Footnotes Of My Life

Fuzz

2010-03-29T05:16:00.001-07:00

Somehow I can never think of all the interesting things I wanted to put on my blog once I actually get to writing a post. I'm going to pick my brain and type out whatever happens to float across it...

It's my new goal to eat mola mola. It's the heaviest known bony fish in the world. I'm not sure if there are any unbony fish, but this is the heaviest one with bones. Google it.

Today it is very foggy outside. I love to run around in the fog on the soft wet grass with barefeet. It's a lovely morning for that. Too bad I'm in school :P

We're having a fiesta today in Spanish. I accidentally left my corn muffins at home, so Daddy is bringing them to school on his way to work.

I don't like the feeling of rejection. It's especially bad 4 times over. Emory, UVA, Stanford, Northwestern...

Bell. Later alligator.

Today

2010-03-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

School is the only place I ever feel bored. And I never feel bored even then because there's always a friend or the internet to distract me. But today... today I'm just taunting my pal August and my computer isn't next to Nicolette because we're in the library for AP Lit. so I don't really know what to do.

It always feels weird to write something creative or personal when you're in a public place. It feels like someone might be reading over your shoulder. Or at least, that's how I feel.

I am told a certain spiky green fruit known as the Durian fruit smells like rotting flesh and tastes like tapioca flavored with onion. Some guy once called it the "King of Fruits."

Saved by the bell. Later.

7 Years

2010-03-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I broke a mirror last night. I hope this doesn't affect my chances of getting into Princeton.

Things That Make Me Smile

2010-03-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

Praise for Footnotes of My Life:

"Your blog very interesting."
- ARISTIONO NUGROHO (taken from his comment on one of my posts)

There are no typos in that quote. :)

Yearbook Migraine

2010-03-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in yearbook class again. It is 10:15 a.m., five minutes before the end of the awful terrible dreadful class.

No one listens to anyone else, we waste time talking about things that could be settled in five seconds, and we get screamed at because the same things still aren't done.

WHY???

I don't know.

Here's a picture of a gigantic drain that scares the poo out of me. It looks Phtoshopped, but it's real. Look it up.

Lake Berryessa Glory Hole.

Fiend-Machine

2010-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I hooked up my computer to my printer so that I could print off a college application. If we had had a conversation about the situation that followed, it would have been a lot like this:

Printer: Excuse me, but my paper output tray is closed.
Me: Oh, I'm sorry. Let me get that for you. [Opens front of printer and presses "Resume" button.] All better.
Printer: ... my paper output tray is closed.
Me: Nah, I just fixed it. It's okay. Go ahead.
Printer: But you didn't open my paper output tray.
Me: Um... yeah. I did.
Printer: Haha, very funny. You think you can get me to print without opening my paper output try.
Me: Sure. That's right. You totally got me. [opens and closes paper output tray several times, leaving it to rest completely open.]
Printer: So when are you going to close my paper output tray?
Me: Oh. My. Goodness. Look here buddy, your paper output tray is freaking OPEN.
Printer: I'm getting tired of this. Would you just open the stupid tray?
Me: Don't you use that tone with me! You're a printer! And a dysfunctional one at that!
Printer: Don't you call me dysfunctional. Your face is dysfunctional.
Me: YOUR PAPER OUTPUT TRAY IS OPEN.
Printer: Are you blind? No, it isn't.
Me: [breaks down into sobs] Please, please... please print.
Printer: [gentle, soothing printer voice] Okay. No need to get so upset. I'll print for you.
Me: Really? [wipes a tears]
Printer: Yes, of course. That is my function after all. I'm a printer.
[Ashley and the Printer share a tension-easing laugh]
Printer: Just open my paper output tray.

* * *

Needless to say, I wasn't able to print my application. And the Mr. Open-My-Tray is still out of commission. I hope there's a special place in hell for dead technology.

Weekend Before Christmas (Yessssss)

2009-12-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

So here I am, just chillin on the couch and listening to Kesha because Nicolette is addicted to "Tik Tok" and plays it all the time. I wish I wrote on my blog more. It's a little sad I suppose.

Plus this post is going to be almost nothing since dinner is ready. I guess what I wanted to say is that I finished on my online college class yesterday with my final exam. Also, we've got 14 inches of snow here and it's incredibly beautiful. Everything is covered in white. The suburbs are much more appealing this way.

Later.

Baked with Magic

2009-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I believe that there is some magic which can be attributed to fortune cookies.

Picture by disneymike

Today I competed in Poetry Out Loud at my school. I won for my classroom as did Jacob and his friend (also becoming my friend... sort of, in a weird way) Sydney. Both of them are amazing at reading poetry, of course, just as they are at writing it. I was pretty sure I had both of my poems that I had to recite pretty much down today.

The first was Peach By Jennifer Tonge. It's a really amazing poem with so much sybolism and insinuation... I love it. However, it does not love me. Just as winter does not love Finny and his crutches in A Separate Peace (a book I finished recently and actually really enjoyed), Peach does not love me. In fact, it completely screwed me over. I forgot it totally and completely even after memorizing it for over an hour straight last night and repeating it a million times today. I could say it. I had it. But when I got in front of the judges' table made up of teachers and staff I knew well, all the words ran from my mind about midway through. I had to ask for a line about five times. Jacob won. Sydney got second with no effort at all. I got nothing.

I put on a smile. I was happy for them, really, I was. But after 3rd place last year, this year, I got nothing. Nothing. I was devastated.

I came home and laid in bed. I let it all out. Both the rents tried to convince me to go to dinner for great report cards from my siblings and I, but I just wanted to stay home. Then I had a sushi craving. So I went.

At the end of dinner I got a fortune cookie and as is tradition, my family went around the table sharing theirs. Mine said this:

"Your emotional nature is strong and sensitive."

Coincidence? I think not. It was pure fortune cookie magic. Well played, you little piece of dough, well played.

P. S. The second poem I recited was The Minefield By Diane Thiel. Just in case anyone cares to know.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock....

2009-11-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

You know what drives me crazy?

Time. Or rather, lack thereof.

If you could figure out how to bottle time, you could make just about a frizillion dollars. And that's quite a feat for the current state of the economy.

But anyway, my phone is acting really weird. I recently got the LG enV3...

http://www.lge.com/us/mobile-phones/images/lg-mobile-VX9200Red-lean-large.png

...and when I press the left arrow on the inside keyboard my phone turns off. Or re-turns on. Or the screen just glows balck in an on and off limbo. This is only when I press it as a shortcut to get to my pictures, though, mind you. I really just don't understand. Other than that it's a good phone. It took me time to adjust to with the full keyboard and everything but I've found I like it a lot as a whole. Plus I got it a cute black, white, and pink paint splatter/swirly design phone cover. Useless investments make me happy.

I'm sure I have more to say on some random subject or another but I should probably be getting to bed. I don't even know why I'm still up. Silly goose.

I guess I'll post some time later this week or something. No promises.

Adios.

F is for Epic Fail

2009-11-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

My dad keeps saying that.

"Epic fail."

It sounds ridiculous. Anyway, it's been a long time since my last post. I'm back at school. It's rather school-ish. (<-- not a positive adjective.) But what I was going to say is that today, I got hit on by a girl. In case we forgot, I am a girl. A straight girl, too. However, Nicolette's former classmate who was at the football game we went to must not have realized this.

It isn't that I have a problem with gay people of any variety. I just don't... roll that way.

We were standing with one of Nicolette's friends who was part of the school band for the opposing team. A couple of her friends joined us, including one we'll call "Amy." Amy casually but extremely conspicuously looked at me as she told the group of girls that if anyone wanted to hit her up, Nicolette's friend had her number.

