Bracing for the Snowpocolypse

Evidently we are supposed to get a massive amount of snow this week. That's quite exciting. It's been awhile since I've gotten really worked up about a huge storm, probably in the summer sometime. And this huge storm has the added bonus of getting us off of school for a day or two, which will be awesome. I'll probably spend the day watching Dr. Who and Across the Universe. It'll be awesome. Guilt-free sitting around the house with a fire going? Yes.
The new semester started today and, I must say, I am a big fan of my classes. Lit and Euro are both especially good. The one problem I do have is that I need to take gym to graduate and it's not on my schedule. And I want to stay in newspaper. Hrmm. I'm thinking that I'll drop AP stats. I might be able to pull off a decent grade in it, but it's adding more stress than necessary to my life. Newspaper is a good amount of time to dedicate to a class, but at least it's with things I'm good at, namely writing and taking pictures. I have the math credit I need, and I don't really feel like doing more than that. And I'll at least have a good foundation for taking it in college. Solid.
I'll probably have a really awesome post on Wednesday. Until then, farewell, dear readers.

One of those days.

Second day of finals went alright. A lot of good things happened today, actually. But there was a bit of news that everyone's heard about already. I won't belabor the topic any more by going into a speech about it, but it certainly deserves a few sentences. It's weird and, of course, extremely sad to hear about people you know dying, especially at this age. And entirely randomly. Even if you didn't know him, you feel a little bit of you hurting inside.

You know what that is? 

Your sense of immortality. Teenage spirit. Whatever you want to call it, events like these shake you. I really am very sorry for his friends and relatives. I haven't talked to him in awhile, but he was a great guy and will certainly be missed. 

The rest of the day was alright. But there was always that shadow what had been announced in the morning hanging over everything. I spent some time with friends, ate some food, played some videogames. It was a pretty relaxing day. I did study a bit for AP Euro, the last real final I have this semester. But I wasn't really in the frame of mind for it. I mostly just stared at the page, not getting anything or real value from it. Other than "one day, my lifetime will be printed in pages for other kids to skim over for key terms." And that really isn't a great way to study. A bit of a downer, really. 

Which was sort of the way of the whole day. A bit of a downer. 

Second semester of my final year of high school starts on Monday.

It's the end of the world as I know it, dear readers. And I feel... alright. Always alright.

I'm very proud of you all.

This week marked the first time that Chrome has been the dominant browser used to view this here blog. Now, it could be just one crazy person with a very good taste in browser refreshing a bunch of times. But I like to have faith in people and believe that all of you took the initiative to browse the wonderful and fantastic world of the internet without the shit-plastered window that is internet explorer. Firefox and Safari users are excused (Safari is pushing it), since those are both legit web browsers. Congrats on restoring a small portion of my faith in humanity. For those of you still using IE.... you better be on a non-personal computer at the library or something where you can't change the browser. Or be a time traveler who just came from the 90's.*

One Act is going very well. The fight scene went of with only minimal hitches and the effect was definitely there. It'll be awesome. I need to be more ridiculous when the awkward thigh pick-up thing happens. Pique your interest? It should.

Part of my AP Stats midterm was today and, despite arriving just 15 minutes after waking up and running across the school to get there on time, it seemed to go quite well.** Other finals start tomorrow. Lit shouldn't be too bad, and the multiple choice for Stats will end up being a crap shoot regardless of the amount I study. So we'll see how that goes.

*In this case I am so, so sorry for you. The music scene gets much better in a few years, I promise. Don't lose hope.
**A loose term. Pretty well means that I finished it with at least some idea of what I was doing. I still could have boarded the failboat to screwup town.

'Twas the Weekend before finals...

Finals start tomorrow and, as I have been struck with a massive case of senioritis, I find myself not really giving a damn. I probably will do a bit of studying, but only because I hate the feeling of looking at a question and literally having no idea what to do or where to start. Grades are just sort of a byproduct of that. I've realized that no matter what I do at this point, I really can't improve my grades significantly enough to get anything in the ways of scholarships and I'm already into the school I want to go to. So at this point, I just need to sort of maintain airspeed velocity and not crash. I'll be all good as long as I can manage that. This will be possibly be the most agonizingly dull and annoying several months of my life so far. Musical will be fun. One Act will be fun. School will make me want to kill something. It's a good thing that I have access to a whole closet full of swords.

