So... Many... Projects...

I have a ridiculous amount of long-term projects. I have to build a trebuchet and write a "historical reference guide" about its history (I fully intend doing so in children's book format), research the economic structure of Papua New Guinea, and am officially in charge of the Choir's (Curious George-themed) homecoming float. In addition, I still have to finish applying to eight schools, Air Force ROTC, Army ROTC, blog, and get cracking on my duct tape prom dress.

Did I forget to mention that? I've decided to make my prom dress out of duct tape this year for a scholarship competition. This is my general idea:

Based on Blair Waldorf's prom dress from Gossip Girl, by Marchesa. Except this one isn't as awkwardly assymmetrical, will have feathering all around, is red, black, beige, and yellow, and is made of duct tape.

I want it to be crazy-detailed, so I'll probably cover the entire dress in the feather pattern. Right now, I'm playing with textures, and I've managed to crochet duct tape. I'll probably put pictures of that up eventually.

Oh, and I'd like to give a shout-out to my super crazy awesome AP Economics teacher, Ms. Berryhill. I gave her the web address to the blog, and I really hope she's reading this. She told me to write her a letter about myself at the beginning of the year, so I drew this comic strip. Click on it to see a larger picture. Go ahead, click.

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My AP Econ buddy, Allison, is supposed to start blogging today, and I'm excited. Allison Carlin, I'll be stalking following you. I promise.

A Good Car Wreck and an Interview

So, this morning, I woke up and spent a substantial amount of time completing an essay for my Naval ROTC application, which I had to have finished by the time of my interview (which was afterschool). I printed off my application and resume, made a mental note to finish my calculus homework during my first period choir mentor, and walked out of the door.

I had a ton on my mind. I was sleep deprived, thinking about limits, and extremely nervous about my interview. But those aren't legitimate excuses.

As I was getting ready to make a right and turn of my neighborhood, I noticed how the cars in front of my weren't making "full and complete" stops at the stop sign, and I made a point of doing so.

But I forgot to look left.

And so, I ran into an SUV. I didn't notice it was there until I ran into it and knocked my bumper clean off. I pulled to the side of the road, got out, and blurted to the driver (which happened to be a fellow student), "That was completely my fault. I am so sorry."

The boy retorted in a harsh tone, "Yeah. It was."

As he walked toward my car, he cussed, and then simmered down. I gave him my contact information and proceeded to start sobbing. I had an interview after school, and I needed the car. My next concern was about my parents' reaction.

Within a minute or two, my neighbor (who happens to be a big-wig in the Houston Police Department) came to the rescue and helped us figure out what to do until the police from my city arrived.

Eventually, three or four police cars arrived. They were extremely helpful--I was expecting a fine or a ticket, but they were empathetic and didn't give me a citation. One of the officers said it was a "good car wreck" because no one was hurt and the damage wasn't that substantial.

And so, my Dad came and took me to school, and I was flustered all day. I probably failed my Wuthering Heights test, despite reading the book twice and reading a large amount of criticism.

My father also took me to my ROTC interview, which I think went surprisingly well. Probably because it was more of a Q&A session than an interview.




In other news, it's officially high school football season. Go 'stangs.

My leg feels weird.

Jeez Louise, I can't wait for friday. It's the first week of school, and the work is already keeping me up until (or past) midnight. But I guess I prefer it. I like to feel productive.

I had a charlie horse a couple days ago. My left leg still feels weird. Bleh.

My Naval ROTC application is very near finished. I have to type up a second optional essay, get my recruiter to approve it, and then, tigercats are go! I have to get a ton of transcript requests, though--for Tulane, Baylor, AFROTC, NROTC, and the recruiter. iA, Dios Mio!

Interact and StuCo had our first joint social yesterday, "Fish Floats". It had a much better turnout than we expected, but it was quite unorganized.

That's about it. I've been pretty boring over the past two days.

