Lol...

I just realized that I have now bragged twice about my summer vacations on my blog.

I now stick my tongue out at you to rub it in some.

Ha! :P

Oo-de-laly CALI!

I just finished packing my shtuff into two medium-sized suitcases and filling my carry-on bag with some new books. Yep, plane ride. Yep, vacation.

And not just any vacation. Oh, no. [insert quote from Dane Cook's "Kool-Aid" sequence for the immature of us... ha]

I am going to CALIFORNIA! :D :D

I've been there twice, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't count if you can't remember it. Which, of course, I can't. I was four and six years old at those times. Do you really think I can even remember being fifteen? Nope.

So tomorrow, around 10ish, a plane will hopefully [gotta love Northwest] leave for L.A., and I'll be on it. Probably asleep, but still present and breathing.

If I have time, I'll blog from Cali. With pictures. If I don't have time, I won't. :)

Upon returning, I will wait two days and then leave for Double J Ranch with Thena and her family. Then we'll come home and go to Cedar Point the next day. Two days later I'll see Wicked [again] in Kalamazoo. Then I'll leave two days after that for D.C. and Williamsburg.

Yeah... I'll be home for either 6 or 7 days, nonconsecutively, in the entire month of July. I find that pretty much sweet.

Of course I'll miss my home and friends! Don't be stupid. I love them too much to not miss them. But I love traveling. A lot. A lot. Which is why I'm so very excited, and making small girlish noises that resemble what some call "giggles."

Ha. Sort of. Tehehe!

Cut 'n Shtyled

I just got home from a haircut, a haircut that I must say was WAY overdue and pretty much made my week. Maybe my year. I haven't decided yet. :D

I got seven inches taken off. Seven inches. Count them-- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! My head feels like it's floating, no longer weighed down by two feet of hair.

For those of you who have never seen me in person [which should be very few of you because that's way creepy], my hair was ridiculously long. Literally two feet long and obnoxiously wavy/curly/thick/retarded. Now it's GONE! You can understand my elation.

Now, I won't even pretend that I have the curliest/waviest hair ever. My redheaded Irish friend would pummel me. And I won't say it's the thickest, because dear Kailey's is twice as thick.

No. My hair does not win those particular awards. Instead, it wins the prize for being the frizziest.

I'm not talking a little bit of controllable, friendly frizz. Not even healthy frizz. I have ridiculous, obnoxious, disgusting, revolting, catastrophic frizz. Picture a large hedgehog perched on top of a human head... snarling.

Ha. Snarling. Some day [possibly today?] I'll Photoshop a hedgehog into one of my pictures. And you can bet your right eye it'll bear a striking resemblance to my unruly hair.

Arty is [looking more like a nymph and less like an elf, if that's possible, and] OUT.

Adventures in Photoshop

So I love to photoshop pictures. I'm not exactly good at it, I just love to do it. In case you haven't noticed, my sidepanel has two of my favorites.

Here's some more. Just for fun. As with everything I put on here, don't copy/steal... It's rude. And I have everything monitored if you get klepto. :D

And my most recent [and current favorite...]:

Irony!

As soon as I closed the Explorer window after finishing my last post, my rant about my hatred for technology, my computer threw a hissy fit and shut down for ten minutes.

Ironic?

Technology... sucks.

Just because I've grown up in a world where everything revolves around technology doesn't mean I hate it any less than the people who have just recently discovered it existed. In fact, I could quite possibly hate it more, because I know exactly what it's capable of and I'm more than aware when it isn't functioning correctly.

Think it over. You've never used a fax machine. It's making a strangled beeping noise. You don't find it abnormal. But when you've used that same stupid machine seven hundred times and it makes a strangled beeping noise, you get ANGRY.

Mind you, I haven't used a fax machine in my entire life [let's try email, folks], but I figured an older example would better fit my particular need here.

Let's switch to cameras. I've used my digital camera maybe fifty times in past two years. That's a lot of pictures, if you count one "time" as each time I've turned the camera on and taken around twenty pictures. Like I said, lots of pictures. I like pictures.

But yesterday, when I sit down at my computer to perform the very simple task of loading those beautiful pictures into my Kodak software [NEVER PURCHASE KODAK], it decides that I'm no longer worthy of its services. It takes a vote with itself and determines that it will only load every third picture that I command it to look at.

Is it my fault? No, of course not. I followed the same exact procedure as every other time I've uploaded pictures. Plug it into the USB, plug it into my camera [my camera that's on and charged... I learned that the hard way about a year ago], and make sure the software's open. Three checks in three check boxes. I should've been good to go.

Um, no. I fought with my very stupid camera for over an hour before it came to me that I was going to explode if I didn't wait 24 hours before trying to load pictures again. Well, either explode or punt my camera into the nearest river... Both options were highly likely in my fury.

