What an Awful Friend

I like telling stories. Like a lot. I like telling stories because you can tell them if you’re in any mood. So I tell stories all the time. I know my friends probably hate it. It must be so annoying to be always listening to Kirsten’s incessant voice talking about how she got lost on the city bus and had to walk back to Treasure Mountain (True story and yes, I referred to myself in the third person.) But I like to tell stories because it helps me laugh at myself and I like making people smile. And sometimes nobody laughs, which is embarrassing, but hey you keep trying. 

Courtesy of clairelasecretaire.wordpress.com

I think this blog has been like my own personal, yet public journal. I’ve been able to tell stories and talk about random things, like how I want to own a naked cat someday. I’ve learned about myself, but mostly just expressed myself. 

To understand my transformation throughout this year, we have to look back to my locker at the beginning of this year. At the beginning of this year my locker was clean, fresh, and relatively organized. It was very innocent. I had a folder or binder for every class, and enough pens to last me an eternity. When they tell you that you can be prepared for high school, it’s total crap. By the first week my pens were missing and I felt like a homeless person, because of how often I begged people for a pen. “Spare a pen for a unorganized train wreck, would ya sir?” Gradually, my locker became worse and worse. Piles of paper built up inside my locker. Unknown liquids spilled and stained my locker. The door became vandalized with drawings of dogs, courtesy of Aysia and “I love JB” courtesy of River. 

Yesterday, after a very random and unfortunate chain of events I ended up at school with quite a bit of free time. So I decided to get a bit of the cleaning of my locker over with. As I began to clean it out I realized exactly how much stuff had occurred so quickly this year. I found three silver spoons, papers from every class, a small yellow bowl, six unused highlighters, four binders, three folders, and a mug. 

Then I looked at the empty and organized locker, and thought to myself I made it. It may have been hard and it may have been messy but I made it through my first year of high school. Where my blog played in that, I’m not exactly sure. I think my blog has shaped me into the writer I am today and has sparked my creativity. It’s also caused much suffering. I’ve lost hours of sleep because of writers block. 

Overall, I don’t think my blog drastically changed me. But I do think it’s helped me. It’s given me a new place to share my thoughts, even if no one is reading. Although it’s cheesy, I like to think of my blog as a friend I made this year. So cheers to my friend, I hope to never see you again fourteen days from now!

My Must See Movie List

My father does not enjoy sad movies. My sister does not enjoy scary movies. My brother only likes documentaries and highly acclaimed movies. But I love most genres of movies and so I usually watch all kinds of movies with my mom. Together we somehow find a creative movie that we haven't seen to watch, and if we can't find one we haven't seen, we watch an old one we have seen.

I have seen a lot of a lot of movies. Here's the ones that I suggest (these are just one from each genre):

Romance/Romantic Comedy: About Time
I love this movie. I first saw it with my mom and sister. We had randomly selected it from our television. It wasn't a very popular movie and I have yet to meet someone who has seen it. But it really moved me. It's the story of a young man, Tim Lake, who discovers that the men in his family can travel back in time. No, it's actually not cheesy. Tim who is extremely quirky, decides to use this new advantage to fall in love. In turn, he meets Mary played by Rachael McAdams, and learns from his mistakes to live life to the fullest. This funny and romantic movie is perfect for anyone who wants to laugh, smile, and have a good time watching a movie.

Trailer: About Time

Action/Adventure: Bourne Identity
I have yet to read the books in this action-packed series, but the first movie is one of my favorite movies. The Bourne Identity is about Jason Bourne, a trained assassin who suffers from total amnesia in an accident. He soon sets off to find out his identity and discover the truth of who he was before. If you like this movie, they are in the making of a new one and bringing back Matt Damon (finally!). Other great action films include The Revenant, Taken, and American Sniper.

Trailer: Bourne Identity

Horror: Pet Sematary

Courtesy of tumblr.com 

It's an old film, but if you want to see a classic scary movie, watch Stephen King's, Pet Sematary.
It's the story of Louis Creed and his family.  When the family cat is accidently killed, Louis takes it to the haunted pet cemetery that he heard would bring it back to life. A few days after burying the cat, it reappears, once again alive. But it's personality is changed. The cat is now vicious and hisses at Louis. Then his son of only a few years old is hit but a truck, he takes him too, to the cemetery. His son comes back from the dead evil and thirsty for blood. He has to fight and run from his own son, scared for his life. While it's not the scariest movie I've ever seen, this film with most definitely give you nightmares.

Trailer: Pet Sematary

Comedy: Ace Ventura, Talledega Nights, and Hot Rod
I not a huge traditional comedy movie watcher. I've seen Step-Brothers and other slapstick movies alike it but I don't find them all that interesting. The only ones are prefer to watch are Ace Ventura, Talledega Nights, and Hot Rod.

Young Adult: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
I must admit, when I heard of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, I was completely uninterested. The movie is about a high school student named Greg, who believe being invisible is the best way to live his life. He spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl. When he meets Rachael, a classmate diagnosed with lukemia (no, they don't fall in love) his life is sent on a new course. This funny and sad adaption of the book is about friendship and self-discovery. It's a must see for anyone who likes sarcasm. Boyhood and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are also great young-adult films.

Trailer: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Sci-Fi: The Martian

Courtesy of en.wikipedia.com

Most of you have probably already seen The Martian, but if you haven't, you need to. I will say that this is one of the best Sci-Fi movies I have seen, hands down. The Martian is extremely well animated, filmed, and created. This film keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time while making you smile. In the movie, a man is pushed to his limits when he is left behind on the uninhabited planet of Mars.

Trailer: The Martian

Other movies that I suggest:

• The Help
• The Revenant
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• American Sniper
• Eat, Pray, Love
• Boyhood
• Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Heart of the Sea
• We Bought A Zoo
• Blackfish

I Forgot To Eat!

Here's a very unattractive image of me going
 hardcore on a slice of pizza. Courtesy of me. 

I love food. I usually scoff at people who just don't eat very much or don't like eating breakfast. But last Thursday, I basically forgot to eat. I had woken up in a panic, knowing that I hit the snooze button on my alarm. By the time I was in the kitchen to get breakfast, my mom was pulling the car around. So on my way out I grabbed some coffee and some cold coconut pancakes my mom ate the night before. In the car I rushed to shove my shoes on and sipped my barely warm coffee. I jumped out of the car to catch the bus without even taking a single bite of the pancakes.

I was hungry and tired for the whole morning. Reaching lunch felt like crossing the finish line of a marathon. At lunch, I realized that my mom had been in a rush, too, and she ended up packing me two coconut pancakes, one piece of bacon, and some syrup. Now, normally two pancakes would have been fine, but these coconut pancakes were about the size of my palm and were made of coconut milk, coconut flour, and coconut sugar. Add on the fact that I hadn't eaten breakfast, and this lunch was like the mini potato chip bags which are about sixty-five percent air.

I went along with my day, not caring too much that I hadn't eaten a lot. When I got home I went up to the barn and immediately rode my horse, Kiss, then came back to the house to change into my workout clothes for Athletic Republic. In case you don't know, Athletic Republic is a athlete training center that has personal trainers who give you a different workout each time you come. Unlike I usually do, I didn't grab a snack while I was at the house, but jumped in the car and went straight there without eating. That day I was with a bunch of boys that I didn't know and I was put on the treadmill with one other kid.

The treadmill at athletic republic is crazy. It vertical treadmill that increases it's steepness by the amount the trainer sets it to. During my first few sprints, I was fine, running as I normally do. But then I started to feel cold, like I do at the end of cross-country races. I walked in circles during my breaks. Suddenly, the whole room was spinning and I felt vomit rising in my throat. The trainer said I could go to the bathroom if I felt dizzy, and I nodded and went. Right when I reached the bathroom, I sat down on the floor next to the toilet and put my head between my knees. The whole room was blacking out and my mouth watered. I sat there for at least ten minutes before getting up. I held onto the wall to steady myself and went back to the weight room. The trainer asked me if I was okay and I said I was fine but he handed me a strawberry yogurt and a spoon. I really did not want to eat the yogurt, as I never liked super sweet yogurts, but he said I had to. So I ate tiny bites and swallowed it.

After waiting about half of an hour and deciding that I wouldn't be able to get back on the treadmill that day, he set up an exercise where I would just have to stand up and pull my knee up. But when I stood up the room spun again, my skin went cold, and my vision blurred. I ended up having to call my mom to come pick me up, but not before everyone there watched me sit on the floor and hold my head between my knees. All because I didn't eat. I was so embarrassed. I went home and crawled in bed at six thirty with an almond butter sandwich and slept for two hours before waking up. Then I ate a quesadilla and watched Grey's Anatomy with my mom for a little while before falling right back to sleep.

Yesterday, before I went to athletic republic I hate half of a chicken quesadilla and a banana. It's a myth that you shouldn't eat before a workout. I definitely learned my lesson...(That school is poorly affecting my health!)

4 Ways To Be Cooler, By Someone Uncool

We all want to be cool. And no matter how much we try to not care what everybody else thinks, we still do. But what is cool, really? Cool in the dictionary, is described as fairly cold temperature or fashionably attractive. I am definitely not cool, but from my experience as a teenager and after learning about the basic steps to being cool, I think I may be able to help you become just a little cooler.

1. Be confident and be yourself (Blah Blah Blah)

Yeah, right. Because that's easy. This is such a dumb thing to tell someone who is trying to be cool. It's like, If I thought I was cool by myself I wouldn't be trying to find out how to be cool. The truth is being yourself, only works half the time. Of course your family loves when you're yourself. But will everyone else? The real trick is to find people that you can be yourself with, and have stuff in common with. If you find people that think your cool even if you aren't. (WARNING: This often isn't cool.)

Courtesy of hdwallnpics.com

2. Always look adorable, but not like you're trying

This one is just impossible. I don't understand why I try really hard to look good somedays and some people are able to just look amazing in sweatpants. Like, when did that become a thing. I must admit though, other days I just put on jeans and a hoodie. The other thing I don't understand is why we all dress up for school. I mean we don't want to be here anyway, why are we trying to look good for it? I wasted 20 mins this morning to just put on a tee shirt and a sweater. I say we all just stop with the super high expectations and make it easier on everyone. 

Courtesy of zlucaz.deviantart.com

3. Go to cool parties

As we see in movies, all the cool kids go to parties. At these so called parties, teens live it up and have the best nights of their lives. And we all learned from Footloose, that dancing and parties may have some consequences, but in the end us teens really do need to party. The first problem with parties is that you usually have to be invited to parties. Which normally doesn't happen if you are uncool, like me. I guess you could just walk in but isn't that kinda creepy. The second problem with parties, is that unless you are going to a birthday party, most parties are lame as expressed by Alessia Cara. Why would I waste my time on that when Netflix and a box of Oreos are waiting for me at home.

