BEDA Day 2: Questionnaire

What’s your name? 

I go by a lot of names. It seems that every person who meets me comes up with a new name for me. They include:

Margaret, my given name. It is the name that appears on my birth certificate. It is official and whatnot.

Maggie: my given nickname. It is the only name I went by for many many years of my life. 

Mags: a name that, for many years, I only let my family call me.

Marge: I hated this name passionately, but now I like it.

Magatha: At least 3 of my friends have independently of each other come up with this nickname. 

Margo: A little troll named Luke came up with this name for me. Apparently my own name was not good enough for him, and so he had to replace it with this, and then proceed to get all of my internet friends to call me Margo, as well.

That's enough for now. 

How old are you?

At the moment I am 18, but next month I'll turn 19. I know, I am such a big girl. 

How long have you been blogging? (Or is this your first try?)

I have been blogging since last August, so for a year. Although I was not very consistent during this past year at updating. No excuses, I just wasn't. 

How did you come up with your blog’s name?

It was my youtube username, which I came up with in a moment of woeful lack of creativity. I am not very fond of it. 

What’s your Hogwarts House?

I am a Ravenclaw! But I am also a Hufflepuff. I am about 50/50.

What do you like to read?

Uhhhhhhhh, books? Sometimes. And math problems. Those are delicious. Also, my friends' blogs. And twitter. Just things. I like reading.

What do you like to watch?

Paint drying.

What’s the best song you listened to today?

You are lucky that I even listened to music today. I sometimes go days without listening to music. But today the best song I listened to was probably... Addicted to Love by Florence and the Machine.

Have you done anything really fun recently?

WELL SINCE YOU ASKED! I went to VidCon this past weekend! It was amazing, I loved seeing those of my internet friends that I got to see. They are amazing and I miss them greatly. 

In addition to BEDA, are you doing any other awesome things in August?

Yes! I am moving to Iowa for the next 9 months. On the 16th I move into my dorm room and start a grand adventure of learning and such like. 

Anything else you’d like to add?

Only that I apologize for this shoddy blog. I arrived at Florida late this afternoon and spent some time at the beach. I plan on taking it easy the rest of the evening, which is why there was little effort put into this blog. I PROMISE that the rest of my blog will be QUALITY and INTERESTING and BETTER THAN THIS. 

With questionostiy,

Maggie

BEDA Day 1: The VidCon Recount

At the moment, I am sitting in my dad’s minivan on some highway in Missouri. Or perhaps it is Arkansas now… I’m not entirely sure.

At 6:30 this morning, my mom called up to my room and woke me up so I could pile into this vehicle with my family and spend 12 hours driving. We are on the 5^th hour right now, so there is quite a long time left to go. I figured, though, that talking about VidCon would take a long time, and am thus getting an early start. If you will kindly continue reading, you will discover whether or not I was able to collect my thoughts in a coherent and interesting manner.

VidCon: The week before

Before VidCon, Celine came to stay a week at my house. All weekend we kept it a secret, nearly dying when we wanted to share our hysterical exploits on Twitter, and on Sunday night we posted this video. It was strange to have Celine at my house all week, only in that it wasn’t strange at all. If that makes sense. She was really the first internet friend that I had met in person, and it calmed the nerves I’d had that it would be awkward or bad or that my friends wouldn’t like me as much in real life.

VidCon: En Route

On Thursday afternoon, Celine and I finished packing and then blasted music and danced, because I needed to work off some of my antsy energy. Waiting was agonizing, because I knew that there were just a few mere hours between me and some of my best friends.

At 1 in the afternoon, my dad came home to take us to the airport. We got there and snuck through security without hazard, but our flight had been delayed by 40 minutes. So we sat and listened to Celine’s iPod: Ministry of Magic, Starship soundtrack, etc. When we eventually boarded the plane and ascended however many dizzying feet into the air, Celine pulled out her laptop and we watched Anastasia. For the next couple hours I had one line from Rasputin’s song stuck in my head, and at random times I’d burst out singing, “In the dark of the night, the creatures will find you! Ooh-waa-ooh!”

