| < October 2003 | Matthew Loar > Blog | December 2003 > |
My work ethic is at war with my laziness, so I'm really bored.
Okey dokey!
Still trying to decide whether yesterday was a good day. Got my test back in chem, and I hadn't done very well, but I'm still getting a B in the class, so it's not as bad as calculus. I'm going to retake the calc test next week, as is most of the class. I was surprised to find that I did not do as horribly as several other people. If Kevin Franzen wasn't getting A's on these things, she might get the message. Why the heck is he even in high school?
Then I went to English. I had forgotten to do vocab, but I wasn't the only one. We got our last in-class essay back, and I got an 8! He also brought up that only one person (me) mentioned something from the text, which he wrote that he had been "waiting for." Woohoo!
Got out of College-Bound to go to the breakfast, which went well.
Got our new teacher for Computer Programming. His name is Mr. Bond-Harris, and he was a music teacher before he worked for Lucent Technologies. He seems like a nice enough guy, and I hope we'll be able to get back on track. I still spent a good amount of time playing Spong, though.
Nothing is as easy as Mr. Elliot makes it look.
I'm losing money on my stupid soybeans.
Anyway, today I got up early to go to the Kiwanis meeting. Though Mary says I failed, I don't think I did. Their program kind of disintegrated. Oh, and here's something funny. Their Adopt-a-Highway sign had been replaced by someone else's. Mr. Ramsey inquired about it, and apparently their obligation to clean the road expired in 1998.
Now I'm sitting here, really tired, trying to decide which Star Trek movie is
the best one of them all. I just finished watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of
Khan again last night, and I must say that it is a wonderful film. I
especially enjoy the music. Star Trek III is all right, but definitely not one
of the best. Star Trek IV is hilarious, but kind of cheesy. Star Trek VIII is
excellent, IX is OK, and I still haven't been able to rate X.
I hate Calculus.
From my blog's screenplay:
HELEN HUNT
Oh... SAMAMAC.BLOGSPOT.COM, can it really be only a week since I met TOM HANKS? I am so very deeply in love with him. Do you know what he said to me last night?
SAMAMAC.BLOGSPOT.COM
Actually, it hasn't been that bad, but I'm really tired right now.
HELEN HUNT
(nodding)
Exactly. (sighs) He's such a romantic.
Oh, boy!
SAMAMAC.BLOGSPOT.COM cracks open a fortune cookie.
SAMAMAC.BLOGSPOT.COM
(reading)
Tomorrow is the big Key Club Membership Drive meeting with pizza and stuff.
HELEN HUNT
Hmmmm... that's something to think about.
You're right, HELEN HUNT. Maybe that's how we could improve communication
within the club.
OK, so here's what happened last night:
-Went to the play. To my surprise, Brian didn't ruin the play. It was ruined by other actors who couldn't say their lines with the right rhythm (not to mention singing some of them to the tune of the theme from Gilligan's Island), the insertion of innuendo into even the most innocuous lines, and the modern/period dress that made it look like Romeo and Juliet meets Grease.
-Walked around talking to people.
-Somehow ended up peeling tape.
-Went to Friday's with the gang plus Trilok and Kelly. Much mischief ensued. Philly cheesesteak sandwich was good though.
-Suggestion of going bowling became walking around downtown Downers Grove. I can now add walking through a cemetery at night to my list of life experiences.
-Came home and watched Wrath of Khan. Again.
Well, there it is.
Got a letter from Rose-Hulman. Two down.
OK, so yesterday was the pep assembly (finally). It was great. The best part was at the end, when the senior Poms came out wearing these shirts that said "Senior Poms Rule" to do a routine by themselves. Halfway through, Mr. Zaucha shouts, "Wait a minute! You call that dancing?" At that point he ripped off his windbreaker to reveal a shirt which read "Pom Wannabe" and was joined by several other male members of the faculty. The two groups did a joint routine which culminated in them throwing Mr. Zaucha in the air. That was good.
