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

I was Patted Down by the TSA

Remember how I mentioned that I went to Costa Rica? And I'm planning on going to Puerto Rico in like... less than three weeks? Well, I'm dreading a bit, going through security. Because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to be patted down again. Except last time, they didn't do it right. Not one bit. Here's how it went getting on the plane to go to Costa Rica.

We got to the airport at the buttcrack of dawn (literally). And we waited a smidge because the ticket counter wasn't open and for some reason, we hadn't been able to print my ticket from home the night before. We figured the internet was just fussy. So we got our tickets at the counter, checked our bags and headed to security.

And then they scanned us. And looked at our tickets. And let us proceed to our gate.

...

We sat at the gate for a good 45 minutes before boarding began. But it's better to be early than late, especially in an airport amirite? Of course, we were in the last group to board. I let Mom and Gramma go ahead of me and sleepily shuffled forward with the line. Gramma's ticket was scanned and she went on down the umbilical. Mom's ticket got scanned, and off she went too. My ticket got scanned and-"Oh. Ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to step to the side." Uhm. Whaaaat? But I did as he asked. My mom noticed I wasn't behind her and headed back up to see what the problem was. Finally the ticket guy turned to me and said, "You've been selected for additional screening. You actually shouldn't have made it here at all. They should have stopped you in security, so I'm going to have to call two agents up here." Well that's comforting. So we waited. And waited some more. And then we waited a little longer. I was delaying the plane.

Finally two agents came up and asked if I wanted to be taken all the way back to security to a private room for a screening. I said no, I had nothing to hide and it'd just waste more time. I was already cranky from the lack of sleep. And so I stood in the terminal, feet shoulder width apart, arms out to the side, sweatshirt off in front of all the other travelers that happened to be in nearby terminals or passing through, letting a woman with blue gloves pat me down. The other woman took my bag and took out everything. And opened every pocket. And every flap of everything inside my bag. Tampons, tablet, fruity gum, and all got removed from my bag and set down on those stiff, awkward terminal seats. It was awesome.

In the mean time, my Gramma had realized that neither my mom nor I had boarded the plane. She had convinced the stewardess to let her off to see what the problem was and came flying up the ramp looking for us. The look on her face when she saw me standing there, being patted down by one agent and my bag disassembled by the other, was pretty priceless.

Finally, they apologized for the hassle and thanked me for being a good sport (though most of the terminal was giving me shifty side long glances now) and let me board. I had delayed the plane for quite a bit, though saved a few stragglers running late from missing it entirely.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is how I was patted down by the TSA. Let's hope leaving for Puerto Rico starts a little differently.

-Spencer

Meet Rosie and Other Updates!

Sooo.. yeah. That last post promising more frequent posts... written in November... clearly I held true to that. Ahaha. I'm a horrible human being. So let's do some updates.

The blog will be getting a makeover soon ish. Something a little more fitting. Perhaps a map theme. And hopefully some more posts amirite? :P

I've got a solo trip planned to Puerto Rico for seven days! Whee! I'm so excited. Expect lots of news about that. And if anyone has any advice or tips after visiting there, please feel free to let me know! Or if anyone is gonna be there at the end of July maybe a day trip meet up??

The most important update to inform you guys of... I got a dog!! Everyone meet my little pug, Rosie!

Isn't she just the cutest little pugapillar you've ever seen?? I'm in love with the little girl. There's nothing like coming home to someone who's always excited to see you. And she makes the best cuddle partner. Cuddles whenever I want! Yeah, yeah. I'm a little nutty over my dog. But hey, did you see all those wrinkles?? I love her.

So this time I'm actually gonna try and keep up with my posts. We're gonna shoot for at least one a week. And I'm really gonna try hard. It's gonna be like my... June 24th Resolution. That's a thing right?

-Spencer

Autumn Mornings

As many of you may have realized (or maybe just you Mom), I like to think of myself as an amateur photographer. And by amateur photographer I mean, I bought a expensive fancy camera, some lenses, and now I walk around all hoity-toity with my camera around my neck. Mhm. But once in a great while I like to think I've taken a few decent photos. So today I'm going to subject you not to my nonsensical ramblings, but instead to my attempts at photography. The majority of these were taken Friday morning when it was particularly chilly.

