Friday, March 18, 2011

In The Mood – Glenn Miller



So I actually took the time to chillax, ignoring the threat of impending homework, a stressed out mind, and a worn out body.

Somehow it’s much easier if you have the right music.

I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head for the past two days and I know why.

Yesterday, my roomie and I went to stay the night at her friend’s house. We played Clue and let “The Doctor Dances” play on the TV in the background. We watched Doctor Who and Sherlock, played games, and ate donuts; some with sprinkles, some without (random side note of which only Christy, Jackie, and I will ever know the true meaning behind... or we say we do).

Today, we went shopping. Before I even begin telling you about how much I dislike shopping, I made it out with sewing supplies and fabric. Period. My work with this paragraph is done.

We then went to this concert. It was a university band playing at a local high school.

So at this concert, I’m peacefully listening to the band play “Hymn to the Eternal Sky” by Satoshi Yagisawa. I start thinking, “This would make an epic title sequence in ISC” then I proceed to imagine said sequence. I had all the characters and entrances (riding over the plains, soaring the skies, over cliffs, etc.) when all of a sudden; Christy turns to me and says it reminds her of Aladdin. Appalled, I tell her what I was picturing, to which she then replies that the song would make a good theme song for me.

Apparently, the image of this song blasting through an iPod as I enter the room is some kind of scene of awesomeness or something. *shrugs* No clue. That’s what I got from her statement.

I'll try and explain what I imagined, but it might be a bit difficult. (I see things in pictures, bear with me :P )

Best thing to do is play this song and try your best to picture it along with the music, then again, if you haven't read ISC ... follow the link.


Be warned, this is more focused toward the coauthors.



Blue sky, a few birds flitter here and there, green fields. You see Hanna standing outside in the tall grass, the wind blowing in her hair, (surprisingly enough) a smile on her face. Back to blue sky. (this might kill you, but she’s actually wearing a smile the whole time)
The words “Ice Sword Chronicles” appear on the screen in fancy ice blue lettering.
Scene switch to Hanna looking into a barn and there’s Lui with the horses, not a care in the world (as usual). He crouches to pet a puppy (awww). And Hanna’s still there, leaning against the doorframe watching him (*cough* stalker *cough*). He looks up and sees her and he gives her his usual grin. He walks to her, takes her hand, then dashes off (into the sunse-er wrong ending). They run through the fields and toward a cliff. They jump off, Hanna grabs Lui’s other hand, and they go flying (Hanna still holding onto Lui’s hands of course). They fly upward and into the sky and clouds. They lower enough to see DJ riding a horse across the fields and they fly over him (not directly over him, just to the side, but still high enough so, oh never mind). DJ stops his horse and looks up at them ( prolly a smile or wave... or both). They keep flying and see Misty standing near a stream. She looks up at them and her falcon takes off to fly with them for a bit. They spot Christina and Hairam in some town (particularly in the shopping district). Hanna lowers close enough to the ground to drop off Lui before landing on her feet herself a few feet away. The characters all meet up in the town and approach/walk up the steps of a grand castle. They bow before some queen or something then stand up and turn to the crowd. Camera zooms out and that’s where Christy messed with my concentration. I totally lost it after that.

Title sequence. Beginning, ending, sequel, I don't know. From the looks of it, I'd guess end of ISC in Thorae. *shrugs*

While Christy's thinking of theme songs, I’ll still be picturing my ISC scene and trying to figure it out. :P


Yeah... chillaxing... chillaxing is good

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Viva la Vida - Coldplay





Several people come to mind when I hear this song.

The first person who comes to mind is EDJ, especially with the more “recent” (recent being a VERY relative term here, mind you :P ) revelations and deleted scenes in ISC. EDJ was immortal. He had it all at one point, but it meant nothing to him. He would give it up in a heartbeat to be normal again. Think Barbossa ;)

Along that same vein, Shard also comes to mind. Most of the coauthors would get this more than the readers probably, simply because they know how power-hungry she is. She wishes she had it all. She would stop at nothing to rule not only this world, but all the other worlds as well. Think Queen of Hearts

The third person that comes to mind is The Master from Doctor Who. He got Earth. Lot of good that did him, he was still tormented.

Anyway, it’s good to just take a step back from whatever is going on in your life. Take a breath, look at things from a different perspective, stop and think.

This week is Spring Break for me. I know a lot of people who needed this break more than I, but I think all the students at school needed it for some reason or another. I needed some time to just stop and reevaluate how I’ve been handling this semester. I’ve unloaded my stress on others, I haven’t been keeping up with my workload, and I’ve spent more time “socializing” than I have anything else (as hard as THAT is to believe, I apparently do have a social life).

Last semester I was on top of the world. Granted I was ready to go home for Christmas Break, I finished the semester strong. I had good grades and was proud of the effort I put into my work. It was hard that semester, being the first one away from home and all. I also made a lot of new friends, meaning there were very few I knew and trusted enough to talk to about issues that bothered me.

