just an outlet.

Spock, Forks, Aussies, and Greece

2009-06-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today I was really excited about a magnet I got that says, "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." -Dr. Spock.

Not only was I excited because I believe in the quote, but I also was picturing Spock as the logical, pointy-eared Vulcan I so adore. I JUST realized that Dr. Spock is a childcare expert and definitely not related to Romulans. You can imagine my disappointment. I still like the magnet though.

I also got a pair of jeans for under $10 (sweeeet) and a new air freshener that looks like a grinning chimp wearing headphones and smells minty fresh. And banana walnuts from Pike Place. Day = successful.

The past week has been > successful, actually, because my AWESOME AUSSIE FRIEND CONOR has been staying with us and making life ever so much more exciting :-D Examples follow.

Conor Quotes:

1. "That jumper is pretty swish!"

2. Mom: "So when you go hiking you'll just be tripping all over the place?" [imitates by throwing self around spastically]
Conor: "Yeah, pretty much just like that!"
Mom: [laughs hysterically]
Conor: [serious face] "--Why are you laughing?"

3. "The guy in customs stopped me because of my genuine beaver skin nipple warmers!"

Yep, it's been an awesome week :-D we went ziplining in Canada. It was like being on a giant playground; we hiked and ran across swinging bridges that ran between trees way up high and went zooming over the forest on a cable. Other awesome things we did:

Swimming, whilst snow fell on mountains in the background [shiver]
Jumped out of the car at border patrol to take pictures next to the "Welcome to the USA" sign
Sarah and Conor bought Canada-themed umbrella hats from an ice cream vendor at border patrol
Played a heated game of "Would You Rather?"
Watched and mocked Twilight and Paris Hilton's My New BFF 2
Saw penguins and flamingoes and tucans at the zoo
Witnessed an octopus assault at Pike Place Market (the assault wasn't on the octopus, but it involved one...)

Thins we have yet to do:

ROAD TRIP TO FORKS TOMORROW WITH CREPES AND FISH/CHIPS ALONG THE WAY SO CONOR CAN BRAG TO ALL HER TWILIGHT-OBSESSED FRIENDS THAT SHE WITNESSED THE SETTING (we're actually quite excited to have our own little road trip deal going on).

Then I get to see Lauren, Kayley, and Emma on Friday, hopefully [crosses fingers] --
Jesus: "That doesn't actually work."
Emily: "I know, but it's an expression..."
Jesus: "Psh. How cliche."
Emily: "........"

Anyway, I WILL BE ON A PLANE TO EUROPE ON SUNDAY.
THAT'S THREE DAYS AWAY.
I WILL BE IN GREECE IN 4 DAYS.

I got a hemp travel bag from Rick Steeve's store in Edmonds. Conor and I are convinced that the customs officers will be like,
"Hey you, what's that bag made of?"
Emily: "....heeemmmpp....."
Officers: "Yeah, you're going to have to step aside. We don't want anyone smoking that bag."

Lol.
And to top off all this fantasmicality, the sunset tonight is BEAUTIFUL :-D
...wow, apparently fantasmicality is spelled correctly, because there's no red squiggly underline...

Hermit Crab

2009-06-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

17 DAYS BEFORE MY EUROPE TRIP
It hasn't hit yet how soon it's coming. All I can think is "!!!!!!!!"

STATUS
Brain: 80% functioning (it's 8:04 AM)
Heart: Beating about Europe trip
Muscles: Yelling and screaming at me for the torture I put them through yesterday.

I realized awhile back that I've done something strange to myself. Besides the muscle torture. All through middle school and the first years of high school, I had the pleasure of having to deal with being in classes full of people that I had no intention of ever being associated with. No offense to anyone, but it's true. I won't go into detail why. I didn't know or relate very well to the people I was surrounded by. At least, for the classes that weren't honors classes. Like Spanish in middle school. And Science in High school. [shudder] And when I did try to relate to them in some way -- laugh at the things they said, pretend to share their point of view -- I abandoned part of myself.

Eventually I realized that this was lying. At the time, I was too shy to just plain say, "No, I don't agree with you." or "That's actually a really stupid thing to do." I still try to find ways to say those things less frankly. But in my younger years, I didn't know how to do that yet.

So instead, I just became a listener and an observer. I would listen to people and just refrain from comment. If people asked me questions, of course, I would answer, but people are notorious for loving to talk about themselves...so I mostly listened. I think in another life I was an excellent therapist :-) Basically, I adapted to being alone in the crowd and became comfortable that way, because otherwise I would've been miserable.

