New Year

I learned something cool today. Apparently tonight is the blue moon, meaning that there were two full moons in the month. And seeing as tonight is new year's eve, that makes it even cooler, because this particular occurance only happens once every twenty years or so. I just thought that was coolio.

The last thing I do this year and the first thing I do next year (which is going to occur in 18 minutes) is post a blog. Might as well...I mean, there's nothing else to do, so...


As per my own self-inflicted tradition that manages to depress me to my very soul every time I perform it, I'm currently looking back over my last year's list of new year's resolutions. I haven't gotten a total count on how many I've actually gotten done, but it's not looking good.

#1 was to use every word in this really cool book of 100 words that make you sound smart. Not only have I not succeded to my knowledge, I have, in fact, lost the book, so it won't be happening any time soon, either.

#2: Switch out of aerobics. Okay, that was a dumb one, because at the time I had written that, I ALREADY HAD! Chalk one victory up, I guess, because that one definitely did get achieved. I am so lame.

#3: Start doing all my homework the night it's assigned. Ha. As if that's EVER going to happen. I'm the last-minute-panic type, and it works well for me.

#4: Wake up early enough to do homework that I didn't get done the night before. I, for one, and just going to snort at this. I don't get up early unless there's choir.

#5: Text more people. No problem whatsoever. The texts I get from Facebook alone are enough to fill up my inbox, but I guess that doesn't count, 'cause I don't text it back. Hmm. But either way, the score stands at 3:2 in favor of the slackishness.

#6: Partake in at least one piece of junk food per day. The score is now tied.

#7: Learn some new piano music. Yes, indeedy...I have learned about three new songs, all of which now bug the bejeebers out of everyone who has ever had to listen to them.

#8: Blog occasionally. Sure. I've done that. Once a month on average definitely counts as occasionally.

So actually I did pretty good on those. I think the final score is 3 slackishness to 5.

Granted, that wasn't actually my real list. I lost the real one.

So for this year: (it is now two minutes to 2010)

1) Get a job, make moneys, put in bank, go to college. We'll see how this goes.

2) Spend some of above money on pointless trips to Oregon and California. And Great Falls of course.

3) Eat a little LESS junk food.

4) Do something stupid in public. Shouldn't be a problem. I went pro at this quite a while ago.

5) Pass both of my AP exams and do good on the SAT. Yes, I'm a nerd and proud of it.

6) Get better gas mileage.

7) Figure out some way to make my room stay a little neater. Storage units that hang on the ceiling maybe, considering there IS no floor space besides the little bit needed to open the door.

8) Think of some better resolutions for next year.

I've had the intention to blog for quite a while. In fact, I've even clicked on the page to post one and then got sidetracked three times in the last week. So I think i'm going to post one now.

This trip has been kinda wierd...usually I have it mapped out in my head exactly where we're going and when, but this one has just been kinda sporatic. And it's mostly my fault because I keep making plans lol.

So we got here Wednesday afternoon and I went to see a movie with a few friends from school at 8. Fun stuff. Thursday we just hung around the house, and Friday was Christmas, of course. Got a laptop. Pretty sweet. It's called an InspironMini. Which is nerd talk for a little tiny computer that's just adorable. 'Cause nerds don't have words like "adorable" in their vocabulary. Obviously, I've been spending lots of time on it lol. The only problem with it is it's lack of a CD drive. But that's easy enough to fix. Someone got $70?

Barton's got down to Cali on Saturday. we didn't actulaly see them until Sunday though. Sunday was bingo night at Grandma's and Grandpa's. Ended up with the coolest set of pans that you use to make checkered cakes. IT'S SO COOL! I've always wondered if people actually like cut the cakes into little squares and them piece them back together with frosting. It sounded a little like a waste of time. But there's actually a kit, so now I have to try it =)

We currently have the Cruz's over at our place...Vanessa and Ruben are amusing themselves to no end running up and down the stairs and tormenting the dog and very effectively adding to my current headache. I have locked myself in my room until further notice. Both of them love to ask why...which is wierd, because I thought that was just supposed to be a four to six-year-old thing. But no, the two-year-old has also picked it up and I have come to hate that question. However, I've come to realize that the best way to answer them is to just say "I don't know", because then they begin to think that you're hugely ignorant and you don't know anything, so why ask anymore? Actually, that's just how I wish it would work. 'Cause it really doesn't.

Bah.

This makes no sense to me. I spent the entire second half of special meeting almost nodding off in my chair. Every time I blinked, I had a hard time opening my eyes again. So I slept a bit on the way home, fully planning to go straight to bed after finishing the homework that couldn't be avoided. So I did some, and then decided to clean up my room. And then when that was done, I did some dishes. Well, not some, per se...all of them.

And now I'm making cookies at 1 in the morning and I'm not tired in the slightest. I will be in the morning though. At the rate these cookies are baking, I'm gonna get about five hours of sleep tonight. Fun stuff.

It's been a hectic bunch of days. Mostly just yesterday, but there was some other stuff too. Monday was really the only normal day I had this week. (Normal meaning I got all homework done, and didn't have to go to school an hour or more early)

I blame it on the gingerbread. It's ridiculous, honestly. We had a gingerbread house challenge in cooking. We thought it was gonna be pretty easy and we fully intended to win by a wide margin. So I made a batch of dough and brought it in. And we baked it on Monday. Turned out, we had about half what we needed (only five of about 10 pounds) so I went home to make another batch, then went in early on Tuesday to bake it all. Turned out that was completely unnecessary, because that day in class was another day to bake. So we pretended instead. Anyway, long story short, EVrything went wrong. The dough didn't get brittle enough (it remained floppy throughout the entire week), the frosting took to long to set up, so the walls fell over and broke multiple times, the stained glass windows were a joke and didn't set up...
The list goes on and on. So Friday, we just winged it. Instead of the 20x20 inch mansion we had planned, we turned it into a trailer. Like a trailer park trailer. Yeah. it had a pond with fish in it, an indoor recliner sitting on the front porch, "Git 'er done" and "Larry's Pad" written on the roof in frosting and Red Hots...And of course, there was yellow snow, courtesy of my teammates. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and thought that there should be a "Worst in Class" award.

Wednesday, we had Chanson rehearsal, because of the concert on Thursday. So up an hour and a half early for that...Then I had to stick around after school to talk to Mrs. Beard about why my DBQ sucked so much. Talk about depressing. Now I just have to write another paragraph to prove that I get what she told me, which, just for the record, I'm not sure I do.

Thursday was definitely the most eventful. Left at 6:30 in the morning to sing at a breakfast for some club down at the Country Kitchen. It wouldn't have been worth it except that they treated us to breakfast. Yummy. Then, of course, we had the concerts that night, at 6 and 8. They went pretty well, but by the end of it, it was 9:30, my throat felt like it was full of cotton, and I still hadn't done my APUSH. I gave up at 10:30. Found out today that it wasn't really worth doing anyway, because we had a sub in that class who just talked about himself.

Today, there was no early morning (thank goodness). We got to critique our concert (we had to watch the whole thing over again. gah), and then fourth period, we got out 15 minutes into it to go sing. Again. But again, it was worth it. They had a whole bunch of food there for us. And then we finished about 11:50, so we skipped the last ten minutes of fourth and went to lunch early =). Seven of us went to Rose's pizza and had a pretty entertaining time. I was even pretty considerate and saved some of my breadsticks for Steph, but I kind of forgot them on top of the car when we drove off. Didn't realize it until we got to the train tracks, and by then they were long gone. I think they got left in the parking lot.

Sad day. They were pretty yummy.

Tis the season

To be catching up on blogs. I feel a little bit slackerish, because so many people have been catching up on their blogs, and I most certainly haven't. So here goes.

It definitely "Tis the season" for a lot of things around here. The first and foremost being the cold. People tell me that it's a fairly frequent phenomenon in winter, but that doesn't make me any happier about it. I'm sure most of you have seen my complaints about it one Facebook. Lately I've been reminded of a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where Calvin walks outside into the snow and strolls down the sidewalk before stopping to make an absurd face.

"Don't you just hate it when your boogers freeze?"

Yeah. I do. And it's an experience I could probably do without.

Moving on.

Choir has remained pretty hum-drum, but enjoyable for the most part (despite the fact that that teacher of ours is still convinced that I'm a soprano. Ha. Hardly. I'd sing tenor if he let me.) We've started learning Christmas carols for a fundraiser that we're going to do that involves door-to-door caroling in the classrooms. Gah. But Christmas is definitely the season for people wanting to hear Christmas music, so we're getting hired out all over the place. We've got a thing at the Country Kitchen (or whatever it's called) on the 17th, and rumor has it that they feed us breakfast for it. Therefore, I am totally down wi'dat.

One rather huge-ish event (that I probably should've mentioned first...or at least second): I got a job. And then I quit. It was pretty much a "Veni, vidi, vici" moment. Except vici isn't quite the right word. I don't know the latin term for "I gave up", though, so the whole thing is pretty much just moot.

Going to California on the 22nd! Pretty exciting stuff. Gonna spend most of it with dad. It should be kinda interesting opening presents...I kinda forgot to send dad my "wish list", so he got to get whatever HE wanted. Lol...this could be problematic. Maybe.

I've also kinda got some college plans figured out, although it's been quite a process. At the beginning of the week, I talked to Amber, who very helpfully informed me that I should go to U of Idaho, because it's got a really good music program (that's what I'm planning on majoring in), and also because Emily is already living there, and Amber was planning on going down after she graduated. So my plan right off the bat was to skip my senior year in favor of a GED (I was planning on it anyway), move to Idaho, get a job, work for a year, and then go to school.

