In which Sauron conquers Mirkwood

This post was written for one week ago, but of course I forgot to post it. >_<

Hello.

SO sorry it took me so long to update. When you have busy weeks and only about five hours of internet on Sunday and that’s it, it’s hard to remember to write... >_>

ANYWAY...Friday marked the halfway point of my time here at the undisclosed location. xD Six whole weeks. It’s flown by...doesn’t seem like it’s been this long. I guess I’ll just try to give you a week-by-week summary; nothing too long since I’m leaving for church in less than an hour.

Week one was filled with games and such, sorta like icebreakers, so that we could all get to know each other. If I remember right, we went on a hike to a lake which most people who had seen real lakes decided looked more like a pond. But it was really nice out there, and we all got to drink from the place where the stream that fed the lake (thus making it a lake, if I remember right....) came out of the ground. It was really cool. xD

Week two...uh...classes started that week, I think. I think it was the Bible class we’re taking here. We had one teacher for a while, and then the professor we all rather dreaded arrived. I shall not reveal his name, as it would reveal my location, but suffice it to say that many people were rather scared of him. I was seriously expecting someone who looked like a drill sergeant. The night he arrived, we all sat in the classroom for quite a long time, as his flight was delayed. People kept shouting “HE’S COMING!” every time they saw anyone approaching. After several false alarms, we grew rather lax, and the time he really came was the time when many of us gave up trying to sit up super straight and generally act like people who really wanted to make a good impression. Of course. Fortunately, when he walked into the room, he more strongly resembled the kindly next-door neighbor of six years I had before I moved. Nevertheless, he’s very good at questioning your ideas, no matter whether they’re right or wrong, making you really think about them. I walked out of that classroom feeling like I’d never had a real thought in my life! xD

Around this time, approximately the end of the second? week, my friend Skylar got sick with what I think was the flu. Of course, the next morning, I was also sick with it, along with two or three other people. On the bright side, I’d stayed up playing Slap with the chef and two of the other students for several nights in a row, and I was pretty tired and needed time to sleep...which is very rare here at the undisclosed location. So I lay in bed all day, actually thanking God for my being sick, because not only did I get to face my fear of the stomach side of the flu (which I got only very mildly, thank goodness), I actually got to sleep!!!!!! xD I was back in class the next day, but it was really nice just to relax for a while. And my friends were awesome. One has already graduated college and is already a nurse, so she gave me vitamins and advised me on how to get well. (As the undisclosed location lacks any sort of medical personnel whatsoever, she’s basically taken on the role of nurse here.) My roommate was really nice and went to get her for me in the morning when I first realized I was sick. And one of my Slap friends made me toast for dinner. ^_^

Anyway...enough about this. Sunday we went to host homes from the church we’re attending, where we had lunch and got to use the Internet and had the opportunity to get to know some of the church people better. Turns out my host family was from the same state that I’m going to college in, so they were telling me I’d love it there, et cetera. ^_^

The next week, I’m pretty sure we had more classes...everything’s sort of a blur of class, games of pool in the game room, maybe some excursions places. I think I went to Walmart (nearest Walmart is an hour away...) during week 3 and bought yarn and a crochet hook and learned to make hats from my roommate and one of the mentors. As the specifics are sort of melding together, I’m going to summarize what we did. Amid English Lit, politics, and church history classes, we worked twice weekly on improvement projects here on the property. I’ve sanded and stained part of the building I stay in, dug ditches, pulled weeds, helped in the kitchen, assisted in organizing a tool shed...basically done a bunch of different things. We went to a town about 1.5 hours away on my roommate’s birthday and went shopping. There’s a really awesome bookstore there, a used bookstore where the books are piled haphazardly and several rows deep. It’s basically a place that looks like it used to be a house, but someone filled it with books and made a few walkways through them. xD It’s AWESOME.

We also went camping, about a week after I was sick. I wound up in a six-person tent with only one other girl. We woke up in the middle of the night freezing cold, and after she went outside to walk around for a while, to try to warm herself up, she came back in and reported that it was actually warmer out there than it was in the tent! We wound up sleeping under the stars for the rest of the night. It was really beautiful ^_^

We’ve also been to the Great Sand Dunes, which is basically a bunch of sand dunes sitting randomly in the middle of the rocky mountains. We went sand sledding and sandboarding...I went down a rather large sand dune on the sand sled and got my ears, eyes, and nose FILLED with sand. But it was really fun anyway xD And it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

And we got to go to Walmart after that. Before coming here, I never realized how exciting a trip to Walmart could be...

Oh! And last weekend, the worship pastor from the church allowed a group of us to play for the service. I got to play keyboard/piano for maybe...six or seven songs? It was a really cool experience, something I’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t had many opportunities to. I’m pretty sure we get to play every other week, which I’m really excited about ^_^

So, that’s basically life here. Class, class, and more class; work crews; the occasional excursion to somewhere in the relative wilderness, or Walmart, or town; music... And many, many, many games of Risk. A bunch of us wound up starting a game about three days ago, and it’s become what I think is probably a nightly thing. Last night I wound up playing both normal Risk and Lord of the Rings Risk. After allowing myself to die in the regular Risk game, I focused on my LotR game. LotR Risk is a four-person game. My friend Sam and I were playing using plastic Elves, riders of Rohan, and eagles, while two of my other friends, at one point during the game jokingly dubbed Sauron and Saruman (even though ‘Saruman’ was a girl...) played using plastic orcs, Nazgul, and cave trolls. xD

We spent quite a long time on this game, both playing it and complaining about the innacuracies of the map. One of the mentors even pulled out his copy of The Two Towers to compare the map to the board. xD

It came down to me and Sauron. I had nearly all my plastic Elves in Mirkwood, and he owned everything else. xD So we basically pushed both our armies into the middle of the board and fought one huge battle. He had maybe...a five to seven times larger army, so he beat me, but the Elves fought valiantly. xD It was very entertaining.

