Summer: All was golden when the Day met the Night

I have been wanting to blog all week long, but I have not had the inclination to do so, until I saw Jen post, and therefore I felt obligated to do it. Now that it is officially summer, I finally am able to be productive. That included: reading, playing video games, sleeping, watching Harry Potter, taking pictures, and watching YouTube videos. 

First and foremost, reading. Since this Saturday, I finished two books (What da hell? *with a Tiffany accent), I read the sequel to The Maze Runner called The Scorch Trials, and it was amazing! I can't believe that it ended so abruptly and I can't wait for the third and final book, The Death Cure, which comes out in October (more on that later). I also was finally able to finish 13 Little Blue Envelopes. It was so good. I kind of knew the end already, but I was still shocked when I read it. I wanted to throw my book across the room and never touch it again. Sadly however, I did not. I finished it and felt like it was over and that I would never and should never get to see into Ginny's strange life again, but there Maureen goes and writes a sequel. I feel like she wrote this just because of how well the other one did, and not because she originally planned on it (which I don't really like). However, I went to Borders (..........*sigh*...........) and got The Last Little Blue Envelope for 20% off. So far I am about 60 pages in and I think it's better than the last. Anyways, I seem to have a dilemma. There are four books coming out in a few months that all seem to come out around the same time. Four books that all are being released within a month of each other. Lola and the Boy Next Door (companion novel to the amazing Ana and the French Kiss) comes out September 29th, The Son of Neptune (sequel to The Lost Hero) comes out October 4th , The Death Cure comes out October 11th, and Inheritance (the last book in the Inheritance Cycle, or the Eragon books) comes out November 8th. What the heck!!! And on top of that, I need to re-read The Lost Hero and Brisingr before they come out because I believe that re-reads are just as important as the new reads!!! Geez, too much....  One last thing in my book sorrows, I went to the library today to try and find Dash and Lily's Book of Dares because Jen seems to be in love with that book, but it was checked out...

Okay, I'm gonna nerd out on you for a sec. The past two days, I continued my play-through of the original Paper Mario. I was bored one day over winter break, so I started playing it and remembered how much fun it was. I am now on Chapter 6 (there are 8 chapters). Also, I need to finish playing Ocarina of Time for the 3DS because I started but got busy because of summer school and stopped playing. I just finished the Forest Temple, and I really want to beat it!

Sleep is good. 

I saw Harry Potter again this Sunday. Only this time, I saw it in 3D and the only part that was really cool in 3D was when Voldemort died and all his skin flakes were flying everywhere (By the way, I saw that awkward hug video before, and it is freaking hilarious).

I took my senior portraits this Tuesday, the ones that go in the yearbook. And since it is for our senior year, they make us wear a suit and tie, so I ended up wearing one of Sterling's red ties, with a blue background. The only thing that I can say about the experience was that Sterling put makeup on me. 

I also have been relentlessly watching YouTube videos, but that's nothing new is it?

I am extremely jealous of Jen's butterbeer, but I must say that it looks kind of like orange juice..... (Or pumpkin juice if you prefer). 

One last thing, since BEDA is coming up, I have something very special planned for the first day!!

Awkward Moments: 0 (Sorry, I kind of lost track a LONG time ago, let's start fresh.) 
Books Read: 13  (This is much easier, it is counting from the beginning of this year) 
Why Today Was Awesome: Jurassic Park 2!
Something I Learned:  
Song Stuck in My Head: "I'll Run" by The Cap

My Proclivity for Losing Things is a Curse

Hola y'all. This week's blog post is here early just because I am so proud of myself right now. Ish.


I've been quite productive these past couple of days. 


1) Bookmarking sesh? Check.

