This is the story of how I died.

Last week started off badly.

I noticed that I could feel a thumping behind my gas pedal when I was in second gear, so I asked D-Dad to check it out since I was driving seven hours to Austin on Friday. When he drove it, the thumping turned into shaking, so we took it to the shop. The first place we went to couldn't diagnosis it without taking the axle off or something like that, so D-Dad took it to another shop the next day. The second shop was able to figure out the problem and went to work on fixing it.

I asked my mom what I would do if my car didn't get fixed and she said that I probably wouldn't get to go because plane tickets were far too expensive now. Cue my breakdown.

The shop called Wednesday afternoon and said they had fixed the first problem, but found something else. At this point, I was searching for buses and figuring how long it would take to walk there. I was desperately searching for some means of transport while simultaneously trying to prepare myself what seemed to be an imminent defeat.

But there was no need. My car was fixed and running smoothly by the time my school day ended on Thursday. I am very thankful that I have grandparents and parents that realize when something is important to me even if they don't understand why. My grandfather worked very hard to make sure that they fixed my car before Friday while my mom and dad were trying to come up with alternative ways I could get to Austin just in case. They're the very best.

So on Friday, November 11th I packed, stopped to make an epic wish at 11:11am, and then drove the seven hours to Austin–saved once again by an audiobook lent by Andrew (this time it was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). I was driving into Austin by the time the sun had set, and met Britny and Melany at Chuy's.

After we ate, we went to this toy store called Toy Joy, which was magical and had Spock and Kirk nutcrackers. Then we went to play putt-putt and walked around downtown, and had no ulterior motives for doing so.

The next day we got in line for the S.P.A.C.E. Tour at about twelve-thirty, which was later than we'd intended, but we always get places later than we intend. We had picked up McDonald's, but I was too anxious to eat my Big Mac, so I made Melany put it in her purse. Then we had to deal with Grumpy Line Melany, which is my least favorite Melany.

Julia Albain walked by at one point and I was all weird and loud when I said hi. Nobody else really noticed her, and I was all SHE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THIS TOUR. SHOW SOME RESPECT. Then I saw Liam White of Liam's Got A Phone Call fame, but I wasn't sure if it was him when I first saw him, so I didn't say anything.

When we finally got inside, we got in the merch line where I spent all of my money and saw Corey Lubowich. I bought the S.P.A.C.E. Tour shirt, Jim and the Povolos shirt, their EP, and two StarKid buttons. Money well spent.

While in the merch line, we could see Team StarKid walking around upstairs, and I nearly died the first time I saw Joey (and every subsequent time). We got a spot in the back on the left side of the stage as per Natalie's suggestion for maximum Joey viewing, and stared up at the StarKids chatting amongst themselves while we waited for the concert to start.

Charlene Kaye was fabulous, and I am looking forward to buying her new CD. Dylan Saunders came out to sing "Dress & Tie" with her, and we all swooned because he has the voice of an angel. Later on, he came back out with Jaime Lyn Beatty to sing "Animal Love," and it was FANTASTIC. They pulled a girl up on stage who Charlene recognized from covers the girl had sent her and she got into it. It was the best part of Charlene's set.

Then we waited and stared some more, until Brian Holden's voice came out of the speakers requesting no flash photography or video and then they went into this bit that was just so something Team StarKid would do. I cannot convey to you how wonderful the show was. There are not enough positive adjectives in the world to properly describe it. I officially declared it as the best day of my life before the  show was even halfway over, and after the show Melany said, "I could walk into traffic and get hit by four cars and have no regrets now."

LITTLE DID WE KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT.

So I found my friend Alissa (who I met at Darren Criss's San Antonio concert) outside after the show. We waited outside the doors with about ten other people and discussed the possibilities of polypolygamy. There was about thirty more people waiting across the street where the StarKids' trailer was, and we all stood there for the next hour watching them walk back and forth loading all their equipment. I was trying to gather the courage to ask Joey for a picture as he walked by, but couldn't do it.