Then I talked to mom. Who told me to talk to a councelor about the options. Who told me that I was really only three classes away from actually graduating (!!!), so why get a GED when I could take them online and actually get a diploma?

So then I relayed this information to dad, who decided that I shouldn't move to Idaho right away, but either stay in Montana to work, or go down to California for a while, and, heck, I might even decide I want to go to Cal Poly instead.

Okay...I thought I had this figured out. But it's really not. The only thing really set in stone is that I might go to U of I. Or Cal Poly. And I might graduate early.

Anyway. I just spent a good half hour writing this, when I really should be rewriting a couple of essays that are due tomorrow. And I need to do the questions for the next chapter of APUSH. And I'm pretty sure I've got math, too, but I forgot my book in my locker (for the third day in a row...). I guess that just makes my life easier. Kinda. Now I have to do it at lunch tomorrow. Ick.

Holidays!

Busy times are a'comin'.

Thanksgiving weekend is coming up quickly. We've got Wednesday through Sunday off for it, and we're heading over to Oregon for Rick's wedding. That is, given I can actually get those days off of work. You'd think it wouldn't be a problem, because there are so many people working there, but they only let a few people request the days off, so I put my name down (even in the spaces that said "Full! No more entries!") and I'm really hoping they don't schedule me anyway. Gonna spend the rest of the time at the Barton's, for which I'm hugely excited.

Next Tuesday would be our school's talent show. And for some reason, I volunteered myself to do a piano solo. Slightly regretting it, now, because it's nothing like Pizza and Song at NU, where it's completely informal, and no one really listens anyway, unless whoever's up there is completely phenomenal.

But this...it's on a stage. Oy.

But it's a Jon Schmidt song, so it'll definitely rock, even if I screw it up.

And then there's Christmas...Pretty 'cited about that too. =) Going to California, partially for Kyla's wedding on New Year's day, and partly to see a certain parental of the male persuasion.

Hoping to get time off for that, too, but the 31st and the 1st are completely booked. Seriously crossing some fingers.

Oooh...surprise of the century...I actually got an A on the first paper we wrote this year. Huzzah. Back in California, with Hoover, I honestly wouldn't have been surprised in the least. I honestly never turned in a paper to him that hadn't been written in the last half hour before I went to sleep the night before. In one case, I actually wrote it during sixth period the day it was due, and turned it in seventh, even though it was due third. I got A's on every one of them, which highly amused me. Seeing as I didn't know what to expect from a teacher who actually grades on content, instead of just punctuation and grammar, I was pretty psyched to get a good score.

I think it's going on the Wall of Fame.

I've gotten hooked on the King's Singers lately...and in case you care, I'm putting in some of my favorites. If you don't wanna watch the vids, well, this is the only text in the post, so...






This one is just stinking fantastic. I actually lol'ed. In the literal sense of the abbreviation.

I can't count the number of times I've slapped my own wrist for not blogging enough, and considering I haven't posted in a good three weeks or more, well, this is an extra hard slap.

So the last while in a nutshell...

Went to Mexico on a cruise....it was pretty fun. Got a little seasick in the way of being hugely dizzy half the time, but other than that...
Food was awesome. They had buffets almost 24/7, or you could eat inside at the dining room, which was a kinda sorta formal thing. Everything was free, so if you wanted more than one entree or appetiser, you were free to do so. I didn't take huge advantage of that. Only once or twice. Or three times. Idk.

Funny thing....out of the 950 crew on the ship, only six of them were actually American. Our waiter was from the Philipenes. Our room steward was Mexican. There were a few Germans, and a bunch of Dutch and Indian. But only six Americans. How wierd is that?

Moving on, I finally got a job. At McDonalds. I start tomorrow at four. I am a little less than thrilled, but at least it's some money. I'll finally be able to pay off my car and pay for my own gas (whoopee...). And shop. Shopping is good. I'm just worried about getting time off for X-mas/New Years and Spring Break. Oh well.

I don't really think that this was actually worth blogging, but it's out there now, so I don't feel guilty about not posting.

School again. Even though this particular occurence happens after nearly every weekend, I still really dislike Mondays. Today wasn't terrific...I stayed up late last night to try to finish a history chapter and the questions that went with it. I ended up with four questions done (out of nine) and about 12 out of 30 pages read. Believe you me, those textbooks actually make you work for any information you might get out of it. The material is incredibly dry, but ironically enough, you have to slog your way through it like it was a swamp. When I got to class this morning, I realized I was one of about three people who had even made it that far.

Wow.

I was looking through my homework load earlier, and realized that this must be the time teachers really start piling it on. Ha....but then I looked a little closer and realized that I wouldn't actually have this much if I didn't put off all my long term projects. First and foremost on my list was a monstrous assignment that I have to do for Occupational Childcare. It's completely outrageous the amount of stuff they want me to do...we're talking interviewing six couples, three of which had to have been teen parents. (this includes actually thinking up fifteen questions for them to answer...yes/no's are not allowed) Then all their questions have to go into a venn diagram, and from there into an essay. but THAT'S NOT ALL! Then I have to go look up six articles online having to do with teen parenting, summarize them all and do a bibliography. And THEN there's another essay about what I learned from the experience.

I plan on not doing it. I'll probably end up with a D in the course, but I'm really okay with that.

Anyway. Then there's Yost's essay. I completely forgot about the paper I had in my binder with the topic and all that. I found it this afternoon. The rough draft, it would appear, is due on Thursday. And the topic is a couple books that were assigned as summer reading. Seeing as I got here about a week before school started, I was pretty obviously exempt from that. However, he suggested I get the books anyway, and at least skim through them. I finally got around to ordering them a week(ish) ago. When I realized that I had to do an essay on a topic that was still in the mail (and that I haven't exactly read yet) I panicked a little. So I ran to the library here in Belgrade to try to find them. I found one of the two, but they told me that the Three Forks library had the other. Forty minutes of driving later, I finally had it.

Now all I have to do is read both of them and write an essay by Thursday.

Plus:

-Monster math packet due tomorrow (will probably get done during lunch)

-Reading through the vocab packet for APLaC...I've forgotten to the last couple weeks, and have consequently bombed both tests on it. I was using words like "onomatopeia" and "refrigerator" and "monosyllabic" in sentences that were supposed to hold words like "boistrous" and "amiable" and stuff like that.

-Reading the rest of the history chapter

-doing the rest of the questions on the chapter (it's more like 20 of them this time, not just nine)


And here I sit, posting a blog.

Whoever might have said that I have common sense was sorely mistaken.

Every time I click the "New Post" button, I feel a strange sense of accomplishment. Maybe I should start setting higher standards for myself. I dunno.

So I've been actively job hunting all week. Defintely not my favorite thing ever, but it was necessary. Still is, actually. Anyway, Monday, I went into Bozeman (having exhausted the supply of stores around here that I could actually apply to) and went into every store I came across that I would actually work in willingly and asked for an application. Of the fifteen I went to (ambitious, aren't I?), NINE of them told me to fill one out online. What is our world coming to? The other six I actually got turned in. I then made a mental note of it to go back and see if any of them had actually looked at it.

That is what I did today.

I went to Subway, MacKenzie River, Old Chicago, Applebee's, that one BBQ joint in the K-mart parking lot...and a couple others...can't actually remember what ones. I also dropped off a couple more applications, figuring that at this point, the least I could end up with is a trophy of some sort. But no one is hiring. No one at all. And in this attempt, I effectively used up five of the ten dollars worth of gas I put in my car on Monday, and still ended up with no job to get the funds to refill it.

I think that in the future, I need to send out a public service announcement before I actually start job hunting, just so that everyone knows that they need to fire at least one person of their crew, on the off chance that I might want to work there. At least then, there would be plenty of selection.

But until I can actually figure out how to work that...

Babysitter at large!

I discovered today that I'm pretty much the only person (besides Yost) in my English class that has a blog. It really isn't surprising...most people have lives beyond blogging about their lives. I don't. But the sad thing is, I actually WAS surprised. Seriously...it's an AP class...for people who apparently like English and writing...And not a single one of them actually writes in their free time. I'm feeling a little bit like an overachiever. But change is good. It's really kinda cool, 'cause for once, I'm ahead of the loop in SOMEthing.

Too bad I'm not ahead in math...I have to go finish up that assignment (that I really haven't started beyond the first two problems) during the rest of lunch (18 minutes and counting...why am I sitting on the computer again?) to be turned in next period. I'm actually taking a test on all of it tomorrow. Kinda stinks. Tests are no good.

Random news: Wittkopp finally made me an Alto. It's lovely. I definitely prefer sounding like a man to having my voice crack every time we go above an E. The one bad thing is that now I actually have to re-learn every song before our first concert in October (serioiusly...who does a concert in October? It's pretty much suicide. Getting your hopes up high enough to actually think we can have seven songs ready by then is gonna result in a pretty resounding thud when you actually go to the concert and hear the reality of it first hand).

Oh yeah...we got fitted for dresses today. They're not half bad. NOT navy blue, thank goodness. Just plain old black. I think there should be some green in there somewhere though, 'cause with the guys wearing penguin suits, it's going to look slightly...I dunno...black and white.

That was redundant.

Off to go finish up with math. I might even eat something if I get done soon enough. My priorities are so wacked.

Once upon a time, there were two men named Ben and Jerry who made a lot of people fat and happy.

I am on my way to being one of them.

