Encouraging Children, As We Should.

I love the books that people write that are not really for children, but are made to crack up newlyweds and young adults and horrify parents.

One prime example of this is Shel Silverstein's (Author of When the Sidewalk Ends) Uncle Shelby's ABZs. This book is HILARIOUS.

It's a full book, too. Not just with definitions of each letter, but drawings, game ideas, and even instructions on how to make a policeman voodoo doll.

It would be interesting if that money scenario actually worked.

I would definitely recommend clicking on these pictures to view them and read them easily.

Don't you just love Shel Silverstein?

"...Maybe he will buy you a cowboy suit." (I didn't take these pictures, and I apologize for not being able to find better ones via Google, and I also apologize for not wanting to scan by own book in and get arrested.)

.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this book. It's a great size and perfect for reading on a rainy day. Or in the case of the Rocky Mountains, snowy/blizzarding day like today. There's nothing bad in it, other than being irresponsible and influential to kids. My mom actually insists in the book being hidden at our cabin in a random cabinet cupboard.

.

Two of my personal favorite pages that I unfortunately was not able to find pictures for:

....

B is for Baby.

See the baby.

The baby is fat

The baby is pink

The baby can laugh

The baby can cry

See the baby play

Play, baby, play.

Pretty, pretty, baby.

Mommy loves the baby,

More than she loves you.

....

D is for Daddy.

See Daddy.

See Daddy sleeping on the couch?

See Daddy's hair?

Daddy needs a haircut.

Poor Daddy.

Daddy has no money for a haircut.

Daddy spends all his money to buy you toys and oatmeal.

Poor Daddy.

Daddy cannot have a haircut.

Poor, poor Daddy.

See the scissors?

Poor, poor Daddy. . .

Why Our Neighbors Hate Us

This is what my sister Caroline and I did today with our freetime.

Yes, our mother IS out of town.
I would reccomend clicking on a picture to see the full effect of our work.

Sleep in heavenly peace....

What Happened?

I was looking through some old Facebook pictures today of the summer with my friends, middle school, and all of the silly things that we used to do and have so much fun together. Some I laughed aloud when I saw, some I remembered, and some made me really sad inside.

We were so carefree, whether it be making a human pyramid at Laird Park, jumping off of my roof, running around in the snow for no reason, or even pretending like we were photographers AND models (that's embarrassing). We were so happy, and accepting of each other. We were our group, our names woven together as one, despite our many differences. Silly notes were passed, ridiculous hand shakes were made, and man, the inside jokes were endless... Together we watched Pam finally fall for Jim, we poured so much of ourselves into the dreadful Clayton Middle School plays, we awkwardly giggled about Emma's first endeavours with boys (and her not being able to admit she was gorgeous) we laughed together at our own stupidity...

You guys were my all. Confidants. Friends. We did everything together, each from different backgrounds, each with different likes and dislikes. An orchestra of personalities, making a symphony of music. We all watched eachother's backs.

Then.

Promises broken. Disturbances.

We're breaking up, aren't we? Is this goodbye?

Please don't leave.

Latest Facination

That last picture is funny if you've played the game...

INTRODUCING: KINGDOM HEARTS

Released 2002 (Amazing graphics for this year -- Squaresoft known for this)

By Squaresoft (Famous for Final Fantasys)

RPG style, Rated E

This game is SO MUCH FUN! You might notice how the game is supposed to be made with Disney, and immediately decide that you wouldn't want to check it out, but I assure you that they only included Disney so they wouldn't get sued. Disney just jumped in for advertisement, then left Squaresoft alone (wise decision) because they knew they would be able to do it great alone.

The game combines characters and settings from Disney animated features with those from Square's Final Fantasy series. The story follows a young boy, Sora, as he is thrown into an epic battle against the forces of darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck and Goofy, classic Disney characters who help him on his quest.

Kingdom Hearts was a departure from Square's standard role-playing games, introducing a substantial action-adventure element to the gameplay. In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors. Kingdom Hearts was longtime Square character designer Tetsuya Nomura's first time in a directorial position.

The game was praised for its unusual combination of action and role-playing, as well as its unexpectedly harmonious mix of Square and Disney motifs. It received numerous year-end "Best" video game awards, was a dominating presence in the 2002 holiday season, and went on to achieve Sony "Greatest Hits" status. Our particular borrowed copy of the game has "PS2 Greatest Hits" in gold on the top. Since its release, Kingdom Hearts has sold over 5.6 million copies worldwide and has prompted three sequels. Two more titles are currently being developed, which have a connection to a future, unannounced game.

Sounds like a strange combination, eh? Well, I ASSURE you it is fantastically done. Though it is a bit of a shock to see Goofy and Donald wearing Tokyo pop clothing, it is SO cool to be fighting wraiths in Halloween Town alongside Jack the Skeleton (not to mention wearing an awesome/freaky costume). Even though you no longer care, I will tell you that I just beat the Neverland World, AND learned how to fly (score! Really fun actually).

Let's continue nerding out; this is fun.

For all of you with....underdevoloped attention spans/modern intolerance....I have included a more visual demonstration.

The opening. (Que choir chorus "Ahhhh!")

Don't worry, you get over his shoes really fast (phew).

I thought he was a girl at first too.

Check out the graphics when he flips his hair out of the water... cool.

And that's where you start the game: standing on a giant Snow White stained glass...thingie.

That one blog post that everyone seems to title "Gobble!"

I hope everyone stuffed their faces this year.

Note to self - do NOT ever again play DDR right after eating Thanksgiving dinner.

At least there's SNL.



Oh, and new Muse CD? SOOOO GOOD!

VENTING SHRINE

I don't know about you, but I've had a lot on my mind lately. So today's post is what we bloggers call a Venting Shrine. Just post a comment anonymously complaining or blabbing on about whatever it is stuck in your head (NOTHING about Justin freaking Beiber or Taylor Swift PLEASE, so sick of it)--trust me, as long as it's legal, it feels nice to get it out.

