Well, I'm a dork. It's no secret really and I'm never ashamed to say it. Nerd, loser, geek- whatever. It's no insult to me. But even I don't freak out when I see a celebrity. I stay cool and indifferent.
After all a celebrity is just a person and to be perfectly honest every time I have seen a celebrity they were trying to be the least interesting they could be. They don't want to draw attention to themselves when out in public. Instead I'm usually drawn to look at the crazy man screaming at a wall, or someone pretending to be a statue. Sometimes it's even the nobody playing guitar with the case open up in front of them for tips. Those are the interesting people. I'd rather pay attention to them.
Upon seeing celebrities I usually care very little. Sometimes I wonder what they are doing and who all the people with them are. Then when I see my friends I tell them, because the coolest part about seeing a celebrity are the bragging rights. But really I have no interest in them. I like their music and movies, but as a person they aren't that intriguing.
There have been a couple of times where I've done things involving celebrities that were less than cool, but it wasn't so much the crazy fan girl in me as the crazy adventure. Well, except in the case of Pete Wentz who I was so close to touching after he crowd surfed at a concert once. The other case was Gabe from Cobra Starship. My friend and I spent a whole night trying to meet him, but not because I really wanted to meet him. Mostly because I thought it would be fun, like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist or something.
Then of course there's the most recent incident.....
This incident can't exactly be put in the category of celebrity encounter because the person I was meeting was not a celebrity in the way most people think of celebrity. Okay, maybe he's not a celebrity at all. He is very popular on YouTube though. So in my world that means he's a celebrity.
I can't exactly explain how easy it is to lose your cool. One second you're standing in line to buy a t shirt at a concert. The next second, you're panicking over the talented musician that your classmates have never even heard of. And of course you awkwardly smile and then you don't know what you're going to say and when you should say something and then realize that you shouldn't stare so you look at the t shirts instead but that's boring so you look around the room awkwardly and then pay for your shirt and stand there stupidly in front of one of the coolest people you've ever had a chance to see in person and then OH MY GOSH! It's Greg Holden.
Then someone says something. Of course you don't really know who because you're too busy being a creepy fan girl. Then a picture in taken. A shoe is signed. You shake his hand. There is smiling. You still have no idea what is going on. Then you leave.
I can't believe I lost my cool. Sure, he's one of the people that I've most wanted to meet from the Internet, but really? I can be cool in front of Nicholas Cage! If I can't be cool while meeting Greg Holden I shudder to think about meeting anyone else off of my list of people I'd most like to meet. I mean what if one day I get a chance to meet John Green!?
And now is the point where I again realize that I am a nerd. I do nerdy things, like acting really uncool when I meet people. It's in my nature. I am no longer ashamed. I know that I'll probably just do something even more embarrassing today.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Homecoming!?
Bells clank and feet stomp like a herd of feral cows is storming through the school hallway. The swishing of ribbons, the cackling of preteen girls, the voice in my head screaming "RIDICULOUS!" are all so overpowering and the day has just begun.
To be honest the rest of the week wasn't much better. The amateur attempts to impersonate various celebrities and icons from the 80s was slightly enraging to someone who spends hours trying to make sure that the costumes we make for the school musical annually are historically accurate. Of course I have never researched the 80s fashion in depth but I'm sure the brand new clothes that my fellow classmates bought from their favorite stores are not accurate. I'm sure that none of them did any more research than looking up Cyndi Lauper on Google. Still I'm not one to judge I guess because I didn't even attempt to dress up for any of our Homecoming spirit days.
Okay so maybe I'm just not one for school spirit. I mean sure I go to the football games and cheer like a maniac when we get a touchdown, but dressing up like idiots just doesn't make sense to me. Still any person with half a brain could see that today is the stupidest day of all school spirit history.
The ribbons adorned on the shirts of the girls at my school look like they are about to swallow the girls whole. Girls clumsily trip over their cow bells and feather boas as they attempt and fail to get up the stairs. The smaller masses of ribbons and festive-ness are safety pinned to shirts or jackets and weigh so much that I fear it may rip their clothing. The larger ones are worn around the neck with a giant ribbon or boa. They are called mums and they are even more ridiculous than they sound.
To make a mum you start with a large fake white flower. When mums were originally made people used real flowers but they wilted quickly so now people use fake flowers. The flower is hot glued to some cardboard backing. Then a small white teddy bear (or in some cases the school's mascot) are hot glued to the flower. Then at the bottom of the flower tons of ribbons, boas, cowbells, and ornaments are arranged in a sort of organized chaos. Sometimes flashing lights and battery packs are added to create fun effects. They take hours to make and they don't come cheap.
