Today was a most interesting day, both joyful and sad on a personal level, and just weird on an external one.
My mom drove me to school this morning, and because she had to work early in the morning, I got to school a bit earlier than usual as well. I headed up to Ms. Jones's classroom, and sat with Elisabeth and Jeremy (they're always there early because their parents are teachers). We discussed the typical early morning subjects: everything, whether it made sense or not. We also got into a bit of a scuffle over a Doctor Seuss book, Fox in Socks. Elisabeth and I both admitted our dislike of the book, particularly because of the entry involving the tweedle beetle battles in a puddle in a bottle on a poodle eating noodles, while Jeremy claimed that this was his very favorite work of the innovative man that is Doctor Seuss.
And then, when the morning announcements began, Principal Pascal came onto the intercom to inform us that, "as we might already know, a freshman unexpectedly passed away on Monday night by the name of Aaron Alan." No, I didn't know that, and neither did the entire class, I'm pretty certain; we were all shocked into the moment of silence that followed this statement.
Even worse, directly following the morning announcements, I heard mutters of "suicide," and "hung himself," the latter of which may or may not be true, though a teacher confirmed the former. I just can't believe that someone so young could be that sad. To top it off, Ms. Jones said to us, "Those of you from Hanes: did you know Aaron Alan?" Some nodded, but I felt terrible that I had let some kid just exist in my presence for years without knowing him; I couldn't place him in my memory at all, and I was rather sad about this all day.
We all did the best we could to deal with our guilt; we moved through the day with as much cheer as we could muster. In Instrumental Music class, we listened to and analyzed this neat version of the "Mna Mna" song by the band Cake. In French, we learned how to understand and give directions to places. We took a quiz in math class, I spoke to the people in the office during lunch about my bus schedule, and we played the usual music in Band. I spoke to Elizabeth during Life Management Skills (we were in the gym today because Mr. Pinnix wasn't here; Elizabeth's gym class coincides with my Life Skills class); she was particularly affected by the passing of our fellow student, as he was in her class. We talked of lighter things for the latter half of the period, and both walked away feeling a little better. In dance class, we listened to a lot of songs on Mrs. Reece's iPod, so that we could decide democratically on a song to dance to in our concert. I was not particularly excited about anything that was written down for consideration, except for "Fidelity" and "Ain't No Other Man but You."
After school, I attended the second meeting of the creative writing club, which was my first. Though I finally perfected a poem today in math class which I think that I will entitle "Michael and Sylvia," I read three other poems that I was more confident with, entitled "Idle Summer Nights," "Waking Up," and "Singer," the last of which I was self-conscious about until I heard some of the other poetry and realized that it was not overly mopey. All the people there seemed really nice and they offered great criticism; I also really like Ms. Fitzgerald, who sponsors the group, I think; she seems to have an enjoyment for good literature (Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, etc.)
I left the club a little early, at 4:30, meeting my mom at the side of the building. We drove over to the hot guy movie store to pick out a movie. It was our lucky day; he was there just as I predicted yesterday. We found out that there are in fact two Johns and that the name of the other guy who works there is Jimmy. He also informed us that he felt that people were hesitant to guess his age because they didn't want to hurt his feelings, though I personally think he's being paranoid. Oh well. We rented a Hugh Grant movie called "About a Boy," which actually turned out being really cool (I think I've seen part of it on the television). I also really liked the soundtrack, which consisted mainly of songs by Badly Drawn Boy.
I worked on my math project a little bit tonight, and I received a super-encouraging email from Mr. Dodds, who tells me that he is doing his best to find a place for me to play the piano for the church. Right now, my mom seems to be heating something up in the microwave, and so I will depart.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Significance
So, today was a somewhat uneventful day. However, it is the day that Jerry Lee Lewis was born and the day that Carson McCullers died, so it does have some significance.
I woke up around 7:30 a.m. at my mother's house, had a breakfast of her awesome cheesy garlic bread, showered, and was driven to school by Wesley. It is fall now, almost officially; the wind blows just as it should, the air smells of fall, and I have come very close to catching the first leaf of fall (which is the official start of autumn).
