tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16049200208279804702024-02-20T11:46:14.535-08:00The Majik of MagentaLife is Majikal. Especially my life. Which is what this blog is all about. ^_^ <br><br>I'm Bettina Levy, and this is the story of my life, since Dec. '08Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.comBlogger395125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-60789329288878121072016-01-04T07:55:00.000-08:002016-01-04T07:55:08.010-08:00New thingsIt's a few days into 2016, and I've been wanting to get back into blogging for a while now, so I figured, why not start on the first Monday of the year?<br />
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There's a few cool ways I'm starting this new year:</div>
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<b>A new haircut</b><br />
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Now you can really tell the difference between me and my twin sister. This new look makes me so happy! My hair is so much easier to maintain, and it's just so cute. Now I finally look more like my ponysona, Magenta Plume. XD</div>
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--- <b>A new car</b></div>
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On the last day of the year, my family decided to buy our first electric car. It's a used Nissan Leaf, and it's easily the coolest vehicle we've ever owned. I can't wait to drive it around different places and not have to pay anything for gas!</div>
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--- <b>A new obsession</b></div>
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About a month ago I started watching the YouTube gamer, Jacksepticeye, do a playthrough of the game "Undertale". Since he finished it (well, he still hasn't finished the "genocide" route, but he completed the pacifist one), I have not been able to stop looking for fan-made videos and comics featuring those characters! I just love the characters so much! Particularly the two skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. Sans (the short one), is my absolute favorite (and I'm pretty sure he's everyone else's too).</div>
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It's not just the funny, lovable characters. It's also the music, the simple 8-bit style, just the concept that you can either fight the monster and kill them, or spare them and become their friend (because even though they're monsters, they're unbelievably cute ones! Really, you wonder why anyone would want to kill these characters, especially once you got to know them!)</div>
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Sadly for me, there's not many people I can geek out about this game with, except for one of my friends and my sister, who finally started watching the game at my recommendation. But recently I got inspired to write lyrics based on the game's music, and basically I've made a few little sing-a-long videos. I posted one of them on my YouTube channel so far, but another couple are waiting in the wings.</div>
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--- <b>A new state of mind</b></div>
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My boyfriend of nearly 2 years, Jerome, recently left to study abroad in France. He's already been gone about a week. I miss him a lot, even though we still text and see each other by webcam. He's going to be away for 6 whole months... Which is hard to think about, because the longest we've ever been apart was never more than a couple weeks. So yeah, I won't be seeing my love again for about half of the year... Unless I can get myself a plane ticket to Paris and visit him for a while. That would be wonderful. ^_^...</div>
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Even though we're far apart from each other now, I still believe we can make it. Our relationship has just turned into a long-distance one, for the time being. Since Jerome is no longer around to keep me company during the weekend, like he always used to, I will just have to get out of my shell a little and do my own thing with other people. I really need to get out there and make more friends.</div>
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That's all I really wanted to talk about for now. Don't really have any resolutions to speak of. I just want this to be a good year that goes by very quickly... Hope to find time to blog again really soon.</div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-69331732927340402462015-07-02T18:31:00.001-07:002015-07-02T21:40:23.996-07:00A clean slateSo I feel like I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping my resolution of writing a blog post for every week of the year. I want to get back to blogging a little bit, so here's what's been going on with me lately.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21GubftsOCvBrkUwoPnOBR-z1Iw8PKpi4qiluE-xrxouKw1s5TT5i1tramgv4J5hyphenhyphen5CRx617NfBFd4RMkaZpKLUDqqJmteRcCy496hVxLIP-I2nTbSbaxtjBBfe2Fm0VNO3s-zqKNRqYO/s640/blogger-image-160856146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21GubftsOCvBrkUwoPnOBR-z1Iw8PKpi4qiluE-xrxouKw1s5TT5i1tramgv4J5hyphenhyphen5CRx617NfBFd4RMkaZpKLUDqqJmteRcCy496hVxLIP-I2nTbSbaxtjBBfe2Fm0VNO3s-zqKNRqYO/s640/blogger-image-160856146.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>#1 - This last Tuesday I went to a group workout session with my dad and sister. It was outdoors in a park really close by us, and there were about 50-60 people there with us. We exercised for about an hour, and it was surprisingly a lot of fun! I've never been a big fan of exercise, but while I was quite exhausted, my body felt alive! Muscles I don't normally use are being put to work! That feels really good. ^_^</div><div><br></div><div>So I went to the other session again today. They do it Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I'm thinking I would like to make this a regular thing. I may already be pretty skinny and healthy, but maybe I can give myself some muscles or abs or something. :P</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iSvYdNdz-XwOWUTw_-3Pcd896KqGjAiQ5gngYgXcxF_lAOQ2g-IJu0jsehQ6TuTW2JRiWd7FZyH89tiqRhKmSfesSCB__RqkKX1t7vHBQRQfcaiPj51PpJw2bumauVLU4Q5R4z0pHkAg/s640/blogger-image-1201601272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4iSvYdNdz-XwOWUTw_-3Pcd896KqGjAiQ5gngYgXcxF_lAOQ2g-IJu0jsehQ6TuTW2JRiWd7FZyH89tiqRhKmSfesSCB__RqkKX1t7vHBQRQfcaiPj51PpJw2bumauVLU4Q5R4z0pHkAg/s640/blogger-image-1201601272.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>#2 - In the last few days, I feel like I have become something of a rising YouTube star. A couple weeks ago, while my boyfriend was out working at his job, I kept myself busy by recording myself as I reacted to the newest string of Steven Universe episodes, a mini-marathon, if you will. So finally, after editing my videos together with the actual episodes, I'm putting them up on YouTube, one episode a day.</div><div><br></div><div>I've posted 3 episodes out of 5 so far, and already I've gotten lots of views in a very quick time! I didn't publicize it or share that I'd done this with anybody, so I guess lots of random people are choosing to watch me as I watch Steven Universe. Which is incredible, because I don't think my videos are even that great quality! ^_^ It's just so awesome! I've even got people subscribing to me, and a couple comments here and there.</div><div><br></div><div>I'll post another one tomorrow and the last one on July 4th, and that will be the last "Steven Universe" video I'll post for a while, because there's no new episodes until the next big marathon in a couple weeks. I'd like to do something similar when that time comes, film myself watching these episodes for the first time. It's just really fun to think that I have an actual audience. ^_^</div><div><br></div><div>Here's my channel, if you'd like to check my videos out and see the nice things people are saying. ^,^</div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-EmBtXmXOMPF-vWr9YaJA">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-EmBtXmXOMPF-vWr9YaJA</a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGC1_jSMtjyz43h2DC9ZVhp59peD-Z1Hyi3paY_sdzQxfCVxUXuaNY6e78L3cm8ij7rdcesAuwTY2CObx2gwQ-Kw2zztCxTOLQQEZS65da04coL6gpOUPy_lRUybdfSp-nL1LlrWGDpzO/s640/blogger-image--1593307913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGC1_jSMtjyz43h2DC9ZVhp59peD-Z1Hyi3paY_sdzQxfCVxUXuaNY6e78L3cm8ij7rdcesAuwTY2CObx2gwQ-Kw2zztCxTOLQQEZS65da04coL6gpOUPy_lRUybdfSp-nL1LlrWGDpzO/s640/blogger-image--1593307913.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>#3 - Yesterday I started reading this amazing book called "Second Chance", by Robert Kiyosaki. If you've never heard of him, Kiyosaki wrote "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and invented this financial education board game called Cashflow that my family used to play all the time, and he's one of my dad's (and in turn, one of my) heroes. In this book, he dedicates it to one of my dad's other heroes, R. Buckminster Fuller, who was basically the Leonardo DaVinci of the twentieth century, really smart guy with lots of great inventions and ideas.</div><div><br></div><div>So Kiyosaki talks about how Fuller's different philosophies changed his life, and how the country (and really the entire world) is having a whole financial crisis, and it all starts with how people are educated about money. When you really think about it, there isn't any good financial education in schools, so most people don't know how to get rich, so he's all about making humanity as a whole richer. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm only on the fifth chapter so far, but I seriously think this book should be a must-read for the people of my generation.</span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">So yeah, those were the top 3 things I wanted to bring up. I hope I get to blog a little more in this second half of the year (2015 is already half gone! Noooooo!!!) and that I keep on improving myself a little every day.</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">~Bettina out~</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">PS: yes, I'm posting this late at night. I really need to improve my sleeping habits... Or I'll just become a vampire girl. *in-joke!* *wink-wink* ^,~</font></div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-25656821939364596412015-05-06T19:56:00.001-07:002015-05-06T20:10:11.255-07:00The Lonely Tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfT9A8UPYZNtwM8cgzW8f_WizNUawwL6D351PK_O6hHrux_2gav-Nd1cu3ojmgHk71VpVzmKc9uglgx1pGEPgWAHnzN6kYmuRINyrY0hqsSTlUjmVx4yeXaamArdpxqtUX0OA9s_sReAo/s640/blogger-image-1740740818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfT9A8UPYZNtwM8cgzW8f_WizNUawwL6D351PK_O6hHrux_2gav-Nd1cu3ojmgHk71VpVzmKc9uglgx1pGEPgWAHnzN6kYmuRINyrY0hqsSTlUjmVx4yeXaamArdpxqtUX0OA9s_sReAo/s640/blogger-image-1740740818.jpg"></a></div>Once upon a time on a starry night<div>There stood a tree that was quite a sight</div><div>It was rooted in a valley by a silvery pond</div><div>Surrounded by mountains from dusk 'til dawn</div><div><br></div><div>It's trunk was rough, it's branches were bare</div><div>It was strong and tall, but felt lonely there</div><div>The only living thing for miles around</div><div>The tree grew sad that the only sounds</div><div>It could hear were the rippling pond and the wind</div><div>Little did it know that new life would begin</div><div><br></div><div>For on that very night, for whatever reason</div><div>Birds migrated to that valley. Perhaps it was the season?</div><div>2 birds came and perched on that lonely tree</div><div>The tree was so excited it could barely breathe</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywbgm3_erRHpydIh5AF1_K-VUsHtUy4LjDwMsO4chpS0JXhBzl3TPbStjCY6E4f2qo3SJcKsEI0oaYKZ9g1Qdg17qicpcctfOK1hyv8yKr0reVzJJgGKq2fakbPOVz-9OJmDRmVRzLWOW/s640/blogger-image--1947179755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywbgm3_erRHpydIh5AF1_K-VUsHtUy4LjDwMsO4chpS0JXhBzl3TPbStjCY6E4f2qo3SJcKsEI0oaYKZ9g1Qdg17qicpcctfOK1hyv8yKr0reVzJJgGKq2fakbPOVz-9OJmDRmVRzLWOW/s640/blogger-image--1947179755.jpg"></a></div></div><div>One bird was yellow, the other one pink</div><div>They saw each other and they each began to sing</div><div>They sang of lovely clouds and what it was to fly</div><div>Their song was so beautiful, the tree could only sigh</div><div>The singing birds grew closer, continuing their tune</div><div>By the end they were side-by-side, gazing at the moon</div><div><br></div><div>The lonely tree was deeply moved by this touching scene</div><div>It began remembering olden days, when it was young and green</div><div>Even when the birds flew off, the tree was still content</div><div>It kept their song in its heart and was never lonely again.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gJEMRwPt9s8QB3mC35dMa2_l_VPOoPaEdmB4OHuoZQDpXN4ZDbGbEWTymw7pqgmcrZ-GxOJcIIeBPjOeEjvIT580ZPu59aQaVLtXcaCVNz8NuHv6p7Qql7iPZarjHP7Z26mEh0JpO3iu/s640/blogger-image-1768111379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gJEMRwPt9s8QB3mC35dMa2_l_VPOoPaEdmB4OHuoZQDpXN4ZDbGbEWTymw7pqgmcrZ-GxOJcIIeBPjOeEjvIT580ZPu59aQaVLtXcaCVNz8NuHv6p7Qql7iPZarjHP7Z26mEh0JpO3iu/s640/blogger-image-1768111379.jpg"></a></div>This painting I copied around October 2014. Obviously I took plenty of artistic liberties with my version. More wavy water, b<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">igger mountains, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">starry night, the little birds. ^,^ Hope you like the poem.</span></div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-18093957423951077202015-05-05T06:46:00.001-07:002015-05-05T10:33:06.745-07:00Blues, Greens, and Aquamarines<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPNtolDi_IhGbT2QNSdZ3b_eBG8rFltm1tAqPAxmQBu1Q029x288PzeRffZdlyBGlDcion2nvVLx_CLnkTTkA13Wv3gSWpHwwIkvOaR7DHqNRlogHK-fwj12LPLRdXv4_PvgFyXr7Byb1/s640/blogger-image-1915416817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPNtolDi_IhGbT2QNSdZ3b_eBG8rFltm1tAqPAxmQBu1Q029x288PzeRffZdlyBGlDcion2nvVLx_CLnkTTkA13Wv3gSWpHwwIkvOaR7DHqNRlogHK-fwj12LPLRdXv4_PvgFyXr7Byb1/s640/blogger-image-1915416817.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Blues, greens, aquamarines,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dreams</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Of rippling reflections.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's hard to reflect p<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">roperly,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When the weeping willow hangs so heavily.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Lily pads sprouting pink and yellow flowers</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Make me stare at this pretty pond for hours.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I try to get past the surface, t<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">o the murky depths below,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But the refracting light blinds me, t<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">he foggy waters have nothing to show.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Then I spot a little ladybug b<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">uzzing,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Touching down</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">On a small green pad.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It had to be tired of flying.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I wondered how far it had traveled,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">How far it still had to go.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This was only one of the stops</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">On the spotted beetle's journey.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Soon it will take off again,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">And forget this lonely place</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Of placid languishing and wishing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I don't believe I'll stay here long.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Like water, I want to flow like a song.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I can't be stagnant, that feels wrong.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Thinking fresher thoughts, I take my leave</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Of these blues, greens, and aquamarines.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_gKy4MLeVK1UCP3TrvMUN4UnGufoYfY9uQ52vY4lBKCmT31j6bf8dhaCj9zzQ4CLCQAd6qyQvWtULlhjOLvNBahXmTx69gLSgDIQSdF0FJEzI-Sd0N1fa9jxlA8WRxeWPKDR_MUYqD_h/s640/blogger-image-1534165775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_gKy4MLeVK1UCP3TrvMUN4UnGufoYfY9uQ52vY4lBKCmT31j6bf8dhaCj9zzQ4CLCQAd6qyQvWtULlhjOLvNBahXmTx69gLSgDIQSdF0FJEzI-Sd0N1fa9jxlA8WRxeWPKDR_MUYqD_h/s640/blogger-image-1534165775.jpg"></a></div>I copied this painting way back in February 2014 at an art class. The one at the top is my interpretation, and it hangs on the wall right next to my bed. This morning I was looking at it, and suddenly I got inspired to write a poem about it. ^,^</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I've done a handful of other paintings in the past. Maybe I'll write poems based on those too...</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-40724616296513128242015-04-22T12:28:00.001-07:002015-04-22T12:28:07.088-07:00Another diamond<div>Here's another poem that is in a similar format to the previous one, only longer. :P</div><div>~~~~~~~~~~</div><div>1- It's</div><div>2- Not easy</div><div>3- To come up</div><div>4- With a good idea.</div><div>5- But who said it was?</div><div>6- No one becomes successful overnight, right?</div><div>7- It takes practice, and lots of work.</div><div>8- Making a song, writing a story, or inventing something</div><div>9- Is a wonderful dream for creative individuals to have.</div><div>10- That doesn't mean it's going to be fun and games.</div><div>11- It's hard to be original, not to mention challenging to compete</div><div>12- Especially with the many great minds that have all come before you.</div><div>13- With so much content out there, the garbage as well as the masterpieces,</div><div>14- Not to mention all the critics, trolls and haters, waiting to tear you down,</div><div>15- How does one even begin to express themselves in a way that's never been done?</div><div>15- Well, maybe you won't be completely original in your creative endeavors, but hey, it's okay.</div><div>14- After all, every new idea that came into reality was based on old ideas.</div><div>13- You can start being creative by taking existing things and changing them slightly,</div><div>12- Or even by taking a few things at once and combining them.</div><div>11- That's what all artists do, in the end. Real artists steal.</div><div>10- Changing something is much easier than creating from thin air.</div><div>9- There really is absolutely nothing new under the sun</div><div>8- When you sit down and think about it</div><div>7- But that is not a bad thing.</div><div>6- Stand on the shoulders of giants.</div><div>5- Can't promise you'll make it,</div><div>4- But you won't know</div><div>3- If you don't</div><div>2- Ever even</div><div>1- Try</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-91747263822879994152015-04-22T09:05:00.001-07:002015-04-22T09:05:24.584-07:00A diamond poem<div>I decided to write a poem in an interesting format... Maybe I'll think of more...</div><div>~~~~~~~~~~</div><div>1- I</div><div>2- Don't know</div><div>3- What I'm doing.</div><div>4- What's wrong with me?</div><div>5- I'm so lazy, directionless, bored,</div><div>6- Stuck in a block of creativity.</div><div>7- I need to be doing something else,</div><div>8- Something different and new with myself. But what?</div><div>9- How do I get myself to change my ways?</div><div>10- Somehow I must motivate and inspire myself, and get encouraged</div><div>10- To think outside the box and draw outside the lines,</div><div>9- Look at things from new perspectives and new angles.</div><div>8- At the same time, I need some order</div><div>7- Some rules with which to play by.</div><div>6- If only I had an idea</div><div>5- Of what I could do.</div><div>4- Where do I start?</div><div>3- I have to</div><div>2- make it</div><div>1- good.</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-46374902939472739312015-03-12T17:43:00.001-07:002015-03-13T11:24:47.329-07:00Crystal Gem rap battle<div style="text-align: left;">
So I got inspired to write something today, thanks in part to the return of one of my favorite cartoon shows ever, "Steven Universe" (watch them all online here: <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.animetoon.tv/watch-steven-universe">http://www.animetoon.tv/watch-steven-universe</a>) and the following awesome rap battle videos:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I decided to put these two things together and come up with my own fictional character rap battle! Hope you like it. ^,^</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Hello, I'm Garnet. I may not say much</span></div>
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But if you're a threat, I can pack a punch</div>
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I'm flaunting my gauntlets, better give up now or</div>
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You'll leave me no choice but to use my gem power</div>
