Summer Adventures...

Hello, interweb! Long time no see, right? I've been extremely busy doing an awful lot of nothing, as you see to the left... reading a 1998 Special Edition of Teen People takes time. Besides lounging around at Lake Ontario, I have done lots of fun things. Such as... doing touristy things, trying to get a tan, watching many, many Youtube video bloggers, befriending a lovely Hungarian international tourist, re-watching all of the seasons of Doctor Who (I've finally caught up!), making about 1,001 trips to Starbucks (more on that later), reading several fantastic books (and several very non-fantastic ones), and I've gotten a haircut.

Alright, let's go in order. I had no idea how fascinating Prince William was until I bought this 'vintage' Teen People at a local flea market. I also bought several other things, like several anklets, a ring, and a necklace, but that's beside the point. The Prince of Wales seems very lovely, and I just wish he was a bit younger. Oh well, there's always Harry! :) Did you know that the nobles of England are allowed to marry Americans? There's hope! Just kidding. Sort of.

Touristy things: The best part of our Lake Ontario vacation was our day trip to the Thousand Islands and Boldt Castle. Myself, my father, my mom, Meg, and Emma all went on a short cruise of the thousand islands which ended at the fabulous and mysterious Boldt Castle. It would be a lot more mysterious if there weren't hundreds of American and Canadian tourists milling about. The story is quite romantic. Back in the 1920's this man decided to build a huge, lavish castle for his beloved wife, but she died suddenly before it was finished. After that, he would not let a single person set foot on the island, vowing that if she hadn't been able to see it, neither would anyone else. And then...he died. So they did finish it, and now it's a great place to go and admire and wish that this was your summer home... well, that's what we did.





The next wonderful thing I accomplished is a new friendship. Miss Laura Varga came to Albany, NY to experience America, and we happened to meet. She's pretty awesome. We spent the day in downtown Albany, doing the State Museum, walking around on the Plaza, and having scintillating conversation. We managed to spend time together several times before it was time for her to leave town. The Plan is that next year I will come and visit her in Hungary. It's going to happen.


Doctor WHO! I love that show so much! I wish there were more Americans that watched it, but oh well. It's just another sign that I was destined to be an adopted Brit. This past season really surprised me. I had expected it to be a disappointment what with the changing of Doctors from David Tennant to Matt Smith, but this has been a remarkable and even sometimes funny season. Karen Gillan did a great job as companion, and the writing for the episodes was as brilliant as ever. Well done, BBC, well done. Here's a link to one of my favorite video bloggers from the UK singing about the season finale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmGHAl8j5b0&feature=player_embedded

Just as a side note, my two favorite drinks of the summer were these: Grande coffee frappuccino with 2 pumps each of hazelnut and caramel, with an add shot for a caffeine boost, and: Grande iced coffee with 2 pumps each of caramel and vanilla syrup, and a caramel drizzle on top. Oh, so good! :) And of course there's always the classic caramel macchiato! -->

Alright, I think that about covers it, except to tell you that I don't recommend looking for uplifting, non-depressing books in the Young Adult section of the library. You won't find any. The best book I read this summer was a historical fiction called A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper. I really enjoyed reading it for the fairly unknown history of this tiny island in 1937.

Oh, I almost forgot about my haircut! I went really short just this past week for something different. I wasn't sure at all how it would turn out, or even where my hairstylist was going with it, but I ended up really liking how much it looked like Alice Cullen from the Twilight movie! I hadn't expected that.

I hope you all are well, and I'd like you to know that My Life Is Backwards this summer because I spent the majority of it without internet. Me! A girl who goes through withdrawal after being out and about for a day without checking email or Facebook! Ah, how funny life is...

- Életem visszafelé!

P.S. Tell me the best part about your summer in the comment section below. Thanks!

How the Regents Ruined 3 Months of my Life, and Other Stories

Ugh. I just finished my Chemistry Regents (Well, technically I came home, downed a Grande Caramel Macchiato, slept for 2 hours, and then I sat down with you) and it was...memorable. Technically, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I mean, I knew the majority of the questions due to the frantic studying I accomplished between getting my Final back and 1 o'clock this afternoon. It's just absolute madness that we learn all year for this horrendous exam. Our first clue would be that only California is the other state stupid enough to fall for this annual torture method inflicted on innocent High School students. Thankfully, I'm not desperately unintelligent, but Chemistry is most definitely not my strong suit. It does make me feel alot better, though, that whenever you mention Chemistry to the average High School graduate, you'll get a groan and probably a VERY sympathetic look. That helps.

