goddess gwen

She's a real goddess. I adore her. Want to know how much of a goddess she is?  Listen to Cool. The video is partly why I want to be a music video director. Also, Gwen with brown hair! Doesn't she look gorgeous?

I want a cute dopey looking boyfriend to bum around with in this beautiful Mediterranean town! And if we're talking about Gwen, we have to talk about No Doubt. I never really got seriously into them but they were way before my time, you guys! Sam from All American Girl (Hi, goddess Meg Cabot) was so obsessed with them. So 2004. But, yes. We must appreciate No Doubt. I went and bought myself a No Doubt CD for a cheap cheap cheap price of 33 rupees! Weeee.

Um, yes? Museum of lovers! That's a very important line!

I really dig this song for some reason. Unrequited and yet so jazzy.

goddess meg cabot

Meg Cabot is a goddess. She's a goddess for preteens everywhere. For some reason, I really disliked the ages nine to thirteen because it was an awful age to be. It's sad and confusing and depressing and I really felt like I didn't belong in school and I hated everyone (ooh). But I always had Meg Cabot books to make me feel a gazillion times better and dream about cool cities I'd never see and fall in love with boys THAT DO NOT EXIST. In this universe. Case points will follow.

 #1 PRINCESS DIARIES AKA BOY OF MY DREAMS

What can I say about this series? Not much, because I haven't read the entire series. I've read the first book about a billion times, simply because my aunt gifted it to my sister when she was about seven or eight. Yeah, she thought it was the PG version of the movie, and to be honest, it's PG fun but imagine a nine year old reading it. I didn't know what a date was. I had no idea why she was so obsessed with the idea of a tongue in someone's mouth. Things like that didn't happen you guys. Chill. The years have given me a new appreciation for the first book. Because it's FUNNY (actually) and it introduces us to the best male character: Michael Moscovitz. Michael is my ideal man. Really. Just read it to find out. I'm also very partial to the last book in the series because (what else) M and M get their happily ever after and Mia finds out who she is yada yada and Michael is back and he's hot. I'm very deep like that. Also, the millennium references! They had dial-up! Michael was working on his e-zine! Leonardo from Titanic was passe (wtf)! Hell, they used chat rooms! Just read the first book. It's a gem. And it took me an incredible amount of time (several different combinations of google searches) to find the cover I was looking for. Boo.

#2 MEDIATOR SERIES 

I kept up with the Mediator series between the seventh and ninth grade because I thought Jesse was very hot. That seems to be a recurring trend. And he was dead! How tragic! Spoiler for the series: doesn't it seem unfair that HE COMES BACK TO LIFE? The universe does not work like that Meg Cabot! And looking back, Jesse was way too old-fashioned. Except Carmel was a charming setting and how exciting would it be to have a hot guy living in your room and guess what, he doesn't smell bad or anything! Except he's dead. My favourite book in the series is the fifth one (I think) when Suze and Jess finally make out properly. In the very last page. There's a lot of ~angst~ so beware.

#3 1800- WHERE-R-U

Oh, man. This series is godly. It deals with everything! Psychic powers, motorbikes, jailbait (he's eighteen, she's sixteen and he's on probation!), racism, murderers, child abusers, best friends, lightning, fires, mom problems, etc, etc. And Jess is a lot of fun. And Jess and Robb and the bike are such an awesome crime-fighting trio! The fifth book takes place a couple of years in the future and it kind of takes away the special-ness of the first four books so I'd strongly advise anyone reading this to stop with the fourth book.

#4 BOY MEETS GIRL

The boy series are her "adult" books but eh, whatever. Boy Meets Girl is probably one of my favourite books in this world. I'll tell you why. When I'm sad or depressed or bored, I don't read for James Joyce or something like that. I'd go for the book that makes me feel 100% better and it's always this one. I've read it about 84757 times in the last five years and it's a permanent part of my bathroom now but that just goes to prove how much fun it is. The other books in this three part series are really good fun for a lazy day read, so instant recommendation.

