Thanksgiving has ended. The preparations for Christmas are under way. The radio began its jingles long ago, though there certainly is no sign of snow. With the warm weather we have been receiving, it doesn't seem likely that snow will enter our realms of Massachusetts any time soon. I've recently gotten into this television series on Netflix. My friend's dad showed it to her, thus bringing it to me. After 10 episodes, the show was cancelled, but so far I can't see why. The show is known as The Nine Lives of Chloe King. I shan't give anything away, since it is really that interesting. You can find it on Netflix or Hulu.  For some reason, my Netflix connection is wavering, and doesn't give us a very good quality, which is a shame since they don't ever air commercials. 

Homework is surprisingly manageable. It was only a few weeks ago that I was feeling pressured to do my homework and get a solid grade on it, or even just to come up with something that would make enough sense. Now, I am proudly procrastinating and feeling relaxed about it. It's OK, I know that I will get the work done and well. In my English class, we have been reading this book called A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I love it even though I am just beginning chapter 5. It's got to do with a boys' boarding school during the time of WWII. They live in New Hampshire, so they are not in the middle of all the war action. You should really check it out. I enjoy the way my teacher asks us to analyze a few of the scenes, since I usually have a lot of ideas behind them, but I think she goes a bit too far with the meanings behind things. If two boys went swimming, and one of them almost drowned, she would ask us what the water represents. Could it at all be possible that these boys just wanted to go for a swim? While we are allowed to voice our thoughts, I do not feel that they are always appreciated.

It would feel as though I have great revelations when I am writing. Sometimes my fingers just want to type certain words and I feel too lazy to press the backspace button, so I just let it be, and other times I just feel so clear minded and free to say whatever comes to mind. My own little journal that you are all welcome to read. I never said that this would be a daily thing, since I knew that I would not be able to uphold that responsibility. I did hear that the homework level stays pretty much the same, which was a relief to discover. 

Either tomorrow, Wednesday, or on December 6 (the morning announcements versus the school website are very contradictory) there is a sign language club, specifically to learn sign language. I believe I wrote an article on how sign language would be something that I would love to learn, and now I can finally begin! Whether or not any of my friends join, I'm going to do it. It is too great an opportunity to pass up! 

It's articles like these that hold too much information for a title to be added. My mind does not hold thoughts within categories, so I don't think my writing should be too organized. I do congratulate you on reading this far, you must be very interested, or very bored, either way, it's great! 

Literature and the Endless Boundaries

I have just succeeded in completing the book series known as Warriors (again). Written by Erin Hunter, it has become my favorite book series, and I have found a lot of great books out there.

The world of literature is great as it is vast, filling you with emotions, love, and understanding beyond any realms of depth that you have ever experienced before.

After reading through all those action novels that I love so dearly, it makes me wonder if our lives have more to offer. Perhaps, if we choose, we too can go on great missions and explore forests that go farther than our territories. If life truly is what we create it to be, then why not make it such? It really is fun and interesting to think about.

I feel as though I am nearing an end. Not a loss of any kind, but more of a closing, like the change in a chapter of a book or a movie. In the same moment, I can feel greatness in what is to come. I am free to do as I please, and with that knowledge comes determination and confidence. It feels so glorious and wonderful, you should give it a try!

My brother Taylor is really coming along with his album. Did I mention that he is writing the music for my high school's production of The Tempest? I sure hope I did, because I am extremely proud of him. Perhaps some people would think it my instinct to feel jealous of him, seeing as his skills have given him popularity at my school. He is a wonderful musician, and the most I can say I feel for him, more than anything else, is pride. I, too, can play the piano. I'm sure I could become better and more motivated if I wished that to be my destiny. However, as much as I do enjoy playing the piano and music in general, with the power that comes when the dynamics are hit perfectly, I don't really see myself pursuing it much further than that. That could still change, mind you, but that is how I feel right now.

No one can possibly understand the bond a sister feels for her brothers unless they have gone through it themselves. If anyone were to do anything cruel or upsetting towards them, I would instantly feel the need to confront them and rip their throats out.

Okay, so maybe I don't know how to rip anyone's throat out, but I would resent them for sure. I am not unjust when I make these decisions. I do not hate what they do, but more the way that it is done.

But back to my original point. I really love books. I have learned a lot of my vocabulary and understanding of life through them. It is how I come to understand so many of people's actions. Perhaps it is why I see in terms of color. For instance, the number 17 is green with a hint of deep blue. 16 is red. Ask me of any word, number, or letter of the alphabet, and I can tell you what color it's in. Kinda weird, huh?

It is with you now that I will close this entry. Until next time.

The Ghost In Our Piano

I have been working on this song on the piano for Halloween and it came with lyrics! I thought it was a cute song, so I'm gonna post them here. Enjoy!

Someone is playing a song
But something is terribly wrong
There's nobody here
So I sadly fear
It's the ghost
In our piano

It's happened two times before
But now he's come back here for more
I don't want him 'round
That's one scary sound
When he plays
On our piano

I wish he'd just go away
And never come back here to play
He should go back home
Where he's all alone
And play
His OWN piano

I like it very much. It sounds a lot cooler with the piano accompaniment. I was hoping to play it tomorrow for my friends on Halloween, but it seems that I won't be near a piano unless we start at my house, which I don't see happening.

With all the snow I mentioned yesterday, the school day has been canceled for tomorrow. I'm relieved, to be honest. Recently, I have been working on a research paper about Adolf Eichmann, who was a big contributor to the Holocaust. I had to write an outline with six body paragraphs by tomorrow, and it didn't seem I was going to make it. Perfect time to get writer's block, isn't it? But now, perhaps my mind will be clear enough to come up with something substantial.

I was kinda hoping that I would get to show off my costume to fellow students tomorrow, but I'm alright with what happens. I have decided that I will try not to push against things so much. If I'm feeling sad about something that is happening, like snow in October, then I should tell myself that whatever happens, I am still going to have lots of fun. For example, since it has snowed and we now have a very limited time to go trick or treating, I have decided that it's okay, since I will be with three good friends and we now have more time to hang out afterwards!

Walking In a Winter Wonderland

You may not be able to believe this--unless you live near me--but it is snowing outside! That's right, that's no typo, I do mean SNOWING!! It's exciting, but at the same time worrisome, considering that it is the weekend before Halloween. I was really looking forward to trick-or-treating. I got the feeling that this would be the last year I got to walk around and ask for free candy before I got too old. How did that even get started?

I know that Halloween was a day that originally meant that the spirits would come out, so people would dress up as ghosts to scare them off. I'm not sure how the candy got involved. Perhaps they had festivals or something, I don't know for sure.

My friend Sara and her family put up grand decorations for Halloween. The last year I was there, there was a fog machine setup, some crazy strobe lights, and a projection that said "Happy Halloween" and showed some slide shows. It was really cool. I have plans to go over her house along with two other friends, Anna and Evelyn. We were then thinking what we could do if it was raining, or if the snow was too thick, and we decided to go to my other friend, Anna's house and just party it up over there. The costumes would still be worn of course. My brother had plans to just to to a party, but it turns out that they will be doing some trick-or-treating too apparently.

Halloween this year will land on a Monday unfortunately, which means we will be waking up early and going to bed late. Not the best combination. I don't really care, since I'm sure I will have a blast. Before all the snow started falling, I decided that whether or not the storm did end up arriving, I would just enjoy whatever happened. Knowing that we have a Halloween backup plan helps too. It feels so much better to sit back and accept what happens rather than push against something that ends up happening anyway. I know the harder you push against something, the more you are bringing it to your attention, and therefore allowing it to be created. The same goes for you wanting something. The more you want and picture yourself with the success that comes with the desire, the faster it will come. We are never content, and we are not meant to be. That's most of the fun. Always wanting and desiring, and then relishing in the joy when we feel content enough to just drift off down the lake.

I should really explain that metaphor.

Imagine that you are rowing in a boat. It's just you and the quiet lake. You are rowing against the current, harder, and your progress is really slow. Then, maybe out of exhaustion or just curiosity, you let go of the oars, lay back, and softly drift down the current. It feels nicer, easier. It feels good, and you are content, with no plans to meet and no reason to begin going against the current again.

