The Diary of Wilson M. Page

Well, the new blog is up and running, finally. I have not started to post diary entries from Wilson yet, but I have put up some detailed history of how I found the diaries. It will start officially January 1st, and is likely to consume even more of my time. Thus, I am sorry my dear devoted readers, but this site is going to become even [i]less[/i] active. :( But, on the plus side, you do get a new blog-type-thing, at this address. Enjoy!

Halloween Costumes

I had my costumes for the next three years all planned out. This year I would be a fairy, the next I would be a ninja, and the year after that I would be a gothic rag doll. It would all work out.

What I didn't bargain on happening was that it would be too cold to be a fairy. Of course. You can't go around in sleeveless dresses at the end of October. It just doesn't work. Sure, I had it all planned out, and I would look great in sparkly silver wings and my sequinned semi-formal dress, but, in the end, practicality triumphs again. I do not intend to walk around at night in the freezing cold in only a satiny dress and a pair of wings. It's just not going to work out.

So, now what am I going to do? I thought. Being a fairy is completely ruled out, and I was already a witch last year, after being the Red Death didn't work out, although that is by far the easiest costume. I was going to have to come up with something new - which involves going costume shopping.

After much wishy-washiness, I finally decided that I would steal the costume idea reserved for my senior year (however awesome it would look in the Halloween parade) and use it this year. I'm going to be a gothic rag doll, and creep myself out every time I look in the mirror.

Subject change: I am now severely ticked. Monstrously ticked. Do you know why? It is because Hulu has done something, I don't know what, and now I can't access Buffy the Vampire Slayer season two. Or three, or any of the other seasons. I can't continue where I left off, and it's incredibly annoying, because I love that show! And I don't know where I'm going to find them, either.

Great.

Yes, I've Decided to Shake Things Up

So, I decided to change my blog's name. I was getting a little bored of the old one, and this one seems to be more appropriate. I also changed my random question, though I've got to say, I think I liked my old one better.

By the way, this weekend was Apple Fest, in case you didn't notice the massive traffic jams streaming from Beak and Skiff and, well, the Apple Fest. I was working there Saturday, at eight in the morning. We avoided the traffic (Mr. Hafler got a parking pass), thankfully, but it was raining the entire morning in the fifty degree weather. Sarah and I stood shivering alone in the Mason's booth for about an hour until the other people came. We had to wear dorky paper hats, like the kind you might find in a 50's ice cream parlor, and vinyl gloves as we sold sausages to the people at the Apple Fest. It's kind of a demeaning experience - selling sausages, and wearing a weird hat. Though you kind of have to put it in perspective - at least we didn't have to dress up as tacos. ((Of course, I'll bet it's nice and warm in those taco outfits)).

Other Interacters arrived around nine (an hour late). I kind of liked it when it was just me and Sarah, I've got to say. I took a break around noon, and had to stay an hour after my shift was done, because my ride was Mr. Hafler, who had to wait for Mrs. Thomas. *sigh* Oh well.

When I finally got home, around two, I smelled strongly of sausages and smoke.

Oh, and Anna, I left my camera at your house today when I was taking photos of rabbits. I should probably call you now.

Wilson M. Page's Journal for 1857

Nearly a year and a half ago, I was cleaning my grandmother's closet, and found a stack of journals. The earliest one was written in 1857, by my great-great-great grandfather (I think that's enough greats...). It was really exciting of course; it was 150 years old! This June, I was over at my grandparent's, so I typed up the first ten entries of the journal. If you find it interesting, I might take it to myself to start another blog comprised completely of my great - whatever grandfather's entries.
Some of the words and names I had to guess on, because his handwriting isn't the neatest, but for the most part it was legible. Pardon the occasional mid-sentence question mark.
By the way, I want replies from my followers -- ALL of my followers! *evil eye* --if you would be interesting in having a separate blog for this, where I would try to post one of his entries for everyday of the year...probably starting January, to give me enough to time to amass a database.


Jan 1. I was up last night until after midnight, awaiting the departure of the old year, and the commencement of the New. As I sat there musing, many mournful thoughts presented themselves to me. I reflected on the time mispent on the many good resolutions with which I had commenced the year and the small number of them which I had regarded, and while I felt grateful to my Heavenly father for having so graciously watched over me, I resolved with his help, to live more to the glory of his Great name during the year to come. “Then lets' be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate,

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.” I have now kept a journal of my life during the past two years. I intend to continue doing so this year, but in a fuller form than hertofore. I think that in after years that it will be pleasant to look back upon my younger days. This morning while at breakfast I formed a plan of driving down to Flushing to call on my friend Austin B.Page who is teaching school there, and take dinner with him. So after breakfast, I went to Elizabeth Millets and borrowed their wagon and harness and invited her son Willie to accompany me. My horse that I wished to drive, “Nellie Tremont”, being laid up by a sprain, I harnessed Jenny. We left Westbury at 10.15 a.m. And arrived at Flushing 15 miles at 12.30 pm, just as they were setting down to dinner. The day was very warm and we had a very pleasant drive. After dinner we went to take a stroll around Flushing. We went through Parsons' nurseries, and on our return went to see the house wherein George Fox resided, when in this county. It is in a good state of presentation and on the end towards the street bears the date in ___ letters. Immediately opposite the house on the other side of the street stands a noble oak under which George Fox is said to have preached. We left for home at 3 P.M., where we arrived at 6 after a very cold ride. I have never spent “New Years” more pleasantly.

So...what sayst you? Reply, reply, reply! ((preferably to my other posts as well...*glares*))

I Feel Fantastic!

