Zombie Chelsea Likes Turtles

Prop 8

2010-01-14T12:31:00.005-06:00

Before I start, here are some links to the things that have happened so far in this trial:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Okay, so this is how I see it right now. The plaintiffs (A.K.A. the good guys) are bringing in all these really smart people who have Ivy League educations and are experts on subjects related to this case. The experts' arguments are convincing and the couples' stories are heartbreaking, but the defendants have no hearts to break. They keep attacking the experts' credibility and claiming that same-sex marriage has a negative effect on children. I'm not even kidding. Let me share a quote with you, courtesy of William Tam, one of Prop 8's biggest supporters:

"He testified that children would opt to be gay if they know same-sex marriage is permitted. 'Since it's in the air, then they think, why not?' Tam said in his deposition."

Okay, what? Mr. Tam, here is what I have to say to you:

You don't choose your sexual orientation. No one will choose to be gay just because same-sex marriage is legal, just like gay people don't choose to become straight just because they could eventually get married. Overturning Prop 8 would help children who are struggling with their sexuality feel more comfortable in their own skin. This law makes them feel like they're wrong, or sinful, or dirty, or not good enough to marry someone they love. That is just sick. So yes, it is benefitial to people of all ages. At least if they're not bigoted douchebags, but it doesn't affect them anyway.
You imply that being gay is not okay. All love is beautiful, and you have no right to say that it's not. Again with the douchebaggery!
I don't like you.

I'm afraid of what will happen if Prop 8 wins and this case gets appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Once the Supreme Court makes its decision, it's done. It's over. Well, except in cases like Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson, and this case is similar to those in the sense that it denies people their fundamental human rights. If the Supreme Court were to uphold Prop 8, it could eventually hear another case that would take precedence over this one. However, that would take a lot of time and a lot of change in the court and in the values of society. The Justices are supposed to be objective, but their ideologies do tend to affect the ways in which they interpret the constitution. I don't see how anyone could find Prop 8 to be constitutional, but the Court is overwhelmingly conservative at the current time. If I'm not mistaken, six of the nine Justices have been appointed by Republican presidents.

I guess only time will tell at this point. I hope that the court in San Francisco can see that there is no reason to deny anyone the right to marry someone they love, and I hope that eventually every state government will realize that as well. For now, we have to take what we can get. I think that this battle will eventually be won.

Chelseaology?

2010-01-05T18:56:00.002-06:00

THE RULES: Once you have been tagged, you are supposed to wipe out my answers and supply your own. After, choose some people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If you were tagged, it's because I want to know more about you. To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note along with your answers, Publish it, go back in and edit your Note and then tag a bunch of people.

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology".

***********FOODOLOGY***************

1. What is your salad dressing of choice?
Berry balsamic vinaigrette.

2. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Dos Banderas.

3. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Veggie burrito from Freebird's.

4. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Mushrooms and green peppers.

5. What do you like to put on your toast?
A little bit of butter

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

1. How many televisions are in your house?
5

2. What color cell phone do you have?
Black.

3. How long would it take you to look up who invented the Rubber Band?
Apparently it took 27 seconds.

4. Have any idea how many Megahertz your computer has?
Haha, no.

***************BIOLOGY******************

1. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right. BORING.

2. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
~~The twin that was growing on my left shoulder.~~ No.

3. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
My skate bag?

4. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
No.

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

1. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No.

2. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I don't think I'd change it.

3. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Probably for less than that. This is Texas, after all.

************DUMBOLOGY******************

1. How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
6?

2. Last time you had a run-in with the cops.
Never.

3. Last person you talked to?
IRL: My mom. Online: Andria.

4. Last person you hugged?
I don't even know. I'm not huge on hugging.

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

1. Season?
Winter.

2. Holiday?
Christmas Eve.

3. Day of the week?
Saturday.

4. Month?
December. It finally cools down here.

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

1. Missing someone?
Yes.

2. Mood?
Disappointed.

3. What are you listening to?
Spring Awakening.

4. Watching?
My words appear on the monitor.

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

1. First place you went this morning?
The bathroom.

2. What's the last movie you saw?
Serenity.

3. Do you smile often?
Um, I guess so?

4. Sleeping alone tonight?
Of course not. I never sleep without your mom.

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

1. Do you always answer your phone?
If I hear it ring.

2. Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
A DM from Tobias. Those crazy Dutch people and their crazy time zombies.

3. If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I wouldn't change it. I'd look weird with any other eye color.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
I get a diet strawberry limeade, so I guess strawberry and aspartame?

5. Do you own a digital camera?
Yes.

6. Have you ever had a pet fish?
Yes. I accidentally killed it while my sister was at camp because I poured all of the food in the tank.

7. Favorite Christmas song(s)

8. What's on your wish list for your birthday?
It's too far away to have anything on my wish list yet. It'll probably be something for college.

9. Can you do push ups?
Not well. I have hardly any upper body strength.

10. Can you do a chin up?
See the previous answer.

11. Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
A little bit of both.

12. Do you have any saved texts?
Mayyyyyyybe.

13. Ever been in a car wreck?
Not a bad one. *knocks on wood*

14. Do you have an accent?
Probably, but I don't hear it.

15. What is the last song to make you cry?
I don't know.

16. Plans tonight?
Watching the Office.

17. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
I've come close a few times, but I've never quite hit rock bottom. When you see yourself getting there, you can either go up, or you can keep going down. I chose to go back up.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
I don't think I bought anything yesterday! :O

19. Have you ever been given roses?
No.

20. Current worry?
I have no idea where to go to college.

21. Current hate right now?
Hate.

22. Met someone who changed your life?
Yes.

23. How will you bring in the New Year?
It's January 5th.

24. What song represents you?
There is an honest answer to this question and a public answer to this question. Guess which one this is?

25. Name three people who might complete this?
I can't think of anyone.

26. Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
I would have liked to see life in the Renaissance for a couple of days.

27. Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
No.

28. Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
Pierced ears.

29. Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now?
No.

30. Does anyone love you?
Apparently so.

31. Ever had someone sing to you?
Yes.

32. When did you last cry?
In my car on the way to the skating rink this morning.

33. Do you like to cuddle?
No.

34. Have you held hands with anyone
Yes.

MEME TIME!

2009-10-12T22:08:00.002-05:00

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. last beverage ✩ Diet Coke
2. last phone call ✩ Christy
3. last text message ✩ Rebecca
4. last song you listened to ✩ We Get On - Kate Nash
5. last time you cried ✩ About 90 minutes ago.

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. dated someone twice ✩ No.
7. been cheated on ✩ No.
8. kissed someone & regretted it ✩ No.
9. lost someone special ✩ Yes.
10. been depressed ✩ We all have.
11. been drunk and threw up ✩ No.

FIRST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. Dark purple
13. Lavender
14. Lime green

THIS YEAR (2009) HAVE YOU:
15. Made a new friend ✩ Yes.
16. Fallen out of love ✩ Yes, and then back into it, and then back out of it again. Even though I don't like to call it "love," I don't know how else to describe it.
17. Laughed until you cried ✩ Yes.
18. Met someone who changed you ✩ Yes.
19. Found out who your true friends were ✩ Yes.
20. Found out someone was talking about you ✩ No.
21. Kissed anyone on your FB friend's list ✩ No.

GENERAL:
22. How many people on your FB friends list do you know in real life ✩ I don't know. More than half, probably.
24. Do you have any pets ✩ Kitties. :D
25. Do you want to change your name ✩ No.
26. What did you do for your last birthday ✩ Lunch and bookstore with best friends.
27. What time did you wake up today ✩ 6:00.
28. What were you doing at midnight last night ✩ My government homework.
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for✩ OCTOBER 23RD. :D
30. Last time you saw your Mother ✩ An hour ago.
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life ✩ I'm just not going to answer this one.
32. What are you listening to right now ✩ Silence.
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom ✩ Does Tommy count?
34. What's getting on your nerves right now ✩ A few things.
35. Most visited webpage ✩ Twitter. No contest.
36. Where do you want to be right now? ✩ Not here.
37. Nicknames✩ Chels? Does that even count?
38. Relationship Status✩ Single and unavailable.
39. Zodiac sign ✩ Leo.
40. Male or female? ✩ Female.
41. Elementary? ✩ Northrich.
42. Middle School ✩ North.
44. Hair color ✩ Really dark brown.
45. Long or short ✩ Longish.
46. Height ✩ 5'3.5"
47. Do you have a crush on someone? ✩ I don't even know anymore.
48. What do you like about yourself? ✩ lol
49. Piercings ✩ Ears.
50. Tattoos ✩ Want.
51. Righty or lefty ✩ Right handed, left footed.

FIRSTS :
52. First surgery ✩ Haven't had one yet.
53. First piercing ✩ Ears.
54. First best friend ✩ Sarah.
56. First vacation ✩ Colorado?
58. First crush ✩ Kyle.

RIGHT NOW:
59. Eating ✩ Nothing.
60. Drinking ✩ Nothing.
61. I'm about to ✩ Read.
62. Listening to ✩ See #32.
63. Waiting for ✩ See #29.

YOUR FUTURE:
64. Want kids? ✩ No.
65. Get Married? ✩ LOL marriage. No thanks.
66. Career? ✩ I plan to have one.

WHICH IS BETTER?:
67. Lips or eyes ✩ Eyes.
68. Hugs or kisses ✩ High fives.
69. Shorter or taller ✩ Taller.
70. Older or Younger ✩ Does it matter?
71. Romantic or spontaneous ✩ Are they mutually exclusive?
72. Nice stomach or nice arms ✩ Arms.
73. Sensitive or loud ✩ Happy medium.
74. Hook-up or relationship ✩ Friendships.
75. Trouble maker or hesitant ✩ There's nothing wrong with making some trouble now and then.

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger ✩ No.
77. Drank hard liquor ✩ No.
78. Lost glasses/contacts ✩ No.
79. Sex on first date ✩ Don't care.
80. Broken someone's heart ✩ Hopefully not.
81. Had your own heart broken ✩ Yes.
82. Been arrested ✩ No.
83. Turned someone down ✩ Yes.
84. Cried when someone died ✩ Yes.
85. Fallen for a friend ✩ Yes.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself ✩ I believe that I exist. I think, therefore I am.
87. Miracles ✩ Something like that.
88. Love at first sight ✩ No.
89. Heaven ✩ I'd like to.
90. Santa Claus ✩ Never did.
91. Kiss on the first date ✩ Don't care.
92. Angels ✩ I'd like to.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
93. Had more than one bf/gf? ✩ No.
95. Did you sing today? ✩ I sing every day!
96. Ever cheated on somebody? ✩ No.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go, and why? ✩ Two years, three weeks, five days. Find him. Give him a hug. Get a proper goodbye.
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be? ✩ March 5th.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love with somebody? ✩ Yes.
100. Posting this as 100 truths? ✩ MEME TIME.

National Coming Out Day

2009-10-11T13:01:00.004-05:00

Today is October 11, 2009, which means it's National Coming Out Day. I thought about making a video, but I decided against it since I tend to be really awkward when I speak, and there's no room for awkwardness here.

Last year, Tyler Oakley posted a video calling for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, to show their support for people who may have been thinking of coming out that day. He said it very well.

I am posting this blog to show my support. I am an ally. If you're thinking about coming out today, know that you are not alone. Know that there are people everywhere who will support you and help you through this. Like Tyler said, coming out is a lifelong process. Not everyone will agree with it. Those people are assholes. Believe me, there is nothing wrong with you, and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to be comfortable with being who you are. In the words of the brilliant Dr. Seuss, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

Love. <3

MEME TIME!

2009-09-20T19:17:00.004-05:00

Promise not to lie or erase any of these questions?
Sure.

If you married the last person that texted you what would your last name be?
Wey. Our marriage would not be recognized in the state of Texas. BOO.

What's the most important part of a relationship in your opinion?
Trust and communication.

Do you think the person you like is cute?
Adorable.

What's the first thing that pops into your head when you think of last summer?
My stupidity.

Are there songs you cant listen to because they remind you of someone?
No. I don't like to forget things. There's no reason to.

Would you rather have no heat in winter or no A/C in the summer?
No heat in the winter. It's only like 50 degrees in winter here. No biggie.

When was the last time you talked to your number one?
I have a number one?

Wearing any bracelets?
Yes. My peace sign bracelet.

Honestly, have you ever eaten raw cookie dough?
Yes. NOM.

Are any of your friends taller than you?
Most of them. I'm short.

How many text messages are currently in your inbox?
13. I deleted all of them an hour ago.

Did you copy and paste this survey?
No, I retyped the entire thing because I just like typing that much.

Have you ever dated a football player?
No.

Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
Yes.

Where do you wish you were right now?
New York City.

How late did you stay up last night and why?
I went to bed at 8, woke up again at 11, watched SNL until 12, and had a Skype party until about 3.

If your boyfriend or girlfriend cheated on you, would you take them back?
It depends.

Are you planning on having a kid?
No. Ask me again in 10 years, though.

Do you consider yourself a study freak?
Sometimes. It depends on the subject.

Is there someone you liked so much and nothing ever happened?
Yes.

Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months without cheating?
Yes.

If you woke up in one of the Saw movies, do you think you could survive?
No. I am not a badass.

If someone liked you, would you want them to tell you?
It depends on who it is. Maybe?

Do you believe that if you want something badly enough you'll get it?
No.

Is there anyone who doesn't like you?
I wouldn't be surprised if there are several people who don't like me. I am awkward.

What's one thing you do when you're mad?
Tweet.

Who was the last person to make you smile?
Rebecca. She's slightly intoxicated and she called me.

When's the next time you'll see your closest friend?
Tomorrow.

Who is your favorite person to have long conversations with?
A person.

Is anyone over protective over you?
Yes. I hate it.

Will you be in a relationship next month?
No.

Do you trust all of your friends?
I trust my closest friends completely.

Are you any good at math?
No.

Do you have a reason to smile?
Yes.

What was the first thing you thought this morning?
AHHHHHHHHH NIGHTMARE.

What are you currently listening to?
Rebecca screaming drunkenly at me.

Where is your phone?
I'm talking on it right now.

Last time you felt bad about something?
A couple of days ago.

Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?
I don't know.

Do you miss your past?
No.

Do you ever think "what if ''?
Yes.

Are you happy with the way things are going?
Not really. Not right now.

Would you ever get a tattoo?
Maybe.

Do you mind sleeping on the floor?
Not really.

Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to?
No.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Rebecca.

Do you think you'll be married in 10 years?
No.

Would you go in public looking like you do right now?
Probably not.

Have you ever made someone so mad that they broke something?
No.

This time last year, what was your love life like?
Nonexistent. Ah, the good life.

Can you recall the last time you sincerely liked someone?
Yes.

What are your LEGAL initials?
CWH

Is there someone who you can spend every minute with and be happy?
Yes. :)

Your last kiss, what does it remind you of?
My cat.

What are you excited about?
Austin Teen Book Festival OMG!

Do you sneak candy into the movie theater?
Yes.

If your best friend said they were running away, what would you do?
Go with him.

When is the next time you will kiss someone?
Who knows?

Do you do any form of art?
Is writing an art?

What is your favorite breed of dog?
The kind that is a cat.

Do you wear a belt with every pair of jeans?
Yes. My thighs are way out of proportion with the rest of my body. If the thighs of my jeans fit, the waist is way too big.

Do you use people?
No. I will never understand people who do that.

Who was the last person you talked to last night before bed?
Mr. Tobias and Rebecca.

Do you have both a loud side and a quiet side?
Yes.

I'll bet you miss someone right now?
You are correct in that assumption.

Do you have any bruises?
Yes. A lot.

Why did you last cry?
This morning when I woke up from my nightmare.

Was yesterday better than today?
Yes.

