Hardships

El Caribé

So we passed over the beautiful blue Caribbean on the way to Cozumel. I'm not a HUGE fan of the beach vacation, but I am in love with the gorgeous sea many are set in. The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are the bluest, warmest waters I know... in fact, their water travels up on Europe following strange currents and ends up keeping it livable, too!

Anyhow, the thought occurred to me that if I do, in fact, end up living abroad, I won't see much of the Caribbean anymore. Most of my travel will probably be over 'the pond', and when I do go on a tropical vacation, it'll most likely be to the Mediterranean or off the coast of Spain or Africa. I might even get adventurous and do Asia.

There's nothing inherently wrong with any of that. I want to experience as much as I can, so obviously that means I can't keep doing the same things over and over in my life. But still, it's strange to think about. My family's only had the means to do Caribbean vacations for a few years, and already I feel like it's such a part of my life...

I'm so spoiled! :P

Finnish PPT

Summer Goals

Full Time Job

Last Day of School

La Mejor Nota

Puhun Kirjakieltä...

That means, "I talk like a book". In Finnish.

Finnish studies are going well, all things considered. Now that it is summer I really want to advance! :D I've been switching off between hard grammar (consonant gradation, vowel harmony, etc), and vocabulary learning, and I think it's going pretty well.

I still find the large differences between the spoken and written language to be daunting, however, especially as all the books teach 'their own' language. :P So I can either order special 'spoken language' books, or a slang dictionary, or I can just force it out of Liisa. :P

We'll have to see. For now, Puhun Kirjakieltä...



P.S. - First original sentence! * Ymmärrän kun puhut hitaasti *

This should mean, I understand when you talk slowly. Who knows. :P

Ragata

Anna Karenina

The Book Club now consists of three (3) members:

Myself

Stephanie (Out of pity, I suspect. And when she's in Cross Country, I can count her out)

Mrs. McFarland (The Librarian)


Well, it's kind of sad. Still, it's not like we were ever a huge group. I think at one point we were hypothetically up to 8, but there were only ever 4 of us that came on a regular basis. (Layla, Billie, Angie, and Myself). The Seniors were everything. They leave, we weep for a year and remember the good old days. We have no new members. All clubs collapse. Except for Anime Club. Which starts watching only InuYasha. Dubbed. O.O

But I digress. So, one advantage to having just the three of us is that we have a shot at actually finishing what we start. So, we tried to pick a summer book. I kept asking for Contemporary and Foreign... or if it couldn't be Foreign at least let it be Contemporary... or if it couldn't be Contemporary at least let it be Foreign. Please, I begged, just don't let it be composed of endless balls and social formalities! Pride and Prejudice spent any possible interest I might have had in them. McFarland comes back with a big stack and starts describing the plots as far as she knows them.

"And this book is about a dwarf who works in a Library in Germany in WWII..."

My god, where do they come up with this mierda? So, eventually she pulls out Anna Karenina and says, "Oh look, it's Foreign, it's Russian... it's about an adulteress."

Well, I have to be blunt. I love cultures, except... I don't like the French, and I'm not interested in Russia. But the more we talked, it seemed like the closest thing to a compromise the three of us were going to come to. So we ended up picking Anna Karenina.


ENDLESS BALLS!


SOCIAL FORMALITIES!


Will small, sad, shy, and slightly-gay Levin win Kitty over her dashing suitor Vronsky? And what if Vronsky plays around with poor Anna, who has come to town to console her sister in law Dolly (who also happens to be Kitty's older sister), about her (Anna's) brother (Dolly's husband), 'Do... D... Anyway, it starts with a D and it's long... by the way Mr. D is friends with Levin...''s unfaithfulness?

Did you forget what the question mark was for? Yeah...

Anyhow. It's okay. Better than Pride and Prejudice, even, which was good enough that I sat through it despite despising the subject matter. :P Every time it gets unbearable, there's a line that hasn't translated so well out of the Russian to make you smile.


And then there are other lines... about as common and about as necessary as the funny translations... which somehow seem incredibly true. For some reason they drift out of the pages and mean something for everyone. And again I find that having love changes everything, that some things that would once have meant nothing now leave me... understanding...

