The Self-Defense Guild and She's Gone

Hello world!

I think there's happy and sad stuff to report... Firstly, a sad thing is that I didn't post last week... again. But there was a baptism going on that my dad was helping to set up, so I didn't really get any time to write in the afternoon.

A happy is that my friend (whose name makes me want to give him the codename Apple... if he found this post, I think he'd murder me in his head) managed to get permission to make a Self-Defense Club! Since I'd promised to join already if he made it (it sounds really interesting, but I don't know if I'd- okay, I actually know I wouldn't- have had the confidence to join if I didn't already meet and become friends with the person in charge of it. I guess it sounds a bit weird to not have enough confidence about joining a club where they teach you the very basics, but 'tis true, in my case.) I signed up.

The first two meetings started off a bit disastrous because the location in the school Apple had wanted to use turned out to already be taken... I think the places we'll meet up at are pretty much chosen now, though.

Another happy is that, in the second meeting, two people that I already knew and (I think) I'm friends with joined! (Along with a third kid who had surprisingly good jabs...) Come hither, friends o' mine! We shall turn this club into a guild of lilaclily00 acquaintances and awesomeness!... all led by Apple, who is our sensei.

Okay, now a sad. My sister is now out of the house... supposedly, for good. She left for Utah again, and quickly found a job and apartment to move into, both of which will start this week. I hope, once she's settled, she'll be happy and can prepare herself for starting college next year in the spring semester...

It's weird to have to adjust to her being gone again, but the fact that, again, people from church like to remind me of her absence, it's getting a bit harder. I know the folks at church are trying to have a little conversation with me and letting me know that they actually pay attention, but please stop asking me if I miss her. Guys, reminding me of the fact that I miss her is not gonna help me forget any faster! YES, OF COURSE I FREAKING MISS MY SISTER! NOW PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT IT.

I want to focus on that I can still send her texts and talk to her on the phone- I don't enjoy phone calls, but what else am I supposed to do?- not the fact that that's the only way I can communicate because she's not here anymore. It was different when she was gone for 2 weeks because I knew she would be coming back soon. But now I don't know when's the next time I'll see her in person again! I thought it'd be easier because of the time she was gone earlier this year, but I guess not...

When we left her off at the airport, on the way back we came across an area with food trucks so, of course, we decided to eat there. My dad and I ate Thai food and my mom some pupusas. But before that, we realized there was a Voodoo Doughnuts truck there, and there was no line. My dad decided it was the perfect opportunity to get a baker's freaking dozen even though I doubted I'd even eat one on that same day.

Just so you know, you can tell why they're popular, because the donuts are often covered in stuff. However, they're also super sweet, a level we could barely handle. So we agreed we actually like more the old donut place in Utah we always liked going to even though it's not famous. My dad still loved it, though.

Since I'd been quite in the mood for an Arby's shake- even though we'd eaten something else instead and I was already full- we stopped by there for shakes. I felt bad asking for one because I was full and I was just asking more money out of my parents' pockets, but... I think, without my sis around, my parents almost feel a need to treat me to whatever I want. It's not like my mom and dad never paid attention to me before, it's just that I'm not used to... I guess I'm being treated like an only child, and that's weird.

Anyway, much regret on getting a shake when I realized I was already cold and then sipping on more coldness...

On the road again, I was already feeling a bit worn out, but my parents wanted to check out a thrift store. Of course, I wanted to return the favor and said it was okay. While there, I actually found two things I wanted (and, again, I felt a bit bad for getting them, but at least this cost less than all the food I ate): a "Pink Ladies" jacket (Grease for the win!) and a book titled The Little Red Writing Book. (Oh, puns.) I was hoping it would have more tips on creative writing, but it turns out it was actually focused on expository writing... Oh well, it'd probably be good to keep it around anyway.

Ironically, I had to write an essay in English the next week. I am not entirely sure if I wrote it the way they wanted me to, but I hope it was decent enough...

A happy: in Young Women's, we were supposed to paint nails. I was supposed to go with the sister missionaries right after the activity, though, and I thought it was a bad idea to get my own painted. But, after one of the leaders suggested to draw little Halloween things on the nails like spiderwebs or cats... I really wanted one, at least on one finger. When I couldn't control the urge anymore, I painted my own thumb with a purple cat, not even bothering to put a base of some kind underneath. I think, considering I did it on a whim and it was a quickie cat, it's pretty decent. And it's much easier to make sure one nail dries than all ten.

I've always thought it'd be cool to just put doodles of some kind on my nails without covering the entire thing, and, just as I expected, it looks perfectly fine and maybe even cool in its own right!

