Babysitter's Chronicles: Flailings of a Fourteener

Yesterday I had a To-Do list. But I ended up playing Sims 3 all day. Yes... all day. Needless to say, nothing on my list got done. However, just a few minutes ago I saw my list sitting on my desk. Funnily enough, I had managed to do everything on it, despite the fact that I woke up and played another 3 hours of Sims. Everything but ONE task, that is...*

The summer before my freshman year of high school, I managed to get a part time job babysitting for a family that lived about four blocks from my house. There were two little boys, one who was getting ready to start kindergarten, and one who was about 3 years old.

The first few times I babysat for them, everything was just peachy. We played legos and board games, watched kid's television (which is bearable if you have a book and the ability to tune out shrill noises), and we even ventured outside a few times to kick a ball or play tag.

One day when I came over, their mom asked if I wanted to take them to the library. I wanted to look at her as if she were an idiot: "I don't know if this came up, but I am 14 years old. I can't drive to the library. And I don't care HOW much you think your kids like books, there is no way in hell they are going to be entertained the whole time you are at work." But of course I did not look at her as if she were an idiot, nor did I say that to her.

She ended up dropping us off at the library with their stroller, so that I could just stroll them back home when we were done. Oh, that is, AFTER we got something to eat. Their mom proceeded to hand me her credit card before she belatedly drove off. The card was for me to pay for lunch. Dear mother had promised her two little boys that they could go to a local burger joint for lunch. A burger joint that was a mere two blocks from the library.** But those two blocks were across a crazy intersection where cars come from six different directions and there are sometimes no sidewalks.

So I made an executive decision. There would be no going to the cheap burger joint. No. Way.

After exhausting the library's intrigue within a record 30 minutes, we begun our trek in the direction of their house. Of course, I couldn't just NOT take them out to eat. They were already upset about not getting burgers. So we stopped at a restaurant on a nice street with 2-way traffic and sidewalks.

This is when I started to panic. I had her freaking credit card. At this point in my life, I'd never even used my mom's credit card. I didn't know if I would have to put in a password, forge her signature, or finish a line of poetry that the waitress began to verify that I was allowed to use it. This was all in addition to having two grumpy children who really didn't want to be there, but didn't want to go home, either.

I like to think that I managed to get those two little boys through lunch without being a huge annoyance to the waitress, the other customers, and the diners next door. But I sincerely doubt it. I was stressed about too  many things to keep control over any one of them; would somebody take the stroller that we'd left by the door? Would I get in trouble for using a credit card that wasn't mine? Would this 3 year old menace stab me with a fork?***

In fact, I was so worked up, that I didn't leave a tip. Not that I would have known how to anyway. It took me long enough to figure it out when I got my OWN card. But because I didn't leave a tip, I am still afraid (to this day, 4 years later) to go to that restaurant.

I realise all these many years down the road that I should have done one of two things that terrible day:

1. I should have called my mom with a desperate cry for help, so that she could tell me to...

2. Screw the eating establishment, screw the kid's wishes, and screw their mom. Go back to their house. NOW.

Seriously, what was their mom thinking sending a 14 year old on such a stupid expedition with her very young children? What made her think that I was equipped to deal with entertaining her children in a [quiet] public environment, to send me across a dangerous pedestrian intersection, to give me her freaking credit card? Who does that to-- essentially-- another child?

With bitterness,
Maggie


*Hint: my last task was to blog.

**Two blocks FARTHER AWAY from their house, which was already a 20 minute walk away.

***That was a legitimate concern at one point.

Babysitter's Chronicles: Trials of a Twelve Year Old

As I lay in my bed falling asleep last night, I pondered my many mishaps and misfortunes as a babysitting adolescent. Several very distinct instances came to mind while I gratefully recalled that these parts of my life were past. This lead me to an idea-- Why not start a mini-series on my blog? I'll call it The Babysitter's Chronicles! Yes, that is catchy...

When I was 12 years old, I took a class at the hospital to become a Certified Babysitter. The class was terrifying; it alerted me to the plethora of dangers that the children I would soon be caring for would get into, such as drinking toxic cleaning supplies, falling down the stairs, tying me to furniture, and needing to be taken to the hospital.

But that was not all, oh no. Not only did I have to make sure that they didn't light things on fire while I blinked, I had to make food for them (having never even fed myself), play all manner of inventive games with them (else they resort to aforementioned violence), and change the Dreaded Diaper.

Needless to say, I was not at all confident that the children I watched wouldn't spontaneously combust, and that the parents wouldn't sue me and have me sent to Guantanamo Bay. Yet babysit I did, and I soon started to grow almost comfortable with my role as substitute-caretaker.

Among my first handful of jobs was to babysit for my neighbors down the street. I had the charge of a six year old and a two year old.* The mother gave me all the important phone numbers, showed me where the juice boxes were kept, and assured me that I could watch whatever I wanted on television after the kids went to bed. One phone number was of particular interest, however...

"On rare occassions Suzie Lee** puts up a fight when you change her diaper. If you absolutely need to, call our next door neighbor and she can help you."

She vaguely gestured toward the paper with the other phone numbers, moved on to other businesses, and soon left.

The kids and I ate pizza, watched a movie, and then had story time. Before long, however, it became evident that Suzie Lee needed to have a diaper change. I put her on the changing table, held my breath, removed The Diaper, and quickly shoved it into the waste basket.

The moment I had looked away to rid of the diaper, however, Suzie Lee had streaked from the changing table and down the hallway. For the next twenty minutes I chased her and tried to coerce her back to the changing table. Even brute force didn't work. (Admittedly, I was a scrawny twelve year old).

Finally I remembered that their neighbor could help me. I rushed to the list and searched for the number next to "Godsent Savior from Heaven." But try as I might (I even turned the paper over) I could not find any number other than the parents' and the pizza place.

Out of desperation I did one of the stupidest things I could have done: I left the two kids in the house and ran next door to frantically ring the doorbell. As I stood on the porch I tried not to imagine all the terrible things that they could be getting up to right at that moment. Finally she answered the door and I explained myself, trying not to sound hysterical.

The situation after that was easily sorted. The next door neighbor was magically able to subdue Suzie Lee and successfully change her diaper. I thanked her profusely as she walked back out the door, then promptly put the kids to bed (it being past time, what with all the uproar).

When the parents got home, I received the standard question: How were the kids? I thought about asking whether or not their youngest was trained to run as soon as her diaper was removed, or whether they had hidden the number for their neighbor purposefully. But of course, being my quiet, small 12 year old self, I just smiled and said that they had been very good, although Suzie Lee had been the tiniest bit difficult when I tried to change her diaper, but it was no huge problem, really.

With agedness,
Maggie


*These ages are only theorized. I don't actually know how old they were, but that should be about right.

**Child's name is made up for protective purposes moste sekretive.

Much Ado About...

... not nothing. This is not nothing. Trust me. This is a crapton of something.

Hello dear readers of my blog! It's been a while, has it not? I has, it has. But do not fret! I am back, and I have a story for you!

Just yesterday I went rollerskating. My friend (who I met at piano camp) invited The Wordsmith* and I to "Homeschoolers Night" at a skate park. Almost as soon as we got there, they called for song requests over the speakers.

Eagerly, I skate/stumbled** to the clipboard where requests were written. Very lovingly and carefully I wrote Queen under "artist" and Bohemian Rhapsody under "song." I gleefully noted that Uprising by Muse had been written just before. With much joy I skated off and jammed to Human by the Killers. (Homeschoolers clearly have good taste in music).

Every moment brought me closer to my favorite song. Every closing note I expected to hear Uprising, which would be followed by Queen's most perfect melody.

But it never came. Muse was blasted and I appreciatively sang along, but no Bohemian Rhapsody followed it. I was confused, I was hurt. Mostly I was confused.

After a while I became numb to the music and just enjoyed the company of my sister, my friend, and all her homeschooled minions. I laughed when someone fell, though my smirk was always wiped away when I lost my balance.***

All of a sudden my attention was caught by familiar lyrics.