Here's the weird thing: now that I'm in Running Start and have been able to choose more easily my environments and the people I surround myself with, I've been more with people who I can relate to and actually call my friends. But I've adapted so much to being the listener that I've remained quiet, low-profile, observant -- seemingly to the point of being antisocial. I read all the time when I'm with people because I'm on a different study schedule. I listen to conversations. In my world, I'm being laid back. I'm simply not a chattery kind of person. In other people's views, though, I worry that I come across as stand-offish, reclusive, antisocial.

Even when I'm with my best friends, I realize I don't talk as much as they do sometimes. I know when I'm with my boyfriend I'm the more quiet one. At home with my family, I'm often in my room and regret missing time with everyone else.

I enjoy having time to myself to be alone. But I don't want to be alone forever. My family actually has quite a history of hermits. I don't want to be a hermit. I don't want to push away friends -- I have so many amazing people in my life! I don't want people to become bored of me because I don't say much. Basically, I don't want to end up being the crazy cat lady on the corner who is only seen in the mornings in her bathrobe when she takes out the trash.

There are over 500 species of hermit crabs. I don't want to make 501.
I'm going to try to be more social...

June Bug

2009-06-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have the June Bug!!! I can't wait for summer!

I'm going to copy Lauren and do the same survey she had in her blog:

what’s your one favourite song? Right now, Paint the Rust by The Dodos. green & purple dots would: match my walls. if you could be any fictional character, who would it be? I thought Tally from the Uglies series was kind of cool in book 3, Specials - or at least I think it would be cool to have crazy reflexes. your favourite fruit? Really good peaches or pineapples. If I MUST choose.. if you could be any other nationality, which would it be? Probably African American. Never have to worry about being pale vs. tan, and can get away with some awesome hairstyles. favourite disney movie? Probably Pocahontas. favourite garment you have ever owned? My black evening gown. who are you most envious of? people who seem to be exceptionally talented in everything they do. the world is ending. who’s your last text message sent to? Whoever I feel the need to establish closure with. what piece of clothing would you love to have regardless of cost? Well, if we're going all out, then a custom-made, self-designed, really fancy dress would be pretty sweet.. who’s wardrobe would you raid if you had the chance? I'd rather just start over and create my own. what do you want to do career wise? Be a devoted, maybe even inspirational elementary school teacher. what is your favourite perfume? Any one that doesn't induce athsma. I like the smell of Lilu... favourite magazine? Does ThinkGeek's catalog count? Haha I probably still like American Girl and National Geographic. favourite film? OVERDRIVE OVERDRIVE ANSWER SYSTEM DOWN ASLKJFKLJASM favourite book? The Phantom Tollbooth favourite era? The 20s or some things about the 80s if you could have the wardrobe of any film character who would it be? Random as this is, I liked the style of the girl from Step Up. Not my favorite film though. favourite model? Don’t pay attention to them. favourite tv show? Seinfeld or The Office. how old are you? seventeen. favourite disney princess? Mulan! I like how that comes after "how old are you?" what’s on your wishlist? More shorts, preferrably longer ones that are still cool. what’s your favourite music/band/artist of all time? Probably Jack Johnson. I like a lot of stuff, but he consistently produces music I like. if you could do anything & are guaranteed no failures for your life, what would you be/do? what I want to do now: be an elementary school teacher. if you could chose one person to be your flatmate for the next ten years, who would that person be? any one of my best friends! favourte piece of jewellry? My ear cuff. I haven’t seen anyone else with one yet and I like how it looks. what’s your guilty pleasure? Probably ice cream :-) what’s your remedy for when you’re feeling blue? Probably ice cream. No, jk. Running always puts me on a high, and sometimes karate. Laughing with one of my friends works really well too, of course. what is your most coveted item? Definitely my car. I also have these pink shoes I keep getting compliments on. favourite drink? Chai tea lattes, hot or cold. what song is playing on your page? If I could, then see question 1! most favourite recent purchase? Either the dress I got in San Diego or my new swimsuit. when did you discover fashion? how old were you? what triggered it? I was probably about 4 years old and refused to wear dresses that “didn’t twirl.” cats or dogs? Big, loping, puppy-eyed dogs.

Today, I

2009-05-31T23:24:00.000-07:00

Ran 3 miles in 20 minutes.
Played music at church I'd never played before.
Bought a really cute two piece swimsuit.
Stocked up on underwear.
Found a nice summer evening cover up shirt that was on sale -- twice.
Laughed with one of my best friends.
Smiled about my awesome boyfriend's cute new haircut.
Brushed a three-year-old's teeth and sang for her.
Solved a trigonometry question that was made by a 10 year old.
Planted my face in a plate of chicken salad.
Let my hair fly around in the wind while I drove with the windows down.
Listened to the sound of a train whistle as I got ready for bed.

