Well, not really. I was able to get away from peers, but only because I was in Florida with my family as a graduation present of sorts.
Anyway, since everyone and their brother has been to Florida, I'll keep the details down to a minimum. Epcot was, is and probably always will be the best part, which may or may not be related to the amount and variety of food you can get there. Plus we were there for Canada Day, which was honestly more entertaining than being in the Magic Kingdom for the Fourth of July because Canadian people are cooler. As for the lowlights, I knew we'd have downtime at the end of each day, so I brought a grand total of 11 books with me, not realizing that I would be spending said downtime sleeping. Disney is a lot more exhausting than I remember. Also a lot rainier. I know Florida, like any state in the summer, gets the obligatory threat of thunderstorms, but a week straight of pretty heavy rain, including a flash flood right as we were leaving Animal Kingdom, was a little bizarre.
I get a week to regroup, then off to college orientation.
(Also, my apologies for being behind the 8-ball with posting, since my vacation ended 2 and a half weeks ago...)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Adventure ii - The After-Party
The whole thing probably would've been a lot more enjoyable if I was a night person.
After graduation was over, they took everyone to the "mystery location" (we all knew where it was) for a luau-type dinner... you know, when "dinner" means 10pm... but they had some killer mac&cheese, and they had a touring group there that was doing an interactive hula show. Not my cup of tea, but we also signed up for paintball. Man, laser tag has nothing on paintball. We even had a pretty good team until the team we were supposed to play backed out, so we had to split up and I was the loser no one wanted on their team. It was really muggy out, so it was hard to see through the mask, but I was doing ok (at least, I thought I was) until I made myself too visible and got shot not only in the face but in the hand too, so not only could I really not see, my hand was dribbling pink with the white paint and the blood. The rest of the night was kinda suckish 'cause it was mostly based around bad music and worse dancing, and I was starting to get tired and left out of things. To make matters worse, they had an inflatable obstacle course that I did a faceplant in and swore I broke my nose (luckily I didn't), and none of my friends noticed that I walked out of it a little dazed. Bowling made me feel better, and I had gotten to the point where I had been awake for so long that I didn't care that I was tired (this was at about 3:30 in the morning when we started the first frame), so it was a good end to the night.
...until I had to get up at 12 after having gone to bed at 6:30. But my vacation from everyone else at school will be saved for another post.
After graduation was over, they took everyone to the "mystery location" (we all knew where it was) for a luau-type dinner... you know, when "dinner" means 10pm... but they had some killer mac&cheese, and they had a touring group there that was doing an interactive hula show. Not my cup of tea, but we also signed up for paintball. Man, laser tag has nothing on paintball. We even had a pretty good team until the team we were supposed to play backed out, so we had to split up and I was the loser no one wanted on their team. It was really muggy out, so it was hard to see through the mask, but I was doing ok (at least, I thought I was) until I made myself too visible and got shot not only in the face but in the hand too, so not only could I really not see, my hand was dribbling pink with the white paint and the blood. The rest of the night was kinda suckish 'cause it was mostly based around bad music and worse dancing, and I was starting to get tired and left out of things. To make matters worse, they had an inflatable obstacle course that I did a faceplant in and swore I broke my nose (luckily I didn't), and none of my friends noticed that I walked out of it a little dazed. Bowling made me feel better, and I had gotten to the point where I had been awake for so long that I didn't care that I was tired (this was at about 3:30 in the morning when we started the first frame), so it was a good end to the night.
...until I had to get up at 12 after having gone to bed at 6:30. But my vacation from everyone else at school will be saved for another post.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Adventure i - Graduation
(Since this is pre-college, I'll use Roman numerals, like what they have for prefaces in books)
Ok, yeah, most people have to go through graduation of some sort, and to be honest, it was pretty surreal for me.
First task: learning how to line up, walk, stand up and sit down at the right moments. You'd be surprised how long it takes ~216 high school seniors to do that. And heaven forbid graduation be outside, because the lineup and procession was the complete opposite from the lineup and procession inside.
