DSED #8: Compliment ALL the People!!!

Today's task was to compliment every person I meet. This was difficult because I went to several stores and there were guys working there, and guys are hard to compliment. They don't wear jewelry, cute shoes, cute shirts, hair accessories, or carry purses. Both of the cashiers that checked me out wore plain polo shirts, jeans, and sneakers. They didn't smile or talk to me at all, so there was pretty much nothing to compliment. And when you tell a middle-aged guy that you like his plain polo shirt, he's going to think you're coming onto him.

So that's my excuse. I really did compliment everyone else, though. I told my mom I liked her outfit and I told the kitten that he's going to be really cute when his eyes open.

DSED #7: A New Street

Today's task was to drive down a street I've never been on. I'm an overachiever, so I drove down several.

My favorite was Tallulah Road. One of the houses there had the coolest dragon statue in the front yard. I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid I'd get shot for being a creeper...

Also, in other irrelevant news, I got a baby bunny to raise along with my kitten!

DSED #6: Something I've Never Seen Before

Today I was told to find something in my house I've never seen before and take a picture of it. Really, it was not as difficult as it sounds. My dad has lots of man stuff like tools and parts and mechanical things so all I had to do was go in his room and take a quick glance around. And really, sorry for the crappy picture. I'm so tired I really didn't feel like anything elaborate today, so without further ado, I present to you a box of printer ink:

Somehow I won't feel as bad about printing tons of stuff anymore...

DSED #5: Something Precious

Today's task was to give someone something precious of mine that won't mean as much to them as it does to me. I made this one up purely as an act of self-torture, because I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to sentimental objects and I like forcing myself into situations like this.

I knew I would be seeing Katie today so I pulled down my shoebox of little knick-knacks I've collected over the years and picked out the perfect thing: a seashell she picked up on the beach the first day we did pictures (the day that started my photography obsession). It was supposed to be hers anyway, so it would make some small amount of sense for me to give it to her, even if I was a few years late.

She seemed kind of confused by the gesture, but she knows about this silly little project of mine and accepted it in stride. So, all in all, it wasn't a very difficult task.

DSED #4: 5 Things from 2004

Today's assignment was another one stolen from Learning to Love You More. The original task was to list 5 events in your 1984, but I wasn't alive yet, so I changed it to 2004.

The scary thing is that I can hardly find anything from 2004. I have piles and piles of journal entries, poems, stories, and pictures from 2005, 2006, and 2007. I even have a nice little handful of pictures from 2002 and 2003. But 2004 seems to have been a pretty empty year for me. I was 13 years old and for once, life seemed to be pretty balanced. I had two best friends and had just discovered anime. Apparently I was content to not record anything to be remembered by (unusual for me). So without further ado, I present to you the very few things I've found from 2004:

1. I attended my nephew's birthday party at a bowling alley.
2. There was a mock presidential debate at my school.
3. I met Aliyah.
4. I read my first fanfic.
5. I went into a chatroom for the first time.

BR #8: Broken by InuSaga

(This post is part of an ongoing project. See more here.)

Let me give you a brief history of Broken, first of all. Broken is a story written by someone I know only as InuSaga using characters from the hit TV show, InuYasha. To call it "fanfiction" would be degrading, as she only uses two characters and they are so far outside the realm of the show, only the names are really the same. InuSaga published this story online, where I found it and fell in love. Katie had let me borrow a book of hers that was similar to Broken (it used characters from a TV show, but it was an actual, published book). I've always wanted to make book covers so it stuck in my head that it was possible to publish a story even if it used copyright characters.

A little searching brought me to Blurb.com, which allows you to create a cover and have copies of a book printed out. The nice thing about Blurb is that you don't have to buy in bulk. I ordered two copies, one for me and one for Katie, whose face appears on the cover.

That said, it's time for the gushing (I have to gush over every book because if they didn't make me want to gush, they wouldn't be on my bookshelf).

Broken is a masterpiece. It's no happy fairytale, it's not a clichéd romance, it's a harsh, gritty story about the need for revenge and how it can wreak havoc in your life. The entire story leads up to a single conversation in the last chapter, and even though I know it's coming every time, I cry again and again. It's a long, hard journey to make, even just in your mind, especially if you've been betrayed and wanted revenge before. InuSaga is a genius with dialogue and plotting. It makes me sad that she only writes fanfiction, because I have no doubt that she could be a bestselling author if she used her own characters.

DSED #3: Write a Poem

Today's task was to write a poem for someone else and give it to them. This was really difficult for me because, first of all, my poems tend to reveal too much about how I feel (that's the point of poetry, I know) and second, I'm really bad at writing on command. I've also never written a poem specifically for someone with the intent of letting them read it. I've written over 300 poems and most of them have never been read by anyone but myself.

But I decided to man up (or woman up!) and just do it. I decided write for my mom because she's been having a tough time lately and needs some encouragement. Embarrassing as it is, here's the poem:

You were the first person I ever loved

And the first to ever love me

You’re the foundation of all I’ve ever been

And all I’ll grow to be

Your quiet eyes have seen me through

My darkest nights and brightest days

You’re the reason I still go on

You’re the reason that I stay

Storms have gathered to bring us down

But we’ll face the future holding hands

One alone is easily shaken

And so together we will stand