keep tabs on what our government and what other governments are doing; otherwise, we won't be able to change anything that may go wrong. It's also worth it for catching the incredibly... stupid things politicians do, for helping one to understand the SNL sketches, and for finding a politician to yell at on those days when you hate the world and don't have one particular person to be mad at.

I'm a fashion nerd, which may not be the nerdiest thing to nerd over, but there you have it. I don't always look like I care about what I wear (most schooldays, I live in jeans, sweatpants, and t-shirts... can you say "waking up at 5:45am?") but I'm so interested in fashion. It's an art form; most people don't see it like that, but it really is... it's another way to express yourself, like music or writing.

I'm a Drama/Theatre nerd, which is one of the best types of nerdom there is. It's hard to explain why Drama is so amazing unless you're in it; even if you just want to help out backstage, you should JOIN. It's like a huge extended family of Awesome People.

Best of all, I'm a Nerd Nerd. I don't always get excited over science/math-y things, but one of the things I like most about myself is that I let myself like something, no matter what other people think. This is a relatively new character development in my part; I certainly wasn't like that in middle school. But really, I am an obsessive person, which is one of the many reasons why I love Nerdfighters so much. <3 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Do I want to get married?
I suppose. I'm not that bothered, really. I think I'd like to get married, but it's not my life's goal.
Kids, however, is another question. I quite like babysitting, but I would NOT want to have kids.

What expressions are weird?
Most cliches, really.

Question: How are YOU a nerd?

Today's topic was inspired by the fiveawesomegirls on the Youtubes.
By the by, sorry for not blogging on Friday. I don't have a good excuse other than extreme fatigue and a sudden volleyball game?

* This is not a bad thing, and I was not annoyed by it, but it's true... she was legitimately obsessed

No particular message here.

I almost forgot to blog today. Oops. I was just thinking about something I should blog about on Sunday and then i was like, "wait, it is Sunday, isn't it." Unfortunately, I forgot what that something was.

**intermission**

I just watched The Breakfast Club. What an excellent movie it is. I've been wanted to see it for a while and then just like that it was on TV. And now Sixteen Candles is playing, which is attracting my attention making it a bit hard to focus on this screen. And what's worse I've recently become addicted to playing Tetris on my computer. It's sad, but I can't stop clicking away at it. And my finger hurts for some odd reason which I can't figure out.

Have either of you seen The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles? Awesome movies.

My index finger hurts when I touch it (or hit a key with it) and it has no mark on it to indication of why so I'm going to make this short.

This is a good movie. Okay bye now.

More about sleep.

Can you catch sleepy from the Internet? I have.

Ugh. Same with sleeping on the couch tonight, too. Not for the awesome reason of reading all night, but because my aunt is over and I despise sleeping on the floor. I'd rather sleep in the basement on the couch. Which I will have to do shortly. It's not even 10 but UGH I AM TIRED! And now, a list:

**THINGS I DO NOT LIKE**
1. Being tired and not being able to sleep
2. Sleeping on the floor
3. Having someone else sleep in my bed. (they mess it up! I have it prefect and then these people go and "make it". >:P)
4. Having to listen to people snore. (It creeps me out.)
5. Sticky enter keys.

There ya have it. This blgo (hah... blahgo... Blagojevich... hmmm I wonder if I should read his book sheerly for the "LOLz, this is BS" factor... oh typo, you hath distracted me. Really though, even though he's like A-hole numero uno here now--- when hasn't he been really, this crap has been going on for so long--- Oh, Chicago politics, no one understands you, do they? Even people who LIVE here don't.--- I love autobiographies of all kinds. "Regular" nonfiction no, but I find any person's life interesting when it's told by them...)

WHOA. Ramble-tastic, yes? Talking European and ending sentences as questions is fun, yes? Really in this context there is no difference between "yes" and "no", no?

A-HEM.

This BLOG has officially won the "utter crap" award as determined by MOI. I love how British people can refer to things as "crap" instead of "crappy", like we do here.

Marriage-- Hmmm... I want to get married when I can really hold up to the "Til death do us part" part. I'm wary of that phrase. I haven't been exposed to many "healthy" marriages. I try to believe in true love and I think it's the most romantic thing in the world, but I can't help thinking it won't last. I'm a cynic in that respect. Not that I've had any totally serious "OMFG I lurfs you xoxoxo" crap relationships yet, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. (That's an odd expression, don't you think? Oh, yeah, that's my question... what expressions do you think are weird?)

