People have been asking how well I've adapted to college life. Well, here you go, the following paragraphs are an in-depth physical, mental, and emotional evaluation of myself at the present time.
Physical Grade: B-
Physically, I'm probably more fit than I've ever been, considering I have to walk several miles a day just to get to all my darn classes. Plus, the karate class I've been attending has a killer warm-up workout that's murder on my arms and thighs. I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost a few pounds. In fact, I don't think I'm going to have to worry about that 'freshman fifteen' or whatever it is.
The food's pretty good too. Been eating my fruits and vegetables like a good girl, plus copious amounts of ice cream whenever the machine hasn't broken down.
However, I just keep managing to injure myself.
The bug bite count: 14, including five on my back.
Times a random body part has swelled up in the past two weeks: 2 (ankle from spider bite, eyelid from allergies)
Bruises: 7, mostly from karate, one from where I've hit my hand on a table
Amount of times I've cursed the existence of every bug alive within a twelve mile radius of my campus: 176
And that's why my grade here's a B-.
Mental Grade: A-
Got As in all my classes so far. :3 Homework load hasn't been horrible, yet. Labs are the worst, especially the Chemistry one because it's on a Friday from 2 to 4:30. Thank goodness I got out early yesterday, I was so darn tired I probably wouldn't have made it home if I'd left later.
Stress = very yes. Only because of my extraordinary amounts of random injuries.
Mental stability? A-okay. I'm enjoying the life. Not enjoying the people next door who used to blast techno music at 11:30 at night. I believe we've fixed that issue, though. After all, quiet hours start at 10 p.m., so if they continue to break the rules...well, I'll just break the rules and bring martial arts weapons into the dorms.
Random Person: "But Sakintho, two wrongs don't make a right!"
Me: "Maybe they don't, but it sure as hell would feel good to take a bo-staff to their speakers."
Emotial Grade: A+
Happy happy happy! :3 So many awesome people at my college. I can't think of one time where'd I've had to have lunch by myself. Awesome people just keep popping out of nowhere and making me very happy. Plus, they've got an anime club, a Pokemon club, a video game music club...the list goes on. I think I'll be very happy here indeed...
Average Grade: A-
Evaluator's Note: Sakintho's tendency to attract pain needs working on. She also needs to slow down on those ice cream cones and remember always do her homework early.
My Note: 8D
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
College Life 2: Mythbusters
So yeah, I saw a Mythbuster yesterday, and my inner geek was very fulfilled.
The Mythbuster I saw was Grant Imahara, and he pretty much acted like he does in the show. He's very personable, a good speaker, and he joked around a lot with the audience. I really liked hearing what he had to say, especially about the history of Mythbusters and his own personal career. He worked on a lot of movie props before joining Mythbusters, the most famous of which being the last three Star Wars movies. He actually got to wear the C-3PO costume to several events in place of the original actors, and he had lots of pictures of himself in the robot outfit. He also worked on the second Jurassic Park movie, the last two Matrix movies, VAN HELSING (HOLY CRAP), and Galaxy Quest, which was a pleasant surprise for me to learn.
We also got some previews of future Mythbuster episodes. (The ones that were filmed at NMT). I can't talk about those though; you'll just have to watch the show! :P
Also, I got a T-shirt, so I'm happy! 8D
The bad news about my college experience is my horrific bug bite. It started out like a normal bug bite, but somehow got infected so I have a nicely swollen ankle now. The NMT nurse prescribed me antibiotics, so I'll be okay, but...ow! D8 Stupid bugs.
The Mythbuster I saw was Grant Imahara, and he pretty much acted like he does in the show. He's very personable, a good speaker, and he joked around a lot with the audience. I really liked hearing what he had to say, especially about the history of Mythbusters and his own personal career. He worked on a lot of movie props before joining Mythbusters, the most famous of which being the last three Star Wars movies. He actually got to wear the C-3PO costume to several events in place of the original actors, and he had lots of pictures of himself in the robot outfit. He also worked on the second Jurassic Park movie, the last two Matrix movies, VAN HELSING (HOLY CRAP), and Galaxy Quest, which was a pleasant surprise for me to learn.
We also got some previews of future Mythbuster episodes. (The ones that were filmed at NMT). I can't talk about those though; you'll just have to watch the show! :P
Also, I got a T-shirt, so I'm happy! 8D
The bad news about my college experience is my horrific bug bite. It started out like a normal bug bite, but somehow got infected so I have a nicely swollen ankle now. The NMT nurse prescribed me antibiotics, so I'll be okay, but...ow! D8 Stupid bugs.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
College Life...
So I've finally moved into my dorm at New Mexico Tech. (And what a process it was.) Between me and my roommate, we've pretty much built ourselves a miniature house. Mini fridge, microwave, TV, our laptops, beds, sink, and all of the personal/school stuff we'll ever need...yep, I think I'll be set for the next semester.
Tech has been having nothing but parties. :P I assume that's going to change in the next couple days when classes start, but so far there have been so many barbecues that I haven't had to pay for a single meal yet! I've met some nice people here and we've been hanging out the past two days. We went golfing yesterday! Even though I suck at golf, it was still really fun, especially when you get to whack a small ball as hard as you possibly can with a giant club. It was stinking hot though, and I'm quite sunburnt on my nose and the back of my legs. (My arms are okay, though, don't know how the heck that happened.)
They have a huge library here...if it's open I'll probably be checking that out today. I could always use more stuff to read.
They also have a huuuuuge campus, at least, to me it is. I'm already getting all turned around. What happened to my tiny high school? D8
I miss everyone in Albuquerque very much, so ya'll better keep in touch so I don't get lonely. :P
Tech has been having nothing but parties. :P I assume that's going to change in the next couple days when classes start, but so far there have been so many barbecues that I haven't had to pay for a single meal yet! I've met some nice people here and we've been hanging out the past two days. We went golfing yesterday! Even though I suck at golf, it was still really fun, especially when you get to whack a small ball as hard as you possibly can with a giant club. It was stinking hot though, and I'm quite sunburnt on my nose and the back of my legs. (My arms are okay, though, don't know how the heck that happened.)
They have a huge library here...if it's open I'll probably be checking that out today. I could always use more stuff to read.
They also have a huuuuuge campus, at least, to me it is. I'm already getting all turned around. What happened to my tiny high school? D8
I miss everyone in Albuquerque very much, so ya'll better keep in touch so I don't get lonely. :P
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Television Ponderments
I flipped through every channel on my television today.
It was actually kind of interesting. I kept wondering if they were going to stop, but more and more just kept coming, even repeating networks certain times. It got up into the nine hundreds before finally getting back to channel one.
The sections of channels eventually began dividing into groups. There's the music section, the four hundreds. There's the 'Adult Content' section, which was thankfully blocked. (I really don't think that's something I want to be seeing first thing in the morning.) There's the sports section in the seven hundreds. And I think somewhere right before the eight hundreds began a long string of blocked Mexican channels.
The funny thing is, even with nine hundred channels, there was still nothing interesting on to watch. I tried watching the music video channel for a while because every now and then they show something good, but they were showing some really creepy random ones today that sort of diverted me from the channel.
I tried watching Doctor Who, I really did. It's probably the sixth time I've tried watching it now. I'm sorry, it's just too...well, I don't really know the word, but it's something of a cross between making want to laugh at it and making me want to perform a lobotomy on the writers and ask their brains how logic works, because clearly they lost grasp of it a long time ago.
I watched one of the unblocked Mexican channels for five minutes, trying to imagine what they were saying. I shouldn't be allowed to imagine things.
I attempted to watch Cartoon Network, but they were playing that stupid Dexter's Laboratory rip-off. Please, children, never, ever watch it or the TV Pigeon will come in the night and rearrange all your sock drawers.
I finally settled on watching the television turned off. It was a lot more interesting than anything else that was on, let me tell you.
What the hell's happened to television anyway?
It was actually kind of interesting. I kept wondering if they were going to stop, but more and more just kept coming, even repeating networks certain times. It got up into the nine hundreds before finally getting back to channel one.
The sections of channels eventually began dividing into groups. There's the music section, the four hundreds. There's the 'Adult Content' section, which was thankfully blocked. (I really don't think that's something I want to be seeing first thing in the morning.) There's the sports section in the seven hundreds. And I think somewhere right before the eight hundreds began a long string of blocked Mexican channels.
The funny thing is, even with nine hundred channels, there was still nothing interesting on to watch. I tried watching the music video channel for a while because every now and then they show something good, but they were showing some really creepy random ones today that sort of diverted me from the channel.