Next semester will put me into the first gym class I've been in since 8th grade. That seems like a different life to me, so it's basically the first gym class ever. That'll be fun. I'm slightly more athletic than I was back in middle school, but I can only really attribute that to natural adolescence things and not really any amount of work on my part. And saying that I'm more athletic than I was in middle school is approximately equivalent to saying I'm a bit better now at speaking than I was at 2 months old. Not really impressive at all, and even a little sad. I might be able to actually do a pull up and run more than 20 feet without stopping now, but I won't be impressing anyone with my physical abilities during gym. And then there'll be the swim unit. I caution anyone in my class to bring sunglasses. My skin is almost radiant in its whiteness.
That's no moon... it's Derek's torso. 

I'm typing typing this from under my covers.

Why? Because the idea that I can communicate with the entire world without leaving the comfort of my bed is so damn cool. Laptops are WEIRD.

Big news today is that my genetics project is done at last. Meaning that I'm done with the class completely, and all I have left to do is watch a lot of presentations. I think I'll use that time to write silly things in my Random Shit Journal*, perhaps pertaining to future long term projects. Or just fun things about cacti. Because they're cool.
Other news. I got a letter from Grand Valley today, saying that they got my housing application and deposit. Now all I have to do is sign this contract thing, then I'll get assigned a place to live next year. I'm living somewhere different next year. Holy crap. It's not my house. It's not my family. Everything's going to be different, and I am super pumped. It's gonna be great. Or awful. But either way, it's going to be EXCITING. And that's what really matters, right? Excitement.
There have been far too many nostalgia-related posts here already, so I won't elaborate on this point. It's weird, since I don't anticipate missing good ol' number 6 all that much, that I keep mentioning the fact that this is my last year. I think it's more about the excitement of leaving home than the sadness. I just hope I don't end up getting a crappy roomate.
Technically, good morning, dear reader. Until next time.

I kind of want to do this for a living.

We finished the fight choreography for the One Act play today. It was quite intense. I'm pretty darn excited to put it on the stage, though there are a few moves which make me a little nervous. Like the ball shot that occurs about halfway through. That would be most unfortunate for the people involved.

I spent my afternoon doing this. Be jealous.

Anyways, most of you will get to see it when it's performed. And since regionals will be right here in good ol' Novi, you should totally come see me kick some ass/get slapped in the ass with a sword by Tanaya. Fascinated? I thought so. 

In other news, this is the final day I have to work on my genetics project. And I'm doing this blog. Yep. It's alright, I've already come to the conclusion that this is a no sleep night. But I do have a lot of progress on it. Finishing it always takes longer than expected though. Oh well. I'll just leap into the classroom with a sword and look dashing. That's how real life works, right? 

I am Derek Smith. You failed my genetics grade. Prepare to die. 

It'd be even better if my genetics teacher had six fingers. 

A long weekend o' goodness

All weekends should be three days. It would make life so much better.
Anyways, there was a fair amount of work on the "Derek and Samantha" internet sitcom. It was a pretty fun time. Very silly, lots of ridiculousness. Which is my favorite kind of ness. Dylan's basement is a very... interesting place to set up an apartment set. I would tell stories, but I feel it was more of a "need to be there" sort of thing.
Friday I just sort of chilled out. Which was a good decision, I believe. There was the whole Rock the Box event going on, which I'm sure was wonderful. But I wasn't in the mood for loud rock music and dancing. Much too tired. So instead, there was some writing done for the aforementioned internet sitcom as well as just hanging out.
For the life of me, I can't think of anything interesting to write. So I apologize for the most boring post ever. More fight choreography and sword practice tomorrow!
Enjoy your MLK day, dear readers.

Week Two

This is now the second week of 2011. It still doesn't feel any different than last year. Probably because, in a lot of ways, it isn't really that different. There are several notable improvements from last year, but those sort of happened gradually through all of last year and not suddenly when the giant ball dropped in all its sparkly glory. I'm still the same old procrastinating, stubborn, and kind of mean person that I was last year. I have, at least, gotten better at doing all three of those. I suppose that in contrast I am also the same clever, enthusiastic, and open minded person that I was last year as well. The problem is, I hate acknowledging the good qualities about myself. Because doing that makes me feel all conceited and what not, and that's the way it's often viewed. But only acknowledging the bad things makes one looks sad and desperate for compliments. You can never win, dear reader. So you might as well look sort of conceited and boost your self confidence.
Genetics project is finally under way. Not the video, though I have started mapping out a script in my head. The website itself, however, is going fairly well. I have the general layout all done, and I know several of the movies and books that I'm going to cover. I think it'll get done before it's due. No it won't, that's a lie. But it's at least underway before it's due, so that's better than usual.

*

This is a picture from my genetics website, expertly crafted using only the finest MS paint.

