on the detriment of a school year left in the wake of too many snow days

This semester, the students of my high school have been blessed with more snow than usual, so much, in fact, that our county has received almost ten snow days.
We only have ten, actually, until the school year begins to move into the summer.

Why is this not a good thing?
Well, the school decided to prolong the school year earlier so that our summer consists of June and July only.  😦
(I really tried not to use emoticons in my blog posts, but I just didn’t succeed this time.  Sorry.)

Anyway, my schooling is indeed suffering because of the inconsistency.  On top of that, I am taking two AP classes this semester, and my studies aren’t helped at all by my desire to write a novel.  It just isn’t conducive to studying American History and rhetoric.  (The rhetoric is actually helping a lot because my teacher has a doctorate and is really cool.)  I just can’t think about the Labor Unions of the late 1800s.  It’s just not interesting.  I was forced to take extensive notes on the Knights of Labor today.  Their only significance was as one of the very first labor unions.

Why am I talking about this?  As Hassan would say,* it’s NOT INTERESTING.

So, I do not, at this point, care if what I am about to type (say? type.) is interesting, but I find myself saying the following when I like something:  “Made of awesome.”  When I dislike something, I will say “Made of suck.”  I’ve been doing this for almost all of 2010.  I think it’s the influence of the vlogbrothers and the nerdfighters.  This may also include the fiveawesomegirls, who I happen to think are MADE OF AWESOME.  So, for further reference, I will probably start using these phrases within my blog posts.  🙂

I was also considering beginning my own YouTube project, partly because of my love of the Internet and partly because I have gotten some friends who have expressed interest in joining my quest.  These friends are indeed made of awesome and live in my general area.  Their names:  Blair, Peyton, Megan, and Hope.  I hope (harty har har har) that we’ll see more of them in the future.  You know, if it ever happens at all.

In other news, I cannot say how adorable John Green’s new baby Henry is.  I have no children of my own (obviously), and I cannot say that my own siblings were at all cute because I have lived for several years with the people those babies have become, but I must say:  he happens to be one of the cutest babies ever.**

Now, I am very, very tired.  The only thing I have left to say is that I am quite enjoying the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this year and I am happy to report that I witness Shaun White’s amazing domination of the gold medal in snowboarding.  Now we just need Evan Lysacek because, and you may or may not see these words in this exact order ever again, he is HOTTIE.  I do not care if Evan Lysacek is gay, because really, I just like to look at him.  🙂

Best Wishes!

~Ava.

*From John Green’s book, An Abundance of Katherines.

**I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold true to this opinion forever, considering that I am only sixteen and a half and may (probably not, but whatever) have children in the future.  I’m not really excited about it, considering the horrible things women go through to obtain babies.

on the death of a good friend

Before you freak out, I am not that devastated about this loss.  Why?

Because it was the death of an inanimate object.

More specifically, my clarinet mouthpiece (which I’ve used for almost four years) has cracked.  When I was cleaning it (by boiling the mouthpiece as told by a fellow player), I pulled it out with a fresh seam.

YAYYYY.

The only good thing to come from this sad ordeal is the fact that I HAVE TO GET a new mouthpiece, and I found the same one online marked down from $165 to about $70.  So, all in all, a fairly good day.

Update:  The mouthpiece has turned brown.  Not just normal, wood-bark brown.  DOG POOP BROWN.

EWWWWWW.

I’m going to go pray that the new one gets here soon.

🙂

~trebleclef2011

on a small bit of good news, being freezing in the outer computer room, and more snow days.

My title is somewhat self-explanatory, but I’m going to have to elaborate to make any kind of sense.

It is FREEZING in northern Tennessee.  I expected to go to school today (I was actually looking forward to it a little bit), but Sumner County called at 5:45 am to inform my mother that we are actually out of school.

I don’t have anything to do.  I finished all my homework yesterday.

So, basically, I have resigned myself to sitting in the outer computer room of my house with our newly reformatted computer (Yay) and slowly freezing to death.

This room is really messy.

Basic description of what I am wearing:
knit scarf, yoga pants over basketball shorts, tank top, t-shirt, guard hoodie, and letterman jacket.

I am going to require socks pretty soon.

I hope that those books I ordered on Amazon show up soon.

~trebleclef2011

on my freaking favorite quote in the history of Nerdfighteria

Before I post this, I’m probably going to have to explain that I am, in fact, a nerdfighter.  To explain nerdfighting would take much time and brain cells that I am not in possession of (well, maybe I am, but I don’t have the patience either).