Typically the small, generic mums that you can pick up at any grocery store or florist are about $80- $100. There aren't many of those because who would want something generic when you can have a custom made mum? Those can be around $300. It begs the question: Can they think of nothing else to spend their money on? Because really if they're at that much of a loss I have some ideas- like a weekend vacation maybe. Even the thrifty mum wearers who decide to make their own can't avoid the cost. You're still looking at around $60, if you're lucky.
Girls aren't the only ones who get to suffer this insanity. The boys get to wear some stupid looking sparkly ribbons and teddy bears too. At least they're smaller and worn around the arm. They call them garters but they're really just mini mums. Some wonder why any guy would agree to wear something so stupid looking and the answer is because they want their ridiculous girlfriends to be happy. Garters are typically around $50- $100.
Couples are expected to wear matching mums and garters. Boyfriends buy their girlfriends mums and vice versa. I don't really understand why a girl would want a stupid mass a ribbons. Why not ask for some really ridiculously expensive necklace or something. At least they can wear it again then. Or if they really felt selfless they could just donate the money to hungry children.
I don't expect that much of them honestly. Honestly if I had $300 to waste I probably would be selfish too, but my wasting of money would be much less wasteful I guess. Like maybe it would go towards a new computer or just to money I can spend to go see movies. Or better yet my freaking TRIP TO EUROPE!!!
At least the clanking will be over with by tomorrow. Then it will be the day of the dance where people spend way too much money on hummer limos to take them out to eat at overly priced restaurants that they don't even like that much. It's okay though. I'll get over my classmates' frivolous use of money. They can do whatever makes them happy.
As for me, I'm going to the game and I'll cheer like a maniac when we get a touchdown and cry when we lose or cry when we win. Because that is what homecoming is all about.
To be honest the rest of the week wasn't much better. The amateur attempts to impersonate various celebrities and icons from the 80s was slightly enraging to someone who spends hours trying to make sure that the costumes we make for the school musical annually are historically accurate. Of course I have never researched the 80s fashion in depth but I'm sure the brand new clothes that my fellow classmates bought from their favorite stores are not accurate. I'm sure that none of them did any more research than looking up Cyndi Lauper on Google. Still I'm not one to judge I guess because I didn't even attempt to dress up for any of our Homecoming spirit days.
Okay so maybe I'm just not one for school spirit. I mean sure I go to the football games and cheer like a maniac when we get a touchdown, but dressing up like idiots just doesn't make sense to me. Still any person with half a brain could see that today is the stupidest day of all school spirit history.
The ribbons adorned on the shirts of the girls at my school look like they are about to swallow the girls whole. Girls clumsily trip over their cow bells and feather boas as they attempt and fail to get up the stairs. The smaller masses of ribbons and festive-ness are safety pinned to shirts or jackets and weigh so much that I fear it may rip their clothing. The larger ones are worn around the neck with a giant ribbon or boa. They are called mums and they are even more ridiculous than they sound.
To make a mum you start with a large fake white flower. When mums were originally made people used real flowers but they wilted quickly so now people use fake flowers. The flower is hot glued to some cardboard backing. Then a small white teddy bear (or in some cases the school's mascot) are hot glued to the flower. Then at the bottom of the flower tons of ribbons, boas, cowbells, and ornaments are arranged in a sort of organized chaos. Sometimes flashing lights and battery packs are added to create fun effects. They take hours to make and they don't come cheap.
Typically the small, generic mums that you can pick up at any grocery store or florist are about $80- $100. There aren't many of those because who would want something generic when you can have a custom made mum? Those can be around $300. It begs the question: Can they think of nothing else to spend their money on? Because really if they're at that much of a loss I have some ideas- like a weekend vacation maybe. Even the thrifty mum wearers who decide to make their own can't avoid the cost. You're still looking at around $60, if you're lucky.
Girls aren't the only ones who get to suffer this insanity. The boys get to wear some stupid looking sparkly ribbons and teddy bears too. At least they're smaller and worn around the arm. They call them garters but they're really just mini mums. Some wonder why any guy would agree to wear something so stupid looking and the answer is because they want their ridiculous girlfriends to be happy. Garters are typically around $50- $100.
