As I sit here in this salon chair having an entire summer's worth of chlorine removed from my hair (this is apparently a 20 minute process), I'm realizing how little summer I have left. It's the last day of August, I only have 2 daily blogs after today, and I'm super close to returning to school for Pippin tech and meeting freshmen.
First of all, it's super weird to see my younger friends going to college for the first time or going through the process of applying for college. University was an end for so many years, so to be in the middle of my four years is a profound shift. I'm in such a different life place than I was a year ago; perhaps that's why I'm actually considering fringe.
I guess I'm dwelling on the transitory nature of my life a lot, but with all the impermanence and the whirlwind pace, it's hard not to. So, sorry for not being sorry that I'm boring you with my psychological/developmental braindump. Writing helps me sort things out, and this is the forum I'm motivated to write in. However, I do find it interesting that I can analyze what I'm going through as I go through it. I hope it's making me a more thoughtful and less neurotic person.
Ugh. It's only been 12 minutes. What is even on my hair right now?
It strikes me that I got every piece of my outfit this summer, but that's kind of the only time of year that I shop. With the exception of the footwear, everything was chosen with the voice in the back of my head reminding me that I'm nearly 20 years old. That's the completion of my second decade of life! The birthday is still a number of months away, but I think I'm ready to leave teendom behind. It doesn't make much sense to be in the same social group as 7th graders anymore (those are the 13-year-olds).
Ok. 4 minutes left. I'm going to look through a trashy magazine now. I'll finish this post after the haircut.
That took a really long time, but I like my new haircut! It's a little bit shorter, it's styled, and I now have some fringe that is as long as all of my hair when my hair is short. I like it :) They styled it curly for me, and now, despite my fear of curling irons, I'm considering getting one. Don't know if I'll follow through, but it's a thought.
Well, today is awesome because I have a successful new style and I'm spending the night with friends.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
BEDA 28: On the James Bond Wannabe, Shopping, and Saying Goodbye
One very important part of my zoo day yesterday was that we drove past a James Bond wannabe. It was a man in an Aston Martin convertible wearing a suit and smoking a big fat cigar. The only thing is, he had a comb-over. It was puzzling, but it was also the first time I'd seen a real Aston Martin, and it was cool.
I went shopping with my friend Katie today. It was really fun!! The thing is, I spend so much time doing activities that I never really take the time to stop and take a relaxed day to be a girl. As much as I hate being a stereotype, I enjoy doing this from time to time. I ended up finding a really cute dress that looks like a skirt and top (it has pockets and goes well with my sparkly purple sneakers), and the most adorable socks ever that have koalas and owls on them (still in zoo mode a little bit).
I've got 6 days left at home and 10 days until I go back to school (4 days of traveling with the family). I know that I belong at college; it's where my life is currently centered and it's my job to do well there. I have friends, a home (dorm, but close enough), things to do, and places to be. HOWEVER, every time I come back to where I grew up it's so amazing to see all the people who have shaped the adult I am becoming (both mentors and peers) and get to spend time with people who have known and cared about me for a long time. The fact is, I care about them, too, and I love spending time with the people at home in the places unique to being home.
Every time I have to say goodbye to someone it is so difficult. They are the reason it's good to come back, and having to go through the act of leaving again and again is hard. It adds a twinge of guilt and sadness for being excited to go to school, but not in a way that stops me. I do keep in touch (and this year I resolve to be better about it), and the internet never lets us be too far apart. I've just been sad about saying goodbyes in the last few weeks, and wanted to blog about it.
Today is awesome because of shopping with Katie, Tae Kwon Do, and the beautiful sunny weather.
I went shopping with my friend Katie today. It was really fun!! The thing is, I spend so much time doing activities that I never really take the time to stop and take a relaxed day to be a girl. As much as I hate being a stereotype, I enjoy doing this from time to time. I ended up finding a really cute dress that looks like a skirt and top (it has pockets and goes well with my sparkly purple sneakers), and the most adorable socks ever that have koalas and owls on them (still in zoo mode a little bit).
I've got 6 days left at home and 10 days until I go back to school (4 days of traveling with the family). I know that I belong at college; it's where my life is currently centered and it's my job to do well there. I have friends, a home (dorm, but close enough), things to do, and places to be. HOWEVER, every time I come back to where I grew up it's so amazing to see all the people who have shaped the adult I am becoming (both mentors and peers) and get to spend time with people who have known and cared about me for a long time. The fact is, I care about them, too, and I love spending time with the people at home in the places unique to being home.
Every time I have to say goodbye to someone it is so difficult. They are the reason it's good to come back, and having to go through the act of leaving again and again is hard. It adds a twinge of guilt and sadness for being excited to go to school, but not in a way that stops me. I do keep in touch (and this year I resolve to be better about it), and the internet never lets us be too far apart. I've just been sad about saying goodbyes in the last few weeks, and wanted to blog about it.
Today is awesome because of shopping with Katie, Tae Kwon Do, and the beautiful sunny weather.
Monday, August 29, 2011
I Fed a Giraffe Today!! (BEDA 27)
Today, I went to the zoo with my friend, Emma. It was really fun!!!
We got there around 10:15AM, and went straight to the new elephant exhibit. They had Willie, the male elephant, on one side and all the females in a separate enclosure. Nearby in the same exhibit, there were meerkats (whose babies are called "meerkat pups" not "meerkittens" as I had hoped) and a snake named Regis that we got to pet. He was squishy.
Next we walked over to the Australia exhibit to see the koala and tree kangaroo. They were so cute!!!! Emma and I found it very difficult not to reach over, put them in our bags, and make a swift exit. After Australia, we walked up a walkway to the Primate, Cats, and Aquatics area (if you couldn't tell, that means gorillas, cats, and fish, as the signpost so kindly told us).
Up there, we saw cheetahs which were very muscular and graceful outside, and then we went into the PCA building. We started with the fish. There were so many different kinds!!! They seemed to like Emma a lot. I decided that I liked the yellow spotted stingray and would enjoy a poster of them. They look so cool!!!!!!! There was a HUGE grouper in the tank with a few kinds of sharks and really neat tropical fish that had split tails.
The other side of the building had the primates and cats. The cats were black footed cats, and they were so tiny and adorable. They were sleeping and looked like a cross between a housecat and a cheetah.
The most remarkable primate was the Gibbon. It was bipedal and had such long arms. Watching it walk and climb was so cool. We also saw three different kinds of lemur, an elephant shrew, baboons that looked like Norweigan trolls, howler monkeys, and spider monkeys.
The squirrel monkeys were really cool. They were tiny and cute, and they were eating when we walked by. The one at the salad bowl was digging around for the bits he liked. It was like he was saying, "screw this lettuce, I want the bugs!"
After the PCA building, we picnicked, and then saw the gorillas. They were smelly and kind of sad looking. We then walked back down to the lower zoo and went to the giraffes. They were doing a training session, and we got to feed a giraffe named Grace. They were being classically conditioned to be near humans. I held out a piece of lettuce and Grace grabbed it with her tongue. It was such a special experience!!!
We continued the walk up to the wolves and bears. We saw the wolves and a bald eagle. I got a really good picture of the eagle! Then we saw reindeer, bactrian camels, a polar bear, and sea lions. On the way out, we stopped to see the rhino and zebra.
When deciding if we needed to see anything else, we stopped at the info desk. The guy told us that the baby grizzly bears were napping and the hippo has "retired." We couldn't tell if "retirement" was a euphemism for death, but it doesn't really matter because we couldn't see it either way.
I really like the zoo. It's fun to see animals that I can't see every day. It reminds me how amazing the world is and the importance of conservation (and not just because of the environmental propaganda throughout the zoo). It was a really great day.
Today is awesome because of spending time with Emma and feeding the giraffe at the zoo.
We got there around 10:15AM, and went straight to the new elephant exhibit. They had Willie, the male elephant, on one side and all the females in a separate enclosure. Nearby in the same exhibit, there were meerkats (whose babies are called "meerkat pups" not "meerkittens" as I had hoped) and a snake named Regis that we got to pet. He was squishy.
Next we walked over to the Australia exhibit to see the koala and tree kangaroo. They were so cute!!!! Emma and I found it very difficult not to reach over, put them in our bags, and make a swift exit. After Australia, we walked up a walkway to the Primate, Cats, and Aquatics area (if you couldn't tell, that means gorillas, cats, and fish, as the signpost so kindly told us).
Up there, we saw cheetahs which were very muscular and graceful outside, and then we went into the PCA building. We started with the fish. There were so many different kinds!!! They seemed to like Emma a lot. I decided that I liked the yellow spotted stingray and would enjoy a poster of them. They look so cool!!!!!!! There was a HUGE grouper in the tank with a few kinds of sharks and really neat tropical fish that had split tails.
The other side of the building had the primates and cats. The cats were black footed cats, and they were so tiny and adorable. They were sleeping and looked like a cross between a housecat and a cheetah.
The most remarkable primate was the Gibbon. It was bipedal and had such long arms. Watching it walk and climb was so cool. We also saw three different kinds of lemur, an elephant shrew, baboons that looked like Norweigan trolls, howler monkeys, and spider monkeys.
The squirrel monkeys were really cool. They were tiny and cute, and they were eating when we walked by. The one at the salad bowl was digging around for the bits he liked. It was like he was saying, "screw this lettuce, I want the bugs!"
After the PCA building, we picnicked, and then saw the gorillas. They were smelly and kind of sad looking. We then walked back down to the lower zoo and went to the giraffes. They were doing a training session, and we got to feed a giraffe named Grace. They were being classically conditioned to be near humans. I held out a piece of lettuce and Grace grabbed it with her tongue. It was such a special experience!!!
We continued the walk up to the wolves and bears. We saw the wolves and a bald eagle. I got a really good picture of the eagle! Then we saw reindeer, bactrian camels, a polar bear, and sea lions. On the way out, we stopped to see the rhino and zebra.
When deciding if we needed to see anything else, we stopped at the info desk. The guy told us that the baby grizzly bears were napping and the hippo has "retired." We couldn't tell if "retirement" was a euphemism for death, but it doesn't really matter because we couldn't see it either way.
I really like the zoo. It's fun to see animals that I can't see every day. It reminds me how amazing the world is and the importance of conservation (and not just because of the environmental propaganda throughout the zoo). It was a really great day.
Today is awesome because of spending time with Emma and feeding the giraffe at the zoo.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
BEDA 26: On Cleaning and Organizing
I really like to keep my spaces clean and organized. Everything has its place (but the drawers tend to be a mess), and I obsessively clorox and vacuum my room at school. I don't really know what makes me so compulsive, I just like for things to be put away. Some nights when I was younger, I would stay up late putting things away because I couldn't fall asleep with the mess. Yeah, it's weird, but it's also part of who I am.
Lately, we've been cleaning the house because we're moving. I hate packing. My room is the emptiest its been in my entire life, but the thought of having to pack up all the stuff that's put away in closets and drawers is making me really upset. I just don't want to do it. I'm avoiding it.
Today is awesome because of water chestnuts and fuzzy slippers.
Lately, we've been cleaning the house because we're moving. I hate packing. My room is the emptiest its been in my entire life, but the thought of having to pack up all the stuff that's put away in closets and drawers is making me really upset. I just don't want to do it. I'm avoiding it.
