I went to Emmy's wedding this weekend, and I loved it. It made me look forward to marriage so much. I can't even wait. I'm not depressed that I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm not depressed that I'm a teenager and not an "adult" yet, and I'm not depressed that I may never get married, because I totally know that I am. I'm just excited about what life has in store for me. I can't wait to be married. I'm looking forward to having a partner to be with me all the time. He will want to hang out with me. He won't want to hang out with someone else sometimes, and ditch me or anything. And it will be so much fun. I just can't wait. It put me in a good mood. But I am sad that Emmy is moving away. Because I love her.

I saw the best home rennovation I've ever seen today on Oprah. It was so good. Too good for words. Nate made over Paige's apartment. Holy cow. I've never seen anything so beautiful. I mean come on. I won't describe it here because I won't get the full and awesome affect. I mean, wow.

Um I like some songs. They make me happy. Like this one I'm listening to right now. "Halleluia" by Rufus Wainwright. It's good. It is a very nice song. There are other songs that I like a lot. I think I'll write them down every time I think of them, that way I can purchase them when I get my iPod for christmas. If I get it. Some songs make me happy and sad and a lot of different emotions all at once. I love those. Another one is "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. It will be the first song I dance to at my wedding. Because I love it. Songs make me happy. Good songs. Mmm.

I'm also looking forward to College and everything it has to offer. I think I keep forgetting that it is actually school. I just see it as a whole new social opportunity. But I will hopefully adjust. And if I go to UNC, Shmimmy can just tell me to study. And I will. Oh, how I love my shmimmy. Oh, how I love all my camp friends. I can't wait to see them again. I was thinking over the weekend about who to invite to my wedding, and I can't wait for the culmination (is that a word?) of all my favorite people all at one place. I don't want to waste my whole time talking to old relatives and "family friends" that I don't really want to talk to. I want to see all my bestest friends. It is so freakin exciting. I just hope I don't get stressed out and feel bad for hurting people's feelings because I didn't pick them to be a bridesmaid. Maybe I'll just make family bridesmaids. I don't like thinking about it too much because it is way to far away to be thinking about. I guess that's what weddings do to you. Anyways.

I'm glad that you guys who are reading this are my friends and you love me. Because I'm pretty sure I love you. In that friendly, plutonic type of love, but you guys know that. It's still as meaningful.

I think I'm tired of High School boys. The fact that they all seem to be attracted to one girl or something. And that all they want to do is get alcohol and cigars. I mean, come on. I guess this is because I went to Emmy's wedding and I realized that there is a good guy out there that is totally right for me and is waiting for me and I don't really need to waste my time on these silly boys. Not like I'd be wasting my time on them anyways. I just wish there was a better group of guys/people to hang out with. I get kinda bored with the same old stuff. Ok... enough of that... on to what I've been doing since the last time I formally blogged.

Wednesday was good, but kinda not good in a way. I went to Goodwill right after school with Nancy and Evan, and I got some awesome clothes for grit day. Way cool overalls that were plaid and tan and gross. And a racing shirt. (but it was Jeff Gordon and I'm apparently not supposed to like him... who knows). Then I drove all the way out to Tilley's to pick up my proofs. Turns out they are closed on Wednesdays. That ticked me off. I drove all the way out to Siloam for nothing. Then I called mom and told her I was gonna go wait for Charlotte to get out of V-ball practice and she said that was a good idea. After 30 minutes of waiting there, Dad calls me to tell me he's at Charlottes volleyball game. At Gentry. So that ticked me off again. Then I went home and did some homework or something. I always do homework. Oh, and I had to pick up Jill from the pool parking lot. That ticked me off again. I think I went to the soccer game too... I can't remember. Yeah, I think Nan took me.

Thursday I guess school was normal. I don't remember and I don't really care. Then I went back out to Tilley's again and got my proofs. Some of them were scary. My smile looked crazy because I was laughing but trying to keep my mouth in a closed smile shape. It was funny. Then I was talking to shmimmy about how we are gonna be roommates if we both go to UNC (!!), and then I realized that it was 5:40 and I was supposed to pick Charlotte up at 5:15. Haha. Then when I got back I had to go back out and get Jill. Uggh. Then I went to the JV football game and then over to Audra's. It was crazy, but I basically stayed in Audra's room and watched A walk to Remember. I went walking with Ash at one point. It was a crazy place. I was sketched out b/c there were boys sleeping there. I'm gonna not sleep over next time there are boys there. Just because they are probably sketchy. But I love Audra's house. I love her room and her decorations and her family. It's fun times. Jarret makes some good bagel bites... haha. So it was crazy.

Friday was grit day! We rode around in Lauren Goins' old truck. It was craazy. I smelled like exhaust all day. Then in English (after showing up late...) we had to say our prolouges. "Whan that April with his shoures soote... the drougt of March had perced to the roote" except you say it like "Whaan that Aprril with his shores soot-a... the droot of March had per-ced to the root-a" You just had to hear it for yourself. It was also funny because Rachael and I were practicing it at like 1 in the morning at Audra's house. I finally got it right, but in front of the classroom in my silly grit attire. Haha. Then calculus was funny because I kinda couldn't concentrate. I couldn't coordinate my thoughts well enough. Anderson and Chris looked pretty tired too. Then we went back to Audra's at lunch to get our cars and eat some (free- thanks mrs. H) food. Then Biology was fun b/c it was shortened. Spanish was basically a sleeping time, but Tillman and I worked on the script for Spanish. A little bit. Then there was a pep rally. It was kinda silly, and the Juniors were more of a senior class than we were. They are gonna have a rockin senior year. At one point we got the sophomores and the seniors to be quiet when they wanted us to yell. It was hilarious. Way to go senior leadership. I'm surprised the sophomores actually listened to us. Whatev. Then after school I got ready and Nan did my makeup and straightened my hair (her idea) and we went to the FB game. We won, 21-7. I was scared there for a while that we wouldn't win, but we pulled through.

Saturday I went to the natti for Emmy's wedding. I really want to talk about it but I'm actually quite tired of blogging. I'll do it later. I'm too tired. Au Revoir. Hasta luego. Arivaderce (sp?). Sionara. (sp? i don't even know)

Anyone want a g-mail account? Apparently I have 6 to give away. E-mail me if you do- refvemma@gmail.com

So today was grit day and I want to blog all about it and all about the days that I've missed in the blogging, but I am just too dang tired. I smell like truck exhaust/gas, and I'm wearing second-hand clothes, and I need a shower, and I need sleep and my stomach hurts. So maybe I'll blog later. As for right now, I'm gonna go take a shower. I promise I'll blog. But it might be after I get back from Ohio for Emmy's Wedding.

Yesterday was stressful because we had a test in Bio. It was very stressful, but it wasn't as hard as we all thought. My hand hurt so bad because I had to write two essays. I'm only used to writing one, so my brain and hand had to adjust. Then spanish was spanish as usual. Mr. Castillo didn't understand what I was talking about when I was asking him a question. It was frustrating, because he thought I didn't understand how to do it at all. Whatev. Then after school I went home and watched TV and sat around being lazy on the computer. I should have been studying for english, but whatever. I looked online for some music and a couple songs that I like. "Another White Dash" by Butterfly Boucher, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. I like finding good music. I want to buy some more CD's. I like music. I need an iPod or something. I'll ask for one for Christmas.

Today was a good day, I guess. We had a test in English but it was basically memorization because she told us everything that was gonna be on the test right before we took it. Calculus was calculus, more beginner work on limits. Pretty easy so far. Then lunch was so weird. There was like one beep of a fire drill so everybody got up, but Mrs. George told us to sit back down because it was a false alarm or something. haha. False alarm. Then there was a girl fight. It was a hardcore fight. The girl was pummeling another girl who was basically lying down in the booth with her head against the wall. The punching girl got in at least 10 good punches before the authorities got there. Nobody was doing anything! Nobody was screaming, just all the girls at the surrounding tables (including myself) were holding their mouths saying "Oh My God". It made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't finish my fries. I especially lost my appetite when I saw a clump of the girl's hair on the floor. Eww. I was shaking. The whole experience was so scary because I was right there and I knew the girls and all I could think about was how bad it hurt that she was getting punched and her head was getting hit against the wall all at the same time. Yucky. Anyways. Biology was good because we had a sub so I got my English and my Calculus homework done while I was supposed to be reading chapters 6 & 7. Spanish was spanish as usual, just like it was yesterday. During one of our role plays Zack and McKenzie did theirs about me, and it was something like: "who did you call? emma. why did you call that prostitute? because. where did you go yesterday? emma's house." It was funny. I was cracking up, because usually Zack and I are partners and we make the silly skits like that. Mr. Castillo was like "do you know what you said? It is a harsh insult." He was all serious. I totally knew Zack was kidding. I didn't take it as an insult at all, which made it even funnier. I bet I was blushing or something. Darn pale skin.

So grit day is coming up soon. That pumps me up. I like Grit Day. Then I'm going to Ohio for Emmy's wedding! That really pumps me up. I can't wait! Yay! Now I'm gonna go hang out and probably go to bed a little early or something. I need the sleep. I love sleep so much. With a passion. haha.

I am taking a respite from studying for my first A.P. Bio test to blog. So. Let me tell you about my weekend.

Friday was a pretty good day. We had a test in AP Calculus, and it wasn't that hard for me. It's just review. Then we had some more study time in AP Bio because we got our books. Then we had the entire period to work on our scripts in Spanish. My camera came out and the boys started taking model shots. Check them out: http://community.webshots.com/user/refvemma. Meanwhile, Tillman and I worked some on our script. We got the first 3 scenes- they were very short. After school I went walking with Ashley on main street. It was fun, and I'm glad that I finally got some excercise. Then I went home and got ready for the game, and then Ashley came and picked me up. There was a bit of drama about the rides, but I think it got a little settled... I hope. The game was fun, and long. It was fun sittin w/ Ashley and Sami and Preston and Evan and McKenzie and Nancy. We got to shake these shakers that the cheerleaders made. They were fun. Towards the end of the game, we started yelling: "put taylor in" because he hadn't played the whole game. Then they put him in (not because of us... haha) and we cheered really loudly and stood up. It was funny. I think that was the first time I paid a lot of attention to an actual play. I sometimes pay attention to the ball after it's thrown or something, but I never see a play from beginning to end. It was pretty cool. I was really hyper at the game, and I don't know why. After the game, we waited for Taylor to come out of the locker room and then we went to TJ's Zesty Italian. I didn't even know this place existed, but apparently it's been there the whole time I've lived in MA. Weird. I calmed down and I had to go home right afterwards because my curfew was midnight.