When we landed at LAX, we walked toward baggage claim, which was where the shuttle we were taking also claimed to be (see what I did there?)* Soon we boarded the shuttle, which already had three other adolescents. I entertained the idea that they were VidCon people, but decided not to ask. Within minutes, however, it was completely obvious that they, too, were VidCon bound. They dropped tumblr and twitter terms like it was nobody’s business. They even talked about Vondell Swain. Definitely nerdfighters.

At one point, the conversation in the general shuttle called for everyone to turn and look at something, and as I turned back, I was shocked to see that not only had these people been talking ABOUT Vondell Swain, they were talking TO him. I turned forward again and smiled to myself. So this is what going to an internet conference is, eh? You ride on a shuttle with people who make t-shirts and postcards for notable names in nerdfighteria, and thusly become notable themselves. But then I kind of made an idiot of myself by trying to crack a joke about a smurf, and he just didn’t think it was funny.**

Upon arrival at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Celine and I beelined for the check-in desk (and by beelined, I mean looked around very confused trying to figure out which desk was the FRONT one).

As soon as we checked in and got on the elevator, Hank Green rushed on behind us. He turned to us and the few other people and uttered a deliciously awkward “Hey guysss…” accompanied by a sheepish smile. A moment later, Dave Days walked on, and Hank said, “Oh! I’d just been looking for you!” We went up a couple of floors, they chatted, exited, and were replaced by Dan Brown. I felt like I was in some sort of weird joke. I texted Luke to tell him, and he thought I WAS joking. But I wasn’t. This was all very real. I was at VidCon. After months and months of anticipation, I was finally, actually, physically, and excitedly there.

VidCon: Thursday night

It was a long time before I saw any of my friends, much too long. They had arrived a lot earlier than me and Celine, and had gone to the Contour show at a library. But we did see Diana, who scared the bejeezus out of me by sneaking up on us and glomping Celine, which nearly barreled her into me as I was focused on sending a text.

For the next few hours, Celine and I hung out by the pool talking while being mad at the others for going to the Contour and getting stuck there without a bus to take back. But we finally met up with them in the lobby. I cannot say how elated I was to finally see them. After months of being friends with someone, a hug is so long overdue.

There is absolutely no way for me to write down everything that happened this past weekend, nor for me to express how great it was to just BE with these people. I wasn’t at VidCon to follow around my favorite youtubers, to get pictures, or ask for autographs. I was there to be with some of the best friends a silly undeserving girl could ask for, and to experience it all with them. Experience ALL the things.

Love you: those at VidCon, those at noCdiV, and everyone in between.

Maggie <3

*I should just learn to let a joke be.

**The seeming irrelevance of this joke is played up to make myself look like more of an idiot, but also to spare you the time of reading the entire explanation. I promise, it wasn’t terribly irrelevant or weird.

I'm on a Plane

Running on I do not even know how NOT many hours of sleep, my mind starts to do weird things. For example:

On the plane ride home from VidCon, I had dozed off as we soared above the clouds (the view was majestic; the voluminous cumulonimbus clouds were bright and full, like palaces in the sky). I woke up in the nick of time* because the nice man passing out snacks had just given my row their peanuts and pita chips, and he was kind enough to notice I'd woken up and was looking blearily horrified at him, thinking that I had stupidly missed my precious window of snacking opportunity.

After I happily ate my airline snack (and had carefully stowed the smaller peanut wrapper inside the pita chip wrapper), I decided to take in my surroundings. I noticed that drink orders were being taken, but this looked like a laborious process, and I was not too much bothered that it seemed like I would have to wait a long while for my own drink. I turned my gaze to the front of the cabin, where one of the (incredibly nice) flight attendants was standing, almost blocking the entrance to what I assumed was the bathroom, since I'd seen passengers go in there and I KNOW I didn't get on a flight that lets people fly the plane in the cockpit (I asked).

But as she stood there looking around, I found myself theorizing about all of the reasons she could be standing there, almost as a sentry. Maybe the bathroom was out of commission, so she had to stand guard and turn away everyone who tried to go in. Or maybe there was a threat on the plane. After all, her darting glance from passenger to passenger seemed to be rather concerned. Or maybe...

As I was fabricating the next wild scenario, her gaze turned on me. I suddenly felt that she knew I must be onto something. Or maybe she would be offended that I was staring at her, I don't know. The point is that my first instinct when I had been caught was to slink low into my chair so she couldn't see me.

