When I first started blogging, I have to say that I really wasn't a fan. I felt it was useless, dumb, pointless, and 400 words was a lot more than what I had to write in my writing notebook so I felt I was getting gipped and it wasn't fair. But now that I've had time to think about it and I've gone a while with blogging, I can see why a teacher would choose to have their students blog.
First of all it lets them write freely. I'm glad we could write about anything we wanted to because that gave me the opportunity to babble if I felt like I wanted to or vent about something if I really wanted, which was nice. Especially since it's easier to write things down when you're frustrated than to talk and it just makes you feel better.
It also gives students and opportunity to see other bloggers and their opinions on things and then you can even write a response to it. If you write in a notebook, you don't really get to do that. You might read a neighbors entry or something if they allow it, but it's just not the same.
Then there's the aspect that anyone can read your writing. Yes, it is kind of scary that anyone can read your writing, but you can also get noticed if you'd like. I didn't personally get any comments from people I didn't know, but my friend was telling me about how he reviewed a book and connected the link to the authors blog, and the author actually commented on his post. That's pretty cool.
It's also an easy way for the teacher to check without the hassle of handling a bagillion different papers. He or she can just jump on the computer and check it out. That seems much more convenient to me than having all the kids turn everything in and then getting them back and all that jazz. It's also easier for the student because they don't have to deal with handing them in and getting them back.
As the year has gone by, I've grown to like blogs more. They're still not my favorite because we're being made to do them, but there are worse things in the world we could have to do.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Doctors
After the nurses were finally done torturing me with needles and swabs and everything else, we were left alone in the room for a while. By that time my dad had gotten to the hospital as well. Despite how uncomfortable that hospital bed was, I managed to fall asleep til the doctor came in. he confirmed that I had mono and told us I didn't have tonsillitis or strep throat. He also told us my blood count was extremely high, but it's still in the realm that he doesn't think I would need to be emitted. He said I wasn't dehydrated but I could be drinking more and that would help. All I could do was take Tylenol and drink and wait it out. We asked him about my tonsils and if I would have to get them taken out because the tissue was dying and he told us that he wasn't sure but if I did, no one would operate on me for another 6 to 8 months because they would want to make sure the mono isn't going to act up.
After all that they finally unhooked me and let me go home where I passed out for the rest of the day. The doctor had told us that he talked to our family doctor and had set up a follow-up appointment to make sure the blood count and everything was going down.
The day came where I had to go back to the doctors office to check everything out. I was finally feeling a little better. Not much, but a little and the fever had gone down significantly. We found out that in a week and a half I had lost 13 pounds. The doctor wasn't really much help. My tonsils were going down and I wasn't really feeling nauseous anymore, but I did still have no appetite. She just told us that would come back and that I had to go to the lab to get blood drawn. My first thought was damn it. Get ready for pain. This is gonna suck and I don't wanna go through all of it again.
Of course when I got back there I was already freaked out. The lady took one look at my arms and asked what the people at the hospital did to me. I told her they tortured me. She couldn't draw blood from a vein if it was burst or collapsed, which is indicated by the bruises, and they did that to all the veins they could get to except one. I was lucky that this lady was a vein wizard because it only took her one try to get to that one vein. I asked if I could get blood drawn there every time. She said of course. And before I knew it, we were out of there and back home where I could sleep again.
After all that they finally unhooked me and let me go home where I passed out for the rest of the day. The doctor had told us that he talked to our family doctor and had set up a follow-up appointment to make sure the blood count and everything was going down.
The day came where I had to go back to the doctors office to check everything out. I was finally feeling a little better. Not much, but a little and the fever had gone down significantly. We found out that in a week and a half I had lost 13 pounds. The doctor wasn't really much help. My tonsils were going down and I wasn't really feeling nauseous anymore, but I did still have no appetite. She just told us that would come back and that I had to go to the lab to get blood drawn. My first thought was damn it. Get ready for pain. This is gonna suck and I don't wanna go through all of it again.
Of course when I got back there I was already freaked out. The lady took one look at my arms and asked what the people at the hospital did to me. I told her they tortured me. She couldn't draw blood from a vein if it was burst or collapsed, which is indicated by the bruises, and they did that to all the veins they could get to except one. I was lucky that this lady was a vein wizard because it only took her one try to get to that one vein. I asked if I could get blood drawn there every time. She said of course. And before I knew it, we were out of there and back home where I could sleep again.
The Torture Continues
I'm fairly certain the girl who was working on my left arm had no idea what she was doing because she was causing a lot of pain and could not get a good poke to save her life. She tried all the tricks. Had me pump my fist, used the rubber band thing on my arm, slapped my arm, nothing worked for her. The guy on my right got more lucky. He struck gold. Because the girl on my left was a little incompetent, The guy had to take about 5 valves of blood from my right arm. This left a HUGE bruise on my arm that didn't fade away til about 2 weeks later. It hurt and was so traumatizing. That little incident caused me about 4 bruises between the 2 arms.
Then came the IV. This was even worse than the two nit wits drawing blood. Once again, I have terrible veins so the lady took about 5 minutes to find a vein she thought she could get at. Apparently I had a vein that was there and was fairly decent but every time she tried to poke it, which was about 16 times, it would move on her. So she dug around a little to try and get it, but believe it or not, that didn't work either. What a shocker. So far, that has hurt the worst. The IVs aren't really needles. They're plastic tubes that has another little plastic tube in that so they're easy to change. And of course this plastic tube they're sticking in me is bigger than a needle. So she decided to try the top of my hand. She found one she thought she could get and was successful, but unfortunately, she collapsed my vein. Another bruise. My favorite. She tried once again on my forearm with no success, so she decided to call in the big guns.
The next nurse who came in to poke me was the roughest of them all. I think I cried the whole time she was in the room. It hurt so bad when she was trying to get to my vein. She was not being gentle at all. It was really scary and my mom kept telling me to calm down so I don't move my arm but it was hard. Thankfully, she finally got it in. Then after they got it in, I was afraid to move my arm because every time I did, I would feel it move in my arm and that is the most disgusting feeling ever.
Then came the IV. This was even worse than the two nit wits drawing blood. Once again, I have terrible veins so the lady took about 5 minutes to find a vein she thought she could get at. Apparently I had a vein that was there and was fairly decent but every time she tried to poke it, which was about 16 times, it would move on her. So she dug around a little to try and get it, but believe it or not, that didn't work either. What a shocker. So far, that has hurt the worst. The IVs aren't really needles. They're plastic tubes that has another little plastic tube in that so they're easy to change. And of course this plastic tube they're sticking in me is bigger than a needle. So she decided to try the top of my hand. She found one she thought she could get and was successful, but unfortunately, she collapsed my vein. Another bruise. My favorite. She tried once again on my forearm with no success, so she decided to call in the big guns.
The next nurse who came in to poke me was the roughest of them all. I think I cried the whole time she was in the room. It hurt so bad when she was trying to get to my vein. She was not being gentle at all. It was really scary and my mom kept telling me to calm down so I don't move my arm but it was hard. Thankfully, she finally got it in. Then after they got it in, I was afraid to move my arm because every time I did, I would feel it move in my arm and that is the most disgusting feeling ever.
The Torture Begins
After talking to the doctor, who was very nice, he decided we needed to draw blood to check my blood count and check for strep throat because I had developed not only white spots on my tonsils, but black spots as well. Which meant the tissue was dying.
After the doctor left and a little bit of waiting, two young people came into my room. They checked my tag to make sure I was the right person and after confirming that, told me they were each going to take and arm and draw blood from it. At the same time. Wait, hold up, stop the train. WHAT?!? I hate needles and getting blood drawn and I'm probably dehydrated so my veins are going to be even worse than normal and I can't hold my mom's hand?!?! You've got to be kidding me. So I took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling and tried to comply to the two people's wishing they were asking of me.
While they poked me about 16 different times and dug around as well, the guy on my left kept trying to talk to me and have me answer his questions. He was asking things like where I went to school and what classes I was taking. First of all, I'm going through a freak out right now and am about to have a bitch fit because the two of them were hurting me and I couldn't look anywhere but the ceiling or I'd see a needle which I didn't want to see, so I had no idea what's going on. Second, I'm not completely coherent due to me having a fever of 104 and being in pain. Third, my tonsils are so big that they throb when I'm not doing anything with them so making me talk is not the way to go. They hurt worse. Plus, I sound like someone who has a mental disability because I can't move my tongue properly to form the words to answer his questions. So I'm laying on that uncomfortable bed, in a gown, trying my hardest to sound normal and completely failing, tonsils hurting worse, still extremely hot from the fever, getting poked a 20 times and digging the needle around, and just in all around pain while this dumb ass is trying to talk to me about school.
After the doctor left and a little bit of waiting, two young people came into my room. They checked my tag to make sure I was the right person and after confirming that, told me they were each going to take and arm and draw blood from it. At the same time. Wait, hold up, stop the train. WHAT?!? I hate needles and getting blood drawn and I'm probably dehydrated so my veins are going to be even worse than normal and I can't hold my mom's hand?!?! You've got to be kidding me. So I took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling and tried to comply to the two people's wishing they were asking of me.
While they poked me about 16 different times and dug around as well, the guy on my left kept trying to talk to me and have me answer his questions. He was asking things like where I went to school and what classes I was taking. First of all, I'm going through a freak out right now and am about to have a bitch fit because the two of them were hurting me and I couldn't look anywhere but the ceiling or I'd see a needle which I didn't want to see, so I had no idea what's going on. Second, I'm not completely coherent due to me having a fever of 104 and being in pain. Third, my tonsils are so big that they throb when I'm not doing anything with them so making me talk is not the way to go. They hurt worse. Plus, I sound like someone who has a mental disability because I can't move my tongue properly to form the words to answer his questions. So I'm laying on that uncomfortable bed, in a gown, trying my hardest to sound normal and completely failing, tonsils hurting worse, still extremely hot from the fever, getting poked a 20 times and digging the needle around, and just in all around pain while this dumb ass is trying to talk to me about school.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Thursday Through Sunday Continued
On Wednesday when I got blood drawn to check my blood count, they told us they would call us the next day with the results. We never got a call. So my mom called them on Friday to check on it and they didn't have the results yet. they said they may be on the doctors desk who looked at me and she wasn't in that day. So we called back the next day and once again, they had nothing for us.
My day had actually started with me waking up and not feeling well at all. I had a high fever and had to go sit in front of one of the fans to try to keep cool, but was still profusely sweating. My tonsils were hurting more than they ever had. My mom had told me we were going to go back to the doctors the day before, so I didn't want to take any Tylenol so they could get the full symptoms of what I'm going through. I finally decided it was late enough that I could go wake my mom up and ask to go see the doctor. So I did and the second my mom looked at me, she scolded me for not waking her up sooner. Apparently I looked pretty bad.
Because I was getting even worse, my mom decided it was back to the doctors office for me. We got there and found out it was a 2 hour wait and because I wasn't very coherent and getting worse, my mom decided we were going to go to the Emergency Room. After about 5 minutes of waiting in the Emergency Room, my dad called to tell us that the doctors office FINALLY got back to us with the results and informed him that my blood count was extremely off and that I should get to the Emergency Room right away. Awesome. Good thing they told us that 2 days ago. And it was a really good thing we were there already.
My hospital experience was one of the most traumatizing things I've ever gone through. I got there and my temperature continued to rise. The first people who took my vitals were fine. They were nice and the lady even had a child who had gotten mono so she was pretty sympathetic. I was so out of it though I didn't really care that much. We got back to the room where I was going to be poked and prodded once again and I had to put on a gown. Fortunately I got to keep my pants on. This is where the torture began.
My day had actually started with me waking up and not feeling well at all. I had a high fever and had to go sit in front of one of the fans to try to keep cool, but was still profusely sweating. My tonsils were hurting more than they ever had. My mom had told me we were going to go back to the doctors the day before, so I didn't want to take any Tylenol so they could get the full symptoms of what I'm going through. I finally decided it was late enough that I could go wake my mom up and ask to go see the doctor. So I did and the second my mom looked at me, she scolded me for not waking her up sooner. Apparently I looked pretty bad.
Because I was getting even worse, my mom decided it was back to the doctors office for me. We got there and found out it was a 2 hour wait and because I wasn't very coherent and getting worse, my mom decided we were going to go to the Emergency Room. After about 5 minutes of waiting in the Emergency Room, my dad called to tell us that the doctors office FINALLY got back to us with the results and informed him that my blood count was extremely off and that I should get to the Emergency Room right away. Awesome. Good thing they told us that 2 days ago. And it was a really good thing we were there already.
My hospital experience was one of the most traumatizing things I've ever gone through. I got there and my temperature continued to rise. The first people who took my vitals were fine. They were nice and the lady even had a child who had gotten mono so she was pretty sympathetic. I was so out of it though I didn't really care that much. We got back to the room where I was going to be poked and prodded once again and I had to put on a gown. Fortunately I got to keep my pants on. This is where the torture began.
Thursday through Sunday
In the next few days I steadily got worse and worse. My fever stayed at a steady 103 which left me sweating a lot. We put three fans in the living room where I was camped out because my parents room was just down the hall so if I needed anything at night I could holler or I didn't have to go very far to get to them.
