The Tempest

Last week I went to possibly THE coolest dramatic performance I've ever witnessed. A bunch of students from the college up the road produced The Tempest; not only that, but they performed it "in the round." Basically the stage was in the middle of the room and the audience surrounded it. I was a little skeptical about the idea when I first heard about it, but trust me, it was the most amazing thing in the world. It made it feel completely real; it wasn't a bunch of people reenacting a story, it was like a VIP pass to spy on the original.

I must admit, I attended this play with some trepidation. Four years ago I acted in a production of The Tempest and don't have wonderful memories of it. This rendition, however, put my doubts to shame.

One thing I totally digged from this was the way the showed Caliban and Ariel. First, they were portrayed by five actors, which really brought to mind the fact that they were spirits (or sons of spirits. Whatever). Second, they were played by the same five actors, which was just plain cool. One minute they were on their hands and knees groveling on the floor and crawling over one another and the next they stood erect and attentive to their master's will, elegant and graceful. When I played Ariel all that time ago I always had a problem remembering that I was a fairy, and I was acting her! The way this was done solved that. It also kept the movement on the stage to a max, because there were four "extra" spirits up there moving about. All the motion actually made me pay more attention to the play, which might have aided my enjoyment of it...

In other news, the newest episodes of Doctor Who are incredibly amazing and you should all go watch them.

Fun Assignments. Who Knew?

This year I'm taking an American Government course, and it is quite possibly my favorite subject ever. We're reading really cool books (a bunch of texts written contemporarily with the Revolution) and last week I got to write two of the most enjoyable papers of my academic career.

They were supposed to be two papers, written in the first person, one condoning the Revolution the other condemning it. I have this terrible history of going off on tangents when I write in the first person so I was actually dreading these papers, but I found a solution. Instead of writing a letter or something, which I hear most people do, I wrote a political essay. I basically pretended I was Thomas Paine or someone back then and spent about 800 words bashing on either the British or the Revolution. I got way too into it, and after the first one I had almost convinced myself that the American Revolution was some idiotic idea thought up by upstart colonists. Luckily, the next day I wrote one in favor of the war, so my opinion's back where it belongs.

Having fun doing school is the best. Sometimes I just get into these funks where I lose all motivation and just drown under all the things I'm refusing to do. There are really only two ways to get out of those, neither of which happen very often: have fun or get it all done. Usually I have to suffer through all the work, but every blue moon or so I enjoy an assignment enough to motivate me to finish everything. I love it when school loves me.

Speaking of school, I got my SAT scores back! I am so happy! They are finally good enough to get into my dream college, so I don't need to take it again in November :) Now all I need to do is make sure my mom's okay with them and pray that the admission committee knows that I really am smarter than my scores. Keep those fingers crossed.

Random note, I just heard the word catawampus used in a sentence. There really is a first time for everything!

I can't think of a title.

I went to a super (hahaha. Get it?) Halloween party last night. It was all a party should be: I had my friends, my food, and a really fun time. It was a blast! A few of us got together and planned out corresponding superhero costumes (get the last joke? I'm so funny.) so my sister went as Black Widow, Josie as a SHIELD Agent, one friend as Superman, another as Cat Woman and I as Captain America.

Like my awesome shield?

Let me just tell you, that shield took a lot of work. Fun work, I'll admit, but a lot of work. I think that my fingerprints may have been ripped of by that ridiculous amount of duct tape. Now that it's all finished I wish I'd taken pictures of all the in between steps, but it's too late now. Suffice it to say, this started out orange and ended up beautiful. #thankyouducttape

Enough with the hashtags. Let's get to the real stuff. Pictures! 

Josie mentioned in her blog post (this one) that she was missing some pictures she took on my phone. Well, she wasn't missing much. Ha. Ha. Ha. But really, most of the pictures came out terribly grainy and unlovely, but here are the best of the bunch.

Behind-the-scenes

Do I look dorky or what?

Look at me being so strong and heroic. 

I should have my own action movie.

Truth. Honor. Patriotism.

Happy Halloween!

Sunshine Award!

Thanks, Josie, for nominating me for this Sunshine Award! I don't have much to talk about in general, so let's just get right to it! (She says, waiting months and months to post this.)

1. What fictional character are you most like? Starting out with the hard questions! I always have a hard time saying that a character is like me because I can relate to most, but that doesn't mean I'm actually similar to them. But no that I think about it, I've gotta say Kendra Sorenson from Fablehaven. Now that I've said that I can't think of the specific ways she's like me, but there are similarities! I promise!

2. If you had to change the color of your hair, what color would you pick? It could be a crazy color, or just a different natural shade. If I had to dye my hair I'd go all out. Purple or blue. Not sure if I'd color my whole head or just do it in streaks, but it would definitely be blue or purple. Or Pink. Pink is good.

