Playing Catch-up

A picture of my hair that I tinkered with in Photoshop. I was playing with layers and such.

Well, this entry is late because I was in Oregon all weekend. It was fun, if you were wondering. I took a bunch of pictures of clouds, trees, and mountains while riding on a jet boat, went to caves, enjoyed the rain, ate a lot, saw Sammy's son, Jonas, and just hung out with my family (immediate and my aunt's parents, my sort-of grandparents). I didn't get many pictures of the caves because the tour guide seemed to be taking us all on an inspirational journey. I felt wrong disturbing her moments with flash. Very awesome caves anyway. Oregon is always such a wonderful place to visit.

Taken while on the Hellgate jet boat ride.

Anyway, I do have a something to say about The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, as I said I would. I didn't really like the book. It was too cheesy and I don't think it was written very well. It felt like one of those books that was just published because he could. Maybe I'm just outgrowing sappy romances. I did enjoy a couple parts just because I was poking a bit of fun at them. Not the best book I've picked up, but I shouldn't have bashed it so much before finishing it. It wasn't that bad. It just eh.

Taken while on the Hellgate jet boat ride.

I'm now reading The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer. I like it so far. My aunt recommended it to me after the James family reunion. My opa (grandpa on my dad's side, the German side) had Asberger's syndrome and it has trickled down into my dad (he may have had it rather than just a couple traits), aunt, and uncle on that side and my sister and I. I'm beginning to see the true meaning of "you're just like your dad". I don't mind. I'll take the good and the bad.

Hellgate

Before I left for Oregon, I made a few attempts at Tricorner (if you click the link, it's the orange one that is the second from the top right) from Knitting New Scarves only to fail, so I'm going to give it a rest. I'll try again later. For now, I'm content to work on smaller projects. The problem is I'm leaving for Redlands tomorrow, so I can't take all of my stuff with me. That means my cube bunnies and whatever other plushies I make can't be completed until my return in approximately 6 weeks. It's just one more thing for me to look forward on my return. I haven't left yet and I'm already looking forward to coming back. It's proof that I'm a homebody, I guess one could say.

My little cousin and the jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium

I have one last thing to share. It's a bit odd and I'm telling it at a random time, but if you're reading this blog, I'm guessing you don't mind the my odd ramblings. Anyway, last year while homeschooling I realized that I had pretty much let any previous social life go. I let go of a school I never really liked and craved just one friend. I wanted to start fresh. Don't get me wrong. I had some good friends from campmeeting and the people at my old school were good people, but I wanted and felt like I needed a nearby friend. In my head, this friend would be a guy. He would like old movies, would be a Sanguine who liked to drag me out of the house, would bring out conversations that lasted a long time, would make me want to stay up late just to hold those conversations, play video/computer games, and would just be different from any other person I had ever met. There were a few other characteristics, but none of them really mattered as long as I just clicked with him. He would be the friend I had always wanted and never had, but certainly not the perfect friend. I did not want a perfect friend; I wanted the right friend.

Taken at the caves on the "inspirational" version of the tour. It was cool, actually.

In late March, I met a guy who I instantly clicked with. After attempting to date and discovering that that was not meant to be, I just found a good friend in him. He's the friend I imagined that I would have without all of the dreamt-up characteristics. Sure, he has a few of them, but it's not like I met the guy of my dreams. I wouldn't want to meet such a person. I still think it's strange that my little wish came true. Between my family, the (good) friends I hadn't let go of (like Shelbi who has always been awesome, a my fellow cool dork, good friend, and my plushophile buddy :P), the reconnected friends, and the people I just enjoyed randomly talking to at college, I didn't think my prayer for one friend would be answered. I'm glad I ended up meeting that one friend anyway. Sometimes even a loner like me just needs one more friend.

Jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

I'll just end with that story, a mention of Phil Wickham who has really cool music and a great voice in my humble opinion, and one more picture. I will blog again this week, if all goes well. Until then, take care! :)

Two Jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium