This is just going to be a big long rant, so I may disable comments just to avoid drama (not that anyone actually reads this, but oh well).

1) No points for me for March Music Madness, today. Le sigh. (The first two times I was too slow, and the last one I had never heard EVER. D:<)

2) Is it so much to ask for a little courtesy? I know it's not always feasible, but a little "hey, I won't be around for the next 3 hours so don't waste your time waiting around for me in the meantime" would be nice. If it weren't a regular occurrence I don't think I'd be so pissed about it, but come on. We go through this almost every day. I'm going to stop waiting at all and then we'll have a total 2 hrs a day. Is that what you want? At least I let you know in advance if there's even a chance I might be gone... I'm just asking you do the same.

3) Slash. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE AND TAKING HETEROSEXUAL CHARACTERS AND THROWING THEM TOGETHER IN UNBELIEVABLY GAY RELATIONSHIPS THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. I hate Rule 34. Seriously... First Aragorn x Legolas crap and now Tharkay x Laurence?! WTF??

4) What ever happened to the quiet time in my life? I've been overwhelmed lately with "let's do this!" and "let's do that!" and MAYBE I JUST WANT TO SIT AT MY COMPUTER AND WASTE TIME or READ. I don't have to spend every day in your company, nor does being in your company automatically mean that a) we will go anywhere, b) that we will watch TV (something you enjoy far more than I), or c) spend money. I enjoy shopping as much as the next girl but constant trips to Walmart or the mall... well, they're getting old. You're also inconsiderate and demanding, and physically injure people when you don't get your way (kicking for chocolate, anyone?). Last I checked, people don't like that. And the constant mooching? It wouldn't be so bad if maybe you reciprocated once in a while, but you never do. Enjoy your rice-- I'll be learning about Jesus and having fun with my quieter, less-abusive friends.

5) Boy issues. Can I just be with someone so I have to stop all this mad guessing?

...

Yeah, I'm running out of anger now... I'm sure I have more stuff to go on about but I just don't care enough to type this anymore.

People make me angry.
The end.

I haven't been here in a while. It's... wow. It kinda brings back old memories.

Maybe I'll get more into it now...? ...Yeah, I doubt it. But at least I can follow naominovik : Naomi Novik. :D Only one of the coolest authors IN. THE. WORLD.

If you like dragon stories... READ TEMERAIRE. D:< (In fact, you can download the first book, His Majesty's Dragon, for free here.

So, I haven't been here in a while. I don't know if anyone reads this or not, but I just feel the need to say something. I'm a little fired up over a letter that was posted in the Dundee Independent... Let me tell you, I was just... astounded at the intellect this man seemed to possess.

SURELY THE STUPIDITY OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC KNOWS NO BOUNDS.

Anyway, he was calling for all the denominations of churches in Dundee to let go of their "petty doctrine," I believe it was, to stop attempting to just "get more bodies in the church," and to come together and "save the city."

Laughable, really... and yet sad. If my younger brother can figure out why this is so off-base, why can't a seemingly well-educated adult?

I would just like you all to keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers. He fell while we were playing dodgeball last night, and he hit his head on the floor and knocked himself out. The cat scan came back fine, so they sent him home with us on the condition that we wake him up every two hours... But my family and I would really appreciate your prayer in this.

Thanks in advance.

I don't believe I have ever been so affected by a book in my entire life.

Here it is, nearly an hour after finishing it, and I can't shake that terrible urge to (continue to) bawl my eyes out.

I will say this: While I loved the book, I don't ever think I'll get over who died and who didn't. Darn you, JK, for breaking my heart. However, it was excellently written, and I understand that even the good die. I have always known that. I just prayed you wouldn't succumb to it's angsty temptations. *sigh* Aah, JK... I don't think I can ever forgive you. Move on, yes. Praise you, certainly. But forgive you? I think not.

Kudos to you, for keeping me guessing at every turn of the pages.

If you haven't read Deathly Hallows yet, GO DO IT NOW. Or I'll Imperius you and make you do it anyway. T_T

So, Mo's doing quite a bit better- he can walk now, albeit with a little difficulty... Hopefully these steroids will help him recover. Please continue to pray for him; we really appreciate it!