One of the worst things about this was the fever. I was always hot. There was nothing that I could do to cool down. I actually had to strip to my skivvies once and sit right in front of a huge fan and that didn't even cool me off completely. My mom tried feeding me pop sickles because she figured that would help my throat and cool me down at the same time. Ended up not helping either. One night because of the fever I woke up. I guess it'd be considered morning cause it was around 4:30 but you get the point. I woke up and was really hot so I couldn't get back to sleep. The remote was actually across the room and I had no strength to get up and get it. All I had to do was get up and walk three steps to grab it and I could watch TV. But instead I sat in the dark living room for and hour and a half staring at nothing. Not thinking, not moving, not anything. Just staring. Why? Because the fever had done it to me. I'm surprised I didn't have any hallucinations while I was sick. There would be moments when I would be watching TV and then tell my mom something during a commercial and forget what show I was watching. I would be seeing the things on TV, but I couldn't retain anything. How pathetic is that?
My tonsils, believe it or not, were worse. They weren't any more swollen, thank god, but they had whit spots on them. Those showed up around day five. Then on day six black spots started showing up. I looked at my tonsils on day six after trying to choke down some chocolate pudding, so at first I thought maybe I had a little something still on them. Then I tried to get that little something off and it wouldn't come off. After seeing this, my mom decided it was back to doctor.
One of the worst things about this was the fever. I was always hot. There was nothing that I could do to cool down. I actually had to strip to my skivvies once and sit right in front of a huge fan and that didn't even cool me off completely. My mom tried feeding me pop sickles because she figured that would help my throat and cool me down at the same time. Ended up not helping either. One night because of the fever I woke up. I guess it'd be considered morning cause it was around 4:30 but you get the point. I woke up and was really hot so I couldn't get back to sleep. The remote was actually across the room and I had no strength to get up and get it. All I had to do was get up and walk three steps to grab it and I could watch TV. But instead I sat in the dark living room for and hour and a half staring at nothing. Not thinking, not moving, not anything. Just staring. Why? Because the fever had done it to me. I'm surprised I didn't have any hallucinations while I was sick. There would be moments when I would be watching TV and then tell my mom something during a commercial and forget what show I was watching. I would be seeing the things on TV, but I couldn't retain anything. How pathetic is that?
My tonsils, believe it or not, were worse. They weren't any more swollen, thank god, but they had whit spots on them. Those showed up around day five. Then on day six black spots started showing up. I looked at my tonsils on day six after trying to choke down some chocolate pudding, so at first I thought maybe I had a little something still on them. Then I tried to get that little something off and it wouldn't come off. After seeing this, my mom decided it was back to doctor.
Wednesday Continued
So when the doctor left our room I look to my mom and am like remember last time!? I can't do this! I hate needles and I don't want to faint. It's scary! She reassured me and told me she would hold my hand while the nurse was getting blood. This gave me only a little big of relief.
They needed to draw blood because they needed to check my blood count to see for sure if it was my spleen and my liver that was enlarged. I had no idea what we were going to do about it after they found out, but apparently it was essential.
The nurse walks into the room. The first thing that comes to mind is holy shit, this lady doesn't know what she's doing. This was one of those ladies who is meek and just looks insecure. That's not the kind of person I need right now. I'm scared so she needs to show me confidence that this is going to be okay.
One thing you should know is that I have very bad veins. I mean very bad. they're very small and hard to find. I hadn't been drinking a lot either because my tonsils wouldn't allow it.
The lady takes about 10 minutes to find a vein she thinks she can get to. This whole time I'm freaking myself out and getting more and more scared. The first attempt is made. I feel it go in and it hurts but it's not too bad. She does a little digging around. Awesome. She missed. Now it's really hurting. Then I hear the worst thing a nurse can say while they're sticking a needle in you. I hear her say, "SHIT!" WHAT?!?!?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!?!?!?!?! Even if something goes wrong you can't say that! I'm freaking out. She goes in again with another needle. No luck so she decides to go get another nurse to try. The next nurse is more friendly and confident but her 3 tries hurt more than the first ladies. The second nurse says she's going to get their best and if she can't get it, they're going to have to send me to the hospital.
The third nurse comes in talking and friendly, but so did the second one and look what happened with her. To my relief she had success. So about 3 nurses, 6 pokes, and 2 hours later, we're finally out of there. All I want to do is go home and sleep the fever away.
They needed to draw blood because they needed to check my blood count to see for sure if it was my spleen and my liver that was enlarged. I had no idea what we were going to do about it after they found out, but apparently it was essential.
The nurse walks into the room. The first thing that comes to mind is holy shit, this lady doesn't know what she's doing. This was one of those ladies who is meek and just looks insecure. That's not the kind of person I need right now. I'm scared so she needs to show me confidence that this is going to be okay.
One thing you should know is that I have very bad veins. I mean very bad. they're very small and hard to find. I hadn't been drinking a lot either because my tonsils wouldn't allow it.
The lady takes about 10 minutes to find a vein she thinks she can get to. This whole time I'm freaking myself out and getting more and more scared. The first attempt is made. I feel it go in and it hurts but it's not too bad. She does a little digging around. Awesome. She missed. Now it's really hurting. Then I hear the worst thing a nurse can say while they're sticking a needle in you. I hear her say, "SHIT!" WHAT?!?!?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!?!?!?!?! Even if something goes wrong you can't say that! I'm freaking out. She goes in again with another needle. No luck so she decides to go get another nurse to try. The next nurse is more friendly and confident but her 3 tries hurt more than the first ladies. The second nurse says she's going to get their best and if she can't get it, they're going to have to send me to the hospital.
The third nurse comes in talking and friendly, but so did the second one and look what happened with her. To my relief she had success. So about 3 nurses, 6 pokes, and 2 hours later, we're finally out of there. All I want to do is go home and sleep the fever away.
Wednesday
I decided to skip to Wednesday because this is where all the drama happens. Nothing really changed on Tuesday. Fever still at 103, tonsils getting bigger, everything else is the same. I didn't get much sleep because I couldn't get comfortable due to my back being in pain every time I laid down and my stomach hurting.
Day 3 was terrible. I woke up and my tonsils were so swollen there was about an eighth of an inch between both of them. That means I couldn't even swallow my own spit, much less any food. I also couldn't talk. Not because my voice was gone or anything. My voice was still there. My tonsils were so swollen that I couldn't move the back of my tongue to form any words. Every time I tried to, I sounded like I was a little mentally challenged. My whole abdomen was extremely swollen as well. The doctor told us I wasn't supposed to do any contact sports because there was a chance my spleen could burst. One of the symptoms of mono is your spleen and liver become enlarged. It's an uncommon symptom, but it happens. Because we were told this and my abdomen became swollen, we went back to the doctor after we were sure there was no more medicine in me.
We arrived at the doctors office where we waited for about an hour and a half. This whole waiting thing gets really irritating because I hate doctors offices. They smell really gross. That's one of the most disgusting smells to me. The doctors always smell like it too. I have never found a doctor I like. They always touch me and poke me and prod me and I don't like that.
After we get in to see the doctor, she pushes on me and talks a lot and then decides I need to get blood drawn. Damn it. I've only gotten blood drawn once and it was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. They couldn't find a good vein and after I fainted once we got to the car. It was scary. So I'm thinking, awesome, get ready to faint and cry and be in pain.
Day 3 was terrible. I woke up and my tonsils were so swollen there was about an eighth of an inch between both of them. That means I couldn't even swallow my own spit, much less any food. I also couldn't talk. Not because my voice was gone or anything. My voice was still there. My tonsils were so swollen that I couldn't move the back of my tongue to form any words. Every time I tried to, I sounded like I was a little mentally challenged. My whole abdomen was extremely swollen as well. The doctor told us I wasn't supposed to do any contact sports because there was a chance my spleen could burst. One of the symptoms of mono is your spleen and liver become enlarged. It's an uncommon symptom, but it happens. Because we were told this and my abdomen became swollen, we went back to the doctor after we were sure there was no more medicine in me.
We arrived at the doctors office where we waited for about an hour and a half. This whole waiting thing gets really irritating because I hate doctors offices. They smell really gross. That's one of the most disgusting smells to me. The doctors always smell like it too. I have never found a doctor I like. They always touch me and poke me and prod me and I don't like that.
After we get in to see the doctor, she pushes on me and talks a lot and then decides I need to get blood drawn. Damn it. I've only gotten blood drawn once and it was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. They couldn't find a good vein and after I fainted once we got to the car. It was scary. So I'm thinking, awesome, get ready to faint and cry and be in pain.
Monday (Day 1)
The day I found out I had mono I actually felt pretty bad so I stayed home from school. I called into work (Little Learners Day Care) to ask for the day off due to the fact that I didn't go to school and the jerks wouldn't give it to me so I went in anyway. You'd think since I work at a daycare and I was sick, they'd want me to stay home so I don't get the kids sick, but apparently not. I woke up right before I had to go to work because I was really tired so I had been sleeping the day away. I woke up to find my eyes extraordinarily swollen and I had the biggest bags under them I had ever seen. I felt worse than when I had gone back to sleep for my nap. But because They had told me I had to come into work, I did.
The moment I walked into the room I work in, Bridget, a woman I work with, ask me if I was okay. She didn't say hi Katrina or anything. I stepped one foot in and she asked if I was okay because that's how bad I looked. I told her I was fine. She had been gone the day before with pink eye and because of the look of my eyes she asked if I had it as well. I informed her that I just didn't really feel very good. So I suffered through work. It was probably the longest 2 and a half hours of my life. There were screaming kids that I had to chase and yell at and I had a headache.
After work my mom made me go to the doctors office where we waited for and hour. During that hour, my temperature proceeded to rise. I could feel it. My face got extremely hot and apparently flushed. I actually slept in the waiting room.
We finally got in to see the doctor. I explained to her that I had a headache, stomach ache, fatigue, sore throat, back and neck aches, stuffy nose, and when I got in there my temperature had risen to 103.2. I got tested for about every illness known to man. I got an x-ray, my nose swabbed, my throat swabbed, and blood drawn, and my finger pricked. I felt like a science experiment. It wasn't much fun.
They finally came to the consensus that I had mono. They told us it was a virus and the only thing we could do was treat the symptoms with Tylenol for the fever and some cold medicine for the rest. Bummer. This is gonna suck.
The moment I walked into the room I work in, Bridget, a woman I work with, ask me if I was okay. She didn't say hi Katrina or anything. I stepped one foot in and she asked if I was okay because that's how bad I looked. I told her I was fine. She had been gone the day before with pink eye and because of the look of my eyes she asked if I had it as well. I informed her that I just didn't really feel very good. So I suffered through work. It was probably the longest 2 and a half hours of my life. There were screaming kids that I had to chase and yell at and I had a headache.
After work my mom made me go to the doctors office where we waited for and hour. During that hour, my temperature proceeded to rise. I could feel it. My face got extremely hot and apparently flushed. I actually slept in the waiting room.
We finally got in to see the doctor. I explained to her that I had a headache, stomach ache, fatigue, sore throat, back and neck aches, stuffy nose, and when I got in there my temperature had risen to 103.2. I got tested for about every illness known to man. I got an x-ray, my nose swabbed, my throat swabbed, and blood drawn, and my finger pricked. I felt like a science experiment. It wasn't much fun.
They finally came to the consensus that I had mono. They told us it was a virus and the only thing we could do was treat the symptoms with Tylenol for the fever and some cold medicine for the rest. Bummer. This is gonna suck.
mono
Mono. Mononucleosis. I had the unfortunate luck of catching this virus. I have absolutely no idea how I ended up getting it. All I know is that I really wish I hadn't. It really kicked my ass. The most common symptoms of mono are a high fever, a severe sore throat, swollen glands and tonsils, and weakness and the most common and distinctive symptom is extreme fatigue. Symptoms usually start 4 to 6 weeks after you are exposed to the virus. Mono can cause the spleen to swell. Because mono is a virus, there's no medicine you can take to get rid of it. You can take medicine to treat the symptoms and try to make yourself more comfortable, but nothing is going to get rid of the mono. You just have to wait it out.
When I talked to the doctor, after I was diagnosed, she said we were having our own little invasion of mono is Cedar Rapids. It was even hitting older people and little kids which usually doesn't happen. It is most often seen in adolescents and young adults. Children can get the virus, but it often goes unnoticed because their symptoms are mild. Adults usually do not get mono, because they have immunity to the virus.
Unfortunately, I'm of the adolescent age so I am more susceptible to this nasty nasty illness. This kinda sucks. And it really sucks that mono never really leaves your system. It sticks with you forever! So it could flare up with the fatigue, but no other symptoms could pop up. I could be in class taking a test and all of a sudden feel like I have to take a nap or I'm just going to pass out. When you're like that you never do well on that test. There's no way to. I've taken tests before where I was under that spell and it's very disappointing. Especially if it's a very important test. No fun. So for the 3 weeks I was out of school were the worst three weeks of my life. I don't really remember much about it, but I'd be happy to take you through it to fill these posts :)
When I talked to the doctor, after I was diagnosed, she said we were having our own little invasion of mono is Cedar Rapids. It was even hitting older people and little kids which usually doesn't happen. It is most often seen in adolescents and young adults. Children can get the virus, but it often goes unnoticed because their symptoms are mild. Adults usually do not get mono, because they have immunity to the virus.
Unfortunately, I'm of the adolescent age so I am more susceptible to this nasty nasty illness. This kinda sucks. And it really sucks that mono never really leaves your system. It sticks with you forever! So it could flare up with the fatigue, but no other symptoms could pop up. I could be in class taking a test and all of a sudden feel like I have to take a nap or I'm just going to pass out. When you're like that you never do well on that test. There's no way to. I've taken tests before where I was under that spell and it's very disappointing. Especially if it's a very important test. No fun. So for the 3 weeks I was out of school were the worst three weeks of my life. I don't really remember much about it, but I'd be happy to take you through it to fill these posts :)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
That really sucks
I’ve recently discovered a thing on the internet called fmylife.com. It’s where people write down things that happen in their life that really really suck and make them wanna say “F” my life. Because they’re situations that make someone else’s life suck, they’re absolutely hilarious. Of course there are the few that are just kind of okay and don’t really give you much joy in the person’s suffering or the ones that actually really suck and you kind of feel bad for the person, but for the most part they cause me to giggle a little. Sometimes the person really does deserve the thing that happens to them cause they did a stupid thing. That’s why there are options to vote. There’s an option that says “I agree, your life is f***ed.” Then there’s the option to click that says, “You deserved that one.”
Here are a few examples of some ones I found pretty funny.
Today, I was walking through the park eating fries. There was an old woman feeding a few pigeons. They didn't seem too interested, so I threw some fries down as I walked by to try and help her out. About 2 minutes later, I heard screaming. A huge group of pigeons were attacking the old woman. FML
Today, I was running down the hallway when a door opens and hits me right on the face. I'm sitting there with my nose bleeding and a huge bump forming on my head. The guy who comes out is hugely fat, tries to help me up, trips, and falls on me. I accidentally groped his moobs while trying to push him off. FML
Today, I had to sing in a choir for Easter. Without making it even halfway across the stage, my high heel got caught on a cord that was supposed to be "taped down" causing me and 20 other people to collapse. Turns out it was a main power cord that left us in the dark for 10 minutes. FML
Today, I was cuddling with the guy I like. I looked into his eyes and said, “Your eyes are so blue, like the ocean.” He replied by saying, “Your eyes are so brown…like my shit.” FML
Here are a few examples of some ones I found pretty funny.
Today, I was walking through the park eating fries. There was an old woman feeding a few pigeons. They didn't seem too interested, so I threw some fries down as I walked by to try and help her out. About 2 minutes later, I heard screaming. A huge group of pigeons were attacking the old woman. FML
Today, I was running down the hallway when a door opens and hits me right on the face. I'm sitting there with my nose bleeding and a huge bump forming on my head. The guy who comes out is hugely fat, tries to help me up, trips, and falls on me. I accidentally groped his moobs while trying to push him off. FML
Today, I had to sing in a choir for Easter. Without making it even halfway across the stage, my high heel got caught on a cord that was supposed to be "taped down" causing me and 20 other people to collapse. Turns out it was a main power cord that left us in the dark for 10 minutes. FML
Today, I was cuddling with the guy I like. I looked into his eyes and said, “Your eyes are so blue, like the ocean.” He replied by saying, “Your eyes are so brown…like my shit.” FML
34 things that frustrate me
- People who read the computer screen over my shoulder.
- When someone takes the last of something in a box in the pantry and doesn’t throw away the box -Psych! You don’t get the last cookie. I already ate it.
- People who eat off my plate before I’m done with my food - It’s just flat out rude
- People who order a cheese burger without cheese - That’s called a hamburger.
- “That’s what she said” jokes - Are we back in Middle School again?
- When people pronounce Italian with a long “I” sound
- PEOPLE WHO TYPE IN ALL UPPER CASE
- People who try to sing along to songs they don’t know
- When I get a “chocolate chip cookie” with no chocolate chips
- No prize in the apple jacks box – That toy is the sole reason I eat them
- When the internet stalls – I’m extremely impatient
- When people pronounce the “h” in words like what and who – Those are supposed to be silent
- Parents who say “because I said so.” - That's the worst reason I've every heard
- People constantly asking why – Maybe you aren’t supposed to know why
- Rap – It’s absolutely obnoxious and annoying
- People who skip school because they're "tired." - We're all tired but not everyone can skip. What makes you so special?
- People who ask to copy my school work - I did it, you can do it too.
- People who ask what's on a test I've taken that they're about to take - I didn't have help with it so what makes you think you should?
- Tramp stamps – Those should be reserved for hookers only
- Hairy butt cracks - Gross.
- Mullets
- People with tattoos all over their bodies - That's just ridiculous
- People who get offended easily – Chill out. I wasn’t intending to offend
- When people don’t get sarcasm
- When you get in that awkward situation where you’re trying to walk by someone going the other direction and they go the way as you so you run into each other
- People who go at a snails pace right in front of me when I can’t get around them.
- The front foyer during passing time.
- PDA – Get a room
- Stupid subs who don’t know what they’re doing
- Not knowing what time it is
- Teachers who move up due dates
- Not having a pencil when I need one
- When someone eats loudly while we’re taking a test in class – “I’m trying to concentrate here!”
- People who don’t use their blinker.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
DON'T READ THIS!
Did that make you want to read this?
Hypothetical situation:
Let’s say your friend walks up to you with a clan of people following, carrying a foreign object in their hand. They make a twisted, some might say “stanky” face and says, “This smells soooo bad. Smell it!” And thrust the foreign object in your immediate direction. All the while the people who were following your friend and conveniently stopped to watch are all giggling and watching closely for your reaction. Do you smell it?
After putting the clues together, the stanky face, the fact that it’s a foreign object, and the snickering friends all around, common sense would say, “Don’t smell it! Why would you smell something that you can tell smells retched and disgusting without getting anywhere near it! You don’t even know what this thing is!” Even though this “voice” is yelling at you and telling you not to do it, you can’t help it. Some imaginary force starts pushing your face towards the object. You try to tell it no and repel it from forcing you to smell this hideous and disgusting thing, but you can’t stop it. You have to smell this thing.
You smell it
It smells worse than you ever could have imagined
Everyone laughs hysterically. So much so that they keel over in pain.
With the same stanky face as your friend had upon their approach, you turn to your friend and yell, “Why would you make me smell that?! That’s disgusting! What is that!?”
“I didn’t make you smell it. You totally smelled it on your own. I have no idea what this is. I just found it and thought it smelled disgusting so I’m having everyone smell it” Says your friend with the most malicious grin they can muster.
This happens to me all the time. Whenever someone says smell this, it’s gross, I can never resist but to smell it. Kind of like the cliché, curiosity killed the cat. Except it’d be curiosity caused the human to create a funny, stanky face and yell. I think I’m gonna have to start using that. See if it catches on.
This is exactly like when someone’s doing something behind you and they yell, “Don’t look!” I usually immediately look to see what all the fuss is about and then the person gets aggravated and exclaims they told me not to look and that I should have followed those instructions. This situation is a little different because it gets a little awkward if you see something you shouldn’t because you looked but really it’s kind of their fault. They know the rules of saying something like that. Everyone does.
Hypothetical situation:
Let’s say your friend walks up to you with a clan of people following, carrying a foreign object in their hand. They make a twisted, some might say “stanky” face and says, “This smells soooo bad. Smell it!” And thrust the foreign object in your immediate direction. All the while the people who were following your friend and conveniently stopped to watch are all giggling and watching closely for your reaction. Do you smell it?
After putting the clues together, the stanky face, the fact that it’s a foreign object, and the snickering friends all around, common sense would say, “Don’t smell it! Why would you smell something that you can tell smells retched and disgusting without getting anywhere near it! You don’t even know what this thing is!” Even though this “voice” is yelling at you and telling you not to do it, you can’t help it. Some imaginary force starts pushing your face towards the object. You try to tell it no and repel it from forcing you to smell this hideous and disgusting thing, but you can’t stop it. You have to smell this thing.
You smell it
It smells worse than you ever could have imagined
Everyone laughs hysterically. So much so that they keel over in pain.
With the same stanky face as your friend had upon their approach, you turn to your friend and yell, “Why would you make me smell that?! That’s disgusting! What is that!?”
“I didn’t make you smell it. You totally smelled it on your own. I have no idea what this is. I just found it and thought it smelled disgusting so I’m having everyone smell it” Says your friend with the most malicious grin they can muster.
This happens to me all the time. Whenever someone says smell this, it’s gross, I can never resist but to smell it. Kind of like the cliché, curiosity killed the cat. Except it’d be curiosity caused the human to create a funny, stanky face and yell. I think I’m gonna have to start using that. See if it catches on.
This is exactly like when someone’s doing something behind you and they yell, “Don’t look!” I usually immediately look to see what all the fuss is about and then the person gets aggravated and exclaims they told me not to look and that I should have followed those instructions. This situation is a little different because it gets a little awkward if you see something you shouldn’t because you looked but really it’s kind of their fault. They know the rules of saying something like that. Everyone does.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Which do you follow? Do you stop at the stop sign? Or do you follow the sign under telling you not to stop? Could a cop pull you over here for doing either one? That’d really suck if you got really confused as to which to follow and ended up stopping and the cop pulls you over to tell you that you’re supposed to follow the other sign. I’d probably tell the cop that I meant to not stop but when I was deciding which one to follow I got a brain overload. I think he’d buy it, don’t you?
When I came across this picture, I chuckled to myself a little. It’s a sign about something that isn’t very important and advertises that the edges are sharp and do not touch edges as if you are going to explode if you do, and the read reason for the sign is to inform people the bridge is out ahead.There are a few things wrong with this sign. The most obvious one would be that they have the real purpose of the sign in extremely small print. But if you look really closely to the sign, you’ll notice that the edges don’t look sharp at all. Granted, you can’t see if from the side so I suppose it could be pointed that way, but really, it doesn’t look that sharp. Maybe if a tornado swept through that area and cause the sign to hurl towards you at extremely high speeds you’d want to know that the sign is sharp and to watch out. But if you’re in an area where a tornado is hitting, you have an enormous amount of problems on your hands. You could get hit by a cow, or a car, or a sharp sign, but you’ll know to watch out for the sign because it says on the sign to watch out for the sharp edges. So don’t worry about it.
The pictures on the sign aren’t about the sharp edges either. They’re telling people walking and cars not to go near the bridge. Either that or I’m completely misreading the symbols and it’s actually saying, “Walkers, don’t come touch this sign. It could seriously hurt you.” And “Cars, don’t run into this sign whatever you do or you could seriously do some damage to the car and to the people riding inside because of these sharp edges. Don’t worry about hitting anything else. These sharp edges will end it all.”
This sign absolutely, positively one of the most ridiculous signs I’ve seen. If I saw one on the road, I’d definitely feel obliged to hit it up with some graffiti.
Puppy Love
I GOT A NEW PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!
She’s so cute and fluffy and has a really high pitched growl!
We had to drive 7 hours to get her. When I first heard this I was quite disappointed. I really didn’t want to ride in a car that long. I don’t enjoy riding in cars for a long period of time. It’s just no fun. So we drove 7 hours to look at 4 puppies and choose one to take home. On the way to Minnesota, a family friend called to report that the father in the family had finally decided it would be okay to get a puppy so they requested we get one for them. We were going to look at sheltie puppies and own a 4 year old sheltie before we left. The family who wanted us to bring them a puppy back has hung out with our 4 year old sheltie, Lacey, and really like her. They decided they wanted a boy so we chose the one we thought would best fit them.
There were 2 girls and 2 boys when we arrived at the house selling us the puppies. One girl was the most petite out of the 4. She had really small paws and a really small head. The breeder told us they usually grow into their head and paws so she predicted she would be the smallest out of all of them. The other girl would be small too and was just as loveable. The two boys were sooo cute as well. One was extremely spunky and loved to run around and play. The other one was a little bigger than the spunky one and loved cuddle and be held. My parent’s friends decided they wanted a boy so we picked out the more cuddly, calm one for them and got the little petite girl for us to take home.
We actually had to hide the poor puppies in a suitcase to get them into the hotel because we didn’t want to pay extra for the two puppies after paying for our dog lacey. It was like they were play peak-a-boo with us when we opened the suitcase. It was precious. This is where we first discovered they like to chew on toes with their sharp little puppy teeth.
After much debating over what to call this new puppy, we narrowed it down to 5: Ellie, Bella, Zoe, Mylo, and Tori. After looking at the puppy and spending time with it, I decided I liked Zoe the best. My dad decided his first choice for a name would be Tori. And my mom thought Bella sounded the best for a name for the puppy. It’s always hard making decisions in our family as you can see. My dad came up with a long voting thing which immediately got shot down by my mother so we sat and discussed it for EVER! We finally managed to get it narrowed down to Zoe and Bella after much debating. Now we’re stuck. No one wants to give in. It may come down to flipping a coin. Sweet. We’re going to flip a coin to name our dog. I’m psyched.
She’s so cute and fluffy and has a really high pitched growl!
