Another catch-up session!

I haven't been on the computer for a while, so I'm sorry for the blogging hiatus. Not that anyone really reads my blog....Anyway: Christmas. It came and went faster than I might have liked, but while it lasted, it was wonderful. The gifts..hardly the best part. There was a lot of beautiful family time. Some of these people I only see once a year. Christmas Eve was quite spectacular. My aunt and uncle's house is beautiful, and so many members of my family were there and it was just so nice to be together amid the sparkling christmas lights. My cousins and I aren't extremely close but we get a long well. I have very few cousins that are around my age. Three of my cousins, Rachel, Abby and Adam are all in/out of college. Adam is amazing. He plays bassoon and he is at the Manhattan school of music. He's so good it's ridiculous. One of my other cousins, Olivia, is defenitely what you would call a free spirit. She has black hair, glasses and I think her lip is pierced...she's enrolled at city college and she's majoring in art. She draws so well. I love her drawings.

Okay, back to christmas eve. in case you haven't figured it out, this is going to be a LONG post. So get cozy! Christmas morning was exciting as it always is. And I've always known that its not the presents that make the morning special. It's all the little things that culminate to produce this beautiful, cozy, serene mood, full of tradition. However, christmas morning is when, not to be a mood-crusher, you realize that the christmas holiday is over for the most part. it's a bittersweet realization because i know for me, christmas came out from nowhere, and I didn't really have time to sit back and fully absorb that christmas was on it's way. There was so much to do and so much to see and so many presents to wrap. Don't get me wrong, I was defenitely able to sit cozily on the couch, listening to carols and thinking of the true christmas night, thousands of years ago. But it seems as if that all went by so fast as well. It's ok though because as I said, the moments we had were beautiful. Oh! I forgot to enlighten you all on my midnight mass experience. Not that it was anything spectacular. But it was defenitely beautiful and full of spirit. The church always seems to have this sweet calmness at night. And this is heightened, of course, by the occasion. The altar was covered in white and red poinsettas and candles were lit all over. There were actually quite a few people there, a change from the meager crowd we usually get. I saw a lot of people I know. Which is nice because our congregation is so large that you often see a new crowd of people at the church every week. The carols were beautiful, although the voices of our ancient choir...not so much. The sermon was very nice and peaceful. I kept dozing off, so I made it look like I was praying...so goes midnight mass.

I refuse to accept the fact that break is almost over, So I'm going to put my energy into New Years..at least send the break out with a bang. Although, I have to admit, my new years plans aren't all that glamorous. They consist of, well, staying at home and watching the ball drop. But that's really what I love most. After all, there's no better way to ring in the new year than with your family.

Ahh my latest fascination/love: the Jonas brothers. They're not amazing musicians, their song aren't particularly meaningful, butttt, they're extremely cute and they're very relatable. I love them so much. Nick is amazing. That's just all there is to it. He's by far the cutest, he's 15, he plays guitar, drums AND piano. He has an adorable voice and an even more adorabe laugh and well, he's amazing. Kevin is my sister's pick. I'm really not sure why. He's not that cute but he is pretty good at guitar. And then theres Joe. the crazy insane, ridiculous, mexican looking one. Man, hes just insane! But hes pretty cute. and they're all really funny. If you go on youtube and type in the jonas brothers, you'll see what I mean. I really want to meet them!
Ok, in other superficial news, I hate Zac Efron. Wooh! What a dumb butt. He acts like such a jerk and hes so annoying. Ok! that's all on him.


Onto my next topic, which is actually interesting. As a belated birthday gift for my sister, her, me, my mom, my grandma and my aunt all went into the city to see the Nutcracker. It was amazing. It really was. It was the NYC company's version of it, and it was so beautiful. Lincoln center is just amazing. I love everything about it. The ballet theater is gorgeous. There is this huge ball hanging from the ceiling, covered in giant crystals. It's stunning. And the ballet was such an amazing thing to watch. They're all so talented. I know you're all familiar with the ballet, so I'll spare you the details. But the talent of these young dancers is really spectacular. And by young I mean 6-10 years old. Marie and Fritz and all the other young party children are all young children that study at the American school of ballet, and it's so inspiring to see them dance. It's funny because as I was watching these various dances, I couldn't help comparing them to our performance of the nutcracker. And I found that some of the dances are done better by dancer's studio. There's no photography of any kind allowed in the theater, but that didn't stop my sister. She took about 30 pictures by covering all the lights on the camera so she was as inconspicuous as possible. She even took a movie of the entire pas. So now we have memories! I love the city and I want to go back A.S.A.P.


I've been feeling a little melancholy lately because Christmas is over. But that feeling is by far overshadowed by the memories that were gained. Also, every once in a while, the thought of midterms comes into my mind. But i try not to let that consume my thoughts. I've also been feeling kind of lazy lately. I've been sitting around, I haven't really been reading or writing or drawing or any of the things I normally do. I haven't practiced in so long. And I keep trying to convince myself that during the winter, especially over break, things slow down and its a time to sit back and do nothing. But I'm hardly satisfied with that explination and I still feel guilty about sitting around and doing nothing. It's funny because I need to be active, but I don't have the motivation to initiate that activity myself. That's why I can't wait until drama starts. Because then I can become completely immersed in something. Right now I have no outlet for my energy and its annoying me. I'm becoming lazier by the day and it's bugging me. Next year I'm defenitely getting into a sport. It's been too long since I played sports...

Other tidbits of news...my sister is probably getting to get a car over the summer so I don't have to take the bus next year, we're gonna go to mexico soon! hopefully. as in this summer or the next one. Actually, we might go to california...I really want to go to Florida. I've been seeing visions of Florida flash through my head...

I'm sure all of you have heard about the tragic assasination of Benazir Bhutto. It's just yet another sign of the horrible level of violence going on in the middle east, specifically Pakistan. What a strong woman to be prime minister of such a torn country. It took such courage for her to stand up against so much violent opposition. It is clear that her supporters loved her so much. As we watched CNN that night, all I could think of was what it must be like to live the way people in Pakistan are day after day. You see photos of girls my age standing by as cars are blown up, army vehicles partol the streets, and body parts are strewn across the road. They live in fear all the time. I can't even picture it. And as the elections draw closer, what we really need is a humane president who is rational, courageous, understanding, confident, practical, intelligent and who can help these war-torn countries withought being overbearing. What an ideal...


I'm pretty sure that's all the news I can churn out. Now that the holiday rush is pretty much over, I'll be keeping up more regularly....I hope.

the beauty of the season

Did you honestly expect me to blog? I've been revelling in the spirit of Christmas. Although it was non-existent until about 4 days ago. The tree is decorated and gorgeous. The house is cozy, christmas music is playing 24/7, I went shopping from 1pm to 11pm the other day, and the stores defenitely heightened the mood. It was like walking through a picture book. I've been baking and wrapping presents all day and now...drumroll please...its RAINING. wow. that just killed everything. But anyway, there's defenitely no time to dwell on minor details like that. I stayed up watching White Christmas last night, snuggled under about 3 blankets. It's, in my humble opinion, the epitamy of a christmas movie. It has all the necessary components: love, snow, singing, dancing, christmas spirit, the beauty of times gone by. And it put me in the best of moods. I also don't have to baby-sit tonight which is a plus. So now, on my agenda, is wrapping presents, making cards, reading christmas books, watching christmas movies and just being cozy in my house. Tomorrow, we have a lot to do in the morning: last minute wrapping, baking and cleaning. Then we have to get dressed and drive to my aunt's house. We'll be there the whole evening. Literally. Until about 10:30. It's really beautiful. Every year, most of my family goes to my aunt and uncle's beautiful house in North Caldwell, NJ and we have a christmas eve/my aunts birthday party. It one of the nicest traditions we have. I can't wait. So then we have to drive an hour back to warwick. But my nights not over yet. We go to midnight mass (obviously at 12am) which is an hour. then we finally go home and pretend to go to asleep when everyone knows you can't sleep on christmas eve. And then....well, the rest you all know. So that's the run-down. A sort of...check-up, considering its been a while since I've blogged. I've been busy being Christmas-y!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

It's Blogging Time!

I just had my audition, and it actually went surprisingly well. Mr. Delio, as crazy as he is, is really nice. and so is David, but he all knew that. Barbra welsh just kept smiling and nodding, which was a good sign, and I was able to run through my peice with mike hutch a few times before i auditioned. and now I probably won't know the results until monday/wednesday. When I came home, my christmas lights were on, my house was really warm and my house smells like gingerbread. And I'm cozy AND i'm talking to my best friend. So I'm happy. and not really feeling like blogging anymore.

Perfect Christmas Blog

Do you like it? I do =) Thanks to Marc-Anthony, I have this amazing blog with music and everything. And there are 12 days til christmas. BUT unfortunately, schools not over yet. I still have to get through a french quiz, Pippin auditions, and a band concert. Plus homework and all that great stuff. (speaking of which, i should probably get to that..) But at least I have the solace of knowing that it's almost winter break/christmas, and we're getting our christmas tree this weekend AND my mom just put up some of the christmas lights. How festive! With that in mind, I'm off.

