O_o

You Are Balanced and Thoughtful

You view people with suspicion. There is a lot of interpersonal conflict in your life. You had more conflict with your father than your mother. Your relationship with him was difficult and possibly unhealthy. You don't deal with stress well. Even moderately stressful events tend to send you in a tailspin. You require a lot of calm in your life. When things get too hectic, you need to step back and reassess things.

The Inkblot Test

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

Noodles don't bite!

Why is it that when a girl is dislikes the amount of attention her boyfriend gives another girl, she places all the blame solely on the other girl? She never blames the guy for being a flirt or unwittingly making her jealous; she just thinks the other girl is a slut.
Now I know how Angela must have felt.
Can I just say I didn't do it?
Yeah.
Been a good couple of days.
Watched some really cute movies.
Like "Ghost Town" with Ricky Gervais.
And "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
I didn't expect that movie to actually be funny! What a concept!
It was what "Monsters and Aliens" could have been if "Monsters and Aliens" hadn't SUCKED.
"We should send the intern! She's cute, and REALLY perky!"
"Well, those ARE our only requirements to be a weather reporter..."
And it was so cute when he asked the girl on a date, and she put her hair back in a ponytail and put on her glasses and he was like, "You're SO beautiful."
All the girls in the audience (those over the age of 12, anyway) sighed.
Then Alex had the audacity to say, "I think she looked cuter before."
-_-
That's not the point, Alex.
Before the movie, we all went to Target and bought a LOT of candy.
I bought an Xtra-large box of Milk Duds, and three different flavors of Choxie.
It was $8, but I would've spent that much on a wimpy box of Milk Duds and popcorn at the theater.
SO WORTH IT.
Then we messed around at Toys 'R' Us.
Ugh, Charles de Lint. Just don't write anymore. Please.
"X-men" was all right. I finally watched it. Nothing special.
I find myself annoyed by Cyclops, like you're supposed to be.
And I do think Wolverine is pretty cool, if somewhat annoying. "I'm going to walk around shirtless and hit on married women...because I can!"
I loved how every twist in the movie involved Mystique. We'd just randomly yell out, "IT'S MYSTIQUE!" and it made the movie much more fun.
Sadly, a lot of the times we yelled it, it was true.
But now I have to watch the second one. And the third.
I'm just waiting for NIGHTCRAWLER. He's my favorite.
Storm is lame. Cyclops is pretty lame.
But Toad is by far the lamest.
And Sabertooth isn't much better. "Snarl, snarl, I have ugly eyebrows. FEAR ME!"

Just like...blah.

It's been a weird day.
I found out my friend's dad died last week.
I haven't seen her in a while, and we all knew it was going to happen, but I just found out about it this morning.
But from what I hear, she seems fine.
Well, she's SAD.
But it's not as though her dad just died.
And I know it's a front, and I haven't exactly "been there" for her through all this, but she's sort of closed herself off from everyone except for a select few.
So she's sad, it sucks, but there's nothing I can do about it.
My dad told me that when a guy likes a girl, he often has a backup.
I mean, if you set your sights on one girl alone and she rejects you, well, that would hurt.
So always have a Plan B!
It sounds sort of terrible, but it struck me as funny when he said it.
I don't know. I suppose it might have crushed me a while ago.
It explains some things.
But I don't feel like complaining about how "jacked up" boy culture is.
Girls are just as bad, something Women's Studies does a very good job of pointing out, though that's not Mrs. Taylor's objective.
So I'm gonna get my life together in the mean time.
Focus on the stuff that's actually important.
According to Matthew 6:25-34, everything God has planned will happen when he wants it to, when I seek first his kingdom.
I was thinking on the bus ride home about how weird it is that so many seniors will be leaving youth group at the end of the year, after I JUST go to know them.
Then it will be time for me, and then COLLEGE.
And WSU seems too isolated, but UW and OC are not places I could EVER see myself, and, though I love Colorado, every time I think of leaving home I start to puke.
It turned into this huge worryfest, but my mom managed to talk me through it.
Because God HAS A PLAN FOR ME, one to give me a hope and a future.
And what he has is SO MUCH BETTER than anything I could ever dream of.
And he'll put me at the best possible college. But we're not at that part of the journey yet. I've still got 2 years. And they'll be good ones.

Who knew Yelm could be so INTENSE?

Refuel was COMPLETELY different from last year.
In a good way.
It was great. Seriously the highlight of my year. GREAT WEEKEND.
They mixed up the cabins this year instead of having cabins for each grade.
A little disappointing, because I'd sort of been looking forward to rooming with some of my friends.
But I did get some people I knew in my cabin, and some I didn't, and the ones I didn't know were pretty cool.
Aaaaaaah, freshmen.
As much as I hate junior high boys, Buck Buck was amazing to watch. There was some talk of playing it on the bus ride home, but we opted for the safe choice, Zoo.
Those junior high boys, though, are SO ANNOYING! There was one in particular that needs to be whipped. It shouldn't be too difficult, he's roughly the size of a terrier.
The whole thing was just fun and crazy and super positive. It was nice actually feeling like I belonged. Last year I made a huge big deal about not knowing anybody and yet not making an effort to know anyone, but this year wasn't like that at all. It felt like the body of Christ SHOULD feel like.
Pastor Paul might just be my new best friend, even though he SERIOUSLY considers Hulk to be a better superhero than Batman.
BATMAN.
His point had to do with his lesson, though, which pointed out that GOD is the one who gives us power (SUPER powers! It was superhero themed, ha), and Batman didn't have powers; he just had money, charisma, and Morgan Freeman.
And Batman doesn't care who he is; he is purely focused on his actions.
With REAL power, there is rest and peace, and he has none of that.
It was a great sermon and it made a lot of sense to a lot of people.
Everyone went up afterwards to thank him for successfully explaining a seldom taught Bible topic.
BUT THE HULK IS NOT A SUPERHERO.
He's a loser with anger issues that just happens to be mightily powerful...and oh so green.
While, you know, Batman's out DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN TO PROTECT THE CITY OF GOTHAM, RISKING HIS LIFE IN THE PROCESS.
Hulk just crushes stuff. And sometimes sleeps with Liv Tyler. Mmmmm...
It was just great. Paul kept emphasizing that we can't CHANGE on our own, the exact OPPOSITE I'd been hearing at OEFC, where it was always, "YOU NEED TO CHANGE."
GOD is the ONLY ONE that can change us. We just have to let him.
And my favorite verse, Philippians 4:13, was sort of this weekend's motto.
But the emphasis was on the latter part.
"I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength."
Then we had an hour long worship session, with some people singing while others wrote letters, postcards, and junk they'd been through.
Then they put the junk in a giant trash can and Ben set it on fire.
But it was less than satisfying.
It didn't explode into a wild conflagration.
It just sizzled a little bit.
Oh well.
Even after Stateside, I didn't feel this good.
God is real, the true power source, and I'm going to live for him.

Clear nailpolish: more dangerous than you would think!

I'm officially addicted to the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack.
My keyboard isn't working properly. Too irritating.
But seriously.
David Bowie is always great, but I love the song "Nature Boy" and he managed to blow me away twice.
"Because We Can" gets stuck in my head way too often.
I honestly can't remember "Children of the Revolution", and I don't think "Rhythm of the Night" was there, either.
But "Elephant Love Medley" is cheesy goodness.
And "Roxanne" kills me every time.
So does "Hindi Sad Diamonds", come to think of it.
"The Show Must Go On" was really a perfect song choice. It's the perfect song in general.
Besides "Mr. Brightside". And "(If You're Wondering) I Want You To" by Weezer.
I really want the second soundtrack, but there's been a mishap.
I might get it in the mail after Refuel.
"We're creatures of the underworld. We can't afford to fall in love."
:(
Not SUPER looking forward to Refuel tomorrow.
But I am a little bit excited. I mean, it will be fun.
I'll be hanging out with my brother the entire time, but hey!
And the cabin situation will DEFINITELY be better than last year.
Yeah. Just been tired and sick all week. Not much going on.

You can take that Occupational credit and shove it up your...

I've had my retainers for more than a year.
They told me the longest I would have my retainers for was a year.
Apparently they lied.
I went to my appointment today thinking I'd FINALLY get my retainers OFF.
Then the stupid dental assistant sits down and starts talking about how I'll never have to make any more appointments with them.
Ever. Again.
So I started to perk up a little bit.
Then she went on to say that I should continue wearing my retainers for the rest of my life.
Or, as she jokingly put, until I no longer want straight teeth!
Ha! Ha! Ha.
What?
Yep. I have to wear my retainers FOREVER.
Does this mean my orthodontist was INCOMPETENT?
"We couldn't PERMANENTLY straighten your teeth, but we came pretty darn close, now, didn't we?" *flashes brilliant smile*
I didn't realize teeth were a lifetime commitment.
I mean, sure, you have to brush them and floss them and whatnot.
But that's just basic hygiene. It would be gross, not to mention UNHEALTHY, if you didn't take care of your teeth.
But there was no REAL reason for me to get braces in the first place, besides the fact that my teeth were crooked.
I wouldn't have DIED because of them. I could chew JUST FINE.
My parents made me get braces anyway.
It's so stupid! It's just about looks!
Straight teeth wouldn't be so important if we hadn't created orthodontia in the first place.
God gave you those crooked teeth, why change that?
I didn't think my teeth looked bad at all! I LIKED my smile!
But I've spent 6 and a half years expanding my jaw, removing teeth, and correcting my overbite in order to fix a smile I didn't dislike in the first place.
Sure, on my parents dime.
But it sure seems like a waste of money.
And, speaking of looks, it's not like I look ANY BETTER with straight teeth then I did with crooked teeth.
It doesn't change the fact that I have acne or that my arms are hairy or that since acquiring boobs I've become a bit chunky.
In fact, if my parents had offered to pay to fix THOSE things, I wouldn't have minded so much.
The orthodontist clearly expected me to be overcome with joy at this news.
"Congratulations! You've graduated from orthodontia!"
"Whoop-de-do. I'll still have your equipment in my mouth for the rest of my life."
"....have a nice day!"
So I threw a temper tantrum in the car and somehow broke my retainer case.
My retainers, sadly, were unharmed.
So now I have retainers AND a broken case to contend with.
I refuse to wear them. There's no point.
But my mom won't let me throw them away.
Fine. I'll just smash them to little bitty bits.
On a positive note: assuming I pass all my classes this year (ha), I only need 4 more credits to graduate.
That means all the electives I want!
Ha! At least my senior year will be fun...