But lets not dwell on the highly unpleasant things of life - the test is over and now all I can do is wait for the inevitable and much-too-important grade. No, let's talk about music. I've been discovering lots of brand new artists that are lesser known to me but well worth having in my iTunes. Like Johnny Cash. Man, is he fun to listen to! I mean, I know I'm like 60 years later than his time or something, but songs like Walk the Line and Ring of Fire are just plain awesome. Oh, and Herman's Hermits? Yeah, they're pretty hilarious. In a good way, mind - I have their Greatest Hits, and 'Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter' is adorable. Gotta love those British people. I also got some more of the absolutely wonderful James Blunt (another talented Brit), along with some Bon Jovi. Apparently, not having heard anything he's ever done is a huge hole in my musical education (at least that's what my brother, Jim, informed me).

With the start of Summer comes books - dozens, hundreds, thousands. I've just finished one that seemed all too familiar, until I realized that it was just Mulan with a few differences. I finished it anyway. It seems kind of wrong not to finish a book once you've really started; I've never been able to successfully stop reading book just because I didn't like it. Somehow, I feel like the author would find out and be extremely offended, or something. Have you ever just stopped reading a book? If so, do you remember which one it was? I'd really like to know.

Since we're going down the Media route, let's discuss a new show that I'm sort of addicted to: Glee. I have a feeling I should be a little embarrassed by the fact that I really, really like this show, but, for someone who has a Twilight, Eclipse, and High School Musical t-shirts, it doesn't seem so bad. Glee is just like HSM, only with better acting and a LOT more talent. And....well...Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) makes it all worth while. That's all I'm going to say on that subject. Have you seen an episode of Glee, or is this the first you've heard of it?

Today My Life is Backwards because I'm a home schooled student who had to take the worst Regents of them all - Chemistry.

Leave me a comment below, and thanks for reading!

- Minha vida está para trás!

The Prom: 'A Night to Remember' (Whether You Go or Not)

That's right. The prom. Many high schoolers would put little sparkles and hearts around the title, followed by someone's initials and a date. Not me. When the talk of a prom that I would be able to attend rolled around several months ago, I snorted at the prospect. Me? In a ball gown, with some great guy dancing the night away and taking tons of pictures. It didn't appeal to me - it didn't fit the idea of myself that I held in my head. And so, I forgot it - until we happened upon a white, jeweled, full skirted ball gown that made me feel like Cinderella, completely without the customary soot and dust. Suddenly, the prom seemed like a magical place full of people waiting to admire me in all my sequined glory. I wanted that image, but I was firm that if I were to go, I must have a date. I wanted to either ask someone that I really, really would enjoy myself with, or forgo it altogether.

As the mental picture of myself in shimmering splendor faded, though, the prom fell out of my mind again, and I didn't search for a date. I was sure I didn't want to go with just anyone. I wanted to have the perfect experience. However, because of my aforementioned guy-friend shortage, and my past, unpleasant experiences with overly romantic boys, no readily available young men seemed to appear.

Then came dance class. What seemed like the possibility of so much fun and possibly pre-prom-worthy moments turned out to be an all-time low in the self-esteem area. Because I have long supported the 'the man goes after the woman'way of viewing guy-girl interactions, I wasn't one of the girls who immediately grabbed whichever partner I wanted. I wanted so badly to be picked for who I was, and, honestly, for what I looked like. It didn't happen. I ended up having to learn the male/lead part for every traditional dance, and it was pretty terrible. I have never felt as undesirable as I did then - there's just something about that age-old feeling of being selected out of all the others by someone. But I didn't get that feeling.

Oh, dear, we're getting much too depressing for normal conversation, aren't we? Anyway, when prom did roll around in earnest, all those girls from dancing class went with their very own dates - the boys they had selected from the very first lesson. I didn't go. No dress. No date. No hair and makeup. No...pictures. What pictures. The day after on Facebook was nearly insufferable. All those pretty faces, and it looked like so much fun. I knew that I would remember not attending the prom just as clearly as I would have remembered going.

So, I suppose it bothered me much more than I had anticipated. I felt forgotten, left behind, completely unwanted. I felt like I was supposed to be Cinderella, and I had missed the ball.

My mother assured me that my story was one of many disappointed, would-be princesses. That's my question to you: am I alone? Did you go to your prom, or did you decide against it? Were you asked, or did you ask someone to go with you? Was it every bit as magical and perfect as we all think, or was it a letdown?