Anyway, so now I’m sitting here, having slept in the classroom as my roommate is sick (there’s a horrible cold going around...), and writing this blog post. Tonight will probably either involve yet another game of Risk, or watching a movie and discussing it with a group of people. Aside from American football on Thanksgiving (I don’t even watch American football,  normally...), I don’t get television here. The torturous part is that the new seasons of Touch and Doctor Who came out. Since I’ve been here. I’ve tried downloading one of the Doctor Who episodes, but the internet is torturously slow, so I probably won’t get it for another six weeks. That’s no big deal, as I still need to finish the rest of the seasons....*cough*...and we’re not really supposed to watch TV or movies here (but some people do, and you don’t really get in trouble as long as you don’t watch them when you’re supposed to be studying or exercising or something. I’d watch it at night, during free time, when many people go to bed anyway, so it wouldn’t take away from anything...) ...

Anyway, it’s fifteen minutes before church, and I need to get ready, so I’ll sign off for now. Fare thee well, friends, and until next week!

PANIC!!!!!!!

I'm. Leaving. Tomorrow.

Oh wow.

Anyway...my apologies for not posting for so long. I've been a bit busy trying to fit in visits with real world friends, packing, preparing, and whatnot. >_>

So...tomorrow morning at about 8:00 I leave my house, not to return for three months. I'm off to an undisclosed location (if you know me, you know where it is, I think), for a semester program of epic proportions. Who knows what will happen while I'm gone and only have Internet for *gasp* about five hours a week?!?!?!

I'll live. I think. xD It'll be good for me to get away from Internet and whatnot. :P

So, anyway, I'll be writing LOTS of letters, sending the occasional text, and being on the computer once a week, if you'd like to contact me.

So...anyway. I'm working on packing STILL...such a procrastinator. Trying to stuff as much stuff as possible into my backpack, backpack purse thing, and two suitcases, one of which is halfway as tall as I am, and rather wider...and weighs 50 pounds...

Not to mention tomorrow is my first solo plane flight!!!! =D

Jamie--it was fun to hear that my slightly offhand comment about getting a passport got you dreaming about international travel. xD I went to go apply today, and the office was closed. I'm gonna have to go to a post office in my undisclosed location in order to apply. xD

So, anyway, I'll be posting once a week with my adventures, and whatnot...I'll also be checking all of your blogs, in order to keep up with what's happening with you guys.

"See" you all soon!

Now, I've got to go pack my chocolate and my Twizzlers. v_v

That is all. u_u

Back again!

This time I was in Wisconsin. xD

Anyway...apparently the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team that won gold is now called the Fierce Five. Even better. xD

In other news...my forms for the semester program I'm attending arrived a few days ago. One of the questions asks, "What is your definition of a clean room?"

...

There is a reason why I often say that no one can look into my closet. I'm clinically OCD, but unfortunately my OCD tendencies DON'T extend to room cleaning.

Fortunately, there's one exception--when I have a roommate who isn't related to me. xD (Read: who's not my sister.)

Days until I leave: 24 O_O

THIS IS CRAZY. In 24 days, I will be going to live in another state for THREE WHOLE MONTHS. That's the longest I've ever been away from home without my family. I've really enjoyed my summer, but I'm looking forward to this program. It'll be a nice balance between classes and studying, free time, adventures (like camping and hiking and hot springs and museums and horseback riding and the like!), and work. ^_^

Sadly, I'll only have internet once a week, so if you guys want to talk to me, you'll have to be on Skype at a certain time every...Saturday, I think? I'll let you know.

Letters are also fine--I'll send you guys the address ^_^ Something tells me I'll be sending a LOT of mail. Fortunately, the program provides stamps! xD

In other news, I've started a new writing project. I know, I know...I'm already writing two novels, neither of which is very near completion. But I have a good feeling about this one. Here's a short excerpt, if you're interested:

They walked through the plain iron door, and Kat gasped. The place was beautiful. The floor was marble and covered in exquisitely ornate patterns and images. The Corinthian columns holding up the ceiling looked as though they had been brought straight from ancient Greece. A statue of a brave knight facing a dragon stood on a raised platform in the center of the room.
“That’s St. George,” her father told her, indicating the statue. Kat noticed that St. George was smiling benevolently as he raised his sword, and that the dragon looked ferocious and villainous, more so than any picture she had ever seen.
“What kind of dragon is that?” she asked curiously.
“Hm? Oh, that’s an English Captor Dragon. They died out a long time ago--as a matter of fact, the one in the sculpture? That was the last one.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” Her father grinned at her. “Hence why we have the sculpture of St. George here. It’s a great honor to rid the world forever of an entire breed of dragon.”


Hopefully I'll have a lot of this book finished by the time I leave. That is, if Pinterest doesn't eat me first. >_>

More to come later, probably.

That is all (for now). U_U

The Fab Five! ^_^

Testing, day one: COMPLETE.

It was surprisingly easy. The visiting master let us sit and rest a lot, which I very much appreciate. So far I haven't done the board breaking and whatnot, but all the hard stuff is tomorrow. v_v And tomorrow comes in less than an hour. So this probably won't be a very long post.

Anyway...what am I doing right now? I'm actually sitting on my living room floor, borrowing my sister's computer, and shouting with joy every time one of my favorite characters makes an appearance in From the Mouth of Elijah. I just bought it off of Amazon and I'm reading it with the Kindle Cloud Reader. I'm planning on purchasing a hard copy as well; I just didn't want to wait for shipping. v_v I'm very impatient. And the cost of my impatience was just $8, and I have an Amazon gift card (ironically given by the former principal of my old school, the one who drives the green Honda Accord, Jamie! xD)...so all is well! ^_^

Anyway (second "anyway"...) You might be wondering about the title of my post. I borrowed it from the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team from this year's Olympics, a team of five fantastic athletes who are known as the "Fab Five". They...

