Book: The Winter Prince
Author: Cheryl Sawyer
Link: Amazon.com: The Winter Prince
Summary:
Mary Villiers is worried about her dear surrogate father, King Charles I. He is thinking of publicly arresting five members of Parliament, thereby starting something he cannot stop. Her loyalty to the King is put to the test when she does some things she could regret. The King's nephew, Prince Rupert, is to come to England to fight with the King's army. From the moment he arrives, he enchants everyone; everyone except Mary, who believes that Prince Rupert returning to England would mean the destruction of the royalist army. But neither she nor Rupert can stop what happens between them. The Prince comes to England and fights for his uncle, but everyone is keeping secrets in those dark times...
Review:
This book was hard to read because of the old English Sawyer used, but once you start reading, you get used to it. This book had everything: love, intrigue, secrecy, war, strategy, history and heartbreak. You're always sure who you're rooting for, but it's always a surprise who Mary chooses. Extremely long with very small text, but the torrid love affair makes it worth every second.
SPIES!
February 29, 2012
Book Review: Angelmonster
Book: Angelmonster
Author: Veronica Bennett
Link: Amazon.com: Angelmonster
Summary:
Mary Godwin is a writer. Her father was a writer, and her mother was a writer, too. She believes in feminism, but also in true love. But most of all, she believes that when the poet Percy Shelley comes to her father's book store looking to sell his book of poetry, he was really meant to find her instead. The two soon fall in love, making plans for marriage and children, but their relationship can never blossom past a churchyard romance, because Shelley is still married. So the couple, with their accomplice, Mary's step-sister, Jane, flee England for Europe. They take a boat to the continent and on the way, they meet a painter who tells them the story of a scientist who dug up bodies and patched them together, trying to reanimate them. And thus Mary's story is born.
After many years and many dead children, Mary's perfect angel starts to turn into a monster, and nothing can save them now...
Review:
An interesting period romance novel. Most of the story is based on real events, with some literary liberties taken by the author. The story is fun to read, and everyone will surprise you in the end. It's dramatic and sad, but everything about it screams 'this could have happened'. Easy to read and not too long, the book describes Mary Shelley's path to writing Frankenstein. In many ways, Frankenstein could seem like a true story when you read Angelmonster.
Author: Veronica Bennett
Link: Amazon.com: Angelmonster
Summary:
Mary Godwin is a writer. Her father was a writer, and her mother was a writer, too. She believes in feminism, but also in true love. But most of all, she believes that when the poet Percy Shelley comes to her father's book store looking to sell his book of poetry, he was really meant to find her instead. The two soon fall in love, making plans for marriage and children, but their relationship can never blossom past a churchyard romance, because Shelley is still married. So the couple, with their accomplice, Mary's step-sister, Jane, flee England for Europe. They take a boat to the continent and on the way, they meet a painter who tells them the story of a scientist who dug up bodies and patched them together, trying to reanimate them. And thus Mary's story is born.
After many years and many dead children, Mary's perfect angel starts to turn into a monster, and nothing can save them now...
Review:
An interesting period romance novel. Most of the story is based on real events, with some literary liberties taken by the author. The story is fun to read, and everyone will surprise you in the end. It's dramatic and sad, but everything about it screams 'this could have happened'. Easy to read and not too long, the book describes Mary Shelley's path to writing Frankenstein. In many ways, Frankenstein could seem like a true story when you read Angelmonster.
Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy
Book(s): The Hunger Games; Catching Fire; Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Link(s): Amazon.com: The Hunger Games; Amazon.com: Catching Fire; Amazon.com: Mockingjay
Summary:
Katniss Everdeen has taken care of her family for years now. She breaks the law every day when she crosses the fence into the forbidden forest to hunt for game, which she sells illegally in the underground trading market called the Hob. Every year, two tributes from each district are selected to take part in the Hunger Games, a punishment founded by the Capitol. When Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place in the 74th Hunger Games, she turns the game on its head and, in turn, accidentally starts something in the districts that she's not quite sure she can -- or wants to -- stop.
