Thursday, September 2, 2004

   School: Day Two
I think I'll be switching back to the schooltime format of my posts. Because, that's really all there is to my days at the moment. >.>

So, I managed to get to homeroom just before the bell rang. At the time, my watch was not yet synchronized to the school clock, so I wasn't really sure. I stepped in the door, started to ask whether or not I was late, and the bell rang. Convenient. ^_^

First period, I had Honors Pre-Calculus with Mr. Pukstas. Most of the class was an explanation, or review, of what we would have to do on our homework. We have a set of problems due next Tuesday. So, after a few problems and a few lame jokes, we were given the rest of the period to work on the homework. I didn't have a calculator, so I had to skip a few problems. But I got the other ones right. Because I'm smart like that.

After Pre-Calculus was Honors English III, with Mr. Lamoureux. The period was an hour long, due to the setup of our school schedule, and I was nervous before entering. An hour, with a teacher who intimidated me at first glance. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I made it out relatively unscarred.

Unscarred is good, considering the man keeps a baseball bat behind his desk. Honestly, he does. He showed it to us. And it's a sort of padded one, so you know that he wouldn't hesitate to hit you with it. >_>

Basically, he described to us the different forms of writing we would be using for our papers: exposition, narration, argumentation, and description. So, we took a bunch of notes, and I lost some of my apprehensiveness. After the initial shock wears off, I found that I could stare him down. He'd look straight at me for a moment, and I'd stare back. He'd move on.

He taught us a neat little trick today, which I think he called real definition.

Using real definition, we can make a statement and never be wrong.

Example: "Fascism is government by centralized dictatorship."

Saying that, we could not be told that we were wrong. Now, the answer can most certainly be refined, or improved upon. But it is not wrong. He had us practice a couple of those. It was sort of neat.

Alex would love this guy, heh.

After that was Theology III, with Mr. Leone. We didn't really accomplish much, because we don't have our textbooks yet. We went over the course syllabus and received our work folders for the year. Until the books come in, I'm not really sure what we'll be doing.

Lunch time. The prices have gone up, and the food still stinks. v_v;;

Psychology followed lunch. Mrs. Bednarz teaches the class. We took notes today on some basic stuff. Like, the different forms of psychology, and which one is best, etc. She explained the scientific method (which I've learned from numerous other classes) and she gave us different circumstances for experiments. She described different variables that could be factored into experiments and the different methods of testing. It was certainly interesting.

After Psych is my Off Period. I spent the whole period working on my Pre-Calculus homework and talking to my friends Matt and John. (Incidentally, John and I dueled at lunch. He used my good Beatdown deck, and I used my prototype Archfiend deck. I was walloped.)

After Off was AP U.S. History. Let me just say, that regardless of my apprehensiveness about taking this class; I now love it. After only the first class. :D Mr. Currie obviously loves his subject, and is very good at teaching it. I absorbed more information from his lecture than I had in perhaps three days worth of lectures from Mr. Lacey in the past two years. And unlike Mr. Lacey's, Mr. Currie's analogies make sense.

I've got a test tomorrow in this class, on Booknotes. Keep me in your prayers, or wish me good luck. Whichever is your preference. >_> I did finish the book, mind you; I just don't know how much information I actually absorbed from it. Tomorrow ill be the true test, I suppose. :p

My last period of the day was Honors Physics. Mr. Baginski is a fun teacher, and so the class is enjoyable. We reviewed the two chapters that we were supposed to read last night (and I did) so that we will be prepared for the test tomorrow. I feel like acing it. ~_^ Also, the site he posted the summer assignments on isn't letting his access it, so I don't have to make up the assignments until he manages to get that straightened out. Yay. ^_^

When that class let out, I went to my locker to pack up and leave. This year, I decided to get a separate notebook for every class that I have, and it's made everything significantly easier, for some reason. =P Jess, my sister, showed up, nudged me, and told me she was bringing me home. She visited with a few teachers as I packed up, and then she drove me to my grandparents' house. Both of our parents were working, so I decided that heading down to Nana and Grandpa's would be a better idea.

Heh, I fell asleep in rather short order as I was reading my history book. I woke up, ate dinner, and my mom drove me to the library.

Now, I wasn't working today....


I was picking up my first paycheck!

:D

It's for $39.34 after taxes. Whee. :D My first ever official paycheck, and I'm only 15. =P I expect my next paycheck to be worth even more, because I worked 7 hours this week, instead of 6. *nod*

I came home and took a shower, getting a few quirky IMs because of my Away Message. Heh, I do enjoy it when I can provoke a response. ^_^

Right now, though, I've got to head off to bed. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get up early enough tomorrow to go to the gym and still make it to school on time. That's been the goal of my working out early in the summer. Let's just hope it works. >_>

Obligatory daily post complete. Good night everybody. :)
Comments (1) | Permalink

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

   School: Day One
"How was your first day of school?"

"Moderately awful."

Heh. That scenario was played out numerous times throughout the day. Almost the same question was asked, and the exact same answer was given each time. I'm consistent like that. Sometimes.

