9-30-04
School wasn't so bad today. The first like 3 classes were all pointless. I got to edit parts of my film today in Film Study. It's not turning out as great as we thought it would. There are all these shots we had meticulously planned out so that we would avoid things like telephone poles, but you can see them all. It really sucks. We managed to get around the problem today by playing with the soft focus effect. I doubt it will work for everything though. After school I went with my mom to Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for, of all things, tea towels. What is the first rule of this site? If something sounds weird, remember who's writing it. Didn't find anything there, and I checked out the sandwich makers, and Emeril's one is about $60, so I think I'm gonna go with the one of Crate & Barrel. Last night I ordered more of the glasses that Lauren got me for my birthday, but in blue. I think I bought like 4. It was a clearance sale, so it was a really good price. I love those glasses. I can't say it enough. We have about 100 other cups/mugs/glasses, and I refuse to use all of them. I plan on screaming it from the mountains.
My dad and I continued the search for a new needle for his record player so that I can listen to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." Rule 1 still applies. We went to Guitar Center, and they told us to go to Circuit City. So I tagged along and visited Jennifer at work. It ended up that the computer wouldn't scan the package, so we had to walk around the store to find it. Lots of fun. Apparently they're hiring still, and Jennifer said I should work there, but she also said that she hated working there, so way to sell it Jen. I don't know, it might be fun. It's just so corporate though. And I look bad in red. Oh well, I'd love to listen to my album now, but my brother is doing a chair tape for band in the living room and he needs "complete quiet." Unfortunately he doesn't pay us the same respect.
9-29-04
I'm suffering from separation anxiety. My drumset is a whole 50 yards away from me. All the way across the street. I think I'll live though. Afterall, I'm gonna get it back someday, and for now I've got like a 5'x3' area in the basement all for myself. I really have been meaning to recap this week, but I've just had so much homework to do. Or television to watch. It's been exhausting. But I'm taking time out of my hectic schedule and not doing my Film Study homework to write this.
Monday was an eh day. We had a different bus driver on the way home, and she went on like a completely different route for half of the time. And Sarah and I realized that it would take forever, so we decided to get off at Pinecrest and take the shortcut that Jason Martin used to take. Except neither of us knew exactly how to do that. So we pretty much wandered the golf course until we found a trail through the woods. I use the word trail loosely though, because we had to jump a creek and both of us got a little muddy. It was a nice workout though, and pretty fun. Tuesday was annoying as hell. Mrs. Feil gave us all our assignments for like the next month and a half, and it's a lot of work. It's not cool. Then on the bus I was sitting in the seat behind Sarah, and her window wouldn't completely close, so the enitre ride home I was getting sprayed with water. It was not particularly fun.
Today was pretty good. Flex was better than it could be. And since it changes regularly there's not much I can do. Math wasn't too bad. We learned this really long formula for how to solve binomials and I still don't quite get it. But I guess it's supposed to be challenging. Well, challenging can kiss my ass. I hate learning new things. History Flex wasn't so bad, Mr. Kelly did a lot of talking about Homecoming Week and such. Apparently we don't have any homework that week and we can get extra credit for participating it certain events. Not that I plan on attending any of them, but it sounds pretty cool. In Film Study Flex I hung out with Amy and she showed me how to edit movies using iMovie. That was a lot of fun. Then I worked a little bit on the crossword puzzle from Tuesday's paper. I got a couple more answers, but I was cheating and using one of those websites that will give you a list of possible answers. On the way out I picked up the Style section from yesterday's paper so I could have the real answers and then I finished that up on the bus. After school I helped Sarah move my drum set to her house because she wanted to borrow it. And then after dinner I went through one of the milk crates full of records downstairs because they were having a sale on album frames at Urban Outfitters. I was looking through them and I found an Elton John album, and it had one of my favorite songs on it, so I took upstairs and had my dad set it up and then he realized that the needle on the record player is broken. So we drove around looking for a replacement, and they had something at Tweeter, but it was like $60, and they weren't even sure it would fit. For $100 you could buy a new record player, so we went to Best Buy, and they have a "universal" one for about $30. Still didn't buy it, but whatever. And that's pretty much it. Huh, that's a lot.
