sew cool.

I think I love sewing. Some people hate it, and I was one of those people nearly my entire life. I thought it was stupid. Why would anyone sew if they could just BUY the clothes? Plus, everything that people sewed themselves was dumb. Ugly skirts, shirts with no shape, and pants with no butt were all big contenders in the things you could make. Now though, I know that the skills I learned in a semester of sewing will help me a ton more than the year of my core classes. Where am I going with this, you ask?

Well. Last night when I bought that hairband, I thought it was a headband because it's bigger than just a circle of elastic. I wish I could show you a picture but I will try to describe it.
-half an inch (a centimeter and a half-ish) wide
-really thin
-black and silver
-mostly black, but there is a line of silver randomly placed to the side.
-circumference of about... 5 inches? (almost 13 centimeters)

^terrible explanation.

Anywho, so I got in the car ready to try this thing on (I wasn't going to do so in the store, because that is gross), and I untied it because it was tied at the bottom. And the thing fell apart. So at this point, it's just a line of elastic. So, I tied it back together and noticed that either A) my head is huge or B) this isn't a headband.

Fast forward to me waking up this morning.

I woke up with a brilliant idea: take the thing apart again, and then sew the ends together so that I can use it as a headband. So, using my sewing skills, I handsew the ends together. Then I did another sewing technique where you make a secret stitch basically. It's called the slip stitch, and it's really easy to do, but I'm terrible at explaining things so if you are DYING to know, click here.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, take your sewing class if you can. It actually *is* really helpful throughout your life and I'm really glad I took it. I mean, if I hadn't taken it, I might have done a simple stitch, but the headband wouldn't have stayed together. With the skills I learned in that class I was able to salvage my failed hairband into a headband that is currently atop my head.

Gosh I feel old in this post.

Sew long! Farewell!
-nala

ps. there are sew many sew puns.

I ACED IT!

So, that EHAP test I was talking about? Yeah, I aced that puppy. :D :D :D No one could believe it, not even me. People really don't believe in my smartie-pantsness.

Also, I went shopping! It was very very fun. :) I got some pants. And a shirt. And another shirt. I love them. I also got a hair band. It's shiny :)

Anywhoodle, the pants make me feel awesome. They are my new confidence pants. I mean seriously, nothing beats them. From now on, I'll probably have to beat down swarms of attractive young men away with a stick. So maybe I'm delusional, but I really do like them. A lot.

Final note: It's Kansas Day. How exciting?

I'm so sorry, but I'm having troubles with getting my snow pictures to work. Today I'm just doing a recap of my week. I hope to write a better post sometime soon, but I'm really bogged down, and I want to supply you with *something* to read.

Oh, EHAP stands for European History AP.

Off we go!

Funny quotes of the week:

EHAP teacher: "Jacob, are you raising your hand or playing the air trumpet?"

Also EHAP teacher: "So, you guys can have a party Friday. But I forgot to tell 2nd, 4th, and 6th hours.. heehee. woops. " My teacher had a mischievous grin on his face when he said this.

Annoying quotes of the week:

Student teacher for English: "Okay, put the markers away. You are honors students, I believe you can do it. " The most annoying part is that she ACTUALLY thought we might not be able to.

Every student ever: "I'M DOING IB NEXT YEAR!" Ugh, IB is about becoming a family. I will not become a family with people this obnoxious. Additionally, I'm pretty good acquaintances with some people that don't like each other. Yay for being in the middle of potential tension.

Math Teacher: "So if you didn't finish your test, even though I said you could go back and finish, I just counted them wrong." No explanation needed.

Best things of the week:

-It has been pretty low stress :)

-MY FORMER EXCHANGE STUDENT IS COMING TO VISIT IN A COUPLE MONTHS! She is like the older sister I've always wanted. I'm extremely excited that she is coming. It will be amazing. I'm hoping she will be able to take me out of school to go to lunch and fun little things like that. I miss her terribly.

-My desk is gone! My room is so awesome now. I have a papasan chair, and I'm currently sitting in it. It is fantastic.

-I've been able to better get to know this girl. :D

Plans for next week:

-Rock my drama project.

-Stay positive.

-Eat some ice cream. This is a legitimate goal. I haven't had any in a while.


Favorite new discovery: Pretty Eyes by Alex Goot. He is amazing. I love his voice.

Finally:

Highest High this week: EHAP test, no doubt.

Lowest low: The realisation that next year won't be nearly as fantastic as I have hoped. I left everything for this school, and now the program that I was finally getting really excited for is deteriorating. Hopefully I will make some new friends, try some new stuff. Who knows.

some lists for your reading pleasure.

Hi peoples. My writing skills are even worse than usual right now, so I'm making some lists. Lists are fun.


Things I enjoy:

-Awesomely normal conversations with people you haven't spoken to in awhile.
-Walking on frozen lakes that have a foot of snow on them.
-Stomping your name in the snow on the lake.
-Making a snowman on the lake.
-Playing with your puppy.
-Going to places you went to when you were little.
-Being motivated to do homework.
-Funny people.
-Accents.

Things I don't enjoy:
-Middle-aged men talking to me about the snowman I am building on the lake.
-My awkwardness at talking to strangers.
-People who don't respect snow.
-The fact I am completely lost on how my life is going to go next year.
-The even worse fact I don't think I can take Spanish 5 High Level for IB.
-Having many many tests this week.
-Not being motivated to do homework.
-Being caught off guard.
-People who talk on Facebook about how lovely their friends are and what they did and blahblahblah. Do you really need to prove that to me? I honestly don't care.

