Blog Challenge *Day 26*

If you had $1,000,000,000 dollars to spend what would you buy?

If I had a million dollars I really hope I would have plenty of money in addition to that to donate to things. But we're talking consumerism here... so let's start from the top.

I'd get myself this nice car, in this color:

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia
From Car and Driver

Then I'd also get this nice car, either in this color or white, for more utilitarian purposes:

Also from Car and Driver

Then I would buy 2 trumpets: definitely a Cannonball and possibly a Bach or Yamaha Pro.

Of course I can't decide.
Pics from Cannonball Music.

Then I would buy a Torpedo bag for one of said trumpets:

Black is boring. Get blue instead.
From Torpedo Bags.

I'd build a nice (not especially big) house in California. Mediterranean style, thanks. Beach-side lot. 

intro.dvrlists.com

And I think that would pretty much take up my million dollars. If there's anything left then assume that I would buy clothes. 

Yep.

Blog Challenge *Day 25*

Discuss someone who fascinates you and why.
Erm. IDK. Me being lazy is pretty fascinating cuz I GET NOTHING DONE. 

Blog Challenge *Day 24*

What is your favorite movie and why?
Star Wars, I think; the 3 originals are the very best.

www.theodysseyonline.com

That being said I liked Episode 7 too. 
I like Star Wars because it's a classic adventure story, but it has interesting sci-fi details, such that it really becomes its own type of adventure story.

Blog Challenge *Day 23*

Thus spaek day 23: post 5 pictures of celebrities you find attractive.

...

Do I gotta?

...

Fine.

(Pics from Sparknotes' SparkLife)

Am I not Captain Obvious?

That white suit is ON POINT...

Yes, both then and now. Although if anyone's got a time machine up for grabs that'd be cool. But moving on...

From this article that was interesting even to me.

And I don't even watch Doctor Who! ... this is Matt Smith, by the way, for those of you who, like me, don't watch TV.

www.playbuzz.com

www.bbcamerica.com

The 11th Doctor + this picture I talked about = why I love bow ties. Seriously. 

I know that's only two people but honestly that's about the extent of the film and TV industry's attractiveness.

Anyway. Glad that silly post is done.

Blog Challenge *Day 22*

How have you changed over the past few years?

I used to be a complete introvert/geek/weird person. I played the piano. I did Irish dance. I didn't hardly talk with people.

Now I am still a bit of an introvert, and yes, I remain a band geek, but I'm not so obsessive about things like Star Wars and Seabiscuit as I used to be. I play trumpet and I do marching band. I run. I actually try to be a social human instead of not talking. And most of all, I'm now much more confident. It's GR8.

Mine. Credit, plz, if you want to use.

Confidence means...

> Believing in your style, choices, and actions

> Following a path of life that you think is right

> Not letting others hinder progress to things you want to achieve

> Believing that you can do anything; because you can if you think and tell yourself that you can.

Gaining total confidence takes a lifetime, but starting on it now is certainly helping things right along.

Blog Challenge *Day 21*

Favorite TV shows:

None, cuz we don't have a TV and I'm grateful because that's one less excuse for me to waste time.

Blog Challenge *Day 20*

How important is education to you?

Pretty important. I don't want anything to do with graduate school or a Phd, but I do want to learn as much music as possible and get enough qualification to do architecture and design work as a job. Other than that I think it's important to learn stuff and actually try in school because then you'll have those skills for a lifetime, and it's likely that one day- even if it is just a single day- in your life you'll need to use everything you learn. I also think it's up to every individual how far they want to go with such things beyond high school. No college, fine. Grad school, ok. Medical school? Cool, save money. Whatever you study after high school should be of interest to you, though, so that you stay engaged. For me this means architecture and design, and of course music.

My favorite style: Mediterranean

Blog Challenge *Day 19*

What is your biggest regret in life?

That I didn't take opportunities as a younger kid. 

I didn't do spelling bees.

I didn't go over to friends' houses.

I've never yet had or been to a sleepover.

I didn't like trying any sort of new things.

I ALMOST didn't do marching band until my mom insisted. I'm very grateful she did insist because goodness knows what would have happened if I hadn't done marching band.

The reason I regret not doing such things when I was younger is because I have to break out of my shell NOW. Rawr.

Random thing o' the day. Psychedelic, no?

