Hola. It's your trusty dA member, Bella. Also known as Nora.

"Nora?" you say. "Who is this person and what has she done with our beloved Bella?"

Well, folks, I'll let you in on a little secret (why am I speaking as though I have an audience? No one reads this silly journal posts I put up here!) — Nora IS Bella. Nora/Bella was just going through a very obsessive phase, as you may have noticed, with a little teeny book called "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer. Let me tell you something else: Nora does not ENJOY this series about vampires and mortals and not-so-mortal vampires any longer. Sure, she'll always have to say "Volvo" whenever the car passes in her range of vision (it's a habit that cannot be broken), or always feel the need to correct someone when they say the wrong thing about Twilight. But no longer is she the fangirl she once was. Sad, I know. Oh well. Get over it. Nora is WAY awesomer than Bella.

So, how about I tell you a bit about my real self?

I'm a viola player. What's a viola? Dammit, it's NOT a violin, for one thing. It's ten times better and twenty times cooler. I'm pretty darn good, too. (If I do say so myself.) I am also a writer. I usually write short stories for a school club, and then type them up for my own personal use. I've started a few scripts for Script Frenzy and a novel for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for those who know it), but I get bored easily. I love the color yellow. I'm bubbly and bright and happy and always — or at least while the Red Bull's kicked in — full of energy. I like to listen to music.

Oh, man. Music.

My music taste in the past few journal posts has been tinted with Twilight. So I'll try to offer a new perspective today.

Right now, I'm VERY into MGMT. "Electric Feel," "Kids," or "Time to Pretend." Also, Death Cab for Cutie has always been a huge favorite. "No Sunlight," "Soul Meets Body," Transatlanticism," "Lack of Color," or "I Will Possess Your Heart." Vampire Weekend is very upbeat, which I absolutely love. "Oxford Comma" is a favorite at the moment. One song I'm in LOVE with: "Help I'm Alive," by Metric. It's such a distress song. Also, Cold War Kids with "Hospital Beds." Definitely one of the good ones. Great Northern is included on my long playlist — try "Houses" or "Home" (hmm, theme, anyone?). Let's see. I need my iPod near me. Have any of you heard Green Day's new album, "21st Century Breakdown?" I was a huge GD fan at one time in my life. I had every CD, the Bullet In A Bible concert movie, books, etc. That, like many of my other phases, passed, but this new album has sparked the old GD lover in me. "Song of the Century," "21st Century Breakdown," "Last of the American Girls," and "Viva la Gloria!" are great. Audrye Sessions brings to the table a wonderful hit called "Turn Me Off." I'm still, admittedly, loyal to the rock gods that are Muse. Cedar Point today, waiting in line, we heard "Starlight." Amazing. On a silly note, the new show "Glee," officially premiering this fall, has offered a wonderful remake of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." I'm in love!

Now that I've put whatever poor soul reading this to sleep…(I really hope I haven't — that was all good musical advice up there!)

My teacher lent me a book entitled "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It's a series of letters between an author and the inhabitants of Guernsey, and English channel island that was occupied by the Germans during the war. It takes place in 1946 (a favorite time period of mine), and is extremely enchanting and well-written and engaging. It leaves you with a smile on your face. And those are the best kind of books, aren't they?

I haven't been on dA in FOREVER. It's quite sad, actually. I miss it a bit. So let's all give me a big warm welcome!

*cricket, cricket*

Sigh. I understand.

Alrighty. It's a bit late for me now. I have viola practice tomorrow and I don't want to sleep until two pm.

Please comment, it makes me happy (on this post and my deviations). And we all like it when I'm happy!



Thanks for reading this (if anyone actually finished).

Nora

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence." —Leopold Stokowski