How are you feeling?
Okay.

What is your favorite thing to shop for?
Books!

Do you usually listen to your parents?
I usually don't have a choice.

Honestly, has anyone seen you in your underwear in the past three months?
Yes. I got pantsed.

Did you see a boy today that made you smile?
No.

What is today's date?
Sept 20, 2009

How important is trust?
Very.

Are you the oldest of your siblings?
No.

ever read one book in one day?
Yes.

Something you do a lot?
Read. OOH. And TWEET.

Have you ever liked someone who treated you like crap?
No. That's not really the smartest thing to do.

Is there anything in your past that you'd like to try again?
Yes.

Have you ever thrown your cell phone in anger?
No.

Do you think you can love someone without trusting them?
No.

Would you rather be the heartbroken or the heartbreaker?
Heartbroken. I don't like guilt.

Do you prefer people who talk a lot or are quiet?
People who talk. Then I don't have to.

What's bothering you right now?
A thing.

Have you ever stolen someone's girlfriend/ boyfriend?
No.

Do you think age matters in relationships?
Not as much as maturity.

Who did you last take a picture with?
I don't know.

Have you ran into an old friend lately?
No.

Have you ever kissed the last person you texted?
KORI WOULD YOU LIKE TO KISS ME?

Was last night terrible?
No, it was kind of awesome actually.

Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you they loved you, and meant it?
My dad?

What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Having an epic Skype party.

Who was the last person you had a conversation with on the phone?
Rebecca.

Are you anyone's first love?
No.

Do you look people in the eye when you talk to them?
I try really hard, but it's an ongoing battle.

Think of your last 20 kisses, were they with the same person?
My cat!

Do you get drunk every weekend?
No.

Something tragic just happened, does your facial expression show it?
If I'm around others, no. If I'm alone, yes.

Last person you kissed calls you, what are they calling for?
FEED ME PET ME CUDDLE WITH ME. My cat.

Have you ever kissed somebody whose name starts with a J, E or M?
No.

How's your ex doing right now?
N/A

What should you be doing right now?
My English essay.

Do you believe in forever?
I'm not quite sure. The concept is a little daunting.

When was the last time you saw your mom?
An hour ago.

Do you get irritated easily?
Very. It's probably my least favorite quality that I possess.

MEME TIME.

2009-08-22T18:21:00.003-05:00

Are you ready for a long survey that actually has some new questions?
NOT YET. *takes a deep breath* Okay, BRING IT.

Do you tend to fall for basketball players?
Uhh... No?

If you are being extremely quiet what does that mean?
I'm feeling sad, pensive, angry, or I'm trying not to say anything stupid.

Have you made a mistake this past week?
Yes. Procrastination FTW. That's why I'm doing this meme.

Do you get motion sick?
No.

Is your room ever clean?
Yes.

Do you like being around a large group of friends, or a best friend?
A best friend. I'm not a big fan of large groups.

Are you hard to please?
Not terribly.

Are you missing anyone?
Very much.

Could you date someone taller than you?
Sure?

What would you do if a stranger came up to you and said you are the most attractive person they have seen?
I would politely thank him or her and then ask where I could get whatever drugs he or she was on.

What was the last thing you cried over?
I can't remember.

Honestly, has anyone ever seen you in your underwear?
Yes?

Who else is in the room with you?
No one.

How do you look right now?
Probably tired and stressed out.

Will you be up before 7 am tomorrow?
I don't think so.

Have you ever asked a girl for advice?
Yes.

Have you ever asked a boy for advice?
Yes.

Who did you last talk to before you went to bed?
Rebecca maybe?

Did you stay at your own house last night?
Yes.

Do you have any bruises on you?
A shit ton.

What is your favorite place to shop?
Borders, Amazon, and ThinkGeek.

What are you doing Saturday?
I've been procrastinating, reading, and messing around on the internet.

Do you trust all your friends?
I trust some more than others, but yes.

When you say you don't care, do you mean it?
Not always.

You just took 10 shots of vodka, what are you doing?
Vomiting and passing out.

Is there a difference between love and in love?
Definitely.

Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?
I don't know.

Have you ever tried your hardest then got disappointed later on?
Who hasn't?

How many guys/girls do you fully trust?
Four? Maybe five.

Today, did you hug a person?
No.

Does anyone know your password besides you?
I told Rebecca my password when I accidentally tweeted something that I meant to text to her so that she could go in and delete it. I don't know if she remembers.

Do you listen to music when you're down?
Depends on what kind of down I am. If it's really bad, then no.

Do you delete people off of MySpace? Why?
I don't use MySpace.

How's life?
Stressful.

Are you mad at anyone?
No.

If someone liked you, would you want to know?
It depends on who it is. I don't think so, though.

Do you want to see anyone right now?
No.

What do you bite on more, your tongue, lip, or nails ?
Lips. They're really chapped because I do it all the time out of habit.

What catches your eye more? Eyes or smile?
Smile.

Have you ever liked someone on your top friends?
This is another MySpace question, so I'm going to avoid it.

Are you mad about anything?
Yes.

Are you planning on going to college?
Yes.

Who were the last 2 people to text you?
Rebecca and Twitter.

Are you currently reading a book?
Yes.

You afraid of falling in love?
Yes.

Do you consider yourself a study freak?
Sometimes. Right now I am apathetic toward just about everything except the future.

What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?
Hahahahahahahahahaha. No. That is not going on the internet.

Ready for winter to come?
Yes, because I MIGHT HAVE EPIC PLANS FOR WINTER BREAK.

If you were given $100, would you spend it or save it?
Save it. I have Plans for it.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
I could, but people would be like WTF pajama woman.

Last night, did you go to sleep smiling?
No. I probably looked upset.

When was the last time you talked to your number 1?
My number one what?

Do you wear flip-flops during the winter?
Yes. I live in TEXAS. It can still get up into the eighties during winter. Come on, meme.

Have you ever slapped someone in the face?
Yes, but not hard and as a joke.

Did your last kiss take place on a bed?
Lol @ you.

Who is your favorite actor?
Diane Neal. Hahahaha.

Do you want your tongue pierced?
No.

If you woke up in one of the Saw movies, do you think you could survive?
No. I would just off myself so that I didn't have to go through all of that shit.

Will this weekend be a good one?
Sorry to be negative, but I really don't think so.

What's the most important part of a relationship in your opinion?
I think there are a lot of things that are equally important.

Do you believe that if you want something bad enough you'll get it?
No.

Do you think you will be married in 10 years?
Lol marriage.

Will tomorrow be a good day?
I am going shopping with my mom tomorrow. No.

Anyone said they loved you last week?
Yes, but see the "love vs. in love" question.

Who was the last person you took a photo with?
I don't remember.

How did you get your last bruise?
Probably skating.

Is there anyone who doesn't like you?
I wouldn't doubt it.

Do you have a little sister?
I have a big sister, but it usually feels like she's younger.

Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?
Maybe a tattoo.

Is there something that has happened in your past that you really hate talking about?
Yes.

Do you want your phone to ring at the moment?
Not really.

MEME TIME.

2009-08-10T22:08:00.004-05:00

You are all about to discover how boring I am. Tagged by Rebecca.

Three names I go by:
1. Chelsea
2. SupernovakGirl
3. Mrs. Spencer Martin

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. I haven't
2. had a
3. job yet.

Three places I have lived:
1. Dallas
2. Dallas
3. Fail

Three favorite drinks:
1. DIET COKE OMG.
2. COFFEE OMG.
3. WATER OMG.

Three favorite restaurants:
1. Dos Banderas
2. Freebirds/Chipotle
3. Cafe Express

Three TV shows that I watch:
1. Doctor Who
2. Law and Order: SVU
3. Grey's Anatomy

Three places I have been:
1. I promise you that
2. I haven't been
3. anywhere interesting yet.

People who email/Facebook me regularly:
1. My coach
2. Caitlin
3. Marissa

Three friends I think will respond:
I NEVER ANSWER THIS QUESTION.

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. My AP English Lit class.
2. Graduation.
3. College.

Reading Material

2009-07-23T13:44:00.004-05:00

I'm going out of town tomorrow. We're driving up to a pretty state park in Missouri where we've been five or six times. It's probably one of our last family vacations, so my mom has insisted that we cram ourselves together for as long as possible. We'll be there for four or five days, and then we're coming home to drop my sister off before we go to Austin so I can PARTY WITH REBECCA. This means that I must bring a lot of books, but I can't decide which ones to bring. Here are the ones I've been thinking about bringing:

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Tips On Having a Gay Ex-Boyfriend by Carrie Jones
Skinned by Robin Wasserman
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen*
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen*
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, and The Treasure Map of Boys all by E. Lockhart
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Tyrell by Coe Booth

Obviously I can't bring all of these, but I WANT TO.

* Can the Sarah Dessen fans please tell me which one is better?

Happy List

2009-07-20T13:14:00.002-05:00

I do not feel like a big ball of sunshine today. Not even close. A lot of times when I feel like this and I don't know what I can do to feel better, I'll try to make other people feel better instead. This is why I have started making Happy Lists.

I have taken some of my mutual LJ friends and Twitter friends (50 total because I don't want to do this forever) and put their names on a Word document. I am going to randomly choose a name from the list and write something nice about that person, but I won't write their name. I'll keep doing this until I've written something nice about all of them. Then they can try to guess which nice comment is for them. ONWARD.

1. I don't know you very well yet, but you seem like a sweet person.
2. You've grown up so much since I first met you. I'm proud of you.
3. I love talking to you. You're always so sweet and so much fun to chat with.
4. I think I might be a lot like you when I grow up. At least I hope I will be.
5. Your LJ entries are always pretty entertaining, and your comments are thoughtful. We don't talk very much, but I like you a lot.
6. You are so incredibly smart. Sometimes when I'm reading your entries, I feel like I'm reading some kind of poetry or something. I love your word choice.
7. You're one of the coolest nerdfighters I've ever spoken to. It's awesome that we live so close to each other.
8. You are one of my favorite people ever. You're so sweet and selfless. Even your job is to help other people, and I guess that's why you love it so much. I can't express how grateful I am for all of our conversations and your encouragement. I hope you know how much I care about you and how glad I am that we're friends.
9. You were the first person to actually acknowledge me around here. I won't forget that.
10. You're really smart, and your tweets frequently make me smile.
11. We have a really weird relationship. Sometimes you piss me off so much, and I know I do the same to you. If I had to choose, I wouldn't have it any other way. You've definitely been a positive influence on me. Maybe not in a way that either of us had hoped or anticipated, but you have. I think we'll be friends for a really long time.
12. I first read one of your books just after I read Twilight about four years ago. My first thought was that Stephenie Meyer could definitely take some fantasy writing lessons from you, because her book sucked and yours was awesome.
13. You are so... So YOU. I know sometimes you're uncomfortable with who you are, but you shouldn't be. I've never met such a crazy person before. Be proud of yourself. I am.
14. We used to talk a lot more, and I miss that. I really hope that you're still doing well.
15. I didn't think it was possible to read that many books in a year, but you did it. Congrats.
16. I love your ukulele skills. You're adorable and incredibly awesome.
17. Harry Potter + Disney = Being of awesome = you.
18. I seriously love talking to you, and I really appreciate that you don't pay much attention to our age difference. I love how we can talk about politics, religion, life, love, and pretty much anything else without you once mentioning that I'm young and I don't know what I'm talking about. It's rare that I get that much respect from adults, and I am so grateful for it. You're so unique, and I love your craziness.
19. I always enjoy your LJ entries and your tweets. I think you are going to be really successful one day. I'm not sure in what, but I get the feeling that you're going somewhere.
20. I still need to come up with a suitable nickname for you. When I first met you, I was surprised by how smart you were. You don't sound your age at all. I want to give you a cookie.
21. AND I TRY AND TRY TO FORGET YOU GIRL, BUT IT'S JUST SO HARD TO DO, EVERY TIME YOU DO THAT THING YOU DOOOOOO. But in all seriousness, I look up to you a lot. I admire your strength and your ability to keep going even when everything just sucks. When we talk, I feel like you actually care about what I have to say. Sometimes I just want to come up there and give you a big hug and make everything better, but this will have to do for now.
22. I think you might be the biggest Harry Potter fanatic I know. This also makes you SO JOKES.
23. I want your hair, omfg.
24. You have gotten me through so many things without even knowing it. I feel like knowing you has made me more able to believe in myself. I don't know what I did to deserve it. I'm still trying to figure that out. I value our friendship (or whatever you want to call this relationship we have) very much. I have a feeling that you know more than you say you do. And I think you might appreciate that you are definitely the weirdest person I know.
25. I wish we talked more, because I have a feeling we would get along really well.
26. I think you're really funny. I hope that we end up in the same place at the same time one day, because I would really like to hang out with you.
27. Thank you for stalking me. You have become one of my favorite people. Keep your head up. You'll get out of there soon.
28. I SEE WHY YOU ARE OBSESSED. OMG.
29. I like your hats, and I admire your ability to make friends pretty much anywhere.
30. This could turn into a novel, but I'll try to keep it short. I can't believe I was lucky enough to become your best friend. We're growing up, and soon we'll go away to college. I've accepted the fact that we probably won't be very close to each other in terms of distance, but I don't think we'll grow apart. I know we'll be able to pick up right where we left off every time we see each other. I never would have imagined that I'd have a friend like you. I hope you know how much I love you and how much I value our friendship. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
31. You're so quiet most of the time, but sometimes you'll say the craziest thing and I'm like WTF where did that come from? I love those moments.
32. You have given me the gift of CAFFEINE. I owe you for that. Also, you are gorgeous. I hope you know that.
33. I admire your strength and your painting skills. You are beautiful inside and out.
34. You are the only person who I would spoon with in the trunk of my friend's mom's car. We are going to have such beautiful cat babies.
35. I owe you so much. I think your encouragement has kept me sane in the past few months. I knew what I wanted even before we started talking, but now I feel like it's really possible. I enjoy all of our plotting and shenanigans.
36. You are brilliant and adorable. I like your writing and the way you look at the world. Your entries always make me smile.
37. I wish things could be like they used to be, but I don't think we'll ever get back there. That's okay. I think it's time for both of us to move on. All good things come to an end.
38. We've only just met, but I feel like we've know each other for a long time. I think we are going to become good friends.
39. You always put yourself down. I wish you could see how awesome you really are. Everyone else does.
40. You are so smart for your age that sometimes I think you're playing some kind of joke on us. You are going to accomplish a lot in your life.
41. You are awesome and your daughter is adorable.
42. You are really smart, gorgeous, and nerdier than most people would believe. You tell me that I remind you of yourself when you were my age. I take that as a compliment. Nerding out on Harry Potter is the best thing ever.
43. I don't always comment on your entries, but I read pretty much all of them. You always find a way to say something interesting in every single one. Also, you are awesome.
44. Sometimes I just want to put you in my pocket and take you everywhere with me. You're awesome.
45. You are one of the smartest and jokesest people in Nerdfighteria. No wonder you are Famous.
46. I like looking at all of your traveling pictures, and your entries are always fun to read as well.
47. You're a good writer and you are adorable. I think Grover should be proud to be your mascot.
48. I wish you would stop trying to be like everyone else and just be yourself. I think you are awesome, but I hardly get to see the real you because you're always imitating someone. Let people see what a cool person you are.
49. Your tweets make me laugh so much. I don't understand half of them, but the randomness gets me pretty much every time.
50. You're a very dependable person from what I can tell. Also, you're a nut. :P

Accio Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-13T20:01:00.004-05:00

So the new Harry Potter movie is coming out on Wednesday. Time for an appropriate meme? I think so.

All time favorite character?
Lily Potter, I think. Harry's mother, not his daughter.

