Okay, it's official: The Hannahrama Blogarama has moved to DiaryLand. You'll find it now at http://saellys.diaryland.com. I've just spent the last hour and more transferring all my old posts to the new server. Hope you appreciate all that work. ;^)
Okay, so I backed into my parents' car on Tuesday... I still have no job... and I'm as grounded as I usually get, which means that on select days I can only drive to school and places where I plan to apply. Not that they're hiring or anything, I just apply there anyway. Yay for me.
So no Dublin. No U2 concert. No Coldplay, either. Life is rather sucky. But it's okay, 'cause I'm at Michael and Ben's house, and there's some, uh... entertainment. Unfortunately that involves Sam singing. I'd really like to know how Natalie's doing right now... If things go as planned tonight, she'll be as depressed as I am by, oh, about now.
The one bright spot in all of this is that I had this unbelievably good dream on Wednesday night, and last night's dream was coherent enough to base a very strange short story off of it, which doesn't happen often. (I mean, I can't exactly write about the time that I met J.R.R. Tolkien at Eryn's house, 'cause, well, it never happened. And neither, unfortunately, did Wednesday's dream. Sigh.)
Oh, and another upside is that right after my parents grounded me, they started giving me an allowance. That's never ever happened before. I should get grounded more often.
Anyway. I'm gonna act irritated for the next ten minutes, and then go home. Goodnight, and namar.
|Brothers and sisters, unite--it's the time of your lives...|
Current Music: Brothers and Sisters, Coldplay (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: The fun I had this evening makes up for the suckiness of my whole week.
Okay, before I begin to describe the indescribable coolness of this evening, I must pass along yet another link discovered on Neil Gaiman's blog: Rob's Amazing Poem Generator. I plugged in this site, and some of the individual lines were just perfect...
How many decimal
places you have? no accounting for the street
to figure I do what does a or so . I
guess set in
my arms around It goes.
Grace is where
is dead grey hairs from in
fact, not to
see much and go biking
around the stuff that I go into some strange
that
skip church with
me It on cell phone. on!
Saturday, Brittany, Joel, Adam, Clayton
joked that over for ease in my car in
the first of
2004, I
had the stuff 1.
Nobody else
is your blog. of
my fall and not a cell
phone. on!
yesterday, was pretty funny.
Survey Ooh.
get more reason to get real Life is
worth 20 points, that
cool, And we
left
Taco Bell as a crappy muzak.
Current Thought: got slide film for one
but anyway. Hung
out afterwards I think
the Christian Character to E
Free free,
my glasses on. Friday and
then got a lot of her after all, I
will be leaving four of
that Bible Quiz
but when You have? to
get my Dublin be
taking too
The lake, and
I was hot?
Well, all probably the thrift
store Auf wiedersehen,
and five of an open Mexican restaurant,
and
collectible U2 EPs
and well,
I want
to and
players. were
out of all
got an hour There which was
in his compassion for
us.
and we
do, with. Natalie MerchantCurrent Thought:
This town. for
the conversation the road. That I
can you use them So yeah.
right.
That's so much fun.
Anyway. Tonight, tonight. Tonight, after arriving home at last from Chicago, I tried to arrange a social get-together with someone whom I thought was my best friend, only to be completely blown off with ridiculous excuses that completely gave away the fact that she didn't want to see me at all. So, happy to oblige, I called Delacey and Brittany, and after a little aimless driving, we decided to head for Eryn's house, where we knew, thanks to an inside source, that several of the youth group guys were having a "secret" sleepover.
Needless to say, it was imperative that we crash it immediately.
So we drove down the main street that leads right to Eryn's house, and about halfway there I happen to glance in the rearview mirror, only to see Eryn behind me with Sam and Kyle and Brian with him. So we arrived precisely when they did, and spent the next ten minutes basking in the hilarity of the various reactions. Brian and Kyle flipped out and demanded to know who told us, but we kept our source anonymous. Sam was fairly irritated (but by no means furious on the Sam Scale of Anger) and called all women manipulative and evil. Eryn was growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute, and we were only in his driveway. The other guys (there were a few more) were generally happy to see us. So yeah. We gave them all something to talk about for the evening.
Anyway. After that we went to Barnes & Noble, and now I'm back home. Home, home, home home home. Yay for home. Now it's time for bed. Bed, bed, bed bed bed. Yay for bed. Namar.
Today was okay, I suppose, if you ignore my parents nagging me to get a job, any job, even if it's a really crappy job. (If Mom mentions Braum's or Papa Murphy's one more time, I'll explode.) I cashed my check from Dayco, closed my nearly-empty savings account, bought some clothes from the thrift store (but didn't meet any opossums), and got slide film for the stereo camera. Got home and chatted with two depressed friends over AIM. I'd like to think that maybe I made them feel a little better, but I never can be sure.
I want to do something tonight, my last night in town before the bliss of Chicago's museums. I'll probably call Del and Brittany soon, and get in contact with Adam, too. They were craving hanging out with me on Saturday, so I expect they'll still be keen to do something tonight.
I really, really, really wish I could stay in Chicago long enough to see Coldplay. Even if it was from the nosebleed section. Just to be in the same stadium with Berryman, Buckland, Champion, and Martin would be indescribably fantastic. But sadly, we'll be leaving four days before they woo the masses with their transcendent melodies. And there's no chance of bumping into them on the street, as they'll be in Denver on the 6th or something like that. Ahh, well. It'll be enough to see some Van Gogh, Degas, and Pollock.
Current Thought: I want to draw, paint, sculpt, write, compose, or do something, anything artistic. Must... express... self...
