oops.

I haven't updated in such a long time. .__."
Mainly because I kinda forgot my username and password. Hehe...

watching summer fade away isn't that fun..

The first day of school is tomorrow. 9AM. Blehh. I'm excited/depressed/happy to go back...does that seem like a logical reaction?

I have quite a few problems left to go on my math packet...and I have no idea how to do them (random answer time, jaa?). I don't really know what to bring, either. My emergency form, completed math packet, schedule, and my lock for my locker are the only things that I KNOW I need to have. But what about all the freaking books?! That weighh about 20 pounds all together?

Gaaaah. Dx I want it to be the weekend already.

swing, girlie, swing. < 3

I just returned from a 5-mile bike ride with my brother. All I gotta say is, I'm SO glad I brought a water bottle...or else I think I might have passed out along the trail. @_@ My chest STILL feels a little funny, ugh. *chugs water*

And now, a short anecdote (hopes she spelled that right...) : Before my bro and I stopped home, we went to the local park to swing (just like we always do). While we were doing so, I couldn't help but overhear a little girl sadly say to her grandma how much she wanted an Underdog and how she wanted to swing as high as my brother and myself (aww). So I asked her if she wanted a push on the swing, and she gladly accepted...and I ended up giving her two, haha.

I'm glad that I was able to make a little girl's evening better by just pushing her on the swing. It goes to show that the little things in life really DO matter, and make a huge difference. So when the opportunity arises where you can make a difference in someone else's day, hop to it.

The "Bug" Night

...just don't ask about the title. XD

So anyways...I had such a lovely time last night at my friend Freddy's house with all my fraaands. There was epic sword fights, Soul Calibur IV, undercooked pizza bagels, humungous caterpillars, random hair sniffing (it's a way to find your soul mate, apparently?) a trek to the woods (it was a bitch trying to find our way out, mind you), random wrestling at 1AM, quoting random bits of Spongebob (especially the "LEEDLE LEEDLE LEEDLE LEE!!", from Patrick Star), a few guys hiding out in a bathroom closet for over a half hour, me laughing at every single flippin' thing anyone said, etc.

My good friend Ryan drove me home in his cherry-scented Cadillac. Got home at 2AM...didn't go to bed til 3:30. x__x I wasn't even tired, anyways, haha.
Yeah, so. Great night~ I WANNA RELIVE IT AGAAAAAAIN!

recent artworks~

Just some more artwork of mine. ^_^ I apologize if you can't really see them all that well...I uploaded them on the "small" setting.

BREAKTHROUGH !!

MOM FINALLY CAVED IN AND LET ME GO OUT ON A BIKERIDE BY MYSELF (because she thinks I'm gonna get kidnapped, raped, and die a horrible death if I go anywhere alone). AND I'M 16.
OMG WHAT A BREAKTHROUGH! THANK YOU, MAMA!

:D

In other news...it's been a long, long week. I don't think I've ever wanted to violently bash my foot into my brother's face as much as I do today. =__= HE WILL NOT. SHUT. UP. OR LEAVE ME AND MY MOM ALONE. IT MAKES ME WANT TO RIP MY HAIR OUT AND BANG MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL REPEATEDLY. UGH.

warm popcorn, fresh outta the microwave~

Popcorn is so freaking delicious, I don't care who thinks otherwise. I'm currently sitting at my desk, stuffing my face with a whole bag. But I don't feel horrible about it, seeing as it's 94% less fat or something. xD

Well, my summer shall meet its demise next Friday, the 27th. My junior year of high school lurks around the corner, with me standing, apprehensively, in the dark, gloomy hallway, not sure whether to venture forward, or run back, crying like a little girl. In all honesty, I don't know whether I'm looking forward on going back to school, or absolutely dreading it. I'm dying to see all my friends (and even the teachers!) again, but my classes this year seem like they're gonna be hell of a lot harder than sophomore year. So I guess I could say that I'm excited/dreading to go back. ._.

HERE'S MY CLASSES, because I feel like typing them down (and yes, they're all in an extremely particular order):

1. Philosophy
2. Human Anatomy
3. Honors British Lit
4. AP American History
5. Honors Spanish
6. Rhetoric *insert dramatic shrieks of terror here*
7. College Algebra

OHGAWDI'MGONNADIE. x___x

And in other news: my bag of popcorn is almost gone. Waaah. T.T

"...this is a SMALL Coke?"

Kay, so. Just got back from the theatre-- I went to go see Avatar: The Last Airbender with Ryan and his Pennsylvanian (XD?) friend Joe.

First off, I'd like to point out that we Americans supersize the CRAP outta our food. I went to the concession stand and ordered a small (A SMALL) Coke, and I was agape when they handed me a cup that was damn near the size of my lower arm. I'm thinking, "...this is a small drink? I'd hate to see what a LARGE is...it's probably the size of a freaking BUCKET, no doubt." -_- I don't know whether $4.25 was worth it, to be honest. :/ And a cup that large was considered a "small"...it explains why America's considered "The Fat Country." We live by our reputation quite well, unfortunately.

Anyways...back to the movie:

Being a fan of the cartoon, I was kinda disappointed with how the story was portrayed. Practically everyone's name was pronounced differently than from the cartoon (Aang was said with a long "A" sound...it was REALLY annoying. -__- Same thing for Uncle EEE-ROW and SEW-KUH), the acting was stiff (especially Katara...even Aang wasn't as happy and carefree as he usually is in the cartoon), half the series was squished into one film...AND TOPH WASN'T EVEN IN IT. OMFG I WAS SO MAD. D<

...Though all in all, it's a decent film to go see in the theaters. I think if you've never seen the animated version and go and see it, it's a LOT better. XD

This doesn't have anything to do with the live-action movie, but...I wish Avatar: The Last Airbender was still on Nickelodeon. I used to really look forward to watching it and I got all excited and happy when I saw that it was on the television, but nope. Not anymore in this day-and-age. Like many of the older, kick-butt cartoons that were original, funny and just downright AWESOME, Avatar got kicked to the curb and replaced by UTTER SHIT like Fanboy and ChumChum and Back at the Barnyard. Honestly I don't think I've sat down and watched Nickelodeon in a couple years. It's just too depressing and disappointing to watch anymore. :/ Cartoon Network went down the crapper as well, unfortunately...

