Disinterpretation

I have been watching the weather like nobody's business (mostly because there is nothing else to do) and all week it has been saying that there is going to be a storm. It's all like "Storm today! Storm storm storm! Lighting and rain and other freaky shit like that!"

But then the actual weather is cloudless, sunny, and really hot. Who the hell is predicting the weather around here? They suck at it. I mean, you can see the weather coming at you until the end of Montana. How can you possibly get this wrong?

Have I told you, Ubiquity, that I have been keeping sea monkeys? Because I have. I am so paranoid that they'll catch two deadly diseases, one of which can only be cured by expensive surgery. Like my goldfish. I was worried at first, because it took them a few days to hatch. Then, about four days ago, I noticed one little bugger swimming around in there. An hour later, there were four of them. Now there are so many sperm-shaped things swimming around in there it's like a small city. It's exciting.

I gave them the collective name Charley, and I expect them to hivemind.

Today was my first day of classes. Things went well enough, and I even went and did all of my Japanese homework for the entire week. I bought my textbooks, but I'm pretty sure all of the ones I bought for my Anthropology class are the wrong ones. Such a waste of money, since I bought four different books. They were all under the ANTH 101 section of the bookstore, but the syllabus shows a ton of different books, and the course materials on the website differs from that as well. What fucking books do I use?

I thought my Biotech class would be smallish, but it's actually pretty sizeable. It took place in an auditorium. And the professor is Swedish/German/French, or something. But he seems to really like his job, so he talks loud. Tomorrow I have the first of that math class that I'm pretty sure is going to be amazing. I couldn't find what book I needed for it. I think that class will gain a thousand cool points if it turns out not to need a textbook.

Auditorial

So I managed to set my class schedule back to that one that is absolutely ideal for me. Now instead of having long, solid chunks of classes, there is an hour between each. My earliest class starts at 11am, my latest class ends at 4pm. And I looked and found all of my classes on a map, so I shouldn't get too lost. Here's hoping for the best.

It is nosebleed central over here. The dry air is just killing me. I'm losing so much blood over this, too--I was so weak today I just stayed in the dorm and watched internet TV. I don't want to go out for fear of random nosebleeds during a social situation. This problem is seriously taking over my life. If I keep on gushing blood like this, I'll probably end up in the ER.

My dad has similar problems with the dry air, so we think it is genetic. I asked him how he dealt with it, since he was born and raised in Montana. He recommended nasal spray before bed, and steamy showers in the morning. He also said that the problem usually cleared up for him in just a few days. I hope the same will be true for me, otherwise I'll end up with another unusual health problem.

I should also point out that I still can't smell anything.

Ta-Dah

I spent most of today resting. Mostly playing Professor Layton (Over 12 hours logged into that game), but I also started to crochet something and watched a bit of TV online.

I registered for my classes today. My feelings on that are along the lines of Humbug. I had the perfect schedule planned--There was at least one hour between all of the classes, so I wouldn't have to worry about being late. And they were spread out through the day, so I would have plenty to do. But the Japanese class I wanted was full, and that just screwed everything up, as I had to pick another class at a different time, which got in the way of so many things... As it is right now, I have a three hour chunk of classes every Monday and Friday. As well as two classes all the other days.

Classes I've registered for:
Anthropology 101
Biotech (Microbiology 110)
Japanese 101
Math 149

That US class was completely full everywhere, so I deicded on a math class instead. This one is called Secrets of the Infinite, and I'm pretty sure the course description was "Fucking amazing" with a prerequesite of "Be awesome." Anyways, tomorrow (or maybe right now) I'm going to see if there are any openings in that Japanese class I wanted, and put my schedule back to how it should be. If I can.

Ring Again

Yesterday I moved into my dorm and spent a lot of time running in between these meetings I had to attend and my dorm room to set it up. It was tiring. Then today mum and dad went to Yellow Stone, and I was left alone to run in between my dorm and all around campus to find these meetings I needed to go to. I actually managed to miss the most important meeting today, because I couldn't figure out where it was. I made up for it later, but it was distressing. Thank God I already had my schedule planned out. Tomorrow I register for classes, and then mum and dad will swing by one last time to see if there is anything else that I need. And then I will have nothing to do at all until classes start.

I'm really tired. I don't know if I can relay to you just how much walking around in the hot sun I've had to do today. And all of it by myself--I don't know anybody at all here.

This weekend is going to be pretty boring unless I can find someone to hang around with. I'd hang with my roomie, but she already has her own posse. She's out all the time doing whatever with people, and I don't want to spare tire my way into that. I've tried randomly chatting with a few people, but the conversations all go the same way:

[Introductions go here]
Me: So what're you majoring in?
Them: University Studies. But I'm thinking about nursing.
Me: Neat.
Them: What're you majoring in?
Me: Also University Studies. But I'm thinking about Anthropology or Biotechnology.
Them: *stunned look* Woah.
[Awkward silence as we realize we have nothing in common]

A lot of the girls in the Freshman class look pretty stupid... That is to say, they look like they spent a lot of time being confused in highschool. Same with the boys. I hope a few smart ones will crop up in my classes, otherwise I'm going to be making friends with only upperclassmen. Or I'll be having some really shallow conversations these next few years.