I want you to go over that paragraph, and just sit back and imagine the scenario. Imagine how relaxed you should feel when you finally let go of the oars. Feels good, doesn't it?

Yep, that's how I felt when I was feeling stressed and my mom told me that story. I felt wonderful, like there was nothing that I needed to do. I could just sit back and be exactly where I needed to be. That's what life is like. You are always right where you need to be based on where you want to go. The timing couldn't be more perfect.

I shall leave you with that wonderful picture until next time.

Concerts and Other Thoughts

So I now know that it is very possible to be in contact with the Nonphysical. Now all I would like to know is this: how?? I have had some dreams that have included Mom, but she was always sort of distant. Except for this one. She came up and pretty much startled me by coming right up to my face, turning, and then petting Willow (my cat). That section of the dream consisted of us sitting in the living room just enjoying the moment. The TV wasn't on, and Willow was the center of attention, which is just the way she likes it.

I have recently found that my dreams relate to what I was thinking about before I fell asleep. Like, if I had just been reading a book, then I would have a dream that I was part of the book. I had another instance where that happened, but I forgot what it was.

I have felt so much better just knowing that it is possible to be in communication with her. So, if that article in my last blog says that they can contact us as easily as they could when they were in physical bodies, then wouldn't it be as simple as writing a note and getting a response? I have no idea. Maybe there is some sort of ritual. All I know right now is that it is possible, and I'm going try whatever I can think of to get back in contact with my mom!

Tomorrow is Columbus Day, so naturally, we don't have any school, making this a long weekend. So what else would I be doing on a free day? Going to a concert, of course!
Specifically, a Dream Theater concert!

Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands. Their music is so unlike anything else that I have ever heard. They just released a new album called A Dramatic Turn of Events. Their previous drummer left the band due to scheduling conflicts, and their new drummer is now Mike Mangini, who just so happens to be my drum teachers past instructor when he went to Berklee. It is so cool that I have a connection to someone who has broken record for consecutive beats per second. This guy can drum roll with one hand! ONE HAND!!! I don't think I could ever do that! Mangini has officially pushed past everyone and is now #1 in my "Favorite Drummers" list. I would tell you who is in 2nd place, but I forgot how to spell his last name, and I don't want to spell it wrong.

I should get some sleep now, since the concert will go pretty late.
C'ya!

Nothing to Write About

I logged on, thinking that I would come up with something to write as I went, or even a title, but I don't have anything to write about. I guess that should be my title, huh?

There. Now it is.

So...I guess I should just start with current events in my life. I had a nice day at school today. I didn't get a lot of homework, so that was really nice. I haven't had a lot of homework for the past two days. I have just had one assignment from one class, although technically, I do have to study for a geometry assessment tomorrow, but I feel that I really know what I am doing enough to feel good about the grade I will receive.

Creation #2 (I think)
I see myself feeling perfectly comfortable in my room. It is set to my perfect temperature.
I see myself falling asleep gently and easily.
I see myself waking up feeling refreshed and ready for the upcoming events.
I can see myself having a fun and relaxing Friday (oh shoot, got that song stuck in my head, you do too now, don't you? muahahaha!)
I can see myself having a nice, easy amount of homework that only takes me a little bit of time after school.


Oh! I want to tell you something I learned yesterday! Let's see, how should I tell this?
Okay, so I think I may have somewhat explained Abraham-Hicks. If I didn't, well I don't wanna get into details at the moment, so tough luck. I might explain later.

So basically, I go by this philosophy that Abraham teachers. She's like a guide, I guess you could say. A lot of it is on the basis that you should do things for yourself and because they make you feel good, not just because you think you have to. So, I have been wondering for a long time whether or not it was possible to talk to someone in the nonphysical (a ghost). I read this one article that said that they are as aware of you as they used to be. I can't really explain the whole story, so here is the article that I read it off of. http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/journal.php?eid=412
(warning: to view this complete reading, it will ask for your email, just so you know).

So, yeah. I guess that's all I can come up with. Talk to you next time!

This past week has been very good. I got a chance to hang out with more of my friends, and I didn't get as much homework!

In my civics class, we have, I think, begun our Community Action Project (CAP). In previous years, the CAP was an individual assignment. It was a lot more difficult as well. This year, it will be a classroom group thing between my class and the corresponding English class. However, it turns out that our teachers have already come up with our assignment. So guess what? My chosen community work is a.....

Blood Drive! Yay!

If you think about it, a blood drive at the high school doesn't make any sense. Seniors are the only ones who are even allowed to sign up to donate blood, and the teachers don't want strangers from the town walking through the school while we are taking classes. Somehow, we are supposed to make a decent amount of money from the whole thing. My brother's class has been assigned to make the high school's playground more handicapped accessible. I'm not sure how they plan to do that, bu they had better not touch my spot!

To elaborate, I will tell you that I like to stop off at the park on my way home from school and do some of my homework. My spot consists of a green picnic table underneath a tree. To me, it's more than that. It's beautiful. Truly magnificent. a place to just relax and think. At my house, I have too many distractions, among them is my dad telling me about my distractions. So I have been given a nice place where I can sit back and do my homework before going home.

Winter had better not come too fast.

Most recently, I had just gotten the phone number of a friend of mine, and we were texting this afternoon. I found out that she lives right down the street from me, only about a 10 minute walk. I suggested that she should come to my house sometime and meet my cats, since we have talked about them a lot in geometry class (don't worry, not during the time that our teacher is giving instructions, we aren't bad students, although I wouldn't say I am exactly a model student. I sometimes have trouble focusing). I feel really excited to know that I have yet another friend that is walking distance. Now maybe I will have a friend to walk home with, since we go the same way. Oh, now I am really excited thinking about this!

The Knowledge May Crush You

In my civics class, my teacher keeps stressing about how important it is to watch the news so we can know what is going on in the world. I have to disagree. I mean, it might be nice to know some things for some circumstances, although I can't think of any off the top of my head. But I just don't see why we need to know everything about the world. If you pay attention to the news, you need a positive attitude, or the knowledge will crush you. It's amazing how much we are like crabs.

Allow me to explain.

When fishermen catch crabs, they put them in a container. They don't need to put a lid on. You see, if one crab were to climb up the side to get out, another crab would come over and pull it back down as if to say "You're not going anywhere! You have to stick with us!"
That's something that some people can do to others. Perhaps they are not aware of it, I can't really be sure. I have just felt it going on around me; people pulling others down to their level.

I think people inflict it to begin with when they are feeling negative. It doesn't make them feel good to see others who are doing well, so they pull them down. I have a couple examples of human-crab behavior that happened in my own life.

A few times this school year, we have been asked to fill out these forms asking us if we have thought about college and sometimes just asking for information about us, just for our guidance counselors to know. There was one column on this one particular sheet that asked for our parents' information (emails, phone numbers, etc.). I had already filled out my dad's information and came to my mom's. I wrote down her name. Under "phone number," I wrote down the house number, since she was never one to answer her cell phone or even understand how to turn it on anyway.

Then I paused.

The next line said "email address." I knew my mom's email, but I couldn't decide whether or not to put it down. After much debate, I finally just put it down. Then, at the bottom, I wrote a quick note saying that nobody should send anything to that email, since it was technically no longer valid. I thought nothing of it.

Until a few days later.

I was in my room, reading my book, when my dad entered. He asked if I remembered the day that my guidance counselor had us fill out these forms. When I said yes, he said something like, "Your guidance counselor emailed me, telling me that you wrote out Mom's email." I told him about my whole hesitation over that, and the note I had written at the bottom, and he said that was what he had suspected. Well, apparently, my counselor was worried that I had forgotten about mom, or had maybe never realized it in the first place.

My only thought then was how strange it was that my guidance counselor thought I was going insane, which was kinda funny to me. Then I thought about it some more. What if I really had truly believed that my mom was just sitting in my living room? What would she do? Would she try to talk me out of it and tell me it was wrong? What would make it so wrong? It just struck me as odd that some people can see that what others believe is wrong and try to change them for that. I dunno, it just seems like people should be a bit more accepting, now that we have all these individual rights. By the way, at this point, I'm just rambling. It's a bit hard to keep my train of thought with my grandparents, dad, and brother in the same room watching my brother play Grand Theft Auto on our Xbox 360 (sponsor!), so I am not completely sure what I have been typing. I can only hope that it was at least somewhat related.

