New York

If it were possible to marry a city, I would be married to New York. I'm in love with it. I plan on living there in a few years, and I can't wait. Being there makes me feel like I'm in the center of the universe, exposed to every idea and trend worth being exposed to. I love walking down the street and hearing and seeing people from so many cultures and walks of life. The diversity of New York City is something I think is unparalleled by any other setting. Anyways, I had a BLAST in New York with the fam. I went skating in Central Park,saw Jersey Boys on Broadway, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ate delicious pizza from John's Pizza (No Slices!) as well as the best BLT I've ever had in my life from a Deli somewhere on 8th avenue (I think...). Anyways, I had a blast, although the rest of the fam didn't seem to be having quite the blast as I. My sister was sick and got stuck in the hotel and my parents seemed to be tired. Oh well. New York is kinda my thing. It is my life partner.

Pennsylvania

Christmas was (and is, as I feel I'm still experiencing it) simply wonderful this year. My family stayed at the Inn at Pocono Manor, a beautiful 1902 resort not five minutes from skiing (or in my case, painful attempts at snowboarding) at Camelback. I feel like I've been sucked into the resort world depicted in Dirty Dancing. Although I've seen many kids my age and younger, I've seen no avid texters or Nintendo DS players. Most of the families would congregate together in the many lounges of the hotel, talking and playing games. It was perfect. We drove up on thursday, after driving from Philadelphia and stopping at an adorable art deco diner in Allentown. On the way to the Inn, we passed many turn-of-the-century Summer homes. I told my parents I was going to have one, and they could come visit me in the Summers. They laughed, but I really wasn't kidding.
We ate dinner in the buffet at the hotel restuarant pretty much every night, which was delicious, but didn't vary much. I loved sitting down to a full table setting. It contributed to the being-taken-back-in-time feeling. My grandmother, of course, chatted up the hospitality manger every night, which provided much amusement.

"You don't have to be straight to shoot straight"

I was so ecstatic yesterday to find that the Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy had finally, after seventeen years of ridiculousness, been repealed, with a vote from Congress of 65 to 31 votes. Since, I've observed a resounding elation for the repeal, from the trending topic on twitter to the always enlightening banter on Smart Mouths to the shout out on Maddow blog. I'll be honest; it's made me a teeny bit more optimistic of America's future. :D

Midterms

Winter exams are finally over. I publish so inconsistently on this blog that it makes me laugh that I've had a post on winter exams each year, and that my first post ever was on semester exams (remember, with those pictures I put up of Harvard's primal scream that came up as 100% pornography on my friend's computer? yeah...).
You know, everyone told me that Junior year was gonna be tough, but nobody warned me about Sophomore year. And I think it's been pretty ridiculous. I haven't had the time to read a single book for pleasure since the school year started (I won't make the overly optimistic assumption that anyone actually noticed I haven't made any book review posts in the past six months, but I haven't). The first semester of Sophomore year has been pretty stressful, and I am SO happy that it's finally winter break. I'm a little disappointed with how my first semester has turned out, so I'll definitely be using Winter Break to do some restrategizing for the next semester.
Ah, screw that, I'll be PARTYING IN NYC, LOSERS!!!

Wizard Rock Concert

Got to see a wizard rock concert this weekend. I have to say it was pretty epic. I shared my excitement over this to my french class, and my french teacher was apalled at the concept that people wrote actual MUSIC about HARRY POTTER. She was all "really, Andie, you're willing to share that with the PUBLIC?" and went on to tell us this story about how she used to watch this reality TV show about people who were so obsessed with Jane Austen that they went to go live like the characters of the time period. (I fail to see how this correlates to my wizard rock concert in any way, but whatever)
Anyways, this "concert" was in someone's GRANDMOTHER'S LIVING ROOM. I'm serious. Like, we had to drive around in suburbs until we found this person's address, and her parents and her grandmother were, like, sitting in chairs in the kitchen behind us looking at us like we were, like, freaks, or something (where would they get that idea?)
My friend made this lovely analogy when we were driving there about a "Harry Potter sea". See, normal, non-harry-obsessed people are on land, far away from the sea. People who think they're harry potter fans are on life rafts floating on the top of the sea. My friend and I are hanging on to the life rafts, with our feet dangling in the water. But there are people at in VOLCANIC VENTS at the BOTTOM of this sea, and they're not coming up for air. People like that were at this concert. These kind of people actually are GROUPIES to these wizard rock bands, and like, FOLLOW the bands on their "tours".
A little creepy.
BUT, Justin Finch-Fletcley and the Sugar Quills, and The Whomping Willows were well worth being in the company of these slightly creepy albeit funny-ish-ly lovable people. I've had the "Dumbledore is Gay but that's OK" song stuck in my head ever since, and I was very excited to place my order for a Justin Finch-Fletchley t-shirt. :)
So...Yeah...

