"They Took My Wisdom"

Well actually, they took 4 of the most useless teeth created. But a high school friend of my brother's said they took his wisdom (ironically on the same day they took mine) and it sounded way more awesome.

So yesterday I got up and my dad took me to the oral surgeon. Cue me being terrified out of my skull. I mean sure, everybody says it's not that bad but you never forget that one horror story you know you've heard. Plus, I had to watch both my siblings go through it. So, you know, a nurse took me back into this small room where she asked me all kinds of awkward questions like if I had HIV or was pregnant or did drugs or alcohol. And then after learning that I am blissfully normal, she left. Then the surgeon came in and told me all sorts of things that could go wrong, and then assured me that they almost never do.Almost.

So anyway, they then escorted me from innocent little exam room to oh-look-surgical-table-and-sharp-tools. This is where my memory starts getting a little fuzzy. They made me take off my glasses and my jacket and lie down on the table of doom. One woman sat behind me, which she said was so she could keep my mouth open while they removed my teeth.

Okay, so I feel like I was more entertained by all the stuff I was hooked up to than I should have been, although that might have been the laughing gas. But seriously, I had a heart monitor and a finger cuff and an IV. I felt like I was in a TV show or something. I almost wish I had been more coherent for it. And the laughing gas just made me feel like Tris on Peace Serum which made it 20x more awesome. The lady put the little gas thing over my nose and told me to breathe normally through my nose, and if my hands started to tingle that meant it was working.

She and the surgeon and another nurse started asking me about school and college and stuff, and I was kinda trying my hardest not to giggle at everything and make my voice sound normal. I knew it was the laughing gas doing stuff to me, but there wasn't really that much I could do about it. I vaguely felt them put the IV in my arm and tape it there, but it really didn't have much of an effect on me. I'm not sure what it was that put me to sleep but the last thing I remember was them talking about the news reporters on news channels. Don't even ask me how the conversation got there.

The next thing I only kind of remember is sitting up on a bed thingy on the other side of the room. I think I took a picture of myself with my iPod to see if I looked weird or not. And then I think I maybe remember having a nurse help me walk down a hallway and I couldn't really stand up straight, let alone walk. It was all a very weird experience.

And then somehow I ended up on the couch at home. My bottom lip felt like it was the size of a blimp and I couldn't really talk very well even after I took the gauze out of my mouth. Somehow I had gotten my glasses and my jacket back, although I have no recollection of that whatsoever. I was also informed by my dad that a nurse had helped me out to the car which I don't remember at ALL, or the drive home for that matter.

My mouth has gone through stages of discomfort. First it was the swollen bottom lip, and then the swelling started to go down, but my bottom lip felt absolutely freezing for whatever reason and it was driving me nuts and wouldn't go away. So finally that went away and I looked relatively normal. Until this morning, that is. Now my cheeks have swollen significantly and are starting to bruise a little bit. It's like, you know those apps for iPhones and Androids and stuff where you can take a picture of someone and make them look fat? That's kinda what it's like. It's really weird.

Well anyway, that's all I have for now. I'll blog again when I can actually do something other than sit on the couch and watch movies.

So long internet people!
Lisa

Books I Read Over and Over Again

It's no secret that I love reading. A lot of people read a book once and then don't read it again because they already know what happens. Yeahh..... not me. Books become like old friends to me. I get so attached to them that sometimes when I'm in the library I'll see a book I've read and I just smile at it. It's really weird actually. Sometimes I just pick them up, hold them, and then put them back on the shelf. I recently read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (READ IT. But prepare yourself emotionally.) and I couldn't give it back to the library. It just sat in my room and I would pick it up every once in a while, then put it back and go on with my life.

Anyway... There are some books I love so much that I just read them over and over. It's a very VERY long list, but here are the best of the best.

1. Ella Enchanted
I think I've read this... three times? It's just so hard not to love. Come to think of it, everything by Gail Carson Levine is just gold. Which leads me to the next book..

2. The Two Princesses of Bamarre
Also written by Gail Carson Levine. I have literally read this book six times. I am not even kidding right now. I read it for the first time when I was about twelve and I still absolutely adore it. I actually own a copy now, but I'm kinda considering checking it out from the library and "losing it" because that copy feels like MY copy. I've read that copy 5 out of the 6 times. I want it.

3. Divergent
You've probably already figured out that I'm obsessed with this book. I've read it three times since it came out... last year? Possibly 2010, I don't know. But, like, seriously. This one might pass up The Two Princesses of Bamarre at some point. It's that good.

4. Insurgent
Sequel to Divergent. Read it twice. I read it in a day and a half the day after it came out(some time in May). Then I read it again a couple months ago.SO GOOD.

5.Need
I think I've read every book in this series twice. Except the last one, but that just came out. Give me time.

6. The Giver
I think it's funny, I never read this for school, but I love it, and all these people who did read it for school say they hate it. I'm like "What is wrong with you?!" I think it is getting more popular now though, since the dystopian thing is a lot more popular.I've read this one twice.

7.The Indigo Notebook
I read this book about once a year, usually in the summer. So far I've read it three times. I love it, but it makes me want to travel so badly. *sigh* I can't win

8. The Jumbee
This one is basically like Phantom of the Opera, but placed in the Caribbean. What could be bad about that? It's soooo good. I've read it... twice? Yeah. Twice.

9. The Sorcerer's Stone
I'm not entirely sure how many times I've read this book. Probably around 3 or 4. I just can't get over how good it is. I mean, I love the entire series, but this is the only one I own. It kind of cracks me up innocent the conflict is. And it's not even innocent. But I mean compared to Death Eaters and Horcruxes, it kinda is.

10. The Hunger Games
I've read the entire series twice, and the first book 3 times and it never gets old.

Well those are the best ones. I've started keeping count of how many times I've read books. I write little tick marks on the first page, just to see. It's kinda fun.

Anyway, off to my last Algebra class before Christmas break. YAAAYYY!!!!!
Lisa

Creativity

It's funny when I am and when I'm not inclined to create. Usually when I am in a creative mood, it's when I'm sitting alone at home in sweatpants and a t-shirt with my hair up in a bun and no make-up on. Like now, for instance. I never have the urge to write or compose or draw when I'm looking adorable, with straight hair and skinny jeans etc. etc. It's always times like now when I feel like I could journal for hours.

This has been random life musings with Lisa, tune in next time to hear Larry sing, "Bob is very angry. I hope he doesn't catch me. It's so hard to run with a sombrero on my head."


P.S. If you don't get that reference, we need to have a serious talk.

Detestable Words

I love the English language. Or at least, I am much more fond of it than the Spanish language, because that I just cannot seem to get a grasp on. That being said, English is the language I was raised speaking... anyway.

While I do love the English language with its stupendous words (like perturb, postapocalyptic, existential, flippant, filiopietistic, sojourn, soporific, fetish, vehement. The list goes on) it is also filled with words that I just absolutely detest and should be obliterated from the language entirely. In my humble opinion.

Chartreuse- Like, really. Who came up with this word, and why were they allowed on the planet? Uck.

Fob- as in key fob? I just hate this word. Don't even ask me why. I just do.

Rubric- Again. I have no idea why I hate this word. But the first time I heart my English teacher say it I was like "please do not let this become a common occurrence." Because.... Who even knows. It's just awkward to say.


Mucus- Now, I'm sure I share this hatred with a lot of other people, but just.... ew. Ew ew ew.

Ointment- It just... no.

Moist- Do I have to explain why? Didn't think so.

Pad- Like, sometimes in books when a character has just woken up or something, and they're in their socks and the walk somewhere, the author uses the term "pad." As in, "He padded over to the window in his socked feet." and I just hate it. Hate hate hate hate.

Sidle- I really really hate this word. Probably because it gives me this mental picture of someone exaggeratedly sliding right up next to somebody. I don't know. I just don't like it.

Beguile- I don't absolutely detest this one, but I just don't like it. It's weird.

Chrysalis- Never liked this word, don't think I ever will.

Undulate- Doesn't that word just sound weird to you? I would never use that to describe, like, the ocean or something. It just sounds like it deserves a disgusting analogy. "The ocean undulated as if it were filled with demon spawn." Okay, I might be carrying that a bit too far, but you get the point.

Corpuscle- As in Meissner's Corpuscle? Ew. It just sounds nasty.

Chortle- Seriously, people. Sometimes I just wonder why anyone would use these words. Ever.

I'd also like to point out, I'm not opposed to words that a lot of people don't like. You know, ugly words. Like cacophony or grotesque or awkward or decrepit. Maybe because they're so vivid or maybe because I've never had too much of an aversion to, well, grotesque things.

