Study Hall with Dan.

So, I guess people actually do read my blog. Even if they dont find it interesting.

Even people who don't like me. So....to those people who don't like me: thanks for the attention :) Its nice to know that I'm still a big part of your lives.

Anyway, I had a fun day of "i've Never", taking pictures of strangers driving by, and almost running out of gas five times in unknown towns yesturday! Usually i'm a pretty up-tight person....but maybe being with all boys brings out the better side of me?

The best part, though, was spending the whole day with my best friend.

Now, its the beginning of a new semester. I'm a little excited because: 1. I only have 2 classes, one being an art class. and 2. The year is halfway over.

I always thought that my senior year would be sad. But I'm starting to realize that my graduation wont be all that sad. High school is about all the people that you spent time with, and who were there for you. My "high school" is no longer in high school...therefore I will be happy when I leave.

On another note, I have begun playing Fishville. you have no idea how pathetic that makes me feel. Its actually kind of ironic, since I had a full-out meltdown when my goldfish, Tinkleton croaked a few months ago.

So, I will admit that Fishville proves i have no life. But unlike the people who dont like me that read my blog, I dont spend my non-life being a bad friend. Or trying to beat others in class rank...cough cough...

As Promised

"Better Together" lyrics...as promised!
So, i hope you will all mosey on over to the old Limewire and pirate some Jack johnson!

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
our dreams, and they are made out of real things
like a shoebox of photographs
with sepia-toned loving
Love is the answer
at least for most of the questions in my heart, like
Why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together


Mmmm, It's always better when we're together
Yeah we'll look at the stars and we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
just might find their way into my dreams tonight,
But I know that they’ll be gone
when the morning light sings
and brings new things
for tomorrow night you see
that they’ll be gone too,
too many things I have to do

But if all of these dreams might find their way
into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
i was somewhere in between
With only two,
Just me and you,
Not so many things we got to door places we got to be
We'll sit beneath the mango tree, now,

Yeah It's always better when we're together
Mmmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

[MmmMmmmmMmm, Mmm MMmmM]

I believe in memories
they look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
There is no, no song I could sing
and there is no combination of words I could say
but I will still tell you one thing
We're Better together

Better Together

Have you ever listened to Jack Johnson? I mean really really listened? Recently I have discovered his music, and even more recently it has begun to really speak to me. Almost all of his songs can relate to my life in some way. He is not only an amazing singer, but he has a way of making me feel as though there are people out there who have the same thoughts as i do. Anyway, I'm not just trying to toot his horn; I've fallen in love with his music....and I really think you should try listening to it as well...

"Better Together" just happens to be mine and Joey's "song". I was trying to paste the lyrics on here, but it wont let me for some reason...silly Blogger. So, I will attempt it again later.

But in the meantime, I hope you will lose yourself in the music of Mr. Johnson. And tell me what you think :)

MY orange...

So...we've been getting into the same arguement every other night lately....its irritating, but I still love him. I heard this poem and it made me think about him.

The Orange

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

Boring Speech...but I have nothing else to write about.

I had to write a speech on leadership in my creative writing class. I wasn't thrilled about the assignment, but when am I ever? Anyway, here it is. I apologize that I really have nothing to write about today, as I am determined not to make this blog a rambling of my day to day activities.
____________________________________________________________________