On Saturday, I woke up at like 10:30. I love sleeping in. Then Dad and I washed my car. It was very detailed. It is very clean now. We waxed it, but the black stuff still didn't come totally off of my roof. Too bad. So my car doesn't feel as ghetto now. I can survive until I go off to college (wherever that may be). Then Mom and Dad and Jill and Charlotte went over to the Harts for a party. I went out to wal*mart and I got a cute track jacket and some cute shoes and a picture frame and then I went to eat at subway while my pictures were developing, and then I went back to wal*mart and I got a new cd (BarlowGirl) and my 7 or 8 pictures- costing only $3.15. That pumped me up. I came home and they weren't home yet, and Ashley called so we went walking again. It was fun again. Then when I got back at like 8:00, they still weren't home, and Ashley called again so I took a shower and then went to Taylor's house to hang out with Ashley and Taylor and Todd and Matt. We went to 89 Fun-n-wheels but Ashley and I just watched. It was funny to watch them. Evan met us there and then when they were all done with their tickets we went back to Taylor's house. We hung out at Taylors house for a couple minutes and then rode around... they wanted to go to Julia's party but that didn't happen because everybody left that party b/c it was lame and cops were circling it. Haha. Cops. Then Ashley wanted to go home and watch Soap Net and I thought it would be weird if it was just me hanging out with those guys because I was the only girl, so I went home too. I watched Noggin and then went to bed at like 1:00.

Sunday was a regular day. Church was good, Cleve's sermon was good. Now I have to go back to studying. I got in a groove and now I need to go over some stuff that I kinda forgot. I am over the hump of procrastination. It's weird. I don't think that has happened to me before. Whatev. Ok. Time to go. Hope you guys like the new template. I don't know how to put links on there, so sorry about that. I'm not very good with HTML and stuff like that.

As I get further and further into College decisions and things of that nature, Carolina keeps on rising up on my list. I originally didn't want to go there because I didn't want to go where 'everyody else' went. So I said no way. But then I realized that it was a really good college. Another pro is that Shmimmy and I will room together (!!!) if we both go there. Yet another pro is that I got the Morehead (sp?) Scholarship nomination (along with Alex... there's a funny story there, maybe another blog). I don't expect to win this nomination, because I know for a fact that I am not one of the 25 smartest kids in North Carolina. I don't have high hopes, but I do hope to make it past the first round. I think I can do that. But anyway. That's another pro. Another convincing point is that it is cheap. I hate spending too much money. I feel really guilty, and I don't want that feeling about the college that will ultimately play a huge role in my future. Dad finally admitted that the Corrolla that I currently have is really ghetto and he would think about getting me a new one but he also is thinking about how he is supposed to pay for Duke or Wake or Stanford. So if I go to Carolina, I might get a used car, and that is a hefty pro. Also, I think that if I wanted to go to Graduate School, I could go to a place like Duke or Stanford or Wake for that. It would be just as good. And I'm also thinking that I don't have to go to a big school like that to feel smart. I am not the smartest ever, just pretty smart. I don't even try to think that I'm the smartest ever. I'm most likely not the smartest person in our school. So why do I need to go to a huge school? I probably don't want to go to an expensive college to get a good education that I won't even use. I don't even know what I want to be yet. I just want to be happy with a job that I like and a life that I like. I don't even really like school all that much. I want to have fun. I don't think I want to have to worry about grades for four more years. I don't want to be a doctor or a lawyer. I want to enjoy my life to the fullest. I don't think that is settling, do you? I think Carolina is a good choice. I sound like I'm justifying why I can go to Carolina. I think I just want to get into the other colleges to see that I could go there if it was what I really wanted, but maybe I don't really actually want to go there. Does that make sense?

I don't think I handle stress very well.

I have a cold. I want to sleep. We have a big Calculus test tomorrow.

But it will be Friday. Halleluia.

I think I'm allergic to the Jr. High or something. I've had a cold ever since we went down there for english. We're out for english, but back down there for calculus. By the time we get out for calculus we will probably have to go down there for Biology. Who knows. I hate being sick. My throat hurts and I couldn't sleep at 2 in the morning last night. I promptly got up and took 2 vitamin C and 2 motrins. Then I went back to sleep. My throat is still scratchy and I don't know why. I probably have strep, and it will hit me on the weekend so I won't get to miss any school. I guess it's better that I don't miss school. Whatever. I'm tired and I'm starting to ramble. I'm gonna go watch the olympics. Good night!

So I got a 50 on that pop quiz in biology. It was the highest grade. Holy cow.

I hate homework so much. But not as much as pop quizzes.

Bod got mad at us because we didn't "take advantage" of our study day last week so he gave us a pop quiz today. I missed at least 6. They are 4.5 points each. That means I'm maxing out at a 73. I think that's a quiz grade. Maybe he will give me extra credit because I was very specific on the nucleotides. I probably missed way more. Whatever. Maybe he will not count it. I don't feel bad, because I went to Windy Gap, I had Calculus and English homework as well, and we're not having our test for a long while, so why should I study when I have so much else to do? Oh my. So basically Bodnar wasted another class period with giving us that gross quiz and telling us about the labs we are going to do. I don't like him when he does stuff like that.

Today in Spanish, like every other day, we didn't do a lot of stuff. We kinda chilled out until the last 15 minutes of class where he gave us a mini review on past tense and then gave us homework to write a paragraph in past tense. What the heck!? We totally could have done that as classwork. Teachers need to realize that they should utilize the time we already have devoted to that class wisely. Basically, I am going to school all of my waking hours. I have to go to 7 hours of school in the classroom and then I have to come home and do almost 3 hours of school in my room. Holy cow! I kinda understand the advanced classes like Calculus and English because they have to fit a ton of stuff in before the AP Exam. But Spanish? That really annoys me. Tonight, I have homework in every single class. That has never happened to me before. It is pretty much ridiculous.

I guess that I'm trying to say that my academic day sucked today. It sucked a lot.

So. Basically school has taken over my life and I feel guilty spending what little free time I have in front of a computer talking about random things. But I will try to post more often. I went to Windy Gap this weekend and I had tons of fun. So I will leave you with this...

"My Little Pony,
Hippie Rainbow Bag Pony,
It looks like I smoke weed
But I really do not"

This weekend was one of the more social ones in my experience. I went to a football scrimmage and then to Audra's for her's and Ashley's and McKenzie's B-day party, then I hung out at Taylor's with him and Preston and Nick and Evan and Todd and Nancy and Ashley, then back to Audras, then in the morning I went home and took a shower then hit the road for H-K-Wheezy where I hung out with Shmimmy and Megan (!!). We had tons of fun. We went to see "The Notebook" and apparently I have no emotion because I didn't cry. I guess I just wasn't in the mood. So we hung out at Barnes and Noble and went to Target and had dinner at their Country Club and then went home. I fell asleep at 10:30 because I got barely any sleep over at Audra's house. Then we went to church, and Shmimmy said it was the most random Sunday their church has ever had. That cracks me up. Then we watched Sweet Home Alabama and then I had to come home to babysit for the Baloghs. Their house is nice. I heart their computer. Then I came home and saw some of the parental's Doctor friends. Then I went to bed because I was so freaking tired. Today was a regular school day, and I was almost late for Bio because I left my house a little too late and I had to rush. Next time I know that I have to leave at a little before quarter till. That gives me about 15 minutes at home. Max. Maybe I'll eat at Dad's office or something. I don't think I'll keep on going home. Anyway. After school I did some homework and then worked on College Applications.

I am quite proud of myself because I am on top of things with my applications. I got all the teacher recommendation forms ready to give to my teachers and I've actually read what I need to do. I'm gonna send off some initial information sheets to open up my 'account' at the colleges. I'm kinda nervous. I don't want to decide my future now. I want to wait a while. Too many decisions. Maybe I'll conquer my fear if I don't procrastinate. That sounds good.

So I'm sorry for not updating my blog recently. I guess I just wasn't in the mood or something. Who knows. I'll try not to let you guys down. Haha.

I wish my (best) friends lived in Mt. Airy.

Guess what?! I'm gonna sleep on the hammock on Friday night. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'll be at a party instead. Everybody and their brother's birthday is on Friday. Jill, Audra, Ashley and McKenzie. And some others. It's crazy. Anyways, I liked biology today. It was funny. I always like Biology until I remember those dang tests. Too bad. I finished all my homework today before 5:15! I was proud. And happy and fun times. I went to the v-ball game and hung out with the folks and watched Nancy and Sara J do what they do. I'm sure glad I'm not playing any more. It was such a waste of time. Whew. I can't concentrate today. Do I have ADHD? I sure hope not. I need to read my book. But it's not due until monday. Good thing. I'm halfway done. I should read some. Geee whiz I must have had caffeine today. I am typing too fast and my sentences are too short and jumpy. I'll stop now.

I love fall days. Today I sat out on the hammock for like 3 hours reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for my english research project. It's due Thursday, and I probably should have read it over the summer. I was going to read Catch 22 but it was too long and had too much stuff per page. It wasn't fast reading, because you had to pay attention to this guys ramblings. Cuckoo is much more mellow. I like it. I've read 134 pages already today. That's almost halfway through! Now I won't be as stressed on Wednesday night. So anyway, I loved laying out on the hammock. It was lovely. The air was just right and there was tons of shade and the pillow was really comfortable. It makes me wish I could just lie around like that every day. I think I'll make a habbit of reading on that hammock during the fall on nice days. It is mucho comfortable. Maybe I'll even sit out there when it gets a little colder. I could just sit in a sleeping bag. That would be so great. So I'm gonna plan on reading out there tomorrow after all my other homework. I get in a zone when I read. When I came in for dinner, my eyes wouldn't focus on anything. I was to zone-y. I get very involved in my book and I get confused if I start thinking about other things too much. Reading calms me down considerably. It is a very good stress reliever. You can escape your own stressful life and immerse yourself in someone else's problems or stories. I enjoy it.