So, since I don't really want to keep writing/typing, I shall log off now.

Here's me, logging off.

In my physics class, I have been assigned a project that will be due next Friday (not tomorrow, but the one after that). I have to build a mousetrap car that will travel at least 10 feet. We get extra points if we can attach a recording device onto it. Thus far, I have been very confused about what I could possibly do that wouldn't involve me buying everything from a hardware store. We obviously have to guy the mousetraps, but other than that, I had no clue. If we use a rat trap, we get an automatic 0 because my teacher doesn't want us breaking our feet or killing ourselves.

Recently, I was talking to my cousin, who is 18 and is currently going to UMass in Amherst. He found a website that made a mousetrap car out of common desk items, such as pens, string, caps from soda cans, and CD's. And now that I have a direction to head in with this project, I am finding it to be a lot more interesting and fun.

Every other day at my high school, I end the day with art class. My teacher is very nice. I feel that she is the best art teacher that I have had. Some people think that when they get her to bend the assignment requirements a little, that they are taking advantage and have somehow tricked her, but really, she's being an artist. When you draw something, you don't think about all the rules that you will have to complete or the due date, you just go for it. And that's what I plan to do for a Christmas present to my grandparents. I was thinking that I could take a nice picture of their cat Abby and their dog Nellie and make a portrait of them. I have a few books on watercolor pencils and colored pencils, and even watercolor books. I think it will be a color pencil drawing, since I will have more control with them. Perhaps I can use some water on the eyes for some added texture and depth. If I can, I will frame it and give it to them. I figure that I will have enough time to finish by Christmas, so it will be perfect! Plus, it may get me some attention as an artist. I definitely want to do it before the semester ends, so I can ask my art teacher for any help that I need. She may even let me work on it a bit in class (or not, I'm not sure how many projects we will have to get done). She mentioned to me that she has a lot of books on different styles of art, and I can borrow a few. I am really excited about all this. Now I just have to tell my dad so he can help me get the supplies I need. I already have the perfect picture of Nellie if I can just print it off my old phone, all I need is a good picture of Abby. I'm sure I'll find it.

I still have some homework to do, so I'd better get working!

Homework....Yeah, You Know What I Mean.

So I have finally managed to find a break in my work to put up a new post. I have been super busy with school. When I'm at school, everything's fine and I can understand what is going on. But once I get home and begin my homework, I seem to forget what we discussed in class. So I have begun to carry around a notebook where I will take notes on what our teacher is saying, so that way, if I get stuck or lose focus, I can look back and see how we did it in class. I just began today, and so far, it seems like a sound method. The good news is, there's a lot more going on in my life so I will have more to blog about, even if it's just boring homework. The classes that give me the most homework would be Introduction to Physics and Honors Geometry. Yesterday, oh my gosh, you would not believe how much homework I had! Plus, I had an orthodontist appointment and, even though it was short, it cut into my time.

 My dad wanted me home from school by 3:00 PM. So when I got home, he told me that we had a little more time than he thought, so I went downstairs to play on my drum set. It felt really good, and when we went to the orthodontist place, I didn't feel as nervous as I usually do. I felt happy, and I guess that's why. When I got home, I got started on my homework. In Geometry, we were given more than usual. It took me a really long time, and by the time I was completely finished, it was about 9:30 PM. I still had to read a chapter in Physics and draw pictures that went along with the vocabulary words we were given in class. My dad told me that I just had to get used to having so much to do and should come up with a system. I was really stressed out, but I won't go too much into that, since I'm a little embarrassed about that. I just couldn't see how I could have done anything any differently than I did, and when I voiced that question to my dad, he told me that I shouldn't have gone downstairs and played drums. I should make work my first priority. Well, remember what I told you about how I like to prove people wrong? Well, usually, this is something that would set me off. I know that he doesn't want me to go into a career of music. He doesn't think it's a good idea. And while I don't think I could handle it anyway, I still adore playing and listening to it. I love that I can just go downstairs and be allowed to hit the crap out of my drums. It's really great anger management, and can sound really cool.

I haven't been feeling too well for the past few days, so I think I am going to take a much needed nap. Au revoir!

And Thus the Work Begins...

Although my first day of school was technically last Friday, I would call this our official first day, since on Friday, we just had the brief discussions on where everything was and what we could most likely expect for the upcoming year. And since we've gone over all the things they need to mention, we began some real work. My first class is Civics, which is a fancy word for History, in case you were wondering. Then I have introduction to physics (try saying civics and physics in the same sentence, I dare ya). After that, I go to honors geometry, which leads to lunch.

Ah, lunch.

It's the time that we can relax and finally get some food after all those hours without it. None of my other classes will allow food other than my first block. Only by first block, I'm still full from my breakfast, so I don't eat in there. So I just have to be able to eat enough in the morning so that I can stay strong until lunch.

So as cliche as this is, I think lunch would be my favorite time of the day. I get to see a lot of my friends and we all get to hang out and just relax. I just feel so welcome and at ease this year, which is a feeling I am not accustomed to, but is still very much welcomed.

A few weeks before I started the school year, I realized that I didn't really care what happened. Perhaps that was me thinking that nothing could really go wrong and everything would work out. The reason could have also been that maybe I really just didn't feel like worrying. Last year, I used up so much negative energy in worry, and frankly, I'm exhausted from it. I don't ever want to deal with that ever again. But I was right, everything worked out wonderfully! So far, I enjoy all of my classes and have someone I know that I can sit with and talk to. It feels great, to feel welcome. I now pass people in the hallway that will look and we will exchange smiles and greetings. It would seem that becoming individual brought us all together. We all felt that anticipation on the first day, and we knew that we all felt it, so we expanded our kindness and confidence to be friendly. It is not a change that everyone is conscience of, and it still happens. In our lives, we are all constantly asking and receiving. Some creatures are better at receiving than asking, while we are the opposite. Suppose we were all asking for the same thing, and now it's been answered. Perhaps the open arms of others came from their own desire to be treated the same way.

My dad had scheduled a meeting with my guidance counselor to change my schedule. Before, told me that I would probably not get everything I wanted. But why couldn't I? There were enough options that I could find something to be perfectly happy about. I have found that there is one thing that I really strive to do, and that's prove people wrong. Even if it's just their opinion of me, I like to prove them wrong. Sometimes I think it's because I care too much what others think of me, or maybe I just like the challenge. I've never really analyzed it before until this moment. So when someone tells me that I can't get everything I want, I do my best to make it possible. Even if someone says that a book wasn't any good, I feel a sudden need to read the book and tell for myself.

I am inside my mind for a good part of the day, so it's good to get my thoughts typed out and out in the world so I don't always have to keep to myself. For instance, something I've only told a few people is that I enjoy talking to myself. I find it a great way to focus and also a good comfort and reassurance.

There.

Now you know.

I have a good feeling about this year. Now I just have to remember where my locker is and I'll be okay.

Here's a cool picture I found to end this blog.

On Thursday, September 1, 2011, I walked into the high school as a freshmen. For once, I didn't feel at all nervous for what was to come. I didn't really feel that I cared all that much. I had realized that at this precise moment last year, my mom was in the emergency room. two nights ago last year, I stayed up until four in the morning by her side, until I was too tired to carry on. My mind was remembering how hard it was for me to focus on being excited that I was now a high school student when I was filled with worry. I could only imagine how scared she was. She was never scared of dying, only scared that if she went, our relationship with her would be tainted and we might come to regard her as a stranger.

Onto a better note, my first day of Freshmen Year was fun! The class that was our 3rd Block determined where we would be for lunch. My lunch is at 12:30, which in school hour terms is a little late. I eat my breakfast at around 6:20 AM, so it's a long wait. If I bring a snack to school, then I should be okay, but only my first class will allow me to do that. At least it's something. Luckily, I know almost everyone in my Honors Geometry class, which is my 3rd class. On my first day, I managed to find a bunch of friends and we all sat in a big table. This year, I feel welcome. And although I may miss the familiarity of 7th grade, I'm enjoying what I can. There was only one class that I didn't feel too comfortable in, which was Art 1. The teacher was perfectly friendly, the only glitch was that I was sitting next to a friend who kept complaining to the person across from her and asking about my brother, like where he was or what he was doing. That really creeped me out. This friend is someone that I know is wanting to go into a career of art, yet she said that she hardly did any work in art class and she had too many art classes. However, I am sure that the whole thing will work itself out. I only have Art every other day, and the other days I have Band, which is my favorite class.

