Hope Makes My Head Spin

This weekend was one of the best weekends of my high school years. My family, along with three other families, journeyed 2 hours and 45 minutes north to the small town of Holland, Michigan, to watch my "older brother" play in a college basketball tournament. We went for two games, one of which was the championship against their arch-rivals. The players? Hope College vs. Calvin College. Yes, there is a college named Hope, and it is one of the coolest places ever. I got to experience dorm life a little because three of my friends/extended family members go to Hope. There are the twins, Amanda* & Jackie*, and my "older brother" Charles*. So since Hope is a christian college, my parents trusted me, and my friend Carly*, to hang out with them the whole weekend, although we did meet up at the games and when we returned to the hotel where we were staying. By the way, if you ever go to Holland, MI, make sure you stay at City Flats Hotel. It is the coolest place you will ever visit, take my word for it. And if you don't believe me, ask my friend Carly. Oh wait, that's right, you can't, you don't know her real name! Drats!

Moving on. There were four main events I experienced this weekend, two of which were the most hilarious, intense college basketball games I've ever been privileged to participate in (Yeah, it's a preposition at the end of the sentence. My mom will hate me, but who cares? This is MY blog!). The basketball games were awesome! And of course the student section, nicknamed the Dew Crew, had rituals for home games. There was a roller coaster, which all Homestead kids can appreciate, but there was also this Scoot thing that took me totally by surprise. When the leaders yell scoot, everyone sits down, grabs onto the shoulders of the person in front of them, and pulls back. Eventually the combined motion of this huge group of students will start to actually move the bleachers back and forth! My friends had no idea, even though they went to the school, because they'd never been to a home game, so we were a little taken aback. Anyway, Hope won both games and the second one was probably my favorite because it was super intense. We made 8 three-pointers the whole game! Every time a three-pointer was made, a freshman (chosen at the start of the season) had to take a cutout Mountain Dew bottle (Dew Crew, remember?) and post it on the wall behind the bleachers. First half three-pointers on one side, second half on the other. This kid had the funniest run I've ever seen. He would jump in the air, fist pump, and then kick his legs out like a country dance when he ran to the steps, shaking his head left and right. Needless to say, the games were exciting, and I'm definitely looking forward to next season.
The other experiences I had were definitely new for me. The first, a root beer float kegger, was a little scary at first because we were surrounded by older people we didn't know, and it was in this tiny "cottage" on campus, but as time went on, and food was served, we loosened up, found a place to sit and were able to mingle, getting to feel like actual college students. People kept telling us we looked like we could be freshmen in college, so we didn't feel inferior, which was a relief. And the food! Oh lordy, it was delicious. I think it was especially funny because the kid whose birthday it was turned 21 and instead of having alcohol, he had root beer. I definitely want my 21st birthday to be that fun.
The last, and probably most fun, event this weekend was Club Durf. See there's this all boys dorm called Durfee and three or four times a year they host a themed dance party. This time it was mardi gras. Everyone dressed up, wore masks, someone even dressed up in a panda suit, which doesn't really make sense, but it was entertaining. The best part is that it was exactly unlike any high school party I've ever been to/heard about. No illegal activities, no dirty dancing, no fighting, no cliques, just silly, harmless partying. I'm still sore from all the krumping I did!
It was sad leaving Hope, and now I can't wait to go back. I think I might have found the college I want to attend...? We shall definitely see!

*Names have been changed to keep their identities, and mine, a secret.

Perspiring Accomplishment

While it is unfortunate that the repeated closings in our school district keep pushing back the last day of school, I'm thankful for this day off. Firstly, because now my AP Lit essay isn't due tomorrow (I think...). But that's not the only reason. Usually snow days make me feel lethargic and I end up just planning on doing all these things I never follow through with. However, today I woke up at eight something (amazing right!! At first I thought I was late for school and freaked out because my phone had died, therefore my alarm on it didn't go off) and already I've worked out and have almost finished the 400-some page book I bought yesterday! I pride myself on my sharp reading skills, even though it is a pretty easy read. Anyway, about my workout. I've never liked running but since my mom has been on this Zija kick (more on that later) I've had a ton more energy and am properly preparing for swimsuit season (SB '11 here I come!). My running duration has been steadily increasing and today I ran for twenty minutes straight. Nothing exceptional, but I am a speed runner, not distance so I'm pretty proud. Proud enough to have spent over a half hour on the computer shopping for swimsuits. Have I mentioned I'm super psyched for Spring Break? It's the first year I get to bring a friend with us and I cannot wait!

