Life In Cartoon Motion- MIKA. A review, but more like a rave.

MIKA

Life in Cartoon Motion


A few years ago I was turned on to Mika by a close friend, and I've been obsessed ever since. I wanted to review an album by someone totally obscure and cool but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about Mika. The best music is the music that just makes you feel genuinely AMAZING, and that's exactly what Mika does, every time. So I figured I'd review a bit of his first album. "Life in Cartoon Motion" is quintessential Mika and my favorite out  of his two albums (the other being "The Boy Who Knew Too Much").

 Mika has been fairly "big" in Europe for awhile now and is beginning to capture the U.S. (I'm just waiting for everyone to realize how amazing he is). He's from London and debuted his first album in 2007. His music's hard to define for me, being a person who recoils at the word "pop". I guess I would describe it as alternative pop. Wikipedia describes him as several things, including pop rock and glam rock. Some of his songs are definitely more "pop-y" than others, but both of his albums definitely have a great range of songs. There are very upbeat songs like "Lollipop", "Love Today", "Relax, Take It Easy", and "Ring Ring". Then there are some more somber and comparatively chill songs like "My Interpretation", "Any Other World", and "Over My Shoulder". Then there are the songs that seem to tell a story such as "Billy Brown". All, of course, featuring Mika's trademark falsetto. Mika is often compared to Freddie Mercury (which I find to be the ULTIMATE compliment). 

Another thing that makes Mika's songs unique are the short bits of dialogue at the beginnings and ends of a lot of his songs, particularly "Ring Ring" where a woman with a thick accent tells her story for the last 45 seconds of the song. The song also features a phone ringing at the beginning. This is just an example of the little unique, creative things Mika does. Everything he does makes me melt, I can't tell you enough, you just really have to listen. The song "Over my Shoulder" makes me hold my breath every time I hear it, it's absolutely beautiful.

This is the music video for "We are Golden", which is on his second album, but it's the video that  really made me fall in love with him, and I hope you do too. (Don't be scared off by his half nakedness)

Cheers!
Gianna

Snowflake Statistics

Snowflake Statistics*

One on top of the other, they pile outside, endlessly. Creating a huge, overwhelming blanket of snow. Just like everything else in this world. It’s no wonder more people do it this time of year.

I’m on the train, looking at these people, these things. They don’t even know, they don’t know anything. They’re all consumed with themselves, it’s a wonder they remember to breathe.

The doctors are always asking me questions, asking me to explain things. But I can’t explain if they don’t already know.

A few days ago I went outside at 2 in the morning in my underwear and lay in the snow. Tears were running down my face but I was laughing too. Why am I so weak?

I’m doomed forever to wearing long sleeves, pants; to hide them. They’re everywhere; arms, stomach, hips, thighs. I was being stupid, I went too deep.

They give me meds. But at some point they stop making a difference. Have you been taking your meds? Of course. But now it’s just like pouring a ton of salt on trillions of snowflakes, it won’t work.

The suicide rate increases this time of year. So I’m just another statistic. It’s all I’ve ever been, and it’s all I’ll ever be…a statistic.

It’s sort of funny. The one thing in my life I can control is the end.

I’m just one snowflake laying on the face of the earth. And what’s one less snowflake?

*For Jules

Thanks guys.
Gianna

Direction the Class Needs

Meh, I don't know. It's honestly a great class. I really like it. My favorite part is definitely the class discussions. I love talking about the book we're reading and everyone has such good points to make. I like them best when there isn't really a direction for the conversation to go, it just flows. It forces us to think intellectually and analytically. We hardly get any busy work, except maybe those darn vocab books. I understand the need to build vocabulary but workbooks are just so tedious and only touch the surface whereas everything else we do in this class goes so much deeper. So, in an ideal world we'd just have class discussions all the time and not do vocab books, but I understand that's not realistic. Really though, the class is good. Oh, except for people keep missing or forgetting that blogs are due (me included) which is totally our fault and we should get on that. Mr. McCarthy's been pretty lenient with the blogs though, so much thanks for that.

And much thanks for reading my blog.
Gianna.

Where did you go JD?

