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.

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

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!

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.

Beet down!!!

Ha ha, that's what my T-shirt says.
With a picture of a dead beet lying on the ground.
No one I know got it.
Which sort of defeats the entire purpose.
The seeds have sprouted! My boobs might actually exist, and are bigger verging on ginormous!
5 years of acne and awkwardness suddenly became worth it.
Probably none of you wanted to know that, and it's not really a thing you would put out on the internet for all the world to see (especially since my grandma reads this), but...yeah, can't really justify.
Still, don't expect any pictures of them any time soon, or anything like that.
"Moulin Rouge" is on Channel 10, so my brother is watching it secretly.
But if it's on a regular channel, they cut out half the movie, so how bad can it be?
Ugh, Nicole Kidman is kind of making me mad.
She has this weird quasi-British accent and her Australian accent keeps popping up, though she pretends it doesn't.
And her voice is nasally when they sing.
It ticks me off.
A lot.
But I just watched the "Elephant Love Medley" scene.
And that's really all I wanted to see.
We had an awesome team meeting today at church.
Following two really good sermons, and fueled by delicious lasagna, we made crafts, roleplayed some scenes regarding recruiting people for VBS, and talked about chivalry and whatnot.
Ben made it clear that he didn't think we were really slutty or "tuned into the culture", but that we should watch what we wear anyway.
And that guys should take the lead, be chivalrous, and watch out for us when we went out and knocked on doors, in case some axe murderer attacks us or something.
It just nice. They seemed to take it pretty seriously.
So now I'm pumped. We're leaving on the 15th. Should be great.

CLOSURE CLOSURE CLOSURE

One of the fantastic differences between Judgers and Perceivers: Judgers need closure and if they don't have it they will hyperventilate and die. Perceivers really DON'T CARE.
Which is what happened when my mom asked if I would like to get together with my friend this afternoon, and I mistakenly said yes.
BOOM! Now there are all sorts of decisions to be made! What time should this take place? What are you going to do? Would this require transportation? Do you need money? Do either of you like cheesecake? Would she like to stay for dinner? CALL HER.
I just got home. I'd rather be a good introverted perceiver and recharge from all my socializing while pretending decisions don't need to be made and deadlines don't exist.
Anyway. That was kind of the theme of "Spectacular!":
Selfish ISFP wannabe rockstar is kicked out of his own band, and strikes a deal with desperate ESTJ show choir leader: if he agrees to be their male soloist and helps them win at Nationals, she will give him half the prize money (which he will then use to pay for his own demo).
It was terribly acted and had a cheesy plot riddled with cliches.
And it was a musical.
In other words: fabulous.
Nickelodeon does better movies because, unlike Disney, they don't consider "butt" a cussword and have the female lead make witty comments about the villain's weight.
Tee hee.
The morals weren't all that positive, though. Screw authority! Do what you want to do! Blame corporate America! Judgers are tightwads who always need a schedule! Be a Perceiver and go with the flooooooow!
Fun times.
I finished "Every Young Woman's Battle".
Yay! A Christian book that doesn't shy away from sex or insist on telling stupid allegories about sexual purity!
They got fairly graphic, but only a little bit. And they made good points, but didn't condemn those who'd had sex before. They ALSO (thank God) didn't act all condescending and imply that the "sinners" were forgiven, but God would always remember the nasty, dirty, rotten little tarty things they'd done before.
*cough* Christy Miller *cough*
The author herself had had sort of a bad past, and she said, "I'm telling you this because I wish I'd known." But she's married with two kids and finally happy, and she's trying to show girls that they can be happy, too, rather than sneering self-righteously at them and telling that, even though he SHOULDN'T, God would "forgive" you.
*cough* Pastor Jim *cough*
The last few chapters were cool, too. It talked about marriage, Christian guys' perspective on girls, and true love, which, surprisingly, ISN'T A FEELING. That explains a lot. When I was reading it, I was looking at the things it said about "relationships" (still hate that word) and what you need to have to be ready for one, and I'm not even close, so I'm putting my purity ring to good use and am not going to date. I lost two really good guy friends by trying to rush into Coupledom, so I'm going to spare myself the drama and focus on my relationship with God instead.
Which sounds just as self-righteous and condescending as the people I described.
But I don't mind.
As long as I don't grow up to be Christy Miller.
"God is awesome. OMG TODD! God who?"

Christians at an alehouse?

