Goodbye, July

Wow, what a month!!

I finished my college Latin class, and went to Nationals for baton twirling!! My group and I placed in the top 10 for all our routines, and snagged a national title in one event :) So, a successful year!

Yesterday I was asked out, and I said yes. I suppose my hope of having a summer fling is coming into fruition after all. Especially seeing as they're leaving for college in about two weeks.

For me, I don't want a committed relationship. I want to have fun, hang out, and just relax. So I'm hoping all of those things will be accomplished. I don't want to go into Senior year in a relationship. Especially not a long-distance relationship. This is such a big time in my life and I want to have the room to make changes in my life. And to be less stressed, of course. I have no qualms with being alone, honestly. I had to learn how to be alone, and I'm glad I did. I just want to continue to grow this coming school year, and I want the same for the person I'm seeing right now. It's their freshman year of college, it's not fair to them to be in a relationship going into school. I want for them to learn and explore just as much as I'm going to!

I worked two long, 8-hour shifts this weekend, so tonight I am definitely feeling ready for bed. But I feel like I ought to stay up because this is really the first time it feels like summer for me. No baton, no school, nothing! Besides work, but I don't mind doing that right now ;-)

In other news, I've been working on writing something pretty major lately, and I think I am going to post it on my tumblr blog as well as on here. It will be good for me to post it. I'm excited to!

l8r

In Review

I think about this past summer and I get filled with a happy and glowing feeling. Late nights outside at work and bright mornings baton twirling with my friends.

i'll probably add more later. this is titled "In Review", after all. 

Adios Amigos

There are two reasons I titled this post "Adios Amigos".

Reason One being that it is the name the Ramone's Album that has the best cover art:

Reason Two being that today is my last day of school!!!!!!! AHHH!!! CRAZY!! GOLLY GEE!!! EXCITEMENT!!!!! 

I'm SO GLAD this semester is over. This semester was incredibly rough for me, so it finally drawing to a close is as sweet as sugar. I just have to go take my last three finals today then I am DONE WITH THAT CESSPOOL FOR TWO WHOLE MONTHS! The absolute best thing about this summer is that I get to spend time with some quality friends, and I can spend all day doing whatever the heck I want. Well, within reason, of course. I plan on reading A TON. The next book on my to-read list is "My Ántonia" by Willa Cather. I've had this book forever and I really want to read it! 

Going off on a tangent here, but Willa Cather is pretty much the only women from Nebraska who ever receives credit. While I think home girl definitely deserves it, there's another kick-ass babe from Nebraska named Mari Sandoz who I think more people should appreciate. (whether or not you educate yourself on her is your choice, so here's her wikipedia article)

Getting back on track: I'm practically bursting with excitement right now. I don't have to leave for school for another hour and a half but I can't fall back asleep because my brain keeps going "schoolsoveromgfuckyeahlaterbitches". And so forth. My leg can't stop shaking!

Last year in my post that announced the end of the school year, I made a goal. I figured I might as well do that this year, too. My goal is to write poetry at least once a week this summer. It doesn't have to be good, or anything I'd want to share, but I have to write it down on paper.

That's my goal, what's yours?

PS- My friend Josh has super good taste in fanfiction!! I don't care whether or not you read Homestuck, READ THIS ONE ANYWAY: http://archiveofourown.org/works/387254/chapters/634543
Seriously, it was so good I read all 30 chapters of it yesterday.

:) 

"The Stash"

As you all are well aware, I've made a few decisions in my life that might make one stop and ask "Hannah, you're an intelligent, quick-witted, and sensual woman, what could have ever made you do that?".  I would just have to say that I have a complicated psyche that is just not understood this day in age. In other words, I make a lot of stupid decisions that I regret later.I think the most recent incident was the Tic-Tac Fiasco, but this one I'm about to tell you about, even though it took place awhile back, definitely takes the cake.

 When I was a sixth grader, I had very few friends, and the friends I did have were also going through the uncomfortable growth spurt that shows up right before middle school. We were all just bopping along, sort of doing our own thing, trying to create a facade that we were totally cooler than we really were. I regret a lot of the decisions I made in sixth grade, but the one that makes me cringe the absolute most was a string of events that I usually sum up by calling "The Stash".

