Day 44, 45, 46, and 47(?)

I really need to stop these conglomeration posts. Really.

Day 44: Defy Superstition (Superstition=very good song, btw)


Day 45: Romance Day
This day we were basically supposed to come up with a pick up line that is completely original and never been used before. This is much harder than it seems.

"Your hair is like long, damaged threads of corn silk, that have been sitting out in the hot sun too long, curled up and splayed out from dehydration, the product of a crop that has been long neglected, probably because of incorrect use of crop rotation, or perhaps a drought."

Okay so I'm probably not going to pick up anyone with that line. But I couldn't think of anything else, and I'm pretty sure that's never been used before. And I had a certain person in mind while writing this, and maybe it's really mean...but...yeah. (Brittany, you know who this is.)

Day 46: Birthday Day
This day we were supposed to write down all of our friends' birthdays so we won't forget them. And then it gave us excuses to give our friends when we do forget them. My favorite is: "I only follow the Chinese calendar." I think I seriously will used that the next time I give a belated birthday gift to someone. Anyways, I would write down all my friends' birthdays here, but that would be kind of pointless because no one really cares, and I have them all written down in my planner anyways so I won't forget them. But, today is my friend BK's birthday, but he's Jehovah's Witness, so I'm not really supposed to wish him a happy birthday, but since he won't see this, I will anyways. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BK!!!

Day 47: Count Sheep and Cure Insomnia
Today we are supposed to count sheep and cure insomnia (hence the title) when we are trying to fall asleep. Since this must be done while I'm going to bed, I'll have to give you the real update on this task tomorrow. But this will be hard, because I'm supposed to remember how many sheep I count to before I fall asleep, but who seriously remembers that? Your mind is continuously wandering when you're about the fall asleep. At least mine is. I'm not saying I'm not going to do the task, I just don't how well it will work out. I guess we'll know tomorrow!

Day 46: Birthday Day

Today was a nice day because this is something that I've been meaning to do. I just went through all my friends' facebooks and wrote their birthdays into my planner.
I know that sounds business-like, but it's for school. I guess it's kind of business-like, though...
Anyways, it makes me really excited because everyone is turning 18, including me, and yay!! that means no more high school, blah blah blah.

Day 45: Romance Day

Come up with a compliment that has never been made up before:
"The tilt of your ears sets my heart a'flutter."

Day 44: Superstition Day

Today we had to defy superstitions.
There was a ladder leaned up against the school and as I was walking in from lunch I stuck my leg under it, hoping that would qualify as walking under it because it would have been impossible to actually get under it. Then when I got home I put my shoes on the table, which I didnt really even know was a superstition until I looked it up online last night. I thought about breaking a mirror this morning but I knew that would make a huge mess and just get me in trouble. So today was kind of a lame day. I dont think that I racked up enough bad luck to have any affect on me, but we'll see.

Day 43: Proper Diary Account

Today we are supposed to write a proper diary account of our day.

Dear Diary,

Today I went to bed at approximately 2:23 am. I woke up at 5:55 am, went downstairs, made coffee, doctored up the coffee REALLY well, drank the coffee. I then ate some yogurt since we were out of my favorite cereal. We seriously go through Cheerios Multi Grain about 1 box every 2.5 days...it's so freaking delicious. I then took a shower, did my makeup, finally found some clean underwear (1 pair left. I need to do laundry.) and then got dressed, brushed my teeth, and ran out the door. Literally, because it was about 7:15 and that's getting around the time when I'm going to be late for school. I drove/sped to school, parked, and then sped-walked all the way to my calculus class. The bell rang right as I sat at my desk. It still surprises me, but I have not been late once in that class.

I then proceeded to take out my binder and write down what my teacher was teaching about, but all I was doing was writing. There was no comprehending involved. I was writing what was on the overhead, but eyes were somewhat closing and I felt like I was literally half-awake/half-asleep. Has that ever happened to you? It was like, I heard what my teacher was talking about and I was writing it down, but as far as mentally processing it...no. My brain was like, an auto-pilot or something, it was really weird. Then I snapped of it somehow and I started remembering that my senior project research paper is due Friday and all the crap I have to do for it and how I had a million and one things to do that afternoon and I began feeling nauseous. I'm not exaggerating either. My head started to throb a little, I could not concentrate on calculus at all, and I felt like I was having an existential meltdown (does anyone know where that phrase comes from?). Once class was over, I did what any baby would do, and called my mommy. I told her what was going on, and she told me that she would check me out.

I hate that. I seriously do. I feel like THE biggest wimp of all time for doing it, and I hate it, but I did it. I skipped Spanish, Oceanography, Yearbook, and senior project. None of which I had a test in or anything like that, but still. I seriously should have just sucked it up. I hate this.

So, I was checked out 15 minutes into spanish class, and I went home. From there I worked on my senior project paper from 9:00 am all the way through 3:00 pm (except to each lunch for about 20 minutes somewhere in there). So let's see...6 hours of working on the paper. Guess how much I got done? Introduction and almost all of the first prong. That is freaking it. I didn't procrastinate or get distracted at all...it just took me that long to organize my thoughts and compile my research and write. I cannot believe that. It's not even good.

From there I had to go back to school because I'm president of Photography Club, and I was holding the first meeting today. I went into the photography room, the bell for the end of last block rang, and people started filing in. Last year there was seriously only about 5 people in photography club, and no one ever showed up to the meetings, so I wasn't expecting many people at all. Besides, our morning announcements where most people here about club meetings hasn't been working this week, so I didn't think anyone would know about it.

24 people signed up. 24! I was really excited. We set dates for our next meetings, and everyone seemed really excited about it and genuinely interested. So, that went well at least. From there I had to go meet my mentor for senior project

AHHHHH i just remembered that today is wednesday and it's 10 o clock and i totally forgot to call you brittany. and my phone has been on silent ever since i got home so i didn't see that you called. this sucks. i'm so sorry. this whole freaking day sucks.

Day 43: Diary Day

All we have to do today is write a diary entry of our day.
9-26-07
Five months until my birthday.
I woke up an hour late, must have slept through my alarm. This was bad because my mom had actually, seriously, sent me to bed at eleven and I hadnt finished my homework. So instead of showering I had to do my homework really fast and of course my printer was messing up but eventually it printed three copies and I was fine. I got dressed in trouser jeans, a dressyish tshirt and flats. I put on earrings and did my make up really quickly and just put my hair in a ponytail. I had breakfast, which was scrambled eggs and bacon (which I didnt eat) and a biscuit (that was doughy) and peaches. I got my mom to write a note for an ad in the yearbook. I got out to the car before my sister and got mad about having to wait on her. We drove to school, parked, I went upstairs to sit with my friends. A little before eight I talked to my art teacher about an NAHS project. Then I went to my locker to put my lunchbox away and came back up to where I as before to go to government. We talked about current events which was good because we didnt have to take notes and it wasnt too boring. Then I had newspaper and I did ad design and it was more frustrating that I had hoped it would be. Then spanish which is my longest seeming class of the day and it was just okay. LUNCH! I did my calculus homework quicker than usual and was kind of bored because there was almost no one at the table and no one was talking. I gave Mia a zebra cake after lunch as a present. Then I went to calculus, and I read a book of short stories during class. Then art, which was good today because we just worked on the NAHS project instead of doing classwork. English was only alright today, not as fun as usual, because I didnt get to talk to all my friends, she split us up into groups to read the Canterbury Tales and I didnt have my book. Last period, Biology, was better than usual as well because a couple of us got to look at little lake bugs under a microscope and sort them by type to determine the health of the stream. It was more fun than it sounds, actually. After school I talked to less people than usual because I had to leave to go to a dentist appointment. I met my mom at the dentist's and told her to be proud of me because somehow, by the grace of god, i swear, i made all a's this six weeks. I hated my teeth cleaning because they used those hooky things that I hate. I was scared that my teeth would look nasty so I told her I had just eaten and could I brush my teeth really quickly? and she let me. I went home and got on the computer for a bit, then ate cereal for dinner, then got dressed for powderpuff football practice. I went to Mia's and we rode to football together. I was good in the drills we did but when we played the game I was terrible. No matter what I did, the girl on the other line, Kacy, always got passed me. I was getting so angry and I didnt want to talk to anyone and I seemed to be the only person messing up. It was really frustrating. Our coaches, which are actually just senior guys, were getting really mad and I hated it somewhat. Mia and I went back to her house and talked to Tracy. It was raining really hard so i called home to ask to wait it out to be safe and they said yes. Mia and Tracy and I ended up getting into a huge wrestling war over typing a text message and it got really dirty, like pinching and biting and hitting, but it was so much fun. Now I have a headache. I just got home and I'm going to do my government paper and hopefully talk to betty because it's our phone call night and thne i'll go to bed early. We dont have school on friday but i have a tennis tournament. then on saturday i have more tournament and then powderpuff practice again. busy weekend.. but not with fun friends stuff. Plus i have homework to do this weekend and copy to write for the newspaper. I should be excited about the threeday weekend but i'm actually not at all.
this journal entry seems boring even to me, so i'm sorry about that. to tell the truth i'm rushing through this because I have to do government and I'm so sore and tired...