Andrea, a member of my school's band, told me it was because of my hat. I was offended. It's a very cute hat.

My boyfriend's response to being told I was hit on by a girl:

"So am I to understand that I need to watch out for other guys and girls too?"

Yes, Jacob, apparently girls, too.

Summer Reading Blues

2009-09-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

Oh lordy. I'm back at school.

So you know what's weird? Our school has decided to put homeroom at the end of third period. That's right. In the middle of the day we're going to listen to announcements and stand up to say the pledge. Ugh. Stupid school. They somehow think that this will fix lateness. In reality, everyone will continue to be late and we'll just miss some more of our actual "education" time. Also, I'm asleep in homeroom still so... hopefully I won't miss too much in AP Literature. I sleep in Spanish anyway. Since we have a rotating schedule, that and Lit are both my first period.

You know what isn't good?

Staying up until 2:30 and waking up at 6:00. Yeah. I don't recommend it. I also don't recommend leaving your summer reading notes/summer reading to the day before you have to write an essay and turn in said notes.

But as for good things... I had a nice weekend. I got to go mini golfing with Jacob on Friday and he beat me by one stupid point. I like to talk a big game but in reality, I'm not that good at mini golf. It was fun anyway. Saturday was most wonderful as well: I made it all the way to Nicolette's house without trouble and from there she navigated us to the movies.

While we're on the topic of movies, go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. In 3-D if you can. It is AWESOME. So cute. It isn't much like the children's book that inspired it but the story is just adorable. See the movie, read the book. Do it. Today is the diem to carpe.

This week has been stressful. I got about four hours of sleep most nights due to leaving summer reading notes until the last minute. School.... grrrr....

Who are you and why are you posting on my blog?

2009-08-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

It's me. It's been a while since that last post and things are looking up. I actually cried at my last day of work, realizing I would miss all the staff and the kids as much as I won't miss wiping tables and picking up trash. That was last friday. I think I'll go back there one day with some chocolate peanut butter fudge and a few thank you notes.

Today it is raining and looks rather gloomy. Very fitting as I went to the dentist this morning.

I was moved to blog while I was sitting in the chair having my teeth cleaned due to the fact that I used to have a dentist who had a little sink and a cup of water attatched to the chair. A lot of places don't have that now apparently. What happened to good old rinse-and-spit dentistry? My situation wasn't as bad as I had previously assumed though. This dental hygienist fills your mouth up with water and makes you swish it all around, then sucks it up with the sucker thing. Almost as satisfying as spitting it out. Almost.

So, I haven't written anything in the categories of creative writing or poetry for about three weeks now. I decided to take a break after I sat down to write a poem and all that came out was a bunch of stupid ugly words. That's a little harsh. I wasn't pleased by what it was, that's all. Hence, I came to the conclusion that my inspiration might come burbling back into the dried up spring of my creativity if I were only to rest it for a while. Three times now I've come within an inch of writing something. Not literally, but, I typed out a couple lines of dialogue here, scribbled down a few phrases of verse there-- and then distracted myself from such activity in order to better heal my overworked imagination mechanisms.

Hopefully I'll be back to my crazy write-y self in another week or two. Blogging does not count as creative writing.

Since I'm supposed to be finishing Gulliver's Travels and starting some laundry at the moment, I will take this opportunity to say toodle-loo.

No Work and No Play

2009-06-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am so tired. And I just keep wasting so much time. I'm at work right now. The Boys and Girls Club? Yeah. I just with there was something to do. I feel like... I'm getting paid to be bored.

At least the kids are really cute. You get weary after a strong dose of them when they're rowdy and won't listen, but they are cute. One little girl was sitting on a bench in the Tech Center with me and she was playing with my hands, looking at my class ring. She says, "Is this your married ring?" I smiled really big and told her "No, it's my class ring. It has my school on it."

"Do you gotta boyfriend?" she asks.

"Yes, I do."

"Then why don't you have a married ring? You better tell him you needa get married."

I chuckled but managed to restain my laughter and just agreed, "Okay. I'll tell him."

Jacob found the story very amusing. We were both laughing pretty hard as a matter of fact. Little kids uckkk... they're adorable.

Another day this week I was sitting by the front desk (with nothing to do) and another little girl came up to me and introduced herself as Seanae. (Pronounced shaw-nay) She too, took an interest in my hands and observed, "Miss Ashley, you're nails are long," then added, "Can I break one off?"

Oh, children. Wonderful little monsters. I'm glad it's thursday. One more day of waste before a whole week at Girl's State. I think I'll be ready to go back to work after that.

Wonder if I have any stories to tell... after a big fight and months of silence, I called Dan a couple weeks or so ago and on Sunday he met me at my pool. He had his wisdom teeth removed last week so his one cheek was still a bit puffy but we managed to devour a good quantity of homemade chips and salsa between the two of us. The water was chilly so we didn't swim at first but instead opted for a long conversation about adding "ing" to every verb as you're doing it. For example, while one is running, one would announce "running." And should one run one's self too hard in heat and hence make one's self sick, one might announce "vomiting," as one vomited. It's very amusing, you see? The same conversation Nicolette and I had memorial day weekend. I'd thought Dan might find it amusing. And he did. We were stuck on it for an hour at least.

And then we decided that inanimate objects could be like Pokemon and say aloud what they are. Their attitudes change over time though. For instance, when a chair is first created it might have a certain happiness for existence and would exuberantly announce "chair!" But after awhile, when you sit in it, it might sort of sigh or grumble, "...chair.." However when put out for the garbage it would begin to worriedly cry, "chair! chair! CHAIR!!!"

Dan and I are a couple of silly geese. We still have a really strange mental connection, we discovered. I took the words out of his mouth a couple times and I asked my stepmom for the pool's address to give it to Dan just seconds before he texted me, asking for it. After conversing on chairs and the awkwardness of announcing things like "gossiping" and "sneaking," and whatnot, we took a walk to a local elementary school and followed a pair of rabbits all over the property for probably a half an hour. These bunnies... they didn't run, they just hopped a short distance away whenever Dan and I got close, nibbled some grass, hopped away, repeated the process. We named them Maude and Wilson. Wilson is not only a name BTW, it's also a verb and adjective meaning "chill" or "relax."

If you'd like to add Wilson to your vocabulary all you have to do is say things like this: Yo man, you need to Wilson. It could be worse. Or: I love my science teacher. She is just totally Wilson. Nothing bothers her.

Then after Wilson at the school, we went back and feasted on all the food my parents and the people at the pool had brought. I don't even know how many potstickers I ate. And lots of cream puffs for dessert. Dan decided to start something after dinner, swiping a mini beach ball off the deck and throwing it at me. This led to a peg-each-other-with-mini-beach-balls face off which started out on land and ended up being carried to the pool. We both had some good hits, though I'll admit that Dan has much better aim that I do. He hit me in the head more times than I could or would like to count.

Today was the first day that my arm hasn't been sore from throwing those stupid beach balls at Dan. It really hurt when I woke up Monday. Now I just hurt on the inside. I miss Jay :(

I think the next class is coming in soon. TTYL.

For CEREAL?

2009-06-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Ashley AKA RainDance is the author featured on Protagonize on June 8th, 2009? SWEET. This post definitely gets tagged in the "whoa" category. Which really puts me in the mood to think about happy things. Which means that I am about to compile a beautiful list of things that I really ENJOYED about this year. Thinking positive. I like it. Here goes:

~ Creative writing and the little to no effort that it took to get an A in that class

~ 2010 goes Under the Sea for Homecoming. Luckily it was just our one awful hallway because...