I tried watching Doctor Who, I really did. It's probably the sixth time I've tried watching it now. I'm sorry, it's just too...well, I don't really know the word, but it's something of a cross between making want to laugh at it and making me want to perform a lobotomy on the writers and ask their brains how logic works, because clearly they lost grasp of it a long time ago.
I watched one of the unblocked Mexican channels for five minutes, trying to imagine what they were saying. I shouldn't be allowed to imagine things.
I attempted to watch Cartoon Network, but they were playing that stupid Dexter's Laboratory rip-off. Please, children, never, ever watch it or the TV Pigeon will come in the night and rearrange all your sock drawers.
I finally settled on watching the television turned off. It was a lot more interesting than anything else that was on, let me tell you.
What the hell's happened to television anyway?
Monday, July 25, 2011
My Inspirational Patooey
So, those of you who pay attention to me on Facebook noticed my little blurb about wanting to be inspired for a short story. I got a few good interesting comments, though one in particular sparked my interest, and, in a way, helped me incorporate all of the ideas into a project idea I've labelled 'My Fantasia'. I want it to be a short story project, something to work on when I have writer's block, and I want it to be entirely about conscious inanimate objects.
The idea mainly comes from Ms. Shannon, who I thank and credit for what I've managed to come up with today. A future idea I am working on, however, will come from Ms. Skyler, so yes, you can look forward to more 'My Fantasia' blog posts in the future, if you're into that sort of thing.
This first short story is simply called: 'The Chair'. Here it is; you can read it below. (Oh, and please send me reviews, I appreciate the critique. :3 )
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The idea mainly comes from Ms. Shannon, who I thank and credit for what I've managed to come up with today. A future idea I am working on, however, will come from Ms. Skyler, so yes, you can look forward to more 'My Fantasia' blog posts in the future, if you're into that sort of thing.
This first short story is simply called: 'The Chair'. Here it is; you can read it below. (Oh, and please send me reviews, I appreciate the critique. :3 )
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“Why do you have such an old chair, Uncle Derrick?”
Derrick froze for a moment. He had completely forgotten about his niece, Meg, while he was caught up in the job of finishing up his college essay. His sister had asked him to watch the girl for the afternoon, and Derrick, of course, had absolutely no choice but to say yes because they were family. Never mind that he had a paper due the next day…but it was pretty much finished now, so he supposed he could turn his attention back to Meg for the moment.
“Why do I have such an old chair, you ask?” Derrick turned to face her, resting an arm on the back of said chair. “Well, this chair has many memories for me.”
“But it’s just a chair!” Meg frowned. “Mommy always complains about it when she’s here. She says you should get a new one.”
“Your mother was never the sentimental type.” Derrick retorted. “She lacks…a certain something required to hold onto things like these.” He patted the chair fondly. It was an old, wooden chair that looked as though it was on its last legs. However, it stood firm under Derrick’s weight. It had been doing so for almost twenty years.
Meg continued to frown; however, not satisfied with the answer she’d been given. “I still don’t see why you don’t get a more comfy one. That chair doesn’t look very comfy.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.” Derrick shrugged. “Like I said, this chair’s special. In fact…” He turned back towards his computer, doing one last spell check on the paper, then sending it to his printer. “Why don’t you and Mr. Chair get acquainted while I wait for my essay to print?”
“Nu-uh!” Meg shook her head. “I don’t want to hang out with a chair! It’s not like chairs can talk.”
“You’d be surprised.” Derrick gave her a friendly wink before making his way out of the room. Meg let out a high-pitched huff at this, deciding she’d punish her weird uncle later for making her ‘get acquainted’ with a chair, whatever that meant. Meg wasn’t very good with big words yet. However, curiosity started to bubble up within the girl as she peeked at the chair once more.
It was a simple chair, nothing more, right? Chairs were chairs, just like tables were tables and beds were beds. There was nothing more to them. Chairs only talked in fairy tales and Disney movies. “I’m not gonna talk to you!” Meg told the chair stubbornly. “I don’t care what Uncle Derrick says, chairs can’t talk!”
“Well, that’s awfully rude of you.”
Meg flinched as a voice seemed to sound out of nowhere. She looked around, figuring it was probably her uncle playing a prank on her. However, the voice had seemed to come almost directly from the chair…
“Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking to you, Ms. Meg.”
There! The voice had definitely come from the chair this time! Meg carefully took a step towards it, looking around to see if there was some sort of magical voice box that Derrick had placed onto the chair. However, it was still just the plain old wooden chair it had been before.
“Chairs aren’t supposed to talk.” Meg told the chair finally. “Chairs are ‘inaminate’.” She had heard her mother use a word like that before, though she had probably gotten it wrong.
“If chairs aren’t supposed to talk, then how am I talking to you?” The chair asked simply.
“I dunno.” Meg replied. “How are you talking to me? Are you a real chair?”
“Of course I’m a real chair. Bona fide, made in Taiwan, sit-worthy wooden chair, one of a set of over three thousand.” The chair seemed to be proud of this fact. “I’m likely the only one of my set that’s still around, so you’re very lucky to be seeing me.”
“You’re just a chair.” Meg retorted, her frown returning. “There’s nothing special about chairs.”
“Nothing special about chairs?” The chair’s voice took on a hurt tone. “Why, you haven’t even begun to see what a chair can do for a person! Why, we are the very backbone of nations! Presidents have sat upon our splendor! Do you think the Founding Fathers of our country would have been able to write the Constitution very well if they didn’t have a chair to sit on?”
“They could have stood.” Meg thought in response. “I’ve stood and written stuff before.”
“But you get tired.” The chair continued its rant. “And eventually you just really want a place to sit, right?”
“Guess so.” Meg admitted. “So…I guess chairs are alright after all.”
“Oh, that’s not even all we can do.” The chair let out a chuckle. “You see, providing a seat is only a beginner’s usage.” Then, the voice’s chair got real low, confidential. “Do you want me to teach you the secret about chairs?”
“Yes!” Meg’s eyes lit up and a grin reached her face. Being the young girl that she was, she loved hearing secrets of all kinds. “Tell me the secret!”
“Well…we chairs can become anything.” The chair told her. “Here, let me give you an example. You see those pencils up on the desk?”
“Yeah.” Meg nodded.
“Climb up on me and grab three of them.”
Meg did just that, hesitantly clambering onto the chair and standing on it with wobbly legs. She reached out and grabbed three of the pencils, then slid back down onto the floor. “Okay, now what?”
“First, face me.” The chair instructed her. “Then…close your eyes, and imagine your house.”
“My house?” Meg closed her eyes, trying to envision it. “Are you saying you can turn into my house?”
“In a manner of speaking. Now, imagine that the three pencils you’re holding in your hand aren’t really pencils at all. Pretend, just for a moment, that they are you, your mother and your father.”
“Okay…” Meg squeezed her eyes shut even tighter as she tried to picture her pencils as tiny little people in her hand. Eventually, she got a good mental picture of her family, standing in front of their house on a warm summer’s day, Frisbee being passed between them. She smiled at the memory. “Okay, I’m thinking of it.”
“Now open your eyes.” The chair ordered. Meg opened her eyes.
At first, all she saw was the chair and the pencils in her hand. But then, after a moment, she really saw them. The chair morphed, becoming her quaint two-story house with the slightly slanted roof, and the pencils became miniature people, growing hair and hands and feet and toys to play with. She held the pencils out, placing them on the ground where their front yard was, and she imagined.
“This is cool!” She finally said, after a couple minutes of imagining.
“Just wait until you see what else I can do.” The chair replied.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The End of the Magic - My Harry Potter Review
I've been reading the Harry Potter books since I can remember, and I've been watching the movies since a little after then, so it is easy to say that in terms of literature and entertainment Harry Potter has been a big part of my life for a very long time. I'll admit to feeling sentimental in terms of seeing it end, though I am in no way equivalent to those needing grief counseling after the movie series' end. (Seriously, grief counseling? And I thought anime fangirls were insane.)
So, of course, I went and saw the eighth and final Harry Potter movie today. I will not spoil it too much for those who have not yet seen it, but suffice to say it was a thoroughly satisfying end to a truly great series. A lot of things were left out in the movie, yes, but under the circumstances and the time restraints the movie did a good job of wrapping up the plot and staying true to the book. It was enjoyable, and there were many truly good scenes in it that I can't wait to see again when the movie comes out on DVD. (I, for one, will probably be replaying the scene with Voldemort's nerdy laugh over and over again, I swear his laugh's almost as good as Dexter's Laboratory's Mandark.)