3. Girls' night out with three fictional females! Who do you pick? Fun fun fun! I'd invite Pepper Potts, Elizabeth Bennet and Parker. On second thought maybe not Parker if we plan to go out in public...

4. One time you were so embarrassed that you wished the floor would swallow you? Surprisingly enough I never really grasp the awkwardness of any given awkward moment until the night after when I lie in bed agonizing over the incident. But that's a lame answer, so I'll give you this one. Two years ago a friend came into town during the local fair, so we trooped on over there for the day. After a few rides we decided to brave the horrendous line and go on the ferris wheel. WELL, we went around a few times when, coming down again, I caught sight of these two idiots standing up and rocking their cart. They had the stupidest grins on their faces. I don't really know what came over me, but I definitely didn't have time to think before taking action. "SIT DOWN, GUYS!" They were so surprised; their expressions were priceless. And, what's even more surprising, they did it, and for the next ten minutes I got to live through the rest of the ride, passing them another half dozen times. Mortifying, or what?

5. Dream role in any play, any movie, or any book you want to be made into a movie/play? Hermione Granger, hands down. I guess it wouldn't really be acting, but I've always loved her and she's a witch who flies, so what could be better?

6. Favorite historical era for fashion--Which time period had your favorite clothes? I was about to say princess, but that's not a real era, so I shan't. I'm gonna say the 50's. Not really a historical era yet, but their clothes were so cute!

7. The last movie/show you watched was...? The Season Premere of Doctor Who :) I actually went to a movie theatre that was screening the episode, and it was by far the weirdest experience of my life. Good. But weird. Everyone there was the kind of person who would go to the movie theatre for something that was showing on cable. There were tons of people in costume (one guy was a dead ringer for 11) and they put my fangirling to shame. But it was all fine when the show started. Everyone laughed during the funny parts (something all but unheard of in my experience) and, when the credits started rolling, no one stood up to leave. Literally no one. Everyone waited around to see if there'd be an extra clip at the end :) It was pretty great.

8. Would you rather work in a cafe or a library? Cafe. I love the smell of books, but I love the smell of coffee too, and in a coffee shop you can talk to people without worrying about disturbing the patrons.

9. At the moment, what is your favorite song? I don't have a favorite song at the moment...but the last favorite song I had Best Day of My Life by American Authors. It was stuck in my head for more than two weeks and somehow I still manage to enjoy listening to it.

10. If you could live in a treehouse or on a ship/boat, which would you pick? Ohh. Tough one. I think I'm gonna pick treehouse. You know, a totally decked out treehouse like in Swiss Family Robinson? Who hasn't wanted to live in one of those?

Ooops. Guess I kinda lied. Not only did I not post the other day, but I don't even have an interesting topic today! You'll just have to make due with my boring life story again. So this is basically just an average post.

I have some exciting news: I finished the yearbook! After nearly 5 months of preparation it has finally been completed. This horrible project has been stressing me out for way too long and it's finished!! I'm so happy! And not only is it done, but it looks nice too! That was one of the things that I'd been worrying about. I mean, it's fine and good to have a yearbook, but if it doesn't look nice then what's the use?

Also, I've finally (almost) got my bowling curve down. Every summer my brother gets really obsessed with bowling, so every summer we go there at least two times a week. Which, you will realize if you've ever bowled before, is three times too many.
Worse still, the reason he's so obsessed with it is because he's so dang good. For example: he gets annoyed if he get less than a 100. My average score by the end of the game is 70 if I'm lucky. So, to give myself an easy excuse for my incompetence I began my quest to find my inner bowler. I started bowling with crazy spins which more than often ended up the gutter. Until yesterday. Yesterday more than half of my shots hit pins down! My score was still pitiful, but I'm getting there!

Hmm. I know there's more stuff that happens to me, but whenever I get down here to actually write it down it either becomes unbearably uninteresting or I forget it. Sometimes I wish I had a brain. Well, I'm hoping to get back to writing snippets and stories, so I might be posting those in a while. Be on your guard :)

Promise I Won't Complain

Sorry about that drama queen episode. After that whining post yesterday everything took a turn for the better. Literally immediately. Almost. I clicked "post" and my mom called the family to dinner. 'Nuff said. 

A friend had already texted and said they'd meet us to watch the fireworks. Then, when we left, my first friend invited me and my siblings to her house where all the rest of the gang was already. What's more my mom let us! 

After that it was smooth sailing. Sat around for an hour or so just chatting and eating Cheetos, then went upstairs to watch the show. My town is reknown for its skimpy 4th of July show, but since I've never experienced anything better I am content. Fireworks are magical no matter how many. It's just so amazing to watch colors explode against the black of the mountains. My favorites are the gold ones that shoot into little of balls of shimmery pixie dust. 

