Nerves and Coffee

Tomorrow is Region contest for One Act Play. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I am super excited and scared and nervous and I want for us to advance. Please, keep our whole team in your prayers today, tomorrow, and saturday. We will be very nervous and anxious. This is the second time (I think) that THS has ever gone to region in One Act, so we all feel pretty special. We have been working every day almost since the last contest. We will be leaving our school at about 7 in the morning, and we perform at about 4 in the afternoon. We will be staying the night at a hotel near there. At least pray for us to do well and have safe travels.

I had coffee this morning for, like, the first time in a week, so I am really jittery and the anxiety of contest being tomorrow just kind of makes it worse. AAAAH!

I have to make sure that I check for any make-up work today, so that I won't be bombarded on monday, AND so that the teachers won't be upset about it. I already have my bags mostly packed for tomorrow, but even then I will be running around like a chicken with its head cut off tonight, trying to get everything ready and double-checking what I have to pack.

Yesterday, one act practice only lasted about an hour, so I thought I was going to have extra time to do stuff. I really didn't. Immediately after practice, we went over to my grandparents' place and worked on washing some of the dishes that were in their china cabinets in the fire. The cabinets were wood, but they were in the part of the house that didn't really burn. They are covered in soot and stuff, but they are salvagable. The cabinets are not worth anything though, because the smoke and heat has damaged the wood. Yesterday we washed the set of dishes that my mom and I chose to inherit (my grandparents had 4 boys). They are a cream color with gold-ish edges and green leaves and pink flowers on them. there are cups and plates and bowls and all kinds of things. There are at least three other sets that need to be washed, and some women from the church that my grandparents go to are supposed to come over today and work on them, because they want to help. I am amazed at how well Simple Green, which is a de-greaser, works to get the gross-ness off.

My Gold Key came in the mail the other day. Its a little gold pin that looks like a key with a circle on it that says "The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards". I put it on the collar of my letterman so that I can wear it and show it off all the time. I kind of wish that it was a necklace instead, but its still cool that I can wear it.

I'm going to go try and finish reading my book, because it just got really good. Its called "Stolen" and its by Lucy Christopher. Its about a girl who is kidnapped in England and taken to Australia. Its really good.

Love,
Elizabeth W.

I really don't have anything to talk about but I'm blogging anyway...

I am currently reading a book about WW2. Its called Between Shades of Gray, and its by Ruta Sepetys. Its a really good book, but I want to hurry up and finish it. I keep getting hassled for it because the name is similar to that of a book that is well known for being not-so-nice. I keep telling people that it has nothing to do with that, but they keep picking on me for it.

I really have no clue how I can vlog today or tomorrow. I will get home at like 9 today, so I will probably vlog during or after drama pratice. I may not get to edit it. I might be able to upload it while I am eating dinner. As far as tomorrow, I am going to visit a college, then I will be taking some senior pictures in places with bluebonnets. I really don't know when I will find the time to vlog. Welll, technically the vlogging can happen any time during the day, since I will be able to have my camera with me. But, I may not be able to upload it until late at night, if at all. I've been thinking about getting up rather early and uploading a vlog before I leave, but that will be kind of difficult. I will be leaving the house at 7 or so, maybe earlier, so I don't know how early I will be able to get up. I would like to get a decent amount of sleep tonight.

Today, I may be going to see a play. My drama teacher is thinking about cutting practice short to go as a group and see "The Great Gatsby", which is the other advancing play, and our competition. Supposedly it was really good. I hope so, because I don't want to practice from 4 to 8:30.

I'm not very talkative because I haven't had coffee in a whole week. Our Keurig machine broke, and we haven't gotten the chance to get a new one yet, so I've gone without coffee since it broke. Well, I had some instant coffee on Sunday, but instant coffee is nowhere near the real thing. Hopefully we can get a new machine this weekend, so I can have coffee again. We have a normal coffee maker, but it takes too much effort and time to make coffee with it.

When I go to college, I hope I can have my own keurig coffee maker. That way I can have coffee whenever I want. I can fix it while I get ready. I will be staying in the dorms, so I hope the dorm I end  up in has two seperate bedrooms. I want to have a door that I can close to get away from my roommate if I need to. And I can keep it in my bedroom area if my roommate is mean or doesn't like coffee.