Blog Challenge *Day 18*

What book could you read over and over again?
Up until about April I would have said the Harry Potter books- but recently I happened upon an excellent mystery series that begins with 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax', a series written over about 30 years about- well- the unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, who applies for work as a spy when life gets boring. They're excellent books, and there are a lot of them, too. To date I've read all but 2 of them. If you're a fan of mysteries you'll certainly like them.

www.amazon.com
The first book

Blog Challenge *Day 17*

Day 17: list your highs and lows during this past year.
I've had quite the nice year, honestly. 
Good: I made it through the spring this school year. 
Bad: I had a REALLY BAD audition for the Wind Ensemble. It was BAD.
Good: I passed the AP test.
Good: I got perfect attendance the first month of summer band.
Good: I went to a music camp and learned things vital to my survival as a musician.
Good: I went to a DCI (Drum Corps International) competition.
Good: I survived band camp.
Bad: I now must go back to school.
Yep.

Another random photo I took, because I can.

Blog Challenge *Day 16*

16. What are your views on mainstream music?
Uhhh... what's mainstream? Is that pop? Yes? Ok.
Well I can tell you when it comes to music, I'm thoroughly stuck in the 80's. Really. 
Here's what my favorite Spotify playlist consists of (we'll do the Song [artist, album] thing again):
1. Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
2. Hold On (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
3. It Can Happen (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
4. Pride/In The Name of Love (U2, 18 Singles)
5. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of (U2, 18 Singles)
6. One (U2, 18 Singles)
7. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (U2, 18 Singles)
8. With or Without You (U2, The Joshua Tree)
9. Running to Stand Still (U2, The Joshua Tree)
10. Bullet the Blue Sky (U2, The Joshua Tree)
11. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair)
12. Driven To Tears (The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta)
13. Hungry For You (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
14. Re-Humanise Yourself (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
15. Darkness (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
16. Spirits in the Material World (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
17. Beat It (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
18. Thriller (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
19. Celebration (Kool & The Gang, Celebrate)
Now let's see the original release dates for all of those:
1. 1983
2. 1983
3. 1983
4. 1984
5. 2000
6. 1991
7. 2004
8. 1987
9. 1987
10. 1987
11. 1985
12. 1980
13. 1981
14. 1981
15. 1981
16. 1981
17. 1982
18. 1982
19. 1980
Now let's analyze those statistics...

I made you a fancy graph. You're welcome.

84% of my music is from the 80's!!! Which of course means I'm not a sucker for pop. I know a lot of/most of the songs on the Spotify current hits playlist, but I don't like most of them. The super trendy sort of music doesn't tend to hit the spot for my liking. It's usually junk. At least The Police sang about important issues and stuff. It was actually meaningful music back in the day, not just love songs. Not to say those didn't exist in the 80's, but back then they were actually sort of bearable. 
Yea. I generally don't like popular mainstream music. It's about weird stuff too. Love and junk. Some are ok, others aren't, a select few are good. Mostly I try to avoid it.
The one exception I'll make is for Coldplay. I LOVE LOVE LOVE nearly all of their albums, including the one that just came out in December, so I guess that's more popular than some stuff I listen to. 
But other than Coldplay- I am very stuck in the 80's when it comes to music.

Blog Challenge *Day 15*

We're halfway done with the blog challenge!!! Today's prompt is this: Write 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Ok. It might go over 15 if I can think of that many.
1. I have never eaten at McDonald's and never plan to.
2. My eyes are an odd mix of blue and gold. 
3. I did competitive irish step dance for 6 years.
4. I haven't been to Disneyland.
5. I've never been outside of the 48 contiguous United States (that'll change in December).
6. So far in my 15 years of existence I've never kissed a guy, nor have I ever been kissed. It's quite inconsequential to me. 
7. I'm terrible at taking selfies, probably because my flip phone doesn't have a front-facing camera.
8. I'm exactly 6 feet tall. I should be playing volleyball but I don't want to. Or I should be running track and cross country, but that's too much work.
9. I'm pretty sure marching band is the reason I exist. *Not really, but it sure feels like it.*
10. I am a Gemini, and, according to my friends, a very typical one.
11. "Da trumpet don't hit things all schmancy like you do!" < I said that to my percussion friends. I'm not good at hitting things in fancy patterns. Also you probably shouldn't trust me with drumsticks as I might promptly break something.
12. I speak un peu de français. Je n'aime pas mon classe de français, mais je le parler chez moi avec ma mère. Un jour, je vais aller à la France, mais pas maintenant. Maintenant je veux aller sur les voyages pour l'ensemble de musique. Mes amis ne sais pas que le français est la langue d'amour. Puis-tu pas leurs dit qu'il est? Merci beaucoup. 
13. I know how to actually cook. Meaning not use a microwave or cake mix or any of that. I can actually cook stuff. 
14. Speaking of that, we haven't got a microwave in our house.
15. I own a single trumpet. Two is a good number, but I haven't got the money for that. Three is on the borderline. Four and above is way too many for one person.

And this is my advice to you.

Blog Challenge *Day 14*

What is your earliest memory?
That's a hard one. It might have been sitting on the floor of my room in our old house in Arizona, while my mom leaned on the doorway and read me words out of a Russian dictionary or a science book (we legit did that a few times). Or it might have been watching our Toyota go through a car wash in Arizona. It was a car wash where you get out of the car and they put it on an automatic belt-thingy, and then you could go inside the gas station's convenience store and watch your car get a wash through the windows. 

Le Toyota which I named "Herbie" when I was 4.

Or it might be riding my tricycle down the sidewalk in Arizona. I'm not sure which order all of those things went in, so I don't know for sure. But you get the idea.

Blog Challenge *Day 13*

Where would you like to visit/live one day?
There are lots of these. If you haven't read my Travels post, that one is a great overview of some places I've been and where I'd like to go. But for convenience I'll list some here too.
Something about me loves costal areas. I have a constant craving for warm, sunny, tropical, ocean-side places, especially in the winter. Thus, I'd like to go to:

• Hawaii. Obviously; lots of people want to go there. The best part, though, is that I DO get to go to Hawaii- in, like, 4 months.

www.theknot.com

• California. My dad grew up there and I'm jealous. Living in a landlocked state just isn't the same.

www.travelchannel.com

• Florida. My mom used to take trips down there every spring.

www.diytransport.com

• France. The French like the beach- Marseille and Nice are actually beach towns.

www.best-beaches.com

• Australia. They have great surfing and snorkeling.

vegansparkles.com

• And many more.

Did you notice a pattern? I did. I think it's called, "I-need-sun-and-surf." Or something much like that.

Blog Challenge *Day 12*

Bullet point your whole day.
Ok. 
Well, today is a Sunday but because this is on auto-post it'll show up on a Monday, so... this is a typical Sunday.

• I wake up at 8:02 a.m. because the sun is very nicely shining in through my curtains.
• I get up, get dressed, and wash my face with cold water, further waking myself up.
• I eat breakfast with my parents- biscuits and bacon. 
• I make a strawberry smoothie.
• I dry the dishes as my dad washes them.
• My dad goes to church. He's the only one of the three of us that goes.
• I brush my teeth and hang up a pair of jeans I accidentally left in the washer overnight.
• I proceed to do work until 12:53. This work consists of 3 hours of trawling through old math notes and creating a study guide for a math test, which is on Thursday.
• My parents play that word game Quiddler while I keep doing work.
• I eat a late lunch that consists of a broiled hot dog, leftover pasta, and celery.
• I go downstairs to our unfinished basement to paint my nails a color that I named 'Marching Band Purple'.

They call it Sultry. I call it Marching Band.
From Revlon

• I go into my dad's office and annoy him while he does work on his YouTube channel.
• I come back upstairs and work on this.
• Dinner.
• I practice trumpet.
• I do more work, this time on maps for a Geography test. And I study vocab words for another test on Thursday. 
• Shower
• Pack school bag
• Goodnight.

The end!

Blog Challenge *Day 11*

Day 11 is hard. It says: Put your iPod on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs. Since I haven't got an iPod, how about I write down the first ten songs on my "Misc." Spotify playlist? It's about as random as shuffling an iPod.
I'll do it in the following format: Song Name (Artist, Album)
1. One World (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
2. Zoo Station (U2, Achtung Baby)
3. Clocks (Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head)
4. Radioactive (Imagine Dragons, Night Visions)
5. Gold (Imagine Dragons, Smoke and Mirrors)
6. I'm So Sorry (Imagine Dragons, Smoke and Mirrors)
7. A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay, Ghost Stories)
8. The Miracle (U2, Songs of Innocence)
9. This is Where You Can Reach Me Now (U2, Songs of Innocence)
10. Princess of China (Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto)
But 8 times out of 10, I wouldn't listen to all of those first ten songs. I'd probably listen through A Sky Full of Stars and then skip the U2 songs off Songs of Innocence because I don't like them all that much. But yes. That's my very random playlist. It also includes music from Yes, Tears for Fears, Queen, and Owl City. Yes, I know. Very random.
Then I have some other playlists: Best of U2 (my favorite songs from them), Old but Good (music of the 70's, 80's, etc.), Quiet (quiet), and Peppy/Party (louder). My favorites are probably Old but Good and Best of U2, aside from the Misc. playlist, since that's a bit of everything.
But yeah. When it comes to music I'm very random- plus stuck in the 80's. More on that later.
Here's some things you should go find and listen to RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND:
(All of les album covers are from Spotify)

IT RULES OVER EVERYTHING.