I severely threatened my camera and gave it a thorough talking-to, leaving it in time out until today. Not surprisingly, it didn't work on the first six tries. On the seventh, though, I finally got all of my pictures into my computer before it died, at which point I muttered bitterly under my breath and cursed the entire Kodak company.

Grr. I absolutely loathe technology.

Lesson #11-12

I've decided to simply add to my "Lessons" list every time I come up with a new one. Today I feature two new lessons, numbers eleven and twelve.

#11- Make sure your cell phone is set to vibrate before you go to bed. Unless, of course, you want to be awoken by a very loud song, pulled instantaneously from a very deep sleep, and consequently thrown into the wall [headfirst, mind you] on the opposite side of your bedroom because you're scared by the noise and too dysfunctional in the morning to figure out where the phone is instead of the wall. You'd be surprised how much it hurts when you lose your balance and crash... I was informed that it sounded like a large door slamming shut.

#12- Don't get a hot coffee drink on a summer afternoon, especially while you're wandering around a scorching parking lot and sweating like a crazy person. Despite popular belief, your body temperature will rise. Call off the investigation--I've figured it out. Heat!

Ha. Welcome to a little place called Common Sense, Arty.

I Feeeeel Good

I have just discovered the most incredible feeling in the world. My dear sister Maddy, responding to my IM about me running into a wall this morning [another time, folks] informed me that she not only reads my updates [YES! A READER!] but that they have also affected her in a positive way. She says that they made her realize that we really are growing up, even if it's a bit too quickly, and that they made her rethink life, friends, etc. [please forgive me if i paraphrased very badly, Mads...].

I felt more honored than I have ever felt in my entire life. My simple words, my words, made her think about the important things in her life. I had touched someone. I made a difference in her life--I've never felt so blissful, so inspired.

If you really think about it, I guess we affect people more often than we realize. Who knows how many other people have read this? Did I touch them, too? Maybe! The thought makes me grin incessantly.

I, Artemis Morgan, touched a life. I changed a life. I've helped people before, even saved a life, but never truly thought about how I could change one.

I have changed a life. I have made a difference. I, Arty, am a good person.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. :D

10 Lessons, 5 days

In the past five days, I've learned 10 valuable lessons. Some from my own mistakes, some from others--either way, they've been good to me.

1) When you buy a red article of clothing, NEVER wash it for the first time with clothes that have any white on them. My blue and white shirt is now blue and pink. It's not even a nice pink, it's a nasty brownish-pink... Gross.

2) When in Greektown, just ask where the bathrooms are. Don't wander about the restaurant with your sister, brother, and cousin... And if you're Thena, don't go in the mens' by mistake. =P

3) Don't tell scary stories in your friend's haunted, creepy, eerie basement and then spend the night at Thena's house, watching The King and I to fall asleep. Bad idea. Scary dreams. Strange combination of singing Siamese kings and ghosts. Eek.

4) Never accidentally doze off during a 6-hour mentor training session and then wake up to lots of screaming. Scares the pants off of you.

5) Putting your arm through a door that you and your brother are both trying to close is a very, very, very stupid idea.

6) iPods unfreeze by holding down Menu and Circle, not all five buttons at once. Throwing them doesn't work very well either.

7) Always have a friend help you power-clean your room, especially if it needs to be done in less than 10 minutes and you need a shovel to find your floor.

8) Yield to people turning right. Always, always, always.

9) Don't make jokes about people who are three seats away from you on the monorail. You can't run away.

10) Crayola markers are NOT washable if they're black. They just fade from black to blue to green to orange until you think it's gone. They LIE.

Goodnight, world. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow, probably... Maybe. I don't know.

-Arty is [giddy, and] OUT. :D

Sock It To 'Em

Someone recently told me that "life is what you make it." I didn't argue then. Granted, I should have. But now I'm going at it.

I also was told that there were "too many bitter people in the room," quite unnecessarily referring to me. Blasphemy!

Let me defend myself now, once and for all. Let me prove to you that I'm not bitter, I'm just right.

A wise man once said [I paraphrase, so bear with me] that if someone punches you in the face, you're supposed to turn and give them the other cheek. That's nice and all, but what happens when you run out of cheek? What do you do what there's no face left to punch?

They move on to the rest of you, some say. Well, what happens then? You lie there in a bloody pulp, begging for mercy? I think not.

You walk away.

That "someone" wielding an angry fist is life. Life punches you in the face. Don't even try to deny it--life in itself hurts more than any stupid, angry man could. So life isn't "what you make it." It's a cruel punch in the face. The only action you're left to take is to try and heal... which is way harder than it sounds.