Despite the fact that I didn't get into bed until 2:00 AM last night, and then Tie stole all the covers, Grad Night last night was pretty bomb.
And yeah, I was the only one who didn't whip out a brand new prom dress for the occassion.
But my dress was one of those perfect, God-given shopping moments.
You see it and you just know.
Because my life is a romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.
Ew, I just watched "Kate and Leopold" and it was terrible.
They always describe Meg Ryan's characters as "quirky" and "independent" when the proper word would probably be "ditzy" or "clueless".
Anyway.
Good times.
And the pastors didn't give me questionable stares because of the amount of leg and cleavage I was showing.
Speaking of pastors, Pastor Mike hid under the stage for 3 HOURS during the "Clue"-esque production put on during dinner.
It's always the quiet ones...
...but it was really Milton Bradley.
And it was a little disappointing pulling up to BJ's in Tacoma after a seemingly endless drive, but the Pizookies were totally worth it.
And the flatbread pizza.
Mmmm, vanilla bean ice cream.
And our waitress was all wise and actually enjoyed her job.
Why that was memorable, I don't know why.
But she was nice.
And had cool hair.
And gave Josh an orchard full of lemons for his homemade lemonade.
Harry Potter seems like perfect summer reading material.
Because every book opens in the beginning of summer, when it's hot out and everyone but Harry is lazing about.
And then, while you laze about yourself, you get to read about a school 10 times cooler than yours will ever be.
Even if it's always cold there.

You don't have morality; you're a dog!

Ha ha, Michael Medved.
The gay penguins broke up.
One of them moved out.
How sad.
I thought they would last forever.
Athletic shorts!
California was awesome.
True, we only got to see restaraunts and theme parks, but the weather was great, the scenery was beautiful, and the people were...completely fake, but who cares about them?
We were coming back on the plane, and there were clouds and it was just a little bit colder, and everyone went, "NOOOOOOOO, TURN AROUND NOW!"
As Steve so aptly put it, "Why be happy when you could live in Washington?"
The weather here has been great this week, however. 77 degrees today. w00t
"Lagaan" was actually really good.
Or at least enjoyable. And entertaining.
And he picked the right girl. I was so happy.
Now for "Slumdog Millionaire"!
They're making a remake of "Fame"!
I'm pumped.
Grad night is tomorrow.
Ew, dress.

Jelly Battle, ha ha ha

I'm a corporal! Take that!
I'm a sergeant!
But not a captain.
Well, now I am.
I guess I don't really get Pandemic at all.
It was really cute, the Sunday School classes came out and handed carnations to all the mothers for Mothers Day.
One of Mike's kids gave me a flower.
But I'm not a mother.
But that's okay.
Lol, the game Pandemic is completely awful, but sort of entertaining.

I've got headaches and back luck, but they couldn't touch you, no

Easter is tomorrow!! It came way faster than it did last year. Same with Christmas. And just about every holiday we've had so far.
But we had Saturday service up in the sanctuary today, which was sort of new and unheard of.
But exciting.
Even more people came than usual.
And when you're standing on stage waiting for the worship portion of the service to start, there's nothing else to do but stare at everyone that comes through the door.
Not to be mean or intimidating.
Just curious.
And some pretty hot guys go to my church. ;)
There was this one guy who walked in that was pretty cute, and tall, which is a plus.
He looked sort of familiar, but I didn't know who he was.
Then, as my dad and I were leaving, we saw this family from Sylvan Way (AKA hell) that we used to know a billion years ago.
And that guy was with them.
....
....
....
....
....
NO WAY!!!!
Turns out it was my best friend from 4th grade.
The one I used to have a crush on.
The one who beat me on every science test because that was the one subject he was better at.
The one I got in a huge argument about evolution with.
The one I haven't seen for FOUR YEARS!!!!
THAT ONE.
So that was surprising. He comes to Saturday night service every so often, but is also checking out another church his parents like.
And he recognized me right away.
My bad.
Ha ha, Nick at Nite.
:O
"Am I a genius or what? It works every time."
What a jerk! Dump him, Anna, dump him!

PG-13 is the new R.

