Wednesday, January 30, 2013

"Kings and Vagabonds"

Yeah. Pretty much.



I just had one of those "Oh!" moments when learning that Jeremy Irons voices Scar.

"Brisingr means fire---IS fire. Know the word, and you control the thing."

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Weekend Well Spent

I woke up today sounding like Darth Vader. Rather, Darth Vader minus a few octaves.

It all started back in late November (you know, that week after Thanksgiving when you're finishing off the leftovers). It was then that my dear beloved youth pastor announced to I and my fellow adolescents that we would be taking a trip to northern Arizona on a winter retreat weekend.

*enter happy excited whoop*

Now, you must know something before I continue: The people included in this story (youth group homies) are some of the most beautiful and marvelous friends on the planet. If you ever happen to be fortunate enough to meet any of them then believe me, you are blessed  (or if you happen to---curiously enough---be one of them you are a blessing). I mean, these guys are the peeps who you can feel comfortable doing stupid and hilarious things with during any given moment of life. That's what defines a best friend, no?

Well anyhow, excitement simmered to almost-bursting-point about this so-called retreat. December...January...January 2nd...January 9th...January 15th...January 20th...January 24! The day before leaving for a Friday/Saturday/Sunday of awesomeness! Believe me, my co-op friends had it figured the I was a Mexican jumping bean that Thursday. I was so ready to leave and get to the cold mountain of pine trees and muddy slush.

Friday was cool.
We left at 6:00-ish PM and got to our destination approximately 3 hours later. I could hear the shrieks even before I unloaded myself from the four-wheel drive truck that I had been trollied in:
"ACK! Mud!!"
"It's cold!"
"SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW! THERE'S ACTUALLY SNOW!!!! REAL SNOW!!! CAN YOU SEE THE SNOW?" etcetera etcetera. 

Of course, to all of you snowbirds up there, this was hardly snow. It was more patchy muddy slush from a few days prior to our arrival. Still---it was white(ish), cold, and easily flung at people's faces (the latter of which it did often).
Instead of soft white flakes falling through the air and tickling our eyelashes however, there was rain. Rain. Lots of rain. Like buckets of rain. Drizzle. Plinky plonky little drops ascending from the gray heavens in order to make our lives muddy and mildewy.

In three words?
It. Was. Brilliant.

If you didn't realize, I like mud. I like rain. Rain makes mud. Mud and rain go together. Throw both of those things at a camp in the middle of a pine forest on a mountain top with three other God-loving-and-praising youth groups and you get a wonderful time.

Our theme was "Surrender", and we did a kind of devotional/bible study thingy that also included a handful of video clips and presentations featuring the ever so renown Francis Chan. Also, we had dear Tim (SHWWWIMMMMMMM!)  as our speaker/pastor/what-have-you.

On the first night, immediately after getting out into the rain, mud, and slush, we headed into the dining hall to get our info on which cabin each of us were assigned to and what small group we'd been placed in. Much to my smug satisfaction, I got the awesomest place to stay ever.

IT EVEN HAD A BATHROOM OF ITS OWN...WHAT NOW!!

In addition to that happy detail, I was also sorted into the small group entitled the "Ramshorn Snails".

The rest of the night was spent in the green bean (worship center), unpacking, and dogging the ice clumps that were being hurled through the atmosphere (not all in that order). I had a very dramatic moment of pure perseverance as I trounced up the steep and slippery trail to my new home-away from home with arms full of duffle bags and sleeping bags. All of these things, of course, were done in the dark of night, and once done with the must-dos and need-to-be-dones everyone did their best to pipe down and get a little shut eye.

The tragic thing was this:
All weekend my stupid brain WOULD NOT SHUT ITSELF UP. This was very irritating. I'm telling you---I never have problems drifting off to sleepy-sleeperton land. Heck, you could probably just dump me on the side of a highway and I'd be able to sleep like a baby.
But nooOOOOOOOoooooo. I couldn't unwind. So I just sat there in the dark in a sort of half-dream half-alert state. Kind of like entering dream-state with your eyes open and your ears perked. You have no idea how many scenarios I shuffled through that night in the confines of my head. And the same happened the next night too---thus I was really quite exhausted and running on every hyper-active storage boost I could manage.

