diary of a teenage ninja/mechanic/writer

New Year's Resolutions 2009

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:38:43 GMT

I think this was supposed to be done about a month ago but whatever. I just like crossing things off the list when I do them.

- finish second semester with at least a 3.30
- learn the khmer alphabet
- get a summer internship
- write my novel's first draft
- run a sub-5:40 mile
- run a sub 2:35 800
- learn 400 kanji
- write my dreams every morning
- knit 10 scarves
- finish that touchscreen MT Mini
- get a motorcycle license
- take an auto repair class
- read two books of the bible
- complete Photo 365
- use my planner
- break into an abandoned building
- use a cheesy pickup line
- read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
- learn to pick locks
- make a flamethrower
- make a smokebomb
- buy a trenchcoat

Obligatory Monthly Post: December

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:55:21 GMT

Finals. Tomorrow. Hohshit. Well, I've been procrastinating for the past week, why stop now?

Indoor track = suckage. My last Saturday: leave at 6:30am, get back at 8:45pm, and I didn't even run. Fortunately it was followed almost immediately by the HASH, which is a tradition started back in 1776 when Wilbur Hash, a young Baltimorean, challenged the British to a footrace. Thinking they would easily win, the Brits accepted--BUT! Hash disguised himself as a British loyalist and offered them alcohol at several stops on their way to the starting line. The Brits showed up drunk, the Americans won, and Wilber Hash lives on in history through the cross country team's yearly multi-stop drinking festival. The tagline is, "Because we can. Because we shouldn't." Most hilarious night of my life. ^_^

Also of interest: what the hell is going on in Hollywood? We've got M. Night Shyamalan doing Avatar (with Jackson Rothbone! Yum!), the Wachowski brothers doing Speed Racer and apparently some other Japanese-import, and Spielberg doing a Ghost in the Shell movie? I don't know what's going on but I like it. :)

Speaking of The Last Airbender, Jesse McCartney as Zuko? WTF? If this isn't a joke, then at least it's a way to get the entire 12-20 year old demographic into the theater to see the movie. But I have faith in Shyamalan, he sounds like he really wants to do it right. Really!

Did I mention that I'm now double-majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (yes, that's one thing) and also Biology? I have my schedule planned out for the next three years and it is ROUGH. Like, 21 credits per semester. But I can do it! I can! I think, at least. :-/

Other news of little consequence: I'm currently applying to no less than 12 places for an internship this summer. Fortunately I got Mr. K and my academic advisor (who rocks, and (unrelated) is bald) to write me recommendation letters, so hopefully those will be good. Cross your fingers for me! :)

Snippets of good news: I can catch up in Taekwondo, I can drop the 25/100 I got on the last chemystery test, I got into a 3-week lab where we insert genes into E. Coli (I think it's sweet, okay?! Yes, I'm a geek!) and see what happens, I can wear my contacts again, and I can't get koobface because I have linux. Sweeeet.

Bad news: I suck at school, and probably life in general. I am a girl and caucasian and therefore the least likely (statistically) to do well here. I have a calculus final in less than 24 hours. I can't run. FINALS.

Yeah, finals. Gotta go. Peace and love and all that jazz.

Obligatory Monthly Post

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:26:29 GMT

Or at least Obligatory Occasional Post. Whatever. Does anyone even use LJ anymore, apart from me and Jane? Seems like the transition to facebook is complete, disregarding us leftover loners here on the el-jay. Depressing, isn't it, since facebook is such a stalker-enabler.

Anywho. The most important thing anyone reading this would need to know is: I currently have roughly 5 pounds of Skittles in my room. I also have two pounds of Moose Munch, three bags of Junior Mints, a bag of Reese's, 4 bars of AMAZING mint chocolate from Lindt, and a ton of Hershey's chocolate bars (with peanut butter). So basically I am a tub of lard. (Oh, did I forget to mention the Kit-Kats? And gallon of ice-cream in my freezer? Oops.)

I've been sick for about... four weeks now. Chest pain for the first two, honest-to-goodness cold the last two. Now the cold is gone but it gave me a sinus infection, so I'm on these antibiotics with lovely side effects. I'll leave that one to your imagination.

I would love to say that my illness is what's making me run like shit but that's doubtful. I think I just got suckier. Today's meet was... a catastrophe. I started out good, then started getting passed around the 2K. By the 5K I was wheezing, and the finish had me basically crying. Awesome. Also couldn't find the inhaler when I needed it. Seriously, why are there iPod arm-bands and no inhaler arm-bands? Geez. (Just as a shout-out to my team: they're awesome. Our top 7 girls were leading, turned the wrong way and kept going, and we STILL won the meet. Not that I had anything to do with it, but they're pretty darn good.)

School: sucks. My classes are insatiably boring. I have no interest in the bond length between carbon and hydrogen in a methane molecule. I have no interest in how much kinetic energy a marble has when dropped from an air balloon. I have no interest in how to integrate sine to the seventh power. Japanese is my only semi-interesting class. It's sad.

