Argon's Anniversary

I have a video almost ready for this, but it's having trouble exporting. Should be ready tomorrow. This is just a place holder to keep it on the date. Hopefully you guys won't even check until later.

All Hallow's Eve

Today I went trick-or-treating ish. As in I accompanied Benjamin with Mom on his trick-or-treating. I did a bunch of work with animating this thing of pumpkins and ghosts and candy and stuff.

Speaking of candy, if you haven't seen Vihart's epic new Halloween Video, I recommend you do so immediately!

Anyways, I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the animation up... I'll still try to finish it, even if it's after halloween.

Benjamin went trick-or-treating as a miscellaneous object. It was this big cardboard box painted red and brown with glow-in-the-dark bumper sticker reflecty things and big cardboard wheels. And a glowing trident, because the grotesquely slimy plastic glowing skull sword he had won at the Halloween Carnival died (thank god).

We got the trident from being boo'd yesterday evening. The booing provided us with some candy, halloween pencils, special circle erasers, and window decorations. Plus the glow in the dark trident.

Anyways.

Benjamin enjoyed confusing people with his original costume and then crowing the name. One might think that a costume called a "Miscellaneous Object" had been thrown together last minute due to lack of inspiration, but Benjamin has been diligently working on this costume for weeks.

I did not have a costume. Maybe I'll try it again next year, but it felt good to have a break from going up to people's houses this year.

I tried to do this whole big kitten photo shoot - halloween themed. I had high expectations that did not all come to fruition. For one, I borrowed a pumpkin bucket from Clarissa. While this bucket provided much entertainment from kittens tumbling around on it, they could not, unfortunately, quite fit in it. It is also unfortunate that the shots of them tussling with the plastic pumpkin are nothing but blurs. :(
I do have a lot of great shots of kittens though, some of which including pumpkins.
I also made each cat a little ghost costume with eye holes and everything to try to take pictures. This did not entirely work out, because once the ghost sheet was placed on said cat, I would get enough time to fumble with the camera before the kitten would realize that they were under something with HOLES.
...
They were unbelievably cute, but not in an especially photographically convenient way. Also, I'll have to make new ghost costumes. :)

I hope Phoebe found her Halloween Candy Bowl sufficient in the absence of her pumpkin bucket. While my camera experiment did not turn out how I envisioned it, let it be known that the presence of the pumpkin bucket was much appreciated both by cats and spectators. Thank you, Phoebe!

I'm sorry my posts were squeezed late this month. Next month look forwards to:

-My Scary Story from school
-Pumpkin Animation
-Fall Picture collection!

More to follow. Thank you for your patience and helpful reminders about my due dates!

~Julia :)

P.S. Boo!

Brother Book - Outed Edition

SCENARIO: You decide it is time to come out as gay to your brother. I suppose in this module it doesn't have to be a brother. Coming out to anyone maybe. I hold everyone by the same standards, really. Let's just assume it's a guy, though. Coming out to random guy called Brother for the purpose of this scenario.


BAD BROTHER:

Me: Brother...?
Brother: Mm?
Me: I have something to tell you.
Brother: *burps
Me:...
Brother: SO?
Me: So... can I tell you?
Brother: Whatev. 
(Brother turns on television.)
Me: I am gay.
Brother: *burps
Me: ...
Brother: lol, spongebob's in a jar. bwahahaha.
Me: Brother, listen to what I have to say!
Brother: Later, sis. Imma go hang out with my bros.
Me: ...

OR

Me: Brother?
Brother: Yah?
Me: I'm gay.
Brother:...
Brother: LOL good one! *cracks up
Me: ...