Day 42: Walk Barefoot in the Grass

I liked this task. I've never actually thought about the feeling of grass underneath my bare feet before. I actually did the task about 30 minutes ago, so it was already dark outside, and I liked it that way because it added more to the affect. I've been sooooo stressed out this week with college crap and senior project crap and all this other crap that just taking a second to go outside, close my eyes, and feel the grass beneath my feet was so refreshing. It sounds corny, but it really was. I walked really slowly around my yard, and since it was dark the grass had already cooled off, and it almost felt a little damp. Usually I would worry if I was about to step on a bug or a sharp stick (or even the occasional pile of dog crap, which isn't a rarity in my front yard) but I didn't worry about it at all. I was feeling really good until I realized there was a man and a woman walking their dog and they must have thought I was either a poor blind girl lost in the dark or a mentally handicapped person. I'm not even kidding. I was walking reallllly slowly so that I would really concentrate on feeling the grass, and I had my eyes closed, and I was kind of zigzagging all over my front yard, and I also had my arms out in front of me a little just in case I fell. So I guess maybe I looked like I was sleepwalking too. Nonetheless, that kind of killed the peaceful mood for me.

Now it's time to go back to all of my SYS (senior year shit). Oh, the joy.

Day 42: Barefoot Grass Day

Today we had to walk in the grass barefoot. I think the idea was to make you connect with nature and relax, so I planned to do that today. I wore a pretty hippy outfit- a long white dress with sandals. But I didnt get home until late and I forgot about it until after dinner when I was already in my pjs. Since I felt like that mood had been ruined, I decided to do something different. I stuck my head in my little brother's room and said "psst! kid! secret mission!" except he was putting on his pajamas and told me no girls allowed so I told him to meet me in the pink room for our mission and he said roger. When he came in I said that our secret mission was to run around the front yard in our pjs one time with out getting caught. He put on his slippers and we snuck out the front door. We started running around and we were saying spy things and chasing eachother and we found our spy cat but he was tired so he didnt run with us. It was fun, but pretty painful because 1- we had powderpuff football practice yesterday and believe it or not I am more sore than I ever remember being. that may be an exaggeration but I'm sooore. and then 2- I kept stepping on sharp things, I dont know what they were, but my feet are kind of throbbing right now and stinging as well. But I enjoyed it.
This didnt feel much like a task to me, maybe because I didnt do it the way I was supposed to, or maybe because I play like that with my little brother all the time already. But it was a fun break from my homework.

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Now playing on iTunes: Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
via FoxyTunes

Day 41: Apply for Knighthood - UPDATE

Yeah, so I just looked up on Tony Blair on wikipedia to make sure he was still the Prime Minister...because something was telling me he wasn't...and I was right. Now it's Prime Minister Gordon Brown who took over in June. Oops! Shows how much I stay on top of world news...

Day 41: Become a Knight

We had to write to the British Prime Minister (tony blair? I dont know so I didnt mention his name in my letter) and request to be knighted. Or in my case, as a girl, damed? Anyways, here's my letter, which I wrote on graph paper because it was the closest to my desk:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
I'm writing to ask you to consider me as a candidate for the next knight selection. Or ceremony, I guess. Except I'd like to be a Dame, if that's alright with you. I know that just anyone cant be a dame, so here are some qualifications for you to judge me by:

1. I have a 4.0 gpa as a senior in highschool and tons of hours of college credit racked up already
2. I joined the tennis team this year and i'm playing powderpuff football (even though I get hurt very easily)
3. I'm pretty well read, at least considering most teenagers
4. I've visited London before (and I loved it, if that helps any)
5. Did I mention how good I am at school? I'm in Engineering Calculus!!!
6. I've always been a pretty good kid- my parents consider themselves lucky to have me
7. I always wear my seat belt (well, at least when I'm driving. when I sleep I'll take it off sometimes)
8. I shower everyday (usually)
9. I dont get sick easily
10. I'm friendly
11. I say what's on my mind, usually
12. I give good advice, even if it's hard for me to follow myself
13. I love kids
14. I plan to do great things with my life, I just dont know exactly what yet (but being a dame sure would be nice!!)
15. I can roll my stomach and my tongue
16. I can flare my nostrils really fast
17. I'm very ticklish

There, seventeen things because I'm seventeen years old. That's not too young to be a dame, if you were thinking that. Sorry I didnt list any of my amazing accomplishments, I'd like to save them for the media once I get "damed". But if you need more, you have my address!
-Brittany Q_____

Day 38, 39, 40, and 41

So I am back from Texas. It was fun and we got SOOO much done for the yearbook, so that was really good. Anyways...here are my updates on the tasks.

Day 38: Spend Some time in Church
Well...seeing as I was stuck on a plane for the whole morning and then in yearbook workshops all day...I didn't really get a chance to go to church. If I had been at home, I really would have. I was seriously planning on going to a Catholic church and going into the confessional, because I really have always wanted to do that. But I don't even know how that works really...I think you can only do it on certain days. Anyways, so, Brittany said that she really wanted me to bring my Bible and to like, highlight it and read it on the plane or in the hotel. And I said I would. Brittany, I failed you. I didn't bring my Bible. No, I didn't forget it. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was going to be stuck in a hotel room with 3 other girls, and maybe I worry too much about what others think of me (actually, it is very true that I do and I really need to work on that), but I didn't want to come across as an over-zealous Bible-thumper or something. But I wouldn't have. And I just realized that I am totally screwing up the reasoning behind this book. If I was really going to fully complete the task, I would have brought my Bible and highlighted it in the hotel room while everyone was there. I would have done it and by doing so, I would have stepped out of my comfort zone a little, therefore doing exactly what we intended this book to do for us. I am totally screwing it up. Ughhhh.

Day 39: Learn to Speak Swedish
This is kind of ironic because the only guy that came on the trip with us (us meaning 4 girls and the female yearbook teacher) is Swedish. Not that he has an accent or anything, I mean...he was born in the US, I don't know if he even speaks Swedish, but his dad is Swedish I think, and he has a very Swedish name. He doesn't know this I think, but all of us girls would call him the "Swedish Prince." Anyways...this guy, let's just call him Milo (continuing Brittany's trend of bizarre names) is VERY cute, very nice, very funny, kinda reserved, and very down-to-earth kind of guy. He's popular though, which is kinda weird because usually the guys in "his group" are a little cocky. But he's not at all. (If somehow this blog ever really becomes "public" I will definitely have to block this post or something.) Anyways...when I saw this task, I really wanted to say something in Swedish to him (the book gives you phrases) but, like I said before, I don't even know if he speaks Swedish, and if I did say something to him, he might just be like, "What?" and think I'm just kinda creepy and trying to impress him. But here we go again...I'm worrying too much about what others think. Ahhhhhh. I should have secretly whispered to him, "Du ar vacker." (You are beautiful). I wish they had given us, "You have a really cute laugh and nice arm hair and I like that both of our favorite ice cream flavors are cinnamon and I melt whenever you look at me with your warm brown eyes and I'm sorry if I was kind of weird and awkward on the trip I just don't know how to act around cute AND nice guys like you because there aren't many out there and p.s. I know I'm not popular like you but I'm single so call me."

My favorite phrase that they gave you to learn though was, "I am a tiger. Only kidding! I used to be a tiger but I'm not anymore."

Day 40: Practical Joke
The best time to do a practical joke would have been at work because there are so many places to hide there then pop out at someone...but I didn't work this day. This was also the day I got home from Texas. I really thought about saying, "Hmmm...I can't remember, did I put the toxic-bomb-component chemicals in my shampoo bottle, or the hand cream tube?" (because they're so freaking anal about liquids now because you can supposedly store bomb stuff in them) as I walked through the security check, and then go, "Haha, just kidding!" But I probably would have had 20 guns pulled on me as well as being thrown in jail and therefore never having a chance with Milo up there, unless he has a thing for prisoners. So, instead I just short-sheeted my sister's bed when I got home. But she noticed.