Anyway, yesterday I spent some time working on the cable system. I succeeded
in drilling another hole through the floor for another cable, like I had tried
last year. It seems to be working well, since the cable modem hasn't gone down
since [gratuitous wood-knocking]. I spent the rest of yesterday writing a
screenplay. Chris and I formed this idea that it would be funny to make our
own 'B' sci-fi movie, so I started writing a screenplay. I think I've let it
escape our production abilities, though. Oh well.
Well, the Membership Drive went well. The only new people attending were two people Kyle brought with him, and they weren't very interested in the meeting. At least Mary ditched English and came to the meeting. That was cool.
I was late to Econ today because Mr. Elliott got mad about his tools again. I don't know if he should be allowed to teach Auto 10.
I actually stayed awake in Chemistry today. I had another Grade Lowering Opportunity in English.
Taught ourselves differential equations and indefinite integrals today, because Mrs. Butler wasn't there. Petey and I almost finished the 6.1 assignment, so I'm thinking that we should just do this every day. Well, she does have to explain slope charts, because nobody got them, but otherwise it was good.
Still no work in Comp Prog. Mrs. Dickow keeps giving the sub instructions to have us write down any problems or obstacles we have, but Josh won't let me put down "Nothing to do."
MIT processed my SAT II scores today, but still hasn't processed Mrs. Marcyniuk's recommendation. I checked with her, and she says she sent it, so I hope they take care of it tomorrow.
Romeo and Juliet opens tonight. Play people say it sucks. I'm going to see it Saturday night.
Board actually accomplished stuff today. We approved the point system,
accepted Student Council's donation of cash toward the deficit of cans, and
struck two members from the roster who said they aren't coming back. I envy
the presidents of Civitas and NHS. All of their members are well-behaved. We
get the people who talk through meetings. I can't exactly scold them, because
there are too few members already. Sigh...
Boy, what a week. Actually, it hasn't been that bad, but I'm really tired right now.
I just got back from another scholastic bowl meeting. We lost to Oak Park River Forest by only 7 points. That sucked. At least we beat Hinsdale South to bring us to 4-2 for the season. At the practice on Monday, Mrs. Joyce read a card she had gotten from Dr. E to congratulate us on beating AT. We so rock.
All of the cans are now gone. Yay. I was the only one there on Monday for the pickup, which irked me. Oh well.
I don't have any homework tonight, for some reason. I'm going to do my Key Club junk and get to bed. I've slept through the last two days of Chemistry, which isn't terribly good. I know she noticed today, because after Chris said that he wants to schedule all of his classes for like 11, she said, "That might be too early for Matt!"
Anyway, let's see. Mrs. Brown is still out after having surgery to remove a lump, Mr. Blair is still a jerk (I have to thank Josie for always sitting so straight in her chair. It makes it easier to sleep in there without him noticing). Oh, yeah. Dr. E came on the PA on Monday and announced that Mrs. Meier had passed away. She had been absent for about a week. We have been assured that our class will continue; however, we still have no teacher and no work to do. The entire class surfs the net every day, except for Kevin, who just adds things to old programs. We've started taking our engines apart in Auto, and Econ's going well.
Tomorrow is the big Key Club Membership Drive meeting with pizza and stuff. I
still have to make sure that all of the preparations are taken care of. So
that's what I'm off to do now.
