Gonna be a 4-year member!

This year marked the third year I have gone to prom. I am only a junior, which means that I will be a four-year prom member. I can't think of anyone else in my class that has done this, so I think that's pretty cool.

First off, people will say, "It will make your senior year less special if you go as an underclassmen!" I don't think so. Going to all these other ones I think will make me appreciate my year more. At my senior prom, I will know just about everybody, as opposed to only knowing half. So that will be nice. Also, it will still be special because there is just something about YOUR prom that makes is special. You know?

Second, next year I will get to ask someone to prom. Not the other way around. Being the underclassmen means that I have been the one asked. It's just kind of rude/weird if you ask a senior to their prom. I am really hoping that I come up with a good way of asking someone to prom. I always like hearing about those cutesy ways people ask, and I want to be one of those people.

Third, our class has a lot of money, so we can make our prom extra special. I am extremely excited because, due to excellent fund raising, our class has raised a huge amount of money, so that means we can have more stuff that will make our prom amazing. And not only that, but the tickets will be cheaper!

And finally, as a senior, my dad's long-time friend promised that if I learn how to drive a stick shift, I can take his BMW. So if any of you out there know how to drive a stick and want to teach me, that would be great.

I must say, I am extremely excited for my final prom next year. It will surely be one to remember. And because it will be MY prom, it will be great. It can only get better from here!

Will you enjoy prom?

The Plans for Summer 2010

School gets out sometime mid-June. I want to say June 11th maybe? But either way, sometime that is way to far in the future. Here's my dilemma. Job, or no job?

First off, last summer I offered to get a job, but then I was denied by my parents. Most people would say that my parents are crazy for not wanting me to have a job, but then again, I can see their reasoning. I am a pretty busy person, and when it comes down to it, unless I find an extremely flexible place of work, no one would want to hire me anyway.

Over the summer, I have the International Thespian Conference, and that will take up a week at the end of June. I have show choir choreography camp, and that will take up 4 days at the end of July. I will have Chapter Board meetings, and those take up random days throughout the summer, and then I will most likely have a minuscule vacation somewhere in there. Though that doesn't seem like a lot in the grand scheme of a summer, but it is enough to throw my schedule for a loop and in turn cause scheduling problems for my place of work.

On the other hand, I need money. So this is what I am thinking. My dad always has someone come in and do his filing (usually a college student), and because I will be a senior in high school, I should be pretty qualified. As far as the scheduling problems, well, he's my dad, so he has my schedule already! And as far as the "not letting me have a job," it is his place of work and I'd be working for him. What I think is pretty funny is the fact that my mom is my dad's secretary, and then if I filed for my dad, it would be almost the entire family working for my dad at one time. Seems like something you would only see in the movies.

My discretion, would my dad pay me less because I'm his son? Would he treat me like a true worker? I can foresee something to the effect of him not wanting to pay me as much money simply because I'm his son. I don't know why that would happen, but it is something I envision.

So those are my plans for work in the summer of 2010. I'm not quite sure what will come of it, but we shall see, and I'm sure there will be a blog post sometime about it in the near future.

What will you do during the summer?

Three Ways to Vacuum Your House

In our concert choir, every year we have mixed gendered (SATB songs, and then solo gendered songs (either TTBB or SSAA, usually). This year, the girls did one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. It's called "Three Ways to Vacuum Your House." For some reason, I seriously just can not get over how cool it is.

I'm a tenor one, and I must say, if I could have my pick of the male parts in choir, that would be the one. But if I were a girl, I would pick alto two. I have no idea why, but for some reason their voices just make my heart melt. In "the vacuum song," the altos a have a pretty low part, and I think that is the reason I am attracted to it.

Supposedly, the basis behind the song was that this composer went around the country listening to the sounds of people vacuuming. At one point in the song, there is a part to represent the sound of a paper clip going through the vacuum. If it's the part I'm thinking of, there are no notes to the section, just speaking random gibberish. It sounds soooo cool.

Something that I have determined is that the girls just have cooler music selections than the guys (for choral music). Girls, for one, have Bulgarian music. Personally, I think this is some of the best choral music out there. It is so unique and, when done well, can send shivers up your spine throughout the entire song. Probably one of my favorite Bulgarian songs is "Kafal Sviri." In this song, again, the altos have a really cool low part.

Here is a recording of the Waubonsie Valley Women's Choir singing Kafal Sviri:



So, for me, when listening to a song, I rank it's "cool-ness" on the alto part. When Kafal Sviri ends, the altos have this descending interval that I personally think makes the song.

In conclusion, I don't really have a closing question, so I will leave you with this. If you don't already listen for the altos, I urge you to pay attention for them, their part, though not always identifiable, makes the song.

8 People, 1 house

So I recently found out (by recent I mean a few months ago) that my sister that lives in Colorado will be moving back to Iowa next month. I am extremely excited that she's moving back! But then I found out that she will be living with us. Not a problem you may be thinking, just one person. No, what I mean by my sister moving back is, she will be moving back, along with her husband and two kids. So, 4 people + 4 people already living here, that makes 8 people all under one roof. That's a lot of people.

I'm still somewhat excited that they will be living with us, but there are going to be a lot of changes that take place. First off, I am giving up my room for them to live in. We have recently set up a new "bedroom" that is in our piano room that will be my room for the summer. It is furnished with a couch, a bed, a piano, a desk type thing that is filled with my dad's papers, and a lamp. Pretty classy, huh? And to top that all off, the doors are made by hanging black sheets from curtain hangers in the door frame.

Another major adjustment that will need to be made is my sleeping schedule. The boys (my nephews) wake up somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30 and 7 in the morning. Yikes... and they go to bed somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 p.m. This is probably going to drive me insane, but I am willing to get past it. I am going to need to learn to be quiet once they have gone to bed, and I am going to have to learn to sleep through all the loud noises that will take place once they have woken up. I firmly believe that I will be able to do the second one, but the whole "being quiet" thing will be tough. I'm afraid that I will come home some night and accidentally knock something over and then will hear one of the boys start crying. I would feel terrible because if that happens, most likely the other boy would start crying, and then my sister or my brother will have to go and help them get back to bed and the whole thing would be my fault.

Those are some of the adjustments that will need to be made, and I hope will be able to manage the change. I think it will make for a very interesting summer, and hopefully it'll be enjoyable.

Will you make the change?

New Plan for the Future

So in the past, my life's ambitions have all led to music. Everything I do says, "Go into music after high school." But what scares the crap out of me is, what if I don't make it? And if I don't make it, then what else would I do? I wouldn't want to have to pay to go back to college. I wouldn't want to pay to go on and study something else, so what do I do?

A couple of weeks ago, my sister's old roommate from college gave me a "Major Minor Finder" test. This test was, I believe, from the 1980's. She is becoming a school counselor and for a class she is taking, she has to issue survey/tests and then write about them. She knew I was struggling in what I wanted to do after high school, so she called me and asked if I wanted to help her out. Of course, I said yes.

She came over to our house and instructed me on what to do. There were about 9 questions in total and somehow, those nine questions truly helped me clarify some things. So what you do is, you answer the nine questions, and then you go through the list of majors and see how many matches are made. The most matches you could get were nine, and the least were 1. What caught my eye was that anything related to music only had about 4 matches. This made me think, maybe music isn't what my conscience thinks I should do after high school. Maybe deep down, it knows that there is too big of a risk for failure, and that is something I just don't want to mess with.

The next thing that caught my eye was Physical Therapy. I have always wanted to go into the medical field, but not to be a surgeon or anything like that. I had never really thought about physical therapy, and when I had 7 matches, it sparked my interest. So here I am, doing everything in my life that should lead to music, but what I think I may want to do now is physical therapy. Why, you might ask? Personally, there is more job security. People are always getting hurt and are going to need someone to help them recuperate. But in music, unless you are the top of the line, you're out of luck. Sure, there is always music education, but in today's economy, that doesn't seem to be the right place to be.