Actually kind of funny---Someone comment on just how awake and energized I seemed to be Sunday morning.

Errkg.

Moving on to Saturday:
Breakfast, small groups (which were absolutely amazing!! I miss my fellow Snails ;), nice walks in the rain ^_^,  devotions, lunch, crazy fun indoor games consisting of trashsket ball and trust fall relays that us snails TOTALLY BOSSED AT (you bet we earned those gloating rights!), sitting 'round in the dining hall singing songs with a seriously cool friend (and probably freaking everybody else out with my [our] not-so-perfect singing voice[s]), learning the cup game thingy!! (video demo on that sometime, 'k?), dinner,  worship, even more small groups (seriously, the people who were in my group were such blessings!), attempting to safely view a game of extreme spoons, and eventually retiring to bed (my sweet little bunk bed that I got all to my own little self).
That was Saturday, more or less.

Sunday was a day of cleaning up our messes and getting over the terribleness that it was all ending too soon. So many new faces that I'd shared great times with...it seemed like there at the retreat I was not only able to make new friends, but build stronger relationships with the ones that I'd already had.
It was so muddy, and rainy and full of muck that we had to pile all of our shoes into a big old plastic trash bag after getting into our assorted homeward bound vehicles (cars, trucks, vans...) to keep the dirty-car level at a minimum. Honestly, I'll tell you now that all of our clothes probably reeked of something similar wet dog. We weren't exactly the most pleasant-smelling bunch of kids on church campus after our return journey.

From there it was a ride home and a throw-everything-into-the-washer-spree.
I was back home.
With a lot to sort through. A lot to think about. All of this after spending two nights in a cold and rainy paradise of sorts with soppy clothes, soaked socks, and muddy everything else.

That, my friends is why I woke up sounding like Darth Vader this morning---goodness knows how much snot and slime I've had to hack or blow out of my system today. Whoopdeedoo for the aftermath of no sleep and cold weather.

But is was sooooo worth it. :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Brainsurge

May the (mass)(acceleration) be with you too.
Salutations to the owner of Gregory Wallace: there is always a time for inside jokes.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Nameology

Every once in a while I'm reminded of the vast amount of Internet user names and nicknames I've used throughout my short life. Crazy big hoards of pettish titles that hide in my closet and snicker at me while I fall asleep. You could probably bombard me with these someday, should you wish to do so. The following are of the lesser-embarrassing type.

First you must eliminate all that have to do with the name Kismint and Plinkadink (which *gasp* are pen names, if you were in doubt).

-KMinty (derrr.)
-Plinkydink
-KaPlink
-KismintKate

Then you could add these that only a certain few of you might recall and really don't have much relevance (such as)...

-Coffeeish
-Bae
-Dukluk (anybody ever find out what Mukluk means?)

From there you would go ahead and throw these in:

-Grey (O' the Dawn, baby!! ;)
-Swordwielder (always.)
-Wielder of sword and lampshade
-The girl with the lampshade on her head
-Unbeknowest (oooh, none of you saw that one coming O_o)

And then you have the other, more varied few which include

-Stewieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (there is a true art to pronunciation on this one)
-Katertot (You see, names that are cool start with "K". This one is obviously very classy)

Apart from the above stated, there are of course, what we children-of-our-parents have come to distinguish as the "TERROR NAMES". That is, the nicknames too terrible and forged so repulsively in the depths out of deep dark awkward family stories that for them to be uttered aloud and in public seems the most dreadful and unthinkable tragedy of our time. Of course, we all have those moments in which our blessed fathers and mothers have the occasional slip-up and call you by one of these never-to-be-mentioned titles before the presence of others. It is at these moments, friends, in which we must stand firm---facing our undying peril of utter embarrassment with great steadfastness and unwavering courage---and continue on, shouldering our heavily squishing and burdensome load with a plaster smile. And though recovery from such a tidal wave of mortification seems dreadfully far and out of reach, we must live in faith that the terrors of the moment will be mere jokes when looked back on from the future.
Admit it. You have them too.

*sly face*

See? I know these things.
Don't worry, I got your back. Besides, a little embarrassment ain't ever killed no'n. That is my comfort to ye of little hope.

