Do I Get A Life Now?

No. Almost, but no. No school tomorrow though. That's a plus.

I know everyone's been talking about it, but it snowed yesterday. We got 10 inches at our house. That's never happened in my lifetime. Pretty awesome. I have some pictures, but I'll try not to pain you with the boring ones you probably wouldn't care about.

The second and third to last pictures are of our trees. By the end of the night, a quarter of the branches fell off. And about a third of the tree closer to the house fell down too. It took out our herb garden. Pretty scary. So I'd say we lost about an eighth of all of the trees in our backyard due to snow and wind. Other than that I had a lot of fun. I was a kid again with my brother Nic. My family and I took a walk this morning for about an hour. Got some good pictures of the white valley. Just coming outside makes me happy, thinking "Oh yea, it snowed..."

Marcea's Quince was last month. It's a little late to be talking about it, but I will anyways. It was amazing. From what it looked like everyone was having a great time. The waltz was alright. I don't think we messed up that much, but I wasn't paying much attention. Thanks for leading Josh. Our other dances went alright. The hustle was fun- I just pretended no one was there and it was just another rehearsal. Oh and the video was hilarious. Priscila and I were laughing so hard we couldn't breath. Yea, great time. Good job Marcea. I'll try to get some pictures up here when I have some good ones. (Priscila and Marcea- this picture is for you. I wouldn't have put it up otherwise.)

Tournament of Roses has been going pretty well. We set our parade block last week. It's only tentative, but as of now I'm on the end. All our music is supposed to be memorized. (Supposed to be... Yea, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.) I got my black sweatshirt too. It has sparkles on it... No thank you. And we get our white wind breakers on Saturday. Funny how materials get us excited. As if the experience itself isn't enough... Okay, sorry. Too much English class... I enjoy the people I'm around too. I think I've gotten used to them now. Meals are interesting and usually pretty entertaining. John and I watching Josh eat. Joey recording it. Yea, good stuff.

A couple weeks ago a few of us went to the school play. I had my doubts, but I actually thought it was pretty hilarious. However, I don't think I would've laughed that much if I hadn't been with the people I was with. Priscila, Marcea, Kyle and Amanda. They all laugh at everything, so that made the play all the more enjoyable.

We've had a few competitions lately. Got Grand Champion at AV and in Palmdale lost it to Littlerock by 0.78. Great, huh? Thanks to Kyle for letting us all use his car. I had a lot of fun, and I know others did too. And sorry to everyone I was a jerk to. My fault, no excuses. But I think we all had a good time. Oh, and our school won the CIF Championships. If that means anything...

Happy belated Birthday to John. I think I'm glad he's alive, so his birthday is something to celebrate. A bunch of us went to BJ's today for him. I'm surprised at how comfortable I am around most of these people. It's kind of weird for me.

Okay, I think I'm almost done rambling. I've put more pictures up in one post than I have in my whole blog. So here's another from the wedding. Oh yea, Allison and Tyrel are flying in from Virgina tomorrow. I'll be seeing them on the 22nd. Can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great/safe Christmas break.

-Julia

Happy Belated Turkey Day

I had Ham... Oh well. My Thanksgiving went just fine. I stirred the gravy, which kept me from socializing, so I'm grateful. Most of my family was there. And everyone knows how much I hate my family. So- dinner was good, company was nice. I'm thankful.

Marcea's Quince is tomorrow, and I can't wait. So much planning. And with more people coming than came to my sister's wedding, I'm getting increasingly nervous. I still like dancing, and it's too bad I'll be stopping after this is over. Maybe one day I'll be able to pick it back up again. Thanks to Marcea and her video, I and many of her friends have physical injuries. Good stuff. Thank you Marcea.

Every Sunday I've been driving down to practice for T of R. And I've been thoroughly enjoying myself. I like the people I'm around (for the most part), the music we're playing, and band itself... There's not much to complain about. It really picks me up before I get to go to school and crash on Monday's. Whenever I visit family. It's always- "Hey Julia. Hows the Rose Parade coming?" Wherever my name is, that seems to be the topic of conversation. Pretty funny... So, that's going smoothly. Just like the last 2 years.

I'd like to thank all of my friends who continuously make me happy. Even if some of them don't read this. Whether it's making me laugh, or actually bothering to talk to me. It's really nice, and I appreciate it. You probably don't understand how much good it does me.

Well, I'm off to watch Pushing Daisies, which regretfully is getting cancelled. It's a clever show, but no one watches it...

-Julia

Observe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cd63P54PaI&feature=related

Please watch these videos. It's worth it. Not important, just unexpected. And not stupid. If you know me, then you should know that. It makes me feel like an idiot. I'd like to know if I'm the only one who didn't get these things at first...

I'll update when I have time. (I love how it's vacation, and I still don't have time...)

-Julia

Whats the pressure?

Wow. I'm sorry. This post is way overdue. Between school and band there is hardly any free time.

My Halloween is sorta uneventful. My mom and I are going to watch some movies and eat junk food while my dad and brother are out to dinner or something. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to a quiet evening. Oh no... my mom is dressing up like Sarah Palin... So much for my quiet evening...

I guess I should explain my blog title. I have Chemistry with these girls- Alyssa and Heather T. Heather is hilarious (and insane, might I add.) But one day in Chemistry we were in the middle of lecture doing and example of PV=nRT and we were plugging stuff in. And right in the equation it says- "What is the pressure of...?" and Heather says "What's the pressure?" And we made fun of her enough for that. But by the end of the class all three of us had asked the same thing. That and mixing up Kelvin and atm... Lots of new inside jokes because of that class. I like it.

Lots of band activities lately. Oh I made Tournament of Roses Honor band. I tried out on the 12th and the first rehearsal is on November 9th. I'm almost excited. I'm more nervous, because I have no idea what I'm doing. We'll see how that turns out...

I've fallen in love with dance. Couple dancing at least. It's so different and new. I'm dancing in Marcea's quince and we've had a few lessons. I really enjoy it, even if Josh doesn't. We've learned the waltz and the hustle and the cumbia. I think waltz is my favorite, or hustle because it's easier and fun. If you ever have a chance to dance with a partner, do it. Because I think it's worth it.

I never have any pictures relevant to my life... Sorry. Ughh, sorry I'm so boring. Okay, to finish- Here's a clip from an old 30 Rock. Since it started up again last night...

