In Sickness And In Health

Estoy: Enferma¹
Currently Reading: Ptolemy’s Gate, by Jonathon Stroud. YA Fantasy. 5/5²

Take it from one who knows (which would be all of us, in most likelihood): it is no fun being sick. Somehow, I managed to get myself sick, again! I was just sick over Christmas break! Actually, it’s really no mystery how I got myself sick, seeing as how half of the people in school are currently sick³ as well. But still, all those germs floating around don’t make it any easier to get better, either.
Honestly, it’s not like I’ve done that much physically or mentally strenuous stuff while I’ve been sick. I only read one book this weekend. Okay, it was a bit long, but hey, what else was I supposed to do? I had already been kicked off the computer for spending too much time on there and before that I had been watching DVD’s⁴. I didn’t do any homework that I didn’t need to, and I didn’t practice. Heck, on Sunday at my dad’s, I got bored enough to take a nap⁵! And did that help? Erm, no, not really. I’m even wondering at my reasons for doing it.
While I did do a lot of things to get better this weekend, I suppose going to the party on Friday wasn’t one of them. The party—Lara’s birthday celebration, to be precise—was pretty dang fun, though. And don’t get me wrong: it wasn’t one of those wild parties that you all hear about high-schoolers having⁶. I mean, for one thing, this was Lara! I guess some of you may not know her, but Lara follows pretty much every rule there is. Not really to the extreme, but she’s a smart girl and she likes to keep her nose clean. And to tell you the truth, even if I was invited to a party that I knew would be like that, I wouldn’t go. I have a future, people. I don’t want to be pinned with an MIP or some other stupid thing like that. For me, a party is just me and some close friends, food, board games, movies (especially those with yummy guys in them), and some good quality time together⁷! Call me stupid if you want, but I think that must be much more fun than getting drunk and high at the same time⁸! Lara’s party was my kind of party, though. We just hung out, played the chocolate game (no, I won’t explain it here), sang karaoke (I sat this one out), watched Stardust (pretty good movie!), ate pizza (of course), opened presents (it was her birthday), and talked. So pretty low stress, I’d think? Apparently not enough so, though. Either way, I enjoyed it immensely. It was pretty much worth being sick.
That’s all I have for now, so wish me well! Until next time…
xxx
Caryn

¹ Enferma is Spanish for sick. It logically follows that saying, “Estoy enferma,” means I am sick. Remember that whole ser/estar thing I was telling you about, though? If you say “Soy enferma,” it means that you are mentally sick, and you don’t want people thinking that. The lesson is, watch your verb choice. Oh, and also with subject-adjective agreement, boys would say “Estoy enfermo” so it is made clear that they’re not a girl. Quite confusing, don’t you think?
² Doubtless, some of you have already noticed that I have read two books by Jonathon Stroud recently. Yes, they’re a series. And this is the third one. So read the other two first. One quick thing I love about these books: Bartimaeus uses footnotes!
³ I kid you not. It’s pretty hard to have a silent time in class these days, because even when no one is talking, you can still hear sounds of sniffling, nose blowing, coughing, and sneezing. On the plus side, at least I’m not the only one.
⁴ Only one DVD, actually, and it was Jeff Dunham. Nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better, right?
⁵ It also was a good strategy to get me away from my dad, though it was perhaps slightly wasted at the time. He was out shopping.
⁶ You know the type—no parents, loud music, alcohol, drugs, who-knows-what going on in the bedrooms/basements/bathrooms/couches.
⁷ Shannon and I were actually compiling this list at lunch—I forget why.
⁸ I refuse to say “crunk…” it does mean something like that, no? And that right there shows how innocent I am.

Veni, Vidi, Vici(1)

Estoy2: Braces-less for the first time in 2.5 years!!
Currently Reading: The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathon Stroud. YA Fantasy, 5/5.
The Golem’s Eye, by Jonathon Stroud. YA Fantasy, 5/5.
Green Rider, by Kristen Britain. YA/A Fantasy, 5/5.

I am glad to inform you that everything in my speck of the world is going fairly well right now. I would have written sooner, only there was really nothing for me to right about! It’s been awhile since finals, and I am pleased to announce that I made it through every class with an A! In fact, I think my lowest finals grade was a 93. So there you go. Hence the title; I felt I was entitled to a small brag. Okay, I’m over it. Unfortunately, every teacher has taken the opportunity the new semester presents to load us up with homework! I suspect it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t all assign it on the same nights, but I swear they plan it so they do. Plus my English teacher³ decided to be incredibly cool in that way he so often is⁴ and assign us a whole packet of work for Of Mice and Men rather than just bits like the other English teachers did. Ergo⁵, I have been rather busy for the last few nights. Actually, I like to do all of the work at my dad’s when I can, to waste time. But that doesn’t make it any more fun.
On a good note, I did get my braces off today. If you read my estoy⁶ note above, you already knew that. Though it was slightly painful at some times (I doubt my gums will ever be the same again) and a bit boring (what, it only took almost two hours…) I am soo glad. I love my teeth now. All my friends did the normal squealy “ohmigod, you got your braces off,”⁷ provided they even noticed that I got them off⁸, and my mom told my band teacher so he felt the need to make a big deal out of it as well. At least he didn’t do it in front of the class, though. Not that I really minded the attention, but it does get old next time. I swear, then next person who says, “Did you get your braces off?” rather than just stating that I did is going to get the answer, “No, I just turned them invisible.”⁹
That’s all from my end for now. Hope everyone else is having a great time. Until next time…
xxx
Caryn

