My Internet Life is Officially Validated

Alright. My life is awesome beyond all recognition right now.

So I'm mindin my own business and I think, "Oh! Let's check teh Tumblr!

Hum dee dum dee dum..."

"Buuuuuuhhhh nyyeeehhhhh rrrrrgghhhhh... Holy crap... I must make hilarious, creative posts now and forever if SHE'S following me!"

So then I check dA.

"ASDFGHJKL; AAAAAGGGGHHHHH HRRRRRRNNNNNGGGGGGG...

I'm verklempt... Talk amongst yourselves. Oh my gooooooosh... Such wondrous pressurrrre... I must make masterpieces now and forever, because crappy doodles just ain't gonna cut it no more!"

And then I check my notes.

"Your comic's gonna be up on dA tomorrow, my dear! "

HOLY PORKWICH, BATMAN!! I CAN'T EVEN. I've been so smiley. Excited just doesn't doesn't convey what I am right now.

Letters I Want to Send

I have some letters I wish I could send to people.

Dear Handsome Young Man sitting over there,

Hi. Soooo I noticed you're attractive. I thought you should know that your nerdy allure is most appreciated. I'm really hoping this going to the library at the same time thing becomes regular, because the view is nice from here. Please don't be like the guy from psych and disappear from my life.

Sincerely, the Creepy Stalker Girl Over Here

P.S. If you kiss that ho that just walked up, I'll be sorely disappoint- NOOOOOO!!!

P.P.S. I don't care. I'm still looking.

Dear Beautiful Adonis from psychology,

Why? WHY on EARTH did you have to drop that class?? I saw you the first day and I assumed my eyes were going to be graced by your presence errday, but APPARENTLY I was wrong! I don't even know your name to stalk you on facebook! Taunting me with your beautiful face and perfectly toned yet lean body was just cruel. It's like if you gave a man the gift of flight then viciously ripped his wings off the next day. But I enjoyed what we had while it lasted. And by that, I mean I loved walking behind you on my way to the library. It was an honor and privilege that few are blessed to experience and I shall never forget it nor your fabulous calves.

Sincerely, Wingless

Dear Know-it-All in my philosophy class,

Just because you took one philosophy class once does not make you an authority on philosophy! No one is impressed by what is no doubt your short list of advanced philosophy vocabulary that you Google before class to look smart. However, I appreciate that you comment rarely and appropriately, unlike that douchebag who can't keep his mouth shut.

Sincerely, Rolled-Eyes

Dear Douchebag in my philosophy class,

NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! I'm so tired of your stupid comments, idiotic swearing, your constant challenging of everything the teacher has to say, and your thinking that you're such a mature adult. You're like 30. Get over yourself. I also learned recently that you have a kid. My most sincere condolences to the woman you tricked into a relationship and the child who carries your genetic makeup. Please do us all a favor and cease to express any thoughts you might have ever. I swear, every time your open your mouth I lose more and more faith in humanity http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/126/314/3cd8a33a.png?1306264975.

Sincerely, That Girl Giving You Dirty Looks the Whole Hour

Kenzie Quotes

So last night Aubri came over and she was distraught because she almost got into a car accident. So with tears in her eyes she came in and was relaying to us the story of her would-be accident when Mackenzie comes in, looks at her, and says, "Your mom's gay!" I was trying to tell her that she shouldn't say things like that, but Aubri was just laughing :)

Oh, and Mackenzie just said to me, "I'm still deciding whether or not you are a person who could go to heaven." It's a real eye-opener, knowing that your sister believes she has the authority to pass that kind of judgement. Dad asked about his and mom's statuses, and APPARENTLY they're heaven material, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong by her, here.

Kenzie Quotes

So Mackenzie comes up behind me singing, "Your neck bone's connected to your... shoulder bone!" I turn around and she has that bone from Mexico wedged between her chin and that little dip in the clavicle. She then, upon seeing me laugh, ushered me to my blog to add it to "Kenzie Quotes." ;)

Nevermind...

