When There's Nothing to Say

I must confess that there are about a million other things I should be doing, which mostly involves studying for my final exams. However, I still have three days to review. Without much motivation to actually study, I've decided the best course of action is to blog. Can you tell I watched Star Trek again today? Spock's speak patterns are quite easy to pick up. Thankfully I'll never be a Vulcan because I have far too many emotions for that.

I'm slated to take the SAT II exams next Saturday, which is going to be a hot mess. I haven't seen a good deal of the material on the Math I exam in years, and I didn't take AP English Literature. Hence, taking the Literature practice tests have destroyed what little confidence I had on either. Whoever said the math exam was easy is a liar. Unfortunately, I did some practice exams online for US history and probably should have signed up for that. I'm not certain why, but I have the magnificent ability to guess and make up my way through history. Thanks, AP European History. You taught me something!

School has reached a point in which no one wants to do anything, yet we're all supposed to be doing something. A breaking point of sorts, I suppose. I have two days off in between review day (Monday) and my first exam (Maths, Thursday), so I'm hoping to have fun doing things in addition to studying.

There's nothing for me to say today, really. In the spirit of literature... here's a terrible poem.


I cannot remember when the sky turned black,
Nor when the lights from far away turned on,
All I know is the knowledge that I lack,
And the time once possessed is forever gone.
Someday memories of today will fade,
Into a tapestry of forgotten hopes and dreams,
Coloured with the finest hues of every shade,
Bleached together with warm sweet sunbeams,
Yet now pressing matters fill my days,
With nonsense produced by assumptions rash,
If only those could do what they may,
Rather than strike with verbal lash,
Then peaceful silence could we simply lay,
Dreaming of simpler dreams once our lives.

Reality

Since I was a little girl, I've always been a dreamer. Part of this comes from living in a small town in which we had to know the colour of our prom dresses, what shape our wedding dresses would be, a rough outline of who we'd marry, and where we'd like to live some day. Naturally, I was going to wear a giant pink prom dress, have an even bigger wedding dress, marry someone who would treat me like a princess, and live somewhere with a garden.

Living in Singapore has changed my dreams significantly. First of all, I've been to prom twice. Neither times involved a massive poofy pink dress. Then, I don't intend to get married for a while (though I really don't want to be in my thirties like the modern trends....), and I still don't know what I want to wear for my wedding. Now, in terms of who I want to marry- still don't know. Though, I do know that he's going to have to like cute things around the house. In terms of where I want to live- not the USA, at least right now. There's so many problems with the conservative US government that I fear my rights as a woman are dwindling quickly. No thanks. 

Now, the problem with dreams is that they are hard to wake up from. Waking up is like falling out of the clouds and smashing your face on concrete. It hurts a lot, things are messy, and perspective changes. I don't know what's going to happen to my dreams, but they aren't necessarily going to come true. What I have learned recently, however, is that reality does not lie.

What you see is what you get. 

Get in the Vienna Spirit

I'm a strange individual, that's for sure. I'm writing my research paper for AP European history, and I'm enjoying it.

History used to be an interest, but has become a passion. While I could care less about dates, I love learning about how one idea influenced another and how things changed over time. I must confess, though, I'm not a fan of politics. Rather, I love the social changes over time. Why, in the late eighteenth century, was propaganda of the French queen with bare breasts considered scandalous but not pornographic? How did society's view of warfare transform, and how much of it was due to technology (read: everything)? Social questions that cannot be answered in a straightforward manner are great fun.

Anyways, I'm writing about Maria Theresa and her two children Joseph II and Marie Antoinette. And it's dead fascinating. I suppose it's safe to say I don't modern celebrity gossip- just gossip from three hundred years ago!

Here's some funny facts about Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Marie Antoinette:

• Maria Theresa was nearly always pregnant from her marriage to her husband's death in 1765, and had  16 children
• During childbirth, she was known to read state papers, throwing them aside when things got too intense
• She also got a rotten tooth pulled during Maria Antonia's (Marie Antoinette's) birth
• Joseph II hated the Catholic Church
• An instant way to start an argument with his Catholic mother was bringing up religious toleration
• He also angered the nobles in his kingdom so much he had to take a bunch of reforms he had implemented back
• Marie Antoinette didn't consumate her marriage for 7 years
• ... enough said. Yes, I had to put this in my research paper, as it became quite the political issue that she wasn't bearing an heir

To get in the mood for the eighteenth century, I've been listening to Baroque music. Not certain if I like it yet. 

Seventeen

Well, I'm seventeen now!

My birthday was a pretty cool day. Nick made me red velvet cupcakes with amazing cream cheese frosting, which was certainly the highlight of the day. Then there was the issue of studying for the AP exam, which generally turned me into a stressed-out mess.

