Experiences with time.

I am up late...again. What is it with me and not having enough willpower to go to sleep at a reasonable hour? It's not like I'm doing anything interesting. I mean, I'm syncing my iPod. How exciting! (note the sarcasm)

Perhaps staying up is my subconscious rebellion against the bedtimes of my not-so-distant childhood, when I thought that ten o'clock was beyond late and staying awake until midnight was ludicrous. Those were also the days when the only car I drove was my red and yellow plastic foot-powered automobile and my only aspirations were to one day be an artist/scientist/writer after a mere four years of college. Things have changed quite a bit, haven't they?

I really don't have much to talk about except little tidbits from work, which aren't really that interesting...

I know! How about a little un-interesting story?

One day, Queen Kelstiki was working on some origami when Miss Monotone walked by.

"Ummm... liKe... What arrre you doing?" she said in her most boring voice that made her question sound like a statement.

"Oh, I'm just--"

"I hate the relationship I'm in," Miss Monotone interjected, completely oblivious to the fact that Queen Kelstiki was trying to speak.

"That's too bad..." Queen Kelstiki replied, unsure of what to say to this almost-stranger who was revealing very personal information.

"I like this other guy liKe a LOT," Miss Monotone continued, revealing with her voice none of the affection she claimed to feel. Queen Kelstiki had nothing to say, which was quite surprising considering her tendency towards verbosity. Unfortunately, her silence provided just enough incentive for Miss Monotone to launch a very long and very one-sided conversation with Miss Monotone about Miss Monotone. What could Queen Kelstiki do but pretend to listen politely and hope that it would be over soon?

It wasn't.

The End

(That story makes a small corner of my soul cry)

Admiration does not equate to fangirl status. Just so you know.

Finally! "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is back! This week Laina and I have been plopping in front of the television every evening to enjoy our favorite, bald-headed, tattooed, hundred-plus-year-old pre-teen. What can I say? I'm a sucker for epic stories (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings...). The important question is this: what would happen if these characters were pitted against each other gladiator-style? Scintillating.

Aang vs. Anakin (alliteration!), Harry vs. Zuko (they both have teen ANGST...), Azula vs. Palpatine (they could take turns electrocuting each other!), Katara vs. Luke, Toph vs. Tonks, et cetera!

You know, it would be very bad if Lupin met Princess Yue...

So, what is going to happen? Will Aang battle it out with the Fire Lord? Will he finally get together with Katara? Will Zuko survive being Azula's traitor-brother? These are the questions that keep me up at night. I dwell not on the matters of this world (the foreign policy of the U.S., the presidential elections, the reverberations of the Beijing Olympics) but on the matters of a world far removed (and fictional). The best thing is that all of my questions will be answered by Saturday.

But is it really that spectacular? Yes, yes it is. This is a cartoon with a continuous storyline that explores morality and ethics while maintaining a balance between comedy and drama during a time when most other shows written for the same demographic are relying solely on gags to keep their audiences entertained. Not only that, but the world of Avatar is a beautiful conglomeration of cultural and fantastical elements, creating a distinct, interesting, and original reality. I understand that I am heaping on the praise, but it not often that something of this caliber appears on television.

The summer wind...

In my post before my stint with the Syncing Lips, I was avoiding people, doing calculus, and reading Ender's Shadow. My how things have changed! Quick update on the last month or so: I graduated (went to Grad Nite at Disneyland, had a grad party and went to grad parties), got a Disneyland pass, got a job, listened to Sara Bareilles' album "Little Voice" many times, and I read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. (If you want to read my commencement speech, it's here on Nemesia's blog. )

I am steeped in summer. Sleepovers and beach days and convertibles! Not to mention a minimum-wage seasonal job. I keep having this feeling that things are never going to be quite like this again. How sad to be living a summer of lasts.

