All you can do is hope.

Halloween is pretty sweet with all the free candy you're getting, but it is always always always those fun sized little chocolate bars and bags of chips.

NEWS FLASH: Fun does not equal less.

What really makes your night is when you get a full sized chocolate bar. Like, thank you times a million and may you never step on a lego for your whole existence on earth if you are one of those houses that give out full sized candy bars. It is actually the best thing ever but doesn't happen very often.

So yeah, I wish you all luck tonight and hopefully you hit the jackpot in the size-of-your-candy department!

Fun size? You mean lame size!

I Love My School

Just a quick post to tell you the highlights of all the costumes people at my school wore today:

- Cheshire cat
- Zombie
- Taco
- Chef
- Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow
- Flapper
- Cave woman
- Mexican (borderline racist)
- Pimp
- Hipster Santa ("Halloween is too mainstream")
- Clark Kent (a ridiculously attractive English teacher did this complete with the superman shirt underneath)
- Robin (the girl's name was robin, too.)
- Esmeralda
- Snow White
- Audrey Hepburn
- The Doctor
- Mad scientist
- Sherlock
- Some students went as some teachers from our school
- Teletubbies
- Spock

So yeah, my day was epic and pretty much consisted of me looking around in awe at all the costumes. Of course, we had a million bunnies and cats but whatever.

Question: What were your favourite costumes that you saw today? Or at least what are your favourites from my list?

i'm a rebel

See how I connected the words in the title to how I wrote the title? I am rebelling against conventional grammar rules? Yes? Yes? Okay.

NOT THE POINT, it just needed to be pointed out.

I am of the delicate age of 17 where I am still considered a child at some moments, but not actually in others. So that brings us to the question of: Is It Acceptable For Me To Be Out Trick Or Treating?

First of all, I am totally going full out with my costume. (As you can read about in this post: http://thecontentsofmy-brain.blogspot.ca/2012/10/t-swizzle-for-halloween.html) I am not just slapping on a tiara and saying I'm a princess just so I can go and get free candy. I worked hard on it and I want to show off!
Secondly, I'm not stealing candy opportunities away from the little children. The people bought candy so that they could give it away on Halloween. I am helping them complete that task, pretty much.
And lastly, I don't think anyone is even going to question me going out since I am so short and look way younger than I actually am so who cares! I'm going for it!

And it will be awesome.

The Best Kind of Babysitting

You know what seriously is the best? Night babysitting. You get there around 7 and the kid(s) are either already asleep or your sole job is to send them into dreamland.

It rocks when they're already asleep because then you just get to chill in someone else's home on the off chance that the child wakes up. Most parents are super nice and offer you the run of their internet, TV and kitchen which is totally ok by me.

And when all you have to do is but them to bed, it's not bad at all. Speaking for myself here, I'm not that good at thinking up ways to entertain kids so unless they're the type with the overactive imagination that turns everything into a game or the quiet one that likes to amuse themselves I have to work hard to always keep the kid busy. That said, when I know that I need to get them in bed and sleeping, all I have to do is follow the steps to make sure that happens. We put pyjamas on, we brush our teeth, we read a story and then the light goes off. Sure, some kids don't want to sleep but it's easy to wear them out or just be firm about it.

Side Note: Another amazing thing when you are a babysitter is having the kids recognize you and love having you around. Seriously, them jumping around and hugging you when you arrive has to be the best welcome ever.

Instead of Good #3

Super. 








Why? http://thecontentsofmy-brain.blogspot.ca/2012/10/instead-of-good.html

T Swizzle for Halloween

It's official. I am going as Taylor Swift for Halloween this year. I've gotten many comments that I look like Taylor Swift, mainly because I have blonde curly hair so I've decided to make the best of that!

Plus, her new album, RED, just came out recently so everyone is freshly obsessed with her. It just works perfectly.



Here's the plan (so that maybe you could join me!):

Make-up - Just use liquid eye liner on top of your upper lash line and continue it a little further to make little wings. Then put on mascara as per usual. Red lipstick is always a staple for Taylor making it easier for you to decide what you should wear on your lips!

