This is it.

This is the cover I'm going to do. Wish me luck. The guy who did the arrangement is ahmazing!!

Comforting Sounds

It's been a long day (and it's only noon) and I needed something uplifting to cheer me up. 

Charlie Brown - Coldplay

I have been listening non-stop to their Live 2012 tour album on Spotify for a week now (along with One Direction). This is one of my favorite songs. Viva la Vida is fantastic too. I like the live version because you can hear the crowd singing along with him. It gives you goosebumps. 

I've been on a piano kick for a couple weeks and managed to go through almost eighty pages of sheet music in two weeks. I've learned everything from Pachelbel to Five for Fighting. I've got eight pieces from this album to learn this weekend. We get another four day weekend so I'll have time. I'm so excited :D
(I've been dying to learn Paradise for almost a year)

(I also want Chris's graffitied piano)  

So I'll probably go on hiatus for a couple days. I might even record myself if I think they're good enough. I've never actually done that. 

<3 Sara

Almost forgot! Question Wednesday

This Wednesday's question is: is there something you like that you used to be/still are ashamed of? Share your story with us.

Pour moi, this thing is Twilight.

As a middle school girl, I used to be obsessed with the Twilight series. Back then, with as little experience in romantic relationships as I did, to me Edward is perfect, and Bella is beautiful. At my urgent request, my mom started reading the series, and that started the Twilight Mania in the Gao household: mom had to order 3 box sets of Twilight so that my aunt, she, and I won't have to fight over one single book...

Now that I'm older and more mature, I start to realize that Edward isn't perfect, and Bella should be more than beautiful. But I want to admit that I still love the series, and would love to remain loyal to it. Because I'm a hopeless romantic, and moreover, I don't want to not be able to like something freely.

So, yes, I like Twilight, and I don't care what others think of that.

Cheers :]

Vanessa

Want something Ah-mazing?

I discovered this today...it's just epic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5yypdmj9dg&sns=tw

shows you just how much kids can achieve.

Enjoy!

Cheers :]
Vanessa

Girl, Interrupted

We're reading this book for English class, and I have to say, I LOVE it so far. I'm only thirty pages into the book, but I'm already fascinated. Personally I've always been a little obsessed with mental illnesses, since it's much more common than you'd like to think. And the book just tells the story of a "mentally ill" girl with such delicacy and accuracy that it appalls and awes me.

More detailed review to come...gotta go back to reading.

Guys...I think I'm ready for Christmas

Hi, first of all I want to announce to y'all that I'm still ALIVE! Yay! I survived my Thanksgiving alright, with spotty internet connection and an overdose of turkey and stuffing (seriously, I can't get enough of that deliciousness). But um, there's a small glitch in my Book of Survival: Last Sunday I went running, and ended up with a very twisted ankle...yeah.

Lemme tell you what actually happened. So I was running with my friend, and since she brought a phone, I figured I didn't have to (WARNING: ALWAYS BRING YOUR PHONE WHEN YOU RUN). We were about 2 miles into our run when my friend said she was not feeling well. So I told her, "Aww, go home then. Are you sure you'll be alright? Cause I was thinking of running another mile or two."

She said, "Yeah, definitely." Then, dubiously: "You know the way back, right?"

I nodded yes. Well, I did know the way back. The thing is, I didn't expect to limp 3 miles home.

Now, drumroll: I stepped on a pine cone and twisted my ankle!

Yes, get it? Pine cone? I'm so ready for christmas now. But seriously, I'm on crutches and all. Cannot wait for christmas break, when I don't have to hobble from classroom to classroom and can just sit on my rear end all day! Crutches are giving me underarm bruises...not fun not fun.

Now, picture time! This is when I went to get my X-ray at the hospital:

(I look happy, don't I? :")

I SURVIVED

After three days of turkey and pie for every meal I have escaped back to the prosaic world of school lunch (it's chicken nuggets today woot woot!). I have probably gained some mass in my lower mid-section and should probably go for a run but I won't because i'm lazy it's snowing and running laps around my living room doesn't sound quite as tantalizing as sitting on the couch with hot chocolate.

