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Friday, December 2, 2011

More Poetry! Yay! (This one's for NICK.)

Nick

Dark, soulless eyes
that do not express
anything.

Hard, careless face
that has no concern for
anyone.

Warm, calloused hands
that are not kind to
everyone.

They are kind to me.



So, I wrote this after reading the end of THE DEMON'S COVENANT by Sarah Rees Brennan, because that last scene with Nick and Mae made cry. This is probably Mae narrating, but in my dreams it's me ;)

And if you haven't read her stuff, go pick up THE DEMON'S LEXICON right now and read it. Immediately. It's a story about demons, magic, siblinghood, and epic family drama. I can't even. Just read it. (And then spam @sarahreesbrenna with tweets over the week that you take to read the trilogy. Because everything is more fun with tweets.)

<3 Allison


Books read this year: 30/50
Words written for NaNoWriMo: 50,051
Times I've seen Breaking Dawn:5

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Poetry Wednesday: Day 30

Well, okay, it's actually Thursday, I know. But this poem was incredibly relevant yesterday, and I WROTE it yesterday, so we're calling it Poetry Wednesday.



Day 30

Holy
crap
my
characters
are
stupid
and
my
plot
consists
of
mostly
kissing
and
their
love
isn't
even
believable
and
I
have
to
write
10,000
more
words
by
midnight.

Frak.




The good news? I TOTALLY WROTE 10,000 MORE WORDS BY MIDNIGHT! So, yeah, I won NaNoWriMo. It was awesome.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I Am Insane.

Today is November 9, 2011. There are *does math* seven and a half weeks left of this year. About five weeks left of this semester. And three weeks left of November. In that time I have to:

-Pass all my classes, getting mostly A's (if I want to student teach)
-Read 26 books to fulfill my 50-in-2011 challenge
-Write 35,000 words to win NaNoWriMo

So, yeah. No big deal. Classes are going (mostly) well. I've gotten back to reading as much as possible (I kinda stopped for a few months there). And I am totally ROCKING NaNoWriMo (I'll talk about my story some other time). But all of those combined? I don't know how I'm going to make it to 2012 in one piece.




Books read: 24
Words written: 15,116
Days until this is all over: 52

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Poetry Wednesday: Twittering through the Woods

Twittering through the Woods

 More than all the print I have read in my life,
 At home in the fleet of ice-boats, she
 Unscrews the doors themselves from their jambs!
 Resisting anything better than her own university, she shares an
 Endless unfolding of words of ages, and if
 Each and all be aware I sit content, because there is
 Never any more inception than there is now.

 Just twittering through the woods. “Smile
 O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth!” and
“Hurrah for positive science!” Cheerfully take it
 Now. With behavior lawless as
 Snow-flakes, the spinning-girl retreats, scooting
 Obliquely. We chant the chant,
“Never enough! enough! enough!”


A Found Poem from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”
Allison Ridley 2011

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Remember Poetry Wednesdays?

Well, I have a new one for you!
(And there will be a poem called "In (Living) Memory of River" coming as soon as I finish revising it.)



A Faithful Companion

We were both test subjects.
I had a gun and you couldn’t speak,
yet I was thoroughly assured that
you would never threaten to stab me.

In the event you did speak, she urged me to “disregard your advice.”

You were a faithful companion,
obeying orders and protecting me
from fiery death while I used you
as a not-quite-human shield.

You were “most likely incapable of feeling much pain.”

You were there to help me
complete a mission that was impossible
for one, but manageable for us,
and together we would beat the odds.

She told me to “please take care of you.”

The task complete, we learned that
you could no longer accompany me
on the rest of my journey, but
also could not be left behind.

There was an “Emergency Intelligence Incinerator.”

You still couldn’t speak, but I knew that
you would say to go on without you,
that you would rather die in a fire
than become a burden to me.

“You euthanized your faithful companion more quickly than any test subject on record. Congratulations.”











I would love any feedback you have. I'm doing these poems for a poetry class, but we don't have very good critiques* and I'm dying to hear what other writers have to say. Suggestions? My teacher thought it might be interesting to try writing it in present tense, which I liked. I was also thinking about changing the POV to GLaDOS** and seeing how that goes. I'll play around with it one of these days and post my alternate versions. I would REALLY love your input, though.




