Stupidspacebar

Recently, I moved the downstairs laptop up to my room and have *forgotten* to put it back down. So far, nobody really cares: mom doesn't use it, dad uses his, and Mike's cool with it as long as he gets to read the Features section in the newspaper first.

I guess the only one who cares is me. I love being able to check my email, message boards, blog, and the dog while in my room (The kitchen, where it used to be, is FREEZING in the winter). However, the spacebar is busted, and you have to hit it RIGHT in the center, or you typing will looklikethis.

For random posts and stuff, it's ok. But Maya and I do some major skittling, and during that time, typos are not OK. It takes away from the funniness or drama, and sort of ruins the line. Seriously. Which would you say looks better?

"Ah, miss...you're so good at untying knots...*realizes what she really intends* SHE'S UNTYING THE KNOT!!!"

"Ah,miss...you'resogoodatuntyingknots...*realizeswhatshereallyintends*SHE'SUNTYINGTHEKNOT!!!"

Pick one? Me, too.

I'm trying to find a keyboard I can use, but have had no luck. Hopefully, I'll be able to find one, or most of my posts willenduplikethis.

Sick

I was home sick today. My throat hurt like nobody's business, and I felt overall icky. However, I'm going back tomorrow, and will be taking 2 tests and going to drama. It's the last drama meeting until Regionals (Saturday), and I'm really excited. Katie and I have worked our piece to death, and we've really improved it. However, we need to find the author. If you know who wrote "a Banquuet of Friendship" starring Lola and Freida, please tell me!

I'm making this post short, as I have to do my homework. (A worksheet plus studying for those two tests.) I'm going to my brother's swimming practice in E'town tomorrow, so chances are, I'll get my homework done early and I'll be able to go to bed by 9. Hmm....that sounds nice.

Happy Birthday!

My mom's birthday was today, and it really wasn't that eventful. We had cake/ice cream (Ice cream cake) and I ate a few cupcakes. I had a sleepover to celebrate the friend Katie's 14th birthday (I had to miss her party), and we accidently baked too many cupcakes.

As far as I know, my mom hasn't uploaded any of her pictures yet. If she had, my post would be longer, but there isn't much else to say. Katie and I stayed up until about 2:30 last night, played Super Smash Brothers, drawing, chattering, and messing around on the computer.

Short, sweet and to the post: Happy Birthday, Mom!

What's that Playing on the Radio?

Usually, I don't know what's playing on the radio. It's usually a lot of rap/Soulja Boy stuff that I don't listen to, so I usually just ignore it and tune into my iPod.

However, today, my dad was listening to the radio, and I decided to join in. Imagine my surprise when I was hearing song after song that I recognized it!

Some of the songs heard today:

-Another one Bites the Dust
-If It Makes You Happy
-Play that Funky Music
-Since You've Benn Gone
-Eye of the Tiger

I feel all musical-rounded now.

Blog365: Day 32

Today was Regionals.

I've been freaking out about them for awhile, and was exeptionally nervous today. Mike said it was basically just a huge swim meet with a fancy name, and considering I've been in zillions of swim meets, I calmed down a bit. However, waiting for my event (19---at pretty much the VERY END!) was rather agnonizing.

My heat was right after my friend Taylor's, so we walked down to the pool together. We were both in 100 backstroke, and I was both excited and nervous. Really nervous, actually.

I've been working on my backstroke start for the past week or so, and I think it's paid off. I got past the flags before taking my first stroke, and my bet that it would take me 6 strokes to get to the wall to flip turn was right. I didn't smash into a wall once.

The race itself, as Mike said, was actually really simple. Swimmers get in the water, place your feet, take your mark, BEEEEEEEP! Then in 90 seconds, it's all over.

Speaking of 90 seconds, I lowered my time by 10 seconds from 1:40 down to 1:30! Also, against 7 other backstroke people in my heat, I somehow got first. Overall, I was 43 out of 57, but who reads that stuff anyway?

Swim season is now officially over. I'm really looking forward to next year, and plan to make backstroke my staple stroke and work on breakstroke or butterfly.

