Finals week is halfway over! I'm so excited for Christmas break . . . and no math class, definitely no math class.

While we're all in the Christmas spirit, and as the real reason why I posted a new journal, watch this neat and inspiring (and very Christmas-y) video from YouTube: [link] Way to make me feel guilty about doing my Christmas shopping early. Bravo, nonetheless.

Oh, yes, and apparently I have managed to hack 's YouTube account. Actually, she forgot to log out when she used my computer, and I managed to discover this while I was watching the Advent Conspiracy video a few minutes ago. Am I safe from flying objects now?
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Stacy has convinced me to begin the second half of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring." She's convinced that I am the epitome of Elrond . . . who's still holding his Council. I'm making it sound bad, though.
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Artwise, I've been working on some anthro, which I've been wanting to try for some time now (but human bodies are just so tough!). At least this one appears to be getting somewhere, being that I still haven't made any new deviations (aside from that short story entry) since the turning of the year.
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Shorter journal entry than normal. Ciao and Merry Christmas!

EDIT 2: You need to look at this! [link]
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EDIT: Check this out. Even if you are not Trekkish in any way, shape, or form, you will probably find this little news tidbit amusing: [link]
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Hurrah for eighteen, but it sure is taking some getting used to. It's hard to believe that the party was only a week ago, but at the same time, the week seemed to pass really fast. The party was lots of fun, though, (and there was no craziness this year *whew*) and I'm pretty sure Kyle convinced almost everyone to go out and buy Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You)" . . . and we watched Moulin Rouge!

. . . I showed Moulin Rouge to my parents yesterday. Disappointingly, I don't think they were too thrilled. My dad thought it was okay (and he laughed at the funny parts), but my mom only got through the very first part before walking off out of disinterest. She said she could see where it was going and knew she would end up bawling her eyes out at the end.

This would be the third weekend in a row that I have watched Moulin Rouge.
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If anyone meets me anytime soon, remind me to tell you the story of Peanut the Elephant.
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I'm currently working on a short story for the writing contest. Who knew it would be so difficult to find ideas? I think I'm finally getting somewhere with it, though.
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Oh, yeah, Stacy and I were in the newspaper recently, in an article about the college's student newspaper. The writer of the article said I liked mystery books (What the . . . ?), and it sounds like I insulted high schoolers, although I swear he took the quote out of context (and off the record . . . *scribbly cloud*).
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I love the birthday card, Kinsey! My mom still has it up on the bookcase.
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Knowledge Bowl!!! :genius:
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Lately I've been using icons a lot. Just ask Jasmine or Shasta. My favorite is the tuxedo/top hat combo:


<----- I used Bones because I needed a mannequin.

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This was meant to be a short journal entry, but it's growing longer and longer by the minute.

End.

Over this past weekend, Stacy and I went to the Renaissance Festival with Kinsey and Jasmine, and many of the events that happened there were definitely journal-worthy.

First of all, there was the pickle boy (a.k.a. one of the guys who sells huge pickles - my dad bought one). Kinsey took a picture of him (pickle boy, not my dad) posing scandalously with a giant plywood pickle.

Secondly, people kept commenting on my fedora, which I wore to the Festival and which was apparently noticeable in the medieval setting. Some shopkeeper threw me a free shotglass because of it ("Hey, you . . . the one with the hat!"). At least two other vendors praised my hat.

Speaking of hats, I finally purchased a top hat. It was pretty expensive, but it was cheaper than the toppers I could find elsewhere. I also bought some feathers for my fedora, and in my opinion, it looks schnazzy. To say I am thrilled would be an understatement.

Also, some guy was dressed as a Star Wars Storm Trooper. He must've telepathically hoiked Jasmine's idea of dressing up in a futuristic space-related outfit.

Oh, yes, and the jousting was entertaining as usual. We sat on the opposite side of the lists as we did last year, but we managed to end up rooting for the same guy (Sir William), who managed to win this time. Maybe Jasmine's sonic-boom screaming had something to do with that. And I was happy that Sir Victor didn't have the good horse this year.