Excellent.

GIVE ME MORE, NOW.

Best album of the past year.

Yaaaaaas.

I'm serious. Go find and listen to them now.

Blog Challenge *Day 10*

Another really good one!!! Day 10: What is your guilty pleasure?
STARING AT THIS PHOTO FOR MINUTES AT A TIME.

Why? Because these are cool persons and I wish I were them. But since I'm not I still have to work to get into Varsity (ALSO THEY ARE VERY, VEEEEERRRRY HOT GUYS OBVIOUSLY). 
I also like eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag but since that's not good for you I don't do it as often as I look at that picture. 
Yeet.

Blog Challenge *Day 9*

Aw, great.
From this

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
Yay, I get to talk about something that I have literally no idea about!!!
All right, I know what I want to do. The questionable part is how it'll turn out. 
If I could have any job I'd do several things. For the main source of income I'd do design work- interior or fashion or architecture- from home. You can do that, you know. I like that. 
Then, on the side, I'd be a jazz musician for fun. I'd have a room full of trumpets to play. I'd probably be a guest soloist for the local wind symphony, too. I'd also teach private trumpet lessons, either at home or at a school. Best to educate the next generation of musicians. 
Aside from that, I'd help the band department run the marching band over the summer. That is just fun. No paycheck needed. 
Well, that's the end. Since I didn't have any pics we'll get out some more random gifs instead.

...That escalated quickly.
From this

Ah...okay...?
From here

Blog Challenge *Day 8*

On to the next day: Discuss a moment you felt satisfied with your life. 

Hang on, I need to trawl through a bunch of memories and find a good one...

Ah, here we are. I didn't know it at the time, but this moment:

From les vast files on my computer

Marching band! You might groan and say, "Not more of that!" But really. Marching band is so much more than the geeky summer thing it's said to be. It's truly being part of a team, and it's hard work. Since I didn't hardly know what I was doing half the time during the summer, I looked to my peers (aka the rest of the trumpets) for help and support. I got it. Like I said, I didn't realize it at the time, but in marching band I had discovered my niche. I wonder if I exist to do marching band...?
But yes. I realized after the marching season that my place was certainly in marching band and that I was pleased with my life while I marched. I always look forward to the summers because I feel so alive and in place during the marching season. Seriously. It's my reason for existing. :) Not really, but it feels like it.

Blog Challenge *Day 7*

This is another good one: What were your favorite childhood toys?
My mom and dad would know better than me on this one, but I'll put what I remember. 
I had one of those push cars. According to my dad, we brought it home, put it together, and by that night I was running. Not walking- running. Maybe I should take up track or something.

www.littletikes.com

Then I had blocks. Sooo many blocks. I had wooden blocks and Duplo blocks and more. The Duplo blocks, however, succeeded in hooking me on Legos later. I have a theory about Duplo blocks, and that is that they're made to get kids started early so that they'll for sure buy Legos when they're older.

3dprint.com

Next up was probably the Plan City wooden parking garage and train set. Are you seeing a trend here? I was in to vehicles and building toys, instead of Barbies and that trash. This is a good thing. I am not a girly girl. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. But here's the parking garage and train I was talking about.

curtismlewis.net

This was such a hit for me that I soon wanted the airport and roundhouse to go with it. I never got either of those things, but I did spend a lot of happy hours running around the house with the cars and the road pieces, putting them together into highways and such.

Then came the horses! So many horses! The most precious of them all is Seabiscuit.

~Le Biscuit~

The Biscuit is the special plush animal that I keep beyond my childhood. He lives in that white bookcase and looks out the window. He's actually not that old because I only got him last year but it feels like I've always had him. Yeah. The horses are special.

So that's all about that. The horses are the most special, although I've actually still got all the other stuff in my basement still. Creepy? Nah. I just haven't bothered to sell it yet. Which in all honesty I will probably never get to.