Walking Encyclopedia of Weirdness

When you’re first getting to know someone, there are always the inevitable questions of, “Where are you from?” “What are you majoring in?” “What’s your favorite color?” and, sometimes, “What color is your toothbrush?”  (Thank you, EFY!)  Every now and then, however, you get a question that’s actually kind of thought provoking.  One such question came to me very recently: “What is your favorite thing about yourself?”

            In middle school, I got the nickname of “The Walking Encyclopedia.”  Since I’ve been able to read, I’ve been reading everything I can find on things that interest me.  I probably wouldn’t know the answer if you asked me something about starfish (though I could tell you dissecting them in the seventh grade was simultaneously gross and exciting), but I’d definitely know every Robin Batman has ever had (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damien Wayne), and why vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies (particular to four different mythologies).

            In the TV show “Supernatural,” Dean Winchester says to his brother (in season 2, episode 16 “Roadkill”) , “Dude, you are a walking encyclopedia of weirdness, do you know that?”  I laughed when I heard that line, and my best friend looked at me and said, “You know, that totally applies to you.”  The more I’ve thought about it, the prouder of that fact I become.

            I love that I know just about everything there is to know about at least three different TV shows, four book series, and the mythologies of several different creatures and stories.  I love that in one specific online community, I’m to go-to girl for 1,200 people when they have questions about anything ranging from vampires in general to the TV show The Vampire Diaries.

            I love the fact that I am a Walking Encyclopedia of Weirdness.

            Then again, that’s probably not the answer someone is looking for within five minutes of meeting you.  Giving them that little spiel would be like saying I adhere to the five-second-rule after two minutes, or that I wear some of my jeans several times before washing them (which I’m, um, not admitting to).  So, I’m pretty sure I told him I like the color of my eyes.  Oh, well.  He’ll find out eventually!

Oh, Jeremy

"You know you're doing the wrong thing, but you do it anyway."

So, this line in The Vampire Diaries got me thinking the other day.  Yes, it's kind of sad that it's TVD that gave me this thought, but you know, at least I got it.

It got me thinking about how many people know they're doing the wrong thing, but continue to do them anyway.  It's an incredibly sad thing to ponder.  How many people think, "Should I really do this?" and then just give themselves the answer they want?  They say, "Yes, it'll be okay," because that's what they want to convince themselves of.  They don't actually want the answer, because deep down, they know what it is.

It really is a sad thing to think about.

Hello, happiness. It's nice to see you. :)

My first class yesterday was outside, and it was all about teamwork games, like putting everyone in a line on a log and having them rearrange themselves to order from tallest to shortest without falling off.

I sat next to a very, very attractive guy in New Testament and he asked for my number.

I got some really great ideas and thoughts for my major paper for my Historian's Craft class.  It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm really liking my topic, and I can start writing it right now because I feel like I know what I"m doing.

I was invited to play volleyball with some friends, and made some new ones.  It's been a long time since I've really played, and I made some mistakes, but all in all, I wasn't too bad!  It was still fun, even though one girl was really rude about me missing a couple of key hits.  Well, I don't feel too bad about that, especially since every hit she attempted either ended up in a tree or the creek.

I went country dancing with my roommate and some of her friends!  It was so much fun.  We ended up hanging out with some guys at the end who were very funny.  One of them saw me watching his friend cha-cha, and informed me that that was what he was dancing.  I said, "I know."
"You know the cha-cah?" he asked.
"Yes!  Of course I do!"
"I don't believe you can do the cha-cha.  I think you're lying," he said, and folded his arms.
"Are you sure?  You really don't think I can cha-cha?"
"Nope.  Not even a little.  I'll bet a pizza on that."
"You're sure?"
"Completely!"
So, I held out my hands as if to dance with him, and he said, "You're serious?"
"Yes!"
He took my hands, and when I held my head up high, he muttered, "Uh-oh."
And we danced the cha-cha!  He reverted in country swing since that's what we'd been doing a few minutes before, and I pulled him back into the cha-cha.  He said, "Dang!  You even corrected me!  I owe you a pizza for sure!"
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
So, he gave me his number so I can text him whenever I want it and he'll bring it to me.  Haha!  We're all going back next week, and the guys even want to take us to a Latin dance.  Ohhh, I so love to dance.  He asked me where I learned to Latin dance, but honestly, I don't remember.  I think it was probably at a church dance when I was fourteen or so.

I had blueberry waffles for breakfast this morning. :)  That was wonderful, but because I spent my time eating them, I didn't get to dry my hair.  So I had to go to school with it wet.  But, it was just the right temperature outside, and windy, so by the time I walked into the class, it was mostly dry.  And, by the time I got out of that awfully boring try-not-to-keel-over class, it was perfectly styled and pleasantly curved instead of rimrod-straight.

I had the most wonderful time ranting about our self-important professor that doesn't act the least bit interested in her subject with my great friend Martha.  I'm so glad she's in that class with me.  If she wasn't, I don't know that I'd be able to stay awake.  I also got to walk half-way to work with her and Shawntell.

I got a $1 choclate frosty from Wendy's on my way to work.

It's pleasantly cold outside.  It's not freezing, there's not a biting gale, and it isn't snowing.  It's just incredibly cloudy, slightly sprinkly with really cold drops, and just windy enough to make my hair look really cool as I walk down hill in my leather jacket.

Tonight, I'm going to Rachelle and Meagan Porter's house in Springville to watch the Season 2 premiere of The Vampire Diaries, which I'm completely obsessed with.  It'll be fantastic to watch it with friends that love the show as much as I do, as well as watch it on an actual tv (and a rather large one, at that) instead of my laptop.

