CHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPY.

CHRISTMAS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH HAPPY.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

YAY.

I got Moby Dick and Robinsin Carusoe and The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes and Under the Black Flag and Ghostly Scotland and a 3-in-1 book of Stephen King stories that includes Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Shining and the Star Trek Reboot Special Edition DVD and Tomb Raider w/ Angelina Joelie and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and a build-it-yourself model of the USS Enterprise and Swagger by Flogging Molly and the soundtrack to Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End, a bathroom scale and three scarves and two pairs of gloves and a pair of socks, four pairs of earrings and a Yin/Yang bandanna and a feathery birdy pen of cute and the complete season 2 of Heroes and a Star Trek 2010 calendar and two post-it notes pads and a bright green laptop sleeve and a black leather trench coat and a skull and crossbones cookie cutter and a skull and crossbones ice cube tray and a wind-up caterpillar and a marshmallow gun and a pile of tribbles and i think that’s it.

yeeeeeeeeeeeeee. <3

Everybody at the house got a marshmallow gun of their own. We spent the whole day having an epic marshmallow war. I think the most excited one of us was Shadow, she got to eat any stray ‘bullets’. We also all got wind-up critters, which we raced all over the living room floor. My caterpillar was one of the fastest of them. Oh! And we got some remote-controlled bumper cars!

I got five stuffed Tribbles total. I named them collectively Hubert. The biggest one is my new bed-buddy, in addition to Flower.

Flower is a chihuahua who belongs to the daughter a friend of my sister. Said friend is living in university student housings that do not allow dogs. So my sister and her husband volunteered to foster the dog until they were out of student housing. Unfortunately now my brother-in-law got Air Force deployed to Delaware for six months. So we get to babysit their foster-dog. X3 She’s a pretty good dog, although she haaaaaaaaates Shadow right now. But it’s been a pretty rough few days for her all around, what with the excitement and all. She’ll calm down eventually and maybe allow Shadow to coexist in the same house with her. Right now she’s asleep on my desk. She makes the cutest paper-weight.

I love Christmas.

I’m exhausted from being so happy. XP

I’m going to bed. Goodnight! Happy Boxing Day!

Penduduk pesisir dan nelayan terdampak langsung perubahan iklim. Beberapa wujud, di antaranya pasang tinggi, abrasi kian cepat, musim tak terprediksi, serta panen ikan merosot.

Nelayan Krui, Lampung Barat, punya kisah. Nelayan generasi sekarang tak bisa menebak musim. Dulu nenek morang mereka paham betul isyarat langit, posisi bintang. Hanya dengan membaca posisi bintang selatan (berbentuk ikan pari), mereka mengetahui awal musim barat dan timur.

“Sekarang tidak,” kata Edy Hamdan (45), nelayan tradisional Krui, pada pertemuan iklim gagasan Civil Society Forum (CSF). Posisi edar bintang memang masih teratur, tetapi waktu datangnya angin barat dan timur tdak lagi dapat diprediksi.

“Empat tahun terakhir memang tak terdua,” kata Arif Iwanda, pengepul ikan di Krui. Setidaknya 40 nelayan bermitra dengannya. Sering kali angin berubah dalam hitungan jari. “Nelayan singgah sebelum tiba di tujuan sudah biasa. Badai tiba-tiba datang.” kata Arif. Beberapa tahun lalu Arif bisa mengumpulkan ikan rata-rata 2 ton dalam seahri pada musim melaut. Kini jauh dari itu.

Data Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan (Kiara) tahun 2008 menunjukkan, hari melaut nelayan rata-rata hanya 180 gari atau 6 bulan. Akibatnya, keluarga nelayan pun kian terjerat utang.

Kisah nelayan di atas sejalan dengan analisis Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), ”Kondisi berubah di laut empat tahun terakhir dan itu merasa,” kata Edvin Aldrian, Kepala Pusat Perubahan Iklim dan Kualitas Udara BMKG.

Kelebihan energi

Menurut Edvin, pemanasan global membuat atmosfer kelebihan energi yang bertanggung jawab atas munculnya badai tropis dengan ekor kian panjang.

Arah angin pun berubah cepat. Pemanasan global juga membuat kemarau basah, yang tak bersahabat bagi nelayan serta menyebabkan terbentuknya awan konveksi di atas lautan. Ini menarik massa udata di sekitarnya yang mendatangkan hujan dengan gelombang tinggi.

Pada kondisi normal, kata Edvin, musim kemarau bersifat kering – ini mendukung aktivitas nelayan. Fakta Krui merupakan kecenderungan nasional. “Di pantura Jawa sama,” kata Subandono Diposaptono, Kepala Subdirektorat Pengelolaan Pesisir dan Lautan Terpadu pada Departemen Kelautan dan Perikanan, sekaligus anggota tim peneliti untuk perubahan iklim di pesisir nasional.

Kawasan pesisir – titik pertemuan laut dan seluruh limpahan daratan – amat rentan. Di saat curah hujan tinggi – ditambah kerusakan lingkungan di kawasan huku – akan kebanjiran.

Perpaduan kenaikan muka air laut dengan perubahan pola angin mendatangkan gelombang tinggi, yang juga menggenangi kawasan pesisir dalam waktu lama (rob). “Pesisir Demak dan Pekalongan di Jawa Tengah dulu tergenang beberapa hari dalam setahun. Kini hampir tiada bulan tanpa rob,” katanya.

Sumber  :

Dampak Kelautan, Melaut Berkurang | Gesit Ariyanto
Kompas, 03.12.2009

I think it’s saying something about getting babies vaccinated.

Well, if your baby’s skin is GREEN heck yeah get that thing vaccinated. Never mind those malicious little grins. Thank God they’re not looking directly at the viewer, they’d give someone a heart attack. How did that old song go?

“Can you even call these “children”?
How they make my toes curl!
Purple, Green, Cyan, and Pink,
Now I need to see a shrink!
Please excuse me
‘Cuz I think I’m gonna hurl!”

Eergh.

*Kiara

Indonesia sebaiknya jangan gegabah mengajukan laut sebagai salah satu jawaban menghadapi persoalan perubahan iklim. Dikhawatirkan, nantinya justru Indonesia yang akan dirugikan karena sifat lautnya adalah sebagai pelepas karbon dioksida.