White Christmas??

First off, I apologize to the loyal few who still read this blog. I haven't been able to blog in a while. That, or I haven't had the desire to. There's been a lot of things going on. I mean, unless you live under a rock or something. But aside from that, i do have the time now. So, in the latest news, I got a new comforter, flannel sheets and a fleece blanket on my bed, which translates into the fact that I never want to get out of bed...snow days sound better and better. Speaking of snow days, I hope you all enjoyed yours on Monday =) Ok. Also, I will be putting up Christmas lights later, hopefully before the freezing rain hits (if there even will be anyway) We're getting our tree next weekend, and hopefully shopping, so I'll probably be booked. I was really looking forward to the Techno in the snow dance (in case you weren't aware, it was cancelled due to snow) Not that I severely objected to sitting under a blanket watching the Food Network while it snowed steadily outside. I just spent a half hour reviewing the path of blood in the heart, going through 6 practice diagrams. I just really wanted to get it down. Last night I watched Sky High for the first time...you know? the one with the superhero school? It was a really good movie, in my opinion. I felt the sudden urge to try and lift up a car. And then, the next morning (aka this morning) I lectored at church for the first time (...thats when you read all the readings) It was actually pretty cool. I had fun. Um, what else. I'm auditioning for Pippin on Thursday. Oh boy. Ok, and now to adress the title of this blog. As I was skimming Weather.com (for, what else?, the weather for tonight into tomorrow) I came across to a subtitle that read " Will it snow on Christmas?" and , of course, I had to look. And this is what I found:



In case its hard to read, there's a 50-75% chance of snow on Christmas!!! That's pretty good in my book. =)

Fake Nails!

They're so cool! But I can't really type. Which is why I would never get them on a regular basis. But they're fun for a few days. I woke up this morning and I heard someone say snow so of course I looked out my window to a scene of beautiful snow. the trees, the ground everything was covered in powder. It was so still and quiet and cozy inside. The forecast is 2 more inches, sleet, and a half inch of ice accumulation. Not that I'm hinting at anything =) keep your fingers crossed!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Day Before Thanksgiving!

I can't wait until tomorrow. I absolutely love Thanksgiving (have you picked up on the fact that I love all holiday's in general?) because a lot of my relatives go to my grandma's house and the football game is on and we eat so much food and its perfect. And today, I just have to recount this little ideal scenario, I was standing at the counter making bread and it was so nice and warm in my house and it was just getting dark outside and there was music playing and you could smell apple pie baking. It was so cozy. So anyway, I love Thanksgiving and I think I'm going to make a list of things I'm thankful for...in the spirit of the holiday:

- my life
- my family - food - love
-my friends - the beach - church
-my pets - nature - the alphabet (without it we wouldn't be able to write)
-our house - clothes - school (as annoying as it is)
-my teachers - musical instruments - women's rights
-books - my health - diversity
-music - the health of my family and friends and pets - holidays
-art - influential people - sleep

The list goes on, obviously, but I don't want to make this The Never Ending Blog.

So count your blessings and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I Did it!

I made it through The Day of A Thousand Tests! I felt pretty comfortable on all of them for the most part. And now, I can enjoy my break. Want to hear what I've done so far? I came home, put my backpack in the bottom of the closet so that I can forget about it, I made lunch, watched TV, and then ate some chips while watching TV =) And now I'm sitting in my incredibly cozy room, blogging while its steadily getting dark outside. I find that at the end of a long weekend or a vacation, I always look back to the first few hours of freedom and think "wow. that was so nice. I wish I could go back" So I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

The Way of the Universe

Isn't it funny that a two day week can seem like forever? Especially when you're anticipating Thanksgiving as much as I am. This week, as in today and tomorrow, might not feel as long if I had a relaxing, fun, last day of school before break kind of day. But instead, my teachers seem to feel that the perfect way to send their kids off on a relaxing break is to give them tests! And I mean all my teachers. Except english. But she has an excuse because she's giving us a project over thanksgiving break. So I think an hour and a half of studying should stand me in good stead. Except for the fact that I haven't memorized (which is what we're expected to do) all of the ridiculous science facts. And I wish my Jess would answer me on IM!!! Since school is basically my life, thats pretty much all I have to talk about. I thoroughly apologize if I'm boring you. But I can give you the run down for my thanksgiving break. Tuesday night I believe I'm having a sleepover with Em, Jess and Kerianne. Unless we can't find a house to have it at. Alisha's gonna be here Wednesday =) And then Thursday is Thanksgiving and Ill be heading down to Jersey to my Grandma and Grandpa's house. We're staying over, and then we're going to Barnes and Noble. Oh man. I'm so excited! I have 4 gift cards which altogether adds up to about...$80. To spend on books. We might be staying in Jersey another night. If not, then I don't know the plan for friday. Saturday, I'm really not doing much except watching my neighbor's dog. And then sunday I'll probably be doing the english project. Sounds like a blast! Oh, I'd better go practice now. and then study some more....wow, I'm really living it up over here.

But as it is, I'll dream of her tonight

I figured since I'm not doing my global homework or taking a shower, the two things I'm supposed to be doing, I might as well blog. Since it's much more enjoyable. I had a pretty good day today! We had an NHD meeting, which wasn't really that at all, more of a theraputic hangout session. I needed that. Just to relax with my best friends. And the icing on the cake was a meeting with Rausch, which was more social than informative. But that's just how these things go. Tomorrow is Friday, and thank goodness too. I woke up today with that dead tired, out of it feeling. and i know you're gonna say "don't you feel like that everyday?" but today was....extra special. It was that almost-friday-but-not-quite feeling. So as not to bore you with my incessant rambling, I'm going to shower with a solemn vow to blog more often. It would be easier with a little blog makeover...=) Whenever you get the chance, marc-anthony.

Snow...actual, real, crystalized snow

It's snowing! for the first time this year! Remember this moment ladies and gents. My lovely Jess brought to my attention that it was SNOWING. And i ripped my pants running outside to check. and it was so worth it cause it was actually SNOWING. Did I mention that it was SNOWING??? and now everything seems so much cozier, even though theres not even enough snow to dust the ground. But there is enough snow to dust the car =) So even though the prospect of being snowed in is out of the question, there's no denying that the first snow is one of the most exciting moments of the year. And now I'm off to enjoy it in all its white, cold, cozy glory.

Who dunnit?

Jessica's birthday party was amazing. We all had so much fun, and most people even stayed in character the whole time. Everyone looked great (see below) and it was a blast. I loved the whole theme, and the decorations and everything. Once Becky dropped dead, everyone really started getting into it, and the action didn't end until BRUTUS SIMPSON was labeled as the murderer. And I suspected Gina the whole time....Harry Hitt won Mr. Money Bags, George won best performance and our very own little Stacy won best dressed. Once the guys left, we still had so much fun. Even though it took an HOUR AND A HALF to go through all the directions, Atmosfear was totally worth it. It's such a neat game that's really fun to play. The party went on from there with us pigging out and having fun until about 5:30 a.m. That's when I could have sworn I saw the figure of a person walk by the window. I ended up scaring myself and Courtney pretty badly, so we went to try to lock the fron door, but it didn't lock. We were standing in the foyer for a good 6 minutes, because we didn't want to move and be noticed by "the killer"...or the KKK man or whatever. So then everyone woke up and EVERYONE saw a bright light outside the window and a few of us saw a human shadow again. Needless to say, we freaked out. So much that Jess used Ranni's phone to call her parents. Her mom came over with Brandy, which helped a lot. Then her dad went around the house with a flashlight to check, and even drove around the block. Once we were convinced there was nothing there, we decided that 5:45 a.m. was a good time to go to sleep. Before you knew it, morning rolled around, and we rolled out of bed to eat bagels. And then play scattergories. And then the last few people (me, meghan and caitlin) played Mario Cart. My best race? 2nd place. I know. I'm proud too. Here are some pictures:







Happy Birthday Jess! <3

Researchathon!

I'm so excited! We're having a researchathon on thursday for NHD. And I'm on the phone with Marc-Anthony, getting pumped and violating the Patriot Act. All in a day's work. So high school's working out for me. I'm doing well, and its actually fun. I really need a day off though, not to mention I'm loosing my voice. I walked 6.2 miles on Sunday for a CROP walk. That stands for...I'm not sure. But its for hunger relief. It was surprisingly fun. we beat this old man who growled at us when we passed. He was very competitive. But he cheated. Whatever. My party was on Friday, and it was really fun. Especially ice skating. Then I had Anne D's party on Saturday which was really fun also. I was so exhausted by the end, though. So tomorrow I'm playing Speed Away again, a.k.a. the unofficial sport of WVHS. The upperclassmen are crazy good at it. And tomorrow's my beloved Jess's birthday. Then Thursday...well, you know what Thursday is =)

Wow!

