The Empire of Parkachii

It snowed a few inches on Monday. Yesterday, it snowed nonstop, and when I mean nonstop, I mean literally for at least 24 hours at an average rate of 1 inch per hour. There is over a foot of snow on the ground right now. There has been no school yesterday and today, and there will be no school tomorrow. A lot of transportation has stopped, there are lots of truck drivers parked in front of the Trail's End restaurant because they can't go anywhere. Bowling tonight has been canceled, and no truck drivers means I can't work tonight. It looks beautiful here, but at the same time it's really harsh. I think we're lucky we still have power. Then again, we haven't had any ice storms yet.

It was a little windy today, so when I was walking between the shop and the old office at the lumberyard, the air felt like it was freezer-burning my face. There are drifts that are up to 4 feet tall, and piles of snow cleared from the driveways are practically mountain ranges. If they were a little bit taller and closer to the big sheds, I would be able to climb up on top of the roof of each shed. Behind one shed, I found a gigantic drift that could practically bury the riding mower completely if it were there. I dug out a cave inside it.

Sometime, when conditions are right, I want to build a gigantic snow sculpture in the backyard, maybe of one of my bird people sitting on a throne.

Today in lifetime sports was our first day of bowling. We only had time to bowl one game. With my 10 years of youth league experience and current women's league experience, I came up number 2 on the top games. I bowled a 129, which is around my average, while another girl bowled a 182 by getting 5 strikes in a row on the last part of her game. I told her she should consider joining a league, because she looked like she could do really well.

After confirming my final reference for activities, involvements, and services and looking over my essay one more time, I have turned in my application for Truman State. Now I can wait for the day that I find out that I got a letter from Truman and let the suspense begin.

It's supposed to snow a lot tonight and early tomorrow morning. Please, oh please let there be no school tomorrow. I'm working on an elementary Christmas program backdrop, illustrations for the children's book in my language arts group, working on college algebra pretests to study for the final next week, and working on anatomy/physiology coloring packets. I'd sure love to have a day off to relieve some pressure.

It would be nice if I could see how my computer is now. I'm wondering when we can bring it back. I'm pretty sure after all the trouble I put the data center guys through, I should bake them a batch of cookies both for Christmas and as a thank you, since my FFA items arrived.

Oh yeah, I turn 18 on Sunday. Awesome. I wanted to take the driver's test at least once before I turned 18, but from the looks of things, my last chance of doing so will be gone due to the bad weather. I came up with a (not so demanding) list for both my birthday and Christmas since they're 12 days apart.

Cell phone with texting plan
Driver's test
2010 Ciruelo Dragons Calendar
Dragon t-shirt or hoodie
Dr. Pepper in glass bottles

I also wanted to have mom do something for a cake besides the usual red velvet cake, since she and I knew that everyone gets sick of red velvet cake. I think I'm going with the Dairy Queen Reese's peanut butter cup ice cream cake like last year, along with a trip to Fuji's Japanese steakhouse while we're at it, boy is that food delicious. I feel like I go to heaven when I eat food from that place, even if it's refrigerated and in a to-go box.


-UPDATE-
YAAAAAAAAY, SNOW DAY! My prayers have been answered! Time to get to work!

Well, I already got Left 4 Dead from tacster002 . I would like a cell phone since I'm going to college soon. I would also like a laptop if Truman State accepts me and I plan on going there. This isn't so tech-geeky, but a driver's license would be nice to get before I graduate high school. Next Tuesday is the last day I can try to take the driver's test before I turn 18 so that I can finally say that I took it. I would like for the (not so) family computer to finally be fixed. Actually, since my sister is graduating this year and my parents seem to have moved their data off the computer and I'm the only one who ever uses it. I might as well take it and the external hard drive with me when I go to college. That will save a load of money for my already low accounts.

