Here's the dizzle Amy: I don't really like to make posts right before you come home because then I always either end up telling you everything in the post, or try not to tell you anything in the post, and it just doesn't really work out. Hopefully, though, this weekend, we'll be pretty busy, so it won't leave much time for us to lay around and me feel like I have to tell you something about whats been going on around here.
In reality, I can't really tell you what's been going on around here, because I've been gone. Here's what I love about being gone while mom and dad are also gone: when I get back, I don't feel like something crazy and huge happened while I was gone, like I feel every time I leave the house.
And this feeling of being left out of something huge isn't for no reason. This paranoia isn't irrational, it is born from a fair amount of what I like to call, "family non-communication"
One of my biggest fears is "family non-communication, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, heres a definition written by non other than yours truly:
Family Non-Communication is when something happens within a family and they never discuss it even though they all know that they're all thinking about it. You know they know. They know you know. They know you know they know. You know they know you know. Family Non-Communication also includes the failure to communicate to an absent family member that something absolutely huge and family-shaping has happened.
This has happened to me on a number of occasions.
Let us travel back to 2005 or maybe 2006. I don't remember which year and I am practicing Family Non-Communication Resentment, so I"m not going to ask anyone.
Anyway, back in the day, I went to my friends house, and when my family picked me up at the gas station in the big fifteen passenger van before going to "the Living History Festival", there was a distinct absence of noise. Not silence, just an absence of noise. Now, Family Non-Communication is something that breeds the absence of noise, and that's what I was picking up on. Even though I was like seven.
Now at the time I was looking forward to "the Living History Festival" so I passed it off as "Joseph isn't in the mood to pester me and everyone else is tired," but I knew, something was wrong.
So the whole day went past, and I was surrounded by whispers and giggles, and I thought, maybe, just maybe, I would be able to pick up on what the secret was if I just stuck close to Diana and Angela and pretended like I wasn't listening, but NO, that didn't even work.
And it wasn't until probably ten hours after I got in that van and realized something was wrong until my mother told me that Daniel was "courting" Catherine.
THAT's what all the whispering was about? Dude, its not THAT big of a deal! I thought someone had died or got pregnant or something!
And that was the first time it happened. Since then its happened may times, (once when Daniel got engaged, once when Diana broke up with one boy and started dating another, and once when Kristin got engaged.)
In my pact against Family Non-Communication I have perposefully tried not to pick up any hints or signals so that when my parents finally do decide to tell me something, it will be the first time that I've heard about it. That, or I pick up on it way before they do and then when they tell me and I don't act surprised they think I'm some selfish droid. (yes, I already knew that Diana was pregnant. or at least guessed it. When they're popping them out like popcorn its not exactly 'surprising'. Not to say that I'm any less excited or anything, I just was totally expecting it.)
So help against Family Non-Communication, and remind your parents that 'If They're Whispering About It, It Concerns You' they need to know that every time we hear a whisper out of them we instantly assume the worst. So its just better if we know.
Now if it actually is "the worst" that's a whole different story.
PEACE OUT AMY. SEE YOU IN HALF AN HOUR!!!!
-Michelle
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
So Much to Do, So Little Time
The thing about being in college is that you can choose what you want to do. Since the only things you're really required to do only pertain to some classes that you take a couple of times a day or a part-time job, the rest of the time is free for you to be beholden to no one but yourself.
I'm in love with this aspect of college.
In fact, this is one of the primary reasons I avoid social obligations. I don't want to let anything encroach on the time I have to pursue the things I'm interested in. There are a few problems with this (besides the obvious, potentially socially stunting problem). Firstly, the more time I have, the bigger my list of interests gets. It started out with writing, which is something I've been interested in since I was eleven or twelve. But once I got writing, a whole new vista of possibility stretched out before me. Writers can't just write - they have to write about something, and usually in order to write about it, they have to do research on it. So pretty quickly I started pursuing knowledge in international politics, corporate crime, small firearms, swordplay, desert topography, Middle Eastern culture, kudzu growing habits and state government. Soon there were so many that I couldn't really get in-depth on any of them. So I had to pick and choose, narrowing my research down to one writing project and then throwing myself into one thing at a time. The topic I've settled on to focus on at the present moment is virology (specifically smallpox). It's interesting and fun and I get to put a lot of the informtion I find into my story, so that's good.
