NaNoWriMo (or rather, the month Brittany decides to undergo massive amounts of stress and sleepless nights and consume far more caffeine than the average human body should legally contain)

"The most regretful people on earth
are those who felt the call to creative work,
who felt their own creative power restive and uprising,
and gave to it neither power nor time.”

                                                       -----Excerpt from Mary Oliver's essay "Of Power and Time"

Ever since graduation, I've found I no longer have an affinity for playing the piano, or writing, or drinking coffee, or eating sweet things, or reading... or doing much of anything I used to enjoy. Why? Well, it's a mixture of things, and this is a blog, not a diary. Sorry I'm not an angsty hormonal teenager people.

"But Brittany, aren't you technically writing right now?"

I've written a lot of blogposts, 60% of which you will never read because I deleted them into the netherworld of Oblivion. Also, I don't categorize blogging with writing, or at least the way I blog (because plenty of my friends have blogs, and their writing is far more focused and "writer worthy").

So... where am I going with this? Well, long story short I stumbled across this contest called "NaNoWriMo" (stands for National November Writing Month) and basically, during the entire month of November, I will be attempting to start and finish a novel.

Can I do it? Heck, I don't know. I already have a sort of story in my head, and if I don't manage to change my mind yet again in the next couple of days it's probably going to be fairly nonsensical (if my story doesn't contain dragons in some way, shape or form, so help me. I will punch myself in the neck). Honestly, I don't even know if it's going to be worthy enough to brag about when November comes to a close. At this point, because of how long it's been since I've managed to write anything, I'd rather have written a crappy 50,000 word story then have written nothing at all.

So what I want to tell you other "artists" or "writers of words" or "creators of crafts", if you haven't created anything for a good long while, and are legitimately bothered by this fact day in and day out, do something about it. You're the only one preventing yourself from doing what you love to do. Sometimes words flow through your mind like electrical currents, and other times it's more like an electrical shortage. Figure out what helps words flow better, like listening to music, or napping. Naps are a big help. Especially when you feel you can't write anything and want to sob into the night.

Do what you love people, you other awesome creators you.

[Also, I'd like to thank my friend Bethany Fonda for sharing that quote from Mary Oliver with me when I saw her during homecoming weekend at Houghton College. Thanks lady dude! For you people who don't know, she's a pretty cool person who writes music and stuff, and you should totally check out her website by clicking here.]

What I'm doing Fall 2013

When I was young, I would always make believe my bed (sometimes even the couch) was a giant boat about to sail off somewhere far away. The thing is, I had more fun packing my things in my purple caboodle, pretending I had less material wealth, than I did pretending I was sailing out into the world.

There's a part of me that always enjoys packing up my things and leaving somewhere. Granted, when I studied abroad in China it was somewhat of a pain only because I wasn't sure what to expect/pack... but there was something satisfying about traveling to the opposite ends of the earth with only the things on my back.

All this is to say, I wish I was traveling to some distant land - seeing new faces, experiencing new smells, eating food I would never find at home (milk tea how I miss you T_T), missing home for stupid reasons like sitting on the couch watching trash television like America's Next Top Model... you get the picture.

Am I ready to leave? Yes. I will always have this desire to leave home for some strange new environment. Not because I hate home, but because I want to expand how I view the world by expanding my world from just boring old Flemington to something so much bigger.

Am I going back to China? No. Probably not for a while. I haven't found an overseas program yet that seems to fit, so for now I'll just wait it out.

But what I'm really trying to get at here is another opportunity I came upon. It all happened when I started reading Shane Claiborne's "Irrisistable Revolution" (which if you haven't read, you should), and I went on his website to see if there were programs or something he gave the thumbs up on. The Simple Way was one group (located out in Philly) but they said if younger people were looking to sign up, they should probably check out Mission Year.

It's so peculiar, because I applied to a lot of different programs beginning from last semester senior year throughout summer. I never thought it would be so difficult just to do work with Americorps, or a similar program. But it was. And it was discouraging. Very discouraging. But when I was at my lowest point of the summer, that's when I found Mission Year, and realized how very much I wanted to sign up for it.