Anywaysies. Vanessa is...somewhere. I don't know (as you can tell we're quite organized here). So imma do a music monday. Vanessa. If you want to you can put some up too.

I have a confession. I'm ashamed to say that I may like One Direction. I try not to. I usually hate pop music and boy bands. But I can't help it. I'm sorry. I can't stop listening to Take Me Home (their new album). Seriously, I never gave them a chance until this weekend. And I regret (haha who am I kidding) every hour that I spent watching their video diaries. But I have to say that Over Again is fantastic (along with last First Kiss and Little Things and Heart Attack and Rock You and Kiss You and all of it). Seriously. Look it up. Enjoy it. Get Spotify if you don't have it already (seriously it's a lifesaver/moneysaver).

Time for a potential...

mini break!

I am on Thanksgiving break right now, and since the wifi service is ridiculously spotty where I am, I don't even get to check my emails unless I drive fifteen minutes to the nearest Starbucks. So yeah, it's gonna be difficult to update the blog as frequent as I used to. But I promise I will try, and if anything else, I will be back on full-time starting next Wednesday! Questions Wednesday, remember?

Cheers :]
Vanessa

On Boredom

Exactly two hours and thirteen minutes earlier, school let out. I'm now officially on Thanksgiving break for the next ten and a half days. Since I'm leaving campus with a friend of mine who happens to have still not done her laundry nor packed nor figured out where she put her christmas shopping money, I am stuck on campus with a prone-to-increase amount of unstructured free time.

More simply put: I am bored.

I spent the first thirty minutes hunting food in the cafeteria, stuffing anything my fingers can touch into my mouth. I had two bowls of soup, chatted with my friends for the longest time possible (which is, before they all got tired of watching me drink soup and left). Then I went back to my room, packed a little myself, and hung around the dorm lounge with a few fellow layabouts. 

And after that, I have nothing to do. So I find myself bored out of my mind.

Which is wrong.

I remember when I was a little kid, my dad set this house rule for me: There is no such thing as boredom. So I couldn't complain that I was bored, because there always had to be something that I could do. Looking back now, this No Boredom rule is part of the reason why I spent my long summer days reading books, or why I learned to ride a unicycle (YES! I can ride a unicycle), or why I decided to learn some Korean.

So just now, when I was sitting here, thinking about how bored I was, I remembered the No Boredom rule. And how long it's been since I last followed it. Over the years school has kept me on my toes 24/7, busy with one thing after another. So when all of a sudden there is no school and just pure good break, believe it or not, I don't know what to do! I sit here thinking I should relax, but I don't know what tv show I should watch--not even the idea of taking a nap appeals to me now! Because I just. Have. So. Much. Time!

But I can't live like this. I'm going to feel even more dispirited and less rested if I spend the next ten days of my break roaming around feeling bored. I SHALL FOLLOW THE NO BOREDOM RULE! I shall read books and go out to town and even maybe shop a little (well, a lot, on Black Friday that is). And if your break is coming up too, you should do the same. Do something productive. Get your butt off the couch and stop laying about. DO IT! You will find yourself in a much better mood if you try to be active over break--trust me. This is the advice from someone who used to not know boredom (and is trying to re-unknow it now).

Happy Thanksgiving break everybody!

xx

Vanessa

Things to achieve in life:

1. Play piano like an epic mixture of Chris Martin and Yiruma.
2. Write with the imagination of J.K. Rowling, the humor of John Green, and the force J.R.R. Tolkien.
3. Sing like Florence Welch.
4. Go white water rafting.
5. Use the adjectival version of the word of pedofile at least once.

Go!

Music Companion to TFioS

Something to read the Fault in Our Stars to:
http://8tracks.com/ness428/omnis-cellula-e-cellula

(Sara this is especially for you.)

xx
Vanessa

Question Wednesday

I know...Question Wednesday doesn't sound "rhyme-y" in any way...but soon we'll have Music Monday and Tights Tuesday (hopefully...? I'll explain more come next Monday and Tuesday.)

Anywaysies! Today, my question for you all to ponder is:

Why do you think some friendships eventually fall out?