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?

My heart did not skip for joy, however. Because it was THIS "Bohemian Rhapsody" (listen at your own peril).

First I was confused. Then I wanted to cry. This wasn't the song I asked for, this wasn't Queen. Who in their right mind would try to cover Bohemian Rhapsody in the first place??

My shoulders and neck started twitching; the song was a bug in my ear that I could not get out. It was raping my ears, and there was nothing I could do to block it or make it stop. This necessarily turned me from near-tears to a would-be-murderer. Someone had to pay for this grievous mistake, this irreconcilable error.

The song ended not nearly soon enough. There was blissful quiet afterward that immediately begun to improve my mood, and I skated for joy that the horrendous song was over.

Then... another announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's line up for LIMBO!" No... Oh god, please no...

Every limbo boy and girl!
All around the limbo world!
Gonna do the limbo rock!
All around the limbo clock!

With much ear rape,
Maggie


*Speaking of The Wordsmith, my baby sister just finished NaNo! I am so ridiculously proud of her.

**I was a cheapskate (see what I did there??) last night and didn't pay the extra monies for rollerblades. Therefore I had to learn how to use regular skates.

***To my credit, I did not fall once that night.  

Obligatory Blog Post...

... This blog was originally going to be about me seeing the Harry Potter movie premiere. But I decided that everyone is doing that, and I don't have much to add.

Hello dear readers of My Blog. It's been a while. Last time I just left you with a very weird conversation that was probably only funny for me and my friend. Sorry about that! It seemed like a good (and hysterical) idea at the time.

Today The Wordsmith asked me to take her to a friend's house. I had the brilliant idea to bring my laptop and plug it into Germ* so we could play songs from A Very Potter Sequel. Except I forgot that you need a wireless connection to do that. Of course. We let the first song load completely from our wireless connection, then drove off.

As if it were providence, we were driving past The Academy as that first song was ending. I pulled into the parking lot next, tapped into our school's wireless system, and let another song load. We were both highly amused by this. To think, we were using a school-issued laptop and the school's wireless network to get up to Potteresque shennanigans. It was a lovely situation.

As I drove back home, I passed the playground that I played on when I was a wee child.** For a while it had been an empty mess of dirt and orange plastic fencing. There was no playground equipment, there were no kids. There was just nothing.

Today when I drove past, I saw a crowd of parents and kids there, and no orange plastic fencing! There is a different playground now. It looks shiny and new. It calls to me, dear blog readers; I want to go play in this new world. I want to write a coded message to my friends on parchment paper inviting them to come play, slip it in their bedroom windows, and gallavant about the playground with them in the dead of night.

Until that happens, though, I have a movie that I need to see a few more times.


With explorativity,
Maggie


**Germ is my gender-ambiguous car, for those of you who do not remember.

*Okay, and more recently as a teenager.

Avocado

"Which one is this?"

"I think that has fish in it."

"So this is the one with avocado?"

"I think."

"So... how do I eat it?"

"Just dip it in soy sauce."

"But it's so big! I can't eat it in one bite!"

"Then take smaller bites."

"Mmmffffgghhhaah!"

"Hahahaha!"

"It fell apart! How the hell do they think we can eat this in one piece!?"

"You can't. They just laugh at us while we struggle."

"I can't even think about what I'm eating. It's slimey!"


"So don't think. Just eat it."

"I have tell myself that there isn't any fish in this bite, and then I can almost swallow."

"Yeah, me too."

"What's this?"

"What, the flower? It's decoration. You don't eat it."

"No, the green stuff behind it. It looks like avocado dip."

"These are avocado, so it's possible."

"SSsccccscccrreeeeeeeeeee!"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!"

"Hahahaha! Oooooowwwww!"

"Nyahhhhhh, get it off!"

"I laughed and it got up my nose!"

"It went up my nose of its own free will!"

"That was a terrible idea!"

And that is how I learned that wasabi looks a lot like avocado dip.

Friends, when you try sushi for the first time, bring a friend who knows a lot about sushi.

What time is it?

... a hair past a freckle.

Right now I'm wearing a K-State t-shirt, an "I Voted!" sticker, this past weekend was Halloween, I skipped school yesterday, and I don't have school tomorrow. I think it's blogging time again! *does the blog dance* Say it with me, everybody: There is a dance for everything!

Halloween at The Academy is quite the affair. Everyone dresses up, and the advisories compete in a pumpkin carving contest. My advisory tends to ignore the pumpkin, however, because we have the HAUNTED HOUSE.

Since my advisor is the drama teacher, we have access to costumes and props, which we use every year to host a haunted house. Students can give us a canned good or monies for the privilege of being led through whatever scary contraption we've come up with. This year, as a senior, I got to lead the jittery students through our post-apocalyptic zombie nightmare. Yes, the idea was mine. *wipes speck of dirt from zombie hunter costume*

Yesterday, Monday, my mom and I woke up ungodly early to drive to Manhattan, KS, home of Kansas State University. There we saw the engineering buildings, ate delicious foods,* were serenaded by an all-male acapella group, followed a student tour guide with many squirrel anecdotes across campus,** and ate ice cream made on campus.

Unfortunately, I kind of sort of really loved my visit. This is bad because I also love Iowa State, and I'll have to choose between them at some point. MY LIFE IS INDESCRIBABLY DIFFICULT.

Most importantly, today I voted in my first ever election! My polling place happens to be in my highschool, so I voted during my first period free. I wanted to get video or picture proof, but nobody had a free with me, so they couldn't take my picture. Hey, wait a hot moment! I think I remember talking about this in my first blog...

In September I will turn 18, and in November I get the pleasure of voting in my first election. (I can see it now. I skip in, barely able to suppress a squeal. Whoever is there to log me in-- that's what they do with elections, right? You log in, get patted down, drug test, all that? But I digress-- Whatever authority figure I come across will look disbelieving at me. I'm positive I'm old enough? Oh, absolutely! *much beaming and giggling* And... I want to vote? Of course! I've done my homework, I know the dealio. Where do I get my finger prints taken?) I'm sure it will go over splendidly!

It DID go over splendidly, thank you for asking! I was wearing my uniform, so they knew I was a student, but nobody questioned my eligibility as a voter, and I didn't knock any booths over. And I did the finger prints right the first time! Okay, that last one was a joke. But I did wear my "I Voted!" sticker on my forehead the rest of the day. It was partly to make sure my classmates and teachers would know that I was a responsible citizen. Mostly it was because I'm still immature. Funnily enough, almost nobody questioned me about it... But of course that is because my school is weird.

Dearest blog readers, I have come to our last order of business. For my Shakespeare class I made a video parodying a scene from Taming of the Shrew. I created an account Moste Sekrit on the tube of you. Oh, you liketh the sekrits? Do you want a link? Hmm, what can you give me? You have cookies?? Yes, please! Here is a link. *munches on cookies* Mmm, I see you added an extra pinch of glittery spice. Melike.***

And that is all there is to say. Until the morrow, dear readers! Or sometime later, I don't know.


With childishness (still),
Maggie the Voter




*K-State makes all their food from scratch! =O

**The guy, Chris, was totally cool. I was with a group of girls (completely coincidental), and as we walked past a lawn he said, "Here they sometimes project movies for students to watch. Last year they showed Sherlock Holmes, you know, with Robert Downey Jr. He's probably my favorite actor, like, ever. And Jude Law is just totally dreamy. And I can say that, since you're all girls! There are no guys to point and laugh at me." And he walked backwards the whole time. The WHOLE time.

***Sometimes I type things and think, "Now where the holy hell did that come from?" But sometimes I keep it, because it makes me giggle. I've often told people, I am my own biggest fan. I get much amusement from myself. Keep reading! *shoos*

Your mother was a hampster...

... I just had a Monty Python moment. I'm the French guy. (skip to 3:48)


This morning I had a late start. So instead of waking up at 7:00am, I woke up at... 7:15?

Oh yeah, that's right. Anna, Kristen and I started our video that we are making. You know, the one where we try to convince Dan Brown to move to Kansas City. That one.

