Writing college essays is poop.

See title. Now see "International Honours Programme between St. Andrews and William and Mary" 's 1,500-2,000 word essay. Poop.

I hate repeating myself to people and I feel like that's all I'm doing during the college app process. "HEY, LOOK AT ME! I'M AWESOME BECAUSE I DO STUFF ABOUT STUFF! WOO!" Poop. All of it. P.O.O.P.

Okay, fine, there was *one* fun essay I wrote. It's basically 500 words that tell you something about me. See what you think:

Optional Essay or Submission:
Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?

We know that nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude.

                                                        From One Shore to the Other:

A red dirt path led to a dusty wooden platform where Mary peered at a long cable that spanned the Nile River. Sweating under the hot African sun, Mary’s attention returned to her guide’s instructions. “Now missus, you step into the harness here. Good, cinch it tightly around your waist. You jump off the ledge there, missus, and fly over the river till I come to get you.” She glanced toward the ledge and stepped away. “Then just drop the rope down and I pull you back. Okay, missus?” “Huh? Oh, okay,” replied Mary, still a little unclear. “Okay, missus, off you go!”said the guide as he clipped the harness in. Mary released her grip on the guide and flew over the edge superman-style across the headwaters of the Nile, suspended from the cable by pulley and harness.

“Oh my” she breathed as she opened her eyes. It was breathtakingly beautiful, whizzing 25 feet above crocodiles and hippos whose backs peeked out of the water beneath her. Her progress slowed as the cable rose before reaching the opposite shore. “Hey, I’m only half-way there. Surely he doesn’t expect me to swim.” Although concerned, she had faith her guide would come to her rescue. Bouncing slowly up and down, she struggled to look back toward the shore she left. In time, her fear eased as a boat arrived below and the guide called up to her. “Toss down the rope, missus!” Rope? she thought, as panic shot through her stomach, “What rope?” The guide had forgotten to clip on the retrieval rope before she leapt. Too many times to count, the guide flung a rope tantalizingly close to her fingertips. Exhausted, Mary was towed back to the shore she had left nearly an hour earlier, never to reach the opposite bank.

Two years ago, I sat at a restaurant on the Nile River in Uganda with a group of volunteers attending the dedication of a high school. Although the members of my party laughed heartily that night, the day’s adventures taught us valuable lessons. First, never start anything that doesn’t get you all the way to your destination, and second, never zip-line across the Nile without a safety line, no matter how fun it sounds. In life, we face many choices; we learn lessons from our own decisions and from those of others. Thanks to Mary, none of us would zip line the Nile without a retrieval rope. Thanks to me, none of my colleagues will ride as a third passenger, side-saddle, in a long skirt and sandals on the back of a piki-piki (motorcycle taxi) through the dirt roads of Uganda (but that’s another story and even less likely to deliver you to your destination).

In my next great adventure, I’m not expecting a rescue boat to toss me a safety line. That’s why I am seeking a college that can deliver me to the other shore, graduated and better prepared for the world.

I liked it personally. It made me laugh and was fun to write. Now if only I could get away with writing about kilts, hot scottish accents, and the terrors of mini-golf in this next essay, I'd be happy.

Scottland here I come! <3

What do you call a Christmas blog with Morgan Freeman in it? Oh, yeah, "awesome."

Christmas is by far, my favorite holiday of the year. Mostly because I can 'legally' make it last an entire month, but also because of the orange rolls. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, aren't *you* just missing out on the best breakfast ever:

See? They're just made of deliciousness. (That and my parents only ever buy them for holidays, poo).

This year's Christmas has been fantastic. I got to see my cousin Ben again, my parents didn't fight too much, and somehow, the rest of my family managed not to drive each other up the wall. (Or out a window for that matter).

My family's Christmas is a little.... unorthodox? Yeah, you could go with that. I mean, sure, we go to church - which was lovely and had the African Children's choir come and sing several songs for us - can't believe I even *considered* quitting Project Our Turn after seeing them again. Because that sure as hell isn't going to happen now. Nuh, uh. This puppy is stiking around for as long as I can make it last. Wait. Lost my train of thought..............................................................

oop. Nope. there it is.

