"Your jugs are great." April 7, 2011- BEDA- Day 7

Today was not a good one. It was the day my friends discovered that my name rhymes with 'Jizz'

Lovely, I know. I spent the afternoon with Sarah, Johnny and Hippo, and then Johnny and I worked on Fantastic Mr. Fox. Being a backstage badger is actually a lot of fun. Especially when getting to work with such lovely people, and being able to watch such awesome actors. Alec, the kid playing the lead, is my age and pretty damn adorable. He's a great actor, getting to watch him act is always a treat. And seeing all of the people I love, and all of the parts of the theater that I miss this time of year is great.

Things like this are timeless. One doesn't forget the times they spend with us theater geeks.

Speaking of geeks, my Threadless shirts came in today and I love them. Gunnar and I agreed that getting Threadless shirts is one of the best things. The excitement when you get that package is awesome.

Mood: ...
Listening to: Oh Bo- Bo Burnham
Last thing I ate: Chow Mien noodles
Last thing I drank: Nintendo Capri Sun
Currently reading: The Last Symbol by Dan Brown for pleasure, and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli for school.

"Remember when you asked if we wanted to lick gums?" April 6, 2011- BEDA- Day 6

I don't know how old you guys are, or how many of you are gamers, but imagine the games you loved as a child. Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, Banjo-Kazooie, Metroid, Earthbound, Mother, Spyro, Mega-Man. Stick to NES, SNES, and N64.
Now imagine the games you play now. We've still got most of those, plus things like Harvest Moon, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Assassin's Creed, Little Big Planet, Portal, Final Fantasy.
Now imagine your kids playing videos games. The games that are old to us won't even be a part of their lives. No matter how hard you try, you kids will never be impressed by Majora's Mask, or Pokemon: Blue. Sonic will no longer be any form of amusement, and Mario Party will be a thing long forgotten. We're growing up in a new generation of gamers, and new media is expanding like crazy. We're one of the first generations to grow up alongside technology like this We're done with bit wars, and onto 3D in such a short matter of time. And this is only the start. Going back and playing the games that filled my youth, and listening to music that was stuck in my head before people like Katy Perry or Ke$ha is great. To me, it seems as if gaming won't get better than my childhood, and having my children live without it is a terrible thought. But I know it can't last forever. One day my SNES, N64 and Game Boy Color will fizzle out and I will have lost all of that joy. Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion, Donkey Kong, Yoshi's Island will all be gone. Can you even imagine?
Mood: ?
Listening to: Wind Waker: Unplugged by FreddeGredde
Last thing I ate: Baked mushrooms.
Last thing I drank: Diet Pepsi
Currently reading: The Last Symbol by Dan Brown for pleasure, and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli for school.

"Omnomnom, Ashley's stomach." April 5, 2011- BEDA- Day 5

Hope      "Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me."

Hope- Emily Dickinson
A Day With No Shoes was successful! Of course, I had to wear them for school, but other then that I was completely barefoot and it felt awesome. I did have on lapse, when we had to get food, but I don't count that. Major props to those who did. This is the second year I've done this, and that marks a year I've known Jill. It's actually really scary thinking about how long it's been. I remember awkwardly walking and talking to Hippo today, last year. She'd just left and I was lonely, but we still had to walk the same way. So we chatted, and I remember feeling incredibly hurt, but still talking. And I was really glad I didn't have to go through that today.
This week's a major testing week, so we don't have homework and I therefore have no excuse for not blogging. BEDA didn't work out last year, but I know it will this year. This past year has been so magnificent, and I'm eternally grateful that you've been here to help me document it.
This whole project, the whole year and a half I've been doing it, has changed me a lot. And it's taught me a lot of things that I don't know if I'd have otherwise.
Mood: Fairly content.
Listening to: A YouTube video from a guy called Lev. I've watched all of his videos at least sixteen times, they're amazing. He illustrates his own thoughts, but this one is the exception. It's his favorite artist advice form others, as illustrated by him. He's one of my favorite people and I highly recommend you check him out.
Last thing I ate: Ranch Thin Wheats, not as tasty as I had once hoped.
Last thing I drank: Splash Cooler Nintendo Capri Sun
Currently reading: Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock for pleasure, and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli for school.

