Tu Ne Quaesieris

 Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoë, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Ut melius quicquid erit pati!
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum, sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you possess understanding! Who set its
measurements—if you know— or who stretched a measuring
line across it? On what were its bases set, or
who laid its cornerstone— when the morning stars
sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
(Job 38:4-7)

There's far too much to take in here

More to find than can ever be found

- Circle of Life


Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas... I do believe that there are some things that
we are not meant to know. But is that such a bad thing? Is it such a limitation?
When I was little, I remember those lines really striking me in the Lion King:
There is more to find on this earth than we can ever hope to know and understand.
Far from being some celestial chain, restricting our minds, it's more of a cycle.
And each person learns a little, gives a little, takes a little. That's what the world is
all about. The world is constantly changing, and moving, and shifting. There are no two
snowflakes exactly alike; there are no two people alike, either. Genes are pushed
around and switched and rearranged all the time. It's the same with ideas. The cycle
seems to turn full circle, too... What is wise in one age is foolishness the next,
then heresay, than suddenly, it becomes the truth again...

Fifteen...

I am fifteen. In a week, I'll be sixteen... To me, though I may be in the minority, it seems an important date. In America, sixteen is when you can drive. So, I guess it's an age where you become a little less dependant on your parents. I don't necessarily feel the need for increased independance, but I would like my parents to trust me a little more in the next year. They've admitted, as an example, that they would let me date, because I'm so responsable... I don't like the way they phrased that. Beyond my wishes for next year, it has come to my mind how much I have changed in this one. Things I would have thought impossible a year ago have now become commonplace. Who know's what I'll do in the years to come? This year, I have:

Attended a church service in Arabic
Talked to the same person, not even a relative, every day
Spoken with people in Finland, Korea, Lithuania, and Morrocco
Found a little rat I thought was lost forever :P
Spoken to people in Mexico and Chile solely in Spanish
Learned how to pronounce Qatar, and attempted (with some success) a Glottal Stop
Taught a Persian a word in her own language
Read A Song of Ice and Fire
Been the Treasurer of the Book Club
Been to Yosemite National Park
Heard, and understood, in its original context, a word in Arabic
Been to Big Sur
Been hugged by a little girl I couldn't understand
Met three little children who spoke Aramaic
Been to Curacao
Done the Sophomore Research Project
Got another Division Winner in the Science Fair
Gotten closer to Kate, Stephanie, and Rachel
Spoken to a German in German
Sung "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" loudly in the lobby of a sophisticated hotel
Seen water that really was turquoise blue
Gotten a Valentine in Norwegian
Snorkled around a ship-wreck
Started to enjoy swimming again
Caught a black widow spider off of my foot
Been attacked by a 6 year old fan club
Been locked outside in January chasing a runaway puppy
Shown a boatful of International Tourists that Missourians could rope-swing
Helped furnish and reorganize a new lake house
Helped Tootsie recover from her back surgery
Eaten authentic home-made Sushi
Discussed toast in primitive Japanese
Seen a wolf spider the size of my outstretched hand (in my cabin)
Survived a 13 year old sister
Babysat for Jeffrey at 5 in the morning while his little sister was born
Won a Trophy in an athletic event
Gotten an H in Latin
Taken 3 languages at the high school level
Learned to read Hiragana
Been the president of Creative Writing Club
Read the poem that Carpe Diem came from
Learned to read Latin Poetry
Learned to discuss the fine arts in Spanish
Skipped Latin 3, and taken Latin 4 as a Sophomore
Gotten a 3.9
Gotten letters from Duke and various other colleges
Taken the PLAN test
Worked with actual DNA
Gotten a Web-Cam
Fallen in love
Inspired my English teacher to take Spanish classes
Seen a spider poop (It's microscopic)

Ich Will... Mangas Largas

It seems to be a week for Music in the foreign language department. I can't voach for French, obviously, and Latin's out of luck. But we've been listening to Flamenco in Spanish and Rammstein in German, with some interesting experiances.

I don't know why we listen to Rammstein in German... It can't be an official part of the curriculum, and it's not as if our teacher's partial to it. :P Al Contrario, she acts mildly embarressed and put-upon whenever she plays a song, and more so when she translates it...

Still, there's something about slamming hard metal music so loud that the whole foreign language department can hear it (including Gwen who was having Spanish that hour) that's just awesome. It's an important part of the culture, you know! Spanish can have their Flamenco, German has their Rammstein! Ich will Rammstein hören! Ja, Spitze!