I collect bookmarks. I like them, and when I use one, I make sure to choose one that matches the book for which I use it (As in, creepy bookmark for creepy book/story...you get it.). Anyway, buying bookmarks for myself would be wrong because, well, it would be like cheating and cheating is dirty so I would feel dirty if I did it and I like feeling clean and citrus fresh all the time. So, no buying bookmarks for myself. Other people, however, give me bookmarks which make me happy because 1) it's not cheating and 2) yay for new bookmarks! My dad goes to Guam a lot and he and his coworkers always stay at the Marriott so he's pretty much best friends with the hotel now. Anyway, the Marriott always has some sort of keepsake that guests get to keep (duh) every time they stay there and in Guam they have bookmarks. There are six in the whole set. Each one represents a major city or area in Guam, I think, and they have 1) a drawing representing each city/area and 2) information about the history or whatever about the area. They also each have this raffia ribbon tag which gives you a Pacific Island feel. Anyway, my dad always brings these home which is great because I have two complete sets now and I'm working on my third and fourth ones. It's always like a surprise because I never really know if I'll get what I need or if I'm gonna get my fourth Hagatna or something like that. Shayne and Josh also get me bookmarks whenever they can. And, of course, I make bookmarks too. Whenever I hear or find a clever quote or line that I think should either be on a t-shirt or a bookmark, I write it down so that I can remember to design some kind of corresponding graphic for it or whatever. It's been a while since I've made any because I really have to feel like I want to make bookmarks. Kendall was actually bugging me this past school year to make him at least one because the one I made for him in 9th grade was dying. But I didn't really feel like it so I kept saying no. I only make bookmarks for myself and very rarely do I make them for special people, but even then I have to be in the mood. Anyway, I felt bad because I gave Kendall six new bookmarks on his birthday (and they were really cool ones that I wanted to keep for myself, too, because they were actually pieces of three different puzzles, and I made them) but they were more like props for his 17th Birthday Scavenger Hunt, not an actual "Hey, so here's the bookmark that you've been bugging me to make you!" kind of thing. So I've been bookmarking and he'll be able to choose ONE (or maybe two...) of them when I'm all done. This whole thing relaxes me. It takes me, on average, about an hour and a half for each bookmark. Here are my two favorites right now: 

Top: "Let's fight crime with mangos and limes."
Bottom: "These lines of lighting mean we are never alone."

2) Butterbeer win? Check-erino.
It was raining yesterday and I thought it would be the perfect time to make some butterbeer. It's a fan-made recipe, of course, so it's not authentic but it was...all right. I would definitely not make it again, though. Maybe with a few tweaks, yes. Josh looked up at me after his first sip and said, "People can GET HIGH from drinking this stuff." He didn't finish his butterbeer. It was very sweet and rich and, had I not added a couple of drops of food coloring, looked more like Polyjuice Potion with Crabbe's essence in it (go look it up!). After adding the food coloring, it turned out to be more like Goyle's (fiiiiiiiine, you lazy person....here is the book's description). 



3) Playlist crazy? Check-ooligan.
I finished two "new" playlists! Well, three actually. No, wait, five. One is called "Summer Rains" and it's inspired by, no surprise, summer rains. The other one is called "This Playlist Used to Be What We Are Now Not" and it's a break-up playlist. It's not a new playlist, but I recently just "perfected" it, complete with actual Stages of a Break-Up and descriptions. I'm quite proud of these two. Then, I created three more obscure but really fun ones that I will not explain to you called, "Who Wouldn't Jump in Nerdfighterlike?", "Do the Ets" and "8teens" (I'm going to add something here so I can avoid the circular dilemma caused by the " and . next to each other). I'm now working on ones called "SHERMAN! What? Water!" (which has a matching speech and which has been complete since the end of sophomore year--I just have to physically make the playlist and put all the songs together, in the right order), "We Could Happen?" and "The Summer We Were in Love" (I tried doing this one during not-summer and I couldn't do it). I've been trying to get a lot done for the sole purpose of putting something substantial in my individual blog (more on that later on in this post) and playlists seem to be the only thing I have at the moment.


4) Vlogbrother catch up? Check-issimo.
I am now up to speed (finally!). And I promise to keep up during the school year! Yessss. I shimply musht. I spent two whole days watching three-ish months' worth of YouTube videos. Doesn't that sound unhealthy? Ahh, the things we nerdfighters do. I can't wait for The Fault in Our Stars to come out (I have literally listened to John Green reading the first chapter about a billion times) and I think the album Ellen Hardcastle is an awesome, awesome, awesome album. Hank Green's songs always make me smile but this one is genius. Darling, fetch the bear axe, guys. 


5) HPDHII trailers, sneak-peeks, interviews and specials? Check-erson.
Since I did not watch any trailers, sneak-peeks, interviews, specials and/or featurettes about the final Harry Potter film before it came out on July 15, I took the time to watch everything I "missed" pre-premiere. I watched the CNN and Bio specials. I watched the sneak-peeks and exclusives. I watched the interviews and the premiere in London. I watched a lot of B-rolls. And I cried. I can't believe I'm still crying. Am I the only one still crying? Anyway, Kendall likened the end of the film franchise to having a close friend die but having already come to terms with the idea of losing said friend. But even if you've come to terms with it, I'm sure you still find yourself tearing up, remembering it all, right? On a lighter HP note, I was on tumblr and I saw a video that I had been dying to watch because Josh had told me about it although he hadn't watched it yet himself. So I clicked on it but it didn't work because of copyright issues. However, Josh found one just like it and it is obviously fan-made. We watched it together in its entirety and it was so awkward and wrong and hilariously uncomfortable and I wanted to share it in its many-splendored discomforts:

We couldn't stop laughing and saying "eww" at the same time. I challenge you to watch it a second time. We couldn't do it. 