Jonathan Coulton, software engineer turned musician, sings awesomely amazing songs. You know this, Gracie. :) However, I'm not sure that everyone else has gotten exposed to the incredibleness that are the songs he writes.

This is the song "I Feel Fantastic". Be forewarned, it is very, very weird. And funny. But weird. Link

I've been thinking. I think that I'm going to choose St. Sithney as my saint for confirmation this year. I know he's male, but, how can I resist? He's the patron saint of mad or rabid dogs. He's a lot more interesting than all of the humble, altruistic saints who live lives of poverty and then are stabbed by pagans.

Yes, I know, a little sacrilegious. But think, he still has a much more interesting story than, say, Saint Alice. Oh, wait, Saint Alice has a good story, too. She went to a convent at seven, and was humble and kind, and then got leprosy, had visions, and then, presumably, died. Though they left that bit out of the saint listing.

*headdesk*

...And I've Never Been To Boston In The Fall

When I was little, let's say around six, we were living with the grand parental units while our house was being made. My grandmother had a bunch of Veggie Tale videos that I would watch. It always bothered me about the easily avoided trouble that Junior Asparagus would get into, but I liked it, all the same.

Another thing I liked about Veggie Tales were Silly Songs with Larry. These are really my kind of songs -- they make no sense whatsoever. This is one of my favorites. (I also like the one about the water buffalo).

And I've never been to Bawston in the fawll...

Wool: It's Sheep Fur!

So, my friend and I were exchanging notes, and she challenged me to write a poem. This is what I came up with. I have only one thing to say in my defense: It's harder than you think to write a limerick, okay?

Wool: It's Sheep Fur!

Wool is a great thing here 'round to keep
Especially nice cuz it is so cheap.
My skirt's short and pleated
Who'd a thunk that it once bleated?
That's right: wool is made out of SHEEP!

Weekend

Yes, I know that it is a tad late to be writing about my weekend on Wednesday. Believe me, I know.

So, Nine o'clock Saturday morning, I went into town for the Community Fair, at which Interact (my junior Rotary club) had a booth. We were to be selling popcorn, nachos, generic sodas, and squishy toys. We also had to march in the parade that went through town, and excitingly (sort of...) we got to march in front. Of course, there was no one to actually watch the parade, because the majority of our town was in it, but that's really a minor, minor thing. I was walking between my friend and the president of the club, who really bugs me. He's kind of funny, kind of jerkish. I'm pretty sure that alll elections are popularity contests.

Anywho, I'm pretty sure that he's come to the conclusion that I have mental issues because I kept humming and staring off into space during the parade. I am a little spacey sometimes, so maybe he's not completely inaccurate.

Eleven people showed up to work our booth (though one went home because she was sick), including yours truly. I think we got a pretty good profit, since our business was relatively steady. Though I don't think we sold even one of the squishy toys.
For the second half of the day, after it was done raining, I monitored the kids games that the Rotary booth next door had. Little kids are kind of hard to communicate with, I've noticed.
The entire time I was there, there was a booth that was selling cookies and fudge, and it was really hard not to think about. I eventually broke down and bought fudge during a slow part.
The fair ended at four. I got to go home for precisely one hour before heading off to babysit Emme, Harriet, and Elisa. .
So it was a nice evening. The girls were in the hay barn, and there was this huge pile of grain they were playing in, which was admittedly pretty cool. It was like a giant, two foot deep sandbox full of grain. Then they wanted to show me their chickens, and I'm proud to say that I've entirely overcome my alektorophobia. Chickens are cute and very soft. (Well, it was only roosters that I was afraid of, for good reason). Also, if you throw them up in the air, they'll fly! For about three seconds. But it's still very cool, and funny.
No, the chickens don't mind.
After dinner, we made popcorn from an air popper. We didn't have any butter, so I used vegetable oil. It wasn't that bad, actually. Then they watched The Parent Trap, which is a weird, unrealistic, but kind of sweet, movie.
Well, that's Disney.

Sunday night I was talking to Gracie (that'd be my third blog-follower) on IM, and we came up with a brilliant idea to make anti-Twilight pins. Twilight is the scourge of teen literature. It's a fad, which is always annoying, but it's doubly so when the fad is about a poorly written book about an average girl who is obsessed with her creepy, non-human stalker. So Gracie and I made pins that read TS: RGVB which stands for Twilight Sucks: Read Good Vampire Books. The good vampire books that are referred to are the Den of Shadows Quartet, which is an amazingly written, deep, and meaningful series about a variety of complex and layered characters.

I exaggerate not at all.

By the way, we wore these pins Monday. I was kind of sad when no one asked what they meant, and kind of relieved not to get into a fight with a die-hard Twilight fan -- though we did have a brush with Sarah, didn't we, Gracie?

School...Got to Love It

...perhaps in the same way one loves a very pretty, fatally poisonous, rather creepy insect: very far away.

Sadly, tis not to be. Back in school today. Sitting at the table in the morning before the first bell rings, it was almost surreal to be back in that building that I've tried my hardest not to think about all summer. It felt almost like I'd never left.

The day was filled with introductions and almost nothing interesting. It's going to be a looong year, that will probably feel very fast in retrospect. (that's the way it works). Anywho, I'm taking digital Photography this year, which should be really interesting and wildly complicated. I also have an actual studyhall this year, in place of Horticulture (which took up my studyhall last year). In some ways, I actually find myself missing the chaos and familiarity and messiness of it. In other ways, I think it might be better off just in memory.

Oh, and something joyful to look forward to: I have coed gym ALL YEAR!!! Yay!!!!

That was sarcasm.