Baccalaureate

I remember being very impressed once, by the Sapphire. A book I had as a child told me that it had the unique ability to change in colour and appearance; to sparkle blue at midday and burn reddish-gold by candle light.

The Senior's blue graduation robes reminded me a little of the shape-shifting Sapphires. On Billie and Margaret, it was a cheery, creative blue. On Angie and Kat, it seemed filled with hopeful potential. And of course, on Layla, it transformed again, into something dark and dignified.

I noticed immediately that she was standing a little differently from the others, that she had folded her arms again into the opposite sleeves, so that the long fabric met in the middle like the classic monk's robe. It was quite funny. Once again, Layla had transformed something almost ordinary into something extraordinary and scholarly.

And also hilarious. I laughed aloud, and when she saw me at the door I put my hands in my own sleeves to show her what I was laughing at. She laughed too, and I'm glad that happened.

It felt so strange to see them walking across the stage. We had been together for so long- since I came to St. Louis in the third grade and it was the fourth graders, never the fifth, who captured my wonder and respect. Sure, they had moved ahead of us before, but it had never felt like this. We had always known they were simply waiting for us, further on up the road. Now they were dispersing, going every which way, out into a world that would never truly return them.

And then there was Layla. I always thought, somehow, that we'd find our peace in the end. Perhaps that was our peace, that moment laughing over long sleeves together. I'm not certain.

When she walked I saw everything over again... Qatar, and Nutshells, and Quiche, and Pokemon, and Furuba, and Veritas Waffles, and our Summer Emails, and Desert Layla... Anime Club, Book Club, Government, Racquetball, Derivatives in Latin Class... And I remember her coming to my side that day, when I came to practice in tears. She flew to my side- I can remember the motion perfectly. She came to me when I needed her, and she'll never know how grateful I was.

In one moment all of this went through my mind, and I struggled in vain, one last time, for closure. The moment ended and she was gone. Unexpected, a tear fell. The first tear never falls so much as leaps, sparkling, onto the cheek. The rest fall easily. I didn't move otherwise and merely hoped my mascara wouldn't run.

I was the first to leave - right as they were passing candles. In the fading light of the empty lot I felt as though I walked straight into an empty sky.

Finals

I'm kind of at a weird place, because with my ACT and SAT scores, and with the school I've decided to go to... well, short of staying in NHS my grades don't mean so much nowadays. Most of them are borderline going into finals, but even worst case scenario they can only lower my GPA to 3.58... Which isn't terrible, and besides, everyone knows that the second semester of Junior year is the hardest. I still feel that I have learned a lot and given my all this semester, so it is alright for me.

Mrs. Wylie - "You just don't care, do you Miranda? That's what I like about you."

Miranda - "That's what you like about me? What don't you like about me?"

Mrs. Wylie - "It's just obvious that learning means more to you than grades."

Bye bye... Senior Graduation (With Prom)

They Look So Pretty!
Lisa, Angie, Gwen/Billie, Layla

Group Shot from Prom... Seniors and Juniors...*

Margaret

Angie and Kat

Layla, Kaitlyn, and Billie

* - Brunette Far Left: Layla
Second Row From Left Blonde: Kari
Asian Right and Down From Kari: Wendy
Asian Below Wendy: Billie
Brunette to the Right and In Between Billie and Wendy: Gwen
Brunette Right of Gwen: Carla?
Asian Below Carla?: Angie
Asian to the Right of Angie: Sherry
Blonde Above Sherry and Angie: Claudia
Asian Right of Sherry: Lisa
Blonde Right of Lisa: Christy
Blonde Above Christy: Amanda

(This is why I don't do Yearbook)

Queenie

Stephanie and I went to Queenie the other day. It was a lovely time - we took the Horse Trail through the woods so we kind of saw the park from a different perspective. My three favourite things were the random bleachers, 'miniature forest', the tadpoles in the hoofprints, and the mysterious ivy tower.