I won't say too much more on the movie than that. I know many of you haven't seen it yet and I don't want to spoil all of the good scenes. So I end my movie review part of this post with this: Go and see it, really, you won't regret it.
In the Harry Potter spirit, however, I've decided to make the second half of this blog post a list and description of my top five Harry Potter characters after seeing the movie, and, again in the Harry Potter spirit, I encourage everyone reading this to do the same! (Since I likely won't be able to have nerdy Harry Potter chats with any of you in the near future.) So without further ado, my top five Harry Potter characters:
5. Lucius Malfoy - Pretty sure anyone besides my mother reading is thinking "Why on Earth would she like one of the jerkiest characters in the entire series?" Trust me when I say it's really not because of his personality. The only reason I like him so much is because he is without a doubt the coolest looking character in the series. He's got epic hair, a smashing outfit, and the coolest cane-wand combo thing. Just the whole evil pompous rich person package. It's fun, really, just looking at him. Enough said.
4. Minerva McGonagall - Okay, so, after the movie, I had a thought. Since when was Professor McGonagall freaking AMAZING? And then when I thought about it for a while, she really has been one of the really great characters of the series. She is knowledgeable and always keeps a calm head, and really Hogwarts would have been sort of screwed without her. Plus, she can turn into a cat! I mean, really, how awesome is that. (Plus she has a giant freaking enchanted chess set of death, you've gotta be pretty awesome to have one of those.)
3. Luna Lovegood - I've always sort of related to her because she was the oddball of the Harry Potter group, and everyone who knows me know that I am most definitely an oddball. Just watching her in the movie makes me laugh, and reading all her little quirky sayings in the books sort of provided a great sort of comic relief in the darkening plotline. Plus, she's very wise in her own way and lives up to her Ravenclaw house reputation.
2. Severus Snape - Was this really a surprise? He's one of the most human characters in the entire series, and as heartbreaking as his backstory is, it was one that really touched me when I read and turned around my thoughts on him as a character. Plus, Alan Rickman really does a beautiful job of playing him. (Which is only natural, Alan Rickman's one of those truly amazing actors.) Also, I do love his very subtle, humorous wordplay, that really only Alan Rickman could pull off so perfectly.
1. Remus Lupin - And really, anyone who knows me doesn't find any surprise in this. He's always been my favorite character, ever since he was introduced in the third book. It's actually quite sad to me that he didn't get the attention he so thoroughly deserved in the movies. His minor subplot love story with Tonks was probably the cutest one in the whole series, plus he's another one of those really human characters Rowling developed. I can say without hesitation that he is my favorite fictional werewolf, and if I ever was to be weird enough to cry over any part of the series, it would be over his death. (Curse you, Rowling, for killing my favorite character. I hope you're happy.)
So, of course, I went and saw the eighth and final Harry Potter movie today. I will not spoil it too much for those who have not yet seen it, but suffice to say it was a thoroughly satisfying end to a truly great series. A lot of things were left out in the movie, yes, but under the circumstances and the time restraints the movie did a good job of wrapping up the plot and staying true to the book. It was enjoyable, and there were many truly good scenes in it that I can't wait to see again when the movie comes out on DVD. (I, for one, will probably be replaying the scene with Voldemort's nerdy laugh over and over again, I swear his laugh's almost as good as Dexter's Laboratory's Mandark.)
I won't say too much more on the movie than that. I know many of you haven't seen it yet and I don't want to spoil all of the good scenes. So I end my movie review part of this post with this: Go and see it, really, you won't regret it.
In the Harry Potter spirit, however, I've decided to make the second half of this blog post a list and description of my top five Harry Potter characters after seeing the movie, and, again in the Harry Potter spirit, I encourage everyone reading this to do the same! (Since I likely won't be able to have nerdy Harry Potter chats with any of you in the near future.) So without further ado, my top five Harry Potter characters:
5. Lucius Malfoy - Pretty sure anyone besides my mother reading is thinking "Why on Earth would she like one of the jerkiest characters in the entire series?" Trust me when I say it's really not because of his personality. The only reason I like him so much is because he is without a doubt the coolest looking character in the series. He's got epic hair, a smashing outfit, and the coolest cane-wand combo thing. Just the whole evil pompous rich person package. It's fun, really, just looking at him. Enough said.
4. Minerva McGonagall - Okay, so, after the movie, I had a thought. Since when was Professor McGonagall freaking AMAZING? And then when I thought about it for a while, she really has been one of the really great characters of the series. She is knowledgeable and always keeps a calm head, and really Hogwarts would have been sort of screwed without her. Plus, she can turn into a cat! I mean, really, how awesome is that. (Plus she has a giant freaking enchanted chess set of death, you've gotta be pretty awesome to have one of those.)
3. Luna Lovegood - I've always sort of related to her because she was the oddball of the Harry Potter group, and everyone who knows me know that I am most definitely an oddball. Just watching her in the movie makes me laugh, and reading all her little quirky sayings in the books sort of provided a great sort of comic relief in the darkening plotline. Plus, she's very wise in her own way and lives up to her Ravenclaw house reputation.
2. Severus Snape - Was this really a surprise? He's one of the most human characters in the entire series, and as heartbreaking as his backstory is, it was one that really touched me when I read and turned around my thoughts on him as a character. Plus, Alan Rickman really does a beautiful job of playing him. (Which is only natural, Alan Rickman's one of those truly amazing actors.) Also, I do love his very subtle, humorous wordplay, that really only Alan Rickman could pull off so perfectly.
1. Remus Lupin - And really, anyone who knows me doesn't find any surprise in this. He's always been my favorite character, ever since he was introduced in the third book. It's actually quite sad to me that he didn't get the attention he so thoroughly deserved in the movies. His minor subplot love story with Tonks was probably the cutest one in the whole series, plus he's another one of those really human characters Rowling developed. I can say without hesitation that he is my favorite fictional werewolf, and if I ever was to be weird enough to cry over any part of the series, it would be over his death. (Curse you, Rowling, for killing my favorite character. I hope you're happy.)
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Facts Every Driver Must Learn Before I Mow Them Down With My Car Out of Frustration
A rather long title, I know, but it gets my point across. After driving for three years now, I've realized that some people just never paid attention in driving school and obviously never learned some of the basic points of being out on the road. So, to make things simpler for everyone, I've compiled a list of necessary facts every driver must remember, free of charge. You guys should be sending me Poptarts for this kind of business.
1. Tailgating a car does not, in fact, make a car drive faster. I know this is a somewhat common belief pretty much anywhere, and when I find the person who first spread this belief they will be dropped into the bowels of Aperture so they can be picked apart by birds. (LOLPORTALREFERENCELOL) Anyways, if you are one of those moro-lovely people who enjoy tailgating because they don't know how to drive the speed limit, keep this fact in mind. Tailgating someone only ticks them off and makes them more likely to run you over later.
2. Speed limits exist for a reason. This reason is not so you can blatantly break them and zoom off at whatever speed you desire. Speed limits were made so that you don't kill yourself and other people when you suddenly come across a sharp turn in the road. Do you know what happens when you hit a spontaneous turn at seventy miles an hour? It's equivalent to a Michael Bay movie.
3. Stop signs exist for a reason. The reason is not so you can ignore them. The reason is so you don't get mowed down by cars driving in the perpendicular direction that don't happen to have a stop sign. Stop signs exist to save your hide. I'd suggest paying attention to them.
4. Traffic lights exist for a reason. See the above on stop signs and replace 'stop sign' with 'traffic light'.
5. Zooming across lanes to get around cars does not get you to your destination faster. In fact, it only ticks off the people driving around you and makes them more likely to run you over later.
6. Side and rear-view mirrors exist for a reason. The reason is to freaking LOOK IN THEM. If there is a car next to you in the lane you want to switch into, for the love of all that is good and holy, don't go into the freaking lane until the car is either behind you or well in front of you. Otherwise you'll start another Michael Bay movie.
7. Again, for the love of all that is good and holy, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT TALK ON YOUR CELLPHONE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. This excludes Bluetooths and like, of course. I'm talking about the actual having cellphone in your hand talk. If you are one of the moro-lovely people who think you are capable of having a coherent conversation and navigating rush hour traffic with one hand at the same time, you need to go stick your head under a garden weasel for ten minutes. Trust me, it will help.
8. If any of the above happens to you, do not overreact. Road rage just creates more Michael Bay movies. Trust me, I'll take care of all the morons for you, so just sit back and laugh at the fools who didn't learn how to drive properly. They'll get what's coming to them.