OR

Me: Brother?
Brother: Yes, oh sister?
Me: I am gay.
Brother: ...
Brother: Well that's STUPID.
Me: ...
Me: :(

OR

Me: Brother?
Brother: Yes, sister dear?
Me: I have something I want to tell you...
Brother: I'm listening.
Me: I...
Brother: Yeah?
Me: am...
Brother: It's okay... you can trust me!
Me: ...
Me: *sigh
Me: gay.
Brother: WTF!!!!
*throws turkey
*turkey guts explode all over my new shirt
Me: *gasp
Brother: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME???
Me: ... :(
Brother: HERE!!!
*tosses trays of turkey guts at me. I drop them and they spill on my shoes.
Brother: Take that to your lesbo cult!
Me: Brother, be reasonable!
Brother: YOU ARE DEAD TO ME.
Me: :(

OR

Me: Brother?
Brother: Yeah?
Me: I'm gay.
Brother: BLAAAAAAAARGH!!!! *flies into murderous rage and murders me with an axe (murderous, murders, geddit?)


GOOD BROTHER:

Me: Brother?
Brother: Yes?
Me: I need to tell you something.
Brother: Don't worry. I'm here for you. You can tell me anything.
Me: I... I'm...
Brother: Relax. I won't judge you.
Me: I'm gay!
Brother: !
Brother: Thank you for telling me. I'm touched that you trust me with something like that.
Me: Aw, thanks.
Brother: If you ever need to talk, I'm on your side!


MY BROTHER:

Me: Benjamin?
Benjamin: Yeah?
Me: Can I talk to you?
Benjamin: Sure...
Me: ...
Me: I'm... gay.
Benjamin: Really?
Me: Yup.
Benjamin: Wow. 
...
Me: *long gushy rant about my romantic experienc
Benjamin: Huh. I guess I'm still sort of surprised.
Me: I haven't told Mom and Dad yet.
Benjamin: Are you going to?
Me:...
Me: Yeah, probably...
*long gushy rant about my feelings
Benjamin: Okay.
Me: You have crushes too!
Benjamin: Yeah.
*long discussion about Benjamin's feelings. Benjamin is surprisingly cooperative.
Me: Didn't you see *crush* the other day?
Benjamin: Yeah...
Me: Meaningful wide-eyed look (I'm very bad at being subtle when we get into conversations like this. I'm not trying to tease him or anything, but it really bothers him. I'm getting better at being more... considerate of my facial expressions.)
Benjamin: Bwargh! *punches me
Me: I'm sorry! I'm so so so so sorry!
Benjamin: *flops on pillow
Me: Agh Benjamin noooooooo
5 minutes later...
Me: So yeah. Yay.
Benjamin: Okay.
Me: Cool!

Best Day Ever

This was written for a school assignment. All of you play a part!

A soft purple light presses on my eyelids and I realize I am awake. My eyes open readily to the gentle streamers of sun dripping through my window. My bedroom is clean and glowing, without a speck of dust on the pristine white carpeting. I sigh, feeling warm and well rested. As I contemplate the morning, I notice my kittens are snuggling against me. Sasha is bundled in a fluffy muffin-shape on my chest, and Maya leans against my side.

The kittens seem to sense that I am awake, and they stretch, cuddling each other and purring. This is the beginning of a snuggle fest that continues the next 15 minutes. I pet them and they slide and roll all over me contentedly. Maya slides onto my face and sticks her nose in my ear.

Eventually I arise and get dressed. Clothes have been laid out, which all fitting comfortably and softly and happening to be extremely fashionable, with floaty layers and coordinated color combinations. The kittens start tumbling around my room quietly.

I walk to the bathroom, which is clean and naturally lit, and wash my face. My hair is long like it used to be, but light and untangled. I brush my teeth with non-flavored toothpaste, and smile at the mirror. I no longer have braces, but my teeth are now straight.

My brother, Benjamin, is still asleep. So is everyone else; it is only eight o’clock on a Saturday. I tiptoe downstairs without disturbing anything, and curl up on the couch with a blanket to read. Birds start chirping through the windows, which are not obscured by blinds. Not only birds are stirring; squirrels scamper across the front yard.

