Trek To Texas: Days 3 & 4

The end of the trip is almost upon us. We'll arrive in San Antonio tomorrow, if all goes according to plan. Yesterday we drove through four states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. We saw the most bizarre moth thing at a gas station, ate lunch at Sonic for the first time in years, and saw some pretty cool buildings in Little Rock. Today we entered into Texas, and have settled in Dallas for the night. Currently America's Got Talent is on, and there's been some interesting acts so far. Earlier today I discovered that Dallas has a Christian rock station, but it kept getting too static-y to listen too. Tomorrow should be interesting, arriving in our new city. Plus, Super8 comes out this weekend!

Trek To Texas: Days 1 & 2

We've begun our drive to San Antonio, and have so far completed two days of driving. Yesterday we drove into western Maryland to visit some friends of my parents' from years ago. We walked to a lake, played with their bulldog, and ate lots of ham. I had been deprived at our hotel. No meat for breakfast for four days. Our second day of travel spanned Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky. We drove past a castle, and miles and miles of trees. Tomorrow will be more driving, although I'm not sure yet where we're meant to end up.

Since I haven't mentioned it yet, the finale of the first part of series 6 of Doctor Who was incredible. I so called the River Song reveal back at the beginning on this series, but it was still an amazing episode. It also showed good character development of the Doctor, I thought, since he rarely appears to have any significant flaws. All in all, a good episode that left me feeling as though I needed to rewatch at least a series and a half.

Packed Out & Thoughts On Doctor Who

I'm looking at the room I've resided in for the past two years. Not even two years, actually. The walls are bare of my copious posters and clippings and such, and everything is in boxes. Really, the room looks naked. Today was the third day of packing, and tomorrow the big truck will come and take away the boxes and whatever furniture is left to pack. We aren't leaving town quite yet, I still have graduation. Today, amidst the chaos, the five year old girl that lives next door came over to give me a picture of us that she drew, with a note telling me how much she'll miss me. She's a really sweet girl, and she gave me a hug and looked crushed that I was leaving. I have a friend who's been saying she'll cry the day I leave, and another one who telling me she'll miss me, but somehow it's not nearly as powerful as this little girl giving me a going away gift, a picture of us. It gave me something to think about today as all my things were put in nondescript brown boxes.

On a lighter note, and probably less introspective, I have some thoughts on Doctor Who so far this year. Series 6 has been many things, and only five episodes have aired so far. It's been shocking, startling, funny, confusing, and very fast. The entire series so far has moved at a rapid fire pace, and it can be hard to absorb it all. The opening two parter was very interesting. The Impossible Astronaut was quite the set up. It had it's moments, but mostly it just prepared us for Day Of The Moon, which was amazing, but mostly shocking. Then came Curse Of The Black Spot, which was a very interesting episode. It can also be said to be meh. It just didn't rock the world. However, the most wonderful episode of the series so far, The Doctor's Wife, more than made up for it's predecessor's failings. It was completely and utterly brilliant. The most recent episode, The Rebel Flesh, reminds me of The Impossible Astronaut in that it feels very much like a set up episode. The Almost People, it's sequel, will hopefully make it's counterpart worth it. Time will tell what all the mysteries of series six are culminating towards.

Sigh, I've Forgotten To Write Again & How I Feel About Moving

So I see that my last post was in March. It's now May. I suppose that isn't a very long time, considering my gap last year, but it does feel as though I haven't updated this in ages. I'm 18 now, and graduating in June. I recently attended Prom with one of my close friends in Maryland, along with another girl it was fun to get to know and my closest guy friend. Amidst the end of the school year/preparing to graduate stuff is the getting ready to move stuff. We're moving to San Antonio, Texas, the one state I hoped to never enter. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against the state, the south, or the people. I just hate heat. With a passion. Maybe it's because I'm a ginger, maybe it's because I'm allergic to sunscreen, maybe it's because I'm Alaskan, or maybe it's because I've just always overheated easily. Whatever the case, I'm moving to one of the hottest places I can think of in the middle of summer.

Despite my fear of moving to the capital of heat, I'm completely fine with moving. Maryland is one of those places that feels like it's in between. I didn't love England, but I was glad for the opportunities it presented, some of the people, and things I learned there. England was a verse, a chapter. Maryland feels like a bridge between verses, or a note between chapters. It doesn't feel like it has it's own place. I have made good friends here. I have a nice group I enjoy spending time with, I have a close friend I enjoy talking to, I know the sweetest freshman on the planet, and I have my best guy friend ever. I've also earned 63 college credits here, and one of my closest friends from Alaska lives less than an hour away. So why does Maryland not feel like a chapter to me? Why does it seem as though it's only a stepping stone to the next place? Perhaps it's that we've not been here even two years yet, and it seems short. I get the feeling, however, that even three or four years would not make Maryland more to me. No matter Maryland's status to me as a bridge or a note or however best to explain it, it is significant. A song is not complete without a bridge, and a book is missing details without chapter prefaces and notes. I'm fine with leaving, and I almost feel like leaving might be a catalyst into something much better, even if I do have to leave people behind.