I can't stand coed gym. Playing sports is bad enough, but take away all friends (I have none in that class), and make me play with the boys, who are less forgiving and play too rough, and it is made into a recipe for H-E-double hockey sticks.

Tirzah and Gracie are missing from our lunch period. I find this very sad. I will hardly get to see them at all this year.

I strongly dislike the bus. It's too loud. Too smelly. Too child-infested.

Hate is not a bad word.

And on a parting note, never put Mojito dressing on a vegetable sandwich. It just doesn't work.

Some Pictures

This is Imari Lace, one of our herd of Scotch Highland cattle that we have behind our house. Imari is probably the sweetest of them all, since she's the one that most often will come up to the fence when you yell, "Apples!", granted the rest of the herd is close enough. While the other cows are somewhat aloof, Imari seems to be the most personable. And the nice thing is that she'll never end up as hamburger, because she's owned by Ashley, not her father.

I felt that our 12 foot tall sunflowers deserved more than the brief notice I gave them last time, so here are some more pictures I took of them.

If you look closely on the one below, you can see a small, ruby-throated humming bird perched on our badminton net. I tried to get a picture of one sipping from a flower, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.

I have a couple like these

, of the bumble bees on the flower. These are the ones I took when I missed the humming bird. The bees are everywhere this year. I was over in the field, where all the wildflowers are (purple knotweed, purple aster, Queen Anne's Lace, goldenrod) and there was a honey bee for almost every flower I passed.
And here you can see our giant sunflowers in all their glory. Considering that I barely reach over the badminton net, you can see how tall these beauties are. If only they were perennials!
August is going by too fast. As always, there's a multitude of things I would like to do and

didn't get around to.

There's also some things that I didn't want to do, and also didn't get around to. Such as

summer reading. I have more than half of my last book left, and five days left of summer.

Better get reading.

August

I haven't written in an obscenely long time, and for this I apologize. Again. How many times have I neglected this blog for weeks on end? Actually, don't count that. I don't want to know.

This weekend we got back from Bethany Beach, Delaware. We stayed in the doll-infested beach house that our extended family rents from a friend-of-a-friend. The house, though oddly decorated and a pediophobe's nightmare, is nice because it is familiar, and air-conditioned.

You know, maybe if I start naming the dolls, then my fear will eventually dissipate as the names generate personalities, which make them seem less creepy and souless.

On the other hand, it may just make my semi-phobia worse, because the only names I can think of are weirdly ominous names, like Chuckie, or Lucy, or It.

I bought four books this week, and read them within the week. They are Tithe by Holly Black (really good, though a little weird), Squire by Tamora Pierce, The Den of Shadows Quartet (four books in one) by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin. They were all amazing books. I just wish that they had lasted longer. Now I need the sequels desperately, and I have 1 and 1/2 books of summer reading left.

Which reminds me. Shouldn't I be doing that now, before I have to go back to school next week?

Nah.

We drove home on Friday, a nine-hour endeavor. The drive, without any stops is closer to 6 hours, but 6 hours is a long time to sit in the car without bathroom breaks, and besides, it's an obligatory ritual to stop at my Aunt Joanie's apartment in Pennsylvania for a lunch/dinner combination. It's not that I don't like Aunt Joanie -- she's perfectly lovely, and an amazing cook -- it's more the fact that I never see her and know barely anything about her. Thus, few conversation topics. So I tend to leave the conversing to my parents -- or my mom -- and sit in the corner with my sister and try to get in on the neighbor's WiFi. Sadly, this visit, the neighbors wised up and got a security enabled network. So, no WiFi. My internet deprivation must continue a little longer.

Cathy, my cousin, showed us her recently redecorated apartment. She did an amazing job on the painting, and her next project is the retro white cabinets in the kitchen, which kind of counteract her black table and peach-orange walls.

She has an orange cat named Wankster (I truly have no idea how to spell that, but it is how you pronounce it) and her roommate has a dog, Marley, a lhasa apsa. Playing with the insanely cute animals alleiviated the boredom and some of the awkwardness of the rest of the visit to my great-aunt's.

Back to school shopping is a nightmare. My sister whined the entire time, and I couldn't find the correct notebooks. The school section at Target was a picked over, disorganized mess. It got really frustrating. I did, however, get a haircut today, which made my former haircut shorter, and it's now parted on the side. I didn't realize it would do this, but now I look an awful lot like one of my friend's friends, who also has short brown hair and glasses. It's kind of funny.

Oh, and our sunflowers are now 12 feet tall and blooming outside of our dining room. They are magnificent. The one in the photo is a considerably shorter one on our back porch, growing in a pot full of petunias. I love sunflowers in August. And any other time, really.

Has anyone looked at my random profile question recently? I find it quite funny.

The Lake House

This Sunday we drove a nice 2 1/2 hours to my aunt and uncle's lake house in Pennsylvania. On the way down, we stopped in Binghamton and had a nice, 10 minute chat with another uncle who lives there. I haven't really talked to him that much before, and he's actually a really funny guy.

The lake house was really good-sized: there were three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a TV and a living room, and a nice porch. It was very comfortable, and there was a lot of food. Which was nice. :)

When we went inside, I met Devon, my second cousin (I think) who is eleven, lives in Carlsbad, California, and is going into 6th grade. She was fun, and Emme and her hit it off, since they're close in age. We went swimming in the lake. It was really shallow, and there was a ton of rocks, so you really had to pick your way around. Still, there were some deeper sections, which was nice. Jerry (mon oncle) has a paddleboat and a rowboat, so we went for a couple of rides. Later, in the afternoon, they went over to the artificial beach to make sandcastles.

