Violence, Rainbows, and Obsidian

Interesting things have been happening this week.
First off, I just rounded out my Yugioh deck! It now contains exactly 60 well-chosen cards. W00T!!
.....Yes, I trade and play yugioh. Why? Because it's the only game that I can play with a certain friend of mine that doesn't involve beating each other with sticks, nerf swords, or our fists. Yes, we actually do that. It's fun, but painful. Which reminds me! The other day this friend and I were talking about drawing styles and he complimented my art (which is a very high honor, seeing as he's insanely good at drawing). I thanked him and complemented his artwork and we lapsed into a happy silence. Then he hit me in the face. I pushed him off the edge of the couch in retaliation.
"You know what I've noticed?" I said, after we stopped hitting each other.
"What?" He asked.
"Whenever we agree upon something or start being nice, we have to hit each other."
He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He said, before I whacked him over the head.

....Bonding through violence and insults for the win!! =D


The best part of today was getting to walk through town with Cooper. We talked about many things, including Good Omens, Comicon, Weird Al, the new book he got: "A Geek's Guide to World Domination". Unfortunately, the writers of said book failed epically(how do I spell this???) in the LOTR department.

"[Gimli's] friendship with Legolas helped reestablish the bond between the Dwarves and Elves of Middle-Earth. In addition to his inclusion  in the Fellowship, Gimli traveled with Bilbo in The Hobbit." - A Geek's Guide to World Domination, page 136

Words cannot describe just how angry this makes me. I started to go into a nerd-rage after Cooper angrily read out the page.
What the frakk, people?? 'Cmon. You have the word 'Geek' on the flippin cover, and yet you can't get an obvious LOTR fact?? Does the title 'Gimli, son of Glóin' mean anything to these people???
Gah. Anyhoo.
Besides this aggravating Tolkien fail, today was pretty awesome. To top it off, Cooper gave me some obsidian! Never have I thought that I'd hear the words "I have a bag of obsidian for you!" in this lifetime.
Awesome.
Thanks for being patient with my nerd-raging and multiple trains of thought, Cooper! =^^=

....Incidentally, if any of you find little pieces of thoughts (usually rainbow and marked with things like 'Doctor Who', 'Discworld', and 'Spirk') lying around the park, or maybe up a tree, could you please return them to me? Just deliver them to the Moon. Preferably the Dark Side. I hate trying to walk all the way over to the post office. It's too bright and the cows look at me funny. =P

Discworld, Epic Step-Moms, and the Art of Retracing One's Steps

I was woken up and taken to the park, where a group was playing Wagner. I sat and read Witches Abroad by Terry Prachett on the grass, letting the music work its way into the story. Just as I was getting into the plot, we got up to go. I put the book in my pocket, gathered most of our stuff, and headed out. After we had walked halfway through the downtown area, I realized that my book had fallen out of my pocket. Holly was really nice about it and helped me retrace my steps several times. When we didn't find it, she even took me to Bart's in the hopes that we could find it. We didn't (Prachett books are kind of hard to come by) but I am extremely grateful that Holly cared so much. I really wasn't expecting that I would be allowed to look.

Geek Day

Okay. Some of you may know that Geek Pride Day was on May 25. I told you that I'd blog about what I did on that day, but I didn't follow through with it. I'm here to make amends.

Geek Pride Day was disappointing for me.
I planned on going to watch MIB III with Dad and Holly, and wearing my towel 24/7.
It was not so.

