Me and My Nope

Hello world!

I've mentioned before the adorable manga Me and My Brothers, right? Due to a little... misadventure, I acquired a few! And not from the library! They're ALL MINE! *MUAHAHAHAHAHA*

My mom and another sister from the church visited a store called 2nd & Charles, a place where it's similar to a thrift shop, but profits aren't for charity. When they asked questions there, they learned that we could sell them a bunch of the stuff we need to get rid of!

That was a golden opportunity we decided to take yesterday. We stuffed our car with a ton of electronics and books in the morning and headed out to the store. It's far away, but, if it really was what we thought, it would totally worth it.

Hah, wrong.

They would only take 3 bins worth of stuff at a time, per day. While a lot of books could fit in one bin, it wasn't even close to how many we actually brought.

You then had to wait a while for them to look through your bins and then pay you. Understandable, especially since a ton of orders were done on Saturdays.

But over an hour of waiting is ridiculous.

On the bright side, I got to look around at quite the collection of manga and skim through some interesting ones I want to check out at a library when I can. I also found a much cheaper price for a few Wii games.

On the dark side (we have cookies!), most of the stuff they had was expensive. What was the point of going there if a lot of books were at the same price as the publisher's? I know some of it probably wasn't pre-owned, but... Shouldn't it still be cheaper? It was rare to see a low price there at our standards.

Anyway, after a lot of wandering and being annoyed and reading, our number came up.

Not only did they return to us almost 1/3 of the stuff we gave (almost 1 bin out of 3?! Really?!), but for the stuff they did take, we only got $35 in store credit. (If we wanted cash, it would've been $24.)

Let me tell you, that is ridiculous! I've already used that word here, but it is truly ridiculous! The store is ridiculous! The situation is ridiculous! We drove and waited for so long just to receive $35?!?!

Since my mom knew I'd been looking around and finding stuff I wanted (but didn't actually expect to get), she told me to pick things I'd like and would actually use for the $35. 

I ended up getting $2 Wii Music (yeah, even the cashier was surprised by the price) since I think we lost our original copy, $15 Disney Universe that I'm hoping is as fun as the commercials made it seem, and 5 volumes of Me and My Brothers, one of the cutest series I've ever read- and they were all $4 or $3.50!

I plan to read the Big Hero 6 manga, I Am Alice, and, if it's not too dark for me, Doubt! I hope those will be available at the library in the area where we'll live in a few months.

Speaking of Big Hero 6, we watched it at school last Friday! It was supposed to be Field Day, but it ended up being too wet and cold outside. They didn't really have a backup plan, so we were all in fake-it mode for the day. It was annoying to do nothing and to watch students get checked out for the day, but, hey! I got to see one of the greatest movies ever for the second time (and I knew the lyrics to the theme song this time!), I remembered how to fold an origami bird (cuz I'd forgotten for a while), lunchtime was longer and I got to eat with one of my other friends, and I found out that an acquaintance from the end of last year was a fan of FMA!!! *fangirl shriek*

I'm done here. I don't feel like saying anything else. *holds out mic and drops it onto the ground* *walks away into the shadows*

Geometry and Alchemy Are CONNECTED

Hello world!

My phone has been a bit jerky lately. The main problem is that the pictures I take with it... don't want to actually stay taken. Just a bit later, I go to my gallery to find black squares instead. *blank face of rage* So you can imagine it was a bit harder to get them on here before they disappeared. APPRECIATE ALL THAT TIME AND EFFORT I TOOK TO SHOW THIS STUFF *Titan Eren rawr*

I forgot to put last time that my mom found a small pile of old schoolwork and asked me to look through it for stuff I want/need to keep. It was stuff from 8th and 9th grade. I found a few drawings I'd done in my drawing class those few weeks we were going to school in Mexico! This was something I had to do for English (if you think being Mexican and taking Spanish in an American school is a drag, just imagine how much worse it was taking English in a Mexican school). I remember even being confused that day why I was drawing like this, because it's different from how I usually draw, but it's cute, right? I'm ticked that the teacher decided to just drag her pen (to check it off) all over my beautiful work! *tick mark*

We had kind of an elective thing for one class, so I went into a drawing class. While we usually just drew whatever we wanted (the first drawing was because I had "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay in my head), there was one day where the teacher was helping us draw realistically (thus the pics of my hand below). I don't think I did that bad, although I'd rather not draw like that often. Also, the Spongebob and Tigger below I had copied from something else. Once again showing my copying skills. *boss face* And the Chinese dragon... I'd wanted to do that, but didn't really have any references I could use at the moment, if I remember correctly. It's pretty close considering, right?

