Cousin Craziness!

Hey people,

as you know I haven't been blogging as much as before, but I can explain... again. I have met two awesome cousins that live here on the Island and they have been sleeping over since Saturday. I have never had cousins so close to my age before, so it's really nice to be able to stay up late and talk nonstop about random teenage things, like how I do with close friends. Anyhow, yeah, so I have not been a frequent blogger due to the fact that I have been spending time getting to know them better and all sorts of things, but I will try my hardest to set aside time, even for one post, while they are here.

Now that that's out of the way, just wanted to say THANK GOD CHRISTMAS IS OVER! (Check out my "Ugh, It's Christmas" post).

And finally,

Love Always <3,
Katrina Lowell

Are We Seriously In The Middle Of A Cane Field?

So on Sunday, after my mom had come home from doing some work at her job, my parents decided to have us take a drive down the country side of the island. So we drove and looked at the beautiful scenery on the East coast, took a drive down to the beach and everything. Great. Now, on our way home, we used this GPS app that my dad downloaded on his iPhone. So we're following it and suddenly, we are in the middle of a cane field. Sugar cane to be exact.

I was reading a book on a book reader, so I didn't really notice what was going on until my mom said, "oh my god." When I looked up, we were on a small trail surrounded by cane (which looks like overgrown corn stalks, by the way). I was in the middle of a horror novel as well, so that didn't help. I just kept remembering those horror scenes when people break down in the middle of nowhere and this guy that looks like a haunted scarecrow or something runs at you with a chainsaw; not very good thoughts at a time like that. So my mom is freaking out, saying she has to pee or that she's gonna puke, my dad is slowly driving the car, focusing on the road, my little brother is crying (I know, right?), and I'm laughing my head off. I don't know if it was a mixture of nervousness and how funny everyone else in the car was acting, but I was hysterical. My mom, then, started getting mad at me for laughing so hard in such a serious situation, mad at my brother for being so dramatic, and mad at my dad for (1) downloading the app, and (2) driving so slow. What happened next was so funny that I started to choke on air, I kid you not. My dad goes "wind down your window and pull in the side mirror." Now, it is night time in the middle on a cane field and my dad was worried about side mirrors getting damaged. My mom obviously refused, but then my dad started rolling down the window for her. My mom lost it. She goes, "You seriously want me to put my arm out of this car for someone or something to drag me through this window and attack me?" My dad and I laughed so hard. My poor mom was slowly going crazy.

We finally made it to a residential area and we all settled down, except for my mom. She said that her heart still wouldn't settle down. Wow...

Now, she is supposed to be blogging these funny stories as well, but hasn't gotten around to it, so I'll try to get her to blog her experience in this situation so that you can see it from her perspective. I'm sure it'll be hilarious...

Love Always <3,
Katrina Lowell

YAY; I've Got Viewers!

I wrote this out of complete happiness. I mean, I've got so many other things that I need to write, but this is just really important.

So, every morning before I blog, I check my e-mail, possibly change my status, and then sign on to my website. Then, I go straight to my stats to see what posts have been read and by who. This morning I was surprised to see that I had about 17 views yesterday and 6 view already for the morning. Not only that, but I've got views in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany, Italy, Russia, Barbados, and France. That is AMAZING! I mean, all of you guys are reading my words every day. It just inspires me to keep writing, even if I'm dirt tired or just very lazy.

I still remember the first week or so that my blog was up. Nobody (and I mean nobody) read my blog. I kept posting every day, hoping that at least one person would show up in that stats page. Finally I saw that someone in Russia had read my blog about three times and I was ecstatic. From then I got views in Indonesia,  Turkey, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Brazil and so on. What gets me, even more than the fact that my blog has become so popular, is that my words have reached each and every one of you.

When I write every day, I don't know who I'm writing to. I don't know who is going to read what I'm saying, who's gonna understand it, laugh at it, laugh with it, think about it, take it to heart. All of these things are what I hope to achieve through this blog. What started off as a small little midnight idea has blossomed into this big thing, it's remarkable.

