It's the last day...

...of my "blog every day in February" thing. It's been fun, I think. I've talked about Buffy and Egypt and Social Networking and the ocean. I'm excited to do my blog more, but I'm not going to be blogging every single day anymore. While showing me that dedication is an important part of life, it has also really stressed me out. Remembering to blog daily and also have a good topic is not easy. From now on, I'm only going to write when inspired or updating. I'm so thankful to my current followers, and I'm looking forward to the future.
If you want me to talk about anything specific, leave a comment. :)

Snowball--A Dance

So I went to a dance. It was the winter formal dance, and my friends made me go. I went 'stag', and I couldn't have had a better time.I'm extremely happy that they did make me go. I arrived fashionably late, an hour late, and got there around 8 pm. The dance was only from 7-10. I arrived in a dress with my hair done and makeup, wearing a really nice dress with 4 inch heels. Suffice to say, I got told that I looked hot the entire night. That's a confidence booster for you. I really loved dancing with my friends and showing everyone my 'I can have a really good time' side. I got to dance with my best friends. I did the robot a few times, which was awesome. I loved being the only girl in the whole place actually having my purse attached to my wrist. It was fantastic. Also, I was one of the few girls (like, 10) who was still wearing shoes the whole time, which was kind of hurtful, but worth it. Now, my legs are ridiculously sore and my whole body is tired, but it was amazing. Also, I'm pretty deaf from the music, but oh well. I had an amazing dance.

Angry Face.

I love being screwed over by my high school in the possibility of getting a scholarship for college. Thanks for not sending my SAT scores when I asked. It is really appreciated. Thanks. Thanks a bunch. That totally made my day.




I am not in the mood to discuss further. I'm just angry.

Filler words

I hate using filler words. I used to have this huge problem with using the words "dude" and "man" after my sentences. It finally stopped before Freshman year. I was so thankful. I didn't know why I did it. It got extremely annoying. Now, I know many people (specifically girls) who use the word "like" when they don't know what to say. Also, "uh", "umm", "emm", "so like", "and yeah", "you know", and "so" are just a few examples. Now, of course there are times to use these words. It's when the words take over our vocabularies is when I get worried. I don't want the English language to get ruined by our filler words. If you make a conscious effort, like I've done, you can stop it. Also, if you know what you want to say, it makes it a lot easier.

I go...

Up to down.
Side to side.
Sad to happy.
Crying to laughing.
Angry to joyous.
There to here.
Fast to slow.
From past to present.
Dreaming to heartbroken.
Sighs to glances.
From fair to unfair.
Cold to warm.
Pensive to brainless.
Witty to dull.


I am human.
I am eighteen.
I am a woman.
I am a hormonal one.
That's my life.
I change my moods.
I go from sad to happy in the blink of an eye.
It's crazy.
I'm crazy.
We're all crazy.
Get over it.
Or don't.
I don't care.
All I know is that I'm living life.
Life is being lived.
I cannot help this.
It's my fate.
If you believe in fate.
I do.
I think thoughts and turn them to actions.
Or I don't.
Either way I'm okay.
I think.
I'll cope no matter what.
Life throws me curveballs.
All I can do is swing and hope I hit the ball.

Pirates of the Caribbean

First off, how do you say Caribbean? Is it Care-ih-bee-an or Ca-rib-ian? I pronounce it the first way.

Anyway, I've been watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies over the past two days. I'm now watching At World's End, probably my favorite aside from the first. I love these movies. I've always loved pirates (pirates win over ninjas) and I love these characters. Jack Sparrow, I mean Captain Jack Sparrow is fantastic. I love that pirate. He's awesome. I love the Will/Elizabeth relationship. A lot. I get really angry about them in the second movie, but the third movie plus the easter-egg ending really gave into my hopeless-romantic side. I do love it all. I love the ending of the second movie.

Now, for the new movie: I'm unsure how I feel. I suppose I absolutely have to see it, which I definitely will. I love Jack Sparrow, I'm just not sure how the movie is going to go for me without Will and Elizabeth. I shall see. Well, I'm in love with the series, I have a captain hat from Disneyworld. I'm gonna watch the movie now. Enjoy. 

One Week

And now that Barenaked Ladies song is stuck in my head.

Anyhow, I thought I'd bring up some interesting tidbits to this week. First, I have one week left of Blogging every single day, and I think that is quite awesome. I cannot believe that I actually have made it this far. It's been hard, but I'm not ready to celebrate yet. I still have a week. Second, I'm doing the 30 hour famine Friday/Saturday, and I'm pumped. Third, I've a dance to attend Saturday. It should be interesting.

Okay, so I'm in a very Pirates of the Caribbean mood this week. I just finished the first, and now I need to watch the last two. I'm unsure of how I really feel about the fourth installment. It should be good, but I really really like the Will/Elizabeth storyline. So, we'll see how that goes.

Anyhow, have a good night/day/week.

Walmart, Driving, and the Night.

I did my family's grocery shopping at Walmart at 8:30-10:15 tonight. I have to say, it was quite an experience. There are some things you need to understand about my feelings on the Walmart situation. A: I do not like to shop at Walmart. Period. B: I am not fond of the Walmart parkinglot. C: I hate that Walmart has like, 20 checkout places with only one open at a time. It's ridiculous. Anyhow, I got my grocery shopping done, but while I was doing it, I got some pretty strange looks. Here are some possible explanations: A: I am an eighteen year old female. B: I was listening to my iPod whilst shopping. C: I was grocery shopping...at night. I'm thinking it's a bit of everything there. I don't know, but I just laugh it off. All I know, is that even though Walmart claims "lower prices", their food is not cheap; I certainly prefer shopping at the Commissary.

