My Little Buddy is 7!

Saturday night was my cousin's 7th birthday party! I know how cliche this is, but time goes so fast. I remember when he was born! Actually, I remember when his mom was pregnant with him. I remember this one specific day I was at her house, she made me a peanut butter and fluff sandwich (My first one and a really cool idea), and I was asking her what she planned to name her baby. At that point, she didn't know if it was a boy of a girl. I remember wishing my new cousin would be a baby girl, but I love Michael and I can't believe he's 7 already. The way he talks now...he uses bigger words than me. Even though I see him all the time, I'm always amazed at how grown-up he is. I'm beginning to understand why relatives always say, "I can't believe how tall you are!" Time gets away from them, too.

We were playing with their Mr. Potato Heads and made these strangely cute things.



On another note, I finally watched The Notebook the other day! Everybody says it made them cry, and since I don't usually get so emotional over romantic stuff, I was really testing to see if it would affect me. I didn't want to be the only girl who didn't cry watching The Notebook. I'm happy to say that I blubbered. It was really cute.

Oh, and I'm reading Breaking Dawn now. Everyone told me it's weak, so I wasn't expecting much from it, but I really like it! The beginning was a little detached and seemed like a totally different author writing, but it's so cute that Edward can hear the baby's thoughts. I like how the middle is in Jacob's point-of-view. He's less annoying then Bella.

One thing I don't get...and I know everyone's been saying this...how can Edward get Bella pregnant?? I know it's fiction and all, but it doesn't even fall logically into their fiction world. He doesn't even have a heartbeat, and all the fluid in his body was replaced with venom when he became a vampire (on top of all the other stuff wrong with it). It really bugged me at the beginning, but if Meyer says they can have a part-human vampire baby, then guess I'll roll with it.

Happy Labor Day!

A little wisdom for the day ^^

I got an e-mail with these quotes in it. I thought they were so appropriate.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

A conscience is what hurts when the rest of you feels so good.

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

These following ones are demotivators from despair.com. My friend T used to cover his school binders with them. There are a few that I really like.

Individuality: Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else.

Worth: Just because you're necessary doesn't mean you're important.

Conformity: When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

Tradition: Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid. (The picture to go with this one is the Spanish running-with-the-bulls thing. That makes me like it even more.)

And my favorite...

Idiocy: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Happy Saturday!

Third Rock from the Sun!

You know that guy and girl you always see coming into class after the bell, the guy with that goofy smile and the girl giggling profusely? Here's a tip for them. Yeah, you don't have to make excuses, we all know what you were doing. Oh, the guy in this was actually my best pal ever, Mr. Personality, from English. I already ranted about him this week.

In my 6th period last year, these two (a different two than from English) would always come in late every class, but the place they'd go was visible from the classroom window. They pretended they didn't know that.

Here's "Third Rock from the Sun," a seriously underrated sitcom about four aliens who come to Earth as humans to observe human life and have to figure out how to be human.

Embedding on this was disabled. I love the very first clip and the thing with the pumpkin. Those always make me laugh.

The joke at 1:40 is that this actor played the minister in Footloose, and he thought dancing was evil (John Lithgow definitely wasn't typecast).

We're definitely wise morons.

In newspaper the other day, we were talking about why the sophomores hate the freshmen so much. These are my thoughts: how can you have such a superiority complex when you were a freshman only two months ago? I think it's hilarious when sophomores parade their "seniority" over the freshman. It's just so pointless. It's like preschool where the Pre-K 4 kids condescend the Pre-K 3's on the playground. It's nice that we're still young enough to be to frivolous, to think that two months really makes any difference at all. I <3 the freshmen. I make a point to be extra nice to them because I don't want their first few months to suck as much as mine did.

Last year, I mostly mocked the sophomores, "wise morons" they are, and patronized them a bit. If this is what makes them feel important, then okay. This year, it's mostly mocking.

As my math teacher says, "The only time a number isn't rational is if it's irrational. Unless it's imaginary..." Hmm, kind of like people.

Two Socks

Too many annoying people, not enough socks to shove in their mouths.