So this Zija thing, you ask? Well Zija is this nutritional shapeshifter (there are many varieties, which I will explain) that was created from the most nutritional tree on Earth. Yes, on Earth. I'm not exaggerating. The tree is called Moringa and is used to cure all types of maladies and diseases, etc. etc. There's a Zija canned drink, drink powder you mix with water, an energy and Moringa capsules that you take once a day. According to what my mom has told me, all the food we consume is devoid of nutrients and filled with chemicals made to make it sugar free, fat free, everything they say is good for us. What Zija does is it fills in the gaps so that your body can function correctly and perform its job to its highest potential. The other cool thing is that it gives you all this energy because of the nutrients and it satisfies you so you don't each excess junk. Plus the Moringa caps help you lose weight. I mean if you just took this you probably wouldn't have to work out all that much but it does help. My mom's gotten me on it and I've stopped drinking soda (against my will, unfortunately, but soda has a boatload of chemicals so it's a good thing. Whatever, mom) and I personally think I look the best I have in a long time. Ever since I stopped playing soccer after middle school and stopped diving this year, I've been super lazy, but lately I've felt AWESOME. If you want to see some success stories go to www.drinklifein.com. I'm not trying to peddle this, but it's seriously amazing. I've never liked working out, but now I run every single day.

Underrated Predictability

The novel Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson turned out to be pretty good ( I would say "delicious" but puns are overrated). The story was pretty sad at first because Birdie's farm is going under and her dad is a divorced, sad, fat old man with no hope left in him, about to sell to a skeevy resort owner. Her dejection and lack of confidence at the beginning of the novel is intensely annoying because she keeps comparing herself to her "perfect" cousin, Leeda. She also is an emotional eater - she's described as a little on the chunky side and she's always holding or near some type of food (mostly Girl Scout cookies. It makes me hungry). Leeda, who is far from perfect, is annoying too, half the time going on and on about how her sister is preferred over her (although it doesn't really make me hate her, just her mom who is an *expletive*), the other half spent talking about Rex, her supposedly hunky yet unacceptable boyfriend. Murphy is the only girl who didn't host a pity party 99.9% of the first half of the book. She's feisty and quick-witted and I like her sarcastic, dry sense of humor. She's a B.A! Although she is a little promiscuous...oh well! She's the best! The good part is that this dejectedness only lasts until the three girls become friends, sneak out and then actually start working, picking peaches. Birdie starts losing weight, acting a little less like an emo second grader, and meets a boy! Ah, the comfort of predictable teenage fiction. It's not a YA novel without boys getting in the way. By the way, Rex starts liking Murphy. Yikes! My favorite part, though, is when Murphy tells off Leeda's mom for not respecting Leeda, and treating her as if she was worthless. I told you, Murphy's feisty! It didn't make anyone happy, but that doesn't matter. Conflict is exciting, especially when the villians get their just desserts. The predictability of this novel was a nice change from Never Let Me Go and Atonement and the diction was much easier to understand, although I do like the challenge of elevated diction that literary fiction has to offer. I like the combination of easy and difficult reading; it makes for an interesting week. Plus, all of my posts don't have to sound pretentious. (At least, that's how I see it. I may flatter myself I sound more intelligent than I actually do).

2.23 Diction Exercise

(a)
effortlessly
uselessly
momentary
debilitating
cynicism
pessimism
strenuous
involuntarily
familiar

(b)
elevation: intelligent diction (kind of a medium-ish high)
connotation: cynically straight-forward
sound: bleak monotone
concreteness: substantial concreteness

(c)
Alain de Botton's cynically straight-forward diction in On Love depicts his pessimistic view on love and loss.