Christmas. Right. So Christmas Eve we go to church, come home and do our "big" Christmas Eve dinner which is fondue. That's right, I said fondue. By far the best invention known to ... well, known to my family anyway. Oil fondue with various meats and tempura, Cheese fondue with bread and veggies. And Chocolate fondue with just about anything you'd like to put in there (minus the bacon because I was informed that was pushing it just a little far).

Christmas morning is always steeped in traditions meant to make the impatient young ones (ie: Connor and I) wait for our presents. This year was kind of sad though because I kept realizing that it was really my last Christmas living at home. I mean, even if I go to the UofO I'll live at the onyx house or in a dorm. Especially since my parents might up and move somewhere crazy. But I've tried to keep those thoughts at bay today, mostly for the sake of my mother. She gets sentimental and stressed enough over the holidays. She doesn't need me reminding her her baby is leaving soon.

(Speaking of leaving, Georgetown hates children. They don't use CommonApp and have crazy forms on their terrible website but I'm applying there anyway. SO THERE GEORGETOWN! SO THERE.)

Watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas this morning just before breakfast. Somehow I remembered it being longer, but it was still just as sweet. Not as lovely as The Polar Express at midnight last night. That was awesome. Definitely decided that if, by some crazy chance, a magical train showed up outside my window last night that I was going to the North Pole Tom Hanks or no Tom Hanks. I offered my brother a chance to join me, but he politely declined and gave me a crazy look. I guess there is just a point where you stop believing in crazy ideas.

I hope I never get that old.

I suppose now's a good a time as any to rave briefly about my presents, eh? Because I'm not sure how much longer I can go without mentioning the fact that I have the most awesome grandma in the history of EVER.

She got me Beats by Dr. Dre - Solo headphones.



Now, I try not to be snobby about these things, I mean, shoot, I used headphones that came free with a bottle of shampoo for some months, but these things are like sex for your ears. By far, the most amazing piece of technology I've put in the vicinity of my cranium in years. (Better even than my aviators which were stolen a few months ago). I can't even turn them up all the way because they're so loud I could mistake them for a rock concert. (Or Alice's car... ;D )

I also got a crap ton of candy. Awesome candy. But TONS of it. Like candy till easter type of thing. Mwahahahahahaha. Just what I needed before finals. >:) And there were of course the compulsory pajama's, clothes, Itunes gift cards, and some really nice clothes. Everyone liked the gifts I gave them too which was good.

Yes, I do love Christmas. I also love my Daddy who went to go see "Red" in theaters with me today. Hilarious movie if you get the chance to go. (It's in the cheaps seats for those of you in my vicinity).

And on the subject of other awesome movies (heyyy... McCoy is in the above one Trekkies and the next Star Trek is scheduled losely for 2012...) look at this:

woooooooooooooooooo!

And the Merriest of Christmases to you. <3

Men in White Suits Came to Make My Day

>:D



 NASA team works to build next Mars rover on live "curiosity cam" feed. :) Made my day.


Monday December 13th is also the peak of the Geminids meteor shower. You can get outside to watch them (potential for 120 per hour viewing peak) OR stay inside and view all around the world and chat with NASA meteor experts on NASA's "Up All Night" live chat.


Oh, and since Blogger has been dumb recently and kept me from posting by deleting all of my posts before I could get there, etc, I haven't had the time to properly be excited over this next piece of news... (nor will I now since the bell between classes here is going to ring shortly and I *still* won't have my Spanish homework done)


I'M GOING TO HARRY POTTER WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Adjectives and exclamation points just don't do it justice. Orlando, here we come. (And by we, I obviously mean me and Ron and Harry... aka Alice/Jessie)
Fuck yes. Happy Holidays to you too!

<3

Mission to Mars

So in case you haven't read the link I posted below, you need to go and do that. It's all about how NASA is trying to seriously push for a manned mission to Mars.

The deal is though, that it's a one-way trip for anyone who decides to go.

I've been thinking about that a lot lately, what it would take to leave, what it would mean to go, and how you would survive over there. (Obviously this has some exciting sci-fiction plot bunnies as well) They say that what they might do instead of modifying the mars atmo for humans is modify the human genome for mars using synthetic biology. How freaking awesome is that?!