Also, I thought I saw TKTWTSTE bumming around campus, but it was just some creepy old dude. I nearly had a heart attack.

Clacketty Clock Clock

Alright. Okay. I'm in Montana. But I'm not in my dorm--yet. There is still some time left before that.

I drove about a quarter of the way to Montana. And it was scary, because dad purposefully had me drive a ridiculous pass full of twists, turns, steep cliffs, broken-down cars, and construction. We stopped to have lunch at this little restaurant that mum and dad like. But for some reason, it took them about an hour to get our food to us. It was a buncha little things, and I think the ultimate ending is that we might never go there again. When you're racing against time to get somewhere before, say, midnight, an hour-and-a-half for a meal is a huge setback.

Today we visited Grandma. We went out to the park and fed ducks, drove around the town for a bit, and bought her new clothes at the mall. We're celebrating her 88th birthday. She is so old! And she still has quite a bit of life left in her. She's supremely proud of me for going to MSU--She couldn't stop smiling when we told her our trip out was to drop me off at college.

We also went to a toy store. I freakin' love that toy store. I want to go back and buy everything and play with it all forever. It's not a stupid toystore like Toys R Us, it is a real toystore that puts out the toys so you can play with them. And they are novel toys, that are interesting and nifty and keen in all the ways a plastic stroller with Hannah Montana on it is not. I bought some sea monkies, because I am desperate to have a pet in my dorm. Hopefully I can take care of these guys, because fish and plants don't always work so well with me. Dad and I were looking for the librarian action figure (with amazing sushing action!) but they were sold out. Seriously, sold out. Because this is a thing people buy. We nearly bought the revenging unicorn instead, but it was impaling people instead of fluffy animals.

Professor Layton 2 was supposed to come out today. Game Stop, WalMart, and Target did not have it in. And it confused everybody that knew what they were doing because the release date was today. But the guy at Game Stop told me to check back tomorrow after 1pm, because they will almost certainly have it then. I trust him more than the guy at WalMart, so I will be returning there tomorrow. I am determined to buy this game at the soonest possible moment in an effort to show Japan that yes, people want to play this game series.

Also: My Reader was a godsend during the long car ride.

Cardo Bardo

Sunday is the big day. All of my favorite things will be in boxes in the van, and we will begin the 14 hour drive to Montana. Monday and Tuesday we will be visiting grandma in Great Falls, and Wednesday we will be in Bozeman. After helping me move in, mum and dad will leave and go to Yellowstone Park. They'll check in on me Friday, and then they are gone for good.

So I was looking in at what the internet connection in the dorms will be like, and found this FAQ page:

http://www.montana.edu/resnet/faq.php

Buncha nazis. What really got me was the last question about Skype. I'm really just hoping that they don't want me using Skype to call people on the phone. I guess if I'm wrong about that, I will find out because I plan to use Skype anyways. And if they come knockin' on my door then I will feign ignorance and start crying about how I just wanted to talk to my mum/boyfriend/best friend. And then continue to use Skype after they've left.

I guess if they cast some magic spell that physically keeps me from using Skype, then I will start looking into renting an apartment.

I started reading The Da Vinci Code. I really wish I hadn't. What is with poorly written books becoming best sellers? But I can forgive the stupid writing mistakes, because I guess you have to be really picky to catch them. (Things like a silhouette leering, or describing a man's eyes when he is a couple hundred yards away.) But the way it insulted my intelligence just caused me to stop. Every other paragraph is some sort of explanation. Explaining the plot, explaining an art peice, explaining why French people ask questions sometimes. At one point they describe a king's affinity for Egyptian art. And then they go on to talk about how he is responsible for bringing so much Egyptian art into France, and what his people thought about him and his interests. It wasn't at all relevant to the story. It was just the author showing off that he did a bit of research.

Not to mention that the main character is really pretentious.

So I started reading Anthem by Ayne Rand. I was only 6 pages into it when I realized I loved it. This book is good. And I can't wait to continue reading it.

Movie Screen

Tomorrow is my last day here, and I will probably spend it putting my last things into boxes and lying around. Then Sunday morning I put everything into the van and drive away. My new life starts Wednesday. I said my last goodbyes, and I'm wishing I could have a conversation with someone that didn't feel so final. I'd be excited for college if I weren't so depressed about everything I'm leaving behind.

I made a visit to the oral surgeon's today. Dad wanted to talk to him about the teeth he should be building sometime here in the next year or so. Let me give you a quick rundown of my dental history first:

When I was in gradeschool, I think about 3rd or 4th grade (maybe even 2nd), they extracted two of my permanent molars in my bottom jaw. These molars were coming in in a motion similar to that of a jumping whale. They were pushing down the teeth in front of them, as well as pushing them forward. Leaving these molars in would have caused seriously crooked teeth, bone atrophy in my jaw and gums, as well as the destruction of quite a few teeth. Pulling them out also risked bone atrophy and meant the teeth would have to be rebuilt when I was an adult, but was still a much better choice.

When I was in junior high, about 8th grade, they extracted two more molars, but this time in my upper jaw, directly above the other missing molars. These molars were baby teeth that would not fall out, and were blocking the growth of adult molars. Only two of the four teeth came in, so I am also missing two molars in my upper jaw.