For whatever reason, my blog's totally pink. Ok! I witnessed a spectacular showing of musicianship on Saturday. We went to a marching band competition, and it was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. Not only were the musicians amazing, but the uniforms, instrument, the patterns, the music and the technique were out of this world. I was blown away. Especially by the West Milford band....wowwww. I defenitely loved the music choices. They were great. It was just the best way to spend a Saturday night/Sunday morning =)
I'm glad that we have a really good concert band, though. I think being in a marching band of that level would be too much of a commitment. Even though, if nothing else, it would be a great disciplinary experience.
This week's forecast! : global quiz and board meeting tomorrow, math test and playing test tuesday, TKAM test, jazz band and conferences wednesday, NHD thursday then finally a vocab test and my birthday party friday.

Raining

I love when it rains. Everything just seems so much cozier. Especially when its pouring and thundering and lightening like it is now. This three day week is pretty nice, in my opinion. I hate to say it, but school's already starting to wear on me. It's like every morning it gets harder and harder to wake up, and stay awake during school. I know that's a pretty gloomy outlook, but what can I say? My saving graces are band, art and gym, surprisingly. and NHD, of course. I went 7th period to practice. I just ended up playing piano =) It's such a gorgeous, versatile instrument. I wish I had stuck with it, but its never too late to jump back in. I started playing piano...it had to be when I was about 5. And now that I've gotten older, I find that I can just sit at the piano and improvise, and sometimes the things I come up with aren't half bad. And it's defenitely one of the most relaxing, stress-relieving things I can find to do. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have a piano in my house. I prefer making up my own compositions rather than learning them from a book. And I know thats not the most musician-like thing to do, but thats my way.
So I wish I had more exciting things to talk about, without pulling things out of mid-air and trying to elaborate on them. Or I wish I wasn't too tired to find something worthwhile to ramble on about it. I know you've heard it from everyone else, but I just can't wait until Halloween. We gotta work on our costumes, Jess! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It's the only one I get to spend with friends, you get to go out by yourself, get free candy, and dress up....it doesn't get much better than that. And now that I've said what everyone else says, or had said, I think I'll go.

At least it hasnt stopped raining yet. I guess I'll finish this TKAM stuff in study hall.


Oh man, I need to have a b-day party! Better get on that....

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday, I turned 14 and it was amazing. I don't have much time, but wonders of all wonders, i got a phone!!!

Homecoming Week!

I'm so excited. This week is gonna be great, and then the weekend will be even better...if I can live through it. So this week we get to dress up, and then Friday is the football game. After that, we have the parade on Saturday-my first parade in the marching band!! And then the dance is that night, Applefest is the next day, and Monday...well, I don't have too much to do, thank goodness. It's going to be insane, but that's the best part.

I just finished this incredible book called Tuesdays with Morrie. Every person in America today should take the time to read this book. I first heard about it from Kerianne =) and then my sister had to read it over the summer for junior year english. After my mom read it, I decided to read it, and I'm so glad I did. Not only is it heart-warming, but the messages are timeless, relevant, simple, meaningful and beautiful. Everyone can learn from the whole-hearted, honest, beautiful way that Morrie lived his life. With no regrets or holding back or rushing around. In today's world, we are saturated by our unforgiving culture. By simply reading this book, I am now trying to live in the way that Morrie teaches. He is and was such an inspirational, intelligent, relatable man, and everyone can benefit from listening to his humble teachings about life, death, love, marriage, the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, family, emotions, the fear of aging, money, our culture, and forgiveness. I highly recommend this book.

Picture Day..bum bum bummm

Tomorrow's picture day, and i don't know what I'm wearing, how I'm wearing my hair, what background I want, what jewlery I'm wearing or how my make-up's gonna be...typical. But I guess I'll figure that out later. I also have to study for a global test. It's so gorgeous out right now, and I just want to fast-forward to the football game on friday, cause so far its lookin' like thats going to be the most exciting part of my week. And now I have to do...who knows what with my mom.

It's beginning to look a lot like Autumn

I'm seeing it. Everywhere. Summer's gone and now its Autumn. I mean, there are scarecrows in front of ShopRite, they're selling Halloween candy, it's only about 53 degrees today, the fields are full of pumpkins (you know, on the way to school that field) and the leaves are even starting to change color (i can see them from my global classroom) Now that I've accepted the fact that summer's over, its easier to embrace autumn. Besides, its one of my favorite times of the year. Whereas my brother is already excited for Christmas....So far, high school hasn't hit me like a ton of bricks. The work load is moderate, I see my friends (every once in a while) and my teachers aren't slamming us with tests and quizzes. Hopefully it won't hit me like a ton of bricks. But I highly doubt it, cause it always happens. About 3 or 4 weeks into the school year, teachers decide "these kids are a year older, we might as well treat them like it." and all of the sudden you're cramming in studying for 3 tests on top of two hours of homework. But I've decied not to think of that yet. I saw Mrs. Hanson at Shoprite (can you tell i went there this morning?) and had a brief ache to be back in middle school. But as I was standing there, explaining my high schol experience to one of the greatest people I know, I realized that as much as I don't want to admit it, high school has grown on me. and I really do like it. I'll always look on middle school with fondness, but it is in the past now. I was looking through my yearbook yesterday, and it seems like so long ago. I don't have that desire to be in middle school anymore. I'm looking forward to spending the next 4 years in high school, and then onto college.
I was talking to Michelle the other night, and we realized how scary its going to be having our friends driving. And not in the "they're going to be such bad drivers. lol" way. As in, if they crash and die, we're going to have lost a friend. And neither of us are ready for that. I don't think we ever are ready for something like that. But we both know people who will drink or get distracted while driving, and all of the sudden, they're gone. and what do we do then? It's such an adult concept that we're going to have to face in a matter of years. Not even two years for some. And then what if we're driving and we crash, and kill one of our friends in the back seat? I don't know about you, but I'd have a hell of a time dealing with that. Hopefully, we'll experience that in very small doses. But there's no guarantee that we'll be sheltered from the horrors of losing friends to drinking and driving and drugs. That's what growing up does for you. And we'll have to get ready before we know it.
That just sedated me quickly. I did not intend on writing that much. But then again, that's always my excuse when I give you a novel =)

Jimmy can crack corn but I don't care

Speaking of Jimmy....nevermind. So it's Friday, even though it doesn't feel like it. Thursday was fun though, and it was nice to have it off. And now we have the whole weekend. Except I have to do quite a bit of studying and practicing, and chocolate selling. I just saw the welcome to the black parade video, and I forgot how amazing it is. My air-conditioner is officially out of my room, and I'm really glad. It's nice to have the air-conditioner, but I'd rather have my window anyway. Since its the only one I have in my room anyway, the air-conditioner makes it feel like a jail cell, cause it blocks out all the light. So now I can see the view in my backyard again. I have allergies, and they are HORRIBLE. I can't smell or taste, and I always need to have tissues nearby. I'm also pretty tired. I'm trying to elaborate on the little that happened, because nothing interesting has happened, and I don't have the energy to delve into the "deeper layers" of things

What time is it? summertime...oh. never mind. its just the weekend

Since school is in session, and the weather is still beautifully warm, weekends are starting to feel like mini summer vacations. especially when you're fortunate enough to have a pool to swim in. But I still can't wait until autumn. It's such a great time of year. It's cool, but not cold, you get to wear sweaters, the sky is always beautiful, you get to pick apples and eat apples and rake leaves and drink tea, and carve pumpkins, and go trick-or-treating. Everything smells good, the trees are magnificent, leaves crunch when you walk, and apple pies are the food of choice. Not to mention you get to celebrate my birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving. But for now, I'll embrace these last few "summer" days, because they next time they'll come is next year.


Now if only the VMA's weren't on past my allleged bedtime...

High school....oh boy

High school is insane. the running around, the pushing through the crowds, the high expectations, and the crazy teachers (coughmr.markcough) the first day was by far the most hectic. I was trying to figure out where to go, and i only got to my locker once. By the second day, believe it or not, i was much more comfortable with the routine. and the third day, today, was even easier. so went my first "week" of high school. it's quite a large step up from middle school thats all i can say. i hope that after a few weeks it will cease being so alien to me. but for now, it' still strange to call my self a high schooler. and now i have to eat and get to my first football game. WOOH-HOO. btw, i love guitar hero.

