Me

Well it looks like that afore mentioned insomnia has stricken, so you get a blog post. about me.

The bathroom renovation went... tolerably well. We didn't finish, but we made huge gains. The new flooring is mostly installed, the new vanity is installed, the new light fixture is installed, the new faucets work... There is however, the ceiling left to paint as well as another coat for the walls and the woodwork. We changed out the knobs on the vanity in the main bathroom as well as the toilet paper holder and the towel bar and ring. They were a terrible polished brass and are now a tasteful combination of glass knobs and brushed nickel hardware. :)

Thursday night, I got a babysitting gig. Two kids, a 4 year old girl, and a 7 year old boy, so I charged $6 an hour. They are marvelous kids, definitely hyper, but once we got past the "test the babysitter" stage, we had a great time. The kids have a really early bedtime, and the parents told me to feel free to peruse their ENORMOUS dvd collection and watch anything that caught my eye. It was fabulous. It took me an hour just to decide what I wanted to watch. Hopefully, they'll ask me to babysit again!

On Saturday, Mom and I had an outing. It was grand fun! :) First we made a trip to St. Joseph's Flea Market, where I got an awesome dress, two fantastic old pieces of sheet music, and six romance novels by Barbara Cartland. Then Mom and I headed for Little Rock. We went to a big Hobby Lobby, perused Merle Norman, and went to JoAnn's. This was all on our way to Savers because we couldn't find it, and then we found that delightful shopping center with a restroom. :) Finally we found Savers, which was very awesome. It's HUGE. And there are all kinds of awesome things everywhere! I got a cute hoodie, two shirts, and a belt. There were tons of jeans that were quite cute, but most of them were about $10 and I really didn't need any. But they have shoes, books, handbags, ties, belts, clothes, housewares, furniture! It was very cool. :)

Mom and I never did make it to see either Coraline or Watchmen this week, but we hit Blockbuster pretty hard. :) We've watched The Fantasticks, Let's Make Love, and Neverwas--all of which were phenomenally fantastic! We've also rented Hellboy and we have Ghost In The Shell and Pump Up The Volume that I desperately want to see as well... :)

I have finished both of my Spring Break school assignments, actually doing good work instead of slopping down crap. This is especially good since the assignments were in classes that I'm not doing so well in, Pre AP English and AP US History. My difficulty in English is ridiculous. Its always been one of my best subjects. There is, however, a lot of homework assigned and the tests center around quotes. I am often too overwhelmed to complete all of my homework and kind of rotate around which class I blow off when and speakers and subjects of particular quotations from a quickly read novel frequently slip my mind.

Sophomore year is possibly worse than freshman year. Which is an astonishing occurrence I thought an impossibility last year. *sigh*.

Well... it has just struck 2 a.m. so I'm going to try sleep again... (It happens to me every night
Can't sleep, the clowns will eat me...)

(Why, yes! I do frequently make random Alice Cooper references!)

Easy energy efficiency...

I would like to bring everyone's attention to a new, energy saving search engine. www.blackle.com is powered by google and offers the same basic search capability with a black background, saving a surprisingly large amount of energy. This was part of the reason I changed my blog to a darker background and text. The other part was that I just liked the colors, lol.

Sometime soon I might happen to care enough and have enough time to write a real blog post about me and my life, but usually I either care enough to blog OR I have enough time to write, rarely both unless a particularly vicious bout of insomnia strikes. ;)

Life as it is now.

Wow, I am such a failure at blogging. Over a month since my last post?! :(

History Day project from last post was part disaster part brilliance. The documentary was beautiful, the paper work (process paper and bibliography) were significantly less so. Turns out, there is a God, and he was on duty. Mr. Rich (my history teacher) gave me a second chance, placing me 4th in the school competition. I procrastinated, of course, but miraculously the night before I got everything a little bit more together and I placed 3rd at district, which means I'm going to state!! Anyway, its Spring Break, so I'm working on History Day.

At some point, I need to devote an entire blog post to Sargent Shriver, my History Day topic.