The Random Bleachers

The Miniature Forest

The Ivy Tower

Luis - En Busca De Su Destino

This is one of the most amazing essays I have ever written. Not because it's any good... no... heavens no... becase it's in Spanish! And it's not about my family or my favourite things or even about Spanish cuisine. It's a literary essay. I read the book in Spanish and I wrote the essay in Spanish and I even have bona fide in text citations in Spanish! For an American, I feel accomplished! I can't help but think this is some sort of landmark. May other languages fall more swiftly! Yay!!!!




Miranda

Español 4

Luis - En Busca De Su Destino

Pepita Jiménez es la historia de Luis de Vargas, un mozo determinado a ser un sacerdote, quien se enamora de una viuda joven hermosa. Este amor prohibido causa un conflicto dentro de Luis que lo fuerza a preguntar todo que él cree. Aunque al principio de la novela se parece dedicado por completo para ser un sacerdote y seguir su vocación imaginado, hay indirectas de su indecisión espiritual. El conflicto interno de Luis crece en respuesta a su atracción prohibida a Pepita, y él lucha para sostener sus convicciones anteriores. En el último, Luis realiza la verdad — que su vocación a ser un sacerdote no es nada más que una ilusión orgullosa que él ha creado por su mismo. Después puede finalmente puede avanzar hacia su destino verdadero.

En el principio, Luis ya se parece un mozo muy avergonzado. Parece resuelto a llegar a ser un sacerdote, y dedica mucho de su tiempo a la plegaria y a la reflexión. Sin embargo, parece también a adherir a una forma extrema de su religión. Se siente delincuente cuando mira una flor o una estrella, porque se preocupa que las admire por los cuales son, y no por lo que dios los hizo para ser. “Si amo la belleza de las cosas de la tierra,” escribe a su tío, “debo amarlas como representación de una hermosura que es mil veces superior a todas ellas.” (p. 20) Con lengua muy poética y insustancial, Luis describe sus ideas del cielo y del dios como más bellos y maravillosos que cualquier cosa que pueda encontrar en la tierra, pero la descripción parece vacío y sin color. Durante este período, también comienza a mencionar Pepita en una manera muy diferente. El contraste entre las descripciones dice mucho del estado de su alma.

Después de este período inicial de tranquilidad revuelta, el alma de Luis entra en erupción de conflicto. Lo que comenzó como una curiosidad inocente hacia Pepita se convierte en un amartelamiento, y después en un deseo ardiente para ella. También se abre los ojos más a la belleza natural, especialmente cuando esta en el jardín bellísimo de Pepita. No obstante, Luis niega que la ama a Pepita. Él rechaza creer que puede tener cualquier vida sino esto de un sacerdote, y entera en una batalla dramática por su alma. A veces Luis quiere olvidar Pepita, y otras veces cree que puede tener una imagen de Pepita en su alma y todavía ser un sacerdote. Cree que puede querer Pepita solamente en una manera limpia y pura, y que puede transformar a Pepita en un símbolo de pureza dentro de su corazón. “Será para mí como Beatriz para Dante,” él decide, “un símbolo de mi patria, de mi patria, del saber y de la belleza.” (p. 44) A pesar de venir con frecuencia a estas conclusiones y esperar que todo está resuelto, Luis está en tormento mental y espiritual durante este tiempo.

Finalmente, Luis encuentra una solución a su conflicto, aunque no es lo que ha esperado. Realiza que, en verdad, nunca había llamado al sacerdocio, porque si hubiera sido, pues nunca se habría enamorado de Pepita. “Jamás hubo en mí, virtud,” él explica a Pepita, “Si la hubiera habido, no hubiéramos pecado ni tú ni yo. La verdadera virtud no cae tan fácilmente.” (p. 90) En vez de revalidar su fe, el conflicto interno de Luis finalmente proba a él que su vocación era una ilusión orgullosa de su mismo. Él creyó que quise ser un sacerdote porque pensaba que crearía una distancia entre el y otros y que él sería más santo que ellos. El conflicto entre el cielo, con su belleza y puridad increíble y incalificable, y el mundo, con sus alegrías huidizos sino tangible, es evidente cuando Pepita y Luis discuten las diferencias entre sus imaginarios y la realidad. Luis dice a Pepita que las mujeres de su imaginación son superiores en belleza a cualquier mujer verdadera, pero admite que nunca ha las amado como ama a Pepita. Pepita, en cambio, dice que aunque sus maridos imaginarios eran maravillosos, ninguna de ellos podría ser mejor que Luis, quien es verdadero y tangible.