The wall beside my bed, which has been featured in several videos (look back at the ukulele covers) is covered in things that I like or think are cool. I don't know that I will take it down when I go to college, but I think I will make another in my dorm. I just think it would make a great background for vlogging and stuff.\

The other day, I created a box for things to take with me when I go to college, and every time I put something new in it I get excited. I just want to be able to have my own living area and be semi-independent.

Is it strange that I'm ready for college, but I'm not exactly ready to graduate high school? There are SOOOOO many things that I am going to miss. Chocolate chip cookies that we have at lunch. Easy classes. All my friends. And its almost a surreal thing to think that I have been working 13 years to get this far, and I've finally made it. I don't know what I'll do when I wake up the morning after graduating and think, wow, I will not step foot in that high school to go to classes for the rest of my life. I will never again have the experience of blogging in the library or sneaking into the teacher's lounge for snack during after school practices. And it makes me miss the little things, and the times long past, like playing crazy imagination games on the playground and being on teams during PE that were based on class. My first crush. Field day. Middle school dances. Prom. Pep-rallies. Singing songs together in class, or while walking down the hallway. Comments made on my pink skinny jeans or my unicorn backpack. Gosh, its almost all gone.

I do have a few things left before its over though. Senior Prom. Senior Trip. Filming a Telenovela. Checking my ranking one last time. Writing a speech (hopefully). Senior Pictures. Finishing my SMASH book. OAP contest. Aquatic Science field trip.

This life is made of so many things, and each year passes by faster and faster. I want to make the most of it.

Love,
Elizabeth W.

Monday

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged, so I'll start with Friday.

On Friday, we went to One Act Pay competition. We performed and did amazing. Our school is advancing to the next round for the first time since 2007. I got the award "Honorable Mention All-Star Cast". We preform for the school on Tuesday and Thursday of this week, and our Area competition is on April 11. I can't believe that we made it!

On Saturday, it was my brother's birthday. I got up early and did some online homework, then we all packed up and went to the mall. On the way there, we made a music video/montage that I'm going to edit together and put on my channel. He got to go to different stores and pick out his birthday gifts. I managed to get my mother to buy me a pair of pink skinny jeans though, so I got stuff too.Then we ate lunch at the food court. I had chick-fil-a, which was rather delicious. When we got home, I spent time reading and playing the ukulele. My mom and I baked a cake for my brother. It was a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake, and it was awesome. We were supposed to use a spring-form pan, so that we could make it, then take the sides off and it would be pretty. But, we couldn't find one, so we just made it in a pan, then put it on a plate. It was one of our first pinterest recipes. I watched my brother play one of his new games, The Walking Dead, also. One of the gifts that he got was a thing to make videos out of videogame play, so he will have his videogame channel up and running soon.

On Sunday, we got up and went to church. Then, we went out and ate mexican food, which was lovely. I had a delicious Torta, my favourite mexican sandwich. We went to Walmart and got some stuff. I found this soap/lotion dispenser that is a mickey mouse head that was on sale, and my mom let me get it so that I can put it with my "Stuff to take to college". When we got home, we played some ukulele, and then I put on some music and began cleaning my room-ish area in the corner of the living room. I managed to start a box for my "Stuff to take to college", and I have a significant amount of stuff already. Mainly lotion and soaps and stuff, but stuff nonetheless. Then I spent the rest of the night printing out scholarship applications, since I felt bad that I had missed the deadline for one of the big ones.

And, I think that is about all you need to know. I have to turn in my permission slip for the talent show today, but I have no clue who to turn it in to. I don't know where the sponsor teacher is during the day. I guess I'll take it to the office during lunch. I began going through my AP Government flashcards today, so maybe I'll be ready when the test comes. So far, I haven't found anything in them that seems relavent. I think I have the economics test in the bag though. I'm good at economics.

I finished reading the book "Room" this weekend also. I started the other book, "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight" this morning, and it seems pretty good, but not as good as "Room". I have done quite a bit of scholarship filling out and smash book-ing this morning also. I had coffee, so I just have to keep doing things.

Love,
Elizabeth W.