Then all of them were standing by their trailer and some sort of signal was given that meant we could ask for pictures, so we ran across the street and I went straight for Joey. I kind of wedged my way to the right side of the crowd surrounding him, and then he turned to me and I don't know how I didn't throw up or faint, but I'm glad I didn't because then I introduced myself and got a picture with him.

No, I don't think you understand. I GOT A PICTURE WITH JOEY RICHTER. LIKE, I MET HIM AND HE SAID MY NAME. AND I LOVE HIM.

Anyway, I called Amy and fought my way back through the crowd to Joey. I told her to hold on just one second, called out to Joey, and heard her say, "JOEY RICHTER?" even though I was holding the phone away from me, which was really funny to me. After that, we made our way over to Joe who was trapped between a wall of a parking garage and a wall of fangirls, and then to Brian who is really tiny. Dylan and I bonded over the San Francisco Giants and he said his mom's name is Maggie, which I am taking as a sign that we'll be married soon, and Jaime said she liked my earrings.

I called Keren and she did not answer, so I called her twice more and she sounded flustered when she answered. She asked me if she could call me back in ten minutes and I told her to hurry as fast as she could and she said, "Okay, just two minutes. Let me get out of work." So she called me back and I said, "Sorry if I freaked you out, but I have someone here who needs to talk to you," and I handed the phone to Joe. I cannot remember exactly what Joe said, but this is the gist of it.

Joe: Hi, this is Joe.

Keren: . . .

Joe: This is Joseph Walker, and I'm here to tell you some bad news. We're all gonna die someday.

Keren: . . .

Joe: Well, you're taking it a lot better than I did when I found out.

Keren: . . .

Joe: If it makes you feel any better, you probably won't die for a long time. Don't die now or I'm going to feel really bad.

Keren: . . .

Joe: Okay, well, your friend just wanted me to say hi and please don't die. Here's your friend, okay, bye!

Then he handed the phone back to me and said he was so embarrassed and it was just really adorable. Also, we took two pictures with him because he made a weird face in the first one and said, "I don't think I look very–yeah, let's take that again." It was just funny.

In short, I am madly in love with every member of Team StarKid.

After they all boarded the bus, we walked down the street towards Melany's car, but ended up sitting on a bench across the street from it for a good fifteen minutes trying to take in what had just happened to us. Eventually, we got up to put our stuff in Melany's car and walked back down to Austin Java. I ordered a chicken sandwich, but couldn't eat because I was still reeling from everything that had happened and Britny said that I had "involuntary anorexia," which I think should actually be a thing if it isn't already.

So that's the story of how I died, and if any of you who are not in the blogging family caught that Doctor Who reference, then I love you.

Oh, and the wish I made on November 11, 2011 at 11:11am?

"I wish I could meet Joey Richter this weekend."

WISHES DO COME TRUE, KIDS.

-Maggie

Camp Bunny Rabbit

Here we are again, where I am writing a blog a month and a half after the subject of the post took place. Why is it so difficult for me to write a post in a timely manner?

The first weekend in October, the Austin Teen Book Festival and Quiet Company's CD release party took place, so I loaded up my car and drove the seven hours to Austin. Now, before we get into the details of my trip, let's take a moment to appreciate just how freaking huge Texas is. Lubbock isn't even at the very top of the state and Austin isn't even at the very bottom, but it still takes seven hours to get from one to the other. I'm just saying.

I would not have made it through that drive had it not been for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows audiobook, which was loaned to me by Andrew. Even though Jim Dale is annoying sometimes (if you're going to invest in an audiobook, definitely get the UK versions because Stephen Fry is much better as Stephen Fry usually is), it was still wonderful to have. The entire book is twenty-one hours long, so I got to listen to it the following week as I drove around Lubbock and back to Albany as well. I may have cried at "The Forest Again" and fist-pumped when Neville killed Nagini.

Anyway, I stopped in Early to get gas and a Twix, and as I was walking into the gas station, two dirty old men in a pick-up truck stared at me as they drove by. Not stared, leered. They weren't even subtle about it! One of them even flipped around to get a better look out the back window! Needless to say, I am scarred for life.