In other news, I played dodgeball at my church last night with a bunch of... church people. XD It was really fun, even if I came back sore (not because I got hit, but because I used muscles I hadn't moved in a while XD), and then was wired for the rest of the night because my dad treated me to a 440z Mountain Dew slushy. Mmmmm, slushy... It was awesome. :D So if you're in the Dundee area and are bored in two weeks, come join us Friday at 7 for some ball-slinging fun. XD

Anyway, I was also wired because my buddy Tori and I went to our local Kroger and bought a copy of HP and the Deathly Hallows. Yay for Court x Tori time. XD It was hilarious. Believe it or not, we were the first ones there! I guess no one thinks to go somewhere that's NOT a bookstore. ;)

I'm a little irritated, though. Granted, it wasn't really out of the way or a great hardship on my part, but I was the one that bought the family copy last night at midnight. I left it on the table last night when I went to bed, and woke up this morning to find my sister already reading it. Now, I think that's a little unfair. She's read every single one of them before me (with the exception of the first two, but that was only because we didn't get into them until the third was on its way to the presses). It's really not a big deal, because I know she'll be done with it fairly quickly, but come on-- I'm the one who bought it. I think I should have first dibs. >.< Growl.

Oh well. *sigh* At least this gives me a chance to finish Scar Night (Alan Campbell) and then reread the 6th. I'm sorry, but HBP just didn't hold my attention like the others, so I forgot a lot of stuff, like "R.A.B" and the horcruxes and Professor Slughorn. W00t for the "DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" line. Loved that, for whatever reason. XD

PS: The 5th movie was decent. Still not a big fan, too many flaws to enjoy if you're a book purist, but stand alone it was alright. Should've had more of Sirius (especially the end-- ya'll know what I'm talking about), and where was emo Harry? T_T Pshaw. Oh well. Soundtracks still rock. Remind me to put those on my wishlist...

So, unknown to me, while I was at Cedar Point yesterday with my friends, my dog started having problems with his back leg. It has since spread to his whole back end, and poor Mo is, well, practically paralyzed from the waist (do dogs technically have waists?) down. My parents just took him to the vet, but I stayed here (at home) to watch my little brother and his friend. *sigh* So if you guys would, please pray for my dog.

We've only had him for a short while- we adopted him from a family who loved him very much and (unfortunately) had to give him up. He's such a sweetheart (even if he is hard-headed), and I love him to death. He's older, so it was only a matter of time before he started having problems, but this is really scaring me. I don't want to have to put him down, and I'm afraid it may come to that...

Pray that it doesn't. T_T

-----------------------

UPDATE: So, apparently, it does come down to that. He's a dachshund, and slipped a disc in his back, or something like that. They have him on steroids, but if the steroids don't work, then... bye bye Mo. We just can't afford to pay thousands of dollars for the surgery he would need. So please pray for my doggie... T_T

So, I'm back! XD It's taken me long enough to get on here and explain the rest of the vacation, so... Here goes nothin'.

The next couple days were fairly uneventful. We went to Virginia Beach on Thursday, and it's really pretty down there... The strip right in front of it is really annoying, though... Too many souvenir shops. Gosh, I wanted to throw something through their windows! XD But I did get a schweet pink hoodie, so I'll have one more defense against the cold come school time again.

I was kinda mad when we go there, though. Mom had forgotten to pack my swimsuit in the bag before we left the room, so I couldn't swim in the ocean... T_T BUT I sat down in the sand and dunked my feet in and just watched it, and that was enough for me... Then we saw dolphins!! ^___^ So that made me feel better. Yayness! (I'm such a water baby. I keep begging Mom and Dad to take us to Lake Michigan because it is GORGEOUS over there... I could literally spend days there just sitting at the edge, watching the waves come in and listening to... everything. *dreamy sigh*)

So anyway, we took off Friday morning and decided to take a detour. Now, this is where it really gets interesting. ^^; We used to live near D.C., and the traffic around there is ridiculous, so we thought it might be cool to skip out on the traffic and drive through the town that I practically grew up in (this would be Round Hill, VA, for those of you who don't know me well). So... no sooner do we get to the city limits, but we here this gun shot sound. I duck. Glass goes everywhere.

Lo and behold, there is a TREE LIMB through our windshield. Of course, I was sitting in the seat where it came through, so there are ants and bits of tree bark and glass shards and all this crap EVERYWHERE. o_O;; My mom's poor Acadia... T_T We'd had the car for, like, a month? So we had to duct tape-and-Plexiglas it, and then drive it home like that because we couldn't get it fixed where we were. What a trip...

Here are some pictures of the damage: the hole through the windshield, the dent in the hood, glass in the car, and broken headlight. ^^;
Windshield
Windshield again
Where I was sitting
The headlight and hood

Thank God we were able to make it home, and all in one piece (besides the car XD). I only had a scratch on my cheek and neck, and I had the brunt of the force there. The car is now fixed (a week or so later) and everything's covered. So... yay. :D

I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting to write about, but I'll hit it up later. I'm lazy.