I may have to drop out of TaeKwonDo. Turns out it's a very expensive sport. Which is fine for most people because money is no object for these kids. I, on the other hand, have a maxed-out credit load, a varsity sport, multiple clubs, and this nagging urge to sleep every few days. It's $55 for a belt test, which happens twice a semester, and if you don't move up in rank you have to stand in the back. Also, a girl 'tsk-tsk'ed me and gave me the shame-finger when I said I wasn't taking the test because I didn't have money or time for a job. I am the only varsity athlete in the stupid club, so they clearly have no idea what kind of a time commitment that is. Ugh. Stupid rich kids. :(

Baja is going to be fun. (That would be SAE Mini Baja, which is basically building and competing a go-cart, for those of you unfamiliar with the term.) I am the only girl, and also the lightest, so they think I'll be a fast driver. We'll find out this thursday when I learn to drive on last year's car. Also, our tool shop has pre-war equipment. I don't know which war but either way, that's pretty damn old.

Started watching House last week. Cameron's crush on House annoys me, Chase is adorable but such a jerk, and Foreman... he's cool. I'm almost done with season one. Anybody know how many seasons there are?

I don't like this city. I'm starting to miss Michigan a bit. I miss people rhyming tour with sewer instead of bore, and saying 'pop' instead of 'soda.' I miss pointing to a part of my hand to tell people where I live and them not thinking I'm weird. I miss my car. I miss lakes. I miss highways with 70mph speed limits. I miss my piracy and ninja-cy. And I guess I miss a few people. Jeez.

Last XC party of the season is tonight, so I supposed I should go make myself look somewhat presentable (ie, change out of my pajimjams). But seeing as how I'm sick I'll probably come home pretty quickly and watch House. :)

Over and out.

[GREETINGS FROM BALTIMORE]

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 04:51:12 GMT

To begin: I think I'm going to drop engineering after this year. It seems incredibly boring. I think I'll do Behavioral Biology, chase the dream, all that jazz. Screenwriting? I've got physics, chemistry, and calculus. And I hate them all. My Japanese class is vaguely entertaining but the entire class (and the book!) seems counter-intuitive. Ack.

Classes suck, but life is good overall. The team is great, the weather is awesome (yay hurricanes/tropical storms! It's almost like monsoon season! And I've got cute rainboots!) and I HAVE A NEW FRIDGE. I have seriously been waiting for this fridge for a month. Today I saw a poster for a Target run and decided IT WAS TIME. Turns out the run was run (er, bad wording?) by a church group, and I was the only one going because it was literally pouring outside. So I had some religious conversations with nice religious people and got a fridge and a knife set for Paul. He better pay me back. (He's a redhead with dreds. Awesome, no?) But back to the fridge--tomorrow I get to go grocery shopping! YAY! (That's my favorite kind of shopping, you know.)

We had our first meet last saturday, and I came in 49th with a time of 21:03, which is pretty damn good considering I usually start seasons in the 23 range. Guess all this crazy hard work is paying off. And I'm getting used to the constant pain in my legs. :)

I need to make a point: PEOPLE HERE ARE WEIRD. Seriously. I'd say about 80% of the non-athlete boys here lack even the most basic social skills. About 5-10% need to shower a bit more, and probably 40% need new wardrobes. For the girls, I'd say about 30% are weird. There is a surprisingly large number of pretty, socially competent girls here.

I joined a TaeKwonDo club. It seems fun but I suck because I'm so uncoordinated. But I guess if I was good I wouldn't need to go to a class for it, now would I? I keep getting paired with excessively large boys though, and my teacher keeps having to re-pair me because he fears for my life. :(

In other news, the internet service here basically destroyed all known forms of downloading--EXCEPT for the Hopkins p2p network on DC++, which is fabulous. I can get entire movies in under two minutes. Very speedy, good quality, and I'm a happy camper with all sorts of new movies. Plus, it can't be traced. Perfect!

I have to go run a meet--as in be a course marshall, not actually run in the race--at 8:30AM tomorrow, so I should probably go to bed. Toodles!

~Ashton

PIX TIEM!

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:52:09 GMT

Hokay. I know it's been FOREVER since I posted anything at all, but I've been busy. But to make up for it I have lots of photos. WARNING: ALL THESE PHOTOS ARE HUGE! :)

--Jane, did you call me the other day? I thought my phone said you called while I was on the phone with my mom, but then I looked in "Missed Calls" and you weren't there. Hmm? And have you left yet? Surely you have, right? How's the room? Pictures, plz?

This is Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and easily the nicest place in town.

Jellyfish!!!

7-court beach volleyball!

Inner Harbor from Federal Hill, which is basically just a big hill with a playground on top.

I took this photo myself! This camera was so worth it.

Another of campus:

This is my room before Roommate Shauna came:

And after:

Much cleaner, right?! (Okay not really.) Can you see the whiteboard in the back?

Shauna's side, with Shauna.

And a cicada being carried up a tree by a cicada killer wasp! I didn't even know these things existed until I found one and took about 50 photos of it. I had no idea what it was until Shauna told me.

Now for a close-up. :)

In other news, everything is going really well. I'm off to a game of Capture the Flag with the team. Wish me luck! And tell me how you guys are doing!

TTYL,
Ashton

OMG I'M NOT DEAD!!!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:21:41 GMT

I'm not dead! I swear! I've just been busy. Honest.

