End

Well, I can't believe another semester is over. It went by so fast. I enjoyed it, though. I don't think I have ever studied this much in my life than in this past semester. Well, I guess that's because last year most of my day consisted of Orchestra and Art. I miss both of those things. It's a shame that CCCC doesn't have an orchestra, and I just don't have time for an art class right now. Although, I am getting a new camera (a Canon Rebel XS) for Christmas, so I will be able to do a lot more photography. I don't do enough traditional art anymore, though. But maybe that's okay, maybe I'll just be a digital artist. Still, I think would be important to keep those skills.

Anyway, exams are coming up and it's going to be hardcore, but it will be AMAZING when it's all over.

Good day.

Psychology

I'm in Psychology and we are talking about Therapy. There are a lot of different kinds. We have a handout about Cognitive Distortions that has a list that contains ten common cognitive distortions that people use. They are:

• All-Or-Nothing Thinking: You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
• Overgeneralization: You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
  
• Mental Filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolors the entire beaker of water.
  
• Disqualifying the Positive: You reject positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or other. In this way you can maintain a negative believe that is contradicted by tour everyday experiences.
• Jumping to Conclusions: You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion.
• Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization: You exaggerate the importance of things, or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny. This is also caled binocular trick.
• Emotional Reasoning: You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the ways you really are: "I feel it, therefore it must be true."
• Should Statements: You try to motivate yourself with should and shouldn't, as if you had to be whipped and punished before you could be expected to do anything. "Musts" and "oughts" are also offenders. The emotional consequences are guilt. When you direct should statements towards others, you feel anger, frustration, and resentment.
  
• Labeling and Mislabeling: This is an extreme form of overgeneralization. Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself. "I'm a loser." When someone else's behavior rubs you the wrong way, you attach a negative label to them. Mislabeling involves describing an event with landuage that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.
  
• Personalization: You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event, which in face you were not primarily responsible for.
  

Snow?

Snow? Snow?! How? It's December. It's Texas. It's December! What? How?!

Can you sense my amazement and confusion? I wake up today with three text messages that all basically said "It's snowing!" What?! I didn't believe them until I looked out my blinds to see white flecks beating the ground. Seriously, it was coming down in sheets. Well, talk about an exciting and unexpected morning, right? It was a pleasant surprise, though. Snow is so rare before February! Crazy. Very crazy. It was cool, though. I drove to school in the snow while listening to The Tip of the Iceberg by Owl City. It talks about welcoming winter once again and snow and stuff. It suited the drive quite nicely. However, I had a feeling the snow would soon be gone while I was at school, and I was right. By 10:00, it was clear, and it had all pretty much melted. I went to wfaa.com and on the home page the main new article is all about the snow. I noted that only in Texas would an entire article on the home page of a news website be devoted to snow. I told that to one of my friends, and he made a funny comment back saying, "Yeah and only it Texas does it snow then get up to 64 degrees in a few hours." I laughed. It's exaggerating a little bit, but it's still essentially true.

Hot Chocolate and Apple Cider

Well, as said, it's been study study study... That's about it. While studying, I had hot chocolate. It was delicious, all warm and rich. There was hazelnut it in, a little added milk, and small marshmallows. You know, I've never really known the reason for marshmallows in hot chocolate. Where did that originate? And why? I mean, they are yummy, yeah, but I don't know how they ended up in hot chocolate. I mean, you don't put marshmallows in coffee. Although... in other drinks you can get whipped cream. Maybe that's why. Mmmm, whipped cream in hot drinks is delicious. That reminds me, I haven't had apple cider in forever. Starbucks has really good apple cider. Maybe I will go get some. It's the holiday season, after all. Ah, having it be the holiday season again makes me so happy. Like, really happy. Still, I can't believe another year has passed. Crazy. Crazy! Crazy.

Well, Thanksgiving holiday was good. Did a lot of relaxing. It's back to the grind, now, though, with tons and tons of studying and school work to do to prepare for exams. I call it "dead week". It's never fun.

Christmas is getting closer which is exciting because it's my favorite holiday. I like the whole feel of it, as well as the actual significance of the holiday itself. We put up the Christmas tree and I put up some lights. The house looks really festive. Every year we buy new ornaments for the Christmas tree and put the date on the bottom of it. It's a family tradition. That's another part of the Christmas season I like, family traditions.

Me and my friend are sitting in the Cougar Cafe. It's nice in here, has a good atmosphere. I got a V8. That stuff is so good. One of my favorites.

This is the last day of school for the week, I am excited! I can't wait to get some sleep over Thanksgiving break. Hooray!

It's really chilly out today and as much as I wish it was the same weather we've normally been having, I have to say that it's about time that it got cold. I mean, it's in the middle of November already.

I can't even fathom that. At all. So much has changed in a year. More than usual. It's so weird.

Well, there are a few birthdays this week, my sister's and my best friends. I still need to figure out what I am going to gift them. I am really distracted with studying, so I haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully I'll figure it all out... before tomorrow. Oh, boy...

Stuff

Today after I got back from church I spent all afternoon highlighing what I need to know for my Psychology test on Tuesday. I finally just finished highlighting, and how it's time to study. This next test covers Personality, Emotion, and Memory. Very interesting stuff, but a lot of it... But, it's always like this. Just time to study my brains out. But, it's so so close to the end of the semester. I am so extremely excited for winter break. An entire month to do whatever I want. I plan on getting a lot of art pieces done during that time. I am getting a new camera for Christmas, so that will give me a lot of time to take pictures. I cannot even express how ridiculously excited I am! AHHH!

Only this week, then 2 days next week, then one more week, then exams, and then I'm done! Life. Is. Good.

Sunset

There is perhaps nothing in this world more beautiful than a sunset. As I worked out for the second time today, I was walking home and it was getting dark. I didn't notice the sunset until I turned around. It startled me how vast it was, taking up half the sky. It put a pink and orange tint on all of the surrounding houses and trees. It was so breathtaking that I literally stopped walking and just looked at the sky. I sat down soon after, just gazing at the different hues and the different clouds making up this beautiful sunset. Seriously, they are way overlooked. If you want to relax, grab your iPod and look at the sunset.

Busy With School Work

So happy tomorrow is Friday and that I have plans, too, along side a mountain of homework and studying. Oh boy, this will be so much fun... I have a Psychology test Tuesday. I have gotten A's on all the test so far, so I want to do well. I know I will, though. I always study really hardcore for them. I will most likely start that tomorrow afternoon. Got to write that essay, too. And I always have math homework. And I have a paper due on Thursday in Humanities. I will be so very busy... But I've got to look at it that I am so close to finishing. I've come this far, so I'm not going to give up now. It's so exciting.

"I'd be lying if I told you losing you is something I can handle."

This Is It

Today I went to the movies with my mom and saw This Is It. It was fantastic. It really exemplified Michael Jackson's work in a great way. You can't leave that movie without appreciating his work more. It bothers me when there are ignorant people that do not understand what he really did, and judge him on all the bad things media has exploited about him. They should consider the phenomenal music and culture that resulted from MJ. You can prefer to not like the music, that is fine, but you cannot ignore history that was made.

All that history was highlighted in this film. I would recommend that anyone and everyone sees it.

Boring is Boring

Another nice day today. I worked out and I enjoyed it the entire time due to the amazing weather. On my walk home, I walked on the curb all the way up the hill towards my street. I think it made the walk home more interesting. Then it got me to thinking, why not make your day more interesting in little ways like that? I think the same old routine could get monotonous and then, wouldn't life? I think those people should think outside of the box. Do something different. Think with innovation! ...Does that sentence make sense? I think it does. Oh, well, it doesn't matter if it does.

Don't let yourself make life boring.

Things are looking up.

The Weather, Again

Today I was driving to school and I saw that almost all the trees are finally changing colors. The leaves were falling pretty rapidly. It's pretty, though. I like driving down park because it's really cool how all the trees on that street sort of canopy the street. And now they're all changing color, so it's even more pretty than it was before.

I am thoroughly enjoying the current weather before it's gone. I wish it could be like this all the time. We're lucky, though, sometimes by this time of year it's already ridiculously cold and you find the need to wear heavy coats and scarves just to walk from your car into the building. I was more affected by the cold weather the last two years when I used to walk to school. There were many many cold mornings. I usually wore a hoodie, but eventually it got so cold that I would find that it was a lot better when I wore an actual coat.