A few hours later, I returned to attend Spanish Class. As we listened to Flamenco music, we were supposed to try out some new vocab and discuss the meaning-feeling-blah of whatever we were listening to. Well, I've never been one to heavily critique the fine arts. (There are a few things that I'm passionate about, but I'm not going to see a painting and strike a stance of my own accord) Therefore, Jenny and I decided to take the silly route and still manage to use our vocabulary. Halfway through the song, I start pulling at the end of my sleeves and swaying them gently back and forth. Sleeves, "Mangas" en Español... well, its a personal thing... :P

When the music ended and the discussion began, it went something like this:

"Que opinas de esta musica?"
"Eso me recuerda de tus mangas."
"Mis Mangas?!"
"Si. Tus Mangas son muy sexy. No puedo ayudarlo, pero yo quiero comerlos."
"Oye, Professora! Eso te recuerda de mis mangas?"
Suddenly, she got an unusual look on her face and went and got the cd.
"Eso es porque... el cancion se llama..."

The CD case read "Track One: Mangas Largas."

O.o Subliminal Messaging?

Persian in a Norwegian Accent

So at the State Tournament, I got to burn a few hours between my 10:00 game and my 2:30 one, and so did Layla. What better way to pass the time than to attempt a new language, preferably an insanely difficult to pronounce one! So Layla taught me a bit of Persian. Both our throats were sore by the time we were done, and several times we laughed so hard we fell to the floor. She almost got dehydrated, because everytime she tried to drink she would laugh at something, so I had to leave the room. God, I love it... one thing essential to foreign languages, and contrary to Stian's comment, I think this may be the real secret; have a sense of humour.

The glottal stop was, predictably, the hardest, but I'm getting somewhere with it, and it should help me with Arabic someday too. Thats a restriction deep in the throat, way below K and G. The other two letters were pretty easy; a flem inducing creature that makes German look pathetic, but is easy if you don't fear choking on your own spittle; and a sort of ZH sound that was almost an insult to my intellegence after the glottal. It's just the ultra soft J in French, or else a voiced SH, I mean, come on...

Then, there was putting them together... O.o Persian has this weird rhythm going of the primary focus being on the first syllable, the secondary emphasis on the last syllable. I managed that ok, but consistantly rushed the syllables in between. People were looking at us funny, but we didn't care, and neither did Lauren, Laura, Kate, Margaret, Bukola, Christy, and Kelling, and they're the only people who matter to me at all. Margaret even joined us for a round of repeating each others glottals like geese... I was impressed at Margaret for knowing what a glottal stop was, but she couldnt seem to put it into practice... kept slipping back into the security of a G.

All was going well, quite well, actually. Layla told me it was scary how I was pronouncing some words, and said I would scare her mother to death if I actually put them into conversation. Then, we hit trouble. About the time Kelling and Kate were playing their tenth card game, Bukola had tired of Mancala, and Margaret and Lauren were attempting a dominoe version of the Roman Colloseum, we found this horrible word... something like "Loall". I couldn't seem to do it. Either I'd do the L's correctly and then give some twilight zone version of o\a, or I'd get the vowel and get a weird L. The L's were what sent us for a turn... First, we thought I was palatizing them, but that wasn't it. Finely, she tried to explain.

"It isn't American." She said. "That's good. It's something else." We narrowed down the possibilities. We eventually reached "Not quite German". That's when we realized the truth; I was speaking Persian with a Norwegian accent.

"It's not that funny," I said, trying to calm a nearly hiccuping Layla.

"Yes, it is, Miranda... You live in Rural Missouri, and you're learning to speak Persian with a Norwegian accent."

State Tournament!

I was at the Racquetball State Tournament from 7:00 am - 4:30 pm today, and that's counting the fact that I snuck out early and will probably catch hell for it. ;) Oh, it was good fun, and I got a trophy! Never mind that I suspect its the lowest trophy that they offer, it was more than the participation award (nothing), and third place in my division isn't that bad. It means, at the very least, that I beat out about 8-9 people. (And the state tournament is only like 4 schools) Go me! :P

The first game I won somewhat handily... the details flee from me, but I didn't need a tie breaker. The second game, well, she smashed me, but she went on to win 1st place. Then, in the fight for third, I still won with a little breathing room; still no tie-breaker, and she got 10 points and 8, respectively, to my 15-15. I was a lot more aggressive than usual, but also a little more anxious... I had to take a time out just to cool down, once. Ah well, I'm sure I'll find the proper balance one of these days.