Demikian antara lain salah satu kesimpulan dalam diskusi terbatas bertajuk “Menguak Mitos Laut Indonesia sebagai Penyerap Karbon” yang diadakan oleh organisasi lingkungan Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan (Kiara), Kamis (26/11) di Jakarta.

“Indonesia jangan gegabah memasukkan laut sebagai salah satu faktor yang dapat memecahkan persoalan pemanasan global, apalagi menyebutkan laut di Indonesia bisa menyerap karbon,” ujar Sekretaris Jenderal Kiara Riza Damanik.

Dia khawatir, jika diteruskan, bukan tidak mungkin justru Indonesia yang nantinya dirugikan. Jika laut dimasukkan dalam skema perdagangn karbon, “Bisa-bisa kita yang malahan harus membayar,” lanjutnya.

Kesimpulan tersebut muncul seusai pemaparan berjudul Carbon Cycling in the Indonesian Seas oleh ahli lingkungan Alan F Koropitan, yang meraih gelar doktornya di Hokkaido University, Jepang.

Peran laut sebagai penyerap atau pelepas karbon telah satu dekade menjadi perdebatan di dunia ilmu pengetahuan. Hasil penelitian terakhir yang menjadi pamungkas adalah hasil penelitian Arnold Gordon.

Alan yang secara khusus melakukan penelitian di Laut Jawa dengan jernih memaparkan berbagai faktor yang memengaruhi laut untuk kemudian apakah menjadi pelepas atau penyerap karbon.

Menurut dia, melalui pemaparannya, perdagangan karbon dari laut adalah tidak memadai, terutama bagi Indonesia, karena laut Indonesia berada di kawasan tropis yang memiliki temperatur tinggi (29 derajat Celsius – 30 derajat Celsius).

“Yang berpotensi menyerap karbon adalah laut di subtropis bagian selatan, yang lebih dingin,” kata Alan, yang juga menjadi dosen pada Fakultas Perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan Institut Pertanian Bogor. Di Indonesia hanya Teluk Lombok yang menyerap karbon, itu pun hanya 8 part per million, diukur pada tahuan 1984. “Angka yangamat kecil,” ujarnya.

Pada laut dengan temperatur tinggi terjadi upwelling (arus ke atas) yang mengakibatkan karbon terlepas ke atmosfer. Secara total, menurut Alan, mengutip penghitungan Takahashi, laut adalah pelepas karbon.

Karena kondisi tersebut, Alan mengusulkan, antara lain, Indonesia harus lebih memerhatikan marine ecosystem under global warming (mengamati perubahan ekosistem laut akibat pemanasan global), mengatur tata kelola pesisir laut terkait populasi, serta lebih memberikan perhatian pada pengembangan energi baru dan terbarukan dari energi pasang surut.

“ Karena di Indonesia banyak teluk, pasang surutnya dapat digunakan sebagai sumber energi,” ujarnya.

Sumber  :

Hati-hati Soal Laut | Kompas, 28.11.2009

It’s finally here. New Moon, the second movie of Twilight Saga, comes out today! Written by  Stephenie Meyer and starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, and Rachelle Lefevre. The plot is about a girl named Bella moving to a town with her father while her mom traveled. Then she meets the love of her life, a vampire Edward Collin. She falls in love with him instantly and tells him she doesn’t want him to leave her ever. Then there’s New Moon, where Edward leaves her. Will he come back for her? The Twilight series are so popular, over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day alone according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(series). Even I myself love Twilight. I’ll be standing in line tomorrow for the movie. I would be willing to stand in line for tickets for up to two hours. When Popeye’s Chicken opened here, we were in line for 3 hours at the drive-through. That ended up not being worth it though; I like KFC better.

I just deleted a poll notice on DeviantArt that was

“Abortion poll: your thoughts?

Pro-choice
Pro-life”

I voted “Pro-life” and deleted it, since that’s what follows closest to my views. Generally I stay out of that mess because it’s safer for me– but I just thought of what I SHOULD have done. too bad i have no idea who posted it, so I can’t actually go do it.

I SHOULD have not voted but commented back with “I am neither. I am pro-condom.”

see ‘cuz i’m clever, since my view on it is that if people don’t want babies they should take measures to NOT have babies. rather than band-aid-fix things after the fact by aborting them. I don’t really think making abortion legal makes sense, which is why I vote pro-life but–AAAAH *run*

…

…

… sorry thought i saw a debate grenade. Or, De-nade. The last time I talked about this with any seriousness with someone I nearly got my head chewed off by rabid pro-choicers. o_o I mean, some pro-lifers are crazy too, there’s nutters in every group, but I still have freakin’ nightmares about these people. I’m extremely tired right now which is clearly the only reason I was stupid enough to post something on this subject, if I was in my right mind you know damn well I would keep my witty responses to internet polls to myself out of sheer terror.

Where was I?

Oh, right, I’ll vote pro-life because what I know of the specifics of what justifies abortion as not-murder don’t add up to me, so I don’t really understand making abortion legal. In the end though I think the whole discussion would be easier if people could keep it in their pants. Oh the wishes for a perfect world.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go hide in my Debate-bunker until the coast is clear. I know we have like one reader right now (Hi, Amie!) but i just knoooow those bastards from the Gaia boards all those years ago will FIND ME the SECOND I publish something on the webs with the phrase “i am pro-life” in it and tear me limb from limb… i wonder if I can get into the witness protection program for this.

…Seriously! They were crazy! They hated my guts just because I was a leeetle passionate about birth-control and um common sense! I probably could have worded myself better back then and they could have hated me less but they really were very harsh. I was frightened for my life!

…

forward all my calls to the De-Bunker, Ceej! See you next spring! ._.

*K

NAME: Kiara Weatherington

AGE: 20

HOMETOWN: Virginia Beach, VA

1. WHAT INSPIRES YOU WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CLOTHING?

Nothing inspires me. I just like to look nice.

2. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE DESIGNERS AND WHY?

Ralph Lauren.

3. NAME A FEW PIECES (CLOTHINGS, SHOES, ACCESSORIES, ETC.) THAT YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…

Scarves, Berets.