En la lucha de Luis la idea está presentada que todos hombres no tienen la misma potencial por varias cosas, y no tienen vocaciones iguales. Inicialmente Luis está determinado a ser un sacerdote, pero encuentra que no es su vocación verdadera. Luis, debido a su terquedad y fuerza del carácter, necesita rezar y reflejar mucho, y sufrir mucho dolor emocional, antes de venir a esta conclusión. Pero al fin acepta la verdad. “Sabía que él no era digno de ser sacerdote,” pero avanza a su nuestro papel, y “Sólo pensaba ya en ser un buen padre de familia, cuidar a sus hijos, pues ya los deseaba, y ser el fiel esposo de Pepita.” (92) En el fin, es bueno a ver que cuando Luis acepta su vocación verdadera, como un marido y padre bueno, él ocupa ese papel rápidamente y con fuerza. Su primer acto como el novio legítimo de Pepita es batirse un duelo con un pretendiente anterior, quien ha insultado el honor de Pepita. En esta época, habría sido su deber previsto y honorable a defender el honor de su novia en ese manera. Por eso, a pesar de tener poca experiencia e ir enteramente contra del sacerdocio, Luis satisface este deber y demuestra que va a servir bien en su nuevo papel.

Como él descubre, Luis habría sido un sacerdote terrible. Aunque esta vocación llama para el sacrificio y la humildad, Luis elige el sacerdocio porque de su orgullo, y cuando esta llamado a sacrificar su amor por Pepita, no quiere hacerlo. Aunque su vocación original era falsa, Luis necesitaba sufrir mucha angustia antes del más poderoso de las emociones humanas, amor, podía causarle a Luis a preguntar sus resoluciones y reconsiderar todo él creyó que sabía. Aunque inicialmente cree que estos cambios componen una caída y una decrepitud, eventualmente los ve para cuáles son: un descubrimiento del su mismo que le conduce hacia su destino verdadero, que, aunque posiblemente menos santo que lo qué había imaginado, últimamente es mejor por Luis, Pepita, y todos implicados en su historia.

Babysitting in Mexico

A Mi Nueva Familia Tica...

I wrote this letter to introduce myself to my host family in Costa Rica, who I will be staying with for a week next summer. I'm so excited!

¡Hola a mi nueva familia tica!

Me llamo Miranda, tengo diecisieta años y vivo en los Estados Unidos. Nací en Boston, una ciudad grande con mariscos maravillosos y mucho nieve en la costa del noreste. Ahora vivo en San Luis, Missouri, en el centro del país. Missouri es un estado agradable con cuatro estaciones distintas. En el invierno aquí, es frío y hay hielo y un poco de nieve, pero la primavera viene temprano y es mojada y ya bastante caliente. En el verano es todavía mas caliente y me gusta ir a la piragua y nadar en los ríos abundantes de Missouri. En el otoño todo el follaje cambia sus colores y parezca muy hermoso.

Tengo una familia pequeña, con una madre, un padre, una hermana menor, y una mascota. Mi madre trabaja en la casa. Ella está un gran aficionada de la música y de crear álbumes de recortes. También ella puede arreglar nuestras vacaciones muy bien. Mi padre trabaja como consultor; es decir, él ayuda a otras firmas para que ellos resuelvan sus problemas y funcionen mas eficientemente. Mi hermana menor tiene catorce anos y puede estar tonta y molesta. Siempre está hablando por teléfono celular y solo le gusta la moda y los chicos. Nuestro perro, Tidbit, es un dachshund miniatura, o un perro de salchicha. Ella es adorable y muy amigable.

Mi familia pasa mucho tiempo al fuera. Creemos que el excursionismo es muy divertido, y también nos gusta usar las canoas a explorar los ríos y lagos de Missouri. Cuando estamos en casa, todavía pasamos el rato al fuera en nuestro patio trasero, escuchando a música y no sentando alrededor de una fogata.