Sorry, that was really negative. Seriously, though, I was put in a group in English today with this guy from my Biology class last year. "Jackass" offers the closest description, though you can't get the full experience unless you meet him yourself. Surprisingly, and yet, not so surprisingly, he's Mr. Popularity. Everyone loves him, unless they're just good actors. He said something like "glad that teacher died from cancer, I didn't want to get his class. Too much work." Then he insulted him, listed the ugliest girls in our grade, and complimented himself, his awesome personality, his "perfect abs," his great teeth...among so many other things. He rattled off the cruel jokes for the entire class period. I mean, he talked for the entire block, non-stop. Plus, he makes these obnoxious facial expressions. I wanted to slap him. I was biting my tongue to keep from saying, "Shut up! Nobody wants to hear a list of places you have to shave to wear a Speedo! I know you like to hear yourself talk, but that doesn't mean we all do!"

Rant one terminated. Enter rant two. This girl in my newspaper class...no offense to her or whatever, but she's sock number two for a reason. We had to do this project where we cut sections of newspapers (headings, bylines, captions) and glue them to these boards for each category. I didn't explain that right, but say there was a board for headings, and everyone has to glue their heading there. Okay, simple enough, but there were 30 people and 3 glue sticks. CHAOS. To add to the chaos, one of the editors was like Miss Almighty and kept barking "YOU HAVE 12 MINUTES LEFT PEOPLE! WE HAVE A DEADLINE!" "10 MINUTES LEFT, WHY ISN'T ANYONE MOVING??" One Freshman asked here where the glue was. In this irritating sarcastic tone, she said, I don't know, figure it out!" She continued barking orders and counting down the minutes, sometimes she went to seconds. 2 minutes 59, 2 minutes 58...yeah, annoying. The point is we don't need an alarm clock, we need glue. I know it was a lesson in deadlines blah, blah, blah but I would hope we would be more prepared with supplies for the real newspaper. If we're not, I think a little affirmative action is in order. Tense atmosphere that class is. My friend advised me to give her the warning glare next time. I'll try that.

In newspaper, also my old English classroom, I noticed the boxes of Romeo and Juliet books in the corner. I remembered last year in English when me and my friends M and T were boxing them for our teacher. One of the boxes says "Packaged by T...or was it?" That made me happier--I remember when he wrote that. I had forgotten about it and how excited he was to get to label the boxes. Due to, uh, complications (not that I would explain, but it would be a ridiculously long story if I did), I haven't seen him much this year. I actually miss him. He was always endearingly quirky and happy in his own little world.

I'm resolving not to rant so much anymore. Today was a special occasion.

Oops, I'm Twilight babbling again.

Finally, the event I've been waiting for since July 18th...drumroll...

MY BORDERS SHIPMENT CAME!!

I am now the proud owner of The Brady Bunch Movie ("They're back to save America from the 90's!" I laughed the whole movie.), "Third Rock from the Sun" Season 3 (The classic waiting room show. Aliens come to Earth in human form to study human life, but have to convince people they are a normal human family. If you've never seen it, I implore you to watch an episode.), and a second copy of New Moon. Even though I've already read it, seeing the pretty new copy of the book got me excited.

I was listening to Miley Cyrus' "7 Things" song today, and it reminds me so much of Bella and Jacob. I mean, seriously, look...

The 7 things I hate about you!
You're vain, your games, you're insecure!
You love me, you like her!
You make me laugh!
You make me cry!
I don't know which side to buy!
Your friends, they're jerks!
When you act like them, just know it hurts!
I want to be with the one I know.
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do...
You make me love you.
And compared to all the great things that would take too long to write,
I probably should mention the 7 that I like...
The 7 things I like about you!
Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi's!
When we kiss, I'm hypnotized!
You make me laugh
You make me cry
But I guess that's both I'll have to buy
Your hands in mine
When we're intertwined everything's alright!
I want to be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I like the most that you do...
You make me love you.

I know she ends up with Edward and everything, but I mean, if someone was going to give a theme song to the Bella/Jacob relationship New Moon through Eclipse, this would work, line for line. I'm sidetracking...my point is that if someone were to make a Bella and Jacob You Tube video, "7 Things" would be the song. "i want to be with the one I know"...that's totally Bella's fellings about Jacob.

