Friday, October 31, 2008

This Is Halloween

Halloween, halloween. 

And it's about time, too. Finally, I can justify wearing my Speed Racer costume, which is awesome. As you should know, I even have the red socks, even if you can't really notice them unless I pull my pant leg up. 

Last night, I got to give my costume a test drive. Vanguard was having a harvest party, and there was supposed to be a costume party. It started at 9:30, but I think I was in my costume by 5:30. Yeah, I was that excited. Once it was finally time to go, I went downstairs and joined the party. There were actually a whole lot of people in costume, and some of them were quite amazing. 

There was Fred Flintstone (my frontline leader who later changed into Birthday Bear), The Flash (with a homemade costume. It was stellar), The Green Arrow (also with a homemade costume), assorted other superheroes, Abe Lincoln, Aladdin (with fez), several Mario and Luigis, several Jokers, and assorted other costumed folk. And the cutest costume, hands down, had to go to this really young girl about 3 years old who was dressed up as Palin. She created quite the stir.

The party itself wasn't that great, although I did get to play DDR for the first time in who knows how long. So, once I was all hot and sweaty, I watched the dance contest (which, to be honest, wasn't all that great), then just sat around and talked. Buckets of fun, of course. I don't think a whole lot of people really know who Speed Racer is. Sure, there were quite a few who knew me, but just as many (if not more) who had no idea. Still, it's a step up from last year where only one person knew who I was without me having to tell him. I still give props to that guy.

And then they didn't have a costume contest! I was so...disappointed. I suppose it makes sense because of how many great costumes there were. And yet, when you advertise something, you don't just take it away! Blah.

Anyways, today being Halloween, I'm wearing my costume all day. I even went to Target wearing it. An employee walked around a corner, saw me, made an amused sort of snort, and kept walking. Yeah, you better keep walking, bub. 

As far as plans go for tonight, I might go trick or treating for the first time in my life. I'm also going to head over to my brother's house where he's hosting a party. Costumes encouraged. Oh yes.

And then! And then, after that, it should be close to midnight, and it will be time to start my novel. Woot! I can hardly wait. 

So that's my status as of now. Expect an update on my novelling progress sometime in the near future.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hurray For Sunday!

I accomplished quite a bit yesterday. At least, I enjoyed myself quite a bit yesterday. For starters, I managed to accumulate nearly all my Halloween costume. All I need now is a yellow, iron-on letter G for the shirt. And maybe some shoes, although those aren't super important. 

When I first set about creating a Speed Racer costume, all I had for it were white pants. Then I finally caved in and bought the helmet off Amazon about a week ago. Well, two weeks ago. It arrived a week ago. That was a fun school day. Probably my biggest difficulty was trying to find red socks. Man oh man. Seriously, nobody had red socks for sale. It was like some kind if conspiracy.

In fact, it was a conspiracy. Those blasted shop owners heard tell of a man - a man who intended to dress up as the amazingly-awesome Speed Racer. And they were afraid. Naturally. For they knew their own costumes would then pale in comparison to the splendor and majesty that would be this Speed Racer costume. Yes, they were afraid to be overshadowed by the likes of a man - a man who intended to dress up as the amazingly-awesome Speed Racer. And they were afraid. Naturally.

And so, they came up with a plan. It was a dastardly, diabolical plan. They would take all of their red socks. They would remove all of those innocent, red socks who desperately desired to be bought and worn by countless children (and one college student) who would forever cherish and delight in wearing the fuzzy things. They would take these socks and dump them into a giant vat of bleach. 

And thus would these exciting stockings be reduced to dull, commonplace, white socks with no vigor for life. The lucky ones would retain a shade or two of gray, and perhaps a word that proclaimed their captors' names: Hanes, Wilson, and American Eagle. 

Thus were the red socks taken. And thus was the man's quest in vain. Far and wide did he search, but to no avail. Alas, he was too late. 

But then, a ray of hope! A thin thread of non-conformity wound its way to the man by means of a dear acquaintance. Maybe, just maybe, a stronghold of rebelliousness known as a skate shop might have a pair of red socks. The ray expanded, brightening the depressing darkness of perhaps having to resort to re-dying a pair of socks. This would surely be a most tedious process, and the man dearly hoped such a last would have no need of being resorted to. 

And so was a journey to a skate shop made. And then - bitter disappointment! Although mighty was the effort with which they fought, the skate shop was unable to stop the heinous sock-bleaching crew. Some socks managed to escape capture, but not without injury. Their once glorious, unadulterated cotton bodies were no longer the pure red of legend. Although patches of red still remained, the socks had been transformed into something different. Now, they were composed of a variety of different colors. 

The man knew this just would not do. To achieve the level of authenticity to make his costume a resounding success, he knew he needed a pair of socks that was nothing but solid crimson. Tears were shed that day.

