Birthday!

First off, I want to thank all of my friends for the birthday wishes I've been receiving nonstop for the last 23 hours. It really means a lot to me, and I'm glad to have you all in my life.

I started my day today running late, rushing to get ready and gamble for the first time. Today, if you didn't know, I turned 18: the age at which you can legally gamble in California. I actually just had to stop writing for five minutes and thank the people who have wished me a happy birthday in the last 10 minutes. Yay!

Anyway, we drove the hour-ish drive from Stockton to Jackson and I couldn't help but stare out the window the entire time. It was unreal. I was in disbelief that things so beautiful could be so close to the hellmouth of a place that Stockton is. Acres upon acres (heck, MILES UPON MILES) of lush green life, and not a stop in sight. Next time I go, I'm definitely taking my uncle's camera so I can take pictures the entire way.

Anyway, we got there and of course, I got carded as soon as we walked in. WHAT UP, SECURITY DUDE? I'M EIGHTEEN. After that was done, we went to the little registration dude place and got me a card to become a member and earn points and prizes and fun and junk. The lady gave me a free shirt and button, and throughout the day, everybody was wishing me a happy birthday! I felt like I was in Disneyland. It was great.

We got to playing, and I immediately lost 30 bucks. So, that sucked. I watched for a little while in anger, and I remember saying that "I liked that money more when it was money." I played around for a little while and after losing 20 more bucks, went to a fun-looking machine near my grandma. First try and I changed a 20 dollar bill into 90 bucks! Not too bad, huh? We played through the rest of the day and I ended up leaving with $75 more than I came with. My grandma won $600. Naturally, we happy danced.

Before we left, my grandma bought us lunch at the buffet dude that they have there. I ate so much that I died. I am actually a ghost now. I had one and a half plates of food and a bunch of desserts. I had a cookie, creme puffs, ice cream, bread pudding, brownies. Oh my God. I wish I would have known the dessert was going to be so good. Maybe then I wouldn't have eaten and skipped straight on to the good stuff.

I fell asleep on the way home, so I don't think anything eventful happened. Actually, when we got to my grandparents' house, I slept in my cousin's bed. Man, I'm going to be up all night.

My mom got out of work and joined us over for dinner, or as I called it, "take two bites of a taco and try not to throw up." It was good, but man, was I full. My hour on the treadmill yesterday was rendered completely useless by everything I ate today. Oh well.

I think that should do it for today. I'll see you guys tomorrow!

You know what I've been thinking about for the last few minutes, guys? I performed at the same venue as Miley Cyrus. MILEY CYRUS. You know, only the biggest tween popstar in the history of tween popstars? That Miley Cyrus? YEAH. Just had to get that out.

Today, I didn't go to my two classes because I was tired and tomorrow is my birthday and I JUST DON'T GIVE A CKUF. So, that's that.

All day, I've only been listening to '90s/early '00s music. So, that's that.

I was on the treadmill for AN HOUR today because I didn't go to school and if I didn't do something, I would have just been in bed all day. So, that's that.

I turn 18 in about 4 hours. So, that's that.

I have absolutely nothing to talk about today. So, that's that.

Reflection.

For probably the last time, tonight I'll go to bed as a child.* It's a bit shocking how fast it's come, really. I've looked forward to it my whole life, but now I don't think that I'm ready. I just wish it would all slow down. I can finally make my own decisions, at least to some point, and live life how I want to, but with that, I lose a big part of me. What will be my excuse to act the way I do now? Will it feel awkward to say that some of my closest friends are, like, 16? Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare? My childhood has been a great one, friends, and if you've had any part of it, I genuinely want to thank you. Thank you for everything.

In lieu of becoming one of those "today I did this" bloggers, I want to look back on my life as a whole.

Here, have a list of some of my proudest moments:
-In first grade, I won first place in a district-wide math competition. WHAT UP.
-After a few days of school, it was decided that I was "too smart" for second grade, and I was moved up to third, where I became top of my class and went on to win the Hazelton Award with my then best friend, Michael Naylor. No idea what ever happened to him.
-In fifth grade, I took my first music class, and chose the clarinet because my teacher said I was too small for a saxaphone.
-In sixth grade, I adapted 4 of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books for makeshift-stage. It was made of PVC pipes, curtains, and AWESOME. Oh, and I was in the district's only full-day G.A.T.E. class, or something. Whatever.
-In seventh and eighth grade, I went through severe depression and junk, but managed to not fail a grade. Woo!
-In ninth grade, I performed in Vancouver** for a band competition, and we won Sweepstakes. WOO! (It was only out of like four, it turns out, but I ain't even bovered.)
-In 12th grade, I got to live one of my dreams and marched right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A. It was so amazing.
-I know I said I wouldn't do this, but today, I'm staying positive, thinking ahead, and trying my hardest to enjoy life.

I'm really tired right now, and I think I'm just going to, you know, NOT track things this month, seeing as I haven't done so since the first day.