I am taking a few classes right now: yoga, calculus II, and automotive fundamentals. I was taking a scuba class, but I finished it this morning. That would be the only thing on my 2008 To-Do List that has been completed as of yet. Go me! Calc is a drag, yoga puts me to sleep, but I love my AF class. It's great fun and has paid for itself several times over. Max will be like new by the time I leave for Baltimore.

Speaking of Baltimore, I'm leaving in a little over 2 weeks. I can't wait! Hopefully JHU will be all it's cracked up to be. Another plus: I saw a few photos of my roommate and she appears to be one of those people that showers regularly and practices good general hygiene. Yesssss! No creepy smelly roommates for me! ^_^

In other news, it's official: I attract creepers. From the boy at the vending machine to the 30-year-old father of three to the guy from the A/C class, the universe seems to be out to prove it to me once and for all. How depressing.

TTFN.

Wed, 28 May 2008 05:01:54 GMT

~~Stolen~~ borrowed meme from Jane.

1.) What curse word do you use the most?
Shit. Or possibly fuckberries. Sonuvabitch is a favorite too.

2.) Do you own an iPod?
Not that hip. I have a Sansa.

3.) What person on your F-list do you talk to the most?
Jane. I stick to 2_liners in conversation, mostly.

4.) What time is your alarm clock set to?
Tonight, 9 am. (Must write a speech tomorrow!)

5.) What was the last thing you thought about before you went to sleep last night?
Likely something about the limo being a fiasco.

6.) Do you remember where you were on 9/11/01?
Mrs. Matson's social studies class.

7.) Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?
Take the picture. I'm very non-photogenic.

8.) What was the last movie you watched?
Brother Bear, partially. Wholly is either the Andromeda Strain (does it count since I only saw the first part?) or Speed Racer.

9.) What's your favorite television commercial?
I was a fan of the Apple and PC Switch commercials. I saw one today for car insurance where it's take-your-kid-to-work-day at a bank and a kid uses the vacuum system to shoot pens and sandwiches at a car. Cute.

10.) What are you afraid of?
The dark, spiders, needles, hospitals, insects in general, silence, heights, big black dogs.

11.) What color is your room?
Off-white? Tan? I dunno!

12.) When I say "sock," you say...?
Rock 'em sock 'em robots!

13.) Pirates or Ninjas?
Pirates, of course. Ninjas have knives, sure, but pirates have fake legs, eye patches, and their own language!

14.) Has anyone told you a secret this week?
No.

15.) When was the last time you had Starbucks?
My Johns Hopkins interview. Guess it went well cuz I got in and all.

16.) Describe your average morning routine.
Awaken. Shower. Eat. Dry hair. Dress. Brush teeth. Pack lunch. Leave.

17.) What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
At concerts: how well he plays the guitar. Everywhere else: hair.

18.) What are you looking forward to?
College!!!

19.) Did you watch cartoons as a child?
Yeah. I watched My Little Pony and Care Bears, and also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers. This could account for my strange behavior as a child.

20.) Do you own any band t-shirts?
Yeah but they make me look like a boy so I don't wear them.

21.) What will you be doing in one hour?
With any luck, sleeping.

22.) Is anyone in love with you?
Strong possibility but I sure hope not.

23.) Post a random picture!

24.) When was the last time you cried?
My eyes leaked on the way to work yesterday, but real honest crying? When Benny almost died last summer.

25.) Mac or PC?
LINUX!!!

26.) Are you currently wanting any piercing or tattoos?
I do not endorse creating holes in one's body in places where there are already holes. Tattoos are not for me, because I'm afraid of needles.

27.) What is the weather like?
It's Michigan, so currently it's about 38 degrees outside. Tomorrow it'll probably be in the 80's or something.

28.) Who's your ideal superhero?
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, cuz they're mutants! Or the Power Rangers, because they're normal kids with crazy suits and martial arts skills.

29.) What did you do before this?
Tried to sell books on the interwebs.

30.) When is the last time you slept on the floor?
Eh, it's been a while.

31.) How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
None. I prefer at least four, if possible. But I function very well on no sleep.

32.) Do you eat breakfast daily?
Yes, absolutely. Or else I get sick.

33.) What is something you regret?
Rejecting Paul Weeks at Amanda Kuppe's bat mitzvah in sixth grade.

34.) What did you do last night?
I worked, then I came home and used the internets.

35.) Do you use sarcasm?
No, never.

36.) How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
18!

37.) Are you picky about spelling and grammar?
Yeppers.

38.) Have you ever been to Six Flags or Cedar Point?
Both, but the Six Flags near us is closed now. Pity, they used to have whales.

39.) Do you get along better with the same sex or the opposite sex?
Boys! (That's opposite.) They're so much easier. No cat fights, gossiping, being ladylike. I can belch and eat all I want.

40.) Do you like mustard?
Nah, it's sick.

41.) Do you sleep on your side?
Used to, but now my pillow is so flat that I get a stiff neck when I do.

42.) Do you watch the news?
When I have time.

43.) How did you get one of your scars?
Collapsed after Regionals this year, got a nice hole in my knee.

44.) Who was the last person to make you mad?
Patrick!

45.) Do you like anybody?
Perhaps, perhaps not. Who's to say?