Marching Band

Sometimes I resent the very existence of Marching Band. I don't even march, and yet, the grueling three-hour-long rehearsals four times a week plus eleven hour camp days and away football games and competitions that inhibit us from getting home until the early hours of the morning wear down on me. The lack of social life that band members possess between the months of August and early November kills.
The thing is - and if anybody from band or school read this, they'd probably think I'm a freak (who doesn't?) for admitting it - but I can't deny the pride and satisfaction felt at the end of a grueling season. It's the end of the year, you're at the last competition, and you've played the show for the very last time. You know you've just given the performance of your life, and you're so ecstatic that you can't help but smile even when you know you're supposed to look fierce and intimidating. But you have absolutely no idea how anyone else has done. You stand out on the field, not allowed to move a muscle, and they start calling results. Your anxiety grows as the numbers get smaller and smaller. The band could very well have made tenth, but you didn't. Not ninth, either. Or seventh. Or sixth. Or fifth. Or fourth. They call third place, and you don't have to hear the first full syllable to know it's not you. You can't believe you've done this well. Yout start calming yourself down. 'Second', you think, 'second would be so great.' But what you really want is to hear that you've exceeded your wildest miracles, by some miracle beaten out every other band and gotten first. Then, the announcer calls second place. It's not you. You've won. You want to scream and jump and hug every person in the band, every person who has stood out there with you for twenty hours of rehearsal a week, in the heat, in the rain, in the freezing cold. But still, you have to stand still.
When they call first place, you listen carefully, to make damn sure they call your bands' name, and there's not some fluke. And they do.

I've been reading The Feminine Mystique lately (more on that later in the form of a book review), and I have to say it's been making me kind of depressed. I read what this woman wrote in 1963, nearly fifty years ago, and I can't help but see how little we've come since then. It seems as if being allowed to wear pants and allowed to be professionals and allowed to do pretty much anything is enough for women. It's not about being allowed to do things, it's about doing them, and asserting our power and perspective as women in positions of leadership. I truly believe that women posess a kind of intellect and reason that would make them far superior leaders to our male counterparts. Those behavioral characteristics that are inherently feminine - consciousness, nonviolence, maternal instinct - ought to be the traits desired in a political leader, especially in this 21st century, when diplomacy and compromise should be prevailing. No longer do we need leaders with good battle instinct or military strategy. We need leaders who won't be corrupted by power or money, who are working for humanity and morality and not political gain. Now, more than ever, we need women.

Infinitus 2010

I know it's been, like, forever, but I haven't slept in my own bed in almost a month!!! First texas, then girl scout camp, then more texas, then Disney World, and then the Harry Potter Conference!!!! CRAZINESS!!! But it's been so much fun. I have to say that as much fun as the other stuff was, The Harry Potter Conference - Infinitus 2010 - was the highlight of my summer. It felt so good to be surrounded by people who felt just as passionately about the fates of all my favorite characters as I do, where I didn't feel like such a freak to own certain pieces of harry otter merchandise (coughwandcough), where I felt like I was with my KINDRED SOULS!!!! :D

PLUS, I met the Mugglecasters (minus Jamie Lawrence, which made me sad, but STILL) and it was AWESOME. I've never really seen any pictures or video of what any of them look like, so it was rather wierd seeing their voices come out of these strange people's bodies!!! I have to say, Andrew Sims was a lot hotter than I thought he was going to be. ;)

I met a girl named Alia, who I found out is originally from Bahrain and speaks Arabic fluently. (I totally didn't know this until we were in the MuggleCast event and she stood up and told everyone that, because she doesn't have an accent or anything that would give away that she wasn't born here). She loves Dr. Who and her favorite characters were the same as mine - Snape and Dumbledore! :D

The PARK was absolutely amazing. It looks just like you imagine it to be. Hogwarts is absolutely magical and built in force persperctive, so it looks ridiculously massive, when it's really only hugely massive. The butterbeer is delicious. The fake snow on the rooftops is hilarious, especially in contrast with all the people wearing shorts and tank tops (hello, July in Florida? makes it very uncomfortable to be wearing your wizarding robes around the park) I didn't go to the Night of a Thousand Wizards event at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but everyone raved about how awesome it was. The forbidden journey ride was an experience that I don't think I'll forget. The special effects on the ride are really quite brilliant. You really have to look to figure out how everything works. It really seems magical.