Now, what I also see is that while all of you read my blog, possibly even on a regular basis, you don't click that "Join This Site" button under "Lowell's Fans" on the right side of the page. Become a member using your Google, Twitter, Yahoo!, AIM, Net log, or Open ID account. If you don't have one, there is a link at the bottom of the pop-up screen that will direct you to where you can create a Google account. That way you can connect with other fans and get immediate updates whenever I post something new and what not.

Besides that, I have only gotten one comment from a friend of mine. Don't be afraid to click on the "comments" button underneath a post and share how you felt about the post. This could mean that you hated it, loved it, laughed at it, you cried when you read it, or maybe you have your own story to share or your own opinion in relation to the topic. Share it! I would love to see what you guys have to say. I know also that there are so many different nationalities reading my blog, so maybe the fact that your comment would be in a different language keeps you from commenting, but don't worry about it. I would love to hear from you guys in any language; and besides, I can just copy and paste it into Google Translate. No problem...

Something else that would make my day is for you guys to click on that envelope next to the comments button and send the post to some of your friends, family, etc. My blog is for sharing with your peers, for reading with them, for discussing with them. That's why I made this blog; so that you guys will be able to show your friends and talk about it.

Last but not least, vote on my poll. Every month I will have a poll at the top of the right side of the screen. It could be random or relative to what I've posted. Either way, it is another way for you to share your opinion. At the end of the month, the winning vote will be displayed.

I just want to thank you guys, really. I may not know you, but you are all my friends in a way. I write as if writing to someone that I know, that I care about; a friend. You guys encourage me every time you read and that's why I want you guys to become more involved in my website, to feel like you can fully be yourself here. Just remember, you are always welcome!

Love Always,
Katrina Lowell

11.17.11- Rihanna "We Found Love"

Okay, First of all I HATE THIS SONG!!! Now, I don't know if you guys like it or not, but all I know is that this song is just...just an epic (and I do mean EPIC) fail.

Rihanna's new song is just like the others... bare rubbish. I mean, there are a few good ones, but when we go back in time to her first and second albums, the songs were so good. In fact, I own her first three, but the new ones, I don't even spit on. I think my favorite song of all of her new ones is "What's My Name." It all ended with "Rude Boy," to be honest. It just really disappoints me because I love Ri Ri, but gosh.

Anyhow, yeah, the song is one of the typical dance ones, but they tried to make a love song out of it. The first line throws me off though. "Yellow diamonds in the light."...okay? Anyhow, I've heard it SO many times that I just want it to get bombed, for real.

Besides that, the harmonies and vocals in this are so boring. Why? Because they went and ruined this with that cheesy, anime theme song backing track. Therefore, you can't really do a lot with your vocals because then it would sound busy and annoying. Ugh...

I think that her best recent vocal have been on "California King Bed," possibly the worst song of all time. I mean, really? Whoever is writing these songs needs to get fired, QUICKLY!

And "tisk tisk," Rihanna. You are now able to pick some, if not most, of the songs you sing. You agreed to sing these songs. STOP IT PLEASE! I miss your old ones, like "P.S. I'm still not over you" and "A Million Miles Away," so please...

Okay, well I'm done now. Just so glad to finally get that out :)

(Couldn't show the video 'cuz I just saw it and it is... bad. Don't watch it either, okay? Trust me...)

Love Always <3,

Katrina Lowell

11.16.11- Elle Varner ft. J. Cole "Only Wanna Give It To You"

Okay, no, this song isn't on my bad list AT ALL; it is just so good that I had to blog it right now.

So yeah, I've heard this song a couple times on the radio and I thought that it should come right after "Domino" by Jessie J just to show you guys what I mean by bringing your story back around using the relative topic and some lyrics. Elle Varner, a new artist, has this song (of which I don't know if she wrote or not) that talks about liking this guy more than her shoes. Now, this girl (as you will see in the music video) loves shoes, so this topic was just right for her. She describes how she wished she had bought this guy instead of these amazing new shoes and how (in my favorite line) he's more special than her Adidas. I don't know why that line made me "click my heels " (pun obviously intended) so much. This song is funny while lyrically fulfilling and smart. I just love it all around.