I did make it to Austin safely though, so it was all right. Well, all right physically. Not so much emotionally.

Soon after I got there, Britny walked over to Melany's dorm and the three of us headed off to Torchy's Tacos, which Melany was really excited about but I found lacking. Then we spent the next half hour watching Melany half-heartedly trying to hail a cab until she finally gave in and called for one.

We didn't get to the concert until half past eight, so we missed the first band, but showed up right as the second band, Whitman, was taking the stage. Their lead singer was, as Melany put it, a real-life Muppet. He was doing so much jumping around and flailing that we all wondered how he never tripped over any of the cords. The next band was Saints of Valory, which the three of us liked enough to buy the EP. It helped that the lead singer was Brazilian and had nice hair. Saints of Valory was, as Melany put it, like the United Nations because not only was the lead singer Brazilian, but the bass guitarist was from California, the drummer from Paris, and the keyboardist from Canada.

Then Quiet Company took the stage in their suits, surrounded by random instruments (including but not limited to a melodica), and put on the best show ever. The entire time I was hoping they would play "On Modern Men," one of my favorites. Towards the end of the show, they asked what they should play next and a guy called it out, and I lost all of my inhibitions and yelled, "YES! I LIKE YOU." And then Melany and Britny laughed at me, but that didn't matter because it was their second encore/final song and it was GREAT. They were seriously so fun, and if you ever get the chance, you should definitely see them live. And if you do not know who they are, tell me and I will fix that for you.

After the concert, we took a cab back to Melany's dorm only to get in Melany's car and go to McDonald's, where we sat in the parking lot eating french fries and jamming to Team StarKid. That's how you party in Austin on a Friday night.

The next morning we headed to the book festival! After Scott Westerfeld's keynote, there were three time slots that you could fill with any three panels you liked. The first we went to was "Real Life Is Messy" because David Levithan was on it. One of the other authors on the panel was named John Corey Whaley who had just published his first book Where Things Come Back (which is fabulous) and  looks like a mix of Dylan Saunders and Joe Walker. He was adorable, and the three of us were blatantly staring at him throughout the hour. The panel itself was good too, as well as very funny. David Levithan may have made a comment about "one-handed reading" at one point that had everyone in stitches.

The second panel (we picked "Supernatural Suspense") was after lunch, so we were a little late, but it was difficult to hear as it was in the main room so it didn't really matter. I was very annoyed though because it was Jackson Pearce's panel and I love her, but what can you do? The third panel we went to was "Alternaworlds" which Scott Westerfeld and Maureen Johnson were both on, so I knew it would be good.

All in all, all of the authors at the festival were hilarious. Also, in every panel we went to, someone asked "If you could choose any fictional world to be real, which would you choose?" and all of the authors immediately and unanimously said Harry Potter.

After the panels, everyone started lining up for the signing. I had brought two of my Maureen Johnson books with me, one Jackson Pearce, and my cousin's copy of Uglies to get signed for her, but I also bought Anna and the French Kiss and Where Things Come Back. I was very worried that I wouldn't get all of my books signed in the hour allotted, but with the help of Melany and because Scott Westerfeld stayed late, I managed to get them all signed. In short: Corey Whaley is the cutest, Maureen Johnson is adorable, Jackson Pearce is so pretty it's stupid, and Scott Westerfeld is extremely nice.

So with that we left the festival with our bags weighed down with books and returned to Melany's dorm where we watched How I Met Your Mother and ordered pizza. Well, technically I ordered the pizza as Melany and Britny cannot handle phone conversations with other human beings.

We went for to Amy's Ice Cream later on where we encountered more attractive hipsters and the most effective tip jar I've ever seen. I put in a dollar for Picard because I have loved him since I was a wee one, although I have nothing against Kirk.

After that we rode around jamming to Team StarKid and Glee again because we know how to live.