~ Homecoming was Harry Potter-themed

~ Third place of all four high school grades at Spirit Week (We beat the freshmen.)

~ Our unofficial class motto: "No one beats us at losing."

~ No ceilings in our school, endless constuction, construction workers everywhere, that random knife stuck in the ceiling, wheelbarrows of dirt being wheeled out (?) of the school, no heat and wearing winter coats for 10 hours a day

~ Big Epiphany of the Year: Aliens are here. They're all around us. Trust your instincts.

~ Time spent at the mall with Dan, finding Atlantis in a soda machine, splitting chinese food and drinking smoothies which never tasted quite right but which we always bought anyway

~ Traveling to Opaltopia in my head with Nicolette when junior year was sucking out our souls

~ The day our school flooded with poop... HAPPY POOP DAY!!!

~ Frightland and how thought it was going to absolutely positively terrifying. LOL.

~ The boy Nicolette and I met at Frightland, BJ. He writes very interestingly and lives in a feild.

~ Beginning to write EPIC with Nic; getting to know our characters and falling in love with them

~ Getting... what's that? My first boyfriend ever? Yeah. I know.

~ Mr. Mazz and his songs/stories/off topic ramblings

~ Going to King of Prussia with Dan and getting a new winter coat

~ Christmas dinner and eating my body weight in food

~ School New York trip with Dan: holding hands running around the city, being foolish, trying on knitted mohawk hats, browsing the comic book store, watching ice skaters, sitting by that beautiful lit up fountain with our hot cocoa, getting lost, almost getting left behind when the bus was about to leave...

~ New Years Eve party at my house and almost getting into a fight with Nicolette over a boy. HAHAHA. That's never happening again.

~ The ensuing nine hours at the mall that followed our almost-fight-over-a-boy during which Nic and I managed to entertain ourselves even without money. We just outlined a novel to pass the time. ;)

~ Finding someone who also uses "piss!" as an expression of frustration

~ Rockford Park in spring with Jay

~ Frozen vanilla mousse in ice cream cones at seven in the morning. MOUSSE PARTY YAYY.

~ Getting in touch with my Spanish side and embracing Ashlidad as my new Spanish class name

~ Aric imitating screaming bunnies

~ Crazy hilarious skits in Spanish-- "Yo soy una princessa!"

~ Stopping for water ice three times at Rita's on the first day of spring

~ Awamu with Nic and getting so lost I started crying. I hate the highway. I hate driving. But I do have a great story about getting lost now.

~ Discovering I can rollerblade without breaking my neck

~ Failing to do very much of anything in newspaper, even if that means we only got out 3 editions...

~ Selling tickets at the Flower Market for NHS

~ The weird school lunches that they serve you at the end of the year with all the food that you don't normally get

~ Elliot Yamin from American Idol performing at our school? What???

~ Coming in next to last in an NHS 5k (Jacob was dead last as he insisted upon it)

~ Crying at graduation even though I didn't really know any seniors

~ The worst school year of my life being over. That was the best.

Overwhelmingly Over

2009-06-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite-y favoritest Corri Corri mentioned this website once during our creative writing class:

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

I think I'm in love with this website. I look at that bacon cheese muffin currently residing on the page and I think... oh, fat... I just wanna eat it.

I'll have to add this to my list of fabulous linkage.

But that was just a start to this post. My real purpose in posting today (today's reason to live) is--

SCHOOL IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That really took some self-control to take my finger off the exclamation point. I'm so happy. And I must have spent four hours on the phone with Jacob today after school. It was funny because we were talking about when we first started going out. What we were thinking at certain times. How I look so incredibly sick in the pictures from Winter Ball but he says he never even noticed while we were there. Praise the lord for that. Nothing was stopping me from going to that dance.

I think maybe tomorrow I'll steal Nic's idea about creating a list of good things that happened this year. And I'll look at it and think, "That's how I survived." But I have to get up early for my sister's graduation from elementary school tomorrow. I'm going to hit the hay.

Goodnight, my someone. Goodnight, my blog...

Sunday: My I-Don't-Have-To-Run Dayyyy

2009-06-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Didn't expect to see me back so soon did you? No.

SURPRISE!!!

Today I have a present to share with you. It's my Spanish essay for my final tomorrow-- TADA.

Mi Vida
Por Ashlidad McNeilio [My Super Secret Spanish Name]

Cuando era una niña, era sonriendo siempre. Vida fue lleno de mariposas solamente esperando a ser capturaron. Me gustaría jugando y cantando y reiendo.
Este ano, he perdido las mariposas. Este ano, mis amigos han hecho me loco y he estado muy, muy triste. No me gusta tengo diez y siete anos.
En la futura, espero algo se una escritora. Publice novelos numerosos esa hacen gente quieren leyendo. Tendré una casa y una familia esa hacen me muy feliz.

If you can read that, you know more Spanish than I do. For sure. But you know what? I don't care because tomorrow is my very last day of school. This wretched junior year will be over.

Today's reason to live: the day after tomorrow. (How do ya like that?)

I'm sure I'll feel very triumphant tomorrow when I come home, so perchance I'll make another entry. As it is now though, I had a lovely day with Jacob at the pool and am very tired. The water was cold so mostly we just laid in the sunshine on the playground of a nearby elementary school. I'm wondering if I have sunburn or if I'm just paranoid. Not sure. Anyway, I'm happy with my essay and I've eaten enough in the past few hours to satisfy a hungry hippo so I'm going to high tail it to bed.

Night night.

I am actually still alive.

2009-06-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

BLOG! It's been so long! I missed you so much!!!

I'm sorry again for my abandonment. I know you don't want/need/care about excuses, I but I feel that I must at least explain.

If we're being honest, I got caught up in life and I just sort of forgot about you. I know it hurts. I'm sorry. So sorry.

Is it normal that I talk to you like some forgotten hermit crab that has been left to die in the darkness of an unclean cage? That is so sad. I really must stop this.

See, it's graduation that has put me in this somber mood. Not my graduation (praise the lord) but the graduation of the class of 2009. Tonight I volunteered to usher for National Honor Society and then stayed to watch the ceremony. Nicolette and I had first row seats. We watched the people on stage intently as their faces changed, some laughed, many smiled, a good number cried. Nic took loads of pictures for the yearbook. And then, suddenly, after speeches and accolades and much loud applauding-- it was over.

The stage was empty.

And I wanted to cry. Really wanted to cry. Next year it will be me leaving that stage empty, me graduating, ME getting ready to go off to COLLEGE. EWWWWWW. Someone wake me up from this nightmare. I'm afraid. I don't want to grow up.

But at least this year is almost over. I have one day of school left on Monday. Two icky but insignificant little finals and I am home free. But this summer will be different on account of my having a "paid internship" AKA a job at the Boys and Girls Club. I'm excited to be working with the kids and all, but it's a big committment. I won't have nearly as much time to slack off and find inspiration to write :( There's so much to do this summer. Not enough time to lie around like a beached whale at the pool and get a tan. And so I sigh. I think I should go to bed. Things will look brighter after a nice long rest.

Goodbye for now.

The Why

2009-05-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Today, Jacob asked me what the purpose of having a blog is. And I said, well, "It's like a diary. But public. So people can read it."

And then I said that I could post something about why I have a blog. And Megan, my coeditor and creative writing buddy, told me that would be stupid. So then I knew I had to.

So here it is. I have a blog because:

- I like to write.
- It's important to document these little bits and pieces (footnotes, if you will) of my life.
- I need to procrastinate frequently.
- It's fun to say "OMG I have to blog about this!" (sarcasm. i don't really talk like that.)
- It's pretty colors.
- The place to post photos I'm fond of is nice.
- Allow me to reiterate, I can waste lots of time reading and writing on my blog.
- I can fave my friends' blogs and comment upon and read them too.