As if that wasn't enough, my parents invited everyone back to our house to set off some smaller fireworks and poppers. It was super cool to watch them close up, but the noise kind of ruined the ethereal, romantic feel. 

Then I was up way too early to go prop hunting for the play at our local yard sales. When that failed my mom offered to drive into the next town over and exhaust their thrift stores, and we ending up spending the whole afternoon shopping. 

I'll be on tomorrow with some sort of interesting topic, but I've pretty much used up all my news for now. On a random note, I feel like that song "The Show" by Lenka. Oh! Also wish me luck: I'm competing in a swim meet tomorrow. Let's hope I can beat my old times :)

Slightly Less Than Pleased

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Don't be fooled by the light tone of that exclamation. It's time to switch gears so you can bear listening to me rant for a few moments.

I don't usually complain about my height. I like being short and it's never been a real problem before.

Key word being before.

My dad recently bought another truck to replace our "old" one, and said I could drive it till he got rid of the other. All I would need to do is learn to drive stick.

Not a problem.

Ish.

I can't reach the clutch. My feet literally won't stretch far enough to push it down. I'm so annoyed. Like, I would have had enough trouble already relearning how to drive, and now I can't even start! And as if that isn't mortifying enough, my dad is ordering "pedal extenders" so the pedal will reach me. It's so stupid.

I wish it would all stop there. But it doesn't. I would like to bring your attention back to the first line of this post. It's the 4th! Awesome! Holidays are at the top of my list of favorite things, after all! Family reunions, on the other hand, are included on a completely opposite list. Needless to say, it dampened my spirits a considerable amount when my dad said we'd be going to my great-aunt's house for a big 4th of July party. We were going to have tacos. Tacos on Independence day. Shameful.
Well, the day trickled by as slowly as possible, but the time finally came to hop in the car and leave. I reminded my mom of this, only to learn that she had called and canceled because of a gnarly case of the whooping cough going around here. She was scared we might be unconsciously sick and didn't want to spread the dreadful contagion throughout the family.

My spirits lifted.
Maybe now I could go to the real party, the one all my friends would be at.
But no, the sick ruse was not quite a ruse; my mom was legitimately concerned about everyone's health. There would be babies at the party. We might get them sick, despite the fact that we hadn't been in contact with the sickness first hand at all.
My consolation prize, however, was going to make up for it. My mom and dad let me invite a friend over for dinner and fireworks. But then it was my turn to mess things up. I can never talk on the phone, and in my explanation of the events I somehow indicated that we were actually sick, not just possibly maybe sick, so she wasn't able to come over.

Now my whole family's just going for a picnic and to watch the fireworks. Which should be totally cool, but I'm too much of an extraverted idiot to see that. Well, I can see it, but I'm still not happy with it. Why do I have to be so ridiculously addicted to people?? I'm tired of depending on other people for happiness, but I don't know how to stop. It takes very particular, irregular moods for me to be content with myself; otherwise I need to be with friends, or looking forward to being with friends. Why do I have to be such an extreme people person?


Now that that rant's over I find myself at a loss for words. But I'll think of something so I don't need to end on that obnoxious note. I'm sure you all have enough problems of your own without me piling mine on to boot. Let's see...
Nothing super notable has been happening in my life lately. Just same old same old awesomeness. Been to a ton of dances. Finished the homeschool yearbook (finally!!). The play's coming along nicely. Read Jane Eyre, which made it to my list of favorite books. Looking forward to going to the highschool summer program at the college I'm planning on going to. Only two weeks left! Started some new stories with a few friends, so you can expect loads more posting since I'll be getting back into The Groove.
But I haven't made it back to The Groove yet and I can't think of anything else to say, so I shall bid you adieu. Adieu!

Better Late Than Never, Right?

I only realized yesterday that Josie tagged me onto this questionnaire blog hop thing, so here I am to give you my answers. Sorry for the delay!

1. Why did you start blogging, and what do you like about it most?

I started blogging by request of a friend ;) Josie practically blackmailed me into starting one up. My favorite part, I've gotta say, are the comments. It's one thing to write something, but it's a totally different thing to know that people read and care about it.

2. Do you have a Comfort Book that you read when you're sad or emotionally traumatized? And if you do, what is it?

Yes. My main go-to book is Heaven to Betsy, although anything I can read for a second time is comforting. 

3. If you could go on an all-expense paid trip to anywhere in the world and you could take one friend, where would you go and who would you take?

