Sunday, May 25, 2003

Where I've been lately: Class. The movies. Class. Work. Class. Work. The end.

Actually, I went to see the Matrix. It was okay, but I guess I'm not into all that philosophical stuff. I did like Bruce Almighty. I mean, it was predictable, but like Zach says, comedies usually are. I laughed, which was the point. But I just went to see X-men, and I loved it. It's sort of surprising, even to myself, that I enjoyed it, but I really did.

I went with my brother Marc and two friends I've known since they were born, Jarrett and Ashley. We were supposed to go the five o'clock show. Turns out Ashley had to stay late at work (he works at the local amusement park). We wouldn't have made it anyway. Jarrett took too long the shower. (Hi Jarrett!) He did provide me a Quote of the Day. Not just one, two! So be amused:

Jarrett, in the parking lot, regarding corporal punishment: "Touch my butt! Touch my butt!"

Jarrett, in the theater, regarding free refills: "I don't know if I should eat my popcorn first or drink my coke!"

Our new theater opens next week. It has 16 screens, I think. But more importantly, it has stadium seating. The theaters at my grandparents' house in Maryland have stadium seating, but it's definitely a new thing for South Georgia. The old theater is going to show movies after they leave the big theater for discounted prices. I can see the Lord of the Rings a bunch of times! Hooray!

And I know I talk sometimes about the local amusement park. To prove that it is real, and that we do have an actual amusement park in the woods five minutes from my house, I took pictures! I'll upload them tomorrow.



Thursday, May 15, 2003

I started my Maymester class today, Special Education. It won't be terribly difficult and we don't even have to do observations in the schools. Hooray! Surprisingly, I knew a few people in the class. One of them was a former Powertools Girls, but she changed majors. The only downside? The class is from 6-9 every night. But hey, it's only for three weeks, I'll live. Oh, and we have to write three papers about movies where the characters have disabilities. What luck! I happen to have more than three in my room! I'm going to use Shine, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Simon Birch. Yay for me! Now, on to studying! Our first test is Monday!



Sunday, May 11, 2003

Here I am! I finished this semester, and I have A's in all of my classes. Who's surprised? Not me.

I volunteered at this asthma camp thing for kids yesterday. I was in charge of a group of six year olds, and they knew more about asthma than I did. We played Jeopardy and I was impressed with the answers. After lunch, I did the face-painting booth, but the lady in charge bought this crayon things and they were terrible. After that, my brother went on his first date to the eighth grade dance and my Mommy and I went to the movies.

In the past two weeks, I have seen Holes, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and What a Girl Wants. What a Girl Wants was very predictable, but it was a good movie. I loved the other two. Next up we have X-Men 2, Bruce Almighty, and Finding Nemo. Oh, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And what is this League of Gentlemen thing? Is that what it's called? Hmm...

I just finished reading Artemis Fowl, the Eternity Code and I loved it. It's my favorite of the three. I started reading the Second Summer of the Sisterhood, too, and it's good so far. I think I like the first one better.



Wednesday, April 20, 2003

Randomness:

Daddy fixed my car! Daddy is the greatest.

Actual quotes from a video we watched in history today:

"When Emperor Commodus started fighting as a gladiator and dressing up as Hercules, the citizens assumed he was crazy like the rest of the emperors, and that he would be assassinated. He was."

"Emperor Elagabolus was a fourteen-year-old transvestite from Syria who worshipped the sun. He would walk backwards through the city, carrying a giant stone. Romans looked on, stupefied. When he married an older man and announced that he wanted to be castrated, that was the last straw. His own royal guard killed him." and later, "How could Elagabolus keep power? He was too busy dancing around his pet rock."

Guy in class: "I wrote that the symposium was like Monday night football. Plenty of food, beer, and um...cheerleaders...for everyone! *thinks* Man, I was born in the wrong century."
Older guy in class: "Yeah, those were the days."

Went to brother's band concert. They did a very good job. Tomorrow night is my other brother's band concert, and I know it's good. They always are.

Happy Birthday John! For yesterday. ;)

Almost done with finals.

I'm going to see the Lizzie McGuire movie with my brother on Friday. I can't help it, I like Lizzie.

