I need a bookshelf.

Like, an actual bookshelf. The only thing I have are these painted crates in my room where I keep my books.

I can only blog when my dad isn’t awake or at home. This sounds odd, but whenever he’s home he’s always sitting in the chair that is right next to the computer I’m using(my computer is oh so inconveniently placed in the family room), and when he hears me type so much he always tries to look over my shoulder at what I’m typing. I absolutely ABHOR this. It has to stop! So, it is 7:10 in the morning, and I’m typing out a blog post.

I watched the movie Choke recently. It was a terrific piece of film(or sinny, as Alex would say). I’m currently reading the book it is based off of. The only reason I watched the movie was because it was based off of a book by the same guy that wrote Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. I loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. It follows the life of Victor Mancini, a sex addict, who chokes on food at restaurants to get money to pay for his mother’s medical expenses while working as a colonial reenactor in the fictional village of Dunsboro.

Another thing that happened while I was at the library is I went to the used book sale there. I got two John Steinback books, Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger(yes, I know I’ve read it, but I wanted to read it again), the movies Silver  Streak(WITH GENE WILDER!!) and Barbara Streisand, in concert(it’s for my mother for mother’s day…shhh, don’t tell)! All of that only cost 4 dollars, so it seemed as though I was stealing!

I also saw the movie Frost/Nixon last night, and had Driver’s Ed. My homework is to bring a toy car in for today’s class. I was delighted at the prospect of playing with toy cars, so I ransacked my room, searching for the Barbie P.T. Cruiser I once had. I’m not even sure if it was Barbie; my dolls never really fit in it. I always had to put them in through the sunroof. I couldn’t find it, though. Apparently my mother gave it to Goodwill. The only car I could find that was not Hot Wheels(she specifically said “NO SMALL CARS!”) was my brother’s Batmobile. Which is even better than a P.T. Cruiser. This’ll be a zany class.

I cry way too easily.

Seriously. This is getting ridiculous. I must have cried about three times today. I cry when something makes me really happy, I cry when something makes me sad. I feel really bad, because then everyone crowds around and goes “AWMAHGAWD ARE YOU OKAY BLAH BLAH BLAH” when they don’t actually give a crap about how I feel. I keep on having to explain that it’s not really that big of a deal, and that I cry really easily. I think today was a pretty mediocre day in general.

I need to cut my bangs. They’ve gotten a bit too long. But then again, I’ve kinda grown attached to my ‘sheepdog’ bangs. They’re like curtains for my face.

My brother’s coming home for the weekend. I’m excited about that.

Oh, and I’m no longer in a yarn crisis. I’m aiming to get my Slytherin scarf done by next week; but knowing me, I probably won’t get it done till next month. Ah, well, it doesn’t matter; I’ve got plenty of time before the Half-Blood Prince movie premiere. They extended the release date to some time in July.

I can’t wait for the drama showcase. Kaitlyn, Michael, and I are going to be performing the ‘awkward dinner scene’ from the Crucible, one of my favorite plays of all time. I shall play Mary Warren. Even though I don’t think that many people are going to come see the drama showcase, I’m still totally stoked. I have to do a lot of memorizing lately. I  have to memorize a monologue from Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe for my performance skills class at the MET; I have to memorize the scene from The Crucible for the drama showcase; and I have to memorize all of Estragon’s lines for Waiting For Godot. Which is a LOT. But that’s not until mid to late summer, so I don’t have to worry about that….yet.

Oh, and Julie just told me that this year’s lineup for Lollapalooza is AMAZING. I checked, and it is! It’s got some of my favorites! LOU REED from the Velvet Underground, Of Montreal, Animal Collective, the Decemberists… I wish I could go.

Well, I’ll be taking my leave now. Ms. Lennon recommended the movie Shakespeare in Love(by the way, it’s Shakespeare’s birthday today!), and we have the VHS at home. I think I’ll watch it right now, and get some knitting done while I’m at it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAKESPEARE!

A weekend of movies and glass eggplants.

I’ve been a bit busy these past few days, which is quite surprising to me, because I usually don’t do much on weekends. I’ll try to make a condensed version of what happened over the weekend, but I’ll probably go off on another tangent, like I usually do.