So I hope you all enjoyed my post-history class adventure through the park. There'll be a real blog post soon enough. Maybe. We'll see. Haha.

--Spencer

Why My Mom Took a Brick from the Backyard One Day and Wrapped it in Tinfoil

Sometimes my mother does funny things. In fact there are many times that I think she's insane. And then I remember that she's my mother and I'm related to her and therefore just as crazy as she is. If not maybe more. But it's ok. Because I love her. Which is very important. But that's not quite what this story is about.

One sorta rainy day this summer, my parents were visiting and we were all in the kitchen and my brother was making a sandwich. Out of nowhere my mother jumps off her chair, exclaims something about Tyler Florence, and disappears into the back yard. She returned a moment later holding a brick that she had clearly pulled out of the ground aloft. "Mom, what's the brick for?" "For your sandwich!" This is the part where we looked at her like like she was crazy. "Tyler Florence says everyone needs a kitchen brick. Here, I just wrap it in several layers of foil and we'll put your sandwich in a pan and it'll act like a panini press!" Now, I admit, she was on to something. "I feel like Tyler Florence has a nice, clean brick that he didn't just pull out of the yard to put on his food." "Just put the brick on the sandwich."

And that, my dear friends, is why I have a brick wrapped in tinfoil in my kitchen cabinet. And now, I'm gonna teach you how to use one.

Step One: Bread. I feel like that's all the explanation this step needs.

Step Two: Barbeque sauce. Yup. Not mustard. Not mayo. We're using barbeque sauce on our bread.

Step Three: Turkey. Ham or roast beef or really any type of meat would work. Also, mushrooms. Next comes cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. Seriously. This is one of the best parts. Once you think you have enough cheese, add another handful. Then you have enough cheese.

Step Four: Melt some butter in a non stick pan on Low-Medium heat. I have mine set to 3. Place sandwich in pan. Do anything necessary to make sandwich fit in pan. Or... use a larger pan. That might work too. But it's ok if it's a little too big. It happens to the best of us. And me too.

Step Five: Take a brick. Any brick will do. Even one straight out of the garden. Just ask my mom. Take your brick and wrap it in several layers of tinfoil. Then place your brick atop your sandwich and press down firmly. Walk away and return in six or seven minutes. Or until you remember that you did have a sandwich under a brick on the stove.

Step Six: Flip sandwich. Should be nice and crunchy. Makes a nice "tump tump" sound when you tap it. 'Cause you will. You just gotta. Place brick back on top of sandwich and once again wander off to tend to your cactus or knit some mittens or do whatever it is you do. Will you knit me a pair of mittens?

Step Seven: Remove brick. And enjoy. Mmmm... Warm and crunchy and cheesy and barbequey. Delicious, actually.

So what did we learn today? 1. Bricks are good. Especially bricks in tinfoil. 2. I would like a fuzzy pair of mittens for Christmas. 3. Yes, I have a cactus.

Fringe Vanilla and Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Bars

I don't win things. I'm sure you've heard someone say that before. But it's true. Raffles. Giveaways. Contests. Sports. Ok, maybe occasionally sports. Or maybe not. But that's not the point. The point is... It was my name, MINE, that she posted. My email to which she sent that fateful message. Alright, alright I might be just a tad melodramatic here. But how can you not be when you win a bottle of pure vanilla extract? Yes indeed folks. I WON!!! WHOO! Ahem. Excuse me. The lovely Fringegirl Tricia from The Domestic Fringe hosted a wonderful giveaway on her blog for a bottle of her very own Fringe Vanilla. I highly encourage you to check out her blog. She's fabulous!

So, when I received my bottle of premium quality Fringe Vanilla I, of course had to whip it out and bake!

...Or just smell it for a while. Come on. Everyone does this. Right? ...Right?

So! Step one for creamy, crescenty goodness. Gather the follow ingredients: Two packages of crescent roll dough, two packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese, one beaten egg, one cup of sugar, brown sugar, and of course, vanilla.