So now I am thinking I want to be a physical therapist. This is certainly not set in stone, but it's a nice change of pace. It is kind of nice having some idea of what I may want to do. I beats the heck out of having no clue.

Will you decide?

Note: If you need help deciding, I recommend this website.

Tests, tests, and more tests

In a normal week, I can expect to have about 2 tests and maybe 2 quizzes as well. Not bad, eh? It's those less-than-normal weeks that I dread. Those ones where it seems as if the teachers planned to have all their tests on the same day. Yeah, those are horrible. However, the frequency of tests is not what I am here to discuss. It's the fact that every time I take a test, I always feel the opposite of how I did.

For example, last week, we took a practice AP U.S. History Examination. It was 80 questions in 55 minutes. Let me first state that we found out we would be having this test the day before. So you can imagine I was already a bit rattled. The test comes and being pressed for time, I do my best to quickly go through the questions. As I finish with only a minute or two to spare, I think to myself, that wasn't so bad. Boy was I wrong. For as confident as I felt about the test, I was expecting maybe 50/80. That would have been great! But no, my test is returned to me, I notice a lot of check marks that represent questions missed, and my score reads 28/80. Yep, that's an F- if I've ever seen one.

Another example from the opposite end of the spectrum, I took a math test a couple weeks ago and I felt horrible about it. I check online later that night and low and behold, I got a 37/40. For me, I thought that was pretty great. But as I said, I felt horrible about it and I ended up doing pretty well.

This is frustrating to me, because honestly, this happens on EVERY test. I either feel great or horrible, and it always comes out to be the opposite. You can imagine why this would be frustrating, because if you feel great about it, you can predict the outcome.

Here lies the problem. I just took my actual AP U.S. History Examination and I feel pretty good about it. But what I hope is that this is a different type of good. I wrote the Document Based Question essay as sophisticated as I could and I thought it was pretty good. I did the same for the other essays and when it came to the multiple choice section, there were quite a few repeats from the practice exam, so I felt pretty alright about it.

I truly hope this is a different kind of good feeling, because I could really use a three or better on the AP test. Unfortunately, I must wait until mid-July to get my score...

The Show is Finally Over

Though Sweeney Todd was a great experience, I am very thankful it is done. I have been greatly lacking on sleep, and I have fallen behind on homework. Now is my time to finally relax, go to bed early, and have a life again. Though I will say this, I will certainly miss the cast. This year, I think I have gotten extremely close to the seniors and it is going to be really hard to say goodbye.

Here's what I have determined. Every single year, I go through the same exact pattern. I dread going to musical practice, until the very last day, I complain about the director and his antics, I complain about all the school work that piles up, and I contemplate quitting. But then, every year, I stick with it until the end, and I end up having this big relief when I'm done. I just seriously hate the pressure that comes along with it. It drives me insane!

So why do I put myself through it every year? Where does this motivation come from? For one, I don't think I could stand having an open schedule. It leaves too much time for me to be bored, and knowing me, the free time would result in me not getting my homework done with no excuse. So I do the musicals...

Also, the friendships I build up in this are tremendous. With every show I meet someone new, and the friendships I currently have grow stronger. This year, I met some pretty cool freshman and we have become pretty good friends. I know that if it weren't for this show, we would have most likely never met. As for my senior friends, there were some times during the show where I felt as if I was a 'muse' and not really a friend, but those feelings quickly disappeared when we started to actually hang out again and not just talk during rehearsal.

One last reason is the overall good feeling I get when the show is done and I'm standing out greeting people. You have no idea how good it feels when someone tells you you were amazing. It makes it feel as if it is all worth it. On the local radio station, Z102.9 (the recording can be found here), there was a really cool review of our show and the announcer guy talked about me! Stuff like that is what makes me never want to stop performing.

So, in conclusion, if I didn't do these shows, I'm not sure what I would do with my life. It is clear to me that what I put myself through for the shows is greatly outweighed by the positives that come out of it. So...

Will you put yourself through it?

It just makes no sense...

Why do parents seem to force stuff upon their children? Is it because they are jealous of them? Are they trying to live their lives they wish they had, in their children? This blog post isn't really relevant to my life, but it still hits pretty close to home.

The other day, I got a call from a bewildered and distraught friend. They were having huge issues with their parents. It turns out the the parents are forcing something upon this friend that is not fair whatsoever. This thing that is being forced is college. Not college as a whole, but the location in which this person attends college. Now, is it just me, or is this completely wrong? A parent shouldn't just say, "Hey, it's either there, or community college." And not many people go to community college by choice. For the sake of privacy, I won't include any more, but let me tell you, there is a lot more to the story that just makes me extremely angry inside.

But back to the topic of parents, it always seems that there are jocks that suffer from extreme depression and afraid to stop being a jock, all because their parents have forced them to do something they don't want to do. Back to my friend, this friend (if they choose to go to the non-community college location) will most likely not do well, simply because they don't like the environment.

It just makes no sense...

Will it make sense to you?

(sorry for the horrible post, I thought there would be more to build upon with that, but I'm going to post it anyway, because it is still better than nothing...)

I'm slowly running out of topics...

I have a problem. I'm finding less and less things I want to blog about. The thing is, there ARE probably things I could write about, but I don't want to have to repeat things. I seem to be at a loss...if any of you have any topic ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

Right now, I will give a little word on procrastination.

I previously blogged about it, but it is a SERIOUS problem I have. I noted at the beginning of this term that I would try to blog more throughout the week....but that hasn't exactly happened. I'm sitting here on a Sunday night, doing what is due for MONDAY, when I've had since last Monday to do it... Definition of procrastination, I think so. When will this procrastination end? I hope I can figure it all out by the time I get to college. I feel as if I will NEED to get it all together by then.

Will you procrastinate?

"Hi, I'm Fiona Wallace, and this, is Web Therapy"

I love Lisa Kudrow. It's as simple as that. But has her hit online show, "Web Therapy," fallen below her potential? I think so.

This show is basically completely improvised. So props to that. But what I find a bit lackluster, is the fact that there is basically no plot-line, no climax, just an overall lack of "fire." Part of what I like about Lisa in "Friends" is her large amount of spunk that she brings to Phoebe. She always finds a way to add that goofiness in everything she did. I've watched the bloopers and interviews, so I've seen what Lisa is like outside of "Friends" and I think she could add more of this fun side to Fiona Wallace.

The basis behind "Web Therapy" is that the main character, Fiona Wallace (Kudrow), is a therapist that is a bit disgruntled by the whole lay in the couch therapy session thing. She thinks that there is no need to have an hour long session when you can complete everything that needs to get done in three minutes. The sessions usually last longer than that for some quirky reason, but nonetheless, they are significantly shorter sessions than the hour long ones.

As I said, my problem with the show is that there is a lack of a climax. They seem to be just talking the entire time, and because it is improv, they seem to be struggling to find things to talk about. I do think it is impressive that Lisa Kudrow was able to come up with a show strictly on improv with the intent of having a theme, but the idea kind of flopped. There haven't been any new episodes in a while, and I'm guessing that was due to a lack of popularity. The only reason I heard of this show was because I googled Lisa Kudrow and it came up that she had a show. Otherwise, I would have never known.

Below, I have included a clip of an episode. You'll see what I mean by the lack of a plot and such.

Will you enjoy "Web Therapy"?

Feelin' Stressed...