Blame it on Neopolitan Dynamite...it's their best creation yet. Half Cherry Garcia, half Chocolate Fudge Brownie. IN the same tub.

It's like heaven in my mouth.

Yes, it's been like a week. I'd say sorry, but I'm not. I seriously have barely touched a computer since Thursday, and I have been suffering. But now that that's out of the way...

Had an amazing three day weekend in Oregon at Boring 2. I've got pictures of everyone, but seeing as much of technology shuns me, I'm going to put off loading the pics onto the comp and my flash drive until I have completely filled up the memory card on the camera and therefore have no other choice. Like I said, Boring was amazing. And moving on.

Guess who finally got a new phone!!! I might actually have to load a pic of it just because it's so stinking amazing. It's got a touch screen. I feel so cool when I get to pull it out of my purse and text people on it's touch screen QWERTY while other people are still using their regular num-pad, which is so five minutes ago. Actually, I have been the source of amusement for more than one person, just because I keep finding new things that it can do. For example...I just recently found out that you can actually write letters straight onto the screen while texting and it'll turn what you write into text. I couldn't resist the temptation to mess with that all through sixth period. The girls who sat next to me gave me a few wierd looks, 'cause I kept giggling.

Yes, I am that wierd. I also just downloaded Tetris. Coolest thing EVER. It's just like the regular tetris, but your controls are all on the touchscreen and you get to move it around with your fingers! I really want to get that one game with the ball that bounces off the platform that you move around. And Pacman. That would be amazing.

And yesterday, I figured out the best part of all of it. I made one little change to one of the settings, and I FINally got my phone to start recieving messages. I don't have any idea how many people have sent me things that I didn't get just because I wasn't smart enough to figure out that the little thing that said "Block all text messages" was actually stopping my messages from entering my inbox.

Yes, I am also that retarded.

Anyway. Mom's making us go to open house tonight. I daresay I haven't been to one since eighth grade. Bah humbug.

School

Ladies and gents, yet another first.

First day of school in Montana...Pretty much equated to kill-yourself-boring, but I survived. Mostly by pointing out (in my head) differences between BHS kids and ones at NU. It's really odd, though...there are at least three people who remind me so much of a couple kids in Cali, it's just uncanny. But the major difference between NU and BHS is that there are hardly any wangsters here. It's amazing. I almost started squealing when I realized that. AND, the FFA kids aren't quite as wierd. Granted, they still walk around wearing their monstrous belt buckles (that they probably actually picked up at the dollar store lol), but they definitely pull it off a little better than the wanna-be's at NU.

(Okay...there's gonna be more than one first...)

And then there was my first second day of school in Montana. Yes, that's stretching it. I don't think I'll even go there, actually. It was pretty much just as bad as the first day, minus a few key miseries. The second day was completely comprised of hearing EVERY teacher read their class syllabuses (sp?). Most of them pretty much say the same things...the only difference being minor word changes, about once a paragraph. I was spared from that by ONE teacher. We got to spell our names phonetically. VanDermyden started looking a little Greek with all those upside down e's and all that. The truly rotten part of that day, though, was when I realized that I had the same teacher for two classes. She's one of those teachers who doesn't think kids are responsible enough to read a piece of paper on their own, let alone four pages, so after giving each of us our own copy of it, she then went on to read the whole thing aloud, word for word, and explaining in detail just what every section meant. Definitely reminds me of my English teacher last year. Hoover. Like the vacuum? As in, he sucked the fun out of EVerything. Anyway. Didn't I say I wasn't going to blog about that day? Moving on.

Today was the first real first (which was actually the third) day of school. I obtained my first two assignments. One of which (math) I finished the next period. The other (a short writing thing about me) will probably get put off until the night before it's due. I'm not sure if that method is going to work out this year, but I'm sure as heck going to try...if not for the sake of actually testing it, then for sheer procrastination's sake...or perhaps my often faulty memory.

Anyway. Beddy-bye time for the writer. Ciao.

I can't rightfully say that lack of exciting happenings has been the reason I haven't blogged in quite a while, but lack of internet did have something to do with it. And then, it was laziness, when it came to actually setting up the computer (but I did, eventually). Anyway, we're now in Montana.

The last couple of weeks we've been pointing out our "lasts" in California and our "firsts" in Montana. For example:

-The last trip to Asian Garden for their amazing chow mein and generals chicken.
-The last trip down highway 49 (good riddance)
-Last drive down I-80 (even more good riddance)

Anyway, some of our firsts have included:

First night in Montana (that's pretty much a duh, right?)

First rainstorm. Followed very shortly thereafter by numbers two and three. In the same week. I love this state. No joke.

First time getting lost in Belgrade. Don't ask me how, but I did.

First time turning around in the truck stop parking lot because of the afore-mentioned. This was also followed by the second and third, within about 10 minutes of each other. In the same parking lot. How I got lost going the same direction three times in a row is beyond my knowledge.

First time going the wrong direction on the freeway. This only happened twice. (I won't mention that it was on the same day as the turnarounds. I was having a bit of an "out-of-common-sense-of-direction" sort of day.)

First Dr. Pepper in Montana. A truly momentous occasion.

First time playing the piano in Montana. Also doubles as the first time I've played a piano out of doors. The stupid thing won't fit into the apartment, so it's living in the garage. Whenever I play, the neighborhood gets a concert, whether they like it or not. I'm a little worried about what will happen to it during the winter. There will definitely be no playing it then.

There was also the general unpacking of my roon, which turned into a bit of a nerve-wrending happening. I somehow managed to pack 13 or 14 boxes...all of which had to then be UNpacked into a room roughly half the size of my old one, and a closet the width of a regular door and maybe a foot and a half deep. That being my only source of storage, it is now a solid wall of clothing and lots of miscellaneous things that didn't have any other place to go. I have one bookshelf that is loaded to the gills with books, surprisingly enough. I wasn't actually aware that I owned that many books. My dresser consists of three boxes stacked on top of each other, sideways. Two of them hold shoes (No, there wasn't room in the closet) and one holds PJs. I seriously considered taking over Stephanie's closet, as well.

Quote of the day:

Teacher: Brian, what's the "I before E rule?"
Brian: Uhh...I before E........always!
Teacher: *sigh* What, are you an idiot, Brian?
Brian: Well, 'pparently!
Teacher: No, it's "I before E, except after C, or when sounding like A, as in neighbor, and weight, and on weekends and holidays, and all throughout May, and you'll always be wrong, no matter WHAT you say!"

Actually, here's the whole thing. It's way better.

This post shall be written entirely without the use of one particular letter that is actually a pretty common one. But you have to figure out which one it is. (Hint...it's the one on Kirstyn's computer that won't very often type things)

So I'm in Montana. We came up for Uncle Norm's funeral on the eighteenth (I think that's it, anyway). Spent the first part of the week at Gramma &Grampa's, with Amber there to keep us all company. Gramps was in heaven with all the music he got to hear. It was a pretty great situation for both parties, as Amber and I were happy to have a new (slightly more appreciative) bunch of people to play for. Grampa claims that he isn't sorry at all that he went and bought us that boo-ful peeanah.

We got up to Kirstyn and Shawna's just in time to help them move. (Yippee...) We the job over with by sometime after twelve. At night. It was an interesting time for all of us, moving furniture all by our lonesome (translation: no moving crew to accomplish all the grunt work for us) with an imbecile of a Saorise running all over the place. She apparently thought that we were making tunnels for her to run through by carrying boxes between two people. She got a few kicks out of it, in the literal sense, but she never got it through her skull that she wasn't exactly helping in any way. Moving generally sucks, but my lovely sisters, through some generous passing of clothes from their closets to mine, helpe my glumness quite a bit.

Anywhoo...I gotta go hit the sack pretty soon...Mom's wanting us to leave by about six tomorrow. I'm all for leaving early, but with the time change, I'm pretty sure that seven is early enough. Of course, she's driving...I haven't got a huge say in the matter.

Anyone figure out the missing letter? Let me tell you, it was a toughy working through without it. I'll give you one more hint, because I'm aware the first one helps pretty much no one except the people that have met Kirstyn's computer. So the hint is: There is a past tense verb that is missing a letter. On purpose. Nothing else fit. (Yes, that means I cheat a bit. But only occasionally.) =)

Today marked my first solid week of work this summer. I think it's gonna end up running me into the ground, but I'll deal with it, if only because of the cool squishy nursing shoes and the adorable scrubs that are part of the package. When I got the job I was under the impression that I would be refilling water pitchers. I found out recently that that's not all.

Certainly, I refill pitchers. I get to lug seventy of them along behind me as I go to each and every room and replace the pitcher, tray and cup. I should mention that seventy full pitchers of water is approximately equivalent in weight to that of a beached whale. On wheels.

Added to my job description of "Ice Girl" is that of "Diaper Lady". It's actually "Brief's Lady", though, because none of the residents like being told that you need to check their diapers. It's a brief, but only in a politically correct world. They shall be called diapers by me, if only in my head, on lunch breaks, and at home. Anywhere else, and I could get in some kind of trouble. Anyway, the diaper run means hitting every single room to check the bottom drawer of the resident's dresser to see how many diapers they have. If they are short any, I look at my handy dandy chart to see what kind (there are four options) they wear and how many need to be in the drawer. There were a couple scandals today because of this job. First was a CNA who got a little ticked off because I had been putting mediums in the drawers of people who needed larges, and there were some extra-larges in the drawer of a very petite lady. I pointed out that I abide by the list and would happily change it for her, so she went on to list off about 8 residents that needed to be changed. It's a pretty dramatic job.