Gather like so. Step 2! Cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla all go into a mixing bowl... And then you mix it. Duh. You know what else is fabulous about this recipe? It's the first one I made using my new kitchen aid stand mixer!! I love it. It's great. I got it for like, twenty bucks and it's practically brand new. Love.Love.Love.

Step three: Get brother to open crescent roll packages 'cause jeepers they're scary when they like pop open. No, this is actually a step. If there is anyone else in the house, I will make them open these things. Biscuits, pizza dough, crescent rolls... they're really scary.

Nice work, bro. I couldn't have done it without you. Seriously.

Step four: Take one package of crescent dough and lay it in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. You could prolly do this in a 9x9 or whatever size pan you had on hand. This is sorta tricky as the dough sometimes tear or doesn't line up well, but just squish it around until it covers the entire bottom.

Step five: Use your spatula and get the cream cheese mixture onto the base layer of dough. Try and make it an even layer but if you eat a few finger-fulls... I'm not telling.

Step six: Layer the second package of dough over top of the filling. This can be pretty tricky but you just gotta fumble through it until you find a way that'll work for you. It's not too hard.

Step seven: Bake for 30 minutes or so. Oh, did I mention your should prolly preheat your oven to 350 degrees? 'Cause you should probably remember to do that. That usually helps. Hm. After it's done in the oven, let it cool. Duh. You don't wanna burn your mouth. And then I throw mine in the fridge 'cause I like mine refrigerated. But if you don't... that's cool. I respect your decision. I think it's a mistake, but I will respect it.

Step eight: After it's chilled in the fridge for... I dunno, a while, cut yourself a slice and enjoy! Ok, maybe two slices.

But seriously. These bars are great. Fringe Vanilla is great. And The Domestic Fringe is really, really great. Like, not just great. Like, so.really.fabulously.amazingly great. Go. Go look. You won't regret it. I promise. :)

-Spencer

That's It. He's Gonna Die.

One of the most exciting parts of my trip to Costa Rica was the Crocodile Tour. It was towards the end of our trip and when our Director said we were taking another boat tour I know I wasn't the only one groaning. I figured we'd only see a crocodile from a distance and it'd splash into the water and be gone before we got a proper look at it. After being on our tour bus (nicknamed the "Black Stallion") for a while I was tired and thought this boat ride would be a chance for a nice long conscious nap. You know. The kind of nap where you're not actually asleep but you're so zoned out and not paying attention you might as well be. So I was not exactly jumping out of my seat to get off the bus and down to the boat.

At first, the trip started off something like this. "Look to your right. Do you remember what that bird is called?" And everyone would mumble back "Great white egret" or "It's an Anhinga." I was thrilled. Really.

Can't you tell? So thrilled. And then our guide says "Oh, wonderful! Here's one of the big boys. Up here to the left. The locals call him Osama." So of course everyone is peering eagerly off to the left as we keep getting closer... and closer... and closer. This is Osama the Crocodile.

Yeah. That's a 16 foot crocodile. Maybe... twenty feet from where our captain takes the boat. This croc is over sixty years old. And chubby. But what happened next is where the story gets interesting. Our captain José Gets.Out.Of.The.Boat. WHY WOULD YOU GET OUT OF THE BOAT!? There's a sixteen foot male crocodile nicknamed 'Osama' and a 9 foot female crocodile sitting right there! WHY?? Well, to feed the crocodile, of course! How silly of me.

Ok, yeah that's a different crocodile. Because he got out of the boat TWICE. He's insane. And then two more female swam up while he was feeding the female next to Osama and he was trapped. So he had to step over Osama and weave through the other three females to get back to the boat. I was pretty convinced the next picture I'd be taking was gonna go a little something like this:

Fortunately, José did in fact not get his arm bitten off. I still think he's insane. And I was pretty certain he was gonna die. I mean, I was hoping someone else knew how to drive a boat because I was convinced we were not gonna have a captain. I mean, really. What sort of person GETS.OUT.OF.THE.BOAT?? GET BACK IN THE BOAT! PLEASE! So in conclusion... Crocodiles are scary. In fact they are so scary, I think I might need entire tub of therapy frosting to get over this one. Yup. The entire tub.