Well, even though Walmart itself is crazy, you should have the priveledge of knowing some other things: A: I got coffee from Dunkin' Donuts before Walmart; it was ice coffee, so I should really say that it was milk and sugar with a bit of Coffee. B: Driving at night is my favorite time of the day to drive; it's so peaceful, and I always hit every green light, plus not a soul bugs me on the road. C: I listened to the "Once More With Feeling" soundtrack on the way home, and felt extremely happy. Good night.

Okay, so those were my adventures for tonight. I wish I was nocturnal. I love the night. The moon, the stars, the empty roads, the cold, the sounds... it's all my favorite. I suppose that's one of the many reasons I love vampire-lore so much. I guess I just want to live in the night. I love it.

(Side note: I noticed that I used many ABC lists, and I apologize. It's just one of those moods. I'm going to go watch Buffy and cut up fruit/veggies and do laundry. Night.)

On the cellular device...

so i am writing off of my cell phone because i have been busy all day. i am babysitting and i have been watching the chronicles of narnia. that is one of my favorite series ever. i am slightly upset i forgot to write this earlier in the day but better late than never i suppose. i also hate that i cannot writein capital letters or use proper punctuation. i feel like i am the other will grayson in will grayson willgrayson. ah well. i must be off. i will sleeep soon i guess. i sincerely apologize for the uh grammar in this. i could change it later but i probably wont. enjoy yourself.

INFJ

Today, I found out something about myself that I knew, but couldn't find the word for. I am an INFJ. This is a character type from the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, which has 16 personalities. It's described as:

• I – Introversion preferred to extraversion: INFJs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).
• N – Intuition preferred to sensing: INFJs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.
• F – Feeling preferred to thinking: INFJs tend to value personal considerations above objective criteria. When making decisions, they often give more weight to social implications than to logic.
• J – Judgment preferred to perception: INFJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability.

All of this is 100% true for me. I don’t understand how I can be so labeled by a test. Apparently, INFJs are the rarest of the personality types, so I guess I’m one the unique ones. A lot of my personality is explained through this. Here are some traits of the INFJ:

• Intuitively understand people and situations
• Idealistic
• Highly principled
• Complex and deep
• Natural leaders
• Sensitive and compassionate towards people
• Service-oriented
• Future-oriented
• Value deep, authentic relationships
• Reserved about expressing their true selves
• Dislike dealing with details unless they enhance or promote their vision
• Constantly seeking meaning and purpose in everything
• Creative and visionary
• Intense and tightly-wound
• Can work logically and rationally - use their intuition to understand the goal and work backwards towards it

I make sense with all of the descriptions above. In relationships, INFJs are the following:

“INFJs are warm and affirming people who are usually also deep and complex. They're likely to seek out and promote relationships that are intense and meaningful. They tend to be perfectionists, and are always striving for the Ultimate Relationship. For the most part, this is a positive feature, but sometimes works against the INFJ if they fall into the habit of moving from relationship to relationship, always in search of a more perfect partner. In general, the INFJ is a deeply warm and caring person who is highly invested in the health of their close relationships, and puts forth a lot of effort to make them positive. They are valued by those close to them for these special qualities. They seek long-term, lifelong relationships, although they don't always find them.” 

I think that knowing this, I may know how to interact with people better. In the long term, this knowledge will be very beneficial. If you want to know how you fit, take the Myers-Briggs test for yourself.

Egypt-the Revolution

So, for those who don't know, something big went down in Egypt. I'm not talking, "big" as in the new iPod came out; I'm talking revolution, and it's all thanks to the social networking sites of Facebook and Twitter and the youth of the country. Here's how it went down:
On January 25, 2011, protests started happening following the events of Tunisia. There were strikes, protests, rallies, marches, all of which were pretty peaceful. Thousands of people gathered to protest. By the 28th, the "Day of Rage" began, and the military was ordered to assist the police. No major violence happened. On the 29th, a curfew was instated, but the people protested into the night. The military refused to use live ammunition, instead opting for rubber bullets if necessary. Things are still pretty peaceful at this point. On February 1st, Mubarak addressed the people saying that he wouldn't run again in September, but that was not good enough for the people of Egypt. They wanted political reform now, not in September. On this day, pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak people start fighting, but no major violent interactions happen. On February 2nd, the mass of pro-Mubarak protesters started fighting the anti-Mubarak protesters for real. The military was constantly trying to stop the fighting, and many felt it was the government's doing, the use of 'pro-Mubarak people' to fight the anti-Mubarak people. It was an attempt to stop the protests, but it failed. At this point, Mubarak refused to step down. Many felt that Mubarak was using the instability in the fighting to try and end the protests. Journalists were starting to get attacked (there was a 60 Minutes journalist who was sexually assaulted before being helped). On the 5th of February, the protests in Tahrir Square continue, as well as all over the country. Christians held mass in the square, all while protected by a ring of Muslims (that's something important to think about). The army stepped up their security role, protecting the people and the Egyptian museums which were being looted at the time. On the 10th, Mubarak makes an address, and people are expecting him to step down, but he only talks about transferring his power to his VP Suleiman and that Mubarak would stay as head of state. This does not please the people of Egypt at all because they want a total political reform; they don't want another Mubarak. The anger and frustration started to escalate in the land, and the intensity of demonstrations increased. At 6:00 p.m. on the 11th, Suleiman finally addressed the country, stating that Mubarak was resigning and that the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces (military) would be in charge of the country until the next election. On the 12th, the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces suspended the Constitution and disbanded parliament. Major protests subsided at this point, but the people are still weary. As of the 16th of February, at least 365 deaths were reported, and many were injured. That is the costly factor of a revolution, and it's sad.
What's amazing about this revolution is that it started with the Young people of Egypt (the college-aged). It all got initially organized on Facebook. Throughout the revolution, people of Egypt kept tweeting the events and updating Facebook, even when the government pulled the Internet. It was amazing, their courage and determination to get what they truly wanted: freedom from an dictating ruler. Some other countries, like Iran, have tried to follow the suit of Egypt, but are being hit with force and death. If they want what they truly desire, though, they need to go for it. That's what Egypt did, and they ended up having a revolution that got them endless new government possibilities in just 18 days. 18 days to start a new Egypt. That's just mind-blowing. If Egypt did this all over the social networking sites to make their points and change their countries, couldn't the US do the same? Or any other country for that matter.