The next morning, we planned to go to brunch since I needed to leave by eleven, but since it's us, we had lunch and I didn't leave until after twelve. I was very sad to leave, not only because I love my friends and had such a good weekend, but because I love Austin. It feels like I have visited Austin many, many times, but have actually only been there for five or six weekends in the past three years. It's very strange to me that I feel so at home in a place I've never actually lived, and I cannot wait to call it home one day.

So yes, I was sad to leave, but little did I know that three days later I would find another reason to go back in November. Most of you already know about this because, I mean, I haven't shut up about it on every other social networking site, but the entire story deserves its own post.

Hopefully, this one won't take a month to write.

-Maggie

What makes you terribly happy?

Lina and Amy made terribly happy lists, and so here I am, doing what I do best: Copying my blog friends.

There are many, many things that make me terribly happy as I am generally an excitable, happy person, so I've just narrowed this down to ten things that have made me terribly happy lately. Also, that blog I started a month ago detailing my Austin trip will be posted. You know, eventually.

1. Listening to Quiet Company.
2. Boots, sweaters, and slouchy beanies.
3. Cleaning my room.
4. Cold, rainy days, or just cold days in general.
5. Watching seasons of my favorite shows for the umpteenth time.
6. My five-year Q&A journal.
7. White chocolate mochas.
8. Team StarKid.
9. My English class.
10. Blogging family. <3

Good night all.

-Maggie

And it ain't hard to believe in love in the city of lights.

Sitting in Starbucks. Sipping a white chocolate mocha. Listening to Bon Iver Pandora. Frantically working through my math homework. Wishing I had a sweater.

Tomorrow is my first math test, which I am hoping upon hope that I do not fail. You should hope the same.

After my usual eight to five school day, I have to drive straight to work where I will be until ten-thirty. So that's fun. Upon arriving home, I will I have to study for my second Spanish composition that will take place Friday morning.

But then, after all that crap, I will leave for Austin.

Yes, please.

-Maggie

GOD, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Anyone who follows me on Twitter or Tumblr, is my friend on Facebook, or has ever been around me when I've talked about or watched Glee who continues to be my friend: God bless you. Especially you people who do not like Glee and yet still love me despite my being in love with a television show. You know who you are.*

So, yes, Glee is back and the first episode was wonderful. I am not ashamed to say that any time Kurt and Blaine came on the screen I lost all dignity. There was squealing, general flailing, and at one point I was literally running laps around the coffee table. My grandparents were in the room for half of the episode and I am sure they are now regretting letting the crazy grandchild live with them. I did warn them several times that it was probably for the best that I watch Glee alone, but they did not heed my warnings.

I watched the first two episodes of How I Met Your Mother during my break today, and as jazzed as I get about Glee, How I Met Your Mother still holds the top spot on my list of favorite television shows. It's just good. Why don't you watch it? You really should.

Fall is the best season for many reasons, and one of those is definitely the television. If you have the same love of sitcoms and crime dramas as I do, then you will agree.

This past weekend, my grandparents and I went to visit my family in Albany. It was a nice visit in which I played volleyball with my siblings, sat on the front porch during a storm, visited KaCee and Jacob, and cuddled with Schnookums. Schnookums is the best dog in the world, okay?

This weekend is Albany's Homecoming, but I will not be able to go because of work. I am sad I won't be able to see everyone, but next weekend will make up for it. I am driving to Austin to stay with Melany for the weekend, and we are going to Quiet Company's release party/concert and the Austin Teen Book Festival where I will hopefully get to meet Maureen Johnson and Jackson Pearce! I was originally just going for the festival, but then I found out about the release party and Melany and I bought our tickets. I'm very excited for this because 1) I love Austin, 2) A FESTIVAL OF BOOKS, 3) Quiet Company is awesome, and 4) Melany is my best friend and it has been too long since we've seen each other, especially considering how codependent** we are. It will be a seven-hour drive, but it will be WORTH IT.

Anyway, school is okay. Spanish is still too early and math is still math, but what can you do? When I get down about having to get up at six every morning or with the fact that math homework takes me so long to do, I focus on two things: 1) Natalie and Lizzie have it much worse, and 2) At the end of this semester I will get to go to New York.

