Mood:  silly
Now Playing: Whatever's playing on the radio in XP class. ^_^
Topic: School
Hey, Cake finally bugged me to update my blog. I suppose it's about time, I've been slacking.

School is good, it's just eating my very soul. XD Jameson's two classes rock in that I get to learn the guts and innards of computers, Benson's class is fun because the computers in that classroom have Photoshop 7, and Staci's class is cool 'cause.. it's personality profiling. W00t!

The only down-side is that Jameson's classes require serious and massive studying just to get a good grade on the tests. Alas, this is rather difficult when MY PC HARDWARE BOOK IS STILL NOT HERE!! *Sigh* Oh, well. I've got Brad's book. :ninja:

There really isn't much else going on. Dad got a new laptop (technically from work.. WHAT?! I didn't see him playing SWG with it! ^_^*) that I am very much in love with. Dell Dimension XPS, the thing's gorgeous. And he's got it permanently docked at a 20-SOMETHING INCH FLAT-SCREEN MONITOR! I swear that thing's as large as the kid's computer..

Sadly, he forbids me to touch it. ..Okay, he said I MIGHT be able to use it if I don't take it anywhere, and just leave it there. Honestly, I am perfectly happy to sit there at the desk and revel in the glory that is... Star Wars Galaxies on a larger-than-21-inches flat-screen monitor with an ATI 9800 Radeon graphics card.

Um.. don't think there's much else, just the usual. Oh, except that I'm working on making pretty web layouts in Photoshop. But most people already know that. ^^

Life is good, school is fun, Ninja-Morph rocks. ...Card game Brad and I created when we got bored. Think rummy but with more stealing and "...I hate you"s. ^_^

Okies, gotta run now. XP's over. Side-note, I love my Gabby-chan! :P

Grrrr..
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: Nightmare - Lord of the Dance Soundtrack
Ugh! Mom was taking me to school today and when we got to the light, some guy we passed told us to roll down his window, then started lecturing about how it was a 35 zone, not 40 or 42.

By the way, Mom is very cautious about the speed she's going.

So she's just kinda "Yah, thanks.." and rolls up the window. Then later on, when we're going down the by-ways he turns his lights on. Oh joy, we just miffed a (supposedly) unmarked cop.

So he comes up and starts lecturing us again about speeding. Dad used to be a freakin' cop, Mom knows the procedure for these things. She asks for ID. He flips out a badge. Not picture ID, a badge.

Okay, so far his evidence of being an actual officer iiis.. lights and a badge, both of which can be bought off the street. The guy wasn't even in any kind of uniform! He looked like he was going to work in a freakin' office building.

I wish I knew more about cop procedure just to know if he was bogus or not. Alas, he lectured us and informed us the driver-side brake light was out. Then he left.

Then as we were driving away, Mom glances at me and says, "...His badge said immigration. He was SO far out of his jurisdiction."

At the time I was just like, "Whatever, he's a freak agent on a power trip.. or bogus."

Unfortunately, we didn't think to get his license plate number.

But this leads me to my next point, the one which conjurs a rage that needs to be calmed. When I got home from school, Mom mentioned that when she talked to Dad, Dad wondered if the guy had something else in mind until he saw me and all the kids.

The very THOUGHT of someone wanting to do ANYTHING to my mother makes my blood boil. I don't know if it's protectiveness of her, the baby, or both that enrages me so much, but it doesn't matter. The point is, it does.

"Federal agent" or not, no one is going to do anything to anyone in my family unless they have a VERY good reason. Like they've been a brutal ax murderer for years and have just now been found out. Which would.. y'know.. break me. But that's besides the point.

If anyone did/tried to do anything to someone in my family, it would be one of those situations where size and skill no longer matters. If you're trying to hurt them, I will do whatever I must to take you OUT, and pain no longer exists.

It's almost scary to think of me in that state. I have had nightmares about what would happen if I snapped like that.. thankfully, it takes a LOT to fully enrage me to that point. I've never even come close, despite a few minor offenses towards my siblings.

I get irritated and upset a lot, but never enraged to the point of snapping and giving over to "the dark side" of my psyche. Maybe a better term is my "Hyde".

Either way, I must now go watch the dancing chibi and play Deus Ex to release/calm the rage.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot this part.. on a slightly happier note, it does wonders to just know a situation. Got a Mech-Mail from Gabe saying he was grounded for a stupid reason, couldn't explain now, and would later.

Big surprise, ne? XD I'm just wondering what he did to tick Rob off so much that he's been grounded for almost two weeks. ._.;;;

Alas, now I just miss 'im. Which is much better than being irritated, I can deal with missing. ^^;; As long as he's not on another one of those grounding sprees that lasts a solid several months.. that would suck. o_o

Either way, I'm significantly calmer now. Ja, minna-san!