Her voice reminds me a lot of Jazmine Sullivan, known famously for "Bust Your Windows," another one of my favorites. I actually thought that she sang this song, just to find out that it is this other talented star. She was accompanied by J. Cole, a recently popular rapper. I think he's okay, but I do question his placement in his song. I think that it could have done well without him, but his rap part is cool, so I guess it works.

What I like especially is the way the music video was made. It's just really nice. First of all, The colors are just very bright and make so many things just pop off the screen (to me at least). Besides that, it gave you such a great idea of how bubbly Elle Varner seems. It, to me, is the best "new artist" video that I've seen in a while.

Now, something that really upsets me is that people are already hating on her. I understand that everyone has haters, but I seriously don't know how someone could look at her, hear her voice and make negative comments. In fact, these people are so stupid, right, that on YouTube, in the comments, they couldn't find anything to say to rip her apart, so they said that she had a large, ugly forehead. Really? That's the best that you jerk faces could come up with? I mean, if you're gonna hate on someone, you best find an extraordinary reason that's at least factual. Her forehead is no larger or uglier than anyone elses. In fact, I've never seen an ugly forehead before. Anyhow, I know that it is very unlikely for famous people to read my blog, but Elle (if you're reading, hi... new fan :)), don't let these people change who you are. It would really be a pity because you seem to be such a nice person with an amazing voice, so to see people just put you down like that is terrible. Keep your head up, and haters, don't hate!

Enjoy (and I know you will)!

Love Always <3,
Katrina Lowell

We Even Set It On Fire!...

So, judging by the title, you could be thinking a few things:

1) I destroyed something and then set it on fire,
2) I was so amazing at some sort of party that I "set the place on fire," so to speak,
3) or you could just be completely confused.

At any rate, what I'm talking about is a centipede. That's right, a centipede. Now, what most people don't realize is that a centipede is more dangerous than it's made out to be.

First of all, they are incredibly fast. They remind me of small snakes, the way they seem to slither so swiftly. This makes them so hard to catch, especially if you have to run and get a weapon to kill them with because by the time you're back, it's gone.

Second of all, these suckers have stingers! They are in their two front legs and they've got venom in them. From what I gather, it's extremely painful and causes massive swelling to the affected area. My dad told me that it's so painful that many people faint, want to get the limb amputated all together, and some even die. I'm pretty scared.

Last, but definitely not least, they are very hard to kill. They've got a hard, protective shell, so spraying them doesn't really work, banging them with something doesn't really work, and, as you will see in this story, setting them on fire doesn't work either.

Recently we have seen two centipedes in our house. The first time, we were caught off guard and extremely unprepared. Therefore, we found ourselves spending quite a long time using different methods, such as spraying him and hitting him repeatedly with a shoe. We eventually took him onto our patio and my dad hit him over, and over, and over, and over... and finally just chucked him off the edge. That shook all of us up, to where we weren't even comfortable sleeping in our beds, afraid that this evil centipede, or maybe his friends, will come back for revenge.

After a couple days of not seeing any, we started getting back into the groove, but then I heard my mom scream. I knew exactly what it was, so I grabbed a shoe and ran upstairs. It was in my parents' shower this time and had crept through one of the bathroom windows. My mom was in the middle of flat ironing her hair, so she just yelled directions to my dad. My dad was beating the living daylights out of it with a tub scrubber, but when I saw the centipede, he was still scurrying along like nothing was going on. Then I heard my mom say to light him on fire, so I ran downstairs and got the lighter. My dad took it and put the flame DIRECTLY on him for about ten minutes. You know the dude was still flopping around? Finally his stinger was burnt to a crisp, so he started to drag it about, still trying to escape (this was one of the most disturbing scenes that I have ever seen, by the way). What was worse is that my dad banged his head off with the scrubber, and his body was still wiggling. EWWWWWWW... My dad just flung him out the window afterwords.