List the books in order from your favorite to your least favorite.
1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Goblet of Fire
3. Half-Blood Prince
4. Deathly Hallows
5. Sorcerer's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Order of the Phoenix

List the movies in order from your favorite to your least favorite.
1. Sorcerer's Stone
2. Order of the Phoenix
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Chamber of Secrets

Favorite chapter from your favorite book?
The Forest Again from Deathly Hallows. I actually rewrote it from Lily's point of view. It makes me cry every time.

Top 5 favorite characters?
1. Lily Potter
2. Luna
3. Dumbledore
4. Weasley twins
5. Molly Weasley

Five least favorite characters?
1. Percy
2. Umbridge
3. Quirrel
4. Lucius Malfoy
5. Rita Skeeter

Favorite member of the Golden Trio?
I think Ron.

Favorite family?
The Weasleys. Is there any other choice, really?

Favorite antagonist?
Bellatrix. I love her.

Favorite Death Eater?
Snape. Does he count?

Three favorite spells?
1. Accio (for the lazy witch or wizard).
2. Bombarda (BOOM).
3. Fidelius Charm. SEKRITS.

Three favorite potions?
1. Polyjuice Potion (duh).
2. Amortentia (pretty much because when Hermione was describing it, she was like OMFG RON I LOVE YOU).
3. Draught of Living Death

Favorite Non-Hogwarts magical building?
Probably Gringotts. It just sounds really cool to me.

Favorite Diagon Alley shop?
Flourish and Blotts. Yay books! :)

Favorite Hogsmeade Shop?
Honeydukes! I WANNA GO TO HONEYDUKES, I WANNA GO TO HONEYDUKES, I WANNA GO TO HONEYDUKES WITH YOUUUUU.

Favorite Unforgivable Curse?
The Imperius Curse.

Favorite mode of wizard transportation?
Apparation, I think. Broomsticks are awesome, though.

Favorite Weasley?
Molly, I think.

Favorite Order Member?
Tonks.

Favorite DA Member?
Luna freaking Lovegood.

Favorite pet?
Crookshanks.

Favorite Hogwarts room?
The library.

Favorite Hogwarts Professor?
McGonagall.

Favorite non-human Hogwarts resident?
Sir Cadogon.

Favorite Tri-Wizard Champion?
Oh we love you Viktor Krum!

Favorite House Elf?
Dobby!

Favorite Wizard sweet?
Sugar quills.

Favorite canon couple?
Lily and James Potter.

Favorite non-canon couple?
~~Grawp/Giant Squid~~ I don't really like any of the non-canon couples, unless Bellatrix/Voldemort isn't canon. I think it is. If it's not, it should be. THERE IS A LOVECHILD AND YOU KNOW IT.

General Opinions

Biggest surprise of the series?
The Triwizard Cup being a portkey.

Biggest letdown of the series?
It ended.

One character you wish lived?
Sirius.

Moment that will always make you cry?
I cried forever when Dobby died.

Your Patronus would be___?
A hedgehog. A VICIOUS HEDGEHOG.

Three things Amortentia would smell like to you.
*blushes* I know exactly what it would smell like, and that is why I am not saying.

You would use Felix Felicis to___?
Get a full scholarship to my #1 college choice.

Job you would most like to try?
Auror.

Ron/Hermione or Harry/Hermione?
Ron/Hermione!

James/Lily or Snape/Lily?
James/Lily.

Do you know which page Dumbledore was killed on?
596. Damn all of those icons that came out on the HBP release date.

Do you think Harry Potter is better than Twilight?
Yes. I hate Twilight more than I can begin to say. It's just... Don't get me started.

Are you going to go see the Half Blood Prince in theatres?
Hell yes! 12:01!

Do you own the books/movies?
All of them.

Have you ever played any of the video games?
I don't play video games.

Don't they kind of suck?
The video games? See the previous question.

Do you think it would be cool to have a pet owl?
It'd be awesome.

How about a rat?
As long as he's not like Wormtail.

Have you ever listened to the soundtrack?
Yes.

Which house would you want to be in?
I think I'd be sorted into Ravenclaw.

Do you like Draco?
He's an asshole, but I guess he turned out okay.

Would you ever enter the Triwizard tournament?
BRING IT.

Would you keep your money in Gringotts?
It's the safest place in the world to hide something, except perhaps Hogwarts. So yes.

What class would be your favorite?
Charms.

Do you think you would enjoy being a witch/wizard?
Absolutely.

I like memes.

2009-06-23T23:07:00.002-05:00

1.This survey gets a little personal; can you handle it?
I suppose.

2.If you married the last person in your inbox, what would your last name be?
Riley, if LJ comment replies count.

3. Were you happy when you woke up today?
No. I was scared. My neck wouldn't move.

4. When were you on the phone last? And with who?
An hour ago.

7. What are you excited for?
Reading Catching Fire! OMFG.

8. What were you doing yesterday?
I went skating and then spent most of the day with Clint.

9. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you they love you?
I don't remember. Probably my cat. His nudge said it all.

11. Have a best friend?
Yes.

12. Are you scared to fall in love?
To a point. I think I'd be more scared if I believed in/cared about love the way most people do.

13. Do you think teenagers can be in love?
Depends on the person. Also, see the second half of the previous question.

14. Last person you wanted to punch in the face?
My mother.

15. What time is it right this second?
11:11 p.m. *makes a wish*

16. What do you want right now?
To get away and be free to be myself. Individuality is frowned upon here.

17. Who was the last person you took a picture with?
My sister.

18. Are you single/taken/heartbroken/or confused?
Single and unavailable. Take that as you will.

19. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday.

20. Do you have a good relationship with your parents?
We get along okay sometimes. I think my relationship with my mother is slightly unhealthy in some aspects.

21. Do you find it hard to trust others?
Yes.

22. How fast does your mind change?
Quickly and often.

23. I bet you miss somebody right now.
This isn't a question, so I guess I don't have to provide a straight answer.

24. Can you honestly say you're okay right now?

"Okay" is very vague. My basic needs are being met. I'm more okay than some people. I'll make it.

25. Why do you think so many people cheat?
In a game? They want to win.
In a relationship? They're hurt/they're bored/they need or want something more than their current partner is giving them.

26. Tell me what's on your mind.
If you know me well, you can answer this yourself.

27. What are you looking forward to in the next three months?
Starting my last year of high school, getting my drivers license, and maybe going to NYC for a week.

28. Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing?
Yes?

29. When did you last talk to your number 1 top friend?
Yesterday.

30. When is your next road trip?
*bites lip* HEY LOOK OVER THERE. IT'S A KITTEN. Go pet the kitten.

31. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell anything to?
Almost anything.

32. How's your heart?
It seems to be working. All of my appendages have a sufficient blood supply.

33. Have you ever felt like you weren't important?
Yes.

34. Do you think somebody's in love with you?
No. At least I hope not, because I don't think I could reciprocate the emotion. At least not right now.

35. What are you planning on doing after this?
Reading.

36. Next time you will kiss someone?
I'm going to kiss my cat before I go to bed. I do this every night.

37. Have you told anybody you loved them today?
My cat.

38. Who do you not get along with?
People my age.

39. What does your 3rd recent text say?
"hehehehehehehe!" -Rebecca

40. What are you wearing right now?
Rolled up pajama pants and the Wizard of Oz shirt my mom said was inappropriate for Girls State.

41. You're locked in a room with the person you last kissed, how is it?
Empty.

42. When's the last time you had a grilled cheese?
A couple of months ago.

43. What's your favorite boy and girl name right now?
I don't have favorite names.

44. How did you feel when you woke up?
Sore and stiff.

45. Do you wish someone would call or text you right now?
Only if they have something interesting to say.

46. Do you crack your knuckles?
Way too often.

47. What were you doing yesterday at midnight?
Reading.

48. What are your LEGAL initials?
CWH.

49. Whos the first B in your contacts?
My friend's mom.

50. When was the last time you laughed really hard?
Earlier today.

51. Your number 1 top friend walks out of your life, do you go after them?
Absolutely.

52. Last awkward moment?
There have been so many lately that I can't even remember.

53. Are you afraid of the dark?
Terrified. Seriously.

54. Do you have good vision?
It's not really bad, but I have to wear glasses. I'm nearsighted.

55. Have you ever tripped someone?
Yes. Haha.

56. Have you ever slapped someone?
Probably.

57. Are you Irish?
No.

58. Do you use chap stick?
Obsessively.

59. Do you have any scars?
Yes.

60. Is there someone you will never forgive?
No. There's one I'm still working on, but I think I'll be able to forgive him one day. It's just taking a very long time to understand what happened.

61. Are you dating the person you last held hands with?
No.

62. Name the last person to text you?
Kori.

63. Would you marry someone 8 years older than you?
Sure.

64. Can you go in public looking like you do?
I don't really care. My mom would have a heart attack, though.

65. Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with a J?
No.

66. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The middle?

67. What's the first thing you'll do on your wedding day?
lol marriage

68. Do you fall for people easily?
"Fall" is a vague word, but I would say no.

69. Has anyone put their arms around you in the past 5 days?
Yes. Surprisingly, I didn't pull away.

70. Do you miss the way things used to be?
No. Not at all.

71. Has anyone ever told you they loved you?
My family and my cat.

73. Want someone back in your life?
Yes.

74. Will tomorrow be better than today?
I don't know.

75. What’s the color of the shirt you are wearing?
Mostly grey, but it also has red, black, and white.

76. Has anyone ever sang or played music for you personally?
My daddy.

77. Does it bother you when someone lies to you?
Yes. See question 21.

78. Is there anyone who understands your relationship status?
Yes. It's not that complicated.

79. Are you a naturally happy person?
Honestly, not really. I have to work at it. I've been trying harder lately.

MEME TIME.

2009-06-11T15:09:00.003-05:00

I feel like it's time I posted a meme here. You guys will get to know me better.

A N S W E R - T R U T H F U L L Y

1. Do you like anyone?: MAYBE.
2. Does he/she know it?: No. Never.
3. Simple or complicated?: Incredibly complicated to the point where I just don't care anymore.

IN - T H E - L A S T - M O N T H - H A V E - Y O U

4. Had sex: No. lol
5. Bought something: Yes. I bought 2 CDs and a shirt at the wrock show yesterday.
6. Gotten sick?: No.
7. Been hugged?: Yes.
8. Felt stupid?: Every day for one reason or another.
9. Talked to an ex: No exes to talk to.
10. Missed someone: REBECCA. COME BACK TO MAH HOUSE.
11. Failed a test: No.
13. Danced: Of course.
14. Gotten your hair cut?: No, but I want to get it cut soon.
15. Lied: I only feel okay lying to my parents, because they don't need to know everything I am thinking/doing. It's better for both of us. So yes.

U N I Q U E

16. Nervous habits?: I chew on my lips and the inside of my cheeks when I get nervous. They bleed. It's kind of gross.
17. Are you double jointed?: Yes. My thumb is really awkawrd.
18. Can you roll your tongue?: Yes.
19. Can you raise one eyebrow?: Yes.
20. Can you cross your eyes?: Yes.
21. Do you make your bed daily? No.
22. Do you think you are unique?: Yes. You know, just like everyone else.

H A V E - Y O U - E V E R

23. Said "I Love you" in that way?: No.
24. Given money to a homeless person: No.
25. Smoked cigarretes?: No. Gross.
26. Waited all night for a phone call?: No.
27. Snuck out?: No.
28. Sat and looked at the stars?: Yes.

M A N N E R S

29. Do you swear/curse?: Frequently.
30. Do you ever spit?: Only when necessary?
31. You cook your own food?: I reheat. I rock the microwave. If I try to actually cook, things catch on fire. It's catastrophic.
32. You do your own chores?: I've never had to do chores. I try to keep my room clean, though. VACUUMING IS SO MUCH FUN, TOO.
33. You like beef jerky?: I don't eat beef.
35. You're happy with your life?: Not particularly, but hopefully that'll change in about a year.
37. You spend your money wisely?: I usually do.
38. Do you like to swim?: No. I hatehatehatehateHATE swimsuits, and I am not a huge fan of THROWING MYSELF INTO A LARGE POOL OF WATER.

D O - Y O U - P R E F E R

41. Flowers or angels?: That's kind of a weird comparison. Flowers.
42. Grey or black?: Black.
43. Color or black and white photos?: It depends on the photo.
44. Lust or love?: I fear both.
45. Sunrise or sunset?: Sunrise. I'm a morning person.
46. M&Ms or Skittles?: The Skittles in the purple bag. If they're any other kind, then M&Ms, please.
48. Staying up late or waking up early?: Both.
49. Being hot or cold?: Cold.
50. Winter or Fall?: Winter.
51. Left or right?: Left.
52. Having 10 acquaintances or 2 best friends?: Two best friends. That's how I am now.
53. Sunshine or rain?: Rain.

MORE HAVE-YOU-EVERS:

Sleep in a bed of the opposite sex?: My cat. :)
Hooked up in the woods?: There aren't even real woods around here! And no.
Drank a bottle of alcohol by yourself?: I've actually never had a sip of alcohol in my life.
Hooked up in the shower?: ~~I hooked up with your mom in the shower last night.~~ No.
Been dumped?: No.
Stolen money from a friend?: No.
Slept naked?: #nopants
Been in a fist fight?: No.
Had a crush on a teacher?: No.
Seen someone die?: Yes.
Been on an airplane? Yes.
Slept all day?: No.
Missed someone so much it hurt?: No.
Fallen asleep during school?: Yes, but never a deep sleep. I'm still conscious of my surroundings.
Been lonely?: Yes.
Cheated in a game: A card game when I was 6. My mom helped me. Teeheehee.
Been to the ER?: I am the most accident prone person in the entire world. Of course I have.
Been in a car accident?: Not a bad one. I've been rear ended twice.
Had detention?: Yes. FOR SITTING ON A COUCH.
Missed your first love?: lol love
Cried yourself to sleep?: Yes.
Sung in the shower?: Yes.
Kissed a complete stranger?: No.
Laughed so hard you cried?: Yes.
Cheated on a bf/gf?: No boyfriends to cheat on. I wouldn't, though. I'd feel awful.
Regretted hurting someone?: I'd be heartless if I didn't regret hurting someone.
Regretted loving someone?: You learn so much from it, regretting it is doing a disservice to yourself. So no.
Been SUPER happy?: Yes. :)

The Day of Fun

2009-06-09T23:50:00.006-05:00

Yesterday morning when I finished skating, I seriously had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of the day. I had nothing planned. As far as I knew, I was going to sit in front of the computer screen for the next 15 hours. This seemed like a waste of time, but there was seriously NOTHING to do.

I went to the post office, and then my dad took me to lunch. Afterward, I came home to clean my room. Now, let it be known that I had already cleaned my room two days before, but then decided to take on a project. My room was a mess because I had done a lot of reorganizing. (Also, I like to clean. I especially like to vacuum. The dust is THERE, and then it is NOT. OH THE THRILLS I HAVE.) On Sunday, The Skating Wall became The Reading Wall. I had to move around a lot of furniture to make everything look nice.

Sometime between skating and the post office, my friend Rebecca and I began a texting conversation that lasted for a few hours, and then it kind of died. Around 2:30, after I had reorganized my room some more (thus resulting in an even bigger mess than I had started with), my phone buzzed. I assumed it was from Twitter, but it was from Rebecca. Here is kind of how this texting conversation went:

Rebecca: What are you doing, and do you think your parents will let you out of the house in about 4 hours?”
Me: I am STILL CLEANING. And possibly if I’m a good little girl. Why?
Rebecca: My brother is going to borrow my car to go to a concert around where you live, and it just occurred to me that I could go with him and hang out with you.
Me: OH MY GOD, YOU SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT. DO IT. DO IT NOW. When are you leaving?
Rebecca: He’s going to be here in about 10 minutes.
Me: Wow, that’s soon. Umm… Well. I can try to convince my dad to let me go. My mom will be a different story.
Rebecca: Chris has to go NOW. I am just going to come and find a coffee shop if your parents say no. And I will be texting you to ask for directions.
Me: OKAY. Also, I do not know my way around the city. I do not go places.