Feel free to comment as many times as you like, whenever you like.

What I've Been Feeling Lately

Once in a while I act like a child to feel like a kid again
It gets like a prison in the body I'm living in
Cause everyone's watching and quick to start talking, I'm losing my innocence
Wish I were a little girl without the weight of the world

It would be nice to start over again
Before we were men
I'd give, I'd bend, let's play pretend

Remember the times we had soda for wine, and we got by on gratitude
The worst they could do to you was check your attitude
Yeah when fights were for fun, we had water in guns,
and a place we could call our own
How we lost hold of home I guess I'll never know

It would be nice to start over again
Before we were men
I'd give, I'd bend, let's play pretend

And when it's the end,
Our lives will make sense
We'll love, we'll bend, let's play pretend
It's not going to be long before we're all gone with nothing to show for them
Stop talking lives, come on let's all grow up again.

Halloween

I hope we all had a wonderful Halloween. If you didn't celebrate it, boo hoo. Ha! Get it?

Wow.

Okay, moving on.

Everybody better have Trick-or-Treated, regardless of age. As this one old-and-fat-comedian-my-friend-told-me-about-last-night once said, "Sure, I love to Trick or Treat. It gives me an excuse to dress up as a superhero. I personally like to be Cat Woman. *Meow*"

Creepy.

Exactly.

Anyway, let's all enjoy Daylight Savings (yesssss), sleep in, and get cavities. If you can't tell, I already have a sugar high.

I wish I could eat a whole box of Swedish Fish without feeling like I have to shave my tongue afterword.

Happy November.

Dead Fly Art

Dead bored and grounded? Notice too many dead bugs on your window sill? We have the perfect entertainment for you. And it's art, too!

Just pluck the legs off of any type of bug you want, and draw it doing whatever you want!

And the best part -- No required materials! Everything you need can be found in any house, from mansion to shack.

Search those windows sills, and chop those suckers off!

Fly is fun and personalized...

So start mutilating bugs to keep your mind away from how sucky you feel, today!

Creatures of WalMart

And this is where we question..... Seriously?! What the crap is going on here? Tying up your shirt and wearing matching, flamboiant, salmon pink shorts doesn't exactly do it for me. Wow.

I've just found this new website (if you already know about this, then whatever.) that has me crying tears of blood. It's called Wal-Creatures. Best part: If you take a great picture, and it gets on the website, we get a $100 gift certificate to Walmart. Score! Heh heh, yeah we all pretend to hate Walmart because it's forming a monopoly with other businesses and stuff, but A HUNDRED DOLLARS?! Who WOULDN'T accept that?

Another great blog like this:
Cake Wrecks

Featured Artist(s) of the Post:
BIGBANG (take two) in Gara Gara Go!

ISN'T IT HILARIOUS how they say "Fo Sho"?! They are so cute when they try to be american. Who doesn't just love hot asians who can dance AND dress well (ironic, after the begining of this post is about embarassing americans)? I like the guy with the red skinny jeans (mmm), and polka dot Nike's. If I ever meet these guys, I'm [dead-seriously] going to steal all of their clothes. See their bio on post below.

Pressure.

High school. I think everyone cringes when they hear that word.

Isn't it interesting how those four years you live are the most influencial years of your life? Whatever decisions you make in high school will determine how you live for your existence as an adult. Think about it.

And isn't it strange that those are the most hormonal, emotional years?

Sometimes I think that humans are impatient. Which they are. But I'm talking about how from the moment that we're born, information is thrust down our throats. It feels like adults are so anxious for us to be like them in as little time as possible that we're forced into 7+ hour days of schooling. We're shoved through vigorous years of schooling, and then what? 50 years of work. It's a little unproportional. I mean, I'm all for letting a kid think for himself (I REALLY am) but isn't it sad when you see some little kid in elementary school who has an old soul? Who's been forced through so much in life that you can actually see on his outside that too much has been pushed onto him. A kid.

Just look at Marie Antoinette. She was forced into being a queen at the age of 14. She had no choice, and absolutely no experience. She didn't even know what the outside world looked like. Then they got all mad when she sucked at ruling, and had her beheaded. Not a great call there. Come on.

Like I said, I'm all for teaching a kid to think for himself, but sometimes it feels like history and math and even science is a little too much sometimes. How cliche of me, a high school girl, to be saying this; "Parents just don't understand." or the occasional "Leave me alone!" But hey, a saying becomes cliche because it's used a lot, and maybe it's used a lot for a REASON.

I make myself laugh sometimes. Half of my mind tells me I'm a classic teen, and the other half tells that side to shut her mouth. It's pretty distracting sometimes. But that's for another post.

I know that things will be a lot harder when I'm a parent. Harder to sympasize, harder to slow down. But that's why I want to remember what being a child is like. How a child feels, acts, and thinks. One of my favorite TV shows talked about this, how adults sometimes forgot this. I want to remember what it felt like to turn your first flip on the moneybars, or what it was like to loose a toy. Those are feelings that we don't (can't) care about anymore. I'm scared I'm already losing it. But I want to remember them so I can be the best parent possible.

But of course not one of those overbearing, pretending-to-be-a-cool-understanding-teen-lover, parents. That's also a whole 'nother sha-bang. That's not at all how I aim to be.

But I don't want to forget. I don't want to lie and say to myself that I sort of understand and remember what it was like to be a teenager about three decades ago. I want to say, "Hey. I know you're living in a whole different time right now. Things are way different then when I was a kid. But I love you. And this is what I think:" And just pour my heart out, neither forcing nor pretending (really lamely, I might add.)

Will you remember? Do you, reader, feel the pressure too?