Oh, this is cruel. I'd go to Europe and mostly visit England and Ireland. And Italy. And France. And while I'm there I may as well pop into Spain. Basically, Europe. The one friend part is the tricky one. I think that the most fun would be to go with a huge group of people, so this one will require a brainstorm. I think I'd either choose Tacy Kelly or Betsy Ray.

4. Favorite quote off the top of your head. Go.

I'm going to cheat and copy the exact quote: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

5. One movie you never get tired of watching is...? Why?

Just one? You sure are making this hard on me! I'm going to say the Avengers because that was the first movie I went out to see multiple times. 

6. What's your opinion on rainy days?

That we don't get enough of them in California. Although, I think living here has made me really appreciate them. I love them to bits, but I honestly couldn't live without the sun. So, basically, I'm happy when they come but can manage when they go.

7. If you had a pet hedgehog, what would you name it?

At first I was thinking John (after our lovely little hedgehog/otter team), but now I realize that everyone else will be thinking the same thing. Instead, I think I'll go with Reginald. I've always liked that name, but I don't think I will ever have the courage to burden even a character with that outdated moniker.

8. If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?

This question has been the subject of numerous discussions, although it was never very hard to decide what I was. I'd be a dog. Happy, people loving, energetic SQUIRREL...you get the picture.

9. Tea or Coffee, and why?

It depends. I'm not a die hard either way. I guess I like drinking coffee with friends and in company, but while I'm by myself just doing school or writing tea is the way to go.

10. If you could spend a day with any fictional character you wanted, who would it be and what would you do?

Oh dear. Any fictional character. Hmm. Well, I could meet Steve Rogers and go save the world, or I could have  tea with Miss Bennet, or maybe steal a pirate ship with Jack Sparrow...but...I think I'm going to pick spending the day with Johnny I-Don't-Even-Know-His-Last-Name from Penelope and go on a picnic. Sorry I'm ending on such a sappy note, but it's the truth.

Good Morning. Well, Evening Now.

It's been a while, hasn't it? As always, I have an excuse ready for this week: the weather has been amazing. Let me clarify. It's been beautiful for more than a week, making it absolutely impossible to work inside on school. I always end up staring out the window, thinking about awesome things (aka NOT the Spanish Inquisition or Latin declensions).

But seriously. It cruel, how nice it's been. Blue skies. Puffy white clouds. Sunny. Breezy. Warm. It feels like summer, except that I'm guilty about not doing school. Fortunately, my mom is taking me out of my biology class, so I have one less (official) subject to work on. Unfortunately, the deal was that I take up another subject for the rest of the year. Bleh. Why does everything have to have a down side?

The weather's too perfect to be sad, though. Let's see...something nice to talk about...Well, I've had a super jam packed weekend (surprise surprise). Friday brought back my town's Cruise Night where tons of snazzy retro cars come and park on our main street to be observed by puny mortals like myself.* It was pretty gnarly. I don't really think of myself as a car person, but on nights like these I go absolutely crazy. The cars are just classy, not to mention their stellar paint jobs.

That was pretty fun, but I must admit, the highlight of the weekend was when, after seeing Captain America 2, half the town plus one came back to my place and we broke out the chocolate fountain. Saturday nights in Lent are the best. There were not a few eating contests, which, though I did not participate, were entertaining to the extreme, and a few wild games of fooseball. I am ashamed to say that I've been losing my touch, and can no longer call myself the reigning queen of fooseball, but those games were able to return some of my former glory.

And speaking of former glory, I love biased teachers. On Saturday at midnight I sent in yet another stingily written essay for history and lit., and today received the news that it had received an A+ and an A- respectively. I've really been fudging on these past few papers, but apparently my subpar is above average, or at least average enough, which is gratifying. It's nice to know that I can do something well, even if it isn't my favorite thing in the world.

Well, I'm off to finish the laundry and try to go to bed early. It's pretty sad, actually, because one of my Lenten resolutions used to be to get to bed before 10, and it only lasted for the first half week of Lent. But everyone has a second chance and who knows, I may get the rest of these. Maybe.

Peace.


*I don't know where I come up with these phrases. I think it happens when I'm hyper. I won't keep mentioning it, but I apologize for my somewhat wacky wording.

More On YG and Frankenstein

Sorry for bailing on last night's post. It was late, and my brain was fried, and the post was long enough as it was. I'm afraid to say that I don't have much time right now either, seeing as I'm in the exact same predicament. But this was really powerful for me, so I can't just not say it.

Something really struck me last night in a talk my youth group leader gave. It was the feast of the Annunciation yesterday, and she was talking about something called Marian consecrations. It's where you offer your whole life on earth and eternity in heaven to Our Blessed Mother, and she, in return, intercedes to her Son on your behalf. She said that the best way to prepare for a Marian consecration is to learn about Mary, so she talked for a bit on the wedding feast at Cana.