That's all I can come up with for now :) L8r.

CAKED

2009-05-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

So this weekend I definitely caked my boyfriend on his birthday. It was his 16th birthday so I mean, it wasn't like I had a choice. I was obligated to make sure that boy looked like he got in a fight with a bakery and lost. I think I succceeded.

Unfortunately, Jacob decided to retaliate and glob icing all over my face as well :( I already turned 16 last year. Been there, done that. But it was fun anyway.

Saturday I took SATs and was mentally incapable of functioning the rest of the day (I tried to spell "rude" R-O-O-D. Yeah. Wow.) What a stupid test. But in the afternoon I got to go the a local farm with cows that make ice cream. You know what I mean. And I saw my chemistry teacher there. He bragged about my friend Marilyn's intelligence and made me feel stupid. This was proven when I recieved an F on my chemistry quiz on Monday. I also got to have a nice chicken dinner with my family and half my alternate family on Saturday. It was delicious.

However, I can't skip Sunday as that was Point-to-Point and was also an almost entirely miserable day. I spent - are you ready for this? - 8 HOURS in the rain. I was very grumpy by the time I was done with all that volunteering. At least Nic, Veronica, August and Jacob were all there in the afternoon as well as 11 other National Honor Society volunteers throughout the day. It was extremely wet. They still held the horse races though, probably because that's what it's all about. But I watched one horse fall down on the track from the hill where I was huddled under an umbrella with Jacob and it had to be put to sleep. It couldn't get up. And I've no idea where the rider was. It was terrifying, especially since I've been riding from the age of 8 until now. I love horses. But they're so poorly designed, so fragile.

I didn't really do that much at the thing besides coordinate where all the volunteers were going. I looked awful by the end. I'm sure my makeup was ruined and my hair was a mess. Like someone had attempted to drown me. Maybe it worked. I probably looked dead. But August somehow managed to stay adorable with her matching flowered hat and dress, so when we walked across the street to the parking lot (a loosely used term because it was really just a field) these drunken tailgating boys yelled out there car "YOU GUYS ARE BEAUTIFUL!" as they drove past. I turned around to see if they were talking to August and me and the same guy reconsidered at the sight of me with a loud "NOT YOU!" I gave him a choice word or two as they drove away. I hate drunk people. They are not, apparently, good for improving one's mood. Jerkwads.

Today's reason to live: get yelled at by drunk people and make friends laugh/hug your pitiful being when you tell them a story like this.

That was my weekend pretty much and coming back to school was a total letdown. Man, I hate school. Such a waste of my time. Maybe next year will be better. Knock on wood. At least I have my buddies... when they aren't crying on their unfinished calculus tests in spanish class... ya. I don't know. I just need some sleep.

TTFN.

Alas, I'm Still Here

2009-04-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Clearly, the apocolypse did not wreak the havoc I had previously assumed was imminent. No. It was strange because a short while after I had made the post previous to this one, I felt a strange sense of calm. It was pouring down rain and I knew they were gone. Something changed their minds. But the aliens haven't left. Who knows when they could change their minds again?

Anyway, I had a splendid weekend. Saturday at the horse farm/park with Jacob and Sunday at a state park with approximately half my alternate family (the ones who took me camping) and my little sister. We spent several hours floating/swimming/not-so-white-water rafting down the creek. My alternate father, Greg, caught a trout with his bare hands! He is just so cool. *insert knowing smile and snort here*

I caught 2 froggies and a toad. They were so cute. Then, the weekend ended with a school trip to Washington D.C. on Monday. It was a nice transition. The bus was completely uncomfortable and sort of sickening but we visited the Newseum which was a lot more interesting than I had planned on it being. Maybe I'll post some pictures once I get them off my camera. Then again, I always say that.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I'm in need of some quotes to get me through the rest of the week. Here we go:

“Stay away from Brandon. He’s my man. But you’re probably not into black guys are you?”
-Mariah on me not being into black guys while I'm dating a black guy

“Chow down on that!”
-Daddy on no admission to a zoo in St. Louis/me on everything in the ten minutes of conversation after that

“Look, she’s being a jello!”
-Claire on my dog wiggling down a hill on her back

“*gasp* You have a sowing!”
-Claire on the stitches in her sister's knee (Claire is 11. She's also blonde.)

"Ashley is not human."
-Nolan on me getting an A on a spanish quiz

"To be fully human, one must be a dork."
-Mrs. Rae on dumbing down Emerson's previously impressive work

"No more cookies. They're bad for my pants."
-August on weight gain... of pants...

"You might end up where you don't want to go if you don't know where you're going."
-Mr. Mazz on confusing directions

"If we're all in this together, we can all make out."
-Mr. Killheffer on accidetal double entendre

"I don't believe in Ireland."
-Julia on lies the government tells us

"Yum. Knowledge."
-Alysia on eating calculators

"Wait. Your dad is a NUN???"
-Ryan on your celibate father

That's all I can think of right now. But I hope you enjoyed them. I know I did.

I think I'll start listing reason's to live. Today's reason to live is because the apocolyspe did not happen, YET. Party while you still can. Like it's 1999.

Word.

Possibly My Last Post

2009-04-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

The aliens are here.

They're here.

I wish I was joking. A strange storm has blown in and I've just run around locking all the windows in my house. Besides those in my parents bedroom. I was afraid to go in there alone. Now, I'm not exactly sure what's happening, but there's an odd orangey cloud and Nicolette and I were disconnected twice while we were talking on the phone about aliens... before the storm.

It could be an abduction. It could be the apocolypse. I'm really not sure. But mark my words, something is going to happen.

Cast of The Lovely Bones

2009-04-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

December 11th. Do you know what happens December 11th?

The Lovely Bones happens December 11th.

That's right, folks. It's a very exciting date, so mark your calenders. You have to go see this movie.

As a fan of the book, I'm really expecting a lot out of this film. The cast looks pretty good as far as I'm concerned, though the age differences between characters like Ray Singh and Susie Salmon are a little worrisome. Let's go through the cast. I'm doing this because http://www.imdb.com/, normally my favorite movie site has a frustrating list of roles and actors that includes weirdos like Susie's principle who nobody really cares about (sorry Thomas McCarthy, whover you are.)

Beginnging with the main character, here we go. Numero uno, Susie Salmon:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/carpetbagger/13ronan.jpg
Saoirse Ronan. You may recognize her as Lina Mayfleet from The City of Ember, which was based on the books and just for the record, was wayyyy better. She's kind of an odd looking child...

Next, George Harvey, the man we love to hate:
http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/56/49/0000035649_20061108114520.jpg
Stanley Tucci. Though I always thought of Mr. Harvey with hair, I think he pretty much fits. You will know him from a less creeper-tastic role he took on: Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada.

And next why not Len Fenerman, an unfailing detective and a good guy:
http://www.tvboyfriends.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/windowslivewritersundayeyecandy.sopranostyle-12f926-10-michael-imperioli3.jpg
Michael Imperioli. Now HE looks like a creeper. Just a little? Yeah, I thought so. It's funny though because his most recent role in some show "Life on Mars," was one in which he also played a detective.

My favorite character now, Ruth:
http://www.ginasanders.net/Artists/Carolyn_Dando/Carolyn_Dando.jpg
Carolyn Dando. Not really feeling this one. According to IMDB, she's only had one other acting job in something on television. Weird.

Sister of the diceased will be the fifth character in our lineup, Lindsay Salmon:
http://z.about.com/d/kidstvmovies/1/0/n/A/jk002.jpg
Rose McIver. I can deal with this. She's very pretty which is good since...

