The road less traveled by...

We Create the Magic

2011-07-21T21:06:00.001-06:00

It’s a story that is, by now, well known. The young woman, travelling through England on a train, when a story pops into her head. A boy, a magic castle. With no pen, she lets those beginning ideas roll through her head, the start of the story of Harry Potter. She never could have imagined, then, how that journey and that boy would change her life. How far she’s come. With her words, this young woman, Jo, brought magic into the world and into the hearts of so many young people, who desperately needed a Hogwarts to which they could escape. My dad was the first to bring me that magic. It was the summer of 2000, the middle of July, and we had just moved from Texas to Colorado. After living in hotels and travelling a bunch, we finally got a house on base, and I think part of the reason my dad got us the books was to keep my sister and I occupied while he worked on moving everything and painting and other such stuff. I was a desperately shy child. While my sister was the one going outside and introducing herself to the kids in our cul-de-sac, I stayed holed up in our half-furnished bedroom, reading whatever books we had (I mean, she read the books that summer, too, but I definitely…stayed holed up with them). It took me a little while to get excited about the book (the first chapter is not the most exciting opening chapter of a book), but soon I was drawn into the world of Hogwarts and its magic. I read each word, clutching the book, drawn to a friend because he loved the books too. In those early years, as a 7 year old, I desperately wanted Hogwarts to be real. I “played Harry Potter” on the playground with friends, imagined people were Death Eaters, and waited anxiously for a letter to Hogwarts. Sure, even at that young age I knew magic couldn’t exist, that there weren’t really witches and wizards and Voldemort, but I so desperately wanted that world because I found friends there. In the magic world of Harry and Ron and Hermione, I found refuge. I travelled along with them without ever leaving my home, learning valuable lessons of courage and love and loss. I wrote to Jo Rowling as a young girl, desperately wanting to talk to this author who had begun to define my childhood. I was ridiculously happy to get that generic response and picture back from her, even if I knew she hadn’t actually read my letter. To see her signature and feel that thick parchment was like a small wave from a different world. It was Jo telling me that I could create Hogwarts for myself. She was letting me know that the magic was in me, and I didn’t need a wand to bring it out. It would take another 4 years for me to truly realize that and carry out those words of wisdom, but I knew it deep down. For years, I was a private, though enthusiastic, Harry Potter fan. Still desperately shy in my preteen and early teen years, I didn’t know how to show my passion. Sure, as a kid I’d made friends because of Harry, but it was no longer “cool” to admit that you liked Harry Potter. I desperately needed a Hogwarts to escape to, but my eleventh birthday came and went and my wishes went unanswered. Of course Hogwarts didn’t really exist in Scotland, but I couldn’t stop hoping… And then…Hogwarts became a real place. In 2007, I discovered the fandom. I discovered PotterCast and Wrock and The Leaky Cauldron. I posted incessantly on the LeakyLounge, joining in and sometimes writing their chapter discussions, becoming “Resident Luna Biographer.” I was making friends again. Through the combined magic of the internet and Harry Potter, I wasn’t so alone anymore. 2008, I went to Terminus. And there, I feel I truly did discover Hogwarts. For Hogwarts isn’t a place, but a feeling and a state of mind. It’s a place where anyone can be accepted, regardless of any superficial traits society usually judges people on. It’s a place where you find people so like you, who want to be your friend, discuss topics, and work together to make the world a better place. I finally had my Hogwarts. I finally had my classmates. Wrockstock, LeakyCon, Wrockstock again, going to concerts…I had discovered a type of magic in my life. We cried together, laughed together, danced together, worked together to change the world through the Harry Potter Alliance. We got in trouble, had adventures, and travelled places we might not have otherwise. We discovered parts of ourselves that had been pushed away to fit in with the Muggle world. At Hogwarts, we became ourselves. Hogwarts is real, for us. So, no. I never got an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, brought to me by an owl. I never walked down Diagon Alley, strolled the corridors of the castle, sat down to tea with Hagrid. But that didn’t matter much anymore. Because I got an acceptance letter of a different kind. I got a letter of acceptance from the fandom, from my fellow fans telling me they loved me and wanted me around them. I had a place to escape, people to talk to, and a whole life of love ahead of me. That’s what the magic was. I didn’t have a physical Hogwarts, but I had everything about Hogwarts I loved. As Jo had told me with her words so many years before, I could, and did, carry the magic inside myself. It’s no secret that Harry has helped me “through all the hard times,” as RiddleTM so wisely sings. With Harry, I learned over and over again how to grieve. Dumbledore’s wisdom showed me that life went on, that the dead never truly leave our world. We keep them alive. We have the magic to do that. And whenever I lost hope, Harry helped me realize there was still something, someone, worth fighting for. Hogwarts would always be there, waiting for me, no matter how hard the times. Dark days, truly, but always I could find a safe haven in that magical world. There is magic in our world. The magic of words that say so much more than the letters give away. The magic of a hug, a smile, a dance. The magic of rain falling. The magic of music and how it can change our world. The magic of a spirit living on long after it’s dead, living on in me, simply because I will not forget. The books are over. The movies are over. We have Pottermore to look forward to, but many people are treating this past week as if Harry’s magic is ending. But I don’t believe it is. As Harry and Dumbledore taught me, nothing is ever lost. As long as I remember Harry and his friends, as long as I carry their story with me, the story will never be over. Not for me. I can let the story continue as long as I choose. That’s the magic in our world. Because of Harry, I’ve made friends. I’ve learned how to fly after I’ve fallen. I’ve had so many experiences and adventures. I’ve cried and I’ve laughed. I’ve recovered from the darkest days of my life. Harry brought me so much. For 11 years. 11 years. After all that time, I haven’t forgotten his magic. So, no, I don’t think I ever will. We’re the Hogwarts Class of 2011, yes. It’s been 4 years since the last book came out, and we cried over Fred and Lupin and Harry’s courage. The movies are over, bringing yet more tears. But, the magic of Hogwarts lives within us. We will never leave those hallways, not really. It’s our home, the one place most of us ever found refuge. We saw ourselves in Neville, Luna, Hermione, Tonks, Dawlish… We learned how to fly. “It’s the end of an era, and I’m seeing clearer that nothing will ever be the same.” ~Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls Certainly, nothing ever will be the same, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the magic. The magic lives on. There is magic in our world. Jo, you taught me how to look for it and bring it out. You taught me how to let it live in my heart and soul. I can’t thank you enough for that, Jo. But these stories and these characters have not left our world. The words continue to spin magic, bring about change, be a comforting wave and hug. We are the Harry Potter generation, and as long as we do not let this magic end, it never will. “The stories we love best live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” — Jo Rowling Hogwarts is our home. The magic is in our hearts. It’s real for us, no matter what the Muggles think. Carry that magic with you for the rest of your life, and you’ll never truly be alone.

Two years: The magic of our world

2009-07-21T23:28:00.002-06:00

Two years ago, I had finished the last book of the series that has changed my life more than I could ever imagine. I'd stayed up all night to read the book, and excitement and adrenaline kept me awake until 4 in the afternoon, when I collapsed out of exhaustion on my bed. I was still processing everything that had occurred, and itching to start reading the book again so I could go and reread storylines and find hints and see what little things I missed. I would still tear up when I remembered Fred dying. I DESPERATELY wanted to discuss the book with someone, but two people in my house had yet to finish the book, which made that little bit impossible.

Now, two years later, I've had more than enough opportunity to discuss Deathly Hallows in detail with almost EVERYONE. I've traveled far outside my home state, by myself, to enjoy life and talk and laugh and experience with people who welcome me. Oh, how far we've come.

July 21st, 1997, and no one had heard of you. Now one decade later there's queues at the door, people placing their orders and shouting for more. How far you have come. How far you have come. RiddleTM

12, 10, or 5 years ago, everyone reading this note discovered Harry Potter. Maybe it was introduced or recommended to us, or maybe we found it on our own. Some of you resisted at first. But somewhere, whether at the end of the 1st book, or a little farther along, we all fell in love with the story and the characters and the love and friendship inside the books. Somewhere along the way, every one of us was captured by the magic of these books.

I myself discovered the books in July 2000 at the age of 7. I never would have guessed back then when I was playing Harry Potter with my neighbors that I would still be discussing the books and dressing up as characters 9 long years later. But something, something about these books has caught me. Kept me wanting more, kept me wanting to spread the love and the power behind these books.

And we grow up with Harry the Boy Who Lived who has helped us through all the bad times. RiddleTM

I really do feel as though I grew up with Harry and his friends, making many of the same mistakes they did and learning about life and love and growing up and responsibility right along with them. As the tone of the books got darker, and Harry realized a little more about the cruelty and also beauty of life, I did this also. And, honestly, Harry has helped me through ALL the hard times. Whether I was sad, upset, confused, lonely, or lost, those books helped me. If not to cheer me up, certainly to let me get lost in a different world, focusing on the characters and their lives instead of mine.

I never would have dreamed even 5 years ago that there was a whole community of people full of love and light and laughter and acceptance, who all loved Harry Potter to pieces. I still can't believe it when I go to a fandom event and am suddenly surrounded by so much love and hugging and welcome.

For so many years, there was no place I felt like I truly fit in. I had a small group of friends, but I didn't feel like they really UNDERSTOOD me, as cliche as that sounds. I'm not saying I had an awful life, but I certainly never had what I have now. My friends in the fandom are like none of my other friends. They love me no matter what, they are there to support me, they don't judge me for any of my ideas or mistakes I make. They are ALWAYS happy to see me. And the hugs--that's one thing that is so different and that I miss whenever I'm not with the fandom.

I know I wouldn't be the same person I am today if I hadn't discovered the HP books and the loving community that surrounds them. I've traveled far outside my comfort zone and done so many things I never would have done otherwise. I've learned that you don't have to be famous to be friends or talk to a famous person. I've seen so much about life, and I've learned that ANYONE can make a difference in the world through any small gesture. More than anything, Harry Potter has taught me to love myself for who and what I am--and to not judge myself to harshly for what I'm not. It's taught me that most people don't care about the little things, as long as you are there for them. It's taught me the importance of friendship and trust and love and the willingness to fight. :D More than anything, it has shown me what a true friend is and how to be one.

Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. Dumbledore, Goblet of Fire

This quote applies so much to our fandom. I'm friends with people of all ages, all different religions, backgrounds, beliefs, and ideas about the world. But our love and our hope that we can change the world transcends every other difference that might otherwise separate us. No matter who we are, we all believe that we need to fight evil in the real world. Judgment doesn't occur often in the fandom, because we are accepted for WHO WE ARE and no one else. For many of us, including me, the fandom was the first place we found real friends. And because of this, it's hard to not accept someone as a friend--because people here are kind and sweet and generous and caring and accepting. To turn down a friend like that doesn't make any sense when we have so few other friends.

"It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated..." Half Blood Prince

The Harry Potter Alliance is one of the most beautiful and giving charities I know of, all with a foundation around the love in the Harry Potter books. The weapon we have IS love, and we can use it to fight poverty and sickness and genocide and injustice all over the world. It may not always work, but all we can do is keep fighting if we hope to keep the world a better place for everyone.

It's an end of an era, and I'm seeing clearer that nothing will ever be the same Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

This line is true. Nothing was the same after Deathly Hallows came out. But, not in a bad way. For me, Deathly Hallows opened the path to journey into the part of the fandom that only occurs when a bunch of true fans gather in one place. It took me out of just participating online and threw me into meeting people and making lifelong friends. It showed me that I could be loved and accepted by other people. It thrust me out of my comfort zone, traveling to meet people and discuss books and present my own ideas about the connection inside the Harry Potter books. I can't believe how far I've come, how far we've all come, since that first day we journeyed with Harry on the Hogwarts Express and were opened to the world of magic and love.

Farewell, now, Jo, we wish you the best
As first generation readers, we are blessed
We will always love you and Harry
There will be nothing said to the contrary.
A line from my poem, The Final World

None of us got an acceptance letter to Hogwarts when we turned 11. I know I was disappointed by this. But, in a way, we did all receive an acceptance letter of a different kind: an acceptance letter into the fandom, to join in the fun and laughter and hugs and joy. We have created Hogwarts for ourselves, have created Harry's world ourselves. We don't need the spells and potions, because our love creates the magic for us in our world. Jo's creation has become something much larger I think than anyone could have imagined, for we have created it for her in the real world, with magic coming from our hearts rather than our wands.

It's beautiful, and I thank the universe every day that I am a part of it.

I love you. Every one of you. Thank you so much!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie review

2009-07-17T19:24:00.002-06:00

I realized as I was about to post this that this OBVIOUSLY contains spoilers. I'd think you would realize that since it's a REVIEW, but I don't want to make anyone mad. So:

*funny noise John makes on PotterCast*

THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE. DO NOT READ IT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE AND/OR DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MOVIE.

*end funny noise*

So, I hoped to write this after I had first seen the movie at midnight Wednesday. Well, not RIGHT after, but after I'd gotten my 3 hours of sleep. However, since I saw it for a second time last night, I think a lot of my opinions will be better processed now, without the excitement of seeing it at a midnight premiere and only 3 hours of sleep. Wow. Okay, long introduction to why I have yet to write this...ON TO THE BLOG!!!!

Overall, I very much liked it for what it was: A Harry Potter movie. I think a lot of people judge them too harshly. THEY AREN'T THE BOOKS. And they'll never be the books--be as good or as thorough or anything as the books. I like both the books and the movies, but as ENTIRELY SEPARATE entities. I love the books more (obviously), but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the effort and the fact that they are very good movies as far as movies go.

I agree with people who say it's the best Potter yet. They included the most important IDEAS from the book. Not necessarily details or scenes, but they got across the ideas and themes of the book much better than they have for any other Potter movie. By this, I mean:
They got across the fact that Malfoy is not really a Death Eater. He hesitates, doesn't really want to, and really just wants to save his family. I LOVE TOM FELTON.
They got across the Harry/Dumbledore relationship very well. Congratulations, Michael Gambon. FOR ONCE, you didn't screw it up.
They included Hermione's jealousy.
They at least included how much Harry liked Ginny. I didn't like how they portrayed Harry/Ginny very much, but more on that later.
They got across the Half-Blood Prince thing. And left you wondering if Snape was good or evil.
Mmm...Horcruxes. Well, at least they talked about it. But...they also left a lot of loose ends that I have no clue how they're going to tie up in the next movie.

I mean, there are some things I'm confused about and that I didn't like. But I think I have to wait until the last movie--because they might tie up these loose ends and I just can't figure out how, but they have figured out how. My only REALLY big one is:

How the heck is Harry supposed to know what the Horcruxes are and where to look for them?!
Dumbledore quote from the movie: They could be anything. The most commonplace of objects.
NononononononononoNO. *shakes head vigorously* That is the exact opposite of what Dumbledore said in the book! The Horcruxes are very specific things, that Tom Riddle/Voldemort chose for a reason. And Harry's supposed to be looking for things from the founders--the cup and something unknown from Ravenclaw. I mean, I could care less whether they include the specific memory Harry saw to show him these things, but Dumbledore could at least MENTION "Oh, and I believe Voldemort chose things from the founders for his Horcruxes because he felt a special connection with Hogwarts." That took me 5 SECONDS TO SAY. It's not hard to include!

So, I don't know how Harry's going to know what to look for in the next movie. How does he know the snake's a Horcrux? How does he know about the founder thing? Jokingly, I said that Hermione will probably just figure it all out because that's what they do in the movies. And maybe they will do that. I just think that was a very big thing to leave out of the movie, and I'm really not sure how they're going to "fix it" in Deathly Hallows in a non-stupid way.

One other thing I was confused about was how they're going to establish that Harry now owns Kreacher and Sirius' house...I mean, this one is easier to fix with some finding of Sirius' will or mentioning of, but...I'm just not sure.

Now, on to my comment about Harry/Ginny. One big criticism I have is that the movie was too Ron/Hermione oriented, and not enough on Harry/Ginny.It did a good job establishing how much HARRY liked Ginny, but they never really started their relationship, and they never ended their relationship...you know, since it never happened. And, I mean, I know the book talks about both relationships...but in the book really all that is shown is Hermione's jealousy and how much SHE likes Ron. Ron doesn't really come to realize how much he likes Hermione until he leaves during Deathly Hallows. I mean, really, Half-Blood Prince was very much a Harry/Ginny book (with Ron and Lavender's obnoxious relationship in there too) and Deathly Hallows was when Ron and Hermione's relationship REALLY finally was established as fact.

But, I suppose this isn't something that is a huge deal in the grand scheme of the movies and the next movie. It was just something that very much bothered me... :D And I think...unless I want to get super nitpicky, those were the things that really bothered me about the movie.

I thought Michael Gambon finally did a rather good job.* I'm not entirely sure if this is because Michael Gambon decided to act better, or because the screenwriter wrote Dumbledore better in the script so that Gambon would play him better, but it doesn't really matter either way. The ending of the movie was wonderful. He did an AMAZING job in the cave, drinking the potion, and later on top of the tower. The casual chatting with the Death Eaters was PERFECT. It really did seem just like someone who knew they had to die.

And Tom Felton was PHENOMENAL. He's such a lovely actor, and he did such a good job as Malfoy! The crying in the bathroom, the dueling scene with Harry, the scene on the train, and the scene on top of the tower were all perfect, and I am so thankful that he's the one who plays Malfoy, because he's wonderful. =)

In general, all the actors have grown so much both as people and as actors. The movies keep getting better, and I've heard wonderful things about Deathly Hallows, including that Bill and Fleur's weddding is there, Umbridge is there, and the Battle of Hogwarts is 30 minutes long. Certainly, I'm not going to make any harsh criticisms about the movie series until I've seen the last Deathly Hallows movie and see how they finish out the series. :)

And, yes, I've already seen it twice.** I'm seeing it at least twice more--once with my friend Colleen on the 27th, and then in IMAX for my friend's birthday. If you have yet to see it, and for whatever reason you read this entire blog post despite the spoiler warnings, GO SEE IT. NOW.

Finally...yeah. Sorry it's been so long. So much for BEDA teaching me to write more often. ;) I'll really try to write more blogs--I'm considering trying BEDAugust, but it depends how that goes once school starts up again halfway through the month. We'll see.

Cheers! DFTBA!
RAWR.

*I'm not saying he was amazing. But he didn't screw things up, and actually managed to seem like Dumbledore from the books.
**I needed to process everything without the excitement of a midnight premiere. Plus...I just wanted to see it again. =)

This is Never Going to End: LeakyCon 2009

2009-05-31T17:47:00.001-06:00

I’ve been back in the “real world” for about 7 days now. It’s surreal, really. The weekend went by so fast, full of wrock and dancing and screaming and little sleep and laughing and hugging and friends. My voice isn’t totally back to normal, it took a few days for my feet to stop hurting, and I was exhausted for days. But it was more than worth it.

For me, LeakyCon started on Friday. I arrived at Logan airport, very exhausted, and met Julia so we could go to the hotel. In the lobby, I met Susie, but got changed in my room before we got me registered. Near the information desk, I ran into Cody and Shoshana. We stood around talking for a while, then I headed off to the vendor room with Susie and Cody, where I asked Frak to draw me and Neville =D Then, Cody and I went to the Darfur and Human Rights HPA simulation, which was incredibly interesting…and I got to meet Andrew Slack, which was great! I also got to talk to Karen, who helped me with some ideas on how to start an HPA chapter at my school. Lunch was provided by Au Bon Pain (woooo…) and eaten in the park with Cody since it was quite nice in the shade.

After lunch, I got my sticker for the Nerdfighter Nosh and then we went to it. There, we met Ellie, who is awesome. Hank and John were hilarious, telling jokes and teasing one another. John ate some toilet paper and Hank sang songs. I got both of them and Maureen (who I snuck up on. Muahahaha) to sign books/CDs for me. We also got to see the trailer for Finding Hogwarts, which looks absolutely phenomenal—Bre is awesome. Once we had our things signed, Cody and I headed over to the Wizard Rock Panel—they announced the winners for the Wizrocklopedia. Congrats to everyone, but especially RiddleTM for getting so many awards and Ariel for being Best New Artist. We then went to listen to Melissa talk about her book. And, that night was Rock Night in the Castle—I was in the 2nd row. All of the sets were absolutely amazing—Gred and Forge was awesome, getting all of the bands on stage! I had a lot of fin dancing and jumping with Dinah and Cody and Shoshana and people. The Harry and the Potters set was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! When we all got in that big circle, and then all went to the middle, jumping and screaming…I just felt so connected to everyone in the room, even the ones I didn’t know. We were together, we were happy, and we were loving being alive. It reminded me so much of why I love the fandom. On our way back to the hotel, we ran into Scott and Kirsten of The Blibbering Humdingers and Ashley and Emma of Bella and LeStrangers, who decided to go into the glass lobby (with no air) and play for us. It started out very mall, but grew to quite the amount of people. They took turns playing until about 3:15, and we went to bed around 4:00

Saturday morning began obnoxiously and loudly with an intercom telling us to “evacuate the building. This is not a test.” We sleepily put on shoes and headed downstairs, where we discovered it was a false alarm, and to go back upstairs. It was annoying, not the best way to start the morning, but hilarious to look back on now. Anyway, after a quick breakfast and shower, I went to Lena’s “Fountain of Fair Fortune” opera, which was…well, it made me quite emotional, and it was interesting to actually see it performed. Then, of course, there was PotterCast, which was mostly John and Sue arguing a lot about house elves (some things never change) and the Ministry of Magic playing—they’re always awesome. Lunch was provided by Shoshana and eaten in the vendor room while we watched a show by The Blibbering Humdingers and Bell and LeStrangers (yes, again). Then, we headed over to the Imperial Ballroom around 1:00 to get in line for the Wrock Afternoon show. It turned out they moved it to the Plaza at 3:00, but we weren’t about to give up our spots in the front of the line, so we waited for over 2 hours. We sang songs, mostly Accio Deathly Hallows, until a hotel employee told us we couldn’t sing in the hallways! =O Towards the end of our waiting time, Hank came up to us and said, “So, I hear you’ve been waiting here a really long time…” Then we started talking to him about random things (cell phones, horses, his song, handcuffing his fingers) for quite a while, and somehow we all managed to not freak out!! It was very exciting, and a lot of fun.

Anyway, it was definitely worth waiting in line for those 2 hours. =) The concert was absolutely amazing. It's kind of hard to put into words...but....it was AWESOME. I'd never seen RiddleTM live, and I love their music. It's beautiful. =) They are incredibly talented, and I was so happy to actually see them play. The Mudbloods were great, as always--I thought it was particularly funny that Adam wasn't wearing shoes, but only green socks. The Moaning Myrtles are awesome. That's all. And, the Remus Lupins!!! Okay, so I'm not quite as obsessed with them as some wrock fans are. Yes, Alex is hot. Yes, their music is awesome. But I'm not obsessed with them. However, ALEX LIT HIS GUITAR ON FIRE AND THEN SMASHED IT ONSTAGE!!!! I'm sure you've seen youtube videos of this, but if not...go look them up! It's fantastic. I also bought a shirt and two Cds. Since the show didn't start until after 3:00, it wasn't over until after 7:00...So I ordered a cheese pizza which Cody, Shoshana, and I ate only 4 slices of while we were getting ready for the ball in Shoshana & Madeleine's room. And we didn't end up getting to the ball until about 8:30, which was actually earlier than a lot of other people. We left the rest of the pizza on a table in the castle...I'm assuming it was eaten by some hungry people happy for free food. =D

The ball was amazing. =) I danced with Olivia, the other Olivia, Cole, Katherine, Anna, and Cody. We taught Melissa our quidditch dances, which she thought were great. I also danced with both Maureen and Hank, which was awesome! Though, we also scared Maureen....Olivia V grabbed her arm to come dance with us and she screamed. But, she still came and danced with us later. Mostly, it was a lot of fun, even though my feet were in pain I danced the whole time....And, it ended once again with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (epically danced to by Melissa and Alex), an a-capella of "The Weapon" and then "The Leaky Song" We didn't hang around long once it ended at midnight--we ran (okay, not literally) back to our room to change for the 1558 show.

1558 was awesome =) Uh...I don't think I can list all the bands that played....Nope. We did see The Blibbering Humdingers and Bella and LeStrangers again (3 times in about 24 hours!) Umm..."For Jo" by RiddleTM almost made me start crying...because at that moment, in that room, I felt so connected to everyone. And, we were all leaving each other for the most part the next day. =( But with our silent cheers, waving bottles and wands in the air, and just the overall atmosphere, I really felt the love and connection of everyone in that room. By the time the last few bands were playing, I was sort of falling asleep on one of the beds with Madeleine and Kirsten (of the Blibbering Humdingers). It didn't end until about 3:30. On our way back to the room, we ran into Hank (I think he was on our floor. I'm not convinced, but we kept seeing him) and just started talking to him. I think it was something about how late it was that made us totally not fangirly and made us actually able to articulate something. =D

Uh....so I woke up around 7:30 I think on Sunday, but I didn't actually head down to the Departure Breakfast until about 9:00 because I....was too tired at 8:00 (I took a shower and sat around first). I ran into Shoshana first, and got some things to eat. Then we wandered around the ballroom talking to people...At one point I sat down with Olivia and people, and we decided to go thank Melissa/MJ after a while. =) Frak finally gave me my drawing of me and Neville, which is beautiful. Then it started to get to the point where everyone was leaving. =( I sat down with Susie and Michelle, then went to Au Bon Pain to get lunch (again). Basically the entire afternoon, I sat in the lobby talking to people, including Kristina and Alex Day because I couldn't get into Susie's room. I wanted to go to Hank's show, but I wasn't sure how to get there. So...I didn't go. Obviously, I couldn't go to the wrock show that night because you had to be over 21. I'm not really sure what I did that night...I think I sat around hoping someone would talk to me, then went up to the room when no one did and waited for people to come back. We didn't go to bed until about 3:00...

And, I didn't wake up on time on Monday. I woke up at 7:15, but somehow still made it out of the hotel at 7:30 (though I think I woke up Jules, and I'm sorry about that) The subway to the airport took forever to get there, and I thought I was going to be late, but somehow I was still about half an hour early (before the boarding). I fell asleep for about 30 minutes on the plane, but mostly just read and was sad that LeakyCon was over. =(

It's basically been a week now. And I really, really miss it. I miss the community, I miss the love, and I miss the connections. As Cody said, I keep expecting to walk down the hall and give people hugs. There's just so much acceptance and joy and love in the fandom, and I miss not having that around me constantly, especially since I'm so far away from everyone.* I love how sweet everyone is--always happy to meet you, and eager even if you're shy. Hank was pretty right when he said that even JK Rowling didn't deserve the HP fandom. Which is in no way a criticism of Jo. It's a compliment to us--and our awesomeness. I really hope to go to Wrockstock, and Infinitus, and LeakyCon 2011. I just wish there was more in between.

I love you!!!!!!!! I miss you!!!!!!! THIS IS NEVER GONNA END!

Tonight...10 days before

2009-05-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

Okay. I have had so many emotions tonight. And, like Cody said, the best place for me to get them out is by writing them down.

Tonight, Melissa had her ustream chat...usually it's her Book Club, but this week there was no book. Instead...it was....amazing. The best one I've been to yet. First, Melissa started by talking about LeakyCon. Which of course brings out so many strong emotions of me. Excitement, but also...I don't know. I'm very bad at putting how I feel into concrete words. But I always get so many strong emotions with Harry Potter conferences. Because it reminds me of the whole fandom, and the whole experience, and just how amazing our fandom is. I feel so welcome, so loved, so....wow. I always cry when I get together with people from the fandom, because it's just so amazing.

Then she started reading poetry...which doesn't really bring emotions about Potter, but brings up emotions in general. She read Frost and Millay...and all of it is so beautiful. I'm a huge poetry/literature nerd, so I loved that. And I always just start thinking way too much when I listen to or read poetry. Especially if it's Frost.

But what really brought out the strong emotions and the tears was when Melissa started reading from her book and her interview with Jo. She read a few portions that just made me laugh, and she also read the beautiful few paragraphs about the release in Israel. That part ALWAYS makes me smile and feel warm inside. THEN she read the final chapter, Deathly Hallows. Again, I'm awful at putting emotions into words. But it just brings out memories of that night and how I felt when I was reading it. I didn't think it was OVER, but I knew it would be...different. I wasn't sure if it would be bad different, or just...different. Whatever it would be, I didn't like to think about it. As Melissa said, "See you on the other side."

My life WAS different after Deathly Hallows came out. But I really think that's when everything started for me. Because that's when I really got to know people in the fandom, rather than just reading TLC. I got really into the reading groups on Leaky Lounge, and I started really talking to people and making good friendships and....I felt like everything was really still the same, except we knew everything. We were still the same fandom, and we were never going to let these books go. It's who I am, who we are, what we...need. It's beautiful, and it's amazing, and there's nothing else I know that's quite like it.

In just 10 days, I get to go to LeakyCon. I can see Melissa, and Sue, and John, and Frak. I can see wrock shows and dance the night away. I get to see Cody, and Shoshana, and Julia, and Susie, and everyone else from the fandom that I haven't seen since August. It's hard to think about, because it's just so...amazing. And I'll cry. I know I will.

I love our fandom. And I love Melissa even more now.

Thank you, everyone!
This is never gonna end!

Like a moth to a light?

2009-05-10T16:55:00.000-06:00

So, I haven't written a blog in over a week, and it feels really...weird. Honestly, it does. After a month of blogging every single day, it's strange to not blog for so long! I mean, it's really nice, as well, because I don't have the pressure to finish a blog at a certain time every single day. But I also really miss it. Like I said in my post on the 1st, it was nice to have that one thing I did EVERY SINGLE DAY. A bit of rhythm and regularity. But I also just miss reading other people's blogs and having them comment on mine and commenting on theirs. I mean, I don't blog for the sole reason of getting comments, but it's fun. Very fun. It was a nice community. And I still talk to them on Skype, although school's been getting crazy, so....I don't have as much time anymore. Anyway. I have a few things to share with anyone who might be reading this blog.

Part 1: Epic Moth Story
If you follow me on Twitter, then you heard me ranting about this on Thursday night. The background of this story is that I hate moths. Well, more specifically, I hate moths when they're around the area where I'm sleeping. At camp it's okay because they fly up to the cabin ceiling, which is far, far away from where I'm sleeping. Or, they also tend to just stay on the outside of the cabin walls. Nevertheless, if a moth gets too close to me in the cabins at camp, I get angry. And a little creeped out. One time, this moth the size of a hummingbird got in the cabin, and we were all freaking out. Tinkerbell (one of the counselors) was whacking it with our broom, but even she was freaking out when it flew towards her face. Mostly, though, I get angry and creeped out when they get in my house. Especially in my room or my bathroom. I mean, okay, moths are kind of pretty if you're looking at pictures of them or looking at them outside. But it's the same thing with butterflies. I'm completely certain that if a butterfly got into my room and was flying around my light when I wanted to sleep, I'd freak out then too. The main reason I hate moths is because they're so FUZZY. They more extremely creepily, and...well, it's intruding in my area, when I'm trying to sleep. Go away, little moth, GO AWAY!!!!!! And they are way too attracted to lights.