Anyway, that's all for the today's glance inside my brain. Now that I've left you with that possibly ineffaceable (my new favorite word meaning "Unable to be erased or forgotten") list of unappealing words, I shall retreat to my piano and play Christmas music for a while. Yay!

Introspectively analyzing my vocabulary,
Lisa

P.S. I'm not entirely sure I used "introspectively" right. That would be awkward, now wouldn't it.

The Fire in the Flint

Well recently (recently as in since about June) I've been entertaining a new idea for a story. It's finally beginning to become a rounded story. I mean, kinda. But I've got most of a plot and about 5 characters (not much, I know, but I really haven't needed that many so far.)

But anyway, the big news is! (drum roll please. Or not. That's cool too.) I officially have a working title! It's kinda my favorite. I'm calling it The Fire in the Flint. Releasing soon in 2021. Hah.... anyway.

I feel good about having something to call it now, instead of "my Mo/Droid story." Which I'll explain later.

That's really all I have to report. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have fun eating 'til you bust.

Lisa

Life is like a Giant Swing

This past weekend, I went on a retreat at Butler Springs Christian Camp. It's a really cool camp and the retreat was run by an organization called One21. The camp itself has all sorts of fun stuff like a high ropes course, a zip-line, a playground,a really long slide, and a giant swing. Now, I don't know if you've ever been on a giant swing, but it's scary. I had the opportunity to go on it once before, but I didn't and I bitterly regret it. So this time, I was determined to go on it.

For those of you who don't know, a giant swing is basically what it sounds like, but a little bit different. It's either telephone poles or trees with ropes attached to them. They harness you in and pull you up to the top of the tree/pole and you have to let go of this little purple strip of fabric, and you swing through the air. It's basically the most terrifying thing I've ever done.

So, aside from me making the mistake of telling the guy it was my first time doing this, and having him mess with me mercilessly, I was seriously nervous. So, I got up maybe 3/4 of the way, and I had them stop me because that was plenty high for me. They called me a wuss, but I stuck with it. And I sat there with my hand on the purple fabric going, "Why did I do this again?" So they made me count down from three, and then go. So I did, and I screamed bloody murder, but it was so insanely worth it. I kind of regretted not going all the way to the top, though. So I did it again and went all the way up. Which was so much more terrifying, but in a good way.

Anyway, I was thinking about this later while I was listening to the preacher talk in a session. The giant swing is a perfect analogy for life.

Here's the deal: When you want to do something with your life, it's hard. It's scary. And it's easy to only go halfway, but you'll regret it. And when you're up at the top by the tree- aka, when you're about to do something scary or potentially life changing- It's so easy to want to quit. But you have to do it yourself. You have to make the choice to let go of that purple fabric. Because clutching it for dear life gets you nowhere and you can't just sit on your butt and wait for someone else to do it. You have to have faith in yourself and in God that you will be okay. And when you let go, and you do that thing you were scared to do, it's terrifying. Things come at you like the rushing wind on a swing and you may not know how to handle it, but once you get past the initial part, the rest is exhilarating. And you realize how glad you are that you took the chance.

But also, if you only do something halfway, you're going to regret it, just like when I didn't go all the way to the top. It's not the same feeling only doing something as well as you think you can handle. Because, see, God says he won't give us anything we can't handle. And if we go to the top of the swing and just let go, we won't regret it.

Another thing it makes me think of is how we need other people in our lives. When you're on the giant swing, you need a team of people to pull a rope down a hill so that you can get up to the top of that tree. And not just one person. One person isn't strong enough. You need a team. Otherwise you get nowhere. And that's how it is with life. You can't go through life alone and expect to help anybody. You need people to help you along and that's why God created community.

Anyway, I think I'm out of giant swing analogies. But that was something I thought about and I wanted to share it, because it definitely stuck out to me as something significant.

Dude, I think I totally just upstaged whoever called life a roller coaster. Just saying.

Lisa

P.S. And yes, this is me saying, if you ever have the opportunity to ride a giant swing, TAKE IT.

The Kingdom of God is Not Like Tumblr.

Before I go any further with this, I just would like to put out the disclaimer that I have only witnessed the fandom side of Tumblr, because I am a fangirl. I know nothing about the hipster side or... well whatever else there is on Tumblr. Honestly, past fandoms it's just like a big deep abyss of scary to me. So, the rest of Tumblr could be completely different from this. Anyway. Back to the point.

The Kingdom of God is not like Tumblr. Which, just to clear things up, is a good thing (sorry Tumblr. I love you.) In the Kingdom of God, you are not judged for not reblogging pictures of David Karp. (creator of Tumblr, for those of you who don't know.) You do not need to have an awesome url, a cool title, and a pretty page to be accepted. You don't need to have hundreds of followers to be cool.

Okay, this probably makes no sense in the contexts of the Kingdom of God. But here's my point: when you become a Christian, you aren't required to do anything but love God and believe that Jesus is your Saviour. (oh my word. I just automatically spelled Savior the British way. What is my life.)

Ephesians 2:8 says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." I dislike quoting over-used verses, but this one is just good. Tumblr people accepts you when your blog is awesome. God accepts you even when your url sucks and your blog is still labeled "Untitled." (Okay, that's figurative, but you get the point.)

Okay, so I'm going to deviate from my title a bit. The Kingdom of God is a little bit like Tumblr. But again, this is good. When you follow the right people on Tumblr, you become a community. A community that all happen to obsess over Jamie Campbell Bower and defend him with your life when people say he will never be Jace. (A message to those people: I will hunt you down.) Or, you know, One Direction, or the Chaos Walking series, or whatever. Maybe even some of you multi-fandom bloggers like me. But, as weird as it sounds, the people I meet on Tumblr will stick up for people, even if they don't have an original thought of their own and just reblog other people's stuff. They truly care about people. Because I think there's all a little part of us that craves community and some people just don't have that where they live. Especially teenagers who are just stuck wherever they happen to live. Anyway, that's a tangent for another time.

So that's my rant for the day. Now I'll be off reblogging gifs of Harry Styles doing weird dances and Olan Rogers fangirling (*crouches in a dark corner hidden under 12 blankets staring at a computer screen.*)

Entitlement and Prose

So, while I'm on this "let's post my homework" kick, I decided to post this. For my British Lit. class, we had to write a Christian-based prose on a problem in society. (We are reading discussions and responses by Thomas More and William Tyndale, for those of you literature people out there in the interwebs.) So I wrote it about entitlement, and how Americans have a false sense of entitlement. And I'm really proud of it, and I honestly believe everything I said in it. So here it is. Feel free to argue my points.

America was made to be the land of the free. Our constitution states that we are entitled to “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That statement is beyond true. We are entitled to live our lives, to be happy, and to have freedom. But our society has taken it too far. Rights don’t mean you can do whatever you want. Rights mean you are allowed to be yourself. They mean you aren’t going to be publicly stoned for committing adultery. That doesn’t mean you should. Rights mean that you are free to be a part of whatever religion you want. They don’t mean it is okay to criticize and hate others because they do not agree with your views. They mean you are allowed to think what you want. They don’t mean that you need to broadcast your opinions everywhere and ignore the feelings of others.

People have been given so much freedom, that they assign themselves false entitlements. This comes partially from freedom, partially from human pride, and partially because society as a whole has given up the idea of God. And when you give up the idea of God, you become your own god without realizing that it’s what you’re doing. And when you are your own god, you are entitled to do whatever you want. So if one person is their own personal god, and then next person is their own personal god, and so on and so forth, then one person will think they are greater than the next person, and the next person will get mad, because he knows that he is actually greater than the first person.

Entitlement can cause people to do all sorts of things. It also makes people defensive. Say a man- we’ll call him John for the purposes understanding- decides he wants to smoke weed. So John goes and finds a dealer and starts smoking weed. Eventually he gets addicted and starts growing and selling his own. Now, his girlfriend Jane notices that John has had a lot of extra cash floating around lately, and consequently finds out about his addiction and tells him he needs to stop and get help. And John says, “Who are you to tell me what to do? It’s my life, and if I want to smoke weed, I’m going to smoke weed and you can’t tell me not to.” Except he probably uses a few more expletives because he is higher than a kite. Then John and Jane break up and John eventually dies of a drug overdose. Doesn’t it sound like John takes himself a little too seriously? Doesn’t it sound like he thinks he’s god? Yes. Because he does. He just doesn’t realize it.