No you girls never know

How come, when guys want to "go on a walk", they think of it as exercise, though it's technically "hanging out" cuz you'll be walking TOGETHER?
When girls want to go on a walk, it's to TALK.
And girls don't care about the destination. They'll walk ANYWHERE as long as they get to share about their day and how they feel.
Guys go with a specific destination in mind and THEY WILL NOT BE DETERRED FROM THEIR MISSION.
Guys take off their T-shirts differently. Girls pull up the bottom, while guys pull at the back of the neck.
I don't know. It's just weird.
I lost a bet with my history teacher.
I thought I'd heard something about Catholics being the most prevalent Christian religion in America.
Actually, it turns out they're the most prevalent Christian religion in the WORLD, which is different.
So I bought him a Gatorade.
When I say that I bought it, I mean my mom did.
But that's okay! A Gatorade's a Gatorade!
Ugh. Sort of sick of friend couples.
Either they're completely disgusting and irritating.
Or they're one of THOSE couples.
The ones that, before dating, made a big deal about how they were going to stay "just friends". Um, right.
Or the ones that only want to be with each other.
Irritating as all get out.
And everyone just thinks it's a "bitter cuz I'm single" thing!
Noooo, it's a, "Hey, you know how you piss me off? It started when you two started dating," thing.
Aaaargh! Dating friends just shouldn't be allowed!
Oh no, now the courting fiends are going to come back and make a case for arranged marriage. Somebody save us!

Like chocolate cake, only BETTER!

A bunch of my friends took the Big Five Personality Test.
It was exciting. Four new profiles all to myself!
I spent a long time looking and comparing.
Kevin's profile is spot on, but they pegged him as an ISFJ. Pfft, not hardly.
I don't know. Whenever people start exploring the different aspects of their personality, I find it COMPLETELY FASCINATING. Every time someone takes a test I get a little giddy. Looking at someone else's profile is like starting a new book.
Conclusion: I'm a nerd.
This is what I still don't get: how is KEVIN a more likely candidate for early childhood education than I am? He HATES kids!!
And my #1 was GRAPHIC DESIGN. WTF. I HATE ART AND ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH 'VISUALIZING'.
I told my dad, and he was like, "Well, you'd be good at it."
"I don't care, Dad. I hate it."
"Well, but you definitely have some artistic characteristics."
Like what, intense mood swings and utter nerdiness.
The same thing happened a couple nights ago, when I said something and he listened to part of what I said, but not why I said it. Or he listened to the wrong part.
When I want to grow up, I said, I want to BE a french horn.
Not PLAY a french horn. BE one.
And he was like, "Oh, yeah, I think you'd be good at French horn! It's a difficult instrument, to be sure, but you're talented...yeah, I think you'd be great!"
No, Dad. No.
But he's been asking questions and actually trying to understand me lately, and it must be that time of the month again, because the very thought brings sentimental tears to my eyes.
Speaking of sentimental tears, I love "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" SO MUCH. Stephen Chbosky is the man. Every time I read it, I want to hug Charlie. And then, I realized something I hadn't gotten last time, and it made me feel TERRIBLE for him. And yet he got through it and loved his "tormentor" or whatever. It was still sad.
But one day I'm going to go driving with my friends and we're going to listen to The Smiths and I can bet we'll feel infinite.
I finished "Love, Stargirl", too, and it was SO much better than "Stargirl".
Stargirl actually seemed real. It was amazing. It was one of those books where you felt like crying, not because it was sad, but because it was so spectacularly amazing, but you didn't cry because the warm fuzzies you got from reading the book have made you too happy.
:) I feel like being sappy right now. It's been a good day, full of chocolate cake, reading, family bonding, Freddie Mercury, and dad time.
"The Show Must Go On" is seriously the greatest song ever written.
Just like hyperbole is the best thing EVER.
But really. I listen to it a lot and feel depressed, but also happy because I love the song.
I've been listening to "Mr. Brightside" a lot, too. It makes me happy every time I listen to it. Seriously, I can't help but smile.
And "Stars" from "Les Miserables". Javert might be a rule-following psycho, but for that one song he becomes my favorite character. And then darn Valjean has to sing again, so I get distracted. But it's so simple.
Rambling rambling rambling.
It just seems good right now.
I'm going to help with the little kids' Sunday School, because I missed it after my parents stopped teaching it.
What, they need helpers?
Sorry, youth band.
Apparently Steve will feel guilty for years and years if I don't join.
I was thinking about it.
But why spend time with cocky junior high boys who try to sing low and like to jump over tables (don't ask) when I could be taking Ethan on missions to find his family or petting multiple "puppies"?
I'm going to bed in a REALLY good mood. That means tomorrow will either be a really good day or a really bad one.
Oh, and I was wrong about my history teacher. But we'll see how that class goes.

Truly evil people will FAKE A BABY'S DEATH!

I was watching "All My Children" today, although it was hard to concentrate because my mom was LAUGHING SO HARD.
Admittedly, it was pretty funny.
"They took Matthew...I mean, Trevor. And they faked the baby's death! But his mother will only get custody if she moves in with the crazy father! GASP!"
Fun fun fun.
No, I didn't go to school. School isn't even out yet.
I got out of the shower and smelled something iffy, and all of a sudden, there's this uncontrollable gag reflex. So I kind of passed out on the bed and my mom agreed there was nothing important I was going to miss at school today.
Although my history teacher would have pitched a fit.
He probably did. He'll probably yell at me all day tomorrow.
Whatever. He is SO full of it.
He made a big deal about how much he loves America, and then went on to describe the reasons he hates it.
Yeah, it made a lot of sense.
So that class sucks, but Chemistry ended up being awesome!
Mr. Daniel told us a story about aliens that shot three pieces of paper, which couldn't have just been litter. No, there was a message, which he revealed with ammonia or something.
Then he showed us his squirt bottle, AKA "No-Doze", and it had at least 50 tally marks of students he'd woken with it.
Ha. You're going DOWN, Emory.
Math looks all right. Mrs. Erickson is pretty chill about homework and whatnot. WE DON'T HAVE TO TURN IN NOTES. AND I have that class with a BUNCH of my friends.
Band's all right. We were playing pep today and I missed it. Maybe we'll play at the assembly tomorrow...
There's a cute girl in my history class who may or may not be a foreign exchange student. Hmmmm...
Women's Studies might be okay once we get started. But Innovative Fitness is hopelessly boring when you're forced to listen to lectures about excercising rather than actually doing it.
Argh. Now I'm addicted to Farkle, peppermints, and Milk Duds. I'm definitely going to like it when PE actually starts up. Ryan made fun of me for taking the class, though. He told me it was "shameful". Which it is. It's mostly girls...but there are 2 guys. They look scared, excited, and bored out of their minds.
Blah. It was the most boring day of school I've ever had.
Hopefully this year will get better...but there's football on Saturday! How could I forget!
But we have to sacrifice a virgin to our star quarterback. It's the only way to keep him happy.
Hopefully it won't be me. I'll be busy.

Real men have eunuchs dispose of their enemies.

I'M ADDICTED TO COMCAST!!!!
Seriously, it's fantastic.
Who knew we could load songs on iTunes in less than an hour?
Or watch Youtube videos without it pausing all the blessed time?
Or load games and web pages like THAT!?
Finally, we've entered the 21st century.
I'm free from the curse of dial-up forever.
AND I made the most perfect chocolate chip cookies EVER.
I didn't chill the dough or melt the butter, which helped.
Oh, and having all the ingredients.
I forgot to add eggs until AFTER adding about half the flour, but that seemed to help.
Oh, and I used parchment paper.
And then I waited until the pans were completely cool to add more cookies.
They turned out GREAT.
Like BETTER THAN MRS. FIELDS.
Who is a big fat liar, it turns out.
"Clue" is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
Almost as funny as "One Night with the King"!
Amanda HATED IT and didn't want to watch it, but when we did she was laughing as hard as the rest of us.
Yet she still claims to hate it.
Communism! Homosexuals! Call girls! Murder! Blackmail! Intrigue! Multiple endings! Tim Curry!
HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE THIS MOVIE?
Ugh, if someone spells alternative ONE MORE TIME...
I'm not sure I liked "House of Leaves". I finally finished it, except for the stupid letters, which I WON'T READ. I'm done with that book for now. It's bad enough that it's hard to SLEEP.
But the monster turned out to be not a monster at all, but the house itself, which makes me feel a little better.
But then what was wrong with Zampano? And Johnny? They died of paranoia? WHAT WAS THE DEAL?
And it was so sad, the story about the baby, and Navy and Karen, even though that was supposed to be a "happy" ending. Sad stuff.
FLASH FLASH CAR CRASH. Ha. AFI.

F my life.

They changed my schedule AGAIN.
So they pretty much eliminated any chance of my having classes with friends.
I won't be seeing at least 6 of my friends all year long.
It's pretty frustrating.
Chemistry, math, and history, which tend to be my worst classes, take up the first three periods.
And the teachers seem pretty nice.
But I kind of wanted to be in a bad mood about this year.
They switched up the band schedule, so I wasn't able to take my first choice of English.
Then, all of a sudden, I'm thrown out of my second choice into Women's Studies.
WOMEN'S STUDIES!!!!!
THAT class, however, seems like it might be pretty entertaining. The teacher is pretty funny and nice, and I've heard stories about her. Funny ones.
And PE is full of other lazy teenage girls who want to do Pilates and yoga. AWESOME.
But STILL!! AAAAARGH!
I don't have classes with practically ANY band kids!
Neither with my best friend, but whatever, I guess I've been replaced. Understandable, but lamentable all the same. And irritating. But whatever.
AAAAAAAAARGH, but for some reason, I have LOTS of classes with an overly amorous male aquaintance.
NOT INTERESTED. THANKS.
It's going to be one of those years.
I was hoping to keep boy drama to a minimum. Looks like that's not going to happen.
But friend drama...I guess I'm safe in that department because I'll HAVE NO FRIENDS.
And grades? Who knows. All the teachers seem fairly reasonable.
But I was kind of depressed walking into history. Because I realized any chance of my EVER having Mr. Walker as a teacher flew out the window.
Unless I fail Chemistry and take it next year.
There is nowhere I can turn, there is no way to go oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!
Darn. Javert is dead. The only thing left to look forward to is Marius' moving solo.
Well, that, and a rousing chorus of "Do You Hear the People Sing?"
I just realized: I HATE the song "Turning". Stupid stupid stupid. Of course they're dead. You could sound a little less happy about it!

