more does not equal less, but less equals more?

confusing stuff. anyways, more updates/plans/shit that can take my mind off of pc high, etc:

more plans for the year after i graduate:

1. build an electric car with my dad. well, not so much build, but rather assemble an electric motor in a lightweight car without a kit. just beginning the research, but i'm totally into it (especially now while i am waiting to recieve my driver's ed. book). the only 'bad' thing about it is that it can get only about 50 miles per charge, so if i go anywhere outside pc, i'd just have to stash some really long extension cords in my trunk.

2. create a zine. i was at the coffee garden the other day (after seeing my friends from realms who i haven't seen in over a month!) and i picked up a zine from the back shelf: the salt lake rag. essays written by teenagers about stuff that actually matters. amazing. the best part was, of course, the condom taped to the front (donated by the aids foundation!). nah... just kidding. but seriously, if i could take that as my inspiration, beef it up with some more art stuff, and add more written pieces from people i know, that could be a fantastic project, no?


updates:

1. started using my moleskine again. god, i love that thing.

2. been setting daily and weekly goals for myself. very helpful, i can tell you that. i had a whole lot of shit to do today and actually writing it down made me realize how important it was to not just store that kind of stuff in the back of your brain, where it can hide behind all your other thoughts (like: "what kind of wood are clipboards made out of?").

3. i finished my homework today! it is actually very exciting since i had a shitload to do:

- finish my english essay analyzing how elizabeth bennet's (from pride and prejudice) responses to mr. collins' and mr. darcy's proposal speak about her character and what i would do in the same situations.
- complete my creative writing story (children's book about what we've learned in school) with about fifteen+ drawings. most of them look good.
- study spanish so i can retake that test and get more than an 8.5/20 on it.
- world civ. homework that i should have had done long ago but never did it.
- study math so i can take that test on wednesday and not fail.

4. i designed a desktop background for class of 2009:

5. i started rereading what i have edited from my novel so far (only 19 pages so far, unfortunately) and DAMN. i'm a good writer.

one last thing to leave you with: why do people use so many exclamation marks when they're not even exclaiming anything!!!!!

evolution of dance

just a quick video. hilarious.

locks of love

i am planning to chop off most of my hair this summer. for one thing, my hair is a bitch during the summer and also, i don't want to pay for bleaching and dyeing my 24" long hair blue. it's just not economical no matter how cool it is. so, i planned to donate about of a foot of my hair to locks of love, the non-profit organization that makes wigs of donated hair for alopecia areata/cancer patients. fortunately, i did my research and found:
- locks of love receives more hair that it can make wigs then sells the surplus hair ($352,401 in 2005)
- most of the hair is sold to commercial wigmakers rather than given to patients
- the wigs are not always free; they charge juvenile patients according to their parent's income level
- the kids have to jump through hoops to receive a wig (get letters of recommendation from teachers, write essays)
- charity navigator (largest independent charity evaluator in the united states) reports that 81.1% of their donations go to program costs, 12.7% go to administrative costs, and 6.1% go to fund raising costs.

i did find some good, honest organizations for hair donations though. i would advise you to check them out:
1. pantene - beautiful lengths although i'm a little hesitant to donate to pantene, i think that it's at least better than having a foot of my hair turned into a hairpiece, no?
2. wigs for kids
3. zichron menachem

as a final note: i wish i had this hair.

plans/planes.

as the school days start winding down into the lemonade-scented oblivion called summer vacation, i am estatic to tell you that i can graduate next year as a junior! my academic plan for the upcoming 2008/09 year is as follows:
- take financial literacy, computer tech., and .5 credit of u.s. history during the summer
- english courses: a.p. language and english 12
- history courses: government (.5 credit)/psychology (.5 credit)
- math course: 1060/pre-calc.
- science course: physics OR physics with technology
- CTE course: photography
- electives: creative writing (1 credit) and drawing (.5 credit)/painting (.5 credit)

after graduation, i'm planning to do unschooling for a year while living at home. i started making a list of things that i'd like to complete/explore during that time:

1. working on a farm: there's a handful of organic peach farms in northern california that i'd like to take a look at. i had been planning on doing this for the upcoming summer vacation, but if i wait a year, i can do it for a longer period of time without the looming expectation of school.

2. writing: i'd like to at least finish editing my novel from nanowrimo and possibly complete a collection of short stories that i could submit to magazines, etc. i have finally broken through that dry spell of no creativity at all (and just in time to illustrate a children's book for creative writing) so if it keeps up, i should be able to keep writing and improving.

3. start a baking business. my great uncle and great-grandfather are/were bakers so i guess it runs in my genes.

4. traveling. i-to-i has a fantastic program in south africa to work with lions... but unfortunately, the age requirement is 18. i'd love to find another program that resonates so deeply with me and have another experience like the bali trip last year.

psst... do you like my template change?

i stumbled upon this website of strange and beautiful objects. here are a couple of my favorites.

disclaimer: sorry this post doesn't have a lot of my thoughts, etc., but you'll have to deal.

this daisy vase, hand-blown from a bic ballpoint pen. pretty, clean, simple lines, and recycled - who could ask for more in such an object?






















handmade pencil sea urchins - what else is there to say?















this twig bench is not only aesthetically beautiful, but is also environmentally friendly. it pretty much blows my mind.

forts

a post about fort spaces.
remember building forts out of blankets and pillows when you were kid? banging together a couple two by fours, shoving it between branches, and calling it a tree house?
where did those spaces go?

don't we need them now, with the stress of just living accumulating, more than ever?

i yearn for a space that i can just be in, and have it be my own and fill it with my memories and dreams and crayon drawings scrawled on the walls. why don't we have those spaces anymore?

i guess i'm just hoping for a place to get away from it all, especially the time. i hate dates and schedules and clocks and minutes and hours and day lights saving time and time zones and planned activities. what's the point of it all anyways? the more you watch time and try to hold on to it, the more it slips through your fingers.

when i was younger, time seemed so much longer than it is now.

reflection post

as i head in to the final quarter of this hellish school year, i have some reflections:
one no one ever has to put up with bullshit. it is your own fault if you are not strong enough to speak up against injustice. people have enough power within themselves to change their reality, but most people just like riding on everyone else's coat tails. so, listen up, world: only you can change the things you see need to change.

two take everything one day at a time. if that's too far ahead for you, if you don't feel you can go a day at a time, take it an hour and a half at a time. say to yourself, "i can survive anything for an hour and a half" because you can.

three define everything yourself. do not give in to social standards of 'beauty' and 'morality' because they may not be right for you, as a person. you only need to live up to your own standards, yeah? if you solely live up to other's standards, you will never be happy with yourself.

four life is too crazy, too unpredictable, too significant and insignificant to take too seriously.