Last night Catherine and Carrin slept over. My favorite part besides the amazingly delicious funnel cake that Catherine provided? I would say... the lightsaber fight! And stargazing. I was so excited to see the Milky Way. Usually the sky is dotted with stars, but last night there were so many more than usual. I just laid down on the driveway and feasted my eyes on the heavens. What else can one do in the presence of beauty? Today I wasn't doing anything, so I reread Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Stars! So breathtakingly lonely. They make me feel hungry for life.

Oh my. I'm subjecting you to my teenage musings! Beware...I don't expect to escape this stage of my life any time soon. Anyway, adieu dear friends, family, and Facebook stalkers! Even though I may let out a little of my tortured soul just to say hi every once in a while (her name is Sherry), I do promise to write more often than I did during the past, oh, eight months of inactivity.

APU countdown: 56 days!

Up Close and Personal With: The Syncing Lips, Part 3

Up Close and Personal With: The Syncing Lips, Part 2

Up Close and Personal With: The Syncing Lips, Part 1

the Syncing Lips

Feeling rather anti-social.

I don't think of myself as an anti-social person. On the contrary, I enjoy the company of my family and friends. However, my actions might indicate otherwise. For example, it's currently Thanksgiving Break - a wonderful week-long respite from the demands of school. How many times have I seen my friends? Well, I saw some of them on Sunday... because I went to church. Otherwise, I've been holed up at home, doing Calculus homework and reading "Ender's Shadow".

What happened to the "me" that enjoys dressing nicely, going to Starbucks, and having crazy sleepovers involving Martinelli's and karaoke?!

I have come to the conclusion that extended breaks from routine cause me to exhibit my worst personality tendencies. In other words, I get really, really lazy and even more nerdy than usual. >.< Oy.

What could possibly cure my inability to do anything productive? Perhaps I need some sort of pocket fairy who can whip me into shape. Or I could just try to develop good time-management habits. Hm. I think the fairy sounds a little more likely.

Yum!

I was craving cookies.

Laina and I checked the pantry, and there were no cookies or cookie mix, or even flour with which to make cookies from scratch. :( But we did find...













Cake mix!! YEAH.

California's burning.

It's so strange and surreal. There are 500 homes burned beyond recognition. Over 250,000 people have been evacuated in San Diego County. I can see an orange glow that seems to be just beyond the hills outside my window. Those flames are a 20 minute drive away. Much too close for comfort. May have to evacuate.

This is by far the largest fire in the history of California. One would think that I would be happy about not having school, but I just have more time to think about the worst possible situations that could happen.



Pray for us.

Photograph found in this article.

Ha! HAHAHA!

Huzzah!

This is my 100th post!!

*party horns*

*happy dance*

Hm, what to talk about in my 100th post? Well, I believe that this is an appropriate time to announce that... I am procrastinating! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am putting off my homework as usual. Well, perhaps I am just taking a break, since I just finished my Calculus homework. There's a quiz on Monday, so I have to understand the shortcut of finding the derivative/slope/tangent/velocity, considering that mastered the long way... almost.

Wow, it's my special 100th post and I'm talking about Calculus?! Oy. That says a lot about me.

The truth is, I haven't been up to much lately. I saw Brittany's showcase last night, discussed Disney princesses... It's strange, because that topic always comes up, and I always complain about the lack of ethnic diversity among the aforementioned princesses. For Halloween, I am going to be Jasmine, even though I'm not Middle-Eastern. Quite exciting! But what else have I done? Nothing, apart from homework! It consumes my life.

Well, that concludes this lovely post. Yay for 100!

Oh! I am slain!

That was the best line in Hamlet, uttered by the "foolish" Polonius.

Wait, what? It's September?! Why didn't anyone TELL ME?

Just kidding, I know what month it is. However, it doesn't feel like it's the month that it actually is. Sometimes I think I'm somewhere in November, and other times it is so August I can just feel the eights coming out of my pencil when I write the date under my name on my calculus homework.

