Ranger Hawk

How long has it been?

2010-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

I swear, every time I log onto Blogger to post I get distracted/called away/uninspired...anyways, my sister and I are going to the corn maze with our youth group today. Looking forward to it as I've never been in all 16 years of living here!

And I forgot how good The Prince of Egypt is--my brothers are watching it for the first time and I haven't seen it in ages! But my goodness, I'm getting chills through it. Amazing movie--I wish they had made more!

I'm halfway through the term and I finished my midterms with pretty decent scores! I'm taking Biology, and I believe we're going to start studying cells soon, which is exciting. So far all we've done is stare at juniper trees for hours to relate our readings of Ecosystems and Biomes with the tree. I'm a lab-type person; I love staring through a microscope and slicing things open with a shiny little knife. My dad's suggested I become a writer since I love writing so much, but I think I'm going to end up doing something in the medical/science field and possibly write on the side.

Which reminds me--NaNoWriMo starts in a little more than a week! I'm all ready to go; I know which novel I'm going to write and I'm hopefully going to reach the 50,000 words this year (last year I think I only made it to 36,000). Lately all I've been writing is the random poem here and there, as a way to work out my emotions when I feel down (hence I have quite a few poems). Ha, but anyways, I'm hoping this will incite me to start writing novels again.

I was also introduced to this amazing site called Save the Words, where you can "adopt" a word and save it from extinction. I adopted "sagittipotent," meaning "one who is highly skilled with a bow." Because yes, I am a word nerd. On that note, I just discovered another beautiful long word - éclaircissement, I believe - while reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

Which reminds me of another tangent; lately I've been reading Gothic/Victorian-era novels, namely by Austen, the Brontë sisters, and Edgar Allan Poe (love his work!), because the contemporary teenage fiction I've been reading has just been...junk. I've had some recommendations and when I read them, they were too reminiscent of Twilight (at least what I've heard of Twilight, seeing as I've never actually read those books). I mean, an angsty, moody heroine who calls herself plain and yet somehow draws the attention of some mysterious hot guy who is, in actuality, some magical humanoid? Not my cup of tea, thank you!

But reading literature--I find it's more interesting, challenging, and enjoyable. That's not to say that I don't enjoy some contemporary work; the Ranger's Apprentice series, the Bartimaeus trilogy, The Looking Glass Wars--those are some of my favorite books as well. I find it's nice to alternate once in a while, to have a change of pace for my poor little brain.

And seeing as my brother disappeared from the couch and I'm now hearing a shrill whistle being blown from my parents' room, I think it's about time for me to sign out now.

Fainting's not all it's cracked up to be

2010-07-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered what happens to a person's brain when they go unconscious. Are they aware? Does it hurt? I've only seen one person faint in my life and she didn't remember a single thing about it. Spooked me out.

Well, this morning I felt pretty sick, like I was going to lose my breakfast, so I headed for the bathroom. As I went down the hall, though, everything suddenly started going dark and patchy--you know how it feels when you've been staring at the computer for a while and then go outside? It was like that, only much darker.

I must have sat down on the ground, though I don't remember doing that, because the next thing I remember was my vision completely disappearing--everything was black, even though my eyes were open, and I saw little points of light, while the inside of my head was roaring and plugged.

I started yelling for my mom, but she couldn't hear me. I began to bang my hand on the floor (don't know what I thought I was going to accomplish by that!). My brain had a fuzzy feeling like I was half-asleep, half-awake, and my stomach felt horrible.

Suddenly it was like the lights came on and I was able to kind of see. Then I completely snapped out of it and felt like I had just woken up.

Fainting wasn't as interesting as I thought it was going to be. Hurt like hell, too.

It's funny how you find you enjoy your life when you're happy to be alive

2010-07-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when you can see or hear God speaking to you so clearly, especially in those times when you need it?

I sure do.

Today, as I was sitting in my room and crying and needing something--needing God--my eyes fell upon the top of the bookshelf, where my Bibles and devotionals are. I stood and took down the Living Bible version.

As I sat on the floor again, I said a quick prayer: "God, please, just speak to me through this."

Almost before I was done praying, I had opened the Bible as casually as I could and let it fall open upon whichever page it would. My eyes flashed up to the book: Ecclesiastes. Well, that book generally tends to make me feel worse than before, as Solomon spends most of the time bemoaning the fact that "everything under the sun is meaningless." I really was not in the mood to hear that; after all, I was looking for the complete opposite, something about hope.

But as my gaze fell down the column, the verses leapt out at me and my eyes filled with tears of gratitude as I read the words that God was so clearly speaking to me:

"It is a wonderful thing to be alive!"

I read those words over and over again. It doesn't get much clearer than that, after all.

"If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer, and that everything down here is futile in comparison. Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, can make serious mistakes." (Ecclesiastes 11:7-9)

All I could do after reading this and seeing God's word speaking to me was smile through my tears and whisper, "Thank you God."

Vegetarianism (don't worry, I'm not going to get all preachy on you)

2010-06-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

So, I'm vegetarian. And that includes not eating fish, by the way. This is a bit off-topic, but I'm pretty tired of the first thing people saying when I tell them I'm veg is, "So, do you eat fish??" Well gee, I just said I don't like eating dead animals...and that fish certainly doesn't look alive to me...

Anyways, apparently I'm a "lacto-ovo vegetarian," which means I eat dairy products and eggs, but no meat. There are other types, too, like the lacto vegetarian, where you eat dairy products but no eggs, or an ovo vegetarian where (you guessed it) you eat eggs and no dairy products. Heck, I didn't even know they had all of these specific categories for vegetarians; I thought it was just vegetarianism or veganism (no consumption of animal products at all, which usually extends to clothes and other material goods, too). And there's no way I'll be a vegan; I love eggs and ice cream too much for that.

I'm also a picky eater. Hmm...vegetarian and picky eater...combine the two and what do you get?

Someone with a really bad diet who gets in trouble with the doctor and her parents for not eating right. >.<

So what am I doing to rectify this? Research. I find that when I treat something like it's a school project that my grade's dependent upon, I end up doing a fairly decent job on it. So I'm looking up the different sources of iron, protein, calcium, etc., that I can eat to balance my diet so I'm not a walking bundle of carbs. What have I found so far?

I should be eating soy products, legumes, and blackstrap molasses. YUMMY. I don't even know what the heck blackstrap molasses is. Sounds like an ingredient for a pirate's bottle o' rum.

Another thing I'm lacking in my diet is iron. My mom says that's why I'm always so lethargic, and also why I have concentration issues. What are some good sources of iron? Spinach. Tofu. And that blackstrap molasses.

Does this sound like a party waiting to happen or what?

So, why the sudden interest in healthy dieting? Well, for starters, I'm sick of being a walking zombie through the day. Apparently a good diet helps with the mood, too, and I'm really tired of getting that depressive feeling. And it's finally hitting home that I'm going to be an official, emancipated adult in two years--less, actually. And I have no freakin' idea how I'm going to survive that.