Courtesy of sabotagetimes.com

4.  Always be funny

Okay, this may be easy for some people. But, unless you're Robin Williams, this one is really difficult. It's not that our jokes might not be funny but most of the time everyone has a different sense of humor. You also cannot be funny all the time. If we were funny all the time we would end up cracking jokes at funerals. (This may not always be true if you are attending an Irish wake.)

Basic Conclusion: It is impossible to be cool by everyone's standards. So my advice to you, if you really want to be cool, stop trying so hard and find some friends who don't care if you are cool or not.

Ireland

Summer, what some know as travel time and others know as time spent doing practically nothing. I know that I am going to spend nearly all of my summer binge-watching and running. Unlike most people in Park City, I go almost no where. The only other country that I’ve ever been to has been Mexico. In Mexico, I went scuba diving, swam with turtles, and went fishing. And while I had a lot of fun, I want to go to more places than just Mexico. I want to travel the world and see as many cultures as I can. So finally, for the first time ever, I will be leaving North America.

Courtesy of www. shannonairport.ie

I get to go to Ireland. Yeah, I know, you’re probably thinking “Ireland? What’s even in Ireland?”. But it’s actually really cool. A few years ago, my mom went on the same trip on her own. It’s a trip that our old horseback riding barn does every other year. On the trip, everybody goes riding in a big group through open fields and jumping over stonewalls. They stay at small bed and breakfast places, and ride on the beaches. 

The best part of the trip is that we will get to pick which horse we will ride. Willy, the man who leads the trip, has a pasture full of horses. Horses as far as the eye can see. Out of more than fifty horses, you are able to choose any one of them you want. And then if you don’t like the one you chose, you can just pick another one.

For years, my mom has been waiting until I was the right age to go. This year is finally my chance. So in August, I will be flying to Ireland to ride for two weeks. Leading up to the trip, I will waste away my summer. And I’m alright with that. I’m fine with being lazy for most of the summer, because at one point I will be in Ireland. 

To conclude, I’m not going to feel bad this summer for not doing anything. I won’t feel bad for watching Grey’s Anatomy all day long. Instead, I’m going to enjoy the time I spend sitting on the sofa or hanging out with friends. I’m going to spend my days unaware of the time and happy about not doing anything. Because at the end of the summer I will be spending my days exploring the country, and the city of Ireland. I’ll make up for the lost time, by having an amazing trip in Ireland. 

Blackfish

Courtesy of www.imbd.com

Recently, I watched the 2013 documentary called Blackfish. Blackfish is about Tilikum, a captive killer whale that has taken the lives of several people, addresses problems within the sea-park industry, and man's relationship to nature. I’ve learned a lot about SeaWorld, and my opinion about them has grown even stronger. Tilikum, also known as Tilly, is a bull orca currently living at Sea-World in Orlando, Florida. He has killed three people. 

The first person he killed was a 21-year old girl named, Keltie Byrne. Keltie was a marine biology student and competitive swimmer. On February 20, 1991, Keltie slipped into a pool containing Tilikum and two other orcas, while working as a part-time trainer. The three orcas quickly took her under water and dragged her around the pool. With an audience watching in horror, she surfaced three times screaming before she drowned. 

Daniel P. Dukes, a 27 year-old man, was the second person to be killed by Tilikum. The day before he was killed, Daniel visited the park, stayed after, and evaded security. The next day he was found dead over Tilikum’s back. The autopsy found several wounds, contusions, and abrasions all over his body. They concluded that Daniel had been drowned. They found no drugs in his system, but he entered the tank anyway.

The third person killed, Dawn Brancheau, created the most controversy. Dawn was a 40 year-old trainer, who had known what she was she was doing. After a show, she was petting Tilikum  when the whale grabbed her by her left arm and pulled her into the water. The other trainers threw food and nets into the water to distract him, but nothing could stop him. Dawn was eventually released from Tilikum’s grasp, dead. Afterward, SeaWorld stated that the trainer was pulled into the water by her ponytail. However, witnesses stated that the trainer was pulled into the water by her arm. Seaworld lied and blamed it on Dawn. Saying that it was an accident, and that no SeaWorld trainer should have their hair in a long ponytail. The autopsy showed that she had died by drowning and blunt force trauma. Along with those injuries, her spine was severed and she had fractures in her jawbone, ribs, and a vertebra. Her scalp was completely torn off from her head and her left arm had been severed below the shoulder. 

Dawn and Tilikum. Courtesy of  www.cbsnews.com

Finally, after all of these terrible events, SeaWorld was sued 75,000 dollars. They use pressure hoses to calm the orcas down and the platforms have guardrails. But Tillikum is still allowed to perform. Even after his aggressive behaviors, Tilikum is still allowed to perform. Not to mention, that his sperm has been used to create more than half of the orcas at SeaWorld. Possibly, making their genes just as aggressive. 

I think that SeaWorld deserved worse than what they got. They keep orcas in concrete pools away from their real homes. And in the past they have kept them in twenty foot deep pools, two small for them to swim in, and too dark to see anything. Causing these whales to become aggressive. SeaWorld should have been shut down, what they have done, is devastating. They are holding these creatures hostage, and saying that they like what they do. But, there has never been any reported injuries to humans caused by killer whales, in the wild. They are generally gentle, friendly creatures until we take them out of their homes, so that we can have one hour of enjoyment. I believe that it wasn’t Tilikum’s fault, it was SeaWorld’s.

Hold It Together, People

Many say that the most difficult quarter is quarter four. Most likely because quarter four consists of testing and is the countdown to freedom. You are so tired that you are ready to just quit school right there. But no matter what, we pull through and finish off the school year. And somehow we finish with grades that we can be relatively proud of. 

Courtesy of www.youtube.com

I believe that the fourth quarter of the school year isn’t the hardest at all. Instead, the third quarter is the most difficult. During the third quarter, we start to slowly give up. We’ve made it through more than half of the school year,  and most of us cannot do it anymore. It seems that school is the only thing there is, a never-ending painful prison. The days seem to drag on much longer than they ever had before.

Our grades deteriorate and we grasp at what little we have left. It’s like a steep ski slope on which we cannot find anything to grab onto. We get closer to finals and the tests that are really going to determine our futures. And we get closer to next year which will be even more difficult. Somehow, no matter the pain we are in, we push through and we cross the finish line to the fourth quarter. 

Each day, I think about spring break and summer. It feels as if spring break is just around the corner, and as if summer is only a few weeks away. But it’s not. We give ourselves false hope, attempting to distract ourselves from reality. Spring break isn’t for another two weeks, and summer not for another few months. All we have to do is pull ourselves together for one more quarter. Then we can be free. We can waste our days away watching Netflix, sleeping in, and disappointing our parents with our lack of activity. We will live stress-free. At least for the three months that we can. 

So as we are approaching the last week of the hardest quarter, I want to wish you all good luck. I hope that you all use what little strength you have left to finish this upcoming week. I hope your grades make you at least a little proud. And at the end, I hope the stress fades away and you can come to school with a clean slate. Then we can worry about the hour long tests we have to take, and how many days left we have until summer. Let the countdown begin.

Addicted

It is scientifically proven that caffeine is a real addiction. According to Joseph Stromberg from Smithsonian Magazine, caffeine is a chemical drug that has effects when you try to quit. If you are a regular coffee drinker, you can have light headaches, muscle pain, and lack of alertness.

No, I'm not addicted to caffeine. But Doug is. Doug enjoys the leftover coffee in anyone's cup every morning. It started when my Mom started to give it to him after she was done with hers. It's the very traditional story. One taste and he was hooked. He is very aware of what a mug is now and will jump onto the coffee table to get to any coffee he can. 

Courtesy of my phone

Courtesy of my phone

" I'm just so worried about him lately. He's been distant and really jumpy. I just want to get him help. You know? It's not healthy and he's going to end up ruining his life this way. One day he's going to overdose, and I just don't want it to get to that point. I really love him and I just want to get him the help he needs." -Kendall

(Just kidding. That was fake, I wrote it myself.) If you didn't know, caffeine is poisonous to dogs. When I researched it the effects on dogs were awful, one was death. How is death a side effect? It said that coffee is almost as poisonous as chocolate. Not that my family has ever worried about chocolate. Ed has eaten either Kendall or my Halloween candy each year, many batches of brownies, and even a five pound bag of M&Ms. So I'm not worried. My great grandmother fed her dog eggs and coffee every morning for breakfast, and that dog lived for almost twenty years. 

I'm not worried, but I do have some concerns. I don't know any dogs who like coffee as much as Doug. My Mother's boxer drank beer but that was a one time thing. Doug drinks coffee everday. One day he could overdose on coffee and fall over and die. Well, that actually couldn't happen. What would happen if we went on vacation? Who would give Doug his coffee?

While it's scary to think about what could possibly happen to Doug. I could never afford dog rehab, and I can use his addiction to my advantage. If you show Doug that there is coffee in your cup, he follows you around the house barking and jumping until you give him some. Perhaps, I could use this to get Doug to do anything I want. Coffee lovers don't even come close to Doug. He would go to the end of the earth for coffee. 

*Do not attempt to take Douglas to a coffee shop.

15 SUCKS

On Monday it was my birthday. In the morning I decided to sleep through first period, but as it turns out, I have really awesome friends. As I was enjoying the extra sleep I heard my phone ring in my bed. I sat up and shuffled through the pillows and multiple blankets on my bed (I love blankets!). Finally, I found my phone lit up with a name across the top. I answered the phone with a groggy, eyes-closed hello. Apparently, all my friends were waiting around my locker with gifts and cards for me. Feeling bad about not going, but feeling good about sleeping, I apologized many times. Then I went right back to sleep.

2014: courtesy of Mom

When I got up, my sister had made me cinnamon sugar ebelskivers for breakfast, which started my day off extremely well. If you haven't had ebleskivers, you haven't lived. Ebelskivers are danish pancake balls, that you fill with anything you want (yes, nutella). I ate those and slowly packed my school bag. Then I was dropped off at school, where I went straight to second period.

I received the gifts my friends brought me including a thermos that looks like a camera lens and a set of card that I got to open at each hour of the day. Each one had something nice written about me inside, which I know was probably not true, but it made my day anyway. After school I went riding and met my family for dinner at Sushi Blue.  To end the night we ate vegan vanilla cake, opened gifts, and took the traditional cat and cake photo that happens every year. (I only posted the previous years because I couldn't get this year's off facebook).

2015: Courtesy of Dad

Fifteen years old means that you get to legally drive a car, you are three years away from being an adult, and that there is a whole lot more pressure on you. Fifteen seems great until you are actually there. The morning of my first day as a fifteen year-old I put on my Mom's light blue sweater, and ran out the door with a bowl of strawberry oatmeal.

At school, it was put to my attention by Aysia that I had oatmeal all over the elbow of my sweater and my sweater was see-through. Luckily, I had a tank top. We went to the bathroom, scrubbed it off the oatmeal and I put on the tank top. By this time the bell rang and I headed to Mrs. Payne's room for math.

