I started reading "The Fault In Our Stars" yesterday and I am more than half way through the book. Literally cannot stop reading it. I managed to put it down while I type this, but I'm still thinking about the story.
There are many things that I hate and many things that I love about John Green's books. I love the fact that the characters seem so real and that they are so relatable. I love that the plot is very unpredictable and totally different than what you would expect. However, I hate the fact that half way through he tries to kill of the main character. It makes for a good story, but it drives me crazy. It also bothers me that he puts many things in the form of ABC/123 lists when he writes. Sometimes is okay, but he seems almost obsessed. I love that he is such a quotable author.
"I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once."
His use of language and plot elements just makes for a delicious novel. However, I have no clue what I will do with my life once I finish reading TFIOS and the books that he has co-written.
Yesterday I told my drama teacher that I would not be able to come to One act play practice on one day during spring break. I knew she would be unhappy, but she really overreacted. I have only missed one other day, so she can just kiss it. It being my foot. Although that seems a lot more insulting and a lot less creepy when said aloud.
I have not had coffee in the mornings for several days. I actually did some mild working out yesterday. Hopefully I can keep it up and maybe increase it so that I can be sure to fit in my prom dress a little better. Meh. I hate exercise.
I really don't know what to talk about. I just want to go back to reading TFIOS.
I have to do an FRQ next period in Economics. Free Response Question. I really hate AP classes and exams. My senior year will be over in just a little more than a six weeks as far as grades go, but I still have to take the AP exams and finish my dual credit class. BLECH.
I will see you tomorrow.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I finished TFIOS during 4th period. I now no longer know what to do with the rest of my life. I guess I have to go buy the books that John Green co-wrote now, so that I can read them. Is it possible to be addicted to books? I think I may have a problem.
TFIOS was really a great book. The ending was sad, but realistic... Mostly. I know the characters are not real, but I can't help feeling sorry for them.
I finished the book in two days. Actually less.
Well, I have nothing else to do but class is almost over, so bye.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
February 12, 2013
February 11, 2013
How the Second Blog Came to be...
Yesterday, I was on a chat with the people in my sociology project group. We are basically four random strangers thrown together for the amuzement of a professor, and we have to write a research paper together. However, the chat would not work right and kept disconnecting. So, we moved our project over to blogger. This is the first time that I have ever worked with people that I have never met, besides the 365 nerds project, so I think it is going rather well. I added all of them as authors so they can post whenever and whatever. Hopefully, it will work out.
I finished reading "Looking for Alaska" this morning and began two other books: The Fault in Our Stars and The Tao of Pooh. One of which is about taoism and how it relates to Winnie the Pooh, and the other is a John Green novel about two cancer patients who are teenagers. I think I'm going to give up on Dreamcatcher by Stephen King for right now. I think I'm too occupied with other things. I'll write down the page number that I am on and read the rest of it someday in the future.
The date I went on Saturday was fun. We went to the mall and saw a movie and went out to eat and talked about everything under the sun. I can't categorize it as good or bad in the way that everyone wants me to because I have nothing to compare it to. That was the first date I have ever been on. He is also the first guy I have been with for more than two days. Unless you count the "we're little kids and we think we like like eachother so we'll sit by eachother and hold hands and pass notes" thing that I had with a kid when I was in first or second grade.
My best friend and I talked about it and she said that I have to tell her when it becomes official. But what is "official" really? When we go out on our first date? When we hold hands for the first time? When he asks me if I would be his girlfriend (do guys do that, or is that just a fairytale thing?)? I am really truly confused by this relationship stuff.
I am also not used to being in any kind of relationship. I keep forgetting that there is a person that I might need to text or talk to at least once a day. I am really bad at relationships.
I got my prom dress this weekend also. I an $800 dress for about $100. It was at this thing called "The 27 Dresses Project" that a local business started. Basically, everyone donated their prom dresses from previous years. Then, girls who don't have the ability to buy dresses get their dresses for free and everyone else gets their dresses at a discounted price. My dress was the first one that you saw when you walked in the door. It is long and green and it makes me feel like a princess when I wear it. I looked through all of the other dresses and I couldn't find anything that I really liked. So, I went and tried on the green dress, even though I had been told that a bunch of people had tried it on and it didn't fit any of them right. It fit perfectly. My mom told me that I couldn't gain any weight between now and prom though, and I need to do a little more exercising and healthy eating to make sure of it.
This morning I found out that one of my best friends is going to prom with another friend of mine, and they are going as the Doctor and the TARDIS. She's buying a TARDIS dress and he's going to find a fez and bow tie. I know that It isn't me going as a tardis, but I'm still excited.
I have a book to read and another blog to check on, so I'll see you later.