Meaning my life is PG, thank you.
Wow. Youth Group. Fun.
We got into a rather heated discussion over whether or not gay men should be pastors.
And it got ugly quite fast.
It all started when this one girl asked whether or not a girl could be a youth pastor, which brought as right on back to 1 Timothy 2:12, a verse I'd had Sunday School teachers dispute over in past years.
"Oh, well, women can cut their hair as short as they want it, but they can't lead in the church!"
Why would you disregard one verse and adamantly preach another?
Argh. Sorry. But it still bugs me.
Anyway, we sort of skirted past the "women leading the church" issue, when another girl asked if a gay man could be a pastor.
Her reasoning: He wasn't a woman, and God was all-loving and all-forgiving, so surely he could look past his gayness and let this man lead.
That's when all hell broke loose.
Some of the more opinionated people took charge in explaining (rather passionately) what the Bible said about homosexuality.
One of the not-so-sensitive (ahem) homeschoolers BERATED this girl for not knowing all that the Scripture said about this issue.
A few people (including myself) tried to speak up and got knocked out the way.
Some of the more neutral and quieter people got very uncomfortable and hid in the background, waiting for our hour to be over.
And then our leader decided to read a very long passage about not just homosexuality, but all sin, and how sinners would be dealt with if they did not repent.
You could see the girl getting madder and madder until she just stopped listening.
Then she left.
AAAAAAAAAGH of course this is the ONE issue I have trouble with, and I wanted to talk the girl personally, because, with my big ego, I was convinced I could get her to understand without being agressive and shoving Scripture down her throat.
But then some people accused me of being too soft and PC, and told me that we can't always spoonfeed people, and that they have to know the truth, and God's word will always be hard for some people to swallow.
And I don't disagree with Janine reading the Scripture. But after all that had been said already, a reading of the entire first chapter of Romans didn't seem like a good idea to me, and just made things worse.
And yeah, this is her issue. And yeah, Christians are pretty good at offending people and sometimes it's necessary if we're going to stand up for what we believe in.
But some of what was said was NOT necessary.
Gah.
So. That's fun. We're going to WSU, and hopefully won't get ticketed for not having snow tires.
It's just slush. I think we'll be okay.
But I'm pretty pumped. It's going to be freezing cold and my brother is going to be busy all weekend, but we get to eat out, so who needs him?
I just want school to start up again.
If only jazz band wasn't so early....

Dangerous dumplings

Hwaaaaaa!
Argh. It's like my dad and I communicate backwards. I was really tired, about to pass out, and I didn't want to go to Primetime and listen to a boring sermon after I'd pretty much ignored my favorite pastor preach for about an hour, so I told my dad, and he starts LECTURING me about how I can't always get out of it and I might regret it now, but in the end I'll be happy. So I started crying, because I was REALLY FREAKING TIRED and I didn't want to have to deal with all that self-righteous crap, and he was making me MAD.
So I'm sitting there, fuming, and he lets me for a good half hour, and then, when he takes me home, there's suddenly all this overwhelming sympathy! He's really sorry, and everything, but by now it's too late, because I'm just MAD and TIRED and UNREASONABLE and I don't need this.
Argh. It seems to be becoming a pattern, too.
And why is it that when someone sees that their friend is angry, they decide that the BEST possible way to cheer their friend up would be to annoy the bloody daylights out of them??
And then they're so surprised that their friend is even angrier, and they pout because of it!!!
Are you insane?????????? What kind logic is that???
So people are frustrating, but God created dogs, and they are nice. I mean, humans are sort of becoming more dependent on technology and English is going down the toilet, but dogs can't "communicate" with us verbally, yet seem to know exactly what we're thinking all the time. Body language is all we have to go on. They're like little "Lie to Me"'s.
That show is pretty cool.

