New

In this humbum life that I call my own, very little new stuff happens. Every once in a while, a few insignificant and meaningless changes crop up, and this post is concerned with those changes.

First of all, my new hair. Well, technically it is the same old hair that I had before, I didn't grow a new crop of new hair, (thought I guess it might all be new hair I've grown since the last picture of myself I have posted...) but rather my hair is now cut differently. I present to you the hair cut that I have been told makes me look younger, older, edgier, and more sophisticated.

I spent like seven minutes making it so the pictures would be side by side.

New term of college. As a finish up a term of college where I was nearly driven insane by Math101, (because it was ridiculously easy but I had to take it because everyone has to take it.) (This is weird, everything I write now is highlighted. It doesn't show up like that in the actual post, but it is doing it to me in the writing stage.) For the first time since I started college I am actually taking more than one class per term that deals with actual accounting.

New season of Korra. Book 4: Balance. I am both excited and a little said. Also somewhat confused. At the present time I am on a search for way there was a year between each Korra season, but the 4th one comes only three months after the end of the 3rd one. (The irony here is that there is only a few months time between each season  in the show's time, but three years pass between season 3 and 4.)

 

 

And last but not least there is coming a new NaNoWriMo. A vaguely Victorian/steampunk theme this year. As soon as they clear them from last year and put all this year's stuff up I will bet hitting the forums in my free time and working on my novel's outline this month.

Very Exciting News

The first of today's very exciting news concerns my family. My sister Megan had a successful delivery of Elizabeth Faith Hafle on Thursday of last week. (Yea, I know, it's been like, a full week. Don't judge. It may take me a while but I get there.)

 

(I stole this picture from Megan off of Facebook. I hope you don't mind. If you do send my a very bitter and judging message.)

 

Second order of exciting news. My book Cycle is now available for sale. You can purchase it at Amazon, or the CreateSpace e-store at this ULR https://www.createspace.com/4626634. If you get it off of Amazon you'll get to it more easily if you search for it under my name, (author name) Alex Quillian, than under Cycle. There are a lot of books out there that have the word "Cycle" in the title. (As cool as the amazon page is, get them at the direct URL if you could. Totally selfish request. I get higher royalties that way.)

 

 

See, it's all official. You can even look inside of it.

 

Third, last, but not least. Dave's Killer Bread is here, in Tennessee! All the way from Oregon I have missed your delightful, rich, wheaty taste. I have longed, and longed for bread this tasty ever since moving down here. They don't really believe in wheat bread down here. Even the wheat bread was white.

 

 

Failures

I have to important failures to discuss today. My first being, my failure to A Thousand Days. Starting in June, I just sort of stopped. I fell out of the habit, and well, never started it up again. A part of me is really upset for doing this, I was over half way done, after all.



Well, for any of you still following, my life is the same, pretty much. My oldest sister is having another baby, my second oldest sister got a new car because her old on kept breaking, and I am in a different semester of school. Same job, same basic interests. Same lame social life. I have accounts on a couple different social media sights, but due to the fact I never do anything I never post. In essence I am living the same monotonous unchanging life that makes for a rather lack luster lif

e on the internet. Maybe I should join Tumblr. Oddly it seems it is those kinds of people who become popular there.

 

On to other failures and potentially exciting news, I am attempting to make it so my book Cycle can be purchased. I am following the steps with CreateSpace, and it mat be available for purchase within the next couple weeks. It might already be available if not for one small thing.

 

The cover was monstrous.

 

When I was done with all of the steps and such, I sent in this picture to be the cover.

 

 

And this is what I got. More or less.





 

So I have reworked the cover to be lighter. I also chose a different picture that would not be as prone to being made dark and dusky I figured I would give it one more go. I don't have the money to keep ordering $7 dollar proofs indefinitely. It mat not seem like much, but this is the third proof. If I like this third cover, I will publish it through as many channels as CreateSpace offers, and maybe look into getting stalls for events, and junk like that. More as it comes up, which it probably won't.

 

Also check out this cool T.A.R.D.I.S. thumb drive I got.

