My Top 5 Guilty Pleasures

5. 90's Boy Bands

Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC come to mind. The first CD I ever owned was the Backstreet Boys album Backstreet's Back. I probably jammed to Everybody (Backstreet's Back) more times than I can count, and I'm sure my mother thanked the Lord that I had headphones and not the huge speakers I have now.

4. Wizards of Waverly Place

I don't exactly watch it for the plot, and I really don't watch it for the dialogue, as both aspects of the show can be a little stilted on occasion. I really enjoy David Henrie (really enjoy him) as Justin Russo, the nerdy, geeky, all-around adorkable older brother of Alex Russo, the main character of the show.


3. Knitting

In the past I've knit fingerless gloves, adorable little coin purses, and iPod/mobile phone/mp3 player cases with cute little button flaps, and I'm currently working on a hat for Kirby (pictures of which I will post when it's finished, which will be soon).

2. Fanfiction

Criminal Minds, NCIS, Harry Potter, even some Twilight back in the day... any fandom I've written about on this blog, I've written/read fanfiction for it.

1. Nicolas Cage

I don't care how much everyone else hates him and thinks he overacts. I love him to death. National Treasure, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Season of the Witch... goodness, I love Nicolas Cage. 

Well, haters gonna hate. What are your guilty pleasures?

Lady Gaga is My Role Model

She really and truly is. I went to a concert of hers at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. I still have the ticket on my desk, wedged between my monitor and my central (bass) speaker. During that concert, I laughed a lot (during her monologues between songs) and cried a little (when she spoke about loving ourselves) and smiled more than I think I've ever smiled before.

Lady Gaga is a beautiful human being. She preaches tolerance. In interviews, she doesn't focus on her body or give out diet and exercise tips like most celebrity women. The Lady may not be conventionally pretty, but she knows how to work it and doesn't shy away from doing, wearing, and looking what and how she wants to.

She's self-confident, she knows what she wants, and she's going to do whatever she wants in order to get it.

In other words, she's exactly how I want to be.

7 People Who Have Changed My Life

There are a lot of people who change your life every day. That obnoxious guy in third period made you roll your eyes, the stranger who almost ran over you made you give him the bird, and the cashier/bagger duo at Publix made you laugh at their antics.

However, these aren't the people I'm talking about. Although they influence you in some minuscule way or other, they don't have a lasting impression on you (or at least, they usually don't). No, in this post, I'm going to focus on the people who have changed the way I see myself and the world.

1. Katie Collins has made me closer to God. Whatever feelings of irritation I originally felt that she was so religious are now gone, permanently replaces with a deep feeling of gratitude. Without her, I would never have felt as close to God as I do now. We may have a few fuzzy differences in opinion when it comes to worship, prayer, and the like, but that doesn't matter in the long run: without her, I would never have even believed in God, and would have committed suicide last November when I was convinced there was nobody in the who gave a flying fuck about me. I thank Katie for assuring me that there's much more than a crowd of people who care about me: I've got the big guy in the sky on my side.

2. Ryan Philipp has made me love history. History's one of my passions now, but I would probably still think of it as boring if it weren't for Coach Phil. The first day of class, I thought, "Now this guy really loves history." Well, yeah, you say. He's a history teacher, for Christ's sake. Still, though, I was surprised by the way Phil (as we students affectionately call him) managed to be so enthusiastic about what I had, until that point, thought of as the one subject where even the teachers seem to have a bit of distaste for it. I became determined to figure out why this man was so interested in history, and I'm glad to say that I found some amazing things in my textbook. (Well, okay, in the lecture notes, seeing as we never used our textbook, but whatever.)

3. Gregory Onision has made me vegetarian. He was the first one to convince me that eating animals isn't only immoral, it's also not healthy. Through his videos on YouTube, I discovered things- over the course of a few days- it would have taken me months to find out any other way. His videos encompass a wide range of other things, too, so even when I'm not in the mood to be re-lectured on how meat isn't just murder, it's suicide, I can still have a challenging three and a half minutes, thinking logically about what he's said. Onision isn't preaching, he's informing. (Thank Merlin for that.)