^(I forgot that a few of these were actually double-sided, so I took this pic the day after all the other ones, thus the lighting is different and it looks more dramatic. I love my phone's camera sometimes. *pleased look*)

I also looked through a notebook for Geography last year... and found this little beauty in the header of one of the pages. I remember drawing it. I'd somehow had "Baby Got Back" stuck in my head that morning.

If I didn't laugh out loud upon discovering this again, something would have to be wrong with me.

As I mentioned before, my phone's camera has been wonky lately. I had a pic to put here, but then the picture didn't work anymore. But you guys know how I love doodling Al's blood seal? (I particularly have done that more during math, for some reason.) Guess what I found in my Geometry textbook?

*waits for answer*

BASICALLY AL'S BLOOD SEAL DESIGN! *swoon* Isn't that so cool?! It was a freaking math problem! (We're on chords and angles inside of circles- that specific day, inscribed angles.)

I started thinking how stuff like alchemy would make a better "real life problem" for textbooks than a lot of the sad chiz they actually put. So this is what I drew on my paper the next day... *innocent look*

The second is just me drawing the blood seal star twice in the same circle, then doing the little curly thing in the middle small. It looks cool, right?

I've told a few people I'm friends with Blondie, and they usually are like "...Oh." I guess she's not as nice to other people? Is a bit judgemental? This sucks because I know she has her moments, but everyone does! And she's generally a very nice, generous, awesome person! I'm still gonna be friends with her, of course, because I think she's my only best friend here. But I kinda wanna know... Why no one liek Blondie?

I failed to mention earlier too (I should stop doing that) that during the wedding, one of my sister's friends was getting baptized, and she got to go there! They also Skyped with Niisan for a while! And after the wedding, the day after, the whole family got baptized, and this morning in Sacrament they all received the Holy Ghost. It's great seeing how the gospel brings families together and gives 'em happies.

I'm chatting with Scaehime, so I'll just go quick.

So, last Friday, my mom was teaching a zapatio dance to a few adults in our branch while I taught their daughters a bit of the Tahitian dance. I wonder how much they'll remember. And I wonder if I was actually a good teacher or not. *sweat drop*

There's some sisters in our branch that work at a bakery. Their job uses a lot of their time, so they don't really get to be with their kids, and thus their kids are a bit, um... Super annoying at church. My seminary teacher suggested to us to think of a skill we'd like to work on- maybe something that we can use for service in the future. I thought about how I seem to have a small amount of talent for baking (or, at least, more than for cooking). I thought that maybe, maybe...

Sometime before we move, I could come help the sisters out at the bakery, and so one or two can take a break for a few hours and spend time with their kids!

I probably won't have the time to do that, but I think it's a sweet (hehe, punny) idea. I'd learn, and they'd give their children at least some of the time they deserve.

OKAY I'M DONE NOW BAI

It's Pronounced "Sky-hee-meh"

Hello world!

I forgot to mention somehow last week that I did my second talk in church evar. It was different in that I had to base it off a General Conference talk. My parents said it was easier, and... I mean, it was faster to prepare, but I feel like I wasn't so meaningful and am not totally sure how to do talks like that. Most of it was just reading straight from the talk. People said I did good, but I don't think I put much of my own words in it...

It's weird how I can be shaking when public speaking- worse because I often shake/bounce a leg, whether there's a reason or not, so it's like I was both shaking my legs and shaking from nervousness at the same time- and scare the church leaders sitting behind me, but keep my voice pretty smooth and clear. Apparently, it's pretty impressive. Not that that means I will be more willing to speak in the future!...

So, for the past few weeks, I've been saying out loud D&C 58:42-43 and 64:9-11, both Scripture Masterys (I think they write it like that, despite being incorrect...) at least once daily, when I'm doing my morning and night prayers. I didn't do anything even remotely similar for any other scriptures, but I felt those were very important to have so memorized they are engrained in my brain and heart.

And that paid off in YW today. We were each given a question about forgiveness and had to find a scripture that answers it. D&C 64:9-11 answered mine perfectly, so I didn't have to do anything but recite it. *victory laugh*

Yesterday there was a wedding in our branch. It was weird because they actually did the ceremony in the church building. It was cute and stuff, but I think that's only the second, maybe third, wedding ceremony I've ever been in. (Weirder because the guy marrying them was my branch president.) I've been to receptions, though.

