Ok, so I just wanted to give this post a cool title when in fact I actually have nothing to post about. Be prepared for intense rambling.

I'll write a few random thoughts about graduation, college, and life in general. First up, graduation. Service of Celebration was (I think) Monday. The speakers were nice, refreshments were so-so, and graduation tradition carried on like always. I only pose one question. Who thought wearing robes, strings, and caps with gay tassels was cool? Forget cool, what about just plain comfortable? As I was "robing up" for the S of C, I felt like some actor out of a bad Harry Potter Movie spin-off. And you know what else---those robes are hot! The air conditioning in that church was nonexistent! And it was wayyy too sunny! Oh well, I will admit that it was cool seeing old high school friends again (woah that sounds weird to say) and it felt like I was finally done with high school. I'm a little nervous and scared heading out west for college...being so far away from home. At the same time, it's kinda exciting to finally be done with high school and moving on.

Ok, that's all the rambling I have for today. I'll try and cook up something especially cool for my next post. Oh yeah, the slide-show should be back up sometime this week. My hosting site is down for awhile but should be back online soon. I'll even throw in a few extra pictures.

One last thought about the heart of my post. You know, life is all about change. Yet, life isn't a mix a "big" changes that alter the course of our lives. I think its more like a slow transformation. Although life still holds key moments---our past day-to-day actions slowly shape who we are so that when we come to big choices---we've already made the choice. Life is a river---always changing yet never ending. Always following the land---but a river does is not shaped by the land. Water shapes the land it runs on. So do we affect the world in which we live.

(I just wanted to write something poetic sounding) See you guys round'!

I'm in a pretty random mood this morning, so this post will be short.

Everyone gets those e-mails telling a brief horror story about "little Susan" who wishes she had only known not to flash her headlights at oncoming cars because it was part of a violent "Blood Gang" initiation ritual. Well, I decided to start finding out whether those e-mails were true, partly true, or straight-up hoaxes. My findings thus far have been very interesting. You can find all the information I've gathered thus far here at my Google Notebook. So far, what I will do to new myths is to post the original text of the hoax e-mail and then post clippings of the relevant information about it, plus Google Notebook automatically includs links to the websites I get my information from.

If you have a Google account you can search my notebook exclusively from the google.com/notebook page. Also, I made a heading for each new myth, so it makes it easy to scroll between the blue headings to find myths relevant to you. Also, if you have some sketchy e-mails, feel free to forward them to me so I can add them to my "myth busting" Notebook collection.

So far I have only busted two myths. One about the Blood Gang initiation ritual and the Dial *677 for emergency dispatch. So far both proved almost entirely false. Anyway, feel free to enjoy my Myth Busters notebook. Btw, prom (Kelsey's is tonight). Wish me luck :)

Ahh, this post will be fun. Ok. Everyone listens to music, right? I know I sure do. Every time I hop in the car, my first move is to lean over to the passenger side and turn on my CD player (I use a tape/CD adapter instead of buying a factory-installed CD player). And I honestly like nearly anything. Notice the nearly. Rap is out, as is almost all country. There might be a country song somewhere that I like, but few and far between. Practically nonexistent. As for music I do like, everything goes. From EFY CDs to classical to hard rock, I'll listen to it all. My favorite genre is some mix of soft rock, emo/indie whatever. However, as my music tastes have matured over the years, I have learned found certain songs that I like more than others. Some songs I really enjoy because they're from an artist I like, others sound good at first but soon loose their "coolness."

And, I have also realized I have a favorite song. One that hasn't gotten old through the many years I have listened to it. Ironically the artist is probably my all-time favorite artist as well. Anyway, the song (which is the only song currently playing on the site) is "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard. I realized it was my favorite song because I always seem to be humming it when no music is present. This thing is just classic. For the blog "Romantics" this song can literally be applied to any girl in some way, shape, or form. It doesn't really work so well for girls singing (or thinking) about guys. Sorry.

There you have it, the Theme Song of my life. A good soft-rock beat in combination with all-too-catchy lyrics makes an amazing song. Maybe if you guys (the blog readers) play your cards right, I might do a recording and put it in the blog play list instead :)

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

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Ok guys, here are 22 of my favorite prom pictures. I included a random splattering of me, Kelsey, and the two of us together. If you click on any of the pictures it will take you to an index of all the pictures so you can browser through them. I'm trying to post some enlarged pictures along with the index, but it isn't going so well, but it should be up soon. Anyway, enjoy, and to view all the pictures you can also click here.

