What I've Been Up To Recently...

Okay, so I kinda promised Sylvia last night I'd get something posted today...and my sleep-deprived brain did not realize that I really had nothing interesting to post. But, well, since I would hate to have Sylvia holding that promise over my head, here goes nothing...

So, I'm tired. Which is totally depressing. Okay, so maybe going to bed at one in the morning is not the best idea, but I'm getting at least eight hours of sleep a night, sometimes more. Like, today, I slept until 10:30...and then procreeded to get mad at myself because that means I have an hour less time to do stuff. Aka, watch Monday's Pretty Little Liars episode that I recorded and still haven't watched. Ugh.

I started this World Religion lecture course for school, which is actually pretty interesting. Five religions (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, & Islam), twelve 30-minute lectures per religion. So, I grabbed one and started it this week, and it's actually not that bad. And as much as I loved Mrs. Purdee, we did not learn this much about comparative religion in less than a week. So, Buddhism's actually kinda interesting. Reincarnation and karma and the Buddha and everything...

Also, our air conditioning decided to go haywire during the hottest days of the year so far. The thermostat says our house is about 77 degrees, but it really doesn't feel that hot. Unless our thermostat is really broken, but Dad came over and changed the batteries and it works for heat, but not for air conditioning. So, we have a guy coming out tomorrow to look at the unit out back.

Um, what else? Let's see...what movies have I watched recently? The Help, which was surprisingly good, Hugo (I think I mentioned it before), which was amazing, and Mom and I rewatched Atonement, which has to be one of the best movies I've ever seen. I saw it once when I was younger, but I didn't really get it, but seeing it now, I was like, "Wow." Plus, it's got Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, so that automatically makes it awesome.

And I'm in a really creative mood right now. Like, writing and reading and all that stuff. Which is making me feel really good. Plus, I'm wearing one of my new outfits (yay for spring.summer weather!) - the one with the blue cami and crochet vest-thing, except it was so hot I'm using my white shorts instead of the capris - so I feel pretty amazing right now.

Okay, that's really all I've got. I've been sitting here for five minutes trying to come up with something else to write, and there's nothing coming, so I think this is it for the night. I'll be sure to post soon, though.

Emotional Rollercoaster...

I'd like to start by apologizing for the lack of posts recently. I suppose "emotional rollercoaster" is as close a description of my emotions right now as I'm going to get. It's funny...I can be happy and carefree one minute, and then totally depressed the next. It's also why I haven't been posting all that much - I'm trying not to get on here when I'm in a bad mood. Because the depressing tone really doesn't suit me. :)

It's just tough, though. This whole separation thing is tough on everyone...well, except my dad. He seems to be enjoying himself, which really disgusts me, but whatever. They finally were able to sit down last night and work out most of the separation agreement, although they had second thoughts about some things this morning, but, essentially, my dad's moving out this weekend. Which has taken, like, forever to happen...first it was at the end of January, then he decided to move it up a week because he didn't want it to coincide with my birthday, then it never came about. So, we're finally out of limbo, and actually doing something, which is good.

I guess we'll start all the visitation crap soon. My dad gets us one evening a week (to take us out to dinner, go to my grandmother's - where he's living - or whatever) and from Saturday at noon to Sunday at 5:00pm every other weekend. So, that probably means we're going to be spending most of that at my grandmother's, which is fine, of course, but her house is so warm and stuffy, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle it. We'll see how it goes.

So, it's all just making life a little harder. But, I'm getting through it. I'm trying to spend time with each of them separately - my dad even took Quinn and I out to dinner a couple of days ago, which was a bit unexpected. Mom and I have been watching a lot of movies - Hugo was our most recent Netflix one, which we ended up loving. And okay, now my evil, depressing rant is over.

Um, my SAT scores came in, well, a while ago actually. I ended up scoring an 1830, which I felt okay about until someone *cough*Sylvia*cough* told me she scored a 2070. And that Ben Zhang scored a 2390. Smart Asians. So, I'm trying to figure out whether I want to spend the money to take it again in May or just go with my current scores, which would get me into NC State, and WSSU, and I'm sure Forsyth Tech would take me. Because unlike all of you overachievers, I'm not aiming for UNC or Stanford or anything super-smart. So, I have to decide whether it's a good idea to take it again or not.

