in a glass case of emotions

So, tonight I finally saw The Hunger Games.

I'll admit that it doesn't take much for me to cry, but I've seriously never sobbed that much at a movie. Every scene with Katniss and Prim, Rue's death, when everyone raised the three fingers, when Thresh saved Katniss... by the end with Cato I was sort of a mess.

Can I just say how much I love Jennifer Lawrence? Her interviews are the funniest thing ever, she's so pretty, and she makes a superb Katniss. We should be friends.

The only downside was there were these annoying girls sitting by me who kept on giggling loudly at things that weren't at all funny. I was this close several times to yelling, "OH MY GOD IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY" but, you know, I was too busy wiping the tears away.

I heard people talking about all the 'mistakes' and things from the book that weren't included, but honestly, I don't care. No movie adaptation is ever going to have everything from the original. Deal with it. It's been a long time since I read the books, so I was able to enjoy the movie without noticing the details that were left out.

On the way home, I curled into the fetal position and snapped at anyone who tried to talk. Then I went straight for the computer and listened to the movie soundtrack. I was so focused on the Hunger Games I didn't even think about doing anything else.

So basically, it was beautiful.

coming out of hibernation

Winter is a season of hibernation, and I like that, but now it's spring, time for me to get out of my room and enjoy the sunshine. Things always pick up this time of year, and so far this has been no different.

This weekend I actually got out of the house and did something other than watch TV in bed. Well, I mean, I did that, too. I watched six episodes of Doctor Who in two nights and was told I had showed constraint. Man, I have to step up my game. Too bad I have stuff to do next weekend, or I could try and break that record. I hate having stuff to do.

So, anyway, soccer has started up again. I had two games this weekend and I am sore. The first one went well enough in that I actually scored a goal for the first time in something that's not a scrimmage. The second one was the kind of awful game where the other team had six subs and we had negative three subs at the start. Completely unfair. And yeah, we lost. But oh well.

Sunday evening I went with some friends to see Young the Giant and that was fun. It's nice to just get out and listen to music and dance and be among people.

Well, happy spring and stuff.

strangers

I like to photograph people, but a lot of times it's hard to get them to work with you. They shy away from the camera, or make faces, or look too posed. This is why I like to photograph strangers. Just ordinary people you see in public places, at a park or museum or on the street. It's not being a stalker; it's witnessing life and wanting to capture it. They're most natural when they don't notice you, and though you may not know their story, you get to glimpse just a minute of it.

If they don't catch you, it's easy to snap as many pictures as you want. And if they do catch you, you can simply slip away into the crowd with the comforting knowledge that you will most likely never see them again. You get to be there for just a moment of their life, and then they're gone. (Like ships passing in the night...)

Strangers intrigue me. There are some people I've seen once and still wonder about.

I wish I had taken their picture.

(These are all from California a few weeks ago.)

city of angels

I'm still alive! I've been home for several days, but I've been busy with school and important things like watching TV. Anyway, I have a lot of stuff to do right now, so I thought, why not write a long overdue blog post? Here are some pictures from my spring break trip to Los Angeles. It's just the ~highlights~ so there's actually not that many. For once!

 Approaching the city.

The Getty Museum.

It looks out onto the city with this incredible view. 

Lunch at a French restaurant. Yum.

I saw the Hollywood sign! It was all so crazy. 

There are lots of things I did that were not pictured. We went to the Grove the first night, which is kind of like the Domain but bigger? I spent most of my time in Barnes & Noble and Anthropologie.

Then a few days later, we went on a tour of the Warner Brothers Studios which was really neat. They had a bunch of Harry Potter paraphernalia, props and costumes that were used in the movies. We went through some actual studios of shows like Pretty Little Liars...which I don't watch...but it was still interesting. I bought a Chocolate Frog and some Bernie Botts Every Flavored Beans. And took pictures of the Friends set (on my mom's camera) to totally make my friend(s) jealous.

I also have lots of pictures of Santa Monica Pier on my film camera, so that will be up soon. By soon I mean "in a while" because that takes more effort.

