Giggles and Musings

Aspen Blind Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:11:00 +0000

Last night, I went, at the request of my mother, to an event called the Aspen Blind Café. I was a two hour event that started at 8:30pm and was dinner and a live music performance in complete darkness. When I say that you start to picture it, whether you intend to or not, but I will tell you now that you can’t. You have no idea. I went with my mom, my step- dad (Steve) and a friend of my mom’s (Kim) and her boyfriend (Brad).

We were led into the space by a blind server. He seated us at a rectangular table that sat 6. I was next to Brad and across from a woman who came alone named Sandy. From the moment that we entered the darkness, I was anxious. I was able to find the gift on my seat and sit down without incident. Although, I did think that the table was at a different angle than it ended up being, so I sat down at a funny angle. I was able to easily find my napkin and distinguish my wine and water. That part wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be and in a smart move from the organizers all the glass were short tumblers, so it wasn’t as easy to knock them over. However, what I didn’t account for is how small my world became and how much it freaked me out. While I was eating I was fine, because I was focusing on trying to cut my chicken. I ended up picking the chicken up with my hands, but I did manage to get my plate clean. I was proud of myself for that. I ate the salad, by stabbing my fork at the plate and shoving whatever was on the fork in my mouth. If anyone had been able to see me I would not have been a pretty site. It made me wonder how blind people eat without looking like animals. I mean that is serious skill. The food was really good. It was a goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with cheesy polenta and green beans. There was a salad with some awesome dressing made of champagne vinegar. It was all really good and interesting, because I loved it, but if I had known what was in it before I ate it, I wouldn’t have. So, that was a good experience, if only because it demonstrated that going outside of my comfort zone, could have a delicious outcome.

Then there was a question and answer period. No one at my table asked any questions, but there were a couple of people who asked some really annoying questions. It was interesting, because there was no way to subtly express my displeasure, because no one could see me. The only option was to vocally express it and that felt rude, but it was interesting to feel so handicapped in expressing my emotions.

At this point, our server read one of his poems to the room and I started freaking out. I had run out of things to eat and I was therefore out of things to do. I was forced to think about how dark it was. The only thing that was getting me through it was that I knew two hours had to end eventually and there was a small light, like one from a really dim green pen light up and in front of me to my right. I actually wasn’t sure at first that it was something that my brain had created, but when it didn’t move with my head I figured out that it was part of the room. Anyway, I was so focused on my mild panic, that I didn’t really experience the poetry. Weirdly though, when my mom was trying to figure out a line of the poem later I was able to repeat it almost verbatim.

Then they passed out the dessert, which was interesting. It wasn’t as hard as I would have thought it would be. Although the person carrying the tray hit me in the head several times, which was annoying. It was chocolate mousse topped with a vanilla amoretto mousse. I didn’t really like it and wasn’t able to finish it, as I was pretty preoccupied with the fact that it was dark. I set down my dessert and actually started to braid my hair into tiny braids, just to have something to do, so that I could calm down.

There was music after that. Part of the experience was supposed to be listening to music in total silence. That didn’t really happen and every voice and noise was so far beyond annoying. There was a male and female vocalist and a cello player. The male vocalist also played guitar. They had to keep talking to each other to make sure that they were playing the songs in the right key. They sang two original songs and then the cello played a solo song. Then there was another original song where they had us join in singing the ooos. Then sang a Beatles song and I continued to sing along, although quieter. For the last thing they taught us the entire chorus of a song and had us sing it. It was fun. It was interesting, because I had no fear and, so I was singing pretty loud. I didn’t care what I sounded like because no one could see me. Afterwards Kim told me that I had a nice voice and my mom said she liked hearing me, even during the Beatles song (I thought I was singing softly oops). She said I was harmonizing well, it was nice to hear that stuff. Then they lit candles and then turned the lights up gradually.

Overall, it was a great experience and the food was delicious, but I don’t think that I could do it again. Although, I would love to eat the food again.

Twilight vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:10:00 +0000

This is an blog post I wrote for my Writing and Rhetoric II class. I was about the differences between Buffy and Twilight. I don't really like it, as I barely scratched the suface of the topic and its written strangely. I don't what about it, but something really bothers me..... It's almost like I was trying to write an essay and failed miserably. I don't even know.

Here it is:

There are huge differences between these two works about vampires. They start with the main character and go all the way to the way that the lore is used. There is also a huge discrepancy between the quality of the writing.

I think that the biggest difference is the two main female characters. First, you have Buffy Summers who is a strong female character. She is the Slayer, the latest in a line of female warriors who fight demons, vampires and the forces of evil. She is a teenage girl, yes but she is the hero of the story. She makes sacrifices again and again to fight evil and in the end of season five she even gives her life to save the world. Although she fights it sometimes, saving the world and the safety of others always comes first. She is not a perfect character and she makes mistakes, but she always does her best to correct them. She has a sense of duty to the world that she cannot help, but fulfill. She has preternatural strength and speed and she is a talented fighter. She is small and blonde and gorgeous. She has a very tight knit group of friends, who are more like family than friends. Buffy is a witty character and has some issues with her destiny and becomes exponentially more complex as the series goes on.

Bella Swan is totally different. In fact, Bella and Buffy are complete opposites except for the fact that they both fall in love with broody vampires, more on that later. Bella Swan is never really physically described. She has dark hair and is pale. She feels out of place at Forks High School and is very clumsy. All of her life, she has been the responsible one in the relationship between her and her mom. She comes to Forks and takes care of her father doing all of the cooking. She is very good at school and for some reason all of the boys she meets seem to be attracted to her. Bella has very few defining traits. She is in fact, what is known in fanfiction circles as a Mary Sue. This means she is perfect character. Often, Mary Sues are the author inserting herself into the story with only shallow flaws, such as being clumsy. They are also used as a way for the readers to put themselves directly into the story. Bella has few friends and even fewer close ones. In fact, she spends the majority of her time with the family of her boyfriend.

As far as the vampiric counterparts to our females, we have Angel and Edward. Angel is around 245 years old and was originally from Ireland and his name was Liam. A vampire named Darla transformed him and together they terrorized the world for a hundred years. Around 100 years before the show, he was killed a Romani gypsy girl and was punished by her clan. As punishment, they restored his soul. He had done all of these unspeakable things and now he had a conscience. He left Darla and struck out on his own. He started to fight for good, against the other vampires. He first appears in the pilot of Buffy and gives Buffy some vague help. He comes back several times with the vague warnings. Buffy has feelings for him and he tries to avoid that for a while by showing up as little as possible. Angel is a noble character trying to make up for his past sins. He fights against his relationship with Buffy, because he knows that it is bad for her. At one point, he actually looses his soul, reverting back to his evil self (Angelus) and Buffy actually has to kill him. Her duty is more powerful than her love. He comes back and they actually continue their relationship, until he leaves for good. He leaves, because it will be better for Buffy that way. He wants her to move on and live her life. He cares enough about her to leave and she is strong enough to move on, as is he. They continue on with their lives and date others and Angel even has a kid. Yet they are still in love the entire time.

Edward Cullen is 109 years old. He was born Edward Masen. He was in the hospital dying of Spanish Influenza, when Carlisle changed him into a vampire. He lived with the Cullen family for most of his existence. He was a “vegetarian” from the moment he was created, with that exception of a decade where he ate only the evil people. He doesn’t eat humans, because he chooses not to. He is a very old fashioned person and he doesn’t believe that he has a soul. He actually exhibits some stalker and controlling behavior, although Bella is the only human who knows she never comments. He watches her sleep and doesn’t like it when she is away from him. He thinks that he is the only person who can keep her safe. Edward can hear people’s thoughts, everyone but Bella’s. The Bella/Edward relationship is not one of equals. He is older and has more knowledge. He is also stronger and faster. He controls her a lot. It is actually a traditional relationship with a subservient woman. When Edward leaves Bella, she falls apart to the point where she stops functioning and he also has difficulty functioning normally. Their relationship is not a healthy one, but after a token effort from Edward in the first book, neither makes any effort to leave. Although Edward leaves entirely in New Moon, neither really moves on. Bella spends the entire time trying to remember him using adrenaline and Edward tries to pretend no one exists, but when he thinks that Bella is dead, he tries to kill himself.