Couples are expected to wear matching mums and garters. Boyfriends buy their girlfriends mums and vice versa. I don't really understand why a girl would want a stupid mass a ribbons. Why not ask for some really ridiculously expensive necklace or something. At least they can wear it again then. Or if they really felt selfless they could just donate the money to hungry children.
I don't expect that much of them honestly. Honestly if I had $300 to waste I probably would be selfish too, but my wasting of money would be much less wasteful I guess. Like maybe it would go towards a new computer or just to money I can spend to go see movies. Or better yet my freaking TRIP TO EUROPE!!!
At least the clanking will be over with by tomorrow. Then it will be the day of the dance where people spend way too much money on hummer limos to take them out to eat at overly priced restaurants that they don't even like that much. It's okay though. I'll get over my classmates' frivolous use of money. They can do whatever makes them happy.
As for me, I'm going to the game and I'll cheer like a maniac when we get a touchdown and cry when we lose or cry when we win. Because that is what homecoming is all about.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Equation for Life
The lives of my classmates are predictable and have been predictable from the start. It's not their fault that their lives are so utterly boring that they must watch shows like The Hills and Degrassi with over exaggerated drama just to get a taste of what something abnormal would be like. Unfortunately those shows aren't exactly unpredictable either, so really they are just shows about a bunch of boring predictable people that other boring predictable people watch.
So where does all this predictability come from. Well it starts at an early age. A baby is born into a picture perfect family with the pictures to prove it. Their dad is a hard working business man and their mom is a PTA/ soccer mom who mostly stays at home or goes to book club. When the baby gets older the parents encourage it to play some sort of sport. If they happen to be a little girl they're more likely to do dancing.
As they get older the kid will be expected to get good, but not perfect grades in school. They will be expected to spend time with their friends and play all the newest coolest video games. They'll continue to partake in various hobbies and activities, perhaps playing more sports or learning an instrument. As they reach middle school they will be strongly encouraged to do well in all their activities and schoolwork. They'll where Abercrombie and Hollister and drink Starbucks regardless of how their taste buds feel about it.
High School will be more or less the same. They'll be very involved in their activities now. There will be lots of after school clubs and meetings. They will be expected to be smart and beautiful and talented. They'll also have a nice car. Probably not brand new but only a couple of years old, with leather seats and good air conditioning. They'll talk about getting out of their stupid town and going to their dream college.
Then they'll go to college at the end of high school. They'll have fun and make friends. They'll show up to class in sweats unless they're trying to impress someone. They'll live off Ramen and pizza. It will be fun and then they'll graduate.
They'll get a good job and work a couple of years. Soon they'll meet the love of their life and get married. They'll honeymoon in Hawaii or Cancun. Then they'll buy a sweet little house in the suburbs and the story will start over.
This is their equation. Parents and teachers feed it to us like we have no other choice. This- they say- is the idea of a perfect life. This- they say- is what you need to do if you want to be happy. Be unique. Live your life how you want to live it.....but follow this general idea.
Well so what! I'm a senior in high school and I don't know what college I want to go to yet. Does that really make me that big of a screw up? Will it really hurt me to spend more time thinking about what I really want to do? Can it be that bad trying to figure out the option that will make me happy?
I can't live by their formula because life isn't predictable. I don't know what college I want to go to because I haven't figured out what I really love doing. I couldn't have predicted that I wouldn't have figured it out yet. And after I go to whatever college I wind up going to I might not get a job. It was hard enough for me to get a job as a cashier at a fast food restaurant now, I can't imagine how hard it will be for me to get a real job. My life isn't predictable. I don't know where I'll be a year from now. I don't even know where I'll be next week.
Maybe the equation works for my classmates. After all they've fit right into it their whole lives. But for me it wont work. Not unless I just settle on some options that wont make me happy just so I can be on the same page as the rest of them. It's not like I can't pull up a page of colleges right now, look at the list and say that I'm going to one of them. I could do that in a second. Right now though I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. If that puts me off track then that's just too bad.
I wont say that I'll only do what makes me happy because that's an unrealistic belief. Instead I'll say that I'll always work for what makes me happy. To me that's what's important.
So where does all this predictability come from. Well it starts at an early age. A baby is born into a picture perfect family with the pictures to prove it. Their dad is a hard working business man and their mom is a PTA/ soccer mom who mostly stays at home or goes to book club. When the baby gets older the parents encourage it to play some sort of sport. If they happen to be a little girl they're more likely to do dancing.