Graduation day comes, and it's downpouring. So much for all the girls getting their hair poofed and foofed. Speaking of girls, first thing my friends say when I walk in (and mind you, this is a nice occasion, so as much as I hate wearing dresses, I suffered through one for this) is roughly "Ohmygawd you actually look like a girl." We lined up, walked into the gym, and because it's seventy thousand degrees with a bajillion-percent humidity, they have the fans going and most of us are close to losing our hats. Halfway through the speeches, lightning strikes nearby and the power surge turns on the sound system to interrupt the speeches with some pretty epic instrumental music. Then it's diploma time, and even though I'm about halfway through the alphabet, I'm in the first row because I was in the top chunk of my class, so I get mine right at the beginning... and have to sit through everyone else. After that, everyone kinda forgets how to sit down with everyone else, so the hat throwing was all disorganized and someone got theirs stuck in the ceiling.
And then it's off to the all-night grad party, which I will save for another post.
Ok, yeah, most people have to go through graduation of some sort, and to be honest, it was pretty surreal for me.
First task: learning how to line up, walk, stand up and sit down at the right moments. You'd be surprised how long it takes ~216 high school seniors to do that. And heaven forbid graduation be outside, because the lineup and procession was the complete opposite from the lineup and procession inside.
Graduation day comes, and it's downpouring. So much for all the girls getting their hair poofed and foofed. Speaking of girls, first thing my friends say when I walk in (and mind you, this is a nice occasion, so as much as I hate wearing dresses, I suffered through one for this) is roughly "Ohmygawd you actually look like a girl." We lined up, walked into the gym, and because it's seventy thousand degrees with a bajillion-percent humidity, they have the fans going and most of us are close to losing our hats. Halfway through the speeches, lightning strikes nearby and the power surge turns on the sound system to interrupt the speeches with some pretty epic instrumental music. Then it's diploma time, and even though I'm about halfway through the alphabet, I'm in the first row because I was in the top chunk of my class, so I get mine right at the beginning... and have to sit through everyone else. After that, everyone kinda forgets how to sit down with everyone else, so the hat throwing was all disorganized and someone got theirs stuck in the ceiling.
And then it's off to the all-night grad party, which I will save for another post.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Returning with purpose
Before I start cataloging my pre-college adventures, I'll at least take the time to create a proper introduction. Any good public communicator does, plus with the added incentive of being a journalism student, being able to speak... er, type... clearly is kind of important.
A little bit about myself: other than an aspiring journalist, I enjoy baseball, music and silly hats. I'm an expert of being hidden behind the scenes, having managed for a drama production and two softball teams. As an equal-opportunity heathen, I don't follow any religious beliefs, though I'm always willing to talk and learn about those of others. And I've been told I make a mean barbecue sauce.
Hopefully I'll have enough interesting stories from this summer and the coming months to make a vaguely entertaining blog, but if not, there's always something in the news that I can run commentary on or whatever.
A little bit about myself: other than an aspiring journalist, I enjoy baseball, music and silly hats. I'm an expert of being hidden behind the scenes, having managed for a drama production and two softball teams. As an equal-opportunity heathen, I don't follow any religious beliefs, though I'm always willing to talk and learn about those of others. And I've been told I make a mean barbecue sauce.
Hopefully I'll have enough interesting stories from this summer and the coming months to make a vaguely entertaining blog, but if not, there's always something in the news that I can run commentary on or whatever.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
This is it.
They say high school is the best four years of your life.
In that case, I'm screwed.
That's why I'm here. I see college as a fresh start, an opportunity to leave behind stupid things, stupid people and a rather immature blog I kept through most of high school. For those of you who followed me, shame on you because you weren't supposed to do that. I'm not trying to leave everything behind, but I want to be able to look ahead and think of what I can do, not look back and lament about what I could've done.
I start this now because the college adventures start before I leave, and now that I'm done with finals, the next step towards college is the first adventure I'll embark on: graduation.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller
In that case, I'm screwed.
That's why I'm here. I see college as a fresh start, an opportunity to leave behind stupid things, stupid people and a rather immature blog I kept through most of high school. For those of you who followed me, shame on you because you weren't supposed to do that. I'm not trying to leave everything behind, but I want to be able to look ahead and think of what I can do, not look back and lament about what I could've done.
I start this now because the college adventures start before I leave, and now that I'm done with finals, the next step towards college is the first adventure I'll embark on: graduation.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)