They gave me an archwire on my lower jaw to keep the gaps open. I outgrew this (it was painful) so they gave me a retainer to tide me over until I could get braces. The braces kept gaps open as well as opened up some gaps and turned around some backwards teeth.

I am an adult now, so it is time for the braces to come off and for the fake teeth to be rebuilt. The surgeon pointed out that the bone in my lower gums had atrophied after all these years, so the teeth there can not be rebuilt. Apparantly, the average person has six to eight milimeters of bone-gums stuff, and I only had three milimeters where it mattered. There is a fix: They can graft some bone onto the area, and then start the implants.

The bone for these grafts will come from much farther back in my jaw, where the bone is much thicker. The procedure is incredibly painful. The surgeon said it was much worse than having all four wisdom teeth extracted at once. Dad pointed out that I had a very high pain tolerance, and the surgeon just smiled and asked if I found that out through sports injuries.

Five to six months after the grafts have healed (but not much later or they will atrophy again), the posts for my fake teeth can me implanted. While these are healing for four to five months I can not chew on them at all, and I will have to be on a soft diet. Then caps will be placed on the posts, and I will be all done forever.

Total cost of tooth extraction (counting wisdom tooth): ~$800
Cost of braces: ~$5,000
Cost of bone graft: ~$8,000
Cost of dental implants: ~$5,000
There are also misc expenses for things like post-op checkups and dental appliances.

"Compared to her, the price of her brother's braces will be a drop in the bucket."
- My original dentist

Really, I just can't wait until I can do things like chew normally, and when brushing and flossing will be all I have to worry about. Despite it all, though, my teeth have always looked nice and straight.

2010 is going to be such a shitty year for me...

Sang Real

Do you think it would be at all possible to find someone willing to publish Ubiquity? Like, as a book? I was just thinking about how much time I've put into this, and how much money I could have made if I was being paid minimum wage to write Ubiquity.

Hah, it's a hopeless dream. It's not like I'm Anne Frank, or something.

I'm updating early today because I will be gone all evening. Apparently, the water park last week wasn't my last chance to hang out with friends before I leave. So tonight we're going to the drive in to see District 9 and The Ugly Truth. I'm used to going to the drive in as a last-second idea, but Louis wanted to plan ahead and fuss a lot. So fuss we did. Louis is in charge of sound, popcorn, and drinks, I'm in charge of the cooler, seating, and transportation, and Sarah is in charge of being awesome. I forget why we didn't decide to give her any tasks to do.

It's always odd trying to do a group outing with my friends. They'll suggest a group thing, and I agree, and then they realize that we have no mutual friends. I've never been one to befriend someone simply because they're friends with my friend. (Friend friend friend.) But this time, there's a really obvious mutual friend between the three of us, but nobody even mentioned his name. We just don't want to hang out with him.

I bought Amber her birthday present today (Micheal's was selling Halloween stuff; it was the perfect opportunity) and I was hoping to stop by and give it to her, but her mother was busy being in the hospital. She said she'd text me when the family crisis was finished up. It made me sad, though, to think that the last time I'm going to see her for a while will be when I'm just stopping by to give her stuff. The last time I saw RaeLynn she was sitting at a Japanese restaurant. I'll be lucky to see her over winter break.

... I miss these people already.

Really Know

My mum already had a webcam, but neither of us liked it, so I pushed my old one off on her. I set everything up for her and got her a Skype account, so now we can voice and webcam whenever she wants. She can also see how obscenely late I stay up at night. Whatever. Anything to make my moving out easier on her.

I woke up early this morning to my parents fighting. It was disturbing, since mum was really yelling, and she never yells like that. As they moved around the room I could pick up snippets of what they were saying. Apparantly dad will have two business trips, one this week and one the week after next. This upset mum greatly, because she really needs the support while her last child moves out. Also, it seems Billy will be visiting during dad's second trip, and mum doesn't want him to miss that.

Personally, I'm a bit sad that dad's gone so close to such a big event in my life. He's missed so many piano recitals and orchestra concerts because of his business trips. At least he'll be here for this, but I won't get to have him impart his packing wisdom on me.

I've finally started attempting to get manga on my Sony Reader. Because I'm on a Mac, any manga conversion software is useless. But I can use Automator to make a series of image files into a PDF, which I can then read on my Reader. It's a process, and the PDF files are huge compared to normal ebooks. Not to mention that PDFs are slow to load on the Reader, and I have to use it in landscape mode to read the text. It's all read-able, though, and I prefer it to staring at a computer screen.

But I expect that in a year or so, these problems will be dealt with by clever programmers.

Preface

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I don't like packing. I don't mind it when I'm packing for a vacation, but right now I'm packing so that I can live my life somewhere else. I just don't like it. I packed a few precious things into this little bag that used to belong to my grandmother, and it made me intensely sad. There are some things I really want to take with me, but are too valuable to risk losing. But at the same time, I can't bear to leave them behind. It's such a predicament.

Oh well. I'll be back to visit in just a couple months. I suppose I can grab anything I've been missing then.

So my mum and I have been trying to open up alternate means of communication so that we can stay in touch while I'm away. She never turns on her cellphone, so texting is right out. We're both on the computer a lot, so I guess the internet seems to be the most natural thing. She started a Twitter and a Facebook, and I've made sure that she has my email. She's made some great strides these past few months adapting to social networking technology. Which is more than I can say about myself; I've never really liked social networking sites.

I've been meaning to ask her if she has a webcam. When Billy was moving out, I remember that she was planning to get one as a way to keep in touch with him. But that plan fell through, as Billy never really intended to keep in touch. If she doesn't have one, I thought I'd give her my old one, and set it up for her, along with a Skype account. Or, if she does have one, just get her a Skype account, I guess. I'm sure she'd love webcamming with me.

My mum, being the sweet person that she is, just emailed me the numerology compatibility report for Griffin and me. She used to do the horoscopes for her school newspaper, so I guess she's into that sort of thing. I found it pretty accurate when identifying our different personalities, but it was a bit odd when actually talking about our compatibility. Here's the link, if you're interested. I hope the link doesn't break.

Point Taken

Yesterday I went to Seattle with the family, had dinner at a really nice restaurant, and saw Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea. Cute movie, strange in some places, though. It had the hints of the Miyazaki whimsy, but mostly it felt like Miyazaki's last gasp before he gets Alzheimer's.

Then just a few minutes ago, we went and saw District 9. Great movie. I don't know what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it very much. It was amazing how much action there was, and yet they were able to put in a pretty good storyline. I liked how they built up the main character so that you hated him, and then by the end of the movie you sympathized with him. They left a lot of really huge plot holes, though. Like, really big holes. That I'm pretty sure I will bring up one day to someone like Craig, who will then explain it to me like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

I spent a few hours today planning for what classes I would like to sign up for first semester. (I suppose I should say Fall 09 Semester.) When I talk to people, they seem surprised that I'm signing up so late. And after seeing how many classes are filled, I can understand.

It took me about an hour and a half just to grok what needed to be done to fulfill graduation requirements. It then took me thirty seconds to realize that if I take two requirement classes a semester, I will have met all of my requirements by the end of first semester Junior year, leaving me with three semester's worth of time to focus on whatever major I choose. That's all I needed to know, and I had my classes picked out before long. And it pisses me off that most of my time was spent figuring out something that should be blatantly obvious. How to graduate shouldn't be a secret.

Anyways, I am definitely taking four classes my first semester, and I'm considering a fifth, but I can't find any classes interesting enough to me to take on the extra work. I wanted to take a chem class, but they are all full, and I was going to take a bio class, but they requisite a chem class. Every art class ever (except Web Design, hah!) is overstuffed, and pretty much every music class requires you to be a music major. The only viable subject for me to take is math.

Fuck mathematics.

These are the classes I want:
US 101 - University Seminar (required my first year, it's a reading class I think)
JPNS 101 - Elementary Japanese I (I don't feel like talking my way into level 2 or 3)
MB 110CS - Intro to Biotechnology
Anth 101D - Anthropology & The Human Experience

I didn't really want that Anthropology class, but they lied when they said History of Japan was offered this semester, and the Mythologies class is full. In fact, I don't need that Anthropology class, because I'll be taking Japanese II next semester. They both count for a D-credit, but oddly enough Japanese I does not. Maybe I'll look into fulfilling a humanities credit instead...

I need to start packing tomorrow. I really don't want to. I've been putting it off, and now it's getting to be too late. At least I spent today picking my classes, which is important. But the idea of packing away my important things is a bit unbearable. I just don't like the idea of returning and a bunch of my stuff is gone, because mum cleaned my room. I'd rather leave knowing that it's all safe here.

Oynop

I went to Wild Waves yesterday with a few of my friends, and we had a pretty grand time. I'm usually not one for water parks, but I do love the roller coasters. I feel bad that I held everyone back when it came to the water rides, though. It was a cold day, and I started turning blue pretty fast. So when they would want to go ride rides, I'd want to huddle in a towel with a warm drink, and try to stop shivering. Afterwards we had dinner and slept at my place. I think it turned out to be a nice little goodbye before I leave for Montana.

Last week, I noticed that sodas tasted different, and not quite as delicious as I'm used to. When I commented on this to my mother, she said that I probably have a sinus infection. I thought on that for a little bit, but I'm pretty sure I've had a sinus infection for the past two years. So who knows.

It is worth noting that I have a very poor sense of smell. It is still there, but I can't smell most of the things other people can. The things I usually do smell are unpleasant, and I often perceive scents differently than most people. For example: The smell of tempura carrots makes me utterly sick, while most find it delicious. I can smell bad BO, but I tend to miss out on a nice-smelling garden.

A couple days ago I woke up to the most nostalgic smells I could possibly imagine. It smelled like morning. It hasn't smelled like morning in so long I forgot that it even had a different smell. It took almost no time at all to realize I had my normal sense of smell back. I was elated when the hot sun caused the garbage to stink up the kitchen, and when wafts of old food came from the microwave. These aren't exactly pleasant smells, but they're things I haven't experienced in years. The food I ate had a lot more flavor to it, and I realized that sodas tasting weird was because I was starting to smell them again.

Needless to say, I had a really good day that day. Unfortunately, my sense of smell started to dwindle again near the end of the day. By the next morning, everything was back to being plain. I can't stop thinking back to that morning, now. Just getting out of bed and feeling that huge wave of nostalgia... I had never felt so at home before.

Sadly, even though I've gone back to not have a sense of smell, sodas still taste awful.

Sony Reader PRS-505

It came! My Reader finally came in the mail! I was so excited I took unboxing pictures. I guess I'll give a first-impression review of the Reader while I show you unboxing pictures.

I feel the need to apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. C'mon, I'm just a kid with an old camera taking pictures in a poorly lit room. Don't judge me. (Also, I was too excited to take the time and get nice shots.)

I know for a fact they make shipping boxes that are smaller.

First off, I was impressed that my Reader came to me halfway charged. It's like Santa remembering the batteries to your new Gameboy. It takes a little bit to start up, but it's no worse than waiting for a game console to turn on and load a game. The thing weighs about as much as a (sorry for the analogy) paperback edition of Twilight, so it isn't that much heavier than a normal book. Wait, no, I take that back; it's a lot heavier than a normal book, but it's hardly noticeable.

Reader in a box.

It came already with a few excerpts from books, along with all of Pride and Pejudice. The excerpts:
- The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan
- The Lucky One, Nicholas Sparks
- Marley & Me, John Grogan
- Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
I already had Pride and Pejudice in my library of ebooks to put on my Reader, so I thought it interesting that it was already there. It also came with 3 jpeg images, and 2 MP3 files. I'm pretty sure the MP3s are the same song, just one is jazzy and the other is a lullabye.

And from that box, another box.

Navigating is intuitive, I don't know what everyone's complaining about. You can use the number buttons to select, or you can use the D-Pad on the bottom right, with the middle button as select. Pressing menu takes you up one menu (I think of it as a back button), or you can hold it to go to the home menu. The zoom button zooms the text, the bookmark button bookmarks, and the page turn buttons turn pages. There is no mystery here at all. I must be the first person below 40 to own one of these things, I guess.

The Reader in its cover in some plastic in a box. Next to the guides.

The Reader itself is quite handsom. Maybe it's just because I chose the dark blue color, but it feels professional, and not at all like a dinky toy. (I found the Kindle to feel like a dinky toy, by the way.) There are actually quite a few buttons on here, but the design makes it feel almost minimal. The color is black in most light, and the buttons are made out of a different material, so they are always just dark blue. It makes for an interesting effect. I keep forgetting how very little power this thing uses, and I expect it to heat up in my hands. But it doesn't, it stays cold and unloving all the time. Which creates an interesting juxtaposition to my iPod, which overheats at the drop of a hat.

Some clever box origami hides the cables and installation CD.

My biggest complaint with the design is the chrome at the top and the bottom of the Reader. It looks gorgeous with the dark blue, but it gathers unsightly fingerprints like nobody's business. The edges of the chrome also reflects a horrible glare from my reading lamp, blinding me when I try to read. I've placed a sticky note over the worst of it, but now there's a stupid sticky note on my Reader. This is only a temporary solution until I move off to college and my favorite reading place will change.

It's got that fresh gadget smell to it.

The cover it came with is really very clever. It clips onto the Reader very strongly, preventing it from falling out but still allowing it to pivot on the spine. It's touch to take it out of the cover, which can be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who you are. There are weak magnets on both the front and the back of the cover that stick to the Reader itself. It makes a delightful clasping sound when you close it that I absolutely love. But the magnets are too weak to really keep the cover closed in, say, a bag with a lot of loose items. The biggest flaw with the cover is that when I pick it up, I'll accidentally press the number buttons on the Reader. It isn't a huge problem, though.

After this picture, I was too busy reading to take any more.

The reading experience is wonderful. The loading time between pages isn't at all a bother, even when you're flipping through pages to find your spot in a book. I forget a lot that I'm not reading an actual book, and I keep adjusting my sitting position so that I can turn pages easier, even though I don't need to. I've yet to try a PDF, since I've been converting all of my PDFs to the .lrf format, but I imagine it can't be too bad. Changing font size is a bit of a bother, since I have to do it every time I open a book, and it takes a while to load when it is a larger book. But it's either take a moment to load a larger font, or take a moment to grab my reading glasses.

Overall, I'm happy with the Reader. It's exactly as I expected, but that's only because I've read and watched dozens of reviews. I'll be turning to this gadget when I want to read books, as opposed to turning toward my local library.

Discovery

Ah-hah! It looks like I won't be out of town tomorrow. We have rescheduled our fun water park vacation to Friday, because it is going to rain tomorrow. Sweet.

Today is a wonderful day! Amazing! Absolutely fantastic! Simply gorgeous! And I will tell you why.

When I was in elementary school, I was close friends with this girl named Jessica. But she kept moving, and I eventually lost contact with her. After years (and years) without contact, I decided to look her up. No luck with Facebook, but I found her right away on MySpace.

Terrific!

I sent her a message, and she responded. Amber sent her a message too, since we were a trio. She's still the same Jessica I knew, I am really hoping we can meet up before I move off to college. She lives kinda far away, but not so far that we can't spend a day in Seattle or something. I'm so excited that I started crocheting her a gift. I hope I can give it to her in person.

Hooray! I can't believe it--After all these years, and I finally get to talk to her again. Nothing like finding an old friend to lift your spirits. Not to mention my Sony Reader should be coming in the mail tomorrow. I know I should really stop talking about that thing... But oh my God! A Sony Reader! And then Jessica! This is just so fabulous! And I mean that in the least queer way possible.