Hair - If you're blonde, then lucky you! If you have any other colour sitting on your head, you can always buy a wig or just not care about that slight detail. But do wear it in one of the following styles. The controlled curls look that bounce freely around your face or the sleek straight look that is usually pulled back into a side ponytail. Either is pretty recognizable as a Thing That Taylor Swift Would Do.

Clothes - I always see Taylor wearing cute floral print dresses or anything that's polka dotted or striped. Her main colours are red, white and black but obviously she wears other colours like blue and green.

Shoes - Pair the rest of your outfit with cute shoes! Taylor usually wears either cowboy boots, flats, high heels or brown oxfords.

And there you have it! That's all there is to it.

I love being small enough that I can still trick or treat at 17.

Camp Memories

Wave Clouds

This is 100% for real. We were up on the hill and someone got all excited and pointed to the sky. The clouds were in this awe-inspiring wave pattern.

Random side thought this picture generated: For one week, we had an activity that was cloud-watching. About 30 kids signed up for it.

Instead of "Good" #2

Amazing.











Why? http://thecontentsofmy-brain.blogspot.ca/2012/10/instead-of-good.html

Previous Halloween Me

I am a pretty creative person. So Halloween has been a favourite holiday where I'm allowed to think of and create a really unique costume. Here are some past highlights:

Thing 2 - My best friend and I really wanted to do a pair costume and I think it was her mom that came up with Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat. It was actually perfect. We both wore all red and emblazoned our stomachs with felt depicting our title. Now for the best part: We both had long blonde hair which we temporarily dyed blue and frizzed up with hairspray. It was so much fun going to school like that!





Ms. Frizzle - It all started when I saw this particularly flamboyant dress that was in-your-face blue with flowers all over it. I bought it, added big plastic flower jewelry, dyed my hair red and BAM, the perfect Ms. Frizzle. At the time I didn't have a lizard stuffed animal (I may have acquired one since then though) but that would've so completed the outfit.






The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - I wasn't all of the above, don't worry. This was a family thing. My little sister was still in her adorable stage and happened to have a full body lion costume. With that taken care of, I got to show my evil side with white flowy stuff and tin foil as the White Witch. That left my poor mom to wear the refrigerator box which we covered in wood sticker stuff and even added old handles to over her head. It was definitely a hit for people who understood it.

Three Blind Mice - My aforementioned best friend plus another girl all went as the Three blind mice one year. We just wore grey, added mouse ears, sunglasses and canes. The awesome thing about "being blind" was that you could "accidentally" whack someone, say an annoying boy, with your cane and have a perfectly plausible alibi.

Right now I have the extreme urge to be Waldo for Halloween. I just think it'd be sweet and a half.

So, tell me what you think of the costumes I've done! ALSO, I really, extremely would love to hear what all y'all are going to be for Halloween. (I don't actually say "all y'all" in real life.)

My Ears Kind Of Love Me Right Now

This is me right now.

So I just added about 30 new songs to my ipod and am in heaven right now. I listen to music pretty much all the time - walking to and from school, while doing homework, when running, before going to bed, while I'm having conversations with other people - so the songs I have end up getting pretty overplayed after a while.

But since I'm a lazy person, I will jot down songs that I discover - on scraps of paper, on my hand, on the notes app in my phone, on my sister's forehead - but not take the time to find them and load them to my music listening device.

So I'll be going about my life, with music, obviously, and then my brain will be like "I NEED TO LISTEN TO THAT SONG THAT WAS REALLY GOOD THAT WE DISCOVERED 3 WEEKS AGO" and I'll be like "cool beans, let me just find it in my ipod... wait. oops, haven't added it yet, sorry man."

^Yes, I have conversations with my brain. Yes, in these conversations my brain talks in caps lock and I talk in lowercase letters.

So this is why I feel pretty darn near euphoric when I talk the time to get every single one of those songs on my ipod and can listen to them whenever I want.