True Beauty

You cannot fake true beauty. You can wear nice clothes, makeup, get your hair done, and wear jewelry, but you cannot fake true beauty. You can compliment with meaningless remarks, but you cannot fake your beauty. The dictionary defines beauty as something extraordinary, and if you're made of true beauty, then you are really something extraordinary. Truly beautiful people love and let love it. They are sincere when they compliment. To be truly beautiful, you don't have to look like a goddess or anything. You just have to respect and enjoy people. True beauty on the inside will reflect on your outside appearance. No matter what, if you're truly beautiful, you will attract those around you because people will want to be around you. People who are kind, gentle, respecting, confident, and sweet are truly beautiful in my book.


So I ask: are you truly beautiful or are you putting up a front?

Good Day

It has been a really good day today. It sounds like I'm surprised, and I am. I have had a lot of fun today. I got out of school and went to a meeting, then I came home and watched Being Human. That was a really good episode. Then, I hung around yourpants.org for awhile and had a good time talking to people. Then, I went to Panera Bread and hung out with my friends for about 3 or so hours. I just got done watching a really good episode of Glee. Seriously, I have had such a good day.

I can only hope that my positive mood stays for the week...month...year. I like being happy and positive, and I love days like today.

YoungLife and Valentine's Day.

For those of you who don't know, I'm involved in a little something I call YoungLife. It's an outreach program to bring people into Jesus. If it's not your kind of thing, that's cool, but it's mine and I love it. I have such great friends there and I thoroughly enjoy it. Some of my favorite memories have happened at a YoungLife camp or in Club.
Tonight was our first Club-get together for everyone where we play games and listen to music and talk about Jesus and stuffs- since the last semester, and I think it went awesomely. We had to move to a new facility since last semester, but I really liked this facility; it allowed for more hangout and relaxation. We, as leaders (I'm a leader) got to fellowship some with a dinner and discussion, and I really liked this new change. Our leader, Kevin, was really right in the idea that food will bring people together when it comes to having a good time. I'm so blessed that we have such a great group of people committed to this Club. I have some of my closest people there, and they aren't the teenagers--they are the 30ish-year-olds.
Anyhow, Club was about love, and it made me think. Today's Valentine's Day, right? I mean, it's a day where a lot of people spend money on their significant other, trying to "prove" their love. It's also a day where people mourn their lack of lovers. I don't think we should take this approach. 1: Valentine's Day has Christian origins which you can read here: Origins of Valentine's Day. 2: Valentine's Day should not be a day where you try and "prove" your love. Yes, it's awesome that you got your girlfriend a Teddy-Bear, and it's really sweet, but it's more than that. We should show the people, romantically or not, that we love them every single day. You don't need one day to show love. Love is about you and others, and it's not needing to be filled with chocolates and diamonds.
In YoungLife, we talked about God's love (Jesus' love, actually). We are supposed to show love all of the time. We are supposed to be these examples of Christ, in turn, becoming examples of love. We are to love and let love in.
So tonight/today, don't let not having a boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/fiance/other get you down. You need to enjoy love for what it is. It's being there for someone when they need it most. Telling them who they are to their face. And that's what YoungLife did today. I hope that someone got something out of it. I really hope that people try to let Valentine's Day be a day to love honestly, not superficially. There's nothing better than a truthful kind of love.
Oh, and I did a vlog on my YouTube about Valentine's Day which you can watch here.

Enjoy your day/night/in-between.

The ocean.

I love to look at the ocean. I mean, come on. Look at this:

However, I can't swim in the ocean. I can swim, just not in the ocean. Not in any open water, actually. I'm absolutely terrified of swimming with fish and not being able to touch the floor. It was hard when I actually lived on the beach in Perdido Key, Florida, but it's hard explaining to people. I love everything about the ocean. The magnificent sea life, the colors, the alien feel to it, the water, but I can't do it. I cannot swim in the ocean. It's hard, seeing as my favorite animal is the shark. See:

How can you not love that? My personal favorite is the hammerhead. Anyhow, I just wish I could swim in the ocean. I know that I would love it. I just cannot get over the terror of being in the ocean.

Perfect world.

If we lived in a perfect world:
There would be no pain.
There would be no heartbreak.
There would be no disease.
There would be no war.
There would be no famine.
There would be no hatred.
There would be no discrimination.

Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world and that leaves us with these things.
But, in our imperfect world, we have:
Love.
Art.
Faith.
Hope.
Family.
Friends.
Chocolate.