46.) What is the last thing you purchased?
Dresses.

47.) What song is your theme song?
Eh, either Know Your Enemy by RATM or Pretty Handsome Awkward by The Used.

48.) What color range is most prominent in your wardrobe?
They're all pretty equally represented, really.

49.) What do you do to get away from the world?
Sleep. Read a book. Play on the internet.

50.) When was the last time you laughed so hard you almost wet yourself?
Can't remember. That's sad. :(

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:33:10 GMT

Yeah! Another meme I stole from kwiditchjunkie who stole it from thereisnosp00n who ganked it from bobbinrob.

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions. Totally cheating, you dirty cheaters. ;)

So here goes!

~~1. "Maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything."~~ The Matrix guessed by kwiditchjunkie.

~~2. "No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it."~~ Mulan guessed by kwiditchjunkie.

~~3. "Screws fall out all the time, the world's an imperfect place."~~ The Breakfast Club guessed by kwiditchjunkie.

~~4. "Lum se se, eunich-y. Snip snip."~~ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest guessed by kwiditchjunkie .

~~5. "This isn't a country, it's an ice cube!"~~ Lara Croft: Tomb Raider guessed by sae_rina!

~~6. "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!"~~ Beauty and the Beast guessed by kwiditchjunkie .

~~7. "So, uh, do you... like cheese?" "More than any other animal by-product!"~~ She's the Man guessed by kwiditchjunkie .

~~8. "For all time they will say it was our love, brought down a kingdom. Remember us."~~ Tristan and Isolde guessed by kwiditchjunkie .

9. "Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?"
    "Who's Michael Crawford?"
    "Exactly my point. He was the "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Now my mom, she's seen that musical 27 times and she put Michael Crawford's picture in our refrigerator. Not on it. IN it. So my point is, if you play basketball, you'll end up on the cereal box. If you sing in musicals, you'll end up in my mom's refrigerator." High School Musical guessed by kwiditchjunkie .

10. "The way your dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy's birthright, so he hid it, in the one place he knew he could hide something: his ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable piece of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you." Pulp Fiction guessed by thereisnosp00n.

~~11. "God help us; we're in the hands of engineers."~~ Jurassic Park guessed by aisu_mouko.

~~12. "I never told you, but you sound a little like Dr. Seuss when you're drunk."~~ The SIxth Sense guessed by sae_rina.

13. "Why do you think people want to get married?"
      "When you get old, you just have to."

~~14. "I am a sacred vessel. All you got in your stomach is Taco Bell."~~ Juno guessed by aisu_mouko.

15. Saved the hardest for last! This one is really hard, so I'll give a few quotes.
A) "Why don't I ever dream of Harrison Ford?"
B) "Hi? I look like I just called Mike Tyson a sissy and all you can say is "Hi"?"
C) "Cricket? Nobody understands cricket. You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket."
D) "Wayne Gretzky on steroids?" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles guessed by sae_rina!!!

Have at it!

DO IT.

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:40:30 GMT

Okay, okay. Another meme thing, this time from sharingank. DO IT.

IF YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine ... You're on my list, so I want to know you better!

BE HONEST! COPY FROM HERE, THEN SEND DIRECTLY TO ME IN A COMMENT, THEN REPOST THE EMPTY QUESTIONS.

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
A.

2) What was your dream growing up?
A.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
A.

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
A.

5) Favorite vegetable?
A.

6) What was the last book you read?
A.

7) What zodiac sign are you?
A.

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A.

9) Worst Habit?
A.

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
A.

11) What is your favorite sport?
A.

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
A.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A.

16) Do you have any pets?
A.

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A.

18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!)
A.

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A.

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A.

22) What color eyes do you have?
A.

23) Ever been arrested?
A.

24) Bottle or can soda?
A.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A.

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
A.

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
A.

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A.

30) Do you swear a lot?
A.

31) Biggest pet peeve?
A.

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
A.

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
A.

35) Do you believe in God?
A.

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
A.

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:02:33 GMT

Looking for scholarships, one comes across the strangest qualifications. Here are a few:
- incest survivor (does it normally kill you???)
- member or the child of a member of the American Association for Nude Recreation, Western Region
- Francophone (not even sure what this is)
- registered voter
- rodeo team member

And interests in:
- knitting
- beetles
- orchids
- urology (?)
- weaving

I'm getting slightly weirded out.

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:00:04 GMT

Been watching baby videos all day since my mom is transferring them to DVDs. I WAS THE CUTEST KID. Seriously, I don't know what happened later (I think it was the birth of my sister) but I was adorable. Kind of like a monkey, really. So cute. It's weird to watch my family in the videos because I am the center of attention, all the time. I haven't watched them before, but I don't think I've changed much. I'm always shoving huge pieces of food in my mouth, smiling and laughing, and generally being happy.

It's also weird to see my dad in all the videos--and not just because of the mullet. (Or the overalls--EW.) I didn't even recognize his voice when I first started watching them. Very strange to watch the family dynamics! Not in a bad way, though. It's cool. I can see where I got my taste in music: when I unwrap a kids' tape player in my second birthday video, the first thing my dad says is, "Hey, I've got a Metallica tape you can play in that." HAH.