And yet, the ray of hope, though diminished, remained. Those at the skate shop spoke of a fabled sanctuary of socks. It was a place where socks could live without fear of segregation or bleachings. This place was known as the Chalet of Sports. 

The man slapped his forehead in consternation. Of course! He knew the Chalet was no child's bedtime tale. For he had been there - or places akin to it - many times in his younger days; in the days when he participated in the noble sport of Baseball. 

And so, he left behind the ravished skate shop and journeyed onwards towards the Chalet of Sports. The way was arduous, and the march was long, but because of the faithfulness of his companion, the man made it unscathed. 

The crucial question was asked, and the answer was given. Yes, they still had red socks. A great shout arose, and the tyrannical shopkeepers quaked in fear. For they knew that their plan had been foiled. 

Thusly did the man complete his search. He was united with a pair of socks, boldly vivid in their coloration. While the shopkeepers yet reeled from the defeat, the man swiftly went out the very next day to collect the rest of his costume. And he did travel to the nearby Target. There, he purchased a white polo to wear beneath a blue t-shirt. And so also were yellow gloves obtained. And thus was a red shirt bought to be sacrificed into a scarf for the man's neck.

All throughout the land did the people raise a cry of triumph. And they did grow in courage, resolving to never let atrocities such as the Red Sock Massacre ever happen again. Greatly emboldened were they by the success of the man who dared to defy the Shop Keepers, and many were the praises ever more sung in his honor.

*ahem*

We also carved pumpkins last night at our college group. That was fun. Afterwards, though, we weren't really sure what to do with them. Perhaps dispose of them into the garbage? Maybe smash them on the street? Offer them to random strangers? It was a quandrary. 

And then, all of today, as I went about my business, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of a carved pumpkin nestled comfortably on the top of a campus lamppost. As it surveyed those oblivious college students that walked about mere feet below it, it gave a regal nod to those who were acute enough to notice. 

It's been there for at least a full day now, and I can't help but wonder who did it. After all, I clearly didn't do it, and anyone who believes otherwise is obviously delusional. Sure, it bears some resemblance to the pumpkin that I carved (which mysteriously disappeared), but it couldn't possibly have been me. After all, if I had done it, that would have meant I shimmied up the lamp pole, and then had someone hand the pumpkin to me. 

Pff, as if. 

Friday, October 24, 2008

I Guess I'm Smart

So it seems, anyways. My classes are going swimmingly. It's as if I'm running through a pool without anything in it, but I don't know it. It seems like it should be hard, but it's not. Take my psychology class, for example. I do practically no studying in it, and yet I've managed to get at least 100% on the first two exams. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the professor takes 95% of her questions from the study guide...? Okay, that probably has something to do with it. But, I'm somehow one of two people who got a perfect score on the first one, and the only one with 100% on the second one. 

Well, works for me, I guess. The best part is that if anyone has an A in that class by the time of the final, they can skip it. Hu. Zah.

I also had a couple other tests of sorts this past week. My Taekwondo test, which I passed. That means I'm a yellow belt now. It looks so much better than a white belt. Instead of just mayonnaise man, now I'm mayonnaise man with a dash of mustard. 

Eeeeeew. I don't think I like that analogy. 

Oh, and I also gave a speech on Wednesday. What class was it for, you ask? Surprisingly, it was for, of all things, speech class. Go figure. Anyways, it was a 5 minute informative speech, and I felt it went well (of course, that's what I said last time, and I got a B on that one. Hm..). 

Still working on my to-do list before November hits. I'd say things are going pretty well. To elaborate on what my story is, here is a possible plot synopsis you might find on the back cover:

"The monolith had always been there as long as anyone could remember - its rusted walls testament to the years it had weathered. But when a young squirrel hides inside it while playing hide-and-seek, everything changes. The monolith is taken away by giants, and it is up to the squirrel's brother, Speckle (name tentative), to search her out. His journey takes him on a quest to a city past the clouds where he uncovers a startling plot."

So no, no zombies in Neochina. Sorry. 

P.S. If you read this, post a comment! I suppose subtle hints just don't work like they used to. I'd really love to know if more than two people read this.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Things To Do. Urgent.

So, I'm going to try and update this every couple days. Maybe even every day. We'll see how that goes. And I got my Speed Racer helmet in the mail today! Way excited. I was going to make one for my Halloween costume, but decided this would be way easier. And it's a lot of fun to wear around my floor. Anyways, time to elucidate on my post title a bit. I have quite a few things I want to get done before November hits. Unlike Mr. Dent, I actually plan on doing them instead of setting them aside for a couple weeks. 

~ Finish my second reading journal for my foundations class.
~ Start my last reading journal.
~ Buy the rest of my Halloween costume.
~ Start my Psychology paper.
~ Do my first listening report for speech.
~ STEVE
~ Give my speech. Tomorrow. Ew. 
~ Probably other things that I'm forgetting, but I need to polish up my speech some. 