Have you ever just had one of those weeks where everything builds up and just keeps building inside you? And suddenly you're on the verge of a meltdown? Yeah. That's where I'm currently at...Sweeney Todd (the show my school is currently doing) is this week and I know we aren't ready. Homework keeps piling up. Because of the show, I have no idea what is going on in any of my classes. The March of Dimes is next weekend. I'm not going to get very much sleep this coming week. I still have another blog to do. So yeah, I'm freakin' out a little bit.

Here's the problem, when you become stressed, you tend to shut down, and all you want to do is sleep and/or stare blankly at a computer screen. This is what is going on for me. I don't really feel secure on the Sweeney Todd stuff yet, so that's what is really getting to me. Our director has been pretty irritable lately, mainly because one of our leads has had an extremely hard time getting all their stuff memorized. This frustration, in turn, is taken out on the rest of the cast. And this coming week are the dress rehearsals, which means we will be at school until 9, and the nights of the show we will be at school until 10 or later, so I will have NO time to get my homework done.

So here I am. Feelin' stressed. And all I can do is stare at this blank screen. What's going to come of this? Will I get over it?

Every year, I go through the same pattern. The spring musical puts me under a lot of stress. And every year, once the musical is done, there is a huge relief of stress. Will that happen this year? I sure hope so...

Will you be stressed?

Is this the real life?

As well as the ACT, Saturday, April 10, 2010, was also the date that my show choir sang with the Orchestra Iowa and a Queen impersonator. It was quite possibly one of the coolest things I have ever done. The lead singer was amazing, the orchestra was amazing, and most of the choir was amazing. The reason I say most is because the guy I happened to be standing to seemed to not be able to identify pitch. I mean, it wasn't like he wasn't on the right pitch, but he was just waaaay below the actual pitch is. To understand this, you need to know that there are pitches between the normal pitches you would hear on the piano. Anyway, he was just extremely flat.

I'm not going to let this get to me, though, because the overall experience was amazing. Here is one of the songs we sang, just for you enjoyment.

Such incompetence...

As I mentioned in my last post, I took the ACT on April 10, 2010. What I didn't tell you is that the teacher that acted as the test proctor was extremely incompetent.

Warning: Once again, this will be another ranting post.

First off, the teacher decided to turn on the fan that was in the room. Sure, that was a nice gesture because it may have gotten hot, but she should have at least been considerate as to where she put this fan. She decided to set the fan directly in front of me. Thank you teacher for blowing my papers askew throughout the test. Also, I have pretty sensitive eyes, so as the fan oscillated across my face, I essentially started crying.

Following the first test of crying, I asked her to move the fan. She did so kindly, and we began the next test. All went well for that test and we took a break.

After the break we took the Reading portion of the test. She announces we will have 35 minutes for the test. She writes the end time of the test as 11:13 and none of us think anything of it. There were approximately 17 minutes left in the test and I thought, "Hey! I'm doin' pretty well!" Just as I thought that, the teacher goes up to the board and erases the 1 and changes it to a zero. The time now reads 11:03. She realized she accidentally calculated the time wrong and when we had all paced ourselves for the extra ten minutes, we were all suddenly screwed.

After this test, she instructs us to sign our answer form and write the sentence provided in cursive on the bottom. She then starts collecting our question booklets. It wasn't until a student announced, "Ummm...we haven't taken the science portion yet...," that she even realized we weren't done with the booklets. She passed them back and we began the test. You can imagine that we were then all flustered and I was certainly thrown off for the rest of the test.

As you can see, this teacher was extremely incompetent and could be part of the reason I may potentially get a lower score than I hope for. But only time will tell. I have considered writing it in, but I don't want to have to retake the test unless my score is low. I would rather get a low score and retake it than not know my score and retake it and not know until mid-June what my ACT score is.

All in all, my ACT testing was not a very good experience at all. The incompetent teacher and the overall test were both factors in this. But if I must retake it in the future, so be it. I'll just consider this the practice test!

Will you be incompetent?

The dreaded ACTs

Warning: This will be a ranting post
Saturday, April 10, 2010
This marks the day that I took the most dreaded test of my life. This most dreaded test is also possibly the most important test I will take in my life. It is the test that basically decides what college I get into.

My question is, why does a standardized test control you fate? Why should this test decide my future? Here are three reasons as to why I am opposed.

Reason #1
This test is a timed test. So what, you may be thinking? Sure, timed tests aren't bad, but when you have a ridiculously small amount of time to finish long tests, you're essentially screwed. For example, the science portion of this test. You are given 35 minutes for 40 questions. Not bad if these were normal science questions. But no, these are those questions where you have to read the intro, analyze the graphs, and then answer the questions. But then when you get to the question, you have to go back and forth between the question and the graphs and by that time you're spending approximately one minute per question. The downside to this is that if you need 3 minutes to read and analyze (that's pretty speedy if you're trying to understand the experiment at hand) and then one minute per question, you are going to go over time. There are maybe seven different experiments, so that's 21 minutes, and then 40 questions, so you're going to need 61 minutes to do the exam, not THIRTY FIVE!

Going along with this, you are also given 35 minutes for 40 questions in the reading portion. This is more reasonable because you don't have to read AND analyze, you only need to read. However, you need to be a speedy reader. My discretion to this is that when you have to read quickly there is no way you are going to comprehend. So this test instead goes from a reading comprehension test to a 'let's see who can read the fastest and guess the correct answer' test.

Reason #2
Not everyone do well on standardized tests. Well duh. But what I mean by that is, people who do well in school may just be bad test takers. These people who get a 4.0 GPA shouldn't be punished because they can't pick A, B, C, D, or E...

One thing I do like about standardized testing, however, is that on the math portion, you know if you are right or wrong. They have four potential answers for you to get, and on the computation-like problems, you can easily determine which answer is the correct answer.

Reason #3
Taking this test is expensive. Taking the ACT test + Writing came to $47. For some people, this may not be a big deal, but if you do poorly on the first time, and then take it again, that's another $47...If you don't think $47 is very much, $94 certainly is. Especially for just a TEST. The problem is, you HAVE to take this test. Even if you just want to go to a small community college, the ACT is almost always required.

All in all, taking this test is a stupid method to determine one's future. It isn't fair to the student. Those reasons above give my opinion on the situation so there isn't really a need for a conclusion.

Will you take the ACT?

Things that annoy me...Part 3

And really, there is only one thing in this post that annoys me.
EXCESS COUGHING AND NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT! Right now, my sister my sister is coughing just about every two minutes. I am about ready to kill her. And the worst thing about it is that she isn't even covering her mouth. The ironic (not really ironic, but I don't really have a better term) is that if any of us (meaning my family) would do that, she would be the first one to freak out. She is now claiming that she has been taking medicine, but right now, when her coughing is at its peak, she is doing nothing about it. I told her that cough drops with menthol are the way to go, but she keeps using Luden's which are basically just candy and they are doing nothing. She tells me, "I don't like the way they taste!" But who cares? They work. I'd take the gross taste over the not coughing any day. Just brush your teeth afterward for goodness sake.

That is all that is really annoying me right now, and to be honest, I just needed some more words for my word count.

Are you annoyed?

iPad. Success or Failure?

If you have even glanced at any of the internet hot-spots (Yahoo, Google), you know that the latest thing on the market is the Apple iPad. Apple is known for its top of the line merchandise and the iPad is no exception.

The question is though, is it worth the minimum price of $499? Personally, I think that is a surprisingly low price for the market. However, if you're thinking of it as a computer, you have to add on the price of a USB attachment and a wireless keyboard and that tacks on another $200. At the price of $699, it is no longer a cheap item.

There are quite a few people out there that are speculating there be a release of second generation iPad in the next year and are withholding buying the first generation because there is an anticipated camera addition and that could revolutionize the use of Skype. Simply having the camera right there in your lap would be extremely handy.