It was a pretty anti-climatic day today. I took my AP European History exam today, which means I'm finally FREE of the misery naturally associated with 650 years of 11 different countries' history or something like that. Though I must say, my area of specialisation really turned out to be the Enlightenment era. I just sort of get how the ideas work and whatnot. Maybe I was supposed to be born  in the time period.

Oh, my gym class might have a final. This is because my darned gym teacher loves to talk a lot during class so we can't get our presentations done. Needless to say, this irritates me greatly.


Random Things:

• The exam room was freezing. I was cold in a sweater. 
• The exam's questions were annoying. 
• I can't say much more about the exam than that
• Cupcakes are yummy
• This darn story I'm writing for English is taking forever

Sorry for the short post.
I'm tired, school is almost over, my friends are leaving soon, and I don't want to do anything.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day in sunny Singapore, and I feel like writing a post about my mother that can end with a totally unrelated but very cute video that will hopefully make my mother laugh when she reads this post. Anyways....


My mom is a really cool woman, even if she embarrasses me sometimes. She'll dance to any music with a beat from horrifically bad rap to Gymboree children's songs and everything in between. She also likes flowers and plants and stuff and keeps the plants in my room alive even though they were probably doomed to die the second they got put in my room. Not entirely certain how she's so good with plants, but it's pretty neat. She makes really good mashed potatoes (though she whips them instead of mashes them), stew, and generally everything.

My mom is also a good listener and really fun to talk to. It doesn't matter if she knows the topic extensively or if I have to fill her in as we go along (hello, European history), but she's interesting to listen to as well. She's got a lot of patience for everything and everyone, even people who drive her crazy like the new manager lady.

Mom is also willing to go the extra mile for her friends. Though I personally have no idea why she bothers sometimes, my mom is always willing to help out her friends, or find someone to help them out for her if she really can't. It's something I admire, and something I should probably start doing.

So at the end of the day, I really love and appreciate my mother. I just hope she keeps staying this cool and never gets one of those God-awful old-lady haircuts. Or another mushroom cut, but that's another story.

Love you Mom! I know you'll read this in 20 minutes or so, because you follow this thing religiously!

Now, have a funny video. My mom likes cheese, but I don't know if she likes it as much as MyHarto.

So Busy~

Wow, it seems like everything has been coming at me all at once. School, exam pressure, drama and general chaos seems to keep me from writing. Actually, I'm writing a short story for Science Fiction class. If I get a good grade on it, I'll put a link up to it on here. It's not the most original story, but it's conceptually not that difficult so I can make it quirky.

I don't want to do my homework. Classes that teach how to take an exam are pointless and do nothing to prepare anyone for the future. That is, unless the future is formulaic ways to get through life. If that's life, then I'll throw in the towel now.

Anyways, I'm almost seventeen! I feel the need to keep reminding everyone of this. It's kind of funny because my friend Marianna is a month younger than me but a foot taller. I have decided this balances everything out, though I think she disagrees.

It's funny to have a friend that's physically the total opposite from you. Marianna is super tall, while I am short. She's got really think hair, but mine's longer. Her eyes are pretty, big and blue while mine are all Asian looking. We have decided that if we could combine some of our features and equalize the height out, we'd make a really good-looking girl.

MAY!

May is the very best, and absolute worst, season every year. Mostly the best season.

In the US, May is pollen month. I spend the whole month sneezing and coughing with red eyes and a runny nose. Here in Singapore, it's hotter-and-more-humid-than-usual month. Not certain why it's so hot and steamy, but that's May. Apparently it snowed yesterday in the Midwestern USA. When I turned 6, it snowed the morning of my birthday party. I suppose May is a little unpredictable, like me.

May is also the very best month because it's my birthday month! My birthday is halfway through the month, and though I'm sure I've mentioned it somewhere on this blog, I'm not going to today. Regardless, I'm turning the same age as the title of the ever-popular Seventeen Magazine, which is pretty cool because now I can "officially" read it.

I'm also getting inducted into Thespian Honor's Society, which is pretty interesting because I always assumed I would be a dance honoree rather than a Thespian. Considering I'm going to try next year to act, dance and tech as well as take 4 APs, maybe I need these Honor Societies to get me into a US college.

The best part about this whole Honor Society thing is getting to be out of uniform and a little dressed up tomorrow. I'm wearing a 50's inspired dress I got in the cold streets of London in February that's black and white, with little heels. I'm also sitting around writing this in pin curls, hoping for some volume in the morning. This could be very interesting... I hope it looks nice in the end.


Here's to MAY!