Poems, Poems, Poems

1. I think I should have loved you presently- by Edna St. Vincent Millay
2. If I had known- by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
3. Reluctance- by Robert Frost
4. Jean Rhys- by Ellen Kennedy
5. Summer Solstice- by Stacie Cassarino*
6. "No, I was not meant to love and be loved"-by Mizra Asadullah Khan Ghalib
These poems have no specific chronological order. Summer Solstice (by Stacie Cassarino) is the poem I'd like to make a video over. Reluctance (by Robert Frost) is my second choice for a video poem. All of the poems I chose are under the same general topic of: the heartache that follows love.

Need help decided who to vote on?

I'm blogging now to sway your minds into voting for exceptional bloggers. Some to consider are: Tales of a Bibliophile and Alice in Happy High. They're both great blogs you should take a look at!

Pisces, anyone?

I'm a Pisces, and I love love love reading my daily horoscope! Whenever I think of it, I have to check. My daily horoscope for today is: You’re still brimming over with good energy — splurge on yourself a little! You deserve something sweet after doing so much for so many people, and now is the time to improve your own situation. I spent yesterday with my brother's girlfriend. We went to see him at a sporting event and we had a blast! My brother doesn't like the idea of Katy and I bonding. I personally see no problem with it. If anything, it's a good thing.. Right?
Until Next Time, GLG.

The Truth About Forever, pg. 1-30

I've read this book before. In middle school sometime. I picked it up and decided to start reading again. I forgot how much I liked it. I feel like I'm reading it for the first time. Sarah Dessen has this way of really tying you into her books. It's hard to stop reading them. Anyways, I'll get on with the review now. The main character is Macy Queen and the book starts with her saying goodbye to her boyfriend, Jason. Jason is going to "Brain Camp"... Maybe that sounds fun to someone else, but not to me. I'd rather not go to a camp that required me to do school-related activities in the summer. However, Jason is Mr. Perfect so this camp is what he wants to do. Macy met Jason in english class when they were put into a group to do an assignment over Macbeth. I read that book. I actually enjoyed it (and understood it). Macy didn't understand it, which is how she got to know Jason. So now, Jason is going off to "Brain Camp" and Macy is alone, again. Macy's dad died, and she witnessed it. She was devastated because of it, it affected her more than it did her sister. It was her sister though, that was overly emotional about it. Her sister, Caroline got all the attention. Somehow Macy felt like it'd be overrated if she were to cry, so she kept to herself after her father's death. Macy talks about The Face. The Face is the face she gets that says"oh my goodness, you poor thing". Another thing Macy mentions is that her family still gets things from EZ Products in the mail. Her dad was obsessed with little gadgets that help simplify your life. Macy enjoys getting EZ Products in the mail because she feels like her dad's trying to send her a message. She keeps everything from EZ Products in her closet so she can remember her dad. Macy's mom, Deborah Queen of Queen Homes, is a real estate agent and she was holding an open house. Macy was put in charge of the catering. Well, making sure the catering was being done as planned. Macy mentions her new job at the library. It was Jason's, but she's taking over for him while he's away at "Brain Camp". Anyways, while she's assigned to check on the catering, Macy goes outside. That's when the fun starts. She meets Bert and Wes. They're a part of the cartering business that's catering the Queen's model open house. Macy also meets Monica, Delia, and little Lucy. Somehow, Macy gets caught up in helping them cater at her own mother's open house. That's pretty much the start of the entire novel in a small nutshell. I'll be back later with more. Until next time, GLG.

Need home decor ideas?

The vintage photographs of Jamie and Anthony's vintage apartment convey the vivacious couple's love for antiques. Their crammed Boston apartment is filled with antique trinkets. The bygone and antiquated style of simply their restroom implies that both Jamie and Anthony share an unconditional passion for the arts. The pale colors on a mojority of the walls are completely covered with picture frames and venerable mirrors. However, Jamie and Anthony's desolate bedroom walls express their need equate their inner victorian style with a more neutral approach to art.

What's in your future?