On the related note of names (lookit how smoothly I change the subject!), do you guys realize that the word of the day today is "kibitzer"?? Remind me to use this one at least thrice a day.

'Tis all,
signed,
the Kismint of many names

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Hip-Hop Violinist and My Boring Life

Honestly, I just wrote you all a ton of random poems and prose and decided that it was too abstract to be entertaining. The things I do for you all...

Today was Tuesday. I don't usually do much on Tuesday. I woke up at 9:30, did my little exercise spiel (bwahahaha, figured out I can still hula-hoop like a boss), started school at noon and got distracted by watching Lindsey Stirling YouTube videos. 

Oh so awesome. 
(no I don't expect you to sit through them all, just pick one and be impressed)

My favorite!

Double win with the Piano Guys.

So. Stinkin'. Cool.

Are you inspired? I am.

Heyyy...I want an ice castle too.

But now you can see why I have to stretch really hard to find stories to present you with. That is, because my life is sort of not exciting. 

---Which is why most of what you hear about comes across as either really exaggerated or from the weirdest, most rambly parts of my brain. 

And just so that you know, I don't like monkeys. The tend to creep me out.

Time to go nighty-night.
K-Minty

Brain Infrastructure (etcetera)

I guess you can't really say that anyone fits a "personality type". We're all sort of mixes when it comes to our brain infrastructure. Somehow I find this extremely interesting. It always amazes me whenever I think about just how artistic God is when designing a human being.

Because I like to pick open my thoughts from time to time, I wrote the following.
Please note that it's 11:48PM and I'm in "that mood" that us night owls get.
I also keep on spelling "they" without the "y".

* * *

I am an analyst
The people who look at something and reason over it for a given amount of time. They find the flaws, but they find the good too. They don't always see eye-to-eye with...well with anyone depending on the circumstances...but they are typically flexible around people with different outlooks, even if they seem to keep a little distant. They see things and store things in their minds and use everything they take in as a measuring stick. They use this to compare everything to everything and note the contrast. Sometimes this can cause a minor sense of insecurity. Over-thinking is what they do best, and sometimes they can get carried away with it. Think something along the lines of a sailboat in a tsunami and you'll get the idea of what it's like for an analyst to run away with their musings.

I am an idea-er.
The people who some call "creative" but should really be titled "zany brains". These people present the world with what their inspiration juices handed off to them. They're people of action (and procrastination). Idea-ers are builders. It's in their nature to create and expand upon. They work on projects, either in committees or on their own, and strive to get their words out. They want to show what they're capable of, so they're always looking for new ways to recycle ideas or conjure up new ones. Unfortunately, when it comes to Idea-ers, they are either too timid to use their gifts to the fullest or too confident and begin to show off. They crave applause and gratitude from others, wanting encouragement and supportive words.

I am an extrovert.
Extroverts are the people who love and live to see other people being happy around them. They love to make people laugh, they love to feel included, and they love to belong. Generally, they just love to love. But every extrovert is different from the next. Some are particularly loud and aspiring, while others are simply content with being around people who acknowledge and appreciate them. Extroverts are not shallow, loud people who like doing things for the sake of draw attention. Instead they are merely people who find it refreshing to play with others. Sadly, because they value their crowds and fellow humans to such a high extent, they are prone to acting only as they think others would want or be amused by rather than behaving as they truly are and/or feel.

I am a dreamer, a writer, a class clown, an artist, a child of God.
And that's pretty cool.



Sunday, January 20, 2013

the Princess, the Swordsman, and the Saddle Maker

Hello friends. I'm happy to say that my writerliness-inspiration has returned after a week or two of drawing, reading, and photo-ing. That is, not to say that I didn't write, but only that I didn't feel like working on or devising any new novel/novella ideas.
But now I do.