That's just one example of how quickly things can get out of hand and how drastically I have to rein myself in (otherwise I'd just be a frazzled mess who skipped class all the time to read up on the science of gecko's feet so I can derive from it for an alien race I'm writing about). Another example would be TV. As you know I like to watch a lot of shows, and a lot of the time I'm not very picky about how critically acclaimed they are. As long as they're about something that interests me, I'm good to go. Recently my love for TV led me to start watching some Korean television. Korean film is extremely new and often extremely derivative, and a lot of the time it's hit or miss. But the thing I like most about it is that from what I've seen Korea is very proud of and relishes its culture, and its television uses that culture to set itself apart from other Western shows. I was really intrigued by what I saw so I started to read up on the culture and customs in Korea, which led me to reading about the language, which was really intriguing, which led me to learning basic phrases and sentence structure and the alphabet and whatnot.
Age of information? Yes please.
This process of exponential interest growth has happened to me countless times and begins with the simplest things, like hearing a really great song and wanting to find the sheet music, or watching a really great video and wanting to get a camera to do my own videos, or seeing an awesome hat and wanting to learn how to purl so I can make one too. The problem is finding the time and energy to actually invest in these things (and developing the ability to let some things pass by for the sake of my sanity, no matter how desperately I'm interested in them). Here's how I've had to narrow it down. Everything I research/do has to
1. Pertain to something productive (learning or practicing a relevant skill or making a useful product), and
2. Only use available resources that don't cost extra (library, internet, piano, and technology that I've already purchased like my laptop, camera, and flipcam. This also means no printing, driving, or purchasing materials of any kind).
Obviously this doesn't narrow things down all that hugely, but it's a start, and with writing, virology, French and Korean, I've pretty much got my hands full.
This post was obscenely long and not very interesting, but I was in an introspective mood (when am I ever not in an introspective mood?) and I had to get it all off my chest. Next time I promise I'll try my hardest to say something funny.
-Amy
P.S. I discovered a band called Klaypex. They're like the Glitch Mob only they're more consistent about making you want to dance every second. I listen to them in the early mornings so make myself feel good about the rest of the day.
I'm in love with this aspect of college.
In fact, this is one of the primary reasons I avoid social obligations. I don't want to let anything encroach on the time I have to pursue the things I'm interested in. There are a few problems with this (besides the obvious, potentially socially stunting problem). Firstly, the more time I have, the bigger my list of interests gets. It started out with writing, which is something I've been interested in since I was eleven or twelve. But once I got writing, a whole new vista of possibility stretched out before me. Writers can't just write - they have to write about something, and usually in order to write about it, they have to do research on it. So pretty quickly I started pursuing knowledge in international politics, corporate crime, small firearms, swordplay, desert topography, Middle Eastern culture, kudzu growing habits and state government. Soon there were so many that I couldn't really get in-depth on any of them. So I had to pick and choose, narrowing my research down to one writing project and then throwing myself into one thing at a time. The topic I've settled on to focus on at the present moment is virology (specifically smallpox). It's interesting and fun and I get to put a lot of the informtion I find into my story, so that's good.
That's just one example of how quickly things can get out of hand and how drastically I have to rein myself in (otherwise I'd just be a frazzled mess who skipped class all the time to read up on the science of gecko's feet so I can derive from it for an alien race I'm writing about). Another example would be TV. As you know I like to watch a lot of shows, and a lot of the time I'm not very picky about how critically acclaimed they are. As long as they're about something that interests me, I'm good to go. Recently my love for TV led me to start watching some Korean television. Korean film is extremely new and often extremely derivative, and a lot of the time it's hit or miss. But the thing I like most about it is that from what I've seen Korea is very proud of and relishes its culture, and its television uses that culture to set itself apart from other Western shows. I was really intrigued by what I saw so I started to read up on the culture and customs in Korea, which led me to reading about the language, which was really intriguing, which led me to learning basic phrases and sentence structure and the alphabet and whatnot.
Age of information? Yes please.
This process of exponential interest growth has happened to me countless times and begins with the simplest things, like hearing a really great song and wanting to find the sheet music, or watching a really great video and wanting to get a camera to do my own videos, or seeing an awesome hat and wanting to learn how to purl so I can make one too. The problem is finding the time and energy to actually invest in these things (and developing the ability to let some things pass by for the sake of my sanity, no matter how desperately I'm interested in them). Here's how I've had to narrow it down. Everything I research/do has to
1. Pertain to something productive (learning or practicing a relevant skill or making a useful product), and
2. Only use available resources that don't cost extra (library, internet, piano, and technology that I've already purchased like my laptop, camera, and flipcam. This also means no printing, driving, or purchasing materials of any kind).
Obviously this doesn't narrow things down all that hugely, but it's a start, and with writing, virology, French and Korean, I've pretty much got my hands full.
