There and back again. . . the start of a girl's tale about Sound Foundations

As you may have noticed, I haven't written very much lately. Um, I'm not
about to go into some long explanation why, the fact is I seem to have
lost my "blogging drive," but I want to write some stuff about what's
gone on lately in my life before I forget it.

Depending on how well you know me and how much contact you keep with me
and my family, you may or may not be aware that I had the opportunity to
go to Indianapolis to take Sound Foundations. "Eh? Sound Foundations?"
you might be saying. "What on earth is that?" Um, well, I'm going to be
talking about it so I guess you're about to find out--so hold on to your
hair! But to put it briefly, it's a three week music course that involves
a variety of basic musical training in various areas to provide a
foundation for what you might want to pursue in the future. Craig went
through it eleven years ago, and look where he is now!

So four weeks ago, Klara, who decided to attend SF with me, and I got up
in the wee hours of a Friday morning and flew to Indianapolis together.
Thus began our adventure. And no, it wasn't one big dramatic and
hilarious adventure from start to finish, but it was a great experience
for both of us and it was so new that it was very much like an adventure.

The first couple days were pretty laid-back. We took naps, read our books
(they asked us not to bring secular reading material to SF so I devoured
Agatha Christie before I could never touch it for a long time), and I
helped Klara get familiar to our new 13 story home. On Saturday we went
to the Equip graduation, and in the evening Kendra took us to the State
Fair. That was pretty sweet. We strolled around taking in a variety of
spectacles: a giant cheese sculpture, giant pumpkin sculpting, plant
displays, butterflies, snazzy cars (I got to GET IN a sweet convertible
and had my pic taken--sadly I've forgotten what kind it was, to the
dismay of Stephen and Daniel when I told them about it:), art, a fun
mirror, bees, photography (my absolute favorite), llamas, horses, goats,
the world's largest boar, and lastly, though not leastly, we watched some
Hispanic dancers in native costume whirling and clacking around the dance
floor to loud yet cheery Spanish music. T'was fun indeed!

The long-awaited day arrived: the first morning of Sound Foundations. Our
alarm went off at 6:15 a.m., and at seven-thirty Klara and I had left our
room (we were roommates by ourselves, which was fortunate for us, since
some people had three or as many as four in a room) on the ninth floor
and arrived in the breakfast line. We were finally to meet our team
mates! Or did we not meet them until lunch? I don't remember, but
essentially it doesn't matter. In all there were eight teams at SF, with
five girl teams and three guy teams, lettered A-H (eight girls per team
and six or seven guys per team, numbering 59 SF students in all). We had
finally discovered that we were to be on team B, and now we were to meet
the people that we would be spending every day with for three weeks.
Naturally we were curious and a little uneasy. We sat down, and
introductions were made. I mentioned that my sister worked at ITC, and
someone asked her name. Once I told them, the girl next to me (her name
is Kitty) got very interested.

"Oh, really? Is she related to our team leader?" My mind worked quickly.
I had been asked a few days beforehand if I would be willing to be the
team leader, so the team leader was none other than myself, so I
answered:

"Uh yeah, she is." I laughed. It came out shortly thereafter that I was
the team leader, and Kitty was duly embarrassed, but I wasn't offended. I
thought it was highly amusing, and I didn't blame her for not thinking I
"looked" like a team leader. Most of the time team leaders in my
experience are at least a few years older and they seem very mature and a
little distant, so why should normal little me be mistaken for a team
leader? Besides, Kitty was my age, and three of the girls on my team are
a year older than me. And I'm even pretty sure that I was the youngest
team leader. They just asked me to be a team leader for some reason--no
real clue why, except Kendra said they probably figured that I would keep
the rules.

And what about my team? I had one of the best teams ever!!! Laughter was
plentiful at our table, which probably made us one of the loudest teams.
First, as I mentioned, there was Kitty. She's blonde, plays the oboe
(very well), and is from Oregon--she helped keep conversation lively with
stories such as when she sat on a fork and the various ways she had
thought of how she wanted to die tragically. For, as she explained to us,
you only die once so you may as well make the most of it when you do go!
Most of her ideas had to do with dying when she was just about to get
married or something--maybe by drowning or getting struck by lightning.

"I guess you don't really love the guy you're going to marry or you would
care about how he felt when you die," I commented to her (this was not
the first day, by the way).

"Well," she said (and you must understand that she was joking), "at least
you don't have to worry about picking the right one, because it really
won't matter if you're going to die anyway, right?"

I told her I was going to keep her away from my brothers. But I added
that they were probably too old for her anyway.

My team. . . who else? I had Lydia from Texas, Kristin and Nicole from
Tampa (which I was so cooled out by, especially when they said they were
from Brandon--I told them right off that I loved the Good Will there,
which is my chief reason for loving Brandon so much:), and my dear Lauren
and Mikaela who are identical twin sisters from Washington (and they said
that they "know" Kristi too!). Yeah, I was thrown off by the identical
twin thing for the first couple days. They even make an effort to dress
differently and do their hair differently from day to day, but on the
second day they had switched from one having her hair up to the other
having her hair up, so I started calling them by the wrong names in our
team meeting until they corrected me a couple times. But by the end of
the SF I could tell them apart with ease, though I would often glance at
their name tag (we were all asked to wear one) just to be sure.

And the seventh girl was a beautiful blue eyed damsel with long
strawberry blond hair. She lives in New York, out in the middle of no
where (as I like to tell people). She was also my room mate, and her name
is Klara. A very lovely and familiar Klara. And I was the eighth person,
the "great" team leader. Basically all it involved was leading our
devotional team meeting every day, collecting the mail, going to team
leader meetings, and keeping my eyes and ears open to see that people
were following the rules (curfew, dress code, guy-girl friendships,
etc.). Other than that, I just tried to be a friend. And that is me and
my wonderful, lively team.

Of course I made other friends besides those on my team, but it would be
dull for me to name them all off to you, even though I did eventually get
to know each of the 39 other girls by name. But perhaps some of my better
friends included Sarah, Charissa, Anna, Emily, Nathania, Courtney, Jenny,
Rebecca. . . the list actually could go on. The point is, I made lots of
great friends! I only regret I didn't get to know many of them better so
we could have gotten to be better than just friendly acquaintances. The
last girl I mentioned, however, is one I'm hoping to visit some day, for,
small worlds of small worlds, she is taking some classes with Clyde at
LBC this semester!!! Wow. Did I already say it's a small world? Yep, I
did. And it's true.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention any guys in my list of
friends. There's a reason. Since we were there to study music and not
make great friends with people of the opposite gender, they asked us to
keep conversation fairly limited with guys. Some followed this rule to
the letter. Others, I'm afraid, ignored it. Actually, this request
resulted in minorly awkward situations in which Klara and I joked about
pulling out our "rusty skills" of how you talk to a guy. ha. For
instance, Klara was in the stairwell and she asked a guy if he knew what
time it was. He gave her a startled look, as if he didn't know what to do
now that she had dared to speak to him! He stammered the time to her, and
we thought it was very funny. It doesn't mean that we never got to know
the guys in a fashion--in fact, by the end of the time I knew most if not
all their names; we just rarely talked to each other directly, and even
when we asked a guy to play the piano for our orchestration, Klara and I
couldn't help but feeling a little guilty, even though we asked him in
our most reserved yet polite tones. We were pretty conscientious.:)

Our schedule? Our teachers? Our funny moments? I hope a recap of those
will be coming soon, time and procrastination (or is it a lack
thereof?)allowing!
____________________________________________________________
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So it begins (the summer, that is)

Since I last wrote, one of the many things I have done is studied (and TAKEN!) the SAT. Ugh. I'm very thankful that it's over. Anyway, while I was in the process of studying for it, I had to learn how to write an essay in twenty-five minutes, a feat I did not at first believe I was capable of. Included in this, I found that I had to write I certain way to please the mighty essay editor people. For one thing, you should never start a sentence with "and." And you should never start a sentence with "but." But most importantly (well, I don't know if it really is, but I'm saying so now), one should never ever even DREAM of starting a sentence with "so." So you see it is no small thing to write an SAT essay, because you really need to watch your p's and q's. But thankfully (oh, the gratefulness is overflowing in copious amounts!), this is not an SAT essay. This is my blog. So I can write exactly what I want. And that is pleasure indeed.

So how did my tests go? Oh, they went all right, as far as tests go. I bore through them somehow, and they could have been better, and they could have been worse. My scores definitely were not amazing, but I did decently enough so that my dad told me that I don't have to take it again. There's a relief, though I haven't decided for certain whether I'll take him up on that.

The only really memorable incident from that fateful trip at the high school was the time when I was standing in line for the restroom. A girl from my room was trying to make polite conversation with another girl in front of me, and turning to me she asked me where I was from and where I went to school. When I told her that I was homeschooled, all the heads in line swivelled in my direction. It was as if these people had never seen a real flesh and blood homeschooler before and they wanted to know what these notorious creatures looked like! I didn't feel too uncomfortable, however, because the looks weren't unkind, and one girl even smiled. Mostly, I was amused. I am an interesting phenomenon, am I not?

Bibleschool graduation came and went (I'm going to miss the third years practically to death!). School officially finished for me. My parents and I even went to Rhode Island for a couple of days, where we relaxed, drove around, watched Celtics and Red Sox games, went biking, and the like. Much of the time I was absorbed in reading Crime and Punishment, for some reason that I can't quite explain. The book horrified me while at the same time it fascinated me, boring me only a little at times. I just couldn't imagine the position that the character placed himself in. No, that's not true. I COULD imagine it, and that was my problem, because I felt guilty and haunted just like him, though maybe even more so. I finished the book in a week.

