I can vaguely remember when my birthday used to be a big deal, well, a bigger deal than it is now. I mean, you would have a party, and I mean a real party. The kind where you buy invitations and fill in the Who? What? Where? When? and RSVP blanks and wait to get phone calls from your friends telling you they’re coming (Yes!) or they can’t come (Oh noes!). And your birthday then became this huge thing as your friends ring the doorbell and are dropped off by their parents and you eat cake and play games and open presents in nicely wrapped paper. When do we get boring? I think my 13th birthday was the last time I had one of those parties.
And now I’m 19, just as I was becoming accustomed to 18. Not only does 19 mean that I’m now not 18 and a number older than my boyfriend (tehe), but it means I’m in an awkward stage again. Think about it. When you turn 18 it’s exciting because you’re legal, but what’s special about 19? I’m still legal, obviously, I don’t think that’s something that’s ever going to be taken away from me, and I’m still a teenager. So, I’m legal and a teenager, but I’m at the new and exciting stage that is being 18. I’m just 18+1. I have a feeling I’m not actually making any sense.
But, fortunately, turning an awkward age doesn’t mean I had an awkward birthday. Some friends baked me a cake and “surprised” me at midnight when it was officially my birthday. It was delicious.
Because I’m a psychic, I predict that this is going to be a short post in which I will try to cram as much info as possible.
It’s week 8 of school. And it feels so weird that I’m in college and not high school. The whole living where you work and where you learn is odd. But not too odd. It’s a little enjoyable. The official names of the courses I’m taking are Linguistics: Data, Theory, Exp, Introduction to Anthropology, Classical Mythology, and Evolution: Dinosaurs to Darwin. I got pretty lucky what with the not having 8:30 classes thing. My earliest class is at 10:20, and sometimes my first class isn’t until 1:20. It’s all I can do to not sleep the morning away every Tuesday.
I got a job too. I don’t think it really counts, but it’s pleasant. I work at the circulation desk of the nice, big, new, lovely library. Sometimes I work the first shift, from 8 to 10, so the only people who are there are the crazies who get up early to go to the library. That means I can just sit at the desk and do my own homework, or read. Reading is fun.
I also want to make note that I have a lot of Asian friends and that has never happened to me before. Ever. Some of them are international students, so that’s cool, and some of them aren’t, like me, so that’s cool too. They are very awesome people and I love how comfortable we are with each other. I’m pretty sure Annie and Tra My have slept together in Tra My’s bed the last two nights, and there also seems to be a lot of butt slapping and bongo playing amongst us.
Also, I think I’m going to get fat. This food looks horrendously bad for me… even the vegetarian options, which, yes, I do eat sometimes. Not to mention the waffle bars, sundae bars, cupcake bars, bar, bars, bars…
Next topic… 101 in 1001. I have successfully completed 2 more tasks (it sounds like an accomplishment, but in the whole scheme of things, it isn’t). Way back when I finished my first goal I also finished another one: 42. Purchase and use a real address book. I got a cute one from Borders, and I’m actually going to drop everything right now and write my uncle’s new address in it. Ok, that’s done. I also did 22. Wish upon a shooting star. About a month ago I went up to the university cemetery (spooky!) and, because Colgate is in the middle of no where we were able to see lots and lots of stars. It was a very clear, crisp night and it was probably the second best sky I have ever seen (the first being when I was at Girl Scout camp a long time ago and we couldn’t even find the big dipper there were too many stars). We saw lots of stars and the milky way was just visible… and, lucky me, we saw two shooting stars as well. I can’t tell you what I wished for because… well, 1) it won’t come true if I tell and 2) I don’t really remember what I wished for. It was quite nice. Here’s the 101in1001 video, and just as a warning, the audio is totally lagging.
Last thing. I recently read a book, Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. (Note: the last time the book was checked out was 10 years ago. What a lonely book) Basically, it’s about Pope Joan, a female pope from the 800s who gets away with her strange life by posing as a man. It was very good, I recommend it (and if you aren’t going to read it, then just read the afterword which explains the case for Joan’s existence). Point of the story: Pope Joan, the movie is being released this month… but it’s a German movie. Sad pandas for me.
