Band Meme
February 22, 2009 
Go to “Wikipedia.” Hit “random” and the first article you get is the name of your band.
Then go to “Random Quotations” and the last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
Then, go to Flickr and click on “Explore the Last Seven Days” and the third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Probably an emo new-age band?
A Dinosaur!
January 31, 2009
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: dinosaur, doodle, photo, snow days
This is what I did on my snow day.
Isn't he cute?
I drew him and colored him all by myself! His name is Jeffrey. Too bad that once drawing good dinosaurs stops being the coolest thing evarrrr (fifth grade or so?) I discover my unprecedented dino-drawing talent. Oh well. I think he’s cool.
See how bored my 6 day weekend is making me?
I swear I’m not being all Boston Elitist
January 30, 2009 
But this snow day craziness really has to stop. This is our 4th day off, and now we have 2 weekend days. What am I supposed to do with all this time? The roads are perfectly fine so at least I’m able to see people and do things, but really Cincinnati? Are you that weak? I feel like I’m retired- all I have to think about when I get up every day is what I feel like doing besides eating and sleeping. For 6 days now! It’s like spring break, except minus the our teacher’s preparedness, so minus any projects and long term assignments they would have given us. And I have to break it to you Ms. Superintendent (I believe you make these calls?), those AP exams don’t go any farther away because we took so much time off. Making up the time at the end of the year really doesn’t help us much. So thank you for officially giving the choice between Saturday school and failing every last one of my 5 AP exams this year.
Just kidding, I am taking 5 but I don’t think that what we do in class matters to two and a half of them. English and gov? Eh who cares. BC Calc matters a bit but we just teach ourselves anyway. But physics and chemistry? We need our teachers! We need to go back to school!
iTunes
Having restored/reformatted/essentially deleted my computer so many times, my music library has suffered. I have lost so much music over the years that it’s really quite sad, and thanks to apple being annoying, having your music library synch to the computer is really the only easy way to handle the iPod/Computer connection. Thankfully I have always been the type of person to create lots of mix CDs; however, this situation is not ideal because:
- It’s tedious. There are only so many CDs I can rip in one sitting before I go crazy
- I have to label them all myself. iTunes cannot recognize any CD that is not on the official Gracenote thing.
- This point kind of goes with the last, but in the annoyance that comes with having to label your songs again comes the difficulty of labeling foreign language songs. I have a ton of French music that I don’t remember the title or artist and I can’t go my usual route of googling the lyrics because I can usually only pick out a couple words in a given phrase and half the time I don’t even conjugate those few correctly. And it really bugs me to have unlabeled songs.
I was going to make this longer, but I think installing some iPod softwear update killed my touch… Fantastic. I’ll deal with this tomorrow.
25 Things
Ever notice that whenever one of these ”Write X Many Random Things About Yourself” things comes around X gets bigger? The last one was definitely 16, now we’re at 25… Soon we’ll all have lists of thousands of things about ourselves that no one else cares about or will ever read in entirety. That being said, here are 25 things you might not know about me!
- I’ve always wanted to be one of those people that can go to events and trips and somehow take millions of pictures. I do bring my camera but usually I end up with about seven pictures and four of them don’t suck. I then convince myself that it’s because I’d rather have fun than take pictures proving how much fun I’m having, but I still wish I had more.
- Pajamas are my favorite. As long as I’m not going out anywhere later, I’ll change into my pajamas almost immediately after getting home from school.
- I love jigsaw puzzles. Every winter my dining room table gets covered in my many thousand piece monstrosities. The last one I did was a really nice giant one of Times Square at night that my brother gave me for Christmas.
- I really dislike talking on the phone and will do almost anything to avoid it. I’ve gotten slightly better over the years but am still ever so greatful for the internet so I don’t have to.
- After having nearly the entire Phantom of the Opera soundtrack memorized since I was little, I finally saw the movie the other night. It felt so cool to finally understand the context of the songs!
- The b key on my laptop is kind of broken- I have to press extra hard to make sure it registers. I should probably clean out the keyboard..
- Despite being Canadian and living is Massachusetts for most of my life, I get cold ridiculously easy. It’s a combination of horrible circulation and possible anemia that makes my fingers and toes start to lose feeling and color even when the weather isn’t that cold. It kind of makes them look zombie like because it’s the precursor to frostbite, and I don’t like it so I complain about being cold.
