In sixth grade, I was at loss one day when I had just finished my current book and I had no idea what to read next. As I couldn't think of anything seeing as how I had read just about every book my sisters had, I went to my mom. When I asked her, she thought about it, (I honestly think she might have just briefly forgotten) and then told me to go downstairs to the bookshelf and find a book by Stephen King called The Gunslinger. I thought it sounded kind of weird, and I had only ever read one or two books by Stephen King, but what I had read was good, so I decided to go along with it.
Now, if you had seen my mom's bookshelf, you would understand why I returned to her about 10 minutes later explaining that I couldn't find it. She patiently followed me downstairs and we looked and looked through the unorganized shelves until finally we found it. My first impression was that it looked really old, and that I didn't want to read it, but I figured I'd give it a try.
In the course of a year, maybe a little more, I read all seven of the Dark Tower Books, getting more and more into (not the word I was looking for, but it will work) the story. I started somewhere in the middle of 6th grade, and finished around Christmas break in 7th grade. Oh, and don't worry, there aren't going to be any spoilers on here in the pure chance that there is a newcomer to the Dark Tower books actually reading this, but it's really unlikely.
Anyway, if you are a Stephen King fan, you know that he recently, as in last week, released his new book, The Wind Through the Keyhole. I haven't read the whole thing, but I'm about 60 pages in, and I love the story. It's a Dark Tower related book, and tells yet another story from the gunslinger Roland of Gilead, and a story inside of his.
The first seven Dark Tower Books captivated me, and now that Stephen King has written another one, Dark Tower 4.5 as he likes to call it, I feel like I get to visit another part of my favorite story.Whenever I read a new book, I feel like I'm actually in the story, like I get to go on the characters' adventures with them. However, the story of Roland and his Ka-tet isn't a new one, I just get to hear a new part. :)
So basically, this long rant has been to say that I'm really excited to have something of my choosing to read, and that it's part of one of my favorite series from one of my favorite authors. In addition to his new book, I have also started reading The Stand (also by him), and I have three other books to read (one of which is for school). I LOVE having books to read, and even though it makes me feel like I have stuff to do, which stresses me out, I know that I will have reading material for QUITE a while, and that is one of my favorite things. So, if you're reading this, what is your favorite book? Your favorite author? ... I always love to hear what different people love to read, especially when their answers surprise me. :)
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A Little Bit of This and That....
Well, let's just say that it's been a very interesting weekend. I know that I'm basically saying in every post that I really can't wait for school to be out, but It's true. This weekend, I got to go driving again, and lets just say that it wasn't even nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Especially compared to the first time I drove. This time, I drove to my grandmas house and I didn't mix up the gas and the break this time, luckily.
One of my favorite things to do, is read. Recently I've been having to read a lot of different things for school, but I'm finally finding a little bit of time to read what I want, and I couldn't be happier. For world book day, my mom was chosen to receive 20 copies of a book from the list. Of the books of choice, she was given her first choice, The Stand by Stephen King. Stephen King's books have always amazed me and fascinated me and now I have another one and I'm just so excited to read it. I can't wait for a new story to fall into.
I know it's sad, but once this year is over ( school year that is) I probably won't write on here very much. I know I keep saying how excited I am for this school year to be over, but I'm also really, really bummed. After this year, we'll all branch off and become either Lancers or Darts, and then well rivalry and separation will begin. I honestly love being a Falcon, and I wish that I could just go back a few months, and then just pause time. If I could do that, then I would never have to worry about losing friends, or being nervous about high school.
I know I always act like I've got it under control but honestly, I'm freaking out most of the time. I always act like I know what's going to happen because I've got 5 older sisters, 3 of which I live with so I tell people, "Oh yeah! High school will go like this... and then this." Well, you can't really say that because every group of people is different. I'm friends with completely different types of people than my sisters were, so I honestly have no idea how things will turn out. I just say what I hope will happen, "When I get my drivers license, and I can pick up other people, I'll come get you at 5 in the morning and we'll go to breakfast before school!" Yeah, now that I think about it, I know it's sad to say, but I doubt that will happen.We'll see though, I mean like I said, you never now what will happen with people.
I'm really nervous about this next year, and I don't quite know what to expect, but I' going to go into it with a positive attitude, and make the best of it.
On a completely different note, I found out the other day that something I wrote for Letters For Literature is going to the state level of the competition. I'm really excited because I've never had anything like this happen before, I guess we'll see how it goes. Anyway, it's getting late, and I gotta go to bed, so goodnight internet!