I love Jacob, but I think Bella really did belong with Edward. I have about 50 pages left of Eclipse, but so far, Jacob keeps losing brownie points for doing something stupid, then gains them back by being all sweet. I just passed the part where he left Bella to go to the fight after she, uh, proved to him how much she wanted him around. That was mean of him to trick her like that. Gah, it's a fictional character, why am I talking about him like he's real?

Stress over!

I found my Government book! Well, I found the girl who mistakenly took my Government book. She promised to bring it back to me tomorrow. One less thing I have to think about now. Yay!

My Chemistry teacher didn't seem so bad. A little tense, maybe, but I actually liked her. Maybe she's saving her true colors for once we get to know her, but if she lasted the whole hour-and-45-minutes without flipping out, she can't be as bad as I was expecting.

It's the second day of school, and I'm already stressed out.

I lost my Government book, and I've only had it for three days. Actually, I didn't lose it. I left it on my desk in the room, unless this one girl took it by mistake, which I'm considering a possibility. I don't know what to do about it, and it's stressing me out. I don't want my new favorite teacher's first impression of me to be "irresponsibe." I wouldn't blame her, though. I can't keep track of a book for three days.

At lunch, my friend decided to swipe us a table in a spot that's usually unbelievably crowded. I told her that she has to take the heat for it if we get yelled at. Instead, these juniors sat down around us, filling in the spaces between us as if we weren't there. Then they started a weird conversation, being as pornographic as possible, in an attempt to make us uncomfortable so we would leave. My friend didn't skip a beat--she just kept talking like they weren't there, no hesitation. They gave up after a few minutes, but came back and failed again. Ha, I feel triumphant. Actually, it's not really my victory since I didn't do anything but control my laughter...

I hear my Chemistry teacher is a nightmare. A direct quote from this girl in my Spanish class: "You might as well kill yourself now, you're going to die with her anyway." Something to look forward to bright and early tomorrow. *Sigh*

Important Lyme Disease Warning!

Thank you tropical storm for giving me a day off on my second day of school. There goes President's Day weekend. I did nothing but read Eclipse today (I'm still not finished) and check my e-mails. I got one that I found particularly funny:

"I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I have even done it myself a couple times unintentionally...but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!! THIS IS A SCAM!! They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid."

That made me laugh. Happy Tuesday!

Ahh, the familiar sound of the school bell.

I neglected posting this past week, enjoying my last week of summer and all. On Saturday, my friend and I went to the mall, then this water park on Sunday. We went on the new slides! I haven't been there in so long. This weekend was so much fun.

I did notice a lot of really disgusting people at this water park. Two things I don't fully understand: dreadlocks and full-arm tattoos, you know, the ones that look like shirt sleeves, only imbedded in skin? Painful. Imagine going to a job interview like that. I guess you'd wear long sleeves. Standing in lines behind people, I came up with my thought for the day:

How can people spend the whole day in the water and still smell so bad?

Today was my first day of school, and after the initial excitement of a new year wore off, I was bored out of my mind. I really don't like my math class--I'm stuck with "the dream team" again, but there's more of them this year. I still have three classes that I haven't been to yet. Most unfortunately, one of them's Chemistry. Bleh.

I think I'm going to like my Chinese class, though. I had that 1st period this morning. I have Spanish right after that. I go from Chinese to Spanish XD

Schedule distribution this morning was chaotic. People were herded in the cafeteria like cows, waiting for schedules. I was looking to see if they were congregating around a particular spot, but they were just clumped in random formation, like farm animals. After 15 minutes of standing around, the administration brought out the schedules, and the herd charged. It was like a movie where you see a bunch of kids all run in a frantic blur. Pure chaos.

Hoping for a good year this year. I'm watching Stick It, but it's just about to end, so I might read some more of Eclipse. Addicting series. Love it. <3

There's No Escaping it--School Has Found Me

*Sigh* It's been a day of school-related preparation. I went shopping at Target this morning for school supplies, the whole time thinking about how much fun it will be when I get to go school-supplies shopping with my kids.

Then I had to go to school (gah) to buy my locker and get my ID picture taken. I forgot how long that takes. At least I got a locker in a much more convenient location than last year. However, my lock had been spray-painted green during last year's senior prank. Doesn't bother me, though--makes it easier to remember which locker is mine. I feel special having a green lock when everyone else's are silver.

I finished New Moon (finally), and started Eclipse, so I'm going to attempt a little more of it before my eyelids say "enough already!" and close on their own. I'm so tired today.