And the walking away? That's what the narrow-minded people refer to as "bitterness." They think that by turning your back on the world, you're deserting it; you're becoming bitter and unfeeling. Webster calls bitterness "harshful reproach, marked by cynicism and rancor." It's definitely a connotative definition, one he wrote only because it's what the people had come to believe...

Is it really bitterness? No, it's not. It's the right thing to do. It's removal from the pain. I've never met anyone who could willingly sit and let someone punch them in the face. I can't, so I won't. I'm not about to walk around with scars because some bloke named Life decided I needed a beating.

It's not bitterness; it's defense. It's a homecoming to the reality we try to hide. Those who live under the illusion that all problems can be solved by love and kindness have obviously never been punched in the face by someone they love, and therefore should keep their unscarred mouths closed. Speak of what you know, not what you think you know.

Webster also says that to be bitter is to be "expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret." In this sense, all you people are right. Bitterness is an expression of pain, not just unnecessary, unfeeling anger. It's not chosen, it's earned.

A sense of reality is only bestowed upon those who have earned it. I've earned it. Thena's earned it. My parents have earned it. We don't live under that roof of illusion, that love and happiness and kindness make the world go 'round. We know how to survive, because we know all about the punches. We know that life isn't as simple as "what you make it"--life happens. All you get to do is cope, heal, and keep moving, avoiding as many punches as you can.

I'm not bitter. I've just learned how to duck.

Before I Go...

Before I run off to that bonfire, I'd like to tell the world the most exciting words I thought I'd ever say.

I. Am. TAN.

For the first time in probably ten years, I am becoming a slight shade of brown. I am tan. God, it feels so good to say. To type, whatever.

And I'm not cheating my way through, either--this is a real, natural, skin-cancer-prone tan. I couldn't be more happy.

Quit laughing. If you were half albino [and the other half elf], you'd be grateful too.

Arty is [reminiscent of a golden marshmallow, and] OUT. :D

AHHHH!

LIBERATION!

Finally. Took long enough...

Is this how innocent prisoners feel upon release? I think so.

Arty is [excited, off to a bonfire, and] OUT.

Solvation, Salvation...

I took a chemistry exam today, a part of which was heavily focused on solvation. For those of you who haven't learned [or don't remember], solvation is the process by which a solute is ionized in solution. The compound divides itself into its ions and the ions are then each surrounded by solvent. As an example, the ionization of NaCl in water: the compound becomes Na+ and Cl- and both sets of ions are surrounded by water.

We also were taught about colligative properties. Again, I clarify; colligative properties are simply certain properties that change for a substance when it is in an aqueous solution [freezing point, boiling point, and vapor pressure].

Yes, that sounds like a garbled mess of blahchemblah. That's what I thought, too.

But is it completely inapplicapable to me? No. I think about what I become when I'm in the water, someone completely different, someone who's not afraid. No, never afraid. I let the water take over, pull me under, and change me into someone else.

I don't think it's weird at all to respect water. It carries this... power, I guess we could call it, with it, as if it has a mind and is capable of thought. I'm not a crazy, I swear. I just love the water.

The moment I disappear beneath the surface, I can feel its power. I let myself relax, let my fear and worries and cares all drift away, and I focus on just gliding, moving...

I'm very much like that ionic compound, the one who divides in water and changes. I divide. I separate myself from the person I was on the surface, and I become braver, stronger.

Maybe I am crazy. But I still love the water, and I love the effect it has on me. It's the ultimate salvation, to be freed from my cares.

So that's what I was actually thinking about during my chem exam. Probably not a good thing, but hey--at least I understand the concept. :D

-Arty is [feeling intelligent for half a second, and] OUT.

Feeling Beat? Have a Beat.

I've got the exam blues, so I'm diving into my music headfirst. Well, not "my" music, seeing as I haven't touched the piano in weeks and my amateur guitar hands are callous-free, but the music that I prefer to bless my ears.

Recently heard a band called "The Hush Sound" [via Thena, my human jukebox]. I highly recommend them if you like upbeat, imagery-packed music. Well-written, very talented, very happy. Even when they're singing about death and impending doom, they're happy. =D

Along with Hush, I'd prescribe a strong dose of Muse. Louder, more "angry." Good words, though, and strong beats to keep you distracted. Works for me, anyway.

If you want to see what I currently have stuck in my head, go into my profile [up at the top... yes, there] and click on "Audio Clip." Once you're on the site, go to "Wine Red."

If you want to try Muse, go to www.purevolume.com/muse. I have most of those stuck in my head, too...

Three cheers for three days of school until liberation. Hip, hip, freakin' hooray. :)

Carpe Noctem!

Yes, that means "seize the night." Who honestly cares about the day? Nothing to seize. The night is so much more tempting...

Speaking of strange garbled phrases, I felt like showing off: I'm learning Latin. Actually, I stand corrected: I'm sort of learning Latin. Kind of like watching Dora the Explorer and claiming to be studying Spanish.