9. As a final thought, and out of courtesy for everyone else, do not drive through giant rain puddles going over thirty miles per hour unless you absolutely have to. Not only does it dirty your car, it also dirties the twenty pedestrians waiting for the bus on the street next to you.
There, now those nine things aren't that hard to follow, right? Now everyone start posting these rules everywhere on the Internet and pray that at least fifteen percent of the country's population reads them. You'd be surprised how much better the roads would be.
1. Tailgating a car does not, in fact, make a car drive faster. I know this is a somewhat common belief pretty much anywhere, and when I find the person who first spread this belief they will be dropped into the bowels of Aperture so they can be picked apart by birds. (LOLPORTALREFERENCELOL) Anyways, if you are one of those moro-lovely people who enjoy tailgating because they don't know how to drive the speed limit, keep this fact in mind. Tailgating someone only ticks them off and makes them more likely to run you over later.
2. Speed limits exist for a reason. This reason is not so you can blatantly break them and zoom off at whatever speed you desire. Speed limits were made so that you don't kill yourself and other people when you suddenly come across a sharp turn in the road. Do you know what happens when you hit a spontaneous turn at seventy miles an hour? It's equivalent to a Michael Bay movie.
3. Stop signs exist for a reason. The reason is not so you can ignore them. The reason is so you don't get mowed down by cars driving in the perpendicular direction that don't happen to have a stop sign. Stop signs exist to save your hide. I'd suggest paying attention to them.
4. Traffic lights exist for a reason. See the above on stop signs and replace 'stop sign' with 'traffic light'.
5. Zooming across lanes to get around cars does not get you to your destination faster. In fact, it only ticks off the people driving around you and makes them more likely to run you over later.
6. Side and rear-view mirrors exist for a reason. The reason is to freaking LOOK IN THEM. If there is a car next to you in the lane you want to switch into, for the love of all that is good and holy, don't go into the freaking lane until the car is either behind you or well in front of you. Otherwise you'll start another Michael Bay movie.
7. Again, for the love of all that is good and holy, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT TALK ON YOUR CELLPHONE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. This excludes Bluetooths and like, of course. I'm talking about the actual having cellphone in your hand talk. If you are one of the moro-lovely people who think you are capable of having a coherent conversation and navigating rush hour traffic with one hand at the same time, you need to go stick your head under a garden weasel for ten minutes. Trust me, it will help.
8. If any of the above happens to you, do not overreact. Road rage just creates more Michael Bay movies. Trust me, I'll take care of all the morons for you, so just sit back and laugh at the fools who didn't learn how to drive properly. They'll get what's coming to them.
9. As a final thought, and out of courtesy for everyone else, do not drive through giant rain puddles going over thirty miles per hour unless you absolutely have to. Not only does it dirty your car, it also dirties the twenty pedestrians waiting for the bus on the street next to you.
There, now those nine things aren't that hard to follow, right? Now everyone start posting these rules everywhere on the Internet and pray that at least fifteen percent of the country's population reads them. You'd be surprised how much better the roads would be.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Excerpt
Those of you who know me well know I enjoy to write, and that certainly hasn't changed in the past few months. I've been steadily working on a writing project that I have a very good feeling about, and yes, I actually have started to write it. However, I've realized that it is very hard to keep myself going, and when I thought on this I realized the reason why.
I tend to write better when I have people griping at me that I need to write more.
Strange, yes, but that has lead to today's post. I'm looking for some people to either egg me on or tell me to quit while I'm ahead, so below I have posted an excerpt from what I have written already. I'd really appreciate some feedback on it; constructive criticism is most definitely wanted. I always want to better myself as a writer, and I am looking for the motivation to continue. So please, if you do read it, send me an email, Facebook me, or post in the comments your thoughts on it. And thanks for your time. :)
Excerpt:
I tend to write better when I have people griping at me that I need to write more.
Strange, yes, but that has lead to today's post. I'm looking for some people to either egg me on or tell me to quit while I'm ahead, so below I have posted an excerpt from what I have written already. I'd really appreciate some feedback on it; constructive criticism is most definitely wanted. I always want to better myself as a writer, and I am looking for the motivation to continue. So please, if you do read it, send me an email, Facebook me, or post in the comments your thoughts on it. And thanks for your time. :)
Excerpt:
“I don’t understand why I can’t go too, Erik! It isn’t fair!” The raven-haired girl’s fists were clenched tightly together, her face twisted in obvious fury. “We were supposed to join the army together!”
“I know, Alex.” Erik reached out and took her hand to calm her. “I know we were supposed to, but you know they’re not going to let you join. You’re a woman, and the rules aren’t going to change any time soon. I…I had thought they would, but I was naïve.”
“Forget the rules! I can disguise myself as a boy or something.” Alex continued to protest, not to be satiated by Erik’s affection. “I can pass it off, Erik, we just need a plan and a way to get past the security and we’ll be in the clear…”
“Stop, Alex.” Erik’s voice was stern, and Alex fell silent immediately. He sighed, looking her in the eyes before speaking again. “You need to stop and think. The technology’s too advanced for you to hide your gender from security. You’re just going to have to stay and wait for things to change in the near future.”
“But…things aren’t going to change. Things have never changed.” Alex reached up with her free hand to wipe a stray tear out of her eye. “You’re the only one who’s going to get to go, and you’re going to leave me behind…”
“No!” Erik protested loudly, stepping closer to Alex. “I’m not leaving you behind, Alex. You didn’t let me finish my thought!”
“You said it yourself. I just have to wait for things to change, and that’s not going to happen.” Alex looked back up at him, her eyes now red and blotchy from her tears. “It’s never going to happen.”
“Yes it is.” Erik argued. “Because I’m going to make it happen.”
Alex froze, letting Erik’s words process in her head. She didn’t understand, it wasn’t possible. Erik wasn’t important enough to change the way the world worked. It was impossible, completely impossible. “You can’t do it…”
“I can and I will.” Erik insisted. “I’m going to get promoted to a high enough level, then I’ll use my influence to change the way things are run. Just you wait and see, Alex. I’m going to change the world. I’m going to make the world better, I promise.”
“You…you promise?” Alex’s voice was shaky. Erik nodded, then pulled Alex into a tight hug.
“I promise, Alex. Your big brother’s going to fix everything. Your big brother’s going to change the world.”
-
Change the world…
But you didn’t, did you?
The world is still the same stupid place it’s always been.
And nothing’s going to change.
-
She opened her eyes, feeling the sting of fresh air hitting her lungs and waking her from her stasis induced stupor. Even though the place was dark, there was enough light coming from the entrance a ways off to make her eyes burn a bit. She coughed, and noted that her throat was extremely sore. In any other case, she would have blamed the stasis gas. However, the memories came back to her, reminding her what had really happened.
The door to her stasis chamber opened, the remaining gas leaking out with a hiss. She took another deep breath, letting the feeling come back into her limbs. Thankfully, the chamber had done its job. Other than feeling hungry and having a very sore throat, she felt as though she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her body was as alert and ready as it had been before she had been dragged into here.
There was a computer nearby. She willed her legs to move, taking firm steps towards the computer. Good. She could walk. And her eyes were adjusted now, so she could see the computer screen clearly. There was a date in the upper right corner. Every computer had the feature. She looked at the year, doing a quick calculation.
Thirty years. She had been in the stasis chamber thirty years. She had been asleep for thirty years.
But most importantly, she was alive.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Oh yes, I still exist.
It's been a while since my last blog update, but no, I haven't gone out of existence yet. I've just been very busy with graduation, work, and life in general. But lately I've had more than a few thoughts on my mind, especially since I will be officially 'reaching adulthood' in the next five days. One of these things, of course, is work. For those of you who haven't been told, I'm working full time at the local Air Force Base as a lab assistant. It's a very kind and awful change for me. (Yes, I contradicted myself.) The hours are longer than school, but the pay's pretty good and I think overall not having to pay as much for college will be worth it.
So, this day's blog theme is going to be everything I've learned from work so far, because a lot of people have been asking me how work is going. So here is the list of twenty things I've learned from work:
1. Nobody on base drives the speed limit.
2. There are zillions of police cars on base, but none of them seem to notice that nobody drives the speed limit.
3. The government takes forever to do things.
4. The government actually pays you to sit around and do nothing while they take forever to do things. This is a process called 'in-processing' where you sign a bunch of paperwork that says the same thing over and over again.
5. As noted above, the government is very repetitive.
6. My car gets 35 miles per gallon. Considering the drive to where I work is about forty minutes, I'd say that's a very nice bonus for me.