But is this "iPad" a failure? I certainly think the name is a failure. They could have probably easily come up with some more clever names than iPad. First of all, it comes with a lot of jokes regarding female sanitary napkins... This new contraption is basically an iPod, so why not name it the iPod Tablet? They have the iPod Classic, the iPod Mini, the iPod Nano, the iPod Touch, you see? It would fit in nicely. As for the whole idea? I don't consider it a failure. I consider it a major success. It will greatly improve the market of iBooks and will help the college population because they will be able to have all their textbooks in one place. This will create huge revenue on Apple's part.

The reason some could consider this new phenomenon a failure is because it really didn't live up to its speculated expectations. There are websites (such as this one) out there that show that the iPad that was originally introduced was to have a camera. Then suddenly it wasn't marketed with one. Also, the fact that it doesn't come with the USB ports is a major downside. I would expect that more people would purchase it then because they could use their own keyboards. As I mentioned, you must then purchase the wireless keyboard from Apple, which would add on an extra $100.

All in all, I want this. But most likely I will be waiting until the 2nd generation comes out. I will for sure be going in to Best Buy to play with the iPad just to experience it, but I won't be purchasing it.

Will you like the iPad?

How To Stop Drinking Pop

As mentioned in my previous post, I have decided to make a tutorial on how to stop drinking pop. There are a couple options that I recommend trying.
#1
Quit cold turkey. I understand that this is probably one of the harder ways to stop drinking pop, but it works. This was the method I used. I had a realization that this was not doing anything good for me and might as well stop. The thing with pop for me was the carbonation. The feeling in my stomach is what I liked. It wasn't until after I stopped drinking that I realized I also liked the caffeine. Be aware that when you stop drinking pop, the first few weeks will be rough because the sudden drop in caffeine could lead to headaches, excess sleepiness, or even restlessness (wow, I feel like I'm listing side effects on a commercial). Though the whole quitting cold turkey thing may be hard, it is very rewarding in the end.

#2
Slowly wean yourself off the pop. When I decided to quit cold turkey, I was at about two bottles of pop a day. In order to slowly wean yourself of, I recommend reducing your soda intake to about 1 every other day. Try that for about two weeks, and then to 1 or 2 every week. Do that for another couple of weeks, and finally, stop drinking pop altogether. In the end, that's about one month and you will have stopped drinking pop. This way is probably the easier of the two, but restraining yourself to just a little pop can be surprisingly difficult.

#3
Substitute pop with juice or water. If you go with juice, make sure you get 100% Juice because the other stuff has loads and loads of sugar that could in turn be worse for you than pop. I have found that when you drink water when you're craving sweets, is surprisingly suppresses your craving.

If you choose to do either of these, I highly recommend doing them with somebody. When I began not drinking pop, my friend JeepersCreepers was by my side. We kind of made a competition out of it. We were going to not drink pop until New Years Eve, and then we would drink it again. Well sure enough, somewhere around November, she began drinking pop again. This in turn made me want to prove that I could still do it, so I kept on with not drinking pop. I even chose not to drink pop on New Year’s (again, except for the fake champagne). The whole competition side of things pushes you to move forward and not give up. Not that you need to have a competition or anything, but a support system is always nice.

In conclusion, if you choose to do neither of the things listed above, I strongly believe you should give up pop, still. The positive side effects of not drinking pop greatly out-weigh the side effects drinking pop.

Will you stop drinking pop?

P.S. One little bonus I found is that when you order water when you go out to eat, you save a surprising amount of money. $0 for water is a lot less money than and average of $2.50 for soda.

Photo from moneyreasons.com

242 days...but who's counting?

On August 5th, 2009, I made probably one of the most important choices I have made in my life. And that was to stop drinking pop. It has since been 242 days of absolutely NO pop, and on top of that, there has been no carbonation (except for the fake champagne on New Years Eve).

What has this decision done for me? Well, in those 242 days, I have lost 20 pounds, gained energy, less of an appetite, and I just feel better overall. Because this has done so much for me, I'm going to make a "How-To" on how to stop drinking pop.

Image from businessweek.com

Windgardium Leviosa

"It's not leviosaaaaa, it's leviosa."

I will admit it. I LOVE Harry Potter. I think it is one of the most original, the most fun set of movies ever created.

They have Harry, who is the classic hero. He is the guy who never really finds love, but he is the one that you can always turn to if you need a friend. He is brave and is the "take charge" guy of the movies.

Next, you have Hermione. Hermione is the nerd. Well, not really. She's more of the smart popular girl. She is one that you can count on, but she is also susceptible to fall in love. In the movies, you see the development of her and Ron's relationship. It is clear that they are in love, but both of them are too afraid to admit it. I am currently watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (part of the Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family) and it is at the part of the Yule Ball and Ron was too late in asking Hermione. You can tell it was just killing him inside to know that she had a date with another man when he could have easily asked her the day before.

Ron is next. He's the shy boy. He's very timid and kind of the jealous type. I see him as the robin in the Batman and Robin series. It's not like he is incapable of playing the lead role, it's just that Harry is there to outshine him. I truly believe this is why Ron is as jealous as he is, because he really could be the main man.

Then you have Neville Longbottom. Oh Neville. He's the comic relief within the movies. He comes in every once and a while to put that sort of awkward, goofy touch.

You also have Moaning Mertle. She finds her way into EVERY movie. She is there as the "clue giver" and helps in resolving some sort of problem in the movies. For example, she was the girl that was murdered by the Basilisk in number 2.

Finally, you have Dumbledore. He is the guy that everyone can go to if they have a problem. He is not judgmental, he doesn't care who you are. He is very trusting. He even trusts Snape, who used to be/still kind of is a death eater. He believes in Harry even in the toughest of times. He takes Harry with him in number 6 to find the Horcruxes. He trusts that Harry will not allow him to be weak in his time of need.

All in all, I love the Harry Potter saga. It is a great read and they are all great movies as well.

Will you love Harry Potter?

Swear Words, Schmear Words

What's the big deal anyway? People say things like F***, $#!t, D***, and @$$ (could also mean donkey) in everyday language. You hear it in the hallway, you may even use it yourself. But why do people (mainly adults) get angry when teens use them?

I have developed a few reasons. First, respect. Some people find that they are very disrespectful and think they are just rude in general. What makes me question this is, people aren't necessarily used in a derogatory way. Most people just use them for emphasis.

The second reason is from an overall "wholesome" outlook on life. Some people think that when you swear you are dumbing down society. They think of swear words as if they are outlaws and if you use them you should be greatly punished. What I don't like about this is that that is their personal choice. It may be what you believe, but not what others believe. I think of it kind of like the whole forcing religion stuff. People get greatly offended when people try to force their religion on others, kind of the same idea. Am I right?

You see, I will admit that I swear. But only around my friends and MAYBE some adults that I feel completely comfortable with. However, I DO NOT swear around my parents. I feel as if it goes along with the respect thing. I wouldn't want them to swear at me, so why would I swear at them?

The one thing I truly don't get, is when students react to teachers swearing. Just this past week, one of my teachers said, "I was such a lazy ass in high school," and everybody started laughing. That must make the teacher feel incredibly uncomfortable and I feel bad for them. I don't comprehend what makes it so funny that the teacher swore. He's human too.

One final addition, I was watching a television show and they talked about how swearing helps you withstand pain. Why, you might ask? Because when you swear, you somehow add to your pain tolerance. The swearing releases something that makes you experience the pain less.

So, what is the big deal? Why do people (mainly adults) make such a big deal?

Will you swear?

Spring Break is HERE!

The problem is, mine is already done. Spring break is supposed to be filled with the enjoyment of sleeping in, the carefree-ness of no homework, the overall week of free time. However, none of this will be taking place in my spring break.