On another note: I noticed that all the Earth-benders in the movie were Asian. Yay~~
And on another note: Appa was pretty cute, too. ^_^ There weren't too many parts where he was seen, though.
And on yet ANOTHER note: I noticed at Hot Topic they're selling an intimidation of Katara's pendant. I would SO buy if it weren't for its crappy quality and cheap appearance. :P

luna lovegood = love :)

"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure." Luna Lovegood.

Just wanted to say how much I adore Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I re-watched the movie with my mom last night, and when Luna came on the screen we started to go crazy. We both said at the same time how much we loved her. XD

Luna's different, quirky, honest, unique...and seems to be in a trance, most of the time. XD On the outside Luna seems like a very weird girl who nobody wants to associate themselves with (her classmates even bully her, stealing her things and hiding them all throughout the castle), yet there's a part of her that's DEEP AS HELL. Like when she's talking to Harry in the forest about Voldemort wanting Harry to be isolated and cut off from everyone else-- she's very in tune with Harry, and understands his feelings. Luna considers herself one of Harry's friends, and he's compelled to consider her one of his own, too.

Not only do I like Luna's personality, but she's just so adorable to watch...like when she skips down the hallways. XD I also think her hair is beautiful. It's so long and blonde (the NICE looking blonde...not like you dipped your hair in yellow paint and the roots being black >_< ). Luna just appears so angelic to me...she's definitely included in my top five fave Harry Potter characters. :)

update on my life~

I've been mentally nagging myself for the past week to write a new entry for my blog (since I haven't updated since last month), so here's all the stuffs that I've recently been up to:

- I've been volunteering at the local library for the past two weeks (my last week will be the 12-16th). Probably the easiest way to earn Christian Service hours...all I do is sit there, basically. I'm helping out with this annual Summer Reading Program for all the little kids, and they have these BINGO sheets that they fill out according to the types of books and activities that they have to do on the opposite side of the sheet, and I stamp the BINGO spots depending on what they accomplish and give out prizes. Nothing too hard about that. Except Tuesdays...that's craft day...

- During my volunteering time at the library, I managed to get through my first summer reading book, The Road. Boy, what a CRAP book...it was depressing as hell at some parts...honestly I don't have a clue as to why this pathetic excuse for a book was on the summer reading list. It had no point to it, from what I can tell-- if a book like The Road can be published and be made into a movie, I could become a millionaire with the stuff I've written. >_> There's probably some hidden message in the book that I'm not picking up on, but whatever. It's read and over with. Now I can read the other two books that are actually worth my time reading.

- Cleaning houses with mom REALLY pays off. I cleaned at both my grandma's houses, and I made a good sum of money. I spent some of it at Hot Topic this past Wednesday. It's nice having $72 in your wallet. :)

- I probably had the most boring Fourth of July in my entire life. At least I got to make smores with the folks. :) We sat out by the fire pit and talked for a little while, and listened to the fireworks that were going off. We couldn't see 'em, though, so that was a bit of a bummer. :/

- I've been shopping with mom A LOT in the past week. We spent this morning driving a half hour up to this nice hostess outlet place to get bread...mom adores the place now because of their awesome deals. XD

- My cousin's graduation party was this past afternoon (it was a combined party with her friend), so myself and the family went down to Ohio and celebrated. The bad part was that it was at my ex-aunt's house, and I haven't seen her in a good ten years (bad divorce), so it was really weird seeing her. But everyone seemed to get along alright, so it wasn't a big deal. :) There was cake and a built-in pool, so I was happy. LOL.

- Kuroshitsuji season 2 just recently came out (it's called Monoshitsuji now =P ). I watched the RAW Japanese version yesterday (cuz I'm too impatient to wait for the translated English version, which I watched today. :D ). All I have to say about it is, thank GOD Sebastian and Ciel are still in the series. When I heard all this talk on the Internet about there being a whole new butler and master (pretty much blowing off Ciel and Sebby all-together), I was PISSED. There ARE a new master and butler, though (Alois and Claude)...Alios scares me. He's quite the sadistic one. ._. Pretty creepy from what I've seen of him...and Claude's like Sebastian-- amazingly perfect at everything. Is he a demon butler as well...?

- Blind Guardian: And Then There Was Silence. THE BEST SONG ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH. YOUTUBE IT, WATCH IT, AND DON'T FORGET TO EMBRACE ITS AWESOMENESS AND EPICNESS.

That's all I got at the moment to write about, pretty much. I miss my friends...

gaaah.

WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN WRITING IN MY BLOG DAILY LIKE I USED TO?!

-shot- ...x__x

WHOA.

It's been about a month since I last posted something. And yet SO MUCH CRAP HAPPENED DURING THAT TIME. AND I WAS TOO LAZY TO SIT DOWN, LOG ON HERE, AND WRITE ALL OF IT DOWN. GEEEEEEZ. SORRY. D'8

I'm such a horrible blogger. *crysnifflecry* ...Anyways...

I'm too tired to write about everything that I've done in the past month or so (I'm on summer vacation already, obviously, so I'll just write about the past three days:

- saw Toy Story 3 at the IMAX with Ryan. It was quite an epic movie (there was even a Totoro plush doll in it! Good job, Bonnie! x3), and the ending wasn't THAT sad...more on the happy/sad/emotional side, but I wasn't bawling my eyes out like my friend Phill told me I would. >_> I even brought tissues...but anyways yeah, TS3 = great film. Go out and see it. Then we went out for Dairy Queen afterwards, hur hur hur.

