I'm rebellious... in theory.

Not exactly sure what this is from, but it was the most accurate description of "Giant Paper" that I could find on Google Images.

Tomorrow, I have my English final. My lovely teacher told us that we were allowed to use as much information as we could possibly hand-write onto a 4x6 index card (front and back). She then went on to list some of the loopholes that kids have found, and emphasize the fact that it must be hand written and the size constraint is "four-by-six". I had to find a loophole. And I can't really take credit for the one I found--my friend Caitlin said off-handedly that she was tempted to bring in a four-by-six foot notecard instead of the four-by-six inch notecard that the teacher displayed. I verified that the maximum size was four-by-six, and once again, the teacher neglected to specify units.

And so, my best good friend and I headed to Kinko's this evening to hunt down a gigantic sheet of paper, which Kinko's did not have in stock. What kind of office printing corporation doesn't have giant paper?!? Anyway, we considered the possibility that we could tape a plethora of posterboard together or use paper from a ream in the teacher's workroom, but then we decided that we were too lazy to put through the effort to fill a whole four-by-six foot sheet with literary notes, so the idea was scrapped, and we went shopping.

Ironically, it was probably the most productive study group I've had. We just walked through the mall, quizzing each other over Frankenstein, Greek tragedy, and Pride and Prejudice. I think I achieved more in one hour at the local mall than I have in the past week at my house. Which says a lot about my work ethic.

My take on today's finals:

• AP Cal BC- I was relatively confident about this one. I probably would have been even more confident if I knew that it was open-book. I looked up from my test with about ten minutes left, and realized that all of my classmates had their books wide open. But I don't think it was too big of a deal--it might have slowed me down, even. However, I did forget that there's no penalty for answering wrong. And I left a few questions on the Scantron completely blank, which was a really stupid thing to do. Irony.
• AP Econ- I hate multiple choice. With a passion. Half of the test, I think I was overanalyzing, but it's hard to tell with Econ. I don't really have much to say about this one other than I feel substantially less confident about it.
  

Wait, listed?

This about sums up my emotions right now.

Life isn't always sunshine and lollipops, ya' know? I was "deferred" (wait-listed) from Georgetown today. Which means that I wasn't a "shoo-in", and they'll be looking at me with all of the other "maybes" in the next round of selection in the Spring--I'll find out April 1. Which is a really cruel date to send an admission letter, because it could very well be a giant April Fool's Day joke. Georgetown admissions, if you stumble across my blog, consider my observation, and send your letters on May 31 or April 2. Pranksters.

By the way, ten percent of deferred applicants get in... which is not an optimistic number whatsoever. I'm not too fazed by the fact that I can practically guarantee you I won't be admitted. My Georgetown interviewer told me that if I don't get in somewhere, I'm probably not meant to spend four years of my life living there--why would I want to live at a place that didn't want me there? Besides, I didn't go into this process expecting to get into every single one of the incredibly out-of-reach schools that I've applied to. I didn't even expect to get into half of them, which is why I applied to so many. And, I've been accepted to two very excellent schools... and Baylor.

If you want to see what a real-life deferral letter looks like, view below (click to enlarge). As depressing and somewhat insignificant as it is, this is a part of my senior year, and it should be documented.

In other educational news, it's Midterm Week, a.k.a. the week in which we do nothing in class. It is typically preceded by "The week from hell", a.k.a. the week where procrastinating AP students (cough, cough) scramble to turn in missing assignments and teachers scramble to enter all of the grades before the deadline.

But back to the delightfully placid Midterm Week. Tomorrow, I have my AP Cal and AP Econ finals. I feel fairly confident about AP Cal, and not so much about AP Econ. I'll post my opinions on both of them for posterity, so if you're an underclassman reading this, pay special attention to my blog in the following days.

I should probably be studying for my midterms instead of blogging about my thoughts on them...

Hoya Saxa.
Adieu.

This post has a picture of a butt in it.

Yeah, the only reason I posted the above picture of my friend Julia's booty was to attract readers. I'm using her for her body. But I'm sure positive that she's okay with it.

But I mean, the borderline inappropriate picture is somewhat relevant. Julia, her Quidditch teammate Kathy, and I are starting a YouTube channel called EveryFlavorVlogs. Check it out. (Please envision me saying "check it out" like Fergie. Thanks.)