There was an article in the New York Times Magazine website that asked seniors in high school where they'd find themselves ten years from now. Most unrealistic: Some of the people, I must say, have dreams that aren't too realistic. For instance, the girl named Shauna Casale who wants to be an actress. Personally, I think anyone can read a monologue and sound ok. Better than she did anyway. The monologue was average. A tad monotone (wink, wink) in my mind. That was probably the most unrealistic future I saw from the entire article. Funniest: Andrew Benedict-Philipp was the funniest one I listened to! He's currently undecided (which probably isn't a good thing... considering he's a senior in high school and all). His interview was short and sweet and left me with a little giggle. The second funniest definitely had to be Salome Zakora with Jeremy Land not too far behind. Salome, the marijuana baker, and Jeremy, the E.M.T., would be good friends I think. They'd get along just fine. The Most "Say WHAT?!": Raquel Reynolds... She's apparently insecure about herself. Not sure how that could be possible, considering she's very pretty. Raquel is my middle name! Anyways, Raquel said she wants to be a hair/makeup artist for photo shoots and different productions. My teacher even joked about how she looks like she's already taking up the occupation of being a stylist. What I see in my future, ten years from now: Well, I'd like to be a teacher. That's my biggest goal for 10 years from now. A family would be nice, but I guess I could live with being a single elemtary school teacher for awhile. I'm hoping I'll be able to get a job... My biggest worry is having to be jobless for a long time. I'm sure my parents would support me, but it'd be reassuring knowing I'd be able to live on my own without aid from my parents. Until next time, GLG.

Picture Books!

There's a timeline of picture books here on this site: http://www.picturingbooks.com/picture-book-timeline.html ! The first book I recognized being mentioned was The Tale of Peter Rabbit which was written by Beatrix Potter and published in 1902. The sad thing about this is that the timeline started with the year of 1658. I'd never even heard of the picture books that were published prior to The Tale of Peter Rabbit. This book though, used to be my favorite book only because I liked the actual book... I've never read it or had it read to me for that matter. I would carry the book around because I liked the bunny on the front cover. I still have the book. Seeing it in this picture book timeline makes me want to go home and read it. Maybe make some nostalgic adolescent memories. That sounds fun!
The next book I recognized was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was written by Lewis Carroll and published in the same year that The Tale of Peter Rabbit was. The original "Alice" picture book was illustrated by John Tenniel. I've read this one. I've even seen both movies. The original cartoon version and the movie that was released recently in 2010. I must say, I liked the cartoon movie more because the new one was a tad-bit scary. The characters were so real...
I know of the Madeline books but once again, I've never read them. I've seen some of the cartoon Madeline shows but as far as reading them, I didn't own any of the books. I guess when you're a kid, finding great reads isn't your first priority.
From here on out, I'll just list books I've read and/or liked! Here it is:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Runaway Bunny
Goodnight Moon
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant
Curious George - Kind of annoying!
The Carrot Seed
Harold and the Purple Crayon
The Cat in the Hat
Little Bear - Still Love!
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Frog and Toad Are Friends - I have a special connection with this book!
Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Polar Express - Loved! The movie was magical too!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
If you haven't checked the picture book timeline yet, please do! It'll let your reminisce in old memories! I loved being able to take a look at books I've read as a child and when they were written. I bet you will too!
Until Next Time, GLG.