Anyway, it was about 9:50 Thursday night. I'd brushed my teeth, gotten in my pajamas, gotten everything ready for the next day, turned off my computer....I was standing at my bed about to take out my contacts, when my cat jumped on my bed, all excited and meowing. Literally one second later, in came the moth flying around my light. CRAP. I didn't scream, but I ran out and closed the door to my room, hoping it would fall and my cat would eat it. No such luck. This moth was indestructible and INCREDIBLY obsessed with the light on my ceiling. I tried turning off the light and leaving on the hallway light, but no luck. Instead, it disappeared behind my bed. At that point, I went and got our broom. I got it out from behind my bed, but then it just flew straight up to the light AGAIN. Ugh. I was thoroughly annoyed, and now it's like...10:15. So, I just keep smacking the light...it flies around for a while, then lands back on the light again. This goes on for a while....it lands on the light, I smack the light, it flies around the light, then it lands on the light again. And Repeat. And Repeat. Ugh. Around 10:35, I think I had finally wore it down. It was sitting on the side of the light that I could easily see, so I smacked the broom RIGHT ON IT* and it fell down onto the floor, mostly dead. Then my cat ate it. And there ended the epic moth story of May the 7th. *sigh* Stupid moths!!!! I wanted to sleep, and I'm pretty sure it knew that and was taunting me like, "hahaha, you think you're going to sleep! THINK AGAIN." It was also taunting my cat, because she couldn't get up to the ceiling to catch it. "hahaha, you can't catch me! I shall live!!!!!!!" That was one EVIL moth. I killed it, thankfully, but it was EVIL.

Okay. *deep breath* Further story. So, every year, the Freshmen English classes at my school put on "Shakespeare Festival" in May in which freshmen choose a scene from a Shakespeare play to perform. Now, since it's freshmen, they usually suck. I fully admit it, even though I was a freshmen last year. We're not good actors. But, still. There's a difference between good acting and good preparation. I mean, my group last year did the second scene from As You Like It. None of us were particularly good actors, but we had our costumes and props and our timing and our lines memorized. So, while it wasn't good ACTING, it was a fairly good production. And people liked it, they thought it was funny, because Ian was in a fat suit for his role**

However, this year they've relaxed it so much...now it sucks even more. You no longer have to do a scene from a Shakespeare play. You have to do an adaption of a Shakespeare play. So people try to put on fashion shows or game shows or they try to sing. Or, there was a TEN MINUTE LONG PUPPET SHOW. I wanted to kill myself. We all did. Plus, no one has memorized their lines this year. And they have a month to do this...more than a month, actually. So people have lines written on their arms or are just holding their script on stage!!!!*** Sheesh. And I'm not mad because it's bad acting. Again, I'm mad because it's awful preparation. Extremely painful to watch...especially when they make a big deal and their eyes get all wide when they forget a line. That's like, the first rule of theatre: Don't acknowledge when you mess up. And I just feel bad for poor William! =(

Also, LeakyCon! 11 DAYS, 16 HOURS!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to see everyone that I haven't seen since August. I'm officially going to Nosh with the Nerdfighters now, and...well, I'm just super excited. It's going to be amazingly awesome! And I seriously can't wait. *antsy*

Hopefully I'll get back to blogging at least every few days, rather than waiting 8 days. Sorry.

Also, look, FUB! It was my math notes...and my teacher didn't even know! Made of awesome!

Cheers! DFTBA!

*Win! I felt so powerful when I hit it and killed it! YES!!!!!!! (okay...sorry...I just really don't like when bugs are in my living space. I do respect them, though)
**He was one of the wrestlers, and he had to somersault in a fat suit. Oh my geez, those rehearsals were HILARIOUS.
***"Let me just discretely unfold my script here and read my line..." *shoots self in head* Really, freshmen? REALLY?!

Different without BEDA

2009-05-01T22:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, it just felt incredibly strange not to have to post a blog today.

I mean, okay. I know that I complained about not having any ideas for blogs and I rambled on a lot and I'm sure half of it wasn't even funny. But, nevertheless, I had an incredible amount of fun posting a blog every day. Sometimes it was good to think about what to blog about...instead of other things. Sometimes (some very rare times), I actually had a great blog idea and got really excited about writing it! And, mostly, it was really nice having one thing I did EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Some normality, some rhythm, something to go with all the hectic things in my life to keep me sane and calmed down.

I guess it was nice not to have the pressure or whatever to post a blog today. I mean, okay. There was never REAL pressure. Maureen wasn't standing there with a knife to my throat screaming, Write, damn it, write! You post this blog before midnight today, or you die! Come on!!!!! WRITE! That would be scary. Very scary. And I wouldn't necesarrily put it past Maureen either.

Anyway, it was completely my choice to do BEDA, and to push myself to think of something to blog about EVERY SINGLE DAY. Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that I enjoyed BEDA. It was a very nice part of my life, and it made the month of April a bit more manageable, especially this last week. I've met so many great people, who want to talk to me and think I'm funny* and...are amazing.

So, taking a leaf out of Lindsay's book....A toast!
Here's to:
Seeing if Joe can stay up all night (until 6:00 am BST)
Rubbing
The Count Censored
Hankrolls!!!!
Dr. Who <3
Gay Joe/Lesbian Nena**

EPIC 8-hour Skype calls/chats
"Joe being weird"
Speaking in different accents
Randomly saying RAWR

Avoiding homework to talk to frieds
Jospeh
Typos. EPIC typos.

To Charlee, Nena, Abby, Anna, Dasha, Ellie, Trevor, Tobias, Arka, Reese, Chelsea, Madi, Joe, and Lindsay.
THANK YOU.

I will keep blogging, both here on the ning and on my blogspot. Now that I've gotten into the hang of it, I don't see how I could go back.

Oh, and watch this video of mine, maybe? *nods*

Cheers! DFTBA!
RAWR. =)

*Maybe something fell on their heads, because I'm definitely not funny....
**This argument went on forever on Twitter and Skype. EPIC. EPIC.

The Attack of the Sheetle

2009-04-30T18:33:00.000-06:00

So, it's the last day of BEDA. Today, I present you with a long and complicated story.

The Attack of Sheetle
On a lovely final day of April, a young girl was walking around her neighborhood, thinking about her homework she needed to finish and the epidemic of flu and balloons.* It was a beautiful day for once, which is an unusual happening in Colorado Springs in April. However, she had just taken a huge math test and was also freaking out about it and hoping her teacher accepted her homework a tad bit late.

So, this young girl was wandering around on a path, when she suddenly discovered a beetle and a sheep stumbling across her path.

Upon this, she remembered what everyone had been freaking out about at school and on the news and in the newspaper. In fact, her best friend seemed to know everything about it, and was panicking and spewing facts. What was the name though? ...............Oh, yes. Sheetle flu! More dangerous than the swine flu affecting Mexico, more dangerous than the avian flu, and immediately fatal. Well, not immediately, but in just a few short days, and she always liked to exaggerate. She quickly walked away from the beetle and sheep, trying to remember everything she could about sheetle flu.

It was a combination of sheep and beetles, obviously. The beetles gave it to the sheep, who could easily give it to humans just by passing very close to them. Quickly doing some math equations, involving vectors and matrices and derivatives, she determined that she had just barely missed the distance in which she could have caught sheetle flu from the sheep. She was safe for now, but just by a small margin.

She quickly walked on, trying to recall more about sheetle flu. What was it her friend had said in French class? Oh, yes! He had given her a paper clip stolen from the teacher, telling her that it would protect her from sheep infected with sheetle flu.** As I am sure you know, sheep were secretly trying to take over the world, and defeat their human oppressors.But, now the beetles have joined with the sheep, to cause a cruel and brutal end to the human race. Panicking, she pulled out her paper clip, hoping it would protect her even further if it was actually in contact with her skin.....

Then, as she was nearing her home, she passed a yard full of dandelions, and another flashback of knowledge came to her. DANDELIONS WERE A SIGN OF PLACES INFECTED WITH THE SHEETLE FLU. And this yard was full of them. She stared in horror at the lost house, and then quickly ran away towards home to find some help.

She ran through her door, and upstairs to her cell phone,where she dialed Hank Green. Even though Hank had no clue who she was, Hank could fix everything with his amazing powers of awesomeness and songwriting. Hank quickly agreed, and rushed over from Montana, to save the state of Colorado, all the way singing, "What Would Captain Picard Do?"*** It took Hank only a few hours to quarantine and heal the infected people by replacing them with awesome, and to remove all the infected sheep and beetles from the town.

The girl hugged him and thanked him for saving her beautiful town, and immediately invited him to dinner at her house. The whole town had a celebration in honor of Hank, and she went to bed thinking of the amazing awesome**** Hank. When she woke up, she saw Hank's plane flying back to Montana, and knew that everything was right in the world again.

AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. THE END.
Okay, two more quick parts.
One: Awful math test =( I only missed 8 points, which isn't bad especially for Mr. Perry's test, but...well, it was annoying. And confusing. *sigh*

Also, IT'S THE LAST DAY OF BEDA!!!!
*streamers* *crying* *balloons exploding* *sobbing* *handing out of BEDA cake* *sits in a corner, wondering what will happen now*

As you can tell from that, I don't really know how to feel about this. I mean, part of me is very happy, because I actually accomplished the task of blogging every day, and it was a lot of fun. I feel like we should have a huge BlogTV party or something, complete with dancing and cake and streamers and fireworks and the handing out of signed copies of Suite Scarlett.

On the other hand, I am quite sad. I had so much fun doing this! I mean, I'm going to keep blogging, especially now that I have gotten into the swing of things, and I think that my blogging has improved.***** And I've met so many awesome friends through this, from all over the world, and gained a bazillion inside jokes. Oh, and I gained a tiny little monkey. And I'm scared that everyone will go away after today, and not come back. Which would be incredibly sad, because I would miss my friends!

How does everyone else feel about the ending of BEDA? Happy? Sad? Confused? Indifferent? COMMENT!
However, I did wear my "party socks" in celebration of today.******

So, congratulations on surviving BEDA! We need to make shirts or something for everyone! Or, we could just all go buy ourselves a copy of Suite Scarlett in paperback!

Cheers! DFTBA! And DON'T STOP BLOGGING!!!!!! KEEP IN TOUCH!

*Why balloons? Who knows!!!!!!! Because she's random that way.
**Just as in real life, my life is worth more than my French teacher's. *wink*
***That's the song Hank was singing on BlogTV while I was writing that section of the story
****Because I have no other word choice, apparently
*****What do y'all think? Has my blogging improved? Am I at all funny? Or do you just read my blogs and lie about how much you like them. LEAVE THE TRUTH IN THE COMMENTS.
******Those aren't actually my party socks. Although, if y'all like them, they might become them. I think they are VERY festive.

Swing hard!!!!!

2009-04-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

I think I'm running out of blog ideas. And since it's 9:15 at night, and I have a huge stupid math test tomorrow....Uh....Don't expect this to be great.

Well, so tonight was our MYP Completion Ceremony. Ugh. So pointless. And I was not kidding when I said this morning that I didn't have the time for it. First, it was in the gym, with us sitting on the bleachers. So a lot of the numbers got sort of messed up, and we had to fix them when we were getting in line to receive our certificates. Also, IT WAS SO FREAKING UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!!!!!! Especially when I'm wearing a skirt and Mr. Thompson (the IB coordinator) is rambling on about baseball for half an hour. Which brings me to my second point:

What was up with that speech about Mickey Mantle, Mr. Thompson?! He asked one of my classmates who Mickey Mantle was, and all he knew was that he played baseball. (Though, that's more than I knew...I had no clue who he even was!) Seriously, none of us had any clue what he was talking about. Even the PRINCIPAL didn't know what Mr. Thompson was talking about. I don't think Mr. Thompson himself knew what he was talking about. He just kept rambling on and talking and talking. Quote: "Let me give you a brief history of his aunt now..." As we're all sitting there, talking, and conused, and bored, and reading texts over my friend's shoulder. Also, "So his dad started throwing all his clothes into the open suitase and...you know......*trails off*" Uh...okay. Then he went on talking about all the home runs Mantle made, and his farthest hit, and also all the times he struck out in his career. (We're fidgeting and getting uncomfortable and wanting to get out of that stupid gym over to the cookies and lemonade) In the end, he managed to tie it back into IB by saying something like, "You have to swing hard to hit a home run."

This was us during his talk:

The funniest part was when he finally released us. There was a stampede of kids running down bleachers trying to get out of that stupid gym. Basically, it was really boring. As I said, I've been in IB since 3rd grade, and our principal was talking on and on about the "IB character traits" such as "Thinker" and "Risk Taker" and "Well-Rounded." Me: God, it's like we're back at Academy International or something!* He also used the word "IB-ish." Which is a very "IB" word.** And, just as he does every single morning on the announcements, he ended with a quote.

Oh, and my friend Chris didn't get his certificate!!! They couldn't find it in the pile, along with one other. But the other girl got hers afterward, and Chris didn't! =( She was walking away and I was like, "Hey! Chris didn't get his either!" We were joking that our French teacher had something to do with it, because she despises him. Honestly, though, I don't know why we needed a whole boring, long ceremony, when they could have just mailed us our certificates. I did get some fun pictures, a video of Jon "being funny,"*** and some really fun inside jokes from now on about Mr. Thompson and Chris "not graduating" MYP. (for now)

I completed MYP! 8 YEARS OF IB DOWN, 2 MORE TO GO!!!!!!

Uh....I kind of feel like I should do something else in this blog, so I'm going to do some quick in your pants jokes:
The Magical World of Harry Potter....In Your Pants
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland....In Your Pants
The Great Gatsby.....In Your Pants
The Other Side of You....In Your Pants
The Secret Life of Bees....In Your Pants
The Odyssey....In Your Pants
Animal Farm.....In Your Pants
A Ring of Endless Light...In Your Pants
And my favorite by me:
Hope is not a Plan...In Your Pants

Okay, off to study a bit more for math (although, it's kind of pointless) and fill out a chart for history. Sorry I'm so boring this last week of BEDA! =( Hopefully tomorrow, OUR LAST DAY, I'll be more interesting.

Cheers! DFTBA!

*Academy International was my elementary school, where I did the PYP program for IB
**Not an IB word. Geez...
***I told him to be funny, and he obliged. =)

Wizard Rock Awareness Day

2009-04-28T21:50:00.001-06:00

It's Wizard Rock Awareness Day!!!!!!!!! In all honesty, I don't really know WHAT that's supposed to mean...I mean, I'm in the facebook group, I love Wrock, and....I'm trying to make the people of BEDA maybe more aware of the movement than they already are.* =]

Well, I still firmly stand that the Wizard Rock movement started with Harry and the Potters in 2002. I know technically the Switchblade Kittens released "Ode to Harry" before that, but I'm not really sure I consider them to be a wizard rock band...You can argue about it, but I'm sticking next to Paul and Joe!

Okay, once again I don't have an awful lot of time to write this blog, so I'm going to summarize several of my favorite Wrock Bands =]

The Moaning Myrtles
Lauren Fairweather and Nina Jankowicz from New Jersey. I think one of the reasons I love the Moaning Myrtles is because I relate to Lauren a lot, based on her fiveawesomegirls videos especially. How lonely she was, and how much Harry Potter has given to her! Plus, they're both just so funny and sweet....and I love that they chose to write about a ghost, Myrtle, who everyone likes to make fun of. And, they even took picture for their CD cover in a bathroom stall to accentuate the fact that they're representing a ghost who lives in a bathroom.

Their songs are so...varied, too. Some are just plain funny ("Emo Guy" "What About Myrtle"), and some are really sweet and true ("Transparent" "It's Too Late"). Both of them also do so-called "muggle music" on their own. Lauren's song "Nerdfighterlike" really touched me, and prompted me to actually get involved in the Nerdfighter movement instead of just watching videos on YouTube. And Nina's song, "Circus," about our government in the US, never fails to make me laugh.

They're both incredibly friendly, and sweet, and definitely real people. MYRTLE LIVES!!!!

The Parselmouths
Well, they really are like the West Coast counterparts of the Moaning Myrtles. I guess I like them for a few reasons....
1) Their songs are so great! Especially as they aged and matured, the music became amazing...really good to dance to. And just really great songs in general
2) I also really relate to Kristina, again through the fiveawesomegirls videos...but when I saw her at Terminus, I was too shy to actually say anything....
3) "This is Never Going to End" LOVE THAT SONG
4) Again, friendly and sweet and real and....yeah....

The Mudbloods
I only really just learned about this band through PotterCast this summer and then when I got to see them play at the live PotterCast at Terminus. I guess, when I heard them, they just sounded so DIFFERENT from all the previous wizard rock bands that I'd heard. It's just something about their music, and how Adam sings, and just how humble they are in general. =] Plus, gosh, their songs are so BEAUTIFUL. "A Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love"**

And, again, Adam has amazing "muggle music." His song "Books Say and I Say" is so great...I love especially, "And Shakespeare says/We've only got two options/Either everyone gets married/Or everybody dies."

I really like especially how humble the band is. =] And I thought it was funny that they named their band the Mudbloods, and then later realized that their name was kind of...you know...a racial slur. But, their music is so great, that it really doesn't matter.

The Ministry of Magic
Okay, I think this band had been around for a little while before I actually heard about it. It started in 2007, but I didn't even really know it existed until last summer because of Terminus and the fact that Kristina talked about them a lot. And, I'm ashamed to say that I only just bought their music this year. Though, that was mostly just because I have to wait until I have money on iTunes....Anyway, I am so glad now that I bought their music!!! I absolutely love, "The Bravest Man I Ever Knew." I played this song for my friend, and it was the first one she actually liked, because she said she liked the techno beat...and she's not into wizard rock (she thinks it's strange)

Definitely, their techno-ish beat is awesome. And, who wouldn't love a guy who dresses up as Voldemort to sing?

The Whomping Willows
Classic band, really, which started around the same time as Harry and the Potters. I love Matt because...well....uh...because I do? No, really, he's great. And his music varies a lot, too--he can be really angry, really funny, or really sweet. I mean, I guess he really is that classic Wrock music, though he's started to branch out more. And, who wouldn't love the guy who created the House of Awesome?!***

Potter Ink
Well...my friend Cody actually only just introduced me to this girl. But she's great. I don't really know how to describe her, so just....look her up on myspace. But her songs make me cry like no other, especially "Weaker Divided."

RiddleTM
England! Beautiful voices! Also manage to make me cry an awful lot! ("For Jo" *cries*) Something is just special and amazing about their music and their voices and....yeah. Love them, too =)

Ugh. I know that was really boring and short and incoherent. But...sorry!!!!!!!
Better tomorrow, maybe?
Cheers! DFTBA!

*I know most people are acquainted with Wrock, but...I didn't know what else to write about. And it IS Wrock Awareness Day!
**Seriously, I am IN LOVE with this song. Adam....*swoons*
***Nerdfighters FTW!

The Horrors of IB

2009-04-27T21:21:00.001-06:00

STRESS!!!!!!!!!!! *twitches* *twitches* *bangs head on desk* *bites fingernails* *looks around randomly, gets distracted by something shiny* *hit head on desk again because she NEEDS TO FINISH THESE THINGS*

Okay, so the title of this blog is actually a bit of an exaggeration. IB isn't that bad. It's fun, it's somewhat challenging,* you get to geek out with all the fellow IBers....But, towards the end of semesters/year, it gets hectic. And evil. IB lurks around your corner, waiting until you fall asleep at your computer so it can hit your head with a rock and you wake up with a MASSIVE headache. Especially since this is the end of MYP for us...teachers HAVE TO FINISH THIS. Believe me, they're freaking out just as much as we are about all the stuff they have to grade and the things they haven't taught or done with us yet. We're all in this together!**

So, I've been doing IB since 3rd grade. So, I've been dealing with it for 7 years. And I plan to go on to the DYP programme for my final two years of high school--DYP is the one that seriously turns the smartest kids into a pile of tears and sweat and flashcards and post-its, and they just blubber on. In elementary school, it wasn't that bad, as I'm sure you can imagine. The only truly IB thing we did was an "Exhibition" project in 5th grade to prove that we had actually learned something through PYP.*** In middle school, it got tougher, especially as we started heading towards 8th grade and the teachers were "preparing us for high school." Tests, projects, labs, essays, reports GALORE! And in 9th grade they're all preparing us for 10th grade and trying to undo some of the damage that our middle school teachers did....and teach us things we apparently already should have known....but we never get taught. High schools and middle schools need to communicate the whole MYP programme and curriculum....But, ironically, IB people are VERY disorganized and often have no clue themselves what is going on.

Anyway, this week......*runs away in terror* I just did my Personal Project at about 7:00....It actually felt like kind of a waste of my time, because when I finished presenting, everyone was looking at me like, "Huh? Why'd you do THAT?" (I did a study of politics and the types of Republicans that live in El Paso County, CO. I'd explain, but I am very tired-don't know how I'm managing to write this-and just presented it for a bunch of people, so I DO NOT want to do it again) But, like the amazing IB students we are, all of us sophomores were on Facebook yesterday complaining and panicking and congratulating someone who finished. We're all stressed out, but we're not actually WORKING on it. Classic!

Also, if you follow me on twitter, you know that I was supposed to do an English speech today. And we were all very upset with our teacher, because he gave us zero guidelines and such. But, I still worked on it like the diligent little student I am. AND HE WASN'T HERE TODAY!!!!!!**** How dare he?! What else this week? Well....

Two math tests: One tomorrow (right after personal project night) and one Thursday (right after MYP completion ceremony) Our math teacher hates us. *sigh* But, we hate him back, so it's okay!
US History project: Shouldn't honestly be too hard, but....still....why this week?!
Physics lab/lab report: Also, quite easy. But, just one more thing.....
English project: And, I hate my group. =[ Stuck with them! HELP!!!!!!
Random French crap that won't be for a grade, but I'll probably end up doing anyway....

Er...I think that's all I have to say. I need to get some sleep, so I don't get even more incoherent than I am now.***** At least Personal Project is done, and in 2 days we'll be done with MYP! WE WILL BEAT IB....IT WON'T BEAT US!!!******

I'm too tired to actually explain the IB programme, so her'es a website and some basic terms:
International Baccalaureate
PYP: Primary Years Programme K-5
MYP: Middle Years Programme 6-10
DYP: Diploma Years Programme 11 & 12

Cheers! DFTBA!! (Don't Forget To BS Assignments)

*Sort of. Not really all that challenging, though they say it is!
**Oh no. HSM reference *groans*
***I still don't know how they actually evaluated our Exhibition. I think we just did SOMETHING, and they let us "graduate"
****I think he wanted to stay away from sophomores who would attack him with questions....
*****Yeah, sorry about that. Hopefully this wasn't too painful to read
******Well, we can always hope.....

Why you should go camping!

2009-04-26T17:36:00.002-06:00

Okay, I know some people seriously hate camping and can't stand the idea of being out in nature, cooking over a fire/camp stove, with no electricity or shower or internet.* And, while I myself do love camping, I understand that. So I'm not saying that everyone needs to go camping all the time. I just think you should let yourself experience it once in your life, at least, before you decide you hate it. Even then, try it with some friends and see if it's different =]

Hem, Hem:**
Kat's Top 10 Reasons to go Camping at least once in your life.
1. You get some amazing pictures and memories.
Same as traveling, really. Except your pictures of nature are almost guaranteed to be beautiful and breathtaking and amazing. Breathtaking pictures of mountains, lakes, streams, rock formations, WILDLIFE. Seriously...I take so many pictures when I'm out camping. Also, camping tends to bring about even more hilarious memories and times you had with your family/friends/whoever you were camping with. Because if you are truly camping, the memories and pictures come along with it! =] Bears, bad cooking experiences, rain, rolling out of the tent while sleeping, etc, etc....

2. It's actually quite easy
Some people tend to think that camping is hard. But it's really not. You should have some basic cooking skills at home before you try cooking on a camp fire. You should have a tent, sleeping bag, flashlights, food, water, maybe a camp stove. A game or books so you don't get bored. Some cooking utensils.....As long as you don't choose anything too complicated or high-tech, camping will be a breeze because so much stuff is out there so that you don't have to work hard while camping, but can just relax.

3. It's relatively cheap!
Again, as long as you don't go buy all the high-tech, confusing stuff, and you don't try to rent an RV or something, camping is cheap! Many places a free to camp, or very very cheap if they aren't completely free. Much better than having to rent a cabin for who knows how much for a few days. And much better than a hotel room!

4. Food tastes better when you cook it while camping...
Usually. I mean, at home you'd never eat a "foil dinner" of rice and corn and potatoes, but when you're camping it seems like heaven =) Granted, if you have no cooking skills, it still won't taste great. But, also, if you've been hiking a lot,*** then pretty much any food tastes like heaven, no matter how badly it was cooked. Plus, there's that feeling of accomplishment that you actually cooked something on a camp stove/fire. Breakfast burritos! =]

5. You have some really fun times with your friends.
Obviously, this one goes along with the first one about the memories. But, this one is specifically for if you go camping with friends, not family. Whenever we go on our overnight at GS camp, we come back with the best of stories. Like how we accidentally pitched our tent on a hill, so in the morning I ended up at the bottom of the tent, near everyone's stuff, especially the riding boots. Uncomfortable! Or how it was raining, so the counselor was shoveling extra pudding into our bowls. Or how, on our "challenge" overnight as CIT/WITs, they didn't leave us the food so we couldn't prepare the cooking until the food was delivered. Not having a can opener, so banging the can of fruit open with a mallet used for setting up tents. See what I mean? FUN TIMES FTW!!!!

6. You can see the stars =]
Since most of us live in or near very big cities, we have never actually seen the stars. I remember when we went camping at the Monument Valley Navajo tribal park...I'd never REALLY seen the stars before, because even at GS camp some of the buildings have electricity, and it's not that far from Woodland Park. But the Navajo tribal park had no cities nearby, and no buildings with electricity. So we could see every star coming out, one by one. It was one of the most beautiful, wonderful experiences of my life. And I want more of those! Unfortunately, not many camping areas are even that secluded anymore. But, you can still see more stars out camping than you'd ever see at home in the city!

7. You get to visit some beautiful places
Seriously. So many places are beautiful, but they are secluded. So the only way you can truly see them is to go camping, since there's no other way to get there. And just being out in nature, being a part of nature, being at the mercy of nature, makes it beautiful. LIFE is beautiful when you're camping. Plus, by camping in these places, you help to ensure their beauty, their peace, and...just the places in general. Camping benefits the environment, as long as you do it the old-fashioned way with tents and "leave no trace." Camping is one of the most natural things you can do, as long as you do it properly. So get camping!!!

8. You have great story material.
Yes, THIS one again. But it's true! I don't feel like repeating everything I just said about memories and fun times. Anyway, you can share camping stories at that same party, if none of the other stories go over well! You're almost bound to get people laughing, choking on their drinks, etc. And you're bound to get some of the people asking you tips on camping, or reliving any funny camping stories they had when they were kids! I constantly repeat camp stories with my camp friends, and it NEVER gets old! These things don't fade away! They're always funny!

9. Seclusion! Relaxation! Time to think!
Especially if you choose to go camping by yourself. The wilderness is the perfect place to go to try to get someplace to relax and think about things and all that great stuff. The nature and the wilderness does some amazing stuff to your brain and your ability to make sense of things. So get out into that nature and spend some time in it!

10. You have something to blog about!
Always ends here. Because you can blog about just about any experience, and people will read it. I myself took advantage of blogging about camping earlier this month. Shameless self-promotion of earlier blog.... So, if nothing else can get you out camping, wait until you are out of anything to write on your blog, and then go camping so you have something to write about. WIN!!!!

Ugh. Stress. Personal Project, 2 math tests, English speech, US History Project, MYP Completion ceremony. Crazy, crazy last week of BEDA. My blogs will likely get progressively more incoherent and such. Especially tomorrow. Deal.****

But I love my frieds!!!!!!*****
Cheers! DFTBA!

*No internet. Yes. I've done it for 4 weeks. You can do it for a few days.
**A thousand useless points if you got that HP reference!
***Hiking often goes hand-in-hand with camping, though you are not required to hike if that makes you shy away...
****Really, I am sorry. But there's nothing I can do about it.
*****Thank you for giving me some things to laugh about. =D

Confessions of a Nerd Girl Part IV

2009-04-25T18:43:00.002-06:00

Yay! Last one...in April, at least. If y'all really enjoy these, then let me know and I'll continue them the next Saturday I blog =] Although, I'm having a tough time coming up with more confessions to tell y'all....so, it might have to wait just long enough for me to come up with more confessions.

1. I'm really, honestly, SUPER clumsy.
Yeah, basically. I run into things a lot, fall down stairs, fall up stairs, trip over practically nothing, knock over trash cans, get a lot of bruises and cuts and...yeah. Here's a short list of some rather amusing clumsy things I have done:
~Once, I ran into my locker door. I'm not kidding. I was getting my books out of it in seventh grade, and I turned around to close the door and talk to my friend at the same time. Aaaaaaand...I ran into my open locker door! It hurt, and it was also quite, quite, VERY embarrassing.
~I was walking down our wooden stairs once in my socks, and I slipped. I grabbed the railing, out of instinct not to...you know...DIE. Unfortunately, this caused me to hurt myself even more. I still feel, HARD, right on my butt, and I also got a massive cut on my arm from the stair railing. So, my attempt to "save" myself actually, in fact, made me hurt myself even more.
~Ugh, so I kind of already told y'all this one. But, as I'm sure you can imagine, I get hurt a lot at camp. When we were playing Capture the Flag one day, I was basically one of the targets because I'm a relatively fast runner. You'd be right to assume that I got hurt. But, I didn't even get hurt when I was sprinting. I was running, but not even that fast, when I completely biffed it. I fell, and I cut my arm, shoulder, knee, and also bruised my knee quite bad.
~I constantly run into desks at school, so much so that my friends hardly notice when I say, 'OW!!!" anymore...because it only means that I ran into a desk or hit my knee on the bottom or dropped something on myself or poked myself with my pencil.
~Oh, and on Thursday I SOMEHOW bruised my elbow. I don't even know how, but I got home and put my elbow on my desk, and it hurt. It still hurts. But I have no freaking idea how I hurt it. *sigh* I get bruises a lot, and I don't even know how half of them come about.

This picture describes my clumsiness pretty dang well:

2. I DESPISE driving.
I'm not even kidding when I say this. I did driver's ed last April/May. And the last day I drove was May 12, 2008. I haven't driven in about a year. Why? Because I hate it! It's so stressful!!!!!! And I don't really see how it's worth it, when I can walk or ride public transportation or the such. I mean, it's not like I could afford a car even if I wanted to be able to drive around this summer. Okay, I actually do have a good reason for not liking driving, I think. My stupid driver's ed teacher.

I took driver's ed at the Air Force Academy, and I swear the teacher there has been teaching the class since the Academy opened in 1954. He's incredibly old, and he has something weird going on with his teeth on one side of his mouth. I'll admit that I did learn a lot from the actual class, and he certainly made sure we were getting the information we needed to get to pass the permit test and the test at the end of the class (to benefit insurance). He was annoying in how he interrupted our conversations when we had a break and were trying to talk. But, honestly, he wasn't that bad in the classroom. It was 3 1/2 hours Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for 3 weeks (4:30-8), and it was time-absorbing, but I survived. My opinions on him COMPLETELY changed when we got on the road.

I was okay when we were just going on his usual course around the Academy. But, THEN, he took me on the highway MY FIRST DAY!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I was completely panicked.* I know, I know, highway driving is some of the safest driving. But, going 70 miles per hour when you've only driven for an hour before that at about 30 miles per hour on an air force base.......AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!! =[ Plus, if I drifted over just a little bit, he'd freak out and grab the wheel. Or, if I didn't press the brake right exactly when he wanted me to, he'd press down on the brake on his side of the car. I did discover that I was quite good at parallel parking, amazingly. And by the last hour of my instructor driving (we have to do 8 here in Colorado), I was a little more confident. However, that changed greatly once my parents asked me if I wanted to drive. I'd start thinking about everything I had to pay attention to, and how paranoid he'd been, and how stressed I was...And I'd always answer no. Still, to this day, I always answer no if they ask me if I want to go practice driving.