It's Not Falling, It's Landing

You know how on television, the stereotype of a therapist is that they'll show you ink blots and you have to say the first word that pops into your head? I feel like that wouldn't help anyone with a therapeutic need. My point isn't actually directly related to therapists. It's about poetry, so maybe I'll try to be a poetry therapist...? Here goes: When you hear the word poetry, what do you automatically think of? Many people I know would probably say "boring" or "tough to analyze" (yes, you, my AP Lit-ers). When I think of poetry, I don't think of a single word. I think of a line, from a book (and movie, I guess). "I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!" To which Mr. Darcy responds, "I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love." "Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Every thing nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.'' Again, this quotation has nothing to do with this poetry post, yet I wanted to add it anyway. Pride and Prejudice is probably my favorite novel of all time, which is why I've read it maybe ten times. Anyway, poetry. I used to think of poetry as two stanzas with an ABAB rhyme scheme, Dr. Seuss style. However, after being in Ety for almost nine weeks, my views on poetry have been opened to many different kinds of poems. There doesn't have to be a rhyme scheme, not everyone has to understand it and it doesn't even need to have a concrete meaning. Poetry can be anything you want. It can be rough, harsh, abstract or poetic, musical, lilting. I was reading a collection of poetry about love, Falling Hard, the other day and they were all different, written by people ages 12 to 18, girls and boys, from all over the world. The different styles of the poems made me appreciate how versatile poetry can be and actually made me start to like it again (thanks, 7th grade English teacher, for ruining poetry for me in the first place). I think my favorite thing about poetry, that I've only just now learned, is that there are no right or wrong answers. All poems are up for interpretation. Poetry can be whatever you want.

"Are you ready to dive in?
It's not falling, it's landing."

Restlessness

I realized a few days ago that lately the only type of books I've been reading have been Lit fiction: interesting, but I can't get through it as fast as I can popular fiction. So I decided to read a book I found in my house that I figured I could get through in a couple of days. Peaches is about three girls living in Georgia: Birdie, Murphy and Leeda. The three girls end up bonding over spring break and the summer, helping Birdie save her family's orchard and behaving like teenage girls will. There are more books to the series, which I might read, but for now this story will satisfy me.

Do The Creep, AHHH

We are the Facebook generation. Or that's what they call us. Personally, I'm not all that obsessed with Facebook. Of course I have one, and I probably check it everyday but I don't spend hours on it, creeping on people I know or don't know at all. If I'm on the computer awhile I'm on Stumble, finding new sites, listening to music or blogging HKA. In short, I don't creep. Like a lot of people I know. For instance, my mother. She is a total creeper! She might even be reading this, but I'm not all that concerned. She should know the truth. This might be some kind of intervention even. Anyway, sometimes I'll get on her computer and her facebook will be pulled up, but it's my page that she had been looking at. She basically monitors my facebook I guess. Creepy. Thus my belief that only college and high school students should be allowed to have facebooks. Middle schoolers having a page just exposes them to creepers on the internet and parents with facebooks just use it to make sure their kids are behaving. Which is fine and all, but there is a point where it becomes annoying, paranoid and overprotective.
This reminds me of a song the Lonely Island just did and their new music video was on SNL a couple of weeks back. It's called Do The Creep and it cracks me up. CHECK IT OUT!

Over and Out

What is McCarthy trying to say by having Blevins die and Rawlins return home?

Blevins is portrayed as the ultimate cowboy throughout the whole novel, escaping from his home, being the best shot, rescuing his horse, running away from the police and the list goes on and on. While Blevins is this impressive, yet younger, figure, Rawlins pales in comparison. He's following John Grady, he's not exceptional at anything. He's the anti-Blevins. The irony is in how Blevins and Rawlins are left at the end of the novel, because Blevins, as the stereotypical cowboy, is supposed to go out in a hail of bullets or vanquish all evil doers while Rawlins expected end might be death, as a secondary, almost uninteresting (by comparison) character. However, through his choice to have Blevins shot so quietly, almost secretively, McCarthy comments on the superficiality of the western dream. The western myth is just that: a myth. It does not exist, and McCarthy uses Blevins' pathetic murder to illustrate this point. Rawlins returning home also exposes the western myth through his defeat, while the western myth usually ends in triumph.

Cover It Up

Covers. I love hearing new artists sing my favorite songs and put their own spin on them. A few months back I was really into MGMT and found three covers of their songs by three different people. Katy Perry, The Kooks, and Sunday Girl, whose cover is sadly not available on iTunes. If you want to hear Sunday Girl's cover of Time To Pretend look it up on Youtube. It's really good (*warning* it does say the F word, although being in high school you probably hear that word a million times a day, unfortunately). They took these electronic, hyped up songs that I love to jam to and slowed them down, made them easier to understand and gave me a new perspective on their songs. It just goes to show how every song is versatile, and really showcases the artists' talents. Speaking of talented cover-ists (?) this guy, Sam Tsui on Youtube (channel kurthugoschneider) is AWESOME! He made me like songs I didn't even like to begin with. Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears was too club-beats for me but when my friend showed me his version, I didn't even connect the two songs as the same. It is so good and just goes to show that switching up the tempo, mood, etc. can make even the most insufferable songs enjoyable. (See Just A Dream by Sam Tsui & Christina Grimmie).