I really want to know. My Life Is Backwards today because of those few moments I felt so much like Cinderella, but I seemed to have missed my first ball.

Share your prom story with me in the comment section below.

- Mae fy mywyd yn ôl.

Failure as a blogger, thy name is Sophia

Ohmygoodness! I cannot believe I am such an awful blogger. It's just been, like I said last time, without a whole lot of dilemma, conflict, and crisis. Which makes for a pretty humdrum life, if you know what I mean. But whoever said anything was wrong with humdrum? It's probably better than constantly being in emotional and intellectual turmoil. At least that's what I think. However, it does make me feel pretty silly writing to the interweb along the lines of, "Today I went to the dentist. I need to get a filling in one of my molars, or I might get a cavity." or even the highly riveting, "Today I electrocuted myself. It hurt for a couple of minutes, and then it didn't anymore." Personally, that sounds a bit more like a MyLifeIsAverage post than a MyLifeIsBackwards one.

One piece of fun information, though - I got my permit! I finally have a photo ID, which - gasp - I have never ever had! When I wanted to go tanning a while ago, I had to bring in my birth certificate and my social security card. That's a bit much - all they wanted was a school ID or something, but, of course - I'm 'home educated,' so I did not have anything to prove I was who I said I was. It was the same story with me riding the train from Rochester, NY to Albany (which was the best time I've had in a while, by the way).

Anyway, I passed the test with a 100%. The hard part was getting my parents (who somehow still think of me as 10 years old) to let me get behind the steering wheel. I have to admit, it is pretty scary, operating an enormous piece of 'heavy machinery.' But I was pretty proud of myself for passing that adult-ish milestone. My parents were shocked back on December 6th when I didn't demand to be taken to the DMV because of my 16-year-old-ness. I just wasn't motivated. I am now, however, and I'm really enjoying the experience of learning something so new and strange. I still accidentally turn on the windshield wipers when I mean to put on my signal (which, for some reason, I call 'blinking'). I said to my brother on our first drive, "Oh! I should have blinked at that corner, shouldn't I?" He was extremely confused for a second, before figuring out what I meant to say. Since then, I can't think of anything else to call 'putting on the signal.'

[Biiig sigh] Well, now I feel better about life. I am no longer falling down on the job with this bloggy-thing. Except, I can't think of a reason My Life Is Backward...
I'm sure there's some reason! :) Maybe you could come up with some of the times your Life Is Backwards and leave it in the comments for me to mull over?

- Твојот живот е наназад!

P.S. In case you don't speak Macedonian like me (heavy sarcasm), that's the language used above.

My Life Is....Unbloggable

My life hasn't been Backwards lately...just boring. I'm feeling very uninspired lately. It doesn't help that my followers don't really comment very avidly. Any help here, guys? This post is going to be about 6 sentences long. See, I told you.

Hoping for comments about anything at all!

- La mia vita è noiosa

Solitary Confinement

Hello, everyone,
Have you ever tried NOT to look at Facebook all day? How about Twitter? Formspring? Dailybooth? Pandora? Youtube?? It's maddening! I feel like an addict in rehab (although I know it's not a fraction of the pain or frustration they feel) - the whole, "Hi, I'm Sophie, and I haven't been on Facebook for 12 hours." I never realized how much I use these websites until I decided to go without them for...dare I say it...a WEEK? It's going to be tough, and today is only the first day! I feel very isolated, not knowing what everyone's doing, feeling, saying, or even vlogging! I love me some British Youtubers, so how can I go on without making sure that Charlie McDonnell hasn't uploaded a new video about his life today? Boy, it's not easy.

And to make things worse, today the charging cable for my Asus netbook went kaput on me, so my handy-dandy, carry-wherever-you-go, connect-to-the-web-in-an-instant laptop is temporarily out of service. I feel like ripping my very straight hair out of my head! I'm really trying to stay sane, and not to complain. After all, I'm doing this because of holy week. It's sort of like a withdrawal to try to remember what's really important and what I really should be focusing on. The problem is, I spent most of the time today that I should have been contemplating the meaning of Easter worrying about what Charlie, Nerimon, Johnny (and maybe a couple of people I actually know) might be doing without me being in on it.