In the Neighborhood

My Sony Reader will be arriving on Tuesday. I will be out of town on that day. That is all I have to say on that.

So after waking up and having proper time to digest the GI Joe movie from last night, I realized that I am absolutely smitten with the doctor character. I found him to be attractive, and I don't know why. I'm usually not one to fawn over burn victims. But it seems I've made an exception in his case. After internetting a little bit, it turns out he is played by Tommy from 3rd Rock From The Sun! It has been so long since I have seen him on screen; it is good to know he is in movies now. Also: The weapons dealer. He looked so familiar, but I just couldn't place my finger on it. Until I came across the GI Joe Wiki saying that he was played by Christopher Eccleston, the 9th Doctor Who. How could I miss that?! I am disappointed in myself.

But I get a cheap thrill out of knowing that The Doctor was partnered with the doctor in the GI Joe movie.

I just spent 45 minutes sifting through GI Joe movie trailers, trying to find just one image of the doctor. I ended up watching the Japanese trailer before I saw just a blurry glimpse of him. How frustrating, I wanted to post an image of him along with a lewd caption. I guess I'll just post this blurry still instead.


On the right: The Doctor.
On the left: Hot stuff.

Also, I must own this.

Standing Tall

So I went and saw the GI Joe movie. It was a spontaneous idea, and we just barely got tickets. Must have been the last tickets, too, because we also got the very last seats in the theater. It was a good movie, I enjoyed it despite it being an action movie. Usually I zone out during action sequences (hard to follow movement, things happening that I can't identify, don't actually care about explosions), but the action sequences during this movie actually held my attention. For the most part--I did start zoning out a lot near the end there. There was also a good plot. It wasn't just thrown in there as a way to connect action scenes, it was actually an interesting part of the movie. Even if they did glaze over a bunch of important things and left a lot of plot holes. Not to mention the explanations for a lot of things were really stupid. Seriously dumb, in the most literal sense of the word.

Still, a good and entertaining movie. Though, I didn't like the ending.

On another note, I still do not have my Sony Reader. The tracking information page is showing no new information. Instead of thinking, "Oh, it didn't arrive today, then it must arrive tomorrow!" I am completely doubting its delivery. It probably won't show up Saturday, and then I'm pretty sure they take Sundays off. Even Monday doesn't seem likely as a delivery date. Why is the shipping so abysmally slow? Or am I just wrong to compare UPS to the USPS?

Generational

I was considering typing up another long post about my thoughts on my body, but instead I'm pissed off at the extremely slow rate of travel being used to deliver my Reader. It's ridiculous that it took two days to make it from New York to Illinois. I really should have shilled out the extra cash and paid for better shipping. The postal service is faster than this. And would have cost less.

Huff!

See, this is what I meant when I said it was a really bad idea to let me see the shipping status of my package. Now I'm just going to constantly critique it. And now I'm also worried that it might get in a car accident, or drive off a cliff or something, and then I'll never get my Sony Reader. What if the truck is leaky, and it drives through a storm, and the box gets soaked? That would be horrible! Or there are like, cowboys on horses chasing down the truck to steal its contents... An airplane could be shooting at it this very moment. You never know with these things!

I need to start packing stuff to go to college with. But I really don't want to. I hated packing to move into a different house; but this time I'm moving into someplace much smaller. Picking and choosing what things are actually worth keeping. Sticking it all in boxes, filing it away. Feeling guilty if you pack up just one piece of crap--And I was in the fourth grade last time. I'm almost positive I'll hate it more now that I'm older. Not to mention that it's not just picking what stuff to take with me, it's the stuff to leave behind. If I leave this hat behind, will mom and dad understand its value to me, or will they throw it out? How do I explain to them that when I was saving that sandwich for later it didn't occur to me that I still wouldn't want it four years later?

I'm not quite ready to leave my childish things behind.

When I chose to go to Montana State, I was thinking about where I wanted to be educated. In all seriousness, the only thing on my mind was what I'd be able to do academically. I didn't fully realize until recently that going someplace means leaving someplace. It's always been natural for me to go to a school that is out of district in an attempt to stay with my friends. I did it for elementary school and high school, and thank God I didn't have to do it in junior high. It was always very important to me that I go to school with all of my friends, even though I very rarely ended up in a class with someone I knew, nonetheless someone I would call a friend. So now, out of nowhere, I've decided I want to go to a school that is far away from all of the people I care about (except grandma. Oddly enough, I'm moving closer to my grandma).

This is what was depressing me yesterday, by the way. The fact that I'm leaving all of my friends and family behind. Up until this past year, I've always seen myself as a really solitary person that was destined to become a hermit. I don't like people very much, and often times they scare the Hell outta me. But I realized that I've become very attached to the ones that I do like, and I can't imagine living without them. I realized this too damn late, though, and didn't squeeze all of the enjoyable experiences out of them that I could have. Now I'm leaving, and it's weird to think that I'll never see some of these people again.

I suppose this is apart of growing up, though. You leave behind your childish things, your childhood friends, and your childish thoughts. You replace them with serious responsibilities, mature friends, and what I'm expecting will be the sense of loss of freedom. I just really don't want this yet.