Day 41: Apply for Knighthood
Dear Prime Minister Blair,

I am writing to you to request your bestowing me the title of Dame Betty C. I feel I deserve this high honor because I have achieved many things in my short 17.983 years of living on this earth. Some of these accomplishments include mastering the art of wiggling my ears (which requires high muscle control and articulation), being able to recite the full masterpiece, "The Night Before Christmas," and getting straight A's my entire primary and secondary school career (excluding Advanced Placement European History, which I made a 90 in. Please do not hold that against me Mr. Prime Minister, it was the French Revolution that screwed me over. I however knew everything about Great Britain's history and its evolution into the great country it is today). I may not have found the cure for cancer or been a Nobel Peace Prize winner, but my accomplishments thus far I feel are comparable to such conquests. If you have any further questions about my qualifications for this honor, please feel free to contact me at _____@gmail.com. I have 12 and a half pages more of my merits, I just did not feel it appropriate to send you such a heavy envelope.

Thank you for considering my request. God save the Queen!

Sincerely,
Betty C.

P.S. Winston Churchill is my favorite political leader of all time. Well, besides you of course Mr. Blair.

Days 38, 39, and 40

You'd think, "Wow, this is gonna be a long post!!" but, no. On day 38 we were supposed to spend some time in church. It was friday and I had school then the football game and never mind making excuses, I just didnt do this task. Day 39 we were supposed to learn some Swedish. Again, unfortunately, I didnt have the time to do this task. I wasnt home all day and I didnt have access to anything swedish to memorize.
Two days in a row, major disappointment, I'm sorry.
But I did today's task.
We had to play a practical joke. We have milk in a white plastic jug as opposed to the clear kind, so I dyed our milk lime green with food coloring. I just did it so no one has discovered it yet, but I'll post the reaction when they do.
The bamboo is dead as ever. I swear I'll post a picture eventually. It's a wonder to me that no one (ie, my mom) has thrown it out yet.

Day 37: Eat and Run

"Eat and Run" was today's task. This is illegal. But I was going to try some kind of variation where I at least took advantage of a restaurant or something.
I didnt get the chance to do that though, so I decided to take it literally.
You know, eat, then run.
So right before tennis practice I ate dinner, which I usually wouldnt do, and then I ran around at tennis practice. Not a good idea, by the way. I felt pretty nauseous.
I wish I had done it the way they intended it.
Because that was disgusting.

Day 37: Eat and Run

Today our task was to perform an "eat and run," which basically means you go to a restaurant, sit down, order, eat...and leave without paying the bill (and preferably without being caught). Brittany and I figured that this wouldn't be a good idea because, well, it's illegal. So to modify this task, Brittany came up with the good idea of me asking the lunch ladies at school today if I could have a free lunch. Apparently the cafeteria serves free lunch (a PBJ sandwhich, milk, and apple at Brittany's school) and I didn't even really know that they did that. So that was supposed to be my task.

The plan did not work. Why? Because I have my Oceanography class right before lunch, and we went on a field trip today to the marsh to get animals for our aquariums, and we were late coming back, so I missed the first 10 minutes or so of lunch, and then I had to go make up a quiz for spanish, and then once I had finished that, they weren't serving lunch anymore. I'm sorry. I did not complete today's task. :(

You know this Brittany, but just in case anyone else actually does read this (Emily? :D) I will be in Texas for a yearbook camp tomorrow through Sunday, so I most likely won't be able to post. I will however continue my tasks and update you once I'm back. So, until then!

GAHHHHH

Okay. I'm not even going explain my inexcusable hiatus. I'm just going to write my about my tasks (probably not going to be as long as detailed as I would like, just to save time and your attention span). I'm just going to start where I left off. Here goes nothing.

Day 30: Ignore Today
I took "ignore today" as meaning, "Ignore the book, ignore the tasks, ignore anything to do with your mission with this book." So technically I shouldn't even have a post for this day. Oh well.

Day 31: Nauru Awareness Day
Apparently there is a very tiny island off the coast of Australia called Nauru and it is possible that it will be completely submerged by 2100 because of global warming. Sad, right? Well, that day we were supposed to write a postcard to the president of Nauru letting them know they haven't completely been forgot about. Here is my postcard (I decided to write a haiku):

Dear Mr. Ludwig, (that's the president's first name. doesn't sound very nauruian to me)

Your island is small
I hope your people don't drown
Buy a lot of rafts

Sincerely,
Betty C.

I thought he would appreciate my advice.

Day 32: Control Your Dreams
Well, I pretty much screwed this task up. We were supposed to think about hedgehogs, airplanes, and midgets throughout the day to see if we would dream about them that night, because supposedly you can control your dreams that way. I had read this task a couple days ahead, and for some reason I thought it had said think about those things right before you go to sleep, not throughout the day. I think I thought that because supposedly whenever you study something right before you go to sleep, you remember it better or something. But anyways...I was about to go to bed that night, and I got the book out and read the task, and I was like...well, wonderful. Totally messed that up. But I decided to do it my own way.

I kind of have little crush on this guy. Vince will be his name. So, I was like...maybe, if I think about him really hard before I fall asleep, I will dream about him (and NO, not in that way for anyone who reads this with their mind in the gutter). I couldn't really just sit there and think about him, so I decided to write a story about him. So, I wrote a story about him, and no I won't type it on here, sorry, and then I went to sleep.

Did I even remember my dreams the next morning? No. I could have dreamed about Vince being a midget riding a hedgehog shaped airplane, but we will never know...

Day 33: Paranormal
This day we were supposed to be on the "lookout" for paranormal activity. This is kind of ironic because I have a secret obsession with the supernatural/paranormal. Well, I was more obsessed a couple years ago, but it's still an interest of mine. I really wanted to do this task well and determine if my house was haunted or something, but I couldn't really because I was at work all day. Some random weird things did happen throughout the day however, I did suspect some paranormal activity was involved. Here's what happened:

1) My alarm clock didn't go off. This is likely paranormal activity because ghosts/poltergeists love to play around with electronics. I however, also like to turn off my alarm in my sleep for some reason, so...this one could go either way.
2) At work, when I would set up the tables, I would come back a few minutes later and silverware would be missing. Again, ghosts love to tease those of us in the flesh world, and this includes moving items and/or hiding them. Although my coworkers like to do the same thing.
3) The lights in the kitchen at work flickered a little once. Ghosts love to play with electricity.

That's all I can remember unfortunately. I know there was more. This sounds terrible, but...a retirement home is kind of a breeding ground for death. There must be spirits lurking around all over the place there.

Once I got home, I got out one of my many ghost books, this one happened to be "The Ghost Hunter's Manual" and I tried to determine if my house contained any spirits, but you needed a compass and a tape recorder and all this stuff...so I didn't do it. I kinda didn't want to know anyways.

Day 34: Write to a Dictator
This day we were supposed to write to a dictator asking to stop torture in their country. I chose Sudan because of the genocide that has been taking place there for several years now.

Mr. Omar al-Bashir, (Sudanese president)

There is no beating around the bush on the subject of genocide. This incomprehensible issue has been taking place right before your eyes in your own country for several years now. Your people are dying, families are being torn apart, mothers and children raped and tortured to death. Your job as president of a country is to lead your people and protect them, this should be your number one top priority. Why will you not allow the UN to step in and help? Do you want to see the country that has given you your title be wiped off the map? Are you just waiting for your citizens to extinguish? You say that letting UN troops come in will be detrimental to your country because they will "colonize" everything. No offense Mr. al-Bashir, but maybe a little colonization would be good for a country experiencing genocide. I think any organization would.

Please consider your people and consider your country. If a hand is extended, take it. We want to help, and you should want help for Sudan.

Sincerely,
Betty C.

Yeah, I know that is kind of the most cliche piece of crap ever written. Maybe al-Bashir doesn't speak English though so it won't even matter.

Day 35: Give Tasks
This day our task was to give tasks. There are a bunch of these little coupon thingies in the book that you're supposed to cut out and give to your friends. Most of them are kind of stupid, and also for people who are older and in serious relationships. For example: "Spy on my spouse for me" and "Help me make a baby." And to be honest...I didn't do this task at all. I feel terrible, but I meant to scan the page and cut out the coupons the night before but I never had the time...and I just didn't get around to it. This will be another one of those things to put on my ever-growing to-do list...

Day 36: Say Nothing
Today we were supposed to say nothing. All day. This obviously isn't practical, especially at school. Teachers and everyone would be so mad at you and just annoyed...I seriously considered pretending like I came down with laryngitis over night and couldn't talk at all, but I think that would kind of defeat the purpose of the task...not to mention, I would have to keep it up the following days because it would be kind of fishy if one day I couldn't even speak and the next I was magically cured. So...I just ignored the task at school and planned to do it once I got home.

Once I got home, I forgot about the task...as usual. It wasn't until I sat down to do my homework at 4:30 that I remembered. I decided that for the rest of the night I wouldn't talk. Then I remembered that I had to order my dinner from Steak-Out, and I couldn't exactly do that without talking. So I broke the rule again. After I got off the phone, I decided that THEN I would start the task for real. I was doing my homework, and I think that I actually talk out loud to myself a lot more than I think because I felt like I was holding back or something. It was so weird. Then, my mom came and knocked on my door and I didn't say anything so she just came in and she asked me a question and I just stared at her and she was like, "Betty, what are you doing?" and so I just answered her. Just like that, I gave in. I gave up after that.