7. There are lots of adorable little animals on base.
8. The 'bird's nests' at the optical range I work at look suspiciously like beehives.
9. You need to make sure you use the right card key to open a locked door, otherwise you will frustrate yourself needlessly for up to ten minutes.
10. I am the IRL equivalent to Portal 2's Caroline. My boss is Mr. Johnson, I spend all day 'testing', and I was offered chocolate cake last week. <_<
11. It is really a self-esteem booster when you get to name a camera.
12. It's not a self-esteem booster when you begin talking to said camera as though it was a real person.
13. It's really not a self-esteem booster when the camera decides to go nuts after you talk to it as though it was a real person.
14. It's a big relief to figure out it wasn't actually you who ruined said camera.
15. Office chairs are not comfortable at all.
16. Friday Burger Burns are now probably the highlight of my weekdays.
17. IPod Nanos are lifesavers.
18. PCs really are better than Macs.
19. Never take anything personal on base. Everyone has been trained to think that anyone around them could be a possible Russian spy.
20. Getting a paycheck after two weeks of excessive learning is really really awesome.
(Also, Super 8 was really really amazing, you all should go see it now. :3 )
So, this day's blog theme is going to be everything I've learned from work so far, because a lot of people have been asking me how work is going. So here is the list of twenty things I've learned from work:
1. Nobody on base drives the speed limit.
2. There are zillions of police cars on base, but none of them seem to notice that nobody drives the speed limit.
3. The government takes forever to do things.
4. The government actually pays you to sit around and do nothing while they take forever to do things. This is a process called 'in-processing' where you sign a bunch of paperwork that says the same thing over and over again.
5. As noted above, the government is very repetitive.
6. My car gets 35 miles per gallon. Considering the drive to where I work is about forty minutes, I'd say that's a very nice bonus for me.
7. There are lots of adorable little animals on base.
8. The 'bird's nests' at the optical range I work at look suspiciously like beehives.
9. You need to make sure you use the right card key to open a locked door, otherwise you will frustrate yourself needlessly for up to ten minutes.
10. I am the IRL equivalent to Portal 2's Caroline. My boss is Mr. Johnson, I spend all day 'testing', and I was offered chocolate cake last week. <_<
11. It is really a self-esteem booster when you get to name a camera.
12. It's not a self-esteem booster when you begin talking to said camera as though it was a real person.
13. It's really not a self-esteem booster when the camera decides to go nuts after you talk to it as though it was a real person.
14. It's a big relief to figure out it wasn't actually you who ruined said camera.
15. Office chairs are not comfortable at all.
16. Friday Burger Burns are now probably the highlight of my weekdays.
17. IPod Nanos are lifesavers.
18. PCs really are better than Macs.
19. Never take anything personal on base. Everyone has been trained to think that anyone around them could be a possible Russian spy.
20. Getting a paycheck after two weeks of excessive learning is really really awesome.
(Also, Super 8 was really really amazing, you all should go see it now. :3 )
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Senior-ness
I think a lot of people don't get the difference between not wanting to graduate high school yet and not wanting to grow up.
There's a very noticeable difference between the two. I, for one, am done with high school. I am done with my high school teachers, I am done with my high school system, I am done with the work, I am done with finals, and I am done with high school in general. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of it I enjoy, friends I am sad to leave, and teachers that I really enjoy learning from. Despite this, high school was a chore and I will be glad to be rid of it.
What I don't want to do is grow up. I am not ready for this adult state of mind people keep preaching I need to have. I don't know how to do laundry or bills or those adult things. When I was younger, I always thought that knowledge would just come to you, like magic. I was wrong. If you still have those thoughts, don't listen to them. There's so much that needs to be learned and so much that needs to be taken in, it's scary. It's enough to make me want to be eight again, when I would come home after a long karate class and a good dinner and watch DragonBall Z for an hour and play on my little GameBoy Advance, thinking that this had to be the best it was ever going to get. I want to be able to go to a kiddie park and swing on the swings without getting looks from all the parents there. (And I mean, really, what's wrong with going on the swings now and then? Isn't harming the kids, is it? Weirdo parents. I hope I'm never like that.)
I'm ready for college. But I'm not ready to grow up yet. Is there a compromise? Like, college for eight year olds or something? Someone needs to go invent one of those. I'd pay good money to go to a college like that.
On a completely random note, Invader Zim was the best thing Nickelodeon ever produced. What ever happened to that show, I wonder? Ah, reminiscing. Makes me want to be a kid again even more.
There's a very noticeable difference between the two. I, for one, am done with high school. I am done with my high school teachers, I am done with my high school system, I am done with the work, I am done with finals, and I am done with high school in general. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of it I enjoy, friends I am sad to leave, and teachers that I really enjoy learning from. Despite this, high school was a chore and I will be glad to be rid of it.
What I don't want to do is grow up. I am not ready for this adult state of mind people keep preaching I need to have. I don't know how to do laundry or bills or those adult things. When I was younger, I always thought that knowledge would just come to you, like magic. I was wrong. If you still have those thoughts, don't listen to them. There's so much that needs to be learned and so much that needs to be taken in, it's scary. It's enough to make me want to be eight again, when I would come home after a long karate class and a good dinner and watch DragonBall Z for an hour and play on my little GameBoy Advance, thinking that this had to be the best it was ever going to get. I want to be able to go to a kiddie park and swing on the swings without getting looks from all the parents there. (And I mean, really, what's wrong with going on the swings now and then? Isn't harming the kids, is it? Weirdo parents. I hope I'm never like that.)
I'm ready for college. But I'm not ready to grow up yet. Is there a compromise? Like, college for eight year olds or something? Someone needs to go invent one of those. I'd pay good money to go to a college like that.
On a completely random note, Invader Zim was the best thing Nickelodeon ever produced. What ever happened to that show, I wonder? Ah, reminiscing. Makes me want to be a kid again even more.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Block
I have writer's block today.
I know a lot of you think you know what I'm talking about, but there's a lot more to it than just, oh, I can't put words on paper. It's an intense emotional issue, writer's block. I want to write something. I can feel the writing in my bones, in my very blood, just stirring up inside of me until it's ready to burst. All I need is the subject, all I need is an object to focus my desire on, and everything just works perfectly. Only I don't have something to focus on, I can't think of anything. I try and try and try, and there's just no place for those words to sit.
Imagine, for example, your most favorite food sitting mere inches from you. Oh, and you've been starved for at least a week and a half of everything but lousy dirt water. Yes, that food is sitting right there...only there's a glass preventing you from touching it, a glass that you think you can break if you just punch hard enough, but it never does break and the food's just sitting there waiting for you on the other side. That's probably a good analogy for my writer's block.
I know a lot of you would whine at me to get some creative writing prompts. That's the thing: a lot of them really suck, and those that don't just don't spark me the right way and I don't feel like writing them. It's stupid, I know. Writer's block is stupid. I want to mash away the writer's block in my head with a hammer. A steel hammer. Screw that, Thor's hammer.
And oh look, I actually wrote something. Wow. That's the first thing in, like, a week. XD I feel accomplished now.
I know a lot of you think you know what I'm talking about, but there's a lot more to it than just, oh, I can't put words on paper. It's an intense emotional issue, writer's block. I want to write something. I can feel the writing in my bones, in my very blood, just stirring up inside of me until it's ready to burst. All I need is the subject, all I need is an object to focus my desire on, and everything just works perfectly. Only I don't have something to focus on, I can't think of anything. I try and try and try, and there's just no place for those words to sit.
Imagine, for example, your most favorite food sitting mere inches from you. Oh, and you've been starved for at least a week and a half of everything but lousy dirt water. Yes, that food is sitting right there...only there's a glass preventing you from touching it, a glass that you think you can break if you just punch hard enough, but it never does break and the food's just sitting there waiting for you on the other side. That's probably a good analogy for my writer's block.
I know a lot of you would whine at me to get some creative writing prompts. That's the thing: a lot of them really suck, and those that don't just don't spark me the right way and I don't feel like writing them. It's stupid, I know. Writer's block is stupid. I want to mash away the writer's block in my head with a hammer. A steel hammer. Screw that, Thor's hammer.
And oh look, I actually wrote something. Wow. That's the first thing in, like, a week. XD I feel accomplished now.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Frolicking
Today, in approximately two hours, I will arrive at a river surrounded by a decent stretch of woodland and proceed to frolick about in it for an unknown amount of time.