My father comes downstairs and starts cooking waffles, with eggs. Soon the house is filled with an aroma of waffles, which rouses my brother. He trundles downstairs sleepily with his hair fluffing up in unusual ways, toting his stuffed elephant. We talk for a while, playing with the kittens.

The table has become magically set with plates and cutlery, so I am free to do as I wish. I decide to feed the cats a serving of wet food. I choose Ocean Whitefish Feast, which as well as being my kittens’ favorite, also smells better than competition in the litter box. The kittens wait patiently, without leaping onto the counter or sink or anything. When I put the dish on the floor, Sasha does not eat too fast.

Dad announces that breakfast is now ready for us as well. The waffles are fluffy and delicious. I have juice with my breakfast that is fresh and sweet, instead of the bitter taste that orange juice can sometimes get. I eat a satisfactory amount of food, and do not feel over full. We all finish breakfast at the same time and move to the living room.

Dad plays music – good music, like Dvorak or Smetana. Benjamin and I sit on the floor and play chess. Benjamin is able to beat me twice, which makes him very happy. After a bit more family relaxation, I decide to go outside and experience the lovely weather.

I walk in a large Nature Preserve, with hilly forests and rivers. The autumn weather is crisp and cool and breezy, like a gem. I do not get tired, so I am able to devote my attention to thinking happy thoughts. I wade into a river up to my knees. The water is relaxing and cold, but not overly frigid. I stand in the river for a while, watching the fabrics of the current. Finally I retreat to bank. My shoes come on easily, and my feet stick to no sand or wet.

I happen to have my camera, which has been no weight or burden thus far, and I take many amazing pictures of the scenery. With a magical moving tripod, I also film a low-key music video of myself doing various things in the forest.

It is now lunch time, and my mother picks me up from the preserve to go to a local Thai restaurant. We are led to the back of the restaurant, where we discover a large garden filled with exotic flowers of vivid eccentric colors. Large birds of various types lounge in the shadows of voluminous fountains and sculptures. Luckily, we are currently the only ones here.

I order basil rolls, pad thai, soup, and ginger beef. The servings are just right, and I am able to eat the dishes to my content without feeling overfed in any way. The waiter does not bother us, instead leaving us with a pitcher of water to pour as we please. It turns out that it is No-Pay Restaurant Day, so our meal goes free of charge!

We walk home together, where I am suddenly inspired to engage in many artistic crafts. I go to my room and paint several pictures. I have recently bought new paints and canvases, and the colors blend wonderfully. After I lay these down to dry, I transition to photography. The lighting in my house is perfect, and every shot turn out great. Benjamin suggests we try some sculpture together, so I join him in the making of some abstract creations in clay.

Mom and Dad interrupt us to take Benjamin to a play date with his friends in a park. I have the house to myself, so I take the advantage of the privacy to complete all the video projects which I have endeavored to plan.

Alex, Emma, and Clarissa drop by to help. They are very useful holding cameras or props, or even serving as extras. To celebrate the completion and perfection of my creations, we go to the frozen yogurt place two blocks away from my house. There is no car traffic or noise pollution on the way to Yoforia, and the surrounding stores are closed and quiet.

The music in the store is sort of tingly, and not annoying or interfering in any way. There is a huge selection of flavors, and we manage to get a satisfactory taste of each without the total becoming too expensive or filling. We talk for a bit about school, then take a fancy bus to a nearby beach.

The bus is cushy and fun, with plush seats and plasma tanks and music players. We lounge around joking and playing word games. Before we arrive, we change into our swimsuits, which are sleek and modern and make us look like very experienced teenagers.

The beach is sunny and empty, but we don’t need sunscreen. Large expanses of sand are piled with rare, beautiful shells that we collect in buckets. The tide is in, and we run to the water and play without getting sand in our swimsuits. The water is warm and salty, swelling in huge, exciting waves in certain areas. We swim under the water, without getting any in our nose or mouths.