Yes. That was a wee li'l promo video we shot this past Saturday. Bonus points if you can guess the name of the cat (hint: the video was filmed on the Texas A&M campus). Even more bonus points if you subscribe, comment, or press the refresh button an obnoxious amount of times in an effort to rack up views. If you have a suggestion as to how we can promote, definitely leave a comment. Or keep your ideas to yourself. We don't need your ideas anyway.

And if you have a friend, you should tell them about the channel. That wasn't intended to sound as condescending as it most likely did. I know--first I promote myself shamelessly, and then I insult your social life. I'd make a really good E! News reporter.

In other weekend news, the Christmas choir concert was this weekend. And because I don't feel like elaborating further (I probably will later, though), here's some eye candy.

Like I said, eye candy.

Yeah, this picture wasn't intended to be this awkward. But I'm kinda obsessed with it.

My brother would be the one in the leopard print santa hat. The sass runs in the family.

"Stevo" the Duck teaches you something cool.

"I am a duck. My name is Stevo. Katie is delusional from lack of sleep."

I really don't have time or the energy to tell you about my humdrum life. So instead, I'm copy-and-pasting my extra credit assignment for Physics. It's about a duck named Stevo. And the Doppler Effect. And universal expansion. But mostly about a duck named Stevo. Enjoy and be knowledgeable.


"Suppose Mr. McGowan is going fishing in a pond. He notices a duck, who he names “Stevo” moving across the water—Mr. McGowan observes that Stevo is creating waves in the water, and catches up with part of the waves as it swims forward, causing the waves in front of Stevo to appear “bunched up” and noticeably more dense than the waves behind him. The “bunched up” waves in front of Stevo have a shorter wavelength (λ), and thus, a higher frequency (f), whereas those behind him have a longer wavelength and a lower frequency. This is called the Doppler Effect.

"This concept can also be applied to sound. Stevo the Duck has now realized that a motorboat would be a quicker way to travel across the pond, and has rented one. As Mr. McGowan watches Stevo maneuver the boat, he notices that the boat seems to emit a higher pitch when approaching, and a lower pitch when heading away from Mr. McGowan. This is because the soundwaves have a shorter wavelength relative to Mr. McGowan and thus, a higher frequency and a higher pitch.

"Later that day, Stevo the Duck fell into a vat of radioactive waste and as a result acquired super-speed and began to emit a strange light. As Stevo travelled through space at extraordinary speeds, Mr. McGowan tracks him with an extremely high-tech telescope he got for Christmas and notices that the Doppler Effect applies to the light Stevo emits. When Stevo moves toward Earth, his light appears more blue, but when he moves away, his light appears more red. Mr. McGowan directs his attentions to other galaxies, and notes that practically all light is more red than objects closer to Earth—thus, he deduces that the bodies of the universe must be expanding, or travelling away from each other. This evidence supports the Big Bang theory, as it shows that the universe has most likely been expanding since a “zero” point, at which the expansion began."

All we do is win.

What a wholesome group of somewhat racially and socially diverse youths!

The title of this post is actually taken from an article in the school newspaper. Not only are we victorious--we're conceited, as well!

But at least we have justification for our conceit--our football team beat the Montgomery HS Bears in the quarter-finals of the play-offs! Three full days later, I'm still lacking in vocal strength because I yelled so much. Although, half of the time, I was chanting as loudly as possible "Avada Kedavra", which was funny to me and my friends, but really pointless for any purpose other than to make noise. Kinda like a vuvuzela.

Because we won this game, we'll be advancing to the semi-finals against Lake Travis HS, which will be this Saturday at Texas A&M's Kyle Field. Kyle Field has a seating capacity of 82,600, and is frequently exceeded, which seems like a breach of safety codes. Henry Winston Stadium, our high school's field, seated 8,000 before renovations, and slightly more now. But nevertheless, Kyle Field is ten times the size of what we're used to. It's kinda a big deal.

Although, this is the exact same situation we were in two years ago. Exact same round of play-offs. Exact same opponent. Exact same location. And we lost (knock on wood). But this year is different because our football team has black pants.

Someone told me (and this could very well be a load of codswallop) that the football coach had a dream that our team won the state championships, and they were wearing black pants as opposed to the traditional white. And so entirely new pants were purchased for every member of the football team. I'm not complaining, though. I like the black pants. Very much.

Anyway, I'm excited about the game this weekend. Here are some pictures from the quarter-final game at Rice Stadium.

