Okay, so. Back in Tianjin. Plane trip was delayed for an hour and a half, but otherwise was surprising not as shitty as usual. Summer camp is over, and now I'm just waiting for my parents to quit trying to kill each other via phone decide on a date and book a plane ticket back to the US.

Also have been spazzing a lot to my friends IF MY BLOODY STANDARDIZED TESTS HAVE ARRIVED YET. I mean seriously knowing if one totally bombed a test is, amazingly, something actually important. But apparently they haven't arrived yet, which is weird, because it's halfway through August, yeah?

Soon as I get back I'm going to scan some of the pics I drew over the summer. Or maybe color them first before I scar anyone's retinas. Yeah, 'cause then they'll be rainbow-colored crap.

Obligatory self-derogative artist comments aside, I have been getting better. Proportion is something I've improved on and am still improving. Expressions are a bitch though.

So, when I was still in Shanghai I went to the mall's bookstore and picked up three books. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and Stories by O. Henry. Started the O. Henry, was once again pleasantly surprised that not all classics are, in fact, deathly boring. The guy's a genius with words, I swear.

Besides, everyone knows O. Henry. Everyone knows The Gift of the Magi, and I am not being presumptuous, because it's true, yeah? You might not recognize the title, but you definitely have heard/read/absorbed though osmosis the story before.

(Scary thing is, on the bus ride there one of my friends remarked on the story. All three of us knew it, but none of us new the title or the author. Or that it was even a classic for that matter.)

Done for now~

Awwight, so, anyway, I'm in Shanghai, China now.
Err yeah I might want to start at the beginning.
So. Left around June 7th. Reasons are confusing and not clear, but oh well I am not going to disclose them. Went to my grandparents in Tian Jing, and oh boy, awkwardness abound! Sweltering hot, and the AC didn't work well either. And I'm pretty sure that Gramps didn't really want us there, disrupting his precious TV time. Which is all he does, just so you know.
Two weeks into deathly boredom, we got booted to Shanghai to attend a summer boarding school to learn Chinese.
It's better than it sounds. Really. A lot better.
For one, the dorms are huge. There's a living room, and then my room (who I share with a roomie, moar details later) connects to it on the right. There's another room and a bathroom connected to it on the left. 
Did I neglect to mention that our room is the only one with ice water and the biggest room? Yeah. Pretty awesome, Y/Y?
Roomie: is sixteen, Italian, and an awesome artist. Her name's Anna. 
There are are bunch of bratty/cute/temptingly strangle-able little kids running around here too. There's only one girl near my age, and she's leaving tomorrow. She (Christie) has awesome music taste, and looks freakishly familiar to someone back at California. Who has a friend named Christie too. Ahahaha, total coincidence, I swear. 
But OH GOD the food here, it is disgusting. Typical bad-quality Chinese: so much oil and salt that it covers up the original flavor of the food. Pretty gross. But my survival technique is to load up on snacks: Pineapple cakes (Oh God, if you have never had one, you are one Deprived Child) and various other junk food. But not chips. Chips are gross here. Meat flavored, sheesh do these Chinese have no taste at all. 
Everything's cheap here. I bought a Guns 'N Roses CD here for 35 RMB. In American currency that would be, uh, about five bucks. 
But not clothes, not clothes. So freaking expensive! Actually, they would probably be the same as American prices, but for China, that's expensive. I come to China expecting to spend less, dammit, not the same!
And the eclipse. 
Oh, the eclipse. 
So, this one day, there's a full solar eclipse. Coincidentally, where I am now is a very good viewing spot for this said eclipse, which only comes around, oh, once every 500 years. And it's been sunny and clear and sweltering hot for the past three days.
Picture this: a  poor, naive girl gets her hopes up, expecting this eclipse to be awesome and supernatural and apocalyptic-like. The moon is supposed to cover the moon, bit by bit, like the Chinese myth of a dog eating the sun. The last crescent of light fades from view and the Earth is shrouded in darkness at 9:43 in the morning, screwing up many people's internal clocks and freaking out any poor saps who were living under a rock and not informed of the eclipse.
So. I wake up. Look out the window. And realize, with shock and righteous indignation, that today has the audacity to be cloudy. So, yeah. No eclipse. Just a minute or so of darkness, but no seeing the cool glowing sun getting covered. Wtf, man, wtf.

Moar update later. 

Spreadin' the Love: sarahtales.livejournal.com/148663.html#cutid1 A little short story that's in her novel's The Demon's Lexicon world. Eep, that sentence is awkward! Awkward sentence!

 Argghh, I still can not get over American Idol. Gosh, even Time agrees that Adam has true talent (Seriously. They did a small article on him.)!