It would be nuts, absolutely nuts, to leave. And you know that the first people they're going to send are the old codgery astronauts with nothing to lose who have decided that this would be a hell of a way to go out. But they won't make it all the way there. They really need someone younger. Someone, well, more my age than anything else. Someone with enough life in them to give them that will to live, that desprate need for exploration, that something that makes youth so enviable.

Can you imagine being that teen? Signing the dotted line and literally saying goodbye to the only home we have ever known? To the only body we have ever known? Because it won't just be a matter of "It's too expensive to bring them home" or "We just didn't build the rocket to return" No. If you sign up for this, if you let them modify your body, you won't even be able to breathe Earth's air anymore. You literally can't come home again because you'll die.

Imagine knowing that not only was the next breath going to be your last breath ever on earth, but that you weren't going to die. You were going to be the first humanoid (for are you even a human being anymore? Talk about identity crisis) to ever set foot on another alien world. (Not just a satelite of our own dear earth).

I figure too they'll send you out in pairs. With a young guy and a young girl, an older guy and an older girl, and a pair of old astronauts with dust coming out of their rears when they fart. All of whom have been altered for Mars. Martians, if you will. But you just know that they won't all make it. You just know that the two kids are going to be the only ones who are able to adapt to the new life quick enough to survive.

And of course, there will be things we didn't think about either. Things we, as earth-kids, didn't even consider. Like how skin will react when exposed to such sun (talk about tan, hey?) or our eyes. If they aren't properly modified, you could go blind from such exposure. Our blood. You would have to flush our bodies with a different type of blood that used a different element (not oxygen) to power our being. Who knows if it would even be possible to do this. Maybe we'd just end up like spongebob with a fishbowl of water on our heads instead. Keep  it simple.


Still, it's a desprate return to our Exploratory past. People didn't think they were coming home when they decided to travel to the new world. And they won't this time. Who knows, maybe in 100 years I'll be buying a condo on Mars. :)

RAWR!!

Okay, before I get into the explanation of the Title, West Side Story was fantastic! Wooo! South's Drama Department strikes again!! <3 Yay.


Now then, RAAAAAAAAAWR.

I can't, but I want to, but I shouldn't, but that song keeps playing in my head, and I keep thinking about it, and I keep wondering, and I keep seeing that UGH! No. No no no no no no no .... no.

.........................................................maybe.

NO.


...........................maybe???




....maybe.


It just doesn't help at all that the last page in the book is all about the night you're "supposed" to have and now I know that HE CAN FUCKING DANCE TOO DAMNIT. GAHHHH!



.................................................................................................................................RAWR.

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php

READ. NOW.

This is one of those blustery November days when I'm stuck in my future.

I can't get away from it. From the me I could be, will be, want to be, hope I have the guts to become. I'm so far away from everyone I love here, I'm off in my own new place, somewhere clean, somewhere fresh, in the middle of some blustery November day a year from now.

I'll probably be a little hungry. I'll probably have a paper to write. I'll probably be struggling to make friends. I'll probably be listening to music. But I'll be on my own in a big city where I can go out at night and either sit by the water's edge and listen, or dive into the middle of the city and shut out all the silence. I'll be walking under dark shadows of gothic buildings fingering my keys in my pockets, pulling my jacket a little tighter around my neck, and smiling at the crisp stars above me.

Independence. Sweet, sweet, independence, you're the only thing that's keeping me in my classes on nights like this.


Headed to Chicago:

You and I, we have history
way back when's and remember the time's
all too often's and I know you better's
I love you, I do
but it's time for me to go
I hope you know
These have been some of the best ones yet
But the better's out there
waiting
calling
spinning underneath the Chance and the Dreams
dancing.

So I'm leaving you, dear
heading out to somewhere...
different
away
farther
I need the faster, the louder, the appreciation of silence
your slug-filled monotony
your rain dropped blues
and overly yellowed greens
grate on my imagination

I need space from what I've known
to see who I can be
and find out what's left of me
when I've conquered the Windy City.

Right-o.

Hello. I swear I haven't forgotten about you.