One of my favorite things to do, is read. Recently I've been having to read a lot of different things for school, but I'm finally finding a little bit of time to read what I want, and I couldn't be happier. For world book day, my mom was chosen to receive 20 copies of a book from the list. Of the books of choice, she was given her first choice, The Stand by Stephen King. Stephen King's books have always amazed me and fascinated me and now I have another one and I'm just so excited to read it. I can't wait for a new story to fall into.
I know it's sad, but once this year is over ( school year that is) I probably won't write on here very much. I know I keep saying how excited I am for this school year to be over, but I'm also really, really bummed. After this year, we'll all branch off and become either Lancers or Darts, and then well rivalry and separation will begin. I honestly love being a Falcon, and I wish that I could just go back a few months, and then just pause time. If I could do that, then I would never have to worry about losing friends, or being nervous about high school.
I know I always act like I've got it under control but honestly, I'm freaking out most of the time. I always act like I know what's going to happen because I've got 5 older sisters, 3 of which I live with so I tell people, "Oh yeah! High school will go like this... and then this." Well, you can't really say that because every group of people is different. I'm friends with completely different types of people than my sisters were, so I honestly have no idea how things will turn out. I just say what I hope will happen, "When I get my drivers license, and I can pick up other people, I'll come get you at 5 in the morning and we'll go to breakfast before school!" Yeah, now that I think about it, I know it's sad to say, but I doubt that will happen.We'll see though, I mean like I said, you never now what will happen with people.
I'm really nervous about this next year, and I don't quite know what to expect, but I' going to go into it with a positive attitude, and make the best of it.
On a completely different note, I found out the other day that something I wrote for Letters For Literature is going to the state level of the competition. I'm really excited because I've never had anything like this happen before, I guess we'll see how it goes. Anyway, it's getting late, and I gotta go to bed, so goodnight internet!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Looking Towards The Future
In the next few months, things in my life, my home, are going to change so much. I'll be driving, starting in the fall I'll be in high school, and one of my sisters might move out (I won't go into detail about that though, cause every time I think about it I end up crying). I know I've done posts before about high school, but everyday, it gets closer and closer, and I think about it more and more. Going into high school is going to be way fun, but way sad at the same time. I'm going to lose some friends who will be going to different schools, but I'm going to get the opportunity to meet new ones. Now I'm not religious, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. So if you lose a friend, to me that means that your just opening a spot in your heart and your life for an even better one to come along. Everything has a purpose, if it didn't, then what would be the point of living? Anyway, it does make me sad to think that I'm going to be losing friends, but I am going to get the chance to meet and make even better ones. The ones I don't lose, even though we'll be split apart, will be the friends that I want to keep. The ones that I really don't want to lose. Losing friends has always been a kind of sensitive thing with me, which is why this "split" makes me nervous. I just have to tell myself that if we are really close enough, then we won't let the difference of schools get between us. I've watched it happen with all three of my sisters and their friends, it makes me sad to think of who I might lose.
Now, onto driving... Well that's an entirely different thing. My family and I are very outdoorsy so I've driven four-wheelers, a boat, wave runners, etc., but none of them is like driving a car. Now, I've only driven twice since I got my permit a few weeks ago, but it's pretty hard. I can never seem to figure out how far back the gas pedal is, so I think it's a lot further back than it really is so sometimes I've hit the gas a little bit harder than I've meant to. Considering that the two times I have driven it's been in two different cars might have something to do with it, but it still makes me nervous. You kind of have to have a quick reaction time, especially with all the crazy drivers out there who don't really care about how they might possibly be endangering the lives of others. Let's just say that my reaction time isn't as fast as it should be. I'm just hoping that I'll get enough practice in before I take the test sometime later in the summer. If all goes well, I won't have to walk to school in the winter, and I think it'd be worth it to save my fingers and toes. I don't mind walking outside when it's warm, or even slightly chilly, but give me snow or huge winds and you can forget about it. I've been there, and done that, and it is not at all fun.
Now, onto driving... Well that's an entirely different thing. My family and I are very outdoorsy so I've driven four-wheelers, a boat, wave runners, etc., but none of them is like driving a car. Now, I've only driven twice since I got my permit a few weeks ago, but it's pretty hard. I can never seem to figure out how far back the gas pedal is, so I think it's a lot further back than it really is so sometimes I've hit the gas a little bit harder than I've meant to. Considering that the two times I have driven it's been in two different cars might have something to do with it, but it still makes me nervous. You kind of have to have a quick reaction time, especially with all the crazy drivers out there who don't really care about how they might possibly be endangering the lives of others. Let's just say that my reaction time isn't as fast as it should be. I'm just hoping that I'll get enough practice in before I take the test sometime later in the summer. If all goes well, I won't have to walk to school in the winter, and I think it'd be worth it to save my fingers and toes. I don't mind walking outside when it's warm, or even slightly chilly, but give me snow or huge winds and you can forget about it. I've been there, and done that, and it is not at all fun.