At least, that's all I know about it. Everyone else who has been forced on this trip fails to mention what they actual do when they're there; just that it's fun, you're frolicking in a forest. How much cooler does it get than that? I mean, you'll get assaulted by various plants, likely pick up tons of dirt and mud on perfectly decent clothes, be mutilated by thousands of tiny little insects, and perhaps die of a massive allergy attack because of the sheer amount of blooming plant life that's around this time of year. It really does seem like a good time. And you have to go on this, otherwise...well, I don't really know what will happen. I'll fail my Biology class? Well, I don't really need it to graduate, though I wouldn't appreciate failing it after all my hard work...
It doesn't really matter that neither me nor ninety five percent of my teacher's Biology classes will never do jobs like this for a living, nor do exercises like this in college. I mean, you might think we'll do stuff like this, but really, does a med student need to learn frolicking skills? Does someone like me who's likely going to end up doing lab work her entire career need to learn frolicking skills?
Well, forget my frolicking fearfulness, I'm going to freaking frolick with the rest of the clueless frolickers until I can frolick with the best of them. Never mind I'm never going to actually use this in my lifetime. It's a forest, right? We get to frolick in it.
I think I'm going to do really well on the satire project in my Creative Writing class.
'Frolick' used approximately ten times. Oh no, I'm becoming unable to use a thesaurus...see what the frolicking has done to me? It's ruining my mind... >_>
At least, that's all I know about it. Everyone else who has been forced on this trip fails to mention what they actual do when they're there; just that it's fun, you're frolicking in a forest. How much cooler does it get than that? I mean, you'll get assaulted by various plants, likely pick up tons of dirt and mud on perfectly decent clothes, be mutilated by thousands of tiny little insects, and perhaps die of a massive allergy attack because of the sheer amount of blooming plant life that's around this time of year. It really does seem like a good time. And you have to go on this, otherwise...well, I don't really know what will happen. I'll fail my Biology class? Well, I don't really need it to graduate, though I wouldn't appreciate failing it after all my hard work...
It doesn't really matter that neither me nor ninety five percent of my teacher's Biology classes will never do jobs like this for a living, nor do exercises like this in college. I mean, you might think we'll do stuff like this, but really, does a med student need to learn frolicking skills? Does someone like me who's likely going to end up doing lab work her entire career need to learn frolicking skills?
Well, forget my frolicking fearfulness, I'm going to freaking frolick with the rest of the clueless frolickers until I can frolick with the best of them. Never mind I'm never going to actually use this in my lifetime. It's a forest, right? We get to frolick in it.
I think I'm going to do really well on the satire project in my Creative Writing class.
'Frolick' used approximately ten times. Oh no, I'm becoming unable to use a thesaurus...see what the frolicking has done to me? It's ruining my mind... >_>
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Silly Things
(The following is the beginning of my free time project. Read it if you want, it's pretty short. If you like it, for the goodness sakes let me know so that I have some motivation to continue it! That's right, I'm talking to you. You know who you all are. -points-)
'I am sorry to tell you that everything you have known and seen is a cover up.
'It’s nothing really too major, no. It’s not like the Matrix where all of our lives are being controlled by robots. It’s sort of more like Harry Potter. There’s an entire world running right underneath your noses that you don’t even realize. The funny thing is: there are hints of it anywhere, in stories, folklore, and rumors that circulate throughout small towns that really don’t get most of the cover-up you folks in the big cities have privilege to. In fact, if you’re smart, you can probably guess a lot of what I’m talking about right now.
'Let’s start with the obvious. Magic? It exists. It’s not like Harry Potter though, no. The thing is, pretty much anyone has the potential to use magic. It’s just that few people have the mental capacity and willpower to deal with the fact that magic exists. A lot of people simply just deny it; they’re too scientific. Others would willingly believe, but they don’t really have the willpower for the training it takes in order to use it, which is all well and good because people like that wouldn’t last long in the magic world anyway. No, it takes a certain type of person to last long in the magic world, and it’s those people who are inevitably drawn to it, much like I was.
'Of course, my introduction to the magic world wasn’t quite the graceful and awe-inspiring introduction you’d really expect. It all began, quite suddenly, when a book fell on my head.'
Sunday, April 3, 2011
On Speaking
Have any of you realized how much of an accomplishment it is just to be able to speak or write?
I mean, think about it. Think back to all of your English classes, all of that grammar that they went through with you until you were about ready to puke, every single vocabulary word that you ever learned, the various forms for all of those verbs, etc., etc. ...
Ridiculous, really, when you think about it. I mean, how have we managed to survive communicating like this? It must have taken thousands of years to concoct such eloquent forms of speaking, and this is only English. This isn't counting the other hundreds of languages there are in the world, each with their own forms of grammar and vocabulary...the thought of it makes my brain hurt. And of course, there's all sorts of linguistics that go with each language. Did you know that often a language can be defined by how your tongue and mouth is used to form the words? There's languages that focus on speaking with the front portion of your mouth, and languages that focus on speaking more with back portions of the mouth. Want examples? German is very in the back of the mouth. The famous 'ch' sound that German's are known for demonstrates this. It's often why Germans sound like they're trying to clear their throats when they talk; it's just how the language has developed. Learning a language? Know a language? Try and figure out exactly which portions of the mouth that language uses. You'll be surprised, I think.
And English has very backwards grammar compared to other languages. I mean, our verbs are behind our nouns, what a concept! A lot of languages don't do that, which is why it's so hard for people to learn new languages sometimes. And English itself is hard to learn, because of all those words that sound the same (there, they're, their), and those grammar issues and everything.
So why am I rambling about this? Well, I'll let you guys guess.
...what do you mean I've hardly given you any clues as to why I'm rambling about this? Ugh, fine, I guess I'll let you have a hint.
'Hozehthah ehl zuhm vahn ehlem vehrootahn'.
...still not good enough? Well, let's just say I've had a breakthrough in how I'm spending my free time from now on. Maybe I'll keep you updated. I guess it depends on how well it works out, and whether or not it can keep my interest.
I mean, think about it. Think back to all of your English classes, all of that grammar that they went through with you until you were about ready to puke, every single vocabulary word that you ever learned, the various forms for all of those verbs, etc., etc. ...
Ridiculous, really, when you think about it. I mean, how have we managed to survive communicating like this? It must have taken thousands of years to concoct such eloquent forms of speaking, and this is only English. This isn't counting the other hundreds of languages there are in the world, each with their own forms of grammar and vocabulary...the thought of it makes my brain hurt. And of course, there's all sorts of linguistics that go with each language. Did you know that often a language can be defined by how your tongue and mouth is used to form the words? There's languages that focus on speaking with the front portion of your mouth, and languages that focus on speaking more with back portions of the mouth. Want examples? German is very in the back of the mouth. The famous 'ch' sound that German's are known for demonstrates this. It's often why Germans sound like they're trying to clear their throats when they talk; it's just how the language has developed. Learning a language? Know a language? Try and figure out exactly which portions of the mouth that language uses. You'll be surprised, I think.
And English has very backwards grammar compared to other languages. I mean, our verbs are behind our nouns, what a concept! A lot of languages don't do that, which is why it's so hard for people to learn new languages sometimes. And English itself is hard to learn, because of all those words that sound the same (there, they're, their), and those grammar issues and everything.
So why am I rambling about this? Well, I'll let you guys guess.
...what do you mean I've hardly given you any clues as to why I'm rambling about this? Ugh, fine, I guess I'll let you have a hint.
'Hozehthah ehl zuhm vahn ehlem vehrootahn'.
...still not good enough? Well, let's just say I've had a breakthrough in how I'm spending my free time from now on. Maybe I'll keep you updated. I guess it depends on how well it works out, and whether or not it can keep my interest.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Candy Mountain, Charlie
Willy Wonka was sort of insane.
I guess everyone's kind of realized this already, especially with the Johnny Depp movie that came out a few years ago. But I mean, if you really think about it, Willy Wonka was just completely insane. I don't care what excuses he may have to give, but you don't get a child to take over your company when you want to retire. And you especially don't set up a candy-torture-Gauntlet for kids to go through so you can test their worthiness and ability to run your factory. I mean, those four other kids who didn't make the cut could have probably sued for quite a lot of money at the end of the movie there. Violet was blue, probably for life because it doesn't really specify in the movies or the book if she ever recovers. Mike Teevee was shrunk, then pretty much drawn and quartered, candy style, until he was back at his 'original height', which by the way was probably a good two feet taller than he originally was. Augustus almost drowned in chocolate. Veruca...meh, she got what was coming to her, but Mr. Wonka probably ruined some very expensive clothing-wear when he got her dumped into the furnace/garbage disposal, whatever the heck it was.