I want to wash my hair in snow

Shampoo works better, but that's okay.
I woke up this morning to a beautiful snowy neighborhood. The view out my window looked like a Thomas Kinkaid painting.
Did anyone else have a psycho 4th grade teacher who LOVED Thomas Kinkaid and forced her students to copy his paintings?
Wasn't it so lame that if you didn't make your painting look EXACTLY like his, you got a low grade?
Sorry SOME of us aren't as artistically talented as others.
And this man has been painting forever. It's not like a couple 4th graders are going to do a perfect job of copying his paintings.
"I've only seen paintings of this painting!"
So yeah, I'm not bitter or anything.
But anyway, as sinful as it sounds, I really DID NOT want to go to church today, and was convinced that the snow meant there would BE no church.
But no. There was church. The snow was just a ruse.
Sigh.
Then we were at a family Christmas party up on Fox Island and it started snowing really heavily and William and I were so PUMPED. NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!! WOOOO!!!
And then we got home and found all of OUR snow melted and gone.
The Suicide Hotline didn't answer my frantic phone call. How depressing.
Tie loved the snow, unlike Oggy, who detested it. She was frolicking around in the backyard, licking up mouthfuls and writing her name in colorful excrement.
I'm writing my English essay on the focus on male relationships in both "Night" and "Swing Kids". I hope Mr. Rosendale doesn't think I'm referring to homoerotic overtones scholars are so convinced they've found in other examples of literature, such as "Romeo and Juliet" (also titled "Romeo and Mercutio").
At least no one else will have done this topic.
But I might be surprised.
The family Christmas party wasn't so bad. Everyone spent a lot of time gazing adorably at baby Riley and there was a lot of good food.
I always feel out of place in our family, though. I'm thinking it's because of the dark hair. Almost everyone in my extended family (on my mom's side, anyway) has blonde hair and blue eyes, except for a few people only related by marriage. But they're all so perfect-Aryan and Scandinavian that I feel like hiding with my dark-haired father and siblings in a corner.
I feel like I've tainted the gene pool.
Actually, it's my dad who's tainted the gene pool.
And my relatives aren't pyscho Nazis, but I feel OUT OF PLACE. People can't tell I'm related to my mom, or my grandparents, or my cousins.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SET ME UP WITH MY SECOND COUSIN! At least I think he's my second cousin. Something like that.
I really hope they don't believe in arranged marriage.
Aaagh.
But if I did marry him, we probably shouldn't have kids.
They'll taint the gene pool.

Some things are disgusting, but they have to be done

Like hocking up giant yellow lugies.
Gross? Maybe.
Satisfying? You betcha.
Yeah, I'm sick.
So I missed one of 4 half days.
Dang it.
1 and a half stars! Ha! Stephenie Meyer, I laugh at thee.
So I had a very interesting night last night:
Alexis called at about 5:00 and asked if I needed a ride.
She'd asked me if I was "going tonight" in advisory and I assumed she had meant the Jazz Night.
Apparently SHE'D been referring to Youth Group.
So she picks me up and we're halfway to the church when I realize we're NOT headed to the high school.
Yeah, it took me that long.
So her mom dropped Alexis off at youth group and then drove me to the high school.
And I sat alone.
The concert wasn't bad, though. The Navy band played, and my dad had a heart attack when I told him.
I mean, why would he go to play rehearsal when there was a NAVY BAND CONCERT he could've gone to??
Too bad none of us knew that Navy Band was coming.
Well, not none of us. Probably just me.
Yeaaaah, stocking up on junk food!! Yeaaaah!

Rawr, I'm the Kraken!

Hmmm, I'm seeing a pattern.
People are odd.
Or rather, the GHOSTS of people.
That makes me miss Nathan. He's visiting for Thanksgiving!
Nathan: gHoOoOoOoOoOsTs!!!!
And so is Marie!!!
She doesn't yell "gHoOoOoOoOoSts" very often, though.
Pastor Barry is starting in Titus and preached about the qualities of a pastor. He spent a little bit of timing emphasizing the woman's role in the church, and how women should not be pastors.
It's weird that this is such a gray area when it's explicitly stated in the Bible that women should have not have a leadership role in spiritual matters in the church.
Some people walked out. Poor Pastor Barry.
Two random people stayed at our house last night. They were part of a traveling singing group that's going to be in our area for a while and they needed housing. It was kind of weird, but they were nice and weren't even here for long. One was from Tennessee, and the other from Alaska. She can see Russians from her backyard.
That's a Sarah Palin joke.
Which you probably all know.
Ooh, that Sarah Palin.
It's weird seeing people you grew up with mature and become a totally different person (not always in a bad way).
Robert came to our concert on Thursday and his voice has changed and he's at least 2 inches taller than me.
Oh yeah, and he's shaving.
People I used to hang out with all the time in junior high aren't exactly my friends anymore, and some people I used to know aren't even in the same country now.
Was there a massive Change Tornado I was unaware of?
Apparently.
Tie resists change. And she's needy.
And she crawled into bed with me at 6:00 because it was cold.
So she lay in the middle and spread out, forcing me to huddle near the wall.
Good practice for marriage, I guess.
Which would sound perverted if you hadn't read all of the above content.
Would you all like to toast metaphorically with me? Here's an imaginary champagne glass (it's okay even if you don't drink: there are no imaginary drinking laws).
Here's to switching out of history!!