Well, I guess the good news is, that D+ in my language arts class is a quarter grade, not a semester grade. My semester grade is a B+, and the quarter grade does not go on a transcript. I feel thankful for that, although I still feel like I need to raise my grade to get it out of the "danger zone" for my NHS membership. Now I'm back to getting paper after paper to write, and with constant college algebra homework, it's tough to find some free time to work on this secret story. Well, at least I don't have to read that book anymore.

Tonight was FFA Parents Night. As the chapter sentinel, I took quite a part in that. Our secretary was reading something and pronounced bestow like "bee-STAU", which made me think "Ich bin dein Grammar Nazi! NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!"

On Sunday, I'll be going with aerodotus to the school play in Tarkio, High School Musical. I'm not a fan of those movies at all, but I decided to go see what the play was like anyway, heh heh.

After Tuesday, Thanksgiving break will begin. Good, maybe I can get a break from all this homework, but I wouldn't be surprised if I had another paper or some more college algebra homework to do over the weekend, but I really hope that doesn't happen. Oh yeah, I'm still working on my Truman application essay. Seriously, I need a vacation.

It seems like things are crumbling around me.  Hooray, it's time for some negativity.

1. I realized I may no longer be eligible to wear the NHS honor cord at graduation because I missed the first meeting of the year.  It was mostly my fault, I do realize, because I tend to remember something better when it's in the high school announcements, and the time of the meeting was not in the announcements in that case.

2. The grade in one of my classes has dropped from an A- in the first quarter to a D+ right now because of a book I'm reading.  I don't skip any pages in that book, I am good at reading all of what is assigned.  The problem is that the narrator of the book is notorious for giving grossly long descriptions that, in my opinion, are unnecessary.  There was one run-on sentence that took up almost an entire page, and it described pretty much nothing important.  Things like that can easily derail my train of comprehension of the story, and thus I constantly fail the quizzes given over the reading every so often.

3. I've always felt doubtful about whether I will be accepted to Truman State.  For one, 2 classes of the same foreign language are required to get in, and I have taken none.  Even though I heard that you can still be accepted and make up for it at college, it doesn't get my hopes up much.  I have also noticed that I have been spending significantly more time working on the application for Truman State than I did for Northwest Missouri State, probably because it's more highly selective.  I consider myself only halfway through it since I still have an essay to write and a list of activities and involvements to verify.  Problem number 2 may also contribute to the outcome of my application.  But you know what, I shouldn't just give up because of all that.  I'm not going to find out if this works until I try it.


-UPDATE-

Good news!  I talked to my NHS adviser this morning.  Technically I would already be ineligible for wearing the honor cord, but she understood that I didn't miss the meeting on purpose and that I just forgot we were having one.  I thought that was very generous of her.  Now I just need to make sure that I be careful about remembering dates and everything else in the handbook so I can keep my honor cord in place.  I will make that one of my goals and actively pursue it.

Thanks to the great oracle of Google, I have found some summaries on each chapter of the book I'm reading that describe what's going on in modern everyday English.  It was a good thing too, because today I was given an in-class assignment that involved writing a few short paragraphs about the events leading up to the death of two characters and how they died.  I feel like I may get a much better grade on that paper, and hopefully bring my grade back up in no time because those quizzes aren't worth very much.

I don't really look forward to returning to school after a weekend unless I know that something good is happening.  I enjoy the weekends because I get to sleep in, and therefore get at least a day to get enough sleep.  However, I really don't like that my schoolwork always drags into the weekend.

Wow, 3 entries in one day, that's a new record!

I got home from a nice trip to Kirksville.  My main purpose of being there was to go to the showcase held for Truman State University, my other choice for a place to go after I graduate this year.