Maybe this example is a bit extreme. How about this: another man- his name is Bill- is unhappy at his job. He is tired of sitting in a cubicle all day staring at a computer. His pay is terrible, he doesn’t like his boss, and his co-workers are annoying. He is unhappy and restless. He wants to do something exciting. He deserves to do something more exciting. He didn’t go through two years of college for nothing. So Bill decides to quit his job and look for something better. Unfortunately, the economy is bad, and people with six years of college are having trouble getting jobs, so someone with two years has no chance. So Bill becomes unemployed, and living off of unemployment checks which pay him less than his original job did. Bill quit his job because he decided he deserved more. Did he deserve more? Well that’s not for us to decide, but from the outward looks of it, he didn’t. He simply thought he should have more because he believed himself to be important.

Here’s the truth: we are not entitled to anything. Not happiness, not comfort, not leisure. These things are gifts from God, whether we acknowledge that or not. The only thing we are entitled to is death. That’s the cold, hard truth of life. But God loves us more than that. God decided he didn’t want his people to rot in hell for eternity, so he gave us another option. He, who is entitled to everything, made himself low by sending his son to earth to die the death of a criminal. Why did Jesus have to die? To get it through our thick skulls that we are worth nothing, but he loves us anyway. God saves us, if we want him to, because he is a God of kindness and grace. Not because we deserve it. And if our society would understand that, we would be a lot better off.

Poetry

I used to have an entire blog dedicated to poetry. But then that became too much work. So now I just shove it all into this one hodge-podge of a blog.

So, for my British Lit class, we had to create our own version of the Canterbury Tales using our own pilgrim. My pilgrim was a dancer with the Chicago Ballet Company. So anyway, we had to write a "prologue" introducing our "pilgrim" and then write a story that they would tell. And all of this had to be in Iambic Pentameter and Heroic Couplet. I was kind of super proud of my poetry, so I wanted to share it with someone other than my teacher.

Prologue.

The Dancer gracefully walked down the street.
Her music matched the pounding of her feet.
She wore tall boots with leggings and sweater
That matched her pretty boots of leather.

Calm in demeanor;her face impassive,
Thin in build, nothing about her massive.
For her, the studio is more a home
Than any building of brick or stone.

Routine is what keeps her sane every day.
Without routine, she'd slowly waste away.
In class, her movements, graceful and refined,
She twirls across the floor in perfect time.

Her feet are blistered, bruised, and calloused now.
She works them as hard as health will allow.
Her pointe shoes last about a month at best.
A leo and tights is, for her, fully dressed.

She's been on no date in over a year.
Dance is her boyfriend, the one she holds dear.
She is not so perfect, though, behind the scenes.
There's a reason she fits in size 2 jeans.

Though her appetite is constant, you see,
The size that she is, is not what she sees.
One, two, three, one, two, three, dancing all day
A dancer she is, she never will stray.



So, for her story, she basically tells an adaption of Phantom of the Opera. Partially because she is a hopeless romantic and she likes the idea that dark, scary things can be beautiful. It's kind of a symbol of her wanting to overcome her bulimia.

The Dancer's Tale

Long ago, a theater in London
Their ballet company went all "Black Swan"
Because their principal dancer named Maura
Became a proverbial Pandora
When a "ghost" dressed in black decided that
Someone else should take the "principal" hat.
Lottie, first soloist, was the object
Of his affections. Yes, she was perfect.
For the Phantom, as he had become known
Was in love with the girl, and it was shown
By his unconventional methods of,
Essentially, promoting his dear love.
Curtains are falling, people are found dead,
An entire wall is painted bright red.
See, the Phantom was awkward socially.
He had spent his life hidden underneath.
The theater, not for being a thief
Or a murderer, not by his doing
But his fatal flaw, or his undoing
Was the deformation of his poor face.
His unsightliness decided his fate.
So he hid from the world his entire life;
Lived under the stage, his heart filled with strife.
Yet, too bad for him, there was another.
Jem was his name. He was not her brother.
Though they'd known each other since childhood
They loved each other more than siblings could.
He meant, in fact, to be married to her.
The Phantom became jealous, as it were,
He became obsessed with the simple thought
Of dismissing Jem; usurping his spot.
But it wouldn't be as easy as this
Because Jem wasn't about to just kiss
His girl goodbye, as Phantom would like.
Jem assembled an army that would strike
The moment the masked phantom dared appear
As all knew he would when Lottie was near.
Sure enough, he did appear at the show.
Lottie was lead, as Maura broke her toe.
Or, more accurately, the Phantom did.
He greased up the floor, and down it she slid.
The house was packed with hundreds of people
Everyone dressed up fancy and regal.
Soldiers with guns stood in every corner.
Theater-goers saw them with horror.
What could they possibly need guards for?
It wasn't as if they were in some war.
The ballet started; everything was fine
Till the Phantom poisoned the lead man's wine
And took the man's spot in the pas de deux.
It was then that Jem knew what he must do.
He yelled to the soldiers, "Capture that man!"
But Phantom was not okay with this plan.
He cut the rope holding the chandelier;
Used the distraction to flee like a deer.
He pulled Lottie behind him; down he went
To the place where all his life he had spent;
Down into the depths of the theater.
Down far it was; almost fifteen meters.
Jem followed, and was captured by Phantom
Who gave Lottie a cruel ultimatum
"Marry me, and he will live, I promise.
Refuse me, he dies." And he was honest.
She cried for a while, her heart wrenched apart.
Then she wiped her tears, and trusted her heart.
Her decision was made, though her mind was fraught.
"For you need love even more than I thought."
She accepted the ring the Phantom held.
She gave him the love that she had withheld.
The Phantom, so touched by Lottie's display
Of love, broke down and said, "Please go away.
Go live your lives, happy without me there.
Forget about me. Be a lovely pair."
Then the Phantom left; never seen again.
The legend lives on of a man in pain
Who loved a girl, but it was not to be
And now suffers, anguished, eternally.
The chandelier that crashed down on that stage
Reminds everyone of the horrible age
Where terror reigned through the theater.
And for the Phantom never to return, prayer
Is said. That is it. Indeed, it's the end.
I hope you enjoyed the story, my friend.

Childhood

I was thinking today, for whatever reason, about things that remind me of childhood. I mean, I like to claim that I'm still a child- an almost 17 year old child- because, hey, that's way more fun than being a grown up. Anyway, I made a list. Because for some odd reason I like blogging in lists.

1. College football.
Okay, when I was little, I hated football. I mean, I'm still not a huge sports person (which is why I dance instead of playing soccer like everyone else) but football has definitely grown on me. I think it's kind of in my DNA. All of my family loves football, so it was basically inevitable. But it's always a sign that fall is here. It makes me happy just to have it on in the background.

2. Tootsie Rolls
Okay, this is a weird one, but when I was little I used to go to Hader Hardware store with my dad and they sold Tootsie Rolls for 5 cents, so we used to get them all the time. The day Hader closed was a sad day of my childhood, even though I was fifteen at the time, and it wasn't even called Hader anymore. But still. I had a lot of childhood memories there.

3. Home Depot
Okay, so I basically went to hardware stores with my dad a lot. But everything about Home Depot reminds me of Saturdays when I was little. Especially the smell of the store. I feel like that's weird.

4. James Taylor.
When I was little my dad sang me James Taylor songs all the time. And now every time I hear one of those songs I feel like I'm 6 years old again.

Okay, so it's a short list. But I was just thinking about those things. I also just realized that most of these involve my dad. What can I say. I'm a daddy's girl.

Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmatic

Okay, so actually this post is actually more about reading and writing than arithmetic. Because seriously? Math? Math = icky.

I do a lot of writing based on dreams I have. It always changes a lot, since dreams very seldom make sense, but I get characters and vague scenes from dreams. A little over two years ago I had a dream about a girl (I was observing through her point of view) who had no family, who became friends with a boy and his family- his parents and one sister-who ran an adorable little toy store. At some point in the dream, his family died. I had become good friends with his sister and I loved his parents, so it was hard. I just remember he had been in the process of painting the outside of their toy store this pretty mint green. He continued to paint after they passed. I just had this picture of me sitting their on the outdoor railing talking to him while he painted. He would just listen quietly, without ever contributing anything to conversation- and just paint. This eventually became the inspiration for a book I'm writing called Nobody's Girl. Although, and I hate to admit this, but work on the book hasn't really been happening lately...

More recently, I had two dreams with two sets of characters. The first is Ben and Kimber, and the second is Ryder and Laurena. I'm having quite a bit of fun with it, although I know neither of them will become books.