Yesterday, we switched Seminar In the Arts classes, so now I'm in Mr. Cockman's class for instrumental music, having just left Mr. Gal's class.
After school today, I stayed for marching band; the band has finally started work on the last song in our half-time show, "Big Noise From Winnetka," which is probably the most challenging piece on the mallets, though "Novus" initially gave me the most trouble because of the sixtuplets, which are like triplets, except twice as fast. So I stayed indoors until 5:30 came, and then I went outside to meet my mom.
We drove to the humane society to turn in my volunteer form; unfortunately the main person wasn't there, so we have to wait for them to call us back before I can get my school form signed. After doing this, we drove to Best Buy so that I could buy Shannon her birthday present, an All Time Low cd. It was there, so we didn't have to go hunting elsewhere, which was nice. The guy at the counter was pretty cool; he and my mom ranted about the things that customers do at a counter that ticks them off, which was hilarious.
On the way home, we listened to Cat Stevens, A.K.A. Yusuf Islam, who (and I never say this phrase) rocks my socks. We were jamming to "Peace Train" and "18th Avenue" when we pulled up to the house.
I woke up around 7:30 a.m. at my mother's house, had a breakfast of her awesome cheesy garlic bread, showered, and was driven to school by Wesley. It is fall now, almost officially; the wind blows just as it should, the air smells of fall, and I have come very close to catching the first leaf of fall (which is the official start of autumn).
Yesterday, we switched Seminar In the Arts classes, so now I'm in Mr. Cockman's class for instrumental music, having just left Mr. Gal's class.
After school today, I stayed for marching band; the band has finally started work on the last song in our half-time show, "Big Noise From Winnetka," which is probably the most challenging piece on the mallets, though "Novus" initially gave me the most trouble because of the sixtuplets, which are like triplets, except twice as fast. So I stayed indoors until 5:30 came, and then I went outside to meet my mom.
We drove to the humane society to turn in my volunteer form; unfortunately the main person wasn't there, so we have to wait for them to call us back before I can get my school form signed. After doing this, we drove to Best Buy so that I could buy Shannon her birthday present, an All Time Low cd. It was there, so we didn't have to go hunting elsewhere, which was nice. The guy at the counter was pretty cool; he and my mom ranted about the things that customers do at a counter that ticks them off, which was hilarious.
On the way home, we listened to Cat Stevens, A.K.A. Yusuf Islam, who (and I never say this phrase) rocks my socks. We were jamming to "Peace Train" and "18th Avenue" when we pulled up to the house.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Update and Memory: Pupil
Hello, my avid readers! I have not been a faithful blogger, and so I sign on tonight to maintain this blog which I have neglected for the past few weeks.
In truth, I've been quite occupied, what with school starting and marching band three days a week. Also, youth group meetings at my church are starting tomorrow night, so that will take another night out of my week.
However, despite such distractions, life goes on. I read and write, my mother and I take bike rides to the Moravian church down the street, I receive regular calls from Shnay-nay about the new boy that she likes at school, my dad and I play Star Wars Battlefront, and my mom and I still frequent the hot guy movie store, which we did today.
We knew for a fact that he would be there, as he told Wesley himself the other day when the latter was waiting outside of the store for my mom to buy peanut butter. When we walked in today, however, Curious George was the only employee visible; he was moving about the store, assisting some customers. We found the movie that we were going to rent ("Polar Express") and took it to the counter, assuming that Wesley had been mistaken, but just then, the famed hot guy appeared from the back room. He had done something different with his hair. We returned the movies we had, rented the new one, and left. The visit was quite uneventful.
It was very beautiful outside today, and so we went on a bike ride and took a walk around the neighborhood. We wandered down to where the dog Daphne Weisner lives, but she wasn't in her fenced area, and so we walked home; we have a suspicion that Daphne's owner keeps the dog inside of the house now so that people like us don't come to stalk her dog. I hope that this is the reason, for Daphne Weisner is old and it is possible that she might have died.
We watched the movie, had a dinner of pork chops, and my mom retired early to the bed, as she was not feeling well.