-Spencer

To Guanacaste and Back Again

So folks, it's been a while. Ok, ok. It's been almost a year. But can you blame a girl? It was my senior year at high school and I was busy with scholarships, and... and schoolwork!... and... and fun. Yeah, fun. Haha. And I moved too. I moved out of my parents' lovely home and am now living in a house they own right next to the campus my brothers' attended and I am now a student at. College! Eek!

Anyways... In July, my mom, grandma, and I traveled to Costa Rica as a sort of graduation present from my grandmother to me. It was incredible! I'd never been out of country before nor had I been to the ocean. Psh. Now I'm a world traveler. See?

That's me. On a zipline. Waaayyy up high in the trees. My mom and I went through Pura Aventura for our ziplining and I must say they were great. The guides were funny and really good at their jobs. They even took a few of us upside down on one of the lines. Now that's a little freaky.

For the actual tour itself though, we took Caravan's ten day tour. What a fabulous company. They had all the connections to get us into the coolest places and before the general public. Our tour director was amazing too. He knew we had to get up half an hour earlier on our first day if we even wanted a decent change at seeing the crater of the Poas Volcano.

Yeah. That's a volcano.

My only regret is that we didn't get much time to really experience day to day life. Sure, we saw cultural performances and met some of the Tico people but many days were spent on the bus looking out at the real Costa Rica or standing on the hotel balcony looking out over the city. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to really experience the people. You know what that means right? I'll just have to go back some day.

So look forward to some exciting, stupid, and funny stories of our travels in the next few weeks. And, as the Ticos say, ¡Pura Vida!

-Spencer

A Bad Case of Senioritis

That's right folks. I am a senior. I am finally in my last year of high school. And I can't wait to get it over with. Yeah, yeah. I know what you're saying. Enjoy childhood while it lasts. Don't be too eager to get out into the world and work. College is the biggest decision you'll make. Psh. I've heard it all. And I'm ready to vomit if I hear it all one more time. Let me give you some insight into the mind of a crazy, hectic, exhausted, laughing, stressed Senior.

College? Scholarships? Ah!
I was one of the lucky few. I knew where I wanted to go to school. And I knew I was going to get in. I applied to one college. And was immediately accepted. (How could they say no to my 32 on the ACT right?) But that doesn't mean I wasn't still stressed. Copies of transcripts, writing essays, getting letters of recommendation, making my application flawless... well that was just part of it. Then there's the agonizing wait. Checking the mailbox everyday, just hoping to see your name on an envelope. And then it's there. It's a medium size envelope and skinny. Is that bad? Did they reject me? Opening that letter is one of the scariest moments of my life. And I knew I was gonna get in.
Now that I am in, all I hear is people asking me where I got in, where I've decided to go, why would I choose that college, what am I gonna do? Well, folks. I don't know most of the time, so you might as well not bother asking me. Now, I've moved on to scholarships. Which are also incredibly stressful. I mean, they're gonna pay for education. They're really big.

Friends and Fun
I like having fun. I mean, what teen doesn't? What rational person doesn't? But sometimes it's hard to find that time around school and dance and work. And certainly don't get me started on my job. Unfortunately, this means I'm not going to be around the house much. which can be difficult for parents who have a bad case of Empty Nest Syndrome. But, if you force me to stay home and spend "quality time" with you, I'm just going to want to get out of the house more. Trust me, at the end of the night, after school and work and friends, there's no place I want to be more than Home. And, at the end of the night, I just want to lay down and relax. I don't necessarily want to be down in the kitchen or living room being social. Sometimes, I just want to lay back and watch tv. Don't fret, I will come out of hiding eventually, but you can't force me out. Just give me the space I need and I'll be around.