I am, however working on a story that I'm hoping will one day be developed enough for a book. I don't want to reveal too much, but basically there is a group of people who think the government is conspiring against them, and they hire a bunch of scientists to create a race of people with no personalities to create a giant army. Happy stuff. But it's going really well. Right now, I'm still working on backstory/what's going to happen in the book/the ending and all that stuff. I don't think I've ever worked on anything that needed so much forethought.

I also have a writing project due on Monday that I can't decide if I'm enjoying or not. We're reading some of the Canterbury tales in my British lit class, and we have to create a satire about some kind of.... stereotype, I guess you could call it. Examples would be, Hipsters, Trekkies, Truckers, Rednecks, Pageant moms. Those are just the ones we came up with. Anyway, I'm doing dancers, and I basically have to write a "Canterbury Tales-esque" prologue about this dancer. This means it has to be in Iambic Pentameter, and Heroic Couplet. In other words: IT'S HARD. It's kinda fun though. Because it's kinda like a puzzle just with words. Also, I feel like an evil mastermind while doing it, because I'm trying to count syllables, so I end up drumming my fingers together like a wacko. It's awesome.

So, yup. Those are my writing adventures of late. Oh, also, I went to visit my sister in Iowa, and I left my journal there. I don't know how I managed that, but I AM GOING TO DIE. Hopefully it'll come in the mail soon...

I will be checking every day.
Lisa

Drama part 2

Well, it's started again. Drama class!

Today was my first day of school, and it actually went really well. I mean, for being school and everything. But that also means today was the first day of drama class. I have literally been waiting for this day for months. I was so excited. So, we got our script today and just talked about the play and whatnot (This year we're doing The Princess Bride. I KNOW RIGHT?!) And THEN she dropped the bomb on us.

We're going to be in an actual theater this year.

WHAT!!!!!!!

Bear with me for a minute, because I'm FLIPPING out.

The past two years our performances have taken place at Eastside Church in Milford. It's a really nice church and has a great stage. And it has served us very well the past couple years. But, we're on to bigger and better things. This theater (although I can't remember the name at the moment) has so much cool stuff I can't even wrap my head around it.

A) Curtains. Okay, this may not seem that exciting, but Eastside has no curtains, and this theater has 3. EEEPPP!!!!

B) Dressing rooms! One for girls, one for boys. Both equipped with lockers. No more changing in the bathrooms across church! YAY!

C)A green room. A small one, but a green room nonetheless.

D) Mirrors. Like, fancy ones! With the lightbulbs around them! And there's at least 10 mirrors! I'd say this is a step up from doing makeup in the hallway with little handheld mirrors.

E) Fancy lighting!The lighting at Eastside is good too, but not this good. There were a couple spots right in front of the stage where lights were missing and you could not be seen, so you were never allowed to stand in those spots. Now we don't have to worry about that!

F) Z racks. Like, for costumes? I don't know much about that, but our costume director was freaking out, so I guess it's pretty exciting.

So.... yeah.... I cannot wait. Oh, and in regards to my character, auditions aren't until next week, so I don't know yet. At this point my top four choices are 1. Buttercup, 2. Valerie (Miracle Max's wife) 3. Vizzini (It's a guy's part, I know, but I don't even care) 4. Countess (Count Rugen's wife who hatches evil plots.)

WOOH!
Wish me luck with auditions! I can't wait!
Lisa

Labels

I've been noticing a pattern in my daily life recently that I'd like to discuss.

I'm a small person. I have small feet, small wrists, and pretty much small everything else. And sure, I'm rather skinny. Now, I'm always getting people telling me how skinny I am, and I mean whatever, it doesn't really bother me that much, but it does bother me a little. It gets annoying, and can be slightly offensive. I mean, what if I don't want to be skinny? That would make me incredibly weird, but what if? I just don't understand why it is okay to go on and on about how skinny someone is, but it isn't okay to make one little comment about someone being fat. Just throwing that out there.

People ask me all the time "Why are you so skinny?" and eventually I'm just like "I don't know! I have a high metabolism! I inherited my mother's skinny genes (pun intended)!" It makes me want to go up to them and say "Why are you so fat?" you know? Okay, so maybe I was wrong before. It does bother me a lot. Because honestly, I don't want to be a twig. I would rather look like a real person. I don't try to be thin, it's just the way I am. Even on days when I don't feel thin, it bothers me. And let's face it, I'm a girl; I have those days. Self-esteem issues kinda come with the territory.

It also bothers me when people tell me I'm skinny and sound jealous. I don't want people to be jealous of me because I have a tiny waist. I want people to be comfortable with who they are and what their body type is. Trust me, I don't try to be a size 2. I try to be healthy, and that's what happened.

Anyway. Maybe I'm overreacting. I'm just tired of being labeled I guess.

Lisa

Fake

Christians are good at faking things. Have you noticed that? Because I have.

We're always pretending to be good and fine and everything is just peachy-keen, even if that's not true. I don't know if that's because we don't want to impose our problems on other people-although that would be the ideal answer- or if it's just because that's how society has become, and when someone asks you how you are, it's out of courtesy, so our answer becomes courteous. This leads me to wonder what would happen if we all started answering truthfully when someone asks "How are you?" What would happen if instead of saying, "Good, how about you?" we said "I'm not having the greatest day. Thanks for asking." What would happen then?

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Well last night at my youth group a friend of our youth leader's came and gave his testimony. Man, was it something. He had been into everything you could possibly imagine. Drugs, alcohol, adultery, porn, spousal abuse, you name it, he'd done it. Now, my life has been relatively tame, so while his story captured me, I didn't connect with it. But it wasn't until the end that something happened, and honestly, I still don't even know what it was. But he started talking about lies, and how he became tired of lying and covering up lies with another lie and so on. So he finished his testimony, and our youth leader came up and started talking. I swear, it was like he knew exactly what was going on in my life. I felt like he was talking directly to me. Because I've been feeling really fake lately. Things have been going on that I haven't told anybody about, and I'm not sure why. I just like to pass it off like everything is fine. And it hasn't been anything serious, at least not in the eyes of this world, and it's something that's easy to cover up with good Christian answers.

But last night, I had this moment where I kinda went "Oh crap." because I knew that today was the day it was going to change. Yesterday was the day where God got to me. And our youth leader was talking and my heart started beating a mile a minute, and I was already trying not to cry. I was biting the inside of my cheek so hard, it still feels kinda weird today. So he started praying and I just bent over, and I lost it. I mean, I wasn't pretty crying, I was full out sobbing. So, of course, my two friends noticed this and came over around me, and I made at least one if not both of them cry.

After the prayer, I just sat there for a while with my friends, still trying to rein in my tears. Trying to find words to express what was happening, because neither of them had a clue. I kinda tried to explain it as our assistant youth leader came over. She listened, and then put exactly what I was trying to say into words. I don't know how she did that. But she prayed with me and I tried to calm myself down. By this time most everyone else had left the room, except a couple people.

So we started joking and stuff, and we went out by the church van where everyone else was. I was fully prepared to be bombarded with people asking if I was okay, but surprisingly, only one person did. It was almost a relief. I think it was mostly because none of them really knew me well enough, and they were all feeling awkward. That's okay. I get it.

So anyway, I don't know where I am anymore. I don't know where I go from here. But I'm feeling better. And I'm just kinda letting God take this where he wants, wherever that may be.

Lisa

Minimum Wage

So at some point this morning while I was at work I had a small revelation: I love my job. Like, I really really enjoy it. And I don't even do anything terribly important. I mean, I work at Graeters. I scoop ice cream and sell doughnuts. But it's the perfect job for a people-watcher like me. I am constantly fascinated by the people who come in.

There was a woman that came in who looked much too sophisticated for Cincinnati. She had her hair up in a smooth twist and she was wearing skinny jeans and a blue-and-white striped sweater and had an adorable brown clutch bag. Okay, this detailed description makes me sound very creepy, but for some unexplained reason, I was extremely taken with her. She seemed like a big-city writer or journalist of some kind. I tried to imagine her life, and what a person like her could possibly be doing in a suburb outside of Cincinnati.

There was also a lady who I saw who looked very... I'm not exactly sure how to put it. She reminded me of Sandra Bullock as Leigh-Ann Touhy. Just very rich and slightly demanding. When she placed her order, I was surprised to find that she had a strong accent. It sounded Russian, or something along those lines. And she ended up being extremely nice and friendly. And her name sounded very romantic (although I won't mention it), like she could be a Russian princess or something. I had a very enjoyable time imagining it.

I am constantly surprised by some people. There was a guy who came in, probably around mid-twenties, who, I'm not going to lie, kinda creeped me out. He looked a bit sketchy. But he came in, and immediately greeted all the employees, asked us how our days were going, and made conversation the entire time. He was so cheery and happy that I couldn't help but be in a good mood the rest of the day.