Review:
From the moment I opened the first book to the moment I finished the last, these three books captured my every spare moment. I could literally not stop reading unless forced, because the books seemed to reel me in so deeply I felt I was a part of the story. The subtlety of the love triangle keeps you guessing throughout the entire series, and the question as to whether or not the Hunger Games are ever really over is mind-torture. Suzanne Collins is a sharp writer with great instincts and ideas. Her characters are so deep-rooted and complexly described that she makes it impossible not to believe they're real.
Author: Suzanne Collins
Link(s): Amazon.com: The Hunger Games; Amazon.com: Catching Fire; Amazon.com: Mockingjay
Summary:
Katniss Everdeen has taken care of her family for years now. She breaks the law every day when she crosses the fence into the forbidden forest to hunt for game, which she sells illegally in the underground trading market called the Hob. Every year, two tributes from each district are selected to take part in the Hunger Games, a punishment founded by the Capitol. When Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place in the 74th Hunger Games, she turns the game on its head and, in turn, accidentally starts something in the districts that she's not quite sure she can -- or wants to -- stop.
Review:
From the moment I opened the first book to the moment I finished the last, these three books captured my every spare moment. I could literally not stop reading unless forced, because the books seemed to reel me in so deeply I felt I was a part of the story. The subtlety of the love triangle keeps you guessing throughout the entire series, and the question as to whether or not the Hunger Games are ever really over is mind-torture. Suzanne Collins is a sharp writer with great instincts and ideas. Her characters are so deep-rooted and complexly described that she makes it impossible not to believe they're real.
Book Review: Claiming Georgia Tate
Book: Claiming Georgia Tate
Author: Gigi Amateau
Link: Amazon.com: Claiming Georgia Tate
Summary:
Georgia Tate lives with her grandparents. Her mother is dead and her father lives with a blonde woman named Sissy. One summer, after a traumatic experience of spending time with her father, Georgia Tate is forced to question everything about herself, starting with her mother. This is the story about a little girl who has to grow up too fast and learn to deal with things she never should have had to.
Review:
Claiming Georgia Tate is an interesting book. It combines the innocence of a child with the complexity of modern times. This book forces you to imagine a lot of difficult situations, but it also teaches you about the harsh world we live in and how to survive it. With good friends and a strong will, you can achieve anything, but nothing will ever go the way you want it to, because life is just unpredictable. It read easily and the characters seemed more real than most books, because they seem to have been taken from real life. The ending was unexpected and left you wondering what was next. There was never a time in the book where you could tell what was going to happen next, and everyone surprised you.
Author: Gigi Amateau
Link: Amazon.com: Claiming Georgia Tate
Summary:
Georgia Tate lives with her grandparents. Her mother is dead and her father lives with a blonde woman named Sissy. One summer, after a traumatic experience of spending time with her father, Georgia Tate is forced to question everything about herself, starting with her mother. This is the story about a little girl who has to grow up too fast and learn to deal with things she never should have had to.
Review:
Claiming Georgia Tate is an interesting book. It combines the innocence of a child with the complexity of modern times. This book forces you to imagine a lot of difficult situations, but it also teaches you about the harsh world we live in and how to survive it. With good friends and a strong will, you can achieve anything, but nothing will ever go the way you want it to, because life is just unpredictable. It read easily and the characters seemed more real than most books, because they seem to have been taken from real life. The ending was unexpected and left you wondering what was next. There was never a time in the book where you could tell what was going to happen next, and everyone surprised you.
December 25, 2011
Book Review: Sophie & Carter
Book: Sophie & Carter
Author: Chelsea Fine
Link: Amazon.com: Sophie & Carter
Summary:
Sophie and Carter live in the bad part of town. Sophie's mother is never around to take care of her four children, so the job falls to Sophie until the kids run out of money. Carter takes care of his mentally unstable mother so the state won't take her away from him. They're seniors in high school, minutes away from graduation and life is starting to weigh down on them. Their only escape is sitting on the swinging bench on Sophie's front porch at night together, talking about everything and nothing at all. At school, they pretend not to know each other to make their lives a little easier. Who needs high school drama when your life is slowly falling apart at the seems? All Sophie and Carter need is each other to hold on to so they don't fall off the edge.