Okay, the Stuff of the Month is really updated now. Not a day early, though. Sigh.
Anyway. Mom has returned from California, with many trinkets and things leftover from the old house after my grandfather died. There's a nice Minolta SLR camera with a zoom lens, a wall lamp with a built in volt meter that really works, and best of all, an honest-to-God stereo camera that exposes two frames of 35mm film at a time, with binocular lenses that focus simultaneously. It's very 1960s. I can't wait to try it out.
And there are photographs. Lots and lots and lots of photographs. More than we know what to do with. Mom and Dad are going to do a bit of renovation upstairs just so we have a place to put all this stuff. Which means I'll have the old computer in my room for a short time while they paint--and of course I'd just decided that I didn't want it there, after all. I dunno, I might change my mind while it's in there. At least I'll be able to play Age of Empires and Roller Coaster Tycoon whenever I want.
Well, if I don't post tomorrow, you won't be hearing from me for a while, as I'll be in Chicago until late Friday night, exploring the museums and doing Sister Wendy impressions in front of the great masterpieces. ("Wembwandt. Wembwandt is what bwings us togeveh today.") We're driving what is by far the largest artifact gleaned from my grandparents' belongings--the metallic gold Buick LeSabre that Grandma gave us. It's a boat, but the AC works, the windows are tinted, the seats are soft, and it has a CD player. I'll be quite comfortable.
I think I'll take the stereo camera with me. Namarie.
Current Music: The Girl All the Bad Guys Want, whatever the name of that band is (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: Must... get... job...
Behold: The Stuff of the Month has been updated! And a day early! Huttah!
Anyway. It's been a nice, boring week. I'm waiting to hear from the Library (they said interviews will be arranged at the end of this week or the beginning of next), and I also applied at a cell phone place and something called... *cough* Aardvark Audio, where I will apparently be making audio tapes. Yay for me.
But hey, it's money, and it won't involve solvent fumes on 3rd shift, so it's all good. And I calculated last night that if I were to work two jobs this summer, Aardvark during the day and the cell phone place/library nights, I could still get to Dublin quite comfortably by next summer, once all my fall and spring earnings are added in. So I am slightly less hopeless and distraught right now. And I'll feel downright chipper once I've actually got a job. And when I get two jobs, well, you won't even recognize me. Yay!
Methinks that next week, I'll be accompanying my parents to Chicago to go museum-hopping with Mom while Dad attends some robot convention or something. It's really too bad we can't stay a few days extra--Coldplay's gonna be there on the 9th or the 11th or something. There is no measure to how much I would love to see Coldplay in concert. Almost as much as I'd love to see U2 in concert, but U2 won't be touring until next year (one more reason to go to Dublin). Anyway. Back to Coldplay. Chris Martin is hot...
Well, it's almost 2 p.m., and I still haven't had breakfast. Dad just handed me a $10 bill to go buy some soy milk so I can finally satiate my not-particularly-overwhelming hunger. Actually, my stomach just began to actively insist that I fill it, so perhaps it'd be best for me to get offline, change into some presentable clothes, and head for the grocery store. Auf wiedersehen, and namar.
Current Music: Something strange that was in my head when I woke up.
Current Thought: Need. Job. Now.
Well, it's been quite a month (or so). I started, and quit (in the same 24-hour span) a crappy job that would have made me tons of money, and now Dublin hangs in the balance of whether or not I can find a job within the next couple of weeks. I applied at a cell phone place and Barnes & Noble (even though they're not hiring), and also the library, on the closing day for a position at the new branch. Nobody else is hiring. My savings account has around $25 in it. I need a job.
But besides the job-related crappiness, my life has been pretty dang good lately. Yesterday, that being Sunday, I did special music in church with Katrina, which went over very well. People actually asked if we wrote that song. No, I'd say, it's by Third Day. Third Day, I'd think to myself. One of the most popular Christian groups in history. Doesn't anyone in this church listen to music?
Anyway. Much of my time has been spent with Delacey, Brittany, Joel, Sam, and Adam. Michael and Ben are back in town, so I've been hanging out with them, too. Most of the time that involves playing Mafia, a game at which their dad is becoming very skilled. And when we're not playing Mafia, we discuss the significance of certain plot twists in The Matrix: Reloaded. Last night as we postulated on the possibility of two matrices, I had to stop and ask myself why in heaven's name I was spending precious time talking about a movie I didn't even like.
Speaking of which, here's a funny story for you. Last Friday I went to see TM:R with Natalie, Josh, Adam, Courtney, Heather, Linzy, and Katelyn. And, in a blur of strange teenage thoughts, we all decided to dress up completely in black. Why? How should I know? The point is, for the entirety of the evening I was wearing only black, plus some extremely painful high-heeled boots I borrowed from Courtney. So after the movie, we all went to a Taco Bell down the road, which happened to be right across the street from Wal-Mart. And we're sitting around, at 11:30, and most of the people there come from one particular high school. And then these two guys walk in, also from that high school, and greet some other people. "Dude," one says, "we just got chased all around Wal-Mart by security."
"What did you do?" asks a fellow student.
"Nothing, man!" the hoodlum protests.
Meanwhile, I glance at Adam. "Let's go to Wal-Mart," I say, and we do.
But before we do, I have to cross the road. That involves taking off those Satanic shoes and running across the pavement in my socks. It reminded me a lot of that scene in Gattaca where Jerome crosses the street without his contacts, and everything's a blur. Only I had my glasses on.
