Baltimore, MD – Day 5

Besides that lame ass comment from Anonymous who thinks I’m some bubbly idiot (great, I feel like I’m being stalked) and the frustrating email about Art I being full, my day was okay-ish. :)

Back in Baltimore, we visited Centennial HS, which is where my parents want me to go. I don’t really like it that much, prolly because I just don’t want to transfer. It’s all one floor and is really spread out, in the suburbs. But the ‘burbs in MD is a lot different because there are lots of hills and trees and very big houses. I keep telling them that if we ever have to move, I’m going to Choate Rosemary Hall. I don’t think that they think I’m serious, but I am. Eitherway, I’ll have to give up a lot, so I’d rather be in a good boarding school somewhere in CT than to live in the suburbs (something I would never want to do) and limit myself because the school itself doesn’t offer as much (compared to Choate and WY). Since my mom is indecisive, switching back and forth from moving to MD and staying here, I’m going to test for Choate anyway, and if I do get in with a scholarship and/or (are you allowed to have both?) financial aid, I’m going. For sure.

I think I’m going to limit the more personal info I’m putting in here. I didn’t think that my blog could be found so easily. Or I’m being stalked. Anyways, I’m gonna stop talking, since I’m afraid that Anonymous is stalking me and if I don’t get my details correct, then he/she is going to be a smart-aleck with me. –sigh- People these days. No manners at all.

I’m doing Days 3&4 later.

Smithfield, VA and Yorktown, VA - Days 3&4

Day 3

We woke up and ate breakfast and left for Smithfield & Isle of Wights. We drove on Richmond Rd (where the hotel was on) to Jamestown Rd, where we drove to the end of it where Jamestown Scotland Ferry to Surry County was at. Fifteen minutes, very cool. B) This is bucket-list worthy, I think. The ferry was really part of Route 10, and we continued driving on it on land. There weren’t any streetlights (not that we needed any ATM); very rural and countryside-ish. There were plenty of what looked like “haunted houses”, battered and seemingly empty. Sadly, we were driving too fast and so I couldn’t take any pictures.

About an hour later, we arrived. There wasn’t much—just very old houses, a museum about Smithfield’s history, and a British telephone booth. (Maybe I’m just too paranoid…but that wasn’t all, fyi. Ahem.) [insert picture here.] One of the interesting things about Smithfield, I think, was that it's (apparently) internationally famous for their hams, and produce(d) good peanuts (something like that). And it being such a small town, it has a museum about itself, and surprisingly, they have tourists coming, like us. Our excuse was that it was a place to stop at after riding the ferry, and also on our way to Virginia Beach. But forget it, since I don’t know what my point is. Anyways, for lunch, we ate at Smithfield’s Gourmet Bakery and tasted their, so they say, famous ham. On our way out of town, we stopped at St. Luke’s church, because it’s an old gothic church (the only) still standing since the 1600’s.

(There are lots of streams and river and bays and lakes in the East, which means lots of veryvery longlong bridges.)

We passed through Portsmouth and its downtown, where there was a veryvery longlong tunnel. On to Virginia Beach!
It was very hot, but the water felt really good. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my swimsuit. I had to settle for just soaking my feet and shins in the water. WHEE. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. There were a couple guys that were trying to surf (keyword: TRYING) all while trying to hit on “hot girls” at the same time. On the way back to the car, one of them was at the water fountain (one where you can rinse off the sand off your legs and whatnot) with a bunch of girls. He was very cocky and, I guess, they would say, humorful. I was figuring out how to work the fountain and he joked with me. (It doesn’t sound right, but it’s when people tell you that you broke something when you can’t figure out how to work it, because they’re just messing with you.) The girls laughed. He asked me where I was from, and I said Chicago. The girls shut up. (HA!) “You like it there?” “Yeah.” “Better than this shithole, huh?” –shrugs- And as I was walking away, I couldn’t really hear what he was saying, but it sounded like he was making fun of the way I said Chicago and the girls were laughing. Screw him, because I don’t like his accent either. Yeesh.