After the jousting, Stacy, Jasmine, and I rode an elephant while Kinsey took our picture.

Later on, we sat around for a while watching some people play chess on the giant chess board. Jasmine and another person were very irritated when one of the players failed to see a move which would have put the other player in check-mate.

Kinsey, Stacy, and I forgot to show Jasmine the fencing rings. She says she hates us now, although I'm pretty sure she took her revenge out on me during the car ride by tickling me to near-death.

(By the way, Jasmine, I thought I had finished that Star Trek fanfic you recommended, but I just realized that it has 33 chapters. I have a lot of reading ahead of me. This had better be good.)

Live long and prosper, you filthy peasants.

Being that I'm now two weeks into the school year (and for the purposes of tormenting ye who be exiting the realms of summer vacation), I figured I'd best put forth my appraisal of my senior year thus far.
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Academically, I'm having a great time. After the physical work of summer, it feels good to stretch my brain a bit and hunker down into the scholarly life once again. I love all of my classes, especially Philosophy, and even Calculus seems okay (and a whole lot easier than Precalc, surprise, surprise . . .). Many of my instructors are pretty cool, such as my hypochondriac Geography teacher whom Stacy already told you all about. Also, I seem to have a lot more free time on my hands, and that's something I haven't had during the school year since what, the seventh grade?
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I could get used to this line-separating-thingy. You've started a trend once again, Kirstie.
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Bookwise, I've finally finished "Shaman's Crossing" and have officially started "The Fabric of the Cosmos." I am stoutly determined to carry out an intelligent physics-related conversation with Jasmine, whom I am currently referring to as Spaghetti Rocket. ------- >===>

That weird-looking thingamajiggy is a spaghetti rocket, if anyone was wondering.
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I've also been working on some artwork lately, so the slump seems to be wearing off. Ultimately, it all boils down to the perpetual repetitious habits of the amateur artist. I'm thinking I'll continue with some black and white stuff and perhaps experiment with colored pencils after a short while.
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Aside from that, my family has been planning a trip to the Renaissance Festival, and it should hopefully be a blast! It's always fun to browse the shops and get screamed at by medieval people. All I can say is that the bees had better stay away from my turkey drumstick this year.

As all of you probably know from Jasmine's most recent journal entry, I made a deal with her that I would post this conversation between Stacy and me if she would post that other conversation between her and me. I had best make good on that deal. It sprouts from Stacy's journal entry titled "Emerson and the Elephants" and eventually turns into word play involving the use of incorrect words.

Me: Pygmy, Stacy. Gosh! *turns head in Napoleon Dynamite imitation*

Stacy: Wait, . . . what? Did I spell it wrong? I need to look back at that.

Me: Yehs, yu spelld iht rong.

Stacy: Your plea is too late. It hath been change-ed.

Me: Thatt wo'nt stoop mi frum mokking yu.

Stacy: I apricot your detrimation, but the affront is Ulysses.

Me: Lol. How corrosive.

Stacy: Quiet corrosive, inside.

Jasmine: You guys make my day!! *giggles* Ow... the joy... it hurts!!

Me: Fabricating.

Stacy: Intersecting.

Me: Inbreeding.

Stacy: I sink you mane "ingreeting," but I get your pint.

Me: This conversion is abusive.

Stacy: What is this conservation? My analogies, but my seduction skills are unstable to triangulate.

Me: Should've had a rebate!
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Aside from that silliness, I stayed up late Tuesday night with Kirstie watching a meteor shower in my backyard. It was so fun to be able to look at the stars (and we saw a few cool meteors), even though the moon was so bright that it made viewing difficult. We talked a lot about a lot, and we listened to Tom Petty on Kirstie's iPod. We also saw many planes (Who knew so many flew over my house at night?), got chowed by mosquitos, and came perilously close to being pooped on by some very low-flying bats. In a nutshell, it was lots of fun.