Monday, July 6, 2009

This Past Week

This past week was actually really nice. I read The Importance of Being Earnest, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, The Dain Curse, and The Glass Key. The Maltese Falcon is now one of my favorite books (definitely top ten) and The Importance of Being Earnest was really entertaining. Both come highly recommended from myself. The Great Gatsby was actually interesting, especially to see Fitzgerald's interpretation on the jazz age.
I was really productive. Plus I worked a lot. I worked a couple shifts with this girl named Katie and she's nice but we didn't really talk. About anything. Which is horrible because I'm a gauche person and at times the silence was kind of awkward...Everything we said to each other had something to do with the weather. Any time I talked with her, she would say how it's cloudy, windy, sunny, etc. Whenever we had these mini conversations about the weather, I sat there thinking about Gwendolyn Fairfax from The Importance of Being Earnest. Someone mentions the weather to her and she remarks, "I do not like it when people talk about the weather. It always seems as if they have something else to say." It just made me laugh in a weird, nerdy way.
I should probably get started on my summer reading for AP Lang instead of Dashiell Hammett detective novels. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

My Fourth of July

Yesterday I...
-worked for ten hours
-finished The Dain Curse and then started The Glass Key
-swam in a freezing pool
-came home, everyone else was across the street
-made a phone call; person wasn't there, went across the street
-ate a cold hamburger with onions, mustard, and cheese
-came home
-played Sims 3
-watched fireworks for a few minutes; went back to playing Sims 3
-went to bed

It was very exciting.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Trek


The trek is over. I think this is the best part about it.

I was supposed to go on trek to gain a greater appreciation for my ancestors and the difficulties they went through just so they could live and practice their religion freely. Did I walk away with a greater appreciation? Not exactly. I mean, don't get me wrong, but I think that my ancestors didn't know what they were missing out on. For example, internet, bug spray, cars, planes, and other luxuries of the 21st century that I have. They had nothing with which to compare their experience. (That was a hard sentence to not dangle my participle.) I knew what they were missing out on, they didn't. It was their life. Was I grateful that they were willing to sacrifice the comforts of their homes, leave steady employment, and all civilization to do something that was asked of them and that meant a lot to them? Yes. I think this trek really made me more grateful for the everyday luxuries I have at home. The little things I take for granted.

My family (the group of people I was stuck with for three days) was pretty bad...I met some new people but the guys in my family were male chauvinists. It got annoying. I didn't get any scratches or bug bites which was pretty exciting. Other than pulling a handcart and getting a sore back, it was pretty uneventful and I came away unscathed.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

1950's

Not only was it a great decade that produced wonderful films noir, it has some great names. ON You Can't Call It "It", the author listed several names, boys and girls, that were popular in the 1950's. Here are my favorites, because you guys really want to know.

Alfred
Beverly
Bruce
Constance
Clarence
Clyde
Dorothy
Edith
Frederick
Gordon
Irene
Jaqueline
Kent
Lawrence
Leon
Lois
Loretta
Marion
Paul
Vivien
Walter

Thursday, June 25, 2009

[Pioneer] Trekking

I'm leaving this century. For real and temporarily of course. Oddly enough, I'm somewhat excited. It should be very interesting pulling a handcart, wearing stifling pioneer clothes, and being on food rations.

And for the record, I don't really appreciate it when I tell/told people about this trek and they laugh or they scoff at the idea.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

I Blame Samantha

I blame Samantha.

Yesterday, I visited her awesome blog and watched Hank Green's newest song about Father's Day. I liked it so I thought to myself, "Hmm. Maybe I'll go see some other Hank Green/John Green videos." So I went to Youtube and went to the Vlog Brothers page.
I spent the next three hours watching videos made by the Green brothers. They were full of awesome, nerdfighting, and the evil baby orphanage. They were also full of John Green's rather colorful interpretations on world (political) events.

So thank you, Samantha. I got a rather severe headache from staring at the screen for too long and I am now addicted to their videos. Maybe not addicted, but they are highly entertaining.

Friday, June 19, 2009

The End

The school year has ended. I've been anticipating summer but since yesterday when school ended, I don't want it to end. I like the orderly schedule of school and seeing the people there every day. Weird as it is, I like the work and the dedication school gives me.
So, yes, I don't want the school year to be over.

What will I miss?
AP Euro and absolutely everything, except the terms, about it.
Seeing Saniya every day.
Herr Baldwin('s rants about who knows what).
Ms. Parker getting really excited about mitosis, carrying capacity, and cell structures.
Quiz bowl every Tuesday and Thursday.
Seeing Peter!

So this summer I'm tutoring, life guarding, reading until my eyes hurt, camping, Cedar Point?, and studying for quiz bowl. I'm also using a passport.
We'll see how it goes.