Hullo Internet!

Sorry I haven't posted the 30 days of Harry Potter day by day. I have been very busy with working on a Fireworks's booth. It is our second time for running a huge business for fireworks and I now have two classes that require six to eight hours for me to work on. My sorority, Tau Beta Sigma, requires a lot of assistance for these fireworks and nobody else is volunteering for the job. We need the money to support the Music Program and so I have practically "worked" for at least ten hours each day while attending school, summer school at that while the rest of my chapter bails out. it is frustrating that nobody will step up to the plate but I think we are better than that and people will. As well as each class I attend each day occurs, each day represents a week of the regular school term so I am doing double duty for the summer. I believe all this hard work will pay off and continue to a trip somewhere that makes it all worthwhile.

Anyways, for day 2, it is favorite book. This one is very difficult for me. I had not read all of the books for awhile and it was difficult. But I chose Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The reason this one is my favorite is that it is where it all began. We are introduced to a young boy who has no idea that he was a wizard. The premise that Professor McGonagall predicts Harry's name would be known by all the children in the Wizarding World was a haunting effect that made this book memorable. It also contains the starting foundation of the golden trio's friendship. The fact it was formed over a troll incident and then solidified by the mystery of the mysterious Nicholas Flamel. It makes me giddy with joy to think this young scrawny eleven year old would have to face death alone in a world. A poor orphan with glasses has to defeat the greatest wizard of all time again and again. Philosopher's Stone represents a rich, diverse universe where I got lost in the midst of vivacious chocolate frogs, flying in the skies searching for the snitch in Quidditch, thinking vile thoughts against Malfoy as he bullied Harry again, and again.

One scene that made me really pick this among the seven was the mirror of erised. This chapter represents a more mature part of writing that made me understand now that I am older that this world also had its consequrnces. It could be poignant without recognizing it. I love reading this again and again because it shows the most pure instance of love that makes me recall the innocence Harry has as a young protagonist. It deals with the most mature levels of sadness and understanding with our desires. what do we really want in our lives? It seems very existential as you imagine yourself stare into the looking glass of what you want. What would you desire?

Natalie

So, I've decided to do the HP Challenge because I like it and it's about Harry Potter, so why not?

Day 1: Your Favorite Character

I choose Loony Luna. The reason why I chose her is because I like the fact she is a character that does not give a damn. Nobody can tell her how to live her life. She chooses to be different. She chooses to be odd and dreamy not noticing that others in her House think her strange. Luna is the foil of Hermione and I like to think that she expresses herself in ways that make Hermione appear extraordinary while Luna appears extraordinary as well with a zeal. Rowling unveils Luna as a soul that does not say anything different. She is an honest foil who fights her own battles in her own way. Though now after reading years after, it took me awhile to appreciate her. The first time I really noticed her was at the end of Book 5 that made me fall for her character.

Harry was lost after Sirius' death in the Order of the Phoenix. There is a scene near the end, I don't remember the exact details, but this struck me very hard because I remember Harry spoke to Sir Nick, wondering if his godfather would return to him. Then feeling more depressed, Harry encounters Luna who was searching for her things because her friends hid her things as a joke. She speaks to Harry about her life, along the lines that some things come back to us in unexpected ways. It struck me then that Luna Lovegood, on top of all the crap she dealt with at this magical school, was an angel of death. Not to mean in a bad way but she is able to understand death and be able to accept it in a way that Harry understands as well. I might be confusing it in the movie but that moment made me think that everything would be okay for Harry. If this girl can do it, why can't he?

Hullo Internet,

I have been traveling almost the whole day. I am beyond exhausted. I had to take a nap because I was in desperate measures for more energy. I was straining my eyes to stay awake because my Dad forced me to wake up at the crack of dawn, force me to eat and stay conscious most of the way to the airplane terminal to the other. I was on a full flight for Southwest and all the seats were full. For traveling, I was surprised that I sat in the most dangerous part of the plane, in the center, between two rows of babies and small children, and I was next to a very "modern family-esque" couple that reminded me of the older dad and Sofia Vergara's character except it was real life. They sat next to me because I stole a window seat all by myself and sat between the babies because I was thinking YOLO.

If you do not know this term, it means: You Only Live Once = Y.O.L.O

Thinking about my future as a young teacher in music, I thought I had to conquer babies anyway. So as I was going down to my seat, I saw the most adorable baby with huge, ocean blue eyes gave me a questionable smirk. I retaliated by doing something only my mother does best by waving hello several times with an enormous smile. Then the most magical thing happened. The baby girl smiled, giggling in a cute baby fashion because I am the baby whisperer. I felt like a total boss because not only can I communicate with animals, children are on my list too.

It also made me realize that it made my day. That baby was very quiet on the whole eighty minute flight in the air. I was able to read most of the ride. Then my roommate picked me up, ate from the dollar menu at Wendy's, and managed to come back to my second home, blogging like crazy before all of these moments become mere memories in my mind.

Did you know that the memories we remember shift in our minds? The many times we remember a single memory from years ago can change before we know it. It is not necessarily a bad thing that the memory changes the amount of times we recall it. So, I want to remember this trip bak home was a good one. I got to see family, fight back against many attempts of One Direction Brainwashing, and relax for the first time. But I think the reason why this trip was successful was the fact that I did relax in spite of online classes. I managed to go to places and have happy times with my cats. (I mean MY cats.)

But I think I need to give notes to myself for future adventures. I like to think these helpful hints will definitely help my future self because there were some annoying moments for traveling that made it a little unsettling. Example:

1. Pack lighter. Especially with your carry ons. Since I had to pack for two weeks, I need to remember that I do not need a ukelele and my oboe with me. I am the worst at trying to keep practicing. This trip was meant for relaxation not practicing. I will not bring instruments unless it is a vital role for a trip.
2. Have at Hand one item to entertain you. In the future, I really want a classic ipod for this. A book was very helpful but I kept getting distracted by other passengers.
3. Use cash more often. I have a bad habit of not having enough cash for little snacks and things. I need to remember for my big trip for Europe.
4. Basically Pack Lighter!

Hullo Internet,

First off, Happy Father's Day! I hope if there are any readers that if you pause to read this post that I hope you have a good day. I genuinely mean it (unless you're an asshole, but hopefully not).

Because now I currently reside in Utah, California is a bitter reminder that I do not get devour delicious calories within the holy grails of all burgers. I know there are some In-N-Out burger joints within the state of Utah but they are not worth the excess gasoline to drive in their venue and eat there. So, since I was back for a few weeks, I had the delight to gorge myself for a feast at my local In-N-Out for Father's day. Though I did not eat the meat portion, I ate two grilled cheeses, which are not included on the menu, and animal fries, which were not included either. The reason that these items were not included in the menu is that there has been an evolved menu spoken verbally between customer and employee. It is a great menu that most people don't know about. So, if you want a treat or something different at literally the best burger chain place that consistently sends out delicious, delectable ambrosia for us mere mortals.

With some tasty lemonade, I ate voraciously in every detail. First off, a grilled cheese is a basic traditional In-N-Out burger with the standard bun, lettuce, tomato, and meat beef patty. Instead of the meat, there is a substitution of grilled cheese for the meat and it is great for a vegetarian. If you ever miss those burgers, then it is a great, unspoken item for vegetarians. For a flexitarian, I always take advantage for these great effing treats. After missing these babies, the grilled cheeses were grilled to perfection, their sweet buns were crispy in my mouth, making me drool slightly while I gorged myself underneath the savory special sauce, a combination of mayonaise, ketchup, and relish. I ate two of these suckers like a vampire, swallowing them whole. I had to remind myself to slow down, enjoy this rare experience, and consume with delight. I did. I guarantee that. But sometimes, being a college kid, you forget to eat slowly because this meal is like your last one and make it count. Food makes you do some crazy shit.

Anyways, I also ate my first animal fries. I know these sound awful but these are fries too. These fries are decorated with a layer of grilled onions, fried until it is slippery, chopped, and ready to add on top of a fresh batch of signature in-n-out fries. Then they are not finished at adding more. They add their special sauce on top of that because they wanted to make it even more full of delicious calories for your eating pleasure. Finally, because this is also on the unheard menu, I heard great stories for this treat and loved it. These were worth more than any other type of fries I have tasted and now wish I just ate those instead. They are the most filling fries I ever consumed in my stomach. I got the biggest food baby from this feast and say it was a foodgasm. I enjoyed the rare taste of salt and fat. I don't eat it very often because I am a health nut mostly. Even in college, I still try to eat white meat, salad, and try not to snack. I have been good and In-N-Out is the one exception that allows me to gorge until I have a fat food baby.

So, I have no regrets. I would do it again. I will say that I had the biggest foodgasm, watching a beautiful display of food porn that I hope to keep in mind. To watch the steam waft from their buns is an honor to consume. I shall remember this tasty meal and salute especially to all the dads out there who would do the same.

Natalie

Hullo Internet,

I am happy to say that someone has read my story and didn't hate it completely. But now the hard part has started: Revision. I hate that word, I hate looking back at mistakes and review them thinking what the hell was I thinking? I know that it's good to find mistakes but I hate finding them. I wish the first draft was the final draft. But things are never easy. So, tomorrow, or rather later today, I will revise my story and begin the next act of writing a book. God save us writers.

Natalie

Hullo Internet,

Yesterday, I took a trip to Santa Cruz and it was the longest trip ever. I had to wake up at 6 in the morning, physically try to get ready in a short amount of time, and stay in the car for three hours to reach the shores of Sea Cliff in order to enjoy some sun and shade. But once I did reach the shores, I was thoroughly surprised to meet my expectations to see a long strip of sand expand across my eyes, the roar of the sea crashing against the rocks, the millions of microscopic pieces of sand, even meeting a few carbs that got overturned in the rush of the waves that meet the shore. High tide began as I ran, or in my case hobbled, to the water to let my toes get exfoliated by the most natural substance, sand. I definitely forgot everything for a moment when we were in a cloudy fog in the morning when we arrived, freezing in our hoodies and jackets.

When we first arrived, we decided to make a little clan of sand. We had no shovels or buckets so we all used our feet to dig a hole. Then when we finished, we had four sea drift logs as benches and had a pretty fly hang out for like an hour. But then we were so hungry that we left it and ate lunch. We ate yummy, delicious six dollar sandwiches created by my wonderful mother and then found our clan taken away by another family. It was okay because I like to think at the end of the day, the clan was being useful after all, ebing used until the end and made some kids happy. I would rather have it use than no use at all. I did go for the moment. I went to Santa Cruz with my family and a lucky friend. we were there for about five, six hours tops, getting tans, not getting burned at all because we used the best sun screen ever for some hot tans.

But being a radically very white skinned individual, I hardly got a tan. Overall, I think progressed from pale to a normal, understandable skin tone that is almost peachy (?). Anyways, after the beach, we decided to go to downtown Santa Cruz where we went to these small used bookstores. I wanted to find an old copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury because I heard about its epic first line in a book.

"It was a pleasure to burn."


I don't know why it sounds so great to me. Maybe the fact that the intention to do something with the definition of "bad" is the first idea I think of for burning that makes me go " I want to know why it is a pleasure" that I want to read it. I need to find my own copy and find out why. It also makes me think of my own reasons to write a book about a girl who necessarily does not do good things too. The ideas of the anti-hero always make me want to read more often because I get sick of the goody-two shoes hero that always stands up for good. When you come cross the dark side, become part of it, and still choose to do good things is where I always want to root for the "hero" because it is their own free will to choose that makes it more realistic to discover what they are going to do.


Maybe in my case, my novel fails to do that. She doesn't get her choice. She is thrust into it like some worthy heros I like despite their circumstances. She tries for the best. She is smart, sometimes boring in some ways but the only hope for a dying race.


Anyways, back to Santa Cruz, I got to go to a nice little pizza place called Kianti's. It was nice, I was able to get my pesto pizza which is all I ask of Santa Cruz. I was going to have my favorite pizza at Pizza My Heart but some assholes called a group of high school kids occupied it and there was a huge line for. Disappointed, we went to another alternative. The pizza was pretty good but not as good as Heart. But we met my uncle and cousin, it was nice to see them after a few months. We also got some delicious truffles where we gorged ourselves. I ate this tiramisu truffle that was heaven when we finally left back for home. 


Taking the longest nap back, I definitely enjoyed Santa Cruz. I was so effing exhausted when I found my bed and hope to never leave it. It was a pleasure to go to the beach and get a nice, safe tan.


Natalie

Hullo internet,

My name is Natalie and I am trying out blogging because I am trying to write and publish a book. I have been part of the blogging community for about four years and tried to blog about things during high school. It didn't really work. I had difficulties with the blogging concept because I didn't have a laptop and  I was busy with IB, music, and trying to get into college. So, now that I am past one milestone, meaning I am in college, working on an undergraduate degree, and know that I am able to function in society on my own, I think taking on a blog is a little easier. I will give a low down on what I am trying to do.

I am at a University. I am in my second year, working on a bachelor's degree in music education so far, and am in summer semester, working as a full time student with twelve credits. I am from California but chose to go to school in Utah. I am also employed as a salesperson. I like to write, take pictures in my crappy camera, and spend too much time on tumblr. I would like to visit the world, I love pixar, I love disney with a passion, I love to draw on top of everything, I buy too much notebooks and books because I like the idea of writing. Then on top of it all, I love spending time looking at creative people in hopes that I can learn myself. I do like to find graphics and gifs of things I like to watch and find them for myself and share it to the world. I like to hang out in my room, be very introverted on my own time, spending time in my guilty pleasures with music, slack my time with practice with my instruments, organize my time neatly with school, friends, and work.

