Excitement!!!

I am so excited about the skating party Saturday. A whole bunch of my friends are going to be there. That will be so much fun to see them all and talk to them!!!

At the spelling bee tonight, Lydia did very well. We almost had to drag her there, but she beat Justin, which means that she is going on to the Br. Co. Spelling Bee (Justin is, too). Also, I got to compete in the older category. I beat Mr. Ulmer and Mrs. Schmitz, which is exciting. You should ask Austin how to spell umbrella, though. :)

Anyway, Dad just hinted that I should be thinking about getting off the computer--maybe even going to bed. I suppose that is something to consider. We have geometry class, piano lessons, and chemistry class tomorrow.

History

I think out of the 60-some posts I have made on this blog, the title that seems to pop up the most often is about history. I'm actually not doing too badly in the school subject right now--I like my grade, if you really want to know--but I'm still having a lot of trouble enjoying it. I have no fascination with the subject and would just as soon leave the past behind.
However, that is impossible. History is about real people. I was talking to a friend the other day about history, and during that conversation I realized that I should be thankful that all those guys way back then did all the stuff they did so that I could be who I am today. If Edison hadn't created the lightbulb or Paul Revere hadn't made his midnight right; if Calvin hadn't taken his stand against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church; if King John hadn't signed the Magna Carta; if Paul hadn't spread the Good News; if Christ hadn't come down to earth, died and risen again; if all of this hadn't happened and more, I wouldn't be here today. I should be thankful that I can sit at the computer with a light beaming from the ceiling (and the computer screen) with the freedom of speech so that I can write this, um, essay. I should be thankful that someone cared enough to tell everyone that the Bible is the Word of God and that Christ cared enough to give me life.
This morning's sermon was "God Has a Hand in History." Whatever has happened, whether it was two minutes ago or 3000 years ago, God knew what was happening. It was all according to His perfect plan.
The topic for the retreat that our church is hosting in March (hooray!) is the Christian Worldview of history--or something like that. Right now I'm looking forward to hearing about it. In the meantime, I will diligently study my history book and try to remember why knowing the names of Chinese guys is important--even if I will never be able to spell them.

I'm so good. Maybe I should be a detective. :) Actually, I think it's because I can't keep a secret that I can find out other peoples'.

It's really cold out. It was so nice, and then it rained. I suppose I should remember that it's January and there's supposed to be three inches of snow on the ground, but it makes me really want to stay inside. In case you didn't know, it rained last night. Now everything's muddy and cold. Especially when you stand outside for two hours doing nothing.

A while ago, I was reading movie reviews at worldmagblog.com, and I came across this really cool review of Narnia. You can find it at allthings2all.blogspot.com, but you have to scroll down some to get to it. Or you could go to movies.worldmagblog.com and search the archives. Whatever, but I recommend reading it.

Story

I was going to tell you all a story, but I guess I forgot. I guess it wasn't really that funny.

I lost my English paper for a while yesterday, but I found it this morning. I was greatly relieved. Now the computer is getting old and really wants to retire, but we're refusing. Nobody knows how five people would survive on one computer. :P

It's really nice outside. I'm thinkin' maybe I should go outside today, but I don't know if I will.

Aagh! That story is floating the back of my mind, but I cannot remember it!!

Well, I'll tell you about my chemistry test. It was fun. I love doing tests when I know the answers. :) I was doing my history test this morning, there were four essay questions, I wrote three pages.

I can't believe I lost that story! Well, I guess I'll go talk about Rabindranath Tagor (that's what my English paper's about).

Guess What

I played Monopoly last night. Again. This time I lost badly. Eric and I were so broke that we joined and became one team with two pieces on the board. It was pretty bad. Austin thought it would be really cool to make up new rules, and it was pretty cool except for the fact that I always rolled a seven or eleven, causing the Menace to steal away all my money. and property. He took everything! It was kind of aggravating when Austin, who made up the rules, walked away with over $3500. Hopefully the next time we play, the Menace either won't be as menacing or I won't invite him to my property as often.

Day Under the Dome was good. Yes, Stephen was there.

Guess what! I got new shoes. They're really cool, as all new shoes are. They're brown Doc Mortens to replace my brown Skechers, and they're really comfortable. I love shoe shopping. :) Mom got tennis shoes, too, and this was all within the space of thirty minutes. I was impressed with how short of time it took. Dad wasn't, though. :)

The events of this evening... Monopoly! :)

Okay, I admit it. I've been talking about Monopoly an awful lot the past day. However, I just want everybody to know that I won!!!! That was really cool. I only had a total of 9 properties at the end of the game--Eric had the rest--but I had all the money, and Eric couldn't pay the rent on any of my properties, or at least the ones with hotels. I had the red and blue Monopolies, and Lydia gave up after landing there a couple of times. They both thought I had a lot of money, and it did appear that way, but it was mostly bills worth 50 and on down. There were a lot, though. I didn't have 100s very often because houses cost a lot. :)

However, we were unable to totally finish the game (i.e. make Eric mortgage all his properties and be unable to pay the rent on Illinois) because the truck arrived at exactly that moment. So I had to go count pigs. Actually, I counted pigs better than I counted spaces on the Monopoly board. Huh.