Then I ate about fifteen snickerdoodles, which were delicious (hence the consumption of 15 of them).

Ha! The family reunion wasn't completely excruciating! I think that's a first!

Mt. Washington

DO NOT READ THESE PICTURES IN ORDER! It will make MUCH more sense if you start at the bottom and read the long section, and then work your way up. Sorry for any inconvenience. (not that it's my fault!)

5. This picture was also taken at Mizpah Springs Hut. This is us in our several-hour-long pitch tournament. There wasn't a lot to do at the hut once we got there, you see. I think that I can probably go many years without playing another game of pitch, or any card game for that matter.

(left to right- Aunt Peggy's hand, Uncle Jeff, Luke, Sid, and me, looking utterly fascinated)

4. This is me looking out of the loft at Mizpah Springs Hut. This was the hut we went to after Lakes. It was a four or so mile hike there, and it was worse because the fog was very dense and the rocks were slippery, not to mention the forty-mile-per-hour continuous wind.

3. This is Emme (meh sis) on our hike up Tuckerman's Ravine to the Lakes hut. She's in front of a rare patch of bright blue sky. This was one of the hardest hikes we did. It wasn't that far, but the elevation we achieved was staggering. Imagine a really steep ladder that goes on for thousands of feet. With very few hand holds.
2. This is us (being Dave, Sid, Sadie and me) on our way to Glen Boulder, which you can see in the top left. It looks smaller than it is in actuality, of course --way smaller.
1. Day/Pic 1: This is our room. All of the rooms at Pinkham Notch are named after organisms found in the mountain. We generally stay in either the Spotted Salamander or the Peregrine Falcon room, but we decided to be different this year.

I just got back from my trip to Mt. Washington, NH, yesterday. We hiked a total of 31 miles in four days, which I think is pretty dang impressive, especially considering that much of it was steep and rough, not to mention wet and slippery. Days 4 and 5 were especially treacherous. On the hike from Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Mizpah Hut, it was foggy and very windy, and from Mizpah to our car at Crawford Notch, it was cold and drizzling, and foggy to cap it off. That hike was the hardest. We were tired out, and the hike was 5.7 miles. The worst part of it was at the end, when we came to a sign that said that we had two more miles to go. Fortunately, the sign was wrong. Or we were wrong. It's possible that the sign said that we had 0.2 miles to go, instead.

Fortunately, I am home now, and finally dry. :) And I have a deep appreciation for any and all

modern amenities.

Geometry Regents

I had the Geometry Regents today, and I am really glad that that is now over with. It was pretty easy, I thought. As always, there were a few questions that I was confused on, but I think I did well, which is excellent. I was actually one of the first people done, but the proctors got to me like second to last, so I was stuck sitting there for ages. Those chairs are really uncomfortable, in case you haven't noticed. Well, of course you wouldn't have, my two readers haven't been in school for years. : ]

Afterwards, I sat outside on the bench with Ashley for another half an hour, waiting for the bus. In the end, I got to ride in the school suburban with a grouchy lady bus driver and three boys. It was pretty boring, but it was nice to be home. My next exam is Thursday, though I am contemplating going to a Biology review tomorrow. I think that I probably will.

UPDATE: My score on the Geometry Regents was a 98, and the Biology Regents was a 96. Score!

The Last, Psychedelic Day of School

It is the last day of school, finally and at long last! Of course, I still have Regents, which I will have to study for, slightly marring this joyous occasion, butI'm just going to pretend they don't exist until about, oh, five o'clock ish, so I can blog and screw around on Facebook in peace.

Today was extremely bizarre. It started in French class, when our teacher showed us this psychedelic animation. It was made in France, but there was no speaking, and all of the characters were extremely distorted and weird. I had a really hard time deciphering the plot, but I think it was about this guy who grew up to be a professional biker. He was like super tall and super skinny, and had a huge nose, and weird, boxy leg muscles. It was extremely creepy. There was also an obese dog with stick legs, and a short grandma who abused the dog by apparently making him power a boat across the Atlantic to rescue the biker (her grandson) who had been kidnapped by these men whose faces were in the center of their bodies and were the size of refrigerators. It really seemed drug induced.

The seniors had fun with pranks this year. They threw thousands of bouncy balls into the hall, which was pretty awesome. Everyone had them today and was screwing around with them (except for me sadly, because I didn't have any).

And then there was sixth period lunch. A guy senior, wearing a cowboy hat, a George Bush mask, and a black Speedo ran through the cafeteria waving an American flag. I sat there blinking for a few minutes, trying to remove the image from my mind.

We got free ice cream, left over from the JH kids. Cake batter ice cream is really weird. Pretty good, though.

There was a water balloon fight after school. I did not get hit, which was nice. It was mostly in the parking lot, which was disappointing. Not that I wanted to get hit, since some people put gross stuff like milk in the balloon, but because I really wanted to watch it.

Grrr!!! I hate the little kids on our bus! They are incredibly annoying and bratty. It's extremely depressing to think that a lot of them are going into 7th grade next year. I really don't want them in the high school. With any luck, I won't see them at all and be tempted to (try to) shove one of them into a locker.

Just kidding. I can't be that mean.

I have my Geometry regents tomorrow. I am quite apprehensive, but I'm glad to be getting them over with. I will study as soon as I finish this entry. Sigh...the euphoria of the last day of school is so short lived.

Actually, I was just bored most of the day, but I'm just pretending I was euphoric. It's more fun.

The Io Moth

On the door to our porch this morning we found an Io moth. They're somewhat common around here - or so I am led to believe, due to the fact that my grandmother, who lives next door, also found one recently. Fortunately, ours, unlike hers, is alive.