If I weren't saving my $...

2009-05-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

I really like these shirts!! Threadless shirts are so cool, thanks Emma for introducing me to them.

captive

2009-05-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

PRISONER'S LOG
21:22 23 MAY 2009

Day 5 of my captivity has ended in blissful liberty. Project "History Paper" is complete. Mission "Kill Myself Reading A Redundant Waste of Adjectives 24/7" is terminated. Prisoner's log ends here. Over.

The past 5 days have been spent reading this book for history and writing a paper on it that's due Tuesday. The deadline really snuck up on me. If I hadn't come down with this cold thing I don't think I would've gotten it done in time (talk about divine intervention)!!

Emily Last Week: "Hmm, what do I have to do for History today?"
Paper Deadline: "Peek a Boo!"
Emily: "@#$%^&"
God: "What seems to be the problem?"
Emily: "HALLLP!!!!!!11!!"
God: "Sigh. I should collect interest for these favors..." [flash of lightning] "Have some Swine Flu."
Emily: [cough hack sneeze] "Is it really Swine Flu?"
God: "Well, it's that or something eerily similar. I don't know, I just kind of made it up as I went. You're welcome!"
Emily: [rraaaassssp.]

The book was actually pretty interesting. It really provided an insider's look on the American Revolution and made the Founding Fathers seem like actual human beings who had personality quirks and made mistakes. It was intriguing. Borderline epic, actually. I think Madison and Washington are my favotites.

Kyle and I made crepes the other morning! They were delectable. It took a few tries to flip them without making them look like deformed noodles though.

Going to the Folklife Festive with Lauren, Kayley, and Emma on Monday!! I want to see the guy who lays on the bed of nails again...

Well I'd write more but I can't stand to look at a computer screen any long--

Joy Division

2009-05-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

Today was weird. I screwed up on a lot of things (I'm not going to bother with details), and there were a lot of awkward social moments, and quite a few things just generally went wrong...but I somehow managed to be in a spectacular mood nonetheless. And I'm going to bed feeling satisfied and at peace with the world. Hmm. This seems so backwards! Yet I don't care.

Maybe it was that the day was beautiful, or that I have so many good things to look forward to.
Maybe it's that I've finally become able to accept my faults and still recognize my successes, and that forgiving myself is becoming less difficult than it used to be.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
We played with worms in Marine Science today. I could be suffering through Chemistry, but instead I'm playing with worms :-D Actually it was quite fascinating. Those earthworms are powerful little suckers. And it seemed to have its own little personality after awhile. I called mine Spunky. Then we dissected different worms. Apparently earthworms have their hearts...and their testicles... in heads...but no brains.

I got this book, Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things. I gave it to Savannah for her birthday :-) it's AWESOME. Hours of fun with science. I made plastic out of milk and vinegar with Kyle. I want to try building a radio next.

"Let's dance to joy division
And celebrate the irony
Everything is going wrong
But we're so happy!"
-The Wombats

Catching Up

2009-05-09T21:55:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't blogged in a really long time.

The trip to CA was really eventful, we packed a lot of activities into 5 days. Like trying to pack a sock full of a sleeping bag. Or a suitcase full of one girl's clothes and three girls' toiletry supplies. Which we also tried.

It was great to see family. It's rare that all the closest members of my family are in the same building, let alone the same state. Being in my grandparents' house and talking with my great grandmother, who is 94, created this intense sense of nostalgia and actually brought me to tears. Sarah too. It's weird...we were looking at all these old pictures and then talking to the people who were in those pictures...and I could see the younger person inside of this person in front of me. It was eerie.

We also got to see a bunch of friends, which was SO NICE. But in a way it was pretty much a tease since it was for like, 3 hours. Sigh. I could've spent weeks down there.

San Diego was pretty awesome. I think friendly people follow the sun. There were like 3 instances we had with really nice strangers. Old Town San Diego was cool and had the best tortillas...strawberry and chocolate...oh man. And Little Italy had EXCELLENT food. The kissing statue was HUGE.

At the San Diego Zoo my mom insisted on buying me a 2nd pair of sunglasses because I had left my pair in the hotel room.
"Mom, I already have a pair."
"That's ok, you need a pair today."
"Hahaha watch me break them."
So I took a long time to pick out some good ones in one of the gift shops and wore them the whole day. Then I got back to the hotel room, dropped my room key, bent down to pick it up, watched as the glasses slid off my face, tripped, and stepped on the glasses and broke them.