I suppose I should probably figure out how to at least not hate driving anymore, if I'm going to live...pretty much anywehre other than New York City. Or Europe.** I could live in a big city in Europe and ride trains everywhere. Yeah, anyway...I'm definitely not a fan of driving. Yes, I do have a permit, but I only have 8 out of the 60 hours I need to get a license. And I'm not even sure I remember how to drive anymore. So, yeah, NOT getting my license anytime soon.

Describes my driving instructor and me VERY well.

3. I love horseback riding =]
Well, you've probably gotten this from the fact that I go to horse camp each year. I've been riding horses since I was about 6 years old, though I've never been able to afford lessons so I could show or compete or anything. And, OBVIOUSLY, I could never afford a horse or a place to board a horse or land to keep a horse on or...yeah.

But they're so gorgeous. =] I've never seen more graceful creatures on land...Dolphins probably top them, but they'd just flop around on land.*** I really seem to communicate well with them, too. I love cantering/loping around on the back of a horse. I love feeding them, and I love grooming them. I actually even don't mind mucking out their stalls. They can be a pain when you go to catch them and tack them up, but humans would be the same way. And, really, it's just a sign of their intelligence that they know they're about to be ridden around by a probably very inexperienced young girl who pulls too hard on the reins and kicks them too hard to get them going.****

But, if you treat them well, and like equal creatures, then they're an absolute treasure. And SO therapeutic to talk to, because they really seem to listen. And you really get to develop good relationships with them, so that they know what you want.

HORSES!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, until tomorrow, frieds! Cheers! DFTBA!

*And, also, I thought he was an absolute insane old man who didn't know what he was doing....Yeah......
**I WANT TO LIVE IN EUROPE!!!!!!!!!!
***Well, they couldn't actually live on land, but you know what I mean
****I feel so bad for the horses at camp, because a lot of the girls love horses, but have no idea how to really deal with them or how to properly treat them. Sometimes I really want to yell at them, but most of the time the girl doesn't know any better. But the poor horses!!!!! =(

A bit of fun history

2009-04-24T20:15:00.001-06:00

Once again, I wasn't sure what to blog about. So I went back into my mind and went over some of my nerdy passions/OBSESSIONS. As you can imagine, I have a lot of them!

Anyway, back in 6th grade (2004-05), my sister and I stumbled upon the Disney movie "Newsies." I shared it with my best friend at the time, and we naturally got completely obsessed with it.* We argued constantly about whether Race Higgins or Spot Conlon was "hotter." We got the soundtrack, copied it, wore suspenders and newsboy hats, made our own newspaper cover about the movie, printed out bazillions of pictures. And, I, for my part, started a grossly awful fanfiction about Newsies.** (Click here to read, if you dare)

Well, okay, let my defend myself a little bit here. It is an AMAZING movie. I think it's Disney's best movie...or at least, DEFINITELY their best live-action/non-animated movie. Made in 1992, Kenny Ortega choreographed, starring Christian Bale when he was only 17 years old. And it's actually quite historically accurate. Which begins the wonderful nerdiness that went along with my obsession....I went online and looked up a bunch of stuff about the REAL newsies strike of 1899.

So, prepare youself for a bit of a fun history lesson here. Basically, the newspapers in New York raised the price of their papers during the Spanish-American War (both the cost for the newsies and the cost for citizens to buy from newsies), which was perfectly acceptable since the sales made up for it. Once sales went down, most newspapers reduced the prices again...except the New York World and the New York Morning Journal. So, the newsboys (most of them) decided to go on strike and refuse to keep selling the "papes." And, amazingly, the newsboys of 1899 actually DID sing in the streets to get attention, just like in the movie/musical!*** =] In 1899, newsies were gathered at Irving Hall from all over. 5,000 newsboys attended, and several gave speeches about the strike and what they should do....several leaders became appointed throughout the strike. In the real story, the newsies strike stopped after 2 weeks, when the publishers of the World and Journal agreed to refund unsold papers, though they did not lower the price from 60 cents for 100 papers.

Of course, there are many differences in the movie. In the movie, it appears that Pulitzer and Hearst made the price raise overnight, not because of The Spanish-American War. Obviously, they sing songs and dance. And they have a gathering at Irving Hall in the movie, though it happens rather differently...not with a diverse amount of people getting up to speak. And, in the movie, the newsies win the strike when Pulitzer and Hearst agree to lower the price of their paper for the newsies from 60 cents to 50 cents. Which, of course, is not how history played out.

Real quote from the Newboys Strike of 1899: "Ain't that ten cents worth as much to us as it is to Hearst and Pulitzer who are millionaires? Well, I guess it is. If they can't spare it, how can we?... I'm trying to figure out how ten cents on a hundred papers can mean more to a millionaire than it does to newsboys, an' I can't see it." ~ Kid Blink

Anyway, I think the movie is beautifully done, both historically and just as a movie. It's very...I don't know....heartfelt, true, lovely, etc. Of course, since it's Disney, they have to work in a girl who likes Jack Kelley and they kiss at the end...the first time, she is rather annoying, but then you get over it. Plus, the music is AWESOME =D

Spot:

Race:

Christian Bale as Jack Kelley:

NEWSIES!!! Carryin' da Banner! =]

Uh...yeah. So, today one of my classmates fell asleep in precalc/SL IB Mathematics I and started snoring. Twas hilarious! =D Well, now I've got to work on an English speech, my Personal Project, math homework, and a US History project. *sigh*

Until tomorrow! Cheers! DFTBA! *I get obsessed with things very easily. ESPECIALLY when I was in middle school. Yeah....
**I'm still embarassed about that one *blushes*
***Man, I would love to travel back in time and see that!

Shakespeare's Birthday & Rambling

2009-04-23T19:53:00.002-06:00

There was a sign on my library door today that said, "Happy Birthday Bill" with a picture of Shakespeare and the date April 23. I had not seen it until today, so they are a bit late on warning us....I mean, if I hadn't had study hall today, then I'd have no idea at all. But, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM.* I actually love Shakespeare's plays, although definitely much more when I see them performed than when I have to read them....after all, that's what they were meant for. He never wanted students to sit in desks, reading and analyzing his plays to death. =]

This is going to be an incredibly random blog post, because I am not really in the mood for blogging, and I also don't know what to blog about. In fact, for part of it, I am turning to Maureen's blog suggestions! How would your life be different without the Internet? Again, this is not going to be an incredibly detailed answer. But, obviously, I wouldn't have a bunch of the friends I have now. No Skype frieds, no England/Lithuanian/Dutch/New Zealander frieds...Basically, I think I'd be incredibly lonely. How would I have discussed and speculated Harry Potter theories? How would I have attended HP conferences?** How would I know about nerdfighters and the fact that we are AWESOME, not lame? How would I know that there are people who actually long to spend time with me and laugh with me and actually enjoy talking to me. I mean, it's not like the internet is my only form of communication. In fact, I absolutely adore writing and receiving "snail-mail" letters. There's just something so personal about them, and they're a lot of fun to write, really. I mean, you have to put time into it, depending on how long it takes you to handwrite something. Plus, who doesn't love receiving mail? And, I mean, I have several other forms of entertainment, as well. I adore reading, and I can read for days and days, provided I have enough books to read.*** I love drawing and painting, as well. And hiking/running/swimming =] I just think I'd be a lot more lonely in general without the internet, because it really does connect me to a world of people and friends and fun and information and entertainment and love and happiness.**** =] Oh, and while I do have other forms of entertainment, I do picture myself getting a tad bit bored without the internet. Not terribly, but...I mean, with no one to talk to, doing everything on my own would get pretty boring.

This video only vaguely relates to the question, but I love it! Also, completely unrelated, but I found when I picked up Pride & Prejudice again (I need to finish it, but I keep getting sidetracked) Last year, I made a list of "Baby Names"***** involoving Literary Characters....It was a thread on the Leaky Lounge, and I had a lot of fun with it.
Jack Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Earnest James (The Importance of Being Earnest & Harry Potter)
Fred Bastian (Harry Potter & The Neverending Story)
Wesley John (The Princess Bride & The Importance of Being Earnest)
Adam Colin (A Ring of Endless Light & Harry Potter)
Lily Nymphadora (Secret Life of Bees & Harry Potter)
Anne Christine (Persuasion & Phantom of the Opera)
Meggie Ginevra (Inkworld & Harry Potter)
Wendy Luna (Peter Pan & Harry Potter)

Ugh. The thing literary/HP nerdfighters do in their spare time. (If you could not already tell, I ADORE The Importance of Being Earnest. Lovely book/play)

What else? Uh....day of all classes definitely sucked, if you were wondering. Also, I've had Mamma Mia by Abba stuck in my head for days now, and I just want to share the torture with y'all.

Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, o-o-o-oh
Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much Ive missed you

I was considerably cheered up by Hank's DFTBA rap video, though. I love Hank. I love John. I love Maureen. I love the Nerdfighters. And I RAWR YOU!****** =D =D

Until tomorrow....*sigh* Cheers! DFTBA! (Dead Frogs Teach Bored Anatomists)

*I think calling Shakespeare "Bill" is disrespectful. But, I'm also a Literature Nerd.
**Probably through mailings *gasp* Like in the OLD days!
***Always an issue. How do I get all the books I want to read? HELP! =[
****"I wish you peace and love and happiness...." ~Mudbloods By love, I mean people caring =D
*****These will not actually evolve into Baby Names. It was just the best title I could come up with. Though, by all means, if you are about to have a baby and can't decide on a name, use one of these! =]
******Hopefully that wasn't too creepy....Been feeling very sentimental and....touchy-feely.

Day of Pointlessness and Randomness

2009-04-22T17:20:00.001-06:00

I usually do not like to blog about my day. But, today was rather pointless and interesting and random. So, there you go!

Well, firstly, HAPPY EARTH DAY. Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays, although it's also a holiday that I have some strong opinions about. I mean, I love that we have designated a day to celebrate the Earth and figure out ways to protect her and all that amazing stuff. But, also, I don't think it's right that people think that April 22nd is the only day of the year that they are obligated to care about and for their earth. I mean, if we don't want to destroy our planet, then we should care EVERY SINGLE FREAKING DAY!!!!!!!! So, yeah.

How can you protect your earth every day of the year? Well, buying fuel-efficient cars certainly helps. Or just walking/biking/carpooling/riding public transportation. Those options are better. Also, please turn off your lights...do you REALLY need them? REALLY?! And, turn off your computer...I mean, okay, if you're leaving for half an hour, I can understand, but anything longer than that....Also, remember to unplug your computer. Because even if it isn't on, it's still using electricity if it's plugged in.* Recycle--it's not THAT hard. Go vegetarian at least one day a week...I'm full vegetarian, and it's amazing the beneficial impact being vegetarian has on our planet. Compost. Plant your own vegetables. Insulate your house. Reuse things when you cannot recycle them. Look into how you can safely recycle your old technology. Basically, try to reduce your carbon footprint, my friend. Etc, Etc, Etc.

I don't want to get into a debate on global warming and whether we cause it. Because, frankly, whether we are or aren't, it doesn't hurt anyone to release less carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses and become less dependent on fossil fuels and use less energy in general. So, just do the above steps, anyway, whether you believe in global warming or not. Just take care of our earth, okay? Why? Because I LIVE HERE. *wink* And SO DO YOU.

Oh, and also, I really want a SmartCar. Not only are they adorable and tiny, they are the most fuel efficient cars other than hybrids. WIN! Unfortunately, they are crazy expensive in the US. Not win. =[ Why must the US be so against helping our environment and making it affordable? Sad day!

On to my random pointless day. So, the juniors took the ACT today, which meant we only went to school for about 2 hours. Started at 11:52 and ended at 2:12. SO FREAKING POINTLESS!!! I didn't do ANYTHING in either class....Well, we never do anything in French. I turned in my project in Physics, and we sort of attempted to plan our lab, and then we watched Mythbusters. WIN! If you follow me on Twitter, you already saw this, but whatever. Our "Vite Fait" at the beginning of French class was to describe our weekend in 5 sentences using at least 7 different verbs. Mine were all really...not connected, but my last one was the most random: "Ce weekend, je regardais Dr. Who. J'aime Dr. Who!" Teehee.

Anyway, two other random and slightly creepy things happened to me today:
1) While I was walking to school, I was walking behind this homeless guy wearing a bazillion layers and carrying a burlap sack full of who knows what. He looked back at me, and I just kept on walking VERY quickly on past him. CREEPAH!
2) While I was walking home, this middle schooler told me I was hot. Uh.......Conversation:
Middle school boy: Hey, are you a teacher or a student?**
Me: *attempts to ignore then realizes iPod is not in, so I don't have an excuse* I'm a student
Middle school boy: Do you go to Mountain Ridge?***
Me: *shakes head*
Middle school boy: Rampart?****
Me: *nods*
Middle school boy: Oh. Just wondering. Cause You're hot.................. *keeps talking but I do not hear what he says because I choose to keep walking*

I did not know what to make of this. =/ Weird. VERY weird.

Ugh. So I have all my classes tomorrow, since we had a snow day on Friday. =[ I hate having all my classes. Stupid 45 minute classes. Art, Pre-Calculus (AKA IB SL Mathematics 1), English, Physics, French, Study Hall, US History. Grrrr....TOO MUCH STUFF IN ONE DAY!

Er...so I should probably do some homework and spend just a little less time on the internet. And actually get some sleep tonight. Also, snow days screw everything up. Because I now have no idea whatsoever when my English speech is due. *sigh* Alas....EARWAX!

Until tomorrow! (8 more days of BEDA) Cheers! DFTBA!

*This of course goes for anything else plugged in. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THAT HAIR STRAIGHTENER PLUGGED IN ALL DAY.
**Why in the world does he think I'm a teacher?! I know I look older than 16 often times, but...really?! For one thing, why would a teacher be carrying a Harry Potter backpack?! Sheesh...
***Our neighborhood middle school.
****The stupid, crappy high school I attend. Woopee.

SPURS!!!!!!

2009-04-21T17:30:00.002-06:00

Bleurgh. I am quite tired today and do not really know what to blog about. *sigh*

Okay, so you might (and probably will) find this entry incredibly boring. But, it's the start of the NBA playoffs, which means I actually start watching basketball games! And...usually get no sleep whatsoever because the games tend to last kind of late. Basketball is basically the only sport I ever watch on TV. I would watch soccer (AKA football for you Europeans) on TV, but Colorado has this prejudice or soemthing against showing soccer games on TV....occasionally I'll find one on DirecTV if I'm at my mom's house. But, basically, it's rather depressing, since I love the action of soccer games =]

Oh, wait, the topic of this blog was supossed to be basketball. Oops. Sorry for the tangent....ANYWAY. Basketball. Yes. I think I love the sport so much because I actually understand it and can play it semi-well (though I'm nowhere near agressive enough) and enjoy the action. My team is the Spurs of San Antonio, since that's where I grew up. And, they are actually a very good team....most years. Although, with my man Ginobli out for the playoffs this year, I'm not getting my hopes up. I mean, I'm also not giving up on them, but I don't think they are going to go all the way this year. Sadly. Ginobli, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker are always the big three, they assist each other and make the big shots....I think that Ginobli is just a great player all around, and it is one of my biggest wishes to meet him.

Fun fact: While he goes by Manu Ginobli, his first name is actually Emmanuel. My dad told me this last night...Manu is more "macho' sounding, I suppose.

Well, THIS is an amusing picture of him =D =D =D (that's me laughing. Trust me.)

Anyway, as I'm sure you can imagine, basketball games can get pretty messy. Especially in these "win or go home" situations of the NBA playoffs.* I will demonstrate this by detailing several examples from the Spurs-Suns** match-up in 2007. It was Game 4, and it ended up being a series-tying game (meaning it was now 2-2). During one of the games, Robert Horry bumped into Steve Nash, and it was a pretty nasty flagrant foul I suppose. Then I believe several players from the Suns got up off the bench to hold him back or something along those lines.*** Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, to be precise (google FTW!). Anyway, there was somewhat of a fight. Robert Horry was suspended for 2 games, and Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended for one. It was rather crazy deal...First of all, it was hard to prove that Horry's bump into Nash was on purpose...and secondly....why the hell are Stoudemire and Diaw leaving the bench because of it?! Sheesh.

Also, in Game 1 of that series, Steve Nash and Tony Parker collided pretty hard near the end of the game. Parker was shaken up, but Nash got a nasty cut on his nose. He managed to stay in the game and make several helpful points, but his nose wouldn't stop bleeding. Which, of course, was a danger to him and a danger to the other players lest they slip in the blood dripping all over the court (yeah, I know it's gross. Deal). Anyway, he ended up missing basically the final minute of the game, and the Spurs won Game 1 of that series. To this day, I'm still not sure the Spurs would have won that game if Nash had not been out that final minute...But, they did, for whatever reason, whatever fates intervened, blah blah blah.

Okay, wow. I'm sure that was really boring. Anyway, the Spurs DID win last night, which means I have a little more faith in them at least beating the Mavericks (maybe). Tony Parker was great, but poor Ginobli looked so sad =[ I don't think he even cares whether his team wins, he just wants to PLAY. Poor guy.

All righty...I'm done talking about basketball for now......

I want to BE Mrs. Nerimon
So we can build a little house with a lawn....
And watch our love go on and on and OOOOOOOOOOOOON...

Ahem. Sorry. I had to.
Uh....so, if that was too boring for you, how about you go watch my Tuesday video for GenerationOfAwesome? =D

Also, I've decided I need to get more sleep...I know, I know, we're Nerdfighters...We run on AWESOME, not sleep. However...sleep is good sometimes. I should plan in getting a tad bit more. So I don't fall asleep in pre-calc or mix my colors wrong in Art....

Hopefully tomorrow I will be more exciting.**** Until then, Winged Monkey ningers Skype frieds! RAWR!
Cheers! DFTBA!

*The NBA playoffs are "Best of 7" whoever wins 4 games first goes on.
**The Suns are from Phoenix, Arizona, if you didn't know
***Wow. I am NOT good at retelling stories....Let's go look this up on Google and see if some old news story will save me...
****Hey, at least you got some crazy basketball stories, right? Maybe? Don't hate me? *nods*

Past and Future Letters

2009-04-20T18:00:00.003-06:00

Okay, so, for today at least I am completely out of original ideas. So I'm stealing something from nerimon's video today. =D I have decided to write a letter to my past and future self. Yay! I know it's totally unoriginal, and I accept this. Hopefully tomorrow I will have something more interesting to write about. On we go......

(The one to my past will be short)
Dear 11 year old self,
Okay, I know right now you're pretty upset that your Dad is going to Iraq. And these months that you're stuck with your mom are awful. But rest assured that you will gain something out of this experience, and that you will become rather proud.

Middle school sucks. I know it does. You're lost, you're confused, you don't know who you are anymore. But don't blow off these years. When it comes time to leave, you'll really miss those hallways. And make sure that you embrace your Humanities teacher, because she will become your best mentor, the person you still look up to and thank. By the time you graduate 8th grade, you'll find yourself crying. So don't waste these years. It may seem like it sucks, but you'll miss it when it's over.

I know you have no clue what I'm talking about, but PLEASE get involved in the HP fandom a lot sooner than you originally did. You love these books, and they get you through the toughest times. Once you discover the whole community out there just like you, your life will change. So don't wait until 2007. Also, don't try to hide your nerdy passions. Whether you hide it or not, you'll never be popular or even liked much. The teasing will still continue. And, if you embrace your nerdiness, you'll discover a whole community of people who want to be your friend. I know, right now you have no clue what the internet will mean in your life. But it will mean A LOT. And if you just do these things sooner, you won't be quite as lonely.

Unfortunately, I can't reassure you the loneliness will end. It won't. But it's okay. You do have people who want to be your friends, and who think that you're awesome, and who will miss you when you're not around. Yeah, middle school sucks. But don't be afraid to put yourself out there. PLEASE join cross country sooner. Oh, and that swim team? Don't join. It's awful. Take people's compliments more often, and listen to your teachers, because THEY will make the true difference in your life.

I know you're not happy right now. But don't worry--You'll be okay, and you'll find something to keep you going.

Sincerely,
Your 16 year old self

P.S. Thank you so much for always saving money! It's because of YOU that I have HP conferences, a laptop, Skype, a microphone, books, and the opportunity to do what I want. THANKS.

Dear 21 year old self,
Hey. How ya doing? Well, how about we sit down and I remind you of some things. And ask you some questions.

Look, 5 years ago, you were lonely. Really lonely. Your best friends lived no where near you, and you communicated on a computer. You weren't necessarily happy about this. They are great friends, who would listen to you rant about almost anything, and who understand you and don't judge you. But you, future self, are confused. Because a friend is supposed to be someone you can see every day and hug and laugh with....and you aren't sure you actually have any friends like that. By now, I'm sure you live in a different place.* Possibly, you aren't even friends with some of those people anymore. And, I'm sure, there are so many different ways of communicating now. But I hope you realize that the friends that you have online are true friends....I mean, I hope you've found some of those in real life by now, too.** But I also hope that you don't hate yourself for all that time you were teased and mostly friendless in high school.

Also, how are those friends of yours? Have you talked to them in a while? Do you know what some of them are up to? If you haven't talked to them in a while, but still have their screennames,*** why don't you check up on them? These people are and were your friends, and you can't let them slip through your fingers. I know, I know, you worry that you're a very forgettable**** person. But worst case scenario, they don't remember you right away and you just have to remind them. Chances are though, they do remember those fun times you had on Skype***** and all the conversations. Because the teasing you got from them was the FUN teasing. They thought you were funny. You were grateful for having them as friends. Let them know that, if you can.

Do you have a boyfriend yet? Just wondering, you know. Because as I write this to you, I've never had a true boyfriend, a first kiss, or a guy tell me I'm beautiful. I'm not exactly sad about that right now, but I would like to know if you have or have had any semblance of a love life since you were 16. Also, future self, I'd like to know how you feel about the above statements. Do you regret your lack of a love life? I certainly hope not, because at the moment I'm grateful for it, in a way. But, as you might remember, there is that one person who you feel you're falling for sometimes right now...How did that go? Did anything come of it?

How's college? Did you end up going to Oregon like I so want to right now? Has it turned out to be everything you wanted it to be? I wonder, too, how you liked the rest of high school. Did you get over not going to FVS? Did you finally accept the cons of Rampart and give it a chance?

It's a tough time right now. And I guess the best I can do is hope that in the future, I'll have some recognition of what these years meant to me. It's hard to know why things happen and what they mean right now. And I'm sure that's true in the future, as well. Most of all, don't forget these years. The present and the future are a lot easier to live in than the past, but remember this time, a time when you weren't happy and everything wasn't perfect.******
Sincerely,
Your 16 year old self

*God, I HOPE I live in a different place by now.
**Does college help? Have you found those intellectual friends you so crave?
***Provided, of course, that there isn't totally NEW technology and that you are still able to use those screennames.
****By forgettable, I mean that you believe people forget you easily. Do you still think this?
*****Wow. Does Skype still exist? Because let me remind you, it changed your life.
******Okay, I'm sure it's STILL not perfect. But really, just look back on these times and remember them, so you realize that your life CAN'T really ever be perfect, and that's not a tragedy. It's normal, and it's okay. =D

EVERYONE needs to travel

2009-04-19T13:44:00.001-06:00

Trust me, Everyone. I'm not kidding here, guys (and girls). You NEED to travel. There's no getting out of it! Come on, get out of your home city, your home state, or, if you have the money, your home country! You can't stay in one place your whole life and become a hermit. TRAVEL, TRAVEL, TRAVEL.

Oh, and here's 10 reasons why =]
1. You get great pictures.
Assuming, of course, you are a picture person. I am. I take pictures of EVERYTHING. Well...everything except myself, that is. =D I'm really weird in that I take a bazillion pictures of the scenery and the cities and the flashing lights and the other people and occasionally the food (lol), but never of myself. Like, I have all these great pictures of New York, and very, very little proof that I was actually there. I mean, I was, of course. I have a few pictures of myself, but they are overwhelmed drastically, alarmingly, by pictures of...not me. *wink* Anyway, the point is, that travel gives you a lot of amazing pictures that you can show your friends, even if they do not want to see them. Just sit them down in front of a slideshow of your pictures and make them! Muahahahaha! Okay, also, they are a GREAT way to keep memories and keep track of events and how it felt and looked to be in that place.* PICTURE TIME!

A PICTURE OF ME!!!!!! *gasp*
2. You meet a lot of awesome people!
Even if you are traveling with your parents, you are bound to meet SOME people who are awesome and cool and amazing. People who have different accents and funny habits and awesomeness. But, you especially meet a lot of awesome people if you go somewhere by yourself or if you go somewhere with your parents but get to be away from them at certain points (ie a cruise). These people could be lifelong friends....or, you could also never see them again. Either way, you got to meet a bunch of awesome, interesting people, and learn something about the people who live there and how they act and talk and blah, blah, blah (that's German for etc). So you don't have any stereotypes or assumptions about people, because you actually KNOW. And that's always good.

3. You have EXPERIENCE.
And I mean ACTUAL, worldly experience. You've traveled, you've experienced. You've done things, seen things, eaten things, met people, traveled to exotic places.** You can do a lot of great, awesome things when you travel, like go sailboating or swim with dolphins or climb over 400 stairs. You can see beautiful places and experience them in an upfront way. You can eat funny foods (that you might not like) but never have to eat them again...or you could eat amazing exotic foods and come home with a recipe on how to cook it because you love it so much. And, you've met people from other cultures,*** religions, places, customs, traditions, and so on. EXPERIENCE. Trust me, it's a good thing. People will gravitate towards you because you know so much...maybe.

4. You can see history right in front of you.
By this, I mean you can see historical PLACES right in front of you. Rather than just reading about, say, Jamestown, you can actual go SEE Jamestown. You can visit castles and forts and everything, and actually SEE the history. Definitely more exciting than reading about it, right? I certainly think that my interest in history came very much from actually getting to experience it and wanting to know more. Anyway, the real thing is better than a picture or a description any day. (The Alamo, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Tower of London, Trier, etc)

5. You can gain insight on global issues firsthand.
I always think it's better to see both sides of a global issue, and what better way to do that than traveling? Visiting places like the UN or European Union**** allow you to see how our global issues actually get solved, as well. Or, visiting a poor country in the Caribbean helps you gain insight into their situation and how you can help. Well, just traveling to a different country in general lets you see their insight into different global issues, especially if you talk to the people there. =]

World Trade Center site

6. You see a lot of great, beautiful places.
Uh...this one should be sort of self-explanatory. When you travel, you get to see beautiful places! Forests, mountains, oceans, cities, farms, buildings....Sunsets, sunrises, rain....Flowers, butterflies, new wildlife. Er, okay. I think I'll just leave it there. When you travel, you see beautiful places, okay?

7. You can "escape your own problems."
This one is sort of self-explanatory, too. When you go away from home, you don't have to think about your own problems anymore. I'm not saying you WON'T think about your problems. But they aren't there, right in front of you anymore. And sometimes it's really good to just go somewhere else and not think about your problems for a while. So, go relax on the beach or travel around Italy.***** Get away for a little while!

8. You have great material for stories!
Yes, yes. Again. Once again, you are at that same party. And, you know that a story about traveling is MUCH more interesting than a stupid story or a conversation about books! So, this time, you are almost guaranteed to have people like your story. EVERYONE likes travel stories...because they wish they could've gone, too! So, you start telling that great story about the time you went to the Bunker Hill monument in Boston and actualy climbed up and down all 472 stairs (or however many there were). Then, not only is everyone interested in your story, they also want to tell their great travel stories! So you started a whole conversation topic! Hurrah!

9. Some beautiful places might be gone if you don't go NOW!!! Okay, so this one is slightly depressing. But it's TRUE. If you don't go to some of these national parks soon, they might be gone. Glacier National Park certainly won't last long if climate change continues. Alaska won't be the same...and neither will Greenland. If you have the money, go on that trip to Svalbard now before all the polar bears are gone! (Sad day, that day will be) Travel now, before we destroy the natural beauty of our world!

10. You have something to blog about!
It always, ALWAYS ends in this. Because, as I said, travel stories, just by being travel stories, are inherently interesting! So if you run out of things to blog about, just describe a great (or maybe not so great) travel experience. =] Shameless self-promotion of previous blog FTW! Traveling, Traveling Great blog material any day, traveling. =]

So...summarization? TRAVEL!!!!!!!!!!!! You shouldn't need a reason, but here are some great ones.

Until tomorrow! Cheers! DFTBA!

*Especially for when you're older and don't remember going somewhere when you were 2...Your parents have those pictures, so it must be true!
**Even if that exotic place is Texas or the next town....
***Again, even if that culture is Texan or Denver...ian
****I haven't been to the EU, though I'd like to. The UN was great, though!
*****Provided, of course, you have the money. Spending all your money is NOT a good way to escape your problems.

Confessions of a Nerd Girl Part III

2009-04-18T14:45:00.002-06:00

Because I know y'all look forward to these so much! Actually, I have a feeling that there isn't too much that my skype ning friends don't know by this point, but I don't care. I'm just going to say it anyway.

1. I'm a neat freak.
Seriously. For example, my bed is currently a little messed up and it's bugging the heck out of me. Only, I'm a little lazy at the moment and also my cat is sleeping on it and I like when she's all cute and happy =] The sad thing is that I usually don't have enough time during the week to keep my room totally clean. I mean, it's not dirty--no trash or food or dirty clothes on the floor. But there are school books and homework papers lying around randomly on my desk and floor and by my backpack....And I almost never find time to properly make my bed until the weekend. Plus, I have no room on my bookshelves anymore, so books are just stacked in seemingly random places...but they're NEAT stacks!

I suppose someone wouldn't necessarily walk into my room and think, "Neat freak!" Because some things appear to be in very random places. But they aren't random to me!!! Everything has its place, and needs to stay in that place lest I freak out. I am very OCD about the organization of my school binders and notebooks and the such especially. I have to hole punch things and put them in the right section of my binder and so on and so forth. I'm not the kind of person who randomly stuffs everything into their backpack. I'd panic. ;)

Whenever I go to camp, I never have a problem keeping my stuff neat and ordered and not strewn about the cabin. Actually, one year my friend and I* started cleaning up everyone ELSE'S stuff and sweeping the cabin...and the other girls got rather annoyed with us. Also, since I work in the barn, I also always have to straighten the riding boots and helmets after every lesson because I can't stand them being unmatched or tipping over or in the wrong spot or something. I just appreciate it when things are neat and ordered and tidy, okay?

My room usually looks like THIS:

NEATNESS FTW!!!!!!!!!!!! =]

2. I love Lord of the Rings.
Okay, so, you may remember that Jordan did a challenge where he watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies in one day. Now, my family does this every year. Every winter break, we choose one weekend day and watch all three EXTENDED editons of the movies. We take breaks for lunch and dinner, but it is mostly a very butt-numbing experience. I love it though, because it's basically the only tradition that my family has. When I was younger, I was particularly into the movies. I thought they were the awesomest** movies ever, and I had a huge crush on Legolas.*** Now, I still appreciate the fact that they are BEAUTIFUL movies. Peter Jackson was a great director, and they are just so well done! If only the Harry Potter movies could live up to the Lord of the Rings movies....

The books are also absolutely**** wonderful. (Although I'm not a huge fan of the hobbit) Parts of it***** are seriously tedious and brain-numbing. But mostly, Tolkien uses wonderful scenery and imagery and characterization. It's a great adventure story, that is breathtakingly well-written. I love so many quotes from it, too!

"Many that live deserve death; and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Do not be too quick to deal out death in judgement. Even the wisest cannot see all ends." ~Gandalf

"The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that's not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. I never thought of that before! We've got — you've got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end?" ~Sam

3. I LOVE DINOSAURS.
Okay, you're probably thinking, "You're kidding, right? All your other confessions have been so serious!" And yes, that's true. But, no, I'm not kidding. I LOVE DINOSAURS. They are awesome. The most awesome things ever to be on this planet.