So, here I am on vacation, the first real chance I’ve had to be on the computer, and the internet’s down.

This… well, it makes me mad. Stupid network… This always seems to happen. No lie- this whole vacation has been a bunch of mishaps. Don’t get me wrong- I’m having a blast!- but everything keeps going wrong. It’s… rather annoying. Food late at restaurants, air conditioning in the BRAND NEW CAR shot, rec center closing early, network down, traffic is the pits, rides down at Busch Gardens, Water Country a bust… And yet it’s been fun.

Nick, Travis, and Jory are just great to be around. I love those guys to death, and it makes me sad that they won’t be going to school together this next year. I’ve got all sorts of stories and quotes that I’m going to try to write down so I won’t forget them. How fun…

Then there’s Tom and Autumn. Sometimes they make me jealous, and sometimes they’re so cute that it just makes you sick, but they’re so great together. He’s a sweetheart, and Autumn just plays off him so well. I’m glad he could come. It’s really brightened a lot of what’s going on around here.

So, I guess while I’m sitting here, waiting for the network to be repaired or… whatever, I suppose I can rant about my trip so far.

The actual car ride wasn’t bad. It’s about a 10hr trip, so when it took us 12 (considering all the construction, ridiculous D.C. traffic, and stopping to eat- twice), we were all really happy. Believe it or not, I didn’t do anything the whole trip. I talked to my mom and the others (Autumn, Tom, and Shawn) the whole time. I mean, I packed this ridiculous 2-ton backpack with my sketchbook, notebook, 2 gameboys, 3 books, 96-CD case, CD player, and hand-held Sudoku game, and I used none of it! I even took a pillow so I could sleep, and I didn’t. How weird.

Busch Gardens was great. I mean, it was hot, and we were tired, and sure, there are only 5 coasters (compared to Cedar Point’s whopping 17), but it was fun. I hung out with the boys, mostly, rode all 5 rollercoasters (got a headache on one- the Loch Ness is rough! XD But I still like it), and… yeah. It was fun.

BTW. The Griffon- BEST RIDE THERE. 205 ft 90-degree drop, 75 mph, G-force of, like… 4, I think it is… Crazyness. Not to mention a hang time of about 3 seconds right before that first drop. I mean, you just get to look down that drop for three seconds. It’s nuts! Travis was totally freaking out. Jory was totally gung-ho about it, and Nick and I were that excited-nervous. It was pretty cool.

Water Country USA was, as I said, a bust. Best part? The lazy river thing (Hubba Bubba Highway, I think they called it?). The wave pool was alright, but the waves weren’t high enough. We rode two slides: the first one (Meltdown?) sucked. It was too… bland. The second one- the Aquazoid- was awesome, though. In the dark. I rode it with my parents, and guess what! I went down backwards. The whole ride. So that was interesting. Worth it, though. But then again… the highlight was probably being in the wave pool and sitting in the shallows, waiting for the waves to hit you in the face. Shawn and I did that for… well, probably 10 minutes or so. We were laughing so hard, we couldn’t stand up. But we all got bored pretty quickly, and so we left early.

Ah ha! The internet’s back up! Yaaaay!! *hops on PZ and such*

So yesterday, we went back to Busch Gardens to see the Irish dance show (not as good as the first program I saw, but still nice), and then do some shopping. It was a bit slow-going, and definitely still hot, but worth it. I got another draggy to add to my collection….! I also got a t-shirt, necklace with a shamrock from Ireland in it, and a little cup/goblet/stein thing. I’ll probably put a candle in it. :D

So here we are, waiting for the A/C in Mom’s car to get fixed. Looks like we can pick it up after 2 today, so… yay. Now that the internet’s working, I haven’t much else to say. Look for more updates soon!

So… Just a heads up to all of you. Most of you know by now, but just a reminder- I’ll be in Williamsburg (or in the car to/from) from the 15th to the 22nd of June. I will have my laptop, and will check that when I can. I will also have my cell phone. If you need ANYTHING, don’t hesitate to call me. I just might be a little delayed in responding. You all know my number, and if you don’t, either ask me before we leave tomorrow morning (XD) or ask someone who has it. I’m going to miss you all terribly, so please, call me. :P By the way… we totally have to do something when I get back.

On another note… special thanks to a few people who have been my angsting buddies lately. I’ve been down about one thing or another, and the drama that seems to be developing, and…. Well, thanks for helping me through my emo-moments. I am by no means cured, but you guys definitely helped. I love you.

You know who you are.