While I was in the midst of reading this book in RI, Mr. Dave H. came by one evening for dinner with his crew at the Browns'. Somehow or other they got to talking about crime, and how and why some people turn themselves in even when there isn't a lot of evidence against them. Wow, here was something that I felt pretty knowledgeable about, considering the book I'd been buried in recently. So from my corner I added my two cents to the conversation.

"Well, sometimes people just can't deal with the guilt that they're faced with, so they feel like they have to turn themselves in," [these weren't my exact words, but they were close to them]. "I should know," I added [these were my exact words].

There was a deep silence.

Suddenly, I realized.

"Not that I have any personal experience or anything," I laughed. "It's just that I'm reading a book about it."

Any tension there may have been in the air right then melted into chuckles.

"I thought you were getting ready for a confession there," Andrew admitted.

My second cousin Isaac's wedding soon followed this mini vacation, and I enjoyed it. I haven't been to a wedding for awhile. In fact, I am quite sure that I hadn't been to a single wedding since Brad and Claire's! Oh mah goodness. What's up with these people nowadays anyway? Doesn't anybody know how to get married anymore? I think some people need to get busy, they might lose practice (um, since most people might forget how since they get married so often. . . :). Anyway, I was happy to go to a wedding again. The wedding was great. The reception was great. The food was great. The company was great (I was assigned to a table with Bria and Aaron, whose family last minute wasn't able to make it so we had the whole table to ourselves). We tried to have scintillating conversation; I got to meet Anna, my second cousin-in-law (I likes her!); Ethan let me play with his Nikon D40; we watched Isaac and Arika dance, and finally we watched him drop her right on the dance floor. Twas quite memorable. All in all, it was a charming experience.

The following week involved a fair amount of studying. Chemistry notes we dusted and pored over, Spanish tenses were recited, and random historical facts were reviewed and scribbled down. Saturday morning came, and it was time to take my SAT subject tests. Since I had been to Conval to take the SAT only a month before, I felt like I knew the ropes better this time. Praying silently and trying to calm my nerves (which were actually more calm than I would have naturally expected, so I think someone must have been praying for me), I dove into each hour long segment, starting with chemistry. I was the only person in my classroom taking the chemistry test. Ha, chemistry is certainly not my strong subject. I did all right in school with it because I studied hard, but only because I usually studied hard. So needless to say chemistry would not have been my first pick to be tested on but hey, I just took it, so why not? May as well be tested on something while it's fairly fresh in my mind, or that's what my dad figured, and I had to agree he was right, even though I knew I wouldn't do too well on it. After an hour of being immersed in slightly confusing chemical concepts, we shifted gears and I picked U.S. History to do next. Ah, this was better. Not that I knew everything, but I think I would have made Chad happy to acknowledge me as his sister. Finally, for the third test I did Spanish. Not many people were left to take a third test (you pick how many you want to do with a max. of three), but the five of us remaining plunged into the third and final hour. Hmm, this Spanish test was not so easy as the practice test I had taken a few days before in which I had known most of the answers. These words and phrases were less familiar and I floundered some, but made it through alive (God must really love me or something).

Then I was free, free, free! No more tests hanging over my head, and now my summer could really begin.

And so my summer has begun (remember this is my blog so I can start as many sentences with "and" as I want). It's gone on through going out to icecream at Kimball's for our very cheery heart group:

"Uh, why is there so much pollen on me?" Jeff L., who was sitting near me on the picnic table, exclaimed in exasperation.

"It's Kayla's hair," Dave said. Ha. Right. Thanks, Dave. At least I've never had a contest to see how long I can go without showering. Yep, we have a cheery heart group.

My summer has also included our first church softball game the other night.

Danny (setting up the batting order): Okay, number two in line: six foot six, 240 pounds.

Brandon: Do you mean Kayla?

Me: Haha, thanks Brandon. (and for the record, the number two in the batting order ended up being Stephen A., who is neither six foot six nor 240 pounds--or, er, at least he doesn't look it)

Also during my summer so far we've watched a bunch of late night Celtics games. I was careful to wear green every day that they played and I painted my face every game as well. And we were extremely happy when they won. YEAH CELTICS!!!!

Kimberly and Danny were at our house watching the game the night that they won, and KJ and I were very annoyed at the announcers who kept on calling Kobe Bryant "the best player on the planet." Oh how amazing Kobe Bryant is, and what an incredible three-point shot he just made from way downtown! It's no wonder he's the "best player in the world." Hmm, the announcers didn't seem to say much though when Ray Allen tied the record with seven three-pointers in one game. "Hmm, he made even more than the best player in the world!" I exclaimed in mock wonder. Ha.

After the Celtics won their final game, I kept on wanting to say, "We're World Series champions!" But I always stopped myself in time to correctly say, "We're NBA champions!" But, oh yeah, we're both.:) It was well after midnight when I slapped Clyde (who was taking out his contacts) on the back and reminded him, "We're NBA champions!"

"Whohoo!" he replied, and we found ourselves jumping up and down together right there in the bathroom as we whooped softly, because our parents had just gone to bed. Yeah. We're NBA champions.

The last thing that I think I'll mention right now before I go is an interesting experience that I had yesterday. I almost drove off in someone else's car. It was one of the strangest things ever.

To begin with, my dad wanted me to start the mini van and make sure that the battery was working before he left for town, because I was going to need a car shortly to go to my violin lesson. Somehow or other I was pretty sure that he had told me that the mini van was down at Fairwood, so I walked all the way down to fetch the car. There was only one car in the Main House circle, and that was ours, so I hopped into the drivers' seat. The first thing that I noticed was that it was already getting dirty near the brake and gas pedal, even though I had just vacuumed out the car the week before. That was kind of discouraging. But thinking nothing of it, I put my seatbelt on (I like having it on even if it's just at Fairwood), pulled my seat forward just a little (I feel more in control this way), and reached for the keys in the ignition, where we (ahem!) usually leave them. They weren't there. I looked on the floor. They weren't there either. Then I pulled out a drawer. "What, there's all this stuff in here! I just cleaned the van out last week! And why is there a track phone in here? Is it real? Do we have a fake phone in our car for safety reasons?" Thus my thoughts ran. The phone looked real enough, so I put it back and was just about ready to give up and leave when suddenly I looked around and saw a kid's book.

Then I realized.

This wasn't our car.

Whoah! How weird is that? To think that I was so totally fooled! I know how to tell Danny and Ruth's van apart from ours, but somehow I had just assumed this was our car so I didn't think. It's a good thing Danny didn't leave the keys in the ignition, or I probably would have driven it home before realizing my mistake. In fact, my mom suspects that this actually happened with them before, because once our car was missing from the parking lot for a little bit and then it appeared again. Haha, that's what you get for buying the same kind (and color!) of car as your nextdoor neighbor. This story even reminds me of how when we were out West a lady climbed into the front seat while my dad was sitting in the car because she thought it was hers! Wow, kind of scary.

As for side things of interest in my life, I'm going to be attending Sound Foundations out in Indy! It's a fairly in depth nearly three week program that Craig and Kendra took some years past. You get to study music theory, music history, and song writing, plus you sing in choir, possibly play in an orchestra, and other sweet musical things. What's more is that since they weren't able to pay Craig when he worked out there for awhile, they told me that I can attend for free with only a reduced housing rate! So that will be a fun and busy adventure coming up for me in the second half of August. In the mean time, I'm studying a music theory course to get myself prepared for the kind of stuff I'm going to be learning. Should be fun.

Another exciting thing is that yesterday I got a random call that some strange girl I've never met is looking for a violinist to play at her wedding in July! So, long story short, it looks like I may be doing it. I'm a little scared about it (I told the girl that I'm not a professional or anything), but I trust that it will not only be a good experience but a fun one, and a little money will be involved as well, which certainly helps.

Now that you're practically updated on my life, I better go. I'm at Cara's now (she's at work), I have Klara and Becca coming to my house tonight, girls' week starts on Sunday, and then the Family Convention! Looks like the next couple of weeks should be adventure-laden! And I pray that we'll all be able to glean wonderful nuggets that will cultivate closeness with God (all prayers are appreciated!). Thanks for reading this. You're pretty amazing if you even still check my blog, but it's comforting to realize that you haven't given up on me.:)

A few long-neglected highlights

It has been a full month since my last measly post (why do I sound
like I'm confessing to a priest?). I feel like I'm pulling out a bicycle
from the garage after a long winter. Of course the tires have to be
pumped, the brakes tested, and the muscles built back up before I can
really ride it properly, but I trust it will all come back. Why this
desert? Simply there has been far too much that I could write about that
I didn't' know where to begin, so I just kept shoving it away until my
sandbox turned into this oasis-less desert. But now is reckoning time. I
will have to just hit a few highlights of what I can remember out of the
past couple months and then I will be up-to-date to spring ahead into
whatever stories my future may hold. *Deep breath* So here it goes:

I don't really remember what I wrote about last in Florida, but I guess
my neglected history really reaches back to then. Oh what a blissful week
and a half of sunshine and warmth! My thirsty soul lapped it right up.
Okay, so I did have school to do. One day I even did double duty and
worked well into the evening until my head started to hurt, but that was
just so that I could take the next day (Friday) off to go spend the day
at the Demmes. And so we hung out at their place, and took a boat ride,
having all sorts of adventures such as gathering up a dozen or so sand
dollars (that was just my number alone) off the island we stopped at,
petting manatees (or kissing them, as the case may be for a certain
adventuresome lad with a B. in his last name--"I'll have to tell your
wife who your first kiss was with," Mr. Demme joked), or watching the
above said adventuresome lad do something very amazing. This story, I'm
sure, has been spread far and wide, but since it is a story that I
believe I will carry with me for the rest of my life, I must recount it
here.