Yukon, ho!

You Are a Mostly Polite Driver

You are generally an easy going, laid back person. However, you can't help but feel a little jealous and competitive sometimes! You tend to go by what you feel - not by the facts at hand. As a result, you tend to make a lot of uninformed decisions. You'd like to think you're a fair person, but you occasionally think you deserve a special kind of justice. You can be a rather tense, grouchy person - but you try to maintain your dignity. You have mixed feelings about authority figures. You understand their place, but you believe their power needs to be in check. You are somewhat focused, but you are also a bit scatterbrained. Distractions can get you in trouble. You don't feel a responsibility to anyone but yourself. You value your freedom more than anything else. Your ego is a healthy size. You don't think you're more important than anyone else.

What Does Your Driving Say About You?

Yaaaaaaaah! Back to school shopping!
Kristine did some sneaky recon with Jon and ended up at the South Center mall with us before she left.
I bought a hat. It has fuzzy earflaps.
And it was 20 BUCKS.
But that's okay. It was worth it.
My mom bought me a fleece jacket, too, so I'm all set for Refuel.
Or Yukon.
School starts in a week! Colorado already started. Parent Night is tomorrow, and I'm pretty pumped.
I just need to find a fedora...with feathers!
Like the Pranksters!
"30 Rock" is my new favorite show.
I'm trying to upload pictures onto my computer unsuccessfully. I have no idea what I'm doing.
I've been playing a lot of Harvest Moon lately. Sometimes 3-4 hours a day. Sad.
But I managed to woo Nami in 3 days!!
Well, 3 months in game time. But still!
Now we're married and have a kid.
He WILL be a musician. I know it!
Amby and I were talking about Harvest Moon the other day. You can get different colors of horses? Shocking!
Argh my schedule is still horrible. Hate hate hate. I have a lot of classes with friends that I don't see normally, so that's ONE good thing, but most of the people I DO hang out with...no classes. Probably not even lunch.
Argh.

Remember this?

I did this a couple years back. I kind of wanted to see what had changed in 4 years...
Put your music on shuffle (itunes, etc.) and answer each question with whatever comes up.

What does next year have in store for me?
"In the Light", dc Talk
How insightful. My eyes'll be opened to new possibilities and all that jazz.

What does your love life look like?
"Battery", Metallica
Oh dear. It appears I might end up in an abusive relationship. Great. Mrs. Lutz warned me and warned me.

What do I say when life gets hard?
"Wishes and Dreams", Stellar Kart
Yep...that's something an INFP would say.

What do I think when I get up in the morning?
"Calm Before the Storm", Fall Out Boy
Ha ha, how depressing. Although I'm not sure about the line, "He's well hung and I am hanging on." I'm trying not to take that line literally, but wouldn't that hurt?

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
"What Time Is It", HSM 2 cast
:D BEST. WEDDING. EVER!

What do you want as a career?
"Be My Escape", Relient K
I don't being God is a career option.

Your favorite saying?
"The Thenardier Waltz of Treachery", Les Miserables Original Broadway Cast
Hm, I guess I don't trust people too well, especially potential child molestors.

Favorite place?
"May the Horse Be With You", Relient K
The stable!? Awesome! I haven't been there in a while, though. :(

What do you think of your parents?
"I Got Nerve", Hannah Montana
Hmmm, I'm so rebellious, they're just holding me back!

Where would you go on a first date?
"Fridy Night", Slick Shoes
Well, it would be on a Friday, and we'd just go party, from the looks of things.

Drug of choice?
"Kill the Grey", Olivia the Band
Depression? Melancholy? Numbness? Appropriate choices.

Describe yourself:
"Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?", Fall Out Boy
HA! That pretty much says it all.

What is the thing I like doing most?
"Freedom", Fresh Digress
Dancing with my brothers and sisters in Christ? I guess that's all right...

The song that best describes the president?
"Facedown", The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
:O THAT'S TERRIBLE! I don't think Obama beats his wife...however...if the "she" in the song is the USA, he definitely feels like a man when he pushes "her" around. JERK!

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
"Awakening", Seven Places
I love this song... It's a pastor listing the Seven Places that Jesus bled for us when he died. My friend's dad is dying, and we've been praying for her... That's definitely been on my mind. Hm. Sad.

How will I die?
"Things We Go Through", Hawk Nelson
I'll die from the stress of life's little problems, like getting rejected by the girl I like and running away from home.

What’s your deepest , darkest secret?
"Lithium", Evanescence
I'M A MORBIDLY DEPRESSED DRUG ADDICT.

What am I doing right now?
"Dream Seasons", Blackalicious
Dreaming about the future, I guess...which isn't totally off.

BAND CAMP BAND CAMP BAND CAMP

It's intense! It's insane!
I love it.
AND I woke up at 6:30 today.
Sort of.
I fell back asleep.
But then I woke up at 7:10 and got ready.
BAM. 8:00. I was READY TO GO.
Again, sort of.
Got pumped up by some Spectacular! and Bandslam.
Screamed "TOMMY IS A CRACKHEAD" a couple times.
We get to play "Viva la Vida".
HOW HARD IS IT TO PLAY BASS DRUM?? The B flat concert scale never sounded so bad.
A SCALE. A SCALE sounded bad.
And their excuse for "The Star Spangled Banner"?
"I didn't know it was in 3/4."
Which shouldn't matter if you're playing on every beat...
And we get to do it again TOMORROW.

Good weekend so far...for a change.

"Bandslam" was not too bad.
Pretty cute. I liked the music.
And the fact that he was obsessed with David Bowie.
Screw Michael Jackson, he's the real king of pop!
Vanessa Hudgens was pretty enjoyable. The 5 is silent.
I bought two of the songs. I can't go on, I'll go on!
"Someone To Fall Back On" is my new favorite song.
Even though it's Aly Michalka.
Wanna know what's terrible?
Judging from my taste in movies, chances are I'll end up alone.
Or with a girl.
I HATE guy movies.
Hate them.
I like "Star Wars" and "Spaceballs" and "Vantage Point"...that's about it.
I'd rather watch chick flicks, or musicals.
Yet my best friend's GIRLFRIEND has a girlier taste in movies than I do.
This is stereotyping, and completely awful, but why is it that her favorite movies include "A Walk to Remember", "The Notebook" and "A Cinderella Story", and she's a lesbian?
I laughed my butt off during "The Notebook". The only Romantic Comedy on the list that I liked was "10 Things I Hate About You", and she HATED IT.
And yeah, different people like different movies.
But I hate most standard girl fare.
Oh well.
Good worship session! HORNS! They're too cool for earbuds. Uh-oh. Livin dangerous.
I helped my parents with their 4/5 year old Sunday school class. Cute kids.
Only one of them didn't get picked up after Sunday School!
So we went on a mission to find his family, but we couldn't find them.
And we tried to find his little sister, but she'd already been picked up.
Turns out his older brother had picked up the little sister and then stood around talking with his friends FOR HALF AN HOUR.
The kid was FREAKING OUT! He finally started crying and said, "I'll NEVER get to go home!"
We told him there was no way his parents forgot him, and he said, "But they forget things! Maybe they forgot and they're coming back."
It was so sad! But also kind of funny, the way he said it.
They picked him up. He got a hug. It was okay.
And he turned his back on us AND WALKED AWAY.
They grow up so fast...
Then Tie and I went on a walk and were attacked by an elderly Dachsund.
That's the second time this week.

H-e-double toothpicks!! Ha ha ha!

James Patterson kind of disgusts me.
He thinks he's a much better writer than he really is.
"Maximum Ride" makes me too angry.
I somehow used to love it.
I somehow used to love a lot of things, though, so this isn't that surprising.
Ugh. He's so smug.
Max irritates the crap out of me.
And I'm tired of the whole "save the planet" theme.
Max is pulling a Bella Swan, too, which is always fun.
"I love Fang...wait, no I don't! Let's make out, Fang...no wait, I changed my mind! I hate you...but I hate your redheaded girlfriend more!"
Fun stuff. I'm trying to get through "Max" as quickly as possible.
"House of Leaves" is giving me the creeps - and I'm barely 30 pages in!!
I literally stared at my closet last night for hours, just in case something in there was waiting for me.
Then I fell asleep and had weird dreams.
Like this one: my high school decided to put on "Les Miserables" and I had the part of Valjean, but didn't know any of my lines.
So I just improvised the entire time.
I walked into a spider's web today. Grossest feeling ever.
I sort of miss being tall and lanky.
Yep, still "tall".
Lanky, tho, not so much.
Woohoo, body dysmorhpia!
I'll be throwing up if you need me.

Down with Joe! We want Steve!

"Paris, Je T'aime" is good every time.
My mom and I watched Jayden and Natalie for a couple hours so Natalie could go shopping. It was pretty funy. Jayden is really smart, and copies everything you say. We watched "Blue's Clues" today, and I really miss it. It was good to see an old-school episode with Steve, rather than creepy creepster Joe, who ruined the show with his celebrity guest stars and blue and orange color combo.
Jayden agrees.
Then we played with Maddie and watched "Oliver and Company" while eating Bunny Crackers.
So. Friday night.
Instead of going to the youth group BBQ, I'm sitting at home.
I blame Sierra.
Sort of.
She said she didn't feel like going, and I don't blame her, cuz I've only felt that way myself a billion times.
But still. I was sort of pumped until all my friends bailed.
There are still the very defined "groups" in youth group.
And since mine would be nonexistent for this event, I didn't feel like going and trying to join another one.
Not like they're cliquey and would turn their back.
But, because I'm a socially awkward failure, I would feel complete awkward and stupid and moronic for sort of forcing people to hang out with me because I had no one.
And I'd feel BEYOND stupid if someone took pity on me and decided to hang out with me then.
Yeah. Definite ego booster, that.
But I still feel like I'm missing out.
Ugh. It's been bugging me since Wednesday, when I found I didn't have a ride in the first place.
So I've been feeling sorry for myself since then.
But that's not a new occurrence or anything.
SARK is the coolest! Her book on writing was actually helpful and, dare I say it, inspiring! And it was funny to read it and have the overall tone be, "Yeah, so I write in gigantic color markers all over the page. SO WHAT?"
Very cool.
"House of Leaves" is actually doing a good job at freaking me out.
"Stick it" was pretty funny.
Good books and movies all around.