I sat down next to Alex and pulled out my homework. As we were working, she asked me to taste her hot chocolate to see how hot it was. I took a cautious sip and told her that from a scale of one to ten, the hot chocolate was an eight. Cool enough to drink, but also slightly scalding. As we worked on our class work, I studied her flash cards for the English test we had the next day. Suddenly, I was jumping out of my chair, yelping and waving my arms. The hot chocolate was spilled all over me, in front of the entire class. (Don't worry Alex I forgive you!) I then spent the rest of the day with a hot chocolate stained sweater.

During PE, we went snowshoeing. We hiked up a torturous and steep hill. At the top, we were allowed to choose if we wanted to go trail blazing or if we wanted to go down the same trail. I convinced my friends to go trail blazing with me. As it turns out, Alex and Elise are extremely good at trail blazing, while I am not. I slid most of the way down on my butt and I fell multiple times. I didn't realize that the tail of my sweater had been dragging in the snow the entire time. So all throughout Biology I shivered in my soaked sweater.

Now, I am nearly a week into fifteen. Which hasn't been too bad. Yet.

Anthropomorphize/Naked Cats

The word anthropomorphize may sound like it means-to transform into another animal, but it's actually the opposite. We don't realize it but everyday we anthropomorphize, whether you have a pet or not. The easter bunny is a notorious example. The word anthropomorphize is a verb that means to ascribe human features to something. When you talk about a thing or animal as if it were human, you're anthropomorphizing it. 

So why do we do it? According to Rick Nauert from Pysch Central News, An entity is more likely to be anthropomorphized if it appears to have many traits similar to those of humans (for example, through humanlike movements or physical features such as a face). Which is why we tend to anthropomorphize our pets. By giving animals emotions and personalities we make sense of emotions and relationships in our lives, without even realizing we are doing it. Some people do it out of loneliness. They cannot or will not connect with other people, so they end up creating relationships with their pets, like imaginary friends. Thus, the crazy cat lady is formed.

Winston and Ferguson Courtesy of Hollywood.com

It's not that your dog doesn't have emotions, he does, just not in the way you think. Pets feel excited, jealous, lonely, depressed. But they are not actually beyoncé's sister who loves pancakes. Their emotions are much simpler than we make them out to be. But this post isn't supposed to get you to stop anthropomorphizing your pet, it's actually supposed to inspire you to continue giving pet human emotions. I believe that anthropomorphizing is like therapy. It creates a stronger relationship with your pet, helps you understand different emotions, and combats loneliness. I'm not crazy but on days that I'm alone in the house, I bring my fish Joey to the coffee table and Doug onto the sofa, then as I watch television I make comments to them. 

In conclusion, anthropomorphizing is a good thing. It's fun and we should never stop doing it. Without it we wouldn't have pet instagram accounts and pet blogs. I hope that fifty years from now we still we continue to be closer friends with our pets, then some people that we know.

______________________________________________________________________

Since these topics are both topics that I don't want to write a ton about, I decided to split the blog post in half to give me the opportunity to write about two short topics. The second topic I want to touch on is naked cats. 

I have always thought that hairless cats were the ugliest creatures ever. They were all wrinkly and looked like little ferocious people. Until last year. When I was scrolling the web like any normal teenager. When I came across one of the well-known hairless cats. 

My first thought was "ew", but then I looked more deeply into the eyes of the cat. I realized at that moment, that the hairless cats were most likely miss-judged. They suddenly didn't appear ugly or out of the place in the world, because I understood. They looked different from other cats, but maybe they were funny and sweet. So I looked more deeply into them. 

What a found was surprising. Hairless cats are actually a rare breed called the Sphynx. They don't actually get too cold and they have very low amounts of health problems. They are also sweet and friendly. For something so ugly, they are great cats. And they shed no hair, which works for anyone who is allergic to cats. Someday I plan to get a Sphynx and name it Voldemort or Smeagol, and we will live happily ever after. 

It's a Love/Hate Relationship

I introduce to you the mom of Doug, the devil, and one of the funniest people I know. If you ask any one of my friends what they think about Kirsten's sister,  you could get a variety of answers. From "she hates me with a burning passion" to "Kendall and I are closer than anything".  This year she convinced my parents into getting her a puppy. Because Kendall is just the most responsible person in the world.

Courtesy of my phone

Kendall and I visiting Park City: Courtesy of Colleen Keblish

Here's a brief history of some of the ridiculous things Kendall has done to me:

When Kendall was around six years old and I was eight, we went to the neighbors house to pick peppers with our best friend Adam. Trying so hard to be cool, I said that I loved peppers. I then picked up what I thought was a bell pepper and took a nice big bite out of it. It was not a bell pepper. I screamed and rolled on the ground and covered my eye. Kendall and Adam laughed their heads off. I yelled at them to stop and Kendall told me I had anger management problems and as a red head constantly being told that I had anger problems, I threw the pepper at her. To my surprise, it hit Kendall directly in the eyeball. She cried and cried her whole way home, where she had to rinse her eye in the shower and I got in trouble for being so mean. 

When Kendall was seven years old and I was nine, I stole something from her room. I can't remember exactly what it was but I it was probably some sort of toy. I was soon caught by seven year old Kendall, who then screamed and cried saying that I had to give it back. And as a nine year old girl, I refused to give it back. Instead of logically, telling on me she threatened to pee on my floor. Thinking that Kendall was bluffing I folded my arms and refused again. But she wasn't bluffing. She squatted down and peed right there on my bedroom floor. I stood speechless. And then without even asking for her possession back she left the room and said "next time it will be poo". 