The day starts off normally enough with a nice assembly in the auditorium. As usual, my class is making more noise than everybody else, and we get in trouble. I'm being associated with arrogant popular people who don't stop talking, and I dislike it.

The assembly was mostly focused on the new rules that were put into effect this year regarding discipline. We now have detentions available on Saturday mornings. In most cases, you will be allowed to serve the detention during the school week. But now, if you accumulate enough disciplinary actions, you have part of your weekend taken away from you. It just doesn't seem fair. I mean, what if I had a family vacation that weekend? Or my great aunt was dying, or something? >_>

My first period of the day was Honors French IV, with Mr. Ayres. Undoubtedly, Mr. Ayres is my favorite teacher. He's just a really nice guy, and I like the way he teaches. Randomly he'll throw away a lesson and give us a long speech about our futures, or some specific issue that's been brought up recently. The class should be just like last year, except with more emphasis on speaking.

Honors Pre-Calculus looks like it will just be another year with Mr. Pukstas, but perhaps at an accelerated pace. Remember how I was doing so well last year, with little effort? Well, I'll have to work this year, apparently.

Honors English III was next. Mr. Lamoureux intimidated me. I'd seen him around the school before, but I'd never been in his class. It's hard to explain what the feeling was like, but it certainly made me aware of what was expected of me in this class. A lot of work. I just....eh....I'll get back to this later. It was very odd.

Theology III looks like it's just going to be a second year with Mr. Leone. We still don't have our textbooks, due to a misunderstanding with the shipping. All of our theology books are on backorder.

Psychology looks like it will be a fun course, with the option to do a "mouse project" in which we will "condition" a mouse. I'm not entirely sure what it entails, but I think it has something to do with training the mouse to accomplish some goal. Perhaps a maze sort of thing, but undoubtedly more complex.

AP U.S. History. I think that, having gotten the initial Summer Reading assignment over and done with, I'll be able to settle into this class relatively easily. Note-taking, section reviews, written assignments; I think I can manage, especially with my new teacher, Mr. Currie.

G period I have Off. Besides having a welcome break from classes, and a chance to work on school work, it provides me with an opportunity to duel John on a regular basis. He's in the same Off period as I am, so we can pretty much play all year long. =P

In addition to that, when my Off overlaps with the lunch periods, I'll be able to eat lunch with Christina and Victoria and my other Freshman friends. ^___^

For my final class, I have Honors Physics. I had opted to be in the regular Physics class, but the Guidance department shifted me upward in order to accommodate my schedule. Because of that, I missed out on the summer assignment distributed to all the other students. I now have to make that up. Thanks a lot, Guidance Department. ¬_¬

The teacher, though, Mr. Baginski, is a nice enough guy. So far the class seems to be an advancement on the chemistry I took last year; a step forward in the mathematics of measurements and such. I'm sure it will get more complex as things move on, but I hope think I can manage it.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, actually. Tomorrow the whole school is in session, meaning the Freshman class, too! :D I can't wait to see people. ^___^

By the end of the day today, I had acquired a homework assignment in Pre-Calculus (due Tuesday), homework in Physics (done already), and homework in AP History (not done yet, due date uncertain).

And I have at least two tests planned for Friday, perhaps more, if my memory serves correctly.

TEH LOTS OF TEST returns! :O!
Comments (2) | Permalink

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

   Get back to work!
*ignores self-discipline*


Well, I've now actually started to write the paper about Booknotes. It's 5:17, and I've got two paragraphs out of a suggested eighteen. I'm pretty sure I'll wind up with more than that, though; just because of the way I format my paragraphs.

I'm pretty sure that the paper will not be due tomorrow, but rather at some later date in September. Few teachers will actually require an assignment on the very first day of school. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to bed early enough tomorrow morning tonight that I can get to school early tomorrow. Last year, my friend Tom Crowley got to school before everyone else, and copied down their locker combinations. Throughout the year he would have lots of fun rearranging people's possessions. For a period of two or three weeks, I did not have my Photography book. And then he took my calculator, and I got his. It was an odd time.

Besides that, though, I need to turn in a three month belated consent form. I needed to have one of my parents sign the form, saying that they understood how difficult the AP Course could be, and that they would have to pay for the AP exam in May. The form was due back June 4th. >_>

Before I left school last year, though, I made sure to let Mr. Currie know that I'd be late getting the permission form in. He said I could just have it sent in during the summer. So, as a demonstration of my responsibility, I'm going to hand it over to him tomorrow. =P

I mean, hey; I still have the form three months later. And it has even been signed, too.

This morning I got woken up early to go and get two new uniform shirts for school. My old shirts inexplicably keep getting stained. So, I've got my uniform for tomorrow, and I've got most of my books. I can't get my Theology books until the school decide which ones we're using. =p

I need some basic school supplies for tomorrow, though. A notebook and pen will probably get me through the day. The teachers will tell us what materials we'll need for their classes, and so tomorrow night I can go and get school supplies. It's sort of a backwards system; everybody else I know shops for school before the first day. Meh. Such is my life.