¹ Well, first of all, I want to point out that I think this is the first time I’ve ever used a footnote in a title. I just thought that was kind of cool. But anyhow, I believe what I just said (wrote, typed, whatever) is Latin for “I came, I saw, I conquered.” I mean, dear Bartimaeus mentioned it in passing, and I figured out the gist from the context. But I do humbly apologize if either my figuring skills are off of if Bartimaeus was just messing with us.
² For those of you who missed this the first time, estoy is a Spanish word meaning I am. Actually, it’s one of two…soy also means I am (and no, it has nothing to do with sauce), but it’s infinitive, the verb ser has more permanent meanings than the verb estar from which we get estoy. There are actually some phrases where the uses of ser and estar are opposite from what you’d think they’d be, but I suggest that if you just learned that here, you don’t attempt to speak Spanish without quite a bit of instruction.
³ For more one why I don’t like him, look a few posts down for my famous rant re: book talks.
⁴ That was sarcasm, for those of you who didn’t catch it…
⁵ Therefore, in Latin. My, you are getting an education today!
⁶ I am not going through this again. See ².
⁷ Well, okay, my friends aren’t usually squealy, but there are people who are.
⁸ There were two guys, one of them my friend’s boyfriend and one of them my band friend, who insisted that I’d never had braces.
⁹ I’ve actually already used this one once, but I think it’s good enough for another usage, don’t you agree?

Christmas List!

Current mood: procrastinator!
Currently reading: The Society of S—Susan Hubbard. Adult, Sci-Fi and fantasy. 5/5 so far!

So far, I haven’t had an extremely big week. Just same old, same old…swimming in gym class, lessons in all my other classes. Ah, school. It’s almost nice to be in such a mindless routine. Almost.
I’m getting pretty pumped for Christmas! I can’t believe it’s only¹…12 days away! God, actually that’s really really scary. I have most of my prezzies for my friends, and I’m getting the rest of them tomorrow, but my family? Not so much. I have no idea what my sister even wants for Christmas. She will be home tomorrow², so I guess I can ask her then. I thought that I’d post my Christmas list today, just in case any of my online admirers care to…buy me anything. Not really, I just thought it’d be interesting. Now if I could only find where I put it…!
Clothes:
-sweaters—it gets cold where I live, and I get cold more easily than the average person. Therefore, I spend a lot of time in sweaters. Winter is about 5 months long here, after all.
-skinny jeans—what can I say? I love skinnies…stylish yet comfortable. And I just love jeans in general.
-other cute, random, and exciting things—just because I didn’t specifically list it here doesn’t mean I don’t want it! I have a slight clothes fetish, okay?
-slouch boots—preferably black suede. I know suede is not the best for snowy areas, but it just looks better than leather!
-converse—of any color other than black and brown, cause those are the two I already have. Preferably high tops as well, cause everyone knows that low tops aren’t as cool.
Jewelry:
-big necklaces—I love necklaces. I wear them all the time. But I’m a person for loud jewelry. I don’t generally wear really delicate-looking stuff. It’s just not me.
-bangles—almost as good as necklaces. Bracelets are fun, too. I enjoy the whole “dressing up” thing. It’s a way to amuse yourself!
-skinny headbands—the wide ones don’t look good on me, but they’re a good way to hold your hair back. Really, they are!
Jewelry Box: actually, I already know I’m getting this one, cause I was there when my mom bought it for me. Haha. And when we checked it out on self-checkout? The item name that came up was “Jew Box.” Is someone at Wal-Mart feeling slightly racist??
Leather Ligature: for my clarinet. They may not be as pretty as the other ones, but they make your tone a lot better. Therefore, I want one!
Journal: I’m almost out of paper in my other one. I need a new one! I like to write. Enough said.
Lip Gloss: Chap stick—with color! What else could a girl need, you know?³
Books: (this may be pretty long…)
-Maximum Ride 1, 2, and 3, by James Patterson. Yep, 1holly and Molly⁴ got me hooked. And now these are some of my faves.
-Artemis Fowl 5, by Eoin Colfer, in paperback. I know it’s out already, but our Barnes & Noble won’t have it til freaking March 15! On the observant side, that’s exactly⁵….four months before The Time Paradox⁶ is scheduled for release. But back on topic…
-Pretties and Specials, by Scott Westerfield. I love Scott Westerfield, and while I understand that these books were a bit too sci-fi for people to get into, I absolutely loved them. Note—read Extras as well. It has a new main character and an exciting plot!
-Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King, by JRR Tolkien. I have the other two, but not the third one. This is one of my favorite fantasy series!
-New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer, if it’s out in paperback. I only get books in paperback, if you couldn’t tell. I love these books…vampire books are always fun!
Well, that’s about it for the list today! Hope everyone here has a good weekend and all! Until next time….
xxx

Caryn

¹ *counts on fingers*
² She’s currently at college in Washington
³ actually, a lot…but that’s beside the point.
⁴ that rhymed…special!
⁵ *counts on fingers…* again!
⁶ Which is Artemis Fowl 6, for those of you on the less-informed circuit.