Anyways, in case you are wondering yes, I just found out last week that starting in Fall 2013 I will be working (if you can call it that, because I'm being funded for this, and "freeloading" carries a rather negative connotation) with Mission Year! I'm not sure about what city, but at this point I could really care less. I'm just truly thankful. For so much.

I wish I could tell you more, but for now I think it's best to wait until I have all the facts and THEN give you all the details. Consider this a sort of prologue? Maybe? That's weird. Don't call it that. Please. For my sake. Even though I told you to call it that and have all authority to go back and delete what I just wrote. Whatever man. You're the one still reading this.

Before I end this post, I think now would be a good time to mention two of my Houghton friends who will be going overseas in the near future and doing super cool things like saving the world and all that jazz. If you can, you should totally fund/pray for them! Every dollar counts. And even if you don't have money, prayer is just as helpful, if not more so.

First, there's Emily Rinehart who graduated a year before I did, and dang we had a lot of homework parties. A lot. And believe me, they were more like stress parties, or "Let's-see-what-weird-unnecessary-thing-we-can-make-off-of-stumbleupon" parties, or "Hey,-three-in-the-morning-is-always-a-good-time-to-start-playing-mario-kart" parties. She's working with One Mission Society,  and you should totally check out her blog and ways you can help her out by clicking here.

Then there's my other friend Chelsea Ellis, who I actually lived with in the same townhouse Junior and Senior year. Technically we were roommates during Mayterm in 2010... but on paper I had a single. (Ha. Whatever Houghton.) She's pretty crazy and awesome (mostly because one night, during a crazy all nighter stress party session at Emily's, I came back to my townhouse at four in the morning to find Chelsea strapping on roller blades. I mean, what else would you do at that hour). She's going to start traveling with the World Race this coming January, traveling to 11 countries in 11 months - so please check out her blog by clicking here. She also has an etsy account to help raise money by selling various kinds of jewelry which you can check out by clicking here.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll be sure to update you about what's to come (and I'm sorry for this long post. It's annoying me there aren't more pictures, but the pictures I wanted to add weren't co-operating... so blame it on blogspot. Not me.) so for now I'll leave you with this:

You're welcome.

The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

Remember that blogpost where I was ranting about how the future may be uncertain, but at least I'd be living with my friends?

Well, forget that.

Forget all of it.

You see, I still don't have enough money to live on my own. And although I tried desperately to find a job in Rochester, people either didn't get back to me, or told me they'd "call back". Right. So basically, I'm not living with my friends - I'm living at home for however long it takes for life to rewire itself.

What I'm trying to get at is, I'm not sure when my next blog post will be. Like I said, my life's at a weird moment right now, and my head's nowhere near a "blogging" mentality. My room's still a mess since I got back from college, and it doesn't help that - due to the largeness of my room- it has become a storage unit for my family. I'm also still in the process of finding a second job in NJ... and in an effort to have some sort of social life I've tried applying to various volunteer opportunities in my community... only to never hear back from people ever again. Which is nice. Whatever.

So until next time. Have fun with your life and stuffs people.

Origins of a Muse Fan

Alright, before I delve ANY further into my story, I need to get something off my chest.

I'm fairly certain allergy pills give me bizarre dreams.

For example, a few nights ago I dreamt I was Katniss Everdeen trying to lead a rebellion, but no one knew what I looked like. Before I could escape, the city I was in forced everyone onto a boat (why? I am the wrong person to ask). In order to hide my identity and leave at an appropriate moment, I allowed myself to be captured and herded with the others. Since I was captured willingly, I wasn't imprisoned like the others. Finally, as the time arose for me to make my escape, I realized first I had to find Batman (I mean, I'm pretty sure I would so this in real life so no surprise there). Then of course, when I went to the room where all the prisoners were sleeping, everyone happened to be dressed either as Spiderman or Batman - so it took me a while to find the real one. He wanted to keep his costume on because if people found out Bruce Wayne was on the boat, people would figure out his identity.

I can't remember if we made if off the boat, but I do remember packing earplugs in my Totoro backpack of escapedness.

Anyways.