To start off the week, I had tech work for Sweeney Todd. This began in the morning, so that ruled out sleeping in, and then that afternoon, I spent my time doing a take home test that was assigned. Yep, a test over spring break. Then there's today. I woke up early and went to church. Sure, church is important and I hadn't gone in a while so that's fine, but it would've been nice to have my morning open. Then blogging fills the afternoon (that probably could have been prevented, but oh well).

Tomorrow, I start the day of with play practice. Yes, you read that right. Play practice. And not JUST practicing, we also have to have our lines memorized. This wouldn't be such a problem if we had found out BEFORE last week. The play practice only lasts 9-12, but there is also a potential for us to practice from 1-4 as well. And after that, I would need to come home and do laundry and write a research paper for my AP Lang class. Tuesday, we have the same schedule for play practice. I suppose I MAY be able to do something that night, but who knows, I'll probably have to finish my research paper.
This leads to Wednesday. We have a concert choir/show choir/jazz choir practice for 4-5 hours. Then that night I will be packing to go to Chicago the next day. You're probably thinking, "Oh that's fun! Chicago!" But no, we are going for a show choir/concert choir competition. This will be a lot of fun, but it just doesn't have the ring of a vacation. We won't have very much down time so there won't be a lot of relaxing. We'll be concerned about the show and what not. We don't get back from that until Sunday, and that afternoon will be filled with doing AP U.S. History homework.

So as you can see, my spring break has essentially ended. My apologies for ranting, but I felt as if I needed to get that off my chest. I've been pretty irritable lately, and the stuff above is basically why.

Will you enjoy your spring break?

Things aren't always as they seem...

Everyone knows movie/play "The Wizard of Oz" and that all its characters have representation for things throughout the progressive era. But what I just found out was that in the famous kid's television show "Spongebob Squarepants" there are representations as well. Apparently, each character represents one of the 7 deadly sins.
First off, Patrick represents Sloth. Well, duh. Anyone could realize that. Patrick is extremely lazy and never wants to do any work.

Sandy represents Pride. Her love and respect for Texas is how they show that. She is constantly reminiscing about how great Texas was and what not.

Mr. Krabs symbolizes Greed. He is constantly trying to make money and cannot seem to function when he loses money.

Squidward represents Wrath. Squidward NEVER gives Spongebob a break. Everything is Spongebob's fault, he is constantly accusing him of doing wrong.

Gary is supposed to symbolize Gluttony. This was harder to figure out for me, but I can think of two instances where this was shown. One was when he left Spongebob for Patrick, but the reason ends up being because Patrick had a cookie in his back pocket. The other time I can think of is during an episode when Spongebob gives him his food and he ends up eating A LOT of it.

Plankton represents Envy. This is quite obvious. He is constantly searching for the Krabby Patty secret recipe. He is extremely envious of Spongebob and all his success at the Krusty Krab.

And finally, Spongebob symbolizes Lust. This I cannot figure out. The only thing I can think of is his constant need of people. He can't do anything alone and is always searching for someone to be with.

After learning about all this, decided to check if this all made sense and yep, here is someone else suggesting it's true as well. I find this a little bit weird. It just goes to show that not everything is as it seems. But this one just threw me for a loop. They have kids out there watching stuff about the seven deadly sins...crazy. I find it phenomenal that someone could develop a kids show based off something that is not even kid related.

I don't really have a question to conclude this post, but I feel like this entire post should leave you with something to think about.

It's about time!

\Let's face it, people say winning isn't everything, and while that may be true, winning is certainly something. My show choir this year has had a less than impressive track record. It is definitely not a bad thing to place 3rd in a competition, heck, for a lot of groups, making finals is considered an accomplishment. However, the show choir I am a part of strives to do their very best, and a lot of people consider our 'very best' as winning. This in turn creates a big let down to members in the group. This isn't the way it should be, but it is. Our director always lets us know that he doesn't care about what place we get, and he probably stresses that more than he needs too, but the point of it all is that we shouldn't think we are a bad group simply because our track record doesn't show it.

One factor in our low rankings would be the competitions we go to. The competitions we enter are the ones that have some of the top groups in the state/country in attendance. The reason we attend these competitions is because we like to broaden our viewpoint of the show choirs that are out there, and we also don't like to let ourselves off easy. There are some other show choirs out there that don't necessarily only care about the track records, but it plays a pretty significant role in where they choose to go. There is one particular school I can think of that did pretty well this year and that was mainly because they went to competitions that had maybe one other school that I've heard of and the rest being small town high schools that had never even crossed my mind as having a show choir.

So this weekend, it was about time. We finally got our first win of the season. Unfortunately, this win will be the only win we get. That's not pessimism because our next competition has undefeated groups from across the nation and one of them has already kicked our butt this year.

What I am trying to get at with this post is that though we may not have the track record to show how hard we have worked, we can still remain strong because we all know in our hearts that we are as deserving through our hard work as all the other groups out there. I would like to thank my show choir for understanding that though we may not win all the time, or though our rank may make people think we are the "end to a dynasty," that were are still awesome and we have proved that we can still have fun and do a show that entertains the audience. So thank you all.

Will you be able to find the silver lining?

New Term, New Blog, New Life

The Spring trimester has just begun, and I anticipate it to be a lengthy one. Everybody always talks about how school goes by so fast, and once you're done, you look back thinking that it took no time at all. Well, that's only when you look back on things. As you live them, they seem to be drawn out and become monotonous. For me, I have the exact same schedule for all three trimesters. I wake my butt up every morning around 6 a.m. and go through the same morning routine. Then I head to school at about 6:42 (random, I know) and hope for a good parking spot. Then, I go to every class, 0-7th, just the same as I always have. This term will be no different (except for the chance that my 6th hour choir class will be canceled every so often).

What will be different, however, will be my blog. I have decided to forgo the font color changing thing. It became extremely difficult to come up with something and have to use that word several times throughout one post. One topic can have many subtopics, so why focus on one?

What also will be changing is my work ethic within my blog. What does this entail, you might ask? I will be trying to post my blogs during the middle of the week. Not waiting until the last minute. I understand that everybody says they will do that and nobody actually does, but with the addition of my new computer, which is the brown one that can be seen here, I hope do achieve this goal.

As for the so-called, "New Life," I hope to change a lot of my life-style choices. For example, I hope to stop eating as much fast food, run during my "6th period free days," and overall just create a healthier lifestyle. Any of you that read this, it would be great if you could help me in achieving these goals. Don't let me slack off, encourage me to make healthier choices.

All in all, I hope to make this next trimester a good one and keep myself on task and focused.

Will you make this trimester a good one?

March for Babies

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P.S. make sure to scroll down at the end of the video.

It annoys me when...(Part 2)

Well, this will now be part two of things that annoy me. I understand that the title of my page is 'The Eternal Optimist," but everyone is entitled to their annoyances and/or pet peeves.

It annoys me when...

...People say they will do something, then don't. Come on people, just be responsible!

...Girls say they are fat when they are incredibly skinny. They just need to realize that they are incredibly skinny and learn that ONE potato chip isn't going to add 30 pounds.

...People try to push their opinions onto you...kind of speaks for itself.

...I think that I can do more than I actually can. AKA when I say can do this and this and this and this and this and this...etc. You get what I'm saying.

...People refuse to hear the other side of something. AKA people that are close-minded and think that whatever they say is correct and nothing is going to change that.

...Somebody yells "SHHHHH!" and then turns around and starts talking. I understand that that is a hypocrite but that is a specific time it annoys me.

...Someone doesn't think of the consequences before they act. I know that I can be guilty of this, but when someone does something stupid and the act affects a large group of people. People in our prep show choir two years ago know what I'm talking about.

...People don't respond to a question that is asked. Many times have I seen or asked someone myself when once the question as been asked, silence. No responce, nada, zilch. Sometimes they are just spaced out, but when they're not, why don't they respond? That sounds like I'm just being ignored, but what about when it happens to other people? I don't know. It just annoys me.