Anyway. We reach Wal-Mart; I put my shoes back on, and we go inside. Within the doors, we look around for any sign that says "Security," but see nothing. So of course we go to the Jewelry desk. Actually, that was the only place where anyone actually seemed to be working. So Adam asks the jewelry lady where we could find security. "They don't really have a headquarters," she says. "They kind of just run around." So Adam tells her about the Taco Bell punks, and she says, "Oh, in that case, go to the exit and there'll be a door to your right. They're in there."
Wow. Top secret, man.
Anyway, we go, and there's a woman standing out front of the door with a labeling gun in her hand. We ask her if this is where security is, and she pauses, obviously trying to think. "Um," she says, "could you please... identify yourselves?"
Adam and I glance at each other, incredulous. "Uh, yeah," says Adam, "the lady from Jewelry sent us over here." He tells her about the TB boys, and she makes a call on her walkie-talkie. After a minute, another woman walks up, and Adam tells her, too, about the guys south of the border. She says thank you, and we leave. We never got to see if the guys got busted; we left Taco Bell as soon as we got back.
So that was fun. There were references made to Adam being Mulder and me being Scully. I don't see much resemblance for either of us, but oh well. It was great anyway.
Yeah. That's all I've got this afternoon... Namar.
Current Music: Whatever happens to pop into my head.
Current Thought: I've got nothing better to blog--I might as well just cut and paste an entire e-mail survey created by Sam!
Just when you thought it was safe to check your e-mail... Somebody creates an E-mail survey and sends it to everybody. Huzzah.
General Stuff
1. Full Name: Hannah Clemens
2. Birthdate and Time: January 28th, 1984. 7 a.m.-ish.
3. Birthplace: Victorville, California
4. Place of Residence: Missouri
5. Siblings: None. Ha!
6. School and Job: Strangely enough, both involve OTC. I take classes there (but not for much longer--yay!) and I work at the Writing Center. Coolest. Job. Ever.
Specific Favorites:
7. Favorite Dave Matthew's Band Song: Um. Hm. I suppose it's that Where Are You Going one.
8. Favorite U2 Song: All I Want is You, One, and "40".
9. Favorite Goo Goo Dolls Song: Iris
10. Favorite Third Day Song: You're Everywhere
11. Favorite Jars of Clay Song: Love Song for a Savior
12. Favorite Classical Piece: The Planets, Holst.
13. Favorite Painter: Van Gogh and *checks cover of video to see if I've got the spelling right* Pollock.
14. Favorite Action Movie: Well, having just seen X2 again, I'd say that's probably it right now.
15. Favorite Drama Movie: Gattaca
16. Favorite Horror/Thriller Movie: Signs has it all. Thrills, chills, and Joaquin Phoenix hitting an alien with a bat. (*batbatbatbatbat!* "What happened to her?" "She got hurt.")
17. Favorite Classic Movie: You know, I haven't really seen enough of the classics to be able to answer this intelligently.
18. Favorite Science Fiction Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
19. Favorite Fantasy Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring is, I'm afraid, better than The Two Towers. So it's my favorite. However, I'm fairly confident that once Return of the King is out, that will take its place.
20. Favorite Comedy Movie: Dr. Strangelove
21. Favorite Comedy TV Series: The Simpsons
22. Favorite Drama TV Series: The West Wing
23. Favorite Non-fiction Book: Language in Thought and Action, by S.I. Hayakawa
24. Favorite Fiction Book: Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
A or B:
25. Black or White Clothing: Black.
26. Punk or Goth: Erm... Neither.
27. Chocolate or Vanilla Ice Cream: Vanilla. With chocolate chunks.
Today:
28. List all the places you went today: The church parking lot, the theater, my grandparents' house, all over town with my parents and grandparents trying to find an open Mexican restaurant, and back home.
29. What's the last song you listened to: Warning Sign by Coldplay. Actually, if we're talking full songs, as in, listened to the whole way, Green Eyes by Coldplay. It's been a Rush of Blood to the Head kind of day.
30. What was the last thing you said out loud: I'm sure I said something to my cat, but I can't for the life of me remember what.
31. Who were the last three people to send you e-mail: Sam, Monica, and a girl from Illinois whom I've actually never met in person.
32. What did you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively: Cereal for breakfast, zip for lunch, and Mexican food for dinner.
33. What time did you wake up today: Well, I started to wake up at about 7:45, but then went back to sleep, having decided that I'd skip church and go to Sunday School. Then I started to get up again at about 9:30, but then I decided to skip Sunday School and just go socialize when the classes get out. So I officially got up at about 11.
34. Name all the friends you have seen in the past 48 hours: 48 hours is a long time to remember. Let's see... That would be from 6:00 today to 6:00 Friday... So, Natalie, Josh, Courtney, nobody on Saturday, Brittany, Delacey, Ashley, Ryan, Josiah, Joel, Adam, Lewis, Daniel, Katrina, and just about everyone who goes to CCC.
35. Did you talk to anyone on the phone today, and if so, who: Dad, telling him that yes, I would be going to dinner with them.
Bonus Questions: (A bonus? Yay!)
36. Are you some kind of robot? No, I am TROG-DORRRRRRRR!!!
37. If so, what kind of powers do you have? Perhaps you did not hear me, for I am TROG-DORRRRRRRRR!!! (Aww, dang, Sam has speed reading! :^P)
38. Do you use them for good, or for awesome? Awesome, for I am TROG-DORRRRRRRR!!!
39. Would you like to team up? Trogdor works alone.
40. Is "The Yellow Dart" a cool nickname? I used to think so, but it just doesn't have the pizazz of "De Inchredible Nightchrawler," said with a heavy Munich accent. It's still a heckuva lot better than Jubilee, though.