Interesting side note: Io was a beautiful princess in Greek myth. Zeus loved her so he turned her into a cow to hide her from Hera.

Jeez, what a show of true affection! Who wouldn't love to be a cow?

I'm not quite certain how the name of Io the cow was put onto a moth, but neither am I sure how the Polyphemus moth got it's name as well - Polyphemus was a cyclops. The Polyphemus moth has two eyes. And also, why does it seem like all large moths are named after Grecian characters?

(Did you know that the Atlas moth has the largest wing area of any moth? And possibly insect? The monstrosity is larger than your two hands put together! Also, it was so named because the patterns on it's wings look like maps, or so they say. But the term Atlas still comes from the Titan, so I know I'm right in my theory.)

(Disregarding Luna moths...but their name is in fact Latin. So there.)

It Feels Like Summer

Frankly, I think summer starts when the weather gets warm and the fireflies come out. Fireflies are like a symbol of summer. There were some in the field, all glowy and bioluminescent. I caught one, but he was boring.

I went to an open house this evening. It was Lydia's mom's new house, and was quite nice, judging by what I saw of it. I was outside almost the full time, with Lydia and her (awesome) friends. It was an amazing amount of fun, I must say. We tried to take candid pictures of each other, played on the playground, drank soda, climbed walls, and talked a lot. It was fun. I had met most of the people last year at Lydia's birthday party, minus one. 'Twas nice.

There were fireflies in the field when I got back. They were pretty.

Aghh...I think I need to go to bed. Thank goodness it's the weekend. It feels like summer. Sigh...one more day...not including Regents. Well...I'll probably survive. Probably. If not, I want roses at my funeral. Either dark red ones or orange and white ones.

G'night, kids. Je suis tres fatigue. Maybe I'll watch NCIS in bed or something. (good show, watch it.) Cya.

Apology

I'm sorry that I haven't written in a little while. There's been a lot of work and not much of a chance to write much, and it's not as if much has happened in any event.

What has happened? 

I have acquired a research project, which is loads of fun, I can assure you.

I have discovered that my sister's friend's family has managed to get even more incredible pets. They now have two rabbits (and possibly more), a tortoise, some chickens (which do not count as pets--pets should be loving, not evil. Believe me, I know. I was once chased across my friend's yard by an angry rooster and was only saved when I got inside. ' Course, I had been poking it with a stick...nah, that couldn't have had anything to do with it), turkey chicks (they look like dinosaurs), and of course, Brit the beagle and Whip the sheep dog. 

Did I mention that they also have cows, pigs (though perhaps not now), and sheep? I love visiting their house. Oberon the black lopear is by far my favorite. 

I had a piano recital, which went really well, as well as a NYSSMA recital. I got an Outstanding (27/28) on that. I was really surprised: I did really badly, and messed up a lot.

I went on an Earth Day cleanup with Interact...this was a while ago already. We cleaned up in town, and it was actually pretty fun. We found some interesting things, too: three golf balls, a wrench, a dead, bloated fox that my friend named Bernard, a deer skeleton, perfume and honey bottles, and a doll's head we called Lucy (the perfect name for a  psychopath) that looked a heck of a lot like something from Chuckie Returns.

Oh, and we can't forget the racoon skull.

My dear mother's bedroom was painted. (Nice job, Anna. It's really nice). 

Hmmm...that is all that's exciting that I can think of. 

On a closing note:

Q: How does a crazy person get through the forest?

A: They take the psycho path.

Horrrible [CLASS] Field Trip

My not particularly bright [class] teacher decided to make us all (all of the agriculture classes, actually) go on a field trip to Cornell. It was mandatory, and part of our grade. My one friend managed to weasel her way out of it, but then she had to write a research paper.

As you know, I've already missed two days of school this week, and was not that happy at missing another. But what can you do? I asked Ashley to get my homework for me, and after homeroom went down to the cafeteria. 

It was 30 degrees out this morning and raining, which was not particularly promising for a great day.

I fell asleep on the way there. 

The first place we went to was to the (dormant) apple orchard, while a guy called Dr. What'shisface Justincasesoasnottooffendanyone Pseudonym rambled on about root structures and grafting and pesticides while we stood in the rain-sodden grass and caught pnemonia.

A NOTE: Some of these topics might be kind of interesting if they were standing alone, but the rain ruined any fun, and I'm not allowed to enjoy it, anyway, as that would make me an agriculture freak. Again, not that there's anything wrong with agriculture, that's just not my interest and also not the image I want to present to the world. 

Then, after an hour or so of torture disguised as academics, we got back on the bus and rove to the Cornell "plantation". The name plantation is misleading. It's actually a garden.

Admittedly, I liked this place the most, though it was kind of hard to fully appreciate it with the dull lectures, cold rain, and idiotic boys. My favorite gardens were the herb garden, which had an English/Oxfordian feel, the summer garden, with its yellow dogwood and giant magnolia, and the rhododendron and azalea garden, because of the beautiful lenten roses. 

Afterwards, we went to the lab of Ornithology. I love watching the birds and playing with the telescopes, but at the time I rathered to be with my friends...not that I could find them, as they all mysteriously disappeared. 

For lunch we went to the Ithaca mall. The table was full so I sadly ate my bag lunch alone at another table because I'm too mild mannered to tell them to budge over and let me sit down. I'll have to work on being ruder. 

But then Tirzah, Julia, and I all went to Borders for about ten minutes, which really lifted my mood.

But then we toured a sheep farm and a beef cow farm, and listening to dull lectures in the cold amidst noisy animals and the smell of livestock quickly served to make me miserable again. 