We see dolphins appear nearby, and they swim closer. We are of course not aloud to touch or feed them, but they come right up to us all the same. Their skins are dark and wet, and they circle us, happily fluting.

After our beach fun, changing clothes is easy – not cold, not tedious, and not uncomfortable. Now I am perfectly dry in an array stylish summery clothes. My long hair flows in the ocean breeze, which is relaxing and fun. We head up over the dunes (without disturbing any errant sea turtle nests) and split ways.

I find a canoe sitting in a lake. The canoe is small and lean, with a glossy red paint job. I settle onto the bench and row effortlessly along the deserted lake. The sun reflects off the cool waters, throwing into relief the surrounding mountains. Occasionally I pass small islands in the water, but there are fewer of them as the lake narrows into a thick channel, surrounded by dense forest.

Oddly enough, I come across a deliberate clearing by the shore on one side, where there seems to be a large, intricate pagoda. I row ashore, and discover that a large stock of books from Borders have been kept here, and are now being given away. It just so happens that all the books I want to read or own are here. I put these in a cart as I browse, which is driven off to my house once I am finished. Borders also happens to have a number of other random products, such as a collection of albums by the kpop artists I happen to enjoy.

From this pagoda is a path up a mountain, thick with greenery. I take one of my newly purchased books and hike up with it until I find a nice shady spot with a hammock near the top. The hammock is soft and relaxing. I arrange myself facing the horizon, and read my new book.

It is a rather short book, and does not take me very long to finish. It is late in the afternoon, almost evening. I hike up a little farther to a cliff, from which I paraglide to Clarissa’s house. The wind is great for paragliding, and I feel very alive up in the sky. Alex and Emma are just arriving when I show up, and all three of my friends are impressed by my paragliding skills. Before we go inside, Mom shows up with my kittens.

The kittens are perfectly willing to adjust to their new surroundings and have a fun time exploring in this ringworm-spore-free environment! For a while my friends and I play with the kittens, then agree on a joint filming project, which we create in Clarissa’s basement. We only make it half way through the project, but we decide that we can leave the rest for tomorrow.

Instead, we head out to Clarissa’s back yard, where we play imagination games. Clarissa’s neighbor has transformed their row of yards into a maze of trees, logs, and canals from the small creek. We don’t have boots, but our shoes turn out to be water resistant. When we decide to go barefoot anyways, the mud and wet comes off easily as needed.

Dinner is Japanese food, which is cooked for us by a private chef from a Japanese restaurant. (This is not to imply that Clarissa’s father’s Japanese cousine does not compare to that of this particular chef, however I would like to picture the meal rather resembling ones that I have had previously from particular cooking styles). We all like the food, but even better is the desert, which takes the form in that of several large muffins.

After dinner we talk for a bit, then gush over my new kpop albums. Everyone happens to be into the same kpop groups as I am, and we chat about them all. We also participate in some fun criticism and rants. By now we are feeling very happy and bonded.

It is dark outside, and we adjourn to a makeup party in Clarissa’s bathroom! Our makeup stores have very much expanded, so the range in experiments is much more exciting. I create a playlist of tunes reminiscent of makeovers and play that on my iPod. We are now experts at our beauty techniques. All of us look great, but I look the best. We all exchange compliments.

Looking fantastic, we retire to Clarissa’s bedroom, which is bigger and more comfortable than usual. We snuggle up with blankets and kittens to watch the next installment of a TV show on a huge TV screen in Clarissa’s room. We all have popcorn, but no one eats to quickly or makes any distracting noise. During the show, our makeup melts away. Somewhere in a commercial break we all change into our pajamas, which are fuzzy and cozy but not too hot.