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I'll pound you to the ground, knock you into next year</div>
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I protect my friends and I don't know fear</div>
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I'm fierce, I'm fast, you'll never know what hit ya</div>
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I've got a third eye that sees into the future</div>
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So I know how it goes, you lose and I win</div>
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This battle is over before it even begins.</div>
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Oh no, you didn't! There's something you missed!</div>
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When it comes to rap battles, the queen is Amethyst!</div>
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I'm messy, but you don't wanna mess with me</div>
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The best rhymes are mine, you just wait and see</div>
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I'm crazy, ladies! There is no escape!</div>
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I'm a wild child, honey, Imma whip you into shape!</div>
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This purple puma's on the prowl tonight</div>
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Don't tease me 'bout my height because I'll put up a fight</div>
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I've got an appetite for food and fun</div>
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I think it's clear to see that this battle is done</div>
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Now wait just a minute, you take that back!</div>
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I didn't want to do this, but it's my turn to attack</div>
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I am Pearl, the girl who's gonna rock your world</div>
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With my smooth sword fighting and a ballerina twirl</div>
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I'm filled to the gills with skills you don't even know</div>
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But if you want to throw down then I'll give you a show</div>
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I'm slender, I'm sweet and I'm shaped like a fairy</div>
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Don't let my looks fool you, my moves are legendary!</div>
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Are you scared? I don't care, this is such a waste of time</div>
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It's clear to see I'm the one with the best rhymes</div>
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Not even! It's Steven who has the funky flow</div>
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You gems may be cool, but this is my show!</div>
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I may be just a kid, but I kid you not</div>
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Part human, part Crystal Gym, I think I've got a shot</div>
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I'm not much of a fighter, but when push comes to shove</div>
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You know I'll be there to protect the ones I love</div>
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It's very plain to see that I rule Beach City</div>
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I know everyone's name and I'm clever and witty</div>
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So bow down to me, cuz I'm the king of the verse</div>
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Better hand the crown over to Steven Universe!</div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-85936938467218075352015-03-01T19:56:00.001-08:002015-03-01T20:08:10.997-08:00The (new!) Story of the Man Who Didn't Finish Anything<div>So I published a poem years ago that to some seemed a tad depressing. This weekend I rewrote it so that ending was a little happier, but the message is still the same. Hope you enjoy it! ^_^</div><div>(The asterisks * indicate where I wrote new lines.)</div><div><br></div><div>Original, from July 2010: http://magentacarmineroberts.blogspot.com/2010/07/funny-new-poem.html</div><div><br></div><div>There once was a man by the name of Paul</div><div>who was wiry, skinny, and not that tall</div><div>(he'd never quite finished growing up, after all.)</div><div><br></div><div>As a kid he had habits that were not very good</div><div>Never finished his veggies, like good boys should</div><div><br></div><div>No one understood him, not even his folks</div><div>Never finished a sentence whenever he spoke</div><div>(which was a problem when he tried to tell jokes.)</div><div><br></div><div>He never finished school, because of his quirk</div><div>He never finished classes, or his homework</div><div><br></div><div>Paul never finished movies, or even one book</div><div>He'd start, but then never give another look</div><div>Maybe they weren't worth the effort it took?</div><div><br></div><div>Never once did he finish his chores</div><div>His parents worried more and more...</div><div><br></div><div>*They made him join a group called the P. A.</div><div>*Procrastinators Anonymous, a.k.a</div><div>*Unfortunately meetings were always delayed</div><div><br></div><div>*Paul couldn't see why everyone fussed</div><div>*He didn't finish his sandwich, leaving the crust</div><div><br></div><div>As an adult, he never finished one job</div><div>(which was to manufacture thingamabobs)</div><div>He was sadly replaced by a guy named Rob</div><div><br></div><div>"You never finish anything!"</div><div>Said his girlfriend, Sarah King</div><div><br></div><div>*Paul tried to deny it and start a fight</div><div>*But before he could finish, he knew she was right</div><div>*He thought about her words all through the night</div><div><br></div><div>*The very next day, he made a plan</div><div>*To finally become a finished man</div><div><br></div><div>*Paul promised Sarah that before too long</div><div>He would go and prove her wrong</div><div>(Who knew his feelings were even that strong?)</div><div><br></div><div>*He decided to go back and finish school</div><div>*So his girlfriend would know that he was no fool</div><div><br></div><div>*After a few years, he earned his degree</div><div>*His parents cheered and wept with glee</div><div>*Sarah was as proud of him as she could be</div><div><br></div><div>*He wanted to finish other things</div><div>*Paul decided to spread his wings</div><div><br></div><div>*He began to write his story, so he could share</div><div>*with the world how, with much work and care</div><div>*Anyone could do what he did, if they dared</div><div><br></div><div>*He's not finished yet, but he will be soon</div><div>*It's due to come out sometime in mid-June</div><div><br></div><div>So let this be a lesson to everyone:</div><div>Finish what you start.....</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-26169077048167632502015-02-25T05:50:00.001-08:002015-02-25T06:04:01.000-08:00The World of Monopoly<div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">I am very proud to say (especially after feeling the way I did in my last post) that I wrote a poem yesterday! Annette helped me a little bit, but I feel so good to have written something new!</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">I don't know how it came up, but while my family was having lunch, one of us were trying to remember all the spaces around the Monopoly board. We know all the color blocks (purple, grey-blue, magenta, orange, red, yellow, green and blue), but the individual names and locations of deeds and railroads and Chance/Community Chest was harder to recall.</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">So, for no reason at all, I decided to write a poem about it! I felt like giving it a somewhat Dr. Seuss tone and rhythm. I think this could make a really fun children's book someday, with colorful pictures and characters and everything!</font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Without further ado, here is my poem! XD</font></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKOYR78Q71tDxxrbXPTmazlTVwwJ4ncOpZLTtOZh5vVTml44Be0GvpEIj3KTn0G_8u30YrRVbz03g-wqbqqtXxqoAR1KxPGjXBYWJ_dpuIEC1qktIm2dTN1XuyfqnTyC76G-tQCKR-BWG/s640/blogger-image--901637380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKOYR78Q71tDxxrbXPTmazlTVwwJ4ncOpZLTtOZh5vVTml44Be0GvpEIj3KTn0G_8u30YrRVbz03g-wqbqqtXxqoAR1KxPGjXBYWJ_dpuIEC1qktIm2dTN1XuyfqnTyC76G-tQCKR-BWG/s640/blogger-image--901637380.jpg"></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Do you want adventure? You want to have fun?</span></div><div>You want to learn something to impress everyone?</div><div>Well fly around the board and you will see</div><div>All the places to land in Monopoly</div><div><br></div><div>"Mediterranean Ave" is right after Go</div><div>Impossible to get on the first dice throw</div><div>Since of course you play with 2 dice, you know!</div><div>(In Britain however, it's Old Kent Road)</div><div><br></div><div>Afterwards, Community Chest</div><div>Then Baltic Ave (or Whitechapel) next</div><div>On Income Tax you must pay out</div><div>200 bucks or 10 percent your amount</div><div><br></div><div>First railroad is Reading, or Kings Cross</div><div>The train Harry takes to reach Hogwarts!</div><div>Oriental Ave or Angel Islington</div><div>Then comes Chance, you might just win</div><div><br></div><div>Vermont Ave or Euston Road, either one is fine</div><div>Connecticut Ave or Pentonville, suddenly you find</div><div>You've gone to jail! Tough luck, how sad. Oh wait, it's just a visit?</div><div>Continue on your merry way. That isn't so bad, is it?</div><div><br></div><div>Next St. Charles Place, also Pall Mall</div><div>Then Electric Company and that's not all</div><div>You see States Avenue (or Whitehall)</div><div>Having fun yet? I'm having a ball!</div><div><br></div><div>Virginia or Northumberland Ave</div><div>The last Magenta space you'll have</div><div>Pennsylvania Railroad or Mary-le-bone Station</div><div>Keep an eye out for your next destination</div><div><br></div><div>Which is St. James Place or Bow Street</div><div>Then Community Chest number 2, how neat</div><div>Tennessee Ave or Marlborough</div><div>Is the second orange place you'll go</div><div><br></div><div>New York Ave or a Street called Vine</div><div>Then Free Parking's next in line</div><div>Kentucky Ave (in Britain The Strand)</div><div>Chance is the very next place you'll land</div><div><br></div><div>Indiana Ave or Sweeney's Fleet Street</div><div>Red like the blood in Lovett's meat</div><div>Illinois Ave or Trafalgar Square</div><div>B&O Railroad (Fenchurch St. Station there)</div><div><br></div><div>Atlantic Avenue or Leicester Square</div><div>Two squares in a row? What a mighty fine pair</div><div>Next is Ventnor or Coventry Street</div><div>Turn on Waterworks if you can't stand the heat</div><div><br></div><div>Marvin Gardens or Piccadilly</div><div>The cop whistles stop. Oh come on, really?</div><div>I can't go to jail. I'm almost done</div><div>Alright, I'll let you off with a warning, son</div><div><br></div><div>Pacific Ave or Regent Street</div><div>North Carolina, (Oxford, sweet!)</div><div>Here's the last Community Chest</div><div>Quickly now let's finish the rest</div><div><br></div><div>Pennsylvania Ave or a street called Bond</div><div>Double-oh-7 urges you on</div><div>to Short Line Railroad or Liverpool Street</div><div>Buy all 4 stations and you can't be beat</div><div><br></div><div>Now's your last Chance to be a fat cat</div><div>Park Place or Park Lane is where it's at</div><div>Luxury Tax is a small price to pay there</div><div>If you can afford Boardwalk or Mayfair</div><div><br></div><div>Then you're back on Go where you began</div><div>Well what do you know? That sure was grand</div><div>So whether you're a dog, a shoe or a car</div><div>Or a ship or a hat, you'll go very far</div><div>Around that board again and again</div><div>Good luck kid, hope you win in the end!</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-75189302066053786432015-02-23T15:59:00.001-08:002015-02-23T16:30:34.687-08:00I don't know what I'm doing<div>For the last few days, I have felt many things... Lost. Restless. Lazy. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Wishful. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Guilty. (All in no particular order.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It's been too long since my last post, so here's what's been happening in my life:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">On Valentine's Day, my mom got a call from Israel that my grandfather was in the hospital. Long story short, he fell to the floor, hit his head, and might have even injured his brain. I was shocked when I heard the news in the kitchen getting breakfast, but it was hard to feel very sad about it right then, because my boyfriend Jerome had stayed the night and was there, and it's hard for me to be sad about anything when he's around. ^_^ </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">My brother and sister had their own plans during the weekend, so it wasn't until the next day that they heard the bad news.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So anyway, since then, I haven't been very motivated to do my normal website work with my dad and sister. Mostly because I know things are tough for my parents right now, and they aren't showing much motivation either. These are just strange times...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I feel like I'm just wasting time, though. I've been continuing my French studies with the Duolingo app (see my last post), which is steadily getting harder, but is still lots of fun. It's kind of addictive, actually. I have no real reason for learning the language. It's not like I'm scheduled to visit France any time soon. It's just because I can, and I like it. Still...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I've been reading a lot (I finished the first 3 books of the Crossfire series, and I'm excitedly awaiting the 4th from the library. I've continued reading bits of them Jerome, and the shared experience makes it so special to me), eating a lot (it was cold for a while, so my mom has been making lots of soups and pastas and stuff), spending lots of time on YouTube (even though I promised myself I would stop) and generally feeling like just a consumer and not a creator.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Meanwhile my sister Annette spent the last few days putting together a really funny video that combines "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" with the so-bad-it's-surprisingly-good movie "Kung-Pow: Enter the Fist", which you can see here.</span></div><div><a href="http://youtu.be/AtA7VqpAESQ" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://youtu.be/AtA7VqpAESQ</a></div><div>Already it has nearly 300 views, because one of her friends linked to it in an MLP forum. I'm proud of her for making it, though I'm partly jealous of her for having something so creative to work on while I have nothing...</div><div><br></div><div>It just hit me hard this moment that I don't know what I'm doing. I really don't. I'm sure everyone has felt the same way at one time or another, but it's still a strange feeling...</div><div><br></div><div>I also realized something as I was walking with my dad this afternoon: In another couple of years, heck, maybe even within one year, my family is eventually going to explode, scatter, break apart. Whether because my parents decide to split for whatever reason (things have been rocky for them sometimes), or Annette and I (or even Adam) finally move out of the house and start our own lives, the 5 of us aren't always going to be the tight unit we've always been known to be. We'll be forced to make our way through life as individuals...</div><div><br></div><div>I'm so used to the lifestyle I have now that it's hard to think about the life I really want for myself. I tell myself I want to be a writer, but I don't write nearly enough. Why don't I write? Because I've always had my website work as an excuse.</div><div><br></div><div>So what's my excuse now?</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-19675584998296384542015-02-10T04:44:00.001-08:002015-02-12T06:29:03.971-08:00Started Duolingo<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So a few cool things have happened since my last post. I finished the second season of Wander over Yonder and eagerly await the next season. I completed the anime Death Note with my boyfriend Jerome over the weekend, which was awesome, but a bit sad at the same time...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have also started and finished reading the first book in the Crossfire <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">series, "Bared to You". It's a similar type of story to the 50 Shades trilogy, but trust me when I say that this is INFINITELY BETTER! I actually read some of it with Jerome, and he enjoyed it as much as I did!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The great thing about this story is that all the characters are interesting and relatable. The woman (Eva) is no naive Mary Sue; she's been around the block, she has a <b>strong personality</b> and a <b>past</b>. The man (Gideon) may be devastatingly handsome, but he's human too; he messes up and has his flaws, and he <b>acknowledges</b> that and is willing to<b> work on them! </b>As a couple they have their problems, but they have, for the most part, a very healthy relationship. They communicate, they accept each other, they make changes for each other, and — of course — they have a banging sex life. XD</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Anyway, totally looking forward to getting the next in the series. But the big thing I wanted to blog about is that I started a new program this week!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXyYv289V3DTDV8OuujcFAlK032uPiq_Po1jMkcGMwfp3EANXbCP1aj7c_go_RhqkfXrRkOL3JM2VknuLlF1i717iiwOvluidu1niI_Z2EZMwSr3rijo-ktcOYU6wX_aHMEW44y3qu2uA/s640/blogger-image-1330873076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXyYv289V3DTDV8OuujcFAlK032uPiq_Po1jMkcGMwfp3EANXbCP1aj7c_go_RhqkfXrRkOL3JM2VknuLlF1i717iiwOvluidu1niI_Z2EZMwSr3rijo-ktcOYU6wX_aHMEW44y3qu2uA/s640/blogger-image-1330873076.jpg"></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It's a language-learning game called Duolingo, and for the past 3 days, I have been picking up French. I am so excited, because I've always wanted to learn another language besides English, and now I've found an effective and genuinely fun way to do that! Also French happens to be the language Jerome is studying, so I thought it would be fun to see if I can catch up to him. ^,^</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">See how far I've gotten in the program already!</span><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7_7i0YeAa2p8VJFH2owtmdH6dKdbkDsA-z7qjVpKUb4EGtAHSiPRrTTd0hyZI_p88bLv9vX2gZLEjLgILjxPYiN6ydRXHFyB7mV-VFSmVZloDB-MigfpT9nQgTa4gTJbx7Nm0VR9FFwa/s640/blogger-image--1534799422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7_7i0YeAa2p8VJFH2owtmdH6dKdbkDsA-z7qjVpKUb4EGtAHSiPRrTTd0hyZI_p88bLv9vX2gZLEjLgILjxPYiN6ydRXHFyB7mV-VFSmVZloDB-MigfpT9nQgTa4gTJbx7Nm0VR9FFwa/s640/blogger-image--1534799422.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So far, as you can see, I've covered the basics, certain common phrases, different foods and animals! All the while I'm picking up on all the different little grammar rules and gender specific words. I'm learning how to read, write, translate and pronounce the language with all kinds of mini-games, and it's incredibly addictive! I just don't want to stop learning!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKXqtWUiZhUmcXBnFNgLRWPVLdKrScRJRLe0LheVFVvozGeTsTUUyZG3jWR4xaedm1J524jWqpHt1EsNb_G2YF-Zi2JdckZrQZzGiXkPhi9OIYrgfPF-e1bKvs77HtHS9PSnNa22R6ZrX/s640/blogger-image--203285934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKXqtWUiZhUmcXBnFNgLRWPVLdKrScRJRLe0LheVFVvozGeTsTUUyZG3jWR4xaedm1J524jWqpHt1EsNb_G2YF-Zi2JdckZrQZzGiXkPhi9OIYrgfPF-e1bKvs77HtHS9PSnNa22R6ZrX/s640/blogger-image--203285934.jpg"></a></div>In this picture you can see that the next level for me is Adjectives, but because I've been getting so much XP in such a short time, I also picked up a bonus skill: flirting. ^_~ Ooh la la! Looking forward to getting those lessons!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It's kind of fitting that I'm starting to learn the "language of love", since Valentine's Day is almost upon us! ^_^ I hope who ever is reading this has a week full of love and happiness. Oh yeah, and you should totally try Duolingo out for yourself!</span></div></div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-12117552660978683362015-02-03T16:50:00.004-08:002015-02-03T18:00:00.650-08:00You have to suck before you succeed<div>It occurred to me that it's been quite a while since I last posted here. In keeping with my New Year resolution to write at least one post a week, I thought I'd come back and write what's been on my mind recently. ^_^</div><div><br></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbH72cBqodmlKJtOwcOIUkZJFxvZqwSb3PEbUrpL1n7ssXJqJZZacrc5GKYEAiYswvPYv2ImdZW5_r44yzKwMur3E1-0Wo60tJCvwE6D8ziuV52sQ2HhOtKlnhrcAbtTH3BydJC51vxDt/s640/blogger-image-1208948410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbH72cBqodmlKJtOwcOIUkZJFxvZqwSb3PEbUrpL1n7ssXJqJZZacrc5GKYEAiYswvPYv2ImdZW5_r44yzKwMur3E1-0Wo60tJCvwE6D8ziuV52sQ2HhOtKlnhrcAbtTH3BydJC51vxDt/s200/blogger-image-1208948410.jpg" width="132"></a>So this month I've started reading this book called "Launch", and it's really exciting. As the subtitle suggests, it's basically a manual on how to succeed with your internet business and make tons of money doing it. Annette and my dad are reading it too.