Sunday, June 28, 2009

Circles of Flame

So, yeah. I haven't written a blog entry in a while. But I have an excuse! Sorta. I was away all of last week at a camp, and then for the past few days at a family reunion. The camp was fun, but the reunion only served to remind me of how extremely southern most of my dad's family is. At least I got to hang out with my cousins Louis and Sam, ages 7 and 4, who provided constant entertainment. I think I played more Uno and Go Fish than I ever have before in my life.

I leave again on Wednesday to go to another family reunion (my mom's side, this time) in Vermont. Most of her family lives somewhere out in the southwest, but she has a cousin or something who lives in Vermont, and apparently owns some cabins by a lake. So, I'll be staying in a cabin, surrounded by a whole bunch of people who somehow know me, even though I can't really remember any of them. This should be interesting. But anyway, I'll be gone until... maybe about Sunday or so? Something like that.

I'm sad because Daily will be leaving for California on Wednesday also, and won't get back until the next Wednesday... siiiiigh. Even though some of you might hate me for saying this, I actually sorta look forward to school starting back again. At least that way I will get to see her every day!

I am, for some reason, feeling rather more literary and artistic than ever before. I've been reading a lot, mostly books that I've borrowed from Daily. I've been doing more art, and enjoying it. I've actually started writing in a journal recently, which has been a rather interesting experience. And I have some ideas for another poem, which I may attempt to write at some point. All in all, I feel quite productive. Haha, it'd be nice if this new-found productivity would help me write a song for our band... oh well. We haven't gotten to practice at all recently, between Alexandros's trip to Greece, my various trips, Carrie's surgery, and random other stuff. Sigh.

Ugh, my internet is being slow. It's really annoying. That's about it for now. I suppose I'll post another blog entry in a week or so, after the family reunion. If I remember. Haha. Enjoy your summers, everyone!

like a castle built on the sand, slowly eroding

Monday, June 8, 2009

chitlins con carne

Ha, so much for being productive this summer. My sister and I got The Sims 3, which has been wo(nd)e(r)fully addicting, and has basically taken up the past few days of my life. Aside from its habit of randomly crashing every now and then, it's a pretty good game. As expected, if you liked The Sims 2, you'll like this one.

In other news, YAYYY! Over the past week or two, I'd been working on building a new computer to act as a webserver. It works! You can visit it here: http://e.rabidcentipede.com/ (even though you won't see anything if I turn the computer off.) The next thing I'm trying to do is build a (reaaaally) basic blogging system. I'll let you know if it ever works.

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I miss her I miss her I miss her I miss her (this whole not-being-at-school thing might be hard...)

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Two of my favorite hobbies are karate and drums. Since I already have a second degree blackbelt in shorinji kempo karate, most of the training I do now is in stickfighting. There is something oddly calming about stickfighting - when Sensei and I are practicing, instinct and reflex take over. I am no longer stressed or bothered by the petty concerns that I normally worry about. I just move with the rhythm - blocking, countering, dodging, striking. I am focused completely on his stick. My arms move on their own, executing the techniques and patterns until they become second-nature. Stepping forwards and backwards, edging to one side or another - it's almost a zen-like state of motion. Drumming is similar - once I get into the beat, my arms and legs take care of themselves. Even though it may seem difficult at first to keep four different limbs moving in four different patterns, it's actually quite easy. If you can get into the right flow, you can stay there with little effort. It just feels... natural.

I don't know. I guess most people think of meditation as something silent and still. But to me, stickfighting and drumming are a form of meditation. Even though they both seem complicated, they are both basically simple patterns and rhythms.

What things do you use as a form of meditation?

"what a sick, masochistic lion"

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

summer?

yay. so. It's summer.

There's a whole bunch of stuff I've been wanting to do for a while now, and I figured summer would be a good time to try to get them all done. I mean, I don't have school anymore, so it should all just be free time, right? Well, somehow, I can never get around to finishing anything. Ah well. Hopefully my work ethic will return soon.

My sister recently got me re-addicted to The Sims 2. And guess what just came out today? The Sims 3! We're probably going to get it tomorrow. Hopefully? haha.

There are sooo many movies coming out this summer, it's ridiculous. I saw Angels and Demons - it was good, even if they did sorta skip most of the first half of the story. I saw Terminator: Salvation - it was okay... you could tell that all of their budget went to special effects instead of story. And I've heard good things about Up, which I am planning to see soon. Other things I want to see: Night at the Museum 2, Transformers 2 (and the first one, probably should watch that first...), the new Harry Potter movie... and then New Moon comes out in November! yayyy, I cannot wait.

I recently started watching Ouran High School Host Club again. It is a HILARIOUS show. I highly recommend it.

Meh, I guess I should quit procrastinating and actually go do something productive now.


my favorite three-word phrase