No, wait, now it’s the last thing. I had the flu a couple weeks ago, and not of the swine variety. It sucked. And it was my own fault because I was too scared to get a flu shot. But, because we have to be extra safe and stop the spread of disease on campus, I was quarantined. So, I spent four days with 2 other flu-ridden girls in an empty apartment. We had to wear surgical masks when dealing with the common folk, and our food was delivered in sad little take-out boxes, and we were just generally very pathetic. I’m all better now, except that I have a nasty cough that gets annoying really quickly. Is there a max number of cough drops you should eat in an hour? I hope not.
I’m done now and obviously not a psychic, this was a longish post. Have a nice day.
Success! I finished my first goal for the 101 in 1001 project. Gosh darn it if it didn’t take freaking forever. Goal no. 59 is officially complete and sitting on my bed right now.
59. Obtain frames for select photos
Honestly, it’s a really lame first goal. All I did was go out to Target and pick out a few picture frames I liked and then I bought them. But, it’s done and that’s all that’s going to matter. That and my pictures will look nice in their frames. I suppose I could be like a regular person and just tape the darn pictures to my dorm walls or something like that, and I will, but just not all of them. Four will have a nice home in nice frames.
Speaking of dorms, I’m moving into mine tomorrow. I still need to finish packing and cleaning and mentally preparing myself. It’s not a very efficient process. Not the way I’m doing it at least. Maybe instead of writing this I could be cleaning. Maybe instead of reading a book I could be packing. Maybe instead of being sad and worried I could be excited. But then again, it’ll get done eventually, it has to anyways.
Okay, okay, I’m going to go pack. I swear that’s what I’m going to do right after I hit publish. Yep, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to post this and then I’m going to close firefox and then I’m going to maybe shut my laptop and then I’m going to, um, yeah, pack. Pack. My stuff. Into boxes. That’s right, all my stuff I’m going to bring to college I’m going to put it in boxes and bags and then I’ll be done. Yeah………
Between the 7th and 14th of August I was in Paris. I was staying with Marine’s family because Marine stayed with my family last fall. I saw less things than I wanted to see, but I still had lots of fun. I’m also feeling really, really, really lazy right now. I mean, I haven’t even done the single summer assignment I was given for July 31st and I go to school in a week. Because I am so lazy I’m going to just post pictures with the most simple captions you could ever imagine. Enjoy.
New Years resolutions are so yesterday. I’ve never made a New Years resolution except in elementary school when we had to make one and illustrate it in class. I really don’t think it’s worth it. I know I wouldn’t be committed to seeing it through.
So, call me crazy for attempting to do 101 things if you want, but I think this might actually work. Basically, I’ve made a list of 101 things that I want to do and I have 1001 days to do them all. 1001 days is nearly 3 years, so I have plenty of time. Another reason I have a chance of seeing this through is the little support group I’ve created around myself. My sister and cousin and online friends are crazy enough to do it with me. And on top of just trying to do all 101 things on our lists, we’re documenting our progress and putting it on youtube. It’s mostly a personal thing so we can see what everyone else is getting done, but you the channel is public so anyone can get a glimpse.
So far Claire, Erin, and I have posted our lists in their entirety. Dasha and Ellie have the start of their list uploaded and Emily has finished writing her list. And Erin wins for getting the most goals done so far.
You can see my whole list here. And you can read more about this project at the Day Zero site. Also you should check out A Wolf, Tara, Amanda and Lauren’s 101 blogs.
Story first. Me and my mom got to the theatre at 11:45, which was really dumb, I knew it was really dumb before we even got there. There was one full row that was empty and that was the very first row. That was not going to happen, so we sat on the stairs. One of the theatre people with the glowing orange sticks checked the theatre before the movie started and didn’t tell us to find a seat, so that was dandy. And then during the quidditch trials another orange stick carrier told us we were a fire hazard and we had to sit down. Fortunately he was nice and found us some separate end seats further up so I wouldn’t have to get queasy in the front row. I also missed the quidditch tryouts, rawr.
I’m not sure I can fully process the movie quite yet. I need to watch it again. So a list will have to suffice for now.