I can't believe I forgot to blog this. You all know (or you should!) that somebody pulled the fire alarm during 6th both Wednesday and Thursday. Well, Friday, 1st hour, Dr. E came on the PA and said that the spirit and pride assembly had been postponed, because someone had called the school and claimed there would be "a disturbance" (I love how they tell us everything) during the assembly, and so the assembly would not be on Friday. This, of course, pissed everyone off. A lot of teachers pointed out that we have never, ever, in the whole history of Willowbrook High School, had a fire drill during an assembly or lunch hour, so it might actually be a good thing. That was enough to tick us off. Then 4th hour, when I was at lunch, Dr. E came on the PA and announced: a LOCKDOWN!!! That's right, they locked us all in the cafeteria. We were fuming. Then Dr. E comes in the cafe and tells us that we all have to leave our stuff and go to the auditorium, because the dogs are coming into the cafeteria to sniff our stuff. Yeah! So anyway, they march us all over to the auditorium (somehow, Chris managed to take his pizza along, others were prevented). Once we're there, I dare Chris to, once Dr. E comes in, to stand up and give the Nazi salute, and shout, "Jowell, mein Fuhrer!" He said he'd get in trouble, and that I should do it, though he did ask Mrs. Constien, "I left all of my drugs in my backpack; is that going to be a problem?" We were there for over half the period, then they sent us back and screwed up the schedule so that we could have a few more minutes to eat. Later I heard the stories, girls that had had their purses dumped on the table and left (my folders had been rifled through, I'm sure that there might have been drugs in my Auto folder), and people who had gone to the library to take tests and were thus deprived of lunch. What made us very angry, however, was Dr. E's announcement that they hadn't found anything. Well, gee, of course not! WB is such a fine educational institution that even the kids stupid enough to do drugs are smart enough not to bring them to school! And secondly, how the hell are the drug-sniffing dogs going to find who pulled the fire alarm? Additionally, how are the drug-sniffing dogs going to find drugs amongst all the food in the cafeteria? Answer me that, Dr. E! Man, how do such stupid people end up with doctorates in education?
On a lighter note, Chris told me that he thinks that from now on, he actually
WILL pack dog biscuits.
last cigarette: never
last car ride: home from church about an hour ago
last kiss: long time ago
last good cry: The day before junior year started, I think
last library book checked out: a book of critical essays on Chaucer
last movie seen: half of Star Wars, last night
last book read: Frankenstein (I still have to read several pages tonight)
last beverage drank: Diet Coke
last food consumed: a box of Lion King Animal Crackers, because there's nothing to eat in this house!!!
last crush: if you're read my blog, you should know already
last phone call: I was just talking to my sister Abbie a few minutes ago
last tv show watched: JAG, Friday
last time showered: this morning
last shoes worn: my black dress shoes
last cd played: my crappy old CD-ROM drive doesn't really like to play CD's, so I've been forced to listen to all the crap I copied to my HD
last item bought: Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
last downloaded: I don't download, but for philosophical reasons. (since when does Jen care about rules?)
last disappointment: 3947 items
last soda drank: Diet Coke
last thing written: an essay contrasting The Road Not Taken and Sliding Doors for College-Bound English
last key used: "h"
last word spoken: "h" (I said it aloud when I typed it)
last sleep: last night
last IM: hmmmmmm.......Mary?
last weird encounter: I don't really have weird encounters, since I don't really leave the house much
last time amused: everything amuses me. That's why people think I'm strange. I'll just be sitting there, and all of the sudden I start laughing.
last time hugged: Gee, I can't really remember. Maybe it was when Matt C. insisted on hugging me when he paid his surprise visit
last time scolded: last night, when my mom yelled at me to apply for some scholarships. She also told me I should apply to COD.
last time resentful: I'm always resentful, like Mr. Darcy.
last chair sat in: my nice almost leather but not really chair in my office
last shirt worn: the one I'm wearing now, which reads, "I have all the answers. It's not my fault you're asking the wrong questions."
last time dancing: does it have to be with a partner? If so, then probably Turnabout last year. Otherwise, I was trying to tap dance at Parent-Teacher conferences on Monday, and that's when I learned that Tina is a tap-dancer. I never would have learned this if I wasn't so silly, so take that all of you non-silly people! Ha!
last poster looked at: My Olin poster, still in the tube, thinking, "I should really hang that up."
last web page visited: blogger.com
Quick recap, because I have chem and a Major Works Data Sheet to do:
-Wednesday: The power went out 5th hour. For some reason, both Dr. Ennsmann and Dr. Humphrey were out of the building, so there was no one with the authority to let us go home. Then the lights came back on. It sucked. Then at the beginning of 6th hour, the fire alarm went off. Turns out somebody pulled it. Wasn't too bad, though.
