Barbados

Well it's the beginning of July, the month of vacations and true summer times. Me and my family are heading to Barbados today. I probably won't be able to post for a while (although admittedly you probably won't notice any difference). Hopefully I'll come back with stories, though!

See you around. Hope you all are having great summers.

VHL-Stock

Let me start by saying something: there is no magic but music, and there is no magic like music. I came to VHL-stock expecting to learn that, and sure enough, I did.

As many of you know, I flew in to Los Angeles on Saturday with my aunt Amy. Unfortunately, we ended up missing our direct flight to Los Angeles and had to go through Seattle. And then the rental car took hours to get. I finally was able to go to bed at around two in the morning. It was a long, long trip.

But the trip was worth it. In the morning I got up early and had some breakfast and I practiced with the band. The band consisted of Uncle David (Calvin's Dad on the drums), Uncle Brian (guitar), my cousin Calvin (guitar), Nick (keyboard and guitar), and Wes (6-string electric bass). I really never knew music could sound quite that good. I was lucky to be part of it.

As the day progressed and practice ended, we started setting up lights and equipment for the event. In case you don't know, VHL-stock was a fundraiser for the VHL foundation. VHL stands for Von-Hippel-Lindau syndrome, a rare disease that leaves the affected person(s) especially susceptible to tumors on the eyes and adrenal glands. Unfortunately, Calvin has it. When he found out, he decided to be active and put together this fundraiser-music event thing to raise money for the VHL Foundation. Just about the whole family showed up. Aunt Kimmi even pulled a few strings to get the event sponsored by Activision.

The music, as I've said, was incredible, and the whole event was really inspirational and a fun time. And for me it was the end of the summer. I went out with a bang having an incredible musical experience with my family.

So I'd just like to say, Thank you Brian, Thank you Uncle David, and Thank you Calvin. I'm so glad we got the chance to do this. I hope to see you guys again soon!

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...

Back On The Ice

Well it would seem that although it is indeed May, I find myself back on the ice rink with my old Bishop Kelly teammates. And I love it.

Coach Andersohn, the hockey coach, has signed the team up for 3-on-3 hockey in the summer; a game every week. Not to be upstaged, the other high schools have done the same. So it won't be surprising if we end up playing other high school teams every other week.

For me, this all seems very exciting. I mean, what could be better? I'm going to get to play my favorite sport every week against my rivals and with my teammates, and when the school years comes around next year and the real hockey season starts, we'll all be ready to kick some ass.

I know there are a lot of people who don't like hockey, but let me tell you - getting back on the ice after four months and skating is euphoric. There's nothing better. Just being able to glide again... it's amazing.

And so the picture of my upcoming summer begins to take shape...

Foreshadowing The Summer

Ah, Boise in the Summertime.....

Well It's Monday. Again. And we all know what that means. Spring Break's over. Pack away the skis and the kites and the Wii and break out the books. What fun.

But we all have to face it at some point. School will come again, no matter how much a student groans about it. The only thing we can do is enjoy the breaks we get and try to do well as always.

I spent my Spring Break at home. I didn't go on a trip or anything, just hung out with friends around town and went to the Y and that sort of thing. Part of this was because Mom wanted us to be around to watch after Dad, and the other part was just that nobody really felt like going on a trip to anywhere. I've got a feeling this past week has been a glimpse of what summer will be like for me. An appetizer to keep me content for the rest of the school year. And then comes the entree, the jewel of every teen's year.

I haven't said anything about my plans for this summer, have I? Will luckily, I'm not terribly busy with anything, but just enough to keep me from spending too long doing any one thing. First off, every morning, starting at the beginning of the summer, I will have to get up early and bike, in the cold, to Lowell Pool for swim team. After an hour of swimming, I will shower, dress, and probably bug Troy before going back to my house to bug my parents. And once every few months, we'll have a swim meet (painful ritual - you spend hours and hours bored out of your mind so you can spend approximately two minutes of actual time in the water). Second off, on top of that, I will take part in "The Cabin", a local writing seminar for teens and kids. It will take place all week and we will probably check out some of the cool nature spots around Boise, especially near Camelsbak and the Greenbelt. Thirdly, I am signed up for an exciting two weeks at Camp Orkilah, a YMCA camp in the San Juan Islands. I took part in this camp last year, but to a lesser extent - I spent one week at the camp plus one overnight. This time around I will be spending a week at the camp and a week kayaking. Yeah, kayaking. It's gonna be great. I hope I can take some great photos while I'm up there.

And so begins the countdown to summer. It's approximately eight more weeks of school. And with each passing day I think about all the cool stuff that I will get to do this summer. The clock's ticking, and each tick will me remind of what's to come.