Straight up book to movie quotes. Yay! This movie seemed to take much more direct quotes from the book than the other movies have. I can’t really remember what quotes were there. Oh, lots of the dialogue from Slughorn’s full memory was stripped from the original.
My mom says that Jim Broadbent wasn’t a fat enough Slughorn, she also commented on his lack of walrus mustache. I was perfectly happy with Broadbent though and a mustache would have made him look too much like Zidler.
Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco. Firstly, Tom Felton looks so old now and I’ve always believed he was a better actor than Dan. This movie really proves it because here we finally get to see more of Tom as Draco adjacent to Dan’s portrayal of Harry. Tom Felton can cry much better than Dan too. The emotions that come out of Tom were perfect. First he’s so incredibly cocky on the train, then comes the doubt and fear after Katie Bell and his first attempts with the cabinet, and then finally as he’s trying to kill Dumbledore. It was perfect. The suits and little briefcase satchel were kind of a hoot though. Very Malfoy, but kind of out of place for Hogwarts.
Hey, hey, did you know Snape is a good guy?! The beauty of the sixth book was that it had the whole fandom split. Half were absolutely convinced that Snape’s final act was the kiss of death, he was a Death Eater, and the rest of us just knew that Snape was always Dumbledore’s man. But with the movie, it makes it so painfully obvious that Snape is really good. 1) Snape and Dumbledore’s argument is much more prominent. 2) Dumbledore’s, “Snape, please,” is less pitiful and more commanding. 3) Snape doesn’t get as angry at Harry when Harry calls him a coward. 4) Also, Snape’s hair was less greasy, which obviously signals his goodness and cleanliness and willingness to use shampoo.
Where’s the Half Blood Prince. The whole Half Blood Prince angle was sort of lost within everything else that was happening. But, movies can never live up to the complexities of a Harry Potter book. But Ron and Harry’s brief little struggle over the good book was priceless.
Speaking of priceless, drugged up Ron. Rupert Grint pulled it off so effortlessly, it was perfect! His facial expressions and throwing the chocolate box at Harry. Oh man, it was great.
Lavender Brown, nope. I didn’t think she was that pretty, my mom thought she was really pretty though. I did think she did the lovey-dovey Won-Won stuff perfectly though. All the nuzzling and fog hearts. Tehe.
Awkward Ginny. Bonnie Wright is beautiful and everything and she has this lovely face, but for some reason it doesn’t scream Ginny to me. Bonnie just doesn’t look like a strong, out-going, independent Weasley. It sounds kind of terrible, but I don’t really know how else to say it. Bonnie has this soft look and it’s just not Ginny for me. Plus that seductive Room of Requirement bit was just bizarre.
Cormac was kinda gorgeous, but that finger sucking at the first dinner party was just… just… lawlz.
Emma really stuck out for me for some reason. I think she did everything really well. The canary scene! And it was a little weird with her straight out admitting to Harry that she likes Ron, but it was alright.
Teenage Tom looked much younger than I imagined, but his voice was spot on.
Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes! It was amazing. I did miss U-No-Poo though.
Okay. I think that’s alright for now. I’ll probably think of something later…
What’s the story, Wishbone? What’s this you’re dreaming up?
Such a big imagination for such a little pup.
What’s the story, Wishbone? Do you think it’s worth a look?
It kinda seems familiar, like a story from a book.
Shake a leg now, Wishbone! Let’s wag another tale.
Sniffin’ out adventure with Wishbone on the trail.
C’mon, Wishbone!
Anyone else watch Wishbone as a child? I loved that TV show and I still do. In fact, I actually made my mom take out Wishbone on VHS from the library for me, not too long ago. I wish they would revive Wishbone.
In case you don’t know what Wishbone is, here’s the gist of it. Wishbone is an adorable Jack Russel Terrier and his owner is Joe. Wishbone is a real smart little pup who seems to tie in the things happening in Joe’s life with the things that happened to people in classic works like Great Expectations, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Romeo and Juliet. So, each episode is made up of Joe’s bits and Wishbone’s story telling bits where Wishbone usually stars as the leading protagonist. Awesome. Here, watch an episode.