So instead of sleeping in, I woke up early, picked up Anna, and got hot chocolate while we made our game plan. All we had time to do today was get some shots of the Plaza, a Spanish-style outdoor shopping mall.

We were setting up a shot of a fountain (Kansas City is the City of Fountains), when two Plaza security guards started strolling up the block.

"Anna, we're allowed to film, right?" I mumbled in her ear.
"Yes."
"Okay, sorry, just thought I'd ask."

Just afterward, they walked up to us and asked what we were doing. Oh, just getting some shots of fountains. Is it for school? Yeah, it's for, um, a project. Alright, just wanted to ask.

As soon as they walked away, Anna started laughing. "I should have told them it was a top secret project! No, a conspiracy against the government!" I'm sure that would have gone over EXCELLENTLY, Anna.

After our short day of school, in which I pretty much failed a calc test that I wasn't remotely prepared for, Anna and Kristen came over. For the first time in over six months I turned on my Wii, and we played Mario Kart and trivia.

After Kristen went home, Anna and I decided to start a paper mâché project. The Wordsmith's friend, Bottomless Pit, was bored, so I told her to take pictures. I wanted to post them, but Blogspot is being a NOODLE DARK. You want me to turn on cookies? Okay, I'm all for cookies. What, I have to log in? I'm already logged in! Oh, so now you're just going to CLICK at me? *click click click click click* FINE! No pictures! *huffs*

Ahem. The paper mâché project, unlike the pictures, is going SPLENDIDLY. It's actually an assignment for my Spanish class. I have to make a piñata para Día de Los Muertos. It's going to be a skull. With sparkles. Because sparkles make everything better. Katherine agrees with me, yes?

Once we finished layering balloons in goup-soaked newspaper, I put them in the oven on really low, then propped the door open. This is to help them dry. Since everyone but my mom was out, we put in a movie and curled up on the sofa.

KABANG! One of the balloons exploded in the oven! The project was dry enough, so it held, but BOY was it alarming.*

Methinks that is all for now, dear readers of blog. May the sparkle be with you.


With an outrageous accent,**
Maggie

*All explosions have been exaggerated for dramatic effect. It wasn't actually very alarming at all.

**Outrageous accent is a reference to an earlier part of the Monty Python video. Now that the blog is all finished and whatnot, you may as well watch the rest of it. It's quite good.

Triple Rainbow Awesome...

... was aptly named.

If you follow my twitter, you got this succession of tweets from tonight:

"Operation Gengar status: success."

"*shock*"

"LOTS TO BLOG ABOUT. *still in shock*"

Let's start with the first, shall we? Today I made COOKIES. But they were no ordinary cookies. They were my mother's special Easter cookies, so named because we make them every Easter. More importantly (and relevantly) I warped a gingerbread-man-shaped cookie cutter into a GENGAR CUTTER to make Gengar cookies! Oh. Yes.

After I did my homework (like the good girl that I am), I rolled out the dough I'd pre-prepared (is that redundant?), cut it into eensy leetle Gengars, baked them, dipped in glaze, and made them look somewhat ferocious. Except my mom came into the kitchen and said, "Maggie, these are just so cute!"

Cuteness:1
Ferocity: 0

Then I went to TRIPLE RAINBOW AWESOME. After Jason's set-- if I remember rightly-- I awkwardly went up to Kristina (yes, Kristina Freaking Horner)*, handed her the box of cookies, said something along the lines of  "Uh.... I, um, made these for you? I'm going to... come look at merch later..." and then scurried awkwardly off. Because that is how I roll: awkwardly.

After giggling fangirlishly with my friends for a moment, we saw Kristina take the box over to Luke. And then Luke sent a picture to Twitter.

So, uh, that was slightly [very] awesome.

In between the Gengar tweet and the next we all danced like fiends, sung ourselves nearly hoarse, and got grossly sweaty (it was much too warm in there, even with a fan).

Aaaaaaaand then ALL CAPS finished playing Don't Unplug Me and everyone gravitated toward the merch table. Anna, Sarah and I had a conversation that went basically like this:

Anna: "You should go up and tell them that you play them in Mario Kart."
Me: "I'm sure that would go over splendidly. 'Hi, you've never met me, but I beat you in Mario Kart sometimes! Well, bye!' It sounds pretentious."
Sarah: "You could tell them that you made a video for..."
Me and Anna: "No."

After deliberating, I decided that I wanted a picture with them, and I also wanted them to sign my purse. So we shuffled on up to where they were standing, taking pictures and chatting with fans.

They gamely obliged my request for them to sign my purse (hey, a purse is more normal than a sandwich), but Anna decided to butt in saying,

"Maggie is way too shy to tell you this, but she plays you in Mario Kart, and sometimes she beats you."

Imagine how surprised I was when Luke DIDN'T say, "Whuuuuut? I don't know what you're talking about, but here's your purse." (Not that he would say it like that anyway, but...) What he actually did was yell across the room, "HEY JASON! JASON MUNDAY! JASON!"** And I guess Alex Carpenter (=O) had been paying attention or something, because he started yelling, "There's this girl who wants to beat you at Mario Kart!"

That was when I sent the second tweet, "*shock*"

Because it is a bit shocking. I mean, I think I've mostly gotten past the point where I see these people as pixelated stars on my computer screen. I still admire them, but they have become less celebral (made up word) and more like real people. But it is still shocking when these people who make music that I listen to, who make videos that I watch, actually know who I am and make a hullabaloo*** when they learn that I play Mario Kart with them.

That is all for tonight, dear readers of blog. I hope that this post kept you entertained, despite it's length.


With fangirliness,
Maggie


*That is her actual middle name.

**Jason was in the middle of taking a picture with some people, methinks.

***I'm sorry, I just can't be entirely serious. It can't be done.

Nice hat, Maggie...

... It's a turban, dammit!*

I saw a scarf earlier and had the irrepressible urge to wrap it tuban-style around my head. So today, dear blog readers, I come to you... be-turbaned. Turbanized. The Turbanator. Like a turban, worn for the very first TIME!

This past Wednesday I did not have school. The leetle froshies had a retreat, and the sophmores and juniors were taking the PSAT. *dark chuckle* I am so done with all of that standardized test stuff. I got the scores I need. *holds up stack of scores*

Since I had the day off, I decided to be productive and go on a college visit! Tuesday night my mom and I drove four hours to Ames, Iowa.** The University actually has a hotel inside the Union, which is cool and convenient.

The next day I talked to the Honors program, the Engineering program, the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Iowa State, and ate dorm food.***

I am not entirely sure that I will go to Iowa State, but I did decide something while I traversed the beautiful campus, saw the green, yellow, orange, and red trees, smelled the scent of fall, watched all the students streaming along the walkways and lounging on the lawn.

I will be happy and successful almost anywhere I choose to go. It's not as if there is ONE college that is right for me. Most colleges I've considered look spectacular, have great credence. But why stress myself out so much by filling out tons of applications and trying to narrow my search down?

I decided to just stick with the three schools that I've either already been accepted to, or have nearly finished my application for. After that, it's a matter of which campus feels best and/or which will end up costing the least.

I hope that I was able to get my thoughts across both coherently and captivatingly. I know, you must be riveted. But this is what is happening in my life right now, and that's what I can blog about.


With a college essay to finish,
Maggie

Reader Palooza:
Alysa: Of course you agree with me. I've impressed my philosophies into your brain throughout the many long talks we've had this year. You have no choice but to agree.

Hannah: Calculus is hard, and you shouldn't worry too much about it. I think it's my lowest grade right now (not bad, just not my best grade). I understand it, but math can be unforgiving sometimes, even if you know everything that's going on. That's why if you take the AP test, getting around a 60% will get you a kickass score.

And I've heard that plays tend to fall apart a lot before the actual performances, but that the opening show and the following ones end up being awesome! That's just what I've heard, of course. But it's all mental, like I said. It's all in your head. You're dreaming! This is juuuuust a dreeeeeammmm!