Sunday, April 08, 2012
The Invincible Ship
History has always amazed me. Whether its a war, an explorer's adventures, or new discoveries, I am always captivated. Last week, because it was Spring Break my parents, one of my sisters, and I went on a road trip for days. We made a giant loop from Utah through Nevada, down part of the California coast, and then back through Nevada, and ending in Utah. It was pretty crazy, and there isn't that much to talk about, so I'll spare the boring details. On the last day of the trip (Thursday), we were in Las Vegas, and had arrived the night before. On Wednesday, we had a long drive getting to Las Vegas, so I wanted something to entertain me. At one of our stops, I got two magazines, one about the Titanic, and the other about 100 important discoveries. Well, because we had been listening to Catching Fire on the stereo, I couldn't focus and actually read the article about the Titanic, so I just flipped through the magazine and looked at the pictures. Like I said, history has always amazed me, especially the Titanic. So I flipped through the magazine, looked at the pictures, and finally got sick of trying to read, and put it down. Well, when we finally got to our hotel for the final night, The Luxor, we hauled our suitcases up to our room, and then went back out for some food. On the way out of the hotel, we noticed that at the Luxor they had a Titanic exhibit on display. Really excited because I had been viewing pictures of the Titanic all day, and reading a little bit when I could, I eagerly asked my mom if we could go to the exhibit in the morning as our final activity. When she said yes, I was overjoyed.
So the next morning, we got up, went out to breakfast, and then came back to the Luxor to see the exhibit. Practically bouncing up and down with excitement I was eager to view all the artifacts and such. Imagine my surprise when I found out just before we entered the exhibit (from the handy-dandy National Geographic magazine who's article I did not read until standing in line) that they had an actual piece of the Titanic. I was amazed and shocked just to hear it, I couldn't wait to see it.
Walking in, we began to feel sorrowful as we read about many of the people who transferred to the Titanic at last minute because of many different situations. Of the 2,000+ people who were on the boat, only around 700 lived, and more than 1,000 of them perished with the boat.
Walking through the exhibit, it was dead silent, everyone very respectful of the rooms. We were amazed as we walked up to the grand staircase, well it's replica obviously. The floor was made to look like the pattern found from tiles that were actually in the grand staircase on the Titanic. We walked into a room with a replica of the promenade deck, which they had the air slightly chilled so you would feel as though you were actually outside. We walked through many different rooms, and hallways, some playing classical music, others filled with the sound of sirens, nearly silent, but like the ones that would have been heard on the Titanic that morning. Or when we would walk through a nearly pitch black hallway filled only with display cases on the right wall every few feet, and you could hear the sound of water dripping and metal groaning. It was a truly amazing affect. When we finally walked into a room that had an iceberg in it, I could not believe my eyes. Not knowing if it was real, I walked over and laid my hand on it, (as was encouraged) and was shocked to feel the cold from it. I held my hand there for a few moments, and then had to pull away from the cold, with water still on my hand. It was a truly amazing affect. In the next post, I'll tell you more about the artifacts and such. This post is getting a little long by now. :)
So the next morning, we got up, went out to breakfast, and then came back to the Luxor to see the exhibit. Practically bouncing up and down with excitement I was eager to view all the artifacts and such. Imagine my surprise when I found out just before we entered the exhibit (from the handy-dandy National Geographic magazine who's article I did not read until standing in line) that they had an actual piece of the Titanic. I was amazed and shocked just to hear it, I couldn't wait to see it.
Walking in, we began to feel sorrowful as we read about many of the people who transferred to the Titanic at last minute because of many different situations. Of the 2,000+ people who were on the boat, only around 700 lived, and more than 1,000 of them perished with the boat.
Walking through the exhibit, it was dead silent, everyone very respectful of the rooms. We were amazed as we walked up to the grand staircase, well it's replica obviously. The floor was made to look like the pattern found from tiles that were actually in the grand staircase on the Titanic. We walked into a room with a replica of the promenade deck, which they had the air slightly chilled so you would feel as though you were actually outside. We walked through many different rooms, and hallways, some playing classical music, others filled with the sound of sirens, nearly silent, but like the ones that would have been heard on the Titanic that morning. Or when we would walk through a nearly pitch black hallway filled only with display cases on the right wall every few feet, and you could hear the sound of water dripping and metal groaning. It was a truly amazing affect. When we finally walked into a room that had an iceberg in it, I could not believe my eyes. Not knowing if it was real, I walked over and laid my hand on it, (as was encouraged) and was shocked to feel the cold from it. I held my hand there for a few moments, and then had to pull away from the cold, with water still on my hand. It was a truly amazing affect. In the next post, I'll tell you more about the artifacts and such. This post is getting a little long by now. :)
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Road Trip!!