Review:
I started reading this book with high expectations. Amazon reviewers praised it, the summary sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for teenage love -- especially if there's a picture of crisp white t's and blue jeans on the cover. At first, I was a little annoyed with the style of writing. First person POV, present tense, characters personified through their font style instead of through their writing. But after the first few pages, I forgot about all that and got into it. Really into it, in fact. The characters were sympathetic, they seemed real. I felt I could easily fall into the role of Sophie, living next door to a kind and gentle Carter, I could see myself falling in love.
And thus began the downfall of the book. I got so wrapped up in the characters and the story and the intricacies of it all that I couldn't put it down until it was over. Which, I discovered quickly, was far too soon for my liking. All in all, I loved the book until it ended, because it ended. I felt there could have been a little more meat on the bones of that book, but maybe it's just me.
Author: Chelsea Fine
Link: Amazon.com: Sophie & Carter
Summary:
Sophie and Carter live in the bad part of town. Sophie's mother is never around to take care of her four children, so the job falls to Sophie until the kids run out of money. Carter takes care of his mentally unstable mother so the state won't take her away from him. They're seniors in high school, minutes away from graduation and life is starting to weigh down on them. Their only escape is sitting on the swinging bench on Sophie's front porch at night together, talking about everything and nothing at all. At school, they pretend not to know each other to make their lives a little easier. Who needs high school drama when your life is slowly falling apart at the seems? All Sophie and Carter need is each other to hold on to so they don't fall off the edge.
Review:
I started reading this book with high expectations. Amazon reviewers praised it, the summary sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for teenage love -- especially if there's a picture of crisp white t's and blue jeans on the cover. At first, I was a little annoyed with the style of writing. First person POV, present tense, characters personified through their font style instead of through their writing. But after the first few pages, I forgot about all that and got into it. Really into it, in fact. The characters were sympathetic, they seemed real. I felt I could easily fall into the role of Sophie, living next door to a kind and gentle Carter, I could see myself falling in love.
And thus began the downfall of the book. I got so wrapped up in the characters and the story and the intricacies of it all that I couldn't put it down until it was over. Which, I discovered quickly, was far too soon for my liking. All in all, I loved the book until it ended, because it ended. I felt there could have been a little more meat on the bones of that book, but maybe it's just me.
November 11, 2011
Best Friends
So, I don't quite know how I got on the topic, but I found myself in the bathroom this morning thinking about it. And before you people think dirty things about me, I was at the sink. So there. ANYWAY...
You know the saying "you can't choose your family"? Well, the same goes for best friends, in a way. I mean, think about it. When you first meet people, you don't know anything about them. They could be the nicest person in the world and then turn out to be a mass murderer or something, but it doesn't matter because that murderer is your best friend and that's all that matters to you.
And as I was thinking about this, I was wondering why that is. Why are we predetermined to like some people and not others? Surely, some factors are based on how they react to you, some people are just plain mean, but hey, even they have friends who must like them. The fact of the matter is, people become friends based on their first reaction to each other. Think back to kindergarten, when everyone was a new face and no one was friends. How fast did it take you to break out of your shell and become best friends with someone?
I hate to quote High School Musical here, but Gabriella was right. You meet a person and then five minutes later, you're best friends. Now, you could argue that that's just the naivety of the 5-year-old. But think of middle school, junior high, high school, college. It's the same basic principal. It may take a little longer based on past experiences, but in a very short amount of time, you're best friends.
You could also argue that you do choose your best friends because you choose the people you talk to. But why do you choose them? Is it the clothes they wear, the expression on their face? No. You may disguise it as that, but in reality, it's their aura. It's just something about them that screams "HEY! I wanna be your best friend!" In a matter of hours, you could be the closest people in the world. It's not scientific, it's basic primal instinct.
And the same goes for when people come up to you to talk. They got the same signal you would have gotten had you seen them first. And for the people who meet online, well...they say the computer screen does not convey emotions very well, but it does. You may not catch every witticism or sarcastic remark. You may not even be able to always tell when someone is happy or sad, but I strongly believe that a personality can be transported through the information super highway from their computer to yours. It's just that feeling you get when you know something is right. It clicks.
And for the people who say you can only have one best friend...Well, they've obviously led a very sheltered life.
-- Cassy
You know the saying "you can't choose your family"? Well, the same goes for best friends, in a way. I mean, think about it. When you first meet people, you don't know anything about them. They could be the nicest person in the world and then turn out to be a mass murderer or something, but it doesn't matter because that murderer is your best friend and that's all that matters to you.