-Julia

Busy, Busy

Wow, I haven't actually updated in over a month... Sorry. School is intense-ish. But I'm enjoying it. AP Euro especially. I just wish I had more geeky friends in my classes to share my odd excitement with. Oh well. I'm just destined to be a loner.

I just came back from a Pep Band thing. And, contrary to Priscila's opinions, I had a lot of fun. I have my days where I feel social and confident, and I think this was one of those days. And I'm also glad I didn't get beat up at Palmdale High tonight... We've had our first couple of football games, and they've been pretty fun. We have to, I mean "get to", play for AVC tomorrow night.

Last Saturday I went and hung out with some clarinet people at Sheena's house. I had a lot of fun. (Hey, fun is becoming a trend now. That's cool!) Then on Sunday Josh and I went to her church. I hadn't been to another church's service in a really long time. I really enjoyed it. It was really down to earth, and... informative? It was good...

Thanks to Emily, I've found a new obsession. She's a signer names Regina Spektor. She has such a pretty voice, but she twists it and puts it to the weirdest rhythms. I really like her music, even if it is a little odd. This is her myspace, with a few songs on it. Here's a youtube video of one of my favorite songs of hers so far.

After my mom called me a loser she told me to get a facebook. (I'm twisting the story, she didn't call me a loser directly.) So the other day I conformed and got one. I don't find it all that entertaining, sorry to say... I don't really get it. That and I don't have enough time or patience to figure out what I'm doing. And I don't even have any pictures of my face to put in my facebook...

This year I'm auditioning for Tournament of Roses at PCC. I'm nervous, but I'm not necessarily expecting to make it this year. I just want the experience to be able to do better next year. I'm playing Mozart's Quintett, even though I only got the music on Monday. Apparently half of our clarinet section just at QH is trying out. So we'll see how that turns out... I'm excited to get the whole process done and over with.

Umm. Band... School... Band... I don't think there's much more too my life. I think I need a new one. I'll try to update more frequently now. Sorry for the delay.

-Julia

More Wedding

We just got some pictures from another photographer. He wasn't hired, but just a friend of Allison's. So here are some better quality photos. (Like I said, you're going to get sick of me talking about this wedding.)

There are a billion more. I love going through these pictures.

-Julia

Success!

Amazing, beautiful, unexpected, unbelievable. I can't think of enough words to describe this wedding. I loved all of it, and it went by too fast. I can't describe everything, because it would take me forever. But I had an amazing time, and thanks to all of our friends, we pulled it off. Here are a few pictures. If I get more from Trinity Photography, I'll share those.





Wonderful!

-Julia

Three Days

Just one weekend away from the wedding. That's... nerve- racking. Tomorrow is the rehearsal lunch/ family lunch, then the bachelorette party. Then Sunday is a wanna- be Taco Night. Basically, whoever is in town from either Tyrel's or our side of the family is coming to have dinner at our house. That should be... interesting. It means I have to socialize. And I finally get to see Tyrel tonight. Next blog, I'll be writing about the wedding and posting pictures until no one will want to know anything else about this wedding.

School is fun. I like how it keeps me busy. Just not to the point where I only get an average of 4 hours of sleep a night. I know I shouldn't complain because I know some juniors and seniors that have it much worse than I do. But for the third week of sophomore year, I don't think it is supposed to be this difficult. My math homework alone takes me about 2 hours. I like Chemistry, and I'm actually caught up on the homework and classwork. I've found that I go through about 2-4 cds a night when I listen and work. For this reason, I've been slowly running out of cds to listen to. So far my homework soundtrack has been: Relient K, Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Franz Ferdinand, Switchfoot, Coldplay, the soundtracks from Beauty and the Beast, Moulin Rouge, and Once, Bach, Death Cab for Cutie, MuteMath, Earthsuit, Snow Patrol and Five Iron Frenzy. I think that's pretty much it so far. Now I have another stack that my dad gave me, so that might last me for a while.

Last Tuesday night was my AV Fair Trolley shift for band. Marcea and I worked on the trolley my dad was driving from 9:30 pm to 12 am. We had a really good time, especially with Rachel S. and Kalen K. with us. Sometime around 11 they had a whole trolley full of strangers sing me happy birthday. Before they did some guy was like "You know, we really don't care." I appreciated that remark. I'm sure none of them did. I hope that doesn't happen again.

After we took Rachel home, Marcea, my dad and I went to Denny's to celebrate my birthday. Then we got home at 2 am, slept for 4 hours and went to school... That was fun. It sounds stupid, but I felt so special. I didn't think that many people actually remembered my birthday. I got a mess of baked goods. And a piece of gum from Mookie. Oh and Ryan's cookie from his lunch... Yea, those two were the most thoughtful presents I've ever gotten. All that is still on my counter. And I got a lot of really sweet cards, and some pretty funny ones too. So thank you, to anyone who got/ made me something. I really appreciate it, and it made me feel loved.

I'm going to be in Pep Band. That is, if I don't quit by the first football game. The rehearsal last week was really frustrating and I'd rather not go through that again. More exciting than that- I'm going to be in the Monday night band at avc. Wednesday's should be fun this semester too. I'll have pep band until Clarinet Choir starts. Then straight from there I'll go to my lessons. (My birthday gift from my parents this year.) I won't get home until 5- ish. Then homework until 11. Sounds good, right? I'm actually looking forward to it, as crazy as that sounds.

I want to read, but I don't have anytime. I still haven't finished Shadow Puppets, which I started during summer. And now I've inherited stacks upon stacks of books from my sister as she was packing up her room. I miss reading, and taking your mind off of everything else. Maybe I'll be able to finish that book in... November. Yea, I think I'm free sometime in November.

Tomorrow I get to see my cousin that just came back from Israel. And Sunday I get to see my other cousin who just came back from semester at sea. I can't wait to hear all of their stories. I have Chemistry to finish. And an English paper to write. And a toast to think up...

-Julia

More School, More Band

That almost sums up my life right now. I've been pretty busy, which is why I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry about that.