*it's mostly "This is really good!" even when it's clearly not



**Yes, this is a poem about Portal. Don't know about Portal? It's a puzzle-based video game in which you play a test subject going through a series of tasks run by an (evil) intelligent computer known as GLaDOS. Look up "Weighted Companion Cube" if you want to know the back story for this poem. Though I don't think that's NECESSARY. It's supposed to work as a poem even if you don't know about Portal.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Poetry Wednesdays: Back to School

I've decided to start doing Poetry Wednesdays on here, because I'm taking Intro to Creative Writing: Poetry on Wednesday nights and I'd like to share what I write each week :) This is my first one. I read it in class today and it was a hit, so I'm kind of proud of it :D




Back to School

As the scarlet train whistles
I take in the endless trees
that look so inviting and
finally I believe that
I made it to my dream school.

Soon I will be in a dorm
that I share with three others
looking forward to the time
we will spend walking through the
corridors, laughing as we
throw on our blue and bronze scarves.

The image is picturesque
and for a moment I feel
more excited than I have
ever felt for a school year.

But the train whistles again.
I blink and am forced to see
heartbreaking reality:

This isn’t Hogwarts.



(Inspired by Hank Green's "This Isn't Hogwarts")

Friday, July 15, 2011

Independence Day Flash Fiction Blogfest

This week is just ALL ABOUT BLOGFESTS! But I'm loving it because it kind of FORCES me to blog. Which is good.

Today's blogfest comes to you from the amazing Ali Cross! It's flash fiction (in this case, less than 250 words) following this prompt: "It's Independence Day and something unexpected happens..."

And now I'm going to write this piece of flash fiction. I have no idea what it will be about. Probably something related to Harry Potter. "Write what you know" and all that...





Wet-Start Fireworks

"George Weasley! What on EARTH were you thinking, leaving a box of fireworks lying around! There are CHILDREN here! I just caught James chewing on a wet-start firework's wrapper and I haven't the faintest idea where the actual thing's got to!"

"Sorry, Mum! I just thought it'd be good to celebrate. It's five years since the Battle at Hogwarts, you know--"

"Of course I ruddy well KNOW, George, I was THERE wasn't I?"

"Molly?"

"I'm just saying, MUM, that I thought it would be a proper way to recognize the day--"

"Molly!"

"And I'm just saying, GEORGE, that if I see one more child with a piece of your merchandise in this house--"

"Molly, I think there's something in this punch--"

KABOOOOM!

"..."

"..."

"GEORGE WEASLEY!"



Okay, so that was more like flash FANfiction, but it works :) Check out other entries to Ali's blogfest here:

Thursday, July 14, 2011

POERTY SCHMOETRY Day Three: Countdown

Countdown

How can I be simultaneously excited and
Anxious, counting down the final hours and minutes to the end of the
Realest thing in my lonely life? What am I supposed to do when the curtain has closed and the
Rest of the world has moved on and I am still standing here,
Yearning for the good days when things were new and we had so much
Potential? Who will comfort me on lonely nights
Or bring a smile to my face and a glow to my heart when I need it most?
This is the end of an era.
The end of a massively important part of my life. And yet, here I am,
Excited for the end. Of course I don't want it to be over, but at least now I can start to
Remember.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Poetry Schmoetry Day Two: ANGST

Angst Is My Middle Name


Angst is not something reserved for the young; it is
Not limited to teenage love and passion and heartbreak. In fact, it
Gets worse with age. The young only have their love to regret; the old have all their
Evils hanging over their heads and haunting their still, empty hearts. The angst of the young is bred from
Love passionately experienced and subsequently lost. The angst of the old is bred from the opposite: poisonous hatred emanating from the past.



Quick note: While we're on the subject of blogfests, the lovely Ali Cross is doing a blogfest of her own! It's a flash fiction blogfest (250 words or less) and it is this Friday, so it fits in perfectly with the Poetry Schmoetry blogfest! So if you don't want to stop writing after Thursday is up, check out Ali's blogfest, too :)
http://www.alicross.com/2011/07/independence-day-flash-fiction-blogfest.html

Monday, July 11, 2011

Poetry Schmoetry

The lovely Shelly Brown is doing a POETRY SCHMOETRY blogfest this week! Since I am a highly talented and prolific poet*, I have decided to do one poem EACH DAY. If you are a highly talented and prolific poet like me, you should totally do it, too. Also, there are prizes. So, yeah. Totally worth it.

Today's poem:

Do you ever get the feeling that there is someone
Out there, traveling through time and space, and he happens to
Cross your path from time
To time, never stopping to chat
Or even ask your name, always passing you by,
Running?


