Pecha Panda Plot Twist

Hello world!

🎶It's a pillow, it's a pet... it's a CASTANET!🎶 *freezes with cheesy grin and jazz hands* ...No? Okay, fine, it's a Pillow Pet. No sense of humor... *grumbling under breath*

I might've mentioned a long time ago- back when we were in Utah, so maybe 2 years- a frog Pillow Pet. I gave it to Winnie, along with most of my stuffed animal collection, before we moved out of AL. (I hope she's taking good care of them...) I'll be honest- as stupid as Pillow Pets were and as much as I saw the commercials and heard the jingle over an over and over, for the longest time I longed to have one. Some of them really are so cute! The price was too much, in my opinion, so my mom and I agreed maybe once the price dropped or something. But did the price ever drop? Haha, nope. And, by the time they did do sales, it was for the later generations of Pillow Pets that weren't very cute.

But a few days ago, I came home and went to drop my backpack off in my room... And there, on my sister's mattress, sat...

A panda Pillow Pet.

My mom explained she saw it and planned to give it to me for Christmas, but then got worried about whether I still wanted a Pillow Pet or not.

Of course I'd totally be up for another stuffed animal. Wow, talk about not knowing your daughter. *playful scoff*

I'd definitely gotten excited when she said she got it from Ross for $4. By then I was like "HECK YES!"

The surprise got ruined, but I'm still considering this my Christmas present.

The panda's sooo cute!~ I remember it being one of the cutest in the commercials. This one is kinda funny cuz it has a few mistakes- the head is permanently turned to the left, for example- but I've always been cool with my stuffed animals having things like that. Just makes it look sillier and feel more unique, cuz no one else has a stuffed animal quite like mine. *teeheet*

I'd been so scared about doing a PowerPoint presentation in Child Development, cuz I basically had to memorize what I was gonna say to get the best grade (cuz it was supposed to be a Pecha Kucha). I did more preparation at home- on my own time- to make sure I did this presentation well, but I still really hoped I wouldn't talk too fast or too slow or, please no, choke up.

Luckily for me, it turned out that we didn't have to do it in front of the whole class, just the teacher- so we were at the computers in the library, and she'd come to a group, who'd pull up their PowerPoint on their computer and give a mini-presentation to the teacher. I know teachers often have us do presentations to the whole class so we get more used to public speaking, but doing it this way made a perfect amount of sense to me. People could keep working if they needed to while others presented, and she could probably go through all of them a lot faster, and thus we don't use so many days just for presentations like what often happens in other classes.

Doing the practicing at home really helped out, cuz I said just about everything I'd put in the script. I couldn't quite loosen up all the way with the teacher, and I was still nervous, but it was a lot better than doing it in front of everyone. The teacher actually was engaged and looked interested in what I had to say, which is usually not the case with other students, so I liked that. She said I did a good job, and that she kinda wished I did do it in front of the whole class- but she mentioned it wasn't really part of my personality to enjoy public-speaking, so she wasn't gonna force me or anything. I appreciated that. She really is a great teacher; I just wish she didn't usually have to deal with such horrible kids. She deserves better than you pooheads!

It's ironic that I mentioned thinking of doing the presentations that way made perfect sense, cuz it turns out I have to do a group presentation with a poster for two other classes in the near future- exactly what I had managed to get out of in Child Dev. *deep breath*

Honestly, I think I am more likely to learn more through notes than through group projects. Sure, I tend to research and learn things I wouldn't have learned just with notes, but it's only on one specific topic within the bigger topic, and maybe doesn't even have much to do with what we're supposed to be learning in class. And kids often don't come out of this with greater knowledge- many are seriously reading off their posters, not even remembering vaguely what was written there, and others are dead asleep while students present. Just... no. There's a reason we do traditional notes and don't depend on other kids to teach us!