The origin of the stash was sometime in the middle of the  school year. Summer had been long forgotten, but Spring Break was still just a distant dream. Since all of the kids I went to elementary school with were absolutely avid talkers, the teachers gave us seating assignments at the lunch tables to try and cut back the amount of chatter. Unfortunately, they chose to seat us alphabetically, and while some kids got put next to their best friend, I got put next to the grossest kid in our grade. Maybe even our whole school. Let's call him Shawn. The problem was the Shawn probably showered about 5 times a month, so he SMELLED. Imagine trying to enjoy your lunch sitting next to someone who smells like B.O. I would all but gag on my food, so I had to come up with a better way to eat lunch. Since switching seats with someone else was out of the question (you better believe I tried, though), I had to come up with something else that could remedy the situation.

After about a week, I figured out the best possible solution my twelve year old mind could come up with. The idea hit me one day while I was at recess. Since the sixth graders were the biggest kids at the elementary school, we had to walk down a huge flight of brick stairs (71 steps!) to the baseball diamonds, which were surrounded by a big track for recess instead of playing on the playground. Most kids would walk around the track or play kickball, or just sit on the hill. I was one of the track walkers, wasting away many recesses by playing truth-or-dare with a group of cackling girls. While walking around one day, I stopped and took a break on one of the two baseball diamonds, the one that was rarely used. Kicking up the dirt of the baseball diamond, I walked around and I eventually ran into home plate. After some inspection, I realized that I could pick it up, and it wasn't stuck to the ground as I had originally thought.

The funny thing about the home plate was that the sides were thick and stuck deep down into the ground, creating a little air-pocket in between the ground and the top of the base. It was probably about three inches tall. Suddenly, what I thought was a stroke of genius stuck me. I would sneak my lunch outside and hide the remains under home plate!!!


I can't exactly remember why I thought this was a  good idea, but I quickly told all of my friends, and they thought it would work! Of course, I can't blame them for what happened next, it's all on me.

For the next two weeks or so, I'd hide bags of food in my coat pockets each day as we left the cafeteria. Since I hadn't eaten during the actual lunch period, I would sprint down the stairwell to the baseball diamond, and eat my lunch hastily in the dug out. When the coast was clear (aka, no teachers were around), I would run over to home plate and quickly stuff the wrappers underneath it. Home plate became known as "The Stash" to my friends and I, a name that was much too cool for what it was describing. Hiding the wrappers worked for the first five days or so, but in the second week, things were starting to get a little bit cramped under home plate. For some reason I didn't have the foresight to remove the trash once it started getting packed, so I just left it in there.

Then on one cloudy day the jig was up. I knew it from the moment I ran down to the field and saw all of my trash of the last two weeks blowing gently in the wind and across the baseball diamond. The teachers as well as the students were all nonplussed, and everyone was trying to figure out why so much trash had magically appeared on the field. I, for one, ran the hell away from where everyone was, which I didn't realize made me seem really suspicious. Luckily, the event blew over after a week or so, but I'm fairly sure that if you ask some of those teachers if they remember the day when a hoard of mini pretzel bags and half eaten PB&J sandwiches littered the field, I'm sure they would have a very funny story to tell you. 

Bottom 40 Because I'm a Lazy Butt

Remember when I made that post talking about my goals for posting this summer? 

Hah.

Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

None of those things are happening and I know I should be ashamed of myself, but, yeah, I'm not. Sorry.

I figured I should at least update with something this week, so I figured why not whip up a Bottom 40*. At least another post is guaranteed this week, because I'll have to think of a Top 40 as well to go along with this.

*I linked to my Bottom 40 tag but some of those posts aren't actually Bottom 40 lists. They're just things I wrote about that pissed me off.