I think this school year will be fun

The Famous YouTube Percussionist

I had a drum lesson yesterday, as I do every other Monday, at 7:30 PM. My drum teacher, Rich, and I got onto the subject of YouTube and how people can get famous just by posting videos. I mentioned that my friend did vlogs that she is now posting there, and when I said she was just talking, he sort of made a face. He asked if she talked about double stuff Oreos. Then we both really wanted Oreos.

In fact, I really want some right now.

I'll be right back.

...




Alrighty! I'm back. So, as I was saying, people can easily become famous and get jobs by posting videos. He suggested that when I am ready, I should learn some popular songs and play the drums and put that on YouTube. If the songs are preferably popular ones, then I would need to pick more metal songs, since they have some nice drum beats. It's not just the simple rock beat, it's got some tricks in there too. My brother Taylor mentioned that some Foo Fighters' songs might be perfect. Do you guys have any ideas of some good songs? I will gladly take any suggestions.

I have tried to do a few vlogs, and it's really fun to talk to a camera, but the hard part is figuring out what to do or say. With this method, I can still be known without the embarrassment of sitting there speechless, or at least that's what I do. I really hope this all works out!

Freshmen Year

I am amazed that there are only two more weeks until September 1, which marks the first day of school. As I may have mentioned in previous posts, we have our eighth grade as part of the high school due to the size of our middle school. They will be rebuilding the middle school so that it is larger and has air conditioning and heating. But then they are going to completely mess up the system by moving the fifth grade up to the middle school so that the kindergarten can fit in the elementary schools. It's a mess!

I have yet to get my schedule for the upcoming year, but it is due to come today. What happens is, we get our schedule in the mail, but we don't get our supply list until the first day of school.

I have a friend who will be going into the high school for the first time as an eighth grader. All I can think about is my first day and how uncomfortable I felt, although some of my reasons for feeling this way were quite different than other students. All the same, it felt better for me to talk to that had already gone through all of this before, and even had the same teachers. I hope that I may be of some comfort to my friend as mine were to me. Oh, and if she happens to be reading this blog because her email is working again, I thought it would be cool if we could hang out after school on the first day. We could walk to my house (or yours, if you prefer), and do what little work we have and hang out. If you are able to read this, get back to me on that.

Freshmen year..... Amazing.

Stay With Me Net Book! STAY WITH ME!!!

So, I'm spending a few days hanging out at my grandparents' house in Connecticut. Unlike me, they don't live on a busy street at all. It's so safe that the kids across the street sometimes just walk around or play tag in the middle of the street.

Normally, I would be typing this blog on my own Net Book, rather than my grandmother's computer, but I have had some problems with the screen. Okay, fine, I may have stepped on it, but it wasn't on purpose, and I wasn't even wearing any shoes! I just got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and that was really the only time that I was unaware of where I was going, so I would imagine that I stepped on it at some point. It was kinda my fault for just leaving it lying next to my bed, even though there really wasn't any other place to put it.

So now I am just aimlessly wandering the house, because I can't Skype anyone without my computer. I mean, there's always my iPod, but it doesn't completely work. I once tried to make a Skype call, and nothing happened. But that was before I broke my computer, so now there is only one source for the call to go to, which might mean that it works now.

I didn't even really use my Net Book until recently. The virus protection that came with the computer slowed everything down. It would take me forever to type anything, if I happened to be chatting with anyone, and even just typing this sentence would take me, maybe, ten minutes. God forbid I make a mistake! Then, my virus protection expired, I think, and suddenly, the computer was working beautifully! I could type with all the ease as this one! I know I should get my protection renewed, but I am hoping that there is some way that I can perhaps get a new one that doesn't slow my computer down at all.

Okay, so I had to take a quick pause on my blog and it is now the next day. It's been raining for the past three days, so there hasn't been much to do around here. Today, we went to see that new movie 30 Minutes or Less. I loved it! Sure, there was language, but I'm already around that sort of language all the time at school. I think it was the actors they picked that really made it great.

So hopefully the Acer company, or wherever my Net Book came from, can be fixed or replaced to be as good as new! Then I will have a little more privacy when writing out these posts so I can finish it all in one day. (It's been three days since I wrote that first sentence).

Byee-ee!

Haircut

I have been thinking of getting a new haircut. My hair is currently long and layered with bangs. I haven't actually been to a hair salon in about two years. I was growing out my hair, and I could easily cut my bangs on my own, so I saw no need for it. My desires for my hair style keep changing. Sometimes, I want long hair, and other times, I want it short, but long enough to cover my ears. I have decided to keep the bangs look though, since I like how I look with it.

And now, I want short hair again. This is a style that I have never tried before, and I am worried that it may not turn out as good as I hope. I might look a lot more like my brothers. There was a time when my hair was shorter than theirs. But not anymore! The more I think about it, the more I want it, so I think I'm going to do it! I will try to put up a picture to show you the basic idea of what I want. I took this picture with my cell phone from a magazine.




What do you think? I like it on this girl, but I really want to know how it looks on me. Hope it comes out well!

Only 2 More Days!!!

My birthday party is in 2 days!! Ah! I'm so excited!!!! I have been told that everyone I have invited can come!

A thought just came into my head. I wonder what it would be like to have a sister. I mean, the kind of sister that I got along with, like my brothers. I know that if I did have a sister, her name would be Abigail, and I would have a completely different middle name.

I have been trying to do some vlogging, but it's pretty hard. And I do everything over this Net Book, and I don't have a very user friendly software. I think I have Windows Live Move Maker, and I can't figure out how to do anything. I might be able to figure something out soon. I am doing all my recording on my iPod touch. It works pretty well. The hardest part about vlogging is first of all, finding some private space where I can speak freely, and then there's figuring out what to say. I do a lot of stuttering and pausing, when I completely forget what I was talking about.

That's all I gotta say for now! Yay! Birthday party!

Wisteria

Hello Everyone!
I have just came up with a fantastic idea and I am so super excited!!!!!!!

When I was in 7th grade, I had an English teacher named Mr. Reynolds. He introduced us to this book club that he would be holding on Wednesdays (or Thursdays, I forget which). I decided that it could be pretty exciting and a new experience for me, so I went in as soon as I could. As it turned out, Mr.  Reynolds had a different idea for a book club. Instead of choosing different books to read with the class, he wanted us to write our own stories. Genius!
I have always thought that I was an adequate writer. I was definitely able to put together a reasonable essay. But writing a book of your own composition is so much more...powerful. I felt my like I was such a great writer. I loved the feeling of getting something exactly right!

Then, I would read something back, and you know what? Some of them sounded pretty depressed. I would like to say that my thoughts aren't depressed, but I wrote it, so I guess some of my thoughts are a little messed up.
Before you start getting a strange impression of me, let me just tell you that I am a very positive person. Sure, I can be set back a bit, but my happiness never completely fades out. You can quote me on that, for it shall always be true!

So, for a class project, we had to write either a poem or a short story, or any other kind of short writing prompt. The project was that we were going to take all of these short written pieces from the entire grade and put them together in this book. We would then sell the books for $5 and send all the money to Free The Slaves. I wrote this short story called Tommy. I had such a fun time writing it! My theme was writing about having some sort of nightmare and then suddenly realizing that it was a dream.
I then realized why I started not to like the stories I was writing. I was trying to stretch it out too much. With Tommy, I wasn't going for anything extreme, so I was able to end it appropriately where I exactly wanted it.

So, onto my glorious plan! I want to write another story! I have no idea how long it will be, whether it will be a short story or a novel, or what kind of characters I will use, but I know it will be wonderful! This blog is called Wisteria because that is what I plan to call it. I don't know why yet, but soon that may come into play. I just came up with the word when I was in the car one day. I thought it sounded like a fantastic book title, so that is why I am using it. I figure that along the way, I will have to come up with a connection to the book title, but I'm sure I can think of that.

