I am a Hypocritical Blogger

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the incredible amount of poetry this past month. I had some of the poems sitting around from when I wrote them for Sophomore English Class, and others were just for fun. Either way, I decided to immortalize them here on my famously popular blog XD. I always said that I would never force my readers to read poetry, but then I found my own hypocritical little loophole: Just because the poems are on the blog, that doesn't mean people have to read them. So I posted them anyway.

Secondly, I'm very sorry for my occasional inability to maintain this blog. I used to look at other bloggers who said they'd post soon, and them wait three months, and I'd shake my head in disappointment. I told myself I'd come up with interesting and well-written blog posts all the time, and I'd have some sort of organized schedule by which to post them. Obviously, this has not happened. I also said that I would participate in BEDA, which quickly became BALA, which steadily declined to BACTIA level. Meanwhile, I previously sneered at the people who were '"too lazy to participate", which was extremely hypocritical of me, for which I apologize.

Finally, I fear that once school starts (JUNIORS, YEAH!!!!) I may fall ever farther behind in my blogging, due to my crazy strenuous classes. I'd promise to maintain this blog, but honestly, school, band, and teaching karate are far more important to me, and they come first. I wouldn't want to make a promise I couldn't keep. So here's to erratic and occasional blogging! I hope you enjoyed BACTIA!

Book Counter: 19

I Will Appreciate All of the Things

During one of my lovely long excursions to the River this past month, we had a number of thunderstorms, one of which knocked the power out. At first, I was extremely excited, because I love storms and watching the lightning blaze patterns into the rural sky. However, I then discovered that without electricity, out water pump didn't work, and therefore I couldn't take a shower. This became quite an issue, because I had just learned how to wakeboard that day, and my hair was all knotty and saturated with river water. I also couldn't open the fridge to get something to drink after an exhausting day of near dehydration, because we had no idea when the power would be back on, and we didn't want to let all of the cold air out. Finally, Bubbles the Nerdfighting (almost) iPod (aka my crappy Sansa mp3 player) was dead, and I couldn't waste my flashlight batteries to read and distract myself from my grimy thirstiness and sore muscles. Honestly, the electricity could not have picked a worse time to stop working.

Oh, and did I mention, it was SUPER HOT that day, which quickly became awful without air conditioning?

As I was laying on my floor, pretending I was cool, clean, and hydrated, it struck me how ridiculous my situation was. People survived for hundreds of years before me without electricity, and they were able to make do! The Amish voluntarily go without it, even today, and they are totally fine! And yet, I was struggling to make it through one measly night.

I also realized that having our modern world rely on something so easily damaged or lost is a rather stupid idea. Why are we so reliant on electricity, and so helpless when it is taken away? Why don't we have some form of back-up, besides environment-harming generators that run on gasoline? Wind-energy? Hydro-electric power? Anything?

Once the power flickered back to life around the middle of the next day, I was quite frazzled and running out of coping ideas. I immediately took a shower, turned on my fan, laid under the air-vent, turned on my light, and read a book. I definitely appreciated electricity more after having to survive without it for 15 hours. 

The same thing happened after our water pump burst in the garage. There were several times I tried to turn on the sink out of habit, and nothing came out of the faucet, which was both depressing and irritating. I never really realized how many times a day I used running water until I had to try and cope without it. And once again, I appreciated it more once it came back on.

I feel like the same thing will happen to all of us once summer jerks to a halt and we are all thrown back into the harsh school schedule. We may feel bored now, and we may miss our friends, but we have a certain blissful freedom now that you just don't have during the school year. And we don't take advantage of it after about the first week of summer, because we forget to appreciate not being stuck in a bland cinderblock room all the time. All of these occurrences make me wonder, why don't we appreciate things all the time, instead of only after we've lost them? This is my new goal. Don't take things for granted, and take advantage of the time and opportunities I have.

Books Read: 19

Who I Am

I am still crisp autumn leaves,

I’m sketchpads, novels, and Youtube.

I am still the sand on the riverside,

Mixed tan and gray,

Perfect for tanning and reading with Britt.

Now I am driving the boat

With my whole entire family

Watching a unique sunset every evening.