Just because something that seems "perfect" is good, doesn't mean it's better.
Without those things that make us imperfect, we'd never have all the things that make us human.
One day, maybe we can remove some of those imperfections to make our world better.
For now, seize the moment.
Carpe diem to the maximum.
Change something if you want it changed.
But mostly, just love and let love in.

Tired face is tired.

I have to stop writing these blogs after 9. It's driving my head crazy. I'm so incredibly tired. Tomorrow, I promise I'll write a worthwhile blog. In the meantime, here's what I look like at this very moment of typing this (which isn't now because time...happens):

I look so happy, huh. You have to love the dark mark on my arm though, right? Yeah. It's in pen. hah.
Okay, just because you've stuck around for me looking like a tired person and feeling like one, also my thoughts are like "wahwishnlknetpappojnmnnn", here's a better picture on how to dance. Night.

Favorite song.

I have been asked what my favorite song is by a few people and surveys throughout my life. I'm going to tell you. It's not contemporary or a musical song or anything oldies. It's classical. It's Clair de Lune. It's beautiful and puts me in such a good, mellow, somber mood. I loved the song way before Twilight made it popular. It's a love song that changes so much and I love it. I could listen to the song every single day for the rest of my life. Only the piano version, though. The orchestral version is just alright. I love the way that a piano playing it makes me want to cry. I love this song.
Clair de Lune

Blog Every Day in February

This is hard. Writing a blog every day is not easy. I don't know why I decided to do it, but it's certainly giving me something to do. I'm having difficulty with it because I'm having a hard time to sit down and actually write something. I have a thousand billion ideas about what to write about, and I will write them. I just need more time in the day. Can I change the way we do time? How about more hours in a day? That'd be nice.
Anyway, I really do like blogging. I've got some good things heading this way as soon as I have time. I think tomorrow's blog will be good. Possibly. Probably. Most likely. Yeah.
Anyhow, I'm going to bed because I'm tired and I have to get up early in the morning to review for Catch-22. Yay! Yay? Yeah... I hope that I get myself on a good, long blog-writing track. Peace out, yo.

Oh! I did love my feedback on my poetry. I hope to do more of it. Be aware, my blogs are drastically different from day to day, but that's how normal life for me is. I'll be talking politics one moment, Buffy the next moment, and my falling down the stairs the next. Enjoy my life. Embrace it. It's for you to see.

Dream.

When you dream, it's in your head.
When it goes out of your head and into your heart, it's a wish.
When a wish goes from your heart and into the world, it's reality.
It's the future.
You have control over your future.
Use that control.
Don't let people tear you down.
Bring yourself up.
You are always worth it.
You have something someone else does not.
You are beautiful.
Talented.
Smart.
Kind.
Dream big.
Someday, it will be your reality.
And you will love it.
I believe in you.

It's A Survey: Angel Style

So, I hope you all saw my last survey about Buffy. It's my favorite show, so I wanted to do a blog about it. Here's the deal: I love doing surveys. It makes me think about who I liked, what I liked, and why I liked it. So, I've decided that every once in a while, I'm going to do a survey for shows, movies, or books I've experienced or been a fan of. I've decided to use the same survey for each one, so everything is consistent. 

This one is all about Angel: The Series, a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Enjoy.  

Oh yeah, Spoilers.
Edit: I have decided to go back to what I've said and see if I feel any diferent. No changing will occur, but I will be adding things, and they'll be italicized and stuff.

1. The first character I fell in love with: I fell in love with Doyle. I couldn't get enough of him. He just had that accent and the personality that screamed "mysterious-looking guy with heart of gold". I loved the fact that he was kind of silly, and that he (Doyle, not the actor) couldn't act to save his life. I loved that he worked for the Powers That Be, but didn't let them control his life in every way. He was the perfect anti-hero. I was extremely upset when he died on the show and in real life.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

I've two:
Cordelia Chase. On Buffy, I didn't really like her all that much. I liked that she stood up for herself and would tell you the truth. In Angel, though, she truly got to shine. She went from "Miss Sunnydale '99" to a strong, independent woman. She was the one that kept me laughing in the first seasons, but made me seriously think in the later seasons. Her relationship with Doyle was so sad, her almost getting to know him well, but missing it. Her relationship evolving with Wesley from old high school crush and guy who annoys to a best friend is one of my favorites. The most important, however, is her relationship with Angel. I could not believe the relationship those two had. They were perfect for each other. She kept him grounded and loved him for all he was worth. I was so angry, so angry, they never got together, officially. She was such a great motherly figure, and she took her vision issues in great stride. I'm so glad I can say she's one of my favorites. Plus, freaking Phantom Dennis. That was awesome, the two of them.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. I love Wesley. He is probably my favorite character on Angel. (Aside from Fred and Angel...) But he ranks HIGH up there. In Buffy, I could not stand the guy (mostly because I was angry that Giles was being kicked off the Watchers squad...and that's a totally different story for another day), but on Angel he redeemed himself so much. I loved season one and two's version of the somewhat comical and inexperienced Wesley. I love the fact that he became quite capable as a fighter and took charge as leader in the second and third seasons. However, I love the "dark Wesley" persona the best. Something about dark Wesley just changed the dynamics of the show for me. When he got with Lilah, I was shocked, but the relationship worked between them so well. I am a HUGE fan of the Wesley/Fred relationship, though. Nothing will tear them apart. Not even Illyria. I had moments when I was so angry at Wesley, but in the end, he'll always remain on top. I mean, this guy was willing to (and thought he did) kill his own father for the woman he dearly loved. Um, you also have no idea how badly I cried when he died. I just... gah.
(Notice how I didn't really like them as much on Buffy, but they ended up on top for me in Angel?)