As far as my school goes, Reynolds's football team is still undefeated. I like to think that it is because our marching band provides them with the strength and vigor that they need to win! Apparently this is quite an accomplishment for them, so I might be somewhat accurate.
I am currently waiting impatiently for Borders to call my dad's home phone. About a week ago, I think, my mom and I went to Borders and ordered Illumination and Night Glare by Carson McCullers, which I was unable to find anywhere. They happened to be handing out 25% off coupons, and so we jumped on the chance to purchase the book for a cheaper price. The book itself is the author's autobiography, which remains unfinished because she died in the process of writing it. There were several biographies that were probably accurate and interesting to read, but I would rather read the story of her life (or part of it) as it was written by her. So, anyway, Borders will call us when the book has arrived, at which point we will be able to pick it up.
Now for the memory. My mom and I were in the bathroom earlier today before we went to the movie store. I was applying eyeliner when I accidentally poked myself in the eye with the pencil. Just then, I was reminded of a fear I had when I was little of having the pupil of my eye touched. The cause of this fear was a kid who I went to school with who informed me that if one is poked in the pupil, they will immediately become blind. I believed it, being a kindergartner at the time, and many kids my age made a sort of morbid game out of who could come closest to touching their pupil without actually putting their finger on it. I told my mom about this memory and she laughed. It was an odd feeling as I remembered it, because it was one of those memories that I had not thought of in a long time, and so it was almost as though I had forgotten it.
In truth, I've been quite occupied, what with school starting and marching band three days a week. Also, youth group meetings at my church are starting tomorrow night, so that will take another night out of my week.
However, despite such distractions, life goes on. I read and write, my mother and I take bike rides to the Moravian church down the street, I receive regular calls from Shnay-nay about the new boy that she likes at school, my dad and I play Star Wars Battlefront, and my mom and I still frequent the hot guy movie store, which we did today.
We knew for a fact that he would be there, as he told Wesley himself the other day when the latter was waiting outside of the store for my mom to buy peanut butter. When we walked in today, however, Curious George was the only employee visible; he was moving about the store, assisting some customers. We found the movie that we were going to rent ("Polar Express") and took it to the counter, assuming that Wesley had been mistaken, but just then, the famed hot guy appeared from the back room. He had done something different with his hair. We returned the movies we had, rented the new one, and left. The visit was quite uneventful.
It was very beautiful outside today, and so we went on a bike ride and took a walk around the neighborhood. We wandered down to where the dog Daphne Weisner lives, but she wasn't in her fenced area, and so we walked home; we have a suspicion that Daphne's owner keeps the dog inside of the house now so that people like us don't come to stalk her dog. I hope that this is the reason, for Daphne Weisner is old and it is possible that she might have died.
We watched the movie, had a dinner of pork chops, and my mom retired early to the bed, as she was not feeling well.
As far as my school goes, Reynolds's football team is still undefeated. I like to think that it is because our marching band provides them with the strength and vigor that they need to win! Apparently this is quite an accomplishment for them, so I might be somewhat accurate.
I am currently waiting impatiently for Borders to call my dad's home phone. About a week ago, I think, my mom and I went to Borders and ordered Illumination and Night Glare by Carson McCullers, which I was unable to find anywhere. They happened to be handing out 25% off coupons, and so we jumped on the chance to purchase the book for a cheaper price. The book itself is the author's autobiography, which remains unfinished because she died in the process of writing it. There were several biographies that were probably accurate and interesting to read, but I would rather read the story of her life (or part of it) as it was written by her. So, anyway, Borders will call us when the book has arrived, at which point we will be able to pick it up.
