NEVER Again

Black Friday.

It started out with a late night trip to the store to get a movie and video game my brother desperately wants for Christmas and some tights for one of my sisters (I won't say if any of these were actually found, as that would ruin the Christmas surprise for them.)

So that took an hour or two going to a couple of different stores to ensure all the bases were covered.  Then it was back to the good old house to say goodnight.

Except we just decided to just stay up...I mean, it was already almost 2:30, so why not just stay up chatting until 4:00 or so, then hit some of the 5:00 sales?

Bad idea.  Longest lines EVER, and there wasn't anything that was a super great deal, sure, I got a pair of pants and a shirt, but really?  Not worth it, let's be honest.

Also, did you know that McDonald's only serves breakfast at 4:00 am?  Madness.

Overall, Black Friday was an interesting experience, and probably something you have to do at least once in your life just to say you did, and to know what all the crazy people are doing every year the day after Thanksgiving.

It just wasn't worth staying up all night long (I might do it sometime again in the future, who knows, but I learned a lot from this time--don't stay up all night, don't go to a store you've never been to before, don't go to the late and early sales...you get the idea.)

The things we do for a good deal...

Adorable

Recently, I've been spending a lot of time in the library.  A lot of time.  Yesterday alone I spent 6 hours, and today I'm entering my 5th hour as I compose this.

Naturally, music is a requirement of the lonely hours of studying dry texts that are the woe of every college student.  (Okay, so some of the textbooks are interesting, but I have one or two that put me to sleep without fail.)

Yesterday, one of my roommates and I were at the library together for the long hours, and she discovered a new song that she shared with me that I love.  It's Here Come Those Eyes by Chris Rice.

Basically, it's the most adorable song I've heard in a long time.  It has sweet lyrics and I have to love the music as well.  (Seriously, go listen to it.)

Here Come Those Eyes is just so adorable.  It's kind of the ideal of how a guy should think about a girl he adores.  I just love it.  (My roommate was the one to say it had adorable lyrics first, which led me to actually pay attention to them.)

I could have a new favorite-list song.  Oh, it just came on (after Lucky, the other most adorable song in the world) and it's still just as adorable.

Procrastination is a SIN

There are some weeks when you just don't feel like doing any homework and for some reason can't concentrate on ANYTHING you try to get done.  That is, you can't concentrate until a roommate or two ask you to go to the library and study late one evening.

Then everything gets done that needs to be done tonight, and there is a feeling of accomplishment lingering in the air that hasn't been there for a week or more.  Confidence restored, you continue on and feel the assurance that, yes, you can finish college and not fail and everything will be all right.

Writing your own obituary for a class also puts into perspective what your priorities should be when you list "procrastination" as the cause of death and realize that, if you really did die soon, that would indeed be the reason.

Homework continues on when the college student feels close to death.  Stay on top of it and there may be a chance for survival. You're halfway to the light at the end of the semester tunnel. So...KEEP GOING AND DON'T PROCRASTINATE.  EVER.

If only I would take my own advice.  Life would be so much simpler.  *sigh*  Someday I hope I get a clue.  Like tomorrow would be nice.

Ode to Chips

Oh chips, how you tempt me,
how your junk-foody goodness
tantalizes my tastebuds
and causes my stomach to growl
whether it be Pringles
or Lays
or a good old tortilla
chips are my weakness
on this long September day.

This post was inspired by Hanna: I don't want to be on Broadway, I just want to stay home and eat chips.

100

This post marks #100.  That's kind of weird to me, but oh well, that's what's up.

Lately I've been listening to some new music, some suggested and some found whilst looking for a good rendition of You Are My Sunshine to listen to.  

My two favorites right now are Sara Gazarek, who has a great version of You Are My Sunshine as an interesting Blackbird/Bye Bye Blackbird combination, which I also love, along with a bunch of other great songs, but those are the two I just listened to and thus they come readily to mind.  