Soooo I'll just go ahead and retract that statement from before, on account of these photos:

They're freaking PERFECT!! I LOVE them!! At first Jennifer Lawrence looked all blonde and prettay and voluptuous, but now I'm like http://foo-foo-flower.deviantart.com/favourites/42982429#/d3hl9c4. And I've always said Josh Hutcherson was going to grow up to be hot since Bridge to Terabithia came out, but I couldn't see him as Peeta. But with the blonde hair and everything he totally fits the part! GAH!! I'm SO PSYCHED yoo gaiz!

Aaaand I still don't care about Gale. They could have casted him as a cut of ham with a pocket knife and I would have been satisfied.

Kenzie Quotes

I thought I should immortalize her words from this evening:

"I'm telling you guys, I'm the voice. I'm the voice of the family, I'm the voice of life, I'm the voice of the city. Good night."

These were her closing remarks to my dad as she was going to bed, to which I burst out laughing and he said, "Sami! Hurry!"

My Complex

This blog entry is more for my personal benefit, so unless you want to hear about my issues, I suggest you go watch something a bit more jolly... like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8

Actually, I suggest you watch that either way. That kitten is frickin adorable.

So the past couple years I've come to develop what is now quite the little complex of mine. I believe it's best summarized by this quote:

"It's not a tantrum and I'm not jealous. I'm just FED UP- I'm just fed up with being second all the time. You know, I wanted to be a psychiatrist like mom way before you did, but because you were older you got there first. You were first to get married, you were first to give Dad the grandchild he always wanted. By time I get around to doing anything, it's all chewed meat."

I don't plan on elaborating or expanding on my thoughts, I just had to get that in writing and off my chest. And so help me if I get flack for quoting Frasier. That show is awesome.

Things I Love- Hunger Games

So I've found a lot of things that I'm kind of in love with lately. I've decided to make a list of them.

First off: Hunger Games. Thar be spoilers ahead.. Arrg.

Woah man, do I love these books. I mean, this series has occupied my thoughts a little more than they probably should have. I don't get it, though. For a series that made me as mad as this did, it doesn't make sense that I should love it as much as I do. First of all, the writing style didn't float my boat for a long time. It's written in present tense, whic is crazy-hard to read, and I swear Suzanne Collins takes joy in replacing commas periods. It's like a hobby of hers. But the actual events of the books should cause me to really cast the whole series aside for naught. For starters, when I read in Catching Fire that another Hunger Games was being held, I think I might have had a little fit. Like a physical fit of anger. There may also have been some justified "UGGHHHHHRAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! SAMI SMASH!!!"s. No lie. Not to mention the fact that she turned Peeta against Katniss, because NOTHING is allowed to work out the way it should! She leads you on for umpteen zillion pages (that's what it felt like) waiting for Peeta to come back and when Katniss is running to Peeta you're waiting for the embrace and the downpour of emotion when he freaking chokes her. Darn you, Suzanne Collins. Darn you all to heck. Also, there was absolutely no need to kill off Prim. I was never attached to her as a character or anything, but she was the catalyst of the whole series! She was the motivation! If Prim hadn't been chosen for the Games, Katniss wouldn't have needed to volunteer and none of it would ever have happened. And then after Katniss had sacrificed everything to save Prim and so many people had died in the name of the revolution Katniss kicked off, Prime is killed off. LAME. But above all, what made me the most angry, was when she KILLED FINNICK. I don't think I'll ever get over that. I mean, HONESTLY! Why on EARTH would she make such a charismatic character, allow him to revenge President Snow for turning him into what is pretty much a male prostitute, and reunite him with his long lost love Annie just to have his head ripped off by muttations?!?! I was seriously livid when he died. And people can say, "But it's only a book!" all they want, I don't care. I'm fairly certain there's some chunk of my brain that's purpose is to distinguish real life and fiction because I'm 99% sure I don't have that filter. Oh, and I'm 99% sure that's not the real Benjamin Franklin.

