Missing

I can't find my floor, has anyone seen it? It was here not to long ago when I returned for Christmas break. I'm sure of it!
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India Inquiries?

Hey everyone! My India trip is quickly approaching and you all must be on the farmost edges of your seats waiting to hear about it!

[what i imagine you must be feeling]

First of all, I am bringing my laptop. Thus, I will try and put up at least a short post every day that I have internet. No promises, but I will try!

Also, for the days I miss (or just extra-curricular , we have a cute lil' class blog! (harleyschreck.wordpress.com)

Each of us puts one post up during the trip! It should be updated every day between January 4th (the day we arrive) and 20th (two days before we return).
Now, I put the link up under my Followers to your right. Look at it any time you wish!

Now to answer the question everyone is asking:
Where the heck in India are you even going, Christie?
Valid question, guys. I shall illustrate with some images I stole from Google maps.

This is the general order of things: Chennai, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai. 

[Chennai: January 3rd-11th and 19th-22nd]

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu in southern India. 4.9 million people live there--it is the fifth most populous city in India (note that Minneapolis only has 390,000)!

A few things we'll do there are: work in the slums with a women's Christian college, visit an art museum, see the tomb of St. Thomas (The apostle! Legend says he was the first to bring Christianity to India), meet with business people and possibly swim.

Then we fly all the way up to Delhi:

[Delhi: January 11th-14th and 16th-19th]

Fist of all, I just want to point out how CLOSE we will be to the fucking Himalayas!! I hope we can see them from Delhi ^_^. Oh, and you can still see Chennai at the very bottom of the picture.

Within Delhi is New Delhi--the country's capital. It's separate in a way, sort of like the District of Colombia is its own territory. This city is the 2nd largest in India, 8th largest in the world--15.9 freaking million residents!

In Delhi, we get to see the Red Fort and Jama Masjid mosque! These are big deals if you are a history nerd like myself.

The Jama Masjid was built by Akbar, everyone's favorite Mughal (Muslim) ruler. He built lots of things, and was also pretty liberal and unique. For example, the reason he built the Jama Masjid was to dedicate it to a Sufi (very liberal Muslim who has some Hindu traditions too) that predicted the number of children Akbar would have. The Sufi's tomb is here too.

And the Red Fort was built  in 1639 by Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan, nearly the last of the great Mughal emperors (his son, Aurangzeeb was kind of a jerk and destroyed a bunch of non-Islamic artifacts). This is the same guy who built the Taj Mahal for his wife! Oh, I'll stop now, but here is a small photo from Introduction to Indian Architecture displaying the Red Fort.

[grand, eh?]

Unfortunately, I just spent a bunch of time rambling excitedly about these places, but we might not even get to go inside them... there is a possibility we will only see them... perhaps just through a car/bus window. Still pretty exciting though, right? Kind of :).

Other things we'll do in Delhi include (but are not limited to): visit a huge history museum (nerd alert!), see the U.S. Embassy, go to a Bollywood movie, and hang out with a Christian youth group.

THEN we go on to Agra... the place every Indian tourist has to be...

[Agra: January 14th-15th]

That's right, folks--the Taj Mahal!! Woot! My teacher says even after seeing the millions of pictures of it that most of us have, he was still impressed. Yay :]

Then, right away in the morning of the 15th, we head over to Jaipur:

[Jaipur: January 15th-16th]

Here we get to see an entire city built by Akbar, which was capital of the Mughal empire for only 15 years, because after that they ran out of water. Oops.

[a kind of shitty picture from the same book as before]

We also get to see another museum and an observatory from the 1700's :D

Then, friends, we head back to Delhi and then Chennai.

Then home!

Wow, sorry for the long-winded explanation, but I can't help it--I get excited!

See ya!

P.S. The Trip in a Nutshell for Future Reference

• Jan. 2-3: Flying for hours on end.
• 3-11: Chennai.
• National Art Gallery
• work in slums
• visit nursing home
• St. Thomas's tomb
  
• 11-14: Delhi.
• Bollywood movie
• Red Fort
• Gandhi memorial
• U.S. Embassy
  
• 14-15: Agra.
• Taj Mahal
  
• 15-16: Jaipur.
• historic red city capital (Fatepur Sikri) 
• observatory
  
• 16-19: Delhi.
• hang out with youth group
• work with children
  
• 19-22: Chennai.
• beach resort
• ancient, elaborate, Hindu rock carvings at Mahabalipuram (700 AD-ish)
• 22: Home again!
  

Doldrums

Today I mostly shot the breeze,
and missed.

A bit of a snorefest, really. A regular blah, blah, BLAH for ya.

I did get to go sledding for a short time in the morning, but after that I sat down to do homework.

[nose in a book]

And do homework. And do homework.

And get nowhere because I chose to sit in front of the TV the entire time.

[boredom and monotony arrive to greet me]

So I ended up doing practically nothing.

And taking a nap despite the healthy 8.5 hours of sleep I received last night!

[snoozemania 2009: featuring ZZZ and the snore-o-ramas]

Well. I got a little snippet read. Woot.

And hey, Pavan K. Varma, if you're reading this, don't be offended, okay? You are a good writer, especially for an English-as-a-second language writer! You use a few words I don't know, and the only mistake I've seen is the extra commas you add to numbers over ninety nine thousand (1,00,000). Congrats. And, hey, there are lots of facts and ideas I was oblivious to! Like how corrupt the Indian government is, the fact that Indians tend to be good entrepreneurs (only 3% are formally employed, the others are self-employed, like shoppkeepers), and the way Indian schools encourage fact memorization over creativity. Oh, and how Indians have a goddess and god for material wealth--so different from Christianity!

It's just the fact that I did nothing else fun today.

[delirium sets in]

But, did you know my camera can take panoramas? Me neither! Until now, that is! Here is the magnificent one I shot of my bedroom:

[notice the amazing-ness of my interior designer skills. thanks, Trading Spaces!]

Oh, and I also got a new computer battery (hooray, and yay, and yeses!) but I realized that the packaging for heavy duty electronics like batteries SUCKS. It is that horrible thick plastic that seems like it will cut your scissors in half. I got a cut from that bastard!

[i know what you're thinking: youch!]

Of course, I have no right to be a full-blown crab-apple werewolf jerk.

Christmas was good.

[my grandma's preteen-sized tree + presentopia]

So, goodbye and good bye, everyone! Tomorrow will surely be more exciting, right?

P.S. Animals of the Christmas Season:

[Brian's dog, Maggie, who loves to be dressed up--something that goes against what i thought was the very nature of dog-ness]

[Fraser, my own nosy, overexcited pup]

[my grandma's cat, Honey. fattest, laziest cat since Garfield was actually funny (long ago) who keeps being fed simply because "he always wants more food" as my grandma says.]

Ornament Adventures: Part III

Good evening, I'm Trent. Oh Trent! Stop trying to be all professional. They know we're just kids! Oh, uh, hey. I'm Trish. Well, humbug, Trish! We don't know how many people read this thing! It could be our big shot, our ticket to stardom, our fifteen minutes... Naw, I don't think that many people read this. Oh.

Hullo, then. And I know what you're thinking. Yes... bears can play the freaking piano too. Stop freaking out. Yeah, we get that a lot, so, uh, sometimes Trish-- sometimes WE-- get a tad worked up about it. That's all.

Really, we're just you're average students, citizens of Treeville, Christmas enthusiasts, and siblings. See no big deal, right. So glad you understand, Trent!

So what else should we talk about? Hmm, I don't know... we could talk about our friends, our favorite part about Christmas, sigh.  Ah... CHRISTMAS. How I adore it! And I as well! This may be obvious, but I would have to say my favorite part about Christmas is the music. Oh, Christmas music! But the smells! Yes, the rest of the year smells like a basement, but Christmas! Christmas smells like cookies and cinnamon and fresh, first-floor air! Oh, and you know the view is beautiful too. Yes, so bright, morning and evening. Surreal almost, when the rest of the year is so very dark. Well, we should wrap up this talk about Christmas. PRESENT WRAPPING! Come on, these readers don't like it as much as us! So what? We're just supposed to talk about ourselves. And we freaking love this holiday! Yeah, but we don't want people to get bored. It's almost Christmas now. This is the exact opposite of boring! In fact, there's nothing else I'd rather discuss! Come on, Trish, pleasssseeeee.

Fine. I love my friends. One of them is Ladder Chica. She's hilarious! But then Brianna and her posse are pretty sweet too. For some reason they don't seem to get along well. Hmm. Oh, speaking of Ladder Girl, how long do you think Elfie has been hopelessly and irrevocably obsessed with her? Hahahah! Oh, I don't know, since the beginning of time or something? Before the North Pole was discovered, at least. Like he was born then! It's a figure of speech, sheesh. A hyperbole, if you will. Well give the poor guy a break, will you? You started it!!! I'm getting out of here, it seems SOMEONE is going to be manipulating the entire conversation anyhow! Thanks, Christie, but I want my own entry next time. 

Trish! Trish, come back! I was just kidding! Look, I was going to say you're my best friend of all! Seriously! Trish, can you hear me? You haven't gone to talk to that noisy, bell-ringing snowman have you? Hmmph.

Oh, don't worry, guys. She won't be mad for long! Thanks anyway, Christie. Don't forget to visit Treeville before Christmas, all!

-loosely based on those same childhood games

Ornament Adventures: Part II

Hey--er--hi, everyone. I'm Elfingstone Stuffingson. But, uh, please don't tell the kids at school. They'll all mock me, I can see it now! Just call me Elfie, okay? That's not so bad. I'm guessing Kate probably already posted this (embarrassing) picture of me, but I don't really have any others, sorry. I just don't like pictures. My frizzy red hair and lanky arms don't photograph well. Don't get me started.

Yeah, I know I have a sort of dopey smile, shut up okay?

Anyway, I can't really talk about myself if I don't mention Kate. She's my best friend. She's so pretty and smart and funny and nice! Man, if I could ever get the courage to ask her to the Christmas dance... ah, nevermind. She probably wouldn't say yes. But at least I get to see her all the time--every day actually! A few days ago I even got the courage to tell Brianna she was a BIG JERK, all because she made Kate sad.

 

This isn't real life... I WISH though!!

School is sort of lame. No one understands me or Kate. Everyone calls her Ladder Girl, they don't even care to ask why she carries that ladder around. Some of the mean ones even call me Big Ears or Beanpole. Whatever they just don't get it at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do learn some pretty neat stuff though. My favorite teacher is Mr. Claus. He teaches history with authority, like he's been around forever or something! And he's very jolly toward me. I learned all about the first settlers to reach the North Pole last week--good stuff!

 

Gee, is he neat or what?

Boy, oh boy, do I ramble on! Sorry! Kate is always joking that I don't need such big ears because I act like I have a bigger mouth! (Told you she was funny.) Well, you can get back to your life now. But, hey, if you, uh, talk to her, could you put in a good word? Like tell her you think I'm handsome or something? Well, you don't have to lie, but maybe if you tell her you think I'm a good writer...

Nevermind. Thanks Christie. Maybe when dad buys me a computer I'll get my own blog! Not that anyone would want to read about my life all the time. But I don't know, maybe!!

Goodbye, everyone!

-also elaborated from games Marina and I played when we were young

Ornament Adventures

Hi there! My name is Katelynn, but my friends call me Ladder Girl! Pretty silly if you ask me. Maybe they're just jealous that I have this cool ladder I carry around all the time! My dad gave it to me before he left.

Anyway, I'm just a normal girl. In this picture I'm getting ready for Christmas time--probably my favorite time of ALL! I'd have to say everyone in Treeland gets pretty excited around Christmas though. We're one of the most festive places I can think of. That's for sure!

I love hanging out with my friends. My best friend of all, however, is Elfie. He lives in Shelftown. It's a bit of a walk from Treeville, but it's definitely worth it!

OMG, Elfie is so cool. A little awkward sometimes, but I still luv him! We go to school together, because there aren't many kids in Shelftown... not enough to make a whole school at least. I'm glad though! I mean how would I survive school without Elfie?

Oh, I guess I haven't told you, the reason I hate school is mostly because of these girls. Ughh, they're such jerks! They're the angels of school, but they're actually SO MEAN. Especially to me and Elfie. They make fun of us a lot. Bitches.

The girl in the middle of the picture is the worst. Her name is Brianna and she is a big huge giant jerk!! But it's okay because yesterday Elfie definitely just told her that and it was just so funny! But she might get us back tomorrow, IDK.

Well, nice meeting you people. Thanks Christie for totes letting me be a guest author!

-based on a childhood game Marina and I used to play

The Time is Upon Me!

Guess...
What...
I...
Have...
?

Ready? Oh, not yet? Okay, I'll give you three seconds.
3,2,1.
Whatever! You're no fun, I'll just have to tell you! Give it to you straight! Stop beating around the bush!

Actually, I'll tell you in picture form:

[indeed.]

Hooray!

Would you like to see my little darling's very first picture?! O! M! G!

[umm... it was an accident, okay?]

Oh, and here are just a few better pictures of my pokeballs:

[cozy]

[gee, how cute is that shit!]

[glitter, glitter, SPARKLE]

In conclusion, I don't have much to write about, but I am excited!

                                    

[smirking with excitement]

Well I guess, there is only one thing left to say...

["aloha from hawaii"]

[and from my family during the stage when we children were in middle school and awkward]

What's Inside a Pokeball? and Other Life-or-Death Questions

Now that the end of the semester is nigh you will be hearing a lot more from me! SERIOUSLY!
Come on! Alright, you don't believe me, but I shall prove you wrong, oh yes, oh yes (today I noticed that a word composed of "yes"es starts to look like eyes. Observe: yesyesyesyesyes! Told you.)

Now, my thesis for this blog is that I will answer these questions:

1. What does the inside of a pokeball look like, Christie?
2. Have you figured out how to work the damn special effects on your webcam yet?

All in good time, readers. All in good time.

So, question 1. First of all, REMEMBER POKEMON?!?!
You know, that cool show/GameBoy game/card game/toy line/every product a parent could buy? Ash Ketchum was trying to catch all of the "pocket monsters" who were cute... yet FIERCE... and they were stored in red and white ball that he threw when he wanted them to fight for him and every pokemon could talk but it could only say its own name?

[yeah, that one.]

Now, look closely at what Ash (the human) is holding in his right hand. A pokeball! That's where these little monsters live most of the time. But, what the devil is in there!?

Thanks to a recent art project, I now have the answer for all you lovely people:

[me, pikachu & the gang]

 

[a little bitty house]

[other pokemon prefer a whole city]

[bee boop bop. technology]

[head about to explode with new knowledge? don't worry, only one left!]

[no way no way no way!]

Sorry for the crappy quality, people!

But at least NOW YOU KNOW.

^_^

Canyons of Snow

So you know all that snow we got the other day? No? Didn't see it? Oh, don't worry, I've brought pictures. Anyway.

Apparently it was a huge enough storm to make the front page of USA Today! Jeesh! Golly!

At the University of Wisconsin Madison all of their classes were canceled and they had a school-wide snowball WAR.

Us? We got snow canyons. Or snow ribbons? Snow waves? Not sure what to call them, but I am sure they are PRETTY. :D

Sorry for the lack of long posts lately! Looks lame. I lament.
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IMG00127.jpg

Hello! This is me testing out a blog through my phone! I couldn't decide what to write about so I decided to show off the shirt I'm wearing. Shelby (my best friend) gave me the gray half with snoopy on it for my half birthday one year. I gave her the other side of the black shirt with the dinosaur astronaut. Then we made our own shirts! Yay.

Oh, and the reason I look so bored is because I was sitting in a hallway waiting for the intercampus shuttle and I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible when it came to taking random photos of myself.
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Saturday is for Parties

Hello, Bonjour, Salam Alakum, everybody!

[this is me saying, "hello"]

Look, this Saturday night, I have discovered how to take pictures with my webcam! What awesomeness, you may say! Well, I would humbly reply, thank you and good night.

Ahh, I was just hankering to write a post really, and my lack of camera becomes more and more painful the closer I get to December (aka The Golden Month of the Shiny New Camera). So this is my temporary solution.

Though, I swear Marina knows how to take much cooler webcam pictures where you can make crazy backgrounds and everything.

[the intangable feeling that something is missing]

Marina? Marina?! Are you reading this?? I'm getting anxious here! ! ! ! !

[the face of desperation]

Otherwise, I'd have to resort to my own special effects.... think of how the world would suffer if that happened every week...

[effect: turns subject into Angel of Peace]

[effect: subject appears to be playing in a blue forest]

[effect: subject at a party on Saturday night]

See, Marina?

Well, at least the webcam is fun for me now. I can offer more pictures for all of youuu!

Catch you later, reader-bo-beaders.