I used to call my daycare (when I was 3) Dinosaur School because I didn't know the real name.****** And my sister and I always played with those plastic toy dinosaurs when we were little. Nerdy, but AWESOME nerdy!!!!! =]

DINOSAURS FTW!

Yay!!!! Okay, so hopefully I will think of something to blog about tomorrow! Until then!
Cheers! DFTBA!

*All our stuff was already super neat. Cause that's how we are.
**I know it's not a word. DEAL.
***Judge me if you want. But those eyes! That bow! The slaughter of that oliphaunt! =] *in love*
****I can't even remember why I have this one anymore...Oh well.
*****TOM BOMBADIL!!!!!!!! AH!!!!!!!
******I still don't know the real name to this day. As far as I know, it WAS called dinosaur school.

Welcome to the joys of Colorado!

2009-04-17T19:50:00.001-06:00

We have a snow day today. And according to Joe, I should blog about that. But that would be one very short paragraph. So I will blog about that, and also the other aspects of Colorado....some of which are great, and others of which suck. Seriously.

Snow? GAH!!!!!! I mean, okay. I don't actually mind TOO much today, since it gets me out of school. And now I have a 5 day weekend. I just hate the cold, and snow is cold, therefore I dislike snow. It's not like this is anything particularly unusual. We, here in Colorado, usually do get our blizzards in March and April. But I much prefer rain and sun and that sort of stuff. But...it's also thundering DURING a snowstorm, and I am greatly confused. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE! I do not know if this is supposed to happen or what's going on....but, whatever. I have 5 days now to work on vectors homework and prepare for my Personal Project presentation on the 27th.

Kat says: :^) colorado is so weird
Tobias says: how so?
Kat says: because it's thundering during a snowstorm
Kat says: don't you think that's just A LITTLE odd?
Charlee says: lol, maybe its like in the wizard of oz
Charlee says: weird weather patterns and all
Kat says: :D
Charlee says: and then you wake up in Oz...
Kat says: and now the Wicked Witch of the West is going to start chasing me

So, much about Colorado weather is rather sucky. But as an extra perk, Colorado has SUPER beautiful scenery, what with the mountains and the forests and the rivers and the sunsets and the rain and the animals (horses!!!!) There are so many beautiful, amazing places to go hiking or running, and none of them are too far away. =]

This seems like a very short blog compared to what I usually write....But, Well...I have vector homework to do and I have to think about how to present my personal project (IB) and how to turn my research paper for English into a speech and...and, a lot of stuff. Plus I'm being distracted by skype right now.

Okay. Sorry for the distinct uninterestingness* of this blog. I will leave you with one last thing: THIS PICTURE OF THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE THAT I DREW!!!!!!! =] =]

Well, until tomorrow. When I will blog more confessions and we will probably EVEN MORE snow.
Cheers! DFTBA!

*I know that's not a word. But...deal.

EDIT: It's clearing up a bit!!!! New picture:

Being brainwashed by teachers?

2009-04-16T18:57:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer: Okay, now before I start this blog, I want it to be known that this is just making fun of how much teachers teach us and how they drill it into our brains. I am not criticizing teachers...just stating how it's kind of funny how we NEVER forget somethings we are taught. On to the blog....

So, I was talking to my friend while we were working on our physics project about how certain things that teachers tell us NEVER get out of our minds....and we seem to apply them to everything. I'm not saying it's a BAD thing that teachers drill things into our minds, but sometimes those things come up when and where they have no logical reason to come up for the average person. But they do, because we can't forget them.

For example, English. GAH, English. After freshman year with all the stuff about archetypes (colors, seasons, etc), I CANNOT read books or watch movies without thinking at least once, "That's an archetype." about something or other. Whether it's the fact that the person is wearing white or that everything takes place in winter. Or the really annoying, "Look! The Hero Cycle!" Or, I'll be reading a book and thinking about all the things that an English teacher would want me to annotate. I don't, because it's not for school, but it's just so annoying! I sit there now and analyze every little thing sometimes. Not ALL the time...but especially when I'm reading classic books that I want to just sit down and enjoy. It's almost like we can't just sit down and simply enjoy a classic book anymore, because our teachers have ingrained into us that EVERYTHING is there for a reason and EVERYTHING means something and we need to analyze EVERYTHING.

And I'm not saying that authors don't put things in their books for a reason. I know they do. =] (Although I'm doubtful about SOME things English teachers claim. Some things, I'm sure the author just thought would be cool, ya know). But I am saying that we shouldn't have to think about all that every time we read a book. Sometimes a book's purpose is just so that people will enjoy it, and if they find any symbols or analysis, good for them. But, usually, an author's main point is not to put a bunch of stuff that English teachers will love into their books.

I'd really like to just be able to sit down and read a book without wondering if the fact that so-and-so is wearing a blue dress to the dance when she wore a white one to the last one. (I don't think this is actually in any book that I've read, it was just a random example.) I love the analysis and deeper thinking and all....but sometimes you read to relax, okay? Back off just a little if you could, English teachers...

Also, we were working on our Physics project on Newton's three laws. So at the time we were supposed to be analyzing what movements of a cat could apply to the laws. But, when we were editing the video, my cat jumped on my lap and I leaned forward. And I say, "That's equal and opposite reaction! She jumps on me, and I move forward!" And then, I immediately thought, Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Brainwash!!!!!!!!! Physics!!!!!!! AH! and hit myself on the head. I do not want to go into physics, so I should not be analyzing how every movement applies to physics. Or, at least I don't want to.

My math teacher also seems to want us to think about math constantly. He told us to walk to school "in vectors" and then have "your friend walk in the resultant vector." And I was thinking, Yeah, NO!

I like school, really I do. There are many criticisms I could make, especially of Rampart High School, but I don't want to do that right now. I just wish that teachers didn't ingrain material so deep into your brain that you think about it constantly. It's annoying, and often quite pointless....

Anyway....Omegle?
You: RAWR
Stranger: I'm made of a million tiny bugs

SPREAD THE WORD! ALIENS ON OMEGLE!!!!!!!!

It's supposed to snow a lot again tomorrow and Saturday. Great..............*sarcasm* *rolls eyes*

Well, until tomorrow, then! Cheers! DFTBA!

Traveling, traveling

2009-04-15T20:21:00.001-06:00

Okay, I suppose that today I will blog about funny travel stories, since Abby, Lindsay, and I are trying to find a way to get to England in June. =] I have many funny travel stories, since my family LOVES to travel, so prepare yourself!

First one. When I was about 8 years old, we went to Spain over Spring Break. (Wow, am I bad at starting stories). Anyway, we didn’t know anyone in Spain (unlike in the rest of Europe ), so we were kind of just traveling around in a rental car. And no one really spoke Spanish very well; my mom only had high school and college, definitely not anywhere near fluent. So, we got the rental car, they said something to us in Spanish which we didn’t understand, and…we left. Sometime soon after that, probably, my dad filled up the gas tank with REGULAR standard gas. (Keep in mind this is a normal small family car…like a Honda Accord or something) We were driving, driving (really fast on the Spanish highways with no speed limits…) and then, as we were at a toll booth, the car just STOPPED. It wouldn’t go anywhere. All of us, including the toll booth attendant, were incredibly confused. I guess we got towed somewhere, and it turns out the car took diesel fuel. What?! A car using diesel?! I think the guy at the mechanics place went and drove to get some diesel fuel from a gas station, drove back, and put it in our car. I don’t exactly have a strong memory for this experience as far as details go, but I do remember sitting on the side of the road, riding in the tow truck, and then sitting at a mechanics place….But, really, how were we supposed to know that a small car took diesel fuel?!

In 2003, my dad, sister, and I decided to go on a three week trip in Europe , since we could get cheap/free military flights and stay with all his friends. Several funny stories come from this (awesome) trip. Well, first of all, our plane left Washington DC at about 8:00 pm on the 4th of July, so we watched fireworks from the windows of an airplane. Anyway, we flew to England and stayed at the Air Force Base there (with a really ugly green bathroom). We stupidly went to London on a Sunday, so just about everything was closed. We ended up spending a week in England , because we couldn’t find any flights to mainland Europe.* Uh…but we did find a cheap flight, and went around Germany and Belgium and Luxembourg and The Netherlands. (My dad got lost in Luxembourg , and also got lost in The Netherlands and ended up back in Belgium for a while) Then, there came a point when we wanted to try to find some flights back to the US . So…we basically lived in the airport near the Air Force Base in Germany . We ate WAY too much Subway, and I couldn’t eat it again for about a year….One day when we couldn’t find a flight, we decided to drive into the Alsace area of France . But….what we did not realize was that it was Bastille Day.** So everything in Strasbourg was pretty much closed…although we DID see a church filled with bikes. Finally, we did find a flight back to the US ,*** although it was a flight that was transporting soldiers back from Afghanistan , had engines in the middle of the plane,**** and REALLY uncomfortable seats. It was an epically amazing vacation….but several amusing travel stories come out of it. =]

Also, this one is sort of short. In 2006, I was helping my stepmom move from Berkeley to Chicago, and we were driving through Nevada and Utah and Wyoming, etc. Anyway, her newish car wasn't used to driving up big hills. So we were just outside Salt Lake City when her car just started making really strange (the BAD kind of strange) noises and having problems going up the hill. So we managed to get the car to a gas station/garage, where they told us to let it cool down for a while. We needed something to do, so we walked her dog, and also ordered pizza and a salad to the gas station for lunch....I'm sure the pizza place thought we were crazy when we asked them to deliver to gas station! =D

Last one, I guess, since I don’t have too much time (writing in study hall before my dad picks me up for appointments)! In 2007, we went on a trip around New England , which also brings out several funny stories. The itinerary was planned around the fact that my dad had gotten a ticket to a Barack Obama event in New York City on that Friday. In the morning, we had visited around Woods Hole, MA,***** and then flew through Rhode Island and Connecticut . Except…….we ran into awful, awful traffic around New Haven , and it continued all the way into the city (typical). But, you see, we could not waste time!!!! What ended up happening was that we arrived at my stepmom’s friends’ apartment (and they weren’t home yet), my dad changed and took the subway to the place. He was late, but it didn’t really matter in the end. Anyway, I also remember that we didn’t get to bed until about 2 in the morning that day, so we were up for about 17 hours straight. The other funny story that comes from this trip occurred when we were flying back to Denver out of Manchester , NH . There were big storms in Chicago , apparently, so the flight there was delayed. So we had to RUN across the Midway airport to catch the flight back to Denver …and it turned out they were waiting for another family anyway. *rolls eyes* I was up for over 18 hours straight that day….

Okay….so…in case anyone is wondering where I was today, I had appointments up in Denver right after school, and then we went to dinner, and then we had to drive back. So I wasn’t on the internet until about…oh, 7:30. Sorry!

Do you realize we're halfway into BEDA? *gasps* AMAZING!

Well…until tomorrow, then! Cheers! DFTBA!

*But we did find a bunch to Iceland!
**We did figure this out really quickly since my sister and I both took French
***A FREE FLIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
****So we had to wear earplugs the whole long plane ride....
*****A very, very awesome place =]

The Complexities of Dating (in high school)

2009-04-14T18:23:00.001-06:00

Dating is supposed to be one of those joys of high school, right? *crickets* Um...yeah, NO. I guess I can't REALLY have an opinion on the subject, since I've never had a boyfriend. I went to two dances in 6th grade with a boy named Robert, but that's not really dating girlfriend-boyfriend. It's, "wanna go to these dances with me?" and nothing else. I've had crushes (what teenage girl hasn't). But I'm terribly shy and scared to say ANYTHING to ANYONE. So, yeah, never had a boyfriend, never had a boy tell me I'm pretty, and have yet to have my first kiss. And I'm sixteen.

Okay, just so y'all know, I'm not trying to get your pity or sympathy or whatever. Because when I really think about it, I'm not sure I WANT a boyfriend at this point in my life. It just seems like such a hassle! Call him on the phone, get together during the weekend, make sure you look nice because you MIGHT see him...I'm just not that kind of girl. I mean, I like dressing up every once in a while, and it's not like I'm a slob most of the time....I just don't want to have to go through daily motions worrying about what "he" will think. And, yeah, it'd be nice to have someone who thought I was beautiful and was always there for me. But, especially in high school, that's not necessarily what a boyfriend is....more often, they break up with you and ignore you and hang out with their friends and wonder why they ever started dating you. More often, it's heartbreak*, not comfort and love. Anyway, I think I have plenty of online friends who are there for me when I need them. Frankly, especially with the IB Programme, I'm not convinced having a boyfriend would make me feel better...it'd probably just make me more stressed out!!!! I mean....I don't really need a boyfriend right now whether I want one or not. There's no physical need that teenagers have for a boyfriend--contrary to what some say, a teenage girl will survive without a boyfriend in high school. In fact, she'll probably get through high school a lot easier, with less drama and tears and losses and all that.

The expectation seems to be, though, that teenage girls have a boyfriend who they hang on and can't stand to be away from (stereotypes...) Well, Hollywood's stupid expectation. Not only does this just not happen believably or realistically or anything, I'm also pretty sure it's mathematically impossible.** There isn't an even ratio of guys to girls in an ACTUAL, not-invented-by-Hollywood, American high school. More than that, there's definitely not an even ratio of guys and girls who want a girlfriend or boyfriend. Geez, I hate Hollywood's assumptions about high school. But, really, what's the point of dating in high school? Probably 1%*** of high school sweethearts actually get married. All you're setting yourself up for is a lot of break-ups and A LOT of crying. Sure, you love your boyfriend/girlfriend now, but I can almost guarantee that will change once you mature and go through college and want to start your life. High school relationships almost always mean nothing. And they're such a hassle! So, I'm not really sure I want a boyfriend right now....

Related topic: The Complexities of Online Dating. Now, I didn't even get Maureen Matched last night, though I desperately wanted to be. =[ Why? Well, the main reason is that I seriously need a date to the Nerdfighter Prom. But also, i was just thinking that almos the whole POINT of online dating is that it's....pointless. I mean, okay, yeah, there are the dating sites and all. But I guess it's just that I wouldn't expect as much from online dating. Also, it feels a lot "safer." Not in the actually security definition of the word, but in the sense that the person is judging you not necessarily on how you look, but on your personality and whether they like the same things and if they like your laugh (maybe). It just seems a lot more simple....even though it's really not.

Because when you think about it, online dating is EXTREMELY complicated, especially if you decide you really like the person. How will you see each other? How will you hug and kiss and touch....you have to adapt to their time zone and you can't actually go out with each other anywhere...Instead, it's like Lauren's song, "Won't you stay up all night on Skype with me?" I mean, it's like, if you do decide you want the online relationship to be a little more serious....GOOD LUCK! Not exactly an easy thing to do, is it?

Still...I wanna be MaureenMatched!!!!!!! I want a date to Nerdfighter Prom!!!!!!!! =[

Er...well....since it's a Tuesday again, I have a video for GenerationofAwesome again. http://www.youtube.com/user/Generationof Awesome WE NEED SUBSCRIBERS!

Well...until tomorrow! Cheers! DFTBA!

*Heartbreak is a funny phrase...I mean it's not like your heart LITERALLY breaks. Pondering....
**I would appreciate it if some resident math whiz confirmed that this is, in fact, mathematically impossible
***NOT AN ACTUAL STATISTIC. Just something I made up off the top of my head....

Dr. Who and an Amazon rant

2009-04-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

This blog comes to you in three parts! =]

Part I: Dr. Who
Thank you, THANK YOU, Joe and Charlee!!!!!! Dr. Who is freaking amazing! I mean, I’m not so uninformed that I’d never heard of it. I’d heard of it, I’d heard it was amazing, I’d wanted it….and then I’d moved on. So it wasn’t exactly a new revelation or anything. But…after Joe got so excited about the Easter special and ALL my friends in England were watching it, I just had to have it! So, Abby and I searched and searched and searched and…WE FINALLY FOUND OUR DR. WHO!!!!!!! So, I watched it yesterday, with Joe and Abby listening to my reactions to the show on Skype. It’s freaking awesome! I suppose I shouldn’t give away any spoilers in case someone reading this hasn’t watched it yet and really wants to. But….IT’S FLYING!!!!!!! I WANT ONE!!!!! =]

Okay, I probably overreacted to a lot of the stuff, because it was the first time I had seen it. And I’m sure it was very funny to listen to me watch it. But it was quite funny, and a little bit sad, and then happy…basically, I loved it. Now, the only problem is that I now absolutely HAVE to have the rest of the show….The problem with this is that it costs 64 dollars to buy just one season here in the states (on Amazon, which I refuse to do for reasons I will state below). And none of the lame libraries around here carry it, either. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!!!! I need Dr. Who! And there’s no way I can figure out how to get it! HELP!!!!! =[

Seriously, if any of y’all (especially my English friends) have an idea of how I can legally get the Dr. Who series, let me know.* If I do not get it, I will become very upset. DR. WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!**

Part II: Amazon GLBT/“Adult” books
GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >[ How dare they?! As one of my friends said on Twitter, THIS IS VIRTUAL BOOK BURNING! They have no right at all to do this! And I don’t think I’d be quite as mad if they just admitted their prejudiced mistake and changed their ways. But….when they’re trying to blame it on some so-called “technical glitch,” but have already told certain authors the real reason….Grrrrrr….Watch out for the wrath of the Nerdfighters!

According to the UK ’s Guardian, Mark Probst got this e-mail after he wrote to Amazon last week asking about their new policy: "In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude 'adult' material from appearing in some searches and bestseller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.”

First of all, if this was true, then they’d be removing books other than GLBT books. If this is true, then why is Playboy Centrefold collection still in the sales rankings? Okay, maybe I should stop and explain what is going on, in case anyone is confused. Basically, these “adult” books have been removed from Amazon’s sales rankings. Amazon says they are trying to make their bestseller lists more “family friendly.” So, the books have not been removed from sales totally. If you search for the name, it will still be there and you can still buy it. But, the ranking matters because it determines how likely a book is to come up in a search. This new policy (which Amazon is denying…) affects how many sales a book receives and how easily customers can find the book.

It just doesn’t make any sense to me***….It really is like virtually burning books, or telling those authors that they don’t deserve the money and rankings. Now, hear the chant of the Twitter army:

Hey, hey, what do we SAY?
Amazon needs to be more GAY!
Read our TWITTERS, read our RANTS.
Now we all take off our PANTS.

Okay….so I couldn’t actually wear no pants today, since I had school. But I was pantsless in my mind. =] It’s important that Amazon realizes how many people they have upset because of this, and it is important that we stay away from Amazon products until they have fixed this…and APOLOGIZE.

Part III: Crazy Colorado
Oh, the joys of Colorado weather! Snow on Easter! (Okay, I don’t even celebrate Easter, but…really? A half-blizzard on April 12th?!) It was super warm all winter, and then it decides to snow a bunch in spring. I mean, it’s not unusual; we usually get a lot of our snow in March and April and sometimes May, but I’m still sick of Colorado weather. I know that I live in the wrong state if I hate cold and the snow….but whatever. I still do.

I stepped in a freezing, slushy, snow puddle of death while I was walking yesterday =[ My poor cold foot! Sheesh! Now a lot of it has melted, but…Geez. Colorado ’s crazy.

Anyway, live BlogTV show with Maureen tonight! See you then, I hope! Cheers! DFTBA!

*It would be acceptable as a late birthday present/early Christmas present…. (yeah…okay…not going to work)
**Seriously, though, if you know of a way I can get Dr. Who, you will be my new favorite person!
***I’ve probably left out a lot of stuff….so, ask Maureen. AND TAKE OFF THOSE PANTS!!!! =]

Books! (And why you should read them)

2009-04-12T21:11:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I don’t think I ever actually stated this in my blog last Sunday, but the theme for Sundays is a list of 10 reasons why you should do…….something. This week, I present you with a blog about books! And the top ten reasons (at least according to me…) that you should read them!

1. You’re never alone!!!!!
Just open a book….and, look, people! Right there!!!!! Now, granted, they can’t hear you or interact with you….but THEY’RE PEOPLE!!!! I mean….okay, this is going to make me sound quite lame probably, but whenever I’m going through a really tough time, I always turn to Harry Potter. And it always makes me feel better. I mean, yes, OBVIOUSLY they aren’t real people? But if they feel real enough to you, to make you feel less lonely or upset or like you have someone who cares….then that’s what really matters, right? I think so, anyway….I mean, this is the girl who gets literary crushes on people like Neville Longbottom and Jack from the Importance of Being Earnest and Adam Eddington. I know it’s…nerdy, but that’s the point!

2. You have something to do when you’re bored!
I mean, really. If you carry a book around with you everywhere (as I do), then you always have something to do! Unless, of course, you run out of new books to read, which happens to me often since I do not have an endless supply of money and our school library sucks. But anyway, if you read books, then you almost always have something to do….Bored? Snowing? Raining? Stuck in the waiting room? Finish a test an hour early? TAKE OUT THAT BOOK! And everything will be good again! (Assuming you are in the mood for reading and you like the book and all…)

3. Your teachers will like you.
Obviously, if you like reading, your teachers will be happy…as long as you aren’t reading while they are trying to lecture. English teachers love students who love to read outside of class, because it gives them ideas of good books that they could maybe use. Or, they just like the fact that a teenager likes to read! (*gasp* It’s the apocalypse!) Also, this one teacher was talking about how she was going to read The Importance of Being Earnest with her class…and I said, “Oh, I LOVE that book!!!!” And she was so INCREDIBLY happy. Occasionally, they might also think you are strange—my current English teacher thinks it’s weird that I’m obsessed with Harry Potter and that I went to an HP conference. But….mostly, he likes the fact that I read a lot and that I read a bunch of new books all the time.

4. You can tease the authors!
Now, this only exists in our lovely age of the internet. Imagine if Maureen was a popular 90s author, and we were all reading her books then. WE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO BE DOING THIS!!!!!! No blogs from Maureen, no funny twitter updates, no BlogTV, no demanding monkeys…WE’D HAVE TO RESORT TO SNAIL MAIL!!!!!!! (end of the world!) But, if you read, and you read books by people like Libba Bray and Maureen Johnson and John Green, then…wow. So much fun! We can tease the authors on YouTube and Twitter….For example: @maureenjohnson Why yes, I do want my monkey. Thank you. (you know...you shouldn't ever promise the nerdfighters anything. WE WILL WIN! And, really, what could be better than teasing the amazing authors?

5. You make a difference in the world!
Again, this applies to the internet being around! But look at all the stuff us Nerdfighters have done! Project for Awesome! Bangladesh! Candle for Rwanda! And all the charities and such that JK Rowling donates money from her extra books to! =] I wouldn’t have every found out about most of these things without reading books….particularly the HP Alliance, which does such wonderful work! READ BOOKS! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

6. You have advance knowledge of awesome events.
Harry Potter Conferences. The Tour de Nerdfighting 2008. Knowing the EXACT date of book releases! Knowing when the author is working on their next book. Knowing when they might be coming near your town. Knowing when they make appearances. BlogTV shows. Hank dressing up as Carrie Bradshaw….You know. All that awesome stuff.

7. You seem smart.
Reading books USUALLY makes you seem smart. Especially if, like me, you like reading books like Pride and Prejudice and A Thousand Hills and The Phantom of the Opera and Shakespeare. But, in general, books increase your vocabulary greatly. I think half the reason I did so well in the spelling bee was that I had read so many books that had the words in them, and my photographic memory remembered how they were spelled. But, also, you learn new words…and you can do better on the verbal section of the SAT (or whatever your country’s equivalent is). WIN!

8. You can strike up a conversation….
Well, again, let’s say you are at that boring party. And the story of your stupidity didn’t work. So it’s all silent again, and getting really awkward. You can immediately start asking people what books they’ve been reading lately and discussing book recommendations and, if you’ve read the same book, discuss how great (or bad) the book was. Once again, you have SAVED the party. The host will come worshipping you again, and you will be invited to all the future parties because you are so good at starting people in conversation. (Disclaimer: It is also possible that you might get thrown out of the party and never be invited to another one because you are so boring. But let’s stay optimistic)

9. You talk to people all over the world!
For example, I am currently talking to Joe, in England; Tobias, in the Netherlands; and Abby, in Indiana. And this is all because we like Maureen’s books and are nerdfighters and all that great stuff. Again, this is only truly possible because of the internet and Skype and all that. But if I hadn’t read these books, I don’t think I’d be talking to them (and teasing Joe. Teehee. RAWR) I’d just be really bored, with nothing to do! Books for the win!

10. You have stuff to blog about!
Yes, it always ends in this. If you are out of material, you can blog about your favorite books, your least favorite books, write a review of a book, share a funny book discussion, share a funny story about a conversation you had with friends you met because of books. And, if you really need a reason to read more books, here it is: When you run out of BEDA ideas, you can just write about books.

Okay….I meant to post this a lot earlier. But I kept getting distracted by my Skype friends (thanks, guys). Basically, you should read books—you shouldn’t even need a reason, but if you do, here are ten great ones!

Until tomorroooooooooooooow!!!!!! Cheers! DFTBA!

Confessions of a Nerd Girl Part Deux

2009-04-11T09:03:00.000-06:00

Yes! The Second Installment in Confessions of a Teenage Nerd…I’m not really sure if y’all enjoyed it last weekend, but…I had a lot of fun with it, really. And I think it’s good to have plans for at least the weekend….So, I now present you with three more so-called “confessions” (meaning things that you lovely people of the ning do not know yet about me….which includes a lot of stuff).

1. I love country music.
Well, this is something my camp friends definitely know about me. I mean, being at a barn half the summer around horses and all that….you kind of have to learn to like country music, you know? But, really, I do love it. I know some people hate the accents or the lyrics or something about country music…or they try to claim it’s not music. And I will admit I’m much more into a lot of the female country singers…though a lot of the guys are great, too! It’s hard to really choose a favorite, but I think I have to say Martina McBride because she has such a gorgeous voice and such a large range of topics within her songs…she approaches the really tough stuff in a tender way, she sings about the beauty of life, and she also sings about heartbreak. She’s absolutely phenomenal!!!! I got to see her in concert in May of 2007 here in Colorado Springs, and she was even better in person. She’s simply lovely, but she doesn’t make a big deal out of the fact that she’s a really famous singer (not that many country singers do, but…)

Anyway, I mean, it’s not like I’m obsessed with country music or anything. That would be why it’s something not very many people know about me—unless you look through my iPod or hang around the barn at camp with me. Really, I am a country southern girl at heart. I mean, I spent my childhood in Texas, so I do have a southern accent when I’m asked to pull it out….I’ve lived in Colorado so long that it isn’t how I speak daily, but I can still pull it out. And, obviously, I love horses and being at the barn and…yes….I even do like getting dirty sometimes! Even mucking stalls can be fun sometimes, because my friends and I have some pretty hilarious conversations.

Okay. Anyway—summary of confession. Country music is awesome, but I don’t preach it or anything. I just love it, and I hope people don’t judge me for loving it.

2. I love history =]
I know, nerdy. But it’s just so interesting! I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, I mostly watch random things on the history channel. I don’t understand how anyone can’t be at least just a little bit interested in history, because it’s how we got where we are today. And we can learn so much from it! Or….some things are just really amusing. For example: At Andrew Jackson's funeral in 1845, his pet parrot had to be removed because it was swearing. Isn’t that funny?! Or: In England and the American colonies the year 1752 only had 354 days. In that year, the type of calendar was changed, and 11 days were lost. That would be strange…where did the eleven days go?!

Also, I mean…we have so much to learn from our history. If we don’t pay attention to history, then the same thing is just going to keep happening over and over again….like the situation in Darfur—as I said on Tuesday, we can’t let it be another Rwanda. We have to do something about it, you know? I mean, I’m not saying we always do learn from our past mistakes. But at least we have a chance to! And, if we really try, we can look at past wars and interactions with countries to try to predict what they might do or how we should go about fighting them…

Anyway, I know it’s kind of weird. But I find things fascinating….trying to figure out why people might have done the things they did (Hitler, for example). Or just looking back at our past to see how we got where we are now or how much things have changed and what the future might bring. One of my favorite shows on the history channel was “Life after People.” So great =]

One more: The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

3. I love the outdoors.
I kind of already said this, but I’m a huge outdoors girl. I love hiking and running and swimming and the ocean and…….just being outside in general. I mean, it comes partly from my family and the fact that my dad grew up being outdoors a lot too. And when I was young in Texas we mostly played outside with our friends, no matter how hot it was. And then, of course, when we moved to Colorado, there are so many places to go hiking! Or canoeing, or horseback riding, or running….

I’ve climbed 4 14ers in my life: Quandary, Belford, Brauss, and Lincoln. And I hope to do many more, because it’s so much fun.

Okay, this is probably too long for Jordan to read already….I’m sorry! I write too much!

Anyway, until tomorrow! Cheers! DFTBA!

Oh, the joys of high school

2009-04-10T17:45:00.001-06:00

So, I had a pretty amusing day today at school. While I usually do not enjoy sharing my day, this includes things that will then go off into some rather amusing stories and rants (I hope).

Now, my first class of the day is precalculus...not a very good first class, granted. For the first 45 minutes, I often don't register anything that my teacher is saying...I mean, I take the notes, but then I get home to do the stupid homework and I don't remember actually writing DOWN any of the notes. So I'm lost. Anyway, today we were taking a quiz on vector quantities or....whatever....and my teacher is very violent. The problem was a stick figure guy being pulled with different sized weights from his arms, legs, and his HEAD. Seriously, he actually said, "And don't forget that he's also being pulled on his HEAD." WHAAAAAAAAT?! Eeeeeek! Never piss off Mr. Perry, apparently. And then, he was discussing how it would be fun if gravity was positive....and then he made a weird noise and some weird movement that I don't think I can really explain. Anyway, then my friends and I were laughing for a really long time....Imagine, you let go of your pencil and it flies up and get stuck in the ceiling! And then, you just stand up and fly up to the ceiling to grab it! So much fun! Although, actually, everything would just be backward....our floor would be the ceiling, and our ceiling would be the floor....except we wouldn't KNOW it was backward, because that's just the way it would be. Oooooooooo....(thanks Haley)

Next, I go to physics. Now, my teacher is big on finding "real-life" examples of physics. So he was doing this thing on the forces and the friction on Bruce Springsteen during the half-time show for the Super Bowl. If you didn't watch it, basically he doesn't start his power slide soon enough so he runs into the camera man. We also did an experiment involving your weight on an elevator to calculate the acceleration, and Mr. Pohjola said that in college he went to a hotel, in their elevator, riding up and down, standing on a scale. And...wow, is that going to be me in college? The nerd, doing experiments in hotels? Probably....well, no, because I'll need an ocean most likely, but....okay, maybe you had to hear him tell it. Sorry...

Okay, onto the hilarity of French class. Now, we never get ANYTHING done. But today she was trying to teach us the "futur anterieur," which my old french teacher told us was pointless...but whatever. She can't think of anything else to say, I guess. Anyway, funny points of this class: ~Our teacher tells us that her outfit doesn't match because she ran out of quarters for the washing machine!!! And then I told her there was an ATM in the school and she was like, "KWAAAAAAA????" (that's seriously how she says it)
~Then, this kid in our class went into the little closet where we keep the extra books, and stayed in there until she noticed, at which point she said, "Jon, come out of the closet, NOW!" And then we all burst out laughing.....I mean, it's not even that great of a joke if you think about it, but we were all really....easily amused in that class today.
~Short one, but my friend Joel asked if douche was masculine or feminine...(douche means shower, if you didn't know) and then she laughed...and then got mad at all of us for laughing. Stupid.
~We were doing an exercise from the book because she got annoyed with us (which usually happens, but I'm sure it won't be for a grade). Joel said that in his next class he was going to, "tuerai un chat et viderai les poubelles" (kill a cat and empty trashcans) Then, I said I was going to "je tuerai Joel dans la prochaine classe apres il tue le chat" (I will kill joel in the next class after he kills the cat.) Then she made a new class rule that you couldn't use the verbs "tuer" (to kill) or "violer" (to rape) in her class anymore. *rolls eyes*
~COME BACK IN 15 MINUTES AND WE WILL HAVE DONE IT (a way to use the futur anterieur)
Then lunch...where some pretty hilarious things happened, but I think they're kind of hard to explain...they involved a lot of talking about how stupid and incompetent our french teacher is. And then my friend Sarah said this girl "lacked the cervical ability to communicate." Now, what she meant was "the cerebral ability" and I knew that...but it was still really funny.