These two works have completely different messages and themes at the core. Buffy has so much depth to it, but one of its many facets is the power of the feminine. Buffy is a strong woman, as are most of the other female characters. Strong in mystical ways, but strong nonetheless. Buffy, Willow, Tara, Joyce, Jenny, etc. also possess an incredible inner strength and moral compass. Their moral compasses don’t always point true north, but they fight the good fight to their death (and Buffy dies several times). Twilight is very much a product of Stephenie Meyer’s Latter Day Saint background. Twilight is very much about abstaining until marriage and a woman’s place in a relationship. It certainly isn’t the healthiest relationship example to be giving kids. Bella is the protected and Edward the protector.

I have definitely boiled this down to the simplest it can be and I have barely scratched the surface of this issue. There are so many more components and even more things that differ. I am sure that this will offend someone and for that I apologize. I do know that both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Twilight Saga are about more than I mentioned here. Although it may not seem like it I did read and enjoy the Twilight Saga. I just think that there are also a lot of issues with it both thematically and in the way it’s written.

I do believe Buffy is the better creative endeavor.

College

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:15:00 +0000

It's been a while since I blogged. I've been meaning to I've started several posts in my film classes, mostly about how annoying everyone is, but I haven't had a chance to finish any of them.

It is the beginning of my sixth week of college. It's gone by so fast. It's hard to believe that its been 8 weeks since I left Aspen. I miss it. Not so much the town, but the security and familiarity it provides. I also miss my high school. Not something most people think about, but I liked high school. I was comfortable there and I understood the status quo. I miss knowing who the actors were and feeling comfortable saying things like "Hey, want to be in my short film? I need a guy to play a dad." I also miss my theatre teacher. She's awesome.

I really like my Writing and Rhetoric class. I have a great teacher and we have great lectures and discussions. I like class and I even like the reading we do, but I don't like the essay homework. I guess, because its college she's more critical, but I am not any better. We are supposed to be doing personal narrative papers that are also analytical about so aspect of culture, but I don't know how to do both. Our subject options are as follows:

"Image and Identity

You can be specific and tell a story about your name such as how you feel about having been named after someone in your family, having the same name as your best friend, or how your names don't really fit you. Or you can take a more general approach and write about what it means to you to be labeled with a racial category, how you respond to cultural labels such as being called "all boy," "girly," a "WASP," a "redneck," etc.

How do images of you help or hinder your ability to "see" yourself? How does your use of photography influence how others see you? Maybe tell the story of a photograph that is important to you. Describe the image and then tell what it means or what it shows in terms of cultural beliefs, patterns, tendencies, or myths. You might think about things like the motion of family, friendship, race, class, gender.

Place/ Space and Identity

Can you think of a place that always makes you comfortable or uncomfortable? To what do you ascribe that sensation? What is the relationship between architecture or urban planning and the behavior or attitude of the people in those designed spaces? How many places can you think of that are critical to who you are? In what ways do our places make us who we are? What about those places where you don't fit, where you feel awkward? Is it possible that the place itself (not just the people in those places) in inclusive or exclusive? How?"

I have nothing to say. Absolutely nothing. I understand what she wants me to write about and I have thoughts, but I don't think that any of them can be developed into a 3 page paper. She kept talking about how it should be one well developed idea, well I don't know if I can do that. I don't if I have one idea that can be fleshed out that much.

My First Year Seminar class is the bane of my existence. It's not the class itself, but rather the teacher and the other people in it. They just are not my crowd and none of them try. I am barely trying and compared to them I'm an overachiever. It's annoying and I don't like it. I'm trying not to let their lack of motivation affect me. I don't want to start using them as my measure. I came from a school of overachievers and so I was used to having something to strive for. Here the kids seem to be much less worried about grades and class. It's a little disorienting. I'm not sure I like it.

I also really like Moving Image Arts. We discuss movies and its just nice. I think there is a little bit of the element that causes problems in literature classes. Sometimes I think that my teacher is looking for meaning that isn't there and its just as annoying as it is in english class.

I have a really hard time in my Moving Image Production class. It feels like a science class. I am just as helpless in this class as I have always been in science class. I do think it is a good idea to try everything, but the more I try the more it seems like I belong behind the camera, dealing with the actors and the department heads and they can deal with all of the technology. I don't think I'm going to be very good at that stuff. I just am more of a big picture/ idea person.

School so far has been quite the adventure. Outside of school I haven't made really any friends yet, but I did join the Harry Potter club, so that should change when meetings start up. I did find my nearest movie theatre and the Target and the nearest grocery store, so I am settling in. Hopefully as time goes by I will become more comfortable here.

I need a job!!!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:33:00 +0000

I don't know how to do this. I've had job since I was 15 with my mom and I have no idea how to go about getting a job, but I need one. I don't know how to do this. I have only had two jobs: one, being a sort of junior receptionist for my mother and the second, working as a barista at Starbucks. I sort of stumbled into both of those jobs and now I don't know what to do. I have gone on to the Columbia website for these things and I don't really see anything that I think I'd be good at. There was one job in my building, but I don't think I'm really right for it. It's being a judicial assistant... I don't really know what that means and I looked at the job description and the qualifications and I felt like it was really hard and above my qualifications. But I am worried that I'm not really qualified for anything and I guess the only way you become qualified is to pretend that you are, so that people will give you jobs, so that you become qualified. That just seems really dishonest and I don't want to tell someone that I can do something and then let them down.

I thought it was a really good plan to try to work in a movie theatre or movie rental store, because those are the places that I typically spend the most money, but I can't figure out how I figure out if they're hiring. I wouldn't be totally against working in a Target or something. I might even be okay with working in a Macy's, but I just worry that I wouldn't be a good sales person. I guess I just have to put myself out there, but do you know how nerve-racking that is. It's so much easier to get up on a stage and act like an idiot, than to ask someone for a job in complete seriousness and have them laugh in your face.

First Homework. PANIC!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:01:00 +0000

I finally logged into the SchoolFusion equivalent at my college called Moodle. Now, all of that is well and good, but my issue is this assignment.

"Your bio should tell us some basic things about you and be professionally presented. You need not tell us things we already know. For example, that you are a student at Columbia. Make sure what we see is not a first draft."

I have no idea what to do. I mean does he want... "Rachel Bielinski was born in blah blah blah and then at the age of seven she moved to blah blah blah. Her parents are Bridget and both of whom are now married to others. Her step-parents are Steve and Susan. Her birthday is blah blah blah. She is interested in blah blah blah."

Or is it more of like who I am as an artist?? I know that college is supposed to be more free and you figure it out all by yourself, but I... like doing things right. So, if it is at all possible I would like to do my first assignment of the year right. I guess I'll just have to do what seems right to me. I don't really have problem with the bio part, my real issue is "professionally presented." I don't know what that means. I'm not sure if I should talk about my love for Buffy and Charmed or if this is supposed to be something that I'd want my employers to see. It's entirely possible as well that this whole thing is an exercise in seeing what we think the assignment means.

Well, at the very least I know that I did the other half of the assignment right. I was asked to put an "actual, recognizable photo of yourself." I cropped my Senior picture and put that up. So, if I were to be graded right now I would get a 2 out of 5... which is why I need to figure out what kind of bio I'm doing, but I'll get there. I have 6 days and plenty of time to do a million drafts.

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:27:00 +0000

Holy Crap! It's been a crazy week! I left Aspen for college on Monday. It was sad and I don't think that its sunk in yet.

Packing up the car to go was quite an adventure all by itself. I had too huge purple duffels full of clothes and way more random assorted boxes than I had originally planned. But Steve is a genie with the car and he got most of it in the trunk area. Then we were able to put everything that we needed access to during the trip in the backseat.

The drive was fine. On the first day I was really tire, so I tried to sleep as much as possible. I watched some Sports Night and we listened to some music. We ate breakfast at the Golden Burro Cafe in Leadville. It was kinda weird...There were these "Please keep your children under control signs every few feet and a strange and slightly angry help wanted sign saying that people with facial tattoos or no clocks or watches or who only wanted money for drugs and were going to quit with notice or who only wanted money to pay for concert tickets and would be asking for a lot of time off need not apply. We stopped for the night in Omaha, Nebraska and ate at a ....well I can't remember the name of it, but they had decent pie. It was late when we got there, but I have to say a far as I could tell there is nothing in Omaha. Steve is not terrifically good at following the GPS, but with my help we only got lost once (and I was asleep when it happened so I had nothing to do with it). The second day was pretty simple. There was a tiny bit of confusion when we were almost to Glenview, but we straightened it out and arrived without getting lost. We talked more this day about politics and life and what I thought it was good. Steve and I got along fine and everything went well, but I prefer driving with mom, because with her you can listen to music and talk.

