And I did it with most of my friendships intact, with a bunch of new ones, with only a few minor meltdowns, with no damage to my GPA or sanity, with only 2 or 3 ish minor incidents to Jasyn, and with style. It hasn't really hit, yet, that I don't have to have Sylvia EVER again. At the beginning of the year it was like being locked in the Chokey from Matilda, in the dark, dodging knives (if you don't know of what I speak, you should read your Roald Dahl!) with no end in sight and I didn't even realize the torture was coming to an end until 30 minutes before the fact. And then we all screamed and danced all the way down the hall. And the 53% in history has been brought up to an A, and I did all my French makeup work (by reading a book in which the main character dies and writing a report on it and completely forgetting to include the fact that HE'S DEAD), and Mrs. Bauman totally ignored the three assignments I never did.
And I had a wonderful afternoon (Betty let us make our on wantons at Magic Wok!!! And they looked AWFUL.) and I saw a womderful movie (Legends of the Fall, which kicks Troy's ass because it has Brad Pitt, a tale of love and revenge, AND a decent script), and I'm facing a wonderful summer with a kickass show (We ran through almost the entire first act with remarkable smoothness last night - TWO WEEKS before we open!) and a trip to NYC (oh yeahhhh baybee) and ... wow, everything's coming up roses. Roo.
So, it's been a while, part III. I got my nerd on in PA (a state against which I now have a personal vindetta, let me tell you. PA, population 40000 cows, 2 cell phone towers (not sprint, or rather, not MINE), and more rednecks than I ever imagined could live separated from Dixie.) for the past couple of days. That was a trip, let me tell you. It was actually an awful lot like camp, since we stayed in cabins and the teachers were frighteningly like counselors and we had breakfast duty and stayed up too late and got up too early and all that good stuff. Except with more studying. I've never studied so much in my life, and that counts all four near-all-nighters that I pulled before each of my AP exam days. I got really, really close to Audabon. We're tight. We chilled. There was a 2 hour opening speech on Thursday, and I didn't look up from my trees for The Entire Time - except when I got SO excited when I could finally picture every single one of the ones on K eiran's short list in my head on demand. That was quite a feeling. I almost felt bad for ignoring the speaker blatently and completely - I also had my headphones on blasting my awesome new Outkast cd that Chris got me early for my birfday, since he'll be in, like, KEY WEST or something on the 9th - but then I saw Moreno and Ganguly playing games and snoring and I realized I was completely justified.
So yeah, the trip. There was a lot of driving. Our bus driver looked like a turtle, but he was awesome. I got trapped on the bus when the boys changed, and then I gave in, still confused, and changed too, and then I got in trouble, and then I got scarred for life. I rode fun rollercoasters and carried EVERYONE'S stuff. I gave out Chris's gum (because he was silly enough to annoy me, and then leave his cell phone, wallet, and pack of gum in my care. Um, think THAT one out, next time. He's lucky I wasn't giving away the 20's.) I fell in love with forestry and trees and Audabon. No really, in love. I'm SO doing that event next year, and doing it SO much better. We celebrated the asian's birthday with a card I stealthily got signed by everyone WHILE HE WAS WATCHING and he didn't notice, and a book Prishy and Chris and O-dizzle and I picked out. And cake. Oh, right ...
So, in conclusion about Nerdfest, it was a good time. Like NAIMUN, but much more awesome. And I didn't think that could happen. I think that was, surprisingly enough, because we all stayed together the whole time except for competition day. At NAIMUN, you jump off the bus and immediately scatter - to Georgetown dinner, on the mall the next day, to our sessions, to our separate dinners or ramen cooking sessions. We see each other on the bus, pretty much. But this - we HAD to stay together. We all ate together, we suffered mud and heat and rain together, and the speeches and the teachers, and it was wonderful. I LOVE the nerds. And I miss 'em already. Five days and no major conflicts, arguments, dramas .... I could live like that. yes yes I could. I could also live with seeing Cbass do a striptease a bit more often - good LORD that was the best thing I've ever seen in my life. And the hardest to believe. What have we done to you, Sebastian, my man!?! God. It's contagious.