<div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'll admit, I'm usually pretty skeptical about get-rich-quick-scheme books, but this has some very good ideas and material in it, and while the stories may seem a bit unbelievable, they're inspirational and true.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">In a nutshell, the idea is to build a big list of emails, give customers a taste of things to come, and then make a big deal about your launch. It's like how Hollywood releases awesome trailers of movies months before they hit the theaters, or how Apple makes announcements about their newest smart devices. You create a buzz, build up anticipation for whatever you're offering, and then you open up shop. The most important element here, it seems, is building a good email list, so you can talk to your customers and build a relationship with them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm only on the fourth chapter so far, but I decided that I had to check out the author guy's website and find out more. So Annette and I did some research on Jeff Walker, checking out his blog and such, and my god, I think we have found ourselves a new hero!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">If you were to go and check out his blog at http://jeffwalker.com/blog/, you'd find this sincere, smart, down-to-earth man from Colorado who has made it his mission to help entrepreneurs build successful businesses quickly and easily. He posts videos every week, and he talks in a really conversational way, with a big smile. Maybe he'll trip over some words on occasion, but he doesn't edit those parts out. He just speaks for 5, 6 minutes straight on whatever topic he has, in one take! Gotta give him some respect just for that!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm not sure why, but Jeff reminds me a bit of the author who got me interested blogging, James Dashner. If Dashner ever decided to take up video blogging, I imagine he'd pretty much be like this guy. ^,^</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This book and the whole idea of building an email list couldn't have come at a better time. My dad, sister and I have been racking our heads on how best to release our websites to the public, and this seems to be something cool to work towards.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Also, if you'll remember, at the beginning of the year I made another resolution to talk to every one of my 115 Facebook friends. Guess what? I already accomplished that goal in the first week of January. I wrote every person I knew a personalized Happy New Year message, and I got roughly an 80-85% response rate! Just imagine... If that had been an email list rather than FB friends list, and I had been selling them something rather than wishing them a great 2015, I would have been raking it in! :P</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font color="#000000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVHUpmlLUoSby0fhTvQ0Vlhu8iZ4WcPG1MMt61ChyphenhyphenBTDV7onfiNmKOXNy3Wj9s1Sw2Gm9nPPHuxHIst9TDOcYQGaRf80MeCPTh4a2wfE6nne40XbxcMgTZpSc4c9ONxsBNHe0W7nLBquk/s640/blogger-image-1561570443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVHUpmlLUoSby0fhTvQ0Vlhu8iZ4WcPG1MMt61ChyphenhyphenBTDV7onfiNmKOXNy3Wj9s1Sw2Gm9nPPHuxHIst9TDOcYQGaRf80MeCPTh4a2wfE6nne40XbxcMgTZpSc4c9ONxsBNHe0W7nLBquk/s200/blogger-image-1561570443.jpg" width="200"></font></a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And that is why I've decided to start collecting all the email addresses of our iPad contacts and putting them in a spreadsheet for future use. Maybe I'll go through my Gmail contacts next, and ask for the emails of anyone I'm missing from Facebook. In "Launch", there was a couple who got their business started purely from reaching out to their friends and family first, and they're living in France now! If it worked for them, it can work for me and my family too. So far I have about 50 emails, and I only got up to "J". I decided to do the rest tomorrow, and in the meantime tell you... whoever is reading this right now... about how excited I am about all this. ^_^</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Oh, and the title of this post comes from something Annette said while we were on a walk this afternoon. We were saying how we could make it as big as Jeff Walker and the rest of them, and how everyone had to start at zero. She said something along the lines of, "I guess we all have to suck before we can succeed." I thought that was really true, and really funny! XD</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></font></div><div><font style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So yeah, even if we make a few mistakes along the way, I'm sure someday we'll look back on all our hard work and experiences and laugh about them, clinking flutes of champagne from a fancy hotel in Italy or something. ^_~</font></div><div><font style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></font></div><div><font style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If you're interested in any of this, I implore you to check "Launch" out of the library. Buy it, if you must. Just read it! Also check out Jeff Walker's website and blog, and I'm sure he'll become your hero too. ^,^</font></div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-89634521638204213702015-01-20T18:07:00.001-08:002015-01-22T15:36:51.784-08:003 reviews in one post<div>So I wanted to talk about 3 shows I watched yesterday and my brief thoughts about each one. 2 of them were cartoons I saw for the first time ever and am pretty excited about, and the other one has already been a favorite show of mine for a long time.</div><div><br></div>First, let me talk about "Star vs. the Forces of Evil".<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8CHbzoNlKVqlW9dcsbp-oECm6itCPmP0rwQH3uNsNKePeAW66-TVA4N0vk1ZClwdPOl-xtfJ8yifLX2OReIExmDebcDBYX4M_AF2549Kg0O8IWYUWpN7s1ke3wXlGIlgUAim0axIKyEI6/s640/blogger-image-735463032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8CHbzoNlKVqlW9dcsbp-oECm6itCPmP0rwQH3uNsNKePeAW66-TVA4N0vk1ZClwdPOl-xtfJ8yifLX2OReIExmDebcDBYX4M_AF2549Kg0O8IWYUWpN7s1ke3wXlGIlgUAim0axIKyEI6/s640/blogger-image-735463032.jpg"></a></div>I saw both Episode 1, "Star Comes to Earth", and <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Episode 2, "Party with a Pony" in one video (because I guess they both came in a bundle.) With this as my first real impression of the show, I think I like it. It's not a show that's on the same level as say "Steven Universe", but it does have heart and shows a lot of effort put into the story and characters.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1zqVgqkQy2DOaPu4c47cetfLebzj5s-zMWofoHWBIfAEsjDDVl4lQP2EsEQlAj1_1wmTtGyi9akeYF1sp3aoqHZUIWEIJ-1njDZredWWn8hNw5pAd6a433dE7xuzSIEiwsDZGNsPHM_n/s640/blogger-image--1169202704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1zqVgqkQy2DOaPu4c47cetfLebzj5s-zMWofoHWBIfAEsjDDVl4lQP2EsEQlAj1_1wmTtGyi9akeYF1sp3aoqHZUIWEIJ-1njDZredWWn8hNw5pAd6a433dE7xuzSIEiwsDZGNsPHM_n/s640/blogger-image--1169202704.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvGuKWCcC9b20itw2gGbNt6eWkjtcxWCxTm-L13EIYkxThl7FMmWFQXl39u49rpy9P-RqgfX98MJgvj1p0T1ZZsaIxvkeWWtSwZpkBUM4ex82j_ciAn69zY2Wn6dKTv7fNU2mMUUcSVfg/s640/blogger-image-1728396847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvGuKWCcC9b20itw2gGbNt6eWkjtcxWCxTm-L13EIYkxThl7FMmWFQXl39u49rpy9P-RqgfX98MJgvj1p0T1ZZsaIxvkeWWtSwZpkBUM4ex82j_ciAn69zY2Wn6dKTv7fNU2mMUUcSVfg/s640/blogger-image-1728396847.jpg"></a></div><div>In the first episode we get the basic plot of the show, which went pretty much exactly how I predicted in a previous post here. Magical princess in another dimension gets powerful wand, her royal parents decide to send her over to Earth, yada yada yada. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Princess Star is a good character. She's only 14, so that partly explains why she's so crazy and full of that manic energy and can't control her magic. I liked the boy Marco too. The voice could have been better cast, in my opinion, but being the "safest kid in school" is an interesting character trait, I guess. At first he and Star don't get along, but by the end of the episode they're pretty much friends.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The second ep introduces one of Star's friends from her old world, Princess Ponyhead. I feel really conflicted about this character, because on the one hand she has such an annoying voice, but on the other hand I kind of realize that she's <i>supposed</i> to be an annoying character, so her voice really fits... Anyway, Ponyhead takes Star and Marco dimension hopping with those special scissors shown in the intro, and it turns out she's jealous of Marco because he seems to have taken her place as Star's best friend. I've seen plenty of shows that have done the "jealous best friend" story before, but I liked how this show handled it.</span></div><div><br><div>The next show I saw was "Wander over Yonder, which is also a relatively new Disney Channel cartoon. My sister Annette turned me on to it and I watched the first 2 episodes with her, "<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Greatest" </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">and "</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Egg".</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3zsYN0VSpOixpBYdaISjPlCmpW4IQy1kCnraJQqapT6BFKnP5g_suzXQdraYpRV0FW7cdHEMOGFPCyXaRla_cl1ifpTB9DLGbmE-CRtrTHjFPcwcJ45SY7YdKuObGwI_RDZRJTYg_CXV/s640/blogger-image-581529762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3zsYN0VSpOixpBYdaISjPlCmpW4IQy1kCnraJQqapT6BFKnP5g_suzXQdraYpRV0FW7cdHEMOGFPCyXaRla_cl1ifpTB9DLGbmE-CRtrTHjFPcwcJ45SY7YdKuObGwI_RDZRJTYg_CXV/s640/blogger-image-581529762.jpg"></a></div>The show is pretty zany and cool, and the design brings up memories of the Powderpuff Girls or The Rocky and Bullwinkle show. It's basically about this funny, laid back little alien guy named Wander and his tough horse friend Celia going on different adventures. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Sometimes Wander comes up against his nemesis, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Lord Hater (which is a great name because it's like Lord Vader!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It doesn't matter where you put this guy, he's just happy-go-lucky and ready for anything. Kinda like when you could put the Looney Toons or Tom and Jerry into any place or situation. It just works! I also love that </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Wander's voice is done by Jack McBrayer, who is the most excellent choice for this kind of character.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEnqApzfki-4pJhO6FnsWCRRLVmqZGVd8JGT1OngwnMYg2FDCPV3JKeBvLEwAe4Qpu8O7Javk6Ml5KyR3Nng-eAz56Vf57OZl4o4kA8jeywLHmfPE9SgNHPR-lFOouPefVTjx2650R_N8/s640/blogger-image--1931668882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEnqApzfki-4pJhO6FnsWCRRLVmqZGVd8JGT1OngwnMYg2FDCPV3JKeBvLEwAe4Qpu8O7Javk6Ml5KyR3Nng-eAz56Vf57OZl4o4kA8jeywLHmfPE9SgNHPR-lFOouPefVTjx2650R_N8/s640/blogger-image--1931668882.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The last show I saw yesterday was Glee, Season 6, episode 1, "Loser Like Me". I've been putting off watching the new season of Glee for a while now, partly because I've been so busy and partly because I thought maybe I could wait for the whole season to be over and just binge watch it later. But I broke down and decided to try the first episode out, just to see how it measured up to all the hype and rumors I'd heard.</div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqYUZoUwzRzcZZJHQvfDn46Rg-gVN1e-Ci8t6MIC3lzjFrJPmSFlqhdcKu4g7xyszJiyQQsjrptyhVEyIN9N4OEOXSA3aGy_c6lGgBMm0huUXXbYdJfgelwr8cPHQDpiy3NQVCEpiJYya/s640/blogger-image--725624145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqYUZoUwzRzcZZJHQvfDn46Rg-gVN1e-Ci8t6MIC3lzjFrJPmSFlqhdcKu4g7xyszJiyQQsjrptyhVEyIN9N4OEOXSA3aGy_c6lGgBMm0huUXXbYdJfgelwr8cPHQDpiy3NQVCEpiJYya/s640/blogger-image--725624145.jpg"></a></div>It was interesting to come back to Glee after so long. As usual, some of the story was outlandish and totally unbelievable, but something made me overlook all that and suspend my belief. I guess I just watched this for the characters I love so much. I want to see them succeed and do great things.</div><div><br></div><div>It started off on a totally low note. Apparently Rachel's sitcom, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">That's So Rachel</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> (which she abandoned her Broadway role in Funny Girl for) was branded the worst show in all of existence! (A bit overkill, much?) I liked how the pilot was played in the episode at some point and... Yeah, it was bad. :P Also super sad that Rachel's gay dads were getting divorced for seemingly no reason (except I guess they couldn't get Jeff Goldblum back to play the other dad.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div>Also Sue Sylvester is her ridiculously evil self and has turned McKinley high into... A great school that has banned the arts and music? Okay, I'll buy it. She still manages to pull of the whole villain thing, which is awesome.</div><div><br></div><div>I was really surprised about the <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kurt and Blaine</span> situation, since just like Rachel's dad's they are broken up. ~,~ I've been shipping and rooting for Klaine right from the start, ever since they became a couple. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I've just always loved the two of them together, and hoped that their love, of all the TV romances out there, would conquer all, so it saddens me that they fell apart. (And that Blaine's new boyfriend is Karofsky! XP No way!) Still, I'm glad that Kurt at least wants to win Blaine back, so I have some hope to get me through the season. </span></div><div><br></div><div>So Will Schuester became a new father, and his little red-headed baby is so cute! He left McKinley and now coaches the other Glee club, Vocal Adrenaline (the one that is always the big competition to beat). Also <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Blaine has left New York to coach the Warblers (because the guidance counselor got Ebola or something? What?!) My absolute favorite part in the episode is when he and the Warblers sing Ed Sheeran's "Sing" together. I was dancing in my seat for the entire number!!! I just love their acapella voices and the way they move, it's so awesome! ^_^ </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63naHd28w9c9Ko5-ORci7SMIdcJMsKWYhq4WeLl5_9a1mxe7rW6vQjpopiyxS9ata9ct_mqii28d0NGX8EXbBfQts69L5haiQo1BLirt2ZmvCrKuNEu7Q41HEr4jlISK9ewn7UVV8-pwP/s640/blogger-image-326004756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63naHd28w9c9Ko5-ORci7SMIdcJMsKWYhq4WeLl5_9a1mxe7rW6vQjpopiyxS9ata9ct_mqii28d0NGX8EXbBfQts69L5haiQo1BLirt2ZmvCrKuNEu7Q41HEr4jlISK9ewn7UVV8-pwP/s640/blogger-image-326004756.jpg"></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So the episode closes out with Rachel and Kurt deciding to take on the evil Principal Sue and restore the New Directions Glee Club. It's gonna be tough, because they'll have to go against their friends clubs in the end... that will be hard to watch. :P I guess this is their final hurrah. Glee is throwing all they've got into this last season... I hope it's worth it in the end.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That's all for now. Thanks for reading. ^_^</div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-48274513276000385142015-01-16T12:22:00.001-08:002015-01-16T18:04:27.871-08:00That time of the month<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">A lot has been going on lately, making it kind of hard for me to blog. But I promised myself to write at least one post a week, so this will probably be a big, rant-y mish-mash of a post.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7KrdaH3COPm9y-WkNjPdXtRp9U_PLursW6c0FYvR2GAV1nnaNZ7H3Jqe8x594mfSgXJ-tNibVqe_EH3OaQfu0HxlywcBysoEr7xZnOK6TGGBF93WNHavJ25MV8v6XhgQUtLFEATZ9ISN/s640/blogger-image-140810728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7KrdaH3COPm9y-WkNjPdXtRp9U_PLursW6c0FYvR2GAV1nnaNZ7H3Jqe8x594mfSgXJ-tNibVqe_EH3OaQfu0HxlywcBysoEr7xZnOK6TGGBF93WNHavJ25MV8v6XhgQUtLFEATZ9ISN/s640/blogger-image-140810728.jpg"></a></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">First of all, this might be t.m.i. (this is my blog though and I don't care who reads this, so anything goes), but I got my period a few days ago, and it was NOT fun. Usually my "time of the month" is entirely uneventful, but this time I got major cramps right away. It was like a tidal wave of pain that I'm not very used to. Had to spend most of the day in bed, tossing and turning and trying to make myself comfortable.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Well, at least I got much better after that day, and it feels like it's winding down now. It makes me appreciate all the times I'm normal and healthy. ^,^ </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Still, I worry that because it's that time of the month that I've been feeling... hormone-y. More emotional about things than usual, in other words. Normally I wouldn't whine or complain, or try to blame having feelings like that on my period, but I have a couple confessions of having such feelings to make.</span></div><div><br></div><div>One of these is that, since my boyfriend started classes again this week and I've gotten more busy in my own work with my family, we went a few nights this week without really talking to each other.</div><div><br></div><div>This may not sound like much, but Jerome and I have been going out an ENTIRE YEAR, and when we're not on dates with each other we've ALWAYS texted and/or web-cammed each other every night, at the least. So missing a night or two is a big deal! We saw each other on FaceTime the other day, but still. I've been missing my boyfriend (missing communicating with him, at the least), and it hurts just as much as having cramps does. >,<</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83tOqrT5v0G9XJOmEPSEYCoJJR-dHI0DY6STcw3h5nyj7v39y-OFri_fHCXfOwbeivHif17Unu_z3zFdI282kKQIiYF7bs6jVkfP85Zrddx5Wb8yqT9lJG5-LdZFwpsy1FkZzq2LNl2jd/s640/blogger-image--595752201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83tOqrT5v0G9XJOmEPSEYCoJJR-dHI0DY6STcw3h5nyj7v39y-OFri_fHCXfOwbeivHif17Unu_z3zFdI282kKQIiYF7bs6jVkfP85Zrddx5Wb8yqT9lJG5-LdZFwpsy1FkZzq2LNl2jd/s640/blogger-image--595752201.jpg"></a></div></div><div>What makes it worse is that my family and I were invited to a friend's wedding that takes place this Saturday, so I won't get to see Jerome over the whole weekend like I've gotten used to! I know I shouldn't be so whiny and be really grateful for all the time I <b>have</b> spent with my boyfriend, and anyway I'll simply see him <b>next</b> weekend. But again, this is my blog. I can be whiny if I want to. >_<</div><div><br></div><div>Jerome has been great about the whole thing, though. (I've probably been upset enough for the both of us. Lol) He misses me too, but realizes we're both busy, and he urges me to have fun at the wedding this weekend. He's going off-roading with his dad on Saturday anyway, so it works out great. So I feel much better about that. ^_^</div><div><br></div><div>The other feelings I want to confess to blaming on my hormones is something I'm a little more guilty about... I have to say it somewhere though. I need to get it off my chest, otherwise I'll just keep carrying it around with me like a heavy secret...</div><div><br></div><div>I don't want to name any names (if they read this, they'll know who they are anyway), but lately I've been feeling really mad at a certain friend of mine. He never has time to talk to me anymore, and I'm tired of trying to get him to share anything with me. I always used to email him when I wanted to tell him something exciting that was happening in my life, begging him to do the same, but his responses have become so rare that I've gradually stopped writing to him myself. That makes me really sad, since we've always been such close, long-time friends...</div><div><br></div><div>Anyway, recently I discovered that I still had something of his: a notebook he'd shared with me.<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> He sent it to me for my birthday last year. I'd held onto it for months already. It was about time I gave it back to him, since it was his and I'd finished reading it long ago.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1UKB_Ym-MCGJ-WXAFIyjj-rVJGls1uu3N126rNfx31Jq9YdTRYDpeGH65pKpKPVnJUSt4HqtC2G1ZsNp5s71TO5XvFOOdP5E89UdTh672aqcEwDQmrdZ3D7G6ZeRouConpU8OoVHpJ63/s640/blogger-image--1949171909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1UKB_Ym-MCGJ-WXAFIyjj-rVJGls1uu3N126rNfx31Jq9YdTRYDpeGH65pKpKPVnJUSt4HqtC2G1ZsNp5s71TO5XvFOOdP5E89UdTh672aqcEwDQmrdZ3D7G6ZeRouConpU8OoVHpJ63/s640/blogger-image--1949171909.jpg"></a></div></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yesterday I mailed it off at the UPS store. It's headed on its way back to the rightful owner as I type this. I included a letter with the notebook, though. And I said some things... that I'm worried will be hurtful to my friend. I meant them when I wrote those words, though... Basically I questioned whether we were really friends anymore, and I refuse to speak to him again until he can show me he still cares about me.