Larissa's Lounge

petty people (rant)

2012-01-23T19:52:00.002-05:00

I am so fed up with the pettiness of people!
We're college students, dammit, show some dignity!
You're supposed to know how to respect people.
Seriously, what harm has my little door sign done to you?
Nothing, it's just sat there, happily reminding people that it's a safe zone.
It's because of people like you that everywhere's not safe, after all-
you can just give us one little place, our own rooms, to feel safe, can't you?
It's petty, what you're doing
What do you get out of ripping down anything with even a hint of the queer community?
Learn to accept people- it's what college is for,
expanding your mind and giving yourselves a broader view of the world.
Not for hating people and putting them down.

And what's more is that my nice little, harmless sign is now MIA.
And no, it hasn't fallen off- someone actually had the gall to steal it.
I know, because I attached it very strongly the first time it 'fell' down,
and even more securely the next ten times.

I'm trying to advocate love and acceptance here-
Why do hateful people have to be around,
and make that so much more impossible?
I advocate against hate, but those people,
whoever they are, are making me a hypocrite:
I genuinely HATE them!!

Things college has taught me

2012-01-10T12:07:00.003-05:00

College is more than simply learning academic stuff and getting a degree. It changes a person, a lot. Many life lessons are learned there, opening your mind to a much larger view of the world. Here are some things that college has taught me.

Well, first of all, it's taught me a lot about diet. Freshman year I gained a tremendous amount of weight, caused by both a medication side effect and, primarily, eating all the wrong things. Contrary to popular belief, a diet of pasta, chips, cookies, pizza, chinese food, and lots of cheesy things is not good for you. so over the summer and the fall semester of this year, I researched a whole lot about healthy diets, saw a dietitian, talked to my aunt who is a nutritionist, and followed through with all that advice. And lost, so far, over 30 pounds, and many inches off my waist, also due to exercising more- but not that much more at all, just the gym a few times a week, for half an hour, or going to the aikido (japanese martial arts) club, or playing manhunt and capture the flag with my friends. I went from between a sizes 14 and 16 to a size 8- even smaller than before college, where I was between a 10 and 12! And all it took was, essentially, cutting out soda, fried and greasy fast-food stuff, and limiting the cookies, chips, pizza, etc. Moderation, people, that's all it takes.

But the weight loss also opened my eyes up to something else: friends judge you and get worried when you lose such a large amount. They decided I must have an eating disorder. True, there was some ground in that assumption, since I had problems with that in high school, but this time I legitimately lost weight healthily. But they didn't believe me at all. It is true that an eating disorder never truly goes away- I still think about the calories in everything and worry when I consume too much, but overall I've been working very hard to be healthy and not slip in to a disorder again. But this did teach me that people never truly forget things, and messing up once makes people more wary of you possibly messing up again.

Anyway, to a new topic: sexuality. In high school, I called myself a tomboy, since I hung out with all guys and felt I fit in more with them than girls (unless the girls were tomboyish too). In college, though, I ended up in the gay-straight alliance club, Prism. And became immersed in a community I never thought I would be. It opened up my eyes to the fact that there were many others like me- people who were different than the norm. Most importantly, that I wasn't just a tomboy- I was genderqueer. Not transgendered, since I don't want to be fully a guy, but I go between which gender I feel- some days I like wearing cute punk skirts and stuff, other days guys clothes, etc. I don't feel like a girl, but not quite like a guy either, rather somewhere in-between. And there were others like me, who I befriended- they're some of my closest friends now.

But this also opened my eyes to a crueler side of people. people who see in black and white. One of my friends, sex being female but gender being male, decided one day that he would wear a dress rather than his typical guy clothes. And people got mad at him- said he must have been faking being transgendered for attention. But that wasn't true at all- he truly did feel like a guy at heart, just wanted to wear a dress that day on a whim. Which is why I don't tell anyone outside Prism that I'm genderqueer- although admittedly, I am posting this online, so I guess if non prism friends see this then whatever, they'll know- and if they reject me because of this, then they are not true friends. I have definitely learned something about friendship because of all this, which is that your friends are only those who can accept you for who you are, and who you don't feel obliged to hide things from, especially if it's something as huge as your gender or sexuality.

Next topic, though: college has also taught me a whole lot about working and budgeting. in high school, I had some small part time jobs, but all that money essentially went towards fun. In college, though, I have a job at the library, making much more than in high school, but I have to save it- and spend it on more than just fun. I have to buy food, shampoo, food for my pets, etc. So I have to budget, and create limits to what I can get with my extra money. And, oh yeah, save some of it to pay to the college for tuition- that's a biggie. I had to restrain myself from buying that cute little earring set, or that cool action figure, so I would have money for toothpaste and tissues.

Also, it taught me about the importance of work ethic. I have always been a hard worker, doing what was assigned right away and doing the best I could to tidy up and make things nice. Some of my coworkers, however, were not like this at all. They would put off tasks until after they checked facebook, or leave trash in the cubby hole next to the desk- when there was a garbage a few paces away. So, I got promoted and they didn't, simple as that. I now make two dollars more than I did when I started, and they make the same as they did, no raises or promotions at all. Hopefully, they learned something from that- so far, though, looks like they didn't.

Oh, and time management was a biggie, too. I had to learn when to say no to friends in order to study or do homework. Study! I had hardly ever studied in high school, but I found myself needing to for some college subjects. Which I didn't realize until it was too late. First semester freshman year, I had a very difficult chemistry class. I barely passed it. I had been used to getting all A's, with an occasional B, in high school- but I found that I was failing a class for the first time. I had been slacking, electing to go out with friends when I really needed to read the chapter or look over my notes for the test the next day. Finally, I realized that I had to say no sometimes. I had to forgo an evening with friends to study for a test. I managed to pass the class, but just barely- so next semester I made sure to read the books and study, and managed all A's and B's. But that was a real eye-opening for me!

And another thing about time management- I learned that sometimes, it might be necessary to choose between doing a lot of things, and doing well at a few things. I tried to join a whole lot of clubs, and found myself overwhelmed. Eventually, I had to pick just a few, and when I put the time into these few rather than spreading myself thin over a bunch of clubs, I felt a lot happier, and even scored some executive board positions- which i am able to effectively do because I set aside the time for them by only being in a few clubs.

The same thing applied to classes, too- This last semester, I found myself in a very difficult class, that was costing me tons of time to do all the work for- and even then I wasn't able to do the work very well. I realized that the best thing to do, then, was to drop the class. It would have made my grade suffer, and it wasn't even that necessary of a class- a liberal learning requirement, not part of my major. I could simply take a different class in place, or take it at community college over the summer. the lesson I learned? It is okay to give up sometimes. I had never been a person to do that, but I suddenly found myself dropping a class!

Also, sometimes there were things I couldn't do well, in clubs or groups, but others could. I learned to, instead of trying to do it myself, but to ask for help- or even give it up to the other person. Humility, I suppose it is called. I learned that being headstrong was not the best thing to always be. A huge lesson for me, since I had been used to being able to do everything by myself, at least mediocrally. But I learned that rather than me doing something mediocrally alone, sometimes if you ask for help, the thing can instead be done amazingly. In one of my classes, this happened- I was trying to do a project alone, but couldn't do it well, so I opted to have a partner, and we were able to work out a solution to the project that made it simply amazing- much more amazing than if we had done it alone!

Well, that's all I can think of that I learned at the moment- but I can assure you, there probably are many more things I learned, and will learn by the time college is over.

'Til next time!
~Larissa~

Butterflies

2011-09-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Butterflies

Tender as a butterfly

Your lips flutter by mine,

Brush them lightly,

Softly land on my cheek.

They don't rest long,

Butterflies rarely do.

They are on my neck,

Send shivers down my spine.

Awaken the butterflies

Living in my stomach.

Spread them throughout my body.

My existence now flows

With nothing more than

These butterflies, and you.

Hyper Organization

2011-07-30T01:07:00.002-04:00

So, lately, I've been really obsessed with organizing stuff.
Like, super obsessed.
I've decided that I need order in my life.
And since I'm not getting it much,
I decided to take charge and do what I can-
that is, organizing all I can in the house-
and getting rid of unnecessary things.
I went through the medicine cabinet-
which had something that expired in 1989
(great job, mom, we weren't even in the house yet).
Then I went through the fridge-
which had some really gross stuff shoved in back.
Like, I'm talking year-old beef stew,
a very mushy plum, pasta that had liquified (how is that possible?!)
And some mustard that had gotten really funky
(I thought mustard lasted a long time- like five years or more, wtf mom?)
Okay, enough with the fridge.
I moved onto the freezer next,
which had long-dead freezer-burned meat.
With all that gone, the freezer actually has room in it!
Amazing, we don't have to stuff stuff in at all!
Next came the cabinet.
Unsurprisingly, there were many stale chips and crackers and cereals.
For some reason, my family doesn't ever eat the last bit of those.
They say they will, but then open a new package.
What a waste! I'd finish them, but I don't eat chips.
I usually do finish off crackers though,
but I eat so little, so I really need help with that.
And there were soggy rice crispy treats shoved in back.
I never knew they could become soggy like that.
Next came the recipe books- all 50 of them.
Mom had to help with that, since they're hers...
but wow, did she want to keep a lot of them!
I mean, you only really need like ten, fifteen at most (and that's stretching it),
if you're going for the specialized books and stuff.
I myself have only like five- a general one, bakery stuff, fish, etc.
That's all you really need.
But she still kept thirty... oh, she'll never learn.
They contain the same stuff as other cookbooks, too.
She has two huge general cookbooks,
so why keep all the additional ones,
save for a few favorite specialized ones?
We barely use the cookbooks anyway.
Ah, and I've been working on my room a lot, too.
By working on it, I mean reorganizing it.
Buying new containers, putting stuff in them,
putting smaller containers in larger ones,
putting loose papers in binders or folders,
getting rid of a lot of old stuff I don't need,
trying on clothes and getting rid of the ones I dislike,
mostly those grandma has 'passed down' to me-
aka, she doesn't want it anymore and thinks I will.
Like I want her old oversized t-shirts and panties.
Yes, she tried giving me her old undies once.
Really gross, right? And she saw nothing wrong with it...
My other grandma gives me things I like though,
like some nice shoes or a sweater.
She even gave me a few really nice dresses!
She shops a lot- shoes especially-
so when she realizes she has three pairs of white shoes already,
she lets me pick one of them.
Anyway, back to the organizing...
yeah, my jewelry is now all divided into nice boxes-
bracelets, necklaces, collars, armbands, earrings, etc.
I even have my few make-up things in little boxes.
And, of course, my many bottles of nail polish-
I have it in every color of the rainbow.
Ah, and books.
I tend to kinda collect books-
that is, see one that sounds interesting and bring it home.
Then put it in the pile of stuff I need to read.
So I constantly have to purge that pile,
since I don't get to read much anymore.
So I pick out the few most interesting ones,
and give the rest to charities or book swaps or the library.
The gym I go to has a neat book swap thing,
where you can drop books off and take them at will.
Many are older womens books though,
since the gym is next to seniorville,
and apparently medicaid actually pays for their gym time.
I guess they figure healthier old people get sick less,
which is true, so it's ultimately beneficial.
It's nice, though, I go with my mom,
and it's an all-women's gym so it's not as intense as most gyms.
Anyway, I'm off topic again...
Well, I'm sure you don't want to hear anymore of my organizing,
since it probly gives most people headaches...
I just tend to be a little compulsive about cleaning sometimes.
Especially with all that pesky dirt that sneaks under fingernails... *shivers*

False Alarm!

2011-07-26T16:20:00.002-04:00

Brett is okay!
Turns out my phone's the culprit. Again.
I figured out how to wire my e-mail to send texts,
sent him a message,
and he replied right away.
Meanwhile, my phone has also been more bad:
mom tried to call me, many times in a row,
and my phone didn't work, didn't get them!
Virgin Mobile sucks.
Unfortunately, I don't know if I can afford another company.
No other offers low-minute plans with unlimited texts.
I text, and rarely call!
Most other companies have minumum limit plans of 450 minutes.
I use only about 100 a month, if that.
Why can't companies have good plans for students like me,
who can barely afford plans with stuff they don't use???

paranoia

2011-07-24T23:14:00.003-04:00

I'm scared. Really scared.
I haven't spoken with my friend Brett in over three weeks.
Since July second, to be precise.
There's no reason for him to be mad at me or anything;
We hung out July 1st, had a great time,
and were chatting via text after and the next day.
But then, he just stopped replying.
So, maybe his phone ran out of power or something, I figured.
So a few days later, I texted him again. No reply.
So I tried calling. Voicemail.
It's been three weeks now.
I tried contacting him a few other times,
but to no avail.
I even tried e-mailing him,
which is pretty much useless since he never checks e-mail,
but it was worth a shot.
So phone's the only way I can contact him.
Now, logic says maybe his phone broke,
or maybe my phone's being stupid,
since it's a crap cheep company that has lots of problems.
My crazy mind thinks:
Oh no, something must have happened to him!
He could be in the hospital, or dead or something!
I always jump to crazy conclusions like that,
and it's really hard to shake them.
I get paranoid. A lot.
Especially about my friends.
Now, I know he can't be dead,
since there would be a news article or something online about it.
And even if he were in the hospital, he would contact me.
Unless he's in a coma...
oh, god, I hope he's not in a coma!
Shhh, calm down, calm down...
Larissa, stop it, stop thinking the worst...
Ugh, it sucks that he doesn't have a facebook,
or any kind of virtual presence
(at least involving his name;
maybe he has a username or something,
but I don't know it if he does.)
So there's no way for me to find out if he's alright.
Even if he is ignoring me/mad at me or something,
I would at least like to know if he's alright.
No, he can't be mad at me or ignoring me,
everything was perfectly fine between us,
and he said he'd maybe come over again,
and would definitely see me in the fall when school starts up.
We were even working out how we'd get our roomates out of the rooms.
And even if he were, he would definitely have replied,
when I texted him freaking out asking if he were okay and stuff.
So, if it can't be any of that, What the hell happened to him??
Okay, let's list more viable things:
1. He has overprotective parents. They may have taken his phone.
2. Maybe he went on vacation and has no cell signal/left phone at home.
3. Maybe he isn't getting my texts and the calls are dropping,
that's happened before- my phone company seems to have problems with his.
4. He's a sadistic bastard and is getting a rise out of me freaking out over this.
(Okay, maybe that last one isn't that viable, I do know he cares about me a lot.
I mean, he even asks my friends how I'm doing if I'm visiting them.)
Well, whatever it is, I know I have to stop freaking out.
it's just so hard, you know?
I'm an extremely paranoid person.
I freak out all the time that people hate me.
I freak out about my weight to the point of, well, nearly having an eating disorder.
Okay, it is an eating disorder... but I'm getting better, sort of.
Anyway, back to the subject:
Whatever it is, whatever the reason for not hearing from him,
I just have to be patient.
I know I will see him in the fall,
and everything will be good then.
I just have to stop being so paranoid...
Please, oh please, let him be okay.
God, I know I don't really believe in you,
but if you do exist,
please let him be okay.
And please let me know that he is.
I need to know he's okay.
Please, God, please.
Please.

Random Thoughts

2011-07-22T14:10:00.002-04:00

On guys and girls:

So, a friend of mine and I were talking earlier about relationships, breakups, and stuff, and we came to quite an interesting realization:

Boys are actually much more emotional than girls.

Why, then, is the stereotype the opposite?

Well, basically, guys are generally just better at hiding those emotions.

Girls may cry more readily, but when it comes down to it, they are much more capable of dealing with poor relationships, breaks of friendship, and of course, rejection and breaking up with people.

Guys, however, become much more easily crushed when they are rejected or broken up with. As opposed to crying, however, they typically choose to close themselves up and pretend that it doesn’t affect them. But it does, of course.

Did you know that the suicide rate is much higher for boys than it is for girls? Yep. If that’s not an indication of how much more emotional and hurt they can get, I don’t know what is.

Perhaps it stems from the fact that they hide their emotions, and thus their friends cannot support them adequately when they feel down, simply because their friends don’t know. With girls, it is fairly obvious, for the most part, when they feel blue, and thus their friends comfort them and make them feel better. Guys, however, cannot recieve this comfort, for they hide these feelings.

Perhaps that is simply why they tend to become more emotional and miserable than females.

Then again, maybe it’s simply a genetic matter. Girls, after all, have to survive to reproduce, thus letting emotions get in the way of this survival is harmful to the species. Guys, however, are genetically indispensable, speaking scientifically, since only one guy is technically needed to make a society reproduce.

Either way you look at it, though, guys are definitely more hurt when they are broken up with or rejected. It takes them much longer to move on than girls, statistically, and they definitely close up after a break up, whereas a girl will be sad for a little bit and then move on, typically. You don’t hear of many girls moping over a relationship for long, yet guys can go on indefinitely moping, though they do try to hide it.

So, in short, girls can more easily get over stuff than guys. I guess that’s just another reason why being a girl is preferable to being a guy, hm?

On nice people:

Nice people seem very rare these days, especially on the roads. Most people cut you off, zoom ahead rather than let you in- it’s a rare person who actually slows down to let you ahead of them. Also, many people honk the second you do something they dislike, like stop for a yellow light they though you could go through.

I actually encountered some really nice people the other day.
As I was stopping, I accidentally slid into the back of their car.
We pulled over, and they got out to check the damage-
I was terrified, very apologetic,
because in past experiences, people are very mean to me about even a scratch.
But these people were very nice.
They were on a family vacation, and although I made a little dent,
they said it was perfectly fine, no real damage,
and didn’t even want to take my number or anything.
They ended up being one of those rare people who actually do simple nice things.

I felt happy after that, knowing those types of people still exist. =]

On sexuality:

“Hey, you.”

“Who, me?”

“Yes you.”

“What?”

“Are you gay?”

Conversations like this happen all the time. Why do so many people always want to know your sexuality? Yeah, close friends make sense, they should know, but random acquaintances? And what exactly are they going to do with that information, anyway? It’s not like someone’s sexuality determines what they’re like or who they are. it’s the same thing as asking a couple if they’ve had sex. It’s just personal, and shouldn’t be their business. If the person outright tells you they’re gay or whatever, that’s fine, but just don’t go around asking.

And for those who really do care if someone’s gay or not, the gay-haters, why? It should not be a factor that determines if you can be friends with them or not. Stop telling them they shouldn’t be gay, or they just haven’t found the right opposite-sex person for them or whatever. Let them have their freedom, they don’t go around telling you you shouldn’t be straight.

poetry dump (all my own work)

2011-07-22T12:05:00.004-04:00

Carefully calculated calories

spread throughout the day.