Featured Artist(s) of the Post:
BIGBANG & 2NE1 in Lollipop

Bio: 2NE1 (pronounced either "to anyone" or "twenty one" as in the twenty-first century) is a fairly new South Korean Girl Electro-Pop/Hip Hop group. Band Members: CL, Bom, Dara, and Minzy
BIGBANG is another band under the same record as 2NE1 (YG Entertainment), but they are Japanese. Each of the five band members had individual sucess' until their uniting in 2006. They became the new face of YG Entertainment in 2007-8.

Juice Box Make You Feel Better

I don't care that I'm in 10th grade. I'd much rather have a juice box in my lunch than just get a drink at the drinking fountain.

A Bloggiversary!

"Happy happy birthday Bloggie, dear.

Hope your posts are better than last year.

If I had a wish, than it would be:

An extra special bloggiversary!"

Aw. How cheesily, yet sweetly pathetic. Written by me. Sort of in third person.

Happy Third, Bloggie. It all goes downhill from here.

Once again...

We have fallen into the trench of decrepid-ness. That too, and I also noticed that my last post REALLY sucked. Blah.

So, I will give you some excuses:

1. Screw you, AP and Honors Classes, and your 40 pg textbook reading assignments EVERYNIGHT, and test every other day. Seriously -- our ENTIRE grade is based on tests. It really sucks.
2. Pointe classes (info for non-dancers)
3. Job to pay for dance classes
4. Hip-Hop Dance Co. at East High

5. My computer got completely re-formatted after Internet Explorer broke (why I couldn't blog forever)

And now, what's new?

1. I got into Hip-Hop Dance Company and East High. Yeah, there's a gangster inside of my extremely pasty body. We're going to change the name to East High Dance Crew (hah) because we don't want to associate with the East High Dance Company who think that their own little dance of seduction at halftime on Friday was hip-hop. Simple: They dance Beyonce pop-hop, we dance street dance. TOTALLY different scenarios, and I'm glad of it.

2. I figured out how to do the moonwalk in some of my extremely broken in pointe shoes. Extremely broken in is the key here.

3. My right pointer finger has been completely numb for 6 days, and I have no idea why. I can move it and everything, but I just can't feel it. It's extremely weird because I CAN feel the bone, and it feels like I have something stuck to it (aka skin and sinew) and my animal instincts keep telling me that I have to get it off somehow. It's like having a piece of felt super glued to your skin.

4. I have a love/hate relationship with weather in September here in Utah (known for the unpredicticality [that's now a word]) because yesterday it was 85 at two o'clock, and today was 37 at two o'clock. Without warning. Right at the time that I start to walk home from school. No joke, that was the temperature. I even had my SKI coat on and was freezing. And then it started to hail.

5. I miss my friends Amber and Flan who are both on 11 month foreign exchanges. Amber is in Turkey and Flan is in Indonesia. Check their blogs out on my sidebar -- way awesome photos!

6. I designed another website: A for real one! No, like a for real, for REAL one. It manages hundreds of items for sale, has a shopping cart, and is even linked to Paypal! I think I'm going to cry, I'm so proud. It took forEVER. That's one of the main reasons that I haven't been posting on my blog. Check it out -- it's at http://www.naturallyinspiredgifts.com/ You may recognise some of the pictures if you are my friend on Facebook. The website is for my Mom's cousin's buisness. She sells stuff for kids in hospitals, to put it simple. Tell me what you think about it, please! I need feedback. How fast does it go on your computer?

7. I love anime. Ah. Favorites:

#1 Fruitsbasket (aka Furuba [fur-OO-bah])

(the name is after a game that kids play in elementary school (don't you know it? even I played it), but it sorta got distorted in english translation. It has some of the best morals in it, is hilarious, and extremely lovable.)

#2 Kodocha [KAH-doe-cha]

(this one is SO CUTE, but with not as good animation as Fruitsbasket. Ironically, the little boy, the girl, and the guy with the shades are all voiced by actors who are the main characters in Fruitsbasket as well -- they do the english dubbing SO WELL: some of the best voice actors in the world.)

#3 Kamichu [kah-MEE-choo]

(Such a cute style, with a Spirited Away feel.)

#4 Anything Studio Ghibli [JIB-ly] (not including the new and Disney forced Ponyo)

Studio Ghibli has some of the GREATEST movies I have ever seen -- they are so freaking creative! I love: Princess Mononoke [mohn-en-OH-kay], Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky.

PS: Anime is NOTHING like stereotypes say. Exibit A: Teen Titans (kids TV show). I was watching this while babysitting and SERIOUSLY--FAKE. Don't trust stereotypes. Just like you don't trust racist or sexist people.

I leave on this note because I want to say that even though I'm in Dance Company, and I dress normal and everything, I don't like to follow normal people. I like to follow my own personality, and I'm not afraid to say what I like or don't like. I don't follow the status quo of my school of "Urban" (dislike that term for Urban Outfitters) and Juicy Couture, and Wet Seal, or just VALLEY GIRL. I'm me. *sticks out tongue* Deal. I just ain't your average ballerina.

Pet Peeves and Drowning

Reading comments on my posts are always entertaining, especially the ones from my last post (I find the whole Spock thing kinda hilarious, though I know I can't say anything really about that, being as hypocritical as I already am) but I have to say how ANNOYING it is that some posts get comments and some don't. I mean, it shouldn't even BE annoying. I don't even know why it bugs me, really, but let me tell you...

Self-pondering aside, over the years of blogging I've realized that the sparce commenting problem is due to post timing. If I put two posts on within a few days or on the same day, people always read the one on top, instead of checking down what they've missed. This is partially my fault because I'm the one posting and choosing when I want to be internetly-social (now a word), but it partly is YOUR fault, reader.

Like with the last two posts--both put on the same day. The one on top really doesn't even MATTER but people decided to comment on that one. The one below had critical corrections but I doubt anybody read it anyway. Still probably think I'm suicidal or something. Oh gosh.