Love,
Elizabeth Walker
I finished reading "Looking for Alaska" this morning and began two other books: The Fault in Our Stars and The Tao of Pooh. One of which is about taoism and how it relates to Winnie the Pooh, and the other is a John Green novel about two cancer patients who are teenagers. I think I'm going to give up on Dreamcatcher by Stephen King for right now. I think I'm too occupied with other things. I'll write down the page number that I am on and read the rest of it someday in the future.
The date I went on Saturday was fun. We went to the mall and saw a movie and went out to eat and talked about everything under the sun. I can't categorize it as good or bad in the way that everyone wants me to because I have nothing to compare it to. That was the first date I have ever been on. He is also the first guy I have been with for more than two days. Unless you count the "we're little kids and we think we like like eachother so we'll sit by eachother and hold hands and pass notes" thing that I had with a kid when I was in first or second grade.
My best friend and I talked about it and she said that I have to tell her when it becomes official. But what is "official" really? When we go out on our first date? When we hold hands for the first time? When he asks me if I would be his girlfriend (do guys do that, or is that just a fairytale thing?)? I am really truly confused by this relationship stuff.
I am also not used to being in any kind of relationship. I keep forgetting that there is a person that I might need to text or talk to at least once a day. I am really bad at relationships.
I got my prom dress this weekend also. I an $800 dress for about $100. It was at this thing called "The 27 Dresses Project" that a local business started. Basically, everyone donated their prom dresses from previous years. Then, girls who don't have the ability to buy dresses get their dresses for free and everyone else gets their dresses at a discounted price. My dress was the first one that you saw when you walked in the door. It is long and green and it makes me feel like a princess when I wear it. I looked through all of the other dresses and I couldn't find anything that I really liked. So, I went and tried on the green dress, even though I had been told that a bunch of people had tried it on and it didn't fit any of them right. It fit perfectly. My mom told me that I couldn't gain any weight between now and prom though, and I need to do a little more exercising and healthy eating to make sure of it.
This morning I found out that one of my best friends is going to prom with another friend of mine, and they are going as the Doctor and the TARDIS. She's buying a TARDIS dress and he's going to find a fez and bow tie. I know that It isn't me going as a tardis, but I'm still excited.
I have a book to read and another blog to check on, so I'll see you later.
Love,
Elizabeth Walker
February 8, 2013
Night 1 In Review
Yesterday was an excruciatingly long day. First there was the school part, which was okay, but it seemed to drag on forever. I presented my composition in spanish class from memory, and I think I did pretty well. I've gotten to the point in learning spanish that if I can't remember exactly what the word is, I can say something like it that means the same thing. Basically, I can just wing it if I have to. Then, I went to comedy throwdown. For the first night, it went rather well. There was only a minor amount of confusion, and the production class was really funny. Tonight and Saturday night should be a lot smoother and hopefully a lot more entertaining.
Taylor, I can see you while I'm typing this. Your class just came into the library computer lab and I can see you through the doorway. You're sitting by Michael. But, now the teacher closed the door. If you're not Taylor, feel free to ignore this paragraph that you just read. I made it small so that It is less obvious. Then again, that may make it more obvious. Either way, carry on.
I think the most hilarious thing that I have ever seen at comedy throwdown was my freshman year. I wasn't on an improv team, but I got to come and watch. One game, I can't even remember what it was, had these kids in production or one of the higher up theatre classes doing a scene. I can remember this blond kid speaking in a british accent and saying that he was like spiderman swinging down from a tall building. For some reason, it was absolutely hilarious.
Comedy Throwdown is modeled after a thing that happens in Houston called Comedy Sports. Its basically an improv show with quite a bit of audience interaction. I have never actually been to comedy sports, but I assume that it is rather fun.
Personally, improv is not my thing. I can do it, but I'm not that funny. I like to be dramatic, and I'm much better when I have lines, or at least some idea of what to say. I'mnot very quick or witty, except when I think afterwards of things I could have said.
I have a spanish quiz today, and I just made the flashcards this morning. PROCRASTINATION FOR THE WIN! Actually, I just haven't had the time to study until today. So, hopefully I can manage to stuff the last ten words into my brain that I haven't yet memorized.
The other day, my brother asked me what my blog is about. I responded with "Whatever I want it to be about!". I really, for the life of me cannot categorize the blog in that way. I talk about everything from my life to my schoolwork to college to books to movies to video making to random projects that I am working on. I really have no set topic. I think that I like it that way though. It lets me say and do whatever I want. I don't have to fit into a mold that I've set for myself. I can be goofy or I can be serious. I have heard it said that one of the things about humans is that they try to categorize things. I think its just too impossible to categorize some things, this blog being one of them.
DESCRIPTION PRACTICE TIME!