Isn't Dad's birthday sometime soon? Hm, I don't know... (note my joking tone).

Yesterday was quite a wonderful day! I saw a professional production of Hamlet, which was also my first time seeing Shakespeare done by professionals. It was absolutely wonderful! I got butterflies, and I nearly cried. Not only was the set beautifully functional and the costumes gorgeous but the acting was excellent. Hamlet was played by Lucas Hall, who portrayed the character so well; his comedic timing was perfect, he wasn't too morose, and he certainly was not overly violent like some people in inaccurate movie versions of this wonderful play *cough*melgibson*cough*.

I fell in love with the play while reading it, and seeing this production has made me love it even more. No matter that the plot could be a soap opera. At least it would be an amazing soap opera with great language. In fact, C.S. Lewis wrote once how great art is that which appeals to the common person, not high, uninterpretable rubbish that not even the artist understands. So the overly-dramatic nature of Hamlet is really a testament to Shakespeare's understanding of good entertainment.

Hamlet is such a better character than, say, Romeo. I mean, even though they both managed to die by the end, at least Hamlet had real conflict and changed over time. Romeo was so... well, he claimed to fall in love with an adolescent girl based on her good looks and then killed himself because he couldn't be with her. So, if I had to choose one, I'd pick Hamlet. Even though he might tell me to get to a nunnery whenever we got into fights, and I'd have problems with my in-laws, at least he wouldn't be like Romeo who would cheat on me with every pretty girl he came across.

Music.

The piano's world encompasses glass-nerved virtuosi and stomping barrel-housers in fedoras; it is a world of pasture and storm, of perfumed smoke, of liquid mathematics.
-Kenneth Miller

Ah, yes, piano. How lovely it is to play! And my fingers barely forgot the movements. Hurrah for muscle memory! After all, I haven't played very much in the past six months. >.<

I never knew...

Gah! I want to be a nerd fighter! I think this is one of my callings in life... you know, besides the other one.

Woe is me! Only two weeks!

First of all, I would like to apologize to my faithful reader. I haven't posted in quite a while, which is an awful thing, because I've been on Myspace almost constantly since I got back from Shasta. That leads me to question my former stance as an anti-myspacist. What am I now that I have essentially turned to the dark side? A lukewarm-not-really-anti-myspacist? I feel as if my world has turned upside down... *tear tear*

In other news, much has happened this summer! I will present events in list form, since there is simply too much to write about.

The moment school got out...

I was happy to be rid of that stifling place, but I was sad that my high school years are coming to a close.

Then there was the Road Trip, not to be confused with the First Road Trip. This one went to North Dakota via Colorado. My butt was unhappy, to say the least, but I was pretty lethargic the entire time, so it worked out. I got a lot of reading done, too.


And I visited Morgan, whom I hadn't seen in many years! Okay, so maybe three years doesn't count as "many", but 3 years out of 17 is 18 percent of my life, which is a large chunk.



I also visited family in North Dakota, "where the West begins". There was much singing, and playing of instruments, and a bit of shopping, plus competitiveness when we went go-kart racing. (My car was the best the first round!)


I also went to Girls State. That was like three weeks squished into one. A little too productive for my tastes during the summer, but what a bonding experience.



Shasta was really the highlight of my summer, though. All of the singing and swimming and general merry-making, combined with lack of sleep was almost overwhelming. And then Friday night happened, and bam! Everything changed. God does crazy stuff at camp.

So now I'm back to my schedule of doing nothing, although I have to go get my pictures developed today. I just discovered The Brothers 2.0, otherwise known as John and Hank Green. Quite funny.

Beef.

Photograph courtesy of Joseph Fickle. Doodling courtesy of me!

A story.