Okay, done with the ranting--now I want to share one of my favorite websites:

OMGPOP.COM

It's my hero in so many ways. They have this new game on there which is kind of like Guitar Hero on your keyboard called "Hit Machine", and I'm putting one of the music videos on here because I kinda like the song.

My New Boyfriend

Having been movie-deprived as a child, I am now experiencing the Star Wars movies - 10 painfully long years late.

I have one thing to say.

Mmmmm, Hayden Christiansen is pretty. Mighty fine. He beats your Spock any day.

Corrections!!!

Hhhhholy cow... I just looked at my blog with fresh eyes and was scared for myself. That was until I remembered that I had written the last post and 'Keep Breathing' wasn't exactly what I had meant to say.

So let me make a correction - I AM NOT GOING TO KILL MYSELF, I'M DEFINATELY NOT INTO THAT KIND OF THING, AND THE POST TITLE 'KEEP BREATHING' HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.

Well I'm an idiot! I can't believe I put that as the title... Ugh. What I meant by breathing was living. Smiling, going on with you're daily life. Like the song 'Keep Breathing' says.

That probably explains the number of people who came up to me in school and asked me if I was doing okay. Here's how it went:

"Hey Hannah!" A smile.

"Oh, hey _______. How was your summer? Yeah, first day of school is pretty sucky, eh?"

"Yeah..." Smile flickers to polite concern. "H-how are you?"

"Um... Doing great," Now I'm a little confused.

Hand on my back. "I heard you were having a hard time... so I..."

"What?"

"I saw your, you know, post...." Avoids eyes. Voice keeps trailing off.

"Oooooh, yeah. Ha. I can't believe how many comments I got on that. Csh! I admit I'm rather flattered, but I wish I got that kind of response on other posts." Not so worried anymore.

Peer doesn't seem convinced. "So, you're like okay now?"

"YES. Well, if you actually READ the post, I was never DOWN but okay. I'm really fine."

"Alright, if you say so." Glances my way when they think I'm not looking anymore.

I swear, this happened like six times on the first day of school. People! Jeeze. And they really DID put their hand on my back. Well, I guess it's sorta my fault, so that's why I've got to write these corrections...

Also, you may have noticed that my playlist....changed. Durastically. I got in a fight with music and we did a little 'trial seperation' to see if divorce was the answer, but he apologized and so we're getting back together. Expect my old (new) playlist back soon. My favorite music right now is Muse. Gah! Can't get enough of 'Starlight' right now. Told you my music taste varies crazily. Debussy to Muse, ha.

Keep Breathing

What's going on? Eh, not too much. Cousin diagnosed with leukemia. Puppy getting sold (She's been recently introduced to a shock collar, too.) Autistic brother lost his job. People fighting and arguing around you. School starting again. Trying to work a website for my mother's cousin, but the program broke down and the deadline is getting closer. Summer homework pressure. Dance is taking a complicated step... Had to quit piano. After the major company my mom worked for fell through, my mom is just designing on the side. For neighbors and old clients. Self employed. Sort of.

Yeah, not too much really. I know you can't really tell, but my tone is absolutely 100% not bitter. If anything, it's amused. These things happen. I fully understand that.

But even though sometimes things like to get in the way of life, clogging up our flow and lifestyle, we need to keep breathing. Keep going. Press on. We can be desperately confused, sad, or even livid about how things turn out. But these feelings block us up even more. Anger, envy, and vengeance are all emotions that hurt the people around us, while poisoning us from the inside as well. It's important that we don't let them get inside us, and start to instead detach ourselves from the feeling. Look from a non-biased, positive third party on the situation. Are your trials truly somebody's fault?

This is the part where you breathe. Don't look necessarily towards the future. Just focus on now, if it's too hard. Not only live past this moment, but strive. While you're down, see the others around you who may just be facing a situation as well. Even in the smallest and seemingly unnoticable ways, help them, as you would like them to help you.

This isn't some kind of preaching talk. It's not a lecture to you to be better, or else. I'm just trying to share my experiences. These things have really worked on me. Of course, I still fail at my own stuff sometimes, but that's why we even go to church, or serve others, or forgive. To get better.

Now, when I take stock of my recent dealings of cards, I can see the silver lining of everything. Even though my mom doesn't have a full time job anymore, she's actually at home. I don't think she's been like this since I was.... at least two. Since the divorce. It's crazy weird, how you normal people live. And my step-dad got a promotion at the U, so that's good. I'm also getting some really great dance.......opportunities that I'm not supposed to really talk about, so that helps the pain that I might have to quit someday soon. Also, if my mom is really getting rid of my dog (which she is, see ksl.com) then my step-dad and I are pushing that I might be able to get a baby rabbit of guinea pig. Not everything, but some things are looking up. If you keep your eyes open, and in the right place, you can see the small miracles around you. They're the acorns buried in the ash of a forest fire.

Just trust me, when it gets hard. Keep breathing. Even when it's all you can do, it's still the best thing you can do.

Daydreamer

I'm a daydreamer. It's really nice sometimes, actually. If you have a long walk, you can just turn on a movie for yourself and sit back to watch. It can be anything and everything that you want to see. Just relax. Observe. See what you're mind comes up with to entertain your attention.

Daydreaming can become an escape. It lets you stop thinking when you don't want to anymore. You watch your own world, not the real world. Sorta like a drug. Hah.

Interesting Childhood Experiences...

You Know You're White When....

...You come home from a 2 week vacation in a condo literally on the beach in Oceanside, CA to a sister who asks you, "Why the heck do you not even have a tan?!" Then you show her your previous color ("tanline") and all she can say is "...Oh." And turns away from you.

You know you're white when you sunburn like a squealing pig, too.

Although I did suffer the worst sunburn of my existance on that beach, I endured. It's been probably two and a half weeks since I actually got the burn (first day there, how sucky. I had to wear a t-shirt the rest of the time there in the water and felt like a shmuck.) but I'm STILL red. I'm not joking. It doesn't hurt really anymore, it just itches like mad, but before...heh. Wow. It literally felt like every NERVE was a live wire, and even the lightest touch hurt SO FRIGGIN BAD. Not so good to be that burned with also a combination of a dad's habit of patting his hand on your back every THIRTY seconds.