Understand that in between the hotel, Smithfield, and VA Beach, we drove for about an hour and a half. So by the time we were done with VA Beach, it was time for dinner. We tried looking for a good seafood buffet, (everywhere we go, we look for a visitor center :D ) through all the visitor guides and dining guides and maps and coupon books and ads and whatnot. I found Yukai, which was a seafood buffet and a sushi buffet. (which I thought was nice, since the last time I ate all-you-can-eat sushi, Japanese-style, was in Japan. –teartear- memories.) But it was a typical Chinese-owned buffet that you see in Chicago often, so we went to eat at Captain George’s another seafood buffet right next door. We ate lots, and I was really full.

Heading for the hotel, we drove a different route from Smithfield (the shortest route). We passed through downtown Portsmouth and its really long tunnel, passed through another longlong tunnel, before driving onto a very longlong bridge.

Day 4

We woke up early, ate breakfast, then checked out. We headed to Yorktown Battlefield, the last in the Historic Triangle. But it was too early, so we went exploring through the fields. At some point, my parents thought I disappeared, since the trenches the soldiers dug ended pretty high, so they couldn’t see me. When the visitor center opened, we went in and watched a video and browsed through their exhibit. Since we’d already walked through the fields, we decided to take an driving tour around the whole battlefield. We saw the siege walls, trenches, encampments, etc. I can’t offer any other details, since, really, it was just an empty field. (At this point Anonymous would say, What were you expecting? Preserved tents and dead bodies?)

We saw a family of deer. :D The male was pretty young, since he barely had horns.

Lunch: ate in the car, before going home.

It was a stormy day with scattered T-storms, so when Dad was driving on the very left lane on the highway, we drove under a huge raincloud. Before the rain, the wind was really strong. We driving at about 70mph and the car was starting to swerve in its lane. It’s a Western car (Chrysler), so its heavier. If we’d driven a Toyota or something, then I dunno what would’ve happened (Asian cars are lighter to save gas). The windshield wipers were going very fast (the fastest) but the rain was pouring so heavily and fast that it was louder than mom talking in the backseat. It was like driving under a small waterfall. We couldn’t see anything in front of us but rain and grayish-ness, from the sky, the mist from the car tires, and the heavy rain on the road. The cars all had headlights turned on, but in the rain it was still so hard to see. Our car and many others started turning on the double-parking lights, so that the repeated flashing made it easier to see. It was easier to drive in our lane, since we could follow the yellow line on the left. We were all panicking, and (almost) everybody had dropped down to about 45-55 mph. Some people stopped on the side to wait for the rain to stop. It was really scary, and lasted for about 10 minutes, I think (since it felt longer, like 30 for me).

Instead of home, we went to H-Mart to buy groceries, and ended up eating dinner there. We ordered Korean dishes (I dunno the names, but I wished I wrote them down) but the one my dad ordered was really good. Prime ribs with veggies and rice on hot stone pot. P:

Home, and outside the car, I get seven mosquito bites in one minute. I also had a headache for about the entire day, so as soon as I layed down, I passd out.

 

Excited for NaNoWriMo and the double ARC giveaway. |D
Music: ROBYN. Dancehall Queen, yo.

Baltimore, MD and Williamsburg, VA – Days 1&2

Day 1

So we got off at BWI (airport) from Columbus, OH, and it was awful. I felt like I was gonna puke. The pilot wasn’t as good as the first one, I guess, and also because I don’t think that after four years of not being on an airplane, two a day was not a good idea. But after going to the baggage claim and getting our bag, I sat down and felt a little better. My dad soon picked us up with a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Haha, I’ve never really ridden in a Western car before (except when carpooling). And, I gets to ride shotgun. |D On our way to my dad’s house I saw M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Ravens, I think.