When we arrived in Glenview, I saw Lucas for the second time. Lucas is my 13 month old cousin who is the size of a two year old. He is very mobile. I was staying in the basement of my grandparents' house in Glenview on the pullout couch in front of a giant television. It was fun.

The day after I got to town (Wednesday), I went to visit my friend Sydney at Lake Forest College. I was driven to the North Glenview train station and got on a train heading north. I stayed on the train for three stops getting off at the fourth a station called Lake Forest. I looked around for my friend and found no one waiting. I called her and she said she was waiting at the train station. I looked again and still couldn't find her. Finally she went inside and asked the man if there were two Lake Forest stations. It turns out there were. I was at the West Lake Forest station and she was at the Downtown Lake Forest station. I ended up having to take a cab to get to her. We walked from the downtown train station to her dorm. I looked around her dorm and met her roommate. Then we went and ate in the dining hall (they had really good caesar salad). We talked a lot. She was having a hard time adjusting, but it seems to be a little better now that classes have started. When we were done hanging out, I had to take a cab back to the West Lake Forest station to take a train back to Glenview. I got back to Glenview and had to shower again because we were taking Christmas pictures. I had a mini breakdown for like no reason at all. My Aunt Nancy made dinner and it was very good and we all took fantabulous pictures. My Uncle Tim, Aunt Nancy and their kids Lily and Jack got me a bin with stuff for my room. We also celebrated the birthdays of Aunt Nancy, Uncle Brian and Lucas.

The next day (Thursday) was the big shopping day. My mom and Steve and I went to Pearle Vision, Costco and Target. First we went to Costco. We bought this awesome Shag blanket and lightbulbs and lots of batteries. Then we went to Pearle Vision to look at glasses. There were one pair at Costco that were okay, but nothing I really liked. We had been in Pearle Vision for about half an hour when the salesperson suggested that we pop the sunglass lenses out of a pair of Ray Bans and I was sold. After my mom had a little altercation with the salesperson we bought my glasses. Then we went to Target. We bought so much at Target it was ridiculous. We did two laps!! After Target we went to Steak and Shake for a late lunch. I had chicken fingers, because we were going to eat dinner in a short while and I didn't want to be too full.

We went to Giordano's for dinner and I dropped a piece of pizza in my lap. I am such a klutz. When we got back to the house, we organized the cars and made plans for the morning.

Friday was Moving Day!!!!!! We got up and were out the door by 7:15am. We drove from my Grandparents' house to my dorm. We had to do it in two cars and two people per car. We got to the University Center around 8:30am (half an hour early) and pulled right into the alley where we were given two carts and assisted in packing all of our stuff into it. While my family and the RAs did that I was instructed on where to take my bike. Then I met my family at the elevators and we all went up to my floor and were guided to my room. I was the first one here, so I got to pick my side of the room. I chose the side closest to the windows, which face south just like my windows at home. I unpacked my books and DVDs and made my bed. Then I went down to finish the official check-in process. We had to walk around and get our card stamped at each station. I got my key card for my room and my key for my closet (I'm not really sure why I need a key for my closet, but okay). I also got my mailbox combo and let me tell you, these mailboxes are not easy to open. I finished my process and was unpacking the rest of my stuff when my roommate arrived. She brought her entire family: mom, step-dad, grandmother, older sister, younger sister, younger brother, and two cousins. She didn't however bring much stuff. I have so much here to make me comfortable and remind me of home and then I look out the window and remember how far away I am. I stuffed everything in my closet and then we went to Target again. There is a two story Target in downtown Chicago and we got cubbies to put by the refrigerator for food and under my desk for drawers. We got a harp for my lamp and little drawers for on top of my desk and several more bins for toiletries and stuff. After we got my room all set up, we took pictures for my grandma and for Facebook. Papa had to leave to go help my grandmother babysit Lucas. My mom and step-dad and I went to Girodano's for dinner again. Then they walked me back to my room and I signed them in as guests and they came up for a little while and then I walked them out.

On Saturday, I got up around 9am and called my mom. She said that they were going to pick up my new glasses and then come down. When she got here she arrived with another shelving unit and another bin for under my bed. We set up the other shelving unit and then went to go get my books. First we stopped and I opened a bank account, because my previous bank only has locations in Colorado. Then we walked over to the bookstore and found that we needed a printed copy of my schedule and we didn't have it. Instead we logged on to Oasis with my mom's Blackberry. We got all my school books, and I didn't rent them I bought them. I found out that for First Year Seminar I'm reading Frankenstein, Things Fall Apart and The House on Mango Street. I read The House on Mango Street my freshman year of high school and Things Fall Apart my junior year. I just find that really funny. Then we walked back to my dorm, so that I could drop off my books. Then we walked all the way across the world to go to Maggiano's for lunch. After lunch we stopped at Pearle Vision and got my glasses adjusted. Then we went to Navy Pier. We were at Navy Pier for maybe an hour before I got fed up. I was tired and there were a tone of people, so we made our way back to my dorm. I said goodbye to parents and that was hard. I 'm going to miss them. I came back upstairs and went to dinner at the cafeteria and then I watched Sports Night. Now it is time for bed goodnight.

West Wing, Joe Walker of A Very Potter Musical and EMERGENCY!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I watched West Wing until 1am. The stupid thing is that I now have to
work and I was watching the 7th season, when I left off in the middle
of the fourth. It’s actually pretty good. The problem is that I
don’t really like any of the characters. There was this one Latino
character working on Vinick’s campaign that I liked, but he quit. I’m
hoping that he’ll go to work on the Santos campaign, but he’s a
republican so… Anyway, it’s weird having the team broken up. I miss
Donna and Sam and CJ. Well, CJ’s there, but it’s different. She’s
different. I prefer the original dynamic. I don’t really like the
new press secretary, she seems bitchy. Vinick is kind of an asshole.
I don’t like him, but that could have something to do with the fact
that I don’t like his politics or the way he campaigns. I like the
season, because the writing is still interesting, but it’s a funny
experience being attached to so few of the characters. I can’t wait
for Donna to come back, because I know Donna ends up with Josh which
is awesomeness. They were meant to be together from the first season.
But they made it okay that they weren’t together. It was never
really annoying that they weren’t together. Not like it was on
Smallville. The whole Clark/Lana relationship was so stupid. They
loved each other, but couldn’t get it together and be together, which
in some ways is good. Clark never really belonged with Lana, he
belongs with Lois, but in the first couple seasons all you want is for
Clark and Lana to be together.

Sexy Transition! (Sorry. What the Buck reference. :D) I am currently
totally obsessed with a little known actor named Joe Walker. He
played Voldedmort in A Very Potter Musical and Dolores Umbridge in A
Very Potter Sequel (both of which are on youtube). He is awesome as
both characters. He made Voldemort loveable, which is not an easy
thing to do. He is also pretty buff and shirtless for ¾ of A Very
Potter Musical. But the funny thing is that he was even more in shape
for A Very Potter Sequel and it makes his portrayal of Umbridge very
interesting. He is so funny and practically has a fan club at this
point, because he’s pretty boss. But he isn’t as famous as a lot of
the people I have crushes on and he’s way closer to my age, than
pretty much everyone, but Joe Jonas. He might actually be closer, I
don’t know when he was born. He is awesomeness in a buff package.

I’m bored and hungry and bored and hungry. I don’t feel good and my
throat is sore and apparently Strep throat is going around and so now
I am a little freaked out that I might have strep. Well, at least if
I get sick now I won’t be sick later.

I am panicking just a little bit about packing my room up. I have too
much stuff and not enough time. I don’t know how I am going to pack
it all. It’s pretty overwhelming. There is stuff everywhere and even
as I put things in boxes, it doesn’t even seem to be making a dent. I
am having a very hard time. I don’t know what to do. I am trying,
but it just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I work all day and I don’t
make any progress. I just want to start dumping things in boxes. I
wish I could get it empty, but I try and it’s just not happening. I
don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to make it work I just want
to get some where I need to try to have everything that isn’t going
with me packed by Monday. I need help and I can’t get anyone to help
me. I need a voice of reason. I am going to beg her to help tonight
and hopefully I can convince, because I need to have two really
productive days this weekend. I need to get somewhere because as
stupid as this sounds feeling productive makes me motivated. I know
right how backwards is that. I feel like I’m drowning in stuff and no
matter what I do I can’t get out. I’m swimming as hard as I can, but
there isn’t visible shore in any direction. I know it’s there
somewhere I just can’t see it. Ok…that metaphor got a little awkward.
I am so… I’m not tired per say I feel like I got sucked into a gel
goopy substance and I’m stuck in this weird floating world where
nothing happens and everything is boring. I know…doesn’t that sound
like so much fun (*sarcasm*).