My other favorite was recommended by my friend who probably has the best taste in music out of anyone in the world.  She recommended that I check out April Smith and the Great Picture Show, specifically the album Songs for a Sinking Ship.  I love every song I've heard, but I particularly love Movie Loves a Screen and I absolutely love love Colors.  

So listen to some great music, check out a few new artists, and if you haven't heard Sara Gazarek or April Smith, go listen now!  You'll wonder how you ever lived before.  (Or maybe you'll just roll your eyes and think I'm nuts, which is also valid).

Don't forget to laugh sometimes, too, along with listening to some good music.  Laughter is the best.

Responsibly Riley

As some of you may know, I am the best procrastinator you'll ever know.  (I refer to my exceptional procrastination abilities in the world of academics, mostly).  I procrastinate all the time, even though I know from MANY experiences that it's a bad idea.  (Staying up until 3 am finishing AP Bio homework Sophomore year, spending hours daily for a month studying for AP American to pass the test, leaving math homework to the last possible second--AKA 2 minutes before the bell rang for class--the list could go on and on, to my utter embarrassment).

Well, it seems that I have turned over a new leaf AT LAST.  I have spent the weekend and this lovely Monday studying for a couple hours a day and getting the homework and textbook reading under control.  Today, I have come to the point that, without staying up late (I got 8 full hours of sleep last night) and without skipping out on activities (I went to 3 social events over the weekend and watched a movie with my roommates) I am a full chapter ahead in 3 of my textbooks (with the longest chapters) than the class discussions.

Maybe it's silly, maybe it's a little (or a lot) retarded that it's taken me, oh, 18 years to get to this point of maturity and responsibility, but I am so proud of myself that I've gotten here.  I intend to keep up the habit of not procrastinating and conquer the rest of my personal flaws as I can.

In other, slightly related, news, I am also working on conquering all my irrational fears.  These include, but are not limited to:

• Driving through the canyon alone in the dark (it has been a major fear for years, and I actually had to do it last weekend to get home, but I'm still afraid of it)
• Donating blood (I hate shots, I hate IVs, and the idea of willingly submitting myself to the withdrawal of blood is terrifying, but I know that it benefits the world at large and I should do it.  Still terrified)

There could be more to come on the irrational fears.  Maybe someday I'll completely get over my fear of the dark (but as long as my roommate tells me scary stories and I watch Criminal Minds, The X-Files, and The Twilight Zone, I don't think that will happen.

Sunshine

Let me tell you a story.  It starts when I was about nine or ten years old.  I went with my best friend's family to Yellowstone National  Park, and while we were there we went to a ranger talk one night.  The park ranger, a lovely older man, said that if the group that came to the talk sang You Are My Sunshine and Mr. Sun liked it, then it would be a wonderfully beautiful day the next day.  Along with the other travelers in the park that evening, I sang the song (and the youngest in my friend's family learned it for the first time and has sung it sweetly ever after) and pleased Mr. Sun.

Moving along in the story, there was a day a few years later when all the girls in the four closest families in the world sang You Are My Sunshine and harmonized gorgeously on the night of July 4th whilst watching their brothers light off countless fireworks.  That memory still is mesmerizing and completely beautiful to me.

Subsequently, the little girl who first learned You Are My Sunshine from a ranger in Yellowstone sang that song every year when those four families met.  This year when all of our families got together for our annual party, she sang it once again, and the rest of us joined in a second time through.  The moment was golden--all my memories of that song compounded into a few shining seconds of song, then it ended again.

Sunshine is magical.  It makes everything better and brighter (literally and figuratively).  I love sunshine.  You Are My Sunshine.

It's defs defs ofish fish

Today was my first official day of college.  My classes are interesting (so far) and I like my professors, and I hope that's a good sign.  I got my student ID card on Wednesday, which also makes my college attendance very "ofish fish".

Living on my own has been kind of weird.  I have ten girls living in my apartment, so I am not entirely by my lonesome, but it's still kind of weird not to have anyone telling me I should go to bed soon or that I should think about making dinner.  It's all down to me and what I feel like doing.  Which is kind of a big change after 18 years of living with parents and siblings and all that.