*Actual thing that my dad said to me, actual thing that I said back. My life is... well, you can fill in the blank.

**For those of you who don't know, Ames is where the Men of Ministry of Magic grew up. It is a magical place of wonderment. Jason, Luke, and Aaron actually went to the university I'm looking at. And Aaron actually studied engineering there. So I am going to be taking many of the SAME classes as Aaron Nordyke! =O

***I'll be the first to admit that I have been spoiled when it comes to food. I think that the dorm food will be the most difficult adjustment for me when I go off to do scholarly things whilst at University. *directs back up to blog*

Not terribly uplifting...

*insert awkward bra joke here*

Hello my dearest blog readers. My, how much you have grown in the time since I haven't blogged! Come over here so I can measure you. *gestures* *makes pencil marks on wall*

I've been very busy of late with senior year and college searches and plans for things and I've just been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yesterday, I was really tired while doing scholarship research, and I all of a sudden just felt like crying. Does that ever happen to you?

I'm quite alright, I was just tired and stressed, but it made me realise something-- I mean fully realise. I have a very happy personality. 

I do not get depressed, I rarely get angry with people. But one thing that does get to me is seeing other people in any sort of pain. I want so desperately to show everyone how to not get stressed about things, why they shouldn't get worked up about this or that. But I can't. Everyone is wired differently, and I can't just go inside and change someone's inner workings.
I'm sorry this isn't a very uplifting post. I tried to start out light-hearted, but it didn't work out. I suppose it should end soon. I'd just like to leave it at this:

There are sucky things in life, and it is easy for them to seem so much more influential than the awesome things. But the awesome things can be hugely influential, too. Who cares if this group of people doesn't like me? They are not necessary to my happiness. There ARE people out there who care about me. And lastly: communication is so, so, so important. It can save a lot of trouble, anger, stress.


With so much love,
Maggie

Just a small town girl...

... living in a LONELY woooorld! (This song has been stuck in my head for HOURS).

Have I ever told you that I love my school? I love my school.

We had a pep rally today. But this wasn't just ANY pep rally. It was the auction pep rally.

Every year, the students sell raffle tickets to raise money for our school auction. But who wants to sell tickets without incentive, right? Our incentive is our sweatpants,* which we can wear during the winter in place of our uniform skirt. If we sell 10 tickets, we can collect The STA Pant.

The Pant is very special, and the auction pep rally centers around it. But the most important part of the pep rally is that it is teacher-run. Only teachers and staff are part of the skits. Can you imagine how epic it is to see your geography, English, and Spanish teachers doing the Single Ladies dance?

My freshman year, the skit was all about Hairspray: excellent, although my memory is fuzzy. Sophomore year is clearer. The theme was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pant. Instead of jeans, it was the sweats, geddit? I seem to recall my history teacher dressing up as The Joker for that skit...

Junior year: I was upset because usually the theme is kept secret, but someone told me it was Twilight. I was apprehensive, since I don't actually like Twilight, but it was UTTERLY AMAZING. Instead of the vampires lusting for blood, they lusted for black sweatpants with bright green lettering (any guesses what our sweats looked like last year?).

This year was GLEE.** They did the single ladies dance, lip-synced to Don't Stop Believing, and "Coach Sue" got SLUSHIED. Literally. It was fantastic!

FORTUNATELY Anna and Kristen got video of the ENTIRE THING!!! It will be on our collab blog, Studio Dilettante, at some point. At that point, I will link it, and you can watch it, if it so pleases you.

Another thing that made this pep rally awesome is my status as SENIOR. Seniors get to sit in the front center, all together.*** And at the end, we all ran up on the stage and danced to Don't Stop Believing. There is a dance for everything.

This is a shift. I am shifting topics.

It's been about seven hours since I wrote that stuff up there. -points upward- In that time, I went to First Fridays, which is an art showing downtown that comes around on the first Friday of the month.

I enjoyed myself at first, because the group I was with walked to Chipotle and just talked for a long time. But once we actually got to the art district... I dunno.

There were a lot of people smoking, and smoke gives me a headache. We went into a couple galleries, but they were sweltering, and I'm pretty sure that I've told you that I don't particularly like the heat. At all.

I like walking around, but there just wasn't a lot of space to do that, since the art district is only a few blocks long and about two blocks wide. And I just got tired after a while.

I am so old. I cannot even go out on a Friday night without getting tired. I should just stay home and blog, since that doesn't take too much stamina.


With artliness,
Maggie


Reader Palooza!

Hannah: You should invest in some dinosaur rings. In this economy they could come in useful.

Alysa: There was no paint left on your face. I checked you carefully. Now, up your NOSE...

Rachel: Definitely hit up a themed restaurant sometime. It is so much fun!


*And Chipotle. And pizza. We girls are suckers for food.

**Actually, I don't watch Glee, but I know quite a bit about it. Shut up, I just don't watch tv at all.

***Some juniors parked themselves in the third row, and we made them move. It's stupid, I know, but at the same time, it's the senior section. Even worse, after they left, a freshman tried to sit down right as they left. I promise, I'm not some underclassmen-hating senior, nor am I unsympathetic to the odd person out. But this girl is SO weird, I have to think she is trying. She was barking before the pep rally started, when we were all talking. BARKING.

First there was light...

... then there were totally bad-ass dinosaurs that roamed around on a big continent and ate each other and stuff. But they got pwned by a meteor. The End.

Hello dear readers! Do you remember the time I told you I was going to a dinosaur-themed restaurant for my joint 18th birthday party with Anna? We had an adventure, let me tell you.

Two days ago, on Thursday, Anna and I went to a magical land called US Toy. Not Toys R Us. US Toy. There we got dinosaur rings, squishy dinosaur friends, kazoos, penny whistles, black and glow-in-the-dark face paint,* and futuristic glasses.

Yesterday on Friday, Alysa and I put everything (except the paint) into fun-colored bags. Then people started arriving at my house, since we agreed to meet there and carpool. The restaurant is in the outskirts of Kansas City, so a lot of people didn't know how to get there.** Plus, we wanted to be environmentally friendly.

Anna was the first to arrive (besides Alysa, who just came home with me after school), then Kristen and Libby. We played with the extra kazoos and were generally public nuisances:

After we had sufficiently annoyed my neighbors (and everyone arrived and were sorted into cars) we left! There was a BIT of trouble getting there; Libby took the wrong exit to the highway and I followed her (even though I felt it was wrong, but I thought she knew better than me). And we ended up on a highway under construction, with one lane, during rush hour, going west into the setting sun.

Fortunately, Kristen's carload took the correct route and arrived on time. *whew*

When we got the T-REX CAFE and sat down, Anna and I told our friends "We are NOT telling them it's our birthday party, okay? We don't want them singing to us." Everyone agreed and nodded. We ordered our drinks, we ordered our food, we played with our dinosaurs, and took pictures:

The food was good, the company was even better. I love just spending time with my friends. Then we ordered DESSERT! Chocolate Extinction was our poison. It was huge, it was chocolately, it was caramely, it smoked!***

Oh my god it was so delicious. It was like a chocolate party in my mouth. But when they brought it out to us, they came clapping. "Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, something something something, something that rhymes with 'you!' RAWR!" It was the Rawr at the end that made it okay that Kristen and her carpool had told them it was our birthday party.

After I took Sarah and Alysa (who were in my car) back to my house so they could drive home, I went over to Anna's house to watch My Neighbor Totoro. This movie was a huge part of both of our childhoods (though we grew up not knowing one another), and she just got a DVD copy in the mail.

Well my dear readers, that is all that I wanted to share with you. May you live long and prosper.

With dinosaurity,

Maggie

In place of Reader Palooza today, I am going to impart CRUCIAL INFORMATION. I have re-edited the Cake-Making video and it is being uploaded to YouTube. I will post a link when it is finished, AND I will update the link on the other blog that it is mentioned in. Aren't you glad you stayed to see this information?

*The black facepaint was so that I could dress up as a lion for school Friday. Alysa was a panda, Anna was a frog, and Kristen was a black sheep.

