I had a fun day that was 40% art, 50% nerd, and 10% video games. I worked on Warhammer models/ my big AP art piece (the illustrated quote) until 3, which is when I headed down to the store to play Warhammer with Marco and Karim. Marco got wrecked, and my chances did not look amazing, so I think it is safe to say that Karim pretty much won- which is really impressive. In the morning, I played my AvP (Alien vs Predator) video game, which is really fun and really terrifying (imagine the Alien movie, but you are Ripley, and there are lots of Aliens... You have a gun in the game though, which kind of changes things up). It was a really productive day- but still not productive enough. Before I forget, what do you mean by "I am going home" Do you mean that you are on your way back to your Nana's house, or are you, perhaps, somehow... Getting back early? If so YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! But probably not. I forgot to mention that I watched Predator with Karim the other day. It is another movie that you need to see. It's not as good as Alien, and the actors are impossible to take seriously- but the predator itself is super cool, and it's funny to see Arnold Schwarzenegger getting totally wrecked by the predator (of course he does end up killing it, but this is after it has already destroyed his elite squad of commandos, who are mostly rednecks. Also, the movie is a sci-fi classic). I would also like to show you The Thing and 2001: Space Odyssey- but those are slightly less urgent. I am pretty exited for junior year, and I am even happier that I will be able to spend it with you.

I love you too

-Amin

That was such an ADHD post, I just need to point that out.

Technically this will be the shortest blog ever. Let me call you. I can't say what time, though. Maybe this is not the shortest blog. I don't really feel like trying to make it short. I watched divergent with my family tonight. It was as bad as ever. I don't have any pictures of Biscuit, (the dog) either. FUN FACT: My bed is right under this giant art thingy of faces, but the faces are made out of hair and then put on clear glass. So as I sleep 20 life sized, real people hair faces are staring at me. At least it's dark here. 

I am coming home, and also spending too much time thinking about what to write at the end of this post. 

So "I am coming home" lost it's pzazz

Oh well

Here's to bad conclusions!

-Geena

And my name is NOT an error fucking blogger robots!!!!!! 

excuse my language

P.S. I love you

wait, wasn't that the title of some movie?

whatever. 

:)

Do you want me to call you tomorrow?
I will try...
You know already about my day
Miss you sooo much
-Amin

PS. Wow, this is the shortest blog ever

Had a walk today and did lots of art. I am almost done with my illustrated quote- It is on a giant piece of canvas, and it is super weird; i'm not sure if i'm happy with it yet, but I am holding out on judging it too harshly until it is finished. I am soooo exited that you will be back in a week. I already mentioned this, but it's getting really hard day to day not being able to see you. I am very happy that you are "Phily" (wrongwrong), since you love it so much there. Don't let your cousin's be condescending towards you- older ones are sometimes inclined to be so. I have started writing a short comic, the art in which is really shoddy- I think I am just making it to feel like I am weaving a story, since there is no D&D during the summer. I'm counting the very minutes between now and when you get back (~9360 minutes). I know that this is an impossible dream but, when you get back, do you think your parents would let you meet me in Roye's Redwoods, or Lagunitas school if you want, for a walk? I know I am a dreamer- but I really want to have some time with you before school starts (sorry if I am being stupid).
I miss you too much to explain
-Amin

I am at my cousin's and aunt and uncle's house at the moment. I had an interesting meeting with the rest of my cousins, Ava, Ean, and Ava's roommate. They are all in college now, and it seems as though Ava is really enjoying her college, or you might say the people there. We drove most of the day, and the countryside was awesome, as usual. I finally have WiFi on my computer, but Skyping you from this house might be a bit awkward because I don't have my own room. We went to dinner and talked about a lot of stuff, mostly just the college people talking about sex and drugs. It was great. I should spend some time with them now, I will fill you in later when I call you. Don't expect a call early, I will try to call later in the day. Sorry for the curtness but it has been really busy today. I will try to send you some picture of the place, and yes, everyone here calls it Philly.

I miss you

-Geena

Did you not get my last post? I don't see it here. I am about to leave for Philadelphia. Hopefully I will be able to blog later.