School. School. School.
Oh sure. Senior year. Should be a cake walk right? Wrong. Teachers claim that they don't care anymore, they just want you to graduate and get out of their hair. And yet, they assign insane papers and projects and tons of homework. At this point, I'm sure all seniors out there are going "Aren't we done yet??" Well, dear seniors, not quite. The first three years of high school seem to fly by in a blur. Senior year seems to take forever but will be gone in a second. We're so close to our futures, and yet we're stuck night after night still doing our spanish and calculus homework. Everyone is pushing, pushing, pushing you to finish, to cross that line. All I can say is... Breathe. May will come soon enough. Parents, enjoy us while you can because soon, we'll be out in the big world, making our own way.

Life as We Never Expect It

Sometimes, life throws us a curve ball. You don't expect it. You don't get time to plan for it. You don't know what to do once it happens. It messes up your plans (oh, is that why I never blog any more?) and drives you, well, insane. But would it be life any other way?

I'm a senior in high school now. I've applied to colleges, I'm working on scholarships, I'm trying to balance school and work and what has become my pathetic social life. It's become a stressful, crazy rollercoaster ride lately. And to my friends, my parents, my boyfriend and everyone else around me who've had to put up with me, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

But I'm not trying to depress you and cast the world into a dark, dreary, 'everything sucks' light. It is true that at time life just plain sucks. But what defines us more than how we handle conflict and challenges? Let me tell you. Nothing. Sometimes, you're gonna make people angry. Sometimes, you're going to disappoint people. You're going to elate and offend, intimidate and inspire. You're going to evoke all sorts of emotion in all sorts of people. And that's not a bad thing. One day you may say to your neighbor, "I like your hair" You thought you were being sweet and sincere. She took an hour trying to get it right, hates it, and thinks you are mocking her. That's not your fault. If things turned out exactly as you intended them every single time life would be an awfully boring place.

What I'm trying to say here is this: Things aren't always gonna turn out as you plan, but you might as well make the best of them. That's luck right there. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason teaches us this. Luck is not finding five dollars in the parking lot or that necklace you lost last week under the dresser. Luck is in opportunities. Luck is having a friend who will come at the drop of the hat to help you in the Concession Stand. Luck is having parents who say go for it all and we'll be right there behind you. Luck is having a boyfriend who loves me unconditionally even when I'm, well, a jerk about things. Luck is in opportunities we seize the minute the appear for we will lose them if we procrastinate but a second. So, in every sense of the word, I am lucky.

We only live once. Why should we waste our time pouting and fretting over what new surprise, what new upset is going to pop up next? If we constantly lived in fear of some crazy accident or incident messing up our carefully laid plans? We'd get nowhere. We'd meet no one. We'd be awfully lonely and unhappy. So, seize life by the horns, take it as it comes and live spontaneously. There's really no other way to do it.

-Spencer

Mind Your P's and Q's

Well. It's been a little while. Unfortunately this hiatus was not really of my choosing. Being a Junior is incredibly hectic. ACT, scheduling, sports (a lot of sports), refereeing for sports, homework, and a trip to DC. Most of that is all another story for another time except for my experiences in Washington DC.


I am a Midwest girl. I grew up smiling when I passed someone on the street, waving when I passed someone on the road, greeting my neighbors when I saw them, happily offering aid to anyone who needed it, pointing anyone in the right direction, and striking up conversations with random people when we stood in line at the grocery store. These traits, however, do not seem to be appreciated in other parts of the country. In fact, many of my attempts to be friendly while visiting the nation's capital were spurned. I'd smile as I'd pass someone on the street and they'd glare or look at me like I had two heads. I was very discouraged after a day or two of touring the city and finding that our glorious capital wasn't near as friendly as I expected.

This got me wondering. Thousands upon thousands of tourists take a pilgrimage to the birth of liberty only to be treated coldly and sometimes, rudely. What does this say about us? Let me assure you, our whole country is not like this. Though I have limited travel experience outside of the Midwest, I know people can be polite and courteous. You always hear people saying that we need more good in this world, yet if you dropped your keys on the street with an armload of stuff, would they go out of their way to pick them up? I doubt it.