No, instead I've been writing *other* things. Gasp! Yes, I know, cheating on my blog. But I SWEAR, it wasn't my idea. The 4,000 words just... just crept up on me, I couldn't resist. But I PROMISE I won't leave you again. (Well............ okay, at least until the final draft's due).

Anyway, what's been going on in Shirkville recently? Hmmm. Well, like I said, senior paper was a butt and a half. Autosave pretty much saved my ass. Stupid computer. -I MEAN NICE COMPUTER, I LIKE YOU COMPUTER, PLEASE DON'T DIE, COMPUTER-

I've had several smatterings of stories rumbling about in my head. All of which are kind of fantasy-type-futureistic ideas. Something I haven't ever really written before. I might just have to try that out one of these days. Bits from the idea? (As well as info on that promised world domination topic from last post):


+ "Google" takes over the world. First an internet sensation, then pretty much owning the internet, then becoming a household name, then becoming a verb in the English language, then expanding their repitoire to include literally "automatic" vehicles (aka, they drive themselves), further expansion including the monitoring of all communication methods, eventual bankruptcy of postal service due to popularity of "google" methods of communication, placement of key members of society sympathetic to google, eventual world domination because there's just no other option.

+ two teens on the run from "google operatives." Cars that drive themselves have "eyes" that can use facial recognition programming to find outlaws so they have to switch their faces everyday as well as their bodytype by wearing fat suits or girdles. Intimate scene when they are their real selves. (insert awwww here)

+ Teens develop (out of necessity?) the ability to teleport/communicate telepathically (?) Their teleportation is the ability to fully and completely picture the exact position of somewhere they've been in the past. The first time it is done when a scent brings up a particularly poignant memory in the mind of the girl who then dissapears (much like the feeling of dissaparating). Because she's so confused and because she doesn't know how to contact him, they end up using telepathy.


...yeah. It's mondo rough. I'm thinkin' on it. I still have to write more on Peter's Wendy (hint, hint, other blog, hint... peterswendy.blogspot.com )

Thoughts welcome.

Elephants, Corn, and World Domination (part 1)

Elephants.

Last night, I was riding elephants through San Fransisco. Up the hills, down the hills, talking to my elephant friend named Ellie. (Apparently, in my dreams, I'm not very creative when it comes to naming things). Ellie was a large pachyderm. She was also a small one. She changed sizes from time to time as she ran around this kind of creepy guy's appartment in the hills of 'frisco. Every afternoon (for this was several afternoons, mind you) I would go over to (I think his name was Ernie?) Ernie's house to pick up Ellie for her walk. I'd have to chase her little self all around the house, pick her up, walk outside, set her down (fortunately, she didn't weigh much...???) and then get on her back because she was gigantic. The second time I did this, I was yelled at by Ernie because the day before I had not brought back any tips. I was unaware that whilst riding Ellie I was supposed to be bringing in cash for Ernie's greedy little hands. So that afternoon I rode around, trying to reach the money people stretched out to me, but was unable to grasp it. I went back to Ernie's house one last time, defeated, and he stood at the door waiting for me. He held out a claw thing (like one of those dinosaur things where you pull the trigger and it bites something), and then a looong butterfly net and pointed me back out the door.

It was 9:30 when I woke up, weirded out by Ernie, trying to goad Ellie up the gigantic hill, and realizing, that I needed a shower before I could look presentable. What a morning.

Personally, I blame the corn maze last night for my elephant dreams. My sugar coated red dye #09 did a number on my brain. The corn maze was awesome, somewhat frightening, and totally worth the fifteen bucks I paid to get in.


Did you know that corn can be scary? I was not aware of this fact before last night, but now fully embrace the "corn can be fearsome" mantra. There are these stalks taller than you could ever hope to be all around you. Every fork in the road, every turn, looks just about like it did the last time you turned left (or was it right?) There are whispers and rustles and screams all around you. Coupled with the occasional song from Dylan, a shushing or two from Alice, and general directions from Jessie. (<3)

Here, don't believe me? Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAflQ8J87JY&feature=player_embedded

...okay, that was the wrong video. Side note: OPRAH HAS A CORN MAZE! HOLY CORN!