I had a weird dream, and you people were all involved so read about it: All the people I talk to online and myself were on a mission to rid the world of darkness. (I've been playing Zelda too much lately.) It was actually a kind of creepy dream, because the dream-me believed that if we didn't fulfull our mission, the world would end. We were at Disney World, and each person had to be in a specific place at a specific time for the plan to work, whatever it was, I don't know. It was my job to make sure everyone was in place, so I was wandering around checking on people, but I only remember a few in the dream. Roseidous was behaving himself near the castle. John was by the monorail station. Zach was on the dock at the Wilderness Resort, and my brother was there, annoying him. He complained to me when I checked on him. While walking towards the Grand Floridian resort, where Katherine was supposed to be, I ran into a friend of mine from real life, Court. I didn't tell him I was on a mission to save the world, but I told him he could come along and meet my online friends. So we went to a club at Pleasure Island, and he met Adam, but they hated each other immediately. Then I forgot about Katherine and went back to see if my brother was still bothering Zach. He was, and Zach was getting angry. He and Court also hated each other. There was a big crowd on Main Street, where Ann was stationed, and she hated Court, too. So he decided to leave, and I thought that was for the best. I finally remembered Katherine, and it was getting very close to the right time, so I was trying to hurry and make sure she was in place, but I couldn't because of the crowds. All of a sudden, Tina broke through and said "Margie! Where have you been? Did you hear about Katherine?!" I said no, and she told me that Katherine had broken her leg and had to go to the hospital. I yelled at Tina to get back to her station and I was running to take Katherine's place in time, but I wasn't getting anywhere, and then I woke up. It was odd.



Sunday, April 27, 2003

Adam, Liese and I were discussing popular phrases in the South and Liese asked 'What are grits, exactly?' In a monumental effort to educate the world, here it is: Grits are made from the milling of corn kernels. The first step in the process is to clean the kernels; then, the grains are steamed for a short time to loosen the tough outer hull. The grain kernel is split, which removes the hull and germ, leaving the broken endosperm. Heavy steel rollers break up the endosperm into granules, which are separated by a screening process. The large-size granules are the grits; the smaller ones become cornmeal and corn flour. Grits are a good source of calcium and iron and have no fat or cholesterol. They are also high in carbohydrates and have several B vitamins. They are good for you!

Anyway, you boil some water, add some butter and salt, and put the grits in. They cook for a few minutes and basically have a consistency that is similar to oatmeal. I think. There's nothing quite like the texture. ;) Personally, I like to put melted cheese in my grits. Some people put cinnamon and stuff or garlic or whatever.

Believe this or not, but there is an actual National Grits Festival about an hour from where I live. They start with a Miss Grits Pageant, then move on with this, from their official site: "We will have a corn shucking contest, grits eating contest, a grits cooking contest, an antique tractor show, and antique car show. We will have a raffle for a hand made quilt. This year will be our second poker run with area motorcycle clubs participating. We will have our famous "Roll in the Quaker Instant Grits," ready for your pleasure that afternoon. Nothing like rolling around in a cattle trough full of Quaker Instant Grits, to entertain you." Their site also talks about how the governor of Georgia signed legislation or something to make Georgia the Grits Capital of the World and grits are the official food of Georgia.

And there you have it. I should enter that corn-shucking contest, I'm good at that! As long as there are no bugs in it, those are mushy. ;) I used Quaker's site about where grits come from and www.gritsfest.com for the festival. See? I'm not lying! ;) Oh, and on the grits fest site, you can see the official grits song, written and performed by a five year old, with help from Jimmy Carter. This is my cultural heritage. *is proud*



Saturday, April 26, 2003

I'm done with printmaking! Well, okay, I have to take the final and have a critique, but I'm done with my prints! As Ann said in her xanga journal: Squeee!!! Ahem.

And I'm currently taking a break from writing my Ancient Greece and Rome term paper thing. So on that note, I will type the final quotes from the books in that class:

"Take a few lines from Pope's Moral Essays: Epistle to a Lady. I print the first line word for word down the page, adding my own comments:

Pleasures [noun or verb? Wait.]
the [an odd start. Plough on.]
sex [Means 'women' in Pope. This is sounding lubricious. Hang on.]
as [What is going on?]
children [Pleasures the sex as children...? Sounds like a job for the social services.]
birds [Pleasures the sex as children birds? Or the Crown Prosecution Service.]
pursue [Ah, the main verb. Light dawns.]"

"In other words, the architect has not just slapped on the columns as an afterthought (Pretty it up a bit, Brian, there's a good lad. You know, few columns. Them, what do you call them, them Ionic wossits, innit? Class, they are.)."

"So. A tree is a tree. It cannot be not-tree."

Chapter VIII: Timarchus on Queer Street (yes, that's what you think it means)

"With that, he emptied the basket on the ground, ordering one of his officers to jump on the fish and squash them into fish-paste on the pavement. Beaming moral satisfaction with his own severity, he advised me to go home. 'All is well now,' he said cheerfully. 'You need say no more. I am satisfied that the little wretch has been humiliated enough.' Flabbergasted at having lost both my money and my dinner thanks to his kind intervention, I went to the baths, where I spent the afternoon resting."