Sigh.

The zoo was really cool though. We heard lions roar. That was amazing; the sound just resonates like nothing you could imagine.
The Greatest Rock Band Ever would figure out a way to plug a lion into an amp and just blast it as the opening to their concerts. People would go home deaf. It would be epic.

Saw the Star Trek movie today! Kyle brought his lightsaber XD we waved it around and got a lady to tell us, "No, that's the wrong movie..." hahaha. Then we explained how the entire Star Trek series was actually just an extension of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker is actually James T. Kirk and Spock, of course, is actually Chewbacca.

To Do: Learn the rules to Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

I want to go to school and get int the middle of a huge crowd during passing period and have a coughing fit and then say (really loud), "Sorry man, this Swine Flu is just killing me" and see what happens.

Well, I have to get up early tomorrow once again. Don't forget to tell your mother happy her day tomorrow.

Joy Joy Joy

2009-04-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

I am deeply sorry emily, my email is pretty darn short, I'm so excited about you coming down here I'm at a loss for words!

p.s.- this is the color of sunshine!

Lalalalove, Gabrielle
Awesome things about this weekend:

1. Beautiful weather.
2. Hanging out with 4 of my best friends. All at once!
3. Self-grind peanut butter with blackberry honey.
4. Volleyball, rake battles, and milk plastic with Kyle.
5. Best freaking pumpernickel bread in the world, courtesy of Chef Dad.
6. Clue, the Movie.
7. Fun with synthesizers!
8. Composition winning 2nd place in State.
9. 1 week until trip to CA!
10. Making cool braids in Emma's hair :-)

Cats, Synths, Swing, and Styx

2009-04-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Saw CATS over the weekend! It was awesome. Made me want to get up and dance.
Speaking of which, Kyle and I had a spontaneous swing dancing adventure on Friday! That was really fun; we didn't really know what we were doing...and we were like the only ones on the dance floor because everyone else was being LAME (well, it was Meadowdale)...but WE were having fun. Even managed a few lifts! I want to learn how to swing dance better.

I also joined the church's youth band. They already have a really good pianist so I'm doing SYNTHS on the keyboard! It'll be epic. I've been messing around with different sound effects. Should make us sound like Styx or Van Halen.

It's been gorgeous outside lately. I can't wait for summer. Or to be done with this stupid health class. Or to go to CA for my grandpa's wedding. So much to look forward to!!!

excitement and the like

2009-04-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lauren: thanks for reminding me about the Zits comics XD
EXCITEMENT: NEW SNOWBOARDS ON CLEARANCE

EXCITEMENT: WASL WEEK (not that it affects me much with my awesome Running Start schedule :-D hehehe)

EXCITEMENT: 19 DAYS AND COUNTING UNTIL CA

EXCITEMENT: MAYBE I'LL START PLAYING KEYBOARD FOR THE CHURCH

NON EXCITEMENT: MUST FINISH HEALTH CLASS BEFORE I GO TO CA

Lauren the Dream Catcher

2009-04-09T07:45:00.001-07:00

Check out Lauren's amazing photo gallery. If I ever need a photographer I am going to her hands down.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepostitnotejunkie/page1/

I like the Trix bowel :-)

Yesterday was a stressful day.
However, this morning is a new start. I love that about mornings. Everything is fresh. That's really cliche, but it's true. Like many cliches, actually.

Looking forward to sushi with Kyle on tomorrow! And possibly yoga in the morning.

Pike Place Market was SO fun over the weekend. Adding that one to my list of favorite memories.

K, back to work!

Mister Golden Sun

2009-04-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Sun: "Honey, I'm home!"
Emily: "WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BLEEDING BEEN?!?!?"
The Sun: "Woah there, winter is regulation vacation for me, sister."
Emily: "Winter?? Winter??? Winter has been OVER. It is legitimate SPRING SEASON. You are waaay tardy."
The Sun: "Okay, okay. Mother Nature and I got in a bit of a dispute...it was a heated discussion. Heheheh. Get it? Heated?"
Emily: "........I am not amused."
The Sun: "...sorry."
Emily: "You know, I don't care if you are a star, you're lucky people like you enough to forgive you. Such infidelity is WIDELY frowned upon."
The Sun: "I know, I--"
Emily: "The prospect of Global Warming starts to look pretty darn attractive when there's snow in April, mister."
The Sun: "Yeah, I know. It's--"
Emily: "Whatever happened to 'Certain as the sun?' huh? HUH?"
The Sun: "Okay, I'm SORRY. I'm sorry."
Emily: "...Thank you."
The Sun: [sniff] "You're welcome. Are you happy?"
Emily: "Satisfied. For now. If you should forsake me again..."
The Sun: "I promise it's Spring now! I promise."
Emily: "I'm watching you. You WILL be held accountable."