It's also fun to watch me open all the toys on the holiday tapes. For my second birthday I also got some girly toys and a tonka truck, and after the truck I wouldn't open anything else because I only wanted to play with my truck. I recognize so many of the toys and I still have a lot of them, buried away in the crawl space somewhere.

It kind of feels like I'm watching someone else, or a different family altogether. It's weird. Hmm.

In other news, I spent the night at Jourdon's and watched She's The Man last night with her and Jenny. I love the movie but it's seriously so awkward to watch. The whole thing. We stayed up till 4 so I had to take a nap today. :)

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:55:33 GMT

Finally got back today. I thought I was going to hang myself if I had to stay up there with all those people any longer. Plus, Lexi snores, and since we were sharing a room that meant no sleep for me. No wonder I've been such an insufferable bitch the past few days. Caught a ride back with the tios, who apparently don't believe in making pee breaks on car trips. Have not done my homework or watched Rebelde; I have played Guitar Hero 3 for the past week. Shame on me.

In other news, the wood floors are done and they look great. Had to drive out to Pontiac to get the cats tonight but they like the floors. Got lost in Pontiac and then had to go to my grandma's drug-dealer neighborhood to get the damn things before Tabby pissed in her cat carrier and stunk up my whole car. Grosssss.

Hoping to get a job soon! But more on this later. Don't wanna jinx myself.

Anyway, here's a new year meme.

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
I got a driver's license and a car. I went to States for Track. I went to a concert in another state and got high. I kissed someone on a whim.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
The only one I made was to keep record of my dreams, which I did on and off. I like to call them goals, not resolutions. And yes, I have some goals for 2008. :)
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.
What countries did you visit?
Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and the Netherlands!
What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Time. Money. A boyfriend.
What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My backpacking trip to Europe with my mom. BEST EVAR.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Making Track states, getting contacts, and gaining self-confidence--it's a tie-up.
What was your biggest failure?
Not making Cross Country States. I should have, I was fast enough, and my damn asthma kicked in. :(
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope. Lucky me!
What was the best thing you bought?
Max, my car!
Whose behavior merited celebration?
My mother, for going one more year without killing my sister/selling her into slavery/feeding her to tigers/etc.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My sister, per usual.
Where did most of your money go?
Max. And the Rage Against The Machine concert.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trip to Wisconsin for the RATM concert, getting my car and my trip to Europe.
What song will always remind you of 2007?
Stronger by Kanye West. Anything by Taking Back Sunday or Rage Against The Machine.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier! Life just keeps getting better!
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter, but mostly in the T of the T&A Department, so it's alright in my book. :)
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer. :(
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sleeping and working.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
School.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Already spent it with the fam.
Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Jourdon. She's basically the only person I talk to on the phone. (Actually, it would be my mom, but only for 2 minute increments so she doesn't count.)
Did you fall in love in 2007?
Afraid not.
How many one-night stands?
None.
What was your favorite TV program?
Mythbusters. (A:TLA is a guilty pleasure, though.)
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes.
What was the best book you read?
Fat Kid Rules the World. (Not for the first time, but I did read it.)
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Radiohead, perhaps. Or Taking Back Sunday.
What did you want and get?
A car, the RATM concert, my trip to Europe.
What did you want and not get?
Cross Country States.
What was your favorite film of this year?
Transformers! Juno is a close second though.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 17. I spent it on the beach at Florida eating Cheetos. Perfect.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Making XC states.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Tight clothes. :)
What kept you sane?
My friends, my music, and my car.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Johnny Depp. For sure.
What political issue stirred you the most?
They didn't.
Who did you miss?
Nobody. Everyone I need is right here.
Who was the best new person you met?
Definitely the little old Asian woman who dragged me out of Macy's and all the way to Charlotte Russe and picked out clothes for me. (If you haven't heard this story, ask. It's a good one.)
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Don't let anyone stand in the way of getting what you want. Don't be afraid to be yourself just because other people are watching.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
It has to start somewhere.
It has to start sometime.
What better place than here?
What better time than now?
-- Rage Against the Machine

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:27:32 GMT

Christmas was fun this year. My cousin Reiss is basically the cutest thing ever. You know how a lot of times babies are actually really ugly but you tell the parents that the kid is cute anyway, because that's what they want to hear? Not this one. He's ADORABLE. I'll post a video sometime.

Tom came over and taught me how to make crepes last thursday, which was fantastic. I am a crepe master.

Kyle let me borrow Rebelde: Temporada 1, which I believe translates to Rebelde: Season One. It's Mexican, it's cheesy, it's absolutely horrible and I love it. And now that I've got the dvd-drive on Oscar (my linux laptop) working, I can waste over 13 hours of my life watching Rebelde! YES!

Back to Christmas, I got my second hard drive that I wanted and named him Frank. Vera's cord will be coming in the mail soon, I hope. Lexi (my sister) got a Wii, which is pretty darn cool if I do say so myself. We named it Ida-Mae. (Noticing a trend of old-fashioned names here? You should be. My car is Maxine, btw.)

I'm going to Boyne for the next week to snowboard. Or at least attempt to snowboard. Chances are pretty good that I'll be too damaged after the first day to do anything but lay in bed and watch Rebelde. At least there's going to be internet, so that'll be great. We're taking the Wii and Dan let me borrow about 50 gamecube games (which the Wii plays) so that should be fun.

