A good use of time.

I'm on my free period right now and I thought about blogging from school for once. The strange thing is that no one is in here. When I used to come in here last year, I couldn't find a place to sit, but now I can sit down and type as I please.

I was like "Is blogger blocked? but then it wasn't and I was happy. I can't think of anything to type right now, so I'm just going to cut it short here.

I might feel like typing when I get home, but it isn' t a full "yes" or "no". It all depends on how I'm feeling later.

Happy Paradox

I'm feeling good right now, but at the same time, I'm feeling somewhat lonely. No, I don't' think that school is doing it, because I'm having a really good time (as of today...). I call this the "happy paradox" because I really don't know what I'm feeling right now, and I might as well embrace the paradox.

I'm just going to say it, I really do miss all of my friends and I need someone to talk to. I just can't talk to people who really don't' care about my life and everything that I've been through. So therefore I, just want someone to care right now.

Here is the thing though, I'm kind of nervous to talk to my friends. I just don't want to say "Whats up?" when we haven't seen my friends for like, 4 years. That's just odd. I'm not really a fan of this "Digital Age" because I'm really about to take out my pen and stationary and write my friends a good old fashioned letter. But why write a letter when everyone has text messaging and Facebook? Yeah, I tried and I counted the 6 failed attempts of trying to gather my friends over the summer, and I spent it all alone with my summer homework, Albums and my guitar.

I'm not in that "writers" mood right now because this new 6 hours of sleep thing isn't really for me yet. I'm going to cut it off here and (try) to finish this up when I get home tomorrow.

Mad rush of freedom.

This is the last Saturday of my summer vacation and I still have some homework to do. It is also the last Saturday of my summer and I still want to capture my last "mad rush of freedom" that I have left inside of me.  I bet your thinking "well, she still has Saturday and Sunday when she is in school off right?" that is false. See, I'm in this soul crushing club called Speech and Debate. I'm getting so fed up with it, I'm going to give you readers a look inside my life as a Debater. And I will post that today. So why am I up this early in the day writing about my the last hours of my summer vacation? I'm writing this because I'm exhausted and can't sleep, and because I'm worried sick about school.

What I have to do.
I have 2 days and a couple of hours to do the following so I won't be all worried and stressed out on Monday.

1. Finish the History Packet.
2. Type the 5 History short responses.
3. Write the "best of" list.
4. Write the huge essay on that 600 page collection of short stories and relate it to "modern day America"
5. Create the hate filled blog post about how much I hate Speech and Debate.
6. Write some stuff for The Sound Collection.
7. Get the rest of my school stuff.
8. Take advantage of my 25% off coupon.

Oh, by the way, I'm trying to do all of this stuff off of 5 hours of sollid sleep. I'm sore as heck, kind of mad, and stressed out. This is for sure not a good way to spend a Saturday. But you know what they say, Carpe Diem.

(I got 100 visitors, so I'm going to change my blog theme back to the way it was :)

Classes...

My academic year starts on Monday, so I'm kind of pumped that I (finally) got my classes today. I'm still not quite done with my summer homework, but that's fine because most of my peers haven't even started yet (I'm almost done. Whoo Hoo!!). I'm not really looking forward to going back to school (if you know what I mean..) I'd much rather rock out with my band, buy Cd's, go to concerts, and rock out. I still have time for that I guess, but I have to get that debate stuff out of the way first. So here is my class listing.

We have a alternating schedule (one day 4 periods, another day 4 periods) so here is what I got.

Day One
1.Health (first semester)/Off period (second semester)
2.Debate
3.Freshmen Seminiar helper (quarter one)/Psychology and Sociology of Sports next semester
4. Algebra 2. (I hate math...)

Day Two
1.AP Lang and Comp
2.AP US History
3.French 3
4.Chemistry Honors.

That doesn't sound too bad, but I don't have my off period! Yeah, I can get to school later and sleep more, but I would rather do my homework sometimes. I'll keep you all posted on how I'm doing throught the year.

An open letter to Canada.

Dear Canada,
You are awesome. I haven't been able to visit you, but I have seen many a television documentary about you and you are just awesome. You remind me of a huge chunk of land full of awesome natural wonder. I should also say that you are very cold. I'm not too fond of cold weather, but I deal with it every fall and winter, so it doesn't really matter to me. I have herd that it does get a nice 23 Celsius some days, but to me that is still kind of cold. When I was in elementary school I had to take a Canadian history class (I still don't know why). You do have quite an interesting history, but I still don't understand why most of Canada is loyal to England, and Quebec is...Well, French? Anyway, I think that you have a nice history.

When I think about it Canada, you guys are kind of like me when it comes to war and conflicts its a "meh" kind of thing. I know you back up the people who can fight, and can kind of fight on your own, but for the most part you just don't get into it. I like that. Is your military bored? They don't really do anything. If I was to join a military, I would join yours because you look like you think before  you act.

You also have some awesome food. When you put pizza and Spaghetti together you get the best combo of my favorite food ever. I could go on and on about your awesome food and such, but that is just for later.
No lie, I could stay on the topic of food for a while, I could even write a whole post on food. I won't though.

I also love all of the various accents that you have Canada. I'd do anything to trade my lame, American Accent for a Canadian one.  My accent is kind of like a mix between an American newscaster,  typical skateboarding teenager, and the flair of a speech and debater (have you heard us talk?).  Like I said, I would just love to speak like an Canadian. I would love to speak French with a French Canadian Accent. Anyway, the way you guys talk is just the best.

So, if you do read this Canada, please just let me know. :)

Your Friend,
riotxgrrlxamy

Tattoos

I really want a tattoo. I was thinking of a dragon with fire or something, or a dharma wheel. I just want something different and something that has a high value in my life. I need to pick something good because I really don't want to get laser surgery to remove the thing once I "don't like it " anymore. I want something that says "Wow, that is awesome, but at the same time, it's a work of art!" I want to get the tattoo and have no regrets. Or in other words, I want to be 75 with the same tattoo and love it just as much as when I first got it. I'm not sure if I want to get it now, or a little bit later. I'm thinking later because I can have some time to think about it you know? I don't want to rush a tattoo and then be like "why on earth did I get this?". If that happened, I would have to get it altered, or just get it removed altogether. I seen when people get tattoos removed, it just looks awful. Yeah, I don't think that I want that.

I was even thinking about drawing the tattoo out myself. That way, people would say "Oh wow! Who did that tatoo?" and I would reply "I drew it, some guy I know put it on me". So then that way, I could be the only one in the world with a dragon in a flame background with a pantbrush and eisel. Awesome right?

Yeah, I think that I might just go for the outlandish "Oh my God, what the heck is that" kinds of tattoos. I wouldn't go too extreme though, like a robot playing chess against a tree in an oven. That brings up something else, I shouldn't get drunk (or abuse an illegal substance, I don't anyway) when I get that tattoo. Because you know what happens when you get drunk right? I don't want to have a tattoo of Samuel Adams with a pirate hat on my left arm (sounds cool, but I don't want it).

I still have some thinking left before I really decide on what I want. That's just fine with me because I want to be happy with what I get, and keep it for the rest of my life. I guess that tattoos are really "skin tight".

What I did on my birthday

Its my birthday, and I'm one year older. I'm not that guilty, and I'm feeling ok even though I'm feeling better. Alright, you want to know what I got right?

What I got:

• The Simpson's Season 5
• The Runaways Movie - I herd that this was good, I'll have to review it for you all!
• Wii Fit Plus- It is that much better!
• Itunes gift card (did I ask for this?)
• A total of 50 Dollars (not bad, not bad...I spent most of it)
• Cards from different people.

What I bought:

• Bikini Kill and Vandals Cd's (I know, I'm going to get a review up soon)
• Another set of clothes at American Apparel (dude, I know I'm like addicted to it)
• New bracelet and necklace

So I guess I was wrong about people forgetting my birthday, even the store clerks were like (in their Vally girl voice) "Happy birthday!". That's awesome. But do you want to know what isn't awesome? I had to resister for school on my birthday. While I was waiting in line I was getting pretty mad because I had to go to see the dimwits for 9 whole months. Anyway, I got a change of councilor, which is a good thing. My old councilor said that I should just quit school now and just go to trade school, which was the the worst thing thing I ever heard. So that councilor messed up my schedule. I'm just hoping that they do fix it soon because if they don't then I won't be too happy.

Enough about school, I had a good day regardless of school. I just want to say thanks for all of the birthday wishes. Also, if you live in Colorado and want some of my Birthday cake, leave me a comment and I'll be happy to send you some (this is not a joke. I have waaay too much cake.)

Birthday Guilt

My birthday is tomorrow, and I feel kind of guilty. I don't know why. I think its because people give me gifts. You know what, I always feel like this whenever holidays are around. I kind of feel bad for asking for gifts and things. I'm happy with what I got, and I don't really need too much (if you read this post you know why). I'm sure that you don't know this (because none really asks) but I was born about 6 weeks pre mature, I weighed around 2 pounds and some extra. I was really small, no joke and I was kind of sick when I came into the world. But I made it. That's a gift in itself.

I'm guess I'm kind of sad because I know that some people will forget my birthday. Truthfully I can say that it doesn't really matter much, but I wouldn't be truthful to myself. Friends and the people that I bond with are really important to me because I highly value friendships. I don't care if I haven't seen them in 5 years, a friend is always a friend to me regardless. I can honestly say that those close to me have just dropped all contact with me. I try, and try, and try, and the only thing that they an say is "Hi". I was there when you were lame, and the only thing that I would like is for you just to say one last "hi" on my birthday.

In the end, I'm going to have an awesome day tomorrow even if I do have to go get my class schedule, and see those vile, vile people whom I so very much dislike. I do have to say that things will be different this year and if they won't be, I hope that my readers will lead me back on the right track. I'll be tweeting my birthday on twitter, so if you would like to see what I'm up too, just click on the "Follow me!" button on the right, or just click this link.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, I wasn't the happy camper that you see now. If you really want to read some deep stuff, you should check out my first blog. Yeah, it isn't for everyone...But if you do read it, remember that I changed for the better. I might write about how I'm doing now later. You might have like to seen how much I've changed!
 Just forget the typo's sorry.

American Apparel Rant and Review pt. 2

*Hey, before you start to read this, please read part one! It has all of the great information and inside jokes that you need to read to get this follow up article.*

I was thinking about doing a follow up to my most read blog post American Apparel Rant and Review. I just went back today and got some more stuff (to get into detail, I got another hat, another v neck, 2 50/50 shirts, and a hoodie). To be honest, I need to go back so I can buy a pair of pants. You blog readers just ate up my last post on American Apparel, so I wanted to do a part two which is less of a rant and is more of a review of the store. One of my readers wanted me to talk more about dressing rooms, store design, benefits, and some extra stuff.  I'm doing this review based off the store in Denver (no, I'm not dissing this store, I think its awesome! So if I say anything bad I'm not directing it at the store :) Lets start off where I was kind of lacking last time... Pants.

Pants:
They had so many! Most of them high waist, but I did find a pair of unisex (yeah I know...) "slim slacks" that where kind of awesome. I go for a size 26 in pants if I want them to stay on my waist without a belt. I tried them on and my Mom thought that they were "too slim in the waist". I had to disagree. If I wanted to do what I normally do with my pants (low off the waist, ends right at the ankles) I had to go to the 30 inch waist, even then I was like "these are too big!". I didn't buy them today because... Well I don't know why!  Anyway, lots and lots of pants here. I'll give you the link to the website so you can see for yourself.

Dressing rooms:
I was trying on pants, and I can tell you that it is hard to try on pants when you can touch both walls with your elbows (FYI, I'm 5'3 and very skinny...). I guess you can say that it is really plain. They do have a mirror and a sitting stool, just in case you need to look at yourself or sit. I never go into dressing rooms, so I can't really say what  a "good dressing room" is so I hope I did a good job describing a typical dressing room.