(spoiler alert)...


(scroll down...)


.....won the team gold medal. I was so excited! ^_^

But anyway, at my karate studio, there are five of us testing for our second degree black belts. And the other day, I jokingly dubbed us the Fab Five. I told only my family, and my one friend. And voila, in the middle of the test today, the visiting master joked about us being the Fab Five.

Hence the post title. I love being on a sort of team with other people, cheering each other on and whatnot. It's so much fun!!!

Anyway...I really want to find out what happens in the book! =O I only bought it a bit ago, and after skipping the first chapter, which was the book preview that I read a LONG time ago, I continued on. I've read 42% total of the book now. v_v xD

So I'll post pictures and everything as soon as I can. Maybe I'll get my hands on some video, stick it on Youtube, and post it here. We'll see, I suppose!

Pray for all of us--the "Fab Five", as well as another person from our studio, who's testing for her third degree black belt! Tomorrow is going to be hard...

*yawn*

That is all. v_v

One. More. Day.

That's right. Tomorrow begins my test for second degree black belt.

What will this test consist of, you might ask? Well, that's a good question. And the answer is...

EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LEARNED DURING MY KARATE TRAINING, AND THEN SOME.

I'll have to do some sparring, some board breaking, some running, and the many dreaded pushups and situps. v_v

I'm looking forward to the board breaking. Not so much the other stuff listed above. (Except the situps. Those are fine. xD)

Anyway...today I'm resting, because tomorrow begins the TORTURE. xD I pulled a muscle in my leg the other day, so I'm trying to let that heal, so I don't get hurt during the actual test.

Meanwhile, I'm reflecting on how fun it is to break boards.

As a matter of fact, I have a box full of boards in my closet, some broken, some not yet snapped in two. About five minutes ago, I wandered to the closet, pulled out a board, went to my dad's office, had him hold it, and broke it with an elbow strike.

Here's a picture. xD

Anyway...tomorrow I should be doing what's called a "three-station break". That means that I will have three groups of people (well, two groups and a set of cement blocks this time around) holding a total of four boards. I'll do two breaks of one board each, then one break of two boards placed on top of each other. It should be so much fun!!! ^_^ (I'll try to post a video tomorrow, if I can get one.)

So anyway...in other news, I'm spending my day watching the Olympics, and reading Echoes from the Edge and a book called "How Would You Move Mount Fuji?" (The latter is about the crazy questions job interviewers ask, puzzles and the like. It's quite interesting.) I had a dream last night that I'd just about finished writing my book...something which I'm afraid isn't true in real life. But that should be remedied soon!

*comes back to this post at 11:11 PM the next day* That is all. u_u

Home again ^_^

Progress report: 1 week, 3 days (I think) until my black belt test. v_v

Anyway...today I shall quickly fill you in on today's happenings, before moving on to the more pressing pieces of information, that is to say, my trip to Florida.

So today I went to the beach. It was really nice there; the sand was nice and warm, the water was...warm enough...and whatnot. I went boogie boarding instead of surfing today. I'll probably opt to surf more often than not now, though, despite the fact that I've been boogie boarding since I was about eight. The reason? Well...my boogie board has become a bit small. xD

Anyway...then I went home. I had only about ten or fifteen minutes to change into my karate uniform, because I needed to pick up a friend on the way to karate. I took four of the six classes offered today. The other two were spent eating dinner (salad and breadsticks, yum! xD), studying the written test questions I'll need to answer in *gulp* just over a week, and reading Beyond the Reflection's Edge by Bryan Davis.

(Side note...I still need to order From the Mouth of Elijah. It's on my to-do list for tomorrow. xD)

So now I am home, 180something pages into my book, so sore I can hardly walk. Yeah. xD

Anyway...I'm sure y'all want to hear about my several escapes from death. Death by lightning, no less. So here goes xD

For once we didn't really have many delays on the flights. That happens to us a lot...we get stuck at an airport for a while while they clean the plane, or wait for it to get there, or fix it, or something. v_v But this time we probably only had a half-hour delay where we were waiting for the plane. (The other delay was when we were already on the plane, and they were trying to sort something out with the caterers providing the food for the flight. Sitting in a plane seat when you're not going anywhere isn't very fun. Especially when your iPod is threatening to keel over and die at any moment. v_v)

So anyway...once we were in the air on the second leg of our flight, I caught sight of a beautiful, MASSIVE thunderstorm outside the window. It wasn't too far from the plane, lightning was flashing every few seconds...it was incredible! ^_^ I'm counting this as brush with death by lightning #1, considering we were flying in a metal plane, and we had to descend through some clouds to get to the airport, and whatnot. xD It wasn't as close of a brush with death as the other two times, as you will see!

So anyway...we start driving to the hotel. It's really late at night at this point...about 2am Florida time. And I decide to text my dear friend Jamie. And of course the first thing she says when I say "Greetings from Florida!" is along the lines of this:

"WHY AREN'T YOU IN BED?!"

(Not a direct quote. I don't have the iPad with me, so I can't check for the exact one. xD)

So I explained that we were driving to the hotel, and she says something like...

"Texting while driving? >=("

Thank you, Jamie, for providing me with a humorous outlook on driving through heavy rains in Florida in the middle of the night! xD

Anyway...

So we get to the hotel, check in, go to bed, et cetera. The next day we spent working on ye olde undisclosed projects (email me for more details if you'd like xD)...and the next day was the same...and the next...and the next.

Well, I wasn't working, more like watching and talking to the people we were working with. xD But it was fun!!!

So anyway...our first official day off is Saturday. So we decide to go to Sarasota and do some shopping and go to the beach.

Well, we do our shopping. And as we do, a thunderstorm starts up.