Over at my dad’s house, we got settled in, and then went shopping at H-Mart (in Chicago too), Asia Market, and Wal-Mart for stuff we’d need for our trip. I got a good look at Baltimore, and apparently, some weird mayor wanted Baltimore to be a city of townhouses. So pretty much all the houses are connected together and reallyreally squeezed together. Their all really narrow. And old. At some parts of the city there are foreclosed and really rundown townhouses. :(

For dinner we had lettuce, noodles, kimchi, sauced meat, and nato. :)

Day 2

Couldn’t sleep on the first night, as always. But the East is humid-hot. We headed toward to Williamsburg, VA, which took about 3-4 hours. We packed lots of goodies, since we’d be staying there for 3 days and 2 nights.  There were lots of really weird road names like Good Luck Rd. and Paint Branch Pkwy. Closer to the destination I saw Opitz Rd., Dumfries Manassas, and Prince William Pkwy. (he also has a forest park named after him). The East also has lotsandlots of trees. Stick-straight and really tall, ones that I’ve never seen in Chicago. At some point (not sure, but prolly Annapolis) on the highway, I saw the obelisk Freedom monument or whatever it was again, and I saw the top of Capitol Building. Maybe we can stop by DC on the way back to Baltimore??? :D

(If you kill a a mosquito in your car that has just bitten your mom about 30 minutes ago, you can see all the dark red blood.)

We got a little backed at some point near where I saw the tips of DC on I-95, and so I just took some weird pictures. And when we went to get gas, I saw that their gas contains 10% ethanol, which I thought was pretty cool, because you don’t see that in the city (or at least, I’ve never).

Other weird cities include Tappahannock and Mechanicsville, along with a museum called Weems-Botts. Not making fun here, just a little bit of linguistics-slash-culture shock. :)

We arrived, checked into the hotel (Marriott’s Fairfield Inn) and headed over to Jamestown Historic Settlement. There wasn’t much, but I did learn that there were 104 settlers that came to VA in the 1600’s. We went on and took an island drive. It was veryvery hot, like 106 degrees hot. DX –dies- Living in a cold city like Chicago’s rubbed off on me, I guess. We crossed several bridges over marshland, and at some point we saw little tiny brown crabs crawling sideways. I told my mom to take a picture, but they were too small. :( Also, on the drive, we saw a speckled baby deer (cute!!! but we couldn’t get it on picture; it decided to camouflage behind some grassy leaves) and prolly its mother a mile or two away. We also saw bamboo, which my dad said was very strange and mysterious, because why would something so Zen and Asian be growing in VA? And we also went through this reallyreally long and dark tunnel. Veryvery cool. :)

Next, Colonial Williamsburg. It was basically just one street (the Duke of Gloucester) where we saw a mini marching bad playing fifes and drums for 15 minutes (really just hired people). And then there were lots of old houses. See, this trip to the Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) would be interesting, except we’re not American. And you’re not getting anything out of me, because I have absolutely no patience for hot weather and old ruins and forts and houses and churches. Definitely not churches. We rode a shuttle bus around the place ($6, $2 per person) and we passed through houses with people dressed in colonial clothes. This is why they’re paid, because I would never wear all those layers and long clothes voluntarily. I sure pity them.

For dinner we went back and I got to taste beef-like tofu that we bought in Asia Market. I think after this, I wouldn’t want to go vegetarian/vegan. And we also had Korean instant ramen and other pickled veggies.

It’s the end of Day 3 that I’m blogging this, but I’ll do Day 3&4 tomorrow. :)

Happy summer.
_julie_   B-)

EDIT: Apparently, someone decided to give me some flames, which I don’t happen to appreciate, so I’m replying. You may like Williamsburg, but I didn’t, so don’t be such a critic about a friggin’ blog post about my experiences.

Colonial Williamsburg is just one street? Hmmmm.... I guess you weren't really there, or you would know that it is an entire restored CITY with 88 original buildings. How did you manage to miss that?
The Fife and Drum were "hired people." What did you expect? Retirees from the American Revolution? Ghosts?

