30.11.09

The Thanksgiving break was nice. It was so hard to get up for school this morning, and on the way here, I closed my eyes for too long several times. My sister and I decided that we're going to start running twice a week. I desperately need to get in shape. It's sad that I get short of breath when I walk up the stairs at school. I'm also switching to whole wheat bread on my sandwiches. Wow!

We went shopping on Friday, which was stupid, but I finished all my Christmas shopping and that made me feel better. Besides Richie's. But his is the most, and I need to save up a lot.

142 days until my dad comes home, and that seems like forever. I miss him. I'm ready to go camping. And listen to the Allman Brothers the whole way to the mountains!

I really need to think about something worthwhile to talk about here. Something with substance...

L8TR

24.11.09

They called you sick, they called you disgusting. They brought up your past. I wish they knew half the story. It's starting to become a hilarity.

walk along the river, sweet lullaby
it just keeps on flowin', it don't worry 'bout where it's going
don't fly mister blue bird, I'm just walkin' down the road
early mornin' sunshine tells me all I need to know

you're my blue sky; you're my sunny day
you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way
turn your love my way

good ol' sunday mornin' bells are ringin' everywhere
goin' to Carolina; won't be long til I'll be there

you're my blue sky, you're my sunny day

23.11.09

editorial 1

This is my first article of six that I'm writing for my grad project. I know you all are probably very tired of hearing me talk about New Moon, and I'm sorry. But I do want your feedback! Please be honest; tell me if it's awful.

-

“New Moon” impresses Meyer fans

The day that millions of Twilight enthusiasts had been waiting for had finally arrived. A year after the movie depiction of Stephenie Meyer’s first book, Twilight, had been released, the second book of the saga finally made its way to the silver screen. Movie theater staff members had been preparing for November 20, 2009 for weeks in hopes of patrons reaching far into the double digits. Salisbury, North Carolina’s Tinseltown had brought in extra help for the opening night, knowing that crazed fans could very possibly get out of hand. With lines reaching very near the end of the Tinseltown parking lot, managers and ushers tried their best to stay composed.

Among the chatter of all things Twilight, the definite feeling of excitement abounded from the crowds. As fans settled into their seats, the final and abrupt countdown began to the beginning of the long-awaited second installment of Meyer’s famous written journey. Yelps of excitement came in spurts across the theater as the words “new moon” shined across a black screen. Many viewers knew the basic synopsis of the story unfolding, but this didn’t prevent ecstatic reactions as Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) graced the screen. With a sharp opening of Stewart sprinting through the streets of Volterra, Italy, viewers knew that were in for a treat, well worth the expense of pre-reserved tickets.
Fans stayed intent as the story of Bella Swan’s deep and bitterly painful heartbreak was carried out in movie form, including highly mastered graphics of the wolf pack and returned perfection of depicting the Cullen family as pale-skinned and tawny-eyed vampires. The graphics of the movie made for awe struck viewers as the fights between the wolves and vampires shot across the screen in impressive doses of action.

Director Chris Weitz and screenplay writer Melissa Rosenberg beautifully created elements that made the story gut-wrenching, from Bella’s ear-piercing screams to the nail-biting dread of Edward exposing himself in the sunlight to provoke the Volturi, an ancient group of vampire rulers. Continuing on into the world of the Cullens, Swans, and the admired pack of Quileute wolves, fans were drawn into the story right until the very abrupt end that certainly left everyone in theaters hanging on Edward’s last words to Bella, “Marry me.”

The success of the premiere became the main topic in Hollywood chatter. Making its way to the third largest movie opening – almost ever – was definitely something for famous actors and directors to talk about. Another admirable aspect of the film’s success was the vast age range among viewers. Upon entering an auditorium housing the “New Moon” premiere, people of all kinds could be found, and from the acclaimed “Twi-Moms” in their early 40s to much younger enthusiasts, the variety of audiences brought even more respect to Meyer, Weitz, and Rosenberg. With the opening weekend drawing to a close, “New Moon” left viewers much to talk about until the movie premiere of the third book, Eclipse, which is expected to hit theaters in June of 2010.
Today I'm thankful that I have Queen to listen to while I make these millions of powerpoints.