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I intend to keep that promise I made to myself... A part of me just hopes my friend won't be too mad at me, and realize that while my frustration is real, a part of it came</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> from me being a tad over-emotional when I wrote those things... So please, when you read this... forgive me. Okay?</span></div><div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div>In entirely OTHER news!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiut0Nto3RWL7H-rSv7_fvBe4Ui9lWX5OHOCS1DYt58mon7zcXX1cS2RZbV6E2fU_KWI345lyUZRY4DubMPVJnxm4j8gwonHLrutc5gas0_PsKd8e9nf61Wb0_QSIRBb3E3842ljuYc8EjR/s640/blogger-image--1414045206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiut0Nto3RWL7H-rSv7_fvBe4Ui9lWX5OHOCS1DYt58mon7zcXX1cS2RZbV6E2fU_KWI345lyUZRY4DubMPVJnxm4j8gwonHLrutc5gas0_PsKd8e9nf61Wb0_QSIRBb3E3842ljuYc8EjR/s640/blogger-image--1414045206.jpg"></a></div></div><div>I recently finished reading Robert Galbraith's (a.k.a., J.K. Rowling's) book "The Silkworm", sequel to "The Cuckoo's Calling", which I read over a month ago. I think I liked the sequel better than the original, since while the first one was about the "suicide" of a famous model, this mystery followed the case of a missing, later found gruesomely murdered author. Examining suspects found in the literary world held my interest a lot more than the world of celebrities and fashion. I wonder if Rowling will write any more Cormoran Strike novels?</div><div><br></div><div>Once again, I wrote down all the character descriptions I found in the book, but I'm not going to bore you with them. I'm not even sure if I want to keep doing it, because it's quite a tiring exercise, and turns what could have been a quick read in a week into a book taking me multiple weeks to finish.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfonVd5AnxQv9lLD2Q9JpsiKicRIl-rFI2UQctC4gV20T_-s-mFLN_ZDcpWBcTRkhzOS3hKOsi4vderydDcEhyphenhyphentFqOMrgM1iYlMI9BXJ5-Ukmm9DCwUSHA4VErwAI6ccv1yhvVu7i3n0Q/s640/blogger-image--151043559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfonVd5AnxQv9lLD2Q9JpsiKicRIl-rFI2UQctC4gV20T_-s-mFLN_ZDcpWBcTRkhzOS3hKOsi4vderydDcEhyphenhyphentFqOMrgM1iYlMI9BXJ5-Ukmm9DCwUSHA4VErwAI6ccv1yhvVu7i3n0Q/s640/blogger-image--151043559.jpg"></a></div>I also saw the movie Birdman in the theater with my family recently. That was such an unexpectedly AWESOME film! I absoluetely loved it. ^_^ I loved how the whole movie appeared to be one enormous shot, no takes or edits whatsoever. I loved how the opening and ending credits appeared in a unique and interesting way. I loved the drum music in the background. I loved how Michael Keaton's character talked to himself and did telekinesis and even FLEW, and you knew that all these things were really happening in his head, but it looked cool. I also loved Edward Norton. His character is something of a jerk, but he looks like Jerome, so I like him. ^,^</div><div><br></div><div>Another few things I saw that I'm really excited about is the 2 new episodes of Steven Universe!</div><div>SPOILER WARNING!</div><div><br></div><div>#36 Warp Tour: Where Steven discovers that he and the Gems aren't the only ones using the warp streams (their mode of transportation between other Gem dimensions) and that there's another Gem person out there trying to fix the warp pads. Apparently Garnet and the others don't want other Gems around, because that's bad, so they destroy the big main warp pad??? This raised a lot of questions for me, but I liked it.</div><div><br></div><div>#37 Alone Together: Steven practices dancing with the Gems in order to achieve fusion with them (combining bodies and powers to make one being). This doesn't work out, so he hangs out with his friend Connie. (I <b>totally</b> ship Steven and Connie! Then again, how can you not? ^,^) He teaches her how to dance a bit, and they have so much fun and are so in synch with each other that they actually fuse together and make... STEVONNIE!</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnNBoCEQKhEf0HzrmlqVLinFMHthyphenhyphenXymHFB4-OCgcjWyt9iJKkOfXe3-jvdypSgIdRiJ8kyvq7mArJNNR0lptw7uJikYcjDRvzVNGu_pZu1k-gkKbvMHNcYEHvs3vqMqp40470RrjkZd-/s640/blogger-image--466330896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnNBoCEQKhEf0HzrmlqVLinFMHthyphenhyphenXymHFB4-OCgcjWyt9iJKkOfXe3-jvdypSgIdRiJ8kyvq7mArJNNR0lptw7uJikYcjDRvzVNGu_pZu1k-gkKbvMHNcYEHvs3vqMqp40470RrjkZd-/s640/blogger-image--466330896.jpg"></a></div>Oh my god, Annette and I flipped out over this character. Before Garnet gave them the name Stevonnie, we thought they would be called Con-even, because we were both like, "I can't even!!!" XD I mean, just look at that sexy character design!</span></div><div><br></div><div>So yeah, hi-jinks ensue. They have fun with their new combined form, they make both male and female workers at the donut shop have a crush on them (well, is Stevonnie a guy or a girl? No one can tell!) and then they go a rave dance party, because hey, he/she looks big enough to be a teenager.</div><div><br></div><div>I've seen a lot of good S.U. episodes, but that episode has got to be my absolute favorite so far! XD It was clever, it was funny, it was new... It just made me super freaking happy.</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPIoSzEnHVBmtLCjnDE70HFAqyIxoPSn0C4UgCri7kzSSQ3iUFHcbLao7FD4Qqfa9pOXMWLOcrXS5_M0wl2RFgIwWSCSesRbEBHZCem_k_98iWFRH646pa0-_rNI2KzkScUKSvC54OdiE/s640/blogger-image--2099556601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPIoSzEnHVBmtLCjnDE70HFAqyIxoPSn0C4UgCri7kzSSQ3iUFHcbLao7FD4Qqfa9pOXMWLOcrXS5_M0wl2RFgIwWSCSesRbEBHZCem_k_98iWFRH646pa0-_rNI2KzkScUKSvC54OdiE/s640/blogger-image--2099556601.jpg"></a></div>Okay, last thing I'll mention in this post is that I've become addicted to a new app game called "</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">2 Cars" (Thank you, Pewdiepie! XP) It's really fun, and so hard to stop playing! I blame it on the cool music, and the way the sound effects seem to synchronize with the beat. I have a record of 46 points so far. I think if I can just manage to break 50 points, I'll delete the app...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So that's all I have to talk about. Congratulations on making it to the end. Next time I promise not to be quite all over the place...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Edit: I made it to 69 points in 2 Cars! Just like I promised, the app is off our iPod Touch. I'll miss that game, but I don't think I could have done much better than that. ^,^</span></div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-6114627566877560742015-01-08T18:50:00.001-08:002015-01-08T21:37:22.716-08:00Don't mention it<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-bff5b218-cc8d-b206-f97d-414587c22c56" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">So I did what I said I was going to do! I actually went and wrote an L x Light </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">fan fiction story! I am so proud of myself. ^___^</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Took me quite a few days to write it all. I</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> didn't go as far into the story as I'd originally intended, but I'm tired now and I feel like I ended it in the right spot anyway. Whoever is reading this, I hope you like the pictures I've included in the story. ^,~</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I dedicate this story to my boyfriend, Jerome, in honor of our first anniversary coming up this weekend. He's the one I started watching Death Note with and encouraged me to write this fan fiction when I came up with the idea in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This is for you, my love. <3<!--3--></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It was quiet that evening, walking through the empty halls of the headquarters for the Kira case. I didn't know where my father, Matsuda or any of the other officers in the investigation were, but that didn't matter. I enjoy walking by myself.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I was particularly enjoying it, because it had been so long since I'd even had the ability to be alone with my thoughts for one minute.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Ever since picking up the Death Note, Ryuk, the Shinigami who had dropped it in the human world, had followed my every step, watching my every move. He wasn't that bad, really, but feeling yourself being watched all the time could become a bit of a nuisance. Then later, after I gave up the notebook and all my memories of it, and Misa and I were eventually set free from our confinement, that damn jerk Ryuzaki (he'd told me that he was L, but told everyone to call him by that name) had insisted on having me and him chained together with handcuffs, since he still suspected me of being Kira and wanted to keep an eye on me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> He may have been a lot less ugly than Ryuk, but it was still much more annoying to be physically tethered to this guy all the time. He was always there! When I was working, when I had supervised dates with Misa, even when I had to use the freaking bathroom! Thankfully the chain was long enough that he could be on the other side of the door while I did my business, but come on! He couldn't take the cuffs off me for just a few minutes? At least Ryuk was respectful enough to give me my space.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Going to bed at night while chained to him was the worst. I could hardly get any sleep, knowing that bastard was probably perched on his own bed like a giant owl, watching me the entire night to make sure I didn't do anything suspicious. I was lucky not to get dark bags under my eyes like L had, his own eyes gray, sunken and nearly dead inside.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> But thankfully, that's no longer the case. We caught the new Kira, Higuchi of the Yotsuba Group. L trusts me now, so I'm completely free of those cursed handcuffs. Most importantly, I have a Death Note again. Oh, how I'd missed all that power!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Everything went exactly as I had planned it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I've practically won.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> The best part is that I'm totally alone to enjoy this victory. No Ryuk hovering over me, at least for now. He must be watching over Misa at this moment, since she now has possession of the Death Note that belonged to him. And no L...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Actually, for some reason I can't help but wonder...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Where is L?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Something told my feet to take me to the very top of the building, where I realized it was raining incredibly hard. I walked out onto the roof, where the sound of water falling was almost deafening compared to the quiet inside. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Just then, I thought I saw a gray slouched figure in the distance, standing alone in the storm near a giant satellite. The thick shroud of rain made it difficult for me to see, but I could still tell who it was even from a distance. It was unmistakably L, with his baggy blue pants and the white long-sleeved shirt he always wore. I wondered how long he'd been standing out there. He looked entirely soaked, his long jet black hair nearly covering his face. He seemed to be staring out at something far away.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> As if he sensed that someone else was present, he turned his head towards me and we made eye contact.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> We stared at each other for maybe a minute, but he didn't make any move to get out of the rain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> What could he possibly be playing at, doing something like this? What was his game? Sometimes I felt like I could never understand this guy.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "What are you doing standing out there by yourself?" I asked him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> L didn't answer me, instead putting his hand to his ear as if to say "come again?".</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Well, who could hear anything over this storm? Still, slightly annoyed, I repeated myself. "<b>What are you doing standing out there by yourself?</b>"</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> He kept his hand on his ear and leaned in more, signaling that he still hadn't heard me over the noise of the pounding rainfall. I thought I could see the hint of a mischievous grin on his face.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtv5atNAYTfX1-G5ISHwBl4sptB1B_KH0ymQvnRbx52aQANYet-Yn0Md9K_qJN6Xau8zKwbOWCeo3qAyEmQe1d6wTl_88uIV96mOBI9UQszz3WZYw7PlBcnrM9WGbJk3yIosdaGX0GldGM/s640/blogger-image-1158271464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtv5atNAYTfX1-G5ISHwBl4sptB1B_KH0ymQvnRbx52aQANYet-Yn0Md9K_qJN6Xau8zKwbOWCeo3qAyEmQe1d6wTl_88uIV96mOBI9UQszz3WZYw7PlBcnrM9WGbJk3yIosdaGX0GldGM/s640/blogger-image-1158271464.jpg"></a></div>
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I growled under my breath. This guy was just impossible. What, did he seriously want me to go out into the rain with him? Was that it? L had always annoyed me to a certain degree, but this pissed me off!</span><br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I knew I could very well have just walked away and not been bothered with any of this. That would have been the smart thing to do. But I </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">had</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> to know what L was doing out there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Taking a deep breath, I dove into the storm. The wind was really fierce, icy raindrops pelting on me and all around me. I was instantly drenched, and already I began to regret my decision.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Even so, I walked slowly and calmly, trying to appear as if the rain didn't bother me, just like L was doing.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It was always a contest with him and me, ever since we'd first become aware of each other. Who was the more clever one? Who could stay a few steps ahead without the other one ever realizing it? Who was going to catch whom first?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> As Kira, the </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">true</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Kira, I was determined to win.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> As soon as I get the chance, I'm gonna kill L.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">~~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "What are you doing Ryuzaki?" Light asked when he reached the satellite.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Interesting. He still used the name I told him and the others to call me by and not L, even when we're in private company.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I avoided his gaze, staring at the ground. "Oh, I'm not doing anything in particular. It's just..." I paused, thinking... no, knowing I'd heard something. I looked up at the sky, where the sound seemed to be coming from. "I hear the bell."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "The bell?" asked Light, confused.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Yes. The sound of bells has been unusually loud today."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Hmm. I don't hear anything."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Really. You can't hear it? It's been ringing nonstop all day. I find it very distracting."</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It was true. I'd heard the terrible ringing in my ears ever since I'd gotten up that morning. It gave me a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach... Or maybe that was the sweets finally getting to me?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> No, I knew I'd felt this feeling somewhere before. But where?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "I wonder if it's a church. Maybe a wedding, or perhaps a..."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> My mind was suddenly awash with memories I'd tried my hardest to repress. I remembered hearing bells the day my parents had died. It was when I was at school, right before the accident. I'd been hearing a ringing in my head all day, but no one believed me. Not the other students, not the teacher, not anyone.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> The call later came to the school from Watari, an old friend of the family. He pulled me out of class for the day (in fact, he was eventually able to pull me out of that school entirely after pulling some strings) and took me aside, explaining to me what had happened.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It was a strange feeling. I was sad, but I wasn't surprised. Something in me had already known, after all.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I didn't shed any tears that day. It would have been natural for me to cry at a time like that, completely understandable, but I've never been the crying type. I wasn't </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">trying</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> to keep from crying though. I just literally couldn't.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> All I remembered next was standing outside the fence of my parents' graves in the snow, holding Watari's hand. He'd turned to me and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you now. Any time you need me, whatever you require of me, I'll be here for you." I'd gripped his gloved hand tighter when he said that.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> For the longest time, Watari had been my only friend in the world. But now...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88bNQ-A8-C4X_LvuY-62KujUXeX-t1ddWB7ZykSVeDVxVGzDLtAwBbNKOQM2OUDB2KxsqIFTyTv-fEk75pwwz6U6dEz8DAi2CSci8JRdnAiqM1srZQreb7y7hUB8fdqy_5Kmg6tDQ7v0M/s640/blogger-image-154800248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88bNQ-A8-C4X_LvuY-62KujUXeX-t1ddWB7ZykSVeDVxVGzDLtAwBbNKOQM2OUDB2KxsqIFTyTv-fEk75pwwz6U6dEz8DAi2CSci8JRdnAiqM1srZQreb7y7hUB8fdqy_5Kmg6tDQ7v0M/s640/blogger-image-154800248.jpg"></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "What are you getting at, Ryuzaki?" asked Light, interrupting my train of thought. Without even waiting for an answer, he said "Come on, cut it out, let's go back inside."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I turned and looked at Light Yagami. He looked impatient with me. Well, after all, we were standing in a storm that didn't feel like it would let up anytime soon. He wouldn't be standing out here if it weren't for me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> On the other hand, I feel like I need to take advantage of the fact that Light is still here and that we're completely alone. I need to figure something out, before he leaves...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Or perhaps, before I leave...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "I'm sorry," I finally replied to him. "Nothing I say makes any sense anyway. If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">~~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I frowned in puzzlement, looking at L. What was going on in that weird, allegedly brilliant mind of his? Had he really been trying to tell me something important and blowing it off now, or </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">was</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> he just talking crazy? Was he trying to confuse me on purpose?</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> We shared a few moments of relative silence as the rain pounded all around.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Finally I realized I was thinking much too hard about this. Maybe we were done with playing games. I scoffed and gave him a small wistful smile.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "You know, you're totally right. Honestly, most of the things you say sounds like complete nonsense. There'd be no end to my troubles if I actually took you seriously all the time. I probably know that better than anyone."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Yes. I would say that's a fair assessment. But... I could say the same about you."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> That one took me by surprise. Immediately I got defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Tell me Light. From the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you actually told the truth?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It seemed like the sound of the raging storm had suddenly disappeared, like ear plugs had been abruptly inserted in my ears, and all was absolute silence in my mind. L was giving me this darkly serious look, staring at me like he'd never done before.