Hannah's Totally Unnecessary Bottom 40

1. Being sweaty (now that summertime is in full swing I have been reminded of this)

2. That nickelodeon never plays my favorite episodes of Spongebob or The Fairly Odd Parents. 

3. The fact that is has been almost a full year and I still haven't gotten around to finishing "The Good Earth". 

4. When I'm working on friendship bracelets and the strings get tangled and all I want to do is set it on fire.

5. My ukulele is perpetually out of tune.

6. My favorite socks are starting to get a hole in them (I am sensing a 'legacy' post will be  in our near future)

7. My nail beds are really unpleasant to look at. 

8. The fact that it's summer and I haven't hung out with my friends in such a long time. 

9. Snow cones

10. Those moments where I make a joke and no one laughs.

11. Being interrupted.

12. The t.v. show "American Dad". I think it's not funny and it's sort of pointless.

13. Realizing I'm sort of a hypocrite for saying American Dad is pointless yet I religiously watch Spongebob

14. The fact that my first OTP was Cosmo<3Anti-Cosmo. That was a dark time in my life. 

15. My singing voice. I have many qualms about it, yet I continue on with Fun Tunes Tuesday. I'm conflicted.

16. When my favorite pens run out of ink.

17. When people I don't know ask me to make them a bracelet. I'm sorry, it's not happening. 

18. The realization that some day Jeff Kinney will stop writing "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books. 

19. Geometry and all other forms of Math because I hate numbers.

20. Days where I just  am sort of angry from the time I wake up until I go to bed.

21. Accidentally wasting all day on the internet (well, this one sort of depends).

22. Whenever I'm watching my friend's livestreams my computer freezes.

23. The treacherous months I spent trying to remember my Skype login. I was too stubborn to just make a new account. 

24. When people try to talk to me when my jam comes on the radio. 

25. The fact that Hyperbole and a Half still hasn't updated. I know I shouldn't take it so personally, and that the author has a life, but c'mon. 

26. When I'm messaging someone and my computer freaks out and the messages don't send and the person thinks I'm a jerk (this has happened so many times). 

27. Life in general sometimes.

28. When my dreams are crushed. 

29. The fact that when summer rolls around centipedes invade my basement and I can't walk down there barefoot anymore. 

30. The Barefoot Contessa.

31. When someone writes a fanfiction about a pairing I love and the fic is terrible.

32. I can never remember what color puce is. 

33. Also I dislike the color mauve.

34. When I was a child I thought that Lindsey Lohan only played one of the twins in "The Parent Trap".

35. Never being able to fully express how much I love something or someone.

36. When my laptop gets so hot it burns my skin.

37. When my blog doesn't get page views for three consecutive days (this is my own fault, really).

38. Days where I eat more than two servings of ice cream.

39. That Project Runways airs on nights I'm busy.

40. Feeling unmotivated to blog. 

I'll probably come up with a Top 40 at sometime in the future. Maybe. 

I Finally Saw The Avengers

Can I please begin this post by saying that the cast of The Avengers is one attractive group of people? I feel like there is absolutely no beating around the bush here. Those people are sexy.

Now that all of that is cleared out of the way, let me tell you about my experience seeing The Avengers last night. It all began around five 'o clock in the evening, when I was looking at the newspaper as I ate my dinner (a salad, because I'm classy). When I got to the living section, I browsed through the movies that were playing, and The Avengers caught my attention. I've wanted to see it for quite some time now, but whenever my friends went to go see it, I was always busy. Considering it had been playing in theaters for a few weeks already, I knew it was now or never.

I called up my friend Josalyn, who had not seen the movie either. We quickly made plans, and in less than 45 minutes we were at the movie theater buying tickets. It was really hard to contain my excitement. Considering the only things I knew about the movie is what I'd learned from Tumblr, I was interested to see what the movie was really like (I figured it wasn't just one big orgy like I've been led on to believe).

After we bought our snacks (18 bucks in total. It was ridiculous), we went into the theater and got PRIME seats. In the middle row, middle seats. I know that some people think that sitting in the front or back of the theater is the way to go, but quite frankly sitting in the front hurts my eyes and neck. Since the movie has been out for awhile now, and it was a Wednesday night at 7:00, there weren't many people in the theater. That meant that Jos and I could talk and make snarky commentary on the previews as MUCH AS WE GOSH DARN PLEASED.

Of course once the movie started, we quieted down some, but I am the kind of person who talks during movies, and I cannot contain myself on most all occasions. Because of this reason, I rarely go to movies with friends, because not all of my friends like my totally relevant comments on what's happening on screen. A majority of my commentary this time around pertained to the fact that Hawkeye has a smokin' bod. I now understand why my friend Lizzie spammed my email with pictures of him after she first saw the movie. Also, I may or may not have pointed out the fact that Loki has a better head of hair than I do. Another thing that was a main point of interest is the banter between Iron Man and Captain America. They were just so sassy with one another, it made me so happy.

As per usual, once the movie started to get into the rising action, I had to go to the bathroom. This seems to always happen to me, because I always drink waaay too much soda when I'm at the theaters. I was a trooper, though, and I held it (I really should stop challenging myself, but I can't help it). It got really hard to though during the climax of the movie. The stress from all of the action plus the anxiety that I might pee myself created a big stew of stressful emotions. Once the movie ended, we bolted out of the theater and ran to the restrooms.

Overall, I really liked The Avengers. I'm unsure if I'd say it's made my favorite movie list, but it did have some great moments. When I first started writing this post, that what it was going to be all about- my favorite things about the movie. Somehow it ended up me reminiscing about the good time I had with my friend. I really have no regrets.

Side note: Also, Josalyn made me a bracelet!! It is probably the best gift I've gotten from anyone in a long time. People usually don't make me bracelets, and the blue chevron pattern she whipped up for me makes me smile and I get warm fuzzies in my stomach just writing this. Since it's blue, I can also wear it next year for National God Tier John Appreciation Week (our holiday we created this past May. I should really write a post about that...Good times). 

Beauty and the Beast

[Insert angry rant about how much some Disney princess movies suck here]

Just kidding, of course. This won't turn into an angry rant (I hope. I can make no promises). This past Saturday night I did something that I swore I would never, ever in a million years do: watch "Beauty and the Beast". I made this pact with myself long ago, in preschool, as a matter of fact. I remember quite clearly that we were having a movie day, and the chosen movie was, you guessed it, "Beauty and the Beast". I think I made it about fifteen minutes into the movie before deciding it wasn't interesting enough, and going off to play with toy horses.

Ever since that fateful day, whenever I bring up the fact that I've never watched "Beauty and the Beast", and that I never plan to do so, I was often met with gasps, looks of disbelief, and on some memorable occasions, people freaking out at me for thinking the movie was boring. I always took the fact that I had never watched the movie in stride. I don't really think it should be made out to be such a big deal. So I didn't see a movie that some people really life. So what? I just think it's silly when people would get mad at me. Really, I never berate people for never seeing "Mulan" my personal favorite as a child (She was just so hardcore. 'Nuff said).

At this point in time you may be wondering "Well, Hannah, I thought you said you never wanted to watch it? Why did you go against yourself like that?" Just hold your horses for a minute. I'm getting there. It all started because my mother (who had never seen the movie either) brought it home from work one night last week. She told me that they were discussing Disney movies at her office a couple days prior, and when one of her coworkers found out neither of us had seen the movie, she lent us her copy to watch. Apparently it is her most favorite movie from her childhood, and she wanted us to watch it.

After a couple of days where the DVD just sat on our kitchen counter, my mom finally popped the question:

"So, ya wanna watch it?"

I answered hesitantly, weighing the pros and cons of watching it. I knew that by actually watching it my pride would take a major blow, and that alone made me want to say "No, mom, as a matter of fact I do not want to watch that movie". But after a minute or two, I begrudgingly said yes. I had absolutely no idea what we were getting into by popping the disc into the DVD player, but I knew that at that point there was no going back. I was going to finally be watching the movie I had avoided for years, and I wasn't quite sure how to feel. It was akin to sitting backwards on a diving board and falling into the pool. You have absolutely no control of the situation once you're tipped backwards off the board, and as you're in midair you know there is nothing more to be done. Okay, perhaps that is stretching it a bit, but hey, this is my blog. I can use all the shitty metaphors I want.

Surprisingly enough, I actually managed to stay awake throughout the whole film (for anyone who hasn't watched a movie with me before, I tend to drift off to sleep about a half hour into most films). I think the main reason I was able to stay lucid is that I was working on some friendship bracelets the whole time we watched the movie. This meant that I actually had to be sitting up, using my hands, keeping my eyes open, etc. Approximately 90 minutes and two bracelets later, I felt like I had conquered something. It wasn't exactly the sort of self satisfied feeling that comes from, say, passing a test you thought you were going to fail. It was more in the sense of "Wow, I just ate an entire box of ice cream by myself. How the hell did I do that?"

All in all, I am still unsure whether or not it was worth it to watch the movie. I don't really feel like I gained anything by watching it after all this time. I realize that the message of the movie is all about inner beauty and loving people even though they aren't handsome- it's what's on the inside that counts, etc. Really, though I feel like the creators of the movie could have done a better job exhibiting this. I don't know if "Beauty and the Beast" was a fairy tale before it was made into a movie, but regardless of this, I think the creators should have switched some things up. First and foremost, I think that the Beast should have spent most of the movie as a human, and then towards the end of the movie he could have told Belle that he had been cursed and was destined to become a beast on the fifth full moon of the year of the cow or something to that affect. If Belle had stood by him after he turned into the Beast (Despite the fact that she had known him as a human first), I think that it would have been a much better way to show how inner beauty is what counts. Think of it this way: it would take a lot more courage to stay with someone after they become horribly disfigured than if you'd met them that way and  then they become "normal". Obviously Belle is going to want to stay with the Beast at the end of the real movie, because he became a hottie! Your average hunk in the countryside of France. Honestly, who wouldn't have stayed with him after he transformed into a human?

My other point I would like to raise is why Belle actually fell in love with the Beast in the first place. The facts are all stacking up to make the Beast one terrible guy. First off, he kidnapped her father, then held her hostage, and if that wasn't enough, he withheld food from her when she refused to eat dinner with him. I don't know much about relationships, but from what I can tell the Beast would be considered an abusive partner by today's standards. I don't care that he "changed his ways" or whatever. If someone did all of that to me, I would not be quite as forgiving.

What do you, dear reader, have to say on this topic? I know that things can get pretty heated whenever Disney movies are brought up, but I'm curious! Like me, did you see no point in watching some of the Disney movies as a child? Or are you one of the many who hold this movie dear to them?


Side note: I had a totally relevant "Beauty and the Beast" gif I wanted to post on here but I cannot find it >:( Please stand by.

Please excuse me while I freak out. I KNOW IT'S HERE SOMEWHERE. 

Viva El Verano, Suckazzz

Wow, first post of Summer 2012!!  Hold on tight, kiddos, we're going to be in for one bumpy ride these next three or so months. I feel that this .gif pretty much sums up my plans for the months ahead:

Guys this can be the logo for my blog this summer. We can make this happen. (Source: somewhere off tumblr that I can't remember... sorry!)

I hope that I can hone my skills as a blogger this summer. In order to try to speed up the process of pruning my blog, I have a few goals that I wish the achieve by the fall:

1. Post at least five times every week (shouldn't be too hard  >;])
2. Make a vlog with one of my friends (to all of you who comment: who's it gonna be?)
3. Continue on with 'Fun Tunes Tuesday'
4. Write at least one story-arc post per week (this would mean I would actually tell a story, not just blog about things happening in my life exactly at this moment).
5. Go to lots of cool events and blog about them. Maybe even with pictures!!!

So, what do you think? Are these reasonable expectations for myself? I want to hear what you have to say, so if you think there are any other things I should include here on my blog :)

Edit: In regard to number two... Last night my friend Josalyn called me up (gotta love that girl). She told me that she had very recently got a guitar, and that she was going to learn how to play it this summer! That already was enough to make me excited, but then she went on to say that once she gets better we can do a duet. I literally squealed for about five minutes after she suggested this. Guys, y'all better watch out because me and Jos are going to dominate this blog with our duets. I am certain they will be magical <3 

GOOD RIDDANCE HONORS GEOMETRY!

GUYS THIS IS BIG. Today I had my last class of Honors Geometry EVER. I don't think it is fathomable how good it felt being able to walk out of that class room for the last time (Okay, I have to go back for finals tomorrow, but shoosh. I'm talking here). As I exited the room I had to resist the temptation to fling my books at the ground in triumph and prod my middle finger classroomward. It was hard, but I managed to walk out of there with at least a shred of dignity left in my pocket. I also had a few choice words in mind for my teacher, and I had my fingers poised to flip him the bird, but I wasn't really interested in spending my last Geometry class in the Dean's office. Rather, I spent it with Peyton and Lia, and we managed to enjoy ourselves quite a bit (I usually have a good time with them, but it was enhanced today by the lack of Geometry-ish-ness).