Pedaling. Constantly. I make my way up the large hill, although around here it could almost be considered a mountain. Finally. I breathe heavily, for I haven't done this in months. She sits there in her shorts and t-shirt, not winded at all, but waiting patiently. I pull the water from the small basket in front and take a nice long drink, cooling off to some extent. The sun beats heavily down on our backs and the tops of your heads. Thank God for sunscreen. The road is wide ahead, but curvy and rather intimidating. What happens if I lean too far one way? What if I crash off of the side? Nothing but a muddy ditch to break my fall. I turn on the camera and place it in the basket, pointing foreward. I may or may not ever do this again, for I am an extreme scaredy cat. Either way, I want to know what it would look like from that point of view. This is why I am friends with her, I tell myself. I need someone to push me to live a little and do seemingly crazy things like this. My heart is pounding in my ears. "Ready?" she asks. I nod, and we begin to edge foreward, only seconds away from a roller coaster experience. Then, the machines start moving on their own, pulled downward by the eternal force of gravity. We quickly pick up our feet, and we are off. The farther we get down the hill, the faster we go. I hear her exclamation of joy, and I try to do the same, but the noise is muffled by the wind rushing by our ears. She passes me up and we zoom around the curves with ease. Finally ride is over and the road straightens out enough to begin pedaling again.
Whoo! That was like experiencing that bike ride all over again. Wow.
By the way, don't forget to visit my lifescouts blog page, whic has a link up in the top left corner of the page. I post on there at least once a week, and I have stories to go along with all of the badges.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
Taylor, I can see you while I'm typing this. Your class just came into the library computer lab and I can see you through the doorway. You're sitting by Michael. But, now the teacher closed the door. If you're not Taylor, feel free to ignore this paragraph that you just read. I made it small so that It is less obvious. Then again, that may make it more obvious. Either way, carry on.
I think the most hilarious thing that I have ever seen at comedy throwdown was my freshman year. I wasn't on an improv team, but I got to come and watch. One game, I can't even remember what it was, had these kids in production or one of the higher up theatre classes doing a scene. I can remember this blond kid speaking in a british accent and saying that he was like spiderman swinging down from a tall building. For some reason, it was absolutely hilarious.
Comedy Throwdown is modeled after a thing that happens in Houston called Comedy Sports. Its basically an improv show with quite a bit of audience interaction. I have never actually been to comedy sports, but I assume that it is rather fun.
Personally, improv is not my thing. I can do it, but I'm not that funny. I like to be dramatic, and I'm much better when I have lines, or at least some idea of what to say. I'mnot very quick or witty, except when I think afterwards of things I could have said.
I have a spanish quiz today, and I just made the flashcards this morning. PROCRASTINATION FOR THE WIN! Actually, I just haven't had the time to study until today. So, hopefully I can manage to stuff the last ten words into my brain that I haven't yet memorized.
The other day, my brother asked me what my blog is about. I responded with "Whatever I want it to be about!". I really, for the life of me cannot categorize the blog in that way. I talk about everything from my life to my schoolwork to college to books to movies to video making to random projects that I am working on. I really have no set topic. I think that I like it that way though. It lets me say and do whatever I want. I don't have to fit into a mold that I've set for myself. I can be goofy or I can be serious. I have heard it said that one of the things about humans is that they try to categorize things. I think its just too impossible to categorize some things, this blog being one of them.
DESCRIPTION PRACTICE TIME!
Pedaling. Constantly. I make my way up the large hill, although around here it could almost be considered a mountain. Finally. I breathe heavily, for I haven't done this in months. She sits there in her shorts and t-shirt, not winded at all, but waiting patiently. I pull the water from the small basket in front and take a nice long drink, cooling off to some extent. The sun beats heavily down on our backs and the tops of your heads. Thank God for sunscreen. The road is wide ahead, but curvy and rather intimidating. What happens if I lean too far one way? What if I crash off of the side? Nothing but a muddy ditch to break my fall. I turn on the camera and place it in the basket, pointing foreward. I may or may not ever do this again, for I am an extreme scaredy cat. Either way, I want to know what it would look like from that point of view. This is why I am friends with her, I tell myself. I need someone to push me to live a little and do seemingly crazy things like this. My heart is pounding in my ears. "Ready?" she asks. I nod, and we begin to edge foreward, only seconds away from a roller coaster experience. Then, the machines start moving on their own, pulled downward by the eternal force of gravity. We quickly pick up our feet, and we are off. The farther we get down the hill, the faster we go. I hear her exclamation of joy, and I try to do the same, but the noise is muffled by the wind rushing by our ears. She passes me up and we zoom around the curves with ease. Finally ride is over and the road straightens out enough to begin pedaling again.
Whoo! That was like experiencing that bike ride all over again. Wow.