As they get older the kid will be expected to get good, but not perfect grades in school. They will be expected to spend time with their friends and play all the newest coolest video games. They'll continue to partake in various hobbies and activities, perhaps playing more sports or learning an instrument. As they reach middle school they will be strongly encouraged to do well in all their activities and schoolwork. They'll where Abercrombie and Hollister and drink Starbucks regardless of how their taste buds feel about it.
High School will be more or less the same. They'll be very involved in their activities now. There will be lots of after school clubs and meetings. They will be expected to be smart and beautiful and talented. They'll also have a nice car. Probably not brand new but only a couple of years old, with leather seats and good air conditioning. They'll talk about getting out of their stupid town and going to their dream college.
Then they'll go to college at the end of high school. They'll have fun and make friends. They'll show up to class in sweats unless they're trying to impress someone. They'll live off Ramen and pizza. It will be fun and then they'll graduate.
They'll get a good job and work a couple of years. Soon they'll meet the love of their life and get married. They'll honeymoon in Hawaii or Cancun. Then they'll buy a sweet little house in the suburbs and the story will start over.
This is their equation. Parents and teachers feed it to us like we have no other choice. This- they say- is the idea of a perfect life. This- they say- is what you need to do if you want to be happy. Be unique. Live your life how you want to live it.....but follow this general idea.
Well so what! I'm a senior in high school and I don't know what college I want to go to yet. Does that really make me that big of a screw up? Will it really hurt me to spend more time thinking about what I really want to do? Can it be that bad trying to figure out the option that will make me happy?
I can't live by their formula because life isn't predictable. I don't know what college I want to go to because I haven't figured out what I really love doing. I couldn't have predicted that I wouldn't have figured it out yet. And after I go to whatever college I wind up going to I might not get a job. It was hard enough for me to get a job as a cashier at a fast food restaurant now, I can't imagine how hard it will be for me to get a real job. My life isn't predictable. I don't know where I'll be a year from now. I don't even know where I'll be next week.
Maybe the equation works for my classmates. After all they've fit right into it their whole lives. But for me it wont work. Not unless I just settle on some options that wont make me happy just so I can be on the same page as the rest of them. It's not like I can't pull up a page of colleges right now, look at the list and say that I'm going to one of them. I could do that in a second. Right now though I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. If that puts me off track then that's just too bad.
I wont say that I'll only do what makes me happy because that's an unrealistic belief. Instead I'll say that I'll always work for what makes me happy. To me that's what's important.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Cold Medicine
I believe I am sick since I have a stupidly stuffy nose and a neat dizzy feeling whenever I do anything that isn't sitting completely still. Still I am not a doctor so I could be wrong. Anyways because I believe I am sick I decided to take some cold medicine. This seems like a good idea if you are anyone but me.
But since I am me, it is a rather bad idea. As my friends will tell you, me taking cold medicine can result in me acting like a lunatic. While taking cold medicine I have crazy dreams and think they are real, I write blogs about the rights of chocolate covered gummy bears, I forget what I'm doing almost every other minute. It's not a pretty sight, but I am sick and taking cold medicine is a risk I am willing to take.
As my luck would have it, I have to work today. Sure, I could call in sick, but I really need the money so that's not an option. Instead I will try to resist the urge to sneeze and sniffle for three hours. It wont be easy, but I think I can manage it. After all my job pretty much consists of pressing the right buttons on the cash register and cleaning tables.
On the bright side I think I might say tomorrow is going to be a sick day, which would give me plenty of time to waste on the Internet. Maybe I'll get so bored that I'll actually do something productive like my homework or researching colleges. Or maybe I'll just watch That 70's Show.
Strangely enough I actually think I'm really attractive when I'm sick. I mean if you can get over the mucus-y nose, then I look pretty good. Though I also think I'm pretty funny when I'm sick and I don't think that's true so maybe not. It's the cold medicine talking.
But since I am me, it is a rather bad idea. As my friends will tell you, me taking cold medicine can result in me acting like a lunatic. While taking cold medicine I have crazy dreams and think they are real, I write blogs about the rights of chocolate covered gummy bears, I forget what I'm doing almost every other minute. It's not a pretty sight, but I am sick and taking cold medicine is a risk I am willing to take.
As my luck would have it, I have to work today. Sure, I could call in sick, but I really need the money so that's not an option. Instead I will try to resist the urge to sneeze and sniffle for three hours. It wont be easy, but I think I can manage it. After all my job pretty much consists of pressing the right buttons on the cash register and cleaning tables.
