1. Relationships don’t last. Seriously.
2. Boys haven’t reached the maturity level that girls have.
3. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Where’s the talking?
4. Drama within groups of friends.
5. Losing a really good friend because you had sex with them.
6. Falling hard. And picking back up is harder.
7. Everyone’s hormones are at super-high levels.
8. Serial daters. I know they’re everywhere, but they seem to be more prominent in high school.
9. Most couples end once college begins anyways.
10. It’s much more worthwhile once you find someone you know you will connect with.
11. Do you really want to be with that person when they’re old, smelly, and hairy?

Well, college hunting that is. Yesterday I went up to Northwestern with Akash and I really got a good feel for the University. The people were friendly, and I really could do what I want. I can either take a dual-degree or a double-major, which was totally new to me. However, I don’t think I’m academically rigorous enough. I guess I’ll apply anyways. I have a chance? And my audition can count towards it, and my essay and things. I mean, I generally get A’s, so it’s not bad. I loved the feel of the campus, the academic rigor. I mean, there is so much to choose from there. Let’s see what else I really discovered, because there was a Performing Arts college fair after at Bloomquist. So, that was a good opportunity to speak to some other colleges about their courses. I discovered some good and some not so good things. One, Peabody is looking farther down on my list. I was hoping I could easily do a double-major because that’s what JHU talks about and how it’s easy. But, Peabody seems to make it WAY more difficult. So, it’s a possibility, but it’s not looking too high up there. Also, CIM is lower on my list by a lot. It seems way too traditional for me. See, I was comparing their college catalogue to one that SFCM gave me. And it’s very different in a lot of ways. They just have set stuff you MUST take. There was no New Music Ensemble or anything of the like. So, on the other end of the spectrum: positives. Well, SFCM is looking high on my list. There were lots of opportunities and it just generally looked like a good place to expand my music horizons. Also, Berklee College of Music was a great place it seemed to do more alternative styles with my viola. So that’s a consideration. Also higher on my list was USC. I can do just about anything there. I didn’t have a chance to ask about a dual-degree or a double major, but I can email them. It seemed interesting. It’s a very high caliber string program. (I mean seriously, Midori teaches there) And Mannes was higher on my list too. I can do other things at one of the other colleges inside the University. NEC I can do a dual-degree with Harvard or Tufts as well. So, yeah. All this got me thinking. I certainly learned a lot. Now I have to compare all this to other things that I had been researching before. Yay college.

Ok. So that’s not totally the story of my life recently, but if I had to describe it in 5 words: 2 nouns with adjectives and a coordinating conjunction, that would totally be it. Yesterday I went dress shopping. I cannot tell you how many black dresses I tried on. I found 2 very cute ones, but one of them didn’t look as flattering on the top, so I bought the other one. I still have $50 left in my budget. Yay for bargain hunting at JcPenney. Best place to buy dresses. It takes some hunting through the 90s style pant suits, but once you get through that, and the mismatched little girl clothing, there are some pretty good finds. Plus, a lot of their stuff is on sale on the weekends. Of course, it was hell there. Why did I go shopping on a Saturday early afternoon? *crazy* Anyways, I got a cute dress. It’s all ruched at the shoulder and boob part and then flows down to my knees. Any shorter I can’t wear.

As for Egg Salad, well, we kind of need to go grocery shopping. So… we have eggs. And par-baked bread. And mayo. Guess what that means!! Egg salad sarnies! Yeah. We have other things. 1 can of soup. Ice cream sandwiches. Frozen pasta. Milk. Cereal. But… yeah. Potatoes. That’s for dinner. Potatoes. Yeah. Maybe tomorrow grocery shopping? But I have class, and lesson, and rehearsal. Sounds like a no-no. *Sigh* Nothing else very interesting here. I’m pretty sure that guys cannot get hints. But… that’s just because they’re very dense. Maybe as they get older. No sé. MEN. GET A CLUE.

Anyways. That’s it. This week is going to be hell. And next week. YAY September insaneness. Seriously. I have something every single evening that will take up a bajillion hours of my time OTHER THAN school and homework. Oh well. Things will get better after Midori comes. Until then, life = hell.

I knew I’d write about this some day.

Let me make myself clear, I got both types of sex ed. That is, abstience only and comprehensive. In 8th grade, we took time out of each day in our “team” to listen to a speaker talk about why sex is bad. Why they regretted it. Why, because they were uneducated, they got pregnant, got HIV/AIDS, the list goes on. So, instead of trying to possibly educate the kids who, at 13 or 14 were already having sex, they just said it was bad. That masturbation was bad because alleving sexual feelings is certainly not allowed. I mean, I certainly got here because a stork carried me from the hands of some higher, unknown being who had no reason for me to have sex. I knew this wasn’t the way to be, but what about the kids that did listen to the speaker who said that condoms didn’t work. Who told them that, no matter what, having sex is ALWAYS a negative thing.