You see, the thing is I don't really care enough about myself to put any effort into eating right, or doing anything right for my body, for that matter.

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" pretty much sums it up when it comes to my health. But I realize that I need to care, or else I'm going to be a sickly person who, ironically enough, might end up being an animal doctor.

So. The point to this. Lots of spinach, soy, beans, and broccoli for me from now on (and even that blackstrap stuff). Lessen my pickiness and increase my tolerance.

Hopefully, when I'm older and wiser, this'll all pay off and I'll be able to look back at it appreciatively. I have a feeling that'll be a long time coming, though.

A quick update, before I have to do the dishes...

2010-06-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

I finished my novel! I'm so excited, because finally, after about two and a half years, I've written the end. And it feels so good.

Now I just have to edit it. Slightly less thrilled about that daunting prospect. But I know I'll be glad to get that done, too. Afterwards, I'll get some reader feedback (namely, my family). And then I suppose the next step would be query letters--for potential publishing. But I don't want to think about that yet because it's summer, I'm lazy, and I'm done stressing about school, so I don't need another thing to think about just yet.

Speaking of school...I got an A in my Chemistry class, and I am sooo relieved! That final was grueling. It was some standardized Gen. Chem. test that apparently Harvard and MIT use for their finals. Why on earth our little community college is testing with it, I haven't the faintest.

Anyways, our teacher told us that out of the 70 questions on the test, the average number of correct answers was 30. That's right, 30 out of 70. She said she'd be grading on a huge curve, and that all she expected was for us to do our best--and that there'd be quite a few problems that we wouldn't understand, because we hadn't covered any of that information (Gibbs Free Law, entropy, etc.)

Needless to say, I didn't go into it with the greatest of expectations. And afterwards, I didn't feel too great about it either.

So, upon getting my grade and finding that I had gotten 33/70 questions right, and that the average score for the rest of the class had been 26/70, and that after she had curved it and gotten our "normalized" score, I ended up with 94/100, which meant I got an A for the final grade.

Way to end the school year, I'd say!

'Ello 'ello

2010-05-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for my weekly posting! But hey, it paid off...I got a fairly good grade on my first chemistry midterm, so studying insteady of blogging has its advantages, yes?

Once again, I'm here in the computer lab waiting for my ride...and I'm very hungry. One sandwich four hours ago just does not cut it. And I'm sure the guy sitting by me is thinking I'm a creeper because I keep looking over his head out the window to see whether the car's here yet...

On a lighter note, the weekend was awesome. I went to an event called the Christian Youth Summit, where there were a bunch of speakers, all talking about standing firm in our faith. It was a great reminder for a couple of things for me: first, a boy cannot replace God, no matter how amazing he might be, and secondly, life is meant to be filled with joy, and being depressed all the time isn't how God wants anyone to live.

Aaaand for my 16th birthday I got a cellphone that takes pictures and has ringtone downloading capability; yay!

Oh, and I finally got Tim Burton's "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy" (small book of his short poems and illustrations) and it's great. Macabre, yes, but also cute, in a way.

Well, that's it for now, you're caught up on the wonderfully exciting and eventful life of Katie with the Grumbling Stomach. I just noticed, I get really sarcastic when I'm hungry; like, more so than usual.

Anyways, cheers!

Reached a goal!

2010-04-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

I know it's been more than a week since my last post, but before my blog was being really weird and redirecting me to some other advertising site...right now it's not acting up, though, so I'm back for a quick post!

An update on my novel: I have officially written over 100,000 words! I am soooo excited; most fantasy novels are in the 75-100k word range, often with them going over that. Getting to the 100k mark was my goal for the year, and I'm not even done with my book yet! After I finish it, I'll get to work doing that lovely job called editing and then I'll be ready to look into - dare I say it? - publishing.

I already have ideas for several more books...most of them are in the S&S fantasy (Sword & Sorcery - think Lord of the Rings or Narnia-type fantasy), and a couple are in the Gothic/horror genre (think Frankenstein and the original Dracula - not Friday the 13th). If only I had more time!

Actually, if I were to try and write them all, I'd have to become a complete hermit, staying in my room and writing feverishly, emerging only when someone has chocolate...

Boredom in a most evident sense

2010-04-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking it, too.

She's such a bad blogger...always forgetting she even has one, and when she does remember she never knows what to talk about, so ends up rambling on and on about inconsequential things...much like now...

Well. In an attempt to exercise my writing and creativity skills, I am going to try to post at least once a week. Now, this whole plan may crash and burn, but I'm going to try it anyways.

So here I go.

...

....

......

...hmm...

...what to post about....

.........

Ooh, how about:

Happy April Fools Day!
or not, if you happen to be the prankee

I haven't had any pranks played on me today...yet...

Do you like how utterly boring and nonsensical this whole post has been? I apologize for wasting your time...which reminds me of a song..."Hypnotized" by Mcfly...I think I'll post a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgN6gL5AyM

That should keep you occupied for about 3 minutes...unless you don't listen to it the whole way through...I don't blame you if you don't...do you like how many ellipses I've used in this post? They drive me crazy usually...when someone else does it...does it drive you crazy? I'll stop now if it does...whoops.

I'm hungry; didn't really have any breakfast, had to dash to chemistry - don't even get me started on that, though, because I'll ramble on about it and I don't feel like complaining since I'm in a fairly good mood (I'll save it for another post) - and now I'm waiting for my ride home, I've been hanging around in the computer lab for about two hours (that isn't a complaint, by the way)...and I'm hungry (but that is a complaint). Hm, I said I wouldn't do any more ellipses, didn't I? Sorry.

I'm in such a writing mood; I just want to finish my novel and submit it. I've gotten about 85,000 words in it so far, which is pretty good since most fantasy novels are around the 100,000+ word mark. Hopefully it'll actually be worth reading.

Well, I think I'll sign off now. This was a horrendously long post, wasn't it? But then again, I haven't posted for a while, so I'm making up for it now.

To anyone who actually read this, and not just the April Fools' part (since that was in big type, I don't think anyone could miss it), thanks for sticking it through! Hopefully I'll post something more post-worthy and interesting and not completely random later on.

*salutes*

Superbowl commercials

2010-02-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

So who watched the Superbowl?

I did not.

Watching a bunch of guys running around on a field, slamming into each other, just isn't my thing.

However, the commercials are always great. So, after the Superbowl, I ended up watching on YouTube all of the ads that were on.

I liked the Google one, and also the Budweiser one (anything with horses is a win for me!), but my favorite by far was this one.

And now I have another question for you: what was your favorite ad?

Movie review: Sherlock Holmes

2010-01-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

I finally saw Sherlock Holmes last night, and the bottom line is: awesome movie, go see it in theaters!

Robert Downey Jr. did an excellent job as Holmes, whose personality was brilliant and yet eccentric (which, I'm finding, is just the sort of character I like), and he portrayed the character very well. Jude Law played Watson, and he did a great job as well. They also had good chemistry together as partners.