So yeah. I have a cat thumb.

There's more stuff, but, for some reason, I wanna save the last few things for later. So let's just hope this week is boring and I have time to write next Sunday. *apologetic sweatdrop* K bai!

Never Forget GC

Hello world!

Yup, missed last week. The title of last week's post was gonna be "Dramatic Chicken".

Basically, last week, the two main things I was gonna write about were that we watched Chicken Run and that I'm finally in a club for the first time... ever. Well, a school club, I mean. 

I've always kinda liked the movie, but it wasn't my favorite. And, the day we watched it last week... the moment it started- having not watched it for years and am now 16- I immediately realized... The chickens lived in a place that looked a whole lot like a concentration camp. (This realization just came quicker since I've read about 3 fics by now where Ed was sold into slavery in some way...) The implications of different things I never could've caught as a kid just made this theme even more real. I have a feeling I may never watch this movie out of my own free will ever again.

I was really nervous going into the Drama Club, even though I'd been invited, but I'm feeling good about it after having attended for the second week too. I guess it's not quite what I was expecting (and I'm not even sure what I was expecting), but that's not a bad thing. The people are nice and outgoing, there's chances to be silly, there's opportunities to go do service with them (which I actually am gonna do on Halloween night- I'll tell you how that goes then!)... I'm still thinking of joining another club once Club Rush rolls around, but I don't mind being in Drama Club at all.

Okay, now for this week. It feels like a lot happened... 

For some reason, I first want to address my Chemistry class. The teacher is Irish with a thick accent, but he's clearly passionate about what he teaches, and he likes me a lot. (As a student, not like-like me! Gross!) I guess he could tell I'm more into being a good kid and actually learning in school?... I dunno, but so, he's been talking to me, all excited about getting into the topics and getting to teach me something new and stuff. I actually am interested in chemistry (more than biology and physics, at least), but I'm wondering what caused him to single me out... *thinking about what I've done in the class* Well, yeah, I've raised my hand and said correct answers and gotten my work done easily... Was that enough? Hm.

Well, like I said, I am actually interested in this class, and I'm really hoping it'll help me decide whether I really want to have a career in science. Crossing my fingers!

The teacher makes it very clear when he's irritated with certain students. There's a group of boys that sits in the back that isn't exactly... Well, they are a bit obnoxious, to be honest, and clearly would rather be anywhere but in school. At one point, the teacher had had enough of them and made a few of them sit somewhere else in the room, and one of them ended up next to... me.

I actually think this guy isn't so bad, but there are indeed problems in his and his friends' attitude. He talks to me and his buds while the teacher's talking, he and his friends flirt with me a little, and they are all definitely the kind to cheat off of people that actually pay attention to the lesson, like- oh, what do you know- me, instead of just listening to the teacher and getting their work done and then looking at Facebook and making jokes I'd rather not hear.

I'm considered smart by people, and I do tend to do well school-wise, so I get where they're coming from. But those people tend to degrade themselves because they are like "I can't possibly be as smart as you because I'm a total idiot." No, you probably aren't an idiot. See, I'd not get even decent grades if all I ever did during school was look at my phone and talk to my friends instead of notes and work. All they need is minimal effort. Write down the notes that look most important, or mindlessly write all of them. Read the instructions. Put your notebook in front of you and your phone somewhere else. Get the work done now so you can chat all you want later and not get in trouble for it. These guys could do perfectly fine in school if they put in minimal effort.

That's what disappoints me. I've glanced at the guy's work after I was done with my own, and most of it (of what he actually did) looked perfectly fine. Yet, when I asked him if he thought he'd get a good grade on it, he said, "Probably not." He thinks he's an idiot, but he's only an idiot because he thinks like that. He and his friends, with minimum effort, could boost their self-esteems and realize doing work and getting good grades isn't even that hard. I'm not a genius, guys, I just actually try in school.

Okay... now to this weekend. It got kicked off by the dance performances we'd been preparing for some weeks. First we did was the bellydance to "Ojos Así" by Shakira, which went well... except for I accidentally made my skirt too loose. It never actually fell down all the way to the ground, but it still made the dance harder to dance, having to subtly hike it up every once in a while. Geez, that was embarrassing, but at least I think I dealt with it good enough.

The second I did was the Tahitian dance we were doing with what was supposed to be the Young Women. I wish more actual Young Women were in it, but, otherwise, I think we did good.

My mom went up to do her special Spanish dance with castanets, which she always rocks.

My sis went up with the Relief Society for a Mexican dance that I'm sure is really fun to do, but I wasn't allowed to join in since I'm not in Relief Society.