Now I’m back from lunch and I’m full and tired and bored. This day is
oddly busy and slow. It’s actually kind of annoying. I drink more
water in one day at work than I do in a whole week otherwise. It’s
like how I eat when I’m bored. It’s something to do. I just found
out that Governor Schwarzenegger supports gay marriage. That makes me
ridiculously happy.

I AM BORED! The phone just rang! JOY OF ALL JOYS! I had something
to do for approximately 30 seconds. We had to call the paramedics.
They just got here and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as it would have
been if this was a movie. If this was a movie there would have been
panic and screaming and such and as it was everyone was just very
calm. It’s more fun the other way. But perhaps not so good for the
paitent, although if it’s a movie there’s nothing really wrong with
him.

Orientation at Columbia College Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:59:00 +0000

I'm telling you, they should call this registration. I went thinking that I was going to get a tour and stuff like that, which though I have already had two tours I could use, but instead it was basically registration with a bunch of seminars.

When we got there in the morning, I was sent upstairs and was told to stand in a line according to the first letter of my last name. Of course my line was the longest. But it wasn't so bad standing there because there were things posted in the windows that said things like "5.5 miles to Obama's other house" and "78 yards from where Ferris started the parade" and "27 miles from where the time traveler met his wife". When I got up to the table they gave me a name tag and a blue bag and then I sent to take a picture for my Columbia ID. After that we went back to the first floor of the 1104 S. Wasbash building, which is the film building and apparently the oldest surviving skyscraper in the world (or something like that), and there was a speech. After the speech, we were split into groups and went to go do an icebreaker. I thought we were going to do one of the theatre icebreakers that I was used to, but all we did was the name game (say your name, your focus and one interesting thing about you).

After about 15 minutes we went back to the building and split up again to go to our seminars. My mom and I went to a financial aid seminar and then ended up siting through the next one, because the presenter wouldn't answer our question and the answer ended up being "click on this link". Then we went to a on-campus job seminar. The presenter there was also not very helpful, but afterwords we had an orientation leader named Caitlin chase us down the street and answer our question. She was very nice and energetic and a little more the type of person that I had expected to find.

On a side note, I discovered that I am more outgoing than most of the film majors. I think it is a direct result of my theatre experiences and friends. I never really hung out with the "film people," because there were none at my high school. I just hung out with the closest thing I could find. They were typical theatre people: outgoing and funny and creative and crazy and weird and awesome. To hang out with them you have to become like them. Not that its exactly a chore, because it all about expressing yourself. Besides all that, I was in IB Theatre (my hardest IB class) and I had to learn to get over things that were embarrassing and just do it. You can prepare all you want, but once you are onstage, you just have to go with it. Improv is key. Well at orientation, without even thinking about it, that training kicked in. I was nervous beforehand and I stressed about my outfit and what I should say, but once I was there I just went with it. I was just myself. I didn't feel scared or nervous anymore, because this was me and I couldn't do anything to change it. So, together my friends and my favorite class helped me be a more confident person.

On with the show, then we went to lunch. As I was walking to pick up my sandwich I broke my shoe. So then during lunch I had to walk 9 city blocks (7/10 of a mile) in one shoe. We went to a Payless and I wanted to just replace my shoes, so I didn't have to think about it, but they only had them in pink and I don't like pink, so I never would have worn them again. On the way back I had a small panic attack, because we had almost know time left, but caught a cab and made it back in plenty of time. Then we went off to pick our classes. First they talked about the required number of credits and types of classes and such and then they talked about film foundations which are the first year classes that all film majors are expected to take. They kept telling us that what we took was up to us and that we had to choose and be independent, but it turned out that we had four required first semester classes and so there really was no choice.

After we registered (which wasn't that hard and took some people way too long), we went to Grant Park and played Two truths and a lie. It was mildly shocking to me that there were people who didn't know what this game was. After that we picked up our Columbia IDs and were free to go.

At the end of the day it felt like a long way to go to click a couple of buttons on the computer. But I had fun and I met a girl who seems pretty nice and lives on my floor, her name is Hayley. After we were officially done, we went to the Columbia Computer Store and bought my film and Mircosoft office software, as well as an external hard drive. Then we popped into the Chicago public library and then went and had Giordano's for dinner. When I got back to my Grandparents, I crashed hardcore and ended up sleeping for more than 12 hours. All in all I'm glad I went.

Um...I have no idea what to call this.

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Ok, well…. I’m bored. I ‘m at work right now and I’m bored. That

is…annoying, because I have 8 hours and 20 minutes left of work.

Luckily though, no one has been particularly nasty yet. If I wasn’t

here I would be sleeping. Granted I am getting paid $14 an hour not

to be sleeping and I have been doing a lot of sleeping, but I like

sleeping.

I had a really weird dream last night. I dreamed that I was on an FBI

task force hunting a serial killer and so I woke up at 2:30 am and

couldn’t get back to sleep, because all I could think about was

catching this guy.

I am really thirsty, when Nancy gets back I am going to get some

water. I wish that I could work an operator, but generally they don’t

have those anymore…but can I tell you how annoying automated systems

are? You listen to all of these prompts, but none of them apply to

you and all you want is to talk to a human and that is that last

prompt on the system. I think that if a company got actual operators

then it would have a much higher customer service rating. Is there

such a thing as a customer service rating?

Nancy and I were just talking about good cop/bad cop which made me

think of Die Hard and that John McClane is the epitome of bad cop. I

really want to watch all those movies again. It’s like the 80’s were

the Golden Age for action movies. They had stars like Arnold

Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. I don’t why,

but they were just better…maybe it’s because they used physical

stunts, instead of CGI. It’s actually cooler to see a physical stunt.

I think that’s why Live Free or Die Hard stood up to the original 3,

because it was mostly physical stunts, so visually it was the same. I

think that in some ways too much CGI (as much as I love fantasy

movies) messes with the age old tradition of film. Well, technically

its not age old, because film was invented in the 1880’s, but still.

I want to create a fantasy world with as many physical stunts as

possible, because its just not as fun when you can tell they didn’t

actually do it themselves (or that it wasn’t even done by a human).

I am bored again… I now have 6 and ½ hours until I get to go home. I

just killed two hours. Well, not really killed, because I was

answering phones and typing messages and scanning Driver’s Licenses

and Insurance cards and checking patients in and such. I actually

don’t mind working, while I’m here, but I hate the idea of working, so

I get a stomach ache the day before, but once I am working, its all I

can do, there is no room for extraneous thought. Well, when the phone

is ringing at least. When it gets quiet I think too much and then

apparently I talk too much. That is why I am writing this right now.

It is an effort not to chatter. But the thing is that I love to

chatter. I talk to myself, to my computer, to my cat and dog, to

characters in books, movies and tv shows. I just like to talk. I

have thoughts and opinions about everything and I like to share them

with the people around me. Apparently people find me annoying, my mom

even cuts me off, which just makes me mad. That’s probably a

character flaw. But everyone has character flaws, so I’m not that

worried about it.

I’m starting to get nervous about college. I’m worried that I’m not

going to be creative enough. I have a lot of ideas, but I can never

seem to bring them to fruition. I have a hard time creating character

and my stories are never indie compatible. I just hope can find

someone who likes Buffy and 80’s action movies as much as I do. If I

can’t I’m afraid that I’m going to be very lonely. I could never be

completely lonely with Harry for company, but still. I also hope that

I can find someone to go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and

the Deathly Hallows, because that would be a sad event to attend by

yourself. But I am excited to be able to film things and learn about

the process and what is possible. I am a little worried about being

behind everyone else, but I guess at this point the most I can do is

jump into whatever they give me feet first. Still, I can’t help

thinking about how far behind I could be. Ok… I want to be done with

the pity party now.

Now there are 2 hours to go until I get to leave!!! Yay and I

balance, even better. I have nothing to say…I am going to go home and

watch NCIS, maybe I’ll even call Erin.

Now there are 25 minutes left in my scheduled day…I still have to wait

to see if the 5:30 is going to show and then make sure I balance and

do all the wrap up stuff, but its so close. Nancy likes Bruce Willis

too. Yay!!!! Positive vibes. What can I say that’s positive?

