Thursday, March 11, 2004

Winding down...
Well, the week is almost over and I've got mixed feelings. While I'm glad that school is almost done for the week, I'm still not really looking forward to the Confirmation retreat. (Which I still have to pack for, incidentally.)

There is also a possibility that I may have to do my oral presentation in English tomorrow. I'm better prepared right now, but I've still got some work to do to prepare for it.

On to today.

First Period I had Algebra II. The Juniors left halfway through to go on a field trip to see The Passion of the Christ with the Seniors. We worked on cubix/cubits/cubics. I don't know what the word is. New stuff, and yet still easy for me.

Next was English. We had a vocab test, which I think I did fairly well on. I actually studied a bit, which I'm sure helped. I deliberately took a long time, reading and re-reading my answers. I actually crossed out a few right answers and put them in the wrong spots. And then I put them back. Just to make sure my indecision appeared authentic. :p

We wound up having enough time for only one presentation. I critiqued it, as I was supposed to. Tomorrow we'll have English first period, and it will be shortened due to an assembly. Let's hope we don't make it through three more tomorrow. Logic says no, but pessimism says yes. I'll probably go with pessimism and try to be prepared.

I took a test in History. End Period. We discussed random current events in French, due to the absence of Juniors and Seniors. End Period.

Off + Lunch = Duel time.

I ate a grinder and then headed to the Nurse's office to play Yu-Gi-Oh. I put the new Barrel Behind the Door that I got into my Deck. I bought it for $3, a fraction of its actual worth. Matt didn't really want it, I guess.

I dueled Matt, and I knew I was doomed even before we started. He has just about every rare card that has come out since the game began in English, and his Deck is full of them. I was doing okay, up until he pulled out an incredibly powerful monster and beat me to death with it. -_-;

I knew that I didn't stand a chance. Maybe once I get ahold of the new Evolution Decks I'll be better prepared to do something. But as for now, I had to relinquish my title to Matt. It was nice, as he wasn't a jerk about it. He shook my hand, said: "Good duel." and that was that.

*insert expletive*

I WAS NUMBER ONE! MATT IS GOING DOWN! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!

Ahem.

Sorry about that... :p

After lunch was Chemistry. We didn't really do anything, as the Seniors and Juniors had just come back, as well as our teacher.

Theology, we watched an interview with James Cavaliez, or whatever his name is; the man who played Jesus in The Passion.

After school, my sister had a doctor's appointment, so she drove us over there. We waited for a while until she was admitted. And then I waited some more. I watched two little kids, who had never met before that time, mind, play together and speak to each other. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. They told each other their names, what books they liked, what their brother and sister's names are. Heh, it was just really cute.

Then we went to Sacred Heart, where I talked to my friends. Tyler, Tyler, Christina, and Victoria being the prevalent ones. Tracey drove me, my younger sister, and my younger brother home.

I spent the majority of the afternoon working on an image to use for Solo's Digimon RPG. I edited and spliced four different images in Microsoft Paint. The end result is what you see in my Introduction. It's a picture of Deciperemon, one of my Fic Digimon. He was the third one I created, after Blockmon and Healermon. Bhaumon came after him.

I actually have a picture of Blockmon floating about somewhere; Ginny drew him when she was still around.

Heh, just so you can marvel at my MS Paint skills, I'll show you the four images I worked with to produce the masterpiece above.


This is what I used for the ear-wing-things.

This was the skeleton image that I worked off of.

I got the right hand from here...

...and the left one from here.

Bask in my MS Paint lordship. :p

Now for the Wise and Otherwise quote of the day...

There's an old Greek saying: "If you admit your pig to the table he will..."

(Highlight to reveal)
End quote: "...put his feet on your head."
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Wednesday, March 10, 2004

   Posting early tonight....
Wow. It's 9:30 and I'm posting. O.o Normally I post at 10:00-something or beyond. This is what happens whenever I try to get my work done before I go online, I wind up having time to do stuff. Which is weird, in my eyes. I shouldn't be able to do this. Or should I? This strange phenomenon is quite perplexing.

I've managed to stay #1 Duelist at St. Bernard's. ^_^ This new Deck of mine is really kicking serious teenage-card-game-geek butt.

I had photography first period today. My group went out and took pictures. Oh boy. :p
After photography I took an Algebra II test. This one was the actual test, not a not-test like the one I took yesterday. I'm predicting a high grade on it. I went over it twice, and the answers all seemed to fit. Unless he threw in a trick problem. He likes to do that.... that jerk.....