En la escuela soy un estudiante relativamente bueno, y el presidente del club de la escritura creativa y del club de leer. Me fascinan los libros y me gusta a escribir mucho, pero mi interés primario es con los estudios internacionales. En la escuela estudio español, alemán, y latín, y estudio otros idiomas en mi tiempo libre. En la universidad estudiaré la lingüística, y probablemente el negocio internacional. ¡Sin embargo, también estoy pensando de simplemente enseñar los idiomas extranjeros, porque ya soy harta de matemáticas!

Mis cosas favoritas son películas, chocolates diferentes, libros, y nuevos tipos de comida. No me gusta solamente a probar las comidas nuevas, pero también a aprender prepararlos. Conozco algunas recetas españolas, egipcias, y tailandesas tradicionales, y deseo siempre aprender más.

No soy una persona extremadamente atlética, pues mi altura es un metro y una mitad, y mi peso es cuarenta uno kilogramos. No obstante, he jugado en el equipo de Racquetball de mi escuela por tres años y, durante el año próximo, estaré en el equipo superior. No sé si ustedes conocen Racquetball en Costa Rica, porque no es muy popular en los estados unidos, pero utiliza una raqueta como en tenis y se juega dentro de un cuarto blanco y pequeño. Los jugadores tienen que conocer como la bola va a rebotar dentro del cuarto con sus muros altos. Creo que es un juego divertido e interesante.

Trabajo en la biblioteca de San Luis algunos días después de clases cada semana, y cada sábado por nueve horas. También soy una niñera regular por varios niños, especialmente en el verano. Me parece importante a tener mi propio dinero porque me gusta comprar muchos libros y necesito pagar por peregrinaciones espectaculares, ¡cómo esta a Costa Rica! La mayoría de las muchachas de mi edad están muy interesadas en hacer compras para las ropas, pero compro ropas solamente cuando absolutamente necesito ropas nuevas.

Como mencioné antes, me fascinan los otras idiomas y culturas del mundo, y por eso voy en el extranjero tanto como es posible. Cuando tenía catorce años, mi familia viaja a Alemania, los Países Bajos, Bélgica, y Francia. Eso era la primera vez que había estado fuera del país, ¡y que increíble! Despues, he viajado a Curacas dos veces en las vacaciones, a Grecia y Alemania con mi padre cuando él esta en negocio, e a Italia con mi clase de latín. La segunda vez que fui a Alemania fue maravilloso porque había estudiado por un año la lengua alemán y podría comunicar un poco con la gente. Hasta que viaje a Costa Rica, sin embargo, no habré nunca utilizado mi español con hispanohablantes auténticos. He estudiado español desde que tenía doce años, y por eso me excita mucho la oportunidad de practicarlo. Porque quiero estudiar en otros países en la universidad, no puedo esperar a ensayar la experiencia y vivir con ustedes por un rato con este programa.

¡Costa Rica suena increíble también! Traigo a mi casa algunos libros de la biblioteca sobre Costa Rica y he estado leyendo sobre el país. Respeto de veras la actitud que su país parece tener hacia la protección de la ecología y de la educación. ¡Siempre estoy interesada a conocer más, y no puedo esperar para ir allí y ver el yunque y el volcán!

También deseo conocerles ustedes. ¿Cuáles son sus intereses y como es su vida diaria? ¿Hay niños en la familia? ¿Cuáles son sus intereses? ¿Qué creen ustedes que debo saber sobre Costa Rica antes de que venga? ¿De que cosa son los ticos más orgullosos? Espero que ustedes puedan escribirme por el correo electrónico o convencional y que podamos familiarizarnos. No puedo esperar a conocerles y a pasar una semana como un parte de su familia. ¡Gracias por recibir a un estudiante americano!

Narvik and the Narwhal

I am probably the only person who finds this mildly amusing, but...

The town is named after the old farm Narvik ("Narduigh" 1567), since the town is built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is unknown, the last element is vik f 'inlet'.

- Wikipedia, Narvik

Narwhals have a black and white mottled skin pattern and are white underneath. This coloration contributed to their name. The old Norse prefix “Nar” means “corpse” and “hval” means “whale”. Thus “corpse whale” refers to how their skin color resembles that of a drowned sailor.