Singing In The Rain!

"Moses supposes his toeses are roses!" This quote from the film Singing in the Rain hints at the playful mischievousness Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor's characters exhibit. The whimsical lyrics, light-hearted music and jovial dance moves of the scene reflect the men's lack of ability to take anything seriously. Kelly and O'Connor poke fun at their instructor, trilling their r's cheerily and adopting audacious accents. Their fast-paced dance moves are executed with impish grins, suggesting amused sarcasm with respect to their lesson. From their behavior it is obvious Kelly and O'Connor's characters are amusing themselves instead of attempting to learn anything.

And Some Lovely Male Clothes?

Babysitting. The easiest job in the world...right? Not exactly. Babysitting is having to act like an adult for up to nine hours at a time. Now what sixteen year old wants to do that on a Friday night? When you start out babysitting it's a piece of cake, looking after middle schoolers who will do their homework when asked, help you make dinner, and then read/play video games without giving you much grief. Oh, how I miss those days. When you grow in age and maturity level some people will probably let you look after their toddlers and infants. 2, 3, 4 and 5 year olds are a heap of trouble. They fight, they scream, they run, they fall down, they cry, they whine, and the list goes on and on. And when it comes to bedtime, forget about it. You rock the baby, the five year old wants you to rock them too. And then they both fall asleep and you can't move without waking them. And when you do move, they both wake up and demand you rock them more and lie down with them for "just one minute." Of course, when a five year old says one minute they definitely mean 10 minutes to an hour. Thankfully when they force you to let them stay up an hour after their bedtime they get a little worn out and will fall asleep around the second time you put them to bed. On worse days, you might get the baby to sleep but the other one...she'll beg for nine bedtime stories with that winning way, throw a tantrum when you only read her six, and scream your name at gradually higher decibels when you put her to bed half an hour later. Don't get me wrong, kids are super cute, and eternally grateful when you bring them two new Ken dolls, wearing "lovely male clothes", for no reason at all. And when they're the most talkative kids you've ever babysat, they're probably going to be your favorite, just because "kids say the darndest things." They're a hassle, but they're also supremely entertaining. (And getting paid for it is just icing on the cake). Ah, babysitting.

Stephen Colbert

“Don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say yes.”

Secret Guard

As I've already mentioned, at Hailsham (in Never Let Me Go, of course. You need to pay more attention!) guardians are basically teachers. You'll need to remember this for later on. Without further ado, in this section of flashbacks, Kathy talks about how her relationship with Ruth started. While they are in the same year, they'd never really crossed paths until one day in the sand pit, Ruth gets angry at two girls sitting behind Kathy. Kathy describes that all she wished for at that moment was for Ruth to see that Kathy was not with the other girls, that she was not part of Ruth's problem. So basically, she was a little intimidated/afraid of Ruth. The next incident mentioned is when Kathy's around seven or eight. Ruth asks her if she wants to ride any of her horses (imaginary horses). They ride around and bond over the different horses, but Ruth seems frustrated at the end when Kathy isn't "riding correctly" and makes her lead the horses back to their stables. Out of nowhere, Ruth mentions Miss Geraldine, a sweet, soft-tempered guardian (see, told you), asking if Kathy likes her. Kathy replies in the affirmative. And this is where Ruth mentions the "Secret Guard" and almost begrudgingly lets Kathy into this prestigious club. Apparently Ruth and her friends think someone is planning to kidnap Miss Geraldine and the Secret Guard collect evidence against people, blaming (between themselves) random people for being at the head of the conspiracy. They never actually do anything to protect Miss Geraldine, instead just continuing to "gather evidence."
Miss Geraldine is the root of the problems Kathy and Ruth start having. Ruth always hints that Miss Geraldine favors her over all the other students and finally that Miss Geraldine gave her this really pretty pencil case. She never directly says this so Kathy cannot confront her. So she comes up with a plan to figure out the truth, because she believes Ruth just bought it from the Sale (the Sale is where the children get all their stuff, clothes, toys, gadgets, etc.). She tells Ruth she was looking at the register, where all the information on what was bought lies. Ruth responds to this worriedly; she knows Kathy has figured out Miss Geraldine definitely did not give Ruth that pencil case. Instead of getting angry, though, and getting back at Kathy, Ruth becomes downcast, and Kathy feels sorry. She makes mentions about how Miss Geraldine favors Ruth to make amends.
This section seems a little unimportant to me, but I guess it must be setting up Ruth's character and her relationship with Kathy for further down the road. Not much to say about this section other than GET TO THE POINT! I just want to know what is going on with Hailsham, why Madame is afraid of the children, why Miss Lucy says the children should know more? So many unanswered questions, it makes my brain go fuzzy.

