November was such a complicated month. I was fully busy with studying and all the boring school stuff on its final month, and every free moment I had on my hands was spent on writing my novel for NaNoWriMo. It was totally challenging, but I could make it to the goal, 50,000 words. That was November, over all, a good month.

Then came December and passed by as a flash. It was a couple of days ago when school ended, it seems — it was almost a month ago. However, so many things happened on this little while.

Who knows me, would know I do not party around this often, but since my parents realized I am now sixteen, they feel they should let me out more often. I couldn’t say no to this offer. I wasn’t going through a good moment with the relationship with my friends (actually with almost every relationship I had) so what else could I do? I was in need of a refreshing way to forget about everything. That was one party. I went out the following day. And then the following week. And I kept going out. On Christmas’ Eve was the last party I went to. I got pretty excited about it, you can see. It is really good to forget about things.

There’re a lot more things going on that were distracting me, but I thankfully found in one of my other friends a great and closer friend I never thought I would. We’ve been hanging out together all this month, and I think that pissed off some of my other friends, but you know what? At this point I do not care about these things as much as I used to. It’s all strange and complex, but it can be said this shortly. Whatever. Sigh.

I am also leaving in two days to Bariloche for a whole month, so I am really looking forward to leaving all behind and forget about as much as I can, please.

And in case some of you wonder about my friend, she’s getting everytime better. She’s waken up and now talks a bit. She’s still in hospital but definately recovering. I am so happy about that!

Coming from one of my (extra) English lessons my mum gave me a devastating, unwanted new. Mariana had called earlier to let me know a good friend of us, Florencia, had had an accident with a motorbike and that she was in coma. The day before her birthday, and doing something she wasn’t supossed to do. The motorbike crashed into a school bus in a speedway near home and she was the one to hit it harder (she wasn’t riding it, a friend of her was — who broke her jaw).

We rushed to the public hospital were she was being attended and spent there a good while until she was sent to a better hospital, where she’s staying at the moment.

This was last Wednesday, and she’s still like that, but recovering, according to the doctors. The visits have been prohibited last weekend because she got too excited when we talked to her (I am extremly positive she can hear us) and that was no good for her brain pressure, that was quite high at that point. Now it is apparently normal, but they won’t allow pass further than the glass separating the corridor from her room.

This week, that has been intensely hard, we have managed to go there twice, and we’ll go tomorrow again and be some company for her parents and her boyfriends, who spend all their time next to her room.

The worse is, before all this happened, we were getting a little bit distanced because of a stupid reason of a friend, because of a boy, obviously. She’s not with us at school, so we didn’t see her always, but quite often. Because of that, we saw her even less. We (well, me not much, I did try to get her closer to us) feel so guilty because of that, and now I think about that, it’s so kiddish. I mean, do we have to wait for something like this to happen to realize how meaningful for you your friends, family, etcetera, are?

Changing subjects, I am utterly excited! I am seeing my only two cousins (Lautaro, 8 and Malena, 3) after over a year this Saturday! My dad and his brother had been distanced for a while, but now the wound in between seems to be healing, and I am finally seeing them again. I missed them so much.

I had a blast on the States, so bad it vanished quickly. Even if I didn’t had high hopes, this trip opened my eyes widely. It was awesome! I might post some pictures sometime.

As you can see, Still Alive has had a complete revamp. I am quite pleased with the new layout, I hope you like it as much as I do. I worked all afternoon on it, just because the library plugin I installed wouldn’t look good on the old theme.

I am in love with that plugin, I must admit. I just need to remember all the books and most specially the dates I read during my whole life, fill it up and I am done. Heh.

May I recommend something to you? Read the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. It’s the best book I have ever read (no kidding), and even if I am not done with the first one yet, I expect nothing but better things for the following. Can’t wait! I will get into this in a soon-to-be posted review/post.

Now I remember my birthday was last Monday (meaning one week ago — already?!). I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d have liked, but I can’t say I had a bad time. It could have been better, though.

As you might understand by just reading the title, it’s about something I’m really worried about, and yes, it’s our planet and the effect we’re causing on it, that’s not fair at all.

But before I start rambling about what I think about the subject, let’s do a little introduction…

The Planet Earth is 4,600 million years old. It is difficult for us to think about such an enormous lenght of time because it has little meaning for us.
We can, however, simplify the idea to make it more understandable. We can compare the planet Earth to a person of forty-six years of age.