There was a lot of humor throughout the movie, although you needed to pay attention when they - especially Holmes - were talking. What with his accent, fast speaking, and low voice, it was hard to catch some of the dialogue.

The plot itself was good; a man who's been tried and hanged for murder and the use of "black magic" supposedly rises from the grave to finish his evil work, and Holmes must find and stop him.

It's definitely a movie I'd watch again! For those of you who have seen it, what did you think? For those of you who haven't, are you planning to see it?

That great debate

2009-12-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

What are your plans for New Year's Eve tomorrow? Are you going to stay up late and welcome in the new year? Or are you just going to catch up on some much-needed sleep and when you wake up, you wake up, and it'll be the new year.

I'm torn between the two; after all, it's fun to stay up late, watching movies or whatever, until your dad, if he hasn't already fallen asleep, says, "Well, it's midnight. Happy New Year, I'm going to bed now."

On the other hand, though, why on earth would I stay up to midnight, knowing that I won't be able to fall asleep until an hour later, and that any chances of me sleeping in past 7 are virtually nil (due to active little brothers)?

So I've come to a dilemma here; should I:

stay up late watching reruns of Chuck on Hulu.com and get five whole hours of sleep
go to bed and have eight hours of sleep, some of which are punctuated by my recurring nightmares - yes, they are nightmares - of showing up late for Chemistry class and failing exams

You decide! =)

Oh, and have a very happy New Year!

The eve of Christmas Eve

2009-12-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true. Only two more days until Christmas, and I am excited! The music, the lights, the festive moods...and of course our Savior's birth! Christmas is such a meaningful time of year. So here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Where'd the year go? and other random musings

2009-12-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, Christmas is almost here. The year's passed by so quickly, I don't know where it's gone! It's weird to think that 2010 isn't too far off, and with it a new year. In four months I'll be 16 and driving, and therefore dangerous. ;) Two years from that, I'll be 18 and an adult (well, officially, that is). I'll be moving to a different place to attend a university for 6 or more years. It's overwhelming, I'll admit. And definitely scary, too. And yet, it's an adventure. I read so many books and watch movies about people undertaking dangerous, exciting quests or missions, and yet for my own I feel so inadequately ready.

And now I'm getting philosophical again. This is what happens when my mind is allowed to wander.

Hmm...it's raining outside and the skies are gray. Blech. Or however you spell that. Whenever I feel down or depressed, I try to counter it by praying, listening to uplifting music, and writing. It helps me get all of my whirling thoughts down on paper (or screen, I suppose), and then rip them up and toss them away, watching as they scatter and fly through the air, getting further away from me. It's a good feeling.

Head bash

2009-12-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well I got my chem finals results back today. Suffice to say, I got a B+ in the class. That's right, a B.

GAH.

It's the first time I have ever gotten a B in a class; I've maintained straight A's throughout all of school! And now to be brought down by a single Chemistry class...wow. I am frustrated, to say the least. And to take the cake, we don't even get our exams back to see what the problems were, so I'm going to be wondering where on earth I went wrong but won't have any way of knowing! And I got a stinkin' B!! Ugh.

But, as my mom has been telling me, life goes on. And for an extreme perfectionist like me, I need to just let it go. Because fretting is not going to help me in any way; it's just going to make things worse for me.

So...I'm trying to loosen up about it. Which is partly why I'm ranting on Blogger (sorry you guys for putting you through this). And I guess I'm feeling somewhat better.

Would you believe the weather here?

2009-12-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as I was walking across campus to get to class (or, more specifically, Chemistry finals. You can bet I was jumping along with joy to that), I began to ponder something. It's a saying that people have used before, merely as an exaggeration, but I was wondering whether there was some sort of truth in it. After all, it seemed to be happening to me. I clenched my gloved hands in my pockets and asked myself, "Can fingers really snap off from the cold?" It certainly seemed that way. And if my fingers were to go, then what about my toes, which were down there, treading through the snow? True, by walking through inches of snow, I ran the chance of soaking my boots; but then again, if I walked on the icy sidewalk, I ran the risk of slipping and cracking my skull open on the ground. I chose the lesser of two evils - I hope - and made tracks through the cold, white, cold, sparkling, cold, powdery snow (that was very cold).

My eyes watered from the stinging wind, and the tears that ran down my cheeks seemed to freeze onto my skin. Every time I wiped them away with a numb, gloved hand, more would come, as if they had been waiting for the pathway to be cleared so they could some streaming down.

I finally made it to the building, thawed myself out, hopefully didn't make a puddle, and then sat down to my finals, where we had problems such as, "Place the 18 following fictitious elements on the periodic table using the clues given to you. Clue #1: The compound AnTi is neutral." (It may interest some to note that this one problem made up 10% of the total score I could get on the final). I made it through the exam, rebundled myself, and went as quickly down the icy hill as I could.

Later that night, I found out that it had been -3˚ F outside.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow's Thanksgiving. This holiday is so often looked over in anticipation of Christmas; however, in our family, we make sure that we celebrate Thanksgiving and pay it due attention. It's my mom's favorite holiday, and as the years have passed I've come to really understand what it's about. It's not having a really good meal with the free pass of eating as much as you can and it being socially acceptable. It's about giving thanks for all the blessings we have.

Sometimes, though, there doesn't seem to be much that you have to be thankful for. After all, your parents could be losing their jobs or going through a divorce; you could have just broken up with your boy/girlfriend; you could've failed that really important test on Friday; you could have just had a really sucky day where everything went wrong.

But let's think about the positives now. I'm assuming that you're reading this blog; thus, that means a number of things you can be thankful for.

Firstly, you can read. That's something that not everyone around the world can do. You've successfully passed through the fundamentals of elementary school and can decipher those markings that are plastered everywhere in society. Also, you must have Internet access. That's a beautiful thing right there. Your eyes must be working to be able to read this, and that's an ability that a lot of other people don't have. Think about being blind - think about all the activities you do that require eyesight. Are you a voracious reader? Do you write? Just think about trying to do homework without being able to read the text like you do now.

While we're on the subject of sight, think about your other senses:
Hearing - do you love listening to a certain band or style of music? Be thankful you can enjoy their music!
Taste - what's your favorite food? You're able to savor those flavors!
Touch - babies have died from lack of human touch in their early stages. You can feel when something hurts, so you can tend to it and not be completely unaware of a festering wound.
Smell - you can smell smoke from a fire, you can tell when the milk has gone sour, and you can enjoy the wonderful odor of chocolate chip cookies!

And speaking of cookies...do you have food? Is your refrigerator stocked up? Are you noshing on a snack now as you're reading this? That's certainly something to be thankful for! Think of all the people out there who don't have a full belly, or the knowledge that they'll be able to have another meal.

