dee oh en ee

See that? It's a 77. WHICH IS WHAT I GOT ON MY PHYSICS FINAL!!! You may be thinking--wow, how pathetic! She's so excited about getting a D. BUT LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. IT'S FOURTH MARKING PERIOD SENIOR YEAR >>> WAIT, SENIOR YEAR IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER...BUT ANYWAY, with a full-blown case of Senioritis and with a calculated, necessary target score of 75, I HAVE BOTH MET AND EXCEEDED MY GOAL!

Who has a B for the year?! Who absolutely CANNOT get rescinded from Cal?!! (Okay I don't want to speak too fast, but this definitely means I am beyond the safe zone! :)) WHO IS SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW?!

Me :).

Bye bye, high school...it was nice knowing you, and I'm sure I'll miss you, but in this moment, I swear I'm infinite. PoBaW reference. You know it.

last official day...

My shoes for graduation finally arrived! The Alexa by MMK :) super psyched, except that they're a tad bit big so I have to stop by Nordstrom when bringing the other pair back (I bought my dress and shoes in twos to ensure correct sizing...as long as returns aren't a hassle, doing this has given me more peace of mind than ever before, yay) and see if they possibly have the next size down.

Ready. I can't believe I'm a graduating high school seniors. It's been four years. I'm done.

I'm done. :)

fact #1

(Actually, I know I did a few of these types of posts before so it technically isn't the first, but nonetheless!)

The sounds of construction soothes me. It's like white noise; I can fall asleep within a moment's notice when I hear it. This is probably because I tend to sleep in cars and doze off to the drone of tires against pavement...but anyway, it's become very applicable to me recently, as the road outside my house is undergoing renovations in the evening. Something about the blinding night lights (my room window conveniently just faces the wrong angle to be hit by it. Thankfully. I don't know how my neighbors deal...) and mundane-turned-magical quality of the dust rising from the earth makes me feel at ease. It helps that I'm not waiting in an endless queue in the midday sun, sneezing/eyes watering because of the dirt particles, else this would likely be a complaining post.

Back to Statistics. I think if I had invested more time this past weekend, I would definitely ace the AP. However, as this isn't true, I will just have to deal with a few hours of cramming! Good thing it's an afternoon test. Good thing I can't really get credit at Cal for passing this. Bad thing I'm required and had to pay $80 to take it...blah.

New!

Hehe, did you see my last post? I was trying the Blogger emailer, which for some reason I never found until some digging around in my French/study hall/TA class. Pretty convenient, although I wish there was an app...though using email to update is a reasonable alternative. And yes, I typed all that by hand...finger. It's my latest AP French composition, revised and turned in for a grade. Oh, Romance languages, how I wish I were eloquent in you.

I also finally updated the posting system. Haven't been behind the times or anything.

Besides blogging news and Bin Laden dead, AP week has struck and I'm scared out of my mind. I did manage to photograph all of my art pieces in the school gallery today, though there's a lot of actual creating to be done...along with ripping some of my canvases off of their frames. Sad day :(.

Nonetheless, I want to take a nap, so nap it is!

catchup

No, not the condiment.

So, news! I'll try to make this as quick as possible...

1) I got into a lovely school in California with weather I may not be able to turn down.

2) Today marks the first day of our mid-semester break. Emulating colleges, much? I'm so grateful, though; I've been waiting for this weekend depuis longtemps!

3) If I keep up my comprehension progress, I may apparently get a 5 on the AP French exam.

4) Charter's getting a new president and I'm actually slightly jealous this is happening after I leave. Both candidates are promising, but the one I think is going to get the job is just a fantastic person. He served in Vietnam and the Gulf War and his commitment and international experience is so evident.

5) I got a haircut today. It's been about half a year. I'm not sure what I think of it, but less shampoo usage, yay.

6) The yearbook is due next next Monday. I'm excited. Will it get done? HECK YES.