I read the last book of All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket today. It was interesting and definitely had some unexpected answers for questions (and a PLOT TWIST!), but I don't think I'm fully satisfied with how it ended. *mrrrrr*

My family's starting to watch Project Runway again, and will probably get to the newest season of America's Next Top Model afterward. I'm also starting to try to get caught up with some of my favorite cartoons. Turns out Gravity Falls has had many more episodes since I last watched than I thought! *tear* And PHINEAS AND FERB HAD THEIR FINAL EPISODE IN THE SUMMER! At least I know I've basically seen every other episode except maybe one or two... I'd really rather not go looking for what that would be. There's also Adventure Time and The Amazing World of Gumball that I need to watch. (I watched "107 Facts" YouTube videos for a lot of cartoons, including some mentioned in this paragraph, and found out some interesting stuff. Check it out if it won't spoil any endings for you. *thumbs up*)

That's... pretty much everything. I have Thanksgiving Break this week, so I wonder what we'll do~

It Is Done

Hello world!

This is my final entry for my Faith project. (Finally!)

My new YW president had come up with a cool idea with one of her old friends back in Chile. Now they're both in a position in the Young Women's presidency in their respective wards, so they'd thought it'd be cool if we could videochat with the girls in Chile. And yesterday, that actually happened.

Me and 3 other girls arrived at the president's apartment (I'll call her Rena for short). Turned out they'd wanted to use Facebook videochat (though I'd been expecting Skype), so we all had to go through todo el rollo of friending the girls from Chile on FB before we could all get the chats working. It took a long time to get everything figured out, but eventually it was done. Eventually, we sat face-to-face with girls on the Southern Hemisphere, all the way on the other end of the Americas' landmass. It was a little weird to think about.

Conversation was a little awkward at times, since we had to do questions like "What's your name? Age? Hobbies?" etc. but I think, overall, it was fun for everyone. There was one girl, Claudia, who I had the feeling I would get along with the best if we met in person.

We used a lot of time just on asking each other about their lives and stuff, but there were a few minutes near the end of the activity where we were supposed to go one-on-one with one of the girls from Chile to talk about spiritual stuff. I'll admit that, while I doubt anyone noticed, I was glad to get Claudia for this bit.

We both ended up talking about Faith- a little bit about how we got it, why it's important in our lives, stuff like that. I wish her audio worked a bit better, cuz sometimes I missed a few words that she said. I didn't want to mention that, though, because then maybe a long time would be spent trying to fix the issue instead of talking. So, I sucked it up and hoped I got the good parts of what she was saying, cuz I remember that I liked a lot of what I heard.

The thing that stuck out the most to me was that I'd started to say how I was grateful for temple sealings and all that, and she responded that she hasn't gotten to do that because her parents were separated. The separation had happened just a little bit before her family met the missionaries. I felt a bit bummed out that she can't until her whole family baptized, but she was still excited about using the opportunity to have an eternal family when it comes. I was excited about it, too, because... Yeah, the eternal family deal is one of my favorite things about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our family has a strong tie beyond what most people get to have, one that cannot be broken. We will see and live with each other and be a family after death. But I can feel that tie even while on Earth. It's part of what helped me feel better about my sister moving out. We're still connected, and we're literally sisters forever!

I'd actually said so to Claudia (with words that weren't quite as good), and she seemed to like it... I hope.

Yeah, I just hope she gets to get sealed with her family. That would be so awesome.

Anyway, after that, we had to finish up with the activity. Rena and her friend in Chile thanked us and each other for being part of this, we took some pictures with the girls in Chile (by sitting in front of the TV, hehe), and then said goodbye.

While Rena's husband went to pick up pizza (and after we ate), she wanted us to do little interviews about the experience, and I ended up going first. Yeah, I seriously lack eloquence when it comes to just talking. I have much more with written word, and even then sometimes it's not very eloquent. Yeah, I struggled with coming up with something good to say. I somehow got out the words to say a few things for the questions (and some of the things I'd said earlier in this post I mentioned), though I'm wondering how much editing I'd need on that video she's putting together that documents this whole thing... Probably more than the other girls, since they probably had more time to think about what to say and stuff.

A question I was supposed to answer was "How has Personal Progress helped you in your life?" I'd actually immediately thought back to this, the Faith project, which sadly took over a year to finish, but I'm glad to say is now done.

