The Here and Now: Kelifer's View

Packing Up and Shipping Out

2009-06-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we all saw this coming.

Unfortunately, I'm practically never on this blog space anymore, and just today I created a new spot over at LiveJournal. Yes, yes, this isn't the first time I've done this. However, LiveJournal seems to be doing a much better job for me, blog-creativity-wise. I feel like I can customize so much more, and I've found a lot more "communities" where my interests are mutually reflected. Therefore, I'm heading over there and closing down this old rickety popsicle stand I once called a blog.

I hate to do this, considering it's only a little over a year old. But it has to be done. I won't be deleting a single thing off of here with exceptions to some of the miscellaneous "junk" I have floating around, simply because it's too much to just abandon cold turkey. Besides, I have far too many posts situated here, and I just can't retype or copy and paste them over somewhere to be filed away in my already suffocated computer space.

If anything, this is merely the outer shell of my "old skin", to be left here for future peoples to read and muse over when they link over here from my "new skin". Like a little nostalgic reminder of who I once was a little over a year ago until now.

Yep.

-Morganne

Time For Some Wasteland Justice

2009-06-09T13:51:00.001-07:00

I recently started playing Fallout 3, thanks to my little brother. I have to say: somewhat impressing. Considering it's the same roaming and wandering and fighting and plundering crap I've experienced during the constant nonstop hours of gameplay in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, there's nothing worth much of my attention accept the storyline and fact that your placed in a post apoctalyptic nightmare version of civilization, and frankly I rather enjoy those survivalist type of stories. Sadly however, I tend to prefer a much "cleaner" environment to "play" in, so the dirty trashy world you have to roam is almost as nausiating as the graphics are to my motion sickness.

But I'll be damned if I can't find Father when it's all said and done...

-shakes a fist in the air-

-Kelifer

I Own a Russian Military Hat

2009-05-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's true.

Angels&Demons: Movie Review

2009-05-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today, my mom took me to go see the muchly anticipated movie thriller, Angels&Demons. I've been really excited since I saw the very first preview trailer for this film, mostly because I loved the story and not so much about The DaVinci Code. In fact, just like with the books, this movie was better than the first. But I'll save these opinions for the review.

Angels & Demons Overview
[WARNING: This review will contain many spoilers for the movie and the plot of the story itself, so if you have not seen the movie, don't read unless you want to be notified of its pros and cons. If you haven't even read the book, read at your own curiousity and risk.]

Another warning, this review contains pretty random opinions and stuff, including my new fascination with Ewan McGregor, so...you've been warned.

The Cinematics
I guess I'll start with the good: overall, this movie was spectacular in its cinematics department! I loved the motion of the characters and the camera across the sets, the special effects of the antimatter particles and especially the explosion at the end...just all of it. One of the greatest things I loved was its face paced action without becoming too caught up in explaining the plot all at the same time and/or becoming incongruent with too much action. The story flowed (fairly) smoothly (no movie really gets it all in without its confusing moments here and there), and for that I am grateful, even though I've read the book itself.

Another element which I think would fit best under this category was the musicography (?) and the setting. Absolutely amazing. I've never been more inspired to travel East to Europe and visit such an amazing city (or rather country, hahaha). The churches were what got me and my mom, especially St. Peter's Basillica in the heart of the Vatican City. And the music!!!!! C'etait tres magnifique. Hans Zimmer is the greatest musician this side of the twenty-first century.

Acting
Okay, we all knew that Tom Hanks was an amazing actor, and he obviously served as at least twenty-five percent of the total reasons why I wanted to see this movie, but damn we had a lot of other great actors!! The biggest shock was both Ewan McGregor and Nickaj Kaas (?). I didn't even know McGregor was in the movie until the end credits and when my mom told me who it was, but throughout the movie I was just blown away by him *laughs sheepishly*. I credit it to his cute Irish voice and surprisingly the fact he looked awsome without any facial hair (hahaha). Nickaj which I believe was his name, played the saddistic Assassin who went around murdering the cardinals, but he was just so serious about the role! And yes, he was cuuuuuuttttte. But McGregor would still win...

Aside from that silly-girlie-crush-stuff, the other actors played their roles really well, too. Seriously, and realistically. The only thing that did bother me was a few people who acted very...stale. I can really only think of Vittoria. I can't really explain, but I just did not like her. I think that would be my only negative comment.

The Plot
Hmmmm...wow. Although the overall idea was there (you know, Tom Hanks is called in for a job concerning his expertise in religious things, he teams up with the authorities and another supposedly attractive woman to take down some anarchist/intolerant/murderous society, and ultimately succeeds by using his expertise to do the afore mentioned all the while uprooting some ultra-revolutionary secret about the Catholic church and/or learning something outstanding about religion in the process)...this story proved to stab me in the heart with a very sharp stick, twisting it and watching me cringe. I'm not saying it was bad...I'm just a little heart broken by all the little lies it wove in between the truth.

Here's where the spoilers come in. The first thing I noticed was this Silvano-guy, the partner of Vittoria's on the anti-matter project, is in fact NOT her adopted father. In the book, he obviously was, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it. This was supposed to be important because it provides Vittoria a massive revenge-complex to kill the Assassin (and again, he never makes the snide comment about having killed her "father", nor does he kidnap her later in the story). Two elements left COMPLETELY out.

The second oddity occured when Maximillian Kohler never showed up. This makes me wonder one of two things: either the movie was becoming so expensive they couldn't spare enough to hire a guy a in a wheelchair, or I somehow missed something while staring at Ewan McGregor the whole damn movie. I'm hoping it was the second because then I could have an excuse to see the movie again and the casting department won't look quite as cheap. Either way, they substituted Mr. Kohler instead with the suspicious Richter, the head of the Swiss Guard. Not quite as fun, but oh well, he still did a good job (come to find out, my mom told me the actor playing Ricter was the actor who played Davy Jones in the PotC series).

Another minor note included mentions of Langdon already having a previously tense relation with the church, implying that the events of The DaVinci Code have...already happened. Ummm...if I remember correctly, Vittoria was mentioned in the early chapters of The DaVinci Code...and I think it's mentioned in the blurbs of the books themselves that Angels&Demons was the first adventure of Langdon's. *throws hands up in the air* Whatever, we'll just throw careful storytelling out the window and change the course of fictonal history as we know it. You know what, why don't we just say Resident Evil: Extinction came before Resident Evil (the first), and that whats-her-face knew how to kill zombies before she even knew who she was or what was going on. Yeah, that makes sense.

The last short incident I couldn't help but notice was the tragic deaths of all four cardinals by the Assassin. Oh wait, that should be three cardinals, because, THE LAST CARDINAL SURVIVED. I'm sorry, I must have been referring to the book, which by American cinematics standards doesn't mean anything to moviemaking anymore. It like, defeats the whole purpose of Langdon doing something heroic, but ultimately succeeding only to get information about the Assassin's whearabouts and a slap on the back for trying his best (it's tragic but bittersweet). In the end, this "miraculously" saved cardinal becomes the pope, instead of the other...church member, who in the book explains to the Carmalengo his very secret past (described below). However, despite the deceit, it is still nice to know that Langdon could save at least one of the cardinals...

Although these travesties were horrific to my love for this story, it was the ENTIRE story arc revolving around the Carmalengo that enfuriated me!!! (That's Ewan McGregor, by the way) Just to spit it out, the Carmalengo turns out to be the "bastard" son of the pope, which is the entire reason or a majority of it that causes him to do so much wrong to the church, but in the end everybody learns that it was science AND God that helped to bring him about. THIS WAS NEVERRRRRRR MENTIONED!!! Instead, Ewan McGregor just looks like a crazy-ass psycopath who sets himself on fire to escape being condemned by his church, not because he is confused about what he has done by killing his own father. It was this part of the story that made me truly love the book because it was just so...I don't know, moving or something. *throws the director through a stained-glass window* Stupid movie directors. You destroy everything with your whorish ways.

Those were the biggest concerns about this movie alone. Now, for some comparison.

Compared to its predecessor, Angels&Demons seemed to be much more interesting as a whole. Of course, nobody has ever reacted to a movie with as much hatred and fanaticism as they have in the past with The DaVinci Code, but somehow, Angels&Demons just is more inspiring and universal I think. The story wasn't so much about denouncing the church, but instead doing what all good action movies aspire to do: save the world, destroy those who bring evil to it, and motivate everyone else to believe just a little bit more in whatever faith guides them. Again, very universal compared to its original.

As for acting, this time around wasn't quite as bad as The DaVinci Code. In that one, I couldn't stand he stifling dialogue, and the strained emotions. Just not as fun, and so scholarly of everyone (gah). Again, only Vittoria really disappointed me.

Minor comparisons include the storytelling, which wasn't so riddled with the historical stuff like the original, but instead with more present-whats-actually-important-at-this-moment kind of action. And even that wasn't so muddied down with random explanations and moments of curious plot twists. In fact, I'm really glad the Carmalengo wasn't even one bit implied throughout the movie as being the conductor of the whole scheme until the tapes are actually showed, leaving those who don't know the story to feel totally surprised like they should and those of us who did read the book to know with clever satisfaction "he is SO the bad guy, and you other people will never have guessed it".

Alright, I'm totally blanking on whatever it is I want to finish saying about this movie, mostly because I'm eating dinner, but overall, Angels&Demons was amazing. Would I see it again? Of course. Will I feel even more in love with Ewan McGregor and that cute Irish voice of his? Uh, YEAH. No helping it. Will I ever get revenge on what was done to this story? Probably not, I'm not that motivated to travel all the way out to Hollywood to whack someone. They wouldn't even deserve it.

For those who know the story and would like to see the movie, don't let my prejudice change your mind, it really is very good. But just don't let the lack of certain details bother you when you go see it and remember, it happens.

-Kelifer

Days One, Two, and Three

2009-04-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

The vacation has been going swimmingly so far. The first day was rough though, since I was making more mistakes than a new driver (we've done our fair share). I made at least three, but really, they were all seriously, like, NEARLY losing my boarding pass, RIGHT before we board the plane. Yeah, that was bad. (Not as bad as Nick blatantingly throwing his away. I can still hear and see my dad freaking out, saying "What the hell are you DOING?!" Hahahaha)

The rides down here weren't too bad, minus the uncomfortable ride between Indy and Atlanta, Georgia where this baby would NOT STOP CRYING. Plus, I felt like a jerk taking the window seat in 16F when I was clearly 16E. The guy came to get his seat and he asked, "Are YOU 16F?" (in his South African sounding accent which I thought was neat). Like a sly fox, I embarrassingly said, "Oops! Read the ticket wrong!"

If I had 16D, that might not have flown very well with him...hahaha.

Anywho, yesterday I had the whole condo to myself for the morning since Grandma was at work for the morning and early afternoon, and Grandpa and Nick were helping with something or another. When they got back, we went to the senior showcase at Cypress Lake High School. Their art is either depressing or very "gangtsa/urban" related. I didn't get most of it...

Later in the evening, we went to a fish fry where I got to drive for the first time in Florida! Hooray! The fish wasn't too spectacular (good, but not great). I was really missing the Legion's fish fry from Tipton...*mmmmmm*

That pretty much wrapped everything up for that day. Today, we all went kayaking where Nick was constantly trying to tip me over while yelling "For the Queen!" and "Esquire!!" We also saw aligators and got to have paddle fights over the sunscreen and a picnic. Good fun!

Afterwards, Grandma and me went shopping for groceries and some books, but the real highlight was me getting an ACTUAL artist's pen from Office Depot for a pretty cheap deal (also, I drove at least twice)! And the thickness should be perfect for my work. It was a shame we couldn't find the right stencils for the dialogue bubbles I want to put, but oh well...

For a spectacular dinner, we had spaghetti (YES!!!), and I'm currently eating some dessert. I don't really have a plan for the rest of the night, but I'll keep my mind open.

One thing I forgot was to mention that me and Nick got to see home movies of us as kids. You never really understand or appreciate your own childhood until you see your parents and you from those times. I got to watch videos of my life from before birth up until I was almost one year old, and I've never seen them before in my life! I've never understood how much my parents actually love me...

-Kelifer

Rounding Up My Day...One Good Thing at a Time

2009-03-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

I took my Driver's Ed final exam today. It didn't seem as hard as I think we all were expecting it to be (most of it was pretty much common sense), but it was the free response that sent me for a loop on some of the questions. One in particular that I couldn't fully answer was "What choices do you make in adverse conditions?" There were three, and I only managed to answer two of them, and I felt stupid because I had just read the answers in my study guide not twenty minutes prior to that. Oh well, I've aced all of my chapter quizes (which is a perfect record for me, haha) and the bonus quizes we took two days ago should keep me losing my perfect grade in the class. Everyone today finally realized that I've had my permit for longer than 6 months and wondered how I could have ever taken my written exam already (it was kind of embarassing telling them that I was already 17 and a half and still taking Driver's Ed, but I did enjoy the course overall).

Speaking of enjoyment, I finally got my first real chance and practice at....PARALLEL PARKING. I'm actually really good at it for a noob. I'm just particularly thankful for having my instructor, Mr. McEwan (?) teaching me. He's pretty well into his years, but that means experience and a calm state of mind and control which I think rubs off on me when I start to freak out. I was soooo nervous though, my hands were sweating really badly. I was even stupid enough to mention that I didn't understand speeds going through a roundabout...so he made me go through one a few times to be sure I had it down pat.

Wow, totally should have kept my mouth shut on that one. But at least I'm more comfortable with roundabouts. Hooray...

As for the rest of the day, it's actually been going very well for me. Friends were doing great and putting me in an awesome mood, classes were easy and fun (with the exception of Pre-Calculus of course). There's also a ladybug on my laptop...(he won't go away...) Then, after the Driver's Ed class, my mom and her more-than-a-good-friend, Doug (heeheehee) came and picked me up and we went GEO-caching while Nick was at his track practice. Now I'm enjoying an awesome grilled barbeque chicken dinner that mom and Doug made for us.

Yep. Been a gooooood day.

Just Felt Like Posting Until My Attention Died and Simba Stole My Arm

2009-03-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Driver's Ed ends on Friday. I'm beginning to realize how important those two hours after school are to me when I have to spend them suffering in a small room.

Just saying, it's really hard typing with a fat cat sit directly on your arm (I move my arm enough to hit the backspace button, and he still doesn't move...hahaha). Simba loves me so much.

In a minute, I'm going to update my Art blog considering I'm doing quite a bit of it recently. And watching this interesting show of Asian martial arts techniques on my fav number channel 53, I feel like I'm thinking in a British accent, which is kind of annoying. Anyways, I'll leave the artistic suspense for the artistic blog...

I'm starting to get psyched about Florida next week. I'm only worried because we're leaving on Thursday, and not like in the evening after school's officially out, I mean halfway during the day because my dad got the times mixed up. I'm already down 2% last 9 weeks for a day I was clearly at an appointment for but because I didn't bring in confirmation the next day, I got screwed on my overall grade. Now this. [DEEP GROAN]. So frustrating.

I'll at least be looking forward to sunny weather and relaxation...that is, if my grandmother doesn't have me running all over the place doing odd jobs and stuff. I don't think I'll even have time to draw (everytime I do, I get in trouble).

I'm losing concentration in writing this. I'll follow up tomorrow or something.

You Know You're a Hard-Ass When You Threaten to Send Someone to Russia

2009-03-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Last night, our History department held their annual Schindler's List showing at the school's LGI room. Despite having to sit for 3+ ungodly hours, that movie has become the highlight of many conversions today, mostly between myself and other students who actually showed up as well to see it.

Originally, I wasn't going to be able to go, but not only did I desperately want those coveted extra credit points, my mom was tired of the bull-honkey that my dad and step-mom have been giving me about Driver's Ed and not being capable of doing this and that and blah blah blah...I'm just thankful I could have gone.

Speaking of Driver's Ed, that started last Monday (the 9th), so next Friday will be my last day and I'm...still officially semi-street legal. What I'm getting geared up for is that maybe by the time we leave for Spring Break (April 2nd), I'll have gained my full-street legal-ness and can drive ALOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEEE. Granted my mom will let me.