A girl that my sis had been teaching dance to for a while went up. She's a beginner, so it wasn't as clean as it would've been if, say, my sis and I did it, but she did awesome considering.

My mom, sister, and I went up for our final dance together, "La Negra", which is a Mexican folklore dance from Jalisco. One of those dances that has the cool, but heavy, dresses. I've always loved doing the Jalisco dances despite how tiring they get, but I wish I was a lot better at them.

Of course, when you're little, you're not going to be as amazing as an adult at a dance like that. I didn't even know how to do some of the steps correctly back then. But this fact just got a little more emphasized when I did the dance again after years. I feel like, especially in that dance, I was the weak link. The final presentation came out better than I expected it to, but I still wish I could've done better.

After all the acts and, therefore, the event was over, we went to eat at IHOP. Going to a restaurant after performing always makes me happy, especially cuz one of my fondest memories from 7th grade is when, after my family came to watch me dance in the school musical on opening night (at least, I think they came on opening night...), we went to get shakes at Iceberg.

Yesterday was October 3rd, which any FMA fan should know the significance of... I actually put an event in the calendar on my phone earlier so that I'd be reminded of 10.03.11 and remember to celebrate FMA day.

Coincidentally, this weekend was also General Conference.

I thought it was going to be weird to be happy about both going on on the same day, but I think it just made so my entire weekend was even better. I love General Conference, and I love Fullmetal Alchemist!

At the end of the day, I actually even posted a one-shot. It was one that I had written around late August to Sept. 1, but didn't think was quite good enough to post. See, everything was good except for one thing. There was a paragraph I wanted to fit in there so much, but hadn't found a way to do it and still make everything flow. I visited the one-shot a few times since then, and found a few small tweaks to do, but still didn't know what to do about that paragraph.

After watching all my favorite FMA AMVs, starting and ending with "Tramurei", I visited it again and found what to do. I sent the final draft to Scaehime, who approved it, and then I went to work to publish.

I thought my 30th story ever published would be one of my crossovers, but it was this one-shot instead. I'm fine with that, though, since I'm proud of this one-shot.

The paragraph I wanted to fit in somehow went something like this: "When Ed accomplishes something, as he often does, he doesn't just stop there. He's a busybody with busy thoughts and so many things to do and goals to reach. The day Ed slows down is the day he dies." (Changed the end to "he's dying" since that is more correct for what I mean to say.)

If you go to my profile on FFN (same username as here) and read "Name", try looking for the part in the story where I took things from this paragraph. ...Not that I'm forcing you, just that that'd be fun and interesting. *sweatdrop*

Oh, and- even though it doesn't have anything to do with FMA or GC- we also watched Sixth Sense, which I don't think I've seen before. I thought I saw a small chunk years ago, but turns out I'm thinking of some other movie... Anyway, I really liked it. The quote "I see dead people" ended up being used in a different way than I expected. I thought it was going to be said by a creepy little kid before they did something creepy, but the way it was actually said broke my heart. I just wanted to give him a hug!

I love how it turned out I didn't know anything about the movie beforehand besides that that quote was somewhere in there, but I figured out what was going on much sooner than my mom and dad did when they had first watched it... After the initial scene, I had my suspicions, which were confirmed within minutes, while even the main character didn't realize until the very end! *evil laugh* I wonder if it's because of something I've read before (don't know what that'd be... or it's maybe just a combination of different things I've read) that led me to get what was happening much faster or I'm just smart like that... I don't know.

To finish, I want to put my summaries of each session of General Conference. This is most of what was taught by the speakers. I miss the old Apostles, but, hopefully, we'll all come to love the new ones! We root for you!

Hold on to the basic truths of the gospel. We must be centered on Christ. "It will all work out." What keeps us from progressing? We should keep the Sabbath Day holy.

Come to yourself. The love of Christ is like the undying love of a devoted mother. Go the second mile. No darkness is too thick and dense to let light through. We need faith and action. Because of the Atonement, Christ knows how to succor our infirmities.

Be an example. We should try to see people through Heavenly Father's eyes. Women have a very important role in the Church and are needed. We must be bold and speak up. Always remember Christ. We need the constant influence of the Spirit.

Jesus created the Church, which exists so we can lift others up. Ponder the scriptures- try ponderizing (ponder and memorize) a different scripture every week. Standards and commandments may look like a restricting barrier, but they are actually protecting us from what's on the other side. We can never dig ourselves into a hole (of sin) too big to come out of. If we turn to Christ, we can overcome our trials. The leaders of the Church are truly men called of God.