Also, before the conference, I hadn't really gotten into Wizard Rock. But the Wizard Rock Classics Night made me a die-hard fan of the Wrock movement. I cannot wait to hear The Moaning Myrtles, The Butterbeer Experience, and The Remus Lupins again!!!

Can't wait for Ascendio 2012!

I don't wanna go to GIRL SCOUT CAMP gee, mom, i wanna go, but they won't lemme go, gee mom, i wanna go HO-O-OME. GIRL SCOUT CAMP

Okay, so it's been super crazy for me lately. I went off to Girl Scout camp on June 13th and haven't had a minute to spare since. The first Girl Scout camp I went to was absolutely amazing. I had such a blast canoeing and hiking and swimming and rappelling and tight-rope walking over their high ropes course. The counselors were so amazing and were clearly enjoying themselves as well. I love any Girl Scout camp, because I love singing girl scout songs and being sweaty and dirty and talking to the five-year-old brownies at meal time, but this camp added a whole new level to my experience. I had such a blast, and me and my sister actually wrote letters to a couple of the counselors after we got back. I think this camp is where I'd like to become a counselor in the future. ANYWAYS, after I got back from camp, I had a jam-packed week hanging out with my friends, going to birthday parties, and packing for the NEXT girl scout camp.
The second girl scout camp was fun, too (I mean, it's Girl Scout camp, HELLO), but I couldn't help comparing it to the first camp, and I have to say, it didn't add up. The camp had severely declined in numbers since the last time I'd been there - there were ELEVEN counselors - and the camp had ZERO returning staff. It was actually really bizarre. The activities were really fun. I got to go wake boarding, knee boarding, tubing, windsurfing, canoeing, and white-water kayaking. But the people and the environment weren't really what I had been hoping for. The whole "community" aspect of going to camp was completely lost.
My mom has pointed out to me that the experiences I had at both camps have helped me figure out what aspects I like about Girl Scout camp and what I need to look for when I pick camps for the future (even though I totally just plan on going back to the first camp, like, every summer from here on out, but whatever).
SO, I had fun, and there's more to come.

3 Willows by Ann Brashares

gets 1 out of 5 stars. It was essentially the same as her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The book cuts between three girls during their summer vacationa as they experience essentially the same issues that Brashares' characters in the Sisterhood do. It was vastly unoriginal and formulaic, which was fine, because sometimes that's what you're in the mood for; just don't expect to remember the book ten years from now. What I am looking forward to from this author is her new book, which came out yesterday, My Name is Memory. It seems to be a historical fiction novel revolving around the concept of reincarnation and past lives. It could be interesting.

Swim Team

I suck at swimming. Theoretically, I know how to do all the strokes, but they never seem to look the way everyone else's do... but my strokes aren't even my main issue. ENDURANCE. THAT'S my issue. I joined a swim team in my old town outside Dallas, and I remember the coaches being like "400 free - go" the very first day, like it was nothing. And it WASN'T for any of the other kids there, but me, I was about to cough up a lung after one lap. I thought these days were long past me once I moved to Tennessee, but I decided to join the neighborhood swim team again this year, and alas, they persist. But what I find exceedingly amusing is that here, I'm NOT the only sucky person on the swim team, AND I'm three years older than I was then!!! On this new swim team, I found a communnity of varying age ranges and abilities, and they have actually created a designated "group" for those of us with, erm, lesser ability. I think it's absolutely terriffic - I think every sport in every town should have a designated league or team or unit especially for non-competitive people - that's what makes for a healthy lifestyle. You don't have to be great at a sport to enjoy it or burn calories from it. You just have to DO it. Yes, America?

Summer Goals

The first week of summer vacation is already gone (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I must say, I have been exceedingly successful in keeping up with my goals:

1. Pewn my little sister at our reading "competition" (I find it vastly amusing that she thinks it's a "competition" at all)

2. Run twice a week so that I can run in the Halloween 5k and pant around in my Harry Potter costume next October, looking like a freak.