By the way, don't forget to visit my lifescouts blog page, whic has a link up in the top left corner of the page. I post on there at least once a week, and I have stories to go along with all of the badges.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
February 7, 2013
Comedy Throwdown: Day 1
So, today has been really hectic so far, and there is not going to be a break from the hectic-ness any time soon. Yesterday I had to go to the dentist, so I missed school AND I missed blogging. I figured that I would try and make it up to you all today.
In second period, I had a quiz over fish identification today. I made flashcards last night, and I think I made a 100, since I remembered all of the scientific names and the common names. I laminated the flashcards with clear tape and they have printed color pictures of the fish. I think they look rather fantastic. I have to make 4 more flashcards tonight for the quiz tomorrow.
I have a spanish composition due today in 7th period. I have to read it out loud from memory (I guess that wouldn't be reading it then) or else have 20 points taken off of my grade. I have most of it memorized, but the way I memorize spanish compositions is strange. I make sure that I know the storyline or whatever in English first, which I know most of. Then, I mentally translate it into spanish as I repeat it. My parents think that it is a rather complicated and inefficient way to memorize a composition, but it works for me. I have all but the last third memorized, so hopefully I can get that in before 7th period.
The first night of Comedy Throwdown is tonight. If you live in the area, I encourage you to come. Audience seating starts at like 6:30 I think, and the performance starts at 7. Just be there by 7 and you should be fine. I am not one of the performers this year, but an MC. This should be interesting.
For those of you who don't know what Comedy Throwdown is, it is an improv tournament that my school puts on every year. The kids in drama class play improv games and contests and the audience gets to vote to see who wins. There is actually some audience interaction where they get to volunteer ideas and be part of the games. It really is very fun and rather hilarious. There are three nights. The first night, part of the teams compete for a winner. The second night, the rest of the teams compete for a winner. The last night, the winning teams from the previous nights go head-to-head to decide what team wins overall. There are two team categories: the first year drama kids, and the theatre production kids. The production class has two teams that perform every night, ensuring that the show will be hilarious.
As one of the two MCs, I get to help run the games, keep score, and explain everything. It should be an interesting experience.
I have started something that I call and "idea jar", which is basically a big container that I am using to hold my ideas so that I don't forget them. I write the video ideas down on slips of paper and fold them up and put them in the container. When I get bored or feel like doing a video, I simply pull out a slip of paper to decide what to do. Some things are very complicated while others are super simple. If you COMMENT an idea for a video, I will put it in the idea jar for later use. This can be anything from a cover or music video for a song to a rediculous dare. Currently, the idea jar only has about 20 ideas in it, so it will take some time to fill it up enough to start using it.
Description practice!
He sits in solitude all day long. Porcelain limbs too stiff to move. Occasionally a spider might crawl by, but otherwise, he has no company. Being porcelain, he is too fragile to be loved. Every day he watches the sun rise and fall and rise again. His blue trousers collect dust and his red yarn hair begins to unravel. But the painted smile stains his face for an eternity.
Okay, I kinda have stuff to do and a composition to practice.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
In second period, I had a quiz over fish identification today. I made flashcards last night, and I think I made a 100, since I remembered all of the scientific names and the common names. I laminated the flashcards with clear tape and they have printed color pictures of the fish. I think they look rather fantastic. I have to make 4 more flashcards tonight for the quiz tomorrow.
I have a spanish composition due today in 7th period. I have to read it out loud from memory (I guess that wouldn't be reading it then) or else have 20 points taken off of my grade. I have most of it memorized, but the way I memorize spanish compositions is strange. I make sure that I know the storyline or whatever in English first, which I know most of. Then, I mentally translate it into spanish as I repeat it. My parents think that it is a rather complicated and inefficient way to memorize a composition, but it works for me. I have all but the last third memorized, so hopefully I can get that in before 7th period.
The first night of Comedy Throwdown is tonight. If you live in the area, I encourage you to come. Audience seating starts at like 6:30 I think, and the performance starts at 7. Just be there by 7 and you should be fine. I am not one of the performers this year, but an MC. This should be interesting.
For those of you who don't know what Comedy Throwdown is, it is an improv tournament that my school puts on every year. The kids in drama class play improv games and contests and the audience gets to vote to see who wins. There is actually some audience interaction where they get to volunteer ideas and be part of the games. It really is very fun and rather hilarious. There are three nights. The first night, part of the teams compete for a winner. The second night, the rest of the teams compete for a winner. The last night, the winning teams from the previous nights go head-to-head to decide what team wins overall. There are two team categories: the first year drama kids, and the theatre production kids. The production class has two teams that perform every night, ensuring that the show will be hilarious.
As one of the two MCs, I get to help run the games, keep score, and explain everything. It should be an interesting experience.