I still can't believe I'm going to New York, and do not think that I will really believe it until I'm actually there. It's so exciting though. I'll be buying my plane ticket soon, and then just working on saving up as much spending money as I can until it's time to go. January 7th, come swiftly.

-Maggie

* You are Shelby. And KaCee, though KaCee still hates me sometimes.

** We have honestly talked to or texted each other every day since we left Albany. It's actually incredibly sad.

9/11

It has been ten years since this happened. Ten years.

I was sitting in my fourth grade language class. Our teacher told us to gather around her chair on the rug, and I remember being annoyed because the rug was always dirty and she never wore shoes. She proceeded to explain that something bad had happened, and if the teachers and our parents were acting strangely, that was why. I don't remember her elaborating any more, just that it was something bad.

When I got home that afternoon, my mom's face was red from crying and I asked what was wrong. She sat me down at the dining room table, and asked me if I knew what the word "hijack" meant. I thought I knew it, and I have no idea where I even got this idea from, but I told her it was when an airplane hit another airplane from behind. I remember feeling very smart and grown-up as I gave her my answer, and then very sheepish after she told me the correct definition.

She explained about the four planes that had crashed, what the buildings were and why they were important, and that it was all an attack on the United States. She told me how many people they thought were in the towers when they collapsed, and how hard they were working to recover people from the rubble. She assured me that it was going to be okay.

My parents forbade me to watch the news, but, naturally, I did anyway. I remember that they kept showing the towers collapsing, and footage of people running from the wall of smoke and dust caused by the fall. I remember a specific replay of the second plane hitting or the first tower collapsing, and the newscasters in shock, only capable of saying, "Oh God. Oh my God."

The events of September 11, 2001 are something that lay very heavily on my heart, and seem to get heavier as I get older. I don't know if that has come with the increased understanding of what happened, or if it's something else entirely, but it's there and my heart aches for it.

I know that we're never going to forget. Everyone who was alive when this happened will remember it for the rest of their lives. It is not something that leaves you, no matter if you were there or if you lost someone or if you even really understood what was happening at the time.

And I know it upsets some people that such a big deal is made every year, that America is "picking at the scab," but it's needed. No, we'll never forget, but it's important to let people know that we still remember. It was an event that dramatically altered the entire nation, and continues to define things we do today. Lives were lost, families were broken. Everything changed.

We're not picking at the scab. We're continuing to doctor it, and though it will never heal completely, it's nice to know it's getting better.

-Maggie

Here's to the good days.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I crawled out of bed and opened the blinds to see the sky was gray. Wonderfully gray, the breeze was chilly, and it felt like autumn. It was the perfect start to a Sunday.

After Sunday school, I went over to the Copeland's for fajitas, and then left for my first Quidditch practice. I knew that Quidditch was going to be awesome because, I mean, it's Quidditch, but actually getting to see and play the game was so much funner than I could have imagined.

There were so many people there, more than fifty I'd say. A lot more than the returning team members were expecting, I think. We played several games with everyone switching out so we all got a chance to play and try out different positions. I tried Chaser first, and determined very quickly that I simply was not aggressive enough to play that position, and switched to Beater, which I loved playing. When I wasn't on the field, I watched from the sidelines and talked to the others waiting for their chance to go in again. There was a lot of laughing and conversation was very easy with everyone I talked to. I mean, these are my people. We are kindred. It was wonderful.

If the college you attend has a team, JOIN. You will regret it if you don't.

After Quidditch, I went to grab some things* that Husmann had picked up for me when she went home last weekend. As I was leaving her apartment, Julia called me and said our Sunday school small group was going bowling, so I rushed home to make myself presentable and she picked me up.

I am only good at bowling sometimes, and last night I went from good to bad to abysmal. It didn't help that we were using thirteen pound balls for the majority of the time, and when we did find a smaller one, the finger holes were very tiny. I could only fit the very tips of my fingers in, which made me nervous that I would lose grip of the ball when I swung my arm back and therefore be responsible for someone's decapitation. Luckily, that did not happen, but Alayna did brutally beat all of us with a score of 150.

