Getting Started; Vlog Style!!

So here we are! This is the first video I made for this blog but I didn't get to post it because I'm lazy and didn't edit it after I made it. But now it is all pretty and cut--not very clean in the editing, but hey; gimme a break it's my first legit edited video.

   I hope to see more videos because they are so much fun to record and then edit you have no idea. Have fun!




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Program used; 
Windows Movie Maker 2.6

Apparently Highways Never End. Ever.

   Well, this has been an eventful weekend, to put it in an understatement. Basically I spent valuable time of life on just driving. As in driving on the highway. So I'm going to take ten minutes of your time relating it all in a very confusing manner so that I can feel some sort of accomplishment from those endless hours.

   So this all started out Friday, I went with my friend Diane to go pick up her son in North Adams. I volunteered willingly and enthusiastically when she asked for company; I'm pretty sure I would've said yes nonetheless due to the fact that I just overload myself on most thing's, and a three hour drive didn't seem THAT bad. I mean, Diane and I drove for around eleven and a half hours last summer to get to Pennsylvania for a ten days to help her parents move. Three hours to North Adams? Ha, big deal.

   But DANG, it felt so much longer than three hours. Even though the scenery on the way there was brilliant, and I had plenty to do, it felt like years. And I get very hyper very easily. So sitting for what feels like years translate into running around, jumping off guard rails, and struggling to contain my energy by constantly moving around.

   To help contain these mini nuclear explosions inside my head; something that I tend to do whenever there's any length of time in the car, is punch people for yellow cars. I've never been big on the punch buggy games or things like that, but last year in May when I went on a trip with my best friend to the Steampunk Festival, he kept punching me in the shoulder. Not a word, just a punch. And after a while, I got sick of it.

   "Why are you punching me." I demanded as I chose a song in my MP3 to listen to with him.

   He looked at me a second before answering quietly (He was a lot more shy back then, he's not as much anymore) "There was..." He stuttered like I was accusing him of murder, "VW bugs..." He had been saying "PUNCH BUGGY" really loud but I couldn't hear it through the music. So THAT of course blew up into an endless competition to see who could punch who the most. We both had crushes on each other then so it was an excuse to act like a bunch of stupid idiots as we continued through the day, but other than that, we unknowingly sparked the beginning of a long line of competitions. At the end of the summer, after he had valiantly been through the entire battle of my mom's finale with me and my family, he finally asked me out and we hung out more often that we did before. And I learned the European way of Punch Buggy. Yellow cars. For those who don't know me...

   I love yellow.

   Enough said.

   So mostly it was the Yellow Car game when it came to long trips and I was the best at it due to my strange attraction to bright, shiny things. And as a straight up fact, I am very prideful in my endevours. People who protest against this pride are the people who don't really know me. For unknown reasons, I had been thrown off my game and I was sitting there as Diane punched, almost one hit after another like a machine gun, for yellow cars. Every time I saw one, she got me for one that was hidden behind it. It was quite hilarious at first, but after a while, it came to the point where the sun beating down made me delirious in my determination to find a yellow car. I felt as if I had failed my greater cause in not being able to get the one up on the Yellow Car game, and in my haze, I started missing them instead of finding them. It all grew increasingly exhausting, which I guess was the original goal of the game.

   But, I was flawlessly determined. It's funny, when I was finally getting all the energy out, I had a reason to use it.

   I managed to stay away through the entire drive, and I soon got over my insecurities of failing at finding yellow things. Something that clearly lifted my spirits in the exhausted state was a really cool time going down the mountain into North Adams. I had no idea what a hairpin turn was until Diane pointed out the sign and we glided down safely around the bends and swivels. It was pleasant especially with the beautiful view, and I just thanked God that my dad wasn't driving. Going ninety around a hairpin turn wasn't on top of my to-do list.

  When we had arrived, we picked up Diane's son, JonDavid, and his friend Ciara and travelled back out into the wild. The ride back was a bit more awake, much to pain my battle against restlessness, than going because having two extra pre-adults in the car kept things a bit more lively. We stopped to take pictures on the bridge, but it wasn't until Ciara left that thing's went back to the post-yellow-car-game groove of almost falling asleep.

   I finally just gave up. First I was too hyper, now I was falling asleep. So I settled down to filling my mind with a new book. My boy's mom lent it to me months ago to read, but I never got around to it until I found it stuffed in a corner with an inch of dust on it. I felt really bad that I had shoved it in a corner but hey, at least I found it again. So I found myself a spot and got down to reading before I was dropped off at home.

   Which leads me to day number two.

   I had no idea. Would would've thunk I was going to do another nine hours of driving the day right after going to North Adams and back? Although I had been told before, (I knew I had forgotten something) but it ticked me off to figure it out, because seriously; two days in a row, a total of eighteen hours driving--it's frigging exhausting. But this time, it was required that my presence be made. Because, it was my sister moving.