But, today I didn't wear any coat. It's perfect out.

Hm. I talk about the weather a lot. Well, so what? It's a big deal around here.

Productive

Today was a pretty productive day... Filmed and edited a vlog and got my Psychology homework finished. Doesn't seem like much, but both of those take a pretty long time to finish. I can't really go anywhere because I don't have my car... It's in the shop right now. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. I can't do long with out my car. It's kind of irritating.

I burned some cd's today for my car. I can't find my iPod... That bothers me so much. I use my iPod every single day, so not having it is awful. Hopefully I will find it soon.

Hi

Well, I am sitting here with my friend Brandi. We are chatting it up, eating poptarts. They are delicious poptarts. Today is 3 of my friends' birthdays. Me and my best friend are going to do something for one of those friends. Not sure what, but something. Should be fun, I guess.

Sometimes I think people worry about certain things too much. I try and get those people to chill and realize that they really don't need to worry about what they are worrying about because it's silly. Although, sometimes it's psychological, they can't help if they worry. I don't know, I hope I can get some people to calm down.

Well, a nail has been in my tire for the past few weeks, but I only found it today when I was filling it with air at Kroger. So I had to go to Discount Tire Co. to get it patched. It was free, though, so that's an upside. My best friend came and waited with me for a few minutes. Then we went to walmart after and just walked around. Half the store is already filled with Christmas decorations, as usual. It's ridiculous sometimes how early they do that. It's not even Thanksgiving. Oh, well. I guess some things never change.

Halloween Again

Halloween was awesome, I helped out with an outdoor haunted house in my friend's neighborhood, along with a bunch of my other friends. My zombie makeup came out absolutely perfect, fake blood and all. I got to scare a lot of people that came through the haunted house, from young kids, all the way up to grown men. It was hilarious some of the times I scared people. The haunted house was such a success, too. A lot of people came through. Afterwards, my friends and I all went to Ihop to eat, me still in full zombie costume. I got some looks from some people, it was great.

So, overall, pretty decent Halloween. And now it's November. My favorite month is over. But, I guess it just means another day closer to Christmas. And Thanksgiving, for that matter.

Halloween

It's halloween! I still need to go buy stuff for my costume... as a zombie.

Well, happy halloween! I got stuff to go do.

Zombie

Finally, another sunny day. I've been waiting for it! I checked the forecast for the rest of the week and next week and it all says sunshine. I hope it stays like that. You never know in Texas weather. Or in any weather, I guess. My friend in Ohio told me once that in Ohio they say, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." That made me laugh. Sometimes, not always, that's the case here. I often wonder what it would be like if I lived in England. My mom used to live there and she told me 90% of the time it's cloudy and rainy and miserable, and if there's sunshine, it's brief. That sounds so dismal, but I guess if I had lived there all my life, I would be used to it and nothing else anyways. In this case of living in Texas, I'm used to ridiculous and extreme heat and humidity. But, that's why I like fall! The weather is perfect.

Tomorrow is Halloween. I don't know what I'm doing for it... Sad. But I still want to be a zombie.

Well, it's been an interesting morning. I don't feel very well, but I think I will be okay. Maybe I am just hungry. Yeah, maybe that's probably it. I have that humanities quiz today. I will pass, I know it. I have been studying since Monday and I pay attention. So, yeah. Thank goodness my best friend had an extra scantron for me, I forgot to bring mine. He drove me to school, too, because he came over this morning and he wanted to go get food before school, so then we decided we would just take one care since, coincidentally, we go into school and get out of school at the same time Tuesdays/Thursdays. So, it works out. I don't see him that often, so this is sort of exciting. I hate not seeing some of my best friends all the time. I have this other friend that has her best friend in every single class, he drives her to and from school, and he goes over to her house every single day after school, and they work at the same place. Now, in retrospect, that would sound like too much, and it would be easy to get annoyed by them, but in another light, they are lucky they have that. It could be like me where I really don't see them that often.

Today I spent all day making delicious treats and sugar cookies. It was a lot of fun. We made brownies, peanut butter/chocolate graham cracker bars, and sugar cookies in the shape of halloween things like pumpkins, ghosts, and bats. It was so festive. Then we delivered them to people. Felt good.

Now I am making a birthday present for my friend in photoshop. I'm editing one of his pictures. It's awesome.

I have so much to do this week and today. A lot of studying and homework, all that jazz. And I found out one of my best friends that just moved back here is moving back to the place she just moved here from on Sunday. It's sad. But, I know I'll see her again and all, so it's all right. I have enough on my mind anyway, juggling everything else in life. I am doing pretty well in school, though, so that's an upside. I do my part of the work. I do homework everyday and study for hours. And, it seems to be paying off so. Makes me feel accomplished.

We're learning about personality in Psychology. It's so interesting.

Photoshoot

Yuck, another dreary day. It's gross. I wish it was sunny. I want to do a photoshoot. Well, I just did one inside, but sometimes I like natural light better than artificial. Sometimes artificial sends a yellow sort of light. I mean, that can be fixed in photoshop, but overall, natural light looks better. It gives the features a slightly different look and feel. I haven't done a photoshoot in a while because my camera has been out of commission, but I just did one with a few roses I have. I guess it turned out okay. I can't wait to edit them. But, I need to get my priorities straight, too, since I've got a bit of homework and studying, as usual.

Man. Life is busy...

East vs West

East's homecoming game was last night against West and they won! It was a really great game. They were tied at one time, but won in the end. It was fun seeing everyone there, too. So many people with their mums and garters. Makes me miss when I had mine last year. Oh, well. But yeah, everyone was having a lot of fun and, as usual, East's side of the stadium was completely full compared to the half empty other side. Makes all us East siders wonder why less people go to the other school's games. Oh, well. But anyway, everyone was also really pumped about the homecoming dance that will be tonight. Hope all my friends still in high school have a good time. I did when I went. Good times.

I still can't believe it's been a whole year since I went. Time flies.

I swear, life is becoming more and more of a roller coaster lately. In a good way, I guess. I finally got some things worked out and my stress level has considerably gone down. So, I suppose you can say things are looking up. I got a great grade of my Psychology test, I found out today, and my best friend that I haven't seen in a week came to see me this morning before school. Those things pretty much made my day. It's stuff like this that reminds me that things are going to be okay eventually.

I'm going to the Homecoming football game for my high school on Friday. I'm excited, but it's going to be really really cold. Also, there's going to be so many people there that I am going to be jumping around the stadium the entire time sitting with one group of friends to the next. Should be interesting. I hope they win, too

It's rainy today. I walked over to my old high school to print some stuff and it was raining and me and my friend had an umbrella but there were lots and lots of puddles. We were soaked from the knee down. It was funny, though. On the way back, I jumped in a giant puddle and got my friend even more wet and she screamed. It made me laugh. These are the good times I'm going to remember. That rain was cold, too. All the high schoolers looked at us like we were crazy when we were laughing and joking through the parking lot. My friend made a joke and said, "Look at all the kids!" But they aren't THAT young. I mean, we just graduated in June, too. We're still kids, too. Sort of.

Growing up is weird.

Warm

My laptop is really warm in my lap. It's okay, though, no worries. Mac builds their fans under the keyboard so there's little chance it will overheat because I am not blocking the fans or anything as I would if they were in the bottom of the comp. In fact, I have a cover for the bottom of my laptop. It keeps it clean. I am very paranoid about getting it dirty and stuff. My friend said last night, "That thing is your life." No, it's not. I just try really hard to take care of it. For something so expensive, you SHOULD take good care of it. It's only fair, in my opinion.

Not sure why I'm talking about this. I guess it was because I was noticing it getting a bit warm. Which is okay, it should get warm, it's a powerful machine. I love it.

Well, this was short. Busy day tomorrow. Oh, boy.