- When I was little, my parents thought I was going to grow up to be an actress or a singer or at least some sort of preformer. It sounds ridiculous now, but in their defense at the time it made a little sense at the time. I was really into the theater scene most of my life, but just stopped when we moved. Now I’m getting back into it again..
- I hold the record for most teeth ever pulled at once- 14! Some of them were baby teeth, but even still I was eating soup for months.
- Whenever people mention my weight I always feel really awkward, even if they’re giving my a compliment. It’s not like I try to be skinny, and I especially dislike it when people insinuate I am anorexic.
- If I were to ever become a member of ” [insert addiction] Anonymous”, it would probably end up being the internet.
- Coinciding with the previous point, I used to use internet acronyms and slang in real life to be ironic or as a joke, but they’ve started to become a scary habit. I am such a geek.
- Coinciding with the coincinding point, I really dislike it when people use the term “ironic” or “irony” incorrectly. I once caught Mrs. Allen at it, and totally would have pointed it out in class if I weren’t so shy then. On the other hand, if it had been Mrs. Smith… For a good reference check out http://www.notironic.com/
- [I keep on thinking of points that go along with my previous point] Speaking of being shy, in my lifetime I have transformed from the loudest most attention wanting little kid, to an ultra-shy person who could barely function in polite society, to now what I think is a good balance. (hopefully?) I really hope that other people can see the change over the past couple years, because personally I think I’ve gotten quite a bit better. I talk now! To people!
- I am really bad at sports. My hand/eye/foot coordination is awful, I am perpetually out of shape, am really weak, and a lot of the time I understand how I’m supposed to play the game I just fail at doing so. That being said, I do try hard to do well and get in better shape, and I’m trying new sports to try and find one that I’m at least okay at and enjoy so that I have something to keep my active when I get old.
- I don’t get sick often, but when I do I tend to get *really* sick- kidney infection, pnemonia, etc. Once when I got pneumonia I lost like 10 pounds. I was in the musical Annie at that time and totally looked the part of a starving orphan.
- I don’t ever remember having a good math teacher, but somehow I still love the suject.
- My sense of direction is miserable. I can’t drive anywhere new without having detailed instructions and preferably walking through it several times on Google Maps, especially with street view- that thing is awesome! Even better is when I have someone in the car giving me the instructions; I feel so much more at ease.
- I don’t consider myself an especially nature loving person, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. One of my favorite sounds is rain on window panes.
- People don’t always understand my sense of humor, but I love to make people laugh. I tend to be better at the witty or sarcastic side comments though, my story telling ability is typically abysmal.
- I really want to have a birthday party. Or actually just a party in general. But I’d want someone to help me throw it, or throw it as a surprise, because I’m not sure I know enough people that would show up. I’m not sure completely why I want to, it just seems like a fun high school thing to do, and I haven’t had one since ever.
- All of my points seem really long compared to other people’s… does that mean I’m conceited? Or just that I think hearing a background story makes each point more interesting.
- It isn’t evesdropping if you don’t have to try hard to hear the conversation
- I was considering having this point state how much I dislike a certain nickname of mine, but then I decided to include it, people would laugh and start calling my it just to see me get irritated. So ha!
- I consider the duty to make the world a better place for those around you and for yourself much more important than religion will ever be to me. My moral values come from myself, my thoughts, my reasoning. I’m a personal philosophy type of person rather than an institutionalized philosophy one.
Wow. This is really long. I applaud you if you actually read it all, but if not I don’t particularily care, I just want to know more about you!
Intentionally Wasting My Time
1. Is it cute when guys kiss you on your forehead?
Yeah
2. A big poofy dress or a short party dress?
It depends? Right now I’d say a short party dress
3. What would you do if you received a long love letter?
Depends on who it was from
4. Group dates or single dates?
Depends on how I feel. Right now group/
5. Do you hate it when guys act different around their friends?
Not especially. Everyone acts differently depending on who they’re with, it’s a fact of life
6. Are diamonds a girl’s best friend?
No
7. Is your hair up or down today?
Up, but I’ve been wearing it down a lot more lately
8. Do you straighten your hair?
Every once and awhile, but it generally looks better curly
9. Favorite mascara?
I don’t really have a preference
10. Do you get your nails done?
I hate having long nails
11. Small purses or big?
Small. I look bizarre carrying around a purse bigger than I am.