I like fall. Today's and Yesterday's weather has felt very fall-ish. I love it. It is cool and refreshing and it smells nice. We leave our windows open to get the fresh air, and it makes our house smell so good. It reminds me of a time when I was very happy. I can't really describe it. It's not like I'm not happy now, I am just reminded of a simple, happy, stress free time. Like I had nowhere else to be and I had nothing else to do. The only thing I had to do was sit around and smell the nice air. I didn't care that I wasn't hanging out with my friends. I was my own best friend. I didn't need anybody else's companionship for just this one time. I felt very introverted. Sometimes I like being introverted and lazy. I forget about drama and I forget about school and I forget about being social and everything that goes along with it. I don't worry about whether or not I have a best friend, or if I'll ever have a boyfriend. My cares just fly out the window. Smelling this smell makes me feel really peaceful. I'm wearing comfy pants, which helps complete the relaxed feeling. I love fall. I love it so much. I hope there are a lot of peaceful fall days this year. Ones like this, where I don't even leave my house. I just hang out all day without wearing shoes. I stay in my pajamas until 3 in the afternoon. I accomplish things (my laundry). I don't have anything looming over my head because I've already finished my Calculus homework. It is at times like these when I wish I did yoga. I think it would make days like this occur more often. I like it that smells bring back memories. I also like it that this smell brings back good memories. I heard somewhere that the sense of smell was linked very closely to memory. I think that's cool. Well, I'm gonna go read some more in Catch 22. I might even switch and read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Who knows.

Tillman- rockin out yet again 

The Coffee Bean. 

Slushie- rockin out 

Nancy and Ashley at the Coffee Bean 

My ears are still ringing from the Slushie concert I went to at the Coffee Bean tonight. It was rockin'. That Tillman sure knows how to rock out. I got a CD and a free sticker and a free poster (autographed). Rock, rock on. Tillman said that when he's rich and famous and giving an interview, he will randomly interject: "Emma Refvem was in my AP Biology class". That's my 15 seconds of fame. More power to him. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

A picture of the clouds today... they were so pretty! 

Trivial Persuit pieces that complement each other 

So I'm back. I didn't really go anywhere specifically, I just couldn't access my blogger account. So much has happened! I wanted to record my feelings after coming home from GSW, and I wanted to tell you all about my hiking trip and all about Bikestock and all about my trip w/ youth to Busch Gardens and my new digital camera and so much more! It all happened in the two weeks I was bloggerless. Tell me if you really want to know about it, and I will surely blog. I'm hoping to turn this back into a blog where I talk about my ideas and thoughts rather than just journaling everything that happens. Maybe I'll do a week summary every Saturday or Sunday or something. That way I can post my thoughts during the week so you guys won't get bored with what I'm doing.

So today was the last first day of the rest of my pre-college education. What an exciting last first day it was. I have a touch of senioritis, and a touch of anxiety about all my AP exams in the spring. AP English looks like fun. Mrs. Goldwasser is my advisor for AA, so I'm already on her good side. Lots of fun people in that class. AP Calculus looks like it will be a typical math class, just hard. We already have lots of homework (that I should get started on) It's weird being in a math class withouth Nancy and McKenzie because they were in both of my math classes last year. 1st lunch has good people. All my friends to sit with. AP Bio was funny because Bodnar was trying to scare away some people because our class is too large. We took a test. It didn't count. Thank goodness. Spanish 3 is awesome. Mr. Castillo is cool, has a sense of humor, writes neatly, and we can understand what he is saying. There aren't any of my friends who are girls in that class. Just boys. I sit beside Zach Hill and Zach Ayers and Tillman and I sit near McKenzie and Anderson. I'm excited. I feel really low key in that class. Like I don't have to talk a lot or be very boisterous. I can just chill. I'm looking forward to it.

Senioritis kinda sucks. Seriously, 179 school days left. I hope I get over it soon.

HOLY COW

The Agassiz project presentation was cool. They used dancers and stuff and had some power point presentations. I liked it. Afterwards, we all sprinted to the drama workshop to see the final performance. It was hardcore. They turned off all the lights and were seated all around the room. It was pretty cool. Then we hung out at the fish pond for a while until the orchestra concert. We sat two rows behind NC's family. We looked at them and realized that it could only be NC's family. I know all of their names. Rock on! They have cool names. Then we hung out on the patio until Curfew. As I have stated before, I love hanging out. We played ERS and solitaire and listened to CDs. Then when we got back to our dorms, Monica had a praying mantis in her room. It was huge, but cute. It was staring at us. Katherine saved it and we put it outside in the bushes. That makes me happy that we saved an endangered species. Then NC and I stayed up until like 12:30. This morning was our last class with Uncle Charlie. We just IM-ed and checked emails and stuff. Then we had our last Area 3. We took some pictures. Then I packed up some of my stuff and then went over to Megan's room to hang out. Then we hung out and took pictures and ate Ice Cream with the science kids. It makes me kinda sad, but the fact that we're leaving hasn't really hit me yet.

This is probably the last post at GSW, because I'm gonna be hanging out with my friends until I leave. Adios!

As my days here at GSW are coming to an end, I am saddened. I am sad that I won't get to hang out as much as I can here. People aren't as readily accessible to hanging out at home. Last night, we just took my CD player out on Clewell Patio and played cards and listened to Rooney and 13 going on 30 soundtrack and Nickel Creek. It was awesome. I love hanging out. I'm also sad that I won't be meeting so many way cool new people. I'll miss that. I'll miss these people! It's kinda depressing. Today was our last Area 2 class. We had our last discussion about schools and what we'll miss and our system of distributing money that we came up with before. Then we took some group pictures. It was depressing. I liked that class a lot. We had some good discussions.

Today was our last 4th period "Philosophy of Science" class. We talked about conversation patterns and about how the general male way of talking is very athoritative and it is competetive and tries to establish a hierarchy while the female way is to relate to personal experiences and tries to establish community. After we pointed this out and had discussions, we kept finding examples. I was talking about my personal experience and Christian interrupted me to say something. It was classic. I couldn't get my point across, though, because Patrick started jumping up and down because he found it hilarious.

Today also was the Science and Mathematics Academic Fair. Our mirror group did a poster. Some people were genuinely curious, some were just too confused to care, and some thought our "baffling question" was totally obvious. But it was fun. We were going to play Christina Aguilera's song "Reflections" from the Mulan soundtrack in the background. Get it? Mirrors... Reflection... right. haha. Some other groups did shoelaces and some did bubbles (Megan's group) and some math kids did some cool stuff with "Six Degrees of Separation" and the Rubik's cube (they were showing a clip of a guy completing it in 18 seconds) and the physics of Billiards. It was pretty cool. I saw the guy solve the Rubik's cube while I was sitting right there. He told me that they provide new Rubik's cubes at competitions that are already greased up, for optimal speed. It was awesome. The knot poster was cool, because two of the kids that got assigned knots (randomly) were Eagle Scouts. There were tons of cool knots. Then I started talking to those guys about how I wish I could have been a Boy Scout because I want to burn stuff. Steele said that there was a coed thing that Boy Scouts does called "Ventures" for ages 14 to 20. I wish. I think I've already blogged about the injustices of Girl Scouts, so I'll spare you. Just check the archives. So that was a fun time. We took a cool picture of our group. Scott, Meredith, and I stood together and Meredith and I held a mirror in between us. They took the picture so you could see Eddie's reflection through the mirror. It rocked. Way to integrate the mirrors in to the group picture. Because they are a part of our group. Is it bad that I broke 2 mirrors through the course of this project? Maybe. But I sure hope not.

Now I have to go to another Agassiz project (this time it's an "Optional" Seminar- it's not optional for science kids). Then I think there's an orchestra concert and then we get to hang out for a while. I hope. So Adios, amigos!

So I did end up reading Jane Eyre, and then I went to the Academic fair for Social Science and English and Spanish. I learned some about Hispanic culture and had some good food and heard some good poems. Then I hung out in my room because I didn't want to see A Beautiful Mind. I felt like a loser. I didn't go to swing dancing and then I hung out in the computer lab until I saw that nobody was getting off any time soon and then I checked the action in Babcock basement and then I finally found a home in our basement watching LOTR 2. You can always count on LOTR. Then it was the final night of MSCL! It was sad, but I guess it was the only way they could have ended the season. Too bad Claire Danes decided to quit the show after only one season. That is depressing. But I still love the show! It was fun times and good memories. 

Today was a good day. I got to write a letter to myself that Tim will send to me in a year. (Area 3) It made me happy. Then I had to do an evaluation. I hate evaluations. They make me feel weird. I just don't like them. And I also had to do one for Science. It was so general and open ended and not fun. But that's ok. I'm all better now.

I can't wait to see all my friends again. Cheerio friends and Home friends and Church friends and friends friends. I miss them. But not too bad. I'm still sad to be leaving here. And when I get back to my friends I'll realize that I want to see my GSW friends. Darn it. I don't want to get my hopes too high about the greatness of this school year. It probably won't be that great. I think that this year will be different in that I will be able to talk myself out of my paranoia and depression more so than last year. I'm glad. I just haven't seen most of my friends in like 7 weeks. And that makes me sad.

So I'm gonna go make the most of these last few days here at GSW! ahh

Yesterday was fun. There was a thing that they called "Arts Happening" at night. The kids from instrumental music and dance and art collaborated and split up into groups and did very interesting presentations all over campus. It was fun. Then a lot of folks went to watch Carlos Fuentes play his "Fantasy" song that he composed while here at GSW. Everybody was blown away and amazed. I was kinda amazed, but I found it kinda chordy and redundant at times. Still, it was way better than anything I could have done. Way to go, Carlos. Then we had an informal discussion about college life for women in our parlor. It was kinda funny. I'm now tired of talking about college. I'll think about it later. Then we watched MSCL. 2nd to last one ever! Ahhh! It was very good. I'm excited and sad about the last one. I can't wait to watch this late at night on Noggin. Until the school year starts.
 