I hope you are all well, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Homework

Right now, I'm busy doing a character analysis of King Henry of Henry V fame that I've been putting off. I hope that you all forgive me for this short post, but I really need to get this done and go to sleep. I'm performing my monologue in the morning and I'm a bit nervous about it. I trip up with Shakespeare in front of people. I'll just automatically take out the -sts and rearrange the words so they make more sense. I can't do that tomorrow.

I hope all is best, and I promise you a longer post tomorrow.

Best wishes!

Darn you, Magic Eight Ball.

Writing this, I can't help but look angrily at the "Magic Eight Ball CGI" tab I have open. I was in the middle of catching up on the BEDA posts of people I follow for the last two days, and in one post, Hayley Hoover uses that site to help her make an ever-so-important decision: To go out, or not to go out? For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to ask it if I should work on my post for the day, or finish catching up. OF course, with my luck, it ended up saying that I should "absolutely" write my post now. Stupid Magic Eight Ball.

I left my house around 5 P.M. Friday to spend the weekend with my dad, as I do most.* We went to pick up my brother, and were off to go to his softball game. My dad's at the cusp of mid-life, and is clutching desperately to his last bits of youth, and so I guess this is why he plays softball every week with a broken toe, hurt foot, and near-constantly strained neck. I decided to just let him have his fun.

Anyway, at his game, while switching between innings, somebody in the stands screams and points to the field, where we see a guy flat on his back, shaking like mad. It was honestly one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Forgive me for saying this, but I've always thought seizures were comical, and that people just laughed them off after they stopped shaking. Turns out that's not the case. The game was stopped for 15 minutes or so, while an ambulance came to take him and his rightfully paranoid daughter to the hospital. I feel so bad for her, she looked to be my age and had no idea what to do. Her mom came immediately, and tailed the ambulance to the hospital.

On Saturday, I walked my brother to his baseball game, only to realize I had no idea where it was. We got there five minutes later than he was supposed to be. Luckily, he still had 25 minutes 'til the game was supposed to start. So that was nice.

Today, my brother, dad, and I watched tv. That is literally all we did for the entire day. I'm really tired, though, because I woke up early, so I'm just going to go to bed now. It's been real. See ya tomorrow!

Born This Way listens: Same as Friday. I haven't listened to anything but the OMWF soundtrack since then
Script Frenzy pages: 0, but I'm starting tomorrow.


*That's the reason why most Saturday posts you see from me won't be up to date, but instead written by PAST JORDAN, who is, as you might have guessed, me from the past.

Past Jordan returns, for the 3rd BEDA in a row.

Hello, fellow BEDAins, it's good to see me, isn't it? I am AWAY today, so this is from the past. I hope we're all well, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Have a survey I found online, in lieu of an actual blog post for today. Ta ta for now, and I'll resume keeping track on everything tomorrow. Bye!

Survey About Yourself
About You
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Black/Really Dark Brown
Height:	Last I checked, just under six foot, but that was a long time ago and I can touch ceilings now.
Favorite Color:	Blue, or green.
Screen Name:	jordiekins (and variations of that)
Favorite Band:	Freelance Whales? Maybe? I listen to them the most.
Favorite Movie:	The Lion King
Favorite Show:	Buffy, Lost, 30 Rock, The Office, etc.
Your Car:	Nonexistant
Your Hometown:	Stockton, CA
Your Present Town:	Stockton, CA
Your Crushes First Name:	Yeah, I\'m going to tell you that.
Your Grade:	I\'m a freshman in college.
Your Style:	I think you mean swag, outdated Myspace survey.
Have You Ever
Sat on your rooftop?:	Yeah, of course.
Kissed someone in the rain?:	Nope.
Danced in a public place?:	Yeah?
Smiled for no reason?:	All the time. Especially when I\'m spaced out, and people think I\'m looking at them.
Laughed so hard you cried?:	A few times.
Peed your pants after age 8?:	Nope.
Written a song?:	Loads. You\'ll never hear them.
Sang to someone for no reason?:	I always sing, but I never ACTUALLY sing. I put on this annoying voice and make fun of songs.
Performed on a stage?:	Quite a few times.
Talked to someone you don't know?:	How else would you make friends?
Gone out of your way to befriend someone?:	No comment.
Made out in a theatre?:	Nope.
Gone roller skating since 8th grade?:	I don\'t think so. I think that was around the time all of the skating rinks in my area closed.
Been in love?:	Nope.
Who was the last person to
Say HI to you?:	My mom, on the phone.
Tell you, I love you?:	My mom, on the phone.
Kiss you?:	Does my dog count? He does every time I tell him to go to bed.
Hug you?:	No idea.
Tell you BYE?:	My mom, on the phone.
Write you a note?:	I don\'t remember.
Take your photo?:	My aunt, at a birthday party.
Call your cell phone?:	My mom. Ugh, enough with these mom/phone questions.
Buy you something?:	My grandma.
Go with you to the movies?:	My cousins Mariah, Gabrielle, Morgan, James-Paul, and Steph. HARRY POTTER.
Sing to you?:	My little cousin was singing for me yesterday, does that count?
Write a poem about you?:	I was on a haiku kick a few weeks ago. I think Nikki wrote a few back, maybe. I don\'t remember.
Text message you?:	Steph
Touch you?:	In what sense? o, hold on, my mom\'s calling. =P
What's the last
Time you laughed?:	This morning, playing with my dog.
Time you cried?:	T***\'s death in Buffy.
Movie you watched?:	I rewatched the filmed stage version of Madea\'s Big Happy Family last night. So.
Joke you told?:	I honestly have no idea.
Song you've sang?:	I\'ve Got A Theory, from the Buffy musical, Once More, With Feeling
Time you've looked at the clock?:	Just now, whenever I was asked this question.
Drink you've had?:	Water
Number you've dialed?:	My dad\'s.
Book you've read?:	I just finished catching up in \"A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599,\" by James Shapiro. Thrilling, right?
Food you've eaten?:	I had a sandwich for lunch.
Flavor of gum chewed?:	No idea.
Shoes you've worn?:	My good ol\' Chucks.
Store you've been in?:	Dollar Tree, I want to say.
Thing you've said?:	I was talking to my dog, so who knows?
Can You
Write with both hands?:	Not neatly, but I can if I have to.
Whistle?:	Yep.
Blow a bubble?:	Yeah.
Roll your tounge in a circle?:	No, I\'ve never been able to make sense fo it either.
Cross your eyes?:	Yes.
Touch your tounge to your nose?:	No.
Dance?:	Eh.
Gleek?:	Not on command. Only when I don\'t want to.
Stay up a whole night without sleep?:	My record is 30-some odd hours.
Speak a different language?:	Je parle un petit peu de Francais.
Impersonate someone?:	I can do Mickey Mouse\'s voice, but my voice is too low to do his chuckle now.
Prank call people?:	Sure?
Make a card pyramid?:	Yeah.
Cook anything?:	No.
Finish The Line
If i were a ...:	boooooy, even just for a day...
I wish ...:	you peace and love and happiness in everything you do.
So many people don't know that ...:	I am only 17 years old. Only for five more days.
I am ...:	THE WALRUS.
My heart is ...:	dead. If my heart could beat, it would break my chest.