 

 

The Pros and Cons of a Big House

As you all should know my family is basically all moved into our new house, (new for us anyway.) It is a lovely home tucked away into a beautiful neighborhood in the center of Columbia Tennessee. It is comprised of bits and parts from several generations of building, most of it old and vintage looking, with random modern parts stuck into it.  

The house is also big.

Like huge, at least compared to the old house. The Bend house wasn't small, per say, but small for seven, eight people to live in. While someone still has to share a room in this new house, each room is just...bigger. The fact that it's bigger is probably the most significant difference between the Bend house and this one, and has been one of the hardest things to get used to as of yet. Like with anything in life, there are the pros and cons.

The Pros: 

Of course the fact that there is just more room. What looked like a ridiculous amount of stuff in the Bend house doesn't seem quite so ridiculous anymore.

Sock sliding. There was no where to sock slide in the Bend house. There is the perfect long stretch in this house. Though sometimes this could probably be put in the Con list, considering it can result in injury, broken furniture, and holes in the wall. 

Nook and crannies. So many nooks and crannies. Such as a small attic room, a garage that has about 13,876,744 rooms in it, and an unfinished basement, really unfinished. It literally looks like a cave down there. You open the door expecting to find just another ordinary room but no, instead you're greeted by rocks full of fossils from the Triassic period and a gentlely flowing stream.

More room for book shelves!!! I know that should be included in the first Pro, but if you're me books shelves take a special priority. 

More space to get away from other people. Or, being less cramped, if that sounds less anti social. 

Cons:

Everything is fifty million miles away. Every time I want something from some other part of the house I need to pack a bag of provisions, put on my hiking boots, and bring at least two bottles of water with me. 

ALL OF THE LIGHT SWITCHES!!!! Especially since it is a new house, a light will be on in some random part of the house and I will have to spend the next fifteen minutes looking for the switch to turn it off. 

Cleaning. Enough said. (Mum is saying amen about right now.) 

There they are, the pros and cons. Not all of them, I'm sure, but enough. Do you have any opinion about big house/small house. Which is better? 

A Busy Week

This past week guess who was pretty much in charge? Well, my older sister was here quite a bit of the time, but I was (STOP IT WOULD YOU!!!!!!!! sorry, my blog page is acting funny right now and keeps randomly moving the blinking line thing to the middle of words) in charge most of the day time as Katy had to go to work. 

Why, might you ask, was I was given the responsibility. 

Well it has to do with the move. Both my parents went down to Tennessee this week. My dad because he had to for work, and my mum went with him to look at houses. The first day was somewhat disheartening for dear Mum, but on the second day she looked at this house. 

Which my parents have now bought. Yep. That quick. Two days of looking and three days of offers and counter offers and my mother found a house. (The blinking line is driving me CRAZY! It's changes spots ten times in this one paragraph.) What can I say? Every time she walks into the "right" house she gets a "vibe." Now me, I would have had to look at all of the other houses as well, because I don't get "vibes." I don't get anything, instead I have to do it the long way and make pro and con lists. Maybe she's secretly a regent. (Only a few of you well get that, because I don't mean she's secretly ruling in place of a royalty.) 

Wait, you might say, I titled this post "A Busy Week." I haven't talked once about being busy. 

I'm going to now.

Being in charge is not all that it is made out be. It is when Mum is going on a few errands in the afternoon, but for a whole week it means those "in charge" get to do all the stuff Mum usually does. Katy did most of the cooking and stuff like that, but I shared in the dare care work and in teaching the kids.

That's right. For an entire week I was in charge of stuffing knowledge into the heads of antsy children. Better yet, the children were my siblings, and we all now how well siblings get along, now don't we. 

All said and done there were only a few disasters, and the only time I slacked off was when I let my little brother skip hand writing on Thursday. I had forgotten to get it out and by the time I remembered we were pretty much done with school anyway. 

It's kind of a funny feeling, knowing that my parents bought a house. It's one thing to have someone buy our house, but it's another thing to know that there is a house in Tennessee which we're going to be living in soon.