9-27-04
Gosh darn it, I will write in this thing! I feel so bad not updating as frequently as I used to. It's not like I have a life now, It's just that whenever I think of something to write in here, I'm never near a computer, and by the time I get to one, I've forgotten it all. I have a horrible memory. So, please donate to the fund to buy me a laptop and a new brain. Or just some ginseng.
Sunday was interesting. Kind of fun. I went over to Alex Barker's house around 3 to help with the filming of our ten second movie. We have about 6 minutes of film. But we have come to one conclusion, we have no idea what we're doing. The ride over there was a bit interesting. He lives in Wakefield Chapel, and although I was quite aware that it was an upscale neighborhood, I was not expecting this.... an antique Rolls Royce. Parked in someone's driveway. Now, I don't ever plan on owning a Rolls Royce, they're kind of ugly cars, but still. It was amusing though, because their other car was a early 90s era mini-van.
So I got to Alex's house and Cameron was thre too, and the girl that Alex found to be in our movie. Apparently she's a freshman at the ol' high school, but I've never seen her before. Now, as Cameron and I had story-boarded it, our first scene is supposed to be in a bright, white room with a window. Well, no white walls and no windows. Scratch that. Cut to all four of us plus the camera in the tiny bathroom with a sheet and a flashlight. With the lights out and the door closed. We spent about an hour just in there trying to get the first scene right. Then we came out, sat in the living room and talked strategy about the last scene, which is supposed to take place in the white, window endowed room. The last scene the girl is supposed to have one tear coming down her face. We opt for milk after remembering that they mixed water and milk to make the rain in Signin' in the Rain. Well, I remembered because I have a joint love of tap dancing and musicals, neither of which can be explained. So we head to the kitchen and start trying to get the tear to work. I suggest a straw, and a little eyedropper action, and then we go and test it on Alex. It took a while to perfect. Cameron was the best at it, so we assigned him the job. He will now be credited in all future films as "The Milkman." It reminds me of that All That sketch with Josh and something about milk and evil villians who are lactose intolerant. Or the other way around. I'll ask Lauren.
Anyway, about 8 takes later, we have well, 8 takes. Most of which can't be used because the straw is still in the frame. Then we decide that since it gets dark earlier these days (damn you winter), we should head over to the park. Which is a 20 minute walk from Alex's house. So not helping. We walk for about 5 minutes when Alex's dad shows up in the mini-van with Alex's little sister what's her name. I would have remembered, but I don't think she ever mentioned it. So perhaps it isn't my bad memory after all! No, it is. So we got a ride to the park, walked aways till we got to this field of wild flowers. It would have been prettier if the sun was out, but I'm not going to complain. At least not yet. We filmed a whole bunch of things. Most of which will have to be cut for time restrictions and stupidity. Yeah, so Cameron really wanted to do a high shot, so he climbed up one of those massive high tension towers and that was interesting. I think most of us were more worried about the camera then we were about Cameron, but whatever. It's a nice camera. It probably costs more than my house. Well, I don't have a house, but the sum of all my IKEA furniture.
Yeah, and I had a story for Monday, but I've taken up way too much of your time as it is. And I don't really remember it. Damnit.
9-23-04
I have to write a college essay. Which means I have to be able to express myself eloquently and be grammatically correct. So from now on, this is my practice space. Everything I say will be read and reread to analyze its content.
Ah, screw it. Adam was wearing the shoes! I know Jennifer will be the only one who will understand that, so I won't bother explaining. But he was wearing the shoes! The Classic Vans I just bought! And the shirt! It's another sign that we're meant for each other. I will be Mrs. Brody. I will be. Don't laugh at me. I'm serious. Anyway, that was the highlight of my day. Sad, no? I've got to finish this college essay outline thing. I keep putting it off. Rob even called me to ask questions about it, and I figured that would get me back on track, but no. I had to dance around and generally be merry about The Shoes. They will now be referred to as The Shoes. Proper capitalization is the mark of a well-written essay. And someone who doesn't leave the Caps Lock on.