I can’t deny that having sex at 13 can have some negative consequences. Regardless of some kids being physically mature enough to have sex, your emotions aren’t set. What about the fact that there is always the constant pressure to have sex through the media? None of the government-funded abstience-only sex ed covered any of this. What about the fact that in the end, we are all sexual beings? Nothing. After the end of this program, they all gave us these wristbands. Remember the liveSTRONG bands that everyone wore? They were like those. But they were white and they said “Wait 4 Your Mate”. Hold on, the government is using our tax money to tell kids that saying “4″ instead of “for” is alright??? I mean, besides everything else, that’s just… wrong. Oh. The best part? If I went to their office, I could get a free “keep ur pants up” t-shirt. Man, I really need one of those.

Now, let’s get back to my comprehensive sex ed experience. I admit, it was pretty good considering they had to cover a lot in a small amount of time. But there were some key parts that just… bother me. Let’s go into a hypothetical world. You are a gay teenage boy who is just starting to realize his feelings. You don’t understand what “safer sex practices” mean because school only teaches them under the basis of birth control. I read an article today talking about how gays and black people are still under a greater threat of getting infected with HIV/AIDS. We’re not teaching our kids that safer sex pertains to all manner of sexualities. That males who are having sex with males need to use a condom and lube. That females need to use a dental dam. I mean, how would you even know that unless you did research?? You wouldn’t. Or, maybe a girl thought saran wrap was fine because it “seemed” like the same material. But it’s not. Saran wrap is porous, which means that viruses and bacteria can get through it. Not good at all. But even for straight couples, they don’t emphasize that having a back up plan is good. Or that you should use 2 forms of birth control, like the pill and a condom. Using the pill isn’t good enough unless everyone is STI free! Oh the flaws.

Anyways. I’m done with my ranting. I’m starting to think maybe I should become a sex educator…. Apt career possibly? ¡¡En español!! Anyways, that’s it. But… comments?

I know it was just released today, but I just want to express to you how geeky I am. I LOVE GOOGLE CHROME. I love Firefox, don’t get me wrong, but it seems like a super new browser and it’s very clean and is fast. Oh, it’s so nice. ;D Hand it to Marijke to already download the new browser by Google. I still have to use Firefox for certain things, which is a downside. I have to use the IE Tab for certain things and FireFTP, but really I don’t use either THAT often, so I don’t think it will be bad. If you haven’t tried out Google Chrome yet, you should. http://google.com/chrome. Their little videos are quite informative as well, if you just want to see about it. I wanna try out the supposedly super-fast javascript loading in a bit. Talk about a couple of rounds of iSketch.

What else is new? Well. I’ve started a new book. Actually, I’m reading like 4 right now. But my MAIN book is this one on Shostakovich by Elizabeth Wilson. It’s fantastic. She gets right inside his life through the testimony of others who knew him, not just whatever was published. It’s all direct sources of friends, relatives, teachers, acquaintances. I know no one who reads this would find it interesting, but it really is a good book. I especially like that it’s all direct sources, so it’s all fact. Nothing with silly Solomon Volkov’s “Testimony” which is really just plagiarizing and… yeah. It’s bad.

As you probaby know, school has started. It’s pretty ok. My math teacher is super geeky, but a great teacher and gym class isn’t that bad. I’m taking Jazz/Tap, so… it’s a new dance style for me, but I used to dance ballet for a while so, it’s not new as far as moving is considered. Also, Dramatic Lit seems like a nice class. We have a nice teacher (the dept. chair) and she tries to make things more than just boring old reading books. I like that. French is a joke. Spanish is good. I have a teacher who is a native speaker, so he doesn’t screw things up like former teachers and he knows his stuff. It’s good. We’re playing Shosti 8 in orchestra (hell yes!) and it’s starting to sound hawt. Nothing much else. I’ve gotten some emails to teach kids, so I’ll see how many I actually get. One lady just emailed me today. And… I have lessons starting back up again next week, which should be fun. Other than that… not much. Hopefully everyone is coping with school.

