What I'm... No. 14

Here's another list of what I've been doing.

Reading:

Books:

Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood

This book of short stories really explores the realities of the life of a modern woman, and how that outlook changes over the course of a life.

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie explores the reality of being a Nigerian American, of the people who live in two worlds. She explores the complexities that arise when a person is torn between their two worlds.

100 Years of the Best American Short Stories edited by Lorrie Moore and Heidi Pitlor

The coolest thing about this book is that you can see how American literature has evolved over the past century.

The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

This was a great book about the nature of string theory, which really makes me happy! It was engaging and interesting, and very understandable.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

This book was amazing! It was so cerebral and crazy. I love the whole idea of an apocalypse coming about like this. The whole story is also a parable about the perils of the god complex.

Listening:

Music:

Paramore

I love Paramore. Hard Times is amazing, and I think that they have just been generally amazing lately.

Fall Out Boy

Champions is great, but Pete could have used some advice on how to choose an outfit. Also, the more I hear Young and Menace, the more I love it.

All Time Low

Last Young Renegade is really nice, and I just think All Time Low is a solid band.

Ed Sheeran

You may have heard about my love for Ed Sheeran. It hasn't gone anywhere.

Walk the Moon

I LOVE WALK THE MOON!

Watching:

Movies:

Forrest Gump

This movie was hilarious and amazing. I really liked it.

TV:

The Flash

The season finale destroyed my emotions. I love this show!

Arrow

I have not been watching much Arrow, but what I have seen, I have liked.

Doctor Who

I am absolutely loving the new season of Doctor Who! I think it is one of the best in a while! They definitely foud Twelve's ideal zone, and Bill is amazing. And Missy! Not even to mention the surprise appearance in the latest episode...

Class

Class was good, but I feel like it was a bit rushed with the romances and whatnot. They needed more than eight episodes.

Star Trek: The Original Series

I love Star Trek. I have been watching the original series, and it combines amazing stories with laughable special effects.

Torchwood

I am actually watching Torchwood right now. It is very good, and super weird. I don't know if I agree with all their decisions.

YouTube:

vlogbrothers

I must say I am quite excited right now! JOHN WROTE A BOOK! Plus, it is a funny physics joke and a pun on Yurtle the Turtle. Also, they are both just awesome.

Dan & Phil

I love Dand and Phil. And I have just rewatched the baking videos, which makes me love them more.

Geek & Sundry

I love Geek & Sundry. I am currently watching Critical Role (which is the best ever), TableTop (which is super funny, especially when Wil fails), Spellslingers (which I finished), Titansgrave (which is better than amazing), and Escape (which is epically hilarious).

Crash Course

I am currently watching Astronomy, World History 2, Physics, Philosophy, Literature, Mythology, Intellectual Property, Sociology, Film History, and Big History. I love all of them.

Girl Meets Pixels

This my favorite Sims channel. I love it so much. It is just amazing.

Rosianna Halse Rojas

Rosianna is amazing. I love her videos. She is really honest and funny, just telling the truth the way she sees it.

Mary Kate Wiles

I love Mary Kate Wiles. She is just awesome. I especially recommend Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party.

And that's all for right now!

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Chorus of the Day!

Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels

I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills

And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf

No farewell

So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself

Last Chorus of the Day:

Iscariot by Walk the Moon

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La! ~SCP

What I've Been Working On

Recently, I have been writing, and this is just the prologue of what I've written so far. I don't know if I will finish it, but I will share this tiny piece with you. If you want to see the short story I wrote that somewhat inspired this story, you can find it here. I hope you like it!
Prologue: Callina
Bumper up against the Line, I am waiting, impatiently, for something to happen. This is the third time this week I’ve been waiting. Mazelda will be upset. But I know there is something out there, something beyond the lines of this town. I’ve seen people moving outside, once or twice, in the dim light before dawn. The record player scratches out its lonely tune on the passenger seat, and I am left to write in the notebook Mum left for me.
Sometimes you wait forever. Sometimes you don’t wait at all.
The car seems smaller today, more confined. I am closed in, weighed down, by my hopes and dreams, instead of set free my them. People have told me that dreams free you from the tedium of your life. For me, all they do is remind me how stuck I am. Fire drips down my fingertips.
Luckily, the notebook is fireproof, but I am pulled out of my melancholy by the flaming napkins on the center console.
“Who will you love when I am gone?” the record player wails, and I remove the needle. I have enough desperation without the songs’ help.
I climb into the back, already prepared for sleep. The mattress, nestled in between boxes and bins of my possessions, invites me to sleep, to spend time with my dreams for once. What will I believe tonight?
~
I start awake, afraid of the very air. Something moved—at the front of the car. The only thing at the front of the car is the Line. Nothing inside can move past the Line, so the sound must have come from outside. Outside is dangerous. I sit up, slowly and quietly, barely moving in the darkness. I reach across the center console and remove the clock covering. It is 3 in the morning. I kneel on the mattress, looking outside calmly, not daring to let in any more light. The back window shades are drawn, covered completely, but I am not concerned with them, only with the view from the windshield.
There is a man out there. I can’t make out any details of his face, but I can tell that he cannot see me. He isn’t wondering about the car; he is pushing on the barrier, trying to pass the Line. He must have walked into it. Now he is confused. But he is searching, which means he will eventually find the single imperfection, the one that I have positioned the car directly in front of. He will be able to enter, and those that enter are dangerous when they find that there is no way back.
I turn away from the windshield, pulling a sweatshirt over my tank top and shorts. I grab my black flip-flops and climb back into the driver’s compartment. As the man fumbles outside, I slip the record player back into its protective case in the passenger footwell and twist the key in the ignition. The engine turns over. No dice.
I twist the key again as his hands fumble toward the imperfection. The engine coughs to life. He stops. Now I know—they can hear through the barrier, at least some.
I slowly back up, cruising the car down the road a few feet. Stop, get out, leave the door open, and start a fire burning in my palm. I have found that people tend to run when random balls of fire shoot at them out of nowhere. He backed up when the car started, but he has moved forward again now, even more curious than before. His hand strays toward the imperfection.
I press my hand against the barrier and fire plumes out toward his face. He jumps back. I step back. We wait. He moves forward, I shoot fire again. He jumps back. We wait. He takes a step forward, then runs away from the Line. I return to the car.
Now that this has happened, I can’t sleep. Laying on the mattress, looking at the ceiling, wondering who he was. I pull the record player back out and listen to classical as I search desperately for the peace that enveloped me an hour before. I am afraid to sleep. He might come back. He might bring the police. Someone brought police, years ago, and they camped out at the Line for months. That was years ago, but someone must remember. What would outsiders think? As I ponder, I slip back into sleep.
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Chorus of the Day!