And as I was thinking about this, I was wondering why that is. Why are we predetermined to like some people and not others? Surely, some factors are based on how they react to you, some people are just plain mean, but hey, even they have friends who must like them. The fact of the matter is, people become friends based on their first reaction to each other. Think back to kindergarten, when everyone was a new face and no one was friends. How fast did it take you to break out of your shell and become best friends with someone?
I hate to quote High School Musical here, but Gabriella was right. You meet a person and then five minutes later, you're best friends. Now, you could argue that that's just the naivety of the 5-year-old. But think of middle school, junior high, high school, college. It's the same basic principal. It may take a little longer based on past experiences, but in a very short amount of time, you're best friends.
You could also argue that you do choose your best friends because you choose the people you talk to. But why do you choose them? Is it the clothes they wear, the expression on their face? No. You may disguise it as that, but in reality, it's their aura. It's just something about them that screams "HEY! I wanna be your best friend!" In a matter of hours, you could be the closest people in the world. It's not scientific, it's basic primal instinct.
And the same goes for when people come up to you to talk. They got the same signal you would have gotten had you seen them first. And for the people who meet online, well...they say the computer screen does not convey emotions very well, but it does. You may not catch every witticism or sarcastic remark. You may not even be able to always tell when someone is happy or sad, but I strongly believe that a personality can be transported through the information super highway from their computer to yours. It's just that feeling you get when you know something is right. It clicks.
And for the people who say you can only have one best friend...Well, they've obviously led a very sheltered life.
-- Cassy
October 25, 2011
Rant on Katy Perry
Ok, so I'm pretty sure everyone has heard at least one Katy Perry song in their life, especially if they're reading this blog right now. I'm not going to come out and say that Katy Perry is a terrible artist, because in all reality, she really isn't. In fact, she's kind of a brilliant genius, but what she does with her genius is what troubles me.
Take her first big hit, "I Kissed A Girl". In this song, she admits to having a boyfriend and cheating on him ("I kissed a girl and I liked it/ Hope my boyfriend don't mind it"), doing so under the strong influence of alcohol ("I got so brave, drink in hand") and she also pretty much excuses her less-than-chaste behavior by calling it "human nature" and an "experimental game". Now, this is all well and good when you think about it. It's just a song, right? We're all adults, right?
Wrong. Statistics show us that over 50% of the people listening to that song at any given moment are teenagers under the age of 16. Is that really what we want to promote to young impressionable minds? That cheating, drinking and objectifying go hand-in-hand and that it's OK if you're under the influence of alcohol? I don't know about you, but that's not exactly something I would want my children to learn.
And I could stop at that song and say that's the worst of it, but it goes much deeper. Almost every Katy Perry song has some hidden horrible message for children and young adults. For example, "Teenage Dream". It sounds innocent enough, but when you actually delve deeper and listen to the lyrics, it turns into some pornographic nightmare. Now, I could say that she makes having sex when you're a teenager OK (come on, who am I kidding? If 11-year-olds are already having children, there's really no hope for them, even if songs didn't promote it) and that that's what is fundamentally wrong with this song, but that's actually not the part that sets me on edge. The chorus, while incredibly catchy, is filled with things I, yet again, wouldn't want my children subjected to. "You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream/ The way you turn me on/ I can't sleep/ Let's run away and don't ever look back" You make me horny -excuse the crass language- so let's run away together and make like the bunnies? Seriously?
And what about "Drove to Cali/ And got drunk on the beach" -- um, not even in California is it legal for teenagers to get drunk. Trying to tell us something, Katy? Or how about "I'ma get your heart racing/ In my skin-tight jeans/ Be your teenage dream tonight/ Let you put your hands on me/ In my skin-tight jeans/ Be your teenage dream tonight"? Now, I could just be misinterpreting Miss Perry's meaning to the song, and saying that all of those things happened when she was an adult and it FELT like she was a teenager, but still. She still makes it seem like this is what your average teenager dreams of. Getting drunk, falling in love, running away together. Not my kind of dream, for sure.