I have started something that I call and "idea jar", which is basically a big container that I am using to hold my ideas so that I don't forget them. I write the video ideas down on slips of paper and fold them up and put them in the container. When I get bored or feel like doing a video, I simply pull out a slip of paper to decide what to do. Some things are very complicated while others are super simple. If you COMMENT an idea for a video, I will put it in the idea jar for later use. This can be anything from a cover or music video for a song to a rediculous dare. Currently, the idea jar only has about 20 ideas in it, so it will take some time to fill it up enough to start using it.
Description practice!
He sits in solitude all day long. Porcelain limbs too stiff to move. Occasionally a spider might crawl by, but otherwise, he has no company. Being porcelain, he is too fragile to be loved. Every day he watches the sun rise and fall and rise again. His blue trousers collect dust and his red yarn hair begins to unravel. But the painted smile stains his face for an eternity.
Okay, I kinda have stuff to do and a composition to practice.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
February 5, 2013
Describing...
So, I noticed this morning that I am really terrible at describing things eloquently. This upsets me, since I would love to write a book someday, and every time I try to begin a story, not only do I get writer's block or write myself into a corner, the story ends up being really really short because I lack the proper ability ot describe things. So, for the rest of the week, I will have a short part of my post in which I will describe something that I can see or have seen. It is your job to determine what it is and comment such. Maybe this will help me get used to describing things. Oh, and I will try not to be too poetic about it, because that could get confusing.
They once were trees. But now they sit there so silently. They have been changed from their original form. Murdered, some might say, but only for the betterment of all humanity. So many of them, it would take a computer to keep track of them all. But now, though they are still trees, in some form, they bring so much more to those who touch them, see them, and hear them. All sizes sit in a room, waiting to be opened. They no longer look like trees, for they have colors of all sorts in and on them. Bright blues of an August sky ranging to the bloody reds of battle. Carefully, oh so carefully stacked and placed and organized by number, letter, color, age, importance. The smell of age sits inside, waiting to be given as a gift to the next person to open the covers of these no-longer-trees. And on each sliver of wood, letters swirl into words and words into sentences, and on and on into stories and lives and facts. I waltzed into their dwelling place and snatched a few from their homes. Quick glances, then I placed them back. One after another, flying in and out of my hand until I found the right one. The right shape and color. The perfect weight in my hand. The vanilla-like smell swam through the air, bringing pleasure to my senses. This was the one. Whatever story or life or lesson contained within would soon be mine. A part of me never to be forgotten. A journey to go on once, but never to return, for the journey is never as fun the second time. A few clicks of a keyboard, a beep, and the blunt smashing sound of a rubber stamp on paper. And off I was, onward to fulfill another Great Perhaps.
Okay, did you get it? Leave it in the comments below if you did, and tell me how you thought my description was and how it could be improved. By the way, I stole the "Great Perhaps" part from John Green, who had stolen it from Francois Rabelais. Not really stolen, on either account, but I feel like using that word.
I think that I need to follow the advice of John Green and find an Ilene. I know that they don't have to be named Ilene, but whatever,
For those of you who don't know about John Green and Ilene, Ilene is the person who has basically been the editor, encourager, and book writer helper person for John when he was writing his books. He credits he not only in the books, but also in one of his videos. He says that she basically helped him turn a book idea into something real. I need this kind of person who can look over my stuff and not be afraid to say "this is crap" or, "why don't you do this instead" or "this is actually pretty good... so far". Most of the time, when I start writing, I just go with it, and I end up not showing anyone because I either think its terrible or begin to get discouraged or run out of ideas. I need someone to help me figure out how to continue. I need an Ilene. Presumably, someone who has done stuff like book writing before and could act almost as a mentor. If you or someone you know is interested in filling this position, please contact me. Or, if you think we could co-write a book, that would be cool also.
I can not count how many of my stories have just died because I thought they stunk or I wrote in the wrong direction and into a corner. In fact, this has pretty much happened with all of my stories.
One of my favourite stories of all time was one that I co-wrote with my brother. Basically, it was a story of our many adventures and games during childhood, which went through the different worlds and themes of different video games that we were into at the time. Tak and the power of juju. Super mario sunshine. Lord of the rings. Luigi's mansion. We pretty much included everything. I really wish that I could find the rough draft so that I could get him to work on it some more with me. I think I may look for it when I go home tonight, or maybe even bring up the idea of re-writing it.
My brother and I used to write stories all of the time. They were all pretty epic. One time we even started writing a play. We would sit down with a bunch of notebook paper and start throwing out ideas. Then, once we got started, he would say the story aloud and I would write it down, throwing in ideas and tweeking the vocabulary here and there to make it better. The video game story had like 20 or more pages, and we weren't even half done. The play that we worked on was only about 5 or 10 pages, but it was pretty cool also. It had people turning into wolf-like monsters and the main character having to fight them off while trying to find a cure.
Gosh, I HAVE TO FIND THOSE STORIES!!!!!