Think about those people - the homeless ones, the ones you see on the streets with the cardboard signs, asking for food or money. Look around you - are you in a house, an apartment, some other form of shelter that keeps you safe and warm? That's something to be very thankful for! Winter's here; you're not stuck outside, freezing, with a bunch of rags to cover you. You have the safety of your home to come to after a long day at school.

If you have a faith, a relationship with Jesus Christ - that is something major to be thankful for. Think of all that Christ went through so that you could have the chance to know our creator on a one-on-one, personal, loving relationship. Also, you have the promise of spending eternity not in Hell, a burning pit of torment, but Heaven, the ultimate place where "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Revelations 21:4) Doesn't that sound awesomely amazing?

So tomorrow, if you have trouble thinking about what there is to be thankful for, step back for a moment. Really think about all the things you can do or that you possess, even the simplest things.

And have a happy Thanksgiving!

"Favorite Blog" Award

2009-11-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

(You can pick either of the awards that you prefer. )

Rules:
1. Do a post about the person who awarded you, and their blog.
2. Give the award to 5 of your favorite blogs, give a reason, and leave a comment telling them they have been awarded.
3. Answer the 10 random questions.
4. Have Fun!

ElizabethMarieKauffman - Thank you for tagging me! I love how much you really show that you're a Christian through your attitude and positive posts! You have such a happy, cheerful tone to your blog that I love! =)

1) Will Treaty - dude, you've been my friend for a while and I like how you've taken your blog and are using it for God's glory. You have some really good, thought provoking posts.
2) Elránia - your blog title says it all. Horse love, girl! And the fact that you're a Lord of the Rings fan makes your blog just so much better. =)
3) Jacob R. Parker - I think you were my first blog follower, and I thank you for that! I enjoy reading all about your progress as an author - you're an inspiration to all of us unpublished writers!
4) Ëarwen - your blog and your posts are so beautiful! There's a gracefulness that's very evident in your blog. And you love Robin Hood - that's an A+ in my book!
5) Olive - you have some amazing graphics and photos on your blog! I love seeing them all!

To everyone else, I enjoy reading all of your blogs, too! I wouldn't be following them if I didn't! I only had room for 5, sadly, otherwise I'd have to list all of you! =)

1. Have you ever ridden an elephant?

No, but that would be epic! I love elephants!

2. Have you ever eaten squid?

*bleah* Nope.

3. What is something crazy you have done with your best friend?

Hahaha oh boy, well we've had some crazy conversations about potatoes and killer jellybeans.

4. Have you ever held an alligator?

No, I like having ten fingers.

5. Have you ever let a snake slither through your fingers?

No, but I'd like to, snakes are awesome.

6. What is your first and foremost dream in life?

Aside from serving God with all my heart? To publish my books someday.

7. What is your dream vacation?

England! The culture, history, castles, and accents!

8. What is the funniest movie you have ever seen?

Too many to name!

9. What is your favorite song?

Most definitely "Transylvania" by McFly.

10. If you could change the world in one way, what would you do?

I wish I could be such a shining example of Christ that people would see Him through me.

NaNo update!

2009-11-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I just realized that today is the 16th, and I was planning on writing an update on the 15th, the middle of November, but I forgot. So I'm writing it now.

I'm at approximately 22,000 words, and I believe I'm supposed to be at about 27,000 by tonight. It's been a touch-and-go deal here; some days I've written about 4,000 and others I don't write anything. So far I've been keeping up fairly well, and it'll be interesting to see whether I'll actually write the full 50k words by the end of November. Where has the month gone?! And for that matter, can anyone believe that it's almost 2010? It seems like the days and months and years slip away more quickly the older I get. I'm already about 5 months away from my 16th birthday, and then I'll be driving (provided I get my license, that is) and have a job! Some days I think Peter Pan had a good idea about staying young forever. But I guess that's a choice for us, since we can all stay young at heart.

Hmm, this post ended up turning into more of a philosophical one than I intended. Oh well, that'll give you something to think about! ;)

NaNoWriMo

2009-11-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

Day three of NaNoWriMo--I'm sure most of you know what that is, but for those who don't, a quick word of explanation. It stands for National Novel Writing Month and the goal is to write 50,000 words by the end of November. That's approximately 1700 words per day to keep that goal. I'm doing it this year, finally, and so far I've only written 1200 words in 3 days. I am falling behind, so that means that I'll have to get extremely busy on the weekend to catch up.

Are you doing it this year? How's it coming along? I wish the best to everyone who's participating!

Movie Review: Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

2009-10-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago a friend and I went and saw the Cirque Du Freak movie. I thought it was good and interesting with the whole "freak" aspect; he thought it was good and also kind of weird.

It's a vampire movie, but thankfully none of the vampires are sparkly. I won't give away any of the plot to anyone who wants to see it. The movie's supposed to be based off of the first three books, or so I've heard. I only read the first two books; the story was good but the writing was far from exceptional.

The movie itself was done fine; there wasn't anything over the top, violence wise, and there was some language but again, nothing too horrible. The effects were all right, not as realistic as some I've seen but not as cheesy as other movies. All in all, it was a rather mediocre movie, although the freaks made it pretty interesting.

Bottom line: movie was good, nothing epic but nothing awful either. If you love vampires or the books (or Josh Hutcherson), there's no harm in seeing it. Otherwise, I'd save your money and wait until it comes out on DVD. Just my opinion, though.

Chemistry

2009-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in Chemistry class was pretty interesting...we were learning about the atomic spectroscopy, basically the light waves and such. The experiments were interesting and we looked through something called a spectroscope and were able to see the rainbow lines all along the measured distance. Depending on the different chemicals, there were different light patterns. For example, Nitrogen (I think) had a huge, bright rainbow, whereas Oxygen only had a few bars in the yellow and red region. Our instructor explained that astronomers used spectrometers with their telescopes, and based on the patterns of the light on other planets compared to the patterns of the chemicals here, they were able to tell which gases were on those planets. Pretty fascinating stuff!

New blog template

2009-10-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well I finally found a cool blog template...the only thing is, when I showed it to my mom she instantly said, "It looks Christmasy!" What are your opinions? I like the color scheme of black, gray, and white, and I like stars, but if it seems to holidayish I'll probably change it. I've been looking for a template with the same colors and a grunge/floral design with spirals and swirls. This is the closest I've gotten to one that I like.

Chemistry, writing and blogs, oh my!

2009-10-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, sorry for yet another long absence! Blogging has not become second nature to me yet...and half the time I don't even know what to blog about!

Anyways, I just got my results back from my first Chemistry exam: 91/100 points! It was better than I thought I was going to get. The tutoring center at the college is amazing. I went down there with some problems in my chem homework and the tutor explained how the formulas work and everything makes so much more sense!

My books have been coming along pretty well. As I've said before, I'm writing a medieval fantasy, another fantasy, and a horror (think along the lines of Frankenstein/Dracula classic horror, not Halloween horror). I have spurts of creativity; one week I'll be a prolific writer and get 3,000 words written a day. The next week nothing will be coming to me, and I can't write anything well. One of my biggest frustrations is my inability to draw and sketch characters, scenery, buildings, creatures, etc. Does anyone know of a free website that allows you to virtually create landscapes and such? I haven't had much luck in finding any, but if you know of one I will be eternally grateful!