I'm starting to realize that this most is going to make me look like I have a really shitty taste in books which is NOT TRUE. I love reading but I love reading escapist fiction more than anything. And Meg Cabot was a very integral part of that escaping. Looking back, her books seemed to have some flaws like the fact that the guys were always super duper perfect. And the girls- usually the ones in the adult series... I'm looking at you, Queen of Babble- were quite stupid. But whatever! Meg Cabot is 100% a goddess. Also, her blog is used to be a lot of fun. Case point here. I haven't read it since 2007 or so but it was always really funny and she seemed like such a fun person, y'know? Anyway, I just really love you Meg Cabot.

NOTE: I forgot to mention a few books. Like Pants on Fire! That's really good. Erotica for twelve year olds! And I'm now at that age where I can't publicly admit to reading Meg Cabot except for my secret diary aka this blog.

problems in august 2k12

I just had an incredibly frustrating conversation with my mom about college. I love my mom, I really do. She gets me all the time except when it comes to this adult business. How do I explain it to her? I thought college was going to be a major growing experience. I mean, I'm an adult! I get major responsibilities! I'm going to be independent! Yada yada. The thing is, all of the above things are going to be highly unlikely if you're living at home. I love my family but I feel so smothered right now and the weird thing is, it's not because of them. I feel like I'm smothering myself. I feel so aimless and purposeless and so naive and childlike and when do I start to feel like an adult? A person who can look after him/herself? qkdwjdwkj

it was the last day of school in 1976

One of my favourite movies ever is Dazed and Confused. I've seen in twice in the last one year and I sometimes wish I could watch it every single week, or every time I have a bad day but I don't want to take away the special-ness of the movie, y'know? Once I'm done watching it, I'm filled with this inexplicable happiness and a great desire to just... do something, like climb on top of a water tower or get stoned out of my mind or just go on a roadtrip after a night out with people I genuinely like and love. Every little detail is so incredibly put together and it's just one happy, stoned moment of your life. The last time I watched it, I couldn't go to sleep for ages just because I was waiting for something to happen, waiting for places to go.

And besides, it fills your head with the most important advice. Case point:

"Man, it's the same bullshit they tried to pull in my day. If it ain't that piece of paper, there's some other choice they're gonna try and make for you. You gotta do what Randall Pink Floyd wants to do, man. Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they're gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin' man, L-I-V-I-N."

See? Important stuff.

And and and:

"Well, all I'm saying is that I want to look back and say that I did I the best I could while I was stuck in this place. Had as much fun as I could while I was stuck in this place. Played as hard as I could while I was stuck in this place... Dogged as many girls as I could while I was stuck in this place."

You guys! This is what you should remember. Write it down. Carry it around with you while you're trying to survive the hellhole that is school/college/crappy job/crappy relationship/whatever.

Also, I have issues with confrontation and issues with people getting humiliated. And you know what? There're a couple of scenes in Dazed and Confused while girls are getting TORTURED and guess what? i can sit through them. I can sit through them without closing my eyes/ears or cringing. And I manage to LAUGH. This movie has helped me get through my fear of watching people humiliate themselves.

Also, Pink is a total dish. Really. Dreamboat. He's such an incredibly... cool guy. And Jodi. Don't even get me started on Jodi. Per-fect. Both of them should just be together and have kind babies. And you know one thing that is guaranteed to make you feel better? Mitch Kramer's face. Really. He's got the weirdest expressions throughout the movie that just... make you feel better.

So the verdict is that if you're sad or unhappy or whatever or you're just in A MOOD, watch Dazed and Confused because it's the best movie. Ever.

this is important

this is a very important song and a very important video

why are most YA books shit?

Really, why? I've been going through several books for the last one week and I really can't bring myself to finish any of them. I consider myself a patient reader- at least when it comes to YA- but all these books seem to be taking a severe toll on my mental health. I found a few gems along the way so I guess that's a small price to pay.

For starters, consider The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window by Kirsty Mosely. I only got through about 25% of the book before giving up because you know what? It was like reading amateur fanfiction. And trust me, I read a shitload of fanfiction and this book was like a story by a fifteen year old who wants the two main protagonists to hook up. It had zero depth and I really don't care what colour of eyeliner this girl (I think her name was Angel) wore to school and how Liam or whatever was so gorgeous and he protected her from the severe trauma she suffered at the hands of an abusive father. Oh yeah, and she's a part of a street dance gang.