Almost Over

Well, I can't believe it's already almost the end of October. I have to say, this college schedule makes the days fly by extremely quickly. I mean, once October is over, November will go quick, too, because we get out for Thanksgiving holiday, then we only have two weeks in December. That sounds really good to me. This is wild, at this rate I will be done at CCCCD completely. That is, if I pass my classes. Which I will, though. I am working very hard in all of my classes. I studied for 3 hours on Friday and 4 hours on Sunday. I want to do well. At this point, the only thing holding me back is how my printer decided to break on me. It's irritating, but I have other ways to print, so that's good. But, it is still nice to have a working printer in the home. I mean, I have papers in my classes each week, so not having a printer is a set back. I've got a few things I need to type this week... It shouldn't be too hard, though.

KISS

Last night was awesome, I dyed my hair, and then me and my best friend went to a Halloween dance thing where my brother and 3 of this friends dressed up as KISS. They did a LEGIT job. When I walked in, I had to do a double take because they were so close to the real thing. They had on the high heel boots, face paint, black wigs, tight leather pants, and everything. They were the life of the dance. I got a picture with them. And they told me that after the dance they went to Chili's and when they walked in people started cheering and saying "YEAH, KISS!" It sounds so hilarious. Me and my best friend were dressed up in goofy clothes with our makeup done horribly, and we looked pretty funny. We went to Wal-Mart after the dance to buy a pumpkin and we got a lot of funny looks and the cashier was funny about it. I think it's cool when people can laugh at something like that instead of frowning upon it or something. But, overall, last night was fantastic. I can't wait for actual Halloween. I'm going to be a Zombie. I need to go get some face paint and stuff. I'm going to rip up a shirt and cover it with fake blood and stuff. This is gunna be fun!

I absolutely, positively LOVE October.

Texas Football

Today I woke up around 11:30 to my mom and brother watching the UT-OU game. I wanted to watch it, too, but I had stuff to get done. I caught some of it though, and it was a great game. UT won, woo! I went to Mckinney today to help out a friend and while I was driving through a neighborhood we saw a giant blow up OU football player in a front yard. We were both really surprised someone in Texas would risk that one. We both laughed at the fact that no one had stole it by now or something like that. Come on, they ARE pretty brave to have the up in Mckinney, Texas. It doesn't really matter, though, I guess, UT won anyway. And, last night I went to the Plano East game in Wylie, and we beat them, too. So, this weekend has been win-win. That's pretty awesome. I'm super proud of East this year, seeing as last year their team wasn't so hot. I'll tell you this, I'll watch college and high school football, but that's it. And you know, in a small kind of way, senior high football here can be close to watching and going to a college game anyway. The stadiums are huge and the hype can be comparable. You've got to love Texas football.

So today I went to school then came home and did homework for four hours and studied for a test during that four hours. It was uneventful. I kept getting interrupted and I feel an odd sort of lump in my throat which could potentially be an oncoming sore throat. I really hope not.

Going to the East game tonight. It's an away game at the Wylie stadium. My best friend and I are going. Gunna meet up with a friend, too. Fun.

Happy Friday.

Busy

You never ever know what life will throw at you. This week has been so stressful with so many things happening all at once, causing me to be extremely distracted. I can't afford to be distracted, though, I have a lot of obligations for school that I cannot get around, nor do I want to. Let's just say I just got all my dominoes up and all of the sudden, someone came and just knocked them all down. It's so stressful. I already said that, but it's just because it is. I want to try and get all my dominoes back up. I hope things improve, not just for me, but for some other people that are having some problems, too.

I haven't updated since Monday. I've been busy.

Leaves

Last night, after a long weekend of having little to no contact with any of my friends (I'm not sure why...), my best friend came over. It was awesome. I was sick all weekend and didn't even get to leave the house, so that was great that he came over. I am finally starting to feel a bit better, but still a bit under the weather. And goodness, it's cold today. It's all rainy and dreary, too. I hope the sun comes out. It didn't come out yesterday, either. It's quite depressing. I also quite surprised that the leaves on the trees haven't started to change color. It's nearly the middle of October, and they are still green. Hmm. I hope they do turn soon, it give the season such a nice feel. I'm seeing acorns everywhere, too. I step on them when I leave out of the front door. They are all still green, though, not brown. Hm.

"Things have changed for me." - That Green Gentleman by Panic At The Disco

I'm sick. So for today's entry I will post random lyrics:

On The Wing - Owl City

Breathe and I’ll carry you away into the velvet sky
And we’ll stir the stars around
And watch them fall away into the Hudson Bay
And plummet out of sight and sound
The open summer breeze will sweep you through the hills
Where I live in the alpine heights
Below the Northern Lights, I spend my coldest nights
Alone, awake and thinking of...the weekend we were in love

Home among these mountain tops can be so awfully dull
A thousand miles from the tide
But photos on the walls of New York shopping malls
Distract me so I stay inside
I wish the rockets stayed over the promenade
Cuz I would make a hook and eye
And fish them from the sky, my darling, she and I
We’re hanging on so take us high
To sing the world goodbye:

I am floating away
Lost in a silent ballet
I’m dreaming you’re out in the blue and I am right beside you
Awake to take in the view
Late nights and early parades
Still photos and noisy arcades
My darling, we’re both on the wing, look down and keep on singing!
And we can go anywhere

Are you there?
Are you there, or are you just a decoy dream in my head?
Am I home or am I simply tumbling all alone?

Cold

It was extremely cold and rainy today, and that does not help since I don't feel up to par. I think I may be getting sick but I really hope not. I've been trying really hard not to get sick, though. I've been drinking orange juice and have been washing my hands a lot, as well as using hand sanitizer. Maybe I just don't feel well due to the fact I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately. I don't get much of a break in the morning anymore. It sort of irks me when one of my friend complains about how they are so tired and how school sucks for them when 2 days a week they don't go in until 2:30 for a dance class and 2 days a week they have a couple classes with a long lunch break, on top of not even having a class on Fridays. I don't know, I don't want to sound mean, but in my opinion, they have it pretty easy. I have to get up early every single school day, all my classes being classes that require a lot of work, effort, and studying. I think I have all rights to be tired all the time. I guess this is just sort of a rant. In my opinion, if you're going to complain to someone about something, make sure that you know that the other person doesn't have it worse than you, or else you just end up looking like you're whining. I mean, we all have a right to complain, but sometimes there are circumstances where you shouldn't complain about certain thing to certain people. Thus, resulting in to what I am ranting about right now. I guess that's just how life is sometimes.

Dreams Again

I just took a nap... It ASTOUNDS me how many dreams I have have in an hour and 30 minute period. I don't even get that many dreams (sometimes) during the actual night. Some people say that they don't dream at all. But, everyone dreams, yet dream amnesia is quite common for a lot of people. I obviously don't get dream amnesia. Sometimes I wish I did, my dreams can get really overwhelming sometimes...

Good Deeds Day

Nice things that I've done lately:

• Took my friend to work.
• Picked up my sister from school everyday.
• Did my chores.
• Helped out a struggling friend.
• Woke up and hour and a half early because my best friend needed me.
• Helped my friend with an essay.
• Started an art project for my best friend -- and just accepted another, from him as well.
• Made my sister laugh.
• Gave music to a friend.
• Listened.
• Made people smile.
• Asked how people were.
• Gave compliments.
• Proof read my friend's essay.
• Explained to another friend what a thesis was.
• Drew a lot of my friends pictures.
• Said thank you.
• Said I appreciate you.

Rain & House

Today was a gloomy day. It was sprinkling when I was walking into school, it rained, and then it was sprinkling on my way to my car. Not too fun. It always stresses me out when it rains on Tues/Thurs because those are the days I bring my laptop to school. I take notes in psychology. The powerpoint slides go by quick, so I've found using my laptop to take notes a more efficient way to get the information. Maybe it was the rain, but I was sleepy today. Although, it could have had something to do with staying up late last night and getting up early today. Probably. And it looks like that will be the case tomorrow, too. Meh. That's life. Although, I could have slept in an hour and a half longer today, but there were some circumstances that lead to me getting up earlier. It's okay, it was worth it.

After school, I watched the new episode of House that I missed last night. It was great. It's getting back into the old House feel that it used to have before House started ODing and hallucinating. Fun times. I'm also happy that the old team from the first season is back together. Sure, the other teams that followed the original team grew on me, but I always felt that I liked the original, first House team. I knew that had to come back eventually. This episode was intense, too... I can't believe Chase did what he did. I can see that being a huge problem in future episodes. House is doing so much better, though. He's actually being kind. He was so messed up before. He's alright now, still with a hint of the arrogant, rude House that we all love.