I love meeting new people, and seeing people I know. If there was anywhere I could work, this one is the best suited for me. I don't even really mind doing the dishes. Which is weird. I hate doing dishes.


Well anyway, those are my sentiments for the day. And now, I think I shall go to bed, since I worked at 6:30 this morning.

Lisa

Observations that Aren't Related

1. You can't judge a person based on first impressions when you meet them early in the morning.
This morning I went into work at 6:30. Yaaayyy... I had also gotten five hours of sleep the night before. and I was working with people I didn't know. It was shaping up to be a good day. Or not. So anyway, one of the girls I was working with was very.... to the point. She just seemed to have this mentality of "I'm here to work and that's all." Which is very different from me, as I want to have fun no matter where I am or what I'm doing. Because What's life if you're not enjoying it? So anyway... she was rather intimidating. I don't think I saw her smile all morning. But then, right before I left, she started talking to me, and seemed to be really nice. So who knows. Maybe she was just as tired as I was. So, I'm starting to learn to hold back my judgement early in the morning.

2. Dancers who have contemporary backgrounds have a hard time doing other styles because they don't have any technique.
I'm watching So You Think You Can Dance, right? Because I LOVE that show. And it seems like contemporary dancers aren't doing too well. My theory is, because they don't have the technique training. Just my thought. But, I mean like, Melanie won last year, and she was a contemporary dancer and, let's face it, she was fantastic. Not to mention adorable. But that's not the point. She also was technically trained, which is part of why she was so fantastic. Anywho, that's just my rant.(But I still really respect people who have no professional training.)

Sunrise

So on our last day of vacation, we had this great idea to go see the sunrise before we left. We looked online and found out that the sunrise was at 5:45. So we all got up at 5:25 and trooped over to the ocean to see the sun come up. This sounds like a really good idea. Like, check-it-off-the-bucket-list good. It's such a romantic idea, getting up early to see the sun rise over the beach. Yeah.

So we got up promptly at 5:28 this morning and rolled out of bed. Put on a sweatshirt, glasses, and a headband and we all made our sleepy way to the beach. I, being the genius I am, forgot to put actual pants on and was still wearing very small shorts and while it wasn't freezing outside, pants would have been nice. So anyway, we stood around for a bit, mom took a picture of us- looking lovely, I'm sure- standing on the beach (proof that we actually got up) and we waited some more.

Fun right?

But then all of a sudden, we saw the very tip of the sun come over the horizon. My word it was pretty. It was bright red and the sky was all pink and blue and yellow and orange. Then, when the sun had completely risen, and we were about to walk away, we saw dolphins swimming out in the ocean. Perfect? I think so.

Was it crazy and unnecessary?
Yes.

Was it worth it?
20 times yes.

'Ello Mate!

So, recently I was watching this video

Because I'm a geek and watch 1D's video diaries over and over because apparently I'm entertained by 5 guys sitting on a staircase being stupid. (You can watch said video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HD14MkewY )

Anyway, at one point in the video, Louis (The one wearing the blindfold) is "reading" a question that says "If you couldn't bath in water, what would you bath in?". Of course, his voice is slightly muffled because he has the paper shoved up against his face. Because he's Louis, and he does stuff like that. When I first watched the video, I swear I heard him say, "If you couldn't faff in water, what would you faff in?" Then I got to thinking, how many Americans even know what "faff" means? I feel like that can't be normal. It then occurred to me how much British slang I have actually picked up on. This is partially from watching One Direction videos, partially from this guy

Charlie McDonnell, known to the internet as Charlieissocoollike. This particular screen shot is from my favorite video of his, Charlie Reads Twilight. ( href="http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGVUFrzoUto&ob=av3e )

And also.... I watch/read a lot of Harry Potter.

So... yeah.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, "faffing" is a verb that means to not really do anything. Example: "today all I did was faff around and watch episodes of Psych."

Cheerio!
Lisa

Life Lately

NOTE: I have decided to swamp this post with pictures. Because I'm bored.

Well, recently my life has been pretty exciting. School ended. YAAAYYYY!!!!!! Then I had my play, which was SUPER fun. The play was Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire. I played Arthur's foster mother, Ludmilla

and the Lady of the Lake

It was soooo much fun. I absolutely loved it. I can't wait for next year!

So then, I moped around the house for a while. Went to dance. Got a job! I am now a proud employee of Graeter's Ice Cream. :D

More recently I have spent my time gaming

reading, and spending hours on Instagram looking at One Direction pictures. I just love them.

Yesterday was my last event of the school year! Dance recital! It went pretty well. There was stuff I wished I could have done better, but there always is.

I spent Wednesday night (when I had a horrible case of insomnia) organizing my costumes.

I had 5 this year. Then, yesterday, RECITAL!!!

Which means I got to hang out with this gorgeous chick, whom I am going to miss like CRAZY.

And today, all I will be doing is this.

So, basically, absolutely NOTHING. It's pretty exciting.

Welp, over and out.
Peace!
Lisa

Why I Love Dancers.

I love dance. If you hadn't figured that out already. I really really love it. I also love my dancer friends, and I'm beginning to notice distinctions between them and normal people.

Dancers are stubborn. If they get hurt, they only sit down if it's absolutely necessary. For example, my friend Nikki is falling apart, I swear. And yet, she only sits down when she absolutely needs to. Even when she's got, like, five of us going "Nikki, sit. Down." We do make her be careful. We don't want another panic attack.

Since my dance company is filled with all girls, we talk about EVERYTHING. I'll spare you the details so I don't scar you for life, but think of the most awkward subject possible, and we have probably talked about it. We're also just super awkward around each other all the time. It's hilarious.

I've noticed recently, we all brag about our injuries. And we wear them proudly. I guess other people do this, but seriously. We run around limping and people are like "What's wrong?" And we're like "Oh, just a charlie horse. It'll be fine." Me personally, I think my pinky toes are permanently more red than all the others.

We take pain more lightly than other people do. My drama teacher was talking about shoes for me to wear for the performance. I told her I could wear my jazz shoes. She was asking if they would hurt or give me blisters or anything. I said no, because they don't, but I was thinking "Eh, who cares. It's not like I don't have any already." And honestly, even if they did hurt my feet I'd wear them anyway. Some of my friends too, if something hurts, they dance anyway and ignore the pain. Or the mark it instead of doing it full out. Either way, they never want to sit down.

We see nothing wrong with running around in little tiny clothes. Mostly because we do it all the time. We're always wearing tights and usually shorts, but still. We see nothing wrong with it, even though it might not be socially acceptable. I have on occasion gone into a building wearing my dance clothes not even thinking about it. I got some weird looks. One time, my friend had to remind me to put pants on over my shorts. I was like "..... right. that."

Anyway..... that's all. Nothing too exciting. Just 3 days of every week of my life.

Lisa

Why Am I Always Blogging About Books?

Oh yeah, because I'm always reading books....

So on Wednesday, I bumped up my geek-meter to a whole new level. I went to a book signing. Yup...

So, anyway, I had been on Facebook and happened to see that Veronica Roth (afore mentioned in the previous... what, two posts? Yeah...) was going to be at Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati. I wrote on my friend Ben's wall (Because he is as obsessed with Divergent as I am) and told him, jokingly, that we should go. He actually planned things out and worked it out so we could go. This is why we work well together. I come up with ideas, and he makes them happen.

So, anyway, we're at Joseph-Beth, meeting Veronica Roth the day after her 2nd book comes out. No big deal. Except that it's a HUGE deal!!!

This was the sign on the door when we got there. It took all my willpower not to squeal like a twelve-year-old. So then we each bought one of the books, and waited around for a while. Then Veronica came out, read from the book, and answered people's questions (Including mine. Not that I freaked out or anything.). Then we had to wait forever to have our books signed.

Yes. That is her. *HERO WORSHIP!!!* I kept thinking of all the intelligent things I should say to her. But, in the words of Ben, not a single intelligent thing was said that day. I told her I liked the red streak in her hair. That was it. *facepalm*

And, yes. I now have a signed copy of Divergent. :D :D :D :D

Ben has exams this week, so he made me take Insurgent away from him so he wouldn't be reading it instead of doing his work. Needless to say, I finished it this morning. It was FANTASTIC, but it has the biggest cliff-hanger, probably ever. I would really love to do something illegal to get the manuscript for the 3rd book... I can't wait another year. I won't give away anything about the book, because since it only came out a few days, and not many people have read it, I know a lot of people would be unhappy about me spoiling it. (Yes, Ben. I'm talking about you. Hehehe. I feel like a mind reader knowing that you are reading this. Which I shouldn't, since you've told me you do. Still...)