The weather was perfect. After petting manatees I thought our day just
couldn't get any better, but I was about to be proven wrong. We road our
little boat out to a sand bar, where we all hopped out and waded around
in the knee-deep water, keeping an eye out for conch shells which some of
us wanted to run into, and stingrays which some of us didn't want to run
into. Andrew of course wasn't just walking around, but running, which is
not an easy thing to do in water. However, none of us thought much of it;
that was Bean for you, and his high energy was nothing unusual. Suddenly
we noticed that his running picked up its pace. Also, he was holding his
knife high above his head, with a fearsome look of determination which I
missed but which some of the girls who were right in front of him
described as terrifying to behold (my words, not theirs, but pretty
close). With a final burst of speed and a diving lunge with his knife he
swooped his clenched fist into the water and cried, "I got it!"
Apparently, this fine fellow had just chased down a stingray, or some kin
of one. Words could not express our astonishment. For one thing, those
things are fast, and for another, who would ever think of stabbing a
stingray anyway? And what do you do with it? This last question obviously
hadn't occurred to our dear friend, who now found himself in the
predicament as to what he should do now. The creature was still alive,
and we feared that once he removed his knife it would dart off, probably
straight at our legs, inflicting it's frenzied barbs wherever it could.
This, at least, was my greatest fear, so I maintained a cowardly safe
distance. On the other hand, when Andrew tried to life it out of the
water with a little help from Megan or Dave, the stingray jerked,
threatening to rid its slippery self from their grasp. This action
startled many of us, and I found myself clinging to Bria momentarily, who
clung in return, with mixed demonstrations of pitiful whimperings and
laughter--a very strange combination, but we were very excited. And we
still couldn't quite believe it. At this point blood was seeping out
through the water, and everyone glanced around a bit warily for a dorsal
fin, but thankfully none appeared.

"Aw, I feel kind of bad for it now," Andrew said. Uhuh, yeah, you should
have thought of that earlier. Well, the poor creature soon died, and we
took him back to the Demmes, where Andrew checked on-line how to cut and
grill stingray. I was drawn to the process, watching in gross fascination
as he sliced off a section of meat on each wing which was the only part
fit for eating. Spidery veins ran between the fine layers of meat, which
was in little sections like you see in a fish (I can't think of the right
words right now to describe it more adeptly, but there it is). Biology
class dissections ran vividly in my mind. This was too good an
opportunity to pass up.

"Let's cut it open and see what's inside," I suggested to Bean. He agreed
that we may as well get what we could and turn it into a biology lesson
of sorts. He asked me if I wanted to perform the dissection myself. I
declined. I had already touched the slimier-than-you-can-possibly-imagine
skin and stuck my fingers into its mouth to feel his teeth, but I didn't
really feel like getting my hands bloody like his. I wasn't that brave.
So I directed him where to cut, and we were proceeding along all right (I
did end up sticking my fingers in to pull back some skin) but then
Vanlora came along and warned us that we might cut open an organ with
dangerous toxins inside. She had heard about such things from having
hunters at her house a lot. Oops, that had never occurred to either of
us, so we deemed her wise and gave up. Better leave dissections to
biologists who know what they're doing, not to people who tend to act
without thinking. Not that I normally suffer from this, but I did here.

So that was the adventure of the stingray, which I will never forget, and
may never cease to couple it with Bean and make them the brunt of my
jokes. Why, even in Sabbath meeting at Fairwood a couple of weeks ago
Daddy asked us what we would like to have for a pet in the Millenium, and
when I answered, "A stingray," most people could hardly keep back a
chuckle. Yes, that animal will remain in my history books for a while,
poor thing. And what did it taste like? Chewy, and not very tasty. Some
people liked it, some people didn't, and that's that.

Yep, I guess I'll make that the highlight from our Florida trip, oh so
full of happy memories. I returned from that trip quite blessed. Not only
had I had an enjoyable time, but I felt as if I had gained six new
siblings named Katherine, Megan, Vanlora, Bria, Dave, and Andrew. Yeah,
siblings in the sense that since I was the youngest they probably got
even more sick of me than I did of them, but that doesn't matter. I got
to participate in most of their Bible studies, and I felt like I got
something good out of every single one, learning valuable lessons from
each of the students in turn. Of course, they're fun too, and each
contributes something to the group so that I can't imagine what the third
year class would be like if just one of them was missing. I even find
myself picking up some of their expressions, like when I say, "Sweet
deal, " I scare myself because I sound like Davie who says that all the
time. We also had battles of punch buggy (which was mostly everyone
else--primarily Bria and Katherine against me, since I started it)and we
developed inside jokes too. All we need to do to set one of the others
laughing is to say, "What have I got in my pocket?" or "And they're tasty
too," or to quote Napoleon Dynamite at the appropriate moments. I'm very
thankful for this Southern trip because pretty soon these new siblings of
mine are going to graduate and move on, and I'm going to miss them. A
lot.

Okay, in case you didn't already guess, this post is going to be loooong.
Once back from the Southern trip, I had hardly caught my breath before I
found myself being whooshed through the youth weekend and then on to the
Holschers in upstate NY for a week while my parents were away. While
there, Klara and I did indeed try out a day or two of our experimental
"Spirit Week." We did a color day, in which I dressed all in green and
she dressed all in pink, as well as a twin day, in which we both wore
purple sweaters, short jean skirts, knee socks, and pig tails. Also while
at the Holschers I had the pleasure of helping Klara cater food for
Ruth's birthday party, as well as doing the goats in the evening. Pretty
soon I started to learn some of the routine, putting so much grain in one
place for one goat and so much grain in another bucket for another goat
while I rubbed her lame leg. I even had the chance to wrestle with the
stubborn Splash when she got out of her pen. Klara was out getting hay,
but Caleb directed me since he said he wasn't strong enough to deal with
Splash. So I tugged at her with all my might and somehow managed to get
her put away.

"Wow, you're strong!" Caleb exclaimed. I was somewhat gratified for this.
For one thing, just a couple years ago Caleb told me that I was weak. For
another, out of all the possible compliments that have ever been given to
me, I don't think that has ever been one of them. Not that I would have
ever expected such a compliment from anyone--nay, I'm the first to say
that the possession of muscles is the least of my boasts, but it's
gratifying when an eight-year-old acknowledges that you're stronger than
him. It makes you feel flattered even though there's no reason to be.

Also among the chores we did was mucking out one of the goat pens. I
found this to be a lot of fun. There's some sort of satisfaction in
mucking out the stuff eight inches thick while the outdoors is in the
teens or lower and the barn is a toasty twenty some degrees F. Also we
blared Pirates of the Caribbean music, sometimes moving the steaming
wheelbarrow in slow motion like in Craig's apple sauce day movie, and we
sang "Sweet Smell of Roses" when the scents about us were anything but.
And then we were done, and very happy with our finished job. Satisfaction
indeed.

The day before I left the Holschers, I got to go snow shoeing for the
first time. After toiling up the small mountain in front of their house,
we (that is, Klara, Rebecca, Ruth, Caleb, and I) decided to go the East
Pole. In a desperate race against the formidable Russians, we battled
deep snow, rolves (fearsome creatures that are rabbit-like in their
appearance but are more like wolves in disguise), and sting pods (deathly
plants for which the only remedy if stung by one is chocolate, which
posed a problem because then Caleb wanted to be stung by one too).
Finally, with the motto, "Ever onward, never backward," we reached our
destination: the East Pole, which looked suspiciously like an evergreen
tree, but appearances can be deceiving. Our mission wasn't complete,
however. We still had to retrieve the valuable encoded microchips hidden
in the branches, which contained countless top secret information, such
as making nuclear warheads. When each of us had one in hand the race was
on. The Russians were in hot pursuit, but somehow we made it back to home
base (a vaguely familiar large red house) in one piece and victorious
with our respective prizes. Each of our trophies looked like a flimsy
little evergreen branch barely six or seven inches long, but we knew
better. Each needle contained about a hundred tiny microchips with the
info already stated. Our task not yet done, we proceeded to place the
"branches" in boiling water and then we drank it, therefore becoming the
five most brilliant scientists in the world, since all the information in
the microchips was incorporated into our brain cells. Beware, our
intelijunse might surprise you!