Take a minute and think about it. When was the last time you talked to your friends from middle school? When was the last time you ran into your buddy from elementary school, or kindergarten? I know sometimes people change and relationships just no longer hold.

But some other times, it's because of personal reasons that these friendships cease to exist. 

Maybe if you took the time to say happy birthday to a friend, or congratulate him/her on an accomplishment, or maybe even a text saying hi, can change things. It is, in my opinion, ultimately neglect that wear out friendships. Sometimes it's not that you don't want to care, it's just that you're so...busy.

But not really.

Ask yourself: am I really that busy? So busy that I can't take a second to remember one of my old friends? The laughter we laughed together, the ice cream cones we shared on a sunburnt street, the snowball fights we had on those white Christmases...

Do you miss them now? Your friends? So text them. Call them. Even just post "I miss you" on their facebook walls--only if you truly and wholly mean it.

***

So that was that. What's your answer to the question? As always, I would love to hear what you think.

xx

Vanessa

i'm smiling uncontrollably while reading TFioS...and people are starting to stare.

stop it augustus waters. stop it.

the Age of Miracles (poem inspired by The Fault in Our Stars)

**SPOILER ALERT** anyone (cough cough, Sara) who wishes to read the book the Fault in Our Stars unspoiled is strongly advised not to read the poem below.

That said, the daring ones out there, here ya go.

The Age of Miracles

I knew that it wouldn’t last

A star       burning too bright from the start

A father’s staccato sobs    poising in the     dark

                 

               Breathing seems so easy to do

                                       Until it’s not anymore

No. Oxygen.

                   The holes in my lungs, 

            I know you hear them, too.

                               So why do we      try?

              Confetti drizzled    from           the sky

    The water lapped,     choirs sang

           Together we poured and tasted       the stars

Love.

Is it a shout into the void?

                                        Maybe. 

       Infinities piled upon infinities

           You smiled.

                                                     Even the brightest light couldn’t save your

                                        Vanishing act 

The end.

         I dropped a popsicle stick      on the    ground one day

And watched it    buried

                   By   kingdoms   of ants

                                  In the   Literal   Heart   of Jesus

                                                          We are just as small.    As    weak.

      There is nothing like a    firework    show

         When you’re sick

                         And ice cream is the  only    kind   thing 

In the whole world.

…

  I love you.          (present tense)

My life is a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend.

*** I intend to write this into a song someday :]

I just improved my ACT score!!!

But I sucked in the science portion...

So it makes me wonder what I could have gotten if I would have done better in science...

But still. I'm happy. (as made obvious by the gifs...sorry)

Things to ponder...

As you probably know, I've just begun reading The Fault In Our Stars. I'm on page four. And it's already fantastic. 

"Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. (Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really.)"

That is the most touching, deep, and meaningful thought that I've read in a long time. It gets me thinking. As humans, in fact, as living things, we fear death. We try to avoid it (usually). But when you think about it, everything you do, everyday you wake up is one step closer to death. Now I understand I'm being all depressing, but I swear I have a point. While, yes, every day you are closer to death and that's a saddening thought, every day is also another day of life. Another day to enjoy the world. 

If everything is a side effect of dying, then that fantastic night at the movies you had with your crush was a side effect of dying. The time you spent laughing with your best friend until neither one of you could breathe was a side effect of dying. Your graduation, your marriage, your children. They are all a side effect of dying. 

Life is a side effect of dying.

It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's mixture of good things and bad things. The good things don't always make the bad things better, but then again, the bad things don't always spoil the good things or make them unimportant. It's a journey, a great adventure that we must experience to reach our goal. The great parts of the story are the moments leading to the ending. 

The side effects of dying. 

things you should all experience.

This mix on 8tracks made by Vanessa. 
I'm sitting in my room listening to it right now. It's making me cry (or maybe it's the 78% I just got on my medical terminology test). It's fantastic and touching. 
Reason number 37 why I'm glad I met this wonderful person :p
<3

Oppa Gangnam Style!

Drumroll... the much anticipated Youtube video of me and my friends dancing Gangnam style at my school's pep rally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXoVGGSSWM&feature=plcp

The greatest thanks go to my friend Julia, who filmed this for us. Thank you, Julia!