Samuel Heckler is adorable!:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lLsdaCVk3Kk/R8cX9D8j6UI/AAAAAAAAMuw/9fdLg7A3O70/s320/AndrewJamesAllen02.jpg
Andrew James Allen. I think so anyway. Odd-looking, but adorable nonetheless. Done a lot of TV acting.

Ooooh, here's another good one, Ray Singh:
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/092b9jub6AgSX/340x.jpg
Reece Ritchie. He needs gray contacts. But I think this might work. He's in his twenties though and he's supposed to be in middle school in the beginning. He's supposed to kiss Susie. I would be very upset if they cut that out. I assume I will be very upset.

Buckley Salmon, whom I'm having trouble finding pictures of:
http://www.childrenofsalem.com/days/soapkids/oltl/oltlstarrjack03.jpg
Christian Thomas Ashdale. Cool name, but I can't find the kid anywhere. He's the boy in this picture, obviously. And don't assume this is current. I have no idea how old he is.

You probably know Grandma Lynn:
http://i.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/susan_sarandon/susan_sarandon_01.jpg
Susan Sarandon. I think she'll make a good crazy grandma. Nuff said.

Next, the poor, depressed Jack Salmon:
http://news.filefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/mark-wahlberg-photograph-c10038729.jpeg
Mark Wahlberg. Calvin Klein underwear model? I guess I can deal with staring at him for a few hours in the theatre... :D I dunno what to think about this guy. Lots of pics of him on Google image search. Something about Marky Mark? Whateva. Here's a picture of him in his tighty whities:
http://www.planetofthemark.com/images/a-very-famous-calvin-klein-ad_360x500.jpg
Apparently it's a famous ad. Go figure.

Moving on, Abigail Salmon, the mother no one knew:
http://www.hairstyles99.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rachel-weisz-4.jpg
Rachel Weisz. Wow. What a looker. She's gorgeous. I approve.

And last but not least, Holly:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/2047950795_8b004d4ebb.jpg?v=0
Nikki Soohoo. From Stick It! I was surprised by this one, but happily so. It'll be interesting to see her as Holly.

I was going to try and find a photo of the doggie they cast as Holiday, but there are just so many dogs out there and probably plenty in the movie business named "Bravo." Poor thing. But you know, I think that's all. I wasted 45 minutes at least and now I have a full list of important cast members for The Lovely Bones. It's all good. I'm gonna go wash some dishes.

TTFN ;)

Tockwogh: A Photographer's Paradise

2009-04-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

Apology for Neglect

2009-04-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, Blog. It's been a while. Almost two weeks by my calculations. But that statement shouldn't have much value to you. I despise math.

I'm writing now because Mrs. Fanny's room is being moved due to construction and that means we're in the library temporarily. It snowed this morning. Though it was just a little, it was very strange.

I've been fairly good about my goals (not watching too much TV or wasting time on Facebook) but I can't really credit the success to myself. I just haven't had time. Except for the past two nights when I watched the epic episode of house *insert sob here* and Fringe came on last night. I love Fringe. Soooo good.

OH! And guess what? I gave blood yesterday. But I'm going to call the blood bank and tell them to "destroy" the blood I gave as I believe I am "in the beginning stages of an illness." Which is very upsetting. It seemed like a lot of blood when the lady took the little bag away and it was all full. It really wasn't bad. If you're not too squeamish, you shouldn't have any trouble with giving blood, plus it's a really great thing to do. Saving lives is sort of helpful and nice on occassion, you know?

Also, being a donor got me volunteer time for NHS I think. Now I can joke that the National Honor Society is really willing to take anything you can give-- they even hold drives to drain members of their essence :) Some people like to think it's a cult. It totally fits.

I wish I had photos from Tockwogh to post. I don't have access to them here at school, otherwise you could see them. Sigh. Eventually.

On a brighter note, Nicolette and I went to a concert on Friday. It was a benefit concert for the children of Uganda. And guess what? I drove Nicolette, Dana, a fellow classmate and friend of Nic, and myself there. We got a little lost but it turned out okay. Until we left, that is.

Here's where it gets good. In order to take Nicolette home, I had to get on the highway. The highway, wonderfully confusing system of roads that it is, came ot a fork. I panicked and frantically asked Nic which one to take. One was an exit, the other continued in the same direction. Well, I wasn't sure what exit we needed but I believe I kept going. We weren't really worried at that point and since we weren't sure exactly where we were headed, just kept looking for exit numbers. We passed 156. I figured this was fine, we had just a little while before we found exit 162, the one we needed. But the next exit sign we saw, to our dismay, read 154. We were headed in the wrong direction. However, it was about then that the road became straight, merciless highway with no place to make a U-turn. So we kept going. When the road turned into a bridge over a canal that I recognized as one we took when my family went on longer trips, I was on the verge of hysteria. There was no way I could have held it together if Nicolette hadn't been there.

"BJ!" I wailed to a friend we had met when we came to a hayride/fair thing out here once, "BJ, we're coming! Where is your house? We'll be there soon!"

There were tears in my eyes. It was terrifying.

"Ashley. Get a hold of yourself."

That was Nic, the voice of reason. She said something along those lines. Probably lots of things along those lines actually, to calm me down.

I clutched the steering wheel like a sinking life preserver, I was drowning in a sea of endless highway, "We're just going to keep driving further and further away from home!!!"

We passed over the bridge. There were signs for a toll. These set me off again, "Oh my gosh. We're going to have to pay a toll... at least I have E-ZPass. At least I think I do. What do they do if you don't have E-ZPass and go through the E-ZPass thing?"

Nicolette must have been even more scared than I was. She was in a car being driven by me.

"I don't know... they bill you?"

I half laughed, half cried. Finally, over the bridge we were able to take the last exit before the toll and get headed in the right direction again. I was feeling a little better about the situation. So we continued to drive and I almost pulled into a liquor store to ask directions because I figured, hey, liquor store people give directions a lot. Nic was convinced we couldn't due to the fact that we are not 21. I assured her that wouldn't stop us from just walking in, but she was adamant and brought up the possibilty of a creepy man being in there. This lead me to get back on the road, drive for another while and find a gas station to pull into and ask directions. Except I accidentally pulled into the motel parking lot next to the gas station. I hopped out of the car and left Nicolette to guard it as I faked confidence in my stride while walking past a slightly creepy man at his car by the gas station and entered the place to find a plump woman reading a romance novel.

She looked up and I asked her if she could tell me how to get back towards our city but she said she wasn't really sure so she pointed me towards the man I had passed outside and mentioned that he was a friend of hers. I swallowed. To my relief she came from behind the counter and went out to ask him for me. I followed like the lost puppy I was. As it turned out, we were just up the road and headed away from the section of highway we needed to be on. The man who I had thought was creepy was actually very reassuring, nice and kind of cute. He reminded me of this guy from He's Just Not That Into You. Click. His name is Bradley Cooper and in my opinion, he is beautiful.

Anyway, I trotted back to the car to find Nicolette close to hysterical.

"Ashley. There was a man and his eyes pointed in two different directions. THEY POINTED IN TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my panicky laughter and locked the car doors after I climbed in, apologizing profusely.

"Where did he come from?" I asked.

"He pulled up alongside the car. He said, 'This is private property,' and he was SO creepy."

"I'm sorry, Nicolette. I am so so sorry," I just continued to apologize as I found a place to make a U-turn and begin heading in the right direction. Pretty soon, we were on the right road and Nicolette, notorious for being unable to find her own house, recognized the area.

"Here," she said, "Wait, no. Wait, yes. Yes! Here."