Er. Anyway, finished Books 51 and 52

The Light Fantastic by Terry Prachett:

Need I expound more on the complete and total awesomeness of he who is Terry Prachett (I swear to God, I'm going to name my first born Terry. Unisex name! I have already dork-ishly named my iPod Terry)? Anyway, Light Fantastic starts kind of slow, sort of meandering. I had to go back and puzzle out some of the British slang ("Whut? Silly American girl, she is ignorant!"), but that's part of the charm. However, dispite the slightly disappointing beginning, the ending is awesome. Unlike Colour of Magic, the prequel, there is a complete plot in LF. I felt like it wasn't just an easy-to-read funny book; this was a hilarious fantasy! Wow. He definitely improved. 

On Amazon, I've heard some people say that Rincewind was a boring character. What. No. Way. I am willing to throw down; Rincewind is one of favorite characters (Okay, okay, I haven't read any of Terry Pratchett's books that don't feature him; maybe I'm a little biased). His typical cowardice and habit of running away is just so refreshing from the archetype Brave!Brash!Hero! protagonist you usually get in books. I do a little dance every time Rincewind runs away from problems. And Twoflower's cool too. I'm going to miss the oblivious idiot. 

Storm Front (#1 of The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher:

Very good for a debut novel. It met my expectations, but didn't exceed them, however. Harry Dresden, the protagonist, is a likable character, but, frankly, I don't really like his "Ladies first" debonair attitude when it comes to woman. A promising novel, but it's not something I haven't seen before. So, should I continue his series, or not? If you've read them, what is your favorite of them all? And, is it necessary to read them in order?

Argh. It's getting late (or at least for me - I treasure sleep a lot and staying up late disagrees with me). I'll squee about American Gods and San Francisco tomorrow. Er. Maybe. 

A question: What's one of your favorite TV series? Reason why? And, in your opinion, what was the best movie of '08?

 So, who watched Idol yesterday? I still can't believe Kris won!  I was sure Adam was going to win. He was just so . . .  so different, you know? All the past idols, yeah they were nice people singing nice songs nicely, but it wasn't anything new. And then Adam comes up with his screaming and self-confidence and eyeliner and pictures of him kissing guys. So different. So new. So (yes, this is true too) weird. Poor guy, I was sure he was going to win. Pretty sure he thought so too. 

Whatever. Congrats to Kris. 

(Haha I still can't believe they got Queen on the stage, that was frickin awesome! The Santana part was pretty cool too.)

Oh yeah, anyone else watch the preview of Glee Tuesday? It's looks pretty promising; can't wait until they began airing it in fall. Love the fact they used Journey though. That was sheer awesome.

Update on 100 Books:

Finished Good Omens, Book of Three, Zorro, and The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume 1.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Review:

What have I to say about it? Well. It's hilarious. The characters are adorable. And it was completely different than what I had expected. When I picked it up, I thought, Hey well this looks funny. It'll be good for some laughs. But it was different. It was thoughtful at times. Unexpectedly deep. I guess any book about to apocalypse has to be, I just didn't expect it in this one. 

The characters are just so damn cool. Everyone of Pratchett's characters are likeable in Discworld, and it's no different in Good Omens (Neil too! He's awesome too!). Crowley, a demon that not so much fell from heaven but more like he vaguely sauntered downwards. Aziraphale, the angel. Part-time rare book dealer, don't forget about that. And, of course, Adam, the Anti-Christ. Don't forget the four horsemen - er, bikers, really - and DEATH. 

I love it. Love the damn thing. 'Course the British slang is hard to decipher and me and my clueless American culture are busy wondering what these black scribbles mean. But, y'know, you take what you get. And, anyways, if they Americanized Good Omens (apart from the spellings) I'd be pissed. 

Read it. Read it, dammit. Srsly. 

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander:

I just totally misjudged this book. I heard the author won two Newberys (one honor, one medal) I immediately ordered this book. It came, and I took one glance at the cover and went oh crap. It looked like a children's book. And it was, as I found out after the first chapter. 

I'd be a really good book for a kid aged 6-10, but as a teen, I just wish I could have my money back. 

Zorro by Isabel Allende:

You just have to love a guy dressed up in black that's a master at the sword, you know? Zorro is the other side of Diego a la Vega that fights for justice. He's hot-headed, brash, and also pretty damn funny. Diego also knows how to cheat at cards, and that's always a plus. 

At first I bought the book because I had read one of Allende's books for young adults, City of Beasts, and completely devoured it. I first read it when I was in third grade and I'm still rereading it now. For the tenth time, not that I counted. Zorro did not disappoint. Now, I want to watch the movies, dammit!

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 by Diana Wynne Jones:

Ah, it's been a while since I've read anything by Diana. I saw Chronicles at the Half-Price Bookstore (that's what heaven looks like, BTW) and whisked it up (It was only three dollars! Come on, who can resist a bargain like that?). It's so damn wonderful! Argh. Anyways, there are lisping mermaids in that that book. Yeah. You know something's awesome when it has lisping mermaids.