- red lipstick = SEXY. I went out with my mom and she got me a few red lipsticks to try. I LOVE wearing the color now. It suits me (having dark hair and all). :)

- just got back from the mall with my mom. JC Penny is pretty much my new favorite store now, lol. Seriously! They had AMAZING deals, and awesome sundresses that mom got for me! I bought a pair of cute new sunglasses for myself (because the past three pair that I've had BROKE on me >:( ), and they were only $3.19. Can you say DEAL?

- I'm almost done reading The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. Only have 40 or so more pages to get through, and then I have to start on my summer reading, which isn't that bad this year. ^^ The Road, Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, and Hound of the Baskervilles (those I got to choose on my own). So I'm eager to dive into those.

That's all I feel like writing about, really. Sorry it's not that detailed and seemed rushed. I kinda don't feel like writing a whole lot at the moment. =/ Sorry. I'll update more tomorrow!

But for now, peace out~~

- Anna

Happeh Memorial Day~!

I celebrated this Memorial Day by marching in the Memorial Day parade with my school's marching band. I got to hold the school flag with my friend Nikki. :D We were walking behind this red train making CHOO-CHOOO noises.

It probably would've been a better time if it were 20+ degrees cooler out. Marching for over a mile in 80 degree weather while wearing black jeans...it's the ultimate weight loss program, accoring to Nikki. And I agree. BUT OMG IT WAS SOOOO FLIPPIN' HOT. I'm glad I didn't pass out right on the spot and have the marching band just run over me. Dx I was sweating everywhere...all I kept thinking about were a pair of shorts and my really cold room. x__x

At least I wasn't IN the marching band...I felt REALLY bad for them...

But other than the blasted heat (the state where I live has been having this spring heat wave or something...it's getting really annoying), the parade was pretty fun! :D It was my first time going, so I didn't really know what to expect. My favourite part was seeing the helicopter and fighter jets flying over our heads. They were epic. So were all the soldier dudes, and their cool jeeps and motorcycles. There were also horses! O:

So yeah...in other news, final exams start tomorrow. And I'm SO dead. I've been studying for Spanish for the past two hours or so, yet it seems like I hardly have anything done! I haven't even LOOKED at American Lit or Sacraments yet, I feel like I'm gonna completely bomb Geometry, and as for Chem...well...I'M JUST DEAD. Dx

Though I AM going to this study session thing from 7-9PM up at my school. I heard there was also gonna be pizza. :3

Peace, and God Bless~

pawns, worthless? i think not.

You know what one really talented deviantart artist made me realize? That it's symbolic when you manage to get a pawn all the way across a chess board, it turns into a queen.

Something like a pawn, that's stereotyped as the weakest and worthless chess piece, can transform into a powerful, strong, valuable queen (if you work hard enough to get that pawn all the way across, that is). The symbolism behind this is that people who are vulnerable and lowly, with a lot of hard work and effort, can rise into someone who's highly praised and all-mighty.

When this artist hinted this symbolic meaning to me, I pieced it all-together and now I'm fascinated by it. XD

adios to sophomore year...

Well, I'm currently sitting in my last Web Design class of the semester. All I have left is Honours American Lit, locker clean out, and I'm DONE...with the school day part, that is. I still have finals to look forward to. =P

The last day of school. Another chapter of my school-life gone, and my junior year awaits me at the end of August. Last day of school- it's always bittersweet. :/ I'm psyched for summer and being free from homework and wearing a uniform (I'm BURNING it once senior year comes to an end), but I'm gonna miss seeing my good friends each and every day and having things to keep me busy. Gotta make some summer plans ASAP. I already have a couple of small things planned:

- a strawberry shortcake party in the park. :)
- swimming. LOTS AND LOTS of swimming.
- bowling! :D
- boxer shopping with my friend Ryan. hur hur hur. x3
- catching up on TONS of anime and manga.
- volunteer work ( I don't care where, I just need some activity to keep me occupied).
- brush up on my chess playing skills. :D
- burning my science fair project. BWHAHA~

Uhh...that's pretty much it so far. Nothing too exciting, but I'm hoping my uncle will have something planned for the Fourth of July up at his cottage so I can go. My family can't afford to travel or go any cool place this year, so I don't think my summer will be all that exciting. ^^; But that's alright, because at least I'll be able to chill out and do nothing. And that's always nice.

I'm just hoping that my last Lit class won't kill me, and my current headache subsides soon. Dx

Annoyed.

Yep. Annoyed. My current mood...for different reasons. =_=

My final exams are next week, and I've taken good use to my half day of school and begun to work on the review sheets I've received. I know I have plenty of time to do them, yet I feel like I have to get EVERYTHING done right at this very second. So if I don't have something done or don't complete something, it makes me feel so unaccomplished. I get the thought, "Why bother doing it when you're not going to finish it NOW?" So even though I have the next 5+ days to study, I feel like there's no time.

My family will NOT shut up. I feel like my brother's gonna snap and have a melt-down (he has many mental problems, so yeah...), so that's bringing down my mentality, too. The TV's blasting from the kitchen, my other brother keeps blabbering random crap downstairs, the back door keeps opening and shutting (dunno WHERE dad keeps running off to), I can hear my mother's loud voice from my bedroom...actually, I can hear EVERYTHING going on in my stupid, small, dense house of mine. Even WITH headphones on.

MY LEG (or back of thigh? it's kinda there, actually) HAS A HUGE CRAMP IN IT. GRAAARRGHH.