Er....History class wasn't particularly amusing (I mean, it's world war two....) But our teacher was really tired. So I went to go print something out after school and then turn it in and I asked, "So, Mrs. Gillette, do you just want it in the basket?" and she just looked at me and said, "What?" and I had to explain to her what I was doing and why and what it was....then she told me to have a good weekend and I said, "Yeah, you too..." because she REALLY seems to need a weekend.

Umm....so, I have to do a French project, read the Great Gatsby, do a Physics lab report, and do math homework....Thank you teachers. Non-existent weekend.

I hope that was amusing, maybe. And, remember, COME BACK SOON AND WE WILL HAVE DONE IT. (sorry, I don't know why I find that so funny!!!!)

Cheers! DFTBA!

Pet Peeves

2009-04-09T15:29:00.001-06:00

So, once again, I didn’t really know what to write about today…so I searched only for “good questions to ask people.” Guess what I came up with? (Okay, don’t actually guess, because there are too many options.) Anyway, I’ve decided to make the topic of this blog entry a list of some of my pet peeves.

1. School computers
Okay, this one is just because I am currently typing this during study hall on one of the school computers, and they’re…awful. First of all, the ning is blocked, so I can’t go on there during study hall. But mostly, they have the most annoying keyboards where you have to press down really hard for the computer to register that you typed that letter. So it takes a while to type anything…and I’m a really fast typer!

Okay, sorry….on to some more interesting ones, maybe?

2. Spelling/grammar mistakes.
Yes, I admit it. I’m a grammar freak. I’m the sort of person who if you say, “It’s the funnest…” I’ll interrupt you and say, “most fun.” Or if you say I did good, I’ll say, “No, you did well.” Also, having been in the Colorado State Spelling Bee, it really bugs me when people spell things wrong. If a teacher spells a word wrong on the board, I have to go fix it. But it especially bugs me when someone uses improper grammar or bad spelling when they have access to the spell check on the computer. Because then it’s not even a matter of knowing how to spell/use grammar. It’s a matter of pressing a button and letting the computer do it all for you. I just really don’t see why people find it fun to use bad grammar/spelling…I mean, it’s really not even faster. Honestly, how long does it take for you to type that one apostrophe or spell out the word “you”? Come on people. ENGLISH. Use it, and use it right.

3. When someone either says “I’m starving” or “That’s retarded.”
Both of these will include some very long ranting. First of all, I hate it when someone says they’re starving. Because unless you literally don’t have any food, you live in a third-world country, or you’re neglected/abused, you’re probably not actually starving. Unless you haven’t eaten in a few days, you can’t legitimately say you’re starving. You’re just really hungry, okay? Merriam-Webster says: a: to perish from lack of food b: to suffer extreme hunger OR to deprive of nourishment. And those most likely do not apply to the everyday person who says, “I’m starving.” Now, onto the second one….this one is for a relatively personal reason. My dad’s friend’s son actually is mentally retarded, which of course doesn’t mean he’s really a lesser person or anything. He’s really nice. But it just bugs the heck out of me when someone says the word “retarded” because…it’s just really impolite. I mean, if I put my dad’s friend’s son with them and told them to say the words, “that’s retarded” to his face, they probably wouldn’t. It’s…derogatory, in a way. So, please, find another way to say that something is stupid!

4. People who don’t apply themselves.
I’m sorry, but I really hate people who have no ambition. I firmly believe that anyone, no matter their intelligence, can do almost anything they want if they really want it and if they apply themselves to achieving it. It just seems like it’s “cool” to not do your homework and skip class and not try…and…really, these so-called popular people in high school? They’re probably not going to get much of anywhere in life…I mean, I know it’s hard. But no one ever said life was going to be easy. So it really bugs the heck out of me when people don’t apply themselves because they think it will make them popular. Maybe in high school, but, honey, you’re going to have a harsh wake-up call when you decide to enter the real world!

5. People who use religion as an excuse for EVERYTHING.
Now, I’m not trying to be offensive here. Even though I’m not Christian, I respect people whose faith is a large part of their everyday life. I think it does make them a stronger person, and if it helps them get through crises and all, props to them. So I’m not saying I hate Christians. No, I’m saying that I dislike people who use their faith as an argument for things that have no business being “religion-icized.” Especially politics, and especially when it’s high schoolers who are just using their parent’s arguments and don’t really know what they’re saying. If you have a valid reason for being opposed to gay unions that does not involve the lie that “the bible says marriage is between a man and a woman,” then I’ll listen to you and respect you. But, really, don’t try to preach your religion onto me, okay? I respect your choices and your faith, but not if it gets in the way of people’s freedom of choice and privacy…(Once again, I hope this wasn’t offensive. I don’t hate religious people who are simply faithful!!! This is just something I had to rant about)

Random HP connection...Do you think it would be fun to have Peeves as your pet? I think it would definitely allow for entertainment, but...he'd probably play pranks on you, too, right? Peeves as a pet???

Anyway…as I’m running out of ideas, I think y’all should leave me questions to answer. Please?

Well….I don’t really know what else to say, except thank goodness it’s almost the weekend. Oh, and I’m really loving The Great Gatsby! Have a good afternoon/evening/day, everyone!

Cheers! DFTBA! Until tomorrooooooooow………..

Summer Camp stories?

2009-04-08T19:24:00.002-06:00

I didn’t really know what to blog about today, because my day was sincerely boring…and I didn’t have anything planned. So, I guess, I’m going to go ahead and share some camp stories with y’all, if you don’t mind. Every summer I go to this Girl Scout Camp called Sky High Ranch and ride/take care of the horses. Last summer I was a Wrangler-In-Training, meaning that I was working in the barn (taking care of the horses) and also learning how to run a unit of younger campers. Anyway, as you can probably imagine, some pretty crazy things go on there….

Well, my first one is actually from another year….but I’ve mentioned it briefly before: MATTRESS SLIDING!!! We decided one night to take some of the mattress off the bunks and slide down the cabin stairs on them…which, actually, not only were the counselors okay with, THEY JOINED IN!!! It’s so much fun—like a water slide without any water!! We also had some pretty epic water fights that year….

But on to my most recent memories….The first two weeks were boring at times because we had to go through the handbook. But we also got to do all of the activities! Though, there was one afternoon when our counselors were really tired and didn’t feel like doing equipment with us. So, Squirt, one of the counselors (yeah, we all have aliases. Mine was Luna) set up her laptop and put on Finding Nemo. We were told to have paper out and write about Nemo’s mentor or something in case the directors came, but really….we didn’t do anything. That same evening, the “All Camp” activity was CIT Hunt, so all of us dressed up really funny and hid for the other campers to find us…unfortunately, I don’t have the picture because one of the other counselors took it and hasn’t sent it yet….

We spent one morning playing Capture the Flag for an hour and a half, which was loads and loads of fun. But since I'm pretty fast, I was kind of a target of the other team I cut my leg on the log their bandana was hidden behind. And then I totally biffed it--I cut my arm, shoulder, knee, and bruised my knees pretty bad too. The sad thing was that NEITHER team won!!! We were left with a few people from my team trying to get the bandana and a few people from the other team trying to guard it, and everyone else in jail….so we ended up surrendering! Wow….most fun I’ve EVER had playing capture the flag! Okay, and….well, this is a long story, and you kind of had to be there. But during training, one of my fellow CITs said that if you see a bear, “you take your shirt off.” Really, she meant you take off your jacket or something to make yourself bigger, but she made it sound like you were supposed to flash the bear, which became a running joke…

Also, we were there on the 4th of July, after our 4 day break, and we had to help with the carnival. I was at the water balloons station, and mostly it wasn’t that exciting. But, then all of the CIT/WITs and counselors started throwing water balloons and eggs and pudding at each other, and also we got to throw pies at the program staff. We all got pretty soaking wet, and one of my friends got hit right on the top of the head with over 6 water balloons. It was fun when it started….but then it started to get cold, because that’s what happens in the mountains of Colorado….So we were really freezing, and had to go up and take showers…..

I have a bunch of stories, but I’ll end with one that isn’t particularly funny, but was just really crazy. Us WITS had to go on a horse overnight with one of the older groups of campers so that we could help with their tack and the feeding and everything. We had to walk there, which was annoying since everyone else got to ride. It was also really cold that night for some reason. Anyway………TWO OF THE HORSES GOT OUT!!!!!!! Granted, it’s a really old pasture, and the two horses were the really stubborn and kind of crazy ones. We started to run after them, but then the counselors told us to stay because they couldn’t let us get lost or injured or anything. The riding staff caught them eventually, but then they got out AGAIN that night!!! Luckily, they just went down to the barn, so it worked out fine in the end, and now kind of is something to laugh about, though it was really quite a traumatic experience at the time. Well….I guess, let me know if you enjoyed that, because I have a lot more funny camp stories!

Also, I got this youtube message today, and it made me really happy, so I thought I'd share:
Hi Kat!
My Name is Eric,i'm from Rwanda and i live in Sweden.I just want to thank u for ur initiative,it means a lot to the people of Rwanda.The most amazing thing about ur project is that u managed to mobilise people as young as 14 years. Yourself were 1 year hen the genocide took place.Ur project brings hope that u may succedd were ur parents failed.
May god bless u Kate,and once again thank u,deeply thank,we mean it.

So....until tomorrow! Cheers! DFTBA!

15th Anniversary for Rwanda....NEVER FORGET

2009-04-07T21:16:00.002-06:00

Okay, I’m sorry…but this will not be a fun or particularly exciting blog entry today. Because, today is an important day. ACTUALLY…technically it was yesterday that everything started, but….I decide to blog about it today. Because it’s important, all right?

Yesterday marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. On April 6th, 1994, a small jet carrying Rwandan President Habyalimana and Burundi's new President, Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down by missiles. This sparked the beginning of a genocide by Hutu extremists (many of whom had been ordinary citizens not long before, who attacked their neighbors and friends) of Tutsi leaders and Hutu politicians. It is obvious that the genocide was no accident. Well, no mass killing is an accident; they all have been planned. But all you have to do is listen to the speeches and radio broadcasts to hear the careful planning. If you want more proof, then you can read the newspapers or look at the odd number of machetes and guns imported into Rwanda just before the genocide to be used as killing machines. Suddenly, these weapons were available cheap, for the everyday person. For the everyday killer. Yes, it is true that this silent planning by the Hutus was genius. But that just makes the whole thing scarier. To think that somewhere else in the world, some other government could be planning something similar…it just makes me shudder.

There was a small UN peacekeeping force there, led by General Dallaire. But no matter how awful the reports he sent in asking for more troops, for more help, describing the atrocities…The UN and the US refused to label it as genocide. After April 21, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to abandon Rwanda, pulling out the remaining peacekeepers…leaving only about 200 troops. This left the Hutu free to continue their rampage of killings…helped along by propaganda spewed out by the Rwandan state radio. Many Tutsis took refuge in churches and schools, which only became the locations of some of the worst massacres. For women, often, it was the worst. After watching Hutus killing their husband, children, and neighbors, they would often be raped and left alone…or have certain parts of their bodies cut off. Some militiamen forced Hutus to kill their neighbors…or Tutsis to kill their families.

The most well known story, probably, is of Paul Rusesabagina, who helped hide many Tutsis in his hotel in Kigali…the events of this are described in his book, An Ordinary Man, and the movie Hotel Rwanda. (So I won’t go into it too much.)

The UN Security Council, after international coverage, voted to send 5,000 soldiers, but did not set a timetable therefore did not send them in time. The killings ended after Tutsi rebels, invading from the countries they had gone to for refuge back in 1959, including current Rwandan president Paul Kagame. By this time, July 1994, an estimated 800,00 persons had been killed. Although, in truth, not everything stopped there. The killings, both by the Tutsis and the Hutus continued into the 90s. Now, under leadership of Paul Kagame, the nation is trying to heal, rebuild, find some peace, and law and order. History says they will fail…but our faith and their faith is the only thing that can keep it going.

Do your work,” is what the RTLM told the Hutu. “Kill the cockroaches.” The Hutu were obedient. Too obedient. 800,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans died during the time period. It seems that the genocide in Rwanda gets so much less attention than say, the Holocaust…and, it was almost more cruel. And a LOT quicker. . Perhaps this is because the countries in the United Nations see the genocide as their fault, and hope to cover it up. Most people use the word decimated wrongly. It means to kill 1 of 10 people, and to most minds, this thought is unimaginable. But this is the word needed to describe Rwanda. Every 10th person was killed within the space of one hundred days. In Kibuye, there were 250,000 Tutsis just before the genocide. Afterwards, only 8,000 were left.

“Never again,” we say. But what about what’s happening in Darfur right now? How are we ignoring these things…has history taught us nothing about what ignoring a genocide can mean? Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills, and during the genocide those hills were filled with screams and cries. They were covered with the blood and bodies of innocent people. A person got used to things they should never have to get used to: The smells of rotting bodies used as roadblocks by the Hutu. The sight of hundreds of bodies piled on top of each other on the side of the road. Seeing machetes being used as killing machines instead of farming tools. Nobody deserves to have that happen to them. Nobody.

Please, please, watch the following videos. And, if possible, write a letter to your state congressmen asking them to do something in Darfur. Because we just CAN’T let this happen again. www.candlesforrwanda.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Okay, how about some happier news, maybe? JOE STAYED UP UNTIL 5 AM ENGLAND TIME LAST NIGHT! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! =] And we got Maureen to come join us in the ning chat! =] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…SHE REPLIED TO ME ON TWITTER! I almost fell out of my chair in excitement…but, you know, my bed was right next to my chair, so all I did was hit my knee kind of hard on the edge of my bed!
maureenjohnson: "lunasnargle: you've gotten us addicted. We can't stop talking on the ning!" *looks around knowingly*11 minutes ago from web
Also…today’s Tuesday….so, later today I’ll be posting a video on my collab channel! Go check it out, maybe? WE NEED SUBSCRIBERS!!!! http://www.youtube.com/user/GenerationofAwesome

All right…well, I’ve got to go to school, unfortunately….UNTIL TOMORROW!

Cheers! DFTBA!

In which Kat reveals her Harry Potter obsession!

2009-04-06T17:33:00.004-06:00

NING: Need...It...Now...GIMME!!!!

Hello, fellow bloggers. You know, I think I have a problem. I'm addicted to the ning...See, I had school today. You might be thinking, but, you had school the first three days of BEDA, too! And, yes. That is true. However, those were the days BEFORE. BEFORE I had a whole weekend to get attached to the ning and the chat and reading other peoples blogs. I'M OBSESSED!!!! How do I know this?

1. I say things at school like, "so, on the ning....." and my friends look at me blankly and go, "What the HECK is a ning?" and I am reminded of how much I miss the awesome people on here.
2. I bang my head on the keyboard when the ning is blocked on our school computers (okay, not literally, because our scary totalitarian librarians would kill me. but I wanted to.)
3. I make a twitter update with my phone about how much I need the ning.
4. The first thing I do when I go home is get on the ning and read some blogs! =]
5. I am much happier once I am home (AKA...THE NING.)

Anyway...I'm afraid I may have run out of ideas for the moment...6 days in and I'm empty? That's sad. No. I REFUSE TO LET THIS HAPPEN!!!!!!!!! I could rant about school, but I'm sure that's just quite boring.

Alas! In desperation, I asked my friend Shoshana for a question that I could answer in this blog. The result: if you went to hogwarts, what extra curricular activites would you be in?

And herein lies the introduction to my insane, incurable, obsession with Harry Potter. Thank you, Shoshana!

Now, I regret to inform you that I do not have one of those cute stories where I refused to read Harry Potter, then stole it from my sister and read it and loved it. My story begins differently. We had just moved from Texas to Colorado, and returned from our trip to Yellowstone, and we were trying to actually MOVE INTO our house on the Air Force Academy (paint it, put in furniture, you know, make it a home....) Anyway, I was 7. My dad, who was working in on painting and all that, desperately wanted to give us something to do. I mean, we'd just moved into the neighborhood, and anyway, I was an incredibly shy, nerdy, awkward kid who preferred reading to socializing (hmm...not much has changed). Basically, he wanted us out of his hair. I don't actually remember where we bought the books (shame), but we bought all four (this was probably two weeks after the 4th one came out! Such luck!) Anyway, I found the first chapter quite boring....but I pushed on since I didn't...you know....have much else to do! And, needless to say, after finishing the last chapter, I was IN LOVE. And I proceeded to read all four books....

So follows a lot of the funny, cute little kid things I did with my obsession. My first friend I made in Colorado was because we both loved Harry Potter (well, actually, our dads were friends, but that's the reason we became so close). We played Harry Potter with him. I also played Harry Potter on the playground in 3rd grade, in which I played Parvati and had to dance with a guy named Chris, who was Harry. I also wrote to Jo Rowling and got back the usual letter...=( And, as a 10-year-old, I stayed up until midnight to read the 5th book, although I didn't read it all night (I'd just gotten back from camp and my dad wanted it). I also, unfortunately, was not able to get HBP at midnight..but I did read it in 12 hours once I finally got it!

Well, I found the online fandom just before Deathly Hallows, which was unfortunate...and also left me feeling kind of stupid, that I didn't know how long it had been out there! I came up with some pretty random theories....including something random about how Peeves was there because he was the "essense" of all the pent up energy or whatever of all the students (if I can find it, I'll post the full theory). But, anyway, I found PotterCast and Leaky and the Leaky Lounge and Wrock and..........the rest is history, sort of.

I stayed up all night to read Deathly Hallows, and I've never cried harder at a book....I became part of SEVERAL reading groups on the lounge, became absolutely obsessed with Wrock, dressed as Luna for Halloween, bought a bunch of merchandise, went to Terminus in August...And I'm going to LeakyCon in May and hopefully Wrockstock in November.

Basically, Harry Potter has given me some of my only true friends. I mean, yes, I've gotten friends through this Nerdfighter community as well, but I only found this because of Hank's Accio Deathly Hallows video. =] I know it's cliche, but Harry Potter really, honestly has changed my life. As Harry grew up, I grew up and matured, too. They're a huge part of my childhood and my life, and nothing else allows me to be myself so completely without any judgment at all.

LINKS:
Harry Potter poem
Thoughts on Deathly Hallows

So, how about I answer the question now?
I like to think that I'd be involved with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Chaser...I mean, I love to run, so I don't think I could live without doing a sport if I went to Hogwarts. I'd also be a member of Dumbledore's Army, because they're so AWESOME!!! I'm all for going against the stupid ministry (at the time, of course) and working to show that kids can make a difference too! Also, knowing me, I'd be involved in Charms Club or some other funny academic group similar to Knowledge Bowl (Wizard Bowl????) since I'm such a nerd and I LOVE that sort of thing.
Oh, and just FYI....NEVILLE IS A BAMF. AND I WANT TO MARRY HIM.

In other note, my friend and I decided during French today that our teacher sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown:

Cheers! DFTBA! UNTIL TOMORROOOOOOOOOOOOOW.................

Even nerds need to do stupid things

2009-04-05T08:40:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, I went and saw Fast & Furious with three of my friends (don't judge). It was hilariously awful....we kept wondering when the movie would be over. And when it was, all we did was laugh at how completely awful the movie was. So, why, you may be asking yourself, did we waste five dollars on a movie we knew was going to be awful. Well, (1) all the other movies available would have probably been just as awful, (2) it's fun to make fun of movies, and (3) why would you go see a movie you actually think might be good with your friends?! Then you'd actually watch it instead of making fun of it! In the end, it wasn't a "wasted" 5 dollars. Sure, the movie was horrible. But the experience of making fun of it and laughing and...just having experienced such a horrible movie together is what made it such a great time

We may be nerds, but we need to do stupid things, okay? Even if they're "nerdy" stupid things. And I don't mean unintentionally stupid things liking running into a tree branch or your locker door (I have experienced both of these things. I'm kind of clumsy.) I mean intentionally deciding, "Today we're going to go see a stupid movie," or "Today I'm going to see if I can fall down the stairs and land on my feet.

I present you with: Kat's top 10 reasons to do stupid things (a lot of them will focus on seeing dumb movies, since that's what I did yesterday) 1. You can laugh about it afterwards!
See, what will ultimately be so fun about having seen such a stupid movie is that we'll be able to laugh about it on Monday! And it will be our secret! Our inside joke!!!! People will ask us, "Why in the world did you go see that movie? Did something fall on your head?" And we'll just laugh, because there are actually some pretty funny things about that movie....again, hilariously awful. But, let's say you dared one of your friends to jump out a window in French class (actually happened in my sister's class. and he DID jump). Pretty stupid. But, this happened in...oh, December or November. And we're all still laughing about it! Basically, doing stupid things gives you a conversation piece.
2. You can make nerdy jokes about it.
For example, in the movie yesterday, when they shot the car tires, the car went way up, like doing a wheelie, standing on its back wheels, before it fell over and crashed. Now, non-nerds just think that's stupid. However, being a nerd, I sit there thinking, "That's not proper physics!" Actually, honestly, I had an image of my physics teacher watching it, twitching saying, "That's not physics! Cars don't do that! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" But let's say you're trying to melt a record in your friend's broiler (yet another true story). You can joke about all the toxic chemicals you've probably just released and how now you're going to get cancer.
3. You might get a better grade on a project.
This goes back to the whole melting a record thing. See, for English we had to do a project for The Road where we took an artifact from current times (okay, relatively current) and pretended we were discovering it as new inhabitants of Earth in like....2600 or something. Anyway, we decided it would make sense that if we were discovering something, it would probably look really old and dirty and warped. So, what did we do? Well, first we scratched up the record, a CD, and a DVD on the road. Then we tried burning it with a lighter. That didn't work, so we put them in my friend Melissa's broiler for 5 minutes....in the process releasing toxic fumes and probably permanently messing with the structure of our lungs. It wasn't the smartest idea, but our English teacher loved it! Full credit!! YES!!!!

4. It messes up the nerd stereotype!!!
See, when nerds do stupid things, it makes the world stop turning for a second. Everyone stands still, aghast. Nerds are supposed to be the smart ones!!! Why are they riding mattresses down staircases (yet another thing I have done) and burning records and seeing dumb movies? NO!!! Someone fix this!!! And isn't it always fun to confuse everyone? Mess with the social structure...or just teach society that nerds can have fun, too!
5. You can make new friends.
Now, this applies to doing something stupid like walking up to someone and asking them what the capital of Bulgaria is....in Bulgarian. (Now, this, I have not done. For one thing, I don't know Bulgarian. For another, no one has every dared me to do it. But if I get enough comments telling me to, maybe I will...and I'll take a video and post it on YouTube!) Okay, so you might not make friends. You might get escorted away my security. Or they might stare at you blankly. Or they might run away. OR, YOU MIGHT MAKE A FRIEND. Granted, a friend who thinks you're Bulgarian, but what's wrong with that, really? Also, just doing anything stupid in front of other people might make them want to be your friend! Score!
6. You have really good material for stories.
Let's say you're at a party and no one's talking. Everyone's just staring around the room, drinking from their glasses, trying not to make eye contact. It's getting really awkward, isn't it? Now, you could just leave. Or, you could start into a long-winded story of that time you crammed 7 people into the cab of a truck because it was raining and lightning and you were in the middle of a parking lot, the tallest things around. (Another true story) Suddenly, you're the interesting person. Suddenly, the party isn't boring anymore. Suddenly, the host is coming up to you afterwards, hugging you and thanking you and worshipping you for getting everyone to have some fun, because they hadn't planned anything! You SAVED THE PARTY!
7. You can teach other people.
Usually, the only reason you'd be telling someone not to burn a record (it smells awful, it's dangerous, don't do it) would be that you'd done it before. Or, you could be telling someone that they SHOULD mattress surf down stairs because it's a ton of fun and you feel like you're flying. Either way, you are informing the masses. Either saving their lives or saving them from boredom.
8. You have endless ways to amuse yourself.
Let's say it's blizzarding, and you're stuck in your house. So why don't you see what happens when you slide across your wood floor in your socks and run into your wall? Or how many times you have to fall down the stairs until you can land on your feet? Or see what it looks like when you mix toothpaste and shampoo with orange juice? Endless amusement from stupid things!
9. Let's face it. Even nerds need to have some FUN!
Sure, we may be nerds. Who love reading and writing and daydreaming and all that. But every once in a while, we need to get out and do something stupid. That could be going roller skating when you KNOW you're going to fall on your butt every other minute. It could be daring someone to jump out a window (a low one, okay? DO NOT HURT YOURSELF!!!) Or perhaps you decide to sit in the mall all day, asking everyone who walks by what planet you're on. Or, maybe, you just go to see a stupid, awful movie and make fun of it. Whatever it is, you need to have fun, my nerdy friend. Don't just sit back and watch everyone else do it.
10. YOU HAVE GREAT BLOG/NOVEL MATERIAL!
I mean, if you do something stupid, you have something to blog about, right? Something original, something hilarious, something fun! Or, you could write the next best novel about a character who does everything stupid that you've ever done. I mean, come on. I don't think John Green could've written those novels with the characters doing stupid things if he'd never done anything stupid and just stayed holed up in his room his entire life.

NOTE: I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING STUPID THINGS THAT COULD RESULT IN DEATH OR INJURY!!!!

Umm...I hope you enjoyed that. In other news, Michigan State made it to the finals! YES!!!!!! Oh, and the blizzard warning was a dud. We probably got about 2 inches of snow...

Cheers! DFTBA!

Confessions....of a Teenage Nerd

2009-04-04T10:28:00.004-06:00

You know, I think I have decided that every Saturday I will make several "confessions." Well...confessions at least that the people of BEDA/YouTube/Nerdfighters/online friends might not know. Some of them will be shameless, some will be embarrassing, and some will be...odd. Theme days FTW!!!!

1. I am completely obsessed with politics.
Okay, in all honesty, pretty much all of my friends already know this. You know those little "Tag which one your friend is" pictures on Facebook? Well, I'm almost ALWAYS tagged as "The Political Guru." If I'm not, it's just because there isn't that option on that picture. But anway, YOU, the people of BEDA, do not know how obsessed I am with politics yet. Teehee. Now, for us nerds, this probably is not all that unusual. But....well.....some of the things are quite funny.

For example, do most 13 year olds stay up until 10:30 during the 2006 Congress elections to see if the Democrats will become the majority? NO. Do most 13 year olds then go to school the next day and talk to their friend about how amazing Obama is and how we hope he runs for president in 2008? NO. (remember, this is 2006. When a lot of people didn't know much about Obama. I, Kat, was "wooed" by him.) My dad had a few friends over, and we literally cheered whenever a Democrat won a seat. Seriously. Walking by, you would've thought there was some huge, exciting sporting event on. And, I guess, to us, the 2006 elections WERE a huge, exciting sporting event.

I proceed to cheer when Obama announces his candidacy, watch all of the debates....and make a lot of fun of Hillary Clinton's laugh. And I mean EVERY SINGLE debate. The ones when every single candidate was present, including Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich and Joe Biden. And then I would endlessly discuss them. I have a feeling most of my friends got incredibly annoyed with me. But that's their issue.

Last year, my birthday was on Super Tuesday. And both my parents were gone being precinct captains. So what did I do? I watched MSNBC from about 3:30 to 10:30, doing homework, and writing, and cheering when Obama won a state.....Dorky much? MSNBC is my friend. It's ALL I watched during election season, bascially. Rachel Maddow? Yeah, my hero.

Hmmm....well, I was incredibly disappointed that we couldn't go to the DNC, because it was in Denver...and we live only 60 minutes away. But, alas, no invites =[ Anyway, you know who I was after the DNC? One of those annoying people who walked door to door asking people who they were voting for. And not just Presidential wise. US Congress and State Congress as well. My dad and I had a few people almost slam the door in our faces...but they were actually more polite, usually, when they saw that a 15-year-old was campaigning for Obama. I DID get to see him speak in Denver in October (at the end of this confession, I will post pictures). Then, we got to go to the Antler's Hilton on Election night. That ballroom was so charged. I got a bunch of free stickers and signs and posters. And I have video...and sound files...and pictures....I don't think I've ever screamed so loud IN MY LIFE as I did on that night. And, I then proceeded to stay up until about 1 or 2 in the morning because I was too happy and excited to go to sleep.

To accentuate my point, my English teacher used to joke that one of my classmates, Sean, and I shouldn't talk during October and November lest we kill each other. He's a complete Conservative Republican Palin supporter....and....yeah. We were the two extremes, luckily on opposite sides of the classroom!!
PICTURES: Obama in Denver Colorado for Obama

2. I LOVE OLD DISNEY MOVIES/TV SHOWS.
This one is inspired by a conversation in the ning chat last night. But basically, I still love all the old Disney Movies and TV shows.
TV shows: So Weird, Smart Guy, Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire (guilty pleasures much?), The Jersey, Bug Juice...
Movies: I could name a ton, but I'll stick with a few favorites. Zenon (the first two, but NOT the last one), Brink, Johnny Tsunami, The Color of Friendship (beautiful movie), Halloweentown, Smart House, Phantom of the Megaplex, The Ultimate Christmas Present, Motocrossed, Gotta Kick it Up, A Ring of Endless Light (beautiful book, too).

Unfortunately, now, Disney Channel sucks. In my opinion. Though, if you ask my sister, you'll get a different answer. Also inspired by the chat last night, I have to reflect on what Walt Disney's vision has come to. It's so sad, really. I can almost hear the poor guy pounding his fists on the top of his coffin or hitting his head on the gates of heaven or whatever screaming, "NOOOOOOOOO!!! This isn't what I meant!!!!!!!!!!!" (Refering to things like High School Musical and Hannah Montana.) I mean, it feels like all of the original magic that came with disney has been lost. It's simply a franchise now, seeking money, not with the goal to supply young kids everywhere with a magical experience and a chance to gasp and smile and laugh and applaud. The Poor Guy. =[ When I was a kid, in the 90s, Disney was still pretty awesome. Now, however....I don't get a thrill out of it anymore. There's A REASON they do fewer and fewer original movies...because they've run out of good ideas. It's awful, depressing, and I wish I could send a note of apology and sympathy to poor Walt, even though it isn't my fault. His dream, his vision, has all but faded away...UNLESS WE TRY TO BRING IT BACK! US, THE NERDFIGHTERS, WE CAN DO THIS!!!! (MAYBE)
"I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained." ~Walt Disney
"Think beyond your lifetime, if you want to do something truly great." ~Walt Disney

3. I'm actually a huge sports fan.
This, in truth, is something not many people know about me. But it's true. The Spurs are my main team, the one I pay the most attention to. Ginobli's my man. =] I stay up until the end of games during April through June (or earlier, if the Spurs lose). But, I also watch a LOT of College basketball (Michigan vs. Connecticut...go Michigan). I'm not really into football, but soccer is one of my guilty pleasures...that is unfortunately very hard to watch because the cable company in Colorado Springs evidently is not a fan of soccer. And, I love watching Olymic swimming

I don't actually PLAY either of these sports anymore. I used to play both baskeball and soccer. At one point, I was actually quite good at both. Then I stopped playing, and now the soccer players at my school scare me too much. But, I do still swim, though not competitively anymore. I was one of the best swimmers on my team in Texas, though! I also run (cross country). But...my love for watching sports is kind of a secret. Shhhhhh.....