I'm not the only one excited about the play-offs.

Some people just aren't peppy, I guess.

I saw this on the bleachers. The picture doesn't do it justice.


The next day, my family and I went to my Grandma's church in Navasota, TX. Two hours away. But it was to see our good friends, the Bealls (the missionaries in Papua New Guinea), so the trek wasn't for naught.

Mr. Beall is about to maim my father with a spear gun. That's right, kiddies--a tribal spear gun.

There was a live auction to support the Bealls. My mom paid $100 for a peppermint cheesecake, but refuses to let us eat it until Christmas.

*Note to self: purchase vuvuzela.

My AP Physics teacher is a dirty liar.

I'm not doing too well in AP Physics. And it isn't because I have trouble grasping the material. I just have trouble turning in the material--mainly because I've been gone for quite a few days this nine weeks on account of choir.

To resolve said issue in Physics, I was going to judge the Jr. High science fair (which actually sounded incredibly fun to me). But when I got the the school, I was informed (after much wandering and many questions) that the science fair is tomorrow. So I went home, enraged, and proceeded to do Physics homework.

Summary: my teacher speaks lies.

The Sing-Off: Season Premiere

Attractive.

Today was the second season premiere of "The Sing-Off". I didn't see the first season, but as a choir nerd, I already feel like I will become obsessed. And thus, I will tell you of my budding obsession.

By the way, I love how every show of this format (i.e. American Idol, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance) has a formula of judges. The "expert" and/or "Brit", the "super-nice female", and the black guy.

The Eleventh Hour: They're great. For a high school group. But I can already tell that it revolves around Kendall, the homecoming queen. And I kinda hate her, even after the only five minutes I saw of her. Seriously, the other people in the group are doormats. On another note, I really hope the judges won't be biased because of their age. My pick to leave. Not happy they stayed, and Pitch Slapped didn't.

On The Rocks: Even before watching their intro, I was in love. I, like so many others, discovered their "Bad Romance" video on youtube. They are adorable. And their performance was even better than the hilarious and jaw-dropping viral video. They were clearly more mature than The Eleventh Hour. But then again, they are four years older. I also loved that there weren't individuals--it was a group, not a soloist accompanied by a few other people singing "oohs" and beat boxing. My only qualm is that they could have had better tuning.

Groove for Thought: I love how unique they are! But I hope they will show more diversity in other genres of music. They, however, were fantastic. Mature. Extremely impressive. And the seven-part harmony? Perfect.

Pitch Slapped: First of all, hilarious name. And did you notice how they're all gorgeous. Awesome percussion and bass. And the sound effects? Hilarous/Impressive. Kinda reminded me of that Honda commercial with the choir in the car garage. They seemed to be rushing. A lot. But the musical talent was very obvious. The judges are are idiots for sending them home. Speaking of which, their "Swan Song"--phenomenal. Still a little rushed, but extremely impressive.
,
Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town: From the very beginning, it was established as Jerry Lawson and the men riding on his fame. Which is sad--I'm not a fan of individuals in acapella groups. But I can't really criticize, because that's their style--just as I can't criticize Groove for Thought for being jazzy (and I don't know who would want to), I can't complain about the backup singers of this group. But they really were fantastic and extremely put-together. Extremely classy. However, I wish the judges wouldn't talk so much about Jerry Lewis--he's been around the block, he knows what he's doing--he was in The Persuasions, for Pete's sake. You can't judge his performance. And as the judges pointed out, they really are the "godfathers of acapella". You don't compare Bach to Gershwin or Joplin.

The Whiffenpoofs: Well... they're intimidating. And snooty. I love it. Almost as much as I love the word "Whiffenpoof". Awesome song choice. Actually, perfect song choice. I love their indescribable style. It's so... classy. The lead is one of the biggest queen I've ever seen. In the words of the judges, "very sassy". I love the lack of percussion. My personal favorite group of the night.

Men of Note: Adorable. They remind me of a quintet from my high school a few years ago. Actually, they practically are the quintet from my high school. They did the same exact song for Pop Show my freshman year, and followed a guy around IHOP while singing. The main difference is how refined this group is, and the fact that they have a black guy. "For the Longest Time" is the quintessential barbershop quartet song. Honestly, I am not shocked whatsoever that the song was performed. Compared to the other groups, it was average. I don't think they deserved the hate they received from the judges, though. But from the judges' reception, I understand how they were selected to go home.