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Touchy subject eh? Made even more so by the fact that I cannot discuss any multiple choice questions for the rest of my natural life. Well, at least that's what the AP booklet/packet/instruction thing said. So if you ask me about second derivatives and answer choice "B" on my death bed...you will hear nothing from my lips! Ironically, the free response questions can be discussed...now. The actual time frame for free response questions is 48 hours before ones vow of silence can be broken.

Ok, this year I only took one AP class, although that one teensy-weensy AP happened to be AP Calculus. Ouch. Two semester class, 270 in-class hours, 180 days. That translates to approximately 16,200 minutes of sheer pain! Seriously, my AP experience was pretty good. The class was very mature and enjoyable. My teacher was absolutely awesome. She was the nice and kind Filipino lady and just a lot of fun. More interesting was the math that accompanied the class. It's amazing how fun math can actually be. Ok, maybe not fun, but interesting. Calculus seems to be a math of approximation. It works through estimation of a sort. In calculus we find the area under any curves. The trick is to get infinitely close to the right answer. Kinda hard to explain, but it's an interesting math.

Anyway, on to the exam. I took it Wednesday about 830, although it lasted until around noon. I won't divulge any details about the multiple choice, mostly because I can't remember any of the problems :) I will say that I felt fairly confident about the whole thing. Until I got to free response. On multiple choice, I answered almost every problem except for about two or three out of 50-something. However, on free response things work a little differently. Each question is worth nine points, and each part of each problem is worth a varying percentage of those nine points. Anyway, I started to work out the first problem and answer the whole thing under section 1a. Terrified, I marked out my work, and placed it under 1b and 1c---only to realize I had done the whole thing wrong. More marking out, and I've already used half of my available time for this one problem. To make a long story short, I think I still did well on the exam. Also, on one problem, I was give an acceleration function and I had to take it's integral to find velocity and the integral of velocity of to find position. I finished the problem and found velocity to be -7/3 all over 523 feet/second. That was wrong. I took the derivative of acceleration to find velocity. Once i got that wrong answer, I heard the ominous sound echoing around the room---"you have ten minutes left." Uh-oh. I have never worked a problem faster than in those ten minutes. Like a little child hitting a pinata at a birthday party, I attacked that problem like no body's business. I finished the problem and think---think---I got the right answer. Overall it was one crazy day! So that's my exciting AP story of the day. By the way, prom pictures will be posted soon, I'm at my sister's house and have a complete lack of prom pictures. Don't worry though, first thing monday the pictures will be on the blog. I'm trying to do a slideshow type thing on the blog, so hopefully I'll have that up and running by monday. Aurvoir and Audieu everyone!

By the way, I actually didn't describe any problems from the AP exam---they were all from a dream I had. Yeah, that's what it was. Because I would never discuss anything about the AP exam. Never. Oh yeah, it actually wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare :)

Whoa! Talk about your teasers! I know once everyone reads that headline, the first thing they will look for in the post(unless you alread know where I'm going for college) is what college I'm going to.

Don't fret.

I'll tell you right off before I get to the heart of the post---prom. Anyway, my college choice is BYU-Idaho. Since previous topics touching on this matter have been hotly contested, allow me to briefly explain my choice and the choices leading up to that decision. Many people may question my motives for going, which is an understandable reaction. After much prayer and fasting regarding the matter, I felt that BYU-I was the place I'm supposed to go. The peace I've felt in making that decision is overwhelming. Anyway, on to PROM!

I won't go much into pre-prom details, but here is a quick preface to prom itself. The stress didn't start getting to me until Saturday about 1:30pm. I still didn't know when Kelsey could come up or when she had to leave. Needless to say my heart rate maintained a steady 100-120 beats per minute! My plans to picnic on the parkway kinda fell through, so I was left with picnicing on my deck. The closer prom got, the more quickly my carefully laid plans crumbled around my feeble teenage mind :)

Allow me to say though, that as soon as Kelsey stepped out of the car, the stress of the day was gone. Seeing her made everything feel---right. Her parents drove her up (which was very nice of them, all though I felt bad they had to travel so far). We made pictures---which I will post soon---and then her parents headed out on a date while Kelsey and I enjoyed a scrumtrulescent dinner of salad, steak, and strawberries dipped in whip cream!