So, I think I will go do something semi-productive now, since there are only 10 minutes left in class. DFTBA!
Love,
Elizabeth W.
They once were trees. But now they sit there so silently. They have been changed from their original form. Murdered, some might say, but only for the betterment of all humanity. So many of them, it would take a computer to keep track of them all. But now, though they are still trees, in some form, they bring so much more to those who touch them, see them, and hear them. All sizes sit in a room, waiting to be opened. They no longer look like trees, for they have colors of all sorts in and on them. Bright blues of an August sky ranging to the bloody reds of battle. Carefully, oh so carefully stacked and placed and organized by number, letter, color, age, importance. The smell of age sits inside, waiting to be given as a gift to the next person to open the covers of these no-longer-trees. And on each sliver of wood, letters swirl into words and words into sentences, and on and on into stories and lives and facts. I waltzed into their dwelling place and snatched a few from their homes. Quick glances, then I placed them back. One after another, flying in and out of my hand until I found the right one. The right shape and color. The perfect weight in my hand. The vanilla-like smell swam through the air, bringing pleasure to my senses. This was the one. Whatever story or life or lesson contained within would soon be mine. A part of me never to be forgotten. A journey to go on once, but never to return, for the journey is never as fun the second time. A few clicks of a keyboard, a beep, and the blunt smashing sound of a rubber stamp on paper. And off I was, onward to fulfill another Great Perhaps.
Okay, did you get it? Leave it in the comments below if you did, and tell me how you thought my description was and how it could be improved. By the way, I stole the "Great Perhaps" part from John Green, who had stolen it from Francois Rabelais. Not really stolen, on either account, but I feel like using that word.
I think that I need to follow the advice of John Green and find an Ilene. I know that they don't have to be named Ilene, but whatever,
For those of you who don't know about John Green and Ilene, Ilene is the person who has basically been the editor, encourager, and book writer helper person for John when he was writing his books. He credits he not only in the books, but also in one of his videos. He says that she basically helped him turn a book idea into something real. I need this kind of person who can look over my stuff and not be afraid to say "this is crap" or, "why don't you do this instead" or "this is actually pretty good... so far". Most of the time, when I start writing, I just go with it, and I end up not showing anyone because I either think its terrible or begin to get discouraged or run out of ideas. I need someone to help me figure out how to continue. I need an Ilene. Presumably, someone who has done stuff like book writing before and could act almost as a mentor. If you or someone you know is interested in filling this position, please contact me. Or, if you think we could co-write a book, that would be cool also.
I can not count how many of my stories have just died because I thought they stunk or I wrote in the wrong direction and into a corner. In fact, this has pretty much happened with all of my stories.
One of my favourite stories of all time was one that I co-wrote with my brother. Basically, it was a story of our many adventures and games during childhood, which went through the different worlds and themes of different video games that we were into at the time. Tak and the power of juju. Super mario sunshine. Lord of the rings. Luigi's mansion. We pretty much included everything. I really wish that I could find the rough draft so that I could get him to work on it some more with me. I think I may look for it when I go home tonight, or maybe even bring up the idea of re-writing it.
My brother and I used to write stories all of the time. They were all pretty epic. One time we even started writing a play. We would sit down with a bunch of notebook paper and start throwing out ideas. Then, once we got started, he would say the story aloud and I would write it down, throwing in ideas and tweeking the vocabulary here and there to make it better. The video game story had like 20 or more pages, and we weren't even half done. The play that we worked on was only about 5 or 10 pages, but it was pretty cool also. It had people turning into wolf-like monsters and the main character having to fight them off while trying to find a cure.
Gosh, I HAVE TO FIND THOSE STORIES!!!!!
So, I think I will go do something semi-productive now, since there are only 10 minutes left in class. DFTBA!
Love,
Elizabeth W.
February 4, 2013
Unexpected Awesomeness
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were filled with unexpected awesomeness for me. Friday, I got a date for prom (WHOOO!) and throughout the weekend scheduled a date on Saturday the 9th. Saturday I got to go see The Hobbit in theatres, and it was rather amazing. I love the wizard who lives in the woods. He is so adorable and eccentric. Then, I also got to go to Barnes and Noble and I bought two amazing books, LOOKING FOR ALASKA and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by JOHN stinkin' GREEN! I am currently in the middle of a Stephen King novel, Dreamcatcher, but I have the mental capability to read more than one book at a time, so I am reading Looking For Alaska at the same time. AAAAAAAAAH! Then, on Sunday I got to make a music video, which I am currently in the process of editing, and spend the day texting my dearest. I like that word. Dearest. I should use it more often. I feel like if this was a Vlogbrothers video, one of them would be screaming excitedly at the screen right now, because that is what I feel like doing. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
Also, during one act rehearsal on Friday, we got assigned parts, and I get to play, like THE main character. I'm almost kind of scared about this, but I really would have played whatever character, as long as I got a part.