Maniacally measured meals,

not one bite out of place.

Energetic excessive exercising

to counteract some of that food,

Vehemently vicious vomiting

to make up for the rest.

This is how she goes

throughout her day,

this is what her life’s become:

An endless diet created

to try to prove to herself

that she can be beautiful,

to make herself satisfied

with a weight she’ll never like,

no matter what the number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fear is the color of darkness, shadows, and night.

Fear smells like dust, must, and mold,

And tastes like rotten eggs.

Fear sounds like footsteps in a silent room,

And feels cold, clammy, and old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fish

Lost and Alone

In a sea full of people,

Just another fish in that sea.

A fish without a school

is a very lonely fish indeed.

If only that fish could find a friend.

Not just any friend,

but one to share its life with,

one it could trust completely,

and not worry about upsetting it,

or causing it pain.

Then perhaps it would all be okay,

and the fish wouldn’t feel so alone

despite all the others surrounding it.

Perhaps then the fish would be happy,

and be able to live in peace.

All that fish needs is a friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Under the Tree

Lying in the grass under the
Old oak tree in my backyard,
Venus could only imagine
Exactly what I am feeling.

Logic tries to take over, but is
Overthrown by emotion. The two are
Vying to control my mind. It is
Eating away at me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Watchers

On a cold city street

A child cries out

As he’s knocked to the ground.

In an elementary schoolyard

A young girl, brought to tears

By the names they yell.

In the hallway outside of class,

A rumor is whispered,

Just loud enough for its victim to hear.

No one speaks out.

No one defends them.

The ones who feel empathy

Don’t feel enough to risk

Becoming victims themselves.

They observe from the sidelines,

Watching as pain is brought upon

Their peers, their friends.

Yet all the do is watch,

Too afraid to do anything more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Confessions

I’m not as ‘fine’ as I tell people.

I cry at least thrice a week.

The scars on my arms and my stomach

and now leg never vanish completely,

for they never have time since new ones always appear

on top of the old before they can heal.

I’m sick of needing all these medications,

but I take them anyway because I am afraid

of what will happen if they aren’t there

to supress the unbalanced chemicals in my brain.

I’m afraid that I will go crazy,

crazier than I already am,

and end up in a psychiatric hospital just like my grandpa did.

Sometimes I have to force myself to eat.

I am obsessed with my weight,

to the point of where I look into a mirror

I immediately see all the fat on my body

that I am convinced shouldn’t be there

even though people tell me that my weight is fine,

and that I am beautiful, cute, charming, etc.

I don’t belive them,

even though I can tell that they honestly think that as they say it.

I’ve been trying so hard

to turn my life around, but it is just so difficult.

I feel trapped in a never-ending cycle of all this.

I am not saying this for sympathy, that is not what I want at all.

I am stating all this because if I hold it in,

I fear that I’ll do something stupid again,

something that I’ll regret.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snake Eats Mouse

Coils of muscle
and scales create waves,
As Snake slithers
and glides through brush.

Two dark beady
eyes, like lazers,
Trained on target,
ball of fur and fluff.

Mouse sits in grass
nibbling on seed.
Oblivious to danger
of stalking predator.

Tounge sweeps out,
tasting cool air.
Target is close,
Snake has found Mouse.

Ears stand straight
as weeds rustle.
Time to run,
but it is too late.

Two pointed daggers
laden with poison
Sink into skin,
crush tiny skull.

Seed falls to ground.
Mouse is now Food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magick

Spirit.

Chakra.

Life force.

Magick.

Manna.

Energy.

Everyone has a different name for it,

yet everyone still has it, knows of it-

it is part of every religion,

part of every spiritual belief system.

It flows through everything.

It is called the force of life.

It is an everflowing energy that makes up the world.

Without it, there would be no life.

My religion, Wicca, calls it Magick.

It is the same thing as Christianity’s Spirit,

As the east’s chakra, and physic’s energy.

It is the force that flows through all.

Yet somehow, few people draw this connection.

Centuries of myths and rumors have caused some people,

especially those of christan and similar origin,

to believe that Magick is something supernatural,

something to fear, something of evil.

That is not what it is at all, and they would see this,

if they only took a moment to think about it,

to learn about it, and to realize

that they believe in it, too,

only under a different name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Put generic addiction title here, /blahblahblah

I’m addicted.

It’s an addiction.

I’ve tried to kick it,

but not matter how much I try,

I simply can’t in the end.

When they’re nearly healed,

my mind rebels.

they can’t heal, it says,

they’re a part of you now.

I try to fight it with logic,

saying no, I don’t need them,

but the addiction is stronger.

The knife comes out.

it slices the skin,

over and over,

until they are there.

Ridges of blood,

scarring over,

becoming lines of red

contrasting against my pale skin.

It’s a disease,

and it’s spreading.

What was once one or two

has become ten, no, more.

It inches up the arm,

First the left, then the right.

Then, slowly, elsewhere too,

and will continue doing so

until I am covered in them.

Why won’t this disease go away?

Is there no cure, like a cancer?

No, not a cancer, a drug,

Only it’s more addicting.

An escepe, that’s what it is.

An escape from myself,

from my emotions,

to the physical realm of pain.

It’s a drug that doesn’t come in a pill

or a powder or a smoke.

it’s embedded into my mind,

a drug of the mind.

And I am completely addicted;

no, that’s not it either.

I am dependent.

dependent on these cuts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Manic

Shaking, shaking.

Tap tap tap

on the desk;

calm calm down down,

shake shake shake,

thoughts, thinking,

rapid, racing,

overlapping,

overbearing,

try to hide it,

try to stop it,

it won’t stop,

it won’t stop.

hands, hands,

shaking, shaking,

hands, stop it.

No, wait,

now foot goes

tap, tap, tap.

Energy, energy,

so much energy!

Racing thoughts,

rapid speaking,

stop it, stop!

calm calm down down.

people are staring,

you’re saying it aloud,

talking to yourself,

stop it stop it, stop!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Right

“Are you all right?”

“I’m all right.”

“You sure?’

“…Yeah.”

No.

I’m not sure

that I’m “all right.”

I am sure though

that I am not.

I am not “all right.”

“I’m never all right,”

Is what I’d like to say.

But you…

I can’t let you know.

Letting you know

would only hurt you.

Even if all it is

is a matter of

instering the word “not”

in between “I’m” and “all right.”

I’M NOT ALL RIGHT.

But for you,

and for the world,

I will be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keep Returning

This thing that we have,
It’s some what ridiculous,
the way we keep trying to run,
saying it will never happen again,
yet that is a lie.
For some reason,
we just keep returning,
keep returning,
keep returning.
To each other,
to this life.
No matter how far we run,
no matter how unattached
we try to become,
For some reason,
we just keep returning,
keep returning,
keep returning.
We say it shouldn’t be,
but as time passes,
we both can’t stop thinking
about what we did,
and then we do it again.
For some reason,
we just keep returning,
keep returning,
keep returning.
perhaps we should just stop trying
to squash these feelings,
these feelings of attachment,
since they just refuse to go away,
and because of this,
For some reason,
we just keep returning,
keep returning,
keep returning.
Perhaps instead of returning,
we should just never leave.
Then we could be happy
and won’t have to ever lie
to ourselves ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

body or mind?

What do you want from me?

Do you even want me at all?

You confuse me,

say one thing,

and then say another.

It seems your body and mind want two different things.

Of course, I am in the same position, too, am I not?

What do I want from you?

Do I even want you at all?

Why must our bodies yearn for one another,

when our minds are clearly saying that it’s wrong?

Why must my body lust

for what it knows it shouldn’t have?

I love you, and I hate you.

How can these two emotions be so entwined?

Should I listen to the love, or the hate?

Should I listen to my body, or my mind?

And which will you listen to?

You confuse me.

And I’m pretty darn sure

that I confuse you, as well.

How can we possibly decide

what to do

amongst all this confusion,

this lust,

this love,

this hate,

this logic,

these minds,

these bodies?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to be human

What does it really mean, to be human?

I believe it means nothing.

Being human means nothing at all,

nicht, naught, nada…

If we can say we’re human,

than everything is human.

“Human” is nothing more than a species name.

It doesn’t really mean anything.

A name is a name.

We are as much “human” as anything else living.

Everything on earth shares the same emotions,

pain, life, spirit, soul…

There is nothing that makes humans more special

than any of the other creatures on the planet.

Humans are the same as the dogs,

cats, deer, spiders, rabbits, snakes, and mice.

We are the same as the lizards,

geese, hedgehogs, pigs, parrots, and fish.

We all share the same essential things.

So, don’t go saying it means something different to be human

than it does to be a cat, fox, or whatever.

Because it really doesn’t.

It really, truly, doesn’t.

Because in the end,

we’re all the same,

and we’ll all end up as grass,

to be eaten by the wildabeast, then lions,

and whatever else.

So live life while you can,

and to its fullest at that,

but don’t believe for a second

that it’s any more special

just because you are human.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lost In the Void

Love.

Such a strong word,

but also so weak.

What does it really mean?

I think I’ve only

been pretending to know,

disillusioning myself.

We play around,

get into the heat,

but somehow,

deep down,

I can’t help but think

that this is merely a facade.

A “Virgin Slut,”

that’s what I am.

I fool around

with whoever’s willing,

cuddling intensely throughout the night.

I pretend to be infatuated,

but in the end,

all I feel is an empty void,

a black hole,

an endless abyss.

This is my soul,

this is what it does.

Trying to draw in all the things

that it knows it can never have,

that it will never truly know,

such as love.

I thought my apathetic soul had been cured,

but in the end,

the hole had simply grown,

and my soul tried to devour

everything it could

in order to quell it’s endless hunger.

It is forever expanding,

as I try desperately

for something,

however small and shallow,

to fill it.

Just a little emotion, for once,

is all I ask for.

BBut when I do find something,

it’s merely stale dirt,

covering me up,

filling the hole

by suffocating me

as I lie trapped at the bottom,

as I’m buried alive,

only to be torn out,

gasping, gasping,

as the medicine takes effect.

Then the hole

begins anew,

waiting patiently

to bury me again,

again, and again,

over and over,

until finally,

I can no longer take this life of mine,

so full of lies and deception,

and try to end it.

For the greater good,

I tell myself.

Yet I cannot do that either,

because despite this empty soul of mine,

there is still something holding me here.

Perhaps it’s a promise,

however empty,

of finally

being able to feel

any hint of an emotion,

a little spark of life

in this tragic dead soul of mine.

Perhaps it is a promise,

sent to me by the earth,

that Love truly waits

around the corner.

One can only hope,

dream, believe…

Of course,

when you posess

a soul that is also

devoid of those,

is it really worth the wait?

And if, perhaps,

I do somehow manage to find

Love,

how will I know the difference

between that and the facade,

when my soul is dead,

unfeeling, unloving?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love

Love does not come in one shape or size, as some people think.

Love can refer to may things;

the love one feels for a significant other is the most thought of one,

but there is also love between friends,

love between siblings,

love between those who have known each other their whole life.

You’ve probably suspected this, but yes, I do love you.

However, it is not the kind of love you think of it as.

No, it is not the sexual love.

You’re cute, yes, and have a nice body, I suppose,

but I don’t look at you in that way.

I simply love you because you’re my friend.

My best friend, I love you as I would love a brother.

I just want you to be happy, protected.

Yes, sometimes I show affection.

That’s just what I do.

Just like you, as a boy, show affection to your mother.

But I want you to know that the love I have for you

is unlike any other in this world.

It is stronger than any sexual love could be,

a love that only can be created

by the unique bond of friendship that we possess.

Our souls are connected, don’t you think?

Our fates intertwined.

Our bond can never be broken.

That is the kind of love I have for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rain

Rain, rain, go away,

come again some other day…

I want to have a BBQ,

but now its canceled thanks to you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still Remember You.

What’s it been, 9 years now?

Nine years since you vanished from the world.

Well, your soul vanished, at least,

while your body stayed.

I remember you, so clearly,

those days we would walk around

on the blacktop during recess

me, you, and him,

pretending we were pokemon, or digimon,

or some other cartoon characters,

or discussing things together,

like whether banjo or kazooie would win in a fight.

I remember when you stopped coming to school,

and when you did return,

you had to wear a hat because you had no more hair.

I remember you vividly in that hat.

It was made of jeans material,

and had a flower on the side.

A few years ago,

I saw a hat just like it at a store,

and tears came to my eyes.

How silly that must have looked to passerby,

a girl my age crying at a hat.

But I wasn’t thinking of that, or the hat;

I was thinking of you,

and how strong you must have been,

and how beautiful you were,

when you came into the classroom,

a nurse from the hospital following you,

just to visit your classmates.

I remember going to visit you at your house,

How all your dolls had been moved to the attic,

so you could live sterilized and not get any sicker.

I remember that there was no smoke that time;

your parents were trying hard to stop the habit

that had put you in this state.

I remember sitting on the couch with you,

and smiling as you taught me to play Pokemon Trozei.

We also played Pokemon Snap,

and perfectly photographed…

I can’t remember what it was, now.

But I know you were happy about it.

A few days later, I got the news.

You were not going to be returning to school, ever.

I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore,

except for when you were carried down the aisle in the casket.

We would not be able to play our imaginative games

out on the playground.

The trio was now a duo.

Despite efforts to replace you,

find a new third member,

we never have been able to.

No one can replace you,

no one is as perfect

as you were.

After all these years,

I still look back fondly,

and then try to determine

what life would be like

if you were still here.

Oh, how I wish you still were here.

You and him were the world to me.

And now, it is only him.

I live in constant fear

of losing him, or him losing me.

Whenever I do something,

I wonder if you

would have approved.

What you would be like,

what I would be like,

and what he would be like,

if you were alive today.

Would you be attending college with us?

What kind of career would interest you?

Someday, I will find you again,

and then maybe you’ll tell me.

Or, perhaps, you won’t.

Perhaps you don’t know yourself.

But what I do know

is that if I found a genie

in a magic lamp

and he gave me three wishes,

I would first

wish for you to be alive

and then

give the last two to you.

Because you, my dear friend,

are the epicenter

of all my fondest memories,

and no matter how much time passes,

I will always, always, remember you.

Oh, that ending is too cliche,

it doesn’t suit you…

I miss you so much!

I wanted to end this pleasantly,

but the emotion’s all welling up,

and, well, I just can’t help myself from crying!

I know you wouldn’t want to see me like this,

so I’ll hold back the tears, then,

and try to put a smile on my face

and remember all the times

we spent together,

all the times during recess,

the times at your house,

the times you came to my house,

like the time at my tea party birthday,

where you dressed up so fabulously in all the fancy stuff,

or at halloween,

when you were pikachu.

I still have those photos,

after all these years…

You were the perfect girl,

the most wonderful girl in the world,

and I know it sounds a bit cliche,

but why did a flower as beautiful as you

have to wilt away

before you had fully bloomed?

Rainbows

2011-07-13T18:44:00.003-04:00

Fall semester, I wasn't doing too well.

Depression, anxiety, and other things were triggered by all the stress,

which in turn caused my grades to slip to the point of nearly flunking out.

However, Spring semester I pulled myself together,

worked really hard to get better grades and finish all my work,

and guess what- it paid off!

I ended up making Dean's List.

So, remember, no matter how bad things get,

you have to make it through the rain,

and then the rainbow will appear.

I think that's going to be my new mantra,

to get me through the tough times.

I like rainbows.

Fun week at a Friends, sortof

2011-06-30T14:11:00.003-04:00

Last week, I stayed at my friend Logan's house.
It was a ton of fun, we went shopping a lot,
went out for sushi and stuff...
went out too much, actually.
And I ate too much.
Way too much.

When I weighted myself after getting home,
I discovered I had gained a few pounds!
And then I ate more.
Yesterday I had sahimi, salad, corn,
chicken, couscous, and ice cream
So much!
And today I've already had chicken and half a bagel!

My diet's becoming trashed.
But you know what?
I'm going to change that.
Tonight for dinner,
yogurt and cereal!
Oh, who am I kidding-
it's whatever my parents have planned.
Dinner's the one meal I can't control while I'm at home.
Parents make/plan the food,
I have to eat it, and a decent amount or they get suspicious.
No wonder I can't seem to lose much weight at all.

Anyone, something else happened when I returned.
My mom had discovered somehow that I had gone to Pride in NYC.
So she asked straight out if I was gay.
So I had to explain about being pansexual to her...
something I've been avoiding.
She was more accepting than I thought she'd be,
but she doesn't really understand at all.
Seems to me she only sees two options for people: gay or straight.
She doesn't really get how I can be neither.
Oh, well, I guess that's fine though.
She doesn't have to understand that.

On Dieting

2011-06-14T20:51:00.003-04:00

Dieting is hard!
Especially when you live in a family that doesn't eat healthy, like mine.
The freezer is always filled with ice cream, there's always snacks around...
not to mention all the soda and lemonade they drink.

I do manage to limit the ice cream to once a week though,
and I don't drink soda at all and barely snack.
Although sometimes mom brings home a snack that really tempts me-
like the white cheddar cheese-its she brought home yesterday.
I tried so hard to stay away from them,
but eventually I caved and ate some.

Between yesterday and today, I feel like I trashed my diet.
yesterday I ate a fresco bean burrito from taco bell,
then for dinner mom took me to Ihop where I ate a crepe!
And this morning I ate the other crepe, since a meal has two.
Who could ever eat the amount of food restaurants give you in one sitting?

Today I thought I'd be better, planned on eating just a yogurt for dinner,
but then dad surprised me with a trip to Friendly's!
So, I had to order something- settled on a buffalo chicken sandwich.
I ate only half of it, the rest will be for tomorrow,
and I had coleslaw instead of fries,
but I still feel so guilty about it...
those things have so many calories,
I have no idea how restaurants squeeze so many into a simple sandwich!

I mean, I've lost ten pounds in the past month,
and definitely plan on losing more,
but if eating like this keeps up,
I'll start gaining again!

I have to avoid things like cheese-its altogether,
since those things make you crave more after you start eating them.
Instead of one little handful, I ended up having two!
Those things definitely have to be avoided.

Of course, I also did well by drinking lots of water,
and a big mug of tea!
Tea and water are great for diets,
because they help flush your system and help you lose weight-
and you don't have to worry about their calories, since they have none!
Milk is a good choice to drink too,
since the calcium helps speed up your metabolism.