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Damn it! How could he still be suspicious of me? Did he still think I was Kira?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Or could this be about something else entirely?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Something tickled at the very back of my mind. Maybe there was a tiny, long forgotten secret I was keeping, even from myself...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I squelched the thought as soon as it popped up. Now was not the time. I had to give him an extremely careful answer.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Where's this coming from, Ryuzaki?"</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I have to play innocent. But not </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">too</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> innocent...</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "I do admit, I stretch the truth here and there. However, find me one person in this world who's never had to tell a lie, and it wouldn't be easy. Human beings just aren't made to be perfect like that. Everybody lies from time to time... Even so, I've always made a conscious effort to be careful not to tell a lie if it could hurt others.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "That's my answer," I finished, hoping it sounded genuine enough.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> L listened to my speech all the way through, staring at me unblinkingly the entire time. At first, he didn't seem like he believed I was telling the truth, but then he turned his head slowly, appearing to accept my response as being honest. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that".</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Something was strange about his expression. Was that... disappointment in his eyes? Had I said the wrong thing to him?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> More deafening silence.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Let's go back inside." L finally suggested. "We're both drenched."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Well, finally you have a sensible idea, </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">I thought.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Yeah," I said in agreement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">~~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> The two of us came out of the rain and took off our shoes and socks, which were soaked all the way through. Our clothes clung to our bodies, and the air conditioning made it feel even more freezing than it was outside. We found some small towels in the bathroom to dry ourselves off.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Light left the bathroom ahead of me without saying a word. I stayed behind to wring out my shirt and stare at myself in the mirror.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Well, that certainly could have gone a lot better</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">, I thought to myself as I squeezed the twisted fabric and let rain water pour out into the sink.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Before Light had answered my question, I had noticed something in his eyes. Something close to a flicker of panic. Something that told me all I needed to know.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I knew L was lying. Not just to me, but to himself.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Ever since I'd first laid eyes on Light Yagami, I was drawn to him. Of course, he was my main suspect of being Kira and my first exposure to him was through the surveillance cameras bugged throughout Chief Yagami's house. But even with all my suspicions, I was attracted to his handsome looks, his high intelligence, his calm and impenetrable manner. I'd yearned to know how exactly this genius highschool student was able to remotely kill criminals so effortlessly, but besides that, I just wanted to meet Light. Get to know him better.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I finally got my chance to meet him in person on his first day of college. Though I'm sure he did his best not to show it, right away I knew he was scared of me. Well, that was probably because I revealed who I was to him and my suspicions of him being Kira. He always tried to keep his distance from me after that.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I like to believe we warmed up to each other somewhat, playing a friendly game of tennis and going out for dinner together. Regrettably, our time together was fraught with constant tension, each of us trying to stay one step ahead of the other. We were both the hunter and the hunted. We could have been good friends, with all the things we had in common with each other, but the fact remained that I was L, Light was (highly possibly) Kira, and one of us was eventually going to catch the other first. I couldn't allow myself to get too attached to him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Miss Misa Amane threw a big wrench into the works. Not only when she came out as (possibly) being a second, more powerful Kira, but when I learned she was Light's girlfriend. I was disheartened for a time, until I met Misa myself and saw how she and Light interacted with each other. She was obviously head over heels in love with him, but he didn't seem to return any of her affections. He actually seemed quite alarmed when she had appeared out of the blue while Light and I were taking a stroll together. One might even say, embarrassed? I concluded that he was just using her and keeping her for appearances only.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Poor girl. She could do much better. Actually, a part of me was attracted to her as well as Light, but we couldn't be more different. I couldn't possibly keep up with someone with her energy and personality. (I wondered who possibly could.)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I remembered when I had gotten both Misa Amane and Light captive. In Light's case, his captivity was entirely voluntary. (He brought about the possibility that he might have been controlled by Kira to kill all those people.) I watched the two Kiras day and night through the cameras in their cells. Light's father, the chief of the Japanese Police, demanded to be locked up as well, in solidarity with his son.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Several days into their confinement, something changed. The killings started happening again, and Light started making a ruckus, claiming that he absolutely was not Kira, that his imprisonment was a big mistake. Something in the desperate urge in his voice forced me to believe he was telling the truth.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I didn't want to believe that all my hard work in hunting Kira had been a giant waste. Maybe keeping the two of them locked up for 50 days was a bit excessive, but I had to make sure. The other officers weren't happy with me about my decision, least of all the chief.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I couldn't properly explain to myself why or how, but ever since that moment, Light seemed to have transformed into quite a different person. He was still wary and careful around me, but he seemed more genuine, more honest, more... good. He was thoughtful and selfless, and even became more patient and caring about Misa. He also made it his mission to help me catch the real Kira, which pleased me a lot. I could use a bright mind like his on the team.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Of course, I couldn't shake my suspicions of him still potentially being Kira, so I had us handcuffed together. A somewhat extreme measure, perhaps, but it was the only way I could be sure he wasn't up to anything.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Mainly though, the cuffs were there for my own selfish reasons. It allowed me to always be with him, to get closer with him. It allowed us to bond like never before, hunting down Kira literally side by side. We may have had our fights (a couple of times, things got physical), but there could be no denying that we worked brilliantly together.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Done drying my clothes out to the best of my ability, I slid my shirt back over my head, the fabric now only slightly damp.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I won't go so far as to say those were the happiest days of my life. I try not to let my emotions run away from me. Still, I got an unreasonable amount of enjoyment out of that time in which we did everything together. Working, planning, eating. (Well, I suppose I did most of the eating. I always offered my little cakes and chocolates to the others, but they never accepted). I particularly liked watching Light sleep. He seemed at his most innocent and peaceful. A face like that couldn't possibly do any wrong or kill people... Could he?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I rested my hands on the sink and sighed, making a small patch of fog appear on the bathroom mirror, and closed my eyes, full of pain and regret. Ever since we'd caught the new Kira, Kyosuke Higuchi, and discovered that the weapon he used to kill criminals was a little black book called the Death Note, a tool belonging to the Shinigami (death gods), Light had changed again. I felt it deeply, and it worried me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Maybe it had been a mistake to let him see the notebook. It did something to him. Something bad. The Light I had gotten to know over the past few weeks was, in all likelihood, gone.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> My eyes snapped open, and I gave my reflection a hard look.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">No. It's not over until it's over.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkKj18Z8o6JVj1t88hcgiYPxsIGqVpqofNlC0V3jEKCdH07zN9STbr28Z0vuznctI4jC8OXlPYaiuxYaBdL9MXIWdBuV1VHX-0Tg_njMmrQuteLaldAzIqE3f39_sjf1I_mrYnyL17U86/s640/blogger-image--1353769369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkKj18Z8o6JVj1t88hcgiYPxsIGqVpqofNlC0V3jEKCdH07zN9STbr28Z0vuznctI4jC8OXlPYaiuxYaBdL9MXIWdBuV1VHX-0Tg_njMmrQuteLaldAzIqE3f39_sjf1I_mrYnyL17U86/s640/blogger-image--1353769369.jpg"></a></div>
I left the bathroom with a towel on my hair. I felt the power of the air conditioning again. I hadn't realized just how warm the bathroom had been until I left it.<br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I found Light sitting on the stairs. He was still in the process of drying himself, rubbing a towel on his neck.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Well, that certainly was an unpleasant outing," I said, approaching him. I was referring more to my exit of the bathroom than to our somewhat foolish time standing in the rain, though he didn't know that.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "It's your own fault. I mean, what did you expect?" Light's eyes were closed as he ran the towel through his bright orange hair.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I gazed at his broad shoulders, the contours of his back and arm muscles just visible through his damp shirt. From the side, I could see the top 2 buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a smooth neck and a toned, bare chest.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "You're right. Sorry," I said in a quiet, distracted voice.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I looked at him in an almost hungry way.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Perhaps Light was Kira, and had always </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">been</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Kira from the beginning. Or perhaps the power of Kira would transfer to another person, since Higuchi was no longer alive. In any case, I knew Kira had it in for me, so I didn't know how long I had to live.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Might as well enjoy the time I still have.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i> </i></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"Hmm," I said, getting an idea. I took the towel off my head and walked even closer to Light.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">~~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I finished drying my hair enough that the tiny drops of water stopped dripping and rolling down my neck. I hated that feeling.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I sensed movement on the stairs below me, so I opened my eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Right as I did so, L grabbed hold of my right foot.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I gasped in shock, nearly freaking out inside. I wasn't used to my feet being touched like that. "W-what are you doing?!"</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> How the hell had he gotten there without me hearing him? What was he, some kind of ninja?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "I thought I might help you out," replied L, calm as you please. "You were busy wiping yourself off anyway."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Help me out? We were L and Kira, sworn enemies! Why would he want to help me out?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Look, it's fine. You don't have to do that."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "I can give you a massage as well." </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">What?! </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">"It's the least I can do to atone for my sins. I'm actually pretty good at this."</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Was this guy being serious right now? Atone for his sins? What on earth was L going to gain from giving me a foot massage? I was going to flat out refuse, insist that I could wipe my own feet, thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I looked at his eyes, though. They weren't dark and serious, like they usually were, but wide and gray, bright and hopeful. He genuinely looked like he wanted to be helpful.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> It was a strange look. Something about it reminded me of how Misa looked at me sometimes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Fine, do what you want," I said finally. I looked away, trying to act like I didn't care one way or the other what he did to my feet.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Alright."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Slowly, carefully, L put the pure white towel to the sole of my foot. It was soft and fluffy. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Unexpectedly, I felt my ankle twist in a forceful movement.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Hey!" I protested.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "You'll get used to it," was his response.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Hmph." </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">If you ruin this foot rub, L, I really am gonna kill you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Surprisingly though, that was the only time his massage hurt me. I supposed he had just been trying to get my foot into a better position. He stroked the bottom of my foot with the towel, starting from the heel and going ever so slowly across the instep and to my toes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> He wasn't rough and quick about it either, like I might have expected. His touch was gentle, but firm. He really wanted to take his time with this. In spite of myself, I didn't mind that.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I looked down at L, his dark head bent downward, black hair hanging like a curtain in front of his face, focused intently on his work. I noticed how wrinkly his shirt was, how it was still slightly damp. I noticed how the back of the shirt clung to his thin frame. How the hell did he stay so thin when he ate so many sweets all the time?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I suddenly felt something cold and wet drip onto the foot L was massaging. I looked and saw tiny beads of water falling down from the tips of L's long, dripping hair. He hadn't done a very thorough job of drying himself.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I picked up the towel I'd set aside earlier and reached out to dry his hair with it. "Here, you're still soaked."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> The edge of the towel brushed L's cheek, and he glanced up at me for a moment.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> His eyes... They looked like they were shining. Like pretty stars.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> He looked down at my feet then, realizing that he'd accidentally been dripping on me. "I'm sorry." He wiped the water away from my foot, rubbing the top part of it now.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Don't worry about it," I said.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">This should make us equal, shouldn't it? I wipe his hair while he wipes my feet. I'm just returning the favor, </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">I thought to myself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Silently we worked on each other with our towels in the quiet, empty hall at the top of a staircase. I was once again grateful that the other cops were nowhere to be found at the moment, so no one could see us like this.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Eventually L dropped his towel and started massaging me with his hands. Thin, pale fingers danced and pressed into my skin.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> He kneaded one of his thumbs into the muscle of my instep, and I groaned involuntarily. I stopped drying his hair.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> He looked up, raised an eyebrow at me, and dug into the same muscle. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I leaned back and set my hands on the floor, arms supporting the rest of my body. He started moving his thumb in little circles and I made a sharp intake of breath, trying my best not to tremble. He was hitting such an excellent spot.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Oh...Ryuzaki..."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Even with hair draped over most of his face, I saw his mouth turn up into a satisfied smirk. "Told you I was good at this."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I squeezed my eyes tight, suppressing a second moan of pleasure. He seemed to be enjoying this way too much. As a matter of the fact, I was enjoying </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">myself</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> way too much.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Just when I thought it was going to be the end and I felt L place my right foot slowly down onto the stair, he grabbed my left ankle and started in on my other foot, doing the same thing! This time I didn't bother trying to hide my pleasure, making soft sighs and throwing my head slightly back. He nearly gave me goosebumps.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> No one had ever touched me like this before. Gently. Softly. Carressing. Squeezing. I lost myself to the sensation of it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> To be honest... I wished it would last forever.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "It'll be lonely, won't it?"</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Hmm?"</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "You and I will be parting ways soon."</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Huh?" I came out of the haze I'd been in during the rest of the massage. I probably wasn't thinking entirely straight.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> L had suddenly stopping his rubbing, and was staring at me with dark and deathly serious eyes again.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Lonely? Parting ways? What could L possibly mean?</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> The ring of a cellphone punctured the silence, startling me. It was L's. He stood up and answered it, holding it with 2 fingers and slightly away from his ear while I remained sitting. I hadn't realized it before, but I'd always found the curious way he held things to be somewhat interesting.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Yes?" Silence as the other person on the line spoke to L. "I understand. I'm on my way."</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Huh?" I asked as L put his phone back in his pocket.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> What was going on?</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> "Come on. Let's go, Light. It seems like it's all worked out."</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Just like that, the moment between us was over, and it seemed to be back to business as usual. L walked away, heading down the hall to take the elevator rather than the stairs.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I stood up, not moving too quickly. My head was still stuck in a strange, dizzy kind of haze. As I slowly followed behind him, I tried to identify what exactly I was feeling. It was difficult, because I didn't believe I'd felt anything quite like this in my life.