Best news? I'm done with Racquetball for the Season, though I might go up to play with Layla a bit, and that means I'll have a life again. :D

Flags...

We were driving aloung today when I saw five unusual flags waving... Then, I scared my sister (and myself), by telling her the country of each of them. "Swedish, Danish, American, Norwegian, Finnish... See how the Norwegian flag is so much like the Danish? - - " Since when did I become so damn international?

A Conversation full of El Estres

My stress was building. I was having my happy time of the monthe, I had my English presentation in two hours, and I had 10 minutes to get 4 more teacher signatures. The race began. First I went down to Deans room, because I thought she might have a class during my lunch hour. Angela met me, that made things easier. Mrs. Dean wasn't showing. The two of us ran up and down the hall, poking into offices, classrooms, bathrooms, and concept centers without a trace of her. Finally, we figured she'd have to be in her classroom before class started. (Although this was later than either of us really had) We took up positions outside the door. Finally we look inside again, where she had magically apparated. We run in, get our signatures, and run out... she goes up the stairwell, I go back through the math hall. Goodbye Angela, and Good Luck. She had to interrupt classes, all I had to do was interrupt lunch, but she would turn out to be the braver.

I hurry to the library. Stephanie agreed to accompany me in leiu of our normal cultural readings at lunchtime, but first we had to stop at the nurses to get a signature for her. We went up the stairs and poked into Mr. Dee's room. Locked and dark. We figured he was eating lunch in the concept center. First door locked. We turn around to the other end of the english department. Second door locked. Then, it opens. A teacher comes out, sees us standing their looking like halfwits. She tells us we might as well get it over with, and lets us in. In we scurry, it proves rather easy... I have had less experiance with the English department, see, and only know Dee, Right, Campbell, and Gerding at all.

Then, foreign language. It strikes me that we're on borrowed time; Mr. McAllister leaves to go to the middle school immediately after lunch. We plan to go into the foreign language center. All my stress fills me at once, like a balloon. I don't know what came over me, but as Stephanie fearlessly opened the door, instead of taking a step forward like I should have, I took one backwards, and stood their like a coward as Stephanie took a step or two in, then looked back and scurried out again, hissing rightfully at me.

Deeply ashamed, I try to explain. "I don't know, Stephanie, you think you're brave until you have to face a room full of foreign language teachers..." I know the teachers, I've liked every one I've had. (And thats more or less everyone but the French) But I couldn't bring myself to go in. Not while they were eating lunch and all. I've broken into their lunch hour before, but usually it was to be the brave one; Billie or someone saying "Miranda, I'm scared to go in." and me telling her, "Silly Billie, that's rediculous. Theyre not going to eat you." But I didn't think of this, overwhelmed in shame as I was. Quickly, I formulated another plan. We would wait for Mr McAllister to leave, and ambush him. Soon after, Kiser would come out to begin her class. It would be a rush, to be certain, but we could make it work.

Then Angie came, god bless her. "Angie!" I lamented. "I do not know what is happening. I can't go inside."

She blinked. "The concept center? Come on." I followed meekly. Angie is as short as I am, and quieter, but she carries that sort of authority. She opened the door a crack and more or less commanded me in. So I went. What was I to say? Hola and catch the majority of them? Salve and be original? Hallo or Bonjour and sound idiotic? Somehow, I settled on Hi. McAllister wasn't there. Not thinking about that, I went in.

"Señora... Kiser?" Angie asked with that slight, odd accent of hers. I don't know how she knew.

"I need your signature."
"My signature?"
"Mhmm"

As she signs it, all the teachers poke questioning glances towards my friends, waiting at the door like the pathetic emotional support I usually serve as. I feel better, but feel the need to explain, and that brings the embarrassment back.

"My friends had to help me. I was scared to come in."
Sra. Altadonna looks at me strangely. "Why, Miranda? You practically lived in here last year."
"I know, but... its scary, all of you together. You combine your powers. Or something."
Sra. Kiser almost finds this funny. "Yes, we're all going to team up against you."
My paper is signed. I edge towards the door.
Sra. Altadonna said something. I heard it in a haze, and Stephanie's also talking.