Band Camp was last week. It was much easier this year than it was last year. Just because it isn't all new to me. I'm number 28 in the field show between a sophomore named Kyoko and a senior, Kyle. At first I was disappointed with my spot, because I wasn't near anyone I was good friends with. But by the second or third day, I was content. I found out how hilarious Kyle was. I didn't ever talk to him before, but when we did start talking, we had some pretty good conversations. Whenever he says something I can elaborate on his comment, and then we just keep going for a while. I don't know many people I can do that with. He insults people a lot too, and it's rubbing off on me. I also have his tolerance level when it comes to marching band also. That's not necessarily a good thing, but at least it's entertaining. Sectionals with Dr. Price were great, because he helps so much with everything. (Speaking of Dr. Price, I just signed up for Clarinet Choir today.) I like this years field show music, but last years actual show. At least at this point.

Oh there's also a few new freshmen that Marcea and I knew from Hillview. Fortunately for us, they aren't too cool to talk to us yet. They've grown up a lot since the time we met them, and it's really cool to see them and QH now.

We just finished off the first week of school. My schedule:

1st- Alg 2/ Trig- Shy
2nd- Symphonic Band
3rd- English 10- Moreno
4th- AP Euro- Cassady
5th- Chemistry- Lebeau
6th- Spanish 2- Reyes
7th- PE Drill

I'm happy with most of my teachers. Really excited about Cassady, because my sister had him some 7 years ago. So he actually knows my name already. I hear Mrs. Shy is a great teacher, but now she just has to prove it to me. So far she's not doing so good.

Last Saturday was my sisters bridal shower. My cousin Jessica threw it at her families house. Allison got a ton of gifts, and two of her college friends helped me make the bouquet for the rehearsal dinner. If no one knows what that is (like I didn't)- the maid of honor makes a bouquet looking thing out of all the ribbons on the brides gifts. It's not really that important, but I was excited to do it. Wedding plans are coming along. Two weeks...

Marcea is having a quincenera and she asked me to be a dama. I was ecstatic when she told me about it. I'm so excited to get things started and help with things. We went dress shopping on Monday... It was actually kinda painful, being there for so long, but we got things accomplished so it's worth it. The other damas are Priscila and then two of my friends from elementary/ middle school.

At the end of last month my dad had the radio to KCRW, a station out of Santa Monica College. They were playing a piano piece and afterwards they were talking to the musician that played it. He's Chinese and his name was Lang-Lang. Then when we went to the recording of So You Think You Can Dance a few days later I saw a book with him on the cover. Then my tivo recorded an episode of "Great Performances" on PBS, and one of the guests was Lang- Lang. Then, sure enough, he played during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. So in the period of 3 or 4 weeks, I've heard his name, and seen his face multiple times.

I'm going to go watch National Treasure 2 with my little brother now. Definitely a history geek movie. Oh well, it can be pretty obvious sometimes. Maybe I'll watch Stardust after that. I miss movies.

-Julia

The Beach (Beaches)

Jeez, it's almost 9 and I haven't eaten yet. The family and I have been at Newport beach since Thursday. We have some friends that live down here. It's really great. They have a house right on the beach. But it's not even a crowded beach. It's like they have their own little cove. So we've been relaxing and being a family and stuff. They have a son that lives in Switzerland with his family, and they're all down to visit. It's really cool listening to Tim talk about all of his stories. Like the wedding he went to in London, or the trip to Vienna. But another cool thing to hear is his two daughters talking to each other. They speak Swiss- German, along with some english. So I'll try to get some pictures up here later. However, this isn't my computer, so there's not much I can do.

We went camping last weeked, at yet another beach. My aunt and uncle came, as well as two of their daughters, Jessica and Ashely. Then their aunt, uncle and cousins came. Also their other cousin, Hailey (the one I consider my cousin) and her mom... I lost track... I think that's everyone. So the total was 16, I think. It was a great time. My cousin Haley from Maryland told us to use Reese's instead of chocolate with our smore's. I think my mom said it best- "It'll be hard to go back". It was really good... I went on at least 5 bike rides on a path along the beach. It was really refreshing. I think I'm addicted. I'll get some pictures of that trip up later too.

Mark went home on So You Think You Can Dance. It's depressing, but I'll get over myself soon enough. The finale is next Wednesday. And then no more of that show until next year... Too bad.

I have a cousin that's on semester at sea. I don't know if anyone cares, but her and her boyfriend started a blog. The only thing that I think any of you would want to see are the pictures of these great places. They've already been to Canada, Italy, Norway and Russia. Pretty cool stuff... So it's pseurotrip.blogspot.com.

I'm going to go play Nerts. (I know, obsessive.) Still waiting for dinner...

-Julia

Weddings, Parties and Socializing... Ew

Last Saturday I went to my first wedding ever. It was a friend's- Alex. The whole thing was really sweet. It was a relatively small wedding, compared to what I imagine a wedding to be. I saw an old friend from middle school there too. So I sat and talked with her. Which was hard, but I guess I pulled it off. So weddings are nice, and now I can't wait until my sisters.

Right afterwards we went to a party of another family friend. They are insanely rich, so the party was amazing. They had at least three different caterers, a wait staff and a drink bar. I was telling my cousin Hailey that I felt bad when the waiters came to take our cups and plates and things. I wanted to stand up and say "I can do it myself you know...". And we both agreed that one of the waiters looked exactly like Chase from the TV show House. One of the guests there was the writer and director of the show Gilmore Girls. Susan, who was throwing the party is her sister-in-law. Pretty crazy stuff... Yea, good time. I had some Crush soda...

Yesterday I went bowling with a mass of clarinet players. It was fun, and I sucked. 80 was my highest score. Yea, it was frustrating. Especially with John at some 150. I had a strong urge to kick him after he got his 4th or 5th spare. I should have... And then today I went bowling again with family including Haley from Maryland. (Not the same Hailey from the party, if you care.) And I bowled worse than the first time. Oh well...

I'm going camping tomorrow... Doheny. Even though I went to the beach 2 weeks ago, I'm still excited for it. I can't remember the last time I went camping. Oh, and we're bringing lots of cards, to play Nerts. Hopefully we'll get more of them hooked. And maybe Hailey can beat us this time. Okay, I'm off to Costco...

-Julia

I Love Juice

Sudden realization the other day as I was getting ready to eat my breakfast-for-dinner: I love juice. It's great stuff. I had some Strawberry Kiwi. And then some Orange-Peach-Mango. It was delicious. You guys should all go drink some juice now.

I've figured it out that I don't have a free day until school starts again. Wait, take it back- I have two. Yes! The 21st and 29th of July... Oh yea... That's exciting. Between babysitting, school and family I have no extra time. It's pretty crazy and really tiring.