I listened to an episode of Radiolab yesterday, for the first time in a long time. For anyone who hasn't listened to it and is even remotely interested in really cool topics such as sleep, the human mind, evolution, space, and tons of other things, I highly recommend going and checking it out. It has a free podcast. Listen to one that looks interesting to you before bed sometime. It will blow your mind. Like, bits of brain matter splattered on the wall kind of thing. So well done, so intriguing. That's basically the moral of this story. I could explain what the episode was about to you, but it wouldn't do it justice. Go listen.
Gulliver's Travels was sparknoted. I really tried to read it, I did. I just.... couldn't. It's awful, I know. But I'll accept the karmic backlash in exchange for maintaining a decent grade in lit.
Warmest regards on this cold night, dear reader.

*Also, Hulk smash the careers of any and all directors/actors who try to make decent hulk movie! ARGH!

The Internet, teller of all things

I'm officially in a relationship now. Officially, cause it's on the internet. Specifically Facebook. Strange how we now require having a little thing on a profile page in order to declare things. Ah well. At least it informs those friends of mine who would otherwise be totally oblivious. Not that I'm thinking of anyone in specific.
Anyways, there are a few other exciting developments in my life. I finally got trained to do box office sales at work, so I can now sell both tickets AND popcorn to people. You might think that this isn't a big deal but, let me assure you, this is a massive change. I will be able to return home after work (at least on the nights where I'm in the box office and not the concession stand) without a thin film of butter and pop residue spread concerningly evenly across the majority of my body. It will be a wonderful experience.
In other work related news, I crowned myself the lord of popcorn today by placing a large popcorn bucket atop my head. It was a very odd day today.
I think that's it. Life is going quite well at the moment. If only I could actually work on my genetics project and stop procrastinating. Can't win at everything, I suppose.
Until next time, dear reader.

I want to... write something

I loved NaNoWriMo. It was possibly one of the most fulfilling months of my life. Goes to show that I really don't have that many things going on in my life, I suppose. But regardless, I really wan't to write something exciting and new. At this moment, the countdown clock on the website tells me that there are 298 days, 5 hours, 2 minutes, and 7 seconds left until NaNo 2011 begins. That's way too long to wait.
Trouble is, I can't think of anything to get me started. All kinds of little ideas, but nothing big. I suppose that's where most novels have to come from, little ideas. But I haven't had time to develop any of them. So my mind is turning into some kind of dusty old attic filled with discarded random things, projects barely started, fantastical creatures and quirky characters waiting to be fully realized. It's be awesome to use some of them. Finding time... there's the issue. It's never easy to find the time to do things like this. Especially since I have a lot of difficulty just sitting down and getting to work at any random moment. There are times when I know I can put brilliant stuff down onto the paper* and there are times when I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that anything I put down will be rubbish**. This is, unfortunately, most of the time. The times I do feel like writing, I am often busy. It's really unfortunate. But I want to get something fairly significant done before the end of school. Brainstorming now, and the real writing probably after APs and musical and one act are done with and I have a life once more. It'll be fun. And crazy. I'm a crazy person. Sane people are boring, I think.
Now, what should this be about, I wonder? That'll be an answer for next time, dear reader.

*Or a screen, most of the time. I've decided to replace parenthetical asides with footnotes. Makes me feel all official and such.
**I just said 'rubbish'. I've been watching far too much Dr. Who.

8665 hours

The title of this blog post is the number of hours left in this year. It's always weird when you change units around like that. It messes with perception. 361 days seems like a long time. But for some reason, 8665 hours seems like my time is draining away rapidly. Fleeting. It incites a certain panic and craze to do something with my life. But what? That question is always the stopper in these moments. I feel like I should do something. Learn to play the guitar, draw stuff, write stuff, have intensely meaningful relationships with all kinds of people, the way they do in the movies. I look at all the stuff I can do and I freeze. None of it looks viable once all other possibilities are looked in to. It's a problem. So instead, I write about how I can't do anything. Weird. t least it's doing something. Not watching episodes of Dr Who, which is at least a step forward, productivity wise. Also, I'm on the last episode with Rose as a companion. I don't want to see her leave. Probably can't handle that right now, the way other things are going. I'd end up crying, and then I would feel silly. Crying for a TV character. Sometimes I can't even cry for real people, but I can cry for the Doctor and Rose. It's probably a disease of some kind, one they'll figure out one of these days.
I can never stay on topic. The point is, the crisis these days isn't a lack of time, not really. There's plenty of it to do everything I need to do and have a little left over for something else. The crisis is a lack of will to do the things I can do in these 8665 hours. A lot will happen during them. I'll graduate, go to college. Meet new people. Write another novel, maybe. Be a part of two productions at school. Talk to my friends. It's ridiculous, the amount of stuff that will happen. But it'll never be enough. I'll always regret not doing more. It's sad, really. I'll spend so much time focused on the things that didn't get done that the things I do get done will lose significance. I'll try to avoid it, but it'll happen. But that's what happens. I have another 8665 hours... well, closer to 8664 now, to get done all the things I want to get done. I plan on doing at least one ridiculously clichéd highschool student thing before I get out of here. It'll be cheesy. It'll be great.
And hopefully, it'll accomplish what I want it to accomplish.
Goodnight, readers. Until next time.