JD Salinger, he changed the world of literature in one fatal sweep and then he went away, from it all. He wrote "the manifesto for disenchanted youth" according to Time Magazine. People are, understandably, obsessed with Catcher in the Rye and with JD Salinger. As his book became more popular Salinger was cast into the limelight, and immediately withdrew from it. This, however, made Salinger more enticing to his fans than ever. Salinger became a myth, rather than a man. Salinger's decision to go into seclusion stemmed from his recognition of his need to uphold his principles (theme of the year, anyone?). He says "Just because I'm so horribly conditioned to accept everybody else's values, and just because I like applause and people to rave about me, doesn't make it right. I'm ashamed of it. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I'm sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some kind of a splash.", it sounds eerily like Holden. Salinger recognized things that he hated, even if he saw it in himself (something Holden does not do). So he went about trying to correct that, to make sure that he would never become the very thing he detested. 


A time when a book like Catcher in the Rye was a banned and highly controversial seems  like a world away, and in some ways, it was. The 1950s were just a different time. Their principles (I did it again) were different, and more strongly upheld. If someone had different principles than you did you weren't going to accept them and be buddies, if they're not quiet about it that is... So there was a basic societal consensus, and if you went against it, you were shunned. Then this book comes along, and its published and people are talking about it. They must have thought it was madness. We can't have people going out and stating there opinion. So lets ban it. And they did. But they can't ban every book, can they? And people start thinking and speaking out and the consensus changes. That brings us to today, where EVERYONE can speak their mind (this blog for example, a 15 year old girl in the 1950s would never be posting her opinion, if she even had one, for anyone to read). And people just keep speaking their mind and pushing the envelope so much so that things that were once controversial are now standard and commonplace. 

Catcher in the Rye is everywhere, I kid you not. Even before I'd read it I must have heard about it at least one hundred times. In one of the plays Company did this year, Women and Wallace, there is a mention of Catcher in the Rye. Recently I watched the movie Six Degrees of Separation ( with Will Smith), Catcher in the Rye is one of the major themes in the book. Will Smith's character, Paul, is this sort of disillusioned Harvard student imposter, and he goes on and on about his fake (phony) thesis paper all about Catcher in the Rye. And that movie makes so much more sense now that I actually know what Catcher is about. By the way we should definitely watch that scene from Six Degrees of Separation where Paul rants about Catcher in the Rye. 


Great, thanks for reading.
Gianna.

Holden...the drifter.

Holden, Holden, Holden. I don't even know where to start with him. He's very fake, but real for a book character, if that makes sense. A lot of times book characters, especially the main character is two dimensional at most. Holden's different, he seems like a real person in that he's realistic and monumentally flawed. There's moments when I like Holden, and then there are moments when he's being a myopic idiot (vocab word, how cool am I?). On the whole I find myself searching for the redeeming qualities in Holden, yet I still find him likeable. Another reason he seems more 'real' (for a book character) is that the reader is allowed access into his head. It's completely different from the two other books we've read this year; The Crucible was all dialogue and The Road was in third person. With Holden I feel like I know him, and maybe that's why it's easier to like him. Everyone's mind is always working, always thinking and a lot of times that unique train of thought is thrown away in once people start writing.

Holden is SO lonely, uncommonly lonely. He has no one, not even himself. I say this because it feels like he doesn't know himself. He's always lying, constantly lying, that he even lies to himself. He can't distinguish the truth anymore. At the same time he's judgmental and elitist and pushes people away. He's too lonely too be so picky and judgmental. Any time he mentions any one he almost always accompanies it with a reason why he doesn't like them, but he's the one calling them up. Holden comes into everything closed off and skeptical because it's his defense mechanism. Really, Holden is very emotionally weak. Shutting down and putting up walls is the easiest way to confront emotions. Holden has an overwhelming fear of being hurt, so much so that he would rather feel nothing at all. It reminds me of the Whitesnake song (God, I can see the horrible hair now...) Here I Go Again (If you've never heard of this song you don't have a soul). Part of the chorus goes "Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.". That's exactly what Holden is, a drifter, emotionally and physically. He doesn't have the stamina to stay in one place for too long.

Thanks for reading.
Gianna.

Also, for the record, I never thought I'd quote a Whitesnake song...ever.

My Red Foraging Hat

Okay, to be honest I STILL don't completely understand the point of this blog post. Holden's hat is this weird sort of thing that we keep talking about and what its POSSIBLE symbolism is, but I feel like we're all just guessing. We talked about Holden hunting phonies and then we talked about Holden being a phony, but deer certainly don't march around wearing red hats shooting up all their other deer-kin and claiming that they hate deer (Ahem, Holden). Maybe I'm reading a bit much into it. Anyways, Holden's hat is something he uses to make himself feel special and unique or whatever, so I guess I'll write about that.