I have this annoying habit of not finishing projects. Unfortunately, you're the one who gets more annoyed with it then I do---therefore, I go happily skipping to and fro from work space to work space and leaving the mess for you to sort and make sense of. That's how it is with my books and writerly-work.
For the past few hours I've been rebounding some old and recent (though more recent then old) ideas in order to create myself a nice little fantasy whim that I can use to keep myself busy. I miss writing fantasy. I really do. Not that I ever actually wrote (or have written) much at all, but after working my brains out on Upper Class last November (which, by the way, is still stuffed somewhere in the deep dark dank places of this computer's hard drive), I sort of started missing my made-up worlds and valiant swords-persons and archers. Not to say that futuristic post-apocalypse stories aren't enjoyable to write---on the contra'y, m'dear---but they just don't hit the spot like a good castle-and-dragon plot will.

So as of this minute I've got this going for me: (because I'm a nice person, I will show you my hard work)

For the first time ever, I actually did a very rough outline of the entire length of the book (it's only a prequel-type and leaves a large gap to fill with sequels) and made...CHAPTER TITLES.
(Keep in mind that I've only just done this within the last five hours. Everything is bound to change)
  1. "Cameleopards at Daybreak"
  2. "The Training of Geoffrey"
  3. "A Pilgrim from Iseas"
  4. "A Fit Saddle and a Crossed King" 
  5. "Castle Corrupted"
  6. "Blood, Fire, and Thieves" 
  7. "To Save the Princess"
  8. "A Circus Dissolved"
  9. "The Girl in Irons" 
  10. "En Route: the Exit"
And I'll go even further...CHARACTER NAMES. o_O

Milou Starr 
(That's "u" with one of those weird little apostrophe thingies above it.)
Leoy Cezna 
(Not Leroy. Leoy. LEE-OI. Leoy.)
Logan Tummat 
(Ha. Tummat sounds like Tennant. Just...realized that.)
Germione Raggart 
(To the few whom I spoke of that dream to: Ha. I told you I would.)
Geoffrey [of] Monmouth 
(Yes, yes. I see your confusion. But it's not what you think---I promise.)

See what happens when I take a break of writing? My brain gets all fizzy with ideas, that's what. Off to go write before I lose it all and start dragging. Somebody tell me I'm a genius.

With love and mad scientist smiles,
Kismint

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Slide Shooooooooooow

I take pictures on walks around my house.

Song: Stop Don't Stare || One Republic

Like a Snowflake

In ode to January.

* * *

I am cold. Like a snowflake. I dance and sparkle and squeal with joy as I float to the earth---to the people who watch me with wide eyes. This is my stage. I perform here and now. This is my song. I choose to sing it loudly. And when winter ends, I only hope that you'll be the first to remember me. Remember the ice, the sleet on the sidewalk and the frost in the windows. Remember the way you smiled by the fireplace and the times that we laughed together with our eyelashes white with sugar crystals that fell from the sky. And don't forget.


Don't forget, even in the summertime when the firework nights are never ending, that I'll return. And then you'll find your winter wonderland again.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Someone To Carry Me

Today something stands out. Today I thought about how wonderful God is. How He opens His arms for His children. Today I felt like crawling into His lap and just sitting with those open arms wrapped around me.
Nothing's easy. Easy was never promised to us. But those killer decisions, those trials and tribulations---right now those are the hardest. To be smart, to be wise, and to avoid the consequences of not being smart and wise...well that's painfully difficult sometimes. And you can't do it alone.
But---as I remind both you and myself---with Jesus, I don't have to be alone. No longer is it impossible
There are doorways and trap doors, castles in the sky and caverns undersea, golden brick roads and rickety old bridges, and not one of them that you'll have to whether without a Friend by you. 
My strength might be sapped, but I don't need it when I have someone to carry me
Hope forever and always,
Kismint

Saturday, January 12, 2013

50 times thankful for the little things


Playin' up the class *flips sunglasses down*

I've put down the pen, paper, and keyboard and picked up the pencil, sketchbook, and camera, so to speak. By now you know that I'm always jumping back and fourth between words and pictures, and right now, I'm running on a whim that's composed of snapshots, cartoons, and art graphics. Fun stuff.

Alas, that means that I've little to tell you, and even less I want to write about.
Therefore, for your entertainment, I've decided to spend the remainder of this entry to write lists.