Today is awesome because of water chestnuts and fuzzy slippers.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
BEDA 25: A Recipe for 11th Doctor Sundaes
I am once again claiming Central Time for this blog. Deal with it; I had people over.
For my Doctor Who Season 6 Part 2 Premiere Party, I set up 11th Doctor Sundaes.
Ingredients:
Ice Cream
Gummy Fish
Gummy Sharks
Whipped Cream
Colored Sugar
So, the ice cream and the gummy fish represent fish fingers and custard. I put blue food coloring in the whipped cream and had blue sugar to represent the TARDIS (TARDIS-Blue). The sharks are a reference to Matt Smith's Christmas Special because there were sharks in it.
We also had rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips because they're awesome, but they have no connection to Doctor Who.
I really enjoyed the episode. I wish they had actually done something about Hitler rather than just punch him and shove him in a closet. I liked seeing River regenerate, and I liked seeing her go from Melody to River. It's a bit weird how all these characters fit together, but it's making me very excited for the rest of the season. I want them to find the baby, and not in 1938 Berlin as Amy's friend from growing up.
Today is awesome because of "Let's Kill Hitler," TARDIS-tacular whipped cream, and my juggling cousin.
For my Doctor Who Season 6 Part 2 Premiere Party, I set up 11th Doctor Sundaes.
Ingredients:
Ice Cream
Gummy Fish
Gummy Sharks
Whipped Cream
Colored Sugar
So, the ice cream and the gummy fish represent fish fingers and custard. I put blue food coloring in the whipped cream and had blue sugar to represent the TARDIS (TARDIS-Blue). The sharks are a reference to Matt Smith's Christmas Special because there were sharks in it.
We also had rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips because they're awesome, but they have no connection to Doctor Who.
I really enjoyed the episode. I wish they had actually done something about Hitler rather than just punch him and shove him in a closet. I liked seeing River regenerate, and I liked seeing her go from Melody to River. It's a bit weird how all these characters fit together, but it's making me very excited for the rest of the season. I want them to find the baby, and not in 1938 Berlin as Amy's friend from growing up.
Today is awesome because of "Let's Kill Hitler," TARDIS-tacular whipped cream, and my juggling cousin.
Friday, August 26, 2011
BEDA 24: On driving, reading, and purple
Yes, indeed I do use the Oxford Comma. It just looks better, and one of the rules for comma use is "at the writer's discretion," so deal with it.
Today I drove on the highway for the first time since a week before my driving test. It was such a non-thing that I feel kind of silly for avoiding it, but it's totally liberating to be able to get places that were previously inaccessible. This whole thing was spurred by the fact that I have to drive myself to the airport next week, but now I can do that, and go to the zoo, and go just about anywhere I want without having to take the long way or be driven. I'm very excited about this development.
This morning, I had a chunk of time to read. I'm currently reading So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld. After finishing Goliath I wanted to read his one series that I haven't read yet, but the library didn't have the first book, so I got this one instead. What I really like about Westerfeld's writing is that he is able to create a parallel world to ours that has an extremely unique perspective and vocabulary.
In this book, the protagonist, Hunter, is in the consumerism industry. He is what's called a "Trendsetter," and he looks for innovative styles (created by "Innovators") to make cool and mainstreamed. The novel is a mystery about the disappearance of Hunter's boss and the counterculture that is wreaking havoc on Hunter's life. Plus a teenage romance.
All in all, it's a fun summer read, and I have 58 pages left. The librarian also gave me a distopian novel and a sci-fi novel as well, so I will be doing plenty of reading.
Which brings me to one of my favorite subjects: purple. I already wrote an entire blog about this color, but I've really been noticing my affinity for spotting it. I call this borderline obsession "collecting purple," because I have accumulated a lot of purple things. For instance, I went shopping and got two purple sweaters and a purple dress. I have a purple backpack, I found a 10-year-old purple master lock, I identify my TKD practice knife with a stripe of purple duck tape, my pencil case is purple, I bought a pack of crayola markers in which half are shades of purple, my mouth guard and its case are purple, and, finally, I got a pair of purple shoes today. That is, they arrived today; I found them a week ago.
I never need another pair of shoes again. They're shimmery purple converse with metallic purple laces, white rubber with black accent, and silver metal on the holes for the laces. They are so me, so fun, and so awesome. To use Westerfeld's vocab from Uglies, they are happy-making. And I like being happy. It's just fun to smile every time I look at my feet.
Today is awesome because my driving limitations have been shattered, and I'm wearing the most obscenely purple, freaking awesome shoes!
Today I drove on the highway for the first time since a week before my driving test. It was such a non-thing that I feel kind of silly for avoiding it, but it's totally liberating to be able to get places that were previously inaccessible. This whole thing was spurred by the fact that I have to drive myself to the airport next week, but now I can do that, and go to the zoo, and go just about anywhere I want without having to take the long way or be driven. I'm very excited about this development.
This morning, I had a chunk of time to read. I'm currently reading So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld. After finishing Goliath I wanted to read his one series that I haven't read yet, but the library didn't have the first book, so I got this one instead. What I really like about Westerfeld's writing is that he is able to create a parallel world to ours that has an extremely unique perspective and vocabulary.
In this book, the protagonist, Hunter, is in the consumerism industry. He is what's called a "Trendsetter," and he looks for innovative styles (created by "Innovators") to make cool and mainstreamed. The novel is a mystery about the disappearance of Hunter's boss and the counterculture that is wreaking havoc on Hunter's life. Plus a teenage romance.
All in all, it's a fun summer read, and I have 58 pages left. The librarian also gave me a distopian novel and a sci-fi novel as well, so I will be doing plenty of reading.
Which brings me to one of my favorite subjects: purple. I already wrote an entire blog about this color, but I've really been noticing my affinity for spotting it. I call this borderline obsession "collecting purple," because I have accumulated a lot of purple things. For instance, I went shopping and got two purple sweaters and a purple dress. I have a purple backpack, I found a 10-year-old purple master lock, I identify my TKD practice knife with a stripe of purple duck tape, my pencil case is purple, I bought a pack of crayola markers in which half are shades of purple, my mouth guard and its case are purple, and, finally, I got a pair of purple shoes today. That is, they arrived today; I found them a week ago.
I never need another pair of shoes again. They're shimmery purple converse with metallic purple laces, white rubber with black accent, and silver metal on the holes for the laces. They are so me, so fun, and so awesome. To use Westerfeld's vocab from Uglies, they are happy-making. And I like being happy. It's just fun to smile every time I look at my feet.
Today is awesome because my driving limitations have been shattered, and I'm wearing the most obscenely purple, freaking awesome shoes!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
BEDA 23: It's been a big day
Today was very long, pretty strange, and kind of emotional.
I had to get up super early this morning because we had some stuff going on in the house for the second day in a row. I went to the pool at 7, and the stuff was going on until after 10:00.
I had lunch at 10:24 because I was super duper hungry, so the day was off to a super strange start.
I was supposed to run errands with my mom today, but two hours after lunch we still hadn't left, and I ended up going to my friend's house to say goodbye before she went back to school.
I had a really great time hanging out with her. Everything was totally chill, we just go to chat for a few hours/make cookie dough/say good bye with a million hugs.
After I left her house, I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a case for an electronic device. It's padded, purple plaid, and super awesome!!!
After that errand, I went to the doctor with my mom, had an hour at home, and then went to Tae Kwon Do.
TKD tonight was like camping: intense. I spent the pre-class time learning more knife defense, and that was a really productive session. During class, I got to be a line captain, and it was fun to have that kind of leadership in such a large class. After class, it was fight night, so I got in a few good matches. I had one of my proudest sparring moments tonight: I landed a roundhouse kick to the head of one of the school's best sparrers. I work with him each month and always learn a lot, but this was a textbook shot that worked and it was really exciting. Later on, I found out that other people had seen it, which was really cool because witnesses mean it really happened. I did take a couple of head shots, so chewing at dinner was a little strained, but it's nothing that rest and Advil won't help.
So, long because I've been up for 14 hours so far and I'm not going to sleep yet; strange because of all the random things that happened; and emotional because I had to say goodbyes to friends who are going away again.
Today is awesome because of hanging with my friend, the purple case, and TKD.
I had to get up super early this morning because we had some stuff going on in the house for the second day in a row. I went to the pool at 7, and the stuff was going on until after 10:00.
I had lunch at 10:24 because I was super duper hungry, so the day was off to a super strange start.
I was supposed to run errands with my mom today, but two hours after lunch we still hadn't left, and I ended up going to my friend's house to say goodbye before she went back to school.
I had a really great time hanging out with her. Everything was totally chill, we just go to chat for a few hours/make cookie dough/say good bye with a million hugs.
After I left her house, I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a case for an electronic device. It's padded, purple plaid, and super awesome!!!
After that errand, I went to the doctor with my mom, had an hour at home, and then went to Tae Kwon Do.
TKD tonight was like camping: intense. I spent the pre-class time learning more knife defense, and that was a really productive session. During class, I got to be a line captain, and it was fun to have that kind of leadership in such a large class. After class, it was fight night, so I got in a few good matches. I had one of my proudest sparring moments tonight: I landed a roundhouse kick to the head of one of the school's best sparrers. I work with him each month and always learn a lot, but this was a textbook shot that worked and it was really exciting. Later on, I found out that other people had seen it, which was really cool because witnesses mean it really happened. I did take a couple of head shots, so chewing at dinner was a little strained, but it's nothing that rest and Advil won't help.
So, long because I've been up for 14 hours so far and I'm not going to sleep yet; strange because of all the random things that happened; and emotional because I had to say goodbyes to friends who are going away again.
Today is awesome because of hanging with my friend, the purple case, and TKD.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
BEDA 22
I have absolutely nothing to say. I've sat in front of my computer for 10 minutes trying to come up with a topic, but there's nothing.
I'm watching Royal Pains, thinking about how awesome duck tape is, and looking forward to fight night tomorrow at Tae Kwon Do.
Today is awesome because I got to hang out with my friend and it was really nice and totally chill.
I'm watching Royal Pains, thinking about how awesome duck tape is, and looking forward to fight night tomorrow at Tae Kwon Do.
Today is awesome because I got to hang out with my friend and it was really nice and totally chill.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Television (BEDA 21)
There's nothing good on TV nowadays.
You know I've been keeping up with Doctor Who online, and I am beyond excited for it to start again on Saturday!!!!! I'm watching it with some friends, so things are going to be great. In the search for Melody Pond the crew will end up running into Hitler, and craziness will ensue. Or maybe I should say Doctorness, because it encompasses crazy and then some. I'm very excited.
Other than that, I've really been doing the Buffy and Angel thing this summer. For spoilers, I'm in the Buffy season with Glory and I can't believe Reilly left. I really liked him until he got too angsty, so him leaving was a shock and a disappointment. I'm finding Angel far more epic than Buffy in this season cycle. Wolfram and Hart brought back Darla, Drusilla just turned her into a vampire again, and Angel fired Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley after he let Darla and Dru eat all the attorneys from Wolfram and Hart. It's also the season with the demon karaoke bar, so there are extra scenelets of David Boreanaz being an idiot that are simply hilarious.
The other show I follow with my mom is Royal Pains (aka, the Dr. Hank show). It's summery, ridiculous, and fun for us, so we like it. And it gives us a weekly thing to do together.
