Driver's Ed

Above is the car I will most likely be driving from July 10th on. Until then I will keep going to Driver's Education. I've already driven quite a bit and I have to say that I am by no means a bad driver. But be forewarned. My friends and family warn people to try to stay off the roads when I'm around.

Sheesh... Reputations die slowly....

Spinning

Well I'm not sure what caused it or why it's happening, but I seem to be spinning through the summer, losing all sense of morality and direction. I wish I knew why, or at least how to fix it, but I have no idea how to cope with this. It just seems that the voices that usually guide me to do the right thing are gone. And I'm lost without them.

As for what caused it, it may or may not be the summer mindset. Summer is what every student looks forward to for the entirety of the school year, and it tends to disappoint. But how can it not? I mean I here my friends telling me that there summer is lame even though they seem to be spending all of their time with friends and not working. They, like me, have a feeling there ought to be something more to summer. It's supposed to be the ultimate vacation, the ultimate party.

I'm not saying that this viewpoint is valid or reasonable or any of those things, but it does tend to be what teenagers think of the summer. It's hard to quell that feeling that you're missing something in the summertime. The only time it doesn't seem to bubble up and vocalize is when they're actually living up to their expectations for the moment. So at a party they won't complain, but once the party's over, it won't be long until the sensation rises up again.

Part of this feeling makes some people feel not obliged to work, when in reality, they should. I know that I never feel like doing chores or cleaning up in the summer, even if it's the last thing on the world to do. This problem plagues me in particular, and I'm beginning to wish I had my old work ethic back. It wasn't a great one but it was at least semi-functional. This one's not functional at all.

As for morality, I don't know what's going on. All I know is that I'm gonna have to fix it soon, because summer's not even close to done, and I can't go on like this...

Fun With Excel

I was bored, so I did a few charts on Excel.



Some interesting data. Looks like I'll have to pick up some slack.

Swim Team

Well like I mentioned earlier in my sum-up of what my summer was planned to be, I am going to be having swim team every Monday through Friday for the next month and a half, from June 9th to mid-August. Fun, right?

Well, yeah, for the most part, but here's the catch. It's at seven-thirty in an unheated pool. Oh boy.

That's not usually a problem really-in the summer the pool heats up quick and we usually complain more about the swims than we do about the cold. But lately it's been very, very cold out in the mornings, forcing them to close on some days and make us run the others (in place of swimming). I'm not sure who to blame, but I wish it would heat up. These morning swims in almost freezing water are really getting to me...

It's actually kind of entertaining to hear the swim coaches' rationalizations and baits to get us in the pool. "The water's steaming! It's warmer in the water! Get in!" Well that's not saying much, it's cold as hell above the water too. They're both cold - so what if there's a slight temperature difference? I'd rather be back in my warm, cozy bed then freezing my butt off here.

Ok, maybe I'm whining and complaining, but I'm not the only one! One morning they only had half of the swim team show up; most took the day off becuase of the cold. And they only got four and a half kids to swim out of the ones that showed up. (The half-kid refused to put his head underwater).

But with any luck, the weatherman will be right and things will be much warmer within a week or so. I hope so. As a side note, I may also find a musical venue playing for tips outside Lowell Pool. More on that later...

I'm 15!

This Friday the 13th, I turned 15. I'm quite proud to be this old and I had a really great time these past couple of days. It splits into two days really.

The first day was the day before my birthday, I got up and went to swim team as usual, and went to Troy's house afterwards. Following that, we took our bikes and went all over downtown - to the library, to book stores, the movies; in fact I didn't even go home except to ask Mom whether or not I could stay the night at Troy's, and I did. Basically what I'm getting to is that this was like an all-day party for me, and I was sure grateful for it.

I skipped swim team and slept in til I had to go home. And of course then we had a little birthday party there too. We ordered lunch from Flying Pie Pizzeria and had ice cream cake (yes this was lunch). After the food I was handed a huge box in wrapping paper. I ripped it open to find a notation software called Sibelius 5 and an incredibly cool keyboard compatible with the software. So I was set to write music!

Not yet though. Unsurprisingly, the software won't install because we don't have Mac OS X 10.4. So now we have two options-let all the money we spent on this gift to go to waste, or spend an extra $130 on upgrading our computer. Technology kind of cornered us into a spend more money or lose situation. Oh well.

If indeed we get this software to work and I can start writing music, it will allow me to do alot. I can start writing original pieces for the school band to play next year, and music for my own band. But it'll take a bit to get it up no matter how it goes.

The Situation With Dad

It starts with a Dance.
What makes it worse about Gary is just what a man he is.
If ever there were saints, he's one of them.
If ever there were scholars, he's one of them.
If ever there were good fathers, he's one of them.
And if ever there was true love... Gary and Mitzi have it.

So it's really quite tragic to see him diminished to what he is now - speech is incredibly difficult for him, and he has trouble moving around.

I will never forget that week under the maple tree with friends and family, near and distant, all come together to toast to Gary, the man they all know and love dearly.

So a toast! To Gary! A good Father. A good Husband. A good Doctor. And a Saint.

Finals, Essays, Tests, and Grades

Well I'm not gonna say much about this - I'm just gonna say that it was a lot of stress and it boils down to my grades, which I'll put up here. I'm not the sort of person who is able to or even hard working enough to get a 4.0, so instead I slide by with a respectable 3.5. (note: my geometry grade is actually an A, it just hasn't gotten changed yet) (another note: I'm not putting my grades up to show off, it's more because I've got a lack of content right now and I need to fill in some May posts before I run out of time for it. If you're looking for fresh content from me, try reading Chapter 1 of Mondays at Monday Musings (it's on the side bar.))


Band - A
Computer Apps 2 - B
A PLEASURE TO HAVE IN CLASS NOT WORKING TO FULL POTENTIAL
English I - B
Geometry - B+
Concept Physics - B+
Spanish I - B
A PLEASURE TO HAVE IN CLASS PLEASANT AND HARD WORKING
Theology I - A
Boys' P.E. - A