Sunday when we got back (at 10 in the morning, after a sleepless night spent sitting directly behind Moreno, who also made me cry at about 2 30 AM ish) was Convocation, and as a newly inducted member of the Cult of NHS, I was forced to do slave labor avec Meredith and Kyle. The director of the lab spoke, which was awesome because I love both him and his accent, and the seniors got convocated, which was sad but not as sad as it was last year, because I'm attached to far fewer of them. It's a defense mechanism, I think. Worked so badly when they all left last year that I just prevented the whole thing this time around. There's a few I adore, though, and will miss with all my heart. So there was sadness. And Chris nearly missed his solo, but made it, and tore it up, of course, after 5 days sans practice. Got to hang out with Joe, who I've not seen much lately, and who is just Awesome, and Chris, of course, and a bit with Beth, who I've never really talked to much. But, despite any provocation I may have given her, she's never been rude to me and I really appreciate that. In fact, she's always been quite sweet, as she was last night. And I really liked her skirt. It was almost exactly the one that I spent hours trying in vain to find in the mall a couple of weekends ago. I knew it existed, somewhere. Sadness.
Weird being back at school again, but only for 5 days. 4, now. Everything's a bit odd, and there's some odd rumors going around, and I was up until 3 in the morning yesterday, or this morning, rather, trying to put out fire after fire, but hey, I can take 4 more days of this. I think. Holly, Joan, Casey, John AND I were all in moods tonight at rehearsal, and it's a wonder we didn't make the place explode. We just sat there snapping back and forth and occasionally commenting on how awful it was that we were ALL pissed on the same day, and then Joan and John went to Sonic, and Casey chilled by himself upstairs for a while, and I pouted around in the attic, stomping, and Holly threw her script, and by the end of rehearsal, the world was safe again. I think we might have terrified some of the cast before then, though, from the venomous way we were biting each other's heads off, in turn. We can NEVER do this again. We have to coordinate, and take turns being pissy, because that was really just an explosion waiting to happen. And I was so upset today about Big Awful Thing that happened that I forgot to eat lunch AND dinner and I think that contributed greatly to my grouchiness. God.
And the word of the week, ladies and gentlemen, is AWKWARD. And with that, I'm out.
I just got home from our first dance rehearsal and thought about it. And, after a week of rehearsals, I can honestly say I am still utterly thrilled with my (okay, Joan and Holly's) decision to do this show. Usually that feeling lasts about two days, fades away with all the yelling and stress and bad vibes, and has to be re-discovered some weeks later after midnight chilling in the attic or in the grid or just wiring and re-wiring, getting all hot and sweaty and feeling productive. But no. There has been no torture. There has been no drama (other than that which Holly and Joan and I create, invent, or carry around ourselves). There is no one in the cast I despise. There is no one to whom I am not speaking. There has been no yelling, no hard feelings. There's no Suzanne(ah), Lesley, Tart, *edited*, *edited* (hey, I've done enough gossipping today as it is), or other Terror who we would loathe and conspire against. There's no Adam to turn us all against each other (or perhaps he hasn't turned up yet. I hope he's actually not here.) In short, this has been quite possibly the most pleasant show, Ever.
Now, I may very well be eating my words in a few weeks, since I have had, after all, only 5 rehearsals, but guys, I get PIGTAILS. I'm the youngest whore, and I "cater to a certain type of male." And when Tony said that, those who know me the best definitely did break out into extraordinarily loud laughter ... thanks so much, guys. Really. Love you too. So I'm slutty, but there's a certain faked innocence about it. I could not BE more excited.
I've been trying to remember all the Funny so I could post it when I had time (Note: I don't actually have time. I'm wasting valuable seconds that I could be using to learn about rivers and lakes or to make up the 500 points I'm missing in history class), but my poor overworked brain has failed me. So I give you instead a few quotes from the show, that are better than any Funny could ever possibly be. (the "ACT:" is implied.)