Author, Harold McAlindon once said “do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” To be a leader, you must leave a trail. But it’s not always that simple. Leaving your own trail isn’t too difficult; but a true leader’s path is followed by many, not only because it’s paved, but because they want to. There are many people in our history books that are falsely recognized for leadership. Yes, Adolf Hitler plowed a path, but in the end how many people truly wished to go down it? And was there anything beneficial waiting at the end? It’s easy enough to rent a bulldozer and clear new land (metaphorically speaking, of course), but the difficulty comes in making it desirable. It may be unfortunate, but in today’s society who are you if no one wants to follow where you lead?
As I get closer to graduation, I wish I had left a clearer trail. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished in the last 12 years of school, but when people look back most probably won’t remember me. I was the class treasurer, a member of National Honor Society, and a delegate for Dirigo Girl’s State; so, yeah I made a trail. But thus far, the followers are missing. Maybe it’s because I’m quiet, or because I’m perceived as snobby. Either way, I think that if I really applied myself I could become a good leader.
Not everyone is born a leader, but I believe that anyone can grow into one. Since we got this assignment I’ve been searching all over for quotes, definitions, and information about leadership. I’ve found that most of our famous leaders didn’t pop out like that; they worked for it. The got down and dug that path with their bare hands. Think about Martin Luther King Jr.; no one helped him clear the way. He really worked for his rights, his freedom, and his life. And that’s what makes the difference. We all have our own paths that we’ve created, but how much time and effort did you really spend on yours? I can say that mine is probably lacking just as much.
Pretty soon I’m going to be shoved out into the “real world”. It would be easy for me to go about my easy, narrow little pathway. But, I hope to do something better with myself. I hope that as I grow up, I can pave a much wider trail. And I hope that others will enjoy it just as I do, and want to follow in my footsteps. My trail will consist of all the dreams I’ve been waiting for since I entered school. And I think that if I have a chance to make this new trail, then maybe I could help just one other person find their own dreams.
Because that’s what a leader does. A leader’s dream is to assist other’s in accomplishing their own. Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.’s trails brought other African American’s dreams to life; just as Amelia Earhart dozed the way for female dreamers. Of course I don’t expect to become an amazing leader like these individuals, but I do hope that my life and my trail impact at least a few people.
So, don’t follow where a path may lead. Make your own. Because if you don’t leave your own trail then someone may miss out on following a great leader.

Something Sad.

One of my old friend's grandfather died this morning at 3am from cancer (I believe). Although we dont talk much anymore, I feel that I should have something to say. But I don't. I went through this same thing a short time ago, yet I still cant think of any words to say to make it better. But, having gone through the same thing, sometimes its nice when you get a break from everyones sympathy. I mean, its nice to know that everyone is sorry...but sometimes it gets overwhelming.
So, I sent out a quick, but very thought out facebook messege. Which seems lacking, but its all I could think of.
I was friends with him for years, but for the life of me I cannot think of his grandfathers name. So...this post is in memory of...someone...
For me its in memory of my friend's grandfather, as well as my own. But for you it may be in memory of someone else. Whomever it is for you, I hope that one day we wont be greiving over cancer any longer.



Lauren

Story of my Life.

LONG -LEG LOU AND SHORT-LEG SUE
From Falling Up By Shel Silverstein

Long-Leg Lou and Short-Leg Sue
Went for a walk down the avenue,
Laughin' and jokin' like good friends do,
Long-Leg Lou and Short-Leg Sue.

Says Long-Leg Lou to Short-Leg Sue,
"Can't you walk any faster than you do?
It really drives me out of my mind
That I'm always in front, and you're always behind."

Says Short-Leg Sue to Long-Leg Lou,
"I walk as fast as I'm meant to do."
"Then I'll go walking with someone new,"
Says Long-Leg Lou to Short-Leg Sue.

Now Long-Leg Lou, he walks alone,
Looking for someone with legs like his own,
And sometimes he thinks of those warm afternoons
Back when he went walkin' with Short-Leg Sue.

And Short-Leg Sue strolls down the street
Hand in hand with Slow-Foot Pete,
And they take small steps and they do just fine,
And no one's in front and no one's behind.

My Multiple Personalities.

I've been watching this raunchy Showtime series called United States of Tara. Anyone watch it? Despite the constant F bombs and boob shots, I have actually gotten a little something from it.

It's about this woman (just a regular mom) who has multiple personalities. She has four alters other then herself:

T- The teenage pot-smoking....well lets just say it...skank.

Buck- The beer-swilling redneck. Although quite sweet at heart.

Alice- Marcia Cross' Bree Van De Kamp on meth.

Gimme- Well, I don't know much about Gimme yet....but its some sort of animal. Honestly, I can't even watch this show at night because Gimme scares the jeebers out of my.

Anyways, I feel slightly pathetic that I'm now obsessed with a Showtime Dramady. But whatever.

So, here's what I've gotten out of this show:

Maybe we all have multiple personalities...I mean, I think I do. Obviously its not as extreme as someone like Tara, who's diagnosed with it. But it got me thinking about my own personalities. I'm not going to share them all with you...but maybe you should think about your own.