GET THIS LOOK

JACKET: Coach

SWEATER: H&M

LEGGINGS: H&M

SCARF: Up Against The Wall

NAME: Sharmaine N. Harrison

AGE: 21

HOMETOWN: Lakewood, CA

1. WHAT INSPIRES YOU WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CLOTHING?

Mainly, the season and how I’m feeling. I like to change up my style so I like to have pieces that suit each theme.

2. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE LABELS/DESIGNERS AND WHY?

I love ANYTHING! I feel like I can pull off a lot, so I don’t limit myself.

3. NAME A FEW PIECES (CLOTHING, SHOES, ACCESSORIES, ETC.) THAT YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…

I can’t live without my leather jacket, Juicy studs, and my cowboy boots [which are falling apart].

4. WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO/PREDICTING FOR THE FUTURE (NEXT SEASON, YEAR…)?

I’m looking forward to this winter. I love winter wear and mixing colors with the normal winter palette.

GET THIS LOOK

LEATHER JACKET: H&M

V-NECK SHIRT: Gap

TUTU: Forever21

PEEP TOE BOOTIES: Urban Outfitters

BAG: Long Champ

NAME: Pebel E. Segura

AGE: 21

HOMETOWN: Alexandria, VA

1. WHAT INSPIRES YOU WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CLOTHING?

I like to wear clothes that make me stand out. I choose pieces that are unique and creative.

2. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE LABELS/DESIGNERS AND WHY?

Marc Jacobs, Betsey Johnson, and Anna Sui. They are creative and unique.

3. NAME A FEW PIECES (CLOTHING, SHOES, ACCESSORIES, ETC.) THAT YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…

Clip on earrings. High boots. Scarves.

4. WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO/PREDICTING FOR THE FUTURE (NEXT SEASON, YEAR…)?

Grunge.

GET THIS LOOK

SWEATER: Thrift Store

JEANS: H&M

JEWELRY: Lucky Brand Jeans

BOOTS: Loehman’s

BAG: Juicy Couture

Stay Classick!

JoeCouture.

oh hi everybody.

I just had my mind blown (by who, I’m not sure, there were a lot of partially naked people there…)

Highlights of my night at the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast by Los Bastardos:

1. Accidentally hitting a security guy in the eye with some toilet paper (I AM SO SORRY, GUY)

2. Dr. Frank-N-Furter coming up to me before the show and tugging on my party hat, which I was wearing in addition to my top hat.

3. The time warp.

4.  Being turned into a princess by a Transylvanian walking behind me (she attached a length of toilet paper to my party hat)

5. buying a big button that says FAIL on it.

so now i’m over at a buddy’s house and we’re having a war on twitter over height, boobies, and airplanes.

weeeeeeeeeeee

*Kiara

♥Love between Kiara and Kovu♥

KIARA:
In a perfect world
One we’ve never known
We would never need to face the world alone

They can have the world
We’ll create our own
I may not be brave or strong or smart
But some where in my secret heart

I know
Love will find a way
Any where we go
I’m home
If you are there beside me

Like dark turning into day
Some how we’ll come through
Now that I’ve found you
Love will find a way

KOVU:
I was so afraid
Now I realize
Love is never wrong
And so it never dies

There’s a perfect world
Shining in your eyes

KIARA and KOVU:
And if only they could feel it too
The happiness I feel with you

They’d know
Love will find a way
Any where we go
we’re home
If we are there together

Like dark turning into day
Some how we’ll come through
Now that I’ve found you
Love will find a way

I know love will find a way

Yep. Today is my last day here in Corpus. Sadly enough, it might really be one of my last days here. Next year I’ll be starting college, so I won’t be able to come here as easily. Oh, we’ll probably still come down here, just earlier in the year. But, sadly, my days here are probably numbered, at least as a part of our traditional once-a-year vacation.

Not much happened today, we ran out of tourist attractions, so mom and I went to go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D. It was…well, a kids movie. That doesn’t make it bad. Just not exceptional. A good movie, with lots of morals good for both kids (Greed = bad) and parents (Always tell your kids you love them and are proud of them. There will never be a time when they don’t need to hear it). The animation was pretty awesome, and the characters were memorable, and strangely well-developed for a kids movie. I loved the Devereaux family the best, Tim Lockwood and Baby Brent were pretty amazing, too (Chicken Brent was weird though).

We went to Winton’s candy store, too. That place has some seriously delicious fudge, and caramel. They also have Gummy Ninjas… which are way too fun to eat. Bought some jewelry at a beach shop dealie… aaand came home to pack.

You might think I’m sad about how little I’ll be able to come here pretty soon, but I’m not. I can’t be at all sure how many more times I get to visit. Is this my last time? Or will I come back loads of times over my life? I have no idea, so I can’t justify feeling sad. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll look forward to many more vacations here in Corpus Christi.

Goodbye for now, but not forever, Corpus.

End of boring trip reports.

*K

OOPS

Hey guys. Present-time Kiara here once again. On this day of the vacation I forgot to blog. So uh. No report today, even if the last update was four days ago already. Although, even if I had remembered to blog, there wouldn’t be much. As I remember it, mom took me around to some of the beachy, touristy shops to look at the knickknacks and buy some stuff. I think I didn’t buy a single thing for myself besides a wad of taffy and a pair of earrings. XP

Anyway. Present-Kiara signing off. Past-Kiara will continue her reports tomorrow, I’m sure. She’s pretty good at keeping a schedule (PFFFFFFFFFF)

*K

Actually, I’m not kidding this time. Sorta.

I find it interesting that I’ve gone somewhere touristy every day so far, but dad didn’t go with us one day, and today mom stayed home.

Weirdos.

Anyway, today my daddy and I went hiking around the USS Lexington, another favorite place of mine, although I don’t have any particularly great stories to share. The Lexington is something that I just enjoy experiencing.

The USS Lexington is a huge navy aircraft carrier from the 1940’s that has been converted into a museum of navy history. It’s a bit of a climb, since much of the ship is the same as it was seventy years ago and the stairs are so steep they’re practically ladders, but it’s a lot of fun to go through and see what it was like. The museum is very large and sprawling, but I learned today that only 20% of the ship has been renovated to be open to the public. I also learned that despite the fact that the ship is right on the bay and still in the water, it would be one of the safest places to be if a hurricane ever hit Corpus because of how deep it’s buried in the sand.