Now, for the feature presentation:

http://www.themaize.com/hauntedmaize.home

There. Now that was frightening. Stay tuned for part DOS of this Elephants, Corn, and World Domination blog post, right now I need to raid my pantry for some halloween oreos
(yes, they have those: http://www.cookiemadness.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/halloween-oreos.jpg)
and write a bit of my senior paper. Ciao!

<3

My N.E.W.T's are coming up.

SAT

Standardized
Aptitude
Testing

Or something stupid like that. I've been "training" for it for months now and the damn thing is tomorrow. I've been doing the whole "I'll just get what I get when I get it" thing for some time now, just relaxing, studying hard, and ignoring the significance of it, but there's less than 12 hours to go now and I'm starting to freak out a bit.

I'm worried that I won't be able to get into University of Chicago.

I know, those of you who know me think this is dumb. "she started a non-profit" blah blah blah. Smart kid and stuff. Yes, I know. I know I do some cool things. I know that I can seem impressive on some levels. But the SAT has always been a struggle for me. I don't know what it is really, but it's just hard. I don't LIKE it Bob. I don't like it at all.

So I'm worried. I'm worried that it'll be this STUPID SAfrickin'T that keeps me out of my dream school. I would hate myself for that. And now I'm wondering if I should have stayed up those extra hours to make sure I did all of the videos and homeworks for Kaplan. All of the quizzes online and stuff. I didn't do them. I'm not even sure I did half. I think I did. But I could be kidding myself there. I don't know. They were just so BORING and I didn't have TIME to do them. I had to work on my non-profit. On my senior paper. On keeping my grades up in Spanish. ....but there's this little voice inside my head. (The one I wish would shut up right now) that tells me that I did have time. That I could have stayed up.


Deep breath.

In, out.


Okay. I know that I am capable of raising my score. And I know that UofC has taken kids with my level SAT scores before. I know that I can make this stupid test happen. AND I know that it's the last time I'll ever have to take it. EVER. (Granted, there's still the SATII's in Dec, but those are fun... sorta...).

I am bringing chocolate and bananas and water to the test and I've got to remember to grab my ID, pencils, and ticket for sure. And a jacket becuase Sheldon is stupid.


Wish me luck.




On a happier note... (I feel compelled to put a happier note here since the last two blog posts have been majorly depressing)

I'm totes going to the corn maze with Alice/Jessie tomorrow night. That should be awesome. Hopelessly lost in the dark with things jumping out to scare us. Woohoo! Sounds like a fun night to me! And I get to help Alice with her zydrate costume (note to self, go get zydrate materials and ransack magic closet). We're going to have a serious Harry Potter de-brief too.


Yes, I finished the books. All seven. I can't believe it. I actually loved them. New favorite series? I think so. More than a series to me? Oh yes.

You see, Harry Potter actually helped me out a lot. The past few weeks (and for a few more after this) I have been subjecting myself to all the horrors committed by Joseph Kony and his cronies. Terrible, terrible acts unfathomable to me in their evil and despicable nature.

Cathrine, seventeen said this:

We would walk therough villages where the civilians had fled... we would sleep in deserted villages, and eat and stay in the houses. Sometimes there were villagesr who had stayed behind ... the rebels would accuse them [of supporting the government]. One day, they found a man riding a bike. They just cut off his foot with an ax. When his wife came out of the house, they told her to eat the foot. I turned away not to see what happened.


How the hell does this happen???!!! This level of evil. I'm not even able to comprehend where it comes from. How someone could think something like that up. Raping the wife? Killing her? That makes more sense to me than this. This is just vile. Utterly vile.

Harry Potter has a lot of needless killing in it also. Harry sees it, has to deal with it. Has to know that it was all done so that he could defeat Voldemort someday. I guess I've kind of equated Kony with Voldemort. Death Eaters with his cronies. And the good people like Fred, Hedwig, Madeye, Lily, James, Lupin, Tonks, Dumbledore, Snape with the kids and the people murdered. People die so that others may live (hey, that's the coast guard motto). And there is one gigantic flaw with the theory of both the Death Eaters and the LRA commanders.