9-19-04
Dear god, she's done it again. Britney has gotten hitched! To that fugly backup dancer of hers with the two kids he ran out on. Good choice. Louisiana's losing points like they're going out of style. But you know what's not out of style? White tracksuits. As evidenced by the fact that all the groomsmen at Britney's wedding were wearing them. How do you add insult to injury? By having the word "pimps" stitched on the back of them. There was a rumor flying around that the women were also wearing tracksuits, but in the lovely shade of pink. Because I'm an excellent journamalistic person, I recently googled "pink tracksuit". Although I found no mention of Britney's attire, I did find a picture of a guy that makes Carson from Queer Eye look butch. He was wearing a pink tracksuit. I have no doubt that within the next week "pink tracksuit" will be the most googled word of the year. I was watching the Emmy arrivals during dinner and they had a clock on the screen telling you how long they're been married so far. I don't think she'll make it past 56 hours this time.
I really should be doing homework. Oh, some more stuff you guys should check out.
I just can't stop laughing. I love those sites.
9-18-04
I'd like to let everyone know that the best time to walk a dog, is not during a hurricane. Don't listen to those other people who say it's all for the best. So not true. I took Sidekick for a walk today in the rain. We practically ran all the way to park, only stopping here and there to sniff and look confused. When we got there we ran over to the covered area by the bathrooms. While there we sat and pondered why I don't have a raincoat that repels rain. But god forbid a dog would actually like to stay out of the rain. Then we ran through the rest of the park and walked home. The last couple of yards we just kind of slowed down because I was already soaked and there was no point in pretending to be dry. I would also like to warn people about wearing proper footwear. As hard as it is for me to believe, flip flops are not all-weather footwear. I almost slipped in the rain twice.
After my Weather Channel-worthy adventure I dried off and changed and then ate Campbell's Clam Chowder for lunch. It's not that great. My dad's is so much better. Then I was feeling icky so I took a nap on the sofa for about 3 hours. Which was weird because I'm not a nap person. I think it was because I woke up at about 7 this morning. Afterwards I went to Office Depot to get more dividers because according to Mr. Kelly, 10 is just not enough. Then I decided to go over to Best Buy and look around. I wanted to see how much Season 3 of Will & Grace is. It took me forever to find it, but only because I was looking in all the wrong places. Then my dad went off to go look at something and I was just walking around the back of the store by the computers, and this Spanish guy walked past me and whistled and stared at me. It was part validation, part violation. Much more of the latter though. Really just not cool.
And then tonight I had leftover pizza for dinner and now I'm watching Dharma & Greg. I hope tomorrow is nice out. I have to walk Sidekick in the morning. I don't think I could deal with more rain. It's really nice out at the moment. Really cool. And I like the wind. It reminds me of Maine. I can't wait for October so I can go home.
9-17-04
I haven't updated since last Friday. Very strange. I keep meaning to, but I never get around to it. And since I now have to recap the whole week, I'll begin shortly.
Monday just plain sucked. I was really sick that morning, but I felt like I should go to school and at least try to learn. I ended up going down to the Attendence office because the Clinic wasn't open. I called my dad and I had to wait there feeling so horrible for like half an hour. So I went home, took a name and eventually got better, and then went back to school for History. That was the class I definitely didn't want to miss. Tuesday was good, I felt much better, and I got to present my 10 picture story in IB Film Study. I kicked ass. Literally. Mahalo nui to Michelle for help with that. I wasn't really nervous either, which was extremely out of the ordinary. I can't speak in front of people. Let alone people I barely know. But Amy was there, so that really helped I think. She even came up to the front of the class with me and put all of my pictures on the board. So nice. Wednesday was just that, Wednesday. I got whatever we did in class on Monday from Mrs. Frome. I thought she would be a total bitch about it, but she was really nice. You know how most teachers expect you to show up to class? I don't think she cares. Not much else going on really. Thursday was cool. In art we continued drawing our hands. Mine are really bad. Sure, they do look like a hand, which is far better than most of the class, but not much.
And that brings us to today. I had a test in math, which wasn't too bad, and I felt like I at least passed it, but I still don't understand series and sequences. Flex was cool. I had Film Study first, so we went to the lab and sat around. Weintraut's dog was there. Explanation? I don't think there is one. But he was so cute and well behaved. And he only has three legs. Which is really sad and it reminded me of the cat my aunt used to have. Julia stopped by (read, "did anything and everything she could to get out of R7.), and sat down next to me because someone was on her computer. It was a lot of fun.