...People argue about politics when they really have no idea what they are talking about. If you don't know anything about the subject, why are they defending it? A person that I will call "Clippy" is a person that does this, and it is extremely annoying. Clippy also pushes her beliefs on people. But one particular incident was when I wore a political t-shirt during the election just to show where I was giving my support. I didn't wear it to spark a debate or anything, just to show where my thoughts lie. Well, I walk into class and Clippy looks at me and says, "You're wearing that as a joke right?" And I responded, "No?" And Clippy FLIPPED. I mean, Clippy just let it all on me, and everything she said had no base, no nothing of relevance. It was basically saying that I should agree with her because she is always right. Bull shit. I'm not going to conform because one person wants me too. Which leads me onto my next point.

...People who jump off a bridge because everybody elso was doing it. I will admit that I have done that before, but those that do it in EVERY situation are the annoying ones. They say, "Oh, everybody else has an iPod, so I need one too!"

That concludes my list of annoyances. I'm pretty sure I am done with this topic, but I felt as if I needed to get a few more things off my chest. So, thanks for reading!

Will you be annoyed?

"(Picks card up) Abra Cadabra!"

-Jeepers CreepersIf you have never played Quelf, you are missing out. Quelf is perhaps the most fun, most random, most pointless, most entertaining game on this planet.

When you play Quelf, you have to go into knowing that it is completely random, and that while playing the game, there is no strategic method for winning (sorry, Daily Donut). Some examples of what goes on during the game would be: getting to move ahead one space for every group of three things you get into your clothing, saying "Abra Cadabra!" evertime someone draws a card, wearing lipstick, being a personal cheerleader for an opponent, or (my least favorite) using fake sign language while you talk when it isn't your turn.

You see, in Quelf, you have the red, blue, green, purple and yellow cards. The blue cards are dreaded. These are the "Roolz" cards. You have global roolz, action roolz, or one other that is escaping me at the moment. Well, the action roolz are for whoever drew the card. Most of these cards have some sort of outrageous rule that you have to follow for the rest of the game unless you get a card that says you may discard all your roolz. The global roolz card affects all the players of the game and if you do not follow the rule, you must pay the penalty (usually just moving back a few spaces).

Eventually, through many laughs and hysterical events, you will make your way around the game board and (hopefully) win the game of Quelf.

As you can see, if you have not played Quelf, you should definitely find someone who has it and play it. It is sure to keep you entertained for hours. Just make sure that you have an open mind and don't be the party pooper (Daily Donut).

Will you enjoy Quelf?

So no one told you life was gonna be this way...

Junior year. Unless you're an underclassman, you've been there. You know how hard it is. But why does this one year seem to have the most stress, the most work, the most everything? Well, I haven't quite come to the conclusion. Things that add up to this one horrible year would be stuff like, the ACTs/SATs, multiple AP classes, begin college searching, not seniors yet (duh!), etc.


I stated that juniors are not quite seniors. Well duh, it says it in the name. But what I am getting at is that when you are a junior, you have already experienced two years of high school, you feel as if you should be on top, and to add to all that, being a junior means you still have one more year to go.

Some juniors might not agree with the following statement, but for me, I just want to get out of here. I am ready for college (I think). I mean, I have my doubts, but who doesn't? I am ready for that gigantic leap into the real world, to go where you haven't before, to leave home. Last year, most of my friends were upperclassmen and so when they graduated, it made me feel as if I should have graduated too.

Well, the same thing is bound to happen again. Granted, I do have more friends in my class, I just feel like it's my senior year right now. There were only two sophomores that made our varsity show choir last year (me being one of them) and I'm sure the other one (No Big Deal) has a similar feeling that we've already been in the top show choir for one year and the second is generally the last. But for No Big Deal and I, there is still another year.

So, even though junior is supposedly the worst year, I just have a huge feeling that next year as a senior will be worse. The senioritis will kick in, the college applications will start, the days will drag on and on. So...

Will you let junior year get to you?

iPad??

I don't know if you've heard yet, but Apple is going to be releasing the new "iPad." This iPad is most likely going to be a huge hit on the market. This latest innovation mixes the idea of an iPod Touch and a tablet computer. The iPad will be equipped with a 9.7" multi-touch LED screen. It is bluetooth enabled and will also be available for wifi and/or 3G coverage.

The enhancement of bluetooth will allow you to be able to use the Apple Wireless keyboard and basically have a computer at your fingertips. The major problem to me is that it wont be able to fully act as a computer. I think that Apple could make major bucks if they make their highly noted Macbook Pro into a touch screen interface. I truly think that that could make some serious money.

Even though the Apple merchandise is highly sophisticated in its technology, is it worth the money? Why do such things cost so much? If they would just bring down the prices, they would add in the number of sales made and then would create a larger profit than what is coming in now. That would be my marketing technique at least.

And for a final note, I'm going to put in my two-cents on the whole Mac versus PC debate. Personally, I am a Mac fan. Unfortunately, my family is not. So I kind of stand alone. One main thing I like about Mac's are that you don't have to purchase the extra things such as Norton Anti-Virus because Mac's don't get viruses. This extra cost of Anti-Virus software can be brutal. Also, the pure sophistication of the Macbooks are enticing on their own.

Whether or not you are a Mac fan or a PC fan, you have to admit that the new iPad sounds like a cool idea. And if I were Apple, I would make a touchscreen Macbook Pro and call it the Macbook Touch.

Will you be a Mac fan?

P.S. I'm not coloring a certain word in this one because their isn't on set idea to color.

Here We Go...

I honestly don't remember if I informed all of you that I am on the Thespian State Board. Well, I am. I tried out for it at Thespian Conference (the place where we did The Laramie Project) and it entailed developing a potential theme for the next thespian conference and then presenting it as well as information about you. Tomorrow is the first meeting of what I am guessing to be many. It is taking place up at UNI because we are making the switch from Davenport North High School.

I am excited for this meeting, but at the same time, I am kind of stressed about missing school. I truly do not like missing school. When you miss school, you have to deal with getting caught up and getting all your make-up work. Also, I kind of forgot that I would be missing school tomorrow so I forgot to tell all my teachers I would be gone, therefore I will have extra work to do Tuesday night. I am not excited whatsoever. Also, when you miss school, you miss out on learning firsthand what is being taught that day. I don't know about you, but I prefer to learn with the rest of the class. Not with the teacher while the class is working on something else.

Tomorrow is going to be exciting. We're starting a new location, we're learning what it means to be a state board member, we're missing school.

Will you miss school?

P.S. Sorry that post SUCKED :(

Chronic Sneezing: A Self-Diagnosed Problem

Anyone who knows me, or has even just been in a class with me, knows that I sneeze constantly. Not only constantly, but almost always in threes. The bizarre thing is, if I happen to only sneeze twice, soon after that I would make up for it and sneeze once more.

Now you see, as far as I know, I am not sneezing for allergy purposes, I am sneezing just to sneeze. I am completely and utterly stumped. I have considered seeing my doctor, but then again, it's a little quirk I have you know? Nobody else sneezes like I do. When I was in elementary school, we were doing a song about a kid with a cold and I was the one getting to sneeze throughout the song.

Why do I not just hold it in you might ask? It HURTS! I'm telling you. It hurts like a (insert profanity here). There have been many times where I feel it a necessity to hold my sneezes in. For example, backstage at a show, in the audience of a show, onstage at a show, church, well you get the idea. There was one time I was standing onstage and I had to just stand there while I waited for my cue line. I felt a sneeze coming on and I knew if I sneezed outloud, all hell would break loose. So I decided to hold it in. I swear, I have never felt a pain like that in my life. It's like a horrible burning sensation in your nasal cavity. Kind of as if you sneeze a chili pepper up into your nasal passage (I have witnessed this before). It does NOT feel good.