So, now that I am completely unhappy and don't want to go back to the real world.... I'm re-reading the first book.

I think I have a reading problem.....
I might need therapy....
BUT I WANT TO KEEP READING!!!!!!!

*Dies from waiting too long for the next book*
Lisa

P.S. I saw this license plate on the way into the book store. And also, another car had the little stick figure family stickers on their back windows. Only instead of stick figures, they were Star Wars characters. I love being surrounded by geeks...

Signs that I Read Too Much

1. I'm writing a paper for a project due Monday right? And I'm researching Queen Elizabeth I. Turns out, it's super hard to find nonfiction books on Queen Elizabeth I. It's all fiction romance novels like "The Virgin's Lover" and "The Queen's Gamble" and other titles of extreme unimportance. Anyway, one of my first thoughts was "Okay, how come Clara and Angela find material to do a project on Elizabeth I, and I can't?" It was only after that I realized: Clara and Angela are characters in a fictional book called Unearthly (Fantastic book by the way.)


2.When I get tired of homework, I read the book assigned in my literature class. At least it feels less like homework.


3. I had an issue recently where I got The Maze Runner from the library, but then my friend lent me Catching Fire and Mockingjay and so I started re-reading those. Then The Maze Runner was due, and I was only on chapter 3. Plus, it was on hold so I couldn't renew it. *sigh* Thankfully I know someone who works at the library and she found a loophole for me. :D


4.You cannot call yourself a fan if you've seen the movie and not read the books. YOU CANNOT!!!!


5.*HARRY POTTER SPOILER ALERT* I was reading Deathly Hallows and I was in the car with my mom when I got to the part where Fred died. I wanted to cry SO badly, but I couldn't because my mom would have asked what was wrong and then I would have had to explain to her that my favorite character had just died and then she would have looked at me funny. So then when we got home, I went up to my room and cried.


6.I enter pretty much every book sweepstakes I find.


7.I follow the blogs of a couple authors.... Is that weird? One is by Carrie Jones (http://carriejones.livejournal.com/) and the other is by Veronica Roth. (http://theartofnotwriting.tumblr.com/) And okay, actually the second one's a tumblr, but whatever. Haha, ironically, these two authors are the writers of the books I mention in #8. And in the same order too. Look at how good I am.


8.Two books in two different series that I LOVE are coming out soon. I AM FLIPPING OUT!!!! The one of them is the 4th and final installment in the Need series. It's called Endure and I NEED IT!! (No pun intended. Although it did make me giggle) The other one is the sequel to a book called Divergent (I believe I mentioned this in my last post. It's amazing. Go read it. Right now). The sequel is called Insurgent. I just..... GAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!


9. When I finish a book or a series, real life doesn't feel real. And I don't want it to be real. I want to stay in book land forever.


Okay, I guess I'll go write this paper on Queen Elizabeth. Since it's due Monday and I'm going to be gone all weekend. Yay for procrastination!
That's okay. I have tea and music to get me through.
Lisa

Why I Hate Fandoms

Fandom:"The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people." (via Urban Dictionary.)

Okay, so the title is slightly inaccurate. I don't hate all fandoms, in fact, I am part of at least two (seriously, my ringtone is the Mockingjay whistle. I'm not ashamed). But whatever. What I wanted to title it was "Why I Hate Obsessed Fandoms that Choose the Cast Of Movies Before the Actual Movie Producers Do" but that was a bit lengthy.

So there's a movie coming out in 2013 called The Mortal Instruments, based of a series of the same name by Cassandra Clare. I am kind of obsessed with the books ever since I was introduced by my brother's girlfriend. Then I learned that there was going to be a movie and I about squealed my head off. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is there has been one (possibly two. The second one is debatable) character cast, since the production hasn't actually start. Of course, this means that all the fans are freaking out and picking their own cast.

What I find funny about all this is people are FREAKING out. I saw one article where a person chose people to be in the cast. I agreed with some of them, not so much with others, but whatever. Then I read the comments and laughed to myself. People get SO defensive. Half of them liked the choices, half of them didn't, but I'm sitting there like, "What does it matter? It's not like this is the final decision. Whoever gets chosen, gets chosen. There's not much you can do about it.)Although, maybe I can't talk because I'm a little bit (okay, a lot) upset that Alex Pettyfer turned down the role of Jace because he would be, you know, PERFECT. But I don't go around blowing up the internet because of it.

Also, I keep thinking of the early stages of Hunger Games freak-out, when Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss. People were pissed. They were like "SHE IS TERRIBLE!!! So not at all how I pictured her!" And now everyone loves her. Funny thing about that. Let's face it: everyone pictures book characters differently. The cast is never going to look exactly like you pictured them. And look at what happened with Jennifer Lawrence. Turns out, she was perfect. Funny thing about that...

I have to say, I'm also excited because I learned recently that one of my favorite books EVER is being turned into a movie in 2015. It's called Divergent (and yes, this is me proving that I've liked it since the beginning. I'll thank myself in a few years). Really all that's happened so far is someone (Summit entertainment maybe?) bought the rights to it. I'm freaking out. I am so excited to see how it turns out! But I refuse to look at anymore fan casting lists.

Lisa

P.S. I've noticed recently that I use a lot of parenthesis. I just have so many peanut gallery comments running through my head...

Sunday

Superexaltate Dominus.
Leva eius nomen.
Vicit mortem!
Mortem perdidit stimulus.
Sepulchrum non supprimere
Eius amore nobis.
Alleluia!
Surrexit!
Amen.

(Translation:
Exalt the Lord
Lift high His name.
He has conquered death,
Death has lost its sting.
The grave could not stifle
His love for us.
Hallelujah!
He is risen!
Amen.)

P.S. If there's anyone reading this that is fluent in Latin, sorry for my probably shoddy translation. I got most of it from Google.

Friday.

Kyrie, eleison.
Exaudi orationem meam.
Huic ergo parce Deus.
Dona nobis pacem.
Ego sum paenitet.
Enim causatur mortem.
Quod necesse est pro me
Constant vobis omnia.
Ego sum paenitet.
Ego sum paenitet.
Ego sum paenitet.

Isaiah 53:5- "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."



(Latin Translation:
Lord, have mercy on us.
Hear my prayer.
Spare us by Your mercy, Lord.
Grant us peace.
I am sorry.
For I caused Your death.
What You must have suffered for me
Cost You everything.
I am sorry.
I am sorry.
I am sorry.)

Civil Rights

So, recently I've seen this picture circulating Facebook under the caption "we are all the same hit like and share if u agree <3" Aside from the distasteful lack of spelling and punctuation, I have to say I vehemently disagree with this statement. First off, people's skeletons aren't all the same. Sure, gay people and straight people might have similar skeletons, but people from different regions of the world don't. Particularly the skulls are shaped somewhat differently depending on what part of the world your ancestors come from. Scientists use this to study where a skeleton comes from.

Also, what is all this hype about "everyone being the same"? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for civil rights and equal treatment, yada yada yada, but we aren't all the same! That's not how God made us! What would the fun be in all being the same? People are different. That's the beauty of humanity. I think what we need is people accepting each other for who they are, regardless of differences. And this isn't saying that I accept everything people do. I don't agree that it's okay to be gay. I'm sorry, but I don't. The bible specifically tells us that being gay is not okay, (heh, I made a rhyme) and I believe that everything the bible says is true.(See 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. It doesn't get much clearer than that.) That being said, I am not going to condemn homosexuals for being gay. I would rather love them for who they are- not what they do- and, if they are willing to listen, give them my opinion on it.

Also, I don't think we can smash whites and blacks into the same group either. The cultural dynamics- not always, but frequently- are very different. Again, this is not saying I have anything specifically against black people, and I have no qualms being friends with them.

Anyway, I feel like I'm starting to dig myself in a hole of racist- sounding comments now, so I'll shut up. I really just wanted to say that people aren't all the same. And that's okay.

Lisa

Ode to Suburbia

Ah, Suburbia.
Where you can listen to fires crackle,
Crickets chirp,
And still hear sirens in the distance.
Where you can live in oblivious safety
With druggies across the tracks.
Where small children scream
And fire hydrants gleam.
Where people walk their dogs without a leash.
Not quite the city;
Not quite country either.
So indecisive people:
Move to Suburbia.