HOW CAN IT BE AUGUST ALREADY? I have summer homework to do still, I'm dancing 5 1/2 hours a day, working to pay for all of that, doing chores, working on other jobs like making my mom's cousin a fullblown buisness website with seriously hundreds (3) of items to be linked with PayPal, and I go out of town every other week. LET ALONE maintaining a blog. My personal website hasn't been touched since... I don't even know. I have no idea how I'm going to make it to the school year.

That's why I'm trying out some new backgrounds and things on my blog. I'm ready for the new. My blog is so depressing I actually decided to NOT name my post "So Sad..." Like I have a billion times when I haven't posted in eight years. It's sort of like if you see a dead, really REALLY rotting various animal on the side of the road that you decide is so..... dead that you don't bring it up to your family.

Okay, so that wasn't the best analogy.

I'm just going to try again. As I have so many times already. But hey, the train made it, right? With all that chugging, he totally tackled that hill. He probably has some serious lung capacity.

Widget!

I made a widget! Over here ----------------------------------------------->

Yay! I didn't make it from those little sites that are all "make a free counter" or anything, I actually made it. Took a while, though.

Sorry that the writing is so small, it was hard to get it all to fit in that sidebar, which I didn't even completely manage, as you see the right side is cut off.

You also probably think that it's ironic for me to have an email-link widget over there, when you can just comment on a post... but hey. Some people might not want their comment to be seen by everyone. Or if I haven't been checking my blog for ages and you want to yell at me a bit... I can respect that. Besides, it's not like it gives out my email to the whole world--which is quite handy, if I must say.

I feel so bad that I haven't posted in...uh...more than a month, but I do have a long post in my drafts that I will get published. :)

Ideas, discoveries, recognitions, attainments....

Whatever you want to call them, due largely to the lack of upkeep on this blog, I am going to post some simple thoughts I've been having lately.....

1. IS ZELDA AND THE OCARINA OF TIME NOT THE BEST GAME EVER INVENTED??? It's freaking amazing. How do I live during the hours that I'm not playing it? In close second and third and forth are Harvest Moon, Final Fantasy, and Super Smash Bros. Overall, I have to say that Nintendo and Blizzard are the best game-makers out there. Viva la 64!
2. Counting off, all the kids in my family are married now! WEIRD. I mean, I have a big family. I always have just assumed and percieved myself as 6 years old, and marrige and or even highschool was eternities away. Just go watch DragonTales or something on TV and you're all set! But, now it's just Caroline and I who are left...... ahhhhhh!
3. How lucky are we really to live in America? I mean, when my brother was in Rio de Janerio we would try to send him little things in the letters to keep him happy (like Koolaid Packets--Hey, he really liked them!) but it always happened to be the letters that we sent with goodies never reached him.............. *cough*
4. DANG YOU WIRELESS MOUSE! Now I have to use my mom's computer (the amazing one, of course.) which I'm not entirely complaining about except it has none of my music. The mouse on Caroline and my computer died AGAIN and while I was updating my iPod library, cutting here, adding there, making playlists... But I didn't finish, so my iPod is completely lacking in everything except, let's face it, techno, Enya, and french rap. Ouch.
5. Why are resolutions so HARD? It sounds so easy to just say to do _____ every day during the summer, but NO.
6. School's out! Even though through a terrible fluke through the public school system (dang you also) I got only 4 signatures in my forty-freaking-five-dollar yearbook, it's all cool. I get to now run in the rain, jump in puddles (not denying it), and leave tens of extremely long messages on my friends' voicemail while they're out of town. It's a party.
7. When I'm not working. I have SO MUCH TO DO. My mom has been advertising all about the website I built for her buisness, so I have to build three more in this month. That's not counting the summer homework, dance programs, hours of chores a day, babysitting for family and neighbors, dog training....etc. That's why this blog is so sad. I'm trying to manage my time as best as I can, while also fitting in all the calling and getting muddy-ness.
8. Planning... I'm going to have a birthday party up at my cabin on July 7th and 8th. I have a lot to do in that area too. Dang. I just remembered.
9. Remembered has a LOT of E's.
10. Rich people suck. I mean really, what do they DO with all their time? Do they just sit around, stare at their housemaids, drink tea, reorganize their personal library, and donate to causes? All of this rant is supposed to make me feel less jealous. Oh well. Long live middle class. We all know it's worse for a lot of people, and I'm not saying I'm not greatful for what I've got.
11. I'M ADDICTED. To reading.
12. Speaking of addicted, my mom is postive that soap operas are an epidemic across America. No joke. She won't even let us watch 5 minutes of one while we work.
13. The music on my playlist (bottom of page) is really not music that I listen to normally. If it all was on my iPod, I think that it would all have to be put under a playlist called "Nice, Pleasant, Reading Mix".
14. I'm going to have to write a #14 on my list because it's bad to end on 13.
15. Not that I'm superstitous or anything, cause I'm not. There are those crazy people out there who won't live on floor 13 in a appartment building like the Friendship Manor, so the owners are forced to disconnect the 13 button in the elevator and call the 13th floor the "14th".
16. Though some tracking systems that I have on my blog, I see that people from all over the world have looked at my blog. Why? I don't even know how Pam found my blog...(QUE FOR ENLIGHTENMENT IN MY COMMENT BOX) It's so weird. Once in a while you get weird comments from random people who all you can say to is "Who the heck are you??"
17. Interior Designer Mom: Plus side- Cool house. Down side-literally THOUSANDS of fabric samples!!!!!!! I'm going to stab someone in the neck if I have to organize another scrap of Hickory Chair "silk heaven".
18. I really need to study the driver handbook! Hopefully I'll get my permit really soon, yay driving!