*continues to delay working on paper*

It will be odd, I think, being back at school. Just from what I saw at the Book Day, I can tell that everybody I know will be very different. Well, at least in appearances. There are a few of my friends that I doubt even another summer could fix make normal change.

So...yeah. Thursday should be a much better day than tomorrow promises to be. Even if I have a great day tomorrow (somehow), on Thursday, I'll be in school with the new Freshman. ^___^ I know a handful of the new Freshman, and it'll be cool seeing them around.

*is suddenly grabbed by flailing work ethic*

Ack!
Comments (3) | Permalink

Monday, August 30, 2004

*prays that post works*
MyO has been acting weird tonight. First I get an error page, and then the page just plain won't load. Hopefully now it's been sorted out sufficiently.

As I'd imagine many of you know, I've been eating better for the past few weeks (maybe a month now?) and exercising more. I've managed to keep off 7-10 pounds since I started, and hopefully now that I've begun weight training, I'll be able to drop a few more pounds and build up some muscle.

Exercising does not come as much of a problem for me. I'll get done what I am told to get done. 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise? No problem. 30 minutes? If you say so. Weight training? Let's get to it.

Food, though. Food is another story entirely.

It's not that I don't like the healthier foods I've been eating; I just like the non-healthy ones more. And they're usually easier to make. Stuff that isn't so good to eat can be tossed in the oven or microwave for various periods of time. Quick, easy, tasty. Not good for me, however.

Pizza. Pizza is a big contradiction for me. I love pizza, and I hate pizza. I've said this before. >.>

I really, really like pizza. To me, most kinds taste great. I don't care if it's the store-bought kind you make in the oven, or if it's delivery or whatever else. Pizza just rocks my socks.

Ever since I started eating better, though, pizza has been labeled as a food I should avoid. Too much grease, and white bread for the crust makes it a bad source of carbohydrates. I've been avoiding carbohydrates when I can.

The thing is, pizza seems to be all around me. O_o

My parents buy the frozen pizza from the supermarket for my younger brother and sister to make for lunch or dinner. Whenever two or more families on my mother's side get together, we generally order pizza from Pizza Palace. They have a nice "Buy 4 get one free" deal that makes feeding our numbers easier.

And in the times when we don't have much food around the house, my parents will just grab a pizza for the younger two. I get a grinder from Subway. Now, while I like Subway, I don't often leave leftovers to eat later. There usually is leftover pizza. It just sits there a taunts me. That is why I hate pizza. It's everywhere, and I can't have it.

Moving onward.....

I'm nearly finished with Booknotes. I've only got about 30 or so pages left and then I can start writing the paper on it. I don't imagine that it will take me too much effort once I get started. I've stayed up until 2 the past few nights reading this book. If I'm lucky, I can get to bed by 11:45 tonight.

Well...make that very lucky. I've still got another book to read for another class.

I have no real plans for tomorrow, other than getting a few basic school supplies. I don't know what I'll need until I go to my classes and get a course syllabus, which usually has a list of needed supplies.

Tomorrow will be the first day of school for all of my Freshman friends who are going to St. Bernard's. I hope everything turns out okay. >_>;;

I should have most of the day tomorrow to work on my summer assignments. Getting to sleep at a reasonable time might just be a good idea. I fell asleep two or three times today while I was reading. I can't afford to do that sort of thing tomorrow.

I worked today from 1-5 at the library. Halfway through my shift, I got my timecard! :D Now I'll just have to swipe it through a machine when I start and end my shift. It's much easier than filling out paperwork and getting a signature, which is what I had to do before in order to be paid.

In even better news, I don't have to use those stupid tabs when I do New Books and Videos! ^_______^

Joe says it's because I've got so much experience over in the New Books section, but I think it's mostly because the patrons find the tabs annoying. =P It's a bit of a shame, though. I had just gotten a system developed where I made using the tabs much more effective. Rather than have them sliding around the book cart and giving me papercuts whenever I tried to pick them up, I put the tabs in my lower pocket. That way, I could slide them out one by one as I needed them. It made me much more efficient, and I didn't get papercut nearly as much. =P

I work again on Wednesday after school, from 3-6.

*runs short of fuel*

Ummm....

Many thanks go to Mimmi and Aleia, for shooing me from my computer so that I could read more. ^____^;;

And now I'll shoo myself, and finish off Booknotes.
Comments (1) | Permalink

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Believe it or not, somebody actually said that about me. :0!

Tonight, even.

I called Christina tonight, as she had not yet come and gotten her books from me yet. She starts school on Tuesday, and she sort of needs her school books for school. The uniform shirt might have come in handy, too. =P

Her mom was babysitting at the time I called, so she couldn't come and pick up the books right then. But she said she would stop by later and get them.

Mrs. Hamanaka, a teacher at Sacred Heart and a friend of my family, came over tonight to give my mom some bandages that she had leftover from after she had surgery.