"Don't run away" says Sra. Altadonna, while Stephanie, simultaneously, said, "Didn't you need one from Mr. McAllister, too?"

Despair. "Yes, but he's already left."

"I saw him go the other way."

Waah! O.O

"Sorry, sorry, I have to go get Mr. McAllisters signature!" I run out the door, that is disgraceful enough. I run down the hallway, when Stephanie says, "No, he hasn't left yet. He went to his desk."

Well, I'd come to far to turn back. I return to the concept center, distinctively ignoring everyone else, though I suspect theyre watching me.

"Mr McAllister! I need your signature!"

"Excellent, Miranda!"

He signs it, and says, "They were bragging about you, today."

"They were? Why?" I though they had gotten over the fact I was taking three languages.

"Some sort of Multilingual presentation..." Ah, of course. Frau Eilken betrayed me.

"When I came in?" I ask, suddenly worried. I caught one word of their conversation as we opened the door... "And Japanese..." Oh, dear god. And that would explain that Speak-of-the -Devil looks on their faces. But I have to run. Theres only a few minutes left in lunch, and I have to pay, turn in the form, and return to the library for my bookbag.

"Vale!" I say, running out of the concept center, and past all the teachers again. I accomplish all my tasks with entire seconds to spare. I fall into a pile (or it seemed like it) of Kelling, Kate, Billie, and Brooke. Theyre all German and French, but I said something in Spanish to them anyway, thats how suddenly exhausted I was.

A few minutes later, as the bell rings, I slink into Spanish to face the recently, well, unvanquished Professora Kiser. I try to explain to her, but its not so easy. She keeps wanting to talk in Spanish, and Im not in the mood. "Estoy muy agobiada. Lo siento mucho." I finally said.

She seemed to accept this, so I pressed my luck. "Mr. McAllister said you were talking about me."

"Claro que si."

"Que... de?" I ask in imperfect Spanish that she wastes no time correcting.

She gives me blah blah blah. No specifics. Curse her for not making me privy to private conversations. :P Her class helped, though. A lot. By the time I had sat through retards getting the same question wrong again and again and getting my grade card of 97.5%, I felt much better. Su clase es increíble para aleviar el estres. ;_;

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Stress attack of the year vanished, and somehow I diverted it from my graded English presentation!

A Conversation at 2:00 am

This morning I was in my room getting dressed to get my delightful 4 and a half hours of sleep when my mom awoke and drifted into the room.

Mom: "What are you doing not in bed?"
Miranda: "... Getting into bed?"
Mom: "This late? Thats too much homework."
Miranda: "Layla and stuff sometimes pull all nighters. This isn't that bad."
Mom: "It is that bad."
Miranda: "Mom, it is the sophomore research paper."
Mom: "You got it all done?"
Miranda: Well, only halfway through the rough draft, and I haven't started on my other homework yet, but I finished the oral presentation. "I got it all done."

A Conversation on the Bus

(Strange, due to posting back ups, I have no less than three conversations to write about...)

Male: I don't know. I mean, if it was Mr. Willet or something, I would really have to think about it, but if it was Bridwell or someone I might be able to.

Female: But what if like, you did it, and they didn't raise your grade?

Male: Well, you could say they raped you or something.

Female: Yeah, I guess I could say Mr. Willet raped me...

Male: Wait a second, what am I supposed to say? Mrs. Bridwell raped me?!?

Die Suxxorz

That is the name of my powerpoint, but I assure you that the presentation will be just the opposite. I open it with some random medias in everything from French propaganda of some sort to scribbles by a little Spanish Speaker. This is voiced over with Stian saying that the trick to languages is practice. Then, the title slide. I squeeze in a few words before I lose all control together. Then, my good friends Isabella, Stian, and Pedro steal the show with their awesome voice overs, played over some lovely landscapes. The one Stian sent me is really getting the mileage at my school, it appears, but why not? It's lovely. Then the rest of the presentation ensues... I did it fast and got 6 minutes, slower and got 8, so I should be right within the target time. Thank God! Wish me luck! :D

Sophomore Research Paper

It's closing in on me. Oral presentation is Thursday, full paper is due Monday. If Stian, Sebastian, Isabel, and Gabriel all pull through for me, I'll have the worlds most kickass presentation. :D If not, I'll manage anyway. Even with just three the effect should be there, so I have a little leeway. Anyhow, Ive more or less made the presentation, its pretty, not as good as my Spanish book, but not bad. Ive made the notecards Ill be reading from; I feel flooded by statistics. Tomorrow, Ill add the finishing touches (Sound files), burn the cd, and practice getting it within the time about 10 times over. Wish me luck, all!