There are also certain foods known as "negative calorie" foods.
They're called that because your body takes more calories to digest them
than the foods actually have in them.
Such foods are fruits and veggies like apples, beets, carrots, celery, lettuce, etc.
And they're really nutritious, too!
Dieters like me definitely need to eat more of those.

Another useful thing to do is to find stuff to do instead of eat.
Like if you have a big craving, and need a distraction.
My list includes painting, walking, and playing piano.
Exercise is a great choice for this,
since you burn calories instead of eating them!

Once you get into the pattern of dieting, it becomes much easier.
Your stomach will shrink, and you'll become full after the right amount,
as opposed to the large amounts of food it took to fill it before.
You'll stop craving so much-
though occasionally, like me,
you'll get a craving for something special, like cheese-its.
So watch out for those craving things!

Oh, and exercise is great too.
It speeds up your metabolism and burns calories off.
Definitely add that if you wanna diet, too!

Hey, in a month, with diet and exercise,
I've lost ten pounds!
It's pretty amazing, and I'm sure to lose more, I hope.
Dieting's definitely difficult,
but it sure pays off in the end!

Wallflower

2011-05-23T12:35:00.002-04:00

Today, I started reading "The Perka of Being a Wallfower," by Stephen Chobosky.
I'm only on page seventy-three so far, of two-hundred-thirteen,
but so far it is really amazing, and I absolutely love it.

The book is about a boy named Charlie who is quiet and shy,
and about his experiences in high school
He reminds me a lot like myself, actually.

I think I am a Wallflower, like Charlie is.
I'm quiet, and observe people, and always try to be nice to them.

The only thing different s that I never really experienced high school,
at least now how other people did.
I lived at home most the time,
didn't go to any parties until senior year,
and the only dances I went to were the few I photographed for yearbook.

I really regret not being more social and experiencing high school as I should have.
I should have tried dating, I should have made an effort to make friends.
Instead, I just got straight As and read books all the time.
It really was a pretty lonely high school life.

College, however, has changed that in me; I've become a bit more outgoing.
I've experienced the world of dating, made lots of friends,
and although I haven't gone to frat parties or anything,
I've had some great little parties with my friends.

The start of this change began senior year of high school,
when I began hanging out with my friend Maria.
I had sleepovers with her, Val, and Janina,
we talked about boys and girl things,
we had adventures together, and had some neat parties.

I really wish I had started doing those things,
finding people to hand out and have fun with,
a lot sooner, a whole lot sooner.

I envy Charlie because of this.
He may be a Wallflower, like me,
but he still is enjoying what high school has to offer,
in terms of social situations and friendships,
something I never took advantage of.

When I have kids, Wallflowers or not,
I'm going to make sure that they are social,
that they make friends, and enjoy high school.
I missed out on too much,
and I don't want them regretting their high school years,
as I do.

My Brother

2011-05-22T11:54:00.002-04:00

My brother is a really amazing person.

He's really shy and quiet, so consequently doesn't have many friends,
but the ones he does have have stayed with him for quite a long time.

He's also amazing at building things.
Legos and puzzles are two of his favorite past times.

He really inspires me, too.
A few years ago, he injured his arm, which really impacted his running speed.
He needed reconstructive surgery, and he was told he probly wouldn't have much use of it anymore.
But he worked really hard, and now has almost full use of it!
And he's one of the fastest people on his track team,
a huge improvement from a few years ago.
It's really amazing.

And you know what?
If he can overcome his problems like that, then so can I.
I may have Bipolar, but if i work hard enough, like he did,
then I'll be able to make it just a tiny part of my life,
rather than a big part like it is now.

Thank you, Brandt!

Wondering

2010-10-16T14:00:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wondered
why things are
the way they are?
Why the wind will blow,
and freeze you to the bone,
on the one day you wish
to go outside?
Or why the sun doesn't shine,
on that day you made plans
to go to the beach?
It is as if
some unprecedented force
has decided
that things can never
go as planned.
Tell me,
is there one time,
in your entire life,
where you imagined something
in your mind,
mapped out how it would go,
and it went
exactly as planned
to every teenie detail?
No, I imagine there isn't.

Steeve the Unicorn

2010-08-01T19:59:00.003-04:00

Steeve the Unicorn:
A story written by me and my ten-year old cousin, Kathryn.

Once upon a time, there was a magical unicorn. His name was Steeve, and he loved ice cream. Fortunately for him, he lived in a world of candy, and his village was called "Ice Cream City". Steeve loved lice cream so much, that one day he decided to eat all the ice cream in the city! That was the beginning of his adventure.

Steeve began with his own house, which was made of chocolate ice cream. After this, he had to use the bathroom, but since he had eaten his own house, including bathroom, he had to borrow his neighbor's. He finished his business by by eating his neighbor's french-vanilla house, which was decorated with cookie dough bits.

Now, Steeve ate tons and tons of houses, which made him have to keep going to the bathroom; despite this, he he kept eating the houses, always thinking, "Well, one more can't hurt." But, of course, it can hurt, as he soon found out!

The next, and final, ice-cream house belonged to Mayor Hoofchild. It was a whole ice-cream cake house! Steeve munched through the chocolate, and then the vanilla, and finally into the mayor's bedroom.

"What in the flippin', whole hoofin' candy world is going on?!" the mayor proclaimed.

"I got hungry," admitted Steeve. Then, he fell into a deep, deep sleep.

Steeve awoke in the middle of a chilly, dark room. Then, a sudden light appeared. To Steeves's surprise. two funny-looking unicorns came out of it, and they were string right at him!

"Steeve, Steeeeeeeeeeeeve," they whinnied. "Come with us to candy mountain, where all of your troubles will melt awaaaaaaaaaay..."

"No." Steeve told them. "I heard what you two did to my cousin Charlie. No chance I'm coming anywhere with you weirdos. Besides, were'nt you two in jail?"

"Don't be silly, Steeeeeeve!" the one chided.

"Yeah, we don't need any more kidneys or horns!" The other added.

"Then what do you want from me?"

The two began to speak as one again. "To show you what you neeeeeeeeeed in your life!"

"And what would that be- actually, don't answer that. I'm a little frightened to find out."

"We don't know, Steeve. But the Great Green Leprechaun of Asia (G.G.L.o.A.) knows!"

"The... what?"

"Come with ussssss, Steeeeeeve, and we'll show you!"

Finally, Steeve gave in, and the two led him to the land of the G.G.L.o.A. Expecting a giant Leprechaun, Steeve was very surprised when he discovered that the G.G.L.o.A was only 3.6 inches tall!

"He is a Leprechaun, Steeve!" the two unicorns chided, matter-of-factly.

"Wait, how'd you know I was thinking that?" Steeve asked them.

"It's all in your mind, Steeeeeeeeeve, all in your mind...."

With that, Steeve woke up.

"Oh, good god, it was just a dream..." he sighed.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Steeeeeeeeeeve!" the two weird unicorns sung, as they stared at Steeve, one at the end of his bed, the other in it.

And just what happened after that, you ask? Well, no one knows exactly. The only thing definite was that, three days later, Steeve was found in the bed of an abandoned house, completely unharmed- of course, except, for the fact that his heart was missing and all his blood was drained.

THE END.

Why I DESPISE the Beach

2010-07-28T19:44:00.004-04:00

So, many people really love the beach.
I, for one, absolutely DO NOT.
The beach is a menace.

Now, don't get me wrong- the beach can quite often be fun-
in the winter and off-season, in the middle of the night,
when no one's there but yourself and maybe a few friends.

Anytime else, and the beach is pure hell.

I'm always happy at first-
ooh, I'll get a day to relax and enjoy myself,
here I come beach!
So, I gather my stuff, get in the car...

And then it takes a turn for the worst.

Of course, I'm not the only person who thought of heading to the beach.
Tens of thousands of other people are heading for the same place I am.
Which brings traffic into the issue,
and don't even mention parking.
Seven blocks away, and there's finally an open space.
So much for relaxing; now I have to hike.

Plus, of course, it's not just the locals like me who are there.
We locals always forget about the tourists.
For every one local, there's about twenty tourists.
They swarm us, tumble over us with their fancy
beach blankets, beach shoes, beach everything,
all of which was, of course,
purchased at that overpriced tourist shop down the road.
Once I've been trampled by them, I finally get a chance to stake out my spot.

If I get there early enough, sometimes I get a nicer spot closer to the water.
If not, I get the junky spot full of trash behind the life guard.
Either way, it doesn't really matter.

As soon as I get my stuff down,
lay out my towel,
and lie down,
I am again tampled and surrounded by people.
People who have no concept of personal space.
People who think their rampage is more important
than my precious camera, my chair, and even me.
They trample my blanket, sometimes even my hand,
and do they say sorry?
Nope, not at all!
Why would they do that?

After a while of enduring that, I decide to go into the water.
I have fun for a bit, riding the waves...
avoiding people, trying to forget my problems...
trying to drown out the noise...
when I see a diaper floating next to me.
Well, that's it for the water!

So, I proceed back to my spot-
of which is almost covered by other people's towels and stuff by now-
and pick up my book to read it.
That's when the sun decides to play with me.
The wind, too.
The clouds are down, shielding the brightest sun rays. Cool.
The breeze is nice; maybe I'll enjoy this yet.
Hmmm... no, it won't let me do that, will it?
The sun pops out again!
Brightness floods my eyes,
giving me a temporary headache.
But they my eyes adjust,
and all is fine again.
Oh, wait- sun's gonna go behind a cloud again.
Eyes, time to readjust!
And it keeps that up.
The wind decides to play around, too.
It picks up, blowing my book to another page.
oh, crap- it's blowing my bookmark away!
I rush to retrieve it,
and by then the wind's completely blown my place away.
So, I gotta search for the page.

Once I'm sick of that game, it's time to relax again on my towel.
Yeah, right.
The people aren't running past me anymore,
since everyone's found their place,
but now they're all talking.
The guy behind me is screaming on his cell phone.
The girls ten people over are singing to some music- badly.
Some people over yonder are having a loud party,
complete with boom box.
Really big boom box with lots of music-blasting power.
And the seagulls are skwaking,
eagerly munching on the chips the stupid tourists throw at them,
despite the signs that say "no feeding the birds".
Plus, that couple in front of me is practically having sex,
not to mention their cigarette smoke is making me cough.

Okay, time to go home, finally.
Hm, Looks like I got a nice tan, at least.
Or not.
Once I get home,
I discovered the sun raped me again,
despite all the sunblock I thought I rubbed all over my skin.
But no, it targeted my stomach this time,
Which I failed to put enough sunblock on,
since the sun never burnt me there before.
Oh, but even the parts that aren't burned look ugly.
The sun tickled my skin, it seems,
because the tan is in obnoxious patterns,
of which I have no idea got there.
Okay, one's from my bracelet, but the rest?
Maybe marks of when those stupid tourists tossed their trash way,
irregardless of who was in its path- which was me.

So, now I'm lying on the couch,
tired, upset, irritated, annoyed, sick, burning,
holding an ice pack to my skin.
A nice, relaxing day?
Yeah right!

And no, rest of the USA,
NJ is not consisting of Guidos.
Those people who you idolize from that "Jersey Shore" show?
They're some of the tourists we hate.
Bennys, we call them.
Brooklyn, Elizabeth, Newark, New York.
People from those places,
Who flock down every summer to ruin our lives.

That is why I hate going to the beach,
even though I live a quick drive away.

Come out

2010-07-04T19:52:00.000-04:00

Well,
I'd just like to say,
that you can come out of your shell.
Stop being so afraid.
I know you,
and can see,
that you have feelings there;
yet you hide it.
You think that I can't see?
That I can't feel
that something is wrong?
Just talk about it;
tell me, what's the matter;
I won't be biased,
or objective,
or critical.
You don't have to be a rock,
unfeeling,
uncaring,
and invincible,
because you're not.
Stop suffering alone;
it's not necessary.
All I want,
is to see you happy,
and I know,
that that won't happen,
if you keep your feelings pent up inside.
We're closer than any two people
could possibly be.
There is nothing you can hide from me;
trying to only makes it harder
not only for me,
but for you as well.
So just speak!
Say what's on your mind!
And I'm sure,
that you'll find,
no matter what it is,
that everything will be fine;
okay, maybe not,
but it will be much better,
I can assure you,
once you share it.
So, come on,
break open that shell
that you've hidden yourself in,
and, for once,
be human!

Help

2010-07-04T19:36:00.002-04:00

"Help me if you can, I'm feeling down...
but I do apprechiate you being 'round...
help me get my feet up off the ground,
won't you please, please, help me, help me, help meeeeeeee?"
~The Beatles, "Help"~

I dunno if I quoted that exactly right,
but that always has been one of my favorite songs.
I feel that the lyrics exemplify what I feel sometimes,
when I'm depressed or stressed or anxious or whatever;
which is a lot, considering I'm on meds for it.
Anyway, I've always envied the Beatles,
I suppose, for being able to sing this.
Well, okay, they're a rock group and stuff, but still;
asking for help is really hard to say.
Took me years to even realize I needed it,
since I kept denying it.

Also, being around people, too,
is one of the things that definitely helps when you're down.
Most people say things like "oh, suck it up,"
but they say that without knowing what it's like.
When you're feeling down like that,
being cooped up is the last thing you need.
You need friends.
Just being around them,
as the Beatles are saying in the song,
is a great thing to have.
Sometimes, I sing this song to myself,
just to remind me of that,
and it gives me the motivation I need to call a friend or two to hang out with.
Of course, by then they're usually busy and stuff, and can't hang out,
but at least it gets me off the couch and sometimes then I'm motivated to do other stuff,
rather than just laying around.
Sometimes.

So,
*holds up a glass*
here's to all my friends, who, though unknowingly,
have helped me "get my feet up off the ground",
and aided me a little bit in fighting my depression.
And, of course, thanks to the Beatles, as well!
And, of course, all the other music groups I listen to, as well, when I'm down. =D

People

2010-06-03T10:00:00.002-04:00

People are idiots; they really are.
They will believe anything they hear.
I see it all the time.
Someone says something,
like a rumor or something,
and then someone else jumps to conclusions.
Next thing you know, everyone's unhappy.
For example, a guy and a girl are going out.
Well, someone tells the guy that he saw the girl with another guy.
The other guy's her cousin, but the guy doesn't know that,
so he assumes she's cheeting on him.
They get in a fight over it, and he breaks up with her.
Both are terribly sad and upset,
but there actually isn't anything to be upset about.
The girl tries to explain the true story to the guy,
but he of course won't listen,
since guys often have incredibly thick skulls.
Classic example of something that happens everyday.
That is why people are idiots;
They like to draw conclusions without knowing the full facts.
Rumors, too, are an evil creation of humans.
someone hears something,
relays it to someone else,
while adding a little extra on to spice it up,
and all the sudden you have a story
about a girl getting sent to the nurse because
she was caught sucking blood from tampons.
Yes, that rumor really did happen in our school.
Ruined the life of the girl;
some people still believe the story was true.
Heck, even I thought it was true at first.
After all, who makes that sort of story up?
I mean, it's just so totally disgusting!
It's like a big game of telephone, rumors.
Plus, people's memories aren't as good as they think.
A small fact altered, forgotten, or accidentally added in easily happens.
Put a bunch of these errors in, from bunches of people,
and all the sudden the story is completely different.
Yet, people are still inclined to believe everything they hear,
without even questioning it.
Sure, they do question it if it's super absurd,
but after hearing it a bunch, they even will believe the absurd things.
besides, most rumors are possible to occur,
so that's why people don't question them.
but, everything you hear should be questioned,
unless it's coming from the original source.
But, heck, even the source can lie!
So, can we really believe anything we hear in this world?
I think not.
Question, question, question!
Only then do you have a chance at learning the truth.

An Adventure

2010-05-29T20:08:00.002-04:00

So, today, my friend and I decided to go to some yardsales.
there was a town having a town sale;
I saw the signs last night on a way to a meeting.
Well, we got lost on the way there.
As we wandered around,
we came across a road that led to some very rural parts of NJ,
that we never knew were there,
so close to our town!
it was pretty awesome;
we saw a horse farm, and stopped to see the horses.
We saw some large empty fields,
and thought about frolicking in them
(but we passed them and didn't see a turn around place,
plus we were still looking for the sales.)
We never found the sales, however.
But, what we did find was a farm!
A nice little organic NJ farm,
and it was selling plants and foods.
We explored it,
and looked at their chickens.
We talked to the owner,
inquiring about buying one.
The only one he had for sale,
though, was a rooster,
which he didn't recommend because we live in a neighborhood
(neighbors would hate having a rooster alarm everyday!)
But, he told us about a place where they have livestock auctions,
every Saturday!
I forgot what the name of the place was,
but maria remembers-
thank god she has such a good memory,
since I definitely do not.
There wasn't time to go this weekend,
but hopefully one of the next weekends we'll get to go!
We won't buy any animals,
since we're going to to college,
and maria also goes to her fathers in Europe every summer.
but, it's still really cool,
so we're definitely going to check it out!
Oh, and on the farm, they had Strawberries!
They were really cheep, too,
since they don't have to be sold to the stores first.
And you know what?
These strawberries taste better than any I've ever eaten!
I am going there for strawberries from now on.
We even were allowed to pick our own!
It was a ton of fun. ^__^
We also bought some plants.
I got a banana pepper plant.
And with this plant,
unlike the tomato plants I've had in the past,
I'll get them all to myself,
since my brother and parents don't eat them!
Well, I'll cook with them, too, and they'll eat that,
but I'll also have a nice snack that won't get eaten up before I get any!
Getting lost today was definitely worth while.
This was definitely a super-fun day! ^_^

Hm.

2010-04-15T14:59:00.003-04:00

Well, this is embarrassing.
I came on here, all ready to post something amazing;
you know, the kind of amazingess that shakes the whole world,
and I had a great idea for what I was gonna post, too,
but it seems I've completely forgotten what I was going to post.
That actually happens quite a lot...
And, I am positive it will never return.
It never had before...
OH WAIT.
I think I remembered-
No, nope, I didn't.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, I discovered today that my pen cap can be sued as a whistle!
Yes, I just blow into it, and it makes sounds!
And I can alter the sounds to make tunes, too!
I discovered it in physics class, of course, naturally;
that's where I always discover neat things.
Eventually the kids got annoyed and told me to stop.
Mrs. K was laughing, as usual; she's awesome.
Mrs. K just laughs around with all the kids,
Not really caring if we are interrupting her class and whatnot.
Yeah, by the end of the school day I'm always so distracted.
It just so happens that Physics class is last period,
so of course I fiddle around with all the neat toys and stuff.
Plus, the entire class consists of awesome people,
and there's only about ten of us,
so of course when one of us gets distracted,
we basically all do.
Yet somehow,
our class still manages to be ahead of all the other physics classes in the district.
Which is odd and funny,
since we sometimes just withhold the lesson to learn other stuff,
like the time Mrs. K took us all outside to show this kid, Bill,
how when you spin a bucket around the water doesn't fall out
due to artificial gravity created by centripetal acceleration,
since Bill hadn't realized that could happen.
A bucket was filled with Water, and we taught him how to swing it properly.
It was totally epic.
We've had lots of other awesome distractions like that, too.
I love Physics class, even if I'm not doing so well with the actual tests and stuff.