Here’s the idea:  go to http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers

Everything will become clear soon.  🙂

The quote:

“There are at least two distinct meanings of ‘hot’:  there is the, like, normal human definition which is that ‘this individual seems suitable for mating’. And then there’s the weird, culturally constructed definition of ‘hot’ which means, ‘that individual is malnourished and has probably had plastic bags inserted into her breasts’. Like, I think if you went back to the 18th century and asked a 15-year-old boy, ‘Would you like to marry a woman who has had plastic bags needlessly inserted into her breasts?’ that 15-year-old boy would probably be like… ‘What’s plastic?’ ” (John Green, February 24th, 2009)

This is pretty much one of my favorite quotes ever.  This isn’t exactly the most subtle way of introducing my friends and relatives to Nerdfighting, but it’s one of the funniest ways, and I’ll probably post more quotes as life goes on.

Okay, bye.

~trebleclef2011

on how to do away with the infuriating blog title problem

I cannot stand the blog-title requirement.  It is driving me INSANE.  (Not that I wasn’t already, but I really do not want to be a paranoid schizophrenic.)  I can’t decide on a blog title, and, since I plan on maintaining this blog for years to come, the “prom countdown” thing isn’t gonna fly for much longer.

Any suggestions?

I have had a wonderful 6-day long weekend.  We’ve gotten last Friday off due to snow (1), then the weekend (1+2=3), then three days off due to ice on the roads (1+2+3=6).  The verdict is still out on whether or not we’re off tomorrow as well.

This abnormally long weekend has allowed for some MAJOR procrastination, but I did manage to finish my analysis thesis on “Women’s Brains” by Stephen Jay Gould at midnight on Monday.  I was at a friend’s house.  Weird, it is, that I always get more work done when I’m dog tired and supposed to be having fun.

Currently, I still have more work to do.  I think that the gravy train’s just about used up, because it’s already 5:00 pm and we have no word on the status of school tomorrow.  I would ask my mom, but she’s busy at work.

I have enjoyed this extra-long weekend, don’t get me wrong.  It’s like a little taste of summer.

I will have to think for a while about the title predicament.

Mmkay, I’m too tired to continue this.  Questions in comments.  🙂

~trebleclef2011

on sleepovers, old Disney movies, and thesis sentences

I was reading some of John Green’s old blog posts from his site, sparksflyup.com, and found a VERY EFFECTIVE  way to blog:
Self-interview. 

I’m gonna try it.

Q:  What did you do today?

A:  I woke up at 10:00 am central time, looked out of my window, and saw the snow which allowed me to miss school today.  Throughout the day, I wrote an outline of a book I imagined yesterday (incomplete, of course), became a master of procrastination, and was invited to a friend’s house to sleep over.

Q:  So how’s the sleepover going?

A:  I brought my AP English stuff with me.  Two people in my class live at this house, and they haven’t begun to do this homework yet.  Due to the ice on the roads, we’ve gotten 3 snow days.  This thesis sentence was due Friday.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving us all of this deplorable weather. 
We’ve watched three movies:  The Sword in the Stone, Atlantis:  the Lost Empire, and Holes.  I haven’t been able to focus fully because (surprise surprise) I have to finish this thesis TONIGHT or I won’t be able to enjoy myself tomorrow.  I don’t even like the essay I’m analyzing.  It’s called “Women’s Brains” and it discusses scientific findings concerning brain size and intellect of different social groups.  This is, by far, the least interesting essay I’ve ever had to read.  I’m so glad that I can share my misery with the world through my wonderful blog.

Q:  Okay, you answered my question about thesis sentences, but not so much about the sleepover.  Really, what’s going on at the sleepover?

A:  Not much of anything.  We’re all exhausted and ready to sleep.  We ate a lot of food, though.  I had some nice chicken and dumplings earlier.

Q:  How about the old Disney movies?

A:  The Sword in the Stone was pretty refreshing…I missed little Arthur and Archimedes.  They’re entertaining, but not so much as the fact that my friend Mary STILL has a VHS.  I haven’t used one of these ancient machines in 4 years!  (I’m sure that I sound like some insane juvenile at this point, but considering the fact that I am actually 16, I suppose I can be.)

Q:  It’s getting pretty late.

A:  I was gonna go to sleep pretty soon anyway.  I have to finish my thesis first, so I should be wrapping up this blog pretty soon.

Night y’all!

~trebleclef2011

on braces, the matrix, and getting hit with a football

First thing:

I DO NOT suggest sitting too close to your brother, mother, and father while they’re having a game of “catch” with a football, IN THE LIVING ROOM, while watching The Replacements.  It hurts very much, especially with the presence of braces and brackets that burrow into your mouth so deep it seems permanent.