So, now for the guilty confession. I've been watching Bravo reality shows. Not the housewives, but the Millionaire Matchmaker is up there. I just get a kick out of these people who are so socially inept but are considered successful because they have found a way to earn a lot of money. It's the most outrageous show, but that's the fun of it. And it is a little bit mean, but I'm okay with peripheral animosity as long as my real interactions are productive.
Today is awesome because I spent the afternoon with a great friend who is leaving for college tomorrow. And I got wall decal mirrors that are owls.
You know I've been keeping up with Doctor Who online, and I am beyond excited for it to start again on Saturday!!!!! I'm watching it with some friends, so things are going to be great. In the search for Melody Pond the crew will end up running into Hitler, and craziness will ensue. Or maybe I should say Doctorness, because it encompasses crazy and then some. I'm very excited.
Other than that, I've really been doing the Buffy and Angel thing this summer. For spoilers, I'm in the Buffy season with Glory and I can't believe Reilly left. I really liked him until he got too angsty, so him leaving was a shock and a disappointment. I'm finding Angel far more epic than Buffy in this season cycle. Wolfram and Hart brought back Darla, Drusilla just turned her into a vampire again, and Angel fired Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley after he let Darla and Dru eat all the attorneys from Wolfram and Hart. It's also the season with the demon karaoke bar, so there are extra scenelets of David Boreanaz being an idiot that are simply hilarious.
The other show I follow with my mom is Royal Pains (aka, the Dr. Hank show). It's summery, ridiculous, and fun for us, so we like it. And it gives us a weekly thing to do together.
So, now for the guilty confession. I've been watching Bravo reality shows. Not the housewives, but the Millionaire Matchmaker is up there. I just get a kick out of these people who are so socially inept but are considered successful because they have found a way to earn a lot of money. It's the most outrageous show, but that's the fun of it. And it is a little bit mean, but I'm okay with peripheral animosity as long as my real interactions are productive.
Today is awesome because I spent the afternoon with a great friend who is leaving for college tomorrow. And I got wall decal mirrors that are owls.
Monday, August 22, 2011
My Music Collection is Really Weird (BEDA 20)
A friend and I decided to try having a jam session with our guitars today. While it was quite fun, it is very difficult for me to find songs that I know in common with other people.
My iTunes consists of primarily musical theater soundtracks. Add to that most of the Bruce Springsteen canon, some Beatles, and tons of nerdy stuff of the wrock/YouTube variety, and you have what I listen to. Sure, I've been keeping up with the top hits on Kiss FM while I drive, but that's not stuff you can translate to an acoustic guitar.
Well, we ended up playing for an hour then showed each other YouTube videos of things we like. I played him some wrock, he played me one of the pieces his chorus performed, it was a good time. Then we walked around outside and I went to Tae Kwon Do.
This was on my mind from the struggles today, and I'm starting to get tired of daily blogging (particularly because I'm not doing much with my days).
Today is awesome because of making music.
My iTunes consists of primarily musical theater soundtracks. Add to that most of the Bruce Springsteen canon, some Beatles, and tons of nerdy stuff of the wrock/YouTube variety, and you have what I listen to. Sure, I've been keeping up with the top hits on Kiss FM while I drive, but that's not stuff you can translate to an acoustic guitar.
Well, we ended up playing for an hour then showed each other YouTube videos of things we like. I played him some wrock, he played me one of the pieces his chorus performed, it was a good time. Then we walked around outside and I went to Tae Kwon Do.
This was on my mind from the struggles today, and I'm starting to get tired of daily blogging (particularly because I'm not doing much with my days).
Today is awesome because of making music.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
BEDA 19: Some Thoughts on School...
...Since all the schools around here are starting this week and I'm getting really bored being at home.
I'm pretty ready to head back to school. My ideal situation would be to have my university and my tae kwon do school be concurrent in my life. That said, things are so exciting at college!!
I'm mentally preparing for the move and how I'm going to unpack. Of course, things will certainly start with me cleaning every surface in the dorm, but after that it should come together fairly quickly.
One of my professors sent out an email a couple weeks ago saying that he posted the syllabus. After a week, I was curious enough to look, and this course is going to be amazing! It's going to finish my ethics and values distribution area and fit with my Sociology and Global Health degrees.
Pippin started production yesterday, so I'm beginning to get multiple daily emails about that process. I'll be going back for tech week (since that's when the master electrician is needed), and I can't wait to see what this amazingly talented group does in the next three weeks.
Today, while I was pretending to be asleep, I put my course schedule into my iCal. I'm taking Intro to Epidemiology; Analysis and Interpretation of Sociological Data; Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society; and Intro to Theater Design. Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society is my only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it meets at 3:30, so it makes two really light days when I can do a lot of work.
In this process, I looked at the requirements for each of the degrees I am seeking (Sociology Major, Global Health Minor, Theater Minor). There's a chart for each that the departments provide. I basically planned out when I'm going to take each requirement, and everything will work out for me to finish all three in my Junior and Senior years. Not that I hadn't planned it before, I just got more specific about what I'm taking when. The Sociology department has a nice chart of what they're planning on offering each quarter for the year and who will teach it, so that was really cool to see.
The only thing at home that is keeping me from going entirely insane from boredom is Tae Kwon Do. It's the only thing I can't take with me to school, though I wish I could, and I miss it so much while I'm away!! While leaving TKD totally sucks (you can ask any of my school friends how much I talk about my love for the sport, my school, and how much I miss it), I plan on keeping in touch with my friends much better than ever before and finding ways to make my independent training/practice fun.
My new school year resolution is to get good at keeping in touch with people. I find that I let internet updates be an excuse for my passivity, and that needs to change. Formally or informally, I will be in contact with friends.
Today is awesome because I'm completely back to normal after being sick in the middle of the day yesterday (effing ketones...).
I'm pretty ready to head back to school. My ideal situation would be to have my university and my tae kwon do school be concurrent in my life. That said, things are so exciting at college!!
I'm mentally preparing for the move and how I'm going to unpack. Of course, things will certainly start with me cleaning every surface in the dorm, but after that it should come together fairly quickly.
One of my professors sent out an email a couple weeks ago saying that he posted the syllabus. After a week, I was curious enough to look, and this course is going to be amazing! It's going to finish my ethics and values distribution area and fit with my Sociology and Global Health degrees.
Pippin started production yesterday, so I'm beginning to get multiple daily emails about that process. I'll be going back for tech week (since that's when the master electrician is needed), and I can't wait to see what this amazingly talented group does in the next three weeks.
Today, while I was pretending to be asleep, I put my course schedule into my iCal. I'm taking Intro to Epidemiology; Analysis and Interpretation of Sociological Data; Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society; and Intro to Theater Design. Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society is my only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it meets at 3:30, so it makes two really light days when I can do a lot of work.
In this process, I looked at the requirements for each of the degrees I am seeking (Sociology Major, Global Health Minor, Theater Minor). There's a chart for each that the departments provide. I basically planned out when I'm going to take each requirement, and everything will work out for me to finish all three in my Junior and Senior years. Not that I hadn't planned it before, I just got more specific about what I'm taking when. The Sociology department has a nice chart of what they're planning on offering each quarter for the year and who will teach it, so that was really cool to see.
The only thing at home that is keeping me from going entirely insane from boredom is Tae Kwon Do. It's the only thing I can't take with me to school, though I wish I could, and I miss it so much while I'm away!! While leaving TKD totally sucks (you can ask any of my school friends how much I talk about my love for the sport, my school, and how much I miss it), I plan on keeping in touch with my friends much better than ever before and finding ways to make my independent training/practice fun.
My new school year resolution is to get good at keeping in touch with people. I find that I let internet updates be an excuse for my passivity, and that needs to change. Formally or informally, I will be in contact with friends.
Today is awesome because I'm completely back to normal after being sick in the middle of the day yesterday (effing ketones...).
Saturday, August 20, 2011
My Literary Values?(BEDA 18)
I was packing up some books today, and mostly by chance (but partly by design) I ended up packing my 9 Harry Potter Books in the same box as my bible and the novel Good Omens. I find this combination hilarious.
First of all, I have 9 HP books because I have the complete series in hardcover (7), an extra copy of book 5 that has a special cover, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Second of all, putting my bible with that series is kind of a value statement on my part. I find the fiction as significant as s religious text, but can you guess which one I've read more times?
Third, Good Omens is a humorous take on the apocalypse told from the perspective of an angel and a devil. Kind of sacrilegious, but an amazing read!!
So, the combo amuses me. There are a few other books in the box, but my significant HP collection takes up most of the space.
Today is awesome because I didn't get any additional sunburn (though I did wear SPF 50 zinc oxide all day).
First of all, I have 9 HP books because I have the complete series in hardcover (7), an extra copy of book 5 that has a special cover, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Second of all, putting my bible with that series is kind of a value statement on my part. I find the fiction as significant as s religious text, but can you guess which one I've read more times?
Third, Good Omens is a humorous take on the apocalypse told from the perspective of an angel and a devil. Kind of sacrilegious, but an amazing read!!
So, the combo amuses me. There are a few other books in the box, but my significant HP collection takes up most of the space.
Today is awesome because I didn't get any additional sunburn (though I did wear SPF 50 zinc oxide all day).
Friday, August 19, 2011
Baking Bread (BEDA 17)
More than halfway through the month of blogging every day! This is exciting: a successful project.
So, yesterday and today I baked bread. Challah bread. I used a recipe that makes two loaves, so yesterday I made two plain braided breads. I used a 4-strand braid for the challah and I put honey in my eggwash, which are two slightly unusual things. They came out so good!! I gave one to a friend, but my family devoured the other one.
I made two more loaves today. One was plain, but I put sesame seeds on top because I found them in the cupboard while I was digging around for cinnamon. I needed the cinnamon because the second loaf was cinnamon sugar raisin. To make flavored challah I stuff the strands of the braid by rolling them out, the pounding them flat with the palm of my hand, putting the filling in the middle of the flattened bit of dough, and then rolling the dough around the filling again. Then I braid them together, put the eggwash on top, and then top with cinnamon sugar and raisins. The loaves are really pretty, but I haven't eaten them yet.
I really like baking bread. It's not a thing that many people think to do, but it's a cool and easy process. My recipe and process is as follows:
Stir a packet of yeast into 1 cup of lukewarm water. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of salt, then mix again. Mix in 2 eggs. Mix in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add 3 cups of flour, stirring after each cup. Then knead the dough, adding flour as necessary, until it is smooth and elastic but not sticky. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, wet a dishcloth with warm/hot water, put the wet towel over the bowl, and let it rise for 2 hours.
The mixing portion takes about 15 minutes and I usually leave the house and do something else while the dough rises. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and watched Buffy, and today I had coffee with my friend from TKD who is leaving for school this weekend, so it was my last chance to see her.
After the dough has risen, pound out the air. Then divide it in half for the two loaves. I take one half of the dough at a time, quarter it, and then roll the quarters into long, thin, logs. This is when I would go through the procedure for fillings if I were making a flavored challah. Then I place the four strands in a row and braid the leftmost strand over-under-over the other three. I continue the pattern until the braid is complete, tucking the ends underneath the loaf. Once the loaves are braided, I brush them with an eggwash made from 1 egg and a squirt of honey. As the oven preheats to 350, the loaves do a final rise for 15 minutes. Then it bakes for 30 minutes, and it's done. It should be golden brown and gorgeous.