Then I get to pass out ice to the people who didn't get new pitchers. (There's a rotation going that makes it so one station gets pitchers while the other gets just fresh water and ice, then vice versa the next day) Of course, most of these people are starved for actual human contact, so they want to talk to anyone who comes into the room. CNA's don't generally count because most only go into their rooms when forced, or when a diaper needs changed. So of course I get my ears talked off while I grab their pitchers, run to the bathroom, dump out the old water and refill the pitchers (all the while being sure not to breathe through my nose...some old people just smell BAD. No joke. Especially when they forget to flush the toilet), run out into the hall to get them some ice, then back to drop off the pitchers and take off for the door. In that period of time, some of the really good ones manage to carry on a full conversation that would take normal people a good half an hour to get through. Heaven forbid I actually start talking back to them...I learned my lesson the first couple times I tried that and ended up a half hour late with all my stuff.

Finally, on the days that the laundry lady is there, I get to haul this monstrosity of a linen cart around to each of the hallways to load up the linen closets on each. That cart, when loaded, weights upwards of three hundred pounds, is a good six feet tall by three by four (ish), and, to top it all off, only has two wheels that actually turn. And to top THAT off, it hates me. I'm not sure why, because I've only actually had to drag it around twice, it has developed some sort of irrational loathing for me and tends to run itself into things that I was sure I had steered it safely around. Thankfully I haven't run over any residents yet. Emphasis on that last word.

All around it's a pretty fun place to work, though. The residents make it interesting. Some of the men have fun flirting with the female staff, even when they really can't pull it off. There's a retired nun that wreaks havoc and calls people fat, too. And then there's a woman named Mary who is just hysterical. Everyone loves her. She's the goofiest old person I've met in quite a while. Today she was in the mood for a cookie, so she asked me where she could snatch one from. I ended up stealing it for her, from the dining room. Blame her if any of this ever leads to me becoming a felon.

Anywho. Gotta go pack. Leaving for Parma tomorrow. Super 'cited!

It's official

I now have a car to go with my license.

It's a 2000 silver Saturn SC2 (whatever that means...I only know that the C stands for coupe) with three doors...go figure. I didn't know that they actually made cars with three doors. It's got a suicide door on the driver's side. Sunroof, leather seats...it's even got a speedometer! lol. It does have a CD/cassette system (which you don't really see anymore) as well as a radio, so I'm pretty much set.

The only problem is that I don't know if it's a girl car or a boy car. It's gonna be kinda hard to figure out, because as far as I can tell, most cars are built with the same parts...

But I'm thinking Humphrey.

Maybe not. It would be a good conversation starter at any rate.

It was brought to my attention this morning that I don't post very often.

Why yes, you're very correct.

But today, I have belated news. Of which Sierra should be jealous. I got my license on the third (i can't even remember what day that is...). Didn't get marked down at all. My test is currently hanging (framed) on the wall. I would like the record to show that I still have not run into anything.

And this just in...I found a pretty stinking hilarious video on youtube...



if that didn't work here's the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfxCnZ4Dp3c

It runs in my mind that it has been forever since I last posted. I think there have been very few things of consequence that have happened recently...

Last week was a hugely busy one, all because of choir. Sunday afternoon was our first concert (from 2-5:30...leave it to Baggett to plan a concert during the hottest part of the day. It hit 100...add to that standing on a stage with 300 other kids for three hours...definitely felt a little more like 200 degrees.)It went pretty well. A couple girls passed out from the heat, but that was all right. I think they were the ones sounding all off pitch. (Just kidding....I have no idea who they were).

Tuesday we left after first period to get to some little town in Napa Valley. Got there after a 3 hour bus ride (on school buses...we about throttled Baggett for not getting this thing chartered) sang for a grand total of ten minutes and hung around until 6:45 when they served supper. The awards ceremony was afterward...Chamber didn't place (only the second time in 15 years that that's happened...needless to say, we were all depressed.) and Concert got fifth. Got on the buses around 9 and drove back home. For some reason we took a pit stop after only half an hour at McDonalds. There was a Taco Bell across the street, so half of our bus took off running for it, only to find out that it closed at nine. So some of the kids stayed to run off some energy (translation: they ran through the drive-thru a few times before heading back...apparently it didn't work, though...one kid was still bouncing up and down when he sat down in his seat again.) I grabbed a shake from McD's instead. I managed to get Baggett to drop me off in Loomis (about an hour before everyone else...oh yes) so I got to sleep by 12:15. And up again at 5:30. It sucked.

And our last concert was on Thursday. Thankfully it was in the evening, so there was no fainting this time. Friday afternoon during choir, since we had nothing to do, we talked about the competition and how we could do better. I suggested a cattle prod. He didn't go for it. Then he also mentioned that he had gotten our actual points from Tuesday. Apparently there was a miscount and we actually got fourth. Not great still, but better than fifth.

So that's all the updates for now.

Pondering the can of Lysol

Be warned, this post is a little wierd.

I was sitting on the pot earlier this afternoon, and, having no other decent reading material, I picked up the can of Lysol disinfectant spray from off the counter (Kills 99.9% of germs in seconds!) and proceeded to read all the fine print. There were definitely some things of interest.

Among the viruses it eliminates included quite a few things from infectious diarrhea to Hep A and Herpes. Talk about the miracle spray. This thing sounds like the saviour to hypochondriacs everywhere. Until you read on.

Hazardous to humans and domestic animals.

Causes eye irritation. I wonder who the poor guy was who had to figure that out the hard way as a lab rat.

Guy in the white coat: Now, hold still while we spray some of this solution in your face. Please rank the pain on a scale of mild to excruciating. You can pick up your check for $14 at the front desk on your way out, granted your eyes are still in working order. At least they'll be sanitized, and you'll be safe from all the diseases listed on the back of the bottle.

Then there's: "It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

Right now, I'm imagining some guy trying to rob a bank using a can of Lysol.

"Gimme your money or I'll disinfect you!"

There was this thing at school yesterday...any vaccination you need for only ten bucks. So, since i hadn't gotten ANY since seventh grade, Mom decided it would be a good thing to do. I did too, for some reason.

I obtained 4 shots yesterday, for things I wasn't even aware might be a problem. My arms were a little sore yesterday, but I woke up this morning and definitely decided I'm wasn't about to go to school.

How can a couple little shots in the arm make my back, neck, arms, legs, and head hurt? ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

Urg.

Just for the record, all these state tests are wearing on my nerves. Today was the first day of them. I take this as a bad sign. Today was horrible. Kinda. Just annoying, really. Case in point...

Testing schedule is really wonky. Instead of having six periods of 55 minutes plus a half hour lunch, we have four 90 minute periods in which to test on things of little relevance. Today was first, second, lunch, third, fourth. The whole lunch after second was the first thing to throw me off, since I generally have it fourth or fifth. (Kinda depends on the choir teacher's mood)

Anyway.

First period was Chem. (Not too horrible, but having Chem first thing in the morning isn't a fun thing to do. I apparently don't sleep in a toaster, therefore I don't pop out of bed in the morning...I wake up fully around 8:30. Coincidentally, that's when 1st period normally ends.) McDowell decided to have us do an activity that involved acetic acid and two chemicals called crystal violet and orange IV. When those two chemicals are added to different dilutions of any acid, they change colors, depending on the hydrogen concentration. We ended up with a rainbow of test tubes. It was unbelievably cool. I took pictures.

Second (History) was when the trouble started. First, on the way down, Chloe purposefully ignored one of her friends as we passed him in the hallway, hi-fiving the guy right behind him instead. Laura got all ticked off and told her to go back an apologize. So we trecked back to the drama room to find him. Which we did. But Chloe sure took a heck of a long time talking, so Laura and I ducked out and hid around the corner to jump out at her when she came out. That plan backfired when she went out the OTHER door and left us standing there waiting until the bell rang.

Oh right. Seven minute passing periods on testing schedule, and no minute bell. Translation: we were late to a class that had a very unforgiving teacher, and we were standing halfway across the campus. We definitely booked it. We got there about three minutes later. Thankfully, it was one of those days when Loftis showed up late. He walked in about 30 seconds after we sat down. We then let Chloe have it. Bah.

Then, I completely forgot we had a test. Meaning, I didn't do the outline or notecards for the chapter, let alone actually READ the thing. I definitely was walking blind, other than the little bit of reading I got done off of Chloe's outline after the activity first period. I didn't fail too badly...Then we got lectured about "Why there wasn't a WW3" and all about the Cold War and stuff. Loftis apparently never tires of this era...he's been finding ways to work it into pretty much every chapter since the beginning of the school year. From 8000 BC up to now, he's found some similarity between the Romans trying to take over some country, and how Hitler and Mussolini killed millions of people on a whim. He also entertained us with stories about how he made it through college by keeping a wad of notecards in his pocket and studying them every time he had five free minutes. It didn't keep me from doing Sudoku after the test instead of other homework, but it did answer a lot of questions as to why he's such a social outcast. The sad thing is, he doesn't even realize it. Hmm.

Lunch was next. Laura, Chloe and I decided that we wanted to go to Taco Bell at lunch, instead of waiting through the outrageous lines that happen when we have combined lunches. So as soon as the bell rang, we ran out of the classroom and up to the drama room to find the guy Chloe was hoping would drive us. He didn't want to go, so I just went back to the library (back the way we had just come) and got a cookie from the vending machine. Then back (again) to the choir room this time and met Laura. Into the choir room, back to the library, back to the choir room, past it to I-wing to try to find a place to sit, back to the choir room. Then the bell rang.