At Truman's showcase, there were different academic presentations being given.  I signed up for the one for art.  After meeting the chairman (who was missing two-thirds of his ring finger, haha) and talking to some of the art major students, we toured the entire art department.  I got to see the drawing room, painting room, sculpture room, ceramics room, fiber room, art history room, a couple of computer labs for visual communications classes (Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, etc., bingo!), and many galleries.  I was pretty amazed.  When I was at Northwest for Art Visit Day, I thought the art department was neat.  However, when I saw Truman's, I noticed a difference in work space and available technology.  It was definitely neater.  I will have to see my art teacher on Monday and tell her all about what I saw and how amazed I was, because she was the one who got me into Truman.  She attended Truman for a little bit before she started teaching, and she loved the art department, so she encouraged me to go see it.  Now I see why she loved it so much!

I got to see aerodotus while we were in Kirksville as well.  Together, we went to the main science hall of the campus, where there were live snakes (including a giant reticulated python), lizards (including gila monsters and geckos), and turtles.  There were also various animal skeletons, so I could be in that building all day staring at them and the animals.  We then went to Thousand Hills State Park, which is where my sister interned as a naturalist for the past two summers (she came along with us to see her old work friends again).  We hiked along a stream, saw some petroglyphs, and ate at the restaurant right next to the lake.  On the way back to Truman, we spotted a doe standing very close to the road.  The deer at the park aren't afraid of people.

I just started on my Truman application.  I know that I'm going to really have to buckle down on practicing driving, getting my license, and looking for good places to drive by myself.  I will also need to completely learn how to do laundry because all I ever did was sort my clothes and nothing else.  When I'm four hours away from home, I will need to learn to live more independently than how I am right now.  If I decide to go to Northwest Missouri State, which is only 45 minutes away, I wouldn't mind still riding back and forth, but having the ability to drive more confidently and less worriedly would be a very convenient thing that I would have if I practiced that.  The thing is, I don't like driving long distances and in bigger towns (mainly because I've never driven in an area bigger than Auburn, Nebraska, or the corner of Maryville, Missouri, and I'm terrified of the thought of driving by myself.  But that's just what I get for living in a small town in the same house my whole life, practically right next to the school, being antisocial, and hardly having a need to go anywhere.  I might as well fix my disadvantages ASAP.

I guess for now, I should make plans to prepare for a life that's a long way from home.  You can never be too prepared, right?  I guess I should also work on my portfolio as well.

Last week, my lifelong doctor had a heart attack and didn't recover from bypass surgery.  He was only 55 years old.  I was at his visitation today, where there was a lot of people since, you know, he was a D.O., and an awesome one.  I loved holding conversations with him.  He was just as interesting as my science/quiz bowl teacher.  If my parents plan on going to the actual funeral, I might go with them.

My Chinese mantis is dead.  I'm not sad, since I know that all mantids in this area are dead by this time of the year.  Only 1 generation of mantids is active at a time.  I saw that my Chinese mantis didn't look well.  She didn't have a lot of energy, her eyes were clouding over, and she wasn't eating, so I put her outside where the cold weather could put her to sleep.  However, the Carolina mantis is still doing well somehow.  I'm wondering why she hasn't laid her eggs yet.  The Chinese mantis was already pregnant when I caught her.  The Carolina mated about a month and a half ago, and the Chinese managed to lay three egg cases during that time span.  It's been harder to find crickets now that it's getting colder, however there are some nice days every now and then when I can hear crickets chirping.

Last night, my sister discovered this awesome add-on for Garry's Mod, called Ragdoll Slaughter.  I got the map myself and downloaded the dismemberment mod, and now I have loads of fun on it, especially when I listen to all the squishy sounds.  Anything in the map that has spikes reminds me of pit fatalities from Mortal Kombat.

Yeah, sorry this entry's not very exciting 8D;

Long entry is long.

First of all, one reason that contributes to the fact that I haven't been doing much lately is that the computer is still locking up and not starting up properly afterward.  For this reason, I'm typing this entry on another computer.  I sent an e-mail about the problem about a month ago and didn't get a reply.  I didn't want to call after the lock-ups became more frequent because I didn't want to be bothersome.  I was told that the message about the problem was sent again, so hopefully the computer will get looked at within the next day or two.