When I was twelve and Kendall was ten, we sat doing homework in the kitchen. We got in an argument and I began to give her the silent treatment. A few minutes later, she asked me how to spell February. And as an annoyed older sister, I obviously continued to give her the silent treatment. She whined and screamed for me to tell her. Then she picked up an orange from the counter top and threw it at me. 

A couple months after the "orange incident" we went outside to practice lacrosse together. As a very unorganized family we had lost every last lacrosse ball. But instead of giving up and going inside, we tried to find something to use instead like a tennis ball. Kendall called it improvising. First, while I was actually looking for a ball she picked a light-bulb sized rock in her stick and threw it at me. Luckily, she missed and I scolded her. But as usual, it didn't get through to her. I told her I didn't want to play anymore so she picked up another orange, this time rotten from the back of our pick up truck, and threw it at me. 

Recently, we were playing legos. I know, right a fourteen year-old playing legos, but it does happen. Not really caring very much I didn't jump to pick pieces out of the lego box. Unlike Kendall and her friend. When I did sit down to play, I picked up a bunch of random legos put them together in the shape of a square and told them that I had made my house already. Then laughing they took a lego plane and crashed it into my house. I have to admit it was pretty funny, so I was laughing, too. But Kendall kept bragging about all the pieces she was finding. So jokingly, I tried to grab her stuff. But she fought me back and dug a lego into my wrist. When I told her she cut me and that I was bleeding, she said "good". She then said that I "sucked at playing legos and that I was annoying" I then called her a mean word and left the room. Listening in on her and her friend's conversation, she said that I started it. Great, because I totally wrecked my own lego house.

Usually, Kendall and I get along really well. We have nicknames for each other, chill out together, and she admits that she'll miss me when I go off to college. But based on this information, would you let Kendall own a dog. Neither would I. And I wonder why Doug is so weird. 

Park City Is Not Vail

Courtesy of Travel Agent Central

“Did you go skiing yesterday?” was a question I was asked way too many times this weekend. No, I didn’t go skiing on Saturday, mainly because my boots weren’t in yet, but I wasn’t planning on skiing anyway. No matter how many times my mother tried to convince me that it was tradition to ski on the first day, I still was not going to ski. Don’t get me wrong, like most PC locals I love to ski and I’m on the Park City United Team. But I knew that skiing on opening day wasn’t going to get me anywhere. 

So on Saturday, I went on a trail ride, watched some tv, ate a pre-thanksgiving dinner with the neighbors, and saw the final Hunger Games movie (which was a pretty great conclusion to the series by the way). But I did no skiing whatsoever. And that worked pretty well for me. As the whole town was together skiing on six runs. 

I’m excited to be skiing this season at the new One, Park City. But I’m also a bit worried about Vail taking over. When Vail first bought Park City I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t think Vail would really change anything. Recently, though, I’ve been hearing about all the changes that Vail is making. As my Mother works for Park City, I have been told over and over again that Vail’s upgrades will be great for Park City. She said this before she was handed a bright red jacket with an ugly letter “i” on the back, and told that she was a volunteer rather than an employee, and couldn’t go ski on employee day. One of my best friends wasn’t hired by Vail because they don’t want as many young employees as before, even though they are extremely low on employees. The high school student that camped out from Thursday night to get first chair was kicked out, because they didn’t want the tent making the place look bad.

If I had one thing to say to Vail, it would be that Park City is not Vail. They are taking the family feel out of Park City. They keep trying to turn Park City into something that it’s not. And in the process making the locals of Park City angry. Sadly, they are forgetting that while Park City is a tourist town it is also for the locals. Park City needs to stay Park City, and while bringing us all together may make a lot of money, I see it as a mistake that it is going to be very problematic.

To Lose a Best Friend

To have a best friend means a lot. Helen Keller once said, "Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light". Everyone talks about what it's like to have a best friend. That they will always be there for you. They say that best friends are the only people that really understand you. That a best friend would die for you. And they will. I have several best friends that I know that would, figuratively speaking, die for me. As I would for them.

Recently, I found that you actually don't realize what you have until it's gone. I could very well be talking about friends and moving on from a friend, as I have experienced this first hand. And while this hurts, I find that you usually move on from a friend for a reason. But losing a best friend is very different, losing a best friend is like losing a piece of yourself.

I knew that my horse Sarge was going to be put down for a long time. It was something that I knew would happen. I put off the fact that he would be gone, for months. I didn't cry, I didn't think about it. I didn't want to have to deal with that pain for longer that I had to. In the very end, he could barely walk or chew. At nine o'clock on Monday night, I was sitting in my bed reading a book when I realized that tomorrow was his last day. I realized that I had just spent his last sunset with him.

I walked to the kitchen and reached for some carrots, apples, honey, oatmeal, and some salt (Horses love salt). I then cut the carrots and the apples and mixed them with the honey and oatmeal in a big plastic bowl. With a wooden spoon I stirred it all together and added a sprinkle of salt. And then I sat and cried.

You can't change the past, I knew that. But at that moment, I wished that I could go back to when Sarge was still healthy and happy. I wish I could go back in time and spend a whole day with him. I wish I could've gone back and ridden him through the field and braid his mane. I wish I would've done better. Everyone does. I think everyone has a point in there life where they look back and they wish they would've have done things differently. And that can wreck a person but it can also make a person better.

So from then on I vowed to try to cherish everything and everyone. People need to start cherishing what they have while they still have it. Because one day everything will be gone and all that will be left, is memories. Cherish your friends, and try your best to keep them from slipping from your grasp. Hold everything you have close to you and don't let it go, because someday it might not be there anymore.