I mentioned that I was writing a fic where the characters come to our world, right? Yeah, still working on it. It's enjoyable. I haven't worked on something long for a while, and just this beginning part is quite long. I'm probably putting in too much detail and fluff, but it doesn't matter too much since it's only for me, not anyone else's eyes (unless I redo it and it's absolutely amazing). For some reason, I decided to title it "Waiting for a Sign". Maybe I'll actually figure something out later in it that will make the title make sense. *giggle*

Oh yeah. I decided to look trough reviews for my old stories... I noticed some that I either didn't notice before or I hadn't really read... Turns out my stories didn't make as much sense as I'd thought. *sweat drop*

My dad left on a road trip ...Thursday? to his new job. Yeah, about a week after my sister. This wasn't as bad, though, since I've dealt with being away from my dad before. However, now that it's just me and my mom... It's freaking weird. Now the house is very quiet since it houses just two people. But I'll try to use this time to get closer to my mom and do more real stuff. Go to restaurants, cook together, have more time to talk, just us.

I've mentioned Scaehime, right? I got to Skype with her for a bit last Friday! I know it's stupid, but I've always felt cool for being friends with her because she's a college student. *ehe...* I finally got to see her FACE. She looked different from what I expected, but... I mean... it's difficult to determine someone's looks if their profile pic isn't a picture of them. I probably look totally different to what people expect, even if I've given them a basic description (like brown eyes, brown hair...). She was cool, but didn't have much prepared to talk about (not like I did either).

Blondie has been so excitable lately. To me, at least. She was telling me about dance and the musical and how she wants to admit to a guy she likes him, etc. I don't really know much about crushes, but she didn't care, she just wanted to tell someone. (She told me she actually admitted to him a few days later.)

Jumping back to stories (huehuehue), that other one I was working on, (which was totally just lightly inspired by Blondie's idea,) I had the sudden inspiration to draw them. In the middle of math class. *sweat drop* I had to act on it, because who knew if it would return! I still managed to pay enough attention to get the gist of what she was teaching.

I finished it at home, while my mom was out getting her hair dyed to look normal (blonde ombré just looked so wrong- she agreed to it to help a friend get her hair-dressing certification).

Drawing somewhat realistically! *gasp* *To quote my sis: I knoooow huh?*

First two are Hispanic twins (respect for da roots, man), Katarina (AKA Kat or Kati) and Carlos, who have fire and water; third is Stone, who has earth (I'm so clever); 4th is Andrew (he was originally gonna be the average blond football-player, but my hand decided to make him look different from the original vision... I don't even know if he's, like, Egyptian now or something... But at least I know that his hair is black, but still buzz cut, cuz that looks better, I think), who accidentally gets air instead of the fifth, Ella. She's named after one of my stuffed animal elephants. For reals, dawg.

I guess, if there's room next post, I'll explain the concept here more. Bye, cuz some girl is bugging me to use my iPod.

Well. THAT Sucked.

Hey, world.

Of all the places for me to break down, I didn't think it would be at church yesterday.

We took my sister to the airport last Tuesday. We had a few short cries the day before, and a very hard hug before she went to the TSA line.

The days since then, I've realized just how different it is without her.

For example, we went to a restaurant after the airport. We always get a booth, where my parents sit together on one side, and me and her on the other. And we almost always would go to the bathroom together to wash our hands before the food arrives or something. Neither happened. I sat alone on my side of the booth, and I didn't talk with anyone as I washed my hands. (I know, it's stupid, but it's different for me.)

She watches a lot of TV. She plays music in her room. She makes her little nutritious snacks in the kitchen. She laughs really loud, almost like a crazy cackling witch.

The house is just... so quiet now.

How did I spend the rest of the week? End-of-term exams, reading, watching AMVs and Len/Rin Kagamine. Feeling a little empty.

I blurted out at some point to Blondie on the bus "By the way, you're my replacement sister now." She seemed so flattered; I guess she didn't really realize how much of a friend she is for me. She obviously didn't see me writing that I already kind of thought of her as a sister. Not as much as my real sister, obviously, or even Beka, but still. (Oh my gosh, I just started thinking about Stitch saying "O'hana means family", because I saw that movie this morning. He's adorable. *tear*)

Speaking of, she told me all excited one day that she started forming the concept for a story. (I don't think I've told her about my own interest in writing, so that surprised me, but I paid close attention to what she was saying anyway.) It was one of those where a group of friends somehow get elemental powers together and stuff. (I mean, there's more than that, but explaining everything isn't important.)