P.S. Now every time I think about angels I think about Weeping Angels. What a great thing to have in your mind, especially right before going to sleep!

be back soon.

Sorry for dropping off the face of the blogworld for a week. I was in LA without internet access from Saturday until Wednesday and now I'm in Palm Springs. I'm coming home this Saturday (St. Patrick's Day!) and there'll be lots of posts about my trip and other things when I return.

Until then..

my life is incredibly exciting. beware.

Wednesday morning, 7:45 am.
I walk through the halls with as much emotion as a dementor. I slide down and sit by my locker after shoving my backpack in haphazardly. My internal monologue goes something like this: *expletive* *expletive* Here's your pencil, no need to say thanks. *expletive* Where are my friends? They should be here by now. *expletive* I wish I had brought some work to do so I wouldn't just be sitting here. *expletive*
My external monologue is like this: Yes, I'm fine. Excuse me. *smile*

Wednesday morning, 11:15 am.
I have finished the TAKS test. I actually audibly giggled a few times at some of the answer choices and at my own cheesy essay. It's probably one of the worst things I've ever written, but it answers the prompt. Now I am staring at the hands on the clock, watching one minute fade into the next. I finally put my head down on the desk and take a nap.

Wednesday afternoon, 2:05 pm.
I'm in Planet Earth and we're playing Dance Dance Revolution. Why yes, I do attend one of the top ranked high schools in the nation, thanks for asking.
To clarify, I don't dance. I watch. There's something immensely entertaining about seeing six foot tall guys dance to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Especially when one of them is your teacher.

Wednesday evening, 7:50 pm.
Mom tells us we're going out to dinner. We usually don't go out on weekdays, but this is the second time we have this week. Mom must really not want to make dinner.
I open the door to Phil's and immediately recognize several people. I say hi to my friend Claudia, and to the girl behind the counter who goes to my church. Outside, there is a table full of policemen, working on their fancy policeman laptops. It's amusing.
Every doubt I had about dropping my homework for coming here is erased when I bite into my veggie burger and fries. Delish.

Wednesday night, 9:45 pm.
Watching Doctor Who. I hope.
So now I'm on Season 3. I love David Tennant. But I miss Rose. *sniff* She has my middle name. I felt a special connection, you know?

Well. I told you my life is incredibly exciting.

the kite festival

I went to the Kite Festival downtown this afternoon for a bit. There were so many people there; easily several thousand. It was another gorgeous day here in Texas -- blue sky, nice temperature, windy. Perfect for kite-flying.

Since there were so many people, my dad and I parked a few miles away and biked to the park. I swear, I've gotten more exercise this weekend than the entire past few months. It's kind of sad, and I'm kind of sore, but it's all worth it.

Homework is done, so now it's relaxation time. One week until Spring Break!

in like a lion.

March seemed to arrive astonishingly quickly this year. Not that I'm complaining. This month promises a trip to California, the Hunger Games movie, warmer days ahead, and much more.

I spent a lot of time mucking about on the computer before realizing that today was a beautiful spring day and I shouldn't waste it inside. It was the kind of day that people long for after a harsh winter. It was nice and breezy, a bit on the cool side, but jackets weren't necessary. Flowers are starting to bloom again and color is returning to the landscape.

So I briefly revisited my New Year's Resolutions. Remember those? After two months of being lazy and apathetic, with the winter doldrums as my excuse, I decided to just go do it. By "it" I mean running. I went to the track and ran two miles. By "ran" I really mean "half walked, half jogged." (Same difference.) I'm not going to say it felt good, because it hurt. First, my throat hurt. Then my stomach hurt. And when I was finished, my legs felt wobbly. But you have to start somewhere, right? I'm aiming to run at least twice a week from now on, to get in shape for soccer and also because I've decided to do cross country in the fall. I don't know what's gotten in to me.

I'm going to go watch Doctor Who to balance out that exercise. I'm well into the second season now! It's exciting stuff.

P.S. You may have noticed there's a new design. I like it much better.