4. Amy Gleaves, whether or not she meant to, made my life a living hell for a few months. I burned myself with matches and lighters (no scars are left from that, thank God), I couldn't concentrate on anything, and I had to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline four times over the course of three weeks. I finally found a way to literally move away from the situation, but being around her still hurts. I don't think this woman will ever fully understand the extent of the damage and havoc her presence wreaked on my body. I don't blame her 100%, but I know I will never- no matter what anyone says- be able to see her as an innocent bystander when it comes to my mental health.

5. Regina Spektor- yes, the singer- has inspired me to write music. I am teaching myself to play piano, and it's going pretty well, if I do say so myself. I'm in the process of adding music to my previously vocals-only songs. The amazing ReSpekt is not the only person responsible for my not-incredibly-sudden foray into the world of music, but she's definitely played a major role. Her music is very unique, and since I first heard a song by her, I've wanted to sound as great as she does (with my own style, of course).

6. Steve Reed gave me discipline. He is, quite possibly, the best damn English teacher the world has ever seen. I mean, this guy means business! Mr. Reed (no nicknames from students for this guy!) is a hardcore disciplinarian, and definitely one to correct your word usage. He's well-known for saying things like, "No, you did not accidentally leave your homework in your locker. You did not trip, fall, and leave it in your locker, did you? No, you mistakenly left it. Now go get it. Do it again and you'll have lunch detention." Everyone in my class had a love-hate relationship with the old man. We loved him and his life lessons (and he could ramble on about some life lessons, let me tell ya), but hated him once we got in trouble. Typical eighth graders. Anyways, the guy made me understand that putting in effort is, you know, a good thing.

7. Mary Frances Rudy has provided me with more cultural experiences than I ever thought possible. With my Mimi, I've been swimming with dolphins and stingrays, met some extremely interesting people (not nearly as interesting as the stingrays, though!), and wandered aimlessly through art galleries on cruise ships. This woman is a piece of work, for sure, but she's also an incredible person. Thanks to her, I've done things many people may never have the chance to do- and I've also learned not to take such things for granted. I squeeze the most I can out of every trip I go on with her, every play I see.

There you have it. Those people have had profound effects on my life in general; I didn't bother listing the obvious (my mum and dad for making it all possible, hehe... oh God, the mental images... ew). I certainly hope you've enjoyed this weird little insight into my world. I've said some things that I haven't really ever told anyone- how odd that the first entity I share them with should be the internet.

This post required quite a bit of soul-searching, let me tell you. I mean, there are tons of people I know have changed me- that wasn't the hard bit. The difficult part was figuring out how they'd changed me. I mean, seriously! You ever tried to think about it?

50 Dire Questions Answered

1. What is your name spelled backwards? kcalB simetrA

2. Where were your parents born? Mom was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Dad was born somewhere in Estonia, I do believe.

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? "True Stories I Made Up" (a comedy album by Daniel Tosh)

4. What's your favorite restaurant? O'Charley's or Applebee's.

5. Last time you swam in a pool? Yesterday.

6. Have you ever been in a school play? Fo sho.

7. How many kids do you want? None.

8. Type of music you dislike most? Opera. I like pretty much everything else.

9. Are you registered to vote? Nope.

10. Do you have cable? My parents do.

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? Don't think so.

12. Ever prank call anybody? Well, duh!

13. Ever get a parking ticket? I don't drive, so no.

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? I would do once- just to be able to honestly say I've done it.

15. Furthest place you ever traveled? Jamaica and the Caiman Islands.

16. Do you have a garden? HA! Me? With plants? Riight.

17. What's your favorite comic strip? xkcd

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Yes.

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? Shower at night- I sleep with my hair in a towel and by morning it's mostly dry, falling in tendrils.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? How to Train Your Dragon.

21. Favorite pizza topping? Black olives.

22. Chips or popcorn? Chips. Plain potato chips.

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? Peachy-pink or candy-pink.