The show ends, and we turn on a lamp to talk about our favorite characters. This conversation evolves to a more personal track on crushes and things. All our beds are on the same level, so we burrow in, still able to make eye contact. Soon enough we arrive at a very productive round of truth or dare. (These games have almost always ended up being just truth, but today there are some rather creative non-exertion or humiliation based dares that prop up.)
            We are able to stay up as long as we want, but we are not getting tired. I am feeling very satisfied under my warm covers, surrounded by happy friends and kittens, but not strained. The conversation does not dwindle, and when we finally go to sleep, we will be well rested in the morning. Once the conversation stops, my brain pleasantly fogs, and I reflect on the wonders of my day. My kittens are yet again piled on top of me, and they purr softly as I drift off to sleep.

Over the River and Through the Woods

So... I came out at school two weeks ago!

...

Woop!

It was national coming out day/week last week-ish, and since then many outings have been achieved!

Casey and Clarissa and I met about coming out to the class. We decided that it would be less awkward to do it by way of a digital letter rather than in person. This would hopefully present an onslaught of potentially awkward questions.

I spent a couple days writing the letter in a word document. For some reason, when you copy from a word document, it sometimes crops off the back edge in an email. This made me have to attach the document separately, which made me worry that kids would take a long time getting around to downloading and reading it.
Put it on their highrise...
forget about it...
not wanting to write an essay about anything...
I was kind of nervous.

I added a little introduction about wanting to tell everyone in the class something that I just want to be known about me and it shouldn't be a big deal and yadayadayada. I saved this as a draft, but then I wasn't really sure what to do.

Should I email it to Casey? Then she could forward it to everyone? No, Casey never checks her email. Besides, that would be weird.
To Clarissa? That seems a bit unnecessary. In the end I just decided to send it out to everyone.

(for some reason Laura's email was this totally random thing, so it had to be forwarded to her by Casey, but whatever)

Clarissa, Alex, and I made sure everyone was on the list, grabbed our stuff, and asked Casey to ask the class to read it. Then Clarissa and I fled downstairs, leaving Alex to keep as a lookout.

We went to a room downstairs and panicked. No one was emailing me or doing anything and I was FREAKING OUT. I sent a few panic emails. Clarissa would go upstairs to get stuff and scout. The first time she went up everyone was like "SHE'S COMING" and then sort of stared at her. Then they realized she wasn't me and it was a bit awkward.

No one responded for a very long time, which was horrible, but here are some nice responses I have now:

"It's probably really scary to come out and say something personal like that. You're really brave." -Laura

"okay, I am not against bisexuality so I don't really care but it is nice to know.  If we had to write an essay about a health class that would get an A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++" -Cole

"You go girl!!!! " -Lucy

In addition to the school, I have also now been outed to:

-My violin teacher
-Clarissa's dad (it's about time!)
-4 more people from the synagogue

And yeah. Bing!
Happy National Coming Out Month!

Tomorrow I'll post a Brother Book about Coming Out. Yaaaay.