Anyway, random rambling is over, for now.
that was actually quite pleasant;
maybe I'll randomly ramble some more on here!

Oh, and by the way, here's some cookies I made the other day:

Yes, Pokeball cookies!
Wonderful, are they not?

Oh, and I also spruced up the template for my blog, if you haven't noticed. I designed the pattern and banner myself, and the font is now Trebuchet. Changed font colors too. ;]

Chicken!

2010-04-14T06:41:00.002-04:00

Note: this was part of a newspaper group project we did in Communications class.

The Many Ways to Cook Up Chicken
Written By Larissa Dillon

Everyone knows there is a multitude of different ways to cook a chicken
You can keep it whole or cut it up, stuff it, bake it, fry it, BBQ it, stuff it in a crock pot, steam it, broil it, flame it, grill it, or even use foreign methods. And then, of course, there's a bazillion and one different ways to flavor it, spice it, and sauce it for maximum flavor. Of course, there's a fair few people who like chicken plain, with no spices or flavors. That's okay, too; but for me, the more flavor, the better.

Personally, I enjoy chicken and rice. Rather than cooking the chicken whole, I cut it into bite-size pieces. I take a frying pan, and fry the chicken bites using a little bit of oil, pepper, onions, chives, and whichever other spices and veggies will be needed for the dish. Then, I stir in the rice (which is boiled in chicken brother rather than plain water, for it adds much more flavor), more spices and flavorings, and maybe some fruit pieces, such as pineapple or apple; surprisingly, fruit tastes very yummy when mixed in with dishes such as chicken rice.

Another thing cubed chicken is good for is pasta. It adds a wonder of protein to alfredo sauce, and can taste good as a meatball substitute. Or, you can simply grind it up and use it to replace beef in a meat sauce; chicken is certainly much healthier.

Stuffed chicken is good for thanksgiving, but it can be very unhealthy with all that bread and calories, so I like to stay away from it. The same goes for fried chicken, particularly so because of all the fat and oil it's fried in. BBQ chicken is a bit better, health-wise, but a lot of sauce can make it deadly for your health, so be cautious of that. I personally dislike BBQ sauce, but some people love it.

Chicken is great in sandwiches, as well. Grilled chicken is perfect for them; breaded is liked by some, too, but it adds many unwanted calories, so I'd stay away from it if I were you. Some lettuce, tomato, pepper, and mustard can make the sandwich perfect for lunch. Or, you can cut it into strips and wrap the chicken in a tortilla shell.

Heating chicken pieces in a slow cooker, or croc pot, can make for very tender, melt-in your mouth chicken, which can be very homely.

And of course, one must not forget the simple delight of fresh oven-baked chicken, good for any occasion.

There are certainly many ways to cook chicken, aren't there? Now, let's hear from our readers on which ways they prefer. Baked? Sandwiched? Stuffed? Fried? Cut or whole? Or, maybe, they've cooked up some new, interesting ways for us to discover. To think, there are so many cooking possibilities for just one little bird!

Lost in the Woods!

2010-01-31T19:11:00.002-05:00

So today, my friend Maria, her brother Alberto, me, and my exchange student Felix, went on an adventure.
And what an adventure it was!

First we made homemade pizza with Italian style dough-
quite a scrumptious treat.
It had thin, crispy crust, spices, sauce, fresh Parmesan and mozzarella,and then toppings!
We topped some with pineapple, some with sausage, and some with pepperoni, and some with combinations!
Then we baked it and eat it.
With such thin, crispy crust, we had to eat it with a fork and knife!
It was the best pizza I had ever eaten! ^_^
We also drank sparking cider, apple favored and apple-grape flavored.
Those were really yummi, too!

We then went to Cattus Island park, where we visited the nature center first.
Alberto and Felix, though 16, had a ton of fun fiddling with the learning activities and toys meant for the younger kids.
It was really cute!
The we went hiking.
We followed the trails and stuff, but didn't bring a map, so we didn't knw which ones went where!
It was also snowy on the trails, but that was okay. We took reeds with fuzzy ends and used them as 'weapons'- for ticking!
We had fights with them, chasing each other all over.
A ton of fun!
Eventually, we found our way back, after an hour or so, and after some near misses with falling in ponds covered in ice.
It was so much fun, and we were all laughing most the journey!

Finally, we went back to Maria's and ended the day with cherry pie, hot chocolate, and many games of "Catch-Phrase".

It was the best time I had all year, possibly the best time I've had in the past decade! ^__^

Going to a park with friends creates some of the best times ever!
Everyone should do it!

Another New Year

2010-01-01T20:27:00.002-05:00

Yep. Another New year is here.
It's a whole new decade, as well.
For some reason, these things just...
don't seem quite as exciting as they used to.
Christmas doesn't seem as special anymore, either.
In fact, none of the holidays really do.
Have they just become so predictable that they seem dead?
They certainly no longer have much of an air of excitement and surprise.
Lack of such things do tend to lead to predictability,
which in turn seems to lead to an air of apathy towards a subject.
Or maybe it just seems this way to me,
and normal people still feel perfectly at home during the holidays.
I haven't been very normal lately, after all.

Anyway, I do have a few new years resolutions, in the end.
If I post them here, i may feel more obliged to stick to them.
Just maybe. Small chance, but it's there.

1. Lose more weight! I know, pretty common resolution, but at least I stuck to it last year- only one I did, but hey, that's something. I lost thirty pounds so far. Still need to lose more, though. I used to be extremely 'pudgy'. Okay, fine. i was outright fat. there, i said it. Doesn't matter now, though; I'm more of a normal weight now. A bit ironic, though. What I gained in normality appearance-wise I've seemed to have lost mentality-wise.

2. Work on my blogs more often, particularly the G-pig one. that one can wait, though. I'll post on that some other day. Soon, though. Maybe. I really should stop procrastinating it...

3. Hm, let's see... ah, screw it. I'll keep it to those two resolutions. maybe with less, I'll actually be able to go through with ALL of them this year.

So, yeah, that's pretty much it. My thoughts on the new year, and resolutions. It's not that special. I'm not that special. I hate that people keep expecting so much of me. "Genius" does not mean "excelling at everything." I just want to be treated like normal, okay? Normal expectations, and stuff like that. Oh, shoot, I just went on a mini-rant there. Anyway, new Year, new decade. Nothing too special, just another day on the calendar, as far as I'm concerned.

It was nice having two weeks off from school, though.

Whew

2009-11-03T09:09:00.002-05:00

Wow.
I never imagined that senior year would be so... busy. O_O
Last year, I heard seniors saying how easy it was, how relaxing, and that junior year was ultimately the hardest year, so they were glad to be over it.
I have no idea what world they lived in.
So far, senior year has been one big mess of shit, busy busy busy.
First of all, the college applications.
Primarily, arguing with my mom about which college is best for me,
and how many I should apply to.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is my number one college choice;
I would really, really love to go there.
My mom, however, wants me to go to one of the big-wig ivy league schools; not happening.
Last I checked, Princeton and Harvard do not have programs for prospective Game Designers, like me.
Worcester, though, is perfect; there's no other place I want to go, honestly.
I put my application in already, for their Early Action selection.
It's non-binding, too, so my mom can be happy, since I can apply to some more schools (she was a bit worried about me only wanting to apply to WPI).
But the application process is very busy-making.
After filling out all of your forms and writing the essay,
you need to go get letters from teachers, then lug it all to guidance...
well, it's actually not that bad.
Getting working papers is much worse, in my opinion.
At least with college apps, you don't need to drive all over the place.
Working papers made me go to my house, then guidance, then my job, then my doctor, then guidance again; lots of driving around.
Anyway, that's a bit of topic now.
Yeah... senior year's no walk amongst the daisies, as some people told me.
Lots of homework, papers, projects, homework, club responsibilities (especially now that I'm president of German Club), and lots of other busy stuff.
It feels like I have no time for any fun, like video games.
I haven't played Animal Crossing: City Folk in over a month... all my flowers have died by now, and it's probably full of weeds. I've missed holidays and special events there, too... oh, and all the October buggies and fishies. Even though I hate doing it, I'm going to have to time travel to get them.

Well, luckily, we have a random week long break this week! Lots of fun. Not really, more of a make up week for all the stuff I need to- and want to- do. This, for instance! And my GP blog, too, of course. But that'll come later this week. You see, this break has been made possible through a combination of the election, since some schools will be closed to have polls there, and the teachers convention. Instead of making us go to school for a Monday and Wednesday, they just gave us the whole week off. Wonderful! Finally, some time to catch up, relax.... and do all that work i missed last Thursday and Friday, when I was painting that huge window downtown for the parade. A bunch of other kids have work this week, too, because of it. But the painting was fun, so I'm not complaining. ^_^

It's possible!

2009-09-03T18:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, it is possible to win the impossible games at theme parks!
Last night I went to Six Flags.
It was fanawesometasticalicious!
I watched the super tiger show,
and then bought stuff.
But then... I saw the game!
You had to bounce a ball off a board and get it into a bucket.
Pretty difficult, because of the placement of the bucket (right under the board),
and the bar that prevented you from rolling the ball gently or hitting the bottom of the board,
for if you knocked it over, you lost.
I watched a bunch of people doing it,
and then decided to try my hand at it.
I failed the first time, and then... I won!
The worker lady was even amazed- she said no one had won it while she was working, ever.
All she had ever heard were rumors of people winning, rarely.
Apparently, I was the first to win all summer.
So, what did I win?
A GIANT GNOME:

Some crazy lady had her picture taken with me and it, too.

My Summer

2009-08-09T13:31:00.002-04:00

Oh, it's been a while since I posted here (again).

Well, my summer's been pretty okay, I suppose. Just okay.
I'm working at a girl scout camp, as an archery instructor.
That's pretty cool. Last week's theme was music,
so they did a cute production of "High School Musical" songs.
I've also been working at an ice cream shop.
That's pretty sweet: free ice cream and all.
Other than that, i haven't been doing much.
There are things I should be doing, but procrastination's won once again...

Well, that's pretty much my summer.
Not much more to write about at the moment.
Once School starts, I'm sure there will be interesting stuff posted here, kay?
Oh, I can't wait until September...

Oh, right. I finally got my driver's permit,
after procrastinating for 6 months after I turned 17.
Yay! I've been practicing, a little... well, not much. 2 times.
I did manage to drive from the elementary school home though.
I held up traffic in front of my house, trying to get into the driveway.
I over-steered, then backed up wrong, and, well, I need more practice!

A Trip to Maine

2009-07-02T17:44:00.005-04:00

Last week, my friend and I went to Maine on a week-long vacation. Well, yes, my parents and brother came, too, but they're a bit boring and somewhat annoying, so you won't hear me talking much about their role on the trip! We went to Acadia National Park and a town next to it called Bar Harbor. It was very touristsy; we don't usually go to places with so many people, but it ended up being nice, despite that.

We took a car there, of course. The trip was 12 hours long; uuuuuuuugh. Yes, 12 hours cooped up in a car. Luckily, air conditioning exists...

The first two nights we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Bar Harbor. It was really nice, very quaint. It was in one of the few remaining buildings from historic Bar Harbor, as opposed to the others, which were all redone completely since they had basically all burned in a fire. But our inn survived!

Let me recount for you the events and stuff we partook in.

The first day we went to an Oceanic Museum. That was amazing. There were three parts to the tour. First, we listened to a guy do a presentation about lobster hunting, their main industry in Maine. He showed us the huge cages the lobsters get trapped in. They're made specially so lobsters can't escape. the rope goes into them on an upward incline. The lobster then climbs in, and falls to the bottom. He then tries to escape, but can't because of the angle of the rope, of which the 'exit' is above his head now, too high to escape. But there is a hole just large enough for undersized lobsters to escape through, saving the lobster catchers time when it comes to weeding out those unfit for eating: too big ones, too small ones, and pregnant ones. The too big ones aren't allowed because they want to make sure there are enough full grown ones to breed. Oh, and apparently, it's okay to throw them in a pot and boil them live. It makes no difference; they don't feel pain. They have no brain function other than the basics: to eat, swim, reproduce, and breath. Apparently it raised a moral question, so scientists formally studied the lobsters, which led to that conclusion. Too bad for the lobster-rights club; how can something with no brain or nerves have many rights? We also learned from him how to weave the net. It's pretty easy, but I'm not going to explain it; I would just confuse everyone, since I'm no good at giving instructions for things like that. The sample net piece the guy wove in front of us was given to Michael. That was cool; a souvenir, but for free! That's a rare find at such a touristy place. The next stop of the tour was the Lobster Hatchery. It was full of these large, upright tubes of water with tiny lobsters, only between 1 and 6 millimeters long. The Hatchery obtains pregnant lobsters, and then keep the eggs and babies until they reach a certain stage in their life. Then, they are released back into the wild. Why don't they keep them until adulthood? Well, that would get too expensive. Lobsters are very reclusive, and would each need their own tube, rather than all 6,000 being in one. It is much more expensive to keep them than release them and let the lobster fishermen recatch them. You see, a lobster lays about 6,000 eggs. In the wild, about 3 of them eventually survive, since as babies they are prey to many creatures, as plankton-like things while they float in the open water. Yet by living those early stages in the hatchery, about 1500 eventually survive- much better than 3. Plus, there's no high costs like there would be if kept in captivity. The last part of the tour was a small aquarium and a touch tank. In the aquarium was the biggest lobster I'd ever seen- at least ten pounds, no exaggeration. It was at least three feet long, with claws more than a foot long each. I wouldn't want to get on its bad side! The touch tank was really cool, too. They had a sea cucumber; it was very squishy. The sea urchin was very spiky, but still fun to hold. The starfish, too, I enjoyed. Did you know they have a small eye on the tip of each foot? It looks like a little red dot, and it senses light. The Horseshoe Crab would cringe whenever I blew on its stomach. That was fun to watch [no, I wasn't hurting it or anything- tickling it's more of the word]. There were also large snails, a spider crab, and hermit crabs. Those were cool, too. I really regret not having my camera with me that first day; though, consequently, it led me to be sure I had it on all the other days.

Oh, and we also saw the movie "Up." It was in a historic theater; only one movie playing at one time, since there was only one screen. It was very cool looking, though. The ceiling was painted, and the screen had a curtain over it, like a stage. They had technical difficulties with that; it kept opening and closing during the first five minutes. But, those were previews, so it didn't matter. The lights kept going on and off, too. It was a little freaky, I suppose. Haunted Theater? The movie itself was very cute, though. I liked it.

The next three nights were camping, making 4 days. I hate camping. The beds are not comfortable at all, the "waterproof" tent was leaky as it rained, and everything else about it's just so much of a nuisance.

That first day of camping, day two of the trip, we drove up Cadillac Mountain. It's the tallest point on the easy coast, until Brazil. But unfortunately, at the summit, we couldn't see a thing. It was extremely foggy. We're lucky we didn't fall down the mountain, since we could barely see three feet in front of us.

The next day we went hiking for a bit, to some nice views of the ocean. Then we went to something even more amazing; Improv Acadia. It was a fully improvised comedy show, and the audience got to join in with the ideas. It was one of the best things I've ever been to. I really wish more existed; but I suppose it takes a lot of talent to create such a great show, completely improvised. That was just a sample show, though, perhaps twenty minutes compared to a full hour and a half show. It was for the Art Week in Bar Harbor. There were a lot of free concerts and exhibits and things like that. It's rather hard to explain about the show, but they do skits and things based on the audience's ideas. They're different things each time. For example, when asked for the title of a possible play that doesn't exist, a woman in the audience shouted out "Cairo's Burning," and they created a huge skit about a pharaoh faced with a rebellion, with improvised songs and all. It was really good. They also asked us for an item the would not come with instructions, and we chose 'Sponge'. So, they made an instruction manual for a sponge. It was hilarious; they asked the audience for sub categories, and one of them was "Water Emergencies." So, they made up a long thing about buying thousands of the "Spongetron 5000" to stop a flood. It was much more humorous than I make it sound, though. I do it little justice. After that, we discovered that the sun was actually out! We listened to some of a free rock concert in the park while I practiced cartwheeling on a grassy hill. I'm getting better, I think. We also had a campfire, since it wasn't raining. S'mores rock!

Thursday, day four of the trip, we were supposed to go on a whale watch, but it was once again foggy. Instead, we went on more hikes. One was really awesome; it was out to a small rocky peninsula. we were climbing the rocks, getting great pictures and things. By late afternoon, it got sunny again, so we went back up Cadillac Mountain. That time, we could see the view a bit before the fog rolled in again. It was really, really awesome. a wonderful day. We ended the day with a campfire and S'mores, once again.

Friday was okay, but not the most fun. We were stuffed in the car with all the camping things, and just drove around the island, since my mom wanted to see the rest of it. In Northeast Harbor, I stopped at a store and bought a neat bracelet. I also bought Chinese Checkers, to give us something else to do. Every night before, Me, my brother, and Michael had been playing lots of the card game "Uno," and were getting a bit sick of it. at least, I was; After all those nights, I had accumulated very few points, whereas Michael had over a 500 point lead on Brandt, and more than a 1,000 lead over me. Blah. So I bought a new game to play. We played it that night. it was a very intense game of Chinese Checkers; it pretty much ended in a complete draw. Still, it was fun. Oh, and we stayed at the inn; no more icky camping.

