Thursday, August 5, 2010

Bibles

Everyone's got their own personal Bible, "that one" book that defines them, encapsulates them, perfects them. Mine, I haven't found. It's probably a dusty old leatherbound thing, sitting in a forgotten corner of a struggling used bookstore, waiting. One day I'll go into that shop. I'll scoff at the selection but I'll browse anyway, because something wants me to. I'll leaf through a few books in the Fiction section before deciding they're worthless and turning on my heel to leave.

Then I see it. Sitting on a stool in the corner with a hundred years' worth of dust and dead bees on it. I'll brush off the corpses and pick up the book- it will have no title- and, breathlessly, I will open it. The first page I see will be somewhere in the middle: it will be blank. Confused, I'll flip through the rest of the pages and discover that, yes, all of them are blank.

I'll sigh, disappointed. After all, this is my Bible- I had expected something amazing. I'll buy it anyway, just for the hell of it, but I'll forget it at a coffee shop a few minutes later. After I leave, the barista will notice it, grab it, and run out into the street to give it to me (she thought I was cute, it was one more opportunity to get my number) but I'll be gone already. So she'll take it home, discover it's blank, and spot a pen on the table. "Oh, why not?" she'll mutter, and write a few stories that float in her head, stories of princes and dragons and all the wonderful and terrible things she's heard and thought and felt. The next day, she'll forget it at a restaurant, and a friendly waiter will notice it, grab it, and run out into the street to give it to her (he thought she was cute, it was one more opportunity to get her number) but she'll be gone already. So he'll take it home, discover it's blank...

...And so my Bible travels. It never seems to run out of pages, and it has a habit of getting forgotten (curiously, it also displays a kind of aphrodisiac effect among food-service workers) and finding a new owner. It's filled with stories of every kind, breathtaking and dull, thoughtful and pulpy, hilarious and heartbreaking. And one day, it will find its way back to me.

Or maybe not. I did say "probably" at the beginning of that, y'know.

Anyway, I finished two songs! One is an adorable love song with some fun finger-picking. The other is about Lovecraftian horror. I'm pretty sure I am the most confusingly versatile artist in the world. But mmm, songs.

Monday, August 2, 2010

August Challenge, Reborn

So back in sultry July, Noah promised that the month-long dry spell would be just that: A month, with a promise of miraculous reincarnation in August.

August is now upon us, as evidenced by the ice on my (currently out of commission) air conditioner, and 'tis the season of backwards equations with letters in them. So, with heavy heart, I resume my Quest to Not Fail Highschool. Along with it goes the New! Improved! Music vs Math challenge.

The Math: One math course, designed to take a year to complete. Total lessons: 35. Completing each lesson requires watching the lesson, doing one worksheet, and taking the test. Test scores must be 80% or higher to "pass".

The Challenge: The month is August. I'm completing Math lessons, Noah is writing songs. Person with the most completed on September first, wins.

The Stakes: Bragging rights! Also, yes, my highschool diploma. But hey, girl's gotta have priorities, right?

And so, tugging my books from between Girl Genius and an article on how all teens are hopelessly depressed (oh, the irony), I trudge into a dingy motor home for my date with Gus.