So, you definitely know a few more random facts about me now! Yes! Please don't laugh too hard.

Quick word about my day. It's snowing here, and about 10 degrees with windchill. And me, being completely insane sometimes, I went for a walk. Cold. Stinging, sharp snow. Oh, how those cars thought I was crazy. I THINK I'm going to a movie later, provided it doesn't snow too much in the next 2 hours!

CHEERS! DFTBA!!!!

How to Write a Journal Entry: The IB Way...and the Kat way

2009-04-03T17:49:00.002-06:00

Today my French teacher was going over the way that IB wants you to write your diary entries, because supposedly for the SL/HL test a prompt can often be to write a diary entry. Of course, one of my classmates, who wasn't listening asked, "Why would IB be reading my diary? What, do they come to my house or something?" But, no, there's a "specific" way to write it. *rolls eyes* AHEM.

Date (3 avril 2009)

Cher journal,
Comme tu sais, mon journal, je n'aime pas Lundi. (blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, address your diary blah blah blah have an emotional tone blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah)
À demain,
Votre nom

SHEESH!!! Really, who does IB think they are? Telling ME how to write a journal entry?!?! I mean...I'm not exactly talking to my diary here, am I? NO! I'm talking to whoever actually takes the time to read this thing (anyone?) Anyway, who says, "As you know, my diary, I don't like Mondays." REALLY?!?! Gah!!!

Anyway, this brought to mind the fact that really, you can do things however you want. Granted, not on the IB test or I'll lose...about 10 points. But, you don't have to follow the rules. Screw rules!!! (Wow did it feel good to say that) Everyone has their own way they like to do things. And if you're creative about the way you do something, more props to you! Sure, sometimes there are penalties and punishments for creativity...but really...why? What's wrong with doing something or writing something in a different way? Setting strict rules makes sure that humanity will all eventually become the same and people who are creative will be....oh, I don't know. Put in jail or a mental hospital or something. Anyway....umm....well, I mean, obviously I have to remember the "rules" for writing a proper French diary entry, but that doesn't mean I'm actually going to write it like that....

Kat's rules for writing a blog/journal/diary (who even calls it that anymore?!):
1. HAVE FUN AND AMUSE YOURSELF!!!! Writing a blog should never be tedious, boring, or a chore.
2. Make sure you remain true to yourself!!! Don't try to be a different person just because you are writing a blog!
3. Do WHATEVER you want to that makes sure you meet rules number one and two. I don't care how you write it, what you say, how many jokes you make, how much sense you make, or how "proper" you are (though, as a grammar/spelling freak, I do prefer that you at least try to use proper grammar and spell things right....)

THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EASY, right?

Erm...anyway....

So, during English class we were doing research on what different colors "mean" to start our reading of The Great Gatsby. My group did red. A few interesting (?) facts about red:

red makes you hungry and thirsty, especially when paired with yellow
red improves your performance in competition
people are more likely to gamble/risk money under red light (think casinos with red light)

I also took a color personality quiz (located at colorquiz.com) and while I do not feel like sharing the full results, this is one thing they said:

Your Actual Problem
"Feeling anxious and restless frustration toward current situation or unfulfilled emotional requirements. Tries to escape into a fantasy-type environment full of sympathy, understanding and artistic beauty."

Harry Potter???? =]

All right, this entry is super long already, so 2 more things.

First, Maureen's 18 THINGS TO DO WHENEVER:
1. Blog every day in April. Check
2. Make some soup. Check. I LOVE soup. Especially during our cold winters.
3. Get a hat. Check. I love my newsies hat =] And my mini top hat
4. Read a book. Check...I read a different book almost daily. I'm obsessed.
5. Make a friend...on Beda. Check!!!! (I think)
6. Say something nice to someone. Check!!!! Just this morning, my friend was saying that her painting was awful, and I reassured her that she had an amazing technique and it looked pretty dang amazing.
7. Work on your moves. Not check. I'll have to get back to you on that one.
8. Speak for an entire day in a fake accent. Half-check. I spoke for an entire day in my southern accent here in Colorado, but I lived in Texas, so that's not really fake for me. Just....not used in daily life anymore. So I'll get back to you on that one.
9. Cultivate a completely imaginary relationship with someone famous. Check!!! Oh, wow...my imaginary relationships could go on and on and on....but they include friendships with Lauren Fairweather, Melissa Anelli, and John Green. And Jo Rowling.
10. Do something completely sekrit. Check =]
11. Go into a store and pretend not to know how something works. Not check. But it sounds so fun, so maybe I'll do it soon.
12. Spend one week completely offline. Check. Try FOUR weeks away from the computer while at Girl Scout camp.
13. Plan to go somewhere. Check!!! Europe, New England, Boston....=] =] I'm huge on traveling.
14. Hit the shiny red button. Check. Except it was a shiny pink button...and I ran.
15. Write to me. Check. But...will you answer?
16. Learn to sew on a button. Not check...Oops?
17. Admit it. Check. I admit it.
18. Try again tomorrow. CHECK!!!!!!!!
(Thank you Maureen)

And second, apparently we are getting a huge blizzard tomorrow...."The roads may be impassable." They are warning is might be like the blizzard of March 2003 when we got 34 inches and my family was in the middle of moving and we were stuck in a stupid Temporary Living Facility and it took the moving company several days to get our stuff to our new house. Crazy. It could also be a dud. But these clouds look pretty threatening!!!

Cheers! DFTBA!!!

Oops...one more thing. Is this really our dear Emma Watson?!?! She's so...grown up! http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/4/3/emma-watson-designes-jacket-for-charity-new-images-from-vs-magazine

Walking in Tokyo?

2009-04-02T19:21:00.000-06:00

So, what have I done today? Well...let's see, my sister almost crashed into the car in front of us on the way to school, and it took us 20 minutes when it usually takes 5. I "went into the matrix" (nerd jokes!) Erm....I laughed at my French teacher? (not interesting, but okay). And...uh....I watched the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I also "walked around Tokyo"and scared a bunch of birds. I sang French songs, and I swam 1/5 of a mile. Yay?

Okay, so now onto the explaining...sort of.
So, even though the start of school was delayed, my sister and I still almost ran into the stupid Hummer-type car in front of us...which probably would have done A LOT more damage to us that it would've to them. And I was late to math class....where we "went into the matrix." (Okay, I don't know if that's even funny, but my math teacher says it a lot. I don't laugh, but he does) The funny thing was that he was trying to show us an example of how matrices can be solved 2 different ways, but the answers he got doing the "augmented matrices" way was pretty far off the answers the calculator gave. And, I mean, I'm not going to say that he's incompetent, because he's super smart (actually, he's TOO smart in math, and that's the problem. He can't explain things) but I have to admit that the confused look on his face was absolutely hilarious. I know it's kind of mean, but teachers getting something wrong always exemplifies the fact that students are just as intelligent(or stupid, if you want to look at it that way) as teachers, who make the same mistakes we do a lot of the time.

Okay, so I do have to say that my French teacher is in fact completely incompetent, and I haven't learned anything from her all year. Laughing at her in class is pretty much a normal, every day experience, but today one of my friends was trying to ask her what question we were on, and it took her about 5 minutes to actually answer him. *rolls eyes* I mean, the funny thing is that she knows how much all of her students hate her. And the IB coordinator knows that she's awful (he laughs at her assignments) but he can't do anything because she's on a contract and firing her would be complicated plus they can't find another teacher. But, really? I mean, she's 22 years old. Her brother is my age. As one person put it, "O mi god, she could marry one of this year's seniors." Basically....her class is a joke, and I find myself asking every day why I do the homework and even why I come to class. In truth, it's because I don't want to let myself stop caring about French class. Because I really do love the language and everything, and I want to keep working. But most days it just feels incredibly pointless. We had to do a "Vite Fait" today, and one of my sentences was, "Si je parle, le prof ne m'ecouteras pas." Yeah. At least she's only here for one year, and next year we'll get back our old, amazing, sweet, incredible regular French teacher =]

Quick funny story. So we ate outside at lunch, even though it was slightly cold, because there wasn't anywhere to sit inside. A teacher walked by and asked us if we knew the time. I replied, "It's 12:43." She said thanks, and started to walk away. Then my friend Chris said something along the lines, "Of, oh, I thought she meant..." and my friend Sarah said, "Hammer time!" And we all started laughing...including the teacher, because were talking so loud and she was still close enough to hear us. Slightly embarrassing, but mostly just really amusing. Especially since Chris didn't know the song. Sheesh.

Anyway, I don't know why I mentioned watching the bombing of Pearl Harbor...but that's mostly what we did in US History: we watched the part of the movie Pearl Harbor where they bomb it. But that's not interesting, is it? Except then I got into a conversation after class with my friend about two things. One, how the name "World War" seems funny, especially for the 1st world war, when almost all the fighting was in Europe. And then about how everyone always talks about how Germany and Japan were "evil," but really the US was kind of "evil" towards the end, too. Sure, they bombed Pearl Harbor. But we dropped freaking ATOMIC BOMBS on them, which cost way more lives than the bombing of Pearl Harbor did. So, really, I just think that if you look at it in a certain way, the war just made everyone sort of evil...I mean, except all the people stuck in the concentration camps, and the invaded countries, and...okay. I'm rambling. I just mean that people have to realize the damage WE did to other countries as well as what they did.

Walking in Tokyo? Okay, that was just an attempt at being witty, really. All that we did was use that Google maps thing where you put yourself in the streets of a city, and we walked around Tokyo for a while. We saw a few Japanese people, a lot of buildings, and a funny looking car. Really, it was just a way to amuse ourselves in the library after school. As for scaring birds, I have a routine of going for a walk every day, and I tend to scare a lot of birds off the path...and then they fly onto the barbed wire fence, which apparently doesn't hurt....Ah, and I sang French songs (when no one else was around, of course) that I found on YouTube. Ah, Emmanuel Moire and Christophe Mae =] =] =] And, while swimming 1/5 of a mile might sound like a lot...it really isn't. But it was relaxing.

Okay, so I have a feeling that no one is reading this...but I guess at least my posts amuse me, if nothing else. And they're a way...you know...put off my dumb pre-calc homework. =D But really, it's kind of fun to write about my day, even if no one else reads this. Thank you Maureen, for coming up with this idea!!!

Ah, well see (?) y'all tomorrow?
Cheers!
DFTBA!!!
~Kat~

BEDA Day #1

2009-04-01T19:30:00.000-06:00

It's only day one, and already I'm having issues finding time to post these?! In my defense, I had appointments up in Denver right after school, and then had to eat. Actually, currently we're driving home-I'm typing this (slowly) on my BlackBerry. I hope to also make a quick vlog, but I might have to throw some pictures together. We'll see!

Anyway, it's snowing again. In April. Typical Colorado. Here in Denver it isn't awful, but we're driving to the Springs, which is certainly worse. I hate snow...*sigh* But, we do need the moisture, since there's already been a few fires this year. So, obviously, the snow is pretty notsome, so let's move on to the positive!

So, why is today awesome? I guess my best answer is that it's Fred & George's (Fred!!!! =[) birthday! And April Fool's day. And, of course, the start of this project! I'm excited, though I lm not sure how many people will read it...

Hmm...maybe I should at least TRY to be interesting. This isn't exactly new, but Jo Rowling and Michelle Obama will be sitting next to each other at the dinner for the G20 summit! Jobama!! (just kidding) And, John and Hank are one of the keynotes at LeakyCon!! I'm super excited to finally get to meet them! Speaking of LeakyCon, let me know if you're going?

Mostly my day wasn't very exciting. My English teacher made us recite an oath not to criticize The Great Gatsby, which he's like obsessed with...hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to make a better post. If you read this, let me know in the comments so I have a reason to keep going with BEDA!
Cheers!
DFTBA!!!!
~Kat

BEDA eve

2009-03-31T19:40:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone!!! Wow, I haven't been on here since last year...December 31st...REALLY?!?! Life got crazy, I guess. Anyway, I'm going to do Maureen Johnson's Blog Every Day April! (And possibly Vlog Every Day April)

Anyway, I've never really done anything like this before....I mean, I have this, but I haven't posted on it in a while (oops). I'm not really sure how it will go...but I guess if people read it and leave comments I'll stay motivated! I think I also might try Vlog Every Day April....although I have zero subscribers, so I'm not currently sure if there's any point to that....

Hmm...well, I have precalc to do and a room to clean so I don't want to make this post very long.

But, today is awesome because we "tricked" our French teacher into letting us watch more of Le Roi Soleil. Teehee. =]

So, check me out at my other places, maybe?

http://www.youtube.com/user/lunasnargle
http://www.youtube.com/user/GenerationofAwesome
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=815384647&ref=profile
http://twitter.com/lunasnargle

Cheers!
DFTBA!!!!
Let's go BEDA!!!

New Year's Resolution kept!!!!

2008-12-31T17:31:00.001-07:00

So, since I didn't have any New Year's Resolutions of my own last year, I stole Kristina's (of The Parselmouths) one to read 50 new books. NEW was the key word for me. I have a habit of rereading books like crazy. I'm sure I read way more than 100 books, since I know I read several books 3 times (books I'd already read before). So I really wanted to see if I could read 50 books that I hadn't read before. Some of these are books I had to read for school, but that doesn't mean I didn't read them. And I actually enjoyed all of them, so I figured I should count them--after all, I hadn't read them before! Anyway, this is my list:

1. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
2. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
3. The Psychology of Harry Potter by Neil Mulholland
4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
5. A Neverending Story by Michael Ende
6. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
7. Wife in the Fast Lane by Karen Quinn
8. Love and Freindship and other early works by Jane Austen
9. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
10. Oracle Quest by Lisa Wright Degroodt
11. Relic Quest by Lisa Wright Degroodt
12. Barrier Quest by Lisa Wright Degroodt
13. Charm Quest by Lisa Wright Degroodt
14. The Once & Future King by T.H. White
15. Oedipus by Sophocles
16. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
17. Le tour du monde en 80 jours* by Jules Verne
18. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
19. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
20. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
21. Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall
22. A Thousand Hills by Stephen Kinzer
23. Looking for Alaska by John Green
24. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
25. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
26. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
27. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
28. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
29. Paper Towns by John Green
30. Jean de Florette* by Marcel Pagnol
31. All My Sons by Arthur Miller
32. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnosn, and Lauren Myracle
33. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
34. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
35. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
36. Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli
37. Cyrano de Bergerac* by Edmond Rostand
38. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
39. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
40. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
41. Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
42. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
43. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
44. Sold by Patricia McCormick
45. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
46. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
47. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
48. Land Quest by Lisa Wright Degroodt
49. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
50. Bliss by Lauren Myracle
*The french version =]

And, I am close to finishing The Two Towers. (I'd only read the Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring for fear of destroying my dad's 50 year old copies....) We'll see if I finish it before midnight tonight! *wink*

Later, I'm going to write a reflection of 2008. But...for now, if anyone is reading this, tell me about your new year's resolutions, whether you kept them, and about any new books you read! Cheers! DFTBA!

Giving thanks

2008-11-27T16:23:00.004-07:00

So, today's thanksgiving. =] Which means a lot more food than we need to eat (for most people), football (not for me), Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, movie and tv marathons, and, of course, giving thanks (the often forgotten part of Thanksgiving). I hate doing these things aloud, especially since I'm at my mom's this Thanksgiving and didn't really know what to say. So I'm going to give thanks here. Read it if you want, don't if you...you know, don't want to.

I'm thankful for my family. Dad, Leslie, Ebony, Elyse, and all my relatives. Everyone is so amazingly supportive. I can't believe how amazing a family I have. Sure, we don't always get along, and all my relatives live pretty far away so I haven't seen anyone since Christmas. But my family is amazing--loving, friendly, supportive, helpful, and big on that whole constructive criticism thing. ;] And, on the same note, I'm thankful that Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bill live in Colorado now, and that hopefully I'll have the chance to get even closer to them now. But above anyone else, I'm thankful to my dad and Leslie, who understand me so well and would do practically anything to make sure I'm happy. It's so nice to have people in my life who really, sincerely hate to see me unhappy. So thank you, everyone.
Okay, next in the list is my friends. I may not have many of them, but I'm eternally grateful for all the ones I do--my true friends. I don't want to list them, but you know who you are. I couldn't survive without my support system of friends who pick me up when I break down and crack jokes to make me cheer up and always have that one memory to make me smile and forget my troubles. =]
I'm thankful I have food. Okay, when I'm at my mom's house it may be pretty bad food, or very little food, but I really can't complain when I think about the people around the world who starve and get a bowl of rice every few days. It's amazing that my home has its own garden, where we grow our own awesome vegetables, and that we were part of a farm this year that gave us the rest of the vegetables we'd need. I'm really lucky that I get such great food and have the opportunity to cook some amazing meals and choose what's on the menu and go to the grocery store and buy what I want.
I'm grateful I live in America, in the beautiful state of Colorado. It may be cold, and full of allergens, and not my first pick of where to live, but it's amazing. The mountains are beautiful, and I can just drive for 30 minutes and find seclusion and serenity to go hiking. I'm lucky to live in such a great country, where the first African-American president will be inaugurated in just 2 months! Really, I'm thankful I don't live in Africa or the Middle East or any other third-world country.
I'm thankful I have the money, leisure, and luxury to buy and read books. Amazing books such as Paper Towns and Harry Potter and Inkdeath. Without books...oh, I don't know what I'd do.
I'm thankful, actually, for school. Because some kids don't have the choice of whether or not to go to school. And despite the sub-par teachers, obnoxious peers, occasionally useless assignments, and complaining that I do, school is building me a fantastic foundation on which I can build the rest of my life. =]
I'm thankful for the amazing, ever-growing Harry Potter fandom. And, definitely, all the amazing friends I've met through it. I'm thankful for Leaky, especially the Lounge, for being the first place to make me feel welcome. I'm grateful that I get to go to LeakyCon in May, and that I have all these opportunities to be with people who understand, love, and appreciate me.
This is a weird one, but I'm thankful for my willpower and giving ability. I don't know how I push myself to do all this community service and actions for different charity groups, but I'm thankful that I do and thankful for how good that all makes me feel.

Well....I think that's it for now. I'll probably think of something else and have to edit this entry, but I'm going to stop for now. I've had things to complain about all week that are still in my mind, but I think I'll just leave this as a very happy, thankful journal entry and not mess it up with my teenage complaining. I hope everyone had an amazing thanksgiving! Turkey or tofurkey (mmm...tofurkey!), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing....Just remember to enjoy whatever your feast includes and remember that there's a lot of people less fortunate who need that food. So be thankful today, folks, instead of just stuffing your face and then falling asleep to football. Happy thoughts! Cheers!

YES WE DID!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T23:13:00.003-07:00

YES, YES, WE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRESIDENT Barack Obama. VICE PRESIDENT Joe Biden. FIRST LADY Michelle Obama. US SENATOR Mark Udall. A NEW ERA for the United States!!!!!!!!! =]

I can't believe it!!!! I still feel like I'm dreaming....I'm worried I'll wake up tomorrow and find that it's still November 4th and the election hasn't happened yet....But, guys, WE DID IT! We showed the world, the people, the government what we think is right. As Hal Bidlack said tonight, "It's not about left or right, it's about RIGHT or WRONG. And tonight, America made the RIGHT choice." A change is coming to America, though I can't stress enough that Barack can't deal with everything right away--he needs to deal with economics and national security before anything else. But you know what? Tonight, for the first time I can remember, I'm proud to say, "I'm a United States citizen. And I volunteered for Barack Obama. I helped him get elected." Tonight, I'm proud to fly an American flag. I believe in our country, and I believe we've sent a message to the world that America is still the great country it once was, with ideals of liberty and justice FOR ALL, ideals of doing what is fundamentally right, and of truly being a government run BY the people and FOR the people.

Today. WE MADE HISTORY. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. The first African-American president. I mean, I still remember November 2006, when Obama won the US Senate seat, and thinking how amazing he was. I remember that first debate with all the democratic primary candidates. I remember....I remember coming all this way these past two years, and now.....I mean, is this real?!

I went to an election party at the Antlers Hilton here in Colorado Springs, and the energy was positively ELECTRIC the whole time. There was just so much hope, so much happiness....I almost hadn't dared this day would come. When MSNBC projected Obama as president....chills ran down my spine. And when COLORADO went Obama.....WOW. I helped with that. I volunteered, I knocked on doors, I encouraged everyone who could to go get out and vote. I got tears in my eyes when Michelle came out, and tears in my eyes when Obama told the story about the 106-year-old in Atlanta. YES WE DID. But, still, YES WE CAN. Yes, we CAN make the changes that need to happen. Yes, we CAN show the people that we really are going to make a better country. Yes, we CAN.

In other happy news, the Personhood Amendment on the Colorado Ballot, the one that would ban abortion, was pretty thoroughly defeated! SQUEE!!!!!

Say it with me: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. PRESIDENT. BARACK. OBAMA.

Thank you so much, everyone.....I have hope tonight...and I'm not sure I'll sleep!

Happy New Year! Now, please sit and listen to Kat ramble for a while

2008-11-01T09:02:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!! =] *fireworks* *loud noises* *champagne* Okay, so, no one understands this, and y'all probably think that I'm crazy, but for my religion, the 31st of October is considered the new year. I'm Pagan, and in the olden days this was the new year because it was the end of the harvest, when the days started getting a lot shorter and colder, and people prayed for the return of the sun and another good harvest. Really, all I do is perform a short ritual (which I actually didn't do this year)....well, this year I just "prayed" to the god and goddess and gave thanks and everything. It really is a nice holiday. But, to everyone else, it's just Halloween...but I celebrate Halloween, too! Who's gonna give up free candy?!

Which brings me to my first section of this entry. Halloween. I had the most fun Halloween that I've probably ever had. I was kind of lazy and just decided to be Luna again because I already had everything for the costume, and I have an awful lot of fun dressing up as her. I did add some things this year, though: A fairy dust necklace, a pop tops necklace, striped long socks, and my friend's pink and brown converse. Oh, and my Obama/Granger button. =] So, anyway, the day started with Arts & Tech...my last day of Theatre!!!! Darn. =[ But, we got to tour the theatre (go look at the costume loft and sound and light stuff) and do a fashion show of the costumes, which was hilarious. Erm...so Pre-Calc actually wasn't amazing at all, because I think that's kind of impossible. But during French I just got to go eat a crepe, and then proceeded to have roughly 2 more during my actual lunch (Literally, 3, but 2 were awfully small so I counted them as one). Leslie and I made crepes on Thursday night, and they went really fast, so I guess they were good! In English all we did was our ELF career folders, which, while being really obnoxious, also managed to be hilarious! Umm...so I went home and did homework (yeah, cause I'm a nerd), and then ate a small portion of pesto because our couscous didn't work out....

Okay. THEN Melissa's house. Omigod, it was so amazing!!!!! We sat around for about an hour at her house before leaving--everyone else ate the pizza her mom made at one point, but mostly we just talked and laughed and were kind of inappropriate. I introduced the "In Your Pants" joke to everyone, and we fit all 14 of us on the couch at one point. Afterwards, we went trick or treating...for about an hour and 45 minutes around her very large neighborhood. It was so fun! John was a trumpet player as his costume, so we played the Rampart Rams tune but shouted "Trick or Treat" (instead of Rampart Rams) at every house (okay, none of you go to Rampart, so you don't understand, but trust me, it was amazing). I'm pretty sure all the houses loved it, and it was a lot of fun. We were really energetic, and practically running from house to house...which caused one of my radish earrings to break, but I have so much extra clay that I can make another one in a mere hour. Anyway, I'm pretty sure we burned quite a lot of calories trick-or-treating, actually, because we were running a lot, up and down a lot of hills and really tall driveways some of the time. Once we got back to Melissa's house, we kind of did a lot of trading of candy we didn't like....I got more dots than I've ever got!!!!! After trading, I had 126 things, and then after putting the things I didn't want in my family's bowl, I have 110 things of candy to eat! Squee!!!! We also watched Scary Movie 4....I'd never seen any of the Scary Movies, but I think I have to now because it was hilarious!!!! =] I got home...hung out on the internet...and went to bed around 11:45 because I was actually quite tired. Okay, so, just for fun, I'm going to list some of the more UNUSUAL candies I got: 1 bag of Cheetos. 1 Baskin Robbins hard candy. 1 Milk Maid (haven't seen in forever!) 1 Goobers (also haven't seen in forever). 1 bag Mini Oreos. 3 Heath bars (also haven't seen in forever). 2 bags Dr. Seuss fruit snacks. And, I got 8 boxes of Dots, including a box of "Ghost" dots, and 7 Reese's, including one full size! =] I'm very excited...I don't even eat that much candy (last night I only had a crunch bar and a Heath bar), but I've never gotten this much!

Okay. Next section. OBAMA (and the election). I went to go see him in Denver last Sunday...100,000 people!!! It was absolutely amazing. I only got to catch a short glimpse, and I had another girl take a picture, but the energy I felt there was just so amazing. I don't want to jinx anything, especially since I can't vote, but I really do think he's going to win. He just seems to have so much support, and he's such a strong speaker, and he inspires me so much. Tomorrow I'm going to go out and walk door-to-door encouraging people to vote. Also, his 30-minute infomercial was absolutely amazing. I just don't see how anyone who listens to him can't be inspired by him. I also went to the Bidlack/Lamborn debate on Thursday...I don't have the slightest idea what's going to happen in that race, but Bidlack certainly had the most supporters at the debate and I think he really did the best during the debate in getting his ideas out and really telling the people what he'd do.

But, you may be asking yourself why I'm putting so much time into the election when I can't even vote. And, yes, it is certainly true that I can't vote, but if I put time into the election, I can at least say later on that "I was a part of it." I don't know that I've actually made anyone vote for Obama who wouldn't have before, but the feeling is still with me. And you know why I'm so absorbed in this election? It's not just because of Obama, even though I agree with everything he says (except for clean coal technology) and I believe he can do it. It's because I believe WE need a change here in America, that WE deserve better than the past 8 years, and that WE can do it. This is our nation. It's not the nation of Dick Cheney, and we deserve to have a say in what's going on in our country. We need to be able to send a message to Washington that we don't agree. This election decides OUR future, but especially the future of me and all my young adult friends. It's time we do something right with our government, it's time we focus on the important issues, and it's time that we send a message to the world that America is still the great nation, full of leadership and freedom and hope, that it once was. It's time for a change, and we can bring it, even if we don't get Obama elected, the fact that so many people got involved sends a message to Washington that times are changing.

This brings me to a sort of sub-section. The issues in this election. When I was sitting in the debate on Thursday, I began to get a little annoyed about some of the issues that were discussed. One main one, really, but...anyway. I believe the main issues in this election are energy, the economy, and national security. Which, actually, are all connected. It is essential that the next administration research renewable and alternative energy and SINCERELY reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and nonrenewable energy resources. As everyone who hasn't been living in a cave knows, our economy is in shackles, and the next administration is going to have a tough job fixing it. And, our national security is also very important--terrorism certainly has not died, Bin Laden is still out there, and al-Qaeda is getting stronger. So, when all of these main issues and many, many other very important ones are out there, how do we get along to talking about this issue of gay unions/marriages as if it were a top priority? I mean, I'm a complete GLBT rights supporter, and I believe that they should be able to have a UNION (not marriage) and that couples should have the same visiting rights. But, when you really think about it, this issue isn't....really all that important. It does nothing to our economy, nothing to our national security, nothing about the war, nothing about energy...it's just a bunch of freaky Christians saying that gays/lesbians should have no rights. I strongly believe that when voting for a candidate, people shouldn't take this issue into that great of consideration...maybe the last thing if you do at all. Because it definitely won't be the first thing dealt with after January 20th, and...well....there's just so many more issues that should decide this election.

Now, another sub-section, quickly, on abortion. (*WARNING* This will quite possibly offend a lot of people) Now, I hate the pro-life, pro-choice thing, because it makes me sound like I support killing people, but I do have to say that I'm pro-choice. I believe life starts when the baby could live outside the mother's body, and that if an abortion happens before this point, it's not really killing a person. I also believe sincerely that it's the mother's choice, and no one should interfere with that choice. What really gets me off is people who want to ban abortion, birth control, and sex ed in schools, because they don't give anyone any options and seemingly just want to overpopulate the world. But beyond whether I think it's right or wrong to have an abortion, I very much do think it's wrong to ban abortion. Because if we ban abortion, it's just goign to go to the outskirts and hidden places of society. It's not going to go away, women are still going to do it. It's just going to become more and more dangerous for women. Like in Africa, where abortion is illegal in a lot of places. Women still do it in village hospitals, but the majority of them also die during the process. So, making abortion illegal would still kill a lot of infants, and kill all of their mothers in the process.

Okay. Getting away from controversial topics now! I think I just have a few short topics...
Nanowrimo: I've never done it before, and I'm kind of scared. I haven't started yet, and I haven't even fully decided if I'm really going to do it. I'm scared I'll fail or give up or....well, I don't really know. *sigh*
Harry, A History: THREE DAYS!!!!!!!!!
School: Bleh. Stupid French. Stupid Pre-Calculus. I wish I was still in Theatre. At least I still have an A in math!
His Dark Materials: I am now reading this series, thanks to Matt and Brian at Terminus, and I love it. I'm sorry for all those years when I refused to read it.
LeakyCon: I'm now officially going! SQUEE!

Okay, I think that's it, though I'll probably think of something else when I'm done. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this entry...and if you got all the way to the end, thank you! Because that took a long time. (It was 4 pages on Word) Well....Best Wishes! DFTBA! Cheers!

In Your Pants....

2008-10-20T20:23:00.002-06:00

Okay, so, once again, it's been over two weeks since I last posted on here. And rather than boring y'all with the many, boring, monotonous details of my life, I'm just going to go over the things that have happened since October 4th that I deemed relatively exciting, amusing, interesting, or fun.

Let it Snow. Wow. Such a great book....I really needed something to read after Paper Towns. I hadn't realized that all of the stories would be connected. Funnily enough, I read the book last LAST weekend when it was really cold here in Colorado, and really cloudy, and I honestly started to think that it actually WAS Christmas season. But it wasn't. It was October 12th. Anyway, go read it. =] It's good.
Inkdeath. SQUEE!!!! I've been waiting so long for this book! And it was a perfect ending. I mean, I guess I kind of knew nothing too bad would happen since it's a children's book, but there were a lot of places where I got worried and thought there was no way everything would get fixed. I don't know how many of y'all have read the Inkworld trilogy, but if you like fantasy or really just if you like books, you should go read it =] So, I won't tell you any spoilers, but I will tell you this: I will never, EVER look at a magpie the same way again!
Town Hall debate/SNL parody that followed it. Ah, the greatest question: "What don't you know and how will you learn it?" McCain wandering.....Okay, so it was actually a really boring debate, but, as always, SNL managed to do something really funny with it.
Last Presidential debate. Poor Joe the Plumber....who isn't actually a licensed plumber and hasn't paid his taxes. But........OBAMA'S WINNING!!!!!!!!!! SQUEE!!!!!!!!! *does her happy dance* I mean, really, McCain seemed so uncomfortable and unsure =] Yay! November 4th and a good government, here we come!
Long weekends =]
Community service roadless area work on Saturday. Not terribly exciting and I doubt y'all will find it interesting, but I did think it was pretty interesting. I really don't understand why people with ATVs find the need to go off roads and destroy the environment and wilderness area. The area we were at was basically just in Colorado Springs' backyard, and it's such a beautiful wildnerness area with so many great views that NEEDS to be preserved. So, at the very least, I felt good for doing it.
The Grapes of Wrath. Went to go see it yesterday--definitely one of the best plays I've seen here in Colorado Springs. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was such a powerful and profound play put on by some of the best actors I've seen. I'd tell y'all to read the book, except my dad says the book version is a lot less interesting than the play. So...either try it or just hope that some theatre in your area will decide to produce it soon!