We ended up going to my great-grandmother's house in Santa Barbra. Don't get me wrong- I love my grandmother and I have many May Twenty-Fifths ahead of me. I was just hoping to do something else on that day.
Anyway, I decided to wear:

• A towel (purple terrycloth with tiny tassels on the ends)
• My Community TShirt (Cooper got it for me)

• My leather wrist bracers (that I made)
• My utility belt (basically a huge multi-pocketed glorified fanny-pack)
• My D20 spiral necklace (also from Cooper)
• My blue lightsaber (hooked on the utility belt)
• 3D glasses (with the lenses popped out)
• My pocket protector (stuck in my back jeans pocket. I made it for the occasion. It's made of watercolor paper and silver duck tape, and it has "Good Omens" in red letters taped to it. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the front flap on it... Fail.) in which I put:
• A HB 2 wooden pencil
• A ballpoint pen
• A purple and black mechanical pencil
• A Pivot Precise V5 Rolling Ball pen, size: "fine."
• A little phillips screwdriver (with a purple-tinted transparent plastic handle)

I must add that my grandmother (my Dad's mother. Not my great-grandmother) was being cold to us since the day before. I think that it may have to do with Holly's pregnancy. She likes Holly, and she's very happy about the baby. She was even nice to us! Just as I was getting used to her being nice, she mentioned that our great-grandmother might be offended that Holly and Dad didn't get married before having a kid. She seemed really weird about the whole thing, and was convinced that my great-grandma wouldn't be okay with it. Dad called his grandma and told her and she was happy for them. My grandma, on the other hand, stayed strange for the whole day.

Anyway, as soon as I walked in to my great-grandmother's house, grandma gave me the cold shoulder.

"Great." I thought. She's being weird again.

After a while, my great-grandmother asked me if I was wearing glasses. I explained that there are 3D projectors now and that you have to wear special glasses and that I took them home then popped out the lenses. Then I explained why I was wearing such strange things. She was surprised to hear about the 3D movies, but she was okay with my costume.

We left for a restaurant after a few minuets. On the way out the door, my grandma stopped me. She approached me in that predatory way of hers: leaning forward, hands behind the back, face drawn in a portrait of lurking disappointment, and eyes shining darkly like a hawk's.

"Don't wear your towel to the restaurant." She said, eyes drilling into mine.

"Oh. Um, I think I'm going to. It's clean." I said. I was in full Hitchhiker mode and I wasn't going to relinquish my towel any time soon.

"Why?" She asked, menace growing in her voice.

"Because you have to know where your towel is." I replied, quoting from HHG2TG.

"Leave the towel." She demanded.

"Uh, I'm with them." I said, gesturing to Holly and Dad, who were standing right behind her. Dad carefully looked away and moved past us.

"Rahel, why are you wearing a towel?" She asked, taking a step closer. I leaned back.

"Because I am celebrating a holiday specific to my subculture." I said, standing straighter and looking her in the eye.

"Don't embarrass your grandmother." She said, referring to my great-grandmother. "Leave the towel."

With that, she slowly moved away.

With great reluctance, I took of my towel and laid it on a chair. It was one of the most difficult things that I had ever done. I had been wearing that towel all day. It was one of the first rules as a Hitchhiker.

I got my subtle revenge on the way to the parking lot though. When everyone was filed out, I said "Huh. I thought that the towel was the most normal thing I wore today. I mean, look! I have a pocket protector... A D20 necklace... A LIGHTSABER..."

To her extreme embarrassment, everyone laughed and agreed.

When we got out of the restaurant, the wind was moving like a freight train and I only had 2 shirts. It was FREEZING. I hadn't brought a sweater, jacket, cape, or any protective material of the like because  I was counting on my towel to protect me.

My teeth were chattering uncontrollably when we all got into the car.

When we came back, my towel was still there, unharmed although slightly crumpled. Thank the gods. I put it on and wore it for the rest of the day. I even slept with it to make sure that I had it near me until 12:00 AM.

HAPPY PAST GEEK DAY, EVERYONE!!

Well, that's my account of Geek Pride Day! If any of you did anything, PLEASE post it in the comments! We all want to know what you did! Don't be shy. I don't bite.

.....Much.


PS!! I might just re-dress in my Geek Getup and take pics sometime soon! We shall see. =^.~

I Finished Good Omens!

I finished Good Omens.
I finished Good Omens.
I FINISHED GOOD OMENS.

.....Dear Goddess, what have I done?