41. How many decimal places can you recite pi out to? 3.14... Yeah, that's it.
42. What is your name? Trog-DORRRRRRRRRR!!!
43. What is your quest? To BURNINATE!!! And not get ARROWED! Or SWORDED! Or CHILDREN!
44. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? Sam, you have no life. Um, it's not very fast. In fact, it's not fast enough to escape TROG-DORRRRRR!!!
45. What is the capital of Assyria? Gosh, thanks, Sam, for including the answer. Um, just for kicks and giggles, I'll say Zion. Hah!
46. What is your favorite color? Indigo.
47. Were there any swallows in Scene 24? Didn't they cut Scene 24?
48. How many times does a swallow have to beat its wings to maintain airspeed velocity? Not fast enough to escape TROG-DORRRRRRRR!!!
49. Are strange women lying in ponds a basis for a system of government? Hey, whatever keeps Saddam out of power.
50. What is an anarcho-syndicalist commune? You know, I'm not quite sure. But I've got a funny story. During the movie this afternoon, Ryan tried to quote Nightcrawler, but instead of "In ze Munich Circus, dey uzed to call me De Inchredible Nightcrawler," he said, "In certain communic circles, they called me..." It was pretty funny.
Survey Deconstructionism:
51. Say the thing you like least about the person who sent you this survey: Ooh. We could be here a while. ;^P
52. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a waste of time was this survey? Wait, which one means "a total and complete waste of time"? Because I'd pick the opposite, as this is the only thing keeping me from typing Mom's finals right now.
53. Nobody cares what your favorite color is, really. Shouldn't this be stated in the form of a question?
Current Music: I'm Sensitive, Jewel (stuck in my head, because, well, see below)
Current Thought: Erg. Slept 'til 1. Sooooo lethargic...
Okay, Michael, so Natalie's guy is one of only two left in the lower 48. We know, you're very sensitive (and you'd like to stay that way). And yes, it's a pity for anyone of the female persuasion that you're unavailable. :^P ;^)
By the way, how come you never wrote me any poetry? Huh? I mean, at least I got a character to myself in Michael's Day of Anarchy, and I'm greatful and all (seeing as I'm one of maybe five people that survived that story, out of a cast of dozens), but where's my sonnet?
*grumble mumble*
Anyway. It's now time for me to mope around the house because I can't go biking around town today because it could become a deluge at any second. Will these blasted storms never cease?
Current Music: Song from title, stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, Enoch. Oh, and Weezer's Sweater Song.
Current Thought: Umm. Yay.
Well, I must say that Laura's list of superpowers doesn't quite blow mine away... seeing as four of her five choices can also be found in my list, and I wouldn't even want the fifth one. Blades emerging from knuckles are so uncool that they had to cast Hugh Jackman just to balance it out. (And speed reading is not a dorky power, Laura! And I'm sorry, but do you really think Pyro was hot? Ewwwwww... Lousy Anakin ripoff, and they couldn't even cast someone attractive. Not that Anakin was attractive. You all probably already know my opinions on that.)
Now, blades emerging from fingernails, on the other hand... *cracks knuckles*
Anyway. Enough super powers.
Wednesdays are cool. In fact, they're probably the coolest part of any given week for me. I have no school on Wednesdays, and I can sleep really late because work doesn't start 'til 12:30. (Side note: Only two days left for the Writing Center. *sniffle*) And on top of all that coolness, I get youth group in the evening. So yes, Wednesdays are the best.
This Wednesday was decent-- there was some general suckage balanced by much coolness. I won't go into the suckage, except to say that some people are insensitive arseholes who make my life hell. But the coolness was great--Josiah and I had a conversation, the first one in quite some time, and that was lots of fun. And Hannah M. and I discussed how that day should have been National Pick On Hannah Day, on which everyone finds someone named Hannah and screws them over. Start planning for next year, everybody!
Oh, and we also told Natalie how monumentally fortunate she is, and she doesn't even know it. And she was like, "But he doesn't even like me!" And we were like, "Natalie, hon, he ran up a flight of stairs to get you a glass of milk, and you didn't even ask him to." And that was fun, if a little depressing. Why can't any wonderful, sensitive, thoughtful, caring, talented guys go to, say, my school? In fact, I think the guy in question is quite probably the only one of his kind left in Missouri, and perhaps in the lower 48 as well. Good thing I'm going to Dublin.
I think I've got mono. I've been incapable of getting up before 9 a.m. ever since coming home from Nationals. My alarm sounds, and I reset it for half an hour later. Then it sounds again, and I reset it once more. I do that an average of three times every morning. It can't be healthy, and it sure ain't normal. If I'm going to work at 7 a.m. every day (and probably biking there, too) I'd better get out of that habit.
Well, that's all for now. Ciao, and baleeted! I mean, namar.
Current Music: The last thing that was on the Writing Center stereo (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: Neil Gaiman still hasn't posted my plug of Wandering Star. Sigh.
Yesterday was interesting. It all started with church that morning. After the CCC service, I had to go over to E Free (my old church) where they were honoring the Bible Quizzers for their Nationals achievements. And as I sat through worship and then through communion, I found myself thinking about how much the place had started to remind me of U2's Zoo TV tour. Seriously. Strange stuff.
Anyway. After that, I started to drive home, but just before I got there I decided I should go by CCC to see if anyone was still there. And as I drove into the parking lot, Brittany came up and announced that the Mercers were having a luncheon for the college-age group and the graduating seniors. And she didn't have a ride at the moment, so I brought her over, which was turning the tables a bit as, not too long ago, she was the one shipping me all over the place.