Now, onto some "In Your Pants" jokes:
These are all books that I own that I thought would benefit from some "In Your Pants" jokes. Enjoy! (mostly they just made me giggle, but some of them are jokes between me and myself. So sorry if you don't get it)
Collapse....in your pants (collapse of what? Oh dear...)
A Thousand Hills....in your pants (those are some pretty big pants!!!!)
The Giver....in your pants (I wonder who it is and what he's giving out....)
Holes....in your pants (oh, those unsightly holes)
Deep...in your pants (oh dear....I don't think this one needs explanation)
I'm not who you think I am....in your pants (What?!? Then who are you...and why are you in my pants?!)
The Secret Life of Bees....in your pants (Oooo...sounds pretty painful...I wonder if bees are any different when they're in someone's pants...)
Beloved...in your pants (does this really need explanation?)
Peter Pan...in your pants (well, depending on whose pants we're talking about, this could be a problem)
Greek Gods and Heroes....in your pants (this sounds like it could get pretty messy. And pretty crowded. And REALLY uncomfortable...so many swords and lightning bolts and fighting animals and tridents!)
Hope is not a plan...in your pants (Well...sounds like one of those poor guys who just HOPES he'll get a girl...or the other way around...dude, it's just NOT a plan)
The Jungle Book....in your pants (man, that's a lot of animals)

Okay, so I hope y'all found that semi-amusing, at the very least!

Sending y'all happy thoughts! Cheers! DFTBA!

This week (well, the past 8 days)

2008-10-04T19:42:00.004-06:00

Okay, so it appears that now the only time I have to write about my week is on the weekends. So, here goes.

I guess I'll start with last weekend, since I never covered that. On Saturday we went hiking at the Shaft House--a hike I've done 5 times and never fail to be amazed by. It's just so BEAUTIFUL. I swear, the view behind those rocks is worthy of one of those Nature Valley commercials. It's so pristine, and so peaceful, and so unique...it feels like you are a hundred miles away from any other people or form of civilization. Plus, it's so gorgeous with all the fall leaves and colors. Rain was chasing us the whole way back, though. Seriously, it started POURING rain just six minutes after we got into the car and didn't stop until we got back to Colorado Springs!!!! We stopped in Woodland Park for really AMAZING mexican food---I had vegetarian fajitas, and they were SO GOOD!!!! When we got back home, we watched The Last King of Scotland, which I knew was supposed to be a good movie, but still exceeded my expectations. It's such a powerful movie!!! And....I went to bed pretty early, as usual.

Erm....on Sunday I pretty much did a lot of homework. I wrote THREE dialectical journals in the morning!!!!!! GAH!!!!!!! So obnoxious! And...they're a lot harder to write on poetry because you have a lot less to work with. I think they turned out pretty good....but Mr. Treece switched the due date to this Wednesday!!! Curse me and my intense need to get things done early!!!! I could've had a free Sunday!! Anyway, I also did a little bit of French homework, memorized my lines for Arts & Tech, and read some.....and went to bed, obviously.

Umm....well, we started doing our maxes in Weights & Fitness on Monday. O mi goodness!!! I didn't think I was terribly weak, but compared to pretty much the rest of the class, I am. We only finished the push press on Monday, and my max was 35 pounds. *sigh* (more on maxing to come) Anyway, he totally didn't give us enough time to change....basically when the bell rang, so I ran to Chemistry without any shoes on!!!! The homecoming assembly, in which people from the London parade talked (our marching band will be performing in 2009) And in Chemistry, we took some notes and Mr. McGregor did some pretty amazing things with....well, with fire!!!! =] Lunch was, well, lunch. A presentation in French class. Notes in US History. Homework (Arts & Tech lines, questions for French, research for Chemistry), dinner, shower, bed....

Tuesday was 80s Workout Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =] Okay, and so this isn't the greatest picture of me, but I totally went into the whole 80s theme, and had way too much fun: Bad 80s workout day pic Anyway, in Arts & Tech we got our memorization grades, rehearsed some, and then played an improv game (which I didn't participate in) Erm....in math, we got our tests back (I got an 88%, which actually was quite exciting for me) We spent a really long time going over them since the other class was behind, and then I played a few card games with Jenny and Joel. And then Lunch. GAH!!!!!! They closed the library AGAIN!!!! So, Hannah and I decided to sit right outside the library and eat lunch. And the really cool thing, was that A BUNCH of people joined us because they were annoyed too! And......the teachers thought it was a pretty cool thing to do, too! =] SQUEE!! It was a reading day in French, and then, once again we had some really neat discussions in English. =] Right after school I had a fairly quick Personal Project meeting with Ms. Beiger, and she liked my idea, which was good. I got the WEIRDEST looks walking home!!!! Anyway, when I got home I did a portion of math homeowrk, some French homework, and annotated some poems for English. Since it was Tuesday, I obviously had Body Pump, and I went in my 80s workout clothes =] Erm....and I've been sick all week (since Friday, and I'm still sick). But it was worst on Tuesday, so I fell asleep REALLY early. And then, of course, got to sleep in on Wednesday.

So, of course, we were maxing again in Weights on Wednesday. My group did squats, and, omigod, was that painful or what?! Okay, and so I got up to 100 pounds....but that was without going parallel, evidently. *sigh* So, my legs already burning, I had to go down to 70 pounds in weight before I was able to go parallel and come back up =[ And, I didn't even have time to have Mr. West watch, so I had to redo it on Friday. *sighs again* Okay, so in Chemistry we shared research and took notes. Lunch, grammar in French, and then US History.....And then knowledge bowl. Home--more annotating poems (since I'd barely done it before), french homework, and writing my declaration of independence from stereotypes for US History. Cook dinner, eat, mess around on the computer, read, shower, and bed fairly early once again because I had a horrible headache.

Umm...On Thursday we performed our scene in Arts & Tech. I think it went pretty well--I got a 94%, anyway. Mmm....notes and then practice of logarithms in math. Lunch......We had a "pow wow" in French, in which we talked about our ridikulously enormous class. It was good, I guess, but will end up totally pointless if people don't start respecting her more. Then we did more grammar, and she actually TAUGHT us this time, which was good. Really, really positive change =] Umm...vocab test and discussion in English. Then I went home and did some french and math homework....I was really sore that whole day. I think that putting all that weight on my back and shoulders during squats really messed up my back for a little while, because it was quite painful to bend over. I managed to get through Body Pump pretty well, though. Then....the VP debate!!! (we ate dinner in front of the TV so as not to miss anything) Biden actually did really well =] Exceeded MY expectations.

Yesterday we continued doing maxes in Weights--I showed Mr. West the 70 pounds I could do on squats, feeling really pathetic in the process. Caitlyn and I then moved onto the chest press, where I proceeded to feel even more pathetic when she got 55 and I could only do 35. Urgh!!! The 35 was so easy, but I just couldn't go down all the way with 40 pounds!!!!!!!! We practiced our power clean, but ran out of time to do much of anything but the technique. We finished up the notes/talked way too much about gasoline issues in Chemistry, then wrote down the lab we'd be doing on Tuesday. Lunch, because that happens every day. More grammar in French. Then we took notes and did a little work on our political cartoons in US History--well, I actually didn't get ANYWHERE, but that's okay. I guess.

And.......THE SCHOOL SOMEHOW GOT AN ADVANCE COPY OF PAPER TOWNS!!!!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair during lunch when I looked over and saw it. So, other than dinner/cooking and a little homework, that's all I did yesterday evening: read Paper Towns. I finished it in 3 hours and 15 minutes (and was up until 11:15 finishing it, meaning I didn't fall asleep until after midnight). O mi god. It's BEAUTIFUL. Seriously. I mean, I love John and he writes beautifully, but somehow Paper Towns still managed to exceed my expectations by being even more than awesome...It was so true, and so touching, and....well, unfortunately, most other people have to wait another 11 days, and I feel so blessed that I got to read it early. =] John, I LOVE YOU!!!!

So, this morning I hung out on the computer, read quite a bit, cleaned my room, and wrote in my quote book. Then I ate lunch and read some....and then I spent just about two and a half hours finishing Jean de Florette for French and looking up the vocab words I didn't know since we have to turn that in. It was only about 45 pages, but I'm a lot slower reading French and it takes an awfully long time to look up all those words!!!! Er....then I helped Leslie make enchiladas, ate dinner, and........now I'm doing this. While everyone else is at homecoming. *sigh*

Well, so I feel like an exceedingly boring person. Reading Paper Towns early is definitely exciting news, though!!!! I think all I have "planned" for tomorrow is more homework (dialectical journal #4 and political cartoon) and grocery shopping. And then the week starts over all again. Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, I'm still sick. And I'm also incredibly sore from maxing for the past week.

Go preorder Paper Towns if you're insane and haven't already! DFTBA!!!!!! Cheers!

100th post!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-26T16:44:00.002-06:00

SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *releases the balloons and streamers and confetti* *brings out the cake* Okay, so obviously neither of those things actually happened (though cake sounds good, doesn't it? Or maybe pie...Peanut butter pie! Yum!) But it's pretty exciting. And it took long enough, really. I don't have any real special way to celebrate my 100th post...Since it's not videos, I can't really compose an entry that has bits and pieces of all my other entries. Though, if you think about it, all my other entries had letters, and so does this one. So I'll just try to use every single letter in this entry. =] On to other things...

First, this video is absolutely hilarious! Hank, I love you!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqXX6kuk_XQ

Second, I'm going to finally cover last weekend. Well, on Friday, two of Dad and Leslie's political friends came over for dinner, and it was actually really fun =] Great conversation, and really good food. Saturday I got up at 5:30 and we left around 6:00 for Mt. Bross/Lincoln. I was pretty tired, but I didn't sleep because I've actually found that I have more energy for hiking if I don't sleep on the car ride...I don't know why, but I do. It was REALLY cold and there was snow pretty much everywhere. At the beginning I was especially cold, but it was made better by my dad giving me extra socks to put on and the fact that the trail crossed over into the sunlight for the ascent up Bross. It's definitely a lot tougher hiking in the snow, but we made pretty good time up Bross (and were the first people on the summit from that trail that day), where we sat down only briefly before deciding that the weather looked good enough to continue over to Lincoln (we didn't stay long on Bross' WIDE summit because it was pretty windy and we wanted to get moving). It didn't take very long at all to get over to Lincoln, which had a short semi-steep climb up to the summit. We stayed longer there, and there were actually OTHER people on the summit!!!! One of them was nice enough to take a picture of us (we took a picture of him, too =]). But, it started snowing/hailing just as we left the summit. And going back down Lincoln was really, really slippery....actually, going down the mountain was really slippery pretty much until we reached the edge of Democrat to head down the trail--a lot of snow that a lot of people had walked on. I believe we were quite a bit slower going down than going up because....well, for me it was because I didn't want to fall and break anything. Once we got more into the big rocks and then the flat trail, we were a lot faster, though. =] Despite the cold and the ice and the snow, I had a LOT of fun.

Dad and I stopped in Fairplay for a late lunch (enchiladas!!!) and then headed home....I don't really remember what I did until dinner....I was really tired. We had risotto, finally!!!!! And then we watched the double episode of the X-Files, which explained pretty much the ENTIRE show. But I was falling asleep during a lot of the show, and went to bed pretty early.

I slept in far too late on Sunday, but somehow was still in a tired daze as we walked through the BX/Commissary--I did finally remember to buy soap though (that probably doesn't sound exciting, but it is). After we got back and I ate some lunch (because I had a granola bar for "breakfast), I did homework for the REST of the day. SERIOUSLY. I had to do several different things for French, revise my Chemistry lab report, finish a bunch of Pre-Calculus homework (which my dad and I spent about two hours on, maybe), and write a paragraph for English (which I ended up doing Monday during lunch). We had good cabbage soup for dinner (yeah, it doesn't sound good, but it IS), but that was the only interruption in my afternoon of homework. Needless to say, I was stressed and super-tired. *sigh*

Monday and Tuesday were taken up by school and more homework....On Wednesday I had my Emily Dickinson poetry presentation, which didn't go so well but we managed to get an 84 on anyway and didn't really affect my grade. Surprisingly, I didn't have pretty much ANY homework that night! It was actually really unnerving.....Yesterday we played dodgeball for about 45 minutes in weights and fitness, which was really fun even though I'm really bad at throwing the ball. We did a bunch of stuff with equations in Chemistry, which I'm beginning to really, truly understand. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt my head, though! I didn't have much homework last night, either--just a stupid French grammar sheet and studying.

This morning I woke up at 5:30 to go to a review session for pre-calculus, which turned out to not be as great as I expected it to be. But I guess it did help me to review the stuff right before the test, because I remembered a lot of stuff for the test. And, we had a really fun English class (once the vocab quiz was over) and discussed a lot of interesting topics =] I don't have nearly as much homework this weekend as I did last weekned, but I do have 4 dialectical journals due on Thursday, and I want to finish at least 3 of them if not all 4 because I know I won't want to be doing them during the week, but we'll see how that goes since we're going hiking tomorrow. And I have to actually plan out my personal project since I have my mentor meeting with Ms. Bieger on Tuesday.

I don't have much more interesting news....Umm....we've started watching Seinfeld on DVD, and I'd forgotten how funny it was!!!!

Okay, I'm pretty sure I used every letter! =] Soo........presidential debate tonight, hiking tomorrow (I'm pretty sure), and dialectical journals to look forward to (I guess).

I hope everyone's doing well! Cheers!

WAY too cool

2008-09-21T21:16:00.002-06:00

Oh my god. I'm on a PotterCast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sound kind of like an idiot, but whatever. I'm. On. POTTERCAST. Mmm.........it just sounds so cool!!!!!!!! Ahem. PotterCast 165, roughly around 1:21:00. (Yeah, I checked) I can't believe I got the chance to play that game!!!

Seriously. That just cheered me up so incredibly after a very hard day. Thank you so much for releasing that today, guys.

I slept in until about 10:00 this morning because I was so tired from the school week/hiking yesterday......and, somehow, even though I got about 11 hours of sleep last night, I've been exhausted all day. We went to the comissary in the morning, but I spent about 6 or 7 hours this afternoon/evening working on homework. And I still haven't written the paragraph on how lines 62-87 of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock fit into the rest of the poem. Because I have NO IDEA. I mean, I have a vague, stupid idea, but I want to talk to Joel maybe tomorrow and then write it during lunch. It IS only a paragraph, after all. Besides, I'm too tired to write anything of quality. Because I did a bunch of stupid precalculus problems for hours today....I figured out all but one with the help of my dad (thank you) and that one problem....well, there's something weird about it and the answer in the book. So......I'm going to take a shower and go to bed real soon, cause I'm awfully tired despite getting so much sleep last night

I'll really try to make another detailed post about my weekend tomorrow. I just had to express my excitement about PotterCast and BEING ON IT!!!!!!!!! =]

As always, happy thoughts all around, and best wishes to those returning to the areas affected by Hurricane Ike. Can you believe it's already the week? *sigh* Well, Cheers!

Happy things!!! (and some NOT so happy things)

2008-09-16T19:16:00.002-06:00

First, I am sincerely sorry that I haven't updated this in about three weeks for the...maybe two of you who read this. I know everyone hates this excuse, and I hate it too, but it's the truth: I've been busy. School started, and I managed to keep up okay for a little while. But then school ACTUALLY started. Meaning, quite simply, that I was bombarded with tests and essays and projects and homework and quizzes and reports and....GAH. For example this week: History test yesterday, Factor quiz and Poetry project due today, French fairytale due tomorrow, Vocab quiz and recitation of a memorized French fable on Thursday, and Chemistry lab report due Friday. Plus, I have a "report" on a poet due next Wednesday that I've been working on, and a bunch of other math and french and everything homework. I like school, really, I do, but I hate Rampart and I'm getting peeved at my French teacher and really, really peeved at about half of my peers who don't give a crap....ANYWAY....

I'm actually going to start with the not so happy things so that I can end this entry on a happy note.

My great aunt died about a month ago. Actually, I was told this about two hours before my presentation at Terminus, which didn't help me prepare. I don't know why I didn't tell y'all before, but I just really needed about a month to accept it on a very personal level. Because while I didn't see her in person very much in my lifetime since she lived in Canada and later in Poland and Russia, I felt extraordinarily close to her--much closer than to even my grandpa on my mom's side. She was an amazing lady in every way, who first taught me about good food and the value of life. And....well, she didn't deserve cancer. The only thing I can say is that at least she didn't suffer long. Rest in Peace, Susan.
Mmm....so my stepmom had an event on Saturday. Meaning that for about the past two weeks I've felt practically invisible when I'm at home. And it didn't help my stress levels at all.
Obviously, the projects, etc, which I already mentioned.
Still suffering from Post-Terminus depression. Really?! Shouldn't it have gone away by now? *sigh* I actually started crying on the 7th because I couldn't believe it had been a month.
My iPod, my dear Luna, broke. NOooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! ALL my wrock music was on there. I mean, yes, it's still on the computer, but now I don't have wrock to cheer me up anywhere...I have to be right by my computer. =[

Happy things now!!!

Democratic National Convention=LOVE. Total, complete love. I'm so excited for this election, and so upset I can't vote.
I also got to walk around with my dad the weekend of the 6th and 7th in our neighborhood for the Democratic party. It felt GOOD, strangely....
Saturday Night Live parody of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton this past Saturday. Really, if you haven't seen it yet, go to Saturday Night Live's website and WATCH IT. Unless you support Palin in which case (1) DON'T and (2) you're crazy. Anyway, it's now my official "cheer up Kat" video. Whenever I'm upset, I'm going to go laugh my butt off watching that video.
It's Hayley's birthday!!! SQUEEE!!!!!!!!! I know I've never met her, but she is awesome, one of my favorite people in the world, and I hope one day to meet her in person or....read one of her books that I'm sure will be published.
Weights class. I know it might sound weird, but weights class is so good. The one at school is exhausting, but I always feel really good afterwards--tired, but good. And Body Pump always makes me feel almost unbelievably better after a day of brain-numbing at school and hours of homework.
ONE MONTH UNTIL PAPER TOWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, summary of my life. I'm not even going to try to catch y'all up on everything I've been doing over the past three weeks. If you really care for some strange reason (like having a telephone booth fall on your head), then go ahead and ask. Otherwise, happy thoughts. Cheers!

Happy Birthday John Green and Frak!!!!!!

2008-08-24T17:37:00.002-06:00

Squee!!!!!!! Both absolutely amazing people who have brought so much to my life. John, with his amazing books, and Frak with his amazing commentary on PotterCast and love of Pellegrino. =] I wish both of them a VERY happy birthday....and, I am going to help Hank make John happy....more on that later, when it isn't supposed to be secret anymore!

You may have noticed that I only posted two entries yesterday...and that's because I decided against posting a huge ranting/complaining post about my sister and her "superiority" and family issues and all that. I really do need someone to talk to about it who doesn't know my family but who will just sit there and listen. But I don't think ranting to my journal will help in this case, because I need someone to give advice and be comforting and all that. So...if you're up for that, let me know...Skype: lunasnargle E-mail: kdancingintherain@yahoo.com

Erm...so...this weekend. Yesterday morning I....uh, I'm pretty sure I spent it reading and hanging on the computer when I should've been doing homework. Leslie and I also went to Barnes and Noble, where I bought The Road by Cormac McCarthy (which I needed for school but also really WANT to read) and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (which was only 3.99 and Leslie always seems willing to buy good books for me....) Around 1:20 we left for theater (and got there about half an hour early, during which time I read some of An Abundance of Katherines). The first show was As You Like It. Absolutely hilarious, especially since they portrayed it sort of in modern times...It was funny seeing the second scene and remembering Ian in a fat suit as a sumo wrestler, though! After the first show we went to the Indian restaurant and waited for quite a while for Elyse. But, in the end, it was worth it. My Panneer Masala was really good, they have fantastic naan, and I even got to have Cookies and Cream ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and I probably haven't had actual ice cream (not sorbet or gelato) for about a year! The second show was Venus and Adonis. It wasn't as interesting as As You Like It, but, again, the portrayal in modern times made it funny, and the ending was beautiful. =]

Today I've been doing all the homework and studying I should have been doing yesterday....Oops. We also went to the BX/Commissary, King Soopers, and OfficeMax. So I'm now pretty dang sure that I have everything I need for school, either supply wise or food wise. Yay! But....I made flashcards for my Arts & Tech vocab test, my Chemistry test on the Periodic table, and printed out a map of France so I can study the provinces for my quiz tomorrow (so pointles...) I also typed and sort of rewrote my English paragraph, but I'll do it more thoroughly tomorrow. And took notes for US History now that I finally have a binder for that class! *sigh* I need to continue studying for my Chemistry and French quizzes tomorrow, though....

I can't believe I have school tomorrow! I've recalled the main reason I hate school: I'M ALWAYS TIRED!!!!! Seriously, no matter now much sleep I try to get, the work is draining, and I never really feel as awake as I do during the summer.

I don't know how many times I've thought the phrase, "Eff this, I'm going to Hogwarts," recently. A lot. Definitely. I think I'd have more friends there and a lot more fun...anyone want to join me in the quest for a happier life at Hogwarts? =]

So........Happy Birthday again to John and Frak!

I hope y'all are having a better time than I am right now, and I'm sending what happy thoughts I can y'alls way right now. Cheers!

Looking for Alaska

2008-08-23T21:29:00.001-06:00

Oh. My. GOD.

This is probably going to sound really cheesy or something, but...This book changed my life. I'm completely serious in saying this, too. It's a long story, but I connect with this book so much. And it made me cry like no book other than Deathly Hallows.

John, I loved you before, because you were sweet and funny and, with Hank, started the amazing Nerdfighters group. I had way too much fun watching you on YouTube. But....I couldn't ever find your books at my Barnes and Noble (which was weird...) So I was resigned to thinking, "Hey, John's amazing, and so many people love his books, they must be good." But I couldn't ever truly say, "John Green is an amazing author," because (*blushes*) I hadn't actually read your books.

Anyway, after Terminus I've been thinking even more about his books and how I wished I could have gone to the Nerdfighters meet-up on 8/8/08 at the library. And, like fate, I was sitting in the school library with two of my friends eating lunch on Tuesday. Staring at the shelves, there, before me, was a black hardcover book with purple smoke on it. Oh my god, I thought, Is that REALLY Looking for Alaska?? It was. I recall saying to my friend, "I can't believe they have this," and then immediately checking out the book, which is something special in itself because I NEVER check books out from the library. Like, ever.

So, I started in on Wednesday and I was done by Friday. At one point, it was so good that I was overwhelmed and upset that school is started now and I couldn't stay up all night to finish the book. I cried so much during the book, and I related so much to the (SPOILER!!!!!!!!!! BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...........) death of a really good friend and how it could physically make you hurt inside. But the book was just so amazingly beautiful....It was awe-inspiring, and, like I said, a little overwhelming because I KNOW I'll never in my life write a story for young adults as well as John's book.

I'm completely serious in saying that Looking for Alaska changed my life. It did, in so many ways that I can't really even explain and that probably wouldn't make sense to anyone even if I could. So, John, you are AMAZING. And I love you.

Summary of first week of school

2008-08-23T10:09:00.003-06:00

(Just FYI I have a lot of thoughts today, which I will be splitting up into three separate journal entries, possibly four if I want to say something else....more, maybe? Anyway, this is the first.)

So, first FULL week of school. I think that one extra Friday last week was incredibly stupid, and I didn't do ANYTHING work-wise that day. So yes, first week of school.

To be completely honest, it's kind of...stunk. I mean, it hasn't been all bad, of course, but I'm not happy at Rampart AT ALL. Plus, I feel like I've changed a lot as a person this summer, what with Girl Scout camp and then Terminus. I mean, I've realized that a lot of the people I considered my friends truly are people who just talked to me because I was there. Not everyone, of course, but it was an interesting discovery.

Also, I'm not a big fan of my classmates. Or the IB program in general. They claim that it's so much harder and so much more work and all, but as more and more people who can't deal with the workload enter the IB program, I feel that the level of work and the quality of the lessons, etc, has declined. Or maybe I just don't like the way that the IB program is run. Okay, so I try not to be egotistical and it is EXTREMELY rare that I compliment myself or try to put myself above anyone else. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't think I was at a much higher learning and thinking level than a lot of my peers. There are probably people who are smarter (especially in math), but I think I have a lot higher level in thinking and analyzing and all that. I'm not saying I'm a genius, because I'm certainly not. Believe me, I've gotten plenty of low grades, but I always work really hard to make up for those. I just truly believe that I'd be a lot happier at Fountain Valley or some other private school in which my peers would be closer to my level, some above and some below (at least I hope so). Plus, at FVS or someplace else, I think I'd be getting a much more diverse high school experience and be learning a lot more about real life. Overall, I do think I'd be much happier.

It's almost worse knowing that I did get into Fountain Valley last year and that I could be going there right now if we'd been able to scrounge up the money. It would almost be easier if I hadn't been accepted, because then I wouldn't be fantasizing about what I could be doing there right now if we'd gotten enough financial aid. It's just so HARD. =[

I'm also not a big fan of my classes. I'll summarize my feelings on them:
MYP Arts and Tech: Well, I actually like this class so far, the theatre part, and I guess it's a good class to be in.....I don't have anything against this class, definitely.
Pre-Calculus: Well, I hate math, as people who've known me for a while are fully aware. And as awesome as Mr. Perry is, there are some things he doesn't teach us because he thinks we can learn them out of the book. But we're using a Higher-Level math book for some stupid reason and it doesn't really TEACH. So I've been getting real frustrated when I do my homework.
French IV: GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! 34 freaking people are in that class!!!! It's way too big, way to chaotic, and the teacher speaks English half the time, which isn't going to help us with our speaking and understanding French. I don't think ANY class should have that many people in it, but especially not a language class where the students generally need a lot of specific help.
English: Actually, this is the one class that I'm really enjoying so far this year. I've only had three classes of it, but I really like the analyzing we've been doing of short stories and the new way I'm learning to write and all that. Plus, Mr. Treece is a really good teacher, I think.
Weights and Fitness: Well, I really like this class, too, but since it's a gym class, that doesn't factor into my liking of classes and the IB curriculum. I love the exercise we're doing, and Mr. West is awesome, but I don't think it counts in my factoring.
Chemistry: Mmm...well, mostly I just think Mr. McGregor is really...strange. And Chemistry is probably my least favorite of the different sciences. Plus, I've only had this class twice, so I don't have a full opinion on it yet.
US History: Erm....I mean, I love history, though I'd much rather study International history. Mrs. Gillette seems okay so far. In this class, it's mostly that I have a lot of classmates who have no clue what they're talking about in discussions. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying they should say what they KNOW and what they MEAN, instead of trying to sound all smart.

Basically, I'm not happy being a sophomore at Rampart High School. I know I really shouldn't be complaining because Rampart is a great school on a national scale, I just don't think it's for me. I'd like something a lot more personal. Still, at least I have the opportunity to go to a school, and a good school, unlike an awful lot of people around the world. I am thankful that I'm at a good school, but that doesn't stop me from wishing I was at Fountain Valley. *sigh*

Well, Cheers, I guess....

Terminus, part six: Sunday 10 August 2008

2008-08-18T15:54:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I actually got to sleep in on Sunday!!!  Leslie woke me up when she went to go running around 7:00, but I stayed in bed until around 9:00, half-asleep, until I finally decided to get up and take a shower. First real shower, too—one that wasn’t at 12:30 at night! I took forever to dry my hair, though! GAH!!!! Sometimes I really hate having thick hair—I dried it with the hair dryer for about 20 minutes and then let it air-dry for another 20 or so minutes, and then straightened it. Leslie and I headed down to the vender room around 10:40 to buy me a Ravenclaw tie that actually had the right colors! Squee!!!!

I was hoping to get into Cody’s roundtable about sorting, but it was full even though I arrived more than 10 minutes early, so I went to Julia’s roundtable about Wizard Rock. So, I obviously don’t know how Cody’s would have been, but I had a genuinely good time at Julia’s—all of us there, naturally, were huge wrock fans, and Matt even came in for the last half to talk to us. I was still really disappointed that I didn’t get to go to Wrock Chicago, but I’ve heard so much about it and been around all the wrock bands there that I feel pretty close to having been there!!! Sadly, I had to leave the roundtable about half an hour early because I was going out to lunch with Leslie’s sister, niece, and nephew. It wasn’t too bad—I had some pretty plain pasta and got a pretty long time to calm myself down for my presentation.

Presentation. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I mean, I’d seen how nice the audience was to other presenters, and I knew that Harry Potter fans in general are pretty nice. I was still a little nervous, of course, because I didn’t know the people I was presenting to and how they’d accept a paper written by a 15-year-old. A pretty small number of people showed up, which was disappointing at first, but it turned out to be really nice because I left about 10 minutes for “questions,” but that period turned into a semi-roundtable with really good discussion. And everyone there seemed to genuinely enjoy the paper, though I can’t be sure…Either way, I left the room very happy.

I got Leslie to take over my volunteer shift for an hour so that I could go to the Unplugged Common room session with my favorite bands….that I never ended up finding!!!! It was pretty annoying, because that was my main chance to talk to Lauren and Kristina and all and to buy merchandise from them. Instead, I walked around searching for quite a while, bought a DVD of the Wizard Rockumentary and then found Mike and one of his friends (who was playing the piano). I talked to Mike for….well, for a while, and then I had to go back upstairs to finish out the last hour of my volunteer session. Really boring, because I wasn’t particularly interested in the presentation and the presenter did the powerpoint herself. So I pretty much sat outside in the hallway reading through the ENTIRE Terminus program, and then waited what seemed like forever for the AV people to pick up the laptop and projector.

Well….I was kind of in a bad mood after that because I hadn’t had the most exciting day, hadn’t seen very many of my friends, and I really didn’t want it to be the last night. But my spirits were lifted when we found a really good Mexican restaurant to eat at for dinner—enchiladas!! Then, that night was the Bon Voyage Ball, which I’m going to attempt to write a separate entry about…so, stay tuned!

First day of 10th grade....

2008-08-15T17:04:00.003-06:00

TODAY. Gah!!!!! SO stupid to start school on a Friday, really. I mean, they just had to take that last weekend away from us....it's so weird to hear teachers say, "So, give this to me on Monday." on the FIRST day of school!!!

Anyway, the first day was....well, it definitely wasn't a great first day of school. For a few reasons:
1. Well, first, because I'm still pretty upset that I can't go to Fountain Valley this year even though I got in just because they didn't give us enough financial aid. I still think I'd be so, so much happier there, around peers who share my love of learning and interests and...well, not to sound egotistical, but my levels of intelligence, really. I wish I was going there so much, and going to school today and seeing how IDIOTIC most of my peers are really upset me.
2. Also, I haven't stopped missing Terminus. I don't have many friends, and only about two that I'd call "true friends." Going to school today and remembering that reminded me of all my lovely friends from Terminus who love me and understand me and don't make fun of me....Without fully realizing it, I had three things from Terminus with/on me today: My Aeolian University messenger bag, my trade winds track jacket, and my red PotterCast shirt. And, of course, no one at my school understood what they meant, and that got me a little teary-eyed.
3. I hate Rampart. Okay, so that's probably an overstatement, but I do dislike it: The stupid assemblies, the crowded hallways, constantly getting bumped around and shoved, and the apathy of a large amount of my peers.
4. It rained ALL day today. And my sister's car battery died and we didn't think we should jump it in the rain, so we walked to my dad's house. In other words, I was in the rain for about 25 minutes. I was completely soaked--my hair made it look like I'd just gotten out of a shower!!! *sigh* And I was also really freezing...my feet are still pretty cold. Come on!!! It's August 15th, and it's not allowed to be this cold!!!
5. Well, I'm still pretty exhausted from my lack of sleep at Terminus and waking up at 5:50 today didn't make me happy. My headache made a return in the morning, but luckily went away by the afternoon....