Please Excuse the Filthy Dark Details and Carnal Lust.
Loveless Copulation Going On
Look 'Em In The Eye, Girl You're A Hooooo-ooker.
Turns out, when you use that last one, complete with the rest of the song, in three-part, if painful, harmony, to seranade Joan while she's on the phone, wandering around Sonic, 20 feet away, and you don't want to get out of your car so you just yell really really loud, you can clear an entire side of Sonic in under three minutes. Who knew?
In other news, I flicked Troy (or Orlando Bloom Ruins Everything, No Really, Everything: The Musical) on Friday night. Since I have the attention span of a goldfish with a serious case of ADD, that was one HARD movie for me to watch, especially considering I'd just come from hours of rehearsal, and it started at 10 30 and ended some time after 1 in the damn morning. I didn't think Helen was really a 1000 ship face, more of a 200 or 300 ship face, but the boys were Gorgeous, and in not very many clothes a whole lot, so I have nothing to complain about. Also, the dialogue was hilarious. Which would be great, if the movie was supposed to be a comedy. Which it's not. The SECOND time that one man says to another, "I have something that I have to show you," I really did think I was going to lose it. And yes, that line appears not once BUT TWICE. Someone shoot the writer. Obviously, that's where the full frontal shots - that are sadly now lost to the editing room floor - should be. When we started making jokes about how the Trojans were not protecting Helen in her extramarital affair and how the Trojans were unable to hold back the seamen, I knew the movie had gone on too long. The moral of the story? If Love is worth fighting for, then save your $6.75 and go beat up Jennifer Aniston, or Johnny Depp's date, or whoever's touching Halle Berry.
Additionally, I'm a Whore. Oops, that sounds bad. Um, in a show. That doesn't help. With Holly and Joan? Of course, that was understood... Ahh, there's no good way to put this ... because it's too WONDERFUL. I'm in Best Little Whorehouse at the playhouse with an AWESOME cast and I'm SO excited. Go ahead. Take your damn shots. I know this leaves me open for a whole lot of them. But I know you're all gonna turn out to see me in my underwear onstage, so .... There.
Today, Fayrene, Tomorrow, The World. Roo.
Saw The Passion of the Christ today. Definitely understand what all the fuss is about. It's not so much a movie as it is An Attack. It wasn't a religious experience for me at all, but it says volumes about how cruel people can be. And I didn't find it anti-Semetic at all, just anti-greed and anti-selfishness and whatnot. There is A Lot of blood and gore. A Whole Damn Lot. And it's not like a good 'n gory war movie where there's lots of people dying all over the place and your attention is kinda split between them - No. You are Focused on one suffering person. Wow. When the credits started rolling, No One Moved. Not a muscle. And no one got up for a full five minutes. We were all still reeling.
In other news, Holly is wisdom-teeth-less and on some insane drugs. She and Joan and I curled up in her bed and watched the finale of Friends and Joan spent the entire time talking about how sure she was that Ross and Rachel were going to end up together, and I spent the entire time trying to make her think they weren't, aided by that whole Rachel-gets-on-the-plane thing, and Holly spent the whole time mocking All the characters and flailing about as she tried to open and close her water bottle. Amusingness. And then we saw the brilliance that IS the miniseries 10.5. And by brilliance, I mean brilliant in the same way that the people who die for Darwin Awards are brilliant. (credit Holly for that one I think.) Worst. Acting. Ever. Also, worst special effects. Love-a-god, they use MODELS for all the big shots, and when they Do use CGI, it's alarmingly pixelated. I kept being more and more appalled by NBC.
In case anyone has missed the previews for this excellent show that involve "losing" a nuclear warhead and, oh, the entire western half of the country dropping into a huge fault, let me clue you in. See, there's this earthquake in Seattle that's, say, a 7 on the Richter scale. And one in northern Cali that's an 8. One in San Fran that's a 9. They just keep getting bigger and closer to Los Angeles. Guess why they call it 10.5. I think there was a pitiful attempt at plot and sappy character development and all that, but we fast-forwarded to get to the parts with people dying (where the give 'em to God line comes from), or with itsy bitsy floods eating itsy bitsy model tractor trailers, or any part where the camera shook a whole lot. Holly definitely called the gysers, which makes her 3 for 3 on movies I've watched with her - the snake, the bus, now this. And she's on drugs. Amazing.
I have to do the Entirety of my Major Author presentation tomorrow, as well as spend 6 hours of quality time with Mother for that whole Mother's Day thing. Bah. Where'd my weekend go?! Good thing I only have 2 days of school next week.
I feel as though I should update about at least one of the billion billion things that's been going on lately. Unfortunately, too many of them are gossippy and will get me in great trouble. So, just know that, contrary to all appearances that this entry is going to put forth, I swear I have an interesting life. And people are stupid-funny and often self-destructive. Self-destruction, incidentally, is my new favorite spectactor sport. Other people's, that is. And as always, it's not a rape fest ... no wait, it actually is.
God, that joke never gets old to me.
AP week (kay, two weeks) is upon us, and I've done 2 of 5. Calc, which actually went really well until the last two free response, which raped me. But everyone says the same thing, so I'm not too worried about that score. Say what you will about Benita (I know I do), she definitely does prepare us well. But then, say what you will about Senter, with no qualifications. He definitely did Not prepare me well for the US history test this morning. I slept 4 hours because I was up all night reading Ozzie's review packets (That woman is my hero! She brought food to the test, too! Why Oh Why did I trade her for Senter!? Oh, I know ... because he says funny shit. Like, "You can attribute this to luck or fate or DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF A SOVEREIGN GOD!" and "I think I'm very objective in my teaching of history."), and a 76-page "Brief" (riiiight) overview of America. Why why why isn't America any younger?! Would have made that last minute panicking a whole lot easier. I did learn lots, miraculously, though people always tell you cramming has no effect. However, in my essay about containment in the Middle East, I just Left Out the 6 Day War. Or 7 Day. I can't remember, obviously. But I just left the damn thing out. So that's gonna hurt. Too bad I don't so much care.
I love this going to school sometimes-not-a-whole-lot thing I've got going on. Wednesday after the Calc test we tore up Ruby's (and Chris tore up an Entire tallcake) and then I got sunburnt in the parking lot again. Fortunately, it's at least even this time. I just look really, really flushed. Today I played in Knoxvegas avec Chris for a couple of hours, with - and this is the stunning part - complete parental knowledge and approval! I was pleased. Sadly, we were unable to follow the carnage of the history AP with the bloody gruesomeness of The Passion as we had planned, since Tinseltown is Retarded and is no longer showing The Passion. Or, for that matter, Kill Bill Vol. 2. Honestly, what's WRONG with the general populace!? It's Tarantino! Do not see Stand Tall. Do not see New York Minute. See Tarantino!! How is that even a Choice?! (Though I admit that Mean Girls vs. Tarantino would be quite a battle.) However, my faith in humanity was restored when a woman did the world's biggest favor for me, taking half an hour out of her day to ferry me to my house and back. And I don't know her name. Stupid to get in the car I guess, but she was shorter than me and talking about her 12 year old daughter and I was pretty confident that I would not get raped Or murdered. And I had nothing to steal. So yeah, people, they're good stuff.
In other news, sad day when I have to resort to reading Xangas to find out what people really think, and to find out what they think is really going on, and to find out that I'm upsetting them. I think a very candid conversation is in order. I don't want to say more, really, except that I'm really disappointed in me for doing the same thing that was just done to me. And not noticing. Unforgivable.
The best remedy, though? Driving. Dark, dark roads. With music. I got into the weirdest mood tonight - very confused and dissatisfied and wondering, so I headed out to Clinton sometime after 11, and just drove until I got to the Salem Baptist Church, or whatever it is. I know it because it one day had a sign that said "Joy is a light of Faith Hope and Love" (with exactly that punctuation ... it Was a church sign, after all), and that one day happened to be the only other time I've randomly gone to Clinton when I had a free hour and needed to think, except, that time I wasn't driving. So I drove to that sign, to see it again, to do it like that night. Remembering it like it was yesterday, but feeling like it was lifetimes ago. In a way, it was. Everything felt so Significant, it's hard to explain. But it was so peaceful, and if I was torn to bits inside, the music and the wind glossed it over. And then I came back to tha Ridge, as it were, and looked at the sky over the Marina, how it's darker right above me and spotted with stars and then fades lighter as it gets down to the water, and how the stars are reflected and make patterns with the white regatta markers in the water, and the trees are outlined against the lighter gray-blue sky. And maybe I'm just simple, but it was beautiful. And it made me happy. I think that as long as I can see something good in little things like the night sky, I'll be okay no matter what. It's a comforting feeling.
And it's a good feeling to have right now because I feel like everything's slipping. I'm not sure what it's slipping *to*, and I don't mean to use that word to connote negativity, because my life is So awesome right now. But still, it's all slipping into new things and changing everything around me in ways I hadn't imagined. It's gonna be an interesting last few weeks, and one hell of a summer.
Hm. The moral dilemma. To Whore Or Not To Whore?: The Musical. No, really. It actually IS a musical.
So, while the rest of you have been studying for and/or taking finals and/or SATs, I've been having the Best Weekend Ever. And yes, I should be studying. And yes, I'm more than a little stressed out about APs and national SciOly. But sanity rules all. I really needed this. This past week has been all shades of Hell, and stressful (Oh, it's AP season? Here, have an essay.). Also, I've lost a dear friend, but then I realized another was more wonderful than I thought. And I got to play with Holly and Joan and their orbiting ACT children. So I guess that section, at least, is about par for course.
Somewhere between Holly's and the movie, on Friday night, with all the windows of Black Lightening rolled down and the wind rushing past my ears and through my hair, and with an arm out the window and the other stretched out, and my head leaned back so's I could see the stars, and the music so loud that I thought it was actually a concet Inside My Skull, I realized that I was perfectly content. And that all the shit going down right now - Well. It didn't make any of it better, but it put it into awesome perspective. All of the sudden, I couldn't understand what the hell I was doing paying any attention to anything that was even mildly upsetting, when so much is going So Perfectly.
And then the rest of that night just made me smile. Mean Girls is an Excellent movie, not in a Aww-Lindsey-Lohan-Is-So-Cuuuute way, but in a Wow-This-Is-Cuttingly-Funny-And-Brilliant way. Tina Fey, I Love Your Work. Also? The cafeteria diagrams with tables for Asians was a direct shout-out to me. Someone else knows what I'm talking about! The Sexually Active Band Nerds made me cry with laughter. And I don't want to ruin any more of the movie for anyone because I want you to all go see it.
On a related note, DON'T go see Godsend. I'm warning you. I can't recall why we went to that, exactly. Joan came up with that brilliant plan somewheres around 1 in the morning - perhaps being worshipped by her ACT children for two hours previously had slightly skewed her judgement. Fortunately, Chris continues to be awesome, so the whole painful venture cost us nothing. And we got to heckle. We were the only ones laughing. And pointing. Sometimes, Ethics Have To Take A Backseat.
Randomly, Joan looks so sweet when she's asleep. And harmless. It's amazing how appearances can be misleading.
So, the Best Weekend Ever, beginning with a Monkey and steak, and ending with a 5 on the practice Calc AP test, with my first-ever (but likely not the last) consecutive 24 hours with both Holly AND Joan (okay, I had to make an appearance at home for an hour or two, but they were about 25% awake, and I was there in spirit. So it counts.) sandwiched in between, is drawing to a close. And I'm not prepared for the next week, persay, but I'm definitely ready for it. If Lindsey Lohan can face off with the Plastics, so can I, with the AP tests, the English paper, and the Major Author. Excellent.