The last part takes about an hour start to finish: 10 for the pounding, 10 for the braiding (more if I'm using a filling), 15 for the rising, 30 for the baking. Since I time this part around my lunch, I'll get home from my outing, braid the loaves, make lunch while the oven preheats, and eat while it bakes.
Bread is time-consuming, but if you time the process around other things, it's really easy. It's kept me doing an interesting task for two days, so there has to be something to be said for that.
Today is awesome because I got to hang out with my friend. I'm going to miss her a lot and I'm happy we got to spend some time together today.
Meters Swum Today: 2,000
Meters Swum This Week: 8,500
So, yesterday and today I baked bread. Challah bread. I used a recipe that makes two loaves, so yesterday I made two plain braided breads. I used a 4-strand braid for the challah and I put honey in my eggwash, which are two slightly unusual things. They came out so good!! I gave one to a friend, but my family devoured the other one.
I made two more loaves today. One was plain, but I put sesame seeds on top because I found them in the cupboard while I was digging around for cinnamon. I needed the cinnamon because the second loaf was cinnamon sugar raisin. To make flavored challah I stuff the strands of the braid by rolling them out, the pounding them flat with the palm of my hand, putting the filling in the middle of the flattened bit of dough, and then rolling the dough around the filling again. Then I braid them together, put the eggwash on top, and then top with cinnamon sugar and raisins. The loaves are really pretty, but I haven't eaten them yet.
I really like baking bread. It's not a thing that many people think to do, but it's a cool and easy process. My recipe and process is as follows:
Stir a packet of yeast into 1 cup of lukewarm water. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of salt, then mix again. Mix in 2 eggs. Mix in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add 3 cups of flour, stirring after each cup. Then knead the dough, adding flour as necessary, until it is smooth and elastic but not sticky. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, wet a dishcloth with warm/hot water, put the wet towel over the bowl, and let it rise for 2 hours.
The mixing portion takes about 15 minutes and I usually leave the house and do something else while the dough rises. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and watched Buffy, and today I had coffee with my friend from TKD who is leaving for school this weekend, so it was my last chance to see her.
After the dough has risen, pound out the air. Then divide it in half for the two loaves. I take one half of the dough at a time, quarter it, and then roll the quarters into long, thin, logs. This is when I would go through the procedure for fillings if I were making a flavored challah. Then I place the four strands in a row and braid the leftmost strand over-under-over the other three. I continue the pattern until the braid is complete, tucking the ends underneath the loaf. Once the loaves are braided, I brush them with an eggwash made from 1 egg and a squirt of honey. As the oven preheats to 350, the loaves do a final rise for 15 minutes. Then it bakes for 30 minutes, and it's done. It should be golden brown and gorgeous.
The last part takes about an hour start to finish: 10 for the pounding, 10 for the braiding (more if I'm using a filling), 15 for the rising, 30 for the baking. Since I time this part around my lunch, I'll get home from my outing, braid the loaves, make lunch while the oven preheats, and eat while it bakes.
Bread is time-consuming, but if you time the process around other things, it's really easy. It's kept me doing an interesting task for two days, so there has to be something to be said for that.
Today is awesome because I got to hang out with my friend. I'm going to miss her a lot and I'm happy we got to spend some time together today.
Meters Swum Today: 2,000
Meters Swum This Week: 8,500
Thursday, August 18, 2011
BEDA 16: I'm in a Mood
I am so ready to go back to school. I'm at the point where I have nothing new to say to my family and the only thing I look forward to each day is Tae Kwon Do. Don't get me wrong: I love my family. I just really need to get back to the social peer environment of being at school. TKD is getting me through yet again, and I'm going to miss it terribly once I'm gone.
There is absolutely nothing happening in my life. Today I baked bread, went to the grocery store, swam, and went to TKD. That's all. And I watched Buffy, but all of these activities (except TKD) were alone and just a way of passing the time.
People don't generally experience me in this type of state, so congratulations, you're getting a mild version textually.
And now I'm dealing with burnt feet from walking on hot pavement at the pool and a sunburnt face caused by increased sensitivity due to a medicine I'm taking to get rid of a bug bite. It's just one of those days, and the notsome hit me all at once about an hour ago.
And yet...
Today is awesome because my bread turned out really good!! And TKD :)
Meters Swum Today: 1,500
Meters Swum This Week: 6,500
There is absolutely nothing happening in my life. Today I baked bread, went to the grocery store, swam, and went to TKD. That's all. And I watched Buffy, but all of these activities (except TKD) were alone and just a way of passing the time.
People don't generally experience me in this type of state, so congratulations, you're getting a mild version textually.
And now I'm dealing with burnt feet from walking on hot pavement at the pool and a sunburnt face caused by increased sensitivity due to a medicine I'm taking to get rid of a bug bite. It's just one of those days, and the notsome hit me all at once about an hour ago.
And yet...
Today is awesome because my bread turned out really good!! And TKD :)
Meters Swum Today: 1,500
Meters Swum This Week: 6,500
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
15 Weird Questions (BEDA 15)
There's a YouTube tag game going around with these 15 questions, so I decided to answer them here on my blog in honor of this being my 15th BEDA post.
#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
My parents have stopped calling me by any exclusive nicknames, but my aunts still call me "Steffie." I've outgrown that nickname and have been subtly trying to get them to stop using it for about 5 years now.
#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
I'm really particular about keeping my spaces clean. I clorox wipe my dorm room a lot, vacuum, and I always put the covering toilet seat down before I flush because I saw on Nickelodeon that all the germs fly out of the toilet when it flushes. I don't know if they were making it up, but it grossed me out enough that I still put the seat down.
#3. Do you have any weird phobias?
Nothing particularly strange and nothing that's truly life hindering. I guess I'm afraid of bug bites because mine always get huge and I have to take antibiotics and allergy medicine to get them to go away. I'm also afraid of getting attacked when I'm walking places alone, but that's pretty darn rational.
#4. What's a song you secretly love to blast & belt out when you're alone?
Umm...doesn't everybody sing along loudly to every song? I always belt out every song when I'm alone, so there's nothing in particular. Lately it's been Lauren Fairweather's new album, The Prince's Tale.
#5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
People chewing loudly. I hate the smacking sound and it makes me want to run away and punch something. I also can't stand when people are inconsiderate in traffic situations, be it in the car, on the sidewalk, or cutting across lap lanes at the pool.
#6. What's one of your nervous habits?
I smile when I'm nervous, but it's different from my happy smile. It's also known as "the uncomfortable face." And I pick at my fingers.
#7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Twin bed, no sides.
#8. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
I had a little seafoam green teddy bear that I lost in Pre-K or Kindergarten. I don't remember its name, but for some reason I think it's Spot. After that, I recall a white bunny named Fluffy.
#9. What's the drink you always order at starbucks?
Either Unsweetened Iced Green Tea (or hot tea), Nonfat Chai Tea Latte, or a Caramel or Mocha Frappuchino Light. I'm not a coffee drinker, but in this case there's so much more dairy, ice, and sugar that I don't mind the slight coffee flavor.
#10. What's the beauty rule you preach, but never actually practice?
Make sure to wash off all your makeup with makeup remover before going to bed. I just wash my face and the eyeliner/mascara sticks around for a few days. You can tell when I've not been wearing makeup when my eyes are totally clean.
#11. Which way do you face in the shower?
Back to shower head.
#12. Do you have any weird body skills?
I have full splits. And any other Tae Kwon Do trick you'd consider a weird body skill.
#13. What's your favorite comfort food thats 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways?
Ice Cream!!
#14. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
"That's a thing," "That happened," and "What is my life?!?!"
#15. Time to sleep!! What are you actually wearing?
PJ Pants and a T-Shirt
So, yeah. Now you know a bunch of random things about me. Hope you enjoyed that if you cared enough to read.
Today is awesome because the opening fight scene in the episode of Buffy I watched ("Fool for Love") included one of the knife defense techniques I've been practicing. Except the vampire used it on Buffy (without killing her!), so that part was notsome. But I recognized it, and that was cool!
Meters Swum: 2,300 (That's 5,000 for the week so far and it's only been 3 days!)
#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
My parents have stopped calling me by any exclusive nicknames, but my aunts still call me "Steffie." I've outgrown that nickname and have been subtly trying to get them to stop using it for about 5 years now.
#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
I'm really particular about keeping my spaces clean. I clorox wipe my dorm room a lot, vacuum, and I always put the covering toilet seat down before I flush because I saw on Nickelodeon that all the germs fly out of the toilet when it flushes. I don't know if they were making it up, but it grossed me out enough that I still put the seat down.
#3. Do you have any weird phobias?
Nothing particularly strange and nothing that's truly life hindering. I guess I'm afraid of bug bites because mine always get huge and I have to take antibiotics and allergy medicine to get them to go away. I'm also afraid of getting attacked when I'm walking places alone, but that's pretty darn rational.
#4. What's a song you secretly love to blast & belt out when you're alone?
Umm...doesn't everybody sing along loudly to every song? I always belt out every song when I'm alone, so there's nothing in particular. Lately it's been Lauren Fairweather's new album, The Prince's Tale.
#5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
People chewing loudly. I hate the smacking sound and it makes me want to run away and punch something. I also can't stand when people are inconsiderate in traffic situations, be it in the car, on the sidewalk, or cutting across lap lanes at the pool.
#6. What's one of your nervous habits?
I smile when I'm nervous, but it's different from my happy smile. It's also known as "the uncomfortable face." And I pick at my fingers.
#7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Twin bed, no sides.
#8. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
I had a little seafoam green teddy bear that I lost in Pre-K or Kindergarten. I don't remember its name, but for some reason I think it's Spot. After that, I recall a white bunny named Fluffy.
#9. What's the drink you always order at starbucks?
Either Unsweetened Iced Green Tea (or hot tea), Nonfat Chai Tea Latte, or a Caramel or Mocha Frappuchino Light. I'm not a coffee drinker, but in this case there's so much more dairy, ice, and sugar that I don't mind the slight coffee flavor.
#10. What's the beauty rule you preach, but never actually practice?
Make sure to wash off all your makeup with makeup remover before going to bed. I just wash my face and the eyeliner/mascara sticks around for a few days. You can tell when I've not been wearing makeup when my eyes are totally clean.
#11. Which way do you face in the shower?
Back to shower head.
#12. Do you have any weird body skills?
I have full splits. And any other Tae Kwon Do trick you'd consider a weird body skill.
#13. What's your favorite comfort food thats 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways?
Ice Cream!!
#14. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
"That's a thing," "That happened," and "What is my life?!?!"
#15. Time to sleep!! What are you actually wearing?
PJ Pants and a T-Shirt
So, yeah. Now you know a bunch of random things about me. Hope you enjoyed that if you cared enough to read.
Today is awesome because the opening fight scene in the episode of Buffy I watched ("Fool for Love") included one of the knife defense techniques I've been practicing. Except the vampire used it on Buffy (without killing her!), so that part was notsome. But I recognized it, and that was cool!
Meters Swum: 2,300 (That's 5,000 for the week so far and it's only been 3 days!)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Winnie the Pooh (BEDA 14)
I saw Winnie the Pooh today!! It was so beyond adorable and made me very happy. My favorite scene was when Pooh was fantasizing about honey and there's a dream sequence when the entire world is made of honey. The way the honey was animated, with the colors and the oozing and the bubbles that form, it looked so good!! I also loved the backgrounds, like the sky, the forests, and fields. The story was really fun, all the characters were there, and you can't help becoming happier after seeing this film.