Saturday, the last day of the trip, we were able to go on that Whale Watch! It was a little foggy, but not that bad. We saw a whole lot of Seals, which was very cool. We didn't see any whales, but that was okay. It was still an awesome boat trip. That evening, we all went shopping. Extreme shopping. We visited every store there that was open. I ended up paying a bit more than I usually spend on a shirt, but that was okay, because the shirt was extremely awesome, and unique. It had lots of sparking red and white rhinestones on the black stretch fabric, short sleeved. The stones were in the shape of wings on the back, with a little red sun on the corner in front. It's the best shirt I've ever owned. Then, we went to the Improv again! The full show was amazing; even better than the sample show. I really wish there was one in NJ! I would go every other night. That time, I suggested a part of a skit. They wrote everyone's suggestions down, and during the skit the actors would pick up random ones off the floor and so them, or say the lines, incorporating them into their skit. Those actors did not know what was on the paper, since they went out of the room while we gave the suggestions. Mine was to hunt werewolves. The skit was fabulously funny!

Then, the trip ended with another 12 hour car ride. Actually, it ended up being 14; in Massachusetts, two car accidents held the roads up for two extra hours. I got mad at McDonalds, since they gave me a honey mustard wrap when I asked specifically for ranch.

Oh, and about food. Can't forget that. I got to try lobster. It wasn't as yummi as I though it would be. Didn't taste too different than crab, actually; I don't know why people get all excited over it. My favorite food there was the pizza. There was a great place called Rosalie's. I got Pineapple and Chicken as a topping, and it was one of the best pizza I ever had! There was also a cool diner. It was very retro; it had lots of things all over the walls, which reached up the length of two stories. It had old signs, decorated plates, license plates, and all other things all over it. But it was a cool clutter, especially for a diner. It was amazing. Great atmosphere. I don't remember the name, though. Overall, great food in Bar Harbor. Great ice cream, too. There was one called 'lobster tracks', which was vanilla with white chocolate candies filled with caramel, dyed red. Also, 'black bear', which was raspberry stripes in vanilla, with chocolate candies filled with raspberry syrup. Very yummi, rich ice cream. Only problem was that it had no fast food. Everything was at least ten dollar meals. But, there was a neat restaurant with a cool salad bar. It included muscles. Mmmm!

So, overall, the trip was AMAZING. I recommend going to Bar Harbor and Acadia National park to anyone interested in going on a vacation to a park, but who doesn't want to be really in the wild. Lots of nice inns and hotels to stay in, for those who dislike camping [like me]. Also, many easy hikes to nice views, not far from the town at all, unlike other parks where the hotels and towns are an hour away. Plus, they have great things to do, such as Improv Acadia, Museums, and a Whale Watch, on top of a great town with cool shops and dining. I loved it! ^_^

Some Pictures:

Bar Harbor Street

Aerial View of Bar Harbor

Bee on a Flower

Ship

Foggy Cadillac Mountain

Coastline of Maine

Foggy Island

Graveyard

Seagull

Harbor

Mountains

Lighthouse

Lobster Shop

Lobster Traps

The Inn We Stayed At

Rosalie's Pizza

The Porcupine Islands

Road

Wet Rocks

More Rocks

Our Tents

Theater

Very Touristy Rocky Outlook

Tree with Writing

Turtle Art Exhibit

Atlantic Ocean

Whale Statue

See how much cool stuff there is? These are only a small sampling on the 200-something photos I took. Actually, it was 800-something, but that's just because I like to take ten pictures of everything, then delete all but the few best. I love digital Cameras. I love Maine. But I wouldn't want to live in Maine- winters get too cold. The summer was a nice temperature, though: never too warm, but never cold either... like a NJ Spring, really.

Well, I'm off! Hope you enjoyed my little recollection of my trip to Maine!

A New Art Piece

2009-06-16T22:22:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I got to do one of these.
I used Photoshop to color it, but hand-drew the outline.

It's me and my friend, and my G-Pigs. =3

New Way of Working Things

2009-06-16T22:06:00.003-04:00

Okay, so you may or may not have noticed,
but three of my blogs vanished:
Kate and Todd, Schuekeln, and Larissa's Art.
This was not an accident;
I am simply consolidating them.
Henceforth, any art I feel like posting will be posted here.
No, I will not post that which was in those blogs,
for I am simply too lazy to do so.

No, the inactivity of the past months hasn't been due to laziness;
I have truly been really, really, busy.
Of course, now that it's summer, I can hopefully post here a bit more!
Any computer art I do, will of course go here also-
only if it's worth showing, of course.

Shrineland will still be updated, up until there's no more chapters to post-
it's not finished yet, you see, and I don't know when it will be.

Journal of the Game Crazy Guinea Pigs, of course, will still be updated, too.
I plan to make a post to it every week or two, at least, so look forwards to that!

Well, Happy Summer, people!

Hehe. <_<

2009-05-03T20:02:00.002-04:00

Long time, no blog, huh?
Well, if anyone is following this, I'm sure you'll want another post to come.
So, here it is! Whoo!

I've been busy the past few weeks... almost month.
Wow, month! O_O Time flies.

So, I've gone on a vacation to North Carolina,
earned mucho money at my new happy job,
and, well, been really busy with school.
This time of year is soooooo busy!

So, I tried dying my hair today.
I bought the $5 dye.
It didn't work too well.
It was supposed to be light brown.
It came out much lighter than it should have!
So, my hair's not a blonde-brown with highlighted areas.
It's okay, but not nearly how it was supposed to be.
My mom likes it- but she was against me dying my hair in the first place.
Michael wanted me to dye it black, but I don't think the world is ready for that yet.
Maybe at the end of the summer.
Next time, I'm buying the $10 dye.

Oh, and yesterday I had a ton of fun at my cousin's house!
They were having a huge party for Katherine's first Communion.
So, there were a ton of people there.
Michael came, too.
We were outside a lot- my cousins have a huge yard.
I was swinging on the swing a lot.
I want a swing like theirs for my back yard!
We also played lacrosse, badminton, Bachee,and various other sports.
It was a ton of fun, a beautiful day.

Well, that's it for my very rambly, assorted post!
I'll try to continue doing this weekly,
if my schedule allows! ;]

Ice Cream Shop Job and Cooking

2009-04-14T23:42:00.003-04:00

Working at Mrs. Walker's is so much fun!
I love scooping ice cream for people.
Making shakes is okay, too,
but a little more difficult and messy.
I broke the machine, too, and got shake all over.
It was chocolate, too...
Mopping and stuff at the end of the night's tiring, as well.
But, it is rewarding!
Yesterday, when my friend and I came for ice cream,
I got to scoop my own,
and make Michael's shake!
It was awesome.
The manager even said my ice cream was free!
And tonight, the manager gave me more free ice cream!
It must be an employee benefit.
I love my new job! ^_^

On a side note, I made crepes for breakfast today,
with strawberry-banana sauce.
Both were my own recipe.
Michael said it was delicious. ^_^
It's always nice when a new recipe turns out wonderful.
Maybe I should write these recipes down,
and make a cookbook, as people recommended.
I probably would make a fortune...
not to sound like a braggart, or anything.
I just seem to have a knack for cooking.
Plus, it's something I really, really, love to do!
That always helps, loving what you're good at.
True, sometimes recipes are a flop,
but other times, they're great.
I made coconut fish-rice the other night,
and everyone loved it, to my surprise,
although it did not come out quite as I had planned.
Yet, cooking's like an art-
it rarely comes out as planned.
Of course, it is sciency, too,
since you have to know what goes well together,
and about how much of each ingredient can go in.
Maybe that's why I love it so much-
it's a scientific art,
that pleases people and is yummi!

So busy...

2009-03-30T06:37:00.001-04:00

This is the story of my life:
whenever I get work,
I get it from all the activities and classes I'm in.
Projects galore! Whoo.
This work comes when I have club meetings, trips, and other priorities.
When I have nothing to do at all on my calendar,
then I have no work at all.
I sit around bored, wishing I had work.
It must be one of Murphy's Laws.
@___@

In other news, I got a job offer at Mrs. Walker's.
They're gonna call me sometime this week with details. =3

On Saturday, my 4H Critter Craze club went to a nursing home.
We brought one animal each,
and showed them to the senior citizens,
who were delighted to see the animals.
We had rabbits, guinea pigs, and a hamster there.
I broght Ron, since Alex is sick.
Yes, sick. Well, not really sick.
You see, his dew claw got ripped off.
That's this extra useless chunk of nail on the side of a pig's foot.
It's not even shaped like a claw.
But, it got ripped off, and then got infected.
So I have to keep him in this quarantined, sterile cage,
and apply ointment and clean his foot every day.
He is getting better, though.
He should be okay by next Saturday,
for the county Show, hopefully.
And if not, hopefully they won't disqualify him for being 'sick',
since technically he's not sick.

Of course, I'm going to have a bazillion homework things,
since the show's an all day thing.
NO!
I have to stop thinking this way.
I bet it's somehow making the workload worse.
Sine the world works like that,
for some reason.

*falls asleep from exhaustion*

House, weekends, losing weight, more religion, etc.

2009-03-22T20:55:00.003-04:00

House.
I just love this show!
For those who don't know,
it's about a doctor clinic place,
and the head doctor dude is Dr. house.
It deals with rare diseases and stuff, mostly,
and also adds a bunch of psychology into it.
It's awesome! ^___^

Anyway, last weekend I was at SJTC.
That is, "South Jersey Teen Conference."
It's a 4-H thing.
The theme was technology this year,
so the two workshops I chose to attend were
"Amateur Radio" and "Making your own Movies".
They were both very awesome and informative!
Also at SJTC,
we went to an indoor water resort.
That was awesome at first,
but we stayed for 4 hours,
whichs eemed way too long.
One or two hours would have been plenty.
I mostly hung out in the Spa,
and went a bit on the lazy river,
and then I played at the arcade.
I won a cool dice,
since iI love dice,
but I must have los it,
since when I came home it wasn't in my bag.
;_____;
I though I had searched the hotel room perfectly before leaving!
Anyway, after that we had a dance.
I thought I didn't like dances,
but I surprised myself:
I had the best time I've had in a while!
The DJ had lots of games and stuff, too.
It was a blast!

On another note,
I've lost a lot of weight recently.
How?
A combination of reducing my food intake,
and also Wiifit.
It's a great 'game'.
I do yoga at least three times a week,
40 minutes or so.
And it keeps track of what I lose,
so I can know if I'm keeping up with my diet well or not.
It's great. ^_^
Plus, I feel a bit more flexible, too.

Oh, and this weekend I spent with Michael.
I had a great time.
We just kind of hung out,
on the computer and stuff,
and then went to see a movie.
He let me pet his hair, too,
which I always like.
He's been acting much nicer to me, too.
It's wonderful. ^_^

Oh, speaking of that movie.
It was called 'Knowing'.
It started out really great-
lots of action and interesting stuff-
until it began to have lots of biblical references,
and then the ending was totally nihilistic,
and the moral basically turned out to be love god,
or he'll destroy the world,
and pull a Noah's Ark situation thing.
That totally ruined it. >_<
Of course, you don't want me rambling about
how I hate organized religion and stuff again, do you?

But there is something about me and religion you don't know-
I've found a looser one that I mostly agree with!
It's not strict at all,
and allows for differences in opinion on some things.
For example, it has a goddess and a god,
but some people believe they're only protectors of nature,
some believe they're actual gods,
and others still believes there can be a god in charge of them.
Also, they are very nature- based.
they believe the world is made of five elements,
all acting in harmony:
Earth, Fire, wind, Water, Aether (Spirit.)
Of course, it's not like Aristotle's view of elements,
where everything's physically made of these;
they're just guiding powers int he world,
and work together in harmony in nature.
They're major holiday are on the equinox, solstice, and mid seasons.
They believe in reincarnation,
and an in-between place where spirits wait to be reincarnated.
They believe this place can be contacted,
if the spirit's haven't moved on yet.
But the spirits also can be good or bad.
Anyway, it's also a very misunderstood religion.
Christianity calls it 'Satanic',
but it has nothing to do with Satan at all!
It's just about inner peace and living in sync with nature.
If you haven't guess it by now, I'll tell you:
It's called Wicca.
Please don't hate it until you get the full info.
There's a good wiki article on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca
Please read it before making any rash conclusions.
Thank you! ^___^

HSPAs and "The Pit"

2009-03-08T20:21:00.002-04:00

The HSPA State Test was this past week.
It was okay, I suppose.
They're real easy, but boring.
Since we had the first 2 days of the week off,
due to excessive snow,
the testing was shifted over to Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday,
as opposed to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
So, the math section, which should have been Tuesday, was Friday.
They were impossibly easy, the questions.
The only issue was the timing.
There was a lot of time left after the persuasive essays-
we had an hour, and we're all used to half hour, like the SATs.
However, there was only 20 minutes for a picture prompt.
That was too short, by far.
No one can write a good story in twenty minutes!
So my beginning was great,
then I began to run short on time,
and had to quickly sum it up and end it.
I couldn't explain in detail any of the plot-
and I wrote up to the last line provided!
Other than that, though, the tests were fine.
The school day after was short, too, which was nice.
We only had six periods a day as opposed to eight, too.
It was nice to only have a few classes.
Much less overwhelming.
School should do that all the time-
four or five periods a day, but not all classes every day.
I believe the term is block-scheduling.

Today, my friend and I explored "The Pit."
What is the Pit, you ask?
An old factory and the grounds around it-
a huge sand pit with small scrubby trees and sand hills.
This was the first time I had been there.
It really looks just like a segment of Australian or African outback,
right smack in the middle of New Jersey.
It's a few miles across, diagonally.
There's also woods around it, too.
So we climbed the sand hills, scurried through the woods,
and enjoyed the wonderful day.

Yes, today and yesterday truly felt like Spring, finally!

Oh, that reminds me. Yesterday.
My 4-H group and I went to a state park.
We walked on the trails and took pictures-
we're a photography club, after all.
But, we didn't know that the path wasn't a loop.
We assumed it was-
all but that path were loops, after all.
Well, yay for the rangers not keeping up with trail markings.
After one and a half hours, we came to a dead end.
We had to turn around and walk straight back.
It was nice, though,
except the younger members complained a lot,
since we were walking so much.
I lost 3 pounds.

So, overall, a very enjoyable week.
(But mostly, the weekend was the enjoyable part.)
^__^

Ice Cream

2009-02-28T13:51:00.002-05:00

I love ice cream!
So, I wrote a poem about it. =3

Ice Cream
The cold, sweet treat
Invades every taste bud.
The cone crunches,
Crumbling everywhere-
Most of it, on the ground.
The sweet plethora of sprinkles
Dissolves in my mouth.
Rainbow always was
Better than chocolate.
I'm enjoying it so much,
I don't notice the bit
Stuck on my nose,
Or the drips on the ground.
I smell the mintiness
Of my ice cream,
But also the peanut butter
Emanating from yours.
You eye mine, as well.
So we switch,
For a bite or three.
Then, it's all gone,
As I swallow my last bite.
You moan in sadness, too.
Buy more? Maybe.
If only we had the money!

Yes, this week's been great!
I had barely any work and activities,
so I had a ton of free time for me~
It was great. ^__^
I got a lot done that I've been wanting to do,
Sucha s painting pictures and things.

Activities

2009-02-23T16:25:00.002-05:00

Another week's gone.
Another very very very busy week!
I'm glad- there was just too much.
All my activities from the first week of
February were rescheduled to this past week.
So, I had my 4H photo club on Tuesday,
followed by a Girl Scout meeting (that I was running.)
Wednesday, I had 4H Teen Council and TAB.
(Teen Advisory Board- helps the Library.)
I ended up not going to TAB, since they overlapped a little.
Thursday I went the the German Club's movie night.
Friday I had a doctor's appointment,
and my best friend stayed over.
I know, doesn't sound like a lot.
But, I did have quite a number of school projects,
leading to maybe, oh, an hours worth of free time each day,
sometimes less. Tuesday I had none.
Plus, after school I have:
Physics Club on Mondays,
Math League on Tuesdays,
Art Club and German Club on Wednesdays,
and sometimes stuff on Thursdays, too.
Luckily, the weekend was fun, giving me a break.
But I did have history, math, English, and German work,
and more than just a worksheet in each.
Terms for History turn out to be 2 hours and 5 pages,
English was 20 research note cards and citations, or 1 to 2 hours,
Math was a review packet, so about 1 hour,
and German was the only easy one: sentences.
Saturday Michael and I saw the movie "Coraline",
which was extremely well done, may I add,
so that left all my work to Sunday.
I got that done, and guess what?
Mom gave me chores, since I "hadn't had any all week."
(I never have chores during the week, except for my everyday duties,
such as cleaning pets and the dishwasher, laundry, and garbage.)
So, I had to spend 3 hours looking at colleges I already looked at.
Yes, she made me do the same thing last weekend, with the same results.
She wanted to "double check" things.
Plus, I had a bunch of other stuff to do-
all HER work, for HER job!
I know I'm good at art, but she's the art teacher!
Can't she make her own examples?
All I wanted to do all week/weekend
was to paint the picture I had sketched out in art class.
But I never got to do it...
*sigh*

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

Did everyone have an enjoyable Valentine's Day?
Or, in some cases, Single-Awareness Day?
I know I did.
My best friend and I,
since neither of us have a significant other,
spent a wonderful day together.
Another friend, Danica, was also there with us for a bit,
but she wasn't feeling well at all,
and ended up going home after only an hour or two.

After playing lots of video games,
Michael and I went to see a movie.
We've been wanting to see "Inkheart" for a few weeks,
but unfortunately, it wasn't playing anymore.
So, we saw a movie called "Push" instead.
It was AMAZING.
It's a very complicated story to explain,
so here's a link to the Wikipedia article:
.
It certainly was a great movie,
one of the best I've seen in a while.
The only downfall was that it seemed very fast-paced,
and therefore lacked full explanations of some things,
so most people watching could be overwhelmed.
I know I'm going to rent it when it comes on DVD.
That way, I can grasp a better understanding of the plot.
But overall, it was very well made.
Great acting coupled with great effects made it a must-see.
I highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi/action/adventure movies!
The closest movie I can think of to it would be X-men,
but by no means does that mean they have similar plots or anything!

After the movie, we went to a restaurant next to the theater, Cool Beans.
There, we had NY Cheesecake.
It was very scrumptious. ^_^

Finally, we went home, and played more video games!

Yes, it was a very enjoyable day, indeed!