Street Corner Symphony: I love old country. And I'm excited about them. However, in the intro, they had more of a barbershop feel, which I wish transferred to their performance. Poor song choice, in my opinion--they weren't really set apart from the other groups. The rhythm was incredible. I wish the accompaniment was a bit louder, as the soloist seemed kinda shaky. The ending was perfection. It definitely really felt like a lot more people were singing than just six. They also felt... average.

The Backbeats: The name kinda sounds like a boy band. I feel like they're a bunch of divas, which isn't definitely a bad thing, but it's something they'll have to work with. They certainly are talented. They were incredible, frankly. It sounded like 40 people were on that stage. The song was a perfect diva song--the right song for a bunch of divas. Interesting that they didn't highlight the little gay Asian that organized the whole thing. But the soloist was incredible. I'm not usually one for soloists, but it was very cohesive.

Committed: I'm very excited about this group. I really hope they'll be able to show diversity, because I think they could really shine if they can handle the various genres. There is no way they made those noises only with human voices. They were in-cred-i-ble. I love the contrast between the quiet moments and the percussive sounds. It's no wonder the producers on the show saved the best for last.

I think I may be getting a Butterbeer belly.

Yesterday, a few friends and I sampled butterbeer from various recipes across the internet. I don't know how the wizarding children consume such a large quantity of it in the novels, because it is filling. Granted, one of the main ingredients in many of the recipes is ice cream topping...

But knowing the audience this blog reaches, you probably want to know the verdict, eh? Their names are roughly based on appearance, taste, and ingredients--which is why it's not so ironic that the "Neville" was the worst overall, and "Harry" was the best.

• Most Delicious: "Dobby"
• Closest to Images on Google: "Seamus"
• Most Accurate to Novel: "Harry"
• Best Overall: "Harry"
• Lamest: "Neville"
• Elisabeth's Fave: "McGonagall"
• Katie's Fave: "Harry"
• Kyle's Fave: "Seamus"
• Jordan's Fave: "Dobby"
  

And now for zee recipes!

*NOTE*: Some of the images are misrepresentative, as they were taken after the drink went flat.

The "Harry"

BEST OVERALL
MOST ACCURATE TO NOVEL
KATIE'S FAVE
Deliciousness: 4.25
Prettiness: 4.5
Accuracy to Novel: 4.625
Total: 4.4583

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cream soda
  
• 1/2 cup butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping); ours had caramel in it
• 1/2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Measure butterscotch and butter into a 16 oz. glass
2. Microwave on high for 60-90 seconds, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely melted
   
3. Stir and cool for 30 seconds
4. Slowly mix in cream soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit a lot.
5. Serve.

***Does not taste good when cold.

The "McGonagall"

ELISABETH'S FAVE
MOST COMPLEX
Deliciousness: 4
Prettiness: 5
Accuracy to Novel: 2.5
Total: 3.8333

Ingredients:

• 1 pint vanilla ice cream (vanilla bean for best flavor)
• 1/4 cup real butter, room temp.
• 1/2 teasp. butterscotch extract (used butter extract b/c I couldn't find)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (omitted)
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1 qt. apple cider
• Apple Slices for garnish
  

Instructions:

1. On medium speed, beat together ice cream, butter, butterscotch extract, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well-combined.
2. Pour into a container and re-freeze
3. When ready to serve, gently heat apple cider in a saucepan until steaming hot.
4. Place one scoop of ice cream in a thick soda glass or large mug.
5. Top with steaming apple cider.
6. Garnish w/ apple slices, if desired.

The "Dumbledore"

LEAST ACCURATE

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon (omitted)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp hot chocolate powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ounce butterscotch syrup

Directions:

1. Melt butter and honey together
2. Add milk, sugar, vanilla, and butterscotch syrup to mixture
3. Microwave or heat on stovetop until warm
4. Mix in hot chocolate poweder and cinnamon
5. Serve
   

The "Neville"

MOST LAME
LEAST DELICIOUS
LEAST ATTRACTIVE
(Kinda sums up Neville... poor, poor Neville.)