Julia and I stopped at the lake with the red, white, and blue fountains in the middle, and laid in the grass and talked for awhile. It was just nice, and we couldn't figure out how we'd never thought to do it before.

It was a good day, and I just wanted to tell you about it.

Here's to many more for you and I.

-Maggie

P.S. After much consideration and wandering around the site, I have decided that I do like the new Blogger interface. I know you were all anxious to hear my thoughts on this subject.

* Including mine and Keren's tickets to How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in Jaunary. I AM GOING TO NEW YORK, GUYS. I keep forgetting, and then I freak out all over again when I remember.

I see you, you're walking 'cross the campus.

New Blogger design: Do not know if want. It feels like I'm in a foreign land. A really shiny, white foreign land. Like a doctor's office in a foreign land.

Moving on.

I started school last Thursday. I suppose it is bizarre to think that I am actually going to Tech now, but it doesn't really feel any different except for the fact there are thirty thousand more people to get in my way as I bike to class. (Speaking of which, I love actually being able to use my bike. It's cute, and it makes going from one end of the campus to the other suck a little less.)

Although there are some drawbacks (like having Spanish every morning at eight o'clock, having math at all, etc.), I really like my classes. My favorite is my English class, which is essentially a class about books. It's small and intimate, and most everyone in there is an English major as well. In my first response paper, I got to talk about my relationship with books and how I use them. My next assignment includes making a quill, and reading by candlelight for twenty minutes and writing about the experience. Also, one of the required texts for the class is The Smithsonian Book of Books, which, in short, is the coolest textbook I've ever had.

My Spanish class isn't as bad as what I was anticipating even though it is at eight Monday through Friday.  Every time I am in Journalism, I think for just a second that I am in Austin because it reminds me of taking classes at ILPC, but, sadly, I never am. Regardless of how much it makes me miss Austin, I enjoy it and find my professor to be extremely arrogant and sarcastic–the mark of a true journalist. I love it.

My math class will be the bane of my semester as it is extraordinarily easy for me to completely block out anything to do with numbers and formulas. I don't even realize I am doing it most of the time, which is unfortunate. Thankfully, Husmann is also taking this class and can help me if I need it.

The last class is Child Psychology, which I am taking to fulfill one of my general degree requirements. I was surprised to find that about half the class has no desire to work with children, or even really like children for that matter. I think that I will get along well with these people.

In other news, apparently I am still employed at Aeropostale, but am only working on the weekends. It's nice that I still have a little bit of income while I look for another job, but it is getting very tiring waking up early every day of the week.

I've been going to church with Julia on Sundays and Wednesdays, which I've enjoyed immensely. It's nice to have that back.

Also, living with your grandparents is something I highly encourage you to do. We watch whatever old movies D-Dad has recorded in the living room a few times a week, and play cards at least once a day. Every Monday is Burger Night since they're are two for one at Dairy Queen, and you know how much I love burgers. It also makes it perfectly acceptable to put your pajamas on at seven o'clock as I did on Tuesday.

Living with your grandparents is good for the soul.

It's also very entertaining, as Denny's life is defined by her constant battle with the squirrels of Lubbock. The squirrels destroy Denny's pecans, and that infuriates her, so she has various (often ruthless) ways of getting rid of them. Today as we were walking to the front door, we heard a bizarre squawking noise that turned out to be a squirrel. I think that it saw my grandmother and was calling out a warning to its squirrel buddies.

As much as I love living with Denny and D-Dad, I do miss my family. And Schnookums. I'm still convinced I could have hidden her upstairs and Denny would have never known.

Le sigh.

Despite being tired most of the time, after a year of doing basically nothing at Cisco, I like being so busy with school, work, church, etc. It makes the days when I actually can laze about and do nothing that much better.

And now I must go. I hope everyone else is enjoying their classes, jobs, life, etc. as well!

-Maggie