Earlier this month, my cousin Haley flew in from Maryland. Last time I saw her was two summers ago, and she's changed a lot. It's been really cool spending these past couple of weeks with her. But now my other cousin stole her, and I won't see her as often. Here are some pictures of her and me, when we visited the Devil's Punchbowl this morning.

As most of you know, I have a slight obsession with the show So You Think You Can Dance. Last week we got tickets to see a taping of the Thursday night show (the vote off show). So last night, my mom, dad, cousin and I went to the show! We went inside the studio and everything. It looks so big on TV, but it's tiny in there. We got to see two dances, plus some solos. We saw all of the dancers and I was close enough, I could've touched Mark and Gev. You could see both of my parents on the TV screen a couple of times, because we were in the spot that the camera goes to the most. It's amazing being there, and so much fun. Oh and I also learned that Mary Murphy smiles, even off-camera. Great, great time, and I hope I get to go to another taping soon. After that we walked around in the Grove for a while. We went through the Farmer's Market and I got some Coca-Cola from Mexico, with real sugar, instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. So much better... Then we kept walking until they started complaining about their feet. Come on, 7 hours standing up- no big deal.

Last Wednesday I went to Terra Nova at my church and they showed this video of Rob Bell. One part I'd like to show you, if you want to see. It's really funny to me. It's about the naming of the animals in Genesis. He does some more with this, but I can't find a video that has it.

The new Relient K cd is out and I just got it in the mail yesterday. The Bird and the Bee Sides. It's 13 of their new songs, and 13 older ones. Sadly, it's not as good as their last album- Five Score and Seven Years ago. But hey, that's just my opinion. I'm still a huge fan of Relient K, I'm just a little disappointed right now. Some of the songs sound a little country-ish to me and one of the few genres of music I cannot stand is country. But I like the rest of the album, and I'd recommend it.

I'd better go watch Hatari. Finally, now that I have a free moment. Enjoy summer.

-Julia

Murderous, Thieving Drunks

Finally, a social life during summer. Well, sort of. I guess not considering most of it was with family... Yea, never mind. But I'm still having fun, so that should count for something.

Last week I went to Priscila's Quinceañera. It was a great time in my opinion, and Priscila looked amazing. I had fun, even if I didn't dance. I got called the party pooper of the night, and I was told I "pulled a Kevin" just standing on the dance floor. But I won't go there. Thanks Pris for inviting me, and I'm glad I could be a part of that night with you.

In the last couple of weeks my family and I have been going movie crazy. Last Sunday we went to see Get Smart. It was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be. Everyone that went said that the laughed a lot more than expected. It did get a little sick at times, which got annoying. But overall, decent movie. I've grown to like the TV show too. Then a couple days later we saw Wall-e, which was really cute. They did a good job, especially with having little to no dialogue in the first half hour or so. Then some of us went to see Hancock. Some of the scenes were really intense, and actually made me jump. So I think that's a good sign.

I missed a band practice last Wednesday because I had another nerdy band class to go to. But somehow, I got the music anyway. Marcea came over that same day, and we had our own practice. It went pretty well, until we both got sick of playing. Then my family convinced her to stay and watch So You Think You Can Dance with us. (Another amazing show.) That was all fun, in a sort of last-minute way. I notice Marcea is one of the few friends I can do that with. Just say "Hey, come over now." And it's not difficult to find something to entertain ourselves with. Also, one of the few friends I can just talk to, and keep talking to. Not even remembering what we were talking about. Just rambling on. That's always nice...

Last Thursday I went to Camille's, this restaurant in Lancaster. My sister decided that they were going to cater her wedding. The serve sandwiches, and chips and salsa, and chicken and tuna salads. It's really exciting that we have that finished. One step closer. And we also bought the Bridesmaid's dresses. And on the 18th a few of us plan on going up to the Punchbowl again, where their wedding is going to be. Okay, enough of this rant.

My 4th of July was really fun. It was one of the biggest parties we've had in a while. There was family, future family, church friends, family of church friends. It was cool. Sadly, the only age group close enough to me was in the 18- 21 year old range. But I was told I wasn't a bother, which was a relief. I like hanging with them. They're entertaining. Oh, and I killed them all at a game of Nerts. That was exciting... And I also heard some horrifying stories about my ancestors. On my dad's side, I have some Scottish. Apparently, we were part of the Campbell Clan. Pretty much all of our surrounding neighbors hated us. So we invited the McNab Clan over for a feast or something like that, to make up for everything. So they were all having a swell time, and they all got drunk. So while all the McNabs were sprawled on the floor, us Campbell's killed them all off... That's awful... And then I hear some of my ancestors on my Mom's side were Italian pirates. And then someone made some comment about us being Irish, and Irish being drunk. So that's where Murderous, Thieving Drunks comes from. But other than that disturbing news, I had a great time. Fireworks were pretty and we had a handful of illegal ones in the valley this year. Here are some pictures.

I've been reading Romans in the handy-dandy Bible lately. And sometimes I get a little confused. But we have this really cool book, called the Message. It's pretty much paraprashing the Bible, and helping people understand it better. I think it does a really good job, because it helps me a lot. I'd suggest it to anyone struggling through the Bible like I am. I'd just say make sure you read the real verses along with it. To get the details. Cool stuff... Oh, and then I was also looking through the Old Testament, looking for the story of Samson. And I read all of these titles I'd never heard of before. Like: Nahum, Haggai, and Habakkuk. I have no clue what's in any of those chapters... I felt kinda bad for not knowing. Well, I guess I'm off to bed, and I think I'll go read Romans now.

-Julia

Happy Belated Chocolate Pudding Day

Yes, that's right. June 26th: National Chocolate Pudding Day. I discovered this in May, and spread the news to the rest of my family. By the time the day came, we were all pretty excited for it. So we went to Albertson's and bought some pudding (chocolate, of course) and sat together and ate that after lunch. Then my mom and I made the best chocolate pudding we've ever attempted to cook. Then, once again, we sat down together and celebrated National Chocolate Pudding day. It sounds silly, but my family is silly. So it's justified. Fun time. I'm glad we all get along...

My avc class has finally started, with our real teacher deciding to show up. In Jamaica? What kind of an excuse is that? (Kidding... By the way... I understand sarcasm is hard to translate over the computer...) It's a pretty easy class as of now, but I know it will get harder. And the review is good for me anyway...