Tomorrow I'm going down to Topeka for Day Under the Dome. Eric and Austin are playing the "Third Little Symphony" during the noon hour, and we are buying Mr. Lukert his lunch. It will be a fun day...no school...seeing people...maybe I'll see Stephen, who I never see anymore but at DUtD. I alway forget his name when I see him, though. He should come to Horse...oh yeah, he did go this last summer. Hehe.

End of the Spear comes out in theatres tomorrow. I wonder if it will come to Hiawatha (or Seneca) or if we have to wait until it comes out on DVD. I think it will be interesting. I wasn't overly excited about the documentary, but it's a story that does need to be told.

I should probably go to bed before I ramble out any more nonsense. :)

The Final Result

Okay, so I lost that game of Monopoly last night. Eric, every time, starts winning after he gets a monopoly and just keeps pulling away. Even though I had the Boardwalk, Pennsylvania, Marvin Gardens monopolies and three railroads, Eric still beat me by a lot. However, I didn't mind because I was ahead by quite a bit in the beginning, and I stayed afloat pretty well until towards the end of the game. Then I suffered: first I landed on Mediterranean, where he had a hotel. Three spaces later I payed $450 on Baltic. I was so close to escaping his other hotels, but then I landed on Connecticut. That was the end of the game.

Lydia hung in there until the end of the game, and she had a lot more money than I did! Seriously! Grr.

Oh well, it was fun. :)

Monopoly

I'm playing Monopoly with Eric and Lydia (we're taking a break because Eric and I have to do our geometry homework :P), and I'm winning by a lot. It's really fun. Board games are only fun when I'm winning. It's weird, but I hate losing at board games. Anyway, I have the Boardwalk Monopoly as well as the Marvin Gardens one. I'm trying to get the Pennsylvania (green) Monopoly, but Eric won't sell me Pacific. Hmph. Oh, and I have a ton of money. :D

Post Mortem of Saturday's Events

I'm not really deliriously excited about Saturday's turn of events, but neither am I disappointed. I was pleased with how well everyone played, including myself. I didn't get extremely nervous, although there were some butterflies! I didn't think the duo went so well, but we were the only duo from CFS and had a really nice judge, so we got a pretty good rating and two months to improve. The badness of the duo was probably my fault; the pianos were horribly out of tune, and so I kept getting lost. We made it through the piece, though! :)

Eric and Aaron played pretty well and placed first. They even got to play during the award ceremony! That was pretty impressive. :) Eric also played well, and he placed first with his violin solo.

Eric also placed second in senior high classical piano solo with "Impromptu." That made me really mad! He didn't practice nearly as much as I did, and he beat me by five points! Actually, I'm not really mad. As much as it irritated me, I already knew that would happen. It happens every time. Two months ago Eric and I came to the conclusion that Eric would beat me, even though he wouldn't even have it memorized until two days before the actual event. Also, this means that I can stop putting in all that time on "Scherzo" and concentrate on the musical (and duo). Eric, on the other hand, has to work on three pieces for MAACS to my one. :D

Lydia also did well, considering. The piano was the same as last year, and it still moved. Eric and Aaron got the floor mats out of the car and put them under the piano to stop its creeping, but it still wiggled. I didn't notice it while I was playing, but I'm sure it did. All in all, the day went well, and I was pleased with the results all around.

I did see Les Miserables. It was well done; I was impressed with all the acting. Eric, Lydia, and I stayed for the cast party. We stayed way too late. However, I enjoyed it for the most part, and I'm glad everyone did so well.

'Tis the Night Before...

It's so much fun to use lots of paper. This is the beginning of the second semester of English, which means lots of writing. I wrote a lot. I also got to doodle and draw lots of circles. Some people call it brainstorming, but somehow I think it's supposed to be called daydreaming. :)

It's the night before. I got really nervous this morning. I'm at the senior high level now, and that's kind of scary. I heard a piano solo at MAACS one year at the awards ceremony, and I know I won't be that good for a while. I also have a lot of competition tomorrow. I have no hopes of making it to MAACS-- I'm aware of who my competition is-- but I want to get a 1 rating on "Scherzo." That would be really cool. I just hope I don't get as nervous as I did this morning. I also hope the duo goes well. We get to play to a special room because only one judge has the key to the only room with two pianos in it. :D

I think we're leaving at about 8:15 tomorrow morning, and we'll be gone all day. I'm hoping that we'll be back in time to drive over to Robinson and see Les Miserables, and I think we will, but I have to convince Dad to either go with us or let me drive. :)

We went to Jackson Heights tonight and saw my cousin Melanie play. She started JV and played the last quarter of varsity. KCC varsity slaughtered Jackson Heights. Did you know KCC is ranked in the state? JHHS is not.