And now onto my hardcore pet peeve: California Girls. This song not only irks me because I'm from the East Coast and I don't like how she makes EC girls seem lame (which believe me, is so not true in reality), but because she makes it seem like every girl from the West Coast is, to be frank, a beach bimbo and a symbol of sexuality. The video alone makes me want to puke every time I see it. Girls with "perfect" bodies dressed up in candy bikinis and daisy dukes, acting like it's how every girl should be like if they want to be loved? And the song lyrics are just as insulting. "You could travel the world/ But nothing comes close to the Golden Coast/ Once you party with us/ You'll be falling in love" and "California girls/ We're unforgettable/ Daisy Dukes/ Bikinis on top/ Sun-kissed skin so hot/ We'll melt your popsicle"...May I remind you of the 12-year-olds listening to these songs? And then, to add insult to injury, at the end of the song, Snoop Dogg says he wishes every girl could be a California girl, as if that is the only respectable girl in the world. Um, I think not, thanks. I would rather be pale and curvy and live on the East Coast than be a brainwashed beach tramp any day, thanks.
Those three songs are just the tip of the iceberg with Perry, though. If you listen to One of the Boys or If You Can Afford Me, this vulgarity is continued. And what's worse, Katy Perry doesn't just sing about this stuff, she embodies it. She pretends to be as innocent as a little school girl -- which, by the way, only enhances the male libido when he hears that baby voice -- and blatantly ignores any insinuations that her songs are inappropriate. When Sesame Street refused to use the clip she'd filmed with Elmo singing Hot and Cold, she simply could not fathom why parents didn't want their children to watch her scantily-clad self running after their favorite fictional character. Grow up, Katy.
One thing I will say for her is that she has one absolutely fantastic song amongst all her atrocities. "Firework" is amazing and I love both the video and the message. Empowerment, self-love and pride and strength are the core of that song and I'm glad she finally decided to do something worthwhile with her music. Katy is a talented young artist. She has promise and the uncanny ability to score hit after hit after hit, but what she does with her lyrics I simply cannot agree with. If she keeps spouting songs like "Firework", I'll be sure to be a fan, but if I have to listen to another version of "Teenage Dream", I might actually want to kill her.
-- Cassy
Take her first big hit, "I Kissed A Girl". In this song, she admits to having a boyfriend and cheating on him ("I kissed a girl and I liked it/ Hope my boyfriend don't mind it"), doing so under the strong influence of alcohol ("I got so brave, drink in hand") and she also pretty much excuses her less-than-chaste behavior by calling it "human nature" and an "experimental game". Now, this is all well and good when you think about it. It's just a song, right? We're all adults, right?
Wrong. Statistics show us that over 50% of the people listening to that song at any given moment are teenagers under the age of 16. Is that really what we want to promote to young impressionable minds? That cheating, drinking and objectifying go hand-in-hand and that it's OK if you're under the influence of alcohol? I don't know about you, but that's not exactly something I would want my children to learn.
And I could stop at that song and say that's the worst of it, but it goes much deeper. Almost every Katy Perry song has some hidden horrible message for children and young adults. For example, "Teenage Dream". It sounds innocent enough, but when you actually delve deeper and listen to the lyrics, it turns into some pornographic nightmare. Now, I could say that she makes having sex when you're a teenager OK (come on, who am I kidding? If 11-year-olds are already having children, there's really no hope for them, even if songs didn't promote it) and that that's what is fundamentally wrong with this song, but that's actually not the part that sets me on edge. The chorus, while incredibly catchy, is filled with things I, yet again, wouldn't want my children subjected to. "You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream/ The way you turn me on/ I can't sleep/ Let's run away and don't ever look back" You make me horny -excuse the crass language- so let's run away together and make like the bunnies? Seriously?
And what about "Drove to Cali/ And got drunk on the beach" -- um, not even in California is it legal for teenagers to get drunk. Trying to tell us something, Katy? Or how about "I'ma get your heart racing/ In my skin-tight jeans/ Be your teenage dream tonight/ Let you put your hands on me/ In my skin-tight jeans/ Be your teenage dream tonight"? Now, I could just be misinterpreting Miss Perry's meaning to the song, and saying that all of those things happened when she was an adult and it FELT like she was a teenager, but still. She still makes it seem like this is what your average teenager dreams of. Getting drunk, falling in love, running away together. Not my kind of dream, for sure.