That's what you want, but it's not what you're asking for
I said that's what you're asking, but you're gonna get more than you bargained for
I said that's what you had, but you don't have it any more
You had it coming

Last Chorus of the Day:
Young and Menace by Fall Out Boy

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La! ~SCP

Sunday

Today was a fairly easy day. I watched Critical Role and Crash Course. I had to go and play at Baccalaureate at one, but that was fun because I got to see all of my orchestra friends. Also, I read some short stories, and we watched the last two episodes of Class. I'm sorry that my life isn't terribly interesting, but it has been fun for me to record what my days have been for the past week.
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Chorus of the Day!

Oops I, did it again, I
Forgot what I was losing my mind about
I only wrote this down to make you press rewind
And send a message, "I was young and a menace"

Last Chorus of the Day:
Aquaman by Walk the Moon

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La! ~SCP

Saturday

So, today I did basically nothing. I woke up, ate some bagels, watched Critical Role and played the Sims. Then, I played Trekking the National Parks with my family. Then, more Critical Role. We had tacos for dinner and watched the Season 3 finale of the Flash (which was amazing) and the latest episode of Doctor Who (which was also amazing). Then, more Critical Role and now a blog post, meditating and sleep. Also, I finished a book of short stories and started another.
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Chorus of the Day!

So here we go head first, no regrets and no rules

We can stay as long as we want

Slow dancing in the darkness

And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on

Last Chorus of the Day:
White Noise by PVRIS

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La! ~SCP

Friday

Today I had a campus visit at Western Michigan University. I woke up, got ready, and went out to breakfast with my parents. Then, Mom and I drove to Kalamazoo. We had a nice talk, and got to the university just a tiny bit late. Freshman orientation was happening at the same time, so we got a teensy bit lost. The visit was nice, but I don't really intend on going there. I want to go to a smaller school, probably a private liberal arts college. After the visit, we went to Payless Shoe Source because Mom had broken her shoes. Then we went to Biggby. After that, we headed over to Barnes & Noble, where I bought poetry books and read and had a great time. Then, we went to Costco to look at phones, but not buy any. Then we came home, I played Magic with J and Mom, I played the Sims and watched Critical Role, and then we all watched Doctor Who. Then I watched more Critical Role and played more Sims. Then meditated and wrote this post.
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Chorus of the Day!

I'm watching
I'm waiting
I'm aching
Suffocating
I'm breathing
I'm speaking
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming for you

Last Chorus of the Day:
Mr. Brightside by The Killers

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La! ~SCP

Thursday

I went to school again today. Started out in orchestra, where we talked about music history and then played Sine Nomine. Next was Latin, where we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is an amazingly hilarious movie. After that, we had GO Time, which is like a study hall/extra help kind of thing that happens once a week. I went to Wind-Up for our first 2017-18 editor meeting. In Calculus, we joined the AP Stats class because Mr. M went to grade AP tests—and we watched High School Musical. At lunch, K told us all about crocodiles versus alligators. Then, I went to Wind-Up and S and I set up some copy editor materials. Next, I went and talked to Mrs. H about those copy editor materials. Then, on to Physics where my test was much more successful than last time. I went home, grabbed my cello, and headed out to a cello lesson with Mr. C, where I did not cry, although I came close. I went home and changed and went to dance, then to my little sister's fifth grade musical: the last musical my family will go to at the elementary school. Then we got Dairy Queen and came home. I played some Sims and watched Titansgrave, worked on an article for the Wind-Up, wrote this post, meditated, and went to bed.
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Chorus of the Day!

I just can't look, it's killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

Last Chorus of the Day:
Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

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La! ~SCP