-Thursday: Fire alarm during 6th again. Really cold outside. Somebody deserves to be shot. Then I found out Kevin couldn't get a program that I wrote in 10 minutes a week ago working. I feel smart. Key Club meeting sucked. Nobody showed up. I announced that all non-attending members should be flogged. Then Chris suggested that they be defenestrated. I liked his suggestion better. Got my SAT II scores. Math IIC: 700. Physics: 720. Writing: 740. Coolness.
Funny Stuff:
And in case you were wondering:
These guys are on to something.
B+ in English. Got UIUC acceptance in mail yesterday.
OK, I haven't posted since Thursday. Well, here's a summary of my four-day weekend (brief, because I have homework to do):
-Friday: After doing cans (and Chris breaking a couple), Chris came over and we played Rebel Strike before going to see Matrix Revolutions. Movie kinda sucked. Then we went to Denny's (Chris, Kyle, Mary, that other guy whose name I can't remember, and me), and then we went back to Kyle's house. On the way, one of the back windows in Chris' mom's truck broke spontaneously. Then I had to go back to his house with him to tell his mother he didn't break it with a baseball bat or something.
-Saturday: Spent the first part of the day up at my sister's sleeping, then Chris came over and we played more Rebel Strike instead of doing Chemistry.
-Sunday: Went to the NHS cleanup with Chris, got some Portillo's, played more Rebel Strike, went to church, and then did something. Don't remember quite what.
-Monday: Spent 6 hours at school for Parent Conferences. Didn't get any homework done.
-Tuesday: Kyle's over doing who knows what on his computer, and I'm trying to get my homework done.
There it is.
where everything is just kinda sublime?
OK, first of all, I had my Calculus done to show to Mrs. Butler today. So that's where that blast of cold air came from, right? Anyway, I also got my grade sheet in English and I'm getting an 88.8%. He said that he would round for people who participated and turned stuff in on time, so I'm in suspense. I'm still ticked off, though. I was in line to get an A in the class until the last AP practice essay. I got a 5 (again), and Mr. Blair said the only reason why it wasn't a 7 was because I hadn't written a conclusion. Well, excuse me, it's not like we have to do this in 40 minutes or anything. I'm just really mad, because makes these things worth 100 points, the same as a regular essay. I'm looking at my grade sheet, and the contrast is rather striking: 75/100 on the essay written in 40 minutes, 98/100 for the essay we had two weeks to do. Woohoo, all those hours spent out of class working on that essay, and it only earns me 23 more points than one written in 40 minutes. Sheesh.
OK, back to the sublime. Anyway, we're watching Sliding Doors in College- Bound, which is really cool. It's kind of funny because I've seen it before, and I'm probably the last person you'd expect to have seen an artsy romance movie. Coolness. And I was wrong, they do quote Monty Python right. I love the British.
OK, here's the good part. In Programming, I checked my UIUC application, and I've been accepted! Coolness! I can't wait to tell Chris. He's going to hit me, I know it already.
Food Drive: Mr. Cullen took the lead today with 200 cans. Total: 1003. This
sucks. Oh well, I'm still happy.
Yay, Halloween. On a Friday. The night before I have to take the SAT II. Joy. Anyone up for bowling or something? Seriously, if you read this on Friday night and feel like doing something, call me. I don't really care that the stupid test is tomorrow, because Saturday night is already shot. Father Damien called this morning and asked if I could help out at the Spaghetti Dinner. Yay. I was up early this morning writing my English paper. Then I had to write my Econ paper during the day at school. It sucked. Some of my teachers have worse time-management skills than I do. Yeah.
Key Club kinda sucked yesterday. I'm working on online stuff to try to get the board organized, now that I have a miniscule little weekend to take a bit of a breather.
Food Drive not doing so well so far.
| < October 2003 | Matthew Loar > Blog | December 2003 > |