Not very long ago in a place not so far away, there once was a regal ruler named Queen Kelstiki. She lived in the Tiki Tower, overlooking the rolling hills of California. She was a wonderful ruler. With the loyal Ted and mischievous Ni as her principle advisors, Queen Kelstiki made sure that her subjects were well-taken care of. Queen Kelstiki had one problem that made life very difficult. She absolutely could not wake up in the morning.
Queen Kelstiki tried everything in order to get out of bed on time. She made the beep on her radio extremely loud. She tuned the radio to an annoying AM station that would go off in the morning. However, nothing she tried made her ready to face the day.
"What shall I do?" Queen Kelstiki asked Ted and Ni. Ted looked at her blankly, and Ni let out a nondescript "mrreow" and went slinking to his royal apartment. Maybe they weren't so much help after all.
One day out of pure frustration, Queen Kelstiki went out to the Fort de Faul. She talked to herself, venting her anger at her inability to be responsible in this one thing. Unbeknownst to her, there were fairies in the flower bushes surrounding the fort. Fortunately for Queen Kelstiki, these fairies were of the helpful variety, and they twittered excitedly about how they could help the distraught queen.
The next morning, Queen Kelstiki felt warm and cozy in her huge, four-poster bed. After a little while, the warm and cozy aspect turned into hot and uncomfortable. She rolled out of bed and blinked her eyes several times in an attempt to maintain consciousness. As her vision became less blurry, she realized that she was not alone in the Tiki Tower.
"Gah!" she yelled, startled by the fairy fluttering three feet from her face.
"Hi!" said the fairy cheerily. Queen Kelstiki squinted a bit and the little form in front of her.
"Princess Honeydew!" Queen Kelstiki exclaimed, excitement giving her new energy.
"Why yes, that is me," Princess Honeydew replied. She was a plump, cherubic fairy with curly, brown hair and Queen Kelstiki was so excited because Princess Honeydew was her beloved niece, the daughter of Queen Kelstiki's sister the Tinkle Fairy, whom she hadn't seen in many months.
"I come bearing gifts!" Princess Honeydew said enthusiastically. Queen Kelstiki waited expectantly. When nothing happened, Princess Honeydew cleared her throat and repeated, "I come bearing GIFTS!"
At that moment, several fairies came out of their hiding places around the room. They all did a little jig, spirit fingers and all. Then, they pointed at Princess Honeydew, who produced a beautiful box. Holding it out to Queen Kelstiki, she prompted her to open it. Queen Kelstiki leaned over from her seat on the edge of her bed and carefully lifted the lid. Bells tinkled lightly as she peered into the box. Inside on a luscious cushion was a lavender bottle of Princess perfume. Queen Kelstiki gasped with delight.
"Yay!" she squealed. Jumping out of bed, Queen Kelstiki sprayed the air with the delightful fragrance and pranced through the mist. She could have sworn that the air sparkled with the stuff. The most amazing part was that she did not even feel tired anymore.
"Auntie, this perfume is to help you wake up in the morning," Princess Honeydew explained, "My friends who live in the flowers near Fort de Faul told me all about it, and Mommy thought that my namesake perfume would be a great help."
"Thank you so much, Princess Honeydew!" Queen Kelstiki said enthusiastically.
"You're welcome!" said the little fairy princess, before giving her auntie a quick kiss and then flying out the window.
From that day on, Queen Kelstiki did not have such a difficult time waking up in the morning. All of her subjects decided to create a holiday in honor of the momentous change, and they all lived happily ever after, or at least close to it.

Prom!

Prom was yesterday! It was lots of fun (or at least I thought so). I had a sparkly dress, and there was a chocolate fountain and a carousel! What more can I say?

Ni's adventure

Poor Ni. He just didn't understand the concept of gravity.

Press Release: Ni's Response
There have been allegations that I, Ni, was attempting to slide down the banister. I would like to assure my public that that was not the case. In fact, I have suspicions that the video was not even of me, despite the people in the background saying my name. My sources say that the voices were added after the original video was taken. I am worried that this video is just the first in an awful smear campaign against me. Rest assured that I am not that clumsy.