Dood. This is such a hilarious book. So cute too. I just finished reading it, and now I'm really curious and I want to compare it to the movie, because just from watching the trailer, it looks rather different, and I'm wondering how much they have changed between the two. And I hope they didn't change too much, because the book was quite good. Or, I'd be interested to see how they did change it, I guess. How they interpreted it, I suppose. I don't really like who they cast as Luke, though I can see him fitting the role I suppose. He's too small looking. Maybe that's just me. . .

Also, I will be pissed if the whole thing is set in the US. Pissed. Because it's so classically British and it would just kill me if they moved it. . . seriously.

Anyways. After a month of writing, I was dying to read something again, so I dove into this and basically finished it in one sitting.

Kind've makes me want to go shopping. . . lol. . .

the warmth of a room when it is filled with people who love you
whip cream that smothers pumpkin pie
a family who supports me and understands me
my adorable cousins
Miko and his excitable puppy dog ways
all the laughter of the day
busy-ness
random Woot! shirts, though I'm sad my sister didn't get any =(
very little homework over the holiday weekend
not having to stress anymore over college applications
the cool Oregon weather and the rain that is so refreshing
God who provides for me in everything

This place, it is a battleground. There is the blood, and the banner. The men in mud slicked uniforms with opaque downcast eyes. There is the artillery, you can hear it crackling, loud, shattering. You will never forget that sound, the sound of war. Not of screams and dying but of the grim staunch breath, the will to take another step. You will remember, but you will be the only one that does. This war, it was never won. There were no toasts and cheers, no hurrahs and treatises. There was only loss, defeat, decay. The smell hangs over the world.

How can you stand it? Why don't you leave? You could end it, right here, right now. You don't have to remember anymore. There is nothing left for you here, just hints of memories. You have nothing left, yet you are strong. You have nothing left to fight, yet you march. This will, it is unbeatable. Yet you know you have been beaten. Here, on this battleground.

This battleground, the wind drifting in from the west. You can taste the sea. It is metallic, it is blood. There is too much blood. There is the stark white landscape before you, not even a darkly stained body remains. It is as though it is a new beginning, but that is not possible. There is no more beginning, because this is the end. The end of an age, a world, a people. It is over, except for you. You are left to hear the determination, taste the salty sea breeze, you are here to march.

There is the earth beneath you, the chess board, the theatre, the battleground. There is no timing or strategy anymore, no costumes. No second act. There is only the march and the will and the air. And you. You are small in the expanse of the battleground, but now you are all there is. You have grown and you have shrunk. Your shoes are too big and the sky is too close, it burns and brushes your head. You are too close to soaring out into the atmosphere. Out, away. But you are too small, your boots are too heavy.

You march and you stumble on the battleground. There is uncertainty and dismay here, can you hear it? Taste it on the breeze. They knew it was the end, the cleansing, the white. You knew it was the beginning, the purification, the clean slate. You smelled only fear from the enemy. There is no enemy anymore, but the fear is still a stench in your nostrils. It is intoxicating and disgusting, pitiful and aromatic. Your boots rattle on your feet as you stomp, marching in the battleground.

There is no sound but a clamor, a hellish collapse, a silent deathly lonely noise. It invades you. You march, march, march. You have no rhythm, you are discordant. There is no order to the world anymore. There is no chaos because you march. You swallow chaos and order in every breath you take, and it smells of rage, untimely and impassioned. It is free, it is yours for the taking on the battleground. No one else lays claim to it.

There is only the endless march left for you now, all else is gone. It is not a matter of energy or time before even you collapse, it is a matter of blindness. You see white, clear, pure. Beginning. It is the end. You will march, yes, but not to your doom. Yours is the march of ecstasy and bewilderment, of battle, on battlegrounds. There is your battleground, but you are not a soldier. You march because you only know to march. You only know to march because there is nothing else to know, to do. If there is no march, what is there? Emptiness. Despair. You march, you are full of sand. You crumble. You march. You slide into pale infinity with a footprint.