Multitasking is not allowed.

Yeah, thanks.
I probably shouldn't complain about my internet when I'm making it more difficult by having 6 windows open at a time. Ha HA!
Mr. Kovacs always said it was impossible to multitask, because you can't have your full attention on more than one thing at once, so you're just flipping back and forth between projects while subconciously doing others.
And he didn't reccomend it, because you ended up doing a sloppy job on everything.
But who cares?
Anyway, he was supposed to teach me math, not life lessons.
And he taught math rather well.
And I was surprised to find he was an Anti-Gore conservative.
Not to mention a Christian! Cool!
So is another math teacher at Oly, but I haven't had him yet...and I don't want him. :P
My mom and I had a really good talk about stuff. William's at Great Wolf Lodge with a friend and Dad's in THE ZONE, so he doesn't feel like socializing.
In fact, he's MULTITASKING by listening to a recording of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" while painting William's room a girly shade of red.
William doesn't know yet.
But my mom read an article in Christianity Today that made a case for early marriage.
Because your bodies are ready to make babies and most guys are just going to go out and bang someone anyway.
Um...okay?
And then the author said stuff that sort of contradicted his argument.
Like, there's a shortage of young Christian men.
....
All right, but doesn't that mean you should wait.
No, his point was you need to snatch one up before another girl gets him.
Oh. Well, that's comforting. No pressure.
And he didn't hold guys to any standard whatsoever.
Cuz, you know, guys need to get it out SOMEhow.
But that's not really fair.
If a guy messes up ("I just couldn't help it!"): Aw, shucks. Well, at least you tried. We know how HARD it was for you.
If a girl messes up ("I just couldn't help it!"): What do you MEAN you couldn't help it? You should have prayed! You obviously don't trust God enough! Harlot!
My dad gets mad whenever I say this because he thinks I'm taking a feminist approach and am being unfair to young men, because it's harder for them.
Yeah. And it is harder.
But it's also true that a young Christian man "made a mistake", but a young Christian girl will be forgiven, but can never get her virginity back.
I don't know. There's more emphasis put on a girl's virginity and how vastly important it is.
That word isn't used as much around guys. The focus is just "staying pure" in general.
It might not sound like a big difference, but it is.
Argh, and the stupid Catholic argument against birth control still drives me insane!
Onan spilled his semen because he was selfish and knew the kid he fathered wouldn't be considered his; it would be his brother's kid.
It's not as if he was like, "Oh, well, I don't think I'm financially ready to have a child! And my career's just taking off, and I don't feel like staying home and raising kids, not to mention changing diapers."
And how Catholics think birth control is "evil" and "sinning", but other Christians look down on it, because the couple using it "obviously doesn't trust God enough NOT to give him a child". "He's in charge of your fertility, isn't he? Why can't you trust that he WON'T give you a kid?"
That's a fairly valid point, but it's also like saying, "You have cancer and you're STILL taking chemo? Don't you trust that God will heal you without all that?"
Why WOULDN'T you take efforts to heal yourself??
And you wouldn't want to take a chance if you're UNABLE to care for this child, like, gee, struggling financially? Or already have A BILLION KIDS?
And some couples feel convicted, that God has planned for them to have a *cough* LARGE number of children.
But that's not the case for everyone.
Argh. It seems like I can't post anymore without it becoming a crazy emotional rant of some kind about "beliefs" and "what it means to be American"...
...or something to that degree.
I think.
I need to get it out! Otherwise, my brain will explode!
Today was...a REALLY good day.
Except for it suddenly getting really hot in the little kid's room. And it was pretty stifling in the gym.
But I was in a strangely good mood today. Like...giddy and bubbly. Rather strange.
Anyway, we went down to Kidstuf and sang songs (which the kids hated and refused to dance to while all the teens dance maniacally) and explained what happened on the trip.
It seemed a TAD pointless (most of them were in 1st grade and none of them were listening...), but it was fun.
Then lunch, with the sun shining, then girl talk, and such.
I don't know. Good day.
Okay, there's more: another rant coming up.
My mom and I were still on the subject of marriage when we got onto compatibility, and it turns out COMPATIBIILITY DOESN'T MATTER.
Because, while it might help, even a relationship between two "soul mates" won't work if they're not willing to put in the effort.
Ha, like Pastor Barry. "Love isn't a feeling. It's hard work!"
And relationships between "incompatible" couples end up turning into amazing, loving marriages.
Like, gee...my parents? Exact opposites.
Oh, and my grandparents.
Which sort of debunks the theory that my "soulmate" is an ENFJ.
Oh well.
Which means I'll end up marrying an ESTJ.
YES!!!
Awwwww......this quote is sort of adorable.
Or possibly the cutest thing I've heard in a long time.
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss

How bout 8 pounds of cake?

Ha. Jim Gaffigan.
I know bagels are equivalent to 5 pieces of bread, but they're also delicious.
Well, the one I just ate wasn't. It was a little too...sweet.
And it was a plain bagel, not cinnamon or anything, so it the sweetness seemed out of place. Curse you, Sara Lee!
I can't seem to find cinnamon bagels. Not cinnamon raisin, just plain old cinnamon.
And I know they exist, because Mrs. Hamblet bought us a bunch and I ate at least 4.
But that's okay. They were mini bagels.
My mom and I watched "Once Upon a Mattress".
Too cute.
A mute king discussing the birds and the bees with his 40-year-old son?
All the possibilities...
Zooey Deschanel getting knocked up by the guy from "Glee"?
Oh dear. Can't say she didn't deserve it.
My favorite part was the wizard pretending to be the Nightingale of Samarkand.
"Ka ka ka ka ka, ka ka ka ka ka."
And then he got angry!
"KA KA KA, KA KA, KA KA KA, KA KAAAAAAAA!"
He was so cute, on his little swing!
But not as cute as the king, who was an adorable old man until he got his voice back.
Oh dear, I've spoiled the ending. Rats. Might as well spoil everything else.
It wasn't the pea!
It was jousting equipment!
I'm rereading the Harry Potter series for the millionth times.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to make headway in "Les Miserables" (I should just give up), while revisiting the "Peaches" trio and slogging my way through the new Maximum Ride (I really don't want to...curse you, James Patterson, and your political agenda).
The dog is exhausted. We took a long walk, and she got in a fight with a retriever puppy twice her size. But she won, which is all that matters.

The main character becomes much less attractive when revealed to be short.

Heh. Harry Potter.
After a nightmare planning, I finally saw HP6 with my dad and Emma.
Car rides with them is always sooooooooo fun...what with no one talking.
And then we got to the theater and it was attack of the Introverted Feeler Perceivers.
"Do you want popcorn?"
"I don't know, do you want popcorn?"
"Well, sorta. Does Emma want popcorn?"
"Um, no, that's okay."
"No, it's okay, I'll buy some. How about soda?"
"Nah. Do you want soda?"
"Well....yes."
"Buy some."
"Okay."
"And some popcorn."
"You want popcorn."
"Yes."
"Okay, I bought popcorn, but I didn't get butter."
"Oh."
"Oh no! Did you want butter?"
"Don't worry, I'll get some. Would you like some popcorn, Emma?"
Fun times.
And then we had to decide where to sit...
"Is this okay?"
"Um, sure. Do YOU think it's okay?"
And so on.
Previews. Still my favorite part.
They made a Sherlock Holmes movie? And it's an ACTION movie? Whaaaat?
But...it has Jude Law. :)
It also has Rachel McAdams. :(
And Robert Downey, Jr. :/
Meaning I'll probably go see it when it comes out.
But the movie ended up being REALLY GOOD.
Harry Potter, not "Great Scot!: The Sherlocke Holmes Adventure".
Which I thought was weird, considering David Yates is the one who gave us "Order of the Phoenix", yet managed to produce this 3-and-a-half star film.
Wow, David. What prompted this change?
And there were a few things.
But I'm probably the only one who had a problem with them. Because, yes, I tend to overexaggerate things.
But I don't care. There are times when it's "going overboard"...and there are times when some people *cough cough* should just ADMIT "August Rush" was terrible and leave it at that.
I like Michael Gambon, but not as Dumbledore. He would've made a good Gandalf...but it's too late for that now.
Ugh, Emma Watson. When in doubt, close-up on Hermione's crying face!
She can't even cry! Terrible actress.
At least her thing with Ron was somewhat believable. It was a little hard to believe in the other movies when she would continually throw herself at Harry.
I think they finally just told her to stop.
Hate. Hate. Hate. Hermione is supposed to be smart.
Tom Felton was brilliant.
Rupert Grint is, sadly, the best of the three, but not too bad. Might even be verging on good!
Little boy Voldemort was creepy and morose and sort of annoying.
Teenage Voldemort was FANTASTIC, and reminded me of a combination of David Bowie and Lord Sebastian Flyte.
So evil. It was great.
Slughorn was more of a fop than a pompous old windbag, but a funny fop. Perfect for the part.
Wow, when did Hogwarts receive its shipment of fantasically hot guys?
The movie was pretty much excellent all the way through, UNTIL THEY KILLED DUMBLEDORE!!
Not that I didn't know it was going to happen.
But Snape?
They sort of left out all of Harry's suspicions about Snape, assuming that everyone knew how much Harry distrusted and hated Snape.
But most of the movie was focused on his distrust and hatred for Malfoy. Hm.
And I guess they put in the Unbreakable Vow scene. But still.
So Alan Rickman kills Dumbledore like it's no big deal.
Then the Death Eaters LEAVE THE PREMISES, without even so much as a goodbye or a magical battle of some sort.
Well, Bellatrix was busy freaking out. But she always does that. Ugh, that's another thing: Helena Bonham-Carter. It's like she wants her character to be Jack Sparrow of the wizarding world. I think she's just mad that Tim Burton loves Johnny Depp more than he loves her. Still, mimicking Johnny Depp in a HARRY POTTER MOVIE doesn't seem to be doing her much good. Sooooo annoying.
So the Death Eaters go away, leaving Harry with Snape, and Harry's being Harry (even though Daniel Radcliffe managed not to be too useless in his movie and left the annoying whiny grunty groany thing he does when he gets upset at home), cursing him all emotionally.
And Snape's just casually deflecting.
Harry calls him a coward, and you can see Snape's face is full of pain, and you're waiting for him to snap and turn on Harry, admitting his shocking secret, LIKE HE DID IN THE BOOK.
Only he turns to Harry, after cursing him, and goes, and a FLAT, EMOTIONLESS VOICE, "How dare you use one of my own spells against me. That's right. I'm the Half-Blood Prince."
Or something to that effect. Then he SAUNTERS off into the darkness.
It sort of ruined the movie.
But then Harry went back to the Astronomy Tower and all the students were gathered around crying over Dumbledore's body.
Another close-up of Hermione's hideous crying face.
Then Harry goes up to the body and starts to cry. I started to get a little choked-up.
Then all the students raised their wands as a silent tribute to the fallen Dumbledore, and it was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen in my life, but I cried anyway.
Only I was sitting next to my dad, who doesn't cry EVER, and Emma, who gets embarrassed easily, so I didn't start bawling in my seat.
Best Harry Potter movie YET!
I'm so stoked for "Deathly Hallows".
It's just...there's SO MUCH.
They did really good with this movie, but they still had to cut out quite a bit (ahem. Tonks and Lupin!?!? All of a sudden, they're a couple!? What is this?).
And they are splitting the last book into two movies, because there's so much stuff.
But what if it sucks, like #4 and #5 did?
Or is boring, like the first two?
Argh. It's not coming out for a year...plenty of time...what'll I do until then?