Short

I don't have much to talk about today. I had a lot of math homework today, I helped my friend with her homework, I have a few papers to write, and just a lot to do overall. Seems like it's going to be a pretty busy week school-wise. Well, when is it not? I always have a lot to do despite the fact I'm only taking 4 classes. That's because I took a summer school course, which is so worth it. You get credits out of the way so quickly. It's only 5 weeks long, too. I plan on taking summer school each summer. It's a plan.

I just wish I knew exactly what I want to do eventually at a university. I mean, I have time, but it would be nice to know now so I could plan. We'll see what happens, I guess. I remember my one friend was concerned that she didn't know what she wanted to do and her university needed to know what classes she needed to take for her major, but she has no idea. It's a confusing time.

This is short.

Thrillvania

So last night I had the best time ever at Thrillvania. It's a thrill park with haunted houses. Here's a link so you can see what I'm talking about: CLICK

It was intense. There was a fun house, a maze in field, a trail in the woods, and a giant haunted house. Everything you could think of chased us around. Chainsaw guys, werewolves, scarecrows clowns, monsters, zombies, everything! They would jump out of places and follow you around and breath up your neck. There was this one part while we were walking through the trail in the woods and it got really quiet and while we were walking I looked to the left and realize I saw someone and all of the sudden that person revved a chainsaw, and we all bolted off as fast as we could! He started chasing us through the woods. I swear, I had a lot of adrenaline as I ran from that guy. Just as we thought we were safe for a second, we rested in front of the door of where we were supposed to go next we got startled by a scarecrow that was right next to the door. We didn't know he was real. We ran again, through the door. It was soon over after that, and we just laughed that it was over. That was not even near as bad as the main, giant haunted house. That place was full of fake blood, fake dead people, and everything else you could think of to be in a haunted house. I got startled quite a few times when monsters and clowns jumped out. What was insane was in the very last room where you get out of the house, a bloody chainsaw guy was literally a foot away from you, revving the chainsaw and blocking our exit. We all backed up against the wall and finally we just had to run past him really quickly. We all started laughing from relief when we got outside.

We did way more things, but that's just a few things that happened. Overall, nothing was really scary, it was just startling. It was a blast! I want to go again.

New Music

Thought I'd try something a little different with the text. Cool.

So I just got a mix cd from a friend with all kinds of things like PlayRadioPlay!, Muse, and some other bands. I love getting new music. It introduces me to new bands, and I love listening to new bands, too. Sometimes all the same music over and over can get irritating in my iTunes and iPod. I need more, though. My iTunes only has about 2 GB's worth of music. My iPod has more, though. It has about 2 GB left out of 8. I am glad I went with the 8 Gb because I almost got the 4 GB, and I would have quickly ran out of room. Music is such a large part of my life. I always have music playing (unless I just really really need silence). I love all kinds of genres. Pretty much the only thing I can not stand is Screamo. Everything else is great. One of the most bizarre genres I've ever had is Psychedelic Trance. That stuff is really cool, but if you're not in the mood for it, it just sounds like a bunch of noise. Infected Mushroom is a good Psychedelic Trance group from Israel. But, I like everything down to country and rap. The works. Techno is also one of my personal favorites, next to Alternative Rock and Electronica. But, on a really relaxing day, I will more than welcome classical music. Sometimes there's nothing better than a little Mozart or Vivaldi.

"Music is what feelings sound like." -Anonymous

Math and Dyslexia

I had a lot of math homework today. 27 question. I thought it was going to take an extremely long time, but luckily the unit we're doing right now is over square root. It's quick and easy. I finished it in under 30 minutes, which is saying something. Math is not my forte. Never has been. However, I seem to be doing alright at the moment. Last unit was rough, though. They had word problems. For some reason, ever since I was younger, I've always struggled with word problems. Maybe it has to do with my mild case of dyslexia. You know, I've never been tested, but I have most of the symptoms, which are:

• Difficulty determining the meaning (idea content) of a simple sentence
• Difficulty learning to recognize written words
• Difficulty rhyming
• May occur in combination with writing or arithmetic learning problems

I don't have difficulty in rhyming or recognizing words, but I definitely have the two other symptoms. I also mix up letters and words when I read. Sometimes I don't have any problems with reading, but other times I have a really hard time comprehending and reading the words I see on a page. Thus, if you combine the two, creating a word problem in math, you know I'm not going to do well on it. I have had problems all through school, but for some odd reason didn't do anything about it. I mean, I don't need to be in special classes for it, but it has definitely shown to be a tad bit of a set back. Not too much, though.

The other day I was talking to a friend on AIM (AOL instant messenger), and I said "Oh, now you've put me on the stop." I meant to say "spot" not "stop", and my friend says, "Dyslexia at it's finest right there." I sort of chuckled and corrected my typo. I mean, maybe it was just my hands getting confused, or maybe it was dyslexia. I don't know. Either way, I know I have a problem with it.

I'm just glad there's no word problems in this new unit in math.

Twitter

Something that gets on my nerves is when some people automatically judge Twitter (the website, www.twitter.com). They think it's stupid that all you do is write what they are doing every second of the day. For some people, that is true, but what a lot of people don't know is that Twitter is an extremely useful tool for communication and connections for all kinds of things. Companies use this website to inform the world about things that are going on or new offers and such. TV shows post things about their new episodes. Other websites post updates and links and updates as well. It's more than just annoying people with updates (or, Tweets, as it's said) with what you're doing. It's a tool. I personally use Twitter and I follow vloggers (video bloggers) from Youtube, and other major people from the site. It's useful to know when their new videos or up. I guess I just wish some people would give Twitter a chance to see how useful it can really be.

"I sit and wait, does an angel contemplate my fate? And do they know the places where we go when we're grey and old? Cause I've been told that salvation lets their wings unfold. So when I'm lying in bed, thoughts running through my head, and I feel the love is dead, I'm loving angels instead."
-Angels by David Archuleta

Lyrics really are poetry. Which, yes, is obvious. But it's interesting when people don't really ever think of it that way. Some rhyme, some don't, but all it really is is poetry. Sometimes beautiful and thoughtful, like the song lyrics I just posted. I'm listening to that song right now, so I decided to just write the first line of it. It's a very pretty song. All his songs are great.

Project

I started a new art project today. It's a pretty large piece so far... The portraits are going okay, but I'm having trouble with one of them. It's at a weird angle. I'm gridding it, so the proportions are pretty much correct, but there's no life in the faces yet. I'm hoping when I start coloring them that that life will be there. Now it's just lines coming together to make a face. I haven't done anything traditional in so long. This will be good practice. Usually when I work on something traditional, I do a little and go back to it later. When I look over it later on I can see everything that looks incorrect and I go back and fix it. I really want to do a good job on this. This piece means a lot.

I visited my old art teacher today and told her I'm starting a project on my own. She said I could go back any time if I needed any help. I might, I'm not sure yet.

Pleasant

I guess the only down side to having a room downstairs is I get freaked out to open it at night. I don't know, I just don't think it's a good idea. I'd love to do that, though. All the windows upstairs are open 24/7, no joke. It feels really nice up there. I have my window open now, and I'm enjoying it while I can. It faces the street side, so I watch the cars go by. It's pleasant. I like having the window open when I draw, it's a nice atmosphere to work in. I have a lot of studying to do today, but I think I might get some drawing in. The way the sun peaks through the trees onto the grass is so pretty. We have really large trees in the front yard. When you walk out the door onto the sidewalk and look up, you'll see that two of the trees make a giant canopy over your head. That's kind of like the street Dublin over in Parker. When the trees have their leaves, the entire street has an entire canopy of green. Although, it doesn't look as pretty in the winter when all the trees are bare... but we're not talking about that, haha.

Finally

Well, it took me all day, but I finally got my short story written. It took me hours of sitting and looking at a blank screen to figure out what I wanted to write. Finally, I just wrote down a single sentence and somehow I based an entire short story around it. It seemed to work out. It's interesting, half the stuff in there I didn't plan at all. It just sort of flowed out of my head. I think that's really cool in writing. But, anyway, I think it turned out good. I'm pretty sure it's got all the components of a short story... I had a friend read it, and she liked it. That was encouraging. We'll see what happens, though, I guess...