This story is one of the few events in the Bible that records Mary's interactions with Jesus, and, even though hers is such a small "role" in the story, it really shows us how Mary intercedes for us. When Mary saw that the wine had run out she did not go to her Son to wheedle or demand a reaction. She simply brought the dilemma to His attention, then told the servants to do as He bid. That's how she responds to our prayers, too. She works as a mediator, presenting our intentions to her Son, then preparing us for His grace. We just need to be open and allow Jesus to work in our lives.


Okay. Now I have that off my chest, and I will probably go on another involuntary fast from posting, if the past is any indication of the future. Hopefully I'll be able to break the vicious cycle and get out of this writing funk. What I need are some amazing writing prompts. I'll dig some up and write a few.

And now for something a little more light hearted. Well, not really. I'm reading Frankenstein for a seminar, which is in no way light hearted. Oh my gosh. WHY does he need to be such a stubborn idiot? I'm only about halfway through, but I'm about ready to strangle that guy!

I'm sure there's more to talk about, but that'll have to wait for another time. Have a nice rest-of-your-Wednesday and don't read Frankenstein unless you want to hate humanity.

I Just Love Youth Group

I just got home from another youth group...gathering. I guess it's just youth group. Whatever. I've had mixed feelings about youth group for a while now. I love my friends, and I love getting together to party, but I've always felt that youth group is not the place to do it. I always wanted it to be set apart; something we could do to break the pattern of our everyday parties (I wish!). This past semester there have been some major changes, but it's taken some time to find the happy medium.

There were a few weeks where we spent the whole hour and a half on Bible study, which just burned everyone out. I mean, I love Bible study, but it can be trying to spend so much time on it, especially when half the room is trying to discuss and the other half is poking fun at the first. It leads to me getting mad at people, which is not a pleasant feeling. I hate hating my friends.

At the same time I don't want it to turn into just a plain old party. Now, I'm not saying anything against parties. I love parties. Anyone who knows me, or even reads this blog, will almost definitely have that fact already implanted in their minds. But I do like a little bit of color in my life (I think I inherited that from my mom), and I looked to youth group for that color. I hoped it would be a time to discuss our awesome faith with our friends. It isn't a subject that comes up explicitly too often. I find it hard to talk about the faith with friends not only because we all share about the same extent of knowledge, but also it's something so personal that, unless considered in a not-giddy environment, sounds hollow and laughable.

But twas not so tonight. Tonight a bill was passed to limit the Bible discussion to fifteen minutes, and we were able to keep relatively quiet during that time (okay, not really, but it was just a bad day for that). I think that this will really help keep the majority of people interested all the way to the games at the end.
And it worked like a charm. We stopped the discussion right on the dot, and, after a small talk by one of the leaders, got right to the carefree game portion. I've gotta say: having finished the Bible study I was able to appreciate the games so much more.

And now it's ten thirty and I just realized that I never got to the point I came on here to make. I didn't originally want to give a detailed analyses of my views, but the consequence for my ditzy-ness is that now there isn't enough time to talk about the really cool thing. I'll just need to tell you tomorrow. G'night!

I'm Dyin' Ova Heer

I feel like my feet are falling off and I can't move my leg. There are multiple possible diagnoses are available for these intense and highly rare symptoms. For example: I may have just survived the initial raid of the zombie apocalypse, sustaining minimal injuries after the night long chase. Or I may have just come back from my martial arts competition, winning first place and getting ready to move on to the state championships. Or I may have just played four stellar games of volleyball, followed up by a super long game of barefoot soccer. Yeah, let's go with that last option and pretend to keep it real.

There really is nothing like sports. Nothing is more rewarding than a some friendly, competitive games. I have a lot of hobbies, but I think that sports may be my third favorite (high praise when you see my list of favorite things), trumped only by hanging out with friends and eating ice cream. It probably has something to do with the easily acquired skills + strategy + friends. Nothing is more satisfying than that recipe and a healthy dose of sportsmanship.

Actually, that's where sports can go terribly sour. I've played my share of games that, in and of themselves were great, but were played in such a way as to make the whole experience miserable. Sometimes people get too caught up in the game, and forget that it's just that: a game. Games should be fun. Granted, competition is one of the things that makes it so, but we sometimes have a tendency to take things a little too seriously. My brother played in Little League a few years ago, and it would always be a chore to watch his games, not because they were boring (I actually love watching baseball), but because there were always those families who couldn't loosen up and were screaming bloody murder every other play. Twas not particularly pleasant.
The thing is that I can't balance my competitiveness. I'm either way too invested (aka shouting myself and my teammates down) or not in the game at all. It's the hardest thing to get the right ratio of laxity and drive.
The best is when everybody's super chill about the game. No crazy expectations or goals, just a lot of team spirit and friendly banter with the enemy opposing team. It's games like those that I'm addicted to. Just a bunch of friends playing for fun.