So that’s pretty much how it went. I was very excited. You have to understand. I have only met Rebecca in real life once before, and I was terrified of her because I didn’t really know her very well. I bought her some peppermint chocolate covered pretzels before the Nerdfighter gathering, thrust them into her arms, and ran away. This is just how I am with new people. However, now I DO know her well, and this was VERY EXCITING, because she is moving FAR AWAY soon and these kinds of spontaneous meet ups will not be possible (at least until I get up there too).

I spent the next four hours cleaning like a madwoman. This seemed critical. Not only would my room be organized once again, but my parents would see that I had been a Good Little Girl, and they would let me go out with my friend. This plan must have worked, because my dad let me out of the house and did not tell my mom where I was going until I had been gone for a few hours already. He did interrogate her, though. Probably to make sure she wasn’t an axe murderer.

Our first stop of our Day of Fun was Gooey’s, a frozen yogurt shop of WIN. I got a Diet Coke for caffeine purposes, and some frozen yogurt because it is GOOD. Rebecca had some Issues with her frozen yogurt, however. It was too strong.

Before

After

Right after she had put the green mush on the napkin and proceeded to sculpt it into a masterpiece, I received a phone call from someone I knew who happened to be headed that that exact frozen yogurt shop at that very moment. Needless to say, we got the hell out of there. We had planned to go to Borders because it was really close, but something told me that Borders was not epic enough for this outing. I felt like we needed something bigger. Something better. Something so full of excitement and random things that we would be entertained for hours. Something… SWEDISH. After all, I was wearing my ABBA shirt. And so to Ikea we went.

I knew where Ikea was, or at least I thought I did. It was more like I knew the general vicinity surrounding Ikea because there is a skating rink and a mall there. We spent probably about 10 or 15 minutes just trying to figure out how to get into the parking lot. We ended up having to make several U-turns and cut through a baseball field parking lot, but we managed to escape from the circle of hell that is city traffic mostly unscathed.

When we exited Keith (Rebecca’s car), I ran up to the Swedish flag outside of the store and hugged it. We went inside to PEE, because we had to PEE. I found a big red button in one of the bathroom stalls, but I resisted and did not press it. Then we went upstairs, and the fun BEGAN.

The first Shiny Thing we found was a bunk bed with a curtain that covered up the bottom bunk. I jumped on it, and Rebecca followed. We hid ourselves behind the curtain and filmed our Bunk Bed Shenanigans on my video camera.* After a little while, we (reluctantly) left the bunk bed and began to make our way around the store. I wanted to touch everything. I did touch a lot of things. We collapsed on SO MANY BEDS, sat in SO MANY CHAIRS, did SO MANY THINGS that we probably weren’t supposed to do. It was awesome.

If you have been to Ikea, you know which part is the best part. I don’t care how old you are. You know that the children’s section is more fun than any other part of the store. Do not deny it. Do not challenge it. You will not win. Here are some pictures of what we found/did there, as words alone can not describe the awesome.

SO MANY TINY POTTIES.

The hedgehog.

THE HEDGEHOG.

WE LOVE THE HEDGEHOG.

The seesaw that tipped over several times because it is not meant for big kids like us.

Rebecca fondles The Penis Panda.

See? My words would have done that section no justice whatsoever. I also shut myself completely in one of those egg chairs, but Rebecca has that picture on her camera.

While Rebecca attempted to escape the Penis Pandas, a voice came over the loudspeaker telling us that the store would be closing in fifteen minutes. So naturally, we ignored it and kept looking through the store for fun things to do. I spun very quickly in circles and ended up getting slightly tangled in some sort of rope thingy. We retraced our steps back to the detour we had taken to get to the children’s section, only to find out that we had to take the long way around and go BACK THROUGH the children’s section to get downstairs. It was difficult not to get distracted the second time through, but we got downstairs with a couple of minutes to spare. We had to move so that Rebecca could buy her rat.**

We tried to resist, but everything was so shiny.

I CAN SEE YOU PEE.

Actually, you probably shouldn't use those toilets.

I thought that the stairs would lead us straight to the checkout counter. Clearly I am not an experienced Ikea customer, because instead of being greeted by an exit as I descended, I was face to face with a set of neon-colored knives. You would think that they would not have actual sharp knives on a display, but this is Ikea we are talking about. These are SWEDISH PEOPLE who do SWEDISH THINGS. As we walked through the maze of shelves, I surveyed everything and tried to decide which items could have been in danger of death by knife. I came to the conclusion that the pillows would have suffered the most. An insane/rabid/enraged customer could have gone on a pillow-stabbing rampage. The whole store could have been covered in cotton in just minutes.

It took easily ten more minutes before we actually got to the checkout counter, purchased the rat, and left the store. On the ride home, we both decided that we were hungry and that we would go to my beloved Chipotle’s ARCH NEMISIS, Freebird’s, for a very late dinner. I hoped the Hot Canadian would be there so that Rebecca could meet him and see his OCEAN EYES. Yes, he has OCEAN EYES. They are very blue. It was about nine at the time, and I was pretty sure that Freebird’s closed at ten, so we did not rush.

We got to Freebird’s at 9:39 (after driving backwards through the drive through of a closed Great Outdoors) and discovered that they had actually closed at 9:30. There was a Taco Cabana close by, and we both liked tacos (although for Rebecca that may be an understatement), so we went there and brought the food back to my house. We said as little as possible to my parents and headed straight to my room for more shenanigans.

After we had eaten, we came up with a Plan. This Plan involved suspenders, many Post-Its, sunglasses, ABBA, Charlie the ferret shawl, and a video camera. We were very pleased with the results.

We later discovered that it would not have been a good idea for Rebecca and her brother to drive home that night, so Rebecca spent the night at my house. While we were settling down, we called Kori and Skyped Mr. Tobias. It was all great fun.

At about 2:30 in the morning, my mom came in with extra blankets and gave Rebecca the stink eye. This was to be expected, and we laughed about it. I think we went to sleep around 3:30, after we edited a video until 3 or so.

My alarm clock went off at 7:15. Something you should know about me is that no matter what time I go to bed, I am a morning person. This was no exception. I immediately began to tweet asking if I should take advantage of the opportunity to draw on Rebecca’s face (I didn’t, if you’re wondering). We ate Pop Tarts while we listened to David Levithan read from a book about celebrating your first period. And too soon, it was time for both of us to leave. I had to skate, and Rebecca had to pick up her brother so they could go back to Austin. I gave her a hug goodbye, which I don’t normally do because I am not the hugging type. Rebecca deserved a hug.

I think this was the most fun I’ve had in this city in years.

* I will be posting a video of our Day of Fun soon.
** Did I not mention Rebecca’s rat? Well, I threw a small stuffed rat at her while she was looking at the sea creature plushies, and she had to buy it. It was crucial.

Love is Love is Love

2009-05-31T16:56:00.004-05:00

"Most gay people are promiscuous and don't even want to get married. They just want to bitch about their rights."

This direct quote is brought you by my sister, Christy, who apparently thinks she knows something. Let me tell you some things about Christy:

The majority of her friends are gay men. Conservative gay men (this is Texas after all), but still gay.
She doesn't make her own opinions. She listens to what the people around her say, and then she repeats it.
She's extremely judgmental, self-centered, and shallow.

I will refer back to this list several times during this post.

We were at Friday's today eating lunch, and somehow we got onto the subject of Prop 8. Because of fact #1 from the above list, I automatically assumed that she would want it to be repealed. I was wrong, however. She does not. Oh boy, she does NOT.

We had a conversation about it. At first, I tried to listen to her reasoning. I tried so hard to respect her opinion the way I'd like her to respect mine. I felt like that was only fair, considering that we have completely opposite views and it's probably hard for her to see where I'm coming from. But you guys... I just don't understand. It makes absolutely no sense to me. I am usually good about keeping my emotions in around my family members, but when she started explaining her reasoning, I had to go somewhere to compose myself again. I was really upset. Here's a list of her reasons for not supporting same sex marriage, along with my responses to the reasons.

My friend used to be gay, but now he's choosing to be with a woman. You can choose not to be gay.

I can't speak for your friend, but I don't believe that you choose your sexual orientation.

The Bible says that homosexuality is wrong. I don't think gay people should be able to stand in front of God and do something he says is a sin. Marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman only.

I call bullshit. Doesn't Christianity promote equality? Doesn't God give man free will? Have you even read the Bible? Jesus never said anything about homosexuality in the entire book. Seriously. Not even when he was right in front of someone in a gay relationship. And I'm pretty sure lesbianism isn't even mentioned in there. Correct me if I'm wrong.

My friend has HIV. Gay people are more likely to pass on HIV.

So being in a monogamous relationship is going to increase the likelihood of getting HIV? Really?

None of my gay friends even want to get married.

So your gay friends are obviously a comprehensive representation of ALL gay people? Right? No? Okay then. Moving on.

I don't mind if they're gay. I just don't think they should get married. I wouldn't vote against it, but I still don't think it's right.

I no longer understand this argument. Really. You seem to be completely against the idea of homosexuality.

There's a lot more, but I think this covers enough for you to understand how stupid this whole thing is. I don't even... I just can't comprehend it. It doesn't make sense to me. I can't put my thoughts into words.

But how could you be against something that doesn't affect you the slightest bit? Thousands of people are being denied the right to marry the people they love. Take a good look at the world right now. Look around. Do you see what it's like? People are hurting. Love is so hard to find, and when you find it, it's beautiful. So what if the person you love happens to be the same sex as you? You should be allowed more than a fucking civil union, whatever that is.

God forbid same sex marriage destroy the sanctity of marriages like that 55 hour one that Britney Spears had. That's fine, right? Because it was a man and a woman, right?

A little while ago, Christy came into my room and asked me if I was a lesbian. Because apparently supporting gay rights means that I am gay too. You know, in the same way that supporting rights for minorities makes me African-American. Look at me. I'm as black as they come.

This makes me so angry. I don't think I have anything left to say on the matter. If you haven't read this post by the wonderful Libba Bray, you should. It's fantastic.

No Pants Dance

2009-04-30T18:35:00.004-05:00

Today is the last day of April, which means it is the last day of BEDA. I am both sad and incredibly relieved. BEDA has been stressful, but it has forced me to write every day. While I try to write every day anyway, I rarely share it with anyone. This has given me an opportunity to try NOT TO FAIL, because this shit is PUBLIC. I've made some new friends because of BEDA. So now I'm going to try not to screw up this last blog because I'm lazy.

Clearly, it is time for my FINAL PANTS BLOG. Yes, I am going to blog about pants again. Only this time, it will be MORE EPIC.

SEE THESE PANTS? These are FART PANTS. I would like to purchase a few pairs of these. ONE OF THEM WILL BE PURPLE. But I think everyone should own pants like this. Every. Single. Person. In. The. World.

I spend an awful lot of time online. It is SUCH A HASSLE to actually have to put my hands ON MY DESK to type. Who knew that I just needed to buy these pants? I could lean back in my chair and watch the magic from my pants APPEAR ON THE SCREEN. It would be wondrous. I want these. Badly.

These appear to be both shoes AND pants. Clever. I'd imagine they're a bitch to put on, though. They look quite uncomfortable. I will never know.

Whoever made this has the right idea. Even if they ARE purple. In fact, I think we should create a NO PANTS DANCE.

But it looks like someone beat me to it. We must LEARN this No Pants Dance!

And that's all I have to say about pants today. NOW FOR SOME ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

FIRST, Maureen. Thanks for creating this. I've had a lot of fun with it, and your blogs are always hysterical. It has been nice getting one every day. I am glad you survived the month.

SECOND, my lovely BEDA buddies! Rebecca, Tobias, and Jordan, you NEVER FORGET TO BE AWESOME. EVER. Like Jordan said, we kind of sucked a little at buddying. We stepped it up toward the end and wrote the awesome Bob the Zombie story (which I hear is being turned into a major motion picture in twelve countries and twenty-seven languages). LONG LIVE TEAM... Uhh... Did we come up with a team name? We should get on that. April is over in 5 hours.

THIRD, all of my other friends who kicked my ass when I didn't want to blog. Thanks to Devyn, Korianne, Emma, Kat, and all of the crazy Ning people on Skype.

FOURTH, my cat. Because I always like to give my cat some acknowledgements and CUDDLES whenever possible. And he's cute.

Time for the FINAL MUFFIN HAIKU:

Fellow BEDAers,
Let's bake muffins and party!
SEE YOU NEXT APRIL!

So everyone... TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS AND HAVE A MUFFIN PARTY WITH ME. WE MADE IT!

Writer Telepathy

2009-04-29T21:21:00.004-05:00

I wish I had something more interesting to talk about because this is the next to the last day of BEDA, but I think I exhausted all of my ideas in the first two weeks. I'm exhausted. I have been going to bed later than usual the past few days, and it's really catching up with me. I want to be in bed within the next half hour, so I need to make this quick.

So today, I was reading a book. Two of the main characters went to a cafe, and as I was reading, I realized that I had to been to this cafe before. I was shocked. I read and reread the paragraphs with the cafe's description over and over again, and by the end of the eight time, I was SURE that this place existed INSIDE OF MY HEAD.

These are the times when I am grateful to live inside of my mind.

That is right. I have been working on a writing project for a long time now. Somewhere among these pages that I have written, there is a cafe just like the one in the book I was reading. The one I have created is a little more... well, extreme. I don't know how else to describe this without getting too specific. I'm being intentionally vague because I don't want to share the details of my project until I am absolutely sure I want to take it that way. So far, I am happy with what I have. I am sure that I will go in and smack it around quite a bit before I am anywhere close to being finished. Hopefully I'll be done with draft one by the end of 2009. *crosses fingers*

ANYWAY. This is short. I am going to bed. SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR THE LAST DAY OF BEDA.

In the book cafe,
There are probably some big
Tasty muffins. YUM.

Bob the Zombie (Part 2 of 4)

2009-04-28T23:09:00.003-05:00

If you haven't read Part 1 (by Rebecca), go HERE first and read it before you continue. I'm going to paste the last paragraph of Part 1 here to make it look better. Also, the Zombie to English translations will be made in FOOTNOTES. Read them as you go along. OKAY. GO.

Bob had just about resigned himself to a life of eating pigeon crap and squirrel guts when, about a month after he'd first lost his leg to the unidentified falling anvil, he was dragging himself along down in the sewer, listening to nearby trains rumble past and drooling over the thought of all those people on them, people with fresh, juicy BRRAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNSSS. He was so engrossed in his BRAIN fantasies that he didn't notice a Fellow Undead Creature shambling toward him. Oh, how Bob missed shambling.

"URNAAHHHHNUHAUGGG*," Bob grunted, attempting to fashion a frown with what little muscle and skin was left on his face. The Fellow Undead Creature (know from here on as the FUC) let out a strange noise that sounded like it could have been either maniacal laughter or a croup-like cough. Bob was not sure whether the FUC was dangerous or not. His first instinct was to get up and stand his ground, lest he lose another limb, but ALAS! He could no longer shamble! Bob glanced down at the empty space where his leg had been before the tragic anvil accident weeks before and sighed. His decaying arms were quite ineffectual when it came to moving quickly. It looked like he was stuck in that spot unless he wanted to try to roll away. After considering this, Bob resolved not to move. He had already lost a leg, and he wanted to keep his dignity.

