Fandango is...

So I finally finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I put it off because I planned to do my essays first, but then one thing led to another and I was accidentally reading it. Oops. Anyway, I'm done now, so I can focus on my essays. Hurray!

For any of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, I need to write three 8 - 10 page papers within, like, the next week. Basically, I'll be studying abroad in the fall and we're doing a lot of the schoolwork before we leave. And I've been procrastinating, so now I really need to do it. Hopefully I don't need to explain what Harry Potter is.

After I finished the book, I had my mom take me to the library to check out books for my first paper. I got a huge stack of them a while ago, but then I went on a three week trip, so I had to recheck them out. My plan was to get working on the essay right away, but I'm too easily distracted.

First, my sister made me some tea. I don't know why this is a distraction. But I like tea, so I thought I'd mention it. It was some loose leaf Persian Earl Grey (it's different from regular Earl Grey because they added jasmine - I don't know who "they" are), and it was pretty darn good. Anyway. Then I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because if I didn't I would never get my essays done because my sister would be pestering me every few minutes about going to see it. I figured I might as well get it over with. It wasn't bad. A little strange, but I mean come on. It's Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Freddie Highmore did a good job as Peter Llewelyn-Davies, sorry, I mean Charlie Bucket. He kind of did the same performance as he did in Finding Neverland. Oh, and Grandpa Joe is the guy from Waking Ned Devine. I think he's the coolest thing since sliced bread (wait, I don't really think sliced bread is very cool...hmm). There's something about Irish old men. My grandpa was one. So maybe I'm like one eighth "Irish old man." Hmm.

Anyway, back to Charlie. This one was a lot closer to the book (actually, I'll admit that I'm not super familiar with the original Charlie movie - I think I've seen it once?). Pretty sure that Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors when I was little. I think I have all of his books. My favorite Roald Dahl book is Fantastic Mr. Fox. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it's because all the animals dig their underground network of tunnels in the end of the book, and I've always kind of wanted to live underground. I have a thing for tunnels and cozy places. Remember studying prairie dogs and their dens? I was probably the only kid in my fourth grade class who wanted to live in one. And I've always thought that beaver dams are pretty awesome - they have the entrances underwater! How hardcore is that? I also like caves and stuff. And it looks like I'm exploring this topic a little too much. Alrighty. So I'm a freak. I'm probably part Hobbit or something. They're kind of like Irish old men. Another good one is Danny, Champion of the World. Sleeping pills in raisins? Genius!

Then I came home and started watching Animal House. No particular reason why. I just like that movie. I didn't get very far into it, though.

Anyway, my most recent distraction has been writing this post. I would like to say that I did write the introduction paragraph to my history essay. And it's pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. Not sure how accurate it is, but I have been glancing through some of the library books. Wanna read it? Sure you do!

Celtic monasteries have played a distinct and significant role in Western Civilization and in the Christian church. After the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the Irish monks performed the unique task of copying sacred Christian texts, then reintroducing them to continental Europe. But the Celtic monasteries had other distinct characteristics that set them apart from the institutions founded in the rest of Europe, such as their unusual formations when communities appeared around solitary hermitages, the concept of having an anmchara, and the placement of women in leadership roles. The isolation of Ireland and Britain from the rest of Europe allowed for their people to transform and personalize the Christian religion into a belief system that varied from the more traditional practices found on the continent.

Not too bad, huh? Don't answer that. I have a habit of thinking my essays are amazing. Anyway, time to return to my writing and churn out some more fantastic literature. Have an awesome, uh, whatever day it is.