On the bright side I think I might say tomorrow is going to be a sick day, which would give me plenty of time to waste on the Internet. Maybe I'll get so bored that I'll actually do something productive like my homework or researching colleges. Or maybe I'll just watch That 70's Show.
Strangely enough I actually think I'm really attractive when I'm sick. I mean if you can get over the mucus-y nose, then I look pretty good. Though I also think I'm pretty funny when I'm sick and I don't think that's true so maybe not. It's the cold medicine talking.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Rain, Rain, Please, Please Stay!
When the sky in gray and the ground is soggy, you can hear the soft tip tap against your window and the weekend is finally here, you know it's going to be a good day. Rain is pretty amazing. There are puddles and clouds and all sorts of things to do. I love the rain!
Well, except, driving isn't all that fun. And stepping in those puddles when you're wearing jeans and sneakers can be kind of uncomfortable. And really, there isn't that much to do in the rain unless you have a rain buddy.
Yes, a rain buddy! Everyone on the planet needs a rain buddy. They are absolutely, unexceptionally required for a fun rainy day. So get a rain buddy already!
Once you have a rain buddy the possibilities are endless. Dancing, walking, splashing in puddles, trying to see who gets completely soaked faster. A rain buddy and a little rain could provide hours of endless fun. Then when you are completely soaked to the core, you and your rain buddy can change in to some nice dry clothes and watch some movies.
And at the end of the day when your rain buddy goes home and you're tired from watching all those fun movies, you can curl up in bed with an awesome book and listen to the rain.
I love rain!
Well, except, driving isn't all that fun. And stepping in those puddles when you're wearing jeans and sneakers can be kind of uncomfortable. And really, there isn't that much to do in the rain unless you have a rain buddy.
Yes, a rain buddy! Everyone on the planet needs a rain buddy. They are absolutely, unexceptionally required for a fun rainy day. So get a rain buddy already!
Once you have a rain buddy the possibilities are endless. Dancing, walking, splashing in puddles, trying to see who gets completely soaked faster. A rain buddy and a little rain could provide hours of endless fun. Then when you are completely soaked to the core, you and your rain buddy can change in to some nice dry clothes and watch some movies.
And at the end of the day when your rain buddy goes home and you're tired from watching all those fun movies, you can curl up in bed with an awesome book and listen to the rain.
I love rain!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Secret Rooms! Hidden Treasure!
I love adventure. That sentence summarizes everything I want to say in this blog so well that I could stop now and you would know everything that I want you to know, but that doesn't quite work for me or for you really. You want to be entertained and strangely enough so do I.
I want to go to some creepy old castle and get snowed in with no phones. Then late at night when everyone else is asleep I'll hear some strange noise and upon investigating I'll find the entrance to a secret room and in the secret room I'll find evidence of a hidden treasure that was forgotten long ago.
Or maybe an adventure where I get stranded out in the wilderness of Africa and my friends and I would have to figure out how to survive among the wildlife until we were rescued.
Or maybe some secret government organization will recruit me to capture a wanted criminal. They'll fly me around the world to amazing cities where I'll attend fancy parties and use new gadgets to find the person they're looking for.
Possibly I'll meet a cool band while grocery shopping and they'll realize that they need me to go on tour with them to document all the cool things they do. Then I'll be able to hang out with the cool band and become famous by association.
It could happen, right? Well, at least a girl can dream. Tomorrow I'll just go to school and sit in class like a good little student and listen to my teachers and principles. I wont think for myself or question anything they do, because that would be wrong...
I blame them for my lack of adventure.
I want to go to some creepy old castle and get snowed in with no phones. Then late at night when everyone else is asleep I'll hear some strange noise and upon investigating I'll find the entrance to a secret room and in the secret room I'll find evidence of a hidden treasure that was forgotten long ago.
Or maybe an adventure where I get stranded out in the wilderness of Africa and my friends and I would have to figure out how to survive among the wildlife until we were rescued.
Or maybe some secret government organization will recruit me to capture a wanted criminal. They'll fly me around the world to amazing cities where I'll attend fancy parties and use new gadgets to find the person they're looking for.
Possibly I'll meet a cool band while grocery shopping and they'll realize that they need me to go on tour with them to document all the cool things they do. Then I'll be able to hang out with the cool band and become famous by association.
It could happen, right? Well, at least a girl can dream. Tomorrow I'll just go to school and sit in class like a good little student and listen to my teachers and principles. I wont think for myself or question anything they do, because that would be wrong...
I blame them for my lack of adventure.
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