I liked the description in the book though, it was talking about how the world is filled with so much superfluous (SAT word!) chatter, and how it would be hard to imagine what the world would be like if you could only talk about stuff that actually mattered...like, Lindsay Lohan's latest rehab rendezvous, and Paris Hilton's new dog.

That was a joke, if you didn't get it. :D

P.S. All the ghost stuff...I was being really sarcastic when I said that, just in case you didn't get that either. I mean, I really am interested in the paranormal, but I'm not like...a creepy fanatic. Just wanted to clear that up.

Day 36: No talking

Today we werent supposed to talk. at all. Since I go to school I really couldnt do that. So i decided to only talk when spoken to. Great idea, it went really well in the morning, but it was pretty much impossible because I kept forgetting and there's all this drama at school that everyone is talking about and I really couldnt resist talking it was so difficult. I eventually totally forgot about it. So I failed today. I made an effort this morning, but it was sad just like the day I had to ignore everyone and act like I didnt care. It wasnt quite as bad as that, but it was still bad. Quite a few people asked me if I was okay and stuff when I was actually doing it.
Again, I feel like I really should have persevered and not talked at all or at least followed through with only talking when asked a question, but I didnt. I think I need to get it together as far as not half assing these tasks. sorry everyone.

Day 35: Task Day

We had a page of little "tasks" that we had to give people. I gave Arthur one that said "let me win next time we play chess" and Tracy one that said "taste my food for poison". The next period I gave Clementine one, it said "water my desk plants". Then I gave Lancelot one that said "Let me win in all our arguments" because we always have petty fights and we both wont back down. After that I gave Mia one that said "wake me up if I snore".
I'm pretty sure that's about all the ones I gave out. I kept forgetting...
But i liked today's because everyone thought it was so random and funny. I might try to give out the rest throughout the year since they're in my book bag now.
ps- Betty, this totally reminded me of nicco day! just nicer.

Day 34: Stop Torture

Today's task was to write to a dictator and ask them to stop torture in their country. I went to the amnesty international website and found this:
http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/svaw-060607-action-eng
It asks people to send a letter to the prime mister in Iraq asking him to make "honor killings" a criminal offense. So I wrote out that letter on pretty stationary and gave it to my mom to send.
She wasnt very happy, she didnt like me writing to the dalai lama earlier in the year. and she mentioned my other letter and I told her it was to a convict and she freaked out. she said she thinks i'm weird sometimes. but she's going to send it :D

Days 31, 32, and 33

I know, it's been a while.
Day 31 was Nauru awareness day. The task was to write to the president of Nauru, which I looked up some information on. It's a small island in the Pacific with a total population of only about 13,000. Unfortunately the president of Nauru had a heart attack in 2003, and it seems like since then Nauru dropped off the face of the Earth. There are a couple articles online about it, actually. One is entitled "Nauru loses contact with the rest of the world". So I didnt write, although I probably should have. Surely there is some president, and since he's not on the internet (gasp! who isnt on the internet?!) he probably would have appreciated a postcard.
Day 32 was to think about these three things- hedgehog, airplane, midget- in order to dream about them. I'll admit I didnt think about them as much as I meant to- it's hard to control your thoughts! But I did think about them before I went to bed, and nothing. I dreamed a lot last night, but I dont remember exactly what about. I do remember thinking "man, I didnt dream about those things..." when I first woke up and remembered my dream.
Day 33 (today) was to try to pay extra attention to the paranormal. It categorized some paranormal things by their degree of creepyness, ranging from hearing weird sounds to blood running down your walls. I didnt make it past the first category, which said not to jump to any conclusions. The only thing I noticed was a feeling that someone was watching me. But like the book said, there was probably a perfectly normal explanation. I was in the bath and you always feel kind of vulnerable when you're naked.
So, that's it. When I get the chance I'll put up a picture of my bamboo. It's almost completely dead :(.

Day 30: Ignore Today

Our instructions for today just said "ignore today." I guess that could be taken as an off day, but I decided to take it literally, like have an "I dont care" day.
This morning I got up and didnt shower. And I wore jeans and a plain white tshirt and a pullover sweater and sneakers. I know, that sounds like the outfit of every highschooler in the universe. but that is definitely not an outfit I wear very often. especially when I havent bathed. To top it all off, I didnt put on any makeup. NONE. and, I didnt do anything with my hair. I just put it in a gross ponytail. I went downstairs, ate breakfast, didnt talk to anyone. Then I realized I had a full half an hour of extra time since I didnt get ready at all, so I went back to sleep in my clothes. In my car I played Sigur Ros, because it seemed to fit the "Ignorning everyone, being introverted" kind of thing. My sister asked if I was okay, i just nodded my head, and we listened to it in silence. I got to school and my friend Xena pulled up right beside me as I was getting my bookbag and she gave me a weird look and said "are you okay?" and i nodded. we got into school and she touched my arm and said, "really, are you alright?" I brought a book in so when I sat with my friends I read instead of talking. When I sat down Mia said, "Brittany, are you okay??" and I just nodded again. I went to government, took a quiz, and went to sleep. In newspaper I had to talk, but I only did to ask questions, and I didnt chat. In Spanish I took a quiz and did homework and only talked to Arthur a tiny bit. I went to lunch and did calculus homework. After lunch I had calculus, and I never talk in there anyways because I hate that class, but I sat and thought about things, and how I felt, and I started to get really sad feeling. Like, I realized how much of an effort it was for me to be so antisocial and sad. That kind of made me happy, because I realized that I'm a naturally happy person, but I really hated it. So I wrote betty a note that I will eventually send to make me get my mind off of things, and after that I had art with mia and I was done isolating myself, so I pretty much quit then. But I still looked really crappy.
I didnt like today. Not just because I hate feeling dirty and ugly, but because I hated feeling lonely, even if it was just fake. It was the worst feeling, even when I was surrounded by my friends and I was the one acting weird. I hated it so much.

Day 29: Dial at Random

Today we were supposed to dial a random phone number and read them this RIDICULOUSLY long passage in the book that's all about Jesus and the Bible, and we're supposed to read it with a deep southern accent.

I'm so mad, because I never dialed any real-life people. I just kept getting answering machines. But let me tell you...they're gonna have a ton of messages to listen to when they check them. I made my voice like, this "southern belle" kind of accent. If you've ever lived/been to Alabama, I had the Alabama southern accent. It's like the female version of Forrest Gump. Except...I didn't talk really slow and sound mentally handicapped as he did. Anyways.

I used *67 so that the person wouldn't see my number, and I just dialed away. The first number that actually worked (you'd be surprised how hard it is to find one that does) when straight to the voicemail, and it was just the generic voicemail...no personal recording or anything, so I'm hoping it's actually someone's phone because I really want someone to hear it. It took me three messages to say the entire freaking thing. And every message I made sure that I was saying the last word that I left off with right when it beeped so it would sound like I hadn't even stopped talking. Some parts I got really dramatic with, like, "And which God gave unto Moses on Sinai, saying this is thy righteousness, O Israel." And I said Israel like, "Iz-rye-el." I want to record myself talking and put it on here. That's another thing to add to my list.

RECORD MYSELF TALKING WITH DEEP SOUTHERN FEMALE FORREST GUMP ACCENT

Ok, sorry, I needed to put that there for myself so I would remember. So, I called other numbers, one went to the voicemail of this woman named Jennifer, one went to a guy named Mike, and even though it was really fun leaving the messages, I wish I had gotten someone to pick up. I should have kept calling...but I had other things to do. I think I will continue this task though throughout the year and post about it. It's really fun. I love doing weird anonymous things like this.

Oh yeah, and I left a message on my sister's phone doing the same thing, and she knew it was me unfortunately. Apparently my southern accent still can't mask the real me.

Day 29: Dial Randomly

Well, today's task was the hardest one I've done yet. In fact, I just did it, and I'm still shaking and my heart is beating really fast. We had to dial a phone number at random and read this long spiel about Christianity. but here's the good part- we had to do it in a deep south accent. I must have dialed twenty numbers before someone finally picked up. Now, it's 10:30 at night, no one wants to answer the phone, I know, but please! I need to get this over with. It was a man, he answered groggily, and after the first sentence I was sure he had hung up, but he hadnt! He let me talk almost halfway through a paragraph. I messed up so many time, skipping lines and saying the wrong words. And I did the worst southern accent of all time. I cant even describe how bad it was. He finally hung up, without saying anything, after 52 seconds.
I'm seriously just now calming down, that was so difficult for me. I almost want to try again because I know I can do better, but I think that was enough for one day.
I think the authors knew that too, because tomorrow is kind of an off day. Or it could be taken that way. Until then...