**Myself included. I'd never been to the shopping center before. I had to rely on other people's directions, which caused some problems. Just... keep reading.

***I suspect dry ice.

I have an idea...

... let's be as weird as we possibly can.

Last year my friends and I begun a tradition. These are the steps for this tradition:

Step 1: I am an excellent procrastinator. I'm actually procrastinating right now (I have a Government article to analyze). The first step is very simply for me to not be doing my homework.

Step 2: Within regular intervals, I will use the time I am wasting to write a Note on Facebook. This note is to be formatted like a questionnaire. I will find random questions on Google, and answer them.

Step 3: I tag my friends. My friends read it and comment and make me generally happy (because I like reading comments).

Step 4: They copy and paste into their own Note, write their own quirky answers, and tag me and other friends.

This is our tradition. I started to title mine with Chapter numbers after a conversation with Alysa.*

One thing that it is imperative to know is that we DO NOT take them seriously. In fact, my most recent note, Chapter 21,** is the weirdest piece of fiction I have ever written in my life. I'm pretty sure none of it is true.

I bring this up because I think it is interesting to see how I have grown in the past two years (which is roughly how long this has been going on). Also, because I am vain and like rereading things that I write, which is what I was doing that inspired this here lovely blog post.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I had an okay birthday. It was very much like any day at school. The REAL party is on Friday, when Anna and I are having a joint celebration at the T-Rex cafe. Yes, it is a dinosaur themed cafe. No I have never been there. YES I am so totally unbelievable excited.


With much adultliness,
Maggie


PS! I've told you that seniors get to dress down on Fridays, right? And that we have themes? Well the theme this Friday is animals, and I don't know what to do! Halp!


Reader Palooza!

Alysa: Funny story about Dave Coulier (aka: Uncle Joey). Apparently he went to college with the father of a girl in my advisory, and they sometimes go to dinner. CORRELATIONS. *does the correlation dance* There is a dance for everything.

Hannah: Lanyards are fun. I have some from camps that I went to, and from Wrockstock! And I'm starting to think that most colleges have Potter groups of some sort; I see them everywhere. Additionally, I want to reciprocate the wonderful praise you gave me in your blog. Every bit of it. (Except maybe the parts about sharing a birthday with Jason Derulo. I don't think I will reciprocate that.)


*We were talking about how one day these questionnaires will become our memoirs.

**If you haven't already added me on facebook, feel free to do so. Unless you are a creepy stranger who just stumbled upon my blog; I won't add you, you're creepy, stop reading my blog. But for the rest of you, I like to think that I have interesting mini-blogs on my facebook. And it is a good way to stalk me, if that so pleases you. (SERIOUSLY YOU STRANGER, GO AWAY)

Swine Flew...

... feral pigs flying planes.

Today I visited University of Arkansas.* On Sunday, my mom and I drove the four hours to Fayetteville and had dinner with my Uncle.** This morning we drove to The Event. Because we were there for an Event, along with 300 other people.***

At The Event we were given lanyards that said "I am not a student here," people talked at us, we clapped when it seemed appropriate, about 4 parents asked many questions, they gave us lots of handouts and brochures, and we were smirked at by big college students, who probably have only a faint memory of going through this same process. I metaphorically bite my thumb at them.

I didn't have a ball at this Event, to be honest (which I always am). For whatever reason I just couldn't picture myself actually going to school there, and am thusly crossing it off my ever-dwindling list. I think my dad is disappointed; U of A gives me a lower tuition rate because of some Things, and they have a lot of money to offer for scholarships. So if I were to go there, it probably wouldn't cost much. Which would make him happy.****

The highlight of my day was when my mom and I were walking to the buses so we could start homeward, and I saw this:

There were some other things, too: reminders for Quidditch practice accompanied by chalk broomsticks and snitches, and propaganda for Dumbledore's Army with a beautiful stick man wearing a blue wizard hat.

Completely unrelated to this, I discovered recently that I have the same birthday as Stephen King. Which is meaningless, but nevertheless fills me with a sense of pride. As if I have done something noteworthy. "Why are you smiling like that?" "Oh, just that Stephen King-- you know, the brilliant author--- and I have the same birthday." "My, that is impressive! Perhaps some of his brilliancy is in you!" -brushes imaginary lint from shoulder-

Weird.


With potential brilliancy,
Maggie


Reader Palooza!

Deanna: I like your irrelevant comment! It conjures up an image of some of my rather goofy teachers doing the same thing (since I don't know what your teacher looks like), which is hilarious, of course.

Hannah: I ALREADY RESPONDED. Good day.

Ruth: They probably print copies of the students who they didn't like and use them as dartboards in the teacher's lounge. Actually, that's weird, and I have no idea why that occured to me.


*I believe this will satisfy your curiosity, Hannah.

**Random Trivia: I share a birthday with this particular uncle. And The Wordsmith has the same birthday as my grandpa. These are things.

***Or perhaps it was 500. Or maybe one thousand. For all I know of numbers, it could have been two million. Whatever, I go to a small school.

****Although since I plan to study engineering, I basically need to go to a state school. And they will be comparitively cheaper than other schools. So he can't really complain that much.

Let them eat cake!

... Cake or death! Err, cake please! Very well! Give him cake. Mmm, this is very nice cake!*

Yesterday was picture day. On Fridays, seniors at my school get to dress down instead of wearing the uniform. Usually we have themes. On the first day of school the theme was camo, one day it was soccer moms, another day it was tweens. But since yesterday was a day where we needed to look our best,** they said, "No, you cannot have a silly theme! And we know about the plot to wear wigs, so don't try it!" How did they know about that plot, anyway?***

So instead of dressing as stupidly as possible and trying to outdo last year's seniors class (they were goth on picture day), we tried to get away with having our hair and makeup as ridiculous as possible. Several girls made liberal use of Bump Its, others had ridiculously high pigtails, and one girl had little buns all over her head. I saw more blue eye shadow and heavy eyeliner yesterday than perhaps the rest of my life combined.

The sad thing was that many of those lined eyes were not the eyes of seniors. Nor were all the bumped-up dos on the heads of my classmates. I saw freshmen, sophomores, and juniors galore with eyeliner that made me stop and gape, wondering... Why?

The reason hair and makeup was our theme is because it is RIDICULOUS!

On a less confusing note, I finished editing the cake-making video. I told you about that, did I not? Well, here it is.**** Be warned, Anna and I (and The Diva) are very, very weird in this video.

I tweeted about this at one point, but I feel it is a point worthy of reiteration; I noticed while editing the video that I worked in elements of my blog. Just watch and you will probably see.

That is all for now, my dear readers of blogs! I should probably get some homework done, since I leave tomorrow to go on a COLLEGE VISIT! -does the college visit dance- There is a dance for everything.


With collegerliness,
Maggie


Reader Palooza (the name that Hannah picked, since she was the ONLY one to comment on my last blog. -gives stink eye to everyone else-) (Except I'm really not that upset. Since it's not BEDA anymore, nobody is keeping up as regularly) (Let's move on to the response, shall we?) (Yes, we shall):

Hannah: We have a project like your senior project, too! There are many similarities between our schools. Hmmm... But our projects are on a smaller scale, and we do two of them. The first is our sophomore year, and we have to write a three to five page paper and give a presentation on something under a given topic. 

My junior year the project was in essence the same as the year before, but as juniors we were expected to put much, much more effort into it. I can definitively say that last year's Junior Project was the hardest I have ever worked on a project in my life. But I loved almost every minute of it, being the nerd that I am.

That was a long-winded response. Congratulations if you have read to this point!


*3.14159 X 10^kajillion awesome points if you knew that reference.

**And get pictures that will go on our student IDs, which I guess we need to be serious for. Who knew?

***That was a real plot.

****Right now as I am posting this blog, the video hasn't finished processing. Of course, the quality may never improve, since this is the first video I have edited with my new software and I probably made MISTAKES.

Ambition must be made to counteract ambition...