Also, a little plug for a friend of mine: check out Will Treaty's blog He posts a lot of different musings about God and our roles as Christians.

That's all for now! Hopefully I'll be posting more frequently, although with my randomosity you never can tell.

I'm back!

2009-09-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I haven't been on here in a long time! I've been busy with school, driving practice, life, school, and Facebook. Classes start for me in less than two weeks, I'm taking Chemistry and French as I'm sure I've already said, so I'm getting ready for that.

We have a new youth pastor at our church, he's really nice and funny, I've been enjoying him.

My book is coming along fairly well, aside from the fact that I have writer's ADD and can't finish anything! I've already started a gothic/horror novel, along with the two fantasy and modern fiction books I'm working on.

I'm hoping to go see "9" in theaters because I'm a Burton fan, and I am really really looking forward to his "Alice in Wonderland" movie with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter!!!

This is taking me forever to type because my computer is being really slow.

Hopefully I'll be able to post something more interesting and read-worthy later! Cheerio, folks!

Random musings and an update

2009-08-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've last posted here! I've been busy, though. Our aunt and cousins came for a week and stayed with us, we had a blast. I went and saw the Harry Potter movie with a couple of them, and we agreed that it was good, but not as good as the Goblet of Fire. I loved the part where Slughorn goes "Harry!" and Harry replies, "Sir!"

Math class at college is almost done, this is the last week and our final exam is on Thursday (wish me luck!). I've learned a lot in this class, especially about using the graphing calculator that I've owned for a while but haven't used. I'll be glad when it's over though; then I have a whole month of "summer" vacation until fall term commences with Chemistry and French...oog. And where'd summer go? I woke up freezing the other day, and lately it's just been colder. Fall is coming too soon...or maybe summer went by too quickly. Hmm...

I recently saw the movie "Sleepy Hollow," the one directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, and I love it. He just does an awesome job in the movie; the roles he seems to play are eccentric, humorous, and just a little creepy. My dad and I are thinking about going to see "Public Enemies", but it's a toss-up between that or "District 9."

I've been wasting time playing games and finding apps on Facebook. I've also been listening mainly to McFly, and mainly Transylvania (OCD, you see). I'm excited for class to be done (I don't think I can stress that enough). I've been doing somewhat better at driving (20 mph on a country road for the majority of the time; but hey, at least I haven't had any more police encounters).

My book has been sadly neglected. I keep coming up with story plot ideas that I integrate into the outline, leaving it very confusing. I think I need to stick with the story I have now and finish writing it. Editing and revisions can come later. Hopefully after class is done (!) I'll have more time to write. And now it's breakfast, so I'm off! Cheerio!

Tagabili - a people of southern Mindanao in the Philippines

2009-07-16T14:55:00.001-07:00

I've decided to start a new "tradition." Whenever I get tagged, I'm going to title the post with some word that has "tag" in it, even though it may have nothing to do with tags. I'll also include the definition, because I am personally a word freak and must know everything about it. I'm not sure how well this will work, especially if I'm strapped for time, but I"m running out of creative titles for them. Okay, enough rambling. And thanks Elrania for this tag! =)

What time is it?

2:56 pm.

What was the last out door activity you did?

Running around the backyard.

Do you have an email address?

Yep. How do you think I have a blog? ;)

How many followers do you have?

7. 8 if you include someone who reads my blog but doesn't follow it (yes Treaty, I'm talking about you!) ;-D

How long have you been on the computer today?

Exactly 4 minutes and 54 seconds. I am being timed.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone with?

Ehhh...most likely my dad.

Are you happy right now?

I'm neutral.

Do you want a horse someday?

Absolutely! A buckskin Mustang gelding, 14.2 hh, ~6-8 years old and a bay Mustang mare, same height and age.

How many pets do you have?

1, a wiener dog.

Do you have a playlist?

Yep.

Are you having a fun summer?

Somewhat.

What book are you reading now?

Villette by Charlotte Bronte. It's pretty good so far, I'm about halfway through it. Enjoying it much better than Jane Eyre.

What is the most advanced book you read?

Too many to count. ;)

Do you like your blog?

I'm pretty pleased with it, I'd like to change the template to something different, but the HTML code is giving me grief.

How many tags have you gotten?

More than 5, I think.

What is the most recent award you've gotten?

Horse Crazy Award from Elrania (thanks, it's awesome!)

What is the first award you've gotten?

Horse Crazy Award from Elrania

Who gave you your first tag?

Elrania, I'm pretty sure...

Who gave you this tag?

Elrania (her name seems to show up a lot in this tag...)

Do you have a three column template?

No, and I'm not even going to attempt that yet. I'm having too much difficulty with the two-column template.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Going to sleep in, do my schooling, write, waste time on the computer, run around outside...

How long have you been on blogger for?

Since January I believe. I started it for a computer class I was taking, it was part of the "homework." Pretty fun homework.

How many times have you changed your profile picture?

A few times I think...finally found a picture of me that's somewhat okay.

What did you do for your last post?

"Randomosity Update." And people like the word randomosity. I'm a trend-setter!

What is the most comments you've ever gotten on your blog? (not including any from you)

3 or 4...I don't know.

Are you having fun with this tag?

*in English accent* NO! It's absolutely horrid, why am I even doing this?? *faints*

Of course I'm enjoying it. I wouldn't waste my precious wastable time on it if it wasn't. ;)

What is one thing you want right now?

More time on the computer.

Is your profile name your real name?

Yes.

What is your favorite animal?

A horse!

What is your favorite movie? CHOOSE ONE AND ONLY ONE!!!!!!!

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Have you seen the new Star Trek?

No, but I want to!

Who is your favorite fictional character? Yes you may say more than one for this :)

I don't know...probably the ones I've created in my book.

Are you hungry?

No, I had lunch not too long ago.

Should you probably get off the computer right now?

4 minutes left! Can't believe this tag has taken me almost 15 minutes!!! I think too much about what I'm writing...

Who are you tagging now?

Jacob Parker

Earwen

Randomosity update

2009-07-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, I like the word "randomosity." I know that's not an actual word, but it's a phrase coined by someone on a forum that I have taken a liking to and thus am going to use.

Anyways, I got back from Ultimate Frisbee with my youth group, and it was awesome! I had never played it until now, but it is so much fun! If you haven't played it, it's basically got the same rules as football, only you play with a Frisbee instead of a ball. And there's no tackling, which is nice for us smaller people. ;) Although Frisbee is harder if you're a shorter person (like myself), and somehow our team ended up with pretty much all of the shorter kids from the youth group! Not that that's bad though...

Let's see...my math class is halfway over, this week is number 4 out of 8. I've learned so much from this class, although there is a lot of homework involved. Then I've got a whole month of summer before Fall term starts!