- miss you

-Geena

Alright then. I went to Berkeley today and bought a bunch of stuff, including 10 cockroaches. Don't worry about not calling me tomorrow- Ill be alright. I have decided that I have traversed into a new level of missing you- I am getting exhausted really easily, and I keep forgetting to drink water. My mother is getting SUPER stressed about Laila's wedding; you know how ridiculous and amazing my Mom's events are- I mean, you were at Karims birthday. Imagine the stress of that birthday times twelve- that is what my mom is feeling right now. I feel really sorry for her, and I am a bit worried. On a lighter note, Safa's birthday is coming up soon. Due to various stupidities and general weirdness in my non-immediate family, Safa's birthday will be at my house. I am a bit worried that I will still be super exhausted by the time school starts; this is because my stress/tiredness levels are (understandably) less important than the wedding/my mothers stress. Poor Mama. If you have any advice on how to help her settle down, I would love to hear it. Anyway, enjoy whatever you are doing tomorrow. I'm trying really hard not to slip into panic- there are too many pressures coming from too many directions. 

Please come back soon

I love you.

-Amin  

 

First off, only call me if you want to- If you need to rush off and do something, do it- If you have time though, I will always love to hear from you. I had a lovely, relaxing day. Karim and his friends played music in the morning, and then came over, which was hectic but enjoyable. We had Laban for dinner today, which is one of my favorite foods in the world. I have started work on the "Illustrated Quote" assignment for AP Art, for which I have chosen "Artistic temperament sometimes seems a battleground, a dark angel of destruction and a bright angel of creativity wrestling" This quote is from Madeline L'engl, the author of one of my favorite books: A Wrinkle in Time. I'm exited to keep working on it. Sorry for missing your first call this morning, ill try to be up earlier tomorrow.
I miss you so much
-Amin

PS. I checked my Calendar, and you WILL have five days before school starts when you get back, but the last one will be picture day.

Today was definitely what I would classify as a sick day. I stayed at home, walked the dogs, drank soup and watched way too much criminal minds and csi Miami.  I went down to the village and bought yarn with which I am making a scarf for my aunt's birthday.  After knitting for a while Dad and Nana and I went on a walk with the dogs to the old paper factory. There were a bunch of giant spiders all along a bridge that we walked over. I was not informed that my father had hired a man to come to the house and prune one of our bigger trees. I was sitting in the living room wheni noticed a man walking around the perimeter of the house. Nana was robbed a couple months ago- and the first thing that popped into my mind was that this man was nefarious in nature. After spying on him while running from window to window, I realized that he was just trying to find the door. I got my dad, and felt so dumb.  He didn't look much like he was there to work. Then later on, our neighbor did the exact same thing. I saw home walking around on our lawn, and went out to ask him if he needed anything. I was a bit more awake at that hour. He wanted to take away the branches on our lawn for us. So basically nothing interesting happened to me. Except for talking to you this morning.
 I miss you. Also, do you want me to call you later to tomorrow?
- Geena

I worked all day today. I opened the store with Miyako at ten in the morning, and then worked with her until two in the afternoon, which is when Liv came in and Miyako left. I proceeded to continue working with Liv until seven. During this time, I had a super annoying digital experience: Sophia was frantically texting Liv VERY invasive questions about me and you, and she was totally spewing dirt all over me; I never realized till now how badly she talks about me behind my back. I kind of wish that she would muscle up to me and insult me openly like she used to- it would be easier to deal with. Did you know that near the beginning of the year, when I still had no real friends besides Noah, Marco and Calvin, there was this time after PE when we were walking to 125 and she turned to me and basically said "Oh my god Amin, there is no way that anybody will ever love you". I'm sorry, but that is bullying. I don't care if I am being babyish- that is just not acceptable. I am so happy that she will not be at Drake next year to torture me. I would talk about Palestine, but that topic fills me with so much emptiness that I do not want even the seeds of that horror to be planted anywhere near your heart. All I will say is that, in this past day, an Israeli sniper deliberately shot a pregnant woman IN HER WOMB, and an Israeli soldier who straight up killed a little girl at close quarters said that he "would do it again even if she were three instead of seven" or whatever. Israel actually withdrew their ground troops from Gaza because they actually sustained losses- the Gazans have graduated to a new sort of anger- the kind that can make someone run fearlessly at a tank with nothing but a stone in hand. The Gazans have lost all hope, and in that gained an endless supply of energy and hatred that is so much more than any power allowed to a human under any normal circumstances. Supposedly, the Israeli soldiers were actually afraid, because they thought it would just be butchery. Of course it was butchery, but the bottom line is that Israel actually lost troops. I'm sorry that I am in such a horrible mood- If you want to call me in the morning, It would be a huge blessing to hear your voice- you can heal even the deepest wounds in my soul.