I have this babysitting gig set up with my best friends parents. I get up at 5, go to her house at 6:15, entertain the boys until 4:30 and then go home... It's horrific and extremely tiring. One of them is 9 and the other is 6. The older one is actually pretty obedient and he helps out with the little one... But it's tough. And it wears thin on my patience. But it's worth it, and I only have 7 full days to go...

So You Think You Can Dance is just as amazing as any other season. I'm really enjoying it. By the top 16 it's already tough to watch some of the dancers go. Mark and Chelsie H. are my favorite couple as of yet. Kherington and Twitch are an extremely close second. Joshua and Katee are high on the list. Kourtni and Matt are worth mentioning as well... I could go on with the dancers I love, but it's almost all of them. Here's Mark and Chelsie's "Lyrical Hip-Hop" routine... Whatever that means...

A couple hours ago I finished my latest book "Shadow of the Hegemon". I really enjoyed it. In my opinion, Orson Scott Card is an amazing author. I've only read 3 and a half of his books, but I really liked all of them. I've read Ender's Game, followed by Ender's Shadow, then Shadow of the Hegemon. Next comes Shadow Puppets. This last one was really political, and hard to follow at points, but intense and entertaining. I like the way this critic put it- "The novels of Orson Scott Card's Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games, and psychology." Plus some historical references. It sounds just nerdy enough for me.

I finished my first summer reading book a while back "The Curios Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime". I'll try not to be to negative about it. I can't say I liked it, but it interested me. I liked seeing the way he thought things out, even if it was perversely wrong. I think the author relayed some emotions well. Decent book I guess, but some of the images it gave were just too creepy for me to enjoy the book completely... Just my opinion.

Well, I should get to bed, I suppose. Have a great weekend.

-Julia

Movies, Fathers, Music... and Movies.

Summer is still boring, so I don't have so much to blog about. Eh, all just fill in all the blanks with random topics. Sound good? (My introductions here are getting worse and worse.)

So, I've certainly kept up my movie marathon. Since my last post I've watched 11 and a half movies. I think... I lost track. So I might be missing some. This time they were mostly reject movies that came on the TV at midnight. I tivoed them anyway. A lot of them were bad, but I watched them. I had to finish them once they started...

• Yours, Mine and Ours- It's about two people that get married and bring together 18 kids. It was cute, I guess. Some of it was funny. Them playing off the whole huge family thing...


• Underclassman- This kid cop goes to a high school to solve a murder. It was an action movie. But I think it was supposed to be a comedy too... They weren't so good with that part...
  
• The Circuit- ABC Family original movie. Enough said?


• Mission to Mars- These astronauts go to Mars, but something bad happens while they are there, and most of the team get killed. So they have to send up a rescue team. So the movie is basically them getting up to Mars. I was kinda disappointed when I found out it was all about aliens. But they put a twist on it, so it was almost satisfying...
  
  
• Sabrina- The 1995 version with Harrison Ford. I can't tell you which I liked better. Probably the version with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. Black and White. Pretty much classic. But it's a tough choice. I liked them both.


• Jumper- We actually rented this one and Sabrina. It was a decent movie. The action was actually entertaining. It wasn't just- car chase, shooting, fighting, more shooting... It went places, and was somewhat fun to watch.
  
• RV- Awful movie. Please don't watch it.


• Herbie Fully Loaded- Possibly even worse than RV. Hard to tell.
  
• Sleepless in Seattle- Personally, not my favorite Meg Ryan/ Tom Hanks movie. It was too easy to tell where the plot was going.
• Clueless- Stupid high school movie. Not as bad as Can't Buy Me Love, but it's pretty stupid. I don't think I finished it... It was just on.


• Local Hero- I only watched half of this one. It's about businessmen that go to Scotland. It was hard to hear and I got tired of turning the volume up. So I just stopped watching it... My tolerance level was low that day...


• Kung Fu Panda- Yea, again. Not the type of movie I would have thought to see again, but I did.
• The Abyss- Really, really intense. It makes you so anxious it's crazy. It's a really great movie I guess. But I can't say I liked it. Because it made me so frustrated and it was hard to watch sometimes. But it was good. I can't really describe it, so I'll stop trying.
  

The second Monday we were out of school, Marcea and I went to Hillview in the morning. We went up to the band room to help our old band teacher, Mr. Farris. I think it was some 2 hours that we spent organizing and filing all three bands' music. It was fun though. And now I've practically memorized the order they go in: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet... Something like that... And then we took down everything on his walls. That took a couple more hours. With breaks here and there that is. Then for the rest of the time the three of us just sat there and talked. That is, until those stupid brass players came in. (Just kidding.) Yea, three other Hillview alumni came in, and it was pretty cool to see them again. Then Marcea and I ate at Carl's Jr. and watched a movie. Good day.

For Father's Day we went and celebrated with my cousin's family. (Cousin's cousin... Whatever.) We had lunch and then we were all family-ish and stuff. My uncle, my cousin and I had a deep conversation. Well, I guess I should say my uncle and my cousin did. I just took it all in. They would look at me sometimes and say "Do you have anything to add?" I don't even notice, that I'm not saying anything... I just listen... It's what I do. And on the topic of Father's Day: I personally love my father. He's great. Oh, my band dad isn't too bad either.

My avc class started this week. It's pretty easy so far. But it'll get harder, I know. I have way more people I know in that class than I expected, so that's a good thing. Well, I think that's a good thing. It also means I have to try to make small talk during break. I hate small talk...

A happy belated birthday goes to Josh. We went to Dennys and a movie for this "celebration of life". That's when I re-watched Kung Fu Panda. I think we all had a good time.

I still have way to much free time. You can tell by my progress in Kingdom Hearts 2. 25 hours... I find that upsetting/ pathetic... But I'm having fun with it. I kinda screwed it up, because I went backwards in a way. But I think it's back on track now. I'm revisiting worlds now, and I've beat most of them. Beauty and the Beast, Olympus Coliseum, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pride Lands... I can't remember them all. But it is fun. Every time I do something exciting, I run and tell my brother about it. Then he just rolls his eyes and says "Wow... Good Job...". (He's beat the game twice.) I like it though, and I'm actually getting somewhere with it.