Holden's hat is something he usually only wears in privacy or in other slim circumstances. Most people Holden knows will never see him wearing his hat, but a few do. That's a bit like me and my birthmark. I have this red birthmark shaped like Hawaii on the top of my left hand. It usually takes people a while to notice its there, some people never do. Part of this is due to the fact that it changes color (very cool, I know). It ranges from very light pink to a deep red-almost-purple color depending on my mood (even cooler). When I'm sick its usually a vibrant red. When I'm overworked or stressed or sad it becomes that almost purple color. Also, sometimes when its really cloudy and stormy it gets darker. Most people think I've injured myself. I can't count the number of times I've hear "What happened to your hand?". I've heard it looks like I burned myself, have a rash, colored on my self, sprayed myself with hot oil, got bruised weirdly, and even that it looks like a hickey (Hickey wins for most creativity, I think, yes?).

I guess my birthmark-hickey is sort of a far stretch for my red hunting hat but I don't do a lot of hunting considering I'm a vegetarian...perhaps 'My Red Foraging Hat' would be a better term. There then, title changed. Either way I buy my food mass produced so I think I get an excuse.

Cheers.
Gianna.

Thankfulness (Emily Hawkins is the bomb)

I don't think it will come to a surprise to anyone that the person I'm thankful for in the class is Emily. Emily Hawkins. There's really no way that this won't come off as a love letter to Emily so I'll stop fighting it and just embrace it.

Dear Emily,

Thanks for being in my English class (even though that wasn't exactly your choice, but perhaps you willed it to happen). I love you because I can make a face at you and you already know what I'm thinking. We share opinions and feelings and passions (well, duh, you're my horcrux). It makes me feel slightly less crazy knowing that you agree with me. Even though it probably just means we're two crazies...still. I appreciate that I can text you when I have no idea what the homework is; which is probably more often than it should be. I like when we accidentally write about the same thing in our journal. I love you for introducing me to the Doctor and knowing why the phrase "Totally Awesome" can send me into uncontrollable fits of laughter. I love you because you have a nice balance of heavy metal and musicals on your iPod.

I love the look on your face when you realize something or find something totally awesome. I love that you realize your faults but still have confidence. I love the way you smell. I love that I get to be the red/green/blue/pink haired girl's friend. I like that your always energetic and full of life. I love your style. I love your face. I love that you're supermegafoxyawesomehot (by the way we need to get that word into the dictionary) without trying to be. I'm thankful you love me even though I'm a gryffindor. I'm thankful you put a Tardis on my locker so we can go on exciting journeys through time and space together. I'm thankful that after traveling for 16 hours on the floor of a bus that you would do it all over again.

I'm thankful that you're alive and you tolerate me.

Lots of thankfulness and love, as always
Gianna

Cormac McCarthy: The Road

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Cormac McCarthy talks about goodness and his son, John. McCarthy says his son is morally a wonderful person. He also says that's just who John is as a person and that goodness isn't something you learn; it's just something you have or don't. 

Everyone is born with morals, and as we 'grow' and 'learn' these morals often fall away. It's like a ball that is constantly being thrown around and hit at and the ball gets ratted and worn, but its up to the person to keep the ball in good condition, and if they don't you won't even be able to use it any more; it'll just be a piece of crap. And some damage done to the ball can be reversed with a little cleaning but major damage can't always be fixed. So young children come automatically with these morals, these things that they know are right. And if this sense of morality is cultivated and encouraged at a young age then their morality can grow and become stronger. But if it isn't, their morals can easily fall away. And this goes on throughout a person's life, the world can chip away at their morals. But if the world can take away someone's morals, why can't it give them back? Sure, learning to be moral is harder than learning to be corrupt, but it's not impossible. So I guess I agree and disagree with McCarthy; I agree in that you're born with morals and they can be destroyed but I disagree in that I take the less cynical view (believe me, that's probably the last time you'll hear me say that) and I think you can learn morals from our world, as difficult as it may  be. Back to the ball analogy, no matter how beat up your ball of morality is, you can always get a new one.

Thanks,
Gianna.