Flex and physics just don't go really well together. If you think Ms. Gray is a little confused and nervous, imagining having time with her that is somewhat "unscheduled." She's a nice person, and I'm sure she might be able to teach me something, but she's never taught before, so how would I know? Michelle was saying she has that, kind of confident, "I practiced this in the mirror this morning" thing going on. History was okay, but I swear to god, Mr. Kelly get's crazier every class. The first couple of days were cool, because we didn't have to do anything and class was kind of fun, but now it's just insane. We're constantly taking notes and doing SOL prep work. Which is not fun. Lauren and I have figured out/decided that the person who wrote our SOL book is none other than Mrs. Hodges of legendary middle school fame. God I hated her.
Again, physics was okay. I think the only reason I'm passing at the moment is because it's all just math. There's no science involved. We've just been going over significant figures the entire time. It was still fun though, because Danielle and Mary Read are extremely entertaining. Dead serious. They make Charlie Chapman look like Ray Ramano.
When I was walking to my bus this afternoon the football coaches were outside grilling and it made me so hungry. I have't had a burger in like weeks. The only thing my family eats it chicken. Chicken and fast food. I was tempted to go look and see if we had any ground beef, but I'm far too lazy to grill at the moment. That and we have no buns. And I'd end up burning the house down. And that would be bad. Okay, so it's a lot of reasons.
9-10-04
I've been so neglectful. I really need to update more. I would have on Wednesday, but it was 10 by the time I finished my homework and got everything sorted and organized. Same with Thursday, but I'm fixing all that today. I plan on telling you exactly what happened on both days. If I can remember it.
So, Wednesday, kind of interesting. First off, my art teacher as the personality of a pedophile. Dead serious. The class that I have sports marketing in smells like a hotel room. I don't mean it in a bad way, it just has that air-freshened, damp scent. It's a little disorienting.
English isn't too bad. Mrs. Feil is a bit of a whack job. She likes everything formated really strangely. Last name first, everything in pen. It's gonna take some time to get used to. IB Film Study could be a lot of fun. I really liked class last year though. It was more about slacking off than learning anything about movies. I kind of just wanted a cake class this year, but I guess this will have to do. There are only two really major problems though. 1) Tons of homework, far more than last year. Of course I didn't have any last year, so who knows. 2) Bret switched into my class. That was incredibly stupid of him. Don't sign on for IB. It's hard. Take the easy class! Yeah, so that was about it. Thursday was kind of fun. Math was a pain in the ass though. I don't remember anything from last year. Well, some stuff, but it's all so confusing, and Mrs. Frome makes everything much more complicated than it has to be. My mind is like completely blank in that class most of the time. I just can't even think. History was pretty awesome. Our teacher finally showed up, and he's a really cool guy. The homework doesn't seem too hard, so I think I might actually pass a history class for once in high school. Physics, well, I hate science, so what do you expect?
Today wasn't so great either. I was halfway to school when I realized that I didn't have some form that I needed signed for marketing. So we drove home, I jumped out the car, found the form, got back in, and I was late for school. Not so fun. How sad is it that I'm late for school in the first week? It's a bad habit. Art really sucked. Marketing was so-so, we picked players for our fantasy sports teams. I'm paired with Kelly Burns. Can you say pain? English was weird as usual. IB Film wasn't that great today. It's got me really freaked. I don't think I'm going to pass. Seriously. There's so much work. Most of which I'm bad at, like coming up with an idea for a movie. Then being able to tell it in 10 pictures. By the way, if anyone has any ideas, please send. I'm desparate. I can't do this stuff. When did I think I ever knew anything about movies? Seriously. I can't take this. And there's so much dust in the room that I'm sneezing. I want out.