Wasn't this the point last year that it all started sucking?

Might have been earlier.
I considered being in a "deep" and "contemplative" mood today, but what would be the point?
Even if I was feeling deep and contemplative, would it just be to prove a point?
Because the stuff I'm thinking about could give the wrong impression.
Might as well just say it: We left OEFC more than a year ago, but it seems like in the past week we've run into a lot more people from that church than we have all year.
And it's weird talking to them, because our lives are so completely seperate now and without OEFC, we have little in common.
And it seems like, I don't know, they resent us for some reason. Or that's me being paranoid.
So yeah, it's weird. We were there for a LONG time.
But now we're at a new, thriving church and we've made connections there, and most of the ones from OEFC are pretty much dead, so it's really not so bad.
Just...minorly uncomfortable.
And I know, Matt, that you are going to think that was directed at you and possibly take offense or read too much into it, but it's not. You're just a small factor in the huge equation.
Ha, math speak.
Actually, that made no sense.
That's enough for today. My brain is starting to hurt.
Pretty intense Sims session, though. Twins. Who would've thought? Two little boys. One looks just like his mom, the other like his dad. They're named Remus and Romulus. I know. That's me trying to be funny.
My dad's worried I might have a secret double life in the Sims, that I'm creating Sims of me and my family and friends and am doing "evil" things with them.
It's something Laura Ingraham told him.
I actually considered doing that for a time. It's only slightly creepy. Does that mean I need help?

You Are the Tree Pose

You are a well grounded, down to earth person. Not much shakes you. You can remain steady through a crisis - and other people lean on you. You have high standards and morals. You easily rise above pettiness. While people sometimes accuse you of being stubborn, you are able to shift focus when you need to.

What Yoga Pose Are You?

Are Beagles what Snoopy is?

You Are a Beagle

You are good natured. You enjoy spending time with people and animals. You have a wild, independent streak. If you're left to your own devices, you get in trouble. You love to eat and enjoy food of all kinds. If you don't get enough physical activity, you tend to have a weight problem. You are very stubborn. You don't like authority, and you tend to do your own thing no matter what.

What Breed of Dog Are You?

I don't know if many of you have met your exact opposite in personality, temperament, looks, and basically everything, but if you haven't, you don't know how lucky you are.
There's just this one guy I've been interacting with recently and we are POLAR opposite and he is SO ANNOYING.
He probably thinks the same thing about me.
But I find him FRUSTRATING, and I ALMOST murdered him today.
But Kristine held me back.
I'm sure not all opposites are like that. Just look at my parents: they got married, had 3 kids, and are still together after 22 years.

You Are a Pumpkin Latte

You are always up for a celebration. You are a very festive person. You look forward to every holiday, and you are nostalgic for good times after they're over. You appreciate the small things that make life special. You love little treats. You often look at the world with childlike wonder. There's so much to enjoy!

What Flavor Latte Are You?

Kay is so morbidly funny.
Every time I do my elephant war cry, an elephant has a stroke.
Every time we look at Matt, a puppy dies.
Just picture all the girls in the pound, as the puppies roll over dying. "I want that one! Oh no, it's dead!"
Isn't that awful?
Awww, Kay gave me a chiropractor pen, and Tyler said, "Ha ha, it's your spine!"
Do Germans just not give share food?
:O There was an accident right outside my house. The guys involved were quite inebriated. How charming.
And they just ran away.
And the state patrol guy did NOTHING.
"They're getting away!" "Uh, yeah, I just went to Krispy Kreme, so there will be no running for a while."

You Are 55% British

Congrats, mate. You're are probably British. (If not, definitely Australian. Or Kiwi. Or Canadian.) You enjoy most aspects of mainstream British culture, without being stereotypical about it. You also have a typical British temperament. You wouldn't dream of being impolite.

How British Are You?

If you were really honest with yourself, how many of you would be horrible cops?
How many of you would be chasing a criminal and, after 2 grueling minutes of sprinting, would let him go?
Yeah, that's American justice for you! Whoo, cops!

You should be an electrician

You Would Be a Good Spouse 35% of the Time

In general, you have the skills and ability to make a marriage work. However, you're still a bit too selfish to be a good spouse. You almost always put yourself first. If you want to have a good marriage (either someday or right now), you're going to have to give more than you take. Be proactive every day. Work on being a good friend, family member, and partner. With practice, you'll be an excellent spouse.

Would You Be a Good Wife or Husband?