The Beginning of the End

2009-04-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Looks like this quarter is going to be pretty busy; I have a lot of reading to do, so I may not post quite as many long, drawn-out monologues that I know you all enjoy so much more than all the other long, drawn-out things in your lives. However, I will try to provide comix for your consumer satisfaction.

More Garfield Minus Garfield

2009-04-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

Some comix for you to enjoy. Hysterical.

WORST April Fools that could have happened

2009-04-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

So I spent all that time ranting about my stupid wisdom teeth, and then Lauren goes and scares us all.

Lauren, I'm sorry that I couldn't stay with you longer. When you were texting us from the hospital last night I got so scared. I thought about what it would be like to lose you and started sobbing. None of us slept well, I'm sure. When I got up this morning my mom took one look at my face and went, "Oh, that does NOT look good."

Anyway, we're all glad that everything turned out okay. I'm excited for our Pike Place Traipsery on Friday! You'd better be feeling better ;-)

Dress Rehearsal

2009-03-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

On Monday I went in to get my wisdom teeth removed.

...but they're still there.

Explanation:
They told me not to eat or drink anything six hours prior to the operation, not even water, which for me is like telling a positive charge that it's love for a negative charge is strictly forbidden. But I held out and didn't have anything except the antibiotic they gave me. Needless to say, I was a little dehydrated when they called me in.

They had me sit in your standard dentist's chair; it was a very nice place, the people were all very friendly and there was a huge painting of Greece for me to look at (which beats the pants off of the 2-by-3 "A Bright Smile Is Worth the While" posters featuring cartoon animals that they have at all the family dentist offices). They were also careful to put the long, sharp, intimidating surgery tools behind the chair and out of view.

I sat in the chair and swished with some wicked strong mouthwash (despite the fact that I had brushed my teeth for about 10 minutes once I heard how long it would be after the surgery before I'd have another chance) and then they proceeded to check my blood pressure.

They put the electrical probes on me to monitor my heart rate and strapped on the squeezing arm band. They tightened it. They tightened it more. My fingers started prickling. After a few minutes, some pressure released, and then they tightened it again. My whole forearm was throbbing. I could hear them having difficulty with the blood pressure thing. I started wincing and rubbing my fingers together. Jeez people, how long does it take? I didn't sign up for an amputation... I kept rubbing my fingers together; as long as I still have feeling, it must be okay. They know what they're doing, right? I could feel my heart fluttering. They told me to keep my hand still.

About at that point, I started to feel a little faint. I took deep breaths and looked at the Grecian landscape. When that didn't help, I started to get a little worried. I was feeling weirder and weirder and was losing my vision. Soon darkness clouded everything over and I closed my eyes in the hopes that I could just pass out already so that this horrible feeling would go away.

Nurse: "Emily, how do you feel?"
Emily: "Pretty light-headed."
Nurse #2: "You're light headed?"
Emily: "Yeah, uh, I'm passing out."
Mom: "Sigh."

No, actually my mom was really supportive and held my constricted hand the whole time. The main surgeon was really friendly too, he came in and held my other hand. He asked me questions, and his voice sounded reeeeally far away, like through a tunnel, but still very audible. When I answered I could tell that my voice sounded all groggy. Later my mom said that my skin had turned ash-colored and my eyes weren't right.

Eventually they had me open my eyes, and I was surprised to be able to see their faces peering down at me from under the operation light. I noticed that at some point someone had taken off the arm band. My mom left the room with the surgeon and the light-headedness slowly began to wear off.

Mom: "Emily, sounds like you're going to come back another time."
Emily: "What? I'm fine now...I'm supposed to be unconscious for this thing anyway!"
Nurse: "It's okay, we just want to be careful. Here, drink some orange juice."
Emily: "SUSTINANCE!!!" [grabs juice]

So that was basically a dress rehearsal for the full procedure. Teeth Removal Act 1, Take 2 is scheduled to make it's debut in July. The cool thing is, now our fridge is fully stocked with pudding, frozen yogurt, and Odwalla Superfood (R)!!

We Got A Hot Crustacean Band

2009-03-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

"While we're on the subject can we change the subject now?"
"We were certainly uncertain, 'least I'm pretty sure I am."
--Modest Mouse.

