List Post: Day 2 of #31dbbb

Today is July second, day 2 of "31 Days to Build a Better Blog." It's also Tuesday, meaning it's time to write for Yeah Write's 116th weekly challenge grid. This is my two-birds-with-one-stone post. You can find details for both by clicking the badges below. Day 2's assignment is to write a list post, so here's mine!

[insert number here] Reasons I Hate Writing Lists:

1. You have to pick a catchy number, like 10, 15, 101, 21, 33, or something like that. What if I think of one more, or one less?? As you can see above, I abandoned all pretenses and didn't even tell you how many. Heck yeah. I went there. Leaving you in wonderment. You have no idea how many things are on here! This could be the only one. Or there could just be some boring number like 4. Or maybe there are a LOT. Like eternal amounts. Maybe this is the list that never ends. MAYBE YOU'LL BE IN FRONT OF THIS SCREEN FO THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

B) They force you to stay on one topic. I don't like that! I stick to one topic in essays and speeches. This is where I go to write! No pressure, no rules, just whatever comes out. I don't wanna commit. I like to ramble. Why shouldn't I chase rabbit trails? Bunnies are cute! They have long ears and their fur is super soft. Sometimes they make difficult pets, though. So that's sad. Also, sometimes they don't get along with dogs. Plus, dogs are cute. Especially puppies. And especially golden retrievers. Friendly. Dogs. Up. SQUIRREL. I can't handle it. Too much pressure. Speaking of pressure....

III: Picking a topic is SOOOO HARD. It's too much pressure. I cant do it. That's why I picked a non topic. I got so frustrated trying to pick one that I just gave up on life and decided to write about why this is not. My. Thing.

Pi-- Yeah, rhymes! That complicates things. Some people rhyme their lists. Y'know, that's fine. I respect that. But could you not do it at me?? Thanks.

4 and one quarter... The instructions said to "leave a lot of white space." Yeah, my blog is green. And requesting that is insensitive. Other backgrounds have feelings too, y'know.

Last => Lists are unnecessary. They just are. I am against them and do not wish to write another. But please, continue writing yours! They're great fun to read!!

What's that? I'm supposed to write them because they're fun to read? I don't understand that. What are your words? I don't see your point. You think it's selfish that I want to read them but am unwilling to write them? Well, I think your mom's selfish. So. Yeah.

Feel free to post feedback in comments below.(:

Elevator Pitch: Day 1 of #31dbbb

My favorite blogger thing I've ever done, Yeah Write, is hosting "31 Days to Better Your Blog" this July. In case you're like me and didn't know what day it was till your professor opened up the quiz due that day...let me fill you in: today is the first of July! Thus, it's day #1 of 31dbbb (which to me looks like it should be pronounced thirty-one-du-booh. Don't ask why). The day-one assignment is to write and elevator pitch: something you could say to a person on a elevator who has asked, but doesn't really care, what your blog is about. The idea is to make them care! I rejected my first few ideas upon remembering that it's supposed to make my blog sound good...yeah, not all possible descriptions would do that. So here's my pitch. If it sounds like a blog you'd enjoy, go ahead and subscribe! You'll probably like it! If it sounds like something you wouldn't be into, you're probably right.

My blog is essentially an edited journal. I start with the kind of thoughts that one would normally put in a journal; then I try to make them sound like good writing. I'd like to write a book someday, and the blog keeps my writing in good practice. (I am now cautiously trying to read your facial expression. If your eyes are glazed over, I'll change the subject. If you seem interested...)

My posts span a variety of topics, from my faith to my daily life to random things I've found amusing.  In the words of Albus Dumbledore, "There is almost nothing more interesting than almost anyone's life story." Not to brag, but I ain't just anyone! (Just kidding.) And this is my life story: the live-version. Slo-mo, writing it as it happens. I also write for contests and memes and such, so sometimes I find inspiration from the prompts of other writers rather than just what I've been up to. Sometimes I think those posts end up better because its a focus on my writing and my voice rather than just my experience. However, the fabric of the blog that defines it consists of the personal story telling who I am. My blog is my life as an open book. It's the easiest way to meet me without meeting me.

Also, I probably use WAY more italics and capital letters than I should. But I know you can HANDLE that!

If you have any feedback (other than too many italics and all-caps) comment below!

The Tunnel, the Tate, and the Towel

I need to post something today, because I didn't yesterday. However, nothing of consequence has happened in my life....I'll just give you some tid-bits.

My carpal-tunnel has returned.This started a little over a year ago. I think it began due to a myriad of things... 1) I take school pretty seriously. Given the fact that I'm an English major, this means a LOT of writing. 2) I play keyboard for a worship band at my church. 3) For my foreign language, I chose ASL (American Sign Language). No lips, just hands. Work those fingers, gurl! 4) I work at a tutoring center, which mostly consists of grading papers. More writing. 5) I really enjoy typing on laptops / iPads in bed rather than at a desk in a chair with armrests.

