Sorry for the gap between updates.
I have a lot I said I would put in my blog, but I am not sure I remember it all.
First off, Ted Leo covers “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. Go download it, it is amazing.
UBDs are finally over. For all of you who don’t know what UBDs are, they are like mini-finals. They stand for “Understanding By Design.” Crown Point High School states “They are required by the state.” The question that begs to be answered is if they are required by the entire state of Indiana, why is CPHS the only school who has them. Hmmmmm. Anyway, we had them this week and I was very stressed about them and extremely glad they are over. You know that feeling you get right before you go on vacation like the night before. A really anxious feeling and you can’t sleep or do anything. I feel this way all the time now. I can not wait for the future. These next 4 months of school feel like such a waste. I feel that I have learned all I need to from this town and I need to move on.
On a lighter note, I have a couple stories for you guys/gals. Last year in Algebra II, Finny drew a penis, but he drew it a tad askew and made the shaft extend pass the balls. We ended up making it into a chicken. Well in Pre-cal this year I redrew it on a review sheet and again we made it into a chicken. I added a caption of the onomatopoeic expression for a chicken, bagok! The day before the Pre-cal UBD I went to Finny’s house to study and I brought the review sheet with me. April ended up coming over later on to “study” with us. Well she sees the drawing and says, “What’s a bag-ok?” Me and Finny look at each other in amazement for a second then bust out laughing. We still haven’t let it go.
One passing period I was standing next to Finny and Apirl’s lockers as I always do and next to them this white trash, thug gangster comes up, you know the type, jeans half way down his ass, big fucking sweatshirt with something like “Southpole” or Tupac on it, and on top of that his hair was this greasy mess of curls that looked like he just stepped out of the shower (which defiantly was not the case) Well out of all the things in the world he could of said he had to say something to reinforce the stereotype on him. He said, and I quote “Aww hell naw. We gotta get drunk tonight.” Yeah I know, you can’t make that stuff up. Me, Finny, and April all look at each other wide-eyed, kind of in a stupor, all thinking the same thing, “Did that guy really just say what I think he said?” We all then busted out laughing not caring if that kid heard us or not.
I have done Japan Bowl for the past 2 years, Japan Bowl is a competition held nation-wide and tests high school kids knowledge of Japanese language and culture. This year Indiana decided not to do the national competition where the grand-prize is a free trip to Japan, but do a state-wide competition for “pride.” That was strike one. Then we only got about 3 people for 4th year to sign up. Strike two. On top of all this sensai said we would have to provide our own transportation which wouldn’t be so bad if I also didn’t have to provide it for the stupid underclassmen. They are like the worst bunch of kids ever. They are all like METAL BLEHHH! They also completely hate the idea of personal hygiene. Strike three. Brian and I decided that we were not going to do Japan Bowl this year. It defiantly a relief seeing as the competition is next week and we have studied about zero, plus with college coming up, golf starting soon, and an afterschool job I have way to much on my plate.
Nate recently took the A+ hardware exam and passed with flying colors. Congratulations! I have been putting that test off for so long. So I finally buckled down and set a date. March 10th, 2006 I am taking the A= hardware exam then about 2-3 weeks later I am going to take the operating systems portion. Mr.Fox will be so proud.
VoIP is the wave of the future. I can see it overtaking cell phones. If you do not know what VoIP is it stands for “Voice over IP(Internet)” Basically it allows you to make calls over the internet for free or a small fee. Vonage if you have heard of it (which I’m sure you have) is VoIP, but allows you to call other regular phone users. Skype is a free program that allows you to “call” other Skype users and talk to them for free anywhere.
The only requirements are:
An internet connection
Skype
Microphone
Speakers
They also provide services where you can call to regular phones and receive calls from regular phones for a small fee. The beauty part is the more friends you get to use Skype the more free things become. So spread the word! Wi-Fi is becoming extremely popular. It seem wherever you go there is a Wi-Fi hotspot around providing free internet. Skype has a Windows Mobile version of it’s software. You can take you Windows Mobile enable PDA or device and make Skype calls from any Wi-Fi spot. Like a cell phone without an extra cost. Grant it it has some limitations, but Wi-Fi is spreading like wildfire and for as many homes that are becoming wireless and not encrypting their connection Wi-Fi is everywhere and free is always better than not.
I can’t believe in 20 days the Japanese exchange students are coming. I am so excited! Manami is the name of the girl I am hosting. I have emailed her about a dozen times. She is pretty awesome and I love forming more friendships with people from Japan. When they are here we are going to do stuff everyday until midnight, minimum. It’s also really cool because Manami is really good friends with the Zack and Palmer’s exchange students, and me, Zack, and Palmer live about 3 seconds from each other. March 18th can’t come soon enough.
This part of the blog I am going to do a media round up of what I have seen, watched, or played lately.
Blankets by Craig Thompson
This graphic novel is phenomenal. It is auto-biographical in a sense. It is the story of the auto growing up in a Christian household and the effects of this upbringing. It is also a story of first love. It is touching and recreates the feelings of first love and it’s loss. I recommend you go out right now and buy it. You will not regret it.
Voices of a Distant Star by Makoto Shinkai
This entire anime was made by a single man on his Machintosh over a seven month span. The story takes place in 2046 with two teenagers,Mikako and Noboru, about to enter high school. Although it is not outright said you can sense their is a strong connection between the two. They plan to enter high school together and live happily ever after. Meanwhile there is a war going on in space and Mikako is commissioned to go fight in it. The war is an entire galaxy away and communication is scarce. Mikako and Noburo email each other on their cell phone when separated, but the farther Mikako goes from earth the longer the mail takes to send and receive. It eventually becomes eight years before and email can reach earth from where Mikako is. It is a touching tale of love and it’s power to overcome any obstacle. It is a short 25 minute movie, but packs more emotion and feeling into it than most anime series do in 25 episodes.
Well this blog should have satisfied you as it took me about an hour to write. Until next time.
