Hi!
I was thinking about all the reasons why I don't want to go back to school, and why that will be taxing on my sanity, health, and academic performance, and decided to make a post.
As soon as children reach the time where they are shipped off to high school, they immediately require extra sleep. I don't know any high school students who could not sleep for fourteen hours straight and still be tired when they woke up. Perhaps it is the taxing atmosphere of school, or the fact that the bed is so warm in the morning.
During break, high school students normally get the required amount of sleep (which usually entails going to bed at about eleven and waking up around noon the next day.) Therefore, come the beginning of school again, the high school student will be required to get about half of the normal amount of sleep. This causes them to walk to their classes in the state of a zombie, and get absolutely nothing accomplished.
Come lunchtime on Monday, many students will be looking for a way to wake up (especially if said student has and honors geometry class that hour, in which they really need to wake up). Sadly, however, the school lunches are normally only edible if a) you cannot actually see and therefore take in the horror of what you are eating or b) you have no taste buds, in which case it wouldn't really matter.
Because of this, students must eat from the snack bar. Students will then consume four pop tarts, and then be so hyper during fifth hour that they will be too jittery to learn anything in said honors geometry class. Which causes problems for the test the next day.
During sixth hour, however, the sugar rush from the pop tarts has all but totally worn off, and so students are back to zombie state and get nothing accomplished. The problem? The student will go home to do homework and not understand any of it because they were in zombie mode during the day. So they must stay up half the night doing homework, and then the entire day repeats itself. This is why a) the end of break is terrible, and b) you don't want to be a fifth hour teacher because all you students will be on sugar highs, which is worse than zombie mode.
Your banana, Audrey
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I Fink So
Hola!
I'm babysitting my little sister today, and she said she wanted to go outside...
A: "We're gonna have lunch, then go outside."
M: "Whats for lunch?"
A: "Whatever you make...do we have bagels?"
M: "I fink so."
A: "You fink?"
M: "Yeah..."
A: "You can fink?"
M: "Uh-huh, I fink, you fink too!"
A: "I think you actually think."
M: "Fink."
A: "eh...think."
M: "Fink."
A: "Whassa fink?"
M: "The thing you do when you talk to someone."
A: "That's thinking."
M: "Finking."
A: "Thinking."
M: "Fine, THinking."
A: "There ya go. You still want a bage;?"
M: (smiling) "I fink so."
Your banana, Audrey
I'm babysitting my little sister today, and she said she wanted to go outside...
A: "We're gonna have lunch, then go outside."
M: "Whats for lunch?"
A: "Whatever you make...do we have bagels?"
M: "I fink so."
A: "You fink?"
M: "Yeah..."
A: "You can fink?"
M: "Uh-huh, I fink, you fink too!"
A: "I think you actually think."
M: "Fink."
A: "eh...think."
M: "Fink."
A: "Whassa fink?"
M: "The thing you do when you talk to someone."
A: "That's thinking."
M: "Finking."
A: "Thinking."
M: "Fine, THinking."
A: "There ya go. You still want a bage;?"
M: (smiling) "I fink so."
Your banana, Audrey
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Years Eve...er...Party?
Happy twenty twelve, everyone!
I'm in key club at the high school (I think I mentioned this before) and I had another event yesterday: I volunteered at the "Speakeasy Ball" New Years Eve party that was a fundraiser for the SMSO (South Michigan Symphony Orchestra). SMSO also includes LYMO (Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra) which includes Encore, the cello group I play in. So I was indirectly benefited. Anyways...
Gilly, Meghan and Olive were there, along with Fangbo and Costa. The boys were greeters at the beginning, while I did check-in and the girls did coat check. We got there at six to set up, people started coming at seven. At nine the trickle slowed and so I went to hang out in coat check while the girls cut cake and manned the CD selling table. The boys kept me company and covered for the girls while they were cutting cake. Eventually, the cake cutting was done so the girls and I hung out in coats while the boys manned the CD table and every half hour or so we would switch.
No one was buying CD's, nor was anyone getting their coat, so we had a lot of down time. We played the picture/sentence game...which is a game I think was made up in my family. One person writes a sentence, and then the next person draws a picture of the sentence. The next person looks at that picture and writes a sentence, and...well, you get the point. Some examples:
M: The hippo jumped over the blue lagoon that had a person swimming in it.
F: (picture)
A: The pig farts near a drowning person.
O: (picture)
G: The sheep jumps over the mountains while a person screams below.
C: (picture)
You can see how theses are pretty funny to look at toward the end. Especially we had about three hours to do them! At twelve, we watched the ball drop on TV and cheered. We left the CD's and the girls minus M checked got peoples coats (the boys left at 11, along with M). We had a tip jar, (which we just donated back to SMSO as we were volunteering) and we got some pretty funny people who came to get their coats...one lady tipped us $40 and another gave us four drink tickets as a tip (?). Some people had lost their tickets, and were too drunk to locate their coats in the coat room, so they just hung out until the coats had thinned.
Do you know how entertaining it is to watch severely intoxicated people attempt to use fine motor skills (a.k.a. put on a coat). Answer: very! We had our share of laughs, especially when they formed a congo line at about 11:30... But anyway, there are two things you should have learned from this post: 1) volunteering is fun if you do it with friends and 2) drunk people are very funny. See? You can learn something from reading this blog!
