BEDA 6: Retail Therapy

I actually wrote a completely different blogpost this morning but I hated it so I decided to go out and do something and come home and see if I could come up with something better. We'll see how this goes.

Today I went shopping. Woooo. It started out not-so-well and ended up swell. First I went to Buffalo Exchange and struck out. Then I went to Urban Outfitters and was 0 for 2. (That sounded better in my head. Whatever.) Then I went to 4th avenue (go here to know what I'm talking about. tl;dr there's shopping and food), realized I didn't want to actually go in anywhere, got a chai, and left. I had pretty much lost hope in doing any successful shopping so I decided to go home. However, as I started driving through downtown to go home I decided to park and walk around a bit because I have been wanting to since I've been home this summer and I haven't. So I parked and went to the new Buffalo Exchange and it is WAY better than the other two in Tucson. (Did you know Buffalo Exchange started here?? FACT.) As I walked in they were playing She & Him, so major points there. Then I got two pairs of pants, a skirt, and a Ravenclaw pin for $19.09!!! Holy mother of good deals. Everything was 50% off. Awesome. Then I went to Shot in the Dark Cafe, got an iced coffee, and went home.

While I'm talking about Downtown, I would just like to mention how much I love Downtown Tucson. It just has the right vibe (ick. Forgive me for using that word) and I love walking around with the tall buildings above me and the small, little parks interspersed throughout. I don't know what it is. but I've always loved it.

That certainly went better than this morning's post.
Until tomorrow, dear readers!

Days until I go back to Seattle: 17
Days until school starts: 23
(Sorry Claire, but I like this countdown...)

BEDA 5: Bail Outs (And Nails)

There is one thing I hate more than pretty much everything else (at the moment, at least), and then is when people bail on plans that have been made almost a week ago. It's not that big of a deal, but I'm still annoyed, because I'm good at that.

My friends and I have this thing we do where we go to a local 24 hour coffee shop, Coffee Exchange, and hang out and play board games or Star Trek Uno (provided by me, because who else would have Star Trek Uno besides this huge nerd?) and eventually leave to go to the park or have some other kind of adventure. This was almost a weekly occurrence last summer but this summer things keep getting in the way. Either people always have to work or no one replies to our "Hey let's go to Coffee Exchange!" message on facebook. I never work because apparently the universe simply does not want me to have a job and I always reply because I like coffee and I like my friends. We had planned to meet up tonight and the plan was all in place, when all of sudden, nearly EVERYONE bails. The one thing I was looking forward to this week (besides watching Lord of the Rings, which my dad and I finished today), and it's not even happening anymore. FINE. I think I'll just go get coffee anyway. And maybe go shopping, because nothing is better than retail therapy.

Boy, could I be any whinier? The answer is yes.

Besides my annoyance, I am going to take a moment to talk about Nail Polish, because it is something I have really grown to love this summer. I love nail polish. I have a good collection growing. A small one, because... well that's just how it is. I have this wonderful blue nail polish that I love, but god forbid I try to remove it using nail polish REMOVER because it leaves my nails and fingers stained blue. It's gross.

And now I am going to paint over this ugly blue stainage with a new color I have acquired. It is called...hang on let me check. It is called Limelight and it is from Ulta. Other people would probably think it's ugly, but whatever maybe I just like ugly things.

Until tomorrow!

Days until I go back to Seattle: 18
Days until school starts: 24

BEDA 4: The Dentist

I have never, in my life, looked forward to going to the dentist. Until now.

Last month I went to the dentist for your routine cleaning, when the...nurse? Dental hygienist? I think you know what I mean. Anyway, she thoroughly freaked me out after she had a look at my X-Rays.

"...This is weird. Have you had any pain on the upper right side?" (referring to my teeth, obviously.)

"Um. No." I replied, a bit uneasily.

"Hm. I better have the dentist have a look. Maybe it's just something on the X-Ray..."

After nearly 30 minutes sitting in the uncomfortable patient's chair waiting for the dentist, whom by this point I loathed, the dentist comes in, asks the same pain question, and determines that I have a cavity. WHOA. A cavity?! Who would've thought. Seriously, that's the first conclusion to which I would have come. Thanks for freaking me out and making me wait thirty minutes for information I could have given myself.

After the initial rage wore off and I ate something, I realized that it actually hurts when I chew on the right side of my mouth. I began to look forward to the dentist appointment awaiting me on August 4th.

As I'm sure you have surmised, it is August the fourth. And I am not waiting impatiently for the dentist. No, my appointment has been rescheduled because the geniuses at the dentist office scheduled me for a CLEANING. Um, how many patients do you know who come in for a cleaning once a month? Not many, I'd imagine. Ugh.

So the one time I ever look forward to the dentist, I don't get to go. I JUST WANT MY TEETH FIXED. Isn't that your job?!