Exploding volcano of passion

Lol, I just read a historical romance by Meg Cabot.
It was basically a rip-off of Princess Diaries. But she won't admit it.
And she wrote another romance with almost the exact same plot, word for word.
Seriously. Read these descriptions:
Nicola and the Viscount
It's only her first London season, but sixteen-year-old Nicola has made up her mind: Handsome, charming, poetry-reading Lord Sebastian is, simply, a god. So when the divine viscount starts paying special attention to her, Nicola is certain she's found her destiny.
Everything is perfect until the infuriating - and disturbingly handsome - Nathaniel Sheridan begins to cast doubt on the viscount's character...and on Nicola's feelings.

Victoria and the Rogue
Wealthy young heiress Lady Victoria Arbuthnot is accustomed to handling her own affairs - and everyone else's. So, when she's suddenly sent to London to find a husband, Victoria quickly finds a perfect English gentleman.
Everything is just as she wants it - that is, if the raffish young ship captain Jacob Carstairs would stop meddling in her plans.

Good times.
But the Nicola plot seemed suspiciously familiar.
A girl falls for a handsome, Aryan god, only to change her mind about him and go for her best friend's intelligent, dark-haired, good-looking BROTHER, Michael Moscovitz, er, Nathaniel Sheridan.
I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it would end! Would it be Sebastian? Nathaniel? Harold? Lol, I stayed up till 1:00 reading it. It had a completely satisfying ending...if you can call it that. But romantic cliches were plentiful and the historical anachronisms made me giggle.
And THEN, I find a preview of ANOTHER historical romance (sadly, not written by Meg Cabot) called "Catherine and the Pirate". The description alone was enough to set me aflame with curiousity...or something like that. It was hard to tell; I was laughing too hard.
Sometimes a girl does have her sights set on the right guy from the start, though. Take Catherine, of the next Avon True Romance, Catherine and the Pirate: she can't help but be attracted to Derrick. So what if he has an unsavory seafaring past? So what if he's her brother's best friend? So what if he acts as though he's not into her? That one kiss had to have meant something! Right?
They went on to describe it as a heartstopping, high-seas adventure.
"Nicola and the Viscount" had plenty of adventure. She was kidnapped by bad guys in broad daylight and locked in a tiny room in a London flat when she refused to bend to their will! Then, when one of her captors came in to torment her, she knocked him out with an ale pitcher and climbed out the window onto the roof! Grant, the evil cabby driver, began to pursue her, but felt himself beginning to slide off! Desperately, he grabbed Nicola's dress, bringing her down with him. Nicola thought she was going to die...but ending up landing in Nathaniel's arms. Grant fell into a water trough.
That's about as exciting as it gets around here.

Thank you, Sam Pratt!

For the friend suggestion.
At first I was like, wtf? But you know best, apparently.
Emma and I went "shopping" yesterday.
Meaning we complained about consumerism and America while wandering about the mall, where we went to three stores before getting stuck in Barnes and Noble.
Good times.
She bought me a book, which was nice.
Even though the book ended up being about the futility of the "intelligent design" argument and how Christians can (and should) square their beliefs with evolution, because evolution is right. Even the Bible says so.
Um, right.
They did make a couple of good points, I must admit, about proven fact and theories.
But I find it annoying that people that believe in evolution assume Christians believe what the people back in Darwin's day believed: that Genesis 1:1 meant that God LITERALLY created everything in the beginning, including every species of every animal ever.
Which I think is sort of ignorant. Because it's been proven that speciation and mutation DOES occur, but that doesn't disprove the theory that God made the earth.
And it doesn't prove that all those species come from a common ancestor (a sponge).
And it certainly doesn't mean that all existence exploded into being from nothing.
Which is sort of what the intelligent design theory is. But there's God involved, not...nothing.
So I wish a lot of people, especially my science teachers, would stop saying things like, "Adaptation happens! Mutation happens! Therefore, you're wrong! Oh, and we found fossils!"
And I wish loudmouth Christians who have no idea what they're talking about would stop standing by the old school Genesis 1:1 theory. Because it's not true.
And they certainly don't take everything else in the Bible that literally, such as Revelation.
It was weird to see how the book twisted the parable of the talents into a pro-evolution argument.
Just like the Catholics twisted an unrelated Bible story around their anti birth control argument. I still don't know where I stand on birth control, but I think their argument is absolute CRAP.
So whatever. My God is big enough for speciation and mutation and everything else. He made organisms infinitely complex, so of course he could have made it so animals *gasp* CHANGE OVER TIME!
And of course he's big enough for evolution, and some people use that argument.
But I'm still not inclined to believe we came from monkeys, even though that's easier to swallow than the "fact" that cows and whales are related.
Of course...
Anyway. Enough of that rant.
My dad thinks I might be in a cult.
Or at least dabbling in some kind of forbidden spirituality.
Because there was a test on this awesome personality profile thing I found that compared your personality to the personality you SHOULD have according to your zodiac.
And I already don't believe in that kind of thing. My horoscope is wrong half the time, and if not, why is it that my supposedly "Virgo" older brother is one of the most extraverted people ever? And my "Aquarius" dad one of the least friendly?
So the test showed that I only fit one of five Capricorn requirements. In short, I am the worst excuse for a Capricorn this world has ever seen.
I met a guy yesterday who put a lot of stock in the zodiac, and was like, "Yeah, well, we Libras get along so well."
Only I had to tell him I wasn't a Libra. And he said he never would've pegged me for a Capricorn.
Well, yeah, go figure.
Anyway, I showed my dad, because I found it fascinating...and kind of funny.
But, as usual, he focused on ONE detail rather than the whole picture, the whole picture being that I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE ZODIAC and I'd showed him the test because IT BASICALLY PROVED HOW WRONG IT WAS.
Actually, if it proved anything, it showed what a freak of nature I am.
But my dad decided to focus on the fact that the zodiac itself is "dangerous" and I shouldn't be dabbling in stuff like that.
?????
Ooooooooookay, dad. Thanks once again for listening.
He never actually listens to the stuff I'm telling him, only what he thinks he hears.
Argh. Frustrating.

Sunday morning fun

My mom and dad had to teach the 4 and 5 year-old Sunday school today.
Apparently, it wasn't a positive experience.
My mom is FREAKING OUT. She has a problem with one of the other teachers, who thinks little kids should have structure and discipline.
Well, yeah. To a point. But little kids don't do well with crazy amounts of structure. They rebel.
And she also has a different opinion than I do of chaos and disorder.
A FEW THINGS weren't put in their proper place, but they weren't cluttering up the room, and it looked FINE, like a nursery/Sunday School room is supposed to look.
But a few things out of place for her is disorder and chaos.
Whatever. I'm just a slob.
And she's lived with the ultimate neat freak for 20 years.
But still.
Anyway.
Primetime was interesting.
It's weird. Coming back from Stateside, I made all these "connections" and now I really feel like a part of the youth group.
And, surprisingly enough, I ENJOY Primetime now!
I don't know about Thrive, which was always the bane of my existence, since it hasn't been going on for a while, but Primetime is great.
Sort of.
All these "connections" and new friendships?
Unfortunately, we're all hiding out back in our little groups.
Ahem, cliques.
But I've got one, too.
And it's not like they're all being rude on purpose, and I'm not exactly initiating anything.
And some people are making an effort, which is...really nice.
But it's how the youth group has always been, and that's what I was always complaining about before.
It just seems sad that I spend 10 days with these people and get to know some of them really well, and want to CONTINUE to get to know them, but how can I if we don't really cross paths even when we go to the same church?
There's always FACEBOOK. But really. A little face to face time would be nice.
I just don't want to be stuck in the same lonely group I'm in now. I love my friends, but not all of them want to branch out.
Other than that...
Good sermon, Ben.
He said something along the lines of our feelings might trust God or think he's faithful, but we should always believe that he's faithful and loves us. Our emotions will follow.
I love how Ben always acknowledges "feelings", and how we're not abnormal for having them. They just HAPPEN. And I'm not even talking about ROMANTIC feelings, though he mentions those quite a bit (he thinks those are bull, though).
Unlike some T pastors I might mention.
ENFPs and INFPs of the world UNITE!
I'm going to join the junior group in Thrive again this year, since I actually belong there this time.
Partly because I finally have friends of my own that aren't kindly older kids...but mostly because Bess is gone.
Yes, I'll say it. She's gone. And I'm GLAD.
I know part of my deal with the youth group was my fault, since I made sure I didn't fit in.
But she made me feel like I didn't fit in. And she continued to do it the entire time I was there.
And her job is to make people feel welcome. Right. Thanks. You're an inspiration.
My brother's leaving tomorrow. :/ And I won't get to see him a lot, even at holidays.
He's been here for the entire summer and I was getting used to having him back.
But I guess we're replacing him?
We might be getting a 16-year-old Vietnamese exchange student.
She'll be going to the college, though, so I won't see her at school.
I'm a little bit like, "Crap." Because every time we had Japanese students, even for just three days, it took me forever to get to know them and I withdrew and they withdrew even more because they were all so SHY and POLITE, so that could prove difficult.
But it's a GIRL who'll be living with us long time, and if it's a good fit...who knows? It could be like the sister I never had.
Could be.
Could be.
Argh.
I need some depressing French music.
I AM WARNING YOU JAVERT! I'M A STRONGER MAN BY FAR! THERE IS POWER IN ME YET, MY RACE IS NOT YET RUN!
Fun times.
Playmobil soap opera? Tempting, tempting.
Myeah...not a bunch of bad ideas...LET'S DO IT!