Ah, Suburbia.
Where mini vans abound.
Where the foreclosed house across the street
Is the creepiest thing around.
Where people almost burn down houses
Setting fireworks off in their backyards.
The land of basketball hoops and jungle gyms,
Of ice cream trucks and mailmen.
Yes, deep inside we all know.
Suburbia is where we live

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

****SPOILER ALERT!****

Hello, my name is Lisa and I am a Hunger Games fangirl. And the movie is coming out in 13 days!!!!! EEEPPP!!!

I confess, I have been doing a good deal of squealing lately. Like whenever a new trailer/still/clip is released. And yes, if you must ask, I am for Peeta. Against my will. See, I read it the first time and was COMPLETELY for Gale even though I knew Katniss didn't end up with him.. I refused to like Peeta better. Then I read it again and.... I changed my mind. Then they cast Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and I gave up all hope of reverting to Gale.

Anyway.....

Yeah, I have an entire board on Pinterest devoted to the Hunger Games. Here are some of my favorites:

Yes, Woody. That is exactly how it is.

It's so true. I thought I might actually be getting sick. I couldn't read another book for over a week. But then, that happens to me a lot...

This is pretty much 100% accurate

HEhehehehehehehehe. This just never fails to crack me up.

Yup. Do not interrupt me.

This is exactly how I will be. I am so not wearing makeup that day...

I love the hanging tree... It's so hauntingly creepy.

Okay, that's enough. I need to make myself stop. If you want to see all 200+ of them, you can find them on my Pinterest here:
http://pinterest.com/lisahumason/if-we-burn-you-burn-with-us/

Also, just a disclaimer, I am not on the bandwagon, I'm driving it. I liked Hunger Games WAAAAAYYY before the movie started being made. I read the first one the same year as it came out and I've been obsessed since then. I don't know why I feel the need to clarify this. I just don't want to be one of those annoying people who jumps on the bandwagon because everyone else did. So... yeah.

Remember, if we burn, you burn with us.
Lisa

Awareness

Recently, I took a challenge to only listen to Christian music for 30 days. Today is the first day I am able to listen to secular music again, and I kinda flipped out. I need music. I can finally listen to The Civil Wars again!! Eep!
When I started the challenge, I was kind of expecting it to bring me closer to God, or cause me to think about Him more throughout the day, and I suppose it did. But more than that, it made me aware of the importance of choice. I mean, I had little choices. I could listen to the radio (K-Love, obviously) or BarlowGirl or Flyleaf. Stuff like that. But there were so many things I couldn't do that I hadn't really thought about. I couldn't watch clips of Eben Franckewitz on American Idol (I still voted for him anyway) or watch The Voice of clips of So You Think You Can Dance. I couldn't even listen to classical like the Pride & Prejudice soundtrack. (NOooooooOOOo!!!) Obviously, there were places where I didn't have a choice of what I listened to, like at dance or at the mall, that kind of thing.
So, yeah. It makes me think about choice a lot more.
Also, unless you don't check Facebook or Twitter very often, I'm sure you've heard about Kony 2012. If you haven't, you can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&feature=g-logo&context=G209632bFOAAAAAAABAA or learn more at their website: http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/
Now, the movement sounded pretty amazing to me. I'd heard about the Invisible Children movement before, and I support what they're about. Kony 2012 sounded like a great thing to me. But then I read this: http://thedailywh.at/2012/03/07/on-kony-2012-2/ and got kinda really confused. Although, honestly, I'm not sure I trust anything on a website owned by icanhazcheezburger. There's also a Christian review: http://networkedblogs.com/uVnEa
Honestly, I don't know what to think about it anymore. Research for yourself, but I still think the Kony 2012 movement is a good thing, but there are things that people don't see all of it.
Anyway, just some thoughts for today.
Lisa

3/4/12

Sometimes there are situations where I can't do anything but pray. Sometimes I wish there was something else I could do. Sometimes I feel like prayer just isn't enough, even though I know it is. Sometimes I wish I could make it all better even though I don't know how. Sometimes I realize that I'm not a passive person. Sometimes I just want to take everybody's hurt and sorrow and crap and take it away from them, even if I have to put it all on me. Sometimes I realize that I can't do that.

I guess that's what Jesus is for.

Nuances of Humans

Over my years of playing piano-about 9. I think- I've begun to detect patterns in music students. There are many different kinds of people, and a few of them are always at a recital. There is the well known "Asian Prodigy". Sometimes these come in groups. They're the little Asian kids whose skill levels would lead you to believe that they're about 10 years older. And then you see them and they're, like, 5 years old. Then there's the one random awkward kid who takes himself waaaaaaayy too seriously. I don't watch them anymore. They just make me squirm. I just listen now. Then, there is the kid whose mother thinks her child is better than everyone else's. Her child played exquisitely. Everyone else was "cute", but not at the same level as her kid. There is also the one non-Asian kid who is like super-ultra-fantastically amazing and their song makes you want to cry, it's that beautiful, but they don't know it. They sit back down in their seat and look like they thought they did terribly. Then there's me. I'm not really sure where I fit. I'm probably the one who's just there because I want to play piano really well, and in order to do that, I'm required to go to these recitals.
I'm also learning to distinguish between violin students, piano students, and voice students. Voice students usually are wearing high heeled boots and short dresses/skirts and leggings. And they always sound amazing. Violin students often have long hair, black skirts/pants and a white shirt, and overpowering parents. Piano students, I like to think, are the more normal ones stuck in between these two groups.
Okay, disclaimer: not all people are like this. There are always a few exceptions, but, let's face it, that's how it is.

Yay stereotypes.
Lisa

The Unimportant Thoughts of My Brain

So, I was on the way home from a piano competition today-which has nothing to do with anything except that it brought this situation about- and I saw a car with a really fast turn signal. I realized that whenever I see a turn signal that fast I get this impression that the car is freaking out. Because, see, a normal car with a normal turn signal would sound something like "Um, 'scuse me, but at some point I'm going to need to be in that other lane, so, you know, just whenever is good for you, you think you could let me over? No rush." But these freaky cars are all like "I NEED TO BE IN THAT LANE!!! MOVEMOVEMOVEMOVEMOVE!!!!" And that's how my brain works. Hah. So... yeah. Anyway. That's really all I wanted to say.
Don't be "that car",
Lisa

When Days Are Long and Nights Are Not For Sleeping

I don't think I have ever been as excited for summer as I am this year. Sad thing is: it's only March. *Sigh...* Seriously, though, I'm working on a list of things I'm going to do.

1.Re-read Harry Potter.
Okay, so this is kind of a huge undertaking, since it took me about a year to read the series the first time, but I want to see how far I can get in one summer. Honestly, I just plan to read a lot. Harry Potter or not.

2.See my old friends
Along with going to a new co-op this year, I have gained lots of friends and, unfortunately, started losing others. I don't think I have completely lost any that I care about, but I never see half of my old friends anymore. I desperately want to hang out with them, and I am determined to do it this summer.

3.Church-y things.
Like every summer, I plan to help with my church's VBS and a Choir Camp that we do ever year. I missed one year of Choir Camp, thinking that I wouldn't miss it. It was torture. I'm never doing that again. In addition to these, though, I'm hoping to be a counselor at the camp that I went to for three years. I haven't actually gotten the job yet, but I have fingers crossed.

4. Swim.
I didn't get to go swimming at all last summer. Well, I swam in the ocean, but that doesn't quite count. That's more like getting tossed around by waves and trying not to swallow salt water. I want to go swimming in a pool. Thankfully, my best friend just had a pool put in her backyard. (*SCORE!*)

5.Write.
I have been writing the same book for about a year and a half now. I'm kinda stuck with what I want to happen. I know how I want it to end, I just don't know how to get there. Plus, the way I want it to end, I have to pass about five months of "story time". Ugh... It's going to turn into "And March passed with nothing of consequence happening." BOOOOOORINGGGGGG So, yeah. I need to make a clear-er blueprint and, hopefully, finish this book. Well, okay, finishing is a little optimistic.

6.Hang with my dance girls.
So, every year at recital my friends and I are like "We HAVE to hang out this summer!!!" ......And then we never do. SUCKS. I've decided that this needs to change.

7.Clean/organize my room.
Okay, so I know this sounds really stupid, but I seriously need to organize. And clean. GAAHHHH!!!! I need to see my floor! Funny thing is, I'm not an organized person-well, I'm turning into one. My Western Civ. teacher is influencing me- but my room has been messy for too long. And, I mean, I'll clean it over spring break, but I really need to all-out organize. And throw things away. And get rid of old clothes. MY GOSH I need to get rid of old clothes. I don't have any room left in my dresser. Okay, moving on.