Then-- and this is the part where you know for sure that I hadn't slept more than 60 minutes in the past 26 hours-- I slowly peeked over the top of the chair. Had she still been looking, she would have seen first the top of my messy I-just-danced-all-last-night-and-then-didn't-sleep-or-shower-lol hair, then my forehead an agonizing moment later... then my eyebrows, furrowed in concentration... and finally the top of my glasses and a crazed stare in my eyes.

I started to imagine that I was a creature on the wild Savannah, and I was stalking my prey. I even began an internal monologue, which went something like this:

The fearsome hunter slowly raised its deadly gaze over the blue plastic canvas foliage concealing it from it's prey.

And then I stopped internally narrating (particularly after I had imagined the blue plastic canvas covering of the airline seats a "natural" habitat) and I started thinking about my life and my choices. I'm an 18 year old girl, college-bound, with high hopes for my future. Yet I am bursting to the brim with odd whims and fancies like pretending to stalk my flight attendant. What does it mean?

Well, I'll be damned if it didn't mean I pulled out a pad of paper and wrote all this down while sipping daintily from the apple juice I requested from the flight attendant. My dears, it is time to start BEDA.

Without sleep,
Maggie


*While I was writing this, I found myself wondering where on earth the phrase "in the nick of time" came from. How does it even make sense? Is Bihm a timelord? Well, the answer to that question is obvious, but it doesn't explain the existence of the phrase, which I will explain.... now! The "nick" part of the phrase refers to a small, precise cut; a nick in your arm, finger or other extremity. Since a "nick" is a small, precise thing, something that happens "in the nick of time" happens in a small, precise time period. The more you know. Back to the top.

School Blog??

Today, my dearest blog readers, I come to you from a free period at school. I have finished what homework absolutely needs to be completed, and I decided that this would be a nice change from my usual “oh crap, it is late at night and I still need to blog stress stress stress” posts. Not that I really get stressed about it... I would just rather sleep.

Recently I’ve been waging an internal battle with myself over a rather pressing issue-- should I go to prom or not? Do not answer that.

If you saw earlier today, I tweeted saying that instead of going to prom I was going to go bowling, watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 at my friend’s house, and spend the night there. That had been the plan, but a few of my friends were rather upset that I had decided not to go. And because of them I changed my mind (again) and bought my ticket. *le sigh*

I am not opposed to prom in and of itself. I love the idea of spending a night dancing with my classmates. But it is made so FREAKING stressful by the cost, the location, the parking, the dress, the contract, GAH.

To alleviate the stress of the situation I am going to avoid as much of the typical prom goings-on as possible. Here is a list of what I AM and AM NOT going to do:

1. I AM NOT going to buy a dress. I already have dresses from various other dances that I can reuse. Honestly, the only stress I want from a dress is having to choose among my homecoming dress (sophomore year), my piano recital dress (junior year), and my graduation dress (lol 8th grade).*

2. I AM NOT getting my hair, nails, or what-have-you done. I’m going to shower and let my hair do what it pleases (which it would do, regardless). And I can guarantee you I will not be tanning weeks in advance. I do rather like being cancer-free and having my natural skin-tone.

3. I AM NOT driving, renting a limo, or tagging along on one of the party buses. The parking at the downtown venue is going to be hell, because there are about 7 other events going on at the same time. No, instead my friends and I decided that we are taking the city bus. Yes, we are riding the CITY BUS to prom. *does the classy dance*

4. I AM going by myself. No date. Who would I take? Even if I found someone last minute who I could take, I would SO much rather dance with my friends than hang out with someone I barely know. This is MY prom and my friend’s prom, I’m going to party with THEM.

5. I AM going to an afterparty. Not an afterparty with alcohol, drugs, or loud music and whatever else they do. We decided to continue with our plan to watch Deathly Hallows afterward. And the sleepover is still a go.