Now for the memory. My mom and I were in the bathroom earlier today before we went to the movie store. I was applying eyeliner when I accidentally poked myself in the eye with the pencil. Just then, I was reminded of a fear I had when I was little of having the pupil of my eye touched. The cause of this fear was a kid who I went to school with who informed me that if one is poked in the pupil, they will immediately become blind. I believed it, being a kindergartner at the time, and many kids my age made a sort of morbid game out of who could come closest to touching their pupil without actually putting their finger on it. I told my mom about this memory and she laughed. It was an odd feeling as I remembered it, because it was one of those memories that I had not thought of in a long time, and so it was almost as though I had forgotten it.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Stream-of-Consciousness. . .Swing-Nostalgia
Swing, trumpet, golden, nugget, California, movie stars, vineyards, grapes, raisins, red, wheelbarrow, poetry, Mrs. Allman (former English teacher), Kernel Kustard's, hot dog, stadium, football, stadium, bat, moon, marching band, Mr. James (current band director), cadence, shiny vibraphone, cowbell, SNL, television, feast, turkey, thanksgiving, pilgrims, Mr. Holbrook (former history teacher), notes, paper, recycle, green, environment, polar bears, Alaska, Carson McCullers, "renew my sense of horror," unrequited love, my dad, japanese steakhouse, mojo jojo, powerpuff girls, bathwater, steam, carpet, tiles, radio, dead, violence, car, driving, vacation, beach, sunset, chasm, boat, cruise, karaoke, disney, mickey mouse, ariel, hope, blocks, baby dolls, build-a-bear, fluffy, dog-bed, lancy, crate, eggs, letter, Harry Potter, magic, clean, nostalgia.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Night Before Labor Day and Memory: Hotels
Wow - it bothers me that I haven't thought of anything very interesting to write about in a while. However, today was pretty eventful in a few ways.
Last night, I stayed at Shannon's house for a sleepover, along with Elizabeth. We watched the Japanese version of "Shutter," which was O.K., but the character that Shannon thought was hot was indeed far from it. We got to sleep around 2:00, and I had to wake up at 8:00 to get ready for church, where I would be arriving earlier than usual to play the piano for the director of the music ministries, Mr. Dodds; after hearing me, he would decide whether I would be suitable as a rehearsal accompanist for the children's choir.
My dad and I arrived just as the first traditional service was ending, and so we met Mr. Dodds and Ms. Moyer at the front of the Sanctuary. After warming up, I played a portion of the "Moonlight Sonata," what I hoped to be my trump card of sorts, and when I was asked to play something fast, I played the "Adagio Cantabile" movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata." This part of the audition went well, but then I was supposed to play the "Moonlight Sonata" at a conducted tempo. I became nervous and messed up twice, though I did make it farther in the second time; you see, I'm used to being conducted, but I'm usually holding sticks in such situations. It seems like the piano would be easier, though, as your hands are right on the instrument. But despite this rocky part of the audition, I think I might have a chance, as Mr. Dodds said that children's choir music typically doesn't have that many difficult tempo changes. Ending the hearing on that positive note, I attended Sunday school before meeting my dad back at the second traditional service. After the sermon, we left the church and ate lunch at Mr. Waffle, which is this nice little underrated restaurant near the $2 theater that, like the $2 theater, doesn't receive the credit that it deserves.
Following our lunch at Mr. Waffle, we came home, ran the perimeter of Hanes Park, and went to the YMCA. I swam while my dad lifted weights. Then, upon returning to the house, we drove to Sams, only to find that it was closed; while we were on that side of town, my dad decided that it would be a good idea to have dinner at Mario's, and so we did, bringing in a deck of cards so that we could play a round of racehorse rummy. Following dinner, we shopped at the Dollar Tree and Target before coming home.
Now, my dad is waiting for a friend of his to arrive so that they can study for the GMAT, which is a sort of test; my dad, as he waits, is currently playing his guitar on the roof.
As for the memory, it came to me randomly, just now in fact. Before I was born, my mom brought home my first pet, Shamus, who was a German Shepard/Chow-chow dog mix. A friend had informed her of his presence on Wake Forest's campus; he was a homeless dog who fed himself from the dumpsters and occasional scraps from the students on campus. His fur came out in clumps and he apparently wasn't very pretty when my mom first found him; but she fell in love with him right away and brought him home to the house that she and my dad shared with some other roommates. She fed him eggs and other things that she had discovered would make his fur grow back; slowly, it did. A year later, I was born and by this point, Shamus looked as handsome as any other dog, and not only this, he was completely devoted to my mother.