Whoa. @___@

2009-02-08T14:16:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit.
My computer decided to go crazy after
my mom accidentally deleted Microsoft Word.
So we had to spend hours searching for the disk.
Took us a week to find it.
But, now it's all better,
and I can access all my stuff, the internet, and use Word.
So that's very happy. ^_^

Oh, and I've been doing a bit of college searching, too.
You see, since I'll be a senior next year,
I have to start looking for a college to go to.
I found 3 that have what I want.
Actually, they don't have everything I want.
I really wanted a school where I could have a
Game Design Major, German Minor, and Archery as a sport.
Well, 3 colleges have the Game Design/German Combo,
but unfortunately none of those have archery...
Anyway, here they are:
~Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
~Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
~Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
So, hopefully I'll be able to get into at least one of them.
Actually, looking at their requirements, I probably will get in,
but I really need financial aid, so it'll all come down to that...
Ugh, college searching is so complicated! @__@

Alliteration Zoo

2009-01-23T15:03:00.001-05:00

Anxiously Ambling Aardvarks,

Blindly Blissful Bears,

Crazily Chattering Chimpanzees,

Docilely Dozing Deer,

Easily Excitable Elephants,

Fiercely Fraternizing Fox,

Gently Grazing Gazelles,

Happily Hopeless Hippos,

Ingeniously Ignorant Iguanas,

Jittery Jumping Jackals,

Keenly Kicking Kangaroos,

Lavishly Ludicrous Lions,

Melodically Maniacal Macaws,

Needlessly Noisy Nightingales,

Overly Obsessive Orangutans,

Prettily Preening Peacocks,

Quaintly Quiet Quail,

Ravenous Racing Rhinoceri,

Slyly Slithering Snakes,

Tenaciously Treading Tigers,

Unanticipated Ubiquitous Umbrettes,

Vainly Vindictive Vultures,

Wishfully Wading Walruses,

Xenophobic Xeric Xantusiidae,

Yearnfully Yapping Yaks,

Zestfully Zany Zoo!

Note: Ubiquitous=ever-present; Umbrette=type of bird with hammer-shaped head; Xeric= deficient in moisture; Xantusiidae=type of lizard

Poetry- your best (and worst) friend

2009-01-15T09:05:00.003-05:00

When one hears ones English teacher say that the class is beginning a poetry unit, one tends to freak out. "Poetry?!" One thinks, "Oh, no! I can't write poetry!" or "Ugh. Poetry's so boring." Well, it doesn't have to be boring or hard at all. In fact, I quite enjoy poetry. Sort of. Okay, yeah, I do find some poems boring, as anyone does. But isn't it the same as stories? Some are boring, some are amazing. There's no comparison between Shakespeare’s works and JK Rowling's, is there? They're two different people, and write about completely different things. It's silly to group them together. Same goes for Poetry. Sometimes, you'll love a poem. It’ll really click, and you'll feel like, "Wow! That’s exactly how I feel!" You can relate to it. Other poems, however, aren't so great. It varies depending on the person, just as one's taste in stories varies. There are many different types of poems, too. Short witty limericks, such as Dr. Seuss poems, ballads, such as Paul Revere's Ride, epics, such as the Odyssey. Some rhyme, some don't. Some go by syllables, like haiku. Others are called free verse, where there doesn't have to be a rhyme, or a pattern, or any rules at all- those are entirely up to the writer! Which is why writing poems doesn't have to be hard, either. Different styles are preferred by different writers. And if you are stuck, just start writing free verse. Jot down a phrase per line, and BAM, you have a poem! It's true; I do get intimidated by poetry. I used to write some, but since I've stopped. I wouldn't write it at all, except for the fact that in Creative Writing we're doing poetry. But I do enjoy poems. My favorite types are the short, quirky limericks, and the longer ballads and epics. I like how they weave a poem and story together. Haiku, to me, is too short and restrained, so I don't like it much. I love rhymes and patterns, although I'm not too good at finding rhymes. I used to go through the alphabet trying to rhyme stuff with "orange," until I discovered there was no rhyme for it in English. But that's okay- one can always make up new words in poetry, after all! Did you know that some poems consist entirely of made-up words, or some poets just add a few bits of jumble to make rhymes because they can't think of a rhyming word? It’s true! Really anything goes in poetry. I've read lots of poems in the past. Besides the mandatory English ones, I have a few cousins and friends who write poetry. They each have extremely different styles, although most of it's free verse. Sometime's they're good, sometime's they're not. Oh, and no one can forget the poems of Dr. Seuss, the greatest children’s' author ever! Anyway, that's all I have on Poetry.

School Poem (last class of the week)

2009-01-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

I sat down in math class.
I moaned and groaned with the class
as Mrs. P passed out the test.
The formulas,
she scribbled on the board.
I stared at the test.
My eyes began to close...
No, no. I couldn't sleep now,
I couldn't risk getting an F.
But it was just so quiet,
except for the scratching
of pencils on paper,
and the occasional whirr of the sharpener.
Oh, and there was the soft tapping
of calculator buttons.
The classroom smelled of many things:
pencil shavings, sweat, markers,
and some kid's strong cologne,
mixed with the scents the warm breeze blew in:
crisp almost-summer air,
the sweetness of flowers,
and all those kinds of things.
I was hungry, too,
and the chewing gum didn't help:
It actually made me hungrier.
I leaned my head on my hand as I stared at the test,
but not for long:
The sweat and heat made it
sticky and uncomfortable.
I tapped my pencil impatiently on my desk,
occasionally robotically scribbling the answers,
as we had learned to do them.
The clock went tick-tock-tick;
a kid in the back began to snore.
Mrs. P ignored him;
it was his fault that he let the weather get to him.
It didn't help that my desk
was right next to the window.
It only distracted me more.
Just a few more questions...
Ah, the test was done!
I quickly handed it in
and returned to my desk.
I laid my head down.
The warm sunshine shone on me,
warming the back of my neck.
Before I knew, I was asleep.
I dreamed of the awesome weekend I would have.
A three-day weekend...
what could be better?
I imagined video games, friends,
movies, walks in the park...
BIIIIIIIING!
The bell!
Quick!
Grab your stuff!
And everyone dashed to the door,
and I was caught in the rush.
Time for the weekend!

A Strange (and Lucky!) Event

2009-01-04T22:14:00.002-05:00

Last March, I ordered a game from on online store.
I was really looking forwards to playing Tales of Phantasia (ToP).
It was supossed to come between one and two weeks after I ordered it.
Well, when it didn't come after a month and a half, I contacted the company.
They checked with the UPS, and discovered that it got lost between the Wisconsin and Minnesota checkpoints.
So, I got my money back and everything.
The game was forgotten for a while, but after I had beaten Tales of Symphonia 2 (ToS),
I got thinking about how ToP was supposedly in the same world as ToS, but 2000 years later.
I decided to got buy it.
Well, I couldn't find it at any of my usual gaming stores, since it's an older and extremely hard to find game.
There also aren't many used copies floating around, since it's also a very good game.
So, I came home disappointed.
Well, the next day, guess what popped up?
The copy I had ordered 9 months ago was in my mailbox,
battered and weathered so much that you could barely read the address.
It was a miracle!
The game's still in perfect condition, as well, somehow.
And it is a really great game, and I love it. ^__^

The Holidays are Over.

2009-01-04T21:54:00.002-05:00

Yeah...
I can't exactly say I had a great time, but overall I suppose it was still good. I got to see my cousins, my room finally got cleaned, and I gave and got some good gifts. I spent all my money on gifts for people, got all that money back, and then spent it all again on myself. <_< style="">

What I got:

From Parents
Zune (my big gift this year! ^_^)
Clothes (1 Pair socks, 2 shirts, 1 jeans)
Accessories (the fake hair earrings were cool)
Nail Polish
Random beautification products
Sparkly hair gel
Hat
Boots
Assorted little things in my stocking
Cheesy Crackers
Pop Tarts
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (w/2 guitars- to share with Brandt)
Digital Calendar/Alarm Clock/Calculator/World Clock/thingy

From Grandpa and Grandma D
25$ Barnes and Nobel gift card
pet photo album
$100 check (half or more for college)

From Grandma B:
4 Manga books
Shirt

From Aunt Nancy, Uncle Ken, and Allison:
Cubic Zirconium Earrings

From April:
15$ I-tunes card

From Aunt Carol:
Shirt

From Brandt:
Earrings (why do people always giving me them? I have too many!)

From Grandpa B:
Wii Fit (to share with Brandt)

From My Best Friend
Healing Stone
Green Journal (with the price tag on it X])
2 Perfumes

From My Best Friends Family (for Chrismakkah)
25$ Movie gift card in a pretty card

From My Brother's Friend
A baby Pet Rat named Nacho

From the Gamestop Store (with my Christmas money+ big sales)
A PS2
An extra PS2 controller
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XII
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Legendia
Spyro: A Hero's Tale
PS2 Memory Card

From Secret Santa (4-H):
Photo album with cats on front

From Grab Bag (girl scouts)
Lavender bath set

From My Cousins
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution
Manga version of Hamlet

What I Gave:

My Family:

My Best Friend's Family:

Others:

Oh, and I got a surprise right before Christmas.
You see, I had won a contest, and the prise wasn't supposed to arrive until after the holidays.
But it did!
My very own wii and animal crossing came. ^__^

So I suppose the holidays ended up all right, despite the yelling and annoyingness of my mom.

The Holidays and Your Health

2008-12-18T17:26:00.003-05:00

Holidays.
A time for fun, games, food, and... poor health?!
Yes, poor health indeed.
Around the holidays, it is cold.
Cold weather means we, as humans, are more susceptible to disease,
resulting in colds, sore throats, runny noses, et cetera.
Also, we tend to eat a bit too many sweets,
and indulge in fatty foods- and large amounts of them.
This all results in a gain of weight, high blood pressure/cholesterol, et cetera.
People over 21 may also tend to drink more than usual-
leading to ill-judgment, which can result in injury,
or they can be wasted the next day.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is,
enjoy the holidays, but be sensible!
You can certainly have fun one day without destroying the next.
As to diseases, well, they may not be entirely unavoidable,
but you can wash your hands more, especially before and after eating and petting animals.
Eat only a small amount of each food, and never eat until your stomach hurt.
Only eat a few cookies and fatty things,
and supplement the craving with fruit.
Drinking lots of water can help, too-
many people don't drink nearly enough in winter,
since it's not hot out and your body doesn't really urge you to.
But lots of the time, when you think you're hungry and begin to snack,
all you actually need is a drink of water!
So by drinking water, you're "hunger" is filled,
and you won't end up gaining extra weight.
Water also helps you blood pressure out, as well,
and can help prevent blot clots and many other problems.
As to the alcohol problem of the holidays,
well, I'm not gonna say don't drink,
but I will say to watch out how much you drink.
If you want to get drunk, so be it-
just don't overdo it,
and don't drive or do much afterwards.
Of course, not getting drunk would prevent hangovers,
and a number of other incidents and things.
Anyway, have fun and be safe this holiday season!

Perfect World?

2008-12-11T09:05:00.003-05:00

By any means, the world we live in isn't perfect.
But let's imaging for a second what it would be like if it was.

Of course, the number one thing would be no war, right?
No genocide, mass murdering, violence in general.
That's one of the typical things people would like to be different.
Of course, realistically, that could probably never happen.
It's human nature to fight. We are animals, after all.
But that doesn't mean we can't prevent some of it.
The first step to a utopia would be to overcome the violence of human nature.
Yes, it does make a good story to have violence.
Let's keep it in the stories. Only in the stories.
But eliminate the stories that have senseless violence that encourages a violent nature.
eliminate the war and kill-all-people video games.
Instead, we should limit violence in media only to instructive things.
Stories where violence brings tragedy, showing us how horrible it is.
If everyone knew how it hurts others,
and everyone worked to stop it,
then maybe this world could become much nicer.

Another thing that needs eliminating is disease.
Actually, we may be able to completely eliminate it someday.
Currently, many diseases can be prevented with shots and such.
New medicines and cures are found every day.
Eventually, we will have the technology to wipe out almost all diseases,
or at least cure them within a day,
including things like cancer and STDs.
I'm sure that by 2100 this idealism will occur.

What else?
Ah, right.
An ideal world will have better schools.

I love school, but I do think it needs changing.

School will last a maximum of five hours.
the only outside of school schoolwork will be projects.
That way, we're not stuck with overloads of work.
Also, there won't be as many mandatory classes:
You'll instead be allowed to focus on the area of study you enjoy in high school.
That way, you will learn a lot more, and have fun learning it.
Wouldn't that be great?

Yeah, a perfect world...
Of course, there are many other things I'd want in mine.
But I think that in any world, there are pluses and minuses.
So, if it can be good for everyone, despite little discomforts,
than that is truly the ideal world.

Procrastinator

2008-12-10T22:19:00.003-05:00

The Holidays are coming...
And so's the load of work. @____@
I can't take it anymore.
I have to now sacrifice work of other classes to get work done.
So, I never get to read for English or do German work,
since I focus on History, Creative Writing, and...
huh, I don't have that much work, do I?
So why's it not getting done?!
I guess I've been too distracted with games and art and stuff.
Huh. Guess I should actually put that stuff on hold to do work...
but... they're just so much fun...
Well, that's the life of a procrastinator for you!
Not that I enjoy it, but...
It's just so hard to stop and work for once. ;__;

The Devil's Son

2008-12-07T08:13:00.002-05:00

Well, in Creative Writing, we had to make an interesting Character.
We doing a drama unit, so it's in play format.
My character is the Devil's Son, as you can infer from the title.

This first piece is a monologue, sorta.
I added some dialogue before an after it.

SEBASTIAN, Devil's son. Lives among humans, and has developed a liking to them. Does not agree with father on many things, but expected to follow in his footsteps.
5'6", 110 lbs, 13 years old- mature for his age. Red-brown hair and eyes, Caucasian, upper class.
SAMANTHA, Sebastian's best friend. Just learned that her friend wasn't human.
5'2", 100 lbs, 12 years old, dark brown hair, green eyes, Caucasian, middle class.

SAMANTHA: You know, I've just realized something. You always come to my house. I've known you for three years, and I've never been to your house. In fact, I've never even met your parents!
SEBASTIAN: Trust me, you don't want to meet my dad.
SAMANTHA: Why not? He can't be that bad.
SEBASTIAN: Yes, he can be. I suppose it's about time I tell you…My dad's the Devil.
SAMANTHA: (laughing hysterically) You can't be serious. I'm sure he's not that bad. You're just overreacting.
SEBASTIAN: But I am serious! Here, I'll show you. (Red and black bat wings sprout from his back, a red tail with a spike on the end appears, and he sprouts two twisted red horns with black stripes.) This is the real me.
SAMANTHA: (eyes get wide) Y-you're serious!
SEBASTIAN: Yeah…
SAMANTHA: (panicking) Oh… oh my god….
SEBASTIAN: Okay, calm down! Let me explain things. I'm not my dad at all. Well, you should know that already. I'm not evil.
SAMANTHA: (calming down) Y… yeah… that's true. I guess it would make sense, with how you barely talk about him, and never want to go home, and keep half your things here… um, why don't you explain things. I promise I won't tell anyone.
SEBASTIAN: I know you'll never tell. Well, I guess I'll just go over my life. Ever since I learned to walk, my dad's been trying to get me to "follow in his footsteps." I am his only son, after all. He sent me to a human school to learn firsthand about their so-called "natural evil." He wants me to terrorize humans and punish them, like he does. But… I'm not like him…. I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to be bad. Dad buys me violent pets, like dragons, gargoyles, and chimeras. But I've always loved cats, which is why I hide Mr. Kibbles at your house. I've kept my passion for cute, nice things a secret from my dad. I hate being at home… it's all dark and has this musty smell, and there's fields outside where dad tortures people who have sinned. Of course, he believes all humans are intrinsically evil, so half of them don't even deserve to be there. It's horrible. I've kept you a secret from dad, too. If he knew that I befriended you… he'd be outraged. He already has seen some of my art, which he disproves of greatly. He thinks I should be drawing violent war scenes and stuff like that. But that's not me- I prefer to take photos of animals and paint pictures of sun sets. You've seen my art. You know what I mean. He does approve of me skateboarding, though he'd really prefer that I play football or hockey. You know, violent sports. Same with the video games. I keep most of them here because my Dad won't approve. He's always buying me M-rated bloody games. So I usually trade them in for better ones… of course, if my dad found out… (sighs) I really wish I had been born into a different family. True, Dad gives me as much money as I want. But, what's the use if he only cares about me being as violent and evil as I can possible be? That's just not me! (shakes head back and forth) I don't know what to do… There are so many possibilities I've considered, but they're all pretty much no good. I can't just tell my father that I hate being his son. His magic is much stronger than mine, plus he's a whole lot bigger. Getting him mad won't do anything to help me- and he will get mad, no matter how I say it to him. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this better life of mine secret for the next ten years, until after college. Then I should be a lot stronger, and may have a chance. It seems that's the only possible option. Well, I think I've covered everything you need to know for now… I'll just tell you the things I've forgotten as they come up, okay?
SAMANTHA: Okay. Wow… That's sure a lot to take in! The Devil's son… wow…
SEBASTIAN: Please promise you won't tell anyone. If my dad finds out that anyone knows who I am…
SAMANTHA: Don't worry, I won't tell. Plus, even if I did, I don't think anyone would believe me! (smiles)

This second one is very interesting.
We had to owrk with a partner, and have out characters meet.
My partner was Lizz [Elizabeth].
Her character's, Susan's monologue was about how she was in love with a dentist.
I think it made a very interesting act...

SEBASTIAN, 13, mature for his age. Devil’s son, lives among humans. Argues with father on many things. 5’6”, 110lbs.
SUSAN, 24. Very emotional, romantic, and excitable. In love with all her doctors. Seemingly average height and weight.