I fell asleep on the bus ride back again. 

There's No Place Like Home

I am so happy to be back. Nothing beats coming back from a vacation and getting back into routine and work and stuff.

Yes, I know, this is an atypical reaction. But frankly, vacations are great and all, but home is where I'm happy. It's where I know how to act. And I don't just mean my house, I mean school, too. I got to see all my friends today, as well as my non-friends and people I don't know. I also saw my teachers, and got a bunch of lovely homework. And I saw my sister and got into a large fight with her (at home). And I saw my first track meet, which drove any last possible urges to join track straight out of my head. And I also saw my room again, which is the best place in the world, truly it is. My room is the epicenter of the universe (well, at least my universe, which is admittedly rather small. But at least they know me here.)

Three cheers for home, everybody! 

I wrote a short bit of a story a few days ago. Actually, I couldn't put it down and was scribbling on it on a bench in the park and during dinner (this was in Sanibel). It's not that great, but I just had to get the idea out. I might post it, I might not...it's kind of long, and not my best work ever. In fact, it's rather disjointed, as I started slightly before the climax of the story again. I don't know why I always start there rather than at the beginning. It's difficult to write a story backwards.

Oh, and did you hear? Tamora Pierce's latest book came out: Beka Cooper: Bloodhound. I can't wait to read it, as this is my favorite series yet. I love Tamora Pierce books, but at least I'm not quite as obsessed as Ashley. She has almost all of them except three...and there are at least twenty. *grins*. Though, honestly, I wouldn't mind having all of them either (with the exception of the Circle of Magic Series. The characters really bug me in that one, and I'm trying to put my finger down on my problem with it. I haven't had much success yet, but for some reason the people just bother me.) I have been planning to get Beka Cooper: Terrier for a while now, but I may have to just buy it for Ashley and save up for another copy for me. Ashley's birthday's in May, and that's what I'm intending to get her (which is obviously much better than last year's present, or at least longer lasting. Last year I got her Little Debbie Nutty Bars--they were gone in a week, let me tell you.) 

I'm also following another incredible series...this one is the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. (In case you haven't guessed, I'm a fantasy freak). These books are written really well. They have realistic characters and exciting plot lines, and the world that is created in them is really well crafted. The fourth book recently came out, and Emme got it for me for Easter (I guess I should be nicer to her, huh?) It was amazing! I was afraid to start reading it because I was worried that the author might screw up the plot or the mood or the characters, like another author did to a really good series. That worry didn't last long, of course. I'm glad to say that the book did not disappoint, though the betrayal at the end was hard. And it was one of my favorite characters, too! *sob*.

One last thing: Shannon Hale conducted an interview of Brandon Mull, and frankly, it's pretty funny. Here's the link. 

Well, fare well, wherever you fare, and may the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks (This is the polite thing to say among eagles - I'm just as wise as Gandalf. The Hobbit - an awesome book. If you haven't read it, you must). 

Till your eyries receive you at the journey's end! 

Sanibel

What a week this has been! I can't believe that I only have two days left here. It's depressing ... though, admittedly, I do kind of miss home ... and all the books I forgot to bring. 

The prime activity I've done this week is bike. Bike, bike, bike. Yeuch. I am so exhausted at the moment that walking across the room is an Olympic feat. 

We went to J.N. "Ding" Darling reserve two days ago, where we went canoeing with Sid, Sadie, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jeff. It was pretty fun, though I started to bake towards the end. We saw starfishes, egrets, and striped fish. We also saw two three foot long fishes jumping out of the water! It was incredible! (Though I was slightly disappointed that they weren't dolphins.)

We went to the time-tested Trailer Park, which is a small zoo. There are parrots and ducks, and even a few lemurs. It was nice, as always, but I've seen it several times before, and was, consequently, not that interesting.  Pumpkin and Fred the macaws are my favorite.

 Tennis is harder than it looks.

There's a lighthouse only a little way from us that we biked to yesterday. There were some parasailers by it. It looked like so much fun. I would love to do that. 

Today we biked to Sid's condo and went swimming. I got even more sunburned than I was already, which is just lovely, isn't it? I feel like a lobster. Owww...

Goodnight, kids. I'm too tired to focus for any longer.

Ocean

I spent a good portion of my day at the beach. The rest of it was walking to the bike rental, three miles away.

I much preferred being at the beach, though, kind of obviously. The water is incredibly shallow for ages, and really warm. Also, the waves really aren't that big. I must have been in the water for an hour, jumping into waves. The highest wave was only slightly taller than me, which isn't that big if you think about it, and especially if you're jumping it. And methinks there was only one or two waves like that, actually. 

I'll try not to make you jealous. 

Seriously, though, what I'm enjoying the most is being able to go outside and not have to brace yourself for colder temperatures. And everything is so green. It's so alive down here! Also, there are tons upon tons of lizards everywhere. You can see them every ten feet on the bike path, and there's more hiding in the trees. I really don't know what to compare them to up north. I don't think they have an awesomeness counterpart, unfortunately. 

I haven't tried to catch one yet, and I don't think I'll be able to. They're incredibly fast.

Lighthouse Cafe all the way! 

Planes, Trams, Unstable Suitcases, and Sanibel At Last!

After going to bed at 11:00 last night, I still had to wake up at 6:00. I can be so brilliant some times. But it didn't really matter, apparently, since it's eight o'clock and I still haven't crashed. Though the couch is very comfortable, and the warm breeze from the ocean is relaxing...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I hate flying, I've decided, though it's okay if you have a window seat. If you're stuck in the middle, however, it can get really gross. Ginger ale helps, and that's pretty much all that I ate today...excluding complimentary peanuts and chocolate. 