And that, my dear reader, is why I'd never make it in sports. Despite my overwhelming natural talent at many physical activities I 1) wouldn't be able to handle the stress, 2) can't stand poor sports/non-team-players, and 3) it just wouldn't ever be fair for the other team.

Also, I think the physical exertion would kill me. My feet will likely never recover, and I'll just have to limp lamely through the rest of my life.

Time For My Weekly Post...

I've been super behind in my writing lately, so finally I just set myself the goal of writing up a blog post today. And I'm going to fail in that, too, since it's getting late and I want to go to bed. Anyways, here's something.

Write a letter to Writer's Block, parting ways forever.

Dear Sir,
It has come to my attention that your behavior has been causing our employees unrest. While I allow that inspiration should not be awarded unscrupulously, I do believe that it's occasional benefit must be granted to customers at least once every blue moon. Their satisfaction, after all, must be considered and acted upon.
This is not the first warning, I believe, that you have received. There have been several instances of your incompetency over the years, leaving the management to clean up the lives of the glum aspiring authors you condemn to failure. I have disregarded the facts and put off this unfortunate decision for much too long. Your stingy efforts to leave the general populous uninspired have given me no alternative, but to relieve you of your position. 
Insincerely,
Me

Okay, I don't actually feel any more inspired, but hopefully after a good night's sleep I'll be able to write an intelligible sentence. Until then!

Just found this blurb that I'd forgotten to post:

I'm very temperamental about my writing. An example: I just had a marvelous time writing a religion paper for school. I'd been dreading it for almost three weeks and today I finally got around to writing it. Which is weird. Usually that combination of fear and procrastination result in a hurried, under-worded essay that is all but incomprehensible, much less fun to write. Not so today.

I just wish I could turn my writing mode on (and off!) at will.  Like now. I'm nowhere near a stopping point in school, but I honestly can't stop thinking about writing. I don't even have anything to say, but I couldn't stop thinking about just sitting down in my quiet room with a pencil and notebook.

One thing that I've been growing used to (I'm not sure if it's a good or bad habit yet) is that I can't write on the computer. For a few months now, my writing on the computer has turned into scrambled essay language. So, to counteract that, I've gotten into the habit of composing these blog-destined masterpieces by hand and spend my waning computer time copying them out on here. It feels more personal somehow. This sounds weird, but I know that I wrote it if I can hold the hard copy in my hand and see the words crammed onto the page. On the computer it all seems so inhuman. I go back to edit and delete half of what I wrote because it just looks silly. I indulge my inner editor and end up deleting half of what I write. That doesn't happen nearly as often when it takes actual time to erase all my words, as opposed to clicking them out of existence. And at least on paper I remember that even if my story stinks, my handwriting is still pretty. :)

Here's another example. I wrote a prompt last week and my friend was reading it straight from the notebook. I had been planning on posting it, but for some reason I was getting really nervous by showing it in it's raw form. It looked so vulnerable. I had to stop it. It's still coming up here, and when it does I'll be fine, but I'm still too emotionally invested in it to expose my precious now.

My history book has been staring me down for the past age and my conscience is starting to kick in. I shall leave you now, in peace, to contemplate the mysteries of my complex writing style. Ciao.

One of THOSE Movies

The house is finally quiet. The movie ended over an hour ago, and this is the first time I am allowed to think. To revel in the misery this short movie has forced into my life.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

It's a good movie. I need to show you this movie. It's really great. Why did I ignore the warning that followed? Even I had to cry at the ending.

Well, not this time. In a room of over a dozen I was the only one crying.

It had seemed fine at first. Sure, this won't be too bad. I just won't cry. It wouldn't be hard with so many boys in the room. I admit, I ham it up around my girlfriends and sob at the appropriate queues, but that should work in reverse, right? I should definitely be able to reign in my emotions now, with no supporting audience.

How wrong I was.

This was one of those movies that require several hours to recover from. The kind were you just want to sleep all these imaginary troubles away. That leave you breathless. The kind that I watched tonight with a roomful of boys and acquaintances.

I don't know how long I will be experiencing this movie hangover, but please forgive me if I'm dazed and moody. I'm probably either thinking about this movie, or, even worse, trying to think about it.

SPOILER ALERT.

I got myself really worked up about the ending, and welcomed my mom's theory that, after this tragedy, the father at least would see the error in his ways and come around. Accepting that, however, just opened me up to be ripped to shreds by the remembrance of the end of the war and the penalty for war crimes. 