I won't tell you what my book is about yet, but I do have a general idea. Now I just have to come up with a great name for my main character. Any ideas? It's a teenage female, if that helps in your suggestions. Her personality will be adventurous, and very woodsy, meaning that she likes to go out in the outdoors. I want the name to be perfect for this! I already have a plot idea and everything!

I should get started!

Harry Freakin Potter!

Today I had a very nice day! I went over to my very good friend's house, Anna Caissie! We spent the day at Wrentham. Along the way, we listened to the soundtrack from A Very Potter Musical. If you don't know what that is, you should go onto YouTube and totally check it out! I love it! It's a play on Harry Potter. It's not really making fun of Harry Potter, but it really just makes a funny performance based on the characters. AVPM is amazing. There is also a sequel if you really like it.

I also caught up with my friend Karlla. She was a friend in my classroom in 5th grade. She moved to Framingham, which is a little farther away than my dad cares to drive just to drop me off and drive back. So recently, I decided to send her a letter. She had previously given me her address before she left. I had sent her some letters before, and we had kept up a little bit, but sooner or later, we would stop communicating. In this last letter, I included my email address. I soon forgot that I had even sent the letter. Then, I get an email from Karlla. now, we are emailing back and forth. It started yesterday, so we haven't gotten very far, but it's still nice to talk to her again.

Well, a few people are coming in tomorrow to put in exhaust fans in our bathrooms, so I have to take a shower tonight. C'ya!

Tom the Superhero and Creation #1

The weather today is lovely! I plan to spend most of my day on the deck overlooking the backyard. We have a handyman, Tom, who does a lot of work in the morning, then he usually leaves by noon to take care of other jobs. He has done wonders to our yard. Where there used to be a mangled clump of weeds and branches, with perhaps a few flowers that occasionally decide to bloom, there is now a healthy patch of healthy watered plants and various flowers. He is kind of like a super hero, in a way. Tom, the man who makes everything look green and healthy, fending off bees and chopping down your weeds (hey, that rhymes!) I was told that he was also the one to fix our chimney and build our stone steps that lead to our front door. He is almost like our family, since he is almost always here, hanging around doing some sort of work, whether it's painting our garage doors or putting in some new bushes. Along with that, he is also very friendly. A great guy to talk to.

Now, I didn't exactly sign on today to tell you about Tom, it just sorta happened. That is the wonder about blogs. They can be spontaneous! What I originally came on to do was to create. I am planning to make a creation for the upcoming days of my life. Call it segment intending, if you like. That's what I like to call it. Whenever I am feeling sad, I should like to create something that makes me feel better. It is as much fun as creating an interesting new adventure story, and sometimes better, because you are talking about your own life and what you expect it will be like. I have done it before, but since this is the first one that I will be posting onto my blog, I shall call it Creation #1.

Creation #1

Every morning, no matter how late I stayed up the previous night, I will open awaken feeling refreshed and excited for the events ahead. I feel eager to meditate every day while listening to the Guided Meditations CD, and nothing ever gets in the way. There is always a perfect amount of time for me to sit back for at least 15 minutes and release my resistance. I can feel my health and overall well being improving as each day passes along. The events of each day just keeps getting better and better, and so do my relationships with my family and friends. I no longer feel tied down, but rather, I feel free. Free to do whatever I want in my life. I have fun with my life, and I enjoy every second of it. I realize the potential that everything has for me. When I experience something, it is because I asked for it and the Universe lined it up for me to experience. Everything comes to me easily, and there are no boundaries. There is so much to live for and to love. This world that we live in is beautiful, full of love, and infinite. I can feel the Universe's love and appreciation for me. People around me benefit from my well being. Every night, I go to bed, knowing that my dreams will be wonderful. Perhaps I will fly around a bit. I know that in the morning, I will feel great and refreshed.

My Birthday Party

I have now kept up meditation for 4 days, I think. It has become a routine, yet it is still a fun one! I feel like my health has benefited greatly. I can only list one thing that I do not like right now, which is awesome! there is just so much to enjoy, and I am finding more of them each day. If my English teacher had known what meditation really was, she wouldn't have given me an 84/100. Or maybe she would have, I really have no way of knowing.

So my birthday is in December (the 27th, to be exact). Since that is during the time that everyone is on their Christmas vacation, I can't have a birthday party that is at least close to my birthday. Plus, it's winter, so there isn't a lot to do anyway. So my dad decided to celebrate my birthday party closer to my half birthday instead. It really is a genious idea. This year, I wanna do some horseback riding on some nice trails. Yesterday, my dad sent me an email with a link to this website of a horseback riding place in Westford. I checked out their website, and it sounds perfect! I know 2 out of the 3 people I am inviting have access to my blog, although one of them is having problems getting on. In case they (or anyone else) want to check it out,  I will put the website on here: http://www.bobbysranch.com/TrailRides.html
If it doesn't come out in blue, just copy and paste it into your browser.

I am planning this day for August 7th. Some of my friends have plans to go on a little vacation, which they should, considering it's summer, so I pushed it back a bit. I really hope it works out! It's gonna be SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Funny Analogies and Metaphors

My grandmother sent me this email. I thought it was pretty funny. I'm just gonna copy and paste it on here. Some, I think, are funnier than others. Enjoy!

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their
collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school
essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of
teachers across the country.

Here are last year's winners...
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides
gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like
underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a
guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of
those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country< BR>speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar
eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was
room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes
just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated
because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge
at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a
bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag
filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an
eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in anot her city and
Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. Instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you
fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across
the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having
left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. Traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka
at 4:19 p.m., at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences
that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who
had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the
East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only
one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil,
this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not
eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either,
but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land
mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender
leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with
power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells,
as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

The Divine Art of Meditation

Meditation is absolutely wonderful! I don't really know why I've waited so long before taking it up again, but I finally began meditation again!

I believe the main purpose of meditation is to help you align with your well being. By taking at least 15 minutes out of your day, finding a comfortable spot, and taking deep, focused breaths, you can accomplish that. As I may have said before, I was searching through my mother's room when I found a CD player. Inside the CD player was a CD titled Getting Into the Vortex: Guided Meditations CD by Jerry and Esther Hicks. For months, I had been meaning to listen to it. I went to my grandparents house last weekend. Last minute, I decided to take it along. I reached a point where I was doing absolutely nothing, and decided to listen to it. Unfortunately, the player wasn't working, so I never got a chance.

Today started as any other day, although none of my days ever really start the same, do they? There is always at least one element that makes it worth while and enjoyable. If it were always the same, what would there be for me to always enjoy? I'm sure I might be able to find something, but I'm glad there are always differences.

So, anyway, I awoke around 9:00 A.M. My friend was planning to come over around noon, so I had to be prepared. Once my preparations were complete, I opened the window in the living room and just looked outside and enjoyed the nice breeze coming through. It was so serene, that it reminded me of meditation. There, I suddenly remembered the CD. I ran upstairs to retrieve it. I grabbed the other CD player that I had found, loaded new batteries into it and went out onto the deck and sat in the gravity chair. Mom always meditated on the deck, and I can see why. You are surrounded by the sounds that come from outside. It's like being outside, except no bug attacks.

I find that it is much easier to meditate continually without interruptions if you have noise cancelling headphones and soft guided music that works in a steady beat. I did not feel any sudden need to go anywhere or do anything other than sit back and enjoy as the tunes of the music steadily washed over me. If you wear loose clothes, you can breathe more comfortably. Now I just have to get into the vibration of wanting to meditate every day. Since today was so much fun, I can hardly wait to do it again! I just keep thinking of all the ways that I will benefit from doing this every day, especially feeling great!

River's Edge is Such a Common Name!

Today I woke up, and honestly, I felt great! I slept very well and thoroughly, even when a dog was apparantly barking through the house. For breakfast, my grandmother made some french toast, which tasted amazing! Then, my dad drove us to Six Flags in Springfield.

I will admit, that was the part I didn't like.

The thing is, I'm not a big rollercoaster fan. I don't even know what it is that I don't like about them. The speed is fine, I don't mind the seats, although the wooden ones jerk me around too much and hurt my back, and I have no problem with the drops. So what is it? I honestly couldn't tell you the answer to that question. I just prefer to wait on the side rather than go on one of those rides. So, since it's Six Flags, and their rides are built mostly for those rollercoaster-lovers, there really isn't anything for me to do there.