Senior year is pretty busy for me.  I filled out my college application ahead of time and got accepted (and got my first scholarship out of it) so I can get my housing information within the next week or two.  Even with a study hall, and sometimes two or three depending on when I'm done with chemistry and anatomy work, college algebra homework is pretty time consuming.

I already missed an NHS meeting and was late on picking up this year's NHS scrapbook (since I'm the historian), which would likely put me pretty low on reliability when you're talking NHS.  I have to arrive at the induction practice next week, so I hope I won't miss that.  I also need to get on with doing individual service projects and writing them down.

FFA is okay, not a lot of work in my ag class right now.  All we're doing so far is helping to renovate the crow's nest at the football stadium and the wood shop.  However, I'm still an officer there too, which means I need to remember to attend meetings and contribute to extra events that aren't required for regular members.

I think I have developed a solution to my forgetful habits: CARRY A PLANNER!  A while back in the summer, my sister found me a notebook that reminded her very much of me.  The theme of the notebook was "Sasquatch: Leave Nothing But Tracks".  It reminds her of me because of the fact that she's about 5 years older than me, yet she is a full head shorter than me, and I have bigger feet than both her and mom, so she calls me Sasquatch.   The planner won't be in any particular order.  Whenever I am informed of an upcoming event, I'll write down the category (General, FFA, NHS, etc.), detailed description, and (due) date.  Hopefully I will have less of a chance of missing things, and I'll be back on a stable track when it comes to being organized and staying ahead.


ON THE SUNNY SIDE...

It's Homecoming Week!  It's no ordinary Homecoming Week this time.  The theme is "Blue Jays On Tour".  Instead of the usual Pajama Day, Class Color Day, etc., we have...

My Music Monday - Rock your own way to a win!
Techno Tuesday - Technify your Blue Jay spirit!
Western Wednesday - Lasso the Gryphons!
Thriller Thursday - Moonwalk to victory!
Blue/White Hat Day - It's a Blue Jay tradition! (This is always on Friday, it wouldn't be Homecoming Week without it)

For Monday I wore my AC/DC hoodie that I got at the concert in Nebraska because it was the only thing music-related that I had.  For Tuesday I just wore bright colors.  For Wednesday, I just wore a jean jacket and a bandanna because I didn't have anything that was truly country (we're not country people unlike the rest of everyone else in town, hur hur).  Thursday was probably the best dress up day ever, even if not very many people dressed up.  I wore the clothes that were the most similar to what Michael Jackson wore in the Thriller music video, plus some things from his other outfits.  I even learned how to moonwalk for that day!  I was surprised that a lot of people thought that was pretty cool.  I went into the library to wait for my science teacher, and I saw him in there talking to the librarian.  Being the funny person he was, when he was done, he looked at me and said "Come on, Michael."

I began bowling again yesterday, after ending my 10-year youth league membership at the end of my sophomore year.  I am now in the women's league, and I am by far the youngest person in it.  Generally, everyone in the league are much older women.  I'd say the age range is around 40 and up?  Oh well, what do I care?  I'm 2 months and 19 days away from being an adult.

Also, did I mention that my female Carolina mantid ate its mate just over a week ago?  Well, I guess when you're a male praying mantis, love bites (no pun intended).  On the other hand, my Chinese mantid has laid a second of eggs, probably left over from her mate before I caught her.  Sometime I'll take that and overwinter it in the fridge too.  Lately, the Carolina has been feeding primarily on small butterflies and the Chinese has been feeding primarily on field crickets.  If I find something like a grasshopper or a big flesh fly, I'll put that in one of the tanks as something special.


Well, time to get back to work.  Gotta get all this stuff behind me!

Because I just got a letter of acceptance from Northwest Missouri State University today!  WOOHOO!