On an unrelated but more exciting note: I registered for Pottermore today! I was so beyond confused about how registration worked; I thought you had to sign in with the email address you used for pre-registration, which I guess it turns out didn't matter, and THEN register. But I got pretty much no sleep and stayed up all night refreshing the page every half hour, and FINALLY, at this morning, there it was! An actual page with instructions! The clue was way easier than I was expecting. But I'm registered! I'm not a squib! (If you're wondering what I mean by this... go here.) I am excited to find out what exactly Pottermore is going to entail... Oh, and if you're wondering, which I know you definitely are, my username is OwlMist131. oooooooh!

Until tomorrow, dear blogosphere!

Days until I go back to Seattle: 19
Days until school starts: 25

BEDA 3: A Sob Story

First of all, I know this is technically Day 2 and techincally BEDEFDA and not BEDA, but I'm going to go ahead and title my posts with BEDA as if I did do the first day so I'm not awkwardly behind everyone else. As if anyone else in BEDA is reading this and is hopelessly confused. Boy, that was an obnoxiously long intro. And it wasn't even an intro. God. Okay.

Today I am going to be discussing a tragedy that has befallen my family. It was a shocking discovery when I walked into the kitchen this morning. My dad and I were planning on finishing our Lord of the Rings viewing with Return of the King, but things did not go as planned.

I come into the kitchen and my dad informs me that we will not be watching Lord of the Rings today. He looks at me and he says...

"The wrong dvd is in here. This... is the Two Towers."

It took everything in me to not break down in the middle of my kitchen and just curl up in a ball and sob. You see, we bought these dvds at Bookman's, a used bookstore, cd store, etc. here in Tucson. The delightful young fellow at the cash register put in the wrong dvd when we checked out. Absolutely devastating! So instead, my father and I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was... okay. If not for the plethora of literary references (I knew M was going to be Moriarty, by the way.)(Oh, Spoiler Alert, I guess. But. Come on.) I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all. Well, I guess I could have enjoyed Sean Connery.

On another note, I finished all five seasons of Daria, and now I'm on to the tv movies. Right now I'm finishing up Is it Fall Yet? I wish I had watched this before I watched the fifth season, because that's where it fits in. It explains where Tom got his car. And really establishes Daria and Tom's relationship.

Wow I really don't have much going on, do I...?

Is it fall yet?

Days until I go back to Seattle: 20
Days until school starts: 26

BEDA?

I decided today that I would love to do Blog Every Day in August. Unfortunately, today is August 2. I decided, what the hell, I'll do it anyway. It will be Blog Every Day Except the First Day in August... BEDEFDA. That just trips off the tongue.
So, here it goes. BEDEFDA. That's going to get annoying to type. Whatever.
Well, blogging. My life. Right now I'm watching Daria. I bought the whole series on DVD last week and I'm in season five now. I'm almost done and I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm finished! Oh, what tragedy! (Sidenote: I'm not watching the screen as I type because I'm glued to my television set. Oh  my Daria is going to be teaching Quinn's class!) It is pretty spooky how similar Daria and I are, despite the fact that she is a fictional character and I am, for as far as I know, real. Her views on the world and the people who inhabit it are almost completely in line with my own. Of course, she expresses herself differently, that is to say, not at all, while I am quite often over-enthusiastic about a lot of things. She also has a boyfriend. So. There's that major difference. Le sigh.
This first day of BEDEFDA has been riveting, I know. Until tomorrow, dear readers! Er- reader. That is if my one reader is even reading this, which she probably isn't. So, until tomorrow, self!

Late Night Thoughts on Old Friends

        I just read Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci in about two hours. I like reading books like that occasionally, especially during the summer. I am often up late at night, restless, because I sleep until noon so it’s hard to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. It’s 12:47 and I’m actually kind of tired.

I love all things beautiful; it’s all I’ve been reblogging lately on tumblr. Mostly pictures of books. I love books. They are beautiful. I don’t really identify myself with any of the fandoms on tumblr because I’m not as dedicated to one sole thing like a typical fan is.The one thing I’ve been able to focus all of my love and devotion towards for a really long time is books and reading and writing. I think everything surrounding literature is extraordinarily beautiful. The sound of the keys on a keyboard. The way the words look all smooshed together on a page. The way an old book smells. The way books look stacked on top of or next to one another. I want to be surrounded by books wherever I am for as long as I live. They have been my oldest and most loyal friends. I know that no matter who I am or where my life takes me, books will be there until the very end. 

Unfinished Story

        Everyone else on the train was fast asleep. After three hours, it was the next logical step in the traveling process. When you first get on the train, you are excited because you are about to get from where you are to somewhere much more exciting. Every aspect of train travel is still fresh and you can’t wait to get to your seat, meet the person sitting next to you, get coffee in the dining car, and crack open the book you brought specifically for this train ride. And who knows, maybe the person sitting next to you will turn out to be the love of your life. 