6) Random stuff? Check-erick.
I looked at this Physiological find-a-word thing on Hank Green's tumblr and the first three words you find are supposed to describe you. I found 1) "beautiful" (Why, thank you.), 2) "broken" (I guess, what with the surgery and all.) and 3) "funny" (Really?! I am?! I always try to be funny but no one ever laughs.)


7) Lose something important? Sadly, check-errific.
I lose everything--erasers, flashdrives, headbands, my sanity, everything! They just disappear! I mean, before I used to blame gnargles and hobgoblins (usually hobgoblins) but this is getting out of control! Remember that planner I had last year where I wrote down all of my assignments and meetings and stuff and I even had a title for each week? It's gone. I don't know where it is. I hope it shows up soon.


So that's it. Actually, there's one more thing. In the last 48 hours, I have experienced crying bouts for a total of 4 times: 1) Harry Potter stuff, 2) Boy Meets World (and it wasn't even a sad episode, in any way), 3) Jersey Girl (it was on, there was nothing else on TV, and it wasn't even a good movie, 4) Project Runway (they surprised the designers with a visit from their moms!). That's 4 more than the average number of times I cry every 48 hours. I mean, I'm a crier, but I'm not that big of a crier. I'm gonna do some research about overactive tear ducts being a side effect of ovarian surgery...and if I find something, I just might have something new to put under the "Today...." section of my blog posts.


Today......
I really loved...my homemade blueberry sauce (I made some for the first time because my mom made blueberry pancakes and I thought, "Well, I've made cranberry sauce before and it shouldn't be much of a difference!")
I smiled because...of ITV. And my fedora (which I am wearing as I type).
Lyrics playing at this very moment as I type this portion of the blog:
"I know that pride and summer time come before fall. Almost missed the bus but Jesus gave me a wake up call." (Benediction - Relient K) THE SAME TWO LINES OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I like this song.
Friend of the day: Lappy
Hours of sleep last night: 6.5
(Waterwork Count: 4)


P.S. It's almost BEDA(ugust) 2011!

She's Not Hermione

So while Jen has been off being dead and all, I have been enjoying my last week of Physics. I really wish that I had taken it over the year, and been able to actually enjoy it for what it is since this short summer class just wasn't enough. I also wish that I was able to have taken regular or AP as I would have enjoyed it much more. Oh, and does anyone else feel like using a notecard on a test is cheating? I have never been able to use one on a test before this class, and I just felt as if it was cheating and I was giving myself all the answers, like, it wasn't a big enough of a challenge. 


Also, for our final project, Tiff, Rebecca, and I made this Arduino board that played the theme to Star Wars, while it lit up at the same time. It was actually a really fun project because we had to make the code ourself, which was kind of difficult, but it was fun to figure out. 


This week, I started reading The Maze Runner and proceeded to finish it in 2 or 3 days. It was really good, and I enjoyed it a lot. Since then, I am already half way through the sequel, The Scorch Trials. It was kind of funny, I forgot how easy it is to get through a book that isn't Harry Potter-sized. After this one, I think that I might tackle my summer reading book: Much Ado About Nothing


SUMMER GOALS (Now that my summer has begun):
Rearrange my room (This seems to have become a tradition, I will fill you in when it happens)
Read at least 10 more books
Dance
MAKE A FORT (I WILL DO THIS!!!)
Run
Sleep
Finish NaNoWriMo novel!
Don't die
Do something awesome


Awkward Moments: 46
Pages Read: 2509
Why Today Was Awesome: Captain America!
Something I Learned: There are some REALLY big tents. 
Song Stuck in My Head: "Wizard Love" 
Email Subject of the Day: "I'm Confused"

LROCs Don't Rock

I'm posting, not because I really want to, but because I must for this week.

I am very much alive.

Now, I say that because for the past couple of days, Kendall sent me a message yesterday that said, "I bet you died. That's what happened right? You died..." (For the record, my laptop is on lockdown and I have limited Internet access/time, but even if I could respond, I wouldn't have. So yeah, I was ignoring you.)

So, no, I did not die.