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:  I don't really like Gunn. At all. I know that a lot of people really like him, and I just don't get it. He and Fred weren't the best couple and he got on my nerves. He didn't take responsibility for half of the things he did and he never really trusted Angel. I just never got into his character. There were moments, sure, but I didn't like him overall. Also, he changed so much when he entered Wolfram & Hart.  Plus, he pretty much signed Fred's life away. Way to go Gunn.

Edit: I figured out that the only reason I'm really bitter about Gunn is his Season 5-ness. I realize how much he really did help Fred as a person. He killed the professor for her so she wouldn't have that on her concsience forever. He was definitely a good guy. Yes, he came from the streets. Yes, he's a little quick to judge Angel. But, he did have to kill his sister after she turned to a vampire, and he really was an asset. I've eased up on Gunn a little. I do like him, he's just not my favorite.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates: I absolutely adore Fred! She's so awesome. I loved that she was smart and quirky and that she was asylum-crazy for the first episodes we knew her. She transformed from this little girl kind of character to this brilliant, strong female character. Her love for the men in her life was so strong. I loved the fact that she finally figured out that she was in love with Wes, but I hated her relationship with Gunn. She should've kissed Wes at the ballet. Garh. I loved that she got to head her own department in Wolfram & Hart and that it didn't take her over (well, you know what I mean.) evilly. She was still Fred. OH! And her and Lorne? Come on, that was amazing, their friendship. Plus, she was from Texas, hah. But when it comes down to it, she did not deserve the death she died. I cried so hard at her death. I was not prepared for that. 

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer: I really really loved Lorne when he was only on every now and then. When he became full time, I feel like he lost his spark and pizazz. I love Lorne, don't get me wrong. I just didn't like the fact that he became full-time, because he had such a better impact as a recurring character. 

Edit: I love Lorne. I LOVE LORNE. I just didn't know what to answer this question with. But I stand by the fact that I loved him as a somewhat irregular character, and that he wasn't in every show. I loved his appearances. I looked forward to his name being in the "Guest Starring" section.

6. The character I would shag anytime: Angelus. Angelus, Angelus, Angelus. Not really Angel, but Angelus for sure. Seriously. I love his personality. You have no idea how glad I was when they brought out Angelus in Season 4. SO HAPPY. His personality is so maniacal and controlling and manipulative. Sure, he's evil, but so what? Also, definitely Wesley. Especially Dark Wesley. Like, when season 3 came around and especially season 4, I was like, "Oh yeah." Seriously. I get why Alyson Hannigan married Alexis Denisof. (Obviously, Spike too, but I love him on Buffy. His look, at least. After he went good, it wasn't so...the same. It's hard to explain.)

7. The character I’d want to be like: I kind of really want to be like Cordelia. She was really strong and stood her ground. She didn't take any smack, and she was a great leader. She was so loving, and smart. Also, sarcastic. Did I mention sarcastic? She wasn't afraid to speak the truth, either.

8. The character I’d slap: KNOX I DON'T LIKE YOU. Yeah, I'd slap Knox, and I'd slap him hard. Oh, also freaking Jasmine disguised as Cordy. I hated that. Major squick with the whole Connor thing. But, mostly and especially Knox.

9. A pairing that I love:  Romantically: I love Fred/Wesley. I love it love it love it. I wanted them together for so long, and I think he loved her since he really met her. It should've lasted longer, since he's her sunshine. Her only sunshine. Cordy/Angel. I'm so glad they got that kiss in season five. They deserved it. That was true love. Screw Angel/Buffy; I'm for Angel/Cordelia. She was so good for him.

Edit: I love Angel/Buffy. One of my favorites. Just saying. I liked them in the beginning, and I love them in the end. That episode where he was human and they could be together, yes yes yes.

Platonically: Spike/Angel. They are hilarious together. Seriously. The puppet episode "Smile Time", the Spike/Puppet-Angel scene was the highlight of the season. Oh and Caveman vs Astronauts! Seriously, that was amazing. Also, Lorne/Fred. When Fred died, I know that Lorne just gave up, and that saddened me. They were so close, and even though you didn't see it, you knew it.

10. A pairing that I despise: Gunn/Fred as my least drastic despise. Mostly because I'm not that fond of Gunn with her in the first place, and I'm way for Fred/Wes. Gru/Cordelia was just annoying, but I felt bad for him in the end...sorry, dude. Oh, and most importantly: CONNOR/CORDY-JASMINE. Ewwww. I hated that. Hate hate hate hate hated it. It was so terrible for that to be the true end of Cordelia. Blech.

11. Favorite male character (add a quote or favorite line): 

Angel. 

(You thought I would say Wesley, but you are wrong. It's Angel. He finally made me love him bunches. He made the show what it was.)

Quote from him: "There are three things I don't do: tan, date, and sing in public."

12. Favorite female character (add a quote or favourite line):

Fred.

Quote from her: "Can I say somethin' about destiny? Screw destiny! If this evil thing comes, we'll fight it and we'll keep fightin' it until we whup it. 'Cause destiny is just another word for inevitable, and nothing's inevitable as long as you stand up, look it in the eye, and say, "You're evitable!"