Spring

I went to see Justin Bieber's Never Say Never film, and it was brilliant. I absolutely loved it. The only other concert film I've ever seen is the Miley Cyrus one, which was just alright. This was a film all about his life, as well as his performances. It was a lot of fun seeing it in cinema. The girls in the cinema made lots of fangirl noises, which greatly amused me. Even if you aren't that big of a Bieber fan (and I'm a very mild fan), you'd probably enjoy the film. It was very entertaining and inspiring. I have a great respect for him.

Moving on from that, yesterday it became March. That means that we're getting closer and closer to warm weather, some of which has already descended upon us. I hate warm weather with a passion. Its quite possible I might have to move to Texas, in which case I will probably live in a pool. Or, at the very least, have a fan surgically attached to myself. I'm meant for colder weather. Alaska is brilliant, that's where I want to live. Although really, I'm in a state of mind right now where just about anything would probably be an improvement on here.

And I'm off on a rant (Part 2!)

So here is the probably not at all awaited finale to my rant about one of my generation's flaws. In summary, last time I said that because we take wholesome things and declare them to be uncool, eventually Hollywood is going to get the message and start bombarding us with even more undesirable entertainment. Pardon the term, but there's already plenty of crap coming out of Hollywood, we shouldn't be trying to help. That part of the rant specifically pertained to movies. Now I want to talk about how something a little different. This is still about how my generation will reject something because it isn't "cool", but its also about how they will form and opinion and refuse to change it, no matter what. I'm just going to jump right into it:

Justin Bieber. Now, if you honestly just don't like his music, then you're exempt from this rant. However, if the phrase "He sounds (or looks) like a girl!" has ever crossed your mind or left your lips, this is for you. When Justin's first album came out in 2009, he was 15 years old and his voice was a lot higher. Since the YouTube videos and that first album were the catalyst of his success, the majority of people who weren't fans just came to know him as the boy with the high voice. His second album came out in 2010, and by that point a few of the songs had been edited to take into account the fact that he couldn't reach certain high notes anymore. His speaking voice is quite deep, and his singing voice had gotten deeper as well. He still retains the ability to sing high, which is apparent in some of his songs. This is a talent. Many artists do not have this ability and it limits their talent. Now, I'm not a rabid Bieber fan of any sort. I like him, and I like most of his music. I'm a little tired of Baby, but there are some of his songs that are on my favourites playlist. Now, given that this guy will only be 17 this coming March, why does our generation feel the need to ridicule him incessantly? I have many friends who are good people that are completely against bullying of any kind. They try to be kind to others and apologize when they've hurt someone. However, they berate Justin unmercifully. The kind of behavior they demonstrate in regards to this singer has nothing to do with his talent. Most of them have only ever heard the first version of Baby that was released, a song that used to be a lot higher and is quite repetitive. Given their limited exposure, you'd think they'd hold on the judgement until they actually knew what they were talking about. "You'd think" is the operative phrase there. When I see the way they treat someone with genuine musical talent, saying things they would never say to someone they knew, it makes me really sad. Honestly they should be ashamed of themselves. Just this morning on FaceBook I saw a status referring to Justin with gay terminology, something I would never expect that person to say. All these people are doing is criticizing behind his back. Just because you don't know him and he'll probably never hear what you said does not make it right. That's all I have to say for now, but seriously, think about it. Treat others as you want to be treated doesn't just apply to the people you know.

A quirk I happen to have (or, How I almost killed my brother)

Ever since I can remember, I have absolutely despised wet paper. I refuse to carry tissues around with me, I refrain from paper towel use if I can use something else, and if something gets spilled on paper, I throw it out as soon as possible. My family apparently didn't know this until early at dinner. I'm sure we've had such instances  before, but for whatever reason this quirk was new to them. I looked up from my dinner to see my brother sucking on a straw wrapper. He used to eat paper as a little kid, and that has always made me physically nauseous. I never throw up, so when I get the feeling that I'm going to its doubly more unpleasant than it would be to someone prone to that kind of physical reaction. I have to be excessively violently ill for it to happen. Anyway, at dinner I immediately expressed my displeasure and asked him to stop and get rid of his wrapper. Its a common occurrence when we go out to eat that my brother will try and shoot his straw wrapper at me, which is something I despise in close relation to my wet paper quirk. As soon as I revealed that I was feeling physically ill, my mother and brother both decided that I had serious issues and this was hilarious. My brother went so far as to take the straw wrappers home with him, and was not five minutes ago sucking on one in front of me. This is not unusual behavior for him, as he also likes to sharpen the knives because he knows the sound pains me. Tell me, is it unreasonable for me to ask that actions that make me ill or in pain be refrained from? 

I suppose I should qualify this by assuring everybody that I do love my brother, and we don't always fight. There is, however, a direct correlation between my level of patience and his desire to annoy. Though, what sibling relationship doesn't have such a correlation at some point in life?