After dinner, we stopped by my Grandma's house on the way to the prom because she wanted to meet Kelsey. We visited for a precious few seconds before we headed for the Cross Creek Country Club for a night of fun and dancing. Like most proms, the dancing was a bit...different...from traditional church dances. It was nice having Kelsey there, since we could revel in our cool dancingness together :) After a few songs we took our prom pictures, after which we had to leave since Kelsey had to be at my house by 11pm. At 11:06, we walked in the door (whoops). It was just a plain good time. The only downside was how quickly the night was over *sigh,* and back to reality I went. But I get to see her again in TWO WEEKS! Which I know I'm probably the only one on this blog who cares about this, but it's my blog so there! Ha!

That's all for now, I will see you around. Stay tuned for some good picture posts, and a nice little post-AP Calculus Exam post thingy.

A quickie, which is rare for me :) Well, for this post I will not be revealing a college choice, since I still would like to notify a few people in person before I announce my decision. Anyway, if that little teaser doesn't garner your interest, nothing will. As far as college scholarships are concerned, things are much better than I had ever dared to hope for. I got some minor scholarships from each BYU (I almost revealed my choice, but I caught my self right there). Most amazingly though was receiving the Armsfield. It is a practically brand new scholarship only for people from my county, surry county. Seven recipients from Mount Airy High School were guaranteed spot for between $4,000-$7,500 annually. I received notification about a month ago that I was a finalist, but I tried not to---as the old phrase goes---count my chickens before they hatched. I wanted it but was afraid I wouldn't get. Never mind, hopefully you know what I mean.

To continue, I got a notification letter about one week ago stating that I was to receive $4,000 annually. Of course I have to write a letter of intent to---my college of choice---among other formalities. Overall I'm just glad to get some scholarship money, especially since my parents financial status has been worrisome to me of late. Enough said there.

It's hard to believe how close college is. I'm excited and scared (a smidgeon of nervousness too) for college. I'm sure almost everyone can relate to the same feelings. I feel torn because I have spent my entire life in Mount Airy and the drastic change college will offer is slightly daunting. However, I feel some comfort in knowing I'm doing what the Lord would have me do. After a lot of prayer, guidance from friends and family, and thought---I finally feel peaceful about my decision. So college, here I come ready or not. Can you handle a Jarrell? We will see... :)

Yes, for today I am posting a little mix of interesting---and random---items. I thought for starters I would mention something about the camping trip. Over Spring Break I went, I mean forced, to go on a campout with my scout troop. Wait, actually it was just me, the Branch President, his son, and my Young Men's leader. Of course my younger brother, Logan, went too. It wasn't as terrible as I make it out to be, but it wasn't really fun either.

We left Thursday and came back Saturday. We went to Grayson Highlands and camped out along the Appalachain trail. After the first night we hiked Mount Rogers then packed up camp and headed off-trail. We hiked what felt like 10 miles with 50lbs packs---give or take a few pounds. Our second-night camping site was a lot prettier than our first day. We camped in a little hollow next to a small creek. The land was flat and soft, which made for a good nights sleep. The worst part of the trip was Saturday morning when we started home. We ended hiking at least 10 or 15 miles uphill! It would've only been a mile, except we took a shortctut. Oh well, its OK. We made it home alive.


As far as the blog is concerned, I just updated the playlist with some Motion City Soundtrack songs. You can hear them here or in the Music Archives.


And last but not least, a new product review for the ever-progressive technology enthusiasist out there. Google Calendar (yep, another Google product). This service is brand new and already shows improvement over other similar services. One of the handiest things about Google calendar is the ease with which one can use it. It is easy to add events and share the calendary with others. I imagine that Kristen would find this helpful while scheduling birthday parties. You can share calendars to see where an event could be placed without conflict. Another feature is the "invite" feature. You can send invites to other people and compile a guest list as people accept or reject the invitations. Handy map information is included in the invite when you specify a location. Anyway, that's my product review for the day. Check it out, it seems pretty handy for me (so far that is :)


And last but not least, countdown to Prom T-minus 9 days. Everyone here knows how excited I am for it, so I won't bore anyone, suffice it to say it couldn't come soon enough! Unfortunately AP exams happen to be the week after Prom *sigh* that is just not cool! Fortunately I have developed an anti-studying program that should help relieve the stress commonly associated with AP exams. My program also works well for any standardized testing. And now for only three LOW down payments of $39.95 it can be.........