I'm definitely and officially a matriculated student in college, living away from home and having new adventures.

(Thank you to Hayden for the "defs defs ofish fish".  I will never forget that.)

Official Fish

My Car Got Hijacked

Once upon a time...

On Saturday morning I got up and got ready and moved my last minute things around from one car to the other, then climbed into the Explorer that was packed with all my college stuff and drove off, with my parents following behind in the Elantra, to college. 

About 2 miles down the freeway, the Explorer started making some very weird noises.  I turned off the radio, and when I didn't hear more, I chalked it up to imagination.  A couple more miles down the road, it started making even worse noises and the steering wheel started shaking.  I pulled off at the next exit and met my parents so they could see what was up or if it was just me. 

It wasn't just me.  Not a minute down the road in the city and the car was doing the worst yet.  My mom called my dad and told him we were taking the car to the mechanic and sent him home to get the van so we could move everything from the Explorer to the van. 

Long story short, the left rear wheel of the Explorer almost fell off by the time we got to the mechanic (and tires really do fall off while you're driving, it's one of my worst fears), all that held it together was a prayer and careful driving on the part of my mother. 

I watched as the mechanics put the car I was supposed to take to school up on the lift and "hijacked" it, with all the supplies for my college experience inside. 

Needless to say, I arrived at school almost 2 hours later than intended.  But no one died, so it's all good.  I just don't have a car.  (Not the end of the world, but still inconvenient). 

The end.

t-2 weeks-ish

Once in a while, you have a day when you make a whole bunch of realizations, like this:

• your car is fixed up and ready for road trips to college
• there are two weeks until D-day...or the day you leave to move into your apartment
• you wish your textbook list was shorter.  Or free.
• you just applied for 7 jobs on campus
• this is all becoming far too real far too quickly
• people are going to expect you to be an adult

That's when you end up like this:

(you're the one laying on the table)

But, just think, eventually that won't be you, this will be you:

(and, yes, you will turn into a bear.  No reason why, you just will)

So chin up, look on the bright side, put your best foot forward, and try to act like you're 18 and not 5.

"The future is so great,

and life is so bright,

and the sun is up everyday."

Good Things

There are a lot of good things in life, like chocolate and malts and ice cream and funny pictures and un-awkward pictures and glasses of cold lemonade.  Today, I found something that is truly wonderful.  A skirt.  With pockets.  Despite any shortcoming this skirt may ever seem to have, it rises to the occasion because it has wonderful pockets.  (It's like my friend Natalie's dress that's shiny and silver and oh so wonderful that has pockets.  There's even a dance we do for pockets in skirts and dresses.)  Pockets are fabulous, in case you care.

Air Conditioning and Tires

Oh, and in case that's just not quite enough, let's throw some brakes in there, too.

So my car's air conditioning went out over a year ago.  Now, finally, I'm getting it fixed.  I drove it to the mechanic and told them what was wrong with the car and they said they'd let me know when they had an estimate.  So fast forward to The First Phone Call.  Turns out, the air conditioning is totally dead and normally the issue that it has kills the steering as well as the air conditioning and the heating.  So that takes a bit of cash to fix.  Then I also need 2 new tires.  Okay, take care of that, too, a little more cash.  That's all, so I hang up, satisfied that the total is less than what I Prepared For.  I will receive a phone call when it's all fixed up.

Fast forward a few more hours, and it's The Second Phone Call.  When they were changing the tires they discovered that the brakes also need replacing.  More money, which tips me over what I was Prepared For.  But it will all be worth it in the end...right?  Just a little bit of a big total to swallow.  I need a big glass of milk to wash that down.

*Update: Let's throw in the other broken part of the A/C, too.  Ouch.  But it's okay, or it will be.  I can survive.

