May I Be Excused

  This is all Sherlock Holmes’ fault, if you were wondering. My hero since I was a primary schooler reading the mysteries from under my school work. He’s rude, brilliant, he spends most of his time with dead people, what’s not to like? Then I got into BBC Sherlock(do not watch it, save yourself) last summer and that’s when I heard those two words that changed my outlook on life.

Highly Functioning.

I’m not a genius like Sherlock. I can’t tell you your life story from your thumb, I don’t have highly honed special skills and I don’t have his razor sharp wit. I wish I did, but I don’t. Instead I’m all that rude, unstable and strange without Benedict Cumberbatches’ cheek bones. The major link between me and Sherlock is that my skills are my major weaknesses and my brain doesn’t turn off.

All of my life, I’ve said things that other people call excuses and it confuses me to no end.

“I forgot” 

“I didn’t hear it” 

“I didn’t notice” 

 “It was too loud for me to study”

The biggest thing in high school is learning to do things on your own and taking responsibility for your own actions. I don’t deny that I’m a lazy bum, but there is a rather long list of things that I can’t do. It’s rather simple.

Excuses are reasons you don’t like.

In order to maintain my actual sanity, I need to read and move and analyze or I lose it and nothing I can’t function. I stay up until about two every night because it makes me sick when I get seven or more hours of sleep in a row. I have to text myself simple things like clean the dishes or do a hand sign thing (don’t even ask) or my brain will delete the short term information. Then it gone.

You see how this poses a problem.

Its 3'oclock and I can't sleep...

When I say I forgot, I’m not being lazy, I’m trying to explain to you that I don’t even remember the conversation you’re talking about. I say it’s too loud to study because my brain isn’t letting me focus and I literally need to plug my ears to hold on to my train of thought. I don’t hear things because I’m doing something else in my head and you didn’t call my attention to it.

It’s stupid because an excuse is just a reason. As long as it is actually true, there is nothing to make an ‘excuse’ unimportant. They should be listened to and taken seriously (i.e Parents v. Teenagers can stop now) because you don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s’ head.

I’m highly functioning (and before you say anything, trust me- I'm using the term correctly) just like so many others. I do what they can to reach the expectations set in front of them. I’m not okay. I’m not automatically capable. I’m doing what I can to get by and if you want me to keep functioning then please let me do what I need to do and try to be patient when I make mistakes. I’m trying and I think I’m doing okay.

I hope that all made sense and thank you if you actually made it to the end of this. It just bugs me when I can’t do something and all the help I get is come on, it’s not that hard. 

Just  stop,
    Drew

Is Watching Leaked Episodes Wrong?

       
         Leaking Episodes. It’s been a part of fandom life that’s only growing as time moves on and technology gets more advanced. It's really been on my mind since what happened with The  Name of The Doctor last week (loved that episode). The debate of watching a leaked episode is pretty heavy only grows as rumors of who are doing the leaking turn from the fans to the broadcasting companies themselves. My Opinion? Go for it.

        The law is pretty clear, don’t pirate episodes. Don’t download free episodes. Don’t do it. The matter gets a little hazy on who’s really in the wrong when episodes pop up on YouTube and Vimeo, public players for all to see. No one really needs to download the episode to watch it anymore, there are entire websites built on publicly leaking the episodes with players that don’t require putting anything on your computer. Shady? Of course. But not illegal. If you really need to resolve your Merlin cliffhanger, you can without needing touch Pirate Bay. Piracy laws just aren’t tight enough to really catch the public when the episode is just sitting on YouTube for a few days.

       As I stated before, leaking the episodes isn’t just a matter of hacking fans. This slightly unorthodox manner of hyping an episode is growing in America and could only spread. Most people who ‘pirate’ the episodes are loyal fans who aren’t really going to make the broadcasters lose money any more than watching the episode on one TV with all your friends would, and they recognize this. Episodes released ‘accidently’ only bring more attention to the show and reawaken the fandom to fight over watching it now or waiting until it airs on television. Realistically, if they can they’ll all be watching it on television later anyway. What, do you think we have lives or something? No, we've sold our souls to these shows, we're not going anywhere.

      If you are  a loyal and anxious fan of a show that’s been on hiatus forever (I'm looking at you Sherlock), the last thing you want is the ending spoiled the day before it comes back. But as the Doctor Who fandom proved when more than 200 copies of the last two episodes were released almost three weeks early, the true fans really aren’t the ones to spoil it. The entire three weeks, not a word was breathed and several sites even shut off comments to help keep the finale a secret. Every show has trolls who really just want to ruin it for everyone, but there’s not much anyone can do but try to remove them after it happens.

    As long as there are television shows there will be leaks, whether they are caused by clever fans or perhaps a clever marketing team. There is a lot of stigma around watching the episodes but if you do it on a public player without downloading there’s not really anyway to stop you. I believe firmly that as a fan you need to make your own choice on whether you will watch it or not, although there is no reason for there to be such a taboo on the people who do. If you watch leaked episodes, do it with pride. 

                             The most anyone can really do is shake their finger at you
x Drew

30 Day Writing Challenge

  If you were previously unaware, I'm not simply the sarcastic Drew-ish blogger you all know on here. I'm also a fiction writer , with my writing blog being here. Which means I write quite a bit. Or at least I try to.