At the very beginning I'd been scared of trying to do this, because I was having the hardest time trying to think of experiences to write about. I mean, I don't really remember when I got my testimony for the Church; just kinda felt like I always had it. Unsurprising, since I was born into the gospel and I hardly remember anything from my childhood.

But, as this project kept going, I realized I have had more spiritual experiences than I gave myself credit for. I'd felt the love and blessings I'd received from God more than I thought. If I only just bothered to remember that day, and how I felt...

Many times since I've started this project, I've had thoughts that affirmed my testimony in how being part of the Church blesses lives and blesses my own. I can get so frustrated or confused or whatever sometimes, but I can be happy that I know the truth about many things. Here's a good quote I'd thought up a week or two ago that I just wanna mention:

It's easier to live with a purpose when you know the truth.

It's true, really. People say "What's the meaning of life?" as a joke lots of times, but everyone wants to actually know. And we know the answer. 

I don't know what can't be appealing about knowing for sure that you're never alone, that you can be forgiven, that you can be with your family forever... The wonderful messages always given that we may take for granted at church, especially after hearing it so many times, is exactly what we need to hear sometimes.

I know I'd already talked about the temple, but I actually have something else to mention. My parents had been asked to accompany the missionaries to an investigator house. They'd wanted my parents to talk to the parents there about the importance of marriage and eternal marriage, and maybe help them feel a little better about baptizing.

It was weird to hear about their story, because they were one of those couples that after aaaaaaall this time if having a family, they never had bothered to get legally married. They said they hadn't been to their old church, the Catholic one, in years because they had sinned. I'd wondered why they didn't just freaking get married if they actually loved each other- they're still together and have three kids, so they probably do- and people freaked cuz they weren't wearing the rings. Now I realize that maybe just getting married wouldn't have solved the problem in the Catholic Church's eyes, so they didn't see the point.

Look, guys. Just like what my mom had said on that visit, being legally married isn't just what will allow you to get baptized and be able to make covenants and receive many blessings, but it's good for your family and your kids. It's good for your kids to be able to know that their parents are happy in their marriage.

Don't give me that look, people that don't believe in marriage and/or abstinence before marriage. It is proven your kids are happier. Heavenly Father knows how families can be happiest, and having kids while already in a healthy marriage is how it's done.

Anyway. While this was going on, I was basically just watching the whole thing, but, while the adults had been talking about the blessings of going to the temple and stuff, I felt really strongly like I should say something. Say something about how I am grateful to have an eternal family, and how great it was to enter the temple for the first time, and stuff like that.

I don't know how much help I would've been, since I would've been kinda reiterating some stuff that had already been said, but I really felt like it should be said. My heart beat fast and my mind and my mouth were like "SAY SOMETHING!"

If only everyone had stopped talking for longer than a second, I could've entered the conversation. But nope, I literally didn't get the chance, and they shifted to a different topic, and I just kinda internally deflated.

GAH!

Well, at least my testimony was shared to myself as I thought about what I'd say and felt the Holy Ghost being like "Yeah, that's good, I like that! It's true!"

I also hope that couple get baptized. That would mean they'd get married, then baptized, and later get sealed, and be happier and happier!

I know that we can see the hand of God working in our lives in both the small and big things (which is why I've been mentioning more and more things like the un-coincidences in my everyday life in my diary) if we just try to see it. I know Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all real and love us very much. I know the Book of Mormon is true and all the modern prophets were called to serve Him. Joseph Smith was not a fake. Nothing ever taught in our Church was made up one day- this is all what Jesus Christ taught and asked of us. The Church is here to make our lives better and happier. Christ's Second Coming is so close, and we must do what we can to prepare for it, like gaining a testimony and maintaining it. May we all endure to the end. Amen.

Those Who Face the Unlucky

Hey world!

Ironically, while the world was burning down, I had a pretty good week.