Let me explain that a little better...

Mrs. Hamanaka had surgery on her foot at some time in the near past. She had to replace the bandages on her foot by herself every so often, and she had to buy the bandages herself too. She bought them in bulk, because the store she bought them from did not always have a supply of them. So, when her foot was fully healed and she no longer needed the bandages, she wound up with quite a few extra.

My mom is a nurse midwife, and works with all sorts of medical personnel and patients who could use those bandages. My mom's patients especially, because a lot of the time she works with families who don't have a lot of money. Free bandages would be incredibly useful.

After she had successfully transferred the bandages into our care, Mrs. Hamanaka stayed around for a little while to talk to my parents. There wasn't anything particularly important to talk about, but Mrs. Hamanaka likes to socialize. When Christina called back and said she was on her way to my house, my dad told me it might be a good idea to get her books out of our van.

I did so. Mrs. Hamanaka got up and went on her way to leave. Christina and her mom pulled up in their car, and I brought the books over. Lucy (Christina's mom) was exuberant with gratitude and the like, and she thanked me numerous times. My dad used to work with Lucy, and he was glad for this opportunity to catch up with her. They talked for about half an hour. >.>

In the meantime, Christina and I were caught by Mrs. Hamanaka. She had taught both of us in previous years, and she decided that she would talk to us while our parents were otherwise occupied. So, we talked to her. Sort of. It was a relief when my mom came outside and starting talking as well. There was more to discuss and I wasn't nearly as uncomfortable. As friendly as Mrs. Hamanaka is, having her as a teacher throughout my elementary school years makes me slightly wary.

Eventually, Mrs. Hamanaka left, and my mom went inside. It was beginning to rain. Christina got in the car with her mom, and I stood beside my dad while he continued to talk to Christina's mom. I like listening to my dad talk; he's got a nice voice and he brings up all sorts of anecdotes when he's talking to somebody. He's smart and funny, and he can make just about anybody like him. He and I can both manage to get along with people we don't particularly like, and even make them like us. We've just got......charm, I guess. >.>

My dad and I headed out to Dunkin' Donuts and bought my mom a coffee. Then we stopped by Cumberland Farms so he could buy something to drink. Because he's been having problems with his throat, he hasn't been able to eat much for the past few weeks. He's lost 15-20 pounds because of it, but he constantly feels nauseous. On the way home he passed on what Lucy said about me, including, but not limited to, the quote in the subject bar.

I spent most of the day today reading Booknotes. In that time I managed to read 100-something pages, bringing me into the 300s of 514 total pages.

With my immense capabilities of procrastination, however, I managed to build two new Yu-Gi-Oh decks, bringing my running count to three. (That is, three that I can use without interchanging any cards.) I've got a Water deck, and a sort of Spirit one. My generic Beatdown still stands as my best at the moment, but I've got scraps of an Archfiend deck being pulled together.

On a very bad note, I've recently been informed that I actually do need to read those four Classic American Novels. Tack on another couple hundred pages to my count. Due to be done my Wednesday. And I'm working four hours tomorrow. x_x

I may just pull an all-nighter of reading tomorrow night if I can't get a bunch of reading done. Ergh. I'm so stupid sometimes. Cliffnotes will probably be bought and used. Already my schoolwork isn't up to par.

Speaking of schoolwork, I got my schedule on Book Day. I'll leave you to try and puzzle out how I'll survive this year. >.>

A-Honors French IV
B-Honors Pre-Calculus
C-Honors English III
D-Theology III
E-Psychology
F-Advanced Placement U.S. History
G-Off
H-Honors Physics
Comments (1) | Permalink

Saturday, August 28, 2004

   Hiatus needed.
I was supposed to babysit this morning for Mrs. St. Louis. 10:30 to 2:00, not too much of a dent in my reading time, and a good way to earn money. 10:30. No problem. I can be up by 10:30, yessiree.

My alarm was set for 6:20; gym time. I shut it off. If my mom didn't come up and get me, we weren't going. Some hours later, my mom came upstairs and told me that she was taking my dad to the doctor's office. He's been having throat problems lately. Okay. No problem. I'd just continue to sleep.

10:57AM

"Hello?"

My eyes shot open. I instantly recognized the voice, and why it was in my house. It was Mr. St. Louis, here to pick me up and go to his house to watch his kids. I checked my clock, my eyes bulged a bit, and then slapped on some shoes and grabbed my bag. Fortunately, I hadn't unpacked all of my babysitting stuff (Gamecube, games, Yu-Gi-Oh cards) since the last time I watched them. I called down the stairs and told him that I'd be right down.

I rushed down to the bathroom and tossed my contact solution and container into my bag. I could put them in later. I quickly left the house and got into Mr. St. Louis's truck.

He'd been sitting there, knocking on the door, ringing the bell, etc. etc. He had called the house, and my parents; my parents had called the house. Eventually they just told him to walk in and call for me, as the front door was normally unlocked. So, I got a couple of "sleepy head" jibes from Mrs. St. Louis and then later from my parents.