And Mr. Wonka doesn't even care about all of this. "Oh, just let those kids be, they'll get over the emotional trauma of my candy Gauntlet and hopefully that blue will just come out in the wash, and hey, that family's rich, they can replace that charbroiled mink coat, and Mike, well, he'll be good at basketball..."
Insane. Completely insane.
Poor Charlie's in for a world of trouble here.
And a lot of people don't even really know the depths of Wonka's insanity, because they never read the sequel to the Chocolate Factory. Ever heard of Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator? Yeah, Wonka pretty much ends up shooting Charlie and his family, half of them bedridden, into space in that flying elevator of his.
It's torture to old people. They really spend half the book screaming/fretting about dying. And then they all get turned into babies somewhere near the end of it and risk reverting into nothing because they drank some sort of anti-aging potion gone terribly wrong, and yeah, does this sound like a sane man's work to you, because I'm already lost and horribly scarred just trying to remember all this.
I think Charlie would have been better off going to Candy Mountain.
I guess everyone's kind of realized this already, especially with the Johnny Depp movie that came out a few years ago. But I mean, if you really think about it, Willy Wonka was just completely insane. I don't care what excuses he may have to give, but you don't get a child to take over your company when you want to retire. And you especially don't set up a candy-torture-Gauntlet for kids to go through so you can test their worthiness and ability to run your factory. I mean, those four other kids who didn't make the cut could have probably sued for quite a lot of money at the end of the movie there. Violet was blue, probably for life because it doesn't really specify in the movies or the book if she ever recovers. Mike Teevee was shrunk, then pretty much drawn and quartered, candy style, until he was back at his 'original height', which by the way was probably a good two feet taller than he originally was. Augustus almost drowned in chocolate. Veruca...meh, she got what was coming to her, but Mr. Wonka probably ruined some very expensive clothing-wear when he got her dumped into the furnace/garbage disposal, whatever the heck it was.
And Mr. Wonka doesn't even care about all of this. "Oh, just let those kids be, they'll get over the emotional trauma of my candy Gauntlet and hopefully that blue will just come out in the wash, and hey, that family's rich, they can replace that charbroiled mink coat, and Mike, well, he'll be good at basketball..."
Insane. Completely insane.
Poor Charlie's in for a world of trouble here.
And a lot of people don't even really know the depths of Wonka's insanity, because they never read the sequel to the Chocolate Factory. Ever heard of Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator? Yeah, Wonka pretty much ends up shooting Charlie and his family, half of them bedridden, into space in that flying elevator of his.
It's torture to old people. They really spend half the book screaming/fretting about dying. And then they all get turned into babies somewhere near the end of it and risk reverting into nothing because they drank some sort of anti-aging potion gone terribly wrong, and yeah, does this sound like a sane man's work to you, because I'm already lost and horribly scarred just trying to remember all this.
I think Charlie would have been better off going to Candy Mountain.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
On Why I Can Officially and Safely Speak Against Chuck Norris
If you read the title to this post, you probably think me mad or daft or incredibly brave, perhaps even a combination of the three. And yes, perhaps I am all of those things, but thanks to a few comments made by my Biology teacher, I am safe to leave the side of Chuck Norris. A new side has formed, a side that can rival Chuck Norris and perhaps even defeat him. My friends, I speak of the side of Jack Churchill.
Most of you, I'm sure, are wondering 'Who the hell is Jack Churchill?' He was born in Hong Kong, to English parents, in September of 1906. He fought in World War 2 and survived. But he didn't just fight in World War 2 like any other mere mortal. Oh no.
He went into battle with nothing but a kilt, a longbow, and a Scottish broadsword.
That's right, folks. He went into battle against German Nazis armed with guns and tanks with nothing but medieval weaponry and no body armor whatsoever. And he didn't lose, mind you. He actually caused German forces to surrender. He shot down Nazis with his longbow and hacked them down with his sword. He was captured three times, yes, but he escaped. All. Three. Times.
He also went into battle several times with bagpipes, often using the instruments tunes to summon his troops to battle, or to signal to start firing. So in summary, this man faced down World War 2 with no armor, primative weaponry, and bagpipes.
You've got to be some sort of beast of a man to be able to pull that off. Chuck Norris don't got nothin' on this dude. I don't see a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick felling someone who faces down tanks with a broadsword.
So yeah, I feel pretty safe in saying I'm on the Jack Churchill side now. Forget Chuck Norris, I-
(This post has been discontinued do to the author suddenly dying of spontaneous roundhouse kick to the head. Please disregard any of the above text. Chuck Norris is superior to this Churchill infidel. He will be punished. He will not survive the night.)
Most of you, I'm sure, are wondering 'Who the hell is Jack Churchill?' He was born in Hong Kong, to English parents, in September of 1906. He fought in World War 2 and survived. But he didn't just fight in World War 2 like any other mere mortal. Oh no.
He went into battle with nothing but a kilt, a longbow, and a Scottish broadsword.
That's right, folks. He went into battle against German Nazis armed with guns and tanks with nothing but medieval weaponry and no body armor whatsoever. And he didn't lose, mind you. He actually caused German forces to surrender. He shot down Nazis with his longbow and hacked them down with his sword. He was captured three times, yes, but he escaped. All. Three. Times.
He also went into battle several times with bagpipes, often using the instruments tunes to summon his troops to battle, or to signal to start firing. So in summary, this man faced down World War 2 with no armor, primative weaponry, and bagpipes.
You've got to be some sort of beast of a man to be able to pull that off. Chuck Norris don't got nothin' on this dude. I don't see a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick felling someone who faces down tanks with a broadsword.
So yeah, I feel pretty safe in saying I'm on the Jack Churchill side now. Forget Chuck Norris, I-
(This post has been discontinued do to the author suddenly dying of spontaneous roundhouse kick to the head. Please disregard any of the above text. Chuck Norris is superior to this Churchill infidel. He will be punished. He will not survive the night.)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Music-y Goodness
I have found a new band and its name is Pendulum. I am convinced that this is actually a band I founded. In the future, when time machines have been invented, I go back in time and I make this band and this music.
It's strange, really. I heard one of their songs on an online radio and something just clicked. I felt the song. There was something that just made sense when I heard it, and so I went onto Youtube and listened to more and more of their songs until I just knew that they were my new favorite band. Each of their songs is slightly different, too, even though they're by the same band. And each one of the songs just represents something me. There's a song that's sounds to me like the ending to an anime. There's a song that's like a remix to a Super Mario theme, or something that could replace a Super Mario song. There's a song that just seems to mirror every stressful thing in my life at the moment in one simple chorus.
But the thing that really just clicks with me is how much I can feel the emotion. I think that's what makes a person like music. Yes, you listen to the music and like how it sounds and like the words, but really...when you like a band, you feel it. It resonates within you, it connects to what you're feeling and then inserts emotions into you and you just...feel it.
If someone ever asks me what music I like, I'm going to tell them that I like music with emotion. I think that just about sums up everything I like in music. Every genre, every artist...I like them because I can feel what they're trying to sing to me, trying to play for me.
So, I'll be saving up to buy Pendulum CDs now. If you want to check them out, look up their songs 'Witchcraft', 'Crush', and 'The Island, Part 1' on Youtube or something, I'm too lazy to put links.
And the new Within Temptation CD comes out tomorrow, by the way, which I am stoked for and have already preordered on iTunes. I will save you the rant on how excited I am. Instead know that I will not be hearing anything you say to me tomorrow because I will be listening to that CD. Sorry, but that's just the way it's going to be. :P
It's strange, really. I heard one of their songs on an online radio and something just clicked. I felt the song. There was something that just made sense when I heard it, and so I went onto Youtube and listened to more and more of their songs until I just knew that they were my new favorite band. Each of their songs is slightly different, too, even though they're by the same band. And each one of the songs just represents something me. There's a song that's sounds to me like the ending to an anime. There's a song that's like a remix to a Super Mario theme, or something that could replace a Super Mario song. There's a song that just seems to mirror every stressful thing in my life at the moment in one simple chorus.
But the thing that really just clicks with me is how much I can feel the emotion. I think that's what makes a person like music. Yes, you listen to the music and like how it sounds and like the words, but really...when you like a band, you feel it. It resonates within you, it connects to what you're feeling and then inserts emotions into you and you just...feel it.
If someone ever asks me what music I like, I'm going to tell them that I like music with emotion. I think that just about sums up everything I like in music. Every genre, every artist...I like them because I can feel what they're trying to sing to me, trying to play for me.