Ultimate Gingerbread House Cook-off!!

My cousins came over today! We were looking for something to do, and in a moment of serendipity, we found some old gingerbread house kits from two Christmases ago. This discovery triggered the event that took the rest of the afternoon: the ultimate gingerbread cook-off!

We organized teams oldest vs. youngest, so Lucas and I against my sister and Gianni. The goal was to build the coolest gingerbread house, there was no set time (although my sister finished long before we did and was getting impatient, so she started setting timers).

No part of these gingerbread houses were edible. They smelled like stale gingerbread and old sugar, like the inside of the Cracker Barrel store. (Don't ask how I made that connection. I'm just weird like that.) I mean, it didn't smell bad, but the powdered sugar was rock-hard, so we didn't think we should be eating it.

Anny and Gianni made a beach resort decorated for Christmas. It was equipped with a golf course, roof-top pool, bench-press equipment (which I thought was adorable--I took a close-up shot), and what they called a croquet field for their "garden gnome" guests. My sister has a thing for garden gnomes. I feel confident in declaring them the winners. Theirs was adorable and so imaginative. Lucas' and mine was a very traditional ginger bread house. No accommodations for mythical creatures. I guess once you hit 13-years-old, you get too practical.

I'll show their house first since it's the best.

I like that last one. It looks like you're on their golf course. See that space between the top of the house and the top where the pool is? That's the gnome croquet course. A quote from my sister on that: "Gnomes are the only things that can actually fit under there, except maybe leprechauns, but gnomes are better."

If you can't read the sign in front of it, it says "Gianni and Anny's FL Beach Resort (All Creatures Accepted)." I loved their concept of a Florida resort decorated for winter.

One of their walls kept falling down, so they finally just made it removable and decorated the inside.


Their pool and weight-lifting bench was my favorite part.

Okay, moving on to Lucas' and my orthodox winter cottage. We have a frozen pool in the back, a frozen river along the side, grass poking through the snow, an igloo out back, and a snowman in front.

My favorite part of ours is the frozen flag. Lucas decided to dip the flag in icing to make it look frosted.

I've actually missed Lucas and Gianni this summer. We live five minutes away from them, and most summers, we see them at least twice a week. But we've all been busy this summer, so it was a lot of fun to have a whole day just to hang out.

I had so much fun doing this! It gave us an excuse to use the stale marshmallows and old Halloween candy that everyone felt too guilty to throw away. =]

Some Twilight Babbling

I have come to the sad realization that I am an incredibly slow reader.

I didn't post yesterday, as you can tell, because I was reading New Moon! No, my Borders shipment didn't come >.< but I was tired of waiting. I'm not going to have time once school starts next week, so I went to the supermarket and bought the whole series, 25% off each. If I was any less of a lady, I would say, "Screw you, Borders!" but it's really me who's getting screwed over: I'm out 12 bucks and I have less than a week left to read three books. At my rate, I'll be lucky to get through eclipse.

So far, I love the series. It's superficial fluff, which is so much fun to read. There is no depth to Edward or Bella's characters (or their love, for that matter) but I still love reading about them, and I still love Edward. If this was real life, I would think Edward to be arrogant. Oh, well. How many times do you get to use the phrase "sexy vampire" in the real world?

My friend M. and I were talking about how Stephenie Meyer lives vicariously through Bella, uses her as a vehicle to convey her romantic fantasies. Can you picture this coming up in a fight between her and her husband? They get a little angry with each other, and he impulsively blurts out, "Well, I guess I'm no vampire!" I can totally picture this. I'm sure he's considered this theory of "the Bella vehicle" at least once.

I feel like an obnoxious Twilight fangirl for posting this, but I have a comment. =] I don't picture Bella looking like that. The actress, Kristin Stewart, definitely pulls off the contemplative thing, but she doesn't look like the kind of person who spends an exorbitant amount of time wallowing in self-pity. Bella wallows.



I shouldn't get sucked into this cult, but whatever. I gave up on my attempts to be a non-conformist long ago. It took to much energy.

I don't want to end with Twilight, so...
We went to this diner for breakfast this morning after my optometrist appointment (my left eye has gotten worse, gah), and our waitress looked exactly like Cynthia Nixon! I was fighting the urge to tell her. Well, that and snap a picture, but I didn't think she would have appreciated it much.