You see why I get lost? I pulled into her neighborhood and dropped her off, then stopped for a second to go over my mapquest directions thoroughly and call mi padre. I then proceeded to jinx myself by telling him I would be home soon.

My directions got me to this "Basin Road" which I nearly missed and seemed to have steered me wrong. I'd been driving for too long without turning. This led me to pull into an empty parking lot by some concrete contractor. There was no Nicolette to hold me together anymore, so I was on the verge of breaking down. I called my father again and asked for his help. He said he would get me directions home if they could figure out where I was. I disliked this plan. The tears welled up and spilled out. I felt extremely pathetic.

"Ashley. Calm down. I want you to back out of the parking space."

I sniffled, "Okay." Backing out I didn't realize that there was a large curb behind me that separated the little parking lot from a bigger one in front of another building. KAH THUNK.

"Oh my God. I just backed over a curb."

"Are you stuck? Will the car move at all?"

"I guess. I don't know," I whimpered, letting the car grate forward just a few inches over the inconveniently placed slab of concrete, "Yes. It moved a little. Is it going to.. explode or something?"

Daddy laughed in a, silly-girl-who-knows-nothing-about-cars kind of way.

"Alright. You're going to have to put it in reverse and then in drive as many times as it take to get you over the curb. It's a technique called rocking--"

"Daddy, please. I'm just a stupid lost teenage girl and it's midnight and I've already been lost once and I just want to go home!" I sobbed, "I just want to go home."

Daddy laughed again. He put me on the phone with another of his friends to locate me. As soon as they did they promised they were on there way. Nic sent me a text asking if I was home safe. To here surprise she recieved a text in reply that said something like, "No, I'm sitting in the car, lost. I'm having a very good cry."

It was true. I hadn't cried that hard since my guinea pig died a few years back. My rescue crew arrived, my father and two friends, one of which I fell out of the car and into his arms. We aren't that close, but I was just glad to see someone who was going to get me home. They weren't actually supposed to be driving due to intoxication but Daddy got the car over the curb with a gigantic bang that I never could have manuevered. It terrified me as it was. After that, the adventure was over. I didn't even get in trouble with my stepmom or ruin the car. How anticlimatic. Not that that upsets me ;)

Now you know the story of Nic's and my wild goose chase across the state. I'm sleepy. Adios amigos.

When I Should Be Sleeping

2009-03-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Society runs the wrong way (and by society I mean me). Everyone sleeps at night and is awake during the day. I hate that. It requires such conformity. I'm nocturnal. I really am.

Maybe I was a bush baby in another life:

http://www.londoninfotech.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/225419148_31403571c3.jpg

Bush babies are adorable. Sort of creepy, but adorable none the less. Especially when they eat fruit. I love it when they eat fruit. But as I was saying, I've been raised practically since birth to stay up late and sleep late. This has become a problem as I am now thrust into a school system which requires my waking at 6 in the morning. And work will be the same way when I get... older... unless I can find some amazing job that gives me really flexible hours.

Staying awake was a problem when I spent several days at Camp Tockwogh this past weekend, as we stayed up late talking and roasting hotdogs around bonfires on the beach and then had to get up at 7:30 the next morning to eat breakfast (COFFEE) and clean up the camp. It was a service weekend, so we cleaned up the beach, mulched the trails, and painted cabins. I thought it was loads of fun. Maybe I am just easily used. Who knows.

I had beach hair very muchly on Saturday as it was foggy as pea soup or something like that and raining a bit. Everything was wet. Because I am so fond of this weather, I've decided I must spend some time in England.

It looked a bit like this:

http://image48.webshots.com/49/8/10/4/332581004xpqAYo_fs.jpg

but more gray. I've always loved fog.

I'm really tired. I should sleep more. Maybe I'll get to bed early tonight. Nah, I just lied to myself. I do that frequently. But in all seriousness, I think I'm spending too much time on Facebook and watching TV. I wrote a poem yesterday and I realized that it was the best thing I had written in a while~ the only thing I've written that hasn't been for a class assignment. Besides Nicolette's and my book of course.

So I'm gonna have to make myself a rule, I think: one hour on Facebook maximum per day and one television show. And I should read for an hour each day. That sounds reasonable, right? If I get home at 2:45ish, let's say 3 for a round number, then I have 7 hours until 10:oo p.m. And I won't go on Facebook or watch TV every day, so that sounds like plenty of time. Maybe I can do this. I'll let you know how it works.

Until we meet again.

Photos Of Interest I've Meant to Share

2009-03-25T19:35:00.001-07:00

1. Picture I took last... April, I think that I adjusted a little to bring out the contrast. I so love the ocean.

2. This picture was taken at midnight after a big snow. The sky is actually my favorite combination fo orange and purple right here. Exactly what I love about snow storms, besides the snow of course. But LOOKIT! It's light!!!!

3. 42 (not 43) days of school left. Nuff said.

5. See that grade? That's a 17 out of 20. Not a failure in my book. But hey, maybe this person is psychic and in a few years I'll have flunked out of college and will be working at the Ds.

4. Growing a Recession Garden. For the record, I used that term before I saw it in the newspaper. I'll post updates with photos of this guy, it's loaded up with lots of seeds I planted on Sunday. Quite promising.

6. This is really strange. My father has hoarding issues I've decided. The photo below is of his soap, shampoo, shower cap, lotion, whatever-the-heck-might-be-in-a-hotel-bathroom collection. See, he travels a lot for his job, and ever since he was young he has been stealing all the soaps from whatever resorts he stays at. It isn't criminal, it's just WEIRD. Tuesday found me looking for a bar of soap to wash my face with and when I asked if I could use one from this enormous bag, I was scolded and told my father would "freak out" if I actually put one of his precious bars of soap to use. Poor little paper wrapped things. They must have completely lost their sense of purpose sitting in the closet like they do...
My lovable parental unit also collects knives (kept in a box) and scotch bottles (proudly displayed on shelves in the basement from worst to best.)

Psssst. I switched 4. and 5. to see if you were paying attention. Props to those who noticed.

Nighty night.

Time to Waste

2009-03-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

There is nothing to do in comm. again. Fooey. I think I'll go check and see if I have anything interesting to share. I have my Spanish notebook and creative writing folder in front of me. There's probably something interesting to share in one of those. Especially if Mrs. Fanny let's me scan a drawing I did. On second thought, it's not ready yet.

But I'll tell you something that really really REALLY REALLY REALLY drives me loony. There is one particular sophomore sitting behind me who continues to sniff back all the snot in his nose extremely loudly and obnoxiously. I kind of want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him, screaming "STOP!!!!!!!!!!" But I won't I will sit here being disgusted because he does it every day and I suppose his girlfriend doesn't care so who am I to stop him?

I might vomit the next time he does it, but hey, you win some, you lose some.

21 minutes until school is out.

Song I hate: Strange Fruit sung by Billie Holiday. Ew.

Song I love: that song they play at Christmas, Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg.

Writing prompt for... writers: Take something you know and make it unfamiliar. Give it a new purpose. Change the shape of it. Good writing is based in what you know, but doesn't have to be only experiences you've had. Do some research. Mix it up.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t81761.html

Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums. Definitely a place I shouldn't be aloud to visit. I believe in these stories, at least some of them. I think they're real. Like aliens. Aliens are here. They're all around us.

Watch out for blondes with dark brown eyes. They're the martians. More later. Adios.

Yo Soy Una Princessa

2009-03-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

There's nothing for me to do in my communication arts class, so I figured hey, why not blog? I just finished a Spanish skit with my Spanish group (August, Aric, and Nicolette) in which the title of this entry was my favorite line. Nic "Styled" my hair because it was my quinceanera. It was terrible. Somehow, I think I always end up being the abused character.