I am Lean Pockets and spaghetti,

Ghost Adventures and Mythbusters.

My room is my own small safe haven,

And Grace’s is a regular hangout.

We chill out whenever we can.

I am nerdfighting and wheat, ham, and swiss,

Trying to sing with my friends is a blast.

I am an artist with gels pens and pencils.

I like to read books that are fiction,

Things from other times and ways of life.

Bella and Edward’s forbidden romance,

Harry Potter’s Firebolt and his fight

With Lord Voldemort.

John Green’s Alaska makes friends with a dork,

And Katniss Everdeen survived the Hunger Games.

She made me want to save the world.

I am chemistry, karate, and band class,

Driver’s Ed, though I’m scared to drive.

I go to the mall with my friend after school,

Shopping for clothes and music

And wandering in circles.

I like to play fetch with my cat, her name’s Leia.

She sits on my lap and purrs like crazy.

I love her like she is my very own sister.

The most important thing in my life

Is my friends and family, and

Of course my schoolwork and band.

Stress levels are high, but life is still good,

I love being the person I am.

But I’m still growing up,

I’m still making memories.

Where I’m from is who I am.

Books Read: 19

Where I Come From

I am from crisp autumn leaves,          

From stuffed animals, hopscotch, and Waldo.

I am from the sand on the riverside,              

Mixed tan and gray,               

Perfect for sand-cakes and pies.        

I am from riding the golf-cart            

With my cousins, toting our buckets              

And shovels to the beach every summer.       

 I am from goldfish and pizza crust,

From Blue’s Clues and Winnie the Pooh.

The basement was always my playhouse,

And Meredith’s house was a second home.

We played together every day.

I am from dress-up and PB&J,

Hide-and-go-Seek and tag were my favorites.

I was an artist with sidewalk chalk.

I used to read books to my Build-a-Bears,

I wanted to be a librarian later in life.

Junie B. Jones and her zany adventures,

The Bauldelaire Orphans and their flight

from Count Olaf.

Eric Carle’s Brown Bear made friends with a Red Bird

And the Boxcar Children survived in the wild.

They made me want to go camping.

I am from recess and music and art,

From chorus, though I couldn’t sing.

I played PS1 with my friend after school,

Flaming Riptocs and Gnorcs with

A purple dragon named Spyro.

I used to play Neopets on my computer,

I bought them all toys and fed them each day.

I loved them as if they were really my pets.

The most important thing in my life

Was my friends, and whether we could

Go outside for recess and play.

Nothing was stressful or boring or sad

And school was just another fun thing.

But now I am grown up,

All those memories are past.

My life is different now.

Books Read: 19

I Don't Understand

I don't understand

why being weird is seen as a bad thing.

why opportunities are given, and people pass them up.

why we are expected to outgrow the things we once loved.

But most of all

why people fail to appreciate the beauty in life.

why people are afraid to express who they are.
why promises are made, but then always broken.

What I do understand is

why people wish to know the unknown.

why friends gather to celebrate their individuality.

why those who are less fortunate appreciate what they have.

Books Read: 19

Ode To Drum Closet

Oh, quadrilateral room of percussion glory,

Your mysteries are so cleverly concealed.

I have yet to find the source

Of the stench of 1,000 percussionists past.

Your water-stained ceiling tiles hold secrets

Of mischievous excursions and adventures in the night.

Your drawers are constantly cluttered, and your

Shelves are a shave too short to support

The drums which have resided there

Since our band came to be.

Random rubbish crowds your smelly corners,

And rotten food lurks beneath squeaky shelves.

Your atmosphere is unappealing,

Your missing door stops none from stealing.

Books Read: 19

I Am an Utter Failure.

So I announced earlier this month that I was trying to do BALA (Blog A Lotta August). Originally, I planned on trying BEDA (Blog Every Day in August), but then I was out of town for the first week of August, learning how to wakeboard and having fun instead. 

But now it is August 25th, (the day after John Green's birthday, woo!) and I have failed. I've only blogged five times this month. And 5 out of 25, that's quite a bit less than 'A Lotta August'. It's only 1/5 of the whole darned month! The last month of my summer, which is slowly creeping away and is about to be devoured by the monstrous Hurricane Irene. So I'm calling what I've done this summer BACTIA. Blog A Couple-a Times In August. I feel that is a more appropriate title.