Store Design:
I haven't been to every American Apparel in every single place, but I do know that each one is unique. The company doesn't build stores and they try to stay away from "malls" and those other outdoor shopping places. The one in Denver is kind of small, but it does what it needs to. This is a plus because you can't get lost! How awesome is that? Lighting is good, somewhat on the dim side, but natural light makes up for it. Air conditioning is good, I could really feel it on that 103 day. The floor is concrete on one side, hardwood on another (at least I think so, I'm pretty sure it is). The sweaters and zip up hoodies are off to the left side of the door, men's clothing to the right. If you walk down to the table with the bow ties, you can find unisex dress shirts and other dressy stuff. Go off to the right and you will find skirts and dresses, keep going and you will find women's shirts. The rest of the women's clothing goes in a downward "C" shape. Once out of that "C" shape you will find the dressing rooms on the right. If you go further I'm pretty sure you will find necklaces and headbands. Go to the left and you are at the cash resister.  Like I said, its pretty small but that is a plus.

Inventory:
Each store stocks what it wants too.  (A tip for you: You can find some "store only stuff" at the store!) I have a hunch that you can find more sweaters at a Colorado store than at a California store. I have no clue if American Apparel has seasonal stuff (ie, fall collection, summer collection etc) so I can't really say if they get new clothes in. I'm sure that they do, but I can't say for myself.  I like what they have. They have clothes for you, your kid, your boyfriend, your girlfriend and even your dog. (Sorry Mom's Dad's and Grandparents! I don't know if you want to identify with these clothes, but if you want to, then show those young people!)


Staff:
The staff was nice! I think they remember who I was although I looked pretty different the last time I came in (green eye makeup, wigged out hair, blood red lipstick, band shirt, dirty Converse, and tight skinny's. I had a gig ok?) I think they all were reflections of the company, they all looked like models strait out of the catalog. Hey, they might get a discount for working there. Anyway, they weren't stuck up hipsters like we all hate. Heck, maybe they weren't hipsters. I have no idea anymore.

Store music:
Yes, I know art. Yes, I know my music too. But when you combine it, and add in some hip cool trendy synth and you got American Apparel radio! I was in the dressing room when this song came on, which was kind of strange because most people that shop here are in... (wait for it... wait for it...) Art school! Good song anyway. You can listen to AA radio here. For my over 30 readers, is American Apparel creating the latest wave of Mod revival? Are hipsters not hipsters but neo mods? Ok, thats all.

Benefits:
You can leave happy knowing that all of your clothes were made with cotton from the United States. You can also leave knowing that your clothes are quality made. Remember that you are paying for quality, and you "get what you pay for". Keep that in mind when you are buying clothes here. Never mind the "hipsters". Buying clothes at AA doesn't make you a hipster. Feel free to tell one of those customers that if you have to.

Drawbacks:
Ok, if the price isn't a drawback for you finding this store will be. (I'm speaking to my fellow Denvorites here) Can you find a parking space downtown?  If you ride the light rail, would you be willing to walk? You will most likely fight off some tourists when you are here on your visit. I did. Be friendly and show them where the baseball field is. You will also will have to deal with trying on some things at the store. Remember that the sizing charts are not standardized. In other words, if you buy a shirt online, then it probably won't be the same size as the store shirts. If it is your first visit, get use to all of the stripes (just kidding).

What I think:
Like I said before, I only support companies that I think are doing a good job, and for the most part AA is doing a good job. They have their lawsuits and all of that, but what really matters is the top notch clothing. Yeah, you might drop a pretty penny on some of the stuff, but in the end, its better than going to the GAP. I'd rather be lame and trendy but at least I know that my clothes aren't made in a sweatshop.

Here is the American Apparel website, I highly encourage you to look online first, and then go to the store and try on the clothing. You can do the whole "measurement chart" thing, but It wont be consistent.