Um…..I"m home!!!!!! Thats positive and now I get to sleep and read Live Free or Die Hard Fanfiction.

One more thing...the formatting on this post is all weird, but I'm too lazy to fix it. Sorry!

Packing

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:48:00 +0000

Sometimes I want to just write...just babble on here, but I am afraid, because even though the only person who reads this regularly is my mom...it is public. I started a Die Hard fanfiction the other day, but I will likely never finish it. I have started packing and I never realized how much stuff I have. I mean I know that my room is at capacity, but I never actually thought about how much stuff that was. And how many boxes it takes to pack up... especially the books, because you can't put them in big boxes. I have maybe half my books a little over half in 8 or 9 boxes and I haven't started to pack all my other stuff. I mean I have a record player and over 100 movies, as well as at least 65 seasons of television and a closet full of clothes and then assorted awkward things that don't really have categories. It is quite an adventure. I'm trying really hard to only take what I can't live without, but I have always been an overpacker. I'm hoping to keep the book below 25, but that probably won't happen. I am taking all my DVDs, but I am compacting them, by putting them in a giant CD case (at least the movies). I am also trying not to take the gitchy stuff that fulls every momentarily empty space in my room. For example in plain sight from where I am sitting I can see: Uno cards, a bottle of ibuprofen, a set of dominos, quidditch Uno cards, a nativity carving, pink and orange stationary, 4 Entertainment Weekleys, a clock with no batteries, my prom shoes, my math book, an empty pack of gum, history flashcards from junior year, a greecian urn, a statue of Storm from the X-Men, a barbie doll of Storm, 8 candles, two empty water bottles, a broken watch and about a million other things. The fun part is I get to pack that all. I am going to end up with a million miscellaneous boxes. Well bye.

Disney Musicals

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:01:00 +0000

I love Disney musicals. I love the lyrics and the heart and the love in all of them. I love that they're so fun to sing along to. I think that everyone (even the boys) should watch them as children. They are such a fun, solid base for morals as you grow. It sad that they don't really make them this way anymore. I mean The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Mulan, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Aristocats, Pocahontas and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. I love them and the art is so beautiful and there is so much there that you could watch them a million times, which is good, because that's what most kids want. Disney's more recent children's efforts are awesome too, but you lose something with computer generated animation. It feels like there is less blood, sweat and tears, less of a bond between the animator and the kids at home. It is almost purer. I will be sad if there comes a time that children don't know these movies, because I found that they often connect people with huge differences that otherwise would never talk. We all wanted to be princesses and wanted a man to sing to us. There is no greater magic in the world than a four year old in her Ariel costume sitting in front of the television singing Part of Your World at the top of her lungs, unless its being able to match her word for word and off key note for off key note. People who say that there are bad messages in Disney must only look for the bad in life, because these movies are about joy and love. There is a reason that Disneyland is called the happiest place on Earth. It's because that's what this is all about. It about joy and laughter and bonding and love and fun.

Sorry for the random rant about Disney muscials. Let us not forget the live action ones like Mary Poppins. I mean Julie Andrews won an Oscar for that. That's how awesome it is. Okay now I'm really done.

IB SCORES!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:18:00 +0000

IB Scores came out today. Look at the screenshot above to see mine!! In case you were wondering about the scale & is a perfect and 4 is passing! SL stands for Standard Level and HL is Higher Level. (The picture you can see part of in the background is a screen capture from the Outsiders. Its my desktop background.) I did pretty good. Whatever anyone else says I'm proud of myself, because this was hard!!!

Let's see in English I got a D on my final oral commentary, so that grade was a little shocking. I am very proud of my theatre grade, because it was my hardest class. I did a really good job on my history Internal Assessment, but I don't feel like I knew as much as I could have during the test. Math was hard, because my teacher was not very good t commanding a classroom, so it was not easy to learn in that environment and I must have one really well on my test, because I didn't do so well on my IA. I am so proud of myself!!! :D

Huge

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:18:00 +0000

I watched the first episode of this show yesterday and I am not at all sure how I feel about it. Maybe its just that I'm lucky enough to not really have a weight issue, so I don't really understand where the characters are coming from. I do really like Nikki Blonsky though. I felt sympathy for her character not wanting to be made to hate herself, but at the same time I was worried about the characters being healthy. I didn't really care if they were skinny or anything resembling it, but I kept thinking would being healthy be so bad. I don't know this show may just not be my thing.

New phone and Computer

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:22:00 +0000

This week with the exception of a panicky hour from about 5pm to 6pm has been a good week with me and electronics. On Tuesday, I got a new phone, because the screen on my old phone stopped working. I had my mom's old motorola razor and I got a Nokia Twist 7705. Closed its dimensions are 2.7 inches x 2.7 inches x 0.59 inches, but it swivels open and has a full keyboard. I can text much easier now.
Then today I got my brand new 15 inch MacbookPro for college. In fact I am writing this blog post on it. I have not had a chance to really explore it yet and see everything it can do, but unlike the laptop I was using which was my mom's old laptop this one has working speakers. The operating system is very different, but I will figure it out. I just discovered that there is no end button, hopefully there is a command that does the same thing. I am excited to keep learn about my new gadgets. At the very least it will be an adventure and I will probably have frustrated moments along the way, but my friends who have already been converted assure me that once you go Mac you never go back, so we shall see.

Graduation Speeches

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:33:00 +0000

Aspen High School Co-valedictorian Kevin Mehall's speech:

Before I begin, I'd like to thank my grandparents who traveled from Denver and from Michigan to be here with me today. I'd like to thank my parents and brothers for always supporting and encouraging me.

At Aspen High School, we have some of the most dedicated and inspirational teachers. I would like to thank you for the impact you have made on my life.

Lastly, I'd like to thank my friends. My high school experience wouldn't have been the same without you. You're such a great group of people.

When preparing this speech, I e-mailed two of my uncles who were also valedictorians here at Aspen High School a generation ago, and asked them for ideas. Unfortunately neither had a copy of their speech, so I had to write my own.They did have some good, profound and moving advice: short, is good -- shorter is better. You can thank them later.

Fellow classmates, Congratulations.

Here we are ending a significant chapter in our lives.

We've been through a lot together. We've worked hard. We've spent sleepless nights finishing assignments ... or more often than not, chatting with friends on Facebook until realizing that an assignment (or a graduation speech) was due in 4 hours. (By the way, teachers and parents, those experiences helped us master the art of accomplishing tasks under pressure-- a skill that will become very useful later in life, I'm sure.)

We've stressed over grades, losing a lot of sanity. Those pesky, arbitrary symbols that seemed to rule our lives.... What did they get us? The chance to wear these..... fashionable gowns? Those grades that we worked so hard for-- or didn't-- are not what we'll remember. They're simply too arbitrary, too limiting,yet too important to ignore. Grades don't measure our growth or what we achieved. They don't measure our friendships, our character, or our ingenuity. Ex Ed, lunchroom conversations, and athletic endeavors had more impact onshaping who we are today.

Now, here we are, ready to open a new chapter in our lives. We are faced with endless choices. We can be bystanders-- or we can get up and do something. We have the power to make a difference in the world; we just have to choose to try.

Without people like you and me asking questions and choosing to investigate, we wouldn't have electricity, airplanes and the Internet.We'd still be sitting in the dark. We need to know when to break away from the structure and create something new.

It's not the facts you memorize that matter; it's the connections you create between the facts that make the impact. This is not something that can be measured by a test and assigned a grade.We need to take the initiative, not just follow along.To quote John Cage, "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." It's up to us to to make change where none have dared.

We'll face challenges. It won't be easy.Closed minded views sometimes make it difficult to move forward.Greed often takes precedence over what is right. Generations before ours have looked the other way while destroying our environment.It's up to us to do something.

We all leave here with unique talents and unlimited possibilities. We, the Aspen High School Class of 2010, can shape the world. We need to be unafraid to explore.

We are getting a diploma today, but we are taking with us so much more. Our hard work and our experiences have made us ready for the next step in our lives. We each get to choose what to do with it. Dare to dream.

Aspen High School Co-valedictorian Maxwell Zimet's speech:

Before I start this speech, the administration would like me to make a few announcements:

1. By popular demand, every day will be enchilada day at the cafeteria. (Mmmm… enchiladas).

2. Because there were no snow days this year, there will be only snow days next year. Anyone found at school will be given detention. (Serves you delinquents right…trying to learn).