Still, those books are awesome. I've recently decided that I love books that are set in the future and whose central conflict is that the government has become corrupted or incorporates a sci-fi theme. It's a pretty consistent theme. But anywho, Hunger Games. First of all, Peeta is my official literary husband. I mean, seriously, he has wavy hair, he's sweet and sensitive, he's an artist, he's a baker (CARBS AND BREAD SMELL OM NOM NOM), and- wait for it-...he decorates cakes. REALLY, Suzanne Collins? Were you looking at my list of husband-qualifying qualities, you cheeky monkey??

Also, the last six pages of Mockingjay are the best in the whole series. Say what you will about by what means the end was met, to me what matters above all else is that the end was met. Peeta and Katniss got married and had chillins. Who doesn't love THAT?? And I seriously think I have a small heart attack at the last line of the book before the epilogue. So cute I can't even. The last line of the epilogue was pretty epic too. I admit, I kinda geeked out about it.

Speaking of which, here are some of my favorite lines!

Hunger Games

"To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed. And more than once, I have turned in the school hallway and caught his eyes trained on me, only to quickly flit away."

-Katniss, Pg. 32

“'I’m sure they didn’t notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often,' he says. 'They suit you.' And then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me." -Katniss, Pg. 72

"'Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?'

'Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.'

'She have another fellow?'

'I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her.'

'So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?'

'I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning… won’t help in my case'

'Why ever not?'

'Because… because… she came here with me.'"

-Caesar & Peeta, Pg. 130

"Yes, icing. The final defense of the dying." -Peeta, Pg. 252

"I can see why that day made you happy.'

'Well, I knew that goat would be a little gold mine,' I say.
'Yes, of course I was referring to that, not the lasting joy you gave your sister you love so much you took her place in the reaping,' says Peeta drily."
-Katniss & Peeta, Pg. 273

Catching Fire

"'Peeta, how come I never know when you're having a nightmare?' I say.
'I don't know. I don't think I cry out or thrash around or anything. I just come to, paralyzed with terror,' he says.
'You should wake me,' I say, thinking about how I can interrupt his sleep two or three times on a bad night. About how long it can take to calm me down.
'It's not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,' he says. 'I'm okay once I realize you're here.'

-Katniss & Peeta, Pg. 85

"What should we do with our last few days?"

"'I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,'" Peeta replies.

'Come on, then.'"

-Katniss & Peeta, Pg. 244

"I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me." -Katniss, Pg. 352

"So it's you and a syringe against the capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans." -Haymitch, Pg. 384

Mockingjay

"Why? Do you find this... distracting?" -Finnick Odair, Pg. 77

"Well, don't expect us to be too impressed. We just saw Finnick Odair in his underwear." -Katniss, Pg. 80

"President Snow says he's sending us a message? Well, I have one for him... Fire is catching!.. And if we burn, you burn with us!" -Katniss, Pg. 98

'That I knew that I have misjudged you. That you do love him. I'm not saying in what way. Maybe you don't know yourself. But anyone paying attention could see how much you care about him." -Finnick, Pg. 154

" 'You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. you never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.' then I dive into my tent before I could do something stupid like cry."

-Katniss & Peeta, Pg. 269

"Don't let him take you away from me. Stay with me."

"Always."

-Katniss & Peeta, Pg. 312

'"But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.' -Haymitch, Pg. 377

'What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.' -Katniss, Pg. 386

"So after, when he whispers, 'You love me. Real or not real?'

I tell him, 'Real.'"

-Peeta & Katniss, Pg. 386

"I'll tell them how I survive it. I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in things because I'm afraid it could be taken away. That's when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I've seen someone do. It's like a game. Repetative. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.But there are much worse games to play." -Katniss, Pg. 388

I'm such a sucker for romance :B

So. Books? Awesome. MOVIE, on the other hand...

FAIL. Absolute FAIL.

So help me if Alex Pettyfer isn't Finnick.

Today I'm thankful for... Cloudy skies

You know what the best part of my day was? Not being able to see the sun. As emo as that sounds, it's true. This is what the sky looked like:

And I was happy. Well, that's just a Google image, but still. Close enough.

