I COMPLETELY FORGOT.

by Michelle

Blogging didn’t even cross my mind until this morning, after I woke up. I took all the pictures for it, though, fully intending to post them! /excuse

The boyfriend and I drove out to a lake I had never been to before in search of excitement and turtles. We didn’t bring bathing suits, because we didn’t know what we were getting into.

So, naturally, we decided to go skinny-dipping.

In the middle of the afternoon. The lake was too alluring… we came upon an alcove that was dressed in fresh green clovers, where three does were drinking water. I had abandoned my camera at this point–the sun was shining and it was just windy enough, and my boyfriend was looking at me, like, “you’re still taking pictures?” (see: below)

“What kind of person sneaks around after illegal activities wearing a bright yellow shirt and white pants?”

We weren’t too sheltered, but there was only a danger of a few people spotting us. I turned around and hid in the water like my hair was a funny-shaped log.

We didn’t find any turtles, but I played with a giant tadpole… I also saw this crazy-ass spider.

I’m still wishing for a new camera, but it looks unlikely at this point; my camera is good enough for the time-being. I’ve also gotten unnaturally attached to it…

by malnuggets

constant chaos

by sarahlynch

 

Well hello there my dear friends.  I haven’t really been taking photos just to document my daily life, so here are some random photos I have taken recently.

Things have been getting better and better each day. Although, I feel like this is the most constant stress I’ve had to deal with in ages. Which sucks, but at the same time, it keeps me semi-busy. My sister Rebekah is coming home today. I haven’t seen her in a good two months. I’m not sure if letting her come back home is such a good idea, it just gives her a chance to start making bad decisions again. My parents honestly just don’t have a way to control her. I wish I could help. I think she is the only one that can really help her.
Other than that shit, things have been alright.  I’ve gotten quite a few job offers lately as a photographer, so I hope to do some of those soon. It’s gonna be really hard to get my work out there, but I just need to be patient. I’ve got so many supportive people in my life, I have so much more confidence because of that. It feels amazing to be confident in the things I do, and the way I act, even the way I look. I’m no longer nearly as scared of rejection as I have been in the past.
Well, there isn’t much else for me to say,  so I suppose that is that.
Bye.

My Life Now: Leukemia, Camera Paucity, and Other Various Things

by Michelle

Let me just get it out of the way immediately: I don’t have Leukemia, but ever since I contracted a minor infection from (i think) a new bra there has been a small fear living in the back of my mind that is trying to convince me of it. He starts out logically, saying things like, “skin problems are the first visible sign. Look how many scabs and bruises you have.” He fails to acknowledge any logical reasoning for my surface ailments. Instead, he fixates on the swollen gland that is attempting to fight off my supposed bra-infection. “That could be a cancerous lump,” he says, nodding convincingly. Then by the time he starts to point out how week I’ve felt lately, how much hair I lose on a daily basis, and how I’ve always though I was going to die young, I’m picking up the phone to call the doctor’s office with knit eyebrows. So… my appointment is wednesday morning. I’ll let you guys know if I’m dying or not.

In other news–and I mentioned this to Sarah in an e-mail–I’ve been seriously considering buying a new camera. I feel as though it’s time for an upgrade: I’m looking into an SLR with video capability (maybe we can shoot video-blogs!). The two on the top of my list right now are the Canon xti or the Canon t2i, but I’m open to other suggestions if you two have any… preferably in the Canon or the Nikon family, though. Ideally, I’d like to have it before december–the Boyfriend (pictured above, yellow shirt) and I are planning on roadtripping to Seattle and all around northern california during our month off. The most I’d be comfortable spending on a camera would probably be $750, and I wouldn’t mind one that is refurbished.

Right! That reminds me. Pictures above. Boyfriend is in the yellow shirt. I, obviously, look the same as I always have. The two girls are Jennie and Angela (pronounced ohn-gela), left to right. They’re two of my closest friends, and the both of them are moving within the next week (to grad school in portland and to cleveland to begin an internship for NASA, respectively). The boy on the left is Isaac; if I had to describe him in two words, I’d probably say “wilderness slacker”. He knows a lot about plants and surviving in the woods and all that stuff, but he comes from a lot of money so he doesn’t really do much. He’s currently in process of moving himself (and his wii, sad) out of my boyfriend’s trailer and into a complex down the street that my sister and her boyfriend just moved into.

So… I also took a picture of a grasshopper that was sitting on my boyfriend’s car.  He danced around for me for a little bit, and then jumped on my camera lens.

The last thing I’ll mention is that I moved out of the dorms (I’ll expand more on that in my next post) and back into my mom’s place, so I took a couple pictures to show you guys what my room looks like. Mallory will remember it, though I’ve since painted white over the nasty yellow walls and removed all my sister’s stuff.