With the release date of Muse's The 2nd Law looming ever nearer (It's based on the second law of thermodynamics. Click here to read up on it), and since I just pre-ordered their CD and received a free video download of their newest song Unsustainable (which might I add is splitting fans left and right. I didn't realize how many people hated change. Personally, I respect people's taste in music, but if you don't like it you don't have to listen to it people. It also happened when Muse released their song Survival- but what makes me love Muse even more is how they LIKE how they've stirred up such a commotion.) I figured now was an appropriate time for me to tell the tale in which I discovered Muse in quite an unorthodox manner.

Also, might I add that if this album makes enough people hate them, maybe they'll start performing at smaller venues. Haters gonna hate.

Alright. Enough nonsensicalness.

If you didn't already know, I am an introvert. College helped me come out of my shell, but before Houghton came into my life I honestly didn't have very many friends and was a bit of a loner. It didn't help that my highschool was massive (3,600 students),  and I didn't really know how to make new friends.

This meant I spent a lot of time playing videogames (Tales of Symphonia took up so much of my time. When I first got that game, I didn't bathe for 5 days straight. My dad threatened to hose me down. This of course was during Christmas break, so I never went to school like that. Cause that'd be gross.) as well as a majority of my time perusing the internet. I started reading manga online and watching various anime shows (I think a part of me still believes some asians are secretly super heroes in disguise), and one of these shows I watched and fell in love with was Last Exile. If you've never heard of it/watched it, please do so now. It's got airships people. Airships.

After I finished Last Exile, I felt like I had lost a friend. I didn't know what to do with myself. As any sane fan would do, I turned to watching AMV's (anime music videos. Don't judge me, because believe me I have judged my self countless numbers of times). Some AMV's were terribly made (I don't understand why so many people feel the need to synchronize anime clips with Linkin' Park).

Eventually I stumbled onto one video title "Malevolent Skies", and I enjoyed it immensely , mostly because I loved the song the creator used. It was Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome", and soon after I began listening to their music on YouTube... and the rest is history I guess.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, yes. Muse DID play at the closing ceremonies. However, NBC decided to hack them out of it, as well as some other performances. Believe me. I was/am outraged by this. What's even more unnerving is they were cut when the song they played, "Survival", was chosen as the theme of the London 2012 Olympics! Muse could fill up a stadium twice the size of the Olympics stadium if they wanted to. Judging by the clips I've managed to watch on YouTube before they were deleted for copyright infringement (which is understandable. I'm just outraged that NBC felt the need to censor something that was pre-recorded), their performance was awesome (My comment on the first video uploaded to YouTube, "NBC. Never have I held so much hatred within the depths of my soul. Until now." was actually the top comment with 17 likes before it was deleted into the abyss. So that was kind of nice knowing how many other homo sapiens were also harboring immense hatred within the depths of their hearts. Maybe I should start a group on Facebook).

Yes. Their performance had fire. But what do you expect? It's friggin' MUSE, of COURSE
there's going to be flames shooting out of the stage.

A 22-Year-Old's Zombie Survival Guide

There was a Walking Dead marathon this past weekend (during which a sweepstakes was held in which one could win a stagger on role as a zombie. Fingers crossed people.), and between commercial breaks they asked questions concerning zombies...

...which in turn inspired the following blog post which concerns REAL issues that could potentially/realistically occur.

So read on, and I apologize for my sudden obsession with zombies. I'm not even kidding.

It's just good to be mentally prepared, you know?

Ideal Base
If I had all options open to me, I'd want to live in a solar powered airship with a garden on board.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll find myself in a Final Fantasy universe or a movie from the mind of Miyazaki... so I'd have to say a lighthouse. It's a lookout tower, plus you could easily pick off the zombies as they come up the stairs. Lighthouses are also fairly difficult to climb, so they'd probably give up halfway. Also, its location makes it a prime candidate for feasibly escaping to the sea.

Weapon(s) of Choice
Ideally, the portal gun from the game Portal would be most excellent.

You could transport yourself, a friend, or a zombie to a different location. However, the portal gun isn't going to kill zombies (also, if we're going to be real here, it needs moon rock in order to function properly). That being said, I'd want the weapon Lightening uses in Final Fantasy XIII: the Blazefire Saber. It's useful for long range and short range because it's a sword and a gun in one. What is there not to like?!