So You Think You Can Dance is back on. Good show. It's one of the ones my family and I wait for all year. And the judges actually know what they are talking about, and give advice. Great dancers too. They get better each year. Twitch is my favorite as of now. Here's one of the better dances of the night by Joshua and Katee. Background story: The guy has to go to war, and his girlfriend just found out. It's cute. America's Best Dance Crew is coming on soon too. It's not as good, but I still enjoy some of it. Tomorrow is the premier I think...

Enjoy the rest of your week. Summer starts Friday. The AV is so screwed up. It's been summer for too long already here...

-Julia

5 days down

Summer is boring... I want to actually have something to do. Something productive. Well, I shouldn't complain too much, because I have been filling these past few days with stuff. But still, soooo much extra time. In fact, enough extra time to fit in 11 movies. In the past 5 days... 11 movies... Yea, that bored...

Well I might as well talk about these movies, no? A list should suffice. I like those.

• Once- About undiscovered Irish musicians who run into each other and have a week to record together. Great music. At least I think so. I love their accents. You can hear it in some of their songs. It's rated R, but just because they use the F word about 10 times in the first 30 seconds. They're Irish... It's what they do... Here's one of their songs. This one actually won an Academy Award for best song this year.
  
• Secondhand Lions


• Artificial Intelligence:AI- Weird, weird movie. Didn't really like it. Spielberg kinda freaks me out sometimes...


• The Sixth Sense- I was having a Haley Joel Osment marathon, if you couldn't tell... I can't really talk about this movie, because I'd ruin it if I tried. It's good though. I don't normally like thriller/horror films, but I really enjoyed this one.



• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian- One of few I saw in theaters this week. I think it was Tuesday we went... Can't remember. But my family and I ran into some familiar faces while we were there. I liked the movie, mostly. More than I thought I would. Liked the actors a lot. (Right Sheena?)



• Edward Scissorhands- Strange movie. I bought it myself a little while ago, but I just watched it again. And the whole time I kept saying to myself- What a weird movie! Some things he did were just creepy... Ugh, ew. But it's still good.


• 27 Dresses- The character was just too dramatic. Everything that occurred, she had a problem with. Even if it wasn't a big deal. That was the only problem I had with the movie though...


• The Bourne Ultimatum- Action movie. I guess it was good. I liked a few of the scenes. It kinda sucked that you didn't really know what the plot was until the last 3 minutes of the movie.


• The Hunt for Red October- History geek movie. Only got to watch half of it today though.


• Kung Fu Panda- Saw it in theaters today. Actually ran into Anthony from Clarinet Choir there. The one who played Bass. That was pretty cool. He recognized me too. It's not like I had to walk up to him and explain myself. Anyways, about the movie. It was funny when it was trying to be funny. But when they tried to be serious with it, it wasn't very good. Normally, Jack Black drives me crazy. But I was okay with him being the voice of the Panda, because I couldn't see his face. That helped.


• Can't Buy Me Love- Quite possibly the cheesiest high school film I have ever watched. My family and I just finished laughing at it. It was really stupid, and really predictable. It bothered me. But I started it, so I had to finish.
  

So my total is 11. Ten plus the half of Once I watched again, and the half of Hunt for Red October. Yep, that's bored I've been.

I'm gonna go backwards, back to my cousins graduation in Stockton. She showed us this short film she had to do for one of her classes. It's pretty funny to me, just because I know the cast/ director/ setting. So I liked it. Here it is.

Okay, back to my boring summer. With this free time I've decided to take up knitting. Well, re-take up. I started a scarf a while ago, and I'm trying to finish it. I sit in my pool room, listen to vinyl and knit. Pretty lame, I know. But that's me.

This last Wednesday Marcea and Priscila came over. That's when we watched Edward Scissorhands and 27 Dresses. (Thanks for bringing it over Pris.) Then we played a couple of board games, including Life. I lost miserably. Some $400,000 while Marcea was in the millions. Those arrogant rich. Priscila was rich to, but she was still nice. Our kids have play dates together. Then we had some dinner, and I had to make Priscila Mac and Cheese, because she's so difficult like that... Then she left and Marcea and I made brownies and played the 5th grade version of Brain Quest for 2 hours. Good times...

Off track again- My sister showed us this new band today. It's called Vampire Weekend. I'm debating if I like their music or not. It's kinda strange. Their songs are really short, and repetitive, but it's still okay. I'll put up a song, and gather opinions? Here's "Campus".

Just to prove my band geeky-ness I went to my old middle school last night for their final concert. It was great. I came early, brought my tuner, and was put to work. Well, basically. I got to talk to some kids before that. Ones coming to QH. A trumpet/ french horn player I'm really excited about. Because he really likes band, and he's good, and he started talking about band camp and asking questions and stuff. So I think he's really gonna like marching band. I hope he does. Hope he sticks with it. I like this kid! So yea, they sounded really good. Jazz band honestly was sorta falling apart during a couple of songs. But you could tell the ones they rehearsed, because they sounded great. Cadet band was.... ehhhh, it was cadet band. Concert band sounded really good too. They played the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, (Still have to see that. I've seen 2010, so I might as well see that one) and Indiana Jones something. I thought that was kinda ridiculous, but I guess it was fun for them. And then they played some other songs. It would've given me goosebumps if they filled the room more. They almost did though. It was good. Then I was very proud when they all decided they were going to Coldstones afterwards. They said it was "tradition". I was glad. So the whole night I felt like a loner and a nerd, but I guess it was worth it. Again, lame. I know.

Okay, that's it I think.

-Julia

Happy Summer

School is over. Vacation has begun. Well, sorta. I'm taking a summer school class at avc. Fundamentals of Music. It should be fun. But it's only Mondays and Wednesdays, so I'll still have plenty of time to be bored this summer. Well, besides my cousin coming from Maryland, camping at the beach and going on vacation with family. So I guess it will be a decent summer.

High school graduation was last night. It was a good time with Priscila and Marcea. We were being really mean, but it was really really funny. They're such bad influences... It was all fun until the seniors (I mean graduates) came over and started saying their goodbyes. I'll miss them, but I didn't know many of them personally. So there isn't going to be such a drastic change for me. But I congratulate those who made it through high school, and I can't wait to see all the amazing things they do with their lives.