Over the next few days, I am going to be hunkered down in my beanbag chair, reading the 15 books I just checked out from the library, finishing my summer Precalc packet, and coming up with more future blogs, all by flashlight (most likely). To tide you all over until I return to the internet, I have several blogs scheduled to post over the next few days. Best wishes to anyone else who has to endure Hurricane Irene, and DFTBA!

<3

P.S. I'd like to draw attention to my shiny new BOOK COUNTER WOOO. It shows how many books I have read since June of this year.

Books Read: 18

Another Poem (are you sick of them yet?)

Captured my heart when you asked me to dance,

Held me close when I felt so far away.

Remembered our anniversary each month

I felt so perfect when I was with you.

Separation threatened to

Tear us apart.

Oceans weren't too far for our love to span, you said.

Promises of yours turned out to be empty,

Hot tears soaked through my pillow that night.

Every ounce of my trust was betrayed, you

Ripped out my heart with every syllable.

Table For One

Anxiety gnaws at my fingernails,

Excitement ties knots in my stomach.

Staring into my closet,

Nothing looks good enough to wear for you.

Meanwhile my brain is nagging,

"Tame that wild hair, cover that tiny flaw.

You don't deserve a guy so perfect."

I believe what it says it true.

I wait in the parking lot,

Breathing out mist in the crisp autumn air.

Headlights flit past, none of them yours.

I glare at my phone and accuse it of lying.

You can't be five minutes late,

Or ten, fifteen, or twenty.

How did my favorite blouse get wet?

I realize that I am crying.

I huddle on the curb, heartbroken and freezing,

Too ashamed to go home so soon.

I shuffle inside. drying tears on my mittens,

And mumble, "Table for one."

The waiters glance over with eyes full of pity,

Bringing me water with not enough ice.

They offer me food, but I'm feeling queasy.

Everyone here has a date.

I call you, I text you, and then call your friend.

You're out with some girl, a cheerleading snob.

My face burning red, I crumple the check.

Tears spill down my face and onto my plate.

An Open Letter To Nicole

Dear Nicole (aka MegginLovett),

We met way back in elementary school, I remember you rode my bus. You still do, as a matter of fact. I used to see you at recess, brandishing twigs and muttering spells. You thought you were a witch, but I had yet to discover the world of Harry Potter, and I just left you to your antics. I didn't understand your obsession at the time, although I do now. Why try to curse people if nothing ever happens?

In middle school, in that awkward transition phase, we grew closer, and started to speak a bit more. I read about Hogwarts, and secretly I shared your dream. However, I considered myself too old to be waving a 'wand'. I supposed I'd missed out on my Hogwarts letter anyway. You introduced me to Chameleon Circuit on your iPod during one of those torturous bus rides, and although I wasn't yet a Whovian and I didn't understand some of the songs, I enjoyed their originality, and I admired your will to be different. I remember we both played Neopets, where we had fun *slapping each other with fish*. Our friendship was strengthened, and you opened my eyes to the wonders of RENT and Sweeney Todd. I'd never liked musicals, but you changed my mind.

You sometimes would talk about Alex Day and Charlie McDonnell, which I'd watched a few times under your recommendation. I knew who they were, but I still didn't understand. Why did you think they were so great? I preferred the song about Duct Tape.....

A few times, you asked me to proofread your writing. You wanted to be a novelist, you said. I read your stories, jotted in notebooks in pristine, unmistakable handwriting. I related to them and I wondered, did you know about my life? Where did you get those fictional ideas, so close to my reality? You also used to draw, clothing design if I remember correctly. I was jealous that your people were always so lovely.

One day, you showed me a poster promoting the Chartjackers. Charlie and Alex again, plus two more. I took interest in the project when you told me it was for charity, and that's when I joined Youtube, to witness this soon-to-be-miracle for myself. I started watching vlogs, by Charlie and Alex and many many others, and eventually, in August of 2010, I discovered the Vlogbrothers.