Realistically though? I'd probably carry a sword, like a katana or something. It's quiet, so it won't attract other zombies. Plus, since it's bound to cut through more surface area than an axe you could theoretically hack through several zombie limbs at once. Although I'd also want to stock up on flares and grenades - anything to distract zombies from my location.

Soundtrack
Let's face it, who wouldn't want to listen to some kind of playlist while slaughtering zombies? It's akin to listening to a workout playlist... except instead of annihilating the stairmaster you're annihilating what used to be human beings... but pffft minor details people.

Muse - Survival 
It's an entire song about fighting, and surviving. Muse telling me to survive is all I need to keep me going.

Super Junior - Sexy, Free, and Single
Technically, the song's about freedom (of zombies - in my head at least, I haven't read the translation yet)... and I mean I've been single for the past 22 years of my life and I doubt a zombie apocalypse is going to change anything. I'll embrace my singleness fully when the world falls apart.

That's all I really have for now. I swear this section's sole purpose wasn't to promote a new song by two groups I happen to like. Pffft. I would never do that. Ha.

Team
Personally, I think five is a good number. It's not too small or too large, and you can easily fit in a car if need be. If characters from all realms/realities of fiction were at my disposal, my team of awesome-osity would be as follows:

Isaac Clark from Dead Space

I mean, the guy took on two games worth of necromorphs (with a third game on the way), and those things are far worse than zombies. Not only are they re-animated bodies, but they're re-animated bodies with extra limbs, acid, and horrible regenerative powers making it nigh-impossible to survive. Isaac is also a dependable human being, and wouldn't pull a Shane on me.

Toph Bei Fong from Avatar: The Last Airbender

How is she not an asset?!
1. She's an earthbender, meaning she can manipulate earth.
2. In Season 2 Episode 19, Toph learns how to bend metal.
3. By sensing vibrations in the ground, Toph can determine if enemies are nearby.
4. Using all the above abilities, she could create a base/fight off zombies/save the world.

(Granted, it would be much simpler if I were also an earth bender... but my time will come. Maybe.)

Lightening from Final Fantasy XIII

Lightening's my favorite protagonist out of all the Final Fantasy games I've played, and she knows how to kick serious butt. I would have chosen Cloud, but that guy's too emo, and I honestly don't know what a zombie outbreak would do to him mentally/emotionally.

The Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who

Let's be real here - if the Doctor were here, he'd figure out a way to revert the zombie outbreak.
Not only that, the dude's smart. He'd be the brains of our group/the Timelord who saves planet Earth yet again.

Unfortunately, it's highly unlikely that the zombie outbreak will occur within the recesses of my brain.

That being said, I'd probably want to stick with whatever family members were left, try to team up with various friends from Houghton, and you know if Muse happens to be around why not have them join my party? Specifically (I really hope this doesn't creep the following person out, if he's reading this), I'd want Cameron Thibault to be part of my central group. That kid can forage (A skill many people, including myself lack. The kid knows how to cook dandelions, people. Dandelions.), and he was part of my Highlander group before college (for those who don't know, Highlander is a 10 day hiking trip you can take as a freshman/transfer in the Adirondacks before classes start). Our group called him Chuck Norris - for good reason.


Sooo I'll end my blogpost with this: Cameron, if you're reading this, and a zombie outbreak happens, call/text/Facebook message/smoke signal me. Chelsea Ellis can also be part of our group if that would make you happy. Although the two of you recently divorced on Facebook, so that may or may not strain you emotionally.

To everyone else, pick your outfits carefully. Think to yourself, would I wear this during a zombie attack? Or even, do I feel comfortable not changing/bathing for the next couple of days in this? Keep a pack nearby, so you can stuff clothes in it if need be. Going to the supermarket? Bring an emergency backpack, and some zombie survival gear. Just in case.

Always be prepared people.

Always.

The Tale of Olean Girl

The following story occurred during my freshman year. I believe the girl's real name might have been Emily, but honestly I'm not sure. I think she transferred sometime during my sophomore year. At least, that's the last time me and my current roommate at the time Rachel creeped on her from the cafeteria.

Regardless.