Now, with this background on my old dog, who died when I was in sixth grade, we can move to the real memory. A few years back, when I was in elementary school, my dad, mom, and I decided to go on a trip to Williamsburg, Virgina (I think; it was somewhere in Virginia). My dad insisted that we stay in the cheapest possible hotel, while my mom stubbornly insisted that Shamus come along.
We had to get creative with some of the hotels when it came to sneaking my dog inside. The cheapest ones wouldn't allow any pets, so we would have to take him through the side door, and come up with arguments against having a second or third floor room. My mom remarked one night while we were running through a hallway to our room with Shamus's leash in one hand and her suitcase in another that people were probably watching us via the security cameras and laughing.
Last night, I stayed at Shannon's house for a sleepover, along with Elizabeth. We watched the Japanese version of "Shutter," which was O.K., but the character that Shannon thought was hot was indeed far from it. We got to sleep around 2:00, and I had to wake up at 8:00 to get ready for church, where I would be arriving earlier than usual to play the piano for the director of the music ministries, Mr. Dodds; after hearing me, he would decide whether I would be suitable as a rehearsal accompanist for the children's choir.
My dad and I arrived just as the first traditional service was ending, and so we met Mr. Dodds and Ms. Moyer at the front of the Sanctuary. After warming up, I played a portion of the "Moonlight Sonata," what I hoped to be my trump card of sorts, and when I was asked to play something fast, I played the "Adagio Cantabile" movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata." This part of the audition went well, but then I was supposed to play the "Moonlight Sonata" at a conducted tempo. I became nervous and messed up twice, though I did make it farther in the second time; you see, I'm used to being conducted, but I'm usually holding sticks in such situations. It seems like the piano would be easier, though, as your hands are right on the instrument. But despite this rocky part of the audition, I think I might have a chance, as Mr. Dodds said that children's choir music typically doesn't have that many difficult tempo changes. Ending the hearing on that positive note, I attended Sunday school before meeting my dad back at the second traditional service. After the sermon, we left the church and ate lunch at Mr. Waffle, which is this nice little underrated restaurant near the $2 theater that, like the $2 theater, doesn't receive the credit that it deserves.
Following our lunch at Mr. Waffle, we came home, ran the perimeter of Hanes Park, and went to the YMCA. I swam while my dad lifted weights. Then, upon returning to the house, we drove to Sams, only to find that it was closed; while we were on that side of town, my dad decided that it would be a good idea to have dinner at Mario's, and so we did, bringing in a deck of cards so that we could play a round of racehorse rummy. Following dinner, we shopped at the Dollar Tree and Target before coming home.
Now, my dad is waiting for a friend of his to arrive so that they can study for the GMAT, which is a sort of test; my dad, as he waits, is currently playing his guitar on the roof.
As for the memory, it came to me randomly, just now in fact. Before I was born, my mom brought home my first pet, Shamus, who was a German Shepard/Chow-chow dog mix. A friend had informed her of his presence on Wake Forest's campus; he was a homeless dog who fed himself from the dumpsters and occasional scraps from the students on campus. His fur came out in clumps and he apparently wasn't very pretty when my mom first found him; but she fell in love with him right away and brought him home to the house that she and my dad shared with some other roommates. She fed him eggs and other things that she had discovered would make his fur grow back; slowly, it did. A year later, I was born and by this point, Shamus looked as handsome as any other dog, and not only this, he was completely devoted to my mother.
Now, with this background on my old dog, who died when I was in sixth grade, we can move to the real memory. A few years back, when I was in elementary school, my dad, mom, and I decided to go on a trip to Williamsburg, Virgina (I think; it was somewhere in Virginia). My dad insisted that we stay in the cheapest possible hotel, while my mom stubbornly insisted that Shamus come along.