Clouds, Cats, and Clam Chowder

Who saw the Olympics opening last night? I thought that was AMAZING! I actually don't remember ever watching the opening to the Olympics before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but that was still really cool. The people in green light up costumes who made the bird and those guys in the boxes...I can't imagine how much work they put into getting it that perfect.

I had this dream last night where I was at this guy's house, and he had a river in his backyard made out of Manhattan clam chowder. It was a serious river; there was a waterfall of clam chowder, too. He was trying to convince me to jump in it with him, and my response to that was, "I'm sorry, but I have a strict rule about not swimming in tomato-based soups." He understood.

Remember that beach I talked about on Thursday? I went back today, and since it's like monsoon season here, I should have foreseen this:

Cloudy doesn't even begin to cover it. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the effect of the hurricane-like wind, torrential rain, steel-drum thunder, and lightning that cracks through the smoke-gray clouds in pictures. These pictures that I did get are from the parking lot; I wasn't about to whip out my metal camera on the beach in a lightning storm. It would have looked so cool, though.

My friend and I decided to run a marathon of Disney movies yesterday/today. I love Aladdin, he's amazing. We watched The Aristocats, and I had forgotten how adorable that movie is. I used to love it when I was little--my favorite sweatshirt had Marie on it--but watching it again and understanding the plot more, it's soo cute.



Isn't that adorable? I love Toulouse (the one with the paint). I'm so excited to share these classic Disney movies with my daughter one day. I spend way too much time thinking about the kids I don't have, but being a "mommy" is the one thing I know I want for sure. I remember this conversation I had at lunch in second grade. I was talking about how I wanted to have kids, and all my friends were saying I was crazy, giving birth hurts too much. I remember saying I'd have an elective C-section if I couldn't take it. Looking back on it, it seems like an unusual conversation for a group of 7-year-olds.

Still no sign of mail. Coming home from the beach today, I thought I saw a box by the front door. I'm having hallucinations in the form of cardboard boxes. See what you've put me through, Borders?

A Little Rory/Logan Humor

Whoa, the party store is already stocking Halloween costumes. With all the emphasis they put on Halloween, you'd think they'd sell costumes for women that are not just colored underwear. We were trying on the Obama and McCain rubber masks. There was one of the Burger King king. I wish I'd had my camera with me.

It's been a slow day, topic-wise, so enjoy yet another "Gilmore Girls" clip, this one all Rory and Logan. I liked Dean so much better than Logan, and I probably wouldn't like Logan at all in real life, but as far as characters go, he's entertaining.



Oh, and happy Olympics!

"Greek girls do not lose their pants!"

I saw The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 today and IT IS SO CUTE!! I knew it would be good when our local newspaper's movie critic ripped it apart. Their critic is such a cynic. I can't trust anything he says.

Anyway, they said Traveling Pants 2 was too reliant on adult themes and star-power to sell the story, and they said the pants didn't appear enough. I totally disagree there. This movie was a good sequel because it was different from the first one. The movie represented the books well, though I do have minor issues with the way they handled the Bridget-visiting-her-grandmother thing. Sequels aren't meant to be as good as the originals anyway. They're meant to be follow-ups.

The first one was much more emotionally involving. I mean who didn't cry when *possible spoiler* Bailey died? This one was more "fluffy," more fun. I think that's the way it should be. One review I read compared it to "Sex and the City" where the characters don't talk as much. Nothing against SATC, but no. Just, no.

I could relate to the sequel more than the first, being one who has sort of lost touch with my three best friends once we went to different schools. In the beginning scene in the fitness studio where Lena and Bridget talk about the archeological dig, and Carmen's like "why didn't you tell me?"...I know that feeling well. I empathize with Carmen, and I totally understand her hating e-mail relationships.

Changing the subject momentarily, I went to the beach this morning! So pretty, the water was like turquiose-colored and there were all these cute little black-and-yellow striped fish everywhere. I saw this one fish about a foot long that was green-blue with a yellow tail.


Some people just shouldn't wear bikinis, especially these older women you see who just can't pull it off anymore. When you get to a certain age, you really need to think about covering it up a little. If they insist on it, I advise them them to at least get one in the correct size. I can't figure out which looks worse: too big or too small.



