3 Idiots

Bollywood movies are really nice. They're so colorful, and the random songs don't seem cheesy or out of place, for some reason. My brother just showed us the movie "3 Idiots," which he was shown in his Eastern Faiths class. It was a very fun movie. 

It seems like I'm mostly going to be posting when I see a good movie. I think that might be because after a movie, I feel good (if the movie was good with a happy ending, of course). When I see a happy movie, I feel peaceful and it's really nice. I think the same can go for a great book, though I usually just feel sad that it's over. It's nice to lose yourself in another world. It also helps boost my imagination and gives me new ideas. Having an active imagination is very handy in a boring class in school. 

Well I guess that's it. Until next time!

Cuisine de France

With my dad, I just watched the film Haute Cuisine. It was about the story of the personal chef for the president of France. It was lovely. The chef, Hortense, was very passionate about what she cooked and she did it beautifully. The only indication that she was an actor and not in fact a chef was when she was chopping a truffle, she was holding it incorrectly that left her in danger if cutting herself. I was so caught up in listening to it in French that I almost replied to a question my dad posed in French instead of English. I would really like to learn the language fluently. 

Food is something that is treated like a religion in Europe that is followed by everybody. Today, it is taken for granted. It's all about quantity, not quality. Still, within that food machine, it is still possible to cook with beautiful ingredients grown to perfection. The best part of that movie was the way Hortense and the president described the food. 

I don't want to be a chef for the food. Well, that's a lie. What I mean is I don't want to be a chef JUST for the food. I want the creativity. I think it will be fun. Très amusant. Parfait. 

Königslutter

For the past 10 days, my family has added a new addition to our household. A 16 year old guy from Germany. My school does a program where some students from Königslutter, Germany would come to Hudson and see the sights New England has to offer. In exchange, students that are in the music programs or have hosted a student previously will be able to visit the town of Helmstedt and Königslutter. 

My German exchange student is named Hauke. He's very nice, though shy at times (who wouldn't be in a new country). I decided to write about him because he left for home today after school and I miss him. I didn't think I would as much as I do, considering how awkward I always felt around him when we were left alone with nothing to talk about. All the same, I feel like those silences and the fact that I interacted with him more than my brothers or my dad gave us more of a bond. And having a fifth member in the house again just felt more... complete. 

Hauke has given me the courage to visit Germany myself this year. I could see a lot of similarities between us, so I see it that if he could visit a new place and enjoy himself, then so can I.  My only hesitation has been about being surrounded by so many strangers in a completely new place. After meeting Hauke, I don't feel so nervous about going. I'm actually pretty excited about it. Sure, I'll miss some school work that will take me ages to make up, but right now I don't care. 

Reaching Maturity

I really feel sixteen. I've always known that I am, but it was really more of a general fact. I don't feel old exactly, because I know that I have plenty of time before I feel THAT. I just feel more... mature. I mean, I'm entering my junior year at high school, which is scary enough. On top of that I am going to be spending these next two years looking for a college to attend for four years, maybe longer. 

And on top of THAT, I am going to be taking my license exam tomorrow morning. I went out driving with my dad tonight to practice. I know I have everything down, but I still feel really nervous. There's a tiny speck of doubt that says that maybe I won't pass this first time. Luckily there's a larger percentage of me that always says "when I get my license..." 

I must say, it's a pretty awesome feeling. I really feel like I'm in control of how I live, and once I get a job, I'll really feel that way. I have visions of driving down to visit friends and maybe going out to this local frozen yogurt shop because I've never actually had frozen yogurt before. I'm curious as to how it compares to ice cream. 

All right, I guess that's it.

Um, bye.

This Day in History

February Vacation is here at last. A whole week to myself, where I get to sleep as long as I like, get some more driving time in, and just relax. I should be enjoying myself, spending time with friends and watching movies I don't have time for on school weeks. It's Monday, making it the official first day of vacation, and you know what?

I am bored.

In fact, I don't think I could be more jaded.

I have no idea how to fix this state I'm in. I have dealt with some case of depression in the past, and I worry that my loneliness is causing it to reemerge. I don't even have a big amount of homework to ease my mind with, though I do have a book I need to read.

Oh, this book is incredible. Well, it was once I came to understand it with the help of my English teacher this year. I really connect with my teacher. She has about the same fancies as I, such as theater, Shakespeare, and David Tennant. On our last day before vacation, she put on an episode of Doctor Who (with Christopher Eccleston playing 'The Doctor') where the doctor meets Charles Dickens. She showed us that particular episode because the book I previously mentioned was written by Dickens. It's called Hard Times. I enjoy reading it. My previous experience of reading A Tale of Two Cities has led me to understand, for the most part, the language that Dickens uses. I can at least catch the vague idea of what he is conversing. I like hearing about the past. There was a history class I had a few weeks ago where we looked at pictures of the town I live in from the 1900s. Apparently, before they name it Hudson, they called it Feltonville, though I'm not sure why. Maybe they were big manufacturers of felt. They named it Hudson after a guy who was born there and went on to become a member of Congress.

In the pictures, I could clearly make out landmarks that stand today. I saw the distinctive rotary, though there was no rotary at the time, just a clearing of dirt where it would be. All the roads were dirt roads; people were either walking around or riding in horse-drawn carriages, going whichever way they pleased. It really was interesting. If it were possible, I would take a great interest in travelling back to the past for a little while and walking through the streets as they were back then. I would like to see how the people got on in their day; what kind of entertainment they enjoyed. It would also be cool to find out what stood on the land that has become my house. I wonder if people were happier with the simpler artifacts than people of today's time. It sure would be fascinating to know.