Utopia, pg. 1-33

My brother read this book and recommended it to me. I think he left out the important detail of the number of deaths. Just in the first 33 pages, 2 people have died. One in a freak accident, the other in a murderous exchange. The prologue tells the story of how a nine-year-old boy, named Corey, died. He was on a roller coaster in this fantastic amusement park. He was so excited to be going there to ride a certain coaster. It's called Notting Hill Chase. I guess I should explain more about this place called Utopia so you can understand it a bit better. Here's my simple run-down of the place:
Built on top of the Grand Canyon. There are 4 separate theme parks inside of Utopia: Gaslight, Camelot, Boardwalk, and Callisto. Largest, best theme park in the entire world (an average of 70,000 people come everyday). It's in the future. Everything's an illusion.
That's all you need to know, really. It's a massive place that pretty much explains itself.
The main character is a guy by the name of Andrew Warne. He's beginning to work at Utopia in the robotics field. The robots in Utopia were actually created by him, but he's never been inside of the place. When he arrives, everything seems to take his breath away. Warne (people go by their last names in this book for some reason, so I will too) brings his daughter along. Her name is Georgia and she's a typical teenager. That means she's rebellious and is ashamed to be even near her father. Everything seems to get on her nerve. Enough about her though, she's only been in like 2 pages that I've read so far. Hopefully though, she'll show up again. I like her personality. It's very stereotypical for a teen.
The sections are labeled with times. Utopia opens at 9 in the morning and closes at 9 in the night. It takes 12 hours to prepare Utopia for the next day.
I'll just start where I left off. It was 9:00 A.M. when the second person died. He was taking little gadgets to a secret guy. He was giving the secret guy things that would allow him to go in and out of Utopia as if he were a worker there. As soon as the secret guy hands him money for his deeds, a gun comes out of the secret guy's pocket and kills the helpful guy. I guess helpful isn't the right word. He was bad, actually. He broke the law, and he could've been fired from his great job at Utopia. Now, secret guy has total access to Utopia. This doesn't look good. I'll have to see what happens next!
Until next time, GLG.

Postcards from No Man's Land, pg. 1-135

This book was actually quite strange. I'm not going to go into very much detail because the main character, Jacob, says more than necessary. Half of the pages I read contained unnecessary details. Anyways, it's a well-written story so I shouldn't be complaining. I was entertained, in good ways and awkward ways.
The beginning section of the book has a bang in it. Jacob is in Amsterdam, hoping to "honor" his grandfather that died during World War II. His grandfather's name was Jacob, but I won't call them both Jacob. Jacob is Jacob and grandfather Jacob is grandfather. So, Jacob is visiting a foreign city and he decides to go to an outdoor beer place. I'm not sure what they'd be called here in America. It's like an outdoor beer cafe. Jacob is at an outdoor beef cafe and this girl comes up to him and asks to sit at his table. Jacob accepts. Jacob's attracted to her sexy boyishness. (If that's what you call it.) So they talk and talk and talk. Her name is Ton, BUT she really isn't a she. She's a he. It messes him up. He gets a message from she/he but Jacob doesn't know what it says. Then, she/he leaves. Jacob is left there completely dumbfounded, and then some kid steals his sweatshirt. He had everything in his sweatshirt. Money, map, everything. So then, Jacob is all alone, in the rain, with nothing. He has no idea where he is, and that starts his adventure.
About half of the book is from the perspective of Geertrui. Geertrui is Jacob's actual grandmother, but Jacob doesn't know that. Jacob's grandfather was one of the soldiers Geertrui tended to during World War II in her basement. They fell in love. Geertrui talks a lot about the status of the war. The war takes over her family's life. Their house becomes shelter for the tommies. Tommies are the English soldiers that have come to liberate Geertrui's home country.
Jacob goes through a lot during his visit in Amsterdam. The truth unveils to him about who his grandmother really is. Jacob was raised by Sarah, not Geertrui. Sarah was Jacob's best friend and she would've gone with Jacob to Amsterdam if it weren't for her injury. Anyways, Jacob meets Geertrui and that's when the real truth unveiling happens.
It was a good book from what I've read so far. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys books about characters trying to find the truth in themselves.
Until next time, GLG.