This Friday the 13th was fun until, at the end of the day, I heard that there was earthquake in Japan again, crazy terrorist attack in France, and a bunch of other natural disasters and attacks around the world. Whether the "Friday the 13th" thing was purposely planned for some of this or not, it's still one of the days I'm sick of others of my species. It's shameful to be a human when I know other humans are out there doing absolutely horrible things. A very small minority participates in terrorist activity, but that very small minority shouldn't even exist.

The only good thing about this is that the signs for the Second Coming are ever clearer and it's definitely close. I am almost thinking it'll come before I finish college- or, heck, maybe even before I finish high school! I sure hope it's really soon, because things will continue to just deteriorate from here, and I don't want to imagine how much worse the world will get.

I think my positivity and pessimism towards life flips back and forth a lot... *sweatdrop*

Something... surprising? Yeah, that's the word. Something surprising happened- of course, it all began soon after I posted the last entry.

I mentioned in my last one that my sister worked at an apparently quite awesome school, but I'd said I probably couldn't get in. Turns out I was wrong!

My sister explained by phone in a lot more detail how the school works, and told us that she'd see if I could get in, an she actually thought I could be in at least by next year.

She asked the principal the next day (or the day after that?), and- according to her words- she hadn't even finished her whole speech about how I'd be a good student and stuff when he said "Okay." She actually paused and was like "Wait... What'd you say?!" as it sunk in. I guess she has a good reputation around there, so just her recommendation made it much easier for me to get in. I don't even need to do the application! Just gotta show up and can get started!

And, around the same time we got the news, my dad got a job interview for a job in Utah! Coincidence? WE THINK NOT.

So, as far as I understand, we'll definitely try to move over Winter Break. I mean, the sooner the better for that school, in my opinion. (The thing about the school is that I can earn a ton of college credit while there, and do the class as fast or slow as I need!)

I just feel bad because there's a few things I'll miss if I'm not at my current school for second semester. I have Creative Writing and Musical Theatre on the schedule, both of which I really wanted to take this year! (I actually have wanted the latter since freshman year.) And... There's also self-defense club.

I've been friends with Coatrack (I like this more than Apple- it's an inside joke,

in case you were wondering) since around the second week of school. He's a great guy, though he's often more subdued than I'm used to. (I dunno why, but he's constantly tired. I blame his lack of sleep or whatever on his subduedness, cuz I know he can be silly just like me!) I am in his club, which is the self-defense club. He just barely started it this year, so there aren't a lot of members- particularly, committed members. I try to go when I can, but I've missed two or three meetings because of drama club. He's also still trying to figure out the best way to teach and the best location and stuff, but I know he's trying. Despite the craziness, I've had fun and learned, so I feel bad I'll miss out on being there after just one semester. I think we grew close fast, since I feel like I can tell him a lot of things about myself and my day that I don't bother with telling most people. I also know he has a crush on me, though I've sort of indirectly turned him down... on purpose and accident at the same time... Still, I hope it won't be too hard for him when I'm gone. (And of course I'll miss him too! He's a great friend.)

I don't know if it's good or sad that it's just electives and Coatrack/his club that I'll miss... I have plenty of good memories for everywhere I've lived, and I'll have some for here, too, so otherwise no regret!

Speaking of good memories: on Friday, after I'd lazed around at home after my mom and I went to do errands for a few hours (hours), my mom went to a baby shower. I'd decided to not go because I thought it was a for a lady I don't even know. Even when I'd heard a bit of my mom and dad talking and realizing I was wrong and it was for a lady I knew, I had a feeling I should stay home anyway.

My mom was not gone long when she called me and said she was bringing home a girl in my Young Women's class, and said "You guys can just watch a movie or something." I was actually really nervous because this was the first time a friend was gonna come over. A depressing fact considering we've been here for about half a year already, but less because I'm not exactly a super-social person and I still haven't exactly been at school here for that long, only a term.

Anyway, she came over, (my mom left to return to the baby shower,) and we were kinda being awkward teenagers, but we eventually got to watching Netflix. She decided that I needed to watch Once Upon a Time, so I agreed to putting on the first episode. (Are you proud of me now, Blondie?) I'll admit, I was intrigued, so maybe sooometime I'll watch a bit more.