The FUC was closing in now, proudly laughing his croup-laugh and flaunting his shamble like Joan Rivers flaunts her plastic surgery. Bob took these last few seconds to examine the rapidly advancing figure. He was surprisingly well-dressed for a zombie. His brown, double-breasted suit looked like it had come straight out of the Roaring Twenties. He carried a fountain pen in the front pocket of his jacket, although he would have had trouble writing with it (he had several fingers missing on each hand). Bob thought that if the FUC had hair, it would have probably been neatly combed with a straight part right down the middle. From the amount of decaying flesh hanging from his body (including a dangling eyeball that looked like it was about to fall off completely), Bob guessed that the FUC had probably been undead for around seventy years.

"WAHAARARAZLESH?**" the FUC demanded. He gave Bob a piercing glare with his remaining eye.

"NUH?***" Bob was officially confused. He had no idea what the FUC was talking about.

The FUC took the pen out of his pocket and began twirling it around with two of his four fingers. It seemed like a nervous tick. "Uhhhwahhhwoooogarrrlaeeeeeeezuhrad,****" he said. Bob saw the muscles in his forehead contract. He imagined that if the FUC had eyebrows, one of them would have just been raised. "Zelda."

The FUC reached inside of his jacket and pulled out an extremely old, fragile book. It seemed as if the pages would reduce to dust if Bob tried to open it. The FUC shifted his one-eyed glance between Bob and the book. Bob was not sure what he was supposed to do next. Was he supposed to take the book? Read it? Admire the dusty cover? He didn't know.

After a moment, the FUC seemed to grow tired of Bob's internal guessing game. He opened the book to the dedication page and pointed to the text with his fountain pen. It read:

ONCE AGAIN
TO
ZELDA

This triggered Bob's memory. He had heard these words before in a book he had read while he was still alive. He remembered the lavish parties and superficial characters. He remembered the dishonesty and the corruption. He remembered reading this book and wishing that he could create something even half as great as this man Fitzgerald had.

Bob looked up, still confused. "Eeeuhnhazueallllllaurrggh,*****" he shook his head slowly. Then, an idea slowly formed in his mind. "Rahhhnughluazruhnnn! Azeruhhhhhhhhhhhhhnuhrjah. Munnnnarrrrughnnnalllllla?******"

The FUC considered this, stroking the bare bone on his chin with a fleshless finger. He nodded, and things were set. Together, they crafted a shambling stick out of an old tree limb and some duct tape (because zombies know to ALWAYS carry duct tape) and started off on their journey.

* You lucky shambling bitch.
** Where is she?
*** Who?
**** Don't play dumb with me. You know who I'm talking about.
***** She left a few weeks ago. I don't know where she went.
****** I'll help you find her, though! I just need help learning to shamble again. Maybe we can create some device that will AID IN MY SHAMBLING.

MUFFIN HAIKU:

It's too late to think
Of a good muffin haiku
So I'll go to bed

Fun With Bash

2009-04-27T18:29:00.007-05:00

I have absolutely no homework tonight. The AP Psychology exam is a week from Thursday, so I guess I should be studying for that. Obviously, I prefer to blog. BLOG NOW, STUDY LATER. OKAY.

So I was planning to blog about my COLLEGE WORRIES, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. All of you are in for a TREAT today, as I have rediscovered one of my favorite websites!

I am, of course, referring to bash.org.

Bash is a hilarious website that logs funny and stupid IRCs for the PUBLIC to see. And I am forever grateful to bash. I really am. Here's an example of a golden conversation on there:

(donut[afk]) HEY EURAKARTE
(donut[afk]) INSULT
(eurakarte) RETORT
(donut[afk]) COUNTER-RETORT
(eurakarte) QUESTIONING OF SEXUAL PREFERENCE
(donut[afk]) SUGGESTION TO SHUT THE FUCK UP
(eurakarte) NOTATION THAT YOU CREATE A VACUUM
(donut[afk]) RIPOSTE
(donut[afk]) ADDON RIPOSTE
(eurakarte) COUNTER-RIPOSTE
(donut[afk]) COUNTER-COUNTER RIPOSTE
(eurakarte) NONSENSICAL STATEMENT INVOLVING PLANKTON
(miles_prower) RESPONSE TO RANDOM STATEMENT AND THREAT TO BAN OPPOSING SIDES
(eurakarte) WORDS OF PRAISE FOR FISHFOOD
(miles_prower) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTENCE OF TERMS

So you can see why I love it. My personal favorite is this one:

(lib1790) so, at this college there was an extra credit question "Is hell endothermic or exothermic"
(lib1790) this is what one kid wrote:
(lib1790) First, we postulate that if souls exist, then they must have some mass.
If they do, then a mole of souls can also have a mass. So, at what rate are souls moving into hell and at what rate are souls leaving? I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
(lib1790) As for souls entering hell, lets look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to hell. Since, there are more than one of these religions and people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to hell.
With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in hell to increase exponentially.
(lib1790) Now, we look at the rate of change in volume in hell. Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in hell to stay the same, the ratio of the mass of souls and volume needs to stay constant.
(lib1790) So, if hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter hell, then the temperature and pressure in hell will increase until all hell breaks loose (i.e.,Hell is exothermic).
(liv1790) Of course, if hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in hell, than the temperature and pressure will drop until hell freezes over (i.e.,Hell is endothermic).
(lib1790) So which is it? If we accept the postulate given by Ms.Therese Banyan during my freshman year, "That it will be a cold night in hell before I go out with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having a relationship with her, the second case cannot be true. Therefore, hell is exothermic.
(lib1790) the kid was the only one who got credit

I will forever thank Crowy for showing that one to me.

ANYWAY, that's all I really have to say today. I apologize for the two boring days in a row. Here's MAH HAIKU.

Emma thought her dad
Was making her leave us but
He brought her muffins

Emma requested it. Ha.

PANTSTASTIC.

2009-04-26T22:11:00.002-05:00

So it's late. I'm slightly nauseated, but I haven't eaten since three. Now it's time to blog, but I have nothing to blog about.

Two people have told me that I have to blog about PANTS. But I have nothing to say. SO HERE WE GO.

PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

Rebecca's roomate
Just made muffins because she
Is a crazyface.

I TOLD YOU I AM TIRED, OKAY?

#NOPANTS

2009-04-25T12:24:00.003-05:00

Last night, I had to compete my teen duet artistic program. My friend Audra and I skate to the song "Where Would You Be Without Me?" from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd. It's sort of a theater on ice thing, and it's a lot of fun. I play a fat hobo named Sir, and my friend Audra is my downtrodden counterpart, Cocky. I have to gain about 150 pounds to play this role, which is done by wearing men's XXL clothing and stuffing a pillow under my jacket. My costume is a completely mismatched suit and a crushed top hat. I have to smear black eyeliner all over my face to look like I have five o'clock shadow. It's interesting, to say the very least.

We were dressed to impress.

There was a small wardrobe malfunction last night. Just before we got on the ice to compete, I adjusted my pants back over the pillow to make sure they were secure. Our coach started talking to us, and so I got a little distracted from the pants issue. The next thing I knew, the announcer was calling our names. We walked out in character and stood in our starting positions, waiting for the music to play.

I heard our song over the speakers and began to act my part. The first third or so went really well. There's a part about forty-five seconds in where Audra hits me on the back and I'm supposed to almost fall over. When I bent down, I felt something pop, but I kept on going. A few seconds later, Audra had to fall back in my arms, sort of like a trust fall. It was then that I realized that my pants were FALLING DOWN. The pillow, which was holding them up, had come out at the bottom and the button was no longer fastened. I told Audra while we were doing a twin spin* what was happening, and her eyes got really wide. I spent the majority of the rest of the program trying to act, skate, and hold my pants up.

I failed. Toward the end, the pants slipped just below my butt to the point where you could see my underwear. The judges and the audience both got a clear shot of my tidy whities. This is on video from about three different angles.

I could hear the audience laughing the whole time. I glanced at the judges a few times. They were laughing too. I didn't really care much because it was just my underwear (and a little bit of my butt, I think), but my mother was mortified. It took a little while to convince her that everything would be fine and that I wasn't secretly having a nervous breakdown because a small crowd had seen more of me than I had intended. It wasn't a big deal.

The judges must have liked my undies, because we got first place. Lesson learned: I must have a nice ass.

Joking, joking.

HAIKU TIME.

How would you feel if
Muffins suddenly did not
Exist? HOLY CRAP.

That would suck. But I think it's time to reveal a sekrit. I'm not the biggest fan of muffins. I rarely eat them.

* I'm not really sure how to describe a twin spin. Okay, you know that thing where you cross your arms at the wrists, hold someone's hands, and spin around in a circle really fast? It's like that, but on ice.

Competition Fail

2009-04-24T16:16:00.003-05:00

I love competitions. There's something about the atmosphere that just makes me feel like I belong there. Everywhere you turn, there's some kind of skating-related product or service being offered. Braider Deb styles hair for $50 a pop, pulling it back so tight that the skin on your face stretches and you almost suffocate in a cloud of glitter hairspray. Lady In Red Creations sells skating dresses, towels, figurines, magnets, and pajama pants that proudly display the words "SKATERS KICK BUTT" across the back. The silent auction packages sit side by side on a long white table, waiting for my bid. I hear the cheering, the classical music, the sound of people calling my name from across the arena, waiting to document the experience on camera. I know that world well.

I love competitions, but I hate competing.

I'm just not very good at it. I've been doing this so long that I don't really get nervous until I'm right in the moment. The only thing that freaks me out is when other people are nervous for me. When I get in my zone (if you will), I don't want anyone to talk to me. I don't want to hear my mom nagging me about checking in with the ice monitor or jumping rope or making sure my hair is in tight. I don't want my sister to call me to talk about one of her customers at work. I don't want my dad to ask me how long I think it's going to take. I make an exception for my friends and my coach, as my friends are doing the exact same thing and my coach is just doing her job. But when I get distracted, I do not do well.

This is what happened today.

My mom had apparently taken a vow not to speak in a normal volume all day. She was either much too loud or barely audible, but never in between. When she came in to wake me up, she flipped the lights on and began to yell about how we were running very late and all hell was about to break loose. I rolled over and looked at my clock, which told me that I still had about half an hour to sleep. My mother would not hear of this, however, and so I reluctantly got up. While I was getting ready, I could hear my mom shouting the time from her bedroom every five minutes or so. She did my hair and make up, neither of which I enjoyed.*

The rink where the competition is being held is attached to a mall about thirty minutes away from our house. We hit the road, blasting ABBA's greatest hits by my request.** I stared out the window the entire trip, occasionally taking out my Rubik's Cube and messing with it.*** When we got there, my mom once again called out the time for anyone who was interested (no one was). I ran inside, clutching my skate bag in one hand and my purse (equipped with battle gear: book, iPod, and Rubik's Cube) in the other.

I found a few of my friends standing near the bleachers by one of the rinks (there are two). My friend Audra was about to skate her spins program, so we gathered together to cheer her on and watch her. She ended up skating really well, and we were all proud of her. I had about thirty minutes**** before I had to do my spins program, so I congratulated Audra and went outside to start concentrating.

Cue my mother.

MOM: Why don't you have your skates on?
ME: Because I don't need to put them on yet.
MOM: What if they're running early?*****
ME: They're eight minutes behind. I asked the ice monitor.
MOM: Did you check in with the ice monitor?
ME: I just said that.
MOM: DON'T GET SMART WITH ME.
ME: Fine. Yes, I checked in. Now can you go away so I can concentrate?
MOM: *stands there*
ME: Mom?

She finally left, and so I got up and started freaking out. Freaking out is what I do. It's how I prepare. I chose not to Tweet before I skated, because I wasn't really in the mood to read any messages back. I was IN THE ZONE. Except not really. I couldn't get there. I was stressing out. There was a flashing neon sign right on the front of my brain saying, "DON'T SCREW UP!" repeatedly. I didn't know what to make of it. After a little while, I gave up and came back inside to put on my skates.

I found my coach with Nicole, another skater she teaches who was supposed to warm up with me. Spins is done on half ice, which means two skaters skate at the same time. They divide the rink in half on the red line with cones, and you have about two minutes to demonstrate three spins. Talk about dizziness. But you get used to it.

Anyway, Nicole and I were not in the same group. She was skating on the other half of the ice. The people who made the schedules had decided to divide the spins groups into two warm up groups. There were eight girls in each group, so four of them would warm up and compete, and then the next four would do the same. Nicole was in the first group on her side. I was in the second group on mine.

None of us knew this.

So when it was time for Nicole to go out, my coach sent me out too. The ice monitor seemed confused throughout the whole warm up, but I did not figure out why until the announcer told everyone that their time was up. The ice monitor walked up to me just as I had started in the opposite direction toward my coach.

"Uhh, who are you?" she asked me. Her black wool beret drooped over her eyes. It was too big for her head. I told her who I was and pointed to my name on the list.

"You weren't supposed to be out there," she told me, pushing the aforementioned beret back and adjusting her clipboard.

I swore internally, apologized, and went to tell my coach how we had screwed up.

"It's okay," she assured me. "You'll just warm up twice."

TWICE? My legs did not approve of this solution. During my second warm up, I kind of half-assed everything. When it came time for me to skate, I did not do well. My first spin started out okay, but I almost fell off my edge. It got really slow toward the end. I never got low enough on the sit spin in my combination spin. My layback travelled. I noted all of these failures as I stood in my ending pose, a cheesy, fake, lip gloss smothered smile plastered on my face. My coach told me all of these things too, even though she knew I was fully aware that I had not done my best.

I walked over to my mom, and she told me I did a good job because she doesn't know very much about the technical aspects of this sport. My friends patted me on the back and told me everything would be okay and that I looked like I was having an off day and why didn't I come shopping with them? And I told them thank you but I had to go home.

I ended up placing sixth out of seven (seven because one skater hadn't shown up). My mom was silent for a little while. When we were walking into Applebee's to get lunch, she told me I didn't look like I enjoyed the sport anymore and that if I was just going to do everything halfway, I should just quit. And she was just throwing a tantrum, but she didn't know that she was right. I don't enjoy it that much anymore, and maybe I should quit. But later when we were walking into Walgreens, she pulled me into a hug and told me she loved me and that she'd be proud of me no matter what. And I don't know what to believe.

My last competition was in January. I had the flu and a 102 degree fever, but I was still there. I still competed, even though I was dizzy and saw white spots every time I tried to do something. Even though I had to skate every event with a cough drop in my mouth. Even though I shivered under three layers of clothes, but I had to wear a tiny dress when I was on the ice. I did it. And I was so exhausted at the end of the weekend that I slept all day Monday. But I felt like I had accomplished something. Our team won that competition. We beat the runners up by over 300 points. We dominated, and I had helped. It felt great.

But what am I doing now?

Haiku time.

Today at Starbucks
I saw really gross looking
Blueberry muffins

And I did! They looked dried out and seemed to be crumbling into tiny bits.

I have to go back to the rink now. I have two more events this weekend. One is tonight, and one is tomorrow night. I'll let you know how they go. And once again, DO NOT LET ME FORGET TO TELL YOU ABOUT COLLEGE WORRIES.

* I am currently wearing five layers of eyeliner, three layers of mascara, two layers of sticky base eyeshadow, two layers of glitter eyeshadow, eyebrow pencil, two different colors of lip gloss, and blush. There is so much gel in my hair that you could drop a boulder on my head, and I would not feel it at all. On a normal day, I wear absolutely no makeup and throw my hair up in a messy ponytail. You can see why I am not a fan of the primping process.
** Swedish Disco calms me like no other.
*** I bring my Rubik's Cube to every skating competition. When I start to get nervous or jittery, I have my coach mix it up for me. I feel better after I solve it because I get to do something with my hands. It gets rid of some of that excess energy.
**** I think that's the third time I have mentioned a thirty minute time interval on this entry.
***** Competitions consistently run ahead of schedule. If I'm scheduled to compete at noon, I often have to go on at 11:40 or somewhere around there. This is why we are supposed to arrive an hour or more before we have to compete.

