Today

So I got out of school at 11, got home at 11:20, and then my friend and I headed off to the Prudential Center in search of a suit for her.

We got off at Copley, and I had misremembered the map so we headed off in the wrong direction and then turned around and went back.

Then we went through Copley Place and took the walkways to the Prudential. We went through a few stores, not really finding much in the price range we wanted. Then we ate Indian food and got chocolate and went to Loft and somehow ended up trying on a lot of clothes. One was one of those dresses that only looks good with a belt, which we didn't have, so it looked like a sack.

Her: I am a potato. Don't look at me, I'm a potato. In a sack. With cats on it.

Then we rushed through Barnes and Noble (this was the B&N of In Your Pants Nerdfighter Meetup infamy) and then rushed through Lord and Taylor, and then we passed through Teavana and got some delicious tea. We ended up boarding the T at 4:15 or so.

And then I noticed that someone from the Nerdfighter meetup was there.

Me: DFTBA?
Her: Yep.

And so we rode some more, and at Fenway my friend noticed that my girlfriend was just getting on the T. So we talked and laughed and stuff and then she got off at her stop. Oh, beautiful coincidences.

So, as days go, today was pretty awesome.

Nerdfighters, Nerdfighters everywhere

On Sunday, I went to a Nerdfighter gathering at the Prudential Center in Boston.

I arrived shortly after 2 with my ukulele, etc. and some Nerdfighters had already taken over one corner of the food court. They had already hijacked a lot of tables and made them into an L-shape. I helped more people (because more and more were arriving) make a little island in the middle of the L. We talked about fandoms and ages and things we'd done, tried to play Munchkin Space, tried to play Bang, and then I migrated to another corner. Then my girlfriend and her friends arrived and then we played a game with a beach ball covered with questions that somebody had ingeniously created. Then we took a group photo and thoroughly freaked out the rest of the food court by shouting, "DFTBA!"

Then we migrated to Barnes & Noble and played the "In Your Pants" game. If you're not familiar with it, it's the theory that if you add "In Your Pants" to any book title, it instantly becomes hilarious. Some of the best selections include:

That's the Way I Blow

Justin Bieber

Katy Perry

The Dust Bowl

Fire

World War II

The Casual Vacancy

You've Gotta Have Balls

and more, which I can't remember just now. We looked around for a while before finding "Must-Read Books by John Green."

Worship at the altar, worship at the altar.

And Harry Potter.

Worship at the altar, worship at the altar.

Then we went and looked at books and the rack of hand puppets which included a Hedwig-style snowy owl and a puffy hedgehog and a dog and a squirrel.

After the Barnes and Noble people were well and thoroughly freaked-out (and a lot of Nerdfighters had started to leave), we went and sat in a corner and played more beach ball question game. Then I had to leave, and everyone exchanged hugs.

I think it was one of the best days I've had lately. I've been told how lucky I am to have Nerdfighteria, and I really am. I think the whole world is lucky to have such a beautiful community. There are so many bad things in the world, so many people who say that we're only getting worse, that we're getting more and more apathetic. But then there's Nerdfighteria. And just as one lamp can light a room, Nerdfighteria gives hope where there might not be as much.

DFTBA!

Speeeech

This happened a week ago. But whatever.

I had a speech tournament. My first.

It was a novice tournament, so everyone there was doing it for the first time, but it was still stressful. The night before I was utterly hyperventilating. But whatever.

I got up at 5:50 on last Saturday. (Yeah. Crazy, I know.) I put on my skirt suit and my makeup, packed a bag, ate a small breakfast, and drank some coffee. I got to school at seven and bundled into a car with three other sleep-deprived competitors. The driver (a parent) had gotten us munchkins, which was nice.

After an hour-long drive, we arrived at Most Catholicly Named School Ever, aka Sacred Heart. We put our bags down in the cafeteria/gym place (I really didn't get it either), then found an empty room in which we could do voice and body warm-ups. After that we returned to the cafeteria and checked the postings for where we would be competing. Then came the nerve-wracking first round.

