How is it that it's already November? Seriously, where did the time go? It's one of those weird moments when you're like "oh, god, it's MONDAY!" and then two seconds later, "YES it's FRIDAY!"
how does that happen? Maybe it helps to just take one day at a time. I figured out that looking ahead made things seem to go veeeery sloooooowly. Taking things only one day at a time helps a ton. Maybe that's why I make myself a To-Do list every morning.
I'm what you can call anal-retentive. I like things just so. I am organized everywhere but in my room, and I often organize other people, much to their dismay. I have some OCD tendencies without actually being OCD- brushing my teeth three times in the morning is one example. God. People are so weird.
Here's what's happening in regard to Haiti- Dad is in the middle of learning Fwench and Creole, Mom and I are looking at online language classes, and we're going mentally down the checklist of things we have to take care of without actually taking care of any of them. It's been a productive week.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Day Whatever: I Sit Around On My Butt
I really should stop trying to keep track of the days. It's kind of ridiculous.
It's grey and rainy here in Bloomington. Same bat time, same bat place. Nothing exciting going on, of course. Should I be at work on my college applications? Yeah, probably. But hey, everyone needs a break now and then. I hate feeling un-motivated. How am I EVER going to get anything done if I keep procrastinating?! That is the question of the century.
Whoever you are, if you're reading this, tell me mentally to get up off my arse and get stuff done. I need a good kick in the pants.
It's grey and rainy here in Bloomington. Same bat time, same bat place. Nothing exciting going on, of course. Should I be at work on my college applications? Yeah, probably. But hey, everyone needs a break now and then. I hate feeling un-motivated. How am I EVER going to get anything done if I keep procrastinating?! That is the question of the century.
Whoever you are, if you're reading this, tell me mentally to get up off my arse and get stuff done. I need a good kick in the pants.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Day...?? I Muse About Perspective; or How My Dog Ate My Pants
Bet you missed me, didn't you, you cheeky cat.
So I'm in the middle of applying for college. It's a delight, let me tell you. I've got my list narrowed down to about six, and then I have a backup or two. College is a thing that I can't decide how I feel about. Am I nervous? Are you kidding? Excited? That is up in the air. I am done with high school. Not officially, since I haven't graduated, but mentally I am finished.
Here's why. Last night at show choir practice (yeah, there is such a thing), it was Bitch-Fest 101. It's all about who gets in the front and who gets the solos etc. I will admit, as a senior and a returning member, I'm a little irked that I am not in the front at all. However, I am part of a group of 8 that sings the last part of one of our songs, so that's cool, I'm glad I have that.
However, when people start complaining that they "lost their second solo" or "got moved from the front to the fucking first riser," well, honey, let me tell you something. There's this little thing called PERSPECTIVE. Use it. Some of us don't get any farther front than the second riser, and some don't have one solo, let alone two. Be happy with what you have.
But let's be honest- how many high schoolers really have perspective? Really not very many. It's a thing that you learn through experience. And while looking at the bright side is better, it's really hard when you want to mope and bitch and whine. As teenagers, sometimes we're entitled to a little grouching. I don't like it, but I will also admit that I do my fair share of wallowing in self pity. Do I want to be in the front? Yes. Can I handle not being in the front? Yes. The negative energy often rubs off on other people and pretty soon you're just drowning in this sea of Debbie Downers.
Every now and again though, I realise something profound and then I change my whole attitude because of this revelation. Last night after World War 3, I realised that sometimes people need to whine. Maybe for some of the girls, this activity is all they have. Maybe it's the most important thing in their lives and losing out on a chance for a solo or to be in the front is just devastating. It's not the most important thing in my life. I love it dearly, but I care most about being on stage, having fun and doing my best, as cliche as that sounds. If this is all they have, they need to be able to complain about it without being labeled as a flat-out bitch. If it helps them feel better to complain, then so be it. So I remain unhappy with some of the situation, but I've gotten to the point where I'm starting to not care anymore. It's a good place to be.
On a lighter note, here's what happened to me last night after I got home. I am putting on my PJ pants in the dark and...why are they cold? Are they wet? What the heck? So I turn on my light and HOLY CRAP the entire butt has been chewed and EATEN out of my most favouritest pj pants. Anyone interesting in adopting a really stupid dog?
But hey. Perspective.
So I'm in the middle of applying for college. It's a delight, let me tell you. I've got my list narrowed down to about six, and then I have a backup or two. College is a thing that I can't decide how I feel about. Am I nervous? Are you kidding? Excited? That is up in the air. I am done with high school. Not officially, since I haven't graduated, but mentally I am finished.
Here's why. Last night at show choir practice (yeah, there is such a thing), it was Bitch-Fest 101. It's all about who gets in the front and who gets the solos etc. I will admit, as a senior and a returning member, I'm a little irked that I am not in the front at all. However, I am part of a group of 8 that sings the last part of one of our songs, so that's cool, I'm glad I have that.
However, when people start complaining that they "lost their second solo" or "got moved from the front to the fucking first riser," well, honey, let me tell you something. There's this little thing called PERSPECTIVE. Use it. Some of us don't get any farther front than the second riser, and some don't have one solo, let alone two. Be happy with what you have.
But let's be honest- how many high schoolers really have perspective? Really not very many. It's a thing that you learn through experience. And while looking at the bright side is better, it's really hard when you want to mope and bitch and whine. As teenagers, sometimes we're entitled to a little grouching. I don't like it, but I will also admit that I do my fair share of wallowing in self pity. Do I want to be in the front? Yes. Can I handle not being in the front? Yes. The negative energy often rubs off on other people and pretty soon you're just drowning in this sea of Debbie Downers.
Every now and again though, I realise something profound and then I change my whole attitude because of this revelation. Last night after World War 3, I realised that sometimes people need to whine. Maybe for some of the girls, this activity is all they have. Maybe it's the most important thing in their lives and losing out on a chance for a solo or to be in the front is just devastating. It's not the most important thing in my life. I love it dearly, but I care most about being on stage, having fun and doing my best, as cliche as that sounds. If this is all they have, they need to be able to complain about it without being labeled as a flat-out bitch. If it helps them feel better to complain, then so be it. So I remain unhappy with some of the situation, but I've gotten to the point where I'm starting to not care anymore. It's a good place to be.
On a lighter note, here's what happened to me last night after I got home. I am putting on my PJ pants in the dark and...why are they cold? Are they wet? What the heck? So I turn on my light and HOLY CRAP the entire butt has been chewed and EATEN out of my most favouritest pj pants. Anyone interesting in adopting a really stupid dog?
But hey. Perspective.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Day Seven/ Day Eight: Skipped A Day and This Gets Harder to Keep Up!
Aloha! I skipped a day. I know you're really disappointed.
HERE I AM in good ol' Washington, D.C. Haven't seen my dad for over a month, which is a hell of a long time if you ask me.
My senior year got off to a bit of a rough start. My older brother left for Gustavus Adolphus (hey yeah! number two on my list!) and then about a week and a half later, off goes my dad to DC. So basically it was an estrogen filled beginning to the school year. My teachers have been nice enough to cut me a bit of slack (kind of. Still had to do that Adventuras con Erik Estrada for Spanish 4, dangit) and my friends have been nicely supportive. Still, I won't pretend it's been a picnic. You spend 18 years with your family then all of a sudden- see ya in a few weeks! Or a few months! Or next year!
It's a weird sensation. Also sad. My dog likes to lay in the hallway and whimper while staring at my brother's room. Hmmm. Wonder if she'd do that if I left? Probably not.
ANYWAY. D.C is a beautiful city. It's a bit chilly right now but it's so cool with all the fall colours and such. And tomorrow is the Swearing-In ceremony for my dad! Very official sounding. Now I must be off for the scenic tour! Wheeee!
S'laters.
So yesterday I was really excited about going to my dad's swearing in ceremony. However, the presence of nausea, dizziness, losing vision, and excruciating abdominal pain guaranteed me my first ever trip to the ER. It was a pain in the ass. Literally. So no swearing in ceremony was attended, but on the bright side (er...) I have a hospital bracelet from George Washington University Hospital and three prescriptions. Yay.
On the actual bright side, my mom and I visitied the Newseum before all that shenanigans occured. It was SO cool for someone interested in journalism. Also, she and I were asked two (and kind of a half) times today if we were twins. Hahahahah.
That's all for now. S'laters for realsies.
HERE I AM in good ol' Washington, D.C. Haven't seen my dad for over a month, which is a hell of a long time if you ask me.
My senior year got off to a bit of a rough start. My older brother left for Gustavus Adolphus (hey yeah! number two on my list!) and then about a week and a half later, off goes my dad to DC. So basically it was an estrogen filled beginning to the school year. My teachers have been nice enough to cut me a bit of slack (kind of. Still had to do that Adventuras con Erik Estrada for Spanish 4, dangit) and my friends have been nicely supportive. Still, I won't pretend it's been a picnic. You spend 18 years with your family then all of a sudden- see ya in a few weeks! Or a few months! Or next year!
It's a weird sensation. Also sad. My dog likes to lay in the hallway and whimper while staring at my brother's room. Hmmm. Wonder if she'd do that if I left? Probably not.
ANYWAY. D.C is a beautiful city. It's a bit chilly right now but it's so cool with all the fall colours and such. And tomorrow is the Swearing-In ceremony for my dad! Very official sounding. Now I must be off for the scenic tour! Wheeee!
S'laters.
So yesterday I was really excited about going to my dad's swearing in ceremony. However, the presence of nausea, dizziness, losing vision, and excruciating abdominal pain guaranteed me my first ever trip to the ER. It was a pain in the ass. Literally. So no swearing in ceremony was attended, but on the bright side (er...) I have a hospital bracelet from George Washington University Hospital and three prescriptions. Yay.
On the actual bright side, my mom and I visitied the Newseum before all that shenanigans occured. It was SO cool for someone interested in journalism. Also, she and I were asked two (and kind of a half) times today if we were twins. Hahahahah.
That's all for now. S'laters for realsies.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Day Three: Getting Used To It. Also a little more about me
So now I've known for a couple days where my dad is going. It took me about that long to stop saying "seriously? HAITI?!?" in extreme italics. I don't know much about it, except for the 2010 earthquake. SOOO I turned to the always-true-never-been-wrong Wikipedia for some info on Port-au-Prince. Here ya go.
-Largest city in Haiti (population 897,859 in 2009)
-Spanish settlers decimated the population (why does that not surprise me, Mr. Columbus?)
-languages are French, Haitian Creole (guess who gets to learn those? ME!)
-relies on tourists (really? who'd have thought?)
there wasn't really a whole lot I could find. I am potentially moving to one of the poorest countries in the world, if not THE poorest. Nervous? Yeah. Excited? Not yet but it's coming.
Okay moving on from Haiti (kind of but not really). Here's the dealio with me. I love travel a LOT. Living overseas in 2001 kind of started that, I guess. I've been to various places around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, and Lichtenstein (yeah, that's right- it's like one metre wide and two metres long, it's that small). Am I well traveled? That's up to you to decide. I don't think so, but hey, it's a lot more than most people get in a lifetime.
Australia was where I used to live. Ferny Creek, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We moved there for a teacher exchange- before my dad got this cool job as a diplomat, he was a social studies teacher- so we switched houses and jobs with another family. During that time we visited New Zealand. I'll go more into thaat another time,
Last March, my high school Wind Ensemble (top band, yeah yeah!) did a European tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein. Oh my gosh, that was the most fun I've ever had on a trip. Here's the scuttlebutt on that trip-
Austria was first. We were in Salzburg-beautiful city. Coolest thing- we were at the fountain where Maria and the von Trapp family children sing Do Re Mi in the Sound of Music. Don't know it? Look it up. While in Austria, we saw Mozart's birthplace and other cool things, including a building built in the year 803. (WHAT?!?) Also in Austria, a random guy came up behind me and grabbed onto a piece of my hair and said in German-speak, "ach, you haf ze gut haar, miss." I pretty much peed with fright. It's funny now, though.
Germany was not quite as awesome. We were in Munchen, and the hotel we stayed at was about the size of a dinner plate, i.e. very small. It smelled like cigarettes, too. However, there were some good times in that hotel- my roomates and I discovered several things about our room:
1) the emergency exit map was stuck to the wall upside down. Stuck being actually stuck, too.
2) the window liked to open on its own.
3) the bathroom had disconnected pipes that would randomly make really loud scary noises.
4) you couldn't walk between any of the three beds due to the suitcases, so we basically did parkour in our hotel room. wheee!
5) we saw lederhosen. AAAHHH!
Switzerland was by far the best. Lucern was a beautiful little town, and we were given a ton of free time. It was so picturesque and cute. The food there was way better, too. Good memories of Swiss country include this little Asian lady grabbing my friends and I and taking our picture. It was our last night, we had a dinner cruise, so we were all dressed up. She and her son (or some random guy) took our pictures- and he was waving his wallet at us. Not sure if he thought we were hookers or what. What a memory.
I'll go more into my trips later. Because I'm sure you really care a lot.
-Largest city in Haiti (population 897,859 in 2009)
-Spanish settlers decimated the population (why does that not surprise me, Mr. Columbus?)
-languages are French, Haitian Creole (guess who gets to learn those? ME!)
-relies on tourists (really? who'd have thought?)
there wasn't really a whole lot I could find. I am potentially moving to one of the poorest countries in the world, if not THE poorest. Nervous? Yeah. Excited? Not yet but it's coming.
Okay moving on from Haiti (kind of but not really). Here's the dealio with me. I love travel a LOT. Living overseas in 2001 kind of started that, I guess. I've been to various places around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, and Lichtenstein (yeah, that's right- it's like one metre wide and two metres long, it's that small). Am I well traveled? That's up to you to decide. I don't think so, but hey, it's a lot more than most people get in a lifetime.
Australia was where I used to live. Ferny Creek, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We moved there for a teacher exchange- before my dad got this cool job as a diplomat, he was a social studies teacher- so we switched houses and jobs with another family. During that time we visited New Zealand. I'll go more into thaat another time,
Last March, my high school Wind Ensemble (top band, yeah yeah!) did a European tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein. Oh my gosh, that was the most fun I've ever had on a trip. Here's the scuttlebutt on that trip-
Austria was first. We were in Salzburg-beautiful city. Coolest thing- we were at the fountain where Maria and the von Trapp family children sing Do Re Mi in the Sound of Music. Don't know it? Look it up. While in Austria, we saw Mozart's birthplace and other cool things, including a building built in the year 803. (WHAT?!?) Also in Austria, a random guy came up behind me and grabbed onto a piece of my hair and said in German-speak, "ach, you haf ze gut haar, miss." I pretty much peed with fright. It's funny now, though.
Germany was not quite as awesome. We were in Munchen, and the hotel we stayed at was about the size of a dinner plate, i.e. very small. It smelled like cigarettes, too. However, there were some good times in that hotel- my roomates and I discovered several things about our room:
1) the emergency exit map was stuck to the wall upside down. Stuck being actually stuck, too.
2) the window liked to open on its own.
3) the bathroom had disconnected pipes that would randomly make really loud scary noises.
4) you couldn't walk between any of the three beds due to the suitcases, so we basically did parkour in our hotel room. wheee!
5) we saw lederhosen. AAAHHH!
Switzerland was by far the best. Lucern was a beautiful little town, and we were given a ton of free time. It was so picturesque and cute. The food there was way better, too. Good memories of Swiss country include this little Asian lady grabbing my friends and I and taking our picture. It was our last night, we had a dinner cruise, so we were all dressed up. She and her son (or some random guy) took our pictures- and he was waving his wallet at us. Not sure if he thought we were hookers or what. What a memory.
I'll go more into my trips later. Because I'm sure you really care a lot.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Day Two- Destination: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Holy wow and a half. I don't really know anything about Haiti, outside of the 2010 earthquake. Now I'm realizing that I'll be there for a year. Yup. Gap year is a go so far.
One of my friends posed an interesting question about how my dad used to be a social studies teache, so "how did he land that gig?" (he's obviously very impressed). It's weird trying to explain my dad's job as a Foreign Service officer- or a diplomat- to people who haven't been exposed to such things. WhooooeyyyANYWAY.
Here's an interestig fact about moi. I lived in Australia in 2001. That automatically makes me awesome. :) and now HAITI! not quite sure how I feel about that yet...I'll let you know when I do. Because I'm sure you care.
Is anyone reading this, by the way? Or am I like Julie in "Julie & Julia", blogging to no one?
One of my friends posed an interesting question about how my dad used to be a social studies teache, so "how did he land that gig?" (he's obviously very impressed). It's weird trying to explain my dad's job as a Foreign Service officer- or a diplomat- to people who haven't been exposed to such things. WhooooeyyyANYWAY.
Here's an interestig fact about moi. I lived in Australia in 2001. That automatically makes me awesome. :) and now HAITI! not quite sure how I feel about that yet...I'll let you know when I do. Because I'm sure you care.
Is anyone reading this, by the way? Or am I like Julie in "Julie & Julia", blogging to no one?
Friday, October 14, 2011
DAY ONE OF THE REST OF MY LIFE: Lame Introduction/The Day We Find Out.
Hellooooo. I am new at this, so don't laugh at me.
Here's an awkward summary of my life that I'm sure you really care about. I'm a senior in high school, and my dad is a diplomat. Golly, I love saying that. Anyway, he will be going SOMEWHERE. I can't say anything more until we learn. So how's THAT for a cliffhanger? You're probably rolling your eyes at me for getting you to look at this when I can't even reveal any interesting information. Sorry. You can go now.
OOH GOLLY GOSH
I am so nervous. Today is pretty much Day One of the Rest Of My Life. Depending on where we go, I may take a gap year. I may not. I might do online courses through a college. Or maybe I'll just travel around and work wherever we are. Maybe I'll just stay home. My (vague) point is that my whole life is up in da air right now, and sometime this afternoon, it will either come crashing down around my ears OR (more hopefully) it'll be changed for the better. Whooooey. What stress.
This blog doesn't really have a purpose. I guess I just started it in the hopes that one day, hopefully overseas, I can blog about all the awesome things I'm doing.
If not, it means I'm staying home and probably getting a million cats.
But who really knows right now?
Here's an awkward summary of my life that I'm sure you really care about. I'm a senior in high school, and my dad is a diplomat. Golly, I love saying that. Anyway, he will be going SOMEWHERE. I can't say anything more until we learn. So how's THAT for a cliffhanger? You're probably rolling your eyes at me for getting you to look at this when I can't even reveal any interesting information. Sorry. You can go now.
OOH GOLLY GOSH
I am so nervous. Today is pretty much Day One of the Rest Of My Life. Depending on where we go, I may take a gap year. I may not. I might do online courses through a college. Or maybe I'll just travel around and work wherever we are. Maybe I'll just stay home. My (vague) point is that my whole life is up in da air right now, and sometime this afternoon, it will either come crashing down around my ears OR (more hopefully) it'll be changed for the better. Whooooey. What stress.
This blog doesn't really have a purpose. I guess I just started it in the hopes that one day, hopefully overseas, I can blog about all the awesome things I'm doing.
If not, it means I'm staying home and probably getting a million cats.
But who really knows right now?
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