Many of you may have seen me at school on Tuesday. Many of you may have thought to yourself "Why does she look like that? What is she wearing?". And to those of you who judge anyone by what they look like then you should stop and ask yourself if you really know them. I didn't choose to go to school with watery red eyes, a stuffy nose and a big sweater. I needed to, because that morning I woke up extra early and I walked outside with my plastic bowl.

What hurt most about that morning, was that he looked the same as he always had. He licked as much as he could out of my bowl. And through the darkness I braided his mane and looked into his eyes for the last time. I kissed his face and whispered goodbye. And under the rising sun at 6:30 in the morning, I saw my best friend for the very last time. And walking away, was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

When I moved here five years ago, and I met you, I didn't know you would mean this much to me. Goodbye Sarge, I love you. And I hope there's carrots up there for you in heaven.

Rest in Peace, buddy

Doug Takes a Shower and a Night of Caffeine

On the night Doug took a shower he had an unruly amount of energy I compare this to my night at the football game because my friends and I had decided to walk to Wasatch Bagels to get coffee. I ended up getting the most delicious black and white mocha, which is a shot of espresso, chocolate, white chocolate, and steamed milk. It ended up being a wonderful thick and powerful master piece. I drank the whole thing on the way to the football game.What this resulted in was a me talking at full speed and spitting out things that don't normally come out of my mouth. I stayed awake and ran around for hours. I giggled and laughed and froze my butt off. I even spilled hot chocolate all over my white sweater. Which I then profusely scrubbed with hot water in the bathroom. Then so I wouldn't have to carry my wet sweater all night I hid it behind a bush in the corner of the field. I then went home and bonked on the couch. I don't even know what caffeine does to the brain. I say this because this it is what happened the night my sister put Doug in the shower.

Although I don't know why the hot water sparked Doug a burst of I do know that energy bursts are common in Bichon mixes. Alike adrenaline and citrus that causes bursts of energy in people, random moments can spark energy in small dogs. So after being shampooed and scrubbed clean he was set loose in my parents bedroom. To my surprise, he was nearly half of his normal size. I guess his fur is almost as poofy as my hair. He then began to run around the bed grunting, barking, and growling. After he decided to dig for nearly half an hour in the same place. Then he ran back and forth over and over again. Until finally he fell over and fell asleep right there. Just like us he gains energy and loses it. He's hungry and then he eats until he's hungry again. It's a cycle. A cycle that happens to every one in a different way. We inhale then we exhale, and then we repeat. And although Doug's repetitive gain and lose of energy is much funnier than most, it's still the same. By the way, Doug on caffeine would be very bad. It's best to keep him away from caffeine for as long as possible and rely on showers to give him his burst of energy.

Let's Talk Books

On average I enjoy reading three books per month. I love to read, but sometimes I need prompting on what books I should read and where to get them. It's hard to find a book that you absolutely know you will like because you haven't read it yet. So the best way to find a book you know you'll like is to find a book you love and look for books with the same genre. You can also try to find books that relate to you on a certain level. Now, I'm not saying you should go off and read every book from the same genre or every book with a strong female lead, because you are missing out on many other great books out there. I'm saying, often, to find a book that you'll like you have to relate a bit, and that does not mean you can't explore. Jump out of your comfort zones. I enjoy reading Michael Crichton and John Green. While totally different authors, they still appeal to me because their opposite style of writing captivates me. My favorite book is called Falling Into Place as seen below.

Falling Into Place

Falling Into Place follows Liz Emerson as she tries to kill herself and what lead up to it. The book is in perspective of an all-knowing character that is revealed at the end of the novel. The book sounds a lot like Thirteen Reasons Why but it isn't. The stories are very diverse as Liz is struggling throughout the novel to stay alive, whilst Hannah from Thirteen Reasons Why is already dead. The reason Falling Into Place is my favorite book is because it is shown through a surprising perspective. The book also follows several characters that affected or were affected by Liz. Another part of the book that I love is the use of physics. In the novel, the author relates real-life situations to different parts of physics. The author, Amy Zhang, was only eight-teen years old when she wrote the novel. I think it's incredible how someone so young can write such a creative and engaging book. I can barely write a five hundred words in a blog, let alone a well written book.

I have also recently read many other great books. One of which is Looking for Alaska. Which is currently a best-selling book. John Green has recently become an extremely popular author for all ages, as recently two of his books have been turned into movies. I have read both of his books that have been turned into movies, and loved them. But this book was different. Although it was a great book and I read it in a few days. I felt like it didn't have as much thought or meaning to it as his other books. The book was beautifully written, but in a way it copied Paper Towns (one of his novels that was turned into a movie). Both Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska are about a quirky, nerdy boy who falls in love with a crazy, fun, and bold girl who ends up leaving him in one way or another. In both novels, he finds out that this girl is not who he thought and in the process he ends up finding himself. While the words of John Green are compelling, inspiring, and everlasting, I found that I ended up reading the same book in different way.  I love John Green's books and he's hilarious, don't get me wrong, but I'm just waiting for him to do something new and inspire me with that.

Books to me are a way to escape the world you are in and be someone else for a while. Unlike movies, books require lots of imagination. Through imagination you can come up with your own story, and interpret it in a way that no one else can. Books are used as a way to read the same words but read a different story. And I think, that is what is most important, because each and everyone of us has our own story.