I know what you're thinking - 'Maybe you could simplify your life by not using sooo many social networking sites at once! And...let's go on record for this one -- you're right. I am an internet addict. I really feel like a whole part of me is missing. Like the whole world is going on while I'm standing stock still. What if I miss Evan Lysacek's latest tweet? What about Owl City? Taylor Swift? Justin Bieber? (Don't even start on that one.) I could just go on. I think this is unhealthy. No, I know it is. I mean, not using any internet except for school and email (and of course my trusty blog) shouldn't be that awful. But it is. I guess I'm going to have to use the old, rather lame, but very true phrase, "You never know what you've got until it's gone." How true this is!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for a person who (for the most part) has no friends, how lame is it to use this many sites for 'networking?' I mean, how 'Backwards' is it to spend that much of my real life on the internet following other people's seemingly extraordinary existences? Did God mean for us to live so wholly vicariously through others? I'm thinking not. I mean, I don't know about you other people, but do I really need to know all the plans people make without me? Does it enrich my life? Make me any happier? Maybe Facebook hurts more than helps as far as 'networking' me to others.

Anyway, it sure is something to think about...

Hope you're all having a great Holy Week, and enjoy that internet freedom!

- Líf mitt er aftur á bak!

P.S. When/if Charlie does post a video: you tell me, and I will be VERY put out. And don't you dare watch it before I do. You have been warned!

"I'm sorry!"

I must have said that about a million times each hour for the past few days. No, I didn't commit any heinous crimes, I just was sneezing, coughing, or generally just laying in bed feeling awful. Who did I apologize to for these awful sins? My loving mother. You see, for the first 24, 48, or even 72 hours of an illness, my compassionate Mama will extend the hand of mercy, doting on a sick child, taking them special things to eat, and even just rubbing them when they feel horrid. But...after those token 'sick days,' it's no Mrs. Nice Nurse! While she would never (well, not usually) openly be hostile to someone who is sick, her tolerance will definitely dim after she feels your immune system has had enough time to heal.

The way my mother was raised, you had an alloted amount of sick days a year: 1. If you exceeded that one day, her parents would extend no sympathy. So, she feels she is being very kind if she gives you 2 whole days together! That should definitely be enough. After that, you're on your own. However, with My Backwards Life, I get sick...allll the time. I'm not even joking. Whether it has something to do with a weak constitution, my extreme allergic reaction to anything remotely healthy or green, or maybe just natural selection, my body simply does not want to stay healthy. My tendency towards sickness might also have something to do with my spending a large amount of my time with drooly, spitty, sneezy, whiny children. Maybe just a little.

But, whatever the reason, my body will just decide to give me a cough, achy muscles, a terribly runny nose, or a million other things. Let me tell you, it is extremely annoying. I like feeling ok, I really do. So, dear reader, that is the (however lame or wimpy) reason I have for not updating my splendid blog for a whole 5 days. So, just like my wonderful mother, I will tell you, "I'm sorry!"

I really don't have much new on the Pete front to share, except for the fact that we are supposed to meet soon. His parents are working it out with mine, along with our awesome youth pastor. Ah well, the sooner the better. Then I will be free to start playing with some other poor unfortunate soul's emotions, and then 'dumping him like so much trash.' Hah! I can't tell you how funny that sounds to me. As if I would ever play with a guy for fun - I'm probably the last person you would call a 'player.'

Having a blog is fun because you can express yourself in more than 140 (or 180, as Facebook rules) characters. I find it difficult to sum up a whole day in a sentence. I don't know if it's just me, but I usually come up with several possible statuses each day. However, I sort of made it a rule only to update once a day. I don't want to become one of those people who spends their time living their life on Facebook instead of actually experiencing it for real. I do have the habit of rephrasing each interesting event that happens to me as a status. Then I'm in a quandary next time I sign in because I can't decide which one is the most riveting. For that reason, I often just put something boring or mainstream.

Is it just me? 'Cause I'm probably going to log on right after I post this and say, "Just posted a new blog post. Go read it, people! smiley face" or something along those lines. Then again, I wouldn't put "coughed about 100 times in the last 30 minutes. Sneezed alot. Blew my nose so much it's red." I mean, nothing shouts 'loser' more than a status that doesn't even get 'liked.'

I'm sorry. - Look! I said it again. This time I was apologizing for rambling. I'm probably wasting your time. Leave a comment with your thoughts about 'status living,' being sick all the time, or how uninteresting you thought this post was. Anything along those lines.

Thanks for experiencing my mundane existence with me, once again!

- Ma vie est à l'envers!

P.S. Are you an Even Lysacek fan? You know, that guy who won gold for America in the Men's Figure Skating in the Olympics? Well, if you are, he's going to be on Dancing With the Stars (I know, I know, I'm only going to watch because I like him!) Monday at 8 pm on ABC. Don't miss it! :)