It is my endless pursuit to write everything down on a piece of paper and look at the organization; achieve things one at a time and cross them off with a pen. I enjoy listening to things from the nineties and remember the good old days with cartoon network, old-fashioned things like bags and stuff you can't find yourself, and travel across countries.

But I will try to post often. Nearly everyday unless I find stuff I like or feel obligated to write it out. Maybe even mention my sorority duties to you because I am part of one. But I know what you're thinking, oh man she's in a sorority what an airhead, but I am in a band service sorority where we actually help the community. We do not get out much. But I do do more things in the college years. I think this might help bring out what I know and realize these moments are pretty fun in my lifetime. There was a quote that haunts my thoughts every now and then.

"We often never appreciate the value of a true moment, until it becomes a memory."-Tumblr

I think that this blog could record the important things, values, and such I like to do. I went back to this blog profile to realize I have matured in a way that doesn't make me bashful about myself. I like to think that I can me more a nerd than I could ever admit four years ago. I think I am more outgoing than I was in that short amount of time. I think things through, most of the time, and can show off how great or not things are going in my life. I like recording things down for people and I will try to show great moments in the "journey". More of an odyssey because it took forever to finish that book and isn't life the longest journey of all. Metaphorically, I will record what is my "present".

I got to return home in June after living in Utah for almost a year now. I returned in early June, welcomed back graciously by my siblings, and returned to the comforts of unlimited food and sleep. I am maintaining online classes while I stay here. I have done lots of things already. I went to Sonoma State University which is a nice school. I would recommend if I got to choose again if you want to go into the medical field. Then I visited a nice, quaint town called Petaluma that was very reminiscent of San Francisco with its heavy breeze and very trendy, hipster-esque vibe that screams rebellion and free spirit. With its winding roads, rolling hills, and people treating sidewalks like a runway.

It was great to visit, I went to this used bookstore where I found two books, one a science fiction novel, called Dead Harvest, great read, and The Prestige, the reason the film exists, excited to read it. But the reason why I mention this is because I was also listening in to around six authors, local sort of, and they were talking about their novels, why they wrote them, and how it works for their process of writing. It was very inspiring to hear them talk about it. I agreed and disagreed about many things. It also made me think through what I wanted to do and decide what I wanted in my own novel. I would do this instead of that. It made me think of why I am writing and what I want to do. I thought through that I want to show issues that I think are important and all these things that have influenced me into this one work. I thought back and forth about certain events and characters of my novel that were very significant to what happened.

But I had to leave halfway through their conference (?). The reason I left is that I had to go off with my family to go to Starbucks because we all had to use their bathroom. Public restrooms are annoying but then we went off to this restaurant, a Japanese little thing, called Hiro's Japanese Place. We ate so much stuff at this place, eating real Japanese food because it was owned by a Japanese man. We saw him walking down the dining room, back and forth while we ate just as it opened. We also saw this little girl, who was called Liz because I heard the mom call to her, who kept staring at my sister Emily. She was adorable, making it more memorable as we finally left back home.

Later, I went to my favorite music store in the whole universe. It is called Amoeba and it is a great resource of music memorabilia, dvds, cds, records, LPs, and posters for really good prices. There is so much stuff that accumulates in this store that there is a basement that holds all the cds in its collections. I love going to this store because it has so much more. Even though we are going into a digital age, I recommend going Amoeba in case you enjoy old time favorites. If you are in the San Francisco area, go to this store and you will not be unsatisfied. I go to this store every few years and have never left empty. though in this trip, I almost did until I found the animated movies. (I found The Iron Giant (Special Edition) and Treasure Planet; both great films for really good reduced prices like 4 bucks.) It is located very close to UC Berkeley on Telegraph Street where all these different multicultural stuff that makes California exciting. When we managed to get away from Amoeba, my family and I went to this cute, high end looking restaurant called Henri's and ate so much. I had this delicious panini that made me gorge forever.

Afterwards, I have been relaxing. Yesterday, I ran for the first time in a long time and worked out. All of which kicked my ass and made me sore today. I have been trying to recover for now as I prepare for the rest of my time. In fact, yesterday was my most productive day in the whole summer because I woke up at 6 am, read a book, worked on online classes, went to the store, worked out, ran, and stayed up till eleven until I collapsed. But now I am waiting to have fun in Santa Cruz and hope to write more in this blog.