   To help with my writing  I'm doing a Writing Challenge that I found on tumblr (I'll link when I'm not on a stupid censored school computer) I'll be posting each days writing whenever I can type them up presentably but hopefully I'll be pretty regular about it. Feel free to drop by Melted Pens and give me what for, I know I'll make quite a few mistakes and criticism is really appreciated. 

Thanks,

    x Drew

Fanny Packs

    Its that time of year. The smell of silly string and paint fills the air. They stand in the hallway, giggling as they plot the downfall of peace and order. Nothing is sacred.
               
                                Yes, its the end of the year. Its time for senior pranks.
 
     Due to an unfortunate incident involving life crickets and some form of Nerf-gun-hunger-games, Keller Independent School District is pretty adamant that there will be no tom-foolery this time around. Lockers are to be cleaned out this week. There will be security cameras and even police stationed around the campuses.Anyone who participates will not be allowed to go to graduation. And most irritating of all, there will be no backpacks. For anyone. At all.
 
      Surely hand carrying everything you own is a small price to pay for giving peace and quiet to the handful of poor souls who still have work to do the last week of school, right? No one will really care...

        You know, excluding the 3/4 of the school who are actually incapable of pulling a senior prank. Because they're not seniors.
                             Seriously.
 
       The reasoning is the under class men could help the seniors by smuggling in supplies like some kind of underground silly string ring. But honestly, they don't need help. There is nothing anyone can do to stop the whole senior class from just breaking out into a flash mob next week if they really want to. Bless them for it really, the last week of school is pretty pointless after exams. I'm really expecting something extra-clever from this years group,not for them to give up because they might not be able to walk across a stage dramatically in a ridiculous gown for their parents. Maybe they can all get kicked out of graduation together and organize something that isn't a total snooze fest. If it gets me out of having to go over and sing the national anthem with choir, I'll bring the tacos.
    

Until them, I guess we all will just have to deal with the rules set in place to help the administrators feel like they accomplished something.

 If you have any tales of senior hi-jinks, put them in the comments bellow or email me (thedrewcomplex@gmail.com) 

As for me I'm  going to try and find a fanny pack so I'm not wobbling down the hallway slowly losing every pencil I own.
Wish me luck
xDrew

Going to Camp

Thirteen days until Camp NaNoWriMo! *flails* 

     If you are one of the unfortunate people who have never heard of NaNoWriMo, here’s a quick fill in.  Camp NaNoWrimo is held by the same people who do National Novel Writing Month in November. The objective is to write a novel (50k Words) by the end of the month. It insane, terrifying and absolutely wonderful.

This year Camp NaNoWriMo is in April and July and since I absolutely bombed Novembers session(and let’s be honest, what else do I have to do) I decided to participate in this Aprils Camp.
   And I am absolutely freaking out.

   I have no plot or out line and I don’t even know what genre of story I’m writing. I wanted to come up with something new, rather than use one of the hundreds of novel ideas I have lying about. It seemed like a reasonable and exciting plan at the beginning of March but now it’s the eighteenth.

   Rationally, I know I’ll come up with something. So far I have my sudden inspiration a few hours before I actually have to write something, just in time to move from one worry to the other. Even if I don’t, NaNo is always a lot of fun and an excellent experience.

   But novel ideas aren't the only thing I’m thinking about. Another Camp thing is swirling about my mind as the hours tick by.
Cabin Assignments.

     Even though I've done NaNoWriMo, I’m still a total noob to camp NaNoWriMo. In regular NaNo, there are no cabins. I have no idea how this will end up working out. Knowing that I’ll get assigned to a group of people and experiencing it are two entirely different things. I’m actually a tad nervous to meet my cabin mates, seeing as I’m basically the most awkward thing on two legs and internet people are generally really awesome. Especially internet people that write.

      It’ll be brill to have people to talk and inevitably spazz to during the next month. It’s always good to know you’re not the only one facing down that blank page/WordDoc.  so I’m eagerly awaiting the time(Tomorrow) I’ll get the NaNoMail.

    I’ll be mentioning Camp a lot in this blog, as well as probably doing some exerpts on my writing blog.  So in closing, this is how I’ll be spending next month. And all my fellow fiction writers, it’s not too late to join. If you’re already on NaNoWriMo, message me at drewasecret, I’d love to chat.

Much Love,
     X Drew

The First Post

The First Post
 Before I dive head first into whatever madness may or may not even happen in the future of this blog, I feel like I should make this...post. Part introduction, part ...warning? All for your information.
 So, first- the Introduction. Hello, you can call me Drew. I'm the mad blogger who's basic idea is to make a blog where I can write out what I see in the world. It’s like freelance journalism but 20 % cooler. From my thoughts to others thoughts from the biggest global issues to what’s going on here in my high school. This is a blog for everything and everyone.
                 And you most definitely are included. In everyone, I mean.
 You can send me your own stories or set up a sort of email interview. Or you can just reply to the stories on here by writing in the comments bellow. To send messages to me directly, my email (thedrewcomplex@gmail.com) is open for your thoughts, rants and fluffy cloud pictures.
                                                                                                                        Ah, fluffy clouds.
 This here is the warning bit. To be perfectly honest, I don't know what’s going to happen after this post. Maybe I'll make hundreds more while still talking to a readership that doesn't exist, or maybe people will come read them. Maybe this is the first and last post and I'll just give up on this- no scratch that, this is too fun. Whatever happens this is what I'm doing now.
So hello world and all that.
x Drew