7) Speaking of, I must continue working on it now :) more later, hopefully!

irony

I wore my brother's free UD sweater today during school (the whole day, in fact. It's funny that seniors do actually have a free pass on these types of things; I wasn't fully aware of this fact...or maybe I was just lucky today), but I guess I actually don't wear it outside of home as much as I thought, since several people commented on it.

Including a friend who chuckled and said, "it's funny seeing that sweater on you of all people."

Not sure if this is a compliment or a tart remark of my expectations of myself or a manifestation of others' expectations for me.

---

Also, I have been sleeping minimally ("minimally") these past few days and am kind of dying, so I'm off to finish work now and hopefully drop back into REM oblivion...

normalcy

I'm going to try and regulate my sleep cycle...thank the Lord I have AP Stat last tomorrow, which gives me ample time to finish the rest of my homework (for some reason I always underestimate the time it takes to read, process, and understand new material. Ah well, the weekend starts tomorrow so HAKUNA MATATA!!).

Today was very productive, although I suppose I could have done better if I hadn't taken that brief nap; but now that I think of it, I was going to review an old Stat chapter during that time if I hadn't slept, so I would still be in the same place nonetheless. And I got an extra hour of sleep during that time, yay!

So off to brush my teeth and do devos, which means I will be sleeping in half an hour yipee! I live for the weekends, though I'm trying to slowly appreciate each school day as a gift from God, although I often prefer to parallel each day to a bit of hell.

Night :)

(PS, I just realized that I have a "statistics" tag already. Wow, I must complain about this class a lot...)

day thirty (!!!)

A photo of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

My 365 for today; click photo to be redirected to my Flickr :)

1. I got an iPhone...and a case for it (today!), along with discovering many new and intriguing applications. Pocket frog, you are my favorite.
2. I ate more avocados than I have in probably the past year. Having another for lunch tomorrow!
3. I learned to appreciate gym class for what it is--basic physical education. Although this is completely hypocritical since I'm dreading tomorrow's speed ball game...I am neither a punter nor a dunker nor a good passer, and this game mixes my lack of talent in three completely different sports (football, soccer, basketball). I preferred our floor hockey unit :(.

And the 30-day challenge (#2!) is complete! I'm excited, should I start another? Hmmm :)

day eighteen

Something you crave a lot

A film SLR...which surprisingly, I received in the mail today :). Thank you Victor! He's lending me his 50mm lens and giving me the extra AE-1 he bought--I'm so, so psyched to test it out (I actually already played with it a bit and cleaned parts of it, but no where to the extent that I plan on)!!!

Another thing I'm craving is the iPhone 4 for Verizon, WHICH AS OF TODAY HAS A RESERVED QUANTITY THAT IS PURCHASABLE FOR CURRENT VERIZON CUSTOMERS and my brother bought me one at 3am today, when it went on sale online! I don't know what I'm more excited about at the moment, this camera or my new phone. My goodness.

But to put a damper on today, the report card I received yesterday afternoon was flawed :(. I noticed that my AP Statistics teacher curved our midterm grade, which was incredibly kind and bumped me up back into the 90s (I was doing fine until just recently so I sort of felt like it was appropriate), BUT I became aware that it was an accident today, and I do think she changed it back. Which is actually very upsetting since I perceived my grades as fairly strong with that one in the 90s, but after the drop I can't help but feel sad, if not disappointed.

Yet at the same time, it really is the grade I deserve. And I'm writing a scholarship essay on dishonesty, so this is fitting. Even though I was not dishonest, in all honesty, I'm lucky to have an 88 with the effort I lacked at the end of the marking period (although I studied 5+ hours for the midterms...sigh).

Time to trust in God--or should I say: a reminder that I need to trust in God always and less in my academic transcript.

OKAY but I cannot trust God to delay my scholarship deadline that I've just barely become eligible to apply to, so OFF I GO. Forty-five minutes until its submission!

--

PS, I can't believe I forgot this; Happy Chinese New Year, of course! :))

PPS, If this challenge q was asking about food: avocados and mashed potatoes.

good? habits

How you know Mary has an interview:

She takes the utmost care in repainting her nails.

Brother's alma mater. Let's do thisss (well, tomorrow evening. And assuming the roads clear up after tonight's massive snowstorm. Speaking of, I had a wonderfully unproductive but actually very productive day off :)).

bad day #2

I have never done so horribly on midterms before. In my life.

My first marking period grades were presque perfect. Second marking period was not as great, but still, I'm happy with it. But midterms...my midterm grades bring down my whole cumulative scores...it doesn't matter how good first marking period looked, I'm done for.

How did this happen.

It will be 150% by the grace of God if I get into any other schools that take senior grades into account (i.e. all of them). I'm stunned. Things were going so well. I guess that's what happens when I trust in myself...yet I don't think I take things seriously enough, at the same time.

I'm so sad right now.

Also, my right hand has started bleeding again. Cracked skin, cracked soul.

la grasse matinee

So, about how I reset my alarm due to our two-hour delay (best week to snow twice)...and then turned it off when it rung...and then fell back asleep...and then woke up 1 minute prior to the start of my AP French midterm.

Wow I don't think I've ever moved that fast in my life.

Luckily, Mme. Kennedy is the nicest person to ever live on earth and she completely understood. And I finished my test on time, still.

Although I think I just realized an error I made. Arghhh.

But nonetheless (wow I love this word, I think I use it in every blog), it's the weekend now! I'm currently eating my breakfast and lunch at the same time and plan on finishing season one of Modern Family. Did I mention that I watched 12 or so episodes yesterday? Yeah...but anyway, this weekend isn't all fun and games either, since I have my rescheduled Physics and Discrete midterms on Monday...but I'm happy enough right now.

Yay :)

statistics

...

OH LORDY HOW AM I GOING TO PASS THIS TOMORROW????

Song.

?

1) This year feels different.

2) By the time I'm done my 365 days project...I'll be in my second semester of college.

How insane is that?

3) I wonder where I will stand with all my friends. Old ones? New ones? Will I have cut my hair?

4) I wonder how many of my NYRs I will have stuck to? So far I'm doing well on the ones that require daily effort...I have yet to start exercising (ha), but I'm determined to begin right after midterms end. Which is now Monday, not Friday...sad face, but I'm still thankful for the break I had today.

5) Random thought. I have this fix for fashion; more so I follow dozens of blogs, less so that I actually buy the clothes myself. But does it encourage materialism? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Yes. Is there a way to make it something God-honoring and not a money sucker? I hope...

Going to take today's 365 photos, shower, and study for Statistics. Oh, and I did take a nap--I can't help myself with this sleep thing. Thankfully I don't have a headache, which I expected.

Nevertheless, to homework and studying and the last stretch of my high school years!

little blessings

All right, more like big blessings:

1) It snowed last night. And after it snowed, it rained ice.

2) I had a two-hour delay this morning. I went to bed at 2am.

3) I went to school (got there early, overestimated traffic)...only to find:

4) I only had one midterm today!

5) ...Thus, I didn't have to take my Physics midterm today.

6) I didn't study even 20% of the material I was supposed to for Physics.

7) I am so, so blessed.

8) Got a 9/9 on my essay rewrite, which I thought I would do bad on because it was actually a make-up essay (my first time writing to the prompt due to absence on a prior in-class essay day). A relief, since I got back another essay the day of our rewrite and found out it was a 4...my lowest score since AP Lang last year. Actually, I don't think I ever got a 4 in Lang. So: my lowest grade of all time. Which meant that my make-up essay had to be baller. And it was.

9) There's a new episode of Chuck. Scratch that, there's a new episode of any of the TV shows I follow. YES.

10) I will now proceed to relax, eat, not take a nap because I'm already thoroughly rested, and use this lucky break as an opportunity to really study for my upcoming tests.