In the Detroit airport, we got temporarily stuck on a tram. We got to our station, but the doors wouldn't open, and the emergency open wouldn't work. Eventually we got off, quite a ways from where we wanted to be. We don't know what caused it.

I am incredibly uncoordinated. I kept running my suitcase into things, including myself, other people, and stationary objects. 

Flying from Detroit to Atlanta, someone had a seizure on the plane. I didn't see, but we were worried that we'd have to land somewhere else. We didn't have to in the end, though, because we were close enough to Atlanta. 

From Atlanta to Fort Meyers, we got rerouted around the thunderstorms over southern Florida. It didn't delay us, and I barely noticed. I ususally find it hard to sleep on air planes, unless I can lean against the wall, as I did today. That was incredibly relaxing, actually, and I didn't feel sick. 

And now, it's eight thirty in Sanibel, Florida! It's pouring and thundering out, but it will be gone by tomorrow (or so my sources tell me), and as I wasn't intending to go out anyway, the breeze and the smell of tropical rain is just so...perfect. *happy sigh*

Who wants me to bring them back shells? 

Thyme Flies

I am in love with this picture. 

Update

In case anyone cares, I occasionally change the Random Question on my profile. Like I did just now.

It's retarded, but if anyone cares...then there you go.

Easter Sunday

Emme woke me up early today, to my extreme disappointment. I love sleeping. However, I was eventually glad that she did, because I got four insanely awesome gifts. One was chocolate. I gave up chocolate for Lent, so I have been waiting for this day forever. The second was a red sweater!!! I have been waiting forever to find a red sweater, and at long last, I have one! Seriously, just that was enough to make my day! But then, Emme gave me two insanely awesome books in series that I am following doggedly: Fablehaven, and Pendragon! I spent all day reading the fourth Fablehaven. It was incredibly stressful, horrible, and awesome. It was the best book I've read for ages, and left me wanting to simultaneously hug and kill the author. Agggh!! 

In the morning, we went to a little chapel in Vesper, a church my grandparents go to. It was rather nice,  though the lady at the door creeped me out slightly. 

Did I mention that it was about 30 degrees out, and that my outfit was comprised of a knee length linen skirt,  a thin sweater, and flipflops? Not well planned, but thanks for trying, Mom. Thank god for leggings...

Easter Brunch is  always the best part of Easter. It was comprised of monkey bread, fruit salad, and an insane breakfast pizza. I'm making you jealous of my family's cooking skills. Your mouth is watering,  and yet you know that no food can be as good as the deliciousness that I am describing...bwa ha ha! 

Happy Easter!!! Enjoy your bizarre egg-toting rabbits and copious chocolate consumption! Yay!!!

My Biology Story

This is for you, Dad.

For Biology, my teacher had us write an educational children's book on ecology, as mentioned before. Because of the OVERWHELMING requests of my THOUSANDS of readers to hear this story, here it is.

Ellie Finds Her Place in the Ecosystem

Ellie was a little girl who wondered what her place in the ecosystem was. One day, she decided to go walking in the woods to figure it out. As Ellie was walking, she came upon a patch of flowers.

“Hello, flowers!” she said. “How are you doing on this lovely morning?”

The flowers did not respond, due to their conspicuous lack of larynxes, but she imagined that they replied with a jaunty “how d'you do? I'm fine too!” and a wave of their pretty little petals.

“What's your place in the ecosystem, flowers?” Ellie asked them. Again, they didn't not respond, but she imagined voices for them.

“Why, Ellie,” they replied, “our place in the ecosystem is as producers.”

“What are producers?” she asked.

“Producers are organisms that make their own food from light energy and natural resources, silly,” the flowers replied. “Everybody knows that.”

“And flowers,” Ellie asked, “What's my place in the ecosystem?”

“We don't know, Ellie,” they answered.

Ellie kept walking.

Ellie came up to a pond.

“Hello, leeches!” she said. “How do you do today?”

“Lovely, Ellie!” they chirruped.

“What's your place in the ecosystem, leeches?” Ellie asked.

“Our place in the ecosystem is as parasites, Ellie,” the leeches responded in their high, squeaky voices.

“What's a parasite?” Ellie asked.

“A parasite is an organism that survives by living and feeding on other organisms,” the leeches replied.

“That doesn't sound very nice!” Ellie said.

The leeches thought about this, and then answered, “Hey, don't begrudge us. It's our ecological niche!”

“What does that mean?” Ellie asked, eyes practically bugging out of her head.

“An ecological niche is the specific role played by an organism or population of organisms,” the leeches dutifully defined.

Ellie pondered this, and then asked excitedly, “What's a population?”

The leeches exchanged glances.

“Yes, Ellie, we could play this game all day long, too,” they said. “But hadn't you better get to the point and get on your way?”

“Okey-doke,” Ellie responded. “What's my place in the ecosystem, leeches?”

“We don't know, Ellie,” they responded, and then attached themselves to her lower leg.

Ellie kept walking.

Ellie came up to rabbits half in and half out of their holes.

“Hello, rabbits!” she said. “What's your place in the ecosystem?”

“Hello, Ellie,” the rabbits said. “Our role in the ecosystem is as a population!”

“What's a population?” Ellie asked.

“A population?” the rabbits queried. “A population is all of the individuals of a single species that survive in an area.”

“What's an 'area'?” Ellie asked, staring vacantly and drooling.

There was an awkward silence.

“What's my place in the ecosystem?” Ellie asked.

“We don't know,” the rabbits chorused.