 

 

Ohhh, what a fun time I had yesterday (actually just a little over 10 hours ago...lol). From the title I'm pretty sure you can guess what this post is about...yep the Priest/Laurel Prom was yesterday! I'm not sure how many other stakes do this, but it's a cross between a church dance and a prom. Of course everyone was dressed in tux/suit and prom dress attire. Shaylon and I drove down and picked up Sydney while Kelsey met us at the dinner.

Quick little insert. I was in a wreck the morning of the prom (which was Friday morning) on the way to school from church. I was driving down a street near the school and I hit a puddle and started to hydroplane. In the very next second I realized that the right-front side of my car was playing with a fire hydrany. Two "mini-mircales" occured right then. The first was that the hydrant didn't start spewing water everywhere. The second is that the airbags didn't deploy, which would add a lot of money to the repairs. The car still runs, but needs some repairs to be street-legal again. Everyone involved was OK.

Back to Prom

Shaylon and I drove down in my mom's minivan. Oh yeah, it was HOT! After we picked up Sydney, we went to the dinner at Tanglewood. The food was ok, but the lasagna was a little sketchy and the salad was sparse. What was really funny was that Kelsey's plate had - literally - about 4 small pieces of lettuce on it :) We ate a little bit and then went to Dairy Queen for a blizzard. Another small note to take into account before I describe the dance. Shaylon broke his arm on Thursday and was wearing a half-cast half-sling on one arm and taking lots of pain medication! Ok. We got to the dance and had a pretty aweosme time. The funniest was Shaylon. His medication started wearing off and I could tell his arm was killing him. He had his second round of medication (which he took at the dacne) and 15 minutes later he was going crazy...no pain whatsoever. Plus he developed a strange habit of laughing at things that weren't really funny....at all!

And, saving the best for last...

I got to go with Kelsey. Let me just say a quick wow! That was the first thing I thought when I saw her there. She looked beautiful...absolutely beatutiful! When I first saw her I think my heart stopped and I forgot how to breathe. You know the feeling, or maybe its just me :) Don't worry I didn't suffocate. And also allow me to say that not seeing Kelsey for a month was far too long! Kelsey summed up my feelings best when she said that we still get to do this two more times, since I'm going to her prom and she is going to mine. Being around Kelsey is just fun. Sorry to indulge on a personal note, but I will continue :) The more I get to know her the more I love being around her.


Another part that was fun was hanging out with Sydney and Shaylon. I think being in a group typically tends to be more fun while the solo dates tend towards the romantic side. Oh yeah, anyways on with Prom. We left the prom a little bit early to go to Stephanie's house where we watched part of Madagascar. It was more just hanging out since everyone was walking around just doing whatever. We left about 11:20 give or take and I took Sydney and Kelsey home (of course Shaylon was there too). I got Shaylon to his house about 130 and I made it home by 2am. Overall it was such a fun night! I've never had as much fun at a prom as I had last night. (I think it was the company :) actually I know so. And one thing that was a lot better than school prom was the dancing. Anyways, that is a different story for a different time (likely after my prom). And now I depart for some chores and other such things. Oh yeah, before I forget, HUGE thanks to mom and dad for letting me go and being so cool about the whole thing. I mean, not only did I take their van, wreck my own car, and come home at 2am, they still understood and I think they are awesome! Now I really have to go, so i bid thee Audieu!

Disclaimer? What is this? Is SummerBreak05 in trouble? Before I start my disclaimer, I would like to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about college. I really appreciated the advice and it has helped me (perhaps just a little bit) to sort out things in my own mind. You guys are the best!

Disclaimer here I come.