It's Rough

It's so hard to live day in and day out as a teenager. And society just pushes us aside with the non-understanding attitude that we choose to be as difficult, moody, ever-changing and conforming as we are. But as much as it can be controlled, the teenage mind often forcefully overpower the rational mind, and you are left with an alien, often lost soul. Society constantly builds us up and breaks us down, and as much as there are hundreds of scientific studies on the teenage years, there are just as many stubborn, old-fashioned adults who dismiss teenagers as troublesome semi-adults, when really all we could really use is some guidance. And I admit, we don't always receive guidance with open arms, but at least give us the courtesy to listen when we speak. Most adults today have the mind-set that if you ignore the teenage years, they'll grow out of it. But that's a cold-hearted way to view our age group. We're not all out to make trouble. And I know I want someone, a trusted adult, to give me a word of advice, and I'm fortunate to have many. But as many positive things I have to say about my adult role models, we all know that parents sometimes leave you hanging when you need them most. Or worse, they just don't understand, to put it simply. I'm sure that nothing of the above ramble would be understood by the general public. It's just a moody release after all. But when I'm trying to hold to my standards as well as interact with my peers, plus excersise good judement, know who to trust,and balance friend and family time, I just hope that adults, who seem to provide the best guidance, will keep their minds clear, their ears opened and their hearts compassionate. I want to know whats best, but sometimes, I just need to figure out my own mind first. And I know thats a tall order for adults to carry out all the time, which translates into: there's no easy way out of this. And being a teenager takes understanding, adults to hold you to your standards, and love and undestanding from both the adults and the "scary" teenagers. I know I'm still working on it, and luckily, I've got a good support network. I know there will be times when I'm completely lost. But it won't last forever and everyone will just have to try to understand each other.

My Schedule

Period 1- math AB H (mark)
Period 2- phys. ed (langton)
Period 3 - wind. ens. (persad)
Period 4- english 9H (baisley)
Period 5- French 2 (meritt)
Period 6- Living enviro. H (Nilsson)
Period 7- global hist. 1H (burns)
Period 8- Foundation/art (manno)

...and that's my schedule. A little frightnening, but I think I'll manage. I'm trying not to think about high school just yet, though. Oh, and can anyone explain why its so hot right now? when its been 68 degrees for the past three days and its only 9:45 in the morning, and its like, 91 degrees? okay i guess ill just go dunk my head in a bucket of ice.

Owange Chicken! Yeah!

I really don't have much to say, but I just wanted to put that as my title. Brace yourselves, though, everyone. Our schedules will probably come sometime this week. And if we don't all have the same teachers, I'll be very upset. So call me when you get your schedules! And cross your fingers that you get lucky.

Mmmm yess. HSM2....delicious

After being the car for almost 7 hours, traffic and thunder storms included, we got home from an amazing vacation. As soon as we got home, I jumped out of the car, got into my dad's car and he took me over to Jess's house in time to see HSM2. I literally got home at like...7:50. It was well worth the rush. The plot was adorable, the songs were cool, well, except the cheesy Jesus meets West Side story, Zac Efron number, we made fun of that one, and we found it was more of a "movie" than the first one. And Miley Cyrus was in it.....whatever. Anyway, I was so glad I got to see it, 'specially with Jess. <333. And now its cold out, and i think we should be getting schedules soon. The way its going, I'm going to be like, the only one at freshmen orientation. But yeah, I had an awesome vacation, and it was so worth it to be home in time for High school musical 2. Oh, and btw, Universal is in the process of making a Harry Potter theme park. Admission will be...brace yourself.....$800 dollars. How crazy is that. I'm saving up.....

Sweet Escape

I am leaving for vacation tomorrow. Woohooo! I mean, I'll miss everyone, but...whatever, I'm on vacation. I'll be back Friday, in time to see High school Musical 2....duhhhh. Wouldn't miss it for anything. So I'm in for some hard-core packing, and I need to get to the library to get books for my second nerd competition this year. We would have had a three person team (coughkeriannecough) just kiddinggg, but now its just me and my sister. We'll tell you how it goes! So I'll be away for the week, and when I get back I hope/don't hope that my HS schedule will be here. (mixed feelings on that one) After that, well, BOTB, highschool orientation, squeeze in some more sleepovers, some baby-sitting, then....well, don't make me say it. Ok, well I'm gonna go eat lunch and pack and hope it gets warmer.
In fact, why don't I check the forecast now. bYE!

Cat Update

So Oberon, our new kitty in-training, is coming around more frequently than just the evenings. We put a black collar on him, and he now ventures inside, if only for a few minutes. In order for him to come inside, however, the door has to remain opened enough for him to get back outside if he wants to, and there can't be loud noises, or sudden movements, because he will get scared. I gave him some ham and he ate it right up. He's got a good appetite, but we need to bring him to the vet for a check up, and he needs to be neutered. Keep checking in!

Pretty Kitty

My silly little cat is begging to be scritched. But I'm going to bed now, even though I don't know how I'll be able to sleep, it's so darn hot out. That's what air-conditioners are for! Good Night <3

Pink Squares annoy me

This aggrivating pink square thats covering up my posts is....well.....aggrivating. I kind of want a Harry Potter background (hint hint) But I'll survive. I just finished reading "The Girl Who Loves Tom Gordon" and I would give you a review, but I'm still processing it. I still have Battle of the Books books to read. Other than that I'm kind of bored, but looking forward to vacation. i'm going to Chincoteague Island. Beyond that, I'm sooooooooo incredibly excited for HSM 2. Everytime there's a commercial for it I get butterflies. And I bought a HSM shirt. Hahahha, i won't be wearing that in public, don't worry.

I'm Back!

I had a great time in Connecticut. The aquarium is amazing. It was so incredibly hot, though, much like it was here, I'm sure. So anyway, in Connecticut we went to the seaport which is adorable, we went on a sweet little boat and we walked around....a lot. There really aren't any beaches in Mystic, so we drove to Rhode Island. The beaches there are similar to the jersey shore. Really, really crowded. But it was nice to be by the water, even if I couldn't go swimming. =( And then on Thursday, we went to the aquarium. It is so great. The animals are spectacular, especially Kodiak, the 1,600 lb. Stellar sea lion. He's HUGE. We saw everything from Beluga whales to glow-in-the dark fish. We also went on this awesome 3-D ride. It was called Cosmic Coaster, and it was actually like being on a roller coaster...except one that would probably kill you in real life. We had such a great time.

Blog Trauma

My goodness! I've switched between two blogs because....mycopmuterdiedandihadtoupdatetheharddriveandithoughtilostmyblogsoimadeanewonethenifoundmyoldonebutmarcanthonyspentareallylongtimegettingmeacoolnewbackgroundandifeltbad,butheswitchedittomyoldoneinlike2.5seconds.
Get it? Anyway, I'm leaving for Mystic, Connecticut tomorrow morning, which should be a blast. I will be back by Thursday afternoon. From there the plans include...well, I don't know. Keep in touch!

Hurry Up!!!!!!

Oh my gosh. I can't take it. We got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows an hour ago and like always, my sister got to read it first. I am going INSANE. I want to read it sooo badly. It seems like its taking forever for her to finish. She said she'd finish in 3 hours, and its only been 1 =( I can't focus on doing anything else 'cause i NEED to read that book.
Sorry, that's two Harry Potter posts in a row. I just love it so much and I wish I was a witch and went to Hogwarts. But I'm just a stupid muggle =)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: My Review

Great, great movie. It was quite dark and mysterious. The plot was a little difficult to follow, and you had to refer to the books numerous times to figure out what was going on and who was who. Some of the lighter moments in the book were left out in order to reduce the running time. This does not, however, include Harry and Cho's kiss. It was long, wet and dramatic. Harry is very very whiny in this movie, for those of you who have never read the book (shame on you) and he is dramatic and confused. But then again, I never really liked Harry. There is, if you catch it, some romantic tension between Ron and Hermione. The centaurs are frightening, and Hagrid's half brother is quite lovable. The Department of Mysteries is...well, mysterious. You grow to hate Cornelius Fudge, you finally see Azkaban, and my favorite scenes took place in the secret room where Harry trained all the new members of the Order. I love love love Luna Lovegood. She has to be one of my favorite characters. Hermione is heroic and spunky, not to mention extremely pretty. I love her in this movie. As much love as I had for the characters, I also had hate. Professor Umbridge is extremely aggrivating, horribly evil and made me hate pink. Fred and George are great, once again, and Draco's dad figures pretty prominently but Draco doesn't. Overall, the movie is very dark and thick, with a lot of changes in character. Sirius's death is not too spectacular but none the less heart-wrenching. I feel the movie had a very abrupt ending that was somewhat of a cliff-hanger, and didn't fulfill the desires of the viewer. One MAJOR plus is that all the young male characters got hotter. Harry, Ron, Draco, Fred, George etc. It's great eye candy! The lighter moments, as always, are my favorite, but it was a stupendous must-see none the less. So....go see it. There's sooo much I left out, like Tonks, who isn't as prominent or fun as she was in the book. Somewhat of a let down...but just go see it! Before I give everything away. Next Potter craze? The 7th and final book, which comes out saturday and which I will relish, as there will never be another Harry Potter book. That's unreal and very upsetting.


Plus the car ride to the movie was extremely fun!

Just a Taste

Okay, now it's starting to feel like summer.

especially since it's so hot. I wish I had my pool. I know, you do too Marco-Polumbo. But with all this high school/testing stuff coming in the mail it seems like the school district is rushing summer....and I disklike them for it.

Well, I'm off to...wow that's sad. Nothin' to do. Not until party time!