I think all three of the places we generally go here, the Lex, the aquarium, and the museum, all of them have asked me to volunteer there before they learned I live eight hours away. Hee.

I’ve also decided that I prefer coming here in late October but before the Ween. Because I like being home for H’Ween, but since we don’t have cable at our house, if we go before mid October we get to see all the commercials promoting the cool movies and TV specials for H’Ween but leave before they actually go on the air. I’ve never even seen half the movies they’re advertizing for, and they’re CLASSIC Halloween movies! I wonder if I can remember them when I get home and rent them.

Wow this is a scant blog, comparatively… erm… and that’s all I really have to report.

…um…

END OF BLOG.

{Hey guys, present-day Kiara here to tell you that the next Corpus Report will not be posted until Tuesday. I’m going out of town, again (this time by myself, though, to all you burglars out there. Someone WILL be home! So hah!))

*K

The Texas State Aquarium.

…Oh my gosh you guys. I cannot tell you how much I love this place. I have learned so much about fishies and other critters there it’s just. Whoa. I love it. If I lived here, you can bet I would be volunteering there. In a friggin’ heartbeat.

And it’s not just fishies/critters I learn about there. I always leave that place feeling better about the world, and myself. There’s just so much energy surrounding the building that I can’t help but smile the whole time I’m there—much like the stingrays they keep!

I’ve always thought that stingrays look like they’re constantly smiling. It’s just how their mouth is shaped. That’s why I collect Stingray stuff. They’re like little reminders of one of my most important personal beliefs: Always do your best to be happy. Have fun in whatever you do, and keep smiling! Even if you get kicked in the head by someone who doesn’t know how to do the Stingray Shuffle!

Back to the aquarium, though. Our visits there are not often very different from the others. I know every word of every show they have, I know exactly when to raise my hand to be called up as a possible volunteer, and I know the answer to every trick-question the keepers ask their audiences. But even if I can anticipate exactly how my day will go at the TSA, I still love to go and watch the animals. Every single one of them is beautiful in their own way. I could sit and watch them forever. Not to mention the other visitors. It’s great to watch both children and adults opening up and having fun by getting up close and personal with a tortoise or a baby alligator. It’s just really great, guys. All over great.

Although, there was one moment of my day that is quite worthy of a mention(and a video):

One of the shows they do there is a sort of exhibit of creatures from all over the world. An african serval, a barn owl, couple different kinds of hawks, a turkey vulture, some mice, and many more. At one point in this show the keepers ask for an adult volunteer (a rarity, most volunteers called are children). Specifically, an adult volunteer with a camera. Now, I’d forgotten my camera at home, but I did have my phone with me that has both a regular camera and a video camera. Despite the large crowd, when the call came out for a brave volunteer, only myself and one other young lady raised their hands. I suppose my hand went up first because I was called (of course, I also knew what was coming, too).

I came onto the stage and was asked to sit on a little stump and keep my camera ready. I did so, and…well, check out the footage I got:

{Hey guys, present-day Kiara here. Technical difficulties (my computer and phone won’t play nice and share videos together) prevent me from sharing my cool video with you. Sorry about that. As you can see, Past-Kiara wrote around what was hopefully going to be an uploaded video inserted here. Oh well, she is a rather good summarizer, if I do say myself.}

As you can see, Xander, a Harris Hawk, flew directly over my head and over the crowd to perch over near the keeper. Then, turning around, he immediately flew extremely close to my head and landed on another perch right behind me. Mom got a picture of the bird sitting over my head as I ready my camera to get another shot of him flying around some more:

I was told I didn’t even flinch, and the bird came closer to my head than expected. Of course, this was because I knew the worst he might do is bump into me. I’ve learned over the years to trust the keepers, and I’ve learned what creatures they keep are aggressive, and which aren’t. And most are not. Most of the critters at the TSA don’t want to hurt you unless you’ve hurt them, so I wasn’t the least bit worried about Xander trying to claw my eyes out or anything.

It’s because of that mentality that it continues to surprise me when people refuse to pet the baby alligators simply because they’re afraid of them.

It’s perfectly safe, the gator is being held by a keeper who will keep it under control, which is absurdly easy because the gators they bring out to be petted are very small. So long as you don’t put your fingers near their mouth they won’t hurt you (and let’s face it, doing that would be a stupid thing to do).

I suppose I’m just more comfortable around dangerous animals than most individuals who aren’t trained to handle them? o_O

And now, more pictures!!

I forget what kind of eel this is, but there were like...fifty of them just hangin' out in the sand.

Needlefish!

I love stingrays so muuuuch. <3 They're horrible to try and take pictures of, though. so speedy~

Hellooooo!!!! <3

Despite the crappy phone quality, I like this picture. (It's a shark, if you can't tell)

One of the eels in the Flower Gardens tank decided to come out of his hidey-hole and swim. I have *never* seen them do that, but it was soooooo cool to watch.

More of my attempts to actually take a picture of a Stingray "Smile".

This is a Cownose Ray, by the way. My favorite. They seem to look the happiest. <3 this guy almost looks like he wants a hug. d'awww.

Romaine Lettuce, AKA: Fishfood. om nom nom, angelfish?

If you can see it, there's a Barracuda in this picture. His name's Bullet.

This diver is crazy. An eel could bite off your bare hand, and she spent several minutes feeding them bits of Squid barehanded. She's been doing this for ten years or more, though, so she knows how to handle them (I'm sad I didn't get a chance to ask her what petting an Eel feels like!)

Underwater view of two of the aquarium's dolphins. They were total camera hogs.

Another one of the dolphins, posing for the crowd.

This eagle was standing so still, I didn't even see it at first. Which is a wonder since they're a lot bigger than I expected them to be.

I wonder if he likes fruit loops...

I'm not sure what sort of hawk this is (It could be Xander, I forgot to ask), but he suuure was pretty up close.

Once again, dunno what kind of hawk this is, but I strategically put my clothes in danger by sitting under his perch *just* to get this shot.

