Tennis, Anyone?

This summer, I think I'm going to be playing a lot of tennis.

I called the New Jersey Senators' offices today about my applications.

Lautenberg: He didn't get a slot at all. The lady from his office said that they didn't receive my application. Which I sent in March. Actually, which my school sent in March, because of the ridiculous rule (that 99% of high schools don't have) that no transcripts or recommendations can be sent by the students themselves. I actually don't think that I'm allowed to have a copy of MY OWN transcript.

Menendez: I think the guy said that Senator Menendez only got a slot for a male this year. But I had to call from school (god forbid congressional offices make themselves available to their contituents after five pm) and I couldn't hear well. I also have a cold, and didn't feel like asking him to repeat himself when I could have been taking some meds or something. I asked if my application had been received and he said yes a little too quickly. I don't remember if I even told him my name.

That leaves Congressman Saxton. Who had a page last fall and is thus highly unlikely to get a page this summer. Plus, his staff won't even tell me if I made it to the second round (which they have known since April 14th).

So, instead I'll play tennis, maybe take a course at the local community college, hopefully make varsity, and work on a bunch of campaigns so next year I'll have a better shot. (Maybe I'll make a contact with someone who can make a contact with someone else, who...)

High Achievers

I go to a magnet school. Evey chance he gets, our principal is telling us (and observers from school districts from places like Singapore and Taiwan) that we are the smartest, hardest working, best group of kids around. Right.

Here's how I (along with most of my classmates) do my current events for biology. We're required to write one paragraph summary and one paragraph reaction, and fill up a page.

• Double space.
  
• Use full MLA heading (four line plus the title).
• Write out numbers rather than using numerals. (i.e. nineteen twenties rather than 1920's)
  
• Always include the FULL TITLE of anyone you mention (i.e. "Professor of pediatric neurology at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital, and the principal investigator on the study") rather than little title, like "Dr. XXX, a professor".
• Include at least one quote.
• Mention every institution named. So, if it's about people at Oxford, also mention the names of supporting institutions as well as the names of anyone associated with them.

Here's what our summaries look like: "I think that this research should be continued, as it contributes to scientific knowledge...filler filler filler".

Since our teacher only skims them, it doesn't matter to us.

Other habits of high achieving students:

• Writing papers no sooner than two days before they're due.
• Writing down the bare minimum for physics homework and then claiming we didn't know how to do it.
• Missing over two weeks worth of class each year because of trips and competitions.
• Facebook.

I just reread through this post and it really does make us sound like a bunch of lazy slackers. But we're not, trust me. We don't slack off when we're not completely overwhelmed. Maybe I'll post again after I finish up that lab that's due tomorrow.

Miserable

I had a horrible, horrible day.

First I got my grade back on my bio test. Not good.

Then I got my grade back on my lit test. Very not good.

Then we did some SAT prep in journalism. Really really not good.

I have a sore throat, and a headache, and a runny nose, but I can't afford to stay home.

Scariest words I've ever heard.

"John McCain is going to be our next President."

According to my dad. And my dad is usually right with his political predictions.

The Paper

Vague topic? Check.
Unclear guidelines? Check.
Unhelpful teacher? Check.
Lots of summary? Check.
Filler? Check.
Six pages? ...
...

I think my editing partner is going to laugh at it when she reads it on Friday.

My schedule for the next few days:
Thursday:

• Wake up, eat, go to school.
• Before school: Do five zillion math problems.C
• Class ALL MORNING. (try to read history day book in bio)
• Lunch: Print updated resumes, then work on paper while eating lunch.
• Class ALL AFTERNOON. Hand in badly-researched and -written journalism article.
• Get picked up by mom. Go to mall and Cheesecake Factory.
• 6 pm: college fair. Be nice to admissions officers for schools. Hand out resumes. Get bored and argue with mom.
• 8 pm: go home. get stuck in traffic.
• At home: work on paper some more. Imagine ways I would kill whoever thought up this topic.
  

Friday:

• Go to school.
  
• Work frantically on paper during free time.
  
• Attempt to skim book about History Day topic during class.
• Lunch and free: PAPER
• At home: PAPER and frantically review history day topic.
  

Saturday:

• Go to history day, 8-2ish. During approximately 4 hours of downtime, study for SAT-II Math.
  
• Come home. If home before 1:30 (unlikely) go to tennis. If not sequester myself upstairs and take SAT-II Math diagnostic test. Cry when my score is below an 800. Study some more.
• Worry.
  

I'm exhausted and babbling because I don't want to work on my paper. Sorry, editing partner.

History Day Emails

Advisor to me: You might be interviewed. I'll let you know next week.
Me to advisor: Details?
Advisor: You will be interviewed at ten am. I think.
Me: Is there a schedule?

Advisor to NHD people: Is there a schedule?
NHD people: Yes.
Advisor: Could you please SEND IT TO ME???

Wow. I thought only younger siblings did stuff like that.

40-ish to go.

Today was a pretty good day, I guess. Very blah, which at this point is better than a lot of other days. I guess it helps that I'm not yet at the point where I tell myself at midnight "It doesn't matter now...I'm going to be tired for the next 58745097 weeks anyway, so let's just keep chugging along."

I'm getting close though.

p.s. Ben and Jerry's was good. I had a flavor called coconut seven-layer bar. I liked it.

Free Cone Day!

One of my friends from school has never taken the bus home before, since her mom is a bit overprotective. After our final class today, though, which is Criminology for both of us (yeah, I totally failed that test. But it's not my fault--it was the last class of the last day before break), she will walk down to the lower parking lot with me and hop onto a yellow school bus to get home. This is a big deal for her. Of course, her mom doesn't want her to ride the bus alone, so she's coming home with me.

The original plan was that we would come back to my house and we would hang out or do homework or whatever until her mom came to pick her up. But I had that feeling that I was missing something that I was supposed to do today...go to Ben and Jerry's! So now the plan is that we get off the bus, drop our stuff off at my house, then walk downtown to get our free ice cream.

Needless to say, I am very excited. Who doesn't love free ice cream? And, according to AccuWeather, the temperature will be between 52 and 61 degrees* and it will be partly cloudy. At least it shouldn't be raining like it was yesterday afternoon.

Of course, since we won't get home until five-ish, we'll be eating ice cream right around dinnertime. Yum.


____________
*It is a testament to my school's insanity that I had to go online just to figure out what the weather is. Even now, I have no idea. Somebody told me that it's raining, but the Internet says it's partly cloudy. What gives???