HACKPHLEGMHACKSPIT Ewww, Michelle, why’d you do that? HACKHACK WHAT I CAN’T HACKHACK HEAR YOU HACK

by Michelle

Here is an impromptu photograph I took of a crayon orgy because Sarah told me to photoblagggghhhkayak. That’s how much I love you guys, enough to dump 96 crayons on the floor and rearrange them all messy-like just for a current photo*. It’s pretty shotty quality, but hey, short notice.

So, I’ve been sick. Like, hacking-up-phlegm-every-two-minutes sick. And this has been going on for weeks. I know it’s my fault. Like, if I stopped eating nothing but chocolate chips, cheerios, and cheetohs* for dinner, I’d get better. I always feel better after eating soup. I always feel like crap after eating Cheerios and chocolate chips. Not Cheetohs. I feel great eating Cheetohs. Cheetohs are great.

Nothing is really going on. I’ve got three REAL days left of school, and then exams. So… that’s fun. But when I’m finally free from the education system for the first time in my LIFE since I was BEFORE PRE-SCHOOL age, I’ll be working a lot more often and making a lot more money*. AND THEN I get a MacBook, which has already been ordered. Signed, sealed, and delivered, baby. Except… none of those. Yet. But it has been shipped out, so HOLLAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhkrunk. I’m naming him Charlemagne. Charlie for short. It was a name I attempted to give my phone, but my phone is more of an inanimate object.

…STICKS AND STONES AND WEED AND BONES.

That was in a song I’m listening to. I don’t do weed, obviously. I don’t need it. Though, I was invited to the local pot hangout this friday. I think I’m going to go (not to smoke, to stalk this pretty attractive kid), provided that I’m not hacking up phlegm anymore. I feel as though hacking up phlegm would be such a negative image for the stalkee that it would be better just to not show up at all.

Well, I gotta go hack up some phlegm now. Bye!

*Not to mention put them back in the box, which took FOREVER
*apparently I’m fond of the c-foods?
*A lot more than nothing, anyway, because that’s what I currently make doing… well, nothing.

Half-fa-ah (Say it aloud! Cried Mallory into the night)

by malnuggets

SO: Christmas break basically means staying up until five every night watching copious amounts of mind enchanting anime, sneaking out to Whataburger for HONEYBUTTERCHICKENBISCUITS?! first introduced to me by MISH-L… IS NOT DEAD, and a lot of forgetting to eat, then remembering a bit too much.

I can tell I’m getting old. None of the ornaments have left the location I assigned them two weeks ago (to travel into the mystical lair of the Death Fairy and Peace Dove, also known as behind the tree and between the LED lights), and none of the little towns’ pine trees were shoved in the tiny, ceramic windows until tonight. And, my parents were downstairs hours before me and Grace could be bothered to trot down, AND AND AND, they didn’t even pretend that Santa came. I mean… I’ve known he was a phony since kindergarden… But, not even a pathetic illusion? I had no idea that would disappoint me so much. Hah. I’m lame.

Anyway… There’s a lot of stories and news to share… So maybe I’ll just save it for next time we talk. (Murrhah! I could be talking to ANYONE reading this! You! WOW. This power always amazes me. Your eyes! They are open! Bitch. Getting all blinky on me.)

GOT: 35mm f/1.8 lens (fantastic), weird piece of plastic from my dad (that’s actually pretty useful for diffusing built-in flash), and a plushie representation of Zuko (!!!) after a particularly bad fist fight from Rachel. (Not meaning that Rachel gets into fights with the Fire Lord.) BUT, THIS SAME LORD OF FIRE I can now cuddle fiercely with, without being deafened by battle cries. (Or cuddling with air, as the story holds.) THIS PARAGRAPH HURTS MY SOUL TO READ, SORRY.

Like cousins. Hate soggy ham. Like Naruto. Dislike contact induced headaches. LIKELIKELIKE the color my eyes turn while wearing the headache inducing contacts. Hate…. uh. Like grasshopper pie. Like my aunt’s strange hour long stories about kids on leashes. Like petting life-size, flaking zoo animals. Like our tradition of NOT going to Katzasasas. No more toothpaste sandwiches for us! Like creeping on Dan’s friends’ flickr and kickass profession.

