Alaska!

I know! I haven't blogged since New Year's Day! But I am back with a vengeance only crazies are capable of.

The topic of today is Alaska. I have been staying about 45 minutes out of Anchorage in Girdwood, AK for the past week. My parents and I are here to look at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. We got the tours, arranged the appointments, did the exploring, noticed the campus Starbucks, and shopped in the gift shop. The conclusion? I will be attending UAA in the fall of 2011!

Now, as it says in my profile, I am currently a college student now. But, I am also a senior in high school. For the last two years of high school, I have been attending college classes. At graduation, I will have the equivalent of an Associate's degree.

Okay, I admit it... We didn't come to Alaska just for the university. That is just our cover story. I just wanted to go to Alaska and who can blame me?! It is gorgeous up here!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everybody! I hope you are all as happy as I am! Anyway, sorry for not updating my blog as much as usual, but I've been very busy! We had a great time in Florida, then I went to stay with my sister for a couple days, I've been working, doing stuff, etc. Yesterday I went to go see Sherlock Holmes (which was very good, by the way, I recommend it) with my parents, then stayed up until 2 in the morning... today I'm going to see Avatar with one of my friends, which he says is fantastic! It's too bad I can't watch 3D movies because they mess with my eyes, I would love to be able to see it in 3D if it weren't for that... Well, I'm off to more business, and hopefully I'll be able to update more often once school starts again on the 11th.

Florida!

I thought I would let you all know that I am flying to Florida tomorrow! I will be without a computer until Christmas night. My plan is to write blog entries during the trip about all of my adventures and post them when I get home! On a different note, my classes are almost over. My last final is tomorrow morning and then I'm DONE! No more stressing, no more worrying, no more tedious assignments, no more anything. I can just....... be.

A Klingon Christmas Carol

You can tell you are a Trekkie when you go to see the play "A Klingon Christmas Carol" instead of watching the new movie of the original version... Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the original version... Anyway, I went to see this tonight with my parents. It was surprisingly humorous and very good! I felt like I was with my own kind in the audience because, obviously, they were all Trekkies! "Scrooge has no honor, nor any courage. Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate? Performed in the Original Klingon with English super titles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology." That Vulcan narrator, in my opinion, got the logical Vulcan persona spot-on! It was very interesting to see a Klingon coward because you normally only see warrior Klingons while watching Star Trek. Klingon Tiny Tim was actually a puppet, but he had some of the best lines! Example - Tiny Tim: "Scrooge, pass the gagh." Scrooge: "What do you say?" Tiny Tim: "NOW!" I cannot wait to see this play again next year! Any Trekkie living in Minnesota who happens to read this post, I really recommend it!

Candles, herbal tea, and harmony...

I was inspired by Sub-Commander T'pol from Star Trek Enterprise. I have started drinking tea, and meditating with a bunch of candles. The candles are very pretty and have actually helped me to obtain a sense of peace while I'm in my room. Drinking the tea is turning out to be a great idea, particularly since it's so cold in Minnesota lately (for example, right now it is 14 degrees Fahrenheit outside). Drinking tea is also very calming, especially when I drink it before I go to sleep. Last night I meditated in a darkened room with lit candles and a glass of tea. At first I focused on the steam coming from the hot tea. Then I began to drink the tea in between deep breaths while focusing on the candles. This was a very enlightening experience, and I hope to achieve more peace of mind tonight.

Peace and Serenity

I have 2 Buddhist things hanging on the wall in my room, a mask, and a sarong. I also have tons of different beach scenes hanging on my wall, like a calendar of beach paintings, a beach poster, a Japanese beach painting, and postcards from Hawaii. I have Chinese symbols for harmony and tranquility, I have flowers, I have candles, I have relative neatness... but I cannot find peace. I am always stressed and lately I always wish I was living alone. I also wish that I could be completely cut off from society and live in complete silence by the ocean. Well, a year and a half, and then I'm free to do as I please.

Meditation

I want to learn how to use meditation to escape materialism and achieve happiness. Sometimes I wish I was Vulcan, but I'll settle for becoming Buddhist. I have tried meditation before, but I don't think I did it right because I didn't feel all that peaceful... Maybe I just didn't put enough of my thoughts or my heart into it. Starting the practice up again might be a good idea... I was also thinking I might take up yoga or pilates or something. Here's a link to an article I think everyone should read. It's about finding happiness and escaping materialism, which is where I got the idea in the first place: www.wikihow.com/Escape-Materialism-and-Find-Happiness Hopefully I'll be able to figure out this meditation and happiness thing in the meantime.