This post was obscenely long and not very interesting, but I was in an introspective mood (when am I ever not in an introspective mood?) and I had to get it all off my chest. Next time I promise I'll try my hardest to say something funny.
-Amy
P.S. I discovered a band called Klaypex. They're like the Glitch Mob only they're more consistent about making you want to dance every second. I listen to them in the early mornings so make myself feel good about the rest of the day.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Illegal Blog Post
I accidentally left my gmail signed in in my library class computer ALL WEEKEND. I didn't realize it until I got here and IE signed me in automatically. It was scary! Thankfully no one took the opportunity to send embarrassing emails to everyone on my contacts list (at least, I don't think they did...)
The reason this post is illegal is because I'm in library class right now. I'm acing this class while slacking off . That should tell you a thing or two about how useful a lot of college classes really are.
So I have a thing or two to say about the water here at UCM. As you know, my immune system is pretty awesomely equipped to deal with public bathrooms, door handles, and the illest handshakes. It is for this reason only that I haven't gotten sick yet on the water here. You've heard about Drexel water, and how in concentrated form it's a festering brown sludge. I'm sure all water is like that to some degree or another, but it's not often that water in the US starts smelling foul after you've left it in a cup overnight. I didn't actually notice it until one of my LIB classmates pointed it out, but now I can't stop noticing it. So I cleaned out my electric kettle the other day, and I found out that the inside was covered in a film of grayish scum. Gack! I still brush my teeth and shower in it, but I think from now on I'll only drink the filtered water from the cafeteria, or water that I've boiled (it's still gross, but at least it's more sanitary).
Otherwise, life here is pretty good. I learned the days of the week in Korean, plus other things that are more useful (they have two completely different number systems that they use interchangeably. WHY), like "what?" (bo? or uey?) and "yes" (ne) and "no" (aniyo) and the alphabet (19 consonants, 10 vowels, 11 SUPER vowels), the common honorifics (really super important), and other sundry things about sentence structure and how yes doesn't exactly mean yes and no doesn't exactly mean no. It's extremely different from anything I've tried before but at least it makes sense (the more I study other languages, the more I realize how screwed up English actually is... sometimes I'm truly sorry for the rest of the world that it's one of the global languages).
Yesterday I started my classroom observation. I got 7th grade Language Arts. Public school is pretty much exactly how I imagined it would be except about half as interesting. The teacher is good and all, but boy am I glad I was homeschooled. I think I would have withered and died in public school, just from the absolute intellectual wasteland that is a byproduct of mass education. After I started taking my Foundations of Education class, I realized that I actually have really strong views on education. The fact that I as an individual teacher probably won't be able to change the royally screwed up education system in America is probably going to drive me crazy one day, but as long as I truck along believing that I can make at least a small difference, I ought to be all right.
Anyway, I'll see you later. I'm so excited about the care package you said you sent yesterday that I almost want to skip class to go see if it's in my mailbox. But I won't, because it's biology, and I need a better grade in that class ( I know 92 is already an A, but the class is so easy that I pretty much have no excuse for getting less than a 95 at least).
Keep it classy,
Amy
P.S. Have you ever been on TV Tropes? Every once in a while I rediscover it and then can't pull myself away for a good hour or two. It came to my attention again lately when someone made a link to this page, which made me realize that I'm actually writing a character exactly like that (also, it made me lol).
The reason this post is illegal is because I'm in library class right now. I'm acing this class while slacking off . That should tell you a thing or two about how useful a lot of college classes really are.
So I have a thing or two to say about the water here at UCM. As you know, my immune system is pretty awesomely equipped to deal with public bathrooms, door handles, and the illest handshakes. It is for this reason only that I haven't gotten sick yet on the water here. You've heard about Drexel water, and how in concentrated form it's a festering brown sludge. I'm sure all water is like that to some degree or another, but it's not often that water in the US starts smelling foul after you've left it in a cup overnight. I didn't actually notice it until one of my LIB classmates pointed it out, but now I can't stop noticing it. So I cleaned out my electric kettle the other day, and I found out that the inside was covered in a film of grayish scum. Gack! I still brush my teeth and shower in it, but I think from now on I'll only drink the filtered water from the cafeteria, or water that I've boiled (it's still gross, but at least it's more sanitary).