We had to drive 7 hours to get her. When I first heard this I was quite disappointed. I really didn’t want to ride in a car that long. I don’t enjoy riding in cars for a long period of time. It’s just no fun. So we drove 7 hours to look at 4 puppies and choose one to take home. On the way to Minnesota, a family friend called to report that the father in the family had finally decided it would be okay to get a puppy so they requested we get one for them. We were going to look at sheltie puppies and own a 4 year old sheltie before we left. The family who wanted us to bring them a puppy back has hung out with our 4 year old sheltie, Lacey, and really like her. They decided they wanted a boy so we chose the one we thought would best fit them.
There were 2 girls and 2 boys when we arrived at the house selling us the puppies. One girl was the most petite out of the 4. She had really small paws and a really small head. The breeder told us they usually grow into their head and paws so she predicted she would be the smallest out of all of them. The other girl would be small too and was just as loveable. The two boys were sooo cute as well. One was extremely spunky and loved to run around and play. The other one was a little bigger than the spunky one and loved cuddle and be held. My parent’s friends decided they wanted a boy so we picked out the more cuddly, calm one for them and got the little petite girl for us to take home.
We actually had to hide the poor puppies in a suitcase to get them into the hotel because we didn’t want to pay extra for the two puppies after paying for our dog lacey. It was like they were play peak-a-boo with us when we opened the suitcase. It was precious. This is where we first discovered they like to chew on toes with their sharp little puppy teeth.
After much debating over what to call this new puppy, we narrowed it down to 5: Ellie, Bella, Zoe, Mylo, and Tori. After looking at the puppy and spending time with it, I decided I liked Zoe the best. My dad decided his first choice for a name would be Tori. And my mom thought Bella sounded the best for a name for the puppy. It’s always hard making decisions in our family as you can see. My dad came up with a long voting thing which immediately got shot down by my mother so we sat and discussed it for EVER! We finally managed to get it narrowed down to Zoe and Bella after much debating. Now we’re stuck. No one wants to give in. It may come down to flipping a coin. Sweet. We’re going to flip a coin to name our dog. I’m psyched.
Get ready for story time!
Hannah: Why do we have finger nails?
Me: I'm not sure, maybe to protect the skin at the tip of our fingers?
Hannah: But what's so special about the tips of my fingers? Why don't we have fingernails all over our bodies? I mean the rest of me should be protected too right?
Me: Woah, what if we had fingernails all over our bodies? Or our whole body was a fingernail!
Hannah: I'd paint myself a pretty color and spray myself with spray on glue and then roll in glitter!
Me: Or you could have a friend blow it on you while you spin! That'd be so cool! and you could be a different color every day. Instead of changing clothes, you changed colors of the paint you're wearing and whether you want glitter or not.
Hannah: Next step in evolution
We decided we should have our own reality tv show after this.
Hannah: Why do we have finger nails?
Me: I'm not sure, maybe to protect the skin at the tip of our fingers?
Hannah: But what's so special about the tips of my fingers? Why don't we have fingernails all over our bodies? I mean the rest of me should be protected too right?
Me: Woah, what if we had fingernails all over our bodies? Or our whole body was a fingernail!
Hannah: I'd paint myself a pretty color and spray myself with spray on glue and then roll in glitter!
Me: Or you could have a friend blow it on you while you spin! That'd be so cool! and you could be a different color every day. Instead of changing clothes, you changed colors of the paint you're wearing and whether you want glitter or not.
Hannah: Next step in evolution
We decided we should have our own reality tv show after this.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Look Back
So here’s the thing. I usually don’t watch Disney channel. It’s stupid and dumb and I don’t like it. Frustrates me how stupid it is. But recently they actually had a pretty good idea. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Disney Channel having a good idea? It’s kind of just like a miracle happened.
So to stop the anticipation cause I know you all are just dying to know what this crazy crazy miracle is. Disney Channel finally decided to broadcast four of Disney’s old classic movies. To get specific, they showed Mulan (bleh), Hercules (pretty good), Aladdin (one of my favorites), and Tarzan (absolutely amazing!). So there you go, the crazy amazing idea Disney Channel finally decided to run with and grace us with these movies.
Mulan. Kinda funny with Eddy Murphy doing the voice of the dragon and all the racist references Disney slipped in there, but still not the best. Don’t really like the plot. Plus there’s violence and cross dressing. That’s never good for children.
Hercules. It’s always good to learn about Greek gods. They’re cool. There’s drama and love and humor and a lot of pretty colors. It’s a good one. The little baby Pegasus is my favorite.
Aladdin. So good. I really like the music in this one. It’s different and clever. Plus Robin Williams is a genius. Very good as the voice the genie. I’m extremely impressed with the things he did with the character. My favorite in this one, however, would have to be Raja, Jasmine’s tiger. I wish I had a pet tiger. That’d be so cool. I could ride him into the sunset and no one would ever mess with me ever again because I’d just send Raja to get them. If only
Tarzan. Gets me every time. This soundtrack is actually my favorite. It’s nice and sentimental and even teaches children some life lessons. I kinda wish I grew up with apes. That’d be so cool. I’d know everything about being out in the wild and dealing with animals. Plus the African jungle looks really fun to play in, like a huge jungle gym! That’s probably where they got the name! I just realized. That’s called an epiphany right there.
Now I know you’re asking yourself, “Self, she obviously really really likes these movies. I wonder if she just watched them while they were airing, because we both know she’s a busy person, or did she record them all with her DVR to save and watch multiple times in the future…hmmmmm” Now since I’m such a nice person, I have decided to help you out with the predicament you’ve gotten yourself into. Yes, I was busy at the time they showed these movies. And yes, I did record all four movies to watch multiple times in the future. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
So to stop the anticipation cause I know you all are just dying to know what this crazy crazy miracle is. Disney Channel finally decided to broadcast four of Disney’s old classic movies. To get specific, they showed Mulan (bleh), Hercules (pretty good), Aladdin (one of my favorites), and Tarzan (absolutely amazing!). So there you go, the crazy amazing idea Disney Channel finally decided to run with and grace us with these movies.
Mulan. Kinda funny with Eddy Murphy doing the voice of the dragon and all the racist references Disney slipped in there, but still not the best. Don’t really like the plot. Plus there’s violence and cross dressing. That’s never good for children.
Hercules. It’s always good to learn about Greek gods. They’re cool. There’s drama and love and humor and a lot of pretty colors. It’s a good one. The little baby Pegasus is my favorite.
Aladdin. So good. I really like the music in this one. It’s different and clever. Plus Robin Williams is a genius. Very good as the voice the genie. I’m extremely impressed with the things he did with the character. My favorite in this one, however, would have to be Raja, Jasmine’s tiger. I wish I had a pet tiger. That’d be so cool. I could ride him into the sunset and no one would ever mess with me ever again because I’d just send Raja to get them. If only
Tarzan. Gets me every time. This soundtrack is actually my favorite. It’s nice and sentimental and even teaches children some life lessons. I kinda wish I grew up with apes. That’d be so cool. I’d know everything about being out in the wild and dealing with animals. Plus the African jungle looks really fun to play in, like a huge jungle gym! That’s probably where they got the name! I just realized. That’s called an epiphany right there.
Now I know you’re asking yourself, “Self, she obviously really really likes these movies. I wonder if she just watched them while they were airing, because we both know she’s a busy person, or did she record them all with her DVR to save and watch multiple times in the future…hmmmmm” Now since I’m such a nice person, I have decided to help you out with the predicament you’ve gotten yourself into. Yes, I was busy at the time they showed these movies. And yes, I did record all four movies to watch multiple times in the future. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Elementary School Hood-Lums
Let me tell you a little something about myself when I was in elementary school. I didn’t take any crap from anyone. And most certainly not any stupid little boys! I was one of those chicks who always wanted to be first when it came to going down the slide or swinging on the tire swing. When I felt something was rightfully mine, and I think it usually was, I tried to get it. Here’s an example of that.
Imagine a cute little innocent girl on the blacktop playing all by her self. She’s just skipping back and forth because of course all the balls and hoola hoops and cool things that those were taken. They were always a “hot” item on the playground. This little girl finally spots a little red ball just laying there. She looks left. No one to be found. She looks right. Again, no one to be found. That meant there was probably no one playing with it at the moment. HALLELUJIAH! Finally something to play with! She starts skipping over to the ball, all the while envisioning her self having extreme amounts of fun bouncing and throwing and catching and loving this little red ball. When she got about half way to this ball, she sees out of the corner of her eye a little boy charging at the ball like a wild fiend! In fear of losing her one true love, the little girl mustered up all the strength possible to sprint (gracefully, of course) to her one hope of happiness. Unfortunately, the little boy beat her. Instead of just taking his victory and going away, the little boy decided to taunt the girl with it by saying “HA! I got the ball and you didn’t! Nana, nana, boo, boo!” This enraged the little girl. Before she could control herself, she shoved the taunting boy. This was terrible timing on the little girl’s part because there was a teacher near by who happened to glance over and see her push the malicious boy. The teacher decided something needed to be done so she sauntered over to see what was happening. The little girl didn’t notice the teacher coming due to her blind rage towards the malevolent boy. The teacher asked what the problem was. Not knowing what to say, and knowing she’d get in trouble for telling the truth, the little girl began to weep. In the saddest, most broken voice she could rally, the little girl jabbed a finger towards her nemesis and exclaimed through her tears, “He pushed me first! And then he stole my ball!” “Well that wasn’t very nice! Come with me” was the teacher’s response to the little girl’s accusation. The teacher took away the wicked boy and left the little girl with her little red ball to rejoice and play merrily.
This a tale of one of my most memorable experiences on the harsh elementary school playground. I know what you’re thinking, “wow, what a mean little girl!” But if you really think about it, what would you have done in that situation? I had to fend for myself. It was a harsh world out there.
Imagine a cute little innocent girl on the blacktop playing all by her self. She’s just skipping back and forth because of course all the balls and hoola hoops and cool things that those were taken. They were always a “hot” item on the playground. This little girl finally spots a little red ball just laying there. She looks left. No one to be found. She looks right. Again, no one to be found. That meant there was probably no one playing with it at the moment. HALLELUJIAH! Finally something to play with! She starts skipping over to the ball, all the while envisioning her self having extreme amounts of fun bouncing and throwing and catching and loving this little red ball. When she got about half way to this ball, she sees out of the corner of her eye a little boy charging at the ball like a wild fiend! In fear of losing her one true love, the little girl mustered up all the strength possible to sprint (gracefully, of course) to her one hope of happiness. Unfortunately, the little boy beat her. Instead of just taking his victory and going away, the little boy decided to taunt the girl with it by saying “HA! I got the ball and you didn’t! Nana, nana, boo, boo!” This enraged the little girl. Before she could control herself, she shoved the taunting boy. This was terrible timing on the little girl’s part because there was a teacher near by who happened to glance over and see her push the malicious boy. The teacher decided something needed to be done so she sauntered over to see what was happening. The little girl didn’t notice the teacher coming due to her blind rage towards the malevolent boy. The teacher asked what the problem was. Not knowing what to say, and knowing she’d get in trouble for telling the truth, the little girl began to weep. In the saddest, most broken voice she could rally, the little girl jabbed a finger towards her nemesis and exclaimed through her tears, “He pushed me first! And then he stole my ball!” “Well that wasn’t very nice! Come with me” was the teacher’s response to the little girl’s accusation. The teacher took away the wicked boy and left the little girl with her little red ball to rejoice and play merrily.
This a tale of one of my most memorable experiences on the harsh elementary school playground. I know what you’re thinking, “wow, what a mean little girl!” But if you really think about it, what would you have done in that situation? I had to fend for myself. It was a harsh world out there.
Poof, Be Gone
Poof, be gone. Your breath is really strong. I hate to be mean, but you need some listerine. Not a squiggle, not a squaggle, but the whole damn bottle. Wait, come back! You need a tic-tac. Not one, not two, but the whole six pack.
Peace, punch, captain crunch, I got something you can’t touch. Bang, bang, choo choo train, wind me up I do my thang. Reese’s Pieces buttercup, mess with me I’ll mess you up!
Brick wall, waterfall, girl you think you got it all. You don’t. I do. So poof with that attitude!
I have just recited a few of the infamous elementary school play ground chants. Most of the time these were only used as a way to be funny with your friends. It was super cool to use a derogatory term such as “damn”. This was also used to get away with saying mean things because these kinds of chants were never used in a serious manor. At least that people know of. It may have been one of those things where the girls started saying it with a hint of humor to it but as it continued, it turned into malice and hatred for the person she chanted it at.
The bad thing about these were whenever you had a reason to use it, like the boy who stole your ball won’t give it back and the teacher isn’t paying any attention to you, you can’t seem to remember to use them. That happens a lot at many different times in my life. For instance, when I’m driving and someone pulls out in front of me, prime time to use my car horn, I never think to reach over and honk it. Later I look back and think “wow why couldn’t I have just thought to do that. I bet that person would’ve gotten the idea much better than me yelling at them inside my car where they can’t even hear me.” It always seems the most important things are the hardest to remember.
Peace, punch, captain crunch, I got something you can’t touch. Bang, bang, choo choo train, wind me up I do my thang. Reese’s Pieces buttercup, mess with me I’ll mess you up!
Brick wall, waterfall, girl you think you got it all. You don’t. I do. So poof with that attitude!
