Prettyinpinks' Blog

Things were weird yesterday.  I had numerous encounters with people whom I consider to be just downright mean and selfish.  The last one in particular was a doozy.  I was so bummed out from all of these awful people that when I saw the shooting star I just stared at it glumly, wondering if it was a message from God or if it was just plain dumb luck that I happened to be looking.

Anyway.  I get home and start doing some stuff on the computer, and my dad walks in.  He sits in a chair behind me and glares at the back of my head until I turn around.

He's angry. "You left the car window open," he accused.

"Sorry."

"In a parking lot.  Where anybody could have broken in, or stolen the registration.  They could have found out exactly who we were and where we live and practically anything about us.  All because you 'forgot.'  Was it an accident?  Maybe."

"It was."

"How do I know this stuff doesn't happen more often?  How do I know when you're driving down the road you're paying attention and not fiddling with the radio?"

"You trust that I don't."

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore.  If you keep doing stupid things like leaving windows down how can I trust you?"

He goes on for awhile, then finally gives me the ultimatum: "If you do anything like this ever again, or you have any issue whatsoever with the cars, or you're snotty, or you act up, you'll lose driving privileges for two weeks.  Are we clear?"

"Yes."

Part of me was glad the punishment wasn't worse.  The other part of me, the part that had endured selfish awful catty girls all day, wanted to throw my arms around him and say thank you.  Because it's his, and my mom's, cracking the whip over the last sixteen years of my life, I haven't turned out like those other kids.  Of course I want to hug him for that.

Yes, this is a play off of jazzbode's blog : ).  I just wanted to give anyone who's interested an update!

A while ago I blogged about my two new additions to my growing population of animals.  We now have a dog, two birds, a tank full of guppies, a beta, and sea monkeys (a type of shrimp).

I've had some rather interesting adventures with the budgies in between.  All of the stuff about training them wasn't working.  Since there are two of them, they kind of have each other for company and I read that that can slow down training.  I was patient, I read summer reading books to them, I gave them treats, nothing was working.  Then I went to the vet and got their wings clipped.  It's kind of like having a dog on a leash--it's a safety measure.  They can still flutter a bit, but there's no more wild birdie migrations around my room.

Then . . . breakthrough!  I read that to train some larger birds (parrots and birds like them) that could potentially bite and do some real damage, you sit with them in a cornered-off area of a house . . . the end of a hallway, a shower stall.  This makes them sort of accept the situation and not be afraid of you.  I went into the (drained) bathtub with each of them seperately . . . lightbulb!  Suddenly they seemed to understand that I'm not going to hurt them.  They both sat on my fingers for a few minutes.  Now they regularly hop on.  They enjoy adventures in my room around their cage, exploring stuff.  They sit on top of the cage and chirp.  I set up a "play area" for them with newspaper and towels and a bowl of water (a "bird bath) and their treats and they love it.  I love my birdies!! : )  Amazing what some patience, understanding, and not flinching from sharp little bird beaks will do--I have two little amazing new pets!

Whoo!  It's weird.  I thought my summer was busy and was looking forward to school so I could catch up on sleep . . . ha!  First day of school was today and I already had 2 hours of homework!  That's after volleyball practice and an SAT/ACT prep class.  Phew.

Funny though, it seems like I've already fallen back into my pattern: school, sports, homework, blogging!

Anyway . . . got a lot on my plate right now . . . trying to sneak in fun stuff here and there.

Get this--I was supposed to be in the parade!

I'd been looking forward to it for 6 years!  My mom got to ride in the 100th with my dad, and I'd been hoping he'd pick me.  Ah well.  But he said that this year was my turn!  Of COURSE volleyball would fall on that day!

Anywho . . . just wanted to say I'm back!  I've missed everyone!!

I am so overwhelmed right now!!

I just had a meeting at school--I'm signed up to take the most rigorous class the school has to offer . . . on top of two other APs . . . on top of full schedule . . . on top of a college resume, application, essay, etc, etc, etc.

Oddly enough, the problem here is that there's nothing I don't like to do!  Aside from standard school subjects, which overall I like (with math being the exception, depending on what we're learning), there's a TON of other stuff that I love to do!  I don't know how I'm going to be able to drop some of this stuff so I have enough time for the most intense year of school I've ever taken!

1. Basketball/volleyball.  Being part of a team is an experience I don't ever want to lose.  Basketball is one of those things that is so deeply engrained that if I end up having to drop from the team, it's going to be a huge, huge blow.
2. Photography.  There's something about getting the perfect shot.
3. Animals.  I volunteer at the zoo and stables regularly.  I love the people there, I love working with horses and parrots and kangaroos and emus and alligators and snakes and penguins.
4. World events.  I've toyed with the idea of going into international relations, I want to do something to help global warming, I want to help ease world hunger.
5. Writing.  I write stuff on facebook and people sometimes message me individually, saying that they really like the way I present things and the language I use get my point across.  It's almost like an art.  Okay, it is an art.  Speaking of which . . .
6. Art.  Glassblowing, painting, sculpting, drawing, you name it, I like it.
7. Languages.  I don't do it extensively but knowing how words originated in Latin or became changed, or how the Spanish and English and French and Italian languages merge together, all the way down to Cockney slang spoken in east Lodon and how names were "Americanized" when immigrants came to Ellis Island--it's intriguing.
8. Filmaking.  Not like whole length movies, but stuff like news reports or five minute Peace Corps vidoes or things like that--just the timing of the clips, the sounds, the text--the way all of those things work together in well-made clips is just amazing.

So I'm taking three AP courses, three electives, and two miscellaneous courses, on top of all of this, on top of church, plus family/friend stuff . . .

Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I have to eat and sleep.

Who said highschool was the best four years of your life?

So there was this dude.

 Who reportedly got drunk.  Okay.  Well then.

Then this same dude decides to mow the lawn.  I don't know how he planned to keep straight lines, but . . . okay.

Then the dude has a problem starting the lawnmower.

Dude gets mad.

Dude shoots lawnmower.

 I don't get this.  At all.  According to the report when the police reprimanded the guy he claimed that it was his lawnmower and he could do whatever he wanted with it.

My mom and I started joking around . . . it reminded me of the song "I shot the sheriff"

I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! oh!
I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Yeah! all around in my home town,
They're tryin to track me down;
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a deputy,
For the life of a deputy.
But I say:

Oh, now, now. oh!
(I shot the sheriff.) - the sheriff.
(but I swear it was in self defense.)
Oh, no! (ooh, ooh, oo-oh) yeah!
I say: I shot the sheriff - oh, lord! -
(and they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (ooh, ooh, oo-oh) yeah!

I shot my lawnmower
But I didn't shoot my weedwacker, oh no! oh!
I shot the lawnmower
But I didn't shoot my leafblower, ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.
Yeah! all around in my home town,
They're tryin to calm me down;
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a utility,
For the shooting of a utility.
But I say:

Oh, now, now. oh!
(I shot the lawnmower.) - the lawnmower.
(but I swear I was entitled.)
Oh, no! (ooh, ooh, oo-oh) yeah!
I say: I shot the lawnmower - oh, lord! -
(and they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (ooh, ooh, oo-oh) yeah!

People . . . I swear.  I think I'm going to be studying science but some things are outside the realm of comprehensibility