Brideshead revisited...again

I can just hear a certain pastor's favorite joke, "The Department of Redundancy Department".
A&E said "Brideshead Revisited" wasn't that good, and I'd heard that the relationship of Sebastian and Charles was super flamboyant compared to the book.
It really wasn't that bad.
Charles and Sebastian kissed once, and Charles wasn't even that into it.
Sebastian and Anthony were apparently a couple (? not sure if that's true) before Charles showed up, and within 10 minutes of the film's beginning, we get a kiss from the couple.
I freaked out, more because THEY DIDN'T DATE IN THE BOOK.
It was still a little like, "Hellooooo, Anthony, good to see you...even though you have a moustache!"
Seriously, the moustache grossed me out. I'd pictured sideburns, not a moustache.
What bugged me was that Julia kept popping up and made this weird love triangle between Charles, Sebastian, and herself.
Ugh, I hated her. She couldn't act, and she wasn't even cute!
AND IT WASN'T IN THE BOOK!
Julia and Charles didn't have this epic love that stretched across time. He wasn't interested in her while he was with Sebastian. They didn't have this cutesy forbidden love that "wasn't meant to be"!
Ugh, it was so stupid and disgusting to watch. I guess it worked out pretty well for the director, since Charles' "betrayal" drove Sebastian to drink.
Since the book didn't give a reason, they couldn't leave it all vague. No, it had to be cinematic and theatrical.
Ridiculous.
Other than that, it stayed pretty true to the book.
Emma Thompson was CRAZY. She should play a psycho more often.
My mouth dropped open when I saw Lord Marchmain.
Because I hadn't expected Dumbledore.
And he's not allowed to do any movies besides Harry Potter, of course.
When it came to Catholicism, it seemed ironic that Sebastian, the homosexual dipsomaniac, came the closest. He admitted he needed God's love. Whether or not he found it...he did live with those monks. Cordelia basically said that was good enough, since it was a kind of faith, which went against everything her religion had taught her.
I never thought of Cordelia as stupid, the way the movie portrayed her. But oh well.
Bridey was perfect: ignorant, rude, determined, etc.
When Sebastian moved to Morocco...
It was a poignant scene in the movie, and I was too busy thinking how hot he looked.
Then I started to tear up, because Charles was crying whilst keeping a stiff upper lip. Those British.
It was weird how the movie ended without hope. Sure, Charles learned to RESPECT the altar and the faith, but he walked away after, probably never to be seen again. He just faded away, like the Indians in "Lagaan". Wow. Talk about crappy endings.
And now dinner.
How is it that it's hard to articulate in words what something means to you, but it's easy to write it down...in words?
Doesn't make sense.
Because it was hard to describe the movie to my mom, but if she'd asked me to write it down...
Obviously a career in public speaking isn't in my future. Oh darn.

What do you expect with dial-up?

My dad's freaking out. When you listen to itunes while you're online, the songs sometimes skip.
But whatever. It only does that when you're on the cpu and/or playing a CD while doing a billion other things.
But my dad is worried that the skipping means the songs themselves are flawed and will sound funny on his ipod.
He refuses to be pacified.
He's also worried that my brothers and I are having the Worst Summer Ever, because we're laying around the house doing nothing.
Or, in my case, spending ungodly amounts of time on Facebook and reading too much Meg Cabot (even though I dislike her strongly, I'm still rather addicted to Princess Diaries).
But no. We have to be doing Activities to be having any fun!
But then he worries that we don't like the activities.
So he's very stressed this summer.
He shouldn't be, though; we LIKE being lazy. That's the WHOLE POINT of summer!
I loved Stateside, it was great, and there was so much stuff to do, but now that it's over, even though I get a little bored with the light workload, I just want to relax.
And we had this weird conversation about the WEATHER of all things, where he freaked out because I'd heard something DIFFERENT from him.
It was so weird. He made it this big production, and it was like, "Dad, really, we watch different news channels. Who cares?"
I've learned a lot about him this summer, and I hope it's helping.
The black-bottom cupcakes don't have enough cream cheese!
Instead of being cream cheesy and delicious, they have a hidden pocket of cream cheese that's overpowered by devil's food!
WHAT WILL WE DO??
I would love it if my internet didn't have a heart attack every time I loaded a game of some sort.
I'm kicked offline 45% of the time because of this.
My dad is all, "Maybe at the end of the summer, we'll get high speed!"
Awesome! Seeing as we're years behind!
Oh my gosh, it's dead.

These shoes are $300!!!

You think GIRLS are finicky shoppers?
I went shopping for shirts and ties with my brother - he just bought a suit.
Then he and my mom discussed color and pattern for what seemed like hours.
It seemed like they were on the same wavelength, but if I tried to make a seemingly helpful comment, it was wrong.
So they just ENTJ-ed together while I pouted in a corner.
But that was me overreacting again. Nathan finally decided on a white shirt with two solid-colored ties (mustard yellow and maroon) and my mom bought me ice cream, which was nice since I didn't make her shopping trip any easier.
Then, since there was, for some strange reason, a coffee table in the backseat, we all crammed into the front seat.
It was like riding in a clown car.
Then Nathan and I squabbled over the seatbelt ("I was trying to find it." "You were taking forever!" "YOu were sitting on it!" "Why didn't you ask me to move?" "I didn't know you were sitting on it!!!"). Fun stuff.
Life has been pretty slow and the most excitement I had was laughing at some molested turkeys (long story) and trying to figure out who was eating all the Pop Tarts.
Seriously, it's a mystery.
William just ripped out 2 Pop Tarts like it was no big deal, but he said he didn't eat any the day before. Actually, he said he didn't eat 2 yesterday, which, according to William Logic, probably means he ate one the day before, and then one the next day, but that's not technically eating 2 in one day, which is what he is convinced had me so incensed.
I was just curious. My dad was giggling rather guiltily, but seemed appalled that I would accuse him of taking the dang Pop Tarts.
Aaargh. THEY WERE SUNDAE FLAVORED!!!
I just want to know.
Dad's trying to kill the dog. Not entirely sure why.
Life for her in this heat wave hasn't been fun. Can you imagine a black dog, even a short hair one, finding respite from this heat?
I can't either. And she's having a hard time finding it. Instead of being her chipper self, you can find her lying lazily all over the house: in front of the bathroom, in various doorways, next to the screen door, etc.
And on my bed. A lot of the time. We're sleeping without sheets, which means clothes are mandatory.
Awwwww darn.
Lol. Kidding.
Or am I?

Listening to perverts sing

Thenardier tries to prostitute Cosette in the movie. Sooooooooo icky.
"Perhaps Monsieur would like her to play in his lap."
Ewwwwwwwwwwww.
I'm trying to figure out teenage boys and Facebook simultaneously.
It's proving rather difficult.
Facebook requires a better attention span.
My mustachioed friend is not-so-subtlely pushing for a "relationship".
He thinks I'm completely snowed, too, which is...sad.
There are other random incidents of miscommunication that are still weirding me out.
That, and the double standards about body hair between genders really bug me when I'm out of razors.
We washed the trailer yesterday and ate all of the church's ice cream.
But Kevin took the first one, so it's technically his fault.
And Pastor Mike took one.
We proceeded to eat half the box and many melted otter pops. Mmmmmmm...
CCU gave us a free CD, and it's...
...different.
Aaaaagh, I can't do it anymore.
I need some Les Miserables.
Or perhaps some Matt White.
Mmmmmm, poppy goodness.
I've been listening to Michelle Branch, too.
And Nathan's loving Extreme for their song "More than Words".
Have to admit, I like it, too.
For once I have nothing to say.

Home again...sort of

The day we left Colorado, it started raining.
Like serious "the gods are angry" type rain.
Then we get home to Washington...and the weather's been insanely nice.
Not to mention HOT.
90 degrees?
How very Twilight Zone.
It's good to be home again.
I thought things would be different when I got home.
I'm not sure how I thought they would be different, but when I got back, everything was back to normal.
I sort of just..."fit" right back in.
I'd kind of wanted to be different somehow, like things just "weren't the same".
But then I'd be Christy Miller.
And I praise God every day that I'm not.
And that was a little...stupid, self-righteous, who knows...of me to think in the first place.
Oh well. Life goes on. And I have changed. At least a little bit.
It was a great trip.
We have a *cough* beautifully written team blog and a couple of videos.
My dad was worried watching the videos that I wasn't having a good time, because I look miserable in the videos.
But no. I was actually completely enjoying myself. I just take bad pictures.
The VBS part was great. The highest number of kids was 42 and on the last day we had 39, and at least 15 were saved!
2 out of 4 brothers in one family were saved, and 3 other kids (all in the same family) got saved and were so excited that they brought their jr. high brother.
He completely hated the VBS, but at least he got to hear the message.
And the jr. high group hadn't had kids for the first three days, so it was nice for them to finally have at least one.
The first graders were squirrelly, but so cute. One of the Australians was the youngest of 4 brothers and knew how to get his way oh so effectively. He had the most evil smile.
Another would tag-team with his younger brother and cause chaos.
But he got saved and ended up being a total sweetie. On the last day, during the carnival, it was the happiest anyone had ever seen him.
Probably because he won an ungodly amount of candy.
But still.
Ew, when Tootsie Pops lay in the sun for a long time, they cease to be delicious.
The team bonded, it was all good.
But really, I honestly feel closer to these people and I made a lot of new friends.
Woo, I sound like a kindergartener.
The encouragement board was my favorite part. I loved getting notes. One of the leaders wrote me the nicest note.
Ugh, there were a couple low points. One of the leaders was kind of a jerk.
Scratch "kind of". He was a jerk.
He was like an overgrown frat boy. He'd act like an immature loser half the time, and then suddenly expect you to give him respect. And he'd do stuff we weren't supposed to do, yet when we pulled crap like that, he'd INSULT us to no end.
Or maybe that was just me. Ugh. He was such a loser.
And then one of my teammates and I didn't get along. It was a matter of misunderstandings and differences in personality, but when I finally started trying to make amends, he LITERALLY turned his back on me. Funnily enough, we kept getting thrown together in EVERYTHING; family groups, VBS, etc. So I think we should work it out. But I don't know how he feels about it.
And, frankly, I no longer care.
Wooooooooooooooo, anyway.
There was delicious food every morning from the dream-crushing cooks, and hot showers in the CCU locker room.
CCU sounds like a cool school.
They gave us goodie bags full of college-y stuff.
I got a mug, a frisbee, a CD, and college information! Yes! For sure!
And the guy who gave us the spiel about the school was so darn convincing.
Hmm...Christian school...never really thought about that before.
Denver itself is great. Outdoor malls? What are those? Now I know! We found an epic indie bookstore, too. It was GREAT!
And there was a fantastically awkward bus ride.
Well, there were a couple of those. And not all of them were fun. :P
But the one I'm referring to was funny because it...wasn't...funny.
I ended up buying 7 ninjas and 3 books.
Don't ask.
And all for $25.75!!
Woohoo. And now I'm going to crash. To bed!