Next was English. We got a test back, I got an 80. Not as good as I expected, but acceptable nonetheless. The essay was only worth two points, which turned out to my advantage. Would you believe that I couldn't get a two-point essay? -_-; Apparently, we were supposed to write a persuasive letter, and that's how it connected to the Middle Age literature we were reading.

I so cannot wait until next year. Hopefully it will be better.

The rest of the period we spent working with out partners on our Oral Presentations. I'm partnered with a girl named Kim, one of the smartest people in the English class. We worked out what we would say and got some stuff for a display. I still need to write up flash cards for then. *makes mental note*

We have a vocabulary test tomorrow, which I should study for. Everyone is hoping that we can take up enough time to keep from starting the Oral Presentations tomorrow. It's unlikely, since we have English for an hour tomorrow, but even if we limit the time, it means that there will be fewer presentations. I'm up fifth, and I'm estimating the test taking about a half an hour, so it'll be a close call. It depends on how long the presentations are, and on how long I can hold onto the test without being totally obvious about stalling.

It's not that I don't want to do the presentation. Well...I don't, really. I still don't particularly like getting in front of people to speak, but I've noticed that it isn't so bad when you're up there with someone else. As soon as I get up there, I'll be fine.

Hopefully.

I just don't think I'm quite ready to do the presentation. I'd like to have more time to work on my note cards and discuss what we're doing with Kim. The better our transitions are, the higher we're graded.

After English, I had History. We played a Jeopardy-like review game to see who would get extra points on the test tomorrow. We wound up tying, 30-something for each side of the class. I got about four answers towards that score, out of a lot of kids, so I was pretty happy.

Next was lunch. None of my Yu-Gi-Oh playing friends were in that lunch today, so I ate and then went to play games in the computer lab.

After lunch was French, where we had French history dictated to us by Mr. Ayres. That's pretty much it for French.

Next was Off. I played more computer games at www.Miniclip.com.

Then I had Chemistry. I got our last test back. 100% :D That's the first one-hundred that I've gotten for a while now. It felt pretty good to see a three-digit score again. Hopefully I can keep it up.

My sister had left school early for some reason, and she had taken the car, so I either had to take the bus or get a ride. After some quick and careful planning, I went over Eric's house. My sister was picking up my mom from work today, and my mom works just down the street from Eric.

Ah, before going to Eric's house, though, I played Yu-Gi-Oh with my friend Mark. I beat him, slowly and painfully. He uses a Deck that tries to overpower you with tons of monsters. But every time he'd get one out, I'd destroy it with something. And he had one of my Traps continuously draining his LifePoints. I wound up kamikaziing one of my monsters to win the game. Heh, it was a nice finish.

So, I went to Eric's house and watched Futurama. We played Yu-Gi-Oh in between every few episodes. Eric is a beginner at Yu-Gi-Oh, and he was using a deck that I built. He is, however, very intelligent and well versed in strategy.

Unfortunately, I knew every card in his deck, and knew how to play accordingly. He lost both times, his strategies thwarted and his mood aggravated. I can be a real jerk sometimes. :p

Next, my sister picked me up and brought me and my mom home. Well, I went home, my mom went to a meeting about the Ski Trip, and my sister went to a Boy's Lacrosse meeting.

I came upstairs and started working on my homework. I prudently avoided plugging in my Internet adapter. It was uncomfortable at first, doing work when I could have put it off, but I did it. I still have a bit left to do, but the majority was complete, and that's what really matters.

So, I'm sitting here, typing this up, wondering what else I can talk about.

I need a shower; maybe shave again, too. My school hands out detentions for shaggy faces, so it may not be a bad idea. That, and my younger sister tried pulling my hair earlier. She couldn't get a good grip because of the dried sweat and other assorted gross stuff. >_>

I've still got to do my English note cards for my presentation.

I have a western/frontier dance to go do on the 20th. My class' Student Council planned it, and I'm part of the Student Council. I'm sort of obligated to go, although I'd probably still go otherwise. I bought myself a denim shirt the other night, and I have a star-shaped badge that says: "Sheriff Benjamin" on it. It should be a fun night.