12. In your purse, what are your must haves?
Wallet, cell phone, chapstick, tissues, some form of mint or candy, and tide-to-go
13. Jeans or sweats?
Jeans
14. Do you wear jewelery that’s uncomfortable?
Generally not.
15. Do you text message a lot?
Almost never
16. What would you do if you got pregnant?
Probably die.
17. What’s your favorite color?
Green
18. Heels or flats?
Depends on what I’m doing. As long as I’m not going to be on my feet too long, heels
19. Did you ever cry during a romantic movie?
Never
20. Would you ever leave the house without make-up on?
Of course
21. Walmart or Target?
Target
22. Do you wear collared shirts?
On occaison.
23. Do you like preppy boys?
Sure
24. Do you think lip gloss is the best!?
Not especially
25. Do you own any big sunglasses?
Big compared to my face or big compared to normal people’s faces
26. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
On school days I can be ready in around 20
27. Do you like to wear band-aids?
If I have a cut?
28. Do you like skater boys?
Sure
29. Do you often wish there was something you could change?
Yes
30. Gold or silver?
Silver as a color, but gold (particularly white gold) for jewelery because I’m not allergic to it
31. Do you like to receive flowers?
I don’t dislike it
32. do you like surfer boys?
Sure
33. Do you dress up for the holidays?
Yes
34. Do you like to wear dresses?
Yes. I think I need more informal ones so that I actually get the chance to wear them
35. On a scale of 1-10 how much do guys confuse you?
6
36. In the last 48 hours have you hung out with a guy?
Does my brother count?
37. Would you date a guy shorter than you?
It would be tough to find one
38. Do you like to hold hands?
Sure
39. What is the youngest you would date?
My age or the guys? The standard formula for dating creepiness is half your age plus 7. If you date anyone younger than that age you are creepy.
40. What is the oldest you would date?
My age minus 7, doubled
41. What do you notice when you first meet a guy?
Hair usually
42. Is it hot when guys sweat?
Not especially
43. What is the best feature in a guy?
Personality, ability to make me laugh
44. Do you like making eye contact?
Usually, but sometimes I overthink it and it gets weird
46. Would you kill for chocolate?
Elmo
47. Did you ever spend all day/night getting pretty for a guy?
Sure
48. On a scale from 1-10 how fun is shopping?
Depends on my mood, but it can be pretty fun, especially with friends
49. Do you freak out if you miss your favorite show?
Not especially, it’s always online
50. Do you yell a lot?
On occaison, but not generally
51. Would you wear sweatpants/pajamas to school/work?
To school yeah but generally on exam days, and they have to look at least halfway decent.
52. Have you ever dressed unlike yourself to impress a guy?
I change my look up with regularity, but it’s for my own amusement
53. Do you write a lot of mushy love poems?
Never
54. What makeup could you not live without?
Chapstick?
55. Do you fall in love easily?
I’m not sure
56. Do you have cramps?
Not right now.
57. Do you think you have the bestest friends ever?
I guess?
58. What’s your idea of the perfect date?
Depends on lots of things, but it has to have lots of laughs
59. When was the last time a guy had his arm around you for more than a minute?
A few days ago
60. Are glasses a turn off?
No
61. Do you wear brand clothes?
Sometimes, but it isn’t a necessity
63. What would you like to happen this summer?
To enjoy myself.
64. Do you sing in the shower?
On occaison.
65. Did your friends approve of the last guy you liked?
I think so
66. Is there a boy that you miss right now?
Yes
67. How should a guy apologize after hurting you?
By saying sorry? And meaning it.
68. Has any boy ever made your knees go weak?
sure
69. Do you have any celeb crushes?
I have found the occaisonal celeb attractive
71. If you ever got to meet your celebrity crush, what would happen?
I’d probably stare a bit and see if I could take a picture
72. The song that describes your love life right now?
I don’t know
73. How much makeup do you wear daily?
Somewhere between nothing and eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, moisturizer, foundation, and the powdery stuff.
74. Favorite flowers?
Roses are a bit cliche, but they’re pretty
75. How was Valentine’s Day this year?
Last year? eh. This year will probably suck.
76. What are you listening to at the moment?
A song from the Pirates of the Carribbean 3 Soundtrack
77. Lyrics from the said song?
No lyrics
78. Do those lyrics mean anything to you?
No
79. If the guy who recently hurt you were to come over to your house unexpectedly to explain things, what would you do?
I’m not sure
80. Do you skip meals?
I eat incredibly erratically, but I never starve myself.
