Seriously Random

Have you ever felt like just writing, even though you don't have anything to write about?

Welcome to the club. 

And here's a tip for those particular days: don't go to your public blog to take care of your craving for writing. If you're reading this, you can see clearly that I'm very stupid and not following my own advice. 

Which is exactly why I'm going to stop writing right this second. But I'll publish it anyway, because I know that somewhere in the world, there are people who are probably making the exact same mistake I am, and they need only learn from my mistakes, not their own. 

And a question for anybody with a good answer: Why do people write The End at the end of their books? Do they seriously not think that we're smart enough to figure out that we're at the end of the story?

The End

Will My Spring Break Ever Come?

I was just looking back at my old blog, and saw that I had exactly 100 posts. That is quite an achievement for only two years. I only hope I can come close to such success on this blog. It seems so insignificant in comparison...

I only found out this morning that my spring break begins on Saturday. I don't think I've ever looked forward to a spring break more. Today's algebra kept me at the table right until dinner time. Granted, I spent from four to six keeping the chickens out of the gardens with my friend Rose, but that's not important.

The important thing is that I had to divide 2 by 19. Which is just cruel. You try doing it. Just try. You'll end up frustrated and very hateful towards math. Unless, by some strange occurrence, you love long division.

Nine days of freedom. Nine days of no school. Nine days of none of the dreaded algebra. Could life get any better?

Well, let's just say that summer vacation offers three months.

All Things Oscars

Only two times have I sat all the way through the Oscars, last year and this year.

I've only seen a few of the movies that were nominated: Hugo, the Adventures of Tintin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, Midnight in Paris. Possibly one or two others. I loved Hugo, so I was delighted when it won five Academy Awards. And I've heard from my siblings that The Artist is spectacular, so that was good too. 

Last night was a lot of fun, and even if I can't remember the names of all the people who won awards, I'm sure they earned them. Even if, in my personal opinion, another film should have won. 

I Should be Writing Right Now...

Okay, so technically, I am writing right now. But I'm not noveling. 

And, technically, noveling isn't a word. 

Instead of novelling (which is, in case you don't get it, the act of writing novels), I'm waiting for June, when I'm going to begin noveling again. I know, it's a long way off and I shouldn't be planning my novels my the month. But I have to fit my schedule to that of Nanowrimo* and Camp Nanowrimo*. I will be participating in both this year, if all goes well. 

But in the meantime, I'm editing my most recent novel. Sound fun? It would be, if Microsoft Word was being nice and working for me. And if my brother Nate weren't using the other computer. 

But enough about noveling! On to more exciting, adventuresome things! Oh, wait, there is nothing more exciting and adventuresome! 

Haha. 

But really, I have been writing a lot recently. I discovered a new fabulous site called Yarny*, and no, it is not about knitting. Or crocheting. Or spinning. Or any of the other fiber art things I'm interested in. No, Yarny is dedicated to writing only. No knitting. 

Speaking of knitting, I've also recently learned how to do intarsia. The knitting kind, not the woodworking kind. It's a lot of fun, but so far I haven't done more than a couple of practice swatches to get the hang of it. 

And now, I've briefly updated you on my noveling and fiber arts life. 

So now, onto more exciting and adventuresome things! Like, noveling.

*nanowrimo

*camp nanowrimo

*yarny

The Supernaturalist

The Supernaturalist... another stunning book from Eoin Colfer. I got it to listen to while knitting, and was delighted by it throughout the two or three days it took me to finish it. Two thumbs up. I put on my iPod today; a sure sign that it's a good book if I want to listen to it again.

No-sponsor Cosmo Hill is barely out of the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys when he finds himself in a warehouse on Abracadabra Street with the company of three others: Stefan Bashkir, Mona Vasquez, and Lucien Bonn, more commonly known as Ditto. The group calls themselves The Supernaturalists, due to their ability to see the supernatural creatures, the Parasites. They have dedicate their lives to killing the Parasites, whose source of energy is the life force from sick or injured people.