   Erica got a new job somewhere in New York  and she was moving in with a family friend of her boyfriend's. It was really cool going there because I got to drive in the U-HAUL truck with my dad. Driving in a U-HAUL truck--man, I probably get over excited about stupid thing's but that was, like, legit made my week. I'd rent a freaking truck every time I'd just have to go down the street it was that epic. The cabin was so spacious and so many places to put thing's; and windows that were perfect for rolling down and sticking your arm out. And something that was kind of hilarious was that Erica had stuffed her kitten Alice in a cat carrier between my dad and I, and she was so loud through the entire thing. It was so pitiful hearing her

   Erica calls her baby fluffs. She... has a way with animals. :P When you hold the two week old kitten up in the air and scream "SIMBA!!" How it DOESN'T traumatize your kitten is a question I like to ask. I think this is what I'm going to be missing the most of my sister being three hours away. No more hilarious cat moments.

   But I Can Has Cheezburger moments didn't seem lost; it's not like I won't ever see her again and she's having a good time it seems so what's there to complain about?

   Oh that's right.

   It suddenly hit me; I was going to have a sleepover the next day with Clare McCallen, one of my old best buddies.

   They live in Groton.

   I live in Roslindale.

   How did I not realize I'd be driving a total of twenty hours in three days? And the week before you know, I walked about that amount of time due to the courtesy of Anime Boston? I mean at the same time I realized this, I came to terms that in a way, I was all powerful. What normal human being would be able to achieve such greatness? What ordinary civilian would be able to accomplish this unattainable goal? In the simplest of words, I am at the same time, completely worthy of hero worship. All the people in all the world that are out of shape and haven't driven for more than a few hours look to me as their guiding light towards hope, bearing the message "It is Possible... to SURVIVE".

   Anyways, back to reality; it was a pretty epic time. Haven't seen Clare since forever and it was great to just sit down and relax for two days. We ended up staying an extra night, because I don't know if you noticed, but it was around ninety degrees Monday and because everyone and their grandmother went to the beach. Including us, and we were in traffic for three and a half hours just to reach four miles. It was horrendous. So an hour to the beach and five hours back, make it a twenty-six hour weekend of just DRIVING. The joy. But it was worth just hanging out with good people. :) the next day we went to this ruined castle that was really cool and it was a bummer when we had to come home.

   I don't think I'm driving anywhere anymore.

   Anyways I understand that this post was kind of useless and boring, but I promise; I'll be writing more, and also more interesting stuff. No worries :)

*Pictures:
North Adams,
(Left-Right) Ciera, myself and JonDavid
(Left-Right) Erica, Dad, myself and Molly.

Getting Started

Well, this is it! Post number 1, a clean slate :)

I promise, our life together as blogger and reader will progress into something more enjoyable, and much more interesting but like how I used to start all journals or other things, I feel the need to explain myself. Sort of an introduction, if you know what I mean.

   My name is Elizabeth Lauren McGrath. I have SO many nicknames to the point just call me whatever first comes to mind. I've been called Ella, Liz, Lizzy, Beth, Elle, L, Bella, Beanie, Beans, Pookud--yeah, some of these... are just works of art. I'm fifteen years old and my birthday is the 19th of July, right before my eldest sister's which is July 20th :) I was her birthday present ^^. I love to draw, just like my dad used to, and I absolutely adore Art. And I mean all kinds of drawn art; charcoal, graphite, acrylic paints, oils, HB pencils, pens, crayons--you name it. And stuff like sculptures, pixel art, and pretty much anything creative. I like architecture, gardening, engineering and building. And long walks on the beach.  I also love writing, which is a hobby I got from my mom. She was a published editor for Muse it Up Publishing© and was pretty much epic with it.

   Oh let me mention, my mother died this past July after twelve years straight of cancer. She was a three time survivor, and was aiming to live until my eighteenth birthday but, things happened and it fell three years short. I can say for sure, I'll be posting a lot about grief, because in reality it's become a really big part of my life. It affects you in weird ways that I'd be happy to get out of my system if you're willing to tolerate it. Also, because of this past, I've had trouble opening up. So I will probably be more open than usually if you were talking to me in real life, because talking like this in writing to an unknown reader helps me get over that fear or whatever it is.

    One more note on this subject, viewer's discretion is advised. Cancer tends to be a bit graphic. I'll probably start these kinds of posts off with a note saying it might be a bit detailed, but I'll keep it down to a minimum. I seem to forget that not everyone has dealt with a gaping hole in their parents neck. Also I guess one of the purposes that I aim to achieve with this blog is to educate my friends. Because I've had kids say "What's grief?" to me flat out. And I understand no one has gone through what I have, no one can fully understand, but doesn't mean I can't try to explain it. So this is also to educate you on how to deal with someone who lost someone very close. And how to deal with me. But, this doesn't mean this entire blog is gunna be depressing and gruesome. We can have fun along the way, like History Night at my homeschooling group is coming up :) Pictures and videos! Woohoo!

   That reminds me; expect lot's of vlog posts and pictures. I love taking pictures and such, and it's easier for me to speak than to type sometimes about certain subject. I just hope that this will deepen your understanding and you might get to know me better. Hear my opinions and my advice and life.

   We'll see what happens :)