Happy Halloween

Hey it's Halloween! On Thursday I packed my bags before going to a choir concert that I will be happy to forget, and got up early the next morning to go to the Portland airport. I had a two hour layover in Pheonix and finally made it to Austin, Texas. Kacie had NO idea I was coming and freaked out when she saw me. :) None of her sisters knew either. I fly back on Wednesday.
Her 16th birthday is tomorrow but we had her party today and I met some of her friends. We went to Main Event, which is kind of like Sun Mountain Fun Center in Bend. We did bowling and tons of arcade games and I actually won things from one of those claw grabbing games. (Kind of amazing.) I didn't have a costume planned but they had one for me. We were dark angels with black wings and halos. I don't think there were many trick-or-treaters here so people didn't seem to mind that we were a bunch of teenagers...
Tomorrow I have to write a research paper and do a bunch of other homework, and Kacie's going to school. However, we'll be going downtown tomorrow as well and I'm going to see North America's largest bat colony. I'm both excited and a little terrified.

Homecoming

Last night was Homecoming. At the last minute (Thursday-Friday), with the help of some troublesome things happening, I decided to go. I bought a red dress at Ross as soon as the store opened yesterday and picked up some black flats for choir. I had dinner at my cousin Koa's birthday party. He's two! Andy drove Jake and his lady, Bailey, and I drove myself. When we got there I parked and hopped in the old, blue truck that takes trips to car shows, and Jake stood up in the back as we pulled up. I'm not talking about Andy's truck, I mean his dad's truck that's from the 50's or something. I'd say I had a good time. I mostly hung out with Christian (C-macho), Max, and Rae. What I really want to do is just move past all of this drama and enjoy myself.

Plans

Luckily the thing with my car window only lasted a day. Andy pulled it back up pretty easily. I'll just have to open my door when I buy gas.

I've been getting very excited because I've pretty much figured out where I want to go to college and what I want to do. I want to go to COCC for the first 2 years and get my general eds out of the way. Then I want to go to Western Oregon University. My plan is to major in American Sign Language/English interpreting and minor in Spanish. They have the best ASL program in the country and I know I could have a very solid career as an interpreter. I'd get to have flexible hours and I'd see all kinds of different areas--anywhere that they need an interpreter. By areas I mean different fields. I could have my own business! I really love sign language and I'm really excited to learn.

I'm taking the PSAT on Saturday at 9. I have to be there at 8:30, though. I've had a pretty fun time recently, teaching my friends how to dance. West-coast swing. I'm no expert but it's so enjoyable to teach them and see them improve. It's in preparation for homecoming. I won't be going but I know they will have such a good time. Next week is spirit week! School is always much more interesting around homecoming or different events. The whole place seems to wake up a little more and it's sort of a different experience.

I'm hoping to connect a bit more with some of my friends...

Wow, I haven't written this much in one month since March!

Schedule '11-12

Why not...

1...Spanish 3....................Gromme-Clark (Profe)
2...Chorale.......................Jacot
3...Pre-Calc.....................Greenwood
4...Vocal Jazz Ensemble...Jacot
5...AP Lang.....................McCormick
6...Chemisty.....................Moehl
7...US History..................Smith

Make-Shift Window

My car is 21 years old... It has a few issues. I can't complain too much though because it's my very own. Plus, some of the issues are my fault. Today I bought gas and, since the driver's window doesn't roll down, I rolled down my back left one. Unfortunately, it wouldn't roll back up. When I got home it occurred to me that things could potentially get stolen from my car so I took everything out. Then I considered the rather high possibility of it raining... No matter what I tried I couldn't get the window to go up, so I decided to just make one. Saran wrap and duct tape. It was very difficult and took almost an hour because it was really windy. I'm actually pretty proud. It's easier to see out from the inside than to see in from the outside.

I've only actually done damage to my car once... You don't actually need hub caps though so whatever. After this happened, it ended up falling off and I decided to just remove all of them.

I'm very grateful to have my little car. I have so much freedom and I consider myself lucky.

Inquiry

How and why do I do the things I do, I wonder... How did I come to be this way? I'm not invincible by any means but shouldn't things bother me more than they do? Shouldn't I get angry and speak my mind? Shouldn't my filter be a little smaller? Am I too forgiving? It's possible. Am I letting things bounce off of me, or absorbing it, or am I just letting people walk all over me? Should I speak up? I know it matters how I feel but I seem to just push it aside for more "important" things. Is that bad? I act almost as though there's nothing to be done and I'm simply enduring as best I can. Sigh... I don't know...

Maybe it's time I stop taking shit.

To whom it may concern:

Does the sight of them make you smile?

Or the sound of their voice?

Or the smell of their embrace?

Do they make you feel better?

When you're sad or already happy?

Do they surprise you?

Wonderfully?

Unintentionally?

Do you think of them often?

At school?

At work?

At home?

Does it sadden you to see them go?

Do you long for them when they're gone?

Do you keep a picture of them in your mind?

Do you worry about them?

...

Do they worry about me?

Do they keep a picture of me in their mind?

Does it sadden them to see me go?

Do they think of me often?

At home?

At work?

At school?

Do I surprise them?

Unintentionally?

Wonderfully?

Do I make them feel better?

When they're sad or already happy?

Does the sight of me make them smile?

Or the sound of my voice?

Or the smell of my embrace?

...

Do any of those things matter?

Absolutely.