A Fresh Start: Wanderlust

I've been doing something. Dangerous, I know. But... I think it's time to retire this blog.

The purpose of this blog was to give some insight on what it's like to go through highschool and be a teenager and all the trials and tribulations teenagers face. Well. Come September I'll no longer be a teenager. I'll be 20. OH DEAR LORD I'M SO OLD.

Ahem.

But this blog has gotten away from it's original purpose. And it has been for a while now. So, I've decided to focus on something else. Trying to update and redo this blog would be difficult and altering it from it's original purpose would be confusing. So instead I've decided to start fresh.

Wanderlust

Yup. That's my new blog. It will of course detail my thoughts, my adventures, but also my desire to travel and the experiences I have on the road. I'll move over some of the best posts. And this blog will remain as an archive of times past. But it's time to move on.

It's been fun. If you need me, I'll be pouring over maps, clicking through travel tips, and sharing the results over on Wanderlust. I'll never be more than a click away. Thanks to the readers (especially you Mom), and to all those who made this a journey.

-Spencer

I Want to be in a Movie

I want to be in a movie. Not necessarily the lead. Though that would be... Fabulous? Terrific? Mind-boggling? Astounding? Astounding. That would be just astounding to be the lead. I've always loved being on the stage. Whether it be dance, or musicals, or band performances... I just love that thrill.

I've never really been in a big production. I did a lot of choreography and sewed, well, almost all the costumes for my school's production of The King and I when I was a freshmen. I was the Fan Dancer.

I know. I know. I'm just inches away from international stardom with that one. Or not. Maybe let's just forget high school ever happened, yeah? Yeah.

I just think it would be amazing to be part of something so big. Even if all it meant for me was .7 seconds of me jabbing the screen and screaming, "THERE I AM! THERE I AM! THEREIAMOMIGODI'MAMOVIESTAR!!" And promptly passing out from sheer euphoria. Can we just all picture that for a moment? 'Cause I'm laughing so hard at the thought of that I'm making some weird hiccuping/chortling/death rattle sort of noise. I may be laughing but let's be honest. That's exactly how I would react.

So if you're a famous director or talent agent or someone not a creeper in the acting business, seriously. Get in touch. We need to talk. 'Cause you have no idea how much talent this girl has. And please, please forget about that awful picture up there. I was 14 what did you expect? But it's all good. I'll even make it easy for you. Just email me right... here! 'Cause I'm ready for my callback.

-Spencer

Emotional Trauma at the Hands of a Paperback

Books. I like the way they smell. I like the way I can never turn the page fast enough. I like the way I can't focus on class or work or anything until I've finished its story. But often I find myself feeling lost for a while as I try to reconcile my loss.

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.

As I devour books as fast as possible, I've found myself in a bit of a bind. I'm running out of books to read. Like, at the speed of light. So I joined Goodreads. And I started rating books and getting recommendations and I have to say... it's quite fabulous. Books are recommended for you based on ratings you've given to ones you've already read. You can write reviews, join reading groups, set up your to-read list, follow your favorite authors, check out what books are hot now and what books to be looking out for. If you're an avid reader, seriously, why aren't you signed up yet.

Wanna see what I've been reading, like and dislike, what's on my to-read list or recommend a book for me, you can find me right here!

-Spencer

Wreck this Journal? Art Never Sounded so Delightfully Destructive

You ever hear of a book called Rosie the Pug Goes on an Entire Day Behaving? Strangely, we haven't either. What can we say? Sometimes pugs and their humans just have to do a little wandering, a little toy snatching, and a not so little second and third breakfast eating.

Have you ever heard of Wreck this Journal? It's by Keri Smith but it's not a story. It was one thing on my (apparently) short and frustrating Christmas list this year, and I was delighted to tear off my mother's mistletoe paper to find this book within. The entire point of this journal is to create art by being destructive: something Rosie and I are particularly fond of.

Each page contains instructions on someway to alter the book. Here are some of the pages I'm really looking forward to.

Sounds like a blast, no?  As my journal continues to be evolve, I'll show all of you the progress on it. So far, not so much. But as soon as I can, I'm gonna start dropping it off of high places and collecting fruit stickers and using the book as a shoe.

Wanna get your own Wreck this Journal? No problem! You can find it on Amazon right [here] for a very reasonable price.

-Spencer

The Apocalypse. Book Style.

I love the smell of old books. Their slightly yellowed, worn pages. Some dog eagered at a favorite spots, some kept lovingly in mint condition, some with cracked bent spines, some without their jackets. All exuding the love their previous owners held for the tale. Even more I love standing in a bookstore and running my fingers over the spines and walking along the shelves. Leathery spines, glossy spines, papery spines. The texture, the contrast, the letters, the size... It's all slightly fascinating to me.