I didn’t say is was just one street, I said basically. And how did I manage to miss it? I JUST DID. It’s fine if you just want to correct me on the details, but no need to be such a butt about it. Besides, I didn’t read the pamphlet.
Yesyesyes, I did expect ghosts. In fact, I expected zombies—dead colonists back from the grave. Just being Captain Obvious, you got a problem with that?
Why did you decide to be anonymous? What could I do? Stalk you just to tell you some very colorful words?

Columbus.

Alright. Blogging here at Columbus. Sadly, to get cheap tickets, we have to stop here before going on our way to Baltimore. It’s interesting because mom and I had a mini-panic session when we couldn’t figure out the time. But luckily, this massage bar that’s right in front of me has a digital clock, so… (My mom thought Columbus was in Boston. Hello??? How can a city be inside another city?)

Anyways, once I get to Baltimore, I think I might be able to post again, and occasionally afterwards, until our return. Since coming back we don’t have to stop anywhere, I’ll have to wait until I get home. WHEE.

Getting on a plane was a little bit different, I’d have to say. I thought I’d be fine, but after we had taken off, my heart felt like I was on a roller coaster (‘Cause we kept dropping altitude and such). It was really cool after we had taken flight for about two minutes because suddenly you see downtown Chicago. Purdyyy. ;) And I was a little nervous about the landing. I’d bought a Newsweek while waiting for our flight and by the time the flight was over, the sweat off my fingers had stretched the paper. :P

11:39am here.
Currently listening to: Shut Up and Drive (off the 21 soundtrack)

-Julie

Twilight. And vacay.

It’s amazing what goes on online. But eitherway, my mom’s been watching the Twilight Saga with Chinese subs (she actually finished the 3 yesterday night) and it scares me a little, frankly.

Anyways, I’m just saying that I’ll be leaving for Maryland Monday morning, and will be back the 16th. (Missing a day of Acky orientation, but whatever. And I will not be reachable through my cell, ‘cause I’m leaving it at home. So don’t text me.) It’s the first time I’ve been on a plane in 4 years (in which I went to New York and the East Coast). I used to go vacay a lot, but not anymore, sadly. I traveled all over Japan when I was there (and Australia and China), and in third grade I went to San Francisco and the West Coast, and in 4th, to New York and the East Coast. I’d like to go to Hawaii one day, and the Caribbean. And of course, Europe. And South Korea…

Thank goshness we’re taking the computer. But I don’t think I’d be able to surf, because there’s not always going to be WiFi (sigh, gonna miss my high-speed) and my mom’s very sensitive about using the computer off its battery. (She doesn’t like it, let’s just say. And telling her that I just want to surf is not going to be a good enough reason to use it.)

I hope I won Ace’s Up. No guarantees though. Sadly I can’t check because I’m leaving for Midway at 6am tomorrow. And I really want to enter in the next ARC giveaway too.

Lastly, I’ve officially given out Shadowed Summer. I guess I decided that it would be happier in someone else’s hands.

-Julie

7 Souls

Alrighty. So I got the book in the mail today, by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando. It’s an ARC copy, but the book went on sale July 13, 2010, so it’s not really an ARC, but oh well.

 

This is the cover of the book. (Ignore the background!) And it looks kinda creepy, with the face and hieroglyphics and stuff. I couldn’t see it clearly on RB.com, but now that I have it up close, it’s a little ugh-y (not necessarily in a bad way).

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the back of the book. I know you can’t see the words clearly, so here it is:

“Mary expected her seventeenth birthday to be a blowout to remember, courtesy of her best friends, fellow New York City prepsters Amy and Joon, and her doting boyfriend, Trick.

Instead, the day starts badly and gets worse. After waking up in a mortifying place with a massive, unexplainable hangover, Mary soon discovers that nobody at school is even aware that it’s her birthday. As evening approaches, paranoia sets in. Mary just can’t shake the feeling that someone is out to get her—and, as it turns out, she’s right. Before the night is over, she’s been killed in cold blood.