Once back from New York, the Feast came, I got sick, and we had spring
break, but I think I'll skim over that. Although I must mention that I
was happy to have Clyde and Kendra back for awhile, and was very sad to
see Craig go. During the weekend of spring break, I got to go with my
parents to see Clyde play volleyball in Utica, NY and I took lots of
pictures with his camera of him and his teammates making sweet moves. I
got back, continued school, and have recently decided to take the SAT on
May 3, so I've been pretty busy trying to finish stuff up, study for the
SAT, and learn how to write an essay in 25 minutes, a feat that seemed
nigh impossible at first but is gradually getting easier. Oh yes, and a
week ago we played a game of volleyball with guys against girls. They got
pretty worried near the end--they only won 26-24. (sorry this paragraph
is pretty hectic but I'm trying to cram random stuff in near the end)

So that brings me up to last Thursday. This is the day that I managed to
get myself stuck in my violin teacher's driveway. After my lesson I
clambered into our van and started to manoeuvre the vehicle around
another car and the narrow drive way. Thinking that I might be able to
finally pull forward and clear the snowbank (which ran from six to
fourteen inches), I slowly moved the vehicle forward--it would be tight,
but I thought I could make it, and even if there was a little snow in the
way, I could just go through it, right? Wrong, I pulled forward, and my
front right wheel stuck fast in the icy snow. I tried backing up. No
luck. I tried rocking the vehicle, like they teach you to do in drivers'
ed ("Aha! My driver's ed. comes in handy!" I thought), but when I tried
to pull forward, I didn't move. Hmm. Scratch that theory. I tried
everything again. My tires spun. Snow went flying. I tried borrowing a
shovel and digging myself out, to no avail. My teacher's twenty-some year
old daughter even tried pushing me out, but that didn't work either.
Finally, my violin teacher's husband arrived on the scene with his truck,
planning to pull me out. He was puzzled by the angle of the vehicle and
said he didn't think he could do it; he told me I might have to call AAA.

I was horrified. Imagine how embarrassing that would be! Calling AAA to
tow me out of half a foot of snow was the last thing I wanted to do, and
it would all be because of a stupid little mistake too. Fortunately I
didn't have to. Mr. C. kindly dug me out and spared me the embarrassment.
Now, people, I have some experience with getting stuck (my first time!),
and I proved during the episode that I had no experience in that area
whatsoever. But next time I will. And that ends my little fiasco.

Analogous?

I have much I could write, but right now writing much would be too much
and that would not be too right. So all I'll say is:

Thirty-five years ago today, my parents were engaged. . . . .

And six years ago today, I got my braces on. . . . .

It seems like there should be some sort of analogy in that.

Very happy

So I was thinking about Spirit Week stuff the other day, for various reasons, mainly because I'm hearing bits and pieces about the Bibleschool underclassmen back home in the chilly North doing it. And then I felt very depressed. I wish I could do Spirit Week. Life is so unfair, they get to do fun things while I'm away. They're supposed to stay miserable! And how come I never get to do Spirit Week?

And then, the light dawned.

I can do Spirit Week whenever I want!!! Laaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! (picture angels singing in heaven, please) Ah, the beauties of homeschooling! Now I can't wait to get home and do it. Actually, better yet, it also occurred to me that I can do it with Klara when I go out for a week or two to the Hills after I get back. Better and better! And so I am very happy.

Florida is great, by the way; sorry I don't feel like writing much more than that. We wandered around on three different beaches yesterday, and we went to Krispy Kreme!!! I was so psyched, especially when as we were ordering the donuts the hot light went on! There was a mad rush as I ran out to the van to make sure all the students had noticed and they all came leaping out to come crowd around the viewing window and watch the amazing process. Then we all put on Krispy Kreme hats and had our group picture taken next to the hot light sign. We would make Craig proud. I even had this awful moment when I was afraid that I had left my Red Sox visor from Craig at Krispy Kreme, and even though it turned out that I hadn't, some people pointed out that if I had to lose it that would be the best place, which is true, since I would remain in my brother's good graces much more easily if I had left such a sacred item at such a sacred place. :)

So yes, we would make Craig proud.

A Southern Journey

I am alive. I may be in GA, but I am alive. I'm not quite sure what this post is going to contain, but I felt like writing something while I can because we don't have internet access where we're staying.

Sooo, we left a week ago Wednesday. It was chilly, and the snow was on the ground (I forget how much). We scrambled into the gray 15 passenger van, waving and blowing kisses to the many smiling faces who were there to see us rumble off.

"They look so happy to see us go," someone commented, and we were inclined to agree. But we didn't care. We were going South. And they were not. And thus began our journey.

And so we watched to snow melt little by little as we covered the miles, and when our chance came we would leap out of the van expecting it to have suddenly turned balmy outdoors. It never really did.

In a nutshell, we went to PA, where I got to see my favorite 22-year-old basketball and volleyball player. I even got to hang around his college for an hour or two, watching his volleyball practice, reading David Copperfield, watching students waltz by me as they came in or out of the dorm, or listening to some girls mope around waiting for they're guy friends to come out from rearranging the furniture in their dorm room ("Have you ever counted the tiles on the ceiling?" Later, the other one answered, "There are 87 of them." "Did you just count them? You're a loser. You're the biggest loser I ever knew.") A couple people were even watching The Office, which I caught bits and pieces of, but mostly I just heard this one guy chortle like a girl.

In a lull, one of the bored guys watching the above said movie moaned. "There's nothing to do. There's nothing to do . . . . . . . Well, there's homework, but that's not due until . . . . . yet." And thus you can see why I form this opinion: that a lot of time is wasted in college.

So much for the nutshell.

Well, the next day the nine of us (six third-years, my parents, and me) drove on down to D.C. and stopped for awhile in the National Cathedral to do some praying, before heading on down to the Lackies in VA. And here I will just put in that if you haven't been the National Cathedral, you should sometime. I'm sure there are many better cathedrals in the world, but it's still worth going to if only just once in you're life. Also, I love stained glass.

Finally, on Friday we got up early-ish and set out for the aprox. ten-hour drive on down to GA. And while I'm talking about traveling the car, we indulged ourselves in fantastic games such as Old Maid and Phase Ten, which as proved to be a never ending saga since we've played it in at least four sessions and still haven't quite managed to get to the end (Dave just barely reached phase ten today).

And since we've got here (I have to go shortly so that Vanlora can get her computer back to work on her resume), we've done all kinds of great things. I've had the joy of shooting my first 22 pistol, getting creamed in Draw One by my mom, Bria, and Mrs. A, blowing the shofar, hanging out at Claire's, watching Andrew blow bubbles with bubble soap in his mouth, going to Last Chance on its half price sale, playing ultimate football, basketball, plus around the world, and I've even brushed my teeth from the balcony and spat it into the kitchen sink one story below. That all may not have been grammatically correct, but you'll understand that I'm stuffing in lots right now (never know when I'll do this again!). Of course I've also gotten to do lots of school and I'd nearly forgotten what it's like to live with bibleschool students and see them so much you're practically but sick of them (just kidding!!! I love the third year class so much, but you'll understand if we're not buddy buddy every minute). So far a fabulous time. Can't wait to play games at the Turners tomorrow and climb Stone Mountain on Saturday!

p.s. this post has had little to no editing, so forgive any typos.:)

Three Random Moments

1. Crawling into bed and trying to figure out why I had peanut butter on
my toes.

2. Grabbing for my new shower puff and it practically melting in my
hands. Now instead of a neat, compact ball, I found to my bewilderment
that I was holding about eleven feet of blue stuff.

(and finally, today)

3. Trying to be safe by cracking an egg over the sink and realizing just
as it disappeared down the drain that I hadn't meant to do it quite that
way. (That was as I was in the middle of a conversation with my mom I'll
have you know!)

Flipping over weekends

Well, once again I've been wanting to post something fresh for awhile, but sometimes the computer just seems like a big waste of time. So I'm going to waste more of it by writing something now.

 

 

Hmm . . . highlights from my life lately. Well, I went sledding with the bibleschool at the golf course a couple weeks ago, which was kind of exciting, and oh yeah, Ben found out that his appendix burst some time ago, but naturally that's old news by now (pardon me as I say that so casually). Poor Ben.  He drove himself to the emergency room (of course no one knew anything was seriously wrong with him at the time, but his parents wanted him to get checked out) and had to get a tube put in his stomach to drain the poison out. Actually, if it weren't so drattedly scary and serious, it was kind of funny to see him walking around with a Target back dangling from his side after he got back from the hospital. We also made a welcome home sign for him. Craig outlined it and filled in the "W," but Ben came back earlier than expected, and since all the guys wanted to be with him it was up to the girls (including me and Kimberly) to finish it. It was a pretty cool sign, too. One letter was decorated with camou, another was made to look like a frosted donut, and a third was a picture of the radio station way up in the woods with a snow mobile. I endeavored (and I still can hardly believe I did this) to follow up on a combination of my and (mostly) other's ideas by making a "C" look like a pink large intestine, with a swollen (and very red) appendix at the end of it, which had blotches of dark green oozing out of it, and from it led a tube filled with this same unpleasant color to the following letter "O," which was half full of the sinister (and disgusting) looking poison, with some very fake-looking yellow bubbles popping towards the surface. Unlike many of the other girls, I did NOT sign my name with this--it was all so gross that I wasn't sure I wanted myself to be identified with it. To make up for it, however, I decorated the "N" (in Ben's name) with a Spiderman theme, and since it turned out kind of well, I signed my name next to that.

 

 

Flipping onto the next weekend (my weeks go by in a sort of blur), most of the men at Fairwood were gone to Florida for a men's retreat, so my mom ruled the roost while on duty, with lots of moral support from Gerry of course. So anyway, Friday night we had some intense games of Maufia. And I've decided that I'm not very good at that game. Well, sometimes I had people (like Bria) fooled when I was in the Maufia, but I pretty much failed to be on the winning side every single game, even when I was the sheriff. Sometimes I was astonished at how good people were at lying though. All these people, who are perfectly honest Christians every day, can be remarkably deceiving when they need to be. Which makes me thankful that these people are honest in real life, or I would never know whether or not to trust them. Dave and Bria had me especially scared when I was the sheriff. I had found out in the night that Dave was in the Maufia (after I had thought that he wasn't) and when I accused him, he so sincerely seemed to think that the moderator (who was Diane) had made a mistake that I almost began to doubt myself. And even Bria was very crafty, teaming up with Aaron (who was innocent) in trying to figure out who the Maufia were and staunchly wanting to protect the citizens.