I saw it with my friend who is an animation major, and we stayed through the ending credits. There are soooooooo many people who worked on this movie!!! I've never fully understood the process of animating a feature length film, but I asked her about it in the car on the way home, and she told me that the lead animators draw about every other frame and then the clean-up animators smooth everything out. It's an insane process, and every time I learn more about how animation works, I gain respect for every animated endeavor.
Today, I also swam 1,500 meters and went to Tae Kwon Do. Before class, I did knife defense with washable markers from a free stance (as in, not standing still). It was so different! I rolled my pants up so they wouldn't get drawn on before class, so my top was a coloring book and I looked like ninja Tom Sawyer, but it was totally worth it. I learned a lot about how to move both as an attacker and as a defender (not that I ever plan on attacking anyone, but to understand defense you have to know offense). During class we kicked a bunch of stuff in really cool combinations. I made a breakthrough with my flying turning back kick, so that was really good. We did a drill kicking balloons to move with an unpredictable object, and it was really hard but really fun!! Class was good tonight: good work, good people, and good fun.
Today is awesome because of all the consecutive bits of awesome detailed above, but mostly seeing Winnie the Pooh with my friend :)
Fun Fact: Winnie is short for Winnipeg. As in Winnipeg, Canada. Yeah.
I saw it with my friend who is an animation major, and we stayed through the ending credits. There are soooooooo many people who worked on this movie!!! I've never fully understood the process of animating a feature length film, but I asked her about it in the car on the way home, and she told me that the lead animators draw about every other frame and then the clean-up animators smooth everything out. It's an insane process, and every time I learn more about how animation works, I gain respect for every animated endeavor.
Today, I also swam 1,500 meters and went to Tae Kwon Do. Before class, I did knife defense with washable markers from a free stance (as in, not standing still). It was so different! I rolled my pants up so they wouldn't get drawn on before class, so my top was a coloring book and I looked like ninja Tom Sawyer, but it was totally worth it. I learned a lot about how to move both as an attacker and as a defender (not that I ever plan on attacking anyone, but to understand defense you have to know offense). During class we kicked a bunch of stuff in really cool combinations. I made a breakthrough with my flying turning back kick, so that was really good. We did a drill kicking balloons to move with an unpredictable object, and it was really hard but really fun!! Class was good tonight: good work, good people, and good fun.
Today is awesome because of all the consecutive bits of awesome detailed above, but mostly seeing Winnie the Pooh with my friend :)
Fun Fact: Winnie is short for Winnipeg. As in Winnipeg, Canada. Yeah.
Monday, August 15, 2011
May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor (BEDA 13)
Not to be a total hipster, but I've noticed that a lot of my friends from college have started reading Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy this summer. I absolutely adore this series, and I read all of the books over a year ago. I distinctly remember borrowing my friend's copy of Mockingjay from her father while she had already left for school, reading it in 10 hours, and returning it the next day.
I'm finding it particularly interesting that people are reading them now of all times. I wore a t-shirt with a mockingjay on it all of last year and nobody recognized the symbol. True, I was testing to see if anyone shared my fandom, and it was a green shirt that Alex Carpenter made for his album Freedom in Panem, but still. I was hoping. At least people will understand why I have a creepy "Down with the Capitol" poster in my dorm room.
From the first day I read any of Collins' work, I was morbidly fascinated by it. The entire concept of the world in these books is that humans have destroyed the environment and an repressive political system is the only way humanity could survive. To exert their power, the Capitol forces two children from each of 12 districts to compete in a televised fight to the death when only one person can survive.
I really like the heroine, Katniss. As a character, I can relate to her and I like her because she is full of contradictions. She is confident, strong, and tomboyish, yet also awkward, confused, and feminine. I admire her courage and ingenuity in every situation and her adaptability without compromising her sense of what is right.
And I'm pretty sure I'm on team Peeta.
If you are just reading the Hunger Games and want more books like this, I highly recommend starting with Scott Westerfeld. He has a few series out, and I loved Leviathan and Uglies. Leviathan is an alternate steampunk history of World War I. It's really cool and he does a great job of creating new characters while interweaving events and figures from history. Uglies is not the high school queen bee drama that the cover might indicate. It's about a distopian future in which every teenager undergoes an operation to make them physically flawless, but there's a twist to what this operation does and it centers around a rebellious female protagonist. Westerfeld's work is just amazing, and you should definitely read it!!
Beyond Westerfeld, other awesome YA authors are John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Libba Bray. They each have distinct worlds that they write in: Green is a blend of philosophical meaning and simple humor, Johnson places her protagonists in very unique situations and brings their adventures (and consequences) to life, and Bray is more on the fantasy side with an alternate magical universe. Bray's work is the darkest of these last three, but the deeper meanings in John Green's novels make me reread them again and again.
So, yeah, I read a lot. And I have opinions. Hit me up if you want to talk about books!!
Today is awesome because I saw an elephant-shaped cloud as I lifted my head out of the swimming pool to breathe. It followed me for a few laps and it was really cute.
I'm finding it particularly interesting that people are reading them now of all times. I wore a t-shirt with a mockingjay on it all of last year and nobody recognized the symbol. True, I was testing to see if anyone shared my fandom, and it was a green shirt that Alex Carpenter made for his album Freedom in Panem, but still. I was hoping. At least people will understand why I have a creepy "Down with the Capitol" poster in my dorm room.
From the first day I read any of Collins' work, I was morbidly fascinated by it. The entire concept of the world in these books is that humans have destroyed the environment and an repressive political system is the only way humanity could survive. To exert their power, the Capitol forces two children from each of 12 districts to compete in a televised fight to the death when only one person can survive.
I really like the heroine, Katniss. As a character, I can relate to her and I like her because she is full of contradictions. She is confident, strong, and tomboyish, yet also awkward, confused, and feminine. I admire her courage and ingenuity in every situation and her adaptability without compromising her sense of what is right.
And I'm pretty sure I'm on team Peeta.
If you are just reading the Hunger Games and want more books like this, I highly recommend starting with Scott Westerfeld. He has a few series out, and I loved Leviathan and Uglies. Leviathan is an alternate steampunk history of World War I. It's really cool and he does a great job of creating new characters while interweaving events and figures from history. Uglies is not the high school queen bee drama that the cover might indicate. It's about a distopian future in which every teenager undergoes an operation to make them physically flawless, but there's a twist to what this operation does and it centers around a rebellious female protagonist. Westerfeld's work is just amazing, and you should definitely read it!!
Beyond Westerfeld, other awesome YA authors are John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Libba Bray. They each have distinct worlds that they write in: Green is a blend of philosophical meaning and simple humor, Johnson places her protagonists in very unique situations and brings their adventures (and consequences) to life, and Bray is more on the fantasy side with an alternate magical universe. Bray's work is the darkest of these last three, but the deeper meanings in John Green's novels make me reread them again and again.
So, yeah, I read a lot. And I have opinions. Hit me up if you want to talk about books!!
Today is awesome because I saw an elephant-shaped cloud as I lifted my head out of the swimming pool to breathe. It followed me for a few laps and it was really cute.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
River Walking Minus the River (BEDA 12)
Yeah, well, it's still before midnight in central time. Whatever.
Today, I was supposed to go river walking in the metroparks with my friends. It was epic thunderstorming, so we just kind of frolicked around my friend's yard, jumping in puddles and throwing water balloons instead. We had just as much fun and got just as wet, only there was no river and no woods.
When we went inside and changed, we drank tea from interesting vessels. I had an Ireland double shot glass and it only got stranger from there. Somehow, the glasses matched our personalities, and it was rather amusing to see what everyone ended up with.
We then traveled to my house for the dinner portion of the day. As a group, we made a fancy Mexican feast with rice, beans, and fajitas (chicken, veggie burgers, and all the fixings). The evening ended with a bonfire upon which we made s'mores and threw in the dirty plates and napkins. The paper products turned the flames really cool colors because of the dyes, so that was awesome.
I really enjoy spending time with my friends. As we've grown up, we have remained close, but now that we're away at school, we value our time together differently. We have our lives together and our lives apart, and they are fun to share and compare.
Today is awesome because of jumping in puddles without caring about being cold and wet.
Today, I was supposed to go river walking in the metroparks with my friends. It was epic thunderstorming, so we just kind of frolicked around my friend's yard, jumping in puddles and throwing water balloons instead. We had just as much fun and got just as wet, only there was no river and no woods.
When we went inside and changed, we drank tea from interesting vessels. I had an Ireland double shot glass and it only got stranger from there. Somehow, the glasses matched our personalities, and it was rather amusing to see what everyone ended up with.
We then traveled to my house for the dinner portion of the day. As a group, we made a fancy Mexican feast with rice, beans, and fajitas (chicken, veggie burgers, and all the fixings). The evening ended with a bonfire upon which we made s'mores and threw in the dirty plates and napkins. The paper products turned the flames really cool colors because of the dyes, so that was awesome.
I really enjoy spending time with my friends. As we've grown up, we have remained close, but now that we're away at school, we value our time together differently. We have our lives together and our lives apart, and they are fun to share and compare.
Today is awesome because of jumping in puddles without caring about being cold and wet.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Smurfing Smurfity Smurf (BEDA 11)
I have 17 minutes to write and post this until it's midnight in my time zone. Blogging GO!
I just got home from seeing The Smurfs with some friends. It was freaking adorable!!
As far as things from my childhood go, Smurfs were something I was aware of, I knew they were cute and blue and friendly, but it's the type of thing I lost interest in after about 10 minutes. (There were a lot of those. For example, I don't really know how Toy Story ends, but I've seen the beginning at least 20 times)
I appreciated the exposition that the movie gave so I could have the reference frame of their world. It outlined the universe for me quickly and in a way that I could just get it and get on with the story.
I think my favorite parts were each time there was an external reference within the movie. Like there's a line when Smurfette says, "I kissed a Smurf and I liked it," but she's voiced by Katy Perry, so that makes it even more funny. There was also a cameo appearance of the original Smurfs book in the French and a super fun scene in FAO Schwarz.
As always, Neil Patrick Harris was amazing. He is so awesome and as much as I wanted to hug all of the Smurfs, I wanted to hug him even more. His character was the classic grumpy adult too caught up in his own issues to appreciate life who is transformed by an experience he initially hates. How can you not like who that person becomes?
The ending credits had the original Smurf animations, and that was fun to see after the more modern CG (which was blended into the live action really well, btw). I remember watching the cartoons in that style, so it brought me back to those Cartoon Network days.
So, yeah, today is awesome because of Smurfs. And the friends I saw the movie with. And Neil Patrick Harris.
Meters Swum: 1,000 (that's 8,000 for the week. I swam every day except Friday)
TKD: 2.3 classes today. I ran with the kiddos in between the classes I usually take. Kind of frustrating when a classmate ripped my uniform, but she fixed it by the time my last class started. Still pissed me off, though; I'd only worn it twice.
Posting with 8 minutes to spare! Until tomorrow :)
I just got home from seeing The Smurfs with some friends. It was freaking adorable!!