Nothing is known about the first seven years of this person’s life. Very little information exists about the middle period either. It was only at the age of forty-two that the Earth began to flower.

Dinosaurs and great reptiles did not appear until one year ago, when the planet was forty-five. Mammals only arrived eight months ago. In the middle of last week, man-like apes became ape-like men and began to communicate with each other. Last weekend, the Ice Age covered the Earth.

Modern marn has only been around for four hours. During the last hour, man discovered agriculture. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of large cities began just sixty seconds ago.

During that short time, modern man has made a rubbish tip of the Earth. In one minute, he has increased his numbers to terrible proportions, and has caused the death of hundreds of species of animals. He has robbed and destroyed the planet in his search for fuels. Now he stands, like a violent, spoilt child, delighted at the speed of his rise to power, on the edge of final mass destruction and of killing all the life which exists in the solar system.

(This fragment has been taken from an English course book, called “New Success at First Certificate” by Robert O’Neill - Oxford University Press, 1997).

I chose it because it explains the matter shortly. How can we, the ones who should take care of our home, destroy it this way? For example, do you go home and start destroying it in a flash? I can see the ignorance of people who are making money out of everybody’s only place to live. What about future generations, will they just have to deal with something that’s in part our fault? It’s not fair for anyone.

I could go on forever because I have a lot to say about this subject. In a way or another, this is a little effort to make something about it, but it’s obviously not the only thing I will do about it, even if from my place not much can be done.
I know I am not the only one who thinks this way. Please if you agree with me in some (or perhaps in all) points, do consider to visit the links you can find on my sidebar at the bottom. It’s not much we can do from our places, but it’s huge at the same time.

Take some time to think about this, yes please? Thanks a lot!

Today, a week before the not-so-expected flight to the United States, when I expected everything to be extremly normal, my father received a call from our family in Córdoba, letting us know his grandfather (that means my great grandfather) passed away earlier today. My dad left inmediatly to the province (many, many kilometers away) to assist to his funeral. I’m really, really touched about this loss because, despite the fact I barely saw him lately (just some summers), I used to be at his home all the time when we still went regularly there. It’s sad.

And talking about the trip that’s one week away (the 24th), I don’t feel much excited about it. I mean, who wouldn’t be? We’re going to Disney World! It’s every kid’s dream, more for people who would never get the chance (I felt I was one of them).
People around me might think it’s I don’t want to go (I do, believe me, I do), but it’s an strategy, making myself believe everything will be just as normal as usual, so when the time comes, it’ll be even more exciting. It’s working fairly well, I can tell you! So yes, I’m and not excited about it. Heh.

My fears about our death are gone by now. Everytime I have these strange feelings I myself make up they go away moments before the thing happens. What makes me think the more remote, the bigger the fear is. That’s a relief, you know, because if I had to fly with that fear I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I’d like to.

This week is going to be intense… very intense! Details shall follow, keep an eye here this week! I was also planning to transcribe a few paragraphs from a book that I found quite interesting and wise, but as it contains a complete different background from this post, it’ll be posted this week hopefully, because I’ll try to go deep on the subject. I’m mysterious as that! This week, yes. You won’t believe it — two posts in a month! Heh. It’ll hopefully be that way.

Fortunately, my closest friends are still as close as always and I don’t notice any attitude changed. Anyway, one of them says this sudden twist might be caused by my usual bad mood and some comments I could have said in a way and people who don’t really know me understood them wrong. I don’t think that’s it, but it could influence. Aghh, I don’t know. I am not mean towards them! I just can’t clear my mind, and I feel like I am losing some friends too. What might be a good omen, after all — I am finally understanding who is worthy for myself to have beside me and who is not.

I had seen and actually touched snow in the past, during various of my trips to the south, but it had never happened here in Buenos Aires. Or not at least with me alive. The last time it snowed was on 1918, impressing.
Here are some photos of the moment. The one on your left was taken at home. Isn’t it lovely? I enjoyed it loads! Then on school the next day we all had a blast playing with it outside. And a cold too!

For me, whom have seen it before, it wasn’t something as spectacular as I imagine it was for those who had never seen it, and if it wasn’t because of this, wouldn’t have never been able to. And that makes me happy. What not, is the real reason of why it snowed. We’re all going to die, AHHH! Not yet, but this was a warning from global warming. I am working on a project about this for school and it’s something to worry about. It is.