FINALLLYYYYY!!!!!!!

ahhhhh sweet victory. WE ACTUALLY GOT TICKETS! TO AN ACTUAL JONAS BROTHERS CONCERT!!! WITH THE ACTUAL JONAS BROTHERS!!!!....not that we've gone to any impersonation concerts...but anyway, we tried to get them for madison square garden, but people bought them up so fast, there was no way we were getting tickets. so THEN we tried their other concert in NY, which is in Bethel new york, on august 14...and we got them!!!! so me, mariel and becky are going...im so excited!!!


wish you were coming, jess = (

Hey Kids

So just for the sake of keeping up, this is my post for the day. I'm getting kind of sick of the layout, so, uh, just a heads up ; ) I'm drained from the band concert, but I'm SO excited to go to cedar point. I had at least 3 techno dance parties last night. which is probably a record. the last one, with elly in the lobby without shoes, was pretty epic. I have a band party tomorrow, along with 3 quizzes and a test.




I'm getting tickets on saturday for a jonas brothers concert!!!!!!!!!!


homework time

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad

...it was stuck in my head. and maybe for a reason. Because even if you're not a Christian, you hear it everywhere, and in looking out at this gorgeous morning, it rings so true. Especially for yesterday. My Easter was a beautiful time of happiness, reflection and candy. and I feel the balance was very good. My Easter always starts Saturday night because we go to the Easter Vigil. and even though its two and a half hours long and it is sometimes hard to stay focused (i think i examined every hair on my head) I did try to pay attention for most of it. And what I got out of it was so spectacular. Just the feeling of reverence and faith within the church was inspiring. Because I will say that our parish is not always the dedicated bunch. But there was such a feeling of peace and joy that filled the church. Especially when all the lights were put out, leaving every parishiner holding their softly-glowing candle. It was beautiful. Also, about 5 adults were confirmed and baptized into the church. That was amazing. Because to find God later in life is much more difficult. Your brain is already hard-wired to focus on work and family. And to be able to find God through all the stress is very commendable.

So after a long but beautiful service, the mood was set for a beautiful Easter. The morning was a little cold, but the sky was stunning and the sun was out. We got our candy, of course, and I think I already ate about half of it. We went to my aunt's house, which is a really nice home in North Caldwell, NJ. It was so beautiful and happy. My grandparents, us, my aunt and uncle, my cousin and my godfather were there. My aunt and uncle got a new dog, a german sheperd mix named Logan. He's adorable. So we ate a lot of good food, saw some wild turkeys on the lawn (...) and celebrated Easter in a really nice way.

Now I'll probably go eat some more candy.

A Moment of Reflection

We can all complain about how this spring break is too short (we have another one, you know) but really, if we think about why we have off in the first place, it doesn't seem quite so pointless.
This is such a beautiful time. It's a time of appreciation for what Jesus did for us. Look around. Think of everyone you know. I'm sure there are many people you can think of that you don't like. I'm sure there are many more that you don't love...so why would you die for them? Jesus did. Or even next time you say you love someone. Really look at them, and ask yourself "would I die for this person?" It's one of the most difficult things to do...also the most powerful.

It's easy enough to get caught up in the candy and the family and the pretty dresses. But it's much more meaningful and more fulfilling to get caught up in Jesus.



More poorly expressed insight soon to come. =)

ahhhh i love this keyboard!!

I really have nothing of substance to say but i felt I needed to post because i am currently typing on THE most awesome keyboard in the world. It's my dad's and its like a laptop keyboard. His new computer as a whole is amazing. It's flat screen but really wide. It's a mac, of course, and it has a computer built into the monitor. It has a REMOTE and it's the fastest computer i've ever used. It's so amazing. so thats basically it but now im so addicted to this keyboard. and since im probably boring you im going to find another activity where i can type. ok im gonna leave now....im about to hit publish post...soon ill be gone. wow this is so addicting. even the sound the keys make when you hit them, ok. im really gonna leave now..bye. i love you. theres nothing else to write! ahhhh ok...im gone...now. bye!

Flirting is Mandatory

I found that on a chocolate wrapper...

Anyway, we're officially on spring break #1. It's so nice to have nothing to do. Especially in comparison to the whirlwind of activity that's been dominating my life (drama.) Speaking of which, I never fully recounted the experience. I've already digested it, I've spoken about it and it's pretty much sunken in that its over. I squeezed every last drop out of it that i could, and I've been thinking about all the meanings and lessons of the show itself. So I won't burden you with too much, but I'll just say this: as a whole, the show received a lot of criticism. Mainly from othere show people. But I can tell you that as audience members, you can't fully appreciated the enormity of the show that we took on. DiLeo purposely diverted away from the sugar-coated musicals that everyone is used to (i.e. Hairspray, Grease etc.) He was sending a clear message with this show. And I feel for those who didn't understand. It's such an incredibly deep show. Not only should you see it multiple times, but it requires so much post-viewing reflection in order to truly understand the concepts. It reveals the human condition and it teaches so many hard-hitting life lessons. Just by listening to the intricate lyrics, you can grasp the depth and beauty of the show. For those of you that saw it, I hope it meant something to you. Because I know it left me with so much.


Reverting to a totally different topic, I've picked my favorites for American Idol (I know, you can cheer now) And here they are:

Basshunter <3

I LOVE swedish techno. This is basshunter and he is amazing. That's all

Show #3

I'm about an hour away from call. I'm so psyched. It has been amazing putting on this show. The work, the costumes, the cast. Without using every cliche in the book, I'm gonna miss it terribly.
Now I have to shower, do my hair and then head out. Thanks to everyone who came last night. I hope you liked it!!