"The Greater Good"

...Good is good. There is nothing greater than good. It is the ultimate. Whenever someone in history tries to do something "greater" than good it ends up with hurt, pain, maliciousness. Take Voldemort, or the Crusades, or the plight of the LRA, or Hitler. Every single time. More pain, more trouble. Nothing is greater than good. We should do things "for good" or "for the good of the people" never for something "greater" than good, because it simply doesn't exist.


All in all, I really did love the Harry Potter series. I love the world that Rowling created. It's on par for me with the universes created by masterminds like Whedon for Firefly or Star Wars, or C.S. Lewis and Narnia's universe. They are all so complete, so full of strict governing laws that were thought out and carefully manipulated within the plotlines. The characters that arise, no matter how fantastic (ie: Harry, River, Luke, Aslan) all seem to fit perfectly into their universes because they are governed by the same laws that the entire plot is. When you have a main character that diverges from the universal laws set in the text (Edward...) your story ceases to have any believability. And I usually stop reading. :P

I'd love to go to Hogwarts now. I'd love to get a spell-check quill for my SAT. I'd love to say "accio remote" and not have to search through couch cusions. I know that these things will never happen, but I am so happy to be able to have sunk into this other place for a while when my mind most needed it. And to have been confronted with characters who could help me bind up or answer the painful questions of my real life. Thanks Rowling, for that momentary reprieve.


....I need to go buy these books. I'm going to read them again soon I just know it. :)

Processors Overloaded

You hear that sizzling sound? No, not the beep. The quiet, fizzing noise coming from somewhere nearby. That's me. That's my sound. My processors have overloaded. I can't think straight. Or see straight. Or understand what hit me. I'm dead. I've died and left you all. Who knows when I'll be back and if I do make it, how much of me there will really be.

Will I ever be okay?

No. I won't. I will never be okay again.

Death is a scar that doesn't heal. The Acholi people know this. The children know this. Harry Potter knows this. Patrick Jane knows this. I know this. I will never lose this scar.


Wrath mingled with fear and grief.
Helplessness got into the basket of hope.
Action is stamping its feet on the basket.
And death is measuring rope.
Rope lined with glass for cutting, slicing.
Slicing of cuts far too deep.
Hope cries out, but for weeping.
All full up of secrets it can't keep.
Heartstrings are torn and forgotten.
Very little and few left to play.
But the music's sad song rolls on.
And love lifts up hope today.
And love lifts up hope today.






I promise, there'll be an explanation soon. I just can't handle it all right now. It's too close. No one died if that's what your wondering. At least, no one I can name and touch and feel. I also promise this isn't a suicide note or anything. Eventally normal makes room for life's turns. Eventually.

Wishing these posts could just type while I talked.

Wow. SO, a LOT has happened in the last, oh, say, 48 hours.

#1: MY HEADPHONES got stolen. Boo. And my sunglasses. The jerk couldn't even leave those. I'm offering up a ten buck reward to anyone brave enough to give 'em back. I know it won't work, but I can at least make them feel a little guilty, right? Meh.

#2: TOK is dumb. Grr. Blue water, paradoxes, re-naming the class: Disproving the Theory of Knowledge. The best part? The state PAYS these people to teach us this stuff. ...........and people wonder what's wrong with the system. Hah!

#3: D-groups tonight! Yeeeaaaaahhh! I missed my second family a lot, and even though it's going to be different now, I'm glad to be going back. Even if it is my last year.

Side note: Holy crap. It's my last year for fricken' everything around here.

How weird is that? Some days I just can't wait to get out of here, and others...

others I'm afraid I'll miss my family too much. I love them to pieces.

#4: ...........I was going to post #4 on here, because I'm wicked excited about it. I get to actually have one of my daydreams come true. Something I thought would NEVER happen, but I've just realized that I can't post it on here lest the person the suprise is meant for see it. Suffice to say though, that I get to take a time machiene and go back for a while to do something properly. ooooOOOooooh, sister shirk is keeping secrets, scary, I know.

#5: Lots of people at Club Day which is excellent. On an annoying note however, I am pissed at Invisible Children for contaminating the world with more charities who don't have a clue about what they're doing. If people would just take fifteen minutes to do some *real* research regarding the history of a place and try to figure out *why* it is they need their help, then maybe we'd stop throwing money at problems that we can't (and shouldn't) fix. Grr. SOUTHERN UGANDA WASN'T TOUCHED BY THE WAR YOU DOLTS!