I suppose it would come as no surprise then that I'm the type of person who will stay up until 3 am when I have class at 8:50 the next morning just so I can finish the book I picked up at the library that afternoon. I'm such a bibliophile. Book lover. Do you think I could get paid to read books all day? 'Cause I think that'd be my dream job. In any case, here's what I've been reading lately along with my personal rating.

Graceling by Kristen Cashore
The story is about Katsa, a young warrior, and her journey of self-discovery as she seeks to unravel the mystery of who is behind the kidnapping of an elderly noble.
YA Fantasy
Rating: 2.5/5

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
The book follows two teens, a girl that has always lived within a protected city and a boy that has the powers of a seer, as they attempt to survive.
Fantasy
Rating: 4/5

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16-year-old Katniss Everdeen lives in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death.
Rating: 4.5/5

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien
In a future world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the wall and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife, Gaia Stone, who live outside. Gaia has always believed it is her duty, with her mother, to hand over a small quota of babies to the Enclave. But when Gaia’s mother and father are arrested by the very people they so dutifully serve, she is forced to question everything she has been taught to believe.
Rating: 3/5

Clearly I've got a theme going on. Post apocalypse. I dunno. It's just fascinating. And I will prolly devote an entire post to my reactions of The Hunger Games series at some point. But for now, a nice short list that may have something to catch your eye. Enjoy!

-Spencer

Drive Thru Curiosities

I am currently employed at a Quick Service Restaurant. What's Quick Service? Quick service doesn't start making your food until you order it. Fast Food? Fast food makes the food ahead of time and then leaves it under a heat lamp until it exceeds its hold time. Clearly your life has been improved by that little tidbit. ;)

Anyways.

I've been at my job for 1 year and 5 months. That makes me a veteran. So I find myself rotating between the more difficult stations in the restaurant typically. The first position is Set. That's where we take the food the kitchen staff makes and then sends down the appropriate chute and put it into the proper bags or onto the trays with the proper side items, condiments, and utensils. The second position is First Mate. This person takes money, hands out drinks and custards, and parks cars appropriately in the drive thru. The last position is Captain. Captain is the order taker and drink and custard maker for the drive thru speed team. Needless to say I get my fair share on all three. And after this nice long winded intro, I give to you the entirely true stories of a drive thru Captain.

---
"Hi, thanks for choosing [restaurant], this is Spencer, how may I help you?"
"Yeah, I'll have a double deluxe basket please."
"And what would you like to drink with that?"
"Cheese curds."
"I'm sorry but cheese curds aren't a drink."
"Oh. Really? Well I'll have a pepsi then."
---
"Hi, thanks for choosing [restaurant], this is Spencer, how may I help you?"
"Hi Spencer! My name is Margo!"
"Well hello Margo, how are you doing today?"
"I'm really good! Thanks! Do you want to be friends?"
"Margo, that would really make my night awesome. I definitely would like to be friends."
"Oh, I'm so glad. I was worried you'd say no. Anyways. I'll have a kids cheeseburger meal..."
---
"What size shakes do you guys have?"
"We have a short, medium and a tall size for all of our shakes."
"You only have two sizes?"
"No, we have three sizes. Short, medium, and tall."
"What's tall?"
"Tall is our largest shake size."
"Yes, I want a shake! What sizes do you have?"
"We have three sizes of shake. A short size. A medium size. And a tall size."
"Oh. You do have shakes don't you?"
---

Classic, huh?
-Spencer

Weird Stuff my Dog Eats

Have you heard of Dog Shaming? It's pretty funny. You can check it out over here. Basically, you take a picture of your naughty dog with a shameful sign saying what naughty thing they've gotten into now.

...

Some days I think Rosie could have her own site.

But instead I'll just make a list of the odd things she's eaten in the last few weeks. I try to stop her, believe me I do.

Weird stuff my dog eats:

-Pomegranate seeds
-Foam ball (only chewed to oblivion)
-Grass. So much grass.
-A bajillion or so of those little helicopter tree seeds
-Snotty kleenex
- 1/4 full Dr Pepper bottle (mostly just spilled all over my car mats)
-Carrot (but just one, and she won't eat any after that one time)
-Cheddar Cheese Rice Crisp snacks stolen from my backpack
-Grass
-Pizza crust nabbed from the box on the table that is 3 feet off the ground (Still have no clue how she dragged the box down)
-Pack of graham crackers
-Hobo sock (Nasty sock that mysteriously appeared in our yard, managed to get her to drop it AFTER she brought it in the house)
-More grass.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is only the abridged version. Lucky she's so cute and has a stomach made of titanium huh?

-Spencer