Yesterday I went to Tarkio with the FFA officers to the presentation held by the national FFA vice president.  I thought it was alright.  Between bells, I was hoping to see some of the students who "adopted" me last school year thanks to quiz bowl and various other dances including prom.  Oh well.

Well, I have three mantids that I'm feeding.  Both of the smaller ones have molted into adults, and I have just learned that they are male and female Carolina mantids.  I caught a giant Chinese mantid (Not my picture, that's just to show size, here is MY picture) at work last Thursday.  She started laying her eggs early Sunday morning when I was still asleep.  I plan on keeping the ootheca in the fridge over the winter so I can hatch the eggs in the spring.  It's about time the yard had a little more pest control.  What got me so into catching praying mantids?  Oh, I sort of have an idea, I bet it was Eldringhoff's fault!

Sorry this stuff isn't in chronological order.  I guess this is how my mind works.

Today I had an eye doctor appointment, around a week after I got my glasses fixed.  I'm getting new glasses, mainly because the pair I'm wearing now is three years old.  My vision used to get worse every time I had it checked.  Now for the past several years it's been remaining stable, which is one step toward getting LASIK surgery someday after I turn 21.  My new glasses should be ready in a week or a few, I don't remember exactly.  Once I get them, my old glasses will mainly serve as backup, since I wear my glasses all the time.  There is no form of shades this time, since I NEVER wore my magnetic shades.  A lot of the glasses the lady picked out for me either had frames that were too thick (I'd love to see off the side without having to turn my head) or lenses that were too narrow or block-shaped.  Finally we found a pair that fit my preferences.  My new pair will look very much like my old pair, only the lenses may be a little wider.  I mean, I put corrective lenses as a restriction on my driver's permit because my vision is so terrible.  I'd love to have a wider field of clear vision.

Well, There's no school tomorrow, and I REALLY need to get to drawing.  I mean, REALLY bad.

Oh joy, I woke up with allergies.  I felt tired all day.

Last week I horribly bent my glasses.  I was playing in the tennis court during lifetime sports.  The ground settled, so some parts of the diamond wire fence were higher up and had gaps between the base and the ground.  I was chasing a tennis ball and almost caught it before it slipped under the fence.  At the same time, I ran my face into the fence.  Ever since that incident, I've had trouble with keeping my glasses on my face whenever I would bend over.  I have an appointment at the vision center on Tuesday I believe, and I went on a special appointment today to get my glasses fixed.  They're now bent back to the shape they should be, and they even have new nose pads so they will quit sliding down my face.

Before the time my friend said she would give me her praying mantis, I found a young one in my backyard.  I'm sure she's let her mantis go by now, but that's okay.  Actually I have two mantids now.  One would think that one mantid would eat the other, but that hasn't happened yet.  They're the same size and all they do is stay on opposite ends of the container.  If one gets close, they will make threat displays at each other.  If one gets too close, the other will strike them once or twice and the first will go away.  I'm sure one will kill the other eventually anyway.  I've been feeding the mantids whatever I can get: blow flies, houseflies, hoverflies, small moths, and small butterflies.  If I'm brave enough, I could catch a honey bee or two.

9 comes out tomorrow!  My brother said we'll go see it during the weekend as a brother/sister thing.  Man I can't wait, that movie looks AWESOME!

Halloween is in a month.  I should plan on what cool costume I to make this year.  I mean, Halloween is my favorite time of the year, next to Christmas. 

http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/District0News.shtml?action=displaySSI&newsId=37299

OH YEAH, EAT THAT.

Seriously, I don't see how someone can drive and text at the same time.  I can understand dialing a number and talking on the phone, but texting looks like it's pretty hard to do while driving.  Also, I seem to never feel safe while riding with my classmates.  Generally, I'm the only one in the car who wears a seat belt, and I have ridden home at night while the driver was texting.

I'm getting senior pictures taken on Thursday, and then the very next day I have to send in a baby photo, toddler photo, senior photo, and other photos to the art room for the senior movie.