Unecessary Update

It's nice that it's cooled down a little: it provides some kind of relief from the heat we've just experienced. I hope everyone is managing. As soon as my pool is fixed, you'll know. I promise. We have a possible new edition to the Klein cat pack. He's a beautiful little gray cat with a long face like a big cat (i.e., lynx, cougar, bobcat) He has green eyes and a long nose and dark gray stripes crawling across his soft gray fur. He's getting more comfortable with us, and I hope we can keep him =) He still doesn't come inside, though. That takes time. He's got a horrible open wound on his leg, so we have to take him to the vet. We named him Oberon (from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", by the way) We also have this strange, eerie, so far unidentifable animal in our feild. It barks like a distressed dog and looks like a cat/fox, based on the two times we've seen it. We are wary of its prescence, obviously because of the cats. My brother and I went online to try and figure out what it could be, but we didn't find anything that sounded remotely like it. My brother is convinced it's a domestic dog...that has throat problems (????) Whatever it is, it normally comes out at night. We heard it for the first time during the day yesterday. Kinda creepy.
Oh, by the way. We need a whole new pool. Hopefully, that doesn't mean it will take any longer. We should actually have it by next Friday, the latest. I neeeed to swim.

Angry Young Man

There's a place in the world for the angry young man

With his working class ties and his radical plans

He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl,

He's always at home with his back to the wall.

And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost,

And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross-

And he likes to be knowns as the angry young man.



Give a moment or two to the angry young man,

With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.

He's been stabbed in the back, he's been misunderstood,

It's a comfort to know his intentions are good.

And he sits in a room with a lock on the door,

With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor-

And he likes to be known as the angry young man.



I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage

I found that just surviving was a noble fight.

I once believed in causes too,

I had my pointless point of view,

And life went on no matter who was wrong or right.



And there's always a place for the angry young man,

With his &ist in the air and his head in the sand.

And he's never been able to learn from mistakes,

So he can't understand why his heart always breaks.

But his honor is pure and his courage as well,

And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell-

And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man.

Billy Joel is an amazing artist. Just a taste of his work, for those of you so deprived that you don't know this legendary song, just one link in his never-ending chain of incredible songs. My posts will be more meaningful after this, I just had to give you an infusion of great american song writing.

Busy Busy Busy

Lots has happened. Starting with Cedar Crest. It was amazing. The place is huge and gorgeous and incredible. The reseidents are adorable, the staff is great (especially Jess's cousin). Me and Jess had so much fun, and I can't wait to go back. The day continued with baby-sitting with kerianne. It was so tiring, the little rascals. But it was really fun. Then I slept over which was great. Between the breakfast club and guitar hero and junk food...good stuff. Then the Kerianne phenomenon continued at West Point. What an amazing concert. I'm so glad you came with me, baby. Ok, then what. Right. Then it was off to Jessica's confirmation with Marc-Anthony...congratulations, sweetheart! The service was so sweet, and the party was tons of fun. But with a bedtime of 2:00 AM on Friday, and 12:00 AM on Saturday, I'm exhausted. Fortunately, tonight is void of activities. But the past three days have been extrodinary, thanks in part to my amazing friends. Thanks, piggies.

"Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light..."

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.


Happy Independence Day!

Kerianne's incredible story. Enjoy!!!

once upon a time, there was a girl named chiAra (with a capital A.) she liked to climb trees. she liked to climb trees A LOT! in her town called yipididipididodaville, there was one tree that was notorious for being huge. only the extreme tree climbers had ever attempted to climb it... and only half of them came down alive. chiAra had always dreamed of climbing the tree and making her way down, and having a parade in yipididipididodaville all for her and her feat. she decided.. today was the day her dream would come true.
she got together all her tree climbing gear, including her fosiflex, her potywama, and her proxyyoko. she said to her mom, "mommy, i'm going to go climb the big tree!" and her mom, currently involved in making a fresh apple and banana pie, said "okay sweetie, be careful!" not realizing what chiAra had actually said.
she made her way to the tree and sat down under eat, eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwhich that she had summoned from the air above her. once her tank was full again, she began the high climb.
she weaved in and out of trees, leaves, branches, and managed to get to the top of the tree without cracking any robin's eggs or knocking off any bird's nests. this was an accomplishment in itself.
but chiAra realized what she had to do now.. she had to get down.
she carefully took her proxyyoko from her pocket and shoved it into the tree. it unraveled into a sheet of plastic from the top of the tree all the way to the ground. she then took the fosiflex and set it up on top of the proxyyoko, making water flow down the slide. she put the potywama on her head, and prayed to the Greek God of Ugly, Mark Joanow, that her descent would be sucessful.
she jumped on the tarp and slid all the way down to the bottom, with nothing more than a scratch!
of course, this was sort of cheating, considering she didnt actually CLIMB down.
but she had made it up and down the tree without killing anyone or anything.
she immediately ran to the town hall and said to the mayor Schenkenbaumerific, "I DID IT! I MADE IT UP AND DOWN THE TREE!"
Mayor Schenkenbaumerific said, "Let me get the parade committee ready, and we'll have a parade as soon as possible!"
two miliseconds later, the parade was outside the town hall, with banners and flyers saying "CONGRATULATIONS CHIaRA!!!!!"
chiara couldn't hold in her smile.
after all the banners and flyers, countless numbers of marching bands whizzed by, all either playing Abrahm's Pursuit, Pirates, or The Washington Post March.
was psyced. she knew that there were bigger trees in Flopaplopolopoloustown and Cyrikidikipotrotplace, but those were challenges for other days. Today, she was chiAra, the only living climber of The Big Tree. and she was happy with that!

This is where I wanna be right now

Yeah, wouldn't that be nice. But, instead, I'm going to Alto Music to get a new mouthpiece. Wooh!

Planet Earth

I really have nothing much to do, so I will take this time to introduce you to something amazing that I discovered. My dad had seen a preview for this incredible T.V. show, I guess, called Planet Earth. So he decided to buy it on DVD. It is a 6 disk set that will absolutely blow you away. Now, this isn't the kind of movie you generally see with friends because you won't get the full experience. For those of you who think you've seen the world, think again. For those of you who think you have all the knowledge of our living environment, humble yourself down and watch this series. Going disk by disk, Planet Earth takes you on a fantastic journey through the most amazing, untouched, unbelievable, heart-wrenching, awe-inspiring natural places on earth, and all the creatures that inhabit it. For example, Disk 1. Disk 1 covers the poles, mountains and fresh water. Yeah, ho-hum, yawn.....so you would think. But I have never in my life, and probably will never see the incredibly beautiful, awesome places and features on this disk. From the desolate, barren icey beauty of the poles, to strikingly beautiful, looming mountain ranges, to expanses of fresh water, teeming with life of all kinds. It almost brought tears to my eyes, and I was immediately thankful for this incredible planet we live on. It also hit me how important it is to protect what we have: which is more beautiful and more valuable than you can ever imagine.
The wildlife on these disks are majestic. From the comical behavior of mountain monkeys, to the uncharted beauty of the snow leopard, these creatures far surpass anything humans could create.
If my jumbled rambling hasn't convinced you, maybe the eloquent, organized summary of this documentary will:
" This stunning television experience captures rare action, impossible locations and intimate moments with our planet's best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, Planet Earth takes you to places you've never been to experience sights and sounds never before captured on film. Prepare to be overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of Planet Earth"
This isn't your average Discovery Channel special. It is truly an unparalleled experience. Every human inhabitant of this planet should take the time to watch this. Not only is it enjoyable to watch, but it is an excellent learning experience both in Earth and Life science. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend that you take a week or so to sit down and watch this from Disk 1 to Disk 6. As the subtitle rightly states "Planet Earth: as you've never seen it before."

Sweet, Sweet Serenity

So, I actually have time to blog, so I'll take advantage of it. I had a great time at the carnival on...what day was it? Oh yeah, Saturday. I went with Jess and Marc-Anthony and her parents. We went on Cliff-Hanger-great ride, and yelled at some Mexicans: I have the right, and technically so does MA. So we passed on some of that right to Jess. We ate lots, went on kiddie rides and watched a spectacular fireworks show to conclude the night with a bang....literally. Sunday I had a BBQ with my grandparents which was great. Monday...well, lets see. I went on a run, had breakfast and discovered that they had a teen battle of the books! GUGGENHEIM!!!!! So me and my sister and kerianne are gonna do this. ( CALL ME JESS) Speaking of kerianne, I went to the library with the little rascal and we looked at really entertaining teen magazines and disturbed library goers. Then we went swimming at Kerianne's house and watched the Breakfast Club, which I reallllllly wanna finish watching. Then Tuesday...oh wait. that's today. Well, it's really hot, for those of you wimps who have stayed in air-conditioning all day. And since my pool is being worked on, me and my brother and my sister set up a sprinkler (retro, i know) and we set up obstacle courses. Really fun. And then I took a nap cause it was just so hot. It wasn't intentional, but I have that kind of time cause.....it's summerrr!! Then I did some yard work, and now I'm here! So that concludes the update of my summer life. Keep checking in, sil vous plait!

Band Picture!!!!