Sorry for all the sadness

I miss you so much

-Amin 

I have knitted my first hat! Or should I say knitted my first hat that turned out better than when I previously tried to knit one with a pattern.  I was exhausted today, and ended up doing homework later tonight rather than earlier. I went with Nana to Lowe's and helped her pick up lava rock for the yard. The weirdest thing that happened to me was that a total stranger who worked there attempted to flirt with me. He was very blunt, definitely older than me, (lots of tattoos) and I tried to use the smile and wave strategy.  And I have to go back there again tomorrow to get more lava rock! I don't really know how to act in those sort of situations. I'm sure you're overjoyed to hear about this-sorry.  Later we watched a lot of TV, walked the dogs, cooked, and did everything else that we do during the average day.  Also I installed ten new light bulbs in places where they were previously broken. I can't believe that I have managed to get sick. Now I have to avoid everyone; I cannot get Nana sick.  I don't know if she has a strong immune system or not. I complain so much; I wish that less of my sentences started with I.
You win the contest Amin. All feelings are reciprocated, I just hope that no one else we know is reading this. It's so scandalous! I miss you. And yes, love you too.
-Geena
P.S. Should I call you on the morrow?

Hi Geena. First off, feel free to call me at the same time in the morning tomorrow- but PLEASE call my cell- I will have it on (remember 9:30-10 your time on #306-1642). Today I engaged in no nerdy activities of any kind. I basically spent the whole day doing art, catching things in a creek, and playing with Safa and Suzu (another little "cousin" who is actually the child of a super close family friend). We caught a crayfish in Samuel P. Taylor, which we are keeping as a pet. Zuzu's personality is kind of like a mixture between Elmo and Golum... Try to even conceive of that. She is only two years old, but talks as if she is four. Safa is going into kindergarten and is SUPER exited about going to school with Karim. Anyway, cuteness was abound today. On a totally different note, I had allot of trouble with my mom today, but I suspect that it was totally my fault. For some reason, when my mother (and ONLY my mother, nobody else) criticizes my art, it always sounds really condescending, and her solution is always for me to redo the piece completely- which is immensely frustrating. Honestly, Jasper taught me in the best way I can imagine- He gave detailed instructions and maybe an example, and then gave us a bunch of assignments using those techniques. This really helped me learn the basic skills I needed to lug my art out of the primordial ooze of pure and un-complimented creativity, because I learn better when I am getting lots of things finished, as opposed to micromanaging a certain piece- which honestly just gets really under my skin for some reason; I think its because I like my learning to happen with rough things that I have not already spent hours on. Ultimately i'm glad that I re-did this particular piece (it was the still life that I spent two hours on yesterday), but the principal of the thing is still really frustrating to me. I wish with all my heart that I had taken more art classes throughout my life- then maybe I wouldn't feel like such an ugly duckling among artists who actually have it down. When I was marveling the other day at how good of an artist you are, and you said "oh, come on- you know I have taken allot of classes", I wanted to reply "yeah, but I have not- and that really puts me in a rut, doesn't it- because I don't have time to take classes right now, and I probably will not for a few more years". I know that comparisons are supposedly bad, but I have been looking around me for the past year or so, and noticing that there are people vastly better than me at everything I do, and that has never troubled me because despite that, I have always had my stellar seed of creativity, so that even when my art was utterly terrible (in middle school) people could still look at my creatures, and spaceships and such, and ask "what is that?" And I would be able to give them a thousand, true answers drawn from the spiraling cathedrals of my cerebral libraries, where every minuscule thought and detail can be extracted from the billions of neuronic pages that I weave every second, and presented, in words, or writing or in form. My greatest pride has always been in my little human mind, where I, through the grace of the beauty that is human intelligence and creativity, am permitted to store my worlds. Recently though, they have not flowed so freely. This is because I am trying to move forward artistically, and running into walls- walls created by the shear lack of my ability to execute things accurately. My art is just a huge, tangled mess of flaws and dreams, drawn from my mind- but when my pen/brush attempts to set it's tendons to the new task of depicting actuality, it turns against me, producing pieces that only appear truly beautiful to my gaze, and only because they are rooted in my eyes, and my hands, and my dreams.
Come home soon Geena
Here goes...
I love you
-Amin