This blog is a personal journal of sorts. I made a decision never to delete posts from this blog because these posts make up who I am (or was). I would like to apologize - and warn - that while I try to be objective, this blog does contain the ramblings of a teenage mind. I realize that while this blog is a reflection of myself, while it showcases my strengths, it also displays my weaknesses. It is for this that I apologize.

I also caution against the literal reading of every post. The posts are snapshots into my life, not the whole story. Oftentimes I fail to clarify a story after the initial post or forget important details. I also apologize for any inaccuracies caused by the archival of my posts.

As in all disclaimers, does not the person doing the disclaiming apologize for a specific incident (otherwise why write a disclaimer)? Well here it comes. Initially I would like to apologize for the inaccurate archival of the batch of pictures of Kim posted 11/05/2005. Upon archival they were mislabeled and incorrectly dated (I was playing around with template changes...whoops)! But the pictures are not the heart of the error. Dating Kim was a mistake - maybe not the first 6 months, maybe not even the first year, but past that, yes it was a mistake. I apologize for taking up so much room on SummerBreak05 to post pictures of kim. I posted such items primarily out of fear. That sounds terrible, but it is true. I posted those stories because I was afraid Kim would get mad if she didn't see herself on my blog. Mistakes aren't fun, but allow me to venture that we learn the most from our mistakes. Some of the most beautiful and enjoyable parts of my life have come as a result of finally ending it with Kim. I will also say that the quality of posting on the blog has increased both in substance and accuracy since September (end of Kim).

Man, my disclaimers are so personal.

There you have it, my disclaimer. I haven't mentioned every error, or post I would like to change...but like I said, altering the posts would create a reflection as I am now, and this site would no longer be an accurate journal. Even inaccurate posts about Kim reflect me...a teenager trying to figure out teen dating...and the erroneous way that I handled that time in my life.

I'm done now. There you have it. Feel free to comment on any other errors...or just plain gripes...that you may have with this blog. Or - if some of you disliked the kim posts - feel free to vent your feelings about that. I know a lot of people have some very strong opinions about such matters :)

In light of such serious talk, I would again like to say a deep thank-you to the readers and commenters of SummerBreak05. You guys really make blogging fun, and I appreciate the comments, advice, and understanding you guys offer. See ya round!

Well, its been a pretty exciting week. I know I need to make a new post since I have been relatively inactive poster the last few days. Of course, I can always use my fallback topic - girls and technology (yeah, odd combo, I know). Fear not, this post contains only a few paragraphs devoted to the above topic!

First off - college.

For those that haven't heard I have been accepted to BYU-ID and BYU-P. The real dilemna is that I haven't been able to decide which college to go to. There are so many factors that it makes my head spin. To think out loud (or in this case, type out loud), the first factor in determining which college to go to is money. My parents have already told me that one of the major deciding factors - regarding college - is money. Between BYU-P and BYU-ID the monetary difference isn't much, but is existent. BYU-ID is cheaper than Provo. Another factor is scholarships. I haven't heard back from any of the scholarships from either BYU. I did hear back from the Armsfield Foundation...and I'm a finalist! As a sidenote, the Armsfield is for between $4,000-$7,500 per year for four years. Objectively, Idaho is likely to be cheaper moneywise.

Second factor - rooming.

Rooming. I wouldn't mind having some random roomate for college, but the thought is slightly daunting, especially considering I've lived in Mount Airy (population: 8,484) my entire life. Oh well. Eventhough I don't really know anyone who I could room with in Idaho, a lot of people from the Winston-Salem Stake are going. As far as Provo is concerned, I know several people, most importantly, my Brother goes there. It would be really cool to go to college with Ethan. Also, Phillip (one of my friends from Dobson), is going to Provo and I could room with him. Stupid colleges.

Third factor - me.

One of the last vital factors is me. What do I want? I'm not even sure is the problem. Both colleges have seperate appeals. Idaho is cheaper, although the no-shorts rule is pretty lame. Yet again, I'm going in the fall/winter, so I doubt I will even need to worry about shorts. If I go to Provo, I will get to hang out with Ethan and Phillip before I leave for my mission. If I go to Idaho, I will get to come for the summer before my mission. If I go to Idaho, it may be harder to get into Provo when I come home. ARGHHHHH!!!! I guess you can understand my confusion. The biggest problem for me so far has been money. I always thought it would be soo nice to get a full-ride scholarship to one school or the other, then my decision would - essentially - be made for me. That has yet to happen, so the tough choice is left more so in my hands. I guess only time will tell. By the way...any good college tips from those readers who have already been through the college gauntlet?