I am about to loose it.

I FINISHED IT!!!!!!!!!
THE ONLY BOOK THAT MY TWO FAVORITE AUTHORS WROTE TOGETHER!!

...And it's over. It's all over.
I know what happens.
I know what takes place.
I know what transpires.
It's no longer a mystery.
I love it so much, but I can't re-read it for at least a few months.....

*sigh.*

The good news is that... <spoilers><!-- This kind of gives away the whole book. Highlight the blank spot to see them anyway-BUT ONLY IF YOU'VE READ THE BOOK FIRST. (Cooper! I see you. Don't you dare...) -->...no one died!! Sure, there was that office full of telemarketers. And that mailman. And those whalers. Heh, that kraken totally PWNED them. But other then that? All my beloved characters!! THEY LIVED!! Huzzah!!! I LOVE YOU NEIL AND TERRY!!!!</spoilers>

...Phew. Anyhoo, although I am terribly sad that it's over (and that it was slightly anti-climactic), I am so glad that I read it. I feel so much better. =^^=

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T READ IT:
GO BUY IT. RIGHT NOW. EVEN IF YOU CAN BARELY AFFORD IT. IT IS INEFFABLY AMAZING. It puts a whole new spin on religion, life, the universe, and everything. It's basically up there with 42.


...Go on! SHOO!!!

STAR testing, Asterisks, Technology, HTML5, Kids These Days, and Teleportation

I took the California's English Language Arts STAR test for 10nth grade today.
It was so easy.
I must ask. Do people actually not pass this? I don't think that it's based on a bell-curve...

Besides feeling quite secure about acing the test, I had quite a laugh. One of the short essays we had to read then use to answer questions was a speech by Bill Gates. (or maybe it was a written announcement. I'm not actually sure.) As much as I'm unsure of Bill Gates*, it was a very funny and motivational speech. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something about the food chain and how glad he was to be in this day and age (where he wouldn't be eaten by beasts). This speech was then followed up by this dude griping about kids these days, technology, and people's dependence upon gadgets. Although I do think that technology should be handled carefully**, I giggled while reading the whole thing. It was just too funny! I could just picture an old man furiously writing the thing, frowning and shaking his head.
Anyhoo, it made me remember the dream I had last night. In my dream, I was standing outside of the Ojai Library with some people I know around me. I'm pretty sure that some of my close friends were there too, but I wasn't paying attention. I was working on a website using HTML5. On a chalk board.
That's right. I was standing there and working out a website by hand. I remember stepping back, a blissfully maniac grin on my face, and telling everyone who would listen "It's done! What a great site. Look at that! I figured out how to work divs. Isn't it beautiful? What an amazing site. And it's finally finished... Now I need to get to a computer. The world needs to see this!" I don't quite remember what the website was for, but I remember the pride I felt when making it. It was mine. My child. My creation.
And I did it in 'real life.'
I just thought that was cool.

You know, something very similar happened to me in a dream months back.
I had just read a ton of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. (From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) I was at the part where Ford had just found a teleporter on a ship (that they were stuck in. And that was about to blow up.) and they were trying to make it work. Just as I drifted off, I tried to picture the teleporter. It looked like this:

Except that it was 3D, the font was beautiful and curving, and that it glowed. (And yes, the dotted and dashed purple lines are supposed to be glowing. Sue me.)
Anyway, all you had to do was jump into the string of words and you could take off....

I thought that this was pretty awesome. =)

PS!! Okay. Why the asterisks, I'm sure you want to ask? I just finished Good Omens. IT WAS AMAZING. So amazing in fact, that I'm going to write another post about it RIGHT NOW. =D

_____________________________
*Okay, Windows lovers. Sorry to crush your dreams, but I'm not a Gates fan. Windows just isn't my operating system. If you like it, then that's fine... I'll just stick to Linux though. =^^=


**Seen the Matrix? I have. Lemme tell you: I am waiting for the machines to strike. Or us. Whoever lands the first blow.