13. My five favorite characters: Angel, Fred, Wesley, Lorne, Cordelia (and Spike, of course, but I definitely preferred him on Buffy.).

14. My five least favorite characters: Knox, Jasmine's Cordelia, Kate, Jasmine, Connor. (I want to say Illyria so badly, but I kind of like her. I just hate that she took away Fred, but what she did for Wesley in the end redeemed her in my eyes.)

Edit: I need to explain my feelings about Connor. I like Connor. I just don't like how he fits into the puzzle. He certainly grew on my toward the end. I felt horrible for him in a few episodes, but I was also very angry at him in a few. True, he grew up without a mother, and true, he had some serious daddy issues, but he still couldn't control some things. He was only eighteen, so I am glad about most of season 5 with him. So, to sum up: I like the character, just not how he fits into everything.

15. Which character I am most like: I'm the most like Lorne. I'm very musically inclined. I would live in a karaoke bar if I could. Hah. But seriously, he is so sweet and caring. He calls people out on the things they refuse to see. He calls people by pet names like Angel-cakes or sweetie (something I do quite often with hun or sweetie, I don't know why). He's just a great guy with a great heart, or butt haha, but I think I'm most like him.

16. My deep, dark fandom secret: I wish that the show had completely skipped the whole Connor thing. I think the show would have taken a completely different turn, and it may have been on longer or different. I don't know. I just didn't like the Connor storyline. (It's not that I don't like Connor, it's just that I didn't like what happened with Connor. I liked him a lot better in season five.)

Football

Will someone please just explain the dang sport to me? I mean, in detail with like, a powerpoint or something. I honestly don't understand the sport. Maybe then, I'd enjoy it. Maybe...


So, the Packers won the Super Bowl. Christina Aguillera butchered the Anthem. The Black Eyed Peas' mics were off. And I watched Psych the entire time the Super Bowl was on. I was just waiting for Glee to come on, and now it's too late to watch, so I'll watch tomorrow.

Welcome to America.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

It was my favorite movie of 2010. Hands down. It's actually become one of my favorite movies, period. I watched it tonight, and it was just as great as when I saw it in the theater. It's like a musical, but instead of breaking into song, they break into fights. Below is me as a SP character. Huzzah.

Seriously America?

I don't know if you're aware, but Americans have it really easy. We can vote, we have freedom of speech, religion, press, we can go wherever we want, we have the right to assemble, have guns, and oh yeah, not give a damn about what else is going on in the world. Seriously, when did Americans stop caring? And I'm not just talking about the adults. I'm talking about the students like me. Why doesn't any other country matter except for ours? Isn't there always a bigger picture for the world? Why don't we care about what goes on outside our borders? Why aren't we trying to fix our economy before trying to give all our money to other countries? Why does America forget about places like Haiti, somewhere that has had a devastating earthquake and a ridiculous cholera outbreak, where we give aid for a little while and then drop them like they are yesterday's news? How about Pakistan and their floods? Oh, you didn't know about that? That's probably because our news stations were very concerned about things like the fact that the Super Bowl could get canceled because of snow. Does that matter? Yeah, sure, the American pastime is fantastic, but in the long run, will it matter? Are we affecting people's lives? No. Not really. We are just one big apathetic country.
Sure, we give "aid" to countries, but do those countries need it? That's money of ours that's going out to other countries. Why aren't we spending our time fixing ourselves? Why can't we have the Republicans/Democrats/Tea Partiers/The Others get their act together and start making real changes? I'll tell you why. It's because we don't care. We are a country that is consumed by the media and what others think of our clothes, accessories, possessions, friends, and Facebook updates. Why aren't we using our social media to actually change something? Our country's people should be severely pissed off about what's going down in our country. Are you aware that we are 14.078 trillion dollars in debt?! That's ridiculous! I don't want to end up like Greece and their use of draconian measures BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. How are we not having riots in the streets or people getting together to let the government know that this isn't what we want. We have a democracy, and we treat it all like it's meaningless, and to a lot of Americans, it is. Look at the voting rates: it's ridiculous how much we don't turn out for our times to vote for a new president or members of Congress. Did you know that South Sudan had a 99.5% voting turnout? 99.5%! The people of South Sudan fought to have a new government, so they turned out to vote. Does America's leaders matter that little to the people? I mean, we whine about how the country's being handled, but we aren't taking any responsibliity for anything that is or isn't happening.
It's time for America's people to grow up and start facing the fact that we have to take responsibility for our actions. We don't put very much effort into making our voices heard. It's sad and I hate it. I will make my voice heard when I want something said. Why don't we e-mail and call our representatives and ask them what the hell is going on? Oh, that's right, because we're lazy Americans. I understand the stereotype of us being stupid and lazy and apathetic because we are. And don't go denying it, being all self-righteous. I didn't care about what was going on in the world and how it affects me or how my own country is affecting me until this year. I'm 18. I'm able to vote, and I didn't have a clue. No wonder we're failing at our voting turnouts. Why is our country so apathetic? Is it a product of how we were raised or how we see the world, or is it a reflection upon the government? It seems that politicians are hardly concerned with the world, and they are worried about their "political image"; I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, you should be getting your job done. That's what we pay you for; we don't pay for the ridiculous pork or earmarks that are thrown in for kicks.
We have countries like Tunisia and Egypt that are fighting for change in their government, and their voices have been heard. Egypt's people have used things like Facebook and Twitter, something a lot of Americans use every day, to gather together and start a revolution. That blows my mind! And here I am, the American, caring about a Broadway musical or fixating on that episode of Bones that was on last night. Why can't I care more for other countries and my country's issues? I don't understand. All I can say is that I respect those people fighting for their rights to vote and have a government by the people. I don't take my rights for granted, and I will be voting to change my country. I will make my voice heard when I want it heard. I will stay involved. This stuff happening around the world isn't going to magically disappear tomorrow, so it will not go out of my mind. I have to be plugged in to what's going on. I have to.
How about you? What are you going to do? Because we are running out of time.