I had surgery on Monday. Laparoscopic right ovarian cystectomy (look it up). This is a long story and I've had to tell it several times to different people and it still irritates me to do it just because so I won't go too much into detail. Okay, here goes: When I came back from Dallas, I complained to my mom about feeling pains over my lower right abdomen whenever I used the bathroom. The two of us went to see my pediatrician and she suggested that I have a pelvic ultrasound done. So I did. And the ultrasound showed a fluid-filled (not solid, so not cancerous) cyst, 6.4cm, in my right ovary which was then stretched to about 8cm. Then I went to see my mom's gynecologist and the next think I know, they're scheduling me for surgery. All of this happened in a matter of days. There's no real cause for cystic growth in women's ovaries. If you took biology, you would know that follicles grow into cyst-like things as a part of the menstrual cycle. It's just that sometimes, little things don't go as planned. Anyway, my mom and her gynecologist felt it best to get all of this over with now so that I can have the remaining weeks of summer to recover because if anything goes terribly wrong during the school year, I would be a) in lots and lots of unbearable pain and b) missing out on a lot of days in school.

Anyway, I had surgery just this past Monday and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because you know, I was asleep (duh). Everyone was SUPER nice. The terrible thing was that, during the surgery, they found another smaller cyst, solid-filled this time, on my left ovary. The doctor didn't have time to take it out because 1) she had another surgery scheduled right after mine and 2) my surgery was already running a bit late. But they did take a sample and ordered a biopsy to determine whether it's cancerous or not. It's not.
This is what went through my head when they told me about it after I woke up:
Dear Cysts, Kindly stop growing and please leave me alone. I want three baby boys and for that to happen, I need both of my ovaries to be happy. Thank you. Sincerely, Jen

After only a couple of hours in the recovery room, they told me I could go home because my vitals were picture perfect. The anesthesia didn't make me all loopy at all; I was quite awake and alert after the whole ordeal. So now I'm several days into my required 4-week long recovery time. I didn't think recovery would be a big deal but let me tell you, the past few days have proven to be the worst days I've had this whole summer. I won't weird you out with the details but I've been gingerly walking around the house, taking things slowly, like a pregnant woman because I have three cuts in my belly. I can't even laugh or sneeze normally--I have to put pressure on my stomach so that I don't rip open my wounds (Josh told me a hilarious joke yesterday and I had to think of dead puppies to stop laughing). So the doctors and the nurses all told me to be careful with what I eat for the first week or so. Maybe light soup, saimin, no fried foods or heavy foods or anything that will upset my stomach. So I had soup for the first day at my parents' insistence. But you know me; food is my true love. After that first day, I've eaten ate pork chops, steak, baked spaghetti, cake, etc. Haha, I'm such a fatty.

And that's the story of my not-so-incredible journey. It's not even college essay-worthy.

Anyway, I didn't tell a lot of people about this. But I did tell Kendall. (So thanks for calling and checking up on me to make sure I didn't die or anything. Oh wait, I take that back because you didn't. But no big deal. It's not like we're best friends or anything like that. Do you remember when I got to school and I didn't see your bag where it usually is and I literally freaked out and was so worried that I called you to make sure you weren't bleeding to death in a ditch in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, I think that happened twice. The first time, we were sophs. I called you immediately at 6:40ishAM and you answered and groggily told me you weren't feeling well and you weren't coming to school that day. The second time, just this past school year, I believe, I think I actually waited for the first bell to ring before I actually called you, just in case you were running late or you were in a computer lab or something like that. Yeah, no big deal. But I'm kinda done being salty and/or bitter, not because I think that you deserve to be let off the hook because you don't, but because we have a scavenger hunt to plan and work out, just in case I'm not able to come to the sleepover. I know you've had to worry about Physics for the past couple of days and that you're probably stressed out about tests and stuff so I don't expect you to have done anything. I've only had to worry about not bleeding profusely and avoiding infections for the past couple of days after all so I will call you as soon as I come up with any ideas and an actual working format and maybe a couple of clues. And don't bother calling, your number is on my phone's Auto Reject list, so just wait for mine. And I almost forgot: You are awesome.)

Yes, World, Kendall is awesome. You can roll your eyes at me all you want. I get like this when I'm hormonal and cranky and in pain, all in one.

Because I'm off my feet and don't really have access to a computer, I have a lot of time in my hands. I have been writing, making bookmarks, listening to music, trying not to read my summer reading books, but mostly indulging myself in watching marathons on TV (ANTM and Project Runway are only a couple of my obsessiones whenever they're on).

Oh and also: This is why I'm not working anymore. I miss the kids. And no, I haven't finished Gatsby yet (though I should, before I start my summer reading books). I hope you're having a better summer than I am!

I'm going to participate in a yet another passivity now. Ciao, bellas.

To Those Who Stuck With Harry, Until the Very End

Once again, there are massive spoilers in this post, so if you have not yet seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, then please, do not read this. 