P.S. New Moon was beyond amazing.



Could he be any more beautiful?

20.11.09

carpe diem

Today is the day for New Moon. I'm so excited. We're taking our panorama photo today here at school, and that seems to be the only other exciting thing happening today. I meant to mention my afternoon at The Dispatch on Tuesday. I'm learning so much there! Michelle has been teaching me the dynamics of templates and how to arrange them so that they are organized and "pleasing to the eye". I've designed one. Each template will contain room for three of my editorials, so I'll have six in all, like I've mentioned before. These are the issues I'm hoping to write worthwhile articles about:

- The New Moon premiere. (I know, a lot of people are frankly sick and tired of hearing about it. But I'm not. And I'm going to write about things that interest me. These are some of the best books I've read in my life. It'll be exciting to create a mini-review about my favorite of the four being on the silver screen.)
- The genocide issue in Darfur. This will also include talk about the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant group who is essentially responsible for these mass murders. This is the editorial that will certainly intimidate me the most, being as I am not a college professor, nor have I actually witnessed the atrocities of genocide. It will be hard, but I do want to get the message across, because so many Americans are in the dark about it.
- The Graduation Project. Since I do have to endure months of its unrelenting stress, I might as well right about it, right? ..I'm iffy about this one.

That's all I have right now. I'll need three more ideas between now and Christmas, and I would love your ideas, brilliant little ones. Please feel free to give input through comments! I'm actually starting to be excited about this project. I hope that I can do a really good job. I honestly do want the staff at The Dispatch to recognize my work and take it into career consideration. Because I do want to work there, more than anything.

Today's horoscope (I have to thank Julie again for getting me more into astrology) -- Things are undoubtedly confusing, more so than they have to be. What you need right now -- and it's easy to come by -- is a shift in perspective. See things as a friend does -- or as an alien might!

Oh, I love the ones that are hard to figure out. I'll have to think about this one.

P.S. I'm so thankful that New Moon is finally ready for me and my favorite people to go see tonight. Team Edward!

19.11.09

P.S. Today I'm thankful for good books.

veinte de noviembre

I can't believe New Moon is finally here. To make things clear, I honestly don't care whether or not 'everyone else likes it'. I had the same attitude about the saga before I started reading, and before I watched Twilight. Once you start reading it, you understand what everyone is talking about. Seriously. Stephenie Meyer is such a brilliant writer, it's hard to even get your head around how her mind can grow such beautiful stories. And I know, to most thirteen year old girls it's simply fantasizing about the movie version of Edward, but for everyone else, it's the stories. I promise. I usually don't like to claim that I love something that everyone else does, but believe me, with the Twilight Saga, it's hard not to. Tomorrow is going to be so much fun. My sister and I are getting dressed up, going to have dinner, and dragging Richie and Derek to see New Moon. (Kristie and I both know that they're secretly excited. Derek said so himself, and Richie spent hours last night reading about the Olypmic Coven.) I'm doing six original editorials for my grad project, and I'll be including a New Moon movie review as one. I'll be posting them here, so please read.



My horoscope for today says: You should be in the company of some very interesting --and wise -- people today, and should definitely make time to ask big questions and absorb responses fully. You can learn quite a lot!

Hmm. Does this mean my teachers and the customers at work?

18.11.09

By blood and by mean
I fall when you leave
By blood and by mean
I follow your lead.


Can you guess what the building on the right is?
And by the way, I'm thankful for my car. It has a lot of problems, and a really squeaky belt, but I don't care. It gets me where I need to go.

-

I still can't believe that all the talk on my dad's forum is still going on. It amazes me that people would actually take the time to look up someone's past just to insult them and their family on an online forum. Please, get a life. Apparently someone on there was, after all, a District Attorney. This guy had the nerve to humiliate our entire family on that forum. And when I think about it, I just want to cry. But we did find out yesterday that he'll be coming home on April 21st, which is three days before my 18th birthday. That will definitely be my best present. I can't wait to go camping! Anyway. I hope I have a lot to do in my classes today. I know I will in third and fourth. I just like staying busy. It makes the day go by a lot faster. Our yearbook staff is going to be really small next semester. I'll miss a handful, but there are a lot with excessive attitudes that I won't miss at all. Anyway, I'm just ready for the final product. It takes forever! But most of us are working hard.