The Aquarium's residant African Serval. His name was either Keemani or Peabody... They sound kinda similar through a speaker system, apparently.

A tortoise, making a desparate break for freedom. Just a few more yards!!!

Dang! Foiled again!

Last but not least, yours truly, hitching a ride on the back of one of the huge Whale figures rising out of the bricks outside the aquarium.

Well, that’s all! Or at least, all that came out well. I took roughly 90 pictures throughout the whole day. Those are just the good ones.

About the only other thing I can say from today was that I came home with quite a good haul from the gift shop. A new Sting Ray necklace (now, my favorite Rays are of the Cownose variety, however it seems that the only type anyone ever wants to make jewelry or plushies from is the Southerns and Atlantics. :/ *shrug*), a set of earrings, and a cool anklet with bells on it!

Weirdest thing ever: For some reason, only I can hear those bells. Or at least hear them *well*. Neither of my parents can hear the bells jingling as I walk, and they can only barely hear them when they’re in their own hands! At first I thought they were just going deaf or something, but when I tried to record the ringing with my cell phone, it couldn’t pick up the audio no matter how close I put the bells to the mic. I hear them loud and clear!

Maybe when I get home I’ll get some second opinions. It’s pretty dang weird, though.

Aanyway. G’bye for now!

*K

(^– Veggie Tales reference)

Once again, coming to you live with a pre-typed blog, Kiara with another Corpus Report.

Today was a little lazier than yesterday. We slept in and had a late breakfast-lunch dealie, then just hung around the condo and relaxed until we decided to go see a movie.

So the question became “what movie?”

I voted for 9, but both my parents hadn’t even heard of it. They asked me what it was about and…uh… I realized I really had no idea. I mean the trailer looked AMAZING but the voice-over in it was…supremely vague as far as plot goes and the setting was totally unrecognizable so… I looked it up, and we decided to go see it.

The movie was…erm… great visuals but the story… er. Was barely recognizable. It was kinda like watching the middle of a movie with no beginning or end. I was questioning the setting a lot. I mean, it’s pretty clear that the technology is a bit more advanced than ours is, but all the clothes, buildings and lots of the scenery elements looked like they were from the 1940’s. Which is just fine but…it’s never explained why. There was little to no character development. Why was 1 so stuck in his ways? Why were 3 and 4 separated from the rest? What made 7 so bitter? Not to mention 6 and his obscure ability to just “know” things with no explanation. And why did 9 wake up so much later than the others? What made him more special than the previous 8 little-robot-thingies? There was no real introduction, explaining how anything got to be the way it was until you were already fifteen minutes into the movie, and the ending was just as confusing, not to mention just barely being an actual ending.

The visuals were very good, and the design of the robots was very interesting (I especially loved those sentry-siren-bot-things), but the storytelling was just… confusing.

Aaanyway. After the movie we came home, lounged some more, then daddy took me to a mini-golf course that’s very close to the condos. We had fun and I was very happy to spend time with dad. He beat me by about…7 points, I think. I also talked him into buying me a huuuge pirate flag in the gift shop of the place, as well as a plaque that says “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. I’ve been looking for things to put on my walls lately, so I’m pretty happy with those.

I walked home from the golf course to get in at least one good run while I’m here, and then took a shower. Now, this next story is just something I have to write. I expect at least one person to stop reading as soon as they realize what it’s about.

See, the condos we stay in are over 30 years old. But the unit we’re in this year is a newly renovated one. It still has the kinda-crappy wicker furniture and the TV doesn’t have proper plugs in it for hooking up my PS2 for use as a DVD player, but there is definitely a difference and it’s much nicer than the one we stayed in last year. One of the differences is in the showers. I am overjoyed with the showers. I am so happy I could do a dance, and I think I did do a little dance when I told mom about it. The shower head is different. It’s the sort that can be removed from the wall, which is wonderful, but that’s not the greatest thing. I can actually stand up straight underneath the shower heads. Thank the lord almighty I can STAND UP STRAIGHT!!

I swear to you, cross my heart and whatever oaths you want, the shower heads before were so low I think the only person who could rinse their hair without stooping would be a midget. And I am not a midget. I am actually a pretty tall person. I had to bend double. I actually used to avoid showering here (which is kinda nasty with how humid it gets) just because the showers were so damn difficult. I am so happy about this, guys. So happy.

….Sooo happy.

*K

Hello everyone! Once again, I speak to you from *dun dun duuunnn* THE PAST!

Today, 9/26/09, my family and I went toThe Corpus Christi Museum. This museum is our usual first stop here in CC. In fact, we strategically arrive on a Friday so that we can attend the museum’s 50-year Saturday-afternoon tradition, the Treasure Hunt. My family has been coming to CC, and the museum, for about 30 years, longer than I have been alive. Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve participated in the treasure hunt, I don’t always bring home a ribbon, but I always have tons of fun. So long as a person isn’t taking away the fun from children, I don’t think you’re ever too old to act like a kid. This treasure hunt reminds me of that. I never want to be too old to participate; it’s just too much fun.

This year, though, was a little different for me.

The way the treasure hunt works is the hunters will get a sheet of paper with six multiple-choice questions, with one of them randomly circled. You go out into the museum, find the answer, and bring it back to the judges who will tell you if you got it right or wrong, then send you back out with another randomly selected question. Obviously the first person who gets all the questions right comes in first with the others following along behind.

My family is also good friends with the museum’s curator, and he knows what kind of kid I am. This year I attempted to play a trick on some of the museum staff and the customers by dressing up in my pirate costume and walking the museum. Three times I got mistook for just a particularly enthusiastic museum staff member, and I absolutely loved the attention from all the kids. When the curator saw me, though, he didn’t even bat an eyelash. I’m sure it wasn’t too surprising if you know me even a little. I like silly things.

After a little while I found out that the museum was a little understaffed today and the curator asked me if I would like to volunteer to be a judge for the treasure hunt. At first I was a little scared, I mean, I’d never really paid attention to the judges or what they have to do, so I was afraid I might mess it up and make some poor kid’s experience in the museum a less-than good one. But I assured myself that it couldn’t be terribly difficult and I wasn’t going to be judging by myself, so I agreed.