Things that I wish I could do with ease, but can't:
-Watch Oprah without getting frustrated at how she talks. Arg.
-Take math tests.
-Plan.
-Talk to my mother.
-Talk to my friends.
-Wake up in the morning.

Wow, that sounds depressing.

Get well, Janie. I hope I scared the sickies away :)

--nala

Investment Children

So, I had a dream a couple nights ago. I'm not sure the the dream took place present day, or the future, but it got me thinking. In this dream parents had lots of babies in order to have an "investment child". This child was the smart one, the athletic one, the musical one, the pretty one. This child was going to make the most money when they grew up. So once the parents decided on the investment child, they put all their money towards the investment child. They made investments. The other children may have done one or two fun things outside of school, but they had to just try their best and hope they could get into college.

In my dream, I was not the investment child of my family. My brother was the investment child.  My brother was an amazing soccer (or football for those of you not in America) player. He played everyday. He had skill training on top of normal practices. He devoted every weekend to tournaments and games. He had aspirations to play in high school. Also, he got good grades, he was naturally smart and had girls fawning over him all the time. He played percussion in band, but also played his drum kit at home. He had experience playing piano. He had done everything, and not only that, but he had done everything well.

In my dream the reason for an investment child was so that they could get full scholarships to college, and be the shining star of the family. The one that the parents brag over. "Oh yes, Jacob has just gotten into Yale with soccer. I know he will do so well there! He has a 4.6 GPA--never got a B in high school, much less a C, like the other child."

I guess the point of me writing out this dream is that I think that the world is getting to be way too competitive. I know this is how we progress at a faster pace, but by golly,  do we really need to be so competitive? The school system is flawed in so many ways I could write an entire series about it. Getting into sports becomes more of a how-rich-is-your-family thing nowadays. Premier Soccer costs a lot of money once you get to high levels. People have all but forgotten about inner-beauty. Beauty has become more about how stunning you look, and less about who you are inside. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that people perceived as beautiful get paid more than those who are just mediocre looking. It all sounds so silly, I know, but it's true. If you want to be good at playing an instrument, you will probably have to buy it. And pay for lessons. And repairs. People with true talent, and beauty, and intelligence will be looked over. I personally believe the best soccer players in Brasil are in the favelas. These kids don't have much, but they have soccer. They can play all day long. They are free from the bindings of the rich kids, going to private schools, who can only play after everything "important" is done. Gosh, I'm rambling. Anyway, I suppose this is all just food for thought. Take it with a grain of salt.

--nala

Pretty? Or Pretty Ugly?

I changed my template again. The whole this-is-a-journal-book-thing wasn't working out for me. But I think I like this. I hope you like it. I want it to be relaxing, and since I don't have the skills to design my own, I just chose this one... You like?

Today I talked to my best friends', best friend, Sarah. She is awesome, and we share a lot of the same interests, and obviously this friend. She said it felt like she had known me forever :). It was quite nice, and not awkward, which is a feat for me. Being awkward is one of the easiest things in the world, right next to sleeping and finding an excuse not to exercise.

I think my eyes are going bad. I sit at the computer a lot. This is probably hurting my eyesight, but... such is life.

Adios!
--nala

PS. I got the Super Star designation in Spanish. I'm still pretty thrilled about it. Finally my efforts are paying off. Who cares if all I get is one measly point and a penned in star on the last column of my worksheet? It means I have learned something and can apply those things to normal conversation without stuttering like the rest of my class. I'm happy :)

My 186 month anniversary!

I'm sorry for abandoning this. I really, truly am. I promise I had hopes to do better, but now all my evidence is gone. I used to have scribblings of post ideas all over my keyboard, but they have all faded away, and now they would probably seem extremely irrelevant. I promise I'll write more :)

So, I'm writing this after having TWO SNOW DAYS!!! They were fantastic, thank you for asking. I basically did nothing, but dang, that felt so good. I think I moved on average 4 times a day. It was quite blissful. Tomorrow though, I will probably have to return to the torture. A lot of people would be excited at the prospect of seeing their friends again, but honestly, I'm not. Friends=School, and School=Homework. Basically Friends=Homework. (Geometry proofs anyone?) But the tricky thing is, when I have too much homework I can't spend time with friends, and I have no mathematical equation for that.

Nothing truly exciting has happened recently... I mean, unless you think me sleeping all day is exciting, and that would make you somewhat equivalent to Edward..and..I don't want to go there. 

Oh! If you read this far, I really need your help on a matter that has confused me for a month or so... When do you stop saying the number months that your baby has been alive? I really hate it when people are like, "Oh Joey is 12 months in a week!". I mean seriously people. Your child is almost a year old, why must you say the number of months? Even worse is when I hear "Oh Sarah is 24 months today!" DUDE, she is TWO YEARS OLD. Gosh. It aggravates me more than it should. So tell, dear readers, when does one stop saying the number of months their child has been living? Should I start telling people that I'm 186 months* old? I think that question is innocent enough. (I'm funny, see? the url for this is innocent questions, and I just said that the question was innocent enough.. ha.)

Alright, until we meet again!

--nala

*It's my EXACT 186 months of life anniversary today. How perfect.