Now... It's Just Funny

Norways seeming to stalk me creeped me out for a while, but two events happened in the last day that brought it to the level where now... it's just funny.

Quote from Biology Worksheet: "Woolly hair that is short and fuzzy is often found in Norwegians. Cross a homozygous woolly Norwegian with a heterozygous non woolly person."

(Of course this prompted another question and answer session, including a favourite from Gwen: "Is your Norwegian woolly?")

That brought it to a pinnacle, and then Time Magazine's Persons of the Year issue spilled it over the top with room to spare. I quote: "Norway pledged $ 290 million over five years. But every time he spoke to a reporter about his donation, Bill Gates mentioned Norway. "We aimed to have Norway in paragraph one or two in every story." says foundation coo Mathews. This month Norway announced that it would give close to 1 billion over 10 years. "When I'm speaking to the press, I'm thinking, Who are the people I should praise?" Says Bill. In our interviews, he repeatedly mentioned, well, Norway."

I'd like to briefly direct your attention to the line, "We aimed to have Norway in paragraph one or two in every story." Now, he never quite clarifies what he means here, and though assumptions can be drawn, my paranoia leads me to smell conspiracy. It seems Bill Gates's personal budget is funding this propaganda, which has now reached me on more fronts than I care to count, from the daily news, to Phantom of the Opera, to an artical about the 1918 Flu Virus, and even to Soul Calibur II.

So yeah. Now it's just funny.

Miranda's First Valentine

That wasn't just from everyone in the class (Ross and I started going out on Valentines day, so we missed it.) I'm so happy. ^^ Thank you Stian, I love it. And it made me happy that I could read all but one word of the Norwegian. Next time, more Norwegian, ok? :P Oh, it made me so happy. I'll have to show it off to all my friends.

Alles Gute Zum Gebürtstag!

One of my first ever blog posts concerned the birth of a baby named Nate Moore. Today I attended his first birthday party. Skål for Nate. ^^ Y Feliz Cumpleaños!

Roses

Getting a Rose
Isn't worth
Watching it die

The Sun!

The sun is so bright today! It just makes me so happy. ^^ I can't get enough of it, and I've had a big smile on my face all day. At least, all the time I had a window...

Carpe Nivem!

We The People of the United States, having desired snow with an unholy passion, are revelling in our scanty inches. It fills the air, only to vanish from the ground. Anorexic snowmen line every suburban home and churchyard. Snowballs are improvised of a mud-snow hybrid. In a land where we are advised against wishing a Merry Christmas, high schoolers keep an almost religous reverence towards the shaded, delicately preserved lower football-golf field, whose short trimmed grass has just barely allowed for an illusion of deep snowfall. God Save Missouri; I came here in search of Four Seasons, and I will not have a freak air stream pattern rob me of one...

Breakfast Club!

Mañana habe ich Book Club med Layla und un video se llama Breakfast Club. Jeg kan ikke esperar!

Oh, it shall be absolutely grand. It's a great movie, and I recommended it to Layla a week ago, I'm so pleased we're watching it! A good follow up to The Dead Poets Society for our club... something else that challenges the way things are, and yet is sprinkled with humour. The best part is, since it's a half day, I'll be home at the normal time! :D

Snow!

^^ Yes, we had snow today. It snowed pretty hard, but didn't stick, and wasnt destined to last. By the time I got home, there was none left on the streets or sidewalk, and not enough on the grass to sled. Still, fun with footprints, and gorgeous on the trees. :D

Funny, howI made a quasi-prediction last night. Laura mentioned it in Bio.

"Miranda! You're like god! You said, "it should snow." and it did! :D"

Colder Weather and Longer Days

Missouri's finally stopped fooling around. Coming out of the warmest January in some 100 years, it plunged us back(?) into winter for February. The heater in my house is having a hard time adjusting, so it's even a bit cold in here... not that I mind for the most part. Now all we need is some snow and we can at least say they tried...

On the other hand, the days are growing longer. I can catch a bit of a sunrise in the mornings before I go off to school now. It's really pretty from my house, because the little valley below; all the trees and houses; all get bathed in a pinkish-red light. ^^ So it's subtle, but better than darkness, or, alternatively, fog...