Overlation

So I am feeling a little bit depressed today, and that means I want to type up an entry that is less about my daily life and more about one aspect of my life. And, oddly enough, I want to talk about my weight. Mostly because it is something that I am completely certain about (I know just how much I weigh), and today I'm fretting over things I'm uncertain about. Also, won't it be nice to not read about me harping on about the Sony Reader?

I'm going to start off by addressing fat people, because they annoy me. If you're a little bit chubby, I don't care. It's when your waist starts creeping into my airplane seat that I get annoyed. And then I start getting pissed if you complain about the seat being too small. It just bothers me that so many changes are being made to accommodate overly large people. Shouldn't we instead keep things as they are, and give them a reason to lose a bit of weight? I only bring this up because I keep seeing ads for that new Bachelor show or whatever. I'll admit, all of the women are gorgeous despite their weight. But I get severely irked when that one chick says, "It's so nice to meet a guy that likes normal-sized women." She is not normal sized, and by no means should she delude herself into thinking it. If she is healthy then she has no reason to be fussing about her weight, but she can't expect that so much belly around her middle will be viewed as normal.

I must be weightsist, or something. Skin color, religion, none of that bothers me. But God forbid you be fat! And face it; if you're obese, it's probably your fault. (Nothing against people with medical disorders, but you're still really annoying.)

I am a very skinny person, and I have been all my life. When I was very young, I remember my mum complaining to my dad that she felt bad about how skinny I was. It looked as if she wasn't feeding me. This wasn't at all the case, though; I had a very healthy appetite. I've been pretty much the same way ever since. I don't fuss very much about how much I weigh, so long as I am still healthy. There have been a few times where I have been unhealthy and weighed much too little, but those are stories for another day.

You'd think that by being skinny, I'd be more easily accepted into the world. I've seen so many documentaries about fat people having problems with their social life. It's just a common idea that the fat kid will get teased. But it seems that everyone overlooks that it's not their weight that causes them to be teased, it's the fact that they are different at all. Even when I was little it was common for kids my age to be overweight. They didn't get teased, because it was just another normal thing. But if they were the only boy in an otherwise all-girl class, they would get teased. Similarly, I've found myself being the only skinny girl in a group of chubby chicks. But fat girls are really vicious, apparently, because they don't just make fun of me, they go out of their way to blame me for everything that is wrong in the world. I spent about a month in high school avoiding this group of four or five girls that really didn't seem to like the way I looked. I had done nothing wrong, they just were really jealous that I looked nice in my clothes, I guess.

I've also noticed that when I dress well for an extended period of time, people don't like talking to me. I'm pretty sure that by being skinny and wearing fashionable clothes, people assume that I'm stuck-up. So I guess that's another example of not quite fitting in because I'm skinny. I suppose the point I want to make with that is it doesn't matter if you're fat, people will probably hate you anyways.

I don't know where I'm going with this at all. I guess I just wanted to point out that because I'm skinny I don't always get accepted into groups, which is backwards because usually it is the fat kid that has a hard time.

Maybe I'll talk about how having the ideal body weight isn't actually ideal. I don't understand how the girls on TV are so skinny yet look so nice. After a certain point, your ribs start to stick out, and it's not an easy thing to hide when you're in a bikini. My ribs have always stuck out, as have my hips. In all honesty, I don't look that great when I'm naked (seriously, who does?), but I do look nice when I'm wearing clothes. Especially clothes that cover my joints, which tend to be bony. I've had people tell me that they wish to be as thin as I am, but it's like there's fine print they haven't read. Being skinny comes with physical setbacks, I'd rather have a normal bodytype. Not normal like the fat chick from that ad, but actually normal.

I've tried quite a few times in my life to gain weight. I've tried diet, which worked for a bit but the weight never stuck. I've tried exercise, which turned out to be a horrible idea because I lost weight. I've tried both, with no results other than my breasts getting bigger. Which was just plain odd.

This past summer I have been losing weight, and it's actually kinda scary. Yesterday I noticed that my wrists were the thinnest they have ever been, and that the bones in my wrists and hands were jutting out uncomfortably. Try as I might, I can't get my weight up to at least 100 again. Ideally, I'd be 120, but for some reason I've been weighing closer to 95. I can only think of one reason why I'm losing weight; I've stopped eating school lunch every day. Essentially, that was the unhealthiest meal of my day, and now it is gone.

I generally like healthy foods. I don't mean sodas that are diet or low-calorie snacks, because I'm pretty sure those things are carcinogenic. I mean actual meat from a real animal that has not been processed, bread without preservatives. I prefer finer foods, such as picking filet mignon over a hamburger and fries. I'd much rather eat a peach than eat anything from McDonald's, actually. I’m pretty sure this plays a big part in why I weight so little, and why cutting out one unhealthy meal makes such a big difference.

Man, this is a long post. And I could probably double it in size discussing ideas and theories about why I’m skinny. So I guess I’ll end here.

Schizotronic

So they sent me an e-mail today telling me that they shipped my Reader. I'm a little bit disappointed, as I was hoping that they shipped it earlier. Now I have to wait a little longer. It's still not bad, though, it should be here before the end of the week.

They also sent me a link with tracking information for my package. That was probably a bad idea.