I love how when the sky is overcast how everything gets a grey filter on it so all the colors are muted. Again, I sound angsty*. But if 360 days of the year you saw everything in high contrast and colors saturated by the extreme sunlight, you'd love a grey world, too.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-Huwlg2kY&feature=player_embedded

CAS Reflections- Arizona Museum for Youth

This is one of the gifts I've gotten over the time I've worked at AMY (Arizona Museum for Youth). It is a picture of me volunteering in the section of the museum known as ArtVille. Under it is a story that reads:

"One morning a man walked along a beach covered with thousands of starfish that had washed up during a storm. Now they lay withering in the sun. He saw a young girl picking up the starfish one by one and tossing them into the sea. As he approached her he couldn't help but ask, "Why bother There are too many of them. You won't make much of a difference." She picked up another starfish and tossed it into the water. Then she turned to the man and said, "I made a difference to that one."

Next to the photo is a picture of a starfish and the message, "One Volunteer Can Make a Difference" This was all framed in an frame that has the AMY logo on it.

Now wasn't that nice of them!

P.S. Getting a good photo of that frame took some pretty creative scanning

CAS Reflections- Arizona Museum for Youth

More pictures!

This was by far my favorite exhibit the museum has had since I started volunteering there. The name of it was Jump to Japan and featured the art of Studio Ghibli, an animation company in Japan. I am quite a fan of their work and I think that's pretty evident by the photos.

I pretty much geeked out every time I went in to volunteer.

My sister and I inside the Catbus!

It was my job to keep everything in the exhibit in proper order.

I didn't mind spending extra time keeping this particular exhibit neat and tidy at all. ;)

CAS Reflections- Piano Playing

It's picture time!

CAS Reflections- Bike Riding

So I had what I have deemed a near-death experience during one of my bike rides with my dad. We had gone through the McLellan neighborhood and crossed McKellips when it happened. We had crossed the intersection and were riding in front of an entrance to a parking lot when out of no where this car pops out and slams on her breaks. I do the same and fall over right in front of her car. My dad, however, being an intelligent and observant person, stopped before he was in any danger of being hit. I was fine besides a super scraped up knee and bike (you remember Gepetto), so I got up and was super eager just to continue the ride and forget the whole thing had happened. But no. The woman came out of her car and had the whole, "AREYOUOKAYI'MSOSORRY!" thing goin on. I'm not upset that she checked on me- she did that because she was a kind person and concerned about me. No, that was fine. I'm just not one to enjoy looking dumb and that's certainly how I felt sitting on the ground with my turned-around handlebars, still-spinning pedals, and a wounded knee and ego to tend to.

Then a few days later my dad was taking his bike around our neighborhood. He's the president of the HOA and is in charge of replacing the light bulbs that go out in our community. There are about 500,000 lightbulbs in the community (<--- Gross exaggeration) so I guess he was trying to get the job done and over with because he wasn't watching where he was going too closely. It was dark so he probably wouldn't have been able to see it even if he had been looking. He was riding along the big plot of grass we have in the center of the community when the ground fell out and formed a ditch under him. He was going too fast to follow the contour of he ground safely down the slope so he went flying and landed hard. He was feeling that in his back for like a week after.

THEN my dad had a dream where we were riding our bikes and I either got seriously hurt or even died in a crash- I can't remember which one. After all the accidents we'd been having on our bikes, my dad decided to take action.

Needless to say, we wear helmets on all our bike rides now.