Sleep is near

It's 9:05pm. I'm exhausted. It's a bit pathetic, but that's what you get when you decide you're not tired and read until 6 o'clock in the morning. Or maybe it's only the book to blame. Either way, last night was a long one and I am ready for bed tonight. Unfortunately, my bed is covered in the contents of my room. Let that be a lesson to all: cleaning your room is nearly always a bad idea. You'll end up feeling overwhelmed and depressed and sleeping on your coach.

Isn't that everyone's dream? Depressed and sleeping on the coach. Yay!

At least I have the book. Technically, I don't anymore because I finished it and it was never mine in the first place. I have to say, Catching Fire was extremely worth the sleep deprivation that has only started hitting me in the last two hours. I just can't wait until our book club when you two will read The Hunger Games. You might want to put that on hold at the library now (it may be a long wait) unless you were going to buy it. Or borrow it. All good choices. Do as you please.

Do you think history is interesting?

To an extent, yes. I have no need to read endless history books and memorize dates and random facts (though I do find people who do fascinating--my sister, Caitlyn, for example) but I do like reading my Social Studies textbooks. I find British history to have a certain allure above other countries and European history is more interesting to me than any other continent. I guess a nice tidbit about my personality is that I like to be informed. Everyone does to a certain extent, and I'm not saying I 100% back the phrase, "Knowledge is power", but I do think that knowledge gives you sophistication. I like feeling sophisticated and intellectual (even if it's just a blip between my less brilliant moments).

Do you subscribe to a newspaper?

Not a major newspaper, those are a bit unhappy for my taste, but there are two local newspapers that are delivered thrice a week, which I read. I'm not a back-to-front, sit at the breakfast table and read the newspaper kind of person, either. I like to slowly pick through it all day (taking breaks of course...), skipping over boring stuff and getting to the fun parts. Like the Letters. I love the Letters. One thing I love about local news is that if you look closely you'll see a few random little things thrown in to fill the page. I once read a paragraph about a woman who had baked marijuana into a batch of cookies that she shared with her friends, to "spice up the party". Does it get any better than a woman using cookies to drug her friends and have a good time? No, it doesn't.

How do you feel about tomatoes: veggie or fruit?

I've always thought this was a bit of a stupid argument. When I was younger, I use to have my own descriptions for fruits and vegetables. Fruits were things that were sweet and juicy that I like to eat; veggies we usually crunchy and sometimes icky that I avoided whenever possible. Clear as can be. I hate tomatoes, the texture is ew as is the taste, so naturally it falls into the vegetable category. But as my mom always used to say to try and quell little disagreements such as this: in twenty years, will it matter?

What's the most random (or best, or both) compliment you've ever received.

People (mostly my sisters) are always commenting on my small ears. I can't think of anything good aside from that. Oh, one time, someone complimented my new bike rack, only she said it, "Nice rack," so I just kind of floated through the awkwardness until I realized she wasn't alluding to be chest but rather to my bicycle. It was a nice rack, indeed.

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I have to mention that ever since I started following you guys on Twitter, I've been checking back there more frequently. I'm always looking for more people to follow, but now I'm drowning in Tweets. Does anyone have advice on how to handle following Maureen Johnson +24 other people (seems small but it accumulates.)

Q: Do you want to get married, eventually? When would be the ideal time?

People clearly understand sarcasm...

Ahem. This happened to me earlier today in Science... we were doing a super easy worksheet reviewing the scientific method, but the teacher decided to make it "interesting" by making it about the Simpsons. The question was something like what should Bart's procedure be if he wants to test the effects of microwaves on mice? So he added, jokingly, that we shouldn't ACTUALLY microwave mice. Right.

So I muttered, (to my sarcasm-understanding friend) "Yeah, I'm going to go and dry off my cat using a microwave."

Apparently, the people behind me heard me, and thought I was SERIOUS.

Later, in the lab groups (consisting of your row of seats), UNCONTROLLABLE GIGGLEFITS from these people. I was the only one working, WTF? At the VERY end of the period one girl asks me, "So, do you have any pets? *gigglesnort*" "No...?" "Oh, so where are you going to find a cat to microwave?" "...I was kidding. Y'know. Sarcasm."

*dead stare*

"Ohhhhhh... suuuurrrre you were..."



They STILL think I'm a cat-nuking crazypants!

Yay.

Not that I particularly care what they think of me, but if I want to be taken seriously AT ALL (and maybe make them do some of the work), I'd better declare my sanity pretty fast.

Questions!:

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?

HP6

Do you think history is interesting?

Meh, kind of. Depends on what kind of history. The history of people, evolution and all that I don't like, but WWII and more recent history is interesting to me.

My question!

What's the most random (or best, or both) compliment you've ever received?