Very Short Blog

2009-04-23T18:13:00.004-05:00

I really don't have time to blog today, so this is going to be very short. I have to compete tomorrow morning, and I need to shower and rest. I plan to watch Grey's Anatomy from 8 to 9 and then go to sleep.

I AM SO NERVOUS. OH MY GOD. AHHHHH. FREAK OUT. VOMIT. You would think I would be used to this after almost 10 years, but I am so not. I am conviced that I am completely unprepared.

I have a spins event and a artistic duet. The artistic duet is kind of theatrical and quite fun. Here's a picture from the last time I did it:

I'm the fat hobo. My friend is the skinny hobo. We competed against the girls in red and PWNED them. That is how we roll.

Today's haiku is the update I promised to give yesterday.

I did not get a
Blueberry muffin after
I skated today

I have no idea how I'm going to post tomorrow. I will probably be at the rink all day tomorrow, but I will do my very best.

REMIND ME TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT MOAR COLLEGE WORRIES NEXT TIME I BLOG.

A Total Lack of Common Sense

2009-04-22T18:59:00.004-05:00

Have you ever known one of those people who just says stupid things ALL the time? They are often not as unintelligent as they sound, but they just have no common sense. Thinking before they speak is also a good option.

There is a girl who goes to my school who is exactly like this. This particular blog entry is dedicated to sharing some of my more amusing observations involving her lack of brain/mouth filter. To spare her from humiliation (even though we don't really talk and I doubt anyone who knows her will ever read this), I'll call her Heidi.*

INCIDENT #1: WHO CAME ON THE MAYFLOWER?

Last year, Heidi was in my history class. Here is one conversation that took place.

TEACHER: Who knows the names of the three ships Columbus sailed to America on?
HEIDI: I KNOW THIS! THE MAYFLOWER!
TEACHER: Uhh.

INCIDENT #2: NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Again in history class.

TEACHER: And so Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both devastated and in ruins.
HEIDI: Wait, why?
TEACHER: Because we bombed them with nuclear weapons.
HEIDI: What are nuclear weapons? Are they, like, machine guns or something?

INCIDENT #3: WHY WE READ CRITICALLY

In my friend's English class, they were discussing the rain in chapter five of The Great Gatsby when Daisy comes to have tea with Nick and Gatsby.

TEACHER: What do you think is the significance of the rain?
HEIDI: Do you think Fitzgerald even wanted us to read into that? Can't it just rain?
TEACHER: Sometimes when we read classics like Gatsby, we do tend to read a little too much into them. It's possible that it has no significance other than it was just what Fitzgerald pictured when he wrote the scene.
HEIDI: Then why do we do it?
TEACHER: Because if you can read critically and understand the underlying meanings in novels, then you'll find it easier to read people.
HEIDI: Do you mean, like, People magazine?

INCIDENT #4: MY DAD WENT TO AFRICA

In English last year, we were discussing Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

HEIDI: OH MY GOD. This one time my dad went to Africa, and he saw, like, black people.

INCIDENT #5: MEXICAN URBANIZATION

In history, we were discussing the differences between the United States and other countries.

HEIDI: Wait, do they have grocery stores in Mexico?

INCIDENT #6: IT IS POSSIBLE TO SURVIVE DECAPITATION

In psychology, we were discussing phobias. One that came up was fear of elevators.

STUDENT: I used to be terrified of elevators.
TEACHER: Why?
STUDENT: Five or six years ago, a guy I knew got decapitated in an elevator while he was trying to hold it for an elderly woman. The sensors were broken. I'm always afraid that was going to happen to me.
HEIDI: Wait, did he die?

I think that's all for now.

So I always love having classes with Heidi because she is very entertaining. What's interesting is she frequently makes the highest grade in the class on tests and quizzes.

HAIKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

I would really like
A big blueberry muffin
Tomorrow morning

I THINK I MIGHT ACTUALLY GET ONE AFTER SKATING. AND SOME COFFEE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW.

* I asked my sister to tell me the first girl name that came to her mind, and this was it.

Get Out of My Way, Sue

2009-04-21T19:18:00.006-05:00

At most ice skating rinks, a skater must test a up to a given level before he or she is allowed to skate on a certain type of freestyle session*. Low sessions are usually Alpha (the brand new skaters) to about Freestyle 2 or 3** (still a fairly low skill level, but almost good enough to get out of the higher level skaters' ways when they are skating at full speed right toward them). High level sessions are usually from Freestyle 4-10. I am testing Freestyle 8, so I skate high sessions when they are offered. Sometimes, however, when there are not many people who want to skate a session, an all level freestyle session is offered.

Words really cannot describe how much I hate all level sessions, but I will do my best to let you know.

I was in a fairly good mood when I arrived at the skating rink this afternoon. My dad had surprised me by transferring the title on my car and bringing it to school so that I could finally drive it. I drank some diet peach tea, so I had a considerable amount of caffeine in my system. Driving down the road with the windows down and the sunroof open, ABBA blasting out of my speakers (until my dad turned it down), I felt really happy.

Since I have been doing this sport competitively for almost ten years, I rarely ever get excited to get on the ice anymore. I was today. I was energetic and just itching to find out if today I would feel what I used to feel every time I skated. When I still liked it, I mean. And I did. I can't remember the last time I felt that confident out there.

But Tuesday afternoons have all level sessions only.

So I was flying around the ice thirty minutes into the session, about to set up for the jump I fall on EVERY SINGLE TIME. I don't know what it was about this mood I was in, but I actually felt like I could land it. And I DID. So I decided it was time to do a program.*** Competition is this weekend, so there was a growing line for our music. My friends Arial and Catherine had already put their music in line, so I figured I had about seven minutes or so before I could play mine. I started doing my spins program (which does not require music) while I was waiting. Right in the middle of that, I noticed a parent walking around the rink through the hockey boxes. She lurked around the CD player with a video camera while Arial skated her program. I watched a little girl (who I will call Sue from now on), probably about six or seven years old, skate up to the woman and start talking to her. Sue had already done her program at least three times during the first half of the session, and her mother was about to try to play it for her again. Catherine, who was still next in line, explained to the woman that her daughter would have to put her music in line and wait her turn. That did not stop Sue from skating over to the music box every time someone finished a program to see if she was next.

When it came time for me to skate my program, I still had a lot of energy. I thought I would do well. I thought that maybe I'd land the evil jump again. I was wrong, but it was not because I lacked the ability to do this. It was because, even though it is perfectly clear that the person skating the program has the right-of-way, Sue decided she would stand RIGHT in the middle of the ice and stare when I was skating RIGHT TOWARD HER trying to set up for a jump. She did this THREE TIMES. I yelled, "Excuse me!" every single time, but the little fucktard disregarded this and thought it would be a good idea to stand COMPLETELY STILL. The last time, she actually did move. Just not out of the way. Instead, she moved CLOSER to where I was about to spin and did her own spin right there.

I know Sue is young. I know she is not a very good skater yet and can probably not move as quickly as I would like. But DAMMIT, I have competition in less than 72 HOURS. STAY OUT OF MY WAY.

She did not just do this to me. No, she did this to EVERYONE. Even the people who were not skating programs. And I kind of feel bad for Sue, because her mom kept chastising every little move she made. So now that I have vented about Sue, I am going to write a little letter to her mother.

Dear Mrs. Sue's Mom,

Stop pushing your daughter so hard. Eventually, she will learn that she can push back, and she will do everything in her power to gain control of her life. She might even grow to resent you a little bit, even though you have her best interests at heart. I speak from experience.

BEST WISHES!
Chelsea

(P.S. GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THE MUSIC BOX.)

I feel much better now. That means it is time for a HAIKU.

Sue should occupy
Her time with baking muffins
Instead of skating

Okay, I lied. NOW I feel better. I am never having children.

* Basically, a freestyle session is exactly what it sounds like. It's an hour of ice time that you can use to practice whatever you need to practice.
** I am using ISI (Ice Skating Institute) levels because they are easier to understand. The levels are as follows (in order from lowest to highest): Pre-Alpha, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Freestyle 1-10. There are also Tots, who are the two to four-year-olds. Tots and Pre-Alphas generally aren't allowed on even low freestyles.
*** The thing you see on TV where people skate to music.

SO MANY PAIRS OF PANTS

2009-04-20T17:03:00.006-05:00

I have absolutely nothing interesting to blog about today. When this happens to one of my friends, my first suggestion is always to blog about pants. Pants are easy. Everyone knows about pants.* There's a lot you can talk about when it comes to pants.

Today I will take my own advice.

If I was given $1000 to spend at a mall, I would probably spend a good $300 on pajama pants alone.** I like pajama pants. They are probably my favorite item of clothing.

Here are some weird pants:

Tye-dye pants make me giggle. I want a pair just because.

I really have nothing to talk about. Like really. So I am haikuing it up and leaving.

It would be really
Weird if muffins were shaped like
3-D PJ pants

* At least I hope so.
** Assuming that this mall does not have a book store.

DISCLAIMER: I am aware that NO PANTS is much better than PANTS.

New York University, HERE I COME

2009-04-19T18:39:00.006-05:00

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to go to New York University for college.* There's something about New York City that kind of draws me in. The busy city atmosphere, the daily near-death experiences that occur when you overestimate your distance from a cab, the insane amount of coffee shops, the Bohemian lifestyle you see everywhere... It pulls me toward it like a moth to a flame. NYU is definitely my dream school.

Besides the location, there are SO MANY THINGS about NYU that make me want to get my education there.

1. It is REALLY FAR from home.

I hate Texas. It's too hot, too conservative, and too boring. There is absolutely nothing for me here. The only exception to this is Austin. My second choice school is University of Texas, which is there. It almost seems like it's its own little territory surrounded by Texas. It's different, and it's fun. But I still don't think it's for me. I need space to find out what I want and what makes me happy. I will never get that down here. Never.

2. It has a really good Language Arts program.

I have wanted to be a writer my whole life.** While I am not planning to major in writing (I've been told not to enough times), I definitely want to study it and take a lot of writing classes. Also, what better place is there for an aspiring author than New York City?

3. It is big.

Although NYU is a private university with an average class size of thirty students or less, it is still HUGE. I am interested in studying a lot of things, and they offer so many different courses that it would be easy to take classes in all of these.*** It would be easy to change my major if I decided I wanted to do something different.

4. It has no real campus.

FREEDOM, FINALLY. I highly approve of this.

5. Their color is purple.

Purple is the best color. Notice how I do not say it is my favorite color. This is because it is not an opinion. It is a fact. Say it with me now. PURPLE IS THE BEST COLOR.

6. It has the only Chick-Fil-A in Manhattan.

I don't even eat chicken, but I still think this is cool. I like their ice cream anyway.

7. There is no football team.

I hate football. I hate large crowds. I do not want to explain to everyone why, in the four years that I am in college, I have not attended a single football game. This works out well.

They had an informational seminar and reception near my house today, and I FINALLY convinced my mom to take me at around 3 a.m. (I had been invited in February). She sort of changed her mind a bit this morning, but I really wanted to check it out, and she reluctantly gav in. Because of skating, I have hardly any time to go out of town (except when my coach is gone too). Visiting NYU in the middle of the school year is out of the question, although it might be possible this summer. SQUEE.

I have never been so convinced that this is where I belong. I fit the admissions requirements. Their students had an average of around A- to A in high school. Mine is an A+. I volunteer, I do a few extracurricular activities, and I WANT TO GO SO BADLY. I hope I get accepted. The total cost of attendance is around $54,000, which is completely ridiculous. I would definitely need a scholarship to go. But dammit, I am GOING to go. Going to NYU would be the first thing I have really ever done for myself. I have spent most of my life doing only what is expected of me. Now it's my turn to be happy.

OKAY. Haiku time.

I want to buy a
Muffin from the NYU
Dining hall someday.

*There was a phase around 4th grade when I was obsessed with Texas A&M, but that was only because my teacher at the time went there and talked about it like it was the greatest place on Earth. I was nine and easily persuaded.
** I wrote my first book when I was seven for my second grade teacher, Mrs. Kennedy. It was about how I was convinced that she lived in her classroom. I recently saw her at Borders. She said she wasn't surprised to find me there and that she remembered the book (even though it was awful and written in pencil on wide ruled paper).
*** Including English, technical writing, creative writing, psychology, philosophy, political science, theater, and a lot of different literature classes. Notice the total lack of math.

BEDA Buddies (and the Blue Screen of Death)

2009-04-18T15:32:00.004-05:00

I will start this blog on a fairly happy note. I GOT INTO GIRLS STATE! I'm really excited. I get to spend a week away from home this summer learning about politics and government. *squee*

And now to more things. I am so incredibly stressed out right now.

You know how I took a mental health day yesterday to try to chill out and get myself together again? Well, it had a pretty good effect. I was able to have a little bit of fun last night (although Arial was texting while she drove, and that scared the hell out of me). I didn't think I was going to have a good time, but it wasn't too bad. We went to the mall and got dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, where I ate an entire pizza since I hadn't eaten in nine hours. I'd imagine it was pretty gross (the overeating, not the pizza). We looked around the mall for a little while. She took me to look at plugs for her ears, and I dragged her into Barnes and Noble, where I proceeded to read her the first paragraphs of a few of my favorite books. Arial went to bed at 10:30, and I stayed up reading for a couple more hours.

I'm on my parents' computer right now. This is because every time I try to run a program on my computer, it crashes. It gives me the Blue Screen of Death and everything. I need to take it somewhere and get it fixed, because my friends live in my computer. Also, the English project I didn't finish Thursday night? That's all on there. I have to start over on my parents' computer. I have most of my research redone now. I just have to find my quotes again. I need to find a way to scan a few charts onto this computer, too, because the scanner is connected to my computer. I'm incredibly stressed about this.

Okay, BEDA buddy discussion time. First of all, thank you Maureen for reading 3459034850934 entries* and grouping everyone together. I've been grouped with Rebecca (crazy woman, taco-obsessed friend), Tobias (resident mathematician and all-around awesome guy), and Jordan (Mr. BEDA coordinator man). So HELLO BUDDIES. THIS IS MY SHOUT OUT TO YOU. Also, we should plan something epic. And my haiku is YOURS today.

Tobias, Jordan,
Rebecca, and I should have
Muffins together

I mean, sometime. Cyberspace friendly muffins will probably have to do, but we will SHARE MUFFINS TOGETHER. WE WILL.

It is now time to stress out more. I will see you TOMORROW.

* Approximately

An English Muffin (and Mental Health Day)

2009-04-17T16:42:00.005-05:00

I have been an absolute mess for the past couple of days. Today, it was clearly time for a mental health day. For most people, this means staying home and doing absolutely nothing. For me, it means I am only obligated to skate for one hour, and then I can come home. This is a good deal for me. Even though my heart isn't really in skating anymore, it helps to calm me down sometimes (as long as I'm not in a lesson with my primary coach, since she scares me more than anyone). And I didn't have to go to school, which is good because I fell asleep on top of my English project that was due today and didn't finish it.

Every Friday from 8:30 to 9 a.m., I have a lesson with Ericka. Ericka is my ballet teacher, but she also works with my alignment (which is awful and the reason why my knees and ankles are messed up) and choreography. I am inherently negative, and Ericka tries to work with me on that during our lessons. My half hour with her is my favorite part of the skating week. It's the only time when I really feel good about what I'm doing out there. When everyone else tells me what I do badly, she tells me what I've done well. She has been working with me on this for years now. It's hard to break this negativity that has been my way of thinking for as long as I can remember. She tries hard, though. I respect her for taking on the challenge.