Sometimes I Worry

I know perfectly well that worrying about things doesn't make them any better.  I really do, so why is it that I find it so hard to stop worrying about those things I care most about?  Oh, right, because I care about them.  It's not hard to stop worrying about when I'll be able to see a new movie or catch the latest episode of Criminal Minds, it's not hard to stop worrying about when I'll be able to finish reading Harry Potter for the 12th time, it's not hard to stop worrying about most things (during school I don't find it very difficult to stop worrying about homework...that's probably something I should worry about a little more).  But when it comes to people, especially my friends and family, I find it particularly hard not to worry about them.  No matter how many times I tell myself that worrying is going to do no good, so set aside thoughts of concern for just five minutes and be happy, I keep worrying and worrying.  Sometimes I worry that I worry too much and that comes across to other people as being too clingy or needy.  Somehow that doesn't seem very productive, worrying about worrying...oh dear.

When you have a bad day

Sometimes you have a really really really bad day.  If it starts with a plan that fails, it's not looking like the best day.  If it continues to go downhill by segueing into two hours of crying for I guess a good reason, but you know logically it is irrational to think that crying will make it any better, then it's a worse day.  The solution to these problems begin as all solutions should begin, with chocolate. I ate my whole candy stash of dark chocolate and it made me feel a little better. 

The next thing it's nice to have in this situation is a glass of milk, a loving little sister, and corn on the cob.  

Finish off your day with a giant marshmallow war, a fire, and a long phone conversation with your best friend, happy news and good vibes over text from another best friend, and you will feel better than you did in the morning, even if you did cry more. 

Life isn't so bad.  Sometimes you just need to talk it out, eat chocolate until you're sick and try and embrace zen.  But if you can't embrace zen, then scream into a pillow and hope things get better tomorrow.  Chocolate, friends, and family can make even the most un-zen day better.  Life is lots better now.  I can make it through.

Joe Brooks

I'm loving this guy.  Great songs, great sound.  His music is reminiscent of all my favorites, especially Jack and Jason.  Jack, Jason, and now Joe.  I'm into the J's.

I never loved Mary Poppins

I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever actually seen Mary Poppins all the way through.  It's never made my top ten list.  I find some of the songs annoying because when they get stuck in your head, the REALLY get stuck in your head.

However, I do enjoy some of it, and I enjoy the character of Bert even more than ever before because of my recent trip to DISNEYLAND (in case you forgot how excited I was).

See, I have this friend who really likes Bert...and I, being the devious, mischievous person I am, kind of forced this friend to get her picture taken with Bert in Disneyland, despite her desire not to.  Call me evil, I enjoyed snapping the picture.  Bert also became the center of another extremely amusing situation involving Dick Van Dyke's name being confused with the character's name. Maybe you had to be there, but I still burst into fits of giggles when I think of the line for Space Mountain last week when this event occurred.  I'm like a 5 year old, no worries.

I would like it to be noted that this is a picture of THE Bert in Disneyland last week.
Be impressed with my Googling skills.

Of course Dick Van Dyke must be represented as well as the other Bert we met.

Seasons of LOVE

SPRING:



Twitterpated



SUMMER:



Summer Lovin'



FALL:



Fallin' in Love





















WINTER:




Happy in the Holidays






















Yes.  I am aware this is stupid.  But I was bored...and I came up with the "seasons" as a sophomore, therefore I can't be judged as harshly for their silliness...right?  Nope, I'm just a dork and a half.

Summer

There are five school days until the summer begins!  I could be more excited for summer this year than I ever have been before.  (When I started writing this, not kidding, Walking on Sunshine came on the radio in painting class).  I can't wait for the sunshine and fun-filled days and exciting vacations, like Disneyland, and just everything fabulous that happens in the summertime, like my birthday and adventures and sleeping outside on trampolines and partying...like it's 2012, because, well, it is. 