Surprise! A blog about Buffy and Script Frenzy and BEDA and Stuff. (No Spoilers)

I’ve decided that it would be best if I got this out of the way now, to make the most out of my time tomorrow.* I’m in a bit of a pickle, you see. On one hand, I want to participate in Script Frenzy this year, possibly writing an imaginary episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to right the wrongs that happened in the series finale. Oh, I should also mention I’m on a huge Buffy kick, seeing as I just finished watching the entire show last night.** And on the other, I really would like to have time to focus on school (read: Tumblr). Anyway, for tomorrow’s (today‘s?*) blog, I’ll recap today (yesterday).* Did you follow that?

I started off the day by finishing up Buffy, which kept me watching until 2am. I then watched interviews with the cast, and live performances of the Buffy Musical, Once More, With Feeling until six in the morning.*** I finally fell asleep to have my mom wake me up an hour later, because my dog had a bad dream and was walking around the house whimpering. I guess I’m the only one that can actually comfort and calm him down whenever he gets like that. We’re close.

After another two hours, or so, of sleep, I woke up to really start the day. By “start the day,” I actually mean “rewatch more episodes of Buffy and mope about because of the two really important deaths in the end that left me broken and hurt and junk.” So then, I got out my ukulele and acted and played through all of OMWF, because I am weird and I do stuff like that. It also helped me decide that I’m really likely to be covering “Under Your Spell,” a breakaway pop hit from the musical.****

I ended up starting to watch Angel, the spin-off of Buff-- You know what? I’m going to stop talking about Buffy now. For the rest of the day, I lazed around, juggled for a bit, played with my dog, and ate dinner. That’s about it. I think I’m going to run double my normal amount tomorrow to make up for it. I just feel disgusting.

I’m off to take a shower now, but I’ll leave you with a few things I plan to be tracking throughout this month.

Happy BEDA*****, friends!

Number of times I’ve listened to Born This Way since its release: 468******
Number of pages for Script Frenzy written today, if I end up doing it at all: 0, since it hasn’t started yet.


*I don’t like this whole Date-Changes-At-Midnight thing. Can’t it just be tomorrow when I wake up? Why make it complicated, World? I’d much rather you revolve around me.

**Yesterday morning, technically. Or was it today? No, it‘s past midnight, I guess, so it was two days ago. Or was it yesterday? I think it was yesterday. Okay, according to Netflix, it definitely happened on March 31st.*

***Relax, imaginary adults cringing at the thought of me, a seventeen year old staying up until six on a Thursday morning. I’m in COLLEGE and on SPRING BREAK. So, ha.

****Sly reference, innit?

*****BEDA is a bi-annual blogging spree, originated by Maureen Johnson in April 2009. It stands for Blog Every Day in April. Whenever everybody realized that August also starts with an A, it became bi-annual. This is my third attempt, I think. Wish me luck!

******Yes, I’m crazy. Very crazy. There’s hardly a moment where music isn’t playing in my house, so it’s not even the only song way into the hundreds.