National History Day 2008

"It's not just a day, it's an experience" That couldn't have been more true. It certainly was "an experience." Day, experience, whatever you want to call it, here's how it went:

I woke up at 5:30 AM. It was drizzling, though you couldn't really tell because it was still dark. I got up, put the snacks in a bag, ate breakfast, then went upstairs to change. I was planning to update my ipod, but at the last minute, it decided to erase all my songs. So I had less than an hour to import over 400 songs...better get started! From there, I re-straightened my hair which, not to my surprise, had curled up literally overnight. That took me a while, obviously. It was now about 6:15. I got dressed really fast: the bus was supposed to be leaving at 6:45. I didn't even have time to put my make-up on. I just threw everything in a bag and urged my mom along, who was also getting ready. She followed up on her wish to be a judge. We left the house at about 6:40. It was crunch time at this point. We raced through the wet, empty streets to pick up Marc-Anthony. Yeah. It was that dramatic.

We got to the school at literally 6:46. The bus was still in the parking lot. Thank goodness. Everyone was already on it at this point. Minor detail. Except for Mr. Rauschenbach. We were finally packed and ready to go. We pulled out of the parking lot, the rain already drenching the windows.

Assuming that there weren't any good eigth graders to talk to (boy were we wrong), we turned our attention to catching up with Mr. Rauschenbach. Which is always fun. I love that man. Best teacher ever. Of course we were talking to Justin Lapidus...or, rather, he was talking to us. He NEVER stops talking. But I love him. The anticipation mounted as we turned into the parking lot of St. Thomas Aquinas. All the old memories came flooding back. Especially when Mr. R relayed his "there are 25 of you and one of me" speech. We went in and stood on a rather long line to register. I hope you know I'm leaving some things out that really aren't important (<3) Then we went back out to the bus and unloaded all our things. They were all safe and sound in the bag. Or so we thought. As Mr. Rauschenbach was looking through all the process papers/bibliographies, we realized we didn't have ours. We began asking if anyone had laptops. We got a few responses but then realized we had nowhere to print them out. We had no choice but to go in and set up our project without them.

The exhibits were in the same place as last year but this time we had a terrible location. It was in the corner. Literally. We couldn't even fit it on the table, which was what we were going to do originally, because the ceiling was too low. But the exhibit looked pretty impressive. We then explained our process paper dilema to Rausch and he made a few suggestions. Ultimately, Kerianne called her dad to ask him to bring them all the way here. The whole 45 minute ride. he nobly agreed and we were saved. With that out of the way, we were off to size up the competition. They were pretty impressive. There were many more junior exhibits than seniors and we enjoyed looking at them, with topics ranging from gay rights to china's economy. The few senior exhibits we saw were EXTREMELY professional looking. Almost to the point where you would question their authenticity. It was stiff competition. We returned to our exhibit, where we had a sizable crowd of admirers, including some of Rausch's kids. We ended up talking to them and we met some really...nice kids =) We didn't have long to wait until the judged arrived. With the normal introductions and signatures out of the way, we stepped back and allowed them to look over our project. They asked a few questions which we answere very well, in my opinion. The male judge's only scrutiny was that he didn't like that we didn't have a concrete compromise, although we explained the situation well. Still without the process papers, we said that the fourth member of our group had a "family emergency" and that she had the process papers. They bought it and we bought ourselves some extra time. They walked away looking pleased.

We then had some downtime. Kerianne and Marc-Anthony played cards, we ate, I read and we chilled with the kids from Rausch's class. That was really fun. The process papers eventually made it and we were able to present them to the judges. In what seemed like no time, we were able to go over to the awards ceremony. However, we made a detour to investigate reports of ghosts in the girls bathroom....Anyway, we found some seats, I met my dad, and we proceeded to wait. And boy did we wait. Finally, the judges processed into the gym and the ceremony got under way. We listened as names were called and high-acheving youth stepped forward to accept their medals, symobls of their hard work and knowledge. I guess you could say they saved the best for last. They FINALLY got to senior group exhibits. After sizing up the competition, all we could hope for was third. And when they didn't call our named 3rd, we knew we were out of luck. As the ceremony came to a close and parents flocked to their precious winners, we looked around, severely disappointed. The general thought was "we wasted 6 months of our lives for nothing. Which is true. We walked back to the slowly thinning crowds of the exhibit hall and dismantled our project in a very melancholy manner. We walked to the bus in the rain and sat down in the cold, sticky seats that smelled like wet Doritos. Our moods were lifted by the bus ride, however. Like I said, the kids we met were lots of fun.

Back at the school, the kids packed up and got into their respective cars. I went home with Kerianne and we proceeded to recount and reflect on the "experience" of the day. Complete with ranting about the...nice kids we met =)

The day was not lost. We had a lot of fun, we gained valuable experiences, and we were able to see what it takes to suceed in the senior division. We won't be back next year, but who knows? Maybe someday....

You pop the trunk, I pop the hood

The most popular hairstyle today, hands down, was wet and up in a bun. I can't say anything because that's how I'm going to be wearing my hair everyday when I'm swimming. Its interesting because its a very exposing experience for some girls. Their hair isn't perfect, their make-up is smugged. It's neat because its like stripping them down to the bare minimum. I'm not even going to try to make myself look presentable after swimming. Not that I do anyway ; )
Things are going pretty well in all other aspects. Drama is consuming my life and I love it. Friday we're getting costumes =) I'm gonna miss it the years I don't do drama. Because I defenitely can't do it everyear.

I'm excited for

- the band trip
-swimming (surprisingly)
-NHD
-Pippin

and, in the near future, America's Next Top Model. Every once in a while I like making lists like this because it helps me to realize how much I have to look forward to.
Hopefully we'll have a bout of good weather coming up.

and hopefully I'll have my best friends tomorrow. It was so lonely without them =( <33