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I had let my guard completely down with him. The walls I'd built inside myself were crumbling in my mind. I'd done my best to push him away from me, to deny him entry into my thoughts. But after something like this... I couldn't just forget about it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Just as I reached L, the elevator dinged and the sleek silver doors parted. He stepped into the box, leaning with his back against the wall, and I came in after him, standing at his side.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Ground floor, please," he commanded; the elevators were all voice-activated. The doors slid themselves closed and I felt the rising feeling in my stomach as we sank quickly down.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "R-Ryuzaki?" I hesitated. I didn't even know what I wanted to say to him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Yes, Light?" he asked in a detached voice. He didn't even look at me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I frowned, steeling myself. I walked right in front of L... Ryuzaki... and put my hands on the wall, one on each side of his head. I towered over his slouched, slight figure.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Ryuzaki," I said in a more firm, more confidant tone, commanding his attention.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Slowly he turned his head up at me now, and his curtain of black hair fell away from his face. He looked surprised, with the gray eyes of a deer in the headlights. "Yes?"</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> I gazed deeply into his eyes, trying to figure him out. Trying to figure </span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">myself</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> Finally I closed my eyes, giving up with a sigh. I leaned my head forward so that we ended up gently touching our foreheads to each other. "Thank you."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> I could hear the rattle of the elevator as it slowed down and began to approach our floor.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> "Don't mention it."</span></div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-3453988278680391632015-01-02T14:13:00.001-08:002015-01-02T14:38:16.601-08:00Death Note fan fiction<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmvzTpYcU8Lq2hvBpYInDAI0ENzXDK4F2CFhLgqygp6hD8e9zjh0jTdk9unsJSqGUK6QFV3jHYZ_niqOV6TS7QmUISdSN3dfJ61HLYxtPBycafDj4q9xm-VAZ-zpr-l5fi1deMBVCLahf/s640/blogger-image--1596327791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmvzTpYcU8Lq2hvBpYInDAI0ENzXDK4F2CFhLgqygp6hD8e9zjh0jTdk9unsJSqGUK6QFV3jHYZ_niqOV6TS7QmUISdSN3dfJ61HLYxtPBycafDj4q9xm-VAZ-zpr-l5fi1deMBVCLahf/s640/blogger-image--1596327791.jpg"></a></div>WARNING: This post may contain spoilers for the anime Death Note!!!</div><div><br></div><div>So yesterday while I was hanging out with my boyfriend for New Year's, we were watching a few episodes of the anime we've recently been watching together, which is called Death Note. Perhaps you've heard about it. We are two thirds of the way through the series, and it is getting incredibly exciting now! The Shinigami have returned, Light and Misa have regained their memories of the Notebooks, and shit is getting real!!!</div><div><br></div><div>When Jerome and I saw our last episode of the day, #25 (Silence), I was struck by the way Riyuzaki (L) and Light (Kira) interacted with each other. They're standing in the rain together, one of them washes the other one's feet, stuff like that, and it occurred to me...</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Someone could easily interpret their dialogue and actions as them secretly being gay! It was so funny, and I know that's probably not what the creators intended, but I can see it. Their connection is totally there, if you look for it. I thought to myself, "There's GOT to be a fan fiction about Light and Riyuzaki getting shipped together!"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Well, I decided that before I go looking to see if I'm right about their being fan fiction dedicated to L and Light, I would write a fanfic piece of my own. It would be my first attempt at fan fiction ever!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm really excited at the prospect of this new project. I've already rewatched the episode very closely and taken down everyone's dialogue, so I can use it in my story. Once I'm finished with it, I will post it here for you to read. Wish me luck!!! ^_~ </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfB_DZHaAOX90peHKKoAMhkOCAYHalogfbkR4lpbrE3qsti3Ghb2liV2VXiT-eZTTF6iemN0sAcb9n3x-u4sEi8rI6bO6PnrUrsVksLnNqEPAMjM8qiN49bNRJrAgJdavX0vTP9FqqWIGM/s640/blogger-image-1101037423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfB_DZHaAOX90peHKKoAMhkOCAYHalogfbkR4lpbrE3qsti3Ghb2liV2VXiT-eZTTF6iemN0sAcb9n3x-u4sEi8rI6bO6PnrUrsVksLnNqEPAMjM8qiN49bNRJrAgJdavX0vTP9FqqWIGM/s640/blogger-image-1101037423.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Start at 9:50 to see the part I'm going to write about in my fanfiction.<div><a href="http://youtu.be/6WBF5RqSZVw">http://youtu.be/6WBF5RqSZVw</a></div>Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-12222228201481409442015-01-02T14:02:00.000-08:002015-01-02T14:02:08.235-08:00My goals for 2015<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I can't believe the year 2014 is coming to a close so soon...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This year has been such an incredible one for me for so many reasons, the least of which being that I finally went and got my first boyfriend! I'm the happiest I've ever been, and I eagerly await spending New Year's Eve with Jerome tomorrow night. Soon it will be an entire year since we first met...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">But enough about that. The end of another year means that I should make a plan for the next one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">RESOLUTION TIME!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><i>WEBSITE RELATED</i></b></span></div>
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<img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTmlALqSiPjHZKlcbK3CVTrccALNGycj9ahb8Wjru8yL0ZmD4ec0HN6PG55JHpqwOGjdH42q0auj7D7rqYwxp26XbURwzTdq66upHr9yBsDPAdE27UFcLZApx7xRf_VUoQuo0I9n6LjMC/s400/blogger-image--1158492910.jpg" style="color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;" width="300" /></div>
~ First of all, I really want to bring the site that my dad, sister and I have been working on for years, Fun4Baby, to the world.</div>
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Actually, it's already available on the internet <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">right now </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">at www.fun4baby.com, so you can check it out right now! We're still busily working on it though, because there are many kinks and bugs to fix, but really the coding can be considered done at this point. Now we need real people to test the site out and tell us if it's any good.</span></div>
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From this point on, I need to transition from working on new features to explaining the concept to friends and strangers, driving traffic to the website, and being confident in my selling abilities.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9HQJMmP3kH6YAZlC2vugcitRGdfBdUtrGs29dJPub_WB3q1vHfavpazu-3dtxQItx61N9ZkXaiGco9OlySs-A_octcj-KnGNAg-rS7JvQtHXV9SS812vrmPzsR5FfGsmWmdYePHryata/s1600/blogger-image-152028603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9HQJMmP3kH6YAZlC2vugcitRGdfBdUtrGs29dJPub_WB3q1vHfavpazu-3dtxQItx61N9ZkXaiGco9OlySs-A_octcj-KnGNAg-rS7JvQtHXV9SS812vrmPzsR5FfGsmWmdYePHryata/s200/blogger-image-152028603.jpg" width="200" /></a>I used to have my doubts that we could really make this site a reality, but when I look at where we are now, I believe my family and I can truly make a difference in the world.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9HQJMmP3kH6YAZlC2vugcitRGdfBdUtrGs29dJPub_WB3q1vHfavpazu-3dtxQItx61N9ZkXaiGco9OlySs-A_octcj-KnGNAg-rS7JvQtHXV9SS812vrmPzsR5FfGsmWmdYePHryata/s1600/blogger-image-152028603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>If whoever is reading this post now would like to help spread the word, just tell anyone you know who has a baby (or is expecting a baby) that they should try playing this fun, educational game with their baby and send them over to <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">www.fun4baby.com. ^_~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">~ I want to use the many awesome skills I have to better people's lives and </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">make some money on the side</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. Now, Fun4Baby can potentially make me and my family a lot of cash if we market it right, but I don't want to ride <u>everything</u> on the website succeeding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Perhaps I could offer my services as web-master to people, or tutor them on using technology like I have in the past. I have lots of other skills too, like writing and copy-editing, interacting with children and animals, cooking, </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">video-editing, photography, and so many others I can't even name right now. I need to be proud about what I can do, and maybe get a part-time job in one of these areas. It would at the very least bring me one step closer towards independence...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDee1kjwReXM-xPOVrhVoXqIXK8XmcJyZIgmwH9cLPxuYJieu6BZtnndGQwqNj7hrduyiuyLXTTjc4HPKINrnsMxBltkBlODYXh_ukMEOmagofdTjw8aNQUo3lvcTgJgCoPUNIkJc4SdRr/s640/blogger-image--624178849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDee1kjwReXM-xPOVrhVoXqIXK8XmcJyZIgmwH9cLPxuYJieu6BZtnndGQwqNj7hrduyiuyLXTTjc4HPKINrnsMxBltkBlODYXh_ukMEOmagofdTjw8aNQUo3lvcTgJgCoPUNIkJc4SdRr/s200/blogger-image--624178849.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">~ No more wasting my precious time on YouTube and Facebook! >_< This has always been something of a challenge for me, but I am seriously addicted to a lot of my subscribed YouTube channels, and I need to wean myself off of them. Same with Facebook. I should only use it for genuinely connecting with friends, not mindlessly scrolling through my feed for interesting links. In fact, I've seriously considered getting rid of the Facebook app altogether!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I won't, however, get rid of my account entirely, because I still want to keep in touch with my friends. So maybe I'll just use the Messenger app more often.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">~ In that vein, I would like to try and have a conversation with EVERY ONE of my Facebook friends (there are 123 of them as of this post). I'll send at least one text to every person, and hopefully they'll write back to me and I'll rekindle some old friendships. Haha, maybe I can start by writing "Happy New Year" to everyone and see who responds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b><i>WRITING RELATED</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Keep up writing on THIS blog. I want to have at least 50 posts published in 2015. That means I should post at least once a week. I'm pretty sure I can make that goal quite easily. I wonder if I should even try for 100 posts...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Do NaNoWriMo this year. I succeeded in writing 50,000 words back in 2013, when I posted all my short stories on my </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black;"><a href="http://nanowrimostorywars.blogspot.com/" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">NaNoWriMo Story Wars Blog</a>. I didn't do it this year, because I didn't have any really good ideas for a full novel (plus I was pretty preoccupied with hanging out with my boyfriend every weekend to write. Especially </span><a href="http://magentacarmineroberts.blogspot.com/2014/12/thanksgiving-adventure-thursday.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving Weekend</a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">). So this year I intend to g</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">et an idea for an actual novel and WRITE!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ I think it would be fun to make character studies for every book I read from now on, just like I did with the Cuckoo's Calling. Well, maybe every other book at least. I'll have to make sure that the information gleamed out of these exercises becomes useful in my own writing later.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ I would also like to get back to going to my old writing group meetings I used to go to at my library. I went to a holiday party with Annette's and my old writing friends, and I found that I missed them more than I'd realized. Like I said earlier, this year I made it my priority to be with Jerome every weekend that I could. Maybe this year I can go to every other meeting. Or I could go to another writing class entirely</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ I'd love to learn how to be a travel writer. I hear that pays really well, and I'd certainly LOVE to have the freedom to travel to new places and write about them. Maybe I'll take a workshop or class on it this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b><i>BOYFRIEND RELATED</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrfNnaTOrwJXS-avl6OakKRx_GCMdhMB_yD2ndB-tfo2bU3DIPYs94uPGgLALjopOu4ij9SgRF0_JV7c0hv9EIcTu8MQpyRJpA1UsNzbVY8aTGaZXfkTOlGw2_FZN34aKqrNNEfegwXde/s640/blogger-image-433910338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrfNnaTOrwJXS-avl6OakKRx_GCMdhMB_yD2ndB-tfo2bU3DIPYs94uPGgLALjopOu4ij9SgRF0_JV7c0hv9EIcTu8MQpyRJpA1UsNzbVY8aTGaZXfkTOlGw2_FZN34aKqrNNEfegwXde/s320/blogger-image-433910338.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b><i></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Take a dance class with Jerome. (It could be fun) Also go to more painting classes with him, because the one we went to a couple months back was super fun.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Finish watching Death Note and playing Braid with Jerome. (I feel like we'll do both of those easily in January).</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Have Jerome teach me how to properly drive in a manual transmission car, like the adorable Mazda convertible that he drives. He's given me one lesson so far, but I need a lot more practice. I want to be able to take a looong roadtrip somewhere someday with my boyfriend, and if we were to drive his car, I'd want to be able to help him out by splitting the driving between us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Introduce Jerome to my best friend of 6 years and counting... Jacoby Nielsen</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This will happen either in person (JN makes another visit to Florida or Jerome and I take a trip to Utah together) or virtually over webcam (probably the more likely and convenient option. I'd just have to do some expert coordinating). It would just make me so happy to have the 2 guys I love most in the world meet each other face-to-face... I think they'd like each other well enough, since I've told each one lots about the other.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbzaOFbgfdjs3CTgdp__H-9dhb3OUXWmGpf9O61T1fRBWdive1Gq5MRJ6mPlksuMhCla66_VGy0utwTSLCITFNdNR2Xul790Ig2YtNQM5Tai0GDPXNnaOvxfqO5CjTVI6zSpAiXJ0jVzV/s640/blogger-image-421776068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbzaOFbgfdjs3CTgdp__H-9dhb3OUXWmGpf9O61T1fRBWdive1Gq5MRJ6mPlksuMhCla66_VGy0utwTSLCITFNdNR2Xul790Ig2YtNQM5Tai0GDPXNnaOvxfqO5CjTVI6zSpAiXJ0jVzV/s320/blogger-image-421776068.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(This is the best pic I could find that reminded me of both Jerome and Jacoby. Plus, come on. It's from Fruits Basket!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b><i>MY OTHER GOALS</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Visit a country I've never been to before. I wanted to say visit a US state I've never been to, but I want to branch out of America and go somewhere totally new! This can play into my travel-writing resolution, perhaps...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Wake up earlier in the morning. Right now it takes me four alarms to get properly awake, starting at 7:30 and going off again every half hour until 9:00. I'd like to get back to being an early bird again. Which means I should probably quit staying up past midnight so often... >_<</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Earn enough money to afford my own car. Another step towards independence...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">~ Annette mentioned something cool to try this year. Take a big empty jar and set it in a common place next to some paper and a pencil. Every time I learn something cool or something about myself or something I just want to remember in the future, I'll take a scrap of paper, write down what I learned, fold the paper up and put it in the jar. The whole family can do it. Then at the end of the year, we dump the whole jar and see all the wonderful things we've learned!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sooooooooooooo... Y</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">eah, those are my top 17 resolutions I'd like to tackle this year. Wish me luck in keeping as many of them as possible!</span></div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-31229726934236970522014-12-29T07:16:00.001-08:002014-12-29T07:16:34.611-08:00Braid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://braid-game.com/walkthrough/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://braid-game.com/walkthrough/start.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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So over the Christmas weekend, my boyfriend introduced me to an incredible game! It's called Braid, and it's a puzzle game that deals with turning back time...</div>
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I don't even know how to describe it, it's simply an enjoyable experience to play! The puzzles are challenging, but rewarding. The art style of the game seems entirely done in soft, colorful water-colors, and how each level seems to represent another season. It's just beautiful!</div>
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It actually reminded me a lot of the game Limbo. (I've never personally played it, but have watched Pewdiepie's play-through.) They're both excellent puzzle games, only the color pallette is obviously richer...<br />
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<a href="http://legendsk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/braidvslimbo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://legendsk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/braidvslimbo1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Another thing I like is that Braid makes lots of funny references to the Mario games!</div>
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<a href="http://listentome.net/braid3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://listentome.net/braid3.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Even down to the enemies the main character, Tim, has to jump on to defeat.</span></div>
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<a href="http://critical-gaming.com/storage/Braid%20and%20mario%20enemies.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1239164040172" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" src="http://critical-gaming.com/storage/Braid%20and%20mario%20enemies.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1239164040172" /></a></div>
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The best thing I like about the game is the in-game text, which appears before you have to play each level. It really makes a great story. One that I'd really like to share with you.</div>
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SPOILERS!!! If you'd rather play the game and see the text yourself, then you don't have to read any of this.</div>
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(Yes, it starts off with Chapter 2. Apparantly the first chapter comes last, for some reason...)</div>
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<pre style="text-align: center;"><b>"Chapter 2: Time and Forgiveness"</b></pre>
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<a href="http://insomnia.ac/reviews/xbox360/braid/screenshot9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://insomnia.ac/reviews/xbox360/braid/screenshot9.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Tim is off on a search to rescue the Princess. She has been snatched by a</div>
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horrible and evil monster. This happened because Tim made a mistake."</div>
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"Not just one. He made many mistakes during the time they spent together, all
those years ago. Memories of their relationship have become muddled, replaced
wholesale, but one remains clear: the princess turning sharply away, her braid
lashing at him with contempt."