On Saturday, I went to the antique store to buy a present for my mother’s birthday. After a bit of searching, I found a glass eggplant. No, I didn’t get it just because it’s incredibly random to buy someone a glass eggplant. Well, that may be PART of the reason, but the story behind it is when my mother kept talking about making me an “aubergine”, and I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. When she finally took it out of the fridge, I was like “Oh! That’s an eggplant!” Hah. Those silly Dutch women, using those funny words…

Here’s a picture of the glass eggplant, in all its glory.

After I had bought the glass eggplant, I only had about ten minutes at home before I had to leave for my first day of Driver’s Ed, which I had completely forgotten about. Oh, Driver’s Ed went nice, by the way. We got to watch this old video from the ’70s called “Street Smarts”. It had the most hilarious dream sequence, and it was complete with a Walkman reference. I absolutely LOVE old, cheesy instructional videos. Like this one:

“Don’t let modesty make your injury worse!”

I love how he strips oh so casually, and the other guy is looking down at his uhh….zone.

After Driver’s Ed, I went home, and a few hours later I went over to Hope’s house for a movie sleepover party. It was terrific. We watched the Wickerman(the ridiculous one with Nicholas Cage), Suspicion, Psycho, and part of Close Encounters of the Third Kind(we fell asleep almost halfway through). In the morning, we played Pokemon Stadium and Mario Kart until my dad came to pick me up. That was fun and also reminiscent of the countless hours spent playing Nintendo 64 with my brother waaaay back in the day.

I had a few minutes at home before I was carted off to Driver’s Ed again. That session was rather boring and uneventful, and doesn’t deserve a recap. My parents picked me up and we went directly from Greg’s Driving School to the Meditteranean restaurant in Westview for my mother’s birthday dinner(even though her actual birthday is today, we had the dinner last night). I ate calamari and couscous. When we got home, we watched the movie Girl With A Pearl Earring, which was lovely. It’s based off of the novel which is a fictitious story about the painting. I’m actually quite interested in reading the book now, so I’ll probably check it out the next time I go to the library. My mother believes that I look like the girl in the painting, but I don’t think there’s THAT much of a resemblance. Maybe the shape and color of the eyes, the mouth, and part of the nose, but that’s just about it.

Ah yes, now about today. Today is my mother’s birthday, as well as my friend Ethan’s, as well as the day after my friend Michael’s. It’s also the reunion of the Columbine High School shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, and Adolf Hitler’s birthday. It’s also pot day, but I don’t know if my mother knows that. It’s probably better not to tell her.

I’m also in a yarn crisis. For my Slytherin scarf, that I started in February-ish. I ran out of yarn, which is awful, because I’m almost finished, and I actually REALLY want to knit right now. I won’t be able to get new yarn until Wednesday, which is the next time my mom goes to A.C. Moore or Michael’s or Joann or whatever craft store she needed to go to.

Ughh…my mother is currently watching an Oprah episode about “sexting”. I’m pretty sure kids don’t say “sexting”. Kids just say “sending naked pictures over the phone”. I hate it when adults try to start ‘hip’ terms. Like the word ‘tween’. I’ve never heard a kid use the word ‘tween’, and when I was a ‘tween’ I hated it when that word was used in reference to my demographic.

I believe that’s enough typing for today. So long.

LooooOOOOooopy Lemon!

Today was terrific. ‘Twas the day of silence, a national youth protest against the silence that gay, lesbian, and transgender students have to face every day. I didn’t say a word during the whole school day. I didn’t like, though, how some people made a big show of it. Like, people would put duct tape over their mouth, or carry a wipeboard around their neck, and it’s like…wow. Do you really need to shove it in everyone’s face like that? Teressa said something about how making this big of a deal about it was doing more alienation than integration, and I agree with her on that.

Anyways, after school, Hope and I went to Baker Park for the breaking the silence festivities. We were late, however, and we got lost. So, by the time we actually got there, everyone was in this little circle, and it felt very awkward. Almost as though we were stomping in and disrupting their circle of trust. Anyways, after the whole circle ordeal, I saw some friends I haven’t seen in a while, and made some new friends. Actually, I exaggerate. I only saw one friend I haven’t seen in a while, and I only made one new friend. But it sounds nicer when you say ‘some’.