This weekend I have the Confirmation retreat. 4:30PM on Friday to 3:00PM on Sunday. We'll be going out of state, so our parents will be nowhere nearby. They're not allowed to call us, except in an emergency. I came back from our last retreat in a waspish mood, and wound up in a wellspring of despair such as I had on Saturday. It was not a fun time. It was all happy and nice, but the reality of so much wasted time and energy just drove me to tears. Yech...I'll just be glad when this is all over.

My room is still fairly disreputable. My dad won in excess of $2000 last night at a casino, which went to my school tuition. I may be getting a Barrel Behind the Door Trap card, which will help me immensely. One of the few things that hurts my Deck a lot is Magic Cylinder.

With Barrel Behind the Door, I can redirect the damage that Magic Cylinder would normally do to me. Situational, yes, but possibly game-winning if played right.

The Ski Trip is in two weeks, and people are suddenly deciding not to go, which is bad. We need to fill 40 seats, or we pay for the 40 seats out of our Youth Group bank account. Filling in those forty seats could be a hefty expense, so it'd be very good to get more people.

I think that's pretty much it for now. I still need a trademark object; if nothing else I'll be stuck with a toothbrush. I was hoping for something that I could add "of doom" onto, so that it might sound diabolical. Toothbrush of Doom sounds like it's been used before.

So now, I'll leave you with a quote from Wise and Otherwise.

There's an old Yiddish saying:
"When the lazy girls start dancing..."

(Highlight below for the end)
"...the musicians go out to pee."
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Tuesday, March 9, 2004

   Tuesday. In text form.
So, yeah. Today.

I turned off my alarm this morning, and then fell back into a sort of half-doze. My sister came in a little while later and roughly shook me awake, claiming to have woken me up about a half hour before.

Now, she makes this claim often, and rarely do I ever remember such a wake-up. Anyways, I got ready and had a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast. I had a glass or two of milk and I was good to go.

Or so I thought......









Okay, yeah. I really was ready.





So, I went to school.

I wound up being a minute late which meant that I had to wait in the detention room until homeroom was over. A minor inconvenience. I went up to my locker and got my books for my first class.

First was Theology, which we spent correcting a quiz, taking a vocab test, and having an inactive discussion. (Inactive Discussion: Teacher asks questions. Teacher winds up answering same.)

Next was Photography. My group got to go out on a shoot today. We were supposed to be looking for clearly defined shapes; things that were defiantly square, or triangular, or circular.

I wound up taking all of my shots, as well as about half of the period. I really wish I had a scanner so that I could post them up when I get them. I had a really nice photograph from our last shoot.

After Photography was Algebra II. We had what I guess could be called a fake test. It wasn't a practice test, somehow; but it wasn't a real test either. I discovered that I rush through problems too fast in my attempt to just get it over with. I am by far the smartest or most math-oriented kid in that class. I just make silly little mistakes sometimes that cost me a few points.

It was just another boring Algebra II class, basically. We have a test tomorrow. I'm not particularly worried.

I had English then, and took a test on the Middle Age literature we read. It was fairly standard, with vocabulary establishing a solid ground for my grade. Our essay was weird, as it had nothing to do with what we had read. We were to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. It was odd. A good grade is expected.

Next came history. -_-; More tedious notes and the threat of a test hanging over our heads. I still have two overdue assignments for this class, unfortunately.

Then was lunch, and the third challenge to my new #1 Duelist title. I ate a grinder and headed to the Nurse's Office, where John and Mark were already playing. John beat Mark, so I dueled Mark. He beat me, and I had to relinquish my title.

Then John beat Mark, and he became the best in the school. Then I challenged John.

It was only a few moments before I was brushing off my recently alleviated eminence and replacing it back onto myself.

In plain terms: I beat John, and I was once again the best duelist in the school. My title had momentarily been taken, but I managed to get it back before the day was done. It's pretty funny, actually. Our lunch periods are only 22 minutes long, and so much drama can happen in such little time.

After lunch I had French. Mr. Ayres spent most of the class period giving a speech about our potential and our futures. I love it when he does these. Not only does it take up class time, but they really are heartfelt and well-received. Then we got a few quizzes back.

Last period was Off. I checked in at the cafeteria, and then headed to the computer lab. After a few minutes, the technology teacher came by and unlocked it so Eric and I could enter. He had requested that I build a Yu-Gi-Oh deck for him last night, so I had. I beat him twice in a row. Although the second time around, he managed to put up a struggle and almost beat me. It was frighteningly close. Who knows what would have happened had he beaten me. He might have proclaimed himself #1, just to spite us all.