Last year, it started around April but healed somewhat when I started wearing a brace and exercising it, and it basically went away when school ended. It came back a couple weeks before Christmas break and again before Summer, but I'd just resume the brace-wearing and wrist-exercising, and then the school break would do away with it. It went away when this summer began. Then, I started blogging.

Oops.

But y'know,who cares? Not me! I can wear a brace, no problem! So I'mma keep blogging. Throwing caution to the wind!

In other news, The Catherine Tate show is the funniest thing ever. My personal favorite character:

Close second:

DISCLAIMER: This show is not kid-friendly. One character she plays drops the "F-bomb" incredibly often (I get the impression it's not quite as taboo across the pond), and some others will say crass lines here and there, usually unexpectedly.

Also, in case you didn't know, I love singing in the shower. Seriously. Just got out, and I feel way cleaner and refreshed than I would if I hadn't sang. Taylor Swift is usually my choice of tunes to belt out, although Ed Sheeran has recently made the list, and I occasionally feel like Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia Line.

The End.

Once more, with feeling!

Last night, I spent like an hour writing seven paragraphs of blog on my iPad. Then I tabbed over to "photos," editing faces out of a pic so I could post it for all you creepers out there to see. But apparently, tabs on a tablet are not the same as tabs on a laptop.

I lost every. last. word. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I can't exactly tell you why I feel so incredibly sad about this, since I had questioned seriously whether my seven-paragraph post was even a thing. I guess it was, because I miss it much. In fact, I miss it enough to attempt to try again. So here we go! Once more, with feeling!

Mmk. Everyone in the world went to camp this week. I mean, all my friends. Well, all my church friends. Or...most of my church friends. Y'know, I think accuracy is overrated. I'll just leave it at EVERY HUMAN BEING ON EARTH except me went to camp this week. I was expecting to feel bored the entire week with all my friends gone. Fortunately, this week so far has turned out much more fun than I thought it would!

Monday, my classmates and I (in a dual-credit class at the local community college) (Well, dual credit for me. They're actually in college.) ditched the lab to eat junk food downstairs and chat about everything under the sun. And take silly pics for Instagram.

Yes, this is what I did when I tabbed over last night. Not worth it. Though, random side-note, my moms reaction to this photo: "Katie, all the friends you've made are beautiful. And you need to be careful about that. By comparison, you'll always look best next to ugly people." I'm not sure that I agree, though. When I see a group of attractive guys, if there's one average-looking guy in there, I don't really notice. I just see attractive people. Y'know? And if they're all ugly with one who's ok looking, it's like he just got down-graded and grouped in with the weirdos he hangs out with.

(Disclaimer: I promise I'm not a judgmental jerk, though it might seem so after reading the above paragraph...I just like to exaggerate for comic effect. As does my mother, who wasn't calling me ugly up there; she followed it up with a disclaimer similar to this one.)

Yesterday, we did almost the opposite...we stayed like an hour late in lab to help each other ace every assignment. And my friend in the middle up there (I'm on the right) tried to set me up with a handsome, foreign sounding guy. This game is always equally fun whether or not it succeeds (it didn't).

After arriving home from my lab, I played a couple games of Settlers of Catan with my mom and a friend. We love this game because it's like someone took Monopoly and fixed it! See, I don't know if you've noticed this about Monopoly, but about an hour into any given game, one player clearly has the win in the bag. Yet, you still keep playing for about an eternity and a half. Settlers doesn't end up that way! The win can turn around any minute, faster than you can say "Monopoly sucks." Also, even when your chance of winning has gone to never return, you can still keep busy in the game and have fun. You build roads, buy cards, pick on the winning players, etc. In Monopoly, the only thing left for you to do is slowly go bankrupt.

After receiving a total butt-whooping in two Catan games, I left for Starbucks with my book. See, reading at Starbucks is one of those things that I always enjoy once I'm there, but the thought never sounds appealing. I think a big reason could be the unfriendliness of our employees! Starbucks-peeps should act friendly, right?? Not true where I live. Plus, the parking lot is difficult to get into. So the steps from my house to Starbucks consist of me packing up four enormous books, lugging them into a cramped parking space, receiving coffee after some perfect service-without-a-smile, and then beginning the long, painful process of finding a place to sit. In addition to annoying employees, our Starbucks contains one or two tables too many, giving it a permanent feeling of overcrowded-ness, regardless of how many people sit there at any given time. Two corners consist of four big, comfy chairs. Usually, one chair from each corner remains occupied. Can I totally sit right down across from a complete stranger? Is that a thing? I feel the same conflict about the long table with twelve seats, which usually contains one person and one laptop. Hi, can I sit with you? Or are you really occupying a dozen seats right now? Anyway, I finally popped a squat across from someone in the big-comfy-chair area. And y'know what? Hipster-dude didn't care. I don't think he even noticed. And once I sat down for some reading/blogging, I really enjoyed myself! Mental note.