81. Do you believe that there’s someone in this world for everyone?
Hopefully.
82. Do you have any admirers right now?
I don’t know.
83. Does the first initial of the guy you like begin with one of the letters from A – L?
Mmm
84. M – T?
Mmm
85. U – Z?
Mmm
86. Does he like you too?
Mmm
87. When you spot a guy friend of yours, how do you want him to greet you?
I say hi
88. What do you think of a guy who tells all his friends about you?
That would be nice I guess
89. What if he brings you everywhere?
Depends on if everywhere is places I want to go
90. What if he’s a flirt?
I’m not sure
91. Any movies you’re excited to see?
Not off the top of my head
92. Reading anything besides Gossip Girl / A-List novels, at the moment?
Plenty. Song of Solomon, Anathem, and I just finished some bad mystery novel.
93. What are you listening to NOW?
John Law by Dropkick Murphys
94. Lyrics?
I’m not sure
95. Do THESE lyrics mean anything to you?
I don’t know them well at all
96. Who was your first love?
*sigh*
97. How long has it been since you’ve been really happy?
at least a week or two
98. Do you tease your hair?
On occaison
99. One quote
Keep trying
SmartBoards
Dear Teachers At Large,
Quite a few teachers I have had in my high school career have had access to Interwrite Boards in their classrooms. More commonly known as SmartBoards, these tools can either greatly enhance a classroom learning experience or visibly destroy it. A couple things you should consider concentrating on before introducing a your new toy to your classroom:
- Inexperience- Easily the most common issue. Because of simple inexperience with the new technology, I have had nearly entire periods wasted because a powerpoint won’t work, or a youtube video won’t load, or what have you. So I ask all teachers, even if you have been trained or done a tutorial about the use of your new toy, please try teaching a practice lesson.
- Overuse- No. Not everything needs to be done on a smartboard. There are still perfectly good chalk boards all around. So there is really no sense in waiting to open up a document simply to show a basic equation that can be jotted down in a couple lines, especially if there is no reason you would ever need to access it later
- Accessability- Not really a “problem”, but if you are going to take time to create a power point or some manner of digital lesson, consider making it available to students online to save the trouble of copying notes and allow them to concentrate on the actual learning.
- Visibility- Just because the screen is now quite large, it doesn’t mean that everyone can read your standard size 12 Times New Roman font. Before teaching a lesson, turn on the board and go sit in the back of the classroom. If you can’t read it, make it better
- Laziness- The real reason I wrote this. Having a smartboard does not, I repeat, does not give you the right to copy the book, a previous teacher, or some website’s notes or powerpoint, put it up on the screen and pass it off as teaching. Understand your subject. Learn the inner-working of the problems. Do not just blindly copy examples. And for crying out loud, if you let all else slide, at least read over the power point you are supposed to be presenting.
The lights are off…
..And I’m too lazy to get up and turn them on.
The phrase “I’m too lazy” is one that I utter far too often, generally to the annoyance of those around me.
“Hey Jack! Can you grab me some water please?”
“Get it yourself”
“I’m too lazy”
Then he, being my brother, will usually make some sort of weird face, I’ll make one back, and depending on how badly I am in need of said water I will either give in and get it myself or wait for someone else to walk by the fridge again.
Even when I do not voice this exact phrase, one would find similar sentiments in my conversations quite readily. During Advanced Topics Comp Sci, 4th bell, this happens almost daily.
“Hilary, can you help on our CS project?”
“Uhh… Lemme think about it…. Nope. I’m too busy checking my e-mail and reading webcomics”
“You’re so lazy!”
And although my project partners displeasure is almost always countered instantly by a clever “your mom” joke, their point still stands.
I am lazy.
Is this such a bad thing? Things that are truly important to me, such as my physics assignments or UT Chem Homeworks, are always done in a timely manner in pristine quality. I am a member of plenty of activities, from French Club to Pep Band to InterAlliance. I attend play rehearsal, practice French Horn and piano, and play Ultimate Frisbee. These are the things that are worth my time and effort; if I want to short-change other motions because the cost of doing them outweighs the reward, should I be judged?
I’ll be the first to admit that many do not consider the cost of getting up and moving a couple feet to turn on the lights that high, especially when the benefit is to be able to see the rest of the kitchen clearly, but in refusing to do so, I came up with 321 words of blogging material so far.
I am lazy.
Sometimes.
And I’m okay with that.