I have just recited a few of the infamous elementary school play ground chants. Most of the time these were only used as a way to be funny with your friends. It was super cool to use a derogatory term such as “damn”. This was also used to get away with saying mean things because these kinds of chants were never used in a serious manor. At least that people know of. It may have been one of those things where the girls started saying it with a hint of humor to it but as it continued, it turned into malice and hatred for the person she chanted it at.
The bad thing about these were whenever you had a reason to use it, like the boy who stole your ball won’t give it back and the teacher isn’t paying any attention to you, you can’t seem to remember to use them. That happens a lot at many different times in my life. For instance, when I’m driving and someone pulls out in front of me, prime time to use my car horn, I never think to reach over and honk it. Later I look back and think “wow why couldn’t I have just thought to do that. I bet that person would’ve gotten the idea much better than me yelling at them inside my car where they can’t even hear me.” It always seems the most important things are the hardest to remember.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Glitter is the Herpes of the Craft World
I’m sure just about every person who has ever been alive in the last century has come in contact with glitter in one way or another. Maybe you’re the type of person who just absolutely loves glitter and uses it every chance you get. Perhaps you or a family member had to use it for a project. Or maybe you bought or tried on a piece of clothing with glitter on it. Whatever it is, virtually everyone has come in contact with glitter.
I find glitter extremely annoying. It’s extremely annoying when you’re have a conversation with someone, most likely a serious one cause that makes it even worse, and they stop you mid sentence to inform you that you have glitter on your face. Then you spend about 5 minutes swatting at your face all the while continuously asking the other person if you’ve gotten it and about the first 20 times that person replies no, you didn’t even touch it. Then the person goes into a long, drawn out description of the location of this contagion on your face followed by you not even touching it once again. It ruins everything that was happening previously. Whenever it happens to me, I forget the point I was trying to make and in what direction I was going with what I was saying. It just stops the flow of the conversation. In extreme cases, I get so frustrated that I can’t get this thing off my face that I have to storm off to the bathroom and look in the mirror to get it off. If not disposed of, many people all day comment on it and inform you several times of the terrible experience you’ve just gone through.
This could also be said about herpes. If you have herpes and tell someone, it kind of ruins the flow of what is happening and slash or disgusts the person so much they never want to talk to you again. The only thing about glitter is it’s shiny and pretty, whereas herpes looks really gross. I’ve seen picture in FACS class.
I find glitter extremely annoying. It’s extremely annoying when you’re have a conversation with someone, most likely a serious one cause that makes it even worse, and they stop you mid sentence to inform you that you have glitter on your face. Then you spend about 5 minutes swatting at your face all the while continuously asking the other person if you’ve gotten it and about the first 20 times that person replies no, you didn’t even touch it. Then the person goes into a long, drawn out description of the location of this contagion on your face followed by you not even touching it once again. It ruins everything that was happening previously. Whenever it happens to me, I forget the point I was trying to make and in what direction I was going with what I was saying. It just stops the flow of the conversation. In extreme cases, I get so frustrated that I can’t get this thing off my face that I have to storm off to the bathroom and look in the mirror to get it off. If not disposed of, many people all day comment on it and inform you several times of the terrible experience you’ve just gone through.
This could also be said about herpes. If you have herpes and tell someone, it kind of ruins the flow of what is happening and slash or disgusts the person so much they never want to talk to you again. The only thing about glitter is it’s shiny and pretty, whereas herpes looks really gross. I’ve seen picture in FACS class.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Snobby Show Choir People
Everybody gather around, it's time for a story.
This weekend I attended a show choir competition at Urbandale. After watching our prep group, Protégé, perform extremely well, I was walking with a friend back to our room to take curlers out. We were walking along, minding our own business, when a guy, who was walking next to us, decided to strike up a conversation with us. This is how it went.
Guy: hey, where are you guys from?
Us: Happiness. Same school as Protégé, the school that just went
Guy: Ohhhh really. I’m from Linn-Mar In-Step (Linn-Mar’s prep group)
Us: Oh cool. Well good luck today!
Guy: Thanks but we already performed (said in an extremely snotty way)
Us: Aw really? We missed it. We’ve been meaning to see you too. Did it go well? We hope it did.
Guy: Oh yeah. It we did soooooo well! I think we have a pretty good shot at getting first this time. (Said with nose stuck up in the air)
Us: Well good job! We wish you the best of luck tonight at awards (flashes hugnormously fake smile)
Guy: Yeah thanks, but we don’t need it (walks away)
We stood there for about 30 seconds a little dumfounded at what just happened. We had always been told to be good people first so by hearing this extremely arrogant underclassman, it was hard not to tell him something like, “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t go around saying things like that to people! That is extremely rude, arrogant, and unnecessary. You’re giving your show choir and extremely bad name by saying all of that to us. Especially since we aren’t even competing against you.” It would’ve been so easy to tell him off, but we had to stay cool and wish him the best of luck because we have always had people with extremely good sportsmanship. So instead, we went back to our homeroom where we proceeded to tell everyone we could about what just happened and gossip about how extremely dumb and arrogant all the Linn-Mar members think they are. That’s how it’s done. It got even better when In-Step got third place and Protégé got first.
This weekend I attended a show choir competition at Urbandale. After watching our prep group, Protégé, perform extremely well, I was walking with a friend back to our room to take curlers out. We were walking along, minding our own business, when a guy, who was walking next to us, decided to strike up a conversation with us. This is how it went.
Guy: hey, where are you guys from?
Us: Happiness. Same school as Protégé, the school that just went
Guy: Ohhhh really. I’m from Linn-Mar In-Step (Linn-Mar’s prep group)
Us: Oh cool. Well good luck today!
Guy: Thanks but we already performed (said in an extremely snotty way)
Us: Aw really? We missed it. We’ve been meaning to see you too. Did it go well? We hope it did.
Guy: Oh yeah. It we did soooooo well! I think we have a pretty good shot at getting first this time. (Said with nose stuck up in the air)
Us: Well good job! We wish you the best of luck tonight at awards (flashes hugnormously fake smile)
Guy: Yeah thanks, but we don’t need it (walks away)
We stood there for about 30 seconds a little dumfounded at what just happened. We had always been told to be good people first so by hearing this extremely arrogant underclassman, it was hard not to tell him something like, “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t go around saying things like that to people! That is extremely rude, arrogant, and unnecessary. You’re giving your show choir and extremely bad name by saying all of that to us. Especially since we aren’t even competing against you.” It would’ve been so easy to tell him off, but we had to stay cool and wish him the best of luck because we have always had people with extremely good sportsmanship. So instead, we went back to our homeroom where we proceeded to tell everyone we could about what just happened and gossip about how extremely dumb and arrogant all the Linn-Mar members think they are. That’s how it’s done. It got even better when In-Step got third place and Protégé got first.
Psychotic God Warrior
Attached is one of the most ridiculous videos on youtube.com I have ever seen. It’s a section of one of Fox’s Trading Spouses episodes.
Some background; trading spouses is another one of those reality shows that basically exposes the idiotically, insane people of the world these days. It takes two families who have agreed to trade moms slash wives and in the end they each get a fairly hefty sum of money. The scandalous part is the families are always opposites and the other wife gets to choose what the other family spends their money on. So there are obviously going to be numerous fights and conflicts and name calling going on. Really shows off America’s good side.
In this particular episode, there are two families. One that is pretty hardcore Christian and follows the bible to the tee. The other that has an open mind about things and follow astrology and hypnotism. When the wives returned to their homes is when this video begins. The good ol’ Christian woman is the definition of a nut case. She runs (kind of) around yelling “That house is dark sided!” “I am a god warrior! I had to put on armor just to walk up out of that house!” “I AM A GOD WARRIOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” then she proceeds to blame her family for all of it because they didn’t pray for her and complained that she had to take the family to a catholic church.
Isn’t that what a “god warrior” is for? To make believers of people? Instead of worrying about herself and whining and crying, she probably should’ve been trying to make people see her side of things. She should have taken the advantage to giver her side of all their beliefs and discussed them with the family she was staying with. It’s unbelievable to ridiculous some people can be.
When I saw this video, I wanted to yell at this lady through the computer screen and maybe even slap some sense into her. She is throwing a huge tantrum over an experience she should be thanking fox for giving her. This experience showed her she’s not quite as strong as she thought she was and needs much more faith.
Some background; trading spouses is another one of those reality shows that basically exposes the idiotically, insane people of the world these days. It takes two families who have agreed to trade moms slash wives and in the end they each get a fairly hefty sum of money. The scandalous part is the families are always opposites and the other wife gets to choose what the other family spends their money on. So there are obviously going to be numerous fights and conflicts and name calling going on. Really shows off America’s good side.
In this particular episode, there are two families. One that is pretty hardcore Christian and follows the bible to the tee. The other that has an open mind about things and follow astrology and hypnotism. When the wives returned to their homes is when this video begins. The good ol’ Christian woman is the definition of a nut case. She runs (kind of) around yelling “That house is dark sided!” “I am a god warrior! I had to put on armor just to walk up out of that house!” “I AM A GOD WARRIOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” then she proceeds to blame her family for all of it because they didn’t pray for her and complained that she had to take the family to a catholic church.
Isn’t that what a “god warrior” is for? To make believers of people? Instead of worrying about herself and whining and crying, she probably should’ve been trying to make people see her side of things. She should have taken the advantage to giver her side of all their beliefs and discussed them with the family she was staying with. It’s unbelievable to ridiculous some people can be.
When I saw this video, I wanted to yell at this lady through the computer screen and maybe even slap some sense into her. She is throwing a huge tantrum over an experience she should be thanking fox for giving her. This experience showed her she’s not quite as strong as she thought she was and needs much more faith.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Blogs
This is a required blog so I’m just gonna get it out of the way right off the bat.
Mr. Ayers, our AP Lang teacher wants a whole bunch of feed back from everyone about blogging and all that good stuff, so here goes:
I think there are pros and cons to blogging. Let me start with the pros. It gets the students to write a little every week and experiment with certain types of techniques we may have learned recently. It lets them figure out what they like and dislike and get a little more comfortable with different techniques. Those are the obvious pros.
Now to mask those pros with some cons. I personally dislike blogging. It causes frustration and uses up time that I would much rather be using for something more productive like watching TV or hanging with friends. Now that may not seem like a productive way to use my time if you’re at all like my mother, but it keeps me happy and sane so what’s there to complain about? The blogs, however, do not do a great deal in keeping my sanity in check. It’s so frustrating to have to sit there and pull something out of thin air to blog about. There are only so many show choir competitions and events we attend to rave or complain about and as of right now, show choir is basically my life. Nice segue into my next complaint.
Blogs take up many of my precious minutes in a week. As I mentioned, I’d much rather be doing something else. With show choir season in full boom, I have little time to spend with my friends, much less my family. I’d rather spend that time making relations with people and having fun.
It’s not that I have ADD, but I get distracted extremely easily when I get on the computer to do school work. It’s like the internet is against me. On those little nifty side bars on every single page there are different websites to go to that look so inviting. It’s like they’re crying out to me, “Katrina! I hate you and I want you to procrastinate further. Looky here! Here’s some pretty cool websites to check out with cute clothes, funny videos, and cute little animals that say really funny things! Go there! It’ll be worth it! Blogging doesn’t matter!” What can I do when an opportunity like that presents itself? Not go there? I don’t think so! Everyone has to admit they’ve been distracted by those devious little sidebar attractions. If not, cudos to you. You’ve obviously got this whole “priority” concept down. If we were to go back to writing notebook entries, that may help me out a little. I could put myself in my room and not be so easily distracted.
I’ve never taken the initiative to actually sit down and make a pros and cons list, but it seems to me that if one would do that for blogs, cons would win. It may be because I don’t see all the pros in my frustration with the cons, but as far as I’m concerned, cons dominate.
Mr. Ayers, our AP Lang teacher wants a whole bunch of feed back from everyone about blogging and all that good stuff, so here goes:
I think there are pros and cons to blogging. Let me start with the pros. It gets the students to write a little every week and experiment with certain types of techniques we may have learned recently. It lets them figure out what they like and dislike and get a little more comfortable with different techniques. Those are the obvious pros.
Now to mask those pros with some cons. I personally dislike blogging. It causes frustration and uses up time that I would much rather be using for something more productive like watching TV or hanging with friends. Now that may not seem like a productive way to use my time if you’re at all like my mother, but it keeps me happy and sane so what’s there to complain about? The blogs, however, do not do a great deal in keeping my sanity in check. It’s so frustrating to have to sit there and pull something out of thin air to blog about. There are only so many show choir competitions and events we attend to rave or complain about and as of right now, show choir is basically my life. Nice segue into my next complaint.
Blogs take up many of my precious minutes in a week. As I mentioned, I’d much rather be doing something else. With show choir season in full boom, I have little time to spend with my friends, much less my family. I’d rather spend that time making relations with people and having fun.