I have to spend the night with a friend tonight because my parents will not be here to take me skating in the morning. I am about to leave now.

HAIKU TIME.

An English Muffin
Is not really a muffin
It's an imposter

RANDOM TIDBIT OF INFORMATION: I relate more to Jessica Darling than I think I ever have to any book character. THAT IS ALL.

Last Resort Muffin (and Gastby)

2009-04-16T19:33:00.000-05:00

The blog I was going to post yesterday looked something like this:

I am currently reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is something about this book that makes me want to write in it. I usually keep my books in pristine condition-I never fold the pages, I try not to bend the spine much, and I am totally paranoid about putting them near liquid of any kind. Gatsby is the only book that has been exempt from this rule* (the only one that came close was Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, for which I used Post-its, so it doesn't really count. Also, it was because I couldn't pay attention while I was reading it. Different reasons.). I really don't know why I feel compelled to highlight and make notes every time I see something interesting. I just feel like some of the lines need to stand out more than others. The writing is beautiful. I love this book.

One of the things I notice about Gatsby is how superficial everything is. All of the characters are concerned with things that don't really matter. They think they should plan something for the longest day of the year just because they want to do something flashy, not because they actually want to. They're all so caught up in looking rich and being extravagant and spending thousands of dollars on useless things that they all lose sight of what they actually want. They try too hard to impress, and this ultimately causes them more unhappiness than if they had just done what they actually felt was right for themselves in the first place. This is literally a fatal mistake for some of the characters. It really makes me think, though. It's amazing how much of this I can relate back to my own life and my relationships with other people. No, I'm not insanely rich like these people. I don't throw or attend lavish parties. (I don't like that much social interaction. It makes me nervous.) But I do notice that so many things around me are completely made of plastic. Or paper. I can't help but think that maybe Fitzgerald would have liked Paper Towns. Even though the characters are fake in different ways, I connect them in my mind.

So I am marking this book up with every single thought I have while reading. I am highlighting every sentence that tries to burn itself into my memory. When I finish, I will go back through it again and review my thoughts. I think it will be interesting. I get so into books sometimes that I don't even take time to fully think a thought. Does that even make sense? It's like I'm moving so quickly through the pages that I don't have time to reflect on what it makes me feel. I don't want to do that with Gatsby. I like it way too much.

Anyway, I have a lot of homework to do. I should go and work on it. I'm doing an annotated bibliography on capital punishment sources, and I am finding it kind of difficult to stay objective while summarizing them. I start to rant, and I have to catch myself and delete a few sentences. Oh well. It will get finished soon.

You know what time it is. Oh yes, it is haiku time.

Last resort muffin
The pantry is so empty
You're my only snack

Mean Girls (and an explanation as to why this is so short)

2009-04-15T20:13:00.005-05:00

I wrote a whole long post earlier that I actually liked, but my internet disconnected right after I finished writing it. I copied the post and closed my browser, because Firefox told me to. When Firefox tells you to do something, you LISTEN.

Anyway, I reopened Firefox and went to Blogger to paste my blog back in. Just as I was doing this, I got an IM from a friend asking me for a link. I copied the link and sent it to him, and then came back to paste the blog in.

I pasted the link. My blog was gone. I was pissed. I swore a lot. I was going to type it up again, but a few things happen that made steam shoot out of my ears. After the anger passed, I had a realization of sorts. And now I am just not able to retype that whole blog. It will come tomorrow.

Today's haiku is sort of taken from a movie.

Mean Girls: Would you like
Me to assign someone to
Butter your muffin?

Clint's Birthday Muffin (and HOLY CRAP STRESS)

2009-04-14T19:21:00.003-05:00

I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO TONIGHT. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

To-do List:

Finish this blog
Precalc homework
Physics homework
Study for psych test
Study for English test
Physics homework
Finish off-campus P.E. forms*
Work on English project (due Friday)
Practice for theater performance tomorrow

I am so not going to be in bed before two. I don't even care. I'm used to getting like four hours of sleep and attempting to function properly the next day. I can DO THIS.

Today was my best friend Clint's 17th birthday.** I stayed after school yesterday and wrapped his locker in dancing monkey paper with a big blue bow. This morning, I met him outside of his first period, because we usually walk to second period together (his class is right across from mine). He greeted me with the words, "Hello, skank."*** So I knew he had seen the paper and he had liked it. I then presented him with his gifts (a dismember me plushie and a Wreck This Journal). I also got him tickets to the King Tut exhibit that's currently at the art museum near where I live. That should be a lot of fun.

Clint sits next to me in physics. We had to exchange papers to grade each other's quizzes. I checked his answers and then began to draw birthday-related things on the bottom of his paper. My lovely drawing was a tampon**** wearing a party hat holding balloons and a gift. Sitting next to it was little purple muffin. This explains today's haiku.

Clint's birthday muffin
Drawn with pen during physics
Made of purple ink

* Off-campus P.E. allows me to use figure skating as my P.E. credit. Because of this, I don't have to be at school until second period so I can skate more in the mornings.
** HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLINT!!!
*** This is how we often refer to each other when we are pretending that we are annoyed. We never actually are.
**** This is a very long story. The details are fuzzy. I do not wish to share. This works out well, as you probably do not wish to know.

The Unicorn Muffin (and Mismatched Shoes)

2009-04-13T21:24:00.004-05:00

Today has been slightly better than yesterday. Slightly.

I went to bed at around 3:30 this morning, even though I knew I had to skate today. This is what I like to call a poor life decision. I woke up about 15 minutes late and had to rush around to get ready. I slipped in the shower twice, didn't have time to put in my contacts, and almost forgot to print out my English homework. I was about 10 minutes late leaving the house, so I slipped on the easiest shoes to get on and ran outside.

This was also a poor life decision.

Those of you know know me know that I like Vans. I have five pairs of these shoes, all in the same style. The only difference between each pair is the print on the fabric. These are the five pairs that I have:

Black and pink checkers
Black and white checkers
Dark blue and light blue checkers
Multicolored checkers
Black with pink/red/white polka dots

I usually keep my shoes in order so I don't have to look around for them in the morning. Apparently, they were a little out of order when I was in a rush to leave today. Here are the shoes I wore to school:

Out of all of the pairs of Vans I have, these match the LEAST.

I didn't even notice they were mismatched until I was about to put on my skates. I reached down to take them off, and I saw that. I just kind of closed my eyes, sighed, and looked back down to make sure I was seeing correctly.

I was.

When have have very little sleep and a ton of caffeine, I cease to function properly. I giggle, I space out, I twitch, and I tell stories about things that are not connected in any way. I was giddy and restless all day. I still am. I'm feeling a little better than I was last night. Things gradually return to normal.

Maureen's BlogTV show was hilarious as usual tonight. Meg got matched! I was excited when I heard Maureen say her name. I threatened to cut Jordan if he cheated on her, because Meg is awesome. Also, I asked her to match Rebecca, and then Rebecca completely froze behind the scenes. I must say, however, that a bond with a foundation as strong as tacos and Dr. Horrible can never be broken.

So that was fun.

I decided I'm not going to save my unicorn haiku for the 30th. It's coming out today.

The unicorn muffin
Rainbow colors are poison
The stick will choke you.

OMFG BRUTAL.

My Easter Muffin

2009-04-12T23:07:00.004-05:00

I don't have a lot to talk about. I've been feeling a little down today for a number of reasons. It's one of those feelings that you know will wear off eventually, but you can't really fix it on your own. This doesn't mean I haven't tried. I've looked it lolcats, added "in my pants" to a bunch of book titles for the lulz, and even tried to break my brain with the precalc. Things just don't seem to be working out tonight. It happens. But because I'm just not 100% up to it, today's blog is going to be a little short.

My parents still make me an Easter basket every year. While I was getting dressed this morning, I realized that I had left my hairbrush in my mom's room. I started to go get it, but my sister started screaming for me not to go in there. It's cute how secretive they are about it. I was instructed not to eat any of the candy until after my competition in two weeks. Lovely.

We went out to brunch at The Cheesecake Factory. I hate cheesecake. The words "cheese" and "cake" do not go together, in my mind. So I had an eggplant sandwich and some grilled vegetables. I haven't eaten anything else today because Amazon and the cheese in the sandwich teamed up and decided to make me very nauseated.

Haiku time.

My Easter muffin
A bunny tried to take it
Go eat your carrot

Happy Easter everyone.

A Burnt Bran Muffin (and Car Pictures)

2009-04-11T17:32:00.004-05:00

Spencer is finally at my house.

No, I have not kidnapped Spencer Martin and locked him in my closet. I promise. I think people would notice if he all of a sudden just WAS NOT IN Suite Scarlett anymore.* That would be sad.

Spencer is my car. He was named after Spencer Martin. He is a Ford Explorer. Hank Green would not approve. I apologize.

Today's BEDA entry is going to be a picspam of Spencer and the obligatory muffin haiku. ONWARD.

This is how I drive. Hugging the steering wheel with my eyes closed. I highly suggest you do the same. It is the best way.

Here we sit together.

I also highly suggest popping out of the sunroof while you drive.

No, really. Do it.

Trying to get back out of the sunroof was an entirely different challenge.

For pure entertainment, my keys. I have a lot of keychains. I like keychains.

Now for today's haiku!

A burnt bran muffin
Rejected by everyone
You poor, sad muffin

* I am just going to whistle innocently and look the other way if that ever happens.

I Can Haz Muffin? (and Punctuation Musings)

2009-04-10T17:29:00.004-05:00

I have technically already blogged today. I posted on my LiveJournal at 12:19 this morning, but I felt that it did not count as a BEDA entry. I'd like all of my BEDA entries to be public. I like to share with you. ONWARD.

So today I was talking to my friend Emma on Skype. While she was checking her email, she read something that we both found very interesting. They both had to do with punctuation.

Punctuation is important. This is my favorite example of why:

I helped my uncle, Jack, off a horse.
I helped my Uncle Jack off a horse.
I helped my uncle jack off a horse.

One of these things is not like the other. It makes me laugh every time. Here are some similar things that Emma received in her email.

When a man was asked to punctuate the words "a woman without her man is nothing," the most common result looked like this:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.

When a woman was asked to punctuate the same sentence, the most common result looked like this:

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

I found that pretty cool. The next one is a pair of letters. Each letter contains the same words in the same order, but the punctuation is in different places. Watch how it changes.

Letter #1:

Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy - will you let me be yours?
Jill

Letter #2:

Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Jill

I love things like this. If you have any others, let me know.

Now for today's haiku! In honor of my OMFG PUNCTUATION IS COOL post, I am using VERY BAD punctuation and spelling. That's right. IT IS A LOLCAT HAIKU.

I can haz muffin?
Iz invisible muffin
Plz to halp find it

If you want to suggest muffin haiku or blog topics... Yeah. You should. I'm running out.

Muffins or Bagels? (and Why I Love My Librarian)

2009-04-09T17:21:00.004-05:00

I love my school library.

Really, it's the only place in my school where I feel completely comfortable and at home. It smells like books.* There are couches by the YA shelves, and there are a lot of tables where it's easy to spread out if you need to do work. It's great.

One of my favorite parts about my library is my librarian. She's awesome. She loves YA, and she fights book banning like a CHAMP. Also, she has met and had breakfast/lunch/dinner/tea/some kind of interaction with a lot of my favorite authors.**

So today during 4th period (which is the longest class of the day because it also includes our lunch period), I was sitting in the library working on my English project. I was looking through a database (for essays about capital punishment, if you're curious) when she came up to me and thrust a picture in front of my face. It took a second for my eyes to focus, but I soon realized that it was my librarian at TLA (Texas Library Association) standing next to Meg Cabot.

I danced a little in my seat, and I immediately turned to her and started fangirling. She told me John Green almost ran her down in the hallway at TLA. He was walking right at her, and he almost ran into her. I laughed.

We talked about other authors and how much we love YA. I told her about Five Awesome YA Fans, and she asked me to email her the link to our site so she could check it out. Then she told me the most exciting thing ever. Seriously. I just about jumped out of my pants. She said she wants to figure out a way to get me to TLA next year.

HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP.

I started babbling on about how amazing that would be and how it would be the coolest thing ever and I am pretty sure it was in a run on sentence kind of like this one but not exactly and oh my gosh so cool.

I happened to mention that The Bermudez Triangle was being challenged again, she got pretty pissed. This got us into a conversation about book banning which lasted a long time and almost made me late for psychology. But I was in a really good mood for the rest of the day.

Now for today's haiku (dedicated to Crowy).

Muffins or bagels?
This is such a hard question.
I plead the fifth, sir.

* You all know that smell, right? It is the best smell EVER. I want a books-scented air freshener.
** Such as Maureen, John Green, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, Libba Bray, Meg Cabot... THE LIST GOES ON FOREVER. She makes me want to be a librarian.

A Baker's Dozen (and Random Topics)

2009-04-08T16:54:00.005-05:00

It's day 8, and I'm already running out of things to talk about.

Today is Wednesday, so I'm supposed to be making a video for Five Awesome YA Fans today, but I sound like Darth Vader (according to Korianne, who is filling in for me today). Yes, this means I'm still sick. My throat isn't as sore anymore, but my head is full of the icky stuff and I cannot breathe through my nose. Also, EPIC COUGHING occurred during my physics test today. I think my teacher was annoyed. Heh.

There's only one more day of school this week, because Friday is a holiday. I'm glad, because I need a long weekend. I'll probably get a lot of reading done, which I'm happy about. I don't have much time to read during the week.

SEE? I AM SO BORING TODAY. GIVE ME TOPICS.

You know what? I think I might start including something really random in my blogs, along with a muffin haiku. Korianne has just suggested three topics for me to discuss, and so I will do this.

NAIL POLISH: Last week, I got really bored, so I decided to paint my nails. The closest polish was black, so I grabbed it and started painting really messily, disregarding the boundaries created by the actual nail. I didn't want my nails to be black, so I was planning to remove it right after I finished painting. I figured it would take up half an hour or so. I even smudged the polish all over my hands and fingers, just to take up more time. After I was finished, I went into the bathroom to get the nail polish remover.

There was no nail polish remover.

So I definitely walked around for like two days with black nail polish all over my fingers. I didn't really care much, because I was going to get a manicure two days later anyway. My nails are now a nice shade of pink, and the polish is only on the nail. SUCCESS.

QUARTERS: I am a fan of quarters. They are my favorite coin. You know when you're at a vending machine, and you REALLY need a Diet Coke*, and the machine is TOTALLY REJECTING your dollar? I hate that! When I need a Diet Coke**, then I WANT A DIET COKE.*** So quarters are nice to have when that happens.

SOAP: Use it. Please use it. I like lavender scented soap, by the way. It smells nice.

Now for today's haiku.

A baker's dozen
Unlucky thirteen, OHNOES!
Throw the muffins out

Haha, so much fail. I'm running out of muffin topics. Suggest some? Please?

* Or chocolate.
** OR chocolate.
*** OR CHOCOLATE.

Ten Mini Muffins (and Academic FAIL)

2009-04-07T16:53:00.004-05:00

Today's blog is going to be very short, as the tiny chickens have invaded my head and throat. I can't seem to go more than a couple of weeks without getting sick lately. It feels like the flu, but I don't have a fever, so it probably isn't. I skipped skating this afternoon to come home and rest. I hope my coach isn't too pissed.

I had a precalc test today. If you follow me on Twitter, or if you have read my profile on here, you already know how I feel about precalc. I am really, really bad at it. This is the first year I have been bad at math. I just don't understand it. It seems to be way over my head. I try, and that's all I really can do. I am passing the class. Just not with an A as I had hoped to.