17.11.09

a long bunch of thankfulness.

I feel like this year has flown by. I want to say today that I'm really thankful for my job. Last night at work was very busy. I was by myself for about three hours, and people kept pouring through the doors. Usually this stresses me out, but for some reason, last night I was just in a mood to work. My face lit up when the Atheys came in with little Matthew. He's seriously my favorite little kid in the whole world. After making three pots of coffee (which I love doing, it smells so good), I finally got to go sit down and talk to Matt. He's so funny! He wanted to help me clean off all of the tables, so I let him hand me the ketchups and move the salts and peppers. I love him. It's people like him and his family that make me love working there. Today, I am also very thankful for my ability and opportunity to learn. This year especially, I really dread coming to school each morning. But I really want to understand that I have an incredible advantage by living here. Though I do not consider myself a proud American, I am very grateful for the opportunities that my generation is receiving. I think about the children around the world who can't go to school, who would die to sit in a desk and learn about asymptotes and Hamlet like I do, and half the time, I'm complaining about another day in high school. I'm not saying that I love school, I'm just saying that I'm glad that I have a chance to really learn. On that note, I'm so thankful that I'm graduating this year. It will be great to walk across the stage and finally say that I'm moving on.

My horoscope for today says: Don't be too alarmed if you start to see or hear things that aren't there -- it's just your subconscious trying to spice things up a little! Go with the flow and things should settle down soon.

Guess I'm gonna see a ghost today.

I'm a little nervous - my phone bill is due tomorrow and I only have half of the payment ready. Only 35 more dollars to go! Hopefully we'll do good in tips at work. "Everything's gonna be alright.."

Have a good day.

16.11.09

P.S.
NEW MOON IS IN 4 DAYS.
Saturday, I was thankful for my huge, comfy bed. Sunday, I was thankful for the lunch rush at work. And today, I'm thankful for PopTarts being in the house. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had breakfast.

:)

13.11.09

Today, I'm thankful for the Relay for Life and the American Cancer Association. I'm also thankful that it's Friday!

12.11.09

Today I'm thankful for people who aren't IMMATURE!

11.11.09

Today, I am thankful for my warm house and warm bed. Hurricane Ida has made it rainy, cold and windy here in North Carolina!

10.11.09

I am also thankful for Hobby Lobby. Because of their huge sale, I bought part of my grandmother's Christmas present for just four dollars.

knick knacks

I remember a long time ago when I had so much time on my hands. I did little needleworks all the time. That was around the time when I was jobless and never took The Beatles out of the music player. I miss doing the needleworks, and now that I've started my patchwork blanket, I want to get back into sewing even more. I bought all of the fabrics for the blanket about three months ago, and amidst my busy schedule, I've managed to cut the squares, but have yet to start sewing. My mom has to get a new Singer anyway. I follow the Milkmoon blog, and I looked at all of her cute little redwork projects today, and it really inspired me to start some of my own. I'll be heading to Hobby Lobby soon for some red thread and off-white fabric! I was thinking of creating some Christmas scenes and giving them to the women in my family, if I can have a few done by then. I looked up a few, and these were some of my favorites:





I can't wait to get started on my little projects; I need to start jotting down ideas for designs. I need suggestions, especially for ones that I make for my sweet Granny.

It's that time of year again to pull out Sufjan Stevens' Christmas albums. I never get enough of his Christmas songs, especially "Sister Winter". It's a sad song, but it's just so pretty.

All my gifts I gave everything you
Your strange imagination
You threw it all away

Now my heart is
Returned to sister winter
Now my heart is
As cold as ice


I don't need to speed Christmas up, because I'm always sad when it's gone. So, I've decided to post one thing that I'm thankful for every day up until Thanksgiving. Tell me what you're thankful for!

Today, I am thankful for my math teacher. She helped me with every little question I had today about standard deviation and never lost her patience.

5.11.09

My friend Kelsea writes for FYI, a corresponding component of the Lexington Dispatch. This week, she decided to do her editorial on me. I really couldn't believe it. But here's the link..