Open Letter to Charles Bukowski, brilliant author of "Dinosauria, We"

Dear Charles Bukowski,

I'd like to thank you for writing "Dinosauria, We". The poem is so inspirational, and so intense, and so true. I absolutely loved it. I felt really empowered by what you were saying and I agree wholeheartedly.  Then I found out that you wrote it in the 70s and I was shocked. It all made sense for the 70s too, not just now. Our world is still struggling with the same things we've been struggling with. The 70s seem so long ago and so disconnected from now but reading the poem made me realize that in the grand scheme of things, 40 years is not that long, and not that much has changed. Technology has changed and social norms have changed, but the root of our society has shifted only slightly. Things you point out seem so specific to our time now that I was certain it had been written only a few years ago. It impressed upon me how little progress we have made on a lot of fronts, how much work there is to be done.

Your words are so powerful and flow so seamlessly, how long did it take you to write this? I also wonder, if you had lived long enough, what you would think about our society. Who would you be voting for?

Anyways, Mr. Bukowski thank-you so much for this poem. "Dinosauria, We" will be one of those things pinned up to my wall at college. You've been an inspiration.

Love,
Gianna Clark.

Father and Son

In The Road the element of parent-child relationship is isolated and becomes a major theme of the book. The Father and Son are in this drastic situation where they are completely reliant on each other. They're both reliant on each other to keep them alive. The situation is extremely horrible and stressful and would wear on any relationship. The Son is so young and knows so much about the world, but at the same time so little. The Father is trying to shelter his son and keep his life as normal as possible, and in doing so doesn't tell him whole truths, which the boy picks up on immediately. Things like this seem to be pushing them apart. I think the Son senses this a lot, where as the Father doesn't as much. The Son is growing up in this ridiculously horrible situation and if he lives long enough to understand just how much his Father did for him he will be grateful. However, now it feels like there's this growing resentment towards his Father. In his eyes his Father is the one who makes them constantly travel and move from place to place. There's no way for the Son to completely understand what's going on. Despite this there is an undeniable amount of love between them, but it seems that it's just love. They love each other so much and are so focused on survival that they don't seem to actually like each other, or enjoy the others company. But then again can you really enjoy someone when you're trying so desperately to survive?


I'm definitely not a parenting expert and I won't pretend to be. I'm lucky enough to have great parents, but frankly I find parent-child relationships weird and hard to define. Every parental relationship is different across the board. I'm also not a kid person, which may have something to do with it.

Thanks for reading.
Gianna

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

What is a hero? A hero is someone who saves the day, who does good in the world, rescues a few damsels in distress, an overall good guy. Or is he? Maybe a hero is just a guy who was in the right place at the right time. A guy who’s rich, handsome, influential, etc. A hero can be so many things, but when it comes down to it, he does something good, right?

What is a stooge? A fool. No one really expects anything of the stooge, he just sort of runs around and everyone rolls their eyes and dismisses him. No one thinks of themselves as the stooge, but I think everyone’s been a stooge at one point or another. Plus stooges are the most lovable, everyone likes an underdog.

So what’s the difference between a hero and a stooge? I’d argue a lot less than one would think. Little things differentiate the two; circumstance, money, good looks. There’s always that part in a super hero’s tale when nobody believes him or the general public downright hate him, much like they would a stooge. Never the less, something happens allowing him to switch over from stooge to hero.

In John Proctor’s case, he was able to become a hero. First, he had influence in the town. People looked up to John before the witch trials started. He also is rather good looking, making him the perfect fit to play the hero. We can all view John Proctor as the hero because we look back on the times and people of Salem as being extreme and misguided. They persecuted innocent people, which we are naturally against as Americans (the government seems to forget that from time to time, but that’s another story…), so John Proctor can only be thought of as the hero. He went against this crazed society and stuck up for people who couldn’t stick up for themselves.  So he’s a hero in our eyes, of course. But then, we are the society that prevailed. The winners write the history books. If the Puritan ideal had prevailed, we’d all think John Proctor worse than a stooge, more like a crazy lunatic getting in the way of God’s will. The label, hero or stooge, depends less upon what he actually did but which society prevails to think of him as a hero or a stooge.

In other, more ‘normal’ circumstances John would not have been the hero. He cheated on his wife with the Reverend’s niece, who was still a girl. John would have been the sorry loser caught on ‘Cheaters’ by his wife in a crappy motel with his face blurred out and would run around cursing the camera in the parking lot. We love to hate cheaters. It all comes back to circumstance. Only the craziness of the witch trials could save John from such reality television defamation and catapult him into heroics. It could also be argued that if John hadn’t cheated with Abby the whole thing wouldn’t have happened. Abby wouldn’t have been so drawn into the whole witch craft thing and wouldn’t have urged the girls to participate in the rituals and she wouldn’t have drunk blood, etc. The whole thing could have been avoided. But we say “It’s okay that you inadvertently caused all the madness, John. You tried to save everybody with some less than fool proof evidence. That’s all that really matters. Thanks a bunch.”