Summer Beauty

I haven't had much time to blog, I've been so active, wrapped up in summer's glory. But I just have to say, it's wonderful to, instead of saying "I have to finish a math packet" before bed, saying "I have to catch a firefly." It still hasn't set in that it's summer vacation: which is a good thing. It still just feels like its a really long weekend. I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me. Keep checking in!

IT'S FINALLY OVERRRRRR!!

It's over. it is alllllll over. I'm having too much fun to blog long (me and my sister were doing a rain dance) so I'll just say this: its been wonderful being with everyone and I hope you have a wonderful summer. Hope to see everyone!

Oh Lordy!

With summer approaching, it's nearly impossible to focus on anything academic. For most, this is no big deal: all their tests were sent out with a bang with the completion of the language proficiency today. However, for the select few that foolishly accepted a seat in the Earth Science class (a 10th grade course, may i remind you) have the daunting, three-hour, ESRT-saturated New York State Earth Science regents exam to take bright and early tomorrow morning. What I said to my dad was no lie: all parts of my brain save science have been turned off until September of next year (i shudder at the thought): math, social studies, english, french, fine motor skills, you name it. Now don't think for a second that merely because the science realm of my brain has not shut off yet that I've been studying non-stop. The sleep-inducing, over powering heat doesn't contribute to my concentration. Every 10/15 minutes I'm up again. First to eat, then to read the diary of Anne Frank (by choice, as opposed to force) then to watch T.V.... you get the idea. So hopefully, by the grace of God, I will have the brain power, will power and sheer conscienceness to take and (cross your fingers) do well on the regents tomorrow. But, that's going to require more study time. If I calculated the time I spent studying/reviewing/looking over science stuff....well, I don't think you'd want to. But, as we all need something to look forward to (I find this greatly contributes to positive thinking and wellness of mind and body) as soon as the regents are over, we can shut off our brains, and we have nothing looming over our heads. No voice telling us we really should be studying even during the minutes before bed. No over-anxious Mrs. Koenig reinforcing the nerve-wracking thought that this goes on our high school transcripts. No piles of textbooks and papers and ESRTS and practice regents stacked a mile high in bedrooms. Until next year, that is......

Happy Father's Day!!

Yup! I love my daddy, and you should too. That's about it!

A Day in Repose

It sure is swell to have nothing, I repeat, nothing to do afterschool. That may come as a shock, depending on what kind of person you are, but when you've had a schedule like mine, a breather is pretty nice. I came home, ate, watched T.V., went outside, you know. And now it is absolutely gorgeous out. I've been reading The Diary of Anne Frank. As in, her actual diary, not the play or an adaptation. I feel myself connecting to her in so many ways. It's so inspiring to read her thoughts, insights, point of view. It's really an eye opener to her world. How she lived day in and day out in hiding, never being able to be warmed by the sun, or feel the rain. But yet, she had the maturity and compassion to step out of herself and realize that the plight of others was much worse than hers. Again, truly inspiring. She has a wonderful, intelligent writing style that abounds with personality. I wish I could have met her and became her friend.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We have a women's choir party, and we get our yearbooks to sign.
p.s. I got a 95 on the math final! p.p.s scratch the NOTHING to do part. I actually have to finish the practice regents.

Hershey Park cont.

Okay, so based on my personal agenda, not the comments of certain people (ahem..jk!) I will keep this one short.

As we were making our way to the park, we passed the actual factories, where rich smells of pure chocolate taunted us relentlessly. More tantalizing still was our first glimpse of the park: the Hershey Arena, rolller coasters glittering in the sunlight, and a flock of swarming people. Not to mention sweet little flower gardens and cool patches of shade. We still had about a 15 minute drive from where we got our first glimpse to the parking lot. And the day progressed much like this: me and jess had a difficult time deciding what to do first. We ended up going to the water park section of the park, where we met up with meghan, emily, emily and jacklyn, and stood by the splash-down ride in hopes of getting ....well, splashed! We were lucky the first time and got drenched (no bathing suit, btw.) Then we got insanely delicious ice cream, people watched (again, don't have time to go into it, or you would be in for a trea. jess knows what im talking about) By then it was almost time to check in, so we started back. But Mr. M told us about this bizzare ride where you got splashed while you were in the air on a roller coaster-type contraption. We didn't go on the ride, but we did stand under the sprays and got thorougly soaked. Then we rode the carousel, checked in, went on Comet, which was tons of fun (we went on twice, despite jess's fear) then we went on an insane water ride. It was in a tube, and we went down man-made rapids. Coolest ride ever. We were so wet, and laughing and choking and dripping, and it was amazing. And then, for the remainding hour of the day, we shopped: we bought chocolate, jewlery, kettle corn, soda, stuffed animals, and key chains. And then, tired and wet, we headed back to our chaperone and boarded the buses. And as the sun set behind a beautiful green hillside, we curled up for our four hour journey home. Jess and I set up a cozy corner and made the synthetic bus seats a small little haven. With the breeze blowing in the open windows, and the sky steadily darkening, revealing small twinking light from shopping plazas, we almost didn't want to get off the bus at 11:00 pm that night......


so that was our trip in a very large nutshell. It was a blast and I loved every part of it. Not to mention I loved (and still do, and always will) Jessica. Now...well, lets see. What do I have to do...right! Get the science packet from someone, and basically study until my head explodes for this math final tomorrow.
butttt at least I have things to look forward to. Take Friday for an example: we have a women's choir party AND we get to spend an hour and a half signing year books. And if nothing else, we have a little over a week left of school. But more reminiscing once the year is actually over.

Pictures!

So......Hershey Park

Before the activities get under way, a heads up: this can, and will be an ongoing blog. There's too much to say in one sitting. So, Hershey Park began Thursday night. It really did. The excitement was too much for me not to mention anything. Dance flew by. Me and Cheyenne and Stephanie were talking about it, and being all excited: during crunches, in the air, the whole time. And as soon as I got home, it was basically dinner, shower and getting ready: I had a bag to pack, clothes to pick out, shorts to find, money to sweet-talk out of my dad, and sunscreen to get. So, by the time everything was ready, it was about 10:00, which, in hindsight, was not the best time to go to bed for a 5:30 wake up call. Lucky for me the adrenaline produced by my excitement was a natural exhaustion reliever. Bright and early, before anyone in the house, I woke up Friday morning, extremely excited and abnormally awake. (if that made any sense whatsoever) After throwing things in my bag and shoving down some Cocoa Puffs, while charging my ipod, I grabbed my trumpet and I was finally out of the house. Arriving at the middle school heightened my excitement: most were too charged up to be tired, and it increased the excitement in the room. I met up with Jess and our group (which wasn't that great, but it didn't really matter. we didn't have to stay with them.) After a highly disregarded attempt by Mrs. Hanson to maintain order, mutes and whatnot were handed out, and we piled onto public transportation buses; only slightly superior to your standard school bus. Me and Jess examined the content of our bus and became increasingly dreary of the outcome of the bus ride, as one after another piled on: harry, connor, anthony, sam, jeremy etc. But, as we rode into the sun climbing higher in the sky, all conciousness was abandoned and we just sat back to enjoy the ride. Well.....I shouldn't necessarily say "sat." We kneeled and lay and stood and jumped and fell...you get the point. 4 hours goes by remarkably fast when you're with your best friend, pillows, ipods and food. Oh gosh. Speaking of food. We had 3 bags of assorted chips each, AND two bottles of Propel each. Needless to say, we were labled as pigs, by ourselves and Courtney. But we agreed not to call each other fat until we had consumed half the chocolate content of the park. So we listened to both our ipods, we ate, we talked and talked.....and talked and talked, and laughed and saw really cool things: mostly beautiful lush valleys, and sweet little farms.... and a sign for Minnesota, apparently. So we (me, courtney, jess) formed the hypothesis that we were either going to Minnesota, the Arctic circle or Pangea. (its on video) However, the neatest thing in my humble opinion, was the line of wind turbines gracefully adorning a large hill. These devices were huge, not to mention magestic...for a hunk of metal, I suppose. So, the bus ride proceeded on in a relaxed, enjoyable manner- eating and music and whatnot. In fact, it was quite easy to forget that we were not going there just for the park. As the sun climbed steadily higher in the gorgeous, almost-summer sky, promises of a steaming hot day hung in the air. Our first stop was at a modern, very large church, situated rather oddly in the middle of a small, upscale residential neighborhood. We parked our buses, which we were quite ashamed of once we saw the caravan of coach buses. As we stepped of the bus, we were hit with a wall of hot air: and this was not even the heat of the day. So all of us filed into the (thank the Lord) air-conditioned church. Immediately, a horde of girls stormed the bathroom, me and Jess included. Then we took advantage of the plush couches until we were called into the practice room. I would like to say that it was all business when we stepped in there, but I would be lying: everyone was hyped up, which translates into restlessness and wandering minds. But, after being frowned upon by the coach bus riders, adorned in their superios concert dress, us, in our t-shirts and shorts, were able to get a semi-productive rehersal in before stepping into the large, resounding auditorium. There really was no stress: our minds weren't even fully on the competition- we had visions of roller coasters and ice cream swirling through our heads. It was very comforting to look out in the audience from atop the carpeted risers and see our band and orchestra comrades sitting there. (brian, sam, kerianne, meghan, katy, cate =) ) So we warmed up, and then we launched into our program of a resounding 2 songs. Steal Away was a little timid and slightly off, and the judges spoke into the little....whatever they are. A little intimidating, but not enough so to keep us from being on pitch in Charlottetown =) And just like that, the chorus portion was over. We loaded back on the buses, without the slighest notion of the frustration of what was to come (at least for Jess and I) The bus driver is supposed to know where hes going, right? Not ours. Not one bus seemed to know what was going on. We passed a sign that said Hershey Park 9 miles, only to turn around at a gas station!! And it gets worse. We passed the highschool that the band and orchestra was performing, not once, but twice! ( just a side note: the highschool looked like a barn, and it was situated next to a destroyed middle school) So we FINALLY reached our destination, and we had to get our intruments and run in. I only wish my rhodie ( sam barker) was a little more effective =) It was refreshing to be in an air conditioned school, and I was happy to discover that I had good high chops that day. And good thing too, cause we did get to the high part in our warm-up piece. The auditorium we were in was amazing. There were sound panels all over the ceiling and walls, and the bass drum was huge. So we played our program (again, two songs) which went very well. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we did not have the frame of mind to process our performance: we were on a one track mind-set- Hershey Park. Beleive it or not, it had gotten even hotter by the time we had gotten back of the buses. Which could only be expected: it was past 1:00. I was so warm, but me and Jess were so excited. So exctited, in fact, that we didn't entirely mind when the buses took a bizzare, unecesscarly route which didn't coencide with the roadsides: we just basically laughed at their stupidity. And we were on our way all the same......to be continued.