Last week sucked... one of my very best friends in the whole wide world tried to OD. Definitely intended to off herself. Luckily, she told me, which meant that I had plenty of time to go crying to the counselor... My friend promises to stick around for at least a little while. I cried to her too. I broke my no-crying-at-school rule, but really, I think we're past the elementary school "cry baby" thing. And seriously, my friend nearly died. So yeah, I thought it was excused. Hopefully my friend will haul her butt back to the doctor, for so many reasons. She needs her bipolar meds upped, she needs to make sure that the hospital didn't mess anything up when they pumped her stomach, and she was already sick before all of this and has lab work and an ultrasound to discuss with her doctor. >:( But she's stubborn and is sick of doctors. I'm also stubborn, prone to nagging, and I care. So because I care, I will nag and refuse to listen to "reason" because I'm stubborn. ;)

On Thursday, I was 1 of 8 students from Conway High East to page for the House of Representatives at the capitol! It was super fun. There was a lot of sitting and picture taking, but really, it was amazing. Below is a group pic, from left: Kerry Cole, Heather Haile, Devika Mehta, Me (Meleah Bowles), Seth Gilleran, Amy Anderson, Stephenie McCoy, and Ashley Daniels. The Representative is Robbie Wills, who was elected Speaker of the House for that session.


Now, Spring Break:

• Friday night I went to a very fun Spring Break Party, not at all what I expected from a Mormon party. Lots of insanity. :)
• Saturday night I went to one of the most amazing shows ever! It was Bombay Black and Black Stone Cherry at The Village, a local music venue. It rocked. So hard. :)
• Today, Mom and I replaced two track light fixtures in the living room, and it looks so much better! :) We have a few more projects to tackle over Spring Break, and it will be a changed house.
• Tomorrow morning (8:30 am) I have a fasting lab, because evidently my other lab work wasn't enough. And I'm having major nerve issues in my hands, which I have to fess to my doctor, which means a neurologist, which probably means more missed school, and a whole lot of tests. Hopefully this is fixed, non-surgically, before Flagline tryouts!
  
• After the doctor's appointment, Dad is going to take me out to shoot my shotgun. It was my great-grandfather's and when he died, my grandparents split up the guns, giving me one. It is antique and gorgeous. Then Dad and I are going to clean up the yard, so it can look decent. :)
  
• Sometime this week, Mom and I are planning on painting Twerpette's room, putting a light fixture in her office nook, replacing the light fixture in her bathroom, replacing the vanity/sink in her bathroom, putting a mirror back in my bathroom, putting a light above the dining room table, refinish my bathroom light fixture, plant more flowers in the yard, the list goes on...
  
• I need to work in time to practice my new piano piece, "Golligwog's Cake Walk" by Debussy from his Children's Corner collection, read Ethan Frome and do a reading response worksheet, take a practice AP US History exam, sign up for the ACT, think about practicing my flute, clean my room, this list goes on too... I'm hoping Mom and I figure out a way to work in a Silver Dollar City trip and a visit to Granny and Pa's. :)

I just want to take a random little moment to say that I think Barack Obama rocks. :D So far, he is a fantastic president! I love that he supports early childhood education and civil unions for LGBT and choice and so on...! :D At this moment, I definitely do not regret any endorsement of Barack Obama, and I'm very happy with his decisions so far.

We got our fourth nine weeks grades. I had 4 B's. I'm not happy. But they were all high B's, except History, which was an 85, but its an AP class, so I can make a B. The other three I definitely have to pull up though... UGGGGH. Stress. *sigh* oh well. I'll either do it or I'll permanently wreck my GPA. *flinch*

We evidently signed up for rooms for the Disney band trip on the day that I was paging. And my roommate isn't really sure that she can go. Gaaah. I adore Katie and her family, but her parentals are really flaky. But I'm super excited about Disney, it should be one of the most amazing trips ever! I just really want the room situation straightened out, because a bad roommate could wreck the whole trip for me. :/ As it is, Katie and I could get stuck with who knows else in the room with us... But we can get all of that worked out. I'm sure.

Anyway, not much is going on right now, since its 12:17 am... and this post is already hideously long and I'm tired and I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, so I'm going to go to bed.

Weekend From Hell. And not just because of Valentine's Day.

Soooo, "Single's Awareness Day" has been eradicated, by yours' truly. February 14th is now "Friends and Family Day".

I should blog more often. Its been almost a month since my last post. Anyway, the last month of my life condensed...

• I'm in piano lessons, and I love them! My teacher is a UCA student, from Germany. Her name is Fabia, and shes fantastic. She didn't decide that I sucked when I was really nervous the first few lessons, and majorly effed up my pieces. So I like her immensely. She makes me look at music in a really different way. We make mental pictures and stories.
  
• I'm having neck/back problems that are causing horrible migraines.
• When I first started getting the migraines, I missed several days of school. So I got horrifically behind in my school work. I'm still behind in my school work. So now I just get to go to school with the migraine, and then walk around the house looking dead. Its working.
• My chiropractor keeps trying to graduate me, and then he can't. Because I keep getting migraines.
• Boyfriend from a few posts ago is no longer a boyfriend. He broke up with me. I was irritated and confused for a few days. Now we're back to friends.
• An ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine had a really cool way to say that, she told my friend that they were "just boys again". I thought that was pretty awesome.
• "Maybe leaving" friend is pretty definitely leaving. He sent ASMSA his completed application and has already completed his interview and placement exams. He hasn't *technically* been accepted, but he made like a 32? on his ACT and 2030 on his SAT, in addition to having an unwieghted 4.0 GPA (above 4.0 weighted). Yeah. He pretty much kicks butt. :) Iiiiiii'm going to miss him. But he hates Conway. So Hot Springs is better for him.
  

So there are the past 4 weeks of my life in a nutshell. :)

Now back to the weekend from hell.

This weekend I have to make a 10 minute documentary, write a process paper and bibliography to go with it, prepare a speech for a 4h competition, read Their Eyes Were Watching God, complete a 20 page packet on Their Eyes Were Watching God, make a flyer for DCYM, finish my Algebra II homework, and get caught up in Biology.

That was in order of priorities. I really only expect to finish the documentary and paper work, and if I'm lucky I'll prepare my speech, read Their Eyes Were Watching God, and get some more work done on my packet for English. UUGGGGGHHHHHH!

Famous Anxiety...

So, I have an anxiety disorder. I can't remember if I mentioned that in my first post or not... Well if I didn't, then I should've. (lol, blogger isn't recognizing my contractions as correct spellings)

Anyway, I occasionally visit this online support group site. Its called Daily Strength. The title is stupid, but the site is actually quite informative at times. Definitely interesting. :) Today I was browsing and found a discussion called "Famous people with anxiety disorders". So I clicked. Several people had replied to the discussion topic, but one user posted a lovely list that appears to be fairly comprehensive. I found this list to be both inspiring and worrisome. Because some of these people are wonderful role models. But some of them... haven't led the most stable lives... Oh well. Here's the list, see what you make of it.

Famous Anxiety Sufferers:

Isaac Asimov (author)
Kim Basinger (actress)
Roseanne Barr (comedian)
David Bowie (singer)
Charlotte Bronte (author)
Robert Burns (poet)
Barbara Bush (former First Lady - U.S.)
John Candy (comedian)
Earl Campbell (football star)
Naomi Campbell (model)
Dean Cain (actor)
Deanna Carter (singer)
Ray Charles (musician)
Eric Clapton (musician)
Dick Clark (television personality)
Cher (singer, actress)
Michael Crichton (writer)
Sheryl Crow (musician)
Johnny Depp (actor)
Tony Dow (actor director)
Jim Eisenreich (baseball)
Michael English (singer)
Edie Falco (actress)
Sally Field (actress)
Sigmund Freud (psychiatrist)
Aretha Franklin (singer)
James Garner (actor)
Barbara Gordon (filmmaker)
Shecky Greene (comedian)
Pete Harnisch (baseball star)
Anthony Hopkins (actor)
Olivia Hussey (actress)
Beverly Johnson (supermodel)
Naomi Judd (singer)
Al Kasha (songwriter)
Leila Kenzle (actress)
Nicole Kidman (actress)
Courtney Love (singer - actress)
John Madden (announcer)
Howie Mandel (comic)
Robert McFarlane (former National Security Advisor - U.S.)
John Cougar Mellancamp (musician, actor)
John Stuart Mill (philosopher)
Alanis Morisette (singer)
Edvard Munch (artist)
Sir Isaac Newton (scientist)
Lani O'Grady (actress)
Sir Laurence Olivier (actor)
Donny Osmond (actor)
Marie Osmand (entertainer)
Robin Quivers (radio host)
Bonnie Raitt (musician)
Burt Reynolds (actor)
Joan Rivers (actress)
Winona Ryder (actress)
Charles Schultz (cartoonist)
Willard Scott (weatherman)
Sam Shepard (playwright)
Sissy Spacek (actress)
Carly Simon (singer)
Tom Snyder (host)
John Steinbeck (author)
Howard Stern (king of media)
Barbra Streisand (singer)
Dave Stewart of the (singer – Eurythmics)
Nikola Tesla (inventor)
Susan Powter (tv host)
Anne Tyler (author)
Ricky Williams (atlete)
Ann Wilson (singer)
Oprah Winfrey (host)
W.B. Yeats (poet)