#6: Hedwig died. And Madeye. And Ron's left. And Harry doesn't really know what to do. And I'm bummed. And Dumbledore's name is being besmirched by that terrible Skeeter woman. I'm sending Ginny after her with a bogey hex sometime soon. Stupid woman. And SNAPE the lying, dirty, scumbag in robes has taken over Hogwarts. Grumble, grumble. Although, I did think the Kreacher part was nice. :) <---there, see? I can smile. You know, mostly. BUT HEDWIG!!!! :'O

...I know it'll all turn out okay eventually. *sniff* Besides, how bad can it be? I've only got the SAT, Senior Paper, Common Application, Prudential and Coca-Cola Scholarships to keep me busy. It's not like I'll have a LIFE or anything. >.<

Corn maze saturday though. Stoked about that. And some zydrate preperations. Never can be too prepared. Got to figure out a way to keep our organs intact, the soup in our souls, and the canckle backed snorgack out of the way, you know. <3

Doot Doot Do Doo!!

Today Sage got lost at the banana, knowledge and truth were banned from TOK, and Bob the ghost reminded us all of our independence. Classic IHS.

But, on the bright side, Pandora spewed out some awesome working music. Movie themes as follows:

Back to the Future
Harry Potter
Star Trek
Spirited Away
Sweeny Todd
Star Wars
Pirates of the Carribbean

:)


On the Harry Potter note though, I am really really bummed that Dumbledore died. It's like every second I'm not thinking about the senior paper, or homework, or MLA, or colleges, or well, a lot of things, I'm thinking about Dumbledore's funeral. And then what ever the heck is going on with Harry and Saturday (since I'm only up to chapter two of the 7th book). Alice says there's something even more sad coming up and I almost don't want to know what it is, but I'm determined to finish this book before Nov. 19th when the first half of the 7th movie comes out.

So, my review of things so far in the Hogwarts world?

...well, I definitely want a wand and keep catching myself muttering spells when I'm to lazy to actually get up and do something. I keep secretly hoping that if I think it hard enough, it'll happen. It could, ya know. Weirder things than that have happened in my life. Trust me.

But, books, yes. I can stay on one topic today. I'm not sleep deprived because I was reading through the last of the 6th book late into last night (which took way longer because I was crying). Nooo.

Book.

I like the books. I like how thought out they are. How well this world melds into itself. I've yet to really find any serious inconsistancies throughout the series and that's a HUGE bonus for series books in my opinnion. As to the characters? I really like the twins and Ron and Harry. I like Hermione too. And Hagrid. And Fawkes. And Ginny. AND DUMBLEDORE. But to be perfectly honest, I didn't connect as well with Sirius. I do hate Malfoy thouroughly, (though now I'm with Harry and mostly just pity the guy). Umbridge was a butt. Lupin was awesome. And Snape's a dirtbag who's got what for coming.

I think I probably identify (although I am quite sure this has been said time and time again by waaaaay too many teenagers/tweens to be reasonable) most with Harry out of all the characters. But then again, don't we almost always identify most with the main character? I dunno. I'd like to think I am brave enough to care that much about others and my friends. Though, honestly, I don't know what I'd do about Voldemort. I'm sure my feelings would be different had he actually killed *my* parents/godfather/mentor. Definitely. I still (even though they weren't mine) want to have him get his toes cut off as it is.

What house would I be in? I've been thinking Gryffindor, but let's see what this quiz says.

My in depth results:

Gryffindor: 12
Hufflepuff: 12
Ravenclaw: 12
Slytherin: 8

I know I can sometimes be too nice, or too brainy, but in the end, I think this result is probably right. I'll stand up for what I believe in and leave the books behind when it comes down to it.

.............speaking of books, that annoying pile of them that keeps on getting bigger next to me is calling. Halle... Halle.... keep your grades up Halle.... keep them up so you can go to another school... Right. Why am I doing this again? *sigh* oh well. Life's short, got to keep busy somehow.


LUMOS!

When all the Walls Fall Down

Today all the walls fell down.
Crash, rubble, and I looked around.
What am I doing here?