*I did a WHOLE portfolio in tenth grade!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Of Doctor Who and Harry Potter

I usually have the BEST of intentions when it comes to things I should do regularly. I MEANT to blog once a week. I MEANT to make periodic videos this year. But, well, I'm easily distracted. Kind of like a vampire. If I see something pretty I turn all my focus on it and lose sight of the other pretty things that had interested me before. Like when I started watching Doctor Who and stopped doing ANYTHING ELSE. Seriously, for a while there it was: wake up, go to work, watch Doctor Who at work, go home, watch Doctor Who at home, get ready for bed, watch Doctor Who for as long as I can keep my eyes open, go to sleep, dream about Doctor Who, repeat. I'm not even exaggerating. But the thing is, it was AWESOME. I am now officially in love with Doctor Who, and it's wonderful!

That's the thing, though. When I start something that's epically awesome*, I completely fall in love with it. Every moment of my day is consumed by it. That's just how I roll. I don't need diversity in the things I watch or read or listen to. In fact, I often prefer to re-read/watch/listen to the same thing many times. I read Prisoner of Azkaban so much that a whole chunk from the middle FELL OUT. Because I know what I like, and why would I want to read/watch/listen to something that I could potentially not like when I KNOW that I could read/watch/listen to something that I love?

And if it's something that I really, really love, it never leaves me. Which is why I cried while watching the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 premier yesterday (at work, no less) and why I'm seeing an early showing at 6 pm and then going straight to the midnight showing next Thursday. And it's also why I'll ALWAYS have my original series of the books (including the one with the chunk that falls out) and why every Christmas I expect to get SOMETHING Harry Potter themed and why I planned the perfect Hogwarts wedding for that day in the (who knows when) future that I marry a guy awesome enough to let me have a Hogwarts wedding.

Harry Potter may be ending this Thursday, but as Jo Rowling said so beautifully, "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." (And now I'm crying again.)

Until next time, best wishes!
<3 Allison



*Doctor Who, Buffy, @maureenjohnson, Vlogbrothers, Harry FREAKING Potter...

Books read this year: 20/50
Angel episodes watched: 39/110
Doctor Who episodes watched: 79/79
Current reading: The Great Gatsby

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Ninjas and Rule Breaking

So over the past month I've been involved with the awesome NINJA WRITERS over at Ali Cross's blog.  They're pretty much the coolest people ever.  Ali runs a weekly #ninjachat on Thursday afternoons for all the writers to get together and, well, CHAT.  I went to one, had tons of fun, and then found myself volunteering to host the new Tuesday night chats for all of June.  I. LOVED. IT.  The ninjas are writers at all different stages of the profession, which I think is so awesome.  It's great to chat with published writers and agented writers and querying writers and still-starting writers all at the same time.  It's an awesome community full of awesome people and I am happy to count myself a part of it.

One of the coolest things I've ever seen a community do is happening this week.  Ali and several others are rallying around fellow ninja Elana Johnson to celebrate and promote her book POSSESSION which comes out TODAY!  This blog hop is a small part of said rallying, and as a ninja I thought it would be great to get involved.

I'm supposed to write about a time that I broke the rules.  I'd been thinking and thinking about what I could possibly write about (I'm a fairly rule-followy kind of girl), and for a while I was kind of stuck. The best thing I could think of was the time I got detention in middle school for "food fighting".  It's not a very interesting story, though: I threw a wrapped string cheese at the wall above my friend's head.  The end.

Finally I realized that there WAS something I could talk about. One thing that started in high school and continued into college that was definitely rule-breaky and destructive and yet worked out okay: DITCHING.

My senior year of high school was kind of a joke to me.  I had a more-than-full schedule, but I was way more interested in Theatre than any of my core classes.  I took College Prep English instead of AP (shock!) and didn't bother to do my Calculus homework.  I was late to 0-hour Econ so much that I got a Saturday School (which actually turned out to be my most productive day of that school year).  I even ditched Seminary to go to Stagecraft because I was the Stage Manager for the show that semester and I wanted to be involved with the other techies.

Of course, I still graduated with Highest Honors. So, yeah, no big deal.

In the beginning of college I did much better. I went to my classes and enjoyed them. I did my homework. Things were good! Until I studied abroad and got back into my old habits.