ANYWAY. I had a vision yesterday of exactly where I want to work to. I see myself in front of a group of college/ highschool kids. Hair down, uncombed, loud floral tights, unshod, water nation symbol tattooed onto the neck flesh just below my left ear, eyes tentatively serious, lips glow-in-the-dark cherry red, a green bubble pipe resting between my sharp teeth. As they file in, I watch them, chewing contently on the tip of my pipe. Each let their apprehensive eyes dart about, finding people to exchange a few quick words with, then, one by one, they inch into their hard plastic chairs. Then I uncross my legs, blow exactly three bubbles from my pipe, and announce (in a remarkably serious tone for Mallory), “Welcome.”

Yes, I think that goal suits me for now.

Chris my ass?

by sarahlynch

Merry Christmas guys (if you say it like christmass is sounds like your saying ‘kiss my ass’ fast). This Christmas hasn’t been very family oriented. We didn’t put up the tree together, and we didn’t even open presents together. It was weird. I woke up late, because I didn’t want to be awake and wait too long to open presents, and when I woke up they’d all been opened. No one came and got me. Ohwell (I was going to delete the space between the oh and well, but it makes more sense if they’re together). (In case you were wondering)

For Christmas from my mother, I got to buy her bike, for onlt $50. Which is brilliant (and that’s EXACTLY what I said to Mallard in a text). AndI got some really horrid smelling body wash and lotion, and then some really fucking good smelling perfume, body wash, and lotion. It’s from Bath & Body Works and it’s called P.S I Love You. Lame name. Fucking great scent. Oh, and I got $100.

This week has been a little different than the last. Instead of sitting in my room moping, and reading I went outside and played with my siblings, and their little friends. It was really fun. And you see these little friends like to wrestle and such, so I had to run a lot. And I learned that I really like running. A lot. I ran more than I needed to. I also learned I run like a weirdo. Sort of like the Terminator with a limp.

Anyways. I smell like SHIT, so I’m going to go shower, then ride my new bike.

ADIOS.

Happy Christmas~!

by Michelle

Recently, I’ve taken a liking to artsy things. I drew L on a much-used sketchbook (the same one I’ve been filling out since Costume Design) and here is the result. I want to learn how to draw–and not just copying things I find online. This is one of my first attempts at actually drawing something instead of just copying it (though, I did have to reference the hair and eyes and the letter). I’ve definitely improved, if you flip through my sketch book anyone will see that, but I just want to get BETTER, you know? YES. YOU DO. -cough-

I’m also attempting to take on more artsy projects. Recently I’ve learned how to knit, and I’ve always been a cut-stuff-out-of-magazines-and-paste-them-everywhere kind of girl. I don’t know why, but it makes me happy. So… I do it. Also, it makes me feel productive while I watch Anime. :D

Eventually, I want to get to the point where I just MAKE ALL THE PRESENTS for christmas, instead of running around and buying chocolates last minute (like I did this time, for Ben and Eileen.)

ANYWAY, how does everyone’s Christmas look? I’m spending tonight with the danishes (Malinda’s dad and step-mom (Ben and Eileen))–they open presents on Christmas eve, and have things like rice pudding and duck. Tomorrow morning they’re coming over here with a couple other people and we’re opening our presents, etc, eating pancakes, etc.

WEEEEEEEELL

SARAH, I should have your present done… this time next year. /ihopenot. But if I watch a lot of anime over break instead of doing my homework (which I will most likely do), then I should have your present done by YOUR BIRTHDAY on which day I will SEND IT OUT :D

Anyway.

Operation chubby-freckless-ninja* is WELL UNDERWAY. So… that’s good. I’m not quite sure if I’ll have managed to gain fifteen more pounds by march, but MY JEANS ARE TIGHTER THAN USUAL so that’s a good sign. Eh?

*I don’t think I linked Mallory to my blaaagh for that one. GO LOOK. It’s the password one.

by sarahlynch

My week. My week. My week was boring.

My faith is like potatoes, what about yours?

by malnuggets

Haven’t taken real life PHOTOGRAPHY in days; so here’s a five dollar movie I found at Office Depot, the scenic Grand Canyon in Mallory’s macro-economics classroom, and a much needed addition to a POT lab. (Thanks to my heavily scratched cell phone lens.)

I stayed home today. It was fantastic. Our zone teacher told us all to just stay home today. Hopefully that was legal and such. I planned to use all seven hours off to write an AWESOME college entry essay! But instead… instead instead that damn word, instead I danced around in every single pair of socks I could find in the house, taking advantage of Pandora through the downstair’s surround sound, and finished off an entire loaf of zucchini bread.

Now I have one paragraph of phony ideas regarding certainty and skepticism. I’ll make it better, more personal latter. (But for now I’m just happy that THIS distraction is sort of a necessary thing, and I can throw out a shit load of cuss words and inapproprisms SPELT WRONG, AND FRAGMENTS AND LOTS OF CAPS LOCK!) Ah. Feels so good.