Otherwise, life here is pretty good. I learned the days of the week in Korean, plus other things that are more useful (they have two completely different number systems that they use interchangeably. WHY), like "what?" (bo? or uey?) and "yes" (ne) and "no" (aniyo) and the alphabet (19 consonants, 10 vowels, 11 SUPER vowels), the common honorifics (really super important), and other sundry things about sentence structure and how yes doesn't exactly mean yes and no doesn't exactly mean no. It's extremely different from anything I've tried before but at least it makes sense (the more I study other languages, the more I realize how screwed up English actually is... sometimes I'm truly sorry for the rest of the world that it's one of the global languages).
Yesterday I started my classroom observation. I got 7th grade Language Arts. Public school is pretty much exactly how I imagined it would be except about half as interesting. The teacher is good and all, but boy am I glad I was homeschooled. I think I would have withered and died in public school, just from the absolute intellectual wasteland that is a byproduct of mass education. After I started taking my Foundations of Education class, I realized that I actually have really strong views on education. The fact that I as an individual teacher probably won't be able to change the royally screwed up education system in America is probably going to drive me crazy one day, but as long as I truck along believing that I can make at least a small difference, I ought to be all right.
Anyway, I'll see you later. I'm so excited about the care package you said you sent yesterday that I almost want to skip class to go see if it's in my mailbox. But I won't, because it's biology, and I need a better grade in that class ( I know 92 is already an A, but the class is so easy that I pretty much have no excuse for getting less than a 95 at least).
Keep it classy,
Amy
P.S. Have you ever been on TV Tropes? Every once in a while I rediscover it and then can't pull myself away for a good hour or two. It came to my attention again lately when someone made a link to this page, which made me realize that I'm actually writing a character exactly like that (also, it made me lol).
Thursday, September 15, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAAY
1. What the what is VLC? And I don't know about the formats, I'll just have to have someone (you) look at that when you get home. I'm usually good with the figuring-out-technological-things but I don't understand formats and whatnot. I love saying whatnot. I mean, what does it even MEAN?
2. HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY! I was going to call you. I picked up the phone and then I realized something: I don't have my phone so I don't have your number, and I'm still iffy on the last two digits of everyones cellphone numbers in our family beside mine and dads.
3. You're right, I AM super busy, and I'm sooo sorry that I haven't been writing and I haven't been putting up videos, believe me, I've made some. I tried to upload some like three times but our internet the last week or so has been about half as fast as it usually is, and maaaan is that sayin' something.
Here's what I'm doing all the time that is keeping me from you:
A. School. I have 10 subjects and within those subjects are little sub-subjects.One of those subjects is Economics. Thats right. Ugh. I start school at about eight and I end at about two or later.
B. At about two, I start what I like to call "clean up the house because no one else will." which is, actually, pretty self explanatory. If I don't go to crazy cleaning up the bathroom or my room, I'm usually done with this at about 3.
C. By 3 I usually want to check the interwebs.
D. I try to have some crafty hands-on thing ready about a half an hour after Mo gets home from school. So I figure it out and have it going by about four, and we do that for a little while.
E. Then, two nights a week, or so, I make dinner, and that takes a while.
F. Believe it or not, in the last three weeks I have watched like a totally of five hours of movies/shows. Which sounds like a lot, but considering that every movie I watch is about 2 hours, its not that amazing. I'm usually doing something with Mo. Like being beaten at my own game.
G. If its Tuesday or Thursday, I make dinner early with Mo and then me and her and dad go to Sign Language class which lasts all evening.
H. If its Wednesday, I go to the Youth Group at Graceway. (which, by the way, is AWESOME. Theres this drummer whos on the worship team, and hes SO. GOOD. And he has inspired me to hit the electrics.)
I. And on sunday we go to church, which lasts like all day.
J. Then there is the irregular stuff. Orthodonist Appointments, Shopping sprees with the family, spending the night at someones house, getting a new phone.
Wait.
Wait wait wait.
What was that last one? WHAT WAS THAT LAST ONE? Yeah. Yup. Getting a new phone. That's gonna happen. Yup.Yup......
No more not-wanting-to-use-the-Glorified-Watch-because-I'm-slightly-ashamed. No more "I don't have texting" no more, "you can't call me at my home, we don't get service." NO MORE.
This just means so much to me.
YAAAY I get to see you tomorrow.
Stay classy!
-Michelle
2. HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY! I was going to call you. I picked up the phone and then I realized something: I don't have my phone so I don't have your number, and I'm still iffy on the last two digits of everyones cellphone numbers in our family beside mine and dads.
3. You're right, I AM super busy, and I'm sooo sorry that I haven't been writing and I haven't been putting up videos, believe me, I've made some. I tried to upload some like three times but our internet the last week or so has been about half as fast as it usually is, and maaaan is that sayin' something.