But I'd thought to myself "Hey, since she made the first pick, maybe I can decide what show we watch after this episode!" And, of course, the first show I'd thought of was Fullmetal Alchemist.

I had a feeling none of the girls in my YW class liked anime, so I'd never mentioned it... much. I guess the closest I did was when I carved a cute anime face out of my pumpkin in the activity before Halloween. (By the way, my jack-o-lantern is still out there, and has been kept up by the rain.)

Anyway, I told her as such, and she gasped and was like "Fullmetal Alchemist's the only anime I've ever liked!"

Yep, I screamed like a huge fangirl just then.

We finished up the episode and I put on the first episode of FMA:B. I know that watching by yourself and watching with someone else is often pretty different experiences, but that fact was reiterated now. Somehow, it seemed like I was watching the first episode for the first time all over again- besides that I knew already a lot of what happens. I guess it was like someone had already given me a detailed summary of the episodes but I hadn't actually watched it until then. Yeah, it was kinda like that.

It was clear she'd watched it a long time ago, but her memories were starting to come back as we continued. It was great to finally watch it with someone else who loved the show too. The times Niisan and my dad were in the room while I watched the first anime don't count because they weren't really watching.

Even by the time my mom and her mom came back and were chatting, we kept going strong and got through more episodes. We got about a quarter through the 6th episode when our moms were like "C'mon, girls, it's late."

It was while they were preparing to leave that I first heard about the Paris attack.

Don't you love when you have an awesome day and then it gets ruined because you realize while you were having fun, others were having the worst days of their lives somewhere else? People died?

I guess I sound stupid to be talking like that, depending on the kind of tone you think I'm using, but I'm not using the selfish one like "That ruined a perfectly good day!" No, I mean to use the guilty one that's like "I feel bad I had fun, oblivious to the horrors happening at the same time."

Three more things to mention and I'm out. One, we'd actually had most of the week off, so that was cool. I got to read and get back into AQ (I'm back, baby! Dunno what my parents think, though, now that they know I've played this game before and I'm picking it back up again.) I also got my homework done. Woo. I just wish I'd gotten more sleep...

Two, I got a bunch of books at the library again, mainly manga with one novel. I saw Noragami, so I was super excited to grab that. I've heard the anime is good, so I was like "Heck yeah, I wanna read it!" It was nothing like what I expected (as lame as it sounds, I could only think how the name reminds me of "origami". FWI: the "gami" is used not in the way that it's used in "origami", but like it's used in "shinigami". Entirely changes the meaning, huh?), but I'm perfectly okay with that. Sometimes, something I hadn't expected is a lot better than what I did expect! Like finding out that girl loves FMA! (I really hope we meet up to watch on Fridays or something. Now I need to think of an alias for her for this blog...)

Three: I actually wrote a quickie one-shot and sent it to someone. There's this guy on Tumblr (which I don't have an account for, hah) named obersten who does a lot of FMA stuff. He swears way too much and sometimes writes or draws something I'd seriously not like to see (*coughcoughsevereRoyEdcough*) but he can draw really well and he can come up with cool AUs. I don't think I mentioned finding one called the Overexposure AU, which is crazy creepy and awesome, a few months back. A few days ago, I decided to look at what else he's got. Some of them are sick! (In a mainly good way!) I wish there was more material in a lot of them, though.

Anyway, I'd actually been inspired by one of the comics he made for the Timeskip AU, so I wrote a one-shot about it and continued the scene. I know it was nowhere close to as good as other stuff already in the AU, but I thought I'd presented some decent writing and an idea to make the AU even better. (AKA it adds more suffering to Ed. Sorry, Ed, we authors just love to torture you. You're so tortureable.) And, hoping I wouldn't get negative feedback, I submitted it to him... with the name "lilaclily00" on it. I hope this doesn't backfire on me. *big sweatdrop*

It's been a few days and it hasn't shown up on his Tumblr, so either he hasn't seen it yet or he didn't like it and just didn't bother even replying. Maybe both, I dunno. I'm guessing the worst that can happen is that he just ignores it. That wouldn't exactly be a happy ending, but it wouldn't be that bad either. But yeah, if it turns out he DOES reply and it shows on his Tumblr, I really hope he at least is like "There's an interesting thought in here" or even "This isn't that bad" and not "What is this?!" with a really confused and/or scoffy look. Please no.