Reflection

Almost titled this post "Good-bye September." I'm always almost naming my posts different things. It does take me a rather long time to make up my mind, and I am to last minute mind-changes. The reasons I didn't are obvious in a slightly more subliminal way than not, so I don't think I could explain why on a practical bases why I didn't. It would just seem weird, kind of like the word weird. 

This post, a type of post I will probably be doing at the end of every month, is just to go through some things of the month that happened, or I saw, that I haven't spoken about. 

Through this entire month basically my sister Megan, and her four month baby. (The little boy is my brother Jacob, in case you were confused.)

The baby's name is Hannah, but more often than not we called her buggy, or bug-bug. (The reason why should be obvious.) Now that I'm an aunt, I really see no reason what the fuss is about. I suppose I was supposed to feel instantly connected to my niece on a deep and subliminal way that I only can with my niece. And I guess I was also suppose to think that Hannah was cute. Maybe somehow being my niece would suddenly make her break the laws of physics and actually be the cute adorable thing that babies were claimed to be. Quite frankly I think it is a conspiracy that transpires in a subliminal level that everyone pretends babies are not weird looking so when they become parents they can pretend that their babies are actually cute, and no one tells them any different. 

I finally watched the more than iconic episode of Doctor Who "Blink."

I know that was back in season three, and season eight (I think? seven maybe?) is the one that is airing right now, but I started watching after it started airing, and it is only watched when everything show has been caught up on. While "Blink" was still a pretty intense episode, I still don't think anything could ever replace "The Empty Child" on creepy factor. 

Are you my mummy?

The house has been sold! It wasn't sold within the first twenty-four hours, like the first time, but it was eventually sold to the first people who looked at the house again. The house has passed inspection and it was also appraised yesterday. "Oh house, you are such a good house. Don't let other mean houses get you down, you are such a wonderful home for anyone who will live in you."

...Hello Fall

I debated for a long time on what to title this post. A part of me wanted to call it "Hello September" so it would match my post from about twenty days ago Goodbye August. The two are supposed to be a set, hence the placement of the periods. You know, Goodbye August, Hello Fall. It's lame, I know. Best to roll with it. 

One strange thing about Central Oregon falls. When you think of fall, you think of crisp days with just a bite of cool weather, leaves turning a brilliant array of colors. Not so in Central Oregon. We don't really have a "fall." We have an Indian summer that lasts till part way through October, and then it goes straight to winter. The only two seasons we have in Central Oregon are winter and August. At the moment I'm still wearing shorts and tee shirts. 

Anyhoo, it is fall now, and so I shall celebrate that. Here are some things I look forward into the fall, and the colder months that follow.

Hot Chocolate: Recipe courtesy Alton Brown 

I would write the recipe out, but I'm too lazy. Instead if you click the picture you should be taken to the recipe on a separate website.  

Knitting and Crocheting 

 

Don't ask me why, but I always get the urge to knit and crochet in the fall. Not so much in the winter, but my fingers literally itch to wrap yarn around hooks and needles and make things out of it. The picture on the right  shows a pattern I'm actually using. The pattern can be found in Coats & Clark #J27-0014, Weekend Causal. 

Fall Color

If only we got more fall color! I admit, there are a few trees which turn a nice shade of red, and a few trees which turn a yellow, but the main color is brown. I used to like it when the leaves fell more, but I'm getting a little old too actually play in the leaves. Though I still do. Occasionally. I have little siblings, okay!

Pumpkin flavored everything.

Literally, everything.

Fall shows.

Fall cloths. 

Not that I'm particularly fond of fall cloths, I like them just as much as any other form of cloths, but the first few weeks are always exciting, (yes, I'm that vain.)

Those are just a few things I'm looking forward to in the fall. Of course, there are also the typical fall things that no one looks forward to, overly much, things like school. Events and holidays, such as Thanksgiving. Other quintessential Fall things.  

...And We're Back

Hello everybody in the world, please take a moment to look at the picture below.

That is the house I am currently living in an it is finally, FINALLY on the market.

Wait a moment, you might say, didn't you say back in July that you were moving, shouldn't you have put your house on the market already? 

Well yes, originally that had been the plan. In fact, the house had been on the market once before.