I've actually really enjoyed Driver's Ed. You never realize how much you DON'T know until you spend two hours straight every day after school learning something new, EVERYTIME. Plus, I'm actually spending at least one-on-one sixty minute sessions with the actual instructors behind the wheel, and that kind of feedback is pretty cool. My two instructors are hilarious, too, because they're so straight forward and funny all the time, although Mike, my last [driving] instructor has to be my top fave. He's witty and totally 100% salt-and-vinegar (if you get the meaning at all), and he even enjoys the same oldie's music as I do. We even talked about Boston Legal (which I haven't actually watched), but he said I was sharp enough to get the hidden meanings and jokes that most other kids my age wouldn't get. He's so neat.

The downside is that I DO have to spend two hours a day after every school day just sitting in the most uncomfortable metal chair and cramped classroom on the face of the planet. But just one more week and I'm DUUUUUUHHHHHH-NNNNNNNNNNN-NNNNNNE.

Exaggerated much, there? Yeah.

-Kelifer

Ps: I didn't really go into depth on why I LOVED Schindler's List, but there are way too many things to mention and I'm just way too lazy today.

The Indianapolis Home Show

2009-02-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Today was most likely one of the best days ever that has inspired me to become a professional architect.

For my Civil Engineering and Architecture class, Mr. Toms took us on a field trip to the Indianapolis Home Show being held at the Fairgrounds. It was spectacular. We got to walk around and visit booths set up for practically any home building or home maintenance need. Kitchenware, siding, flooring and tile, painting services...God, you name it, it was most definitely there.

Our first stop was actually a two-story house they set up in the South Pavilion (I think every year), where you can walk through it and see some of the designs they've done for the bedrooms or for the living room spaces. It was really neat, and I even have the drawing plan for both floors which was a great bonus. My only critique was that you barely had a chance to really admire the rooms because so many people were being let in at short intervals. Brandi and I caught some pretty decent pictures, though.

When we finished, we had until 1:45 p.m. to visit the rest of the show, going to booths for anything we wanted. The one thing me and Brandi really enjoyed was snagging business cards and brochures from companies that specified in tiles or cabinetry, and some of the landscaping firms. I kept telling Brandi, "I LOVE marble and stone countertops, and anything familiar to an old home in Tuscany." Of course, that didn't stop us from picking up anything that was free...or looked like it was free...[laughs]

At some booths, we even asked some basic questions: what kind of programs they used, how difficult was it to manage the drawing and still meet the consumer's needs, and maybe a few others. I later thought of some really good questions when we were leaving, and now I feel bad that I didn't write them down before the trip so I'd be prepared; I thought of things, like "What is the market like or how will it be in about five to ten years?", or "If the customer already has the design of the home in mind, does it cost less because the firm they hire will not need much time to draw it up, or will it cost more because it's customized?". I realize now that I may need to talk more to my teacher, or better yet my Aunt Anne about these things.

But it still was the materials that some companies were advertising that blew my mind away. Seeing such beautiful tile and flooring designs, looking at cabinets and kitchen layouts...Oh my god, it was amazing! It's one thing to say, "I want marble tile for my floor", but it's another to see how many hundreds of marble you can actually choose from and then realizing that you can design whatever you want using them. Geez, it makes me want to either be rich now or grown up and capable of buying these things. I want to build and design a house now more than I ever have before...

Today became more than a field trip for me; it was like a revelation. I love computers and drawing, but I've discovered some sort of dormant passion now for home and decoration and landscaping. Hell, at one point I told Brandi I decided I wanted to work at Lowe's or Home Depot because I'd be working hands on with materials like this, and even gaining experience in the cost/market, management, and design of them!

Of course, getting my driver's liscense soon would help, too...

-Kelifer

PS: I didn't know where to metion this tid-bit, but while we were heading down this one aisle, this guy was demonstrating a cutting tool on actual tiles and displaying this amazing mozaic he'd apparently made from them. If anyone remembers, I made a mosaic pattern over a lamp for the Mayfest Auction last May to get credit in the NAHS. Well OF COURSE I talked to this guy, because it was EXACTLY what I needed! Well, the sad news he shared (quite rudely, me and Brandi agreed) was that they were only sold to the public in Scotland, and made in Great Britain. Worst of all, the shipping cost of one matched the $30 retail price, so it wasn't practical to order one from the U.S. However, he did say that on the Martha Stuart show (some time in the possibly near future), he'd be representing his uncle's invention and the same mosaic he had displayed, so there might be a chance of them coming to the U.S. if they receive enough positive response.

I think of everything that happened today, that was the biggest downer for me. But at least I know a tool like this ACTUALLY exists now, which is better than nothing.

I've Finally Discovered the Secret to the Universe

2009-01-16T15:04:00.001-08:00

Oh my, so much has HAPPENED in the past month or so. I don't even know how to begin on this one...

Maybe first I can mention what's currently on my mind: I GOT ASKED TO PROM. *O* Freaking spectacular/weird. My only doubt in the guy who asked me is because for the past year or so, he's actually been openly gay (not like he goes around asking guys out, but he just is gay and isn't attracted to women), but as of two weeks ago, he informed me that he'd made the decision NOT to be gay, which is totally fine with me, it was his choice and no one else's. It's just one of those things that sticks in the back of your mind and so every time I think of him, it's that he USED to be gay. Also, he's redheaded, and I'm not quite into redheads. But he's such a close friend, I'd hate to turn him down; of course, that's granted he asked me because he WAS actually interested. I'm just hoping he's not, I only like him on a friend level...

God, I keep thinking back to A's new blog about the Twilight movie [laughs heartily]. Ah, seeing her critiques, especially of something we mutually hate, is quite refreshing and entertaining. It makes my day. Plus, I've noticed her posting more writing of her story, which is AWESOME. If only I had the ability to do the same....[sigh]

Uhhhh...oh. My eldest step-sister, Gina, and her husband Matt (my awesome brother-in-law), just had their first son two days ago!!! His name is Trevor David, and he shall be awesome and computer savvy. We also talked about how boys are jerks, especially my brother (he wasn't at the hospital yesterday [hahaha]), and when I asked Matt if they'd teach Trevor not to be that way, he said, "Hell yeah!"

He shall be our young Padawan...

I apologize if I spelled that wrong. Speaking of Matt, I started asking him some questions about programming and the such. I've realized that after talking about my future with my aunt Anne, I don't really know what kind of career I specifically want. Like, I don't even know what job title I want to major into, or what job/business I'd like to work for. Architecture seems to be the only clear answer for me. I'm just worried mostly because I have one last year to decide my fate before I choose a college: Purdue or Ball State. Sadly, it's the career path that determines my school...gahhhhhh...

The one thing I've recently tried picking up again is Web Design. No, not the class, just the making of web pages. Problem is there's so much I've yet to learn, including the dreaded Java, and I don't take either courses for Java or Web Page Designing until next year. I could do like Matt and self-teach myself, or ask him for advice, but at the same time, I wouldn't know what to ask him to help me on and I don't want him taking the reigns on my projects even though he told me he wouldn't. I need a job, just for the money...

Don't think this depression ends there. I've realized I can't draw anymore. AGAIN. I'm pleased with how far I got, but after seeing so much good Shaman King fanart, and even reading over Volume 2 again, it's got me in a funk. I tried finishing even one last edition of Pompadour Power, but that ran out of ideas QUICK.

I need to start writing. CURSE YOU, A!!!!!!!!

-Kelifer

Happy New Years

2008-12-31T20:48:00.001-08:00

LESS THAN TEN MINUTES 'TILL THE BIG '09.

WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW.

I'm kind of psyched. I guess. I don't really know what's in store for this new year, but I do know that I will:

Be getting my driver's liscense (SCORE)
Going to Winterfest to see my BEST FRIEND IN THE WOOOOORRRRRLLLLLDDDD...8D
Graduating my Junior year
Possibly take the SAT/ACT or whatever
and some other stuff I'll think of later...

Anyways, just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a wonderful outcome of happiness that goes to everybody and so on and so forth. Hope the same for myself.

What am I doing at the moment to celebrate, by the way? Listening to Kill Bill themes and drawing a last, 2008 tribute to my new favorite Internet game character, Caligula, who is a badass Roman with a bloodlust and a need to purge Rome of its sinners and disgusting citizens. Yeah, he's awesome like that.

Fight on, Caligula! Use your awesome bear-pelt Ursaform to heal Rome of its evil...ness.

-Kelifer

T'is the Season to Be Kickin' Ass With a Dominion Rod...Fa-la-la-la-la...la-la-la-la...

2008-12-28T07:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry for a week of suspense that I'm sure you were all feeling. I've been really busy and...well, too lazy to think of something to write here.

But now, I've got enough time to make for all of you. So what have I been doing in the past week? Hm, a lot really. Obviously we've all been celebrating the Christmas/Holiday season, whatever that may be for you, but surprisingly enough my family has one last big get-together today, including some cousins we don't see too often and our grandparents. I wish my aunt and uncle and the boys could be here, but they already told me this summer that they didn't expect to be coming up for the holidays....

:<

Oh well. I know we're having lobster chowdah tonight, so that will make me feel a little bit better....[laughs]

In other events, I STARTED PLAYING LoZ: Twilight Princess again!!!! Better yet, I'm playing on a BIG SCREEN. Oh yeah, major pownage for me now. And it's awesome cause in two short days I beat two temples and gained the weapon Ball-and-Chain (which I use on practically everybody), and THE DOMINION ROD!!!! That thing is AWESOME. I can control statues (which was a challenge me and Matt were trying to figure out before I realized where the Temple of Time even was), and the one statue I had was SOOOOOO cute! I wish I could have taken him with me....[laughs] He hops up and down when I move and smashes his hammer on enemies when I attack with the rod (but if I'm standing in front of him, he hits me istead....hahahaha). My only sadness though is because as soon as I left the temple, the Dominion Rod was BROKEN!

:<

My new pretty toy....[cries] Gah, but I haven't played in almost two days...and we've got dinner tonight [groaaaaannnnnnn]. I still have tomorrow, I suppose... BUT, those aren't the neatest things of the past week. Well, really in the past few days, I STARTED DRAWING AGAIN! Even more awesome is that I got a new sketchbook for Christmas from my mom! Starting as of yesterday, Notebook #9 is officially started! Yay me.

Okay, what everyone is waiting for: gifts.

[takes deep breath]....PSYCHE. I don't really have that much. From mom, I got some awesome clothes and a new waist pea coat, my new sketchbook, a Gas America gift card (trust me, it's worth it!), and hopefully 60 dollars toward my trip to Winterfest in February (to see my best friend in the whole world!). From dad, I really only got three small things: a gift card to American Eagle, cologne (which smells like citrus! Hooray!), a new jacket (which I think was actually from my aunt and uncle?), and new headphones with this little plastic case to put them in so Mo doesn't eat them again...(bastard). The big gift though, from him, was a new television for the basement, which apparently wasn't for me...[grumble]...hahaha. But it's pretty awesome.

Other than all of that, Christmas has been fairly simple. I think if there were a few things I still wanted/needed, it would be another 60 bucks toward my Winterfest trip (Grandma hinted toward it, though, and I would SERIOUSLY give up any gifts to have the money!), a version of Adobe Photoshop (downloading it off the Internet isn't exactly working as planned...and I heard one of my freshman got one! How cruel...), and a tablet with (maybe) a mouse, since mine scurried off somewhere. But I'm not expecting, or even hoping, anyone to buy me those things for Christmas; I'm wanting to get a solid job and make the money to earn them myself, or I'd even be patient enough to wait until my birthday to get them (or at least ask for them this spring, and expect nothing this summer). I guess I'm not that patient....[laughs].

But that's about all I can possibly throw up on this blog for today. I have to get hit the showers and get ready for a day of holiday gift-giving and WARM DELICIOUS HOLIDAY FOOD.

-Kelifer

Season's Tidings and a Happy Birthday?! How Lucky Is This Guy?!

2008-12-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

I feel like I don't really have a lot of time for whatever reason, mainly cause Mom wants to steal back her computer, so I'll make this one kind of short.

In fact, I have just one thing to say that's really important:

IT'S RYU'S BIRTHDAY!!!! 8D Yes, the sexy stud was born today way back in 1981 (he'd be 26 if he were real...hahaha).

Yep. That's pretty much all I wanted to say. Oh, and Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to the rest of ya!

-Kelifer

Ps: I forgot to mention, this is my 53rd post on this blog. 53 is my luckiest number!!! Hahaha, how strange, huh?

Take Me Up To the Top of the World, I Want To See My Crime...

2008-12-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

Just another Sunday, but it's special in a way because it's the last free weekend day to have before the last week of the semester. That's right: just five more days and first semester is ooooovvvveerrrrr......

That, unfortunately, means I have only five days to get EVERYTHING done that hasn't been done so far: get my senior school schedule turned in, WHEREVER THE HELL IT IS; pressure my mom into giving me 80 bucks for Christmas to pay the first payment for a trip to see my best friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD (and whom I haven't seen physically in OVER A YEAR!!!) by this Friday; finish my computer programming final and all other homework assignments; and maybe, just MAYBE, figure out a way to get Christmas gifts to my friends by the time we all leave. I'm thinking I'll just go cheap and draw them pictures...I still owe A gifts from last year times two for Christmas AND her sixteenth birthday...THEY'RE COMING BACK AROUND, GOD DARNIT!

Ugh....I hate procrastinating. And speaking of which, I got blitzed last night by the stepmother for not pressuring my mom to take me to the dentist and get this whole cavity situation dealt with by now, which (as she so eloquently explained to me) is keeping me in braces until after spring, and heaven forbid I spend one month over the summer or during the beginning of my senior year with...*gasp* BRACES!!! God, lighten up. Then, after that lecture, I got pressured for not PHYSICALLY trying to find a job. I've already considered looking online, and she doesn't need to worry about it. I dont even have a car yet, so I can't really work at the moment, right? *groan*

So, as the week has drawn out and the semester comes to a climactic close, pressure is piling up, and somehow I'm gonna figure out how to deal with it. I'd consider making a real list of what projects I need to finish or manage, but not only is it extensive, it's a grim reminder to me. I'd rather not look at it...*turns away and tries to hide* Any plans for Christmas? I'm with my mom over the majority of it. I'm thinking I might go job-hunting while we're home, since I would actually like to work in Tipton. I want to work in Noblesville, too, which would make after-school work easier, but I like Tipton better. Meh...

-Kelifer

Dear Diary, Does Your Life Suck As Bad As Mine?

2008-12-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot what I was going to write about today. Good thing I remembered.

Dude, my old history teacher from freshman year apparently god FIRED!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?! For the past nine weeks I've thought he was sick or something, but according to the sub who's been filling in for him all this time, he said Mr. G got the boot, or that he quit.

D:

That. Sucks.

And it get's better, too. Today was supposed to be pictures for the National Art Honor Society (NAHS), which I was told was at 2:25 pm, but then Lily tells me it's at 2:15 pm, and even though I left my M-KOM connection meeting at the Freshman Campus around 2:10 pm to have plenty of time to get back to the main campus, I arrived at 2:20 pm, and they couldn't even wait that long. That pissed me off. But I don't really care, the club means practically NOTHING to me, other than we get these neat cords for our senior year, so I have to do a good job this year and next year to get them.

Again, the plot thickens! (I realized I quoted Bill of Kill Bill Vol.2....heeheehee) When I got to the main campus (already in the cafeteria commons, so I was pretty damn cose to getting there on time!!!), Lily was there to tell me the bad news. But then she told me that today was also the day for the Young Democrats picture!!! Neither she nor I knew about this, and I'm the freaking VICE PRESIDENT!! So the VP wasn't even in the picture...could the camera people not wait for just a FEW MINUTES?!?! The hell?!

So, I missed two groups this year, but that's fine. NAHS doesn't matter that much to me. But the Young Democrats? Again, I'M THE VP!! You can't miss being in the photo for that!! What made me the maddest was that Syb didn't even tell me about it. How were we supposed to know if you didn't tell us???? So, now I'm personally angry with her.