But when they get involved with Myishi Corporations' president of development, their simple job of tracking down and killing Parasites becomes more complicated.

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book, and would recommend it to anybody.

The Cay

In this children's novel by Theodore Taylor, 11 year old Phillip Enright is stranded on a small island with only an old black man and a cat as company. To add to Phillip's unfortunate fate, he is blinded by an injury to his skull. But with the help of the old man, Timothy, Phillip learns to cope with his loss of sight.

It took me only a few hours to read, but they were an entertained few hours. The portrayal of the cat, called Stew Cat, is excellent. It is rare that you find such realistic characteristics in a fictional story. 

It's really an excellent book, from when he is first on the little raft with Timothy and Stew Cat to when he is eventually rescued. 

Timothy of the Cay is the sequel/prequel, written after The Cay, and is equally entertaining. Through every other chapter, Taylor continues the story of Phillip regaining his sight and backtracks to Timothy's childhood. If I'm honest, I've never been able to get through the parts with Timothy, but Phillip's tale is excellent. 

Them Wild Beasts

I shortly returned from the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center with my three sisters, my Dad, and my uncle and aunt Paul and Pat respectively.

What is Fossil Rim, you may ask. Unless you've been there yourself, which is entirely possible. But if you haven't been, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is a Wildlife Center (I know, who would've guessed it? The name gives absolutely nothing away). 

The seven of us rode out in our van, well equipped for the two hour drive with a pair of speakers and a couple of iPods belonging to various people in the family. The ride went by surprisingly quickly, and we arrived at the Wildlife Center at twelve o'clock, approximately two hours after our departure. 

Thankfully, you don't have to walk at all here. You don't even get out of your car except to buy some food for the animals and pay your admission. You then drive through a winding, miles long road with wild animals grazing by the grass, and eating out of your hands. 

I had never been to Fossil Rim before, whereas my siblings had. And so I was seated in the place of honor: the passenger's seat. Since only the front windows of our van open, only the driver and the front passenger are able to feed the animals, while everybody else watches. 

We saw lots and lots of awesome animals, and experienced lots of drooling. By the animals, not us. It is quite extraordinary to have a wild, antlered creature reaching its head through the window and eating from your hand. And slobbering all over your hand. 

Possible my favorite was the giraffes. I was in the back seat by then, but I'm not complaining. Mary Margaret and Elizabeth had lots of fun with the long necked, and indeed long tongued, animals. Oh, that big boy was gorgeous. 

Another amazing sight was the cheetahs. They were fenced in, and it was heart melting to see them prowling around the edges of their fence, longing to stretch their legs. But they had lots and lots of space, plenty to run if they wanted. We saw a mother cleaning her cub's face, which was magnificent. 

After we exited the Wildlife Center, we went to a late lunch at a BBQ place close by the Wildlife Center. It was rated int eh top 50 barbecue places in Texas, and it was delicious. Good food and lots of it. :) 

Another two hour drive back home, which many of us slept the whole way through, and now we're getting ready for a big enchilada dinner! What an amazing day! 

Writing on an iPhone: it's fun

As I write at 11:20 at night, I am on my brother's old iPhone, which I inherited when it outstated it's welcome in his hands.

Well, hey, it's pretty much useless, but I can now blog late at night when I can't sleep! It'll be almost like a Twitter account... Aa! What's happening to me?

Everything Lost, Everything Started

Due to an annoying technological error on my previous blog (also entitled To Live A Life), I have been forced to start anew. I tend to do this when I get mad at something. However, I still have (I hope) my old blog, and if ever you need to look something up: atlowery.blogspot.com. Thank you for putting up with the inconveniences.

To dissuade confusion, this is exactly the same blog, but I've deleted all the posts and it's a little bit different. But not much.

Thank you!

If you're new to my amazing blog, here are some hints at what it includes:

Book reviews, occasionally.

Updates on my Fiber Arts projects

And as the description says, basically everything!