I have another reason, too, but...I'm not gonna say what it is. >>"

That's it, pretty much. Can't wait until everyone goes to bed and the house becomes quiet...probably won't happen, but I can dream, can't I? Peace out, peoples~

a wise ol' quote from Albus Dumbledore:

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."

For some weird and random reason, I had a flash back to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and I remember Dumbledore addressing this quote to all the students of Hogwarts whilst in the Great Hall. Now that I really give this quote some thought, it's absolutely true.

It's WAY harder to stand up to your friends rather your enemies. It's easy to argue and to say what's on your mind to somebody you dislike- you'll have no fear to express how you feel and have the courage to tell them that they're committing wrong-doings. It's simple because you're not supposed to LIKE your enemies...otherwise, they'd be your friends. But when a situation arises when you have to stand up to a good friend, it proves to be more challenging. You're going against someone that you consider a comerade, someone who'll think that you're okay with their beliefs or actions because you're a friend, and of COURSE you'd agree with them about EVERYTHING. Well, that's not the case.

People will have the fear to stick up for themselves and others when it comes to opposing the negative thoughts and actions of friends. They're afraid that their friends will mock them, tell them that they're stupid or wrong, or will become angry at them for thinking differently. They'll turn against you if you take a stand against them. Even if you KNOW you're doing the right thing, they won't care. They'll just be angry that you "betrayed them" and will think you're not being a friend for not "thinking they way they do or agreeing with them".

We are all not the same. We all have different minds, different thought processes. Even though we have similarities, we all take a situation or an object and see it through our OWN eyes-- we have a diffrent point of view, and we all have our opinions. Just because we have friends and share the same interests, doesn't mean that we all have the same beliefs or have to think the way they do.

So when a situation arises where you see a friend doing wrong or saying something inappropriate or false about an issue or about a person, be brave and tell them straight up how you feel. Lead them in the right direction, don't let them get away with committing wrong-doings. Take action and stand up to them. It may be difficult, but it'll be worth it in the end, both for you and your friend.

Life is but a DREAM for the DEAD.

Mom and I took a voyage up to my grand-dad's grave yesterday evening. We had to go up there to see whether my uncle planted flowers or not (because my grandma didn't believe him when he said he did, so mom and I had to go see for ourselves xD). And he did. They're all lovely, and he planted different varieties of flowers. I got to water them, and will have to take a couple trips up to the cemetery a few times a week to do so. We don't want the flowers to die too quickly. ^^; It's supposed to be in the high 80s this week.

After that, mom and I walked around the cemetery to look at all the different graves and such. As I was walking around and admiring all the different gravestones (most of them were Celtic crosses, because it IS an old Irish cemetery) and looking at birthdates and deathdates, I realized that it's...really tranquil up at a cemetery. I feel at peace, somehow...there's no one around to bother me, no disturbances, no distractions...just yourself and hundreds of people that once were alive, now buried in the earth and replaced by a slab of stone engraved with a name. I don't know whether I'm being a creep or not, but I actually enjoy looking at all the graves around me, calculating how old somebody was when they died, seeing Happy Birthday balloons, flowers, and candles decorating a gravesite that's supposed to bring sadness and loneliness of the families and friends that the dead person left behind.

I don't know. It's just a little odd quirk about me~

bloody hot carnival...

Yesterday afternoon, my brother and I went to a school carnival (my second one this month!) located near our house. Not much to tell...the rides were pretty good for a school fair (even the little-kid rides you could go on, which was quite nice xD), the food was alright (I just bought two waters, an ice cream cone, and a box of popcorn for us to split), the games were quite lame. Didn't even bother to play them.

...but the HEAT. OMG THE HEAT WAS ATROCIOUS. Dx It hit 85+ degrees in mid-afternoon (and that's when the day is hottest), and Nick and I were walking around in that for four hours. =_= Not to mention that there was mud. MUD. EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE YOU WALKED, THERE WAS MUD. AND HAY. Walking around in flip-flops was NOT. FUN. I was so mad...when we went back into the huge tent to sit down, I just took a napkin and started to peel away at the layers of mud and hay caked on the bottom of my favourite flip flops. I'm not even sure if I can wear them again because of how messy and gross they look. T__T So yeah...the mud was absolutely disgusting. We probably should've went to the carnival on Saturday, even though it was rainy. Ah well. Now we know for next year. (:

I realized that there's classes of people that attend school fairs:

- insanely fat people (especially children)
- people with absolutely NO fashion sense
- teenagers who travel in packs of 5000.

xD

standing, with redhair HANGING.

My latest pic. ^_^ Just felt like posting it up, in case any of you guys wanted a taste of my artistic abilities!!

potterphantom13 <--- my deviantart name. look me up!

Chocolate Chip Cookies !! :)

I've decided to write down one of my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipes. Why, you ask?

- because mom has her box of recipes out.
- because some other awesome blogger had cool recipes up on their blog
- because I'm DYING for cookies at the moment x__x

Here's the awesomesauce (with extra sauce!) recipe, for all you curious craving cookie lovers..this is probably the simplest thing you all will ever make in your lifetime:

- Preheat oven 350 degrees.

YOU WILL NEED: one box of yellow cake mix, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs, 2 Tbs. water, 1.5 cups of milk chocolate chips (yum! :D)

MIX all of the above ingredients together, ROLL it all up in little balls (not too big, not too small), BAKE in the oven for 7-10 minutes.