Oh well. If it's anything, I had a much better time hanging out with my freshman (or at least the one who seemed interested enough to talk to me). The only regret I have for the M-KOM thing is that one of the girls who WAS my freshman seemed really quiet and reserved, so I always felt bad taking her time from reading or doing something else she would have found important, and the other regret is not getting the real chance to interact with another freshman that WASN'T mine, but should have been, for many different reasons, one of which being that I think we would have made great friends (we seem to have a LOT in common). I don't even know where on this confounded Internet to get a hold of her...

Perhaps the stalker's guide known as Google...

-Kelifer

Final Verdict, or Closure

2008-12-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Guess what? That wicked awesome guy I like? I've recently found out that he has a girlfriend.

:O

*sigh* Oh well. After much thought and comments from anybody who's cared to comment at all, I'd already figured that there wasn't going to ever be...well, ANYTHING that might have remotely happened between us. If anything, I might once have another class with him sometime in the next year and a half, and for the most part we'll always just be friends.

But that's not the funny part about this story.

You see, there are two types of disappointments, that at least I can associate with this particular situation: one is the disappointment of never being anything more than friends, or if not even that, nothing more than stragers. But, the second and quite amusing kind of disappointment is knowing that this guy, as smart as he's always seemed, has not just a girlfriend, but an internet girlfriend.

*O.O*

Uh, yeah. He's a highschooler with an internet girlfriend, from like, where? He's a computer whiz, sure, but this kind of takes the cake on weird. So, although I have nothing wrong with internet dating, I find it...a little too much for the highschool level, and I just don't really agree with it. But oh well.

On the side, I started another program yesterday afternoon, especially considering that we've started our program finals today (woohoo!). I'm already half-way to about three-quarters of the way finished with the program, and on Wednesday we take the written portion. But that's not exactly my story. My story is about me starting a quiz program for Shaman King (of course), which after answering 11 questions the user discovers which character suits them best. I only have 9 characters listed all together (Yoh, Ryu, Ren, Manta, Horohoro, Faust, Hao, Lyserg, and Chocolove), but the only problem is that I don't know entirely that much about a few of these characters, otherwise I'd write more questions (my knowledge only pertains to about vols. 1-10, and any other sources I've read on the characters in my spare time via the internet). Anywho, my happiness just comes from making a progressive and fairly ingenious (for my skill level) program that kind of tests everything I've worked on already. The only challenge I found was coding the timer for the initial splash screen to show up....

[laughs dryly]

But that's about it. One more week, and we're on Christmas vacation!!!

-Kelifer

Nonsensical Rantyness

2008-12-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

It gets not only a little frustrating, but also a little lonely when you spend an insane amount of time on your computer, ONCE AGAIN looking for messages that were never sent. I think I might go play an online game...

What I need to be doing is getting my story written up. For the sake of all of you, I'm not going to delve further into that self-loathsomeness.

Instead, I'm gonna rave about how my best friend, A, finished her first chapter for her book!!! Drinks and fancy appetizers for everyone! She's let me know that it's only a rough draft (and I have found some things I want to talk to her about), but it's amazing. I can't wait to read more!!!!

*gets giddy and excited with unbridled happiness*

In other events, Nick, my younger brother, threw a CD at my face (and unfortunately didn't miss) because he wants me to practice driving more. Why you ask? Because in the nonsensical world that he seems to reside in, he thinks that me getting my liscense any sooner will finally allow him to get his permit, and if I don't get my liscense, it's my fault I'm making him suffer. I can't even get my liscense until March anyway, but heaven forbid I fail the first time and he has to wait longer...of course, it's not like niether mom nor dad will allow him to get his permit even once I've gotten my liscense, and it's not like I don't freaking CARE whether or not he gets his...

I hate younger brothers. They're such selfish jackasses. Well, at least my brother is.

-Kelifer

Wintry Wonderland

2008-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

O-M-G. It snowed last night.

:O

Okay, sure, being a resident of central Indiana you would expect to see snow at this time of year; it's the seasonal thing for Indiana. But it's just one of those times of year when you go from sunny and mildly cool outside, to cloudy with white powdery snow the next day. It's a "wild" change no matter how many times you see it (like the changing and falling of leaves in the autumn, and the gradually to sudden increase in temperature that you so long for in the beginning days of spring).

Heck, if it's anything, it's always a...well, nice surprise to get some snow. Some years we don't get anything at all, or there's just a thin layer of slush. It's kind of pathetic and sad to see sometimes. But a nice blanket of fresh white powder, maybe a foot or more deep, is just what I think the season needs to make it the Christmas season.

Of course, cold temperatures, freezing winds, and ice all around aren't the greatest factors of winter wonderland, but some years if it's not so bad, you can kind of cope. Although, it will be nice again to have spring time roll back around this March...

That's all for today. I've got soe homework that really needs o be finished, but for now, I'll just jam to Seether and some other Daredevil themes, hit the shower, then maybe grab something to eat, if there's anything downstairs.

-Kelifer

Driving

2008-11-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to realize even faster than I thought how much I do not drive very well.

Isn't that awful? You go around, thinking you're on top of the world and nothing can stop you, and suddenly after one day, you just want to hide somewhere and forget everything that happend. That's kind of how I feel right now.

It's not like I did anything too terrible, I just screwed up on some technical errors. I think it started when we first hit the road, hell, getting out of the driveway. There's this truck that's been parked on the other side of the street in front of our neighbor's house, right in line with our driveway. Well, trying to avoid it, I ran the car into the lawn, kind of upsetting my dad (he wasn't mad, he didn't like having to maneuver with the truck behind us anyway). Then, heading into town, I practically pulled out in front of this guy who, when I checked, wasn't there, but when I started turning he was. It scared the crap out of me and I nearly stopped just to let myself break down right there in the car with my dad about how sorry and terrified I was that I was so careless.

Other mishaps included poor parking (I tend to park EXTREMELY crooked or to far away from the curb), pulling to far up into the crosswalk, and turning (again) without really looking for other traffic. And I'm supposed to be the careful one.

It's just been a bad day for driving. But it scares me, because if I get so afraid, is it going to keep me from hitting the road ever again? The first real time I nearly caused...well, multiple crashes, was with my mom's car (i.e. the one with manual and the stick-shift), and ever since then I've refused to drive with her, or her car. I feel bad, but I'm scared of it. Then my dad made a comment about how "Oh, if you think the van's a bitch, try driving with a stick! That's not any easier." I'm really paraphrasing what he said cause it had more to do with the timing and the situation which I don't want to explain, but it still unnerved me, cause if automatic is hard, manual is diabolical.

Diabolical...that's a funny word I never use.

Diabolical diabolical diabolical diabolical diabolical....Try saying that five times fast [laughs].

-Kelifer

Ps: I still haven't played Zelda yet....[sigh]

Everyone's an Asshole Except for the President

2008-11-28T17:10:00.001-08:00

I'm refering to the game, "Asshole", if anyone's wondering.

I've got a quick break from everyone else downstairs, but if I randomly post this and half of a sentence ends with the typical three-dot-ending, otherwise known as "the duhn-duhn-duhn ending", then it's because they dragged me out of my room to eat desert, or something else like that.

But I have been having a GRAND amount of fun today. I never did once get to play Zelda, nor will I probably have the chance later, but oh well, I had fun hanging out with family today (specifically running around Noblesville looking for supplies and beer), running into a good friend while out there, and learning a fun new card game, appropriately named "Asshole". Wicked awesome fun. In fact, I wished we'd play another round before everyone heads out, but a few players may not be up for the game's rules...(involves drinking) [laughs]...

Besides, I don't think I'm up for breaking anymore rules myself, even if I am allowed to say "lame" again...

(stupid President...)

So, again, happy late Thanksgiving/Turkeyday to all who either have celebrated, are celebrating tonight, or are planning on stuffing yourselves this weekend. Hope everyone is having a good time with their family (miss my mom, myself), and maybe you all won't be too full to get out and buy me some Christmas presents [laughs]. Hmmm...thought I needed to mention something else...I don't seem to remember what it was.

Anyways, happy holidays, and goodnight.

-Kelifer

Silly Link, You Can't Kill Ganondorf! He's Made of Magical Rays of Sunshine!

2008-11-28T07:54:00.001-08:00

I have no idea...

But seriously, I NEEEEED to play my game! I can't, however, because my middle step-sister is staying with us and has ultimately conquered the downstairs living room as her campsite.

Touché, Ange. Touché.

But I just found GANONDORF!!! Sort of...I got a little back story on him, and despite the fact that he looks kind of sick, he's still freaking sexy as he ever has been.

HEEEEEEEE is my video game loverrrrrrr.....[laughs evily] A testament to him, of course.

If anyone cared to even notice, my character, Doon, looks very similar to Ganondorf, mainly because many years ago when I came up with this whole story, he was my biggest inspiration for the villain. Granted, I didn't use reference for Doon when I drew him, so nobody say I copied! I didn't, and that's that.

The only downfall to Twilight Princess is just how EASY it is. Seriously, it takes me but a few hours to maybe clear up one dungeon (give or take breaks in between). From beginning to finish I completed the Arbitor's Grounds dungeon just in one day (yesterday), again, with me having to drive and watch Ocean's 13 in between. It still pleases me to some analytical respect that challenges exist in the game at all, but it's only a few that really make me feel like the dungeon was at all a hinderence.

Without giving much of the game away, I'd like to note one example in the Arbitor's Grounds dungeon: after first entering, you have to make your way through some rooms flooding tirelessly with pits (or rather seas) of sand, and once past it all, if you hadn't died over a millions times already, you enter a huge chamber with four burning lamps. Of course, when you think all is well, four Poes show up like the demented bastards they are, steal the pretty blu fire, then run off for you to go find them. Did I mention that the flames allow for the huge gate at the end of the room to stay open, and that the Poes were bastards?

Luckily, one is dumb enough to stay in the room, allowing you to kill him as a wolf (for you couldn't see his haunted form otherwise), and then you can learn the scent of the Poe; not booze related of course (and yes, that was a terrible joke against a wonderful American author. Kiss my ass). Now, with the scent of Poes in your nose, you can follow their trail throughout the first part (yes, there's a second one) of the dungeon. Believe it or not, I didn't use this quite to my advantage.

I'll save you the entire sequence of rooms, but in short, the first Poe SHOULD have been easy to find, but I overlooked the complexity of the revolving doors/floor, which is a frequent element in the beginning of the first part of the dungeon. I followed the first trail to a...thing on a string, which I pulled to activate a series of stairs to appear. Going down, I found a pillar in the center of the room, with a half-wall sticking out of it, kind of like a giant lever. Pushing it around (only once, which is all that I could do), a new room opened up, with a key inside a chest.

For those stuck on what I'm talking about, the pillar rotates the walls around the room, so that when I "opened" up the new room, the door to leave was blocked. This is where I overlooked the whole concept.

I turned the "lever" back, then promptly left, hoping to find some locked door to...unlock.

:O

Didn't see it? I'll go further.

In the next room, where the scent continued to go, I wound up in yet another room with the pillar coming up from downstairs. Killed some rats, then went wolfie, hoping to follow the scent. Unfortunately, the scent ended in this huge rectangle groove in the floor. Actually, I realized later it was leading out of the groove into the wall adjacent to it. Well, you would think that revolving the pillar would make the wall move, wouldn't you? Well, there was one problem: no "lever".

That poses for some trouble, doesn't it?

[By the way, if you're getting bored, you can probably just skip down to the end if you want, granted it might still be less enjoyable than this...]

Now, sparing the awful details of my trials through the damned place (I'd found my second Poe, which is another story that tried my intelligence, but more importantly my patience), I once again managed to return to the first room. Having secured two flames, I knew I'd have to solve this horrid mystery. Going back into the room with the groove in the floor, I tried everything: throwing bombs on it, shooting bombs on it, stomping around with my heavy ass boots of awesomeness, but no amount of firey explosions nor awesomeness would work. Now, before I forget to mention, on the pillar just above the groove is a grating with fire in it; for those who've never played before, the gratings help to Hook-Shot to it so you can launch yourself from place to place. Easy when there aren't any stairs around.

Well, I couldn't figure out why it was there, so for now, I forgot about it. Then it hit me; the wall where the trail leads resembles the wall downstairs when the pillar was revolved! Thinking quickly, I ran downstairs, revolved the door, then headed to leave...and found out I couldn't it.

What the hell? How do they expect you to beat something like that with the exit blocked??? It couldn't make any more sense.

But wait...then the real answer hit me (and thus this is why I love games like the Zelda series: they make you figure it out, even though it may take you forever to do so! It's the tantalizing promise of beating the game on your own without any help from the Internet!) Why would I need a grating in the wall to Hook-Shot to? To Hook-Shot to it, that's why!!! Of course, it's easy to actually do that when the groove in the floor was in fact part of the revolving mechanism, too.

Swinging my way through the now existing "hole" in the floor, I powned the Poe's ghostly butt, then scored my third flame (that sounds like a womanizing reference, doesn't it?) Ahhh...sweet victory.

Again, I suffered many more trials in the Arbitor's Grounds, but that was most likely the best challenge I did suffer (after finding my new weapon/item of goodliness, however, the challenge was more like my second favorite part of the dungeon). Having passed something as easy as that, then realizing it because you never gave up...again, I sigh heavily in euphoria....

[sighhhhhhhhhhhhh]

So, hope nobody hates me for giving away such an awesome puzzle. I feel like I ought to do a dungeons guide for the game (again, it's sooooo easy), but I don't really feel like playing the game over again; not now, at least. But someday.

For now, I continue to wait for my awesome story to unfold more, but until then...well, I don't really know what I'm going to do.

Sit here, I guess...

-Kelifer

The Tale of My Epicness

2008-11-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Today promised to be just like any other not-so-promising Thursday; it started as I assumed it would, sitting lazily on my bed and getting absolutely nothing done as I checked for messages that never dared to exist, and that's when the day turned around, surprisingly, for the better.

While lounging about on my Myspace account, my stepmom shows up in extreme distress asking me to drive her to the dentist's office, even though it's Thanksgiving.

:D

Talk about an epic start! So, without a shower an absolutely scared frame of mind, we embarked on our way to the dentist. Granted, remember, I haven't driven so long a way for so long a time, so this was truly a day for me. Worst of all, Laurie (stepmom) is practically incapacitated; no real mentoring here. Even worse than that, believe it or not, I had to drive all the way to Castleton.

:O

Epic. Although I wasn't too easy on the braking throughout our drive (I still hear Laurie freaking out), we made it to the office intact, and I got to spend a lovely hour or so crocheting (Nutmeg's head is finished, albeit he needs some serious stuffing). Of course, on the way home, we hit the CVS to pick up a new prescription Laurie now needed for her tooth ache/swelling (it looked God awful...), but that took about 30 minutes out of our precious lives. Then, finally, we made it back home where the rest of the family awaited (step sisters and brother in law).

Think it ends there? Of course not.

Then, after watching the finale to Ocean's 13 (awesome movie), then playing a smashing round in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (of which I'm STILL POWNING ASS, as per usual), the gang showed up again (they left for Thanksgiving elsewhere), and all starving, my second-eldest stepsister, Ange, and I headed out for some food. OF COURSE, everything was CLOSED!! (Duh, holiday). Thank god at least one place was still open: Taco Bell. Not my favorite, but my stomach would have to settle.

So, today turned out to be freaking spectacular. I'd have made this entry a little more enticing, but it's hard to concentrate when Laura's playing the Wii and has no clue what to do next (I'm dying to steal the controller and show her what to do...It's killing me inside!)

umm...Yeah, I don't really know how to end this (I wish I had pictures...)

-Kelifer

It's a Weird Thing Really...

2008-11-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

It's a weird thing really, that for the past fifteen minutes or so I've been trying to find this song that goes "Higher and higher baby!" from the Oldies, and all I've been able to find is results from Jackie Wilson, and the weird thing is that I've been searching for ELO on Limewire for the past half hour and that's when I got the crazy idea that maybe they sang this song, and it just so happens to be "It's a Living Thing". So I had the song all along and just happened to be downloading ELO. I knew ELO would save me one of these days.

It's a weird thing really, when you hate pink with a passion and yet you find yourself wearing pink, writing in pink, eating and drinking pink, and heck, even thinking "pink" all in the same day, just so you can get a 100 percent on a physics project. I'm such a whore.