In the show, Tara's alters come out when she needs them in some way. For example, her son Marshal has a "boyfriend" who he is utterly in....lust...with. But subconsiously, Tara knows that this boy will never really want to be with another boy, he will end up with a girl...which woould ultimatly hurt her son, Marsahl. So....in comes T. Marshal catches T and his "boyfriend" making out...there was even a little second base action in there....Oh snap!

So, in the end, Marshal realizes what Tara's alter was trying to do. She was just trying to save him from heartache.

What do my alters do for me? Lots of things, I suppose. I dont think its something you can really put words to. I think its just...there.




Anyway. I would definitely reccomend this show to anyone looking to get hooked on a series. Its not really laugh-out-loud-funny...more like god-I-hope-my-mother-didn't-just-hear-that-funny.

That's Interesting.

On another side note:

The sister of the before mentioned former best friend (who hates me now...) is wearing almost the same exact outfit that I wore yesturday. Isn't that interesting.

Art Teacher

I once had a middle school art teacher who always struck me as kind of odd. She had a very thick accent, but no one knew exactly where it was from. Maybe French? I personally thought that it was a little fake, but you never know. That's just me being synical.
Anyways, my best friend and I would ALWAYS make fun of her. Everyday she wore a scarf around her neck. And one day.....

Art Teacher

The art teacher was always weird
With that hideous scarf around her neck
What it was for, we had always feared
For it made her small head look like a mere speck

I think she thought it was pretty
Blue and gold were the colors of the cloth
One day I pulled it as I was quite twitty
And right as I did, her head rolled off.
____________________________________________________________________

Of course that didn't really happen. I wrote this peom in 3 minutes for my creative writing class. The over achiever that I am, sometimes I really dont try so hard. Which is exactly what happend with this poem. I don't know why I thought to write about it.
Recently, that best friend and i have parted and maybe I was just thinking about the good ole' days. I don't know. Oh well. I got a good grade on the poem....and hopefully no one knew which teacher I was referring to. Although its pretty obvious seeing as I've had two art teachers in my entrie life....however, they did both have accents.

Well, that's all I have for now.

On a side note: I'm sore sore from the Wii that it is literally painful to type. Thanks for that, Joey...thanks a lot.


I will leave you with the other poem that I wrote at the same time. Excuse the misspellings....

Dancing

Life is like a pa de deux
Learning to be one with another

Pirouettes across the paths
Jetes over the hardships and puddles

Plies’ into her partner’s hold
He will lift her into an assemble
If ever she gets close to the ground

Dancing with complete trust
Sure that he will right her if she falters on her pique.

Things that BUG me.

For those who know me, I'm kind of an up-tight person. Its one of my worst flaws, and possibly the only one that I wish I could fix. But unfortunatly, I don't think I'm going to magically become as laid back as my boyfriend may be....but I will definitely try. Not.
In the meantime, lots of things bug me. There are those major things that just piss me off to my core....but most of those aren't even worth mentioning. But there are the little things that just shake me a little.

So, here's what bugs me:

-Both my borther and I have this issue. We use the last of the toilet paper....and we are just lazy enough to mentally refuse to walk down the hall into our p-units bathroom and get a new roll. Then, we are surprised when in the middle of our next potty break, a new roll of toilet paper hasn't magically appeared. Now, I think its a little humerous when I do this to him...but it just really irritates me when he does it. So, Nate...if you're reading...when you use the last of the toilet paper GET A NEW ROLL. Unfortunatly, I cannot promise to do the same.

-I live a very structered life. I am all tucked into my warm bed at least by 10pm on weeknights. Its jyst what I do. Mostly because I heart my heater blanket. So, last night I'm all tucked into my bed. Footie PJs and all. When I realized that I hadn't plugged in this silly Acer to charge over night...so that I can productively use it only for Facebook today in school. Ugh.....I had to get out of my warm bed and go plug the stupid thing in. Then I got back in bed and just couldn't get nearly as comfterble as I was before. I really hate that.

-I can NEVER figure out how to spell the word "comfterble", "comfortable," comfertable," "comfortble." How the f do you spell it??????

-You know that disgusting roll/flab right under your bra wire. It's so fricken uncomfortable (HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT WORD??????????) I really hate that certain roll. Like, seriously...how do you get rid of it? I do millions (yes, millions. Thats what I said.) crunches every night. Jumping jacks, treadmill, push-ups, stretches, etc. Its like, this silly fat is in love with my bra or something. I mean I know that I wear cute bra's....but come on. Leave me alone buddy...I dont want you there! We need to part ways.