The Dart League King, pg. 201-270

The Point at the Center of the Universe: Vince Thompson was inside the 321 club, he's trying to recover from his beating. He's also trying to come up with a plan on how to finish off Russell Harmon. The gun is still in his pocket, and there's no way he'll change his mind. That is, until he starts watching the dart match that's going on. It's Brice and Russell. They're head-to-head and Russell was doing great. Brice was doing well too, but Russell simply knocked his lights out. (That was supposed to be funny because the lights were already out and Brice was already having a hard time seeing..) Anyways, Vince got really excited seeing the match and so after Russell Harmon won (yay!), Vince threw himself onto Russell. Russell and everyone else thought it was because they thought Vince was going to try and kill him. However, Vince was just happy. I, personally, wouldn't have reacted this way. I probably would've given the guy a nice pat on the back, but Vince isn't me (thank goodness, too). So in the end of this section, Vince gets peeled off of Russell and tries to be Russell's best friend. It somewhat works. They both leave the bar and go to Vince's car with the intentions of "doing a line".
Distance: Tristan Mackey is waiting for Kelly Ashton. Kelly Ashton gets in his car. He plans how he's going to tell Liza Hatter's story in his head. He tells Kelly nothing. She's curious. It was a short section.
Velocity: Vince turns on Russell and has his gun pointed at him. Russell Harmon simply wants to go back into the bar to see Kelly Ashton (who is now on her way to Tristan Mackey's car).Vince complains about being lonely and Russell tries to explain to him that they're friends but Vince is pretty angry. The whole rest of the section is how Vince tries to shoot Russell, his friend. He doesn't. Russell gets to walk away, alive.
Weight: Kelly Ashton decides to go with Tristan Mackey. On her way to his truck, she sees Russell getting out ot Vince's car. He's heading to the bar to be with her. She's aware of that, but she gets in Tristan's truck anyway.
Gravity: Russell Harmon is thinking about his future. In particular, his future with a baby girl. That baby girl being Hayley, the baby girl of Kelly Ashton. Then, he sees Kelly going into Tristan's car. He wants to run and stop Tristan from running off with the love of his life. Russell doesn't do that though. Instead, he reflects back on when he first got to know Kelly (it was in 5th grade). It was cute, Russell was kind of stupid so he said " I like you as big as the sky" and Kelly replied with "Are you sure? ... The sky is pretty big". I think that's cute. For fifth grade, especially. In fifth grade, I was more concerned with not having to sit next to the kid that picked his nose. Maybe that's just me.
Release: Brice Habersham loses the tournament. We've already known this. However, he decided he needed an extremely short section to say this. I didn't find it necessary at all, but maybe that's just me.
Epilogue: Last, but certainly not the least. It ends everything between the characters. The most important thing from the epilogue is the Liza Hatter situation. Tristan Mackey takes Kelly Ashton to where Liza Hatter is buried on the hill. Tristan tells her the whole story about how it happened. Kelly tells him that calling the police is the only choice they have. Instead, he goes kind of crazy. Thoughts go streaming in his head and it leaves you with Tristan going towards Kelly with a knife in his hand. Kelly says she wants to go home. Finally, Russell ends the whole story. He's going to work and he looks at a picture on his beautiful daughter, Hayley. Russell puts the picture face up on his nightstand so he'll see the picture after work. Cute book. I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower soon. It sounds interesting, it's been requested to me.

2.23 Diction Exercise

Striking words/phrases: no soul save he, swale, gnashing, sprent, scarcely, bitter, citizenry, hobbled, raggedyman

Elements of Diction
Elevation: Words such as gnashing and scarcely have a high diction. I think most of the descriptive words in this passage have a high diction. [Redo!]
Connotation: Cormac McCarthy writes with a sort of lyricism that highlights the descriptive language he uses in his dactylic passage.
Concreteness: The complex language bolsters McCarthy's abstract nature through his passage from his novel Blood Meridian.

Full Claim:
The descriptive passage taken from Cormac McCarthy's novel, Blood Meridian, conveys the unjaded sentimentality of the main character.

Daily horoscope!

So I read my horoscope today and just had to blog about it! Here it is: Heat and energy are radiating from you at the moment; expend a little before you melt. Channel that power -- play a game of Frisbee, join a hula-hoop competition or simply dance in your bedroom. I like ultimate frisbee, I like hula-hooping, but I love dancing in my room. I think I'll go do that now!
Until next time, GLG.