But anyway. Off we drove, and hung out at the Mercers for a while. Around 2 or so, I called Sam to see what he was up to, and he said he'd drive out to meet us. Shortly after that, Delacey fairly begged me to go pick up Joel, so she and Adam got into my car and we drove over to his house. And all the way, they were fawning over my car (which really isn't that cool, so don't believe what you hear) and singing along with Jimmy Eat World on my CD player. Great fun.
As we reached a major intersection, we saw two middle-aged women in muumuus on the traffic island holding signs. One said "Win Without War," and I didn't catch the other one. And Adam watched these people, and I could see his fingers twitching. "Man," he said, "what I wouldn't give for a water gun." Then he checked in his wallet. "Wanna go to Wal-Mart?" he asked with a grin.
We picked up Joel, and then I went to the ATM to get some gas money. It happened to be the same ATM where I lost my ATM card back on Valentine's Day (see February 15th's post). And I put in the card and tried it, but it once again refused to accept my PIN number. This time, however, I managed to save my card from digestion by the evil machine, and it was off to Wal-Mart, where Adam was sorely disappointed by the shoddy selection of water guns, and we ended up not buying anything. My card, however, worked at their ATM. So I had to pay an extra $1.50, but it was worth it to keep my card.
After Wal-Mart, I got some gas in the car and we drove back to the Mercer's, where Sam had already arrived. And we hung around there for a while, walking in the nifty fields behind the house and sitting around the living room. (Sam wrote in my journal, but nothing dirty like what he wrote in Natalie's--just some random U2 lyrics.) We mulled over what to do next, then finally went over to Brittany's, where we had just started to watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation when Amy arrived and announced that the worst storm this town has seen in a long time was headed for us, and would be there in about a half hour. There was mention of three tornados, or something like that. So I prepared to head home, and Amy, Brittany and I suggested Sam either come to my house or Natalie's, and not try to drive the half hour out to his house. But, as usual, it fell on rather deaf and stubborn ears. I went home praying that God wouldn't take him out for his bullheadedness.
Once home, I packed a duffel bag (which was mostly filled with CDs and library books that I didn't want to be destroyed) and brought it, along with my sleeping bag and pillow, down to the basement. Then I convinced Dad to get the frogs out of their tank and into a carrying container, which he was loath to do, but his compassion for living things overruled his sense of self-preservation and we spent five minutes scooping them out. Then we sat around with the TV and the police scanner on, and waited.
My house, as I may have already mentioned, is eleven minutes from everywhere in this town. And eleven minutes south of us, at least one tornado touched down, wiping out entire neighborhoods and wreaking mass havoc. Natalie lives down there. The Mc_______s live down there. And Laura lives down there, which worries me because I tried calling her after things had died down, and there was no answer. Nor has she replied to my e-mail, but if the phone lines were out (which they probably are) that would be impossible for her anyway. Laura, if you're reading this, call me!
So things fizzled out. The storm made its way in the general direction of Sam's house, and when I tried calling them, there was once more no answer. Big surprise. So then, around 9:30, Amy called me and said that Sam's parents were calling everyone, trying to find him. And we couldn't find him anywhere. By about 10:00, I was ready to get in my car and drive the thirty miles of highway and look for him but luckily Amy called and announced that he'd been at Eryn's house the whole time. And she added that he was ticked off at all of us for being so concerned over him.
Yeah. That's right. Like it's our fault.
Anyway. I'm stewing over that now, but I'm still happy. Over the weekend I saw X2, which was surprisingly good. And afterwards I made a list of the top ten attributes I'd like to have as a mutant. As per Laura's request, you'll find them below:
10. Indestructibility/Immortality (that's the good, Elvish kind of immortality, not the bad Tuck Everlasting/vampire kind)
9. Teleportation
8. Manipulation of metal
7. Freezing things
6. Burning things
5. Controlling people's thoughts
4. Super senses
3. Cloaking ability
2. Shapeshifting
1. Speed reading (What? It can be a mutant ability!)
So there you go. My definitive list. That's it for me this afternoon; I'm spent. Namar.
Current Music: Snatches of whatever happens to pop into my head at any moment.
Current Thought: I'm sick.
Well, I've gone and done it--I plugged Michael's Wandering Star in an e-mail to Neil Gaiman.
Dear Neil,
As I sit in computer class watching a PowerPoint presentation on
Alanis Morrisette, I thought I'd drop you a line and let you know how
much I'm enjoying your blog. Also, for the sake of recommending
links, I'll plug one by a friend of mine. It's Wandering Star, and
you'll find it at http://www.berenwasteland.com/wanderingstar.
Wandering Star is a web narrative, written mainly in real time, and
it has a bit of an American Gods flavor to it. I thought it might be
right up your alley.
Again, thanks for creating such a wonderful blog and a great
collection of fiction.
--Hannah
(The PowerPoint presentation wasn't that bad, but I've been wanting to e-mail Neil for quite some time, and we were in a computer lab, for crying out loud.)
It remains to be seen whether he will post said plug on his weblog, but he's done it before. And if he does, it means that my site and Michael's will be getting lots and lots of traffic. Here's hoping. Namar.
Well, I've just discovered that this site looks like digital crap on Netscape Navigator. I apologize to all who have to view the Blogarama this way, but you all should really get Internet Explorer, or at least Mozilla, anyway. I mean, really. If I was stuck with Netscape, I'd probably go insane. Everything's different! What are these strange fonts? Why does my page look like this?!