Interview with the cast of Traveling Pants. It looks much better in high-definition, here. Click on "watch in high-quality" under the view count. I love the cast. I mean, I TiVo "Gossip Girl" and "Ugly Betty" every week. Alexis Bledel's show "Gilmore Girls" is my all-time favorite TV show (if you never noticed, I post a lot of "Gilmore Girls" clips on here), and Amber Tamblyn looks exactly like my school best friend, which I've always thought was cool.

Oops, long post. Well, I have been waiting for this movie since May. =]

How many cheerleaders does it take to fill an elevator?

In Austin, Texas around 12 today, a group of cheerleaders in cheerleading camp decided to see how many people they could cram into an elevator. They managed to get 26 in there, but they were so tightly packed, the door wouldn't open. After nearly 30minutes, the fire department had to cut them out. If cheerleaders don't want to be stereotyped, they really should stop doing stupid things. You can read the article here.

So I'm a loser because I don't know what arsenic is. My best friend and I were talking about whether detox pills work on arsenic, and I wasn't totally sure what arsenic was. I'd heard it before, but I was thinking some kind of chemical weapon. She made fun of me for not knowing what she says is common knowledge. She says that when people think poison, they think arsenic. Okay...when I think poison, I think cyanide. I guess I have an insufficient knowledge of common poisons. Which leads me to my thought for the day, a question she actually brought up in this conversation:

What would happen if you dissolved a detox tablet with arsenic in a glass of water?

Since I know nothing about chemistry, and I obviously know nothing abut arsenic, I will leave you with that thought, plus an unrelated You Tube video.



What's more happy than the Spice Girls' "Wannabe?" I can never remember all their Spice Girl names. Baby Spice, Sporty Spice, Scary Spice, Posh Spice, and there's one more I always forget...oh, Ginger Spice. I just looked it up ^^

Where were you in '62?

I watched the first 30 minutes of American Graffiti this morning, and I honestly have no idea what it's about. It's set in 1962, and there's this group of friends who graduated from high school and are just hangin out around their cars, I guess. Every scene in this movie either has somebody in a car, standing next to a car, or offering someone a ride in their car. They're constantly talking about cars, and there's this one guy who's been driving since the opening credits ran, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere in particular. Watch the trailer below--you'll see what I mean.

The 60's slang makes it even funnier. "We're heading to the hop" and "If you're brains were dynamite, you wouldn't be able to blow your nose!" My absolute favorite line that had me laughing out loud was "Go kiss a duck, marblehead!" The guy he said it to took great offense. This might have been a good topic for my retro blog.

I went to the grocery store this morning and we got Fudgees! I'm going to do an article on them when I get a chance to take pictures. I passed the Banana Split Oreos today and they are now on sale. The tag said, "surprisingly low price!" Not kidding.

I went to a party that the library staff threw for the teen volunteers. It was nice of them to do that. I got community service and everything. Anyway, I have no social skills, so I either people-watch or eavesdrop on other conversations. I found this group of three girls who looked intriguing, so I sat near them and listened, all the while pretending to be watching the kids playing DDR. This one girl wearing all black was talking about how she keeps dead rats in her freezer. I was not disappointed that I picked them.



American Graffiti Trailer. See what I mean about the cars?

Thought for the day: The big toe doesn't like flip-flops because it separates him from his friends.
--indirect quote from this morning's "Family Circus" comic

The DMV is an Unholy Place

I got my permit this morning! Around 10:20, to be exact. I can legally drive a car now! I'll tell you, though, those people at the DMV don't represent driving proudly at all. They all talk in this monotone and i think they actually make a special attempt to mispronounce names. They called me Gillian about four times. Not that I care, but "Juliana" doesn't even look like "Gillian." There's a very obvious "u" sound in there. So funny.

My dad said the building looks exactly the same as it did when he went for his licence in the 70's, with the exception of the computers. I didn't like sticking my head into the eye test machine. I couldn't help but think how many sweaty people put their heads in there. Ick.