The Dart League King, pg. 183-200

One Last Dart in Hand: Russell is left in the truck, looking at a picture of his daughter. It must be hard for him to handle. Being told that you have a daughter. He later goes back into the bar and sees his dad there. His dad is with Vince Thompson's dad. Russell tells a story about his father. Then listens to Kelly Ashton while she's talking to her mother about taking care of Hayley. Russell gets nervous because of the fact that Kelly's mom doesn't seem fit to be watching his baby girl. Then, he gets nervous because he has to finish his dart tournament. I got so nervous for Russell Harmon while he was throwing darts with Brice Habersham. He ended up winning though! It took him a long time to get into the "swing of things" but it seemed simple! All he had to do was relax, and not think. When he didn't think about anything, Russell's darts did exactly what they were supposed do. That's what made him the Dart League King, once again. With all the excitement though, Russell didn't see Vince coming towards him. I didn't see it coming either. But it did. Vince came, made Russell feel like he was flying, until he noticed he was on the floor in pain. Can't wait to read more!
Until next time, GLG.

The Dart League King, pg. 139-182

Where We Put Our Socks and Shoes: Kelly Ashton knew one thing was for sure, and that was that something was going to happen. She pretty much gave up on Tristan. Now onto Choice B (Russell Harmon). Kelly took Russell out to his truck. In the truck, simply put, they enjoyed each others' company (a lot) on a mattress he conveniently had in the bed of his truck. After their little rendezvous, Kelly finally had the nerve to tell Russell that he's the father of her baby girl, Hayley. I actually don't know why I call her a baby, she's a toddler now. Prior to their rendezvous in the bed of Russell's truck, Kelly demanded Russell to tell her a story. She wanted the story to be of them, happy, in a home. He ended up winning her with a different story. A short story. It was: "We would live in the little house and we would all be happy and I would never leave". This story was so significant to both Russell and Kelly because both of their fathers didn't stay. Now, onto the next section.
A Fu*king Perfect Opportunity: Ahh, Vince Thompson. He's hurt, he's desperate, he's lonely. Vince was in the bathroom when the lights went out. I found it funny how he reacted. He said he was like floating in nothing, he couldn't see anything his eyes looked at. Then, he decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get Russell out of this bar and out of this world. At the end of this section, Vince thinks to himself and says: "Well, well. Would you look at what the cat dragged in." And he smiled! I'm not sure what that was about, but I'm anxious now.
The Music of the Spheres: Tristan Mackey was still think, of course. He thinks a lot. To himself, never out loud. He can't think out loud because it's hard for him to talk. Anyways, there's not a lot going on in this section, Tristan just talks about music and how Liza Hatter's death had to do with music. He tied in the languages of music and the languages needed for telling Liza's story together. Interesting, I thought.
Whirlpools and Sea Monsters: Brice Habersham tells all about his life in this section. How he met his wife, Helen, is in this section. I'm not sure that's the kind of relationship I want with a spouse, but it seems to be working for them. Another thing he mentioned was a memory he had about when he still live in his hometown (in Indiana! woo!). Sounded pretty embarrassing. I mean, I wouldn't want to be caught smelling someone else's underwear and then have that someone see you and scream for everyone to hear. Of course, I'd probably stay far away from underwear that's not my own, but obviously Brice thought otherwise. Anyways, it devastated him but got him motivated to do well in school so he could afford to leave his Indiana home and move onto "bigger, better" things. Kind if like what I'm about to do. Just kidding, I enjoy blogging. I really do.

Horoscope!

My daily horoscope for today was: Your house is your home, and the people there support you when you share how much you need them. Your family will cheer for you and celebrate your greatness, so break out the board games and hot chocolate. First off, my parents are mad at me. They aren't celebrating my greatness. Why? I'm not sure. Secondly, I'm lactose intolerant so hot chocolate hurts my stomach. I don't think this horoscope applies to me today.