Room

Yesterday, at about this same time, I finished Les Miserables. It was a good book, but I was glad to finish it. Then, at lunch I went back to the library and got a new book. I was planning on getting "The Statistical Probablility of Love at First Sight", but I saw another book that I got instead. Its called "Room" and its by Emma Donoghue.

Room is about a boy who lives with his mom in this one room building. His mom was kidnapped and put into this room buy the character "Old Nick". She was used sexually by the man, and the boy, Jack is their child. Through a very complicated plan, they manage to escape. And thats as far as I have read. I'm about half way through. I think I might finish it by tomorrow. I think I'll check out another book today, just to make sure I have plenty to read tomorrow.

Tomorrow is one act play competition day. I'm scared and excited at the same time. It feels like there should still be a month's worth of practices left, but we only have today. I just want to get it over with.

I have drama practice today, but I also have to stay after school. I have to be in tutorials to take a quiz that I missed in spanish class. I'll probably have to go to tutorials on monday too, to do what I miss on friday. I just want the week to be over already. Tomorrow will be such a long day.

I really want to get back to reading, because I was at a really intense part.

Love,
Elizabeth W.

Clinic Day!

Today we have another clinic for One Act Play. There are only about three more weeks left of this stressful madness! Whoo!

Today we get to go to another school to get critiqued on our play in order to make it better. We are supposed to eat first lunch, which as thrown me off completely because I don't know who to sit with or anything. I also have to miss my after lunch classes and walking to the bus with Taylor, since we won't be back until 5 or so.

Yesterday, while shopping for costume stuff, I found some stuff for myself also. I got a pair of red high heels that are really shiny. They're not really high, but they make me a bit taller. They have cushioning in them too, so they're rather comfortable. I got a cute pair of flats that I will use for the play and probably wear at least once a week also. I found a shirt on the sale rack for $5 and I got it. It is just a grey tshirt that has snoopy from peanuts on it, but I like it because its comfy, cute, and it only cost $5.

I have had nothing to eat/drink today so far except coffee. It was good and has made me hyper, but I feel really hungry. Good thing I have lunch after this!

I am not looking foreward to the bus ride to the other school. I hate riding on buses because they stink and they're never the right temperature. Someone always decides to put the window down too, so my hair always gets messed up. I really don't care that much aboutmy hair, but I do not like when it gets in my face, which is what the wind causes it to do.

I am looking foreward to Prom and Senior Trip though. Those are coming up. Because our class has been really good about paying their dues, we basically won't have to pay anything for the trip, and we get to take fancy buses and stuff. We're going to six flags or something. I really could care less about amusement parks, but I'll get to hand out with my friends. I don't really care that much for roller coasters and stuff.

Someday, I want to got to Disney. I've never been to either theme park, but I've always wanted to go. There has never been enough money to get there and back and buy tickets and everything else. I hope we can go sometime in the near future. I love the fact that they have actual characters running around the park. I love cosplay type stuff for some reason... Probably because I'm and actor and I'm still a little kid on the inside.

I kind of want to keep writing so that Taylor will have something to read and think about while I'm gone. Yeah, I'm that thoughtful.

Doh! I'm ranked 42 in the stock game now. It all took a turn for the worse. My stocks are doing good, but not good enough to make me money. I think I just need to sell off some stuff. I think its strange that the stock market can be so addicting. Even though this is just a game and there is no real money involved, some people are obsessed.

I had a bad dream last night. Taylor was in it. It wasn't scary, but it wasn't pleasant. I really don't want to talk about it because it is kind of personal. Then again, now that I've said that I realize that all dreams are personal. When I woke up, I thought it had really happened and I almost freaked out. I hate dreams like that that are so realistic and hard to tell if they were just a dream.

Thanks to the channel "Vsauce" on YouTube, I learned something insignificantly interesting yesterday. When I was a kid, I would always see those little floaty bacteria looking things in my vision. I would sit there and stare at them and wonder what they were, but no adult would ever understand what they were when I described them. According to Vsauce, those are actually little microscopic organisms and things that live in the fluid in and around your eye. They're impossible to see unless you have a microscope. However, when the light is right and they get on the retina of your eye, they cause a shadow and you can see them. Thank you vsauce, for solving a lifelong mystery for me.