I think I'm going to have to stop now. My brain rejects thinking about all that I have to do. Ugh. Baby steps. Blog, now done! Move on to......... chores. Yaaaaaaaaaay.

Me? Nerd? Seriously?

Yeah, okay. I guess I'll allow that one. I'm a nerd. After all, I am the one out of my friends who can write in HTML, make my own websites, who fixes other's computers. It's in my blood. My brothers are computer programmers (even though Hamilton is a sk8Tr too, weird mix.) and I hope to go into graphic design or computer advertising, or even web design. One girl yesterday actually demanded to find out why I was so "good at drawing in Microsoft Paint."

????

But do I see myself truly as a nerd? No. I see myself as...me. Au naturale. Complete. But, it's strange how perspective plays a seperate role in everyone's life. Each brain thinks in it's own unique way, and sees in it's own different patterns. It's practically untraceable (weird to say that out loud), the rate that people think. It really amazes me how our thoughts are somehow immediately linked to others. I have no idea how to describe what I mean, (another weird brain thing) so I'll switch subjects.

But yes, perspective.

A friend put in nicely one day a few months ago--she probably doesn't remember this--but maybe it's a hidden blessing sometimes that I get grounded to my house so often (another LONG story to tell. I swear my mom can be quite tempermental at times. It's not my fault!!!) because in the time that people can spend socializing, I continue to move forward. My brain whizzes and whirrs contemplating not only music and acedemics, but psychology and even politics. It really sucks sometimes, it seems like I can never turn it off for a while. But that's just my personality. That's how I think. I'm inquisitive, curious, and at times obsessive over true meanings of things.

So, maybe others see me as a bit of a nerd, while others at first glance see me as a prep (WHY??). I don't care. I'm me. There is nothing they can do. I'm proud of the hours and hours and HOURS that I read and write. And I'm proud of my talents. I'm proud of my years and years of piano, even though sometimes I say I hate it. I'm proud of me.

But as a post note--what's with the modernizing world? It seems like one day I'm in my land, then people start to latch on, act cool, and get their own websites and such. It makes me...upset sometimes. Like my own corner of "special" is being distributed around to clutchy, harried people who don't know how to use technology. Don't get me wrong! I love those people, they are great. It just...worries me. I don't know. Agh, here's an anology. I got a blog. Quite a while ago. I wanted to express myself to... virtually no one, keep a diary for myself. Look back upon what I was thinking 3 years ago. How I was feeling. People looked at me funny sometimes when I would mention a blog, or my font, or my website (I acutally wrote my first one in 6th grade. Can you believe that? I did it the hard way, too. My brother hosted it on his server for a while, he was so nice...) but I wouldn't mind. I'm a mix-y person. I look like a prep (GRR.) but in another layer I'm a nerd, and in the center, I'm me. Me. Overthinking, deep, wondering me. I liked being diverse. I liked having to always leave class in elementary school to go to ELP. But, suddenly, my own diversity is snatched from me. All of my friends have blogs now. My own 'corner' now is being split. Divided. I would even go as far as to say Americanized.

But if people are slowly becoming what I thought I was, who am I anymore?

Speaking Words of Wisdom

Don't you love it when somebody says something that just makes you think and think about the things that you've never even once considered? That makes you open you mind a little wider, lets you see the world outside of your window?

Well, today seems the day for everybody I know to speak incredible words of wisdom (que Beatles song). Can I quote a little?

From Emma's blog:

Did you ever think you may know someone their whole life and never really KNOW them? I mean there are so many secrets we hide and just kind of stash away and hope no one notices. Everyone just goes around pretending like life is fine and stuff, even though we all know that this is going on. And then some people are so concentrated on keeping up their image and facade that they don't notice that other people even have these masks we wear to hide even bigger things. Yeah, we all pretend that we are all "true to ourselves and everyone else" and stuff, but are we REALLY that way? I mean i know a ton of people (who will remain anonymous and who probably wont ever read this anyway) who act like they're all up front with everything and then you find out (through a long and complex process most likely) that they wear so many masks, THEY don't even know who they are and its just a total mess. I mean, I wear masks too, I'm not gonna lie about it. I'm not saying that there's some magical solution to it all or anything. I'm just trying to say the brutal truth about the thing that everyone else likes to pretend doesn't exist. I mean admittedly there are a lot of blogs about facades out there, but has anyone really admitted to wearing one themselves? Because it kind of seems like this is a thing that people likes to blame on others when everyone has one.

From Pam's blog:

In comparison with the universe, humans are very small. I mean, you might think Texas or Russia is big, but it's not. The entire earth in fact, is a mere grain of sand in the vast emptiness of space. Truthfully, if the universe is never ending, we're even smaller than that. But it doesn't feel like that all the time. Sometimes it seems as though the world is crashing all about you, and your problems seem to fill up all that empty space. In (my) theory however, if the universe has no bounds any one point in it could technically be "the center of the universe". Maybe that's why it's so easy to sometimes feel as though we are.

From Flan's blog:

Are we all pregnant??

You may be wondering why I would put this, but honestly, there has GOT to be some reason for all of this teen-angst-drama. It's either that everybody is pregnant at once, or it's just high school. Personally, I'm thinking the first. Which is why I also share from Gracie's blog:

boys.

they suck. big time. is it just me, or do ALL boys seem to be PMS'ing ALL THE TIME?! maybe it really is just me, who is being an over reacting baby, but honestly, WHAT THE HECK???

I think Grace framed that quite nicely. Took the words right out of my mouth.

HOORAY!!!

One one bleak afternoon, I got on to my blog to only hear one song - "You've Got a Friend in Me (Walt Disney)". AHHHHHH! I mean, I like Disney and stuff, but WHERE did my MUSIC go? I was REALLY mad.