Last Monday was a holiday, so I invited some friends over. Half of them didn't come, but the other half showed up anyway. I was really sick a few days before, so I didn't do such a good job entertaining at first. (Sorry about that guys. I know how bored you were.) But eventually we started having a good time. Josh and John challenged each other to a Tabasco sauce eating contest, which led to a huge mess of water on the rug. Thanks Josh. Oh wait, it was my mess, right? So yea, Josh lost... pretty bad. John didn't even flinch while Josh was over there choking. It was entertaining. Then we played Nerts. It's a really fast and sorta confusing card game. Then we played telephone pictionary, which is always fun. Oh, I also found out that Josh is a communist. I knew he was a fan of Russia, but I think that's a little extreme, no?

The Band Banquet was last Tuesday. I'd never been to one, and I'm really glad I went. The band video is great, thanks to Casey. I got an unexpected award. "Most Improved Freshman". It was pretty cool, and I'm honored to have been noticed by Mr. Mcq. And then I got a department award for Concert Band? I'm not really sure what that was, all I know is that my name was called twice. But the most exciting part of the night was when Mr. Mcq announced section leaders, drum majors, and next years field show. Danny Elfman. Fun? Congrats especially to John and Britney, our future section leaders. Also to everyone else who was chosen. It looks to be a good year next year, from the leaders we are getting.

Okay, I think I'm done. Now to get ready. Visiting family again! Like I always do. That's what you get when you have a high-functioning family that loves each other. Darn...

-Julia

School/Family/Band... School. What a nerd

Yep that's me! Sorry... Haven't blogged in a while. I was going to a few weekends ago, but I was with family. I was going to Friday, but I was gone. Then Sunday, but I was busy. Then Monday, but I couldn't. So, here I am.

A couple Saturday's ago I went to my family's monthly "taco night". It was great. It was small-ish, but nice. We talked about O.J. Simpson and Israel. Some other things too, but those were the fun topics... Then we spent the night and stayed for Mother's Day. I hope you all love your mothers because I sure love mine. We celebrated and ate food and we were all family-like. Good stuff.

Last weekend I drove up to Stockton for a cousin's graduation from the University of the Pacific. Longest ceremony ever... 6 hours. Insane. So boring... Some speaker came up and started talking about gorilla meat, and zoos, and the Ebola virus. But it was fun to support my cousin... Staying with my family is exhausting. The first night I didn't get to sleep until 2 am. And the second night I had to force myself away from the party and go to sleep at 11.

I finished Ender's Game a while ago so now I'm reading Shadow of the Hegemon. It's the third book in the series. Before it was Ender's Shadow. So this is following those characters back to Earth and Greece and Armenia and stuff. It's pretty cool. More political than the other ones, but I'm enjoying it thus far. But soon I have to start summer reading... Oh well.

Six more days of school! Wow. Graduation is the 30th. I don't know that many seniors, so I can't say I'm going to miss all of them. But I sure will miss a few of them. Mostly band people... Yea, all band people... Most of them have been really nice to me, and I appreciate that. I look up to them. Well, I look up to the ones that don't scare me (*ahem* Paul...)

Next year is... intimidating. I'm nervous. Band Camp, it's just going to be starting all over again. I'm going to do horribly and trip over myself. Yep, I can see it now. I hope I'm next to someone I like next year... I enjoyed my spot this year. 59 I think. I was next to Brittany, who was hilarious. And then next to Sheena which was cool. I was two away from Clark, which kinda freaked me out, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Parades though, I was right next to him. That was scary. He's funny though... sometimes... It's entertaining. So next year should be okay... We'll see. Change kinda scares me. I don't hate it. I'm just nervous for it.

And some other issues are the college classes. I don't think anyone is doing Clarinet Choir with me next year, which would suck. But I'll still do it anyways. And then Monday Concert Band, I don't think they'll let me in. I hope so, but I don't think so. I'll audition either way... But next year isn't looking so good for me.

And then I'm nervous about lunch too. It's a silly thing to be scared of, but I'm curious who I'll be with. This year most of my freshman friends didn't have my lunch. Which was okay because I had Josh and Sheena. And they were great and I got to know more people because I didn't have those freshmen to cling to. But next year... I don't know who I'll be with. And I have to figure out how to regulate my friends. With non-band friends, and all my different band friends. I don't know... I'm probably just making a big deal. And now I'm ranting, so I'll shut up.

I just came back from my last Clarinet Choir. It was sad, but it was a great lesson. It was just us 5 QH people, which was more comfortable, and enjoyable. Dr. Price is hilarious. He just goes off sometimes, but he's an amazing player, and I really learned a lot from him this past semester. Thanks all you guys that helped me get into that class.

Monday I played at LPAC with Clarinet Choir. We sounded okay, but the Concert Band was great, and the Wind Ensemble was good too. I really enjoyed listening to them. Then yesterday was our much less exciting concert with just QH. It was okay. Our concert band is icky, but the other bands sounded better. It wasn't as interesting or as fun as LPAC, in my opinion, but it was still something so it was good.

Finals week coming up... I have a tests in Geometry, Biology, Spanish and History... I think. Then band I don't think I have anything. And in English we're doing this really fun thing with Romeo and Juliet. We're picking scenes and performing them in class. It should be good. So I'll be busy. Well, busier with this than the nonsense my teachers gave me the rest of this year.

Well, I think that's all. Sorry, no pictures. Have a survivable week!

-Julia

Is he Canadian?

Yep. I just saw an episode of House, and this abnormally nice guy was one of his patients. So he asked blatantly if he was Canadian. It was good. Here's the clip. It's about 3 minutes into it or so. I only laughed because I know a few Canadians myself. And most of them are like that. Super nice, or just obnoxious.

I've started watching this show called Stargate Atlantis, on the Sci Fi channel. It's actually better than I thought. In this last episode, there was this whole thing with exploding tumors. Weird, but intriguing. This Scottish doctor- Dr. Carson- died. You could kinda see it coming, but it sucked. He had an accent. It was cool... Oh well, It's still a good show. I like Sheppard. Oh and Rodney. He's Canadian.

A couple Friday's ago some friends came over. Highlight of the night- We played this awesome game called telephone pictionary. If you've never played it you should. "Viva Mexico!" ... "What the heck is the giant thing below the U.S.A.?" Sorry Josh... My brother is not my fault... So yea, it was a good game.

Then the Sunday following, some of us went over to Sheena's house. It was kinda last minute, but it was fun. We played telephone pictionary, again. And it was good. During the game, we promptly started insulting each other. Mostly John and Sheena, but hey, it's healthy, right?