I haven't been writing as much as I should in my book, but hopefully once Summer term's over I'll get a chance to really sink my teeth into it.

And that's all for tonight...later, peoples!

I've been tagged!

2009-07-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Elizabeth for this tag!

What is your favorite book?

Ranger's Apprentice series and the Door Within trilogy...I know it said "book" but I don't really have one.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
Ooh, either England, Australia, Canada, or the East Coast of the USA.

If you could go to any fictional place where would you go?
Middle-earth or Narnia, either one.

Do you love to write or do you just like writing?
I love writing!

What do you want to be when your a grown up?
An equine veterinarian, and a writer on the side.

Favorite animal?
Horse.

Favorite song?
At the moment it's "Transylvania" by McFly, although I also love the song "Puppet" by Thousand Foot Krutch and "Hello" by Hawk Nelson.

Do you like school?

For the most part. Just not Chemistry. *shudders*

Are you people person because I'm getting the idea that you are?
Depends on who the other people are and what sort of a mood I'm in.

Do you like to talk?
Depends on what we're talking about.

Favorite food?

Spaghetti!!!

Hobbies?
Writing, reading, spending time on the Internet, editing photos on the computer, obsessing over bands, watching music videos on YouTube, running

Favorite Author?
John Flanagan, Wayne Thomas Batson (yes, I know it just said one).

Favorite weapon?
Longsword.

Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored?
I'm not bored yet. =)

Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like High School Musical?
No, never seen them.

What are you scared of?
Heights and drowning.

Favorite flower?
Don't have one. I'm not really into flowers.

Do you like blogs?
Uh...yeah.

What is the expression on your face?
Probably my "I'm-zoned-out-in-front-of-the-computer-screen-right-now" face.

Are you going to tag anyone?
Of course!

OK, finished the quiz...did you just sigh?
No, I yawned. ;-D

Okay, I'm tagging JT Norlander and WT.

And for those of you who are wondering whether I'll ever post anything other than tags, don't worry. I've been goofing around with Facebook a lot lately, but I haven't forgot about this blog, and as soon as anything worth writing about happens I'll note it here! =)

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T08:26:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to quickly say...

Happy 4th of July!!!

Quick tag

2009-07-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Elrania for this tag!

Cat or Dog?

Dogs.

Horse or 4-wheeler?

Wow, it's really that easy? A horse of course!

Zebra or Mule?

Mule because you can actually train it and ride it, etc. Zebras are cool for their stripes, though.

Penguin or Pelican?

Penguin. Love how they waddle!

Polar bear or Black bear?

Polar bear. They have a sweeter look to them.

Chicken or Duck?

Duck. Daffy Duck! ;-D

Who are you going to tag?

Earwen, Elizabeth

Yet another tag!

2009-06-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Elrania and HorseFeathers for this tag!

Q. Bunnies or puppies?

A. Puppies.

Q. What color is your hair?

A. Black, shoulder-length.

Q. What is your favorite color?

A. Either black or blue. Or bruised. ;-)

Q. What is you favorite thing to do in the summer?

A. Write, ride, read, practice skateboarding.

Q. What is your favorite scent of body lotion?

A. Ehh...don't have one.

Q. Crazy beluga or insane kangaroo?

A. Kangaroo! 'Cause they bounce!

Q. How many questions have you answered in this tag so far?

A. Aww, now I've got to go back and count??? 7, including this one.

Q. Bob Marley: Singer or Comedian?

A. Umm...I don't get this.

Q. Mute or blaring loud?

A. Blaring loud if it's my music, mute for everything else. ;-)

Q. What color is your iPod?

A. Blue.

Q. What internet program are you using right now?

A. Safari.

Q. Could a betta fish fall in love with a gold fish?

A. I guess... O_o

Q. What does it mean when a hummingbird dies?

A. It means there's one less hummingbird flitting around flowers.

Q. Why do cats choose to live with humans?

A. They don't, that's why they always go missing.

Q. What is your favorite animal?

A. Horses!

Q. Do you belong in a Warrior Clan?

A. Eh? No? I don't know...

Q. How many followers do you have?

A. 6. Which is 6 more than I had about a month ago. You guys rock. =D

Q. Do you feel the slightest bit bad about eating a chocolate easter bunny?

A. Nope, because chocolate is what keeps me alive. ;D

Q. Would you sell your soul for a lifetime supply of ice cream?

A. Nope.

Q: Are your nails cut square-tipped or rounded?

A: Rounded. I've never seen square-tipped before!

Q: What is your favorite shirt?

A: Ooh, umm, I like this black shirt with HN and wings all over it (Hawk Nelson's design).

Q: What is the current temperature?

A: 76 degrees inside.

Q: Have you ever ridden a horse?

A: YES.

Q: Why are you answering these questions?

A: Because I've been tagged.

Q: Are you creeped out by this tag?

A: Not really. Should I be???

Q: Are you dating anyone?

A: No.

Q: Do you have any pets? What are they?

A: A Dachshund/Jark Russell Terrier mix named Lulu.

Q: What is your most vivid memory from before you were seven?

A: I saw "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark" when I was six and had nightmares that night.

Q: Golden sparkle pony or the One Ring?

A: Golden sparkle pony, I guess.

Q: Is this tag too long?

A: Nope, at least not right now because I've got time!

Q: Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, Warriors, Redwall, or the Ink trilogy?

A: Ooh, um, definitely not the Ink trilogy, haven't read Warriors...HP was okay, I really liked Redwall, but I think it would be LotR.

Q: Do you have any dirty towels in your room?

A: Nope, wash day was yesterday, it's all clean!

Q: What is the lowest grade you've ever gotten in school and what was it on?

A: Yikes, I don't know...I can't think of any.

Q: What are your best and worst subjects in school?

A: Best would probably be Writing, worst is hands down Chemistry. *shudders*

Q: Ever walked under a ladder?

A: No? I can't remember.

Q: Do you believe in fairies?

A: In my imagination, yes.

Q: Are you ready for this tag to end?

A: Yeah...

Q: Will you tag other people?

A: Yep.

Q: Who?

A: Earwen and JT Norlander

Tag!

2009-06-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

How tall are you? Four foot nine or ten...yeah, that's right, I'm short lol.

What are your favorite out-of-doors things to do? Riding, running, listening to music and soaking in the sun

What are your favorite indoor activities? Writing, reading, listening to music, spending time on the computer

What are your favorite books? The Bible, Hope Rising, Bridge Called Hope, Door Within Trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Ivanhoe, Ranger's Apprentice series, and the one I'm writing. ;)

What are your favorite movies? The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Narnia movies, Dark Knight, Hidalgo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien legacy, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day

If you could live in any era, what era would it be? Middle Ages, hands down.

Do you believe in in Phenomena? Believe in what now?

Who are your favorite fictional characters? The characters in my book.

What are your favorite songs/artists? Oooh, dangerous question to ask me.