I would say that the best part about going to Six Flags is afterward. And I don't mean that because we are going home, I love that part because we usually stop at this little pizzeria nearby. It's this nice little family owned restaurant called Rivers Edge Pizza (but they have mozzarella sticks and sandwiches too). My grandparents live in Connecticut, so they are on the way to this place from the amusement park. We discovered it when it was a little past dinner time. We decided that we wanted to eat pizza, so we were looking around for a Papa Gino's or a Domino's or something. When we passed the restaurant, I saw "pizzeria" on the sign and said "there's pizza. why not go there?" (just to let you know, I don't think those were my exact words, but that was at least the gist of what I said).

So we went into the pizzeria and simply ordered a large cheese pizza. For drinks, we went over to the vending booth to look at our selections. There, on the shelf, along with some other various beverages, were a few bottles of Snapple peach tea. We thought that it sounded good, so we grabbed some to try it.

The taste was, to say in the least, amazing.

That was the day that we discovered peach Snapple. As a few of my friends know, we always try to have some in the house. Recently, the store we live by has stopped selling it, but when my dad can, he goes to a store a little farther out, where they are fortunately still available.

Pretty soon after that moment of discovery, our pizza came. I couldn't tell you what was in that pizza, since I myself did not make it, but it was heavenly. It was fresh from the oven. You could tell, since it was still very warm. It had been pre-cut into squares so we could easily divide it amongst ourselves. We walked out of that place satisfied.

If you ever want to find this place if you are coming from Six Flags, or just a little bored and hungry, this is the address:

River's Edge Restaurant-Pizza

809 Thompsonville Road

Suffield, CT 06078

If you ever do check this place out, be sure to let me know what you think!

The World of Infinite Knowledge

Everyone is the author to their life. Everyone has control to how well they are treated, what kind of people they meet, and even down to how they look and feel. There is so much that we are capable of, if we were only taught again how to tune in these abilities. We have the capacity to create planets, if we so choose!

There are so many things that we know, yet there are even more things that we know we don't know, and would perhaps like to know. And yet, there is an even LARGER number of things that we don't even know that we don't know. Get it?

We all believe that we are important. Some believe that they are more knowledgeable than others, and perhaps they are, in some aspect. I have come to a sudden realization today, and that is this: The world that we live in this very minute, this very second, has such a vast expanse of knowledge. So much, that this world we call Earth is an infinite being. It lives to help us live. It arranges itself to better adjust for future endeavors that we may face. It loves us. It wants us to survive and be happy in our lives. We owe it to the Earth. The great, wonderful earth! And I don't mean "go green" or stop "global warming," I simply mean that we should do the very best we can to enjoy our lives and have fun with it!
So, back to what I was saying. There's history to this planet. So many different kinds of history. There are stories of gods, the American wars! The French Revolution, the history of dinosaurs and how the planet was created! There is just so much that we couldn't possibly know it all. It's so great to think about, don't you think? A little confusing, but fun all the same.

I have found that writing makes me feel great! I love that feeling that washes over me when I realize that I was able to portray a message perfectly. I don't know if that is the case today, but I did my best. Over the remaining summer, I shall try to connect to as many things that make me feel good as I can. To help me get started, I shall write a list of as many things on the top of my head that make me feel good. This list is not in any particular order other than how fast I think of them.

• fresh breath
• new stuff
• talking to myself
• clean, washed hair
• cooking and eating food
• music
• playing tennis
• exercising
• walking along trails
• friends
• Willow
• Simon
• Hazel (they get their own bullets, they're so important!)
• writing
• reading a good book
• designing jewelry
• drumming

I think I should stop there before I make this a really boring post. I thank you all for reading! Hopefully I shall remember to post again soon!

Paper Quilling

As I look online at all the other blogs that I am following, it occured to me that only one other person I follow is actually updating their post. I just thought that was pretty weird.

So I am spending the first few days of summer, warmth, and freedom in Connecticut. At my grandparents. Whoopee. Now, don't get me wrong, I really love my grandparents and their puppy dog Nellie. I just kinda wanna spend my days of summer lazily lying on the couch watching Looney Tunes and only eating when I absolutely feel hungry. Since I just said that I would rather not be here, allow me to back that up with a bunch of positive things about spending time here:

• They have a swimming pool (although their pump was currently chewed out by a chipmunk, who wanted a place to store his food)
• They have their puppy dog Nellie, and are watching over their friend's dog Nick.
• They have a cat named Abby who reminds me a LOT of a mix between Willow and Simon (surprisingly, she doesn't have a lot of Hazel in here. By the way, those are MY cats)
• They live on a nice, quiet little street
• They often buy me whatever I want (like grandparents do so well)
• In the morning, there are always HUGE breakfasts waiting that fill you up until dinner.
• I am learning how to make my grandmother's chicken with a bread crumb outer layer today

And so on.

I think the biggest reason that I am not completely happy right now is that I am not here with either of my brothers or even my dad. As my mom once said, the house never feels complete if one of us are gone, no matter what we are doing. If we aren't together in the same house, it just isn't complete. She's right, of course. I always felt that way. I can even sense when someone new has entered our house, like one of our friends or perhaps our handiman Tom.

Handiman Tom. That's a nice little nickname. Although I mostly just say Tom our handiman. Oh well, either way works, I'm sure. He has done wonders to our yard. It looks beautiful. We have three little flower pots just sitting on our steps. They've been there for years, so that it seems like they just came with the steps. One day, I was leaving the house through the front door, when I looked at the flower pots and saw, much to my amazement, flowers inside each one of them. Red and yellow flowers. Our backyard looks a little neater, with the patches of dirt filled in with healthy green grass that looks like a comb has been run through it, making it neat and untangled. Our rosebush has even decided to bloom a little early. Or maybe it's not early. I can't be quite sure. I don't know much about the life cycle of a rose. I always thought it would be nice to have a rose garden, with all the wonderful smells and colors blending together. A flower garden does involve a lot of maintenance, depending on the flowers. I don't think I would be up for that, no matter how gorgeous the results.

In the newspaper yesterday, there was an article about a woman who did this thing called Paper Quilling. It is an art that takes a lot of patience. Basically, she makes pictures like flowers, unicorns, and dragons using only paper. Here is a picture of a fish that somebody did using Paper Quilling:

Isn't that amazing? All of that is paper! I don't think this was done by the woman who was in the article, but this is a very good example of what I was trying to describe. I would like to learn how to do it, but, like I said, it involves a whole lot of patience. It sure does look beautiful.

Here is a picture of a three- dimensional tea cup that the woman from the newspaper article, Pat Caputo, I think was her name.

Again, fantastic! I went down to the library today with Grandma, and saw this for myself behind a display case. Even that little spoon thing is paper. I don't know how it is done, but it is absolutely fantastic!

Food and Spellcheck...Things We Cannot Live Without

Hallelujah! I now know how to make French Toast!! No more boring, same-old, granola bars for breakfast. Now, I can make everyone jealous because I can make French Toast!!!
I really do enjoy cooking and making my own food. It's not a chore to me, which is most likely because it is always my choice when I want to cook. So far, I know how to make Chicken and Rice, Gammy's Cheesecakes, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Mac and Cheese that is not Kraft, pancakes, and now, French Toast. I know there are a lot of things on that list that I neglected to mention, but otherwise the list would go on for quite a while, and you wouldn't like that very much, would you? Especially if you were hungry. Oh man, if you were hungry right now, this blog post would just be torture. So, before I torture you anymore, I demand that you get up out of your seat, go downstairs to your kitchen, and make yourself some nice, warm, delicious, fresh-from-the-oven banana bread. That's right, I demand you do it this instant. When you have finished making your nice, warm, delicious, fresh-from-the-oven banana bread, I want you to call me up and invite me over for some. It really is my favorite kind of bread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Would you honestly deny me the right to some nice banana bread? I certainly hope not! What kind of friend would you be if you did not let me have any? It was my suggestion, after all.