Anyway, in precalc, I sit behind the class valedictorian. Let's call her Sue. Sue gets a 105 on every test and quiz in that class. Upon receiving her perfect test scores, Sue likes to turn around and look at my... uhh... not so perfect ones. She enjoys smirking and pointing out what she calls my "stupid mistakes." I do not like Sue.

A wiser person once told me that Sue is almost undoubtedly all dead inside. I tend to agree with this. I don't think Sue does anything but study and do homework. Sue probably does not have a life outside of school. I feel bad for Sue, but at the same time, she is kind of a bitch.

I once went ice skating with Sue the night before the homecoming dance in October. She asked me to show her some "twirly things" (which I assumed meant spins or something), so I did. Then she said to me, "How does it feel to be the best at something? You're actually in your element here." So maybe she just likes to show off her grades because it's the only thing she feels she's good at. I have no problem with giving her that, as long as she stops making me feel like an idiot every time I get a C on a quiz.

Now for today's haiku, because I really need to take some medicine and go sleep.

Ten mini muffins
Side by side in a basket
Nom nom nom nom nom

That was terrible. More effort comes tomorrow.

Chocolate Chip Muffins (and my DISCO BALL)

2009-04-06T17:24:00.004-05:00

So yesterday's blog got featured. That was cool. I'm glad you liked it. I felt like I needed to vent about that because it drives me absolutely freaking NUTS.

My Girls State interview was today. At 10:15, I walked down to my counselor's office for a meeting at 10:20. I was incredibly nervous, Tweeting like crazy and texting anyone I thought would be able to calm me down.

I really don't like interviews.

I waited for what seemed like forever. My right foot was twitching and shaking like it always does when I get nervous. It took every single ounce of my concentration to be still. When I was finally called into the office to talk to the interviewer, it was 10:45. She was 25 minutes late with the previous interview. I was terrified.

She sat me down and asked me about myself. Now, when someone new asks me about myself, the first thing I start babbling on about is figure skating. I don't know why. I guess it's really easy to talk about because it's been the most important thing in my life for almost 10 years. I don't like that, though. There are so many things that make me who I am, and it seems like this one little part of my life defines me. I think the interviewer thought that too. She wanted to make sure I would be able to attend Girls State with my skating schedule, even though I assured her it wouldn't be a problem.

I brought my essay along with me, and she asked to read it. She loved it, and she told me to include it with any applications or forms I sent to them. I was relieved when she said that. I feel so much more comfortable writing than I do talking. I can use my voice so much more easily on paper than aloud. It's strange, but it always gives me something to fall back on when I make a complete fool out of myself in conversation.

HEY YOU GUYS, GUESS WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY?

YES. YES, MY DISCO BALL. For those of you who don't know, I recently got a car. His name is Spencer.* Here he is:

Shortly after we purchased Spencer, I convinced my parents that I ABSOLUTELY NEEDED a disco ball for his rearview mirror. And now I have one. The only thing that concerns me is that it is 4 inches in diameter, so it's a little big. I think it'll be fine, though. Spencer's a big car.

And now I bring you today's haiku.

Chocolate chip muffins
Sit on my plate, taunting me
Too full to eat more

This one is actually, totally and completely about muffins. That would be a first.

* Named after Spencer Martin from Suite Scarlett for many reasons, some of which I am not willing to disclose.

Eat A Big Muffin (and LOVE YOURSELF)

2009-04-05T13:44:00.005-05:00

Girls, I am worried about you.

I am sixteen years old, I am female, and I am in one of the most physically demanding sports out there. I have friends who have had eating disorders, been hospitalized, and lived primarily off of fresh spinach, lemon juice, and hummus. This doesn't only apply to figure skaters. Some of these people are dancers, gymnasts, softball players, or basketball players. Some of them don't do any sports at all.

This concerns me a great deal.

My coach always gets onto us about our diet and our weight, and sometimes it really gets to us. We often hear long tirades from our parents, and even fellow skaters about the way we look.

Well you know what? Screw that. None of us are overweight. We're all perfectly healthy, muscular, and completely in shape. We have to be to do what we do. This is completely ridiculous.

Girls, there's a lot of pressure on us to be thin in today's world. Everywhere you look, there are advertisements, magazines, commercials, and movies starring stick thin models and actresses. It makes an averaged sized girl feel twice her size. But do you know what? In the big scheme of things, what does it matter? As long as you're healthy and happy with your body, don't push to be a size zero. It's just not worth it, and frankly, it's just wrong. Bones aren't attractive.

All of you are beautiful. Every single one of you. I don't care what you weigh, or how you look, or how you feel you have to look to be pretty.* You already are. Don't change yourself for the worse.

And so I bring you today's haiku.

Eat a big muffin
It won't hurt you; I promise
You are beautiful

* Or "pulchy," if you have read How to Ditch Your Fairy. I liked that word.

The Monster Muffin

2009-04-04T18:06:00.004-05:00

A few days ago, my school guidance counselor called me into her office. Now, I don't know about any of you, but whenever my counselor says that I need to see her immediately, I think she has finally discovered that I am a nutjob.*

This was not the case.

There's this summer program called Girls State, and each of the counselors at my school were asked to pick two students who they thought would be interested. One girl at my school will be selected to attend. Here's an excerpt from the website explaining what it's about:

"Participants learn how to participate in the functioning of their state's government in preparation for their future roles as responsible adult citizens. Two girls are selected from each Girls State program to attend Girls Nation, a national government training program. Girls Nation 'senators' meet for a week in Washington, D.C., where they run for political office, campaign for the passage of legislation and possibly meet with state Representatives and Senators. Capping off the week of Girls Nation is oftentimes a meeting with the President of the United States at the White House."

So it sounded really cool to me. I was asked to write a paragraph about why I wanted to attend Girls State, and so I set about doing that when I got home from school. I kept trying to type it, but I couldn't figure out what to say. I don't like talking about myself. I basically had to pimp myself to the old ladies who would be deciding who the finalists were. I got really nervous, and I decided around midnight to give up and wake up early the next morning. I think better in the mornings, anyway.

This did not happen the way I planned, because I discovered at the last minute that my printer was out of ink. I wrote the letter by hand in history class, and gave it to my counselor right afterward.

She called me back to her office two days later, and I was placed in a chair. I sat there for a little while, staring at a filing cabinet and wondering what kind of news I was about to receive.

The news was good.

Even though it was handwritten and my handwriting is chicken scratch, my essay got more votes than any of the others. I have an interview on Monday with the lady who runs Girls State. So does the girl whose essay got the next highest number of votes.

I'm really nervous about the interview. I don't make very good first impressions. I'm awkward around adult authority figures, and when I get nervous, I talk forever. If the essay is factored into the decision again, I might have a shot. If it's heavily based on the interview, though, I am screwed. I am so screwed.

I should know something by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now for today's haiku. My mom and I were shopping today, and something was said that should not have been said. Because of this statement, today's haiku will be about the fattiest, sugariest, highest calorie muffin that has ever been created.**

The Monster Muffin
Deep fried, covered in chocolate
Sprinkles, sugar, grease

Doesn't that sound disgusting to you? It sounds pretty gross to me too. But this was necessary.

* Which, of course, I'm not. Sometimes. In 34 states (of mind).
** For more things like this, click here.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin

2009-04-03T16:47:00.004-05:00

My close friend and I were talking on the phone a few days ago, and I told her about BEDA and my muffin haiku theme. She asked me to write a haiku about lemon poppy seed muffins, because they're her favorite. So, friend, here is your haiku.

Lemon Poppy seed
Eat me before a drug test
You will surely fail

Did you know that? If you eat anything with poppy seeds in it within 48 hours of taking a drug test, you'll test positive for opiates. I speak the truth.

So today I received a SUPER SEKRIT PACKAGE in the mail. I will let you see the box.

In this box is one of the most awesome things in the world. It contains a birthday gift for my best friend, who will be seventeen on April 14th. I ordered him two things, but this one arrived first. I opened it to make sure that the order was correct. Everything was fine, but I was severely concerned by one of the things I find inside of the box. Under my friend's gift sat two bags of air.

These bags read, "FREE MONKEY BREATH ENCLOSED!"

I hope that Free Monkey is okay, and that he has not been kidnapped and enslaved by ThinkGeek. If he has, we may have to put off the quest for Alan Rickman's freedom and save Free Monkey first*. He is, after all, the only one who can fit through the gaps under J.K. Rowling's doors.

So it's the weekend now. My friend Caitlin and I are planning to get together tomorrow and watch the Twilight movie. I dislike those books very much, and I heard the movie would make me laugh my ass off. I'll let you know how it goes.

* "Free Free Monkey" doesn't sound as catchy as "Free Alan Rickman." Maybe we could say "Free² Monkey?" Or possibly, "GIVE US BACK THE MONKEY, B!%@#." Either would work.

Teen Romance Muffin

2009-04-02T16:38:00.002-05:00

So in theater, we're doing a lip sync project. There are three other girls in my group. You know what happens when you get four teenage girls together for an extended amount of time? They start talking about boys. It's inevitable. Now I don't have much to say on the subject, except for a few minor crushes (and one major) here and there. I've never had a boyfriend, and I don't particularly want one. I don't need a relationship at sixteen years old. It takes up too much time. But after listening to these other three girls bitch about how much guys suck*, I decided to write this haiku:

Teen romance muffin
Lure me in with your false warmth
Bad taste in my mouth

So there's that. Yeah. Moving on.

So you guys know I figure skate, right?** Right. I've been doing it competitively for almost ten years now. I love it... most of the time. The plan has always been to skate until I graduate high school, and then do what I want in college. Lately, though, I've been trying to decide whether I want to continue doing it for the next year or not. I mean I know one year isn't a lot of time when it's out of eleven years, but still. I skate at least 15 hours a week. That's about 780 hours I could use to do other things. I'm not really sure I even enjoy it anymore. On the other hand, I don't know what I'd do with 780 extra hours ever year. I'm just so used to the same routine. It's confusing.

I need coffee. Coffee fixes things.

Time for homework. See you tomorrow, BEDAites. BEDAers? BEDA people? WE NEED A BETTER NAME. I will get on that.

* I'm sure you're not all jerks. Really, I am. My best friend's a guy. I'm generalizing here.
** If you didn't, you do now.

The Undead Muffin

2009-04-01T17:56:00.004-05:00

Today is April 1st. This means that it is the first day of BEDA, or Blog Every Day in April. I have no idea how I am going to post a blog entry EVERY DAY for the next thirty days, but I am going to try. It might motivate me to do some interesting things. This is a big deal, since I spend most of my time reading, skating, writing, doing homework, or doing crap on the computer.

I have decided that I will include a muffin haiku in every blog. The title of the entry will always be the first line of the haiku. I decided to start off strongly with a haiku about zombies, because everyone likes zombies, right? Right?*

The undead muffin
Delicacy for zombies
Made of mushy brains

So that's today's muffin haiku. There will be 30 total.

I have already done an about me post on this blog, so for any of you doing BEDA who have not read it, here it is. I am not very interesting, but I am incredibly odd. I take pride in this.

So you know how Maureen did a BlogTV show tonight? Well, she read the first chapter of Scarlett Fever while she was there. Since it's April Fool's Day, Famous Alan decided that we should all act like her sound went off a few minutes into the reading. It took her a good 10 or 15 minutes to get through the chapter, so that would have seriously sucked. She kind of sort of flipped a little bit, and then she called us sons of bitches when she discovered it was a joke. Did I mention she climbed out of her window? She did. It was the best ever.

This a sad excuse for a first post, but it's Wednesday (this is explained in the aforementioned "about me" post), so I need to edit a video. I have to do a shit ton of homework on top of that. So I will see you tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And every day until May 1st when the Suite Scarlett paperback** comes out!

-Chelsea

* If you are a unicorn fan, I have a haiku for you as well. It will be posted on April 30th. You will not like it.
** Buy it, or they will kill her. Maureen never specified who "they" were, but they will throw her in a well with snakes and possibly jellyfish.

Birthday Dilemma and Burrito Addiction

2009-03-05T17:04:00.002-06:00

The title of this entry is also good summary of its contents. For the sake of saving the best for last, I am going to start with my burrito addiction.

Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. I have eaten a burrito for dinner four times this week. Let me give you a look inside of my tortilla and let you know why I am so addicted:

Rice
Black beans
Spicy salsa
Cheese
Guacamole
Lettuce

These are all very wonderful things on their own, but when you mix them together, they make you eat them NONSTOP. I need a twelve step program for this. If you find a Chipotle Addicts Anonymous anywhere, please let me know. I will thank you for it.

The second order of business is my birthday dilemma. My birthday is not until August 3rd, but I am thinking about this early. You will see why in just a second.

I'm going to be seventeen this year. This means two Very Important Things:

I will take my rightful position as the Dancing Queen.
I will be of age in the Wizarding World.

So you see why this is a big deal and why it requires MONTHS of thought.

I don't usually have birthday parties. I don't like them. I don't like having all of the attention of a large group of people directed at me. It just isn't a situation I feel comfortable in. But this year is a MAJOR exception because of the two reasons I've already presented to you. Herein lies the dilemma.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT KIND OF PARTY TO HAVE.

The way I see it, there are two options:

ABBA Dance Party
Harry Potter MAGIC Party

There is also SEKRIT option #3, the DISCO WIZARD party. Alas, I cannot choose between the three. That is why I need your help deciding. Let me know what you think!

Hello World!

2009-02-28T12:07:00.000-06:00

WARNING: There are going to be several numbered lists and many hyperlinks in this post. Prepare yourself.

So I got this blog for a few reasons.

I like to blog. It's fun.
I already have a blog (on LiveJournal under a different username), but I like to keep that one fairly private. I wanted to have one that I could share with everyone.
LOOK AT THE THE PRETTY PURPLE BACKGROUND!

That pretty much sums up why I'm here on Blogger now. Since this blog is new, I should probably tell you guys a few things about myself. I must warn you, I'm not the most interesting person.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHELSEA:

I have been a competitive figure skater for almost 10 years. It seems like it almost defines me now. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I didn't skate.
I love to read. I can't go anywhere without a book. It's like my security blanket. I agree with Emily Dickinson about this. Reading is the cheapest form of travel, and it lets your mind work in ways that it can't when you're just watching a movie or something. You take what the author says, and you get to create your own version of it in your mind. You're not limited to what you see. Every person who reads a book reads the exact same words, but no two interpretations are ever the same. They can't be. It amazes me. (That being said, my favorite book is 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson.)
I have had a lifelong obsession with ABBA. Yes, the Swedish disco band. The first song I ever skated to was "Dancing Queen." No joke. I was seven. They are my favorite band.
I am Wednesday on Five Awesome YA Fans. One of us posts a vlog every weekday reviewing a YA book, and a blog is posted every Saturday. It's a fun project we've been doing since November.
I write every day. I feel all wrong if I don't. Lately, I've been working a lot with the same group of characters. I've been writing a series of interconnected short stories with them that I hope to eventually weave together into a novel-like thing. Right now, it's just a bunch of broken pieces. I've been working on it for a very long time. I want to finish it by the end of the year.
I can solve a Rubik's cube in less than two minutes.
I am a proud Nerdfighter.
I consume an extremely unhealthy amount of caffeine, especially for someone my age. I usually start my day with a cup of coffee before skating. I'll drink another large cup after I skate, and then I have a Diet Coke at lunch every day. Sometimes I'll have another Diet Coke when I get home. I love coffee and Diet Coke.
I would really like to attend New York University for college.
I have cats. I love cats. They're the best ever.

Ten seems like a good number.

Chelsea Nerdfights in front of Mrs. Jacobsen's van (see fun fact #7).

I think this is enough for an intro post. I'll be posting more soon, once something interesting happens.