MASPETH , NY , US	08/04/2009	9:59 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	08/04/2009	8:13 P.M.	ORIGIN SCAN
US	08/04/2009	6:07 P.M.	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I have been following this all day! It took so long before any information appeared on the page. 6:07Pm? Really! I expect them to run a tighter ship, and have my package set for a departure scan at 6:00Am! But at the same time, it is thrilling to know that it left New York hardly ten minutes ago. It might be moving right now! Tomorrow, I could wake up and it could be in a different timezone! This is so exciting! I have never cared so much about a mere object before.

Earlier when I said I had been watching the tracking information all day, I was lying. I actually ran all over town today, meeting up with different friends and swapping different objects. Amber gave me a safe, to keep precious things in. It's really quite heavy, and for some reason it has a handle on it. So someone could take my valuables if they wanted, but they wouldn't be able to get at them...? I met with Louis, and in exchange for some information he's been pining after for four years, he gave me a wallet of his senior portrait. His picture is pretty badass--He took it with his motorcycle, and at the bottom is says LOUIS 09. Neat.

Unfortunately, my wallet is so full of pictures that I've had to double up on some people. I was fussing over what to do, when I found that Amber left a picture frame inside the safe. Score! I was able to remove the picture frame, and that made enough room for me to casually toss in all of my wallet-sized photos. Now they're safe, so long as nobody tries to steal my safe.

Oh man! Where do you think my package will be when I wake up? This is so exciting! I'm gonna sleep in really late so that it can travel really far! Hee~ I'm gonna go read Harry Potter and then dream about reading it electronically.

Building Distinguished

Oh man I'm so excited I might pee a little bit. That book gizmo thing will be here any day now.

... I hope. I haven't received anything resembling order confirmation. But the money has been withdrawn from my account (I suddenly feel really poor).

Wait! Never mind! I did get a receipt in my e-mail. I was just so excited that I filed it away into my receipts folder right away. Yay! That means there s a possibility it will be here tomorrow!

So my dad has been spending his time fixing up my bike so that I can take it to college, because I will not be taking my car. Which is strange, because we bought that car specifically so I could take it with me to--Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore. He's been having quite the jolly time tinkering with it. My dad loves to tinker, and I guess bikes are a fun thing to tinker with. He adjusted my brakes (To perfection, I might add), greased up the chain, and even adjusted the gearshift. He then bought me a bike lock, a new helmet, and a little basket thing to put my bag on. Oh, and a light.

It's really very sweet of him. It's like his way of bidding me farewell as I go off to college. And I'd be all excited about it, if it weren't for one little snag: It seems I've forgotten how to ride a bike. I hopped on today, all proud and joyous, and wobbled into the stonewall. And then wobbled into a tree. I wobbled around a lot, and used the brakes a lot. I didn't really go anywhere, because I kept tipping over before I could gain speed. I would have soldiered on until I re-learned how to ride a bike, but then the mentally handicapped kid that lives on my street zipped past on his razor scooter, and I'm pretty sure he laughed at me.

I really don't know what emotions I should be feeling anymore. But pride and joy certainly aren't on the list.

Sony Reader

Holy cow you guys there is a Sony Reader coming for me in the mail right now Jesus Christ it will be in my hands by the end of the week this is such a dream come true I can't beleive this is actually happening this was so worth the money oh my God a Sony Reader!

Is it going to look like this:

And it is going to have books in it that I am kinda interested in reading. Right now I have 34 books that I want to put on there... But I think I will hold off on putting them all on at once. They're mostly just entire series of books, and it would be a bit annoying to have to scroll through a bunch of the same type of book.

I will probably take pictures of the unboxing and then post them. Or maybe I'll take pictures, promise to post them, and never do it. I will write up a review of the thing as soon as it is in my hands, and then a follow-up review about how much I've loved the last 24 hours with my Sony Reader. And then just after the warranty expires I will write an angry blog post about how the damn thing broke and they won't give me my money back.

Oh my Gosh!

I am about to own a Sony Reader guys, you have no idea how amazing this is for me.

Yay!

Reconsideration

I really want a Sony Reader. Oh my God. I am this close to turning this into a blog about the Sony Reader. I want to give somebody money for it by the end of tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to Seattle and had a jolly good time. I don't know why I don't go over there more often. Afterwards I got to mess around with Amber's Amazon Kindle and Kindle 2. I really hate the Kindle now. The placement of the page turn buttons are odd, and so much space is taken up by the keyboard. Not to mention how awkward the keyboard is. I read a short story on one, and I enjoyed the e-paper experience. I just hated picking the damn thing up and accidentally hitting two buttons. Every time.

So I feel justified in my decision to get a Reader.

I finally talked to my dad about the Reader, and he seemed open-minded about it. It's not like he could stop me from buying one, but I'd like his approval before buying an expensive gadget. He suggested that I go to a store somewhere and play with one, and compare it to the Kindle. It seemed like good advice, so I thought I'd go do that tomorrow. And then I'd exclaim my love for the Reader, and buy one online immediately.

I keep having dreams about the Reader. Every morning I wake up and reach for where I'd store the thing, wanting to read it. Everytime I am bored and need entertainment, I think "Oh! I'll just go and get my Reader and..." and then feel hollow inside. I can honestly say that I have never wanted to buy something so bad in my life.