Okay, now I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Well, not so much reading as putting it aside for Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss. I first read it when I was real young. I didn't understand any of it, only that it had a panda on the cover. With good reason too: Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is my favorite book about punctuation, ever. She's my role model, srsly (Haha, okay that's stretching it a little). And it's so funny too! I start to laugh at some points, and then I realize I'm laughing about a a joke in a punctuation book, and I realize how lame I am, and then it's like Oh who cares this book's awesome. 

Argh. Okay I'm going to stop typing now, my fingers are falling off. 

 There is a book sale in Albany on the 16th. Unfortunately, I don't think my mom is willing to drive for an hour to buy some books. How depressing. I totally would! I mean, I got The Da Vinci Code, hardcover, for a quarter (Yes, 25 cents) at one of these book sales. They're awesome. The ones in my area only occur four times a year, and the next one is in July. Oh, the agony!

And now for something completely different (Yes I just shamelessly ripped off Monty Python)! Oh my GOD I just finished watching Meet the Spartans, unrated version. I was torn between screaming and running away and laughing while rolling around on the floor. In the end I compromised: Jumping up and down, rolling on the couch, and laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants. It's so profane it's funny. And you know what's even more ironic? A pair of my mom's Christian friends suggested it to us and LET US BORROW THEIR COPY. I must thank them profusely next time I see them. 

If you like parodies, watch this movie. It ridicules everything in American pop culture and spoofs a lot of recent (ish) movies. Here are a couple of things in it: A battle turns into a dance-off, Ugly Betty stars as an Oracle, and men greet men with open mouth kisses. (The last part had me in hysterics)

Okay, so I finished book 43, Blink. Really awesome. Parts of it made me want to go up to random bystanders on the bus and say, "Do you see this? Can you believe it? This totally awesome author mentioned this in his novel!" At that point the hapless Bystander would give me a cautious Look and inch away. Blink is a nonfiction book about the unconscious (No, not Freud's version) and psychology. 

And now onto Book 44, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. If you have not heard of Agatha Christie, I will murder you with a paperback. Hello? Most widely sold author ever (After Shakespeare and the Bible, duh)? Ring a bell?

Ahahaha, now I must flee. FLEE I SAY. (And to [un]patiently stare at the screen and wait for chapter 95 of FMA to come out. Come on, Arakawa!)

Ah, yes, cooking . . . love doing it. It's fun. When things don't get set on fire of course. I can't remember the last time I did it though; does making a sandwich count?

 Ack, I finally finished Crime and Punishment! Or also known as, book number 41 of the year. Hm, I'd have to say it's one of the better classics I've read (not that I've read many). Fyodor Dostoevsky actually makes his novel interesting! 

(Spoilers Below)

The People: I didn't like any of them. Not at all. I was, however, intrigued. Raskolnikov's crazy mind and thought process was like some sort of strange extraterrestrial alien foodstuff. Interesting to look at, not safe to stare at it too long. I didn't think there was at all a clear personality in any of his characters. The one I like the most would probably be . . . Luzhin? But I'm liking him for the entirely wrong reasons; he offs himself in an entirely dramatic way that I was grinning over. Loved that scene.

The Plot: Okay, the first hundred pages, great, Rodya (Also Raskolnikov) kills the old woman, steals her stuff . . . and then goes crazy. It's a little hard to follow (I made notes! I had to pause and wonder What The Hell Was Going On!), but the way he acts is perfectly reasonable (It's ironic since he's anything but) for someone who murdered someone to test out a theory, which turned out to be wrong. The theory itself is chilling, that there is a "superior" humankind that can kill and there is the "ordinary." Really well-written. 

The Prose: Is  a little thick and hard to get through, sort of like wading through syrup, but some of Dostoevsky's descriptions are simply genius. For me, I had to push myself to finish this book. I had bought another Agatha Christe (The Murder of Roger Ackyroyd) halfway through the book, and it was my incentive to finish C&P. And the fact that one of my high school friends couldn't finish it, and wouldn't it be humiliating cool interesting if a thirteen-year old could?

(Okay, no more Spoilers, Safe to look)

Still, even with my competitive nature and Christie to egg me on, it took me five days to finish it. What a book! Still, I plan on reading more of his books. Maybe after a couple months of recuperation and Terry Pratchett, that is. 

As a little cooling down after C&P I devoured my long-time untouched The Darwin Awards. Hilarious, pathetic, and offending. Finished in one setting, book number 42 done! Fifty eight more to go!

And now I'm on to book 43: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I planned to read when I was at China but it just got buried. Just finished the first chapter, looks very promising!

