Memory Fail; Positive Impact Win

I was thinking of giving up on blogging until I realized that I frequently need more than 140 characters to say what I'm up to. Well, that and I spent over an hour writing a post last night. For me, that almost equals baking a batch of cookies and burning all of them. What a waste!

Let's see. I'll start with what I've been up to and then tell you all what I really want to say. I saw a play called "1776" at the Redlands Bowl last Friday and Incendio play last night. "1776" was eh. Incendio, however, was sooooo coooool. Ironically, it was the one I dreaded the most. "It's tradition!", said Diane, so I went reluctantly. It took Incendio one note to kill that dread and steal my ears for the next 2 hours. At the end, I had to triple check the time because I couldn't believe that 2 hours had gone by. I wanted to hear more. I might have to buy one of their CDs sometime. Most likely, I will because their music is made for dancing.

Also, I've been watching "InuYasha" and "Bleach" lately. I'm on episodes 36 and 92, respectively. I have also recently watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for the first time, "Sphere" (no longer a favorite because I now know for sure that my favorite parts in the book are not in the movie), "Howl's Moving Castle" (one of my favorite movies), "Princess Mononoke", "Laputa: Castle in the Sky", and "Public Enemies". If you're thinking "Holy [expletive]! How the [expletive] have you watched so much anime and so many movies‽", my response is *shrug*.

Moving onto what 140 characters could not contain. As you probably know, I love music. Lately I've been mostly listening to The Civil Wars, E.S. Posthumus, and the "Howl's Moving Castle" movie soundtrack. I decided to mix it up today. To my delight, "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss popped up. Hearing it out of the blue (no pun intended) reminded me of the first time I remember hearing it. It was in an old cartoon (embedded later in the post). All I can remember about it is notes from the sheet music for "The Blue Danube" dancing around. Everything around me disappeared. If someone had told me that I had won a million dollars, I would not have heard them. Those awesome dancing notes had my undivided attention and filled me with joy.

After the cartoon ended, I forgot everything except those dancing notes, the name of the song, and how the song sounded. I know this because I just looked up and watched it on Youtube. Of the 7 minutes and 15 seconds, the dancing notes barely take up 10 seconds. Ha ha! In my memory's defense, I knew that there was something about that cartoon that has always bugged me. The brief appearance of those dancing notes is that bothersome thing.

I have to smile at how just a few seconds of a cartoon were more memorable than more important things in my life. I'd mention one or two of those important things, but I can't seem to remember them. :P



By the way, I feel like frolicking in a forest when I hear that song, so the rest of the cartoon might have affected me in some way.

That is all for now. Until the next post, and as always, take care!

Reasons Why I'm Strange and an Unfun Ending

This picture is about a year old. I need to look at something cute and innocuous. Read the end and you will know why.

Okay, I know I'm not normal. I'm often given a look that I call Dork Recognition because I lack an adequate description. Why do I get this look? Well, given it's frequent appearance, I have to say it is because I'm just strange. I'll share a few specific reasons for fellow dorks to compare with.

Reasons Why People Think I'm Strange

1. I like to clean and organize.

If it can be organized, I want to organize it. If there is a pile of dishes, I want them to be clean. If a room is a complete mess, I probably want to clean it. I don't think people should think I'm strange because of this. I think they should thank me (optional: in the form of monetary payment) to do what I will do anyway if I'm left unattended for a few hours.

2. I am indecisive.

You don't want to test this one. The most painful thing anyone can do is ask me to make a decision. Tuna or Beef? Red button or button that just has "red" printed on it? This one or this one? AH! It hurts! I really do get strange looks because of this. I'm really bad with produce, especially apples. I have plenty of stories, but if I elaborate on this one any longer, I will get a headache.

3. I don't get bored easily.
It's no secret. I have hobbies. If you don't, you are probably one of those people who gets on my nerves because you constantly say "I'm bored". Why should I care? I can't entertain you. You probably don't want to see me try. I'll probably say something awkward and, instead of boredom, you will be plagued with being disturbed.

4. I would rather stay home than go outside, most of the time.
I can entertain myself, therefore I need not go outside. Enough said.

5. My hobbies
I like to do a lot of things and some of them don't seem normal to other people. The most frequently mentioned strange hobby is knitting. People don't know what to do, so they gawk, gape, talk about their grandma, touch the thing I'm knitting and feel the urge to touch me after (I'm somewhat disturbed by this one because I don't like being touched)

6. My thoughts and conversation skills
I think this one is best explained by an explanation inspired by a real conversation I had with someone. This is a rough, much shorter retelling.
Friend: So, what are you thinking about?
Me (staring at a tree): How I've always thought of 9 as an even number because 3 goes into it evenly 3 times.
Friend: O.o What the . . . ? *long, awkward pause followed by an awkward laugh* Nine is not an even number.
Me: I know. It's odd. I've just always thought about it that way.
Friend: O.o

This example is only accurate if I'm comfortable talking to the person. If I'm not, my mind goes completely blank and I come up with something more like this fake conversation:
Person: What are you thinking about?
Me (caught off-guard, so staring at a wall): That is a really white wall. It reminds me of an insane asylum.
Person: That's a normal wall color.
Me: It's still really white.
Person: So you were thinking about the color of the wall?
Me: This cracker doesn't taste like a cracker . . .
And so on and so forth . . .