3. As Josh Berro Appreciation Day was such a big success (Josh was really appreciated), the fourth school day in April every year will be Josh Berro Appreciation Day. (Good work this year everyone. I saw Josh get hugged a lot that day).

4. In the interest of political correctness, students will no longer learn at school, as the knowledge they acquire could cause them to do something that someone will disagree with. (Seriously, Sesame Street got rid of the cookie monster - now he's just the veggie monster. The cookie monster raised me - he's one of my role models! This is an affront to enthusiastic cookie eaters everywhere). Students will now be forced to watch “An Inconvenient Truth” through all four years of school.

5. The Supreme Court has ruled that calling Kirk, Andy, and Ian bald violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, so anyone found calling them bald (or any synonym, including shiny) will be expelled. Kraunz is still OK, as he just got a haircut.

I additionally have an announcement of my own that I forgot beforehand, so I'll just say it now: I am selling ad space in my speech to pay my way through college. I am charging $100 for a simple sentence, $200 for a compound sentence (with $100 extra for each conjunction), and $500 if you have no idea what any of that means. Just come up and whisper it in my ear, and I'll throw it in when I feel would be most inappropriate.

Now for my speech: I'd first like to clarify our class's motto - “2010: Best Year Yet” - or something like that, which I think can be incorrectly construed as us gloating. We aren't the best because we are so great - everyone before us was just terrible.

Now there should be some transition words I don't feel like adding.

Aspen High School provides what I believe is one of the best high school experiences in the world. We have a work/life balance, as opposed to students going to school in penitentiaries in New York like Stuyvesant and Horace Mann. We live in Aspen, CO, giving us athletic opportunities that others cannot even dream of. My cousin just flew in (and boy are her arms tired!). But seriously, she hasn't seen snow in four years! We have great XED trips. I tried kayaking on XED, which I probably never would have tried otherwise. It was awesome! Additionally, we have a great athletic program that the entire community takes an interest in. Nowhere else in the world are there programs comparable to those offered to students by the Aspen Institute.

Our school also offers a great edumucation, err…eat-a-cation, err… well we got most of the letters. We have ridiculously devoted and passionate teachers who take an avid interest in the intellectual growth of their students. These teachers' enthusiasm does not end when class does - the teachers are always available to discuss a cool new idea or to help a student. We have every program imaginable, including gifted and talented, special education, English as a Second Language, speech and debate, model UN, National Honor Society, and International Baccalaureate. We also have the Student Achievement Center, an amazing resource to help students to get work done. I have spent all of my available free periods for the past few years in the SAC. As well, we have modern and quality technology.

Our school is flexible - teachers and administrators bend over backwards to ensure that the needs of every student are met. Skiers' schedules allow them to miss school to pursue their athletic passions. Independent study courses are available for students to learn online or outside of school hours in order to meet their personal demands. For instance, we have concert or jazz band almost every day before school. I have taken math for the past few years on my own from resources on the MIT website.

The point of all of this is that whatever one's passions, interests, and needs are, Aspen High School provides every opportunity one could dream of to enable one's success; however, AHS also provides every opportunity to make bad decisions. It gives every student enough rope to climb up or to hang oneself. Our school's drug use far exceeds the national average, and absenteeism and cheating are problems that hinder student growth. Bad decisions are not limited to flagrantly stupid choices - they also include not utilizing our school's amazing resources. If Student Achievement sounds like a fancy new drug, you have not fully utilized our school's resources. In AHS, like in the rest of life, your choices determine your success.

People ask me why I'm smart, as if intelligence is some cool innate quality one is born with. This marginalizes the academic and removes personal responsibility from the equation. Integral calculus did not decide one day to magically waltz into my head any more than Barry Bonds found some secret to hitting home runs…Well, maybe not the best example. The point is that in learning, there is no way to cheat. What people term 'intelligence' is simply the product of years of learning for the fun of learning. As Einstein famously stated, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Learning requires the attitude that school is a job that is not always fun and easy, but from which one reaps great personal rewards. In learning, like in any other endeavor, if the effort is always fun and easy, then something is wrong. It truly astounds and disappoints me that parents and children in developing countries would give anything for education, while some students here ignore the opportunities they are presented with. Especially thanks to the availability of information through the Internet, education today is truly what one makes of it.

I remember one day when the people from Freedom from Chemical Dependency came to meet with our school. They asked why students used drugs and there was a consensus that students used drugs because they were bored. The FCD people said, “Really, because the kids in New York say the same thing.” Everyone was shocked and couldn't believe that kids in New York were bored. The FCD people said the kids from New York felt the same way about us. I remember sitting in the back of the room thinking, “I'm not bored.” From that day, I took away the realization that you are only as involved in your life as you choose to be. You are responsible for how your life plays out.

Now, even the shiniest diamond has some tiny imperfections. I'd like to make a few comments about how our school could be even better. First is XED. Kirk has been following the Ute for years now, but he has yet to catch any. Maybe we'll just get him a map. Also, Storm Chasers never made it to Oz. More seriously, our school has invested tremendous resources in its technology, so why don't we have programming classes?

Some procedural advice for students continuing their education at AHS. Take classes from Jamie and Wheatley before lunch if you want to be at the front of the line. Also, stay away from the cookies and enchiladas: anything that addictive can't be good for you.

I would like to emphasize my personal gratitude and the gratitude of the entire graduating class for everything this community has done to foster our development. It really does take a village to raise a class as special as the class of 2010. I feel fully prepared for whatever I end up doing during and after college, whether it's building a robot-mounted death ray or a satellite that can pick your nose from space. Thank you all for making Aspen such a wonderful place to grow up in. In leaving Aspen, we are all losing a wonderful home, but in doing so we are now ready to go out into the world and make a new home.

I'd like to thank our class for being so awesome. I'd like to thank Mr. P, Wheatley, Klug, and anyone else who made me sit down and write my speech. Lastly, I'd like to thank the universe, since we wouldn't be here without it. Thank you universe for providing the particles in our bodies.

I would put up the Salutatorian, Kyle Feuer's, speech but the newspaper didn't transcribe it. No fun. However if I really want to I could transcribe i, because its up on Facebook...so I might.

Terminator

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:52:00 +0000

A week ago I accidentally watched an episode Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I knew about because Brian Austin Green plays Derek Reese, the brother of Kyle Reese. I watched the first episode and then another and then another. I loved the show, but I realized that I knew none of the backstory, so I looked it up. Then, last Friday, my mom and step-dad went to Moab for the weekend and on the way home from work I got all four Terminator movies and watched them over the weekend.

Terminator came out in 1984 and was directed by James Cameron (before he was famous). I didn't really know what to expect, because I had this image of Arnold Schwarzenegger as being incredibly stupid. I became so engrossed in the movie. I liked the story, the idea that by coming back to kill Sarah Connor, the machines created the John Connor they so feared. It was a very interesting and original concept and very indicative of James Cameron's brain. I enjoyed the way that Arnold delivered his lines with no inflection. His 80's hair was funny and kind of amazing, so was Linda Hamilton's. The only things was that the score had so much synthesizer in it, it wasn't very suspenseful. However, it was very 80's. I really enjoyed the Kyle/Sarah relationship and storyline. I thought that Linda Hamilton did a good job with the narration, she has a nice voice. But overall this movie just felt like a giant setup for T-2, which is funny, because it wasn't...at all.

Okay, so this one is my favorite. It has everything: explosions, good characters, guns, a good Terminator, emotion and plot. I like the whole movie, everything from the very beginning to the very end. The version I watched was the Special Edition which is 2 hours and 35 minutes. It had a bunch of scenes that were not in the Theatrical release, a total of 18 minutes of extra scenes. I think that these scenes make the movie even better, but if I am honest, I have nothing to compare it to. I thought that Linda Hamilton did a good job of playing insanity and all the contrasting emotions that Sarah experiences in the movie. It was so real. It was not soft or easy and she didn't automatically know the right thing to do. She cursed up a storm and never used a normal word if a curse word would work. Of course, because that was how she is John Connor cursed up a storm too. The relationship between Sarah and John was interesting, because they are mother and son, but John is so much more than just Sarah's son. He is going to be a world leader. Sarah loves him and wants him to stay safe, but it is about more than what she wants. It is about the fate of the world. So, instead of just keeping John safe, she has to train him and prepare him. She has to give him the knowledge and strength he will need to fight Skynet. John Connor is played by a kid named Edward Furlong. At least, he was a kid when he did this movie. He was discovered for this part and had never acted before. He was chosen, because the casting agent thought he looked like Linda's kid. Also, shooting went on long enough that he grew several inches and his voice dropped. He had to loop the majority of his dialogue. Despite being unexperienced, he did a very good job with the emotional content of his character's life.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was interesting for many reasons. The first was that this was the only Terminator film, my best friend had seen and when she described it. I had no idea what she was talking about. The other reason is that this movie did not come from the mind of James Cameron. It was directed by Jonathan Mostow. There were only two actors in it from the original movies Arnold Schwarzenegger and Earl Boen. Also the plot was very interesting and makes the whole time travel thing, even more confusing. So, Judgement Day didn't happen when it was supposed to, but Sarah Conner died of cancer and now John is living off the grid. Then Arnold shows up again to save him from the T-X, an even more advanced Terminator. Its turns out that Judgement Day wasn't stopped it was just postponed. But here is my real issue. If they changed the date of Judgement Day wouldn't Kyle Reese come back and tell Sarah the new date and then how does that work? Am I thinking about this too much? I thought it was interesting and I liked that Arnold came back, it shows dedication to his fans and the franchise that made him famous, which sadly, so many stars seem to lack. I thought that Nick Stahl and Claire Danes did a decent job as John Conner and Kate Brewster, but I was sad that Edward Furlong wasn't recast as John (to be honest though he is a creepy looking adult).

This is by far the worst Terminator movie. I have a question what is the point of a Terminator movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is the star of the movies. It's like having Harry Potter without Harry or Gilmore Girls without Lorelai or Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vampires. It doesn't make any sense. Aside from that although the special effects were cool and they did have a CGI Arnold, I didn't like the plot. The fact that John Conner almost dies and they save by giving him machine parts was rather sad. I felt that it was necessary and makes the point that John is more the idea than the person, but it was still hard for me, because it is so important he's human. I just didn't like it although I do like Christian Bale and Sam Worthington in other things, I did not like them in this. The highlight of the movie was Helena Bonham Carter being creepy as only she can.

Linda Hamilton is a badass. She went through a complete transformation from the first movie to the second. She made muscled arms on women the epitome of cool and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female in 1992, both for Terminator 2. Her voice is featured in Terminators 3&4 uncredited. She was actually married to James Cameron from 1997-1999 and had one daughter with him and a son with a different man. It was her idea that Sarah ha gone insane. I think that she did a really good job as Sarah Conner. I can't think of anyone else who could pull off all of the emotion. I cannot explain how much I admire her as an actress.

Michael Biehn played Kyle Reese, the time traveling soldier that is sent back in time to protect Sarah and is also John Conner's father. He loves Sarah and has since John gave him a picture of her. It was interesting to see his love for her fight with his desire to keep her alive, because he often had to be very harsh with her in the process of keeping her alive. He did a good job of conveying the love in the short time he had. I thought that Linda and Michael had good chemistry and you believed that they loved each other, even if they were only together for one night.

Edward Furlong played young John Conner in the second movie and I was very impressed with him. It was his first acting job and he had to do everything from intense emotional scenes to crazy action sequences. He was just barely 13 or so when the movie was being filmed and during the course of filming he grew alot and his voice dropped. He had to loop the majority of his dialogue and yet it is still very effective and realistic. He also had some situations where the coverage was shot much later than the actual scene and he had to stand in a hole to look the same height.

Overall I really like this franchise and all of its quotable lines. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of violence with their movie and loves realationships of all kinds.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are back together!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 02:03:00 +0000

Hot for Teachers w/ Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green from Megan Fox

I think this video is funny and true, but I am more excited about the fact that Brian Austin Green adn Megan Fox are dating again. Strange things make me happy!

Spring Break Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:51:00 +0000

We got up this morning and had a complimentary breakfast at the Paris. Then mom had to get Starbucks, so we walked all over the world and finally got her coffee. After that she wanted to make sure that I saw the ceiling in the Bellagio and so we walked over there. I discovered that I much prefer the Bellagio to the Paris, because it much more classy and much less noisy.

When we arrived back at the Paris, we got our stuff together and departed just after 11am. We had a five hour drive to Jeffrey's house. My mom made me pull out the guide book and put down things that I really wanted to do. After I did that I crashed again (I think I am suffering for residual tiredness from the past month and a half). I fell asleep for a little while. When we arrived at Jeffrey's house, we sat outside for a while and talked about life. It was nice and sunny and enjoyable. I also met his cats Prince Rupert, Cujo, Pandora and The Great and Powerful Oz. They are very sweet and not allowed outside. Then we went to dinner at a restaurant in Carpenteria called Sly's. It was really good. I had steak. Then we came home and talked some more, before I left to come in here and go to bed. night night.

Spring Break Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:36:00 +0000

Today we got up really early, but it was snowing (over a foot), so we waited for it to clear up. This was good for many reasons, one being that I had gotten two hours of sleep the night before and so I was moving rather slowly (Damn you , adderall). I finished my laundry and packed. We got on the road around 11:30am. It was good fun. We listened to the radio, specifially 90's on 9 and talked a lot. My mom also made me read A Tale of Two Cities to her (my spring break English homework). It was a fun drive.

Then we arrived in Vegas. We are going to Los Angeles, but we stopped overnight in Vegas. I have only been to Vegas once before and I was very young and I didn't stay long. It was tonight that I discovered I don't like Vegas. It seemed to me to be all the bad things about Disney World with none of the good things. Plus drugs and alcohol and tons of stupidity. I don't think I have ever seen so much tacky in one place. And all the hotels that were pretending to be places in Europe are sad imitations of the real thing. We walked along the strip and I got really frustrated and I just wanted to go back the hotel. But mom wanted to keep walking and so we did and I got progressively more crabby. We came back to the hotel and are now going to bed. I am so tired.

I can't focus!!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:28:00 +0000

I am having a very hard time focusing. I have been having a time of it for a while, but now it is particularly bad. I can't focus at all. I am not focusing during class or at home on anything. I am constantly multitasking and not paying my full attention to anything. I was history trying to write about Fidel Castro and I kept thinking about Buffy it was absolutely random and frickin' annoying. I mean I was trying to focus and I couldn't remember what I was trying to write. At one point I changed subjects three times in a sentence. I haven't even been able to focus on things that I like, DVDs for example. When I am trying to watch movies, I start thinking about school and my friends and stuff and everything makes me think of fanfiction.

I don't know what to do. I need to focus, I have stuff that I need to do in the next two days and I can't focus on any of it. I think I might need to go back on Adderall. But the problem is that I hate the way I feel on adderall. I have a hard time multitasking, and I act like a caffeine junkie. I don't like, but I get stuff done and right now I am completely out of control. I need to do something. I am not going to flunk out of high school, because I can't focus. I have to start going to bed early enough, so that I can get up in time to eat breakfast. It also might help to drink more water. I feel like my brain has hit capacity and now things are spilling out of the filing cabinets where I put them.

I CAN'T FOCUS AND I NEED TO SO BADLY. I HAVE STUFF TO DO. I NEED HELP. I wish I could explain it. This is making me sound stupid and unmotivated, but to defend the only time I have been focused the last two weeks was when I was directing/at rehearsal. But I need to fix everything else, so that I can go to college, focus and graduate and then I get to direct as a profession.

BUT FIRST I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FOCUS. This is frustrating. Well, now I need to go to rehearsal.

NCIS

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:10:00 +0000

My current obsession is NCIS which stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It's a show a little like Bones. It's a forensic show, but the thing about it that I like is the characters. They are all very original and diverse people.

My favorite character is Abby. She is the goth forensic scientist, that is always happy. She is very good at her job, often finding things that others missed and is addicted to CafPow!s, a fictional caffeine drink. She has oodles of love for her coworkers, who she sees as her family.

I also like the leader of the team whose name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He seems to be a giant bastard and like he doesn't care about his team. However the truth is that he is very protective of his team, he would do anything for them. He would kill for them, just as he did for his country and his family. He has so much love and a passion for justice. He is a fantastic federal agent, but he doesn't like to follow the rules and is more likely to shoot you than to ask you questions. He is also addicted to caffeine, but he drinks sludge-like black coffee. He also builds boats by hand in his basement and was a Marine Gunnery Sargent.

Then there is Anthony DiNozzo. He is the Senior Field Agent or Gibbs' second in command. He is a movie buff and always joking. He considers himself to be a ladies' man and flirts with everything with two legs. Everything reminds him of a movie. He is often the comic relief and also, like Gibbs, has a huge passion for justice. Gibbs is his hero and whenever Gibbs isn't around Tony acts like him.