We're really hoping to go to the beach, though, so we all get into the car and drive there. (I was navigating...naturally, as I have very little skill with map reading, I managed to make a couple mistakes. Fortunately, we were using the iPad GPS, so I could follow the little "You are here!" thing. xD)

Finally, we get to the beach. It's supposed to be the most beautiful beach in the U.S. Apparently a tropical storm might've wiped out some of the beautiful, white cake batter powder like stuff that was once there. Because it's not particularly pretty, there's a lot of seaweed, and whatnot. xD

Anyway...we're hoping the thunderstorm doesn't come back, so we can enjoy the beach, maybe dip our feet in the water, et cetera.

That's when I notice my sister and my mom's hair standing on end.

Then the hair on my arms starts standing on end.

Every book and article I've ever read on the subject states that at this point, the wisest thing to do is to make sure you are as low to the ground as possible. LIGHTNING IS COMING.

But we disregard the advice a little bit, and hightail it back to the car. xD

There you have it, folks. Brush with death by lightning #2! xD

So the next day, we were going to have the day mostly off. But early Saturday we got a phone call. Apparently something went wrong with part of ye olde undisclosed projects, and we had to go back and work again. (Well, once again I wasn't working. But I went with my family. xD)

So, as others are working...a large thunderstorm rolls in.

The thunder gets louder...and louder...and louder.

At this point, I am really enjoying the weather. So I say, "I'm going outside to watch." And I do.

About two minutes later, there's a huge flash of lightning, almost precisely at the same time as an enormous boom of thunder. The lightning might just have struck the building we were in. The PA system went out. xD

My mom pokes her head outside and tells me to come in. I do, exclaiming "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!"

It was awesome. And loud. And awesome.

That was brush with death by lightning #3, everybody. xD

Anyway, the rest of the work went well. And over the course of the vacation, we managed to do some touristy things like shopping and going to the beach. (The water is so warm in Florida. It's awesome. ^_^)

And we fly back, with no problems aside from the aforementioned catering thing.

And now, I'm sitting here at my desk at home, exhausted from karate and my trip to the beach and the trip and everything. xD

Oh, and one more thing before I sign off: My class ring came!!!! =D I'll post a picture as soon as I get a decent one. xD It has my name, the year of my graduation, all the usual stuff. And it has those decoration carving things on the sides. I picked one that represents my academic side, and another that technically means journalism, but to me means the KotoompaA. xD It has a feather pen, a scroll, and a computer. ^_^

And the stone...is beautiful. It's a tourmaline, probably made in a factory or just a stone made to look like a tourmaline, but to me it counts. DioM fans, you may know that rubellites are a type of tourmaline. xD

So I basically have a rubellite ring, only the stone is greenish/multicolored in some lights rather than red. xD

Anyway...*yawn*...I'm quite tired now. I must adjourn and head off to the land of dreams. Before I keel over from exhaustion.

I'll blog again soon. ^_^

And I look forward to reading y'all's next blog posts!!! =D

That is all. u_u

A Quiet Summer Day

Hi everyone! I'm currently sitting in my room at my computer, which is something I've been doing for most of the day. The grand total of things I've done thus far include:

Check my emails
Check my other emails
Check Facebook
Play Minecraft
Check my emails again
And so on...

Can't you tell I'm having quite a productive day? >_>

Anyway...As I'm currently sitting at my computer, I realize that there are quite a few things I could be doing. Like writing my book. v_v Unfortunately, I'm feeling sort of at a loss as to what should happen next. I have a rough idea...but I'm not sure! D""""= I suppose I'll be inspired soon...I hope v_v

Also, I've been trying to write more songs on the piano. I've written one more, which I performed at my baccalaureate...I'll have to make a decent recording of it sometime, I suppose. xD

*Checks clock* *is supposed to go driving in 40 minutes*

With regards to the driving...There was a time when I EXTREMELY DISLIKED IT. I mean...I didn't even want to be behind the wheel. There's something intimidating about driving a huge vehicle and putting yourself and others in danger...everyone's lives are in YOUR HANDS...that's the general feeling I get. I tend to feel responsible for things, even if they have nothing to do with me, so driving = not so fun sometimes. xD But as of a couple days ago, I got behind the wheel...

AND ACTUALLY *GASP* HAD FUN.

Yes, you read that right. I ENJOYED DRIVING.

I suppose that's a good thing. I'm going to have to enjoy driving someday; I'm going to have to get used to the feeling of steering a giant machine that runs on gasoline and has four wheels and is made (mostly) of metal...

In other news, I am beginning to be extremely frustrated with ye olde computer, which I long ago dubbed Lois -2.0, due to it's *gasp* being pink. (Sometimes I wonder why I got a pink computer. I guess it's because the yellow, which I was also considering, made the computer look like a bumblebee, the black and grey and white looked too ordinary, the blue wasn't my preferred blue, the purple was too dark...et cetera. The pink isn't a particularly bright pink, anyway. It's a sort of...purplish pink, I guess? Though it's more on the pink side. And to make it a bit less...pink...I added a Hyper sticker to cover the Dell logo. Suffice it to say that I will probably NEVER get a Dell again, unless I somehow get enough money to get an XPS, which has good graphics and stuff.)

Anyway...enough of that tangent. My computer has become EXTREMELY SLOW due to the myriad photos and videos and old school assignments that I have stored on it. It's become so slow that even though I deleted both my flight simulators, most of the games, a lot of the video conversion programs I'd attempted to use, many pictures and videos, and whatnot, I can still barely install things on it any more. I can't even play Minecraft without it freezing up. Which is not a good thing, considering that the slowness of the game and the fact that I can't really walk or see what I'm doing half the time makes it hard to fight monsters...and not drown. (Yeah. My computer literally KILLED me. xD Which is annyoing, because I lost all my armor! D""""=)

So I went on Craigslist to look for computers in good condition, but I'm finding them...well, I'm not really finding them. You see, a good computer is usually pretty expensive, and I don't really have the money for it at the moment. Ah, well, I suppose I'll just wait until I head off to college. I've talked to my parents, and they've said that that's probably when I can get a new computer.