Laughter

Maybe I laugh too much, maybe I laugh too loud, maybe I am just too full of laughter...but, let's be honest.  Laughter is fun.  We've all had those moments when you laugh so hard your tummy hurts (right?).  Once, I laughed for two straight hours with three of my friends and I tried to sit up in the morning, but DANG did my abs kill.  Which brings me to my next point about laughter--it's healthy, I think.  Endorphins and all that aside, it gives you a workout (trust me).  The other day, I lost it in my third period class for an hour and was laughing so hard I was crying and there was nothing funny.  Except that I was laughing hysterically for no reason.  I love laughter!

Live, Laugh, Love

Happy Eyes

I see
the sparkle
sometimes

Bright
inviting
light

Twinkle
twinkle
little star

The lovely
shining
sparkling
sight

It's Okay For Guys To Cry

There are those who would beg do disagree with me over the statement I've just made, that it is okay for guys to cry.  Here are a few of my reasons for believing that it is, indeed, just fine for guys to cry (I didn't say it's okay for guys to be wet messes all the time) and not unattractive.

1. Everyone has emotions--honestly, it shows that the guy isn't afraid to be exactly what he is, it shows confidence and character for owning up to feelings.
2. Crying is the only way to handle some emotions--heartbreak, the loss of a dream, the death of a loved one, all of these require some form of emotional release, and I would much rather it be through tears than violence or silent fury.
3. It gives you an excuse to hug them--call me what you'd like, I love hugging, and any excuse to hug a guy is a good one.

Something that fills my soul with joy

Recently, I became a member of Pottermore.  For all the true Harry Potter fans out there, the ones who have read the books multiple times and appreciate the movies for their contributions to the vision (though the books always win out), this is a must.  I have had so much fun with the extra information I have discovered, the back stories and things.  It just makes me so very happy.  HARRY POTTER FOREVER!!!

Disneyland

Need I say more? No.

Best of the Best Days

Today was pretty great.

• I almost finished my dress I'm making in my clothing class, which is kind of a relief.
• I painted a picture of a pink cupcake while listening to JACK JOHNSON, who is basically the bomb.
• While still listening to Jack Johnson, I received intelligence from a reliable source that there was a possibility that I could celebrate 18 glorious years in the happiest place on earth...AKA DISNEYLAND!!!
• We got a new seating chart in 3rd period, which puts me next to 3 of the grooviest kids in the class.
• DISNEYLAND!!! ( I can't say it enough)
• I went to lunch with a great friend and ran into a bunch of other great friends (semi-awkwardly, but that's the way I roll).
• I received intelligence this evening that indeed, I can go to DISNEYLAND over my 18th birthday.  HOORAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I'm like a five-year-old let loose in a candy store. Or Hermione Granger in a bookshop.  Ridiculously excited and I just can't wipe the smile off my face.

Musica Fantastica:

• Anything Jack Johnson

Boy Bands

I kind of dig boy bands.  Yes, they are so 90s.  But that doesn't change the fact that I have a special place in my heart for them.  So...here's to boy bands.  Backstreet Boys, Hanson, 'NSYNC, and the new One Direction.  I kind of love them.

Musica Fantastica:

• Bye Bye Bye by 'NSYNC
• Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart) by the Backstreet Boys
• What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction

Sometimes I just need to listen to a song by a boy band.

Evangeline

Princess and the Frog is basically my favorite movie.  The song Ray sings about Evangeline is probably the cutest thing ever...I love it.

Musica Fantastica:

Ma Belle Evangeline from Princess and the Frog (obviously!)

Winkums: the most brutal game you'll ever play

Last night, at one of my friend's birthday parties, we played this game, "winkums".  (I don't know if that's the preferred spelling or not).  Basically, you try to escape from the boys and they try to stop you by any means of tackling possible, or you try and stop them from escaping from you using similar tactics.  It's brutal, it's hilarious, it's awesomely fun, it left bruises--several of them--and sore muscles.  But, oh, it was so worth it.  Never have I seen so many attempts at escape go so horribly and hilariously wrong.  (Let it be remembered here that Tyz is a beast at this game, and also that Kelsey and Landon have the best winks).