The Dart League King, pg. 69-138

I left my last reading blog in the middle of a section. The section was titled And All the Stars That Never Were Kelly Ashton is the character of this section and she's leaving to go to the Dart Competition to be with Tristan Mackey. Kelly's been in love with Tristan ever since the one day in english class when he recited this line, and it changed her world: "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are the underlings." The line is posted above her baby (now toddler)'s crib. Kelly and Tristan are at the bar for the dart competition and there's an awkwardness between them because Tristan hasn't been acting normally lately, due to Liza Hatter. Kelly loves her daughter and wants the best for the both of them, hopefully with someone that could take care of them and love them. Tristan is her first choice, Russell being second (largely due to the fact that he's baby Hayley's father).
Give Me Darts or Give Me Death: Russell was extremely nervous for, well, just about everything. Vince Thompson was in the bar, all bloodied (which meant he was angry). Brice Habersham was extremely good at throwing darts. His friend, Matt, still had Russell's bindle and Russell had a feeling he was getting it back anytime soon. He seemed very agitated at everything in this section.
A Thing of Beauty: Tristan Mackey can only think about Liza Hatter. He's almost obsessed with the dead her. The internet helps him with information on things like "how long it takes for bodies to float to the surface after drowning" and "the rate of decomposition for bodies buried in the earth". Tristan is trying to give the Liza he thought was pretty, a farewell deserving for someone like her who was only pretty for one moment in her life.
Stupid A*sholes: Vince Thompson is sitting in a corner of the 321 bar. He's observing everything, and thinking about everything. Vince is especially thinking about a perfect fool-proof plan to kill Russell. Nothing in the world would make Vince happier, besides seeing Russell dead. Russell owes him a lot of money from a drug debt, and he doesn't plan on paying him back anytime soon.
A Dartboard Is a Perfect Circle: This is the first time I really got to know about Brice Habersham. He seems like an interesting character. I picture him looking like Jackson from the Hannah Montana Show. The brother on Miley Stewart. If there were ever to be a movie, he'd be perfect for this part. Only, he'd have to be older. Anyways, Brice is married to Helen. I would never want to know someone like her. Although, I feel like I live with one. Helen is a needy woman that self-diagnoses herself with fake illnesses that doctors can't find. She lays in bed all day and has a bell to ring when she wants Brice for help. Brice is an undercover agent for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), his hopes are to have Russell arrested, get some of his friends arrested through him speaking to the police, and finally to get Vince Thompson off the streets but make it seem like it was not Brice Habersham himself. Brice doesn't want to hurt Vince. Brice thinks they're created a relationship from talking in his convenience store when Vince goes to buy beer and such. (Vince thinks otherwise about the relationship)
?Como Se Dice?: (I tried to do the upside-down question mark thing in front, but it didn't work. Thanks Google, this is why I like Yahoo!) Tristan Mackey knows spanish fluently. I don't, at all. So I have no idea what it means. Tristan wants to tell Kelly about Liza Hatter. He wants Liza's story to be known. He know it's up to him. Russell was going to hear it first, but that didn't exactly work out. Anyways, Tristan tries to tell Kelly about Liza Hatter but he can't speak for some reason. It doesn't really seem to bother him after awhile. A detail I liked that the book included in this section was the T.V. and how the Case of the Missing Student was airing on the local news at the time when Tristan happened to be watching. Seemed coincidental to me.
Candles: (If you can't read it, is says Candles) Russell finds it rude that Kelly is "ignoring" him. I think he just needs to wait (I already know what happens). Russell Harmon complains in the beginning of this section. Then, it's about his singles match with Brice Habersham (finally, it'd been postponed for a long time). Russell lost this match, but still had a chance at winning the championship. His heart was set on it. (That's what I like about Russell, he's a die-hard. But only when it's something he's passionate about.) The section is titled Candles because boom! all the power went out. The bartender at the 321 brought candles out and lit them. Russell freaks out because he thinks Vince is going to get him now that nobody can see anything. However, the first person to approach him is Brice. Brice says a few sympathetic words to him and asked what was going to happen to the rest of the tournament and, of course, Russell tells him that they're going to finish it (he can't give up that easily). The next person to confront him is Kelly, who drags him out of the bar. I already know what happens, I'll tell you about the next sections later.
Until next time, GLG.

