Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Voting rights for DC?

They would have to change the license plates!  That will make me so sad!!

(And ps: how idiotic is it that republicans actually oppose this bill?  "No, actually, we don't want all citizens to be represented...")

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/us/politics/25cong.html?ref=us

Monday, February 23, 2009

Math classes.

I'm taking easy math next year.

It was hard for me to not take the highest level I placed into. Hard, as in I interrogated random people about what class they thought I should take. As in not deciding until ten minutes before the deadline.

But I know I made the right decision.

After I hit the "logout" button on the registration page, a huge wave of relief washed over me. And I've been happier all day.

In the end the choice was between being miserable or not being miserable. And boiled down to those terms, it wasn't much of a choice at all.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Noooooooo.

Nate Silver was wrong.

How could this happen???

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/02/oscars-liveblog.html

Lists. Probably boring.

What I wanted to get done, vs. what I actually did. Keep in mind that I have every intention of finishing certain things today.
  • SAT: I wanted to take a full practice test. I did study a bit for the math, but it occurred to me that I have two weekends before the test and I didn't want to sit still for four hours.
  • Math: I wanted to finish all the homework that I haven't done. I did one of the two assignments. I tried the second but had no idea where to begin with the problems.
  • Latin: The one subject I actually did! I wanted to study and take some practice tests for the NLE. I studied, took a practice test, and did well. Yay!
  • Medical Microbiology: I NEED to write my paper. It is supposedly due Tuesday, although the teacher only mentioned this once and half the class has probably forgotten. Five pages of writing in the first person from the perspective of a virus. I have about two sentences done. This is going to eat my time today.
  • Lit: I wanted to do the reading, and I did. I wanted to start my paper, and I probably will, because Lit is more enjoyable than Microbiology.
  • Apps: I wanted to write both essays. I wrote 25% of one. Oh well. Maybe later?
  • AP Chem. I planned to start studying. This was one of those plans that I made at the beginning of break when I had all the time in the world to study. In reality, there's no need to study before the morning of the test (Thursday).
  • History: Starting the project would have been a good idea. I'll send out an email to my group members later.
I have a checklist written out on my desk. Of the ten items listed, I completely finished two, at least started four, and barely touched four. That's not terrible productivity for a break, right?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Off

On break!!

Tomorrow morning, my dad and I leave to visit colleges: Georgetown tomorrow, University of Maryland on Wednesday, and Johns Hopkins and maybe Penn on Thursday.

It is supposed to rain and snow.

But I wrote the first sentence of my summer program application essay! And I read a book on Saturday! And I went shopping today!

A fairly productive break, but I still need to make a list of what needs to be done so that I can figure out what will be most efficient to bring with me for the 11+ hours of train rides. (It's dumb, but I LOVE trains. They're so much fun, for no reason at all.)

A sidenote:

Did anyone else see the headline of this article and think "EPIC FAIL" besides me?

Nuclear Submarines Collide in the Atlantic

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Things on my mind

Summer program applications. Should I apply to two programs? How do I ask my teachers (I'm awkward like that.)? What is my favorite book, for the essay? What classes should I take--stuff towards the core, or electives?

Family stuff. Things are happening. And I'm actually not allowed to say more than that. But it will have an impact on day-to-day life.

Personal stuff. I have a big decision I have to make. I want to say yes, but my nervous side puts my into a panic every time I come close to doing so. I know this is cryptic. But I have no idea what to do. And I have no one I can ask for help.

SAT stuff. Yeah, I know, boring. But I need to bring up the math and writing scores so I don't feel bad about myself. Especially the math, since FCS doesn't look at writing.

School stuff. I'm doing decently. My grade is a little low in chem, but it shall go up. I've finally gotten over most of my self-consciousness in lit.

Tennis/fitness stuff. I am so out-of-shape. I've restarted my ten-minute workout routine, but I've been needing to get outside and serve, because that always makes me feel good for some reason. But I cannot do that until the courts are totally dry, which they probably won't be until it's too cold to play outside.

Health stuff. My eating habits are terrible. And I don't get enough sleep. Bad combination.

It's weird, that looks like a lot written down, but it actually seems more manageable this way than it did jumbled up in my head.

I'm an idiot.

I lost my wallet.

Which had about $150 in it. In other terms: all my cash. All of it. The money I had already committed to spending, in some cases.

And my license. Which means I have to go back to the MVC and redo the ID verification.

And my Barnes and Noble member card. Losing it makes me feel like a terrible person, since my great-aunts pay for half the membership fee.

And of course, I lost it by leaving it on the bus. The bus! I left my school ID on the bus once, but never have I left something so substantial.

Here's what happened: I pulled the wallet (which I loved, by the way. It was pretty colors and had stripes.) out of my bag to buy a snack on my way out of school. When I got to my seat on the bus, I was in the middle of a conversation, so I just put the wallet on the seat next to me rather than putting it back in my backpack where it belonged.

When I got off the bus, I never picked up the wallet.

Idiot.

The thing is, I know for a fact that I had my wallet on the bus. I noticed at about ten-thirty that night that it was gone. I did not go out that night. I sat in my room all evening doing homework.

The bus driver did not find it when he did his daily check of the bus, and nor did I when I searched the next time I rode the bus.

It was left on that bus.

Now, I try to think the best of people. I know that I myself do things that inconvenience people and annoy the hell out of them.

But really.

You sit down in a school bus and find a wallet with someone's fucking license in it.

And you take it?

Initially, I thought that maybe a classmate had picked it up for me and then forgotten to give it to me. But it's been a week now, and no one has approached me.

When I told my parents, rather than being scolded, I was given a lecture about how every young adult needs to lose their wallet so they will be aware of how annoying it is. I hate that. If they had screamed at me, I could have at least vented to my friends about how I did one little thing wrong (not putting the wallet in my bag) while someone else did something big wrong (STEALING MY FUCKING WALLET). Instead I have to deal with their disappointed looks every time they ask if I've found it. Which totally sucks.

I still find myself spending inordinate amounts of time being annoyed with myself and looking in corners I've checked multiple times before.

I really, really wish I hadn't been so stupid, on so many levels. Keeping all that money with me (yes, it was the week after the model UN trip, so I have somewhat of an excuse, but I'm still an idiot), not putting it back, and then not picking it up. And since I'm committed to buying an eight-dollar T-shirt for National Latin Honor Society this week, and paying for two boxes of Girl Scout cookies I've ordered, and early next month paying for lunch in the city and transportation to and from Brooklyn, I need some way to get my hands on some cash. I may have to dip into my savings account, for the first time since it was opened, nine years ago.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

*excited*

The Model UN conference held at my school begins tomorrow.

I have put a fair amount of work into this. Nametags. Sorting flags. Counting folders. Moving boxes. Finding room numbers.

I am so freaking excited.

But nervous.