Here's what I'm doing all the time that is keeping me from you:
A. School. I have 10 subjects and within those subjects are little sub-subjects.One of those subjects is Economics. Thats right. Ugh. I start school at about eight and I end at about two or later.
B. At about two, I start what I like to call "clean up the house because no one else will." which is, actually, pretty self explanatory. If I don't go to crazy cleaning up the bathroom or my room, I'm usually done with this at about 3.
C. By 3 I usually want to check the interwebs.
D. I try to have some crafty hands-on thing ready about a half an hour after Mo gets home from school. So I figure it out and have it going by about four, and we do that for a little while.
E. Then, two nights a week, or so, I make dinner, and that takes a while.
F. Believe it or not, in the last three weeks I have watched like a totally of five hours of movies/shows. Which sounds like a lot, but considering that every movie I watch is about 2 hours, its not that amazing. I'm usually doing something with Mo. Like being beaten at my own game.
G. If its Tuesday or Thursday, I make dinner early with Mo and then me and her and dad go to Sign Language class which lasts all evening.
H. If its Wednesday, I go to the Youth Group at Graceway. (which, by the way, is AWESOME. Theres this drummer whos on the worship team, and hes SO. GOOD. And he has inspired me to hit the electrics.)
I. And on sunday we go to church, which lasts like all day.
J. Then there is the irregular stuff. Orthodonist Appointments, Shopping sprees with the family, spending the night at someones house, getting a new phone.
Wait.
Wait wait wait.
What was that last one? WHAT WAS THAT LAST ONE? Yeah. Yup. Getting a new phone. That's gonna happen. Yup.Yup......
No more not-wanting-to-use-the-Glorified-Watch-because-I'm-slightly-ashamed. No more "I don't have texting" no more, "you can't call me at my home, we don't get service." NO MORE.
This just means so much to me.
YAAAY I get to see you tomorrow.
Stay classy!
-Michelle
Hooraaay
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Amy, happy birthday to me.
Birthdays are pretty anticlimatic in college. I thought about skipping class and making a day of it, but I chickened out. I'm going for a perfect attendance record this semester (so that teachers will be more inclined to give me A's). Instead, I started the day by watching an episode of a Korean action drama just so I could feel like the day's different from all the others. The only problem with that is that Korean action dramas, however much I adore them, are usually not very well subtitled and they make my grammar bone twitch (yes, I have a grammar bone). Whoever did the subtitles wasn't the best at English. At least they were able to largely get their point across though, so that's something.
The other thing that happened today is that I realized that the Chinese guy who sits next to me in Library class is kind of a slacker. If it was anyone else I wouldn't be surprised, but he's the first Asian person I've ever met who wasn't more motivated than me to do well in school. It was pretty surreal, to be honest. Maybe I can get his autograph.
I got some chocolate from Mom and Dad in the mail yesterday. It was pretty fancy and awesome and I've been eating it with tea. Karl said that it made my room smell weird but I think he has super senses or something because who ever heard of chocolate smelling pungent? My room smells perfectly fine (I illegally burn a candle that smells like clean linen).
So now that I'm nineteen, what can I do? The answer is nothing that I wasn't able to do before. One of my neighbors asked me, since it's my birthday, what would I like to drink? I told him I drink at home but not at college. Turns out I'm cultivating a perfect little angel persona here as well. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear it. I'm pretty sure that the words "perfect little angel" were actually uttered by my roommate in reference to me. I guess since I've got the title here and at home, it must really by true. That's kind of depressing.
I'm probably coming home tomorrow. It'll be good.
-Amy
Birthdays are pretty anticlimatic in college. I thought about skipping class and making a day of it, but I chickened out. I'm going for a perfect attendance record this semester (so that teachers will be more inclined to give me A's). Instead, I started the day by watching an episode of a Korean action drama just so I could feel like the day's different from all the others. The only problem with that is that Korean action dramas, however much I adore them, are usually not very well subtitled and they make my grammar bone twitch (yes, I have a grammar bone). Whoever did the subtitles wasn't the best at English. At least they were able to largely get their point across though, so that's something.
The other thing that happened today is that I realized that the Chinese guy who sits next to me in Library class is kind of a slacker. If it was anyone else I wouldn't be surprised, but he's the first Asian person I've ever met who wasn't more motivated than me to do well in school. It was pretty surreal, to be honest. Maybe I can get his autograph.