- http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/, Narwhal

Through the Windows

On a rainy day, the Seniors left us. What staff was free ushered them out of the building and onto the lawn as we watched them through the grey rain. We had the famous 'snow watch' view from Keller's Chemistry Lab, and it served us well one final time. We waved, they waved, all smiles, let's pretend we're happy. There is some happiness, but mostly for them. For those that remain, there is mostly ending.

Angie danced with her Umbrella.

Then Billie and Layla came out as well and the three of them ran down to our room, knowing full well that Keller lacked the energy or will to do anything about it. So we chatted with them. About nothing. With Layla, especially, it was nothing. She returned Stephanie's "CATS" recording - she had borrowed it in her Sophomore years. Then we talked about Anime Club, and the three of them begged us to fight the dubs with everything we had. Alas, we had and have nothing.

Ah, it was especially nothing. Angie and I wondered who was taller, and she climbed in the window to settle it for once and for all. The results? Angie > Miranda > Stephanie. But the differences are negligible. Particularly when Stephanie wears her combat boots.

Goodbye Angie, lovely reading voice, wonderful mind reader, simultaneously clumsiest and lithest of all her class.

Goodbye Billie, the ever cheerful, brilliant poet, brilliant artist, the one who never took herself too seriously, and that was a rarity.

Goodbye Layla. I'm glad you came.

I'm glad.

Even if we couldn't say anything between Angie and Billie and Stephanie.

Even if pride would bar us from what we would say, anyway.

I'm glad.

Interesesting...

These are quotes from a man who was blind for 43 years, since he was 3, and regained his sight in surgery.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1029268,00.html

As we went down I got goose bumps, despite the warm sunshine, as a flood of beautiful sights came to me. Jennifer was in front of me, guiding as usual, and she looked very good, just as I had always imagined, graceful and attractive. The trees were a deeper green than imagined and so tall. I never thought of them as much more than obstacles to be avoided. The way they stood in stark contrast to the white snow was so incredibly vivid.

Above the trees were the distant cliffs and higher still, the blue sky, not a cloud in it. I could see the different colours of the ridges and guess at what those colours represented. Yet, I only knew from logic that those cliffs were a couple of miles away rather than a couple of hundred yards as they appeared.

There were so few people on the slopes that I was able to ski, unguided, quite well, though I found that my mind and my body were struggling over which was in charge on the slopes. I had a TV reporter with me on the chairlift and I made the mistake of telling him that this day of skiing was "like having sex with the lights on". Of course, this was the soundbite with which they led their news story. I meant that skiing was a fantastic experience and one did not need sight to fully experience it, but at the same time the visual dimension was not to be ignored.

On at least half of the flights I catch I find myself in a conversation with the person sitting next to me. On a flight from Washington DC to Denver last week I had a conversation with a young woman from the DC area. We compared notes about our jobs without actually saying anything about what we did, then moved on to discussing what I can see. Inevitably, she asked what I could see of her. Since she was on my left side, I had not had the chance to look at her with my good right eye. I turned to face her and said I could see blonde hair and the colour of her clothing. She asked if I could tell what colour her eyes were and I said only up close. She then leaned up close and asked again. This is where it got interesting.

I have to be six inches or closer and I need a couple of seconds to stare to see any detail. I would term my visual range for seeing eyes "kissing distance".

It is quite unsettling looking into someone's eyes, especially when you aren't used to it. When Ms DC to Denver casually leaned close enough, I couldn't even stammer out the answer that her eyes were blue. I might have been less shocked if she had taken her shirt off and asked what I could see. I had never seen someone's eyes other than those of my family and it was very disconcerting. Although I was tongue-tied, she was very sweet about it and probably didn't notice I was flustered.

This was a very intimate experience and I can't fathom how sighted people go around seeing each other's eyes without being flustered too.

After the boys and Jennifer were asleep, I walked back up the hill, got my binoculars out of the car and headed for the recreation field, the most open place in camp. I had fallen asleep there many times with friends telling me about the stars. I laid down smack in the middle of the field and closed my eyes to reflect on being in this place in years past.