I did not make a video yesterday like I talked about. I decided that taking a camera into a store was probably not the best idea. Stores don't like that. And I thought it would be good to spend some quality chatting time with my mother. So, I didn't video anything. I really need to stop saying that I will do something, because I never do. I do have stuff to edit though. I hope to do that soon.

My leg just fell asleep. No me gusta. It feels all tingley and wierd now. I have this strange and irrational fear that one day I will be in a public place, just sitting there, and my leg will fall asleep without me noticing. Then I will try and get up to walk and I'll just fall over because my leg was asleep. I don't know if it could happen, but that is one of my irrational fears.

I feel like this blog follows the complicated and crazy thought proccess that my mind uses. I feel like I might confuse some people with my randomness too. Sorry (not)!

So, you know how I talked about starting google adsense on this blog and youtube when I turned 18? Well, I think I may do it over spring break instead. I'm averaging 100 views a day. I think I could be making some money off of this. I hate ads just as much as the next teenager (literally, I complained about it a few days ago), but I do think this will be a good thing. My mom and I talked it over and it seems like a good business decision. Next week is spring break for our school, so be ready.

Man, I have Thrift Shop stuck in my head. I have since I left the house this morning. It makes me want to go bargain hunting and stuff, and I don't have the ability to right now. Today that and "Heart of War" by FTF have been stuck in my head. Never both at once, but going back and forth between the two of them.

Love,
Elizabeth W.

The Bear Contest

As you know, there is currently a contest going on for my viewers/readers/fans. I figured you might want a picture to give an idea for the bear you are naming. So, here you go. Don't forget to comment your name idea!

HARK! The Weekend Comes! And A Contest Too!

I am so ready for saturday to be here. This week seemed to drag on and on. I hope to be able to do some video making tomorrow, but I have to take a test in DC Sociology and do some chores before I can do that.

Yesterday, I brought home the teddy bear that my dearest got me for valentines day, only to find that it is literally taller than John, my little brother who is in 1st grade! He is a small first grader compared to most, but that is still kinda crazy. I sat it on the corner of my bed and it took up like a fourth of the twin size matress! I have a feeling that the bear may make cameos in future videos though. Just a feeling...

Speaking of teddy bears, I am really terrible at naming things and the bear needs a name! (I will post a picture of it shortly) PLEASE help me! Just comment what you think the bear's name should be. At the end of the month, I'll take all of the names that you have given and put them in some kind of poll or random drawing in order to figure out what the name of the bear will be. You can comment here or on my youtube videos or even tell me on Google+. Just get the names to me and you will be able to have the name in the running for the contest.

Why am I doing a contest, you might ask? Well, I want to do this to get some audience interaction, ANNND because yesterday the blog reached over 4000 views! I feel like that is a good enough excuse to celebrate with a contest.

Last night I had a dream that I was explaining a concept in a book I'm reading to my grandmother. The book is "The Tao of Pooh", which is a book discussing the main ideas of taoism through Winnie the Pooh and his friends. I think the book is rather interesting (And I'm reading it for knowledge and enjoyment, NOT to convert to taoism!). The concept is called Wu Wei and it is basically the idea of going through life and just going with the flow. You don't worry and stress over things and you don't force things to happen, you just let them happen in their own time.

I think this is a philosophy that I started trying to live my life by about a year or two ago. Basically, I stopped stressing about things that I cannot change and just doing what I had to to meet my level of giving 110%. I stopped worrying so much about what others thought and just kind of started going with the flow instead of rushing everything. I really think that the philosophy of Wu Wei, or The Pooh Way, as the book calls it, is a great way to live a happy life.

I think I am becoming sort of a trendsetter. I don't really mean to be, but I have started noticing people who copy me. Or at least they are doing something that I have been doing for a long time. First of all, I have a bunch of sock monkeys, and I have 3 sock monkey keychains on my backpack. I have gotten many compliments on them and I have started seeing others with these same kind of keychains on their backpack here recently. I've had the keychains for at least two years, and I haven't seen any others until this year. Crazy, right? And I think there might be a unicorn backpack fad on its way, because I keep getting compliments on my Unicorn backpack (its shaped like a unicorn and looks like a stuffed animal). I'm not sure if its a good thing or not that people are starting to copy me, or if its just my imagination. Either way, it is an interesting phenomenon.

Happy Friday!

Love,
Elizabeth W.