In mid June the house was put on the market, around the 20th. Within twenty-four hours someone had made an offer for it. There were counter offers and more counter offers. Meanwhile my family is living in a constant  frenzy of showing the house to people who will come whenever-ish. Finally, the last last counter offer to the previous counter offer to the other offers from the first offer we received from the first people to make the first offer was made, and everyone thought the house was sold.

They thought wrong.

There is something very curious about my house. It isn't hunted, no one has ever died there, and it's not like the house has pour structural integrity.

According to the city, the lot line for my family's house is nine feet more than it is in reality. (We're fairly certain that is has something fishy to do with the original contractor and inspector. Either they were idiots and missed the fact they gave nine of our feet to the next door neighbor, or there some bribery somewhere and the house got passed even though the lot line was incorrect.)

Also according to the city we are not allowed to sell the house with the lot line incorrect.

So the deal fell though.

It wasn't as if we were the people who got it wrong, (or were bribed,) we just happened to notice it.

Oh, by the way, to correct the lot line you're going to need to have your, and your neighbor's property completely surveyed, and then the new lot line must be cleared with the city, then the county, then the title company, then the county again, and then last but not least we mosey on back to the city. It probably is not necessary  but I'm going to go ahead and tell you that this took several weeks.

And it cost several thousand dollars besides.

Technically, some of that craziness is still going on, but it is near enough to being done that by the time we sell the house, and the escrow is over, it will all be done.

Basically for the past two months we've been in house limbo. Unable to sell the house, therefore unable to buy any houses in Tennessee. We couldn't pack, I really couldn't get a job, unable to do anything but twiddle our thumbs and wait for the city and county to take as long as they possible could to adjust our lot line.

But finally, finally, we have the house back on the market.

  

Good-bye August...

So sad, I know. I was going to write, "Good-bye summer" so as to include June and July as well, but summer doesn't technically end until September 21st, and mentally most people are saying good-bye to summer  way before then. Summer as an ideal, a thought, a feeling ends, when in reality summer doesn't end for another twenty days or so. All these solstices and equinox in the middle of months seems very sloppy, and annoying. Who came up with that? I suppose I could wait until September 21st to do this post, but by then everyone is onto hot chocolate, fires, playing in the leaves, school, and mitten. No one, including myself, won't really be saying good-bye to summer, as an idea. 

August fades (I would say summer, but I've already had this discussion with my computer screen) and the only thing I can do is reflect upon the bright summer days that it has represented, represented deep in my soul as days free of care and schedules (to a point) that will stay with me forever, or at least as long as I can remember them. August fades, like the flesh of a person who is dead, growing pale because the blood that once kept them strong and beautiful has stopped moving and the days grow cold, again, much like the flesh of a dead person. When a person dies, a memorial is often appropriate, and so I shall give August a memorial, mentioning the highlights of the summer.

The first thing I would like to mention in this memorial of summ...August is parks. Specifically Farewell Bend park. If you live in Bend Oregon, you will probably know what I'm talking about, for everyone else click on the picture. 

In the connection to parks and such, is the river float. It is one of the things that are very near to defining Central Oregon summer/August. One is not a true Central Oregonian until he has floated the river, and it is a perfect way to spend a day hanging with family and friends outside on a hot day.

Kenny Chesney. Is there any other music artist who captures the carefree days of summer? Should I take your silence as a resounding no? Steel drums, guitars, the fact that the majority of his songs are about summer? There is no competition.

Roasting marshmallows. 

Going to the movies.

Bun Head. (Basically it's Gilmore Girls, exactly, but with ballerinas.) The show aired this summer, plus the show is set in California. If there is any state in the world, (or, I guess, in the United States) that is summer-esque it's California. 

Iced Chai

Munchkins, the game. It's a bit like Dungeons and Dragons, but with cards instead of a game board and dice and no role playing. I know this isn't a very summery thing in of itself, but my sister Colleen got the game for her birthday and I played it a lot this summer. A lot. So much that when I think of this summer, it's one of the things that comes to mind. It's meant for younger kids, but I think actually liked the game more than my younger siblings. I got pretty good at it too. 

Barbecues.

Watermelon.

Ice cream. 

Lazy days, but not in the slothful, sluggard kind of way. Just more in the, there isn't an over whelming amount of stuff to do so I'm going to take my time to do things and take my time to enjoy it. I could think of no better picture to represent this than the iconic "lazy frog" picture.

I would continue to add things like beaches, staying up late, sleeping in late, beaches, hot days, and summer cloths, but the first three are things I didn't participate in. The forth didn't really happen that much this summer. I think we had about on month of authentic summer heat through the second half of July and the first half of August. It used to be hotter during our Central Oregon summers, but recently it's been staying cold until July, but then staying hot till November in the fall. Global warming? More like global season shifting. And as to the last I couldn't find any decent pictures. 

Good-bye August, and good-bye all of the things that we think of as we think of you. While I am still unsure if it was appropriate (ethically, not logically, speaking) or not to compare you to a dead person, I hope you will appreciate this memorial when you have a chance to see it when you reincarnate next year. 

A Very Interesting Topic

In light of the title for today's post, I am very sad to tell you that it isn't true. Not even a little bit. So here is a video that you should all watch, whether you found this post by following my blog, or you found me on google, or some other way that I probably don't want to know about.

Once you're done laughing or being angry, please read on if you care to. An explanation of sorts can be found below. 

My last post, if you will remember, was about the Olympics, and how I wasn't going to watch them, and how it was cool that Matt Smith carried the Olympic torch part of the way, even though it would have been better if David Tennant would have done it. Well, I noticed something. 

A lot more people were viewing my blog than before.

And I mean a lot. Way more than when I ever consistently blogged about the very interesting things you all loved so much. Looking through the provided by blogger, I discovered that the majority of those views were due to people looking up "David Tennant Olympic torch." Though they must have been pretty desperate for any kind of information on "David Tennant Olympic torch" because when I looked it up on google I gave up looking for my blog by the time I got to page five. How many pages did these people sort through before they found my blog? That got me thinking. Could I possibly use this as an underhand way to get more people to view my blog.

Yes, yes I can.

But the real question. I'm I really vain, petty, and superficial enough to do it? Maybe, maybe not, but if there is one thing I know, it's that apparently I like conveying the the same thing, but saying it slightly differently, three times in a row. 

Then I realized, this has nothing to do with being vain, or petty, or superficial, this has everything to do with being an amazing blogger. I must do this, so that others may come to my blog and see for what's it's worth!  They day you see my blog is the day you change, and change for the better, or at least change in a neutral way. Not change in a bad way, that would be bad, and I probably would have gotten complaints. 

So if by now you still don't understand what the whole point of this video is here are some lists of some of the most googled things. Hey, don't judge, I'm only helping those who need to find me, find me. 

Rebecca Black                                     Google +                                     Ryan Dunn 

Casey Anthony                                     Battlefield 3                                 iPhone 5

Adele                                                   Fukushima I Nuclear Plant           Steve Jobs
iPad 2                                                  The World Cup                           Olympics
Haiti EarthQuake                            Oil Spil                                          Ash Cloud                                   Justin bieber                                         Nicki minaj                                  Friv

Myxer                                                  Katy Perry                                  Twitter

Gamezer                                              Facebook                                    Chatroulette

Sorry about the funkiness of the list, I'm not sure what happened about that. No wait, I meant to do that to be artistic.

2012 Olympics

Hello everybody! I am posting here today in honor of the 2012 Olympics. Most days I walk up early and either run or do some strength training/cardio thingy. Yesterday though, in honor of the 2012 Olympics, I slept in and did not work out at all, unless of course exercising my ability of free will counts. I don't really watch the Olympics. Not even a little bit, unless I'm really bored and there is some funny sport on at the time like curling. (It's so funny to watch. Especially the more serious teams that yell at each other as they play.) I'm not much of a sports girl. If I had to choose between watching sports in the best seat of the house, or a documentary about paint, I would choose the latter. I will officially have nothing to talk about with the majority of people for the next several days.

The only thing which makes this Olympics of any importance to me is that Matt Smith carried the Olympic torch for part of the opening ceremony. Now for those of you who don't understand why this is such a wonderful thing, I'm so sorry, you get to stay in the dark. If you don't get it now, you don't deserve to know.

I was really hoping for David Tennant, (he will always be my favorite doctor) but I'm enough of a geek that I think it's really awesome that Matt Smith got to do it. 

Some Unneeded Updates

My Crazy Random Life. You wouldn't think it with how often I post. Well, for those of you who follow me who don't already know, here are a few updates.

I'm moving. Yup. Not exactly sure when, but my dad, after several years only able to get contract labor, was finally hired permanently...and now the whole family is packing up to move to Tennessee. (There are so many double letters in that word.)  

Yes I know, the picture is from mapquest. But in a single picture I wanted to show what a big move it was, and mapquest was the best, (easiest) way to do that. 

I am considering, still considering, switching my major. Originally it was English, but I'm considering changing it to...engineering. How exactly does one go from English to engineering? Well, as you all probably already know, I want to eventually become a novelist.The thing about the English degree is I do think it would be easier for me to reach my eventual goal of becoming a novelist if that is what I majored in, but honestly, if I really want to, I can still become a novelist even with a major in engineering. 

One on hand I had everyone telling me that I should pursue what I love and that as long as I had a passion for it I would succeed. One the other hand people always gave me a funny look when I said "English major" quickly followed by, "English, really? Do you, intend on being a writer?" with a forced tone. I chose the an English major simply because I believed that would help me the most to become the writer, but after some research and asking around, apparently an English major is about as practical as a degree in under water basket weaving. 

So I gave a good long look at my talents and skill set, and decided I could be an engineer. I enjoy math and problem solving, (which is basically engineering in a nut shell,) and I will even enjoy a job in engineering. 

Don't think I'm considering the switch just because people are telling me I'm an idiot for choosing an English major. I really do believe I would enjoy being an engineer. If I didn't think I could do well and enjoy majoring in engineering, I would stick with the English degree, it's not just to impress people. 

I am also considering wearing my promise (purity, abstinence) ring on my right hand instead of my left. Apparently that is where everybody else in the world wears them. Plus, in the past year several people have thought I was engaged, even though my promise ring looks nothing like an engagement ring.  The only problem is that my right hand ring finger is about half a size bigger than my left. 

I am also on Twitter, and while technically I'm still "on" facebook, I never actually look at it. Either click below, or if you look to your right you'll see the same exact button, which you can also click on to follow my wonderful, terribly insightful tweets. 

Follow @RefinedTweeter

From the Dead

Hello faithful followers, I'm sure you have all been anxiously longing for me to return, ( all one...two...three five... not wait, one of them is me...all four of you.) Wow, my last post was in March, with New Look & Frenzy. I know I have done this I-haven't-posted-anything-in-a-while-but-I-want-to-blog-more-consistently thing several times before. I guess I'm hoping it will stick this time. 

The thing is a like to blog. I enjoy blogging, but I never know what to blog about. My life isn't interesting enough that it will captivate strangers reading, and it will certainly be no fun writing about. (If any...four of you leave a comment about how terribly interesting my life is, I think I may just begin writing long post about eating breakfast and flossing my teeth.) I suppose I like to write, but do I give advice about writing? Just link up to better advice? Talk about what works for me? Post about what I'm writing? If I do the last one should I be concerned that someone is going to steal my awesome ideas? 

Soooo, yea. Hopefully I will return, later this week with a new and fascinating post about something or other. Also, I may or may not have a somewhat decent idea for a series of vlogs...or it may be an idea a scratch  before I even begin it because it is terrible.  

New Look & Frenzy

New look. Nice, right? When I was changing the look yesterday to make it look more spring-y, I decided to go for a bohemian/vintage look. I do say I have achieved it. What is really cool is that it even has a writing theme to it as well. I did want to make a special header, but alas, I could not find anything I liked. 

 Well, I have decided, after about two days of consideration to do...

I was actually going to do it last year, but then, well, I had this amazing idea for a script and when it became the last week of March I realized I had no idea how I was even going to open the play, or any of the scenes in the middle, or how it would end. Basically all I had was an idea, and no plot. I supposed I could have done the whole flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants thing, but I'm fairly certain that would have gotten me about this far.

Act I

Scene I

                                                                 (There is a stage...)

So I decided not to do it. But this year, this year I have a script that practically threw itself at me. The log line goes something like this.

Four stories interconnect as a mystery unfolds, but in reality, only one of this is actually happening. 

The idea actually come from a dream where there were a bunch of fragmented stories that in my dreamy state seemed like they should connect somehow, but didn't. That combined with a very faint idea of a play, about a radio show, and then, pow! I wrote the outline for the script in a week. 

So...despite being busier than I have in past Aprils I am all signed up and ready to go!

Annual Snowman

Every year my little siblings and I make at least one epic snowman together. We may or may not make more than one, but we at least have to make one, and it has to be different. The first year it was a tourist alien, another a village of dwarves, one year an ice princess, last year it of Gnomeo and Juliet. (I think I posted about it, but I can't find the entry. Give me a holler if you can.) 

Well, this year has been hard...because it's been too warm. We would get occasional dumps of snow, but then by noon it was all melted. Even when there was snow, it was too wet to make a decent snow man. This morning though it snowed several inches, and we managed to get out side before it all turned to slush. 

I have to say, the one this year tickles me, it's definitely one of my favorites. I think it was partly inspired by the warm winter, and partly inspired by all the modern poetry I've been reading. 

It is called...Martin, at Winter's End. 

That's right, we made a snowman that was melting! See the struggle he is putting up, how he is desperately shoving himself into the bucket? and his twig arm shaking with anger at the sun? There is even a part of his side that is sloughing off. His face is all twisted due to the fact that it's melting. It's very poignant, and beautiful...if you squint your eyes really tight and pretend it is not as funny as it is. Anyway, it was great fun, and oddly since the snowman was supposed to look in disrepair, the kids had a lot more fun since there wasn't so much time spent in finishing details. 

They aren't actually sad, they're just acting for the sake of the photo.

I Still Don't Get It...

Hello again, and it has only been a little over a week. I meant to do a couple of book reviews but never got around to them. If you're curious  the two titles where One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Rules of Civility. (Both have language and some adult themes.) But that is not why I am here today. Today I want to share a poem...that...I wrote...because it sounded like a good idea.

Recently at in my American Lit class we studied the Modernist poets. I studied them briefly in high school and I have to say something regarding them.

I still don't get it. 

If you only pay attention to the way the words sound together, its great, the Modernist poets put together some ground sounding lines, but as to actual meaning, DON'T ASK!!! I get analogies, and similes, and metaphors, and being vague so people can read different things into the poem, and therefore get a reflection on oneself, but Modernism is so vague I can't even begin to even point at a general thing that the author meant. I'm not saying it isn't an art form, I'm just here to testify I don't get it. 

One of the hardest ones to understand is e.e cummings. I respect him as an author and poet, and unlike last time I studied him, I was actually intriged by his idea of protraying emotion through grammar, so I wrote a poem mimicking his style. Don't get me wrong, I could never fool anyone into thinking he actually wrote a poem, the meaning of it is way to obvious, but I played around with grammar and language to try to portray an idea.

And like e.e. cummings, I didn't name the piece.

i see You are lost

in the Storm

You are scared You are are desperate You are confused 

                                         You are tired You are angry You are hopeless You are 

                                         lost lost lost lost lost

                                                                                                                 You are

alone

                                          You are shivering

                                                                      kneeling in the cold

                                                                                                 breathing whit puffs

You are standing now

                                          Hope?                                                               a light

                                         You see a light,You...take...a...slow...but...hope...filled...step

                                       but the Storm

                                                                                                       blows 

                                              white

                                                                                 snow

                                                          obscuring

                                                                                                                           the 

                                         dull

                                                                                             landscape 

and the light flickers

                                                                                                  disappears

                                        You fall down again

                                                              and are still

i pull the cover from my lamp to see that.

?i am alone 

And you better be pretty darned impressed, because it took me fifteen minutes to type it up with the funky way that I had arranged the sentences. Arranging the words in a weird order was quite a bit easier on paper.