SEBASTIAN: (on cell phone: wings and stuff visible: very angry) I told you not to go in there!
SUSAN: (walks in and sees him that way) Gasp!
SEBASTIAN: …No! Hey, you can’t burn my stuff! Dad- (notices Susan) gotta go! (Turns off phone, realizes wings are out, and quickly hides them)
SUSAN: What the… did you… what the…
SEBASTIAN: (pretends to be confused) what are you saying, lady?
SUSAN: You… the horns… wings… pointy tail…
SEBASTIAN: I have no idea what you’re saying.
SUSAN: (shakes her head, getting her sense back) you were yelling and screaming into your phone, jumping up and down, and you had horns and bat wings and a tail!
SEBASTIAN: Wings? Tail? You’re crazy.
SUSAN: I am not crazy! I know what I saw!
SEBASTIAN: Right. Well, if you saw wings on me, then where are they now?
SUSAN: I dunno! Maybe you can hide them! Come here.
SEBASTIAN: (walks over, skeptical expression on face)
SUSAN: (starts checking for holes on back of Sebastian’s shirt)
SEBASTIAN: What are you doing?!
SUSAN: Th... There should be holes! You had wings!
SEBASTIAN: Is this some sort of strange joke?
SUSAN: No… I did see it, I did… (More to herself) didn’t I? You were some sort of devil!
SEBASTIAN: (crosses arms) Maybe you ought to see a psychiatrist.
SUSAN: (starts feeling head for horns)
SEBASTIAN: Hey, hey, get off! What the heck?
SUSAN: You definitely had horns!
SEBASTIAN: Look, lady. If I really am a devil, would you really want to be getting me mad?
SUSAN: Aha! A confession!
SEBASTIAN: No, no! Jeez… (Pushes her away, too hard)
SUSAN: Aaah! (Hits wall- sits on floor, dazzled)
SEBASTIAN: Oops.
DOCTOR: (at door) Susan Luna?
SUSAN: Susan who?
DOCTOR: Is Susan here?
SEBASTIAN: Oh, you must mean this lunatic. Here. (Pulls her up and over to the doctor)
SUSAN: (falls into doctor’s arms, looks up at him) ooh, you’re cute! (Leaves with doctor)
SEBASTIAN: Phew, that was close…

Scrapbook Story

2008-12-07T07:55:00.002-05:00

So, we had to make stories in Creative Writing about characters derived from scrapbooks.
We each made a scrapbook, but didn't put our names or pictures anywhere.
That way, we could create characters entirely from the scrapbook clues,
and wouldn't be biased about stuff from how they act in class.
At the end, we found out who our books were from: I had Chrissy's.
Though, I knew it all along: she is obsessed with horses. <_<

"Katie Hubsch," the announcer called.

"Hey, your turn!" I grinned down at her. She was quite small for her age.

She smiled back, but uneasily, and rocked backed and forth.

Not good. "Don't worry, you'll do fine!" I promised, reaching over to her and giving her a quick hug. "Now, get out there and win!"

"You're right. I guess I can do it." Her voice was a bit more confident. Good.

"Katie Hubsch," the announcer called again.

"Oh! I better go!"

"Yep. Good luck!"

I watched Katie walk cautiously over to her horse, chest out, attempting to appear brave. Her skin looked especially pale in this light; she probably had stopped eating vegetables again.

She hopped onto her large brown mustang, Skeeter, as easily as if she were sitting in a chair. She made one last adjustment to her black helmet, crossed herself, and then she was off! Her brown-blonde chin-length hair, or what was still visible of it, bounced up and down, with the rest of her body, yet always managed to fall back into place. Her bright amber eyes shimmered with excitement. I smiled, knowing that her confidence had returned as soon as she had hopped onto Skeeter. It always did. She and the horse moved as if they were one body. She would win, I was sure of it.

The course consisted of a series of runs and jumps. It certainly wasn't as complicated as an Olympic ring, but it still looked pretty tough. Quite a few jumps were double the size of your average horse jump, in height and length. There was also a few hairpin turns. But I knew Katie could do his kind of course in her sleep; after all, she did plan to participate in the Olympics in eight years, when she turned twenty.

Suddenly, I realized that I had been paying so much attention to Katie and her horse, that I hadn't even noticed that she had nearly completed the course! She was nearing the last jump. Knowing she'd ask me how she'd done, I made sure to pay extra attention to this one.

She came up fast; perhaps a little too fast. I held my breath: would she make it? This was one of the more difficult jumps… The horse leapt up at the last second, his hooves barely missing the top of the bar. Phew. He came down on the other side, a perfect landing.

"Wahoo!" I cheered, as she conquered it flawlessly.

Katie led Skeeter back to his stall, and trotted over to me. "How'd I do?" she asked, flushed.

"Perfect," I told her. I hoped that guess was right.

She loooked down. "No, it wasn't… I messed up on that first jump. The landing was off."

"Yes, but the rest was flawless!" I consoled her.

"Mmhmm." She picked up a book, and began to read.

"Hey," I teased her, taking the book from her. "Should you be reading all these Teen Romance stories? Aren't you a bit young for that?"

"Nuh-uh," she said, grabbing it back. "You'll understand when you're older."

"What? I'm a year older than you!"

"Yeah, but girls mature faster than guys."

"That's true… hey!"

She giggled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The announcer boomed. "It's time to announce the winners!" Everyone became silent. "Fifth Place- Brandon Macentire!" The crowd across the way cheered. "Fourth place- Kimmy Appleberry!" A group of people next to us cheered, hugged each other, cried- went all out. It wasn't that big of a deal, in my opinion. "Third Place- Tyler Spinner!" Three or four people cheered. I supposed he and his family had gone home. His club leader came to collect his prize for him. "And- oh? Well, folks, look at that! We seem to have a tie for first place!" The crowd waited with baited breath. I squeezed Katie's hand. She looked completely frozen, the anticipation killing her. Couldn't the announcer just say the names?

Finally, he revealed them. "The tie's between Katrina Kayda and Katie Hubsch!"

Katie let out her breath. Behind us, her family cheered for her. Well, her mom cheered. Her dad was at work, and her sisters weren't even paying much attention. Kailee was young, and looked around in wide-eyed wonder at every little thing, ignoring everything else around her. Her older sister, Rebekka, was flirting with some boy. Typical.

"Oh my god!" I proclaimed, in awe. "You're tied with Katrina!" Katrina was Katie's best friend and horse rival.

"Oh my goodness," she corrected me, with a smile. I rolled my eyes. That strict religious fervor was her only fault. Because of it, she had to stop and pray before eating every little thing, and crossed herself twenty times a day. Plus every little swear she had to correct. It was the only thing about her that irked me.

"Whatever. Well, go get her, this time! You can do it."

"You think so?" she beamed.

"No. I know so." Yeah, it was corny. I winced as soon as I'd said it. I prided myself in my creative way with words, yet these things always seemed to slip out.

"Kay. I better go!"

"Good luck," I kissed her lightly on the cheek. She blushed, crossing herself before leaving to get her horse.

A few minutes later, Katie and Katrina were atop their horses, ready to ride. The heat of competition was thick in the air; or maybe it was just the humidity, I couldn't really tell.

The tie-breaking stage was similar to the first one, but only half the size. Some of the easier jumps had been removed, only leaving the double-sized ones. It looked tough, especially since this time they were being judged on time as well.

Katrina's show was flawless, but a bit slow. All Katie had to do was complete the course a bit faster, and first prize would be hers.

Once again, it all came down to that last leap of faith. The horse, once again, ran up to it awfully fast, and slightly scraped the bar as he went by; but it didn't fall. However, the second bar of the jump, she wasn't as lucky on. It wiggled a bit, and then toppled down as she landed.

Katie trotted up to the judge and accepted her second place medallion. When she had stabled Skeeter, she returned to the stadium. Oh boy. I could tell she was disappointed; I knew she would be. She had such a fierce love of competition, yet hated to lose.

"Aww, it's okay," I consoled her, as she strolled over and toppled onto me. I held her close for a moment, and then brought her to face me. "Second place is still fantastic." I told her, straightforward.
Her mouth formed into a pout. "It's still not first."

"Well, you can't win everything. You know that. At least ten kids here didn't get anything at all. Come-on; just be happy! Hey, I'd sure be glad to get second place!"

"I guess," she mumbled.

"Hey, guys!" Katrina called, jogging up to us. "Good game," she told Katie, holding her hand out for a high-five. Katie just stared at it.

I jabbed her in the side with my elbow.

She jerked out of her stupor. "Oh, right. Good game." She smiled at Katrina and hi-fived her.

Katrina smiled knowingly. Katie's disappointment after losing wasn't new to her. "Hey, you two want to come over my house?"

"Yeah. That'd be great," I told her. I grabbed Katie's hand. "You okay with that?"

"Sure," she said, holding her medal in her other hand. "And you're right, Brian... Second place is better than nothing. Congratulations, Katrina!"

So... Much... Work! @___@

2008-12-04T09:33:00.002-05:00

I've just been swamped with so much stuff lately.
It's really annoying.
I have tons of reading and study guides and quizzes and essays in English Class,
and then there's all the German stuff this year, too.
A German essay a week, vocab, Gnomes...
Not to mention that I'm doing horrible in history:
my highest test grade is an 80, and I'm struggling between a B and C.
and we have DBQ due Monday!
I'm also expected to read 2 chapters of the CPR book,
type up stuff for Creative Writing,
and do lots of worksheets for Stats.
On top of that, I have to babysit Monday to Thursday.
Oh, and did I mention that I have lots of 4-H and Girl Scout stuff, too,
as well as doing stuff for the Library with TAB.
Oh, and it's the holidays soon, so of course I've volunteered to bake for every club I'm in.
I'm just too nice, I guess- I keep doing favors for people,
and saying yes to anything they ask.
I end up having to squeeze homework into 30 minutes a night,
so I prioritize: fun homework first. <__<
So I never get the English or History stuff done, of course.
And I got a new video game, so I'm tempted to play that instead of work.
Why is there only 24 hours in each day!? @_____@

Thanksgiving: the aftermath

2008-11-27T23:23:00.002-05:00

I am totally stuffed. -__-
So... much... food...
Anyway, it was small this year.
But my Uncle Paul and his girlfriend, Carol, came!
That was really awesome,
since the last time I saw them was when I was 10 or so.
He's a baker now, but he used to be the drummer in a band.
He loves animals, too, and really liked my Degu.
He also played my mom's bongo drum a bit.
I hope everyone had as great of a Thanksgiving as I did!
...But the leftovers are gonna last for weeks...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T14:52:00.002-05:00

Yes, happy Turkey Day!
A time for family fun,
eating 'till you're as stuffed as the Turkey,
and of course, a day for Chickens to relax,
calmly knowing that they won't be eaten.

Anyway, here are some funny Thanksgiving pics:

My house is hosting the big family dinner this year.
All the cousins, etc will come to my house.
So I have to help cook the meal and stuff... whoo.
Well, cooking's fun, but not when everyone's yelling! @__@
And the hose has to get cleaned...
God, will I be busy!

As to what I'm thankful for?
Well, a lot of things:
Nice People
Friends
Shrine Sprite
4-H
School (but not hw)
Internet
Japan
Anime/Manga
Video games
My Hair
Me losing weight
Cats, Guinea Pigs, Degus, etc
Yummi Food (sweets)
...Just to name a few

"Get Smart" Movie Review

2008-11-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

Get Smart

This movie is a comedy about secret agents. I like Agent 99 best, because of her witty comments and skill at her job. However, she ends up falling for the main character, although she had sworn not to, and hated him at first. I guess having an idiot save your life can change a person. The main character’s awesome, too, though I forget his name. I think he was agent 34. Anyway, his personality's amazing. He says and does the funniest of things, yet he still manages to save the world in the end. He does act like a professional spy, too, yet manages to do it in a funny way. The plot was amazing, too. It was comedic, but with a good plot. That's rare in a movie, for it to be serious, yet funny at the same time. Most are either so funny that they become stupid or way too serious and dramatic. That's why I prefer books: they have just the right mix of everything, usually. Movies, however, tend to be just all action or drama or funny, without any balancing things added. That's why I loved "Get Smart:" it had a perfect balance. It made me laugh at some parts, cry on others. Plus the plot twist at the end was unexpected. Who thought the number one, friendliest agent would be the double agent? The characters didn't expect it, and neither did I. It really had an air of realistic-nests. The characters were crafted so well that you really though this had actually occurred, even though it's a bit of a far-fetched story. Or, maybe it isn't. Who knows what really goes on in government spy agencies, right? I only saw it one, a week ago at my friend's house, but I definitely would love to see it again. It's the first really good movie I’ve seen in a long time. My friend, brother, and his brother definitely seemed to like it as much as I did. Well, our brothers like basically any movie, but my friend has similar criticism of movies that I do, so he though that was nice and balanced, too. If I like a movie, he usually does too. That's what best friends are usually like, after all. I would definitely recommend "Get Smart" to anyone who asked me about it.

Sounds in the Warehouse

2008-11-13T09:09:00.002-05:00

“BAM!”

Tim Vandes jumped out of his stupor. What was that sound? Was someone in the warehouse?

“Boom! Bash! Bang!”

“Gunfire,” Tim concluded. Quickly, he leapt up, grabbing his pistol and a flashlight from his desk. Carefully, he slipped into the warehouse.

All was silent.

Squeesh!

There was something sticky and spongy on the floor. Tim shined his flashlight at the floor. Looking down, he realized he stood in a large puddle of glue. The barrel it had been in lay off to the side, the top off.

Tim sighed, glad that the noise hadn’t been gunfire after all, and placed his pistol in the gun holder at his waist.

“Bam! Bang!”

“Aaaah!” Tim screamed, jumping out of the way of two more falling barrels. He put his hand on his thumping heart as he caught his breath.

“Wait a second!” He said, coming to a sudden realization. “Someone must be here, after all!”

In his six years of being a security guard at the Bayside Warehouse, the barrels had never fallen. In fact, nothing unusual had ever happened. Someone or something had caused the barrels to fall.

“I’m too old for this,” Tim sighed, as he began to cautiously explore, weaving through the tall stacks of tin crates and barrels.

Turning a corner, Tim’s flashlight caught the glow of to large green eyes.

He dropped his light in fear. “Who… who’s there?”

“Meoooooooooooooooooooow!”

Tim picked up his flashlight, shining it in the direction of the howl.

A bright-eyed orange cat sat on top of a small stack of boxes.
Tim smiled as his breath returned again. A cat, that was all. Nothing to worry about. It wasn’t even full grown.

The kitten leapt off the crate and trotted over to Tim. It sat there, waiting for Tim to pet it.

“Aww,” Tim said, as he rubbed the kitten behind its ears. “You look just like my old cat, Muffin.”

The cat began to purr loudly.

“Let’s see who you belong to…” Tim lifted the little gold tag on the jet black collar, and moved close to read it:

Muffin
If found, please return to:
Tim Vandes,
204 Bright Ave,
Peterville, PA

Tim immediately dropped the tag and backed up, staring wide-eyed at the kitten.

Muffin had been hit by a car a year ago. Yet here she was, staring at him, looking not a day older than she had that day. Exactly a year ago, it dawned on Tim. To the hour, even.

Nervously, Tim reached down and petted Muffin. She sure felt alive.
DING! The clock chimed. Midnight.

“Meoooooooooooooooooooow!” said Muffin, telling Tim goodbye. She turned away, beginning to walk down the aisle.

“Wait!” Tim called.

The cat turned back for a second, eyes glowing, an apologetic look on her face, before she vanished into the shadows.

“Muffin?” Tim shined his flashlight down the aisle, but there was no sign of the kitten, not even footprints in the layer of dust that covered the warehouse floor.

Junior Year

2008-11-08T14:26:00.003-05:00

I've just realized something:
Junior Year Sucks.
Yep.
It's just too much.
First of all, there's a ton of work.
Second, there's all the talk about college and the SAT.
Third, I have no friends to turn to.
Fourth, it just sucks.
Everything.
I could list more.
Everything I do seems to go Wrong.
Every night, before I go to bed, tears streak my face.
It' s just too much.
I can't handle it.
I just want everything to go away.
To disappear for a while.
So many things go wrong.
I'm failing History, and probably English too.
Things I used to know, I no longer know.
Something must be wrong with me.
I can't remember stuff anymore.
I'm even having trouble in German class,
which I never used to.
It's just too much.
I can't handle this.
I freak out at random times, at my family and only friend.
I cry, or get angry...
Of course, I don't even know if that one friend even cares about me one bit.
I can't deal with stress too well.
All around me, I see happy people.
People with groups of friends, couples, everyone.
But I have no one.
No one who cares.
No one to say "it's okay" when I'm afraid or upset.
And right now, I'm very scared.
I don't like the future.
It scares me.
I have no idea what I will do after high school,
yet my parents and teachers all want me to look at colleges.
Plus I seem to mess up every little thing I do.
I guess I just gotta deal with what life throws at me,
and go with the flow of things.
I just wish it wasn't so hard...