If Doug Was in High School

If Doug was in high school I don't think he would do better than most of us. He might have just learned how to climb up stairs, but that just proves that he's a quick learner. Doug would be the kind of student who would be sharing. The other day my Dad gave all the dogs a milk bone and Doug decided to set his own the ground for a moment. Before he could pick it up again, our golden retriever, Yogi, had inhaled it. Poor Doug, at least he's ok with sharing. Doug would also be the kind of student to not raise his hand. He enjoys lots of attention. But more importantly Doug would be a great student because of his willing attitude. Unlike Doug, I wake up many mornings just considering if it's really worth it to leave my bed. And any student that wakes up at six in the morning should understand the struggle. I wonder how a teeny tiny dog like him could have more excitement in his little body than most people do. Doug would make the best student because he would be excited about everything and anything, especially learning. 

A tradition for high school graduates is to have a quote under their senior year photo. Many students choose inspirational quote like "In response to those who say to stop dreaming and face reality, I say keep dreaming and make reality” - Kristian Kan, and others choose their own path. Often a comedic one, like Taylor Lautner’s “I hate shirts”. Man, that kid knew himself so well. 

So as I sat in awe of Lautner’s wonderful yearbook quote, I thought “If Doug were to go to school he would need a senior quote, too”. Therefor at dinner, I asked my family what they thought Doug’s yearbook quote would be. My little sister, keeper of Doug (it’s better that way, otherwise he sits in my room and barks at 5 in the morning until I take him outside) said that Doug’s serious senior quote would be “Forget the tennis balls, I want to be a hero” and her funny senior quote would be “I like chasing tennis balls more than I like chasing my dreams.” Ok, so slightly a double negative but it works. My mom said that Doug’s serious senior would be “Carpe Diem” while my Dad said that Doug’s senior quote would be “Life is like a box of dog treats you never know what you’re going to get”. He was completely serious. But if you asked me my personal opinion I would say that none of those would be his senior quote, because Doug is so hard to define in just one sentence. Although Doug is one of the funniest dogs I know, I would say that he would choose a serious quote, something to inspire people. As he inspires us all to be more free and live life to the fullest. To live life like Doug.              . 

Doug would have to wear clothes to school no matter how many times he would object. So here’s a picture of Doug wearing a sweater. 

Doug's Halloween Sweater

Welcome To My Blog & Things Doug Chewed Today

Welcome to my blog reader, I'm Kirsten and I will be mostly writing about my new puppy Doug. Why the name Doug you may ask? Well, opposite to my families insisting that they picked the name Doug, I chose the name Doug after re-watching up. Yes, Up is one of my favorite movies. It may be a children's movie about an old man flying his house with balloons to a waterfall, but that movie has some really great scenes. So I soon added the name Doug to our list of names which included, Tater Tot, Dylan, Pickle, Theo, Bugsy, Cujo, Kevin, Buzz, Barney, Taco, and my favorite Princess Diana. After nearly a week of trying to pick a name, I just began to call the puppy Doug. And the name caught on. Before that, we had found Doug for sale online. But the woman selling him lived four hours away. Being the extremely spontaneous family that we are,  and my sister begging for a dog of her own, convinced my mom to drive halfway to pick up the dog. So they drove two hours to the middle of Wyoming. At the creepiest gas station ever, they met a random stranger, exchanged 800$ cash for a puppy, and drove away. When he got home he was a sweet little angel and he slept for like three hours. A couple weeks later he is a night terror. Kinda like something out of gremlins.

So for my first post I'm going to tell you about some things the little gremlin chewed today:

-My socks: Just a great pair of socks, with holes in them.

-My chalk bag: Chalk seems like it would taste awful...apparently it's not.

-A vet bill: No explanation needed.

-His treat Bag: I mean he's gonna eat the treats, might as well eat the bag.

My carpet: After pooping on my carpet he enjoys eating it.

(Doug looking very guilty)My toothbrush: Perhaps the most frustrating of all is when Doug eats vomit smelling dried meat (dog food) and then decides to steal and then profusely chew on my toothbrush. Yum....

Me: After attacking all those things, it's my turn to be chewed on. 

But when he's not nuisance, chewing up my things (and me), he's a little sweet heart who could brighten up anyones day. And for size reference, he's about half the size of a gallon of milk.

Although, I love writing about Doug and my blog is called the Life of Doug, I won't always be writing about Doug. Doug is also a bit of metaphor. Because Doug is seeing everything for the first time everyday (I mean yesterday he learned how to walk down the stairs) and he's so excited about it. And I believe that we should live like Doug, because no matter how many times you're stepped on my the other dogs you'll always get back up. So sometimes I won't just write about Doug but other things about life. Like photography, books, movies, travel, and even stories from my life. Ex.

An Extraordinary Story from Last Year

Last year, Me and my friend decided to audition for a christmas play. A Charlie Brown Christmas. For a week I studied Jingle Bell Rock and tried to perform it in front of my friend's deaf dog while she made cream of mushroom soup mix and forgot to add water. I thought that I had nailed it and that I actually wasn't as bad at singing as I thought. But was I wrong. So we drove down to this theatre that we thought was going to be a beautiful popular theatre, we even expected not to get a part. But when we got there the theatre was a dump in a creepy town with creepy people walking their creepy dogs at nine at night and sitting on fire hydrants. Inside there was a sign up sheet with only one name on it. So despite our gut feelings we decided to audition. Upstairs in front of a plastic table we took turns singing. I ended up getting the part of Snoopy. But the funny thing about Snoopy is that he never makes any noise. Or speaks. Or sings. I wonder why I happened to get that part. Despite both of us getting parts we ended up emailing them that we couldn't make the commute. And thank god we did. And that's the story of how I learned I can't sing for my life.

The End.