OK. So now I've thought about it and I'm going to give you a review on the website Protagonize (www.protagonize.com) AKA Procrastinize to the many who are sucked into the beautiful chaos of it's billions of words. Some genius on the site came up with that name. Perhaps if I find out who it was I shall credit them for their brilliance.

Anywho, this site is a place for writers or people who would like to become involved in writing. It works like this: anyone can post a branch or chapter to begin a story OR tack on a branch or chapter to a story that someone else has started. One can also write solo stories. Whether you enjoy collaborating or just posting your own stuff, it's a great place to get feedback on your work and suggestions on how to make it better. Plus, there are loads of fantastic writers on there, all kinds of people I would really like to meet, and they happen to write some really incredible pieces. The stories here have made me laugh, cry, gasp, and think about why things are the way they are.

If you're not really into the writing scene, you can always just browse the works without joining, or create and account just to critique, rate and comment. For those with ADD or OCD, it might be a little difficult to handle the overload of information presented on each page with lots of links to stories based on the page you're visiting. The only other downfall of the website is the flaw of human character. It's easy to get caught up in ratings on the site, and as someone who expreienced 15 minutes of fame being in the top ten (#4, that's right) I can tell you that I was addicted to the stars. I started to write to get good ratings. That lasted until someone gave me a 3.5 and I dropped back down into the top 50. From then on I decided to write just for the enjoyment of myself and others like I started out doing. It's much better that way.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a fun time on the internet, pass on the chat rooms and join Protagonize. Ciao!

Eternity Wouldn't Be Enough Time

2009-03-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've been wasting time recently. It's very very bad. I had some interesting things to tell you, O Great Bloggish One, but I've forgotten most of them.

One is that boys, all boys, should learn to ice skate. If you want to impress a girl on a date, show her you know how to shred some ice. It isn't that I can't appreciate how cute it is when someone, pretty much anyone, can't skate, I'm just saying that this is a good alternative to bonding horizontally with the ice.

I remember now one of the things I was going to share. I was going to post the seven or eight text messages I have saved on my phone and why I've saved them because they are either funny, meaningful, or just plain cute. But I don't feel like getting up and finding my phone right now, so we can forget about that idea. I'll post the texts... sometime... in the future.

Ooooh, how about this: I got to play photographer for this coolio new ring thing me mum is helping market with a jeweler man. Pretty?

I think so. I liked taking pictures of it anyway. And the little bead in the center is interchangeable, which is muy muy fantastico.

My weekend was pretty nice. I got to go skating with the boyfriend, hence the above topic, and my interview for Girl's State went very well. I planted some seeds today and will be posting pictures of my family's Recession Garden as it progresses. I also baked some chocolate chip pumpkin cookie/cake things to sell for my economics project. I'll link to the recipe with a picture because they are AHHMAZING.

That's pretty much it for now since I could write a zillion more words but instead, will lock them inside my brain and go to sleep. Ha, sleep. I don't sleep... pshhh.

Goodnight, sleep tight.

I don't say the bedbugs part because I really don't know anyone who sleeps with bedbugs and would have to worry about them biting :D

For Your Amusement

2009-03-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Tiny things in life bring me great joy sometimes. I was feeling kind of down today, I don't know why, but I think that fate or God or some greater power-- whatever you believe in-- was trying to appeal to my sense of humor and make me feel a bit better. Let us begin with the comic I noticed drawn on 2 blackboards today which I realized I have seen before when I Googled it, (you can find it here http://xkcd.com/18/) which I roughly recreated for my own satisfaction and your viewing pleaure.

For those of you who don't understand, tin is represented by the letters Sn on the periodic table. It's funny. Ha. Moving on.

The next thing that brightened my day, as it always does, was sitting behind this guy in my economics class, Patrick, who I've known since the 4th grade. Now, it isn't because I've known him since 4th grade that this is particularly funny, but more because he doesn't realize. See, the desks we sit in in this hellish class are the kind with chairs attached. The person who sat behind this desk at sometime or another, probably long before Patrick ever sat in it, decided it would be funny to write in big messy letters, "THONG" on the back of his chair with an arrow pointing down. See how hilarious that is? Yes. Good.

Lastly, I love it when wise mysterious fortune cookies have typos. After going out to an "international" buffet which is actually just a really strange mix of foods that are mostly Asian, I got my usual fotune cookie and opened it to find a little piece of paper that read:

We all have extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.

Um, yeah, totally. I'm just full of coded. What does that mean? But the real question is, what does it even mean to have code within you? I've got no idea. However I felt very strongly that this was my fortune cookie before I opened it and took it from my brother, giving him mine in exchange. I was meant to recieve a fortune which made very little to no sense whatsoever. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow is newspaper club. I might post while I'm there if I have time, and if not, I'll try to make an effort to post something interesting... soon. Hasta la pasta.

I Came, I Saw, I Conquered

2009-03-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

Veni vidi vici, sai sei bello impossibile
Veni vidi vici, sai sei bello sicuro di te
Tu mi sorprendi cosi, come tu mi affascini
M'inamoro, ti adoro perché sei cosi...

Sai sento che, non mi resisti
Quandro sarà, che tu mi conquisti
Bello impossibile, cosi sicuro di te.

Non credo che, é un'illusione
Ti vedo e, sento la passione.
Salta il cuore dentro noi
Mentre dici che mi vuoi.

I'm having a lot of trouble finding lyrics for this song. Plus the person who posted it spelled the name wrong, it's "Veni Vidi Vici," not "Vini Vidi Vici." Oh, well. Anyway, it's in Latin/Italian so I can't even translate the part that isn't in English, which is the part that I actually care about. The singing is great but I could do without the rap. Here's what I get from Babelfish when I translate using Italian to English:

Veins I saw vici, you know six beautiful impossible
Veins I saw vici, you know six beautiful sure of you
You you are strange to me thus, as you fascinate to me
M' inamoro, I adore to you because you are thus…

You know I feel that, you do not resist to me
Quandro it will be, than you me conquests
Beautiful impossible, thus sure of you.

Not creed that, é un' illusion
I see to you and, I feel the passion.
It jumps the heart within we
While you say that you want to me.

So I then proceed to try to translate from Latin to English on a different free translator as Babelfish does not include Latin:

To come vidi conquer sai sei to wage war impossibile
To come vidi conquer sai sei to wage war as di you
You mi sorprendi cosi , to eat up you mi affascini
M'inamoro ti to equip to smite sei cosi.

Sai sento che , not mi to resist
If sarÃ che you mi conquisti
To wage war impossibile cosi as di you.

Not to believe che Ã© un'illusione
Ti vedo out of sento la scattered about.
At least il cuore teeth noi
Mind dici che mi vuoi.

Even less luck, but I figured I'd paste it in here because there are some random words and phrases that you don't see in the Italian translation. Perhaps if anyone randomly stumbles across this blog, such a kind soul could help me.

How to Eat Tomatoes

2009-03-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

That is what I learned on Saturday. At Nicolette's house we spent a lot of time eating things including cookies, cheese fries, teddy grahams, scrambled eggs, toast, mashed potatoes and shepherd's pie. Now, while we were eating the shepherd's pie and potatoes, Nic's baby brother decided he wanted some "nom nom." The pizza hadn't been delivered yet, so Nicolette's step mom sat him in his chair with a bowl of cherry tomatoes.

The baby, who refers to himself only as Bubba, pondered the tomatoes and couldn't figure out how to eat them. So his mum cut them into quarters. This lead Bubba to pick up each one and bite out the inside, then line them up on the table. Nic and I were trying very hard not to choke on the mashed potatoes due to the fact that we were laughing so hard. I never have liked tomatoes, but perhaps if I attempt to eat them this way...