... If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men... controls on government would [not] be necessary. And in other news, I have no idea what to put as my title and subtitle. -Psuedo quote from The Federalst Paper No. 51

Hello, dearest readers of blogs!

There are several things that I wanted to blog about today, but I cannot have all of them in one blog, because then it would be too long. That, and I need to go do my homework. Again. It just keeps coming back, I swear...

I have not blogged since Sunday! This is a catastrophe! But I hath been very busy. I thought that my senior year would be easier in terms of workload, but so far it is not looking like it. Poo.

In happier news,* I got Adobe Premiere! This means that I can edit Agent Ninja Face's** videos from my computer, instead of sporadically going to Anna's house and editing on hers. She doesn't like editing as much as I do. I love editing videos. So much. And now I have my own shiny software! -pets the software-

Ahem. Yes. Can I just say thank you for sticking with me, even though I am incredibly weird and often creepy? Thanks. =D


With editing capacity,
Maggie


PS I'm going to start responding to some of your comments, methinks. I want to give this segment a name, but I am not creative when it comes to these shenannigans. Shennanigans? Shenanigans? Meh. What about Crazy Commenters! Or... Reader Palooza? Edible Enterprises. Wait... that doesn't even make sense. Please help?

Hannah: I hadn't bowled since my freshman year (so three years ago). It was fun, but my forearm was sore for a few days afterward! And I feel like I've been to an arcade or something where they accepted good grades as entrance. Also, it's probably best that your school doesn't require service for graduation. I mean, it's an excellent idea, but the options are so narrow that it is difficult for everyone to be happy with it. I am much more of a "behind the scenes" volunteer, so I don't particularly love the service that I have to do.

Nick: Your comments are always so POSITIVE and happy! I love it! =D

Katharine: I like to think that my school is the coolest school ever. But I think it's just because I go there. #notegotisticatall #twitteronblogspot? #weird...


*Not that schoolwork is unhappy. I am supremely nerdy, and therefore actually enjoy most of my homework. For whatever reason, though, I still have trouble making myself start my homework. It's a disease, procrastination is.

**This is the name of the production "company" that my friends and I make our videos under. It is very unofficial and sparkly. The name comes from a time when Anna and I were on Mystery Google (do you remember that?) and typed "Paging Agent Ninja Face, over!" again and again, hoping to get each other's message. Anna called me in a tizzy when she got a message that said "This is Agent Ninja Face, over!" She thought it was me, but I reminded her that I wasn't responding, I was paging. 'Twas a triumphant moment, that was. (Scroll back up, punk!)

Who looks stupid now?

... You do!

Good day, my dear blog readers.

I just called the Jazz museum. I sent a couple emails, but they aren't getting back with me about booking a show, so I thought I would get even more PROACTIVE. Of course, it's Sunday, so I had to leave a message.

Aaaaaand I just realised that when I left the message I forgot to tell them I can't talk during the week until about 5:30 in the evening. You know, because I have school and odd jobs and such. Oops.

Last night I went bowling! Do you want to hear the story? Of course you do! -beams-

My dear friend Alysa was going to come over to my house after her cello lesson, and we were going to bide time before we left by playing John Williams stuff together. We both love A Window to the Past.

But she ended up not being able to come. And I was a sad Maggie. And the world took a moment of silence. Sort of.*

Another dear friend, Anna, had been at a circus class type thing. I'm not actually sure exactly what it was... But she learned some interpretive dance and got her face airbrushed.** She came over after that class, and we drove to the bowling alley together.

When we got there, another dear friend, Kristen, was chatting with five freshmen. I shall give you their bowling names: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ewok, Dobby, and Pterodactyl. 

I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but Pterodactyl is the one who messaged me on YouTube because she and Ewok recognized my school (which we filmed at) and a local shopping area, both of which were featured in our You're My iPod music video. SO. MANY. TIES. -does the tie dance- There is a dance for everything.

But I digress.

Soon afterward, Sarah (surprise! Another spectacular friend) and her seester Pips Queak joined us. And then The Wordsmith came. I would have brought her myself, but she had a soccer game and needed to shower before she came. She wore this shirt.

We played two games and had lots of nerdy fun. Afterward we got ice cream. YUM I LOVE ICE CREAM.

Good bye, blog readers. Until next time!


With bowling balls,***
Maggie


PS The video that I told you about where The Diva sticks a quarter up her nose? I finally started editing it yesterday. Except I'm not finished yet. So perhaps next weekend? Heh heh... so busy...

*One thing that sucks about my school is this: people who live all over the city go there. I have friends thirty minutes in one direction, some friends twenty minutes in another, and still more friends twenty minutes in still another direction. It does make it hard to coordinate stuff outside of school. But that is all beside the point. Scroll back up!

**She kept the paint on all night.

***We had fun with that last night. So. Mature.

I have a dream...

... that I need hair extentions to go to a dance. My dreams are stupid.*

Hello dear readers! How are you today? Good, I hope.

I have been velly velly busy. Doing what, you ask? Well...

We have to do a certain number of service hours at my school. This summer I had to get 30 hours. Which I did! Except some of them "didn't count." Poo.

So this week and next week (at the least) I have to go get a few hours in after school on Thursdays and Fridays.

In addition, my mom informed me of this MEGAWESOMEFOXYHOT leadership camp in February where I would get to do math and science and leadershippy things for a WEEK. Suffice to say, I really. Really. Really want to go.

But of course life is not so simple. The camp is in the one week in the whole year that my school sets aside for Service Week. Service Week is when all the juniors and seniors do 30 hours of service instead of going to school. And we HAVE to get 30 hours in. Or we might explode.

Clearly that is a complication. But I talked to the service planner person thing, and she told me that I can write a proposal to the administration asking if I can take that week to, instead of doing service, go to a very educational, incredibly beneficially, potentially-good-reflection-on-the-school camp. At least, that is how I need to frame the proposal.

If that by some miracle WORKS, then I have to continue getting hours in after school. Because I can't just NOT get 30 hours of service. That's a gaping hole that would show up on my diploma. Or something.

That is what my life is like. Also, I joined art club and we played competetive pictionary and got leftover food from cooking club.


With much servicing,
Maggie


PS
One or two of you asked me how I landed the job of booking the Triple Rainbow Awesome tour stop at Kansas City. Twitter, my friends. Twitter.

PPS
In addition, I want to thank all of you who comment. It really means so, so much to me. I think that Katharine leaves a comment on every single blog of mine, which just makes me smile SO much it hurts. But in a good way.

PPPS
Tomorrow I'm going bowling with the freshman nerdfighters! We've created a facebook group and are now officially the "Nerd Herd."


*But rather telling, methinks. I have officially decided that I much prefer having long hair. -is wistful-

It's Labor Day...

... so here I am, laboring at my computer to bring you a blog. The things I do for the interwebz...

I'm going to blog today. HELLO!

I just feel so HAPPY right now! =D

I've discovered that there are SO MANY freshmen Nerdfighters at my school! And one of them is in my ADVISORY (homeroom)!!

I've actually made a facebook group to gather all of us together, and we're planning a Nerdfighter gathering. We're going to go out on the lake, and then go bowling. I'm so excited that I could CRY.

In addition to THAT awesomeness, I get to book the Triple Rainbow Awesome tour stop in Kansas City! I'm trying to find out if our Jazz museum will let them play there for a reasonable fare.*

I think we will make Gengar cookies for them when they come. -does the Gengar dance- There is a dance for everything.

And one last thing. Anna and I filmed a video! We have not edited it, nor is it likely that we'll have time to any time soon. But within a week I should post a new video. It's a response to Mike and Kristina's internet cooking show. Do you remember that? Anyway, I might actually post two videos. We did a ton of weird shennanigans that I might put into a "behind the scenes" video. I'll put the clip of The Diva putting a quarter up her nose in that one!**


With much, much happiness,
Maggie


*Did you know that Kansas City used to have a mob? As in, The Mob. And it was because of The Mob that Kansas City became a center of Jazz. FUN FACTS YAY! 19th and Vine is less than a 10 minute drive from where I am sitting RIGHT NOW. (So many all caps. Just preparing for the concert, I guess.)