I am very happy to say that I wrote a scene for my book that I had been avoiding forever, too afraid to write it. The story needed it there, and I couldn't work around it anymore, so I made myself write it down. It turned out decent! (Don't worry, it's nothing bad. As you can tell from my blog, I like to keep things light and happy, avoiding tragedy and intense emotion. That stuff's hard for me to write.) I was actually happy with it and had fun writing it. Amazing what happens when I just write what's in my head without second guessing myself. Now I've gotta work up the courage to let someone read it. As of now, the whole story is going to the grave with me.

Besides my permit this morning, another uninspiring day, so I will share with you the view from my dorm room at newspaper camp last week:


A cemetery. The picture is skewed because I was afraid that if I walked onto the balcony thing to take the picture, it would collapse and I would fall seven stories to my death in the cemetery below. The balcony didn't strike me as stable. Ironically, the name of my building was "Oceanview Hall."


To conclude, here's a picture of a goat my sister took, because goats always lighten the mood. I can't exactly end with a picture of a cemetery. =]

Waiting for Mail--Bad Way to Spend Sunday

So I placed an order at borders.com about three weeks ago--New Moon (Twilight book), The Brady Bunch Movie, and "3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 3". I had a gift card. Borders promised an e-mail telling me my order shipped--it hasn't come yet. Basically, I've been waiting around impatiently for three weeks for the stupid UPS truck to show. No truck. Apparently The Brady Bunch Movie is on backorder. How many people are buying that movie? They should have tons of dusty ones laying around in the back. Alas, today is Sunday. At least every other day of the week gives me some hope for that brown truck. Sunday is hope-crushing. There's no way that truck is coming, so I have to find something else to occupy my mind. This is what happens when they give you free shipping.

I never read the horoscope section of the newspaper, but I was desperately seeking something to read while I ate breakfast this morning. This is what came up on me:

Scorpio: You have a way of putting things that makes people's ears perk up. It's seductive, this attention you get from being knowledgeable.

Hmmm...my knowledge is seductive? If I believed in astrology, that would be a good luck sort of thing, right? I find it hard to believe that the 750-or-so million November babies in the world all have "a way of putting things that makes people's ears perk up." Maybe it depends on the way you translate it...it's vague enough to apply to everyone in one way or another.

My day has been incredibly uninspiring. No stories to tell, so here's a picture that my sister implored me to post. It's a sugar glider (type of opossum) and incredibly cute. I got it from Flickr.



This is another adorable animal: my bird, Roxy. I usually criticize people who constantly post pictures of their pets, but I have nothing better to talk about, and this picture was just too cute.





Thought for the day: In any pile of french fries, the longest ones always get eaten first, even if they're at the bottom of the pile covered by a bunch of small ones.

Sigh. Hopefully tomorrow will be more post-inspiring than my rant about Borders. I'm supposedly getting my learner's permit. I should have done it last November, but I slacked off. At least it'll give me something to write about!

Celebratory Banana Split Oreos!

Guess what? I'VE BEEN QUOTED! Yup, there's an article from JTI and a link to it on this website right here. Give me a moment to express my excitement...WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!! I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it really is, but whatever. I need all the self-assurance I can get. I feel sort of bad about it because it was the post where I talk about not liking "Wizards of Waverly Place." I also allude to Miley Cyrus being annoying. I posted a recall yesterday along with the Funky Hat Song. That should help my conscience a little.

To celebrate, I changed the background. I found this cool website, cutestblogontheblock.com, and they have awesome backgrounds. I can't believe I never knew about it. I also put a dedication to Edward Cullen on the side, too. I love him. My friend thinks he's arrogant. I say he's a vampire and he's lived for over 100 years. That earns him some show-off privileges. Plus, he sparkles.

Also in celebration of my quoting, I am writing about a limited edition addition (hehe) to my favorite cookie team in the whole world. Oh, yeah. It's Oreos. After they came out with Fudgees (which I am planning to write about as soon as I get a new bag to photo), Nabisco became my one true love. Sorry Edward, you have Bella...hopefully.

Okay, so these Oreos are Banana Split. I really do love bananas, but for some reason, I think I like the concept of bananas more than the actual taste of them. Just looking at it, there's no doubt it'd be that fake banana candy flavor, like Banana Laffy Taffy. Regardless, it's a banana-flavored oreo. A BANANA-FLAVORED OREO. I have a weird attraction to bananas and oreos when they're separate. Put them together and the effect on me is diabolical.