1. Applying for college is a doozy.
2. Fudge is delicious.
3. I can be poetic sometimes, and sometimes I can just make mean comments that are meant to be not so mean. Sorrz?
4. You should be able to understand.
5. I'm seriously missing all things London/England/British/ . . . /Max. . . .
6. My slippers are getting kind've worn down. They're soft and fuzzy, but now kind've more just trampled on.
7. I'm worried about NaNo. I'm 5,000 words behind since my great grandmother died and I had to write three essays this weekend.
8. I'm waiting for you.
9. I'm also becoming minorly addicted to Supernatural, even though I know most of the episodes will freak the sh** out of me.
10. My face hates me.
11. I need to sign up for senior pictures, supposedly those are supposed to be done sometime in your senior year. Who knew?
12. I'm really nervous about a ton of things.
13. I can't wait for Ireland, and I wish we were going to England too.
14. WHYWHYWHY.
15. I'm pathetic.

A harsh breeze jostles the carelessly strewn leaves, tauntingly coaxing them along, whipping them into the air, dropping them swiftly back where they had been found. There is little color in the landscape but the determined red flash of the telephone booths, strident against the muted ancient calm of the buildings behind them. Rain patters on the cobblestones in disjointed rhythm; the heartbeat of the city. Your timid, quiet steps beat along, forming a loose harmony with the wind and the rain. The cuffs of your jeans are mud-spattered and soaked and drag hesitantly across the ground as though fearful of further abuse. You glance up at the sky, squinting, one hand shields your eyes from the persistent drizzle. Fearful, anxious, excited. You manage a partial nervous grin before you bite down on your lip. The rain is beginning to seep through your jacket and you hope to be out of the chill soon. There are endless possibilities of what may happen, and though you feel as if you have imagined them all, indubitably the one you did not will be the one that will become your reality.

On a street corner, you pause to dig into your jeans pocket, a small pre-occupied frown forming on your face. The scrap of note-paper you retrieve is smudged and you do your best to shield it from the downpour. You know the address by heart but you double-check it just for the sake of security. The building you have been searching for is directly in front of you. Pulling your jacket tight around you, you shiver and walk awkwardly across to the front door, unsure whether to skip for joy or run for fear. Instead, you bite your lip hard, dislodge your hand from its comfortable residence deep in your sleeve, and jangle the key it holds. It takes you a moment to unlock the door as your hand fumbles stiffly from the cold. As you step inside and close the door behind you, the rain is muffled. You can hear the drip of water from your person onto the austere tile floor. Your shoes squeaking, you walk towards the stairs in the corner, ducking your head down into your collar.

Three sets of stairs later, you pause once more to consult the paper in your pocket. It is no longer readable, but your eyes have studied it too long to notice. In your mind, you can still see the door number that you are looking for. Self-consciously, you brush your hair back from your face with your fingers, combing out rain-locked frizz. The paper rips as you shove it back into your pocket; you don't notice. Your eyes are focused on the door near the end of the hall. With a faux confident shrug, you trip your way there. You aren't prepared for the door to click open just as you reach out your fist to knock.

"Rae?!"

"You find no man at all intellectual who is willing to leave London. No, sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

-- Samuel Johnson

I kinda need this a lot.



It's tres beautiful. . . *sigh*

Max and I talked for more than three hours last night. I love getting to know him, knowing more about him, every time we talk. There's always something new. This time I learned (several of many things) that he has a goldfish with a mean temper and a palm plant named Winston. I didn't think it was possible to be that interested in anyone, but everything he is and does is so different from anything I know (sometimes, anyways) that it's nothing less than intriguing. Sometimes I'm astounded by how similar we are, to certain extents, as people. Sometimes I forget that other people are people too, and they're not any more perfect than I am, that they have their own flaws and failures and pains. It's refreshing to remember as much.

On another note, I have a Goodwill craving. I haven't gone shopping in at least a month, but I need to make sure I update my checkbook before I fill up my bookshelves. They look so sad and lonely, though =( They need more little book friends. Also, I'm hoping to find more summer-y clothes. I wish I could find some sort of little dress that I could wear, cause I miss the days of light, cute summer dresses. Actually, I could make a list of things I need to buy!