I'm not complaining and going on and on about how society is terrible and we should all just crawl in a hole and die. That is very much not my purpose. My purpose is to bring light to issues such as these so that more people realize what's going on. So, I'm going to challenge you. I want you to be nice. Yup. Nice. There's a novel concept. Haha. Smile. Strike up a conversation with your cashier. Tip your waitress a little extra. Help the person struggling with all their stuff. Just... be nice.

-Spencer

Simple minds, simple pleasures

Raise your hand if you think that any of the following are a detriment to society?: cell phones, texting, video games, online chats, hand held game systems, computer games...any of those? By the way, if you raised your hand, now is the proper moment to feel foolish for raising your hand to an inanimate object ;).

Yeah, we've heard it all before. The teen generation of today will have no social ability when they are older, we'll all be having epileptic seizures by the time we're in our late twenties, we'll all have carpal tunnel when we're all older...all thanks to technology and it's recent developments. Yes, technology - particularly my cell phone and computer - are pivotal components in my life. And yes, I'm a teenage boy and I do play the occasional play station or xbox or even online games. I will whole heartedly support the statement that technology - mostly the aforementioned types - completely dictate the life of the average teen.

Now, for you younger people reading. Have you ever shook your head in embarrassment and shame while looking upon a 50+ year old parent texting you and saying "hey dude. lol," or maybe some of you have have laughed your head off when an adult asks for your help in opening one of those fancy things called a...wait a minute, let me think of the name. A we...web...a website? Yes, I think that's what you kids call them.

Parents, adults...it's your turn to laugh at the teens.

Even I can see how funny it is when a teenager gets a flashback to what life was like a little bit before our time. I've seen young children, somewhere between 10-12 years old, look at a cassette tape and say, "what's that?" Just this morning my 19 year old sister and I got our hands on my mother's old typewriter. Yup, that's right. Woohoo, I officially love typewriters, no lie! I'm not even a little bit ashamed to say that we spent about half an hour having a blast with a typewriter haha. Two young adults, completely mesmerized every single time that little curser thing slid back and forth over the page. How intriguing.

Anyone out there ever play Super Nintendo? Well folks, let me tell you a little bit about your writers, Spencer and I. Both well into our teen years, bordering adulthood, both very technologically based...both in possession of Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems we were recently able to dig out of the farthest, darkest reaches of piles of old junk. One of the most primitive game systems, laughable graphics compared to today's games, yet your two studious, very mature writers spent hours playing Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country, and darn it we were having the time of our lives. I don't care if they're old. Those games are fun!

An what happens to us teens when you take away technology completely? Yeah, some of us may fall apart, even if its for a little bit. It's sad, I know. Keep your eyes peeled, though. We do know how to entertain ourselves. I know a girl, very smart, very deep minded, extremely intellectual, extremely good with computers, and I happen to know for a fact she spends an awful lot of time texting and messing around with her phone. Yet just the other day I watched this girl for at least an hour as she discovered a box of bendy straws, and then proceeded to combine then into one super long straw. Sounds foolish, doesn't it? Well, this 16 year old girl spent almost an hour completely in awe of this amazing invention she created by simply sticking one straw in the end of another. Yes, she was absolutely amazed. Perhaps that is what texting and computer games can do to one's brain. Poor girl.

In the end, we're teenagers. I think that's a pretty good excuse for any of our faults. We're just teenagers, give us some slack. Our heads aren't stuck in the clouds; they're stuck in the pixels and the memory cards and the "lol"s. It's kinda nice, though, kinda fun to have our heads pulled back a step or two once in a while.

No matter what we do, though, in the end the rest of the world still has to deal with us. Good luck, world!

*superman*

Deep Breath After Deep Breath

Sometimes we say hurtful things. Sometimes we say things that aren't true. Sometimes we say things just because we know it'll make a point no matter how cruel it is. I'm kinda upset right now. But passionate words lead to passionate points and hopefully a beneficial end result. I'm not going to tell you why I'm upset. Suffice to say there was an altercation earlier. And today, there's not going to be a how-to or an insight into a teen's mind. Today it's going to be more a narrative.