In Mexico I was homesick and lonely and (though I didn't realize it at the time) sinking into depression.  Instead of going to class every day I would ditch at least once a week and watch Vlogbrothers videos and read Maureen Johnson's tweets.  It was sad and kind of pathetic, but you know what?  I am SO HAPPY I DITCHED.  Do I still wish I had gone to class and done my homework so I could have gotten better grades?  Sure.  But honestly, I think things turned out swimmingly.  The choices I made back then, while maybe not conventionally the best ones*, actually lead to some good things happening in my life.  I met awesome friends, became active in some really neat online communities, and even started developing new skills like creating and editing videos.  So, yeah, I broke the rules.  And I didn't know what would come of my choices when I made them.  But I did make them, and I've embraced that.  I've come to see that things work out in the end, especially when you own your past actions and follow up with new, better actions**.

Anyway, I know this is kind of long and ramble-y, but there you have it!  Thoughts from Allison.  Hope they made sense :)

And a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Elana Johnson! Way to go! Can't wait to read POSSESSION :)

Until next time, best wishes!

<3 Allison


*Okay, they were bad choices. Don't ditch, kids! I ended up continuing this habit and failing several classes in later semesters, which lead to me taking an extra year to finish college and repeating one class THREE TIMES. Spare yourself the heartache. Don't ditch. Things worked out, yeah, but that's because I choose to look at my circumstances from a larger perspective (so what if I take an extra year?) and accept the consequences of my actions. It still really sucks, though

**Like actually attending and doing the homework the third time you take a class...


Sewing projects completed: 0
Books read: 2 (both audiobooks, though)
Buffy episodes watched: 122/144
Angel episodes watched: 39/110
Current reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (audiobook)



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

Check it out! All these lovely people are blogging about breaking the rules to celebrate the release of POSSESSION by Elana Johnson! Help spread the love by checking out their posts, too <3



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

It's Been A While...

Hey, all! It's been a while since I've blogged, hasn't it? I didn't exactly finish BEDA, but never fear! I will be back for BEDAugust. This time it's PERSONAL. Or something.

So the end of April and the beginning of May were MEGA BUSY for me. But guess what? I got (almost) all B's this semester! This is a huge improvement from the last few semesters.* So the whole not-blogging thing was for a good cause.

Sometime in the last few weeks of the semester I got an AWESOME phone call. See, I had applied to be an RA over the summer, but they only hired like two new people and neither one of them was me. In that application I also noted my interest in a job working as a Conference Assistant, which is kind of like an RA except it's for the dorms that host various conferences over the summer instead of the dorms that students live in. I didn't get that job either, but now we're back to that awesome phone call.

I was actually in the bathroom when the phone rang, so I didn't get to it in time to answer. But whoever it was left a message, so I called my voicemail to see who it was. It was a lady who worked for Residence Life. She had a position open for someone to do billing (and other random jobs) for the summer conferences. She usually looked through the Conference Assistant applications to find her student workers and she said I came HIGHLY RECOMMENDED in my interview. She said that I would be working 20-40 hours a week with a very flexible schedule AND I would get housing on campus.

My roommate can attest that my mouth was hanging open and my eyes were wide as saucers as I listened to this message. A job on campus! Over the summer! With HOUSING! I was in shock. This was AMAZING. I listened to the message again. No, I hadn't been dreaming. This was for real. I thought about it for all of twenty minutes (ten of which I was on the phone with my mom) before calling back and accepting.

SO! Now I'm living in FLAGSTAFF for the SUMMER. If you're not from the general Phoenix area you might not understand how FREAKING AWESOME this is. It's gorgeous up here. It's actually a little COLD sometimes. It SNOWED a couple weeks ago. Sure I'll miss the opportunity to just jump in the pool in my backyard, but honestly? I didn't do that very often anyway.

I've been working for a week or so now and I love it. I haven't had a desk job in YEARS, so it's kind of awesome. And it's a really laid back environment, which I love. So, basically? This summer is gonna be GREAT.

Oh, and I'm gonna go back to my end-of-the-post look-what-I've-done-this-summer count-y things. I liked those.


Until next time, best wishes!

<3 Allison


*Depression sucks, but what they don't tell you is that it really affects your grades :-/ (It's cool, I'm doing great now. I'll talk about it in another post probably.)