My problem was that it lacked any form of connection and continuity and the characters were so incredibly one dimensional. It's not even worth wasting an afternoon of free time on.

The other books on my abandoned bookshelf are The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse and Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell. I usually have a good time reading even the crappiest paranormal and dystopian YA books but I really had to give up with these two. Too painful. Zero depth and stupid characters.

The books I managed to get through were The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, In The Woods by Tana French, Something Like Normal by Trish Doller and I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. And I guess if I'm talking about all the books I've read in the last one month, I should include Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar.

The Near Witch and Raw Blue were okayish. I don't enjoy fantasy too much but The Near Witch was interesting enough. It definitely dragged in parts but worth spending time on- especially if you enjoy fantasy. Raw Blue was on a completely different tangent- it's realistic fiction about a rape victim trying to deal with her problems with surfing. It didn't really hit me hard or touch me on a deeper level or anything (contrary to severel glowing reviews on goodreads) but it was an okay read.

Something Like Normal is realistic fiction too, about a Marine suffering from PTSD. It's a fast read and fun enough. (I managed to shed a tear or two)

I don't really know how I feel about I Hunt Killers yet. I just finished it yesterday and I definitely recommend reading it with caution because it's disturbing. I really liked Jazz because he's not a stupid blind protagonist you want to strangle for not seeing what's right in front of him. It's different but I haven't formed an opinion on it yet. When I finished it though, it was about one in the night and it took me a while to go to sleep because I had serial killers on my mind. And that's not really a pleasant way to sleep, trust me.

The real gem here was In The Woods. I'ts not YA and it's so fucking amazing. It's a beautifully written book but a little too long and there's too much prose here and there but put together, it's great. It's frustrating because you never really get to the bottom of the whole mystery but I kind of really enjoyed it like that. Not everything in this world has an answer, you know? The characters really grew on me. I was kind of surprised I'd got so attached to Rob, the main protagonist. The story left me feeling so sad and kind of in the dark but not in a bad way... if that makes sense. It's not a happy read but definitely worth checking out. I want to read the next few books in the series (it's called The Dublin Murder Squad) but Rob doesn't feature so I don't know if I want to read them right now.

Anyway, that was my reading list for the last one month. I'd better study or whatever for my midterms next week.

in the mood to cry or whatever

I think slam poetry is fascinating. Actually, I find anybody reciting poetry fascinating- provided it's done. There's this one scene in Dead Poets Society when the boys are in their little cave and Charlie- I think it's Charlie- breaks into a rap, reciting some poem whose name I forgot. That excited me a lot. And then I read a poem by Jeanann Verlee on tumblr. It's called Unsolicited Advice to Adolescent Girls with Crooked Teeth and Pink Hair and I read it again and again because it's that... touching. Great. I don't really have words for it. And then I found the video above of Verlee reciting the poem! The poem was amazing enough; I didn't know it could be even more amazing. The trick is to read the poem and then go and watch the video and watch the video again and again and then watch some more videos, like this one. Just read the poem beforehand because that always works for me and I tend to relate to the poem much better. And read Unsolicited Advice because it's phenomenal.

Sarah Kay is another poet who I absolutely adore. She's a goddess. She really is. And if you want to convince yourself, please go watch her TED talk because well, there are no words. I had tears in my eyes but that's just me because I cry for everything. You don't even need to read her poems or anything before watching it. It's a long video but so so so worth it.

Also, if we're on the subject of videos that made me cry, watch this one of Kerri Strug from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I had an Eyewitness Readers book about famous Olympians who underwent more than just a race- it was them competing with themselves and other inspirational/motivational stuff- when I was younger (I still read it all the time in the bathroom) and Kerri Strug was one of the Olympians featured. A gymnast who injured her ankle during her exercises, she went on to wind gold for the US team and just watch the video and you realize how incredibly difficult it must have been for her.

Ah-ma-zing.