Yawn, yay, and ow! ..In that order.
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: MUSIC, DUH! ...Um.. yah. Dunno, nothing in particular.
W00T, 3Y3 4M T3H 1337 S4US4G3 H4XX0R!! M33T MY B4BY CTHULHU! ...Okay, WAY too much talking to Fish and Teki.

Which leads me to my next point, SCHOOL IS EATING MY LIFE! Aside from tonight and a few minutes of yesterday, I don't remember much of anything except school. I suppose staying until 6PM twice a week'll do that to ya.

But tonight was uber-cool. Dad finally took me to that archery clinic thing, and I got to practice for an hour. It was so cute, there was this little boy like 5 or 6 next to me with a lil' kid-sized compound, it was SO KAWAII! ...Until I went to get my arrows and realized he was doing almost as well as I was.

The range wasn't big enough for everyone there, so we were sharing targets. But that's besides the point.

The archery range main dude was walking around giving tips, and he got me using the gap method to hit the target. Finally, on the third to last round I got two bulls-eyes.

Obviously, bulls-eyes rock. The sucky part is that where I was aiming and holding the bow and stuff, it pretty much guaranteed the string would catch my coat sleeve on the way back when I let go. The problem is, it didn't just catch the coat sleeve, which WAS pretty thin. I have about a three-inch welt on my inner arm now. Thankfully, it doesn't hurt. Yet.

I got some leather finger-guards, because my first three fingers were in PAIN by the time I was done. And I really don't want caluses. But ohhh, do I ever love archery. Mmm, archery.

Between archery, school, DDR, and SWG, I can deal with the fact that GABE HAS BEEN MISSING WITHOUT EXPLANATION FOR TWO WEEKS!! Deal with it without getting depressed or ticked, that is.

...Well, okay.. without getting depressed. I AM getting rather ticked, though.. >_> Which again brings around another series of conflicts and wonderings, which I refuse to go into.

I must now go play SWG to calm the quickly-rising anger. Ja, minna-chan.

o_O;
Mood:  sad
Now Playing: Nothing, amazingly. XD
Y'know, I realized something today while playing SWG. I reeeaaally miss Gabe.

I've been doing amazingly well for not having seen him in a week and a half, on top of not hearing anything from him or John.

Still.. I hate competing with his life. :/

In other news, school started today. This is going to be the best. Quarter. EVAR! Jameson rocks. And since I'm feeling simple and to the point today, no rant. Expect me to make up for it tomorrow. XD

Growing up kinda sucks..
Mood:  rushed
Now Playing: The Luckiest - Ben Folds Five
Topic: School
It's the strangest feeling ever.. in my eyes, I only have half an hour of childhood left.

My last year of school starts tomorrow, marking the end of my fun. ..Well.. in a poetic way. School in itself is fun, especially the free hang-out time. ^.^

But this is my last year of school. Officially. I have tossed around thoughts of going to a language school/college to get my bachelor's, but that's a few years down the road. Right now, I'm beginning my last year of high school and college, and my last year before everything changes. Drastically.

It's amazing how a simple trip to another country for one year can loom over one's head.

I hate being conflicted. On one hand, I'm dying to get to Japan. It's just kinda.. where I belong. On the other hand, I don't wanna belong by myself. At first, I won't know anyone over there except for the family I'm staying with.

Thankfully, they're cool. But they're still not my family.

Geez, culture shock isn't supposed to happen before I even freakin' get in the other culture!

..I'm gonna make it a point to cherish this one year I have left, to really get to know people. I will make it count, and more than just getting the piece of paper that says I know something.

I will get a job, I will get a car (hopefully Byron's.. >> << >>), I will cherish my short-lived freedom at a place I know and understand, and I will grow close to someone.

..It's hard being a 16-year-old who's expected to function as a full adult. I wish I'd listened to all those people who said to cherish my childhood. If only they could see now how very right they are.

Honestly, for only having experienced 16 years of it.. in my eyes, I've had a full life. Granted, what happened for five years of it wouldn't matter to anyone but a very small few. But those five years did and always will mean the world to me.

Okay, enough being philisophical and dreamy. I've gotta get to bed so I can get to the solid stuff of school.

..Strangely enough, it helps to know that I haven't been a child for a very long time. ^^ I'm just now required to prove it.

Another little coolness. ^.^
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: The Luckiest - Ben Folds Five & Diamonds - Gretchen
Wow, talk about nostalgia and rude awakenings. Cake was going through the archive on his blog, and found an entry from November of 2003, where he mentions me. Something about how I was depressed like a friend of his friend, and it was depressing him. ..I think.

At first, I was just like, ?..I was depressed??

Then I remembered when November of 2003 was. Two months after September. Only three people know what major event occurred in September, including the one who caused it..

But looking back, I was shocked to realize that I?m not that person anymore. I don?t know how I?ve grown, but I have. I was a little kid back then. I?ll admit, in a lot of ways I still am a kid. But hey, I?m only 16. The point is, I?m more adult than I was just a year ago.