I haven't left the house all day. What a bummer.

Mac vs PC

Last night I was having an argument (a funny one) with my friend about Mac vs PC. It was was silly, us coming back with little come backs that don't really even matter. This was pretty late too, so we couldn't think too well. It's such an on-going joke, this Mac vs PC thing. Personally, I own a Mac, but I have no problems with PC. I grew up using one and used them through school, too, so I don't really not like them like some. Sure, PC may have things I don't prefer, but I am fine with them. There's such a large population of people that strongly appose using Macs or even owning anything from Apple. I understand that they have reasons towards why they dislike Macs, but sometimes they are down right ridiculous. Once I asked my friend who owns the PC his serious thoughts of why he prefers PC over Mac and he said it was merely the price of them, and had no other problems. I wondered if that is why others don't prefer them. And I admit that, too. It's true that they're really expensive. But, there's a reason they are. Not that you can't find a good computer for a cheaper price, because you can. I don't know, I guess my point is just because it is too expensive shouldn't mean you base your entire opinion on the product. That's like saying a really expensive car sucks. No, it doesn't. It's expensive for a reason.

The whole reason I even have a Mac is not just because I can. I have it because, as said, I am an artist, and Macs basically run the art world. It's fantastic working on this operating system, with this fantastic display. It's for my career. I worked on PC's before in the past, and they were fine, too, but I've come to the conclusion that Mac, in my opinion, is better for art.

Art

With music being one of my things, art is as well. Yeah, I'm an artist. That's what I want to do. I'm not sure what in art, but something. Most of the art I do is digital, meaning I draw on the computer itself, or I do work in photoshop with my photography. It's really fun because you learn something new everytime you work on something; new ways to do things, new techniques, etc. It takes a lot of time, too, just like traditional art. I don't just do digital work, though, I still do traditional. I did an oil painting over the summer, and it turned out okay. I am not much of a painter, though. It takes a lot of time and technique. Frankly, I'm just not that great at it. But, I also do a lot of things in colored pencils. I am decent at that. Just as it is with painting, there's a lot more layering involved with using colored pencils than one would think. I was in AP art last year in school, so I've done my share of art projects. My favorite ones are sitting up on a shelf in my room. You know, when thinking about why I do art, I can't really exactly say. Some people say it helps them express themselves or it is therapeutic or something, but I don't see that being a reason for me. I just do it because. Just because. I like to do it, yes, but I can't say there's any other deep, profound reason. I've basically just been drawing since before I could write a sentence. I can still remembering sitting at the kitchen table with some crayons as a kid, just drawing for hours. I suppose I still do that now, but with different mediums. In regards to mediums, I haven't really just drawn in a while with a basic pencil in my sketchbook. I think I should. I mean, we all need practice. Isn't that what the purpose of this blog is? To practice writing? A sketchbook to an artist is a blog to a writer. Or something like that. You get the general idea. It makes sense in my head, at least.

Music

When I get a new song in my iTunes, I have a tendency to listen to it repeatedly. For hours. Even a few days. And in that few days time, the song has at least 100 plays. After a while, I don't really register that the song is playing and it's just more background noise now. However, somehow the beat and and lyrics of the song gets embedded into my brain and the next time I listen to it, I know the song completely. All the lyrics, every articulation of the words, and everything. Sometimes I surprise myself how I do that. That happened over the summer, actually, with a whole album. One of my favorite artists, Owl City, came out with its new album titled Ocean Eyes. I was so excited I played the entire album on repeat for weeks. But even after a few days, I knew every word to every song, even though it had been just such a short time. One of my other friends is similar, knowing every word to every song a few days or so after the album was released. I guess if I really like something, you will definitely know because I'll play it on repeat. However, it can ultimately lead to me getting completely sick of the album or song, but it's usually not too bad. I have other music I can listen to. So when I get tired of the other music, I got back to the music I played on repeat. That just reinforces how much I like the music even more.

I just like music, I guess. I play it, too. I was in orchestra for 6 years, 6th grade through 12th grade. I played the violin, and not to be conceded or anything, but I am good at it. I always did very well in orchestra. I am not sure why, but I just have a knack for it. Perhaps another reason was I practiced a lot, but I still had a natural talent for it. I also had many years of piano lessons, starting in elementary school. I still play decently well now, but I have not had lessons in years. I would absolutely love to have lessons again. Music is just one of my things.

Happy Autumn

Happy first day of Autumn! And, wow, the weather today is fantastic. I absolutely love it! Autumn is my absolute favorite season, and it looks like this year the weather is going to cooperate and actually be Autumn weather, unlike some years in the past where it's still been scorching hot. You never know what the seasons are going to be like here. Anyway, the entire feel of Autumn makes me so happy. The wind, the colors of the leaves, the cool weather, the pumpkins, the warm colors, the scarves, the jackets, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and everything else. It reminds me of so many fond past times of this time of year. I can remember when I was a kid going to the park on an extremely windy day. I was on the swings and all the leaves on the trees were falling at a rapid pace around me. That moment made me really love the fall season. There are so many other memories to think of, too. Also in the fall season, my mom decorates the kitchen table with fall themed items, like mini squashes and pumpkins. Oh, and pumpkins! I look forward to picking one out and carving it into anything. I'm so relaxed during this season. I hope it's like that this year.

Oldies

Me and a friend were discussing our taste in oldies music such as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and The Beatles. We spent hours talking about the different songs, comparing and contrasting them, and even showing each other songs we didn't have from those artists. We discussed how Sinatra is one of the greatest singers that shaped a lot of music today, such as the singer Michael Buble. Buble is a modern day Sinatra and does covers of almost all of his songs. It's very well done. He sounds just like Sinatra. Yet, my friend pointed out that nothing can replace the real Sinatra. Bobby Darin has one of my favorite songs of all time, Beyond the Sea. It is relaxing and reminds me of when I was younger when I used to listen to it. And, then, of course, there's the classic Beatles. They shaped rock. Some people have strong opinions against the band, having many reason why they don't like them. I, however, love them and their influence on the music world as well. Their songs are used in so many things such as commercials and movies. They even made a movie based on their songs called Across the Universe. They are just so good. That's my opinion, though. All and all, me and my friend enjoyed discussing these oldies. We're about the only ones in our friend group that appreciate and like this music. It's great to have someone to talk about this stuff with.

Hot Air Balloon

Haha, okay, so I didn't get to go down to Austin, but it's 100% sure that it's happening another weekend. But yeah, when I was still here around Plano, I was driving home and I looked up and saw all these hot air balloons right above me. They were really low, I could almost see the people in the little brown basket. They're so incredible! One of my favorite things is hot air balloons. They come in so many different shapes and sizes. From what I can remember, I saw a Remax balloon and a red one. I don't remember what the other ones looked like. I am sure they had some sort of pattern, most do. Or a theme. My best friend and I were talking about how they make them in different shapes, too, and we were wondering how they do that. All this talk about hot air balloons reminds me of a morning about 5 or 6 years ago, at least, at a breakfast that takes place every year in the backyard of a friend's. It's a large gathering that always takes place the weekend of the balloon fest. Every year new additions are added to the party. The house that it takes place at is a very large, beautiful estate with a vast backyard with a pool, volleyball court, and a stretching field. Some years, we're lucky enough to see hot air balloons lift off from that field, or close by. That breakfast 5 or 6 years ago, that happened. As a little kid, I was ecstatic to see a real hot air balloon right in front of me. The people setting it up for take off were nice enough to get closer as the balloon was being filled with helium. It was GIGANTIC inside! I had never seen anything like it! I was so enthralled at that young age. Since then, I've had such a fascination of them. When I think back at that experience, I feel so nostalgic and a sense of wanting to relive it. Maybe someday I'll get a ride in one and experience it for real.