I was on my way to getting genuinely depressed that the boy's sacrifice hand't changed anything, when it struck me. My family was praying night prayers when my worries were put to rest. Bruno may not have saved his father's life, but he may just have saved his soul. Our human laws must be, in some ways, unforgiving and impersonal, but God is rich in mercy and reads the hearts of sinners. My striped pajama boy may not have died in vain after all.

END SPOILERS.

And that is how my mind words. It warps characters and ideas into real-life scenarios, demanding a moral explanation at every turn. It's sad, the number of stories that I have ruined for myself that way. But then, every blue moon or so, these experiences come along and justify the whole process. My little silver lining.

The Greats

My repertoire of classics is sadly lacking and I have only recently gotten around to fixing the dilemma.  In the past few months I've started reading Agatha Christi and Sherlock Holmes, Emma, Chesterton, Wodehouse (okay, maybe not a classic, but great all the same), CS Lewis and Shakespeare and let me tell you: it's amazing.

I love the tricks that Conan Doyal and Christi can play in your minds. The way Chesterton paints pictures from a pageful of words. Lewis' depth, Wodehouse's wit, Austen's clarity. I love the way Plato makes you think and Shakespeare makes you feel.

I was introduced to Plato because of this philosophy course I started yesterday. As I was reading I couldn't help but feel as though I was in a stadium full of people watching Socrates argue to save his life. It took me almost fifteen pages to realize that what I was reading was merely a dramatization of his trial recorded by his student and not an autobiography written by his ghost. Granted, I didn't think of it in that absurd way. But maybe it's the reason I liked it so much: it was simple to follow and sort of eased you into a philosopher's way of thinking. I had no idea it would be this fun.

Only last month did I discover Shakespeare's sonnets. My friend suggested that, since we no longer have assigned poetry for school, we memorize some good ones on our own. Actually, that's pretty ironic because I remember kicking and screaming through most of the speeches and poems I had to learn a few years ago. And here I am, memorizing them of my own accord. I guess that's what They wanted. Well, I have two down, and only about a hundred and fifty to go.

I have to go now, but let me just close off with my favorite sonnet so far. I know it's a cheesy conclusion, but bear with me here. You'll thank me later.

Sonnet 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, with him friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts, myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to a lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For they sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Ah, Lent

Lent has arrived. Forty days is a long time, but I've survived before. And it's not like TV and limited computer time are as essential as I've been making them out to be. Ah well.

Despite my initial judgement, I have decided to continue blogging. My first reaction was "it's on the computer, it's gotta go," but I've come to see the light. Not only am I still allowing myself some computer time (I need to organize things via email all the time), but writing's good for me and I've been meaning to do it more. Yes, I know, it doesn't seem particularly Lenten, but you have no idea how hard it is to stick with writing, at least for me. So my goal is to write something every day. Plus, giving up writing on here wouldn't be much of a sacrifice. You wouldn't even notice I'd given it up!

I was going to tell you all about the snow day I had on Monday (yes, a California getting a snow day home school style!), but I didn't have enough time to write it all up, instead I'll link you to some of my friend's versions of it: Josie's and Thomas's accounts. Just pretend I wasn't intolerably lazy and that I wrote something similar.

Oh! This seems like eons ago (it was last Saturday), but the Mardi Gras dance went off beautifully. There were just a few hiccups with the music (our 8 minute long Virginia Reel somehow forgot what timing was and went totally wacky 4 minutes in) but the overall dance was wonderful. I wore this amazing green steampunk dress that made me feel like a princess. Didn't get any pictures this time, but I may post some soon  because I'm going to another dance on Saturday!

Today I'm starting a philosophy class taught by my friend's dad. I'm really excited about it, and hopefully I can tell you more later, but I've got to go now to re-read the homework. Have a good Ash Wednesday!

An Incomprehensible News Flash

In case you're wondering about the title: this post is a news flash insofar as I'm telling you lots of news and incomprehensible insofar as every paragraph was written too late at night and transitions are quick and random.

I love waltzing. And not only because of the whole getting into the semifinals the other dance. That's not the ONLY reason. From a practical point of view it may be because after about twenty fast-paced swing dances it's a nice breather. From a social point of view it may be because it's one of the few dances that you have the breath to talk to your friends. From a more truthful point of view it may be because almost all waltz music is schmaltzy (as my piano teacher would put it). Aka so wonderfully sappy and corny that it makes you feel like you're in a Disney movie. 

This seemingly random topic is, in fact, not as random as you might think. This Saturday my friends are hosting a dance for which I am arranging music. This is the second or third time I've been through this, but it is the first time that I've actually enjoyed myself listening to five hundred jazz songs that sound exactly the same. I've found some really great music that'll be amazing to dance to. In the past I've been able to find a few bands that play average swing music, but this time around I've been extremely picky and eliminated over half of the playlists. So we're getting nothing but the best. 