Sewing projects completed: 0
Books read: 0
Buffy episodes watched: 122/144
(You can see where my focus has been.)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Living History

So, I just drove back up to Flagstaff and imagine my surprise when I called my mom to tell her I made it and she said, "Did you hear the news?" I'm thinking it's gonna be something related to Rob Pattinson or Justin Bieber. Nope. "What news?" "Osama bin Laden is dead."

...

Well, dang. That wasn't what I was expecting at all! At first I was like, Okay, whatever, I gotta carry all my stuff upstairs. But now that I've seen the news coverage, Obama's speech, and all the Tweets and Facebook statuses, it's starting to hit me. This is HUGE. Like, HISTORICAL. And I'm mostly just in shock.

I'm so happy for the people who lost family and friends on September 11, 2001. I'm happy that a terrible killer has been stopped. But at the same time I feel wrong rejoicing over the death of ANYBODY, even a known terrorist. I also recognize the necessity of apprehending a man like Osama bin Laden. Even if that means killing him.

My friend Sam said it best: I feel emotional. This is so intense.

I know this isn't the end of war. This isn't the end of terrorism. But this is a huge win for freedom and justice.

The news is showing footage of people at The White House and at Ground Zero singing patriotic songs. I'm crying. (Just a little.)

This is a historical night. I think many of us are reflecting on where we were almost ten years ago when 9/11 happened. It's strange to see this thing come full circle.

I just wanted to record some of my thoughts tonight. Thanks to the troops and the amazing heroes who've participated in this fight. My prayers are with them and their families.

-Allison

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Shoot :(

Has it really been that long since I blogged? *frownyface* I guess BEDA can only be counted as a semi-success this year. Maybe I'll do better in BEDAugust. (I think I'm gonna do BEDA and BEDAugust from now on. It's nice doing it twice a year.)

Now, for the excuses! So here's the dealio. Last weekend I went home for Easter. Normally this wouldn't put a such a big dent in my blogging because Easter is only ONE DAY, right? WRONG. My Easter lasted ALL WEEKEND.

Friday- Drove home in the afternoon. Ate Sonic in the car. Arrived home, changed, headed right back out to the Mesa Easter Pageant (the largest outdoor Easter Pageant in the world, incidentally). It was totally awesome and I LOVED it, but I was understandably exhausted after all the travel and then the pageant and then eating a bunch of half-off appetizers at Applebee's with my dad, my brother, and my brother's friend. Got home at like midnight.

Saturday- Babysat kiddos* from 9:00 to 1:00. Went back to Mom's for Easter stuff. Little 4-year-old cousin hunted for Easter eggs. So did brother (17). So did I (21). It was fun (mostly because the eggs had money in them). Then had emotional meltdown #1 of Easter weekend. That was fun (or not). Then went to see Into the Woods at ASU, which was super-duper awesome. It was a LONG show, though. Got home around midnight.

Sunday- Went to church w/ Dad and kiddos at 8. Only stayed for Sacrament Meeting**. Got back to Mom's around 9:30, had leftover pasties for brunch. Cue emotional meltdown #2. Went with Dad and kiddos out to North Phoenix for Easter with extended family. Lots of fun, also exhausting. Headed home around 3.

[Hilarious story from the car: Little sister is playing with her seatbelt. I tell her to stop. She keeps pulling it out farther and farther. Again, I tell her to stop. She lets it go and then tries to pull it again but, lo and behold, the safetylock is activated.
Sister: It's STUCK!
Me: I know.
Sister: It's STUCK!!!!
Me: That's how it's supposed to be.
She pulls it harder, still expecting it to come out. It remains stuck.
Me: Honey, you can't keep pulling on it. I know it's counterintuitive, but the harder you pull the more stuck it gets.
Silence.
Dad: You know you just said "counterintuitive" to a three year old? A six syllable word.
Me: Huh. *is proud*]

Sunday cont- Got back to Dad's house, dropped off Dad and kiddos, went to pick up brother from Mom's house. Went back to Dad's house, played Settlers of Zarahemla***. Nona brought Mom to Dad's house, Mom drove with me up to Flagstaff. Nona took brother back to Mom's house. Mom and I got to Flagstaff around 9, COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.


So, you see, I've been busy. Sorry, BEDA. Guess it just wasn't meant to be.

-Allison

P.S. Stay tuned! I am going to blog about the AWESOME that is THE GODDESS TEST. I finished it yesterday and I FREAKING LOVED IT. My blog will be unspoilery for the first half, and then after the clearly marked break it will be SPOILERS GONE WILD. Just so you know.