Ingredients:

• 1 can root beer
• 1 tbsp honey
  
• 2 tsp butter

Directions:

1. Place soda in a microwave-safe glass and heat in microwave for about 30 seconds
2. Remove soda and set aside
3. Place butter and honey into microwave long enough to melt
4. Add soda, melted butter, and honey to blender and blend for 5-10 seconds
5. Serve
   

The "Draco"MOST AVERAGE

Ingredients:

• 10 oz Cream Soda
• 1 tbsp salted REAL butter
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/4 cup creamer

Directions:

1. Put the butterscotch chips and butter into a microwavable bowl and heat for 30 seconds
2. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds, so that it is a thick, stir-able paste.
3. Add creamer to the bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time; repeat four times, or as many as necessary to reach correct consistancy.
4. Heat cream soda in the microwave for 90 seconds, careful not to overheat, or fizz will dissapear.
5. Pour butterscotch into heated cream soda
6. Stir and serve

Yield: 1 huge serving, or 2 regular servings

The "Dobby"

MOST DELICIOUS
LEAST COMPLEX
JORDAN'S FAVE

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream soda
• 2-3 tbsp butterscotch syrup
• Ice cubes

Directions:

1. Mix cream soda and butterscotch syrup
2. Serve over ice
   

The "Seamus"

MOST ATTRACTIVE (or at least similar to the pictures I found on Google images)

Ingredients:

• 1 can cream soda
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp butter

Directions:

1. Place soda in a microwave-safe glass and heat in microwave for about 30 seconds
2. Remove soda and set aside
3. Place butter and honey into microwave long enough to melt
4. Add soda, melted butter, and honey to blender and blend for 5-10 seconds
5. Serve

And now for the sassy pictures of the sassy brewers:

We're fairly positive it actually was apple cider.

Our method of cooking was very messy successful.

In which I rant about morals...

I'm in a Christmas mood, and this is a cheesy Christmas "giving" post. Forewarning.

Interact, the community service club sponsored by the Rotary, takes care of a disabled woman and her adopted son (who has cerebral palsy) by doing yard work, putting up Christmas lights, and trimming her tree. She is wonderful. Extremely sweet. Rather chatty. And ridiculously grateful.

You know, the thing about "community service" now is that it isn't really service at all. People feel obligated rather than compelled to be proactive within their communities. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because in the end, more people will be reached. But the spirit of it is lost. What happened to people just stopping what they were doing and helping? Community service isn't just something to put on a college application--it's influencing lives. Community service is bringing a woman to tears because four high school students set up a tree because she is physically and financially unable to do so herself. It's being one of the few people besides her caretaker that will just listen to her. Believe it or not, the people charities donate to, the people that are fed at a homeless shelter--they have faces and stories. But people don't see that. They see what they, the giver, can receive from community service.

It's sad, but true. I'm guilty of it as well. Even today, I was skeptical about going to help because I had homework and I didn't need anymore community service. How much of a jerk am I? Seriously, why would I even place my own trivialities over something that is so important to another person?

And that was my little rant. Thanks for reading it, and for reading my blog--really, it means a lot to me. You're rad.

By the way, those of you that go to my school, Interact is collecting money during English classes for Adopt-a-Family. Basically, we've "adopted" two families to buy Christmas presents for because they're financially unable. Please, please, please do not view this as just another thing to give your money to. This is a family that may have had to tell their kids that Santa doesn't exist, that may have had to break a child's heart because the only thing he wanted was Harley Davidson bedsheets, but they just couldn't afford it. Every single person in that family has a story. Each child has a wish list, just like every other child. So don't donate because you have to--donate because you'll be genuinely making a difference. Oh, and the class in each grade that raises the most money will win a pizza party, so donate for that too.

By the way, we need individuals to be proactive within each class and get people donating! Hassle them, read them this blog post, just do whatever possible to get their money. In the spirit of giving, of course.

For Narnia!

So, I was using the bathroom today during Economics (great way to start a blog post, right?), and as I was walking back to class, I saw a kid in the hallway that looked exactly like Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia. Strangely, I managed to refrain from asking him to help me find my way back to the wardrobe, call him a "Son of Adam", or thank him for defeating the White Queen. Although, in hindsight, I regret not doing so. When I returned to economics, I wanted to blurt out to my class that Peter Pevensie attends our high school, but we were in the middle of class, so once again, I refrained. And once again, I regret my failure to act on my impulses.

In other news, the t-shirts I designed for Math and Science Club came in yesterday. They are beautiful. And obnoxiously bright. We ended up going with more of a lime green than the yoda green pictured in the link. I would post a picture of them on here, but my laptop doesn't have enough space left to let me edit photos. I should probably get that fixed.