I got some chocolate from Mom and Dad in the mail yesterday. It was pretty fancy and awesome and I've been eating it with tea. Karl said that it made my room smell weird but I think he has super senses or something because who ever heard of chocolate smelling pungent? My room smells perfectly fine (I illegally burn a candle that smells like clean linen).
So now that I'm nineteen, what can I do? The answer is nothing that I wasn't able to do before. One of my neighbors asked me, since it's my birthday, what would I like to drink? I told him I drink at home but not at college. Turns out I'm cultivating a perfect little angel persona here as well. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear it. I'm pretty sure that the words "perfect little angel" were actually uttered by my roommate in reference to me. I guess since I've got the title here and at home, it must really by true. That's kind of depressing.
I'm probably coming home tomorrow. It'll be good.
-Amy
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
*crickets*
Hi Michelle. Sometimes I feel lonely, like I'm the only one making posts on this blog.
...oh wait. I am the only one making posts on this blog! And posting videos too, for that matter.
Don't mind me though. I obviously have a lot more time to kill than you do especially now you have your own personal student of American culture to teach things to.
There are a lot of things about UCM that are extremely inferier to the very same things at JCCC, namely the print system, the Writing Center and the age and functionality of the buildings, but I will say this about UCM: in the computer lab they have Windows, Apple and Linux computers for anyone to use. So that's cool.
I'm planning to film a video sometime in the next day or so, and this one's going to be more well-structured than some of my other videos have been in the past. *cough* At least, I hope it'll turn out that way. To be honest I film a lot of videos but I only actually post about half of them. The rest will never see the light of day, and for good reason.
I remember that you said that Windows Movie Maker wouldn't open your video, which is weird because the format of it is in .wmv to begin with, I think. One thing you could do is try opening it in VLC or some other program just to make sure that your camera is actually working. If it is, try downloading Windows Live Movie Maker and see if that works. Also, once you're finished editing a video, make sure to select "Save Movie" and not "Save Project", otherwise it won't upload to YT.
Anyway if you have any questions you can probably call me. And make a post.
Laters,
-Amy
...oh wait. I am the only one making posts on this blog! And posting videos too, for that matter.
Don't mind me though. I obviously have a lot more time to kill than you do especially now you have your own personal student of American culture to teach things to.
There are a lot of things about UCM that are extremely inferier to the very same things at JCCC, namely the print system, the Writing Center and the age and functionality of the buildings, but I will say this about UCM: in the computer lab they have Windows, Apple and Linux computers for anyone to use. So that's cool.
I'm planning to film a video sometime in the next day or so, and this one's going to be more well-structured than some of my other videos have been in the past. *cough* At least, I hope it'll turn out that way. To be honest I film a lot of videos but I only actually post about half of them. The rest will never see the light of day, and for good reason.
I remember that you said that Windows Movie Maker wouldn't open your video, which is weird because the format of it is in .wmv to begin with, I think. One thing you could do is try opening it in VLC or some other program just to make sure that your camera is actually working. If it is, try downloading Windows Live Movie Maker and see if that works. Also, once you're finished editing a video, make sure to select "Save Movie" and not "Save Project", otherwise it won't upload to YT.
Anyway if you have any questions you can probably call me. And make a post.
Laters,
-Amy
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Blagosphere Confessionals
I have a confession to make. Sometimes, when I'm really depressed about being in college and realizing that it's an intellectual wasteland, I go watch videos of Asian-American people playing pretty music and making clever skits about life and the human condition. It makes me feel better for some reason.
I was able to get my camera working (as long as the battery is more than half-full, it'll turn on almost without fail), but sadly I cannot say the same for my bike, which is currently inoperable due to a problem with the chain that I know is an easy fix but requires clever hands and a tool that can unscrew screws, neither of which I possess. Because of this, I did not go to Wednesday night worship last week because it's a fifteen to twenty-minute walk to get there. This week, I figured a long walk isn't a good excuse for not attending worship two weeks in a row, so I made the walk and it took even longer that I thought, and when I finally got there several people came up and introduced themselves to me, saying that we'd met before at fondue night or in a class we shared, and I pretended to know them as well. I hate that I do this, but I put people in little categories in my mind, so if I was in a small group with someone in one of my classes and I learn their name and a little bit about them, I still will not recognize them if I encounter them in a non-academic setting. In my subconscious, that person only exists in the classroom, and every time my conscious mind suggests that perhaps that's not true, I get an acute sense of how ludicrous it is that said classmate continues existing once they step out of the classroom.