It was a whole new experience for me, to be sitting on the other side of the table and marking things down instead of traipsing around the museum, and I still had a ton of fun.

My costume gained lots of attention, too. Several pictures were taken. In fact, as soon as I walked into the museum, what appeared to be a high school field trip was just leaving. As soon as I entered in my full Pirate regalia, the camraphones flew and I was fighting giggles, since the sound of canned shutter noises were anything but discreet, and a few of them were even talking about me as if I wasn’t able to hear them chatter. I didn’t think it was rude so much as just funny. Eventually I offered to pose for pictures, either by myself or with others. Later on I had a trio of older ladies ask me for directions around the museum, and what exactly the Columbus Ships exhibit was about. After I’d answered their questions I asked if they realized that I was in no way affiliated with the museum, and they looked stunned that I could know so much without actually being an employee.

But the thing I enjoyed the most, as I said, was the kids. “Daddy that looks like a pirate!”, “Are you a pirate?”, “Of course she’s a pirate!”, and one of my favorites was the little boy I didn’t understand. He, as near as I could tell, told his father all about how I was a pirate, a real pirate, in Spanish. I couldn’t understand a word he or his father said, but it was great to know that my appearance transcended a language barrier.

Goodness I’ve written a lot about tonight and I didn’t even get to the Columbus Ships themselves (the museum houses replicas of the Pina and the Santa Maria, two of the three ships that Christopher Columbus sailed). The most I can say without fearing the teal deer is that the ships have been falling into disrepair recently, mostly due to a lack of manpower. Both the ships had lost their masts when I saw them last year. This year, however, I was absolutely overjoyed to see that the Pinta had new masts, AND some new rails. The ships are being repaired, and it’s like watching an old friend recover from a severe illness. I’m ecstatic to see those ships looking better, I can’t even begin to express it.

We also got the internet sorted out tonight. I can check on things (but not post blogs). Although it is dial up, so it’s near-impossible to…get…much of anything really *done*, simply because the mast majority of websites have upgraded, since faster internet can allow for more things. So these high-speed websites are horrible on a downgraded connection. This wouldn’t bother me if all those lovely high-speed websites weren’t the source of movie times and TV schedules and other research for vacation funspots. :/  Ah well, they load…eventually.

I have got to stop typing, since I’m sure you all dropped off as soon as you read the word “museum”. Expect another report tomorrow!

*K

Hello. This is the Kiara of the past, typing to you from 9/25/09. It’s a long story to explain why.

You see, my mother seems to be of the belief that vicious burglars haunt our internet connections just *waiting* to hear one word about us being out of town and away from our lovely home so that they can run off with our belongings. Ever since I can remember us having internet I’ve understood that, as a rule, she would skin me alive if I ever mentioned actively being out of town on the internet in such a way that leaves the house empty.

Currently, as I type this, I and my whole family are in Corpus Christi, Texas, vacationing it up. However, I am not allowed to actually post any recounts of our daily adventures here until we have returned home, because of the aforementioned fear.

So this, as well as the next seven posts, will be day-to-day reports of our time here. (Interestingly enough, it was mom who asked me to “keep a diary” of the trip.)

So, that’s my explanation. Here is the actual blog.

This is just the first day here, so not a lot has happened yet. We went to Red Lobster with my aunt & uncle, so my dad and uncle could order all-you-can-eat Shrimp and eat themselves into crustacean comas. We came home with three bags full of delicious cheese biscuits, too, because our first waitress was a bit of a deadbeat. Another young lady took over, though, and she was nice.

It’s great to be back in Corpus. We’ve come here every year for as long as I can remember, and to be honest, I think my year would be pretty bleak without coming here. I love this place, the sights and smells (bad and good) are enough to make me smile even if I’m having the worst of days. Although, the condo we have a timeshare at has yet to buy into the whole “wireless” deal, so my family of three extremely active internet users are stuck on a one-computer dial-up connection. This is the time of year I am thankful I stay up so much later than my parents—they go to sleep and I have the connection just to myself. That is, if we can get it connected. We’re working on that currently. If else fails perhaps I can ask mom to truck me up to a coffee shop nearby. I’d drive myself now that I have my license, but we’ve taken our Chevvy Suburban and I’m a little frightened of driving in that beast by myself. I love riding in it, but the thought of driving it is quite daunting.

Although, don’t get me wrong. I can survive without internet just fine for a week. It’d be nice to have it, sure, but it’s not absolutely necessary and I won’t go stir-crazy. If nothing else, I refuse to. I don’t want to be leash-tied to a computer all my life, eugh. However, books or not, since my father’s idea of a vacation is to sit around and relax (understandable) and mom doesn’t really want to spend all day driving (also pretty understandable), I’m tied to the condo all day, and I’d love to catch up with my friends, and the internet is good for that.

For now, though, both the TV’s in the condo are tied up and the internet connection is nonexistent, literally. I do believe I will go down to the pool (provided the Corpus Christi monstersquitoes don’t eat me) and read a book. I will write up another blog tomorrow, and uh…post it…later. Sigh. Goodbye for now, future-readers! I hope none of us get into deadly accidents before these are posted!!

*K

Today’s post goes out with a Happy First Birthday to my daughter, Claire Caroline Wren.

Our Name of the Day was worn by Clio’s great-great-grandmother: Chiara.

I don’t know much about Chiara Nobile, but I do know that the name she was given in Naples didn’t transition well to New York.  At Ellis Island, the clerk called her Katie.  In official records, she is sometimes Chiara, and sometimes Chiarina, a diminutive form.

As Italian families often do, Chiara’s name was handed down to many of her American descendants.  They became Claire, Carina and eventually Clarina.  While honoring family mattered, and my forebearers fearlessly bestowed heirlooms like Filomena and Francesco, every one of my extended seems to have agreed on one thing: Chiara just plain didn’t translate.

They weren’t alone.  Despite plenty of immigrants who arrived with the name, Chiara has never charted in the US Top 1000.  Derived from the Latin clarus, she means clear or bright.  The thirteenth century noblewoman Chiara Offreduccio is remembered to history as Saint Clare of Assissi – St. Francis’ associate and the founder of the Order of the Poor Ladies, better known as the Poor Clares.