Saw Juno and loved it. Jenny and Jourdon weren't so fond of it, but I thought it was brilliant. It's indie, so I wasn't surprised that they didn't like it. So, so funny. Had a talk with Mr. Fackler at Jourdon's place afterwards that basically made me question some stuff even more. So my new year's resolutions should be... interesting.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:18:23 GMT

So tonight I played laser tag for the first time, and it turns out that it's WICKED fun. I went with the XC team, and it was amazing. Seriously, I wanna go again like tomorrow. It's great.

Sadie Hawkins turned out to be pretty fun. Sure, all the girls were dressed like slutty hillbillies and there were only about 100 people there, but J-Ko and Gabby and I had a great time. I'm so lucky to have friends like that, because a lot of people don't.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and if I have to hear Mr. Laing talk about how "it's his favorite holiday and he wears expandable pants and he has two rounds of food and he had the flu last year and golly gee whiz did that ~~suck~~ blow and he can't imagine anyone going hungry on Thanksgiving" I may have to throttle him. He says it EVERY DAY and I am totally sick of it. At least Thanksgiving won't fall on my birthday this year, because that always sucks. My birthday is the 25th, and I will FINALLY be as old as the rest of my grade/get my full license. Also, I want a cake on my birthday this year, dammit. Every year I get a pumpkin pie and I don't even ruttin' like gorram pumpkin pie!

XC Pancake Breakfast went off without a hitch. I love my team. They're just the best group of kids EVAR. I can't imagine what it's going to be like next year without them. Banquet almost made me cry because that card was so darn sweet. My cats are eating the flowers, though.

Benny is finally back to his old self but he still can't eat and he smells awful. So we got him a cone. He hates it but he looks awfully cute.

XC States was great for Rachel (19th in the state, wowzers) but super depressing for me. I feel like I should have been there, because I was fast enough, without a doubt. I love the course and I couldn't stop thinking about how fun it was sophomore year, and I was kind of unhappy. Platt and Pat and Brian were good car-mates, even if Platt did revert to Freshman status by getting lost. Anyway, I'm totally happy for Rachel and I'm going to make track my bitch. Also, I've been declared Alpha Female of the XC group. And rightfully so.

Homecoming was fun. End of story. Except that I felt like someone had drop-kicked me in the ribs for about a week, but that's not important.

Engineering Expo with Bridgette and Sam? Muy divertido. Lots of free stuff and a game of Gigantic!Jenga. Speaking of engineering, WHY HAVEN'T I GOTTEN ANY LETTERS FROM COLLEGES YET?! AUGHHHH. AM I THE ONLY ONE?!

Over and out!

[/transmission]

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:40:04 GMT

Today was weird. I was extremely tired all day and had a few dizziness episodes, but when I walked into my last hour (physics) I got really dizzy and couldn't breathe well. Stevie tried to walk me to the bathroom and I fell down and knocked the chair over, so of course that made a huge scene. I started shaking pretty badly in the bathroom, so Lo and Stevie took me to see Moore. (We don't have a school nurse, who else was I supposed to go see?) He said to go home, so I had to call my mom and give my keys to Jourdon, since I drove today. I felt alright by the time I got home but I took a nap anyway. I think it's just exhaustion, but who knows?

In other news, I have no life, a fantastic-smelling candle, and a huge rip in the knee of my favorite pajama pants. You win some, you lose some.

Anybody know how to play .avi's on ubuntu (or any version of linux)? I've got every media player I could find and they still won't play. :(

Happy birthday, Nicole!!!

Obligatory Post-Concert Post #3

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:05:40 GMT

Well, let me start out by saying that this post is really detailed so that I remember everything, not for anyone else. I have no pictures because a) no bags, blankets, umbrellas, or cameras were allowed in, and b) it was raining and supposed to lightning all night.

The ride there was pretty uneventful. I slept part of the way, and Kyle and Dan were trying to freak me out for awhile while communicating via text message. Dan's dad is crazy but a good driver.

There were already several people arrested by the time they started letting people in. We were supposed to be frisked but there were no girls there, so the male friskers couldn't touch me. When we got in we headed straight to merch, and I got one really cute shirt and one shirt that I think I'll have to cut to make fit me, cuz it's huge. We wrapped all the stuff in a poncho because it was raining pretty hard and tied another poncho on it to make it into a bag with a handle. Then we went down to the lawn and the first thing we saw was shirtless men slip-n-sliding down the hill sans slip-n-slides.

Another important point: the male/female ratio at the RATM concert was roughly 1:30. Maybe even more. It was absolutely full of men. And a good number of them were quite attractive.

So me, Dan and Kyle went down and got ourselves a fairly firm spot of land pretty close to the pavilion and started talking to the people around us. (Dan's dad has to use a cane to walk, so being down in the mud and mosh wasn't really an option for him.) A really bad band came on (who may or may not have been the RATM roadies playing a joke) and it was still pouring rain. After a while they got off and Queens of the Stone Age came on, and they had some pretty cool effects. It was around that time that everyone started pulling out their weed and the sod fights began. A sod war broke out between the right lawn and the right pavilion, where the lawners threw sod at the pavilioners and the pavilioners threw it right back.