Go try Chrome ;D
Marijke

I don’t know how much you all cook. But, in my house, we like cooking. Stir fry, pastas, you name it, we like it. As long as its vegetarian, in my case. But… I was just thinking today how much sauce I like. I know. How random, you’re thinking. But no! The sauce makes the food. Sometimes, I make my own sauces, like with European food. You know, basic cream sauces, alfredo, cheese sauce, the list goes on and on of lots of things you can make by starting with a good base. On the other end, we have things like stir fry. I can make stir fry, but making the right seasoning sauce to put in is something else. So I resort to my favorite company ever, SOY VAY! Yes. This is a rant on how much I like soy vay. Oh it is so delicious. I’m sitting here eating a vegetable spring roll, dipping it in their “Hoisin Garlic” sauce, that is ever so garlicky and delicious. Or for something more fruity, they have yummy Island Teriyaki. The pineapple juice they add makes it amazing. Or, for a traditional taste, Veri Veri Teriyaki is great too. The little sesame seeds add some nice texture. I have yet to try their Wasabiyaki, but I am sure that it is amazing as well. So, you should really try some soy vay sauce if you haven’t already. And it IS sold in places like Wal-Mart, so there is no need to find a Whole Foods (which we are lucky enough to have). Go try some. You won’t be unimpressed. Unless you don’t like asian flavors. But, I’m kind of addicted to asian food. Mmmm. Ok. That was a weird rant. But it is oh so good!

I just finished re-reading Harry Potter 5, and I still love the books all the same as I did when I first read them. They’re pretty epic, even though I know a lot of people don’t like them. I’m debating on reading either Vanity Fair or Love in the Time of Cholera next. I will be reading it in english though, not the original spanish. I’m not that good. That’s what La Casa en Mango Street is for. But… once I get back to taking classes next week, I will start reading it possibly. I don’t really want to go back… but I do at the same time. It will give me something to do during my lazy days. And I’ll be getting back to teaching lessons, taking lessons, orchestra rehearsals, extracurricular activities, etc. I have an audition tomorrow. But it’s just for seating purposes, so it’s not that bad. Once that ends I can get back to learning other music for lessons and other auditions, but I really had to focus on all this latin american stuff + tchaikovsky violin concerto. LUCKILY it’s not me playing it… it’s Midori. I’m very excited that she is going to be playing with us. *Acts like a fangirl* OH EM GEEE!! Ok. I got over that immature moment. I’ve been organizing a lot this weekend. My mom has been working. She and I are supposed to meet at ikea sometime this evening, but she’s still not off work so I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I really need a filing cabinet before I continue with anything. I have all these folders that used to be in a big wooden desk I had, but when I got new things for my room, namely a glass desk, I didn’t have that, so now I need one. The new IKEA catalogue had some nice stuff, including one, so I hope I can find it given that there wasn’t a name next to it. Everytime I saw one, it was always about the folders inside it instead of the cabinet itself. Oh well. Enough furniture ranting. I am going to go. But I shall update, for the people who don’t read my blog. Which is the whole world. Ok. Goodbye.

I’m sure many people have seen the movie, but the book is much more intense. It’s not for kids, as the movie isn’t really, but it’s not as disturbing as some scenes in the book. But McEwan writes so eloquently that regardless of WWII happening, you keep reading, enthralled. The first thing that hits you as you read the book, is double perspective. You have to remember when you’re reading the book, that in the beginning, some things that Cecilia and Robbie do are misinterpreted by Briony. So one reads the scene multiple times from different perspectives. But magically, McEwan keeps everything connected on a string, so there aren’t inconsistencies in character’s actions, such as when Cecilia and Robbie are caught in the library. (This is NOT a scene for children: it is much more intense than in the movie). Other noteworthy sections of the book are during the evacuation to Dunkirk. His descriptions are so vivid, you do really feel like you’re there. It’s very realistic, and the amount of research McEwan must have done to create this image of disturbing war is fantastic. It was disturbing, but well work going through because you come out all the more impacted by his novel. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. As long as you aren’t scared of pushing the boundries of descriptors in novels.

• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Marquez
• La Casa en Mango Street
• Shostakovich: A Life Remembered by Elizabeth Wilson
• Harry Potter 5-7 by JK Rowling
• Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I know I’m not girly. Sorry. I don’t wear 5 pounds of make up and don’t take an hour to decide what I’m going to wear every day. I dress simply, but well enough so you don’t think I’m a bum. On the other hand, I don’t need long hair to make myself “sensual” or “attractive.” I keep myself looking simple so you’ll pay more attention to what I have to say, rather than how I look. Sorry that’s not female enough that you FORGET that I’m female. Last time I checked I had breasts that were larger than an A cup, and I also don’t have a penis. But… that was only a few hours ago, do you want me to check again that I didn’t grow one? I don’t have to shave my facial hair and I certainly don’t have horrible body odor from working out all day trying to impress the women. On the other hand, I don’t wear skirts all the time to show off my not-so-hot legs. And I don’t wear mascara to make my eyelashes look more volumous. Really, mascara just makes me look silly. And last time I checked, mascara means MASK in spanish. So… I’d rather not wear it. I want you to see who I am.

So. Sorry men if I’m not girly girl who you’re all into. But please stop treating me like a guy.

Sincerely,
Marijke