To Lacey, From Gabriel

9:05 PM

Dear Lacey,

Tonight, the moon is        so shy

       Concealing you                    from the light.

10:39 PM

But              I don’t   need       my        sight

10:42 PM

To see you

                                               Your portrait   crystalline       on my mind.

11:31 PM

Your teeth          are little white squares

                                                  Dainty, dewdrops laughing like bells

                                                                                             Silver

          Hmm…and I will never forget

11:32 PM

                                                      The way your fingers touch     mine

                                             Tender,        strong

(Like the     bounces      of guitar   strings!)

            Intertwined.

12:50 AM

       You always wear those

                                      Oxfords with white bows, complaining to me that

                 They’re one size too small

  Strands of brown hair fell out of your braid

1:17 AM

                                                          Remember the squeaky sound

       the swing set on the playground  used to        make?

1:25 AM

   I miss your white legs 

                           Dangling from that bright yellow 

                                                                          Plastic seat

And your teeth. They were little white squares, I swear. 

They were.

2:48 AM

         Hide and seek,

But never found…

2:56 AM

Lacey, I think the typewriter is making too much noise.

It’s the most beautiful

                              Birthday present I have ever gotten

But I’m afraid it’ll wake my parents.

3:20 AM

Lacey,                        life sucks right now, 

And I miss you.

4:11 AM

If I knew that was the last time you climbed the    lighthouse

                              To watch   stars    with me

I would have never shifted my eyes

                                          They would’ve stayed

                                                                              On you, my eyes

                                                                              On you

4:46 AM

When the            streetlight     finally went            out

                  My   room is 

                                       hazy, my    fingers   are made of             fog

For a second I thought I heard

                              Your footsteps,           your too-small oxford shoes

             Your white knuckles        knocking on the door.

Ghost of my head.

5:25 AM

I’m losing sleep

The way you lose hair―by the fistfuls!

5:29 AM

                       So I trace the orbit of the moon,

And catch your eyelashes on my skin.

5:32 AM

Hey Lacey, what happened?

5:33 AM

Did you cry before you did it?

Did it hurt?

5:34 AM

Did you think about me, for a wisp of a 

Second?

5:38 AM

Is it nice up there?

5:41 AM

And Lacey, will you come visit me some day?

6:22 AM

               I can’t take this anymore, it’s all bullshit.

                                                                   Please come back. 

I’m sorry.

6:33 AM

                                    Lacey, do you believe we will meet again?

    Because I do.

Love,

Gabriel

I do.

*******

So this is a poem I wrote. 

On a more uplifting note...

This just came. Yeah. I'm excited too.

Final Act

Yesterday evening was my final performance on my home stage. I've been in drama since I was a freshman. It's been...everything to me. I have two more performances left, but last night was really it. My last time on that stage. It went brilliantly. I don't think I've ever acted with that much heart in my life, nor will I probably ever again. When we finished, my coach came on stage and did her speech that she gives every year to the seniors. She thanks them for all the time they put in, etc...but this time was different. She didn't finish it, she couldn't. She was crying. And at that moment I realized just how much I was going to miss this school. It's gone far too quickly.

since Sara just posted a video...

Tomorrow is my school's spirit day, and all the sports teams are competing against our rival school, Blair Academy. So...tonight we had an extremely loud and crazy pep rally... and my friends and I danced to Gangnam style....

Here's the Psy original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Will upload a video of OUR version soon! Stay tuned.

I just thought I'd let ya'll experience this.

This is the official song of my volleyball team...we listen to it way more than is probably healthy. And the video is...something. 
I'm so sorry.

My Weird Obsession (besides books)

So...now that you've realized my weird obsession with anything literary, I should probably clue you in on something else that peaks my interest. 

Quantum Mechanics. Yes, I know. But I love it. I watch documentaries on it, I read all the news. I sit in Chemistry class after the bell rings and I discus it with my science teacher. I'm a full blown nerd when it comes to this stuff. The fact that light is both a particle and a wave...at the same time. Yeah. 

Like this.
I literally died from excitement...but seriously. I quantum computer. THIS IS FANTASTIC. 
I'm sorry. I just had to share my excitement. Don't feel obligated to read the article ;)

Question of the Day

Hello thar!