For now, Thena and I are grabbing random phrases and memorizing, learning how to form simple sentences and say poetic things like "While I breathe, I hope" and "You can break me, but not bend me" [Dum spiro, spero... Frangas, non flectes. For the record.].

Pathetic? Oh, very. Almost like learning a dead language.

What's that? Latin is dead? Oh, dear. Golly gee. Holy smokin' willikers. Must've missed that memo...

I'm a poet... And yes, I'm aware of it.

For the entertainment and bafflement of my [3] readers, I post a poem. Copyright 2007 to KEB, of course [and I'm damn serious].


Argentum

Whilst evils trample 'round the earth tonight
And sorrow great and vast leaves no sound way
To dream or hope upon escape or flight
The angels fight the night, restoring day

The eldest twists and turns the closing heat
The second minds the minds of those who think
The harmony of death the fourth one beats
The third, a sieve, for feeling past the brink

From death these heav'nly hosts protect the life
From life these selfless guards prevent the dead
Sweet breath, a whisper faintly breaks through strife
And breathes the words to patch the path ahead

Though often lost and baffled by their might
The angels guard your sound, your sight, your night.


Arty, Thena [Eddie], Seph, and Tia: Est deus in nobis.

El Verano... FINALLY.

With just five days of school left, I thought I'd post my summer plans. They cannot even begin to compare with Lyrika's [Europe for a monthish with her orchestra] but I thought they sounded pretty good to me.

To start, I'll head to California for a week. As I haven't been there since I was four, there's a lot I need to catch up on--and I will. We're doing everything. Literally, everything. I can't wait.

Following Cali is a trip to DC and Williamsburg. I haven't been out east since I was maybe 9 [I think? Idk] so again, mucho catching-up [Excuse me while I stab myself in the face for using Spanglish]. It should be fun, full of my own family history. Having a genealogist for a grandmother definitely has its perks...

In the midst of all this, I'll be seeing Wicked [again], going to an all-out country concert, heading up north to my friend's cottage, and probably going on a few adventures with the girls. It should be amazing, this summer... my last summer before college selection days.

Sigh... Childhood's almost over. So I'm going out with a bang.

Three Highly Random Thoughts

I would like to now make three very random and unassociated comments.

First, I would like to grin with admiration and say that God did indeed smile upon the earth the day my sister Eddie was born... and then sarcastically cackled as I joined her. The day we decided to take on the world, though, he gasped and whispered, "Holy [foul word]! What the hell have I done?"

Second, I would like to make note that while most girls I know grew up desiring to be Disney princesses, I wanted to be Nala from Lion King. Just a thought.

And third, I may be inclined to mention that I've finally chosen titles for my trilogy: The Emperor, The Hidden, and The Heiress. I'm so happy, I could kiss someone...

Abbsigail Christine Artemis Morgan is [in a good mood, and] OUT.

Frangas, Non Flectes.

I spoke of changes, life changes. Big changes. And, well, I'm not a liar, so...

To start, my dad and his girlfriend [known as MR on here until I make up a codename] got engaged and will be married in about a year from now. Needless to say, I'm excited. My brother and I are going to be the best man and the maid of honor [in that respective order], so it will be the first time I've ever been in a wedding. It will also be the first wedding I can ever remember attending at all. I'm not sure how real weddings go; the ones in the movies and in TV shows, I'm told, are lacking in validity. It ought to be awesome.

Because of this new change, we've moved into MR's house. That means a new room for me, one that I'm not required to share with my brother. And a new room means only one thing:

Decorating. :D

I've already promised my friends that they can help paint. For now, I'm looking at a black and white theme, drawing on my love of opposites and contradiction. I've always been partial to that combination, as have so many before me; the two colors somehow represent me completely. Black for my depth and varying emotions, white for my remaining naivety and innocence.

Like I said, I'm excited. With this change also comes some more family--more cousins, more aunts and uncles, more people to learn from. Of course, I would NEVER forget about the family I've already got... I love you guys more than anything in this world. I'm just glad to get more--never can have too many people to surround you and love you. :D

Does change ever stop? Nope. I used to think it was something to avoid, something sent by an angry God to punish me. Apparently it's not, because everybody experiences it. No God could possibly be that furious...

I now embrace change, even bad change. I've noticed that what I find to be frightening and "scary" usually turns out to be okay. All you adults are scoffing, calling this little lesson "common sense." Do you really think so? I don't. Kids hate change. We like our little worlds to keep spinning solidly, without any interruptions, and the day we learn that life doesn't work that way is the day we spin into reality.

Hello, world. I'm just a little girl, still hanging onto wishes and dreams. Hello, reality. Don't mind me. I'm only here to stay, that's all.

I'm only here to stay. To stay, to change, and to learn.