From 10:30 to 2:00 I watched Tyler, Corey, and Colton; ordering lunch about 12:00 from Dano's Pizza Place. I got myself a roasted chicken salad. They delivered, and it came out to exactly the amount of money Mrs. St. Louis had left for lunch. :D

At about 2:00, the elderly Mr. St. Louis showed up. He's the one that I mow straight lines in grass for. =P So we packed up the kids and he took me home. He'd be watching them for the rest of the day, so I could go home and read. I went home, checked out my daily Internet stuff, and then made myself a Myoplex shake.

Then, I actually got down to reading. I finished about 75 pages or so by the time my parents got home at around 3:45. My mom was hungry, so she suggested we go out to eat. My dad took a nap, I kept reading, and my mom played a game on the computer. Some time later she broached the subject again. So, we decided to go to Olive Garden, which just opened a little while ago nearby. I took a shower, my dad woke up, and we left.

It was an hour and twenty three minutes to wait. I know, because I timed it. =P They had said an hour to seventy-five minutes, and then when we checked back again after an hour, they told us fifteen minutes; twenty maximum. Ha, well. I showed them.

The food was superb, though, and we got our food in about forty-five minutes (me timing, once again). But in the time it took them to bring our food, we had salad, bread sticks, and our appetizer, so it wasn't all that bad.

I got a chicken scampi, which contained peppers, onions, roasted chicken strips, and wheat linguini. Overlaying the mixture was a creamy garlic sauce. It was fantastic.

During the meal, I took into account warnings that my parents have been telling me about eating too fast. Since starting school at St. Bernard's, I've developed a tendency to eat disturbingly fast. It's not that I sickeningly shovel food into my mouth, I've just got the mechanics of eating down pat. Food disappears before my body realizes that it's full, which is why my parents worry. I may be full, but I'll keep eating until I feel it. So, tonight, I deliberately slowed my pace. I wound up being full enough to actually take home leftovers; a first in the last two dozen or so times I've been out to eat.

So, yay. I have leftovers to eat for lunch tomorrow. ^_^

As for the title of this post. I'm going to try and avoid going online for the next few days. Other than checking webcomics, MyO updates, and e-mail, I'll most likely not be on. I really need to get this book finished for school, and I've got precious little time. Tomorrow I have Mass as my only real plan, but there's no telling how long I'll get myself to read after that. Monday I'm working 1-5PM, so there goes another four hours. At some point I need to get some school supplies, and make sure I have the parts of my uniform. (Incidentally, my school pants from last year are looser around the waist ^__^) I've got stuff to do, and too many distractions! >.>

So, yeah. I may not be around. Expect updates to continue on the nightly schedule. As they have been for a while, actually. =P
Comments (3) | Permalink

Friday, August 27, 2004

And then they were three...
I've managed to be consistent in going to the gym. This morning my mom and I went and did an upper body workout. After we finished that, I felt like I could manage exercising some other parts of my body, and so we did 'core' exercises. 'Core' is basically your abdominal muscles, the muscles in your stomach/torso.

It felt good to be even more thoroughly worked out. ^_^

Particularly since I've been cheating on my eating. ¬_¬'

We came home, and I hopped on the computer for a little while. Shortly thereafter we left and went to visit my sister's new dorm and help get her settled in. It proved to be mostly unnecessary, and my dad and I felt sort of unneeded and out of place in an all girls dorm. Fortunately we left and went to Wal-Mart, where my mom bought all sorts of stuff for my sister's dorm.

After Wal-Mart, we went over to Ruby Tuesday, the restaurant that my older brother, Tim, works at. While he didn't wait on us, he was the host and handed us our menus and escorted us to a booth. He was off of work by the time we were done and ready to go, so we decided to stop by his new apartment.

It was small, and sort of cozy. It had a kitchen, two rooms, a bathroom, and a living room. My mom noted that there was a woman's touch in the house: It was clean, and there were little ornamental decorations that Tim never would have gotten himself.

At that point, Tim's roommate showed up. I think her name was Monique, but I'm not quite sure. She was rather short, but she was very nice and absolutely gorgeous. I can't imagine how Tim got so lucky. ~_^ He didn't mentioned anything about them going out or anything, but, heh, I couldn't see why he wouldn't ask her out. :p

Then we headed home. I sort of napped on the way back, and read in Booknotes off and on again. After about an hour of doing stuff at home, my mom and I left to go to a meeting. It was a meeting to continue planning our new Church Youth Group. Tonight we mainly discussed the by-laws for our Youth Group planning "Board". The group that was together tonight, and who would continue to plan and organize things for the group throughout the year.

Sort of like Congress, but with a purpose. [/random political jibe that came out of nowhere and does not really express my own opinion]

I've still got several hundred pages left to read in Booknotes, and yet I continue to run into other things that take my precious little time away from me. And my procrastinating self just shrugs them off. "It's just a couple of hours."