Anyway. Unfortunately Netscape is the only working browser in the computer lab this morning, so I'll just have to deal with it. But there's some happiness to cancel it out--the personnel coordinator for the job I want called yesterday (I missed the call, dangit) and wants to set up an interview. They say they'll probably start me training from 7a.m. to 3 p.m., which would be absolutely fantastic as it would leave msot of my afternoon and all my evenings intact to hang out with friends and go see Ben and Sam's gigs and so on. And I'll still be able to get more than half of my Dublin cash over the summer. Yay for Hannah!
Anyway. Before I sign off, I'll plug Sam's new webcolumn--Pianists and Pilgrims. Everybody go read. It's good stuff.
Current Music: Actually, nothing particular is stuck in my head right now, and there's nothing on the Writing Center stereo. It's kinda liberating.
Current Thought: Yay.
Okay, so I found out yesterday that Dublin in the summer costs half as much as Dublin in the spring and fall, which means: a) I'll have more time to make money, b) I'll have to make less money, and c) I'll be able to coach Bible Quiz all the way through Nationals. And if I get the full-time job I'm shooting for this summer, I'll be able to get most of my money taken care of in the next three months. How cool is that?
Unfortunately, Dublin in the summer is also half as long as Dublin in the spring and fall-- only six weeks, and nine credits. But that's okay. I can deal with that. There's still a trip to Italy included, and six weeks is long enough to see U2 live.So yay! Happiness!
And more happiness abounds--yesterday, at Laura's suggestion, I downloaded WinMX (since my parents made me delete KaZaA because of its ScumWare properties), and discovered that there's a buttload of live concerts and very rare MP3s available for download. I got a U2 New York concert from mid-2000 (in which Bono said something rather odd and slightly prophetic about the crowd being "cooler than a 747 on your front lawn"), and I'm working on the two parts of the Zooropa homecoming Dublin show.
And speaking of Dublin (again), I found out early last week that over 50% of Dublin's population is under 25 years old. How can I go wrong? I'm gonna love that place.
Wow. So many cool things, so little time to tell. First of all, now that Bible Quiz Nationals has been over for two days, I figure I might as well let you know that Tsunami won first place. Yes, that's right. Won. First place. Out of 64 teams. And it was by a margin of 10 points that we finally did it (each question is worth 20 points, to illustrate just how close that was). But what's really cool is this: By the end of Saturday, when we had the championship quizzes, over half the room--that's more than two hundred people--were cheering for us. It was unbelievable.
But then there was even cooler stuff. Godspeed, the only other Springfield team, came in tenth place, which was phenomenal. Charissa from Godspeed was the #3 individually ranked quizzer, out of over 400 teenagers. And a really awesome team won the Christian Character Award, but we found out the next day that Tsunami was just one vote behind them.
So all that was very, very cool. And then we all came home, and the return trip kinda sucked for various reasons, but riding with Marie and Melissa was fun. And yesterday I went to work (after skipping my two morning hours in favor of relaxing at home), and then came back and played guitar and then got an application for the library and went to Natalie's, where I played some more guitar and watched a really bloody awful movie called The Worst Witch, of which Harry Potter is very obviously a blatant ripoff. And then after that Natalie's parents kicked everyone out of the basement and we went over to Linzy's apartment, which is very cool. And I was seriously considering getting my own apartment this summer, since I'd be able to afford it without taking too big of a chunk out of my Dublin money, but then I realized that I'd miss the Internet too much, and then I realized that I'd have no money left for groceries, which are somewhat necessary. So I'll just stay home this summer.
Oh, and some important decisions have been made, namely: Instead of going to Dublin in the spring of 2004, I have decided to go in summer instead, thus giving me extra time to earn the $10,000 I'll need, and also allowing me to coach a Bible Quiz team all the way through Nationals, something I desperately want to do. So it's all good. I'll be in this town for an extra six months or so, but when I finally do get to Dublin, it'll be all the sweeter.
Anyway. It's nearly time for math class, and before that I have to talk to my teacher about meeting with her on Thursday to go over the stuff I missed last week. So I'll be back with more bloggy fun later. Namar.
Current Music: Some song of which I don't know the name, but which I've heard several times on the radio, by an artist I've never heard of.
Current Thought: Okay, school's over for the day... Now the hard part starts.
I'm torn. Half of me is so unmeasurably relieved and glad that I said what I said when I said it. The other half is unmeasurably afraid that I have, once more, gone and ruined a perfectly good friendship. But at least I've said it. I did everything I could, and it's not up to me anymore.
Do you have any idea how good that feels?
On that note, I have to say a huge thank you to Natalie. The letter I wrote you was therapeutic, and the conversation we had was even better. You told me what I had to do to change things, and I hope I did the same for you (in a totally unrelated situation, of course). That, coupled with some very fervent last-minute prayer (along the lines of, "Sweet God in heaven, what in Your holy name am I going to say?!"), gave me a lot of courage. And have I mentioned that I'm happy for you? No, I probably haven't. Well, I'm mentioning it now.
I don't think the person I spoke to last night expected me to say what I said. I don't think I expected me to say what I said, but I said it, and that's what counts. That excruciating, heartbreaking part of my life is finally over, and I think I can begin to move on.
Anyway. Y'all may not hear from me for a while; things are gonna get real hectic real soon. After Bible Quiz Nationals, I'll have a bit more time to post and converse and update. So for now, thanks for reading, and namar.
Current Music: The Valley Song, Jars of Clay (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: I've never been so depressed in my life.