So, I'll be saving up to buy Pendulum CDs now. If you want to check them out, look up their songs 'Witchcraft', 'Crush', and 'The Island, Part 1' on Youtube or something, I'm too lazy to put links.
And the new Within Temptation CD comes out tomorrow, by the way, which I am stoked for and have already preordered on iTunes. I will save you the rant on how excited I am. Instead know that I will not be hearing anything you say to me tomorrow because I will be listening to that CD. Sorry, but that's just the way it's going to be. :P
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A Brief History Lesson
So I have inherited my mother's laptop. It is a very pleasing experience to use it. No longer do I have to huddle on my computer chair with a blanket wrapped tightly around me for warmth as I type things up or browse the internet. No, now I can has computer in bed. It's like breakfast in bed, only better because a laptop has a lot more options than breakfast. You can only eat a breakfast. With a laptop, there's so much more...
But I digress. Today I was watching the show 'Deadliest Warrior', and the episode that I managed to catch was actually quite amusing. Vlad the Impaler vs Sun Tsu (Chinese General who was a very good tactician, if you didn't know. I'm pretty sure everyone's at least heard of Vlad the Impaler.) The match went to Vlad hands down, 652 wins to Sun Tsu's 348. The analysis that went into the episode was interesting, but it's sort of Vlad's history that interests me more. I mean, the guy was a freaking psychopath. A freaking awesome psychopath. As you've probably heard, he liked to dine every day in a forest of his impaled enemies. He would literally dip his bread into his fallen enemy's blood and eat it. A famous story with him involved how two Turk emissaries came to his castle and refused to take off their turbans because of their religious beliefs. So Vlad had the turbans nailed to their heads and the bodies of the two sent back to the rest of the Turks to serve as an example.
So...why can't we write about guys like him in our history classes? I mean, I'm sure I could write a much cooler essay about Mr. Vlad than about, I don't know, the Communist Revolution in Russia. I mean, everyone writes about those types of things. Everyone knows about the main issues that are covered in History, because we've all gone over them six or seven times in our grade school life. I think high school history should have covered some more interesting topics. After all, how often do you talk about a forest of impaled victims in school? I think a lot more people would have wanted to take history classes, am I right?
That's just my take on things, I suppose.
Oh, and by the way, Vlad the Impaler inspired Dracula. Don't you think that's an important historical fact that should have been covered in history? I think so.
But I digress. Today I was watching the show 'Deadliest Warrior', and the episode that I managed to catch was actually quite amusing. Vlad the Impaler vs Sun Tsu (Chinese General who was a very good tactician, if you didn't know. I'm pretty sure everyone's at least heard of Vlad the Impaler.) The match went to Vlad hands down, 652 wins to Sun Tsu's 348. The analysis that went into the episode was interesting, but it's sort of Vlad's history that interests me more. I mean, the guy was a freaking psychopath. A freaking awesome psychopath. As you've probably heard, he liked to dine every day in a forest of his impaled enemies. He would literally dip his bread into his fallen enemy's blood and eat it. A famous story with him involved how two Turk emissaries came to his castle and refused to take off their turbans because of their religious beliefs. So Vlad had the turbans nailed to their heads and the bodies of the two sent back to the rest of the Turks to serve as an example.
So...why can't we write about guys like him in our history classes? I mean, I'm sure I could write a much cooler essay about Mr. Vlad than about, I don't know, the Communist Revolution in Russia. I mean, everyone writes about those types of things. Everyone knows about the main issues that are covered in History, because we've all gone over them six or seven times in our grade school life. I think high school history should have covered some more interesting topics. After all, how often do you talk about a forest of impaled victims in school? I think a lot more people would have wanted to take history classes, am I right?
That's just my take on things, I suppose.
Oh, and by the way, Vlad the Impaler inspired Dracula. Don't you think that's an important historical fact that should have been covered in history? I think so.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Fuuuuuuuture
So, I had a strange thought today, one that sort of disturbs and concerns me all at the same time. That thought was: what will I be like when I'm seventy? Will I still be as insane and hyper as I am now? Probably not as hyper, but to be honest, I cannot see my mannerisms changing that much in the next fifty years. I can't ever see myself quit watching anime, for example, but to be honest it's sort of strange to imagine an old lady laughing at Keroro Gunso, or still attempting to play Legend of Zelda on the Wii. (Which will probably be outdated by then, but I can see myself playing it anyway. That and the GameBoy Advance SP, which I still have.)
And what will my grandchildren think of me? (Assuming I have them.) I mean, I guess I could either turn out a really awesome grandmother or a really creepy one ranting about how the good days of video games have gone and whatnot and how much I miss when Toonami was still on Cartoon Network. I think the latter is slightly more likely. I cannot see myself coming across as a mentally stable grandparents.
By then, of course, following the trends of today, all books will probably be electronic, and I'll probably be ranting about that too. If my grandkids don't know what an actual book looks like, I will probably have to beat them with my grandmother cane. And give them some books, of course.
Anyway, I guess I'm just sort of concerned about myself. These are the thoughts that go through my head as I'm busy browsing Kohl's at eleven in the morning.
Oh, and by the way, Rebecca Black was right. Saturday does come after Friday! What a concept!
And what will my grandchildren think of me? (Assuming I have them.) I mean, I guess I could either turn out a really awesome grandmother or a really creepy one ranting about how the good days of video games have gone and whatnot and how much I miss when Toonami was still on Cartoon Network. I think the latter is slightly more likely. I cannot see myself coming across as a mentally stable grandparents.
By then, of course, following the trends of today, all books will probably be electronic, and I'll probably be ranting about that too. If my grandkids don't know what an actual book looks like, I will probably have to beat them with my grandmother cane. And give them some books, of course.
Anyway, I guess I'm just sort of concerned about myself. These are the thoughts that go through my head as I'm busy browsing Kohl's at eleven in the morning.
Oh, and by the way, Rebecca Black was right. Saturday does come after Friday! What a concept!
Friday, March 25, 2011
My Very First Blog Post - What an Achievement!
So, after much consideration, I have decided to write a blog on the thoughts I have about my daily life. Many people have told me I need to write more, and even more people have told me I need to think more, so I thought to myself, why not combine both requests into snappy blog posts? Everybody's doing it, right? (Blogs...so mainstream. So I do one anyways.)
But enough introduction. If you're here for any purpose at all, it's to see what goes on in the little inner workings of my mind. I'll tell you what's going on in my mind right now. Completely ridiculous dreams.
You ever have one of those 'nightmares' where if you take a step back and look at it, you aren't even sure why you got so worked up over it in the first place? Let me tell you about a dream I had last night. In my dream I had about a dozen hamsters, all in one cage, mind you, and I was out of food for all of them. For some strange reason, this tiny thought caused much more grief and panic than the dream I had a couple nights ago when I was being chased around by killer, rabid penguins. I mean, really, it doesn't make any sense at all. Logically, if you are out of hamster food, you go to the store and buy some, right? You don't freak out over it.
I looked up the meaning to this dream on Dream Moods. Apparently to dream about hamsters represents underdeveloped emotions. I am distancing myself from others so I won't get hurt. A lack of food in a dream means I'm hungry.
...just kidding, they didn't have 'lack of food' on Dream Moods. But that's my interpretation of it anyway.
So I'm hungry and apparently repressing myself. What a start to my blogging adventure. I can't wait to go to sleep again tonight.
But enough introduction. If you're here for any purpose at all, it's to see what goes on in the little inner workings of my mind. I'll tell you what's going on in my mind right now. Completely ridiculous dreams.
You ever have one of those 'nightmares' where if you take a step back and look at it, you aren't even sure why you got so worked up over it in the first place? Let me tell you about a dream I had last night. In my dream I had about a dozen hamsters, all in one cage, mind you, and I was out of food for all of them. For some strange reason, this tiny thought caused much more grief and panic than the dream I had a couple nights ago when I was being chased around by killer, rabid penguins. I mean, really, it doesn't make any sense at all. Logically, if you are out of hamster food, you go to the store and buy some, right? You don't freak out over it.
I looked up the meaning to this dream on Dream Moods. Apparently to dream about hamsters represents underdeveloped emotions. I am distancing myself from others so I won't get hurt. A lack of food in a dream means I'm hungry.
...just kidding, they didn't have 'lack of food' on Dream Moods. But that's my interpretation of it anyway.
So I'm hungry and apparently repressing myself. What a start to my blogging adventure. I can't wait to go to sleep again tonight.
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