I started reading Looking For Alaska last period and I realized that one of the best things about John Green's books is that they are so awesomely relatable and quotable. My favourite quote so far is "You may be smart, but I've been smart longer". That may be paraphrasing. I'm not sure, but I am way too lazy to get up, walk across the room, and get the book to check.
I also spent quite some time watching John and Hank's videos and surfing the DFTBA website. They have some really cool stuff, and I think the next rubber bracelet that I buy will be one that says DFTBA (I collect rubber bracelets with words on them, just check in my videos if you want to know what I mean). I have also been repeatedly told here recently that my glasses are rather hipster-ish, which is something that I am not sure if I like or dislike. I'm unopinionated about it at the moment.
I totally had something that I wanted to talk about but now its gone...
Oh, yeah, my camera decided to come back to life, at least for now. I just went over and tried to turn it on (it had been sitting collecting dust for more than a month) and it worked. I used it to make the music video on sunday. I still want a new camera though. I think I'll leave this one to James (maybe) when I go to college so that he can have a nice camera to vlog with. I don't want him using a crappy webcam, because that would really annoy me. Plus, it would give him versatility and mobility when filming.
I just realized that I haven't posted a video that used my car camera stand yet. I will have to do this in the near future. Come to think of it, I haven't used it since Christmas break. I guess I could do my next vlog in the car. It might be kind of odd if we aren't going anywhere special, so I will have to figure out an interesting destination to be headed toward when I use the stand.
If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments below, I will see you on Tuesday.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
Also, during one act rehearsal on Friday, we got assigned parts, and I get to play, like THE main character. I'm almost kind of scared about this, but I really would have played whatever character, as long as I got a part.
I started reading Looking For Alaska last period and I realized that one of the best things about John Green's books is that they are so awesomely relatable and quotable. My favourite quote so far is "You may be smart, but I've been smart longer". That may be paraphrasing. I'm not sure, but I am way too lazy to get up, walk across the room, and get the book to check.
I also spent quite some time watching John and Hank's videos and surfing the DFTBA website. They have some really cool stuff, and I think the next rubber bracelet that I buy will be one that says DFTBA (I collect rubber bracelets with words on them, just check in my videos if you want to know what I mean). I have also been repeatedly told here recently that my glasses are rather hipster-ish, which is something that I am not sure if I like or dislike. I'm unopinionated about it at the moment.
I totally had something that I wanted to talk about but now its gone...
Oh, yeah, my camera decided to come back to life, at least for now. I just went over and tried to turn it on (it had been sitting collecting dust for more than a month) and it worked. I used it to make the music video on sunday. I still want a new camera though. I think I'll leave this one to James (maybe) when I go to college so that he can have a nice camera to vlog with. I don't want him using a crappy webcam, because that would really annoy me. Plus, it would give him versatility and mobility when filming.
I just realized that I haven't posted a video that used my car camera stand yet. I will have to do this in the near future. Come to think of it, I haven't used it since Christmas break. I guess I could do my next vlog in the car. It might be kind of odd if we aren't going anywhere special, so I will have to figure out an interesting destination to be headed toward when I use the stand.
If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments below, I will see you on Tuesday.
Love,
Elizabeth W.
February 1, 2013
Almost Like Observation...
So, I am permanently in the library for this period. Right now, I am enjoying the odd experience of watching a librarian teach a spanish class. She does have the degree for it, but I've never seen her teach before. She is using some pretty interesting teaching techniques, and lots of interaction. Sitting and watching without her knowing is almost like the observation that you must do in order to become a teacher. The again, I'm not taking notes or paying a ton of attention. And I am not interacting with her or the class at all.
Yesterday I went to Walmart, something I only do about once or twice a month. There was so much Valentine's Day stuff, it was crazy. And I have to admit that I was slightly envious of the giant stuffed bears that people at school would be getting on the 14th. I mean, I have never seen so many stuffed bears that were nearly as big as I am. I think it would be cool to someday get a stuffed bear or a box of chocolates from someone. I haven't really gotten anything like that except in little insignificant cards in elementary school and from my parents and grandparents.
Yesterday I sat down and went through old pictures and picked out ones for my senior page. I narrowed it down to about 15 pictures. I feel like a lot of my childhood was missed though, because there is a gap from the age of 7 to the age of 12. And there are quite a few high school pictures. A bunch of pictures had to be removed from the stack just because they were too dark or too blurry. And I bearly have any pictures of me as a baby. I have the ones from my birth and a few when I was a couple months old, then it skips to when I was two or three.