Anyway. I'm coming home tomorrow, so at the moment I'm counting down the hours. I have a lot of stuff I need to remember to grab while I'm there, mostly warmer clothes since the weather got cold a lot quicker than I thought it would. I could wear hats if I wanted to! I rarely do want to, but still. Also my birthday is soon. Nineteen sounds like a horrifically transitional age. For some reason I never encounter people who are nineteen. It must be like Purgatory, a purgatory that you can never admit to being in. I'll make sure to make the most of my time as nineteen, but I can't help but think that I'll spend the entire year with a vague sense in the back of my mind that I'm in some kind of limbo.
I've been thinking a lot about writing lately, mostly because I've been doing a lot of writing lately. Anyway, I was thinking about how I'm pretty sure I'm best at writing comedy or parody, but for some reason I don't ever actually spend any time writing comedy or parody. I think it's because I really enjoy reading dramas and thrillers and things, so I end up mostly writing dramas and thrillers and things even though I can't really write them well. So my new resolution is to start writing what I'm good at and see how it goes, and have at least one comedy project on the side going while I write what I love to write (it's currently dystopian America 40 years in the future).
...or maybe I should make future dystopian America into a comedy. Wouldn't that be fun?
Anyway, off to Biology again. See you soon.
-Amy
I was able to get my camera working (as long as the battery is more than half-full, it'll turn on almost without fail), but sadly I cannot say the same for my bike, which is currently inoperable due to a problem with the chain that I know is an easy fix but requires clever hands and a tool that can unscrew screws, neither of which I possess. Because of this, I did not go to Wednesday night worship last week because it's a fifteen to twenty-minute walk to get there. This week, I figured a long walk isn't a good excuse for not attending worship two weeks in a row, so I made the walk and it took even longer that I thought, and when I finally got there several people came up and introduced themselves to me, saying that we'd met before at fondue night or in a class we shared, and I pretended to know them as well. I hate that I do this, but I put people in little categories in my mind, so if I was in a small group with someone in one of my classes and I learn their name and a little bit about them, I still will not recognize them if I encounter them in a non-academic setting. In my subconscious, that person only exists in the classroom, and every time my conscious mind suggests that perhaps that's not true, I get an acute sense of how ludicrous it is that said classmate continues existing once they step out of the classroom.
Anyway. I'm coming home tomorrow, so at the moment I'm counting down the hours. I have a lot of stuff I need to remember to grab while I'm there, mostly warmer clothes since the weather got cold a lot quicker than I thought it would. I could wear hats if I wanted to! I rarely do want to, but still. Also my birthday is soon. Nineteen sounds like a horrifically transitional age. For some reason I never encounter people who are nineteen. It must be like Purgatory, a purgatory that you can never admit to being in. I'll make sure to make the most of my time as nineteen, but I can't help but think that I'll spend the entire year with a vague sense in the back of my mind that I'm in some kind of limbo.
I've been thinking a lot about writing lately, mostly because I've been doing a lot of writing lately. Anyway, I was thinking about how I'm pretty sure I'm best at writing comedy or parody, but for some reason I don't ever actually spend any time writing comedy or parody. I think it's because I really enjoy reading dramas and thrillers and things, so I end up mostly writing dramas and thrillers and things even though I can't really write them well. So my new resolution is to start writing what I'm good at and see how it goes, and have at least one comedy project on the side going while I write what I love to write (it's currently dystopian America 40 years in the future).
...or maybe I should make future dystopian America into a comedy. Wouldn't that be fun?
Anyway, off to Biology again. See you soon.
-Amy
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Yes... I am in class right now
I never thought I would be one of those people who messed around on the computers in class, but my Library Research Skills class is so crushingly arbitrary that I'll go completely mad if I don't keep myself busy in a non-class-related way. Right now we are learning how to use Google. We just found out that if you're on a fact-finding mission, typing "what is the meaning of life?" into the search bar isn't going to get you any solid answers.
Shocker!
I am writing a blog post because my camera is having technical issues that involve the power button only working one out of every twenty times I push it. Hopefully one day soon I'll be able to make it work for long enough to make a video, but until then I guess this blog is a pretty good way to tell you about my life. Don't you just love how many meduims of communication we have available to us other than Facebook? Which reminds me, I have a mailbox here. And it is depressingly empty. If you think of it someday, it would be cool if you sent me something. It doesn't even have to say anything on it. It'll give me joy even if it's a postcard you didn't write anything on.
I'M SO ALONE.
My phone just rang. I had it on the loudest ring because a couple of days ago I set it that way when I was waiting for an employment acceptance call from Family Video that I absolutely didn't want to miss (it never came... tear). It's REALLY LOUD. Since I'm in class, the sound of it directed attention to me when I'd rather it didn't. I am writing a blog post in class, after all. Everyone else is just chilling on Facebook, which is excusable apparently.
