My Other Big News

My ACT scores are in. Me and Dad just checked them.

Composite score of 26. I am happy with that, because my goal was 25.

ENGLISH		27
	Usage/Mechanics
	Rhetorical Skills
MATHEMATICS		23
	Pre-Algebra/Elem. Algebra
	Algebra/Coord. Geometry
	Plane Geometry/Trig.
READING		29
	Social Studies/Sciences
	Arts/Literature
SCIENCE		23

I knew I was going to get drilled on math and science. But I didn't do nearly as badly as I thought I did.

Deep sigh of relief as I am now done with my big things for this year. Holly-loo-yah!

Theater Production

I have my big project for Intro to Theater Arts due tomorrow. The idea was to read a script and make a production book for it. This includes blocking 5 pages of the script, which has been an extreme pain in my rear. Below is my Set Design, which I will then have to put my little people's signs on, showing where they will have to walk. Words cannot express how ready I am for school to be over with.

Good Things

Today wasn't a lot better, but at least one really, really, really, really, really good thing happened.

Let's give it up for RESEARCH PAPER GRADES!!!

*catchy nighttime talk show theme music plays*

Thank you, thank you.

For those of you just joining us this evening, let's recap.

I endured the slave labor of writing my very first college paper and have been waiting anxiously for the past 2 weeks to find out how my research on the Kent State University shootings held up.

The moment you all have been waiting for has arrived. The envelope please.

*drumroll*

Part A- 505/550 (92%)
Part B- 505/550 (92%)
Part C- 550/550 (100%)

YAY!!!!

I'm so psyched that this is over with and that I came out of it, not only alive, but really, really well. And in addition to that, next years senior paper will be a breeze because it's only supposed to be 4-8 pages, and this paper was 8-10. Also, the senior paper won't be as incredibly scrutinized. I hope.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today has been less than stellar. It's not even because of my Grandma. Everything has just gone wrong today. Shall we recap? Yea, verily we shall.

1. Sunday School kids were horrible today. It was no fun. At all.
2. My beloved phone got run over. Yes. As in with a car. It fell out of my purse, apparently, as I was climbing in to go to church this morning and the car found it before I did. The screen is completely obliterated. For a while, half of the screen was flicking on and working, but now it's just white with some shading where various options used to be. And I can't call people because I can't see my contacts and because I can't see what I'm doing. I accidentally called someone, who I have no idea who it was, who was very rude about me accidentally calling them. I was trying to call Ratchol. It wasn't Ratchol.
3. I hate drama. And it abounds more and more.
4. Repeat 3, with different situation.
5. Ditto here.
6. And again, ditto.
7. Something happened after church, which I don't exactly feel like broadcasting to all the world to see, because the way that I feel makes me feel selfish, stupid, inconsiderate, and cold-hearted. But it's what set me off when I got home and I cried for a long time. Which is stupid in and of itself because to most of you it would seem like nothing. Maybe. I don't know. I just feel like a generally bad person because of how I felt tonight. I don't think I'm as mature as I thought I was.

So, yeah. I feel like throwing myself in front of a semi right now. Or maybe I should just go to sleep and pray that tomorrow will be a better day.

After all, I don't see how it could get much worse.

7 Years

It's been 7 years today since I lost my hero. My Grandma Ryan had cancer several times from the time that I was in kindergarten or preschool up until she passed away the April of my fourth grade year. I can't believe that it's been that long already. I think the even worse part is that I've actually gotten used to her being gone. Well, not used to, exactly. That will never happen. I've just adjusted more. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her, but I no longer am completely bitter and angry when I think about her not being around anymore, like I was for a long time.

My Grandma was the greatest. I know that all grandkids are supposed to say that about their grandparents, but I wasn't the only one who thought that she rocked. Everyone did. She had one of those contagiously congenial personalities. She was always smiling and when you were around her, you couldn't help but do the same. She was incredibly devoted, especially to her family and to God. Even if the church was too cold, according to her. For that, she just had her own seat in the church, where no one else sat because of the electrical outlet right in front of her. Her electric blanket was plugged in there. Our house was too cold, also. The first thing that she would do after walking in the door would be to step on the heat rung next to the stairs, because she was freezing.

When I was 3 or 4, she and Aunt Julie took me to Florida (Disney World) for a whole week. As if that whole trip wasn't enough, because I'm sure that I was no angel, she took the millions of pictures she had taken over the week, put them in chronological order, and written captions in the margins for me. And then, once again, when I was 8, she and Grandpa took me to Florida, this time to my Aunt Doris' (I'm not sure how she's related to us.) and Aunt Patty's (Grandma's sister) houses in Bradenton. Aunt Doris had a canal in her backyard, and manatees used to swim up in it. She also had a huge pool, which me and Grandma swam in.

The most vivid memories I have of her come from that trip. I remember walking along the beach, picking up seashells, and talking. I remember like it was yesterday, talking to her, telling her how glad I was that she wasn't sick anymore, because that meant that she was going to live for a long time and not lose her hair. I told her that Jesus had healed her so that we could do fun stuff together forever. I remember her telling me that the cancer could always come back, but I shook it off because I was 8, and all I knew was that once you were better, you were better. Grandma wasn't going to be sick anymore, and I wanted more seashells. So that's as far as it went. And she didn't push it anymore.

I was with Grandma when I found out Michael had been born. She was the one who picked me up from school. She was the one who got the phone call from Dad and told me. Now that I think of it, she picked me up at school for most of those significant things. When Mom was in her huge accident when I was in first grade, Grandma picked me up and took me to Friendly's. When I had an accident (in the middle of class) in second grade, Grandma picked me up and took me home.

Most weekends were spent with my grandparents. This was especially great around the holidays, when peppermint stick ice cream was on sale. She loved that stuff and to this day it's still my favorite. I remember the night that she stayed up with me, through the entire alphabet, just so that I could see the US Olympic Team come onto the screen, just because I had done a project on Dominique Moceneau earlier that year and was obsessed with gymnastics.

As I've said before, the whole end-of-the-world thing scares me to death. I don't like to think about it, even though I know in the back of my mind it's going to be great and wonderful. I just don't like to think about things ending. For me though, if there's anything good for me to think about now having to do with the state that the world is in today, it's that I'm not going to have to wait an incredibly long time to walk on the beach with Grandma again, eating peppermint ice cream, and talking about the Olympics.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my aunt and uncle's fifth anniversary. The picture that you see at left is a picture of my aunt with her favorite bridesmaid (me), which I scanned in. For those of you who know my most humiliating moment ever, yes, I was still wearing the slip in that picture. Those of you who don't know, well, there's a reason for that.

Anyway, they got married 5 years ago and despite a bunch of stuff (my uncle went into the hospital a week after they got married) they're still going strong. Yayness! They've been evangelizing and traveling and I couldn't be prouder of them. They're some of the most amazing people you'll ever meet.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Youth Cookout

It was pure, unadulterated awesomeness in a can. Maybe not in a can, but still, amazing aweomeness. It was way too hot for a bonfire, but we dealt with the scorching heat and some of the people who were working on the food bank came over and ate smoked sausages, hot dogs, and a plethora of junk food. We even had a guest who thought she would try to chug a leftover bottle of Coke (she threw up in the grass, but laughed about it. At least she had a good attitude) There were also those who came over just because they were begged, pleaded, cried to, and dragged over by their nieces (I love you, Aunt Julie!) and a lot of people just chilled and had a blast in the ridiculous 80 + degree weather. It was supposed to storm all afternoon and evening, but at least it's held off so far. And we got to have our amazing cookout.
Alison apparently loved the hot dog. I have yet to understand what is so appealing about those disgusting food items. I mean, was someone just looking at a random cow one day and said, "Hmmm...when we butcher this, I'll bet that the leftovers will make a tasty treat!" Ew.
For some reason, we ended up playing in the field and looking at the stars. And doing crazy things like picking people up. We definitely know how to use our time constructively. Poor Sis.Redmond. We had already corrupted Alison and now Janica is chilling with us. I feel kind of bad, corrupting all of the younglings....oh wait....I'm over it now....It's all good.
I have learned to just not ask what my friends are doing anymore. It only leads to confusion and a world of pain and suffering. It's kind of scary also.
So, when Dawn took this picture, I thought it was going to end up really cute. I didn't even check it because I knew that it was going to be so cute. And then I saw it and realized that Alison's face is stuffed with marshmallows. How beautiful and ladylike.
And in conclusion, and testimony to our civilization and existance as well-brought up teenagers, whom our parents would be SO proud of, Larissa and Alison decided to have a contest to see who could fit more marshamallows in their mouth.

Alison won.

I Gotz Mail!

Dear Rebecca,

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you hame been accepted into the 2008-2009 Teacher Academy class. I have recieved all of your paperwork and your application packet is now complete. I look forward to working with you in the upcoming school year. I am happy that you have chosen to take a serious look at the rewarding profession of teaching. I hope to instill my enthusiasm for teaching in my students.

You will be recieving an acceptance letter from our guidance department which will include documents for you to fill out. It should also include the date of our orientation in early May. I will meet with all new students and parents at that time. If you have any questions or concerns prior to the orientation, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I know you will be happy with your decision to be a part of the Teacher Academy. You will have an exciting and memorable senior year!

Sincerely,

Mrs.Giles
Teacher Academy Instructor.

Studliness

So, the play was amazing, despite the absence of Esig. Oberon was fully clothed, thankyouverymuch. The actors were very well cast and everyone was just amazing! I laughed my rear end off more than a few times.
Nikki was a studly fairy. After school, I didn't think I was going to make it to the play because I thought my parents needed my help with painting and stuff. Luckily, Mom let me off the hook. This, however, was AFTER I left Nikki a melodramatic comment, saying that I was bummed because I wasn't going. She was less than thrilled with that. I got front-and-center seats tonight and she grinned when she saw me. And then in the lobby, ran up, gave me a hug, and squealed, "BECCA, I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T COMING AND THAT WAS CRAP, BUT NOW YOU'RE NOT HOME AND YOU'RE HERE AND IT'S NOT CRAPPY ANYMORE!!!" It was pretty hilarious. Also, her boyfriend, Jason, brought her pretty roses. This sent me in resentment. She told me not to be a hater.
And of course, Sam in his fuzzy pants. He was hilarious and perfect for the part of Puck. We all mocked him and his lovely make-up job, which consisted of triangles on his cheeks, a goatee, a big triangle on his forehead, horns, and studly painted on chest hair. Which we laughed horrendously over. I don't think he was amused because he ended up decking someone. It was funny anyway.

More News

NBC is reporting more news about Mr.Freshwater, and so is the local news. I have no idea what to think about the latest and greatest news. I don't have any idea right now. I am beyond confused and really am thinking that I should stay neutral at the second. Maybe I've made a huge mistake and not looked at all of what's going on. If this is just about the Bible, then I'm incredibly opposed. But if what these people say is true, which I can't know for sure because it never happened while I was in his class, then I have been completely out of line. Not incredibly, because there's no way I could have known, but still, a part of me will feel, I don't know if guilty is the word for it, but maybe I shouldn't have questioned the authority of the administrators as much as I did. If that makes any sense at all.

We had a student attempt to be cute and funny last night and today, who decided to tell a bunch of people that Freshwater had been fired. Apparently, an announcement had been made that there would be a science teaching vacancy at Mount Vernon Middle School, and people made assumptions they shouldn't have and rumors spread like wildfire.

I though Nikki was joking when she MySpaced me last night, and then Lori told me this morning that it was true and that a walk-out was planned for 1:15, after all of the lunches were over. I promptly texted John, my aunt and uncle, and Carolyn with the "new developments" before heading into the school building, where EVERYONE was discussing what was going on.

Mrs.Kasler ended up coming on the intercom before our teachers commenced with classes and explained what was ACTUALLY going on. Mrs.White, who was my 7th grade science teacher, is transferring to East Elementary at the end of the year. People spread rumors, but none of it was true. No further action has been taken at this time.

I wonder how long it will stay that way.

Everyone Else's Business

Of course this stuff is just for you guys to talk and gossip about. That's what I exist for, right?

I'm so thrilled that my interests are just there for you all to talk about, and for you to speculate how things are going to "crush" me.

I also love how you guys say things right in front of me, and then when I confront one of you about it, the reply I get is"Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about". Of course! What was I thinking?

And of course I wanted everyone to know that I liked him! I wasn't worried about destroying a friendship or making things awkward. I definitely wanted him to know, too, which is convenient because your blabbing is going to reach him sooner or later. That is EXACTLY why I only told the people that I did, because I knew I could trust them. 

------------------------

Grow up, people. It's not that big of a deal. Actually, it kind of is, and I would appreciate you not trying to figure out my feelings about things that don't even matter. You have no idea what's going on and you never will. You don't have a clue how I feel because you obviously don't know me. And I would appreciate it if once I hear you talking about those things, you would at least own up to it and not treat me like an idiot who's deaf and blind and has no idea of her surroundings.

Letters

Letters are something weird to me. Not crazy weird, but special weird. They have a way of taking you back. No matter what has gone on, no matter how long it's been, they captivate a feeling, an emotion, that you can't shake no matter what. It's not the same emotion always as originally conveyed, and it's not a strong, but it's still there.

To put up the pictures of the mob yesterday, I had to email them from the living room to my laptop because my laptop wouldn't let me load the pictures, because apparently there's some software I don't have. The easiest way to do that was through my dad's email account. I sent them, and just out of curiosity, I clicked on the "Sent" section. (Note: I wasn't snooping. I knew what was there. Bear with me.)

I didn't have my own email until maybe 2 years ago. I had a roadrunner account that was in a shared inbox with my parents. Yeah. That was fun. My parents knew that I had been asked out before I did. And that I had gotten dumped before I knew. The first time I got dumped that is. But I digress.

After Mr.X dumped me the first time, he realized he had made a horrible mistake. Who could blame him? There are few out there better than me (which is why I am terminally single). But that's not the point. Less than a day after he dumped me (on the day of the Valentine's Banquet) he realized that he had made a terrible mistake and sent me and email, that was in the inbox after I got home from the Olive Garden for my very first "Woe-is-the-Muffin-Mr.X-is-a-lying-lowdown-crapweasel" dinner. He begged for forgiveness and never did tell me why he was going to dump me (and in a later phone conversation told me that he probably would never tell me unless we eventually got married.) and asked for me to take him back. I, being the 14-year-old, sappy, pseudoromantic (idiot) that I was, was ready to immediately press reply and go sobbing back into his open cyber-arms. (For those of you who are just joining us, I promise that I didn't meet this guy online. I grew up at camp with him and we just lived 2 hours away. Long distance early teen relationships never last.) But my parents in all of their omniscience made me wait a month. To make him clear his mind, make sure he wanted me back for real, and to tell his parents that he was going out with me (which he hadn't before, which irked me MAJORLY).

We waited that month and he still did want me back. And so he emailed me, lots, over the next week. While my parents deliberated on whether I was allowed to go back with him or not. I was at my aunt's for spring break, and because I didn't have access to RoadRunner there, I used my dad's Yahoo! account. (See, I told you there was a point to my snoopiness) And told him that they said it was okay. And there are still excessive lovey-dovey notes in that sent box, where I sent my replies and you can read his original messages.

I got over Mr.X a long time ago, obviously. I like someone new, and have liked probably 2 guys seriously since him. He's had a ton of girlfriends, as I've whined about before, and I've had no boyfriends since him, which is probably why I'm so bitter and cynical and well on my way to being that old, grouchy lady who throws stones at passing neighborhood children as they merrily make their way to school and sings to her cats. However, there's still something fun about reading those letters.

I can remember vividly sitting in my Aunt Faith's basement reading those letters and typing my replies, and being so excited that a boy liked me. I grinned from ear to ear whenever I saw that email address in my inbox, or whenever a letter came in the mail from him. I think that's probably what I really miss. I don't miss that relationship at all. Let's be honest, he was a real jerk. What I really miss is the Friday night phone call and checking my email, waiting for something worthwhile.

Sounds like you better get to work on that homework Missy!! LOL
That is
one lucky thing, I didn't have homework over break. I hate when teachers assign
homework when there is a break.
Yes I saw Shark Tale with my nephew when I
stayed with him last week. It is very cute and funny. I have to agree though Bob
the builder is ...stupid.
There dog sound cute. I love dogs! Well, really I
love all animals.
I can see your not a football player as well. I'm not
really any sports player. I guess you could say I'm not a 'normal' guy. I only
like soccer, volleyball, and basketball. But I never really get the chance to
play any.
Hey, being that we are working two differ things at camp do you
think we will have any time together really? I mean I think we probably will.
But I don't know what the cleaning schedule is like. But If I''m working
concesions and you not working clean up I guess we could just talk through a
window. LOL
I CAN'T WAIT TILL CAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was going
crazy tellin' my bestfriend I GET TO SPEND 5 WEEKS WITH THE MUFFIN!!!!!!!
They're just like 'ok Mr.X calm down' My friends think I am a freak. Which, i
am...lol. I am just very wild. I know I just keep typing away about nothing
really but I can't stop. Just every time I get an e-mail from you or write you I
feel good inside and accepted.
I understand you 110% about you dad
humilating you! My dad does it all the time. My mom does sometimes. Sunday my
dad asked me if I wanted to call in the attendance since I called it in every
other week. My mom is just like "Why, you think The Muffin is going to answer?"
I just gave her a look. But oh well. I am really close to my mom.
Did you
get the e-mail I sent you of a picture of me? Or is that one that got sent back
to me? I don't know!!!
Today my mom had school and so I had to take my key
to school. I remebered my key but when I went on my paper route I locked myself
out. So I was stuck outisde for a half hour till my dad got home!!! I am
....dingy! lol
Well I'll let you go....
Truely yours,
Mr.X

Fighting for Freshwater

So, much to the distress of many of you, I have no pictures to give you of the hallways lined with "I Support Mr.Freshwater" posters. There is a very good reason for this.

As many of you who have been following this story know, yesterday was the student's turn to protest the school boards (stupid) decision. The day started with wearing either a religious t-shirt or a shirt supporting Mr.Freshwater, and bringing your Bible to school, and sitting it on your desk. Students, fortunately, are not prohibited from putting Bibles on their desks, (go figure) so we took advantage of that and ran with it.

Unfortunately, the FCCLA State Leadership Convention was Thursday and Friday, causing me to miss out on a lot of the activities. I brought my Bible and carried it with me in the halls while I was at the school, and the shown poster was distributed to several students who eagerly hung them on their lockers. I did likewise. (Kudos to Bro.LJ for making those up on the spot for us!) There were those signs, which people found awesome, and some other signs that had been made up as the news was announced, with crayons and notebook paper. "We Support Mr.Freshwater", "You Go, John", and other catchy phrases were all plastered on the lockers. Everywhere. All over the halls. In addition to that, I had expected only a few people to bring their Bibles, as usually happens with organized events. But the halls had so many Bibles in them, I about cried. It was beautiful. I had to hurry out and catch the bus to go to Columbus for the convention, but thought, "Hey, I'll get a picture when I get back. More fliers will be distributed by then and more support will be shown."

I went to the conference and got the following text from Carolyn-

"Wow. Talking to a neighbor. Quite a big stink @ schoool- he was
saying protests. Seniors walking out at noon. Possible lock down. He kept
his daughter home today."

There was no walk out, but some big events DID happen while I was gone. There were huge numbers of Bibles on desks, of course. And no one got in trouble, thank God.

When I walked in to the school at 2:30, there was 1 poster in the ENTIRE school on a locker. 1. That's it. No others. I asked Rachel what happened and she said that during 5th period (her lunch), the principal had gone on a rampage and torn down ALL of the posters. No idea what prompted that. Apparently there is a rule regarding posters and signs on lockers. One that has NEVER been enforced while I've been there. And strangely enough, all of the football/basketball/swimming/other sports signs are still on lockers. But I guess that's not the point, now is it.

I had to get on the bus, so unfortunately, I was unable to take part in the big protest after school, dubbed "Rally at Spirit Rock". Caleb McCoy, who is usually really shy and timid, organized the whole thing, and gave a huge speech to the mob of kids and others at the rally. When I looked out the bus window, there was a huge crowd, a news crew, a state rep, and a very unhappy looking principal. I couldn't help but smile at that.

In the end, 20 pages with 48 signatures were completed on a petition stating-

“By signing this petition I am showing my support for Mr. John Freshwater
and his stance for displaying his Bible. He had all rights to do so, and we
stand by his side.”

I'm honestly not sure where we're going from here. I'm totally on board with this whole thing and am ready to do whatever I can to help. My dad wrote a letter to the superintendent about it, which I was psyched about. Apparently, my aunt and uncle are on board with this as well. I was texting Aunt Julie as I was watching the rally from the bus and she said-

"Ken said he wishe he was there...he would join u! Can you take pics?"

Well, here are the pics I took. Not very good, but hopefully you can see the mob.

Taking a Stand

I only have a few minutes before the bell rings, so I'll fill you in on all that's gone on here at MVHS as soon as I can. Rumor has it there's going to be a riot after school. In the meantime, Fox and CNN apparently are reporting Mr.Freshwater's story. Here's the 10TV link.

EDIT @ 2:34- Blogger is being dumb with the publisher. So if it's like midnight when this pops up, you'll know why. "We'll publish when possible" they say. Whatever.

Jesus Freak

One of my favorite teachers of all time was probably my eighth grade teacher, Mr.Freshwater. He was a really good teacher, for the most part, and all of us looked forward to his class which was really interesting. He spent a year in China when his kids were younger and always had some really cool stories to tell. His middle daughter, Sarah, is a swimming star at school and is in my Anatomy class.

I was on the Mount Vernon News website today and saw something that made tears come to my eyes. Apparently, Mr.Freshwater has gotten in trouble with the Mount Vernon City School administration because he has a Bible on his desk.

Mr.Freshwater was never silent about what he believed. He never forced US to believe it either. He was probably the only teacher that I've ever had that showed both evolution AND intelligent design in his lessons, trying to give both sides. He had a sign on his back wall with the 10 Commandments, as well as a sign with a verse from James on it. He had a book called "Jesus Freaks" on his desk, published by the band DC Talk, about people who have stood for what they believed whatever the cost and read it to us on a few occasions, not intending to sway us in our religious beliefs, but to show us that if other people in other countries were willing to stand fast for what was right, despite extreme consequences, why couldn't we? He always had a Bible on his desk. Big deal, I do, too, on several occasions. He's not forcing people to read it. And he's not forcing people to believe what he does.

Wake up school officials. Read the first ammendment. What he's doing IS NOT WRONG.

Leave him alone already.

I should also add that, as of yet, Mr.Freshwater has not complied with the request, which is why he's in trouble.

Way to be a Jesus Freak, Freshwater. You rock!

Friends...

Today's Learnings

• Unfortunately, Esig dropped out of the play. Bummer. Friendly support without perks. Who wants that?
• My Spanish teacher has a Facebook account! She heard my class discussing the wonders that are networking sites and told us that she has one on account of she works at the Naz and uses it to keep in contact with her students. All of us vowed to come home and add her.
  
• That probability is just *yawn* fascinating.
• That the cow eye lens I brought home the other day is no longer see through. It looks more like a white marble than a clear one.
• I have a hard-to-define personality types, according to Myers-Briggs. Yippee.
• Mystery meat in the cafeteria is surprisingly good on Emily's quesadilla sandwich things.
  

In addition to these learnings, here are some more of today's happenings-

• We finished up monologues in Theater today, and Esig did his. *swoon* Velvety smooth voice.
• We watched Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman in English. Unfortunately, neither he nor John Malkovich could improve that movie.
• Our table was very lonely without Sam today because he was promoting the play and trying to get people to buy tickets. I had no one to share Cheetos with. I was sad.
  

Blog Envy

So, those of you who don't look at my Dad's blog often, don't know about his recent shoot up in popularity. He was sent a video of an extremely cute little girl named Zoei singing "The Lord's Prayer". The post sent his daily visits from about 60-100, to roughly 30,000, within a few days. It was insanity. So anyway, it's made me a bit envious, because after 3 years of blogging, I have about 28 views per day. It feels a bit like banging my head against the wall, honestly. 

For those of you who actually get viewers (and comments), what's your secret? How do you get people to listen to what you have to say

In memory of the Titanic....

Being A Friend Pays Off.....

Author's Note: I must warn you if you are very conservative or easily offended, please don't read this blog. Just pass right by. No, it's nothing dirty or bad. It's just something that some of you might gasp at. Or cheer. I don't really know. Anyway. You've been warned.


So, next week, I get to repay a few of my friends who suffered through my horrendous jitterbug dance and singing in Munchkinland a last year. This year, the school is putting on a Midsummer Night's Dream. Nikki is playing a fairy and Sam is playing Puck, so I kind of have to do the friend thing and go see them. I have no doubt that they will do a great job, plus I like Midsummer Night's Dream.

Rachel is also friends with Nikki and we were discussing the play on the bus today.

A little background info. Rachel and I have this mutual attraction to this guy, who is in my theater and English classes, and her Spanish class, whom we will call Extremely Steamy Italian Guy. Actually, his name from now on shall be Esig. As in the intials of Extremely Steamy Itailian Guy. We frequently discuss our extreme attraction to Esig on the bus. Today's topic was his amazing curly locks and velvety smooth voice. Seriously. His voice is amazing. We've been reading Death of a Salesman, which is EXTREMELY weird and hard to follow, but when Esig does the voice of Biff, who says probably half of the lines, you suddenly take a serious interest in the plot line. Also, Rachel enjoys that he sits in front of her and the tag on his shirt always sticks out, which annoys her, and she MUST tuck it back in.

Anyway, those of you who have seen MSND on stage or on film, know that the part of Oberon is a very manly, Adonis-like role. As in, there is rarely a shirt to be seen on the part of Oberon. Well, because Puck is wearing a vest over bare chest (which Sam doesn't like because, in his opinion, he's chubby. I smacked him for that statement. And then told him to shut up and eat his cookie. His calorie-filled cookie. Which he gave to me. I love guilt.) we can only imagine that this year's production of MSND will be no different than any other dramatic performance.

It just so happens that Esig is a theatrical genius. A very dreamy theatrical genius. Who landed the part of Oberon.

Be still my heart.

Rachel was aware of this fact. She asked me, "So, wanna go see Midsummer Night's Dream?"

"Just so we can support Nikki and Sam, right?"

"Oh yes. NO other reason WHATSOEVER."

"Of course. We're just responsible, wonderful, caring, supporting, nurturing friends."

"Yes. And of course..if Esig just happens to be shirtless Oberon, we are just being rewarded for our good friendship."

"Well, I definitely won't make you suffer through THAT alone."

After all. Who am I to abandon a friend in need? She may swoon and hit her head on the theater floor and then wouldn't I feel like a crummy friend?

Weighing My Options

First off may I say, that I had a really long and beautiful post on this subject earlier today, but Blogger can be rather moronic sometimes and deleted it!

Anger. I haz it.

Anyway.

So, yesterday and today I've talked Mistie's ear off. Luckily, she either doesn't care or pretends not to. This works greatly to my advantage.

I sent my ACT scores to my top in-state and out-of-state school. I'm freaking out prematurely, of course, because I haven't even applied to either school, nor have I even gotten my ACT scores back yet.

Here's my dilemma-

I'm ready to run away. Far away. There are some things that I don't particularly want to leave behind here in Ye Olde Yellow Jacket Town, but I need to escape, if only for a little while. What I need to decide is how far exactly I want to run away.

I can either go to Kent, which is up by Canton, where I have family and friends, and would either go to church at Canton or Barberton. Or I have Marymount, where I have family and friends and the Smithsonian Museum of American History a 20 minute Metro ride away.

The pros of Kent are the cost is a lot better for me, the possibility of skipping out on room and board if I can con my way to staying with my aunt and uncle who live in Canton, and if I need to come back and see my friends and family in a big way, it's only 2 and 1/2 hours away.

The pros of Marymount are the greater possibility of financial aid, a smaller campus, and did I mention my dear old friend Smithsonian?

The main problem with Marymount is the distance. I'm ready to leave, but am I 8 hours worth of readiness to move? And also the cost is ginormously more.

The main problem with Kent is.....well....no Smithsonian. So, there are a few more, but I don't exactly want to air ALL of my dirty laundry on the web.

And there are a few other things to take into consideration, which I don't exactly want to go into because

1. It's none of your beeswax, madam (or monsieur)
2. I had a nice eloquent post and now it's all gone.

If I care for you to know, I'll call or text you. Or you can do likewise and I'll tell you if I care what you think. Or if I think you should care what I think. Yeah. You get the point.

I swear....

If I get one more e-mail about how Obama is a Muslim Terrorist AntiChrist, I may shank myself. That's right, I said shank. As in with a shiv.

For the last time, people, he DOES pledge allegiance to the flag, and DOES put his hand on his heart. And for the love of cheese-

He! Is! Not! A! MUSLIM!!!!

Good gravy, people!

Yo tengo....

(I have) The greatest best cousin-friend in the world. Seriously. Even when I have to vent and will not SHUT MY PIEHOLE, she doesn't turn and scream at me like most people would, "OH FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE, SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WOMAN!"

And this is a good thing.

Anyway. I am lucky enough to have a few people that I can be blatently transparent with. And I have used and abused them over the past couple of months.

Thank God they've stuck.

Ode to an ACT

How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.

1. Whose brilliant idea was it to making the Writing Test last? I mean seriously. Think about the logic of that. "We're going to have you fill in little bubbles for 4 hours and then we're going to ask you to write a two page essay." Great idea, Sherlock. My hand is permanently shriveled. I'll send you the bill for my carpal tunnel.
   
2. As for the Science test, I'm usually a good student. It's a sorry, sorry thing, buddy, when I feel more confident about the Math portion than the Science. I mean, I have no idea what "ppm" means. At least put a key there or something! And if you're going to provide "helpful figures", please make them legible.
3. Oh thank you, Gods o' Math for influencing the ACT Test Makers. Thank you for the multiple geometry questions. It's a good thing when 4 of my 60 questions incorporate the Pythagorean Theorem, which was the only thing I managed to get an "A" in for Mrs. Crumm's Challenge Math Class. Also, kudos for the probability, percentages, and counting principle questions, which we just studied. If my brain hadn't farted out at the questions about functions, binomials, and some trig (which I normally rock at. I less than three triangles!) I wouldn't have schooled that booger.
   
4. Also, thanks goes out to Mr.Jarosz, the greatest Geometry teacher on the planet. You should be greatly blessed for your clever mnemonic of trig, which kinda, sorta saved me. I think that the people scoring will probably wonder why the hay they should care about Oscar having heaps of apples, some corn, too. But hey, if it helped me remember trig, so *nyah* to them.
5. Reading should be fun, you morons! I mean, even the OGT people were able to come up with mildly interesting selections. Yours made me nearly drool all over the answer sheet, which would have erased all of my little bubbles, making me very unhappy.
6. Finally, you should know that the statement of prohibition to discuss the test with anyone, is a load of poo-poo. My best friend rode home with me and the second we got out of testing, the first question was, "So, what essay question did you get?" Not that it mattered, because we had the same one. But still.
   

Thank God I never have to do that again. I have to wait 5-7 weeks for my scores. 4 colleges will also be getting my scores in the mail. I sent scores to Marymount, Kent State, Cleveland State, and COTC (for post-secondary next year). Pray that all goes well.

The Day That Will Not End

Dear God, 

I would like to thank you sincerely for allowing today's school day (4/11/08) to end before I put a bullet in my head. It simply would not stop. KAP just dragged, even though we're talking about WW2 ,  which I love, and Anatomy was never ending. I seriously wanted someone to come up and shank me, just so I could get it over with. 

Anyway, thanks a ton for making the school bell ring. You are indeed a merciful saviour.

-Me

It's Over With (Thank God)

As of about 3 hours ago, my KAP History research paper has officially been turned in. Meaning, unless I am a horrible plagerist (I'm not, I promise. Lots of footnoted and cited quotes, but no plagerism) I will not get a zero.

My paper, which was supposed to be anywhere from 8-10 pages long, weighed in at 11.5 pages, plus cover sheet, plus sources used page. And it's in a spiffy report cover.

Because the paper was a success (I hope. We'll wait until the final grade comes in.) I brought chocolate for my lunch table and we partied. Sam apparently loves Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. He stole everyone's share of it (I brought a big bar of it). And also a truffle. Those truffles are like crack, I swear. Nikki stole 8.

I still have half a bag of Hershey Dark Chocolate Truffles left, so I'm going to share with the English class next period. We're doing "Death of a Salesman".

You need chocolate to deal with that kind of thing.

The Holiday That Is Tomorrow...

For the past month on Facebook, many of us have been anticipating April 10. This day has been designated-

[Expletive] With Yahoo Search Day!

I'm very excited about this day. And you all can help.

Tomorrow is going to be very stressful for me, as my vault o' knowledge about Kent State goes to Mr.Shriver and half of my fourth quarter grade is in this paper. You can make me happy by participating in the holiday.

All you have to do, is search for  "Furby Army" in the Yahoo Search Engine. I'm sure many of you have seen the list of recent top searches, that are usually something lame like "Turkey Recipe". It would bring joy to mine and millions of other's hearts if you would just search for "Furby Army". At least once. A ton of other people will be doing it, and it would be amazingly funny to me if the people at Yahoo! were scratching their heads over the significance of the Furby National Guard. So, anyway. It's dumb, but will at least amuse me for about 10 seconds. 

So please people, celebrate Furby's. Participate in [Expletive] With Yahoo Search Day.

I am the Muffin and I approved this message.

New Stuff...

I have a new commenting system. Because Dad got it and I'm a huge copycat. So sue me.

I ended up getting to page 8 on the dreaded paper. Will finish tomorrow. Now I'm going to bed.

The Writing Room

Currently, my laptop is sitting on a chair in my dad's office while I sit on the floor. Rachel is sitting at Dad's new laptop. She came over at around 6:30 because her computer crashed, and she, like me, has a term paper due in KAP American History on Thursday. She was freaking out until I told her she could come over and work on it here. This is the first break I have taken from writing and researching since about 5:00. I am now halfway through my seventh page of my 8-10 page paper. I think I'm going to go over, because Dad is doing an analysis of the sum awarded to the victims of the shootings and the families of the deceased from Kent.

My bum is numb. (Yay for rhymes!) And everything is funny right now because the constant staring at the computer monitor is frying my brain. We discovered about 15 minutes ago that the word "synonym" is funny, because Rachel can't pronounce it and keeps saying "cinnamon". It's hilarious.

But, my paper is almost done. And it rocks.

Letters

Dear Bus Jerks, 

First, may I offer my sincere condolences for your apparent lack of self esteem and self worth. Also, to one of you for your apparent sudden onset of claustrophobia, which seemed to be cured after school today. Then, may I offer my congratulations for your ability to get a chuckle out of your little buddies.

It is my sad duty to inform you that putting your feet on the seat and stretching out your legs as someone passes by on a crowded bus, WHILE it is moving, and when they ask you "May I sit here", that saying "No" and shooting them a death glare is not acceptable. It's like white after Labor Day. It's so last season. 

I do understand that you need to look good in front of your other little freshmen friends and that my lack of tattoos and various nuts and bolts sticking from unspeakable parts of my body cramps your style. But seriously. It's a 7-minute bus ride. Grow up and be big girls.

I must admit that yes, I was/am a little ticked off. However, despite what you were whispering in the hallways this morning, I am not crying about it, and I know exactly who you are and who I think I am. All you really did was make me mad at first. Then, about 15 minutes later, I chalked it all up to you having more drugs in your system than Janis Joplin, and discovered that it made a great story to tell my group once I got inside of the school. We then all laughed at how sad and pitifully pathetic you are. 

Here's my proposition to you all. I have, all together, 42.5 school weeks left EVER in my high school career, and these are spread over the next 14 months with a 3 month break in between as well as a few other vacations. Next year, you will STILL be lowly underclassmen, and I will be a senior. As will my friends. I'm sure you know the great thing about being an upperclassman, right? Of course you do. We have some sway in whether you guys have a good year or a horribly lousy one. 

So go ahead, dearie. Go high five your chummies because you're such a cool, bad kid. That really makes you a big person. Just keep the fact that I'm on Student Advisory Board in mind. And that my cousin-in-law was in the Navy.

Many respectful regards,

Me

P.S. Thanks for the blog fodder.

Meez!!

I'm 09rryan

This is the 3D me.
Make your own,
and we both get Coinz!

These things are ridiculously pointless, but so fun.

Update on NSE

I can breathe at least a little easier right now, because Sra. Tuel gave us our preliminary scores from National Spanish Exam today. These do not allow me to know how I rank in the nation or how I did comparatively to the students this year who took it. All I have as reference is last years averages.

The achievement test consists of vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure. This test made me want to gnaw my own leg off. The national average in 2007 was 89.

The proficiency test is reading and listening comprehension. I loved this part and owned it. The national average in 2007 was 108.

 Las Cuentas de La Panecilla (The Scores of The Muffin)

 Achievement- 100

Proficiency- 148

Happy Birthday, Gabri!!

Gabrielle is 5 years old today! I can't believe she's that old already. I was in sixth grade when she was born. I remember that they came and got me out of science to go see her for the first time. And that the first thing that my brother ever called her was Scooby Doo. We still don't know why exactly. 

It's incredibly fun having her for a little sister. Yesterday, I made the mistake of fixing her hair "like the big girls' hair". Before SuperChurch. I saw her about 5 minutes after she went into the gym and it was demolished. She was pretty anyway.

Happy Birthday,Gabri!

Yes. You may be jealous of us.

We know that we are the supreme epitome of awesomeness. You may bask in our glow. It's okay. We won't make you feel inferior. Too much.

Holy Spirit, Rain

Since January, as I've said before, our church has been dealing with some serious things. These all started back in January when our youth group attended Mid-Winter Youth retreat, and a few girls and myself made a promise to God that we would not be the same in our walk with him this year, and were going to dedicate ourselves to him completely. Sickness, heartache, and various other problems left our youth group and many other precious saints in our church battered and bleeding. Despite all of these problems, we have held strong, and trusted in God to bring us through.

None of us knew why we were being tried, but we knew that something was on the horizon. 

Tonight, we began to reap the harvest.

My friend, Lori, has been attempting to get the Holy Ghost since Mid-Winter. She got it tonight. Her friend, Jenny, who my group at school has kind of "adopted" came to church for the first time tonight. We've been begging her to come since September. She also received the Holy Ghost. At least 1 or 2 more did, as well.

I was very proud to witness one of the little girls who has recently begun coming to my Sunday School class be baptized tonight, along with her father. Two of the other girls, including my cousin, Josey, were baptized in Jesus name tonight. A girl from my school, Sarah, whose mother was recently baptized, was baptized tonight. Rhonda, a lady who began coming about 6 months ago, was also baptized tonight.

Bro.Elliot began having chest pains during song service tonight. Several men went to pray for him and he was healed.

For those of you who aren't aware, our church is in the middle of an outreach and revival week. We have amazing things planned for this weekend. We have passed out door hangers. There are at least 5 fliers hanging on lockers at school. Teams have been going into the city and telling people about the events. I have probably one, maybe two friends coming on Sunday, and if the second (Nikki) comes, she may bring her boyfriend, Jason, as well. We will be having a crusade service on Sunday, at 2 PM. The Bible says, in Joel chapter 2, verses 23 and 24-

23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.

24 And the [threshing] floors shall be full of grain and the vats shall overflow with juice [of the grape] and oil.

After reading that verse, and seeing tonight's miracles, I am so ready for the harvest. We have been tried. We have stood strong. And now we are reaping. 

April Foolishness

For those of you who appreciated cartoons before they took a serious turn to the poopy end. (I hate the new Saturday morning cartoons) This one's for you. Happy April Fool's Day. I hope you pulled a great prank on someone today. Our anatomy teacher took out our huge brain/eye/nerve test for next week and said "pop quiz". We were not amused. Nikki is telling her boyfriend they are breaking up. She's supposed to let me know how that turns out. She'll keep him going unless he cries, she says.

I May Kiss Someone

Whoever designed the May 4 Task Force website, I may kiss. Because they are absolutely great, genius people.

I have to turn in my thesis for my fun research paper in KAP on Wednesday and had absolutely no idea what direction I wanted to take. And with their list of possible research topics surrounding the Kent State Shootings(and list of first hand accounts) all I have to do is search through my 6 books and see which is the best.

Dear Lord, I love smart people!