As far as things from my childhood go, Smurfs were something I was aware of, I knew they were cute and blue and friendly, but it's the type of thing I lost interest in after about 10 minutes. (There were a lot of those. For example, I don't really know how Toy Story ends, but I've seen the beginning at least 20 times)
I appreciated the exposition that the movie gave so I could have the reference frame of their world. It outlined the universe for me quickly and in a way that I could just get it and get on with the story.
I think my favorite parts were each time there was an external reference within the movie. Like there's a line when Smurfette says, "I kissed a Smurf and I liked it," but she's voiced by Katy Perry, so that makes it even more funny. There was also a cameo appearance of the original Smurfs book in the French and a super fun scene in FAO Schwarz.
As always, Neil Patrick Harris was amazing. He is so awesome and as much as I wanted to hug all of the Smurfs, I wanted to hug him even more. His character was the classic grumpy adult too caught up in his own issues to appreciate life who is transformed by an experience he initially hates. How can you not like who that person becomes?
The ending credits had the original Smurf animations, and that was fun to see after the more modern CG (which was blended into the live action really well, btw). I remember watching the cartoons in that style, so it brought me back to those Cartoon Network days.
So, yeah, today is awesome because of Smurfs. And the friends I saw the movie with. And Neil Patrick Harris.
Meters Swum: 1,000 (that's 8,000 for the week. I swam every day except Friday)
TKD: 2.3 classes today. I ran with the kiddos in between the classes I usually take. Kind of frustrating when a classmate ripped my uniform, but she fixed it by the time my last class started. Still pissed me off, though; I'd only worn it twice.
Posting with 8 minutes to spare! Until tomorrow :)
Friday, August 12, 2011
BEDA 10: Contentment, Complacency, and Happiness
In reflecting on my first year of college, I came to the realization around Spring Break that my fall quarter was spent in a state of contentment while my winter was a happy time. This distinction has been plaguing me ever since I figured it out, because while I wasn't unhappy or feeling anything particularly negative, I was complacently remaining in a routine in which nothing was exciting.
I think it's very easy to be complacently content by not letting the negatives of life overwhelm you, but happiness occurs when you look forward to something every day. That something could be as small as seeing a certain person or doing a specific activity, but there's something in each day to make you smile or get really excited.
For the school year, the happiness came when I had consistent social interaction with an awesome group of friends. This summer, I have been content overall, but the thing that has made me happy is Tae Kwon Do, again because it is both social and active. I had an average job experience and enjoyed swimming, but that was always alone. Nothing has made me happier than my evenings from the moment I go down the stairs into that smelly, stuffy basement to train with the best people around to the extra time to just talk with my parents before they go to bed at a ridiculously early hour. I am also happy when I see my friends, but since we've all been working, that has been less frequent than I would have liked.
Anyway, I was just reflecting on contentment vs. happiness and what it takes to make the upgrade. It takes effort, and that's the challenge. But I'd say it's definitely worth it.
Today is awesome because I spent an awesome spontaneous hour with my friend after shopping with my mom.
I think it's very easy to be complacently content by not letting the negatives of life overwhelm you, but happiness occurs when you look forward to something every day. That something could be as small as seeing a certain person or doing a specific activity, but there's something in each day to make you smile or get really excited.
For the school year, the happiness came when I had consistent social interaction with an awesome group of friends. This summer, I have been content overall, but the thing that has made me happy is Tae Kwon Do, again because it is both social and active. I had an average job experience and enjoyed swimming, but that was always alone. Nothing has made me happier than my evenings from the moment I go down the stairs into that smelly, stuffy basement to train with the best people around to the extra time to just talk with my parents before they go to bed at a ridiculously early hour. I am also happy when I see my friends, but since we've all been working, that has been less frequent than I would have liked.
Anyway, I was just reflecting on contentment vs. happiness and what it takes to make the upgrade. It takes effort, and that's the challenge. But I'd say it's definitely worth it.
Today is awesome because I spent an awesome spontaneous hour with my friend after shopping with my mom.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
BEDA 9 and I'm running out of coherent topics
So, today I had work 9-12:15 entering data for the two-week session, so there were more than twice as many numbers per kid. I got through 8 of 64, so this is a much slower process because there is so much more to enter. Thank goodness tomorrow's the last day because I don't think I could do any more of this!!!
I spent 4 hours at the pool today because someone was looking at the house and I don't like to be around for that. I swam 1,300 meters in about an hour, then washed my hair in the locker room, and read Goliath until 4:50.
At that point, I put my wet hair in a ponytail, bought a bottle of water, and left for Tae Kwon Do, which was the highlight of my day (and not just because the rest of it was less than perfect). I was early for being early, so I got some extra good stretching in, kicked a pillar, and then worked knife. We did a drill whose entire goal was "don't get stabbed" and my performance was rather substandard. However, it helped me see the flow of how a knife moves, what leads into a defendable attack, and what comes next when you get out of the way of an attack. It was really helpful.
Class was small (5 students and the instructor), so we got a lot of detail work in. I was the lead on kicking strings, and that ended up being a lot more about foot position than the footwork to make the kicks flow. Then we did the drop-step kicks that we had drilled last week, but this time we cut the symmetry and linked different kinds of kicks rather than two of the same. I really like the turning!! It's my goal to use some sort of spin during August fight night :)
Today, Tae Kwon Do was special because I had enough time to relax and focus on everything. It let me use my brain and my body, and I got to work with truly awesome people. Having even a few minutes before or after class to catch a human moment with my classmates is one of the best parts of going to these classes.
Besides, the contents of my TKD backpack are getting stranger and stranger. I carry a plastic knife with a strip of purple Duck Tape (the brand, I'm not misspelling the product) around the handle; the thinking stick; a plastic sandwich bag with tapes, band aids, and alcohol swabs; a purple mouthguard; and whatever bag is functioning as a "purse" ends up in there. Now I'm adding washable markers to the mix. Sometimes my life confuses me, but that doesn't make it any less awesome.
Today is awesome because I reached 7,000 meters of swimming over 5 days, and because of Tae Kwon Do.
I spent 4 hours at the pool today because someone was looking at the house and I don't like to be around for that. I swam 1,300 meters in about an hour, then washed my hair in the locker room, and read Goliath until 4:50.
At that point, I put my wet hair in a ponytail, bought a bottle of water, and left for Tae Kwon Do, which was the highlight of my day (and not just because the rest of it was less than perfect). I was early for being early, so I got some extra good stretching in, kicked a pillar, and then worked knife. We did a drill whose entire goal was "don't get stabbed" and my performance was rather substandard. However, it helped me see the flow of how a knife moves, what leads into a defendable attack, and what comes next when you get out of the way of an attack. It was really helpful.
Class was small (5 students and the instructor), so we got a lot of detail work in. I was the lead on kicking strings, and that ended up being a lot more about foot position than the footwork to make the kicks flow. Then we did the drop-step kicks that we had drilled last week, but this time we cut the symmetry and linked different kinds of kicks rather than two of the same. I really like the turning!! It's my goal to use some sort of spin during August fight night :)
Today, Tae Kwon Do was special because I had enough time to relax and focus on everything. It let me use my brain and my body, and I got to work with truly awesome people. Having even a few minutes before or after class to catch a human moment with my classmates is one of the best parts of going to these classes.
Besides, the contents of my TKD backpack are getting stranger and stranger. I carry a plastic knife with a strip of purple Duck Tape (the brand, I'm not misspelling the product) around the handle; the thinking stick; a plastic sandwich bag with tapes, band aids, and alcohol swabs; a purple mouthguard; and whatever bag is functioning as a "purse" ends up in there. Now I'm adding washable markers to the mix. Sometimes my life confuses me, but that doesn't make it any less awesome.
Today is awesome because I reached 7,000 meters of swimming over 5 days, and because of Tae Kwon Do.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Data Entry (BEDA Day 8)
This week, my job has been to enter all of the blood glucose data from the campers at a summer camp for kids with diabetes. They bring a week of BGs from home and then test 4-10 times each day at camp. All of these numbers must be entered into the database. I've gotten through 3 of the 4 sessions, but there are 64 campers to go. It's an insane undertaking and the numbers make my head spin.
BUT:
I have learned that in the future, I want to be the principal researcher who hires research assistants to do the data entry for me. I don't know what my research project will be, but that's the goal. I can't have my own project until I get some experience being the underling, but I will remember this week when I'm the one hiring an intern to do my data entry.
And, besides, I'm pretty good at this. I type fast, have an efficient system for getting the stuff in the database, and I get through each kid in about 10 minutes. Basically, these final 64 will fill the last two days of this week and then both I and this part of the project will be done. The project is pretty cool; they want to be able to compare home values to camp values to tighten up the medical treatment at camp. I like being part of it.
Today is awesome because I had an enjoyable afternoon with my grandmother.
Meters Swum: 2,000 (5,700 over 4 days)
No TKD
Haven't watched Buffy since yesterday, on season 5 episode 6
BUT:
I have learned that in the future, I want to be the principal researcher who hires research assistants to do the data entry for me. I don't know what my research project will be, but that's the goal. I can't have my own project until I get some experience being the underling, but I will remember this week when I'm the one hiring an intern to do my data entry.
And, besides, I'm pretty good at this. I type fast, have an efficient system for getting the stuff in the database, and I get through each kid in about 10 minutes. Basically, these final 64 will fill the last two days of this week and then both I and this part of the project will be done. The project is pretty cool; they want to be able to compare home values to camp values to tighten up the medical treatment at camp. I like being part of it.
Today is awesome because I had an enjoyable afternoon with my grandmother.
Meters Swum: 2,000 (5,700 over 4 days)
No TKD
Haven't watched Buffy since yesterday, on season 5 episode 6
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
PURPLE! (BEDA 7)
I'm really digging the BEDA thing. It feels good to have a project and to know that there are other people doing the same project themselves. I know that I don't read every daily blog the bloggers I follow post, but I like that the posts are there if I desire to read them. I also don't expect anyone to read my daily blogs, or really any of my blogs, since most of the reasons I do this are for myself, but I appreciate when people do read what I write. So, if you actually read my blog with any regularity, THANK YOU!! I appreciate that you give some of your internet time to me and consider what I have to say at all relevant/interesting/worth reading. You rock.
So, onto the purple.
Purple is my favorite color, and this is no secret. It has always been my favorite color except for the years I lied and said it was blue because that was the trendy thing to do. I really like the versatility of the color because it has both warm and cool properties. Some shades are redder, some bluer, and the light/dark factor in the saturation makes a difference, too. For example, lavender and periwinkle are both light purples, but periwinkle has far more blue in it than lavender. I find that I am attracted to all shades of purple except the greyer ones that look drab. Eggplant, raspberry, borscht, lilac, and plum are only the beginning.
The reason I've been thinking about purple being such an awesome color and a long-standing favorite of mine is because I keep finding old things that are purple. We've been cleaning out our house this summer, and I'm finding things from 8-10+ years ago that I wish I knew about because they are both useful and purple. If you read back to my December blogs, I wrote about finding a purple guitar pick that I got probably 12 years ago just because I like the color, and now it's the one I use when I play guitar. Well, today I found a purple combination lock (whose combo has been in the same place since I got the thing, so good thing I remembered where that was!), and I know that there will be a use for it at some point in my life.
I like finding things and seeing how much I haven't changed despite growing up and changing a lot in major ways. It's really fun to compare my current self to the self that chose the item all those years ago and find that I'm attracted to it for the same reasons.
Today is awesome because I finished another segment of the data entry I've been doing at work. 2 down, 2 to go!