This semester, I slacked off. I’m more comfortable in my environment. People talk to me about things that bother them and I, in turn, talk to them. I’m still getting used to the idea that people actually are interested in getting to know me as a person and not just label me as a foreigner. I’m taking on about the same amount of work as last semester, but putting in only half the effort. Ever so slowly, what little I have built up is already starting to crumble. I needed to take a break from people, deadlines, and various loud and obnoxious activities *mutters* something involving “music.” *ahem*

I needed to step outside my snow globe and get things straightened out before I could proceed.

So, I let my roommate kidnap me and take me to Wisconsin.

She was nice enough to let me pack in a time span of 10 minutes.

I’m grateful for the cold weather. Cold weather seems to help me think better anyway.
I got time to sleep in and we spent time at a park, lake, cheese factory, and concert. We even made cupcakes.
I took the time to write a 52-line poem for a poetry contest back at school. I might post it later.

I got bad news from my family before break (one of my grandfathers had passed away) then I got really good news from my family while I was on break (my brother was baptized).

I found out what I had been making in my classes and what I could do over the break to start improving it.

Every now and then, you just have to take a time out from life and rethink where you’re going and what you’re doing with the time you’ve been given.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Savin’ Me – Nickelback




Wow, long time no see…er…hear…read… something along those lines.

Life has an uncanny knack of sucking the life out of me at times.

Some days I find myself thinking, “Bring it on! I can handle anything you throw at me! Nothing can deter me from accomplishing what I set out to do.”

Then there are the days where I find myself whispering, “Save me. Please. I can’t keep this up.”

One thing I find myself wishing for recently is a pair of wings. Yes, wings. Like Hanna’s wings. Exactly like Hanna’s wings. See, they supposedly give you this awesome ability of unaided human flight. With wings, one can soar the skies, explore the mountains, and sail upon the clouds. They can give you speed and perspective. With wings, you don’t have to worry about falling. You’ll always be able to stop yourself from ever hitting the ground. With wings, you can escape dangerous situations. You can fly away from toils and heartache for a time.

On second thought, wings might not be such a great idea. With unlimited power and freedom, what’s to keep you from pride? Without fear of failure and defeat, how do you experience true perseverance and success? With such an easy escape route, what is there to teach you responsibility and dependence?

With wings, why would you need God?

*sigh* Yes, it’s been that kind of week. Granted there were some very enjoyable times throughout the week, though more often than not they get pushed to the backburner when you’re sleep deprived.

I really felt like writing something though. Every now and then you have to just take a few minutes and forget about the demands of life. Whether that is through video games, books, friends, writing, or sleeping is your choice. Well, I guess sleeping doesn’t really count because we have to do that out of necessity anyway and we can’t really say we enjoy it because we’re asleep. Unless you take a nap and have some kind of epic dream and remember it or something.

Off topic.

I know a lot of people who have had it pretty rough over the past couple weeks, this last week especially. Discouragement, just as encouragement, can spread like wildfire. It takes strong people to, not only stand against oncoming discouragement, but to turn that around and spread encouragement to those in need as well. One part of a sermon I once heard made the point that agape love is loving someone because they need it. Everyone needs to be loved and encouraged. Because we are fallible humans, it seems easier to encourage some people more than others. With some people, it’s just so much easier to ignore them than to try and say something nice to them, more so because of their own actions and attitudes than yours. They still need someone to love them, someone to help them out, especially when no one else will. That was the point of the sermon anyway.

The great thing about being a listening ear is that if you can’t find any way to help someone, at the very least, you’re there to listen. They know you’re there for them, sometimes that’s all it takes.
I came here to study for a degree, but maybe… It isn’t about the four years of studying for a degree… maybe it’s about the moments in between those years helping those you care about.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

God put us when and where we are for a reason. We are what and who we are because of how we got here. God has always been there for us, whether we accepted His help or not. He is still there for us. We cannot even begin to comprehend what God has planned for us if we will accept His help.
Psalm 73; John 14:27; Phil. 4:6, 7; Jer. 1:5

Yeah, sleep deprivation gets me on a multitude of varying tangents.

On a lighter note, I stopped to think about the practicality of some of the epic battles I’ve had a hand in writing. I came to the conclusion that what Hanna lacks in common sense, she makes up for in agility.

I keep getting this longing to write again. Not school writing, hobby writing. Fun writing. Ice Sword Chronicles, Irish Rose, and Look Through My Eyes are in dire need of their author/coauthors. I really want to get back to writing with my coauthors. Maybe we’ll go on a massive writing spree over the summer and be punching out three parts a day again (not that we were really writing that much to begin with, but it felt like it). Maybe, maybe not. One can dream. For the moment, ISC stays where it is. Which may be a good thing, because one cannot rush random awesomeness without severe repercussions.

Ok, I’m calling it a night.