Also, okay, I hurt one of my ankles almost every time I run somewhere, so annoying.  Ouch.

Sorry this post is short.  I need to work on my essay for creative writing themes now

My science teacher/quiz bowl coach said the funniest thing EVER in anatomy today.  He was showing us the anatomical position, saying "So, you're standing like this..." and he stopped.  He looked up, and said "Hi bunny!"  We had no idea what he was talking about.  He said that there was a bunny outside his window.

I got to spend time with aerodotus on the day before he had to leave for college.  We ate at the Dairy Diner, explored the fair in the same town the diner was in, and then played Halo 3 all night with my brother.

I finally got my sleep schedule adjusted to where I need it.  Last night, or two nights ago since it's 1:45 in the morning, I went to bed at 10:30 and slept like a baby.  I had my radio alarm set at 6:20 and I was still tired!  What am I doing staying up late now?  I have to mow!  Well, hopefully I'll hit the sack once I am satisfied with this entry.  Maybe all the energy exhausted from me during the day will help knock me out again.

Darn it, this is too short.  Oh well, I need to go to bed anyway, good night.

Well school starts today.  Wow, senior year, I still can't believe it.  My schedule has not been changed at the last minute, hooray!

Saturday we had aerodotus and his family come up to the lake, which was a lot of fun.  We went swimming, boating, and tubing.  Funny, my sister and I aren't tubing people.  We usually get on the boat just to watch people tube, but this time I decided to go for it.  However, I was never a fan of speed.  I still remember my first time tubing.  We still had an inflatable jet ski at the time.  I was in the third grade and mom said she would get me Pokemon Crystal Version if I got on the jet ski, so I did, and I got it.  I went slow on it, I've always gone slow when tubing.  We got rid of the jet ski this year and got the O'Brien Super Screamer.  Relatives from our big get-together in July said it was much harder to hold onto than a regular inner tube.  aerodotus and I decided to try it out Saturday.  The ride was smoother than a regular tube when slow, despite being more dangerous when going fast.  Maybe that's because my life jacket was too big and I couldn't help my head bobbing around so much when I was on the tube (apparently my mom and my sister thought that was hilarious).

Well, I'm saying goodbye to summer and hello to school in 5 minutes, so wish me luck.

My display picture is Ridley from the original Metroid!  Check it out!

Transformers 2 was a great movie, full of action like its predecessor.

Yesterday I had quite a painful experience with one of my habaneros.  I went to check the plants to see if any of the numerous peppers were turning orange yet, and I broke one off by accident.  I decided to try it even though it was green.  With some milk handy, I tore it open and took a small bite from it.  It wasn't as hot as I expected.  I'm sure it would be a lot hotter when it's actually ripe.  About 10 minutes later, my lips started burning like crazy, and then it traveled up my nose.  I tried to get an itch in my eye and I really regretted that.  I was temporarily blinded by the time I flushed out my eyes.  Capsaicin, which makes peppers hot, is an oily molecule, so I couldn't get it off with soap and water.

Moral of the story: Always wear gloves when handling habaneros

I have an ear infection...ow.  I HATE ear infections.  My sister is moving out of her apartment tomorrow, but mom will be here to take me to the doctor and get some antibiotics for it.

I registered for school today!  All of my selected classes fit except for creative clothing, which I could care less whether it got in or not.  I got my locker and already put what I want in there.  Here's the schedule as of today...