And when I do, I'm hoping to get a Mac, instead of a Windows computer. Not that I have anything (much) to say against Windows...they just have a lot of problems. I've used them since I was...four?...so I'm really familiar with them, and they usually cooperate with me, unless they happen to be my computer (or just really old). I think a Mac will be a) a nice change, and b) the solution to my electronics-caused woes. v_v Our iPad and my iPod like me, after all. xD

 By the way, Jamie, as regards the potential for working at the Apple vs. Windows store, I feel that if I were to work at the Apple store, I'd actually *gasp* have a bigger headache. Why, you ask? Well, because there are just so many people in there...it's SO LOUD...the Windows Store is peaceful in comparison. Still has customers to help and such, but it's a lot quieter, and therefore will wreak less havoc on my sanity. xD

Although working at the Apple Store would be AWESOME. (Not to mention I might be able to get a discount on the stuff there...I don't know if that happens, but it would be really nice if it did. xD)

So anyway...I've joined a local fitness center and I'm planning on going there a lot to do weight training and stuff, I'm going to karate more, we're planning for a trip next week, I've been riding my caster board, reading Red (still...I know...), I've bought some new drawing pencils, and I am really looking forward to watching the Olympics. The scary part about the Olympics is that a lot of the people competing are actually younger than me now! Some of them are even fifteen! It makes me feel so....OLD!...o_o

*looks at clock* *25 more minutes*

I've been reading your blogs, Jamie and Rachel. I must say I'm really enjoying Jamie's recap of her trip. And Rachel, when are you going to post again? xD I think a cloudy Sunday is an oxymoron, by the way :P

We should do another Skype chat or freewrite party soon. I miss you guys! And I hope I'll be able to visit both of you sometime in the near future ^_^

*really needs to start writing letters*

*answers Jamie's blog poll* Well, I suppose "a few times a month" would be an accurate response to how often I journal. I really should journal more. My last entry was on...let's see...*looks it up* March 19, 2012.

Has it really been that long? O.o

Wow. I really need to write in there more. I guess this blog sort of took over for it. But I suppose I should journal about the strange dreams I've had (one of which involved my being able to turn into a white poodle) and the other things which would, dear readers, either bore you or rather frighten you. xD

So until next time. Maybe I'll be reading White by then. Who knows?

That is all u_u

One month and counting...

Nearly a year ago, I had a dream that I was three months away from my second degree black belt test, and I couldn't yet complete the endurance requirements.

One month and counting until the actual event. I am even farther behind on my endurance requirements than I was in my dream.

I can barely run a mile. (Well, I can run two, but not without some asthma.) I can't do  that many pushups...not nearly enough...the situps I can do though! xD And I don't know about the requirement of doing a whole bunch of jump front kicks in a row (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about)...or if that requirement even exists any more, for that matter. >_> *feels really out of the loop*

Anyway...for my test I also have to spar two people at once. Considering my relatively abysmal sparring record...I'm not looking forward to that >_>

But in other news, life is very good! I have good books to read, some inspiration for the book I'm writing, I'm enjoying playing the piano, sketching, being outside, going to the beach, looking forward to going boating on the lake with my friends, the Olympics in less than a month and the Olympic Trials now...I am REALLY having a fantastic summer!

The other night I attended a freewrite party! ^_^ I hadn't been to one in a while, and this was the first time my sister joined us! I had a fun time trying to explain the various emoticons to her xD (My thanks to Cece, if you read this, for explaining them to her. v_v I wasn't doing a very good job, I'm afraid.)

*Looks at clock* *decides to go to karate at 6:15-ish* It's 5:15 now. If I go at 6:15 I'll get three classes in, including Certified Instructor Training, which should be fun. We should be doing the unit on injuries soon! I've missed almost every single class where that unit is covered, and apparently it's lots of fun. Someone will pretend to pass out in class, or something likewise entertaining, and we'll have to pretend like it's really happening. (The other entertaining class is the one where half the students pretend to have ADHD, or at least act on their already slightly ADHD tendencies. I have to admit, I have a LOT of fun getting to be rather more my normal self during that unit. xD)

*looks up at blog post* WOW! I'm actually improving at writing more on my blog! (Let me know if I'm being dead boring, of course. I don't want that!)

Short tidbits of news/random stuff
I went to the library the other day and found a Complete Works of Shakespeare for only three dollars at the used bookstore!!! I was so excited and bought it immediately!

My high school diploma still hasn't come. xD

I love honey-flavored Greek yogurt. I had it at my cousin's house a few months ago, and a couple days ago my mom let me get some from the market...and I've almost finished all of it already. It's DELICIOUS!!!! I would mail some to all of you, but I'm afraid it would spoil on the trip to y'all's houses v_v

I still haven't applied for any jobs. I'm hoping to work either at the library, Barnes and Noble, the local coffee shop, the Apple Store, the Windows Store, or Verizon. xD

Er...Well, that's all I can think of for the moment. I'm sure that once I click "Publish" about sixty other things will pop into my head. Ha, ha.

Oh, by the way, Jamie, sorry for being a day late posting this xD

And Rachel, I hope you had fun reading yesterday, and that the sun came out for you! ^_^

By the way, who is Shadow Uname? I've been wondering. xD

That is all. u_u

SUMMER AT LAST

(This post is dedicated to my dear friend Jamie. ^_^ Hi, Jamie!)