I would say that the snow outside functioned quite nicely as an ice-pack.

It really hurts right about now.  I remember putting Orajel in my mouth earlier, and it helped, but only temporarily.
UGH IT HURTS!

I have had to pull my attentions from prom planning for today due to the frightening amount of homework I have to complete by Tuesday.  It’s a good thing that I don’t have school tomorrow due to ice on the roads, because I would be SO OUT OF LUCK it isn’t even funny.  I just may have forgotten how to write a thesis sentence in three days.

***I forgot about this post until the day AFTER I planned to publish it, so here it is anyway.  It may make no sense, but whatever.

best of luck,

or better yet,

BEST WISHES!

~trebleclef2011

on dress shopping and being snowed in for days

Not unusual in Tennessee, we had a snow day on Friday (yesterday); that day actually wasn’t that snowy, but as the day progressed, we were COVERED in snow.

I’ve basically spent the past two days looking at dresses online.  I’ve found quite a few and come up with some GREAT prom-night plans:

1)  Start elegant, with heels, dress, and curled hair.

2)  For the after-prom, a top hat and matching high-top converse will be required.  (You know, for traipsing about town)  *Also, a suitable jacket may be required.

3)  Commence painting the town!  In the middle of the night!  🙂

More to come, but here are a few DO-NOTs:

1)  Sequins in moderation, not in abundance.  No one needs to be that shiny.

2)  Coverage is everything.  Make sure all of the essentials are NOT SEEN!

3)  Don’t go crazy until the after-party.

Today, my family and I walked to the elementary school down the street and played in the snow.  🙂  I haven’t gotten to do this since I was VERY little…I grew up in MS, where there is never snow.

LIST:  Needed for prom night.  (To be added to)

1)  A date.  (a male date, specifically, with money and a tuxedo [BLACK AND WHITE])

2)  A dress.

3)  High top converse matching the dress

4)  Transportation

5)  A top hat

6)  Heels for the AT PROM appearance

7)  Hairstylist

8)  Hair STYLE

9)  Color palate.

title isn’t coming today, sorry

I missed blogging a lot, so I am here.  Blogging again.

Today many things happened.  In Spanish 3, we turned in some homework.  It wasn’t boring at the time, but it sure seems like it now.  Urgh.

Now I remember.  During Spanish Sra. Jorge had our class play a game called “El Correo” in which we conjugated verbs to review for tomorrow’s quiz.  It wasn’t actually that fun until Salvador started drawing during his turn.  I had to erase…something he drew.  It was bad.

During second block, when I have APUSH (look it up), the school held Wrestlemania in the gym and everybody except Will, Alicea, and me.  Alicea found a copy of The Devil Wears Prada in her bag during class, so our teacher went around to the other rooms in the social studies hallway and invited people to come watch it with us.  Then he got us a bigger TV to watch it on.

I love history.

It’s raining outside.  I hate rain.  I kind of want to sing “Rain, rain, go away,”  right now.  That’s really juvenile, but it’s true.

Fortunately for me, my teachers gave me a break on the homework front today and I only have one assignment to complete.  Sadly, I have not finished yet.  Editorial cartoons of similar nature are hard to come by.  Especially ones from The Onion.

The best part of my day was after band had ended.  Mr. Phillips called me to the office, and we listened to one of the messages on the phone.  The MTSBOA called, and I’m now a member of the Silver Band at Midstate!  🙂  Now I get to be in the same band as Rebecca, Matthew, Blair, Hannah, and Abbye!  It’s been a good day.

The only bad part was how boring it was.  I need more reading material.

-trebleclef2011

THOSE people.

I have always wanted to be one of those people.  The ones who really make something of themselves, and make the whole world better.  The ones who you can talk to, who make you really think about what’s really important.  The ones who make you laugh, you make you cry, who are always shining.  I want to be one of THOSE people.

I realized that I feel like a complainer.  I procrastinate very badly, and sometimes things don’t work out for me.  At these times, I don’t feel so great about myself.

If I was one of those people, I would do what I wanted to do.  I wouldn’t be afraid of anything.  I would live the way I really wanted to, and I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.

I’m going to do it.  I’m going to BE one of those people.  I’m going to live with passion.  I’m not going to let anything stand in my way.  I’m going make people look at me like I’m crazy, and also look at me like I’m a genius.  I’m going do what my God wants me to do, and I’m going to live crazily through him.  I’m going to do it.

 

Try and stop me.

~trebleclef2011