First Day

Today was the first day of my senior year. As you may have deduced from the title. Here are my thoughts on my classes:

1. Senior Mentor - I ended up being a Senior Mentor for one of our women choirs--which makes me happy because I can help the Altos bang out notes, practice, or take my private lesson during that period.
   
2. AP Calculus BC - The teacher, Cap'n Crotteau is way more awesome than I remembered. The man is incredibly intelligent, has like eight degrees, toured as a professional golfer, and was a captain on a nuclear submarine. I don't understand why he would choose to put up with a bunch of high-schoolers every day, but I sure am glad he does, because he's stinkin' hilarious! However, instead of having us sit in rows like a normal math teacher, we sit in table clumps, like in first grade. I named my table "The Table of Champions". I pleased (and slightly intimidated) with the people at my table.
   
3. Campus Singers- There are 73 people in that choir. That is way too many. I was going to audition for Alto section leader, but one of our vocal virtuosos (and choir president) that I thought was a Soprano II (but used to be an alto) moved back, and I think she is more cut out for the job.
   
4. AP English IV- This class is WAY TOO LARGE. There are 38 people in a class with 36 desks. It makes me feel claustrophobic and socially awkward. We also have a gigantoid project called Poet Museum. My teacher, Ms. Simons, told us that we can work alone or in pairs. I am very independent--I am an introverted, finicky, obsessive perfectionist. I like to hog projects, and given the opportunity, I will do them by myself. However, my dear friend (who I ADORE) gave me "the do-you-want-to-be-partners?" look. I'm in a pickle.
   
5. AP Physics- I am so excited for another year of my Physics teacher's obliviousness--it's quite entertaining.
   
6. Lunch
7. AP Macroeconomics- I think I am going to love this class. There are only 16 people, and they are some of my favorite people in the world. Yesssssss.
8. Pre-AP Spanish IV- I am pleasantly surprised with this one. I expected to feel awkward being a senior in a class full of sophomores, but I really don't. There are about 12 people, so I think we'll really get to know each other. However, all but two or three of us are girls, which is weird because Spanish is usually the language that the guys take.

After school, I got a call from a representative for Naval ROTC. I have a meeting with him this Friday at Starbucks. Which makes me super nervous because I heard that a guy at my school had a scarring experience with an Air Force Academy rep. The man sounded nice on the phone...

I also met my (potential) organ teacher today. He was nice. Kinda smelled weird. But he was nice. My dad had mixed feelings about taking organ lessons because he wants to teach me lessons about budgeting and whatnot. But I'm going to try my hardest to go through with this.

So far, I haven't screwed up my fast from solid food and facebook. However, I've been playing massive amounts of piano to avoid thinking about it. I really think I should try to pursue the spiritual aspect of the fast, but I'm so afraid about confronting my beliefs.

Fasting and Applications

Beginning tomorrow, I'll be fasting for 21 days. Which means that I'm abstaining from facebook and solid food (except on Sundays) in attempt to get my spiritual life straightened out. Because frankly, I'm a mess. So I'll be blogging a bit more frequently over the course of the next three weeks or so--partially as an alternative to facebook, but also to keep track of what's going on in my life, for myself and for the "public".

As you may have figured out, I'm a lister. I list things. Here's a list of applications that I have completed or intend to complete (complete application, but no transcript sent marked in purple; applications that are partially complete are marked in green; applications that I have yet to start are marked in orange):

• Naval ROTC Scholarship
• Air Force ROTC Scholarship
• Army ROTC Scholarship
• Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
• Tulane University: Early Action
• Tulane Dean's Honor Scholarship
• Tulane Community Service Scholarship
  
• Baylor University: Early Action
  
• Baylor BIC/Honor's College
  
• Georgia Institute of Technology: Early Action
• University of California - Berkeley
• Emory University
• Georgetown University
• Boston University
• Harvard University
• Columbia University

*Note that this list is growing exponentially