Aside from college choices, I thought I would point out the almost completely revamped Summer Break Playlist. The only songs that carried over were "Stars" by Switchfoot and "Lights and Sounds" by Yellowcard. Some of the new songs include performances by: Amber Pacific, Brand New, All-American Rejects, Story of the Year, and others! Enjoy the songs. Don't forget to check out all the songs ever played on the Summer Break blog by visiting the Music Archives!

This post will be a little HOW TO post. I know many of you (you being the readers) have many blogs to visit and use bookmarks or such to scroll through the blogs to check for new content and posts. Some of you may not know about RSS/Atom feeds.

RSS/Atom feeds are basically standardized XML documents published by newsites and sites that update their content often. RSS/Atom feeds can be found on almost all major sites (Google News, CNN, MSNBC, the list goes on and on). Any site worth their salt has RSS/Atom feeds.

Including all blogs (unless the blog owner has done some modding to the blog code and disabled/altered the feed).

What does this mean? This means that one can view recently published posts and such from multiple blogs...and all in one place. There are multiple RSS feed readers that display desktop updates involving your favorite site feeds, but I will ignore that for this post.

In order to take advantage of these feeds, go to www.google.com and click on the link in the upper right hand corner that says "Personalized Home" This will take you to a screen - similar in appeareance to the Google homepage, yet with extra information displayed.

From there, either sign in with your google account (hopefully you already have one) or, click "Personalize Homepage." Clicking that link will help you create a personalized homepage without creating a google account. However, that homepage will only be viewable on the computer is was created with...unless you use your google account.

When you click the "Personalize Homepage" button (after signing in to your google account), click the "Add Content" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. There are several RSS feeds alread available there, so please feel free to experiment and see what you like. To use your Google Homepage with the blogs, click inside the text box right beneath the "Search by topic of feed URL."


Here comes the fun part. Type the address of the blog, i.e. http://yourblog.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Thats all there is to it. The name of your blog + /atom.xml

A little box will be added to the homepage with links to the 3 most recently published posts from that blog. 3 is the default number, but can be changes to as many as 9 and as few as 1. I use this system to keep up with all the many blogs I visit. This way, I can check for new posts on ALL the blogs from one page, without checking through four or more blogs from a favorites window.

Anyway, enjoy the added functionality, and feel free to comment this post with any questions or problems encountered. Enjoy!

Today is a great day. Why? Because I got my very first "A" in Dr. Cozzens (AKA President Cozzens, Mr. Cozzens, and occasionally just Cozzens) English class. This is indeed a VERY big deal. Coming into the class, I was soo worried because I had heard nothing but horror stories about supposedly great writers heading into his class, only to resurface with low B's and C's. In fact, Sister Hutchinson told me that she had never heard of anyone getting an A in his class.

Wow

Yeah it scared me to death. I had just come from Mrs. Ridolfi's class where I easily aced any essay by throwing in a few flowery sentenced elegantly spiced with advanced vocabulary. Next thing I knew, my head was spinning from a low B paper (actually i think it was an 83 on the 10-point scale). Don't get me wrong, I was glad to get a B, but I wanted more.

Ironically, I got the inspiration (if you can call it that) for my essay from doodling in class. I was drawing stick figures (whoops) when one of my fellow classmates suggested I write an essay about them. I didn't know what else to write about...so I went with it. To make a long story short, I wrote the paper, turned it in, and nervously awaited my grade. The paper came back...and BAM! Like lightning from heaven, their stood my beautiful, gleaming penciled-in 90 at the top of my essay. Like a prince atop his throne, so majestically sat my grade.

Ok, it wasn't quite that exciting, but I was still very excited to have made my first A. Part of the drive to get an A was because everyone said it couldn't be done. That just made me want an A more. I've made - mostly - A's all my life and I wanted to prove that I wasn't the product of grade inflation; that instead I was a genuinely dilligent (and talented) student. I don't have an overall A average yet....oh but I will!

