fall five

Good morning, world!

1. I auditioned for a musical. This year my school is doing "Hairspray". Oh my gosh, I don't think the full horror of singing/dancing/acting in front of other people really sets in until you're there, on stage, and your heart starts to race.

2. I miss eating crunchy things. Like popcorn, pizza, chocolate cake, chips, pecan pie, apples, pears, strawberries, cereal, cheezies... Basically everything I can't eat right now.

3. It rained today. I've discovered sky lights that run the length of the upstairs hallway and make the lack of windows a little more bearable. The sky was white and grey this morning. You can hear rain plinking on the roof of the school when you're sketching in the art room.

4. Over the summer I fooled myself into thinking I missed this: school, homework, waking up early every day... I think I could do without it for a few more months of sunshine.

5. Boys with long hair pulled back in pony tails: yay or nay? I'm watching Survivor and I can't make up my mind...

surgeryerific

To my dearest fellow human beings,

I am exhausted. I have a piece of gauze taped to my arm where the IV was inserted* and my lower jaw is completely numb. Nothing major going on--I just had my wisdom teeth removed this morning. I know it had to happen sooner or later, but can I just say that I'm feeling a lot less wise than I was yesterday?

So, to look on the bright side, I have a list for you!

Three Things You Must Do When Your Mouth Is Completely Numb:

1. Swallow pills. Depending on the reason for the numbness, the pills might be mandatory. But that doesn't make them any less fun! I swear, it's the weirdest thing to see the pill in your hand, put in it your mouth, and then have it completely disappear because you can't feel it anymore. I had to open my mouth and ask my mom if it was still there (which I'm sure she enjoyed to no end).

2. Touch your face. I've been constantly poking my lower jaw because it feels so weird. My hand can feel my jaw but my jaw can't feel my hand. It's like I have an imaginary chin! I have to double check in a mirror every once in a while to make sure it's still there.

3. Talk. A lot. Simple words have never been so hilarious! And if they sound funny to you, the people hearing you talk are clearly having a fabulous time! It's amazing how much you can get across with a couple hand gestures, some very intense facial expressions, and a garbled "Mahhhhh erm a kloopnak ottobob lushvas."

Because I am hoping that I don't get dental surgery very often in my life, I plan to relish this moment. Sure, there might be a little blood on my pillow when I wake up, but hey, sticking out my tongue is like a whole new experience!

Love,
Erika

*I am not so good with needles. Not at all. And, because I have "small veins," my dentist ended up calling in his dad (an ER nurse) to help insert the IV. The dentist's dad, my mom, it was like a family affair. Of course, it would've been considerably more fun if there weren't any needles involved, but what can I say? Dentists have a weird sense of humor.

book of the month info

I've been exploring Once Upon A Time... , a blog by a writer named Cristina Dossantos, and I love it. The design, the writing, the features. So much that I want to steal (read: take inspiration from) one of her segments--Book of the Month.

I find book reviews a little daunting. Someone created something, put so much of themselves into a book, and what makes me think I have any right to critique it? But I want to practice and I love to read. One book review a month should be... doable.

If any of you have read the same book, or would like to, we can discuss it and share what we loved/hated/couldn't put down. For September, I've chosen something nice and thick: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Let me know if you've read it, or if you'd like to read it. Book club, anyone?

so this is September

Today was the first day of school. I spent the entire time wandering around in a confused daze while my thoughts flitted between:

Oh my God, why did I wear this?
WHY on earth did I decide to take all these difficult classes?
Everyone looks so pretty and smart and talented!
Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.
Is that my classroom? Where's my classroom?!
Oh good, my locker won't open. I'm so glad.
I really should've worn something else...

Every year, I start school thinking the exact same thing: This is it. This year, everything will be different. I'll make tons of great friends, all my classes will be amazing, nothing will be the same. Everyone reinvents themselves over the summer--I know I do--but sometimes not as much as you'd like. And having to deal with that, the fact that there will always be unpleasant people in the world, and there will always be people who are smarter and better looking and more talented than me... It's an adjustment.

I don't know. I don't know if this will be good or bad or just plain confusing. I don't know if I'll meet nice people or hate all my classes or feel overwhelmed or have a lovely time of it. I don't know yet.

And that is terrifying.