9-7-04
So today? First day of school. Didn't feel so different. The entire summer was just like a long weekend. Absolutely nothing changed. I mean, I wouldn't have even noticed if they hadn't finally put up the goddamn ceiling. Which, by the way, makes me feel really claustrophobic. I don't like it. The cafeteria's really weird too. It looks too clean. Of course, by tomorrow there will be an inch of dirt on the floor, so I'm sure I'll be more comfortable. Math wasn't too bad this morning, except for the fact that it's first thing in the morning. I really hated that freshman year. Flex sucked. My art teacher is such an ass. He just won't stop talking. And the class is mostly freshmen too. So whenever he talks he's very condescending. I wanted to smack him. History was fun. Lauren and I finally have a class together. Julia's in there too, but we got stuck with a lot of stuck up preppy people, mainly Olivia and Tim Wade. He drove by my house a couple of days ago. Actually, Pat McMurray was driving, and I think Justin was in there somewhere. They were talking to Matt. Pat's not too bad. He was in my Film Studies class last year. He seriously reminds me of James Van Der Beek. Whenever I see him I think Dawson. I shouldn't, but I do.
Physics was interesting. We've got a new teacher. Really new. This would be her first day. She was very nervous. It made me kind of laugh. I don't really want to go to school tomorrow. It's not that I hate it, I just don't want to go. Oh, I'm still looking for someone to run away to Mexico with. Any takers? I'd go alone, but I'm white and I don't speak Spanish. Really not the best situation to be in.
I don't know, today wasn't too bad. I was in pain the entire day though. My shoes are so worn out that I got blisters on my heels, and I could barely walk. So tomorrow? Flip flops. I was meant to wear them. I almost left the bus stop this morning to change, but I wasn't sure when it would come, so I waited. I paid dearly for it. Oh, so after school I went to the doctor so they could see if my mouth healed. It hasn't. But whatever they stuck in there, they took it out. So now I don't have the gross taste, but I do have the pain again. So much pain. I took Tylenol, so I feel a little better, but not much. I don't think I'll be able to make it through tomorrow. Afterwards I went to Crate and Barrel and just walked around for half an hour. It's really relaxing there, and I'm not sure why. I just feel relaxed. Yeah, weird. I hate my electives. I'm sure Film Studies will be good, but that's about it. And I'm not even sure if my English class is right.
I need to go buy one of those Spanish-to-English dictionarys.
9-6-04
It's almost over. So sad. I'm very unprepared. I really don't feel ready.
So today I went to the mall to look for shoes. We went to Journeys to look for those Vans, but the smallest size they had was a 13. Which is about 5 sizes too big. So then we walked around the mall while my brother played games at the arcade. Then we went to PacSun because my brother wanted a new hacky sack. As I was walking through the store I noticed a sale, and I just had to have whatever it was. Regardless of what it actually was. So I bought two Town & Country Surf Designs shirts. Which reminds me, I have to go do laundry.
Last night Slocum IMed me and we had a really long conversation, which was nice. I was so tried last night. For no particular reason either, because I hadn't done anything that day. I almost fell asleep at my desk at like 10:30. I ended up staying up till like midnight watching Buffy and the West Wing. It's very suspenseful.
9-5-04
I have to go back to the doctors on Tuesday so they can take out that thing they stuck in my mouth. I'm kind of getting used to the taste. When they first put it in, it was just as bad as the first, but it didn't take so long to get used to it. Sure, everything I eat has a funky taste to it now, but I feel better. Actually, not that much better, because my head has been hurting all day. Totally not fun. I forgot to mention it a couple of days ago, but Slocum IMed me. He only said hi and then vanished for a couple of hours, but it was very strange. No, normal really. I also IMed Chris, which was just plain weird. The magic has subsided. Or perhaps there was no magic, and whatever I percieved as "magic" was actually my being comletely obsessed. Whatever, no big deal.
My hacky sack playing has also subsided due to the fact that I lost it behind the tv. I could get it out, but I'm just too lazy. That's probably why I was never very good to begin with. I went to Circuit City today because they were having some big sale on DVDs. I finally (legally) own Donnie Darko. One less thing I have to coerce into properly playing on my computer. I also went to Old Navy to look for jeans. Yet again, they have nothing in my size. Said size shall not me named, but I'm weighing out my options. I can either lose weight or gain it. It's a tough choice. I did buy this spiffy belt for like $7 though. Which makes me feel better because I barely had any spiffy belts. I of course now I have more belts than I have shoes. Tomorrow I'm going to the mall to hopefully remedy that problem. I was thinking of getting a pair of those checkered Vans slip ons, because I need something to skate in. I can't skate in flip flops forever. I could try, but I won't.