By the way, the contents of that essay can be read Here

As a final note, the new 'Flavor of the Day' has been updated and is now in rotation. The playlist will also get a major overhaul with nearly a completely new lineup. Stay tuned!

Why does Kristen call my blog "The Teen Scene?" Well, for the simple reason that all I have to post about is dating. And today I will prove her wrong! Wait, this is actually just another post about dating. Alright, fine. I can live with that. So anyways, on with my narrative. Me, Kelsey, Shaylon, and Sydney all went out on a date this weekend. The only problem was that we only had a few hours to do the date (around 3, give or take). Due to unforseen circumstances (i.e. Kelsey's parents) Kelsey and Sydney didn't make it to Mount Airy until nearly an hour late - yeah. I didn't mind though, so Shaylon and I nixed the first part of the date; the park. On to part II, going out to eat. We hurried through supper in time to make it to Amy's wedding reception. Kelsey was supposed to leave at 830, but we didn't even make it to the reception until 845.

To sum up before I get too carried away, Kelsey left about 900-915, and is now grounded from driving up to see me.


Don't get me wrong, the date was aweosme, and it was great getting to see Kelsey again. That part was awesome! In fact, dare I say, the best part of the weekend :)

I'm not even entirely sure what I'm complaining about. I guess I'm just griping that Kelsey got grounded, to sum up everything. But after all, I'm not grounded from going to see her! Forgive me a cruel chuckle (hahahahahaha) I guess what really worries me about the whole deal is the fear that Kelsey's parents really must not like me. I feel like Kelsey's parents are punishing her more becuase she was late coming back from seeing me. Maybe I'm way off here, but those are just the ramblings of a love-struck 17 year old (sheepish grin) :)

So any - advice/"been there, done that"/helpful tips for the future - would be greatly apprecieated.


P.S. to shawn, have you tried out the Beat 2 of IE 7? If so, what do you think. For me, the jury is still out.

Sorry that I haven't written in so long; I guess the summerbreak blog has become more of a template changing arena than an actual place to post topics and conversations. Seriously though, I am curious for some user feedback. Is the 'flavor of the day' really that interesting? Does anyone visit the archives? Is content or presentation better? Personally, I really like the 'flavor of the day' and the ability to choose a song. I'm thinking about adding a cookie to store settings so visitors may choose to always view the prompt box, or never. That is neither here nor there. (Cool saying).

The real reason I'm posting is just to give a little job news. I recently got my first real job -- as a tutor! Yeah, I'm pretty sure that must come as a shock to a lot of people who know me...lol. I'm tutoring my dad's boss's daughter in Geometry, of the Euclidian variety that is. It's kidna interesting and brings back disturbing childhood memories of those long gone days. Seriously though, it is pretty intereting. After taking AP Calculus, Geometry and Algebra really aren't intimidating at all. Such math classes used to challenge me, but now that's just run of the mill in AP Cal. I do wonder though, will I ever find AP Cal as easy as I find Geometry and Algebra now?

Well, that's difficult to say. The answer is: a whole friggin lot! Between school and scholarships, I don't think I've really had a moment to stop and relax! Well, except for the several hours I spent in front of the 360 today - but that doesn't count. Seriously though, applying for college, getting accepted to college, and then applying for more financial need (scholarships included), it's beginning to feel like one really bad nightmare. So it goes. Let me give a quick rundown of other exciting stuff that has been happening.

The blog has been updated. In the top their, some may notice a weird picture thingy next to the words "summer break." This is my gamertag. It's basically what I do online via Xbox Live. Kinda interesting stuff, if you're bored - or just really like video games.

By the way, I've been trying to alter the embed tag at the top of the page by hyperlinks and form buttons, but have been unable to manage either. If anyone has any tips, it would be greatly appreciated.

Many of you visit "the blogs" quite often. The question is, have you ever fooled around with RSS/XML feeds? I thought Kristen and Mom would especially like this feature. Basically, you can check new posts on all the blogs from one location. One way is by configuring Google Desktop to show the XML feeds from all the blogs. The second way is by setting up a personalized Google Homepage. Click "Add Content" in the upper right corner of the screen (on your personalized Google Homepage) and in the search box at the bottom of the add content pane, type in the blog address (i.e. http://summerbreak05.blogspot.com/atom.xml) and add a /atom.xml to the end of it. From then on, you will be able to see recently published posts from all the blogs you so desire. Very handy for the avid blogger out there.