11) Will get back to the 30-day challenge in a while; the one I'm on requires taking a photo of an article of clothing I am currently wearing, so...not happening for a while.

Anyway, thank you, God!

Wheee :)

in the midst of excessive blog posts

Sometimes, one needs to put herself aside and sternly ask if her best intentions are really to stay on Facebook and therefore fail things.

Back to work.

thanksgiving break

Nine days of pure bliss! Except not really, as I just realized how quickly this will pass. A shame, because this is about the length of the average winter break, too...does that mean it will be similarly fleeting? Such a pity that my real "off" days haven't even actually started and I already feel like my vacation's over.

College applications, homework, a potato party (I will definitely be posting pictures from this, if it happens), another New York City visit (last school!), Thanksgiving minus one family member, Black Friday in Lancaster, Harry Potter, visiting/seeing friends who've been away at college, submitting college applications, and then back into the swing of things until winter break rolls around.

I'm already one-fourth done senior year. Crazy.

Ooh, I should be making a Thanksgiving list soon, too, per custom! Looking forward to that. This holiday always puts things into perspective, for at least a little. Now if only I could live with a constant awareness of my fortune circumstances.

charter

I never once regretted my decision to go to Charter, although I was fairly miserable for the first few months (truth is, I still am...but I've learned to tolerate it--the crap days are as ritual as breathing now, just need to keep my head up!). Yet time after time, acts of unity really draw me back to the core of the school. Yes, we're a huge group of nerds; yes, we overemphasize academics; yes, we have "no social life"; but yes, we are passionate; yes, we're one of the top 50 best schools in the entire United States (and not even 20 years old); yes, we have character.

Simply: I love my school.

Where else could I find a Muggle Quidditch match? Where else are physics jokes cracked in art class? Where else is Facebook massively used for organizing study groups? Where else can I find this strange, twisted sense of comfort that comes from being around others who are equally if not more dedicated to schoolwork and success than me?

I'm glad this was my first choice, and I'm glad I was given the opportunity to go. Seeing how admissions works now, I'm not sure I would be accepted if I had tried out last year or in future years, but I'm ever-thankful for this opportunity to experience something so unique and so exciting, though I've sacrificed many a night of sleep to adequately study for an exam.

I know that I still haven't gotten back on track with the 30-day challenge, but I thought that this was something important to mention. I love unity; I loved seeing the school today on the football field's bleachers, wrecked and all, pumped and cheering for a fictional game morphed into reality. I loved it.

And now for my nine-day break...so convenient. Things are going to happen during this break. Things are going to change. I can feel it.

(What better way to start the weekend than a few extra hours at school sipping Butterbeer and chatting with friends while pointing fingers and the painfully-fast Cross Country runners playing Snitch, then stressfully preparing for the evening youth group program only to find that everything I was overwhelmed about melted away after a few more hours of genuine happiness and fun worshipping and learning and discussing more about God? :) Though I need to sleep early...tomorrow's Princeton! Another college visit [before I even get to talk about Columbia or Pratt!], here I come!)

lethargic

I really can't find it in me to dig up that one picture I need for Day Ten, even though I know I have a conveniently located file somewhere in my email...oh well, guess the challenge will have to (still) wait. Kind of defeats the purpose of getting in the habit of blogging, but heyyy.

I've also been very lazy with school in this past week. With yearbook piling itself onto me, I have no motivation to do anything. It's horrible, but I do get enough work done, just not as much as I would like. Luckily, my art trip to NYC tomorrow and Thursday will hopefully give me that needed push to keep chugging along. Thanksgiving break is literally just around the corner, and that will give me time to catch up on yearbook shenanigans, reread some chapters for school that I semi-neglected, work on my art portfolio and Scholastics submissions (eek), and of course finish some December 1 college application deadlines!

Wow...December.

Will be back with photos (hopefully I'm not too lazy to take those on my trip...heh) and more content later! :)

somehow it just clicked

whattup senior year?

:)