Fancy Thanksgivings

I've found that having fancy as heck Thanksgivings do nothing for gratefulness or happiness. Before this Thanksgiving, I always only had one big Thanksgiving day where everything was fancy and such. Not this year. This year, I had two Thanksgiving dinners. There was such a huge difference in my experiences that I felt that I had to elaborate on it.

The first Thanksgiving dinner was the traditional, large, turkey-centered, elbows-off-the-table-and-napkin-on-lap kind of dinner. The type that Asians modify to their own needs, like we did. The one that we had to travel over two hours to get to. The kind of dinner that takes hours and hours to prepare and has like a dozen fancy schmancy dishes. And you know what? It was, quite honestly, pretty boring. It was boring and stuffy and just like every other adult centered, fancy, multitudes of people party. The only good thing about that dinner was the fact that one--just one--of my friends was there. You know what we did? We hid a remote control and tried to find it. And then we watched asinine acting by one of my other friends. The end result of that was that I lost an entire day of studying and writing for something that most definitely did not make me feel grateful or even all that happy.

Now, compare that to the dinner I had yesterday with my seven year old sister. It was simple and almost crude. Tea, simple cookies, some Chinese green leaf vegetables (no, there was nothing else with it). That was it. I played some music from my computer and we ate outside. My sister and I made the entire dinner, and it was, quite honestly, awesome. We had fun making it, there was no hassle over manners or mess, we had music playing, and it was fun. I actually enjoyed it a lot. And since it was so incredibly simple, we felt like we could have fun and be ourselves. Afterwards, we watched a movie together.I loved just being with my sister...it made me happier than any fancy Thanksgivings could.

It made me thankful for simple nights with my family. It made me thankful for my family. And above all, it reminded me what Thanksgiving really is about.

NaNoWriMo

Well...
I'm doing NaNoWriMo...what was I thinking? 50,000 words in one month? Yeah...perhaps I do more than most people my age do, with Math Team, MathCounts, advanced classes, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, spelling bees, band, etc...

I don't regret doing NaNoWriMo, though. I'll never regret doing it. I've gotten so much done in the 26 days that we're in so far...I've written so much on so many complex, twisting plot lines...I just need to write 30,000 more words in the next 4 days. Wow...I just realized how impossible that sounds...

I focus so much on science and Science Olympiad within my story...I guess that's just a side effect of being a science obsessed nerd. I suppose that it could be a bit confusing for those that don't know as much about science as I do...or that's just me, wondering about everything.

Kudos.

A Multitude of Complaints

Not having an actual, non-college student based bookstore in your city sucks. It really does. Because, you see, when you're me and your life revolves at least partially around books...it's not a good situation when you can't have them, at least not easily. The only thing that assuages this is our public library, but even that doesn't have what I need or want to read half the time. I am also not allowed to go there that often, so that really doesn't help. Yes, there's a bookstore in the neighboring city, but it's so far away...and I can't be bothered to go there every other day.

Another thing that irritates me is little children who want to be like you in every respect. You know, those little kids that follow you around all the time, trying to copy everything you do, never giving you a moment's peace. I have had to lock my door to get some privacy, and I rarely lock my door. Ever. They copy the way you walk, the way you talk...they try to do everything you do, just as well as you do... Perhaps I shouldn't be so irritated at them, but it is EXTREMELY annoying. Especially if the child has a superiority complex.

The next complaint is about Black Friday. Seriously? This big of a deal about something that doesn't even help that much? It's just one day of discounts. Granted, large discounts, but...this much hype? It's not worth it, and it is exasperating to hear mentions of "Black Friday, Black Friday" everywhere you turn. I mean, come on, people! One day. And...you get this excited? You plan for WEEKS in advance for this one day? And then, on that day, so many people crowd around the stores that you can't buy anything anyways. Is it really worth it? Seriously?

Next, I complain about people who incessantly blame others for something that they did wrong, or take credit for things that they didn't do. They did wrong; they should take the blame. They didn't do the honorable things they got recognized for; that's just WRONG. Essentially, these are suck-uppy people who will stop at nothing to look good. That irritates the heck out of me. Go own up to your own misdeeds, you, and stop stealing all the glory that isn't yours.

Lastly,I will complain about people who put ALL THE IMPORTANT stuff on ONE DAY. Look at this: On March 10th, you have: State Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Band Supper Concert, Young Artists' Program, AND State Spelling Bee. I mean, seriously? Do these people get together and plan everything on the same day or something? I do ALL of these things, and spelling bees and Science Olympiad are pretty major. And, as my Science Olympiad coach told me, "No State equals no Nationals." Perhaps he didn't word it exactly that way, but that's what he meant. And seeing as our team makes it to Nats every year, and I really, REALLY want to go this year for a multitude of reasons...that's pretty big. But alas, my parents are FORCING me to do spelling bee, which essentially means that I can't go to Nats, even though there's no guarantee I'll win State Spelling Bee. Most likely, I'll lose it, and terribly too. It's not worth it...and yet, what can I do? NOTHING. I can't stand the thought that I'll lose State Spelling Bee, miss State Science Olympiad for it, and then be unable to go to Nats because of that. I would much rather do Science Olympiad, but am I able to? Nooooo...

I'm going to stop now, because I don't feel like giving things that irritate me the honor of my time, and also because I have better things to do.

Canyons and the such

So, a few days ago, as the first day of Thanksgiving break, we went on a little road trip to some canyons. It was a "surprise", so I didn't get to bring my binoculars, which was a pity. It was really quite beautiful...and having binoculars really would have helped. But we all enjoyed it anyways. My sister and I scaled a couple of canyons barefoot before realizing that it was technically not allowed...oh well. In any case, it was quite fun, although I think it would have been better if I had actually prepared somewhat for Forestry (oops).
I have to admit, though, even though I didn't...it was one of the best days this year, not counting Science Olympiad Nationals. Someone even painted the words, "What could ever feel this good again?" onto the fence. It's that beautiful.

I think that this really gives me initiative to study for Forestry.

Why I have this thing

As a project, I plan to document the major happenings of my life here, for no other reason than I think that this is a good way to keep up with everything.
So, for starters, I shall say this: Be wary of extensive posts concerning Science Olympiad, spelling bees, and other academic competitions and perhaps, once in a while, something more...normal, I guess? Yeah...
I will post whenever I feel like it, be it every day or every year. Fun, fun.
Look around here, whatever. This is my saga, my story.