Round 6

So, national public radio has this contest called Three Minute Fiction where ordinary people submit short, fictional stories. They have several rounds, each round judged by a different person, each judge setting certain parameters the author must write within. Round 6 stories must contain someone telling a joke, and someone laughing. I read several stories from Round 6, but my favorite one went by the name of Soft-Shoe by Cynthia Gunadi. A father lies in his hospital bed, unable to answer to his 6 year old son's jokes, unable to ask his weeping mother-in-law to leave. He describes his son, Joseph, and his routine, how Joseph would ask him a joke, and he would return with another. The narrator describes himself as "practically vegetal" but able to respond with groans, twitching limbs, hoping Joseph realizes he's trying to "convey all the knock-knock [he] knows." The thing that gives him away, communicates to Joseph and his mother-in-law that he is still there, is when he breaks wind, reaching through his mother-in-laws sobs and causing her to snicker.
The really sad part about this tragic, yet quietly funny story is that this little boy has practically lost both of his parents. Apparently his mother already passed away and now his father is trapped inside his own body. While I'm always up for a sad story, I like the way Gunadi inserted humor at the end, lifting the characters spirits and mine along with it.

Sweet Discombobulation!

Ah books! The way you speak to me is magical, however sometimes I feel like you're speaking a different language. Okay, maybe it's not THAT dramatic, but I feel like Never Let Me Go is a fast moving carousel, that likes to switch directions every five seconds, and I'm still standing outside the gate, waiting to be let on by the teenage ticket-taker, too busy reading her tabloid magazine to notice my hand waving paper in her face. Nice image right? I know I'm so proud. So Kathy H. is a "carer" and so far I still have no idea what that means. I know the story begins when she's older, but as of late she's been having many flashbacks to when she was 12, going off on tangents about her years as a Hailsham student. Their traditions and schedules are odd to me, and I find myself wondering if they've ever been out of "school?" To further clarify, here are some thoughts directly from my brain (you're so lucky, I know), "It seems like these kids never really had a life before they started at Hailsham...Do they have families? Did they start "school" at birth? Do they get a summer? Any time off? What is the deal!?!" Stimulating, wasn't it? Back to the point. Kathy describes the guardians, which are more or less teachers at the school. Apparently, Miss Emily is the head guardian and is very intimidating, although she's softspoken. Miss Lucy seems like a more rebellious guardian, perhaps because she speaks about the gallery directly to the students. The gallery is a collection of the "best" creative works from students, gathered 3-4 times a year by "Madame." Kathy's friend Ruth is convinced that Madame is afraid of the students and they set out to discover whether her claim rings true. Apparently it does, because when they approach her, Madame stiffens. Doesn't gasp or shriek. Just freezes and holds her breath. Like she's afraid they're going to brush against her. Kathy (older Kathy) hints at Hailsham's main objective at this point. She says "there are people out there, like Madame, who don't hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you-of how you were brought into this world and why-and who dread the idea of your hand brushing against theirs." It gives more detail of what Hailsham's all about, but still lacks the ultimate epicenter of the purpose of the place. I'm really looking forward to figuring this mystery out. Oh, one more thing. There's this really creepy part where Kathy mentions the woods, and how everyone's afraid of them, who even sob just looking at them at night. There's a story, that once a boy who had a row (fight, for all those who are not as versed in real English as I ;) with his mates (friends) and ran into the woods. Days later, apparently, his body was found tied to a tree, the hands and feet cut off. Gross, right? I'm curious what role the woods will play in Kathy's ultimate story... I must read on!

Never Let Me Go

So I'm really confused by this book I'm reading. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is about three kids who live in England and go to a boarding school, apparently called Hailsham. What I've discovered so far is that Kathy is friends with a group of girls, who all revolve around the character of Ruth. She's kind of like the ring leader I guess. And their acquaintance/friend (it hasn't been distinguished thus far) Tommy has anger management issues I guess. He's really good at football (England's soccer) and is all psyched when they're warming up and when it gets around to picking teams, he doesn't even get chosen. So he starts throwing a temper tantrum, which by what Kathy says (she's the narrator) I assume to be a common occurrence. Kathy keeps commenting on how he's going to get his favorite shirt all dirty and when she brings this up with Tommy himself, he becomes even more enraged and yells at her. Later he apologizes, in the midst of another odd common occurence: the children must have checkups and wait in line on the stairs for them. They're checked for health development.