Other news - I did not make the final round of voting for that writing contest. But, I did make it to the top twenty, which was a pretty great accomplishment, considering there were over 100 entries. Now, I'm hoping to win one of the seven pairs of tickets that Figment is raffling off to the non-winning contest entrants. Fingers crossed. If you want to read my entry...well, here's the link. http://figment.com/books/236941-Escape

Downton Abbey. Oh my gosh, we finished Season 2 a couple of weeks ago, and it was ah-mazing. I cannot wait for the next season. Like, seriously. Right now, I'm keeping myself out of withdrawal by watching episodes online, downloading the first episode of the first season for free on iTunes, watching cast interviews & behind the scenes stuff, and yep, can't you tell I'm obsessed? And I have to wait until January for Season 3 to air here in the US. Ugh.

Mom, Quinn, and I are currently reading (well, Mom and I are technically rereading) The Hunger Games to prepare for the movie, which comes out in a couple of weeks. Yes! So excited! The book is still as good as I remember it, and I can't wait to see if the movie lives up to my expectations. I sure hope it does.

And I think that's about it. For now, at least. I'm sure they'll be plenty more to talk about later on...

New Clothes...

Okay, I promise I will get a real, this-is-what-I've-been-doing post up this week. But, I wanted to post something first, because Sylvia's always doing posts about what clothes she's bought, and they're always so cool, so I thought I'd steal her thunder. Lol. Just kidding. But, anyway, here's what I've bought over the past few months...

So, I had a coupon for H&M, and ended up using it on this black tank top with pink and orange cherries all over it. Because I can.

Okay, so the color in the first picture sucks, but the detail shot gives you a better idea. The criss-cross thing is actually in the back, which I know you can't tell from the picture. I think I'm going to end up using a thin, black, braided belt at my waist to give it some shape. This one's from Forever 21, by the way.

Mom and I were poking around at Target, and this dress (yes, another dress...I know I have way too many) caught my eye immediately. I really like the zig-zag-ish pattern, and I think you could totally dress it up with a shawl, make it business-y with a blazer, or dress it down with a denim jacket for completely different looks.

This is my most recent purchase. Okay, so Mom bought it for me because she had her Sears discount. It's funny, I never realized how many neat things Sears had to offer. This is also one of the first times I've ever bought a complete outfit. Usually, I just end up buying separates, and then making an outfit at home with whatever I have on hand. I spent, like, an hour trying on clothes and finally came out with this - white capris, a blue cami with tan lace detailing, and this tan crocheted vest-thing.

So, now I'm patiently waiting for spring weather so I can break out all my new clothes. Because it's cold right now, and I am so ready warmer weather.

Oscars...

You know me and my movies...so the Oscars are a pretty big deal. Not that we actually watch many of the nominated films before the ceremony, but we like all the dresses and the awards and the grandness of it all.

So, I think Billy Crystal did a really good job. A little bland, but good overall. The opening number was pretty cool, and there were just enough jokes throughout the night to keep it lively. The presenters did a pretty good job as well. As much as I hate to say it, because I really don't like either of them, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis crashing those cymbals at Brad Pitt was pretty funny. Although Angelina Jolie really got on my nerves. Okay, I get that you can't show your gorgeous legs in that dress, even with that thigh-high slit, but really? You have to jut your leg out for the whole world to see while you're on stage? On the red carpet, fine, but you're up there presenting an award...nobody cares to see your leg for the hundredth time that evening.

Anyway, Hugo seemed to dominate the visual effects categories, which was fine. Harry Potter didn't win any of its three nominations...I thought they should have done some sort of tribute considering that it wasn't nominated in any big categories and was a huge box-office franchise, but that's just my opinion. And here's my (albeit late) predictions/I hope they win for the acting and best picture categories.

Best Supporting Actor. Wanted to win - Christopher Plummer (for Beginners). Thought would win - I don't know, maybe Max Von Sydow (for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, even though I've never seen it). Won - Christopher Plummer (for Beginners), which marks his first Oscar win ever, and he's now the oldest winner in any of the acting categories at 82 years old.

