For Christmas my parents gave me two new camera lenses (and some filters and some other things)! It was very exciting.

These new Tokina lenses are:

1. AF 28-80mm f/3.5~5.6 macro
2. AF 100-300mm f/5.6~6.7 macro

I haven’t taken a whole lot of pictures with the new lenses, but I have taken some.

This photo was taken with an FL-D filter on the lens. The filter muted the colors, giving it a softer glow.

Here’s the most boring photo you ever saw (besides new-born baby photos). It looks old and faded because of the FL-D filter. The bougainvillea is becoming dormant for the winter, adding to the all around dead look.

When I was little, about 5 years old or so, I lived in a house in Missouri. The house had a living room with a big window that faced west. On Sunday afternoons, after church, my mom and brother would take a nap and I would be left to play quietly by myself.

I would always wonder if turning on the t.v. would be quiet enough. And eventually I reasoned out that if I turned on the t.v. and turned the sound off it would be alright. The only thing on the t.v. on a Sunday afternoon was cooking shows.

Some Sundays I wouldn’t want to watch cooking shows. On those Sundays I would sit on the big chair next to the big window and play with the dust that floated around. Because the sun hit the window at just the right angle, the dust was very easy to see. The dust floated calmly upwards because of a vent that was beneath the big chair. I always pretended that each speck of dust was a person going up the stairs to board a plane. There were business men, women with tired little children, people that were about to miss their flight. Little did they know that they would never get the chance to take off. I would blow the dust people, sending them flying off in all directions. Then I would give the dust people a chance to settle down and resume what they were doing.

But little did they know that their airport repairs were in vain….

1. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
2. I prefer wearing flip flops over any other type of foot wear.
3. I have a stamp collection.
4. I’ve been to Mexico, but only because it’s a few hours away.
5. I rarely call people on my cell phone; I use it mostly for the internet.
6. I’m good at producing essays on demand.
7. I have perfectionist traits.
8. I’ll read whatever is set in front of me.
9. I can speak Spanish.
10. I love pens and unlined notebooks.
11. I am an Apple fanboy girl.
12. I think that pajama pants are one of the best inventions.
13. I have strict rules for myself about what clothes I can wear to certain classes on certain days (i.e. I only wear jeans on Fridays, after a minimum of 1 month into the semester).
14. I’ve been able to play the piano since I was eight.
15. I pretend that I can play the guitar.
16. I swam in many swim meets in my day.
17. I collect dolls.
18. I am left handed.
19. I have not seen London, I have not seen France, but I have seen someone’s underpants.
20. I only eat cooked tomatoes.
21. I like being outside.
22. I don’t like artificial light.
23. Current obsession: World of Warcraft
24. I like reading classic books.
25. If I see a vinyl record by any band that I have even remotely heard of, I’ll buy it.
26. I work pretty well under pressure.
27. I can run fairly fast if needed (read: almost late to class).
28. I know just enough about HTML/CSS to get me by. I wish I knew more.
29. Six hours of sleep is all I need, but I usually take seven for good measure.
30. I’ve had braces.
31. I have never broken a bone.
32. I have never had stitches.
33. I’ve been a Christian since I was five.
34. A blanket and a book is all the hibernation preparation I need.
35. I am a grammar snob.
36. I believe what goes around comes around.
37. Skinny jeans? Most retarded idea ever.
38. I love jackets.
39. I have a Boston Terrier named Bella.
40. I was raised on Mary Poppins, 101 Dalmations, and The Sound of Music.
41. I participated in the discovery that setting off a dry ice bomb, underwater, during swimming lessons, is not the best idea.
42. If I got a nickle everytime someone mispronounced my name, I could pay for my college education.
43. I have a gimpy, magnetic Spiderman who guards over my magnet board on my bedroom wall. I’m not sure why he’s missing an arm, but I think it has something to do with the Green Goblin.
44. I can’t sleep in bed if I have socks on.
45. If I am sitting down in a car, my femur is long enough to lay down and rest my head on.
46. I don’t like needles.
47. I have been stung by bees so many times that, as far as I can tell, I’m becoming imune to them.
48. Believe it or not, but one of my favorite photographers is Heather Armstrong.
49. Painted nails just don’t work with me.
50. I can’t work if I’m not multi-tasking.
51. I was home schooled from first through twelfth grade.
52. I like baking but I don’t like cooking.
53. Out of all the American cities I’ve been to, San Diego is my favorite.
54. I’m not really worried about terrorists.
55. I am a political moderate.
56. I like rock concerts.
57. One of the only t.v. shows I watch is Seinfeld.
58. Math makes my head hurt.
59. I like wearing the color brown.
60. I’m a lot taller than your average girl, and I like that.
61. I guess I’m a Yankee because I like oatmeal but not grits.
62. I’m lactose intolerant.
63. I’m a first-born child.
64. My favorite newspaper comic strip is Get Fuzzy.
65. I could live on pasta.
66. I take pictures everyday.
67. I’m a nerd.
68. I never got over Pokemon.
69. I like watching Indie and Foreign Films.
70. I keep my finger nails short.
71. I think dark chocolate is real chocolate.
72. I dislike people who talk during movies.
73. Previews count as part of the movie.
74. On my list of detestable creatures, snakes are less detestable than crickets.
75. I wish Americans played rugby instead of football.
76. Soccer and water polo are the best games to play.
77. Knick-Knacks are not cute.
78. I am sarcastic.
79. I like rain on Sundays.
80. I am goal oriented.
81. Someday I would like to fly a helicoptor.
82. I like mixing sweet and salty together, such as chocolate and pretzels.
83. I like puns, inside jokes, and sarcasm.
84. I love scarf weather.
85. I will spend more time and energy figuring out how to make a chore easier than the time and energy I will need to spend on the chore.
86. I respect art in all of its forms.
87. Cotton Polos are my favorite kind of shirts.
88. I like school.
89. Maalox tastes better than a lot of candies.
90. I only pretend to understand British humor.
91. I like asking, “If…would…?” questions.
92. I have five birthmarks.
93. I love eating.
94. I use a knife as much as I use a fork.
95. I am an expert present guesser.
96. I think that drinking hot tea is more about looking classy than drinking it for its flavor.
97. I like reading things about my personality.
98. I like watching cartoons on Saturdays.
99. I almost always finish what I start.
100. Lazy days, warm afternoons, and cozy nights are what make the world go ’round.

This past couple weeks has been spent dealing with tests. I had college exams, final projects, and the ACT* to deal with.

The ACT was easy, breezy, beautiful…Covergirl. Okay, so the math part was like Covergirl’s ugly younger sister, but other than that it went well. I really didn’t study for it. I figured that years of CAT testing was the best preparation for this sort of thing. In the Science section of the ACT, one set of questions was on genetic inheritance and probability. It asked questions about the classic white eye vs. red eye fruit fly examples. The great thing about the set was that just a couple weeks ago I answered those same questions in a biology lab.

Now I’m just waiting on results.

* “College exams and ACT testing….what?” I know. It’s a mess. It’s because I’m taking college classes as a high school kid, but I’ll still need standardized testing scores to complete university applications.