ACT

   I despise the ACT test.  I took a practice one today, and got a 24 =[...I need a 25 or higher to get a scholarship to the college I want to get into.  Ugh...  April 9th is the real test...  Let's hope I do better.  Wish me luck, guys!
   Ugh, gotta go.  Sorry, I'll have a better update next time, I promise.

Hobey-ho, mates.
This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.

Project Forever Worth It

   I just watched the movie To Save A Life, and when it was over, something clicked in my head:  I want to help people who are thinking about suicide.  So I'm making a website for people of any age, who are dealing with thoughts of suicide or feel like they aren't wanted.  No one should have to feel like that.
   As soon as I have the site up and running, I'll stick the link on here for you guys.  You can help out if you want, just put your ideas in the comment box.


This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.

Writer's Block and Jaw Lock

   H'okay, so.  I'm having the absolute worst writer's block I've ever had.  I started this new story (big surprise, I know) and it would be the coolest ever... If only I could figure out how to start it.  Seriously, I have exactly 20 sentences written down, and I am S.T.U.C.K.-Stuck!  They aren't even good sentences.  They S.U.C.K.-Suck!!  Maybe it's just the new program I'm using.  For the past year and a half, I've been using a program called PageFour, and it's simple, but I absolutely adore it.  However, just recently (within the one-two month range), my mom found me this program called yWriter5, and it really is cool.  You write separate scenes, and add them together, or reorder them, in different chapters, and you add characters, locations, items, etc. and it's just awesome... Problem is, it takes me awhile to get used to changes, especially when it comes to writing (Yeah, I know, that's a bad issue to have, don't remind me).  I'm thinking maybe I should do a collab, and use PageFour and yWriter5, and see if I can actually to get somewhere.  Because honestly:  20 sentences.  I think that has to go down in history as one of the fastest cases of writer's block to plague a person so soon after starting a project.  And it should be dubbed The Most Pathetic Case Ever.

~*~*~*~

   Now, have any of you ever heard of TMJ?  Well, here's a definition from www.webmd.com:

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the hinge joint that connects the lower jaw (mandible) to the temporal bone of the skull. Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) occur as a result of problems with the jaw, jaw joint, and surrounding facial muscles that control chewing and moving the jaw.

This joint is immediately in front of the ear on each side of your head. The joints are flexible, allowing the jaw to move smoothly up and down and side to side and enabling you to talk, chew, and yawn. Muscles attached to and surrounding the jaw joint control its position and movement.

   Now imagine this, also from www.webmd.com:

People with TMD can experience severe pain and discomfort that can be temporary or last for many years. More women than men experience TMD and TMD is seen most commonly in people between the ages of 20 and 40.

Common symptoms of TMD include:

• Pain or tenderness in the face, jaw joint area, neck and shoulders, and in or around the ear when you chew, speak or open your mouth wide
• Limited ability to open the mouth very wide
• Jaws that get "stuck" or "lock" in the open- or closed-mouth position
• Clicking, popping, or grating sounds in the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth (which may or may not be accompanied by pain)
• A tired feeling in the face
• Difficulty chewing or a sudden uncomfortable bite as if the upper and lower teeth are not fitting together properly
• Swelling on the side of the face

Other common symptoms include toothaches, headaches, neck aches, dizziness, earaches and hearing problems.

I have had this disorder for a better part of a year now.  But up until about two months ago, the whole first bulleted line hadn't occurred.  It never really hurt, just annoyed me.  I never used to have difficulty chewing, either.  But now, all of a sudden, my jaw's getting stuck in weird positions; I can't open to far because it hurts like heck when I do; I have to eat soft foods, or things that don't call for a lot of chewing, because chewing hurts; when I yawn, I have to make sure I don't push my jaw into an overbite, because moving it forward hurts; I have to squash down sandwiches and such, because I can't fit my mouth over them (and it's not like I had a very big mouth to begin with -frowny face-).  And I guess I'm not supposed to rest my chin on my hand, or sing, or talk much, or anything like that (The singing and talking can't be helped; chorus teachers don't think of TMD as a singing-prohibiter, and other teachers expect you to respond when they talk to you, and get mad when you don't). The chin-on-hand thing, I'm getting better at refraining from.

~*~*~*~

   So, now that I have gotten to give you the sob-story, my dear friends, about my writer's block, and educate you on TMD, I'm going to, much to your dismay, complain about people.  

   Today, my boyfriend, who has been sick with tonsilitus and strep-throat for the past week, but finally came to school today, went home to chill after school... And found two of his cats, one dead, the other half alive, both with lacerations on their left hind legs.  The one that was already dead, Rahvin, we discovered, had actually been shot in the leg.  And then possibly run over, because her back legs were sprawled out, one on each side, and the whole back end had been flattened like a pancake.  His other cat, Spectre, is very furry, and mostly black, so it's hard to tell exactly where her injury is.  It is on the same side as Rahvin's, but we don't think she was shot.  She may be just really sore, but we thought there was blood on her, too, so... yeah.  She ate normal today, so hopefully, there's no internal bleeding.