Okay, so now we go onward with this blog post. I bet in your heads you are now saying "Onward!" as if you were continuing with a quest. Am I right? I bet I am! I always say that in my head. Whether it is continuing onto our next class for the day, or just deciding to go downstairs for a snack. There I go with food again! I'm not hungry at the moment, just not full either. I don't know how people can just will themselves not to eat. Food is delicious. They shouldn't deny themselves the right to food. I mean, if you are full, that's one thing. If you do it because of calories, then I herefore say that--wait, is herefore a word? I mean, I thought I heard it said in those old medieval movies, but I'm not really sure anymore. No red line appeared underneath it, so it must be a real word. If I were to type ladkfjla, then--oh wait, no red line under that either. Ok, something is strange about this computer. For all I know, I could've made tons of mistakes in the last few sentences, but I won't ever know!!

Oh hey!! Spellcheck!

First Day of Summer Vacation

So as the title of this blog post says, it is now the first day of the summer vacation. The last day of school happened yesterday, and it couldn't have been shorter. We started the day by going into the science room, where many students had brought in delicious food. The donuts were gone before they reached the table, so I didn't get any of those. There were muffins, corn bread, doughnut holes from Dunkin Donuts, and etc. We spent that time sitting around at a table and just hanging out, really. I don't even really remember what we talked about. My friend Anna and I kept sniping pictures of our friend Sara, who made it very clear that she doesn't like getting her picture taken.

At 9:00 am, we all headed down to the auditorium. My math teacher, Mrs. Nockles, had made a slideshow with pictures showing all these great events that had happened over the course of the year. It included Spirit Week, our River Project in science class, the Boat Cruise Dance, Washington D.C., and even from the first day of school.  In the pictures from the first day, we all looked like deer in headlights. There were the lucky few that had friends that they hung around and talked to. Then there were other people that kept their distance since they were afraid of everyone else. 

My very good friend Anna came from Saint Michael's Catholic School. She didn't know anyone in our class. Well maybe a few people, but I really don't know for sure. When I first saw her, I really liked her. She dressed a little differently than other people, since she was wearing a skirt and wedge heels, which I thought was awesome! When we were being shown around the school, I stood closer to her in case we might start talking or something like that. Even though we were shown around the school, I still don't know where half the stuff is. I can't even get to the Nurses' office on my own! 

When I was in 6th grade, I met a girl named Jane. She had moved here when she was in 3rd grade from India. We became close friends. She was the person that I really hung around and felt that I could tell anything to. Even when her friends took a disliking to me and kicked me out of their little group, I didn't blame Jane, even though she didn't say anything. I knew exactly what was on her mind. In every picture with Jane, I am there, standing next to her. I felt really sad when, in April, she moved back to India. She was like my best friend for the year. Having Anna be there for me reminded me of Jane. They are completely different people, but they are the type of people that nobody should ever say anything bad about. They are reliable, trustworthy, and loyal. 

I do wish that I still kept in touch with Jane. We have each other's email addresses, but it never seemed to work out. Anna is just going to a school in Lowell, and I don't even know if she is moving, but at least it will be easier to keep in touch, like text messages and such. We can even keep in touch with our blogs! I do my best to put current events up here that happen in my life, and she does the same with hers. Oh yes, this can work! By the way, Anna, I mean all these things I am typing in the very best way possible. You are awesome!!

Wow, I really do ramble when I begin to type. It's hard for me to keep talking about the same subject without getting a totally new idea that I just HAVE to write about. I still hope this all makes sense regardless. Maybe I will get all this together and have a nice, normal post for once. 

I feel welcoming. That's a good word to describe how I feel right now. Welcoming of new things yet to come.

It's Almost the Last Day of School!

There is only one more day of school left, then SUMMER VACATION!!!!!! Today, we had our final day of finals. I had an English final, and then a French final. For the English final, we had to make a portfolio that reviewed four pieces of work that we thought would best represent our strengths and weaknesses. The four essays I chose were:

• My "How To" essay, which is titled "the Quick Guide to Mediation"
• My Favorite Toy essay, titled "Pandora's Box"
• A creative rewrite titled "Stabbing Scene Rewrite"
• My slavery research essay, titled "The Importance of John Brown"

Taylor went online and I found out that I got a 99 out of 100 on the presentation. I think that's amazing! I was the very last person in my class to present, but I was still very nervous about the whole thing. I had no idea what I was going to say. I'm still not completely sure what I did end up saying. Whatever I said, it must have been good, since Mrs. Snyder liked it. 

Oh, I should tell you about Mrs. Snyder! She is currently filling in for my English teacher, Mrs. Lackey, who just had a baby girl. Mrs. Snyder, I believe, is also a drama teacher, so she's very open and full of excitement. Plus, she is fluent in French and ASL (American Sign Language). I was thinking of asking her if she could teach me sign language, but there's only one day left in the school year so I didn't see how it could work out. Mrs. Snyder reminded me why I love English class so much. The literature, the creativity, the happiness that comes when you write something that sounds just the way you want it. Mr. Reynolds first showed me how great English could be, and Mrs. Snyder kept it alive in me. What a great way to end the school year! I sure hope that I see her around. I would love to join in on school plays, I just get scared and back out. Plus, I never know when auditions are being held or how to prepare. Everyone else seems to know all these things that I just haven't yet figured out. 

A few weeks ago, the C.A. Farley Elementary School was hosting their 10th annual Free To Be You and Me play presented by the 5th graders. For this, they were allowing former students of the elementary school to come in and sing a song, I think. My dad found this on the school website and told me about it. I even managed to contact Zach Johnson to get more information. However, on the day of the rehearsal, I got scared again. I just couldn't see myself going up on the stage and singing. I don't even know where this fear comes from. For heavens sake, I sang karaoke on that dance night on the Odyssey! This stuff should be a piece of cake! I used to be in many plays, I have very good memorization skills, I should be ready for stuff like this. I really WANT to be in school plays, although I never planned on doing anything in eighth grade. I figured that I would wait a year to figure out the flow of things and then in my freshmen year, I would perhaps get into some theater.

I think part of it is that my life is so undecided. I mean, there are so many wonderful things that I can do. I know I don't know everything, and I hope I never get to know everything, for that would be totally boring. I want to experience all that life has to offer. I want to do all I can in this life, and then have completely new experiences in lives to come (yes, I believe in afterlife. It just makes sense, doesn't it?) 

Perhaps this is just something that I am going through. Lately, so many emotions have been running through me, it's a bit overwhelming. Just a few hours ago, I was cleaning out my room when I went over to my Amma doll that was sitting on my bedside table. I held that doll for a little while when I began to feel this overwhelming desire to be close to her. To Mom, I mean. Not only could I feel the desire, but I could also feel the possibility of fulfilling that desire to see her. It was like she was there, but just out of reach. I just had to connect. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to connect like that. My mind tends to over think.

I feel like I should feel a little saddened since my eighth grade year is coming to a close. However, I just feel liberated. My best friend may be leaving and going to a new school, but we shall always keep in touch. I have her cell number and we will definitely text. And just to cease any disputes, I have more than one best friend. My best friends are the ones that I would allow to read this blog. That's not necessarily everyone that IS reading this blog, but I am slowly getting people's emails to invite them on. 

So thank you, best friends, for letting me share my life with you.

Oh my gosh, this is starting to sound like a good-bye. It isn't, in case you're wondering. I'm mostly just rambling.

Oh, my cat is lying across my arm. What a sweetie! Honestly, what would we do in this world without cats? What a lonely place that would be...

I Wanna Learn!

I wanna learn French! I know it's possible, and it doesn't have to take all through high school. Besides, even then, I don't think I will know it fluently. There are many people that have taken a language in their high school that don't even remember how to say "hello" or "yes." Oh, and I know it's possible. I just need to know how to do it. That's where you come in, Sue. I know that when we last skyped, you told me how to connect to Source, but I forgot. So either by comment or email, I would really like to know how I can tap in to the endless knowledge of the Universe and learn fluent French. I know it's been done, you said so yourself. I shall do some research on that book you told me about, if you reminded me what the book was called and who the author is, and I shall ace that French exam!