And now onto my hardcore pet peeve: California Girls. This song not only irks me because I'm from the East Coast and I don't like how she makes EC girls seem lame (which believe me, is so not true in reality), but because she makes it seem like every girl from the West Coast is, to be frank, a beach bimbo and a symbol of sexuality. The video alone makes me want to puke every time I see it. Girls with "perfect" bodies dressed up in candy bikinis and daisy dukes, acting like it's how every girl should be like if they want to be loved? And the song lyrics are just as insulting. "You could travel the world/ But nothing comes close to the Golden Coast/ Once you party with us/ You'll be falling in love" and "California girls/ We're unforgettable/ Daisy Dukes/ Bikinis on top/ Sun-kissed skin so hot/ We'll melt your popsicle"...May I remind you of the 12-year-olds listening to these songs? And then, to add insult to injury, at the end of the song, Snoop Dogg says he wishes every girl could be a California girl, as if that is the only respectable girl in the world. Um, I think not, thanks. I would rather be pale and curvy and live on the East Coast than be a brainwashed beach tramp any day, thanks.
Those three songs are just the tip of the iceberg with Perry, though. If you listen to One of the Boys or If You Can Afford Me, this vulgarity is continued. And what's worse, Katy Perry doesn't just sing about this stuff, she embodies it. She pretends to be as innocent as a little school girl -- which, by the way, only enhances the male libido when he hears that baby voice -- and blatantly ignores any insinuations that her songs are inappropriate. When Sesame Street refused to use the clip she'd filmed with Elmo singing Hot and Cold, she simply could not fathom why parents didn't want their children to watch her scantily-clad self running after their favorite fictional character. Grow up, Katy.
One thing I will say for her is that she has one absolutely fantastic song amongst all her atrocities. "Firework" is amazing and I love both the video and the message. Empowerment, self-love and pride and strength are the core of that song and I'm glad she finally decided to do something worthwhile with her music. Katy is a talented young artist. She has promise and the uncanny ability to score hit after hit after hit, but what she does with her lyrics I simply cannot agree with. If she keeps spouting songs like "Firework", I'll be sure to be a fan, but if I have to listen to another version of "Teenage Dream", I might actually want to kill her.
-- Cassy
July 12, 2011
Edit -- Reeeeeeewind
You know how people say things never stay the same, they're always changing? Yea, even set-in-stone plans do that. So, while I thought I was going to be living with my best friend Kaytee, when I got here I found out my sister wanted me to stay with her to help take care of the baby.
The good news about that is that I will have steady internet, so our love-hate relationship will continue! Aren't you so glad? ;)
So, since I'm already here and everything, I suppose I should tell you about my 4th of July. :D
I went to my boyfriend's house to spend the holiday with him and his family, although we spent about five minutes actually in his house before getting in their van and riding up to their friend's house to go swimming and bbq ;) It was really nice, but Dib and I didn't really get to talk too much, mainly because we were both really really shy and didn't really know what to be talking about, and then because his entire family was there and playfully putting him down cause he's a little socially awkward (not that any of that was his fault -- first date spent with family and strangers his girlfriend doesn't know? Not exactly ideal, if you know what I mean...). But his family is amazingly awesome and I love them dearly because they're also hilarious :D
What I forgot to mention is that when Eric picked me up from the Middle School (because I didn't feel like making him try to find my house -- which may only be like 2 and a half blocks away from the school, but it's hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for!) he had 2 stuffed animals for me that he'd won in the claw machine from work <3 It was so adorably sweet and considerate (seeing as he knows I melt for stuffed animals xD). One was a squishy parrot and the other was some odd fairytale bird that I'm not really sure is an actual animal in the real world, but it's cute all the same. So he's begun the slew of creatures I am sure to accumulate over the next however many years with two very special birds and made his girlfriend very very happy.
To continue from the pool party...
After we'd swam and ate and swam and went to Weis and swam and talked some more, we finally decided it was time to go down to the park at around 9 (fireworks started at 10) so we could find a good place to set up the chairs and blankets to see the fireworks -- incidentally we were like 10 feet away from where they were being shot from. We walked around for a little while (trying to FIND where the firework station was, because they sit that close EVERY year) and once we found a good spot, five of us headed off to the stands at the carnival to get some funnel cake and water and while Dib and I were in line with his sister to get her some chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick, we ran into some friends, which made it a really really nice 4th of July for me.