Third was the only class that I actually had testing in. 30 questions on stuff that I learned in second grade. I finished in about twenty minutes. And sat there for the last hour with nothing to do but to play tetris and read my book. Oy.

Choir was last, which I thought would be good, but it wasn't. Baggett had us stand up or sit down in sections to work on parts. Except he ALWAYS wanted to work with the altos. We stood for a full 45 minutes while everyone else sat more than they stood. It was lame.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Maybe.

It is officially Friday of Spring Break...I've decided I must be a disappointment to all those stereotypical "Party Hardy" teenagers who go to Miami for break. I go to Oregon. No sunshiny beaches for me...I go for the rainy days at the library. Not even kidding, I have been to the library every single day this week. Well kinda...I was too lazy to go on Wednesday, but I made up for that today by making two trips down. Mostly because I forgot the stuff I was supposed to be returning. Anyway, I count it as two trips to the library. I'm getting smarticle! We've also made a couple trips to the grocery store for our York patties, which are pretty much a mandatory staple at any Kara-Sierra happening. I won't mention that we've gone through three bags of them. And two bags of peach rings (another necessity).

I now have $6 to my name and the train doesn't leave to go back home until Sunday afternoon. My grip shall remain vice-like on the remnants of my pennies.

We're heading over to Madras this afternoon to see Drew and Laura Sullivan's play. No need to mention Sierra's thoughts on this. They're pretty much readable.

Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the house for some food...It's sounding pretty good. I haven't exactly eaten breakfast beyond a muffin and half a dinner roll. And it is now 12:26. I'm off.

16 going on 23. Huzzah.

HOW OLD DO YOU ACT?

[x] You know how to make a pot of coffee.
[x] You keep track of dates using a calendar.
[ ] You own a credit card.
[ ] You know how to change the oil in a car.
[x] You've done your own laundry.
[ ] You can vote in an election.
[x] You can cook for yourself.
[ ] You think politics are interesting.

TOTAL SO FAR: 4


[ ] You show up for school late a lot.
[x] You always carry a pen/pencil in your bag/purse/pocket.
[ ] You've never gotten a detention.
[x] You have forgotten your own birthday.
[x] You like to take walks by yourself.
[x] You know what credibility means, without looking it up.
[x] You drink caffeine at least once a week

TOTAL SO FAR: 9

[x] You know how to do the dishes.
[x] You can count to 10 in another language.
[x] When you say you're going to do something you do it.
[x] You can mow the lawn.
[x] You study even when you don't have to.
[x] You have hand washed a car before.

TOTAL SO FAR: 15


[x] You can spell experience, without looking it up.
[ ] The people at Starbucks know you by name.
[x] Your favorite kind of food is take out.
[x] You can go to the store without getting something you don't need.
[]You understand political jokes the first time they are said.
[x] You can type pretty quick.

TOTAL SO FAR:19

[ ] Your only friends are from your place of employment.
[x] You have been to a Tupperware party.
[x] You have realized that practically no one will take you seriously unless you are over the age of 25 and have a job.
[ ] You have more bills than you can pay.
[x] You have been to the beach.
[x] You use the internet every day.
[ ] You have been outside of the united states
[ ] You make your bed in the morning.

TOTAL: 23

*** Repost this with the subject as: I'm (how old you are) but I act (what you got on the test)

So I've been reading everyone's gloomy blogs about how Spring break is already over, and how it should've lasted longer, etc...

I laugh heartily in your general direction. Us Californians have Spring Break NEXT week. =) Anticipation is 90% of the reward.

Anyway, this last week was kind of a vacation, too, because of all the company we had (especially since company is a rare thing for us folks). And I suppose we owe it all to Oregon Spring Break, as well as the 50th anniversary. So we had the Bartons, Kirstyn, Shawna, Rob(by), and Seersha, which was quite a household. Most of us slept in the garage. On air mattresses. With a couple bookshelves to block the windows facing the road and a portable heater to keep us warm. Needless to say, I'll be very happy to get back to my own bed tonight.

I suppose the only other downside to company is all the pizza. Generally it's a once in a while thing, but no...this week we had it for supper two or three times, not counting the times (4) that I had it for lunch at school. Kill me now. Of course, there was also a little bit of In'n'out, but I didn't get any of that. Color me jealous.

Bartons left Sunday afternoon after meeting, and Kirstyn, Rob(by), Shawna, Chantal, Allyson, and Seersha left today. The whole thing kinda ended with a bang. Somewhat. I made cookies last night, because Allyson kept begging me to. Except she really only wanted the dough. She stole quite a few spoonfuls of it, while I fought back as hard as I could. I eventually ended up getting tossed off her back onto the floor, to everyone elses hilarity. I walked away with whatever dignity I had left. (Virtually nonexistant)I think I went to the bathroom or something after that, because I went to get a drink a while later, and then out to talk to everyone out in the living room. Of course, it took me a while to figure out that the people on the couch in front of me had my bowl of cookie dough. As soon as I did, though, I yanked it away and hid it back in the cupboard. I had to let them gloat for a while after that, but it didn't last long, because Allyson got a mostly full glass of water dumped on her. Served her right. MY victory didn't last long either.

The analogy of a bull charging after a helpless farmer as he scrambles to get over the fence comes to mind. Except replace the bull with Allyson. I of course got a glass of water down my shirt as well. But man, it was worth it.

It's only March, for crying out loud!

Today I achieved the first kinda-sunburn of the season. Which is sad, because [see title].

Anyway, it really started yesterday, when Brittney, Jake and I went out to the Hill to do some general lying around in the sun. I fell asleep, which isn't really a surprise. But the thing is, I was laying on half of my face. Therefore, only half of my face got burned.

So today, I decided to remedy the situation by doing the exact same thing. So I went out...and laid down...and fell asleep, making sure it was on the OTHER half of my face this time. Sure enough, I got to seventh quite a bit pinker. Of course, fate wouldn't let my face burn, to even it out...it got the backs of my knees, and my arms, in some pretty random splotches.

Go figure.

Cookies went over wonderfully today. I made $15, a back rub, and a few manly squeals of delight.

This is why I make cookies. =)

Battle of the foods

I've been thinking lately. Which is an oddity in itself, but the things I was thinking about were considerably funnier.

I was in Quiznos the other day, and got to talking to the people working there. After a while, we started talking about favorite odd TV shows, which led to the Wheel of Fortune, which led to Family Feud, which, in turn, got them thinking that they should go on Family Feud against Subway. But they'd have to change the name to something like Battle of the Sub Shops. So then I started thinking about other places that could be on a general restaruant gameshow. The list is as following.

Quiznos vs. Subway
Taco Bell vs. Burger King
Asian Garden vs. P.F. Changs
Macaroni Grill vs. Olive Garden
Lamppost Pizza vs. Round Table
Starbucks vs. Any un-chain coffee place

It would be interesting to see how these turned out. The ones I put first are pretty much the ones I think would win. Amazing places.

Believe it or not, the last week has held some great amounts of hilarity.

Tuesday: two dogs made it into the library, and ran around for about 10 minutes while the laughing librarian tried to herd them toward the door. There were about 60 or 70 kids in there at the time, but none offered to help...everyone was enjoying the sight of Mrs. Sonnenberg running around in her nice clothes after two dogs that barked continuously and were determined to go anywhere but the door. They were pretty sweet dogs, though, and definitely enjoyed being petted.

Wednesday?: Talking to Mark about a very creepy dude in choir. Joe. He's pretty much everybody's nightmare. I think parents might start using his name as a threat. "If you don't go to bed right now, I'm going to call Joe!" Of course, the kids would be scared witless at the prospect of having to talk to Joe...the person that lacks the ability to carry on a conversation easily if it surpasses the "hey. What's up?" stage.
Anyway.
Mark and I were telling horrer stories about the classes we'd had to endure with him. Mark won, with three classes, just last year. He told me that he had decided that if they got another class together he was going to commit suicide.

Mark: Like, seriously, I'd strap a bomb to myself and go ring his doorbell.
Me: What if his mom answered?
Mark: Well, I'd blow her up, instead. It would serve her right. She actually encourages Joe to LIVE!

I definitely dissolved into a fit of giggles. Laura (one of Joe's stalkees) thought it was pretty funny too, when I relayed the story to her later. She has suffered more than most, when it comes to Joe. The instance that comes to mind was last symester, when he came up behind her, wrapped his arm around her neck (in, what I suppose, he thought to be a playful manner...she was actually choking.) and said "Ha! I got you! Like a cornish game hen!"

But I digress.

Wednesday afternoon: Watching a video of Comedy Central on Laura's iPod...some guy was doing a standup about piniatas. And the line I will never forget:

"I hate piniatas. They only encourage violence toward flamboyant animals. 'Hey look! There's a donkey with pizazz! Let's kick his ***!'"

Totally made my day. Nay. My week.

I'm leaving now.

Weekend in Oregon

I didn't realize how much I missed all my weekend trips to Oregon. But I did. Tremendously. Anyway, I went up this last weekend for Grampa/Uncle Lester's funeral. We left Saturday morning around nine, and got there just in time to go see the play of Cinderella at the highschool. It was pretty amusing. Even when it wasn't supposed to be. Wouldn't you know it, I got to sit next to Allyson, who knew all the songs and lines, and started singing along. And then I realized that Prince Christopher was actually played by a guy named Caleb that I had heard a lot about from a certain cousin of mine...Anyway, he wasn't the best actor in the world. Or kisser...we could tell from the audience that when he kissed poor Cinderella that she was trying her hardest not to gag. (I found out later that Caleb had asked out Cinderella a couple months earlier, and now every time they went through the play, it was incredibly awkward for both of them...I'm guessing she turned him down AFter the first time they ran through the kissing scene...) My favorite part of the whole play though, was when they were trying on the slipper. The stewards went around to each girl, and two of them would kneel so she could sit on their knees while she tried on the shoe. Anyway, after the last girl went and ran off crying, this gay guy came up, plopped himself down and offered his foot. When the steward refused to let him try it on, the gay guy got this "Oh no you di-in't!" look on his face and started chasing the poor steward down the aisle.