Anyway, I really do miss Terminus so much. I'm listening to "I Found a Loophole" right now and it's making me teary-eyed remembering how we all were jumping around to it at Terminus and here no one understands how amazing it is! *hugs all her Terminus friends*

Well...Cheers, I suppose!

Anger on one side, happiness on the other???

2008-08-14T16:45:00.002-06:00

Anger. Yes. DEFINITE anger at WB for moving the opening date for Half-Blood Prince to July 17, 2009. I mean, WTF?!?! There's no LEGITIMATE reason. They say the writer's strike, but that ended so long ago. And then there's the "a summer release date is better." Er....well, a holiday one works out just as well usually, and three other HP movies came out around Thanksgiving just fine. And they were obviously done filming and ready to release in November. So evidentally WB just wants more money....and a BUNCH of angry Harry Potter fans!!!! Cody, Shoshana, and I are planning to write a bunch of letters to WB. =] And start a facebook group/notes/myspace group...to have global cyber domination. Muahahahaha!!!!! Seriously. I'm so pissed at WB right now.

Strangely, just when this news came out I also checked my schedule and saw that I have a new English teacher, which is very Squeeful news.

So, news that makes me very angry at the same time news that makes me very happy? Odd. Very odd.

Anyway, let me know if you'd like to participate in our campaign against WB.

Terminus, part five: Post-Terminus depression

2008-08-14T15:07:00.002-06:00

So. I’ve been home for…about three days now, estimated. And it still doesn’t feel any less weird to be home. I miss everyone and everything about Terminus so much it actually hurts. Or….well, that headache is actually probably because I’ve been so sleep-deprived and listened to so much loud music. But I miss that.

I’m not kidding when I say I feel like I have Post-Terminus Depression. I’ve been really sleepy, which is probably mostly because of my lack of sleep. But I’ve also been awfully lazy (I haven’t been outside since Monday!!!) and nothing that I normally do during the summer interests me. Reading….well, it only interests me for about 30 minutes at a time post-terminus, whereas beforehand I’d get lost in books for hours. I don’t feel like watching TV or a movie or hanging out with IRL friends. Mostly I’ve been moping around on youtube and facebook, writing and listening to wrock.

Seriously. It feels so strange to be home. I don’t have people around me constantly, and I don’t have to be running around trying to get to a presentation or meet-up with friends. I can’t walk downstairs and see a bunch of people dressed in robes. I get weird looks when I wear Wrock/Leaky/PotterCast/Terminus shirts or carry a wand. No one at home quite understands me the way all y’all from Terminus do……

I don’t really know how to explain how upset I am that Terminus is over. The feeling is so overwhelming that it’s hard to put into words, and even if I managed, it would probably diminish the feeling. My stepmom says she “knows I miss my Harry Potter friends,” but I don’t think she fully understands. Only my amazing friends from Terminus truly understand my feelings after Terminus, how I miss even the crowded elevators and waiting to get into roundtables and staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning.

I still have a headache and the sniffles (not a full-blown cold like some people). I’m sleep-deprived and still trying to get used to being back at home….But everything that’s come out of Terminus, even the headache and sleepiness, are one hundred percent worth it. Because the friends I made, the love I felt, the memories I’ve taken away, the inside jokes that were made, and all the joy totally make everything worth it.

I miss y’all so, so much!!!!! And right now I think there’s a 50% chance I can go to LeakyCon….if I can find a chaperone. Anyone willing? *hugs all her Terminus friends tightly and refuses to let go*

(Note: entries on Sunday, the Ball, and Monday to come when I feel like writing again.)

Terminus, part four: Saturday 9 August 2008

2008-08-14T15:06:00.000-06:00

Well, I woke up at about 6:45. Partly because I thought we were going running again and partly because I needed to go to the bathroom (lol). I couldn’t fall back asleep after that, and there wouldn’t have been much point anyway….

At 8:00 there was the Squee Chat coffee, which was really fun and quite amusing because all of us had had about 4 hours of sleep or less, so were mostly too tired to be real happy that “early” in the morning. But, again, I got to talk to a lot of people. At about 8:40 I went to check in for volunteering and then went to the Joliet room. Well….It turned out that the first presentation was cancelled, so I sat in the room half-asleep for a while, and walked around the halls until 9:45. Both presentations after that were genuinely interesting, though. There was one about learning/teaching at Hogwarts that, being a complete geek, I found much too fascinating. And the one after that was about families and fandom. What I loved about it was that it was a very unconventional way that the mother and daughter presented the paper. Very entertaining, quite touching, and funny overall. But then I had to wait for someone to come get the laptop and projector—in the end I actually went and got someone because I was running late for my intersection at noon. *sigh*

So, yeah, then I had my Luna/Neville intersection. Squee!!!! It was a lot of fun, because every person there seriously connected with me and how I generally feel when in the outside world: one of the adults even handed us out sheets of paper about Adult Ids that I definitely fit. Not one hundred percent, but it felt so amazing to eat lunch with a large amount of people who understood me and connected with me. I talked a lot to Madeleine/Athena, with whom I became really close to. Oh, and it didn’t hurt that the food at The Yolk was absolutely amazing!!!!

Madeleine and I went to an intersection on Dumbledore’s Army at 2:00, which was great. Then we snuck out a little early to go to the second half of Reading and Rocking out: The Culture and Future of Wizard Rock. The Panel included Lauren Fairweather, Alex Carpenter, and Matt Maggiacomo, and it was great—Matt and Alex gave me that final push to FINALLY read the His Dark Materials series because even they said it was a great series and that IT MADE THEM CRY!!! =] So, yeah, definitely reading it now! Ahem, but after that my cell phone semi-died….after I’d gone all the way up to the hotel room to recharge it, I realized the logical thing: just take out the battery and put it back in…Aaaaaaaand….yeah, it started working again. So I then walked all the way back downstairs (okay, rode the elevator, but I was genuinely annoyed) to go to the Luna roundtable. Definitely the best roundtable I went to all weekend!!! I absolutely loved discussing Luna and talking to people who, like me, see her as a real person and a role model instead of someone who’s just really eccentric.

Well, after that I went to dinner with Leslie at a diner….the service was horrible, it took way too long to get our food, and the ravioli I got wasn’t even that amazing. Anyway, we hurried back to the hotel so I could get in line for the Live PotterCast. Oh my geez. That line was SO long. I suppose I needn’t have worried, since I got a seat in the front row off to the right side of the stage anyway. It wasn’t a great angle for taking pictures of PotterCast, but great for taking pictures of the little Wrock sideshows. The Mudbloods played, and at first only me, Julia, and Cody were dancing, but then everyone else started! Yay! Trend-starter! (just kidding) But, SQUEE!!! I got to participate in the game “Guess That Book” and I got it right! So great, because I was so worried that the ONE I got would be the ONE I didn’t know. So, I got to be on stage, got a button with Frak’s drawing of a Ravenclaw tie, and I might possibly be on the podcast when it comes out (I’m not sure if they put everything from the Live shows onto the podcasts). I loved the live PotterCast so much—I got my yellow PotterCast shirt signed by all four of them and got a very happy picture with Frak.

At 9:30 was Melissa’s reading, but I decided to head over to the room a little early to get a semi-good seat. Two authors were there before her, one who did a trivia book and another who wrote a book on the fandom. But………It was, of course, Melissa’s reading that I was waiting for! And, O my god, was it amazing. I managed to record it, and she is a brilliant writer. A wonderful mix of light-hearted jokes and touching comments about the release. I honestly almost started crying because it was so beautiful…Melissa DID start crying because of our reaction: we cheered for about 5 minutes afterwards, and then more when she read us the foreword. I felt really bad for the guy who was after Melissa, because no one wanted to stay: We all wanted to talk to Melissa, hug her, congratulate her, thank her, and ask questions. A small group of fans plus the Leaky staff headed over to the elevator lobby on the third floor and we just TALKED for about an hour and a half. We got another small excerpt of the first time she met Jo (hilarious). And, can I just say that I LOVE Melissa?!?! She was so sweet about all our questions and so humble for a person who runs the biggest Harry Potter website and has interviewed Jo oh-so-many times. Anyway, I told her that if she can’t get a book tour going, she’s welcome to stay at my house, sign my book, and I’ll cook for her. =] I CAN’T WAIT for this book to come out!!!!

Okay, so the final event of Saturday actually technically happened on Sunday. I watched the midnight movie, Goblet of Fire. There is definitely no better way to watch a Harry Potter movie than to watch it with other big Harry Potter fans who love to make fun of them just as much as you do. I love making fun of the movies, and it was so amusing/fun to hear what other people said. And it was AWESOME to just be able to shout things out during the movie, have people understand the jokes, and laugh….oh, and NOT get thrown out of the theater! ;) So, I went to bed around, oh, 3:30 or 4:00.

Terminus, part three: Friday 8 August 2008

2008-08-14T14:27:00.000-06:00

Well, I woke up at 6:30 in the morning on Friday, which turned out to be a bad idea: I’d only managed to get about 5 hours of sleep (maybe less?) and the pattern continued/disintegrated throughout the rest of the weekend. The reason I woke up at this horrible, horrible time was to go running with Leslie around the track. Which was good, I suppose. Woke me up at first….

Anyway, around 7:45 I headed down to the lobby to pick up breakfast (a smoothie) from Leslie and then to head over to the Lakeside Green Lounge to buy coffee and go to the Conference Newbies Intersection. I was a little shy at first, but Jen had done up a bingo that pretty much required you to meet and talk to people, so it ended up being really fun. Then we all kind of headed up to our various floors to go to programming….I changed my mind at the last minute not to go to the Compendium Submissions presentation but rather to go to a roundtable about the trio. I don’t know how the presentation would’ve been, but the roundtable was great! It started my weekend love for roundtables….and this continued to the roundtable I went to on Neville later at 11:00 (I had a break from 10-10:45 to go get Leslie). The roundtables are amazing because everyone gets the chance to speak and join in the discussion. People are interested in what you have to say and never tell you that you’re wrong or your opinion is bad. I love having discussions, which is why I’m on the Lounge, and it was really nice to be able to hear someone respond to your comments immediately instead of waiting until the next time someone got online. Both roundtables were fascinating: I contributed a lot to both and got new perspectives and ideas from both of them.

At noon I went to Cheryl Klein’s keynote presentation. First we all ate lunch, which was phenomenal: really good cheesy pasta that I mixed red peppers into, salad, and amazing carrot cake. I got into talking to several of the other people at our table, including one woman from Denver. I don’t know exactly how long it was until Cheryl started speaking….maybe 30 minutes during which we all ate the amazing lunch and talked. But Cheryl’s presentation was AMAZING!!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed learning her journey with the Potter books/phenomenon, and she was really sweet, too. Another great thing is that she managed to include a relatively large amount of jokes in the presentation, so it was light-hearted, not just serious “these are the facts.” I talked to her afterwards a little bit…Then I got a picture with Melissa (=]) and Lisa (who I was super glad to finally meet after talking to her online since last July!)

Well, in the afternoon we went around Chicago with Mary Rose…and I’ll be completely honest in saying that it wasn’t super exciting. We walked over to the Shedd Aquarium, deemed it much too expensive to spend only 3 and a half hours at, and then walked back over to Grant Park. We walked to Walgreens to buy cards and sharpies (yes, random) and then back over to a café to play Egyptian Rat Slap until 5:00 when the Chicago Art Institute would be free. There, we saw some African art and….well, I don’t remember exactly, but some fairly famous paintings as well. And we ate at a Thai restaurant: I had curry, which tasted amazing!!!!

Once back at the hotel, I headed over to the International Ballroom because I thought the North Star started at 7:00, but it didn’t start until 8:00 so I talked to people my age for the first time…Maggie, Sophie, Melanie, and Mike. The North Star was pretty interesting because it presented views and ideas on the fandom from a very diverse amount of people. Plus, the Whomping Willows and Draco and the Malfoys played in between the segments!!!! Squee!!!! I think the main thing I treasured about the North Star was that it was when I really formed my first friendships: Mike, Shoshana, Cody, Julia, Maggie, and Sophie. Which was really nice. =] But the wizard rock was a definite bonus!

Erm….well, I got back to the hotel room probably around 12:30 (oops), took a shower, and finished up my PowerPoint. It was probably about 2 in the morning by the time I got in bed, and another 30 minutes to an hour before I actually fell asleep. So….4 and a half hours of sleep! Yay!

Terminus, part two: Thursday 7 August 2008

2008-08-13T13:35:00.001-06:00

Obviously, the start of the epic five days of awesomeness. I’m still uberly upset that I couldn’t go to Wrock Chicago, because it sounded amazing and I would have loved to get a whole entire day of wrock!!!! But, that can’t be changed now, so I’ll just get on to the first day of Terminus. It started with me waking up at 6:00 in the morning, getting ready/eating, and making sure I had everything packed….then the hour and fifteen minute drive to the Denver Airport (groan). Leslie almost lost her suitcase (!) but someone had just taken it off the shuttle and left it by the curb. Well…I’m sure most of y’all know the airport routine, so I won’t go into that. We left about 40 minutes late, though, and got in…pretty much on time. I met Mary Rose at the airport (squee!) and we all rode the el to the airport…

Ahem. Once at the hotel, we couldn’t get our room because the Bears had reserved rooms with late check-out and the rooms weren’t done being cleaned yet! Aaaaaargh!!!! It ended up taking us two and a half hours to get our room…but, we got a free fridge, free appetizers, free fitness room, and somehow got upgraded to two bathrooms. Mostly because Leslie is persuasive, but also because I think the Hilton Chicago now hates everyone who was at Terminus and just didn’t want to see us anymore. However, getting checked in for Terminus, then picking up my presentation and volunteer stuff, was really easy. And, volunteer training, while not super exciting, was fun because I met a few people there right off the bat.

I will fully admit that Thursday wasn’t exactly an epic day of awesome, but it was still pretty dang awesome. The arrival dinner was fantastic: amazing food, great people to talk to around me at the Kohilo table, funny speeches…and, of course, fangirling Sue!!!!!! =] I got a picture with her, and even though my eyes are half closed in the picture, I treasure it because it’s with Sue.

As I said in my “Immediately after the fact” post, Terminus felt amazing. Even on the first day, I was immediately touched by how friendly everyone was and how close the fandom was…You’d think Sue would be sick of pictures and people fangirling her, but she was a doll about it. And pretty much everyone I was with that first day talked to me, a genuine, heartfelt conversation. The joy and love and happiness that I felt that first night definitely started off the week on an awesome footing. =] It was so much fun: We did the wave (=]) and got yelled at for being too loud so did “spirit fingers” instead. Honestly, how can 1500 Harry Potter fans be quiet? And that’s what I love about this fandom. Our enthusiasm and love and joy.

Draco's Dad

2008-08-11T22:19:00.002-06:00

We were having too much fun with this at the Departure Breakfast. =] All we came up with was the chorus, but we sang it to a "Lucius" and the woman loved it.

Lyrics:
Draco’s dad is really freaking rad
He’s all I want, even though he may be bad
Draco, can’t you see, you’re just not the boy for me
I know it may be mad, but
I’m in love with Draco’s dad

Squee!!!! =]

Terminus, part one: Immediately after the fact

2008-08-11T22:06:00.002-06:00

So, it is currently 9:30 pm on Monday, August 11, 2008. And I can’t believe I’m still awake to be honest, because I’ve been getting an average of 4 hours of sleep a night, and I got much less than that last night. I haven’t even finished putting everything away and my bed is covered in clothes and souvenirs and I’m still organizing pictures. But as long as I’m this awake and willing, I really feel that I need to document my thoughts upon coming back from Terminus. And later I’ll probably go through each day if I don’t do it now.

I’m so upset that I’m home, to be honest. While I was at Terminus, suddenly, I was around people who understood me, who loved Harry Potter as much as I did, who enjoyed my eccentricities, who wanted to hug me and talk to me, who made plans to hang out with me, and who were just as sad as I was when it ended. These people, more than anyone else in my life, LOVE ME. The love in the Harry Potter fandom is the most freaking amazing thing you will ever feel. Almost every time I walked somewhere there was someone waving at me and saying “Hi!” and running to hug me. And unlike at home, these people love my eccentricities—we had so much fun doing just about everything. The Harry Potter fandom is a beautiful place—people I’d never talked to would just come up and hug me, and I was perfectly welcome to do the same to them. We’re a loving, accepting community, something I’ve honestly never felt anywhere else.

It’s pretty much impossible to pick my favorite thing that happened these past five days. I mean, these have been the most freaking awesome five days of my life. EVER. Although I definitely loved the Ball last night. It was the only dance I’ve been to where I felt absolutely like the people in the room wouldn’t judge me at all…and every single person I was dancing with made me feel welcome. We had the most amazing time!!! We made up a bunch of dance moves to look like Quidditch, and everyone else at the conference started catching on to it. We requested Muggle songs that had Wizard Rock parodies and all sang the Wrock parodies at the top of our lungs. My friends and I (only about 10 of us) started singing a new “Draco’s Mom” song during Stacy’s Mom and by the second verse, almost every person on the dance floor had caught on to the lyrics. I danced almost non-stop for 4 hours (with Alex Carpenter at one point!!!!) and when the music ended, we all kept singing: first The Leaky Song and then The Weapon we have is love. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world, to have such a gigantic group of people united over the love of one thing.

Other amazingly awesome things? Well, god, I have to be honest, there wasn’t anything that wasn’t awesome, really. Listening to Cheryl Klein talk about editing the books? AWESOME!!! Totally fangirling Sue, Melissa, and Lisa? AWESOME!!! Dancing and singing along to The Whomping Willows and Draco and the Malfoys Friday night at the North Star Live? AWESOME!!! The Squee Chat coffee with all of us on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep? AWESOME!!! My Luna and Neville Intersection with some pretty awesome close friends who loved me for who I am? AWESOME!!! Going to a bunch of roundtables and discussing Luna and the trio and Dumbledore’s Army and Wizard Rock and Neville? While having everyone in the room genuinely interested in what you’re saying? AWESOME!!! My first ever Live PotterCast? Definitely AWESOME. But even more awesome? Getting to participate in “Guess that Book” (hopefully it’ll be on the podcast!), getting the answer right (squee!!!), getting my PotterCast shirt signed by all four….Oh my geez, I love PotterCast, and they were all so amazingly friendly! More awesome that night? Definitely dancing to the Mudbloods. =] Listening to Melissa’s reading of her book and almost crying, and then talking to her for about an hour and a half afterwards about it. Then, having genuine discussion during my presentation Sunday and finding out that people actually liked what I did? FREAKING AMAZING!!!! And a definite favorite late night activity: making fun of the Harry Potter movies in ways only us HUGE Harry Potter fans understood and laughing hysterically.

There’s just so much stuff that I’ve done in the past few days that have changed my life. I never thought I’d make such close friends in the short period of five days…friends who love me more than people who’ve known me for 10 years. Suddenly knowing now that there are people who want to talk to me and enjoy being around me and understand the inside jokes I make…god, LIFE CHANGING, most definitely. I mean, if you don’t know the fandom, you can’t understand, but everyone in it is just so amazing about talking to you and being genuinely interested. Everyone at Terminus that I talked to was genuinely, honestly nice to me. And, can I just say that Melissa, Frak, John, and Sue are AMAZING?!?! They were so friendly to me after the live PotterCast. And, all the wizard rockers? SQUEE!!!! They adore their fans so much!!!

Honestly, I somehow managed to hold myself together during the Departure Breakfast and the goodbyes this morning, but once I got home…The tears started. This has been so awesome (I know I’ve used that word a lot…but we’re MADE OF AWESOME, okay?) And I’ve had so little sleep the past few nights that it really just feels like one really long day with a couple short naps in between…every once in a while I took a shower and maybe ate some food. (But to be honest I didn’t eat much at the con because there’s NO TIME!) I got about 3 hours of sleep last night and even though it’s almost 11:00 body time, somehow I’m still awake. The energy that is radiated by all my fandom friends is still with me.

I just can’t believe it’s over now. It just zipped past, and I won’t see any of these people for a long time. Most of them live in Jersey, though, so I’m going to try to go out there during Christmas and wrock out with them. =]

It’s just so different not being at Terminus. I’m somehow even lonelier than I was before Terminus because now I know the true feeling of NOT being lonely and having people around me all the time. And no one understands me nearly as well outside of the fandom….I mean, when I was walking through the airport in my PotterCast shirt and Ravenclaw tie and butterbeer cork necklace and wand and all, everyone gave me the weirdest looks, and it made me feel automatically sad to be away.

I suppose it’s like the Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls song, though, right? “I'll keep on smiling, From the times I had with them.” =]

To all of you who were at Terminus:
I love y'all so much I can't even really put it into words.
Thank you so much for all the fun times, the laughs, the inside jokes, the discussions, the staying up until 3:30 in the morning, the having coffee together and squeeing on 4 hours of sleep, the breaking chandeliers, the dancing, the wrock, the making fun of Harry Potter movies, the hugs, and the awesome LOVE.

So stay in touch, everyone. Our love is never-ending. And…Wizard rock: It’s chandelier-breaking awesome!!! =] I love y’all so much and I miss everyone so much already! *hugs*

It's the monsoon season here in Colorado...

2008-08-06T21:05:00.001-06:00

Seriously. Past two evenings, it has absolutely POURED rain. Today there was even a flood warning for El Paso County!!!

Yesterday some of the thunder was so loud (meaning the lightning was so close) that it was making the entire house shake! It was vaguely scary, and I made a point to stay off the computer during that storm. Today's rain started out as just that: rain. But, now it's 9:00 and there's quite a bit of lightning and thunder...I usually like thunderstorms. I don't like them in two cases: When I'm outside (especially in the middle of a parking lot/field) at camp and....at night. At night they're just a little bit creepier because I can actually really see the lightning flash and....well, I admit to being a bit frightened of lightning! I know people who've lost friends to it, and I don't like lightning. *sigh*

I do, however, adore the rain. So this rain has been making me very, very happy (as if I needed anymore happiness in my life right now) *winces as an especially bright lightning flash is right outside her window*

Let's hope I can sleep through this tonight....Cheers!

8/6: In which Kat reveals more of her geekiness and eccentricities

2008-08-06T14:55:00.003-06:00

Okay....so......time for more random information on my life! =]

Yesterday I basically spent a lot of time reading and packing for Terminus. I've been reading A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man who Dreamed It by Stephen Kinzer. I know, not a normal book for a 15 and a half year old teenage girl to be reading. But I'm definitely NOT normal. It's mostly being used for reference for my novel about the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and it's definitely been really helpful with that--giving me a lot of new ideas for the novel as well as an awful lot of new insights on the genocide, what caused it, and the feelings coming from both the Hutu and Tutsi. But, more than that, I confess to finding the whole plight in Rwanda and Africa to be fascinating. Horrible, yes, but fascinating. I know it's strange (really, I do) but I can't help it. It's a beautifully written book, and I'm enjoying it very very much. Other time of the day was spent packing some stuff up for Terminus as well as doing a final edit of my paper (about time I did it, really). I also had an orthodontist appointment yesterday which was completely pointless: I waited in a chair for about 15 minutes and had a one minute check-up in which I was told to move on to just wearing my retainer at night. *rolls eyes* Oh, and it was also my half-birthday yesterday. Which is....not really exciting at all, but I just thought I'd share it with y'all!!!

Ahem, but now for the exciting news................I'M WRITING THIS JOURNAL ON MY BEAUTIFUL, NEW HP LAPTOP!!!!!!!!!!!! =] =] Squee!!!!!!!! Again, I can't thank Dad and Leslie enough for being willing to buy me a new laptop since my Thinkpad broke. I'm still insisting on paying a portion of it, but they were super nice about the whole thing, and....well, just THANK YOU. Because this laptop works so much better, has a bazillion features, and since it's new....will probably last me into college! I have finally finished transfering my documents and pictures and (Most importantly *wink*) PotterCasts over to the new laptop. It took forever, but I'm not complaining! Eeeeee...It's just so beautiful!!!! =] Again, so much thanks comes from me to Dad and Leslie for the laptop.

On to less exciting stuff. Today was school registration. Yay? I got my planner (which is absolutely hideous and will be worked on intently by me), bought my yearbook, got my school picture taken (and it isn't half-bad!). And, I'd thought I didn't have a locker partner. But, Michelle and Kelsey tried two lockers, both of which were broken. They got fed up, and now all three of us are in the same locker in senior hall!!! Squee!!!!!!! The best part about school registration was getting to see my friends: Joel, Michelle, Kelsey, Malia, Hannah, Emily, and Macy. I hadn't seen any of them all summer and I haven't seen any of my friends since camp ended on July 11th. It felt so amazingly good to have people to talk to, and to have these people excited to see and talk to me. =] I know that's probably normal for most of y'all, but remember that I'm a Luna and don't have many friends. So I really cherish every single time I get to be happy and crazy with my small group of friends!

(In other news, Leslie's friend Arnie came for dinner on Monday. It was nice to talk to him because he does stuff with energy conservation as well as in Africa.) Anyway, I should probably go do more packing for Terminus, actually PRINT out the final draft of my paper for Terminus, and....just because I'm geeky, I'm sure I'll read about 150 more pages of A Thousand Hills.

O my geez, Terminus is tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! =]

In case you didn't notice, I'm really happy today, and I'm sending y'all some very happy thoughts because of this. Be careful of bursting into Squee/Wrock songs and be warned that this happiness may be overpowering. ;) Cheers!

Hiking and random happy news

2008-08-04T21:23:00.003-06:00

Okay, so as I mentioned, my family hiked a 14,196 foot mountain yesterday--Mt. Belford. We got up at 4:30 in the morning (and I'd only gotten about 5 hours of sleep), drank a lot of coffee, ate some small breakfast, were hiking by 6:15 am, on the summit at 10:15 and back down at 2:00. =] It was going to be two fourteeners, but by complete bad luck the clouds appeared around 10:15-10:30, and it was looked pretty bad. We weren't moving too fast, and getting caught in a thunderstorm above timberline where you're the highest things around...NOT a good idea. And we would've been pretty miserable walking that exposed in the rain--we ended up getting rained on while walking back down, and if we'd hiked the second one we would've been...well, about 1/8th of the way back down and really miserable. But it was so much fun, to be honest. It's an absolutely amazing feeling to be on the top of a mountain that high!!!! You just look all around you at the scenery and the valley below. What really put it in perspective for me was looking down from the top at this small river along the trail that seemed an awful lot bigger when walking next to it, but from the top is just a thin line of blue water. And, when you're looking up at the mountain from the 'bottom,' it seems so daunting. I mean, you stand there thinking, "wow, I'm going to climb that?!" But then there's the amazing feeling when you stand on the summit of a mountain and proceed to think, "Oh my god, I really did climb up that whole way!"

I was pretty exhausted when we got home yesterday, though--I pretty much unpacked stuff, took a shower, and collapsed on my bed!!! And boy did I sleep like a baby....There's a way to get a good night's sleep: Hike for about 8 hours! But it was so much fun, and such a great accomplishment--2 14ers down, only 52 more in Colorado to go!

Just for fun: Kat's hiking a fourteener survival tips
1. Get up early. Even if you don't want to...Believe me, you'd much rather wake up tired and drink coffee than get stuck in a big thunderstorm.
2. Don't go too fast!!! Seriously, you'll walk a lot slower than you probably do just hiking on mostly flat ground, but you're losing oxygen and going up the whole way, so it's okay. It's not a race, and if someone passes you, let them. You don't know them, and who cares if they're going faster?
3. Wear sunscreen. Up above timberline, at 14,000 feet, that sun's pretty dang strong. So reapply it and don't get sunburned!!!
4. Don't look too far ahead of you. If you do, you'll likely get somewhat discouraged about how far away the summit seems. It's probably not as far as your brain is making it seem anyway. But just to be safe, look more like 10 feet in front of you so you don't realize how much elevation you're gaining.
5. Don't think about how much less oxygen you have. If you don't think too much about it, you won't notice it as much.
6. DO NOT get fooled by false summits. And if you do, don't get discouraged by them. The real summit isn't far away either, and if you just climbed to the false summit, you are perfectly capable of making it to the real one.
7. Look around you, because then you'll be distracted by the beauty of the mountain you're climbing and the valley below. Just appreciate nature, and focus on it, not any amount of pain you may be in.
8. Talk to other hikers if you see them. They'll be friendly and may have good tips, especially if you're going up and they're going back down.
9. Allow yourself to have fun!!! =] Fun, after all, is what is important in life.
10. Know that you have accomplished something really big when you stand on that summit, and feel good about it. It's a powerful feeling and very energizing.

Yay! But, to be honest, I wasn't any pain at all hiking yesterday and I didn't have any problems with the lack of oxygen. My feet were a little sore on the way down and I got a small blister on my heel on the way down because my feet were slipping more. But I personally think I'm in much better shape than I was on Quandry...and it felt a lot better to reach that summit not in pain.

Pictures:
Mt. Belford--This is the mountain we climbed up. This picture was taken about halfway through the hike, too, so we'd already climbed a very considerable amount!!!
Us on the summit--Okay, so I've posted pictures of me on here before, but just to be sure, I'm the youngest one in the blue shirt on the far left.
The view--This is the view from the top. *sighs happily* Isn't it beautiful?

In other news...
It's Obama's birthday!!!!!!!!!!!................. *crickets* Well, it is, and I just wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday and good luck in the elections!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand........2 days until Terminus! Squee!!!!!!!

Well, Cheers everyone! =]

Happy Lammas!!!!

2008-08-01T17:04:00.002-06:00

Today is the first of August, which means today is Lammas!!!!!!!!!!!................(insert your confused stare here) Okay, yes, no one knows what that is. ;D So I'll explain! Well, it's one of the 8 Pagan/Wiccan holidays or "sabbats." And it...well, it celebrates/symbolizes two things: the first harvest of the year as well as the sacrifice of the Corn God (recognized as part of the Sun God). That probably doesn't make any sense, but it's my religion. Though, I haven't done a ritual for any of the holidays in the longest time, and it makes me feel somewhat bad. *sigh* However, I am making a point of starting my High Priestess training (a year and a day!!!) on Samhain (Halloween, our new year) this year. Okay. Er....I'm going to stop rambling about my religion that no one else understands and get on with stuff y'all possibly actually care about. Ahem.

So, the first of August also means that school is in 14 days. UGH!!!! I mean, I sort of like school because it's the only way I'd ever have friends and I really honestly kind of enjoy the stuff we learn, but I'm not looking forward to waking up at 5:45 every day and getting a bunch of homework and essays and basically having no free time. *sigh*

Er...well, I went to Target with my dad last night and got the last few things I'd need for Terminus: hair clips, razor replacement heads, and an iPod armband/case (not exclusively for Terminus). Yeah, random list. I couldn't find any blister block. =[ I very rarely get blisters, though, my feet are so callused that it's near impossible for me to get a blister! And today Leslie and I went and looked at some laptops at Office Depot--there was an HP one I really liked but I think it's too expensive and it doesn't come with Microsoft Office, which would be another 100 dollars or so. *sighs again*

We're hiking Oxford/Belford on Sunday! =] (Two fourteeners, just FYI) But I really want someone to go to Water World with on the 6th. Because I really want to go sometime this summer, but I don't want to go just with all the people Elyse works with because it would be rather...awkward, I think. *sighs yet again* (wow, I've been doing that A LOT today)

6 and a half days until Terminus!!!! =] Cheers!