I don't really know where to start with this. I saw the movie with my family right after school today and I think that I'm still kind of processing it. Hmm, well, today began with me dressing up to school and getting weird looks, but I just knew that they were jealous that I was cooler than them, right? Tiffany gave me some more Harry Potter silly bands (after Jen gave me a Dobby yesterday) so now I kind of have a butt load, so thanks! 


After watching the movie, I felt satisfied, I felt as if it was like an old friend dying, but I had come to terms with it. Harry Potter has become such a bigger and bigger part of my life over the past few years and I am really okay with the fact that it is all over. 


Now for some random thoughts about the movie:
(Oh but first, I have to say, I HATE people who don't like movies JUST because they aren't like the book. I mean, if it's a crappy movie, than go ahead and hate it, but if it is a perfectly terrific movie, and you just don't like it because your favorite character wore a green dress instead of a red one, then too bad. You pay a movie theater to watch a MOVIE, not a book. The way that movies work is so different than the way that books do, and to have to compare the two, is unwise. I learned a long time ago that if I want to enjoy a book movie, than I have to treat it as its own separate piece of work, because otherwise, it's gonna suck for you.)
Sorry about that rant, now for my actual random thoughts of the movie. 


-I thought the beginning felt off, like they were rushing into things, and this was probably because it was split into two. So if I were to watch the two movies side by side, it wouldn't feel like this. 
-I LOVE McGonagall!!! "I've always wanted to use that spell." Oh. My. God. AHH.
-I agree with Jen, the Fred looking scared in the beginning, too much for me too handle. 
- I REALLY loved the dragon, I thought that it was terrible, the way he was treated, so it felt good for him to be set free.
- Harry and Ron stripping? Ha ha I wasn't expecting that, but I enjoyed the spinny-long-cut.
- Hermione and Ron kiss, I liked it seeing as they couldn't have made it the same as it was in the book (even though I really LOVE how it is done in the book)
- I like how they showed the Chamber of Secrets, and how each Horcrux reacted to being killed. 
- I didn't like how the Diadem was destroyed by Harry instead of the Fiend Fire, ONLY BECAUSE I liked how in the book no one destroyed more than one Horcrux. (For the record, I was NOT upset because they didn't follow the book, I was upset that they didn't follow a pattern, so I got all OCD.)
- Ron running and yelling in the Room of Requirement = Awesome.
- I love Filch, just saying. 
- I liked how the hammocks in the Room of Requirement were high up like that. 
- I like how Cho got to speak again. 
- All of the fight scenes were amazing, INCLUDING the final one with Voldemort because I always thought that that was too short in the book. 
- I liked how you could see Voldemort getting weaker. 
- (Now on to the sad stuff) Preparing for battle = 1
- Fred/Lupin/Tonks = 2
- Snape = 3
- Ginny and everyone else seeing Harry dead = 4
- "He was the bravest man I ever knew" and that entire scene (especially the music) = 5
- 5 times. (Although there were a lot that were almosts.)
- It was really sad seeing Lavender.
- I LOVE Luna SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!! I mean, the part where she is all like "Harry Potter listen to me!" Oh. My. God. Do not get me started. 
- Neville!!!!! (Wait, just out of curriosity, that whole Neville/Luna thing never really happened right, like in the book? 'Cause if it didn't, it should have.)
- One thing I didn't like was how no one was around to see Harry and Voldy fight in the end, I wanted there to be cheering. 
- One thing, what was with the boat dock thing? I was like, where the eff is that? But, I think it worked well with the scene. 
- Wait, that Draco-Voldy hug was so weird/awkward ha ha ha.
- Mrs. Weasley, I love you.
- Seeing Snape crying over Lily's body. Oh. My. Freaking. Dead. Wizard. God. Too much for words. 
- Just ONE book related thing, where was Harry's wand in the end? Would he really want to use Draco's for the rest of his life? 
- Neville's speech? Ahhhhh.
- Okay, I'm sure that there is more, but I just can't think of it right now. 
So overall? AMAZING.


Anyways, like Jen has said, it is our "Anniversary" and she said mostly everything correctly, there is only one tiny thing that I disagree with, and that is that our best-friendship began with this blog. Like she said, that is not something that you can pinpoint to one exact moment, but I think that it began before that, or at least it did for me. I don't know, I still like the idea of this being the day to celebrate our friendship. 


Yup, I am going to go to my corner, laters. 




Awkward Moments: 44
Pages Read: 2321
Why Today Was Awesome: Harry!
Something I Learned: People aren't as excited for a movie when you don't see it at the premiere...
Song Stuck in My Head: "Harry Potter is Dead" by MoM
Email Subject of the Day: None...