I've played almost 11 hours of Kingdom Hearts. When I admit that, I feel like I don't have a life. But I guess that's true to some extent. I finally got out of Mulan's world. I just missed the stupid exit. It took me like, 30 minutes to figure out what I was doing wrong. But then I went to Beauty and the Beast's Castle, then to Hercules. And then to the Disney Castle. And now I'm at the Pirates of the Caribbean part. I'm actually making progress, and it's exciting.

STAR testing is finally over. Now for all the rest it's AP testing and finals I guess. Good luck, by the way, to all those who are taking those tests. I'll be taking two next year, and I think I might actually be looking forward to it, in a weird geek-ish sort of way. AP Euro and AP Chem.

I finished Speak and all assignments associated. So I started re-reading this book called Ender's Game. The author is Orson Scott Card. It's sort of Science Fiction, but not completely so don't judge it without reading it first. There's some history thrown in there and a few military terms. I won't try to explain the plot, because it would take to long. It's good though. I like it a lot. Read it.

A couple of weekends ago I went with my mom and my sister to get her wedding dress fitted. Then after, we went to this Korean restaurant. It was so good, and it was so much food. There was this amazing soup and then these side dishes that were red and spicy. Then chicken and rice and sushi and fried vegetables and... a lot of food. Aww, so good. Then I came home and told my Korean friend about it. I showed him pictures, he called me white, and that was the end of that. Then last Saturday I went back with my sister to pick up her wedding dress and now it's officially hers. Four and a half months till wedding day!

Okay, I think that's all for now. Oh by the way, sorry about how long it took for me to blog again. I was tired, didn't have time, too much homework, you can pick your excuse.

-Julia

Books, Music and Cake

I finished "Speak" the other day. I really enjoyed it. I officially love David Petrakis. He is an amazing character and super nice and super smart and I wish he was a real person... Oh well. The end was kind of unsatisfying. I'm just going to tell myself that Melinda and him got together, and then it will be okay.

My brother's birthday was last Saturday. Happy Birthday Nic! He had this fun party (6 boys... Ugh. So tiring.) And he had this awesome birthday cake, constructed by my mom. It was quite good, and I don't even like cake. Or pie, but that's a different story.

Speaking of desserts, my sister and I tried this thing yesterday. It's called a banana boat, introduced to us by my sister's fiancee's brother's girlfriend. (Did you follow that?) Anyway, it's a banana coated in brown sugar, chocolate chips and marshmallows. Then you bake it in tinfoil for 15 minutes, and consume with a spoon. It sounds disgusting, but it's really good. You should try it.

Last Sunday my family and I (minus my sister) went to the Poppy Reserve. It was great. Really refreshing. So much orange. While driving up there, my parents and I got into an interesting discussion about opium... Yep, opium. Poppy seeds and whatnot. So, I don't think these pictures will do it justice, but the poppies were really pretty and I had a great time.

Ooohhh, Aaahhh....

Enough of that... We are into our second week of Star testing. It's boring... I had English last week, and geometry this week. Yesterday I had 1 hour and 15 minutes left in class after I finished testing, with nothing productive to do... I think I stared at the whiteboard for half of that time... Two hours is just too long to be in one class room.

About Kingdom Hearts progress. I've spent about 5 hours with it so far. I'm still with Mulan, because I got stuck at one part. I had to complete 3 missions, and I thought I did, but I guess I have to do them again. Then I got lost. But I think I know what to do know. Oh! I started using magic! It was fun. Blizzard I think. I haven't been able to play lately. Maybe over the three-day weekend.

I was looking through my dad's vinyl the other day, and I found some awesome stuff. I found Peter and the Wolf (my latest obsession- that and Dave Petrakis) narrated by Leonard Bernstein. And some other Prokofiev directed by Bernstein. Also Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue opened with a never ending gliss. It's amazing. And Gershwin's An American in Paris, which I hadn't heard before. Also, Disney's Fantasia soundtrack. It's great to just go through these records and find all this different music. I love it.

I'll end with this- Have you ever known someone/seen someone with one of those little cell phone ear things. The tiny little ones that you can never see. The people who use them look like they are just talking to themselves. I once had a whole conversation with my sister, not realizing she was actually talking to her fiancee on the phone. Here is a video about such occurrences.

Have a good week. And happy Spring Day! Do something spring related. Mr. Manthey suggests you pet a bunny.

-Julia

Test-Breath-Blink-Test-Blink-Test

STAR testing started this week. For four weeks it's going to be nothing but fun! I had a geometry test today. I failed, because I forgot about it. I have a Spanish test tomorrow. I have a history test on Thursday. And then my English testing on Wednesday and Thursday. Oh, and I didn't mention all of the cramming our teachers are having us do. We're going over practically a whole chapter in geometry in the 2 hours we have tomorrow. It's not all that bad though. It's actually kinda fun.

Nothing major has really happened since my last post. Marcea, John, Josh, Sheena and I went to see "21" on Friday. In some ways it was better than I expected, but in others it was worse. Some of the slow motion parts were really cheesy. But I still enjoyed it. Josh was kinda uncomfortable with some of the scenes. Lets just say the ones that made it a PG-13 movie. It was funny to see his reactions though. Choi is awesome. Not Troy, but Choi. Yea, that was causing some confusion. Then we went to In-N-Out and had some real french fries. It was a fun night.

I did something this weekend that I hardly ever do. I played a video game. Kingdom Hearts II. It was kinda fun, but really frustrating. I sucked. Except with the Dusks. (If you've played this game you should know what I'm talking about. Unless I'm just getting all of this wrong.) I did this thing where I hit triangle over and over then X over and over, and I'd eventually kill them. It was fun. I just got to "The Land of Dragons" with Mulan. So far I've wasted 4 hours and 25 minutes of my life on this game. It's almost worth it.

Sunday I was sitting on the couch eating Coldstone's and reading "Speak". It's a great book. Way better than I thought it was going to be. I hope Melinda falls for David. He's so nerdy. He reminds me of some people I know.

Okay. I need to go study for Spanish. Frutas y Legumbres. Me gustan las pinas, las manzanas y queso!! (It's a 3rd period Spanish thing...) Yea, now you can see why I need to study.

Have a nice week. (Especially all you lucky ones going to Chicago.)

-Julia