To answer the question; John Proctor is a hero, at least in this story. But the point is that the term hero or stooge can’t be viewed as a simple thing. People are weird and complex and beautiful and ugly all at the same time. So maybe no one’s a hero, maybe we’re all just people, and what we are depends on perspective. Except for Superman and Chuck Norris, they’re definitely heroes.

Maybe my take on this was a little bit…cynical...or maybe its more critical? Not sure. Thanks for reading anyways,

Gianna

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

 What do I even say about this, I have so many thoughts about religion and God. My Grandma’s very Catholic and my Mom and Dad were both raised Catholic. I’m baptized and I’ve had my first communion in a Catholic Church, but since, my views have changed. When I was younger I never consider not believing in God or Jesus or the Church or whatever. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve come up with my own beliefs. I don’t really believe in the bible or God per say, at least not what the bible says God is. I feel like there has to be some sort of spiritual world after ours, but I don’t know what it is. I think it’s silly for people to pretend they know what happens after you die or what’s beyond our world.Maybe it's not that I feel like there HAS to be something after we die, but I want to believe there is.  I don't want to just disappear, for my soul to go away. Catholicism gives people security, it tells then what they want to hear. That they won't actually die and the bad people will be punished and that they will get to live in paradise forever. I'll tackle most of the blog referring back to the Catholic Church because its what I know, it's the most experience I've had with Religion. 

I don’t understand religion, it leaves me utterly confused. The Bible for instance, supposedly these prophets wrote it, but why should we believe them? Why should we trust them? Maybe these people are just writing a book to fit their own agenda. People in powerful places are writing rules to get other people to do what they want them to. How is it that so many Catholic Priests (men of God, am I right?) can sexually abuse kids? (Including little boys) Aren’t these the same people preaching against not only sexual abuse but also homosexuality? I guess I just don’t get it.  I’m tired of our society being closed off to people, denying them their rights. I’m a firm believer that everyone should be able to marry. My Mom always says that 50 years from now people will look at our struggle to legalize gay marriage in a similar light to the way we look at the civil right movement.Warning: I'll connect anything I can to gay rights, it's sort of my thing.

In the Catholic Church women can't be Priests or anything of the like, just Nuns. I'm sorry, but what? Did the Church just decide to turn a blind eye to the past century of women's rights and our struggle for gender equality? Guess so. If Lutherans can do it (My best friend's mom is a Lutheran Pastor), why can't the Catholics?

Religion can be good and useful and all that stuff, but too often it harbors a close minded mentality if not fear if not hate. And if "God" or whatever exists, then I think he is angry. Angry because people are using him to keep humanity from furthering itself by arguing about who should be whom, who should do what, and who should love whom.

Arrival...there goes the neighborhood

When separate groups of people arrive and join or combine with another group, chaos can ensue. It can cause a small amount, or a great amount of conflict. In a community there is a complex group dynamic in place, when a new group of people joins or combines with the group it, inevitably, screws everything up. Things have to be reworked, whether it’s a welcome change or a reluctant one. Change, of any sort, is always hard, but when people are entered into the situation, it becomes more complex. People have emotions, actions, reactions, etc. All of these further complicate the process. Every person in a group also has a role, or a status. This role or status determines how they interact in the group. There are simple ones, like a child’s role in a family. The details of the role will differ from family to family, but it is a role none the less. Then there are more complex roles, or roles that are less obvious and hard to define. For instance, in a group of friends one may be the “leader”, the one whose decisions impact the group the most, or the one who gets the group to come together. One may be the instigator, or the gossiper, or the comforter, or what have you. Regardless, most people have roles and are comfortable with them and understand what their role entitles (most of the time without knowingly acknowledging that they have a specific role).

And then a new person comes. Perhaps it’s a new family member, or friend, or someone in the workspace, or Europeans coming to “discover” your home. Whoever this new entity is, they’ve now shifted the group dynamics, and they are adding themselves into the equation. This shift can be easy, or extremely difficult and detrimental. A lot times it has to do with if the original members of the group accept/like/welcome the new entity of the group. If members of the group are closed off to the new member it makes transition harder. It also depends on what sort of role this entity aspires to attain. Perhaps they’re content with blending in with group, adopting the group’s beliefs/values/system. However, if this new addition is looking to lead, or take charge, or drastically change the way the group works, they can be met with a lot resistance.