After that, I got a ride home with a friend of my sister's. (Read: Home = Sacred Heart) I hung out there until school got out. I talked to Christina and Victoria for a few moments. From the sounds of it, both of them can come, which makes me extremely happy.

^________________________^

Now all I have to do is volunteer for the school Big Brother, Big Sister, Freshman pairing thing. With any luck, I'll be paired with one or both of them; or someone else that I know who is coming.

Then I was driven home by my dad's friend Tracey. I didn't have any homework, so I pretty much wasted the afternoon reading webcomics, watching TV, and wishing that I could take a walk. I would have taken one, despite the frigid weather, but my dad fell today and hurt his back, which already has had problems. So I decided it would probably be best to stay at home just in case.

I had lots of time to do those history assignments, but I didn't. I haven't yet figured out why. Perhaps it's because I can get away with bringing them in late. -_-; I really need to do those...

The weather for the past day or two has been cold, and snowy. It has been snowing nearly non-stop since early yesterday morning, and yet to look at the roads you probably wouldn't know it. The snow has been making the trees rather pretty, but having no effect whatsoever on school attendance. I heard that it might get worse, soon. Which may mean no school.

And since St. Bernard's is a private school, we don't have to make up snow days at any point. ^_^ Which is ideal for the winter we've been having.

I have to get up early tomorrow, for some vague reason of my sister's, so I'm off to bed for now.

Remember, I need a trademark item. Like how the mods have Modrods. I need something like that.

And I'll leave you with half of a quote. The other half will again be left in a comment. If you would rather take a stab at the quote next time, and then I give you the answer, say so.

There's an old Italian saying: "The year is long..."
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Monday, March 8, 2004

   Stress, stress, go away....
I wish I had some sort of trademark....something...to get rid of stuff. Or just to claim as my own. Like a Modrod, or some sort of object to use. If I had one, I'd use it to ward off stress and beat away demons of procrastination.

Suggestions Welcome!

I can't wait until I (or someone else, for that matter) thinks of a proper tool. Stress no more! (Or not as much) Procrastination will die! (or at least be cut back by a few minutes) And my self-confidence will soar! (...yeah, sure)

Lots of things have happened lately. As usual, I'm going to refuse to talk about them all and do so anyway. Here's going back to Friday, at least.

Friday at school, I don't care enough to remember. Apathy still had a strong hold on my exhausted state of mind, and details are difficult to wring from what was my consciousness at the time. After school, I went right to Sacred Heart, where I hung out with my friends who still go there, Tyler, Victoria, and Christina. There are numerous others, but those three are the most prominent and are likely going to St. Bernard's next year.

We did some puzzles and played board games, as the weather did not merit any outdoor activity. Then we played Wall Ball, which I am slowly gaining back playing ability in. After Christina and Victoria left, I helped set up for my Youth Group's Stations of the Cross performance.

We performed the Stations of the Cross in our usual fashion, projecting our still shadows onto a screen to create a dramatic effect. I'm the light crew. I plug in the light, count out the number of seconds, and unplug it. On two of the scenes, though, I actually have to stand up and move the light. O.o One of them is when Jesus dies on the cross. On that scene I had to lift the light so that the entirety of the cross fit onto the screen.

And on the last scene, I get to create a pretty neat effect. Our Jesus character stands in front of the screen and I approach slowly with the light, lowering it closer and closer to the ground, angling it up at him. This movement causes his shadow to loom larger and larger on the screen, until suddenly the light goes out.

After that we helped put on a soup and sandwich supper for those who had come to the presentation. Much ado about that.

On Saturday, I had to get up early and be driven up to St. B's. Saturday was the Connecticut State Fencing Competition. High Schools from around the state came together to compete. These schools included East Lyme High School, which David (Boba Fett) goes to. We hung out a little, not as much as I'd have liked to, but we were both otherwise occupied. He had the attentions of various freshman girls ;) and I attended one of our girls as she fenced.

I say "attended" because this time I didn't really do all that much work. At the Novice Tournament, Tim had treated me like a subservient cretin. Jokingly, perhaps, but I did what I was told. Angela, the girl I was helping, did most of her own tasks. She carried her own weapons and equipment, she got her own Gatorade; basically, she did everything I tried so hard to help with.

She truly appreciated my efforts to help, as did her mother, who was there watching her fence. With my polite desire to help and obvious concern for her daughter, Angela's mother soon absolutely adored me. I sometimes have that effect on people, believe it or not.