Meters Swum: 1,200 (my goal is to be at least 8,000 for the week, and so far I'm at 3,700)
TKD: Yup! Open session in which I did 17 forms, 80 one-steps, mocked 10 judo, kicked objects across the room, played with practice boards, and saw a friend I hadn't seen for a while.
So, onto the purple.
Purple is my favorite color, and this is no secret. It has always been my favorite color except for the years I lied and said it was blue because that was the trendy thing to do. I really like the versatility of the color because it has both warm and cool properties. Some shades are redder, some bluer, and the light/dark factor in the saturation makes a difference, too. For example, lavender and periwinkle are both light purples, but periwinkle has far more blue in it than lavender. I find that I am attracted to all shades of purple except the greyer ones that look drab. Eggplant, raspberry, borscht, lilac, and plum are only the beginning.
The reason I've been thinking about purple being such an awesome color and a long-standing favorite of mine is because I keep finding old things that are purple. We've been cleaning out our house this summer, and I'm finding things from 8-10+ years ago that I wish I knew about because they are both useful and purple. If you read back to my December blogs, I wrote about finding a purple guitar pick that I got probably 12 years ago just because I like the color, and now it's the one I use when I play guitar. Well, today I found a purple combination lock (whose combo has been in the same place since I got the thing, so good thing I remembered where that was!), and I know that there will be a use for it at some point in my life.
I like finding things and seeing how much I haven't changed despite growing up and changing a lot in major ways. It's really fun to compare my current self to the self that chose the item all those years ago and find that I'm attracted to it for the same reasons.
Today is awesome because I finished another segment of the data entry I've been doing at work. 2 down, 2 to go!
Meters Swum: 1,200 (my goal is to be at least 8,000 for the week, and so far I'm at 3,700)
TKD: Yup! Open session in which I did 17 forms, 80 one-steps, mocked 10 judo, kicked objects across the room, played with practice boards, and saw a friend I hadn't seen for a while.
Monday, August 8, 2011
On Food, BEDA Day 6
Everyone likes food. This is a fact.
Everyone likes to think that liking food is something characteristic of their group. This is also a fact.
In my high school, everyone thought it was so unique for everyone to be obsessed with food: making it, eating it, sharing it, etc. For birthdays and other milestones, we'd bake for each other. This is not unique. What is unique is that students could leave laptops charging on a windowsill without them being stolen, but if you left your plate of cookies unattended, it would be eaten by the time you got back. Kind of silly, but the food was always more important (and you wouldn't get in trouble for eating someone else's brownie but stealing a computer is a serious offense).
When I'm the one with free time in the family, I am often charged with the mission of family grocery shopping. I like to tease my mom about giving me free reign over what gets bought because I like to try different types of foods, and I mean protein bars, vegan, gluten free, etc. For today's trip, I told her I was going to buy ice cream, chips, vegan stuff, and GF stuff. I did, but it wasn't that weird. I got ice cream (on a stick; 100 calorie bars), pretzels (ok, not chips, but close enough), tofu (vegan), and rice (GF). I kept my promise, but it's all normal, edible stuff.
I've considered going veggie for a while, and I pretty much am at school. I stopped eating red meat years ago for health reasons, and it is rare for me to choose to eat chicken or fish in the dining halls; it just looks gross most of the time. But I do love tofu, and stir-fry is a staple of my diet. I don't think I could go entirely veggie for the rest of my life, but I like to think I'm helping the environment by eating less meat.
I had the urge to make bread last week, so I just need to get some yeast, and that is happening either this week or next. Probably next week since I'm working mornings this week and I want to have it baked by the time I have to go to tae kwon do. I'm using my great-grandmother's recipe, so I'm pretty excited :)
Today is awesome because I started printing photos for my 2010-2011 collage/poster that acts as a "wall of stuff"/scrapbook and hangs on my dorm room wall. I really loved my 2009-2010 poster, so I'm pretty psyched to have another one for this year.
Meters Swum: 1,400 (2,500 for the week so far)
Tae Kwon Do: I broke a board tonight and wore my new uniform. It felt great to train in a uniform that wasn't 4 years old :)
Everyone likes to think that liking food is something characteristic of their group. This is also a fact.
In my high school, everyone thought it was so unique for everyone to be obsessed with food: making it, eating it, sharing it, etc. For birthdays and other milestones, we'd bake for each other. This is not unique. What is unique is that students could leave laptops charging on a windowsill without them being stolen, but if you left your plate of cookies unattended, it would be eaten by the time you got back. Kind of silly, but the food was always more important (and you wouldn't get in trouble for eating someone else's brownie but stealing a computer is a serious offense).
When I'm the one with free time in the family, I am often charged with the mission of family grocery shopping. I like to tease my mom about giving me free reign over what gets bought because I like to try different types of foods, and I mean protein bars, vegan, gluten free, etc. For today's trip, I told her I was going to buy ice cream, chips, vegan stuff, and GF stuff. I did, but it wasn't that weird. I got ice cream (on a stick; 100 calorie bars), pretzels (ok, not chips, but close enough), tofu (vegan), and rice (GF). I kept my promise, but it's all normal, edible stuff.
I've considered going veggie for a while, and I pretty much am at school. I stopped eating red meat years ago for health reasons, and it is rare for me to choose to eat chicken or fish in the dining halls; it just looks gross most of the time. But I do love tofu, and stir-fry is a staple of my diet. I don't think I could go entirely veggie for the rest of my life, but I like to think I'm helping the environment by eating less meat.
I had the urge to make bread last week, so I just need to get some yeast, and that is happening either this week or next. Probably next week since I'm working mornings this week and I want to have it baked by the time I have to go to tae kwon do. I'm using my great-grandmother's recipe, so I'm pretty excited :)
Today is awesome because I started printing photos for my 2010-2011 collage/poster that acts as a "wall of stuff"/scrapbook and hangs on my dorm room wall. I really loved my 2009-2010 poster, so I'm pretty psyched to have another one for this year.
Meters Swum: 1,400 (2,500 for the week so far)
Tae Kwon Do: I broke a board tonight and wore my new uniform. It felt great to train in a uniform that wasn't 4 years old :)
Sunday, August 7, 2011
On Summer, BEDA Day 5
I love summer and always have.
Ever since I was little I would go to camp, from preschool camps to theater camps to sports camps to speech camps (I went to 2). Camp has been a huge part of my growing up experience, and that is something that is special about each summer. I have really enjoyed making the transition to being a camp counselor/staffer because I was one of those campers who knew the camp so well that I knew as much as the counselors and was destined to be one of them one day. It's an environment where the kids are so fun to work with and you can't get that anywhere else.
Now that I'm older and camp has become work, I love going to the pool. Last summer I started swimming laps, and there is nothing more addictive than pushing myself to swim farther while enjoying the sun and heat of the summer days. It is a workout and it also gives me a chance to relax because I zone out and am alone with my thoughts while I'm swimming, and then afterward, while I dry off, I get to read. I read a lot in the summer, not as much as I used to or would like to, but I give myself permission to read a few extra novels that are pure fun, and that makes it more enjoyable.
There's always a day in the summer that I look in the mirror and realize I'm not pale anymore. It's pretty hilariously shocking, but then it feels like it's really summer. I had that day a while ago, but I've spent more time at the pool since camp ended, so I looked in the mirror today and saw that I had gotten darker, and that was weird. I have a ridiculous sunglass tan, but I don't care enough to do anything about it.
I try to do fun things with friends in the summer, like the Medieval Faire and bonfires and such, and that's been great. We're going river walking next weekend, and I'm super excited for that. Natural water, mud, plants, waterfalls...it'll be a good time :)
Today is awesome because I had a great conversation with a friend from school.
Meters Swum: 1,100
Ever since I was little I would go to camp, from preschool camps to theater camps to sports camps to speech camps (I went to 2). Camp has been a huge part of my growing up experience, and that is something that is special about each summer. I have really enjoyed making the transition to being a camp counselor/staffer because I was one of those campers who knew the camp so well that I knew as much as the counselors and was destined to be one of them one day. It's an environment where the kids are so fun to work with and you can't get that anywhere else.
Now that I'm older and camp has become work, I love going to the pool. Last summer I started swimming laps, and there is nothing more addictive than pushing myself to swim farther while enjoying the sun and heat of the summer days. It is a workout and it also gives me a chance to relax because I zone out and am alone with my thoughts while I'm swimming, and then afterward, while I dry off, I get to read. I read a lot in the summer, not as much as I used to or would like to, but I give myself permission to read a few extra novels that are pure fun, and that makes it more enjoyable.
There's always a day in the summer that I look in the mirror and realize I'm not pale anymore. It's pretty hilariously shocking, but then it feels like it's really summer. I had that day a while ago, but I've spent more time at the pool since camp ended, so I looked in the mirror today and saw that I had gotten darker, and that was weird. I have a ridiculous sunglass tan, but I don't care enough to do anything about it.
I try to do fun things with friends in the summer, like the Medieval Faire and bonfires and such, and that's been great. We're going river walking next weekend, and I'm super excited for that. Natural water, mud, plants, waterfalls...it'll be a good time :)
Today is awesome because I had a great conversation with a friend from school.
Meters Swum: 1,100
Saturday, August 6, 2011
BEDA 4: On Reading
I like to read. I read every day, and I've read some good books this summer (see earlier blog for the list). However, I read different types of books at different paces.
For instance, I'm just over 100 pages into Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier and I've been reading that for at least a week (maybe more? I lost track of time a few weeks ago). Yesterday, my friend loaned me a copy of Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (yes, this isn't out yet; perks of being the friend of a book reviewer's daughter), and I'm already as far in it as I am in Rebecca.
Does that mean Westerfeld's writing is superior to DuMaruier's? No. Goliath is the third book in a trilogy of novels that bring World War II into an alternate steampunk reality. It's really cool, has lots of action, and plot twists every other chapter. Rebecca is its own work and it is so much more psychological and character-driven. They are completely different and I will finish both, but Goliath is a much more fun read for me because I like the way it moves and how awesome the characters are.
I don't really know what I'll read next; it'll probably take some exploring of the public library once I'm back at college, but I won't be able to sleep unless I have a book.
Today is awesome because I got new Tae Kwon Do uniforms and had a nice evening of Harry Potter and ice cream. Oh, and I ironically wore a Hunger Games (actually, Freedom in Panem) t-shirt that I got at a wizard rock concert to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for the second time (better than the first).
Meters Swum: 1,000. When I came home, I looked in the mirror and I was surprised to see that I was less pale than before I went today. I won't say tan because I'm not that dark, but I'm darker than I was!
Tae Kwon Do: YES! Three hours. And new uniforms. It was a good day.
Buffy: Not today. Still on Season 5, but I have to switch to Angel Season 2 for a few episodes.
For instance, I'm just over 100 pages into Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier and I've been reading that for at least a week (maybe more? I lost track of time a few weeks ago). Yesterday, my friend loaned me a copy of Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (yes, this isn't out yet; perks of being the friend of a book reviewer's daughter), and I'm already as far in it as I am in Rebecca.
Does that mean Westerfeld's writing is superior to DuMaruier's? No. Goliath is the third book in a trilogy of novels that bring World War II into an alternate steampunk reality. It's really cool, has lots of action, and plot twists every other chapter. Rebecca is its own work and it is so much more psychological and character-driven. They are completely different and I will finish both, but Goliath is a much more fun read for me because I like the way it moves and how awesome the characters are.