So I'm all at odds with myself because I didn't see any of you home people this weekend. I like to think of myself as an independent person but the reality is that after a couple of weeks of being here, all I want to do is hang out with people who actually care about me. I'm selfish that way! It's totally silly that you would abandon me and go to the farm, of all places. I almost feel insulted, except I did get to spend the entire weekend laying around in my dorm room drinking coffee and writing. For some reason I've been finding it a lot easier to do productive things at college than I did at home. I guess there isn't really an abundance of distractions here. Also, it's inexplicably become a lot more difficult for me to keep my attention on a show or movie, which is why every time I come home, I still haven't watched that show that you recommended to me (the OC and Glee season 2 come to mind. The truth is that it's really hard for me to watch something that I'm not extremely excited about even before I start it). I've been reading, too. whenever I get my camera working I'll tell you about some of the books I've been reading and how I finished Thirteen Reasons Why. There may be tears involved.
I have a playlist on my mp3 player called "badass" that I can't get enough of right now. I got out of my library class and went to the computer commons, where noise is frowned upon, and listening to this playlist in here presents to me a conundrum which I have never encountered before, namely that I'm listening to a badass playlist but I'm unable to sing along to it, which is a dilemma I've never had to consider before. I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to Supermassive Black Hole a single time without belting it out like I'm the British popstar I've always aspired to be. I guess there's a first time for everything.
Biology test in twenty minutes. I get distracted a lot in that class because the teacher commits subject-verb disagreement in speech on a basis so regular that it's brought me this close to seizures on a few occasions. Here's hoping that my epileptic spells won't prevent me from getting an A on the exam.
Stay classy
-Amy
P.S. I created a "college" label because I'm in the mood to do things that don't make any difference in the big picture.
Shocker!
I am writing a blog post because my camera is having technical issues that involve the power button only working one out of every twenty times I push it. Hopefully one day soon I'll be able to make it work for long enough to make a video, but until then I guess this blog is a pretty good way to tell you about my life. Don't you just love how many meduims of communication we have available to us other than Facebook? Which reminds me, I have a mailbox here. And it is depressingly empty. If you think of it someday, it would be cool if you sent me something. It doesn't even have to say anything on it. It'll give me joy even if it's a postcard you didn't write anything on.
I'M SO ALONE.
My phone just rang. I had it on the loudest ring because a couple of days ago I set it that way when I was waiting for an employment acceptance call from Family Video that I absolutely didn't want to miss (it never came... tear). It's REALLY LOUD. Since I'm in class, the sound of it directed attention to me when I'd rather it didn't. I am writing a blog post in class, after all. Everyone else is just chilling on Facebook, which is excusable apparently.
So I'm all at odds with myself because I didn't see any of you home people this weekend. I like to think of myself as an independent person but the reality is that after a couple of weeks of being here, all I want to do is hang out with people who actually care about me. I'm selfish that way! It's totally silly that you would abandon me and go to the farm, of all places. I almost feel insulted, except I did get to spend the entire weekend laying around in my dorm room drinking coffee and writing. For some reason I've been finding it a lot easier to do productive things at college than I did at home. I guess there isn't really an abundance of distractions here. Also, it's inexplicably become a lot more difficult for me to keep my attention on a show or movie, which is why every time I come home, I still haven't watched that show that you recommended to me (the OC and Glee season 2 come to mind. The truth is that it's really hard for me to watch something that I'm not extremely excited about even before I start it). I've been reading, too. whenever I get my camera working I'll tell you about some of the books I've been reading and how I finished Thirteen Reasons Why. There may be tears involved.
I have a playlist on my mp3 player called "badass" that I can't get enough of right now. I got out of my library class and went to the computer commons, where noise is frowned upon, and listening to this playlist in here presents to me a conundrum which I have never encountered before, namely that I'm listening to a badass playlist but I'm unable to sing along to it, which is a dilemma I've never had to consider before. I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to Supermassive Black Hole a single time without belting it out like I'm the British popstar I've always aspired to be. I guess there's a first time for everything.
Biology test in twenty minutes. I get distracted a lot in that class because the teacher commits subject-verb disagreement in speech on a basis so regular that it's brought me this close to seizures on a few occasions. Here's hoping that my epileptic spells won't prevent me from getting an A on the exam.
Stay classy
-Amy
P.S. I created a "college" label because I'm in the mood to do things that don't make any difference in the big picture.
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