"He knows she tried to be forgiving, but who can just shrug away a guilty lie,
a stab in the back? Such a mistake will change a relationship irreversibly,
even if we have learned from the mistake and would never repeat it. The
princess's eyes grew narrower. She became more distant."
"Our world, with its rules of causality, has trained us to be miserly with
forgiveness. By forgiving them too readily, we can be badly hurt. But if we've
learned from a mistake and became better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for
the learning, rather than punished for the mistake?"
"What if our world worked differently? Suppose we could tell her: 'I didn't
mean what I just said,' and she would say: 'It's okay, I understand,' and she
would not turn away, and life would really proceed as though we had never said
that thing? We could remove the damage but still be wiser for the experience."
"Tim and the Princess lounge in the castle garden, laughing together, giving
names to the colorful birds. Their mistakes are hidden from each other, tucked
away between the folds of time, safe."
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<b>"Chapter 3: Time and Mystery"</b></div>
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<pre>"All those years ago, Time had left the Princess behind. He had kissed her on
the neck, picked up his travel bag, and walked out the door. He regrets this,
to a degree. Now he's journeying to find her again, to show her knows how sad
it was, but also to tell her how good it was."
"For a long time, he thought they had been cultivating the perfect
relationship. He had been fiercely protective, reversing all his mistakes so
they would not touch her. Likewise, keeping a tight rein on her own mistakes,
she always pleased him."
"But to be fully couched within the comfort of a friend is a mode of existence
with severe implications. To please you perfectly, she must understand you
perfectly. Thus you cannot defy her expectations or escape her reach. Her
benevolence has circumscribed you, and your life's achievements will not reach
beyond the map she has drawn."
"Tim needed to be non-manipulable. He needed a hope of transcendence. He
needed, sometimes, to be immune to the Princess's caring touch."
"Off in the distance, Tim saw a castle where the flags flutter even when the
wind has expired, and the bread in the kitchen is always warm. A little bit of
magic."
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<b>"Chapter 4: Time and Place"</b></div>
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<pre>"Visiting his home for a holiday meal, Tim felt as though he had regressed to
those long-ago years when he lived under their roof, oppressed by their
insistence on upholding strange values which, to him, were meaningless. Back
then, bickering would erupt over drops of gravy spilt onto the tablecloth."
"Escaping, Tim walked in the cool air toward the university he'd attended after
moving out of his parent's home. As he distanced himself from that troubling
house, he felt the embarrassment of childhood fading into the past. But now he
stepped into all the insecurities he'd felt at the university, all the panic of
walking a social tightrope."
"Tim only felt relieved after the whole visit was over, sitting back home in
the present, steeped in contrast he saw how he'd improved so much from those
old days. This improvement, day by day, takes him ever-closer to finding the
Princess. If she exists - she must! - she will transform him, and everyone."
"He felt on his trip that every place stirs up an emotion, and every emotion
invokes a memory: a time and location. So couldn't he find the Princess now,
tonight, just by wandering from place to place and noticing how he feels? A
trail of feelings, of awe and inspiration, should lead him to that castle in
the future her arms enclosing him, her scent fills him with excitement, creates
a moment so strong he can remember it in the past."
"Immediately Tim walked out his door, the next morning, toward whatever the new
day held. He felt something like optimism."
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<b>"Chapter 5: Time and Decision"</b></div>
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<a href="http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Braid-Review_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Braid-Review_01.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<pre>"She never understood the impulses that drove him, never quite felt the
intensity that, over time, chiseled lines into his face. She never quite felt
close enough to him - but he held her as though she were, whispered into her
ear words that only a soul mate should receive."
"Over the remnants of dinner, they both knew the time had come. He would have
said: 'I have to go find the Princess,' but he didn't need to. Giving a final
kiss, hoisting a travel bag to his shoulder, he walked out the door. Through
all the nights that followed, she still loved him as though he stayed, to
comfort her and protect her, Princess be damned."
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That's as far as I've gotten in the game. I still have Chapter 6, Chapter 1 and Epilogue to go. When I finish the game, I'll reveal what happens in the end and what I think of the whole experience.Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-14688908576848673652014-12-17T16:09:00.001-08:002014-12-17T16:29:16.105-08:00Feeling like a baby<div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">You know I love you, I always have.</span></div>
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But I have to say,</div>
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The other day,</div>
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I felt a feeling I've never had.</div>
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I know you love me from your every touch.</div>
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Now I can see,</div>
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you've proved it to me!</div>
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I never thought you loved me this much.</div>
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That night, it was different, in a sense.</div>
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A little more slow and a little more intense.</div>
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It was simply indescribable.</div>
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My words may be unreliable...</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We've reached the end,</span></div>
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I can barely move,</div>
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But why would I even want to?</div>
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I'm experiencing a joy I've never felt.</div>
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Underneath some overpowering spell.</div>
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I feel your arms embrace me tight.</div>
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Feelings bubble up and spill out as I cry.</div>
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I'm crying... Like a baby.</div>
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Small... Naked... Helpless.</div>
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You don't have to worry.</div>
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My tears are full of pure happiness.</div>
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My mind is reeling in the dark, like I'm lost in deep space.</div>
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All I can do is cling, almost blindly, in my vulnerable state, </div>
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To my single source of warmth and protection.</div>
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I can feel the love pouring out of your skin.</div>
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You care for me like I'm your child.</div>
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I know I'm not, but for a while</div>
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You stroke my hair and hold me close,</div>
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And in that precious moment, I know.</div>
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You're the only person I want to see me this way.</div>
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With a choked up voice, you hear me say:</div>
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I love you, I love you, I love you...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfup1aLrNp5kqGm_W2ihNyu5VVgPxgYPVnRePfgFO3OEEWj0vaFRhFLHy3HcfLCim6Vxe0glwvSq53jZMMXwkQPiW3IXCs9CdJZZpQFSAfzlnx9ftQaRG_TF0kxCnAvdqG2AsPJAaeQAW/s640/blogger-image-1434804680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfup1aLrNp5kqGm_W2ihNyu5VVgPxgYPVnRePfgFO3OEEWj0vaFRhFLHy3HcfLCim6Vxe0glwvSq53jZMMXwkQPiW3IXCs9CdJZZpQFSAfzlnx9ftQaRG_TF0kxCnAvdqG2AsPJAaeQAW/s640/blogger-image-1434804680.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This poem is littered with half-rhymes, I know, but I don't think that matters very much here.</div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-48334942478722485962014-12-11T08:03:00.001-08:002014-12-11T12:42:08.151-08:00Star vs The Forces of Evil<div>
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Don't ask me how I came across this little gem, but I've just discovered a new reason to look forward to 2015! It's called "Star vs The Forces of Evil". It's a cartoon show that will be on Disney Channel, which is amazing in itself, that I'm getting excited about a Disney Channel cartoon! But seriously, give this intro a watch and tell me you're not at least a little curious to see what this show is about!</div>
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Lyrics:<br />
It's gonna get a little weird, gonna get a little wild<br />
I ain't from 'round here, I'm from another dimension<br />
Gonna get a little weird, gonna have a good time!<br />
I ain't from 'round here, I'm from another... Whoo-hoo!<br />
Yeh-Heah!<br />
I'm talkin' rainbows, I'm talkin' puppies<br />
Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh<br />
Whooooooooo!<br />
It's gonna get a little weird, gonna get a little wild<br />
I ain't from 'round here, I'm from another dimension!<br />
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See what I mean? The music alone gets you super pumped up! But the animation style as well looks really good and fluid and awesome. It's like a mix of Gravity Falls, Adventure Time and Steven Universe, with a little Sailor Moon thrown in for good measure.<br />
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I love that it tells the entire story in its opening sequence, but still leaves a lot of questions open. Since I'll have to wait until January to see the first episode, but I'm still yearning for answers, I thought I'd examine this sequence to see what I can hope to expect. Excuse me as I become extremely analytical about this...<br />
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The intro starts by showing this wand with a star, butterfly, wings and a crown all integrated into the design. It must be a precious and very special magical object.</div>
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As you can see, the weilder of this important wand is a crazy/cool teenage princess named Star Butterfly (according to Wikipedia). She lives in a kooky kingdom that's obviously a different dimension from Earth.<br />
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In her kingdom, Star enjoys fighting monsters and villains with her rainbow-spewing wand. She is a badass.</div>
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Her parents (the king and queen, I'm guessing, from their crowns) don't seem to approve of their teenage daughter battling trolls and the like. Perhaps that's not how a princess is supposed to act? So like any good parents, they forcibly send her off through a tear in their universe to a different dimension, Earth, so she'll be protected from the forces of evil (or so they'd hope).</div>
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In this world, she meets a boy her age named Marco Diaz. It seems he's a green belt in karate, which means he's not the best possible fighter, but he should be able to hold his own in self-defense, should the opportunity arise. By the way they look at each other, Star and Marco become friends really quickly, despite their coming from different dimensions.</div>
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According to Wikipedia, Star comes to live with Marco and his family, who by the character and house designs are quite Hispanic. I also really like Star's new Earth clothes, with her dragon boots and her horned headband.</div>
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Even with Star far away from her home, she still runs into scary beasts that seem to come from another world, like this crazy, drooling pink bug thing. Their school is called Echo Creek, and they seem to be in a place on Earth that has palm trees and all the houses are set on hills. I suppose this is California, judging from the star and bear flag outside the school.</div>
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Ah, turns out the bug isn't so scary after all. He just wants to party! Maybe not all monsters are as bad as they appear to be.</div>
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I know this sequence happens really quickly, but here are a couple of kids that go to their school who may or may not be actual characters on the show. I just thought the fat kid with a face on his tummy was funny. He's gotta have some role in an episode or two, maybe as comic relief? Can't tell much from his friend.<br />
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This also happens so quick you'd almost miss it. I suppose Star gets her monster-fighting missions from the floating head of a unicorn? Also here's another person who might be an important character, a sporty chick who enjoys skateboarding. I think it's wonderful that cartoons these days are fully demonstrating what bad-asses girls can be, like Legend of Korra and Steven Universe! Anyway, I could be totally wrong on this, but I'll bet there will be a story that involves Marco being attracted to this girl and Star being a tad jealous.<br />
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So I suppose Star's wand or the unicorn (or maybe the scissors in the unicorn's mouth?) creates these rifts in the universe that allow her to go to all sorts of places and bring Marco on wild and weird adventures! Places like...</div>
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A spacey cloud world!</div>
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The underground lair of a villain guarded by laser-shooting robots!</div>
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An ocean terrorized by ruthless bunny-pirates! (See their long ears?)</div>
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A hellish fire world inhabited by a handsome demon with horns and 3 eyes, who seems to have a thing for Star, since he's holding a rose out to her, no doubt comparing his own heart to the burning flower. Ooh, a little competition for Marco!</div>
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There are many monsters and general forces of evil who have it in for the magical princess of bad-ass.</div>
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But I have a feeling that Star and Marco are equal to the task. ^_^</div>
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In a show with a cast this colorful, I have no doubt that this cartoon is going to be FREAKING AWESOME!<br />
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Apparently Star vs The Forces of Evil was created by Daron Nefcy, who is the first woman to create an animated series for Disney Channel, and also the first woman to create a Disney XD series. That's incredible!<br />
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To finish this, I'll leave you with the outro, which is equally cute and shows what a great show this could potentially be. ^_^<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mJKqtEa6DU8?rel=0" width="356"></iframe><br /></div>
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I think Earth is a pretty great place<br />
That's saying something, cause I've been through outer space<br />
I think it suits me, it's just my style<br />
I think I'm gonna stay a little while<br />
I think that strangers are just friends you haven't met<br />
I've blasted monsters and I never break a sweat<br />
I really think that I could call this place home</div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-2936208037385889912014-12-08T21:05:00.001-08:002014-12-09T10:51:40.667-08:00The Cuckoo's Calling - review + character descriptions<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5OE_6oeqzmPF4eGqzcyeXKT0VqjA5LyyvtZGrxAUtVSdLm7Nrt76PZtEu1-ZMxq5slLlG85L4TQN_eXRy1HLTWViE_s0BR24FQLE6w-5YUn62JOt197NtqtCVPfD03q47uvKZb0JXGB4/s640/blogger-image-1389328916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5OE_6oeqzmPF4eGqzcyeXKT0VqjA5LyyvtZGrxAUtVSdLm7Nrt76PZtEu1-ZMxq5slLlG85L4TQN_eXRy1HLTWViE_s0BR24FQLE6w-5YUn62JOt197NtqtCVPfD03q47uvKZb0JXGB4/s400/blogger-image-1389328916.jpg" width="259"></a></div><div>So the other day I finished reading a book called The Cuckoo's Calling, a mystery novel by Robert Galbraith (which is actually just a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. I guess she wanted to see if she could write a book that was judged on its own merits, not by the fact that the author of a <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">best-selling series wrote it</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Basically the mystery is that a famous model is seen falling out of her 3rd story apartment and everyone thinks she committed suicide. A few months later, her brother decides to hire a private investigator, because he suspects that someone must have pushed her, because she couldn't have been suicidal. It's a long journey and takes lots of interviews with the people who knew her best, but it has such a twist ending that I never could've predicted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It took me about 3 weeks to get through the book, mostly because while I was reading, I was doing a kind of writing exercise I made up, where I copy down in my own notebook the descriptions used for all the characters in the story. I figure that if I want to become a better writer myself, I would learn from the experts. Who better of an expert to learn from than the person who created Harry Potter? ^_^</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm really glad I started doing this exercise with this book that I might even do it for every book I read from now on! Rowling's descriptions are so... Well, descriptive. :P I mean, you can picture the character clearly in your head. Like, if they were real people, you would instantly recognize them </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">if they were standing in a lineup. If I could write anything like that and make characters come to life, I would be so happy.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Here are a few selections of my favorite characters and the words used to describe them when the reader is introduced to them:</div><div><br></div><b>Our main character, Detective Cormoran Strike</b></div><div><i>The reflection staring back at him was not handsome. Strike had the high, bulging forehead, broad nose and thick brows of a young Beethoven who had taken to boxing, an impression only heightened by the swelling of a blackening eye... His height, his general hairiness, coupled with a gently expanding belly, suggested a grizzly bear... His thick curly hair, springy as carpet, had ensured that his many youthful nicknames had included "Pube-head".</i></div>
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<br></div><div>This guy Strike was a great lead character. He's not any Harry Potter, but he's a good guy. Anyway, you could picture him clearly, couldn't you? A huge, tough, misunderstood Beethoven-like character who solves mysteries.</div><div><br></div><div>Some other characters I just loved the descriptions of:</div><div><br></div><div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Detective Roy Carver</b></div><div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A paunchy man with a face the color of corned beef, whose shirts were usually ringed with sweat around the armpits, his short supply of patience had been exhausted hours ago.</i></div></div><div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></i></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">This guy sounds just like Uncle Vernon Dursley! Lol</span></div><div><br></div>
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Tansy and Ursula May</b></div><div><i>The sisters subjected Strike to the kind of brazenly critical stares that only people of a certain class feel entitled to give. They were both as pristine and polished as life-size dolls recently removed from their cellophane boxes; rich-girl thin, almost hipless in their tight jeans, with tanned faces that had a waxy sheen especially noticeable on their foreheads, their long, gleaming dark manes with center partings, the ends trimmed with spirit-level exactitude.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>I loved the image of these rich girls who are just like fake, plastic, life-size dolls.</div>
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Tony Landry</b></div><div><i>A tall, well-made, expensively suited man with foxy coloring stopped beside Strike's table... In his late fifties, with a full head of hair, a firm jaw and pronounced cheekbones, he looked like an almost famous actor hired to play a rich businessman in a miniseries.</i></div>
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<br></div><div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Freddie Bestugui</b></div><div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Bestigui was built like a bull, with short legs, a broad barrel chest and a thick neck. His hair was gray and brush-cut; his face a crumpled mass of folds, bags and moles, out of which his fleshy nose protruded like a tumor.</i></div></div><div><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></i></div>
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Deeby Macc</b></div><div><i>A large black man wearing some kind of hooded top with a fist picked out in studs on the chest sat in a black leather chair, facing an unseen interviewer. His hair was closely shaven and he wore sunglasses... His voice was soft, deep and hoarse, with the very faintest trace of a lisp.</i></div>