Musica Fantastica:

• Chairlift-Bruises by Kypski and Lah--this song seems appropriate based on the bruised state of my torso and calves.  
• A Wink and A Smile by Harry Connick Jr--the game begins with winking, so I feel this is also appropriate.  

Sometimes you just have one of those days.

Once upon a time there was a great day.  It started out around ten o'clock in the morning and ended at two o'clock the next.  It was great because:

• there was a great friendship that was grown
• there were fabulous shoes involved
• there was delicious (and I mean DELICIOUS) food
• a hot pink dress was a large component
• there were fun pictures
• lots of laughter
• fortune cookies and Dove chocolate "fortunes" that fit each moment perfectly
• great dancers, silly dancers, and awesome slow dancers

Life is looking pretty good.

I packed your angry eyes, just in case.

The End.

Heavenly

"The man in the moon is smiling,
'cause he's in love,
the man in the moon is smiling
'cause he's in love with the girl in the world."
                           --Heavenly by Harry Connick Jr

I Realized I Write Too Many Words

Words can be overwhelming in great quantities.  So to switch things up, this is all pictures from here on today:

And that last one is so perfect I'll just leave things there for tonight.  (A very February-ish/Valentine's sentiment, no?)

That Wonderful Moment

This is that moment I've been waiting for, that wonderful moment of relief that flows over me when I finish my scholarship application.  It is sweet glory.  Plus, I ate the Reese's I've been craving all day long.

10 Things

1. I want to be Tour Guide Barbie when I go to college.
2. I love my friends...like, a lot.
3. Chocolate can solve any problem and be turned into any analogy.
4. Although sometimes things may seem to big to tackle, there is always a light (though it may be faint) at the end of the tunnel.
5. All you need is love...I'm feeling the Beatles at the moment.
6. Michael Jackson dance parties can be necessary, not just wanted.
7. Pink, it turns out, is a pretty okay color.
8. Life will be so much simpler next week.
9. Is it weird that we're all growing up?  Kind of.
10. This list has been one of the most random I've ever written.

I'm Going to Commit a Technocide

Technocide means "the destruction of technology".

I am going to commit a technocide against the race of computers because they won't do the things I need them to when I'm making a scholarship application thingy.  (I worked on a stupid picture page thing for almost two hours).  Now we're reverting to the good old arts-and-crafts way of doing things: glue and paper and real scissors instead of copy-and-paste functions on the machines which I will be committing a technocide against.

It's been real, it hasn't been fun.  But thanks anyway, Computer.

Why You Should Read

Reading a book is a good thing on so many levels I can't even scratch the surface here, but the following is a list of reasons why I think reading is grand:

1. Escape.  If you say you've never had a bad day, you're definitely lying.  The great thing about books is that you can escape from your problems or sadness or whatever (for a while at least) by jumping into a fictitious world (whether it be real NYC or imaginary Hogwarts) and focusing on characters that do not exist in your real life.  Upon reentering the real world, I often find that the problems are a little easier to deal with because you haven't been dwelling on them as much.
2. Entertainment.  What did we have before movies or radio or computers?  Books.  What do we do with books?  Read them for their entertainment value like one would watch a movie.  Quite often, a book is WAY better than any movie, so maybe pick up a novel next time instead of the remote, it could be a grand experience.  (I'm not condemning movies, I like them as much as the next girl, but books are just as good!)
3. Learning.  I learn random facts all the time from books (or magazines or newspapers or any other printed material), and I learn not-so-random facts, too.  Important things are usually recorded in a book somewhere, and so much knowledge can be discovered between the front and back covers of a book that it would be a shame not to read what is available for the gain of any sort of knowledge.
4. To Sound Intelligent.  Sometimes, you just NEED something smart to say at dinner, whether it be a routine family dinner or an exciting dinner date with that guy you've wanted to go out with forever, there are just times when the moment just screams "intelligent fact or conversation necessary RIGHT NOW" and in such a case, if you have read a book...you can share a fact or start an intelligent conversation without feeling awkward that you can't think of something intelligent to say.