It's a weird thing really, that I can't post artwork on my art website because I'm afraid of furthering to upset this guy who I promised to draw a picture (which is finished), without him ever agreeing to draw me one in return. Hmmm....who's in charge of this transaction again?

It's a weird thing really, that it smells like ramen in my room...

It's a weird thing really, when you've known this guy for a few years, and although he's somewhat of a slacker and doesn't care too much for school, you still find yourself falling for his goofish charm. But what about my first love...is this technically cheating, with like, my emotions?

It's a weird thing really, now that I think about it, that I have about a dozen or so stories, yet I haven't written one single chapter for practically any of them, and yet this other girl has about twenty short stories printed and copied since way back in eigth grade. I'll be supremely surprised if I ever get one fully published.

It's a weird thing really, when you ask about a friend who works at the library, his Indian coworker asks you, "Are you his homie?" and does this weird thing with crossing his hands over his chest. Excuse me?

It's a weird thing really, to notice your teacher's stomach getting bigger and not allowing yourself to say anything lest you look like an ass, even though there's a voice constantly nagging in your head telling you quite persuasively that she's most definitely pregnant. [refrains myself]...

It's a weird thing really, that I love Shaman King, yet I haven't seen more than 6 episodes, and I only own about a third of the manga and I haven't bought a new one (the one with Ryu on it) in over a good year. Oh, mon beau Ryu....

It's a weird thing really, that after reading Wikipedia, I do agree that So What is the most addicting song by Pink like the site has some credibility to it. Rock on!

It's weird thing really, that I've run of things to discuss with you. See ya.

-Kelifer

Swimming in a Sea of...Phlem?

2008-11-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

[EDIT]

I came up with a new phrase: Phlem-buoyant. [laughs]

[END]

God, I'm so sick [sniiiiiiiiiiffffffffffffffff]. For the past two days or so I've been suffering at the evil hands of a head cold, leaving me ravaged whenever I need it least. Today in Physics, I'm halfway through our Light/Color test and I want to run somewhere and puke. Thank goodness that History has "quieted" down, it wasn't so unbearable for the second half of the day. I don't have homework due until two weeks from now, and all we're doing in class is talking about the Civil War. It's one of my favorite times of our country's history (despite the war part, of course), and I feel so glad we're actually talking about it. We didn't say NOTHING about the first six chapters of the book (I don't think) even though we all toiled over the summer to get the homework done.

Well...I didn't toil that hard [laughs], but it was still obnoxious that we didn't really do anything about it...

Friday, my friend Syb is going to be dragging me along for the opening premiere of Twilight: I'm gonna need an angel to help me survive, or at least the will of Jesus, or something epic like that. The only real reason I'm going is because (1) it's an awesome time to hang out with friends, (2) I love the movies (regardless, it seems, of what I'm actually watching...hahaha), (3) Lily's birthday is Sunday, and (4) I don't have to pay for the ticket (cause God knows I'm not wasting the money!). If I do survive the horror I've destined myself for, not only does that fortell the Second Coming of Jesus, but I get to hang out at the library this Saturday to work on my "Annual Physics Spectrum Day" project with my group members. The good news is that we're using my idea for the skit, which is a commercial for a physics drink called "Energy-Phys!" ("phys" pronounced like "fizz", get it?) It was such an awesome idea I randomly thought of walking into the school and I thought, "Hmmm, maybe that would work!" My group members thought it beat the other idea, as long as it's 3 minutes long.

Now, the bad news...is that our color is pink. PINK. I HAVE TO WEAR PINK ALL DAY ON TUESDAY.

What were the freaking odds of that?!?! Actually, we could have chosen indigo, but team leader Andrea said, "Well, I don't really know what indigo is, and I think it'd be hard to find clothes to wear in indigo, so I think we should stay with pink."

D8<

What???!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Now I've kind of calmed down about the whole thing, considering the project won't be that terrible; hell, I even thought of using Pepto-bismol (?) as the "Energy-Phys!" drink since the stuff's pink and all. But it was just weird and frustrating at the time that she didn't even know what indigo was! Just plain weird...

That's kind of it, I guess. I'm gonna go let snot run out of my nose in the bathroom sink until I can finally return to this computer without drowning my arm in the sick stuff.

-Kelifer

Decision 2008 Election: Did We Even Learn Something From It?

2008-11-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, our 44th president of the United States is Barack Obama, the first black male to gain that title.

Wow. You know, any other day, perhaps even way back when at the time of the primaries when I had my "revelation" or so you could call it, I'd be more than excited: I'd probably be bouncing off the walls and dancing in the streets screaming "Whooppppeeeee!". But after listening to the gripe and the comments about people's reaction to the results today at school...it takes the "fun" out of it.

My school is not only half full of...well, IDIOTS (both Democrat and Republican alike), but is situated in probably the most conservative county in the nation: that's not an exaggeration, it's been announced publicly on television before (in fact Nobesville was mentioned last night during the election). As you can guess: Noblesville was obviously NOT happy.

[Bear with me, I'm getting to my point...]

But what bothered me more was the fact that despite their candidate losing, they couldn't suck it up long enough to realize that griping and moaning and bitching about the problem isn't getting us ANYWHERE. So your candidate lost. It happens. ALL THE TIME. And yes, this election was important to us all, I understand that. But just cause your candidate didn't win doesn't mean the end of the world for America.

[Please, try to continue, my point's here somewhere...]

McCain had an AWESOME run at it. Even during his speech I cried. Yes, I cried real tears. Not only was he gracious and respectful, but his words, the actual MEANING behind them struck me hard (god, I'm getting teary eyed right now). He's right when we need to support Obama, because this country matters most. I'd would do the same for McCain if HE won. That's how this country should be handled. We shouldn't be bickering or screaming about what happened, it's what's GOING to happen that matters now.

[BAM. Hope you like them apples. You can continue, now...]

And I'm not agreeing with other supporters of Obama that say he'll do this country right, nor at the same time am I saying that McCain couldn't do the job at all either: this country is in a tough place, we can all surely agree to that, right? Either candidate was going to have a rough ride in office, no matter who it was. The one fact that is certain of both of them is that they're Americans who believe in the core foundations of this country--namely democracy--and that no matter what methods they'd choose, it would be for the benefit of this nation. Sure, I'd gripe if McCain did something I didn't ever agree with, but hating him for it isn't the right thing to do when more important issues matter, and vice versa for those who detest Obama. Hell, it's not even mature, when you think about it.

The biggest concern is that people are going to divide themselves over such a trivial thing. Yes, it's completely and utterly trivial, don't even think otherwise. Hell, I've just discovered that my crush, yes my wonderful crush, is Republican, which isn't a deal whatsoever until he began to bicker with a Democratic friend of mine. That just leaves a bitter feeling inside to know someone you think to be smart and reasonable is going to get so pissy about a stupid election. Hell, that's enough ridiculousness to totally be over him, wouldn't you say?

And to be frank, did anyone--ANYONE--even think about the historical nature of this election? Did anyone even think for a second how this election changed them? Of every conversation I've had today, I've yet to mention one thing about who won, or who lost. Instead, I've tried to get people interested in how for the first time in 44 years, Indiana voted Democrat. Isn't it amazing to see a change like that (even as small a win as it was), from any party? Not only that, but Indiana was considered one of 4 "troublesome" states in the election; although we weren't counted until god knows how long after Obama was announced as the elect, we were considered a prominent figure in this historical landmark of an election.

NOBLESVILLE WAS MENTIONED ON THE FOX NETWORK GOD DAMMIT!!!

But most importantly--to me, personally--I tuned in for the results. I researched through articles about Indiana, learning about why this year was groundbreaking for us, and I stayed updated as much as possible to see how the result would come out; I refreshed maps online of both Indiana and the Nation as polls closed and precincts sent in their votes; I watched FOX, and I tuned in to NBC; I watched videos online about how the world was watching us from miles away to see the result themselves, how again, Indiana was playing a huge role last night...I focused on something for the first time in my life that before I had no interest in as an individual, or even as an American. Sure, I didn't vote. But now, watching this historical event--understanding the fundamentals of your own democracy--I've felt a deepening inspiration to participate in my politics, to cherish my core values and rights as an American citizen.

Didn't any of any place in this country feel that too? Didn't anyone find a reason, regardless of the winner, to respect their nation's chosen president and realize that this country stands upon the beliefs of us all, not just one party? Isn't there some god damned piece of inspirational hope for this country, the kind of hope that we'll stand united and stick together through thick and thin?

You think Obama and the Democrats are an abomination to this country, but it is the overwhelming lack of unity and pride and patriotism that makes me fear for this country.

I hope you're all happy. I officially hate everybody.

-Kelifer

Good stuff I think everybody should read:

DeviantART Journal Entry #1: Butthurt much?
DeviantART Journal Entry #2: Excuse me, you didn't ask who I voted for
A Time for Reconciliation: Two Men, Two Speeches
Raising Good Citizens
McCain's Had his Chips
Stop the Bickering and Support Our President
Death of a Nation
President Elect

A Big Gaping Hole of Strangeness

2008-11-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

I've made a new record: I drove all the way home from Wal*Mart and I only stalled once...backing out of the parking lot [laughs]. But really, I did awesome tonight! I'm so much more comfortable driving manual, I feel like I can TAKE ON THE WORLD!!!!

Or perhaps I'll just stay with my local streets for now.

So, onto other things. I finally got my school work in order. I have a huge English project due on Wednesday, but what with the election tomorrow, I'm not sure how busy I'll be. I'm almost finished working on the notecards I need, so I shouldn't be too behind. All in all, I'm caught up, and I expect this weekend to be easy. I know it's amazing to already be thinking about the weekend when it's only Monday, but I forgot to mention that my dad and my stepmom are going on a cruise for...a while. So actually, I'm looking forward to Thursday when I can start heading off to the library after school [dances].

Speaking of the election, pretty amazing, huh? Just less than 24 hours, at 6 in the evening tomorrow, America will know it's new president. Of course, it's obvious if anyone's checked out my first post here that I'm a clear Obama supporter. With that said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the man to pull out with a win this year. The really sad thing though, is that my mom said his grandmother died today. And the day right before the election! Isn't that...just really weird? I felt so bad when she told me that...

But hopefully on a brighter note, I'm feeling a lot better than I did yesterday. In fact, this morning, I had this terrible aching feelilng in my chest. It wasn't like I'd had another terrible nightmare or something, but it felt pretty bad. I had trouble breathing in a way, like my nerves were acting up again (sometimes they do in the mornings). But I don't think it was my nerves. It was worse. Like...a heartache. Like someone had made a hole appear in my chest and I couldn't fill it with anything. It really left me confused this morning. I started freaking out more about the rest of the school day, I didn't want to talk to anyone...I was confused more than I needed to be. I think the hardest part aside from losing love is actually not having it in the first place. I talk about losing this guy I really care for and I never had him to begin with. And I think...I'm scared. Like I'll never have him if I don't take the chance to express my feelings.

This makes me feel like such a loser. I wish I had even one class with him...just to determine whether or not there's anything there between us. Hell, I might be overreacting....AGAIN.

I hate my emotions.

-Kelifer

Hello, My Pulse Still Exists (Unlike Edward Cullen's I Might Add)

2008-11-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's extremely late and not only is The Omen lame, but so is South Park, or at least it's becoming that way.

Anyways, tonight is my last free night of vacation, and honestly I should be in bed by now. Actually, in all real honesty, I always hit the sack around this time. But that's not the point. My point is that I have maybe...twenty minutes to possibly get all of my life down thats occurred in the past two or three months? Yeah, good luck to me.

First, I wanna start by sharing that I have anxiety and stress flooding out the wazoo, and I feel like ramming my face into this TV screen to shut up The Omen once and for all *kills television screen*. I always struggle to get my school work back on track right after vacations because I first forget everything I had done the few days before we left and I forget either to gather my homework due the day we come back, or I forget entirely what I had due in the first place. Right now, I remember most of my stuff, but that's not a good thing, as it--and everything else in my life--is now weighing down on me like an evil burden of Hell.

*Distraction* Oh hey! The Green Mile is playing on FX this Tuesday! *giddy giddy happy joy joy*

Okay, back to the normal. Um...secondly in my life, I started driving! For reals! I may have (or may not have) mentioned that I got my learner's permit way back in September, and I only missed 3 questions! I forgot to ask what those questions were, but oh well, I bet I won't need them for the real world anyway (watch me get in a wreck because of them, though. Wouldn't that be ironic? I think that would actually define irony. Then I'd have an example for the rest of my life, cause I'm kind of terrible at coming up with examples of irony sometimes). *Ahem* Back to my story: yesterday, my dad took me out around the neighborhood to get the feel of our van (which is automatic, and easy as PIE!), and then he had me drive down some back roads for a while to get a feel for driving at higher speed limits, making larger turns, etc. Eventually, I drove to Perkinsville, then he had me turn around and drive over to Lapel, through Lapel, and on to...wherever, and we hit the Waffle House and got us some sandwiches. A wonderful father-daughter day *smiles*. Then today, after dropping off laundry, my mom had me drive around in her car (WITH A FREAKING STICK/CLUTCH I MIGHT ADD), and I got to cruise around Noblesville a little *squeeee*. Then...oh yes, THEN...I got to drive all the way home to Tipton.

*gasppppppppppp*

Yeah, it was totally freaking epic. [laughs] I'd actually practiced with a clutch a few times before, but I'm terrible at getting the car moving from first gear. I either stall or the car shudders. I'm starting to get used to it though; I only stalled maybe 3 times on the way home [laughs].

Okay, so I'm driving now...ummmmm....oh yes, I'm trying to work on a new story I sort of came up with, maybe two months ago, it wasn't too long. The cool thing is that it came in a dream to me, sort of. Just flashes of scenes and dialogue. Since then, it's been turning into a "blockbuster" for me. I really think it's going somewhere. The only problem, I'm having trouble concentrating on it. I attest this lack to my preoccupation with my homework issues. Alas, they must be completed before I can move on to other things...

And I think I'm going to end this peachy post (illiterration much? I totally didn't mean it) by hitting the topic of dreams. It started Friday night going into Saturday, probably cause I ate WAY too much candy [laughs]. Not as much as Saturday and today, but enough to give my the worst nightmare of my life (in a sad, obsessive way). In short, I not only saw my huge crush dating some other girl, but he proposed, and succeeded to wed her as well.

OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD. They were halfway through the marriage--all the while I'm thinking "There's absolutely nothing I can do to intervene with his love, now", and "I knew I wasn't worth it"--and that's when I woke up. I've never suffered so much in my life regarding love. It's just "pathetic" mainly cause I don't even talk to this guy, yet here I am worrying over him marrying another girl. I've hit "obsession" with more force than a nuke hitting Hiroshima (sorry, I'm running low on similes/metaphors as well).

In the long run, I'm worried. He...is awesome. I seriously think he is more handsome than any other boy I've met in my short life, yet, again, I don't talk to him. We have no classes, which is--oh, wait! IRONIC!--because both of my closest friends have had a class with him (in fact Syb has math with him now *glares evily at her*). Again, I'm cursed by ill fortune, no joke.

[Sighhhhhhhh] Real quick, the one photographer just totally got beheaded. Ouch.

I'd say "You know, maybe I'm overreacting", or "Morganne, calm down, you've let your emotions go too far; you've let yourself become like every other teenage girl who thinks she's found love, considering you were the person who thought that was childish of them", but my heart aches when I tell myself that. It's hard to say one thing with your brain when your heart forces you to think otherwise. I decided if nothing goes forward, I'd focus on things that really matter...but when you see a dream/nightmare like the one I had, WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY NOW?!?!

Gahhhhhhh.....I think it might be time to finally end this rant. Goodnight.

-Kelifer

...

2008-09-27T12:20:00.001-07:00

My God. I've hit a period of complete and utter worthlessness.

-Kelifer

Crappy Crap De-Crap...

2008-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I have so much stuff to do this weekend. First I have to get my history homework done, which includes 5+ hours of taking down notes, and then I have to research Patrick Henry because I chose to be him (no mystery why...hahaha) in our upcoming History debate between the Federalists and the Antifederalists...for the past week our group didn't really do crap, and I missed the first day of research so I feel like I'm completely unprepared...