CAS Reflections- Piano Playing

Okay so normally when Kenzie and I go to the retirement centers we perform for the ward consisting of those with diminished mental capacity due to Alzheimer's Disease. Performing for this group of people was great for Mackenzie to practice her magic show tricks in that she can be in front of an audience without need to get too nervous because they don't really interact with her. Subsequently, no one really talks to me when I play the piano before and after her performances. I just sit down, do my thing, and while no doubt they register that music is played, no one says anything to me. I was pretty used to this routine and I had no problem with it. However, one time when we performed it was for those more mentally capable at the retirement center. I did my part at the beginning as the people was filing into the room then Mackenzie did her magic tricks. Afterwards I got back on the piano to provide music as Kenzie mingled with the audience and packed up her tricks. I had brought a few piano books with me and some individual pieces and I'd gone through the individual pieces before the show so I had to play out of one of the books. I didn't know the particular song I was attempting to play very well because I hadn't really practiced it extensively, so it was pretty awful. I just cringed through it and tried my best to finish the song when halfway through I noticed this woman standing next to me. She didn't say anything, she just stood there. I get really nervous when people watch me play so I sounded even worse. I finished the song and turned to pack up when she said something that has stuck with me. It was to the tune of, "Thank you so much for coming and playing. It was wonderful. God bless you." She just kept thanking me and saying how much she appreciated me coming. I was so touched by her words. I had sounded absolutely horrible and yet she had such kind things to say to me. I had been so used to playing for those who were incapable of reacting to my music that I had almost forgotten that I was performing at the retirement home for others and not just because I needed CAS hours. I had really been going to the retirement because of obligation, but now I see volunteering as truly blessing the lives of others and I'm so thankful for that sweet woman for reminding me of that.

CAS Reflections- Bike Riding

Okay so I have pride in my bike- quite a bit of pride. This bike, who I've named Gepetto, and I have been through a lot together, as I've used Gepetto for the majority of the two years my dad and I have been exercising. This bike was with me when I started out- I was awkward, uncoordinated, and, quite frankly, embarrassing to watch. I've never had great experiences bikes, though. I learned to ride a bike at the ripe age of 8. When everyone else was doing wheelies and soaring off of homemade ramps, I was praying that at one point in the future it would be socially acceptable to use training wheels indefinitely. Not only that, but as soon after I had learned to ride my bike, winter hit. Winters in Ohio mean ice on the roads, especially on our cul-de-sac, where the ice trucks rarely salted the roads. This meant that I wouldn't be able to ride my bike until around March- four months later. You know the expression, "It's like learning to ride a bike- you never forget?" Well I managed to defy this phrase in every way, shape, and form. I pretty much MythBusted that whole idea. The kind, understanding kids across the street helped me get my bearings again and that time it didn't take as long to learn to ride again, but the fact still remains that I forgot how to ride my bike. So Gepetto and I had quite a reputation to live down to.

When my dad and I started exercising, our rides started off slow and short- only going about five or 6 miles in like an hour and fifteen minutes down the canal and back. Over time, however, my balance developed and I became pretty pro at riding my bike, I must say. We took our rides to neighborhoods and major streets and our seven mile trips took about an hour. Now my dad and I (and Gepetto) take only forty-five minutes to travel the extended eight mile ride.

The magic couldn't last forever, though. Gepetto was only a $100 bike and he should have lasted as long as he did. His tires kept popping, the handles were loose, and the seat had started buckling. It was time to say goodbye. We parted ways and I never saw Gepetto again. I will always remember the years we spent together- the good times and the bad, the laughs and the crashes. May his gears rest in peace.

Gepetto*

(2008-2010)

*Okay so that's not actually him, but that's the closest I could find in a Google image search

Today I'm thankful for... My awesome creeper dreams

Lol you knew it wouldn't take long before Darren made his way back on to my home page ;D

So the other night I had a dream that my mom, dad, and I went to this party with record label people and directors and what not. I have no idea what it was for or why I was there, but Darren Criss was there. Woooooooah my gosh. So my dad went to talk to the directors and my mom and I were getting our dinners at the buffet when I saw him. Now, I didn't get to meet him in my dream. You'd think I'd be disappointed, but no. Why? Because at least I know Darren and I have the potential to be together in my creeper dreams. And because I think this warrants a new picture of Darren (as if there's a time that doesn't warrant a picture of him), feast your eyes on what is now my favorite photo of him and my background pic:

Now I just have to pray that this was a premonition.