Yah, I know everyone changes. ?It?s a natural occurrence that happens to everyone, what?s the big deal?!?, right?

I honestly don?t know why that struck me so hard. Maybe it means I went through a hardship, and I overcame it.

..But I doubt that?s it, I still have flashbacks. Painful ones. Even the ?happy? ones are painful.

Knowing me, I?d have to guess that it just stuns me to realize how many stages of me people have put up with. Especially Gabe..

But anywho, I always get that stunned silence when I realize how much people care about me.

You guys have put up with so much crap from me.. you know who you are. And I thank you deeply. Couldn?t survive myself without ya guys. ^^

...Wow, I can make a rant out of anything, can?t I? o_O Guess there?s never any lack of emotionally-charged reading material with me around, eh? ^_^;;;

Wow..
Mood:  special
Now Playing: The Luckiest - Ben Folds Five
Today was pretty standard.. Jedi Starfighter, DDR, internet.

But it's amazing how much power one song can hold. Found this song.. *Points above* ..and now it's like suddenly everything's okay. Japan's so much farther away.. and so are all of my mistakes.

I guess I just needed a reminder to stop worrying about what'll happen in two years or what happened in years past, and pay attention to the here and now - whether it's good, bad, or just is.

Thankfully, there's more good than bad.

..Much more good. *Smiles*

Coming out of the shell hurts..
Mood:  hug me
Now Playing: Something About Us - Daft Punk
I'm feeling much better, just slightly bummed. It's like after years of being an anti-social and wanting people to leave me alone, I have discovered my niche. Realized I have a posse of people who are all weird in their own way, and they WANT to hang out with me. They don't care how weird I am, they wanna get to know me.

And I've realized this just in time to only have one year left...

Mom and I got talking about it, because it seems like everyone's scheduling things on the worst possible date. Byron wants to get a group of people to go see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow on the 17th, Jen's scheduling a sleepover for the girls on the 17th, and Dad's gone on the 17th.

On top of Mom being due in three months.

She's not too thrilled about the idea of having the kids overnight by herself with no helper, but I think she's noticed how much I've been trying to be social lately. She said she'd think about it.

But there was something else she said, something I've somehow managed to miss. "Life will still continue after Japan. The people you want to hang out with will still be here, and then you'll be old enough to have more freedom."

I guess I'm scared of having changed so much that we'll no longer click, or that I won't have changed and they will. Or that they'll simply not be here anymore. Or that they'll be busy with others and have no time for me.

Honestly, I'm dying to get to Japan. It's where my heart has been for years, it's where I belong. Several people have already said I'm a Japanese in a white girl's body. Heh..

I'm just scared of missing an entire year of my best friend's lives. Or maybe I'm scared of missing THEM for an entire year. I never have dealt with change well, and going to/being in Japan is going to be the biggest change I've EVER gone through.

Either way, Mom's right. I'm.. particularly emotional at the moment.. *Cough, shifty glances* ..Sleep would do me well. I'll have plenty of time to mull it over anyway. I do still have a whole year left. B'sides, gotta get ready to concentrate on school.

I suppose on the plus side, I'm very "passionate" about my friendships. ^.^;

Bluh..
Mood:  down
Now Playing: Missing - Evanescence
I feel like crap.

I'm in hibernation mode, fighting a cold. It almost hit me earlier, but dinner seemed to ward it off for now. I better be feeling good tomorrow, so help me if I have to miss the Bourne Supremacy with me posse. >_>

Unfortunately, when I get sick, my head gets.. wonky, for lack of a better term. It didn't help that HE went and ranted about.. oh, forget it. I'm on the brink of giving up and can't say anything. Oi..

On top of everything else, I feel very lonely here in my blog. I gave links, but I honestly don't know if it's ever read. Oh well, I suppose I always have myself. Maybe I can distract myself from thinking about it, lest this wonkiness turn into a funk. Lord knows I get into enough of those already..

I get tired of being emotionally unstable. Stupid rocky childhood.

.....This music is SO not helping.

*Le sigh*
Now Playing: DAFT PUNK, BABAY!
Well, BBQ's over. Dionna didn't really say anything, except for the "Hiya!" when I first got there. Honestly, I'm okay with that.

I understand why now.

We were "friends" at a young age, but we've grown in two drastically different directions. I chose the way of the nerd, the artist, at some times the way of the outcast.. the one who strives to be different and is proud of her weirdness.

She chose the way of fitting in. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's simply what she chose.

I realized this as I hung out with what I've come to call my posse. Elizabeth, Joyanna, Maria, and (recently) Byron. None of us are anywhere near "normal", which is good. I have somewhere I fit in, for the first time in a long time.

As long as we have our Speed and Gin. *Snickers* Ah, how we're obsessed with card games.