For a first-ever round, I think it went pretty well. Nerdfighteria was included in the speech I presented, and one of the judges was a Nerdfighter  - I saw her smiling at me the whole time and, as I found out later, she wrote DFTBA on my ballot!

I was still nervous, though, and I was pretty much shaking when I came back to my seat. It turns out I got my lowest ranking in that round - third out of six places - but that's not bad either.

The second round was far easier, but my stomach kept growling at odd intervals. I was so tired that I hadn't noticed how hungry I was, and ended up having to surreptitiously stuff sunflower seeds in my mouth between speakers. That was awkward. But my speech went fine, and I got ranked second!

Then it was lunch/critically review your performance in the first two rounds with your friends/critically review other people's performances in the first two rounds with your friends/re-apply makeup/freak out all over again time. *cue elevator music*

Anyway, then there was the third round, in which I was also ranked second, and then we had time to sit around and do nothing/take photos with other team members. And then we went to the auditorium, where there were seniors who had competed in NFL (that's National Forensic League) finals, and they presented their pieces. There was a girl who did declamation just amazingly, a spectacular duo interp of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, a phenomenal extemp person (where you're given like 30 minutes to prepare a speech and then you present it), and a hilarious humorous interp. It sort of made you think, "Why do I do this again?" but it was quite entertaining to watch.

Then there were awards for anyone who'd gotten first place, which I hadn't, and then we got our ballots, took a team picture, and went home. We were all simply exhausted, though I was vaguely hyper on the fact that two of the six people who had judged me were Nerdfighters.

People ask why I do speech, why I take the time to write and practice and wake up at 5:50 and give away my Saturdays. First, you get to talk all day, and people have to listen. Second, why does anyone do a sport or play music or make art? Because they like it, or because they want to get better at it. I love words. I love moving people with words. And that's what speech is all about.

IBIL

International Baroque Institute at Longy.

Explanations

1. My mom is a flutist.
2. My mom is a baroque flutist.
3. Baroque is "a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music." (Or so Wikipedia says. To my personal knowledge, Wiki is right.)
4. Longy is a school/conservatory of music in Cambridge, MA near Harvard. I have been around the school for as long as I can remember.
5. My mom teaches at Longy.
6. My mom is teaching at IBIL.
7. My brother and I went along with her to IBIL today.


We arrived near nine for the first class of the day - my mom was teaching flute, I attended the cello master class, and my brother went to the violin class. I didn't have my cello, since my teacher hasn't yet had the chance to return it to me after she kept it when we were in Israel, but that was okay, since it was a master class. I learned a lot about shifting, fingerings, and bowing - sometimes watching is the best way to learn. One of the cellists had a shirt that said "cello player fueled by chocolate." One of the cooler shirts I've seen. Also, one of the cellists memorized dates connected to composers and loved Harry Potter. How much better can you get?


Then they had coffee break until eleven, and my mom took me to the Conservatory's other building, where a Medieval/Baroque dance class was held. I managed to follow along well enough - the footwork isn't particularly difficult, even though some of it is exactly the opposite of ballet technique. Often it's more about the use of space and travelling around with your partner than the actual footwork, which is nice.


After that, we left the Conservatory for Border Café for lunch. I love that place - good food, and according to my mom it's fairly inexpensive. Also filling. Very filling. It's Mexican and southern-US-style food. In Harvard Square, if ever you come by there.


Then, after stopping by the newly reopened Bob Slate Stationer, we went home.

At IBIL, I found the same kind of intensity that you find at a summer dance program. It surprised me a little, since I always had a part of me that took music for granted - I've heard early music since before I was born. But I suppose that's the way it should be. I'd love to do this kind of thing for writing, as well.


This is exceedingly like a written version of a "Thoughts From Places" Vlogbrothers video.


Anyways.


DFTBA!

A Piece of Brilliance

So I was watching John Green's video about Book Expo and towards the end he said this:

"In our hyper-secular world, worship is still inevitable. But it's vital to remember that our gods don't choose us. We choose them."

~ John Green

And I think that is just amazingly true.  John Green is an amazing author. If you haven't read his books, I encourage you to do so.

DFTBA!