If anyone's interested in the songs, you can ask in the comments and I'll happily oblige!

Instead of "Good"

Oh snap, I have just thought of a weekly thing that you can look forwards to and will greatly improve your life.

So every week, I will make a short post that provides you with an alternative word to "good" because "good" is just too boring and non-descriptive sometimes. Along with the first picture Google images gives me when I google the word. This should make it interesting...

And the awesome part is the as time goes by, I will definitely run low on quality suggestions so they'll get ridiculous. This will continue until the end of time.

Today's word is: Spectacular 

Why I Love the Library

Ok, seriously. About half my posts are book-related. THIS ISN'T ALL I DO. I swear there are other things that I enjoy and that are going on my life. For realz.

But I want to enumerate some reason why I love the library.

1. Free books. Have you ever heard a better pair of words? (Probably. Like, "no cancer" or "bellybutton lint") If I were to buy every single book I've ever read, I would either not read very often due to brokeness or not care that I was broke and buy them anyways and be in debt to a loan shark and they'd steal my house and I'd cry. Either situation is unpleasant so YAY for libraries. There's no limit to how many books I can take out, there's no continuous or start-up fee, it's amazing! The sole purpose of a library is to give everyone a chance to readas much as possible. It's sweet.
2. Pretty layouts. If you think about it, libraries are pretty much art-holding-buildings. They are where carefully crafted volumes of words are kept so it makes sense that the actual place is artsy too. Every library I've been to has had it's own unique flair that makes it just gorgeous to be standing in. I don't mean old-fashioned, beautiful stone structures or whatever, although those are great, I mean lots of colours, cozy nooks, tons of posters and just an openness to having people being there. It's pretty awesome.
3. Nice people. This is a stereotype, but it's a nice one so shh. It seems to me that libraries are only filled with nice people. Moms with their little kids zigzagging through the shelves, scholarly men who are looking for something to relax to, teenagers that aren't partying and upsetting the balance of the universe with their reckless and atrocious behaviour. Cause reading is for everyone but those that really enjoy it are the quiet nicer type, in my opinion, and the library is where we all flock. The only place you can find a nicer group of people is at a blood bank.

These are the biggies that come together to create all the small perks of libraries like studying with your friend or finding your next favourite book because it was recommended by the person browsing beside you. It's just so nice to have libraries.

The Casual Vacancy

Yeah, not for a while.

So I finally go around to putting JK Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy, on hold at the library but it doesn't look like I'll be reading it any time soon. I am number 1341 in the waiting list.

The strange thing is that the library apparently only has 75 copies. Like, this is JK Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books, who is pretty much a legend and you didn't expect the next thing she publishes to be in extremely high demand? If the Percy Jackson series needs over 100 copies, then JK Rowling's grocery list will need over 100 copies, nevermind and actual new book written by her. This just confuses me. (ALSO: No offense Percy Jackson fans & Rick Riordan, I love the series but the fanbase is not even comparable to HP's.)


Back to the actual book, I'm not dying from not being able to read it right-now-at-this-very-second-and-no-sooner-or-else-bad-things-that-I-can't-bring-to-mind-will-happen because it's written for adults so I don't know what that will entail and the subject, to be honest, doesn't really draw me in. I am a teenager, therefore I read teen books. Adult books have never really been a thing for me unless you count the random neuroscience books on synesthesia and left-handedness and other interesting mind things that I read from time to time. (It's really interesting, ok? I can feel you judging me...) So I'm not sure whether the style of writing will appeal to me or whatever the difference is between adult and teen novels.

I will end up reading The Casual Vacancy and I'll see if I like it but I don't have mega high hopes and I can wait however long that is necessary until I get my hands on it. The end.               

Nice One, Self

So this thing happened to me today.

I was sitting with some people for lunch and a guy offered me some of his root beer. I refused since I don't like it and that's all fine and dandy but I refused it with the words "It's brown. I don't like it." Of course, my friend just happened to be from India.