If you haven't already, check out part one of this article. If you felt lost while reading this, I can tell why...

Stats and You

If you look at the bottom of my page, you will find two different types of stat counters. The top one is the "true stats", or just my original counter. The one one on the bottom is "another stat counter". Yes, I'm of picky with my stats because I really want to know who is reading my blog. (No, I'm not a creeper. I promise). Ok, here are my stats from 8/8/10 at 1:48. Click on the pictures if you can't see them.
blogger:

stat counter:

site meter:

So what does this mean?  It means that I get page views, but they sure are skewed. If you look at the blogger ones, you can see that I have lots more views than Stat Counter has.  I wonder why.....

Audience and Global Stats.

Blogger

Stat counter global stats: Look how dispersed they are...







Anyway, I just thought you all would like to see what I was doing with the re-design. Because you read this, I'm going to tell you that I am working on part two to my most read blog post; American Apparel Rant and Review! Its going to be awesome, so just wait for it :)

Mind the Mess...

I'm updating my blog layout right now, so if it looks kind of funky, you know why. I'm trying to put in some new cool stuff, so just wait and be patient :)

In the mean time, why not play a game?

My Jacket

This is my jacket. This jacket is a personal representation of me, what I like, music I like, and some things that I believe in. I wanted to "express" what I like on my jacket because I had a lot of buttons and a jacket in my closet that was kind of lame anyway.  So I bought some studs for my jacket. I'm not going to tell you what I used (because its a secret, well not really, I just don't want to say) So after that, I got some patches to put on the front. I'm sad to say that I didn't make them, but it doesn't really matter because I got them for a dollar a piece. Yes, I did make a patch or two, but I'm still thinking of a place to put them.  On the back, I have more studs, and some tartan in a square shape (yes, that is dental floss that is holding the tartan and the patches down). The one thing that I don't have is a back patch. I might buy one from the record store, or I might just make one. Either way, I'll tell you all about it.  Oh yeah, I did everything on this jacket by hand. I put countless hours in this thing, and I'm proud of my work. I'm not done yet, so I'll post more about my jacket.

A note on the pictures: This is my own personal picture and I don't want you to "exploit" it. If you want to use it, contact me first and please give me attribution for taking my picture :)

Another thing, I don't own any of these band logos. I'm just a fan.

Front
Buttons on left side: "Say no to emo", "Unite", Sonic Youth, Siouxsie and the Banshees, "OI!", The infamous Batman logo button, "Go vegetarian!", Clockwork Orange, Handmade anti consumerism/anti money button. Adicts patch.
Buttons on right side: Buzzcocks, lust cats, Chaos UK, DP 77, Handmade "I'm awesome pin", GBH, Union Jack, "Trash Swastika" button, Girls Rock Denver (whoop whoop!)  Pinned On Conflict patch (should I keep it?)

Yes, that is my comforter....
Back
About... 250+ studs and a square piece of tartan. Kind of boring right?

Jacket is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

If you know a good backpatch or patch that I would like, go ahead and tell me! I'll be happy to make a patch (like I have anything else to do).
Check the new reader survey too! Your imput is greatly apprecated.

Back Home!

I'm back home! Well, I got home yesterday at 2 in the afternoon, but I wasn't really feeling like writing anything major because I was too tired. I haven't taken any Advil and thats great because I'm still (kind of ) awake. I had fun and learned a lot, ate a lot, and didn't sleep a lot, but that didn't matter because I had lots of fun. I just wanted to say that I missed all of my blog readers and it doesn't matter if you comment or not. I'm happy because at least I know that my writing is being read by others and I'm happy to share a little portion of my life with you all. I don't know if I'll get to it today, but I should be posting about my awesome guitar (trust me, it is pretty awesome) and I might even throw in a post about my jacket (you have to see it to believe it). Oh yeah, I start school soon (noooo) so I want to see how many posts I can get in before I go back to the brain-drain. I don't even want to think about that now... Anyway its great to be back.