So, I've had to redo my ENTIRE playlist. . . . Which I have procrastinated for quite some time now. I bet you readers were actually extremely pleased when my playlist died, not having to wait for it to load any time that you wanted to read my [brilliant] posts. Or letting it crash your computer.

So, sorry for all of you people who now would like to run a knife through their most precious internal organs - I've officially recronstructed my entire playlist. I don't have near as many songs as I had, but I think it's nice and slim. Good selection.

Hey, I'm happy. Enjoy!

A Corn-ocopia

Sometimes, I think my mom is insane. Eccentric and touched, but harmless. Depending on your perspective.

Her latest fling was creating a vegetable garden DREAM in our backyard. For weeks (I tell you) we've been planting, ordering, seeding, buying, tilling, painting, staining, watering, and in my mom's case, severely sun-burning. But that doesn't stop her! She works day and night, in sleet and snow, and through complaints of her unhappy children. Most just call it learning to ignore.

As of tonight we have the following planted (drum roll please):

Carrots, beets, turnips, nine Brussels sprout bushes, two kinds of lettuce, spinach, mint, parsley, rhubarb, peas, more peas, giant tomato plants, three kinds of bell peppers, Greek oregano (intoxicating smell), sage, rosemary, chives, string beans (yellow kind and green kind), cucumber, and soon to be corn, zucchini, and squash.

Wow, I don't know if I'll ever be clean again. I've planted SO much today.

So, so sad.

AHHHHH! My blog is decrepid! It's derelict, dilapidated, destroyed. I can't believe that I've let all of this come to.....this. This lack of upkeep, lack of voice.

Then I shall post!

What's been going on.....hmm... Well, I guess I'll start with the beginning.

When I last posted, I mentioned me being a lead in a play. What I really meant was, I was a lead in a play. Easy as pie. The play was called "Alice", one of five student-written, student-directed, student-performed one act plays in a festival called "Take 5". "Alice" was about a girl who goes to therapy, and explains her life's troubles through fairytales. It's really hard to explain in a nutshell like that, but it's a REALLY good play. Well written. I was the therapist, I actually played a big part, mainly as an antagonist in her fairytales -- my favorite being the mad hatter in the final tale.

My play was a blast. I made so many friends - seniors, juniors, everyone. But another play didn't have as much fun. "Bible Camp", a HILARIOUS comedy written by one of my best senior friends, Coco Mack, was completely canceled on closing night. The day of, directors were notifyed by our administration (grrr) that the cast wasn't allowed to perform their final night. People were in shock, it was during school that they found out. Finally, by the end of the day "Bible Camp" was able to perform if and only if they changed their ENTIRE play to "Wizard Camp". Costumes had to be altered, lines had to be removed or rewritten.... It was utter chaos. A news group actually came and interviewed us, read their story here. Man, way to knock out our rights to perform and freely speak in one blow. Everytime that somebody gets up there on that stage, they're at risk of being offended at, booed, etc. Obviously, our administration hasn't seen any of the Monty Python plays. Those still run, they are funny. People love them. They can choose to be offended. But us kids? We are devoid of those rights.

Which brings me to the attention of how minors don't really even have rights in the first place. What happens when we talk to our parents, and they disagree or don't want to hear it? We are told to shut up. No rights there. We must follow whatever they say, there is no way of revolution or changing of laws, no peacable assembly or even rioting of our government. When you really think about it, the only right that we have is the right to not get beaten. Nice. Family is a dictatiorship, it's a bubble in our constitution. Does that seem right? Give us a little more, will you?

This week, a TOTAL prep asked me if she was a prep. She framed her question in a way that was timid, but set prep-ness in a bad light. What do you say to that anyways? Do you tell her the truth, but run the risk of hurting her feelings? I seriously don't know, and that's what I told her..... um...?

Heh heh, yeah so I'm starting to think that our school being the official "East High: Home of the Wildcats" (inside AND out) is not that bad of a burden as it has once seemed. We get tourists in almost every day hoping to see the auditorium, our giant leveled lunchroom, Sharpay's pink locker...etc. [Seriously though, just wander through the whole school! They filmed everywhere.] I actually gave some chinese people a tour last week or so, and they gave me 15 bucks! Score! But, I am sad to report that they WILL be back. I am 90% sure that Disney will be making a High School Musical 4. They just put up a ton a weird decorations again, like banners and planters covered with the generic red and white... My geography teacher says that the producers told the faculty to count on them returning soon, and I think that this day is pretty much here. I mean, our school doesn't really care (except for the students really) because they always buy us new sound systems and cool banners (the ones from the third movie are ALL still there), and just recently (again, third movie) they broke all of our bleachers in the big gym where all of Troy's (gag) basketball games are held evidently from "too much dancing" on them. So, they bought us new bleachers. Talk about redistributing wealth, it rocks. My gym teacher is trying to auction off the real wood planks in the movie on eBay. Watch as they are sold to several creepers hoping to hold them close and sniff them... Don't scoff. It's true. I've seen them in real live. Like EVERY. DAY. at school.

Well, I'm sick of typing now and I don't want to think of school during spring break, so I'm going outside to soak up some sun. And probably jump off the roof onto the trampoline like I did relentlessly yesterday.

Sharing the Love

Well SORRY you guys, I've been busy... I have a life you know.... I can't post on my blog every three seconds (*cough* Cherrybomb)... Just kidding. I have been busy. I'm the lead in a play and I have a bit on my plate right now. Wow, I can't believe that I just said that. That sounds like somebody's dad looking over his evening paper at the kid asking for something. Gross. Now I'm an old man...

Well, instead of droning on about slightly depressing subjects such as the latter, I am going to move onto healthier light. Ah, yes, "Sharing the Love" as it is. For some strange idea I want to tell you about my favorite artists. Music artists, so to say. I know weird - I was half awake while wondering in circles about what I should blog about...