Schedules, Footloose, and Books

The new semester is here at last! Instead of my past classes of biology, algebra, creative writing, and visual art every day or every other day, I will have French, history, English, and chorus (or chamber singers, if you want to be specific). Wind Ensemble is my one constant. I suppose that's why they will be changing the setup of the schedule next year. Although it seems so damn confusing to us students. We were used to the other one. All the same, it's nice to have a constant; it's like the anchor to the ship; the punctuation to the sentence.

******

I forgot whether I mentioned this or not, but I have been asked to join the rhythm section as a percussionist for the pit of our school's musical Footloose. We have only had three rehearsals so far, the last one consisting of just one other person than myself and the director. I think this was due to the fact that it had been a half day at school, and the snow day last week complicated things. I think most people just thought it was cancelled like the last one. 

My afternoon was very nice. I can proudly say that the only downside was the bone-numbing cold. And I do mean that literally. It's what happens when you have to walk because neither you nor your friend has a license. I couldn't pull my hands out of my pockets for more than 30 second. I'd blame myself, but I don't feel like it. After all, it was 15 degrees Fahrenheit. That's New England for ya!

My friend and I walked to a nearby diner, called Victor's 50's Diner. Upon entering, we both ordered hot chocolate (with whipped cream of course). The food at this place is wonderful. It might not be saying much considering I've only been there twice overall, but I haven't been disappointed yet.

Ooh! Idea! What if I started this thing where, as well as the occasional random post, I could review restaurants I go out to. I like that idea. I hope I can stick with it.

******

After three months, I have finally completed the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I'm not even exaggerating when I say it took me three months. It actually took me slightly over that time, by perhaps a week. I was struggling so much with it mostly because the print was small, and Charles Dickens uses such descriptive language that seems to go on and on. I have to wonder if all that detail really provided a great insight to what Dickens was talking about with people of that time. Did they understand it? 

But now it is done and over with. I officially finished it on January 19th at my piano lesson early in the morning. Seeing that it was done and over with, I immediately took up a book I had downloaded on my Kindle. It's the third book of a series by Rick Riordan. This particular book was called The Mark of Athena. I absolutely love Riordan's books. They always seem so specially planned out before he even begins the first book. I will find some hints to things that he expands on in another book later in the series. So as you can imagine, I took to this book right away. I spent my long 4-day weekend reading. By Tuesday morning, I had completed it. I am not onto the Sherlock Holmes stories I got for my birthday. It reminds me of the time I spent a summer reading a stack of books I had found in my brother's room. I would sit on the floor of my bedroom for so long that my legs would start to get numb and restless. But I greatly enjoyed it. That was one summer before my mom got sick. Actually, now that I think of it, I believe it was the same summer, which would mean that the summer that year was divided between reading and painting my bedroom. That really was a great summer. I loved diving into books, especially the ones full of magic and mythology. I hold a great interest towards mythology. I wish there was a class on it. I would do well on that test. I remember my mom mentioning to me once that she had taken a mythology class at her school and that she had greatly enjoyed it. I'm sure a lot of students would take that class if it were offered, me being one of the first to sign up. 

There's an App for That

Bonjour, mes amis! Or is it mes "amies?" Eh well, I don't have French until next semester anyway. I'm just trying to familiarize myself with what I learned previously. I even got an app to help me. It shows me games where I have to either guess the translation, which translation is off, or some other combination that has to do with French versus English. Because yes, there's an app for that.

My friend just recently got her own blog. To me, a blog is like a bunch of short stories about your own life, or whatever topic you choose to display. For me, it's fun, because it gets my creative juices flowing and really lets go of the thoughts that can build up in my head. And since I took a creative writing course this year, I can make my stories even more interesting! Let's hope I get some good stories soon.

Speaking of courses I have taken this year, this week is the final week of the semester. And in my school, that means that the next semester is pretty much the first day of school all over again. Our schedule is set up so that most, if not all, of our classes are only a semester long. The only class I have signed up for that is the whole year long is wind ensemble. Next year, however, the schedule will completely change, further confusing the students as well as the faculty.

In other news, one of my dear friends is sick. So in hopes of restoring health, or at least just giving her something else to think about, I have divined this short excerpt. It seems a bit rushed to me, but it is meant to only be a quick story:

In a land far off, somewhere off the coast of Greenland, so far off that anyone who ventured there never knew quite where they were, lived a girl, about the age of you and me, assuming that you and I are of the same age. For the purposes of this story, let’s say we are and get on with it.

Now, where was I?

Ah yes, the girl.

This girl was like most other girls: wore her dark hair long, which she let flow about her shoulders as she moved. Her physique showed one of athleticism and a strong build. Her mind was attentive and her features were just as sharp. It was in this way that she was very different from most people you would meet.

She lived on the island of Thialdor. It was an island that she had named herself, since most times it was only her family who inhabited it, with the exception of a few confused travelers. With that being the case, the girl thought it silly that she was only allowed on the one half on which they lived. Every week, the girl would ask her parents if she could go to the other end of the island.

Every time, her father would answer, “No, little one. Your legs wouldn’t carry you that far. You’d be stuck in the middle with no strength to get back.”

Her mother would add, “Besides, who else would help me with the house chores?” The girl was not satisfied with these answers. She was desperate to know what lay beyond the boundaries she had come to know so well. Certainly it could not be that different from what lay before her now.

She would find herself staying up nights on end, imagining what a magical place it must be Beyond.

[End]

That's just part 1. I will add on as I see fit. Right now, I just need to quit procrastinating and get on with my homework. Oh, biology, you'll be the death of me. Get it?