How Second-Hand Smoke Murdered My Best Friend

2008-10-29T22:05:00.000-04:00

A Narrative Essay (Memior)

"So, what should we do today?" Michael asked me.
"I don't know," I replied. "We can't continue our adventure without Cheryl-Jean."
"I wonder why she isn't in school," Michael replied. "Oh well. We'll just have to play with someone else today. What about Pat or Chris?"
"Hmmm…. Pat," I decided. Cheryl-Jean would always be in school tomorrow. We would just have to wait until then to continue our "adventure"; that is, the never-ending games of pretend we would play, just the three of us usually, but sometimes joined by one or two others.
But there was a problem. She wasn't in school the next day, or the day after that. In fact, she was out of school for a month. It was about a week or two after the initial absence that my mom told me Cheryl-Jean had a disease called cancer. Of course, being nine years old, I had no clue what cancer was. I figured she meant the astrological sign. No, that wasn't it, my mom told me. Cancer was a very bad illness. Cheryl-Jean would require special treatments, and would no longer be attending school every day. She would be very weak, and not feeling to well, until she was better. She was not contagious, however, so she would be able to attend school whenever she felt well enough to.
I explained things to Michael.
"My mom told me that stuff, too," he replied.
"Oh? I hope she's not out for too long. We have to finish the game."
"She'll be better soon. No one can be sick for more than two weeks."
"Yeah. I'll be visiting her today."
"Cool. Tell her I said hi!"
As I said before, being nine years old, we had no idea about how terrible cancer really was. When I saw Cheryl-Jean that day, she looked completely different.
"She has no hair!" I told Michael the next day.
"No hair? What do you mean?" he asked.
"It all fell out!"
"No… that's crazy. Hair doesn't fall out."
"She said it did. She said the treatments for the cancer did it."
"Why would they do that?"
"I don't know. She said it needed to make her hair fall out to cure her."
"She's not better yet?"
"No… She looks horrible, too. She's very weak, and has trouble breathing."
"Why can't she breathe? Was she exercising?"
"No… she said the cancer was in her lungs."
"In her lungs?! Cancer can be in different places?"
"I guess so."
"Well, she better be better soon. It's almost summer!"
She did get a little better that summer. Just a little. She was able to have us visit her more often, and even could go outside. But the first few times I noticed something odd about her house. By the third time, I knew what it was; there was no smoke. Her parents had stopped smoking. That was why it seemed so different. Before, I could barely breathe with all the smoke. I would always want to play outside. That day, we were inside, playing her Nintendo 64. It wasn't until five years later that I realized why they had stopped smoking: second-hand smoke was the cause of Cheryl-Jean's cancer.
Even though she seemed to be improving over the summer, Cheryl-Jean still did not come to school in September. Occasionally, she would come to visit, but she never attended classes. The teachers would come to her house and home school her. She did visit as often as she could, though: always with a hat on, to hide her wispy hair. She had lost a lot of weight, too, giving her the appearance of a skeleton with skin.
Cheryl-Jean was liked by pretty much everyone she met. As my best friend, Michael, puts it: "She was like the ideal person that had no faults... Smart, funny, and she was friends with nearly everyone in our grade." And perfect she was. She got straight A's, just like me; she had achieved a black belt in Tai-Kwon-Do; and everyone, it seemed, was her friend. Sure, she mostly spent recess and classes with me and Michael, but she could literally walk up to any group and instantly fit in. She was great at everything she did: Sports, Videogames, English, Science, and though she struggled a tiny bit with Math, she still managed to get A's. Her personality seemed almost magical, as well. She was cheerful, though a bit quiet, and extremely bright.
Then, she was put in the hospital. I visited her a few times. It seemed like such a sad place; there were little sectioned-off areas, one for each bed. Down the hall, there was a playroom. There were a few children in there, but most of them were in their beds, watching TV or visiting with family. Cheryl-Jean was one of those kids, too weak to move. I gave her a Pokemon card that I had spent a few hours making myself: it wasn't very good, but it's the thought that counts. Her mom sent me a thank you card, for coming to visit. She said Cheryl-Jean loved the card.
A week later, as I was going to sleep, the phone rang. Odd. Not many people called that late at night. I shrugged and tried to sleep: it was most likely grandma calling about some show on TV.
After the call, my mom came upstairs. She sat on the edge of my bed, crying.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Mom had never cried before, or at least not that I knew of, anyway.
For a minute, she seemed at a loss for words. Then, she finally brought herself to say it. "Cheryl-Jean died," she choked.
I didn't reply. This was foreign to me.
"She died today, just a little while ago," she continued.
"Okay," I replied, not sure what to make of the situation. Mom was extremely upset, but I had no real concept of what dying meant.
I continued life as normal. It felt weird, like Cheryl-Jean hadn't really died. I kept thinking she would come visit the school again, just as she always had. But she never did. I never saw her again.
At the funeral, I watched as the coffin came down the aisle, as the priest said prayers. I noticed that almost everyone from my grade was there. But it was too quiet; no one made a sound, not even the little children. Church was never this quiet; there was always a baby crying, or people whispering. Mom said she had gone to the viewing beforehand, but she didn't want me to go. She had dad bring me to the church after the viewing, during the funeral.
After the ceremony, we went to the church's banquet hall, where refreshments were being served. People were going up to a stage and saying things about Cheryl-Jean. Her parents, and the rest of the adults, were all in tears; the other children and I were all just standing dumbfounded this whole thing unfathomable, so we started talking about video games and such. Michael wasn't there: he was on a trip to Florida. I wasn't nearly as sociable with people, so I just listened in on the kids' conversations. The adults just kept telling them to be quiet.
Cancer. It killed my best friend. No, scratch that: smoking killed her. Her parents were heavy smokers, and it led to Cheryl-Jean's death. Just as it nearly killed my grandma, who thankfully survived. Second hand smoke, both cases. Yet some people still smoke around others, without a care in the world. It makes me sick. Do they even realize that their smoke can affect the people around them? What about their children, friends, or relatives? Cancer is what can come of smoking: not just any cancer, but a specific type called Leukemia: cancer of the lungs.
If Cheryl-Jean's parents hadn't smoked, things would be different. Cheryl-Jean would still be here. Sometimes, I wonder what sort of person she would be, if she were in high school with me now. No doubt she would still be my friend: after all, she was the perfect match for Michael and me then, so why wouldn't she be now?
I miss Cheryl-Jean. She was like an angel. Maybe she was; maybe that's why she had to die. Maybe she was just too perfect to be part of the human world. But that's cruel, isn't it? No, something evil killed her. Something called second-hand smoke.

Shrineland (new blog)

2008-10-26T20:02:00.003-04:00

Haha. Forgot about this.
My friend and I are writing a book.
We're not sure of the name,
but we're callign it Shrineland for now.
Yeah, it's a bad title, and it's probably not even
gonna be the final name of the country either.

Anyway....
I'll be posting a chapter every once in a while.
But I don't want the chapters to be confuddled
amongst all the other things I'll be posting,
So I made a new blog for it.
The link should be in the navigation under the blog archive.

So, please comment on the chapters!
We'd love to get as much feedback as possible.
Criticism is lovely, too!
The more you tell us what could be better,
the more we make better,
and then -BAM- it's a better story than ever before!
So please, check it out!

Brawl!

2008-10-19T20:40:00.002-04:00

I am a huge fan of the Wii game Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Yeah! I just can't get enough of it. Through wi-fi, I Brawl all sorts of people. For those of you who have Brawl, I'd love to brawl you. For those who don't, GET IT NOW!

Most people have one main character. Well, I'm different: I have 2. Lucas and Peach. At first, it was just Lucas, but as I brawled more and more using Peach, I slowly improved with her enough to call her one of my 2 best charries. Other than those two, I also use Lucario, Jigglypuff, and occasionally Game&Watch or Pikachu. Yeah, I use all three Pokemon. I like Pokemon. Got a problem? No? Good.

Anyway, I'm on a few Brawl-related forums. There, I meet lots of very good competitive Brawlers. So I Brawl them. Yeah, I lose a lot, but practice makes perfect, right? I'm slowly getting better. So what if my best friend is tons better than me at Brawl? I beat him sometimes. Those other times, I just assess what I did and learn from my mistakes. That's the best thing to do to get better, after all.

I can brawl for hours. When my friends are over, brawling makes up half of our time together, at least. We just can't get enough! And when I have nothing else to do, I go on wi-fi and Brawl whoever's on. Some days I play for three or four hours, accumulated. (Never all at once. That makes my body feel weird.) When going to a friends house, an essential to bring is my controller, an SD card, and a readiness to do my best at Brawl.

Before SSB Brawl, it was SSB Melee. In some ways, it was better than Brawl, but in other ways, Brawl is way better. Maybe most people don't notice, but I do. When you're a serious gamer, you notice EVERYTHING. Brawl has a ton of new characters, but I do miss some of the older ones. I used Pichu sometimes in Melee, but he's not in Brawl. Pichu was considered pathetic by many people, because he had weak attacks, was extremely lightweight, and somewhat difficult to use. But when you're a serious gamer, you don't care. You find a way to use the character's strengths to your advantage. In Pichu's case, it's that his speed is matched by none. Some people put characters in Tier Lists. Pichu was at the bottom Tier. But I think Tier Lists are silly. Every character is good if you take the time to learn it's strengths and weaknesses, get good with the characters move set, and practice with it.

So, yeah. I'm a fanatic when it comes to Brawl, but in a good way. And, once again, if you don't have it, get it now! I want to brawl you!

Journal Time!

2008-10-16T09:16:00.000-04:00

Well, we have to write our journals online today.
Hmm.... What should I write about?
Oh, I know!
How about.... How I plan to get rich!

Yes. I plan to get rich someday.
I'll live in a big house, with a nice view,
and I'll have plenty of room for all my stuff,
and plenty of money to buy new stuff!

You see, I plan to work in the video game industry.
I'll eventually, hopefully sooner than later,
become one of the top designers at a huge company,
such as Nintendo or Sony or Sega or something.
I'll make the most amazing characters,
storyboards, and stuff like that.
I'm not exactly sure what kind of designer I'll be.
I mean, there's so many!
A character designer would be cool.
Or perhaps I'd make backgrounds and stuff in the beginning.
Eventually, I will direct all the stuff that goes into the game.
But, you have to start out small first!
Perhaps I could be a storyboard director.
I do love to create intricate plots for stories.
But creating characters to fit stories is fun, too!
Especially fashion. Characters can wear so many awesome things!
Their clothing choices are unlimited-
Whatever you imagine, they can wear!
I would especially like to work on 3-D role-playing games.
Oooh, I can't wait!

Oh, but that's not the only way I'll become rich.
I will also write bestselling books,
and have a line of products for "Kate and Todd".
Plus being a famous chef wouldn't be bad, too.
And, of course, I'll be winning Archery competitions!

Yes... I am confident that someday, I WILL be rich.

Religion

2008-10-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

Today, at gym, as we headed out to the tennis courts, some guys greeted us. They were from some christian organization, handing out Bibles. What the h? I mean, what about separation of Church and State? Last I knew, South was a public school. Okay, true, they were on the edge of school property. But quite frankly, I'm sick of it. School has a bible club now. What about other religions? I'm sure the Jewish people and Muslim people would want a club, too. They could probably have one. But what about other people, like Atheists or Wiccans? I'm sure if they tried to have clubs, they'd be turned down. Most people look down on them, and they shouldn't. It's just wrong. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with anything these religions believe in; I'm just pointing out that everyone should have a fair chance, and if that can't happen, then Religion shouldn't be in schools. I myself am agnostic; that is, I do not associate with a specific religion. So I consider myself impartial to this. Quite frankly, I believe religion is silly and unneeded; we're technologically advanced. Science can explain most of the things religion was created to explain, except for things such as god or creation of the universe. There are theories, but no proof yet on those. Anyway, it just sickens me to see people fall victims to it, believing everything their churches say. Religion is still a major player in politics, too. It makes me wonder: whatever happened to separation of church and state?

I hate the Church. It's an unnecessary organization. It's the age of science and technology. Things can be explained with logic, reason, and science. There is no need for such religions anymore; everything it was created to explain is now explained through science. Not to speak ill of any religion in particularly; it's pretty much every religion I speak of. Well, maybe not some smaller ones,such as Wicca and stuff, since they are not so much based on strict obedience to a god, who if you displease you go to hell. I'm fine with religions. I just don't like when they tell me I'm gonna go to hell if I don't believe in what they say! Sure, some things they teach make logical sense. But honestly, I don't think god is that mean, if there is one. I mean, I'm doing fine, and I don't pray. Quite frankly, prayer makes no sense to me. With billions of people, do you think god can listen to everyone? After millenia, do you think he or she cares about your petty problems? I should hope he or she is more worried about larger scale problems,such as the ending of wars and global warming. Anyway, I've rambled too long about this....

Rant... about love and stuff.

2008-10-01T16:34:00.000-04:00

Well, in Creative Writing, Mrs. M talks a lot about love.
Yesterday, we were asked to make a comparison for the word "kiss."
I couldn't do it- I don't know what a kiss is like.
It brought me to the realization that I've never had a boyfriend.
It's a bit pathetic- after all, I'm already in 11th grade.
It's not that I don't want one.
But, honestly, no one likes me like that.
I don't think I'll ever have one, at least not in high school.
I've never even hugged or held hands with someone,
let alone kissed someone. (Kissing my cousin when I was 5 doesn't count!)
All around, I see people walking the halls as couples.
They hold hands, they hug, they whisper to each other.
Love.. it sounds so nice, to love someone,
especially when they love you back.
I wish I was loved by someone.
I wish someone could be there when I'm down,
to give me a hug and say "it's okay."
I wish there was someone in my life who would say "I love you."
I just want someone to care about me.
Someone I can hold hands with,
someone I'm not nervous around...
Someone that I can hug.
I can imagine it; it seems wonderful.
I wonder who the person will be, if I ever get a boyfriend.
You know, it really sucks, not having anyone love you.
It feels like there's a major part of life that you're missing out on.
Something that you can never have,
but that everyone else has.
I want that, too.
I want to be loved...

Announcement: New Blogs

2008-10-01T16:29:00.000-04:00

I now have two new blogs!

The first is called "Larissa's Art."
There, i will post all of my newest art creations.
Please, don't be afraid to comment on them,
or even criticize, since that always helps me improve.
http://larissasart.blogspot.com

Also, I have a blog called "Kate and Todd."
They are two characters I have created.
I draw a lot of pictures with them,
so rather than putting them on my art page,
I have dedicated a whole separate blog on them.
Kate is an alien cat,and Todd is an angel bear!
http://aliencatangelbear.blogspot.com

Please check them out! ^__^

My Birthday! ^__^

2008-09-29T14:54:00.000-04:00

My birthday weekend was AMAZING! ^___^

Saturday me, Michael, and my brother went to the OC Library book fest.It focused on cooking this year-I bought a bunch of cookbooks.Then we went to lunch,but discovered that all the places we wanted to go were closed. Cuz our downtown's freaky like that.Then I saw my new friend Janie, and introduced her to Michael and Brandt.So we just ate at the Dunkin' Donut's at the library.I had hash browns and a white hot chocolate. ^__^Then there was a sushi demonstration!The chef was late, and then he forgot the seaweed,so someone had to bring it to him, so it began an hour late.But that was okay, cuz the demo was great.He let some people try to make their own, including me!He said mine was very good; I just had to roll it a bit tighter.So now my sushi I make at home won't fall apart.

After the book fest, Michael stayed over my house.Mostly we just played Brawl and stuff.

Sunday we had to wake up at 6 am.Why? Well, we went to New York City, of course!We actually ended up arriving early at the train station,so we went to the Dunkin' Donuts across the street.Of course, Michael ended up drinking half of my white hot chocolate. :roll:Actually, it was his first time on a train. I think he liked it.Yeah, trains are cool. less cramped than a car; I don't get sick on them.We attempted to work on the story; but I was too tired to do much.Then we arrived in NYC, after the underwater train tunnel where our ears popped.

First thing we did was go to Toys R Us, Times Square.That's the huge one with the Ferris wheel inside.We went to the video games department, mostly.Michael bought a Wobbuffet Pokemon doll.

Next, we went to Nintendo World Store!That was really cool.They had so many plushies!I got a slate blue Yoshi,and Michael got a big Kirby and Booker (from acww). Those were imported from Japan.I also got a Mudkip Pokemon doll, and Altaria Pokemon figurine,exclusive to Nintendo World, along with a Pikachu DS stylus.Oh, and we just happened to be there at the right time:They had a pre-release for the new Sonic game!It's called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood,and it doesn't officially release until Tuesday.So we each got one, of course!And, since we bought one of the first 50 copies,we got the special autographed ones!(autographed by all the head designers/ directors)It's an awesome game; I totally recommend getting it.Plus the game director himself was there,and I got to talk to him a bit.He told me some useful information about how I could get a job in the field;after all, my dream job is designing characters, software, or games for Nintendo or Sony.

Next we had lunch, in a nice little place right across the street.I had the best shrimp salad sandwich I'd ever had!

Our last stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art.That was okay.First we went to the armor and weapon section.That was really cool!Then we went upstairs,but I realized I had lost my pin saying I paid admission,so I went back to look for it.I didn't find it...So then we went upstairs.Brandt told us he knew how to get to the Egypt exhibit,but of course, he misread the map,and it took us an hour to get there.The Egypt stuff was really cool;I especially love the hieroglyphs.

After that, we rode the train back home;all we did, pretty much, was play our new games.
So, my birthday weekend was amazing;definitely one of the best ever!^_______________^

Renaissance Faire

2008-09-21T18:51:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to a Renaissance Faire!
My parents, my brother, and my best friend, Michael, came with me.
It was a ton of fun!

Michael bought me an italien ice.
That was very nice of him.
Brandt, Mike, and I also shared a funnel cake.
That cake was huge!
There was also a lot of burgers and fries and other fair food for sale.

There were many stalls around.
Some were fortune tellers.
Others were weapons or armour shops.
There were also shops selling leather goods,
homemade paper, masks, clothes, jewelry-
all sorts of things were there!

I really wanted to get one of those cool medieval cloaks,
or even a dress, but unfortunately I only brought a twenty.
It would have been really cool to have a medieval dress,
complete with corset, cloak, and those long leather boots!
Instead, I bought a flower crown and a necklace.
The necklace depicted a dragon on a sword.

There were also many fortune shops.
I bought a rune chart and a pendulum.
I'm really interested in divination.
I can do I-ching, Runes, Palmistry,
Numerology, Tarot, and I know some astrology.
Pendulums and Crystals, however, I don't know much about.
So, I'll learn! I already own a set of crystals and now a pendulum.
I love divination... I think, when I'm older and have practiced at it more,
I'll start up a shop as a side job, and do readings.

There was also a place where they were doing shows all day long.
There was a magician, someone doing fire tricks,
gypsy dancers, and many other things!

Another highlight was the medieval sports and stuff.
There were knights sword fighting with each other,
people showing how to use medieval longbows and crossbows,
ax-throwing, and, of course, jousting.

Jousting definitely was the highlight of the fair.
The jousters came in all the way from Canada to do the show.
Actually, it technically wasn't a show- the competition was very real.
First, they each chose a "princess" from the audience, and crowned her.
Next, they speared rings and then threw the spears at a target.
Then, they used swords to cut a head of cabbage.
Finally, they did some actually jousting!
Sir William and Sir Theodore were the two jousters.
My side of the crowd had to support Sir William.
He wasn't very good, but it was still fun to watch him.
Finally, Sir Theodore jousted against the champion-
Sir Iforgotwhathisnameis. <__<
Anyway, The champion won by a long shot.
Here's a video of it:

http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p91/KikyoKat7/Videos/?action=view&current=jousting.flv

Yes, my day was definately awesome!
And I'll definately have a great time, too,
with my birthday and an anime festival coming up!

Anyway, here are a few more pictures from the Renassance Faire:

Knights Fighting:

Joust Announcer:

Joust Helpers:

Jouster Mounting a Horse:

Sir Theodore:

Sir William:

Sir William Crowning a Princess:

The Champion:

Hey, everyone!

2008-09-18T09:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my blog!
This is just a little place for me to post stuff,
such as my works, tidbits of my life,
fun times, gripes, and anything else I feel like posting!
^___^

As the title suggests, my name is Larissa.
Although, if you know me from a forum,
I usually go by Kalil or Kikyo (kikyokat7 on larger ones).

Hmmm... you probably want to know a bit about me.
Well, I love cats, muffins, archery, anime, baking, photography,
good stories, art, creating cartoons, writing, and lots of other stuff!
And I love my best friend, Michael, too, of course. =)
I've known him for ten years,
pretty much as far back as I can remember.
After all, who remembers much before first grade, anyway?

So, I suppose that's an adequate introduction, no?

Oh, and some other things you ought to know.
I can be very spontaneous at times,
and can also tend to ramble on about things.
But my craziness is just a part of me you'll have to deal with.
<__<

Hmm... anything else you should know?
Oh, right. I'm female. Just in case you couldn't tell
from my very girlish name, Larissa.
I don't think any boys have that name, after all.
So, that's about it... for now. ^___^