I argue frequently with people. I was brought up the youngest of three children-two older twin brothers who were brilliant and confident. We didn't eat fast food often, we always sit down and eat meals together. Usually, we'd turn on the tv. The Simpsons, Wheel of Fortune, and the world news were the trifecta of shows that we would usually put on. And as the three of us grew older we developed our own opinions on, well, everything. Food, politics, sports, computers games, teachers, you name it. While we all shared genetic material, we were always individuals.

And it was around that same table that I found my voice. I often listened to my brothers argue about politics. But I always could express my own opinion. And it didn't stop there. I learned to speak my mind at school, at events, wherever I felt I needed to stand up for myself. I've learned a lot of things sitting around that yellow-ish table that never quite seemed to have enough room for us all.

A lot of people disagree with how I get things done. A lot of people disagree with my beliefs. A lot of people disagree with personality, my lifestyle, my work ethic, me. But I think they're rather naive in all of this. I think they base their opinions on a rather narrow slice of my life that they've only barely tasted. Sometimes you gotta step back, take another piece and just dig in. We're all guilty of sometimes assuming things or making false accusations. Take a deep breath, it's all gonna be ok.

Think of your son or daughter, friend, sister, brother, aunt, cousin, neighbor, whoever. Do you really know what goes on in their life? Do you really know everything about every situation they've been in? No offense, but I doubt it. And I know I'm guilty too. All we can do is sit down, ask a few questions, talk about some things and hope we can assess the situation better next time.

I suppose I do have one tidbit of advice to share. Don't yell at your teen. We get defensive. We get mad. We get upset. And we get quite hurt by it. You are not just our mother or father or aunt or teacher or whomever. You're our rolemodel. And even if we're too darn stubborn to admit it, we strive to make you proud, hear that praise, know that we've done good. And out of the blue yelling or even yelling we deserve hurts. It kills us to know that we've let you down. It burns to know that we've done something so terrible as to warrant a rather loud verbal reprimand. It knocks us down, it rubs dirt in our face, and it walks away. Ouch. So give us a chance. Let us talk and say what's on our mind. And don't just hear us, listen to us. We're not misbehaving animals; we don't need to be yelled at. We wanna be talked to. Like an equal. Are you listening?

--Spencer

PS: My forensics piece is called The Dating Game by Kelly Meadows.

Just to give you an idea...

So, folks, you've probably noticed that posts by Spencer and myself have become a bit more spaced out in the last few months, a bit fewer and further between. hey, we try, ok? Not to make excuses, but we both lead extremely busy lives as a high school Junior and Senior. And yeah, of course there are those of you out there thinking "Jeesh, you're kids. how busy could you possibly be that you cant it down at write for a few minutes?" You want to know how busy I am? Alright. I thought I'd turn this post into a bit of a project. For the past week i recorded everything I had to do each day so you folks could see just what I'm talking about.

MONDAY - Woken up at 7:30 by my mom for school. Fun fun. Somewhere between my 90 minue classes I had to find time to begin editing a video for a class project. Caught a lucky break and got to leave school 45 minutes early for a very important college interveiw (went well!), ate a quick, cheap fast-food dinner before having a rare 3 hours to spend with my girl :).
I finally got home at 10 pm, at which point I began research on Heinrich Himmler (not a nice guy) for yet another project. I finally collapsed from exhaustion around 12:30.

TUESDAY - Woke up at 7:15 (early for me) and spent 30 minutes looking for my english novel. In school, had to - once again - spend my one, tiny, pathetic 20 minute break editing that video, after which I took 2 hour-long tests and watched Supernanny. yay for stupid classes. Had a physically exhausting practice for 2.5 hours, spent another hour working on the video, and then went into the school concession stand to help out furing the varsity basketball game. Home at 9:15. From there I worked on submissions to literary agencies for 2 hours and did a bit more research on mr. Himmler. Turns out in one weeks time I get to give a 15 minute speech on this guy. Finally fell asleep watching TV at 2:30. Hm, missing anything? Oh yeah. Dinner = quick sandwich at 9:30. Mmm, mmm, good.