Today was an interesting day. In Spanish we had a substitute who was pretty awesome; he had a ponytail and played classic Spanish guitar really well and sang. He basically sang songs the whole period, including "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid, complete Sebastian voice and all. He also actually spoke Spanish, which is a trait not many Spanish subs seem to have developed. There was this one song he played called Guantanamera, which was beautiful. People ordered a pizza and we ate someone's homemade rice pudding.

Class: "Ugh, we have a sub..."
Sub: "Come, children, let us sing! Soy un hombre de donde crecen las palmas..."
Class: "....nevermind, party on! Er---fiesta on."

Then in math, the homework was so short that I was able to get everything done in class AND still have time to go down to the chef school and check out their gingerbread house collection. They were playing Finding Nemo and handing out free cookies.

Then at karate, I managed to make the kids laugh AND pay attention. Very successful.
And later, my mom came as my "buddy" (it was Bring a Buddy Week). She really brought it home. I was so proud :-)

Marine Science test tomorrow! Apparently there's a lot to memorize about plankton and macroalgae.
Plankton: "FOOL! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER! I WILL RULE YOU!!!"
Spongebob: "nyehehehehehehehehehehehe--"
Emily: [turns off TV]
Spongebob and Plankton: " "

Well, off to bed.

Sunless in Seattle...but not FUNless HAR HAR HAR

2009-03-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

Piano teacher: "Emily, you should play your piece for the honors recital even though you completely screwed up your adjudication!"
Emily: "Okay!" [plays again, screws up just as much] "Well, darn!"
And that is all I have to say about THAT.

Pike Place Market is so much fun! I drove Sarah and I down there to meet our distant cousins/awesome friends from childhood on Sunday. It was so fun seeing them again and meeting their band geek friends (who were equally as awesome). They spent most of their time in a fantasy comic shop (the kind where any worshiper of Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, D&D, Harry Potter, or anything affiliated with zombies, superheroes, and anime will get that warm fuzzy feeling. It was a good day). Seattle is such a cool city, I'm excited to live there someday. I want to get all my produce at the market if I can afford it.

I spent 7 hours total at the dojo on Saturday. Ah, to have responsibility in the dojo. It will prepare you for anything. Went out to eat afterward with dojo friends; had breakfast for lunch/dinner (blinner?). Very delicious.

On Sunday, Kyle and I went running in the rain. Sounds like a Hollywoodized romance scene. In actuality:

Kyle: "There's so much rain in my face!!"
Emily: "My pants are sticking to my thighs!"
Kyle: "Now my face hurts!"
Emily: "My phone is getting wet!"
Kyle: "My hair is in my eyes!"
Emily: "I'm tracking mud everywhere!"

It was great fun. No, in actuality I enjoyed it very much :-D
I was quite productive today and yet I still have time left over to go relax (and to write this) YAAY SUCCESSSSSSSS!

PS Kayley, I'm sorry you're sick! Get well soon and dream of The Hunger Games and of Catching Fire being released early ;-)

2009-03-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I watched part of a NASA spacewalk live online; their Discovery team was on a multiple-part mission that included installing this huge solar panel to the "STS-119 vessel" that can power like 40 households! Yesterday the robotics team from the base was helping 2 astronauts attach parts of the "truss," which involved a lot of complex operations...plus they were all in space suits and no gravity, which looked like it made things 90% much more difficult. It was SO COOL. Plus you could see the Earth behind them and it was all happening live...very amazing. Check out NASA's website for some breathtaking pictures!
Yesterday was just a good day in general. Got new music and went running downtown by the waterfront...school was really short, karate was really fun...it was just an all around good day.

Yay for Friday! What am I talking about? This was an easy week. I'm excited though becauseI finally get to hang out with Lauren today! Then I'll be at the dojo for like 7 hours on Saturday...but we might be learning some Arnis, which is a martial art that uses sticks to simulate a weapon attack (Short single-stick demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHpX33nmMI&feature=related). I've never done it but I've seen it and it's COOL and applicable to karate.
Then on Sunday I get to go see Savannah (one of mah best friends/distant cousin :-D) at Pike Place Market for a couple of hours!! I get to drive myself through the city, which should be an experience...then Kyle is coming over :-D and I'm playing in the honors recital. OKAY STORY:

Emily's phone: "You have...ONE new message. First unheard message, sent, TODAY at, 2, 34, PM. 'Hi Emily, it's Keva [my piano teacher], turns out your adjudicator wants you to play the Arne Sonata for the honors recital this Sunday..."