Always: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II

SPOILER ALERT!!!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE MOVIE YET, DO NOT READ FURTHER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

As all of you already know, I went to the midnight premiere of the 8th movie last night with Shayne and Josh (Harry Potter has always been a family thing for us, seems like). 


I had about three hours of sleep last night because we got home around 3:30am. At the premiere, I represented Sssssssslytherin (SLYTHERIN!!!!), of course, and I also donned a Dark Mark (courtesy of my brother, Josh). But today, I'm sporting a Gryffindor shirt and, of course, proudly displaying "I must not tell lies" on my left hand. 


Overall, I liked the movie. I am not wholly disappointed; I did not like the latter half of the movie but not enough to be super mad about it. It is the end after all, and I would feel terrible if I didn't have "proper closure" (in quotes because it isn't really closure--it truly never ends).


We got to the theaters at 7-ish and there were already a lot of people there (3,000-ish by midnight?). We were on the stairs, not a bad spot compared to the poor souls who were all the way across the street near midnight. We played hangman while we waited and I tried making the Deathly Hallows sign with our orange post-its on the floor, but we didn't have enough space . I saw a bunch of people, even some old friends from elementary school. Josh was having fun playing "volleyball" with the beach balls that were bouncing around. 102.7 Da Bomb was there and I think the music that the DJ was blasting was the reason for my massive pre-movie headache. The costumes were amazing but I expected more people to dress up. There were a lot of Dobbys walking around, I saw a Quirrell, several Harrys, a lot of Hedwigs and Death Eaters, a couple of Voldemorts, and a Snape-and-Lily couple, and a lot more. I cheered for someone I saw on the escalators who was dressed as Ron Weasley and was  also wearing a blue headband (Joey!) and I saw someone in line at the concession stand wearing an actual Scarf of Sexuality (I wanted to give her a high five). The lines for the bathroom were so bad that there was even a line for the men's room. One girl in line just didn't want to wait any longer so she went inside the men's room (haha).


We sat up front, maybe in the 8th-ish row, so we were pretty front-front and the screen was huge. But it wasn't bad. We thought it was gonna be uncomfortable but it wasn't. I was sitting with my legs up on the seat, my ankles tucked as far back against my butt as possible and I was hugging my knees the whole time to keep myself from shaking. 


They started the movie late, around 12:08-ish maybe. Someone dressed up as Voldemort went down in front of the screen at one point and yelled "Avada Kedavra", pointing his wand at someone dressed up as Harry in the back. People cheered. I don't know why. We also did minute by minute countdowns (which failed because the movie was late).


My thoughts in random order:
-I think the movie was incredibly fast-paced. When the words "19 YEARS LATER" showed up on the screen, I was like, "That's it? This is the end? Noooooooo!!!!"
-When Voldemort ordered Lucius to call Snape, I started to tear up (I thought Alan Rickman was amazing. I've always liked Snape but now . . . MARRY ME, SNAPE, PLEASE). I started bawling when Nagini killed Snape (They made it so graphic without really showing anything because of that screen/wall/thing) and I just couldn't stop after that. I was just crying non-stop--I'm talking tears streaming down my face, sobbing and shaking to keep quiet kind of crying--for the rest of the movie.
-My favorite chapter in the whole series is "The Prince's Tale" so I was pretty excited to see that. I was a bit disappointed to find out that they decided to keep Snape "super good"; they didn't really show him slowly turning to a Death Eater and fighting with Lily because of his "dark ways". 
-I also noticed that they did that for Dumbledore--it wasn't clear that he wasn't the perfect person, that he actually wanted power and everything when he was younger, because Aberforth didn't go too much into detail about his relationship with Dumbledore. The movie definitely downplayed their faults, not to mention the overall darkness of the book. 
-The beginning was very very very faithful to the book, which I liked--there were parts where it was almost word-for-word the same.
-OMG, FRED, LUPIN, TONKS (I am still crying inside). 
-I liked how David Yates added that short clip where Fred and George were getting ready to fight and George was like, "You all right there, Freddie?" and FRED LOOKED SO SCARED (I whimpered when I saw this).
-And I also liked how Yates had that part where, right before the war, Lupin and Tonks were reaching for each other's hands but they didn't quite make it. And then, the next time we saw them, they were dead, still reaching for each other's hands. Yates gets a nod from me for that. 
-I thought Helena Bonham Carter did well pretending to be Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix. I really felt like I was watching Hermione trying to act like Bellatrix (but I found the fact that they kept Hermione's voice a bit irritating). 
-And why was the Imperius Curse treated so lightly? It seemed amusing, not evil.
-I hated Griphook (but then again, I hated him in the book too, that bastard). 
-I fell in love with how they did the dragon--I loved its eyes, its horns, its color, its seemingly scale-lessness (it didn't have scales, right?). 
-The Hufflepuff cup, in my head when I first read the book, looked more like Chip from Beauty and the Beast, but it was more like a golden goblet in the movie. 
-I was so looking forward to seeing the reunion with Percy! But I guess because they didn't make a big deal out of it in the fifth movie, it would have been weird to do so in the last movie. The Room of Requirement bits were funny, though (especially Seamus' comment about Ginny, Ron and Harry).
-Where were the creatures?? The house-elves, the hippogriffs, the good giants (Grawp?!), the centaurs? 
-Which brings me to the "war" which didn't really feel like a war. I mean, it felt like it was just a handful of people protecting the castle (which was filled with students just running around). In my mind, I liked how the war was so busy, so BOOM (as McGonagall so eloquently put it in the movie). Rowling had people running around, dueling in every corner, throwing Mandrakes and crystal balls at the enemies. And they didn't really have that.
-The battle between Voldemort and Harry? Um, okay, what was all that? I thought it was too long, and unnecessary until the point where they actually dueled outside in the courtyard (because essentially, that was what was supposed to happen). 
-Why didn't Harry fix his old broken wand?!
-Hermione and Ron's kiss was pretty random. We all cheered for that one. But Ginny's and Harry's was awkward.
-Kendall's in the movie: when Voldemort tried hugging Draco, the whole theater was just, "Uhhh, what the--? What is going on? OMG, we already know he doesn't know how to hug because he doesn't know love!" and I also thought of Kendall. Ninth-grade Kendall, haha.
-I liked the continuation of the Malfoy family's "disintegration". If you look at the whole series overall, they went from pureblood supremacists and supporters of the Dark Lord to a family trying and struggling to stay together. In the end, when they walked away from Hogwarts once they got Draco back, it was clear that only one thing mattered to them at that point: their family.
-We cheered when Bellatrix died. Go Mrs. Weasley!
-I thought Neville was amazing. We cheered for him, too.
-The bloody Voldemort baby was horrible--but it was especially freaky to me because of my cursed fear of fetuses (Fetuses? Fetusi? What is the plural?).
-I wanted to see little Teddy!


That's it for now. Kendall and Tiffany are dressed up today: Kendall's wearing his Gryffindor robes and Tiff's in Ravenclaw garb. Tiff also went to the midnight premiere but at another theater. Kendall hasn't watched it yet, so HA.


All right, that's it for now because I have to work soon.


Oh, and HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, KENDALL!


Today....
I really loved...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II.
I smiled because...of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II.
Lyrics playing in my head right now:
"I gotta always keep in mind: another great adventure waits on the other side. I'll see you on the other side..." (On the Other Side by M.O.M.)
Friend of the day: Severus Snape. Oh and Kendall, of course.
Hours of sleep last night: 3-ish (I drank this really good Butter Toffee coffee this morning to wake myself up...mmmmm...)

I Like the Word "Hooligans"

We have two big things coming up real soon, but before I dive in, let me show you my senior schedule.


Period 1: AP English (Longo)
Ehh, I was hoping maybe for Lagory but I think Ms. Longo is nice.
Period 2: AP Spanish (Melo)
Same classmates, same teacher for the past two years...
Period 3: AP Calculus AB (Park)
This made my day when my schedule came home. YES I HAVE PARK WHAATT.
Period 4: Maybe free? Or scholarship?
Period 5: AP Gov (Milks)
Yeah.
Period 6: Maybe free? Or scholarship?
FREE PERIOD PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE.
Period 7: Maybe free? Or scholarship?
Remember Cole? The one with that weird complex? Yeah, that Cole. We help make the Main Office rock more than it usually does.
Period 8: AP Bio (Shimamoto)
Biology, oh, how I have missed you!!! Kendall and I are having a competition. I am going to win.


Sadly, Kendall and I do not have any classes together. Except homeroom with Mama Hall. And, maybe, hopefully, period 6 party-slash-free period?


[Evan insert starts here]
All right, I'm super sad that I do not have my English 9 class with Dr. Won. We were the craziest, most sexually perverted class ever...and I loved every minute of it. Many of our jokes were about me...unfortunately...but I will always remember my BFFs: ZACHARIAH, SEAN MICHELLE, and DELIRIOUS.
[Evan insert ends here]


Just a side note, the only reason that the jokes were all about me in English 9 was that I was apparently "too innocent at the time" and everyone laughed whenever they thought I didn't get any of Shakespeare's dirty jokes (I understood them, I just didn't feel like it was necessary to laugh out loud or make annoying comments...except for that bench-pressing question...). Oh, and uh "flying ham"? Or was it "frying spam"?


Anyway, our two big things: Our anniversary and Harry Potter! And they're on the same day! Not really, but kind of.


First off: OUR ANNIVERSARY. So, let me tell you the story of the summer of '09, a boy named Kendall, a girl named Jen and the birth of this blog.


It all started in the summer of 2009. We were in summer school. I was taking Geometry B and, although Kendall registered late for a summer class because he only realized sometime during the last several weeks of that school year that he had nothing to do for the summer, he managed to get in one of the morning Write Right! classes (he was an idiot back when we were freshmen, he says so himself). Kendall's class finished at 10 and I usually got out of class at 12:30. I took the bus home almost every day after class and Kendall sometimes walked with me to the bus stop (Notice how he didn't "walk me" but "walked with me"? I love syntax.)


*flashback*
Jen: Walk with me to the bus stop?
Kendall: No.
Jen: What if I get raped?!
Kendall: Uhh...what if I get raped on my way back?
*flashback ends*

Maybe it was on July 12 or 13 when I showed Kendall my bucket list, a list of things that I would like to do before I die, as we walked to the bus stop. He decided to take it home for the day just to look at it (it was a long list) and he came back the next day with a paper filled with his comments about my list. He starred the things that either he also wanted to do or simply made him smile to know that I wanted to do them. But on July 14, 2009, as Kendall waited for my class to finish (he hung out in the library during those two hours like all cool people do), he created an account here on Blogger because one of the things on my bucket list was to "create a blog". As I walked toward our usual morning bench after my class, he came and met me halfway and handed me a piece of paper. He had printed out a page from the blog he had created for me. 


But something happened with that one (maybe he forgot the password, or he couldn't get in anymore or whatever) so the first try FAILed. 

So on July 15, 2009, we tried again in the computer lab during the half-hour recess before my geometry class. And our very first post was born on that day. 

I don't think we were really thinking, or planning anything special: we just wanted to create a blog because, well, because we had never done it before. I don't remember a conversation between us, agreeing that we would share this blog and that we would do all of the things on Kendall's list (his list of comments and starred items and smiley faces, a response to my bucket list) together, hopefully before we physically separated for college. There was no planning, no laying out of what we were going to do and how this was all going to work. Things just sort of happened, and we felt them happening, so we let them happen because we knew, or at least guessed, that if we hadn't, if we had tried to control things, we would not be the people we are now and we would not be the best friends we are now.


If you read our earliest posts, you can tell we were quite young and immature back then. We posted random things (even more so than our usual dose of randomness) and updated irregularly. There were long bouts of neglect and occasional  spurts of posts. The first blog didn't look like this little beauty you're looking at now either. I did a lot of the remodeling last summer when I had a lot more time in my hands. 

Kendall also helped, I think, but his biggest concern was that he didn't like the maroon color of the title header (I kept it anyway so HA!). 

We did BEDA(ugust) for the first time that year, and we updated more and more and more during our junior year to make up for our sophomore year.

And here we are. 


I think I've said this in a previous post, but I honestly cannot say when Kendall and I became best friends (probably because you can't really pinpoint a specific moment in time like that because becoming best friends isn't like turning a page in a book). But in my mind, it all started with this blog. With who(m?) else in the whole wide world would I share a blog and a bucket list? We became good friends when we were freshmen, but I didn't start thinking of him as my best friend until the summer of 2009. I had a pretty harsh sophomore year (we don't need to get into that) and he was one of the people who made it better and stayed with me. So I guess you could say that it all started with this blog. 


Maybe Kendall has a different angle to this story, but this is my angle. Maybe he'll share his with you later, if it's any different from mine (KENDALL, I'M SURE YOU DID NOT THINK OR FEEL THE SAME WAY AS I DID, SO DO IT. YOU BETTER.)


The cool thing is that, here we are, two years later. And on the same day, the final movie of something we both hold very dear to our hearts, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, comes out. And what better way to celebrate our two years of awesome bestfriendship and ten years of our lives engulfed in a magical whirlwind of spells, Hogwarts, gingers, house elfs and more than to GO TO THE MIDNIGHT MOVIE PREMIERE TOGETHER?! That would have been the coolest thing, if only we were doing exactly that, RIGHT?!?!


Kendall will explain because, you know, it's all because of him that it's not happening. And because I actually have to go work now...


Today....
I really loved...the air conditioning in the CCO.
I smiled because...I got a pretty rose from the Kapiolani Women's Center.
Lyrics playing at this very moment:
"I'll take you higher in the clouds..." (Evan...)
Friend of the day: Evan
Hours of sleep last night: 6