Ta.

Something like a superflu is unlikely. There have been many epidemics before (The Black Death, the 1918 Spanish Flu, for example) that have killed millions but never all. Swine flu would be more likely than a huge meteor destroying the Earth, though. The probability of such an event is ridiculous. Global warming is a real threat, but I don't think it spells the end of the world for us. Yes, we would be in a big mess and California might be submerged underwater but it wouldn't be the Armeggedon. Personally I don't think it really matters how we all die, as long as we are prepared.  

 I was going to go to church (my mom is religious, not me) today, but the car sort of broke down before we even got on the highway. What luck. 

Oh yes. Now I have to go to my friend's birthday party soon-ish. She lives pretty close so I'm actually going to walk there. In the middle of the day. 

My mom insisted on bringing some Chinese snacks . . . I protested strongly. 

MOM: Hey, do you think they'll enjoy this? -Holds up some sort of jellied fruit-

ME: . . . It looks like congealed blood.

I was panicking wondering what kind of present to get her, when bam! I realized I could just burn a CD. On the plus side, it cost me no money. Haha. And I reused a bag and made a card so I spent zero dollars in all! Ahahaha! 

Most of my friends are going to be there. Nothing to worry about, just my friends I haven't seen in, Oh, a half a year or so. Nothing to be nervous about.

She (the party host) said that we were going to watch 17 Again. I hope she's not serious. Because, really, I don't want to watch a film with hormonal teenagers sighing over Zach Efron. Uck. It is not enjoyable listening to Fangirl Squee. He's not even that hot. Pbt.

And she is supposed to supply a late lunch. I hope it's not pizza. I really don't want pizza. But it's a party and pizza is practically mandatory so it's probably going to be pizza all my hopes are crushed.


Now I must fangirl over Hetalia doujinshi. Ta.


-Psunym

The Princess Bride by William Goldman. It's a humorous story that acts both as a novel and a lesson about life. The prose is easy to read, the characters endearing, and the author's notes contain a special message. It's really a wonderful book. It has everything you could want in it: fighting, fencing, poison, bad guys, good guys, a prince, a princess, and a Mysterious Man in Black. Because of the romantic notes the books leans toward the female audience a little more, but anyone can read it. Beware the author's notes though, because There Be Spoilers. 

I have just came back from China last wednesday, April 15th. Just in time for standardized tests. What a coincidence, eh? Well, it's good to be back at any rate. 
It was also my birthday April 18th. I woke up that morning, ate a bagel, and was surfing the web in my pyjamas, when my mom tapped me on the shoulder and told me it was my birthday. I had completely forgotten it, to my chagrin. 
And I only asked for presents today. It went like this:

ME: Hey mom, speaking of birthdays, like mine, I haven't gotten any presents yet. I was wondering if I could-

MOM: I didn't get any presents so you won't either! I didn't get any so you don't so it's fair! 

And when I told one of my friends...

ME: I can't believe it! I didn't get any presents at all-

SAM: Well I didn't get anything for Christmas, Chinese New Year's, or my birthday! So quit complaining!

I wisely shut up after that because I did get a huge hunk of cash for Chinese New Year's. Best holiday ever, hands down. 
I'm not really too annoyed at me present-less state because my mom said I could order some books on amazon, and that's what I really wanted anyway. 

I've been totally lusting after Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Yes, I'm asexual enough to drool after a book. A awesome book at that. I've heard nothing but good reviews about it, and I'm finally going to get it. I hope. So that's one of the books I NEED. Must have. 

Neil Gaiman is freakishly good-looking for an author, you know? Not my type, but definitely good-looking. And I always thought authors were crusty old people (no offense to authors!).

Terry Pratchett is the human embodiment of awesome. If you haven't read one of his Discworld novels you are one deprived child. It's really pathetic if you have not read one of them. Seriously. It's just pure satirical humor, with fantasy and sci-fi notes thrown in. Pratchett is to fantasy as Douglas Adams is to science fiction. 

Oh my God, standardized tests. What in the world am I doing on LJ?? I should be studying! Emphasis on should. But I'm not. Because I am a bad person that slacks at every possible moment. I'm home schooled, so there's none of the social drama. It should be easier for me, but without my peers there also isn't any competition. And I love competition (except when I lose, of course). 

To sum it up, I'm about to pee in my pants because of the pre-STAR test anxiety. I shouldn't fail, because every year I've done it before (when I was still in public school) I never studied and still got high scores, but now I'm not sure, but I shouldn't, but I should but AAHHHGGG. 

Yes, instead of studying (like I should be) I am wasting away in front of my laptop. That pretty much sums up the generation of today. 

I'm still pretty new to this LJ thing...and I've got practically no friends so I don't know who's going to read this, but whatever.

-Psunym