Why

whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy

The White Elephant

Often, while pondering my monthly blog quota, I find that I have run dry of ideas for a fifth and final post while the deadline is close at hand. I stay up late thinking, and work hard in the afternoons scrambling to patch together little films or picture collections or ANYTHING to substitute for my lack of verbal inspiration.
Oh well, I think. Guess that's done for then.
I sigh as I picture my disappointed subscribers refreshing the page on the final day of a given month, only to confirm my lack of  competence as a deadline blogger. I feel the guilt heavily on my strained and burdened shoulders and I yearn for a source of compensation.
I feel I owe it to my readers to commemorate my failure - to commemorate their belief and support in a trend that failed. I feel I ought to acknowledge how much I regret this tragedy, how I promise to do better in the future. I must communicate all my sorrows.
And there's only one way a blogger lament about one's blog.
Blogging.
I feel this urge to write a memorial post, revisiting that which was lost. A closure. A promise of a new beginning. I turnover to a fresh start. Something deep and sincere, to mark the junction between two eras of my personal blogging.
I plot it out in my mind. "Well, I suppose this is it. My failure. This time  I have finally let you guys down. You can see I have failed to meet the pattern that I myself initiated by chance. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I won't let myself deceive you again. Hopefully we can find a way..."
It's all very moving and honest and well written, I can assure you.
Even as this idea occurs to me, however, I see the obvious flaw that you guys have all noticed by now (and already inferred that this is the topic my blog post is going to address, I presume) - if I post this... If I post anything about this... if I even only post two words of apology....
Then I immediately destroy the core of the post. For this post of failure, of not enough, of only four, then BECOMES the fifth post. That is all nice and fun and one might think "Oh yay! Now I don't even have to write the apology post!"- in fact, it would no longer be logical to do so - which as you guys have already figured out, is the problem.
This post cannot exist without eliminating the possibility of its existence! This does not need to become a paradox, however - for there is no contributing element forcing the post to exist at all! When we simply forget about the initial existence of my apology, the whole dilemma vanishes!
This leaves me back where I started - four posts only. Not enough.
Actually, it leaves me off even worse than where I was - not only have I failed my readers, I can't even apologize. I can't even say sorry. I can't even honor my blog's lucky trend in all its glory.
You could argue this point. You could say "Surely it is not to much trouble to simply post a notice of regret the following day?"
To me an apology for the collapse of a month, stated in the beginning of a new month (which should be filled with visions for the future and optimistic views on new endeavors) is something hollow and lonely and sad. The old month is now a thing of the past. It has crumpled into memory and is already drifting away, not to be called to mind. It will remain empty and unfinished and purposeless forever more in my blog archive. A ghost.
No, the apology must not only be made to the readers, but to the month itself. Within the month. A warm spot in a place of shady remembrance where the month can lie, consoled.
Each time this spot of awkward desperation roles around on the monthly calendar, it is this thought of what I owe that forces me to find something to contribute. To me this post should not be thought of as one of the ghost posts I mentioned earlier - a superficial excuse for scraping along the deadline, but a post just as thoughtful, truthful, and worthwhile as if it had been the first post of this fine month. This post is a reminder to me, as my blog's first anniversary roles around the corner, of the dedication I must maintain.
I hope you all have a wonderful October. Enjoy the lovely weather!
~Julia

Huzzah

Today is my Dad's birthday! For once it does not coincide with a Jewish holiday, so that's a relaxing change. Yay! I bought him a little bamboo plant. I also gave  him a muffin recipe.

The cats loved the presents :) - Sasha would climb into the boxes we opened before we could even see what was inside! Mom went to a farmers marker in Decatur today and bought a bunch of raspberries and figs and pineapple and stuff, so that's good too! Since it's Dad's birthday, we bought a cake from Alon's, instead of having Dad make one. It's called a truffle cake.

Truffle cakes are really good! They have three thin layers of chocolatey cake stuff in creamy mousse with glossy chocolate coating around the top and edge. It's not to rich, and is very tasty! Dad is going out with Mom tonight, so we had cake in the afternoon.

Normally we would give the kittens some wet food to celebrate, but they just had wet food yesterday for Shabbot (we forgot Friday), and we really are trying to get them on a diet.

What's the deal with that???

Sasha's the deal with that! When Sasha is hungry, sometimes it's hard for her to stop eating - she doesn't realize that she's full. They've actually done a lot of tests about this sort of thing with people. Sasha isn't unhealthy or anything, just a little bit plumper than one might expect from a kitten her age.

What we've done so far with the kittens is to keep the food bowl full at all times. This is what you should do with young kittens - they are growing and developing so fast and burn so much energy that they need a constant supply. Our kittens are older now, though, and don't need as much food. Being spayed actually lowered their metabolism by 30%. We had been advised to start a feeding schedule when they were one year old, but since Sasha needs more defined meals, we're starting that earlier. (They are currently 8 months old.)