What ultimately led to her permanent inclination for me was when Angela collapse on the fencing strip in near the end of a bout. With a quiet sigh, she slumped to the ground and began crying. Her mother immediately rushed over and began peeling layers of clothing off of her to cool her off in case of exhaustion. A medical personnel was sent for. She hadn't eaten much or had much to drink that day due to anxiety.

This was apparently not the first time something like this had happened, and so Angela's mother was able to describe the event to the trainer that had come to serve as medical help. Apparently there was something else wrong with her, and she was waiting for results from a blood test. She eventually got back on her feet and finished the bout. (Winning, incidently) She was brought to the trainer's office, with me dutifully carrying the equipment, food, and drink that were left behind in light of the unusual circumstances.

Angela's mom just thought that I was the sweetest thing, helping Angela out so much. I sat beside Angela in the office, watching as she was compelled to eat about a quarter of a sandwich and keeping ehr company. Angela's mom mothered me, insisting that I eat something as well.

All in all, it was a fun day. I grew much closer to my teammates during that day, specifically to Angela. Part of what caused by bad state on Saturday evening was the realization that I couldn't go to the Team States competition this coming weekend. I was just so filled with love for my team at the moment that the news filled me with...bad feelings.

I can't go because of a Confirmation retreat I have this weekend. It goes from 4:30PM on Friday, to 3:00PM on Sunday. That's right, it robs me of my entire weekend. No time for homework, and I'm not allowed to bring any electronic devices. They've even said that they're taking our watches away, digital or not. Just so we won't realize how long we've been doing a particular activity. Can you say: "eccentric"? :p

Oy...Sunday was spent scrambling about for information for my English Paper, and on writing the paper. It got done at around one in the morning, which isn't that bad, considering I've had about a month to do it. A month's worth of work for a few hours of sleep lost did not seem too bad at the time.

That opinion may change soon.

I had a fairly average day today. Classes were not unusual, and lunch was the usual ridiculous prices for small amounts of standard food.

What occurred during lunch was slightly more significant, though. Now, get this clear, first. We have twenty-two minutes for our lunch period. That includes walking to the cafeteria, waiting in line for food, finding a spot to sit, and finally, eating your food.

It only took me a few minutes to reach the cafeteria, scarf down a grinder, and head to the nurse's office. The nurse's office has a small room adjoining its entrance, which is where my friends and I customarily play Yu-Gi-Oh. We'd recently come up with a system of ranking our skills. Whoever beat the #1 person at the time, became the #1 player out of all of us. Today, the #1 Player was my friend John.

I'd been cautious about my Decks recently, relying mostly on Effects, Magic and Trap Cards to win my duels. All too often I had been stopped by cards like Mirror Force, Magic Cylinder, and Spellbinding Circle. I became timid for a little while, not wanting to directly challenge anyone in a match.

That wound up not working as well as I'd hoped, unfortunately. So last night I built myself a Beatdown Deck. Lots of powerful monsters and destructive Magic and Trap Cards.

I totally annihilated him. I was number one.






He challenged me to a rematch.








I wiped the floor with him once again.





He challenged me again. This time we were interrupted, but I was clearly on the path of victory once again.

I was #1. I still am as of this moment.

So, that was a neat little accomplishment. After school, my friend Mark challenged me. I finished him off in short order as well. My title remained where it belonged.

After school I came home and procrastinated, as usual. I had every intention of eventually getting work done. But then I realized that it was late already, and another day or so wouldn't hurt, especially with the teacher of the class in question. He's a very nice guy. I think he'll understand.

I think that's all I'll do for now. You're lucky I didn't get into a rant about my Confirmation classes and teachers. And the retreat. Ugh...

Now, remember, there's an old Portugese saying: "Win good fame and..."

See comment for end of quote.

And remember, I need a trademark item to do away with the evils in my life.
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Sunday, March 7, 2004

   Writing an English Paper...
"Time flies when you're having fun."

...and when you need it. -_-;
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Saturday, March 6, 2004

I want to post...
I want to post here. I really do. I want to write all about what happened today. I want to write all about what happened yesterday. But I can't. I just can't.

Nothing bad happened. On the contrary, I had two good days. But in those two good days, something happened and I just feel like crap right now.


The apathy buffer has failed, leaving me hopelessly depressed.

EDIT: I feel like such a loser right now; I'm so very close to crying.
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