I was just stating a fact. It just so happens that all the pop I dislike is brown-coloured. So instead of numbering off pepsi, coke, root beer and all that jazz, I label them all brown drinks. No biggie.

But in the end it was fine, he called me racist and I protested and then we made some jokes and no one's feelings got hurt.

Potato

I've noticed that while I'm fully comfortable with teachers and random people on the internet reading what I write, I am completely uncool with anyone in my immediate family with doing so.

I have absolutely no explanation to why. It should be the opposite, shouldn't it? I act like my true self around them that doesn't come out at school or in public. Well, I guess school is public but I like having multiple examples so whatever. So it should make sense that whatever I write down will be taken the same way as I act with my family.

But I just can't. My mom will read the same essay that my teacher just read over and thoroughly destroyed with the red pen (cause even though I've got a blog that I like to write in, English is not my strongest subject. My theory is that I'm way to funny in writing for my teachers to handle.) and I'll feel all apprehensive and all these other emotions I didn't whilst handing the essay in for class.

I don't actually know where I'm going with this, I've just noticed and decided to share. You can over-analyse me if you'd like and tell me about it in THE COMMENTS. Cause they exist. And you could totally post there. And make me feel better about myself.

Oh gosh, when I am a super popular blogger that gets ARC to review I'm going to look back on these first posts and be like "Wow, I used to have to beg people to comment on stuff. I was so pathetic."

Where's Finnick?

Odair he is.

This joke made my life.

See, even Sam thinks it's funny

Capitalizing Titles

I have a problem.

And that problem is that I am really bad at knowing which words are important enough to capitalize in a title and which ones you leave alone. Like, I actually stress about it when writing titles in anything and feel like everyone knows how to do it really easily and all judge me when I do it wrong.

The trick is to not capitalize the ones that wouldn't be missed if you removed them but I just overthink it all and nothing gets done.

Yup.

How To Cry for Half an Hour

So I finished The Fault in Our Stars last night. I figured it would only take a day since John Green is such a good writer (if I swore, I would've used some extra words to describe his ability to write) and then me and my friend obviously need to rehash the entire book together at school today. Obviously.

TFiOS hat!

This is a good of a time to mention it: since I already used the picture of the cover of the book in a post and I am in no way, shape or form a picture repeater, I have decided to fill this post with all the TFiOS swag I've seen while roaming the internet.

So I loved it. Augustus Waters is the most perfect boy known to humankind and it's really a shame that he's fictional. But then again, every girl in the world would absolutely hate each other since we're all going for the same guy.
And their conversations were hilarious and also deep which, congrats John Green, I don't normally enjoy but these were pretty enjoyable. But I don't know if I want to be on the side that says "Normal teenagers don't talk or think like that. We're all awkward and just not anything close to that." or on the one that's all like "That's cause they weren't normal teenagers. They'd never had normal lives and had lots of time to develop all these thoughts about life."
The plot was perfect, there was so much fit into it, like Augustus and Hazel met, they went on adventures, some heart-wrenching things happen and that was the best I could do to tell you stuff without spoiling anything at all. At least I didn't just start a sentence and then stop.
And, of course, with about 80 pages of the book left to read, I started bawling. It really was that sad. And I knew it was going to be sad so I didn't promise to myself that I wouldn't cry. So I literally cried from then until the end of the book. It was just so sad and I didn't want it to happen but it had to.
What surprised me was that the ending was really good. Like once we got passed the horribleness, the tying up the loose ends went very well. Normally, authors just leave you a little too soon before you're ready to be let go and there are a lot of unanswered questions (Except Eva Ibbotson. Love that woman. Her loose ends and triple-knotted and covered in bubble wrap.) but this book managed to answer those questions and also make me happy and have hope and smile.

So yeah. Anything I read in the next while is just going to SUCK in comparison.

Annnd, since I am a Quotations Girl, here are my favourites:

cutest thing of life

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.”

“Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” 

“Books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.” 