That day ended with Dib and I watching Ocean's 11 (which I have dubbed our movie, since it's one of our mutual favorites) until 2 in the morning, at which time I had to retire to the library/computer/guest room and sleep. The next morning was also fun, as I awoke at 10am and went downstairs to snack on poptarts and talk to Dib's mom while he continued to sleep (poor boy stayed awake until 4am again that night :/). He came down while we were looking at pictures of Dib's hockey years :D
After his mom left, we watched a movie, then Doctor Who, had dinner with his family and then he took me home with a nice hug.
Depsite people's expectations, no, we did not sleep together (even though we did end up having the chance), and no, we didn't even kiss. We're a very slow couple ;) But that's ok, because it makes the first times oh-so-much-more special :D
--Cassy
The good news about that is that I will have steady internet, so our love-hate relationship will continue! Aren't you so glad? ;)
So, since I'm already here and everything, I suppose I should tell you about my 4th of July. :D
I went to my boyfriend's house to spend the holiday with him and his family, although we spent about five minutes actually in his house before getting in their van and riding up to their friend's house to go swimming and bbq ;) It was really nice, but Dib and I didn't really get to talk too much, mainly because we were both really really shy and didn't really know what to be talking about, and then because his entire family was there and playfully putting him down cause he's a little socially awkward (not that any of that was his fault -- first date spent with family and strangers his girlfriend doesn't know? Not exactly ideal, if you know what I mean...). But his family is amazingly awesome and I love them dearly because they're also hilarious :D
What I forgot to mention is that when Eric picked me up from the Middle School (because I didn't feel like making him try to find my house -- which may only be like 2 and a half blocks away from the school, but it's hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for!) he had 2 stuffed animals for me that he'd won in the claw machine from work <3 It was so adorably sweet and considerate (seeing as he knows I melt for stuffed animals xD). One was a squishy parrot and the other was some odd fairytale bird that I'm not really sure is an actual animal in the real world, but it's cute all the same. So he's begun the slew of creatures I am sure to accumulate over the next however many years with two very special birds and made his girlfriend very very happy.
To continue from the pool party...
After we'd swam and ate and swam and went to Weis and swam and talked some more, we finally decided it was time to go down to the park at around 9 (fireworks started at 10) so we could find a good place to set up the chairs and blankets to see the fireworks -- incidentally we were like 10 feet away from where they were being shot from. We walked around for a little while (trying to FIND where the firework station was, because they sit that close EVERY year) and once we found a good spot, five of us headed off to the stands at the carnival to get some funnel cake and water and while Dib and I were in line with his sister to get her some chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick, we ran into some friends, which made it a really really nice 4th of July for me.
That day ended with Dib and I watching Ocean's 11 (which I have dubbed our movie, since it's one of our mutual favorites) until 2 in the morning, at which time I had to retire to the library/computer/guest room and sleep. The next morning was also fun, as I awoke at 10am and went downstairs to snack on poptarts and talk to Dib's mom while he continued to sleep (poor boy stayed awake until 4am again that night :/). He came down while we were looking at pictures of Dib's hockey years :D
After his mom left, we watched a movie, then Doctor Who, had dinner with his family and then he took me home with a nice hug.
Depsite people's expectations, no, we did not sleep together (even though we did end up having the chance), and no, we didn't even kiss. We're a very slow couple ;) But that's ok, because it makes the first times oh-so-much-more special :D
--Cassy
June 19, 2011
A New Beginning
Well, I'm sad to say that we won't be speaking for long amounts of time. Longer, in fact, than most of the time between the other posts have been. You see, Blogger, I just passed my final exams and in 3 days (because it's 12:30 Sunday morning at the moment), I will be graduating high school. If I told you about my awesome school plan, you'll be disappointed to hear that I will not be getting my schooling here in Austria, but have rather been forced to take the road back to America.
Not that that's a bad thing, to be sure. In fact, I'm quite excited. Being out of my parents' house at the ripe age of 19-almost-20? Everyone's dream. Moving in with my best friend? Always been our dream. Actually being able to see my boyfriend IN PERSON whenever I want? Heaven on Earth. Getting a job, working my way through the wonderful world of adulthood, spending Christmas the way I remember it, free of worries about getting homework in on time (at least for a little while)...