Of course, I didn't actually get any blogging done yesterday afternoon. I started with reading, and my nose got caught. I couldn't get it out in time to write. London by Edward Rutherfurd has me thoroughly enthralled! I can't recommend it with a clear conscience yet because I'm only 86-pages into the 829-page book, but I'll keep you posted! Maybe write a review when I finish.

And then, last night, I finally sat down to blog. Only I didn't have anything to say. So I read some archives from my mom's old blog, searching for inspiration. In one post, she mentioned that, though she rarely writes them, blogs about simple, daily life are her favorite to read. Is that real? Like, is that a thing? I sure hope so, 'cause I just wrote one, to the tune of seven (Holy cow, now it's NINE!) paragraphs. TWICE! I wrote a non-thing twice. And you've just read to the end! Congratulations! But seriously, what do you think? Is this a thing that I should continue writing? I mean, when I have something to say, I'll obviously say it. But when I don't should I do this? (By "do this," I mean what I just did, which is basically throw-up on the Internet. That's what I've done here.)

PS, I bought this. Your argument is invalid.

I'm Writing!

I got home this morning, feeling a sudden urge to write. "I haven't written anything longer than a to-do list since school let out," I thought. The desire to keep up some skills combined with a Jones-ing for that feeling of having created something pushed me enough to open up my journal and write down the date before I thought, "hey, ditch handwriting in a notebook, I should blog!"

Towards the end of the school year, I'd planned to start a blog either this summer or in the Fall. Mom said she'd give me Journalism credit for it. (Perks of being homeschooled!) So, might as well get going while I feel like writing, right?

Some time later...."Mom, I just spent over an hour tweaking my template, title, and domain. I also created a Google+ and downloaded every app related too it. I still have yet to write anything."

"Wow, you sound like an actual blogger!"

Now, 12 hours later, here I am sitting on my bed with my iPad and my fancy new Google apps. So I have to write something, right? WRITE? (I'm sorry, but I've thought about using that pun like four times now. I just had to go there.) But what do I write about??? I never thought I'd miss those journal-prompts from English class. Or even the essay assignments! I really just need to write...something.

So where do I start? Book review? Story from my summer class? Funny anecdote? Theological discussion? Description? Fiction? Persuasion? Poem? I simply do not know!!! 

Therefore, I started here. Writing about not knowing what to write about. the go-to subject for an enforced, timed journal session in pre-school. The most cliche' first-blog in the history of the Internet. Well, at least I'm writing, right (write)? Maybe that's all that really matters. Maybe I don't really care if anyone reads this or likes it, relates to it or laughs at it, agrees with it or comments on it, finds amusement in it or feels moved by it. Maybe I don't even care if I never post again and this site sits up here for years with one post about nothing, and I don't even get a Journalism credit for it. Maybe all I really care about is that I wanted to write, and I did! Maybe that's the most satisfying reason for doing anything.

A few years ago, my mother decided I did not have enough physical strength and endurance. (Trust me, she was right.) So, she signed me up for a work out class. And I got stronger! But I hated it with every fiber of my being. As soon as she let me off the hook, I stopped doing any physical training and drifted right back to the couch where I had sat, stagnant and idle, before the class. Then, about a month ago, I decided that I wanted to feel fit. I needed to become stronger. So, I did! I started with 13 crunches, and couldn't go any further. 'Til the next day, when I did 49. And then 100. Now, every morning, I wake up and do 200 crunches, in addition to push-ups and jumping jacks. I walk nearly 3 miles and jog up and down stairs. If I look better for it, that's great. But what's even greater is that I wanted to do it, and I did it. I feel much prouder than I did when it wasn't my goal. I also wanted an A average on my High School transcript, and I got it. I wanted to read the Bible in 90 days, and I did it. I wanted to create a blog post, and I wrote it!

I also wanted 20 hours of dual credit, and it looks like I'll only end up with ten. I wanted 35 hours of work per week this summer, and I only have eight. I wanted to read "Gone with the Wind" last Christmas break, and I only read half. But y'know what? Ten hours is still ten hours! Eight-per-week is still a job! Half of "Gone with the Wind" is still 500 pages! And a blog about nothing is still a blog.

I guess my point is, (hey look, a point!) if you wanna do something, do it. If you don't quite make it, stay proud of what you did acheive! And don't even consider giving a crap about what other people think.

Hey! I wrote an actual post about an actual thing! It took me a while to get there, and my writing didn't have  awesome direction or conciseness...(partly due to the fact that I had absolutely no plan. I literally just started typing.) I guess not all readers will stay long enough to find the point. Maybe they won't even come back to see if my next post is any better. But...(any guesses what I'll say next? Wait for iiiiiit....) I don't care! I wrote this post for me. I feel satisfied with it. Maybe I'm the only one. And maybe I still don't care.