Songs: "Transylvania," "That Girl," "Friday Night," "I'll Be OK," and "Obviously" by McFly; "Hello," "Bring 'Em Out," "Friend Like That," "Don't You (Forget About Me)," "Let's Dance," and "Every Little Thing" by Hawk Nelson; "Puppet," and "Rawkfist," by Thousand Foot Krutch.

Artists: McFly, Hawk Nelson, Thousand Foot Krutch, Disciple, Skillet, FM Static, Stellar Kart, Relient K, Underoath

Who are your favorite poets? My mom and Christina Rosetti.

What are your favorite mythological creatures? Pegasi, unicorns, centaurs, dragons.

What are your favorite girl names? Alex (short for Alexandra), Alice

What are your favorite boy names? Matthew, Philip

What are your favorite colors? Black, blue, green

What do you often say?

Ohh-kay

Umm...

Snap!

What fictional character would you love to meet? Frodo!

Who do you tag now? Elrania

Slime Time

2009-06-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

We were picking rhubarb today, and discovered a large slug hanging out around the area. My little brother absolutely loved it, and let it crawl all over him. Which turned out to be a pretty nasty thing to clean up. So be warned, kids: slug slime is a pain to wash off, even with Boraxo soap.

Tag! I'm it!

2009-06-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Elrania has tagged me, so here's the tag:

Starting time: 7:35 am

Name: Kat, although some know me as Hawk. ;)

Sisters: One, younger

Brothers: Two, also younger

What are you wearing? A gray T-shirt and green cargo shorts

Favorite number: 7

Favorite drink: 7-Up, Sprite, Mountain Dew, Orange Soda, pretty much anything fizzy!

Favorite month? April--my birthday month!

Favorite breakfast? Scrambled eggs

Love someone so much who made you cry? Umm...yes?

Broken a bone? Not yet...

Been in a police car? No, but I've seen inside of one on a field trip once.

Been on a boat? Yes.

Came close to dying? Not that I can remember.

Been in a hot tub? A what now? If by "hot tub" you mean "Jacuzzi", then yes.

Swan in the ocean? A swan? ;) And no, I haven't.

Fallen asleep in school? I nod off during Chemistry, yes.

Cried when someone dies? No, actually I haven't. Yes, that makes me sound callous and cruel.

Fallen off a chair? Most likely.

--------------------Who---------------------

Who did you last yell at? Hmm, probably a little brother, can't remember which one or what for though...

Do you like filling theses out? Yes! They're fun. 'Cause I get to talk about myself, haha. ;-D

Do you like yourself? Suuuure I guess...

--------------Today did you---------------

Talk to someone you like? Why yes, I did. I talked to my family.

Got sick? No, thankfully, but I did get sick yesterday. :(

Sing? Yes, in my head.

-------------------Last person who-----------------

You talked to on the phone with? I can't remember, I don't like talking on the phone. Email!!!

Made you cry? I guess when I got pulled over by the policeman.

Went to the mall with? I don't go to malls!

Been to Europe? I really really want to!

Been to Asia? I was born there!

Been to russia? Nope, don't have a lot of interest in going.

Been to the Bahamas? Nope.

Been to Mexico? Nope.

Been to Canada? No, but I want to!

Been to Africa? Nope.

---------------------Final questions--------------------

What are you listening to? "Transylvania" by McFly.

Do you hate someone in your family? Nope.

What car do you wish to have? I think I'm going to be getting a Honda or something like that?

Good singer? In my head I am. I think others would beg to differ, however. ;-)

Indoors or Outdoors? Indoors for computer time, outdoors for everything else!

Do you have a job? Not yet, but I'm going to get one next year or sooner.

Time finished: 7:45 am

I'm now tagging:

Earwen

Swords of the Six book giveaway

2009-06-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'm following a blog by a teen author, J.R. Parker, and he's having a book giveaway (not his book, though, another one called "Swords of the Six" by Scott Appleton). It looks really cool, and he's provided a detailed review for it in another post on his blog. For the rules and info, here's the link:

Book giveaway

Math class

2009-06-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I start Math 95 at the college. It's the next step after Math 65, which is equivalent to Algebra 2, which I finished a little while ago. I'm kind of nervous; math after Algebra 1 has given me difficulties, so I'm not sure how well this class will go. Thankfully it's only an hour long, but for four days a week instead of two like they usually are. We'll be out sooner, though, since it's only 8 weeks long instead of 10. Then I'll have a whole month of summer before Fall term starts, and with it French and Chemistry. That's the class that's really worrying me: Chemistry. Covalent compounds, stoichiometry, and acid/base titrations, oh my!

Oh well. I've got a few months to worry about that. ;)

McFly

2009-06-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

I need to update my blog more consistently. There isn't much to write about, though, except for driving and my siblings' exploits. Just thinking of that makes my head ache haha.

Annnyways, I've discovered a band called McFly, and they're awesome. I found them when I saw a picture of them, and since they looked like the type of band I'd listen to, I YouTubed (is there such a phrase?) them and found this video: I'll Be OK Really good message, only one reference to alcohol but other than that it's safe. And now my fangirl side coming out. Picture time!!! I love this pic of them:

For those of you who want to know, starting on the left there's Danny (vocals and guitar), Tom (also does vocals and guitar), Dougie (bass), and Harry (drums).

Driving anecdote #1

2009-06-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening I went driving with my dad. Let me just say that it's been, oh, about 3 or so weeks since I've driven?

Anyways, I drove to an industrial area, practiced turning, accelerating and braking smoothly, etc. etc. Then I went to make a left turn onto a very busy, 45 mph street. I started going, but hesitated in case a car was coming. My dad suddenly started yelling, "GO GO, GAS IT, GO NOW!!!!" because a car was coming at 45 mph. I did gas it, and ended up swerving into the wrong lane. Thankfully, there weren't any cars coming on that lane, and I straightened out.

After that little incident we kept to residential areas. However, there are little crosswalks in the residential parts that really stick out and make it hard to navigate. I was coming up to one of these when I saw an approaching car. I panicked because there wasn't enough room for him to get by, so I went as far over to the right as I could.

"No, no, you're going to hit the cur--"

WHAM!

The car jumped as we drove over the entire curb. Seriously, it jumped, and it's one of those big VW Eurovans. Sometime during this amazing aerial feat I noticed the markings and lights on the car in front of us. It was a police car.

We passed by him and my dad said in a very tense, tight voice, "Pull over." I did manage to pull over, put it in park, and shut the engine off.

My dad caught his breath as we waited, and sure enough the police car turned around and parked in front of us. He got out and came over, asking if everything was all right. I was too shaky to really talk, so my dad explained that I was still learning, that I have my driver's permit, and that I panicked when I saw the approaching car. The officer was really nice and sympathetic, saying things like, "Oh yeah, it's hard to drive in this area." He left and my dad drove us home.

Thankfully no one got hurt, the car only has some markings on the tires from where I busted it, and I've learned a very important lesson: driving isn't as easy as it looks.