WEDNESDAY - What a day. Woke up at 7:30 and could hardly open my eye. Lucky me, all my contact solution is at another house. 10 minute drive to the other house, and then 20 minutes back and forth to grab the key I forgot in the first place. I go about my day with one contact in (harder than it sounds, folks. I have a vision correct of about -8. For those of you who dont know, thats baaaaaaad!). Got to school 15 minutes late.
School went relatively smoothly. 2.5 hour practice, after which I locked myself in a classroom for 3 hours of video editing. At school until 9. Dinner 9eaten alone0 was left over lasagna at 9:30 during an episode of AFV (watched alone). Then - surprise - back to assembling a presentation for my 15 minute speech. Around 2 I fell asleep whil taking notes.

THURSDAY - Woke up (roughly 7:30) with spiral indents on my face from the notebook zi fell asleep on. Thank God I actually made it school on time. Sadly, I spent both my short break and my lunch period editing my video, had to leave school for one class period to finish up other random bits of work, and then back to another 2.5 hour practice. Another 3 hours of editing, one short hour at la casa de mi novia (girlfriend), home by 10. Dinner was...non existant. half a snadwich at about 7, the other half at 10:30 witha bag of doritos and a powerade. Got in another 30 minutes of research and finally began writing out a speech outline. I'm quite behind schedule but...hell, when am i ever on schedule?! Fell asleep while working (again), woke up about midnight, ate some fruit snacks, and fell back asleep.

FRIDAY - Woke up a little ahead of schedule and actually made it to school early for once. Day went by rather smoothly. Spent 10 minutes of my lunch period and finally finished that video. Woohoo. Practice was quick. 2 hours, rather than 2.5. The next 4 hours, though, were spent in the concession stand again for the basketball game. Another spare hour to relax finally. Between waking up at 7 and getting home at midnight, I ate a whopping one slice of store bought frozen pizza and a pack of mambas. Joy. At 12:30 I had a bowl of pasta alone in the dark while rying to motivate myself to get to work on my speech. never happened. Fell asleep at the computer around 1:30.

SATURDAY - Muahaha! All thos days I missed out on eating dinner...well, I made up for them today. I got up at 7:30 (yes, 7:30 on a saturday) for breakfast witha friend. Ihop = yum! Bought a new jacket (my girlfriend thinks mine is pathetic). Around noon I met a friend at subway and ate a 6 inch. At 12:30 I wnt back to town to return my new jacket thanks to a very large rip in the sleeve. While there, I ate lunch ate Arbys. Haha I just hit up all the best restaurants in one day. I stopped at the bank quick and got home at right about 3. Had just enough time to shower before friends started showing up. For the next few hours myself and a few friends made utter fools of ourselves strapped to snowboards, after which we stopped (about 9:30 pm) for a late dinner. Ihop again! Just when it looked like I was going to have a totally trouble free day. my friend's car key snaps clean in half in his car door. So, about 11 oclock at night, at least an hour from home, we had to sit in the cold and wait for help. I got home around 12:45 and was alseep within 5 minutes. Didnt even bother taking off my jacket.

SUNDAY - Up around 9 oclock and realized my room loocked like it had just been hit by a hurricane. Guess i should clean it, huh?
Went in to work at noon and stood basically in one spot for the next 6 long, boring hours. After work I stopped by to see that girlfriend of mine again to see if she could fix my computer. Stupid computers with stupid viruses. Ate some spaghettios for dinner and went home by 10. Worked on my speech for about 2 hours. All in all, pretty slow, down paced day. That, my friends, is rare.

Now, did you notice how long that was? It s because Im just that busy. heck, I spent almost 60 hours just in the school building this week. Who wants to do that?! I'd really rather not! Not once throughout the whole week did I have an actual meal. So...yeah, I'm just taking life as it comes to me, and at the moment its just been coming kinda fast paced.

I know there are those of you out there who know what tghis feels like, and those of you out there just waiting for a time when you can feel like you'd rather rip out your eyes and play ping pong with them than work for another minute. Yeah, just wait. when that time does come, though, all I can say is...good luck

cheers
*superman*