Hi y’all! Finally back to writing on here again, time sure flies when there’s things to do and even when there aren’t it seems it’s hard to remember some things.

I recently took a lovely trip to New York City, for my mom's publisher's conference and for pleasure, and got to see a lot of the city. The Empire State building was nice at night and the first night I ate at Blue Fin, a trendy restaurant connected to The W Hotel.

During the four days I was there with my family I got to take a tour of Radio City Music Hall which was very interesting, it's such a gorgeous old building, it would have been a real pity if they'd torn it down. All the buildings make for an awesome sky line and there are so many places to enjoy the view. Rockefeller Center, the Staten Island Ferry, (which is free and you get to see the Statue of Liberty!)... There's lots of places to eat and many great museums, (I liked the met the best.) And central park was pretty this time of year although there wasn't much in bloom surprisingly enough.

I also got to go and tour the Food Network and see the Emeril Live sets and test kitchen which was cool as well. NYC is just such a great place to walk around, and has many interesting restaurants such as Tao, a pretty happening spot which I ate at last week. The desserts were phenomenal. Time's Square is also pretty fun at night, even the junky stores to get t-shirts and stuff. There's a huge Hershey's store that sells candy from around the world.

I enjoyed walking around the Village on Friday night, there's some pretty awesome record stores that feature some strange and rare albums by familiar artists. The Cornelius Street Café has nice little pizzas and salad and there's lots of places to get a cappuccino and (theoretically) listen to music. However most places with bands don't let people under 21 in after nine or ten PM.

The Natural History Museum wasn't my favorite museum honestly. It's pretty zooish and hard to find your way around but the planetarium show is impressive. I also made it down the Birmingham for two days, the first we didn’t really do much but had a pretty nice dinner at this Italian-Southern restaurant. The next day we got to see some things, but we had some transportation issues because we couldn’t rent a car on Sunday in Alabama.

Vulcan Park was pretty nice, lovely view of the city. The art museum was great, such beautiful works, probably my favorite museum we saw. We also had brunch there, which Randall decided he was too picky to eat, but was super good, the grits were delicious as was the sweet tea! We saw Linn Park which is right around the corner from there too. And took a bizarre and backwards walk down into town where my family and I stopped in church and then had some excellent BBQ at Dreamland BBQ.

The flight back home the next day sucked, we got stuck on a full plane between two bathrooms! There’s so much to make up in school, the ‘friends’ who were supposed to give me notes (promised actually) all flaked out on me. Four different people. In other news, next week is Spring Break, (yay a little time without worrying about work and stuff) and next month is my birthday although I don’t know exactly what I’m doing for it.

This year we’ve gone to Observer’s Inn again in February and saw Saturn which was amazing. School is rather tough right now, and I hate the late night astronomy lab because the next day I am always so tired. I’m working hard on my piano right now, trying to write some more songs and practice the ones for Guild in June. I really can’t wait to go to University of HI this summer. I miss the island so much.... Anyway hope everything’s going well for my readers right now... I’ll try to check in now and then on this blog but in the mean time please feel free to visit me at www.thesurrealdeal.blogspot.com the blog I frequent more often (when I have the time of course.)
Now I’m going to share some poetry I’ve written. If you have any comments or questions please don’t hesitate to leave one!




The Small Things

Is it really the big picture in life that makes us up
Or is it the small things that change our lives
And shape our souls
Like the tiny shadow of a given day
Playing with your memory
Building it up for a future trip
To life’s many mountains and valleys

Is it the little things
That make us great
That set us apart
That we keep to ourselves
A secret to share
With your own private state
Of mind

Is it the small things
That get us through the big things
Or make it hard to concentrate on tomorrow today
It’s all just one puzzle
One mess
One moment
And it takes all the small things, the little things
To make it complete


Always

When I look behind at all the marks I’ve made
And all the stops I’ve taken down the road
It’s a comforting thought to know there’s things to come
Back to later on along the way

Remember things that could have been forever
Seeing things so near yet long ago
A view back into what life used to be
And a sign that some things always stay the same

Everyone takes their own way down the road
Everything falls into the circle
That keeps us bound to one another always
That lets many paths become as firm as one

Trees that stand tall as ancient sentries
Against the rain and storm until the sun shines bright and clear

The stars rain down a crystal light from yesterday
But tomorrow we can still bask in their glow

Happy New Year!

I hope all is well for everyone. 2006 is gone and it is off to a fresh start. I'm still doing the same things, music, and writing, and going to Big Sur, and Cayucos in central Ca. I updated my profile here today and thought after some homework reading I'd finally keep up my blog a bit. No one will come anymore if I don't update right? I can't even get my friend Andrea to come on here... but a few of my MCHY people come on here and people at school I know... I think... sometimes.