Most of the time, my thoughts randomly come out because I'm very awkward in conversations. I mention the most bizarre things and tell often irrelevant stories. The problem is when I stay quiet, people look at me like I'm some sort of freak anyway. *sigh* I really do try.

Not really the end, but the reasons end here.
Everyone is strange in some way and gets looks for it. If anyone cares to share how they're strange, you have my attention. Okay, so you can actually say anything to get my attention. That's another topic . . .

Yikes. Claire just found a giant spider and it disappeared. :S I have to end on this lovely note because I need to give her some moral support in the form of quivering and holding a broom.

Until the next post, and as always, take care, embrace your inner dork, and be scary spider-free!

$100 and Paycheck

I'm going through some older pictures and having some fun. I should be commenting on other deviants' works right now. :S

This post is late. I won't apologize because (1) I apologize too much, (2) I can post whenever I very well feel like it, and (3) it means there are two posts this week. When I read blogs, I like when there are more posts in usual even if it's just a dead blog for months and 30 posts in one day. Maybe that's just me. If it is, I'm sorry. There I go again. . . -_-

I have a funny story to share. It's short. All spoken quotes are not exact, but they get the point across.
Yesterday Claire, Diane, and I decided it was time to watch a movie. We were getting haystack stuff together in the kitchen. Claire came up with one first: "Paycheck".

Diane said, "It's not in the case." Being skeptical of everything, I went to the living room cabinet to check it anyway. Diane continued in a very adamant voice, "I'll give you a hundred dollars if it's there because it isn't!"

I located the case and it seemed pretty secure for being an empty case. Guess what? I laughed and said, "It's here."

Diane said, "No way! It is not!" Au contraire, it was.

Then, Claire laughed and tried to get into it saying, "Ha ha, Deedee, it's okay. You don't owe us $100! We'll just accept 100 of something else. "

Diane just laughed and said, "Oh, like chips? Wait. Since when were you part of it? I said Alyssa, not you." Of course, the $100 was a joke, but how often does my skepticism get rewarded? Rarely.

By the way, I enjoyed "Paycheck". They had seen it already, but we watched it anyway. Diane thought it all went too smoothly, but it made sense to me. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil the whole movie. It's worth watching without a spoiler.

Anyway, I'm about to finish a new scarf and I just started Memoirs of a Geisha. I liked the movie and the soundtrack, so I'm excited to read the book. Also, I rode my bike to the dance studio today. However, I did not ride it back, so I have to walk back to get it one of these days. I think I'll get it over with tomorrow and use it as an excuse to buy an unhealthy, iced or blended beverage from Kerry's Coffee House. :)

Side note: Some people quite a while ago were talking about the absence of banana-flavored Nesquik milkshakes/milk. They still exist. I saw some at Gerrards while getting gum and a strawberry-flavored Nesquik milkshake. My question to those people is: what's so awesome about banana milk? Maybe I'll try it one of these days. . . It's too hot to do anything except consume anyway. :P

That's all for now. Until the next post, and as always, take care. :)

The Day After the 4th

Independence Day was mostly great. I nicked my ankle in the shower (looks more like a gash because it's so long), went to church with Diane, baked cookies, played card games, played 2-hand touch football in a dress and jammed my left pinky finger in the process (totally fine, just a bit swollen), ate yummy food (like Kelly's flag cake-yum!), watched and took pictures (which are sprinkled in this post) of the fireworks, and played fetch with Kelly's dog, Chella (sp?). I wish I had pictures of football and all that jazz, but I was experiencing it. Be proud. I participated in a celebration and felt good about it afterwards. :)
The 4th aside, I've been reading, watching movies and such, and knitting, as usual. I just finished watching "The Lake House" a few minutes ago. I had wanted to see it when it came out but didn't get the chance. I wish I had made sure I was given the chance. I like it. It's such a sweet movie. Reminds me a bit of "Someplace In Time" minus all of the musical corn and cheese (in other words, the cheesy/corny music really bugged me) and overall improvement. It's one of the romances that I actually want to own like "A Walk to Remember" (I like the book more yet differently. Both made me want to cry.) and "The Notebook" (more because it's a classic than expression of how much I like it).
As for reading, I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See a few days ago. Beautiful book. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's one of those books that's worth every second of time it's given. I started reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom and I like it so far. It's one of those books that I could finish in a couple hours, but I just don't read all at once. A thriller is worth reading in one sitting; nearly everything else can be spread over a longer time.
I knitted a hat in a few hours for Claire over a week ago, a scarf for Diane, and now I'm on a scarf which has no owner yet. Several people have seen me work on it, but I haven't noticed someone who gets that look. You know, the look that someone gets when they see something that was just made for them or they experience something that they were meant to do. I guess it's like falling in love at first sight without the following commitment. :P I'm only guessing because I have not yet fallen in love. Anyway, Diane said she'd take the scarf it no one else wants it, but that'll be 3 scarves after I make another that she specifically asked for. I want everything I make to go to someone who really wants it. Not just a taker or a courtesy buyer; a true owner. I guess it's a bit idealistic to hope for that to happen to every single thing I ever make, but it's a good thing to hope for. The world needs more of those special moments when something is clearly and wonderfully meant to be. It's comforting, and often shocking at the same time. The world needs more things than just that, in my humble opinion, but those can be left to other posts and/or blogs.
That's all for now. Until the next post, and as always, take care! :)