Bull crap...

Uh...that's it. You can all go now...

-Kelifer

Hey I'm Still Alive Here!!!

2008-09-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hahaha...I bet you all thought I was dead or something! [laughs]

Nope, I'm just busying myself A LOT with my art website, DeviantART.com, considering I've not only been drawing a whole bunch, but getting commissioned, too! But that's been postponed for a while...

In other news, I get to leave school REAL early tomorrow to go golfing with my brother-in-law at his company's annual Golf Outing. Luckily I don't have any necessary classes to take tomorrow, so it's not like I'm missing much. Hahaha.

As far as the school year is going, I guess it would help to post a nice list of what I'm taking, wouldn't you agree?

Classes

Computer Programming I
English Honors 11
French IV (Francais Quatre)
Physics I
Pre-Calculus
US History AP
Architecture
Study Hall

So that's all of them! As far as it goes, Programing, French, and Architecture are by far my favorites. On the other hand, English, and Pre-Cal I kind of hate with a passion. Right now, History is on my good side (it normally is in with the bottom three), and Physics is just awesomely fun (not AS fun as my top three, but kick butt nonetheless!). So, yeah!

Again, glad to be still alive! In fact, I'm so happy I'm going to give you guys a funny video link on youtube.com! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9A

Fan Fiction Soup...

2008-08-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm...such a strange title...[laughs].

Anyway, fan fiction's finished!!! For those of you tuning in, I think I mentioned in the last blog about my busy work writing fiction for the game Oblivion, and all that "jazz" (there's an inside joke there, now!) Either way, I finished the prologue at least, and it's already published on FanFiction.net!!! Go me!

So, as for publicity, here's a short snippit from the very beginning of the chapter! (because any more toward the end, you'd never read it!):

Prophesy of Darkness

[skipping intro]

A bitter wind settled through Cyrodiil; the late hour of evening was cold and lifeless. Even the hard-driven wolves dared not to howl at the full splendor of the magnificent moon or creep from their burrows to seek prey. Only a lone, shadowy figure lurked through the dense forest, his movements making not even a whisper in the dead silence.

His black cloak slid effortlessly across the forest underbrush like a slithering snake, but he traveled quickly, waiting for nothing but a hair’s breadth of a moment. Once he chanced the sudden gesture to turn around and check if he was alone, but he only did it once before picking up his pace.

Everywhere around him, even the silence was not completely void of noise for his acute senses; every creak of a swaying tree, the far-off trickle of a stream in the distance…he heard every sound, and the silence did its merciless justice to magnify them ten-fold. The lungs nestled between his ribs urged to scream in agony from the flood of this unbearable racket, but the figure restrained his impulses with a steady, mental prayer to distract himself; it was very rare that he could have such an opportunity such as this one, and giving away his position because of his irritation would be a heartfelt disappointment.

Reaching the edge of the forest, the figure hid in the shadow of a great oak.

Stretched out for miles before him was a great plain, dotted with trees and natural formations that, from his post, appeared as mere specks across its hilly expanse. Subjected to the ultimate exposure of the pale moon, every surface was cast in a brilliant glow, like the always-shimmering nirnroots that rooted along the banks of lakes and rivers. Glinting stars canvassed the midnight sky, twinkling and glimmering their perfection into the mirror-like pool of Lake Rumore surrounding Martin Septim’s domain, sitting in the deep valley below. The erected tower of the ancient Ayleids reigned in the heart of the distanced Imperial City; its massive walls of stone and marble shone a pearly white and gray under the moonlight, contrasted against the dark obsidian of the lake encircling them.

For the first moment in many ages, Lucien gazed upon this setting, marveling at its beauty. It had been a long time since he could behold such a heavenly spectacle without returning to the thought that his daemonic rites would be the one to break it.

Death had a way of ruining wonderful evenings like this one. Luckily for him, he wasn’t sent out to kill in his normal fashion; his job tonight was simply to listen.

“Lucien,” someone whispered softly from the dark.

[end snippit...]

Unfortunately, I can't give you more than that, folks! You'll have to check out my story at Fan Fiction.net and read the rest from there! Hope you enjoyed what I have so far! Personally, the ending is the best (dialogue and context-wise, but I can't post that here. Sorry!)

To read Son of Sithis, go here:
FanFiction.net/Son of Sithis

My Fan Fiction bio:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~kelifer

-Kelifer

Summer's Closing

2008-08-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, yeah. I'm wrapping up my last bit of summer homework, and this weekend I plan on writing my essays for each story I've read for Honors English. Tomorrow is my Rehearsal Day for the M-KOM program, and then Friday is our orientation with the actual kids. Then next week, I believe school starts again. Summer has finally finished.

Reflections? Yeah. Although I had a busy summer, the time in between seemed sort of wasted in a way. What did I do that made them special? Well, I had a BLAST hanging out with Syb at the library and stuff, but I didn't accomplish much. Last week I was rueing the fact I didn't get into amigurumi sooner cause now I only have a week left and only one doll finished. I feel like I didn't play enough Oblivion either (even though the past two weeks or so have been spent playing that game NON STOP [laughs]).

Anyway, I wish I had just one more week, as we always do. But god KNOWS I need to see me friends again!!!! I'm seriously wanting to go back to see them again!!! Of course, knowing A won't be there for yet another year...it's going to be hard doing another year. Thank god for the Internet, right?

So that's it. Right now, I'm going to make some more ramen which has been my lunch for like a week, call one of my freshman, and then...do whatever.

Oh!!! I also turned 17 last Friday! Go me!!!

-Kelifer

Oh my gosh!!!

2008-07-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

I just had an epiphany!:

I finally understand the difference between a muffin and a cupcake!!!!!

-Kelifer

Grab a bowl of Clam Chowder and take a seat...

2008-07-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm officially in love with New England clam chowder. No questions about it.

Second, I'm finally home from Boston!!! Although I'm happy to be back and where everyone I know is (except A and K of course!), I really miss Boston already. The city lights, the beaches, the kids for heavens sake!: 6 days just didn't feel like enough. Really.

Anyways, if you haven't figured out, I had an awesome time! Here's a timeline story of what I did!

[Day One: Thursday]
We started off easy, just hanging around the house and me getting to know the kids again (Donovan and Conrad). Then around lunch time, we headed down to "Rocky Beach" [read "Hello!!" below] after a brief visit to one of the sites for a house my aunt Anne is currently working on. After that, we went back home before heading down through Hull, MA to hit Nantasket Beach and pick up some live lobsters! (and a bowl of some of the best clam chowder ever). So that was day one.

[Day Two: Friday]
Today was the first day we spent in Boston (Anne lives just south of there in more country area). We took D and C around the commons and walked up Comm Ave (Commonwealth Avenue), where Anne showed me her old apartment she shared with Uncle Mark before they got married. We ate lunch at Au Bon Pain on Newberry Street, then went to the park before heading home for the rest of the evening. Not such a bad way to get a tantalizing taste of the city for the first time ever.

[Day Three: Saturday]
This day was pretty fun, but really simple. We got up and the four of us (Mark stayed at home to work with some guys on the house) headed to "Sandy Beach" which is private to residents only of the area. Afterwards, we drove around waiting for the 3 o'clock showing of Wall-E (awesome movie by the way). Anne showed me the sights and some houses her architecture firm has done in previous years, and we tried to get the boys to take a car nap before seeing the movie (but Donovan stayed awake the whole time, which was funny and incredible at the same time). But he did awesome in the theaters! It was their first time in one! Conrad did his best, but by the end he was having a hard time focusing on the movie like D. Either way, Anne and I had an awesome time with the boys.

[Day Four: Sunday]
My second day in Boston! And this time, it was just Anne and I! We had a great time riding the T (train) into South Station before heading down Rowe's Wharf to get tickets for a whale watch on Tuesday, and we walked through Fanueil (pronounced "FAN-yull") Marketplace to get to the Union Oyster House (suggested by Syb's mom!). After waiting for the rain to stop (which I later realized flooded my guest bedroom later that afternoon [laughs]), we took a cab (my first one!!!) to North End to hit Mike's Pastry and pick up some pizelles (which I got heckled for not knowing what those were [laughs]). After that, we watched a common parade to commemorate a saint, saw the Old North Church with the statue of Paul Revere, met a friend of Anne's, then caught a cab back to South Station to head home.

[Day Five: Monday]
My third day in Boston! Well, first we had to go to Anne's dentist appointment, then I got to spend about two hours in her firm with actual architects!!! Her co-workers were pretty neat, and I loved looking at her software and some of the drawings she had! (including one of the house we toured on Thursday!). And best of all I got to be included in one of her meetings with her boss who gave me AWESOME advice about getting into good colleges for architecture.

When we headed to Quincy to catch our boat, we headed into Boston to quickly catch the train to Cambridge and visit "Hahvahd" (Harvard in Boston accent [laughs histerically]). We got an unofficial tour by some of the students (who wore shirts with the previously mentioned "mis-spelling" which is how I got one for my self), then we walked over to MIT and toured around there for a while. After crossing back over to walk through Back Bay again and up to the convention center (?), we managed to snag tickets to a Duck Boat Tour and got a great tour from "Captain A.L. Courageous" (the A.L. stands for Amazing and Lee: complete it's "Amazing Lee Courageous"!! [laughs]). When that was done, we hit a great restaurant in Back Bay (WITH CLAM CHOWDA!!! YUM!!!), and talked about everything under the...well, moon? Haha, yeah we'll say that. Then one of the greatest moments: the reason Anne wanted to take the boat into Boston was because the best moment is leaving the city when the lights are all lit up, and everything is just....perfect. I never wanted so much to live in the city than I did at that moment.

I so love Boston.

[Day Six: Tuesday]
(if this is condensed or short, it's cause I'm listening to "The Big Bang Theory Song" by Barenaked Ladies, and it's distracting [laughs])

We took only Donovan with us (me and Anne), and as mentioned before, we went to a whale watch thing: saw some whales (cool), got a great boat ride, then later went to Mark's office and he gave me a collision crash course (with of course bumps along the way) into what he does...which even now I couldn't explain without screwing up [laughs]. But afterwards, we headed out to Providence, RI where I said goodbye and caught my ride home (which is a story in of itself...[laughs dryly]).

[conclusion]
So that's what happened! One of the greatest vacations ever and I'm so glad I got to spend it with someone I love and a family I barely get to see; trips like these make me want to see them so much more and the only good thing about possibly waiting a year to see them again is knowing not only Donovan and Conrad will be a year older and bigger but I will be wiser and more different too for them.

Anyways, I've still got a speal about the whole "my room flooded" and my airplane "experience", so please stay tuned for that. Glad to be home, and hope everyone is doing great.

-Kelifer (who's happy to have Philieus again!!!)

Ps: sorry if my entry might seem "rough": I don't have the patience to go through and edit it or italicize what should be, so I hope you all don't mind.

Hello!!

2008-07-17T11:56:00.001-07:00

I'm in Boston!!! Well, it's really near Boston (Cohaset or something or another).

Anywho, just updating. I got to walk around the beach and step in the Atlantic for the first time!

And then I slipped and fell. [laughs]

-Kelifer

Splendidly Monday

2008-07-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is every website not allowing me to type correctly? Everytime I need to write something, it freezes up a little and some letters don't get put down, so I'm constantly backspacing. And it's only the internet! I'm literally doing all of this in a notepad document!!! Geeze...

In other news, my first order of business is to rant on an on about my golfing trip with my grandmother this morning. Not as bad as I had originally suspected, granted that I didn't bust up my arm like I did in April, but better yet, I got...a 49!!!!! On a par of 36!!! On a course I've never played before!!!!

And I freakin' chipped in for par on the third hole!!!!!!! For the record, that's never happened to me before.

So, yep. That's what happened today.

My second order of business is my new hobby, or rather an old one I'm revisiting, which is making GIF file animations. I'll post a few here if you give me a moment. First, it started out as making simple avatars for my DeviantART account, but then I thought it would be absolutely ADORABLE to make a montage of the many avatars using my program Animation Shop 3 (which I downloaded through a 2004 Edition of Web Page Designing for Dummies book). Eventually, it's turned into a hobby for making cute little animations! They're wonderful.

Anyways, once again reiterating, I'm going to Boston this Wednesday, so I won't chat with you all for some time. Strange enough, I'm getting antsy about it, but mostly because my mom keeps telling me to come home safely...but I assume I'm smart enough not to get into trouble.

Again, I hope you all are having a wonderful vacation, and I guess I'll "see" you all in a week!

-Kelifer

Animations

Itching for Things to Come

2008-07-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, I've slipped into monotony.

I might go golfing on Monday with my grandma, but I'm hoping I can spend one last day with Laura before going off to Boston on Wednesday. Like a friend would say, I have ambivalence. I want to go, but I don't want to. I'm going alone!! I'll nobody with me!!! Although, it is a super cool feeling getting out on my own without people like my brother and my dad and my step-mom to bug me...

I don't know if I'll be able to write much while I'm out there. I might not even take my laptop. We'll see.

Tomorrow is the last day I'll have with my mom before I leave, and also before my dad gets us for two weeks uninterupted. Really, he only gets me for eight days, since six will be spent in Boston. [laughs]

-Kelifer

Master of the Weird

2008-07-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

I love taking photos and retelling stories of weird events that have happened in my life. For example, finding a place actually called "Normal", and seeing signs that point out the painfully obvious. Weird things make up not only my humor, but my life. I'm surrounded by weird (just look at my friends and family!).

So here are some good photos of the oddly weird and the bizarrely unsual.

Welcome to Normal, IN, just south of Swayzee, IN (the "Only Swayzee in the World") *laughs*

Hahaha, Sand Cat anyone?

For A *laughs*

Oh my goodness, it's going the wrong way!!!

????

We were in Baltimore last year when we visited Washington D.C.; we kept driving around trying to find Edgar A. Poe's house, and when we saw the sign, my brother and I looked up to see we still weren't in the right place (unless they'd changed it to a carry-out restaurant *laughs*)

The only thing weird about this is that it was in a school's cafeteria, not the library *laughs*.

Cinncinati Zoo

2008-07-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

We actually went to the zoo last Saturday, but I've yet to upload any pictures until today (along with some real recent artwork I've been doing in the past week alone). I was supposed to be with my dad, but since he got to have us an "extra" day for the reunion earlier last month (which only I got to go to, remember that), my mom got an extra day to have us so we could go to the Cinncinati Zoo.

It was pretty cool, quite a bit better than the Potawatami Zoo. But I've realized that once you go to one zoo, you've pretty much seen every animal that's not already extinct. There are a few you've never heard of or seen, so there's at least one thing that's new for you. Some animals you've obviously seen on TV but you saw at a zoo up close. Also, there's animals you never knew existed, like White Lions, which are really a lighter shade of lions, and Bear Cats, which is basically a very fuzzy cat with claws like a bear. Hahaha...zoos have the strangest things.

Anyway, I've got a lot of photos, but I'll just show you a few good ones.

This was one of the prettiest flowers I've ever seen. I liked how it spiraled this way.

Nick got to feed his second cousins (monkeys are his first) *laughs*.

Awwww, tired kitty....*laughs*

Despite my DEEEEEEEEP fear of spiders (and the nightmare I conveniently had last night), I thought this was pretty cool, too....

They had a "Peace" garden where you could rest and look at pretty artwork, but this was the best. I liked the movement of the sculpture, and it represents peace because it is a dove carrying an olive branch.

Five lemurs, sitting in a tree...Hahaha

Actual blood-drinking bats!!!! How cool is that?

Scorpions that glow in the dark!!!!

This was just some neat artwork in the Insect House. I love simple designs like this (very modern deco).

More artwork by the same designer.

Starting Anew

2008-06-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the girl who hates Myspace has finally gotten her profile fixed and running again. Granted I had to start all over again from scratch on my profile page, I'm happier with the new layout and stuff. It's more my style now.

Anyways, I created a new playlist for my profile page, so I feel like sharing it here! This isn't my ENTIRE list of favorite songs, but rather my most recent favorites.

Dream a Dream

2008-06-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I almost always have the most interesting dreams. Some I even remember from when I was a little girl. But more and more they're turning from the usual nightmares into friend-filled and familiar scenes of randomness. I suppose here are a few I've had recently:

1. Last night, I actually had 3 consecutive dreams. However, I might not remember he second one. The first was where I was apparently visiting A at her school, which in a weird way was more like an elementary school (you know, with hand-drawn pictures posted proudly on the wall of the school, and other stuff like that). Anyways, there were other girls, and they were A's friends she had made, and unbeknownst to most people, I actually do get a bit jealous at times. Well, these girls weren't making it easier (friend-hogs, stealing my buddy!), so it was a pretty awkward type of dream. But some moments, for the life of me I can't remember, where actually really funny because they were actual things me and A would do or laugh at. The second dream of course had to do with the band, Coldplay (who is one of my new favorite bands at this time). Anyway, the band was suddenly assassinated except for the lead singer, so me and some other people tried to make him feel better about the death of his band. So yeah.

2. Some of my other favorites include ones with a lot of my friends. One I recall includes Derek, who for a while was a recent member of my dreams, and not surprisingly, we were always on the bus laughing and messing around (at one point we actually drove the bus, and I somehow remember thinking of my French teacher...). Others include...well, one particular love interest (and no, it actually wasn't Ryu, believe it or not). Everytime he's in my dreams, it of course always has me feeling weird around him and one way or another expressing feelings for him. Those dreams are...strange, but I like them anyways *smiles*

3. Then, there are dreams based on popular brands and such (like the Coldplay). Frequent ones for a while were about zombies since I'd recently seen Dawn of the Dead, and TV characters. But my favorites are always about Shaman King, which I have had usual dreams about (of course, including Ryu!). Those normally are about me reading the manga or watching the show, but for some reason, it's all messed up and I freak out about it. Oh, and one included a house party. Hahaha....

So, if I have any other strange dreams, I'll be sure to write about them; I'm afraid it's a little late to really give details about any of them so forgive me. In other news, I'm playing Xenosaga, considering Ratchet and Clank is acting up again. I really love getting back into Xenosaga again; it's really a good game, and for the longest time, it inspired me to make my Trilogy into a similar RPG style fighting system (cause those fighter games like Naruto are just annoying and don't focus on the story).

Oooh, Chowder's on!!! Schnitzel rocks...hahaha! (Cause he is rock!)

-Kelifer

Another "Exciting" Day...

2008-06-13T07:10:00.001-07:00

You know, I've realized how sad it becomes when you wake up and think, "There's nothing worth waking up for, today."

My summer has already reached monotony.

I remember when playing outside in the backyard was still cool (when I wasn't too old to climb trees), and when hanging out meant sitting in your brother's room playing with DragonBall Z figures, HotWheels, Gundams, Bionicles, and Pokemon cards. I remember when swimming at the pool wasn't a chore but a choice, and 9 weeks wasn't enough time to do all the things you love to do when school is no longer a factor of life.

But now...I'm pretty much bored more than half of the time. Yesterday...I did practically NOTHING. I just sat in front of my telelvision and flipped channels. Not to mention I ate a lot of junk, which is what I do when I get bored...*groans*

What happened to my oath to write more of my story?! I don't think I've ever stayed with that promise. I've got a little done, but not enough to say the past 1/2 a month has been worth it. *Sigh*...Maybe this is just a test. To see if I can make it through this week to the next, and then my motors will kick in for summertime. I don't know...

Anyways, because I now have the time, I'm going to finish playng Rachet and Clank. It's been having problems loading for the past two days, and hopefully I can finish it again before the weekend's over (so I can start in again on Xenosaga: Episode One, which I'm still nowhere to completing). Although, it's interesting playing after SO long, (perhaps a year or more). Levels where I used to have every weapon available and still get my ass kicked are now sufficiently beaten with just a limited supply of the cheapest ammo (i.e., on Planet Orxon, I used to have difficulty getting past enemies and those ships that pop out of nowhere with rockets, even with all of the ready ammo and guns from Gadgetron; now, I managed to master the level with just the Bomb Glove, the machine gun thing, the Pyrocitor, and the Devastator). It's kind of like my artwork: every year, or even every month, my style and technique changes, and also my perspective of things. Here, I'm just not a wuss anymore and I can actually fight with promise.

So, yeah.

-Kelifer

Doing Nothing Until The Caos Come Home...

2008-06-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Aww, Simba's so happy to see me!!!

Ahem. So I'm finally back home [surprisingly], which makes me so much happier being out of that van with Grandma behind the wheel (that's truly scary). Not only that, but when my mom picked me up, we headed to Wal*Mart so we could our new glasses (everything is so CLEAR!!!). They're neat; they've got white sides with black streaked across like the rising sun and black around the frames (all the way, not just over the top so the bottom of the lens are hanging down, like my last pair). My mom wasn't sure they looked good on me (they are kind of square shaped), but I loved the design, and the clip-ons of course! So, they're mine. MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!!!!

Right now, I'm hanging around in Nick's room, watching him play Dynasty Warriors 6 on the Xbox 360. How many of those of games is he really going to buy?!?! I loved DW2, but does he really have to have the 6th version? C'mon, Nick. Anyways, I'm SOOOOO glad they still include Cao Cao [whom I personally believe is still the coolest and the sexiest character of the entire game *laughs*], but it's weird, because he looks almost exactly how I envision Gizen to look [just more of his era, which is too old I think]. But what I loved originally about Cao Cao was that he was the only character (or at least the first) that we used to beat "Jesus" with (our nickname for Zhang Jiao, because in Dynasty Warriors 2, he looked kind of like him. Sorry, A, but we have to call him "Jesus", it's just kind of funny *laughs awkwardly*).

Anyways, Nick's getting his ass kicked by Lu Bu (we always did...*reminisces about horrible days...*). For now, I'm going to research those card tricks, so enjoy seeing pictures of Cao Cao!!!! *gets all starry eyed with happiness*

I still don't love him anymore than Ryu, remember that.

-Kelifer

CAO CAO PHOTOS:

The extremely sexy and powerful Cao Cao!!! All hail to the might of Wei!!!

That's totally how Gizen's hair would look *laughs* At least how it sort of "shoots" out in the back.
Apparently there's a NintendoDS version of Dynasty Warriors. Here's Cao Cao's concept art.

It's Cao Cao as a SD GUNDAM!!!! Isn't he adorable?!?!

I remember seeing the actual game for Dynasty Warriors Gundam, which I believe plays for the PSP or PS3, or neither, so I could be wrong. I remember when the series only played for Playstation, but Nick's got DW6 for Xbox, so...times change. Anyways, I still don't know why he has red armor, and not blue for Wei (Any suggestions? Couldn't be blood, you don't think?) Either way, I kind of don't like his version, it doesn't look much like him...

Isn't that cool?! I so want to buy one now for my next birthday....(I may need to start collecting Gundams again *laughs* Nick and I used to be pretty avid fans...*goes way back to simpler times*)

Cao Cao's Gundam box cover.

That's Cao Cao at the very bottom left *laughs* His face and hair reminds me of Ryu...hee hee hee...

I don't get it [cause it's in Chinese?], but Cao Cao is the cute little thing in the very bottom panel to the right...

Sitting Around and Waiting to Go Home...

2008-06-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

At the moment, I'm lying down, hoping to catch a quick nap before we head out anywhere. Spending a couple of hours walking around in heels and talking to almost complete strangers leaves one pretty tired. That, and monitoring two young boys, but I love them an dmy aunt and uncle, so of course I don't mind *laughs*

We got a new hotel room in Livonia, MI; this place is kind of a dump, but beggers can't be pampered. At least I won't have to sleep in a roll-away bed again (although that was totally worth the nice room).

Well, the reunion is somewhat officially over, not until we depart tomorrow morning along with Anne and Mark who will leave for Boston. I'll get to spend a week with them in July (about six days at least), and I can't wait to see them there (all by myself!).

Hmm...my stomach is rumbling (and Donovan keeps exclaiming, "Owww oww oww oww oww!")

-Kelifer

Getting to Bed...

2008-06-07T19:49:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm finally back to the room, and it seems like forever ago I left the reception room. For the past hour or more, Anne had me hang out with her in their room with Uncle Mark and the two boys, Donovan and Conrad. Donovan is so cute and I'll be darned if he can already say my name like he's known me forever, but man are those two hard to put to bed! We had to watch nearly two movies before they settled down! *laughs*

But I can't wait to spend a week out in Boston with them. I never get to see them, and Boston sounds awesome.

Anyways, hitting the sack. Tomorrow is mass, and then Monday we head home.

See ya later, and happy summer (again for those who've read past blogs *smiles*)

-Kelifer

Second Update

2008-06-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm heading for the pool, granted I'm not swimming *laughs* But I did have a lot of fun at "lunch" today (I thought it was dinner, but hey, who eats dinner at 1 P.M.?) We had awesome food, I got to hang out with my cousins, and we even played family games, like "Cornhole", "Three-legged race", and "Egg Toss" (which my aunt and I got second place). Then we got prizes, and someone suggested to go to the pool, so that's where I'm headed in a moment.

The past couple of days, though, I've realized how much I love "parlor tricks", like with playing cards, you know? I've learned two new ones, which hopefully I might be able to demonstrate in a video one of these days. In fact, I love doing these tricks so much, I think I might research a few...

But the cool part is that I've got this new deck of cards. Although they're pink and purple...

...I think they would match stunningly with Ryu's lapels and taste of color...*laughs*

No, seriously, they are really cool.

Anyways, pictures will be added tomorrow, I suppose, or maybe on Monday if I get 'em out here. See ya!

-Kelifer

Update

2008-06-07T09:48:00.001-07:00

I couldn't manage time to write yesterday, what with going to people's houses to swim and have lunch, then going to dinner and "partying" with family in one of the Hotel's conference-type of rooms. When all was done, it was already too late to do much without getting a word from my grandmother or without thinking of the luxuries of a nice warm bed.

Anyways, this morning about eight of us went golfing for our annual family reunion "tournament" (sorry, I don't have any pictures: forgot my camera). I'm really surprised this year, since we normally have three or four groups of four, but this year it was only two; of course, we were missing Aunt Barbara, who normally holds and plans these events (along with handmade prizes for the lowest score, which for once, my group actually got...but only because my "ringer" of a grandpa was on our team along with my Uncle Jim who's also pretty good). But what really had me worried was the prospect of pulling another muscle or ligament in my left arm around the elbow (like "tennis elbow"), which is exactly what I did back in April the first time I played with my mom since October. Luckily, my arm managed to stay in really good shape, but considering we were playing scramble, I think the easy shots my grandpa and uncle gave us made it smooth sailing for my swings.

In about 10 minutes, everyone is getting together to eat a collection of foods that everyone has brought, and tomorrow (I believe for Mass), my Uncle Don will be giving us the Mass and we'll all pretty much celebrate for his 50 years of priesthood. Then on Monday, we'll finally go home (and I can see my mom, whom I so miss *laughs*).

So, I'll land more pictures of the festivities, and hopefully I'll have a nice "album" post to show for my weekend's "suffering" *laughs again*. Hope everyone, young and old, is having a nice summer.

-Kelifer

Michigan At Last...

2008-06-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry if this ends up being too short. We're getting ready to leave for dinner, so I'll have to be brief.

Today, my grandparents and I all rode up here to Detroit, MI for a family reunion (and my great-uncle's 50th anniversary as a priest). So, for now we're the first and only ones up here. We're getting ready to go eat at Pizza Hut, so I'll maybe refresh later this evening.

Love you all, but A more (and my home-girl M&N, I suppose ;D *laughs*)

-Kelifer

Quiz Time: Get Out Your Cheat Sheets...

2008-06-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am a complete sucker for quizes (especially the ones that tell you what kind of personality you have, interesting facts about you, or just plain ridiculous ones). Also I love adding stickers and funny pictures with often strange sayings and meanings.

Here are a few:

It explains itself.

You've been warned.

53

Not only am I that good, 53 is my luckiest number.

17
This is why I don't babysit.

147,665 People
0.O

34% Geek
Damn! I need an upgrading magic spell...where's my level 53 mage...

36%
DAMN ZOMBIES!!!!!

48%

Sorry guys. Jimmy, Thad, and Derek are just way to sexy not to eat...hahaha

Heck yeah.

Pew pew pew...

Hell yeah.

Beware.

Lock and load!

I love Russians *smiles happily*

49%

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Rain on Your Parade...It Looks Better Now

2008-06-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to realize there isn't always going to be times where I "must" blog; times like meeting Barack Obama, or the last day of school, or family vacations.

No, I've realized there are simple, yet important things to me that I can find myself writing about, such as:

It rained today.

On that note, it coincidentally rains in Chapter Two of my story Kalium, which I started in the public library and finished last evening.

Let me show you my excitement.

I'll get it posted soon in my other blog, so keep an eye out for it.

-Kelifer

When Losers Come Walking...

2008-05-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

I apologize for such a late update, but I made the ultimate sacrifice to leave my laptop at my mom's for the past two days.

Well, I'll be damned! School is officially over!!! Also, as of two days ago, I'm now an official junior! How freaking awesome is that?

However, thanks to the need to bump up my participation in honors courses, I have summer reading and assignments for both English 11 Honors and AP U.S. History (woe is me). Anyways, I'm looking forward to my new classes, and even being a mentor in M-KOM next year.

Anyways, on Thursday, our last day of school, I decided to make a new tradition that I'd like to say A and I started last year: for those of us who could leave school early after our last final, we all walked down Cumberland Dr. to eat lunch at Noblesville's own Super China Buffet (owned by the family of a girl in my class). Of us all that went, our party included myself, Lily, Laura, Jimmy and Derek, Thad, Paige, and Chelsea (and of course, Rep. Katie came to join us later). As usual, we had our own fun just getting down there; Thad, and even Derek, both carried my bookbag and Lily's (either to show off or just to be pack mules), and Jimmy rode with us on his bike and dressed as a ninja. I think he wanted to walk into the restaurant and challenge one of the staff members to a Chinese-Japanese dual *laughs*...

When we finally got there, we ate, we laughed, and goofed around (but mostly Jimmy and Derek, and of course, Lily and Laura had their own moments). Eventually, I learned that Jimmy was planning on asking me out (after Derek kept messing with him by saying to me, "So, has he asked you yet?", which since Wednesday Jimmy had been acting weird whenever Derek mentioned it). I didn't know what to say, but luckily I didn't have to worry much longer; he started to joke around with Lily in a kind of flirty way, and we all soon realized that the two of them made a far cuter couple... (duh duh duhhhh)

Afterward, we all headed out to go to the library to hang out before everyone went home...well, I didn't go with them at first. Because Derek wanted me to help him learn to draw hands while we were at the library, and because my inking pen was "dead", I decided I wasn't going to wait for someone to buy me new pens: I needed them right then and there.

So, I left the group for about an hour to walk all the freaking way to Wal*Mart. Yeah, greatest plan ever.

Not really.

After reaching Sears, I thought it would be quicker to buy pens there, but I found out that I only had one dollar left. That pissed me off greatly (and even more ironic, Jimmy owed me five bucks and before I left, he offered to give me the money then, but I declined because I thought I already had enough for the quick trip).

If people offer you money, TAKE IT!!!!!

Anywho, I still walked all the way to the Dollar Tree right next to Wal*Mart, thinking that if they had any pens, a single dollar would be enough. Unfortunately, they didn't even have the pens I needed.

So, empty handed and even more frustrated, I had to go all the way back to Sears where I called Jimmy to ride his bike over to bring me the five bucks (there was no way I was going back empty handed and looking like an ass). In the end, I got my money, then got my pens, and ultimately I got the biggest blisters on the soles of my feet since Washington D.C.

Damn you 3-inch heel boots.

So, we got back to the library and we all chilled for about an hour or two (and oh! When Jimmy and I were walking back, I learned that he had indeed asked Lily to go out together! They're now a couple, can you believe?! It's cool now, cause I have the right to threaten Jimmy if he should ever hurt my poor Lily-san *laughs*) But, when it got late, we had to wait outside for Lily's mom to pick her up and for Derek to get ready to walk back home. While we were waiting, Thad suddenly gets this idea that he can give Jimmy a piggy-back ride, which then leads to the even greater idea that Jimmy can sit on Thad's shoulders (I'm not making this stuff up). But, as Thad bends down for Jimmy to mount, Jimmy tries to jump on but instead gets racked by the back of Thad's head, flips over, and nearly face-plants the sidewalk. I totally wish I had a video camera to record the incident; it was so hilarious.