Stay tuned! We haven't even gotten to the park yet =)

HERSHEY PARKKKKK!!

I am soo excited! Tomorrow is going to be amazing, not to be an over optimist. I, honestly, cannot wait to wake up at 5:30. That's not sarcasm. And then I can't wait to get there, and sit on the bus with jess, food and our ipods. I can't wait to perform, I can't wait to go to the park, I can't wait to see the park, I can't wait to scale the rides, and scream "Ms. Moreno rocks," I can't wait to buy disgustingly unhealthy food and 12 pounds of chocolate, I can't wait to buy useless, forget-about-them souvenirs, and I REALLY can't wait to miss school. Wow! I just completely pumped myself up! So all I have to get through is dance, a shower, dinner, and sleep...and maybe homework.

Goooooood Morning!

I'm in a wonderful mood: the weather is beautiful, I did well on my science AND math tests, the social studies state tests are over, my dad just got home (hi daddy!) annnnnndddddd.....WE'RE GOING TO HERSHEY PARK ON FRIDAY! It just doesn't get any better than that, at least, it hasn't for a very long time. And so, my outlook is positive, but I don't have much to say.

I don't know why it made me as upset as it did. Maybe there's more to it, and what was said tapped into a deeper, perhaps more truthful store of emotions.

Je deteste le francais

Yeah, it really is getting on my nerves. I mean, an entire packet of useless, repetative phrases? Wait! I take that back. TWO packets of useless, repetative phrases, one of which Harry made completely hard-core. I squandered my time in class talking and such, and now I have to pay for it....its horrible! I give up. And now I have to face (bum bum bummmmm)........science!!!!!!!And Mr Rauschenbach with his " the Regents are easy" speech. Thanks for the inspiring words, really. Much appreciated. And now I must go read Christian's new born blog. More later?

A Tribute to My Chemical Romance

I was watching My Chemical Romance interviews/videos, like always, and I just felt such an overwhelming love for this INSANE band. They're just amazing. Each member is so easy to love. Mikey, well hes a nerd, but who doesn't love a nerd? Gerard, with his blonde hair and really small teeth, crazy kid. Ray with his 'fro and high voice. He's a nerd too, but his mad guitar skills can't be mocked. Bob, well he loves cats and has a fauxhawk....what's not to love? And finally, we have Frank. Incredibly stupid, really funny, and extremely adorable. So if you ever have a chance (this doesn't apply to you, Kerianne) go on You Tube and type in anything from My Chemical Romance interviews, to MCR videos, to on the spot interviews with MCR (amazing),to Gerard's shaving accident (scarring) .....you get the idea.

Isn't he a doll?

8th Grade Formal 2007

What a night! It wasn't exactly what I had imagined, but it was fun nonetheless. A rather minimal amount of drama, which is always a plus. To think that that was our last dance in Middle School =( The decorations were sweet, and everyone looked incredible, but none so amazing as the four bombshells that arrived straight from the McClelland Manor =) The 8 hours spent on getting ready were well worth the memories, amazing hair, and lack of school. There were many hot, sweaty 8th graders mashed together with eardrum-bursting loud music and formal attire: it made for a memorable night. And in the morning, it was NYSSMA full speed ahead. I arrived at 10:45, just in time for my brother to warm up and make his 10:55 time. He was very confident and did well: 25/28. We had some time in between (me, my mom, and my brother) so we took a trip to Woodbury Commons to look for a gift for a party my sister is going to tomorrow. So we went to the Swarovski crystal store. For those of you who have never been, it is an alternate reality. There are sweet little buildings, each housing extremely high-end stores (i.e. Dooney and Bourke, Jimmy Choo, Godiva chocolate, Dolce and Gabbana, you get the idea) This Swarovski crystal place had crystals the size of footballs. Everything shined. Then we went to Chanel, which was a slap in the face. The dress on display, hand-made and adorned with gems, it was priced at $26,665.00. And there were people in the store.....buying stuff!!! It was crazy. I think the least expensive item in there were shorts for like $250. Then we went back to Monroe-Woodbury high school at 12:15. Eric didn't come, so I went at 12:40 (I was supposed to go at 12:50) The judge was young and kind, a good combination. I actually wasn't terribly mervous. My scales went well, my solo went well, my sight-reading bombed. But I came out with a smile, and waited for the results. Meanwhile, in the practice room, I met up with a lot of musicians (Elise, Molly, Emily, Julia, Cate etc.) and read Animal Farm (great book) All we had to do now was wait for my sister to go at 2:15. In the interim, Mr. Muelbauer nicely brought me my score. I got a 24/28 (excellent), and some mixed comments. I liked the good ones! Once my sister went, we left. Everyone was hungry, but we did some shopping, then went to Wendy's while the brief thunderstorm raged around us. On the way home, I fell asleep to Billy Joel, and we got home at about 6:40. A long day, which the heat did not help. So its nice to have the off my shoulders. And I am still reveling in formal memories.

*Sigh*

That was a sigh mainly of contenement, for those of you sick of hearing me complain about my hectic life (thanks for the sympathy, marc-anthony) But, I just got back from the concert, which was quite enjoyable. It exceeded expectations. And I don't mean the content of the songs. Me and Jess took an early, nerve-wracking, over-dramatic tour of the high school- as far as we were allowed of course. The conclusion? It's much too big, I want to stay in Middle School, and our next vacation is to Neverland. I'm quite hungry right now, and I want to continue watching America's Funniest Home Videos. Can't wait for formal!!!!

Let's kick it!

Well, I've got a lot on my plate from now til the end of the year, and not much time to eat it. Case in point: I just printed out 23 pages of pure Regents joy, for some much needed practice. And that's not as good as it gets. I have a math final, a social studies final, a science test, a social studies test, the formal (social stress), NYSSMA, and the French proficiency. Oh! And I forgot. Hershey Park. That'll be the least stressful of the entire agenda I just rattled off. So for this week? Reviewing for the math final, working on getting through Animal Farm, squeezing in some extra Carnival of Venice practice time, a chorus concert tomorrow, and the formal on Friday, which I haven't bought a ticket for, and plans are still up in the air. AHHHHH! And since I haven't completely lost my head yet (which I'm sure is the Warwick Administration's main goal) why don't I go upstairs and work on some LOGIC HOMEWORK. Sheesh.

" For love of country, they accepted death" - James A. Garfield

Paraphrasing the inspirational words of Mr. Rauschenbach, before you cannonball into the pool, or squirt ketchup on your hotdog, remember what today is all about. It's about the valiant, self-less men and women who gave their lives for our country. (pssst. If you take a look at the most recent issue of TIME magazine, you'll find six heart-wrenching, beautiful examples of men who gave their lives days ago while on duty in Iraq.) Previously called Decoration Day, named for the decorating of graves on this day, Memorial Day is a fitting and well-deserved commemoration of those who gave their lives in service. It was officially proclaimed on May 5 1868 by General John Logan (commander of the Grand Army of the Republic) and it was first observed on May 30 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington Cemetery. In 1873, we were the first state to recognize the holiday. In time, the rest of the nothern states observed the holiday, though it took the south longer. It is now typically celebrated with a parade and various other celebrations, (barbeques, fireworks etc.) though few take the time to give thanks and reflect on the bravery and soul of our men and women in service, those that are now veterans, and those that gave their lives. So take a minute or two to reflect, say a prayer and remember.