But murder is only the beginning of Mary’s ordeal. Her soul gets trapped in a strange limbo, and she must relive the day of her death through the eyes of seven people—each of whom, she finds, had plenty of reasons to hate her. As Mary explores the mysteries of her world, discovering secrets that were hidden in plain sight while she was alive, she clings desperately to the hope that she can solve her own murder, change the past, and—just maybe—save her own life.

With its blend of suspense, horror, fantasy, and realism, 7 Souls is an adrenaline rush of a thriller.”

It’s weird because I didn’t enter in the contest because I liked the book and whatnot, but because I just wanted to give myself a chance of winning. But now that I’ve read the summary about five times (too unsure whether I should start reading it or not) I’m a little intrigued. It’s been a while since I’ve liked this kind of dark stuff, so can’t wait!

RAWR.-Julie

Nice sunny day, isn’t it? Why yes, I quite enjoy the sparkle of my skin.

Current obsession: Cayla Kluver’s Legacy. It’s amazing she’s seventeen (16 when she wrote the book) and I like the plot very much. :) (LOVE TRIANGLES FTW!)
Prologue for Legacy’s sequel, Allegiance. And after that would be Redemption, but that’s a long time later. Which brings me to Eldunari, which is the supposed title for the last book in the Inheritance series! I guess I can add that to my wishlist, along with Allegiance when it comes out. :D

(I’ve noticed I’m not as hyper as usual nowadays. You know, excessive usage of emotes, parentheses, and caps lock. I think someone stole my jazz. D:< aka my GRRR face. Guesses are welcome. ‘Cause my blog would very much like comments. They warm my heart. :) At least, as warm as it can get, because we all know that my heart doesn’t warm easily.)

Anyways, onto the real topic, VAMPIRES! YAY.

So, today I went to see Eclipse. I felt a little weird admitting it to people, because you say, “Oh, I’m going to see Eclipse today” or “Oh, I wanna go see Eclipse sometime” and it just makes people go LOL. (At least, on FB chat. But who knows what their real reaction is? Something like a sarcastic “uh huh” with an eyebrow raise.) Plus when you say Twilight Saga, everybody thinks the whole cheesy vampire chick-flick that started the whole vampire-and-other-related-mystical-creatures-and-kingdoms-and-whatnot trend (or fad). And the sparkly skin under the sun. Because if you do think about it, sure, reading the Twilight Saga does (for most girls) induce some sort of giddy fangirl-ness. It doesn’t for me, but I don’t hate it. But when you really think about it, and you really listen to what those with opinionated minds say, the Saga is just basically an inner fantasy of a very lucky author and excessive usage of big words. But otherwise, Bella is hard to relate to, or maybe not relate-able at all. (Oh dear. Here I can go on about how unfair it is that somehow all the heroines in books are pretty. Now what happened to the fairytale ending for the ordinary and very plain-looking girl?) But, (finally onto my real point here) I saw Eclipse today (redundant, much?) and it still made me smile (really wide so you can see all my braces) regardless of everything. Because I just happen to LURVE love triangles. Sigh.

And, speaking of how Twilight is an inner fantasy, it’s “an inner fantasy of a very lucky author and excessive usage of big words”, quoting my earlier words, completely incomparable to Sunshine. It was reallyreallyreally good. :) Although, I don’t think I did it much justice, because there was too much “world-building” going on (and in my mind I kept wondering, DO THEY REALLY?) that I was a little impatient for the end. I doubt you would have any self-control to not read the spoilers, but this wonderful review sums up everything nicely. I’m prolly slacking, but I couldn’t have said it any better, not to mention I didn’t even view the book as deeply as the reviewer did. Anyways, I loved it.

I found this too, and it seems a little interesting. Although Robin McKinley should tell us what the recipes are.

Lastly, you likey my new theme? + Here.

 

-Julie