BEDA 8: Galavanting on rooftops, Egg McMuffins and assorted badassery.

I came across this picture from the only legit party I've ever gone to. As you might notice, it was pretty legit. I mean, only the most legit parties have a cake with a picture of Charmander on it. At least, the drunk people thought so and the sober people weren't opposed to cake in the least.

In the interest of a speedy post, today I realized just how straightedge I am and how I have to keep to that because I have thrown myself into the position of keeping (a few) people accountable for things. Strangely enough, one of my ways of keeping people accountable is by posting this on the occasional facebook wall. I'm a ridiculous human being but it works strangely well. I just have so much of a conscience that I have some to share. Don't send your kids to Christian school, friends. Only two years did this to me. I suppose if I had been there any longer I would have rebelled and been crazy instead.

Tonight I went on a roof after dark. It was sketchy, I had to climb about ten flights of stairs and I felt strangely daring. I live such a dangerous life of occasionally going on rooftop parking after dark. Also, one time I ate an Egg McMuffin in the library, even though eating isn't allowed in the library.

I really hope my writing conveys sarcasm in the right places.
Love,
-J-

BEDA 7: Unashamed #nerdcred

I heard two words today that cracked me up: swagedelic and dipsydoodle. In other news, I also saw a traditional Scottish band (yes, with bagpipes) practicing in the parking lot of a seniors' home, by a main road. Whenever bagpipes are involved, I usually approve and appreciate.

As well as that, I continue my love of amusing office equipment by considering a love affair with the machine at the library that re/desensitizes books. When you put a book in it, it gives a nice little satisfying click. I love it almost as much as folding machines, possibly more.

Volunteering at the library every Tuesday, I'm getting to know my alphabet so well while shelving books. I didn't realize I sucked at the alphabet until I was handed a sheet to practice putting books in shelving order. Soon, I will be a shelving master, along with being skilled at many other things from the library that are nontransferable to any other real life situations. The smooth operations of the library are strangely comforting to me, as organization often is to me. It's the epitome of complex organization with systems that work and competent people. The OCD part of my heart rejoices.

Also, the library has both seasons of Sherlock to be processed in the Technical Services room. They just keep winning my heart.
Love,
-J-

BEDA 6: Happy Civic Holiday!

That is, if you live in Canada. I get celebrate the holiday of New Brunswick day, which I'm not totally sure what I should be celebrating. It's not like we have anything that defines us that we can celebrate. We're actually just a really mediocre province. It falls under the category of 'bank holidays that nobody knows why they exist.' I suppose we could go around being bilingual all day, but what fun is that?

However, if there's bouncy things and free cotton candy uptown like there was on Victoria day, I am completely willing to acknowledge this as a legitimate holiday. I'm not sure if they do that on just a regular holiday or if they were just trying to impress Prince Charles and Camilla when they swung by (in a manner befitting royalty) on Victoria day. But, this being the slightly underfunded place that it is, I'm pretty sure they blew all their money for such things (demonstrated by the extremely underwhelming firework display on Canada day.)

Every year, the August long weekend marks the second half of the summer, an annual reminder that there's about a month left until school resumes. Time to start panicking about entering my senior year of high school and applying to universities and going into the world, worrying about money (because university is fracking expensive) and growing up. I have to make decisions on my own that can make or break me. I foresee the making of innumerable pros and cons lists in the coming year.

The incredibly irritating thing is that when I mention this, people often are giving me the "Live in the moment!" BS. No, just no. I plan things far ahead of time, I don't go where the wind takes me. One of my friends this year applied to only one university, got rejected, but managed to just slip into a different program in June. I don't take well to leaving things up to fate and there's no way I'm going to cut it that close. I'm applying to at least three schools, most likely more, and I'll probably have large, in-depth charts on the pros and cons of each.

So far for this year, I know I will have to balance schoolwork, yearbook, choir, musical and most likely a job (because fees associated with graduating are also fracking expensive). My workload for school is probably going to be significantly lighter than the past few years, as I'm only taking English, History, Math and an assortment of bird courses. Still freaking out quite a bit. This year still has such an ominous feel about it.

I know it'll probably work out wonderfully and be a great last year of high school but I've not quite come to terms with what I'll be facing after this.
Love,
-J-

BEDA 5: Books and my opinions on them (no spoilers, I promise)

My current pile 'to read' pile of books. I got pretty ambitious.

I have this problem with books that I really like to read them, but I rarely sit down to read for more than an hour at a time if I have a working internet connection/plans for my day. I've been slowly getting over this and with this has come lots of ambition to read and friends who periodically make piles of books for me in the library.

I've read a substantial amount of books in the past month, so I figured I would go over some of them and what I thought of them:

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams: After around two years of causual reading, I finally finished the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It's definitely helped foster my appreciation for quirky things. Words cannot describe my love for this. I have such respect for Douglas Adams for creating (absolutely ridiculous) setting after setting and having it all fit together and still have some believability.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: I was rereading this for the second time because even with wikipedia, I was in a huge pit of confusion. It's great, but I feel like everything is going over my head and that I still don't quite 'get it.' I feel like it's the type of book that all the symbols are actually purposely implanted there by the author and not just figments of an English teacher's imagination. I like it but I can't get over the feeling that in many places it's trying too hard to be extremely pretentious. I like that I read it because now I can make the occasional reference to it.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: This was a really short read and I didn't like it as much as other people seem to. It felt a bit bland and lacking in details (somewhat intentionally, I think), in a format like it was almost like it was written for a children's reading level. I suppose that it's purpose is to be thought provoking, but it just didn't speak to me very much. Not that it went over my head, but that the message it was trying to get across wasn't applicable to me.

1984 by George Orwell: Unlike Fahrenheit 451, 1984 far exceeded my expectations. The setting was quite intricate but well maintained throughout the book. I felt like I was sucked into not only a completely different world, but was edging in on a different mind set. I was terrified while reading a lot of it but genuinely awed by it ('enjoyed' doesn't seem like the right word) and I feel like I'm a better person for reading it. Also totally prepared for studying the Cold War in History this year.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling: I've been slowly rereading the Harry Potter series over the past few months. I first read the series three years ago* and haven't read it or watched the movies since (with the exception of the movies that have been in theaters). This time around, I like that I'm rediscovering them from the point of view of seventeen year old me instead of fourteen year old me. Our points of view are quite different. I've determined that Harry Potter will just always be amazing.

*My Christian school told me from a young age that Harry Potter was evil so I was late on the band wagon after realizing that a book about a young orphaned wizard couldn't possibly be that evil.

And that is all I have time for today, folks, as it's nearing midnight.
Love,
-J-

A comic for your viewing pleasure