"MERICA" April 4, 2011- BEDA- Day 4

"Nerds,
The faggots,
The spastic fat chicks who,
Sit in the back with no one to do their lab with,
Nerds,
The kid with acne,
And tons of proactiv,
Packed inside his backpack,
I got your back, kid

She stood in line and got cut,
Tried out, got cut,
Loved art, but the budget got cut,
Then she got numb but she only felt when she knelt and cut"

Nerds- Bo Burnham

I'm sorry this is so late, my insomnia hit last night and I literally didn't go to bed all last night. And then I came home and crashed after getting to be a techie with Johnny and Hippo. That was lovely, we made tutus and ate pizza with the cute techie boy, Spencer.
But what I really want to talk about today is something that you should have heard me talk about before. A Day With No Shoes is something put on by TOMS Shoes in order to raise awareness for the kids in third world countries without shoes.
If you keep food in your cabinets, clothes in a closet, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head, you're 75% richer than the entire world population.
Right now you have all of those things, plus more if you're on the Internet. Kids have to walk whole miles, barefoot just to get water. Something I have sitting a little more than a foot away from me right now. And while I'm not allowed to be doing this at school, I will be walking all around town to show my support and raise awareness. I hope you'll join me.
Mood:  Meh.
Listening to: Bo Burnham- Nerds Bo was one of my first YouTubes, and my number one music obsession for a long time. But up until I re listened to New Math, I had pretty much grown out of him. I am so back into that obsession. That song, Nerds is one of his serious songs, and it's beautiful.. I actually recommend reading the lyrics (here) while listening, so you can really understand the song. It hasn't been released so the only versions are those of him performing it live.
Last thing I ate: Sun Chips, at lunch. Healthy, I know.
Last thing I drank: Water. Which I'm actually really thankful for.
Currently reading: Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock for pleasure, and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli for school.

"Dirty, little freaks" April 3, 2011- BEDA- Day 3

I'm sorry if that post yesterday was a little much. I said what was on my mind, and that was it. And I can't promise that I won't blog about death again. I know it's not the most fun thing to read about, but it's been on my mind a lot. Can you blame me?
I had a blast today, spending all of my time awake procrastinating. I still have Science to do, and a room to clean, and a DVR to empty. But I'm not doing that, and I probably won't until the last minute. I'm fairly relaxed about everything but my room, mainly because I have to actually see my bedroom. Even then, I am not motivated enough. To quote the song I'm listening to,

"I'm all alone, but I don't really care at all, not answering my phone"

The phone thing is really true, too. I'm sorry if you've texted or called me, but from what I've gathered, most everyone slept all through the day. Oh well, more power to them.
Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Blackbird- Glee Cast Cover
Last thing I ate: Homemade macaroni and cheese, for dinner.
Last thing I drank: Water. Boring, I know.
Currently reading: Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock

"Carpe Diem." April 2, 2011- BEDA- Day Two

Seize the day.

There's this moment after someone dies where you don't want to think, or feel. Your brain can't contemplate the fact that someone, a whole person, is completely gone. I remember the first time I had to deal with this, it was when Micheal Jackson died. I didn't care much about him when he was alive, but it was the first time where somebody I had heard of had died, and I have old enough to be told and understand that. And I remember when JD Salinger died, and having to think about the world loosing one of it's best, and most hurt, minds. And wondering if he was ready, if he wanted to go.
I didn't have a personal gravel with death until the summer. When Esther died, I was pulling an all-nighter, and I randomly logged onto Twitter for the first time in months. Shawn of the Uncultured Project had tweeted about it. And at first I didn't believe it. No body wants to believe they've lost someone. But the most I checked, the more clear it became. I remember Tumbling and Daily Boothing in search of somebody to talk to. Nobody I knew in real life knew her, and everyone was sleeping. It was 3:00 am when she passed on the 25th of August, 2010, just eighteen days after her sixteenth birthday.
And you'd think after all of that I'd be better equipped to handle death again. But with Esther, I was alone. At least in real life, and now I have to see it's effect on my mother, and siblings, my grandparents. And I have to act like I'm okay. Death is so different in real life. It takes people by their hinges and rips them apart. After loosing a person, nobody knows how to act. You're not okay, and you don't want to talk about it. But before you can move on, you have to take death and and show it that you can put yourself back together. Just give it time.
Mood: I don't even know guys. Nobody really does at times like this.
Listening to: Gerudo Valley from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Last thing I ate: Pizza and franch fries for dinner.
Last thing I drank: Diet Pepsi.
Currently reading: The Last Book In The Universe by Rodman Philbrick

"BITCH TITS" April 1, 2011- BEDA- Day One

It's 9:54 and I am on Hippo's bedroom floor whilst she and Sarah attempt to sleep. I really  don't want to type so I'll just do my ending. Sorry guys!
Mood: Nervous. Don't want to wake Hippo or Sarah.
Listening to: Me type, I've got headphones but I'll take up the bandwidth with music.
Last thing I ate: These deep fried bread things, yummy!
Last thing I drank: Soda...
Currently reading: The Last Book In The Universe by Rodman Philbrick