Plenty of related names have fared well:

• At #62 in 2008, the gently French Claire is at her highest point of popularity, though she easily qualifies as a classic;
• The austere Clare charts in the Girls’ Top 1000 most years.  Until the 1940s, Clare also regularly charted on the boys’ side;
• Clara was a Top 10 pick in the nineteenth century and a Top 100 mainstay right through Clara Bow’s reign as the It Girl.

But none of these sound anything like Chiara.  Pronounced with three syllables, kee AR uh is undeniably pretty.  Similar names have actually done quite well in recent years:

• Kiara appears to be a phoentic variant.  But her first appearance in the US Top 1000 was 1988 – the same year that Disney’s sequel to their smash hit The Lion King was released.  This time, Simba’s daughter is the hero of the tale, and her name?  Kiara, of course.  After peaking at #78 in 1999, she’s fallen to #241 as of last year;
• Kyara appears to be an ever more creative take on Kiara;
• Here’s where it gets fuzzy – Ciara might also be a simplified spelling of Chiara.  Or a riff on Kiara.  Or she could be related to the Gaelic masculine name Ciar – think Ciarán or Kieran, as well as the seventh century Saint Cera.  Or Saint Ciera.  Or one of several other spelling variants.  She’s usually given a two syllable pronunciation – KEER uh;
• There’s also Keara, Kira, Ceara, Kierra and more – though it is possible to link some of those variants to other names.  (Kira, for example, is often listed as a feminine version of Cyrus.)

And that’s  her drawback.  Style-wise, she fits in seamlessly with Isabella and Alexandra.  But she’s so very unusual that a Chiara born in 2009 might find herself answering to she AHR ah, CHEE rah and other manglings.

But if you can overlook that, Chiara could be an intriguing import for those seeking something unexpected.

I’m really glad I’ve started working out. I’m losing tons of weight, and I look a lot better!

For instance, check out my sexy right leg:

Huh? Funny red splotches?

Oh, you mean my collection of enormous irritating bug bites? Impressive, huh? I’m fairly proud. I have examples of mosquito, and possibly one to two breeds of ant! No need to congratulate me– I already know I’m pretty amazing.

In related news,
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
OHMYGODIAMSOITCHYICOULDKILLSOMETHINGPREFERABLYEVERY
MOSQUITOANDANTONTHEPLANETHOLYFUCKINGCRAPSERIOUSLY
YOUGUYSICANNOTEXPRESSHOWBADLYTHISSUCKSBALLS.

No, really. I have fourty-five bug bites on my right leg alone. I counted. The bastards kept me awake practically all night and the ones on my foot make wearing any kind of shoes agonizing.

Yes, this is a blog just to make you guys read about me complaining about my bug bites.

bfkdasbfckjabkdfqlwfweq.

i think they’re infected.

thinking a little on the brightside of things, however, I do now have some small relief in the form of an “Afterbite itch eraser” pen…thing. It helps, a little. It smells like someone poured nailpolish remover down my nose every time I use it, but it helps some. A little…  please make the itching stop.

I can’t wait for Ceej to read this and pull a Bones on me. “Don’t be such an infant!”

*Kiara

i don’t even like bologna.

THIS IS A BLOG IN WHICH I TELL YOU HOW MY DAY WENT no guarantees on how not-boring it might be.

SO LET’S SEE um I started by accidentally calling Amie when I was intending to call Kiwi. I only realized that I’d called the wrong person after she’d picked up. Serves me right for trying to operate my cell phone after being awake for about fifteen seconds after the alarm went off. So um. Sorry, Amie!

After I actually got-out-of-bed, two hours later, I expected to get up, get dressed, and leave the house. Unfortunately I had forgotten that we are, once again, extending out porch and that the guys who were going to lay the concrete had come out to tear up the flower bed weeds and lay down sand and…whatever else they do before they come back to actually pour the concrete on Monday. So we had to stick around for that. The amount of spiders that they disturbed was frightening. Insert shuddering here.

So I got to the mall about an hour later than I had planned due to that setback. No biggie, I still managed to get there earlier than a certain puppy I know. While we waited I started reading the second Cirque Du Freak manga. I was, um, less than happy with Larten Crepsley’s design in the first book. For those who don’t know, the Cirque Du Freak series centers around Darren Shan, a young boy who is unwillingly transformed into a half-vampire by a circus performer/vampire named Larten Crepsley. Crepsley in the book is only really described as wearing a lot of red, and a cape. Beyond that, his clothes aren’t really that detailed. But from what I understand of vampires, when they are concerned there are only two ways that they dress. Practically, and elegantly. To reflect their long lifespans and often old age, if they do dress elegantly, they tend to dress like they would have before they were turned into vampires, and not keep up with fashion as it progresses. I.E. Victorian-style coat-tails, cravats, smoking jackets, top-hats, etc. However, in the first issue of the manga, Crepsley (who is over 200 years old) seemed to have been turned into a cyberpunk who wears beatnik sandals and ridiculously tight pants. It was, uh, strange. Most of my problem was with his cape, though, which looked like just about the least practical thing a person could be wearing, ever. Not to mention the fact that in the series, the Vampires are often mentioned as being practical creatures. Crepsley does preform in a freak-show style circus, and needs to dress a bit flashier than just something that is easy to move, fight, and sneak around in, but the outfit he was illustrated in just…bleh. I was not very cool with it. Although the artist changed his outfit somewhat in the second book. His sandals still look dorky and his pants too tight, but he got rid of the awful cape and replaced it with a more stylized Victorian collar, which I really did enjoy. The Wolfman still looks like Donkey Kong’s wimpy brother, though.

Anyway, enough about CDF (until the movie comes out, that is (November 23rd!)).

After Sara arrived and we got lunch we went to go see Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. There were a few yappy children in the theatre, but none that were over-the-top chattery. And there’s the fact that Ice Age is aimed at kids, so you can’t expect the theatre to be deserted/silent anyway. Aside from that, it was a pretty good movie, and really freakin’ adorable in places. I broke my “d’awwww” machine there towards the end, there was just too much cute. It was pretty interesting to listen to Buck talk, now that I’ve seen Simon Pegg in a few live-action things. He sounded like he was having a lot of fun recording the ridiculous lines that Buck had. I don’t recall ever seeing Ice Age 2, so meeting Queen Latifah’s character was a new experience. I liked her.