**The REALLY funny part is that she was dressed really nice when she did it. Wearing fancy-schmancy clothes and jewelry while sticking US currency in your nostril... You'll just have to see.

I used to feel so alive...

There was a time in my life when I felt alive. Things had meaning; I was indescribably happy, or perhaps just sad. Things were going spectacularly. The world was mine. But now... now all I feel is the desperate call of survival.

There are people who say I've become a zombie. That all I do is go through the motions of each day, seeking out only what will keep me barely alive and functioning. Maybe they're right, and I should just eat their brains. Then they will stop reminding me of what I don't have anymore.

Life was so much better before all this. Sure, it's kind of nice to not worry about my future, or about the next bill I have to pay, or about having my heart broken. But... there was something more to life than that.

The other day we were driving together. Remember that emotion? I can barely recall... I think it was love. It's hard to think that I could have felt anything, now that I can't feel a thing. And who can feel anything but disgust for someone like me?

I have become a useless limb, lying lifelessly next to a very much alive body. The body can feel nothing but contempt and hatred for that limb, which cripples it and makes it foul.

I should have seen this coming. There were so many signs. Just last week it culminated in my gut, and I exploded. The horrible sensation of nothingness was beginning to take over. My jaw became slack; no emotion except hunger would ever be seen on my face again.

Maybe there is hope for me yet. I don't just feel the hunger of survival-- I also feel the pain of solitude. I feel the yawning gaps in my life where I once was happy, sad, in love. Maybe there is hope for me...

No. Who will love me? I have no feelings. You have moved on already, pushed away by nothing else but me. I used to think that you were the only one for me. I see now that I was wrong.

Life was so much better. But now I am a zombie, and there is nothing more for me.*


With no emotion,
Maggie


*Blog post inspired by my friends' writing assignment: to write something based on a song.

The Object of the Game...

... to be as strange as possible. At least, it is when I play Apples to Apples.

Hello, readers of blog! Long time no... blog! Bah dum, chh! (That didn't even make sense)

Today I went for part two of my dentist-cavity-fixing appointment. Thing. Since I get so stressed about the shot, my mom pressured me into getting laughing gas. Haha. Ha...

I expected to be able to tell you wild stories of how I stumbled blissfully into inanimate objects, laughed my ass off, and was generally loopy. But I think I might be immune to the gas. I just felt sleepy, but that could have been lack of sleep and the fluorescent lights. And I still cried when they gave me the shot.

But that is not what I wanted to blog about. I have HAPPIER tales to tell!

I have probably mentioned that I went to piano camp this summer. At camp, I met another girl from Kansas City. She's 13, and reminds me strongly of The Wordsmith. We are very good friends now, and tonight my sisters and I went to a Game Night at her house! 'Twas much fun. We played Scattergories, Banana Grams, Hearts, and Spoons. And we ate brownies and tea. I mean really, it doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

Whilst my sisters and I were driving to her house, we got a little bit lost. So I stopped at a stop sign at a lazy intersection while The Wordsmith called and asked for directions. When we were sitting there, another car pulled up to the adjacent stop sign. I figured they were confused, since I was just sitting there when I should have been goin; the guy kept looking at us as if confused. Then The Diva said, "OH MY GAWD!" and hit my arm. The guy drove off as she said that, still looking, and he was laughing. "Oh my gawd, Maggie, that's Mr. Bertalott!"*

Mr. Bertalott is a theology teacher at our beloved Academy. And he is a little creepy. Juuuuust a little.** So THAT was fun!

I did more fun stuff today, but I won't go into all that.***

This weekend there is an Irish Festival going on downtown, and on Monday the Renaissance Festival starts! And on Tuesday I have four tests! Definitely not summer any longer...


With much sillynezz,****
Maggie


*I have not changed any names to preserve the privacy of anyone. His name is actually Bertalott.

**ONLY A LITTLE BIT.

***Just know that my advisory (homeroom) spent well over an hour examining, debating, and arguing over a silly band. And now we are making a sweat shirt based on it. This is what intellectual, mature high-school girls do at an academically rigorous school.

****That was a strained attempt at a joke about silly bandz. Geddit?

The Hogwarts Express left yesterday...

... I was not on it, but I am not so sad anymore. Magic is everywhere, all you have to do is look.

Woah, hello! It's September 2st!

I feel like it's already been a week since I last blogged, but it's only been a DAY! =O

School is now officially in full swing. Already had about six test and quizzes, and I have four more on Tuesday. Yaaaaaaaaaayyyy....

Who am I kidding, I love school.

There is one thing that I have noticed that I do not like, though. I don't remember if I told you guys this, but this year we are on a different schedule. In previous years, my school has had a wonderfully crazy, random schedule. Every single day the classes are in a different order, and you never had class with the same group of people in one week. This is scary at first, but it is a spetactular way to meet everyone in your grade. I kid you not when I say that by the third week of school, I knew almost everyone in my entire grade.

This year, we are on really boring block schedules *spits out phrase block schedules* This basically means that every. Single. Day. I am in the same exact class with the same exact people. And I've noticed something.

Every day I sit in the same spot. Perhaps not the exact same seat, but in the same specific area of each room. The last three years, since there were different people in each class, you moved around constantly, and I liked that. I hate feeling confined to the same seat, but already people have sort of sifted into their various positions in the classroom. Me no likey.

That's really all. It is an observation that came to me today. I was holed up in my room doing homework (since the downstairs area is FULL of distractions, and I had a paper to write). My cat decided to come be a distraction, though, and I succumbed to her will. So this realisation came to me while I was lying on my bed petting Maud and getting sleepy (it's dark outside because it's raining).

I find that I am most philosophical when I am falling asleep. Another observation.


With much love for thee,
Maggie


Something I learned today: My World Faiths class, taught by one of the most incredible people I've ever known, is one big, extended discussion on the things that fascinate and confuse us. I realised today that basically what we do in class is talk and share cool or intriguing life experiences. I LOVE it! And it makes me feel so much better about religion, which is something I've been uncomfortable with for several years.

You are cordially invited... BEDA #31

... to come to my end of BEDA slumber party!

Today is the last day of BEDA, and I am going to make it EPIC, by Jove!*

(I just realised that my computer screen was zoomed in, which was why I was staring owlishly at it. But you didn't know that before I said anything. -inches along stealthily-)

Welcome to my end of August SLUMBER PARTY! Let's play a game! Here are the rules. -passes out party blowers and glittery hats- There are no rules.** I get to make them up as I go, and I have no idea what direction this blog is going to take. -blindfolds each blog reader- Okay, now that you can't see (but can magically still read my blog, hmmmm) start dancing!

Okay, stop. I changed my mind about the dancing. I think it might be a hazard. -takes away blindfolds-

Erhm... NEXT! -dashes over to a unicorn piñata, waves wand- Okay, hit this with the closest thing to you. And in the comments, tell me what you hit it with. -waits-

Did you break it yet? OF COURSE NOT! I magicked it so that it couldn't break! -rolls on grass laughing hysterically- Oohhh, it's been a while since I've laughed that hard... ONTO THE NEXT ACTIVITY! -skips and twirls to nighttime-

It has magically become night. I WANT EVERYONE TO CHECK THEIR BACK LEFT POCKET! Use the flashlight that I sneakily stashed there to play FLASHLIGHT TAG! -runs around, flailing arms-

Floo powder power! Floo powder power! Floo powder power! -poof!-

This is my living room, which as been converted into a very large fort. -sits on floor in circle- -shines flashlight on face- Now we're going to tell ghost stories.

Once there was a little girl. She was a very happy girl. Then she found a dust bunny under her bed. But the bunny turned out to be a bloodsucking feral beast! The dust demon ate her teddy bear then flew out the window. Every night from then on she slept in fear, and with a slight twitch. The end.

Holy tuttle-monkey, that was terrifying. Let's play a happy game so that I'll be able to sleep tonight. -looks warily over shoulder- I like scattergories. -rolls die- The letter is K, and we're on list 32.75. Put your answers in the comments, as well! (Leave a second if you've already told me what you hit the piñata with.)