So...it's SUMMER AT LAST. I don't think I've had a summer this awesome since...well, probably since the summer before I started high school. Take last summer, for instance. I found out that I needed two more Bible credits to graduate...and I only had one year left. So I did a WHOLE YEAR'S WORTH OF BIBLE over the summer. It was an awesome summer, I was just studying. A lot.

Anyway...this new sense of summer, the sort of summer that comes with no school, is filled with all sorts of things. I have time to write and draw now, and paint and such! ^_^

I've already been to the beach twice, which is as many times as I went last summer. And as many times as I went the summer before. And it hasn't even been a whole month of summer! ^_^

Plus, I've been going to the library a lot more! Right now I'm reading the Circle Series by Ted Dekker...and it is AWESOME!!!!! They finally got Black in, so I finished that a few days ago. Right now I'm reading Red and thoroughly enjoying it. x)

(Side note: The day I finally started reading Black again, I went on Google News, and found a whole bunch of somewhat featured articles about the potential for a new strain of bird flu that could become a pandemic. As far as I recall, a similar phenomenon occurred when I started reading Black the first time. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!)

So anyway...I've also gone to the nearby boba place twice. If you're wondering what boba is, it's like giant tapioca. And you get it in these sort of Icee-ish drinks that come in all sorts of flavors. So far I've tried vanilla, chocolate, and cookies and cream. I have to say that chocolate is my favorite, and vanilla my least favorite. xD

Yesterday some friends and I went to the beach (this is the second beach trip I was referring to), and we rented one of those six-person bikes, and a two-person bike (there were seven of us). We rode around for about an hour, had a blast, and got a great workout in the bargain! xD

It's getting late...I have to go to bed in eight minutes (yes, it's the More Normal Bedtime once again!)...but I just don't want to get off the computer! I want to work on my novel, and read everyone's blogs, and Skype people, and email people...(speaking of which, FC Summer has also struck, which means nothing ever happens on NSA. >_> xD Somehow I find myself spending more time on Facebook...which is unusual for me...)

*sits in the darkness with only the light of my clock and my computer for company* *tries to think of what more to write*

Four minutes...*listens to clock tick* *feels poetic* xD

Ah, well, I'll probably come up with something more to write about tomorrow. xD Until then, dear readers! x)

That is all. u_u

The end of an era...

I have finished high school.

That is all u_u

Adventure!

I'm back!!! After several weeks of kinda...being grounded...because I spent too much time on the computer instead of doing school......I have returned >:) And I think I'm back for good this time! High school ends FOREVER. On FRIDAY. 3 more days and I'm DONE. I don't actually graduate until the 11th, but I'm still saying I'm done u_u

Anyway...since I vanished, I've had many amazing adventures. I've finished my physics class. I helped clean out a 120 year old house that had a lot of collectible items in it. I stayed in a hotel by myself for two nights.

Anyway, let me regale you with this wonderful tale.

So I went to...an undisclosed location...in order to help clean out this old house. My grandparents were collectors of many, many things. (VCRs and electric plugs seemed to be two of the things they collected. Well, my grandpa collected movie posters and had the largest collection of recorded movies on VCR and beta tapes in history, probably, so I suppose the 17 or so VCRs made sense...) Anyway, originally it was me, my mom, and my sister, both my mom's sisters, a couple of my cousins, my grandma's nephew and his wife, and the husband of my grandma's caretaker, all working tirelessly to ensure that everything was clean and organized, that the stuff with no value was separated from the stuff that had value, et cetera. We cleaned the closets, the cabinets, the drawers...EVERYTHING.

And then, a few days in, we get a call that says my sister has to go and test for a role. (I.E. she has to leave for a while.) So she and my mom left. As all the bedrooms at the old house were full, and we'd already paid for the hotel room, I got to stay there alone for two nights. (I did wind up bringing a BB gun that looks remarkably like a real gun with me, and carrying it around with me (I couldn't leave the room alone, so just inside the room) to help me not be as paranoid...It worked...kinda...)

Anyway, after 2 days, a trip to Home Depot, cleaning out the attic of the house, et cetera, my mom and sister returned, along with  my dad! We got to go around choosing the stuff we wanted to take home with us. I wound up with an antique camera, a Polaroid camera, a typewriter, a ton of art supplies (oil paints, acrylic paints, oil pastels, soft pastels, colored pencils, and lots of paintbrushes), an Indiana Jones whip, an awesome clock, an old radio, a bunch of British, French, and Irish money, some coins from Israel, a Beta player and ORIGINAL copy of the first Star Wars movie (HAN SHOT FIRST!), a Stetson (like the Doctor!)...uh...what else?...oh yeah, a big trunk that's green and gold, the BB gun, a pair of driving gloves, an awesome movie about golf, two Alaskan license plates, an old world map that has the Soviet Union on it, a coin purse from West Germany, a carving set, three knives, a keychain, a bunch of compasses (the drawing kind), a magnifying glass, and a framed, embroidered picture of an owl that my grandma made. :)

*cough* Now that I've thoroughly bored you...

HOW HAVE YOU ALL BEEN????? I'm currently making sure everything is in order to turn in to my Physics teacher tomorrow, drinking a glass of water, and looking forward to the freewriting party that's starting in ten minutes. I'm Skyping a friend, emailing another friend, listening to the ticking of the clock and the arrival of emails in the Student Cafe on FirstClass. I'm reflecting on how this has been my longest blog post ever, I think. (I think.)

I think I'm getting the hang of this!!!