Since everyone is pining for an update…
75 Questions you’ve probably never answered.
1. First thing you wash in the shower?
My face
2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
Depends on how I’m feeling, but usually it’s green
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
yes
4. Do you plan outfits?
when I have time
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
kind of frustrated
6. Whats the closest thing to you thats red?
A multi-vitamin
7. Do you say aim or a-i-m?
depends on who I’m talking to, but they both sound wrong
8. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I don’t really want to. But there was band in it. And a musical. And some people I know.
9. Did you meet anybody new today?
Nope
10. What are you craving right now?
A sandwich
11. Do you floss?
very rarely
12. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
Mrs. Figg’s House
13. When was the last time you talked on aim?
yesterday night/this morning
14. Are you emotional?
I used to not be but I find myself becoming more and more so
15. Would you dance to the taco song?
the taco song?
16. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
yes
17. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
lick
18. Do you like your hair?
It has been rather nice lately, although I still want to either cut it or dye it
19. Do you like yourself?
Yeah pretty much
20. Have you ever met a celebrity?
No
21. Do you like cottage cheese?
I’m not sure
22. What are you listening to right now?
My mom and brother come home
23. How many countries have you visited?
I remember visiting 2, but I’ve been to so many more
24. Are your parents strict?
Yeah, but it could be worse
25. Would you go sky diving?
Yeah. Except I’d probably start freaking out at the last minute
26. Would you go out to eat with George W.
Bush?
It might be interesting to talk to him
27. Would you throw potatoes at him?
Potatoes are too yummy to waste
28. Is there anything sparkly in the room you’re in?
My brother’s brand new braces
29. Have you ever been in a castle?
Yes
30. Do you rent movies often?
Not especially
31. Who sits behind you in your math class?
Jordan and Andrew
32. Have you made a prank phone call?
Yeah
33. Do you own a gun?
Only a nerf gun
34. Can you count backwards from 76?
I’d like to think so, but I’d probably trip up
35. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Just my family most likely
36. Brown or white eggs?
White. I am an egg racist.
37. Do you own something from Hot Topic?
Nope
38. Ever been on a train?
Yes
39. Ever been in love?
Yes
40. Do you have a cell-phone?
Mhm. Not that I ever use/answer it
41. Are you too forgiving?
I’ve been debating that one lately
42. Do you use chap stick?
I have some next to me right now
43. What is your best friend doing tomorrow?
Going to school?
44. Can you use chop sticks?
Ish. But according to people that actually can I am a chopstick noob
45. Ever have cream puffs?
Delicious
46. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
Nope
47. What was the last question you asked?
Is that your phone?- directed at my brother in reference to the phone that is making noises in the distance
48. What was the last CD you bought?
Um I haven’t bought a physical music CD in ages, but I bought some games and a movie yesterday which are on CDs
49. Boys or girls?
Boys
50. What is your bus number for school?
Don’t take it
51. Is your hair curly?
Yes
52. Last time you cried?
Yesterday
53. Ever walked into a wall?
So many times…
54. Do looks matter?
Kinda
56. Have you ever slapped someone?
Yes
57. Favorite time of the year?
Fall
58. Favorite color?
Green
59. Are you sarcastic?
Fairly
60. Do you have any tattoos?
No
61. The last person you held hands with?
Terence
62. Do you sleep with the TV on?
I don’t have a TV anywhere near my room
63. Where was your default picture taken at?
[facebook] Disney world!
64. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
Dislike? of course
65. Do you like your life right now?
It could be better, but it definitely could be worse.
66. How often do you talk on the phone?
Almost never
67. What is your favorite animal?
Penguin
68. What was the most recent thing you bought?
Yesterday my brother and I went down to circuit city and bought a bunch of stuff. Since they’re going out of business they have awesome deals. I bought Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice ($14), Phantom of the opera (the movie, $10), and the Sims 2 Deluxe (Includes The Sims 2, Nightlife, and Celebration, $5!). My brother and I think that the last might have been a misprice because thats 80% off regular price, nothing else was down that much, and just the sims celebration was selling for $8.
69. Do you have good vision?
Not really
70. Can you hula hoop?
Amazingly
71. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
I don’t know. Probably not.
72. Do you have a job?
Nope
73. Can you handle the truth?
I think so.
74. What are you wearing?
Spongebo pajama pants and a clarinet hoodie with a chipmunk on it.
75. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Mhmmmm