It’s not that I have ADD, but I get distracted extremely easily when I get on the computer to do school work. It’s like the internet is against me. On those little nifty side bars on every single page there are different websites to go to that look so inviting. It’s like they’re crying out to me, “Katrina! I hate you and I want you to procrastinate further. Looky here! Here’s some pretty cool websites to check out with cute clothes, funny videos, and cute little animals that say really funny things! Go there! It’ll be worth it! Blogging doesn’t matter!” What can I do when an opportunity like that presents itself? Not go there? I don’t think so! Everyone has to admit they’ve been distracted by those devious little sidebar attractions. If not, cudos to you. You’ve obviously got this whole “priority” concept down. If we were to go back to writing notebook entries, that may help me out a little. I could put myself in my room and not be so easily distracted.
I’ve never taken the initiative to actually sit down and make a pros and cons list, but it seems to me that if one would do that for blogs, cons would win. It may be because I don’t see all the pros in my frustration with the cons, but as far as I’m concerned, cons dominate.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Show Choir Rankings
The long awaiting, annual show choir rankings are finally up. Show choir ranking is a system an organization has come up with to place all show choirs in the nation. There are, of course, flaws in the system. If a show choir has only competed in one contest and did well, of course they’ll be at the top of the list; whereas a show choir who’s competed at a few competitions and did extremely well at two and got maybe third or second at the other one will be placed below the show choir who has only competed in one competition. The list will be updated throughout the year as the show choir season progresses. That will give everyone a more accurate look at how each show choir is doing. This list shouldn’t be taken to heart, but it’s a fairly decent source to refer to. Following are the top 100 show choirs in the nation, according to this system.
1-Wheaton Warrenville -220.00
2-Linn-Mar-212.00
3-Urbandale-208.00
3-Waubonsie Valley-208.00
5-Findlay-202.50
6-Cedar Rapids Kennedy-192.50
7-Fairfield (OH)-191.00
8-La Crosse Central-190.50
9-Franklin Central -190.00
10-Buffalo Grove -188.00
11-Olentangy -186.00
12-Twinsburg -183.67
13-Ankeny-183.00
14-Cedar Rapids Washington-182.00
14-Eisenhower (IL)-182.00
16-Petal-180.00
17-Piqua-179.33
18-Center Grove-178.00
18-Hastings-178.00
18-Teays Valley -178.00
21-Omaha Westside-177.00
22-Poca-174.00
23-Lincoln Southwest0-173.00
24-Grand Island Northwest-172.00
25-Pella-170.00
26-Janesville Craig-169.00
27-Homewood-168.00
27-Milton -168.00
29-Cedar Rapids Xaiver-166.00
29-Dekalb-166.00
29-Waconia-166.00
32-Marysville -165.00
33-Cedar Rapids Prairie-164.00
33-Johnston-164.00
33-Troy Buchanan-164.00
36-Wahlert-163.00
37-Pleasant Hill-162.00
38-Eau Claire-161.00
39-Dowling Catholic-158.00
39-Emmetsburg-158.00
41-Brodhead-156.00
41-Chesterton-156.00
41-Cory-Rawson-156.00
41-Newton-156.00
45-Albertville-154.00
45-Carroll (IN)-154.00
45-Davenport Central-154.00
45-Garfield Heights -154.00
45-St. Clairsville -154.00
50-Colerain -153.00
50-Iowa City West-153.00
50-La Crosse Logan-153.00
53-Sioux City East-152.50
54-Bemidji-152.00
54-Preble-152
54-Solon-152.00
54-Sullivan -152.00
58-Mt. Zion -149.00
59-Nevada-146.00
59-Hudson-146.00
61-Mayville-145.00
62-Hurricane-144.00
62-North Side-144.00
62-Pascagoula-144.00
65-Valley-143.00
66-Sauk Prairie-142.00
66-Waukee -142.00
68-Medina -141.00
69-Northrop -140.00
69-Onalaska-140.00
69-Southeast Polk-140.00
72-Cabell Midland -138.00
72-Kettering-Fairmont -138.00
74-Nitro-137.00
75-Altoona -134.00
75-Keller Central -134.00
75-Mitchell-134.00
75-Neosho-134.00
75-Norwalk-134.00
80-Bloomington Jefferson-132.00
80-New London-132.00
80-West Jones-132.00
83-Manteno-130.00
84-Cedar Rapids Jefferson-128.00
85-Millard West-127.00
85-Papillion-La Vista-127.00
87-Harrisonville-122.00
88-Grand Island Senior-121.00
89-Beech Grove-120.00
89-John Hersey-120.00
89-Ravenswood-120.00
89-Reedsburg Area-120.00
93-Totino-Grace-118.00
94-Beavercreek -116.00
95-ARTS-111.00
96-Bishop Heelena-110.00
I’m very happy with these results. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is ranked 6th and, as far as I can recollect, hasn’t ever done this well. Last year they were placed 30th in the nation and felt that was pretty good. This is the best thing that could happen to boost our moral and get us going to achieve even greater things like getting into the top 5. It’s a great year to be in Happiness.
1-Wheaton Warrenville -220.00
2-Linn-Mar-212.00
3-Urbandale-208.00
3-Waubonsie Valley-208.00
5-Findlay-202.50
6-Cedar Rapids Kennedy-192.50
7-Fairfield (OH)-191.00
8-La Crosse Central-190.50
9-Franklin Central -190.00
10-Buffalo Grove -188.00
11-Olentangy -186.00
12-Twinsburg -183.67
13-Ankeny-183.00
14-Cedar Rapids Washington-182.00
14-Eisenhower (IL)-182.00
16-Petal-180.00
17-Piqua-179.33
18-Center Grove-178.00
18-Hastings-178.00
18-Teays Valley -178.00
21-Omaha Westside-177.00
22-Poca-174.00
23-Lincoln Southwest0-173.00
24-Grand Island Northwest-172.00
25-Pella-170.00
26-Janesville Craig-169.00
27-Homewood-168.00
27-Milton -168.00
29-Cedar Rapids Xaiver-166.00
29-Dekalb-166.00
29-Waconia-166.00
32-Marysville -165.00
33-Cedar Rapids Prairie-164.00
33-Johnston-164.00
33-Troy Buchanan-164.00
36-Wahlert-163.00
37-Pleasant Hill-162.00
38-Eau Claire-161.00
39-Dowling Catholic-158.00
39-Emmetsburg-158.00
41-Brodhead-156.00
41-Chesterton-156.00
41-Cory-Rawson-156.00
41-Newton-156.00
45-Albertville-154.00
45-Carroll (IN)-154.00
45-Davenport Central-154.00
45-Garfield Heights -154.00
45-St. Clairsville -154.00
50-Colerain -153.00
50-Iowa City West-153.00
50-La Crosse Logan-153.00
53-Sioux City East-152.50
54-Bemidji-152.00
54-Preble-152
54-Solon-152.00
54-Sullivan -152.00
58-Mt. Zion -149.00
59-Nevada-146.00
59-Hudson-146.00
61-Mayville-145.00
62-Hurricane-144.00
62-North Side-144.00
62-Pascagoula-144.00
65-Valley-143.00
66-Sauk Prairie-142.00
66-Waukee -142.00
68-Medina -141.00
69-Northrop -140.00
69-Onalaska-140.00
69-Southeast Polk-140.00
72-Cabell Midland -138.00
72-Kettering-Fairmont -138.00
74-Nitro-137.00
75-Altoona -134.00
75-Keller Central -134.00
75-Mitchell-134.00
75-Neosho-134.00
75-Norwalk-134.00
80-Bloomington Jefferson-132.00
80-New London-132.00
80-West Jones-132.00
83-Manteno-130.00
84-Cedar Rapids Jefferson-128.00
85-Millard West-127.00
85-Papillion-La Vista-127.00
87-Harrisonville-122.00
88-Grand Island Senior-121.00
89-Beech Grove-120.00
89-John Hersey-120.00
89-Ravenswood-120.00
89-Reedsburg Area-120.00
93-Totino-Grace-118.00
94-Beavercreek -116.00
95-ARTS-111.00
96-Bishop Heelena-110.00
I’m very happy with these results. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is ranked 6th and, as far as I can recollect, hasn’t ever done this well. Last year they were placed 30th in the nation and felt that was pretty good. This is the best thing that could happen to boost our moral and get us going to achieve even greater things like getting into the top 5. It’s a great year to be in Happiness.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Fab Five
Every year Cedar Rapids has a show called Fab Five for the public. It’s a show where the five varsity groups in Cedar Rapids perform their show for anyone who would like to watch. Tickets are 15 dollars but it usually always gets a lot of people out to watch. It’s really nice to see the support of the public show.
This event typically takes place at the paramount theatre. Because of the flooding that happened over the summer, we weren’t able to use the theatre. Prairie High School had just built a new theatre onto their school and it’s a really big auditorium, so they decided to have them host Fab Five this year. The first time I got a chance to get a look at this auditorium was when I was on stage, ready to perform, and the curtains opened. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. It reminded me of the paramount theatre. It had a balcony and everything. The acoustics were absolutely amazing as well. The contractors obviously knew what they were doing.
The stage was absolutely gorgeous as well. It was plenty big for everything to fit on it; the whole band, both ours and their changing rooms, the risers, and plenty of room at in the front of the stage to dance! It was one of the prettier auditorium packages I have seen. It was truly an honor to perform in it.
They had a good set-up as well. They provided show choir-like foods for us to buy in between the two shows because we were not allowed to leave to get any. The only thing I didn’t like was that we weren’t allowed to play any music in our room because apparently it traveled down the hallway, through the door, down another hallway, and into the auditorium. This was a little frustrating because we always play music while we’re getting ready and sing to it and get pumped up for our performance. With no music, it just wasn’t the same. I would have listened to my iPod, but I had forgotten it this time, so I had nothing. Due to that and the fact it wasn’t a hardcore competition, it was really hard to get into it and do a really good show for the public. It definitely wasn’t our best, but I’m sure all the other groups had the same problem as they were performing. Despite all of this, we got told we gave a really good show and were very entertaining.
This event typically takes place at the paramount theatre. Because of the flooding that happened over the summer, we weren’t able to use the theatre. Prairie High School had just built a new theatre onto their school and it’s a really big auditorium, so they decided to have them host Fab Five this year. The first time I got a chance to get a look at this auditorium was when I was on stage, ready to perform, and the curtains opened. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. It reminded me of the paramount theatre. It had a balcony and everything. The acoustics were absolutely amazing as well. The contractors obviously knew what they were doing.
The stage was absolutely gorgeous as well. It was plenty big for everything to fit on it; the whole band, both ours and their changing rooms, the risers, and plenty of room at in the front of the stage to dance! It was one of the prettier auditorium packages I have seen. It was truly an honor to perform in it.
They had a good set-up as well. They provided show choir-like foods for us to buy in between the two shows because we were not allowed to leave to get any. The only thing I didn’t like was that we weren’t allowed to play any music in our room because apparently it traveled down the hallway, through the door, down another hallway, and into the auditorium. This was a little frustrating because we always play music while we’re getting ready and sing to it and get pumped up for our performance. With no music, it just wasn’t the same. I would have listened to my iPod, but I had forgotten it this time, so I had nothing. Due to that and the fact it wasn’t a hardcore competition, it was really hard to get into it and do a really good show for the public. It definitely wasn’t our best, but I’m sure all the other groups had the same problem as they were performing. Despite all of this, we got told we gave a really good show and were very entertaining.
Happy Jackets
Happiness has always been known for its great sportsmanship and being good people. Our director always tells us that no matter how well we do in a competition, we always, always, always need to be good people first. That reputation matters more to him than a trophy.
I personally completely agree with him on this subject. It’s important for people to see us as good people and for us to be liked and looked up to in that way. Directors of other schools have used us as an example for their kids. They tell them to act like us. We have those bright yellow Happiness jackets on and are extremely easy to spot, so it’s easy to know if Happiness as a whole aren’t being good people.
There has always been a 12 year old tradition that Protégé kids wear Happiness member’s jackets while Happiness performs. There’s always so much clambering around to get everyone a jacket to wear. It’s always a relief seeing those bright yellow jackets in the front two rows when we first get on stage. This will be no more for the rest of the year.
Two members of Protégé were wearing a Happiness jacket while watching another group’s show. While watching, they decided to point at one of the members on stage and laugh. I was told it wasn’t in a negative way, they were complimenting, but by pointing and laughing, it was taken the wrong way. The two girls were sitting next to one of the parents of a member in the group. Unfortunately, he took is the wrong way and got the impression the two girls were making fun of something in the show. The father wrote a strongly worded e-mail to our director to inform him of the act. He wasn’t mean or hateful in anyway, just a little upset by the events that had happened.
Our director wasn’t extremely mad by this, just a little saddened. He talked to Happiness about it and decided for the rest of the year that no one would wear Happiness jackets unless they are a member of Happiness. If he caught anyone else wearing a jacket, the person who was wearing it and the owner of the jacket would get talked to. He did this because he believes the members of Happiness get that we need to keep the reputation we have and some of the Protégé kids don’t. If the reputation is going to be ruined, let it be ruined by a person actually in Happiness, not by one not even in it. He’s willing to give it another try next year, but for the rest of the year, we aren’t allowed to give our jackets away.
I personally completely agree with him on this subject. It’s important for people to see us as good people and for us to be liked and looked up to in that way. Directors of other schools have used us as an example for their kids. They tell them to act like us. We have those bright yellow Happiness jackets on and are extremely easy to spot, so it’s easy to know if Happiness as a whole aren’t being good people.