ENJOY~!! NOW GO OUT AND BAKE SOME COOKIES!!!! D:<

Mountain Dew + Glow Sticks

My friend Freddy had a "rave" dance party at his house yesterday night. There were snacks, a whole fridge of Mountain Dew, cute lil birdies, Chuck Norris jokes, a trampoline, glow sticks, an albino snake, INSANELY LOUD techno music, sword fights, and a bunch of crazy people that I call my friends. x3 The party started at 6 and ended at 11PM...yet the "rave" didn't start til 9. A few overwhelming breakdowns (don't ask) and technical difficulties. Fred needs to be more prepared next time. ^^;

It was a great night, though I didn't join in on the raving. The techno music was blasting so loud that I'm surprised none of the neighbours stormed over and told us to keep it down (I was also getting a tad worried for Fred's birds...freaking out that they'd have a heart attack). And there was this flashing white light thing that instantly gave me a headache...so even if I wanted to take part, I couldn't. x__x Ah well. It was fun watching everybody, though~

One complaint: NOBODY ate the pita chips and hummus I brought. So disappointed. Dx

G-E-A-S-S

OH. MY. GOD. LOOK:



XD !!!

Ice Cream Truck Stalking

My brother and I went on a really long bike ride yesterday. What made the ride epic was that we saw an ice cream truck going down the road. What made the ride even MORE epic was that we decided to stalk it. LOL. I'm serious. >:D

Don't judge me. :)

Burning Hair? O_o

*based on a conversation that took place five minutes ago*

Okay, sooo my freshmen buddy Vincent just told me that my hair smelt like it was burning? He was standing right behind me as I was getting my books out of my locker, and he said that my hair DOES smell (my friend Amy claims that my hair smells like a hair salon LOL) XD

I'm like, "Uhh, okaaay?" And I laugh softly, and ask him if that's a bad thing.

And then Vince says, "N-No...(he stutters a bit XD), but it kinda smells like a mix of something burning and shampoo. I mean, I don't know if it was YOU that smelled like something burning, or what...I don't know, it smelt like SOMETHING was burning where you were. >_<"

I kinda get where he's going with this. I (well, my mom rather) flat irons my hair every day (I have a short hair-style, and my mom spikes the crap out of it in order to get the hair style that I want), so I can kinda see how it could have a burning smell. xD

My HOMILY Reflection

My assignment for Sacraments class: Homily based on the readings from the May 23 page on usccb.org

One of the hardest things to do now-a-days is to act out the Word of God in our daily lives. Take a look around the world in which you live. Our society, our environment that surrounds us is becoming more vulgar and lacking the grace and good-virtues that Jesus possesses. All the selfishness and the thought of putting myself above everything else, all the carelessness of our bodies...the pride and greed that takes over us, the desire for sex, bullying to the point of suicide, senseless murders that destroy innocent families, countless acts of violence especially with the war...this is pretty much our world.

Looking around this world, I see nothing but chaos. Despair. Fighting. Inequality. Injustice. Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Pride, Greed (and yes, the last seven things I've mentioned are the seven deadly sins). These are the elements of destruction of a pure, sacred soul-THESE THINGS ARE OUR DOWNFALL.

But, it's not entirely our fault, because after all, we are only human and we will always fail at trying to attain perfection. And yes, we are sinners-- it cannot be helped. Yet we must do our best ALWAYS to be better people, especially during these harsh times. And sure, we can't live exactly like Jesus or be little angels all the time, but still we should put forth effort into doing so. It's a rare day when you hear about something good that's happening or some kind of miracle taking place. I believe that it is OUR job as Catholics to bring forth goodness in today's world, to pluck away the lingering evils of our lives and be the people that make miracles happen and produce positive energy, spreading it to all people that we encounter. We won't please God every single time or live up to our everyday expectations (because that's pretty much impossible anyways), but we should at least try. Because the Holy Spirit dwells deep within us, but it's OUR job to bring it out and to action. The Holy Spirit longs to be free, and when we put ourselves to good use, we are also free.

Today's Gospel tells of Jesus approaching His fearful disciples and saying, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." The gist of this simple quote is that Jesus was sent by God to send peace and assurance to the disciples. After this, Jesus also said, "Receive the Holy Spirit, Whose sins you forgive are forgive them, and whose sins you retain are retained." This meaningful message is closely related to one of my previous statements. We are all sinners, each and every one of us. We all have our moments of wickedness, we commit sin daily, we all have our fair share of bad days. But we must make our sins known and ATONE for them. If we don't confess our sins, who will?! It's all up to us. We choose whether we make our sins known, acknowledge them, are forgiven, and move on with life. We must bring out the Holy Spirit and its gifts-- and follow closely in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. It'll bring out the best in us.

My Sacraments teacher gave me an extra bonus point for this. ^_^

School Activities

So I have this "Student Activities" sheet due tomorrow. It's this sheet where you have to write down all the things you were involved in, such as clubs, sports, Christian service, etc. Moderator signatures are also needed.

Looking at my Student Activities sheet, I'm quite surprised at the things I've done or accomplished this year. Here's some things that I was involved in or I've achieved:

- anime club
- bowling club
- chess club
- Spanish tutoring
- Cookies for Cass Corridor
- Pancake Breakfast (at my church)
- Vacation Bible School over the summer
- altar serving at my church
- flower planting at my school
- Senior Coffee House- drawing characticures (idk if that's spelled right xD)
- Honor Roll- Suma Cum Lade (Highest Honors)
- 5 A's Award
- Most Outstanding in World History
- Most Outstanding in Drawing

It seems like a lot of stuff, but really it wasn't! XD I've done all this stuff, but I have some other things that I want to get involved in next year. It'll be my junior year, so school activities and being well-rounded really matters! Next year I want:

- to be in my school's choir
- to join art club
- to join the literary magazine Attic Salt
- to be involved in at least one of the school's plays (either performing or stage crew)

Just felt like typing all this down. ^_^

So I'm Reading The Great Gatsby...