"Let's spend the afternoon in a cold hot air balloon." Hot Air Balloon by Owl City

Road Trip

Tomorrow I'm going to venture down to UT Austin to visit a few people. It's going to be fun! I like how it's only a 3 1/2 hour drive, too, not too terrible. I'm bring one of my friends, too, so it is like a mini road trip for the weekend. I went on another road trip over the summer down to the Houston area to visit a friend. First ever road trip with out parents. It was a blast! We went to the beach, too, because Galveston was only about 30-40 minutes from where my friend lived. When I went on that road trip, I really got a sense of growing up and being more independent. Well, I'm not saying that other things haven't done that, but this was one of them. So, Saturday it will be sort of similar. I can't wait to see my friends down at UT. It's such a huge campus, though. I hope I don't get lost. I'll have a friend with me, though. Also, I'll see what it's like at a real university. I really don't know what it is like, so this will be cool. I'm excited!

Nothing to Something

I don't know what to write about today. So I suppose I am just going to take up space and ramble about how I don't know what to talk about. What is there to talk about anyway? I don't know. Really, I don't. Perhaps this talking about not knowing what to talk about will get me an idea to write about something, not nothing. Not nothing. Is that a double negative? Wait.. I don't know. Is it? I don't know. My friend is sitting next to me backing up her english papers on a flash drive due to the fear of her computer possibly crashing. She's laughing at me now as I write this pointless entry. Or, perhaps it's not pointless, since I am still technically writing, right? And that's the goal of this blog; to just get us writing on a daily basis. It's not bad, I guess. Well, hey, would you look at that. Me talking about nothing turned into something. Oh, and back to talking about the grammar thing... I am very concerned with grammar on the Internet and everywhere. Honestly, does it look like you are educated when you write like this?

"hey guys how r u all this blog is so cool."

No, it doesn't. Try it like this:

"Hey, guys. How are you all? This blog is so cool."

See? Way better.

Relax

Referring to one of my last entries discussing how technology has led to information being instant and fast, it made me sort of think about how that can make people impatient. If information is presented so promptly, that would be an easy way for us to be impatient for, for example, a text message response. If there is not a response from someone within 5 minutes, some people get angry and impatient. I have to admit that I am guilty of doing that at times. But, with being able to get info so quick, perhaps we don't realize how impatient we really get. Sometimes I hate how fast information travels on the internet, making it overwhelming because there is a sense of rushing. It sometimes makes me think someone is yelling at me, "No, you have to reply RIGHT NOW, quick! They are waiting!" It is sometimes so much, silly I know. It makes me just want to sit there and calm down, relax, and take a breath. Taking my time is something I've had to learn. I, like technology of communication, sometimes am too quick to do things, and it comes out sloppy. I have learned to just relax and take my time. I wonder if that analogy made any sense.

News

Yesterday was Jay Leno's season premier and guess who was a guest? Yeah. Kanye West. In my opinion, he shouldn't have even deserved to be on the season premier of Jay Leno. His interview was awful, too. His answers were whishy-washy and he repeated himself a lot. When he spoke, he sounded so pathetic that I could no longer watch. Jay Leno asked him a question that stopped him in his tracks, causing the longest moment of silence I have ever heard on the show. The question Kanye was asked as, "What would your mother think of what you've done?", referring to what he did to Taylor. He seriously sat there for a whole 3 minutes in silence. I don't want to feel bad for the guy. What he did was ridiculous. Even Obama said he didn't like this guy. It was just released that Kanye is on a suicide watch. I am not sure if that is serious or just a rumor, could just be for attention. Or real. I don't know. It is just weird that something like that would be issues right after the happenings on Sunday night. Overall, this whole situation is just ridiculous. I know the world won't move on from it for a long time. Some people say this is like the "Chris beat Rhianna" thing, causing an uproar. Celebrities sometimes just have bad judgment at times. Well. Everyone does. I guess we all make mistakes.

Fast Information

It sure is crazy how fast information can travel these days. I noticed it last night when I was on facebook and all of the sudden a few of my friends had the same basic status's discussing something that happened on the MTV Music awards that were going on at that time. It was almost instant. What had happened on the MTV Music awards was something ridiculous, and leave it to Kanye West to be the cause of it. Taylor Swift had won an award, and as she was on stage accepting it and saying her speech, she was rudely interrupted by Kanye West. He took the mic from her (she was in mid-sentence, too) and very briefly congratulated Taylor, but then went on to exclaim that Beyonce had the best video and basically says she should have won. By this time, Taylor is speechless, standing there not know what to do. I felt so bad for her. And for Beyonce, she sat there in shock, not knowing what to say, either. Kanye West has to be one of the most inconsiderate and conceded people I have ever seen in the music industry. Honestly, who does that? Poor Taylor was so grateful for her award, and Kanye had to come and ruin it. Does that make him feel cool? Does he think Beyonce will back him up? Yeah, right. Bad move, Kanye (though I'm sure it's not the first time). Anyway, back to what I was saying -- within minutes of this happening, facebook was filled with status's of my friends speaking out about their strong dislike of Kanye, as well as on Twitter. Even a Youtube video had been posted of the event, a mere few minutes after. Technology is so beneficial in this aspect. This is so useful in terms of news for around the world as well. Last night's events was just an example.

Assignment: Pg. 102-103; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: Once you have read the three stories, write your reaction to them off the top of your head, spending at least ten minutes on each. For each story, note any personal experience affecting your response as well as one or more questions that you have about the story even after you have finished reading it.

The Use of Force: What a peculiar story. It was interesting how fast the doctor's attitude and emotions changed as he got more angry at the little girl. At first, he was intrigued, describing her striking features and what she looks like, even admiring her. He did not have a mad attitude about her at all until she started struggling with him, making his job harder to do. I can't say I know what I would do if I were the child because I would be young and not understand what is going on anyways. Yet, that girl did. She so desperately wanted to keep the secret of her sick tonsils, but why? Children had already been dying from other diseases. That sort of gives me a bad feeling. A personal experience that could go along with this is just doctor visits in general, I suppose. I always remembered hating them when I was young, but not exactly understanding why I ever went. I did not throw a tantrum as this girl did, though. Why was she trying to hide her tonsils? Did she want something bad to happen to her? Perhaps if we knew more of a back story it could help us understand her motive.

A Visit of Charity: Okay, I thought the last story was peculiar... This one was, too, but more just bizarre. It was sort of creepy, too. I felt like something bad was going to happen to the campfire girl. I knew from when the Old Ladies' Home was described that something was not right. The two old ladies the campfire girl visited fought the entire time she was there, making the girl scared. The old lady in the bed was constantly disagreeing and screaming at the other old lady, giving the story an odd tone. The campfire girl also brought a plant. I wonder if the plant had any meaning, or if it was a symbol of some kind? It was mentioned more than once, so maybe it was. I was even more creeped out at the very end when the other old lady not in the bed caught a hold of the girl asking for a penny. It just scared the little girl, and me, even more. I was imagining this place was a sort of scary place that draws in people to do test on them or something... I don't know. I don't have a personal experience that can contribute to this story at all. Too bizarre... "A visit of charity" is an ironic title.

Sleepy: Reading this story made me extremely sleepy. The way it described her wanting sleep so bad and how she imagined she would be sleeping, getting herself into trouble. I feel bad for the girl, she's only 13. I mean, I think it's bad when I get five hours of sleep a night, but she's getting zero. It reminded me of Cinderella, getting all the orders, but ten times worse, adding a baby in there. The death of her father does not help the situation at all, making her life even worse. The girl finally decides that the baby is the source of her problems, the baby is the enemy, even though it is so innocent and doesn't know any better. So, my question is, besides the master and mistress, who is the antagonist? The girl or the baby? Could there have been another way to deal with the problem of the baby? I was not exactly surprised that the girl went to lengths of actually taking the baby's life, but it was still terrible. It makes for such a sad, sad ending. I definitely don't have a personal that will affect my response for this story. I think it is all agreed that it is just terrible, personal experience or not. Honestly, I'd hope there is not a personal experience tied to this story at all. That could not be good...

Some people...