 

 

In one game, however, a particular quote sticks in my mind. We were trying to figure out whether or not Kate S. was in the Maufia, and if so why didn't she vote to kill so-and-so in this situation?

 

 

"That's because she's a vegetarian," Josh said. Hmm. Yep, I'm sure the Maufia are cannibals.

 

 

I also had a privilege to re-watch Wives and Daughters with some of the bibleschool girls. What is Wives and Daughters? Just one of the sweetest movies in the world, that's all. If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll love it, even though she didn't write it. Anyway, watching it this time was a little bit different. For one thing, it was a little noisy. You see, my family does very little talking while we watch movies. I discovered as a kid amongst practically grown-up siblings that many questions and comments were not appreciated, so I learned to shut up, keeping my confusion to myself and just filling in the blanks as best I could, saving my questions (if I could remember them) until after the movie. And that's how I've mostly grown up, with some exceptions here and there, as I gradually learned that my siblings sometimes didn't catch whole phrases either and it was okay to ask what someone had just said as long as I didn't do it too often. Not that we never talk or have fun while watching movies, but just not very much.

 

 

With all that in my background, I watched Wives and Daughers with a few of the bibleschool girls. Kate S, Vanlora, Virginia, and Rachel were among those who sat in our living room to imbibe this wonderful tale with kicking chuckles (one of them did have the odd habit of kicking her dangling feet whenever she laughed). I would say they were watching in breathless silence, but that would not quite be true.

 

 

"I LOVE her dress," one would say.

 

"Ugh, I hate her dress."

 

"Oh, I'm so excited!" (this was as the hero came back on the scene)

 

"Scum!" Vanlora would cry whenever Mr. Preston was around.

 

"She's such a brat," (or words to that effect).

 

"Aw, he can't die!"

 

"I love that actress."

 

"Scum!"

 

"Isn't that the short guy from Pirates of the Caribbean?"

 

"Yeah, and he's also in _____ as _____" (I can't remember what random movie it was)

 

"Oh my word! Their hair is so ridiculous! Why would they want it that way?"

 

"He's a snob," (right after someone had barely entered the scene, and who, in my opinion, is not a snob)

 

"Scum!"

 

"Someone definitely has a problem with gluttony."

 

Etc., etc., etc. You get the picture.

 

 

And on we go to this weekend. My brother is playing volleyball!!! Clyde's recent dream has now come true.

 

 

"Eh?" you may say. "I thought he was playing basketball." And you're right. The fact is, my dear reader, he's doing both. Crazy, crazy. He actually had thought fondly of the idea of seeing if the basketball coach would let him go so he could just play volleyball, but, like the good sport he is, he decided he didn't want to be a quitter, so he chose not to. But, as if God was rewarding him for his diligence, God spiked the volleyball option right into his lap as well. (and that was the dumbest pun ever) Apparently, from what I've gathered, a couple of volleyball players on the team at his college dropped out, leaving just a measly number of five guys on the team. Here was a problem. They couldn't play with just five guys, and their first game was in less than a week! Knowing that Clyde was a pretty decent volleyball player, the coach came to appeal to my 22-year-old sibling. And what did he do? Say, "Sure, coach, this is the perfect excuse I've been looking for to quit anyway." No way! My brother told him that he'd like to but he didn't want to quit the basketball team. In reply, the volleyball coach told him that he didn't need to look at it that way, and then struck up a deal with the basketball coach. Hence, Clyde is doing both.

 

 

And what does that have to do with this weekend, which is now practically behind us? Clyde had his first volleyball game yesterday in Cambridge, Massachusetts--just two hours away from us.

 

 

Of course we went to it.

 

 

So, getting up early (for a Saturday morning) at around seven o'clock, Mom, Craig, and I set out, picking up Cara along the way. We drove an hour and forty minutes or so, took the T, the bus, and the icy sidewalk the rest of the way. Actually, it took quite awhile to get to where we wanted to go, because after we left we found out that the game wasn't at the college we had thought it was at, but at a highschool, since Leslie University doesn't have a gym. So, by stopping to look at maps on the walls of the T station and asking for directions multiple times, we eventually managed to get there.

 

 

CLYDE'S TEAM WON ALL SIX GAMES IN A ROW!!!! The closest game they played was only 30-23. One would have thought that the team had been practicing together for weeks instead of less than one, and they all seemed to have such great attitudes (though maybe it helped that they were ahead most of the time) and were so put together that I loved them all on the spot. Well, maybe. The only time I had been to a volleyball game outside of the Fairwood gym was in Australia, so this was a new experience for me. And because of it, I have to be careful when I say how talented the guys might have been, because I really haven't seen very many volleyball games to know for sure. Still, for such a small college, they were very impressive indeed. And Clyde was awesome (blocking, spiking, serving, faking), but I'm more than a little biased. Sure, he made mistakes, but then so did the other guys.

 

 

So now I'm all inspired about volleyball. And I learned some new things, too. Like about faking. I was trying to figure out why Clyde, who was often in the front middle in order to block (he towers above the other guys), kept jumping during a set to one of his teammates. Um, Clyde, we know it's not going to you, so why are you jumping? I suspected it was more than just to look stupid or because he was ignorant ("rats, I jumped up and discovered that the ball wasn't close enough for me to spike!"), and when I asked Craig to confirm these suspicions, he told me that he was "faking." That way the other team might be stupid enough to think that he was the one hitting it and expect the ball to come from his direction. Sounds dumb, but it's not a bad strategy. Also I enjoyed watching the guys leaping about to block, and well, I guess I enjoyed everything else about it to. And when the game was over, my favorite part was when each team jogged up the side lines and down both sides of the net to slap five underneath it. This is probably done by all real volleyball teams for all I know, but I'd never seen it before so it was cool to me.

 

 

Afterwards we hung around, chatting with Clyde and meeting his coach and his teammates as they waited for their pizza to arrive. Then they were gone, and we were on our way to trek it home. It was made easier by a mom at the game who offered to give us a ride to Harvard Square, so we piled gratefully into her car and hopped on the T. Interestingly enough, the last time I was on one was in Melbourne, so it brought back a wave of memories. I even scrutinized the people around me and imagined them talking with Australian accents, but it wasn't quite the same. But the sights and sounds excited me still, as I caught a whiff of someone's breakfast or coffee, or listened to a guitar playing Pachabel, or laughed as a clarinet played When Johnny Comes Marching Home, changing the ending to some nearly unrecognizable minor ditty, or trying to play the Star Spangled Banner and having to start over again. The large Goth person blasting his ears out, the friendly blonde woman with the large sleek dog, a couple of people chattering in Spanish, the old man who accidentally pulled one of my hairs as he gathered up his bags, the guy with the tennis racket sticking out of his backpack between his knees while he read The Intellectual Devotional, and many others made people watching very engaging. Though of course you had to do it covertly, hoping that no one would notice and trying to look as innocent as possible. That's the T.

 

 

I leave for the South in three days!

B-A-B-Y-S-I-T-T-I-N-G

In my last post (which you probably haven't read yet, so get moving!) I mentioned that I had my first real non-Fairwood babysitting job. Who was the lucky kid? Um, the third cousin of a town friend who helped get Uncle Sterling elected as a selectman. Or at least, the lady told me that the girl (yes, I babysat a six-year-old girl) was her third cousin, but she also told me that the girl's mother was her second cousin. Automatically I was tempted to protest ("Hey, that's not how it works!"), I who have to keep such things straight like so many of my readers, who are privileged to keep track of their fourth cousins or second cousins once removed, and so forth. But wisely, I refrained. I didn't need to point out the dear lady's ignorance.

 

Anyway, with very minor tremors of trepidation I set forth, and drove myself to the site of my first real babysitting job. Actually, most of you have probably been by the house many times, so I'll tell you that it's right next to Carr's store, and if you know where that is, great, if not, oh well. I'm not about to hand out other people's addresses. Well, if I was nervous, I shouldn't have been. To tell the truth, the whole thing was disgustingly easy. Basically I spent the whole time watching The Santa Claus with the girl, and then her mother came by after an hour and a half or so and picked her up. Then it was over. And people get paid for doing this?

 

But the girl herself was a character. Right away I could tell she was going to be interesting. A dark eyed, slightly Hispanic-looking girl waved at me from the window, and as soon as she had opened the door and had gotten my name straight, she began  jumping up and down asking me to guess how to spell her name. It was Jessica, and my mind flipped through the spelling, trying to figure out what was so tricky about it. Obviously there was some deviation from the normal, but I decided to play along, and spelled it just the way she was hoping I would.

 

"Nope, it's J-E-S-I-C-A. There's only one S. You see my mother's name is Melisa, and hers is spelled with only one S too. Her mother was a Spanish teacher. That's how it all got started!"

       

The girl's third cousin's husband, or whatever relation he was to her, proceeded to give me directions and began to recall an interesting history of the house, which used to be a school house,  and the work they'd done to it. In the meantime she kept jumping up and down, trying to catch my attention.

 

"Oh, oh, I know how to spell your age!" was the next thing she told me. "It's S-I-X-T-E-E-N!"