We had to get creative with some of the hotels when it came to sneaking my dog inside. The cheapest ones wouldn't allow any pets, so we would have to take him through the side door, and come up with arguments against having a second or third floor room. My mom remarked one night while we were running through a hallway to our room with Shamus's leash in one hand and her suitcase in another that people were probably watching us via the security cameras and laughing.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
"Light Cavalry"
This is the song that I am listening to at the moment on my computer, which we attempted to play last week in concert band; I was on the timpani for the song, and it was super-fun to play. I just decided to use it for a blog title because I did not know what else to title this blog.
Last night was my first time marching at a football game. We played Parkland and beat them about 41-20. It was pretty awesome. Every time we scored a touch-down, we played the fight song to celebrate, and we ended the successful night with our Alma Mater. The moon was full and we had a great view of it rising on the opposite side of the stadium; it was interesting to watch it climb higher in the sky, as we were there for approximately three hours or so. The sun was setting behind us, and as the moon was just breaking the horizon of the stadium, I noticed a bat flying around the raised lights above the chairs. So we sat in the stands for most of the game, waiting for either Mr. James or Banks to yell for us to play something. The snare player in the other band attempted to start a battle with Vipul, but Mr. James didn't like that sort of thing so we didn't respond.
We were happy at the end of the night, and when my mom picked me up, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep in the middle of the hot-guy movie store movie that she rented (she had gone while I was marching, but it was O.K. because the elderly guy was there. She found out that the real John was Curious George, so now we don't know the elderly guy's name).
Tonight, I'm going to go over to Shannon's house to spend the night with her and Lizbit. I made an awesome cd that we will listen to, and we will be watching the Japanese version of "Shutter" with some actor named Tun in it that Nay-nay is obsessed with.
In other news, I had this really weird dream two nights ago. I dreamt that my mom, the hot guy from the movie store, and I were in a diner or something. He was totally flirting with my mom, but she was ignoring him. I kept trying to flirt with him as well, but was failing epicly, with blunders along the lines of "Do you come here often?" Then I was following him along the upper floor of some basketball court (the upper floor consisted of a track which overlooked the courts). I would try to talk to him, but he was distracted and would only respond with questions about where my mom was. It was quite odd.
Now, to end the entry, I will comment that I am now listening to a song called "Samba Reggae" by Jimmy Cliff, and it is super-cool. I suggest that you listen to it, as well as "Light Cavalry."
Last night was my first time marching at a football game. We played Parkland and beat them about 41-20. It was pretty awesome. Every time we scored a touch-down, we played the fight song to celebrate, and we ended the successful night with our Alma Mater. The moon was full and we had a great view of it rising on the opposite side of the stadium; it was interesting to watch it climb higher in the sky, as we were there for approximately three hours or so. The sun was setting behind us, and as the moon was just breaking the horizon of the stadium, I noticed a bat flying around the raised lights above the chairs. So we sat in the stands for most of the game, waiting for either Mr. James or Banks to yell for us to play something. The snare player in the other band attempted to start a battle with Vipul, but Mr. James didn't like that sort of thing so we didn't respond.
We were happy at the end of the night, and when my mom picked me up, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep in the middle of the hot-guy movie store movie that she rented (she had gone while I was marching, but it was O.K. because the elderly guy was there. She found out that the real John was Curious George, so now we don't know the elderly guy's name).
Tonight, I'm going to go over to Shannon's house to spend the night with her and Lizbit. I made an awesome cd that we will listen to, and we will be watching the Japanese version of "Shutter" with some actor named Tun in it that Nay-nay is obsessed with.
In other news, I had this really weird dream two nights ago. I dreamt that my mom, the hot guy from the movie store, and I were in a diner or something. He was totally flirting with my mom, but she was ignoring him. I kept trying to flirt with him as well, but was failing epicly, with blunders along the lines of "Do you come here often?" Then I was following him along the upper floor of some basketball court (the upper floor consisted of a track which overlooked the courts). I would try to talk to him, but he was distracted and would only respond with questions about where my mom was. It was quite odd.
Now, to end the entry, I will comment that I am now listening to a song called "Samba Reggae" by Jimmy Cliff, and it is super-cool. I suggest that you listen to it, as well as "Light Cavalry."
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