Ohhhh, life.  You're treating me so very well right now.  :)

Oh, and don't worry, mom.  All of my homework for tomorrow is already finished.  I've been looking forward to this night for four months!

Vampire Diaries Writing

Boy, have I been writing like a maniac lately or what.

I'm part of an art community called deviantArt.  It's a place where you can submit art, photography, writing, etc. and receive critique, or just appreciation.  I'm part of a group on this site dedicated to (yes, I'm a fangirl) "The Vampire Diaries."  They're having a competition right now that has a written category, so I decided to enter.

I've entered a piece about one of the main characters, named Damon Salvatore.  He's sort of the bad boy that's actually good.  You can find that one here, if you're interesting in reading it. This is the one that I'm most proud of.  I really, really like it, and I've gotten a lot of feedback for it!

I also wrote one about Jenna Sommers, the aunt and guardian of the main character.  That one is here. I do really like this one, but not as much as I like Damon's.

And today, I wrote one about Tyler Lockwood. Until now, he's been a very minor character. But this next season, we're going to be seeing a lot more of him, seeing as he's a werewolf... ;) Here is the piece I wrote about him after he finds out about the death of his father.

I've also been doing a lot of writing on my story.  :D  That's super exciting for me.  Buuuuut I'm not going to tell you much about it.  Why?  Ohh... I have my reasons!

Thanks for reading!
Krista

TV Rots Your Brain!!!

I've heard this my entire life.  But, you know... I think I've gained a lot from TV.

First of all, there's the music.  All the time, I'll be watching one of my shows, and something will be playing in the background that I really, really like.  So, after the show's over, I'll tap into one of my online resources for TV music, and I'll find out what the song is so I can listen to it again.  It's extended my music taste so, so much.  Supernatural is especially guilty of this, as it has caused me to appreciate--and actually listen to--classic rock.  Smallville also introduced to me one of my (now) favorite songs of all time: "Impromptu in G flat" by Schubert.  I even loved a song that was performed on House, M.D. so much that I printed the sheet music and learned it on the piano.  I still know it by heart.

Believe it or not, I actually learn some history, and not just because I occasionally watch the Discovery and History channels.  Supernatural has episodes based on lore and myths originating in the United States.  They have plenty of stuff from other countries, too, but it's cool to learn a piece of American Heritage that you're not necessarily going to learn in a book.  I actually learned about the lost colony of Roanoake because of an episode entitled "Croatoan," in which they heavily reference Roanoake.  I was so intrigued, I looked it up and read everything I could find on it.

I was quite the sheltered child.  That's not a bad thing, and I don't think it was intentional.  I just wasn't exposed to a lot of the things everyone else was.  So people will make references in their daily language to something and I'll have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.  Just common phrases, all over the place.  "Oh, cry me a river."  "Who'd you expect, Scully and Mulder?"  "Who ya gonna call?"  I was lost all the time.  But, as I've been watching more television, these things have been explained to me.  I can participate in so many more conversations!  I understand so much more.  And, I can make the references myself. 

Sarcasm!  I can't tell you how often I used to be fooled by sarcasm.  I did not understand it at all.  I thought people were being serious or mean, and used to think, "Why can't people just say what they're actually thinking?!"  I got so confused.  It was even worse when I tried to use it.  But now, it's not so lost on me.  Sometimes it still takes me for a spin, but I can understand it.  That's valuable to me...  It makes me not such a social pariah.

Vocabulary is also a big one.  Yes, I've gained most of my vocabulary from reading, but there've been a lot of times that I've used or pronounced a word incorrectly because the only time I'd ever encountered it was in writing.  I've gained words I didn't know could be used in certain ways.  I've gained ways of speaking, as well as a knowledge of using tones in my voice.  Now, I don't sound like such a know-it-all ALL the time.  I know how to say things in just that certain, specific way, where it can be taken how I want it to.  A lot of that came from books, too...  But TV has definitely helped.

  I've learned about people.  I've been able to see personalities and occupations and attitudes and types of people that I don't see in my life.  It helps me understand why sometimes people make the kinds of decisions they make.  I can see thought processes that aren't similar to mine.

Television has inspired me to write.  In middle school, I wrote fanfiction after fanfiction, or Teen Titans, Justice League, Batman, Gargoyles, Kim Possible, if I watched it, I had a fanfiction for it.  Then, one day, as I thought about my writing (which I didn't ever actually let anyone read, for embarrassment), I suddenly thought, "I want to write something I can share with other people, that is my own story, completely made up by me."  Thus Leah was born, the story that I've been writing for almost half my life, that has kept me going at some times, and has helped me to really improve my writing.  I also am able to use things in my writing that I've seen on TV, and never actually experienced.  I can write about a pair of really close siblings, because I've seen it.

So, most of what I've learned has to do with social skills, but that's very valuable to me. I wouldn't have learned them any other way. I don't observe the behaviors of others. That's just not how my brain works. But I'm starting to get there.

You know, I do have to admit that I don't read as much as I used to.  I'm not totally up-to-date with world news.  But, it's nice to be able to share something I enjoy with people I love.  I can sit down every day at two o'clock and watch General Hospital with my mom, and then argue over whether Sonny or Jason is better.  I can quote Supernatural for hours with Jessica, laughing so hard we get to the point of wheezing.  It also gives me something I can share with people that I would otherwise have absolutely nothing in common with.  So, I think that in a lot of ways, TV is a great thing.

But, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.  I've just got to figure out where to draw the line.