Musica Fantastica:

• Anything Jack Johnson.  I've been listening to quite a bit of JackieJ this week (painting class, cooking, cutting up an avocado...) and it just brings joy to the soul.

Some More Great Music

I've been feeling rock and roll and country lately, not a lot of "new" stuff, so here are some of my favorites recently:

• Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean
• Walk Me Down The Middle by The Band Perry
• All Your Life by The Band Perry
• Ours by Taylor Swift
• I Heart ? by Taylor Swift
• Come Sail Away by Styx

Good music should always be enjoyed.  And not-so-good music should also be enjoyed on occasion (on such occasions I indulge in my "My Brain is Fried" playlist, which has, among other things, Superstar by Toybox, Tarzan and Jane by Toybox, and U.G.L.Y. by Daphne and Celeste.  If your brain is fried, try them, they're pretty fabulous).

Editor in Chief

Once upon a time I considered being an editor, like a book editor, as a real-life job.  Then, I decided that maybe editing wasn't for me and I would probably like something that was more human-interactive.  However, in a twist of fate, I think editing could be back on the menu.  My older sister sends me all her college papers to edit (she's done it three or four times) and then her friend asked if I would edit her personal statement letter for grad school, and so I did that.  At school when we were doing senior project papers I edited a couple of them for people, and one of my friends told people that I'm a good editor (the pressure's on!) and so now I'm editing another paper for a scholarship application.  This is kind of terrifying, because I really can't screw up or I screw someone else up.  Read up on comma usage and other punctuation again, review what I know about sentence and paragraph structure, hope that I don't mess up!  Maybe I'd like to be an editor.  Maybe not. This is a thinker.

3 Ways You Know Life's Great

Life can be good always, but sometimes it's just better than others, and some of the events of today have added some extra silver linings I just didn't see before.  Here are 3 of those linings:

1. You get to fulfill a childhood dream.  (In my case this consisted of pulling all the tissues out of a tissue box as fast as I possibly could...because I was supposed to!)

2. One of your dearest friends tells you some of the greatest news you've heard in a while and you just are filled with joy.

3. You realize how to make your class schedule fit every aspect of your Best Class Schedule Requirements list (just a few of these requirements are good friends, good class, good teacher) using just a few quick and easy steps.

So...live life to its fullest, look for those extra silver linings, be extra-optimistic (or even slightly optimistic, I've been in the wasteland of despair for a while), and love every day!  As I once said at age 3, "The future is so great, and life is so bright, and the sun is up every day."  From the mouth of babes, friends, even if I'm taking my own advice.

I Realized Today Why I Don't Enjoy Twilight

As I was sitting in my film history class watching a thing about editing, I had this realization: Twilight doesn't make for terribly good reading or watching material because it has no interesting pacing.  Seriously, think about it--basically every scene in the movies has the same pace, there's some epic realization about something or they're talking about being in love or someone's fighting, but it doesn't get really sweet or super intense or just whacked out crazy--it all operates at the same level of emotion.

The same thing happens throughout most of the chapters in the books, and in those spare moments when it switches things up a bit (like in Twilight when Edward saves Bella from being crushed by a car) it only lasts for about two pages.  The action speeds up or gets entertaining, then it goes back to Bella's mind that doesn't do much in the way of creating interesting events except those of her mackin' it with Edward which you can only take for so many pages--when you've heard about his perfect kisses and perfect body and perfect face and beautiful-but-oh-so-tortured eyes once you've basically heard all there is to hear about it for the rest of the series.

Twilight just isn't my cup of tea, I prefer a little more action, a little more intrigue (beyond gossiping high schoolers), a blend of different styles of pacing.  I think I would prefer a highly interesting film about a war with a little romance on the side than a straight-up romance where that's the brunt of every issue on almost any day.

Oh, also, Bella has it way easy in high school and everything ends up working out perfectly for her despite the fact that she doesn't apply for college or scholarships or anything.  What do we learn from this? If you marry rich it doesn't matter.  Not really a life lesson that will teach a great work ethic or anything like that.