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we
lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies
grow
In Flanders fields.

This poem ( which was later set to music) commemorating the deceased soldiers was written by John McCrae in 1915. From this poem, Moina Michael, in 1915, came up with the idea to wear poppies on Memorial Day. This is still tradition today.
And I will leave you with that. Happy Memorial Day!

"Rather than alter our opinion, we distort incoming information in a way that makes it support our initial assumptions"

It's the monumentous subjects I often struggle with: the war in Iraq, racism, freedom of speech. I, along with the rest of today's youth, are so inexperienced. What knowledge do we have to go on, to form our opinions? Everyone watches the news. The experienced person can relate, the intelligent can only analyze. How can I take a side on the war in Iraq if I don't even know the whole story? If I don't know what the troops are facing everyday, or what goes through the President's mind every time he makes even the slighest decision affecting the war? Or how about the constant influxe of opinions from biased adults? Often times, their experience is their demise: or their fortitude, whichever way you look at it. Either way, they influence the youth. Sometimes its positive, sometimes its negative. I know that for me, I am easily swayed by well-supported opinions. But with the proper knowledge and way with words, anyone could have well-supported opinions, couldn't they? So ultimately, I have decided not to become rigid in my opinions, let some of the worldly knowledge and experiences wash over me in time, and then, in a few years, I too will have the knowledge and experience to form well-supported opinions. Another hint to myself? ( and anyone else struggling with the same issues) Don't bite off more than you can chew. We can observe, we can analyze, but if the issue is too large to comprehend, don't act on pre-conceived notions. And, if I've made any sense at all, the age-old lesson of: looks can be deceiving ties into this as well. I just tend to feel that not having an opinion makes me come across as unintelligent, or weak. I now know that this is not true. Now isn't that incredible? I just solved an issue within myself simply by throwing some words on a page. The astounding power of language at work again. And now, I am going to go eat pizza. See what I mean by not biting off more than you can chew?(and I'm not being literal) I'm not going to wallow in these thoughts the whole night.

Mr. Mesic.......is a nerd.

PLUTO..........IS A PLANET!
That's what we heard for most of our science class today, thanks to the Two Skinnee J's. They wrote the craziest song ever. For the select few that chose to be COMPLETE dorks (*cough* Marc-Anthony *cough* *cough* and me *cough*) we heard it afterschool also. This intense display of science geek power is not to be over shadowed by Interplanet Janet. Who is Interplanet Janet you ask? Well, she's a galaxy girl.

Cough, Cough

I woke up sick this morning, which is a phenomenon in itself, because I haven't gotten sick in months. As my mom so quaintly puts it, I am as healthy as a horse. But I won't bore you with my symptoms. I just didn't feel well. So I spent the day prettily lazily, as is expected. I slept, went outside, made brownies, watched T.V., read, went shoppping...jealous yet? I got great shoes for formal. Today I went shopping for the first time in my PJs. It's pretty freeing, you know, being so comfortable in a public place. Now my throat hurts, and I would be doing my homework if I had my ELA textbook. Well, better study up for the science quiz. Speaking of science, I felt like such a dork. I was lying outside, trying to figure out the position of the sun in relation to my position and the time of year. =) Okay, now I'll really go. I'm so excited for formal!!!

" Society is a masked ball where everyone hides his real character, and reveals it by hiding"

Expressing yourself is one of the biggest challenges of life. Especially when individuality and self-expression are being smothered everyday by the demands of our regulation world. And that leaves us with the rare, inspirational men and women who are able to express themselves despite all odds. It is sad to say that there are not many people like this in our world today. They all disappeared with the start of this generation. Take the corporate world, for example. Can you be successful and expressive? It is very difficult. Especially when there is someone above you telling you what you need to do in order to be successful. It takes a well-established career to rid yourself of the constraints previously tying you down. And what about in the childhood years? When self-expression carries has more labels than a grocery store. You are labeled as emo if you like black, you are crazy if you are too happy. And forget about indulging yourself in a passion. Congratulations! You've just gained nerd status because you read novels instead of playing kickball. In today's world, its just a landmark you have to pass: the landmark of being able to express yourself. But the strongest people are those who retain their individuality their whole life long, no matter what situation they find themselves in. I am feeling the first gentle tugs of the pressure to sacrafice my individuality. But I'll be like a magnet: I'll defy the gravity that pulls me down. ( Thank youuu Mr. Mesic) Its all really a question of self-affirmation.

My Fears

- That my best friend is going to grow up and away from me.
- That I'm going to be weak when I have to be strong.
- That my talents will go to waste.
-That I will take beauty for granted.
-That opportunities will slip right through my grasp.
-That I will underestimate myself.
-That I will not be able to help the world.

....That was extremely hard to do. It makes you feel so vulnerable. But who said I couldn't overcome my fears? Just thought I'd put them out in the open.

Imagery of the Evening

It is surreal outside right now. I felt like I was in another world. The landscape is alien in the most beautiful way imaginable.

The sun is a glowing orb of vibrant orange.
Paired with the grey clouds of a storm, of which only the undersides are illuminated.

Mosquitos buzz through the agitated air.
A light breeze chills the raindrops that tingle my skin.

Trees sway lightly in the stark wind.
Only the leaves directly facing the sun are lit up, glowing gold.

High, dark clouds give way to light, vibrant clouds.
The sun, a brilliant orb suspended in the sky, disappears behind the horizon, dotted with trees.

Fantastically Horrible

Meaning that I've been switching back and forth from good to bad. The first event of the day, guitar club concert, was great. Kerianne and I went crazy. What else is new. It was so much fun. not to mention invigorating, to completely let loose. We've been told we're too shy and reserved=) We were exhausted afterwards. As in, feet hurting, head pounding tired. This went for me, Meghan, Tessa and Katy. So we spent the remainder of 4th period relaxing in the band room, a.k.a. my second home. But, eventually we had to go to 5th period. I was in a really bad mood but I sucked it up and had fun in chorus. Social Studies was fine, and I found myself looking forward to watching West Side story in music. Since I gave poor Mr. Muelbauer no pre-warning, he was not able to stay after with Kerianne and I to practice for NYSSMA, which is already giving me the willies. I took Kerianne and Jess home, and now I have extensive science homework and dance. So really, its horribly fantastic.

"Grief can take care of itself. But to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with"

I am blessed to have so many people to share my joy with. What a beautiful day it was, both physically and emotionally. I was able to spend the day at the Italian Villa with my mommy, of course, my dad, brother, sister, grandma and grandpa. Of course, it was quite bittersweet not to be in the prescence of such a ferverent example of motherhood, my great-grandma. With her passing away this year, it was our first mother's day without her. Nevertheless, the timeless message of embracing and appreciating mothers extended beyond the grief. We had a wonderful dinner,and it was beautiful to be together. The physical beauty of the day contributed to the warm atmosphere. Could it have been more spectacular? The temperature was perfect, and it was clear and beautiful. Of course, the day could not properly come to a close without homeade gifts that pulled at mom's heart-strings! That's where the kids came in =). As the day came to a close, I found myself anticipating being a mother myself someday!

"Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day"

It really is. I had so much fun at Memorial park last night. It was.......infamous. I saw so many people, and it was just a blast. When I came home, I saw Dream Girls. I woke up at 9:40. That far exceeds any time I usually sleep to. But it was nice. Then I had breakfast, cleaned my room, mowed the lawn and had lunch. I'm feeling pretty good right now!

Mommy dearest

By making a mother's day card, I really appreciated the role of a mother in your life. She's an irreplacable figure. The feelings are a bit to deep to duplicate in words, but my heart goes out to everyone who no longer has a mother, who has a bad/abusive relationship with their mother, or who doesn't even have a relationship with their mother. If I was in one of these scenarios, I believe I would live life with the feeling similar to missing an arm or leg, or even worse, just having a huge, gaping hole through your middle. As extreme as that may be, that is how I would feel, because my mother is such a huge part of my life, and I appreciate her every second, even the times when I am mad at her. That is a bond that can't be re-created or replaced.

Half-Day!

I love half-days. It's nice to be home with a whole afternoon ahead of you. Today's guitar club concert was so much fun. Not saying it went perfectly (Suddenly I See fell flat on its face. Literally, everyone was flat.) But we had a great time. Me and kerianne and cate and meghan were dancing with katy and emily and everyone else. We were trying to get everyone to clap. It was , for the most part, fruitless. Especially trying to get Mr. Rausenbach to clap. During our song, me and Kerianne jumped off the stage and ran through the audience. It was great. The faculty song was a blast for them as well as the audience. So, I had a great day. In fact, I took Meghan home, got to play with Baxter AND see her formal dress. (which is gorgeous btw) So, then I came home, had lunch and now my agenda consists of relaxing, making mothers day cards, and going to Meghan's softball game at 6:00, which should be great.