There has always been a 12 year old tradition that Protégé kids wear Happiness member’s jackets while Happiness performs. There’s always so much clambering around to get everyone a jacket to wear. It’s always a relief seeing those bright yellow jackets in the front two rows when we first get on stage. This will be no more for the rest of the year.
Two members of Protégé were wearing a Happiness jacket while watching another group’s show. While watching, they decided to point at one of the members on stage and laugh. I was told it wasn’t in a negative way, they were complimenting, but by pointing and laughing, it was taken the wrong way. The two girls were sitting next to one of the parents of a member in the group. Unfortunately, he took is the wrong way and got the impression the two girls were making fun of something in the show. The father wrote a strongly worded e-mail to our director to inform him of the act. He wasn’t mean or hateful in anyway, just a little upset by the events that had happened.
Our director wasn’t extremely mad by this, just a little saddened. He talked to Happiness about it and decided for the rest of the year that no one would wear Happiness jackets unless they are a member of Happiness. If he caught anyone else wearing a jacket, the person who was wearing it and the owner of the jacket would get talked to. He did this because he believes the members of Happiness get that we need to keep the reputation we have and some of the Protégé kids don’t. If the reputation is going to be ruined, let it be ruined by a person actually in Happiness, not by one not even in it. He’s willing to give it another try next year, but for the rest of the year, we aren’t allowed to give our jackets away.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Davenport North
This year Happiness traveled to Davenport to attend Davenport North’s competition called Big Dance. After our success at Linn-Mar, we were pretty confident in our show. Before we performed, I didn’t even have those pesky first year jitters! I was back to my semi-nervous self.
Davenport was a fairly small competition and didn’t have too much competition for Happiness. Lacrosse and maybe Jefferson was our biggest competition. We were pretty nervous about going against Lacrosse because we had heard they’re really good this year and after getting second at Linn-Mar, we were confident in our show, but there was that little doubt when we heard about Lacrosse. They have traditionally been good. I didn’t get a chance to see their show before we performed in the day rounds, but a few people in the group did and they informed us that they were pretty good, but not amazing. Someone we could beat if we really wanted to.
In our warm-up, our director gave us his regular speech about us going out there to do the best show we can. We can’t control the judges or the other groups, but to control the things we can. Happiness has always been known for our entertaining show. We always have the show that the audience enjoys watching the most. That’s what we need to strive to achieve. To have the best show, the one the audience watches and loves. Not have the attitude that we need to get first. That’s what Happiness has always been about and that’s what it’s going to always be about.
We went out there and did an amazing show. We ended up placing first in the day rounds by 18 points. It was a good feeling. We all wanted it to stay that way and not have a reenactment of Linn-Mar where we got first in the day rounds and second after finals. Our director gave another speech about wanting to know what it feels like to get first before March. Happiness typically doesn’t do as well in their first couple competitions. In past years it’s taken them a couple tries to figure out the formula for success. We all wanted a win this time.
We finally got a grand champion trophy! To top it all off we won a caption award as well for best choreography. It was such a good feeling to finally do so well, especially right out of the gate. We won by 15 points and it felt good.
Davenport was a fairly small competition and didn’t have too much competition for Happiness. Lacrosse and maybe Jefferson was our biggest competition. We were pretty nervous about going against Lacrosse because we had heard they’re really good this year and after getting second at Linn-Mar, we were confident in our show, but there was that little doubt when we heard about Lacrosse. They have traditionally been good. I didn’t get a chance to see their show before we performed in the day rounds, but a few people in the group did and they informed us that they were pretty good, but not amazing. Someone we could beat if we really wanted to.
In our warm-up, our director gave us his regular speech about us going out there to do the best show we can. We can’t control the judges or the other groups, but to control the things we can. Happiness has always been known for our entertaining show. We always have the show that the audience enjoys watching the most. That’s what we need to strive to achieve. To have the best show, the one the audience watches and loves. Not have the attitude that we need to get first. That’s what Happiness has always been about and that’s what it’s going to always be about.
We went out there and did an amazing show. We ended up placing first in the day rounds by 18 points. It was a good feeling. We all wanted it to stay that way and not have a reenactment of Linn-Mar where we got first in the day rounds and second after finals. Our director gave another speech about wanting to know what it feels like to get first before March. Happiness typically doesn’t do as well in their first couple competitions. In past years it’s taken them a couple tries to figure out the formula for success. We all wanted a win this time.
We finally got a grand champion trophy! To top it all off we won a caption award as well for best choreography. It was such a good feeling to finally do so well, especially right out of the gate. We won by 15 points and it felt good.
First Year Jitters
A couple weeks ago marked Happiness Inc.'s first competition of the season. This being my first year in Happiness, I was the most nervous I have ever been for anything in my life. I, personally, do not get too nervous for anything. Whenever I have to get on stage and do something, or read something like a paper or give a speech in front of the class, I’ll get a little nervous, maybe get a little shaky, but nothing too big. That was nothing like how I felt before my first competition as a Happiness member.
I was fine while we were doing hair and putting makeup on and even while our director was giving us a talking to, to get us psyched for our performance ahead. The moment it hit me was while we were waiting off stage for the group before us to get done. I am in charge of carrying the trashcans on stage that we throw our costumes in after we change. I remember wanting to hurl into it the whole time we were waiting. It was a terrible feeling to be nervous. I felt like my insides were all about to come out of me through my mouth. Luckily I had people by me to talk to so I could distract myself, but that only helped a little. The best part about it, however, was the moment I got on stage; I took a deep breath and calmed down almost completely. There was a lot of adrenaline still running through me, but that was expected and I could control it.
After the show, we found out our critique was our choreographer. Of course he had many things to tell us, most of them being bad. He told us he would place us between 6th and 3rd. Many of us were a little disappointed and beaten because we all felt we did an extraordinary show. We had to wait for a couple hours to find out the results, so there was a lot of chatter about how well we would do. As we waited patiently in the gym, we were just hoping to make finals because of what our choreographer had predicted. We were ecstatic when they called our name for finals. We all went back to our homeroom where our director cam back about 20 minutes later to inform us of the order we would be performing. This was when it really got exciting. Our director told us that the order was chosen by placements. First place would choose first and then second and so on. He told us after the MC said this he turned to our director and told him to choose. It took us a few moments to realize what he had just told us, but after that there was so much screaming and cheering and some crying and hugging. We had gotten first! It felt so good to have all the hard work pay off.
I was fine while we were doing hair and putting makeup on and even while our director was giving us a talking to, to get us psyched for our performance ahead. The moment it hit me was while we were waiting off stage for the group before us to get done. I am in charge of carrying the trashcans on stage that we throw our costumes in after we change. I remember wanting to hurl into it the whole time we were waiting. It was a terrible feeling to be nervous. I felt like my insides were all about to come out of me through my mouth. Luckily I had people by me to talk to so I could distract myself, but that only helped a little. The best part about it, however, was the moment I got on stage; I took a deep breath and calmed down almost completely. There was a lot of adrenaline still running through me, but that was expected and I could control it.
After the show, we found out our critique was our choreographer. Of course he had many things to tell us, most of them being bad. He told us he would place us between 6th and 3rd. Many of us were a little disappointed and beaten because we all felt we did an extraordinary show. We had to wait for a couple hours to find out the results, so there was a lot of chatter about how well we would do. As we waited patiently in the gym, we were just hoping to make finals because of what our choreographer had predicted. We were ecstatic when they called our name for finals. We all went back to our homeroom where our director cam back about 20 minutes later to inform us of the order we would be performing. This was when it really got exciting. Our director told us that the order was chosen by placements. First place would choose first and then second and so on. He told us after the MC said this he turned to our director and told him to choose. It took us a few moments to realize what he had just told us, but after that there was so much screaming and cheering and some crying and hugging. We had gotten first! It felt so good to have all the hard work pay off.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
show choir
This particular post is going to be set up to point out many flaws in being in show choir. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love show choir competitions. You’ll never meet a more interesting, fun, loud, obnoxious, and hilarious group of kids than the ones you meet at show choir competitions. And I fit right in with all of those kids. The only downside is all the time and energy it takes. We usually have to be at the school between 5 and 7 in the morning for each competition to board a bus and ride an hour or more to a strange school that I almost always seem to get lost in. after we arrive, we must sit around for several hours and think of mind numbing ways to entertain ourselves, such as carry a stereo system into the school which has a USB adapter for us to plug an iPod with obnoxious, bass-booming music on it. This noise fills the hallways. Normally this would be fun and completely okay with me, but after our first show, most of the time, all I want to do is sleep. Take a little nap to get going again for finals, but when that horrible music is blaring, it’s a difficult task to accomplish.
The days are always extremely long. Most of the time, we must wake up around 6 in the morning to get ready to board a bus where we will stay for an hour or longer. We are not allowed to sleep on the bus because when you sleep, gunk gets built up in your throat and it takes a few hours of talking and using your vocal cords to loosen that and get rid of it. This is the moment when the monotonous task of entertaining ourselves. Fortunately, the group is good at finding ways to do this that doesn’t get us in trouble, but sometimes is doesn’t work out so well.
The most common show choir food is a walking taco. This is pretty good, but most of the time I want something more substantial and healthy. There are
usually foods like carrots and apples to eat, but I would like a meal that isn’t just junk food. This, unfortunately, isn’t usually provided. There’s always plenty of food to sooth a sweet tooth and junk-food-lovers, but not enough of the good stuff. I’m assuming this is because of cost and demand of it, but for those who like to eat the good stuff, I think they should provide more of it.
The days are always extremely long. Most of the time, we must wake up around 6 in the morning to get ready to board a bus where we will stay for an hour or longer. We are not allowed to sleep on the bus because when you sleep, gunk gets built up in your throat and it takes a few hours of talking and using your vocal cords to loosen that and get rid of it. This is the moment when the monotonous task of entertaining ourselves. Fortunately, the group is good at finding ways to do this that doesn’t get us in trouble, but sometimes is doesn’t work out so well.
The most common show choir food is a walking taco. This is pretty good, but most of the time I want something more substantial and healthy. There are
usually foods like carrots and apples to eat, but I would like a meal that isn’t just junk food. This, unfortunately, isn’t usually provided. There’s always plenty of food to sooth a sweet tooth and junk-food-lovers, but not enough of the good stuff. I’m assuming this is because of cost and demand of it, but for those who like to eat the good stuff, I think they should provide more of it.
The Art of Being Clumpsy
Have you ever had one of those weird off days when you’re just really uncoordinated? You trip over your own feet or just on a regular flat surface when there doesn’t seem to be anything there that might have even partly caused you to trip? Or maybe you’ll be walking down the hallway and trip and cause two other people to stumble at the same time? This is how everyday of my life goes. I like to call it the art of being clumsy.
The hallways during passing time are always extremely crowded and packed with people going every which way, trying to get to their next class. That, however, isn’t a good excuse for what happened to me one day. I was minding my own business and having a pretty intense conversation with a friend I was walking with. I wasn’t watching where I was going as usual and looked at my friend because she was imitating something that had happened to her earlier in the day. During this whole transaction, I didn’t realize the velocity of the person walking in front of me was at a slower rate than mine and slammed into their back and knocked their balance off. As if that wasn’t enough, the unfortunate soul I so carelessly budged, grabbed onto their friend to catch their balance before they fell and dragged their friend down with them as they fell. It was so embarrassing and I felt terrible about it. The only thing I could think to do was to excessively apologize and watch the two of them laugh hysterically as they stumbled to their feet. Luckily it was in a part of the hallway where there wasn’t much traffic going on at the time, but there were still people walking by, shooting judging glances my way. The only thing I could really do to act like it wasn’t a big deal was to laugh with the two I had knocked over. It all happened so quickly and we suddenly had to go our separate ways so we wouldn’t be late to class.
I rushed to my next class where one of my best friends was sitting and told her all about it. We laughed for a while over it and I got teased a little, which I expected, and then it was over with. Everyone will forget about it soon, but I’m sure I’ll remember it for a very long time.
The hallways during passing time are always extremely crowded and packed with people going every which way, trying to get to their next class. That, however, isn’t a good excuse for what happened to me one day. I was minding my own business and having a pretty intense conversation with a friend I was walking with. I wasn’t watching where I was going as usual and looked at my friend because she was imitating something that had happened to her earlier in the day. During this whole transaction, I didn’t realize the velocity of the person walking in front of me was at a slower rate than mine and slammed into their back and knocked their balance off. As if that wasn’t enough, the unfortunate soul I so carelessly budged, grabbed onto their friend to catch their balance before they fell and dragged their friend down with them as they fell. It was so embarrassing and I felt terrible about it. The only thing I could think to do was to excessively apologize and watch the two of them laugh hysterically as they stumbled to their feet. Luckily it was in a part of the hallway where there wasn’t much traffic going on at the time, but there were still people walking by, shooting judging glances my way. The only thing I could really do to act like it wasn’t a big deal was to laugh with the two I had knocked over. It all happened so quickly and we suddenly had to go our separate ways so we wouldn’t be late to class.
I rushed to my next class where one of my best friends was sitting and told her all about it. We laughed for a while over it and I got teased a little, which I expected, and then it was over with. Everyone will forget about it soon, but I’m sure I’ll remember it for a very long time.