   Rahvin was found near the tree-line of my boyfriend's home, and Spectre had somehow crawled away from the road and behind their garage.  Both had obviously been trying to get back home after the...attack.  My boyfriend is pissed more than anything, but I can tell he's sad, too, even though he hides it very well.  It just makes me so angry that people have the audacity to shoot a poor, innocent animal, who did absolutely nothing to them!  People around where I live, do it just for the hell of it, and it pisses me off to a T! (Please excuse my language)... Hopefully, Spectre will live and be up and walking soon.  That's my boyfriend's favourite cat.

   Well, I need to pack for this weekend, and do a little ACT homework (that I'm probably actually not going to do until tomorrow) and get some rest.  Hobey-ho, mates.

This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.

Japan, Justin Bieber, and Chinese Packaging

   So, I'm assuming you all heard about the earthquake in Japan, it's more than 100 aftershocks, and now, its tsunamis.  Over 200 to 300 bodies were found in the rubble, and the death toll is rising.  Please, pray for Japan and it's people, because they need all the help that can be given.  Let's do what we can, and leave the rest up to God, but please pray for Japan.

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   Tonight, with 5 of my friends, I went to the Justin Bieber movie.  Now, before any of you Bieber-haters start having a conniption fit, I suggest you watch the movie.  It might change your mind.  I used to dislike Bieber a lot, but you know what?  I realized I only disliked him 'cause everyone else did.  Can you think of a good, sensible reason to dislike Justin Bieber?  If you can, well then, I guess you're justified in saying you don't like him.  But if you can't, I suggest you rethink things a bit, and maybe even watch the movie, where it shows how everything got started for this talented young man.  He's a very sweet and gentlemanly, and now, I have no problems with him, at all.  So, even if you really dislike him, check out the movie.

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   In other news, my prom dress, which I had ordered clear back at like, the beginning of February, finally came yesterday.  It's a poofy dress, pretty fluffy, you know?  So let me ask you this:  How on earth did the Chinese people I bought it from, fold it up small enough to fit in a 12 1/2x9 or 10 envelope!?!?  Are the Chinese, like, master packers?!  How does that work?!  I have no idea.  All I know is that my dress is really going to need to be de-wrinkled.

   Well, as I finish my Subway sandwich, I bid you all goodnight.  And remember:  Send your prayers and support out for Japan, stop hating on Justin Bieber, and hats off to the Chinese for having major packing skills!

This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.

Strange Food Combos

   Everybody likes to eat certain foods, with certain others foods.  Just to name a few that I know of:

1. Salty French fries and ice cream
2. Spaghetti and peanut buttered-bread
3. Chili and PB-bread
4. Coco and a cheese sandwich
5. Pancakes and ketchup
6. Pancakes and hot sauce
7. Pizza and ketchup
8. Grilled PB sandwiches
9. Macaroni and ketchup
10. Mashed potatoes and gravy, with ketchup

   Anybody got any more weird food combinations??  If you do, leave a comment!

This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.

Quirky Habits

   Anybody got a little quirk, or habit, or something that you do that you just can't explain?  For example, you always put your right shoe on first, or you scrub each of your hands an equal amount of times when you're washing them.  I've got some silly ones that I just noticed today.

1. I do, in fact, always put my right shoe on first.
2. I always have to have my chap-stick in my right pocket and my phone in my left.
3. Positioning of the toilet paper roll is crucial:  When I go to pull off some, it has to roll off the top.  In other words, the roll has to turn clockwise when I pull on it. (I've actually always known this one)
4. If I'm testing water temperature, even if it's with just one finger, I have to get the other hand wet, too, otherwise I can't dry off the water. (Same with this one)
5. When looking for forks, I dig through the silverware draw and find the forks we have that have a little diamond at their center that is between the two middle teeth.
6. My contact for my right eye is always the first one to be put in, and the first one to be taken out.
7. When I have several different things on my plate to eat, I rotate:  Eat this first, then this, then this, etc., going in a circle around my plate.  BUT, I only do this twice, at the most.
8. To pop the fingers on my right hand, I bend them backward.  To pop the fingers on my left hand, I push down on them.
9. At school, for lunch, I do things in this order before I get my food:
   -Grab milk
   -Put milk on little square closest to left hand
   -Grab napkin
   -Fold napkin once and put under milk... All with right hand only
   -Grab fork
   -Grab spoon (even though I hardly ever use it)
   -Grab straw
   -Put all three down in little slot for silverware on tray
10. When I go to get something of the cart at lunch, I always head for the left side
11. (We have two fridges: Fridge, and Mom's fridge)
    -I open refrigerator door on Fridge.
    -Go to Mom's Fridge and open refrigerator door.
    -Still at Mom's Fridge, open freezer door.
    -Go back to Fridge and open refrigerator door.
    -Open Fridge's freezer door.
    -Finally, open Fridge's refrigerator door, again, before realizing there is nothing to eat.
12. I like to slide both my arms into my coat at the same time

   Get the picture?  I had a really silly one that I honestly just realized at school, today, but I can't remember it.

   Well, I'm going to go to bed.  Hobey-ho, mates...

This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.