...and I think it's a pretty good book so far! ^_^ I'm on Chapter Seven, and supposedly the climax is in that chapter. I can't wait to find out what this "climax" is. Though I kinda spoiled the book for myself because I found out that Gatsby gets shot, falls into his pool, and dies. Oh well. *shrugs*

The only thing about reading The Great Gatsby is that I'm reading it with my Honours American Lit class, and my teacher is POUNDING EVERY SINGLE FREAKING THING OUT OF THE BOOK. Every little detail, EVERY tiny thing that happens, we have to make a note of it and we have to analyze EVERYTHING. It's like we have to know the entire book inside out and upside down!! >__< It's really taking the fun out of reading The Great Gatsby on my own because I'm not reading it for pleasure. I'm reading it to know every single thing and have to read and understand every little nit-pick detail. So in a way, I can't wait until we're all done reading Gatsby. Yet we're gonna have to write a paper on it when we're finished. =_= It's just dragging on and on now...

Errrgh.

Carnival Sunday !!

I went to a school carnival with my good friend Nick yesterday afternoon. (: He invited me the day before, and I accepted his awesome invitation (because I had nothing to do anyways. Paulina never called back about the sushi place :/). It's been about a year since I went to a school carnival...the annual one at MY old school's fair absolutely SUCKED last year, so I'm probably not gonna go to that this year. >__<

But anyways, Nick and I had a splendid time with each other. ^__^ We went on ALL the rides, going on the swings first (these swings were REALLY high up, so it was pretty exciting and scary at the same time XD), then the Himalaya (which is this one ride where you get into a cart and they all go around really fast...I ended up squishing Nick. ^^; ), the bumper cars (a classic favourite :D), the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Scrambler, the romantic Ferris Wheel ;), and the merry-go-round...which made me feel young again. XD Well, a few years younger anyways.

We didn't try any of the games out in the open because those are always a scam. >_< You either never win or get lame prizes. Though we DID play a game inside this huge tent where you throw three ping-pong balls at all these goldfish bowls, and if you manage to get one in, then you win a goldfish. We both failed. T__T It was worth a try, though.

So we went on all the rides, played the goldfish game, walked around a ton...=P And munched on popcorn and cotton candy....I ate all the cotton candy. My sweet tooth took over. ^^;

Then after the awesomesauce (with extra sauce!!) carnival was over, we went out to eat at this Country Buffet place with Nick's parents. I almost passed out when I saw the dessert bar. @__@

Going to an amazing carnival, eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet, and spending time with a good buddy...it was a great way to end the weekend. (: I hope my summer vacation will be as epic as yesterday was.

(Just a little side note: I tried to get onto my blogger account yesterday to type all this out, yet it wouldn't allow me to get onto my account. I found that kind of weird. O__o )

I Can't Control This Odd Feeling, but...

It's the weekend again! Yaaaay! :D It's Friday!! And I have hardly any homework! WOO!!!

I'm planting flowers with my friend Krystina in front of my church after school, so I'm pretty excited for that. ^_^ It's not only for service hours, but I think that planting flowers would be a nice thing to do. Not many people my age would be willing to plant flowers in front of their church after school, and I'd feel bad if the senior parishioners had to do that. :P So I'm gonna help out. Maybe it'll take my mind away from a certain event that happened last night. Can't go into details. =_=

Other than that I'm pretty dang tired...I almost fell asleep in History because we were watching this boring World War I movie. :P My hair on the left side of my head is all messed up now, lol. And my friend Woz just glomped me in the hallway...surprisingly, that didn't really wake me up. I'm still yawning every three seconds. x'D

And as far as weekend plans go, my Polish friend Paulina invited me and several others to Kabuki sushi. I've only had sushi one time in my life (it was practically shoved down my throat, actually =__= ), and I only ate one bit out of it. I think it was a veggie one...but yeah. I'm kinda unsure about that. ^^;

Senior's Last Day. :(

Today is the senior class's last day of school. I'm so bummed out. :( I have quite a few senior buddies that have been my friends since freshmen year, and now they're all leaving and going off to college. I just got out of church because of their farewell mass and May Crowning...of course I got teary-eyed during the Mass. xD I can't help it...I'm gonna miss 'em all!! D:

Goodbye Erin, Kyle, Justin (Hachi), Cristine, Chelsea, Jessica, and Gina. :( School's not gonna be the same without you guys...*goes emo and heads off into a little corner*

ONCE A FALCON, ALWAYS A FALCON!! <3

Heh, I found this video a little while ago. It's an Ouran High School Host Club AMV to the song "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup:



So even though you're out of high school, it never "completely" ends. XD

Does ANYONE Remember "Hey Arnold?"

OMG. JUST HAD FLASHBACK FROM MY CHILDHOOD DAYS:

Remember in that Nickelodeon show "Hey Arnold"....where Helga Pataki (the mean girl with the blonde pigtails and freaky uni-brow) would ALWAYS pull out her heart-shaped golden locket with Arnold's picture in it, and then rant about how much she loved him? XDD My friend Nadine and I were talking about it at lunch...and then went to youtube and looked up some Hey Arnold. Apparently there's even an episode dedicated to the locket. Best LOL moment of my day. xD

I even made a facebook group dedicated to Helga's locket. I need a life. -__- LOL AH WELL!!! Join if you want! Just go into the search bar on facebook and type in "Helga Pataki's locket", I guess. XD

Is it Friday Yet? =__=

Ughh...I have a huge headache right now. x__x I get headaches often (and an occasional migrane), and this one really hurts. I just wanna lay down on my bed and curl up in a ball, but I have to wait until tonight to do that. And I have to get through two more periods of school...and my Honors American Lit class is the worst. I have that next hour. Nuuuu. ;A;

But other than my raging headache, school hasn't been that bad. I don't have that much homework today, and I got my History paper done yesterday night. :D I did it about the heliocentric theory and how Copernicus and Galileo proved it true. I just wish I worked on it a lot sooner than I did...of course I wait until the last minute. ^^; 13 days left of school....woohoo!!

I'm reading this AWESOME Danny Phantom fanfiction at the moment (lol, random I know xD). Think I'm gonna go re-read some of it now.