Famous OCD Sufferers:

Dan Ackroyd (actor)
Jessica Alba (actress / model)
Woody Allen (actor / director)
Natalie Appleton (pop singer)
Alec Baldwin (actor)
Roseanne Barr (actress)
David Beckham (athlete)
Ludwig Van Beethoven (composer)
Charles Darwin (biologist / writer)
Ian Puleston-Davies (actor)
Cameron Diaz (actress)
Leonardo Dicaprio (actor)
Penélope Cruz (actress)
Fred Durst (musician)
Albert Einstein (physicist)
Jim Eisenreich (athlete)
Harrison Ford (actor)
Paul Gascoigne (athlete)
Kathie Lee Gifford (TV host)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (actress)
Jane Horrocks (actress / musician)
Howard Hughes (producer / industrialist)
Dr. Samuel Johnson (author)
Stanley Kubrick (director)
Howie Mandel (actor / comedian)
Rose McGowan (actress)
John Melendez (comedian)
Michelangelo (artist / engineer)
Joey Ramone (vocalist / songwriter)
Martin Scorsese (director / producer)
Charlie Sheen (actor)
Mark Summers (TV host)
Billy Bob Thornton (actor)
Justin Timberlake (singer / performer)
Donald Trump (business magnate)
Warren Zevon (musician )

Facebook Fails...

*MY* facebook account is unavailable due to "site maintenance". WTF?? I am now desolate. :P

Anyway, this leaves me time to blog. :D

I am too busy. Waaay too busy. Sadly, I say this even though I'm less busy than I was last semester. Nonetheless, its true. I don't have time to hang out with my boyfriend. :( Bleck. Oh well, life is what it is.

This website is awesome. :D On the homepage there is a yellow button. When you click the button, sponsors donate 1.1 cups of food to charity, at no cost to you. I've signed up for their email newsletter and their daily reminders. So every day I get an email reminding me to click the button. This site also has an awesome shop with all kinds of free trade goods and organic clothing. They're all really reasonably priced. And unique. And gorgeous. So check it out.

Last week I tried out for All-Region. I didn't make it. But thats ok, because I didn't really expect to. It also served as our chair tryout, so I moved up to fourth chair (from seventh). That pretty much rocks. :D Especially since I still get to share a stand with Christie. (In band we take our stand partners pretty seriously...)

Oooh! More news. I met (via wonderful facebook and wonderful Setheran) a ninth grader at my school who is interested in starting a group to raise awareness about humanitarian crisises. Her initial idea was Darfur, but nothing is settled yet.

I got my first History Day interview! Jennifer Lusk was in town for the holidays. She is serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova. She keeps a blog about her experiences and was delightful in person. Definitely a lot of fantastic footage for my documentary!

A few weeks ago, I discovered a degree program that I never knew existed. Rural Sociology. University of Missouri, Columbia has quite the graduate program in Rural Sociology. They offer a Master's degree and a PhD. So my current life plan, brace yourself, is to get an undergrad degree in Sociology from UCA. Then I would love to spend two years with the Peace Corps. After that, I'll return to the real world and enroll in the Rural Sociology graduate program at University of Missouri, Columbia. Parts of this plan make my family happier than others.

I would still prefer to go out of state and get out of Conway. I'm not a Conway fan, but whatever. It doesn't look like its going to work out that way... Life will go on. I'm sure a dorm room and a car will give me any freedom I need.