I don't really know what I'll read next; it'll probably take some exploring of the public library once I'm back at college, but I won't be able to sleep unless I have a book.
Today is awesome because I got new Tae Kwon Do uniforms and had a nice evening of Harry Potter and ice cream. Oh, and I ironically wore a Hunger Games (actually, Freedom in Panem) t-shirt that I got at a wizard rock concert to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for the second time (better than the first).
Meters Swum: 1,000. When I came home, I looked in the mirror and I was surprised to see that I was less pale than before I went today. I won't say tan because I'm not that dark, but I'm darker than I was!
Tae Kwon Do: YES! Three hours. And new uniforms. It was a good day.
Buffy: Not today. Still on Season 5, but I have to switch to Angel Season 2 for a few episodes.
Friday, August 5, 2011
On Feeling Older: BEDA Day 3
In looking back on the past year, I've found that I am quite a different person. I'm in a new life place now that I'm in the middle of doing the college thing, and that's so far from the transition stage I was in last summer. I know what I'm doing at school, am forming a larger and larger life plan, and feel increasingly farther from my elementary/middle/high school experiences and self.
I always felt, even at very young ages, that I am old or mature or whatever the term is. I remember when 5 felt old, then 10, on and on and even now in these birthdays of young adulthood, it doesn't feel that young, but I certainly don't have my 5-year-old delusions of elderliness I used to have.
It really hit me these last two days that I spent at speech camp. I attended this forensics camp in it's first year, when I was 15. Since then, I have been a guest coach and a counselor, so I know my way around this week ling program. In working with the students, who were 12, 13, and 14 years old, (that's middle school/high school freshmen) I felt so much older than them. It was the generations of speechies that I could see descending from the coaches, mentors, and captains of years past, and being off the team for one year made me feel disconnected from the reality of these students. It was sad. Even one of my best friends, a real counselor and my first speech mentee, said that I seemed older. It's just part of growing up.
But more than no longer bing in middle school or high school, because I was ready to leave those years behind when I did, I'm just in a new and transitory life place. I've got nearly total independence and have to manage my life entirely on my own when I'm at school, and mostly on my own when I'm at home. I've made choices I never thought I'd make and tried new things I never even knew existed. I have a newly discovered need to travel and see the world because it's just seeming smaller and smaller. I'm ready for theory to become concrete.
And yet, it's still shocking and scary to realize both how far I've come, how far I have yet to go, and the implications of the life choices I make. What I'm doing now matters in a way that things have never mattered before, and that magnitude is a fascinating and awe-inspiring challenge to meet.
I feel older vecaue I am older, but I'm still young and have a whole bunch more choices to make and life stages to reach. And in a few years I'll read this old blog and marvel at how young and naive I was then. It'll be fun :)
Today is awesome because I saw friends at speech camp, theater camp, and writers' group.
Meters Swum: 1,600
I always felt, even at very young ages, that I am old or mature or whatever the term is. I remember when 5 felt old, then 10, on and on and even now in these birthdays of young adulthood, it doesn't feel that young, but I certainly don't have my 5-year-old delusions of elderliness I used to have.
It really hit me these last two days that I spent at speech camp. I attended this forensics camp in it's first year, when I was 15. Since then, I have been a guest coach and a counselor, so I know my way around this week ling program. In working with the students, who were 12, 13, and 14 years old, (that's middle school/high school freshmen) I felt so much older than them. It was the generations of speechies that I could see descending from the coaches, mentors, and captains of years past, and being off the team for one year made me feel disconnected from the reality of these students. It was sad. Even one of my best friends, a real counselor and my first speech mentee, said that I seemed older. It's just part of growing up.
But more than no longer bing in middle school or high school, because I was ready to leave those years behind when I did, I'm just in a new and transitory life place. I've got nearly total independence and have to manage my life entirely on my own when I'm at school, and mostly on my own when I'm at home. I've made choices I never thought I'd make and tried new things I never even knew existed. I have a newly discovered need to travel and see the world because it's just seeming smaller and smaller. I'm ready for theory to become concrete.
And yet, it's still shocking and scary to realize both how far I've come, how far I have yet to go, and the implications of the life choices I make. What I'm doing now matters in a way that things have never mattered before, and that magnitude is a fascinating and awe-inspiring challenge to meet.
I feel older vecaue I am older, but I'm still young and have a whole bunch more choices to make and life stages to reach. And in a few years I'll read this old blog and marvel at how young and naive I was then. It'll be fun :)
Today is awesome because I saw friends at speech camp, theater camp, and writers' group.
Meters Swum: 1,600
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Buffy/Angel/Edward: BEDA 2
I've been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer this summer, and now that I'm on season 5, I've started watching Angel as well. I noticed a lot of similarities between the Buffy/Angel relationship and the Edward/Bella relationship.
Basically, Angel is awesome and Stephenie Meyer took many of his attributes and made them creepy in Edward. These include the going into the girl's room at night though the window, being a "good vampire" ( Angel has a soul, Edward only eats animals), restrictions on the physical aspects of the relationship, and leaving the girl so she can have a real life with a mortal man. However, it's creepier when Edward does it because Bella is such a weak character. Buffy is The Slayer. She can and will kill Angel if he turns evil, whereas Bella would rather kill herself than the vampire.
I think one of the things I really love about Buffy is that she is so grounded in her calling, but she also takes the time to be a teenager/college student/girl. She knows what she wants and will fight for things to be right. I am so disturbed by the weakness and dependence Bella exemplifies and the type of subtext that young readers don't even know is there. With Buffy, at least the subtext is general teen health messages like, "don't have sex, your boyfriend will lose his soul and start killing the people you care about," or " don't smoke; only the evil characters smoke" (that is literally how I figure out who is supposed to be the bad guy...oh, '90s teen shows...).
5seasons in, I still love this show and cant wait to see what happens next!
Today is awesome because I got to see people I care about that I haven't seen for a long time and I got on Pottermore.
Meters Swum: 2,500
Lengths Swum: 100
Tae Kwon Do: Yes! It was totally awesome. I learned a choke and some really fun kicks that I see myself potentially using to break and spar.
Basically, Angel is awesome and Stephenie Meyer took many of his attributes and made them creepy in Edward. These include the going into the girl's room at night though the window, being a "good vampire" ( Angel has a soul, Edward only eats animals), restrictions on the physical aspects of the relationship, and leaving the girl so she can have a real life with a mortal man. However, it's creepier when Edward does it because Bella is such a weak character. Buffy is The Slayer. She can and will kill Angel if he turns evil, whereas Bella would rather kill herself than the vampire.
I think one of the things I really love about Buffy is that she is so grounded in her calling, but she also takes the time to be a teenager/college student/girl. She knows what she wants and will fight for things to be right. I am so disturbed by the weakness and dependence Bella exemplifies and the type of subtext that young readers don't even know is there. With Buffy, at least the subtext is general teen health messages like, "don't have sex, your boyfriend will lose his soul and start killing the people you care about," or " don't smoke; only the evil characters smoke" (that is literally how I figure out who is supposed to be the bad guy...oh, '90s teen shows...).
5seasons in, I still love this show and cant wait to see what happens next!
Today is awesome because I got to see people I care about that I haven't seen for a long time and I got on Pottermore.
Meters Swum: 2,500
Lengths Swum: 100
Tae Kwon Do: Yes! It was totally awesome. I learned a choke and some really fun kicks that I see myself potentially using to break and spar.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Starting BEDA 2 Days Late
Well, it may be August 3, but I'm going to do BEDA. BEDA=Blog Every Day in August
I didn't really think about it being August because of the way my job has been. I worked in the office of an overnight summer camp until 12:15 today, and August started in the middle of a session, so I was thinking more about how to keep camp organized than the month we were on. Now that I'm realizing it's a BEDA month (people do this in April as well), I want to do it. I started this blog with a blog every day challenge, so I want to try it again, especially now that it's a time when a lot of bloggers are doing it.
So, I guess today's a good day to talk about camp. This was my 14th summer at this camp; 10 as a camper, 3 as a volunteer, and 1 on staff. I think my second wave of camper years, the ones when I was older, were definitely the best of all.
I was the administrative assistant. I worked for 8 weeks full time being in the office, organizing things, checking in campers for each session, running the store, keeping track of finances, and doing some programming. There were times when things were busy and stressful and other times when it was quiet and boring. There was one day at work when I read an entire book during my 8-hour work day (it was really good!! It's called The Alchemist and it comes out in October.
The highlight of the summer was the day the kids did a nature activity that I put together. The camp director had gathered some materials on a Survivor/Man vs. Wild challenge activity, handed me the packet, and asked me to come up with a schedule for the campers to do this activity.
I made 9 challenges: build a shelter, make a fire 4 different ways, make an oven, make a raft, purify water from the lake, make an outfit from found materials, make up a sport using found materials, navigate using a compass, and identify trees using a tree finder book.
They loved it and did so well at each of the challenges!!! My favorite was the group that made a skirt and sash out of ferns with a headband made of pinecones. It looked like something from Project Runway :)
I'm not too sad about camp ending. It's been a lot of driving for me to get out there every day, and everyone was getting very tired. It was oddly emotional saying good-bye to the counselors, but I'm very relieved to have time to sleep, swim, go to tae kwon do, see friends before they go back to school, and get ready to go back myself.
Today is awesome because I'm feeling relaxed and I'm super excited to visit speech camp tomorrow!!!!
I didn't really think about it being August because of the way my job has been. I worked in the office of an overnight summer camp until 12:15 today, and August started in the middle of a session, so I was thinking more about how to keep camp organized than the month we were on. Now that I'm realizing it's a BEDA month (people do this in April as well), I want to do it. I started this blog with a blog every day challenge, so I want to try it again, especially now that it's a time when a lot of bloggers are doing it.
So, I guess today's a good day to talk about camp. This was my 14th summer at this camp; 10 as a camper, 3 as a volunteer, and 1 on staff. I think my second wave of camper years, the ones when I was older, were definitely the best of all.
I was the administrative assistant. I worked for 8 weeks full time being in the office, organizing things, checking in campers for each session, running the store, keeping track of finances, and doing some programming. There were times when things were busy and stressful and other times when it was quiet and boring. There was one day at work when I read an entire book during my 8-hour work day (it was really good!! It's called The Alchemist and it comes out in October.
The highlight of the summer was the day the kids did a nature activity that I put together. The camp director had gathered some materials on a Survivor/Man vs. Wild challenge activity, handed me the packet, and asked me to come up with a schedule for the campers to do this activity.
I made 9 challenges: build a shelter, make a fire 4 different ways, make an oven, make a raft, purify water from the lake, make an outfit from found materials, make up a sport using found materials, navigate using a compass, and identify trees using a tree finder book.
They loved it and did so well at each of the challenges!!! My favorite was the group that made a skirt and sash out of ferns with a headband made of pinecones. It looked like something from Project Runway :)
I'm not too sad about camp ending. It's been a lot of driving for me to get out there every day, and everyone was getting very tired. It was oddly emotional saying good-bye to the counselors, but I'm very relieved to have time to sleep, swim, go to tae kwon do, see friends before they go back to school, and get ready to go back myself.
Today is awesome because I'm feeling relaxed and I'm super excited to visit speech camp tomorrow!!!!
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