A major, major pet peeve of mine is when some people have the habit of always trying to be better or outshine everyone. They make everything a competition! Why? I can't stand talking to those sort of people because I know no matter what I say they will think it invalid and try to be better than me. For instance, the other day I said, "Man, I played video games for 5 hours today..." And then someone replied to that saying, "Psh, that's nothing, I played video games for 11 hours today!" Honestly, I don't think that makes them any cooler. Really, now. 11 hours sort of makes you seem like a person with no life, doesn't it? Not exactly something to be proud of. It made me laugh, but at the same time, peeved me because they had to be better. Who cares? Just do what you like and stop trying to be cooler than everyone. Most of the time it just makes you look sort of... annoying? I don't know. Not everything in life is a competition. Also, it wouldn't hurt if those people listened to what other people had to say once in a while instead of just exclaiming all of their accomplishments. I have a friend that talks constantly about herself, and when you try to contribute to the conversation, or try to fit in something about yourself, she ignores it and just continues talking about herself. I don't enjoy having conversations where I feel like I have to use a megaphone just to be heard, or having a conversation where I feel completely inferior because they are trying to be better than you. I guess there are just some people like that...

"I know the world's a broken bone, but melt your headaches, call it home." Northern Downpour by Panic At The Disco

[Side note: Second book assignment will be in tomorrow's blog.]

Assignment: Pg. 114; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: To become more aware of how settings may function in a short story, write a description of a setting you associate with someone you know. Choose are particular room, building, or landscape in which you have seen that person. In your description, use details of the setting to reveal something about his or her life.

In this place, there is a lot of commotion. It is a very colorful place. There is a main building that leads to a large setting of picnic tables outside where many different kinds of people of all ages congregate showing off gear, accomplishments, and equipment. The picnic tables are under a canopy of concrete, causing a strong wind to run through the place. The tables are simple, made out of wood. There is nothing fancy about the tables. But, what is rest on top of the tables is what the place is about. The picnic tables are not what is important about this place. What is important are the many different sorts of fields you see when you look out over everything. They are massive, stretching far, filled with trodden on grass. In the fields, there are barrels, obstacles, barricades, shields, or trees, all coated with old and new colors. The items in the fields are scattered around, usually making some sort of pattern. The commotion comes from these fields. It is filled with loud noises, many of them being yelling voices of directions and help. There is also a forest, thick with trees, and also many forts and tall wooden walls with peek holes. There is a a strength in the air around here, everyone having a purpose and meaning. There is also pain. Injuries are no uncommon in this place, especially in one of the many fields. When the wind blows, it affects the place. Knowing how to work around the wind is a skill needed to be here. When the day is over, everyone heads back to the rough parking lot, a lot of it in the grass as well. It is quite large, fitting many cars. It is nice, though; well kept.

Many memories come from this place. This is a very important place for my best friend. He Paintballs. This was a description of the Paintball field he goes to. The feeling of the place represents his personality, as well as the fact that he plays the sport.

Nightmare

Speaking of dreams, I had bad dream after bad dream last night. It was awful... I might as well not have slept last night at all because it was that bad. Again, it still makes me wonder why I did. It involved bad things happening to people. I'm not a violent person and I didn't watch anything violent, so I don't get why that would happen. I guess that's just what a nightmare is. Except I had two or three of them back to back. I woke up and tried to get the images out of my head right away. I averted my thinking as much as possible. Due to the nightmares, I was quite sluggish and weak today. I could barely concentrate. I really hope I get better sleep tonight and no nightmares.

"You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I feel asleep." Fireflies by Owl City

Procrastination?

Today it has been decided, by me, that I am going to be more productive. So far it's working. I've been studying and doing homework since around 11:30, and it's still going strong. I really hate idling time away. Wasted time is so useless. What can you gain from it? I feel a lot better about myself when I am productive. Aside from studying a lot, I am going to start a new art project, for personal reasons. That way, when I am finished studying, I can work on that if I want, making it fill a gap of where I could be wasting time. But I won't be, because I will be working on the project. I guess this being productive plan is also helping a lot with my procrastination. And, boy, do I have a problem with that one. I have my mind so made up when I think to myself, "Oh, I'll do it later. I will." Yeah, and I never end up doing it until the last minute. Wasting time, procrastination, and idleness will be resolved.

"Procrastinators Unite! ...Tomorrow." -Anonymous

Dreamer

Dreams can be really interesting. Last night, I had a dream that I had my Macbook on the counter and I spilled water all over it. I freaked out and frantically tried mopping all the water off of it with a towel. This has to be more of a nightmare, because I am extremely careful with my Macbook when I'm awake. Funny thing is, yesterday I was sitting in the family room with it and a cup of water got knocked over on the floor next to me. I thought that was really bizarre having a dream similar just the night before. I'm glad it didn't actually spill on it. I would have been petrified. It makes me wonder about dreams. What do they really mean? Are they at times warnings? Do they portray what your subconscious is worrying about? I dunno, I find them fascinating. It's amazing how the brain can do that while you're asleep. And then there's those dreams where you feel completely content and everything feels right in it, and you don't want it to end. Those irk me because sometimes it's about something I desperately want to happen, and it does happen in the dream. It makes me sigh in anger when I wake up. That's not to say all dreams are bad, of course. Some are really fantastic and detailed. It could give you ideas and insight. Although, if you're dreaming it, doesn't that mean it's already in your head? It's like this one time I dreamed of a person I had never seen before in my life. When I told my best friend that, he noted that I must have seen them before if they were in my dream. Does that have to be true? Does something have to have been perceived before it can be dreamed that night? I have so many questions.

These questions about why we have the dreams leads me to think about why certain things happened in them. For instance, why did I have a dream with one specific person I haven't really spoken to in years? Is it an indication that I should start talking to them?

Do dreams mean anything at all? I don't know.

Labor Day

Happy Labor day! I'm rather enjoying the day off from school. Although, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing school work. I started reading The Poe Shadow and I have to say it's not half bad so far. I'm about 6 or 7 chapters in. I like how the book dove right into the story in the first 2 chapters. That keeps me interested in the book. I'm interested to see what's going to happen. It's so true how one thing can consume your entire life, distracting you from what perhaps should be more important. Although, he's passionate about finding out more about Poe. A strange subject, in my opinion. I feel bad for Hattie, she so wanted to get engaged on that night that Clark saw Poe's funeral. I'm glad they eventually did get engaged, yet soon after Clark was distracted with Poe once again. It's not hard to tell that that is going to be one of the main conflicts in the story.

Assignment: Pg. 87; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: Write a weighted comparison essay that develops a claim about Williams's poem by bringing up Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper or Kooser's Four Secretaries.

A claim that I can make from reading The Singing is that singing can make people feel certain ways and have an affect on them. The man speaking in the poem tells us that he saw a young man that was "black speaking black," and he could not really understand him. However, when he realized the black man was singing or as he said, "shouted-sang," he understood what he meant. The black man then expressed to him that he was "not a nice person." The sentence sung to the other man affected him. Perhaps if the black man was not singing he would not have been so affected by the sentence. Just like the singing affected the man in The Singing, the man in the poem Four Secretaries describes the secretaries around him to be singing, affecting him in a different way. If the secretaries were not being described as singing, they might perhaps be less interesting and have no importance to the man observing them. Singing affected both men in the poems in different ways.

Success

I had such a great day today! I saw one of my friends that is in town for the weekend. He goes to West Point up in New York. When we saw him he was wearing the camo Army uniform. It was so cool! I'm so proud of him. He had an air to him that seemed so grown up. It's starting to really dawn on me how everyone is growing up, going on to more mature things. Real life and all. I'm excited, but at the same time, terrified. It is great that my friend knows what he wants to do with life; that's why he's at West Point. I do not exactly know, but I know I will. I want to be really successful. Successful in what? Anything I want, whether that means getting through school or a career I take on. Just successful. I see success in my friend. He's a role model in a way.

"One day our generation is gonna rule the population." - Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer

Life

I have to say, I am quite happy with the way life is going right now. It's going quite smoothly, the friendship with my best friend was rekindled, and school is great. I love all of my classes. All of them are so interesting. I feel like I'm learning things instead of just making the grades. I rather like my schedule, too. It's relaxing only having two classes a day. I'd recommend that to anyone; it gives you just enough school for the day. I realize it's only been two weeks of school, but in these last two weeks I've really grasped the feeling of what it's like in college, and I love it. I know it will not always seem like this, but right now it's great. Life going smoothly for me has been rare, so I am pleased that it is going smoothly now. Now, going back to the friendship that's been rekindled. That is like the cherry on top of a sunday; It ties everything together, making it even better.