1. mythical creatures/monsters

2. songs with a person's name in the title

3. Things associated with the internet

4. bands with one word names

5. dog breeds

6. colors

7. Terrifying things

8. A vlogbrother inside joke

Tally up the points. Who won?***

Everybody get into your sleeping bag! What kind of sleeping bag to you have? Mine is Scooby Doo.**** -snuggles into sleeping bag- This is the part where we turn of the lights, but keep talking in whispers and giggles. -eventually falls asleep-

-everyone wakes up to the smell of blueberry pancakes and waffles- Who wants a cup of tea? Come on, let's have leftover cake while we're at it.

I think this was the perfect end to BEDA. Let's do it again sometime, shall we? -waves as everyone drives home-

With happiness,

Maggie

Something I learned today: I just came to the full realization how awesome all of you are and how much I'm going to miss reading your blogs and your comments on my blog. I will certainly keep reading and commenting, and I hope you all continue to blog. Much love!

*Who is Jove?

**Actually, there is ONE rule. I want you to write everything in the comments that you do. This is an INTERACTIVE blog!

***EVERYONE IS A WINNER!

****I don't actually have a Scooby Doo sleeping bag. That would be awesome, though. The point in me telling you is so that you can MAKE UP A SLEEPING BAG! Or use a real one that you have. Either is acceptable. No, either is TOALLY AWESOME! -does the sleepingbag dance- There is a dance for everything.

The penultimate blog... BEDA #30

... similar to the penultimate peril, but it's a blog.

Often when I am sitting in class, only semi-paying attention, I will have a brilliant idea for a blog. As I start to write it down I say to myself, "No, Maggie. You need to focus on class. Don't worry, you won't forget SUCH A GREAT IDEA!"

Yes, yes you will. This sort of thing happens to me all the time, yet I haven't learned to just write whatever I'm thinking of on a piece of paper.

I wore socks today. Well, I wear socks every day. It's part of our uniform code; Thou shalt wear close-toed shoes and socks of the color black or white. But my mom made my socks! Which makes them special, and better than everyone else's socks combined. Well, maybe not combined.*

Last Friday I had to leave my Government class ten minutes early, so I missed the announcement that our test on Tuesday (tomorrow) would be over all of Chapter 1, and that to prepare for the test, we need to READ Chapter 1. So, that is my homework. To read Chapter 1, take notes, study them, and be tested on them tomorrow morning. *half-hearted fist pump* Have I mentioned that I'm not a very driven person when it comes to studying?**

Well, enough about me, tell me about you. Seriously. I want each of you to write something in the comments. If you need to rant about something, rant. If you want to gush, gush. If you want to share a word you learned, share it. Here are some examples of comments that I want to see:

You stubbed your toe this morning, and then your cat attacked it because it thought it was a mouse.

You saw one of your teachers out jogging, and it was extremely awkward.

Someone wore their shirt inside out today, and the tag said "Wednesday."

You wore a pair of shorts that you haven't worn in a while and found $10 in the pocket.

Someone got an A on their last paper! *points at you*

Oh my gosh, I love the word exacerbate soooo much!

Etcetera, etcetera.

I really need to go do my homework now. It's almost 6:30, and I want to watch Rachel Maddow.***


With much strangeness,****
Maggie


*Yes, combined.

**I'm not a very driven person when it comes to studying.

***I kinda (read: really) fangirl Rachel Maddow.

****My friends and I on facebook have this thing, where whenever we are procrastinating a lot, we start a questionnaire. Generally I start them, since I am the best procrastinator, but yesterday Anna started one. And it was WEIRD as shit. So I decided to fill it out as weirdly as possible, and I haven't been completely normal ever since.

A list... BEDA #29

... of epic proportions.

FIRSTLY! I want to say thanks so so so much for your comments on my artwork yesterday! It gives me warm fuzzies to read them. So thank you! =)

Today I have much to do. So I am going to write my list here and move on, since, erhm... I have lots to do. *ahem* LIST TIME!

1. Do my homework. This is priority numba one. I estimate that it will take me *consults planner* about two hours, give or take half an hour for loafing.

2. Clean my room. IT'S A WRECK. I estimate this will take half an hour, since I don't plan on doing a pristine job.

3. Laundry. It needs be done. Ten minutes, tops.

4. Go to the bank. Fifteen minutes, unless traffic is suckish.

5. If I have time, write a script for a new video for my channel. I got about 90 new subscribers from winning the ALL CAPS contest. SO I NEED A VIDEO! Any of you have any brilliant ideas? Perhaps tomorrow I will run some by you guys. Because I trust your opinions.

6. Draft a letter of proposal to my school for improvements. My friends and I have BIG plans for something. Perhaps details later.

7. Go to a concert thingamagig with Alysa. Because she asked me to and a love her muchly. It's at five and will last who knows how long.

That is all I can think of for now. If my math is correct, this will all take me roughly 4 hours (minus the concert). Which gives me an extra three hours before I need to leave with Alysa. COOL!

Making lists is fun.


With determination,
Maggie


Something I learned today: It doesn't matter that I've already taken my dogs outside twice this morning. As soon as my dad walks downstairs, they are AT the door, begging to go outside. It's ridiculous.

Slept in late... BEDA #28

... yet still managed to be productive.

Last night I stayed up late catching up on blogs and YouTube videos. So I necessarily slept in late, too. By the time I woke up and wandered downstairs, I saw that one of The Wordsmith's friends was over. We shall call her Pips Queak, which is what her sister Sarah calls her. I think I've mentioned this before.

Anyway, I have no idea what I was planning to do today, but The Wordsmith, Pips Queak, and I ended up cleaning and rearranging The Wordsmith's room. It looks naaaaaaice! It made me want to clean, rearrange, and paint my room. Which, you know, I haven't ended up doing. Because I like the idea of these things, but actually doing them is a completely different story.

What I have started is a drawing for my sister to hang up on one of her empty walls. She wanted a picture of a faerie-type person in a red dress with grey wings, so I am obliging. Perhaps I will post pictures when I'm finished. But because I am conceited, I am going to post some pictures of work I've already completed. Enjoy! (Or don't. You can just scroll to the end, you non-enjoyers)






 This is one of the many weekly assignments I did freshman year for Drawing I. It is just pencil and paper, a little smaller than printer-paper.

I didn't quite get my face right, but I keep this one because I love the hair. A lot. Also pencil and paper.

 Sophomore year I took Advanced Drawing, where we got to draw in COLOR! This is pastel and a fairly large scale. Anna is wearing the rainbow hat, and Libby is the ginger.

The summer between my sophomore and junior years I took an oil painting class at the Kansas City Art Institute. I started this during the class and finished after it ended.

This is also an oil painting. It is from a photo of Anna that I took while we were at dinner before a dance at our school. She made the earrings out of shrinky dinks.

My junior year I took Painting. We started out with water colors, which is what this is. Every year the entire class paints this scene from a picture that our teacher projects onto a whiteboard. It's ridiculous how different each painting looks though.

In my painting class we spent about two to three weeks painting peppers. These are also watercolor.

Finally in my class we got to move on to acrylic! This is a portrait of my baby angel, Maud. She is fishing for our beta, who was named Mr. Norris.

This was the last painting that I had time to do in the class. This is The Wordsmith from about six years ago. She's drawing with chalk. Both my mom and my teacher said (independently of one another) that this was very Andrew Wyeth-esque. Which I found highly complimentary.

That is all I shall exhibit for today. I feel very pretentious, and perhaps you think me so. But it is okay if I know I'm being pretentious, right? Right??

I hope all of you had a wonderful first week of school. If not, I at least hope you survived. It's kind of sad that BEDA is almost over. I will try to blog occasionally, and I will certainly keep up with your blogs.

With pretentiousness,

Maggie

Something I learned today: Just by rearranging Katie's room, it seems so much bigger. I wonder what would happen if I rearranged my room, which is already very big. *ponders*