Now what scares me the most is the fact that these guys seem immune to dying. No matter what you do, they still live on. I mean, after setting it on fire and cutting off the head, it was still ready for more. They're worse than zombies because at least, for them, these two methods seem to work.

I've already explained to you guys about the wildlife here on the island, but I have got to say that centipedes are the scariest of all.

(I just had to show you guys this one. She OBVIOUSLY doesn't know how much pain she could be in for in a few seconds :S)

(Not that friendly, huh? Check out those stingers!!!)

Love Always <3,
Katrina Lowell

12.15.11- Jessie J "Domino"

Another painful revelation has been made; Jessie J has written a pretty bad song.

Now, as you might have seen in one of my first posts about one of her songs, I love her. I mean, she just inspires me to be super crazy sometimes. She's just so daring and confident that it's amazing. And, in honesty, I love most of her songs, but this new one has really disappointed me.

What I gather is that the song is about this guy that takes her breath away, sweeps her off of her feet, and (apparently) takes her down like a domino effect. Okay, great concept, but can you round it out just a little with some lyrics? I mean, sure, her vocals are her typical "goose bump worthy" ones, but the lyrical content is just... not placed correctly. Look, I'm a song writer (I've told ya'll that plenty of times) and lyrics are what I focus on most when writing a song. I write songs pretty weird, though. First of all, I can't play any instrument besides a recorder, and I obviously can't do much with that. Therefore I've downloaded a music program that allows me to make a backing track by piecing together some samples or whatever. Anyhow, I might start off with that and build up, or I might just write a title and work like that. However I get it done, I make sure that the lyrics work with whatever my topic is. For instance, If my song is about a love that has "Put A Spell On Me" (One of my songs), then I use words like "curse" if it is a bad type of "magic", or maybe "set me free", just a lot of magical terms. Why? Because that is what I chose to use as my relative topic. Now, tell me why Jessie, after relating how she feels to dominoes, she fails to use one example or phrase to bring it back around.

Now, because this is so disappointing to me, I've decided to show you guys what I mean by providing you with the lyrics:

I'm feeling sexy and free
Like glitter's raining on me
You're like a shot of pure gold                                    
I think I'm 'bout to explode
( Okay, Verse 1 and no relation to dominoes...)
 
I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there    
Don't you know...you spin me out of control
(Couldn't this (/\/\) be:  "Don't you know... you knock me down with your soul" or some other characteristic that she likes? And I don't think that a domino spins...Seriously J...) 

Ooh ooh ooh

[Chorus]
We can do this all night
Turn this club, skin tight
Baby come on
Pull me like a bass drum     
Sparkin' up a rhythm
Baby, come on!
(This could work when talking about falling in love with the DJ or something, but dominoes? Not really.)

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

Rock my world into the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
(...Okay, one note taken after so many other unrelated lines)


Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
(The same thing over again? Okay, that doesn't count. Let's move on...)

You got me loosing my mind
My heart beats out of time
I'm seeing Hollywood stars
You stroke me like a guitar
(A famous DJ maybe?)

I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there
Don't you know...you spin me out of control
(Or maybe this song should be about setting your soul on fire; something that creates clouds of smoke and makes you run... LOL, a "Rebecca Black" songwriting suggestion... She would write something like that. Love ya, Becca!)


Ooh ooh ooh

[Chorus]
We can do this all night
Turn this club, skin tight
Baby come on
Pull me like a bass drum
Sparkin' up a rhythm
Baby, come on!

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

Rock my world into the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

[Bridge]
Ooh baby baby got me feeling so right
Ooh baby baby dancing in the moonlight
Ooh baby baby got me feeling so right
Ooh baby baby dancing in the moonlight
Ooh baby baby got me feeling so right
Ooh baby baby dancing in the moonlight
(Not even in the bridge? Come on...)
[Outro]
Rock my world into the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino


I think my point has been made. I mean, seriously. Okay, well that's it, I guess...

Love Always <3,
Katrina Lowell