I seem to do this a lot, but on a side note, if you were watching the Grammy's, OH MY GODD!!! Pink was SOOOOO good.

In conclusion, I am most likely never going to stop sneezing, simply because I like to. And if you ever ask me why I don't just hold it in or why I don't make it quieter. Well, I can't help it!

Will you be a sneezer?

Excuse me? I'd like to know a little sooner next time...

Does someone ever volunteer you to do something without your permission? If so, you know that most times you think to yourself that you probably would have done it anyway, but it'd be nice to volunteer yourself.

Well, yesterday, my mom comes home from a church meeting and says, "Hey, I told the pastor that you can sing at church tomorrow." WHAAAT?? Sure, I'm always up for singing at church but seriously. I have to learn a new song the day before?

This leads into the whole National Honors Society problem. We have to complete six service hours and so far I have zip, zero, nada, zilch. First off, my sister informed me that when she got inducted into NHS, she didn't even have to have service hours. So why do we now? How do service hours fit into National HONOR Society. Isn't it a society for those that do well in school? Those that try their hardest in all they do? Well apparently it's also a lets get some more work out of them society. I want to disclose that I am NOT bashing on NHS, I just think that 6 hours of volunteer hours are too much. For SNHS (Science National Honor Society), only one service project is needed and one learning opportunity. This seems more feasible to me. Also, for SNHS, I mentioned a learning opportunity. Doesn't that sound like it could be involved in NHS? I think so.

Now by no means am I knocking volunteer work. You should ALWAYS do anything you can to help those in need. Whether it be sending them money, working in a soup kitchen, or even just sending someone a Get Well Soon card. Anything to make someone's life better.

Will you be a volunteer?

What to do, what to do...

It is now time for us to sign up for classes next year. Really? This early?

First off, we have this new registration system. I think it's a pretty cool system. We are going to be able to go online and register, which is extremely different from what we've done in the past. In the past, we circled our classes on a sheet and let the counselors take care of it.

Here's the dilemma. What classes do I sign up for? Should I register an easy schedule and just slack off? Or should I rack up my schedule with hard courses and make my senior year suck? Registration poses all this stress of having to choose what I want to do next year and not even being done with this year yet.

The biggest problem is that I can't imagine making this year easy. It's just not possible. It is programmed in my blood to take hard classes, to take everything I possible can, so unfortunately, I will probably end up taking hard classes. Deep down, I truly wish I could slack off.

Personally, I want to have a good resume for the college application. I am afraid that if I take easy classes, they may deny me the opportunity to get into their college simply because I didn't push myself. But then again, what if I register for hard classes and do poorly in them? Will they think, "Wow, this kid couldn't take the difficulty...should we really let him in?" This is all weighing in my head right now. I'm really hoping that they see that I took the challenge and if I do poorly they would give me the benefit of the doubt and just say what the heck.

To add to this problem, I can't just take the required classes and be able to get out of school with a release a period early. No, I am involved in choir and that takes up three periods in my day (one of which being after school). So like the past two years, I am going to have to take an early bird class, as well as my after school choir class. Which leaves me with having a full schedule once again.

Here's what I'm thinking. I will take a difficult Spanish, Math, and Social Studies. That will wrap it up for the hard classes. Then I will "slack off" with the Language Arts and Science. Though this will still be a difficult year, might as well leave those two easier classes in there to lighten up my day.

Will you register for the hard classes?

Avatar is STILL selling out?

If you haven't seen Avatar yet, you must not live on this planet. Most people would assume I am going to discuss the underlying meanings in that movie, but no. I am here to discuss my hate towards line-jumpers.

Most of you have seen that commercial (if not, you can find it here) for Ci-Ci's pizza "line-jumpers" and how it doesn't really matter in a buffet, but at movies, they are strongly disliked. For example...

A few of my friends and I arrived at the Galaxy 16 Cine in hopes to see Avatar 3D. I had already seen it in normal format and I decided it would be well worth it to see it in 3D. We arrived 15 minutes before the showtime thinking, "Oh, it's been out for a over a month now, it should be easy to get into." Well, we were wrong. First off, the credit card system was down and so we couldn't just avoid the lines, we had to wait.

My friends arrived later than I did, so I was just going to pay for them and they were going to pay me for them later. A bunch of little middle school-ers had apparently had one person stand in line for them because suddenly 5 more people line-jumped and stood with him. Not only that, but apparently they were going to see Avatar 3D as well.

They all got their tickets and then the last kid walks up and says, "I'd like three tickets to Avatar 3D," and he receives his tickets. It was then my turn to get the tickets. I walk up and say, "I would also like three tickets to Avatar 3D, please." The lady says, "I'm sorry, but he just bought the last three." You can imagine my anger when she says this. They had ALL just line-jumped me, and for what? For me not to be able to see my movie.

So if you are a line-jumper, let it be known that it is ONLY okay to line-jump at the buffet. NOT MOVIES!

Will you be a line-jumper?

Why do I even bother?

Lately, one of my teachers has been on the rampage. S/he gave us a new seating chart because we had been getting off-task to easily. Then s/he decided you could only do extra credit if s/he says you can. What I mean by that is you have to talk with him/her and s/he has to decide if you are "eligible." On top of this, s/he decided that he will give out more pop quizzes to see if you've actually been reading, and s/he is giving less lectures and more time for us to read in our text books. Why do I even bother?

What frustrates me the most about this is that it is only a few people in the class that are making our lives hell. Because these people can't stay on task, our teacher is taking it out on us. Why do I even bother?

If it's not me taking this class off task, if it's not me that has lowered my work ethic, if it's not me being annoying, why is it being taken out on me? I believe that most of the class would agree with me on this one. Why are we feeling the grudge of our teacher if it's not us? Why do I even bother?

I truly didn't intend for a rant, but that's kind of how it turned out. What I'm trying to say is, why is it that if a few people screw up, why should the entire class be punished? Why do I even bother?

This idea is similar to many situations. One of my friends from Monticello made his way to a state meet for track and he happened to be in a relay. In relays, you have to rely on your teammates to do their best and do your best as well. He was/is a very good runner and would have most likely been able to go on to the Drake Relays. But two of his teammates got caught stealing and therefore could not run int he meet. He had to suffer because of his own teammates idiotic choice. Why does he even bother?

Also, a few years ago, through a series of unfortunate events, our prep show choir had to deal with not having 2 of our members. We had to rearrange EVERYTHING, all because they messed up. THEY made a mistake, and WE had to pay. So, why do I even bother?

Why DO I even bother? Because I care. I care that my grade will fall. I care that if I maybe do even just a little bit better, our teacher may change. I care that our show will do better if I do bother.

Will you bother?

A Weekend of Surprises

My creative juices are just not flowing this week. I have so far done two analyses, one of a movie and one of Friends. I am now going to do a recap of my feelings on this past show choir competition. Wow. Pretty original.

Saturday marked the second of six (including our own) competitions. Supernova is a competition that our show choir traditionally doesn't do too great at. However, the past two years we had gotten second place, which is a miracle for how we could have done.

The day started with our freshman group performing. Then our prep group. Then our varsity. Next came the awards and the finals announcements.

Now, during the during the day rounds at Supernova, there were two truly fantastic prep groups that I watched. Our prep group really had their work cut out for them. There especially was one AMAZING soloist in the one of the other show choirs that I thought was a shoo-in for the Best Female Soloist award. I mean, I had chills throughout the entire solo. At awards, I was proven wrong, a girl from our prep choir (who without a doubt does fantastic at her solo, I just thought the judges would like the other better) won.