Last night:
I dreamt that my cat, Minnie, had kittens. And they were all mini-Minnies, except for one that was all brown with a few black spots thrown in. Also last night, I dreamt that my Bible Quiz team went to a cabin on the lake, and there was a dinky little gift shop/antique store nearby, and inside I found a rack of vinyl records. Among them were several rare and collectible U2 EPs and LPs, with songs I'd never heard of before, and cover pictures of the band when they were teenagers. And I found myself blessed with quite a bit of money with which to purchase these little black circular gems, and just as I was making my valuable selections, I woke up. Oh, pain. Oh, irony. I wish I could live in dreams.
Night before last:
I dreamt that I and the rest of my youth group went to a big party at the Williams' house. And we were all hanging out, and it was cool, until I looked in the driveway and realized that not only was my Camry there, but my parents' Stratus was as well. Oh crap, I thought, how am I going to get both cars home? Then, to add insult to injury, I realized that the Axons' Isuzu (which now somehow belonged to us) was also there. So I had to get three cars home. And then I tried calling my parents on Natalie's cell phone, but her phone was like some complicated computer, and when I dialed their number, it started playing jazz music. So I tried it on Luke L.'s phone, and that didn't work either. And the last thing I remember was that I was driving the Stratus and Natalie was behind me in the Camry, and we were on the highway, and that was it.
Current Music: Grateful Dead (I think), on the Writing Center stereo.
Current Thought: I'm done with Political Science homework! Yessss!!!
Yesterday I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the first time, beginning to end. It wasn't exactly the festival of hilarity that everyone I know seems to think it is. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but I was kinda disappointed. Minute-for-minute, I think Dr. Strangelove was funnier.
Anyway. Yesterday, I also had a little impromptu debate with Katrina about acting skills. Specifically the acting skills of Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves, and which one actually has acting skills. My vote went to Cruise, but mostly because he's the lesser of two evils. I simply despise Reeves in every film he's ever been in. And everyone else at church agreed with me, but Katrina and her mother seem to have some strange attachment to Keanu, and insist that he beats Cruise any day of the week. *sigh* There's just no accounting for taste anymore.
So. Also on yesterday, I went to rehearsal and then hung out afterwards waiting for Sam to arrange the trip to Jhan's house to watch Monty Python. Then I tried calling Natalie to get her to come along as well, and she somehow managed to turn my well-intentioned invitation into something along the lines of "I've got work to do, and you're immature and irresponsible, and you don't think about other people." I'm really pissed now. I mean, really. It's stewing. It really is.
Well, enough about yesterday-- let's talk about today. Today I came to work, and I've spent most of that time doing homework for Political Science that's due tomorrow. But now I'm done, done, done, and free, free, free! I was gonna cut out early and go sit in the car for an hour and eat cookies, but I'm not sure who else is gonna be working from 1:30 to 2:30, so I'll probably just stick around and get my cookies afterward. Yippee.
Current Music: Classical, on the Writing Center stereo. And God Put a Smile Upon Your Face, Coldplay (still stuck in my head)
Current Thought: I'm at work. Whee.
So I realized after I posted yesterday's entry that I didn't actually say anything about yesterday. Shame on me. Okay. Yesterday was cool. I slept through my alarm (if it even went off) and didn't get up until 9:25. Then I spent a little while trying to figure out whether or not I should go to Sunday school, having already missed church, and I finally decided to have a leisurely morning and not get all stressed out. So I ate breakfast, took a shower, and decided to go to Wal-Mart and buy A Rush of Blood to the Head, since I finally had money.
Off I went. Found the CD, and it was two dollars more than I expected (a shocking $13.88, just a little pricey for Wal-Mart), but when I went to check out, it rang up as $9.86. The cashier (who looked disturbingly similar to an older version of Adam Clayton) joked that he would gladly charge me $13.88, but I demurely declined, and I bought Coldplay's second CD for the same price I paid for their first CD. I love Wal-Mart.
So then I went across the street to Circuit City, where a friend had bought his awesome car stereo CD player for $35 (it was a box return), and I browsed there looking for CD cases and players. Didn't see any unbelievably cheap box returns. In fact, most of their CD players were unbelievably expensive. Oh, well.
Finally it was off to the church, where I sat in my car in the rain waiting for rehearsal to start. Katrina came and sat with me for a while, and we listened to ARoBttH. Then Katrina's mom came and they went to get food, and I drove to McDonald's for a Filet o' Fish. (Side note: Is the "o'" some sort of reference to the Irish, and if so, what does it have to do with fish? And why is there a reference to the Irish at a restaurant with a Scottish name? If I were Irish--would that it were so-- and my last name was O'fish, I'd name my kid Filly.) Anyway. Then I came back and went to rehearsal, which was total chaos but tons of fun. A highlight from the day... Sam: "Yes, we must go to see Jesus in Galilee." Matt: (ad libbing) "Did you get the tickets?"
After that, it was off to Matt's surprise birthday party. Matt and his family live a little ways out of town, amongst the green rolling hills and cow-dotted fields. So I was driving along to the sounds of Coldplay, enjoying the beauty of the landscape, and I looked in my rearview mirror in time to see Amy and Matt in Amy's car behind me. Oh crap, I thought, he'll recognize my car. I should have kept driving past their driveway and then doubled back so as not to ruin the element of surprise... but instead, I waved. Stupid, yes. Funny, too. The element of surprise wasn't ruined too much in advance-- before long we reached their house, and everyone else's cars were in the driveway.
The party was fun. I got to play with the Whites' amazing collection of Legos. (They had a Lego elephant. An elephant! And not just one, but two! I was in heaven!) Then we watched an episode of the original Star Trek series on cable, and it happened to be the episode that had the first ever interracial kiss on TV. Wow. That was something.