I'll tell you what happens if something happens.

As promised, that's everything, so bai!

Good Grief

Hello world!

Firstly, may I just say that The Peanuts Movie was pretty perfect? It kept true to the world and characters of the comic strip; it had good jokes and good taste; it made you cheer for everybody (especially Charlie Brown, of course!) and feel good feels; overall, great movie.

It was while I was picking out an appropriate outfit for it (AKA Peanuts-themed) that I realized I now own 4 shirts with Snoopy and Woodstock on them, plus a few pairs of socks. Too bad I didn't also have a hat or some sort of jewelry like I have for Spongebob. Sigh...

Now that that's over, I shall continue with matters related to school.

One thing: as expected, I didn't make it into the school play. I'll admit I didn't do as good as I wish I did, but I still gave it my best shot. (Hit me with your best shot! (x3) Fire awaaaay!~)

Two thing: another teacher has mentioned to me that they thought I should do AP next year, this time my English teacher. And, I'll be honest, I'm more open to the idea than I was before the school year started.

I saw through my friends that were in AP last year that it seriously was NOT fun, but... At this school, I feel like I really am farther ahead than what they're teaching. Yeah, that's happened before, but to a lesser degree. As much as I like my teachers, I need to learn more than what I feel like I'm learning now from them.

I'd want to be really careful about what AP classes I do. For one, I'd really rather not do history, cuz I know that screws up with a lot of my friends. As long as I know the workload isn't too ridiculous, maybe I could try English, Spanish, and Chemistry AP?...

I still don't know when we'll move, but I've been thinking that, if we move after this semester (oh yeah, first term ended this week! Halfway there!), I could try switching to AP classes at my new school even though I would only be there for the second half of the year. I'd skip some projects- YES!- and, hopefully, be able to catch up quickly with material taught and still do well on the final tests. I'd be really worried about trying that with history, and chemistry maybe would take longer to catch up on, depending on how much more they do compared to the class I'm in now... But I tend to do relatively good at exams, so I think I'd at least do decent with all of them.

My Child Development class is actually a dual-credit class, which means it gives me credits for college if I do good in it, so it's essentially AP with just slightly different requirements to gain those credits. Though it can be hard, I'm still doing pretty good in it. It's nice to know I'm actually gonna have a small portion of my college classes done with (in this case, just the electives). If I know I can do a few more classes like this without breaking down from stress, then I guess I should try them... Right?

There would be more work, which would suck, but... I know I should be more challenged at school right now. I don't want to let my teachers down by always taking the easy way. In YW today the lesson was about the importance of education, so I'm feeling more the thing about doing more at school...

So, yeah, that's my plan. Move next semester and try to convince the new school to let me come into one or two AP classes, then only join one club. I'm in two right now, and I like both, but trying to attend both as much as I can I'd stressful. I know it's stupid, but I want to be in both!

If we end up sticking around till the end of the year... Well, I guess my grades won't be as impressive when I send college applications. I really want to go to BYU, but gaining any sort of scholarship, as my father pointed out in such a sweet manner, would require really impressing the admissions office, and... While people are always telling me I'm so smart and stuff, my grades probably aren't as awesome as other kids who really do try to push themselves in high school.

Another option that my dad wants to consider is the school my sis works at now, which is more like teaching yourself at school, with teachers and tutors around to just help you out when you need it. It sounds interesting, but the prob, Bob, is that I remember my sis telling me a few weeks ago that you'd have to apply to get in, like, a year before you can actually go. And, well, I can't really plan that far ahead at the moment, considering our ever-changing lives.