Just a few things

I'm leaving for Colorado in 8 hours!!
I'll be gone until the 25th!!
I couldn't sleep, so I started thinking about the Sorting Hat/Personality type thing and agree that Gryffindor's are SJ's and Slytherin's are SP's.
And it's just a trend in the house. Harry Potter was an SP and should've been a Slytherin. Dumbledore was an NF and should've been a Hufflepuff.
But it's still pretty cool.
Most of the SJ characters were in Gryffindor anyway, but a lot of NT's were either in Gryffindor or Slytherin, and all of the NF's were in Gryffindor.
But I'll try not to freak out too much.

It's obviously Anti-Semitic!

"Jesus Christ Superstar" is better than Godspell.
Sort of.
I mean, it's far superior musically, storywise, and ended becoming more famous.
But it's not wonder other Christians hate it.
And I wasn't crazy about it.
I cried a lot during it, though.
Pilate's dream, Mary Magdalene's solo, The Last Supper, nearly every time Judas sang, you name it.
And yet, not a lot during the crucifixion.
After, yeah. But not during.
The whole thing was...weird, and definitely verging on blasphemous.
But I was reading about some of the stuff religious groups didn't like about the movie, and some of the stuff was inconsequential compared to other BIG things.
Jews didn't like it because it blamed Jesus' death on the Jews.
Um, well, yeah, it was mainly Jewish people that called for his death.
And it was the Jewish high priests that wanted him dead in the first place.
It's not as if Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice are raging Anti-Semites who want you all dead.
Blame Hitler if you need to. He was one.
Or other Christians freaking out because Pilate didn't have the dream about Jesus in the Bible! His wife did!
Wow...you would think those people would object to the fact that the movie states that Jesus WASN'T THE SON OF GOD and that Judas WAS JUSTIFIED.
Anyone who's read this blog for a long time knows I think Judas was a sympathetic character.
But I don't think Judas betrayed Jesus for the good of the people, or that he was right about Jesus being a liar.
And Jesus, for the larger part of the film, was portrayed as a petulant, spoiled, ambitious, hypocritical loser.
Then, later, it showed him doubting.
Both he and Jesus ended up yelling at God and showing him to be a cold God who either doesn't care about us or doesn't exist.
Then the disciples, right before he was crucified, started wondering if all he wanted was attention or perhaps an effective way to prove his point and didn't realize the consequences.
Most of the disciples were shown as misguided punks who deserved better.
Then Jesus is dead.
His disciples do NOT carry him around the city singing, "Long Live God".
Instead, he's dead. They mourn. They scatter. And that's all there is.
Wow. How depressing.
My dad won't admit it, but he loved it. He knows all the songs.
My mom hates it. Probably because it's "Anti-Semitic".
I'm undecided.
I watched "Les Miserables" yesterday, though, and LOVED it.
Mmm, Hans Matheson.
I can't tell if Claire Danes is really pretty or really odd looking.
Maybe both?
Geoffrey Rush was scary. I managed to stop screaming, "Barbossa! Barbossa!" midway through the movie.
The suicide was a little overdramatic.
And Liam Neeson somehow walked away from that encounter unscathed, not emotionally traumatized at all.
But, overall, great movie.
I haven't gotten any farther in the book. There's a large section on Waterloo that keeps mocking me.
Ugggggggh I would love to skip that part, but I'm scared I'll miss something important.
I leave for Colorado tomorrow night. We'll be gone for a week and a half.
WOOOO!!! I'm excited.

Aw, fudge.

Mmmm, fudge sounds goooooood.
I took my driver's test today...aaaaaaaand it didn't go so well.
It wasn't even like, "Oh, you missed it by this much!" I failed miserably.
And I knew it.
First thing on the test: PARALLEL PARKING.
I'd had five people tell me it wouldn't be on the test, but I guess I didn't read the pamphlet thoroughly enough, because I had to do it.
That was the first thing I did wrong.
I hit a cone, then tried to pull into the parking spot, but ended up parking NEXT to the spot.
I was completely parallel, too. How did that happen?
So I tried again.
Another epic failure.
My driving instructor, a really nice Guamanean lady, sighed and wearily asked me to re-enter traffic.
Which I did.
For the rest of the test I did fine. I'm a good driver.
Sort of.
Then I had to back around a corner.
I thought I understood her instructions, but apparently I wasn't listening hard enough or my brain malfunctioned, because an instant after she said them I forgot. I started turning my wheels every which way, bumping into the curb, ramming into brick walls, and asking, "Wait, you want me to turn into the driveway? Straight line into the driveway? Oh, turn RIGHT!" So I turned my car left.
She sighed again and asked me to re-enter traffic without killing anybody, which I managed to do.
The atmosphere of the car wasn't a hopeful one. A dark cloud hung over the Le Sabre and her body language boded ill.
But she was really nice about it.
Ed would have berated me and explained every little thing I did wrong and what a bad driver I was, compared to him and every other teenager out there.
Actually, that's kind of what she did.
But the WAY she did it wasn't as mean.
So she left and my dad came back and I had another big fight with him (we'd had one coming into the parking lot, when he decided constructive criticism was the best way to go - right before my test!!!).
He wanted me to go inside the DOL and renew my permit.
At this point, after *cough cough* bravely listening to my instructor tell me just how badly I failed, I couldn't take it anymore was bawling like a baby.
And my dad expected me to go inside, red-eyed and tear-stained, to smile for my permit picture.
That didn't go over well.
So he yelled a lot and I cried and might have cussed him out.
Correction: I did cuss him out.
Which he let go. I was a little surprised. I've never been grounded, but for what I said, I probably should have been.
It was bad.
But my mom bought me flavored Tootsie rolls and let me chill out and get away from people for a little while.
So Tie and I went on a long walk.
We were greatly cheered by cheery mechanics, cute old people, and skeevy old bikers.
The Lance Armstrong kind, not the tough leather-clad variety.
This one rode by me at least 5 times.
The last time he called out, "Good morning," and smirked heartily.
It cracked me up, but I couldn't figure out his motives.
Was he checking me out (unlikely) or trying to prove that he was so much faster than A GIRL WALKING HER DOG?
Congratulations! You can bike 2 miles faster than I can walk them! Good for you! By the way, I'M 16!!!!
He was at least 30.
Maybe even 40.
Ew.

I'm gonna get so drunk...on Mountain Dew!!

Tie and I were accosted by some Mormons today.
We'd seen them approach a couple people walking in front of us, so we crossed over to the other side of the street, just to be safe.
There's nothing wrong with Mormons. But I didn't want to take part in a polite, but passionate spiritual debate.
They saw me and greeted me anyway, commenting on Tie's interesting appearance.
For those of you that haven't seen her, she looks like a giant bat/miniature wolf.
Then they politely asked me if I'd be interested in going to their church.
I asked if they meant the Mormon church.
Our conversation went something like this.
"Hello there, ma'am. Are you enjoying your walk?"
"Um...yes." The sky is a lovely dark gray and it's 60 degrees outside. I'm walking 2 miles in flip-flops with an overly-curious dog. Not so much.
"Wow, what kind of dog is that."
I didn't really feel like explaining. "I don't know. I got her off the internet." Weird as it sounds, that happens to be true.
There is a brief moment of good-natured laughter.
"Well, ma'am, would you be interested in checking out our church?"
Um, do you mean temple? "Um, do you mean the Mormon church?"
"Yes, that's it's nickname."
More laughter.
I tried to extricate myself from the situation politely without coming off as a Bible thumper. This is what I managed to come up with: "Um...no thanks. I believe in the Bible, not the Book of Mormon."
The Mormons only seemed a little offended, but they got more aggressive with their pitch.
"We believe in the Bible, too!"
"No, thanks...I'm good." Aren't I so wonderful with people?
"Oh, well, do you know who wrote the Book of Mormon?"
What kind of question is that? "No...."
"Well, it was written around the same time as the Bible. In fact, they were written at the same time." Um, that's cool. I'm really not sure what you're trying to prove.... "I really don't think you understand. We could definitely explain it to you so you DO understand."
"Um, no, that's okay. I'm just...not in the mood for a spiritual debate. Have a nice day, though."
"Oh. Okay. Well, have a nice day."
I felt bad. Maybe I should have talked to them, but I know they would have talked me down. And I didn't really feel like explaining the differences between our two "religions" and pointing out that what they believe is COMPLETELY different from what I believe.
And as soon as I walked away, I thought up all this stuff I could've said that would've been direct, but not overly confrontational.
But that's how life works.
I like Mormons in general. For some reason, they're always really polite and chatty.
Sure, some of them get a little overzealous.
But there were two Mormons who talked to me today, and the one who didn't do any talking was completely cheerful and friendly, where the other guy was friendly, but still a little persistent.
And my Mormon guy friends are chivalrous, respectful, and moral.
So all the good ones aren't taken. They're Mormon. And the Bible (I couldn't resist being a little preachy) told me I shouldn't get involved with someone who doesn't believe in Hell.
Or that Jesus was the Son of God.
Oh, and good works aren't everything.

Glad that's settled...sort of....