I wanted to add a few things to my description but it said it was too long. What I was going to say is that my journal is really special to me to, it is a way I keep track of my life and save memories. Not to sound TOO corny of course. Flowers make me happy, when I go on vacation I try to pick one wildflower at least so I can press it in my journal, I have like forty now, it always helps me remember the places I've been! I can't wait to go to new and exciting places this year!

I hope this semester of school will be good too. I am finally an official college student! Whatever I do I hope I will have many more positive experiences than negative ones. I just want to be happy and healthy in my life whatever I do. As long as I'm happy and my family, friends and I can do things together my life will be great! I hope to continue writing my stories, poems and music, get published and get musical gigs. It's hard to do everything but it's fun to try to... finally I'm out of hell school. This is my first year at college since I graduated early. Oh did I mention that high school is BAD? If you can avoid it escape.

And my motto is... Why not make life interesting? Risk it!

Here is a poem I wrote about the New Year
What inspired me was when we went to church yesterday and the rev. was talking about moving on, letting go, and living your life. And I agree it's bad to dwell in the past when the future can be infinite.

The New Year

As the sun sets for a day anew
The years drift past like the birds that flew
Above those clouds of rain and shelter shine
The path is long
The path is broken
The path is silent
The path is spoken
It comes again
Again, repeating
But the same tomorrow
It never will be
A light refreshed
A new beginning
The old sun shining
On a changing world.


Well, I can't say when I'll be on here again. I always forget to remind myself to come on kinda like I keep forgetting to call Sea Lab, the marine center I volunteer at and tell them that my school hours are changing! (Why can't they just read my blog?) Anyway kudos, purrs, and hugs from...
Nicole
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!!

Time, time, time.
You sing to your own tune or move to your own rhythm but it still passes to its own accord.

I was just listening to Sugarland so I thought that would be a good title! And as I always say, the summer is going by to fast blah, blah, boring. I'm still doing Jr. Guards and it's fun. So nice just to be at the beach. Got some good surfing done today, paddling, ect. And next week is our annual dive trip over on Catalina so that should be cool, (as usual). My brother is doing great at guitar learning all sorts of new songs. My "Wildwood Flower" music finally got here and the book it was in wasn't very good for the price but anyway, I haven't started working on it because until now I've been working for the recital. I don't think I did too well although of course my family disagrees. I decided I don't want to learn that sort of classical same sounding stuff, I really would like to get good enough to do jazz or rock and roll piano. I can do it... I think.

Um, it's super hot and HUMID, oh lord is it humid. It always is these days, like being in a swamp even. Mean while it's the end of July and all I see is "Back To School" adds. People, I just got out like a month ago, what the heck ever happened to three months? I know it exsisted at one time, I was there, and now we all are lucky to get two full months. Well I didn't come here to complain, well I never really know why I come on here. It's always at a totally haphazard wierd time in the middle of things, but you know what they say. A good story always begins that way. But what do I really have to say right now? It's in there but I'm tired and thinking about my family and myslef and the things I gotta do and want to accomplish and sometimes my mind is all twined together and jumbled and I can't remember what it is I want.

I sure am glad it's summer and there's things ahead that should be neat. My window plant is thriving, it's touching the ceiling for crying out loud. My cactus is right next to it and then those poor wilting flowers that have survived pretty well considering the heat. My "living area" or room or whatever is messy. I've neglected it. Maybe I should go and clean it instead of this. Why do I put things off? Or just forget things and then come back to them randomly? Like this random blog. Well it is a place to rant wierd notes to myself, a second journal and I hope that more people will visit and enjoy reading of these antics maybe just a little. Splash of Color in a drab whatever. Whatever? Oh I don't know what I am talking about but it feels good. Know what I mean? No not really. But sometimes it's just fun to think about what you did on a perticular day or talk about nothing in perticular just life itself I guess if you can say that.

Drank some really good soda and wrote some good poetry, maybe I'll post it. Listened to Kasey Chambers's new single, Warren Brothers download and others but everyone knows that already. What music I listen to I mean. Anyway hopefully I made some point whatever it is I wanted to make on here tonight. Or maybe just a bunch of nothing blah, blah funny things. I hope at least I did that. Sorry, my mind is wandering tonight.

I need to make some better friends around. Many of the ones I've sort of had this year have been so.... bad. Junky, worthless. But there are people that I know who are cool and I enjoy that. There's alot of things I enjoy. And I have to remember them. Because you know you should never give up the things you enjoy. Whatever they might be.

Take care, whoever, wherever. Shout out to someone of mine who's over in Georgia. Socal, Hawaii, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Utah, ahhh I'm naming places now, how crazy is that? Oh and if you're in Jackson, (not the one in Wyoming), my brother says hey! Well later peoples, hopefully not too much! Until then go dance on a keg!