Totally made my day.

Anyway, Sunday was meeting...of course. We went to Gramma Van's afterward and pretty much had a family reunion. I didn't know any of them, so I literally sat in a corner and did a puzzle. Puzzles infuriate me, though, because the edge pieces have this really annoying habit of not showing up when you want them!

Monday was the funeral, and there pretty much weren't too many dry eyes in the place. We even had the funeral hostess crying, which I thought was pretty impressive. One of Lester's garbage trucks followed us to the burial. The burial got over just in time, because it started dumping buckets as everyone was heading to their cars. We headed home around two, and got back to Loomis by 11:30. When we got home, I decided that there was no way I was going to go to school today, because I was so tired. So I packed instead. It was pretty productive. I got all my stuff in my room packed up. Three boxes. =)

Day one of the four day weekend. I've been looking forward to this since the last break lol. Not sure when that was though. And it has been completely uneventful. Thursday was kinda interesting though. I took cookies again, and they were a hit, even though they were a little overcooked. I got quite a few over-enthusiastic hugs and a request for the recipe...as well as things like "I gave my cookie to [insert name]...can I have another?". Giving away cookies amuses me. Chelsea came up to me afterwards and told me to open a cookie shop called Kara's Cookies. If I could make money at this, it'd be even cooler lol.

Today Steph went to work with dad...so she set her stinking alarm clock for seven. So I got to get up then too. I tried to take a nap earlier, but it didn't work out too well. I might just go to bed early tonight, seeing as I have absolutely nothing else to do. Except crochet. And watch movies. And listen to the rain. Hmm.

Going to Don's tomorrow to see his new litter of puppies. He now has 22 dogs. A little outrageous if you ask me. But still pretty cute. =) After that I'm going to go sing at the county talent show with the choir. Should be pretty fun. My choir dress needs to be used a little more anyway.

Just a little awesome thing...

So this morning I printed off the outline for the history chapter I was supposed to have read over the week...that was pretty hard to do, though, considering the book was at dad's. Anyway, I read the outline first period while waiting for the water to boil (we were doing a lab in Chem). Took the test second period and definitely got a 23 out of 25.

Booyah.

Go me. I totally kicked some serious booty.

Took cookies to school today. About 4 dozen. Maybe more. Either way there were two large tupperware things full. The first one was annihilated by third period. I gave Baggett and Linda the last four of the first then grabbed the second one for choir. It was definitely gone within 10 minutes. It was a lot of fun getting rid of them though. A friend of mine was on the other side of the room and told me just to throw one at him. So I did. And it got intercepted and landed on the floor. So I threw another six...all of which got snatched. It was really amusing though because the first cookie that hit the ground got picked up by someone else and thrown back at my friend from about a foot away...hit him in the forehead.

These are the things that happen in choir lol. I think I'm gonna make Friday cookie day from now on. This is just too fun.

Just got back from babysitting for Mrs. Muir. She had an after school class at Union Hill, so I watched her kids while she taught. The class ran over a tad...like half an hour. And I'm officially seven dollars richer. I'm apparently going to get the rest when I babysit for her again. But who knows when that will be, so I'm prolly just gonna stay with the seven bucks lol.

I'm off.

I've been hit!

Just tagged, actually. The whole picture thing.

Rules are...

Take the fourth pic from the fourth folder in your picture file and tell everyone about it...then tag four people.

so here it is



MLK weekend, pre-ski trip. Brandon and two other guys (don't know their names) showing everyone just how bored they were.

Mmk, I guess I can't tag sierra again, so let's try Lizzie, Kirstyn, Frank and Allyson.

And in case anyone cares, I've got a pretty good callus going on my finger from playing cello. Stupid thing. It's wounding me. bah. lol.

25 things...part 2

So I decided that these things were actually really fun. So this one may not actually be just 25 things...don't be surprised if it stretches itself out a little bit.

and maybe I'll just start writing at 26.

so...

26)I actually sort of like classical music. Once in a very great while.

27)I love organizing things (like my closet...repeatedly), but they never stay organized, because I'm too lazy to put things back in their spots.

28)I only write with pens. Unless I'm taking a test that will require lots of erasing.

29)Chinese food is amazing. Especially Asian Garden. But all you poor out of state people don't really know that lol.

30)I have shirts in my drawer that have never been worn in public, but I refuse to give them up on the off chance that I MIGHT wear them some day.

31)The librarian at school actually kinda scares me.

32)The last time I took an IQ test (about two years ago) my IQ was 118...a little less than the average Phillipino's.

33)I have had up to 18 people online at once, and still had no one to talk to.

34)Emptying out my inbox from all the FaceBook stuff is kinda annoying, but having all that mail actually makes me feel loved lol.

35)My favorite kind of food is anything that you can make in the microwave.

36)I have been reading the Host since about October. 600 page book and I'm still not done. It's sad, I know.

37)Out of the batch of cookies I took to school yesterday, I had a grand total of one and a half. Stephanie, you are no longer allowed to complain. You had five.

38)I can't stand looking at anybody's cuts...the blood grosses me out. But defrosting a hunk of bloody meat is fine for some reason.

39)I still haven't gotten any better at Solitaire. I'm pretty much a failure.

40)I very much enjoy being a "manly alto", thank you.

41)Even on my frumpy days, it still bothers me that my shoes are brown plaid and my shirt is blue and stripey. I think Kirstyn needs to get out of my head lol.

42)Spagetti+Ketchup=Heaven

43)I straighten my hair occasionally even though it's pretty much straight.

44)I am always out of the loop. When talking to me, just keep in mind that I most likely don't know who or what you're talking about.

45)I mix my instant oatmeal flavors. Strawberry and peach together are awesome.

46)I haven't caught up on sleep since Montana. It explains the zombie-like look I've worn on occasion.

47)I burst into song randomly, and I like to see how many times I can change keys before someone gets mad at me.

48)Wierd conversations follow me around. Doesn't matter if I'm not talking...if I'm there, someone will be talking about something wierd.

49)People that try to convince me to do something that's against one of my many morals just drive me nuts. Especially if they think that they can actually win. Pa-ha. I beg to differ.

50)I don't like being serious very often.

51)I don't eat leftovers. Spagetti is the only exception.

52)When I was younger, I used to walk around on the backs of my toes. Try it sometime. Just not on a hard surface. It hurts like everything.

53)At my last count, I had 20 jeanskirts and 25 pairs of shoes. Of those, I wear about 7 of the skirts, and three or four pairs of shoes.

54)I will turn sixteen while all my choir buds are in Ireland.

55)Rain is amazing, but snow is guaranteed to make my day bad.

56)I have no interest in four-year colleges. I'm going to invest my time in a JC, and get a two year degree.

57)Even though I'm not exactly a "rebellious teenager", I still love to turn my music up so loud that the speakers actually start moving.

58)Obama worries me.

59)I only drink milk with cookies, brownies and mac'n'cheese.

60)I have no earthly idea how long my hair is...I only know that it goes to a little below my waist.

61)I'm currently following 13 blogs, including one of a woman in England who has no idea who I am. It definitely keeps me busy.

62)I think schools should have a designated nap time.

Just a little thought.

Spagetti.

Amazing stuff.

But only if it's made right. Sauce that's only on top is just wrong. I kid you not. It tastes way wrong.

So sauce mixed in. Keep that in mind.

With ketchup on top. Gotta have the ketchup. Along with the face parmesean to go on top. Together, you can make your spagetti as dry or soupy as you want it.

So add ketchup and fake parmesean as desired.

But then there's always that problem of your mouth turning orange because of the sauce and/or ketchup.

So keep a stack of napkins on hand. Good things.


Anyway, that just sums up into "Spagetti is awesome if it's prepared correctly."

That, ladies and gents is the truth. And the thought for the day.

Blogging to avoid boredom

But it'll catch up with me anyway.

So today was perfectly boring. No one (quite literally) was in class 6th period...except me. So I actually worked on that 300 word essay (pretty lame length for an essay...more of a note if you ask me) and of course I finished it. I think it's pretty cool. It's about Mrs. Mc...pretty much the all in one teacher...taught second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth. Pretty impressive.

So hmm...had a test today in math. The last question I most definitely got wrong. The rest I did okay on.

Nothing exciting in choir today for some reason.

Had to write a timed essay in History today about the changes that were made in Europe due to the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. You'd think that since we've been studying that particular period for about a month now, I'd know what in the world I was talking about. But since I generally don't study, I didn't know what I was talking about so I just fudged my way through it. I hope he gives me extra points for having all five paragraphs and using some sources too. I thought I did pretty good for not having a book, or notes, or enough time. I needed someone to reattatch my arm after it fell off though.

Not pleasant.

There was Hawaiian pizza today for lunch. Made my day.

Dad woke up late this morning...also made my day, because I thought I would get to miss the bus and be driven to school. But no, dad drove like a maniac, and even though we left five minutes late, we got there two minutes early. Lame-o.