Not again.
I might have a friend who's angling for a more-than-friends relationship.
But I'm really not interested.
We were hanging out today, though, and he told me some interesting stuff about his best friend.
The one who led me on for an entire school year.
THAT one.
He wanted to know "what had happened between us", because not a lot of people knew what was going on at the time.
So I told him the basics without going into the whiny, dirty details.
His reply?
"Hm, intesting. That's basically what he said, but he told me you were WAAAAAY more into it than he was."
Excuse me?
That annoyed me a little. Okay, a lot. He'd semi-stalked me for a month before our whole "relationship" debacle began, and did all sorts of creepy boyfriend type things, even though we never officially went out.
Oh yeah, but he wasn't into it.
But it sort of made sense that he would say that, because don't most guys say stuff like that? "Oh yeah, I broke up with her. It just wasn't working. She was way too into it!"
Then he started telling me about all of his ex-girlfriends and how he led on a BUNCH of other girls, including me.
Oh, and one of my best friends, who ALSO liked him at the time.
WTF?? I feel like I've walked into a teen drama.
The whole situation was stupid when it was happening, but this is RIDICULOUS!
And it makes me mad that after everything, I thought, "You know, he made a mistake, but so did I. It just didn't work out, that's all."
But no. It turns out this guy is REALLY a jerk, and he's been hurting girls ON PURPOSE because he's a JERK.
And I'm still FRIENDS with him!
Ugh. I was pretty mad after that.
And my friend, the one telling me all this, was like, "Yeah, he's kind of a dick."
UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR!!!
So they're still friends, and he's still in my group of friends, but apparently he's been saying stuff about me behind my back (and I haven't exactly refrained from doing the same to him, to be honest...), so this coming school year, I don't exactly think we'll be hanging out.
I just wish my friends didn't like him so much.
Then again, he has sort of changed in the past year, and has been making a big deal about how much more popular/stylish/cool/knowledgable he is compared to the rest of us band kids.
So hopefully he'll decide to just go away.
I'm also mad that he refused to talk to me about it, and I had to figure out what really happened from his best friend months later.
Ugh. Stupid.

Cheesy e-mail forwards gone wrong

My dad's friends have been sending us a billion, like "For all who love dogs-hahaha" and "Kids explaining the Bible - too funny"!
But there was this one sent that made me cry.
And I felt stupid. But some of them were so sad.
Yesterday was a little bit sad for my grandpa.
Well, not a little bit.
His sister died, and he had to spend most of the day like it didn't bother him, being the host.
And he'd been expecting it.
But something like that would still ruin your day.
Or week.
It was a great picnic, though. Usually I hate the Fourth of July, but I actually enjoyed myself this year.
The ice cream took forever to make, but it was delicious, as usual.
The blackbottom cupcakes were delicious. Nathan tried to steal the one Grandma was saving. But he failed.
I ate an entire bar of Hershey's, but it was disappointing. Kind of dry. Disgusting.
There was some random guy I'm almost positive I'm not related to.
Funny how hormones work.
You see someone you like and decide to be on your "best behavior". From that moment on, you make a complete fool of yourself.
Other times, when you don't like anyone and you're just being yourself, you unknowingly attract someone else.
Weird. No one really wins.

Refreshing foot spray!

It has rosemary and eucalyptus oil in it.
How...fabulous.
I used to hate the smell, but it's kind of grown on me.
It's a summer pasttime. Might as well spend all my time on quizilla.
I'm actually pretty into "Anne of Green Gables", as lame as that might sound.
I finished the first one and am making my way through "Anne of Avonlea".
I've read the first three a couple of times, but forgot how much I like the series.
So I'll finish that series while reading another and trying to finish "Les Miserables".
Like that'll ever happen.
But I'm hoping that maybe...someday...
Psh. I know what happens to Valjean anyway.
"Love's Labours Lost" is my new favorite Shakespeare play! It's a riot, even funnier than "The Taming of the Shrew"!
There are all sorts of inappropriate sex jokes.
Boyet made one about inserting his arrow into Rosaline's mark or something, and the translation at the bottom was, mark: female genitals, arrow: penis.
Rather shocking.
Biron was my favorite. The King and the three scholars all wrote sonnets to their lady loves, but Biron's was the best.
I swooned a little bit reading it. He can shoot my mark anytime.
But I was expecting a huge quadruple wedding at the end, but it wasn't to be.
I could care less about the other people, but Biron and Rosaline were supposed to rush into each other's arms and embrace passionately.
Oh well. At least she said she'd consider marrying him in a year's time.
And I like how one of the themes was Girl Power. All the guys were losers.
Except Moth.
I've been cooing a lot. Maybe I should stop exposing myself to overly romantic stuff.
But I can't help it! Awwww, Biron. Awwww, Gilbert Blythe. Stuff like that.

SJs rule the world...no wonder...

Male and Female Personality Graphs

You're so vain...

Parents.
Yes, the only reason I'm alive is so I can make you mad, Dad.
You see, it's my fault the concert in Keyport ended early.
So I sat in the backseat of the car trying to make him laugh, while he explained to me how my jokes weren't funny because they were innacurate.
Yes, I know Michael Jackson wasn't an albino. That's not the POINT.
But I digress.
I'm 58 pages into Les Miserables! Yes! Only 1410 pages to go!
Crap. I'm trying to find this book I saw about the art of making playlists, but it doesn't seem to exist.
My brother and I got into an argument regarding Les Miserables.
After listening to the CD a billion times, I found it rather depressing. The peasants continued to lead hopeless lives where no one gave a crap, and most of the "good guys" die. Marius is getting married and should be the happiest man alive, but he can't help thinking about all the friends he lost and can't celebrate. He literally lost ALL of his friends. Every single one of them DIED!
But Nathan argued that, later in history, the good guys eventually won, so the musical wasn't sad at all. And Javert, one of the "bad guys" died, so not everything was bad.
Hello? Eponine is dead. Gavroche is dead. Javert wrestles with his conscience and has the chance of becoming a good man, but decides he can't live with himself after all the things he's done and KILLS HIMSELF. Thenardier, one of the villians, ends up on top by robbing people. And Valjean, the hero, a changed man who's lived a full life, DIES.
Sure, of old age, with his daughter by his side, but STILL.
It's not the kind of thing I listen to when I want to be HAPPY.
But no, Nathan berated me for not thinking of the historical context and for even being sad at all.
Ugh. He was sort of joking, but of course he thought was right.
As usual.
We constantly butt heads over stuff like that.
I'll be sad about something, and he'll be all, "Well, logically..."
Irritating.
And yet my mom gets it???
Who knows.

Interesting theory....

Someone just combined two of my favorite things: Myers-Briggs and Harry Potter!
They think that each of the four houses represents a different group of personality types.
Although I agree with another person who posted and said Slytherins were the Protectors and Gryffindors Creators, rather than the other way around.
Because many of the Gryffindors were rather impulsive (a P characteristic). The only one who wasn't was Hermione.
So that means:
Protectors (SJ): Slytherin
Creators (SP): Gryffindor
Intellectuals (NT): Ravenclaw
Visionaries (NF): Hufflepuff
I'm a Visionary (INFP), and I took one of the more accurate Sorting Hat quizzes, and it put me in Hufflepuff.
What do you know? That fits!
What a cool theory.
Psh. Gryffindors are overrated anyway.

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Jesus sure looks nice in that Superman T-shirt

Crap. "Les Miserables" is at the library.
All 1438 pages of it.
Aaargh.
I don't want to read that many pages!
I have 8 other series to read this summer!
And I could barely focus while reading LOTR, what with all the fighting and recapping.
The French Revolution is going to be even worse!
I read the abridged version. That should count for something.
William and I watched "Godspell" last night.
An article in A&E stated that there are two kinds of people: Godspell people and Jesus Christ Superstar people.
Not having seen Jesus Christ Superstar, I wouldn't know.
But I'm not really that into Godspell either.
It was pretty trippy.
People follow the magical horn of John/Judas the Baptist/Iscariot, who pops in out and out of windows, ballet dances, and libraries for some odd reason.
Then they all jump into the fountain and dance to "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord".
Then Jesus appears wearing nothing but blue boxers. He wants to get washed up!
After being baptized by John, he pops out of the fountain WEARING CLOTHES!
That part threw me a little, and I stared at the TV with my mouth open for five minutes afterward.
Then they went on to act out parables in strange, unorthodox ways.
Then again, Jesus himself was pretty unorthodox in his day.
But that didn't make the movie any less weird.
The music was great. Alas, alas, you lawyers and Pharisees! "Day by Day" was somewhat ruined for me by the fact that Robin sang like a man.
I really couldn't understand how tying a man's arms to a chainlink fence while he stands on a bucket could ever be fatal. I know that wasn't really the point, but still.
And then it was as if the director ALSO missed the entire point of Jesus' death: he DIDN'T rise from the dead!
And, yeah, whoever wrote the play obviously didn't believe Jesus had, didn't believe he was the Son of God, etc.
But still. Why write a play about Jesus if you leave out one of the most important parts?
And yes, I can think of reasons why.
But it made the ending somewhat of a bummer.
His disciples decide to carry his dead body around town, while they sing merrily.
Which could be interpreted as joy because they know Jesus did good things and now it was their turn to share the good news with other people.
But if Jesus never rose...what good news would they have to share?
I also found it weird that Jesus died but Judas lived.
The other disciples didn't seem mad at all that Judas betrayed and essentially killed their Rabbi.
In the Bible? He killed himself, because he felt so guilty, and maybe (this is speculation) he knew that the other disciples wouldn't be able to forgive him.
In fact, they might even have killed him.
So he beat them to it.
Which makes me sad because he screwed up big time, but he was sorry afterwards.
Yeah, that sounds lame, but it wasn't just, "Oh dear, I regret that decision." His attitude was, "How can I live with myself after what I've done? What a terrible decision!"
So he bought a field and possibly hanged himself. There's a verse that talks about his blood and guts flying everywhere, which didn't sound like a hanging. :O Maybe the other disciples got him after all.
When the high school did "Godspell" last fall, they changed the ending and it was pretty epic. Shafer had commented that the ending seemed kind of hopeless and wanted to include the Resurrection into the script. So, in the play, Judas and another disciple placed Jesus' body in a box. While they were singing "Long Live God", they opened the box and revealed to the audience that Jesus wasn't there (they literally tore that thing apart, so it was pretty obvious he was gone).
Then, when everyone was clapping, Jesus runs out in a white suit onto the stage and joins the other actors as they take their bow.
Genius? You bet.
But carrying around Jesus' corpse works, too.
Next, to torture ourselves, we're going to watch "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Oliver!". Should be fun.