Twitter

2009-06-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've now got a Twitter! My mom let me sign up, and I've got to say it isn't like Facebook or Myspace, but hey, it's still sweet. Now I can quickly post about the random things I'm doing, instead of having to sign into Blogger.
Here's the link: Hawk's Twitter

Randomosity update

2009-05-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well in about 10 minutes I'll be off to have lunch and then take the CAT test that we're required to take as homeschoolers, to see whether we'll be allowed to be homeschooled anymore. No sweat, right?
Tonight's the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I'm looking forward to it a lot! Weird to think that last year I was in D.C., on that stage, spelling words...and getting out. Meh, that was frustrating. I got the word "animalier" and I added another "e" to the end of that. I was soo close to making it to the Semifinals...oh well, it was still an awesome experience.
I've got this really annoying cough, it's from a sinus infection that I've had for a couple of weeks now...last night was probably the best sleep I've gotten in a while. I've been staying up past midnight, just coughing all the time...fun stuff.
I'm really looking forward to seeing "Terminator: Salvation" with my dad, hopefully we'll go this weekend. I've heard from the reviews that it's action-packed, which is just my type of movie.
On Memorial Day a friend and I went to see "17 Again" and it was really good, I enjoyed it a lot.
And I think that brings you up to date with my life. Time to go now, bye!

Driver's permit!

2009-05-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I went to the DMV and I got my driver's permit!!! So far I've racked up 1 1/2 hours of driving, and I'm enjoying it. I've also had some difficulties though, such as hugging the right curb too much or not checking my mirrors all the time. But it's still really awesome, and I can't believe that I'm actually driving! Both of my parents have VW vans, so I'm pretty high up, but I'd rather have a bigger car than a smaller one where I can't see as well. I'll probably be posting some driving anecdotes in the near future if I can get my computer to work...right now I'm on my mom's computer, and the other one that worked really well broke somehow. =0

Hawk Nelson's new album!!!

2009-04-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

So I found out that Hawk Nelson is coming out with their new album, called "Live Life Loud," in September 2009!!!!! And they're releasing an EP album on June 16th, I am so excited!

They're also going to be at Creation Fest in Washington state, along with Thousand Foot Krutch, Disciple, Stellar Kart, Relient K, Family Force 5, Skillet, and a bunch of other bands (green ones are my absolute favorites!)...I hope I can go!

New blog header!

2009-04-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I've got a new blog header, and it's awesome! My dad (who's a graphic artist) made it for me, it's got like everything that I love, horses, castles, swords, hawk wings, and a grunge design. So thanks Dad!

Pictures

2009-04-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

So I was surfing the web a few days ago and found this awesome signature-banner of Jason Dunn, lead singer of the band Hawk Nelson, which as most of you reading this probably know, is my absolute favorite band that I love! So you can imagine how excited I was to find this!

I also found this pic, and added my username and rank from the RA forum that I'm a member of (yup, that's right, I'm a Wakir. And if you don't know what that is, Google "Erak's Ransom" and you'll see). We've got some pretty random topics there, but everyone's so great and supportive, it's just awesome.

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yay, it's Easter! In my opinion, we don't give Easter enough credit; I mean, when you think about it, Christmas is the birth of Jesus, but Easter is commemorating why he actually was born on Earth. He endured an awful death and came back to life, all so that we may have the chance to live with Him eternally in Heaven. I just can't comprehend how much He really loves us; it's such an awesome thought!

Happy Easter!

Spending time with God

2009-04-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

All right, so lately I've been really confused about different stuff, and I tend to get depressed quite a bit. But one day I went outside, and had a really good long prayer, just pouring my heart out to God and talking to Him. It's amazing how much better I feel after I pray. I can be having a really bad day, but if I just talk to God, keeping my mind focused on Him and being sincere, I feel at peace. So just take the time out each day to spend time with Him; really talk, it's what He wants so much, to have a relationship with you, and you'll feel so much better afterwards. Friends and family will come and go, but God is always there for you, always ready and wanting to hear your problems and encourage you, and He always loves you, no matter what.

Computer blog

2009-03-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

All right, well I'm very proud of myself, because I exported all the posts about my computer class to another blog that I created just for that. Here's the link to it: CIS 120
Now this blog will just be for my randomness and related stuff...mwahaha! =D

Chuck!

2009-02-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hehe, I'm so excited because Chuck comes back tonight and I have to tell someone, and since no one I know watches Chuck or even knows about it, I'm posting it here! I've missed it a lot, I can't wait for tonight!!! Okay...I think I'm good now. =D

Busy day

2009-01-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

Today was pretty busy, Mom took my little brother to his first Karate lesson, and then later today I volunteered at a horse ranch that rescues abused horses and rehabilitates them, I go there every week and I love it! The horses are so sweet, and the people there are awesome, they all love and serve God and it's really nice to spend time with them. It was great to do work out in the fresh air, it really helped clear my mind. This evening I tried a new church, we're kind of church-searching right now, and it was really nice, they had a good message and I liked our youth pastor. Looking forward to going back! Hmm...I think that's it that happened today, I'm tired right now...tomorrow is class, and then later on I'll write up Week 4's post.

300 Game On music video

2009-01-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

I found a really cool music video on YouTube! It's got scenes from the movie 300 (which was pretty good) set to the song "Game On" by Disciple. It was really well edited, and I love the song "Game On."

WARNING: Just wanted to say, there's violence and images of blood in the video (I think the movie was rated R).

300--Game On

Music Videos

2009-01-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite music videos from YouTube, so you can all see what type of music I listen to:

One Thing I Have Left by Hawk Nelson

Scars Remain by Disciple

Rawkfist by Thousand Foot Krutch

Ranger Hawk

How long has it been?

Fainting's not all it's cracked up to be

It's funny how you find you enjoy your life when you're happy to be alive

Vegetarianism (don't worry, I'm not going to get all preachy on you)

A quick update, before I have to do the dishes...

'Ello 'ello

Reached a goal!

Boredom in a most evident sense

Superbowl commercials

Movie review: Sherlock Holmes

That great debate

The eve of Christmas Eve

Where'd the year go? and other random musings

*Head bash*

Would you believe the weather here?

Giving Thanks

"Favorite Blog" Award

NaNo update!

NaNoWriMo

Movie Review: Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Chemistry

New blog template

Chemistry, writing and blogs, oh my!

I'm back!

Random musings and an update

Tagabili - a people of southern Mindanao in the Philippines

Randomosity update

I've been tagged!

Happy 4th!

Quick tag

Yet another tag!

Tag!

Slime Time

Tag! I'm it!

Swords of the Six book giveaway

Math class

McFly

Driving anecdote #1

Twitter

Randomosity update

Driver's permit!

Hawk Nelson's new album!!!

New blog header!

Pictures

Happy Easter!!!

Spending time with God

Computer blog

Chuck!

Busy day

300 Game On music video

Music Videos

Head bash