That is all u_u

10 Rules for Good Writing

10 Rules for Good Writing
by C. S. Lewis

1. Turn off the radio.
2. Read good books and avoid most magazines.
3. Write with the ear, not the eye. Make every sentence sound good.
4. Write only about things that interest you. If you have no interests, you will never be a writer.
5. Be clear. Remember that readers can't know your mind. Don't forget to tell them exactly what they need to know to understand you.
6. Save odds and ends of writing attempts, because you may be able to use them later.
7. You need a well-trained sense of word-rhythm, and the noise of a typewriter will interfere.
8. Know the meaning of every word you use.
9. Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
10. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

Agree? Disagree? Comments? =)

Back from my trip! And other news

Sorry for the delay in posting again...I've either been doing school or haven't been feeling bloggish v_v

Anyway, my trip was AWESOME. I had to do another interview, this one with a panel of 6-8 professors, most of whom have their doctorates...the theology professor was asking me about good and evil and creation, and the history professor was quizzing me on my views on/definitions of truth, beauty, and goodness. 'Twas fun xD

And I met a whole bunch of awesome people! My roommate at the event also happens to be a writer, and the books that we are working on are actually somewhat similar in certain ways, so we had lots of fun talking about   that.

In other news, I am becoming less of a procrastinator. Plus I got to go see Star Wars Episode I in theaters the other day. (I know, I know; it's been out (again) for a month already...I just didn't get around to going to see it until the other day.) Has anyone else noticed that Star Wars villains are notoriously bad at building indestructible space stations (or whatever they called it in this one...)? >_>

ANYWAY...I've also been doing a lot of sketching. I'm trying to improve my people-drawing skills, and I think it MIGHT be working xD I'll post some soon, if y'all want =P

So...I've been working on my book ideas lately, and the cast of characters is growing steadily. Four new people wandered into the story, and I'm not sure if they're going to leave >_> <_< Fortunately, I rather like these new characters, and they have an interesting story (or at least I think so ^_^)

And I have YET ANOTHER book idea, an NSA-related one. Inspired by the figment of our imaginations (or is it real?...) known as the STICK OF POWER. Well, one of the Sticks of Power, anyway. =P We'll see what happens to this story. I quite like it, and you wouldn't even need to be an NSAer to understand it! xD

Hmm...what else can I talk about?...let's see...Trip? Check. Procrastinating? Check. Sketching? Check. Writing? Check. And real life is boring...school, school, and more school, nothing y'all would like to hear about. Oh, maybe I should rant about my history textbook. NOT my favorite book. It is decidedly SECULAR. And it isn't always very interesting. At least it isn't quite as elementary as I originally thought it would be (did they really have to tell us what an archaeologist does? >_>).

I think that's it for now; I haven't quite learned how to write long blog entries yet. Someday I will hopefully develop this valuable skill. But, until then,

That is all U_U

Homework time...

So I'm leaving at 6 a.m. tomorrow for my trip! I'm really excited, but I have a LOT of homework to do:

I'm going to try to read the rest of Chapter 1 in my history book. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll have to bring my 1000 page textbook on the plane with me.

I'm going to do as much of the AP Lit homework as I'm able to do. (I can't do the Multiple Choice questions yet, because I don't have access to those until Thursday...grr...)

I'm going to try to finish all 20 problems of my Physics homework so I don't have to bring my 600 page textbook with me. v_v

That's what I'm going to do today.

So...you wonder...IF YOU  HAVE TO DO ALL OF THAT HOMEWORK, WHY ARE YOU WRITING HERE?

The answer: I am a chronic, though recovering, procrastinator. v_v Who is writing a blog post while sitting in front of an open Physics textbook, listening to a song from Wicked, and drinking Peach Snapple.

Life is good v_v

Life is crazy again xD

So today I found out I'm leaving on another competition trip on Wednesday, this one involving four interviews, a few more fancy dinners, et cetera. v_v Whenever I go to one of these competitions, I always feel like the random, not-super-rich individual of story fame who was invited to dine with rich people. A bit out of place, but in a fun, bookish way. So I get to go do that again, and in 30 degree weather. This should be fun! ^_^ I think...

On the other hand, I have to miss karate classes and physics class, and this week we were talking about light and sound, which is INTERESTING. Bummer. >.> Ah, well. A necessary trade-off.

In other news, I'm getting madder and madder at my history textbook. "They found a skull that looks something like a modern chimpanzee but is a few million years old. It's believed to be the earliest known ancestor of modern humans." Uh...COULDN'T IT JUST BE A CHIMPANZEE, PEOPLE? >.<

But hey, I didn't know the evolutionary theory of the origin of humanity as well as I should've. So I'm learning something, at least...


Last night was the first-ever Plotting Party; Jamie and I worked on my stories about a place called Mirkal and the people who travel back and forth from there to our world. I had only a very few ideas of where the stories were going before we plotted last night, and now I have so many epic ideas I don't know WHERE to begin. Do I finish my current novel, Listed, or work on the prequels to it so I know exactly where I want Listed to end up? Or do I just plot the back-story and continue to write Listed as I do so? Or should I work on both at the same time? (They'll probably never get done that way, but at least I'll feel like I'm writing SOMETHING...)

I'm also trying to become accustomed to journaling. I'm writing in my journal a lot more than I used to (especially since my newest one has a leather cover and feels like something out of a book), but I'm still not writing as much as I should. So tonight's goal is to write at least a page-long entry, chronicling the past few days.

And I also want a new microphone, because I'm FINALLY starting to record music. But my microphone causes these annoying clicking noises...here, see what I mean?

(That's my favorite bit of improvisation from tonight, by the way. In case the video doesn't tell you, it's called "Recognition".)

Anyway, I must go check to see if my karate uniform is dry; if it isn't, I can't go to my Instructor Training class tonight. Ah, well, I won't miss much. It's the first day, and all I'd probably find out is how to teach the classes I won't be in this week, as well as what level I'm at in the program. At the last official check, I was at Level 2 in the kids' program, but since then I've been moved to the adults' program, so I have no idea what level I'm at once again. And I'm too scared to ask, so....

More to come later, if I think of anything to write about :)

It has come down to this...

My Driver's Ed course is telling me that I'm 95% done. I'm on slide 41 out of 79 of the very last unit...then I need to study for and take the test...and then...I can go about getting my permit. v_v Hopefully I'll be done with Driver's Ed FOREVER by Monday! ^_^

What to blog about?

