Currently Reading The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck see related

Hi guys!!

Just thought I'd post to let you all know that I am still here. I guess junior year is a bit busier than I thought It would be. And early hour is a pain in the butt!!!

But, a lot of good things have been going on lately. Practice for the musical has taken up a lot of free time, but it's worth it! I'm in the chorus. Yep.

This weekend was a nice break for me because my family took a little mini-vacation to torch lake.  We had to go up there for a baby shower for my cousin, but we got to stay at Beth's Mom's and Stepdad's cottage.  It's tucked away in the woods near the lake.  The only unrelaxing thing was the ride home because it rained like nothing else the whole way.  But I guess all of you fellow Grand Rapids people had to deal with a tornado warning, and we just saw the rain.

Watch this video! It proves the fact that cats can talk!!!

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=19654

I haven't gotten around to working on my story much, so I'll really try to get an excerpt in the next entry.

Enjoy what's left of your weekend, everyone. ROAD RALLY TONIGHT!

I have a facebook now!! Emily told me to do it.

Currently Watching Step Up By Noah Schaftel, Amber Nelson, Milly Yon, Andrew Johnson (XIII), David Oliver (XII), Linda E. Williams, Daniel Ross (III), Samantha Zweben, Jeanetta Taylor, Josh Henderson, Ryan Sands, JB Tadena, Damaine Radcliff, Christina Pitrelli, Priscilla Hopkins, Frank Hansen (III), Carolyn Barrett, Alyson Stoner, Toni Russell, Tim Lacatena see related

School has started. Wow.

Is it just me or did this summer go by particularly fast? Oh well. So things are back to being super busy again, and gone are the days when I could sleep till 11. Oh how I miss that. But I pretty much like the teachers I have this semester, so I guess I'll survive.

On the positive side, I'm an upper classmen!! It's still kinda surreal that I only have like 2 years left of high school. For anyone who's curious, here's my schedule:

Early hour: Government with Diekema. I don't like early hour.

1st hr: Modern Fiction with Knoll.

2nd hr: French with Potts.

3rd hr: Symphonic Band with Nets.

4th hr: Religion with Padilla.

5th hr: Math with Rosema. He's new.

6th hr: Chemistry with Swetts.

7th hr: Study Hall with Gunnink.

Onto other business, I came up with a title for the story I want to write. It's called "A Time Long Forgotten". There's always a chance that I'll change it, but that's it for now. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I'd be happy to give you some info on the plot. But just to let you know, it's a definite fantasy, and it's got war, murder, romance, betrayal, and bunches of other goodies in it. Ideas for this thing have been swirling in my head for a long time, and hopefully I'll start writing it down soon.  I think  I'll put an excerpt in the next entry.

Currently Listening Why Should the Fire Die? By Nickel Creek see related

Hi guys! Look! Ranch Camp pictures!!

This is Paco.  He's obsessed with food and he has personal space issues, but I love him anyway!

Here we have Bucket and Sarah. And yes, he is sticking his tongue out!

I love this picture.

I wanted to post some CHG pictures, but my stupid photo limit is up. It stinks pretty bad.

So, since I can't post anymore pictures for awhile, I thought that I'd give you guys the highlights of my vacation to DC/NYC:

1. Going in the white house (even though they only let you in like 6 rooms!)

2. Going through the holocaust museum.  I can't really say that I "loved" it, because it's meant to make you aware to how horrible the holocaust was.  But I'm really glad that I went.

3. Seeing all of the monuments in DC (Lincoln, WWII, Washington, Jefferson, etc.) at night. They shine lights on the marble and it makes the monuments "glow".

4. Seeing a marine parade at the Iwo-Jima memorial.  They had the marine marching band there and also displayed their expertise with a rifle by flipping it in the air/doing other crazy tricks with it. And there were lots of marines... everywhere!!

5."Experiencing" Times Square.  There were soooo many people!! It's the kind of thing that you're glad you saw but you have no deep desire to experience again. It was one of the most crowded places I've ever been to.

6. Going to Central Park. It's kind of like the equivalent of the beaches on Lake Michigan for the people who live there because they lay out and tan on the lawns in the park. I found that rather amusing.

Anyway, it was a great trip.

And one other thing to add, I was at Matt's cottage yesterday and while he, Lucas, David and myself were fishing for BLUEGILL with hotdog; yes, hotdog, as bait, I managed to catch an 18-inch PIKE!! No joke. We named him Richard.  I was rather surprised that he didn't cut the line when he took the bait, but oh well. Lucas also caught a HUGE large-mouth bass. There was some good fishing in that lake.

Oh, and if you want proof that this "fish tale" is no exaggeration, ask Matt. He has pictures!

Everyone, cherish what's left of your summer... I know I will!

Currently Watching The Wedding Singer - Totally Awesome Edition By Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave, Ellen Albertini Dow, Angela Featherstone, Alexis Arquette, Christina Pickles, Jodi Thelen, Frank Sivero, Patrick McTavish, Gemini Barnett, Teddy Castellucci, Randy Razz, John Vana, Billy Idol, Kevin Nealon, Marnie Schneider, Carmen Filpi see related

Hi!

Yes, I am alive.  But my family is leaving early tomorrow to got to D.C. and I gotta pack, so I thought I'd leave a quick update.  CHG and the canoe trip were sweet, and I bought a sword today at a renaissance festival.  So yeah.  Details and pics to come, I promise!!

Currently Listening Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast) see related

Hi guys!

My life right now is pretty much composed of preparing for Camp Higher Ground.  If you guys don't know I'm going to be a counselor to 6th grade girls! Our cabin is gonna be pretty sweet though, cuz Liz, Alex, and Sam are all in it!! Liz also came up with the idea of a "Christmas in July" theme... sounds like fun!

I gotta go pretty quick, but I'll try to post ranch camp pictures before I leave tomorrow.  Oh, and another thing, I got a new email adress! It's MiniKamper@gmail.com. Why my computer turned it blue, I'm thinking it's for "grammatical" reasons, but I haven't the foggiest how to undo it. 

One more thing, if you guys could be praying for me: I have to give a talk to all of the kids on Friday, and at the moment it's a very stressful thing.  I'm sure afterwards I'll be glad I did it though!