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<br></div><div>Then there are some shorter descriptions for characters who don't exactly have names. They're more like one-off characters you never see or hear from again. Still, they have memorable looks:</div><div><br></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Detective Eric Wardle</b> ~ <i>Boyishly good-looking, with thick, wavy brown hair.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Waitress</b> ~ <i>The squat middle-aged waitress had short straightened hair and dangling orange plastic earrings.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Hostel receptionist</b> ~ <i>A gum-chewing woman behind the desk was reading a newspaper. She seemed suspicious and ill-disposed.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Receptionist Trudie</b> ~ <i>A jingling and clacking noise preceded the entrance of a girl with tomato-red hair, dressed in head-to-toe black and wearing many silver bangles.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Bouncer</b> ~ <i>The door was guarded by a bald bouncer who grinned at them, revealing two gold teeth.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Rochelle's Aunt Winifred</b> ~ <i>An obese black woman wearing thick-lenses glasses and a knitted hat, who projected an aura of eccentricity that bordered on instability.</i></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><br></i></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I've learned so much from this exercise, and hope to apply it to my own writing someday. Maybe one of these days I'll take a look back at my own writing, just to see how my character descriptions compare to these people</span></div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-1570119640410375322014-12-06T19:07:00.002-08:002014-12-06T19:58:21.909-08:00My review of "Earth To Echo"<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s400/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" width="210"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp0N4BjYSxtTfhr1MqROltLA-31GyM19zpEx2qmVUKOs9RNyFz-_icG4XW9n2xF2Z9RvlPjNsf-0AXellFGh-rXiM4jX80HA4tG_3VOxtyTKOFkI1QvzaXYCzOs3GrdCyTmQ7uMtvjRYJ/s640/blogger-image-1356727726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></a></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Usually I'm not home during a weekend, so this is new for me. Normally I'd be visiting my boyfriend and having fun with him, but he's got some end-of-the-semester studying and essay writing to do. I'd hoped to at least see Jerome today... I guess we'll just have to wait to see each other at the beach tomorrow. ~_~ Well, it will make seeing him all the more sweeter. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Still, I was feeling pretty disappointed and down tonight... Until I watched this movie with my sister Annette...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So a while ago, Annette and I found this website where we could see entire movies online, even movies that have only come out this year! Movies like How To Train Your Dragon 2 (so awesome!!!) and Maleficent (uhhhhh... I wouldn't watch it if I were you. XP) Tonight we decided to see Earth To Echo, which apparently came out in theaters this past summer. AND IT WAS FREAKING INCREDIBLE!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Seriously, now I'm sad that I didn't see this in the theater. It was one of those insanely amazing movies that had me on the edge of my seat, caring about the characters, and laughing out loud. I remember someone saying that if a movie or a show or any kind of story is able to make you gasp, it's doing something right, and this movie absolutely did that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Basically, these 3 preteen boys come across this little alien trying to rebuild his spaceship and go back to his home planet. This may sound like a story that's been done to death, but this felt like it was done right! </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The alien Echo was just cute! ^,^ And those special effects!!! Oh my god, when they were driving the car and they were about to crash into the truck, and somehow Echo made all the truck's parts fly apart (including the driver!) and come back together again behind them... I just about lost it right there!!!</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I wish I could put it in words what makes the movie was so good... I'm afraid I would just come out incoherent. Plus I don't want to give away any spoilers. :P </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">All I know is that there were moments in the movie that just filled me with a sense of real wonder, and I loved it. It was one of those films that make me wish I'd never seen it, so I could watch it for the first time again. Well, I know one thing. The next opportunity I get, I am totally seeing this with Jerome. ^_^</span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The movie was filmed in the "found footage" format, like the Paranormal Activity series and that super hero movie </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Chronicle. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Here is the link so you can see Earth To Echo for yourself.</span></div></div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-46790513462346489942014-12-04T19:25:00.000-08:002014-12-06T19:05:41.068-08:00Thanksgiving Adventure: SundayI woke up first at around 8. I let Jerome sleep in as I made myself busy. I called my dad to make sure I could come home when I wanted. I packed away all my clothes that were scattered around our messy tent, I started preparing breakfast, dicing the rest of the onion and the mushrooms.<br>
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Funny short story: there was this can of leftover cranberry sauce that never got put away. I don't know why, but it just sat there on the table for no reason. But anyway, while I was chopping, I heard a bee buzzing around in the can. He couldn't get out! So I lifted the lid a little bit and he flew free. A few minutes later though, the bee started hovering around the can and crawled back through the little gap in the lid, and once again he couldn't figure his way out. XD Such a silly bee.</div>
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Finally Jerome awoke, and he made us another omelette with the ingredients I'd prepared. It was very tasty. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">After breakfast, we got a start on packing everything else away. We were too lazy to do the dishes, and decided Jerome could do them when he got back to his house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Slowly but surely, everything got put away and secured on the trailer or inside the Jeep's trunk. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The extra tent that Jerome's dad had used finally fell apart, so we threw it out. I folded and packed away Jerome's clothes for him. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We cleared away the picnic table that had been our makeshift kitchen and folded our tent away. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For a break we each ate a bit of leftover apple pie, but for the next couple of hours all we did was pack.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">At last we'd put away every last item of camp gear, leaving no trace that we'd been camping there for the last few days. We left at around 1:30, and I'll admit that </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I was sad to go. I know my own family would have enjoyed camping out there, it's so beautiful. Maybe in the future I'll convince them to come along. Anyway, if I have anything to say about it, I'm definitely going to camp there with Jerome for next thanksgiving. ^,^</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We stopped in Clewiston for gas, and since we were hungry and we saw that the Walmart had a Subway inside, I ran in and bought us 2 Veggie Delite footlong sandwiches. Plus they were selling soft pretzels, which I haven't had in a long time, so I got one for us to share. I fed Jerome little bites of his half of the pretzel as he drove us along, and then we had our sandwiches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">A couple of hours later, we arrived at my house. The rest of my family were away at the beach, so we didn't have anyone to greet us. I didn't mind, though. We took my things out of the trunk and I hugged my boyfriend goodbye, thanking him for the most fantastic Thanksgiving weekend ever. ^_^</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I remember liking my hour or 2 of alone time as I waited for my parents and sibs to return. I unpacke</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">d my clothes, took a shower, uploaded all my pictures and videos from my camera to the computer, got all caught up on the social media. :P Finally my family returned and I was able to show them all the footage I'd taken and tell the stories of my Thanksgiving Adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">With that, I am finally done telling all my stories from the last weekend. Hope you enjoyed reading about my exploits as much as I did writing about them. ^_^ I'm not sure if I'll be able to manage a daily post all the time as I have been doing, but I promise, I won't leave my blog unattended for as long as last time. ^_~</span></div>
Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-61503876397460947522014-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:002014-12-06T19:05:28.825-08:00Thanksgiving Adventure: SaturdayWe woke up really early in the morning, because we knew Julian had to leave by 7:30 and drive back to Gainesville. It took some effort to get Jerome up (it usually does. Lol), but we were able to hang out with Julian for a little while before saying goodbye to him.<br>
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Maybe half an hour later, it was also time for Jerome's mom and dad to leave too. We'd made the plan ahead of time that they would all leave on Saturday, so that Jerome and I could have at least one day of camping on our own. That's actually what this weekend was originally going to be in the first place, just me and my boyfriend camping by ourselves, but then the whole family wanted to come along. :P (And why not? It's they're holiday tradition.) Still, I'd enjoyed myself plenty among all the Ginori's. ^,^</div>
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By 8:30, Jerome and I were all on our own! We were pretty excited! We made ourselves a kickass breakfast of hot chocolate and omelette with chopped tomatos and mushrooms. Then Jerome got things ready for our day of canoeing while I prepared sandwiches for us containing the last of the tasty bean loaf from my mom. Great teamwork!<br>
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Finally we set off for the creek. A stranger helped us get the canoe off the trailer and we set off in the same direction as Friday, which was upstream. It was so beautiful, peaceful, quiet and warm. My arm felt loads better, and it was cool for just Jerome and me to experience the creek without the other Ginoris. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We saw some people already on the beach, so we pushed forward to explore more of the creek. I remember seeing a alligator that looked as big as Jerome, almost!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">When we'd been rowing for about an hour, we turned around to see if those people were on the beach anymore. Thankfully it was empty, so we parked our canoe there and relaxed on the beach, just the two of us. We ate the sandwiches I'd made and Jerome complimented me highly on them, saying they were delicious and perfect. ^,^ When we were done with them we also snacked on chips and salsa. There was still a bit of both leftover, so I put the little pieces and crumbs of the chips in the jar to mix with the last of the salsa for later. (Remember this, because it's important later).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We lay in the sun a lot and tanned ourselves, explored the woods near the beach, took small naps, watched other rowers passing us by. For the most part, it was just the two of us on our little beach. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It was so romantic. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Eventually, maybe an hour or so later, we decided to row back. Another kind stranger helped us get the canoe back on the trailer and we headed back to camp. After a little walk and a little nap, we readied ourselves for the task of making ourselves dinner.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Jerome started the campfire up again, since it had gone out while we were away, and I chopped up a bunch of vegetables that he fried up later on the little cooker. Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini. While he was frying them up, Jerome suggested we throw in that chip mixture, which was a totally genius idea! While that was going on, we also cooked up a bunch of ramen noodle packages I'd brought along, and we still had an apple pie that had gone uneaten from Thanksgiving. We were going to have a feast!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">We had just finished cooking everything when we suddenly realized: we didn't have any bowls to put the ramen in! XP Luckily we improvised by using the mugs we'd drank our hot chocolate in that morning, which was actually nice because all the broth went down to the bottom, so when you finished with the noodles you just sipped the salty liquid like a regular drink.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Everything was delicious, and we were so proud of the meal we'd created together. (Well, ALL our meals that day were something to be proud of, in my opinion)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">We sat by the fire for some time, staring into the flames, recounting our long and exciting day, kissing and clutching each other for warmth. That day had really shown us that we make the best team, that we work super well together. I didn't think I could love my boyfriend any more than I already did, but I was happy to be wrong. ^_^</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">It was dark by that point, but not really that cold. We were really full, but still were eager to have s'mores again that night. We just had to digest and keep ourselves awake. I called home to see how everyone was, since I hadn't talked to them all week, and we spoke to my sister on speaker phone for several minutes. Then Jerome showed me an episode from a podcast he enjoys, called Hardcore History with Dan Carlin. His voice to me is like a mix between George Carlin and Patton Oswald (Remy the rat in Rattatouille). It was fun to listen to.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">After about 20 minutes, we found ourselves getting really tired, me especially. So we went to the tent to rest a little. Jerome showed me a book on his kindle, which he'd brought along, and he read the first few pages to me aloud. I'm not sure, but I believe that was the first time he'd read to me. He has such a nice, expressive reading voice. It was like he was telling me a bedtime story. Well, it just about put me to sleep...</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Who knows how long later, we both awoke to see that the fire had burned itself out, so s'mores were out of the question. Well, we were too tired to eat anyway. Too tired even to brush our teeth! I didn't mind though, and just went back to sleep curled up in my sweet boyfriend's arms. There was no place I'd rather be.</span></div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604920020827980470.post-28450201890160696622014-12-02T22:20:00.000-08:002014-12-06T19:05:17.111-08:00Thanksgiving Adventure: Friday<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jerome and I must have slept a good 12 hours, since we'd gone to bed so early the night before. It was a lot colder than I was used to! I liked it, though. Maybe it sounds strange to say, but it was the kind of cold that made me feel glad to be alive. Well, glad to have a big yellow sweater, a warm hat and gloves and a good campfire to keep warm by, anyway. =P<br><br>Sometime after breakfast, Jerome and I went to help Alan and Julian find firewood while Chantal stayed behind and made everyone sandwiches for a picnic on our next kayaking adventure. She made mine with some leftover bean loaf from my family's dinner, which my mom had packed for me. ^,^ We left Fish Eating Creek and went pretty much across the street, to find wood in the wild. What I didn't know is that we were also going to do a little off-roading along the way.<br><br>Now, I've gone off-roading with Jerome lots of times on ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles), but I'd never done it in their big yellow Jeep before. I kind of think I prefer it, actually. It was like being on a roller coaster, bumping along and seeing mud splash all around us without getting dirty yourself. So much fun! I remember hearing ACDC on the radio, singing "It's a Long Way to the Top If You Want to Rock and Roll" the whole time, and it was the perfect soundtrack! Funny enough, as soon as we quit off-roading, that's when the song ended.</span><br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Anyway, we collected a good deal of firewood, plus Julian spotted a couple of grapefruit trees as we drove through the woods, so he climbed up and threw down several yellow grapefruits. I think they weren't quite ripe, but it was still cool. Picking fruit fresh from the trees is the best.<br><br>We got back to the camp and it was basically the same deal as the previous day, where we went to the creek to go rowing, except we went in the opposite direction, upstream. We knew it would be tough rowing initially, but the way back downstream would be so much easier. Actually, I didn't even row that much upstream, because one of my shoulders was aching a bit. Must have overworked it, or slept funny the previous night. So Chantal did the rowing in the front of the canoe and I got to be the passenger in the middle, nibbling on a bag of grapes I'd brought along for the trip and enjoying the view.</span><br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Such as this view of Jerome, with Dad Alan in the back. ^,^</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Not to say that I didn't do <i>any</i> rowing that day. I did. We took a break in the middle and switched things around, so Chantal could get a chance in one of the kayaks and Alan was the passenger. He's kind of a big guy, and we also were lugging the cooler, so it was a little tiring. :P</span><br>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the end though, we made it to one of the Ginori's favorite beaches, we ate our sandwiches and we played with the Frisbee I'd brought.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There was this one time where I threw it and the wind made the frisbee land in the water by accident. It was still kind of cold, and it was quite far out in the middle. I was worried the water was too cold for anyone to go in and get it, but my sweet bofriend Jerome got to be the hero and swam to rescue it, braving the freezing water for me. ^,^</span><br>
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We had a lot of fun on our little private beach until it felt like time to head back. Julian went in the front of the canoe and rowed super fast, especially since we were going downstream! That guy sure is full of energy.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Chantal riding in Julian's kayak. I was so excited to get this shot! Look at the water splashing like that! It's looks like it's frozen! ^_^ (Well, it kinda <b>is</b> frozen, since it's a picture... Lol)</span></div>
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When we got back to the shore, Jerome and I took another walk with his brother, who teased us that he felt like a third wheel. Jules said he understood now how Jerome must have felt when he'd had a girlfriend in high school years ago. </div>
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We tried to see across to a field of horses by climbing a tree, but we didn't see anything. Got good pics, though.</div>
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Hmm, what else? Well, while waiting for dinner to be ready, we taught Julian how to play Cards Against Humanity, which he'd never played before and he found it pretty funny. It's not that fun with only 3 people, but I'm glad he liked it. Oh, I remember he showed us the new Star Wars trailer on his phone. MAN, I can't believe how much the Internet has blown up about that in just a few days. XD</div>
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Dinner was basically leftovers of Thanksgiving food, plus a nice potato+tomatoe+onion+mushroom dish wrapped in foil and heated over the fire. Jerome and I did the dishes again, plus while we were at it we went to the store to get some eggs and a jug of water, since we were running out. Close by the store, we saw there was a karaoke event going on. I thought that was so cool, because I love doing karaoke. I asked Jerome if we could go later, and he said sure.</div>
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We came back to camp and Julian threw in this interesting powder that he'd bought at the store earlier that makes the campfire burn different colored flames. It made such an awesome display, glowing green and blue! It's like how I imagine the magical flames Hermione's makes in the Harry Potter books.</div>
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We all realized too late that we should have made s'mores before coloring the fire. :P... Ah, but we made s'mores anyway, just trying our best to avoid the colorful flames, since we were paranoid. Jerome and I invited the others to join us for karaoke, but no one else seemed interested. I signed myself up for a song, but it took f o r e v e r for it to be my turn, like over an hour and a half, maybe even 2 hours! At last I sang I'm a believer, Smash Mouth version. I imagined myself singing like Donkey from Shrek.<br>
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We heard someone sing Bohemian Rhapsody afterwards, and then left the karaoke place. I found a flashlight in the process, so I guess that was cool. When we came back, the rest of Jerome's family was asleep. It must have been well past 10 when Jerome and I went to bed ourselves. (Haha, looks like we stayed up a lot later than them that time.)</div>
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Wow, halfway through this epic now. Sorry for this post coming a tad late. Today was pretty busy. I also saw the South Park episode tonight that was supposed to have Pewdiepie in it, but he was really in it the first few minutes, so that was kinda disappointing. Plus it's a two-parter story...</div>
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Well, good night then. Look forward to my next post, about last Saturday. That was my absolute favorite day, and you'll soon discover way!</div>
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Magentahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04079033662798955544noreply@blogger.com1