I always feel bad, because my own ideas always branch off from the ones of others, and don't know if I'm copying or not. But, still, before I could stop myself, I thought about her story and started brainstorming for my own. I started writing for it on Thursday, since school was out because of weather (again- I miss living somewhere where they didn't care about the weather, you were GOING TO SCHOOL whether you like it or not) in my little journal. I like the idea, but I'm worried about being able to actually create a villain and elaborate on the plot. More than that, though, I'm worried that my characters might not actually be likable. I personally have a different idea for what personalities go with which elements than Blondie due to Avatar: the Last Airbender, W.I.T.C.H...

Actually, have you guys ever heard of that series? I remember that, in 5th grade, I tried to read as many of those as I could (because they had quite the collection at the downtown SLC library). I was annoyed by the characters at times and was a bit embarrassed sometimes to like the series, but I still read it. And we own the box set of the first 8 books. So, when my mom found them, I asked her if I could read all those again before she sold them. As I'm reading, it's all coming back to me, and I'm realizing how much I thought of the stuff from them. Like, Hay Lin's style might've contributed to how I became friends with a girl at my old school who sometimes wore goggles. I forgot how weird the names of the girls were, though. And I feel like there was some significance to Irma's flower necklace... but it hasn't been mentioned. Was I remembering incorrectly about something different instead?

If I thought my mom was serious about getting rid of stuff the last time we moved, now it's an understatement. Things are disappearing faster than ever. And I'm helping her out a lot more; my sister being gone probably has to do with that. I know it's a good thing, but it's also weird... it just adds to the empty feeling our house seems to have now.

I also read a bit of a fanfic a few days ago. One of those where the original characters come to our world instead of a fan to theirs. I didn't read much, because... I didn't really like the way they wrote it. It was unrealistic and not so amusing. Now that my desire to write is going up again, I decided to try my hand at it- starting it similar to how the fanfic did, but making it more realistic, and then seeing where I take it, and how different it would end up. I'm thinking about it a lot, and still have quite a way to go... but I feel like what I have done on paper (well, iPod) sounds a little drab. Like, I haven't put much of my personality in it. *hrrm* What to do, what to do?

I've talked a little with my sister on the phone (yes, we're back to this again), and it was nice to hear her voice. I'd like it if we could Skype, though. I seriously prefer to see someone's face if I'm talking to them. That's part of why I don't like phone calls. She seems to be good, but also having a rough time being away from us. And having to deal with my grandparents and aunt kinda throwing ideas at her without really giving her a chance to say yes or no.

Yesterday, we were asked to share experiences that tested/increased our faith. Almost every single thing shared... it reminded me of something my sister had to suffer through, and/or her being gone. Those feelings I'd had a few months ago, about her going through so much while I was nearly scot-free came back, strong. It just took a few seconds, seriously, for me to start crying. The other girls, if they noticed, had probably assumed I was crying because others were, but it took a while (until I must've looked absolutely awful) for the YW President to look at me and ask, "...Are you okay?"

I even cried while I was telling an extremely short version of my little bus-in-storm-prayer story. Like, full-on. The story makes me a little sad, but wouldn't that have alerted someone?

After some hugs and consolation and getting an extra lollipop, I finally confessed to someone those feelings- namely, the president. She told me that I clearly wasn't the only one affected, and that watching someone else in pain instead of having it myself was my trial. It would help me gain empathy and understanding of others and make me a better person and mother in the future.

I don't think I'd thought of that... But I needed to hear it. I thank her for telling me.

While I would still like to take burdens from my sister, I think that I've accepted that I can't better.

I'd gotten tuckered out from my nonstop tears, though, and slept a while in the afternoon at home. That's why I posted today instead.

Ze Nashville Dragon!

Hey world!

When my alarm started in the morning, I tried to turn off my glasses instead of my clock.

*blink blink*

I mean, it's not like I aimed incorrectly... My glasses and my alarm clock are in totally different places...

Last Monday, after publishing the latest installment of Family History, I realized that, while I've read all the reviews, I hadn't even bothered to look at who followed/favorited, because I assumed it was the same people. Nope! None of the reviewers followed, and none of the followers reviewed. Weird, but I realized I have a bigger audience than I thought- not by much, but still an improvement.

I missed so many hours of school last week, and the week before. School was often delayed two hours, and last Wednesday school was canceled entirely. Is the weather really that terrifying around here? I know that whole Snowpocalypse thing happened last year and they want to avoid that mess happening again, but it's just odd and annoying to me. And it means we accomplish even less during school than usual. The teachers around here often have the habit of not using their class time very efficiently... At least I get to read more at home!