My poor Jimmy X.x

Eventually, they got it *laughs*

After that (yes, it gets better), Derek and Jimmy decide to do their "special attack", which consists of Derek carrying Jimmy on his shoulders like a limp board of wood and twirling around in a circle with Jimmy's legs outstretched. Thad tried to cut in and be the evil-doer he is, but got whiplashed in the back by Jimmy's legs, and eventually the duo "fell apart".

All of this happened in just 30 minutes, right before Lily's mom arrived, and in front of the Library entrance.

We are such idiots. *laughs*

-Kelifer

Photos

Awwwwww *laughs*

FUSION: JIMMY AND THAD!!!!

CHARGE!!!!

Those two are crazy (hahaha)

Poor Derek...he and Thad tried to do the same "fusion", but they underestimated his weight (since Jimmy was so much lighter), so he fell over =_=''''

I seriously have no idea what he was trying to do, but I accidentally caught him doing that *laughs hystarically*

Featured Member of the Gyangu Gang #2: Derek Cheek

2008-05-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

Derek Cheek: Speedy Seeker of the Ultimate Muffin (Blueberry, preferrably)

You see him in the hallways, acting wacky after an "adventure" with one of his pals. You can hear him giggling quietly to the sounds of a hushed NintendoDS in the back of the classroom (most often Madame Pierson's room). But most importanly, you can witness the ultimate battlecry of a warrior destined for random shenanigans almost at all times.

"MUFFINS!!!"

It's Derek Cheek. Who else would it be?

Derek is the kind of friend we all pretty much don't know...but you soon learn to love. He's funny as hell, kind when he chooses to be, and most importantly...well, that's actually about it. No! He's also respectful and artistic, and always knows how to speak his mind whenever the time is right for a good ol' "Your mom" joke.

One of his favorite pastimes is Sonic the Hedgehog, his late father being an avid fan of the series since it was first released. After surviving lieukemia, I learned that this kid has as much spunk and energy as his blue-furred hero. Also, he enjoys the occasional ninja, but only those who train to worship muffins as much as he does.

When I first ran into this little bugger, I didn't know exactly what to think until later in my second semester. Because I constantly sit with him on the bus and I have (or rather, had) both lunches with this boob, we're always together, laughing it up at whatever possible, if not always at Brian (Sorry B-man!). But it never has to end at school: in fact, on one occassion, if you've read before, Jimmy, Derek, and I all "accidentally" ran into each other at Wal*Mart. The randomness continues no matter where you are...

So, because of his unique individuality, I decided to add the lovable boob to be a part of the gang (as long as he promises to share the muffins and to stop hiding from the camera...)

*laughs*

Facts about Derek

·Derek's father suffered lieukemia and passed away when Derek was only six; Derek also developed lieukemia, but of course, seeing as we're still talking to him, he survived.

·His favorite show and character is Sonic the Hedgehog, but he also loves Death Note, Bleach!, and of course (otherwise I wouldn't be his friend! *laughs*) Shaman King (of course, he apparently has limited edition DVDs for the series, but I'm keeping my eye of him to make sure he's telling the truth...*laughs*). Also, Derek loves Nintendo video games, preferrably the Mario Bros. series, and of course, the grand Pokemon franchise.

·His last name is Cheek. I just find that hilarious.

·He hates to be caught on camera, and [as you can see] he avoids snapshots whenever possible (however, I do managed to catch him when he's not paying attention).

·His best friends are Jimmy Proffit [Bus Guy], Shayne Colier [Red], Cody Shaw [Shy Guy], Brian Lafever [The Brit], and of course me [Kelifer/Captain]!

·For sometime, he was believed to have stalked Kayla, but it hasn't necessarily been proven...[duh duh duh...]

·He loves muffins above everything else (and as of late he seems to crush more milk cartons into squares than I had originally percieved)

His name in the Gyangu Gang is Mild (because he's only "mildly" evil compared to me....BWUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

-Kelifer

Other Photos of Derek

Falcon PUNCH!!!! *laughs*

I barely caught him while I was studying for the French final today (and of course Jimmy had to give it away that I was taking pictures of him *giggles*)

A normal day at the lunch table: (from right: Brian Lafever, Derek Cheek, and Brittany Shepler)

Damn! He discovered my dastardly plans!!!!

Run Derek! RUN!!!! (Ps: that's our bus right there, NO. 59)

*Sigh* Tsk tsk tsk...Derek.

*in a strangely familiar Kirby voice*
"HIIIIII...." ---Derek (he didn't think I'd get a shot of him...heeheehee)

Weird Things Often Make Me Feel Better About Myself...

2008-05-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

It always seems that in the last few weeks of school, strange things begin to occur. Or at least, we're doing more and more crazy things.

Take yesterday: I was simply looking around the Wal*Mart Shopping Center Eye place, putting back some pairs of glasses that I realized we could no longer look forward to buying, and all of a sudden, I hear, "Morganne? Is that Morganne?!"

I turn around and suddenly I'm confronted with Jimmy and Derek! What were the freaking odds that I'd see them at that exact moment? It was so great; we talked, we laughed, we scared Nick (that was the best part of course)...and knowing I had two of the coolest, most bizarre guys as best friends made me feel so awesome. Who else has friends who bicker over whether or not Shadow (Sonic the Hedgehog) can break the sound barrier, or who impersonates a doctor as "Doctor Cheeks"?

Well, not only did I run into two crazy dudes, my eye doctor, Dr. Miller, told me and my mom that my stigmatism is getting bigger (not such a big deal, but as usual my prescription will have to be increased). That's not the coolest thing, though.

This is.

See that hazy brown spot to the left? It's right next to that big circular red spot. Well, Dr. Miller says that's a birthmark...on the inside of my retina.

HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT?!?! I was so lucky he even let me keep a picture of my eye, but he thought it was neat, too. He said that out of the past 5 or 6 months (and remember, this is Wal*Mart, so I'm sure there has to be tons of people who see this guy!), I'm only one of about 6 people who has this sort of thing. *giggles giddidly* I'm like, so cool!!!

(First it's elf ears, then it's one ear is slightly higher than the other, then I only 3 wisdom teeth which is more unnatural than the usual 2 or 4, and now this! I am the most unique person, non? *laughs*)

Not only that, but how many people can actually have a picture of the inside of their retina? (and post it in a blog, too?)

But this fun doesn't end there! Today, we had our bi-annual "Clean out your locker day", and of course, the hallway was messier than it needed to be. But the cool thing was that while Lily and I were waiting for other members of the Young Democrats to show up for our pizza party, we started going through the trash bags to go dumster diving! You won't BELIEVE the cool and useful crap we found!!! It's so ridiculous what people throw away! I found a book for writing (barely worn and it doesn't belong to the school), a Web Design binder (from the actual kid that sits next to me in class, too!), and...a spoon. A spoon!!! It's a cool spoon, too...

(It's also funny, because this lady walked by seeing us digging into the trash and I was holding tihs piece of pizza from Mrs. Chynoweth's room, and she says, "I hope you didn't get that out of the trash!" Of course I reassured her I didn't, and she thought that it only looked suspicious with us going through trash cans. Then I replied, "Well, it is suspiciously awesome, if you need to know!" Of course, you'd have to have been there to find it funny, but Laura laughed. And Lily wouldn't give me a high five...*laughs*)

I've never had such a fun week (and I got a yearbook, too! So I'll have to post pictures of all of my cool signatures!)

-Kelifer

Featured Member of the Gyangu Gang #1: Jimmy Proffit

2008-05-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Proffit: Ninja of the Black Temple

Okay, so Jimmy's never been trained in a temple before, but he does wear a lot of black and knows the first seven signs to a popular ninjutsu...

When I first met this oddball, I was sitting on the bus after school, waiting to leave when I see this tall, lanky-looking kid walk on with one of his friends. Immediately, the first thing I noticed was a Naruto headband strapped around his forehead, and thinking I'd be cool, I remarked, "Nice Naruto headband, guy!", pointing enthusiastically at Jimmy's wear.

Little did I know that from that moment forward, Jimmy and I would become awesome friends, along with his buddy, Derek.

Jimmy is...well, he's Jimmy! He's obsessed with Naruto and Final Fantasy, often drawing doodles of "Oh my God, it's Cloud!" and performing ninjutsu whenever possible. Also, he's recently added a Naruto animation to his Motorola and a few other OSTs as well (which he gets to show off whenever he feels like it *laughs*).

But the one trait I especially love about him is his kindness, and his outrageous,easy-going personality. He's always smiling (at least when I see him!), and always laughing at something or another. If there was ever a person in this world to make me actually enjoy the ramblings and insanities of a show like Naruto, Jimmy would be the one to make me believe it.

Facts about Jimmy:

·He loves Naruto and Final Fantasy (specifically FFIIV and many of the newer remakes); on top of these obsessions, he owns the valued Naruto Leaf Village Headband, the FFIIV Collector's Edition, the FFIIV novel, and many other hundreds of games

·He's also a huge fan of Shaman King (and he even gave me his entire deck of SK cards!!!!), and many other Shonen Jump series including Dragon Ball Z and Bleach!.

·About a month ago, he was hit by a car trying to cross the street

·He can perform "jutsu" (and has memorized seven signs of ninjutsu)

·His favorite characters are Kakashi (Naruto), and Cloud and Sephiroth (FFIIV), and his favorite color is black

·He is currently a senior at our school

·His "Oh my God it's Cloud!" illustration was featured in a popular animation called "Attack of the Color TV 2"

·Two of his best friends are Derek Cheek [Mild], Cody [Shy Guy], and Shayne Collier [Red]

·His nickname in the Gyangu Gang is "Bus Guy"-Kelifer

[The Gyangu Gang is a trademark of Morganne Walker, please don't steal it!]

Other Neat Photos

Hiyah!!!! Take that Motorola!

Jimmy with his hands in naughty palces 8D

Jimmy thought most of these photos were really funny because the back of that kid's chair makes it look like there's an antenna coming out of his crotch 8D

"Come in Tokyo..." [heeheehee]

Ninjutsu sign, number 3

Ninjutsu sign, number 5

Queen of the Shamans, Essay of the Damned

2008-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

On our road trip this weekend, I finally started listening to my Shaman King playlist (I normally don't, I thought the music I gathered was all pretty corny for some reason), but having 8 hours (or so) to sit in a van doesn't leave one with much else to do, especially when you've listened to all of the other 400 songs on your Ipod.

So...now I've got this Shaman King song by Cartoni Animati and Marco Massini, whom I believe are either Italian or Spanish (the lyrics sound Spanish), but it's actually a really cool song; actually, it might even be the main theme, but in a different language (the theme and rhythym is different, too, though). Anyways, I've got the song stuck in my head and the sad thing is that it is only 1:08 minutes long D:

They could have made it perfect if it were only a little longer (even 2 minutes would be awesome, like "Ride On Shooting Star" by The Pillows). But perhaps there is a longer version...

*evil laugh*

In other news, I'm still waiting for the last member in my English essay group to reply back to my e-mails; I volunteered (like the fool I am) to put the whole essay together, but because Cam hasn't sent me his portion of the essay, it's incomplete, and still due on Tuesday. Crap. I still have to get the last member's paragraph, finish my refutation, and decide on a pithy quote to end the entire essay. And Cam will still need a page number for the Works Cited.

I knew we should have spent that last hour on Friday to finish this all up instead of talking about cereal comercials *groans*

So, right now I'm a little stressed. Not even Shaman King can really save me at the moment D:

(Well, unless Ryu magically shows up from out my closet, and then I might reconsider...)

-Kelifer

[EDIT 4:22 p.m. Monday]

I just totally realized that in that last sentence I implied that Ryu might actually be gay D:''''

Damn! (Derek better never see this...*laughs*) And yes, RYU IS NOT GAY!!! He's sexy...

We're Off to See the Amish...

2008-05-17T14:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, we're actually on vacation to see Arlo G., but we spent a few hours out of our way to see the Amish in Shipshewana. Otherwise, we'd miss them tomorrow cause it's Sunday.

I'm sitting in our hotel room, keeping busy by talking to you all. After spending about 7 hours in a van, I feel a little exhausted. I'm also surprised I could find an unsecured network up here, but relieved as well. Yay internet.

In other news, we've officially got...9 days of school left? Yay. I don't like counting down when it gets to that "one month left" mark (it's distracting, and everyone has [grade level]-itis), but when you get this close, it's hard not to think of how long you have left. Not only that, but everybody is getting jumpy about upcoming finals, and thus teachers are belting out study guides like it's the end of the world. It does leave time in class to do other things (draw, write, perform shenanigans, etc.)

Anywho, not much else is happening. I drew another sketch out of bordem yesterday in Chemistry (Nowicki going off again), and I realized I seem to draw more shamans when I can't find any other ideas to illustrate. I started with a face, made him old, then because of his attire, I made his spirit a salty sailor with two peg legs and a pair of hooks for hands. It's actually kind of cool *laughs*

So, I suppose before we head to the concert, I'll work on one of three possible things:

1) Continue completing my Gizen's Story outline (web page style),

2) Actually start writing chapters to Gizen's Story, or

3) Continue my web page table of possible color codes using the hexidecimal system, which after doing two possible math problems to find the total of those colors, I realized it will take over 5,000 days to finish, even at 300 colors a day (if the first total is 16,581,135 colors; the second, which I've yet to calculate a rate for, is 16 million, 300-thousand-something, 810 colors, and I apologize for incongruity in that reading).

So, I've got a "wide" range of options to do in the next hour. At least I won't be bored.

-Kelifer

Pain and Myspace

2008-05-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail just earlier from my mom, and she told me she was a little concerned that I hadn't posted a blog yesterday. I normally put one up, even if it's about seemingly nothing. I replied back "I won't post something everyday, just when something comes up". Well, something came up, and it happened only five minutes ago.

I was getting onto the Internet, planning to check my blogs and maybe think of something meaningful to post. At first, I thought I'd write about my tooth; it hurts like hell. I had an Orthodontist appointment this morning, and this big rubber band was put on a tooth that had to be surgically pulled down to get it into the right place (je deteste mes dents). So now, I have this "biting" pain in the upper part of my mouth, and everytime I eat, it stings really bad.

Well, that was supposed to be my story of the evening, but as I said, something came up. As I was browsing through my directory of Favorited sites to find my blog, my eyes fell upon an article on the MSN homepage; it was about a girl...and Myspace.

It said, "Msypace Case: Indictment after online hoax leads to suicide", and next to that was a picture of a young girl. I quickly checked out the article...and felt like a lead weight had dropped in my gut.

Because of a woman's paranoia, she created an online alias as a boy named "Josh" to investigate the girl (now the victim), Megan. Apparently, the woman thought Megan was talking about her daughter, which the two had once been friends previously. After keeping up the game long enough, though, the woman chose to end the connection with Megan, including messages like "the world would be better off without you" (The Associated Press), and in the end, Megan chose to do the irreversible: in October of 2006, she hanged herself.

How can you possibly think that something like that can happen? Has it come down to the Internet being used as a tool of murder? An implement of sabotage? I couldn't possibly believe that a young girl would take her own life because of something as simple as an online message. Did she know that her family loved her? Did the woman know that she could quite easily manipulate a young girl's feelings?

Sometimes, I just have to look at the world...and cry. It almost always doesn't make sense why we do the things we do, and to the extent we do them. People glorify the world as being beautiful and wonderful, yet why do we fill it with such ugliness? Sometimes I see the world and think how lucky I am to be human and healthy, to have personality and talent. I see what makes the world so great, and I think, "I'm lucky to be alive".

Other times...I see it and cry.

In memory of Megan Meier (13).

-Kelifer

Waiting and Rueing

2008-05-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Summer's finally a'coming. Thank goodness.