I took the time to watch every single video, spending hours in front of the computer. I was infatuated by Nerdfighteria, and soon learned that you were a Nerdfighter as well. We shared books and movies and talked about nerdtastic things, and my entire attitude about life changed. I picked myself up from my heartbreak and pain, and I joined the wonderful community I love, thanks to your subtle direction. 

Now I've joined Twitter, where we talk every day, and you (plus some others) inspired me to create this blog. You've exposed me to Sherlock, Doctor Who, and Maureen Johnson, and my personality is better than ever before. I thank you for opening my eyes to a world of culture, fashion, originality, and love, and you are truly the most unique and interesting person I know. I can count on you every day to remember to be awesome, and to appreciate life and to care about others. Thank you, Nicole, for making me who I am :)

First Date

The lights flicker out in the semi-crowded theatre,

The aroma of popcorn floats up to my face.

I sip on my ICEE to cool my hot nerves,

Between you and me, electrified space.

The title is floating up here through the darkness

As I settle down in the worn folding chair.

The warmth of your fingertips tickles my neck,

Twirling between them my sweet-smelling hair.

We gasp and we giggle, and you snort with laughter,

I think that this date's going just as I planned.

About halfway through, with our happiness brewing,

I sense you reaching and give you my hand.

Your thumb swirling gently, you trace a soft heart.

My face flushing pink, I'm thankful it's dark.

My mind wanders off to a calm, blissful dream,

I think this relationship's more than a spark.

The movie is over, the lights come back on,

We yawn and we stretch and we head for my car.

You're holding my hand as we shuffle along,

Trudging slowly because the walk's not very far.

When we get there, your arm encircling my waist,

You open my door and I sit down to drive.

You grin and say, "I had a fantastic time."

I admit that I've never felt quite so alive.

I fight back a sigh as we pull in your driveway.

You stroke my arm and stare into my eyes.

You give me a hug and whisper in my ear,

"Let's go on more dates and have sweeter goodbyes..."

What I've Learned from Nerd Music

As a devoted nerdfighter, my mp3 player is naturally packed with lots of Wrock, Trock, and other random music by various made-of-awesome people. Listening to these amazing songs the other day, I realized that I have learned alot of things from these songs, although some of them are completely useless things to know. I figured I'd post them here for your amusement...

Alex Day

• How NOT to play Mario Kart Wii
• Singing cliches is not an effective way to win someone's heart
• Eating candy floss at a funfair is incredibly romantic
• Skinny jeans from Camden and perfect glossy hair are beautiful
• Who needs simplicity in this candid game of Hearts?
• We don't want Georgia to leave
• When your strings are broken, your heart goes out of tune
• The pen is sharper than any sharpened sword

ALL CAPS

• Heartbreakers sign their emails with an x
• Don't let your robot boyfriend upgrade to version 2
• Everything is never as it seems with Hermione or Ron
• Who woulda thought that two nerds would get to have their day?
• You need 1667 words a day for NaNoWriMo
• World of Warcraft ruins lives

Charlie McDonnell

• You need to be able to love yourself (but not that way!)
• Snacks are more important than properly finishing an album
• Clearasil, Freederm, and Proactiv don't really work
• The people that mind don't matter, and the people that matter don't mind
• An animal is a silly thing to be
• You must taste inspiration and stop chewing the bread of woe
• Dopamine and norepinephrine are love chemicals
• We should all watch Hayley G. Hoover's videos
• Santa Claus throws Jack-O-Lanterns at children on Halloween
• Rhymezone.com is quite amazing

Chartjackers

• Incredibly cheesy pop songs CAN make the British charts

Hank Green

• I have learned so incredibly much from Hanks music, I really don't feel like typing it all. So listen to it yourself, become edumacated.
• However, I think the central message here would be DON'T FORGET TO BE AWESOME!!!!

There are more wonderful artists, and lots of great songs, but at the moment my sore, blistered, wakeboarding hands are tired of typing. So here ya go! DFTBA, and I promise to post again soon. I'm sorta trying to do BALA (Blog A Lotta August), but due to the fact that I started 9 days late it's a bit of a challenge. Here Goes.....