I've started looking at AMVs again. Most recently and specifically, Avatar: the Last Airbender. I don't know why, but that show has been stuck in my head again. And I saw a few that were good. Not as many as for FMA, but still a few. My fave was one for a song called "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. I didn't know what to think of the song at first. I think I recognized the chorus, so had I only ever heard the chorus of "Hide and Seek", or is it just really close to a different, more normal song? I've been trying to learn the lyrics, but it's hard to sing correctly, especially the verses. Boo. *frown* I like that it's weird, unlike anything else I'd heard, interesting, and feels-filled (or at least is for me because of the video), but it's hard to sing! Whyyyuuuh.

Guess what? So, I have these two cousins who we didn't see for years. Like, 4 or 5. (Because they were on the other side of the country- the same side we're currently on.) They wanted to see us, and we wanted to see them, before my sister moves away. And we had wondered what it would be like to visit Nashville...

So, Friday morning (yes, I skipped school; it's my first absence this year! *sob*) both parties headed to Nashville to hang out and explore the city together. It was also an opportunity for my dad to give his brother (my uncle) a few instruments, so our minivan was pretty dang full on the way there. 

Oh my gosh, I just love my little cousins so much. They were 5 and 10 (hey! Same as the ones back at Grandma and Grandpa's house! I'd forgotten their ages were so close!) and so pale and blonde. My mom, sister, and I are some of the only members of the family that aren't white as Oreo filling, so I'm guessing it would weird out anyone who saw all 8 of us together to know we were all related.

There's been this really good fanfic I've been reading named A Boy named Ed (did I mention it last week?) where there is a 5-year-old blond named Edmund, and, since the last time I saw my cousin he was literally a baby, is only remembered his name started with an E. He has almost the same name! So it's kinda like an awesome fictional story has suddenly become real. And my own little Edo is just so cute!!! I want to call him Ed, but I don't think it would sound right, especially since with my Utahn accent it sounds more like "Eh." *snicker*

My 10-year-old cousin (I just have always loved her name, and I seriously named one of my old baby dolls after her, so I'll call her Doll), as expected, was weird so see since last time we saw her she was only around 5. Her hair was darker, now more like blonde/very light brown, and now in a little bob. She was obsessed with my and my sister's hair and said she'd always wanted dark, dark brown hair that was really long and has just a hint of curl. My mom said then, "So... You've always wanted to be Latina?" *giggle* She denied that, but it's probably really how she's thinking. I did not expect Doll to say something like that!

Nashville wasn't that bad. I mean, I liked it more than Atlanta, but not by much. It wasn't very impressive. (I wasn't even that impressed by the Batman AT&T building. It was cool, but also just another skyscraper. Maybe at night it's cooler?) We still got to eat some good food and swim in the hotel pool, so s'all good. I don't really plan to come back, though...

OH! But the last thing we did there was go to the Opry Mills mall, and we went into the Lego store. I'd been hoping by now they'd have more Ninjago stuff, but it seemed the section just shrinked even more. I told my uncle that and just looked around at everything else, a little disappointed. A few minutes later, he told me he asked one of the workers if there was more, and apparently there was a bunch of new stuff that just came in and wasn't even on the shelves yet! (Maybe March will have a ton of that stuff because of the new season. Yes!) I looked at a few and saw a set called Titanium Dragon, with the latest version of Zane with his dragon. (Oops, spoiler alert.) I felt I needed to have it. I don't know; I think part of it was desperation to finally have a Zane figure, and so I wouldn't seem too picky and just actually get something. But it really was a cool dragon and Zane. And my thoughts had always been: I most likely wouldn't ever get a really big Lego set for myself, unless it was something spectacular that I knew I'd love a lot. And that dragon was pretty sweet. I'm so willing to build it.

I have to pay at least half of it with my own money, which I don't mind. However, I'll have to wait until we are done moving to start building it. I know we weren't supposed to have more than necessary, but... I really did feel like it was a good idea to buy it. Maybe I'll get to build it with Broranges! (Most likely not, but I can still hope.) Or maybe I'll find a friend super fast at my new school or neighborhood who loves Ninjago or Legos and we could fangirl together.

I'll actually have a way to display my Lego people! Around a flipping dragon! Yay!

Later today, the Young Women and a few other people are coming over for my sister's goodbye party. She's leaving on Tuesday. *tear* I hope she does okay and is a little happier because of the move.

If all goes according to plan, we're gonna have a lot of fondue at the party. *NOM*