(in my eyes)
WHAT MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE:

The sun
Jesus Christ!
Quietness
Laughter (when the quietness gets old)
Washing machines
Lazy Saturdays
Paper hearts
The way rains smells
Birthdays
Ambient music
Humming birds
Mismatched anything socks
Singing in the shower
Eating outside
Bubble wrap
Gel pens
Calculators
Rhyming words
Notebook paper
Nighttime
Smiles
Words marching across the page
Flowers
Plaid
Clouds
Neon green
Hot water
Ice cubes
The tick-tock of clocks
The way the wind goes "whoosh"
Stringed instruments
Footprints
Grass
Starlight
Whispering
Sketchbooks
Slippers
Airplanes Aeroplanes
Modeling clay
Tree houses
Grasshoppers
Hobbits
Potatoes
Paper clips
Wrapping paper
Movies
Lampposts
(felt-tipped) Sharpie markers
Hershey kisses
The word "Gesundheit"

What's on your 50 times thankful list?
K-Minty

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Given I complain about this far too much already...

Algebra.



Typical Thursday

I like the song Rainbow Veins. Sometimes the randomosity of it reminds me of how my own brain works.

A silver palace on a green hill
In ice and winter's wrath and chill
Gleamed in the eve of yester-year
Where those who fought fought for the dear
Above it is the mist of sky
In cloudy form of dreamer's eye
And flowers lay in shadow great
Of sunlight weakening and nighttime state

The silver castle on the mound 
And dancing figures all around 
Recall the time of victory gleam
That was a futile, hopeless dream
(Kismint Plinkadink)
So tell me, tell me, how are you? Have you bested dragons?  Defeated fears? What finds and treasures have been stumbled upon as of the year and month and week and time in question?

I've pray little to tell you about. Just me being a bumblebee with school and deadlines. Soon I'm to go and ride a horse or two unless it rains. Just'a typical Thursday. Y'know how it is.

And thus concludes entry 1/10/13.

God bless,
KaPlinkadink


Monday, January 7, 2013

For---*ahem*---those of you assassins.


Hi. 
I just thought a word or two of wisdom from Merlin was in order. 


Logical, as always.
*cough*sarcasm*cough*

Forgive me: School's in. 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Pictorial: Me explaining to you.

I have decided, out of the goodness and grace of my loving heart, to give you a beginning-of-the-year gift. And that would be my new link *points up above head* right there. Yeah, the one that says "Pictorial".

pic·to·ri·al

  [pik-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-ee-uh l]  Show IPA
adjective
1.
pertaining to, expressed in, or of the nature of a picture.
2.
illustrated by or containing pictures: a pictorial history.
3.
of or pertaining to the art of painting and drawing pictures, the pictures themselves, or their makers: the pictorial masterpieces of the Renaissance.
4.
having or suggesting the visual appeal or imagery of a picture: a pictorial metaphor.
noun
5.
a periodical in which pictures constitute an important feature.
6.
a magazine feature that is primarily photographic.


Well, to get straight to the point of things: I AM REALLY STINKIN' TIRED OF SHARING A VERY VERY FEW PICTURES ON THIS BLOG. (Seriously, why do I have to have a 1 gigabyte maximum space on my Picasa web album?? Curse you maximum space requirements!!)

And so I built a photography blog on Weebly.com.
But you already knew that.
What you didn't know was that every once in a while, me, myself and I get together on a lunch break and decide to be creative and have brainstorms and eat toast and drink hot chocolate. During these pleasant little reunions, me, myself and I occasionally happen to combine pictures and words together (what? No. Never. This is definitely not inspired by Pinterest. Nu-uh. No way.).
Well anyway, these three were feeling nice and generous, and decided that they wanted to share their work with you, that you may also, if desire, share it with others.

These little thing-a-ma-jiggies are just another sort of 'salad bug', but more picture-like than word like. They might have quotes from other people, or simply quotes from the three---me, myself and I. They might have my own original pictures, a solid color, or some other random object from the universe as a background. They might occasionally look like what some call "memes" and what others call "funny". They might be snippets of a book---written or otherwise. Or from a movie---acted on the stage of life or the cinema's.
In essence, they are a combination of things I see and things I hear.

And you friend, are allowed to do with them what you like.
www.kismint-pictorial.weebly.com

I hope you are pleased.

K-Minty Plinkadink

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