Seems to be a whole lot has happened in the past 24 hours: President Obama gave an inspirational speech after winning the elections (which I dutifully watched at 1:40A.M. and shed some tears to), a snow(storm?) hit New Jersey and made afternoon sports practices very interesting for us students, and yes, it's Question Wednesday!

Wait what? You said what's Question Wednesday?

Well, it's the day when I will give you a question to think about! (And I will share my answer with you.)

So...drumroll...today's question is: what's one of your non-political deep beliefs? (hint hint: Obama or Romney or the like doesn't count.)

Oh and, it doesn't have to be something fantastically heroic, or phenomenally grand, in case you're wracking your brain for a super answer. That said, here goes my answer:

I believe that the only thing in life that you have to do is die. That doesn't mean you aren't attached to responsibilities and obligations. In fact, it means the opposite. It means you should honor them. You should treat your responsibilities and obligations with respect and view it as a tribute to life. At least you're alive. So live.


***Okay, maybe it doesn't make a lot of sense....I hope you guys understood what I mean....

Obsession

"Life is nothing if you're not obsessed." 

-John Waters

Sometimes people don't understand why I spend so much time reading books. They don't understand why I research the settings and motifs behind the plot. But that's what makes it so great. Being completely and sincerely obsessed with the characters. Books are nothing unless you are invested in the  plot. That's what I love about books. You have the privilege of creating a world all your own. Yes, the author creates a landscape for you, but it's up to the reader to fill in the details. To add color to the black and white page in front of them. 

my friend's poem

So I'm taking this creative writing poetry class at school right now, and we were workshopping today. My friend was reading her poem, and this one line just really got me. I thought I'd share with you guys:

"Sometimes I think my life is a blur of 'have a nice day' shopping bags and those Godawful, blue 'we are happy to serve you' coffee cups."

The line just really hit me, because I feel like sometimes we ought to pay more attention to life. A lot of us are too focused on the paper that's due tomorrow, the grocery run we gotta make, or the package we gotta get to the post office. Such trivia eventually distracts us from the realness of life, and we are too often lost in our busy routines. When we're looking back, all we see is a stream of Unnecessary, and Doesn't Matter.

Point is: go out there and live. Really experience things. Talk to people. Read books. Learn things. Don't make your life a blur of "have a 'have a nice day' shopping bags and those Godawful, blue 'we are happy to serve you' coffee cups."

An Introduction

Welcome. Welcome. (said in Effie's Capitol accent) You've stumbled upon something you may not understand. But that's okay. Embrace the madness and you'll be just fine. 

As you've probably already noticed, there are two admins on this blog. Vanessa and myself. We are both copiously in love with books, as you'll soon come to see. We love the same music and the same movies. There are points in time when I believe we may have been separated at birth. The only issue is that I live in Nebraska (yes, I know) and she lives on the coast. So how did we meet do you ask? We bonded over the most wonderful thing one could ever bond over. Books. We are both aspiring writers (her more than myself) and we met on the website Wattpad. It's hard to describe our friendship as anything less than fantastic. And slightly unconventional. 

You'll learn more about us as we go. 

Like Vanessa already explained. This is a blog where we'll share things that inspire us and hopefully inspire others. 

Enjoy :)

Post #1 （cuz I can't think of a better title)

Hi y'all, I'm still in a TFioS (aka the Fault in Our Stars; if you haven't read that book, GO DO IT NOW!) coma, but I decided to start a blog about life appreciation. I will try very hard to (which means, if I remember) share at least one thing about this world. It could be a thing that I'm grateful for (like the awesome Chinese people some 4,000 years ago, who invented ice cream), or a thing that has made me laugh today (like this quote on shutupimtalking.com, "They say the worst pain is getting your heart broken. Try stepping on a lego."), or a thing that has made me cry (like the mention of Augustus Waters), and so on.

Aight, I believe that is all I have to say today. Sit tight and I'll see you all tomorrow (with more awesome posts)! To the people in New Jersey and New York and all the places that something called Sandy kind of screwed around in, stay safe and be well.

xx

Vanessa