When Bubba finished the bowl and had a little parade of half eaten tomatoes pieces lined up along the edge of the table, he said he was done cheered about the "O"s. Get it? "O"s? Because he ate out the middle...? I thought it was adorable. Like the way he calls his plastic dinosaurs "rawrs." Too cute.

And even before then Nicolette tried to tell me about vegatables (yes, I know tomatoes are a fruit, just let it go ok?) We were out on a walk through her silent neighborhood of very large houses in what I would call the countryside and I picked up something off the ground that resembled the image below.

Now, what would you do if someone tried to tell you this was corn? Disagree with them and tease them about it probably. Or maybe that's just me. Especially since after I reassured Nic that these "things" are not corn, she tried to tell me that they were trees. Each individual one that is. Which would mean that her yard is covered in trees.

There are no trees in Nicolette's yard.

Her reasoning is that she was hoping I would just accept the idea that these wrinkly brown things are corn. Yeah, ok.

People are sheep! I refuse to be a sheep! BAH. Excuse me.

It was a nice party besides the trees and corn. We watched several hours of the College Humor Show as well as Fight Club.

"Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends."

I thought the movie was awesome, it was so very clever. Wasn't much into the actual fighting bits, but the characters were fascinating and every scene was executed perfectly. It all added up in the end. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. It helps that Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are both such beautiful men, but I really liked Helena Bonham Carter's performance as well. I envy the way she always looks pretty even though practically every single role she takes on requires her to have hair that looks like someone took a vacuum to her head. Don't believe me? Have a look--

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000307/mediaindex

That's all for now. Peace out.

Realization

2009-03-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

I'm 17. Holy fluffing cow, I'm seventeen. Does anyone understand the gravity of this situation???

I don't think you do. See, it isn't that I just figured out how old I am. What it is, is that I just got back from a party a little more than an hour ago. I drove myself and August to this party. By MYSELF. I hate driving. So much that I had a car that I didn't use so my parents sold it because I didn't want to drive it. It's name was Gizmo :) But moving on, I picked up August at her house and then took us to a party. When the party was over, I dropped her off at home and drove home by myself. I wasn't completely terrified, but I still don't like driving.

The fact of the matter is, I'm getting old.

Don't scoff, I know you're scoffing. It's true. 17 years is a long time to have lived when you compare it to some things. For instance, the life of a gerbil. 17 years would be an impossibly long time for a gerbil to live. I can't think of any more examples right now, but when I can, I'll let you know. But really, tonight I practically had a panic attack on the way to get August when I realized what I was doing. If I wasn't so close to her neighborhood I might have had to pull over. I'm exaggerating a bit here.

Truly though, I'm afraid of being 17. It's terrifying. I would never EVER dream of staying in high school, I just can't really picture myself getting older. There's... *shudders* college, and a job, and a husband, and a family, and all kinds of crazy stuff that I probably shouldn't be worried about right now, but dear Blog, I am. Very very worried. I think I need to go to sleep.

The party I'm having with Nicolette in approximately 15 hours will de-stress me. Goodnight.

There, an hour of my time... almost

2009-03-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

It is Thursday night. Exactly 10:00 p.m. as I begin this post. And then I'm distracted by a note on Facebook for 12 minutes. Oi.

So let me think about what I did today. I slept til ten. Then I got yelled at for asking a question I knew I shouldn't ask and wouldn't like the answer to because someone on the phone was asking me to ask it. Peer pressure. My lovely parental unit drove me to school with much complaining and grrring. I got to school and checked in right as lunch started, ventured to my English teacher's room, and found Nicolette and Veronica.

Veronica had gotten a stunning new haircut. She always likes to chop her hair off. I wish I could do that. Said lovely parental unit mentioned above believes that if I do chop it off, I will then look like a guy. Everyone seems to poke fun at me with the idea that some way some how, I might look like a man. It is a good thing I do not take these ridiculous comments to heart, or I might have very low self-esteem. What man has my legs???

Nicolette, my BBF, (no I do not mean BFF, I mean BBF) on the other hand, had the same hair as usual, though she had devoted some time to straightening it due to extra time given to the junior and senior classes during the Disturbing Student Torture Program that administers tests to the sophomores and lower grades. We made unimportant conversation since Proto (formally known as Miss Protokowicz, High School English Teacher) had read my mind and declined my request for a letter of recommendation before I even asked.

That's not exactly true. She wrote it for me. She just hadn't printed it out yet. Which caused me to forget to go back to her at the end of the day to retrieve it and hence be snipped at by my aforementioned step mom when I returned home without it. Off topic.

The bell I don't think ever rang, but for some unknown reason I ended up in Jane Rae's classroom where I was to take part in a mostly useless (completely useless, if we're being honest) discussion on a quote from a man you might know named Thoreau. I hear he was a jerk. After fighting Mrs. Rae's selection of my contribution to begin the debate, someone else began it. I did make one comment so I won't fail the class, but by the time it was over, I was WAYYY ready for creative writing.

Creative writing is delightful. My creative writing teacher is the most wonderful story-teller and shared a bunch of quotes with us today. They were quotes about love. From little kids. Adorable. I got back my story about doing LSD that I had handed in and found it had only 90 out of 100 points on the top corner of the page. It was the spelling errors. Now, anyone who knows me also probably knows that I am the editor of my school's newspaper and may have slight undiagnosed OCD. I kid. It just irks me when things aren't perfect. Therefore, it is a completely ridiculous concept that I would leave loads of typos in a paper. Unless of course, I did it on purpose. See, the main character was... not in a normal state of mind. I mean, come on, if you were on acid, would you be worried about spelling and quotation marks? I don't really think so. But I wouldn't KNOW just so we're clear.

After that I had my last class in my wonderfully short day which involved Spanish. Now contrary to the entire concept of being in Spanish III, I do not actually speak very much Espanol. I will not go into detail about how Maestra (look it up) does not teach, but instead, will just mention that she likes to give assignments and then worry about other things. Spanish was mostly filled with English conversation about an upcoming project which Nicolette and August (other bestie) wrote a script for. It was very very... silly. We never take anything seriously. This is why I suggested we do our script about a funeral. However I was outvoted and will now be participating in a short skit about a Quinceañera. I'm just hoping I won't actually be forced into wearing a dress. I didn't do much of the skit-writing because I was being distracted by the fourth member of our group who was asking about my recently acquired boyfriend and being his very cuddly self.

In truth, I had almost forgotten about Newspaper Club until someone reminded me in creative writing. But I kept Nicolette company while she waited for our unsurprisingly late bus and then frolicked down to the communication arts room, probably the place in our school I most frequently inhabit. It was just Megan and me. People seem to think it a ludicrous concept to join a school newspaper and actually write articles. That was when my communication arts teacher/newpaper supervisor/woman whom I love like some kind of really weird relative, Mrs. Fanny, decided that the newspaper should have a central place to post articles where Megan and I could easily edit them. So she created a blog. Then she asked us to create blogs. Coincidentally, Nicolette and I had discussed just the day before the possibilities of one's having a blog and agreed to make them.

I don't remember what I did after newspaper besides become annoyed by a group of especially irritating middle school students as I awaited my ride. After that I went home and ate things. Can't remember how I ended up here. But I'd say this is a pretty nice second post. It's a huge babble of things no one really cares about but perhaps provoked a chuckle or two.

But now, the sun has gone to bed and so must I. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!

Holy Cannoli

2009-03-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have a blog. Get a load of that. More fascinating ponderisms to come.