*sigh* I need cooler blog topics...

Mother's Day + Bowling Club + Art Show.

<---I drew this for my Drawing final last semester. It got into the art show!! *does a happy dance* =w=


Well, as predicted, the weekend FLEW by. Again. -__- I'm really starting to hate it...I was busy enough this weekend anyways, so I can't complain about being bored or anything.

First off--it's Mother's Day! 8D I gave my mommy much love (like I always do, hahaha), though I completely forgot about Mother's Day, so I couldn't make her a homemade card! D: And I hate going out to buy a store card, because it's not the same as a card that you make yourself. :/ So I felt really bad, but she told me that it's not a big deal. Yay. ^__^

Today was also my last day of bowling club, and of course, it's the one day I do terrible. >_< I'm not really a bad bowler, it was just a shitty bowling day for me. And of course it's the day when we're doing prizes (gift cards to Best Buy, each worth five dollars). And my bf wins six of 'em, and I walk out with nothing. I was quite discouraged. I hate when I don't win. :/ Ah well. You can only do so much with a five dollar gift card to Best Buy anyways...you virtually can buy nothing. xD Still though, I don't think the whole prize thing is fair. All the good bowlers that are in bowling club ALWAYS get the prizes. Always! >__< It sucks!!

Anyways...

My school's art show was today, too. ^_^ My bro, mom, and I went over and looked at all the really cool art that was up. My Mad Hatter picture that I drew for my Drawing final was submitted into the show, and I also submitted one of my original pictures. My pics didn't get any awards. :/ My Mad Hatter lost out to freaking Lady Gag-Me-Ga-Ga- 'twas a depressing defeat. -__- And some of the stuff that got Honorable Mentions wasn't even that GREAT. My friend Gina (who is an AMAZING artist) had her own wall of flipped out stuff that was just AWESOME, and she didn't get any awards either. I was actually really pissed off for her. A close-up photograph of a jean pocket won out to her stuff.

It just goes to show that art is in the eye of the beholder. Art can NOT be judged-- it's just how an individual sees a piece of art, and then they have their own opinion of it. That's all it is. I personally think that an art show shouldn't have any awards or judges criticizing work-- art should just be displayed up on the walls for all to enjoy. It shouldn't have to be a contest. (:

Okay, well, that's all I have to say. I'm gonna go jump in the tub, and then read three chapters of The Great Gatsby. What joy awaits me~~

Busy Busy Saturday

Geez, from the second I woke up this morning, I've been running around non-stop. X__x But I'm cool with that, because I like to be busy.

Woke up at around 9ish, which is pretty late for me (I'm usually up at 8:00 or so, yet I was up until 1:30AM last night). Got ready and mom and I had to go clean my cousin's house. :P And boy, we're NEVER going back there again. The place was a freaking pig-sty!! A pile of dirty dishes in the sink (that have probably been in there for a couple of days), dust EVERYWHERE, the bathroom a wet MESS...it was NOT fun. My mom was mad as a hatter because of how messy and how much of a slob my 25 year old or so cousin is...we almost walked out. .__. But we didn't, and we made $50though, so not all is lost. Mom gave me &20. :3 Yaaaay I finally have money!!

So THAT was a great start to a Saturday. :P We got out of the house at 2, went home, chilled on the computer for a half hour, and had to get ready for my boyfriend Ryan's sister's First Communion party (my third communion party this month!) I got to the party at 3:30ish, and I met Ryan's family, who are all Polish. :3 It was interesting, because at times they would speak Polish. lol. xD And they had CAAAAKE!!! @__@ AND PINBALL!!! Their basement's like a mini arcade/casino or somethin'. It's pretty boss.

Being quite bored at the party, me, Ryan, and his older brother Tom went out and about on a car ride. xD We went to put-put, but that was closed because of the rain (it was hardly raining, though. I was maaadd. ==" ), yet we saw a really pretty rainbow!! 8D Then we drove away and went to Kroger and walked around, acting crazy.

Aaaaaand now I'm home. ._. With a LOT of work to do for school...a Romeo and Juliet poster for my friend, have to read up to chapter six of The Great Gatsby, and a history paper. Aren't I gonna have fun tonight...and tomorrow. Gaaaah. x__x

Tomorrow's mother's day as well. And I completely forgot. Dx

Weekend is Within My Grasp...

It's Friday.

YAYZ.

One week down (not quite, yet I just have to get through my web design class and 7th hour xD ), three more to go until I'm done with my sophomore year and summer break can begin!! :D I get out on the 27th, then study for finals all Memorial Day weekend, and then finals the first week of June. Then I'm free.

I'm so happy. 8'D Though I thought sophomore year of high school wasn't so bad! o.o Everyone says that sophomore and junior year are killer, but...it wasn't that challenging for me. Probably because I'm not in honors chemistry. xD I'm pretty sure I'll have a hell of a junior year, if I think soph year wasn't too difficult. Because I have to take speeeeech. And that shall be my downfall. :'( Gaaah...

But anyways, I'm glad that the weekend's only about an hour away. (: I have a lot of schoolwork that I have to get finished over the weekend, but I'll have enough time...hopefully I won't put everything off until Sunday. ^^; I have a slight feeling that that might happen. *shrugs shoulders*

Time

Time goes by too fast.
Yet it goes too slow.
When you want it to slow down, it flies.
When you want it to hurry, it takes forever.
The days go by too quick.
But they can drag on and on and on...

Time I want you to STOP!
Time I want you to GO!

I don't know what I want from you. Though it doesn't make a difference.
I can't stop you. I can't hasten you. You go your own pace.
Though it's the same pace every day.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, weeks, years...
Savour every moment.