"We hear of public impeachment for paying more than two drachmas for flute girls, suits against men for calling themselves by the wrong name, and a mysterious case against one Erasistratus 'concerning pea-fowl.'"

"Demosthenes would have been turning in his urn."



Sunday, April 20, 2003

Went to church with best friend. Was, for lack of better word, frightened. Watched people with no shoes dance around and sing apparently random songs. Best friend was singing, but words were not same as everyone else's. Don't know what that was. Was hugged by several strangers. Band on stage had drums. Father John would have heart attack if drums on his stage. Pastor yelled. Was scary. Was good experience. Will last for a while. Was like culture shock.

Had dinner with best friend's family. Very enjoyable. Went to hospital to see best friend's grandfather. Talked for a while, visited Mommy at Pediatrics. Drove to best friend's boyfriend's house to see new motorcycle. Not impressed.

Made plans with best friend. Will see Finding Nemo, have Godfather marathon, go to Allison Krauss and Union Station concert in July, will attend self's church together. Best friend might be afraid. Might experience culture shock. Will be fun.



Saturday, April 19, 2003

Desperately hope Geology teacher doesn't read this for any reason, because did not go on field trip today. Technically, did have unexpected family obligations, just didn't mention obligations were at local amusement park. Seemed to have left that out. Will probably get in trouble.

Went to best friend's house, rode five minutes to amusement park. Discussed thongs during car ride with best friend's aunt, cousin, and elderly friend from church (elderly friend, Ms. Mildred, also in wheelchair. Could park near gates. Yay for us!). Was amused. Rode children's roller coaster, then moved up to new, giant, wooden roller coaster. At top of hill, best friend said, "Look! You can see my house from he--aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" New roller coaster suitably entertaining.

Ate dinner at Wild Willy's Cafe, was decent. After dinner, could only face ferris wheel. Was nice, calm ride. Walked to concert venue. Watched warm-up act with lead singer trying to be Kid Rock. Ears still ringing.

Watched real concert, Willie Nelson. Willie waved at best friend and self. Was sitting very close to front, hence ears still ringing. Willie had fantastic show. Was like being in mosh pit with people over 40 years old. Very fun. One woman, must have been over 60, stood on chair to wave at Willie. Willie finished show with enthusiastic rendition of "I'll Fly Away." Audience participated. Am not ashamed to say that self participated.

Will go to church with best friend tomorrow. Have never been to different church, could be good experience. Shall see. Have also been reading Secret Diaries of Lucius Malfoy. Reason am speaking like this. Enjoy it very much.



Tuesday, April 15, 2003

We had to fill out teacher evaluations in Ancient Greek and Roman history today. The teacher has to leave the class and one student is in charge of handing out the papers and stuff. One woman volunteered to moderate, and started handing out the papers. One guy said "Can I go to the bathroom?" and she said "Shut up. No. You can wait." "But I really have to go!" "You want some cheese with that whine? Now shut up and fill out your survey." Neither of them was serious and it was funny. During class, we were discussing the writer Ovid, who wrote a guidebook about how to seduce women and have an affair. Dr. Byrd was like, "He told the men to buy women lots of flowers and presents. If chocolate existed, he would have said that, too." One guy somewhere behind me muttered, "Just buy her a fish." and half the class started laughing hysterically. The other half wondered what was wrong with us.

In printmaking, I was cleaning my copper plate and I didn't bother to put on gloves. This is how it went:
Chris: You're not wearing gloves!
Me: I know.
Chris: But your hands are in the acetic acid!
Me: It's just vinegar.
Chris: I know, but still!
Me: It's not even full strength, it's diluted with water.
Chris: You want your hands to smell like vinegar?
Me: That is the least of my worries.



Saturday, April 12, 2003

A day away from work and school cured me! And I guess a good day of shopping did, too.

My Mommy and I did not go to that women's show thing, we went to the mall. I got some lotion stuff and a travel bag at Bath and Body Works. And I got two new shirts and two new bras at the clothes store. I've never actually shopped and tried on underwear before, it was a new experience. The saleslady was very nice.

And then, the exciting part. Our K-mart is going out of business, so everything is 90 percent off. Tomorrow is their last day and there was not much left. But I got an I-zone camera, three Lord of the Rings posters, tea candles, 4 CD's: Charlotte Church, the Best of Broadway (hmph, we'll see), Treasure Planet, and Celtic Christmas, some wrapping paper and bows, and stuff. And I spent less than 30 dollars. Hooray!