Things I Need to Buy (unique title, yeah?)
1. Summer dress
2. 4 x 6 photo albums (for my postcards)
3. Large picture frames
4. Costco prints of London pictures
5. Sweet tarts
6. Books
7. Socks
8. New camera cord (if I can't find mine within the week X_X)

Wow, what an amazing list! Now. . . (drumroll please) for your edification. . .

. . .

I'm kind've bored. Can you tell?

Also, happy mother's day! Speaking of which, I should probably go find my mommy and give her a hug. Maybe my dad is making omelettes! Those sound so good right now. Well, then. I guess I have my plan :D

<3 Rae

Yes. It has been spring for quite a while now. Thank you for finally catching on to the phenomenon. (That's me, always jumping on the bandwagon.)

Anyways, this past weekend, it's actually been feeling like spring. Isn't that insane?! It's nearly 85 degrees F right now outside. The sun is shining, the skies are blue, there's not a cloud in sight! It's very refreshing to see. Plus, the grass isn't all nasty and yellowed and dry yet, because it's been raining so much, and it's just lovely.

But really the point of this update is to get this stinkin' journal moving again. I kind've abandoned it :O I know, right? I'll be better now, though, I swear! I don't think I'm going to be doing community-specific things here anymore, even though I like keeping track of my posts, because it annoys me now. This is my journal, and it shall only be a journal.

And as a dedication to spring (and Irv, my camerabag elephant pal), I have finallyfinally updated my journal layout. I think it's very fresh and applicable now. Awesome, right???

So I think that's all for now. I may do a double post today, just because I may get bored of doing chores and editing stuffs. But that's my life. *sigh*

TTFN,

Rae

9) Marley and Me by John Grogan
Genre: Autobiography
Pages: 292
Summary: (I'm really lazy and tired right now, so I'm going to postpone this section until tomorrow. . . :D hehe)

--I believe I've discontinued the tradition of posting books I've completed on this journal. I may post them at the end of the year instead, a huge list. Otherwise, posting these at 50bookchallenge? I think so.--

Blargh. It's only 4pm and I wanna go to bed =(

1. 5 things that interested you lately
a. Pixie sticks
b. Resolutions
c. Blogs
d. Drawing letters in different "fonts"
e. Psychology (ish)

2. 5 things that you've researched lately
a. The Happiness Project (if reading through her blog counts as research??)
b. Biblical inspiration
c. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms
d. Memes? :D
e. The origin and true meaning of the word 'geek'

3. 5 things you liked about the inauguration (if you watched it)
a. Obama's inaugural speech
b. The megahuge photo that was taken of the inauguration (it's megacool)
c. Witnessing (semi)firsthand a truly historical event
d. The little band/orchestra that performed (esp. the violin player)
e. Getting to skip out on Physics for twenty-some minutes :D

4. 5 things you're looking forward to this year
a. The Fine Arts competition
b. Summer
c. Spring break and Disney world with Val and my sisters
d. My 4.25th birthday!
e. Riding

5. 5 things you've watched recently
a. Movie trailers
b. Different people getting home and then running off to their rooms
c. My dogs being weird
d. SNL
e. Pandora's advertisements scrolling about

8) How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 276
Summary: It's 1983 in Wallingford, New Jersey, a sleepy bedroom community outside Manhattan. Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Bueller type, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief. The fun comes to a halt, however, when Edward's father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard. So Edward turns to his misfit friends to help him steal the tuition money from his father. Disguising themselves as nuns and priests, Edward and his friends merrily scheme their way through embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, and blackmail. But along the way, Edward also learns the value of friendship, hard work, and how you're not really a man until you can beat up your father--metaphorically, that is.

Opinion: When I first started this book, after hearing lots of good things about it, I was quite a bit disappointed, cause it seemed like it was just going to turn out to be some rude book about messed up teens that wasn't nearly as funny as it should have been. Thankfully, my first impression turned out to be wrong. Even though it was occasionally rude and it is about messed up teens. And I didn't laugh out loud, or laugh at all, really. But it was good, I guess. I like how Acito writes his characters because they feel so real. Ya know what I mean? Plus, he lives in Portland, Oregon right now. REPRESENT! :D

8/50 books
16% complete

33/365 days
9% complete

2374/15000 pages
15.8% complete

Next up: Victorian London Street Life in Historic Photographs by John Thomson (It's got a ton of text, though. Probably will take forever to read because of that.)

7) Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Genre: Fiction -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Pages: 296
Summary: Accompanied by his faithful valet Passepartout, the imperturbable and resourceful Phileas Fogg has vowed to make his way across the globe in a mere eighty days. A breathless series of triumphs, mishaps, and near-misses ensues, as the daring duo makes use of nearly every form of transportation then known to bring them closer to their goal.

Opinion: I quite liked it. I liked reading about all their different adventures and even though I knew the ending, the suspense of whether or not Phileas Fogg would make it on time consistently kept me on the edge of my seat. Since I had never read the book before, I was surprised how different it was from the movie version I saw. I would recommend this to anyone that hasn't read it before as it is quite an interesting look at the world during that time period. All over the world, as well, not just the "more civilized" places.

7/50 books
14% complete

2098/15000 pages
14% complete

About to start: How I Paid for College by Marc Acito

9. Floss every day for a month. (5/30)
My dentist would be so happy for me!

13. Change my bedsheets every two weeks. (1/72)
I finally remembered to do this :O

14. Wake up at 6am every morning for a month (12/30)
I almost didn't wake up this morning, cause I had a friend over, and I hadn't set my alarm, and it's the weekend, etc etc, but then my body woke itself up! It was very much a lifesaver. Otherwise I'd have to start over X_X

15. Eat breakfast every morning for two weeks. (14/14)
Completed 1/23/09 My first completed goal!!!!! It's so exciting. . .

36. Win at chess at least once.
I won last night! My friend and I played, and I beat her! It's not saying too much, cause she sucks just as much as I do, but it was also late at night, and I don't think so well at night. I'm a morning person, lol. ANYways. Completed 1/23/09

38. Donate 50,000 grains of rice through freerice. (42,000/50,000)
Inching closer. . . slowly. . .

42. Read 50 books every year. (6/50)
My LJ has the reviews and things for these :D

67. Get my driver's license.
I half got it. I mean, I passed the driving part of the test, but since I haven't actually read the book in about a year, and the driver's writing test is much harder than the permit one. . . suffice to say if I had got one more right I would have my license right now :S So that was pretty sad, but I can take it again as soon as today. I'm gonna go in on Monday and try again.

82. Have D over once a month. (2/30ish)
She came over again last night and we went and saw Madagascar 2 at the cheap movie theatre (I still have to update my movie list things *headdesk*) and I'm going over to her house in half an hour or so. We're going to go see Inkheart tonight, which shall be amazing!!! :D Can't wait.

101. Convince someone that spam sushi can actually taste good.
Alicia has said she was interested in trying it at least! So now I need to set up a spam sushi tasting party and I can cross this one off! :D

7) The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)



( Onward to more amazingness! )

6) Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy -- Comedy
Pages: 332
Summary: Witches are not by nature gregarious, and they certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe. . .

Opinion: Of course, it's Pratchett, so it was pretty good, and very funny. It wasn't as funny as the one I read last year, but that could be because I didn't get all the play references. Anyways, it was good, and I'm going to continue reading Pratchett. So there you go!

6/50 books
12% complete

1802/15000 pages
12% complete

Next up: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (I'm going off the reading order I had already decided on, cause this has to go back to the library soon, and I'd been looking forward to reading it. I just feel like minorly apologizing, I guess? Heh. Not that it's a huge deal or anything. . . ANYways.)

( Woah, hugemongous update! :O )


And I'm revising #21 and #66, which both have to do with origami frogs. Origami frogs are ridiculously complicated and I no longer have any interest whatsoever in any more &^%$# papercuts thankyouverymuch. Heh. So:

The new #21 which may not actually be 21 cause now the numbering might be severely screwed up: Identify 100 things that make me happy.
I have (23/100) right now :D The Happy List (incomplete) (obviously)

The new #66 (same abovementioned problem): Make a time capsule.
If anyone has any good ideas of what I should put in it, to open in five years or somewhat, feel free to shout 'em out! :D

6) Music and Lyrics



( Such a chick flick <3 )