It's 10 o' clock. Yep.

Not one of my finest titles, I'll admit. Oh well.
Break is over. It's back to school. In some ways, I welcome the return of my usual schedule. My break wasn't much of a break, for the most part, and so it really isn't that big of a change, business wise. I worked a lot, did lots of cleaning, attended family events. Not all the most fun things. The one thing I really hate about being back is homework. The break sapped all remaining will to get things done from me. I literally have no drive whatsoever to get things done. It's awful. I feel terrible about it, but I really don't care anymore. It's a weird, contradictory feeling. I might explode from it. In which case, I apologize for the mess I will make wherever I decide to finally burst. It'll probably be quite disgusting.
I still have to finish my Nano. But now that rehearsals and school are back up and running, there's a rather slim chance for that happening soon. But that's ok. Eventually it'll get done. The main thing is that the 50,000 words got done and I know how I write better than I did before. Next year's Nano, if I have time for it, will be drastically improved as a result. Maybe I'll go for a more realistic setting next year. That could be fun. Then I can rely soley on characters for the story's quirks rather than just the odd world which it takes place in. Maybe it'll be a realistic-ish novel. I can't really do totally normal things. I can't make them all that exciting. Some people are good at taking a thoroughly average place and turning it into something magical. I, saddly, don't expect to find this talent. Still, one must at least try to do these things. Even if they seem doomed to failure.
That was an unexpected tangent. Back to business.
It's surprising how much you can miss someone after only a short time. Astonishing, actually. One of the main reasons why I wasn't too crushed about break being over was the fact that I can see friends on a regular basis again. Well, most of them. Some of them have yet to actually return from break, and others simply aren't in my classes and I don't see them. But it is better, having regular social interactions. I was getting a bit stir crazy sitting by myself at home. Or working in a rather soul-crushing minimum wage job. Neither of those was particularly great for my mental state. When a lot of mind numbing drudgery confronts me, I usually just put my mind somewhere else. And that somewhere else usually involves far too much thinking for my own good. It usually leads to angst. No fun. I have far too many unfortunate jokes and quirky phrases stored up in my head. It's a good thing my usual outlet, the lunch table, has returned to me.
I missed you.
Until my next uneventful night, farewell, readers.

Why hello there, 2011

Well, 2010 is at last behind us. Lot's of stuff happened. But now we can all move on. At least, that's the popular idea. But really, the only difference is the date. Anyone could choose anytime at all to change the way they do things. We just all decided at some point that the new year is the best time to do it, which makes some sense, I suppose. A silly tradition, but we all do it. So we'll embrace the silliness.

If any of you watched any of the New Year's coverage on TV last night (or even if you didn't; this is a fairly general point), I'd like to draw your attention to the artists that performed. Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Green Day, Plain White Tees. All of them were big during my middle school years or earlier (in the case of the first two, SIGNIFICANTLY earlier). Why are we having them perform at a New Year's Eve celebration? Aren't we supposed to be celebrating last year's accomplishments and looking forward at those that we plan on accomplishing next year? Perhaps we should play groups and artists that were big this year. Perhaps, say, Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine, the new album from The New Pornographers, the Black Keys, etc. Hell, even Ke$ha would have been a better choice, even though I'm not a big fan of her music. She's at least from this decade. To be fair, some of those groups I suggested actually released their albums during 2009. But the key is, they became big in 2010. Better than playing a song that we all heard overplayed on the radio 6 years ago. That's a big problem.

What'd be even better is if they played some new artists that might become big in the next year (using Florence again, she would have been a great choice for one of last year's performers). That'd be awesome. I would actually be mildly interested in the music being played. Not that most of the artists they have perform actually play the kind of music that I listen to the majority of the time, it would be cool to do a large scale talent profile of up and coming artists on national TV that ISNT American Idol or some similar reality TV show. It'd give artists the opportunity to gain exposure on a huge scale instead of just doing a radio playlist from 2005. It could be a huge marketing thing. See, money! You like money, don't you? Get some new artists for New Year's celebrations. Or just in general. That would be awesome.

Ending my rant on popular music selection, I'd like to take a moment to point out that I graduate this year. Yeah. It blew my mind too.

Happy New Year, reader.