Day 28: Last Meal

Prisoners on death row are allowed to choose a final meal that the prison or an outside group will try their best to accommodate. For today, we were supposed to think of what we'd like our last meal to be, and then make it. While I really wish I had made mine, because it would have really enhanced today, I didnt. I did make a list of all (okay, only some) of my favorite things that I would definitely want to have as my last meal during Government class.
banana pudding
chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce and brownie chunks
my mom's sour cream mashed potatoes with corn on top
my mom's meatloaf
a big glass of cold, 2% milk
a mango
a smoothie (I'd have to think pretty hard about the flavor, it takes me forever to decide)
My great-grandma's macaroni (it has sugar in it :D)
another recipe of my mom's- elegant steak (steak strips in cream of mushroom soup sauce over rice)
japanese hibachi shrimp and rice with the pink shrimp sauce and that salad too
McDonald's sweet tea
McDonald's kid's cheeseburger ketchup only
Red Robin's bonsai burger
hotel scrambled eggs
a belgian waffle
a really cold gatorade
sliced tomato with fresh mozzarella cheese on top
juicy pear jelly bellys
a pineapple
a bowl of dinner mints

I mean, if it's my last meal, i might as well stuff myself (to death, it looks like!)
the more i think about it, the more I wish i had gotten at least some of the things from the list to eat today.
ps- here is a site that has last meal requests on it. it's really interesting:
Final Meals

Day 28: Last Meal

Today our task was to think of what our last meal would be (like if we were on death row) and then eat it. I've actually thought about this before and made a list of things that I would want for my last meal. It took me a REALLY long time and a lot of thought, and if I remember correctly, my list was super freaking long. And it was really random. Unfortunately, my list is on my laptop which is currently misbehaving and really pissing me off, so I can't go on there and get it and I'm too lazy to try and recreate the list. Sorry. I will definitely post that on here one day because I think it's an interesting thing to see. It tells a lot about people. While I'm at it, let me make a list of all the things I need to put on here because I feel like I'm saying that all the time now.

-last meal
-day...25 I think it was? The one about the list of things I will never do.
-something else...ugh, I can't remember. If you know, please tell me.

Anyways...I really liked this task and as much as I wanted to complete it to its fullest, I knew that if I did eat everything on that list I would probably have a heart attack within 2 minutes of fully digesting all of it, or my stomach would explode and/or I would puke up everything including my guts. Just because there was so much stuff, and really so much unhealthy stuff. One of the things on that list I know for a fact is my school's chocolate chip cookies. They are HEAVEN. And I haven't had a single one so far this year. So today I didn't bring my lunch for the first time and instead went through the mobs and chaos of my high school's infamous lunch lines from hell, and got pizza (another favorite), peaches (I love them, but I don't think they were on my list), milk (which I just realized I got white milk instead of chocolate! I always got chocolate last year and it was SO good but today I was like, "No, I need to be thinking healthy" even though I know chocolate milk was on my list I guess it just didn't register at the time...and seriously, how is white milk going to help me while I'm indulging in greasy pizza and chocolate chip cookies that are 75% crisco oil? Ahhhhh I'm so mad now...) and then the cookies. It wasn't the best lunch ever, but the cookies made going through the lunch line worth it.

Then I had to work today and I decided that if they were serving anything that I LOVE (corn nuggets, shrimp, egg custard, waffles...) that I would definitely get it, but they didn't serve any of my favorites. :/ But when I got home and ate dinner, my mom had made my favorite cole slaw salad, which I'm pretty sure was on my list. It was delicious too. It's funny because I strongly dislike cole slaw and salad, but cole slaw salad is amazing.

So...I didn't exactly have my last meal today. But I did eat some of my favorite things, more than I do on a normal day, and I consider that to be good enough for the task. Maybe someday when I'm really depressed or something and need comfort food I'll just whip up everything I want and have a huge feast of all my favorite things. But if that ever does happen, I really hope someone is there to help me eat everything because I seriously (not even kidding) would probably eat it all until my stomach exploded.

Oh yeah, and here's this website about criminals and their last meals that I was obsessed with for like a week last year: www.deadmaneating.com It's really interesting. It tells you the crimes they committed and stuff and their last words, and then what they wanted for their last meal and if they ate it. Some of the guys never ate any of their meal at all.

Day 27: Yes/No

Today we were to see how long we could go without using the words yes or no. That rhymes.

I failed. Miserably.

Really only because I totally forgot about doing it. It is SO hard sometimes to remember the task, especially went it's not one specific action or event that you know you will have to do. If it's something taking place throughout the entire day, it's just so hard to remember about it. I had it written down in my planner, but I would only remember to do it whenever I got my planner out. And I wasn't talking to anyone then, so then I would forget about it approximately 2 seconds later. It was really bad.

I ended up just asking my sister to ask me a lot of yes or no questions just to see how long I could last without using yes or no. I remember the local radio station here used to play that game, except the deejay would ask the questions to a random caller, and if they got through it all without screwing up, then would win something. I was always convinced that I could do it, and one day I finally was lucky caller number 7, and I'm pretty sure I said "yes" to the first question he asked. I was soooo mad. But anyways...here's a lot of the answers I used today with my sister:

"It depends."
"Sometimes."
"Of course!"
"Of course not!"
"Possibly."
"I'm not too sure."
"It's okay/alright."
"Duh!"
"What do you think?"
"Only on a full moon."
"I'm not even answering that question."

Ok, so some of the last answers are kind of stretching it...but I say they pass in my book.

Day 27: Yes, No

Today I couldnt say yes or no. I thought it might be hard, so I made a list of other words I could say and put them in my planner. here are some:
for no: nah, I dont think so, not really, actually, who knows, nope
for yes: sure, why not?, okay, sounds good, yeah, of course, yep, yup, alright, uh-huh, right
emergencies: what?, excuse me? dont ask me..

It went a lot easier that I thought it would. Turns out people dont really ask you very many yes or no questions at school. and when I did have the opportunity, I didnt even have to stop myself from saying yes because I guess I actually say "I think so" or "I dont think so" in response.
I failed though because Tracy asked me if something I did was for today's task, and I said it wasnt, and she asked what today's task was, and dumbly I replied "I cant say yes or no. (pause) oh my god!!" and she laughed...
hopefully that doesnt really count as failing though.

Day 26: Reincarnation - UPDATE

I just looked up the Dalai Lama, and he is SO cute! Here's a picture:

Day 12: UPDATE

So today I realized that I never sent my mass murderer letter!
I picked one off this site:
http://www.ccadp.org/inmates.htm
I picked a younger guy, kind of cute :D
his name is edward, here's his page:
http://www.ccadp.org/edwardcapetillo.htm
okay, maybe not so cute. but compared to some other inmates....
but i'm going to send it tomorrow when i send my dalai lama letter.

Day 26: Reincarnation

I'm sorry I didn't do Day 25's task yet...I mean, I've done it, but it's just going to take a while to type out and I...just don't really have a lot of time to do that right now. I promise I will get that up in the next few days.

But onto today's task. We were supposed to think about what we would be reincarnated as once we "pass on," and then write a letter to the Dalai Lama requesting what we want. I really wish I had more time to think about this, because there are SO many options...but, I think if I were to become an animate object, I would become a dog. Dogs are always so happy, always trying to please their owners (usually), and just are so care-free. There's always the chance though that I could be reincarnated into one that's abused or something. That would suck. So, I think I would choose to be a night sky. Here is my letter to the Dalai Lama:

Dear Mr. Lama,

Once I pass on, could you please put in a good word for me to become a night sky? Wait, do you control that? Sorry, I'm not sure how this whole process works, but nonetheless, I would like to be reincarnated as a night sky once I die. Night skies are so peaceful to me, and I think being one would be even more peaceful. Being able to look down at the earth, at every single country and every single person everywhere, and just see them admiring me and looking up to me with amazement. No one hates a beautiful starry night sky either. No one. Who can judge a night sky or criticize it? What is there to criticize? It would be the most freeing experience, I would literally be weightless and just...totally content. I could look down at people watching me from the beaches, or a couple lying in the grass together in an empty field...stars and night skies are also associated with romance. Just staying in the sky forever and never having to worry about a single thing would be amazing. Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Betty

Day 26: Dalai Lama

Here is the letter I'm sending to the Dalai Lama, requesting what I'd like to be when I'm reincarnated:
Dear Dalai Lama:
In my next life I'd like to be reincarnated as an oak tree like this one:
I want to be a big oak with twisted low branches that children can climb in. I would like to grown in a grove of other trees, preferably in lines down an winding country road. My leaves will meet another tree's and we will make the road seem like it is traveling through a tunnel in the forest. I'd like to have a bench next to me and nice grass all around for picnics. I will listen to the people and be happy.
Thank you.
Brittany Q.
Birthdate April 26, 1990

Day 25: Never Will I....