What we did with Lili is that she would get two scoops of food in the morning, to eat throughout the day. With our two kittens, the current plan is a scoop in the morning and a scoop at about five in the afternoon. Hopefully we can keep Sasha as stable as she is now, weight-wise.

We haven't actually been able to start this - if the kittens are without food and hungry, they will probably try to attack the bag of cat food. Although we're sure they'll adjust with time, we want to find a separate container for the cat food to avoid temptation.

That's basically all the cat news right now. I'm sorry to have missed school this past week, although I've made up most of my homework, I think. I'm actually thinking my history paper will be postponed till next week, as I didn't really have any time to learn much these past few days (aside from several facts I scrapped together on the internet).

I'll of course be returning to school Monday, and hopefully this week will be more productive.

Thanks for tuning in!
~Julia

Highlights of Year 5772

- I break my arm.
- I go to Jekyll Island on a school trip (with a broken arm).

Notice the purple bandage on my left arm...

- I do a cool science musicy sound project with Lena for the math fair.

- I audition for Allstate (with a broken arm).

- I don't play Kol Nidre at High Holidays (due to a broken arm).
- I play viola in the school orchestra.
- I start this blog :)
- I make my debut as an artichoke on Halloween.
- I volunteer regularly at the Furkids Petsmart location.

- I can't remember Thanksgiving at all, which is really weird...
- Matter a fact, I can't remember like ANYTHING from November at all, which is bizarre.. and kind of scary... and I feel guilty, because I berate my future self for forgetting this moment of my existence all the time... so it's pretty likely that I was thinking that some time in November... and I've forgotten... oops...
- I have my first AJCO concert.

- I introduce myself to Selena Gomez.













- Tropetropetropetropetrope...













- I cut my haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair!

- I have my period... (I can say stuff like that cuz this is a PRIVATE BLOG)
- I come out to immediate friends and family. (Again... private blog!)

- I miss school on Wednesday... due to fever.
- I miss school on my birthday... due to fever. :( (Thus delaying the arrival of a most wonderful birthday octopus drawing by Emma!)
- I attend my Bat Mitzvah rehearsal on my birthday... despite fever.
- I miss school on Friday... due to "religious observance".
- I watch a Very Pottery Musical (despite "religious observance") and deny it for months...
- I have my Bat Mitzvah... woop!
- I zip to a second Allstate audition (despite Bat Mitzvah)... and fail horribly at sight reading.
- I have my Bat Mitzvah party... woop!
- No Hebrew School the day after my Bat Mitzvah, cuz it's MLK weekend or whatever! Which sucks! Cuz I didn't even need to have my Bat Mitzvah for that!
- No school the day after my Bat Mitzvah... cuz it's MLK weekend! :)
- All four of us kids take the SATS! Yaaaaay! Hope we ruled out any irregularities ;)! (Thanks for the reminder, Emma!)
- I get an iPod... and an iTunes account... woop!
- I introduce myself to the kpop group 'Sistar'.

- Clarissa introduces herself to the kpop group 'Sistar' and I deny association.

- I confess to Clarissa like a week later.

- I don't get kittens.
- I don't get kittens again.

- And again.

- And again.

- I fly alone to New York City for a week long vacation with grandparents! Woop!
- I don't get kittens.
- ...
- KITTEEEEEEEEEENS!!!!

- Kitten insaneness... aaaaaah....
- Inman Eagle Orchestra attends Festival.
- Inman Eagle end of year concert.
- I graduate seventh grade, and officially leave Inman.
- I go to Yosemite and it is AMAZING.
- Other places in California are also cool!
- I go to Colorado and it is awesome.
- I blow glass with Emma, which is the most epic thing ever.
- I start Little Middle School.

...

Yeah... So I know I forgot like 50 different things... so contribute your own lists and I will add them! Woop!
Shana Tova!
~Julia

P.S. Seriously, comment whatever comes to your mind as important!