Falling down stairs is not as fun as it seems.

So yesterday I fell down the stairs. Again. I have the horrible habit of falling down the stairs. It's one of those things in life that I absolutely loathe. Here's a list of things I loathe about stairs. Ready?
1. Falling down the stairs.
2. Hitting my head on the stairs and getting a concussion (happened last year about this time).
3. Wearing socks on the stairs. It never, ever, ever ends well for me.
4. Hitting my side on the stairs.
So, I managed to accomplish numbers 1, 3, & 4. I'm extremely happy that I didn't hit my head on the stairs this time. Concussions are not a fun time. I hit the left side of my body walking down the stairs. I have 3 levels in my house: an Upstairs where the stairs are carpeted and a Basement where there are wooden stairs. I've fallen on both of them, always whilst wearing socks. This time, I was going down the wooden stairs (the more dangerous ones) and I fell on the second half of the stairs. I thought that I hit my spine (which terrified me because of the way I landed, I could've really injured myself-hospital kind of injury) but I ended up hitting the lower-back to thigh area on my left side. Can you say painful, because I can. It really hurt. And literally 5 minutes later I had to be driving to youth group.
It's safe to say that the only thing hurting is the side and that I have a really big bruise. Not a wimpy bruise, I mean an epic, black and blue bruise. It's okay. Pain comes and go, and such is life. I press on. I just really don't want to fall down my stairs again. I won't be wearing socks around the house any time soon. And that's really difficult for me, for I really love my argyle socks. And knee-highs. How about them argyle knee-highs? Huh? Huh. Nobody understands me...

It's a Survey: Buffy Style.

So, this is a survey about Buffy that I took from Kristina Horner  (she's a YouTuber/blogger I like. Click her link for more awesome.) I have been a fan of Buffy for over six months now (short, I know, but I wasn't ever able to watch it before the summer.) I fell in love with the show, and it's my favorite show now. I have wanted to do some sort of survey on it for awhile now, but I've never found the right one. Until now. Anyhow, just read the survey and you'll understand. Warning, the survey does contain spoilers. So if you haven't seen the series and intend to later in life, I recommend not reading, unless of course you don't care about spoilers.
Edit: On April 19, 2011, I went back and changed a few things. What I changed are usually in the edit section, or italicized afterword. Obviously, I'm changing my opinions the older I get and the more I read, watch, and learn. So, that's what is with the edits. Also, I added pictures because I wanted to.

1. The first character I fell in love with: I fell in love with Xander right off the bat. He was hilarious in the first season, first episode, really. He was fawning over Buffy, and his relationship with Willow was a personal favorite of mine. They all got along so well. He was the kind of guy I like to hang around, and I really wanted to see more of him. I liked his smile and laugh, and mostly his clueless boyhood. Oh, and his jokes. I loved Xander-jokes.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

I have three:

Andrew. What can I say about Andrew? (Wait, who's Andrew? That one kid's brother, you know...") Yeah. That's who he was for the sixth season. He was part of the "evil trio", and he tried so hard to be evil, it was adorable. He was never really bad, but I think he always wanted to be a supervillian. I think he really got awesome in the seventh season when he came back and became a hostage, I mean "guestage". I loved his relationship with Spike (love much?) and Anya (he so adored her). I love that he was so ambiguous, because you never knew whether or not he was gay. I loved it. He's really grown on me. 

Anya. She really really really irritated me in the beginning. I couldn't understand her in the beginning, and she bugged me. And then the fourth season happened and we saw who Anya really was. She was straight-forward and literal. I love her. She was perfect for Xander and she was quite a strong character. She changed her hair so much, it was ridiculous. It really broke my heart when Xander left her at the altar, and it killed me when she died in the end. But in all honesty, BUNNIES. Her crazy outburst in Once More With Feelings, it was absolutely amazing. (Mrs. Anya Lameass Madeup Maiden Name... Harris.)

Tara. I really liked Tara. She was a perfect match for Willow, and she was fantastic as a character. I was sad that she was only a "minor" character, but I think that it made me love her character more. She was smart, awkward, sincere, sweet, and caring. I couldn't get enough of her. I loved that she took a big stand for herself in Tabula Rasa, and she stuck with it... until she realized she truly, really loved Willow. I was absolutely devastated when she died. I was not expecting that at all. It was horrible, and I hate Warren for it, and I understand why Willow went evil. Overall, she's one of my favorites. It's hard to truly pinpoint why, but I think she's fantastic.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t: I didn't really like Faith. I didn't like her attitude or her character all that much. The whole thing with Xander pissed me off. I hated how she never understood that Buffy loved her until the seventh season. I hated that she pretty much kicked out Buffy when she got there in the seventh season. I liked her a bit more during the last episodes of the seventh season, and she was good on Angel the Series. I know that a lot of people really liked her, but I just never got into her. She had moments where I liked her, but overall...meh.