Today was fun too. I guess. Just regular. We went on a walking tour for the "Structural Cracks" agassiz group. We got to play Red Rover for like 2 seconds. I got to go over. And I broke through. Rock on! Then we had Panera in Area 2!!! I had the most awesome Tuna Salad Sandwich ever. And then we discussed our economic systems that we made up, and the one we chose ended up screwing everybody over. Someone who was arrested but not convicted of murder got the most money. It wasn't a very good system. It was almost too unbiased. At least the Panera was good! It was the best meal I've had in a while. I had Fruit Loops for B-fast and Dinner today. That probably isn't healthy. Oops! Then in Charlie's class, I found some more GSW/TWB connections. I love those. After Charlie's, I watched a movie called "No Man's Land." It was funny and depressing all at the same time. Too bad. Now I'm going to go read some Jane Eyre.
 
Word around campus is that our AP scores are back. I don't know mine yet because my parentals are in SC until Wednesday night. So I will be kept waiting until then. But I'm not that curious. It's funny hearing the buzz about school and AP scores and stuff. I find it funny, at least. Ok I must go. Adios!

So I didn't end up swimming laps or taking naps, but I did read Jane Eyre. I read like 40 or 50 pages. It is very interesante. I took a 30 minute nap after reading some at like 5:00, and it totally made me feel spaced out. I went to dinner all by my lonesome partly because I was spaced out and partly because I was spaced out and partly because when I read, I really immerse myself into the story. So when I'm not reading, I'm still kind of in their world. I don't feel lonely. Then NC came up and hung out. We had ice cream on Clewell patio and we hung out on the grass. Then I hung out with Brooke and Christine and some chorus folks on Clewell patio. It was tons of fun! I love hanging out. It's very fun times. So then I had to go to the Dance performance. It was really interesting and good. We were all sitting in circles on the gym floor and they came up and hugged you or something. You had to be there to get it. Then at 9:30 or so we watched School of Rock in the Gym. That movie is freakin hilarious. I like the part when Jack Black says: "The man ruined the ozone, burned down the Rainforest, picked up Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank." Hilarious. I actually stayed awake! I'm proud of myself. After curfew, we watched My So Called Life. I love that show. I went to bed at like 1:30, which is an awesome time to go to bed. You aren't as tired as you think in the morning!
 
So this morning I went to Pinedale. It was awesome. Totally awesome. Also, the drummer was too hot to handle. That didn't hurt. But the actual spiritual part was soo cool. I loved it. And then, after church, Courtney came to take me out to lunch! She got lost for a little bit, but she totally asked for directions. (way to go, Courts! you rock!) We got lost on the way home from Applebees, but it's all good. I got a camera at a CVS on the exit that we turned around at. (Sorry, I just ended my sentence with a preposition) After Courtney left, I hung out with Christine and Brooke for a few minutes. It was fun! I love those kids! Then I went back to my room and read some more Jane, and then Jessica from next door asked me if I wanted to eat Pizza with her. I did. So we had some thin crust Ham and Pineapple. Awesome. Then at 6:00 I made some posters with my Agassiz group. It was totally fun hanging out and making posters. We are so lazy and so silly, but we finished and it's not due 'till Thursday. It was way fun. Then I hung out with Ashley (and the Drama kids... kinda... but not really because they are an elitist cult) on the lawn. We did some cartwheels, we hung out, it was fun. Then I watched the end of Remember the Titans, and then I watched this way psychedellic band, "Art Lord and the Self Portraits". They were so weird. They're probably still playing. I took a picture. Then we hung out in here adn played some twister. Fun times. I had some good phone convos with my parentals and my sisters. I've been having some good phone convos lately. I like it.
 
So sorry for that rundown of what I did. You might be bored. Oops. It was an awesome weekend, compared to the other weekends. Well, the other weekends added up. This one had the best overall score. I'm starting to get a little sad that we have to leave on Saturday. I love these people here. I like meeting new people and hanging out with them. It is so fun. I am looking forward to school too. But I know that I will probably get sick of school really quick. But I never really got out of the school groove, so I'll hit the ground running at the beginning of the school year. You know, when everybody else is remarking on how they forgot how to write and stuff. Well I'm gonna go hang out or something. Haha.

Supersize Me was really good. Funny and good and eye opening. It makes me want to eat fast food less often. It was great that we walked there. At least I got some excersize. But we ate pizza afterwards. Haha. I decided that if I lived in California, when I ate fast food it would only be In-N-Out. They are respectable in the Fast Food world- according to the book "Fast Food Nation." Way to go. After the movie, I could have seen "Bowling for Columbine" but I didn't want two shockumentaries in one day. So I was going to go swim laps, but when I got to the pool I found out it was closed. So I hung out some more with the Spanish chicas. After room check I watched "Requiem for a Dream" NC and Helena and some other girls. It's very depressing. But interesting. Helena's words of wisdom afterwards: "Don't do drugs, kids." So true. I expected to have bad dreams afterwards, but I didn't remember them if I did. Thank goodness. I got out of both of my classes early today. Fun times! I have absolutely nothing to do this afternoon. I'm going to read and swim laps and take naps. Sounds like fun. I might also watch some TDF live coverage and stuff. I don't know. Adios!

T-shirts and designs have taken over Governer's School West. They are everywhere. We decided on our Science T-Shirt (i did the bubble letters). It is green with white writing. I'm excited! I'm only allowing myself to get three shirts. The GSW class shirt, the science shirt, and the MSCL shirt. There is a slight dilemma, in that I ordered a medium for the class shirt. It is probably going to be too big, because Leslie's small from last year was pretty big. So I ordered a small in the science shirt. Maybe one will be too big, or one will be too small. I need to go change my size in the MSCL shirt. I originally said medium. I think it is going to be pink with black print, but some people don't like that. I think it should be burgundy like Angela's hair. It is more 90's. The GSW class shirt is kinda cheezy, but I had to get that one. I mean, it is the main shirt. I'm buying way less than other people. Some people are getting like 8. Holy cow. Seriously- that is too many shirts in one summer.
 
The t-shirt phenomenon is affecting me, too. While I was thinking about the Environmental Club (which I'm thinking of bringing back to MAHS this year) and stuff we could do, I thought to myself: "we could totally make t-shirts!" That would be pretty awesome. I think the whole idea of an Environmental club is pretty awesome. I realized that I would like one when I kept trying to convince Interact club to do a project to save the rainforests. I can't wait. yay!!! I might have too much homework and stuff, but since I'm not doing volleyball...
 
Jessica said I should make a superhero for myself. I always tear down the signs for things that have already taken place. I love ripping them down. Especially those Chorus Groupies ones. They are everydangwhere. I am keeping the campus clean and flyer free. Yay!
 
I'm gonna go se "Supersize Me?" today. I'm excited! I wanted to see that. Crystal said that Alex said it was gross. I think it is gonna be pretty good. Oh yeah- and I gave in and bought the Summer Book. I guess I want the zine and I do want a place to put my pictures. Well I have to go put it in my room before we leave for the movie. Hasta luego!
 
Oh yeah- and Earth was pretty good. So was Pico vs. Island Trees. I got a sticker! They have a CD! They open for Dave Matthews! They went to GSW 2 years ago! Weird...

this is so freaking exciting! i can change colors! i can bold things. i can italicize more easily. i can number! change alignment! bullet! parenthesize! add pictures! IT IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE!

"i can quote things"

amazing. simply amazing. now i'm going to write my first real blog with these enhancements. yay!

So I didn't post yesterday. Sorry about that! Yesterday was pretty good. I wasn't as depressed. Classes were classes, and I didn't go to a 4:00 seminar. I did, however, go to a 7:00 seminar. It was: Right & Wrong: 20th Century Philosophical Ethics. It was pretty good. He is a funny guy, and he is easy to understand. (David Bruzina, an area 2 teacher). Then it was time for the Final Open Mic night. Hilarious. There was some pretty singing and stuff, and then there was the funny stuff. "Rectal Thermometers" performed. It was a bunch of really cool guys with really cool hair. There were no words. Just awesome guitar and drumming. Simon said it was a song for lovers. "If you're with the one you love, let them know. If you're not with the one you love, love the one you're with." Something like that. Oh it was awesome. Almost more awesome than the actual playing was the "mosh pit." While moshing, Logan tried (unsuccessfully) to crowd surf, and Mikey fell down on to me and Jessica. NC put her head on his shoulder, and he scooted over. What a character. When Mikey was falling, it took a really long time but we couldn't do anything about it. Haha. Then Kaila and Mikey and Alex did an interpretive dance/reading of "I Believe I can Fly". Funny stuff. It was an awesome last Open Mic.

The past two days of class we've been discussing why the sky is blue. that is a total of 2 and 1/2 hours discussing this. It is very interesting. And confusing. And we have homework for it. But it's just a response. Not that bad. The time flies by really fast in that class. Ryan is very opinionated and loud and persistant about his point. Annoying at times, but overall it's pretty interesting.

Today we had to take our class picture for the zine, and it was chaos. They had the girls wear black shirts and the guys wear black shirts. I think they were trying to pull some order and chaos theme off, but it was generally not cool. They put us in the oven of campus. No ventilation. Just a patio closed in on 3 sides. It is too bad, because it was such a pleasant day today! So pleasant. So sad. So... zine. I think I'm not going to get the zine. Maybe I will. I have to limit these things. I'm getting only 3 t-shirts. You have to have self control with these things.

Today, I'm going to see "Earth" (instead of Chorus Groupies Unleashed). It is a movie. Rated R. For sex and violence. Yessss. Just kidding. I've heard it's supposed to be good. I like these movies we've been seeing. Except last Sunday's stuff.

So I wasn't as depressed after I called home. I was writing some letters and had to get some adresses. My telephone conversations have made a transformation from akward "I miss you"'s and "How's life at home?"'s and it has turned into good conversations. About normal things. I like it better now.

(Last thing- I swear!) I feel as if I've "cheapened" the quality of my blog, because I don't really comment on certain things, I just make it a journal. I guess this is so I can remember things. I promise I'll have thought provoking blogs in the school year. Because nothing really happens. Not enough for a whole blog. So I just wanted to tell you guys that.

Courtney! Call my cell so I know what time you're coming on Sunday. So I can take a nap. Or something.