Next Saturday: Drama Regionals! I'm sleeping over at my friend Katie's house, and she's also in drama. We're probably going to go over the script a few times, but we have to get up at 5 AM, at least, so we'll also probably try and get to bed semi-early.

Eagles on three: One, two, three, EAGLES!

End of the End (D)

Think about the title. What is at the end of the end?

In my case, it's January, the first month of Blog365, and swim season! I can't believe that the year is going by so quickly. (Hopefully, it'll continue that way)

Swim season seemed to have gone on for so long, though it only started in November. Despite aching for days due to zillions of flutter kicks, push ups, sit up, and sprints, I think it's been worth it. For one, I think I'm a bit more flexible (Stretching every day has its benefits) and for two, considering I joined at the beginning of the year, I didn't have enough time to sit around at home and moan about school.

It's so weird. Swimming has always been so routine, and I had gotten used to it. I remember back in December, wondering if it would ever end. Heck, I used to be counting down the days until it ended. Even though I'm going to have a lot more free time, I'm almost a bit upset that it's ending. I really like swimming laps, and my dive has gotten a lot better. I've even gone away from freestyle and now swim backstroke---I'm swimming 100 yards of it at Regionals tomorrow!

On the note of Blog365, I think that I've really gotten back into the swing of things since NaBloPoMo. I think I had 5 posts in December, at most, and that's probably because I didn't need to. Even though nobody's going to kill me if I don't follow through with Blog365, I feel an obligation to it. Sort of this guilt if I forget a day.

On on the third end: I just hope the rest of the year goes by just as quickly, so then we can get to spring break, then summer break, then fall, then winter, and it will all turn out quite pleasent.

I'm really looking forward to April. Not that thing is happening (as far as I know), but then my Good Charlotte calendar has a big picture of Billy on it. Then again, so does May, June, and November. We all have our things to look forward to.

Running off Schedule

I've usually found myself going to bed at 9:30 or later. With Regionals coming up, I've been trying to get to bed at 9 or eariler, yet my efforts go in vain.

Today I decided to try and change that. On a piece of scratch paper, in my favorite purple marker, I made myself an afternoon schedule:

AFTER SCHOOL

In this order...
-Hang up towels
-Rise bathing suit
-Dry off
-Walk dog
-Get snack
-Homework
a. Map
b. Discussion Question
c. Math Questions
d. Science pack
-Practice oboe
-Clean up
-Go to bed

In bed by: 9:00 PM
Up by: 6:00 AM

I thought that writing it down would help me go by it, but I still stayed on the computer until 6 or so. However, I did pretty well...ish.

I scratched off everything until "clean up". I'm still working on that, and as I'm writing this, I'm clearly not in bed. Because I'm writing this at around 9:15, I also failed at getting in bed by 9.

However, I did make SOME progress. I got my homework finished before homeroom, remembered to hang up my towel. I actually practiced oboe today, and for a solid 30 minutes. Yet, I STILL can't seem to get in bed at 9!

Tomorrow I'll probably try again. I'm just about to make a new to-do list. Hopefully, it'll actually work.

Rants and Raves

I'm feeling frustrated, so I'm going to rant.

First off- my homework isn't done. We just had a power outage, and only recently have the lights come back on. So much for my hope of going to bed at a semi-decent hour. (The lights just flickered again, actually.)

Second- I'm trying to work on this project for social studies that's due in 2 weeks, and I've found NOTHING. I'm doing a photo album on Thai celebrities. I need at least 10 pictures, and so far, this is what I've found:

-A monk
-A prince
-A king
-A whole lot of strippers (Most of which are wearing bikinis or nothing)

Truth to be told, I've probably found over 20 of those, but I can't imagine getting a very good grade with that, ahem, content. I also have to write a "What I learned" page, and that wouldn't go very well. Most of the people in my group are thriving with tons of pictures (Mainly the one doing animals---Thailand's specialty apparently is having weird animals)

Third- I've recently noticed that a lot of people say "Be yourself to make friends and you'll really fit in." Although it would be great if that worked, it doesn't always. Sometimes "Being yourself" means not watching Disney Channel, not thinking Zac Efron is hot, and thinking tattoos are cool. In that situation, "being yourself", unless you go to Jack Black's School of Rock, doesn't really equal "fitting in just fine". I haven't had many problems recently, but it still bugs me (As you could explain me with the last three definitions).

I've been reading too much American Girl "Susy was an average kid" stuff.

Hmm. 7:50. Homework still not done.

Drat.

God, It's Good!

I've been searching EVERYWHERE for sheet music to Sweeney Todd, and finally, my mom found it! A few days ago, we were in Lousiville, and she offered to look for the music while I was at Bootcamp. In the car, she gave the the book. It was pretty small, and didn't have the song I needed (Pirelli's Miracle Elixir) but it's pretty darn good.

It has Ballad of Sweeney Todd, Johanna, Pretty Women, Wait, By The Sea, and Not While I'm Around. Although I usually use my sheet music for my oboe, I've noticed that due to Sondheim's large note range, my oboe can't hit notes too high or too low. Therefore, I play pretty much every song on flute (Which I'm finally getting---I've been teaching myself since December)

I'm still trying to find a longer version with Pirelli, Green Finch & Linnet Bird, Worst Pies In London, and Kiss Me/Ah, Miss. However, for right now, I'm rather happy.

Bits and Pieces

Even though it hasn't been a very eventful day, I'm trying to train myself to make my posts longer than "Today was boring. Here's a Youtube video".

First off- I finally got my logo up! I've been jealous of my mom with her permanent logo, so I spent some time on it and prettied up the page. I think it looks pretty nice. As usual, I give credit for my little South Park person to South Park Studio

Second thing worth noting- I've decided to officially begin making certain skits into books. Some skits are, in Maya's opinion along with my own, too good for just one version. You could say we're going overboard with The Colonial Skits, though: we have the skit, and we're planning on editing it again, putting it in book form, making it a play, movie (I think), and even an original musical! I found this really nifty program called Finale Notepad, and we're probably going to use that to make the music. It has all the notes and rests from whole to 32nd, ties, slurs, pretty much any instrument you can image, all major and minor keys, a lyrics tool, and best of all, it's a free download!

Third thing worth noting- The mystery website I hinted on in November is nearly done! It's gone through about 5 or 6 re-modeling sessions, and I only recently found the perfect layout. It looks pretty professional (OK, so some of the images are low-quality if you really inspect them---it makes the page load faster), and it's been a lot of fun making. However, I can't wait to get it up and posted!

There was a fourth thing worth noting, but I haven't fully decided if it's worth noting. Chances are, I'll post it in a few days.

Hm. I've done pretty well for a boring day.

Do I Dream Again?

Today was the first day of my third season of Broadway Bootcamp. This time, we're doing a huge, gigantic, enormous Andrew Lloyd Webber fest. The little kids are doing CATS, Starlight Express, and Joesph and the Magical Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm part of the older group, and we're focusing on - get this - Phantom of the Opera.

We're only doing 4 songs, but I think we're pretty well-rounded: Angel of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade, and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. We're actually using masks for Masquerade, so I'm imagining that will be a lot of fun.

I wore my Prima Donna shirt for the first day, and am planning on wearing my mom's old Bolshoi Ballet sweatshirt next week. Every season, there seems to be a prima donna who snags the most and longest solos, and it hasn't bugged me for the last two seasons (Sure---"Where Is Love" was a bit dull and "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" were only solos, but they looked rather nice in the end), but this season, I'm trying to be noticed. This is the first time we've done shows that I not only like, but obsess about. Getting a solo in the open rehearsal would be awesome. I'm actually deciding to sing loud enough to be somewhat heard in voice class this time, too.

I have no idea what the younger kids are singing, but I can't wait to see the final product. Anything Andrew Lloyd Webber is awesome, and Cats sounds adorable with younger kids singing it.

It's going to be a great season!

I wish I could have worn THIS to the first rehearsal:

Oh, Mr. Todd!

I'm so happy, I could, eat you up I really could...

I finally found the video for By The Sea, one of the main reasons I want to see Sweeney Todd. It's low-quality, but hilarious!