8.Take pictures.
So, I have this really nice Nikon D100 camera that I got FOR FREE last fall, and since New Years, it's been sitting around in my room collecting dust. This sucks. I need to see friends and dress them up all pretty and take pictures of them. And have them take pictures of me. Let's face it, I need new pictures for my Facebook profile picture.

Okay, so there's probably more, but I've bored you for long enough.
Wishing summer would arrive,
Lisa

P.S. I seem to be going on a list rampage with my blog recently...

Why Would I Want to Do That?

It has become a common occurrence that I get told I act like a five year old. Sometimes by people I don't know. I'm completely fine with this accusation, and it's 100% true. I just find it funny. I mean really, who doesn't want to be 5 years old again? Things were so much simpler back then. I honestly just don't see the point in taking life as seriously as some people do. Half the things we worry about in life don't really matter. Some people tell me to grow up, but why would I want to do that? But yes. I have a list of reasons why this accusation is true.

1. I am a play baby. I love jungle gyms and playgrounds and coloring. I also get really excited about things that you can bend and move the parts around. Like tinker toys. And silly putty. I actually carry silly putty around in my purse.

2. I. Love. Disney. Like, more than a normal person. I think The Little Mermaid is my favorite. Or Robin Hood. Or Sleeping Beauty. Or Tangled. Or Aladdin. Basically, I just can't pick. I got Tangled for Christmas and I literally watch it once a week if not more. I also have the soundtrack and can sing every word of every song on it. And, my friend went to DisneyLand (I was SUPER jealous) and he brought me back a Rapunzel pin which is now on my backpack. I love it so much.

3. In relation to the last one, I still kinda really want to be a Disney princess when I grow up. Like, literally, that would be the best job ever! You get to walk around DisneyLand all day and fulfill the dreams of little kids. Plus, I hear a rumor that as part of their pay, they get to live at the park. O.O

4. I color frequently. And I take it very seriously. I have to make sure everything is accurate from the color of their eyes, to the shade of the color. I literally will be looking at a picture of the characters as I am coloring to make sure I'm doing it right. Also, I got a 48 pack of crayons in my stocking for Christmas this year. I flipped out. And then I organized them in rainbow order. Yup....

5.I squeak. A lot. Like when someone pokes me or I see something cute or I get really excited about something.(*or a new Hunger Games still is released*)

6.I love fantasy. And yeah, like dark fantasy with werewolves and evil pixies and warlocks and stuff, but I still love fairies and princesses and magic mirrors.

7.Well, as you know I'm a dancer and I get all sorts of pretty costumes. But, seriously, what little girl doesn't dream of being a ballerina? And I'm a pointe dancer, so I'm like living in the fantasy of my childhood, which is ridiculously fun. But I do get excited when our costumes come in and we get to wear the tiaras and fancy skirts and sparkles and all that. Actually, I wait for it from the moment Liz puts up costume pictures on the wall. Which is usually around 3 or 4 months in advance. heh. I'm still waiting in great anticipation at this point.

Well anyway, there's probably more reasons. Actually I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I can think of. So, I hope you had fun living in my brain for a little while. It's scary in there isn't it?
Lisa

P.S. I've noticed that I'm very motivated to blog recently. We'll see how long that lasts.

Apparently the World is Ending

A couple of my friends recently mentioned that they've been reading my blog lately. This must mean the apocalypse is upon us. Seriously, I have followers? Weird....
Well, apparently today is nostalgia day, because along with re-reading my journals, after hearing this new development of a thing called "having followers" I went back and read my blog all the way to the very first post. Oh goodness... What was I thinking? a)Why on earth did I let myself make a blog at 14? I sound so retarded... and b)What was I thinking re-reading them? Also, I think I posted from my iPod a lot because there are quite a lot of type-o's that I could have gone back and fixed, but, frankly, that was too much work for this under-achiever.
It is kind of entertaining to see the inner workings of my mind two years ago. They say your brain does the most developing when you are a baby. I'm not totally convinced that's true. I think it happens when you're a teenager. I did say some pretty smart things though.
I'm now imagining myself years from now reading this post. It will probably go something like this:
Me: "Ooh! Look! My old blog!" *reads a few posts* "Um, what was I thinking?!? I was so dumb! Is there any way to completely wipe this off the internet? Because I'd like that option now, please and thank you."
But yeah. Anyway...
Did you know people actually think the world is ending this year because the Mayan calender ends? I'm just imagining some Mayan in a business suit falling asleep over his work and having it going to the press before he was done with it. Then he goes "Oh crap!!! I'm going to scar the human race for life! It'll be like Y2K all over again!" Why said Mayan is in a business suit and knows about Y2K, I have no idea. That's just my brain.
Okay, I have now officially posted more today than in the past three months combined, so I'll go.
See ya!
Lisa

p.s. I said I was an under-achiever earlier. That's not necessarily true. I'm quite the type A sometimes.

That Awkward Moment When You Don't Know What to Blog About

Welp... here I am. Hi!
Alright, has anybody besides me gone through and read stuff out of their old journals? Because I was doing that this morning. I sounded so stupid even just a year or two ago.
If you don't know this about me, I love to journal. At this point in time, I have finished seven journals and I'm almost done with my eighth. This, however, is nothing in comparison to my sister. She has around 24 or 25 journals. That's, like, one for every year she's been alive.
My journal is probably pretty different from other people's journals (not that I would know. I don't go around reading other people's journals or anything). Mine are filled with random stories and scenes and poems that I write, along with the usual teenager stuff. Recently, my journal has been mostly occupied by notes from church and d-group along with prayers. I don't know what it is about praying, but for me, it's easier to do if I write it down. Maybe I'm ADD or something, but I always lose my train of thought when I try to pray by myself. If I journal a prayer, it usually ends up being about two pages long.
Also, I used to hate journals without lines. I kind of like them now. My current journal has no lines. I've found it's much more conducive to doodling. The only problem is, I can't write in a straight line, so my writing is usually crooked on the page.
Well anyway, it looks as if I found something to blog about. I could change the title now. But that's too much work.
Bye!
Lisa

(P.S. Okay, so about a week ago (it's March now, just so you know) I visited my sister and actually asked her how many journals she has now. I was way off. She has, like, over 50. Not even kidding. I will never live up to that...)

Society, Football, and Entertainment

Alright so anyone who watched the half-time show of the Superbowl and/or has a facebook knows what I'm talking about. Madonna+flashy lights+millions of viewers= heavy criticism. Personally, I thought the half time show was pretty good. A little flashy, but good nonetheless. Then I got on facebook. Everywhere you turn you see someone bashing Madonna; telling her to get off the stage, stop singing, etc. Now, I'm not saying she deserves a Grammy for that performance, but really? These people I saw posting are all Christians. Is that really the Christian way to tell someone they were not so hot? Even if she never sees it, isn't it our intentions that count? I mean I realize that we are sinners and aren't perfect, but bashing Madonna is not a "woops". It's intentional. I don't know. This is probably just part of my "people are stupid" mentality. I'm just saying, "do unto others as you would have them do to you" applies to everything.

Thoughts for the Day

So, last night I was informed that a water main break was getting fixed on our street today and they were turning our water off at 8. They said it should be out about 6 hours, but we really don't know when it will come back on. So, I set my alarm for 6:30-because I take a while to get up and, let's face it, I take long showers. I woke up this morning at 8:45. So, I'm completely pissed with myself because I woke up 2 hour after I meant to and I REALLY need a shower and now I can't take a shower until God knows when. My mom said if I really wanted I could go over to grandma's and take a shower there, but I said forget it. I'll just wait.
This, in turn, got me thinking about how spoiled I am. My whole morning was ruined because I woke up late and couldn't take a shower. Well, actually, I could walk a block to my grandma's house and take one there, but that's just too much hassle. And I mean, it wasn't like I could take one when they turned it back on or anything. *little petty voice inside my head*: "But what if it doesn't get turned back on before you have to go to dance? Then you'll smell bad BEFORE you start dancing! Woe is me!" *More rational voice inside my head* "Suck it up, sweet cheeks! It's not like you slept on a garbage heap last night."
But seriously, I've got my panties all in a bunch because I don't have water for a few hours? Most people in the world never have clean water. I let it run for a half an hour almost every day just so that I can look clean and presentable! In
Africa they sometimes have to walk for days to get one jug of water. I could walk 10 minutes to my grandma's house a block away, but nooooo that's just too much trouble. After that, I started feeling a little guilty for freaking out over my first world, white people problems.
Anyway, I still haven't taken a shower but oh well. I'll get one eventually. Now, off to focus on pursuing a higher education. A.K.A: Filling out a study guide and coloring in a map.
Remember how lucky you are to have water today!
Peace out!
Lisa