Dreams
Have you ever had that reoccurring dream where you’re either walking and trip, or maybe skating and fall? Or maybe the infamous dream where you fall off a cliff. Maybe a loved one pushes you? I find these the most annoying and obnoxious dreams ever.
In mine, I’m always either ice skating or rollerblading. These are two activities that I typically choose to not take any part in due to me being extremely clumsy. In the dream, I’m usually all by myself just strolling along nicely, something that wouldn’t happen to me in real life. As I’m minding my own business, for no apparent reason that I am aware of, I trip or fall and as I’m falling, I trust my hands our in front of me to catch myself and jerk awake! It’s a pretty scary feeling to wake up from jerking forward. I’m always disoriented and confused when I get out of that dream.
This dream usually occurs when I’m riding I a car and I fall asleep (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving). I was supposed to be keeping my mom awake One our trip to Kansas to visit some family. I was doing a terrible job and accidentally fell asleep in the passenger’s seat. When I jerked awake from my dream, I almost threw myself out of my seat and, as my mom put it, scared the living daylights out of her. She was worried and asked if I was okay. I politely replied yes after the couple of seconds had passed that I took to calm myself and get a bearing on my surroundings. I proceeded to tell her why I had woken up so suddenly and she suggested maybe the dream means something.
I believe dreams are a collaboration of all the different occurrences that happened throughout a person’s day and some worries they might have suppressed. I think it’s just a way for the brain to try to sort them out in your subconscious. I don’t think dreams can tell the future. They can only jumble up things that have happened in the past. You brain my very well be able to put together the things that have happened and predict the future and you might get lucky and be right once in a while, but I don’t think they can foresee exactly what’s going to happen in the future.
In mine, I’m always either ice skating or rollerblading. These are two activities that I typically choose to not take any part in due to me being extremely clumsy. In the dream, I’m usually all by myself just strolling along nicely, something that wouldn’t happen to me in real life. As I’m minding my own business, for no apparent reason that I am aware of, I trip or fall and as I’m falling, I trust my hands our in front of me to catch myself and jerk awake! It’s a pretty scary feeling to wake up from jerking forward. I’m always disoriented and confused when I get out of that dream.
This dream usually occurs when I’m riding I a car and I fall asleep (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving). I was supposed to be keeping my mom awake One our trip to Kansas to visit some family. I was doing a terrible job and accidentally fell asleep in the passenger’s seat. When I jerked awake from my dream, I almost threw myself out of my seat and, as my mom put it, scared the living daylights out of her. She was worried and asked if I was okay. I politely replied yes after the couple of seconds had passed that I took to calm myself and get a bearing on my surroundings. I proceeded to tell her why I had woken up so suddenly and she suggested maybe the dream means something.
I believe dreams are a collaboration of all the different occurrences that happened throughout a person’s day and some worries they might have suppressed. I think it’s just a way for the brain to try to sort them out in your subconscious. I don’t think dreams can tell the future. They can only jumble up things that have happened in the past. You brain my very well be able to put together the things that have happened and predict the future and you might get lucky and be right once in a while, but I don’t think they can foresee exactly what’s going to happen in the future.
Busy Busy Busy
When referring to school, January and February are the worst two months of the year. There are no breaks when the two built in snow days are already used up. Everyone seems to fall into this “slump” that’s hard to get out of.
It starts with the attentiveness of most students. It begins to falter as the month rolls on. There’s no motivation. Not strive to get to that next break to hang out with friends 24/7 and just have fun. Amongst all of this, there is still work to be done. It seems teachers feel the students suffering from lack of fun and staring at something other than the inside of a school for two months isn’t enough. The load of work seems to increase within these months. This is also the busiest time for me. I’m involved in Happiness and the show choir season has just begun, therefore, almost every one of my Saturdays is taken by competitions. Therefore, there is no time in my Friday and Saturday schedule to do anything but sleep and compete. This makes it extremely tough to get the massive amounts of homework done over the weekend that is assigned.
That’s only my weekend. While have a job and participating in extracurricular activities, one doesn’t have much free time to begin with. Then after the load of homework that is dumped in our laps is added into the equation, I’m left with slim to none. This means many late nights after all my activities to rush and get homework done. Most of the time I leave some of the easier things to do in a class the day of and hope we don’t have a pop quiz or activity where I can’t sneak in some time to get it done.
When adding my weekends to my weekdays, I have no time for anyone besides people in show choir. The only spare time I have to hang out and have fun are the mind numbing hours we need to find random things to do in the hallways of a strange school. This can be entertaining sometimes, but it gets old pretty quickly. All I ask for is some consideration through these long two months when it comes to school work. Is that too much to ask?
I’m not in any way trying to blame all my time management problems on others. I know it’s my choice to be in show choir and work and do everything I do, but it would make life a little easier if school work could stay within the 8 hours I already give to it.
It starts with the attentiveness of most students. It begins to falter as the month rolls on. There’s no motivation. Not strive to get to that next break to hang out with friends 24/7 and just have fun. Amongst all of this, there is still work to be done. It seems teachers feel the students suffering from lack of fun and staring at something other than the inside of a school for two months isn’t enough. The load of work seems to increase within these months. This is also the busiest time for me. I’m involved in Happiness and the show choir season has just begun, therefore, almost every one of my Saturdays is taken by competitions. Therefore, there is no time in my Friday and Saturday schedule to do anything but sleep and compete. This makes it extremely tough to get the massive amounts of homework done over the weekend that is assigned.
That’s only my weekend. While have a job and participating in extracurricular activities, one doesn’t have much free time to begin with. Then after the load of homework that is dumped in our laps is added into the equation, I’m left with slim to none. This means many late nights after all my activities to rush and get homework done. Most of the time I leave some of the easier things to do in a class the day of and hope we don’t have a pop quiz or activity where I can’t sneak in some time to get it done.
When adding my weekends to my weekdays, I have no time for anyone besides people in show choir. The only spare time I have to hang out and have fun are the mind numbing hours we need to find random things to do in the hallways of a strange school. This can be entertaining sometimes, but it gets old pretty quickly. All I ask for is some consideration through these long two months when it comes to school work. Is that too much to ask?
I’m not in any way trying to blame all my time management problems on others. I know it’s my choice to be in show choir and work and do everything I do, but it would make life a little easier if school work could stay within the 8 hours I already give to it.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
New Music
The best feeling ever is when you stumble upon a new, really good band. I love being able to just surf the web and find almost anything you like. This happened to me the other day. It’s almost like that first breathe of fresh air after being stuck in a stuffy classroom all day. It’s extremely refreshing to find something new. When I find something I really like, I get a little obsessed with them for a while. I listen to them almost every time I listen to music until I know all the words to all their songs and finally decide to move onto another band. It’s always nice to get new and exciting things to listen to.
Hell Week
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the infamous show choir "hell week". This is the week before our first competition, traditionally held at Linn-Mar. This week is to make sure we are prepared to compete and do our best. It is especially important this year. There are 12 groups competing at Linn-Mar that typically make it into finals. There are only 7 spots in finals. Therefore, there is a pretty great chance that we may not even make it into finals. I can’t think of any year that Happiness did not make finals. There’s a lot of pressure from alumni as well to do well because last year Happiness placed second after finals at Linn-Mar. They all say we have a reputation to uphold. It’s going to be a pretty stressful week.
Our planned schedule for the week goes as followed. Monday we are planning on starting practice at 6:30 until whenever we're done. This could mean we end practice around 11 or later. Tuesday we're planning on the same schedule. That's two nights in a row we'll have a close to a 5 hour practice. Then on Wednesday, our choreographer is coming to clean and give us pointers from 3:30 to 6 before our dessert concert on Thursday. The dessert concert is a concert in which all three show choirs, Chanteurs, Protégé, and Happiness, perform their 20 minute long show after the jazz choir, Moonlight, performs a couple of their songs. The dessert concert is a great way for alumni and family and friends to see the shows without following us around to different schools. It makes it easier for everyone. It’s also a great dress rehearsal for the choirs to run the whole show in front of an audience without the judges and get some feed back. Thursday night we have been instructed that we get 10 minutes to go say hi to family and everyone and let them tell us how good we were, and then we are expected to be back on the stage. There, our director will promptly tell us all of the things we did wrong and how to fix them. We will spend as much time as we need to after this to go over all of the mistakes he spotted until we get them right. Seeing as the concert starts at 7 and will not get over until around 8:30, this could very well go until 11 just like Monday and Tuesday.
Protégé is competing for their title Friday night and instead of having a practice, we are to go support and watch them. It will be a nice break from all the practice. While we are cheering, however, there are some rules we must abide by. First rule, there is to be absolutely no shouting of anyone’s name performing. It has been deemed as distracting and we don’t want to hinder our groups in any way. We must stop cheering when the group is singing, aside from the 5 seconds we are allowed to cheer and clap right after a soloist is done, is the second rule. The third and final rule we were told to follow is that we need to cheer loudly for the other groups, which includes our mass cheers such as “jump shake your booty”, without hurting our voices. We need to find the balance. We can cheer the proper way, by using our diaphragm and not our throats, but that would be the logical way to cheer so no one ever does it. It’s going to be very hard to get through the whole week without hurting voices or bodies before our first and hardest competition this season.
Our planned schedule for the week goes as followed. Monday we are planning on starting practice at 6:30 until whenever we're done. This could mean we end practice around 11 or later. Tuesday we're planning on the same schedule. That's two nights in a row we'll have a close to a 5 hour practice. Then on Wednesday, our choreographer is coming to clean and give us pointers from 3:30 to 6 before our dessert concert on Thursday. The dessert concert is a concert in which all three show choirs, Chanteurs, Protégé, and Happiness, perform their 20 minute long show after the jazz choir, Moonlight, performs a couple of their songs. The dessert concert is a great way for alumni and family and friends to see the shows without following us around to different schools. It makes it easier for everyone. It’s also a great dress rehearsal for the choirs to run the whole show in front of an audience without the judges and get some feed back. Thursday night we have been instructed that we get 10 minutes to go say hi to family and everyone and let them tell us how good we were, and then we are expected to be back on the stage. There, our director will promptly tell us all of the things we did wrong and how to fix them. We will spend as much time as we need to after this to go over all of the mistakes he spotted until we get them right. Seeing as the concert starts at 7 and will not get over until around 8:30, this could very well go until 11 just like Monday and Tuesday.
Protégé is competing for their title Friday night and instead of having a practice, we are to go support and watch them. It will be a nice break from all the practice. While we are cheering, however, there are some rules we must abide by. First rule, there is to be absolutely no shouting of anyone’s name performing. It has been deemed as distracting and we don’t want to hinder our groups in any way. We must stop cheering when the group is singing, aside from the 5 seconds we are allowed to cheer and clap right after a soloist is done, is the second rule. The third and final rule we were told to follow is that we need to cheer loudly for the other groups, which includes our mass cheers such as “jump shake your booty”, without hurting our voices. We need to find the balance. We can cheer the proper way, by using our diaphragm and not our throats, but that would be the logical way to cheer so no one ever does it. It’s going to be very hard to get through the whole week without hurting voices or bodies before our first and hardest competition this season.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
New Moon Rumors
There have been many rumors flying around about different things that are going to change, all revovling around the infamous Twighlight series, specifically the upcoming New Moon Movie. one of the rumors flying around was that Taylor Lautner would not be playing the role of Jacob again because he's currently too skinny for the role. In the New Moon book, Jacob discovers he is a werewolf and the director informed Lautner that he wants someone fit and has a lot to him. I personally don't like the idea that Lautner won't be playing the role of Jacob because as a viewer i don't appreciate when directors change the actor for a role when a sequal comes out. Ever actor has their own style and way they do things. Not one actor is the same. Two different actors may interpret a charactor a different way which will change it as well. It's never as good as the first. Lautner is supposedly working out every day to get buff and eating to gain weight to play the role in New Moon. He started doing this the day after the filming of Twighlight was over. He has gained 19 pounds so far and is looking to gain 10 more. Despite all the rumors, he was recently officially signed to act in Twighlight's sequal
There is some confusion on who is going to play the role of Leah in the new movie. Rumor has it that the director, Chris Weitz is choosing between two Disney actresses, Vanessa Hudgens or Brenda Song to play the role of Leah. It would be a terrible choice to choose either of these girls. Brenda Song is known from various Disney Channel shows and movies, such as the Suite Life of Zach and Cody. I know she's and actress but in the show she plays an extremely snotty and ditzy, rich girl who owns the hotel. This is way different from the charactor, Leah, Portrayed in the book as a quiet, wholesome girl. Branda Song's acting on the Disney Channel is some of the worst acting I have ever seen. If she can't even act ditzy how is she supposed to be able to act any better in the new movie. Vanessa Hudgens is known from the Disney movie High School Musical. If you thought Branda Song's acting is bad, you haven't seen disaster until you've seen Hudgens act. There is also a rumor that some of Hudgens's music will be on the new soundtrack. Non of the music she has produced or sang on the High School Musical is anything like any of the music from Twighlight I don't see why they would do that to the viewers of New Moon. All her music is extremely "poppy" and electronisized and total crap. I hope for the sake of the viewers, Chris Weitz makes the right decision to choose niether Brenda Song or Vanessa Hudgens.
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