Three thing: my English teacher had given me full points (5 out of 5!) for all aspects of an essay I had to write except sentence fluency (just docked by one point, which is still a good score, but I wanna do better at writing if I can improve!). I'd been wondering why and was planning on asking her sometime... But, yesterday, after I replied to Scaehime's reviews for VH (she finally got to reviewing some chapters after being so busy lately with college), I decided to read the chapters she'd reviewed just for old time's sake. By now, I'm more detached from the older chapters, so it's easier to see mistakes and places that could be better, and I realized my teacher was right. Sure, she'd been talking about a school essay and not my stories, but the weakness was still prevalent in both. I could see that it really didn't flow as well as I'd previously thought.

So, now, I guess I'm gonna focus less on asking my teacher why but how to improve on that. Writing is my thang, my craft, it's lief! I wanna do better and work on it, even if I didn't realize I needed to work on that certain thing until now!

Four thing: it's pretty gosh-dang cold in my school- like, seriously, I think it's worse than all my other schools, and last year's was ridiculous with the air conditioner. I've started wearing gloves for a few classes, but it sucks cuz then I end up having to take them off for Ceramics or something, and then by the time I have the next class, my hands are already frozen, and so I can't just put them on again- they won't help me unless I manage to fully warm up again first.

I've worn layers, and even with those I'm sometimes still really cold! NO! That is just ridiculous! TURN UP THE HEAT ALREADY, MY NAILS ARE ALMOST BLUE AND THAT IS NOT GOOD!

Now just a few final comments...

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Random Riggs is unlike anything I've read before. It's different and a little complicated, and that's just how I like 'em! I wish it had a bit more creepiness in it and some of the photos were explained more, but otherwise it was pretty great. Funny enough, one of the missionaries saw that I was reading it and fanboyed a little. *amused chuckle* He said it was his favorite book! 

It says at the end that they seriously found all those photos, not Photoshopped them... I wanna know so bad if that's totally true. A few of them I have a hard time believing they're not fabricated by the author... But I also want to believe they're all real!

I think I'm doing a bit more writing, luckily, so I've gotten a bit farther in VH's next chapter (FINALLY!) and in a new fic I'm just writing for myself. There's also When Friends Are Magnets (at this point I can't remember whether I've actually talked about it or not), though I'm getting a bit stuck as to developing the plot more. I need to talk to someone so I can get help, but it has to be someone I can actually talk to, because just typing every detail would be difficult to do. It also has to be someone that cares about writing. I'm thinking maybe Allakai by Skype, but I don't know if he'd actually have some suggestions for me... But I don't think I know any people at my school that would actually want to hear me ramble about WFAM... Ugh. My life.

I watched the CoS movie for the third time on Friday! (Yes, I must and will continue to mention every time I watch it.) I think, this time, I understood more the plot and actually related more to the characters... somehow. That part where the feels would hit me so hard didn't hit me that bad this time, though.

There was a small detail I noticed this time that I liked. Al's voice is often really expressive, especially in the movie. It got crazy as he shouted at Ed near the end (though a few small points in the movie I thought the voice was overdone, most of the time it was spot-on and realistic)- but then, by the time he and Ed were together again, his voice changed. It wasn't deeper, but more mature, because he regained years of memories. He still sounded perfectly like himself, just one that acts older and wiser. Seriously, Aaron Dismuke, you did great with Al's voice! *respect*

Stay in school, kids! And do more schooling if you have the time and money, adults! The more knowledge, the better! *Ed grin and thumbs up*

Space Wonder

Hi, horrible, horrible world. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I'm still a bit irritated by what just happened, which you'll learn about if you keep reading this.)

The post I had that was partly for past week and this week... I fully expected for my entry to be deleted at some point because, unless I save it with a title, then everything will eventually be erased. So, several times, I made sure I had it copied in the iPod clipboard or whatever you wanna call it. It would've been perfectly fine...

But, ever since David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was referenced to in Wonder by RJ Palacio, which I read today, it'd been stuck in my head, and by the third time I played it on YouTube today, I was finally like "Okay, this is gonna be my theme song for the week, so I might as well put down the lyrics in my Notes" and did so.