***

My opinion on time this week. The days seem to be going by so fast (it's Thursday already!), yet they seem so long at the same time! I don't get it! Why?! I feel like school just drags on, but when I get home it goes by in the blink of an eye. Especially when I lay down to sleep- I'll go to bed at 10:30, and BAM! Time to wake up. I'm lying there going, "...what? I JUST fell asleep."

Maybe I've been feeling this way because I only have 15 days left of school? ^^; That's probably the reason...

The Rose's Dark Elegance

The lady and gentleman stroll through a field of black roses,
Their idea for a perfect date.
His pale arm plunges deep into the mass of black roses and plucks one from the glistening silver soil, hoping to find the perfect one for his morbid mate.
The arm reels back and in his grasp resides the most beautiful rose,
With petals of deep velvet and sharp, gleaming thorns.
He turns toward his lover, and gently places the rose into her straight, jet hair,
Being mindful of the rose's thorns that may pierce her.
Her ghost-pale hand raises up to touch her newest hair accessory,
Long fingers elegantly stroke the velvet petals in admiration, and soon they glide the steam of protruding thorns.
Gleaming ruby eyes of the lady lock onto the ice blue ones of the gentleman,
The beautiful rose reflecting in each other's eyes.
The lovers exchange a passionate kiss, and resume to stroll through the
Endless field of black flowers, their date never ceasing.

This is a poem I wrote in December of last year. The purpose of writing it was for my school's literary magzine (which goes on sale tomorrow! gonna pick up my copy!! :D ), and I hope that my poem is in it. It'll make me extremely happy that it is because...then I know that my poem doesn't suck. ;D

My Fave Anime Songs

Just in case none of you know, I'm in LOVE with anime. Seriously. It's an obsession...it's a good one, though, so don't worry. XD But yeah, I've been entranced with anime ever since I was young. I started out watching Sailor Moon and Pokemon (the popular animes of my time), and I really got enticed into anime (and actually knew what it was, for that matter) when I hit 7th grade. Even up to 10th grade for me, my love for anime has never wavered. XDD

Anyways, I've complied together some AMVs (anime music videos) that play my favourite anime songs. (: They're not in any particular order...I'm just going down my favourites list on my youtube page. XD Check 'em out:

Parallel Hearts by FictionJunction. Anime: Pandora Hearts

My Will by Dream. Anime: InuYasha



My Beautiful Elegant Flower by Ali Project. Anime: Code Geass

The World by Nightmare. Anime: Death Note

Alumina by Nightmare. Anime: Death Note

Motteke Sailor Fuku by Hirano Aya and Lucky Star cast. Anime: Lucky Star

Monochorome no Kiss by Sid. Anime: Kuroshitsuji

Hero Youth Song by Ali Project. Anime: Code Geass

That's all I have at the moment! I hope you guys like the videos!!

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Boy, this place was absolutely EPIC. @__@ One of the most random places I've ever been to in my entire life....no...let me correct myself- it WAS the most random place I've ever been in my life.

>

Right when me and my friends walked in, we were like, "Whoa...where the crap do we even begin?!" o__o The whole place was FILLED with all this neat, old-fashioned stuff! I honestly can't describe it....you seriously just HAVE to go there and see everything for yourself.

Here's a little summary of what my friends and I did:

• spent the first 10 minutes or so just gawking at all the awesome, strange displays that were crammed into the joint. xD
• tried out some of the exhibits (I got my fortune from Zelda the Fortune Teller and this old Asian guy :D ).
• played some of the newer video games...one of 'em we all did was a jet ski one...that I got second place in. Astonishing for me, really...
• played some pinball. I played on the Adams Family one. :D
• almost cried because of the fact that there was a 65 pound limit on the carousel. T___T
• watched as my boyfriend PWND Dance Dance Revolution.
• we all crammed into a photo booth and got our picture sketched! XD Oh man, that was AWESOME...Paulina's gonna hand out a copy to me tomorrow. :3
• won the jackpot at this Sonic the Hedgehog game!!! 500 TICKETS, BABY!!! I spent those tickets and the ones I won before on a cow Beanie Baby and a ton of Hershey Kisses. xD

And that's all I can think of at the moment. ^^; But seriously, if you're ever bored out of your mind one day, GO TO MARVIN'S. You will NOT be disappointed, I promise. *pinky promises* :)

http://www.marvin3m.com <---here's their website again, in case anyone's interested.

Anyone Ever Been to...

....Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum? O__o (too many Ms...gaaah...)

Just wondering, because a couple of friends and I are planning on going there this evening. My foreign (Polish, to be exact) friend invited me and a few other people to go. My boyfriend's going and he said that it was REALLY awesome. It's like, half an arcade and half of this REALLY weird museum that has all this interesting, whacked-out displays and an assortment of strange oddities.

http://www.marvin3m.com/ <--- here's Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum's official website. I'm reading all the captions under the pictures, and it appears quite promising. I'm looking forward on going. :D I just need to rack up some quarters... I'll tell of my vintage-arcade-freaked-out-full-of-fun adventures when I get back...but I'm not leaving for the place until a lot later...Dx

<---IT HAS A CAROUSEL?!?!?!

The Very First Blogpost I've Ever Written !! >:D

Yo~

I suppose an introduction is in order...well, my name's Anna, and I've decided to create my very first blog for these reasons:

1.) It was either starting up a blog or make 8-10 pages for a website for my Web Design class (I was originally going to make an Edward Cullen hate page, but I figured it'd take too much time...plus I can't really ramble on about Edward Cullen for 10 pages...x__x)

2.) I figured writing daily in a blog will help me with my writing skills. I enjoy writing as well.

3.) Out of sheer bordem.

So, there ya go. :D

That's all I have to say at the moment... I don't have the time to write about something right now because I have to leave for my next class soon. ^^; I'll write about something interesting next time (where I'll actually have a planned topic =.= )

Adios, readers~