After that I shopped around a little, looking for gifts for my family and such. I also asked in at the local pet shop to see if they’d looked at any of the job applications yet. I don’t know if I mentioned it on the blog, but there is a new pet shop in our mall that is currently hiring all five positions there. I have worked in a small-time pet shop before, so I had a little bit of experience, so I applied. However, they have not had a chance to review the applications yet. Here’s hoping, though. Theoretically I should hear about it soon.

Then I went and sat in Barnes & Noble for a bit, finishing the CDF manga and looking around for more gifts. Finally mom and I left and went across the street to Hastings.

I really love movies. A lot. I love watching them, learning about them, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie I truly regretted watching. The problem is that my parents aren’t really in the habit of watching movies very often, so it’s pretty rare that we acquire any new ones. I think I’ve finally convinced mom to take me on regular trips to Hastings though, so I can rent them, rather than bug her to buy them full price when I find them in places like Barnes & Noble.

I rented the first four Star Trek movies. The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home. We would have gotten the fifth, The Final Frontier, too, but they didn’t have it. I’ve been getting really into watching The Original Series, and absolutely adored Star Trek, so naturally I became more interested in watching the movies, too. Italics are fun.

Funny thing: While looking for the movies I wanted, all the Star Trek ones were grouped together, but seemingly in no remote kind of order beyond “Star Trek movies”. I had to pick through a bit and be sure I had my titles right to get the ones I wanted, and while looking, right between Nemesis and The Undiscovered Country, was a movie entitled, if memory serves me “Oversized Alien Rugsuckers from Venus“. I would have stopped to see what that movie was, why it could possibly have been there, and if my suspicion of it being an “adult” feature were correct, if mom hadn’t shown up beside me to ask the stupidest question in the world: “Ooh, science fiction section! What are you looking for?”

After renting our movies, and looking at the various Star Trek action figures/figurines they had (and sharing with mom an interesting story about Michael Myers’ (Halloween) mask), we left and went on to Mardels, a christian…store filled with bibley-stuff. Bought three new Veggie Tales DVD’s. I do love those veggies.

and then we ran some other errands and went home.

Sadly, I did not get to see my new bed. Maybe tomorrow. One of these days I’m gonna learn to drive our other car, too. The one that isn’t mine, and also isn’t hugemongous, Evorbus, as I call him (Chevy Equinox). Mom says he handles a lot like mine, Notabus (GM Oldsmobile), and will be easier for me to drive than Shobus, the Chevy Suburban we have. That’s, uh, not surprising since Shobus is HUGE. (Explaination on names: Shobus = Short Bus (nicknamed thus because he is the size of a small bus, and carries us retards around in it), Notabus = Not Tall Bus (Because it is large in length but not in height, thus, not tall) and Evorbus = Even Shorter Bus (Because he still carries us retards us around, but he is smaller than Shobus))

…So, yeah. That was my day.

Mom’s cornbread is delicious.

I’m gonna go play games with my sister now.

*K

P.S. NEW TAG it’s kinda log but I like it.

A conversation of us. Somewhat paraphrased by me.

Ceej: “So there were these noises. Like things falling and dying.”

Kiara: “OH that was me picking up the dishes.”

Ceej: “Oh. Okay. That makes sense.”

Kiara: “WAT? Makes sense!? OH NO I GOTTA FIX THIS um um um um PINK WATERMELONS there better.”

Ceej: “Watermelons are always pink. On the inside.“

Kiara: “But on the OUTSIDE….they’re green.“

Ceej: “oh my GOD REVERSE WATERMELONS!!!”

Kiara: “OH SO COOL!”

*pause*

Kiara: “This is the best conversation we have EVER. HAD.”

Ceej: “lols.”

Kiara: “I’m blogging this.”

Ceej: “LOLS.”

reverse watermelons y/y/FRICKIN’ SWEET?

*K

I have one.

I can count on one hand how many people know it right now. I’ve been telling  a few trusted individuals about it, usually when they’ve asked me a question that I can’t answer without detailing the life-changing things I’m trying to keep inside.

I’m extremely thankful to everyone who does know this secret for keeping it. Because I am still not ready to tell the world about it.

To be very honest, I think this blog is extremely pointless, because by the end of it, all I will have given is an unnecisarily long description of something I still intend to keep hidden.

I will say this: It is a very big thing. I have not told people thus-far because I am preparing myself for all kinds of reactions, good, bad, and nonexistant. I need to be ready for those before I shout from the rooftops about this. It’s very important to me.

I have been feeling the need to tell people, though, which is mostly why I’m blogging now. Occasionally I’ll start writing a blog in my head, spilling out every detail of this…event that I’ve mulled over in my head for the last two months. But then, when I’m just about to start, I realize that the only reason I want to tell people is because I’m not feeling well at the time. Something will have happened that upsets me, or I will just be feeling extremely tired and out-of-sorts, that I want to give this good news to everyone so they can celebrate with me. But at the same time, I’m feeling morose, and the blog that I’ve written in my head expresses that. It has a depressing tone, like someone has died. I don’t want to tell people this secret with that kind of tone. I want to tell the world in a confident, excited, and happy way. Because that is how I feel about this topic: so excited I could burst. I want this reveal to be perfect, not just an excersize in cathartic blogging*.

I think that, as it stands now, I could do it soon. Everything is in place, and sooner or later I will have to tell people, or it’ll just be too evident in my daily life that the reveal will be less potent. But, like I said, I want to do it when I’m feeling confident and happy, not just looking for a release.

So, dear reader(s? Do we even have more than one?), maybe soon.

*K

*Anyone notice that, in essence, that’s what this blog is? Me being cathartic? I just felt like I needed to write, so I did. I’m sorry for it being so nonsensical, but even just telling the world that I have a secret that I will eventually reveal has made me feel better. So I guess it’s not completely pointless.

p.s. i have no idea what tags to put on this. emo? ranting? happy goodness? Pointless nonsense? I’m just gonna tag it in Kiara and figure it out later.