 

"Very impressive," I told her (or words to that effect). "And you're six, right?"

 

"Y-E-S."

 

Later, when we were alone, she started bouncing up and down on the couch saying my name over and over again, as if she were a chearleader trying to get on my nerves. Once out of breath, she told me, "You're nice. Nice like mice."

 

I wasn't sure this was a compliment, but since she seemed to think so, I decided to take it as one.

 

She asked me if I had ever had snow icecream. I hadn't, so she asked me if I wanted to see some. Taking me to the freezer, she pointed it out to me and then told me she was allowed to eat a little, so could I give her some? I wasn't sure whether or not to believe her, but I decided to take her word for it, and a little while later she was licking her fingers as we watched The Santa Claus.

 

"Mmm, I'm eating the blood on my fingers," she informed me.

 

"You're gross," I told her.

 

"Have you ever had it? It's good! It tastes like a dark chocolate and white chocolate mix!" Then she told me that she was painting the couch with her blood. Perhaps I should have been more alarmed, but she was just the sort of girl who would have told me that just to get a reaction out of me, and since she didn't want a bandaid and so far I hadn't seen a drop of blood about her, I decided not to be too concerned, beyond telling her to stop.

 

Her mother came soon, and then I locked up the house drove home. And thus ends my little babysitting story.

To sum it all up

So the Christmas season is over. Ugh, those words reek of despondency!
However, life is still great, and I refuse to let blothpickness conquer
me! I'm not quite sure what my favorite part of the season was. Could it
have been stuffing my face with desserts at the Dessert Banquet! I think
not (poof!). No, but it could have been a combination of any of the
following things:

~Watching the bibleschool students' powerpoint presentations.

~Making a gingerbread houses with the bibleschool (Craig and I painted
ours purple and gave it an outhouse)

~Sneaking up to people's houses to carol to the inhabitants.

~Swapping fun stories in the girls' van during the above said caroling
venture (like how Kendra got locked out on a baby sitting job by the
Maguire boys, and how she got Craig to call them and scare them into
letting her in; or how Clyde and Bria were arguing about whether Cara or
I should get a tricycle, and how Clyde tried to spank Cara)

~Coming in from caroling to sip hot chocolate and eat cookies,
culminating in a spontaneous, a cappella song of the Carol of the Bells
in the kitchen (and I loved singing tenor with Aaron and Bobby:)

~The Bibleschool Christmas Tree time--and taking pictures of it with
Clyde's camera

~Wasting ages of time trying to figure out which student was the most
tactful to ask Dan if the students could play outside in the
snow--ironically, it was Bobby, the least tactful, who finally procured
the permission.

~Playing Monster with almost the whole bibleschool out in the dark and
snowy wonderland around the Maine House

~Christmas shopping (e.g. yay, Kendra ended up loving the pink winter Red
Sox hat I gave her!)

~Going outside with my dad and cutting down our very own Christmas tree
from the woods like all cool people do in books (something I'd never
experienced before!)

~Decorating and trimming our angular, but beautiful Christmas tree (it's
got loads of character, let me tell you!)

~Seeing God answer prayer.

~Having Kimberly and Andrea around.

~Getting an e-mail from Amanda, my Aussie friend.

~Having my first real non-Fairwood babysitting job!

~Thinking about what the world would be like if Jesus hadn't come.

~Having lots of snow, and getting church cancelled one time because of
it.

~Singing the Twelve Days of Christmas for the home church service that we
couldn't get out of (this was after watching Dave's powerpoint
presentation on how each of the gifts were a symbolic representation of
something that God gave to us)

~Going to my first Conval basketball game of the season.

~Having my family home.

~Having a frosting party with my family when I needed help decorating the
eleven dozen cookies that I had spent all afternoon making.

~Singing and reading through a fun old Christmas program at my Aunt
Lori's with her, three keyboards, Aaron, Kimberly, Craig, Kendra, and
Clyde.

~Seeing the shy little Post boys singing up front for our church
Christmas program.

~Stealing toe socks from Chad at our church's Yankee Gift Swap.

~Reading the Best Christmas Pageant Ever out loud on our radio station.

~Going to Pizza Hut for Clyde's birthday

~Having the presents I ordered arrive on time, when I wasn't sure they
were going to.

~Missing my Grammie on Christmas Eve, since it's the first one in ages
that we haven't spent with her. (that probably wasn't my favorite moment
this season, but it was bittersweet)

~Caroling around Fairwood with my family all decked out in Santa hats
(even those who didn't want to).

~Playing games and watching movies with my family.

~Surprises on Christmas Day--like my new papasan chair! Or better yet,
hearing about Claire's baby!!!

~Watching Kristin Chenoweth sing "Taylor the Latte Boy" on Utube.

~Having dessert and a Yankee book swap with my dad's side of the family.

And so much more that made this season special! Hope yours was as
wonderful!!!

Mr. H's latest

You've heard about the whole issue with Beethoven, haven't you? Well I
guess lately there was some sort of dispute about whether or not some
music was really written by him. To settle the problem, investigators
decided to get a DNA sample from him to find out. But when they went to
dig up his grave (or his tomb, or vault, or whatever it was that he was
in), they found Beethoven sitting there scribbling away on on sheets of
music!

"Beethoven, what are you doing?" they cried.

Undisturbed, he replied, "I'm decomposing."

That's my chemistry teacher's (Mr. H's) latest from this very morning.
Hope it amused you as much is it did me! ;)

Weak attempts at sparkle

Okay, I've decided that my previous depressing post has been sitting alone for way too long. I'm well over it now (thank you so much for the encouraging comments!), and now how about some sparkle? Sorry, I'm too impatient to describe the Messiah Sing for you eager readers out there. It would take far more time than I'm interested in spending, and besides, the only thing that made this year very different from most years is that a girl in the front row threw up right before the concert. But perhaps I shouldn't be dwelling on that. Still, she did run out, but she left a trail behind her (poor thing), and it was enough to make you feel sick if you are the least bit squeamish. Fortunately the lady in front of us had some Calvin Klein perfume, and it was passed around freely so that many of the sopranos reeked of a scent which, ironically, was called "Escape." Some people in the orchestra even passed out cinnamon toothpicks to stick up their noses. Such ideas may sound unpleasant, but they were alternatives much more favorable than the more unpleasant smells that uh, wafted, or um, assailed those not far away. No sparkle in that story I assure you, though it's interesting in the telling.

Should I talk about the gingerbread house making this year? Craig was going to make one with the bibleschool students, but when he arrived late and realized how dull making a gingerbread house by yourself can be, he invited me to join him. And how freely the creative juices flowed! ("freely, freely, freely, and he that is thirsty let him come . . . ") While Bria and Jane beautifully furnished the inside of their house (including a deer head over the fire place), Vanlora and Katie K. produced a quaint church with stained glass windows. Some made dump trucks in their front yard (what makes me think that was Stephen's idea?:), or just trees, or even a backyard barbecue that very much resembled a bunch of cows sacrificing another cow. But Dave said it was a barbecue, so a barbecue it was.

Although at first Craig and I were at a loss for ideas, our gingerbread house was inspired by the purple house with green trim that you see in Marlborough, and it was complete with a fire pit, a duck pond, and a roofless outhouse (roofless so you could see inside, where the dear little candy toilet and toilet paper were). Actually, we did put plastic wrap over our purple outhouse just so people would stop asking why there wasn't a roof, so now we have an outhouse with a sunroof, which is very convenient if one like star-gazing. However, despite the ideals of such a construction, some students claimed that they would never want to use our facilities. After all, what would they do if an airplane came by? But what I want to know is, what kind of airplane comes low enough to be dangerous anyway?

On town trip on Thursday I told some of the students about NASA's new plan. Have you heard about it? They're going to take a bunch of cows, put them in a space shuttle, and send them to a space station so they can be orbiting the earth. They'll call them the herd shot 'round the world.

"Are you serious?" Bobby asked (or he uttered incredulous words to that effect).

Katherine laughed. "You're not serious, Kayla, right?"

Of course I wasn't. I had heard it that very morning from my wonderful chemistry teacher and thought it was so delightful I wanted to share it. But only one person seemed to think it was funny, and that was Katherine. But then Uncle Tim asked me to repeat it (I was near the back and he hadn't quite caught it) and he laughed quite heartily and asked me if I had made it up. I told him I hadn't, and he informed me that actually that joke was around in his day, only they said the Russians were going to do it. I was rather pleased that someone else besides myself could laugh about my joke, but at the same time I was a little put out that nobody else seemed to think it was funny. I just assumed that my sense of humor must be different. However, later I told it to Craig and when he chuckled sincerely I began to wonder if there was another reason. He suggested that people might not have laughed because of their ignorance of the phrase "the shot heard 'round the world," and I would rather believe that than deny the humorous wit of my joke. So there you have it, most of the bibleschool is ignorant and therefore can't laugh at my jokes because they're so beyond them.

Actually, pretty much everything I say is so beyond people that they just don't get it, unless they also have a higher mind that appreciates puns and other such simple pleasures. Or maybe my first theory is more accurate in that some people just don't appreciate me and my sense of humor. *sigh* But at least I appreciate my sense of humor, which my bursts of laughter at odd moments when I'm by myself can testify. Maybe that's why I get along so well with people like Klara, whose clever jokes more than match my own (which aren't even clever, just random), and who sometimes seems unappreciated just as I am unappreciated. At least we appreciate our own wit (at least I do), and we appreciate the other's, so what more can we ask for?