Regardless of if the transition is a tough one or not, the group is forced to adjust. That’s why new members are often met with hostility and negativity. The title of this blog post can represent two things; the first one being the resistance of the original party to accept new members and the second one being what it appears to be, that new members of a group often create unnecessary chaos and conflict



Thanks, guys. Gianna. 

Introduction

Introduction to me. I am Gianna Clark.

Age: 14
Birthday: November 22
Year: Freshman
Favorite color: Purple
Favorite food: Chocolate

I find those to be the first questions people ask when they're 'getting to know you' or playing a name game or what have you. I think my post would be really boring if I went on listing favorites, so I'll give some random facts about myself that might be useful to know, or at least moderately interesting.

My cats are named after Star Wars characters. Luke and Leia, and yes, they're brother and sister. They're black and white. I found out recently I can call them tuxedo cats, which I think is adorable. You could call me a Star Wars nerd, you could say that....with conviction. I own all of the movies. My favorites are the original 4, 5, and 6. Anyone who knows anything about Star Wars knows the ones that followed just can't measure up.

I'm addicted to Harry Potter. I'm starting to think I'll never get my Pottermore letter, I'll have to wait till its open to the "general public", which is less than satisfactory. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 at midnight, with one blue haired Emily Hawkins. Oh, yeah, and I have a wand.

I was born on the north side but I've lived on the south side for 8 years. My Mom worked at UIC when we lived on  the north side but when she got  a job at the University of Chicago, we moved. I know the question, so here's the answer: I'm a Cubs fan, but not a Sox hater.

I'm bi-racial, black and white (like my cats, for those of you paying attention). I have a special place in my heart for black and white things, ie. my back pack. My mom is white and my dad is black. I love being biracial, it's definitely been self-defining. It gives me a different outlook on a lot of things, especially race related things. I've never known what it's like, but I don't think I'd enjoy being confined to one race.

If I could I would walk around barefoot all the time. We have more nerve endings on our feet than we do on our hands, so you can feel more with your feet. I love the feel of different floors, from the carpet in my room to the hard linoleum at school, to the soft grass in  my back yard. I wouldn't say I connect to things with my feet, but I sort of do.

I act with the Lookingglass Young Ensemble, I sing with the Chicago Children's Choir and I dance at Whitney Young. I'm very much into the performing arts. I love being on stage. I'd like to become a professional actress. I know, I know, it's not an easy career. When I tell people what I want to 'be when I grow up' they're expression changes. They look down on me, almost belittling me. It's as if they're thinking "Oh isn't that nice, she wants to be an actress. Well, let her dream for a little while longer". And it's annoying, because what they don't know is that I can see this process going on in their head. In case you can't tell, its sort of a pet peeve of mine. But that's okay, I don't need other people to believe in me, as long as I do (how's that for inspirational?).

I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I always knew I'd become a vegetarian, it was just a  matter of time. I read the Omnivore's Dilemma in Biology last year and found that I had to make decisions about what I eat. I love being vegetarian, it's not hard for me at all. I love animals and I can't imagine ever eating my cat, so why would I be okay eating another animal? I have my own personal reasons for being vegetarian but I don't expect other people to follow suit. Another pet peeve of mine; when people judge other people because their choices are different from their own.

I have asthma and allergies. I'm allergic to any animal with fur, feathers, hair, etc (that doesn't keep me away from them, obviously) and most grasses and pollen and trees. I'm also allergic to peanuts and possibly cocoanut, I'm not that eager to find out about the cocoanut. I have exercise induced asthma which means when I exercise my 'breathing tube' (not really sure what you call it) gets inflamed, making it difficult for air to pass through to my lungs.

I like sleeping with my windows open, even if its freezing out. I also like that feeling when you wake up before the sun rises and you feel like it just you and the world. That time when no one's awake and it's silent out. But then I go back to sleep, because I love to sleep.

I wish I was British, really really badly. I've decided I'll just have to marry a British man. Another thing, about me, I've decided I won't get married until everyone can get married. I'm quite the gay rights activist.

I have a mug collection, including a Yoda mug, a Shakespearean insults mug, a Wicked mug, a San Francisco mug, an Alice and Wonderland mug, a Hershey's Kisses mug, and a Mickey Mouse mug, among others.

I've no idea how to end this post. But, erm, thanks for reading, I guess, and I'll see you in the classroom!


Gianna