I have just realized that I wrote this blog backwards. Generally, days start with the waking up and END in math. I guess I'm just a little off my rocker.

lol...Forget that. The whole rocker just flipped over!

25 completely random things about me

I would honestly love to know where this thing started but it's currently all over FaceBook, and since I recently acquired one, well, I was exposed. So here goes...

25 Things About Me

1. I generally drink my drinks without ice, because it gets in the way and makes my teeth cold. The only exception is when then drink I'm drinking is supposed to be cold and isn't.

2. I think people should come with blinkers. And they should use them while walking down the sidewalk at school.

3. I hardly ever eat breakfast, and when I do, its generally just a bag of chips from the vending machine. Harvest Cheddar Sunchips. =)

4. FaceBook scares me.

5. I don't like practicing things unless I'm already good at them. Slightly ironic, I know, but that's why I won't be good at cello for quite a while.

6. I have never used my cell phone to make more than a 5 minute call. I text.

7. Nicknames are, for the most part, strictly forbidden. This includes Carrot Soup. And Wench, unless you happen to be Shawna whereupon it will only be allowed once in a very great while.

8. I sleep under about 5 blankets no matter how hot it is outside, just because I like the weight of them. My bed also has 5 pillows on it, just because I like them there. I only use one at a time.

9. My life revolves around my ability to procrastinate.

10. I eat ranch on everything except salads. Salads require Thousand Island.

11. I sleep more than is probably healthy. There have been weekends where I was asleep more than I was awake. Then going back to school the next week, I would indulge in several naps. I think I must be a teenager.

12. I tend to scare my mother with my driving. I blame the older two sisters that wore down her courage while they were learning to drive.

13. Even with a 3" binder full of music, I often run out of stuff to play, because I get tired of it really fast.

14. I can't cook. I have ruined Mac'n'cheese. And once I put a bowl of Ramen in the microwave without water. But I make cookies. And brownies from a box. =)

15. I got an A in AP World last symester even though I got D's on virtually every test.

16. Vanilla ice cream is da bomb.

17. I know about 20 people in the choir of 100+ kids. And I see them every day. Maybe I'm just not social.

18. I could live on Crunchwraps. With no tomato or sour cream, add extra nacho cheese. Amazing stuff.

19. I dress to match my backpack. But only occasionally.

20. The chickens we had when was little scared the bejeebers out of me.

21. I considered many times running away and living in the pasture. In a fully furnished tree house that I would build myself, of course.

22. I'm world class when it comes to losing card games, especially to people that I've just taught the game to.

23. Taking off my sweatshirt is often just too big of a hassle, so you will often see me walking around with it on in 80+ degree weather.

24. I post too many survey/quiz things on MySpace. But most of you already know that.

25. Jumping out at people from behind corners is one of the many things I do to keep myself entertained.

Anyway, that's my list.

And a funny story...So I went to go get breakfast this morning (from the vending machine...duh...didn't you read number 3?). I dropped in my dollar twenny-five and punched in the letter number combo for my bag of chips. Now let me tell you something about these school vending machines. No matter how badly you want what you have just paid for, the thing won't always give it to you. And it mocks you too. Sometimes it'll drop whatever you wanted, let it fall for half a second, and then, somehow, trap it, in such a way that there is no real possible way to get it out.

You can guess what happened to me.

I spent a good five minutes alternately ramming the thing trying to get the bag dislodged and sitting on the floor trying to reach far enough into the thing that I could turn the bag just enough to let it fall down. Laura, meanwhile, stood there and laughed at me. The sad thing was, I could actually touch the bag, but i couldn't get a grip on it to turn it around. A couple of people came along trying to get stuff out of it, and they very nicely coordinated their purchase so that they got something directly above my bag of chips in an effort to knock it down. But no. Neither the gummy bears or the rice crispy thing worked, although the gummy bears got stuck for a second on TOP of my bag. Anyway, the girl who got the rice crispy thing gave it to me because she apparently didn't even want it, so my breakfast this morning was actually cereal. In a marshmallow-y form. Pretty tasty. =)

Another school day...

Except it was a little interesting. It rained for one, and I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this is well aware of my shoe situation. If not, let it simply be said that though I own 20 some pairs of shoes, not one of them is waterproof.

So needless to say, I walked to school in the rain, and my feet were soaked through by the time the bus pulled up. And today was the one day I wished that the classes were longer. I would almost be dryed out and thawed by the end of the class, and then have to go walk in the rain again. Love rain, hate being wet. Especially when my jeans figured out a way to soak themselves six inches up my legs. How in the world...?

We had a course preview day today...something that only happens once a year, which in itself makes it a special day, but really, it was especially special because the periods were shorter. Between second and third period we all got to go around to different classes and preview the electives that would be given next year. So I went and sat in the choir room and listened to Baggett's speel about how cool choir was...except he was really just preaching to the choir...'cause all the kids in there the first session were choir kids. Yup. I'm the master of puns, are I not? So then Chamber did their bit and sang some of their songs. Three of them were ones that Kirstyn sang while in choir eons ago. So I sang along a little. We even got to hear the fruitcake song again, which was the highlight of my day. Someone, who shall remain nameless (but if you've read many of my past blogs you'll realize this is another you-know-who story), thought that since this was the last time they would have to sing the song, he would screw with it...just a little bit. So when they sang the part about fruitcake, he yelled it. And when the tenors started rapping...so did he. I was muchly amused.

Sixth period, my good buddy Brittney noticed just how soaked my shoes were, so she insisted she find a way to dry them over the little portable heater in McD's office. I warned her that they would stink to high heaven, but she just replied that she couldn't smell anything. So she grabbed my umbrella, wrapped a couple rubber bands around it and attatched those to the buckles on my shoes, and propped it in between a trash can and the computer modem. It worked pretty well, in both drying out my shoes and smelling up the place. Brittney left after a while, leaving me and poor Jake (who was trying to sleep) to smell the horrer of the shoes. She left the office door open when she left, too, becuase the class was out at the comp lab, leaving no reason to close it. When the bell rang, two TA's walked in as I was going out and definitely started gagging. I left lickety split. Yup. That was my sixth period excitement.

Seventh period...math...we're working on this math problem that's taking absolutely forEVER, because no one in my group (including me) knows how to do it. We got a fair amount of help from Bishop yesterday, and got part A done, but we ran into another wall of ignorance on part B today, and couldn't do squat with it without more help. So we raised our hands and hoped that Bishop wouldn't be too busy answering other people's questions. He doesn't seem to realize that his priorities SHOUld lie with us...Anyway. So after 10 minutes of watching him just walk past us to talk to other people, we decided that the best way to get his attention would be to pull out my deck of cards and start playing palace. This, without fail, manages to draw him over like a moth to a flame. Usually, he likes to pretend to take them away from us unless we get some work done, so we haggle with him (i.e. two problems and then back to the cards), and then realize that there isn't enough time to DO two problems anyway, so we're sunk. That's usually. Today, he didn't even look at us once! Even when we started using our telepathic persuasion-y powers to make him look in our direction. He finally saw us about five minutes before class ended.

Well, I did get a little done, anyway. I managed to lose two games of palace within fifteen minutes and get really annoyed with Patty for B.S.ing every single card when we played BS.

So I was kinda sorta productive...

ish.

mmk...gonna go check the brownies now.

ta

No More Funny Stories...Yet.

Back to school tomorrow, so there will undoubtedly be more.

Anywho...

Got back from the ski thing yesterday night. It was actually pretty fun. Friday night was hosted at the senior Nelsons...that would be Dan's parents...Hannah and Brady's grand's. Food consisted of taco salad or wetbacks or something like that. It was really good. Us kids kept ourselves entertained by thinking of games to play that involved a lot of noise. Taylor and Blake (quote) "tickled the ivories" for a while after I got done playing the only two songs I've got memorized. Then everyone broke ranks and headed off to the gender-specific houses...meaning Nelson's for the girls and Bergh's for the guys. Some of the overflow went to the VDM's. Thankfully there wasn't much overflow this year...there were about 34 people there instead of 60 like last year.

Saturday morning everyone headed off to go skiing around 7:30. Me and Katie Evans waited behind for an hour or so to go with Karen, who was bringing food, because we weren't skiing anyway, so there was no point in going early. We got there around 10. Apparently the snow was more ice than anything else, so there were about 20 stretchers being hauled in behind snow mobiles. Only two of the casualties were ours...Brenda VanDenBerg and Julia something or another. Both with broken wrists. They got hauled off to the ER in their ski clothes and cardboard splints. There were about 8 other kids in the same condition ahead of them, so they were gone for quite a few hours. They even got to sign the wall of fame of people who broke their wrists while snowboarding.

We left around four and went to Berghs for the bonfire. That only lasted a few hours. Someone got the bright idea to head out for Little Caesar's where the pizza's are only $5 each. So they got fifteen. All but 3 disappeared completely, mostly thanks to some of the guys who decided to just take their own box. All that greasy cardboard fed the fire pretty well, though, when the wood ran out. I ended up going back up to the house a little early because my headache chose that moment to come back. But that's all right. I just sat on the couch and petted the dog and listened to the adults talk.

Meeting Sunday morning was pretty monstrous. Again, not as big as last year's, but it still hit close to 60 people. And it was pretty teary for some reason. There was definitely a box of tissues being passed around.

Lunch was at the VDM's after meeting. Pasgetti and bread and salad. Good stuff. Then b-day cake for Joey. And ice cream.