And then, we all went to Carrol Creek. Hope and I went to Five Guys(or Big Guys, as my mother calls it). When we were done, we went and joined the rest of the group near the RED bridge. We saw a mother duck and her many goslings, which was a real treat to see. Also, this adorable little girl(she looked like she was about two or three) just walked up to me, and she gave me a hug. Then she pointed to my Sprite that I got at Five Guys. I let her take a drink of it, but then she just kept on drinking! Her mother asked if it was sprite, and I said “Yes!” and she was like “Oh, that’s why.” It was really weird that she just walked up to me, and she knew that my drink was a Sprite! It was as if she could see through my cup. Freaky.

Anyways, as Hope and I were in the car home(after a rather rousing trip to Target), we were plotting the possibilities of an Alfred Hitchcock sleepover party. And we would sleep in the car. Wouldn’t that be incredibly scary and exciting? I simply can’t wait.

Waiting for Godot! Waiting for Godot!

I’m so excited I can hardly type. Seriously. As you may or may not know, I recently read the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. I absolutely LOVED it. I was positively enchanted by it. A few weeks ago, I learned that two friends who go to Middletown High are involved in a production. Today, I asked when it would be, because I really want to see it fleshed out on stage. She told me that it wasn’t really working out, because someone dropped out. I was like, “Oh my god! I could do it!” So now, I could quite possibly be playing the role of Estragon (even though Vladimir was my favorite) in Waiting for Godot. This is a dream come true. I can’t believe my luck!

However, my mom is a bit apprehensive about the driving(she HATES driving me to rehearsals…), but we’re working out a compromise. I hope she realizes how much this play means to me. When ELSE am I going to get such an experience to be in this play? Oh dear, I’m shaking at the prospect of actually being able to play Estragon.

A rather disappointing trip to the MVA.

Today, I went to the MVA to get my learner’s permit. However, even registering me into the system was troublesome because my mom forgot to bring my birth certificate, even though she swears she remembered. So, we had to drive all the way back home and all the way back to the MVA. We waited a while, and then I got my picture taken and had to fill out a form. My mother and I had a little argument; I wanted to be an organ donor but she thought that that would make them not help me in an accident because they know I’m a donor. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t do that, and what use are my organs to me when I’m dead, anyways? In the end, I won. So, watch out; I might save your life one day.

After we had gotten everything filled out, I had to go into another room to take a test. My brother told me that it was really easy, so I didn’t do any studying. Well…I failed it. You have to get at least 17 out of 20 questions right, and I had already gotten four wrong by question 9. I felt really stupid, because the other two girls in the room with me passed it.  They wouldn’t let me take it again until tomorrow; so I didn’t get my learner’s. Poo. I’m going to take it again tomorrow; but first I’m actually going to read through the driver’s handbook. Some of the questions were really easy, like, it showed a picture of a “construction work ahead” sign and asked what it meant; but others were really hard, like “how do you motion for someone to take a left turn?”, or “What are the penalties for refusing to take a drug test?”

Well, that trip was a failure. Everyone there was so stern and unfriendly; I was glad to get out of there. Ah, well. I do hope I’ll get my learner’s tomorrow.

In a more positive light, I’m almost finished with knitting my Slytherin House scarf. I just need to knit three more stripes, seam the rest of it up, and make the tassels. I can hardly wait to wear it on the movie premiere in June!

Also, I’m trying to think of what to write to Gene Wilder, as Hope found his address. On the site where she found it, people left feedback saying that he responded and signed their photos; so it seems pretty legit. Ohohohohoh, it makes me shiver to think that he might actually RESPOND to something I wrote.

For your viewing enjoyment, here’s a video of him talking about Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. I’m not entirely sure of what that is, but all I know is that Gene Wilder survived it. In this interview, some of what he says is almost exactly what he wrote in his autobiography “Kiss Me Like a Stranger”. Also, note his incredible blue socks. Doesn’t he seem like the kind of person who wouldn’t mind having a conversation with just anyone? Like he would smile and greet perfect strangers, and talk to them just as he would talk to anyone else? He seems like the nicest man on earth.