Also, to pump up the philosophical pondering...
A lot of people have blogs. Most of them come with an option to include say, your mood at the moment, or what song you're listening to. How do you decide? Since I began writing this my iTunes has gone through about twenty songs. I started at Carly Simon, and at this very moment I'm listening to "We Used To Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols. But by the time I even finish this thought, the song could be over. You just never know. How do you do it? That's why I never have that silly crap in here.
P.S. I'm feeling a little hyper because Dead Like Me is on tonight, and I'm listening to "Babylon" by David Gray.
9-2-04
I know you've all been missing my daily list of obesessions, and I finally have more, so I thought I would share. Cocktails. I want to be a bartender now. Seriously. I spent the afternoon looking for the perfect European Cocktail Shaker. This morning I also walked over to the Farmer's Market in the park with my brother. I figured it was the last one I would be able to go to this year, and it was kind of fun. Very surburban though. Lots of moms with kids and such. I was of course dressed in SoHo chic. There wasn't really anything we wanted to buy, so I just went around looking for all the free samples I could get. They had really good cantaloupe. Then my brother wanted a soda so we went to the vending machine, but all I had was a five and the machine only accepts ones, but thankfully the guy who services the machine was there, and he gave me change. It was such a beautiful day though, so we walked over to the pond and looked at the frogs. There are some pretty sizeable fish in that pond. Like maybe 4 inches, but still. And then we walked home because my brother was complaining that it was either too hot, he was tired, or just simply bored. I was having a great time, but how are you supposed to convince a kid with ADHD to spend an hour away from video games? And that pretty much sums up the day. Which is kind of sad because I feel like I did so much today.
I also finally broke out the Monopoly game my aunt game me for Christmas last year. Partly because there hasn't been much demand for Monopoly, and partly because it's in French. It's the city edition of where she used to live in France. She moved to England earlier this year though, to be with her fiancee. Yeah, so I've never taken French. I know a few clips and phrases just from reading the menu at the restaurant she used to own. And "sit" and "rollover" because she used to have two dogs who only responded to French commands. But basically nothing at all. So I figured, it's like regular Monopoly right? I don't have to know much, it's all on the board and the money is Euros, which I'm pretty familiar with. Wrong. I forgot about the Chance cards and such. I can read most of the words because they resemble either English words or Latin words, but still some are a mystery. But there is one card I had to find a translation on the net for.
Amende pour ivresse: € 20
"Amend for intoxication: 20 euros."
Don't you just love France? I know I do.
9-1-04 "Stoner sports"
It tastes like turpentine and black licorice. I swear to god it does. I went back to the doctor today so they can check on my stitches and stuff. I had to wait for 45 minutes because they were backed up. And the entire time I'm in so much pain and I hadn't yet taken all my pills. So finally I got to see them, and they take a look and tell me that it hasn't quite filled in the cavity, so they put on this pink stuff to numb my gumb. It tasted kind of like that toothpaste with the sparkles in it. Then they squirted something into my mouth, and took this nasty looking brown strip and stuffed it into my stitches. Can you say ow? Not only that, but it tastes like aforementioned turpentine mix. And better yet, I have not found a way to get rid of that taste. They let me rinse with water there, but still, no go.
And even though it does taste gross, it feels so much better. It's a bit of a trade off. Yeah, so that kind of sucks, and I have to go back on Friday so they can take it out and see if it worked. Cross your fingers.
With lots of practice I'm getting better at hacky sack. I'm still not very good, but I blame that on my jeans. It's very hard to harness my cat-like reflexes when I can't bend my knee. No, it's not that bad. They're stretch jeans. Anyway, I'm getting better. And I finally have someone to play with because my brother's getting into it. Making the list of things we can do together without fighting, hacky sack and Super Smash Bros. Not a big list, but it's a start. He just left to go meet some of his friends at the pool though. On the bright side though, this means I can turn up the stereo and dance around. Got to look for the silver lining.