My mom printed some of the pictures out from our family computer, and I got to take the ones that were not chosen for senior page to use in my SMASH book. I am really excited, because now I have more than one picture in it.One page that I worked on this morning is basically a collage of me in pictures that I was dressed up for. The pages are purple and pink, and it says "You look nice today" in the middle of one of the two pages. Then I put one picture of me as a baby, in a blue dress, one picture of me in like eighth grade at my cousin's wedding, and one picture from last year when I went to prom. I felt that it went with the "you look nice" text very well. Then I took and put squiggles and curlies around the pictures. I still have like two more pictures to pu tdown and decorate. And, I have to say, the half glue stick/half pen thing that came with the SMASH book is really useful for on-the-go SMASH-ing.
I got to have coffee this morning, so my brain is running like a billion miles an hour compared to yesterday. I am typing really fast also, hence the large paragraphs. It is hard to believe that it is already February. Only a little more than 100 days until graduation. Like 120, I think. I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave Tarkington High School or not. I think I'm ready to leave everything but the friends. I'll have facebook and youtube to keep in touch with them though, so it won't be that bad.
I have sent transcripts and SAT scores to both of the universities that I plan on attending, so I should get my acceptance letters sometime soon. Tomorrow I plan on calling the SHSU people and trying to get a way to check my application status online. They were supposed to have sent me an e-mail with the log-in info in it, but I never got the e-mail and the person that I tried to contact to remedy the problem won't call me back.
I am really looking foreward to college and stuff. My mom and Grandma say that if I don't get accepted, I can still just go to junior college for a year, but I really don't want to go to junior college. That would mean driving to school every day. And I would have to see people I know. And I would still have to deal with my family all the time, instead of escaping them for a month at a time by living in a dorm. And my brother did agree to the vlog communication thing, I just have to make sure that he doesn't forget. I also want it to be summer so that I can dye my hair red and wear shorts all the time and work on video stuff. And actually have free time.
I'm gonna go check for new lifescouts badges. DFTBA!
Love,
Elizabeth W.
Yesterday I went to Walmart, something I only do about once or twice a month. There was so much Valentine's Day stuff, it was crazy. And I have to admit that I was slightly envious of the giant stuffed bears that people at school would be getting on the 14th. I mean, I have never seen so many stuffed bears that were nearly as big as I am. I think it would be cool to someday get a stuffed bear or a box of chocolates from someone. I haven't really gotten anything like that except in little insignificant cards in elementary school and from my parents and grandparents.
Yesterday I sat down and went through old pictures and picked out ones for my senior page. I narrowed it down to about 15 pictures. I feel like a lot of my childhood was missed though, because there is a gap from the age of 7 to the age of 12. And there are quite a few high school pictures. A bunch of pictures had to be removed from the stack just because they were too dark or too blurry. And I bearly have any pictures of me as a baby. I have the ones from my birth and a few when I was a couple months old, then it skips to when I was two or three.
My mom printed some of the pictures out from our family computer, and I got to take the ones that were not chosen for senior page to use in my SMASH book. I am really excited, because now I have more than one picture in it.One page that I worked on this morning is basically a collage of me in pictures that I was dressed up for. The pages are purple and pink, and it says "You look nice today" in the middle of one of the two pages. Then I put one picture of me as a baby, in a blue dress, one picture of me in like eighth grade at my cousin's wedding, and one picture from last year when I went to prom. I felt that it went with the "you look nice" text very well. Then I took and put squiggles and curlies around the pictures. I still have like two more pictures to pu tdown and decorate. And, I have to say, the half glue stick/half pen thing that came with the SMASH book is really useful for on-the-go SMASH-ing.
I got to have coffee this morning, so my brain is running like a billion miles an hour compared to yesterday. I am typing really fast also, hence the large paragraphs. It is hard to believe that it is already February. Only a little more than 100 days until graduation. Like 120, I think. I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave Tarkington High School or not. I think I'm ready to leave everything but the friends. I'll have facebook and youtube to keep in touch with them though, so it won't be that bad.
I have sent transcripts and SAT scores to both of the universities that I plan on attending, so I should get my acceptance letters sometime soon. Tomorrow I plan on calling the SHSU people and trying to get a way to check my application status online. They were supposed to have sent me an e-mail with the log-in info in it, but I never got the e-mail and the person that I tried to contact to remedy the problem won't call me back.
I am really looking foreward to college and stuff. My mom and Grandma say that if I don't get accepted, I can still just go to junior college for a year, but I really don't want to go to junior college. That would mean driving to school every day. And I would have to see people I know. And I would still have to deal with my family all the time, instead of escaping them for a month at a time by living in a dorm. And my brother did agree to the vlog communication thing, I just have to make sure that he doesn't forget. I also want it to be summer so that I can dye my hair red and wear shorts all the time and work on video stuff. And actually have free time.
I'm gonna go check for new lifescouts badges. DFTBA!
Love,
Elizabeth W.
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