After the initial excitement wears off, you are able to sit comfortably and enjoy your ride. You’ve got the perfect mix playing on your iPod, you’ve settled nicely into your book, and you really feel as though this trip will be effortless.

After another hour, the relaxation has worn off and you realize just how weary you are becoming. You find yourself staring out the window at the country side and realize you haven’t actually seen anything. Your eyelids grow heavy and before you know it you’re drooling on the potential soulmate sitting next to you. 

Amy was not yet at the drooling stage, though it appeared every other soul on the train was, including the fellow sitting next to her, who, she thought, was very much a potential soulmate. They had not done much talking so far, but that doesn’t mean their relationship doesn’t have potential. How did she know this? It mostly had to do with the book he was reading: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. This happened to be one of Amy’s favorite books of all time, and David Foster Wallace just happened to be the author to whom she look up the most. Since this boy, who was pretty attractive if she was being perfectly honest, was reading this book, she decided that there was plenty of potential. Maybe when he wakes up she’ll try to make conversation about something other than their final destination and their favorite mode of transportation.

It did not look like he was about to wake up any time soon, however. He was mumbling and breathing heavily, though very attractively. If one could breath attractively. If it were possible, it would be this fine specimen who discovered it. That’s it, Amy decided that this boy was the One. She could just tell. Maybe she should stop staring at him so obviously. He might wake up.

Okay. Back to staring out the window. It was incredibly beautiful outside. They were traveling from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington. It was a ride she knew well. Her best friend lived in Seattle while she was stuck in Canada. Vancouver, thankfully, is a pretty nice place to live, but she has been there her whole life and she is so beyond jealous that her Best Friend Since Diapers gets to go to a different country for college while she is stuck in the same place she’s always been. To make the jealousy ebb, she takes the trip to Seattle as often as she can. She loves everything about the city. The people, the weather, the coffee. Oh, the coffee. No one loves coffee as much as Amy. She considers it in a food group of its very own. At this very moment she was holding a giant cup of coffee black as midnight on a moonless night. Perhaps that is why she was not asleep. She didn’t mind not sleeping, though. She preferred to stare out the window.  The view is not something one gets to enjoy every day. The fields, the water, the sun, the green beam of light shooting across the evening sky...

Wait. What was that? 

Next thing she knows her neighbor is getting thrown onto her and she right up against the window. Did the train crash? It didn’t feel like a crash. It felt like it sped up and stopped at the same time. Being right up against the window she couldn’t help but look outside and when she did she noticed that train had, in fact, stopped. But the scenery was not the scenery she had been looking at only moments before. It had a strange, glowy tint to it, but not the kind of tint you would expect from a setting sun or clouds after a heavy rainfall. It was as if she could see the life emanating out of every object: the plants, the hills, the railroad tracks. She must have been dreaming. Of course! Without realizing it, Amy had hit her head on the window and was knocked unconscious! It was the only conclusion that made sense. That was, until-

“Um? Excuse me, could you...I mean, you’re on my-” A deep voice said suddenly very close to Amy’s ear. Startled, she tried to turn around and realized she was crushing something, or someone.

“Um. You’re on my arm.” Oh! She was on her soulmate’s arm!

“Oh I’m so sorry! Here, let me move. Gosh I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m so sorry I should have moved oh my God I am so-”

“Sorry, I got that. Thanks, I’m fine. What happened? Did you see anything? You were looking out the window, weren’t you?” How did he know that? Had he been watching her?

“Um. Yeah, I was, but, I mean, I didn’t see anything. There was like, a light, kind of. A green light. But it was just for a second. I mean it just, like- across the sky, you know?” She gestured with her arm, trying to demonstrate. It didn’t seem to be working.

“A green light? Hm. Well, I have done extensive research into shooting green lights, and that means only one thing. Do you know what that is?”

Amy felt like this boy might be teasing him, but she thought she’d give him a chance.

“No, I don’t. What does it mean?”

“It means that someone, I’m not pointing any fingers or anything, but someone is heavily into drugs. Do you do drugs, ma’am.” That’s it. He was definitely teasing her.

“First of all, I most certainly am not heavily into drugs. And second of all, do not call me ma’am.” There was nothing she hated more than being called “ma’am.” Except for maybe “lady.”

“I know, I know. I’m just kidding. Seriously though, I don’t know what it means. I don’t even think there is such a thing as ‘research into shooting green lights.’ Unless you live in Roswell. I’ll go see if any flight attendants know anything.” He stood up and straightened his button-up shirt.

“Flight attendants? This is a train.” This boy was turning out to be quite strange.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.” He wandered off without saying anything else. She was left sitting there, looking baffled.