Now the thing you need to know before I delve any further into this story, is that Houghton College is in the middle of nowhere. The nearest anything is 45 minutes away. It is a land of dollar generals and small family owned restaurants

In case you needed an illustration, the green dot is Houghton. The yellow dots are the nearest Walmarts.
The horizontal line is PA, and Canada is creeping in the top left corner.

It was sometime in the evening, and I got a call from my friend Lindsey about how her eye was bothering her, and she really needed to see a doctor. We went to the front desk of Gillette to ask if there was a nurse on campus. Since it was after 5 the health office was closed so we would have to drive all the way to the ER in Olean Hospital (40 minutes away). Since Lindsey couldn't see, I told her to wait in Gillette Lounge while I went to go get my car in the Fire Hall.

What is the Fire Hall you ask? Just a convenient parking lot which required one to trek for miles down the Winding Hill, past the Nerdy Boy's Dorm, over the Bridge of a Thousand Deaths, through the Mines of Moria, and cross the road of turmoil to reach it.

So there I was, looking both ways before I crossed the road, when I noticed there was a girl on the other side of the cross walk who apparently had just dropped her car off. When it was safe to cross, I began to walk, and we were just about to pass each other, when she called out to me.

Girl: "Are you going to Olean?"
(Please keep in mind the darkness- and the fact that there was no one else around. No one. Except maybe a cow a few fields away or something.)
Me (with a confused face): "Yes... why?"
Girl: "Well my phone recently broke and I really need a new one and I really need to go to Verizon."
Me (still confused): "Well, I have to take my friend to the ER-"
Girl (acting like this was a life or death situation): "It's ok! I can just drive with you and walk to the Verizon store myself! I won't be a hindrance at all!"
Me (wondering if she even heard me mention the ER at all in my previous response): "I don't really know, because my friend really needs to go to the ER and I don't know how long it will take or where Verizon is."
Girl (apparently oblivious to everyone's problems except her own): "That's alright! I don't care! I just really need a phone!"

After much back and forth chatter in which I tried not to outright say no because I thought it was obvious that, since my friend had to be taken to the ER all other problems were sort of insignificant at the moment... but this didn't seem to faze her and she essentially demanded I take her to Verizon. So I told her I was going to be driving my car back up to Gillette to pick my friend up, and to meet us there asap.

Then I did what any sane person would do. I made haste back to Gillette, found Lindsey, and told her we needed to get into my car as fast as possible. I then went up to the desk proctor, described this girl to her, and told her that if this girl showed up to let her know I really needed to get my friend to the ER and had to leave.

Lindsey and I left Gillette, got into my car, and I was just buckling myself in and turning on my lights... when I saw her enter the lounge, look at the desk proctor, and look out the window where my car was...

and I got the crap out of there.

Because there were a few things that occurred to me. The reason she was in the Fire Hall, wasn't because she was dropping off her car... she was looking for me, and knew where to look. Granted, the desk proctor probably told her someone was going to Olean, but I would rather believe she was lurking in the ceiling above our heads listening into our conversation.

Also, when someone puts the needs of a phone above the needs of a future ER patient, is that really the kind of stranger you want to welcome into your car? She would of had the perfect vantage point to murder us, or worse.

So the moral of the story is, if some strange girl you've never met before is demanding you take her to Verizon when you need to take your friend to the ER... just run. Run as far as you can, and don't ever look back.

Update! Blog name change!

After some thought... I've come to the decision that the name of my blog needs to change.

Last year, I created this blog figuring it was an easier way of recounting my travels in China with family and friends. I chose the name "Chasing Starlights" because it's based off of a Muse song, "Starlight", and I thought it sort of had a "traveling-esque" feel to it (also I'm obsessed with Muse, but minor details).

However, I've recently realized that every other person in the world also thought that naming their blog "Chasing Starlights" wouldn't be cliched at all.

Therefore, to avoid competing with the blogs of hormonal teenagers across the world... I've decided I'm changing the name of mine to "Delineations of a Dork".

I'll have an actual blog post soon. It's sort of hard to blog when, well, there's nothing to blog about. I've spent my entire week watching shows like "Bridezillas" and "My Fair Wedding with David Tutera". Nothing life changing there.