*My darling (read: HANDFUL) siblings. Verity is 3, Ammon is 2. I adore them, but they are TIRING.
**Sacrament Meeting = like Mass or the thing in other churches where the pastor preaches a sermon (does that have a name?)
***Different version of Settlers of Catan

Thursday, April 21, 2011

I'm a READING MACHINE!

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday, folks! I actually had a hard time figuring out if I DID, because the last several posts have been done after midnight, so the blog says it's April 18th when I'm really counting it for April 17th. Maybe next year I do what MJ did and write my posts the night BEFORE so that I don't have to stay up late each night blogging. Or maybe I won't. Who am I kidding? Procrastination is my THING. Lol :)

Anyway, I have been reading a LOT lately. I've read a book a day for the last two days. It's mega-awesome-book-timez up in here! I read Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature yesterday and I LOVED it! It's a great book about bullying and romance and the ability to believe in God and Science at the same time. Highly recommended.

I don't think I'm going to keep my book-per-day streak going (mostly because I want to actually get some sleep tonight), but I AM heading over to Barnes and Noble after work to buy The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter*. I'm totally excited because it's about mythology, which I 1) love and 2) do not know nearly enough about.

Aimée said (in an interview, I think) that one of her reasons for writing TGT was the negative light that is often cast upon Hades. People think of him as the Devil (and also remember the whole thing with tricking Persephone), and so he's seen as this evil guy when really he's just another god. And I think that is really interesting, so I'm super excited to read it.

And to explore another facet of my nerdiness, I've decided to try out Portal. We'll see how it goes. I'm not a huge fan of first-person-shooter-y games because I can't navigate them very well, but my friend assures me that they are meant for computer play and they are much easier with a mouse than a controller. So, like I said, we'll see. I have a feeling I'm gonna like it, though. Everyone I've ever talked to (or watched on YouTube) says it's awesome.

So, yeah, that's what's going on today. Hope you all have a lovely Thursday. Until tomorrow, best wishes!

-Allison


*Synopsis:
It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9681214-the-goddess-test

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Breathing Underwater



Just finished a book called Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn. It was a tough book to read, but dang was it good. It was from the point of view of a teenage boy who abused his girlfriend. It was hard to read these scenes of him telling her not to hang out with her friend or not to wear that necklace or not to sing at the school talent show. It was horrifying to hear it from him like it was obvious that he should tell what to do. And it was even more horrifying to see him lose control and hit her.

But you know what? By the end of the book I forgave him. He did horrible things, and he could not make excuses for his actions, but he learned and grew and by the end I had to forgive him. I think we as humans have an infinite capacity to forgive if we let ourselves. Each and every one of us is a child of God. We all make mistakes. Some make choices that are a lot more damaging than others, but that doesn't mean that they are unforgivable. If only we could love each other as brothers and sisters. That doesn't mean we have to trust everyone or even like them, but if we loved them we would be able to feel compassion for them, and if the world ran on love and compassion, it would be a heck of a lot a better place.

So, that's my two cents for the day. If you can handle reading a heartwrenching, horrifying, intense book, then I would highly recommend this one.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

I Miss Speech and Debate

I know, I know, you can say it: I'm a nerd*.

I was just going through some old pictures and my NaNoWriMo story from two years ago, and I realized that I freakin' miss Speech and Debate. Those were some awesome times. On the one hand I'm glad I chose to focus on Theatre my junior and senior year, but on the other hand I'm kinda sad I didn't stay more involved in S&D.

So maybe when I student teach I'll help with the Speech and Debate team. I could volunteer as a judge for tournaments and/or be a chaperone. That would be awesome.

Anyway, short blog tonight. But never fear, I have some fun stuff coming up!**

Until tomorrow, best wishes!

<3 Allison


*If this is news to you, you don't know me very well.
**Think VLOG :)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Fourth Grade Flashback

Okay, so my friend and I were talking about those chants and hand-clapping games from elementary school (Miss Mary Mack, etc.), and I was trying to remember one of the big ones that we would ALWAYS sing in a big circle before school. All I could remember was something about Charlie Brown, a nickel, a grandma, and a fair or something. I was going CRAZY trying to remember it, but it just wouldn't come. Finally we decided to look it online when we got home. And then like a minute later we pulled into the parking lot AND I REMEMBERED IT!

Went downtown to see Charlie Brown,
He gave me a nickel so I bought me a pickle,
The pickle was sour so I bought me a flower,
The flower was dead so this is what he said:
Downtown, baby, down by the rollercoaster,
Sweet, sweet baby, Mama never let you go.
Grandma, grandma sick in bed
Called the doctor and the doctor said:
Let's get the rhythm of the head, ding dong!
Let's get the rhythm of the head, ding dong!
Let's get the rhythm of the hands, clap clap!
Let's get the rhythm of the hands, clap clap!
Let's get the rhythm of the feet, stomp stomp!
Let's get the rhythm of the feet, stomp stomp!
Let's get the rhythm of the hooootdog!
Let's get the rhythm of the hooootdog!
Put 'em all together and what do you get?
Ding dong, clap clap, stomp stomp, hooootdog!
Put 'em all backwards and what do you get?
Hooootdog, stomp stomp, clap clap, ding dong!




It was SO AMAZING. I couldn't believe I actually remembered it! Seriously, that was like . . . twelve years ago. DANG.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Deathly Hallows: Part I

I did this during the ORIGINAL BEDA when Twilight came out on DVD. Since then I always update my facebook status with commentary and quotes about Twilight or Harry Potter when I'm watching them at home.  Today I decided to spare my facebook friends and make it into a blog post instead :)


DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART I
Live blogged by Allison

Bellatrix: I wanna kill the boy! *wags tail*
Voldemort: No! Bad Bella!
Bellatrix: *pouts*

Hedwig: *defends Harry*
Audience: NOOOOOOOO! :(

Announcer: And here comes Lord Voldemort, wearing a Smoke Monster original.
Voldemort: *struts* *flies*
(I wanted to insert a picture of smokey!Voldemort flying, but my computer won't let me do a screencap while playing a DVD. Stupid copyright crap.)

George: *lays on couch*
Fred: How you feeling, Georgie?
Audience: FREEEEEEEEED :'-(

Harry: *leaves Burrow in the middle of the night*
Ron: *follows after in pajamas* Going somewhere?
Audience: Ron! *drools*

Ginny: Zip me up, will you?
Harry: Um, heck yes I will.
Both: *snogs*

Minister: Oh yeah, Dumbledore gave you the Sword of Gryffindor, too, but you can't have it! Na na na na boo boo! *sticks out tongue*
Hermione: But it belongs to Harry! It came to him!
Minister: Too bad. Also, we can't find it. So, yeah.

Luna: *is adorable*
Xenophilius: *is weird*
Harry: *stares at symbol on X's chest*

Auntie Muriel: Bathilda Bagshot!
Harry: Who?
Auntie Muriel: What, don't you pay attention in History?
Harry and all students everywhere: *snorts* Right.

Death Eaters and Trio: *destroy coffee shop*
Waitress: Uhhhh?

Door: Regulus Arcturus Black
Trio: Huh. That door has the same initials as R.A.B. . . . THE DOOR IS RAB???

Death Eaters: *search train*
Neville: Hey, losers! He isn't here.
Audience: Yeeeah, Neville! *pumps fist*

Ron: *plays piano*
Hermione: *giggles* *corrects*
Harry: *rolls eyes*

Dobby: *wrestles with Mundungus Fletcher* Oh, hi, Harry!

Kreacher: *tries to get a word in edgewise*
Dobby: *shoves out of way*
Audience: Dobbbbbyyyyyyyy :-(

Mundungus: Look, that's her!
Trio: *stares at picture in revulsion*
Pic of Umbridge: *giggles* *waves*

Toilet: FEEEEED MEEEE.
Harry and Ron: *step into toilets, flush*

Harry-as-Runcorn: *walks with a funny little hop in his step*
Everyone else: *doesn't notice*

Mary: *kisses Ron-as-Reginald*
Ron: Uhhhh...
Real Reginald: O.o

Hermione: You can get going on the tent.
Harry: Where are we supposed to find a tent?
Hermione's bag: *sit there, looks innocent*

Roommate who hasn't read the books: Wait, so what's the deal with Sirius's brother and that locket?
Allison: *explains*
Roommate: Man, you really HAVE to read these books, don't you?
Allison: DUH. :)

Harry: *hangs locket around neck* *touches locket* *sees creepy vision*
Frodo: Hey, that's MY line!

Harry: *is cranky*
Hermione: Take it off!
Audience: Whaaaat?

Hermione: *stares in horror*
Snatcher: *sniffs*
Hermione: Do I smell THAT bad?

Harry and Hermione: *walk down hill*
Ron: Angst!
Harry and Hermione: *share water bottle*
Ron: ANGST!
Harry and Hermione: *walk together*
Ron: AAANNGGGGGGGSTTTTTTT!!!!!

Hermione: The Sword of Gryffindor! It's goblin-made!
Harry and audience: Okaaaay...

Harry and Ron: *fight*
Hermione: Ugh! Boys.

Ron: *blows things out of proportion*
Audience: *sighs*

Harry: *dances with Hermione*
Harry/Hermione shippers: YESSSSSS!
Ron/Hermione shippers: It's a BROTHERLY dance!

Harry: *kisses Snitch*
Audience: Uhhhh...?

Hermione: *brushes snow off random gravestone only to reveal the weird symbol* Oh! Look! What a coinky-dink!

Creepy old woman: *walks up creepily*
Harry: I have a brilliant idea! Let's go WITH her!

Creepy old woman: *acts creepy*
Harry: So, what's up? Nice photo album. Who's this guy?

Creepy old woman: *speaks creepily* *turns into snake*
Harry: Aw, crap.

Snake: *flies through wall into perfectly clean and neat room child's bedroom*
Audience: Uhhh...?

Tiny ball of light: *appears in distance*
Harry: Oooh, shiny! *follows*

Harry: *takes clothes off*
Audience: *drools*

Harry: Dude, the Horcrux is lying! There's nothing between me and Hermione.

Ron: Oh. Good.
Harry/Hermione shippers: NOOOOOOOOO!
Ron/Hermione shippers: Hahaha! Take THAT, suckahs!

Ron: *comes back after weeks* *grins sheepishly* Hey.
Hermione: WHERE'S MY WAND, HARRY?

Ron: . . . then the little ball of light went into my chest, right here *indicated heart* and it brought me to you, Hermione.
Audience: AWWWWWW <3

Ron: Oh, hey, you need a wand, don't you?
Harry: Yeah...
Ron: *pulls out extra wand* Here you go!

Hermione: *says stuff*
Ron: Yeah! Hermione's right! Let's vote on it. *raises hand*

Harry: What's that symbol thingy?
Xenophilius: Well it's the sign of the Deathly Hallows, of course.
Harry: Hey, isn't that the title of this movie?

Hermione: So these brothers were traveling along a road at twilight.
Ron: Midnight. Mum always said midnight.
Hermione: *raises eyebrow*
Ron: Twilight's fine. Better, actually!
Audience: *laughs*

Ron: Death's got an invisibility cloak?
Director: Eh, we don't need that line. *cuts*
Audience: Noooooooooo :(

Xenophilius: So, yeah, those are the Deathly Hallows.
Harry: Uhh....?

Harry: *falls*
Hermione: *points wand, casts spell*
Audience: Uhhh...?

Draco: *stares at Harry*
Harry: *stares at Draco*
Draco/Harry shippers: YESSSSSSSS.
Everyone else: *groans*

Bellatrix: Put the boys in the cellar! I want to have a little chat with this one, GIRL TO GIRL!
Boys: *are thrown into cellar*
Bellatrix: So, like, what's going on with you and Ron.
Hermione: *sigh* Who KNOWS? Boys. Ugh.
Bellatrix: Tell me about it.

Dobby: *appears in cellar*
Harry: Dobby! You can Apparate in here?
Audience: DOBBYYYYYYYYY <3 :'-(

Random piece of hair: *falls onto Hermione's jacket*
Really smart audience members: FORESHADOWING!
The rest of us: Okay, that was random.

Bellatrix: WTF, Elf???
Dobby: DOBBY IS A FREE ELF!
Audience: DOBBBBYYYYYY :(

Trio, Dobby, Goblin: *Disapparate*
Bellatrix's knife: *follows*
Audience: DDDOOOOBBBBBBBBBBYYYYY :( :( :(

Voldemort: It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on-- *sees audience* Oh. Er. . .  *looks for something evil to do* *desecrated Dumbledore's grave* Oh, hey! The Elder Wand! Sweet! *takes*

Voldemort: *hovers over Dumbledore*
Voldemort/Dumbledore shippers: YESSSSS!
Everyone else: *groans*

Voldemort: *shoots lightning*
Emperor Palpatine: Hey, that's my line!

Movie: *ends*
Audience: Nooooooo :(




Until tomorrow, best wishes!
<3 Allison