SEMESTER 1

1. Art IV
2. College Algebra
3. Creative Writing Themes
4. Advanced Chemistry

-LUNCH-

5. Physiology and Anatomy
6. Ag. Structures
7. Lifetime Sports
8. Study Hall

SEMESTER 2

1. Art IV
2. Statistics
3. College Prep. English Research
4. Advanced Chemistry

-LUNCH-

5. Physiology and Anatomy
6. Ag. Construction
7. Study Hall
8. Quiz Bowl

I am the only one in advanced chemistry.  Last year I was in an ag management class with three other people, but being the only one in a class feels a little intimidating so far.  Oh well, I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems XD.  I'm sure I can get quite a lot done in that class and have more study halls there.  On top of all that, I can leave my stuff in that room during lunch since I have that teacher twice in a row.  Come second semester, I'll have him three times in one day thanks to Quiz Bowl, which is only the best sport EVER.  I need to get on with those open German lessons, any bit of knowledge helps in Quiz Bowl.

Senior year...wow.  So far it looks lonely up there.  All of my older friends are off at college.  I have very few friends who are students younger than me.

I'm in a happy mood today.  Everyone sing with me!

Moskau, Moskau
Wirf die Gläser an die Wand
Russland ist ein schönes Land
Ho ho ho ho ho, hey!
Moskau, Moskau
Deine Seele ist so groß
Nachts da ist der Teufel los
Ha ha ha ha ha, hey!

Man my mood is always something related to tired isn't it?

I haven't posted here in a while again.  I don't even remember what all happened lately since I was staying up so late for several weeks XD

I (finally) got my library card.  I haven't gotten anything from the library in ages, and I heard they've gone almost completely digital around two years ago, and now a card is required.  The old card cabinet isn't there anymore, it's all computerized.  I can find where a book is at online at home, but it would still be handy if I got the paperwork done so I can use the computers in the library, that way I won't easily forget the number.

Beaver Lake is the place in Nebraska where we have a vacation house.  Apparently a body fell in the lake on Monday.  The man was on a boat with some friends, and when the boat made a sharp turn to pick up a wake boarder, he fell in.  The passengers heard a bump from under the boat after he fell in, and he never resurfaced.  A dive team searched for the body and recovered it Thursday afternoon.  The man's injuries were caused by the propeller of the boat striking him after he fell overboard.

My sister's friend invited me to his Vent server.  He, his cousin, and I would play Garry's Mod all day and early into the next day.  I've learned to make some very interesting contraptions, mostly giant cars resembling parade floats (notorious for donning hood ornaments) and Star Wars podracers.  I have yet to watch Star Wars, but I like playing Star Wars: Episode I Racer for the N64.  If I'm not building things, then I'm simply making the stuff of nightmares in a private corner somewhere, so I can scare the crap out of the other two when they decide to come check out what I'm doing.  Here is one thing I made on single player.  That vehicle is so named because it can do well both in land and water...and also in the air apparently!  It can flip itself back upright easily,  It is literally an all-terrain vehicle!  Here is another thing that one of the friends and I made.  Look if you dare.

Tonight I'm going to see Transformers with my brother, just the two of us.  I just know that movie is going to be awesome.

My shoulder hurts.  That's because I went to the trap shooting range today!  It was another FFA activity.  I went to it last year and never forgot how powerful 12-gauge shotguns are.  We have a lot of hunters in this area, and I, not being one, am not all too familiar with handling a gun, so I decided to get refreshed on the drills.  I shot a lot more than I did last year, when we had a bigger group and I decided to be in charge of the clay birds during a game of Annie Oakley since I didn't fully understand the game.  It was simple, I hear someone yell and I push a button.  I decided to be more adventurous this year and join in the game the small group decided on, which was horse.  Dad came by to watch, and he even got to shoot a few rounds.

In other news, tacster002 has tempted me to play another full game on Super Metroid.  Curse you!  Now I'm playing Metroid, Super Metroid, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption all at the same time.

Two days ago aerodotus and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I finished the book beforehand and noticed only one thing different from the book so far, which is the fact that I don't remember the Burrow being attacked by Death Eaters and catching on fire.  I almost cried at the ending.  I won't answer why, for the sake of people who haven't seen the movie or read the book yet.