The thing is, a couple hours here and a couple hours there are bad enough as it is. I need to get working. Night time seems to be my only recluse in which to read. And what do I do?

I update MyOtaku, of course. :p
Comments (0) | Permalink

Thursday, August 26, 2004

   Just another day in the neighborhood...
Another productive morning at the gym. My mom and I got up and did 20 minutes of cardio. We're thinking of dragging my dad in tomorrow for a workout, as he seems to be better now, health-wise.

I came home and burned myself some breakfast. I'm not a very patient cook sometimes. Rather than let something cook through properly on a lower setting, I turn up the heat, and cover the pan so that the heat reflects back in upon the food in question. I took my vitamin and my niacin supplement, and then headed upstairs.

I went through my normal routine of checking through MyOs and websites, and then I began reading some of the stories in Booknotes: Stories From American History. I took a short nap before taking a shower and going to work again.

*bliss*

Work again. ^_^

I can't really express how much I love my job. It's just so easy and so awesome. I still had to use the tabs today, which slowed me down. Joe mentioned something about my pace; about how after some experience I should be able to shelve a cart every twenty minutes. So, three in an hour.

I got three done in my three hour shift. =/

Well, besides the tabs, I have to "break down" carts of returned books in the circulation room, shelving them there. And then I have to take books from those shelves and put them on a cart. Then I have to arrange those, and then I can take them out to be shelved. So, it's not likely that I'll be getting 9 carts done every time I work. I'll be lucky to get six done in a three hour shift, I think.

I put away two carts of New books today, and one of Non-Fiction and Biographies. I nearly got lost in the Non-Fiction section, because I was concentrating so hard on keeping my cart steady. The stupid thing kept veering to the left on me, and I had to exert extra effort to keep it from running into the shelves. v_v

Not to mention the uniformity of the shelves, you know? Books upon books upon books. The numbers on the books don't mean anything on the larger scale of navigation. <_<;;

Then Joe showed me how to do something called "Shelf Reading." It's a very boring task, but a necessary one. It's something to do when there aren't many books to be put away. All you have to do is go to a section of books, and then make sure they're all in the right order.

Special instances include authors with the same last name; I need to make sure that they're arranged alphabetically by authors' first name as well. Then there are some books that are just blatantly misplaced, and I have to return them to the proper place. Column by column, book by book. It gets to be mind numbing after a while. My knees started to hurt from crouching down to read the lower titles.

I really, really, really want to stop using the tabs. They are so annoying. I have to fit them just right in between the books, or they just fall right out. And it's pretty much pointless in the New books section (which I've normally been doing) because everybody rifles through all of the books! x_x;;

I get my first paycheck next Thursday, and hopefully my Timecard will be coming in soon as well. I got my schedule for next week, and I'll be working Monday from 1-5 and Wednesday 3-6. This seemed odd to me, as it adds up to seven hours. I was under the impression that I was only allowed to work six hours a week. I don't mind, at the moment, but I'm just wondering where the extra hour came from.

I got home from work, and was almost immediately whisked off to a belated birthday/going away party for my sister. Her birthday was last month, and she leaves for college tonight or tomorrow. A couple families got together and had hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, dip, etc. etc. And cake, and ice cream. You know, party stuff.

Unfortunately, that much munchable food proved to be too much of a temptation for me and I ate more of it than I probably should have. x.x

I'm not too worried about it, though. I'll work it off in the gym sometime and I'll stick to better foods again. I've already drank several bottles of water today, so that's been helping.

I've still got a bunch of summer reading to do, and only six days left until school. I suppose I ought to do that now, then.

Good night everyone, wish me luck! =P
Comments (2) | Permalink

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

If I can't have you, I don't want nobody baby...

*points up* Random song lyric that jumped into my head. O_o'

So, on to today's news.



THERE IS NO TODAY'S NEWS! ARE YOU INSANE? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OF THESE I'VE WRITTEN CONSECUTIVELY?! HUH? DO YOU?!

*twitch* You'll have to forgive me, I'm feeling much more random than normal. Tis weird....>_>

So, my mom was on call last night, and apparently she got called in to work, as she was not here in the morning to wake me up. Therefore, I did not go to the gym, because I did not get up until 12-ish. When I woke up, there was nobody else in the house. o_o;;

I ticked off family members on my fingers. Mom: At work. Dad: At work. Tim: ???, but he doesn't live here anymore so it doesn't really matter. Jess: Work. >_> Ben: Home. Emily & Michael: Probably with the grandparents.

Having come up with a decent excuse for everybody to be away, I set about....doing stuff. I read some MyOs, I checked out OB, I talked to a couple people on AIM, etc., etc.

Eventually, my dad came home from working at the golf course. He plopped down on his bed and started watching The Rock. I went downstairs to watch the movie with him for a little while, and then I got a call from Mr. St. Louis. >_> It was about 3:00 at the time.