I like writing about times when I'm happy. However, I've noticed that when I am upset, it seems like I have so much more inspiration to write, making it come out better. I guess it comes down to fact as to whether it is worth getting upset just to write. Or, it comes down to becoming a better writer to be able to write at-will. Perhaps this class will help me with that. I can see this blog helping a lot more already. I hope.

"Today's not the same as every day, it's far from ordinary." - I Did It For You by David Cook

Assignment: Pg. 1627; #2

#2: Compare Counterparts and Like a Winding Sheet, arguing whether the authors have or have not prepared us for the endings.

In Counterparts, there was a lot to understand and take in. There were some hidden meanings and parallelism as well. I understand that Farrington had a bad day at work, getting yelled at and getting into trouble with his superiors and all, along with losing an arm wrestling match, but I don't really see how it set up the ending of the story. I did not expect what happened to be the actual ending. Beating his son is a possibility, yes, as to get all his anger of his life out, but in regards to everything else happening in the story before, I do not think the author prepared us for that ending. However, in Like a Winding Sheet, I think the author efficiently prepared us for the ending. Johnson thinks to himself more than once about wanting to punch someone in the face due to anger, but wouldn't because they were a woman. Once that was said, I feared right away for his wife. Johnson's anger had been kindling throughout the whole story, and I could see how it was all come out on his wife in the end. The author did not make the hints discrete, as I thought the other of Counterparts did. It was clear as day. In regards to both the endings of the stories in general, they were just sad.

Worry

Losing someone is never easy. Sometimes you don't know why, so you go through all the possible reasons through your head, eventually coming back to the first possible reason you thought of, creating a circle of justifying thoughts. You try to push it to the back of your mind, but it's still there, lingering in the dark. It drives you crazy. Months go by and you are still wondering why you lost that person. Finally, they talk. You're ecstatic. You carefully choose what words to say to them because who knows when will be the next time you speak. You find out the reason they lost touch with you and it is not your fault at all. It was them. They had issues. It was nothing to do with you. Then, that circle of justifying thoughts stops. You are torn between happiness and grief. You just spent the last couple of months beating yourself up for potential mistakes of what could have happened. It was wasted time, wasted thought. Then, incredibly, you feel selfish. Were you trying to make it all about you? Something you did? Perhaps there should have been thoughts as to what they were experiencing. Now you feel bad. It happens. But, wait, you are happy they are talking to you. Now you're torn even more. You're feeling more emotional than you should. Worry about them now. The worry about you is over.

"Every moment of your life is a chance to get it right." -Monotov's Private Opera by Third Eye Blind




Rant over.

Assignment: Pg. 41; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: Once you have read both stories, write brief responses to each.

Orientation response:
It took me a moment to understand how the story was being told; that made the story interesting. While reading it, I got a little overwhelmed with all of the information being presented to the new worker. I can only imagine how that worker felt, having all of this information being presented all at once. I'd break a sweat and have to swallow all my fear as I was walking around with the person training me. The story was written in a list form, which could be monotonous, but it was well written enough to want me to keep reading. All the people were described in great detail, which made the story more interesting. It sounds like that office is quite the place to work. When I got to the very end, after reading about all of the people and rooms and duties, I thought the photocopy room was really interesting. It was interesting how the building reflected, making a copy of whoever was looking at it, as it is when you photocopy something. I think that's a cool analogy. Overall, this story was a good read. Although, I cannot say I relate, but it was a good read all the same.

Girl response:
I don't think I would want to be told how to do every little single thing like this girl. Talk about controlling. There are so many rules to follow, like in the other story, Orientation. The poor girl in the story couldn't get but two sentences to try and defend herself. It seems that she is being judged while being given many directions. I would find that unfair. They are trying to tell her who to be also. Shouldn't that be the girl's freedom to decide? Once again, I think a long list of telling me what to do would be overwhelming and tedious. I would not write something as this. I'd stress myself out while writing it.

Season

Today I woke up extremely tired. Honestly, you'd think I'd learn not to stay up until two in the morning when I had to get up at eight o'clock the next morning. Yet, I still repeatedly do it. I can't say I remember why I was up so late. I was probably online or something, wasting brain cells. Anyway, yeah, I was really tired this morning as I was getting ready for church, which was awesome. And wow, the weather these past few days! Talk about perfect. There's a lovely breeze that makes it so pleasurable outside. That's so rare to say it was "pleasurable outside" in August in Texas. Texas weather is, well... Texas weather. Anybody that lives here knows what I'm talking about. Although, it's becoming Fall, which is my favorite season! The leaves turn red and orange and yellow. The winds blow more and more. There's pumpkins and turkeys and scarves. Such a wonderful season.

Hm. I've gone from feeling tired, to talking about the internet, to the weather, and finally to my favorite season. What a train of thought I have.

Cluttered

I think that I should get more organized. For example, sometimes my desk is so cluttered I can't even see the wood surface it's made of. There's all this stuff in the way, most if it not important. There's papers, glasses, post-its, notebooks, cd's, a clock, a laptop, a lamp, and many many other items that perhaps should be put away and not just thrown on the top of the mess. When my desk is clean, I find that I am very much so less stressed out. I guess a cluttered, messy desk can relate to my mind. Sometimes it's so cluttered with pointless information I can't even think. So in my opinion, a clean work space, in this case the desk in my room, really does affect everything. It's important to keep it clear. Kind of like our minds.

That analogy worked, right? Sometimes I can't really get my point across in a way that works. I get that a lot; people not understanding what I mean. I have a hard time explaining. I wonder how that could be fixed... Maybe break down what I'm thinking into parts. Yeah. That could work.

My mind is quite cluttered. Like my desk.

TI-84

It's funny when you look an object for school, like a graphing calculator, and think, "Nah, I don't think I'll need that today, I'll just leave it on my desk...", only to find out that you actually do need it in class that day. Then, when you're sitting in class you're thinking bitterly, "How hard would it have been to grab that calculator really quickly off my desk?" That's happened a lot. I guess it goes along with the saying, "Better safe than sorry," or, "Always be prepared." I'm staring at that graphing calculator now, and I swear it's mocking me. It's okay, lesson learned, right? I'll take the calculator next time. And honestly, how much more weight could it have been in my purple backpack anyways? It's conveniently travel size, that TI-84.

Silly me. I'm sorry, graphing calculator.

Assignment: Pg. 14; #2

#2: Sometimes a literary work matters to you in one way when you first read it and in another way when you read it again. Write a brief essay in which you discuss a work that you interpreted differently when you reread it. What significance did it have for you at the time? What was its significance later? What about your life changed between the two readings?

There is a book I read when I was a young child called The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I consider this to be Children's literature. Back in the day when I read it, I remember thinking it was a nice story and a tree, and that's it. I did not really take a deep meaning away from it. It was just the book with the green cover and a tree; the "tree" book. However, reading it now, I of course perceive it much different. I understand the story and the point it is trying to get across. The story personally means something to me now as well. I see myself relating to the tree, always giving to someone, despite the fact they may not treat me well or appreciate what I have done. What I think has made me interpret the book differently is simply a sense of natural maturity. Just like the boy in the story, I grew older, with more of an understanding of everything in the world, as well as relationships with others. Children's literature are so interesting to read later in life to discover the deeper meaning we missed as a child. Or at least, what I missed. It is sort of like life itself; understanding certain things later through experience if you didn't understand it the first time.

First Day

It was half-past 8, and I was freaking out. My alarm that I thought I set the night before didn't go off. It was the first day of school! I couldn't be late! It was not an option. I scrambled out of bed, threw on my clothes, and ran out the front door with a notebook and a pencil. I had to make it to my nine o'clock class on time. I drove out the neighborhood, meeting traffic. That did not improve my mood. I sped up past the cars, made a left, another left, a right, and a left, and made it to the school parking lot, only to find there were no parking spots. None. I let out a long sigh, trying to control my emotions. Feebly, I turned into the farthest parking lot, finding one of the last spots in sight. I turned the key to kill the engine and sat there. I was torn between relief and irritation. Happy first day of school, welcome to Collin College.