Edit: Now that I think about it more, and it's been a few months since I wrote this, I actually kind of like Faith. She is certainly not my favorite, but I can accept her. I understand now that her character really is lost. Joss really used her as a metaphor throughout the series. I now understand, after watching more and reading up on her (yes, I'm that much of a geek), that she was a truly lost character. She just needed better guidance and to realize that she was actually wanted and that she was awesome in her own way. For a girl who plays confidence, she didn't have a lot of it. She just needed a push, and she got one, eventually.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates: I have heard that a lot of people hate Drusilla. I don't. I love Drusilla. She's bloody freaking mad! I mean, she was awesome. In the second season, her interaction with Angelus was particularly...interesting. And please don't get me started on her relationship with Spike. They were so good together in the evil sense. She was also somewhat psychic, and her voice just made scenes more awesome.

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer: I used to love Angel. A LOT. (I love him on his spin-off show, just so you know, but this is only Buffy Angel.) Buffy's Angel was great in the beginning, but in the third season, I just couldn't take him anymore. He's very broody, yes, I know. But he is also kind of annoying and, well, sad. Angelus on the other hand...
Edit: Please do not think I'm not totally infactuated with Angel. I love him. I really do like him in Season 3. I think, at the time of writing this, I was just so wrapped up in Spike (see the question below) and I neglected to mention EVERYTHING I loved about Angel. I know he loved Buffy. I know why he left. I know why he came back. I know all about him. He's awesome, and I adore him. SO, I still love him, I just am not as "in love" with him as I was in Seasons 1 and 2m, but he's still one of my favorites.. I liked him in the last episodes of Season 7. I lol'd. Seriously. Oh, but I LOVE Angelus. Seriously. The serial killer/manipulative/really hot Angelus. Yum. (The pictures below are Angel and then Angelus.)

6. The character I would shag anytime: Spike. Hands down. Spike. I know it's cliche, and it's a general answer that many pick, but Spike. I mean, that jawline. That accent. His fighting. How he talked. Those abs. That...smoking (even though I'm not into smoking in real life, there is something about it that I cannot explain about Spike smoking) and drinking and jacket and black clothes and nail polish (oh, how I loved his nails...) and...yeah. Ummm, also Oz, though. Oz was amazing. He was so...Oz. I cannot describe. But if I had to pick, Spike. OH! And Angelus. Not Angel. Angelus. (See above)

7. The character I’d want to be like: I really wanted to be like Oz. He always took a stand for himself, and he was very musically inclined. The things that he said could blow me away, and sometimes it's the things he didn't say that made a lasting impact. He was confident and smart, and he drove a pretty awesome van. No, but seriously, I really wanted to be like Oz.

8. The character I’d slap:  Dawn, but not for the reasons everyone says. I've grown to actually like Dawn, thinking about it now. But I would slap her. I'd slap her for what she did to her sister, kicking her out of the house and telling her she wouldn't be in charge. Buffy died for her. (HELLO SEASON 5 FINALE! DID THAT JUST MAGICALLY DISAPPEAR FROM YOUR MEMORY DAWN?!) She risked her life over and over for this girl, and Dawn couldn't even appreciate it. That's why I'd slap her. Hard.

9. A pairing that I love:  Romantically: I love the Willow/Oz pairing. They were honestly great together, and I was sad to see them break up. I loved their relationship. They were my favorite, and it was true love. Also, Anya/Xander was great, but that's standard. Willow/Tara is my second favorite romantic pairing. They were great together, and I actually saw their love together. True love.

Platonically: Giles/Buffy. It was the perfect father/daughter pairing, and I think they grew so much over the course of the series. Also, Andrew/Spike. They were hilarious together. The motorcycle incident. Need I say more?

Edit: How could I forget the platonic pairing of Willow/Xander?! Oh my gosh! I loved them.

10. A pairing that I despise: Kennedy/Willow. I seriously dislike Kennedy. She was too young and got on my nerves with her not really understanding Willow. End of story. Oh, and Riley/Buffy. It's not that I don't like Riley, because he's okay, but it's mostly the fact that they would have never worked out. She didn't love him as much as he loved her, and it would've never worked out in the end. He got his happy ending, and I'm glad he did.

11. Favorite male character (add a quote or favorite line): 

Xander.

Quote from him: " I saw what you did last night. You thought you were all special. Miss Sunnydale 2003. And the minute you found out you weren't, you handed the crown to Amanda without a moment's pause. You gave her your power. They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary."

12. Favorite female character (add a quote or favourite line):

Willow.

Quote from her: "A doodle. I do doodle. You too. You do doodle too."

13. My five favorite characters: Xander, Spike, Willow, Anya and Oz. And Giles, Buffy (duh), Joyce, Andrew, Cordelia...

14. My five least favorite characters: Warren, Forrest, Kennedy, Robin, Faith.

15. Which character I am most like: I'm the most like Giles if I'm being completely honest. He was a bookworm and quite intelligent. He was very protective of those around him, and he surrounds himself with people he loves and at the same time, cannot stand. He's the older one, but he's the wiser one. He truly loves those he's with. He's also a fatherly figure, and I tend to be a more motherly kind of person around my friends.
Edit: I'm also really like Xander. Not in the "dumb guy" way, but in the fact that I'm really loyal and love my friends. I tend to joke around and I'm really into geeky things.

16. My deep, dark fandom secret: As much as I love Tara (and I really really do), I wanted Oz and Willow to stay together or get back together in the end. They were my favorite couple, and I could really see a future with them.
Edit: I still really love Willow/Tara. Seriously. It's like, in a parallel universe, if they (both couples) could exist and be happy, it'd fill me with joy.