But there are the downsides that come with this lifestyle. Namely: Being an ocean away from my mother? Not being able to talk to her every day or hug her or see her? And I know what you're thinking, "There's always the internet, Skype, webcams, holidays, vacations"... But the fact is: We're not gonna be well off enough to be able to afford annual trips to or from Europe to see each other. Once every three years MAYBE. Unfortunately, Kaytee doesn't have an internet connection at her house, but if I'm lucky I can always hit up a McDonald's for some free wifi and maybe Dib might let me use his Skype (or at least his internet) to call her once in a while. But those times will probably be few and far between, I'm afraid.
Which is also the reason for the blogging-standstill. No internet = No blogging. But hey, since the only person who reads this thing is the person I'll be living with, I guess the main intention of the blog is pretty pointless now. Oh well...It was nice to have an online diary. Maybe if I get famous (since that's apparently what the entire faculty of my school now thinks I'm destined to do), I'll print all this out and make a book. I have a lot of material. This blog, Facebook surveys, Myspace blogs, handwritten journal entries (that I can only partially read, to be honest...bad handwriting. On my checklist for things to do before I die: Clean up the handwriting) all compiled over the course of the last 7-8 years should make for an interesting book. And, of course, I still have the red felt journal my sister bought me in 2006, which I just wrote in for the first time in three (count 'em: THREE) years not too long ago.
Since I won't have this to vent to, I'll take the handwritten route and see what comes out of that. Although I'd most love to throw the piece of embarrassing trash AWAY, I will keep it. Might be worth something some day. But the other journals are cleverly hidden away in Germany, so...if you want to collect the puzzle pieces, you know where to find them, future readers of this blog. ;)
Come Monday, I will officially be a US citizen on patriotic ground. Whoo!
--Cassy
May 21, 2011
:D
So, for the past two years I have been waiting for a time where a tattoo would not cost over 100 Euros, where my family or I had the money to spend on said tattoo and for myself to get the balls to do it. That time came yesterday.
On Friday, May 20th, 2011 at 3:10 pm in Vienna, Austria at the Spirit Tattoo Studio, I got a tattoo. And it's permanent. And awesome.
I debated long and hard what I would get. Chinese symbol that means something to me? A star cause I think it looks cool? Or something else?
I finally found the answer when I was looking through old photo albums. I found a bunch of pictures of my father and I just remembered how he used to have a pin in the shape of the ace of spades. I don't know where the pin went -- after he died we got some of his things and I think it was in them, but we must have lost it at some point or my sister has it -- but I realized that my most prominent memory of him is in that pin.
After having a rough time dealing with the fact that my father's not here (there have been a lot of monumental changes in my life over the past 2 years), I finally decided that even if I don't know who he was, even if I didn't mean as much to him as my sister did, even if I only got to spend 7 years with him, I want to be able to remember him. Have him be a bigger part of me than "that guy who was my father and then died".
You may think it's silly, you may think I'm dumb. But screw you.
Pictures to follow! (in 2 weeks when I can finally stop acting like it's an open wound)
--Cassy
On Friday, May 20th, 2011 at 3:10 pm in Vienna, Austria at the Spirit Tattoo Studio, I got a tattoo. And it's permanent. And awesome.
I debated long and hard what I would get. Chinese symbol that means something to me? A star cause I think it looks cool? Or something else?
I finally found the answer when I was looking through old photo albums. I found a bunch of pictures of my father and I just remembered how he used to have a pin in the shape of the ace of spades. I don't know where the pin went -- after he died we got some of his things and I think it was in them, but we must have lost it at some point or my sister has it -- but I realized that my most prominent memory of him is in that pin.
After having a rough time dealing with the fact that my father's not here (there have been a lot of monumental changes in my life over the past 2 years), I finally decided that even if I don't know who he was, even if I didn't mean as much to him as my sister did, even if I only got to spend 7 years with him, I want to be able to remember him. Have him be a bigger part of me than "that guy who was my father and then died".
You may think it's silly, you may think I'm dumb. But screw you.
Pictures to follow! (in 2 weeks when I can finally stop acting like it's an open wound)
--Cassy
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