Watching people to try walk through the mud with beer in-hand was an event in and of itself. Many, many people lost their beers and slipped. It was really great to see everyone helping each other up when they fell, and even better when the people who weren't moving grabbed those who were to help them not fall. For a bunch of hardcore rockers everyone was really nice.

To our right was a giant empty area where people refused to stand or walk because everyone who attempted it went down in the mud and slid down the hill. But before Queens ended the three of us maneuvered our way to the very top edge of it, and the view was great, completely unobstructed. (I'm short, so this was good.) I kept slipping but everyone around me kept catching me, which was really nice. It was honestly like nothing I'd ever done before, climbing this wall of mud. Fortunately everyone around was helpful, but my butt did get grabbed once on the way up. Oh well.

Kudos to DTE for their quick stage-changes; it took an hour for them to get the stage ready for Rage after Queens was done. By then the rain had stopped completely, against all odds. (The weather.com site said it was supposed to thunderstorm all night; Michigan got its worst storm in five years last night. We were incredibly lucky.) By the time Rage started Kyle had established that I was more than a little buzzed off the second-hand pot smoke, judging by the fact that my pupils were huge. I tried to argue that it was just because it was dark, but when they pointed out how I was lisping all my S's I couldn't really argue. By the end of the night I was pretty high, which makes this my first official drug experience. I've been buzzed before, but never high. I really didn't feel any different than I usually do, just a little gigglier. Kyle says that's probably because it was only second-hand smoke, but I really have no desire to find out.

When Rage started playing I fully expected a riot to break out, but I couldn't even see a mosh pit. The place was absolutely packed, so we were really lucky we got there early and were close to the bottom. RATM was fantastic and amazing and everything I expected them to be live. It's incredible to see such a huge group of people all so united for one cause; there were thousands and thousands of people there, all shaking their fists at the sky and screaming along to the music. Probably the biggest congregation of anarchists in history, really. No joke.

Rage was probably a quarter into their show when I realized that I actually was pretty high, because I was absolutely unable to keep my footing in the muck while dancing and cheering and screaming. I was a little higher than the two boys so they caught me every time I fell. There was a pretty cute boy behind me, and he kept helping me back up, too. It generally worked that Dan grabbed my arm, Kyle put his hand at my stomach, and the boy behind me grabbed my waist. At some point this boy just pulled me up against himself and started dancing with me, which was very nice. Very, very nice. I'm pretty sure Kyle and Dan caught onto him, because he was standing verrrrry close behind me, and after the dirty-dancing scene Dan moved up a little higher than me and Kyle kept turning around and shaking his fist in the boy's direction in a very threatening way. I noticed and asked him what he was doing (even though I'm pretty sure I already knew) and he told me he was 'rocking' and slammed his fist against Dan's, but it wasn't the same motion, so I'm fairly sure he was threatening that boy. It must have worked, because even though I tried dancing with him again and he kept playing with my hair, he didn't do anything else. Bummer. (He was smoking some weed with his friends, I noticed. Oh well.)

By the end of the night all three of us had fallen a few times, then Kyle and I got in a mud fight. Which was disgusting. He got it all in my hair, and all of our clothes were gross from the falling and crawling and fighting. I did bring a pair of shorts to change into but I accidentally stepped on them when I got into the car, so I couldn't wear them. Kyle let me borrow a shirt and shorts, which were extremely comfy. Dan's dad was already at the car waiting for us, but it took us over two hours to get out of the parking lot. (Again, kudos to DTE.) The car got stuck in mud briefly, but Kyle and Dan got out and pushed it out while I stayed in the nice warm car. ^_^ After that the three of us were asleep in minutes.

In the car Dan was in the passenger seat and was all comfy, but Kyle was in the back with me and he is a seat hog. He literally took up three-fourths of the backseat. I was trying to sleep and he was using my arm as a pillow, that's how much of a hog he was. We stopped at McDonalds around 4am for food and a quick clean up, and all he could say was that he was bigger than me so he needed more room. I told him he snored. I went into the bathroom and saw that my face was covered in mud and nobody had bothered to tell me, so I got that off and got a nasty bagel-sandwich thing for breakfast. Then back to the car and back to my one-fourth of the backseat to sleep. Which is pretty much what I did until we got back, about an hour ago.

I have to say, I was really impressed with how well Dan and Kyle took care of me. They were always careful to not lose me, made sure I didn't fall (as well as they could), and kept the creeps away. It's really nice to be taken such good care of sometimes!

All in all, it was the most fun I've ever had at a concert, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Totally worth it, and no regrets!

Obligatory Post-Concert Post #2

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:01:42 GMT

Projekt Revolution was absolutely amazing. Lots of pictures, so everything is under there cut. WARNING: SEXY-IMAGE HEAVY. NOT GOOD FOR DIAL-UP USERS OR THOSE WHO FAINT EASILY.

The main stage bands didn't start until about 4-ish, so the first few bands were on the Revolution Stage in the parking lot. Saosin was cool, but Mindless Self Indulgence was very cool. The lead singer must be on crack to act like that, and we'll come back to him later.