That is my list, dear readers. I began this blog thinking that I would list for you the reasons I didn’t want to go to prom in the first place, but I think this is more hopeful, uplifting, and overall positive. Have a lovely day, party hard, and find time to sleep. *is full of wisdom*


With listfullness,
Maggie


*Yes, it still fits me. In fact, I’d say it fits better now. I sure as hell look better in it than I did as an awkward 8th grader. *modest*

Dame Fuzz Bucket

I have a cat on my lap. She is fuzzy and purry.

I find that I am tired and in need of sleep yet again, but here is my blog, needing to be written. And again, I do not know what to say.

Remember how during BEDA last year I never said that? "I don't know what to say." I always had something to say.

For the month leading up to August, I kept a file on my phone where I would [metaphorically] scribble ideas for blogs, in the (what I thought was inevitable) case that I ran out of things to say. But I never did! I always had something to talk about. I became rather good at turning mundane experiences into interesting pieces of writing. It certainly made me understand a lot more about Maureen Johnson, that is for sure.

I don't know what is up. A lot has happened since BEDA 2010 ended, and I want to find that odd stability that came from blogging every day. I think it helped me collect my thoughts and kept me from going-- well. Never mind. I was already mad. But you get my point, right dear blog readers?

I think I shall leave it at that. I'm going to go cuddle with my cat and try to sleep.


With a fuzzbucket,
Maggie


PS Ruth, you can TOTALLY be High Secretary of Marshmallows (and their affairs). I've been looking for someone to fill that post. To apply, you just have to play chubby bunny.

Not much of a blog, but okay

Does anyone happen to have a Twinkie costume? Or perhaps a cockroach costume? Both would be quite helpful right about now.

IN OTHER NEWS! The performance for senior productions begin this week, and I am getting so very very excited. I am ridiculously pleased with how ours has come along. I plan on filming it and posting for your viewing pleasure.

To be quite honest, I have no idea what to say. Which is STRANGE, because I did not have this problem during August, or even afterward. But it's probably because my life is consumed with homework (which I have little motivation to do), this play, work, and all manner of things that change from week to week.

This is going to be a cop-out blog, I'M SORRY! I'm going to go celebrate Paige's birthday with some apples to apples and skype.

With little to update,
Maggie

PS. I'm glad you support my efforts to rule the world. I promise you will receive compensation in some form. Perhaps a select position on my council. Or cookies.

Why I Should Be Ruler of the World

(For my writing class I am to write an I Believe essay, modeled after NPR's program. This is my rough draft, but I thought you, my dear blog readers, would be amused by it.)

The world is full of things that just generally suck: Hummers, mosquitos, the flu, really terrible laws, commercials, et cetera. As a child, I used to contemplate these things that I found so irksome and useless, then come up with ways to eradicate them. For example, as a 7 year old, I had the revelation that to get rid of all cigarettes, one could simply bomb all factories that produced them (provided that all personnel was vacated and that no surrounding damage was done).

Unfortunately for me, none of my brilliant ideas were ever adopted. My status as a child was what first hindered me, but I waited patiently to grow up-- I assumed I would have more say in what goes on in the world once I could vote.

Now, as a registered voter, I see that I still have little to no say in what goes on anywhere. This is what began my plan to take over the world. Here is my resume, and I hope you will see that I am qualified:

To start off, I am a rational human being capable of thinking carefully over any and all situations. As long as I have a team of trusty advisors (whom I have already appointed, based on their own qualifications), I anticipate that I will be able to choose the best course of action in any given situation.

Additionally, I will not agree with everyone, nor will everyone agree with my policies. I am aware that all humans have different opinions-- however, I would like to assert that mine are the best, and therefore I am more qualified than others to actually make decisions.

As a leader, I would not turn into a tyrant such as Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, and most certainly NOT Adolf Hitler. I can guarantee this for many reasons, but most importantly because I am a woman. Women do not make good evil overlords, because they tend to have more compassion for others. Personally I would not make a good evil leader because I am rather motherly by nature.

With these qualifications and others, I think I could very successfully rule the world. No longer would there be gas-guzzling hummers, all mosquitos would be kept in quarantine away from human life, repressive laws would be eradicated, commercials would exist on only their own channels for the viewing pleasure of those who really want to watch them. And all cigarette factories would be converted into community gardens (not bombed). These are things that I believe in, and I believe I would make an excellently benign dictator.

With dictatorliness,

Maggie