Of course, I don't wanna learn French just because I have the French finals coming up. I wanna show off too! One day, I will be messing up "De quelle coleur?" with "Tu as quel age?', and the next thing, I will be asking the teacher very complicated questions that I just haven't come up with yet. I already learned a new French word from watching Doctor Who. I learned from Dad how to say "head" in French as well. Of course, he told me in sixth grade that "commo se dice" was French, when it's really Spanish for "how do you say."

Languages are cool. Especially when you can do their accent really well and people look at you really amazed. When I am reading French, I tend to be able to read pretty fast. My teacher admitted that even she couldn't talk that fast. French was her first language. She also knows English, Spanish, and I believe she is learning Russian. It's gotta be cool. I have no idea, since I am only fluent in English. Perhaps I shall learn Portuguese and Spanish. I hope I don't get languages mixed up!

Oh, this is exciting! I can't wait to test this new knowledge out!

Katie and Anna's Fairy Tale

Before I begin the story, I would just like to re-thank Taylor for letting us use his two riddles (he wrote them himself!) Enjoy!

            Once upon a time, there was a smart and very wise young girl named Princess, who lived in a village, with her magical talking cat Sir Fluffymittens-Snowball IV, near the deep dense forest. She had a malicious neighbor named Chester. He was a tall man with red hair and lots of freckles. One day, Chester dared Princess to go deep into the forest and take a scale from the great dragon Vasenthior. If she did not fetch the scale by sundown of the next evening, Chester would sacrifice Sir Fluffymittens-Snowball IV to Demeter when Persephone was occupied in the Underworld with Hades.

            The next day, she set up her picnic basket and a few other supplies and headed into the deep dense forest. Since she didn’t know exactly where to go, she just headed straight down the path. After a few minutes of walking and light dancing while singing musicals, she came across a fork in the path. In the way stood a ten-foot tall tarantula.

            “What brings you here?” said a deep voice, which Princess soon realized was the spider himself talking.

            “Uh, I need to get to the great dragon Vasenthior. It’s important.”

            “Well, that gives you two riddles. One for letting you pass, and the other is if you want directions to which way you must go.” The spider said, “Are you up for the challenge? If you are wise, you will surely get them right.”

            “I’m ready for the riddles.” Princess replied uneasily.

            “Alright then. Here is the first riddle.”

            It has teeth, but cannot chew--

The golden door you must get through.

And yet the gateway sealed tight

Holds heavy bars to keep the night.

The eighty-eight lined in a row,

Designed as to exclude the foe.

In lonely word you must progress,

For with the answer comes success.

            “Hmmm… I think the answer is a…key!” She exclaimed.

            “Correct! Now here is your second riddle. If you do not answer this riddle, you will not be allowed passage through here and you must find the path on your own. And I will tell you, it is quite treacherous if you go the wrong way.”

            She pulls you in with loving arms,

She promises she'll never harm.

Cerulean master of guise,

She'll never let you take the prize.

The friendly stranger she once was

Has become hideous with flaws.

She leaves you lifeless on the ground,

Yet with death, closely you are bound.

            “Huh, that’s a hard one, but I will have to say the answer is the ocean.” She said nervously.

            “Unbelievable! You got it right again! I must say, you are a very bright young woman. Let’s hope you shall make it to your destination.”

            “So which path do I take that will lead me to Vasenthior?” asked Princess.

            “You must head down the left path. That is as far as I can assist you. It would sure be a shame to have you die.”

            Soon, Princess was heading down the left pathway. She saw a tree stump and decided to stop for lunch. She once again headed down the path. Out of seemingly nowhere, a rather large acorn came and hit her on the head and landed neatly on the ground. Right behind it came a squirrel wearing a cape and carrying a wand. When the squirrel sighted Princess, he stopped short.

            “Can you pick up that acorn?” asked the squirrel

            “Oh, sure.” said Princess, and she went over to pick up the acorn.

            “Now open it.” Princess opened the acorn and out flew a cloak. It fluttered to the ground. She picked it up and turned back to the squirrel.

            “That is a cloak of invisibility. The acorn has clearly chosen you to be the keeper of such an item. You are to use it wisely and sparingly, so as not to bring attention to the cloak and its full powers.” Princess put to cloak over her body to test it out. Sure enough, she could not see the rest of her body unless she had her head under the cloak as well. The squirrel told her to go straight until she saw the creek, and then follow the flow until she came upon the dragon’s hill. She thanked the squirrel and headed on her way.

            Finally, she came upon the creek. By this time it was mid-afternoon, almost five o’clock. She turned and followed the stream. She didn’t have to go far before the land began to slant upwards. She quickly pulled on the invisibility cloak and proceeded up the hill. Soon, she was at the top of the hill. She looked around curiously. The hillside was surrounded by rocks, so there was only one entry point. There was a small fire going near the center, and around it laid Vasenthior. She jumped back when she saw his great size. Remembering what she had to do, she carefully stepped forward, taking comfort in having the cloak on. She approached his tail and prepared to take a scale. The instant her hand touched his smooth emerald green scale, his tale roughly jerked, sending her reeling onto her back. The cloak fell off of her. The dragon stood to his full height. She estimated that he stood at 20 feet, 5 inches and 2 centimeters tall. The dragon had deep eyes that appeared to be reading her every thought, and perhaps he was. She didn’t know what kind of power Vasenthior had.

            “What are you doing?” the dragon demanded.

            “Uh, I, oh, y’know…” She couldn’t think of anything to say to Vasenthior. How could she explain her situation? “Don’t kill me” She finally managed to say.

            “Kill you? Why would I want to kill you? It seems rather unreasonable to kill someone for climbing up a hill and disturbing my rest. I simply want to know why you were thinking of stealing one of the scales from my body, when I shed them every year and keep them in a pile over there.” He pointed to a large pile full of bright green scales.

            “Well, I need to have one of your scales because--“

            “I know. My power isn’t as weak as you think. I know that Athena has disguised herself as your neighbor Chester to meet you. I know that this goddess of wisdom and strategy feels threatened by your wit and wisdom.”

            “Really? My neighbor is Athena? Is there any way you can help me?”

            “Well, you can have one of my scales over there. The colors are a little diluted, but it should be sufficient enough. As for getting rid of Athena, I think I can help.”

            “How?” Princess wondered.

            “Dragons’ blood is poisonous to the gods if they were to drink it and harmful if they were to come into contact with it, yet gives strength to mortals. Do you have any containers with you?”

            “Yea, I do.” She pulled out her canteen from her picnic basket and emptied out its contents. She handed it to Vasenthior, who lightly took it.

            “I will be right back.” With that, he flew off to a cave in the distance. After a few minutes, she could see him extend his wings and smoothly glide back to the hill. He handed her the canteen, which felt heavy in her hands. She placed the canteen of the dragon’s blood, as well as the scale, in her picnic basket.

            “That should get her to go away. After that, it’s up to you what you do with it. However, I must warn you to use it sparingly.”

            “Of course, I will.” The Princess said, turning away and heading back down the hill. She went all the way back to her cottage in the village by the dense woods. She found Chester/Athena waiting patiently by the door of the house. Her cat sat in a carrier in Chester’s hands.

            “You are almost late.” Chester said.

            “I know who you are Athena.” The man looked at her. Then he began to get brighter. She looked away, since she heard that looking at a god in their true form could kill you. When the light dimmed, there stood a young woman with gray eyes and blonde hair.

            “Do you have the scale?” Athena asked

            “Yes, I do.” Princess pulled out the canteen. Before Athena could see what it was she was holding, she swiftly opened the cap and threw the canteen to Athena. The goddess backed up quickly with a shriek as Vasenthior’s blood came out of the canteen and onto Athena. She dropped the cat carrier, which Princess quickly scooped up.

            “Thank you so much, Princess. You would not believe what she gives me for food in that place! It’s store brand!” said Sir Fluffymittens-Snowball IV. Princess looked back at Athena, but there was nobody there. It was as though she had teleported away. Princess walked into the house and put out some food for her cat.

            “Thank you very much.” her cat thanked her.

            As for the rest of the dragon’s blood, it all soaked into the ground in Princess’ yard. After a few weeks, they produced a magical bean plant that she would sell to a man for a profitable size of money. She did not know what happened to the magic beans until one day, a few miles away, she saw a rather large bean stock protruding out of the ground.

Didja like it?! Anna and I certainly had a blast coming up with it!