"...the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.” 

"Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Patience, grasshopper," I counseled. "You don't want to seem overeager. 
"Right, that's why I said tomorrow," he said. "I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious," he said. 


“And I wondered if hurdlers ever thought, you know, 'This would go faster if we just got rid of the hurdles.” 

Gus's father: "Our children are weird."
My dad: "Nicely phrased.” 

I Need This Answered

Does the "nes" part count
as one of the syllables
in Wednesday's haiku?

My Emotion is I-Want-To-Punch-You-In-The-Face

Not you specifically, I barely know you. Although that could be remedied if anyone COMMENTED.

Anyway. Completely off topic there.

My friend just lent me her copy that I gave to her for her birthday of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. (No, I totally did not premeditate that by buying her a copy I could forgo the massive line waiting for me if I ordered it from the library.) And I have been reading it whenever I could all of today. Secretly during chem class, all of my spare and while my sister was hogging the computer.

Now let's zone in on when I was reading it during my spare. I was sitting with the very same friend who will be known in this post as The Owner of the Book and a friend from Data class who will be known as The Spoiler. The Owner is raving about the book as I'm reading it, starting and stopping in the middle of her sentences as she tries to convey the awesomeness of the book while not actually telling me any details. The Spoiler knows nothing of the book but steals it from me and reads the blurb in the front jacket flap. (Side note, isn't it cute how they're called jackets? Like the book is getting all dressed up? Or is it just me? Thought so.) He then proceeds to GUESS THE PLOT TWIST and say it out loud. Now, let's just say that my dear, dear Owner of the Book friend would be terrible at poker as she just does not own a poker face. Maybe it got lost in the mail. Maybe she was given faulty information of when and where we were to obtain them. Who knows. But she completely gives it away that that indeed is the plot twist that left her bawling alone on her couch.
That's when I declared my emotion to be I-Want-To-Punch-You-In-The-Face.

I have tried to push what he said to the back of my mind and carry on enjoying the book play by play but it was incredibly annoying to have it spoiled like that.

Sorry for any vagueness about what the actual plot twist is but I felt like this is the kind of thing you should not pay forward so for anyone who hasn't read the book, I won't spoil what it is for you.

I might possibly do a book review for it (without spoilers, calm your muffins) when I'm finished but I'll have you know I kind of suck at reviewing books. But then again, not being able to sing doesn't stop people who can't sing from singing.

Shout out to John Green for being awesome and writing The Fault in Our Stars.

DFTBA

Tangent Count: 2

What I Look For In A Boyfriend

They must not spontaneously combust.

Awkward First Post

Now what all of you non-existent people have been waiting for. That awkward first post that sort of outlines what will be in this blog along with some kind of introduction to who I am and why you will immediately love me.
So here goes.

First of all, this blog doesn't have a theme or whatever, it's pretty much what I'm thinking about or things I've seen on the internet that are hilarious or a rant or a quote or a book I've just read. Me things.
Also, there won't be much structure and usually the posts will be short. Just word vomit. (Mean Girls, anyone?)
And lastly, if I can't think of a witty title that goes perfectly with the content of the post, I will most likely just pick a random word that I like the look of and name it that. So yeah. If you can deal with that, we're golden.

Now me. I don't know how to go about doing this. The basics first, yes that'll work. I am a 17 year old girl living in Canada. My hobbies include reading, sports and knitting. I have a younger sister that's pretty chill as well as two cats that I adore. My favourite colour is blue, my favourite animal is the fox, my favourite food is mashed potatoes and my favourite word is implode.
You will most likely learn way more than you'll ever want to know know about me later on. It's in my best interest to keep you guys here for as long as possible before you get weirded out and run away screaming. Slash click away into a different tab but that sounds way less extreme. And we don't want not-extreme.

Oh yeah, warning, sometimes I will just type and it turns into nonsense and I don't stop myself because I haven't developed that kind of self-control yet.

Here's a picture of two fennec foxes stacked on top of each other to end this post and make your life: