the end.

the end of junior year

the end is drawing near.

From 7 yesterday to 7 this morning I was at Junior Campout. I'm still not sure if I had fun. There were some people I just wasn't in the mood to see, especially with the cognitive ability of my brain at 4 am in the morning after 21 hours without sleep. There were some people I wanted to see that I didn't get to, or couldn't talk to, because of the dumb idea of turning out the lights. As my friend noted acutely (dang she's sensible at 5 in the morning), it was all going pretty well, though not excitingly, until the lights went out. Then it was just a massive chill sesh. Literally. It got pretty dang cold and the ground got all wet.

Bad news was, some usually wonderful and kindhearted guys broke my new, massive 9-person tent that all the juniors camping on the field and the chaperons envied. We all know those people who are really very intelligent but have no common sense? Well bad things can happen when multiple people of that sort are let loose for 12 hours on a baseball field. Hopefully it can be permanently fixed soon.

Really, probably the most exciting event of the camp out was when I began to learn ukulele. Noticing little raised-up lines on the fingerboard, I asked what they were, to be met with stares of disbelief, and a dubious "You mean the frets...?" I thought, Oh wow, that's really helpful, and makes playing in tune much easier. AND THEN, I learned that guitar had it too! As they began to laugh at me, I indignantly replied that I had never touched a non-classical string instrument. Then it was THEIR turn to say, "WHAT? Violins don't have frets?" I responded in the negative, and they continued, "And the cello?" I now laughed myself; cello, with frets? Come on. So my friends now realize how much harder it is to play a classical string instrument [OH YEAH]. I'm not belittling the ability of guitar players, but I had always wondered how constantly out-of-tune violin players could transition so smoothly and with good intonation to the guitar. Definitely the most shocking and scandalous incident of the night.

The highlight of my entire 24 hours without sleep was definitely bowling. I actually consider myself a pretty good bowler; I can usually knock on average 8 pins each turn. I must really be losing my touch, though, because I ended up with a 75 yesterday, which is really quite hilarious, considering that I've always scored above 95. I had a blast riding in the back of a hot vintage El Camino [HYDE'S CAR FROM THAT 70s SHOW!] singing my heart out and having classmates stare in jealousy [or maybe confusion] as we drove by. I also ran out one car during a red light just to get an iPod from a friend in the other car, all while the girls in the backseat were screaming. I had my first Five Guys; the guys decided that they had a responsibility to educate one with such little culinary experience and took me there. The fries were very good, but they were really hot and burned my tongue.

I guess, now that I've written all this, campout wasn't to be missed. I learned a good couple of things, actually a lot, about human nature and different social environments. I hated to be so profound and speak on such heavy matters at what was supposed to be a fun event, but in the words of this hilarious ad, "Eet does notta rhyma, but eet ees the truth."

fabulous poem

Good-by

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good-by, proud world, I'm going home,
Thou'rt not my friend, and I'm not thine;
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I've been tossed like the driven foam,
But now, proud world, I'm going home.

Good-by to Flattery's fawning face,
To Grandeur, with his wise grimace,
To upstart Wealth's averted eye,
To supple Office low and high,
To crowded halls, to court, and street,
To frozen hearts, and hasting feet,
To those who go, and those who come,
Good-by, proud world, I'm going home.

I'm going to my own hearth-stone
Bosomed in yon green hills, alone,
A secret nook in a pleasant land,
Whose groves the frolic fairies planned;
Where arches green the livelong day
Echo the blackbird's roundelay,
And vulgar feet have never trod
A spot that is sacred to thought and God.

Oh, when I am safe in my sylvan home,
I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome;
And when I am stretched beneath the pines
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all in their high conceit,
When man in the bush with God may meet.

update

memorial day, tjstar, jday.

projects, tests, free haircuts, gastronomical chemist and his food, slytherin t-shirts, senior pictures, food, and games. and food.

due to the sheer size to which my obsessions have grown, they need to be documented here.

news, in order of occurence:

1. Guillermo del Toro NO DIRECT HOBBIT! I NO CAN BREATHE!

Really, GdT? You were the one constant thing during the convoluted mess that MGM has created for the Hobbit community, the one good thing. Since late 2007 we've been waiting, hoping, sinking our teeth into whatever rumors we hear [david tennant as bilbo? YES! tobey maguire? don't even think about it!] You've run out of patience sooner than us! NOW, you decide you can't wait any longer for this film franchise, THE most successful fantasy film franchise EVER?

Am I expecting GdT to hold off all other projects to make room for the Hobbit? YES, and he should be grateful, by george. The Hobbit will be huge, and to direct such a project would be the highlight of his career!

When Peter Jackson, who used to look like this,

is about 10x hotter than you, well,

that's just saying something.

2. Gary Sinise visits D.C.

No, he's not evil, I promise.

Every year since 2006, this amazing man has attended the National Memorial Day Concert, and many of those years he has co-hosted. When I saw him on the local news, I flipped out! To think, Lt. Dan/Detective Mac Taylor/George Milton was right there in my backyard! He's such a great guy, playing concerts for the troops overseas and helping Iraqi children get vital supplies. Yes, I know he's incredibly old mature, but you knew that about me already. And we can forget that in light of...

3. LOGAN LERMAN LOVE

I fell in love with this kid a couple of months ago, but he's charmed me again. He's funny, chill and a tremendous actor. I had no idea he had the experience that he's had: he's acted IN MAJOR ROLES alongside Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Renee Zellweger, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, and twice with Mel Gibson and Luke Wilson, not to mention with my fave SNL couple Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. Add that to all the adult actors from Percy Jackson, and you've got one accomplished 18-year-old.

Yes I said 18. FINALLY I've found someone actually my age to crush on. He's also read Catcher in the Rye multiple times and comes from a family of doctors. There's something about Logan that is so attractive, and I think that it's because like me, he's full of polar opposites. He's both darkly mysterious and light-hearted looking, like he could prank you one moment and then write a dissertation on the history of diagnosis the next. He's really serious, too, but absolutely hilarious. He's got the dark hair and shadowed eyes, but an absolutely luminous smile and the brightest eyes ever. [ew that is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever written. love is a dangerous thing, friends] Bright and dark eyes? Oxymoron? See for yourself.

The fact that he practically only wears dress shirts

and awesome jackets doesn't hurt, either

The only thing about him is that he's rather short.

But he's still taller than I am, so we can work something out.

He's about to star in the 3D version of Three Musketeers, as the main character d'Artagnan [yeah, I was shocked when I realized the musketeers weren't actually the main characters of the book], as well as alongside Emma Watson in the Perks of Being a Wallflower. Get ready for major Logan Lerman hype [remember, he was MINE FIRST!]

4. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaces Megan Fox, congratulated by VS

When the news first broke that Megan quit/was fired from Transformers 3 and the list of potential replacements came out, I immediately predicted the Brit with the huge lips would get the role. Firstly, Michael Bay had just directed a commercial for Victoria's Secret, so I could basically pick between Miranda Kerr and Rosie as the next female star. Both are dating British actors [Orlando Bloom and Jason Statham, respectively]. I knew, though, that Rosie was the better thespian. I called it, people!

Gee, am I missing a picture?

Replace it in your mind with

a generic bombshell model;

apply lip plumper nine times.

6. Jason Bateman in Hancock

He was the only thing about Hancock that was epic. I love Charlize Theron, believe me, but this hot guy stole the show. I cheered out loud [col?] when he pounded the bad guy with that axe-thingy. Oops did I spoil it? Sorry. Oh, who am I kidding, no one's going to watch that movie in the future ever again.

Awwww

7. Hilarious MTV promos

MTV Movie awards this Sunday!

Vote for Logan Lerman as breakout star and him vs. Jake Abel for best fight! Luke [Jake Abel] is super good-looking too. Or maybe that's just cause he's the villain.

MTV has been releasing promos for a while now, but only ones introducing Aziz. Now they're starting with the hilarious mixing of celebs and movies. My favorite to date:

Jeremy Renner is SO BADASS.

Hope he is indeed in Avengers!

Now I kind of want to talk about Avengers and all my favorite actors in that, but this is already way too long. I'll save that for later.

Now on to the homework!