How can it be July? June went by so quickly or at least it was wasted with school. The ocean is beautiful and the sun is hot, (when it's not covered by fog of course!), we listened to ipod music in the car today, yay for itrip that barely works by the way, and the winding road by PV. Summer is going by already, I need to make more time for the good stuff. There are tulips blooming in my room and an "egg plant" sprout which hatched from a fake egg sort of growing. There's wierd music coming from down the hall, maybe the stylings of my brother learning "I've Been Everywhere". Hmm... Maybe I should say the names of lots of stuff so that people will be googled in... Still haven't watched "Kyle XY" but I guess monday is coming, I don't really feel like updating my blog, so I'm just going on about stuff but there's a lot to do, and AP tests to work towards and my own music to practice, my sheet music of "Wildwood Flower" still isn't here, grrr. And I'm learning several songs piano for a recital, "A Rainbow Is A Smile", and "Double Rainbow". Maybe there's a theme going. Ok. That's enough now. Blah blah. Hahaha... ain't life just full of WTF's? TTFN!

Who is Kyle XY? Um... I don't know entirely. But this weekend I've seen it written in the sky like five times, "Who is Kyle XY?" good advertising, cause now I'll probably watch that stupid show! The sky writer that did the one at the beach got the words all garbled and then I saw it again at Universal Studios in the sky, and over by the beach again.
Ahh, the pleasures of free time! Finally done studying for the night, enjoying that hour before bed but after everything important! And only three more school days, some more important tests then summer at last.
Listening to music is fun, like on the computer while doing stupid stuff like checking your blog, but not so fun when it's your little brother quoting TV commercials and singing "Luther Played The Boogie" or whatever that's called and "Monkeys Live On Mars!" a true original. Sigh.. well anyways I think that will be all,But I "can't hardly" wait to tell more facts of my exciting life, in quotes because according to my grammer review it is "a double negative that borders on the illiterate". Well I say perfect grammer is rediculous! (Unless of course you really need to know it for an important test!) But it ain't gonna change my ways! Haha. Here's a little something to gnaw on.


The Oasis


Worlds apart are my darkened corners
A place to hide and think
I sometimes wonder if I'm right
Life's so quick you cannot blink

To rest and escape from trivial perils
My sanctuary I find
The best retreat from summer heat
Are the pastures of my mind

Alright, well that's all so see ya in the funny pages!

Friday. Finally, it's almost summer. I still have a lot of things to do, but before I know it I'll be having lots of fun. I hope. I know I have more to say but... alas I am tired and honestly don't know what I'm doing on here, accept I still think that I'm just excited about having a blog.

Well good night several viewers and myself

I'm back again on the same day, I just wanted to say that I'll start posting some poetry I've written lately on here soon. Actually here's a quick one now for you to enjoy.

Please Don't Forget The Sea

The bottom of the ocean is haggard.
The silent sky around it staggered.

She never knew that it would change,
Something so beautiful and so strange.

The clouds roll in with silent fog,
It blankets round the trembling moon.

The waves seem to shiver in the mists,
But the world is dead and so is this.

Involuntary, unrefined.
Turning slowly like the world.

Nothing's here.
It flew away.

The emptiness of another day.

A cavity of unknown shores,
An island of pity and remorse.

The bottom of the sea cannot stir.
She cannot speak, or run, or murmur.

Forsaken and forlorn,
Like an empty battle ground, war torn.

Please don't forget the sea.
She meant so very much to me.

Pieces of torn plastic float,
Like the men who used to ride in boats.

From a far off, vacant, twisted land,
A tired log sighs beneath the sand.

Who is this and where are you?
The lonely dangers of the blue.


Sometimes I wonder what will become of the sea one day, don't you? Or any of us for that matter... Anyway have a good night, um, someone!
Peace~Love~And Cats

Hello random person clicking on the wrong thing, friends I've bothered enough times to come here, and or other! This is my blog. Today I came on to check my email and to go to the "zone" aka that French site for the infamous "school" aka prison, anyway I thought why don't I make a blog, cause everybody has one it seems or if not their little myspace dealy, so I'll make a special cool blog for myself that no one will probably visit but what the heck so... here I am. Well before I go back to my surreal amount of homework, just wanted to welcome you, (if there is anyone in fact out there), and christen my blog with this post. I'm sixteen, I like writing, drawing, travelling, cats, WEEKENDS and many other things. I titled this "Little Splash Of Color" because that is what I try to be, givin' it some pizzaz! Of course I'm not as wierd in real life as this blog may be but the people who visit may know that. Or not. Alright I'm babbling. I'm sure I won't update this ALL the time but please stop by now and again and share your bizzareishness... (yeah didn't think that was a word)... Anyway back to the work... I'd talk more but then I'd be getting off topic and I already kinda am. Wow. Alright well goodbye for now. Y'all come back now, ya hear?