I thought about posting earlier, but I couldn't figure out anything to say, except to mention that Driver's Ed is FINALLY teaching me something useful...ha, ha...

And then I read a friend's most recent blog post, in which she was talking about questions that had come up in her recent job interviews.

So, I decided to write about interview questions. v_v

Back in...December, I think? I had an interview with a college that, at the moment, might be the one I end up attending. Anyway, I got asked a couple of really tough questions during this interview, and I thought I'd share 'em with y'all...so here we go.

Tough question #1: "If you could ask Jesus any one question, what would it be?"

At this point, I was stumped for a moment. I had no idea how to answer that. But I knew I had to answer. So I thought for a second, and then I remembered that the interviewer and I had been discussing C.S. Lewis a few minutes before. And, of course, I remembered the section in Mere Christianity that talks about the Trinity. So I said that I would ask Him how the Trinity works. Which I probably would, for that matter...if it really came down to me asking Him only one question.

Tough question #2: "What is your greatest weakness?"

I don't like talking about myself, and I knew that if I said something wrong in my answer to this question I'd come out looking either really mean, really stupid, or really proud...which the college I was interviewing for wouldn't like...so I thought for a moment, and then I figured it out. I'm actually rather opinionated and stubborn, so when I have a strong belief about something I don't like letting it go, even if I have to be...well...quite stubborn about it. I guess that's my greatest weakness. Or at least one of them. (One of my friends has since suggested the answer "I'm human", which I really like, but unless I get this question again, I won't be able to use said answer...) Something I need to change about myself.....I sense a new project in the making! xD

Anyway...other questions I've received are "What do you think about the conflict in the Middle East?" (after they discovered my interest in journalism), or "How do you go about a writing project?" (from an English professor), or "You really like libraries, don't you?" (That last one is probably the question I'm most proud of out of all the ones I've been asked in interviews.) Fortunately, I haven't yet been asked the dreaded question "Tell me about yourself"--which I absolutely HATE, because I HATE talking about myself (in the context of trying to make myself look good, anyway).

But anyway, let's get to the point of this whole discussion. Why am I going through all these questions? Because, dear readers, if/when you wind up in an interview for a job or college, you'll get asked questions based directly on your resume or your interests as presented to the interviewer. Hence why I've been asked about everything from my view of current events to my martial arts training to my favorite authors. If/when you wind up in a situation in which you are going in for an interview, make sure you "Know thyself", to quote...Socrates, I think it was?... Anyway, practice answering questions like "Tell me about yourself." Write an outline, or at least a list of points that you want to talk about. Highlight your particular strengths and interests and the things that make you unique. Try not to brag, but don't downplay yourself too much either. You want to be confident, but not overconfident. Be friendly. Don't try to be funny all the time. Just be yourself. And pray. =)

You've probably heard all that before, so I apologize if I've bored you. =P

That is all U_U

Driver's Ed..............

......basically just teaches me obvious stuff.

Like "Make sure to look before you change lanes."

And "Don't drive too fast on the freeway."

And "Stop at the stop sign." (This was seriously the first question I was asked as part of the class.)

And the non-obvious stuff I will probably not be able to remember when I actually get behind the wheel of the car.

Ah, well, I should be done with Driver's Ed on Thursday. And then....watch out.

A new week!

So...this week my goals are the following:

1. To get all my homework done without procrastinating
2. To go to karate as many times as I can
3. To help organize extra weekly practices for 2nd degree black belt test
4. To write at least 5,000 words of my book
5. To finish driver's ed

Note to everyone: as soon as Goal #5 is complete, you might want to get off of the roads.

6. To keep writing music!
7. To go watch the karate tournament this weekend and cheer for my friends :)

We'll see how this goes........

The exclamation "Oi" sums up my mental state at the moment...

I want to do a freewrite. I really do. But I must study instead............
And I want to watch Doctor Who...........
And write my book...........
And sketch............
And go to the library...........
And go to karate.........
And journal........
In other words, I want to do everything BUT school. v_v

But in my new quest to be a non-procrastinator, and to be extremely responsible, I must refrain from doing any of the above except for school.

Therefore, goodbye, blog....for now.

At long last......

So I finally named my new blue, shiny bo staff........
Its name is now Tardis >:)

Yes, I am a Doctor Who fan. In case you were wondering.

Thank you Rachel for the wonderful suggestion!

Here goes nothing......

Well, here I am at long last. I've been told in the past I ought to have a blog, because I tend to ramble on and on about things that don't really interest anyone but me, and I figure that if you're not interested in something I'm saying, you can just skip to the next subject. Ha, ha. So, anyway (and repetitively), here I am.

My state of mind at the moment: Utterly and completely confused. I've been so busy for the past few days, my emails are ALWAYS distracting me, I'm trying to get all my work done...in other words, sheer insanity. To top it off, many of my friends are most likely certifiably insane. Hence the complete and utter confusion.

But otherwise, life is good. I've been going to karate more, both to spend time with my (insane) friends and to train for my 2nd Degree Black Belt test, which should hopefully be happening in just 6 months. 6 MONTHS. I had a dream a 3 months back that it was only 3 months away and I was horribly out of shape...and now that 3 months is only 3 months away, and I'm no fitter than I was 3 months ago...if that makes any sense at all. Long story short--I need to start exercising. That is all U_U

In other news...I'm thinking about recording an album of piano music inspired by my favorite books. I'll let anyone who reads this know when I've got it finished, et cetera.

Oh, and congrats to my very dear friend who just graduated yesterday! I'd sing Auld Lang Syne, but that's for New Years', isn't it? Pomp and Circumstance doesn't exactly have words, though...*hums Pomp and Circumstance* There we are.

That's all for now...