I would like to formally apologize for waking you and your mother up this morning. I don't follow directions very well, ( you were right about the times after all).  In the morning I basically sat around and watched tv, and ate yogurt.  Then when my father and Nana arrived back from shopping for pebbles for a fence, I was introduced to one of my Nana's friends while still in my pajamas. It was about 1:00 at that time. I knitted a scarf for a while and then we all went to see some musical/dance/play that I already forget the name of. No one seemed to know what it was about, but the dancing was good.  The singing, well, could have used a bit more rehearsal. Also it was weird because all of the performers were wearing what was supposed to be what dancers wear. They looked ridiculous. I knit a pair of hand warmers  during the show...And Nana fell asleep. We came home, and all I did was watch tv. I did not do homework as planned ,(yay procrastination!)  bur I did watch 75% of The Titanic. After watching that movie one feels as though their heart was served to them on a stick while the waiter slapped them in the face. Repeatedly. I think it is a good movie to see at some point during your life.  I sent you more photos btw. I don't know why, but I had time.

I miss you. I would say something intelligent and romantic, but I can't come up with anything that doesn't sound corny. Also it feels odd to try to convey so much emotion over text.  When should I call you again?

-Geena

Hi Geena. Ill start off light- today I mostly finished my AP Art still-life big piece, and got a huge sheet of canvas for my illustrated quote. Now to the horror: I feel a bit bad talking to you when I am so angry- but things have been stacking up lately. First off, the Israeli Palestinian situation is really grinding my gears; i'm sorry- but it's getting really difficult to not go totally insane- If people hate the Israeli state/govt, they are somehow anti Semitic. What people don't realize is that Israel actually has very little to do with Judaism, much as the Crusades did not reflect the teachings of Christianity. I am also really saddened by the fact that many of our Jewish friends here in California are trying to "stay neutral" and claim that it is the fault of both sides... How? How are thousands of dead children ok? How can a good, honest, loving person make an excuses for a government that is literally gunning down families every day? My soul feels so destroyed right now that I have trouble even trying to articulate my horror and grief into emotions within my ability to express- it's just beyond any conceivable grief, kind of graduating into emptiness; you know how in the news you will often hear about horrific catastrophes and let them just roll over your head? Or discuss the political situation in a war torn country as if it were some sort of sport? That has decayed for me- I'ts too horrific and too close to home for my mind to just leap over it. I am beginning to formulate a new theory about emotions: I think that above the normal human emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger), there are sort of another set of emotions, the likes of which can only resonate through the psyche after being triggered by continuous exposure or singular, powerful event. The first of these emotions a human ever knows is family love, which manifests with time. The second of these that I have felt is my love for you, which, I firmly believe, has improved both my mental well being and my performance in creative endeavors (sorry, that sounded awfully technical- the bottom line is that you are the most wonderful person I could ever hope for). Recently, due to the horror in Palestine, I believe that I have unlocked the third of these "heavy" emotions- an unfathomable feeling of mass empathy that starts as a build up of emptiness, and then ignites into a horrible grief that slams at the doors of your emotional mind, not quite able to breach the barrier of experience and loss that separates me from those people on the other side of the world who share my blood, and just a little bit of my spirit. Despite the agony and the pain, one ever-powerful force of beauty and happiness has resonated through my mind every second of every day, so that even as my spirit feels torn and empty, it is revitalized and brought back to stability by the thought of your return, and of your happiness. Sorry for seeming over dramatic- I assure you that all of my stuff about heavy emotions, as well as Palestine, are completely serious (and so is the stuff about you).
I miss you Geena... Please come home soon
-Amin

PS. Give your Dad my regards- I really hope he understands utterly that I would never, ever hurt you

PPS. The braid was beautiful

PPPS. I'm sure your cousin is beautiful and all, but she has too much makeup on for my taste

PPPPS. You can call my house phone (488-1099) tomorrow anytime from 8pm to 9pm your time, OR my cell phone (306-1642) 9:30am to 10 am your time- I would be really happy if you did