I suppose that since I have to get up early and probably need a good night's sleep, I should go to bed. So I bid you farewell. The next time you hear from me, I will be either sufficiently disappointed or deliriously excited.

Music Prep

Right now I'm making a lot of copies of everybody's music. Mom and I went to the library and copied of a couple of songs (3 copies of each), and only made it partway through one. So we walked away with 47 pages. Now I'm finishing; I've completed making copies of the duo and am working on Eric's "Impromptu." I wonder if Mom knows it's twelve pages long. :) Besides "Impromptu," I have to copy the Green Vivaldi-- both parts. However, it isn't nearly as long. Then I have to number all the measures.

Thus consists my evening entertainment. It's fun, really. I get to use a lot of paper, and speaking of which... I have to load some more!

Book of 2005

And finally... the book of 2005! You all have been waiting very patiently, and I'm proud to finally announce the classic Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens as the winner. I really enjoyed this book as my first Dickens novel.
Dickens tells the story of a young orphan boys on the streets of London. Oliver mingles with all sorts of people, from an undertaker to a murderer to a benevolent old gentleman. He struggles with tempations, but he refuses to let evil take hold and clings fast to the idea that something good is out there. In the end, God blesses Oliver in giving him a good home and a family.

Terri Blackstock is my author of the year, and The Lord of the Rings is the series of the year.

A Quick Update

I'm looking at a long week of sitting at the piano for long hours at a time! Actually, my solo is coming along pretty well. I can probably get through with only playing it six times a day. However, the duo needs a lot of work. I'm just glad I declined to accompany Eric for the play-offs.

I'm trying to get my website presentable right now. It was looking kind of old with not much new. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of new stuff to put up there. Any suggestions?

If I'm going to get up tomorrow in time for geometry class and make it through my piano lesson (that should be interesting: the only thing I've played all week is "Scherzo"), I really need to get some sleep.

Farewell!

I will not be on the computer for a while, so I bid you all a farewell as I depart from the computer room for a long time! Well, I could be on tomorrow if I wanted to get out of bed at some ungodly hour (some may argue this point:P), but I don't want to. I would rather say what I really want to say on paper. If it's really, really important, I'll just tell you later.

For those of you who read the post that was up for a short while, I've decided that I'm going to practice the art of patience. I can do this. I know I can. :)

So long!

Good evening, everyone. I decided that since I've made enough of a mess on the Internet (no, I didn't reveal anything dirty about anyone :), I'll just say hi on here and then I'll be alright. :)

I didn't sleep all day today; I even did some school. However, I only went outside for about a minute, and refused to stay out there any longer. I still don't want to go outside, but I have to tomorrow for geometry class. Bummer. But I guess that's the way the clock ticks.

I found a couple new websites today. That's really cool. I've been thinking, too, that I need to do something about my links. I don't want to have a really long list of links because that would be tedious and disorganized. I'm thinking that if you really want to look at my links, you have to go to my website, where I'll have all my links. However, it might be a while before it's completed, so one must be patient! That's something I need to work on.

I've almost finished reading The Hobbit. That's what I've been doing when I haven't been sleeping. It's good; you should try it. Right now I'm at the part where Bilbo is talking to Smaug and he teases the dragon.

Retreat

Sorry it's taken so long to describe the retreat, but all I've been doing is sleeping. I've been sick and thus have been sleeping the entire day. The only reason I'm up now is that Eric thinks I'll never sleep tonight. I beg to differ, but I'm up now, for however short of time. I want to go back to sleep! :)

The retreat was really, really good. I enjoyed all the speakers. It made me realize that I do have a responsibility to encourage and mentor others. Whatever I do or say can have an influence on others. The prayer group that I was in was very encouraging, and I enjoyed every bit of that hour.

By my count, there were forty-two youth there. That's a lot! Representatives from OK, CO, IA, and KS were there. We were missing people from Sterling, Lawrence, Minneola, Sharon, and Longmont, but I think at least one person from every other congregation in this presbytery was there. That was so cool. I roomed with Anna and Sarah S. (there were three Sarahs there, all in the same house) in Matt and Amy's house. Saturday night we all sat in the hallway and talked until 3:30. I made it through most of Sunday alright, but I was glad to go to bed earlier (1:30) that night. When I left Monday, I was kind of glad that all retreats aren't this long even though the normal length is less than 24 hours. However, I was sad to see everyone leave. Some of them I won't see until April! :(