So ta! 

Monday, October 20, 2008

It's Time to Take Some Action, Boys

It's tiiiiime tooooo fooollooow meeeee!

Forgive my momentary lapse into Disney song. It won't happen again...okay, it probably will. Forget I said that. What set it off this time? Well, I needed a title for this post. That's what. 

How has it already almost been two weeks since my last entry? I think someone greased that wheel of time thingy. Nowadays, time just seems to fly by like there's no tomorrow - or rather, like it wants tomorrow to be today already. Jeez, what happened to stopping and smelling roses? I mean really. How uncouth.

Anyways, life goes on, the cafe food gets old, and I ride my bike. It's a lot of fun. Most anywhere I need to go is within four miles of campus. Oh, I also test for my yellow belt in TaeKwonDo tonight. That oughta be fun. Much more fun than giving my next speech on Wednesday will be. 

As far as schooling goes, I'm beginning to look to next semester and what classes I'll be taking. Thanks to the many classes I've taken at community college while in high school, I should be exactly a semester ahead. That revelation made me awfully giddy. 

Now, what else is happening? Oh yes! November is almost here (darn that wheel!), and that means NaNoWriMo! Woohoo! I'm so excited. This will be my second year of participating in NaNoWriMo. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, just add .org to the end of it and look it up. It'll explain itself much better than I can. And this time around, I actually have a friend who is doing it with me. Woo, go Chelsea!

Okay, I'm done. Let's go attack the castle now. 

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Life is Good

And so, the wheel of time turns, and all who ride inside of it get dizzy. Some even wake up and realize they haven't updated their blog in nearly a month. And then they feel awfully guilty and worry that their audience may have drifted permanently away. After that, they remember that they quite possibly have no audience at all to begin with, and they're just writing out loud. "Oh, woe is us!" they lament. "If only people would leave a comment when they read our collective blogs. Then, maybe, we might have confirmation and be pushed to keep publishing new posts at more frequent intervals!"

Or so I sometimes conjecture. Of course, this situation is completely hypothetical and has no basis in reality whatsoever. Yes. Of course. Completely hypothetical. This isn't any kind of pseudo-subtle hint. Not at all.

What's that? How's my life been going? Oh, it's been swell. I've been doing lots of different things. One weekend, I went rock climbing in Joshua Tree with my brothers. That was buckets of fun. The next weekend, I got to see two dear friends get married, and everyone got to sigh with relief, grin, and mutter that it was about time. This upcoming weekend, I will get to celebrate my sister's ninth birthday with her.

And I will officially be twice as old as her. Let me just say that I've been waiting for this ever since she was born. I'm figuratively bouncing off the walls. Or rather, my mind is figuratively bouncing off the inside of my skull. All parts of it. 

The next big milestone is when she turns sixteen, and I'll be twenty-five. There's a certain neatness to those two numbers. *shudders* But that's years (seven of them) away, and I'll cross (and burn) that bridge when I get to it. 

In the meantime, I'll keep studying for school. Speaking of school, it's been going quite well recently. Finished the first bout of tests last week. I think the only one of my seven classes that didn't have a test in the past two weeks was TaeKwonDo. 

I certainly did better on some tests than I did on others, and the highlight had to be my psychology test. I received 106 points; perfect score and then some. I think mine was one of two such tests. Did I ever mention how much I love extra credit questions? 

So yeah, school's going well, and I already have some more tests coming up in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll keep up the studying. Lots of reading to do, and I mean lots. It wouldn't be too bad if there were twenty-seven hours in a day. But alas! It's not to be so. 

Oh, on another school-related note, I gave my first speech two days ago, and I think it went swimmingly. It was supposed to be three minutes, but the professor said he would start docking points the longer it went over, and that it should really be between two and a half minutes and three. So that was good. My subject was rock climbing. He also said that whoever went first would likely get a more lenient grade. 

So guess who went first? Oh yeah, you're looking at him. Or, er, reading at...him?

Anyways, in other news, I finally bought a bicycle, which made me super happy. Ever since I came to Vanguard, I've had everything I needed for a bike: baskets, gloves, helmet, light, lock, pump...heck, I even have goggles (which are very spiffing, by the way). All I needed was a bicycle. And now I finally have one. I bought it brand new from Target, but it was worth it. Now I can go on bike rides and go turn in a job application to the climbing gym a couple blocks away. Yup, I'm excited.

And another thing! I was in the school library the other day, and noticed a bookshelf with a delicious-awesome sign that said "free." I asked about it and - wouldn't you know it - all the books on it were free! To keep forever. And ever. 

I ended up walking away with eight new books. Way exciting. 

Now off I go to get back on that pesky wheel with those hypothetically-dizzy people who hypothetically like comments.