Then there is Caitlin Todd (Kate). She was a Secret Service Agent and when she resigned, Gibbs offered her a job at NCIS. She joined although she didn't know anything about investigation She had never worked a crime scene. However, she was very smart, a fast learner and a profiler. There is incredible chemistry between Tony and Kate, but she dies before anything happens between them.

Dr. Donald Mallard (Ducky) is the Medical Examiner for NCIS. He is British and is older. Ducky has been an ME for a very long time and has seen everything, so he talks about it, in great detail, constantly. He also has a tendency to talk to the deceased, but he is very capable.

Timothy McGee otherwise known as "Probie" or "McGeek," two things that Tony calls him. He is a computer geek who joins the team as a field agent in season two. He has a thing for Abby and they remain close, because they are both the geeks. McGee also is a writer and is writing books based on his time working with Gibbs and the rest of the team. He is prone to mistakes and Tony makes him do all the dirty work.

Ziva David replaces Kate in the team dynamic. She is a Mossad Officer, in fact is the daughter of the director of Mossad. She comes, because of Kate's death and ends up staying as a liason officer. She is Israeli and so has some trouble with American idioms and has some sexual tension of her own with Tony.

Jimmy Palmer is Ducky's assisstant. He actually replaces a previous assistant named Gerald. He is new to the Medical Examiner profession and is very strange. Tony calls him the autopsy gremlin. His character has a small infatuation with Abby, which often rubs McGee the wrong way.

Jenny Sheppard becomes Director of NCIS in season 3. She is a very smart woman and quite capable of handing Agent Gibbs and his crap. She often bends the rules for him. As time goes on, the audience finds that Director Sheppard was Gibbs partner a while ago and that he taught her everything she knows. They were also in a relationship and still have great fondness for one another.

Tobias Fornell is the FBI agent that NCIS works with. He is an old friend of Gibbs' and actually married Gibbs' second (read: third wife). He has a daughter of his own and is considered like Gibbs to be a bastard.

This show is very character driven, but also has the open and shut case, aspect. It is very entertaining and I recommend it. And I must be right, its the number 1 Drama on Television currently.

History and Math class

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:52:00 +0000

I sit in history and I don't want to be here. I know that education is a valuable thing, but I am done. I am no longer interested in busywork, in taking science classes and other classes that I am not interested in. I don't mind talking about history. In fact, I find Gorbachev and Reagan very interesting. I mean come on the "Evil Empire" I think Reagan might have some issues. But its all very interesting. I am spent at least a semester on the Cold War, which is not something that most high school students even get to do. The relations between Russia and the United States during that time period. We are talking about Poland and the American Catholic Polish now. We are also talking about Lech Walesa (the head of Solidarity) and his labor movement in the 80's. Its kind of interesting. I enjoy hearing about the Polish and their enclaves in America. I think it would be cool to know Polish or Swedish or something.

I am now in math. I hate math. It's not that I don't understand it, I just don't like learning it. It is very tedious and I have a hard time paying attention. The other thing is I have a tendency to learn things for the test and then forget them. With math this is a problem, because every unit builds on a previous one. My math teacher is a Latter-Day Saint and he can't get mad, so its kinda funny when we don't do what we're supposed to. He also tends to ignore us, so we do things like read and talk through this entire period. This class is so much like a stereotypical high school movie. It's like Mean Girls of something, we do nothing, or that's what it feels like. I have no focus in this class. I will go now, because we are supposed to be working on a warm up. Yay! *sarcasm*

Glee!!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:33:00 +0000

I am really into this show now. Of course I still watch Bones, Supernatural, and Smallville, but I look forward to Wednesdays, because of this show. Now I am a self-proclaimed theatre geek and so becoming a gLeek was not a big jump. I am also a huge fan of Spring Awakening, but I never got to see the original cast, so I was excited to see Lea Michelle perform.

The show is about a glee club in Ohio at William McKinley High School. There are all kinds of characters and people in the show. There is Will Schuester, the young teacher (former glee club star) in charge of the the glee club, and his psychotic wife Terry. Then there is the self-proclaimed star of Glee club Rachel Berry. The rest of the Glee club includes Kurt (the gay kid), Artie, Tina, Mercedes (DIIIVA), Quinn (former head cheerleader, now pregnant), Santana and Brittany (cheerleaders), Mike and Matt (football players), Finn (QB, Quinn's boyfriend, but not the father), Puck (the FATHER, Finn's best friend, self-proclaimed badass). There is also Emma Pillsbury, the germaphobic guidance counselor and Coach Ken Tanaka, the incredibly strange football coach. The arch rival of the Glee Club is Sue Sylvester, the coach of the "Cheerios" which is what she calls the cheerleaders. All in all a great bunch of performers and a great ensemble cast.

I really like this show and most of its characters (the exceptions being Coach Tanaka and Terry Schuester). I think the story and characters are very interesting and they do a great job of choosing the music. There is the perfect mix or popular, retro, Broadway, hip hop, and rock songs. I have been listening to my Glee playlist on repeat.

My favorite pairing is Puck/Rachel. I love it in books, television, and real-life when the "bad boy" gets tamed. Plus, I think he is the only guy on the show strong enough to stand up to Rachel. They were together for an episode, but the producers are talking about bringing the relationship back, due to fan reaction.

There is great dialogue and an interesting storyline with good twists. The way its shot, is slightly remeniscent of of a documentary and at the same time a music video. There are constantly funny moments, as well as near constant drama and some of the best voices I have heard in while. I greatly recommend the show to anyone who like music. Some of my favorite cover they have done are "Don't Rain on my Parade," "Bust a Move," "Push It," "Smile" (by Lily Allen), "Keep Me Hangin On," "Gold Digger". Sorry I was starting to list all the songs they sing, its hard to pick favorites.

I am stoked for the new episodes in April and for the possiblity of a concert tour. That is something that I think everyone would enjoy.

Watch Glee and follow the stars on twitter!!

Meet Clark Kent the Cat!

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:08:00 +0000

So, we have had mice recently in our house and we don't have mousetraps and we were going to have to buy them. This morning my mom says to me, we either need to get mousetraps or a cat. She didn't think that the shelter was open on Sundays, but its open 365 days a year. So, we drove out to the Aspen Animal Shelter and there was one kitten and someone found him yesterday in a field. He had his first sett of shots and all of his other first year shots and a microchip is paid for in the $100 dollar adoption fee. We got to play with him still at the shelter and he is playful, a real people cat. So, we took him home and named him Clark Kent. He is a sweetheart and for a little tiny cat, he's incredibly loud. Ellie is actually getting along with him very well, we haven't had a single bad incident. Its kinda crazy, because this morning when I woke up, I didn't have a cat and it wasn't even something that was on my radar. But he's so cute.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Movie)

noreply@blogger.com (Writer Girl) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:23:00 +0000

I am a huge fan of this franchise or series or whatever. I love it and I see these people as more my friends than fictional characters. I am a ware that makes me a creep, but I can live with that. These movies are very important to me and I know that sounds strange, but they are, because I want people to be able to get the same joy that I get out of these characters.

I went into this movie very invested in its being good and I came out realizing that is was a very hard movie to make. A lot of difficult things happen in the sixth installment of Harry Potter and almost all of the plot points are related to the more depressing parts of the story. In the book there is much more happiness and frivolity, but in order to shorten it down into a movie, a lot of that had to be taken out. I think that is the really stem of all the problems that arise with the making of Harry Potter movies. In the books, J.K. Rowling is able to delve into each character's story and you get to know everyone, but in the movies in most cases they just have the most popular characters basically do a walk-through. I understand that this is the best that they can do, because there is not enough time, but I think it jobs the audience of the smaller characters.

Overall, I thought that they did a very good job on this film, but with **Spoiler Alert** Dumbledore's death and Snape's betrayal, **Spoiler Alert** I was glad that I had read the last book. Otherwise, I would have walked out of that theater livid.I think they did a pretty good job getting the message and the main events of this installment onto the screen. I thought the scene with Ron and love potion was particularly funny and I really felt the emotion when Hermione was upset about Ron. The only real problems I had were the amount of silent spell casting and the fact that they completely and totally changed THE kiss, it was much better in the book. But I would very much like to compliment the cast and crew on a job well done.

One more thing, I think that everyone should at least attempt to read these books, because at the very least, it will enrich your movie going experience.