He told me that he was going out somewhere at four, and asked if I could come to cut his yard later, perhaps at 6:00 or 6:30. An alert flashed in my mind: "Negative. Fencing begins at 7:00. You'd never make it on time and you wouldn't be ready to fence." I told him that I was otherwise engaged this evening, and asked him if I could come over right at that moment. It doesn't take me an hour to do the lawn anymore, and so I could be done before he left. He agreed, so I went over to cut the lawn. My dad dropped me off, and then drove off to do errands.

Mr. St. Louis pointed out to me that after the last time I cut his lawn, he had noticed that some areas were not cut perfectly straight. (The area in question had a freaking bush in the middle of it, making circles easier than straight lines.) Now, the first reason he gave me, as it always is that he doesn't want me to get tired out by turning the lawn mower. The ease with which I do my work is foremost on his mind. The second reason, though; (not terribly important compared to the first, of course) it looked nicer when straight lines were used. The lawn was aesthetically more pleasing with rows, apparently.

*mutters darkly about elderly perfectionists*

I finished before four, got paid, and walked home. I came upstairs to my room, and found that several of my friends were away, with similar away messages. They were playing Literati. So, I signed onto my long-forgotten Yahoo username and joined their room. I watched and chatted as they finished the first game, and then I joined them in a second. Partway through, I left and got a protein-milkshake-thing for lunch.

I was winning for a good portion of the game, but then I got down to three letters by mistake. I hadn't noticed that there were no more letters to be taken. So, Sara began to trounce me with her vast vocabularical might.

(Un)fortunately, I had to leave before the game had found its conclusion. It was about 6:45, and fencing began at 7:00. My coach had strongly suggested I attend the special session on Tactical Footwork that was to be held this evening, so I decided that I would. I loaded up my gear, and my dad drove me over to the East Lyme Community Center, where the club meets.

Upon arriving, I put on my knickers and found my friend and teammate, Tim Tartarus. Tim and I decided that we'd stick together throughout the "class" as instructor called it (including the quotes). His name is David (pronounced Da-veed) and he'd been fencing for 30 years in all sorts of national and international competitions. Never the Olympics, though. I knew him as the coach from Bacon Academy. Anyways, he took us through all sorts of drills and exercises that first stretched out our legs, and then put them to work.

Lots of movement back and forth across the room, and quite a bit of bouncing tossed in as well. We all looked ridiculous a lot of the time, but I still had fun. ^_^

At one point, he made everybody get up and do a move called a Balestra, in front of everybody else. A Balestra is, basically, a lunge preceded by a small hop. The hop covers the distance to your opponent quickly, and then you go in for the touch. I executed mine without much trouble, as I've done the move many times before at practice. Heh, other people weren't so advanced. ^_^;;

Then David had pairs of us race across the larger length of the gym. I was paired up with Tim, thankfully. He beat me by a slight margin, but the emphasis of the race was speed with form. As he put it, after someone went faster than he did: "He won, but who looked better?"

Heh, David looked much better, formwise. He had much more control over his movements, and was able to stop himself without slowing when he reached the wall.

After the races, we were permitted to free fence. I suited up, and then watched a couple other people as they fenced, particularly David. A lanky fellow came up to me and asked me to fence, so I got off my arse and fenced him. :D

He continually used a strong move he called a "Windmill" in which he would basically swing his foil around in a wide, strong circular motion. It was very annoying, as it kept smashing my blade out of line. What really irked me, though, was when he advanced on me with the huge flailing motion, and then caught be across the thumb. x_x;;

That hurt. A lot.

So what did I do? I didn't let him start the move. I kept pressure on him, and whenever he attempted to start the move, I'd attack from an outside line. If he didn't stop his motion to protect himself, I got a touch. If he did, it stopped the Windmill. A couple of times I was quick enough to simply attack right before he started the Windmill, and head off any further damage to myself. Eventually, though, the rubber tip of his foil flew off and hit someone in the head. That ended the bout, as I hadn't really wanted to be poked by an uncovered metal foil. >_>;;

I got out of my fencing stuff and waited outside for my dad. He was late, and I later found out it was due to traffic. I came home and cooked up a couple of turkey burgers for dinner. Then I came upstairs, where I am currently.

In Other News:

I've got exactly a week left until school starts for me. I still have to read Booknotes: Stories From American History for my AP History class, and then write a summary of it.

I still have another book that was on my reading list, called Four Classic American Novels. In it are the stories: The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Billy Budd. I'm retaining a small bit of hope that I don't need to read the book quite yet. It's a required book for my English course, and I'm hoping that means that we will be reading it and discussing throughout the year; and that I don't have to read it now. >_>

If I really was supposed to read it this summer....well....there's always cliff notes. v_v

Tomorrow I've got another day of work; 2-5 PM. I feel like such a dork, because I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. =P

Friday we're moving my sister up to her dorm room, provided that she fills out all of the forms and such that she left to the last minute. If she didn't, well--she'll have the shortest college career we've seen in a long while.