We had to tick the boxes of the things that we will never do before we die. Which is a lot of them, because most of the things were ridiculous. I'll have fun typing out all the things I'll never do, here goes:
BEFORE I DIE, I WILL NEVER:
climb Everest
write a novel
become world chess champ
have a sex change
become a king or a queen
walk to the north pole (let's be realistic here.)
learn russian
start a revolution
celebrate xmas in may (might sound fun, but i'll never do it I know)
call my parents pa or ma
work in a coal mine
watch all of bergman (no idea what this is, so I cant watch it all)
follow mao's teachings (same here)
visit space
speak in tongues
dress like a hip-hopper
be gay
start a cult
grow a beard (impossible. or at least i hope it is.)
feel like batman
become a rock star
stop worrying (although I'd like to think I will)
learn to fly
invade a small country
seduce the prom queen (ehh no thanks)
adopt a romanian
paint someone in tar and feathers
win the nobel peace prize
give birth to a goatboy (???)
marry somone ive never met
overthrow a regime
organize an orgy
discover atlantis
see my face on a banknote
be eaten by cannibals
burn my bra (i like them. really)
turn 117 years old
marry a prince
settle in pittsburg
become pope
inherit the crown jewels
be used as a manga character
grow a tail (jumanji nightmares here)
crash a helicopter in the jungle
take a vow of silence or chastity
jump bail
live with a hermit (stinky. and if I live with him, wouldnt he not be a hermit anymore?)
greet the extraterrestrial delegation
beat bjorn borg at tennis
sweep a chimney
be the seventy eighth person on the moon (I"M NOT GOING TO SPACE, OKAY??)
fight a duel
have my own brand of olive oil (what? who does??)
become immortal
catch the bird that pooped on me
make a pact with the devil
walk down the yellow brick road (hate that movie..)
jump on a real bandwagon
exterminate a zombie
whistle while I work (i cant whistle..)
memorize an encyclopedia (no thanks..)
floss twice a day (I NEVER FLOSS!!)
sacrifice a goat
sleep with a whore of babylon
sup with satan
track down lord lucan (??)
cause an intergalatic rift
get away with murder
travel back in time
face a firing squad (god, i hope not.)
become an object of worship
gate crash the white house
have the midas touch (i wish. actually I dont. but maybe temporarily? or when necessary?)
cure the common cold (will never happen, i know.)
discover a new continent
come out of a black hole alive
precipitate the decline of the west
suck my little toe in public (NO NO NO)
mate with another species (i'm pretty sure that is illegal for a reason)
become possessed
surpass, understand, or look like Einstein
predict an eclipse
participate in the olympics
change astrological signs (I like taurus.)
bring back bambi
write in cuneiform
join the french foreign legion
achieve perfection (not even gonna try)
spell egg differently (why?)
win top prizes for my verruca
beg in the street
channel lava away from a village
grow a third nipple
witness the big bang (hopefully there wont be one to witness)
meet a bolshevik
successfully crash land a jumbo jet
fiddle while rome burns
design the perfect croutons
give rise to a cause celebre
part the red sea
have sex with my clone (who is attracted to themselves? ew.)

I know that's a long list. but here are a few things that I WILL do:
kiss a stranger
ride a camel
laugh at a bad joke
graffiti a highway bridge
break a promise
get a tattoo
say no when I mean yes
bake a souffle
win the lottery
risk my life
learn pole dancing
tell my deepest secret
confess under duress
find myself

believe it or not, going back through the list to find my yeses, I found tons of nos that I missed. but dont worry, i'm not going back. I think my list has plenty!
(that just means, betty, when you read this dont think "omg does she really plan on shoot the last buffalo/play the lead in swan lake/lick an electric eel??")

Day 24: Barter Day

There werent really any instructions, just some examples of bartering. I saved my barter for when my sister and I were stringing green beans at my great grandma's house this afternoon. I said, "hey, wait, I'll trade you" and tried to give her my bean. she kept stringing and looked at me really weird. i said, "i'm serious give me that one, trade me." she finished, handed me the peices, and i gave her my half done one. she looked very puzzled. I made a good trade though because I got a finished bean and she got an unfinished one! yesssss.
And I know this may be totally lame. It would have been cool to do something like the whole red paperclip thing that guy did.. but so much for that.

Day 24: Barter

I didn't do today's task. We were supposed to barter with our friends and see what we could actually get. I hd an idea planned out for this task, but I just didn't have the time nor resources to do it today. I'm definitely planning to do it in the future though, and I will write about it when it happens.

Sowwie. :/

Day 23: Plastic Fantastic

Apparently today our task was to make an appointment with a plastic surgeon and see what they would recommend we have done to make us look "our best." Well...I didn't exactly have time to do that, and even if I did that would be really low blow to my self esteem I think, and that is the last thing I need right now. Instead I'm just going to write what I would have plastic surgery on if I could.

1) My nose. My nose has always bothered me because I think it's too big. It's like...too round or bulbous (I hate that word) at the end, too long, it has a slight bump in it, and I hate the profile view of it. I guess it could be worse, but I think my face would be much more proportioned and look a ton better if my nose was smaller.

2) My cheeks. Not my butt cheeks, my actual cheeks. This sounds really weird, but, around the outside corners of my mouth I have like, too much fat there. I know this sounds ridiculous and it might be something only I notice, but it annoys the crap out of me. It's like these little fat deposits right on the corners of my mouth that make my cheeks stick out more there. Again, it makes my profile look bad. I don't know if it's even possible to have plastic surgery on whatever those are, but...yeah.

3) My second toe. Now this is getting REALLY ridiculous...but, I hate my second toe. It's a lot longer than my first toe, and I used to NEVER care until I saw the movie "Shallow Hal" where Jason Alexander's character has a phobia of women with longer second toes and he cannot stand women with them because it creeps him out so much, even if the woman is drop dead gorgeous. I shouldn't even worry about that because if someone is really going to choose not to date me or be my friend or something just because my stupid freaking second toe is longer than my first...then I shouldn't date/be their friend anyways because they're not worth it. But still. It embarrasses me. Again, I don't know if they even have surgery for that.

Now after I have made myself look like I am a narcissist, I would just like to say that there are certain things about myself that I used to hate but I have come to "embrace." My ears used to really bother me because they kind of stick out and look like elf ears, but now I really like them because they're unique. I used to hate the freckles on my face but now I think they're kind of cute (but they're fading now and I'm getting really sad). I don't have awesome humongous boobs, and that used to bother me too...but now I'm so thankful for the size that I am because I don't have a problem fitting into tops and I feel comfortable wearing a little lower-cut shirts because I don't feel like I'm..."popping out." (That is not meant to be directed at you Brittany, please don't think that. :D I really have come to appreciate my size though because I know how hard it can be for you to find tops that fit.) I'm still trying to feel comfortable about being pale, but it used to be a ton worse. Now I just look forward to the day when our generation is in their 40s/50s and everyone is all brown and leathery and melanoma-y and I still have flawless porcelain skin. :)

So in conclusion, even though I do have things I wish I could "fix" about myself, I have grown to like some of the unique parts of me because they make me who I am. (Awww.)

Day 23: Ten and Surgery

I did yesterday's task, yay!
If you read Betty's then you know that it was to ask someone that you barely know to sign a waiver that says you each agree to meet in ten years in some designated spot at a designated time. And if you read mine from yesterday, then you know that I failed to do this, I wont get into excuses. The point is that I did it today. Like Betty, I didnt really want to ask someone I didnt know at all because it wouldnt be fun to think about meeting them in ten years and trying to hold a conversation if we havent held a conversation to this day. After a lot of thought, I decided to ask Leona. She was my first friend when I moved to this school last year and we're not really close (anymore?) but I still think she's really cool and I thought she would be someone that wouldnt think it was weird and like the idea and everything. So after English I asked her to wait and I explained it and she thought it was awesome and we decided the following:
We'll meet in exactly ten years from today, on September 6th, 2017. We'll meet at the county fairgrounds (we went to the fair together as one of our first friend trips or whatever, it has a lot of good memories) at noon. Here's the fun part: we both agreed to dress up as fairies, which was the costume I chose last halloween when we went trick or treating together. The task also suggests that we list some current hot topics that we can reminisce about when we meet. We hurriedly chose QAFRs (a music club our friends made last year), junior year lunch (which we had together), Nadia (her foreign exchange student), and Fidella (one of our favorite then-senior friends).
Leona laughed and asked if I did this with all my friends and I told her, no, I chose her, and she that thought was neat as well. So I'm not really sure if we're supposed to be totally serious about this, or just entertain the idea, but I like it.
On to today's task. We were supposed to schedule an appointment with a plastic surgeon and see what they would recommend us to fix. Unfortunately, living in a small town, that was practically impossible. Also, I'm a minor. Instead, I'm going to put up a picture of all the things I would fix on my own body if I could get free and painless and guaranteed good result plastic surgery. Here's what I'd do:
And I know, you're your own worst critic. I really dont feel THAT bad about myself, but for the assignment that's what I'd fix.