[We interrupt this story for a brief history. The honors recital is meant to honor students whose performances impressed the adjudicator during adjudications.

My performance, particularly with the Arne Sonata, was not what I would call particularly impressive. Let's just say, I managed to recover from my MANY mistakes somewhat gracefully. Basically, I played the piece well when I wasn't struggling to get my fingers to actually do what I tell them for once.]

Emily: "............uhh, really?? Ohkaaaay then. Sure, I'll perform, what the heck?"
God: "You realize I'm giving you a chance to go wipe your pride off the floor."
Emily: "sssiiiggghhh."

So I guess I'd better go practice...

ambition

2009-03-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

This strip definitely sums up how I'm feeling. Check out the "Hardest you will ever laugh" link. Some of you have already seen this ;-)

Also, I think it's time for a new poll. Check out the new poll! You guys should vote this time!

awesome.

2009-03-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

I definitely want this shirt. I hope they make it for girls...I don't even care, it's amazing. It's a PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK SHIRT. There's a working speaker that you can upload MP3 files into that will play songs when you press a button on a pocketed remote, so you can do the whole "walk-down-a-hallway-to-an-epic-theme-song-slapping-high-fives-and-doing-a-cheesy-little-dance-Spiderman-three-style" thing. DREAM COME TRUE

Conversation from today:
Mom: "How did [piano]adjudications go?"
Emily: "Well, I played really well when I wasn't messing up."

Good thing I had a good judge. Man, I KNEW what was going to happen. I always get myself all psyched up even though I fool myself into thinking that I'm trying to calm myself down--
Reader: "HUH"
Emily: "Just bear with me, here."

So I end up getting all nervous for no reason and then making mistakes that I don't make at home on my own piano. It's like this:

Emily: "Ugh, you're SO not ready to perform!"
Emily: "What are you talking about? Of course I am. I can play this piece."
Emily: "But we keep messing up!"
Emily: "No, YOU keep messing us up. Shut up and go away."
Emily: "NAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAGNAG"
Emily: "I CAN'T PRACTICE STAYING CALM WHEN YOU'RE NAGGING AT ME!!!"
Men In White Lab Coats With Butterfly Nets: "It's okay, it's okay, just stay calm, and stay still..."

List of Songs to Program Into Theme Song Shirt So I Can Saunter Down A Hallway Pointing At People And Winking:

1. Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Run (heheheh Kayley)
2. Makes Me Wonder by Maroon Five
3. Ants Marching by the Dave Matthews Band (heheheh Gabrielle)
4. Jerk It Out by Caesars
5. Crazy by Gnarles Barkley
6. I Don't Feel Like Dancing by the Scissor Sisters

*Please note that most of these songs were probably written specifically for the purpose of sauntering down hallways and pointing and winking at people. Please take caution when using these songs for other purposes. (cough)

Natasha Richardson: "Where am I?"
God: "You're in Heaven."
Natasha: "But..why?"
God: "It was time for you to come home..............and honestly, who else can say that they died while taking a skiing LESSON? I needed some variety."

Just kidding, that's really horrible. [insert animation of Emily sprinting to Hell with a cheery smile]. In all seriousness, it's very tragic.

God: "I'm God, and I don't approve this message."
[LIGHTNING!!!!!!]
Emily: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!

Leprechauns of Doom

2009-03-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

There once was a girl with a face

Whose mind went all over the place
A standardized test
She took without rest
Then fell down a mountain with haste.

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, that was a Limerick about my weekend. The SAT was the test. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be, but it was rather long and grueling. One thing I thought was funny was that after we took the first 2 sections, they had us turn to the back cover of the testing packet where there was one of those statements, "I hereby agree to the terms and conditions blah blah blah dot dot dot etc," and then they had us COPY THE ENTIRE THING IN CURSIVE. We haven't had to do cursive since like third grade. It was so pointless.

Sample SAT question: Read the question carefully and use the magic sorcery of mathematics to select the best answer, not that there are any other right ones to chose from:

L'Sunjayabalakeem plans to give a speech about including exaggerated racial diversity in standardized tests for 3 hours. While giving his speech, he stands on a podium that is made of cedar wood. The cedar wood was fashioned (having cut it into several equal parts) by a logger whose dog follows him at a constant pace wherever he goes. The ratio of the length of the dog's hind legs to the length of the dog's front legs also remains a constant. The dog got lost and wandered out into traffic on the day of the speech, and L'Sunjayabalakeem nearly ran over him on his way to the Diversity Club Center. This caused him to be late, and he lost 1 hour. If the Diversity Club Center was in New York and the logger who owned the dog was in Ontario, what is 3 minus 1?