So, last week, I was eagerly awaiting this week, Spring Break, because well first of all, it's spring break, and secondly I'm on a road trip! Woohoo! Our plan? It's a HUGE circle starting in Utah, going across Nevada, and then down through California and back through Nevada where we'll stop in Vegas. We're doing all of this in 6 days. It's pretty crazy, but that's us, haha! So... It's day one, and we left home at around 10 O'clock. Right now, it's 12:10 and we just pulled into Wendover. Today, we're going all the way to Lake Tahoe. It's gonna be a whole lot of driving. After a snack stop, it's 12:30, and we're on the road once again. I just have to say how excited I am to see things like the GoldenGate Bridge, and Lake Tahoe. I just can't wait. I'm so excited. It sounds cheesy, but oh well. Right now we're also listening to Catching Fire on an audio book.. It's been a while since I last read it, so it's really fun.
Alright, so now it's 2:00 Nevada time, 3:00 in Utah I guess. We're a little over halfway through Nevada, things are going pretty well, woohoo. Wow, I just have to say that it's really scary to see semi trucks swaying side to side as the wind blows them. We've already seen one on it's side, and it was pretty scary.. Hopefully we don't see anymore. And, the long car ride continues...
Okay, so it's still day one, and we've been in the car for nearly 6 hours. We just left Winnemucca ( I think that's how you spell it) and now once again, we're on the road. It's getting pretty stormy here, lots of wind. I'm gonna go find a way to entertain myself now. By the way, it's 4:00.
Now it's 5:30, and I just have to say that am really sick of the car. My tailbone hurts, and I just want to be walking around doing something fun. We're in Nevada, and we just passed Nevada mile marker 56. Woohoo!
So, now we're almost in California!!! I'm so happy! Right now, it's 8:05 Utah time, and we're still in the car. I think my parents are getting sick of us asking how far we are. Oh well, it's still fun. 10 hours in the car isn't exactly joyful. We're almost there though!
So we got to our hotel around probably 9:00 Utah time. Let me just say, that a bed feels really nice aftter sleeping at awkward angles in a cramped car. For dinner we went out to eat at this buffet which was really good, and then we came back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 2
Okay, so right now, it's about 7:30 Utah time. I just got up, took a shower, and I am now trying to do something productive while I wait for everyone else to get up. I think that today we are driving to Eureka California. I'm also pretty sure that we're gonna see the giant redwood forest. I'm pretty excited! Tommorrrow, we're going to either see Alcatraz or go to Ghiradelli Square. (I don't think I spelled that right). By the way, did you know that it's really hard to write a blog post on an ipad? I keep pressing all the wrong buttons. It's kind of fun though too. Anyway, I'm going to split this up into at least two posts, so This is the end of blog numero uno. Bye!
Alright, so now it's 2:00 Nevada time, 3:00 in Utah I guess. We're a little over halfway through Nevada, things are going pretty well, woohoo. Wow, I just have to say that it's really scary to see semi trucks swaying side to side as the wind blows them. We've already seen one on it's side, and it was pretty scary.. Hopefully we don't see anymore. And, the long car ride continues...
Okay, so it's still day one, and we've been in the car for nearly 6 hours. We just left Winnemucca ( I think that's how you spell it) and now once again, we're on the road. It's getting pretty stormy here, lots of wind. I'm gonna go find a way to entertain myself now. By the way, it's 4:00.
Now it's 5:30, and I just have to say that am really sick of the car. My tailbone hurts, and I just want to be walking around doing something fun. We're in Nevada, and we just passed Nevada mile marker 56. Woohoo!
So, now we're almost in California!!! I'm so happy! Right now, it's 8:05 Utah time, and we're still in the car. I think my parents are getting sick of us asking how far we are. Oh well, it's still fun. 10 hours in the car isn't exactly joyful. We're almost there though!
So we got to our hotel around probably 9:00 Utah time. Let me just say, that a bed feels really nice aftter sleeping at awkward angles in a cramped car. For dinner we went out to eat at this buffet which was really good, and then we came back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 2
Okay, so right now, it's about 7:30 Utah time. I just got up, took a shower, and I am now trying to do something productive while I wait for everyone else to get up. I think that today we are driving to Eureka California. I'm also pretty sure that we're gonna see the giant redwood forest. I'm pretty excited! Tommorrrow, we're going to either see Alcatraz or go to Ghiradelli Square. (I don't think I spelled that right). By the way, did you know that it's really hard to write a blog post on an ipad? I keep pressing all the wrong buttons. It's kind of fun though too. Anyway, I'm going to split this up into at least two posts, so This is the end of blog numero uno. Bye!
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