Toby building a sandcastle....classic!

We find the defendant...

Guilty!

As I said in my post "To think that I saw it on Mulberry Street", my literature class is doing "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street". Today, we did a mock trial to see if Charlie should go to jail for the death of Pete van Horn. I played Prosecuting Attorney, and last night, my dad gave me some (OK, a lot) of tips and pointers for my case. I walked in the room today with new notes and my mom's black jacket to look all professional.

It was a rather close trial, but the late night paid off! I won the case, because, as the jury put it, "It could have been the President for all I care".

All that Law and Order paid off!

Blog365: Day 23

Although I'm a major-huge-colossal fan of Good Charlotte, there are some songs that I don't like, The Truth for instance.

However, Karen sent me a really cute Youtube video, and I watched it because of her promise of Billy pictures. I was impressed:



(I like Grumpy Billy, Billy playing DS, and Benji and Joel Bear Hug best.)

DancesRoleplays with Wolves

I recently joined a roleplay site about wolves. Maya convinced me to join, so I whipped up a random wolf based on one of my skit characters and hopped in. Here's my wolf:



Name- Hahnee (Means "Beggar" in some Native American language)
"Wolf" age- 17
Coat- Tan with silvery-brown markings on face, back, and chest. Sort of dirty/ragged. Sort of on the skinny side, too, but not in an unhealthy sort of way.
Eye color- Dark brown
Personality- Skittish, loyal and friendly if you know him well, nervous or untrusting if you don’t. Recently out of puppyhood, but not just out. An Anthony-from-Sweeney-Todd type character.

Faboo.

"All About Maya"

I'm talking to Maya as I write this, and she's telling me to talk about her. This is what she wants to say:

"I like musicals. I like musicals. I like musicals. I like musicals. And POINTE SHOES! The end."

There's Maya for ya.

Walking on Thin Ice

Not that I'm in trouble or anything...

Behind and across the street from my house is this little woodsy area with a stream/creek thing. In the summer, it isn't incredibly fun because there's ticks everywhere, and it's sort of muggy.

In the winter, however, it freezes over, and is great fun to slide around on. The trick, though, is that not all of it freezes over, and part of it is slush, really cold water, or paper-thin ice.

Today I walked Ginger down there, and for awhile, everything was all fun and games. Then we walked a bit farther, and it turned into slush. It was getting really cold, so we started sliding back home.

Let's just say I found out that my boots aren't waterproof.

Swim Week

No, not swim MEET. Swim WEEK. We had 2 meets this week, and now I don't have any more until regionals.

My mom took video of today's meet, but hasn't uploaded it yet. However, here's the footage of my 50-yard freestyle on Thursday:



I'm shaking my head in shame at my form. Maybe it's because I was totally neck-to-neck with that other girl for the entire race, but I wasn't really paying attention to technique.

Apparently I'm swimming 100 backstroke at regionals. My backstroke has been declining, so I'm, in a way, freaking out. I'm cool with 50 back, but 100....ugh.

I'm an American Girl!

Between ages eight to eleven, I was a loyal reader of the magazine American Girl. Recently, I say that I've outgrown it, but usually can't stop myself from buying the magazine or checking the website.

The site has 2 sections that I read: "Help from You" and "You Said It!". Every week, a topic or question is entered, and the most interesting, helpful, or wholesome are selected. If I find the topic interesting, I enter something, not really expecting to be selected.

This week's You Said It! was "Amazing Adventures". Naturally, I posted a few lines about my time in Germany, posted the required information (First name, age, and state), sent it in, and forgot about it.

Wouldn't you imagine my surprise when I saw THIS on my screen:

I lived in Germany for two years, and during that time I traveled to more than 15 different countries, including Russia, Italy, and Austria. It was an incredible adventure.
-Annabelle, age 12, Kentucky

Yes, ladies and gentleman, I got posted! The topic changes every Friday, so I'll be on all week. I've never been published before, so I was seriously freaking out.

I think I'm going to take a screenshot...savor the moment. Hmmm...

Tired and going to bed

See above title. I'll do a real post tomorrow.

Good night.