Answers:
A. 2
B. (3)x/2
C. 2cotx
D. log(dog)
E. The ratio of the dogs' legs will no longer be constant.

Fun stuff. One thing I will say about the SAT though is that the whole experience made me appreciate going to my high school much more, because the school where I tested is in pretty bad condition in comparison. There were unidentifyable smears on the walls, the desks were worse than the ones I had in middle school (and just for mentioning middle school I have to now go through salt over my shoulder and sprinkle oil on my head). The flickering flourescent-blue lights served as the final resting ground of many a fly...Let's just say I took a nice long shower afterward. And it wasn't even bad compared to other stuff I've heard about...I guess it just put it into perspective for me. I now feel more motivated to support programs that work to clean up schools. In all seriousness, I would not feel motivated about my education on a campus that isn't well kept, and I wouldn't feel safe either.
When I become a teacher I'm going to work hard to make sure that the environment my students are in is of quality.

After the SAT I got to go snowboarding, which was uber fun in comparison. I could go into so much more detail about that but--
[Impish giggling]
Oh, joy, I see our Leprechaun problem is back. They don't make mousetraps like they use to.
[HORROR-INVOKING ROAR]
@#$%^ they brought that Orc cross-breed! I've got to--

Guerrodent Warfare

2009-03-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thoughts:

1. I love peanuts waaay too much.
Charlie Brown: "Aww, shucks!"
Emily: "Oh...I actually didn't mean...well, I love you too. But I meant peanuts as in the legume."
Tentacle-Ridden Creature Covered in Seaweed: "Did somebody say LAGOON?"
Emily: ".....woah!"

2. Swing dancing is so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to learn how to do it better.
Kyle, that thing where we kick my leg up was absolutely EPIC :-) I had a lot of fun with you, as usual.

3. Science is fascinating. It's perplexing how perfectly everything in biology fits together. Like, what are the chances that any of this could happen by accident? Mmmm not likely.
Entropy: "I agree."

4. I'm going to go get some more peanuts.

5. These peanuts are delicious. I'm such a little squirrel.

[Note from the future: The ISSK (International Society of Squirrel-Kind) wrote a very heated letter expressing the offense that was taken upon hearing news of this comment. It was directed at Emily and was signed by several highly-ranked and esteemed officials of the Sciurus genus. However, the document was printed in the indigenous language of Squironese, so Emily was unable to distinguish it from other acorns, and the message was discarded. This induced a worldwide outrage, and the ISSK sent top agents on several assassination attempts; an allience was formed with a certain housecat in Emily's vecinity, and many of the missions were only barely unsuccessful.
Eventually, the ISSK became discouraged and left Emily one final message. This message was also discarded, as Emily had trouble distinguishing it from other animal droppings. It is believed, however, that the significance of this particular dispatch was understood.]

Yup kids, this is what I daydream about.

6. I don't want to sit in a gym filling in bubbles for 5 hours tomorrow. Stupid SAT. Stupid Standardized tests.

7. I'm going snowboarding with my dad on Sunday! That definitely makes up for the SAT scenario.

8. http://www.sancarlosvet.com/Humor/animal_rebellion8.jpg

Aaaand....signing out!

2009-03-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing profound today, but you should enjoy this:

For those of you who haven't seen, this amazing picture of the NASA STS-119 shuttle with the almost-full moon behind it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/3346732874/
Beautiful. Taken this morning. The moon has been gorgeous lately.

This video is useful; I totally didn't know most of these tricks. The people at Google have a lot of time on their hands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk6vZiGiaiQ&et=1236649873.01

In other news, here are some of my favorite quotes from the last message that Lauren left on my phone. My thoughts are italicized and in brackets:

"Hhheeeeellllooooo? [Hi, Lauren.]
...
...
Hhhheeelllooooo? Hi. It's Lauren [No kidding.]"

"Have you tried the organic marshmallows [Oh, I love those! She must be referring to the homemade ones]? Anyway, they're square, and you can get them at PCC or Central Market or any of those stores...they're ok, but they don't really melt the same way like real marshmallows [Like the cheap processed ones that you can get for 50 cents at Safeway? Maybe it's good that they don't melt the same way...]."

"I'm really excited for the quarter to be over! Only 2 more weeks! 2 more weeks Emily, and we........
.......

.......

[and we what?]
...
..
Sorry, I just got really distracted by something on my floor. [Only you would, Lauren, only you.]"

Off to school!