Anyway, that's all for tonight. Keep an eye out on the weather and pray for snow (specifically 4-8in. in the Northwestern NC region, close to MA). Everybody have a great night. Last but not least, Congratulations Kristen for the beautiful baby girl. Hope you guys are doing well.

Yes, this post is a break from the mold. My blog has primarily been a journal/editorial column of sorts. Well, I've been thinking, and I've decided to do my first commercial product endorsement. Google Talk is one really neat program. I mention this software specifically in light of a recent announcement by Gmail. Apparently, Gmail and Google Talk will be seamlessly integrated (more than they already are) into one useful application. For those who don't know, Gmail is a webamil program by google, with over 2.6 GB of storage (more than any other free e-mail service). Gmail also provides the same services as other webmail programs, yet without the price tag of such providers as Yahoo! Mail. Google Talk, on the other hand, is an Instant Messaging program that simultaneously provides alerts as soon as you get an e-mail in Gmail. Gmail has many other features, and of course allows for talking via the web.


Ok, so now that you know what the programs are, you may ask why these programs are worth getting?


Because, now Google Talk and Gmail will be integrated. You can IM via Google Talk from inside Gmail. In addition to this, all Google Talk conversations will be saved inside Gmail, thus saving hard drive storage, and adding the powerful searching capabilities of google to help find specific conversations. Please keep in mind that these features have not been released yet, but will soon be (two weeks tops). Another plus of Gmail is the fact that is doesn't allow just anyone to sign up. This seems bad, but it prevents spammers from using gmail. If anyone needs an invite Gmail, just tell me and I will be happy to send you an invite. Trust me, even if you are concerned about switching email addresses because everyone knows your old one, its worth switching to Gmail. (Contacts can be imported from Yahoo! Mail, Outlook Express, and anywhere else you might store your contacts).

By the way, if you get a Gmail account or Google Talk, send me your screen name so I can IM you every once in awhile :)

Let me preface this quickie update with a story. At my school, there has been a recent plague of bomb threats. This has resulted in lunches spent under the supervision of many teachers, and eating with our classes. I know several senior journalists from my school, and I told them about an article idea I had. This idea spawned from a joke I made about needing a hero to save the school from bomb threats. Yes, this hero's name is, MacNorris. Here is the article--enjoy!

These are perilous times, students being escorted to and from lunch, bathrooms constantly monitored, and the ever-present oppressive stench of uneaten cafeteria food. Yes, I am talking about the new fad of making bomb threats. School has become an over strict camp, one where free will is gone.

For example, I was walking back from a quick “conference” with Mrs. Refveem when I heard a call, the call of my bladder. No teacher was in sight as ducked quickly into the bathroom. I checked over my shoulder several times to make sure that no one had observed my “criminal” action. Amazing how something as simple as going to the bathroom can give one such a feeling of guilt and fear of doing wrong.

After pondering about such hard times, I have reached but one conclusion; this school needs a hero. But who can fill such a need? Ingenuity and strength are both required for such a man. Like lightning from heaven, or perhaps one of Chuck Norris’s lightning fast roundhouse kicks, the answer hit me. MacNorris! Who is MacNorris you might ask? MacNorris just happens to be a hybrid of the most deadly and feared characters of all time. The ingenuity and fast thinking of MacGyver—the deadly roundhouse kick of Chuck Norris.

As I followed this train of thought, I realized that in less than 20 minutes, MacNorris could not only find a bomb in the school, he could also disarm the bomb, find the culprit, roundhouse kick him into submission, and all using only two toothpicks and a roll of duct tape! Even better, since MacNorris has a heart bigger than his muscles—earned from OMNI-gym workout videos—MacNorris would do all this for free. Of course, after MacNorris completed his task, he would get on his horse, give the school a large thumbs-up, and ride off into the sunset.

In all seriousness, times like these do not require a hero, but instead necessitate that the student body should band together in an effort to catch the person (or persons) behind the threats. Wait, what am I talking about? Scratch that; I just hope I get the chance to tell my grandchildren about the time the legendary MacNorris saved the school from imminent destruction—using primarily no. 2 lead pencils and a dry erase marker