Day 22: Ten Years' Time

Here's the short of it: I didnt do today's task. I forgot to print off the paper I needed to get someone to sign. I'll do it tomorrow and explain it then..
sorry...

Day 22: Meet in Ten Years

Today we were supposed to go up to a stranger or someone we didn't know very well and ask them to sign a contract saying that we will meet each other in ten years at a designated place and time. I was thinking about it, and I really did not think that a stranger who I chose at random would agree to sign a contract like that, unless they were very trusting, very open minded, or kind of crazy. I don't know what I would do if someone just came up to me and asked me to sign a weird "contract." It sounds terrible, but I would probably say yes/no based on what the person looked like. I would probably also think it was a joke.

So anyways, I came to the conclusion that I needed to ask someone who I know. I would probably get a better reaction, and it would mean more to me to meet that person again in 10 years, you know? Obviously I'm not going to go and ask my sister or something to meet me in 10 years, but I wanted it to be someone who I'm friends with but who I might not keep in close contact with for the next decade. So, I chose my good friend BK. We're reallllly close, but as sad as it sounds...I just don't know how many I'm going to really keep up with after high school. Especially for 10 years. It really makes me sad to think that I wouldn't be in contact with him, (and maybe I will, you never know) but 10 years is such long time. I did end up asking BK to do it though, and he thought it was awesome. I typed up the contract this morning and printed two copies out, one for each of us. Here is what it looks like:


Sorry it's so hard to read. We had to do this really fast because the bell had just rung, but it says that we are going to meet a 12:00 pm on September 5, 2017 (BK put accidentally put 2007) at his house (or what will be his parents' house then). In case he has changed beyond recognition, he is going to wear all red. I said I would wear a pink shirt and jeans. After that it says, "In case we have nothing to say to each other, here is a list of current >>hot<< topics to reminisce about." We didn't have enough time to fill that in, but I'm sure we will have TONS to talk about. And then of course, we both signed, and I don't care that you can see my last name...it's barely legible anyways. That is the ugliest signature I have ever done. But anyways, I'm really excited about it and so is BK. We're texting about it right now actually. I just hope I remember.

Day 21: Patriotism Day

Although the book implied that today we should be patriotic about some other country, I felt like being patriotic about France or something would be a little anti-American, so I decided to stick with the good old USA. I planned on being decked out in red, white and blue today...but, when I woke up I really just did not feel like trying to figure out that outfit. In first period though when we have our daily announcements, we always say the pledge of allegiance, and I planned on saying it extra loud today. Only...we had a sub who couldn't figure out the TV and so we missed the pledge, and plus, even if we hadn't, the TV had a bad connection or something so it would go, "Today there is a National Honor-SHWWWAKKKKCSAFFFMCK-questions see Mr.-CLLLLALMMMMFFACKKK-came in third place-GRMMMUPHLLLLACKKK." It was ridiculous, and really loud, and annoying. I said the pledge inside my head though. And I kept singing to myself (in my head also) throughout the day "My Country 'Tis of Thee." That is the WORST song to have stuck in your head...especially if you start accidentally humming it because that's a pretty lame song to hum.

The best effort of my patriotism today was definitely what just occurred a few minutes ago. I really wanted to express my patriotism and love for my country today to other people, and to do this without being thought of as totally weird and off-my-rocker...I decided to chat about it. Online. With people from all over the internet with who knows what on their mind. (Actually I think we all know what.) But don't worry, it's all clean. I went to a random chat room (Brittany knows what it is) and entered the chat as "USAgirl." I immediately got tons of responses because of the "girl" part of my name...apparently that is just begging for cybersex...but I only talked to the first three people who imed me. Here is the best conversation:

urnso2: i luv usa
USAgirl: me too!
USAgirl: usa is the best
urnso2: i m from ny
urnso2: u
USAgirl: pennsylvania
urnso2: kool
urnso2: how old r u
USAgirl: 18
urnso2: kool
urnso2: oh
urnso2: i m 27
urnso2: u r alot younger huh
USAgirl: yeah i guess so
urnso2: lol
urnso2: u ever dated an older guy
USAgirl: isn't it amazing how our forefathers founded our country for us?
USAgirl: yeah one that looked like thomas jefferson
USAgirl: he was hot
urnso2: yeah
urnso2: lol
urnso2: i am a descendat of john adams
USAgirl: really???
USAgirl: that is SO awesome!
urnso2: i think so
urnso2: my freind is a descendant of ben franklin
USAgirl: i have never met a descendant of his before. i dated a relative of pres. garfield...but he didn't even really do anything in his presidency
urnso2: lol
urnso2: how old was the jefferson guy
USAgirl: 29 i think
USAgirl: i don't remember
urnso2: %%%%
urnso2: how did u meet him
USAgirl: he came to where i work one day and asked for my number. i work at Liberty Lunches...a lunch buffet that is patriotic themed
urnso2: kool
USAgirl: yeah it's awesome. we have red white and blue meatloaf tomorrow. it looks kind of disgusting, but it's actually really good. i love it actually. but it's definitely not as good as the stars and stripes asparagus.
urnso2: how far did u go with him
urnso2: lol at the food
USAgirl: oh you know, just to the 13 colonies stage.
urnso2: lol
urnso2: i am not familiar
USAgirl: well, let's just say i got to his maryland and he got to my delaware, if you know what i mean
urnso2: lol
urnso2: lucky guy
USAgirl: yeah, he was. i didn't even really like his personality though, i think it was mainly his resemblance to jefferson, my favorite president ever.
USAgirl: i love america.
urnso2: y jefferson
USAgirl: 1) his federalist ways 2) he's hot 3) his strict interpretation of the consitution
USAgirl: ok, well it's been nice talking to you
urnso2: c ya
USAgirl: i love the USA, and you should too!
urnso2: i do

The other guy I talked to didn't seem as interested about my love with the USA. One guy told me he was 6'6 and I excitedly told him that Abe Lincoln was the exact same height...and then when he didn't respond for a while, I wrote, "are you there?" and when he still didn't answer I said, "Abe Lincoln would have been more polite." Then I asked him who is favorite president was and he said, "clinton because he was a pimp." And that ended that conversation.

Day 21: Patriotism Day

Today's task was to choose a country to be patriotic about. Last night I planned on going all out and doing some crazy outfit, like Japanese school girl or something African or something. I searched online for ideas but ended up getting really frustrated because it was so hard to find anything. Then the next morning I woke up an hour late and didnt have time. I wore red white and blue instead, in honor of America? I really dont know. Needless to say, I didnt really participate in this day. In class I thought about things I could do to be patriotic but again, I couldnt come up with anything. So I thought about being American for a while but it was boring and I quit.
Today was almost a failure, but an attempt was made, so I dont feel so bad about it.

Day 20: Poetry Day

We have to make a line in an ongoing poem. It has to be ten syllables long. I'm basically going to make it up off the top of my head because I know if I try too hard it will suck.

"Look! Secrets are everywhere," they said.

Day 18, 19, and 20

Hello. Sorry I've been on a semi blogging-hiatus. For Labor Day weekend I went out of town to visit family and even though I did have internet access there, I didn't have time to get on and blog...so, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I guess I should have written something before I left. Oops. Alright, I'll start from the beginning.

Day 18: Kill Something
This was the day we left to go out of town, so while we were packing the car up and getting everything to go, I noticed on the floor in the "foyer" (for lack of a better word) of the house there was a medium-sized la cucaracha just sitting there. It was literally begging me to step on it. Now, I hate stepping on cockroaches because of the crunching noise they make, and you can practically feel their guts squishing out of them onto the bottom of your shoe...so I usually make one of my family members take care of them, but as I was about to spare it its life, I remembered today's task. I hadn't exactly prepared a plan of what I was going to kill yet, so I decided to use the opportunity to my advantage. I stepped right on it, and flattened it like a pancake. And when I lifted my foot up, of course it was no where to be found...aka: stuck to the bottom of my shoe. So I just scraped it onto the floor and went on my way. But to really understand the task, I decided that it would be best for me think about what I had just done as if I was a murderer. I started thinking about the roach's family and how maybe it had a partner that it had had baby roaches with, and I was thinking how they would all be huddled back in the crack of the molding somewhere in my house, waiting for their father roach to come home, and when he hadn't come back for a few hours they figured he was a goner...and they all were extremely depressed and the mom roach was now a single mom roach and would have to fend for herself and her children now and if my family squashed her too (which would be very likely) then the kids would be orphans....

Then I remembered how much I hate roaches and I didn't feel bad at all.

Day 19: Secret Agent
I used to do this all the time when I was little. I would pretend like I was in a movie and I would run around the house pretending I was being watched and then move quickly around corners and when I saw that no one was there, I would whisper to no one, "The coast is clear!" but when I was that little I thought it was, "The Ghostess Glear!" thinking it was just some phrase that came to mean, "Everything's okay!" ANYWAYS...so I tried to get back into that mindset of when I was little and how exciting it was and everything. Well, it was actually REALLY hard. It's sad, because it really made me realize how much of my imagination I have lost since I was little. I know it's just a part of growing up, but it was disheartening.

Since I was staying with my younger cousins (ages 7 and 5) I thought it might be fun to get them on the act too, so in the morning when they had just woken up I ran into their room and was hiding in the closet, and then would peek out around at them like I was spying on them. Then I busted out of the closest and ran out of the room singing the James Bond theme song and spinning around doors and stuff like Bond does in the movies. They just thought it was hilarious, and they wouldn't do it with me. That day we went to the "Body Worlds" exhibit and I didn't think it would be a good idea to pretend like I was a secret agent in there, and plus I was focusing more on the exhibit, which was really cool/interesting. When I got back to their house though, I was really tired and decided to take a nap. I was lying down in their guest room about to fall asleep when I heard a noise, and it kinda scared me. Then I started thinking all these "what ifs." Like, what if it was someone spying on me? And all the rest of my family had been abducted and now the villains were coming after me? What if there was someone right outside the door listening to every move I made? What if there was someone outside the window staring at me through the blinds? Needless to say, I got kind of carried away with it, and instead of feeling like a secret agent I felt more like a scared little kid who thinks something is under her bed...but I think it was kind of the same effect.

Day 20: World's Longest Poem
Today we are supposed to write a line of the "world's longest poem" that is currently being collaborated on the book's website, which was previously mentioned in the "Meet Jonas Day" post. The first line of the poem (which is in the book) is: "Mercy, cried the popinjay to the pope." I really like the word popinjay. I wonder what it is. Dictionary.com says: a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter. I think I will start using that word in everyday language. So anyways, that's the first line and then everyone else is supposed to write a line also and send it into the website so it will be added on (even though there's no place to send in your line on the site). Oh yeah, and it's supposed to be in iambic pentameter (10 syllables).

"Gallantly goading goats gallop, Peter!"

I used alliteration because it's one of my favorite literary devices. As far as the Peter part, I have no idea.

Day 19: Secret Agent Day

Today's task was to act like a secret agent. We had a family day today because we had out of town guests and we went to a park that has a lake for swimming in. I did my agent work there. I laid out and wrote spy notes in a little notebook like a real spy. Here's what I got:
-overweight woman in floral bikini (too small). tramp stamp, also floral. approaches husband (assumed) on beach. says "you get in thur with them hellions." he replies "why?" as he chuckles, she says 'there's four of 'em en some wanna go off the divin board" they all go into the water. the husband is skinny with some upper arm tattoos.
-woman, in her early forties or late thirties, seems almost sophisticated (which is a surprise at this lake), has two towels one with fish and one with golf clubs, both are thin and faded. she is wearing a big tshirt over her suit. she calmly gets money out of her orange tote and goes to the snack bar.
-couple, skinny guy with a tattoo (something medieval looking, like a cross who's ends get bigger) and a goatee and adidas sandals. woman very heavy, bad hair dye- almost purple. they have an umbrella in a mound of sand patted meticulously flat.
-two teenage (or almost) girls. one thin, one not. thin has shoulder length brown hair and a striped teal bikini. she leans back on her arms like she's the shit. fat one in a brown skirted tankini, lays down, blonde hair, ankle bracelet.
-very extremely tan man, not fake tan, like leather, like indian, burnt sienna. brown hair, black suit, saggy all over. No visible tan lines. is this is natural color? I have never seen anyone like this.
-skinny striped girl turns over
-fat and thin couple get up to talk to people on the other side of the beach
-saggy brown man gets a cup from behind a chair
-sophisticated woman has not returned
-family with hellions still swimming

so that was my spying. after that I had to get in the water and we didnt stay much longer. I wasnt much of a spy after that point. But I think I accomplished today because that was definitely spy work.
i'm curious to see what betty did.

Day 18: UPDATE

Seriously right after I posted my entry for today my mom called me in to my brother's room so show me how sick one of the fish was. It just so happened to be my fish, someone gave it to me for christmas, and it has grown HUGE and has huge nasty growths ( I HATE THAT WORD) on its eyes. So it cant see and it bumps into stuff. My mom said I needed to do something, probably joking, and I joked that she should flush it, and she said it was my fish so I had to, and I said it wouldnt fit in the toilet before realizing that poop is bigger than that and she said it would fit so I scooped it out and plopped it into the toilet. This was a kodak moment because it was pretty cool. I took some pictures. then my mom laughed and asked if I was really going to do it, but I couldnt decide. I mean, that's just mean! unless you think of it as putting it out of its misery, I dont know. I've already done today's task so I couldnt use that as an excuse. So I told her to flush it and she put her hand on it and said she couldnt and I teasingly pushed her hand and then down went the fish. It was sad but we were both laughing. that sounds so evil, I know. here are the pictures:

Day 18: Kill Something today

Today we have to kill something. The book hints at killing an insect, but as I have already insulted an insect, I chose to do something else. I wanted to kill a plant in my house. Now my mom isnt that great of a gardener, so she really takes pride in the few living plants we have around the house. I would feel SO bad if I killed one of those. I was just about to try to think of something else when I remembered that I have a plant of my own- a shoot of bamboo that I keep in the bathroom. I went to the bathroom, and thought, I'll kill it with nail polish remover! and dumped a crapload of nail polish remover in it's little pot. I immediately regretted this. I love that little bamboo shoot! I had one that the cats knocked over and killed so I had to get a new one from the flea market and it was ten dollars and I just love it. I think it's so cool and I really enjoy seeing it when I get ready in the morning. And now I know I'll have to watch it suffer as it eats acetone and slowly dies and that just breaks my heart. I feel so bad. This task was too mean for me.
Here is a picture of the bamboo. Ill try to put up pictures of it as it dies.. :(

Day 17: Eat Asparagus

The task was to eat nothing but asparagus all day. Unfortunately we dont have any asparagus at my house and I have no idea how to cook it even if I bought some so I improvised yet again. I decided to eat nothing but fruit all day. Okay, maybe that sounds like a cop out. But think again.
In the morning I had to convince my mom to only pack fruit in my lunch box. That was quite a battle, she still packed a sandwich because she thought i was being weird. I ate applesauce and an an apple and 100% fruit juice for breakfast. Lunch was an apple and mango flavored applesauce and fruit flavored water. When I got home I had another apple and some watermelon while my sister ate chips and whatever else she wanted, making me extremely jealous. On the way to the football game we stopped by Arby's and I couldnt get anything. After the game I ate dried fruit, then we went to Taco Bell, and once again, I was starving but I couldnt get anything. When we got to my friend Felicity's house luckily they had peaches so I ate one of those. It was depressing to not be able to eat other things. I could never do something like that in the long term. Depriving myself only worked because I was like "I can eat all of this stuff tomorrow, it's not a big deal." I just got home from sleeping over at Felicity's and I'm about to go make a huge breakfast.
As far as effects on my health, I'm not really sure that the fruit diet did to me. I woke up this morning thinking I was fat because I had this dream that I got up and when I looked in the mirror I had a really fat stomach and I thought "i shouldnt have eatten all that fruit.." It was really weird. Maybe the fruit made me dream? I'm just glad I didnt get sick.
I've decided to figure out how many servings of fruit and how many calories and crap yesterday was.
Breakfast: 1 apple, 1/2 cup of applesauce, 1 small glass of juice
Lunch: 1 apple, 1/2 cup of applesauce, water
Snack: 1 apple
Dinner: 2 pieces of watermelon
Snack: 1/2 cup of dried fruit
Late-night snack: Peach
okay so here goes:
calories: 785 (not enough, yikes. I guess I should have eaten a lot more fruit. I just felt sick eating so much of it.)
fat: 2 g (not enough.. need between 38 and 53 g)
Carbs: 204 (in the good range!)
Fiber: 18 (not enough)
Sugar: 144 (YIKES. you're only supposed to have up to 30)
Protein: 8 (another yikes, you need at least 49)
So yesterday's food was probably really bad for me.
If you're wondering, I got the information above from www.calorieconnect.com, which is a really cool site.