All we did in class today was sit and work on our review packets for the final. Since I had called Peyton last night and had her help me finish mine, I had nothing to do. As a matter of fact, I was even a little bit sour at the beginning of class, with the promise of a terribly hard final in my future. But Peyton managed to turn my frown upside down with a kickin' Sollux impersonation (Do people still say "kickin'"? I sure do). I could not stop laughing for the duration of the class period. Despite being reprimanded by my teacher for not working, I triumphantly showed him my completed review packet, and I am unsure whether he was surprised I actually did it or not. Don't get me wrong, I always did my homework, but my motivation to finish that packet was at about 0% all of last week. I believe I had made myself clear in that aspect.

Here is an easy-to-follow graph I constructed to help illustrate my point. Click the image to enlarge it.

Basically, I am done with Geometry, and it is one of the best feelings in my ENTIRE LIFE. All I want to do right now is to go to the edge of a cliff that looks out on to a great expanse and shout: 

BORN FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

That is how I feel right now: I am born free. After completing Honors Geometry I have been reborn into a new and humbled individual, who now knows how pointless the entire subject is in its entirety. I don't even want to think about taking Advanced Algebra next year. For now just let me sit in the sweet, sweet after birth. 

Edit 6/24/12: Why did I link Sollux's name to his wiki page. I literally have no memory of what my intention was with that one. 

5 More Days

There is almost less than a week of school left.

(source)

Sometimes I sit back and wonder why it isn't summer vacation yet. I keep referring to this gif every time I feel like I'm not going to make it to the end of the school year. 

Edit: Somedays I look at my blog and wonder why I don't have more followers. Then I go back and reread all of my posts and my question is answered. I don't know why but I just really like the idea of having a lot of followers. Oftentimes I get really discouraged, at which point I refer to this again:

Somehow Mordecai is able to support me in even my darkest hour. 

School Is Weird

Yesterday at school was bizarre. Around fifth period I was in Biology, and we had a substitute. This wasn't really what made it odd, because my teacher is a track coach and is often gone because of track meets. We ended up working on a lab, and the sub didn't really strike me as unordinary in any way. He was a little on the tall side, curly brown hair, beard stubble, glasses, etc. Right after the bell rang to end class, he went and stood by the door of the classroom, waiting for the next class of students to arrive. As I exited the classroom, I considered telling him to have a nice day, just to prove that I can be a nice person like that. Right as I was about to say something, the substitute violently broke wind. I kid you not, this was the type of fart that rumbled through the air. I whipped around and looked at him, surprised, and he was looking around to see if anyone noticed. I quickly turned around and dashed off to Economics, a little bit confused, and also giggling uncontrollably.

Once I arrived to Economics, I realized that I had to give a presentation, which I was completely and utterly unprepared for. Not only was my computer dead, but the keynote presentation my partners and I half heartedly whipped together was C+ quality at best*. My friend and fellow group member Josalyn lent me her charger, and by the time class started my battery was charged to 11%. My teacher, being the malicious tyrant he is, decided to make my group present first. I took a deep breath and strutted up to the front of the classroom, hissing instructions to my partners about which slides I wanted them to read. Then we started, and we tried our hardest to give a riveting presentation about famous economist Sir William Arthur Lewis. Once we clicked past the last slide, I thought we were done and could return to our seats, but my teacher had other plans. He kept us standing up there, and asked us multiple questions about our economist, none of which we had the answers for. Despite being able to think on my feet in situations like this, I was at a complete loss. What made it even worse was my teacher was sitting in a student desk and munching on a Little Debbie cookie treat, and he looked so ridiculous I couldn't focus because it took all I had to keep from laughing. Luckily for me, my computer flashed it's "running on reserve battery power" pop up message, and my teacher said we could go back to our seats. Saved by the bell, was my initial reaction to this, until I realized it wasn't really a bell.

This was all really distressing yesterday, and I am so grateful that there are only 8 days of school left. I can't wait till summer.

P.S.- McCormick with corn rows.

*Edit 6/24/12: Guys I just thought I would let you know we ended up getting an A on that project. I have absolutely no idea how because I literally bullshitted my way through that entire presentation.