Best Supporting Actress. Wanted to win - Berenice Bejo (for The Artist). Thought would win - Octavia Spencer (for The Help). Won - Octavia Spencer (for The Help). I've never seen The Help, so I don't really know how good she played the role, so I can't really have an opinion.

Best Actor. Wanted to win - Jean Dujardin (for The Artist). Thought would win - the polls had all been saying that Jean Dujardin was likely to win. Won - Jean Dujardin. Yay! So happy for him - he did a wonderful job in The Artist. He actually ended up dropping the French equivalent of the F-bomb during his acceptance speech, but the censors didn't catch it, so it didn't get bleeped out. He was obviously very excited...lol.

Best Actress. Wanted to win - Rooney Mara (for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) or Michelle Williams (for My Week with Marilyn) just because they were both underdogs in the category. Thought would win - Viola Davis (for The Help) because of the movie's popularity. Won - Meryl Streep (for The Iron Lady), which annoyed me because she really doesn't give good acceptance speeches. She did perfectly fine with her speech about the Honorary Academy Awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, but when she got up on stage to accept her Best Actress award, she sounded like she was drunk. Annoyed me to no end.

Best Picture. Wanted to win - The Artist. Thought would win - The Artist. Won - The Artist. As they say, silence is golden. So happy it won - the film was beautiful. And it also marks the first time a silent film has won Best Picture since the very first Academy Award ceremony held back in 1929. How awesome is that?

And I think the only other thing left to talk about is the dresses. Which were, as Kathie Lee Gifford put it, not very incredible. I found most of the dresses really...nondescript. There wasn't really a stand-out, "oh my gosh" dress that I completely and utterly loved. Which was really one of the only disappointments of the night. Anyway, this year's Oscars were pretty awesome, and I can't wait for next year!

I Kinda Feel Like Jumping Up and Down...

So, semi-finalist voting is going on now for that writing contest I entered...and guess who made it into the top twenty? Yep, yours truly! They've been releasing five entries each day that have made the cut, and they haven't told the winners in advance, so it was a complete surprise when I looked on the blog tonight to find my story listed among the Round 3 group. There's a twenty-four hour voting period for each group of five, and then, the five winners (who have the highest number of votes) will go up against each other, and three of them will win the top prize.

So, if you see this within the next day or so, I'd appreciate it if you'd go ahead and read some of the stories. And maybe vote for mine, Escape, if you truly like it the best. Okay, I know that's horrible of me to say, because this is really not a popularity contest...not that I'm popular...but it'd be pretty awesome if I got into the next round...and now, I'm off on some crazy rant.

http://blog.figment.com/2012/02/18/seminar-contest-semi-finalists-round-3/

Really, though, Figment is really awesome. It's given me the confidence to actually post a piece of my writing for all the world (okay, so maybe that's a little overdramatic) to see. And hey, it's actually kinda getting noticed, at least by the Figment team that voted on the top twenty.

This Week - TV Faves (#1)

So, recently, there's been a lot of hubbub about the PBS Masterpiece Classic show, Downton Abbey. And naturally, I became curious because 1) I love period pieces and 2) Maggie Smith is in it. And it just so happened the first season was available to stream through our Netflix account/Wii, so, we decided to give it a try.

Oh my gosh. I think we started it a week or two ago, and we're already finished with the first season, which is seven episodes long. And we're officially hooked. There's a ton of characters, a ton of storylines, and everything just fits together really well. What we liked is that the end of each episode gives closure to some storyline or problem, but leaves other things open to work themselves out in the next episode. And despite not knowing who any of the actors and actresses were and not having seen any of their other work (besides Maggie Smith), we're really liking (or disliking, in some cases) the characters as if we'd known them for a very long time.

Okay, so you've probably never seen the show and have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. Basically, the show itself centers around the Crawley family, their country estate (Downton), and the servants that, well, serve them.

The Crawley family - Matthew Crawley (the new heir), Violet Crawley (Lord Grantham's mother), Robert Crawley (Lord Grantham), Cora Crawley (Lady Grantham), Isobel Crawley (Matthew's mother), Lady Mary Crawley (Lord & Lady Grantham's eldest daughter), Lady Edith Crawley (their middle daughter), Lady Sybil Crawley (the youngest daughter).