I am tempted to make a Team Fortress 2 map of some kind in Hammer Editor.  Right now I'm thinking of either a death match map or a capture the flag map to try first.  I had a territorial control one in mind at first, based on the original Metroid, being 8-bit and having BLU be Brinstar and RED be Norfair.  From some research, I read that territorial control maps are the most difficult maps to make, and that's probably why there are very few in circulation.  After that, I figured I would try with something simpler.

A lot has been going on again.  The computer has been freezing since two weeks ago.  A new motherboard temporarily solved the problem, and I learned that overheating is causing it to freeze.  Every time I turn on the computer, I open it up and point a fan at it.  I saw that the tube that allowed air from the outside to go into the computer was too close to the motherboard fan.  So I retracted the tube, shoved the computer back where it was supposed to be, and let the air flow entrance have as much room as possible.  I still have the fan blowing air at it, but I'll try it without the fan tomorrow.

In other news, aerodotus showed me the drivers' test route today, despite some roadwork being in our way.  We also ate at Pizza Hut, another rare experience of being at a restaurant without my parents/grandparents.  After that day, I should have a little more confidence in taking the driver's test whenever I actually get that scheduled in the first place like I should have almost two years ago.

I'm propagating my own potato plants now!  I just get a good feeling from growing plants you can harvest from.  My tallest sunflower has hit 12 feet and its head is almost fully exposed.  My habanero plants are growing lots of peppers.  I got the idea of propagating potatoes from an experiment in elementary science class.  I cut off a piece of potato tuber and put it in some potting soil.  After a day, I tried taking the plants already growing on some potatoes, pulling them off the potato, and planting them in as well, and that seems to fare better than the cutting.  After a few days of sunlight, they've turned green and now they're ready for a boost.

Oh, I entered my self-portrait and my painting in the county fair's home arts and horticulture exhibit.  The self-portrait got a blue ribbon and a blue rosette, and my painting got a red rosette.  I think the painting got a blue ribbon too, but it may have gone missing when we picked them up...Before the art was picked up, I worked at the fair for an event sponsored by the FFA: mutton busting!  For those of you who don't know what that is (trust me, I didn't know what it was when I was first informed of the event), it's bull riding for kids, except the bulls are replaced with sheep.  I ran the stopwatch there.  Every kid got a medal for participating and the longest time winners for boys and girls got t-shirts.  I took several pictures of cattle, pigs, sheep, and a horse when I was done, and then watched the greased pig contest.  I should have signed up for the adult division because it looked a lot easier than I had in mind.  I mean, all you have to do is grab one of the pig's legs and heft the pig up in the air to render it immobile and then drag it to the gate.

I'm still on a huge Metroid kick.  I finally got the internet with my Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector to work again yesterday, and downloaded the original Metroid on Virtual Console while I was at it.  I listened to and downloaded some music from Metroid II: Return of Samus.  Metroid II was the first Metroid game I've ever played, and it was a veeeeery long time ago, when I wasn't into the series.  I'm getting flashbacks from its upbeat dance music.  Today I sent Super Metroid from my Wii to tacster002 's while she was already being bombarded with Metroid Prime 1 and 2 xD

It seems that my biggest video game kicks come in twos.  There's Pokemon and Kirby, Star Fox and Fire Emblem, Earthworm Jim and Killer Instinct, and Metroid and Team Fortress 2.  Now I'm getting an idea for a drawing, with those games/franchises being the theme.  This will be awesome.

• Post ten of any pictures currently on your hard drive that you think are self-expressive.
• NO CAPTIONS!!! It must be like we're speaking with images and we have to interpret your visual language just like we have to interpret your words.
• They must ALREADY be on your hard drive - no googling or flickr! They have to have been saved to your folders sometime in the past. They must be something you've saved there because it resonated with you for some reason.
• You do NOT have to answer any questions about any of your pictures if you don't want to. You can make them as mysterious as you like. Or you can explain them away as much as you like.