When I was ready, I opened my eyes. There were all these white dots, so very many white dots. When I looked through the binoculars, there were so many white dots I couldn't possibly count them. Back and forth I went, glasses on, glasses off, and they were the real thing - not my imagination, not a vision from a good author who made me think I was seeing them. The real thing, seemingly near enough to touch.

With my eye, I could count somewhere in the range of 25 to 35 stars. With the binoculars, I couldn't keep count. The stars were too dense and the limited field of vision made it hard to keep track of which ones I had already counted.

I lay there for an hour or so, not really aware of time but finally noticing around midnight it was getting chilly.

Finnish Digimon

My new goal in life is to be able to understand this. :P

Tisko Tansi

Hey... I can understand the counting! :P

This is hilarious.

Reflection on Blue Skittles

Thanks to the Audball for getting me started on this. :P

*This raises some questions. Blue skittles seem to have no resemblance to actual food. What flavor is blue? What foods are even blue? (I don't count Blueberries because they're more night sky than electric.

Well, there's blueberries, which are dark like you said but if they're used as a flavouring it's much lighter.

Then there's blue corn, again very dark.

The blue potato is more like purple, and caused by a viral infection.

Artificially, of course, you have blue gelatin, Popsicles, mnms, etc.

Strangely, they usually flavor these "Blue Raspberry", which doesn't even make sense. Also, Blue Shaved Ice and Blue Tootsie Rolls are vanilla flavoured. Blue Tootsie Roll POPS, on the other hand, were blue on the wrapper, purple inside, and grape flavoured.

Perhaps because of the Carribean Sea, blue has a tropical connotation, and is sometimes assigned a pineapple flavour.

Blue Curacao is a liquor from my favorite vacation spot! :D It is also the only blue liquor in the world.

One of the reasons few foods are blue is that blue is a slightly alkaline colour, and most foods are slightly acidic.

Personally, the blue skittles always reminded me of shampoo... :)

Fun with Dutch! (And others)

http://www.unforgettablelanguages.com/dutch/dut-example01.htm

Is it sad that this is my idea of a good (goed!) time?

An Anniversary of Sorts

I decided to end the year. It's been almost exactly a year since the bad thing - the mother of all bad things, when my perfect life changed for the worse.

So it's an anniversary, of sorts.

And I'm ending the year here. I've already made up my mind. I'm going to end it and close it and seal it up really tight with a bread twisty-tie or maybe a clothespin or maybe even just by twisting the dark, bitter end of it again and again until it holds itself shut like a sleeve of saltine crackers.

Betrayals. Some worse than others. Most unintentional. Death in the family and rejection in love and betrayal by a friend and loss of a beloved teacher.

All the badness will be stuck inside and the moisture will be drawn out into the air, all the foul memories and miscarriages of dreams helplessly lining the inside. I might look towards them once in a while, but I will never open the bag again.

Now. I'm going to be happy again. I mean it this time.

Sine Magister McAllister...

Waaa... He's leaving us...

And I had to find out first in the form of a half-baked library rumour and then on facebook!

Mrs. Diel: "I heard Mr. McAllister wasn't teaching Latin next year?"

Miranda: "But that makes no sense!"

Mrs. Diel: "I'm sure you're right"

Miranda: "Of course I'm right. Mr McAllister would never leave us!

Oh, was I naive! He's quitting and becoming the Integrated Technology Specialist or something! What qualifications does he have for that, I ask you? He doesn't even have cable! *sigh*


Anger: How, what, why? This makes no sense. How could he do this?!?

Disappointment: Only one more year and Christy and I would have finished... his first Latin 5's who had started and ended under his tutelage, though we had to skip 2 years each to manage it.

Understanding: Well, he wants more time with his son...

Sadness: But he's such a nice guy! :,(

Fear: Oh god, what if the next Latin teacher actually expects us to know Latin?

Silver Lining: Oh, well, what if I actually learn Latin?

Relief: He'll still be in the building, and he says he'll tutor me if I want.

Longing: What about all our plans for the Latin Curriculum?

Worry: What if the next teacher is really different? What if Latin next year is a lot of work and I can't handle it?

EMO: ---waaa....----