The box is sooo pretty. Open it though and you're hit with a wave of semi-nauseating fake banana smell. Fake banana candy smell doesn't mix that well with the smell of Oreos. Who knew.

I liked the first cookie I ate. I think it was the novelty of eating a Banana Split Oreo that made me ignore everything else about it. I grabbed the second one and started having second thoughts. I figured it would be better if I just licked the cream out, but that wasn't so good, either. The consistency of the cream doesn't fit with the banana flavor. It just doesn't.

After eating that second cookie, I was totally over it. I had to close the box so I couldn't smell it anymore. The verdict:

Banana Split Oreos: Good in theory, hellish in actual execution. I've concluded that you can't banana-flavor an Oreo. Sigh. The attempt was admirable. At least now I can honestly say I've eaten an banana oreo. See? Silver lining.

If fake banana doesn't bother you, be my guest and try them. The novelty is worth a few bucks anyway (for me, at least). My dad actually likes them.

One last thing here. What's up with the "cremey?" That's not a word! I know they like to sound cool by saying "creme," but the adjective is "creamy!" You can't change the spelling of that. It's kind of cocky.



My gratitude goes out to my sister, the awesome photographer, for taking some decent oreo pictures for me. I tried to remember what they taught me in the "photography for non-photographers" class I took at newspaper camp, but I am so not meant to hold a camera. My sister also took the first picture of communist cow for me in the last post.

Oh, and thanks to Gwen Stefani for helping me spell banana. I have to sing that part of "Hollaback Girl" in my head every single time I try to spell the word. I keep wanting to put two N's in the middle. Gwen, you should write your own Hooked on Phonics.

I'm on a blogging kick, so more to come later when I think of something to write!

Communist Cow Got a New Hat!

So I was at the mall today sitting in the shoe section of Nordstrom while my mom browsed, trying to connect to the 1-800 number on the back of my mall gift card so I could check the balance. After three attempts of punching in the super long card number, a computerized woman's voice graced me with the great news of $6.71. Disappointing. I thought I had a lot more that that. So while my sister was browsing the Webkinz aisle in Hallmark, I saw this cute black Webkinz hat. I did what any hat-loving stuffed cow owner would do with $6.71...I bought him a hat.

He's a little self-conscious about this hat. He thinks it makes his ears look big. I assured him that he looks very dignified. I mean, this hat actually fits him! Before this, he only had two other hats that fit: the one I made for him and the blue sock. It's officially called the Webkinz Big Funky Hat, which reminded me of "Wizards of Waverly Place." I feel a video coming on.



I posted something in February saying I don't like this show, but it's growing on me. I kind of like "Hannah Montana" now, too. Weird how I like more kids stuff as I get older when it should be the other way around. "Wizards of Waverly Place" is actually a cute show. My sister and I seriously do the funky hat dance. Love it.

"Mind-blowingly Inappropriate"

Woah how long has it been since I posted anything on my Communist Cow? I have to make up for that. More Communist Cow pictures to come soon!

I was flipping channels last night and I found this show (I guess it's a show) called I love the 80's: 3-D. This particular one was about 1989. Really cool especially since I like 80's stuff.

I took this picture in Los Angeles, specifically, West Hollywood, California. I thought it so cute it warranted a picture. I love the color scheme and the little blue Volkswagon delivery car. I wasn't totally sure what it was, but the website says it's "your supermarket that delivers!"

I'm dissappointed that I didn't take a picture of the "Gossip Girl" billboards in LA! You know, the ones with Serena and Nate that say "OMFG." Actually, there are some with Chuck and Blair that say the same thing. That whole metro area highway is lined with these GG ads. I meant to get a picture. Wah. I'm just going to borrow one from Flickr, I have to illustrate my point somehow. (This picture was made and uploaded by "tonythisismusic" and I got it from Flickr.)

Those are the ones I saw, but there are more that I like even better. Click on the link. I love how they took the critics' negative comments and used them to promote it instead. There's this big controversy about the ads right now--evidently, the Parent's Television Council is armed with pitchforks and torches. I think that's half the show's attraction.

Seriously, though, when I first heard about "Gossip Girl" I was like "I have too much self-respect to watch that." My friend talked me into it, and it's claimed a weekly spot on my TiVo. So addictive.