Hahaha I love life.
That explains why both Sierra and I want to die as 80-year-old virgins.
Kay draws amazing pictures. There was the elephant victory cry, and then her panda ate my elephant. It was quite graphic.
Paul was emo. He didn't like our solutions. He even drew a pencil so he wouldn't have to deal with any surprise "get better" hugs.
We took the ASVAB today. It was basically a gigantic military-issued aptitude test. A bunch of officers gave us super-sharp pencils and were super OCD about the perforated edges.
The best part was missing 3 class periods.
Then, when it was all over, I realized I'd just missed my 3 favorite classes of the day and had nothing to look forward to.
Besides French.
Dang it.
Tyler and I bombed that history test. The 10 points we got taken off didn't help.
That class sucks. All my friends have another teacher and talk about how much they LOVE history, where they get to make pyramids out of donuts.
It's not so fun when you have a teacher who loves history but has no idea how to make it interesting, besides allowing girls to bring in cake.
Ugh, I'm not happy with how my dad handled the whole worship team "situation". He called the youth leader and told him how "upset" William and I were and sort of put it all on him, but WE WEREN'T MAD AT HIM!! Our problem was with the kids!!!
And then he ended up being on his side, saying he understood "his point of view".
But he'd totally missed the point.
"He doesn't want to penalize the kids that can't come."
But it seems like he's penalizing the ones that actually do. "Thanks for showing up...we don't need you."
ASVAB results won't come for a few weeks. So today was a waste of time.
I'm going to end up as an electrician.

You Are a Chicken

You are a naturally curious and inquisitive being. You are often poking your nose where it doesn't belong! Collecting nuggets of knowledge is important to you. You enjoy knowing everything you can. You are very independent and strong willed. You don't like to be bossed around, and you do as you please. You are quite determined and able to take on challenges. You will “peck away” at a problem until it's gone.

What Animal Are You?

At least have the balls to say it to my face

Ugh. Frustrating.
The wonderful little youth band told us to come to church at 8:00 AM, so we could "practice".
Turns out that not all of us needed to be there and it was going to be an acoustic session (meaning only the regulars got to play).
Ooookay.
The messed-up thing was the ADULT leader knew NOTHING about this, but the TEENAGE leader did. And his excuse was, "Oh, I forgot," and, "I tried to call some people."
Right. Thanks.
So we "practiced" and they just ignored me and William the entire time. Even if I had a question, it wouldn't get answered unless one of The Chosen Ones spoke up and asked the same thing.
Then, when it came time to play, there's no room for me and William on the stage and they haven't communicated to us AT ALL. It's a wonderful feeling, being ignored.
Screw those people. I'm so freaking finished with them.
And they did the EXACT same thing when Sierra went and she never wants to go back.
I don't blame her.
It's just SO STUPID; they keep asking to people to "volunteer", because "maybe God is calling you", but when people show up, they ostracize them!!!
Seriously, what's even the point?

Quite the vicious circle there, isn't it?

Why does our football team suck this year?
Well, actually, I know why. Evonne told me.
It's just disheartening.
And, yeah, we're the underdogs of the district.
But when we're forced to play good teams from Olympia and Canada, it's almost like they're mocking us.
Pep band is the best.
If playing sports means I can't be in pep band, forget basketball.
Emma is an abusive boyfriend. Girlfriend. Thing.
Ben is semi-perverted but fun to hang out with.
Yes, we were the ones that threw the gum wrappers in Ed's hair.
But I was the one that threw the hackey sack at Paul.
Our trombones had socks. Robert's said "SHO" every time he put it on.
TECHNO!
Fish is so nasty.
I'm going to ask Mr. Anspach if I can stay in French II after all.
Because if I switched out, I'd miss Janessa's generosity and all the sandwich-pounding, soup-spilling good times at lunch, as well as Matt's OCD smoothies and Kay's semi-pornographic gay manga.
Ugh, my internet is broken. So stupid.
Sarah thinks she lost the piano smackdown. But she really didn't.
Jake is weird. Ugh, Emma shouldn't have to leave. She just got here!
And her mom keeps saying stuff about raising money for Emma to go to California with the band, but they'll be gone by then, so is she lying or...?
Cuz everyone knows.
Amber ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. But Chris is the chosen one and has the power to save us all.
Agh. It was just so weird seeing her. Why, hello. This is awkward. Meet my awkward abusive boyfriend/girlfriend. No, Edward, no!