I forgot I had copied my blog post, which, the moment I came back to finish it, found deleted, and told myself that was okay because it wasn't actually gone- so I told my iPod to paste, and I ended up filling the new blog post with the lyrics to "Space Oddity".

I've decided that, if I have somehow kept not getting the stuff in that post actually posted, it was just not meant to be and I should let that post go. If there was truly anything important, I guess I'll tell the tale later. There's plenty of things I actually haven't written about here, so that's okay, right?

Instead, I'm just gonna talk about Wonder.

That book actually had me close to tears two or three times, because there's a lot of stuff that hit home.

One thing is just him wanting to be normal and not defined as just this. I'm always really anxious about whether I'm annoying someone or offending someone or just looking a whole lot like an idiot, and it's a little tiring. I always end up forgetting about that for a moment, especially when I'm more comfortable with whoever I'm with, then later regretting whatever I'd done. I don't like giving off the wrong impression and I don't like thinking I've done something stupid.

I know I look different (but not in Auggie's way; it does still have to do with my face, but in the way that people assume I'm from somewhere else, not that there's something wrong with me), and I always end up not actually being what they expect from my appearance. I consider myself a complicated, confusing person, about as contradictory as Starbursts. Okay, a little more than Starbursts, actually.

Your appearance alone doesn't define who you are. I know that is how it is in my case, though sometimes I wish appearance would tell people exactly who I am, even if it would stop people from being surprised by me. (Just a few days ago, a friend finally found out I was a junior. She gaped at me for almost 10 minutes as the class continued, while I just looked super amused.) But it is still a part of who you are, no matter what everyone says about "Don't judge a book by its cover." I mean, it's how you express yourself. It tells people what you're into, what you spend your life doing, and, sometimes, the kind of experiences you've had that shaped you into who you are today. The outside doesn't reflect the inside entirely, and the inside doesn't exactly have to reflect the outside, but both parts are components of what makes you you.

I just wish being so concerned about both the inside and outside didn't control me so much.

Another thing about the book was when it went into Auggie's sister's perspective. Part of her is in me- but not as much as there could be. My mom likes to put in the effort when she can to ask me if I'm okay with the amount of attention I've received, because there's been times when the focus was, essentially, on my sister. I actually had never considered that I could feel that way, or people could think that that's how I feel- that I'm being slightly neglected because priority is being placed on my sibling. I still don't feel that way, even though it's true I felt more attention on me once she was gone. But we still talk about her a lot, and I really care about everyone in my family, and I know everyone cares about me, and that wouldn't change depending on my needs.

There were so many relatable points in the book, no matter who's point of view, and it just makes me grateful that I'd found a copy of it on the shelf in Kmart earlier this year, or I might've missed out on this book for years like I have for some other ones.

Now, every time I think of David Bowie, I'm gonna think of "Space Oddity" (I'm glad that I'd already heard it once a month or so ago and really liked it) and then that'll make me think of Wonder and August and all the other people from that book, and I'll remember my favorite quote from there:

Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world. -Auggie

I really liked that part in the book when he participated in a standing ovation, and thought about how good the people who were being clapped for must've felt. He mused how everyone should get that feeling at some point. I liked the sound of that.

So... knowing I'll remember this book through the different references in it makes me content. I'm hoping it'll drive me to be kinder more often. After all, that was a huge message in the work, right?

Depending on what happens with my audition in the school play (which I actually don't have the energy to talk more about, so I'm hoping I'll remember the details without writing them down), I'm gonna try to start back up on writing stuff again. That probably sounds a little odd, but I actually hadn't written much within the past month. Most of the writing-related stuff I did had to do with jotting down ideas. I'm worried that, even though I actually have the general idea of how to finish VH, I won't get around to doing it.

But life has the extraordinary power of surprising us, so who knows? Maybe I will actually finish it. Maybe I will actually talk about WFAM on here eventually. Maybe I'll completely change my career path right before or during college and end up happier than I would've been if I stuck with the plan I have now (Bachelor's in Genetics with a minor in Creative Writing). Come at me, world!

Happy Late Halloween, Feliz Día de los Muertos, and Happy Daylight Savings Ending!