Every nine seconds, a woman is beaten.

Last night, I saw the show Exuviae at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre. I ushered, which is a great deal, since all I have to do is rip people’s tickets and help them to their seats, and I get to see the show for free. This is the third show I’ve ushered for the MET so far. The set itself was incredibly cool, and I took pictures of it before the house opened.

It was a very abstract piece of theatre(as are many of the shows at the MET), and it primarily served as a warning about domestic abuse, while drawing parallels with the insect world. “Exuviae” literally means “ The cast-off skins or coverings of various organisms, such as the shells of crabs or the external coverings of the larvae and nymphs of insects”. The characters in Exuviae were casting off layers of fear, isolation, humiliation, and guilt. It was incredibly powerful and many were left in tears by the end of the show. But despite the dark subject matter, it was strangely uplifting at the end. It also touched base on women abusing men, which is much overlooked and even laughed at, but it certainly exists. The show closes April 25, so d0n’t miss it!

http://www.marylandensemble.org/

Today, I played Scrabble with my family. This tends to get really competetive because of my dad and my brother, and it always seems to lead to yelling. Playing Scrabble with my family sucks. However, it can also be funny due to my brother. Whenever there’s a triple or double word space open, and he can’t fit a word there, he always tries to make fake words even though he knows they’re fake.

“Is yapi a word?”

“No.”

“Is berit a word?”

“No.”

“Is-”

“No.”

Also, I’m getting my learner’s permit tomorrow. I’m one step closer to driving!

WordPress has the time and dates all screwed up.

This little guy came in my Rice Krispies this morning. What a pleasant surprise!

Speaking of pleasant surprises, I will soon be painting eggs for Easter, something I haven’t done since…8th grade, I believe. However, we only have brown eggs, so this should turn out interesting.

Now. I promised myself I wouldn’t let this turn into a rant blog, but I can’t help but share something that annoys me. It’s when people call themselves ugly just to get people to say “blah blah blah no you’re not.” Like my sort-of-friend-but-not-really(name is omitted to prevent drama and hurt feelings. I don’t think she or anyone who knows her will read this, anyways). I know quite a few people who do stuff like this, but she especially has been getting on my nerves lately. She posts all these pictures on Facebook, and goes “blah, blah, blah,” about how ugly she is. Even the name of her photo album is basically calling herself hideous. She’s actually quite pretty, and I’m certain that she knows this. If she truly thought she were ugly, she wouldn’t post so many pictures of herself on Facebook. Tons of people comment on her stuff talking about how she’s so not ugly. Well, I guess that’s one way to get people to comment on your pictures.

Oh yeah, and a while back ago, she was complaining to me about how all these guys are “stalking” her. Well….maybe, if you didn’t put up this whole self-conscious act, then they wouldn’t think you let anyone in your pants because you think that’s all you can get. Urgh. People like this bother me. Y’know…self-conscious people and narcissists are, in essence, the same bloody thing. Both are self-absorbed.

Wow. I’m in a mean mood today. I need to write about something positive!

I started reading Rat Race by Dick Francis today. The story behind why I checked it out goes back to the Mountain Goats concert that Hope, Julie, Hope’s brother(I keep calling him Hope’s brother because I feel I don’t know him well enough to deserve to call him by his first name, like he’ll get offended or something if I call him by his first name), and I went to.  The guy who sat behind us kept yelling out the same song request. He kept on screaming “Rat race!”. Unfortunately for him,  it was never played. “Rat race” became a running joke between us, and when we saw the book at the library we decided that that bit of amazingness had to be read. It’s pretty good so far, but I feel pressured to finish it at home; it’s in uber-large print, so if I read it at school I’ll be afraid that people are looking over my shoulder and reading my book. I’m paranoid about that. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people are looking over my shoulder when I’m writing. Or reading.

Another thing worth mentioning is the band Gogol Bordello. I heard the song “Start Wearing Purple” a looooong time ago, like months ago, and I had never heard anything like it. I just recently started actually listening to them. The band defines themselves as “gypsy punk”, and I think that’s a pretty accurate description. My mom overheard it, and she didn’t like it at all. Well, that’s pretty much her reaction to most of my music. She said “Rachel, this sounds like beer-drinking music!”