All right, maybe my vague jesting concerning my sense of humor (which obviously isn't as clever as I'm pretending) isn't exactly sparkle, but at least it's something new, and it's the best I can do for now.

no more suspense

The only problem with having now told everyone that I tried out for All-state is that now everyone is going to kindly be interested whether or not I made it. I knew that might be a problem but I decided that I didn't really care, because after all, this was a big thing on my mind, so why not let people know what I've been dealing with? When I finally had that silly audition behind me, I was very uncertain how I did. For one thing, I tend to be quite self-critical. Part of me thought I did all right for some of it, but I was pretty sure I did a terrible job at sight reading that ridiculous (and rather high) piece. So I settled down to wait for the results, telling myself fiercely that I should pretend that I hadn't made it so I would be pleasantly surprised if I did. This worked in a fashion, but I couldn't quite quench that one small hope.

 

 

I won't leave you in suspense any longer.

 

 

I never got to be pleasantly surprised.  The list came out right before Thanksgiving, and my name wasn't on it. I didn't make it into the All-State Orchestra. Eighty violinists tried out, and only thirty-six made it. Okay, now you all can know what a loser I am and can surmise about my awful violin skills.

 

 

Though I felt (and still feel) a little deflated, I wasn't altogether disappointed. For one thing, it's just less hard music that I have to work on. And even though I'd been interested in doing All-State, it was really my teacher's idea, and I didn't have much choice in the matter. And since I think I tried my best, there really isn't anything else I should worry about. After all, once the audition was over, it was God's call, not mine.

 

 

(I figured that I better post this so people wouldn't have to feel bad when they asked me if I made it and I told them NO. But don't feel too bad for me--picture me saying most of this post in a fairly cheerful voice, which is probably how I would have responded if you had asked me in person. This is just for those of you who would feel awkward because you don't know how to sound sympathetic.:)

Free!!!

Well, lades and gents, guess what? I am a free person!!!!!!!! My audition
is done with, completed, finished, history, past, and behind me
forever!!! And I also want to say that if any of you prayed for me, a
thousand thanks! I believe it made a big difference. Instead of a
paralyzing fear, I felt surprisingly calm, instead of sweaty fingers that
go sliding all over the strings, they remained almost cool and dry, and
instead of an oppressive headache from stress, my head remained clear and
painless. I guess trusting God really works!

Now even after I've said that, it doesn't mean I didn't make mistakes.

First of all, my dad and I arrived at Memorial Highschool in Manchester
an hour before my audition. After obtaining directions from a 6'4"
athletic director of sorts (okay I didn't really ask him his height but
that's what he looked like to me), we managed to find the registration
desk, and after finding good old Mr. Sweeney who was coming to look for
us, I found myself in a room full of chaotic music. I heard Mozart in
this corner and in that corner, and scales near and far, cellos rumbling,
violins squeaking, and people chatting. Every once in awhile someone
would come walking in with an official-looking air, and a girl at the
front of the room would lean toward the mic. and the room would get
really quiet. Who was to be the victim this time? All would wonder. Then
the name and school would be pronounced over the mic, and the said person
would come forward solemnly with his or her instrument, often accompanied
by the cheers of encouragement from their fellow classmates. Ten or
fifteen minutes later they would return to be plagued with questions
about how it went and how they thought they did. Some seemed okay with
it, others felt it was a disaster. No one seemed too confident.

Finally it was my turn. All of my friends (a violinist, a violist, and
two cellists) had already gone before me and the clock had gradually
ticked closer to 5:55 p.m.: the time of my own audition. It seemed like
the room was gradually emptying of people; I think I was near the end of
a group of auditions before the judges would take a brief break and take
in a new group. More people were now talking than playing, and once when
I noticed that I was the only one playing in a rather quiet room of
people, I loudly spluttered and told them they should keep playing. A few
people chuckled. But now it was time. "Is there a Kayla _______ in the
room?" I heard the girl at the front of the room ask. I came forward. I
had been "called up."

The walk to my fate seemed long. We passed through the cafeteria of many
waiting students who had finished their auditions, winding through the
long halls until the sound of chatter had died away. I was accompanied by
a girl about my own age, who asked me questions like if this was my first
time and if I felt I knew my piece well, etc. I asked her some questions
in return, and I discovered that she had been going to try out for
All-State chorus, but she had been too freaked out to turn in the
paperwork. "But next year I'll have to try out, because I'll be singing
in chamber choir," she told me, a little grimly.

We had arrived at the room. I stepped inside, and found two very quiet,
solemn ladies within. One was given my paper; she never said a word. The
other told me in a still, whispery sort of voice what scales I was to
play. I played them without much ado, amazed at how something that you've
been working on for a year can suddenly flit past you in a flimsy
representation of playing it just once. A couple of the scales were just
fine, as close to perfection as can be expected in the circumstances,
while some of the others were more iffy. Thus I went through G major, A
major, B flat major, g minor, and c minor. In one of the minor scales I
had a moment of panic. As I was coming down my haze was broken by a
strange sounding note. I kept going, but I had the odd feeling that I had
changed key by accident, but the scale seemed to end fine so I wondered
if it was just my imagination and the sound of the melodic minor had just
taken me by surprise. When I had finished it I resisted the temptation to
ask if I could play it again, because for all I knew I could have played
it exactly as I should have. So I hoped for the best.

With the scales behind me, the whispery voiced lady came over and told me
to play from B to C on the piece of music that was already on my stand.
Here I blanked out. As I looked at the music, it didn't look anything
like the Mozart piece I'd been practicing. Had I been practicing the
wrong piece??? Quickly my mind ruled that idea out as absurd, but my mind
wasn't thinking clearly enough to stop myself from saying something like,
"I've never played this before." At least I think I said that out loud.
Did the lady laugh and say, "Yes?" No, she patiently told me that I was
sight-reading. Light dawned on marble head. Of course. I knew that. In
fact this all happened so quickly I can't remember what I actually
figured out on my own and what she told me, but I felt a little idiotic.
But letting it pass, I finally took a good look at the music. Craig had
told me that I could take my time and play when I was ready, but the lady
hadn't said anything about taking my time, and as I looked long and hard
at the music, I was afraid that their silence was growing uncomfortable.
So I decided to wing it.

A few painful minutes later, during which I wasn't wholly convinced I'd
been playing the right notes at all (my teacher tells me I'm a good
sight-reader but here I was bit skeptical), I was done. "That was
painful," I said with a little laugh, and for what seemed like the first
time, the lady smiled, if not a little vaguely. The lady handed me my
scale book (which I had only brought because I thought I was supposed to,
not because I got to use it) and told me I was going to be playing my
piece now. She started to move for the door. Once again I was met by
confusion. She had told me I was going to play my piece, so I prepared to
open my music where I was, but now she was implying that it was time to
leave? Of course I knew that my teacher had told me that I would probably
play the scales in a different room than my piece, but with Craig it was
different and as you must recall my brain was too fuzzy to remember
anything clearly. Once more the lady said something to remind me of my
stupidity by informing me that I was to move to another room. I laughed
as good-naturedly as I could, apologizing and explaining that I had never
done this before. She laughed, though it sounded like a tentative laugh
to me.

Out in the hall again I started to turn in the wrong direction, but was
called over to another room that was almost just across the room I had
just left. Here a friendly young man greeted me, a refreshing change from
the nervous lady I had spoken with previously. Inside an older, bearded
man with a rather red face awaited me. His chin rested in his hand in a
tired sort of way, and I realized how exhausting it must be to have to
listen to person after person after person playing the same exact piece.
Later my dad told me that there were 80 violinists in all trying out,
which helped me give the other two ladies some grace after their rather
cold reception of me. But not to be dissuaded by this man's look of
slight boredom, I greeted him cheerfully and he answered back cheerfully
enough. He was given my paper and the young man told me what I was to
play. I was told to start whenever I felt ready. At last, I didn't need
to feel like I was injuring them and their precious time while I caught
my breath. So I snatched the time to send up a short, wordless prayer and
then began. To be honest, I don't remember much. My body went on
auto-pilot, and I can only hope that I remembered to do dynamics. My
opening start strong like I wanted it to, though it faltered slightly in
the second or third measure. My very high runs were okay, some of my
accented notes sounded weak, and the really high trilly part right after
the page-turn was a little wimpy but not a disaster. Other than that I
don't really remember. Before I knew it I was done, and I almost asked if
that was really it. But the young man was kindly telling me I did a good
job and asking me if I needed someone to show me the way back. I could
hardly believe it, but I knew it had to be because he wouldn't tell me to
keep playing after he'd sent me out of the room would he? No, of course
not. So in a happy dream I walked back to put my instrument away, talking
with some friends along the way. I looked at my watch and found that only
ten or fifteen minutes had gone by! Who would have thought that so much
work and effort would have to culminate and be presented in a tiny period
of time before it's all over and you have no idea what hit you? It was
just mind-boggling.

I left in a stupor, but a very grateful one. It is over. And God is good.

Mixing Metaphors

Okay, here I am.

here I am

here I am

here I am.


I don't suppose anyone out there still perseveres in checking my blog anymore, but I'll still talk and at least enjoy hearing my echoes in a room all to myself.

to myself

to myself

I might say some serious stuff in a meaningless way, but it's okay to laugh--you and I will probably forget about it soon afterward. After all, sometimes it seems like I can never retain anything! It just goes in one head and out the other!