It's been quite a while since I've had time to post, in case you haven't noticed. That doesn't mean I haven't been writing, actually, I've been on a huge writing streak for the past week, but just proves that school was invented by the devil. Okay, that may have been a small exaggeration, but not far from the truth. I understand needing to know stuff, so as to be able to survive in that big bad world, but when it gets to the point where it takes up every waking minute of your existence something's wrong. I need to figure out a new method. Getting up early is detracting from my much needed beauty sleep.

One of the few distractions I can manage to snatch from my homework filled life is swim team. It's really great to be able to get away from the monotony of life and just chill for an hour and a half. The only draw back is that, until the last month or so, I haven't been to swim for almost four straight months. Now, I've never been an exceptionally fast swimmer, but that really tipped the scales. It's been a slow climb, but I'm starting to get back into the swing of things.

I started a writing prompt yesterday that I might post. I'm still not sure how it'll turn out. We shall see...

One funny thing I've been noticing about my writing is that my "voice" changes almost every time I sit down. I always knew I was a mood writer, but never fully understood the whole of my condition. It's really a pain because I'm sorta kinda a major procrastinator, and so when I start writing something I hardly ever finish it. Sometimes I'm in the mood to go back and finish it, but my attempts are often to no avail because I've already switched writing moods. It's really hard to follow a depressing, morose story when all of a sudden it's written in a flippant snarky manner. And, trust me, it's hard to write.

That's pretty much my life in a nutshell. But have you ever noticed the complexity of a nutshell? There's more to it than meets the eye.

Okay. I'm getting off now. That means you can stop reading now and go do something productive with your life. Write a book. Compose a masterpiece. Make a sandcastle.

The All Important Debate

I'm here with our USA olympic debate team as they warm up for their imminent competition. Located in Abby's own living room, this looks like it'll be a hot one. Let's see how she's doing.

Are you nervous, Abby?

Definitely. 

Excited?

Yes. I'm confident in my team, so I think we have a fair chance.

I know that the topic is on King Richard III's alleged murder of his two nephews. Which side will you and your team be taking?

My team and I are on the Pro Richard side. We've been researching for the past few weeks and have come up with some pretty great evidence for his innocence.

Thank you very much, Abby. Good luck in your competition! Stay tuned to see the thrilling debate happening TODAY 8:15 PT on Fangirls and Fiction TV. I'm Jean Elliot, thank you for watching.

*An hour later*

That was a pretty tense discussion! I, for one, am totally convinced that Richard was guiltless. What did you think of your overall performance?

I hate to admit it, but I was disappointed by my team's involvement. It was a fast paced debate, but that's exactly what my team and I train for: thinking on our feet. I would have liked it if more of my teammates had contributed. Three out of ten really isn't a good number to be adding to the discussion. Still, I think we held our ground quite nicely. I'm anxious to hear the results next week.

Thank you so much, Abby. It was great meeting you. Make sure to listen for the results NEXT WEEK on Fangirls and Fiction TV! I'm Jean Elliot, thank you for watching.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I must say, Valentine's day is one of our most fickle holidays. It's all about face. I mean, sure, it's great to love everyone and to show that love, but you should be doing that EVERY day, not just once a year. Give me chocolate everyday!

Now that I got that over with I'm going to talk about something totally unrelated. I just finished the Book Thief, and it may just be my favorite book in the entire world. I don't know how to describe it. I want to talk about it, but I could never say enough. Markus Zusak's writing is amazing. He paints pictures for in your mind and makes you think like the characters. His imagery is exquisate. A truly beautiful style.

This really isn't what I want to tell you about. I almost didn't start this for fear I'd go off on a tangent like this and become too technical. But I'm also afraid of butchering the story, so, before I move along I'll give you a little blurb that I think fits very nicely with the book:
It went horribly right.
I may never recover from the emotional trauma in this book, but it really has been an amazing lesson in the beauty and tragedy of life.

*insert paragraph transitioning from one random topic to another*

Tonight I'm heading to the theater to see Monuments Men. I'm a little skeptical. Serious movies are not my forte, not to mention war movies. Especially WWII movies after finishing a book set in that era. We shall see...

Joe's playing the theme song for Up right now, and it matches my mood perfectly. Don't you just love it when that happens? When, out of the blue, something turns on and you can totally sympathize with it and really feel it? Music is so amazing.

This post is just getting curiouser and curiouser as I go on, which I think I'd better take as my queue to sign off. Happy Valentine's day, and eat lots of chocolate!