-Okay. So, is it really that hard to turn the heat on at school on Sunday night?? I'm sitting here freezing my ass off. And it could be completely avoidable. BHS, I double dog dare you to stop being so cheap.

Okay...I'm done for now. I hope you enjoyed my rants...and if you have any authority to fix any of these things...you're my god.

Love,
Lauren

Maybe you want to read this...maybe you dont.

Well. I still don't have much to talk about on this thing, but I thought I'd share a recent piece of writing with you. So, in one of my English classes, we had to read On Writing by Stephen King. Now, I'm not a Stephen King buff at all; quite honestly, I would never...ever...pick up one of his novels. I'm the first to admit that I would probably pee my pants. I HATE scary stuff :O
But, this book was much different. It was his memoir on writing and how he became the writer that he is. Sounds boring, but it was actually very good. His wit actually made me WANT to read it....and it really made me want to write. Pow. Yes, after I read it, I began wiritng my own novel...haha...but of course, I never finished it. Maybe I'll finish someday, but, like my blogging experience, I don't tend to finish things.
Anyways, so, after reading the book we had to write an essay about Stephen King's "writing biases"...and here is my essay. You probably dont want to read this as it may bore you...but I did try to make it a little funny. And I'm sure you'll be able to tell that I was quite pissy about the assignment (I'm pretty pissy about a lot of things lately)....so I used a lot of sarcasm...and yes, I really did turn this in.
Go wild:

Stephen King’s Writing Biases
Lauren Perkins-Fields

On Writing, by Stephen King is the perfect example of strong writing biases. He knows what his opinions of writing are and isn’t afraid to express them. When trying to explain my own writing biases in a five page essay, I rambled on with boring life stories in an attempt to sound as witty as Mrs. Morrison. But if I had read On Writing ahead of time, I could have shortened my full-to-the-brim essay to only one sentence: “Read Stephen King’s On Writing, and you will understand all of my own biases.” Although we may have a few differences when it comes to writing, I don’t think many people can disagree with King’s writing must haves. Although the “memoir to writing” was filled with more biases then I could even catch onto, there were five that really stuck out to me. I fully agree with these five opinions and will always remember them in my own writing.
It’s hard to imagine, but there are probably tons of writers who don’t even read other books. They are so focused on their own work that they don’t care to consider what people are reading. King states that in order to become a great writer you not only have to write a lot (duh) but you also have to read a lot. He says that “if you don’t have the time to read, then you don’t have the time or the tools to write.” In order to have all the “tools” to write well, it’s important that you learn from other’s success as well as mistakes. By reading a lot you see what looks/sounds good on paper and you can prevent yourself from cracking out a horrible piece of writing. I, like most people, only write about subjects that I enjoy reading about. But if I never read, then I would have no idea where to start.
Another one of King’s biases is “omit needless words.” This is a bit pickier then the previously mentioned bias because it’s slightly more difficult to master. Seriously, any slum can pick up a book and read, but even the great writers suffer from word vomit. King took this quote straight out of The Elements of Style handbook, which he obviously endorses. I think it’s a very to-the-point way of saying cut the bullshit. I’m not speaking for everyone, but my idea of needless words are “the,” “and,” “but,” blah, blah, blah; any word that doesn’t contribute to the meaning of your paper. And I’m sure that in reading this paper you are taking the deadly red pen to a butt load of needless word vomit. I’ll admit that every now and then I heart a nice “in conclusion,” but I also understand that it’s completely unnecessary. Like I said, it’s hard to master. Good thing Mr. Steve is here to set a good example for us struggling vomiters.
To go along with that, King has a rule that every writer should abide by, to death do us part and all that jazz. 2nd draft= 1st draft – 10%. Now, I have heard this exact same rule from Mrs. Mytar, but to be honest with you, it went in one ear and out the other. For some reason it didn’t have that nice ring to it that Stephen King brings to the table. Nonetheless (omit needless words, Lauren. Oops.), when I read this simple rule it really made sense to me. Teachers always say to get rid of excess stuff, but it’s nice to have a set goal to achieve. For example, if you write a 150 word paragraph (maybe a journal entry of some sort. J) then get rid of 15 words in your 2nd draft. That doesn’t seem to difficult does it? Well, it becomes a tad bit more overwhelming when you write 5000 word essay and have to scratch a good 500 words. But, lucky for us, king is willing to hold our little hands as we cross this clustered intersection. At the end of On Writing, he gives us an example of an edited piece of writing. One cute little tip that he provides is that if you shorten a characters name, you can save at least 15 lines of text. Whoa, boy. Whodathunkit? I’m not sure why, but for some reason I really loved that tip; it gave me warm fuzzies.
Next comes the three parts of writing. I’ve always felt overwhelmed with every detail that’s necessary in good writing; but, when thinking about writing in three broad categories it seems less scary. King says that narration gets you from point A to point B. Narration is kind of like the outline of a story. Then there’s description; this factor helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. I think that description might be the most important aspect of writing because it gives the all-might sensory detail. Dialogue is what “brings characters to life through their speech.” This is what helps us get to know the characters on a personal level. As King said, why would the author drown on with tons of unnecessary description when we could learn everything we need to know through one speech? Without dialogue it would be possible for readers to believe Huck Finn was a smarty-pants school boy, when in fact he was an uneducated, ridiculous speaker that made my freshman year a living H-E-Double-hockey-sticks. So, to sum it up (why can’t I just swallow my pride and OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS?) the three major parts of writing are narration, description, and dialogue. Without these factors, you got nothing.
Next, I noticed a more broad bias. Although he didn’t follow his own rule when writing On Writing and The Stand, King believes that a first draft should take no longer then three months. To be honest, reading that part made me die a little inside, because I have never even finished a first draft of a story. I get about five pages done, and then call it quits. But, King makes a good point here; if you stretch one story out for too long, you’ll lose touch with the story, and even worse, the characters. Once your first draft is done, King says to shove it in a drawer and throw away the key! (Well, don’t actually throw away the key. That was a metaphor.) So, the first draft is in your metaphorically locked drawer, now what do you do? King suggests writing some short stories. Take a break from the long novel you’ve just finished and don’t even think about it. Then, when it’s finally time to shuffle through the trash and find the key you will be emotional ready to tackle a second draft.
I have one more bias left, so I hope you can hold on a little longer. I think the thing that King really wanted to shove in our faces is this: “write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” If I had a penny for every time he came back to this point in On Writing, then I wouldn’t be rich, but I would have about 7 pennies. When you write the first draft, it’s important to keep the door closed so there are no distractions. You need to be completely within yourself and your story. Sometimes when I’m typing something, and my mom comes in and starts talking to me, I end up typing her words. Maybe that door prevents catastrophes like this- maybe not – but I hope to find out. So, when you’re finished with the first draft I guess you’re supposed to throw the door open with dramatic effect. You are now ready to rewrite! It’s alright to rewrite with the door open, because this is the time when you want other people’s opinions.
On Writing is a great summary of my writing biases. Not that I’m trying to be a copy cat of Mr. King. But maybe I am, who knows. This paper probably doesn’t give his writing any justice but I did try to omit as many adverbs as possible, which I think he would appreciate. Seriously (adverb? Crap.) though, King’s writing biases are so strong that only a handful of people could actually disagree with him. Reading about omitting needless words, draft length rules, the three parts of writing, reading a lot, and the importance of a door will actually help me in my own writing. Usually I read these silly writing handbooks and they only make me want to word vomit even more, but Stephen King actually got through to me. Pow.

Blog Number.....Uncountable.

Well, this is probably my third blog that I've started. But I am determined to keep up iwth this one, in hopes to finish SOMETHING.

I'm not sure what to write about, so it maybe be a bit dul for a while. What do you want me to write about? After all, I'm not just writing this silly thing for myself.

I think my main goal is for people to see who I really am. I think many have an opinion of me that may not be completely correct. Maybe through my thoughts you can get to know me as a person. Maybe not, I don't know.

So, I guess I'll just begin by sharing some of my thoughts, ideas, writing, etc, whenever I can think of something to add. I have a lot of opinions on almost anything, so if you want me to post about a certain topic, I would be glad to. Just let me know.

That's all I have for now, as my Writing Lab class period 4 is about to begin. But I do hope that at least a few people will enjoy reading my blog....geez, this is pathetic :P

Lauren