Ellie kept walking.

Ellie came up to a rock.

“Hello, rock!” Ellie said. “How are you doing today?”

“Just fine, Ellie,” the rock said, miraculously acquiring a voice.

“What's your place in the ecosystem, rock?” Ellie asked.

“My place in the ecosystem as an abiotic factor is as a habitat to small decomposers,” the rock replied.

“What does 'abiotic' and 'habitat' mean?” Ellie asked.

“'Abiotic' things are the non-living parts of an environment,” the rock said. “A habitat is a home.”

“What's my place in the ecosystem, rock?” Ellie asked.

“I don't know, Ellie,” the rock replied.

Ellie then lifted up the rock to talk to the decomposers.

“Hello, decomposers. What does your name mean? I know Beethoven was a famous composer!”

“A decomposer is an organism, generally a bacterium or fungus,” the tiny creatures yelled collectively, their calls a little less than a whisper, “that consumes dead organisms or organic waste.”

“Neat-o!” Ellie said.

“What's my place in the ecosystem, decomposers?” Ellie asked them.

“We don't know, Ellie,” they responded.

Ellie dropped the rock back onto them. Their screams (“I'm being crushed! I'm being crushed!) were muffled by the stone.

Ellie kept walking.

Ellie then came upon a mountain lion, laying peacefully on an abiotic piece of ground.

“Hello, mountain lion!” Ellie greeted him cheerfully. “How do you do?”

“Lovely, Ellie,” the mountain lion replied.

“What's your place in the ecosystem?” Ellie asked with a smile.

“My place in the ecosystem is as a carnivore,” the mountain lion said.

“What does that mean?” Ellie asked.

“A carnivore is an organism that feeds on other animals for food,” the mountain lion replied. “I am proud of being a carnivore.”

“That's cool,” Ellie replied. “But what's my place in the ecosystem?”

“I know, Ellie,” the mountain lion responded.

“You do?” Ellie exclaimed excitedly. “Great! No one else knew! What is it? What is it?”

The mountain lion leaned in very close.

“Ellie, your place in the ecosystem is being the prey in the food chain!” he said happily.

“What's THAT mean?” Ellie asked excitedly.

The mountain lion said: “A food chain is a representation that identifies the specific feeding relationships among organisms. And prey is what is caught and eaten by the predators, who are carnivores.”

“What's a predator?” Ellie asked, shortly before she was consumed. But don't worry: it's a happy ending, because Ellie found her place in the ecosystem at long last.

THE END

Golden Chiffon Cake

Today I baked a golden chiffon cake as a dessert for Easter supper. It is like a lemon angel food cake. I know you're jealous. You are marvelling in its golden super-fantabulous splendor. I am the awesomeist! Bwa ha ha! 

Oh, and a round of applause for Dad for helping me out with the egg separation and my lemon zesting woes. *clappaclappaclappa*

Don't deny that you're insanely envious of my skills. I'm used to it.

The Music Technician Screws Up

Friday night at 6:00, I went to the church to help out with our Confirmation class's performance of the Live Stations of the Cross. A prayer would be read in the pitch black church, and then a spot light would come on, showing a freeze-frame scene of one of the stations of the cross. Then, in the 45 seconds of setting up before the next reading, music would be playing (Gregorian chants, actually.) I was the music technician. (Woo hoo! I don't have to act!)

The show started at 8:00. We had plenty of time for rehearsal and costuming. During the rehearsal, I set up in the choir loft with the CD player. I did a pretty good job with my fade-in-fade-out techniques, though a few times I came in at the wrong time because one of the readers was playing with their flashlight (one of my cues), or Mr. Paccia turned on or off the spot light in to help some one see(another cue of mine). But it went well.

Several minutes prior to the start of the show, people started coming into the choir loft! They weren't supposed to do that, and I had all my stuff set up there! I tried to gesture for them to go back down, but they just came up. One guy actually sat down next to me! I was freaking out because I did not want anyone watching me. Mrs. Downes then came up, thankfully!, and helped me move the stereo and such into the other half of the choir loft, where there is only one chair and no one was sitting. Whew!

It was pitch black in the church. I kept my fingers on the buttons and dials I had to use so I wouldn't get confused and push the wrong button. It went smoothly until just after the second or third stations. When the spot light went out, I was supposed play the music. I pressed 'play', but what came out was not Gregorian chants! It was some sort of jazz! I paused it as quickly as I could, and, panicked, felt around wildly for the emergency flashlight! It's kind of amazing that I figured it out so quickly. I pressed the CD 1 button that I'd seen earlier because I knew (hoped!) that that was where the CD was. I practically tore out my hair as it took forever to switch CDs. My theory for what happened was that I hit one of the other CD buttons in the pitch black and it changed CDs, and that was what played when I pressed "play"! 

After it finished loading, I tentatively pressed play, and it worked! I was so relieved, though still really flustered. The cue came really quickly, and I was glad to fade it out and turn it off. My heart was still racing and I was slapping myself in the forehead repeatedly. The rest of the show went really smoothly, though (I kept the flashlight on- thank god for that flashlight!)

Mom said that she didn't hear me mess up, but I still needed a second opinion. Mrs. Downes said that she heard it, but was happy that I figured it out.

I think I still need a third opinion, though...Who else heard it? (yikes!) Perhaps I should call Kat. 

Mr. Paccia gave us a pep talk/lecture before hand about reverence and really taking part in the event. Fortunately, it wasn't half as bad as he said it should be. He told us to physically feel the anguish of Christ. 

Hmm...that's a bit extreme, no? Yet another case of improper use of adverbs. *rolls eyes*.