Pretenses and pretends
shattered shards of glory
Was there really only this one path to begin with?

To be remembered seems important
Deeds and promises kept, paramount
No matter if I'd rather hide.

But I remember what this city looked like
Can sift through the rubble and see
Not stones, but houses, dwellings, homes.

It's this remembering that haunts me
Ghosts of what has been and what is
Floating before me as I rise

No more to be who I thought
I'm afraid I can't go back from here.
We've reached the point of no return

Regret's regretful, but empty and changeless
Emotions and expressions hopes and depressions
All of them, a part of the future the meaning of the past.

What we see won't last
It's the heart that matters now.
So where do I go from here?

Random Rage, Random Fear, All Summed Up with a Little Cheer

I hate being sick. I hate doing homework. I hate the SAT. And I hate 6:45 AM on Monday.

But, on the bright side, I love beating Arizona State. I love writing. I love rice krispie treats. I love Yumm Momday's. I love fall colors. I love clean laundry. I love new T.V. series. I love exploring. I also love breathing through my nose.

There are a lot of things on this planet that bug me, but even more that I adore.

Randomness especially!


Random article:

Szumów

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Szumów
—  Village  —
Szumów
Coordinates: 51°20′N 22°11′E / 51.333°N 22.183°E / 51.333; 22.183
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lublin
County	Puławy
Gmina	Kurów
Elevation	150 m (492 ft)
Population	148

Szumów [ˈʂumuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kurów, within Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Kurów, 18 km (11 mi) south-east of Puławy, and 29 km (18 mi) west of the regional capital Lublin.^[1]
The village has a population of 148.



Random Photograph:




Random Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yBg7i9iSms


Random Thought:

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Check, The Story, The Test

Hi. I'm Halle, but I bet you already knew that if you're here reading this blog. Well, I, like most teenagers, lead what I believe to be a highly eventful life. Even when it's not. And when it's not, it really is, because I make it eventful. So what you read from now on, may, or may not be totally true, but as far as I'm concerned, it happened.

The Check:

Yes, I opened up my mail to find a check for $1,000.00

...of course it was made out to Project Our Turn so I wasn't actually going to get to buy that new pair of headphones I'd had my eye on... or the gigantic chocolate bar.... or pay for college.... or build my rocket ship. But I was going to get to help girls who had been torn from their families, forced to be soldiers, eat their companion's brains, and have the officer's children recieve an education. So that was good enough for me.

The Story:

Every once in a while, you sit down to hear a story. I sat down with my family of superheroes to hear the great American story. Prarie Home Companion, an old radio show that I keep half expecting to hear come rattling out of my old transistor radio on my windowsill came to town. Garrison Keelior walked around in his bright red socks, sneakers, and baby blue suit while they broadcasted from Eugene. It was all about summer love with singing, reminiscing, and pining after someone. I, of course, bemoaned the fact that I was single thouroughly. Guy Noir, Private Eye waltzed through the scene, latte's, term papers, and sound effect marriages the topics of much debate. But what really got me was Lake Woebegone. Suddenly, there were hundreds of Eugene hippies, Bend hillbillies, and Portland coffee-drinkers sitting silently, wrapped up in a story of regular people leading regular lives. American regular lives. Which is important. Since this is America. Yet there we all were, listening to this story, using our imagination to see the "Rapture of the Birds" and lying on the grass late into a summer night. How beautiful. How magical. How perfect. How fragile. How endless it seemed. Everything a summer should be and more.


The Test:

Nine hours. NINE freaking hours of SAT prep. And am I anywhere near done? Hmm. Not really.

"If Alfonso is baking cookies...." WHO CARES IF ALFONSO IS BAKING COOKIES?!? ...and Alfonso? Dude. I can't stand SAT people. "Hey guys, let's call the guy 'Alfonso' instead of Joe or George. THAT'LL make it original!" Bullshit But it's okay because the SAT will help colleges decide if I, as a person, fit their college well. No need to look at community service or personality, just check out that GPA and SAT scores! Yeah!


...P.S. The muffins are taking over. Prepare your spatulas in advace of the war. Metal advised as the muffins can smell the plastic from 50 feet off. Good luck soldiers.