The Servants - Mr. Carson (butler), Mrs. Hughes (housekeeper), Mrs. O'Brien (Lady Grantham's maid), Mrs. Patmore (cook), Daisy (kitchen maid), Gwen (housemaid), William (footman), Mr. Bates (Lord Grantham's valet), Anna (head housemaid), Thomas (footman).

Personally, I think the servants' storylines are more interesting than the goings-on upstairs with the Crawley family. The Crawleys are all in a tizzy the whole season about Cora's fortune (which is tied to the entail - basically, her fortune and the estate go to the heir, and without a male heir of their own, and the next heir and his son perishing on the Titanic, their distant cousin Matthew, a solicitor from Manchester, is next in line to inherit it). The whole season is about trying to pair Mary and Matthew together so that they might fall in love and marry, and then Cora's fortune and the estate would stay within the immediate family. And meanwhile, Edith and Sybil start to meet prospective husbands, and Violet and Isobel clash over everything.

The servants, well, they're another story. Thomas and O'Brien are constantly scheming to get rid of the new valet, Mr. Bates, who is an old war-buddy of Lord Grantham. Mrs. Patmore's eyesight is failing her, leading to mistakes in the kitchen that are blamed on the young Daisy, who starts off liking William (who is falling for her), and then gets lured in by Thomas, who involves her in his and O'Brien's schemes. Gwen is secretly taking a typing course, with the hopes of landing a job elsewhere as a secretary, while Anna and Mr. Bates, as hard as they try not to, are falling in love with each other. And poor Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes, being in charge, have to deal with it all.

The whole thing comes together really well. There's drama, laughter, heartbreak, love, loss, tension, backstabbing, and so much more. The season finale was amazing, and I really can't wait to see where they take the second season, now that there's a war going on. Unfortunately, it's not available to stream on Netflix, but I figured out how to hook up my laptop to the tv, so we can watch them as PBS posts them online. So, far, they've uploaded six of the eight. And the DVD's are in our queue, so hopefully, we'll be able to watch them in some way, before the third season starts in September.

New Accomplishment...

Oh my gosh. I just freaking entered a writing contest. Oh my gosh...why did I think that was a good idea?

So basically, I just wrote a 972-word short story in the span of about three hours. I'd never heard of Figment.com before today, and I happened upon a contest they were holding. In 1,000 words or less, write a poem, essay, script, short story, etc. about a teacher (could be real, made-up, an actual professional teacher, or just a figurative one, whatever you want) who makes an impact (good, bad, small, big - again, whatever you want). So, I made an account and started into a short story. I really didn't have any idea where I was going with it, or what I was trying to accomplish with it, but I managed to pull out a decent piece. Or, at least I think so. I'm not quite sure my 'teacher' is really that, in the real sense of the word, but more a 'mentor', but we'll see what happens. All in an attempt to win tickets to Seminar. Lol. What I won't do to see that show...

So, there's about 100 entries right now, and the contest closes tonight. Yes, I did just find out about it today. And yes, I did actually manage to enter it. I'm kinda proud of myself. I always start stories, but never finish them, and I don't think I've ever written a complete piece in less than a day. So, this is quite an accomplishment for me. :)

My writing bug is now officially back. I'm working on a few little stories right now. Nothing that I'm going to publish, but still, it's a start. I'm glad I'm finally back into the groove. It feels good to get some writing done. Which probably means more posts on the blog...yay! I know I've been kinda nonexistent lately, but hopefully, the next few posts will make up for it.

Ooh, in other news, I had three (count 'em, three) birthday celebrations this past week. Birthday dinner at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse with Mom and Quinn, dinner with Dad's side of the family, and then dinner with Mom's side of the family. And I got lots of money, and a Barnes & Noble gift card, and a Nikon Coolpix digital camera, which is so amazingly awesome. Except I need a memory card for it, but whatever.

And I need to at least make a list of all the movies I've seen lately, because I probably won't get to all of them on any of my "This Week" posts, however long those last. One Day, Margin Call, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Woman in Black, and Galaxy Quest. And I just realized that now that I'm 17, I could technically go see R-rated films by myself now...I missed my chance to go see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in theaters, but at least now I can go see things as they come up, instead of having to wait for the DVD, because we rarely see R-rated movies in the theater.

Okay, that's all the news I can think of right now, but I'll be sure to post again soon.