Anyway. I came home, did quiz, sat around, listened to Coldplay, and went to bed. And that was Sunday.
Current Music: God Put a Smile Upon Your Face, Coldplay (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: Gah... I have to go to work tomorrow.
Well, it looks as though Sam finally caved and got a weblog. Good for him. Everybody go read it!
So it's been a pretty good week. Saturday was a quiz tournament in St. Louis, and Tsunami did all right... The trip up and back was fun. I listened to Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head the entire time. Yes, I still love that CD. In fact, I finally bought it today with some money my grandparents spontaneously gave me. Hooray! It's mine, all mine... my precioussssss...
In other news, the Pirates of the Caribbeantrailer is up. Huzzah! That movie's gonna suck, but it will be so funny... and of course, there's Orlando to balance out the suckiness. :^D
Anyway. That's it for me tonight... Fare thee well, and namar.
|Wow, that kinda sorta maybe almost makes up for it.|
Current Music: Umm... various snippets of different stuff that pops into my head and then disappears almost instantly.
Current Thought: I'm still gonna kill Sam.
So early this morning I started having a really really good dream. I mean really good. You know why?
Joaquin Phoenix was in it.
That's right. So yes, I'm happy. And it wasn't just that he was in it-- the dream itself was really cool. All ethereal and, well, dreamy. Like a Francesca Lia Block novel. I remember very little of it now, but it was quite beautiful.
And it's not the first Joaquin dream I've had this week... It's quite odd. I think he might be a metaphor for someone else. But I'm not complaining-- I'm just enjoying it while it happens.
Anyway. Come tomorrow, we'll know how Operation Kill Sam went. I'll keep you posted. Namar.
Current Music: Carnival, by Natalie Merchant (stuck in my head from trying to learn the solo)
Current Thought: He may not be dead yet, but I'm gonna kill him.
Well, after seeing this, I think my lifespan has lost a few years. (Those probably aren't the only years that Sam has taken off my life... but it's certainly the most at one time.) So anyway, yes. Sam will officially die now. I will kill him for giving me such a scare.
By the way, happy April Fool's Day, everyone.
Okay, so yeah. Time to update you all on the exciting developments in my life. This last weekend was Bible Quiz Regionals in St. Joseph, and Tsunami did a phenomenal job. We won every quiz, and at one on Friday night we broke 800 points. It was nifty. We took 1st place over all, and all placed very high individually. Nevermind that I had a cold the whole time (and still do). It was awesome.
So then I got home and my cousin, who is a manager a local grocery-type corporation, called to inform me that said corporation is going to hire college students for the summer months to do fill-in work for the folks on vacation. It's gonna be about 37 hours a week, plus overtime. And they pay $10 an hour. So that's nifty. I've got an application ready to go, and I'll be taking that over this weekend.
Anyway. The rest of my time recently has been spent on homework and guitar, trying to figure out the solo in Natalie Merchant's Carnival. I'm gonna master that song if it kills me... and it probably will. (Grey hairs from Sam acting like he's dead; grey hairs from guitar... pretty soon I'll have ulcers and crap like that.)
And that's about it for now... Mom just got home, so I'm off to deliver my application and spend the rest of the evening working with Michael on his next web project. Fare thee well, and Namarie.
Current Music: The soundtrack to Powaqqatsi, Philip Glass
Current Thought: See post title.
Last night I dreamt that I dyed my hair blue. I've been wanting to dye my hair blue for the longest time. It looked really cool in my dream.
Anyway. Today was a Bible Quiz tourney, and St. Louis' teams actually came to us this time, instead of the other way around. It went all right. We won some, we lost some. That is, after all, how it goes.
Afterwards I tried calling Sam, who had told Jhan that it was very likely he'd go to the quiz, but never showed up. Sam didn't answer his cell phone. Big surprise. I left a message and told him to call me at home. He didn't. I've tried calling several times since then, but always to no avail. Where is that boy? I'm bored out of my skull and he's off somewhere without his cell phone on! Doesn't he know it's Saturday?
Erm. Yes. Well. I came home in time to greet my parents and their friend, Nancy, who's visiting from Kansas City, before they left for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Then I came in and blasted Coldplay's Clocks on the computer's subwoofer, which sounded fantastic. (Subwoofers rock. Gateway computers rock. Coldplay rocks.) I really need to buy that CD. I really need money to buy that CD. (On a side note, Hannah's Rules For Knowing When You Really Need To By a CD, #18: Spend a weekend driving around with a friend who listens to one CD, and only one CD, the whole time. If at the end of the weekend you still like the CD, buy it.)
In other news, I learned to play Norah Jones' Come Away With Me this evening, which is nice and easy to play, but a little low in my range. I might go back to the transposed, higher version I found online, for ease in vocal flexibility. Both versions sound really good on my Fender, and once I've got Natalie playing piano along with it, I'm sure it'll be just lovely. Now I just have to learn the impossible solo.
Okay, I think that's all I can stand to type right now. Until next time, UP THE IRONS!!! Err, I mean, umm... Namarie.
Current Music: Bullet the Blue Sky, U2 (stuck in my head)
Current Thought: Three updates in one day. A new record, methinks.
When he told me it was true
I could have said something comforting.
I could have reached out to take his hand
Or touch his shoulder or his brow,
Wrinkled with remorse and shame.
I could have put my arms around him
And let him do what he had to,
To cry or scream or beg forgiveness.
I could have and should have done
Any number of things
To show that I still cared, that I forgave him
That I wouldn't hold it against him.
But I didn't do any of those things.
Instead I turned around
And went back inside where there was light,
And I left him outside, alone in the rain.