Okay, I'm done.
Comments (1) | Permalink

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

   Workout, Work, Save Ryan
My morning started off just like the past few have, with my mom coming upstairs to wake me up, and the two of us going down to the gym. We did a lower body (read: legs) workout, which I had very little trouble with. I used to play soccer all the time in elementary school, little kids chased me every morning, I did Track in Middle School, Fencing the past two years has really tolled them, and the past year os so I've been going for miles-long walks. My legs could have laughed at the exercise routine.

After they caught their non-existent breaths. =P

So, yeah. It wasn't the nicest feeling while I was working out, but the soreness went away quickly enough afterwards. We came home, I ate some eggs and toast, and quite naturally came upstairs and got online. As I often do. :p

I was tired for some reason, (Hey, maybe the staying up past midnight got to you!) so I went back to bed for a little while. I got up at a little after 10:00, took a shower, shaved, and then my dad and I dropped off Emily and Michael at my grandparents' house. My dad had to work at 1:00, and so did I, so he dropped them off and then dropped me off at the library.

It was only 12:35 or something, so I browsed a bit before I told someone at the desk that I was there to work. I checked out Saving Private Ryan from the video section, and had a lady at the Information desk hold it for me until 4:00, when I would be done with work.

I probably mentioned this before, but after reading Flags of Our Fathers, I sort of got a taste for World War II information. I'd already seen the beginning of Saving Private Ryan in history class, so I decided to pick it up and watch it at home.

At about ten of one, I went up to the front desk. At about the same time I noticed Joe behind the counter, another lady had already fixed her attention on me. "May I help you?"

I sort of mumbled something and pointed at Joe, signaling that I had business with him. Thankfully he noticed me, and had me come around the desk to the employee section of the building. He gave me a tour of the employee offices and such, and then showed me around the library in general. After that, he brought me to the circulation room, where all the returned books are sorted, and then put on carts to deliver them back to the shelves.

The circulation room is pretty small, and it has metal shelves on every wall. The shelves are marked: Large Print, Fiction, New, Biography, etc., etc. Books that are returned are brought into the room and put on those shelves. From those shelves, they are organized onto carts, and from the carts, they are returned to the bookshelves in the library.

Joe had me organize a cart of New books, and then, satisfied that I had organized them correctly, he told me to shelve them. I was given a bunch of brightly colored paper tabs with which to mark where I had shelved books. The tabs are so that Joe can come by and check my work, making sure I put the books all in the right places. Having to put a tab in with every book slowed me down, sort of like having Mr. St. Louis watch me mow his lawn. Only, the tabs were slowing me down is a physical sense; I had to make sure they were sticking out enough to be seen, but planted firmly enough not to fall out. Mr. St. Louis just makes me think too much about making mistakes. >_>

It's a bit confusing at first. Some books are marked with a special sticker, I.E. Large Print, or Biography. In some sections, these stickers matter. The books should be arranged in accordance to them. But in others, the stickers are to be disregarded. It makes for confusing work sometimes. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, though.

I organized and shelved a cart of Books on Tape and some CDs, as well as taking apart a couple carts of returned books and shelving them in the circulation room. Again, though, I had to mark every CD or Tape that I put away. Ergh. Irritating.

The circulation room shelves were starting to pile up; some of them, at least. I put together a cart of Fiction books and went out to shelve them. I only got half of them done before Joe came up to me and told me it was 4:00. On the way, as I was returning my cart, he stopped by a couple of the tabs that he had left in after checking my shelving. They were mistakes I had made. A couple of times, I had placed a book with the same Author's last name together, without looking to see if they had the same first name. For example, say I had put a book by Smith, John on the shelf. I put it in the midst of other Smith labeled books. The thing is, there are more Smiths who have written things. Instead of being with the other Smith, John books, I could have placed it with some Smith, Maria books. A simple mistake, which I did not make again.

Another point of discrepancy was the letters "Mc" or "Mac" at the beginning of any author's name. "Mc" is treated as "Mac" and all the "Mc" and "Mac" author's are automatically placed at the beginning of the section. A mistake that, this time, was not my fault.

At one point, when I was organizing books in the circulation room, an elderly many came up to the front desk and asked: "What are them pink things for?" He had asked me the same thing earlier, but apparently hadn't heard or understood my response. He was, naturally, referring to the tabs that marked the books I had shelved. The lady at the desk explained the procedure to him. I only caught a bit of his response:

"What are they doin' that for? Ain't they usin' the same alphabet now? They ain't changed it."

Heh, I appreciated that. After I got a 99% on their organizational test and organized a cart of books at my interview, they still insist on looking over my shoulder. =P

Regardless of any and all negativity, though, I love my job. ^_^

It's just awesome. It's simple, I'm good at it, I get paid for it. I get to be in the library for extended periods of time (which is quiet, and cool) and I don't really have to talk to anybody. I'm actually looking forward to Thursday, when I work again. :D

Eventually I came home, ate dinner and watched Saving Private Ryan. I'm pretty tired, now, at about 9:30. I may actually get so sleep soon. :O!


Being a page rocks. ^____^
Comments (2) | Permalink