Then whoever hadn't left at that point went of to gosple meeting. It was Dan's last meeting...I have no idea why, but he's going to North LA and we're getting Dale Schultz. I'm kinda bummed. Dan was really cool. I guess we'll see him again at conventions. Which start in May!! I'm pretty excited.

Arright...well I guess that's it for the weekend. Today wasn't all that exciting. I swept and mopped the floor, straightened the cook books, and then we went and saw Bride Wars. It was good but I still really wanna see Seven Pounds. Grocery shopping afterwards, during which I invested in a few new DVDs. And then I got a Crunchwrap. And now I'm home typing. And I think I'm done now. So ta.

Weekend in Advance

So I actually AM going skiing, contrary to what I thought yesterday. Except that I'm not really going skiing...I'm just going with the ppl going skiing, because, 1)I stink at it, and 2)I'm still getting over being sick. It's all good though, because this way I won't spend a ton of dad's money lol.

Anyway, I made it through the day today...I had to go home after first period yesterday 'cause my crumby meter was way up. So I went home and slept. It was lovely.

Lets see...news for today...

found out that the librarian has one foul bad mood. I think she's bipolar. She definitely refused to check a book out to me because i have three out that are a little over-due. (by a little, I mean November-ish...) Anyway...I went back in later to drop off some other books, and she was as cheery as could be, and thanked me and everything. I think she may have told me to have a good day too.

Bipolar much? Methinks so. Or maybe it's just 'cause the other librarian wasn't there today to cheer her up.

Sixth period turned out to be pretty uneventful. But fun anyway. It's kinda funny, because it doesn't take much for the whole class to be absent. ("Oh dear...we've got three absences today. I guess I don't have to teach...") Anyway, it was only me and Brittney there. Me and Brittney - Kelly and Jake (Newbie)= a very different day. Kelly tends to be the talker, and Jake just sits in the corner doing homework or something.

Just for Sierra, I acquired another Adam story.

Again, in choir. We had just finished going through this Spanish song that we had gone through a grand total of twice before singing it as a group. The guys had ended all together on a C...which is actually relevant to the story believe it or not. Baggett said "You know, that would sound really good if you basses could hit a low C"...as in, an octave below...ya know. Linda played it for them. Hearing this, Adam was not pleased. His upper lip met his nose and his eyebrow became one with his hairline as he exclaimed..."That's disGUSting!" in the most disgusted tone I have ever heard.

That may have been a "you had to be there" moment, but I was still laughing about it on the bus ride home.

I'm sorry, I just HAVE to share more funnies.

At least one more funny.

And it involved the person that creates half the humor in my daily life lately. Adam is up to bat yet again.

Passing period 2/3...I was heading to my locker (for some aminal crackers...I forgot to eat breakfast) and Adam was heading from his locker to what I assume was English. He paused, looked me up and down and said, "We match!"

Shore 'nuff. Choir sweatshirt and jeans. Just about as casual as I get. And him, too, apparently. I laughed and headed for my crackers again.

Choir...Well, after choir, really. I was leaving, he was waiting for everyone to clear out. He looked at me again and declared "You have to change."

Pah-ha. I took off my sweatshirt for lunch, simply because it was stinkin' hot (wow!) where Laura and I were sitting. Of course, I had to put it back on afterwards, so that I could go up to Adam and tell him that we're not quite matching, 'cause my shoes kicked his shoes butts.

He replied that I was splitting hairs, and I should just hurry along.

Snort.

Mmk...cello practicin' now.

Ciao.

Productive-o

I actually did something productive today. (grin) Proud of me? And it wasn't even something I completely procrastinated on, either! Well, actually I did, because I've known about it since September, and it's due on Thursday. But still, two days ahead of schedule!! Woot. Bring on the celebration. Ya, I finished my song. It kinda stinks, but at least I've got something to turn in now lol. And it's two days ahead of schedule. Go me. All the way. And another woot. =)

Mmk, so a couple of funny stories...

Now, class, meet Adam. Typical friend. Choir friend. Has the uncanny ability to make anyone laugh whether it's on purpose or not. Like today. He interrupted Baggett's "No Distractions" lecture in the middle of choir by falling off the top of the risers/steps, and spent a little quality time getting to know all the backpacks he landed on. And laughing his head off. Of course, I don't really think he did it on purpose (I think his friend Ben pushed him, honestly), but Baggett had to put his "Distractions" lecture on hold while he laughed. But of course the teacher never laughs as hard as the students, and we had a heck of a time finishing the song that Baggett had already distracted us from with his "No Distractions" lecture. The irony is just sickening.

Moving on to Friend B. I must keep her anonymous, because, for some reason, she gets embarassed over seriously odd things. I honestly think Adam had a lot more reason to be embarassed than Friend B(and he was...completely beet red, I tell you), but I'll be nice. Kinda. Anyway, so sitting in 6th period, with my two other classmates (gotta love independant study =]) and Friend B started eating her lunch. She started with the main course, of course, (a piece of pizza that was picked to pieces while she unearthed...or uncheesed...every little mushroom and olive on it) and then went on to her banana. It was then that her audience (Me, and Friend K)realized that she has a couple screws loose. She doesn't peel her banana's right! Most people, while holding the banana in their left hand, grab the top, and peel the skin about halfway down in 1-2 inch strips. Not Friend A, though. Nope, she took the top in her right hand, split the skin, and using a fingernail just slit it down the side, like a zipper and just popped the thing out! We gave her a hard time for that. I just had to point out that even MONKEYs peel them right. Generally, anyway. It's just a well known fact. There is ONE way to peel banana's and one way ONLY!

Geeze. Some people's chitlins.

It was still rather amusing.

C'est amusent or something like that.

And why am I not napping? You got me...

My mind has been rebelling against me as of late (no it's not!!! What am I talking about?)

I'm just gonna let that one sit for a while if you didn't get it.

Anyway, my head never thinks I've gotten enough sleep. Ever since I got sick (nearly three weeks ago) I have taken every opprotunity available to take a nap, go to sleep at seven (or better yet, six), or sleep until noon. Unfortunately the latter is hardly ever actually an option. The other two on the other hand, have been taken full advantage of, and my head still hasn't recognized that I HAVE actually gotten a reasonable amount of sleep, and NO, I don't need to take ANOTHER three hour nap, no matter how lovely it sounds.

Anyway, that part of life kinda stinks right now. But other than that, it's just peachy. =) Speaking of peachy, one of my friends got pretty tickled the other day at my use of odd words such as peachy, spiffy, and snazzy, all of which I use on a regular basis. She even went as far as to call me a 70's sitcom. Go figure.

So, that whole ski trip is next weekend. I have to figure out if I'm going or not, hopefully sometime before the thing actually happens. Do I want to spend the weekend with sixty other kids (that I don't know very well) falling on my butt as I try to slide down a mountain on a pair of sticks for hours on end? Or do I want to stay home, relax and sleep in until Sunday on Saturday?

To tell the truth, I'm kinda leaning toward the latter to tell the truth.

I have a Music Comp class tomorrow morning, followed by a trip to the Fleck's new house, which I'm hoping I can get out of so I can go back home and sleep. The song I've been writing for music comp is officially due on the 21st so that someone can learn it in time for the concert on the 31st. I'm a little more than halfway done, which I consider to be a good thing, but I'm guessing that now would be a fairly good time to panic just a little. Last minute pressure is good for you, I've been told. =)

Anyway, methinks I'm off to take a nap.

So ta.

Resolutions (If you can call them that)

K, I'm finally breaking down (but only after having read no less than four blogs about New Year's resolutions, mind) and listing my "resolutions". I'm not sure you can call them that. But they float my boat just fine. Occasionally. My boat tends to be a little leaky at times lol.

1)I have this book called "100 Words to Make You Sound Smart". I'm going to use every single one of them in the presence of someone who doesn't even know what they mean. (the purpose of that second part being that I don't even have to use the word correctly, because they won't even know! It's such a boondoggular idea, isn't it?) The hard part will be finding dumb enough people.

2)I'm going to switch out of aerobics. Oh wait. I already did that. Right before break. I'm ahead of schedule! How 'bout that?

3)Completely complete all my homework the night it's assigned, or

4)Start waking up early enough to get it done before school.

5)Text more people (This is much more easily accomplished by the new cell tower that was recently put in behind the Ag wing. I have full service all over campus now, which is nothing short of a miracle, to be sure)

6)Partake in at least one piece of junk food a day. That's also been made fairly easy by the presence of a package of cookies, some runts, and animal crackers that are taking up valuable space in my locker. Life is good. =)I shouldn't mention (but I will) that I probably actually ate an entire year's worth of junk over the break, if I'm going by the one piece per day. But of course, you can never call me an underachiever...

7)Learn some new piano music. No problem there, I just have to FIND some!

8)Blog occasionally. And I mean very occasionally. Not just ever other "occasionally". Every "occasionally" I come across will be an occasion to blog. And I'll even hold myself to that.

9)Go to at least one convention (If you know me in the slightest, you'll see why this isn't a problem...)

10)Do at least one long term assignment at least two days before it's due. (Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? lol)


Anyway, that's my resolutions list. I might actually come up with something a little more worth while, but there's no way I'm posting it. See, my theory is that the reason no resolutions ever stay resolved for very long is because the paper that they've been written on gets "lost". If I post a worthy resolution and I don't keep it, I can't exactly claim I "lost" it, can I? Because somewhere, out in cyberspace, easily accessible by going to my blog page, that resolution will be waiting to be rediscovered. Even organized by year and then by month. So I'm playing it safe.

But just watch...half of these will go undone and I'll be slapping myself silly for posting it at all!

I think too much. Someone stop me.