I've actually had very good reasons for not writing. Well, sort of. I've done plenty of interesting things, but none that sound interesting when you write about them. Could it be that I've been kind of busy?

You hit the nail right between the eyes!

Ever since the Feast ended I've felt as thought my life has pretty much been a whirl of school catch-up, tests, and practicing my violin--punctuated by second-hand clothes scavenging, bibleschool sports, driving, having weekend visits from my brothers, apple sauce day, sleeping at Fairwood for a weekend, the harvest party, youth group, listening to or watching Red Sox games, and going to PA for a long weekend. See what I mean by interesting, yet not interesting enough? And full, very full. I pretty much have had my ear to the grindstone for over a month, hopping from one hurdle of stress to the next.

For one thing, I decided to bite the bull by the horns and sign up to audition for the all-state orchestra. I sure opened up Pandora's box of worms! And if you're a bit puzzled at how I'm writing, from now on you'd better watch me with a fine tooth comb. It's only going to get worse. So anyway, as we all know, Rome wasn't burned in a day. Therefore I've grabbed the bull by the tail and faced the problem squarely. Practice, practice, practice. For an hour. Or two. Or three. Well, to be honest, some days there just isn't enough time (Fridays seem especially crowded), and going on trips doesn't necessarily help the issue either. But whenever I'm not practicing I'm wondering if I should be, and then when I think about auditioning I feel like I have a frog in my stomach. That really gets under my goat. It seems a lot more stressful now than it did just a few weeks ago, mostly because my time is running thin (auditions are a little over a week away) and I haven't felt prepared. I'm right down to brass knuckles now, since I'm skating on borrowed time. However, the grass is always greener on the other side of the rainbow, and pretty soon it'll be over. Thankfully in just the last day or so God has really given me a remarkable amount of peace about the whole issue. And since God is so willing to help me out, I remember that you shouldn't bite the hand that lays the golden egg. God is fully capable of helping me, and all I need to do is to "cease striving" to do it on my own, remember that He is God, and give Him the glory for whatever He does through me. Hey, it's no skin off my teeth to trust Him! And after all, there's no need to fret over something that's still a week away. I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

The sister of a history teacher

I was doing some research yesterday for a history project when I stumbled upon an unthinkable fact. Did you know that in 1659 the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Massachusetts?! Apparently it was according to Puritan custom in England or something. But still! It wasn't until about 22 years later that the law was repealed, and can you imagine being forbidden all that time not to celebrate Christmas? Next thing you know we'll discover that in the mean time it was always winter. And it's crazy! What ever happened to "freedom of religion" and our constitutional rights? Oh yeah. They hadn't happened yet.

Hey, and do you happen to know what the term "spooning" means? Why, it's the Welsh term for courting of course! I guess when the young man came to visit the young lady at her house he would carve spoons while she might play music or something. And if the sound of whittling or music stopped, the parents would get suspicious. In the end, the man would present a "love spoon" to the girl for an engagement present.

And, while I'm on a historic note, today I learned something else in history class today. My teacher said it, so I have no concrete evidence to back it up, but did you know that Queen Elizabeth I was almost killed by smallpox? And not only that, but once she had survived the traumatic disease, she hid the scars on her face by painting it with white lead and vinegar, and then to smather on some color she painted her lips and added red dye and egg white to give her cheeks color. Some make-up! And, oddly enough, it was actually the white lead that eventually killed her. Or at least I think that's what my teacher said. Moral of the story? Don't wear white lead and vinegar!

And now that I'm relieved of my watchman's duties, I can breathe a sigh of relief that at least your blood won't by on my hands if you end up trying it. (but take my advice and don't)

Ha. I guess you tell that I'm the sister of a history teacher.

Goodbye to plus sizes! (or is it hello?)

Hey, check out this article my chemistry teacher shared with us in class today. Bet you never knew this. It's amazing!

 

Soda and Ice Cream Diet

 

            As we all know, it takes 1 calorie to heat 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. Translated into meaningful terms, this means that you can eat a very cold dessert (generally consisting of water in large part), and the natural processes that raise the consumed dessert to body temperature during the digestive cycle literally suck the calories out of the only available source: your body fat.

 

 

For example, a dessert served and eaten at nearly 0 degrees C will, in a short time, be raised to the normal body temperature of 37 degrees C. For each gram of dessert eaten, that process takes approximately 37 calories, as stated above. The average dessert portion is 6 oz., or 168 grams. Therefore, by operation of thermodynamic law, 6,216 calories (1 cal./gm/deg. x 37 deg. x 168) are extracted from body fat as the dessert's temperature is normalized.

 

 

Allowing for the 1,200 latent calories in the dessert, the net calorie loss is approximately 5,000 calories.

 

 

Obviously, the more cold dessert you eat, the better off you are and the faster you will lose weight, if that is your goal.

 

 

This process works equally well when drinking very cold soda in frosted glasses. Each ounce of soda contains 16 latent calories, but extracts 1,036 calories (6,216 cal. Per 6 oz. portion) in the temperature-normalizing process. Thus the net calorie loss per ounce of soda is 1,020 calories. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that 12, 240 calories (12 oz. 1,020 cal./oz.) are extracted from the body in the process of drinking a can of soda.

 

 

Frozen desserts, e.g., ice cream, are even more beneficial, since it takes 83 cal/gm to melt them (i.e., raise them to 0 deg. C) and an additional 37 cal./gm to raise them further to body temperature. The results here are really remarkable, and it beats running hands down.

 

 

Unfortunately, for those who eat pizza as an excuse to drink soda, pizza (loaded with latent calories and served at above body temperature) induces an opposite effect. But, thankfully, as the astute reader should have already reasoned, the obvious solution is to drink a lot of soda with pizza and follow up immediately with large bowls of ice cream.

 

 

We could all be thin if we were to adhere religiously to a pizza, soda, and ice cream diet.

 

 

Happy eating!

 

 

As I listened to my teacher reading this I couldn't keep myself from grinning and grinning. I shoved away the majority of my skepticism as I basked in the revelation of this incredible idea. Why, this is genius! The whole world must have it wrong! And how come I never heard this before? But of course, if you are chemistry-savy like I'm not (that would be why I'm taking chemistry!:), you may have been able to point out the gross error in this theory (besides your common sense telling you that you can't get thin eating icecream and soda) as you read--there's a huge difference between "calorie" and "Calorie."  And those are terms that were kind of blurred in the account above. But hey, it sounded good, right?

 

 

Now I wonder if any of you were as gullible as I was . . . .

Hello August 28! Long time no see . . .

Something dawned on me recently. The fact is, I haven't experienced August 28 for a very long time.

"Guffaw," you say (I can't remember what that sound means exactly but it sounds good for this situation). "A whole year is not that terribly long you cake head!" (Perhaps you haven't heard that "cake head" expression before. That's because I just made it up and it hasn't had time to become a cliche yet. It's a softer rendition of "fat head" since everyone knows how fattening cakes can be.)

Actually I agree with you. A year is not long enough to start missing August 28 by any means, unless that happened to be my birthday. But how about two years?

Yes, ladies and gents, I have not experienced August 28 for two whole years! Okay, well MAYBE I experienced about an hour or two of it in the wee wee hours of the morning, but the fact remains that about this time last year all was nearly normal. I was going along at about one o'clock in the morning on August the 28th, minding my own business . . . la la la la la la la la---when BAM!!!!! It was suddenly one o'clock a.m. August 29. Don't ask me how I did it, time travel isn't a secret I'm about to divulge.

Still, there's something undeniably uncanny about the idea of having a whole day wiped out of the history of your life. Why, for me August 28, 2006, never even existed! While everyone else has something written down in the record of their life for that date (like this: August 28, 2006. Susie spent three hours drooling, one hour laughing, and the rest of the 20 either eating, sleeping, or being incredibly naughty), my life for that page is practically nothing! In fact, my page would probably look something like this: August 28, 2006. Kayla is moving amazingly fast, propelled by extraordinary powers (maybe a UFO?). She is drowsy. No, wait! She's gone! She's missing in action! The rest of her page is blank! She's----page turn. August 29, 2006. Kayla is sleeping . . .

The top side to crossing the International Dateline is that if you come back you make it all up by getting a day twice. Woe to those who cross it toward the Orient, never to return! They will forever be missing a day that they could have enjoyed with everybody else. On the other hand, if you traveled west you could cross the International Dateline going the other way and experience the day twice! Then if you had super time travel you could cross the International Dateline coming from the other way again and again--every day even. In fact, perhaps if you got it to pan out just right you could live every day of the year twice, which would mean your birthday would come only about once every two years and therefore you could remain young for years and years! Or would you just be experiencing the same day over and over? I'm confused . . . . but anyway, yikes I'm practically a genius--I should patent my idea. All you need is super duper traveling speed to go all around the world in an hour or so, then you can cross the International Dateline and spend most of your day in Hawaii. You'd stay young for a very long time . . . though I suppose if everyone did that then the national average age for deaths in the U.S. would probably drop from 76 to 38, and those statistics might throw a bad light on the healthy environment of our country, not to mention how old a 38-year-old would end up looking. I guess I'm not a genius after all (rats, scratch that idea). For the good of the country we should just let ourselves grow old.

However after all that I'm still happy to see August 28 again, and now I shall greet it, "Hello August 28! Long time no see . . . "

p.s. don't mind all the flaws to my far-fetched "staying young" scheme. If you don't understand it then I'm gratified because I'm still confused about it myself, though I keep "almost getting it." But hey, it sounded good, and I bet it made you think, right?