I'm not sure what's going on in the book at this point. I feel like I'm walking around blindfolded. It's discombobulating, but the curiosity is too great for me to stop reading. Let the confusing novel unfold!

Poetry At Its Best Changes Things

In 2010 I happened upon a special on HBO - the Brave New Voices 2010 Poetry Slam. Four teams of teenagers from around the United States competing, using poems they wrote themselves, after training year round. This poem, by Denver’s Eli Lynch, Elizabeth Cheever and Libby Howard really stuck with me. I am not a poet myself, but if I was I would have wanted to be up there with them, yelling these words through the mic. You should know, before you watch this, that the judges at this slam never gave a score below an 8, on a 10 point scale, although I believed several competitors deserved less than 5’s. The audio in this video is not the greatest so I apologize, I can’t post the words here or it’ll qualify as plaigarism. Just try to listen as best you can. I also recommend Brave New Voices - Childhood, Amber Alert and Favorite Color.

Music and Emotions

Another reference to the legit website that is Stumbleupon.com. Oh how you make my world so much more interesting. Please, if you value any music whatsoever, go to stereomood.com. No matter what mood you're in they will have music to match. Or if you want to change your mood, they have music for that. Just click an emotion. feeling, activity, etc. sit back and listen to the music that unfolds before you. My friend and I are currently listening to peaceful, complete with beautiful piano covers, instrumental songs, string solos and I could go on forever. Needless to say, if we weren't peaceful before, we sure are now. I've been eating sweet tarts for the past hour and a half, and earlier was running around out in the blizzard and could fall asleep, just by listening to this playlist. As I'm obsessed with music and am always looking for the next big thing, I could not be happier. Good night everyone. Have fun getting snowed in. Don't forget to have french toast for breakfast tomorrow. I know I won't.

C'Est La Vie

As the adept advisor to the students of Homestead (Benji of the Benjicast on Facebook) so eloquently put it.....SNOWMAGEDDON '11 is here! That's right everybody, up to 22 inches of snow/sleet/freezing rain is going to effect 22 states starting at 3 pm tonight. Now I am no meteorologist and I will not be studying to become one anytime soon (but as my mom would say "you never know.") but that, ladies and gentleman, seems like it's going to be a DOOZY. In fact the NWS has issued a blizzard warning for our area. Ah well, c'est la vie. (la vie).

So, speaking of things being issued this week, my ETY teacher gave us all an assignment due today: blog about a website you love or a book you love. Seeing as I've already blogged about a website (see Shed A Little Light On The Subject) I might as well blog about my favorite book of all time. This book is one of many: it's part of the most popular book series of all time. Harry Potter. To speak of one Harry Potter is to speak of them all so I can't just pick one favorite. BUT if I had to choose it would of course be the Deathly Hallows (the last book for all those who are unwitting of the genius that is J.K. Rowling) I don't know what it is about the series that I love: the magic, the wizard battles, the suspense, the love between friends and family, the romance between Harry and Ginny and Hermione and Ron (all that sexual tension FINALLY being resolved, thank the Lord). Maybe it's that my dad started reading the series to my sister and me when I was only three years old. No wonder Harry, Hermione and Ron are old friends of mine. That's the thing about a super long series: you've been with them through thick and thin, for everything, and with a great book you feel what the characters feel, you crave justice, that the bad guys will be brought to a dramatic and everlasting end. Like in the Toy Story series. The third was long awaited but for all the people who grew up with Woody and Buzz it was like seeing old friends, waving at you as they pass by. If Toy Story 3 didn't make you cry, then you must have a really tough exterior because I wept like a baby. Same goes for Harry Potter. The final book of this amazing series was bittersweet (and the affair that started when I was just entering kindergarten will end when I'm seventeen years old when the final movie explodes into theatres this summer). I wanted to know what would happen but I will always miss my magical friends. Which might explain why I've read it over ten times (and it's a big book). I love all that is Harry Potter (I've even got a wand!) and I will continue my love for The Boy Who Lived long after the last movie has come out. All I can say is thank you, J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter was my childhood. I spent fourteen years with them and it has been one heck of a ride.