The Dart League King, pg. 30-68

I read the sections called Jack the Fu*king Dude and The Trouble with Liza Hatter and An Intellectual Conversation and Godda*n Clouds, Fu*king Rain and I'm about a third of the way through Give Me Darts or Give Me Death. I guess I'll start with the sections that have explicit words in the title. These sections are both about the same person. His name is Vince Thompson. He's poor, living alone, and he has a lazy eye. Everything in Vince's life is a disaster and he blames it on his never-been-there-for-him dad. He's an interesting character, I must say. Right now, Vince is after Russell Harmon (the main character, I think) for debts due to drugs. Cocaine to be specific.
Russell Harmon knows this, but he's trying to concentrate on winning a dart-throwing competion. To do this, he snorts lines of blow and drinks enough beer to ensure his perfect equilibrium. Russell isn't very smart, and he's not sure what he can do with life. That's what I'm getting out of him so far.
Next, I'll describe Tristan Mackey! He's the "coolest" character. I liked reading his section until the very end where he watched a girl drown because he finally noticed her beauty... Anyways, he's a relaxed person, always calm. He's a "bad" guy in disguise. He'd rather steal a book from a library than steal money from a bank. That's actually what he was going to do when he went into the library. Tristan was going to rip some covers off of books, perhaps steal a few. Then, he saw Liza Hatter in the library. He considered her a tolerable candidate for spending the night with. They eventually went to Tristan's lake house. Tristan really just wanted some space, some alone time to let his mind escape. So when Liza suggested skinny dipping, he was up for it. He thought Liza would get in and scream and complain about the chillness of the black water and swim back for the house to get a towel. He heard her scream and complain and he thought he was alone so he kept swimming deeper. However, Liza didn't actually swim back to the shore. She was following Tristan, until she couldn't move anymore because she was so cold. Tristan began swimming back for her and was withing (I think..) 2 and a half feet of her, but instead of saving her, he just watched her. Tristan described how the almost new moon was shining in her eyes. He said she look pretty, and that he could actually get used to her. Tristan watched her as she cried for help and said his name but he didn't do anything, he just thought of her pretty face and moon-lit eyes. He saw her go down and not come back up. I thought that was awfully intense, and I couldn't stop reading but I wanted because I had a feeling he wasn't going to save her.
Another character is Kelly Ashton. I'm about a third into her section. I don't know a lot about her yet. All I know is that she had a daughter in high school and she likes Tristan because of his "chillness" (wink, wink) and his calm personality. Her daughter's name is Hayley and Kelly doesn't want to end up like her mother. Her mother used to be beautiful, like her, but she's lost her looks and now she's not so pretty and alone. I'll learn more about her, after I read some more. I'm liking this book. The characters are defined so well and I feel like I'm there, living life with them. Not sure if I'd actually like to live life with them, but I like that I'm able to think that way. Ohhhhh.. and one thing to mention is that there are lots of run-on sentences. They never seem to stop. (One sentence goes on for 2 and a half pages, it ended at the and of the section) Well I'll keep reading so I can get to know Kelly Ashton some more.
Until next time, GLG.

Teenage driving

I read an article today on the effect of having friends in the same car as teenagers when they're driving and how it affects them as opposed to them driving alone. It was interesting, and it seems logical. The article stated that teens drive more safely when they're alone. However, when friends are in the car with them, they make poor, risky decisions. Groups of teens and young adults were experimented on, in this study. First, they'd play a virtual racing game by themselves. This type of racing game is not like the kind of racing games in arcades. This type of racing game doesn't really sound fun. There are stoplights... How could that be fun? Anyways, the studies proved that teens are safer drivers when nobody's with them or watching them. I thought it made sense, and it makes me wonder if I do that. I sure hope not.
Until next time, GLG.

I'm a Pisces

I love reading horoscopes! I'm not one of those weird people that is obsessed with them (I don't think so anyways) but I enjoy looking at my daily horoscope. Most of the time, it's creepy. It's like the horoscope-ologers know me personally. It's kind of cool, maybe creepy wasn't the best way to describe it. Today's horosocope for me: People are creating illusions around you today -- be more skeptical about flattery. The weird thing, I'm talking to an old friend (and we're flattering each other). If that's what you call it. We're catching up and tell each other how great the other one is. It's fun. It's a reliable self-esteem booster. Try it sometime.
Until next time, GLG.

Fave website?