First main stage band was Julien-K, and they were cool. Then was HIM, and they were cool too. The lead singer chain-smoked during their entire act. He didn't creep me out as much as I thought he would.

Taking Back Sunday was after HIM, and seeing Adam Lazzara up close was fantastic. He really is adorable, honestly. Here's some pictures:

Mr. Lead Guitarist is pretty cute too.

Ain't he adorable?!

Okay, next was My Chemical Romance. They were the best show there, in my opinion. Linkin Park was awesome and I love them dearly, but MCR puts on a better show. Plus, their two guitarists are DAMN HAWT.

MCR was great, but Linkin Park was the headliner, so on to them.

So cool!!!

Okay, on to Chester!

Blurry, but cool!

That man has a great body AND a great voice. Too bad he's married. :(

Oh, and this is just cool. (The screen displayed texts to a certain number.)

I got "Scream for Avril" up, but I didn't get a picture. (It's a joke! Really! But a ton of people screamed anyway!)

Post-concert we saw Jimmy/Timmy from MSI and got autographs on our tickets. He's such a nut. I asked him how he makes his hair so spikey and his response was to lick his hand and run it through his spikes. I got a picture of him kissing my cheek, but it's so dark that it's really not worth sticking up. It was great!

Tomorrow I'm off to Wisconsin for Rage Against the Machine! Look foward to those pictures too!

SOS!

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:18:27 GMT

I'm working on college apps and feeling more than a bit overwhelmed. To anyone who has already gone through hell--I mean, the process--can you give me tips for essay-writing? I'm not sure whether I should be writing formally or more in the style of conversation. Please help!

The Obligatory Post-Concert Post

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:28:22 GMT

Muse was absolutely fantastic. We missed Cold War Kids, and BRMC was alright. Social Distortion would have sounded awesome if their lead singer would have shut up. But Muse was just phenomenal.

Got a cute shirt, too. Mmhmm.

We tailgated for a bit after the concert. A few guys drove past us and asked if we had another gatorade. I said yes and gave it to the guy, and he said, "Thanks! Jesus loves you!" To which I replied, "I'm a Jew!" (I'm not, though. I just thought it was funny.) Then I was looking in the cooler for some food and the lid fell on my head, and a few girls in another car yelled, "We saw that!" Lovely.

Absolutely wonderful night!

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:16:19 GMT

I just got the entire Firefly DVD set for $16.99 at Costco.

My life rocks.

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:30:18 GMT

Good news: I got a 5 on the AP European History test and a 4 on the Biology test. Not too shabby!

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:49:12 GMT

Transformers was famazing.

[end transmission]

hell in a four-door sedan

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:56:20 GMT

New York sucked. Majorly. Why my mother ever thought it would be a good idea to take my sister and grandmother on a trip together is beyond me, especially after the Alaska trip. My mom's mom is a little crazy sometimes. For example, she refused to go out to breakfast one morning because my sister hadn't blown her hair dry. That's pretty much what the trip was like. Factor in Betty Bitch, our GPS system that told us to do things RIGHT after we passed them and later froze for two hours, and you get the recipe for one seriously bad trip.

On the other hand, some good did come out of it. Rensselaer is a definite maybe, and Columbia is a definite NO WAY. Those folks are pretty nutty, in my opinion. I don't believe that engineers should have to learn about operas and Homer's writings. No thanks. We walked out of that informational session after about five minutes. At Rensselaer, on the other hand, we had an absolutely smokin' hot tour guide who just so happened to be from Ann Arbor, and he was funny. (He said he went to Michigan for a semester and hated it because the classes were too big.) Way to promote your school, RPI!

My other grandma also has an appearance this week, and she's even more of a nutjob that my mom's mom. Yesterday I went to her house to help her with her computer and while I was there she brought up politics--big surprise. The woman is retired and has nothing better to do now than devote all her time to every political thingamabob that floats her way. She is a serious whack job. She got tears in her eyes when I told her that I thought socialism could work. She honestly believes that I should drop out of school ASAP and not go to college because the liberal-ness will (and already has begun to) corrupt me.

...actually, I think my whole family is just psychotic. Hmm.

ix-nay on the ude-nay alendars-cay.

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 04:14:30 GMT

Took that personalDNA thing, and surprisingly, the results were pretty good. I'm an Advocating Inventor! Clicky here for the full thingy, if you're interested. It says I have low femininity and style, and high masculinity. :( But I also have high authoritarianism, which I like. ^_^

Fell asleep at Q's, then woke up and barely got up the stairs to the bathroom before completely toppling over. Tanner caught me, so I didn't fall on my face or anything. Ate lots of cookies. LOTS of cookies.

If anyone has any good fund-raising ideas, I NEED THEM PLEASE. The XC team needs new uniforms that don't totally suck. So far I've got pancake breakfast, candy sales, nude calendars, and a car wash. Help?

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:52:57 GMT

Last night I came home and went to bed at 7:30pm. I got up at 11am. Then I went to a grad party, came home early, and took an hour-long nap. I plan on going to bed in about an hour.

We have to be at the airport at 5am tomorrow to leave for New York. I'm purdy excited. I've never been there, so it oughta be fun. Too bad I haven't saved any money to go shopping with. :(