I have done so many things today! First I went to Nana's water aerobics a class and bobbed around with the elderly. Everyone is trying to give me stuff for some reason, this one woman is now going to give me a dress that her own granddaughter refused to wear to prom. From the pool balcony, ( it is sort of high up)  I saw this bird called a guinea hen and it had around 17 chicks with it. They looked like tiny white hamsters, and the mother was attempting to shove them into some swedes on the side of the road- to no avail. After swimming we visited a farm that was just down the road. There were chickens and rabbits and huge dogs and ducks running around everywhere, but no people.  When we got home we sat around for a while, and suddenly it began to pour.  The rain over here is nothing like the rain in Marin. There was lightning and thunder that barely ever stopped, and it was so loud and close that I swear the earth was splitting open at the seams, or God was whipping somebody.  It was the loudest thunder I have ever heard. We decided to drive into Cleveland and go to the something or other rock and roll hall of fame museum. I saw literally everything; from John Lennon's glasses to Beyonce's performance clothes, (or you might say lack of  clothes).  After that we went to this Polish restaurant- because my dad told me to choose something random online. I had my first Wiener schnitzel, and it was not anything like a sausage.

The food was amazing, although I did explode a cup of lemonade somehow...I returned home to find that one of the dogs had eaten, (drum roll) half of my razor. I have no idea how, but it was hilarious.  I don't know why he would want to eat it, but Spike the miniature poodle is an expert at stealing things. This morning I chased him down while screaming after her stole an entire loaf of Amish bread off the table. I then watched Downton Abby until eleven, and now I am writing this. 

Can I call you sometime? Soonish...

I miss you.

-Geena

Ghfhgfrssfy

If you want a picture then GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL!! (exasperated laugh) sorry about that just wanted to let you know sooner. I told you to give it to me...

Hello again. I's so sorry that I am slipping away into nothing but a nerdy mess- but the highlight of today was a Warhammer game with Marco and Karim. During the rest of the day, I (you guessed it) painted Warhammer models, and helped my mom install a new family compost system (yay environment). The council meeting was amazing yesterday- we had a fabulous Larp, in which basically everyone teamed up against me. Now, this may only be a big feat for me because of my, shall we say, copious physique, but I am still proud of it: during the Larp, I ran around our house an estimated total of four times, as well as sprinting up our hill (in the 90 degree weather)at least 3 times with children chasing after me all along the way, who I had to fight back against with nothing but the but end of a Nerf gun (they all had giant swords), for 25 minutes. Today in Fairfax I saw all these Froshmores who all seem kind of on edge; I think this is because they are kind of walking on the line between being "cool" and being mature, and most of them can't really decide which boat they want to hop into for the oncoming year of affluent, depressing Teenage-American culture. Anyway, they were fun to watch- I like wierding them out a lot, mostly because they try to respond to freakishness in a slick way, which I believe I can see through like a clear mountain stream. By the way, did you figure out weather or not you are also going to "Philly"? Let me know about that please. Sorry to nag- this is the last time I will ask, but can you please send me a picture of yourself with the cool hair?
I miss you a pretty ridiculous amount.
-Amin  

Over the leagues : Today I went down to a local historical society wi...

I HATE IPADS SO MUCH!!! This is the third time that it has deleted my whole post. Gffynfngfjgyfyfmhfgjguvhvjvhjjhb. Sorry. I visited the Amish community in Ohio today. It was fun, although I felt like a privileged outsider,( which I was I suppose) . Amish people will inherit the earth if society collapses because they are so self sufficient, but sometimes their practices are sexist and ridiculous. A woman's sole purpose in life is to have lots of children, run the house and contribute to society. They don't have a choice unless they choose to leave the community, in which case they are not allowed to speak to or see any of their friends or family ever again. Whyyyyyy?!? On the other hand I had the best peach pie I have ever had in my life- I'm afraid to weigh myself now, and had a good time grocery shopping with Nana. Nana is what I call her when I remember that she prefers me to call her that. Today my hair was braided into a crown thing, and I was euphoric about it. My hipster cousin has invited me to see a concert with her and her college "friends" coughcoughboyfriend when I visit Philly.

That was my day.

I miss you - say hi to the"whole gang" for me please!

-Geena