So let's start with the basics! Open your iTunes and pull out your credit cards because this price list is going to be hefty. Not to mention this post... sorry if this takes your computer forever to load. There is a link under every artist, so if they look or sound interesting, you can try them out. I would reccomend right-clicking to "open in new tab (or window)" if you have Windows.

And now, in no purposeful order, I introduce:

ADELE

Favorite Song(s): Daydreamer, Hometown Glory

Adele has such a new voice, it's so unique. She has the most incredibly thoughtful lyrics and a cute voice. Her songs are what I call "Lay back and breathe deep songs." To hear Adele, click here: don't worry - it's not a YouTube video or anything.

SHINY TOY GUNS

Favorite Song(s): Le Disko, Don't Cry Out

They are also a new artist with a fun beat and great melodies! Click here to listen to them.

BASSHUNTER

Favorite Song(s): Russia Privjet, DotA

Swedish techno anyone? This guy is AMAZING. I love it. Click here to hear him.

KEANE

Favorite Song(s): Bedshaped

This group also has really thoughtfull lyrics. You should give them a try, they are really cool! Click here for their website.

ANNIE

Favorite Song(s): Chewing Gum, My Best Friend, Heartbeat.

Don't mistake her for Shirley Temple! She is from Norway and has a real nice voice - and she can SING! It seems that pop artists can't even do that anymore.... Click here to hear her.

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Favorite Song(s): Claire De Lune, La Fille

Freaking genius. That pretty much sums it up. Click here for him!

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

Favorite Song(s): Satalite, Crash

This band always reminds me of my brother.... Guitar with great lyrics. Click here!

PARAMORE

Favorite Song(s): Decode, That's What You Get

This is NOT and EMO BAND! I like them. They're good! Click Here!

MUSE

Favorite Song(s): Supermassive Black Hole, Hysteria

Great. Great, great, great. Click here!

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

Favorite songs(s): Lack of Color, Passenger Seat, Crooked Teeth

Listen to them if you're sad. Don't when you're happy. It's....well. Just listen to them, then judge. Here!

ANNA NALICK

Favorite Song(s): Breathe, Next Best Thing

Creative lyrics, nice voice. Click here to listen!

JASON MRAZ

Favorite Song(s): Wordplay, The Remedy

Good, funny, and fast lyrics, nice voice. Here!

OK GO

Favorite Song(s): Here We Go Again

Remember the guys who danced on the treadmills?! Well, here they go again. Click here to hear them!

LADY GAGA

Favorite Song(s): Starstruck, Poker Face

Hey, I knew her BEFORE she was all famous. She's good. Here!

EMMY ROSSUM

Favorite Song(s): Slow Me Down

She sung for the movie The Phantom of the Opera when she was 16, AMAZING singer, her song "Slow Me Down" was completely a cappella, too. Here!

ENYA

Favorite Song(s): All of them!

Nice songs, kind of like lullabyes. Here!

FROU FROU (AKA IMOGEN HEAP)

Favorite Song(s): All of them! Really, they're all great.

Cool voice, cool style. Here!

INCUBUS

Favorite Song(s): Um... All of them also??

Click here to hear them!

JET

Favorite Song(s): Look what you've done

I wouldn't say that they were cute songs, but they.... I don't know. Just listen to them if you want. Click here!

JOHN MAYER

Favorite Song(s): The Heart of Life, No Such Thing, Why Georgia, 3x5, 85

I love his voice, it's not 'grating' (spelling?), but it's soft and whispery. If calms you. Try him out here.

LILY ALLEN

Favorite Song(s): Shame for You, Knock 'Em Out, The Fear

She's a british singer who has the funniest lyrics! Cute style and choice of words. Here!

MAROON 5

Favorite Song(s): If I Never See Your Face Again, Litte of Your Time, Makes Me Wonder

My brother introduced me to them a while ago, and I really do like them. Adam Levine has a creative voice. Click here!

NELLY FURTADO

Favorite Song(s): Like a Bird, Maneater

She's a Brazillian singer with a beautiful accent. I've known and liked her since I was in 2nd grade. Here she is!

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD

Favorite Song(s): Wild Horses, Pocketfull of Sunshine, Unwritten

She also has very creative lyrics, and a pretty voice. Click here to listen to her music.

O-ZONE

Favorite Song(s): Dragostea Din Tei (the Numa Numa Song)

Have you seen the famous video? Click here to listen to their other songs.

ONE REPUBLIC

Favorite Song(s): Apologize, The Way I Are

They're just cool songs, ok?! Listen to them!

P!NK

Favorite Song(s): Sober, Stupid Girls

She has funny, but true lyrics. Nice voice and great beat. Click here.

REGINA SPEKTOR

Favorite Song(s): The Call, all of them, really.

She has the sweetest voice, the cutest person. Click here for her many songs.

YAEL NAIM

Favorite Song(s): New Soul

She, like Regina Spektor, is really cute. Her songs are beautiful. Especially New Soul. Click here for them.

WEIRD AL

Favorite Song(s): Amish Paradise, You're Pitiful, All of them!

You know you like them. Especially his movie [clips on the link]. Click here for his songs.

THE VERONICAS

Favorite Song(s): Untouched

They have such cool music videos! I love this band. Click for their songs.

ALICIA KEYS

Favorite Song(s): (As I Am) Intro

Her songs are so nice and beautiful... Try her out.

***********************************************

Everyone I left out: The Beatles, The Fray, Mika, Black Eyed Peas, Of Montreal.

As you may have noticed, my music preferences differ drastically. I just like any song that has a good beat and makes me happy. Or sad. Just anything that has a deeper meaning, thoughtfull lyrics, and really makes you feel a certain emotion...

Just because I'm an idiot and want to bring wrath to you all, I want to know what CHERRYBOMB, EMILY H., OLIVIA K., FLANNERY M., and CAROLINE H. like to listen to. So, you five, get to work. NOW. Muhahaha, why I do feel quite evil tonight.

Look at this music video -- it's really cute.