As previously mentioned to Laura last night, it's not that I don't have free time now after school when I don't have projects or anything like that, but I just can't wait for summer when there's absolutely no worries to bother or hinder me from letting my mind wander the way it needs to be doing. Unfortunately, without people to surround me, I get distracted more (which sounds weird, doesn't it?), and then I spend all summer sleeping and doing nothing anyways. It's almost always such a waste...

But this year, as with all the other years, I feel like I can actually make some progress; the kind that will actually get me somewhere. Hell, I might even finish Gizen's Story, and maybe after another side story, I can begin tackling the Trilogy. Who knows. Time will only tell.

In other news, I get to hang out with my step-sister this evening with some of her friends and my step-mom, yet...I'm wary about what we're going to be doing. They're members of her Mary Kay group, and last time Gina had Mary Kay...she made me wear it.

I hate make-up. It bothers me.

So I suspect that I'm going to have my night's worth of events and bad memories. I want to just stay home, and it's bad enough I left my fricking Ipod at school (which nearly made me cry), but now I have to suffer the torment of conformity and...make-up.

[sighs explosively]

I guess I'll just have to suck it up and take it like a young lady. I just don't want to spend a night at their mercy. I feel vulnerable. I hate that.

Anyways, I'll be picked up in about 20 minutes, give or take. Maybe I can write something before they all show up...

-Kelifer

Potawatami Zoo

2008-05-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today, my mom treated me and Nick for our long-overdue trip to the Potawatami Zoo up in South Bend, Indiana. This was sort of like our Mother's Day Grand Event of the year, so tomorrow, Mom's real gift will be us helping her clean out the damned pantry D: ...

Anyways, the three of us seem to be "animal-lovers" by this point: in Washington D.C., we spent literally more than 12 hours at the National Zoo, a good deal of that time used to watch Tien Shan, the new baby panda; this past Christmas, we went to the Indianapolis Zoo and got to see the Christmas lights, ONE reigndeer, and we had the best snowball fight ever (the other visitors were effectively scared); and of course, today, we visited the Potawatami Zoo and got to see Red Pandas (our favorite attraction), endangered species, and one male tiger who was getting real friendly with his red ball...

And it's weird, because no matter where we go, mating season always seems to be in the air with these animals. Hell, we even witnessed a Jerry Springer episode of two male mallards and a femme duck this afternoon near the Snow Leopard exhibit.

Frisky ducks...

So that's what's happening. Yesterday we had our HUGE get-together for the M-KOM program our school is setting up. I shall be mentoring young and youthful freshman (one of which I found out will be Nick, however I'm not sure if he'll be one of my five). It was so fun; we spent the whole day going over activities we'll be doing with our freshman to better help them understand the high school (they're in their own little campus, those sad bastards), we got nifty turkey sandwiches, and best of all...we danced. And we danced quite awesomely.

Well, that's about it. Aside from crappy English Honors, I've got no other deadlines to meet, NAHS has finally been taken care of, and I'm free for the next month to do...whatever I really damn feel like doing.

Awesome.

-Kelifer

It's Building Up Like My Dreams But It Just Won't Fall Over...

2008-05-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

All day today I've felt..."depressed".

I use that term this way, well, because every time I do use it, I get therapy; or, I get lectures about what I should be doing to make it better.

For the record, nothing they say makes it better.

But as you continue to ponder who "they" are, I'll continue by recounting everything that makes me angry and sad today.

Cause that's how I feel: sad, misunderstood, angry.

It's mostly stress. I've spent the last week working on a project that shouldn't even exist, but worst is that I'm creating it for an auction and I've fallen [madly] in love with it, and I use "madly" for emphasis, not literally how I feel. I only got seven to eight days to finish this damned piece of somewhat-awesome, and I don't even get to keep it. How cruel.

Second, I have recently signed up for what our school has dubbed, "M-KOM" (Miller Kick-Off Mentoring), which is a newly developed program that the main campus of NHS has created to help support and mentor the freshman of our freshman campus (titled NHSFC, of course). Because those little buggers feel like their ostracized (and that has nothing to do with birds, mind you!), our campus, being so warm and loving, decided to make a group of awesome juniors of next year to help out the freshman of...next year. Problem is, only so many people get accepted...and I did. Not the bad news: bad news was that we got a packet sent in the mail to be filled out and returned by TODAY, but because someone thought I would see these things on the table, never mentioned it to me until THIS MORNING. Bull crap. So, all day I stressed over how much I wasn't going to be a part of a cool experience (not to mention a great achievement for my future application). Luckily, I might be able to turn it all in tomorrow morning, but I still have to stay after school and volunteer for a festivity I have no care for...*blegh*

And lastly, some of the people at my school...well, they just annoy me. And the worst annoyance is getting called out because you're not "talking to them" anymore. Well, excuse me, I can't converse with you 24/7 like I'm your freaking mom wanting to know if your lunch is too hot or if you went to the bathroom okay...Why would you ask someone that? "Why don't you talk to me anymore?" I talk to you plenty! You're the one who was calling me one-minded because I would vote Democrat even if Hilary Clinton was our only choice! It's not because I'm like those people who choose a party and vote for those candidates NO MATTER WHAT! I actually care about their views, and because Hilary's choices are similar to Barack's, that's why I would vote for her! Nobody freakin' understands!

God, I feel like...Wilson. Getting beaten up by a bunch of crazed cast aways because they're hurt by something I didn't do, and then being left behind to drown in an ocean of sadness and despair.

Well, screw you all. I hate you.

Except you of course, A. You're like, my best friend.

Anyways, anger aside, my artwork has finally reached its dramatic end (and yes it's dramatic because it not only adds to my stress, it marks the glorious beginning to the stage of writing. Hopefully it will last this time...) But only time will tell.

-Kelifer

Indiana Primaries...Not So Appeasing

2008-05-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the evening of Indiana's primaries for the Democratic nominees, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. I stayed up failry late past eleven o-clock to see the results of our hard labor and campaigning. But even after a very decisive victory in North Carolina...I couldn't help but still feel disappointed, and shocked.

While applying the finishing touches to an already overdue project (as a consequence of late notice), my mom came outside to tell me the latest news of the primaries. Polling had ended perhaps an hour or less earlier, so I was anxious to see what results were piling up. After a sort of awkward hesitation, my mom said, "Barack won North Carolina."

I though, that early? Impossible! Had they figured the results earlier that day? No, only within 15 minutes of the precincts turning in their results, Barack was declared winner of the East-border state. Unbelievable how they'd determined it so quickly.

But the news didn't end there--and surely didn't get better than a great win like that of NC. My mom also informed me (to my dismay), that Hilary was already far in the lead, with a huge percent difference over Obama after only 25% of the votes had been counted. I went back to work on my project, a sense of uneasiness and overwhelming dread sinking into my heart.

Later that evening, as we both ate dinner in front of the TV, Anderson Cooper discussed with analysts and supporters of both candidates as we watched the bottom of the screen where, with the speed of a low-battery-powered golf cart (I'm sure we all understand how slow that really is), the percentage of Indiana's vote was being monitored, and the votes to each candidate was racked up. It was amazing seeing our state speculated and viewed by such national attention like we were suddenly the very center of the universe in this election; chances have it, we basically were. The overwhelming hype was exciting...which is why I'm sorely upset about a candidate not being nominated by our own primary.

Soon, the precent was reaching near 75% and 80% of the state, and the gap between Clinton and Obama started to get smaller and smaller. I prayed as hard as I could for Obama's number to lunge upward and overshoot Hilary's...but that moment never came: the mark eventually stuck for the rest of the evening at Hilary with 52%, and Obama with 48%.

At that moment, even with so many votes yet uncounted, I realized that Obama just might, or was going to, lose Indiana. In fact, in a speech south in North Carolina, he had already admitted to Hilary Clinton winning Indiana's primaries.

Had we failed? Had we somehow lacked some sort of compaigning secret that only Hilary could have wielded to sway the votes of half a state into her favor? I felt robbed. I felt like our efforts had been a waste, yet I still held hope until the very last moment before going to bed that by some chance those numbers would change and Obama would come through to victory.

The final end result was 51% Hilary, 49% Obama.

Obama's moment of triumph never came. Even now, I keep thinking that by the end of the evening, more votes will be counted and there could still be a chance that Obama will win this state. I thought this state--Indiana--would determine our next Democratic candidate, but instead it's only fueled the war between these two and has simply rolled its glorious historic fate into the next states of Kentucky and West Virginia. What a shame.

Now, as things return to normal--where Obama and Hilary face each other far away, and I'm left here without so much as a clue or an excited effort to the race--I can only hope that Barack's huge win and Hilary's narrow one will persuade the remaining super delegates to go in Obama's favor. Otherwise, should Clinton succeed, I know that as Obama has demonstrated, we must work together to achieve success and a common goal as a group (in this case the Democrats).

For the moment at hand, I suppose it is time for me to express my greatest support to Obama in these next few weeks and months, and should he fail, dedicate myself to helping Hilary as the next best candidate; it's about time our parties begin to unite within themselves, instead of feeling sore about losses.

Besides, I'd rather Hilary as president than McCain: how many more years can we possibly suffer if he wins?

One Mind Further Divided

2008-05-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

I hate most people. They are most often either ignorant or just one-minded. Most people I know, luckily, aren't ignorant, but many seem to irk me with the latter.

Just today, I experienced a few individuals who caught my overly-sensitive attention.

First, as we barely sped through a not-so-quick lecture over African Francophone (meaning African culture that speaks French), my teacher du francais asked our class, "When you think of Africa, what basic ideas or pictures come to mind?"

The first thought was "safari" or "savanna", and perhaps even ancient tribes that fought with spears and sticks to catch wild game. And that was pretty much what everyone else was answering with, as well. But behind me, I hear, in an almost solemn and somewhat artificial sympathetic tone, "Darfur."

And I knew who had said that name. She was always mentioning something tragic with the world, always seeming so "sad" and upset. I understand terrible things are occuring over there, but could you at least save us the drama and say something else? Must you always mention torture and suffering as though if you do say it, everyone will cheer you on for noticing or immediately seek you out to help your cause?

It doesn't end there.

Hours later in the cafeteria, once again my friend gets riled up on the note of politics. But it never involves things like, "Oh, I'm so excited about this election! I helped out and everyone is getting more involved, and it will be historic..."

No, everytime with this young lady, it's always, "Bush has really screwed up, and all Republicans should never be elected again. And also, Hilary is never telling the truth; I don't want a president who won't speak up and inform us about her plans."

The point is, my friend is most likely the BIGGEST Barack Obama supporter in the entire building, yet she is one-minded enough to only speak of HIS achievements, and completely bash and ridicule the opponents, perhaps because of only minor flukes. My mother is a supporter of Hilary Clinton, so I completely respect her views and understand why she won't vote for Obama. But I'm not one-minded enough myself to completely shut down all rational thoughts about the other candidates. It bothers me that someone wants change, yet won't listen to other sides without shaking her head and whispering a snide remark to me whenever possible (and sometimes, I think she does it for attention, as though everyone else hates Hilary as much as she does; I don't hate her, I just don't like her and I prefer Barack's views over her).

And in the end, shouldn't that be what it comes down to? Choosing a person because of their views, not their achievements? Barack Obama voted for the Gas Tax Holiday in years past, but my friend doesn't seem to see that even our great candidate made a mistake himself; she only sees that Hilary is trying to inforce it, and that she should be slapped across the face for such a ridiculous idea (Hilary never even voted for it in the first place like Barack did). That's unfair on so many levels, if not being hypocrytical. Barack learned from his mistake, though, and that's why I like him, because I think he puts thought to reason when one plan didn't work the first time; not because of Hilary wanting to install the tax holiday now.

And, when I tried to organize our group, the Young Democrats, together to form the Young Politicians (to create a club for both Republicans and Democrats), my friend decided it wouldn't work because "the two groups would constantly fight with one another". But isn't that what Barack is trying to do?! Get rid of this bipartisanship so that there is no red or blue party, only one where the government/ideas are shared and discussed as one group? Sure, the students who favor Democrats and the ones that favor Republicans will argue, but it could be healthy debates, if not an informational tool for all students interested in politics to understand how the government works. I proposed that we could inform students of what parties typically believe in what views, how the parties got started, and ways to get registered or to vote, so that each student involved wouldn't feel like an enemy with a member of the opposite party, but a fellow classmate to learn about the U.S.'s politics. Many students aren't involved, and I think that's how this group originally got started: not to welcome Democrats alone, or to favor only one candidate more than the other...but to educate and discuss what most kids do not want to talk about. To get them to think and to evaluate their future, not just the next few weeks of finals and prom.

But still, she doesn't feel that one group will keep hard feelings from surfacing. But what will?: Allowing another group to form the Young Republicans so we feel even MORE divided? And after that, will the constant remarks that "our club is better" keep things under wraps? I don't think so. Creating a weapon for each enemy isn't as good as uniting each enemy (as ludicrous as it may seem). If a second group is forced to be created, who says that debates and quarrels won't insue? Perhaps the Young Politicians could hold special days to be spent to honor a previous Republican member in Congress, or a day could be used to learn about the founders of the Democratic party...why further seperate ourselves when your hero is trying to do just the opposite?

Aren't two minds better than just one?

Barack Obama Encounter

2008-05-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yes. Believe it or not, I, a simple Sophomore of Noblesville High School (IN), was actually capable of not only whitnessing the inspirational giant himself, but also shaking his hand: twice.

You see him in the news, you view his debates online from the available archives of YouTube, but when you sit literally ten feet away as a representative of your school's political chapter and hear his voice so close and so powerful...it's enough to blow your mind away with every word he says.

As Vice President of my school's Young Democrats, I had the esteemed pleasure to accompany Laura (our President), and Bethany (another member) to Hamilton County's very own Barack Picnic in Forrest Park (a strong staple of Noblesville's recreational hotspots) as specially invited guests. Surrounded by supporters and fans, we were greatly lucky to land front row seats at one of three benches within "the ring", as I've decided to call it; no one could enter but us, and no one could leave without permission (thus, I had to stare at my baked beans for more than an hour because I forgot to grab a fork). But the long hours were well worth feeling the rush of exhiliration when that onyx-colored bus pulled up to the shelter. As the crowd cheered, I remember being pushed inward as everyone clambered to get the first glimpse of Obama's smiling face. The chaos was nearly outrageous.

But as things cooled, Barack's wife, Michelle, spoke a few words on behalf of Barack and his goal for America, then, handing him the baton, Barack delved into a short anecdote about his grandparents and about the issues at hand that must be changed, and will be if he is elected. In between snapping photos of him, I sat quietly, drawing in every word he said. There was no other place I would have rather been than to listen to Barack Obama share his goals personally with me...and a few other thousand people.

When the speech was over, he made his way around, shaking hands, holding infants, encouraging and thanking all that came. Then, when he had come full circle, his eyes rested upon the words of Laura's poster, and he asked, "Young Democrats?"

Laura replied, "Yes. I'm Laura [lastname], President of the Young Democrats at Noblesville High School."

To see her speak with him...to see him notice her mother's small, hand-made signs was like the beacon of hope for all of us still too young to vote or to even understand what things were happening in our government. For him to notice us amongst a crowd so large...it made you feel bigger than anything else you could imagine.

And then Barack said, "You're the president? Well, I think I might need to get some advice from you!"

Another astounding moment. Then, coming to me and shaking my hand, he took my camera (I was holding it out in broad daylight), handed it to a secret service agent, and said, "Well, I'm going to need to get a picture with the Young Democrats!"

After a short fifteen seconds (in which I stood next to Obama himself with my arm around him), a snapshot of a lifetime was taken, and moment I'll will never forget was forged into my memory. Even after he shook our hands again and moved on, the chills never wore away. Even now, the effects and awesome realization of what we had just encountered is still amazing to this day and almost this very instant.

Perhaps it was just nerves...or perhaps it was meeting an inspiration that could be more than any dream. It could be reality.

-Kelifer

Note: Soon after our picture, a journalist from the Noblesville Daily Times managed to flag us down for an interview, which can actually be viewed at http://www.county29.net/cms2/ under the Top Story. I'm the one directly next to him, although you cannot see much of my face (for that I'm actually a little grateful).