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? Um, no.

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? ZOMGLOL. No.

26. Orange or Apple juice? Orange with no pulp. If there is pulp, then I will take apple.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine? My maternal grandmother and I went to Cancun.

28. Favorite type chocolate bar? That stuff from Trader Joe's. The extra-dark with like 72% more something-or-other.

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? I have yet to.

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? The summer before my parents got divorced. When we grew tomatoes.

31. Have you ever won a trophy? Not that I can remember, but there's always the possibility.

32. Are you a good cook? Average, I think.

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? Yeah, even though I don't drive yet. I got my grandmother to show me how.

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial? No.

35. Sprite or 7-up? Sprite- I do have a small amount of sanity, you know.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? Never had a real job, but if I get hired at Publix like I want, then I'll have to.

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? Tampons, probably.

38. Ever throw up in public? In a public restroom.

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love? Honestly? Being a millionaire. I know, that may make me seem like a heartless bitch, but whatever.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yep.

41. Ever call a 1-900 number? Uh... I don't believe so.

42. Can exes be friends? On occasion.

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? Hmm. I dunno, actually.

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? I don't remember (obviously), but according to my mother, I had "an average baby amount of hair." I don't even know what that means.

45. What message is on your answering machine? It's a recording from peta2 (Silverstein): "Hey! Silverstein here! The person you're trying to reach isn't here right now, so leave a message- and while you're waiting, go to peta2.com!"

46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character? Bon Qui Qui (she was SNL, right?) or that "Can I have yo numba?" guy (was he SNL?).

47. What was the name of your first pet? Yoda. It was my first stepdad's cat. He was fat and mean (the cat, not the stepdad).

48. What is in your purse? A crumpled dollar bill, some coins, cell phone, iPod, camera, few sheets of paper, broken ink pen, working pen, unsharpened pencil, sharpened pencil, graphing calculator.

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? Shower, then text.

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? I'm grateful that I don't have a birth defect (walked a marathon for retarded kids today with Todd).

Songwriting...

It's one really easy way to make things awkward. I think that all songwriters should receive a manual. What would be in this manual, you ask? Well, for starters, it would probably tell you in big, bold letters on the first page- possibly even before the table of contents, right after the publication info page- that you should never, under any circumstances, inform the person about whom the song is written that the song is in fact written about them. Nor should you use their actual name within the song. Either make up a name or omit the whole name problem entirely, adding a term of endearment with the same number of syllables ("babe," "sweetheart," "oh, baby,").

Those would be the kinds of things in the songwriters' manual. It shouldn't be written by Taylor Swift, I believe we can all agree. She tends to break all preconceived rules of songwriting.

Today has most certainly not been a fairy tale, dammit.

I presume you can guess what happened from the above rant.

Ugh. Males suck (no offense intended towards Logan or any of my other precious male followers- you guys can't help the shape of your genitals; it's only natural that we think you suck sometimes).

Torrenting

Just got a whole new batch of music from ThePirateBay.com, including works by:

-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
-Stonecircle
-In Vain
and
-Toby Keith

A bit of a weird selection, but I saw each of them and thought, "Why the hell not?" I hadn't heard of Stonecircle or In Vain before, but they're both pretty good.

Favorite RJA song is "Godspeed." I didn't think it could get much better than "Damn Regret," and "Face Down," but somehow they managed.

In other music news, I absolutely adore the song "Blah Blah Blah" by Ke$ha (ft. 3OH!3). Think you haven't heard of her? Think again. You know that song they're always playing, the one that goes, "'Fore I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, 'cause when I leave for the night, I ain't comin' back,"? She sings that. Ah, now you know who she is.

Yep. Look that up. It's amazing.

Polyvore 'Brand' Filter Working Again

It's all cool again; Polyvore's brand filter is officially working.

I have absolutely no idea what was wrong- maybe it was maintenance? Humph.

Listening to 'Dental Care' by Owl City. It's probably one of the cutest, most amusing songs I have ever had the fortune to hear. And he's right about dentists... damn sadists.