Yahoo! I think I'm supposed to put a link on here, and I will but I pity you if you've never heard of Yahoo! Here's the link:   http://www.yahoo.com/

It's simple to use, and you can get the news right there on the homepage. I think yahoo is better than google. Google is so boring. There are fun, little, mini websites and things on the left side of yahoo's page. Those are fun. I enjoy fun, little, mini websites like that.

I tried putting a picture on, it didn't work.
Until next time, GLG.

Forts!

I had a blast making forts today! My brother, his friends, and I made the snow fort together (they did most of the work). I made the blanket fort. The blanket fort was warm and the snow fort was cold. Surprising.
Until next time, GLG.

The Dart League King, pg. 1-28

I got the book last night while I was at Barnes & Noble with my friend. My brother was in a movie with his girlfriend so I hung out with my friend for awhile and then we decided to wait for my brother in the bookstore. Earlier yesterday (right after work), I went to the library and looked for The Dart League King and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I was unsuccessful in finding either, so when my friend and I found The Dart League King, I had to buy it! I started reading it this morning before breakfast and I (of course) got in trouble for "sleeping in" when I was actually reading. Anyways, I've read a few pages and I wanted to blog now so I can blog later today after I've read in my fort made of blankets. My mom won't let me play outside so a snow fort is out of the question. Here's my reading blog now:
I read the, uhh, first chapter. It's called Dark Night in Garnet Lake, Idaho. The main character is Russell and he's the best dart thrower on his team and his biggest rival is Brice. Brice used to be a professional dart thrower, but Russell believes he has the chance to beat him. Before Russell can throw well, he has to do this thing where he "stabilizes his equilibrium". Simply meaning, he has to snort some coke and drink some beer. This is Russell's last tournament. Both he and Brice are undefeated, so you can imagine the tension. Russell gets nervous though. He never gets nervous. It doesn't help that he's thinking of Kelly Ashton  and Vince Thompson. The first chapter ended with Russell barely winning a round of cricket.
I've just finished making/helping to make a snow fort and a blanket fort. I'll get pictures up real soon, I forgot to press publish post for this post. Oops, but I'll get the pictures up as soon as I can!
Until next time, GLG.

I'm obsessed with this song right now

It's called Thunder by Boys Like Girls.
I do this thing where I listen to the same song or artist repeatedly and memorize everything. I've got this entire song memorized now. I like it.
Until next time, GLG.

The Guardian, pg. 1-91

Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors. His book, The Guardian, sounded so good when I read the summary. I got it a pretty long time ago, but I've been leaving it alone. I decided I'd start reading it and I can hardly put it down!
The prologue starts out with the main character, Julie, and it tells the story of how she got her dog, Singer. It's Christmas Eve, four years prior to the beginning of the actual story. Julie's husband has been dead for 40 days and she's planning on spending Christmas all by herself, until someone came to her door with a gift box and told her to not shake the box and to "keep this end up." Julie later opened the box to see a puppy inside with a letter. The letter was from Jim that he'd written to "Jules" explaining everything. I cried and had to take a break before reading on. At the end of the letter, Jim said, "I'll always be your guardian angel, sweetheart. You can always count on me to keep you safe." So sweet. I get so emotional when I'm reading/watching anything.
Julie is a free-spirit now, trying to step out into the world of dating. She works at a hair salon and her dog is her best friend. The world of dating to her is completely hopeless, UNTIL she meets Richard. The good-looking Richard that treats Julie like a queen. I ended my reading with Julie having spent a weekend with Richard. It sounded amazing, but deep down I can tell she's not all satisfied with him. Her dog, Singer, really doesn't like him. Of course, Singer doesn't like this whole new "dating" thing Julie is doing. Julie even described him as a "big, furry version of a jealous boyfriend."
Richard isn't the only one. There's also Mike. Mike is my favorite. (He was my favorite from the beginning, but Richard got close.) Mike is a mechanic and was Jim's best friend. I really hope they end up together. It's fun to read the chapters that are from Mike's point-of-view. He really loves Julie and really hates Richard. I'll have to wait and see who Julie picks! I hope Mike wins.
Until next time, GLG.