The people at PBS deviously tricked little kids into watching classic stories played out by a cute puppy. Wishbone was probably what made me the bookish nerd I am today (that and Harry Potter). Seriously, show me a kid who loved Wishbone and who isn’t a nerd today. I dare you.
I don’t actually remember much from the shows. I remember a Halloween scavenger hunt which involved little pumpkins that contained hints. I remember Joe’s grocery delivering service which was also when he alienated his friends by being too bossy. I remember Sam trying to save a tree from being knocked down. I remember Odysseus/Wishbone coming home and challenging the suitors to shoot an arrow through his axes. And, funnily enough, Wishbone has taught my mom a few things. When I was reading The Tale of Two Cities a couple years ago my mom asked me if it was the one about two guys who looked alike and if one went to jail for the other. She’s never read the book though, she only knew this from… Wishbone, of course. Oh, but, just the sound of Wishbone’s voice sends me into the land of nostalgic tendencies.
I went to see Transformers 2 today. I really don’t have much to say about that. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t the best thing to happen to me in my life either. Somewhere in the middle. Oh, but the effects were pretty stunning. I just like the zwoom-zwoom lightsaber-eque noises the Decpticons make when they move.
Right now, I want to talk about the trailers. We’ll start from the beginning.
Trailer #1: Aliens in the Attic. It seems like a pretty doofy movie. (Yeah, I just made up that word.) Mostly, I was excited to see Carter Jenkins in the movie. He’s had a lot of guest spots on some TV shows, but he will always be Miles Barnett from Surface to me. I loved that show, but it was canceled after the first season. The gist of it… newly discovered sea species are causing lots of problems when they start messing up with the ocean. It was awesome, and it’s gone… and now Miles is trapped in a church in North Carolina as the coast floods and gigantic sea creatures swin around him. You don’t really care, so next trailer.
Trailer #2: 2012. This looked like a pretty awesome movie. I pretty much adore Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, and since it’s all Roland Emmerich, I think it’s safe to say 2012 will be good. Just a side note, Liam James, the little boy who plays the young Sean Spencer in Psych is in this.
Trailer #3: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s the grand finale! What kind of Harry Potter fan would I be if I hadn’t already seen every version whether it be American or Japanese released? I’d be a lousy one, so of course I’ve seen this trailer several times on my computer and listened to the PotterCast crew dissect it several times. But, it finally hit me today as I was watching the trailer on the big screen. There’s a new Harry Potter movie coming out in 12 days! Brand new! All new! New new! I am so excited for this movie now. This might be the most excited for a movie I’ve ever gotten, actually. I might manage to ignore the fact that the Death Eaters poop black smoke when they apparate and that Slughorn doesn’t have a walrus mustache. I might just enjoy the movie as a movie and not as a sucky film version of an awesome book. Maybe it’s because HBP is my least favorite Harry Potter book…
Please allow me to be a silly girl for like 10 minutes. Prom, or rather the Senior Ball, was last Saturday. It was on a boat. Bam.
Personally, I had a swell prom night. I got to wear my fancy dress, Hollywood glamour as Mike described it, and my sick made-out-of-zippershoes. I’m not sure why half the fun is dressing up, but it is. There’s something about wearing a fabulous outfit that gives you an extra bit of oomph. Everyone gets to feel extra special. And seeing all your friends looking beautiful is a bit of the fun too. And we can swoon at the dapper young men around us, well, man in my case.
The other half of the fun? Dancing. I think that technically, “dancing” at prom is more like thrashing gracefully. But, it’s fun nevertheless because you can express your joy and crazy need to just move by thrashing gracefully (or not gracefully). Only drawback of dancing on a boat? It’s hot and crowded, crowded, crowded. I hope everyone had their water proof make-up on because we were all swimming in sweat, I’m sure. It was so hot that the windows were fogged up and even my glasses would get fogged up whenever I got anywhere near the dance floor. It was a frickin sauna, even next to the vents on the edge, not to mention in the thick of it.
Some other things to mention…. Bars supplying us with virgin drinks on all floors, oh boy. And kinda lame fireworks, but that’s better than no fireworks.
I could also pick apart the less fun aspects of prom, but I think not. Let’s end on a high note.