Our next stop was Sam's and I got some lemons for my lemon cake and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! I watched it already, and there's an interview section where Alan Rickman actually talks. He's usually not very big on that sort of thing, so I was impressed. He wasn't in costume like everyone else, but that's okay. He participated.



Friday, April 11, 2003

I told you I was getting sick. Stupid sinus infection. I went to one class this morning and decided I had to go home. I went by the office and told them I wasn't working this afternoon, too. But they will be just fine.

I've been doing some cleaning up behind the scenes here. Recent Arrivals in our quotes are updated. And if you're interested, the Tri-Leaders have a new meeting and new stuff in the library. Just in case you don't get here through that site. ;)



Wednesday, April 9, 2003

I am alive! Really! I'm tired of being busy, though.

So I mentioned that I took some tests, right? And like I said, I did very well. I got a 111 in Geology, a 117 in Art History, and a 97 in Ancient Greece and Rome. My teachers love extra credit.

I did go to the Renaissance Festival. Lady with the clay flowers was not there. Lady with the Celtic jewelry was not there. I was not happy. A bunch of the actors were standing around in the woods when we walked up the path, and they asked us if we wanted a royal escort into the fake town. I said sure, so we had to pretend to get our horse's reigns, mount the horse, and gallop down the hill. The guys, seven or eight of them, galloped on either side as our escort. They even used coconuts to make sounds for the hooves, like in Monty Python. Halfway down the hill, my shoe decided to fly off, so the guy next to me screams, "Your horse thew its' shoe!" and then tossed his coconut into the trees. I was amused. Oh, and then I was walking around, minding my own business, and a really weird guy dressed in a faery costume, complete with wings and green makeup, attacked me with a cup full of glitter. I had to go home and wash my hair twice.

Let's see, I worked every day last week for Spring Break, it was not fun. I survived my geology lab midterm with an A. That whole group thing. I played Windwaker a lot and made some progress. And this weeked I'm going to the annual Women's Fair with my Mommy. And then I have to come home and take pictures of my brother and his girlfriend for Prom with the fancy camera. See? I'm still busy. And I'm getting sick. *Sigh*



Saturday, March 29, 2003

Did not go to printmaking studio today, as building was closed to students. Am not amused.

Went to Mommy's house. Played new Zelda Windwaker with brother. Was amused. Especially amused when Link was thrown face first into Tower of the Gods. Much amusement.

Went to local amusement park. Rode Bugsville Roller Coaster and Tilt-A-Weevil (trans: Tilt-A-Whirl). Watched two concerts. Knew most songs. Much excitement among female audience members. Was amused by audience. Am not going to Nick Carter concert with O-Town next weekend. Would not be amused by masses of screaming teenagers.



Friday, March 28, 2003

So, as the group leader, I finished up our geology project. It was not amusing. But it's done, and I really don't care if we pass or not. The other members of my group do, I'm sure, but I'm tired of caring. I was so tired of worrying about it that I turned it in and skipped my next class. Which means I have to spend most of my Saturday in the printmaking studio to work on my prints.

I was invited to join the Internation Golden Key Honor Society. So I did. I kicked major butt on three tests this past week. Dr. Chatelain even gave orchids to everyone who got an A on his test. Mine is purple-ish. He grows them himself.

Oh, I watched the Veggie Tales movie, Jonah. I love VeggieTales, and this movie was hysterical. At one point the pirates were playing Go Fish. "You got a trout?" "No, go fish. You got a deep sea bass?" And, like other new DVD's, it has audio commentary from the cast. Yes, the cucumber does audio commentary. They also have outtakes. It's wonderful.

I lost my paycheck today. I searched the entire house, all of my clothes, and the car, before I found it. I had apparently folded it up very small, put it in my cellphone case, inside the cellphone case pocket, inside my purse. *kicks self*

Sunday, I'm going to the annual Renaissance Festival. I am very much looking forward to it. Now that I have my check, I can get another rose made out of colored clay and some more Celtic jewelry. *dances* It's Spring Break!



Wednesday, March 19, 2003

I wish for peace.



Saturday, March 15, 2003

So I stayed after class to work on my printmaking relief project only to find out that we were given extra time to work on the project. However, the good news is that I don't have to go to class on Tuesday.

In another interesting story, I heard from one of the people in Mr. Edwards' drawing class that he's been showing slides of my work as examples. This means that, A) He took pictures of some of that stuff without my permission, and B) He really does love me!

I seem to have found all of my old journal stuff from Day One. I'll have to upload it here. Not that anyone wants to read it, but hey. You never know.