By the way, does anyone know how to change the time and date on this silly thing? It says it’s April 12, 2009 at 1:01 am, but it’s actually April 11, 2009 at 3:28 pm. I’m still new to all this blog stuff.

Watching LOST with Ben.

Lately, my brother and I have started watching old episodes of LOST. It’s kinda sad, in a way… Since he went to college, nowadays, the only time I spend with my brother is when we watch LOST together. It’s actually a lot of fun. I probably wouldn’t have watched that show if my brother wasn’t watching it with me, because I tend to stay away from mainstream books, movies, TV shows, etc.(I’m an art snob, I admit it.), not because they’re mainstream, but because usually my tastes differ from what is popular. There are several exceptions, though. And don’t get me wrong; I’m not the kind of person who hates something just because it’s mainstream, and likes something just because it’s obscure.

Anyways, although the plot is jumpy and confusing at times, the episodes seem to always end on a cliffhanger, the dialogue is stiff and unrealistic; I’m actually hooked on that show. We’re in the middle of the fourth season right now, so don’t give me any spoilers! I hate that. My favorite characters are Desmond and Hurley. The reaction that Desmond was able to convey when SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! Charlie was drowning but he wrote on his hand “not Penny’s boat” was a mix of devastation because his friend was dying but he couldn’t help him, and elation because he knew his love was still alive. This scene, I admit, made my eyes water a bit. I would look up the actor’s name, but I’m too lazy.

Alright, end of spoilers. End of blog post, too. I’m off to bed. Two posts in one day. I feel accomplished.

The first of many.

The first of many posts, that is. Since I know a few friends who are into blogging, I decided to conform to this trend and create a blog for myself! I doubt I’ll have more than four regular readers, but I really don’t mind, as long as SOMEONE reads.

The title “Edible Dreamland” is inspired by the book/movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring the ever so brilliant Gene Wilder. He has become quite an icon amonst Hope and I. I’ve only seen four of his movies so far(in order of viewing: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein), but he’s quickly becoming my favorite actor. Which is saying something, because it’s incredibly hard for me to classify something as “my favorite”. I don’t know how people know so quickly their favorite movie, their favorite food, their favorite band…it’s so hard for me to think of my favorite ANYTHING because there’s so many that I like.

Speaking of Gene Wilder…in the library on Monday, when Hope and I were searching for Gene Wilder movies, we accidentally discovered that Gene Wilder is the author of two novellas: “My French Whore” and “The Woman Who Wouldnt”. I was already acquainted with his writing style, after reading his autobiography “Kiss Me Like a Stranger”, which was so interactive that I could hear his voice inside my head narrating. It’s one of the few autobiographies that I’ve actually enjoyed. With that being said, we were more than eager to take turns reading his novellas. I  finished reading “My French Whore” yesterday. It is a light and charming book set during WWI,  about a actor who, disappointed with his loveless marriage, enlists in the army. Along the way, he meets a famous German spy who is being held prisoner by his regiment.  When he is almost executed by the Germans, Peachy thinks fast and pretends to be the German spy. He is subsequently thrust into a life of luxary and fame, though he knows he cannot keep his secret for long.

Oh, dear. I’m beginning to make this whole post about Gene Wilder….I must change the subject!

Another book that I just finished reading is “Nine Stories”, by J.D. Salinger, which is an anthology of nine of his short stories(duh). I’ve already read “Catcher in the Rye” and “Franny and Zooey” by the same guy. I am practically in love with his style of writing. He writes in such a straightforward and realistic sense, and all of his characters are believable. He also has a clever use of italics, where he emphasizes only a part of a word; like people do in normal conversation. “Catcher in the Rye” really had quite an impact on me last year.  My favorite short story in “Nine Stories” has to be “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”. I would try to explain what it’s about, but I just realized that a lot of his works are impossible to summarize.

Anyways, my brother is home, and I must depart so I can bother him. I didn’t expect to write so much, but I guess time flies when you blog. I hate to use the word ‘blog’ as a verb; it makes me sound like I’m trying to be hip. Urgh. This post sounds so forced and uninspired. Oh, well. I suppose it’ll improve over time.