Catcher in the Rye is

kind of a funny story.

Homophobia and racism don't make you attractive.

Is anyone still confused?

I fell in love this week. What'd you do?

Yeah, Jay Pharaoh, obviously attractive. I kept thinking about how great it would be to have the last name "Pharaoh". "I'm Pharaoh", "Hey, I'm Pharaoh", "They call me Pharaoh". Imagine getting to fill out forms! If I'm having a bad day, I'll walk into a bank or hospital or something, fill out a form, and just watch people read my name. Yeah.

I had a slightly crooked thought that if I grew tired of him, he could just pretend to be someone else. Obama maybe?

Isn't everyone's grandma the best cook?

For serious though. This stew is OFF THE CHAIN. Allergic reactions be damned, this pork is good. My grandma could cook baby liver and it'd probably taste good. Sweet, sweet baby liver.

Adventures in Wonderland

My parents used to chide me about my friends, and I refused to listen. It's taken a long time, but I've finally realized that the people you hang out with really affect you.

In middle school my teacher called my parents in and told them how surprised she was that I was friends with this person and that person.

It's been a few years now. One got into ecstasy. Another got into cocaine. And another got into heroin. It's like Alice and her encounters with various colorful characters.

Adults can be wise.

Learning new languages

I'm going to learn Russian. I was passionate about languages, but over time I somehow became less passionate about life in general, and the things I loved became second to school. I remember being so dedicated to French and Spanish. I tried teaching myself French when I was younger, and I recently found a notebook with all my careful entries, and I couldn't believe I was once capable of being so thoroughly in love. I read everything I could, studied every night, and listened to French songs, comparing the lyrics to translations. I know it didn't just stop one day, but it feels like it did. As for Spanish, I grew sick of the busy work that is characteristic of the Stevenson World Languages department. I understand that any exposure to the language is part of the immersive learning experience, but the way these assignments are tossed aside, the meaninglessness of the crosswords and other insipid activities, have made me quite jaded. I took another language, Mandarin, at school, and with my combined experience, I can attest that the language department needs to be seriously reevaluated. Most of the things we do waste time on preparation rather than learning. Need I remind everyone of the glitchy language labs? I mean, we had to retake the freaking AP because the system failed so badly.

Point is, I'm going to do what I want to do, and I want to learn more languages. I know a few spare words in Russian because my entire neighborhood is Russian, but I'm light years away from being even remotely conversational. My knowledge of Russian is like the average English speaker's knowledge of foreign phrases that have been incorporated into the language like "je ne sais quoi", "joie de vivre", "jolie laide", and "taco".

Learning a new song

Getting into piano again. I always have bursts of love and hate for the piano. I tend to get enthusiastic about a song, and then slowly forget it until I can only play the beginning. I'm going to finish this one though.

My sister and I used to have a thing for Linkin Park (Pre Minutes to Midnight), and "Numb" makes me nostalgic. No matter how much hate Linkin Park gets now, you just can't deny that "Numb" was a great song. It's especially beautiful on the piano. TheKen's version is divine.

Here's the sheet music.