It seems like I go through some sort of loss every summer for the past few years. Two summers ago, Dr. Burke died. I didn't really deal with it because I was at cheerio. I just pushed it to the back of my mind and didn't really think about it. Then last year Joey ran away, also while I was at cheerio. I am really sad that Joey ran away, but I never really thought about that one either. I was there with him since he was a puppy, and nobody else in my family liked him. It makes me sad. This summer, Will is moving to California. It's not like he's moving away forever, and I am going to see him for Thanksgiving and stuff. It just makes me sad. We ate at the Tavern today. The food was late, and I had class, so I had to leave early and it totally depressed me. I just said goodbye to Will at the restaurant and then had to leave him there eating and stuff. That really depressed me. Then we watched "Il Postino" and Mario had to say goodbye to Pablo. It made me cry. Goodbyes depress me. Right now it is raining really hard outside and I don't have any rain protection gear. It is kinda sad that GSW will be over in 2 weeks, but it has been great so far. Courtney is coming up to visit me on Sunday!!! Yay!!! (any time b/w 12:45 and 6). Oh yeah, we spent a whole class period discussing one Fermi question in 4th Period today. Haha. I doodled and just listened to what people had to say. I lost some brain cells because of the Dry Erase markers. Whew. They stink. Oh yeah! Here's my schedule:

AP English- Goldwasser
AP Calculus- Gray
AP Biology- Bodnar
Spanish 3- Castillo

AP English- Goldwasser
AP Calculus- Gray
AP Biology- Bodnar
Earth & Environmental Science- ?

Holy cow. Fun times. haha.

It seems that when I'm feeling a little sad and I have the radio playing, I always hear the same song. It makes me even more sad. I hate it when that happens. Today was pretty uninteresting. Yesterday, I went to church at Pinedale. It was really good. They have an 11:00 worship service for teens! It is youth led, and then the youth minister speaks at the end. The kids were very welcoming and had conversations with us. The youth pastor, on the other hand, didn't even acknowledge us. His 'sermon' was a little weird too. He was talking about how he doesn't have any time because he has so much to do and he wants to meet with the youth and stuff. It wasn't very good. And, they kept using the word "Extreme" which, according to Best Month Ever, has reached the "End of the Trend". When it is used for deodorants, it has gone too far. But everything else was really good. I'm going there next week. Plus, if I ever want to come down one time, I'm not that far away! But I like my church a ton a ton a ton. Anyways, after church and lunch, I went to see "Breathless", only Matt's tape broke. So we ended up watching this hecka weird movie called "Personas". Totally weird. Nobody understood it. Then at 7:00 I went to watch "Contempt". Holy cow. They spent 3/4 of the movie asking each other why she didn't love him anymore. It was ridiculous. Then after that movie, I went back to my room and organized stuff and read some stuff. Pretty low key.

I was pretty depressed yesterday. I don't really know why. I guess it's because my friends and my sister get to go to Sharptop cove, and because Will is moving to California, and probably because of that weird Personas movie. I wasn't depressed before it. But I was a hermit afterwards. It was annoying. I wish I wasn't depressed. It's so.... depressing. Whatever. I'm gonna go play cards tonight. Premier of I love the 90's is today! Courtney's taping it so I can go to TA/C-Student Feud. (Think Family Feud) If it's loser, I'm gonna go do something else. Adios! Hasta manana!

i am dissapointed in the comment leaving. it isn't happening. seriously, folks. comment! let me know you love me! or just email me. refvemma@gmail.com

Like Water for Chocolate is one funny film. We watched it as the finale in our "Latin American Film Festival." It stars the girl that plays a mexican girl on Bottle Rocket. There were some hillarious scenes. At one point, when we thought something bad was going to happen, I said "Oh Shit." and then Megan said "Well, Damn." and then Jessica wanted to feel cool so she said "Hell." Haha. Then I would look at Jessica and say "manana" and she would crack up. It was hilarious.

While on our way back, It turned out to be really windy. Really windy. I knew a storm was brewing. Keith, Jessica, Julie, and I hung out on the sidewalk because we love storms. It was thundering and a siren was going and I could hear sounds from a racetrack that sounded like a tornado. It was creepy and way cool all at the same time. It started raining, so we stood in the doorway of Clewell, feeling the really really nice cool breeze. I went upstairs and then it started thundering really close. One was like right outside our window. It was really really loud. I heard some great thunders today. I'm very happy. Then Gina, Adrienne, and I watched the lightning from the windows. It was awesome! I want to be a storm chaser, but not really. It seems a little dangerous.

Then we got all dressed up for the Masquerade Ball. Basically a regular dance with costumes. I'm wearing one of Mom's old dresses. When people ask me who I'm supposed to be, I just hold a peace sign and say: "A 70's hippie?" It works. They don't ask anymore. There are a lot of 80's chicks out there. They are so cute! Lindsay and Jana are the cutest. Brooke looks pretty cute too. I love the 80's. I wish I could have pulled it off. But I took pictures. Now I need a new camera! Darn it. So I'm off to go to sleep because I have church tomorrow, and I have to wake up at 9:00. AM. So I guess this is goodnight!

The seminar about college life for women was informative. I had not thought of some of the things they brought up. I am still looking forward to college. They say the seminar is going to be ongoing, like if you want to know more they might have hall meetings or something. They talked about eating disorders and date rape and alcohol and sororoties and stuff like that. They emphasized the point that nobody is watching you, and it is weird to have all of that responsibility. One has to become good at scheduling. And one has to learn one's study habits. They also said that procrastination that worked in high school does not work in college. Like I said, I'm still looking forward to college. (in spite of some of the things that may go on) I still don't know where I want to go to college, but I still have a little bit of time to decide.

After the seminar, we waited in line for "A Bird of Prey." We got in! It was very sad and depressing. I just wanted to give the actors a big hug after it was all done. They looked so sad! I guess that means that they were good at their job. Haha. After that, we went and chilled on Clewell patio. Kaila and Bridgit and Keith had their guitars, and sometimes we were all singing along. I started making up a song about how depressing it was that all of these couples were forming and holding hands and stuff. Kaila took over because I ran out of lyrics and she had the guitar.

After curfew I went to Katherine's room to watch MSCL. Yay! It was a creepy Halloween episode. I love that show. I'm all involved now, and I can't seem to stop! Angela and RayAnn and Ricky and Jordan and Angela's parents... it's so great!

Then I went to bed and had a bad night's sleep. I woke up at like 1 or something and then woke up again at 4:44 (i don't know if it was really 4:44, I just remember seeing a lot of 4's when i looked at my clock). I was so dang hot and I couldn't get back to sleep. It was really really really hot. I couldn't stand it! That's one thing that I won't miss. The heat. Seriously.

So today Maggie may come and visit me and Megan. Yay! Other than that, there's nothing else to do. Except the Orchestra concert and the Masquerade ball tonight. Fun times. Okey dokey. Nothing else to say. ttfn!

Hello, all! Yesterday I went to see the Drama performance: "War Daddy." It was depressing, because it was about children fighting a war of which nobody knows the origin. They were really good. Some of them were better than others. The kids that played the "twins" were perfect. The guy who did a creepy laugh was really good too. Tonight is the other performance by the rest of the drama kids. It is called "A Bird of Prey." After the play last night we went to Clewell patio and heard "Susan and the Wise Men," a bluegrass band made up of faculty members. It's funny, because the only girl in the band's name is Susan Wiseman. Haha. It was really good! I took some pictures. I need to get better at taking pictures. I like taking snapshots. I can't wait until I get my digital camera. I always take bad pictures and wish that I could delete them. I can't wait for its arrival. So that was fun times. Today was run for the borders. I didn't get anything, but I had fun absorbing the atmosphere of Great Outdoor provisions. I also had some good pizza. Right now I have to leave for a seminar for girls about college life. fun times. hasta manana!

It's college week here at GSW, and I've been thinking about my future. I went to a seminar where TA/Cs talked about their college experiences and we could ask them questions if we wanted. There were some interesting points. The only thing I've really discovered is that I want to study abroad, preferably in Australia or Costa Rica. I've also thought about doing something with environmental science. That interests me. There was a college fair in the Cold Gym today, and I got info from Elon, Duke, and Wake. I didn't get Carolina stuff because I already went to Carolina 101. I forgot that it was college day when I was getting dressed, and I ended up wearing my Carolina shirt. Haha. I wore my backpack on my front rather than my back because I didn't want the other colleges to get jealous. There is a seminar for just girls to ask questions about college tomorrow, and I'm going to that too. College seems exciting. I can't believe I'll be going in a little more than a year. Weeeeird. But cool! I'm out.

Today the East NS kids came over to watch Neal's talk. They are very "snubby". We decided that they probably think of West as the "South" and East as "North". If we are using the Civil War as a reference. Damn Yankees. I hate it when people try to make themselves sound better than other people. They were telling us all the reasons East was better. I don't really care anymore. I like it here, and I like the people, and I'm having fun. I'm also kinda depressed and sad and feeling random. But I do have a good feeling about the upcoming school year. And college. We had a seminar today where the TA/Cs talked about college and answered any questions we had about college and choosing a college and what you do while you're there. It was good. Tomorrow there aren't any seminars, but there will be representatives from colleges in the Hot Gym. Maybe I'll get some free stuff! Haha. I'm also going to go see the play tomorrow. Those drama kids are very elitist. They are an elitist cult. Haha. They really are! They assimilated right into the East people. But they are good actors. Well I'm gonna go to sleep now. Ta-ta for now!

I miss watching "Le Tour De France". I miss Lance and Jan and everybody else. I'm wearing my Lance bracelet that says "LIVESTRONG". It was Dad's, but he gave it to me. I like it! As well as being a cool accessory, it supports Lance's foundation. You go, Lance.

So I'm back at Gov's School. It is weird how quickly I've gotten back into the routine. I'm back in the flow. I can't believe it's already halfway over! It makes me sad in some ways, but at least I've enjoyed my first three weeks. I'm glad that I'm making the most of this stuff.

I'm gonna go listen to Paul Simon in my sweltering dorm room. It's sweltering. Hot as hades. Very very hot. The fan doesn't cut it.

My So Called Life tonight! Yay!

I have watched a lot of movies this weekend. I thought I'd tell you which ones. Friday: Spiderman 2. Saturday: Pretty in Pink, Mass Appeal (actually it was a play up at Levering Orchard), and Donnie Darko. Sunday: Zoolander. Monday: Donnie Darko again (actually i'm going to go watch that after i'm done blogging...). That's a lot! I went up to cheerio yesterday to see the fireworks. The actual fireworks were kinda lame, but I got to see all my old buddies. Yay!!! I can't wait for next year and all of the JCA reunions. I'm an honorary JCA. I need to get on the ball with these reunions.

That brings me to my second point. I am quitting Volleyball. I realized that my schedule is really hard and I don't really like v-ball all that much. Not enough to sacrifice study time or sleep. So that's that. The end of my v-ball career. Too bad. Now I'm actually kinda looking forward to school! Senior parking! Seeing everyone again! Fun times! Football Games! Busch Gardens! (that's before school starts... oops) So I'm going to go watch Donnie Darko again (for the 2nd time). I want to see it again before I have to return it to blockbuster. ttfn!

So I went to bed at like 10 or so last night because I couldn't stand being up any longer. This morning, Jill woke me up and informed me that I had to take her to work. At 8 o-clock. I haven't slept past 9 in 3 weeks, and I was rather tired. When I get tired, I get emotional very easily. So I started crying and told mom that I haven't slept in in 3 weeks and so she said she would take Jill. I feel bad about it, because now my conscience is getting louder. It told me that it was kinda bratty to just cry my way out of my job. I also felt sad that the first day back I have to drive, like I can't get a break of it. I can't escape! I still feel like a brat. I hate feeling like a brat. But I ended up going back to sleep and waking up at 11:20. Holy cow. That's almost 13 and 1/2 hours of sleep! Ahhh! Too much to handle!!! I was hecka tired yesterday. I had stayed up really late the night before and it was weird to be home. Hopefully I am rested and will return to my regular, likeable self. We'll see.

The Chorus Concert last night was very interesting. I really liked the boys' performance of a Japanese song. It was very very coool. (it even deserved an extra o!) This morning, I did my presentation in the Chad's class. Mom came to watch. It was fun times! Then we went to see if the chorus people were going to sing the Japanese song again, but they weren't, so we packed up some stuff for the weekend and then watched the Drama skits. They were hecka awesome. Once at home, I felt a little weird. First of all, I am apparently allergic to cats, but since I'm home all the time I have built up a tolerance. This tolerance dissapeared because I was gone for three weeks, and now I am being attacked by a runny nose and watery/itchy eyes. It started at about six, and is still going strong. We went to see Spiderman 2 (very good) and I was sneezing and sniffling the whole time. It sucks. And I'm feeling a little weird also because I kinda feel out of place. My sister has been sleeping in my bed and using my bathroom while I've been gone. I understand why, I just feel kinda pushed out a little bit. My brother has been using my car, and my parents are doing little to stop him. They say they don't want him to use it, but that's the extent of their control. "He just takes it." Whatever. My sisters and I got mad at each other after the movie and then my dad gave us a guilt trip about his spending 30 dollars on us for a movie and we immediately start bickering in the car. I feel like crap, and Jill basically tells me I don't have a right to say so. My mom is trying to make me decide between Cheerio, England, and Hawaii next summer. Holy cow. And I'm contemplating the pros and cons of actually playing volleyball this year. There is only one pro: It would be sad to not have 4 years of a sport on my college application. And the fact that I have some sort of obligation to play. Uggh. I'm feeling totally selfish right now, but I feel kinda like I have to. I hate knowing that I'm feeling selfish. When I'm thinking these glorious thoughts about everyone being unfair to me and not allowing me to be who I really am and all that beautiful stuff, I am also thinking that it is only half true. Way to spoil my own fun. So people are mean sometimes. I am mean too! I can't control myself. I wish I would stop. Ughh. I need to sleep. And take an allergy pill.

So I'm skipping the dance again. Only this time it's for real. It stinks like feet and b.o. in the gym and the songs suck. So I'm gonna go chill on the patio. It's more fun that way. Nothing special happened today. I watched Baraka. It was very very good and interesting. Excellent cinematography. I'm coming home tomorrow for the weekend! Yay!

So the seminar on "talking with the future" was really showing off this electronic suit thingy that a teacher had. It was interesting. Then we had to go see a dance concert. Very unconventional. It involved the tennis courts, no music, water, and black spandex, among other things. Then we hung out on the steps for a little. We heard some patriotic music but we just thought it was some geek playing it in their room. Turns out it was a patriotic band playing in the Salem Square. I listened to Stars and Stripes Forever (I had to call my dad to get the name of it) and the National Anthem. It was totally cool!

While waiting for Open Mic night to commence, I decided that I like it here now. I got over my previous freak-outs, and now I am really pumped to be here. I'm taking the classes as individual classes, rather than taking them for what I wanted them to be originally. Then there was Open Mic night. Totally way cool. These kids are talented. There was another parody by the Emo guys, then Eddie and Will played a song that Eddie wrote last week and Elena tapped to it (improv tap). It was totally awesome. Bridgit played another original song- way cool! And Rae and Xan played a song they wrote. They were wearing cool jackets. It was awesome. I know you don't know these people, but I'll just keep talking about them as if you do. Haha.

Today was a normal day, and I finished my power point presentation for Area 1- The Chad's class. It's on abortion. There was this Salem College admissions meeting or something but I just took the ice cream and left because I don't want to go here for college. The boys tried to get in by dressing up as girls, but the admissions officer got really uppity. Then I read some in Jane Eyre and then we went to a Seminar telling us everything that's wrong with our system of schooling. Holy cow. I took really cool looking notes. The Area 3 teacher sitting next to me told me it was the most creative way of taking notes he'd ever seen. I liked it because I could fit everything in one page and it didn't have to follow a certain path. I could add things every which way around it. It was just awesome. The stuff he said was interesting and a nice thought. I just don't see how it's going to happen. It kinda depressed me. But it was very thought-provoking. It makes me want more for my children. And it makes me want to start really questioning to learn, not just to get by in the system. Good Job, Dr. Svi Shapiro, good job. Now I'm going to go to bed because I'm tired and people want to get on the computer.

Open Mic night RAWKED! There's nothing like extreme blogging to get your heart beating! It's t-minus 5 minutes until I'm supposed to be in my room across campus... AHHHH! I took some pictures. It was awesome. Dude. Ahhhhhhhh I have to go!

Hola, folks! Seriously, I'm in the mood to blog now. I'll tell you what really went on these past few days. On Sunday, I went to Pinedale Christian Church, which is a non-denominational church. Their teen choir was performing and it was really good. There was a girl there who looked about 20 or something but was actually going to be a Sophomore!!! Weirdness... ahhh! Then I went out to Panera bread with my family. It was really good stuff. They brought me a CD player so I can listen to CD's in my room. Then we went to Costco. What a huge place. I got lost a couple times and had to call the cell phones. Then I wanted to get these crest whitestrips because I thought they said they were 9 dollars but they were really 49 dollars! We returned them. Pronto. haha. Then I just chilled out and finished On the Road and ate Easy Mac in my room instead of going to dinner or the Seven Samurai.

Yesterday, I had to do an experiment with my mirrors and so I didn't go to a seminar. After the experiment we hung out on Clewell patio and had a very scientific conversation about how things rotate. Patrick brought it up. It was interesting that we could all have a conversation like that and instead of dismissing it as stupid (which Christian tried to do) we all contributed some stuff and were genuinely curious about it. I liked it a lot. Then we went to dinner and then we went to Exonerated. It was very interesting. After that I went to the computer lab to type up my mirror stuff, then it was raining so I went to my dorm room to get a rain jacket. I made an appearance at the Babcock party which was LAME-O. haha. Then I watched a couple minutes of Terminator 3 in the Student lounge and then I went back to my dorm room and read the essay for my Area 2 class and some in Jane Eyre. I watched the Daily Show at 11:00. I love that show. Some of the stuff is so funny. Haha!

Today I found another Camp Cheerio connection!! Mikey, in my Area 2 class, is from Boone and is really good friends with my friend from Cheerio, Jordan Horton! Yay! Now when I go up to visit Jordan, I can visit Mikey too! I love camp connections. They blow me away. It's a small world! I'm gonna go to a seminar at 4:00 today called: "Talking with the Future." Interesting. Then at 8:00 there is a required dance concert. Word on the street is that it's gonna be... interesting. Then tonight is Open Mic night again. I loved open mic night last time. It can be really funny, and you get to hear people and their talents. Bridgit is still way way cool.

Gotta go seminarize!

Today was pretty normal. Nothing special. I can't really type because it is so loud. I went to see Exonerated in Shirley today. Pretty good. Last night I went to the poetry thing, funny at times, serious at times. Generally cool. So I'll post later. I'm kinda tired.

Yesterday was a pretty chill day, as was today. I ran for the borders and went to Great Outdoor Provisions and Harris Teeter. I got a wide-mouth nalgene and a watch band. I loooove my watch band. It has hemp on the bottom. I like it a lot. I also got a wide mouth nalgene, for the simple fact that I don't have one. I felt like a phony buying it, though, because everybody here is getting one. So now I'm only going to carry around my beat up nalgene so I don't look like a loser. The guy who started the trend of buying nalgenes got the idea from me. I set a trend. Kinda. So I need to go finish reading "On the Road." Tonight is a poetry coffeehouse thing or something. Sounds like fun. Later, dudes!

My first celebrity crush was JTT. I say that because we are watching some Home Improvement something or another on VH1. Holy cow that brings back memories. So does Hanson. Total memories.

I like exclaimation points. And I like it when the staff poets say "shit." They sound so funny! They have tese really nice speaking voices and they are reading a sweet poem or something and then it turns ugly and then they say something with the s-word in it. Haha. Those poets.

Tonight I'm gonna go see Dead Man Walking. Tomorrow I'm gonna see Monty Python and the Holy Grail. On Sunday, I'm watching the Seven Samurai. I have watched so many movies, I'm losing track. They are really good movies, so I guess it's forgivable.

I need some posters. And room decorations. And a CD player and a DVD player. But Jessica has a DVD player, so it's all good. I do need some speakers or something for my disc-man so I can listen to CD's in my room. That needs to happen ASAP. Yay! I'm gonna go to my room and listen to some good CDs. I want to get the new Sarah MacLaugajlk;jslf; CD. I don't know how to spell her last name at all. She sings Adia and Stupid and Building a Mystery. I want that CD. I like to sing along to her songs.

So I'm going now. Off to other adventures.

I love you.

None of the disks seem to work when we watch DVDs in Hanes. I watched another one today. I have watched a ton of movies. I need to keep track of them. Today's featured film was: "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" or "All about my mother". It was sad but good in its own little way. I've exposed myself to many R-rated movies. Maybe it's good, but it also confirms the fact that so much swearing makes me feel gross. Uggh. It gets overwhelming. It's not as bad when it's in spanish and you read the subtitles. We're still not doing 'science', but it's getting kind of funny now. I went to a seminar on the Suzuki method for Drama. The drama kids were all standing very still and then he would say "speak!" and hit a bamboo stick on the floor and then they said some lines from Dante's Inferno, I think. It was scary! They moved around in these Japanese positions and it was all very serious and interesting to watch. I liked it a lot. NC is breathing down my neck and so I can't really type. Not like there are secrets, it's just weird to be typing with somebody standing RIGHT THERE. haha. adios.

So today (and some yesterday) I watched St. Elmo's Fire. I loved it. It was awesome! I love the 80's. a lot.

Open Mic Night was totally fun. Bridgit (sp?) sang an awesome song that she wrote herself. It was a christian song, and it was good. I like Bridgit. She's cool. She might be a star some day. I will buy her CD. It will be good. I can't really think in long sentences right about now. I don't really know why.

GSW is getting more fast-paced, and I'm beginning to recognize more people and feel more like it's school and a great social thing and more connected, rather than just being one of the crowd. I like it a lot. It's getting more and more fun.

Ashley's coming to get me so we can go to the mall this Saturday. Fun fun times.

Once again I'm frustrated with Science class. We will be doing the same old stuff for the whole six weeks. It is SOOOOOO redundant. Whatever. I'm having fun with the people here. That's all that matters. As long as I keep repeating that to myself, I'll forget I was ever mad.

I have to go read. I love you guys! You're cool people, because you read this blog.

So I forgot to write about the dance. At first I skipped it, because it was only just beginning. Then we all decided to go and have some fun. I had fun, for the first time in my dancing history. It was really fun!!! They didn't only play hip hop songs, but other ones. I sang along to "Ice Ice baby" along with many others. There was only one slow song and we kind of lingered on the edges until another fast song came on. The trick is to get in the middle of everyone, do whatever the heck you want, and ignore the people on top of eachother moving in sexual ways. Gross. Overall a positive experience. Great exercise. I don't know how to spell exercise.

So this is an unusual post, mainly because I am standing up while typing it. I've never done that before! Well yesterday I watched Psycho then Vertigo and then I hung out and then I watched "My So Called Life" in Katherine (a TAC) 's room. It is good. It comes on Noggin, so when I come home I'll watch it all the time. Well I've been doing some thinking. Here it goes. I find our "science" program at west far inferior to east's. It frustrates me. Why can't we just do science? I want to do experiments and learn about quantum physics like Alex. I want to learn fun stuff like that. Instead I get: biomedical ethics- and I don't want to be a doctor; philosophy of science- which is fine for a little while, but after a while I want to stop asking "What does it mean to do science" and actually do science; computer modeling- hello!?! I'm not interested in that at all. I just wish we could have had some choice in all of this. If given a choice, I would have gone to East to learn what they're learning. Maybe it will be more beneficial to me to have learned this stuff, but I would like it a whole lot more if it was what I signed up for. I signed up to do Natural Science. At East, they do that. At West, it's just questioning what we know. I like the classes, but I have a bad case of jealousy. Then I start thinking: What's the point in being mad, because I can't change anything now. I shouldn't be so jealous. There really is no changing it. I do like the people and the seminars here, I just hate that there is a difference between East and West and that we didn't have any choice. I wanted to go to East also because it was far away, which can be good and bad in ways. Basically, I just need to get over myself and keep reminding myself that there is always college and then I can take what I want. I like the Area 2 and 3 classes, because they were ambiguous as to their meaning in the Handbook. I thought Natural science was pretty striaghtforward, but I guess not. I am glad that I'm here, though. We are doing some good stuff in our Philosophy of Science class, though. We are getting to know a simple object really well. Usually in science classes, you get a glimpse of everything in science and then you can go more specific if you want. We are going to study and really know our simple objects. Mine is mirrors. They are interesting, if you think about it. So basically I'm just jealous of Alex, but I really don't want to be. Why be jealous? What is the point? I guess that's my problem. Well, one thing is for sure- GSW will teach me to keep questioning things. There are so many unresolved questions and theoretical discussions around here. I guess I just need to get used to it. So thanks for listening. Or just suffering through reading all this. It might not be that interesting, but what the hey. Only like 3 people read this anyways. Peace out, y'all!

Yo! Today it is really hot. Yesterday wasn't as hot, but I was inside for a lot of the day. I saw Frida in the Fine Arts Center, a.k.a. the ICEBOX. Frida was good. Interesting and good. After Frida, everybody wrote on the sidewalk for our "first impressions." Jessica drew Teen Girl Squad, and I wrote a quote. I love homestarrunner. "I met a possum" "I think I have a chance with this guy." Fun times to the max. Today I had 2 classes and then lunch, and while everybody else is at the Reynolda House, I opted out and decided to stay here. Partly because Nancy and Ashley are coming for a visit (yay!) and partly because somebody had to take the measurements for our sundial-esque experiment. It is so dang hot outside and so dang cold inside. I like the cold. Tonight is the Dance after the Concert. I'm not that excited about the dance... but whatever. I'll probably get really hot and go sleep in the basement. That sounds like a good idea. The basement is air-conditioned, while my room is not. I do have a fan, and I'm gonna do the ghetto air conditioning method by putting a bucket of ice in front of my fan. Maybe that will work, but probably not. Who knows. Well I have to go take another measurement on the tennis courts, so I guess this is goodbye. Email me so I feel loved! or just leave comments...

Today's post will be short, because I'm going to a seminar entitled: General Relativity made generally clear. Sounds like fun. In that really confusing kind of way. But seriously. So I'm still really hot and it's still really academic here. Haha. Unless your in chorus... but that's another story (inside joke). Well nothing is coming to my mind. Except the fact that boys who are open to a relationship here are waaaay more likely to get one than girls who want one. I don't want one, I was just making the observation. I do that a lot. But a lot of girls hang around guys and not a lot of guys hang around girls, get it? I just like hanging out. And talking about homestar. And going to confusing but interesting seminars. I'm also going to watch Frida as part of the Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. Or something. That's at 7. Tomorrow Ashley and Nancy are coming! Yay!

I usedt to think I was kinda iffy about pro-choice or pro-life and stuff like that. I discovered today that I'm not. I have an opinion, and it feels good to argue for it. I also decided that the reason I don't like 4th Period that much is because the teachers kinda blame us for not learning science the way they think science should be learned, and they don't pay attention when you are answering a question. They act kinda bored and are really... jerky... I guess... in how they talk and stuff. I think it would be fun if it were just Leslie, but it has to be Matty too. She is very jerky in how she talks and stuff. I can't really explain. It's just weird. My first period science teacher knows Coach Hayes. I feel like I've typed that before. So today I'm gonna go to another seminar: "Crystal Methods" and it looks interesting. It's about patterns and stuff. I skipped out on the music seminar yesterday, and now I regret it. They say it was cool. Darn it! I was just sitting here blogging. It's kinda hard when the computer lab is only open for a little bit. It's really crowded, too. I feel bad about typing for a long time when people are waiting. This computer has sticky keys. Like they are hard to type on and they stay down for a while. The actual keys are slippery, kinda. Weird. Don't forget to write me! Or send me things to decorate my room with. It is so bare! Until tomorrow...

So. The special relativity seminar was kinda hard to handle, but when I just accept that these things he's saying are true, then it's easier. We didn't understand what he was talking about at first, but we caught on later. It was very simple stuff compared to the bigger stuff out there, I think. I also went to a "Science of Scrabble" seminar last night. It was interesting. I learned of the chunkabet, but I didn't get to stay for the playing because I had swing dance lessons. Yes, I'm immersing myself. It was fun once I got a good partner. I learned the basic stuff, so I could follow, I just needed a good leader. I got some. It was fun! I learned some new stuff, and it gets really fun when you actually get it, and you know it's right. I danced with one of the Area 1 teachers, and he said I had good tension in my arms and a good bounce and a good understanding of swing. Thanks! It was great fun.

Today I got to go to Macaroni Grill with my family minus Kate and Dad. It was really good. They sang Happy Birthday to me Opera style in Italian. I loved it! My food was good, too. I got some awesome stuff for my B-day. I got some birkenstock earrings. They are little birks! How cute! I've used way too many exclaimation marks in this paragraph. Sorry. What the heck, it's my birthday! I'm allowed! I also got some DVDs. From my mom I received St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. From my brother I received Bottle Rocket(s?). I'm excited to watch them some time. Charlotte gave me the Switchfoot CD, which I am listening to at this very moment. It's good! I didn't know they were a Christian group, but I had suspected it. Their music is good and has christian ideas in it. It's not the stereotypical, or even typical, Contemporary Christian stuff. It's more the stuff I like. Not to overwhelming. Jill got me two shirts and "Andromeda Strain" by Michael Crichton(sp?). One shirt is a Slinky shirt from Goody's, and the other shirt and book are from Goodwill. The shirt says: "Inside this shirt is the Best Grandpa Ever!" Hilarious. I love it. Mom also gave me some shirts and shorts. Yay birthdays!!! Now I'm just chillin out before dinner and also before our required seminar tonight on something "war-ish", as my Area 3 teacher put it. Lookin forward to it. I really like this CD! It's good stuff. Ok, I will conclude this post by once again informing you that it is hot with a capital H here at Salem College. There isn't Air Conditioning in the dorms because Old Salem says that it ruins the historical stuff. Whatever. I'll just stay here in this air conditioned computer lab. It's weird that all the air conditioned places are places that have stuff like at home. Computer Lab, T.V. room, etc. Interesting. Ok. That was a long sign off. Adios, amigos!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!, write me some e-mail, happy birthday to me!

(refvemma@gmail.com)

leave comments so I know you love me!

My brain hurts. Halfway because I've been thinking a lot today and halfway because of those dry erase markers we used in Area 1. It's hard to type here. I can't think of things to say outside of the comfort and privacy of my own study. I'm gonna go to a thing on special relativity today, and it's gonna boggle my mind even more. I can't wait. I have to go to that now, so that's it for today. My birthday is tomorrow! Yay!

And here I am. At Governer's School West. In the computer lab. It is quite hot here. I wish we had air conditioning, but my fan should suffice. This computer lab is air conditioned, so it's all good. So much has happened the past few days! I can't even remember everything I've done. We have had some assemblies and some dinner and stuff. I made a homestar connection, because one of the girls on my hall said "rock, rock on" one time and I knew what she was talking about! We started quoting homestar stuff left and right. It was funny. I also made a camp connection. We were eating dinner and I mentioned something about Camp Cheerio and she said her friend was at cheerio and it was Maggie Lentz! I was totally excited. I love camp connections. Now that's just another reason why I need to visit Hickory more often. It's hard to think of stuff to say. I don't know what to write about. I think I'm gonna go hang out by the fish pond or something to that effect. Fun times! Write me or email me or something if you feel so inclined. Hasta luego!

Last night I visited Cheerio. It was weird to drive up there all by myself. It's actually pretty easy and simple. I know it by memory now. But I still want the directions just in case. I loved seeing all of my buddies. I just showed up and nobody official knew I was there until after the slide show. I have to say that slide shows aren't as interesting when you don't know any of the people in them. I miss my cheerio friends. I'm going to visit again on July 4th. Fun times to the max.

I packed today. Gee whiz, are you supposed to have that much stuff? I hope it all fits in my dorm room. I'm excited. I didn't realize that I had that many cool t-shirts. It's awesome! I fit my clothes into two suitcases, but there's a bunch of other stuff that's not in a suitcase really. I got some storage drawers to put random stuff in. I'm gonna use those next year at cheerio too, so it was a good investment. Now my room is really clean. Probably because I don't have any stuff in it. I'm bringing my Sesame Street and Rainbow Brite sheets. I was gonna go for solid colored sheets and a different blanket, but I just couldn't stray from my usual summer bedding. Cool sheets and my blue and black "Emma" blanket. Gotta love it. It's weird that I'm going tomorrow. I'm excited. I want to soak it all up while it's happening. I think I already told you guys (or you guy) that. I dunno. But I'm excited.

Today I got to babysit. We watched T.V. and then went to see Jerry Chapman and his buddy Jason (their band is "Life in General") at the Good Life Cafe here in good ol' MA. It was grrrrreat. We got an extra treat because Jason, as well as being a good musician, is a comedian as well. He's not a professional or anything, but it was hilarious anyway. (you know, I've been spelling hilarious wrong ever since I told Sara Hill that she was Hillarious... weird) It was great fun. I got to chill w/ Sarah and I got to see Anna and I also got to chill with Emmy. It was fun times. And I was babysitting all the while! Fun times!! Now I must go to sleep, because tomorrow's gonna be a big day. Yay! I'll post while I'm there, just probably more sporadically. Nighty Night!

leave comments.

I took a big step in growing up today. I got a checking account. It makes me nervous. I don't want to grow up! I have peter pan syndrome. Somebody told me they made that phrase up, but I don't know if you can make up a phrase like that. It makes sense, so I'm sure many other people have said it before. Sorry if you're the one who made it up. No offense. So now I have a debit card. I hope I don't start spending money a lot now. I don't usually spend that much money, compared to my elder siblings. They always run out of money. I like to have money saved up just in case I need it later on. I always talk myself out of random purchases and I jump at a sale. I always wait to buy clothes until my mom will be willing to pay for them. I will keep on with this theory until it stops working. I also got some traveler's checks for Governer's School. My goal is to not use them all so I can keep the leftover money. That's something else I do. If we go shopping and mom gives us all like 60 dollars, I'll spend only 40 and then keep 20. That way I have some clothes and I have some money. I always wear the same old clothes anyway, I don't really need new clothes. Speaking of clothes, I have to pack tomorrow for GSW. I will probably forget something. I usually do. I'm gonna go see the Stepford Wives and then pack and then go up to Cheerio. I'm gonna go see the Indian Ceremony and see all my friends (yay!!!) and hang out during the slide show. Sounds like fun. I'm gonna go get dinner for the fam and then it's off to VBS. Fun times to the MAX. I love 3 & 4 year olds. Cutie patootie's. (whoa, that brings back memories of the Rosie O'Donnel show)

Ok, I don't know what was going on with that post last night. I am excited about GSW. It's going to be so much fun. I just had a fit of Cheerio-sickness (like homesickness). I'm going up to visit Cheerio tomorrow, so it will be fun times. Sorry if it sounded like I didn't want to go to Governer's School. I seriously do.

I miss Cheerio. Governer's School is kind of bittersweet for me. I know it's an honor to be selected, but I miss my Cheerio Gals soooo much. I know that I'll have a lot of fun and make a lot of friends. It will be an awesome experience and I am really looking forward to it. I can't wait till Cheerio next year. But that's something that I'm trying to start being better about. I'm trying to live in the moment more. Last summer in England, I was constantly wishing I was at home, not paying much attention to what was going on around me at the time. Now that I look back on it, it was a fun experience for me. I just wish I had enjoyed it while it was going on. I don't want to look back on Governer's School and say that I wish I had had more fun while I was there. I want every experience to be like that. I'm really excited about GSW. Oh yeah, and I hate it when adults put that but in your ear about stuff. The choir director at our church told me something about Casey Pritchard finding her husband at Governer's School and that just plants the bug in my ear and annoys me. I don't want to expect anything exept for fun times. I have to go because Jill is being a huge brat. I hate having siblings. Adios!

It's storming outside and I just painted my toenails for the heck of it. Fun times to the max. So I went to Cincinnati this weekend to see Emmy's sister Claire graduate from high school. It was fun, except that it is cicada season in Cincinnati, and it was insane. The male cicadas are blind, so they have to make noise to find each other and they run into you and land on you all the time. I liked hanging around with Emmy's family. They have the same family dynamic as my family, except this time I got to be an older kid, because I was with Emmy. 30 minutes after getting home from Cincinnati, I had to go to VBS. I got to teach the best and cutest group, the 3 & 4 year olds. Holy cow, they are cute. I get to go again tonight. I have to tell the story, and they give me 25 minutes to do it in. Those kids have a 3 minute attention span, and the story only takes about 5 minutes. That's not so fun. All of my friends are at the beach. I'm left here alone to pack and anticipate Governer's School. I'm gonna go watch some more TV.

I am so sad! I put off posting for a couple of days, I was lying out at the pool (ok, is it lying or laying?) and getting burnt. Then, a couple days ago when I really wanted to post, the internet was down! I was so bummed. It was out for like a day and a half. My connection to the outside world was severed. Turns out our cable box and some connecters were a little messed up. Now it's all better, and boy do I have a lot to say. Here goes nothin.

Ok. Everybody thinks I am the palest person in the world. This is true, but only in the winter. In the summer, I get some freckles and some color and I don't look deathly ill. Nobody really believes me. It's partly my fault for lying (laying) out at the pool next to the tannest person I know, Ashley L. Sumner. Holy cow. What amazes me is that she puts on spf 30 sunscreen, and still gets tan. It happens to me too! I put on 15 sunscreen and still get some color. I guess If your skin is meant to tan, it will tan. Weird. Some girls lie out there without any sunscreen on and get FRIED. Others slather on the afro sheen or something. Knock knock... who's there?... SKIN CANCER. I'm a little toasty right now, but I lathered on the 15 twice and then the 30. I know how to reapply. Oh, and I don't feel the need to wear bikini's to tan. This is partly because I don't like my stomach, partly because of modesty, and partly because I don't need to tan something that nobody would see unless they saw me tanning. Does that make sense? I hope so.

It rained a lot today. I had to drive to Pilot in the torrential downpour, and I hydroplaned at least 4 times (nothing serious). I was slip-sliding away all over that road. I felt like I was going to die, and my nerves were shot even more when I saw a truck that had apparently slid across the road into a guard rail. That could have been me! I don't like driving in the rain. Especially at 8:40 in the morning. Not so fun.

I was playing hearts on the computer when the Internet was down, porque there was nothing else to do. You can enter your opponent's names, and I chose J-Lo, P-Diddy, and Dr. Dre. It is funny to say that J-Lo shot the moon, or that I lost to J-Lo and P-Diddy and won against Dr. Dre. It amused me. Haha. It's just kinda funny.

Oh yeah!!! I went to Wal-Mart today and got two more awesome dresses! I absolutely love going to Wal-Mart not expecting anything. Just a browse. That's when I find the best stuff! e.g.- Wal-Mart skirt from last year. These dresses I got are so cute and summery and lightweight and comfortable. I feel nice in them. A perfect way to start off the summer. I'm in a good mood.

Official T.V. show of the summer: Degrassi. I got hooked on it while watching it at Ashley's house for a couple of nights. It was the Every Episode Ever Marathon. Fun times. I just discovered that it is Canadian! How funny. I've watched it a couple of times before, but I never really noticed it. They say coont-doown, aboot, soory, a-gain (like "i gained a new dress"), and funny stuff like that. It's obvious the more you watch it, but it surprised me. It comes on Channel 122 (noggin), and there's a new episode tonight! It is the best canadian kid's soap opera I've ever seen. Ok, so it's the only canadian kid's soap opera I've ever seen. Oh well. Noggin plays really good shows. They used to play Ghostwriter and Bill Nye. Two awesome shows.

I got my Governer's School Roomate's name in the mail the other day. Athena Jin. It's getting so close!!! You must write me or send me a package this summer. Either one will do. I will write you back, I pinky-swear. Here's the address:

Emma Refvem
Clewell 320
Governer's School West
603 S. Church St.
Winston Salem, NC
27101

I'm expecting some letters.

I'm so glad I got all that out. I've missed blogging. Okey dokey artichokey. Leave comments. Seriously.