After the announcement finalists at Supernova, we found out were were in and tied for fourth place. This was kind of a downer to be tied for such a low place. But then, during finals, while watching two that were ahead of us, it was clear they should have been ahead of us. After our finals performance, everybody thought we had done fantastic, which was mentioned in another post as what truly only matters. Well, I happened to feel not so great about the performance. This has always worked out for the better on my math tests, I ALWAYS feel bad about them and end up getting A's. So I took this to be a good thing that I felt bad about this performance.

We get tot he awards and it is announced that we got third place!! You see, in points, we were in fifth, but in rankings, we tied for 4th. this may be hard to understand unless you see the score sheet. But that means we jumped up 2 places and one of the other groups dropped two! We were all ECSTATIC! My thoughts were correct, because I felt pretty bad about it, we did surprisingly well. The Grand Champion clearly deserved it. They completely swept. Best Vocals and Best Choreography went to them. Supernova is wrapping up to be a great competition for us. I LOVE show choir.

Will you love show choir?

Just as a post-script. I have decided that show choir rankings do not matter whatsoever. We have a great show and just about everybody knows that, even if the results don't show it. We captivate audiences with every show. As our critique judge said at Supernova we are performers, and it shows in our audience's reaction. Even though it doesn't matter, here is a link to the National Show Choir Ranking system.

BE ITALIAN!

For those of you who have not seen Nine yet. Don't. It's not worth it. The music in it was certainly FANTASTIC. But the entire thing was downright boring.

This may sound as if I didn't like the movie, but I did LOVE it! I was bored throughout, it felt like it was going on and on and on and on and on and.... well you get the picture. The opening to Nine was great, Penelope Cruz's number was good, Kate Hudson's number was great, Fergie's number was AMAZING! But those were about the only things that the movie had going for it. Sure, the acting was good as well. But seriously, the writing for the movie just made it drag on and on and on and on and on and on... again, you get the picture.

Nine had a lot of sexual content that was all tastefully done withing the content of which it was presented. Penelope Cruz, for example, had a song all about her being the "other woman" and how she couldn't stand being away from Guido Cantini (Daniel Day-Lewis). She was in a sexy lingerie, but it was all in the context of the music.

Fergie's song, "Be Italian" was my FAVORITE song, by far. It combined a lot of dancing and belting and an overall "chorus line-y" feel. The ending is the best part, when Fergie just belt after belt and it is all done phenomenally.

Just for a random interlude, I am watching the Golden Globes and man is Meryl Streep getting old.

Okay, back to Nine. Who knew Kate Hudson could sing!? She did an awesome job. And just for how small of a world things are, I found out that my voice teacher TAUGHT Kate Hudson in voice lessons! No way right?? Well, WAY! I was texting him and he said that both him and his wife taught her in the 90's and that she had a beautiful voice. I was awestruck by this/I still am. But seriously, I am only on degree removed from knowing Kate Hudson.

Anyway, if you really wanna capture the essence of Nine, just go to YouTube and find all the recordings of the songs.

Will you become bored by Nine?

This is the end of the song with the belting :)

How well do you know your Friends?

Yes, this is yet another blog post about the T.V. show Friends. I am currently watching "The One with the Embryos." This episode is where a competition rises between the boys and the girls about who knows who best. The guys team includes Chandler and Joey, and the girls Monica and Rachel. Ross is made the game leader (Phoebe is busy getting in vitro fertilization).

The bet starts out with whoever the winner is gets $100. It then escalates to the girls betting their apartments and the guys getting rid of their chicken (actually a rooster). Through a heated lightening round and the girls not being able to answer the question "What is Chandler's job?" The guys win and the girls are forced to give up their apartment and accept Joey and Chandler's much smaller so-called "Hell-Hole."

It got me questioning how well I actually know the people in Friends as well. I have a quiz book called "The One with the Trivia" and I'm pretty sure I have over half the book answered, all of which have been checked and are correct. Personally, I consider this an accomplishments. Unfortunately, to others they say I'm "obsessed." I do think it is a bit sad when I know off the top of my head that Chandler Bing's job is statistical analysis and data reconfiguration. But an obsession? No.

Obsessed can best be defined here. That definition obviously says I'm not obsessed. Friends does not "haunt persistently" or "dominate my thoughts." My friend Smooth Like Shea Butter is an addict like me (though she owns ALL ten seasons) and is commonly mistaken as being obsessed. We just know our Friends REALLY well!

Do you know your Friends?

Rah-Rah-ah-ah-ah Roma-roma-ma GaGa Ooh la la Want your bad romance

Thank you SO much Lady Gaga for having Bad Romance stuck in my head for the past week. I mean literally, I can not stop singing it. I will give you credit that it is a fantastic song and you are a fantastic artist, but my gosh, I can't stop singing Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah Roma-roma-ma GaGa Ooh lala Want your bad romance.

People criticize Lady Gaga for all of her crazy ways and her unique performances, but you have to give her credit, her music is soooooo good. Her hits include: Just Dance, Bad Romance, and Love Game, to name a few. Her MTV VMA's performance of Paparazzi caught the attention of many people. Her end picture was of her hanging with fake blood EVERYWHERE (including her eye). Some people may have been disgusted but I thought it was one of the best performances of my life. The main reason I think it was, was because she actually sang AND performed, most singers just lip sing. I just really like that she is genuine about the entire thing.

As mentioned before, I cannot stop listening to Bad Romance, so here is her music video for you to watch/listen to.

I know that it is a pretty whacked out video, but you have to admit that she is REALLY good. Her video truly shows her individuality and her just wanting to be her. Sure, her outfits and out there, but like I said, Lady GaGa is her own person.

Even if you are someone who doesn't like Lady GaGa, at least realize that she is a fantastic singer and is a true performer.

Will you be an individual?

What did you say?

I would like to add this to my list of things that annoy me.

People who mumble.

First off, here are some tips to stop mumbling.

My sister is one of those people, and not only does she mumble, but if I say, "What did you say?" She will respond with anger. And I'm thinkin, What did I do to make you yell at me? You mumbled in the first place! I just frustrates me a lot.

There are also some teachers that do this very thing and it really does not help when you have loud, obnoxious students that talk the entire class and you truly have no idea what the teacher just said. These mumbling teachers are frustrating because a lot of times they don't understand why you have questions because they are thoroughly explaining the idea.

What is especially annoying about the mumblers is that on the phone, you really cannot hear what they are saying. Especially when they are in a car or outside, and then (my sister) they get angry when you say, "WHAT??"

To conclude, if you are a mumbler, you should seriously try to stop. Those of us "Loud-Speakers" are getting annoyed.

Will you be a mumbler?

Boredom is Self Inflicted

To self inflict pain is completely idiotic. To self inflict anything is completely idiotic. All of this you have self control of. Why would you make yourself do something that is completely unnecessary? Why would you want to be bored? But do you realize, you are bored because you made yourself that way?

You always have something to do, no matter if it wastes time. If you are bored, you can resolve that by texting, playing a game, getting on the internet, watching tv, doing homework, hanging out with friends, doing a puzzle, eating (though it's not recommended, it can lead to repercussions), and the list goes on. You constantly see people's tweets/Facebook statuses that say "I'm bored, t/c," (t/c = text/call). Well if you want people to text or call, why don't you just initiate it?

My brother-in-law once told me, "You are never bored, you are just a boring person," or something like that. So think about that next time you tweet/update your status, you are just announcing to the world you are a boring person. That doesn't sound that great does it? I will admit that I have said that I was bored numerous times, but I am trying to change that. It kind of hit me that I don't want to be considered a boring person. I like to think I'm a pretty entertaining person, why tarnish that by calling myself a boring person?

All in all, if you ever state that you are bored, just remember that someone out there could be thinking, wow, I don't want to hang out with a boring person...

Will you be bored?

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