3. Update twice a week on this blog (becuase I have been a little... ahem, inconsistent in past posting)

My Summer Reading List

Today, at approximately 2:00 p.m., when senior graduation takes place, summer officially begins (even though we got out of school last friday).

When did "You're so skinny; you look like a stick" become a compliment?

Part of me understands why the fashion industry has come to idolize stick figures. Women were sick of being objectified for their bodies, so the voluptous, curvy form that men were so attracted to became moot, and women with no form at all were introduced, considered to be the new symbol for "women's power." I can understand that. But now we've come to a point where it's us women beating ourselves up about our bodies, not men.

When did this become appealing to us? Who decided that the "ideal" body should contain visible ribs and hip bones???

We don't have to be anorexic to look powerful. To me, a powerful woman is a woman who is strong and curvy and nourished. A powerful woman looks like my beautiful mom, or Marilyn Monroe, or Oprah. Powerful women can be happy with their bodies no matter how sizist the fashion industry gets. Call me a freak (:D) but that's what I believe.

Holy crap, I just realized this!!! RECURRING THEME in my POSTS, MUCH!?!?!?!?!? HELLO, FREAKY

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guys, this book made me cry. I know this seems to happen a lot with the books I review, but seriously. It's so... I guess "ironically prophetic" as my english teacher would say. It kind of depressed me how right-on Ray Bradybury was in guessing where our society was going fifty-seven years ago. Because it's not exactly a happy guess. seeing as it's this futuristic society where people burn books, because they OFFEND people, and it started out because people didn't WANT to read (Sound FAMILIAR, idiots in my sixth period class?)!!! And just the way people would rather watch their plotlesss non-offensive TV shows and listen to their "seashells" (basically earbuds, except Ray Bradbury didn't have those in 1953, he just happened to take a GUESS at their existence - I know, FREAKY - and he had to come up with a name for them) was so true to what I see today, walking through the halls of my school. What's really wierd to me is that I really do think that Ray Bradbury understood what he was saying - I don't think he just took a lucky guess; I think he was really just perceptive enough to anticipate this kind of evolution within our soceity. Ray Bradbury, if you just HAPPEN to SOMEHOW be reading this blog among the billions of other ones that exist at SOMEHOW the right time to come across this post,

YOU ARE A FREAKIN' GENIUS!!

(Oh and please please please don't be mad at me for my improper use of the English language, kaythanks)

Deep Cheese

It's exam time right now, and there's only THREE AND A HALF DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT. Isn't it kind of crazy to believe that my very first post ever on this blog was about exams? Except they were winter exams, and I published a picture of Harvard's Primal Scream that apparently came up as 100% pornography on my friend's website blogger - isn't that lovely? Anyways, It's wierd to believe that my freshman year has completely passed me by, and with only like five posts for the entire school year? Crazy, huh? I keep seeing this quote by Mark Twain, I believe, something like "Twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did." As the year is wrapping up for me right now, and I'm thinking of all the opportunities that I didn't take, this quote is totally striking a tune. I know that fear of taking risks is something all generations as teenagers probably experienced, but to me, this trait seems magnified in our generation, because of the environment in which we are being raised. Experiencing life through escapism is the driver for our society right now, when you think about it. Television, video games, social networking, texting, the internet - all methods of escapism we use to experience things without having to take real-life risks or deal with their real consequences. For so long, people in support of all these forms of technology have claimed that they support and promote our social skills, but aren't they really hindering them?
JUST SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT

They are the trees outside my window - he is the far one - tall and thick with dark foliage, angled branches, and a straight and typical trunk and frame. She is the close one - it curves, drapes and weaves elegantly, pink rosebuds clustered on the ends of its branches, rustling each time the wind blows. It's a foreign shape among the trees in the neighborhood, its curvy,estranged branches looking almost deformed when compared to nearby trees.

I went to a psychologist today... I'm going to get tested this weekend to see if I have a mental disorder. I'm not sure what I think about all of this. I don't know if I should be relieved, glad, sad, or freaked out. If I do have a mental disorder, it means I have a problem and I'll have to take medication and it confirms this underlyng suspicion that I've always had that I am seriously NOT NORMAL. On the otherhand, it gives a reason for my inability to do my homework and my constant procrastination and disorganization and the social awkwardness I'm only starting to overcome. I think it might be relieving to know that there's (sort of) a solution to my problems.