Your banana, Audrey
I'm in key club at the high school (I think I mentioned this before) and I had another event yesterday: I volunteered at the "Speakeasy Ball" New Years Eve party that was a fundraiser for the SMSO (South Michigan Symphony Orchestra). SMSO also includes LYMO (Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra) which includes Encore, the cello group I play in. So I was indirectly benefited. Anyways...
Gilly, Meghan and Olive were there, along with Fangbo and Costa. The boys were greeters at the beginning, while I did check-in and the girls did coat check. We got there at six to set up, people started coming at seven. At nine the trickle slowed and so I went to hang out in coat check while the girls cut cake and manned the CD selling table. The boys kept me company and covered for the girls while they were cutting cake. Eventually, the cake cutting was done so the girls and I hung out in coats while the boys manned the CD table and every half hour or so we would switch.
No one was buying CD's, nor was anyone getting their coat, so we had a lot of down time. We played the picture/sentence game...which is a game I think was made up in my family. One person writes a sentence, and then the next person draws a picture of the sentence. The next person looks at that picture and writes a sentence, and...well, you get the point. Some examples:
M: The hippo jumped over the blue lagoon that had a person swimming in it.
F: (picture)
A: The pig farts near a drowning person.
O: (picture)
G: The sheep jumps over the mountains while a person screams below.
C: (picture)
You can see how theses are pretty funny to look at toward the end. Especially we had about three hours to do them! At twelve, we watched the ball drop on TV and cheered. We left the CD's and the girls minus M checked got peoples coats (the boys left at 11, along with M). We had a tip jar, (which we just donated back to SMSO as we were volunteering) and we got some pretty funny people who came to get their coats...one lady tipped us $40 and another gave us four drink tickets as a tip (?). Some people had lost their tickets, and were too drunk to locate their coats in the coat room, so they just hung out until the coats had thinned.
Do you know how entertaining it is to watch severely intoxicated people attempt to use fine motor skills (a.k.a. put on a coat). Answer: very! We had our share of laughs, especially when they formed a congo line at about 11:30... But anyway, there are two things you should have learned from this post: 1) volunteering is fun if you do it with friends and 2) drunk people are very funny. See? You can learn something from reading this blog!
Your banana, Audrey
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
No One Mourns the Wicked
Hello, World!
Today, four of my CD's finally came in at the library--I'm so excited! I have the original cast recordings now of Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Momma Mia!, and Hairspray. I already have Damn Yankees from the musical (althought I must say, I thought we sounded better that the recording, especially in "Good Old Days", the recording killed that one). Of course, they are already all on my iPod and I have already listened to most of them...
Starting with Wicked: It's pretty amazing. The voices of Idina Menzel (the witch) and Kristin Chenoweth are really well suited for eachother, and considering they play the main leads makes for some great songs. The chorus in Wicked is also really strong and better than most I have heard. I think Wicked is easier on the ears than some musicals, especially some songs in the original (1954) recording of Damn Yanks. The singing and music is more modern style, and I like it.
This version of the song is slightly abridged, but it is by far the the best song on the album in my opinion. I played this at Blue Lake, so I also am familiar with the music and it is not easy. The pit sounds really great anyway, though!
Momma Mia! is something else. Its the "chick-flick" version of a musical. The plot lacks much depth, but that said, the music is pretty fun. The story isn't hard to follow, no twists or anything fancy like that, but its just pain fun to watch and listen to. Its pretty enjoyable from start to finish, and the music is catchy (in a Damn Yanks sort of way). I think my favorite song is "Money, Money, Money."
Hairspray is more like Momma Mia! than Wicked or Phantom, but its a great musical with a great soundtrack. Beware, however: listening to it once will have you singing it for the rest of the week. It is centered around the empowerment of African Americans in 1962 and is basically a coming of age story that unfolds quickly. The characters are great, the music is great...what's not to like?
I don't know if there is anything I can say about Phantom of the Opera. The music is centered around a main instrument: the organ. The soundtrack is unforgettable. I happen to have a copy of the libretto, so I plan to read it and perhaps will comment more when I have gone through the score.
*Edit:* Today (December 28) I have read the libretto. It is an excellent musical! The music is suberb, and the singing especially is very good. My favorite song is "Wondering Child/Bravo, Monsieur". It is a bit hair-raising.
Enjoy the musicals! The best music, in my opinion!
Your banana, Audrey
Today, four of my CD's finally came in at the library--I'm so excited! I have the original cast recordings now of Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Momma Mia!, and Hairspray. I already have Damn Yankees from the musical (althought I must say, I thought we sounded better that the recording, especially in "Good Old Days", the recording killed that one). Of course, they are already all on my iPod and I have already listened to most of them...
Starting with Wicked: It's pretty amazing. The voices of Idina Menzel (the witch) and Kristin Chenoweth are really well suited for eachother, and considering they play the main leads makes for some great songs. The chorus in Wicked is also really strong and better than most I have heard. I think Wicked is easier on the ears than some musicals, especially some songs in the original (1954) recording of Damn Yanks. The singing and music is more modern style, and I like it.
Momma Mia! is something else. Its the "chick-flick" version of a musical. The plot lacks much depth, but that said, the music is pretty fun. The story isn't hard to follow, no twists or anything fancy like that, but its just pain fun to watch and listen to. Its pretty enjoyable from start to finish, and the music is catchy (in a Damn Yanks sort of way). I think my favorite song is "Money, Money, Money."
Hairspray is more like Momma Mia! than Wicked or Phantom, but its a great musical with a great soundtrack. Beware, however: listening to it once will have you singing it for the rest of the week. It is centered around the empowerment of African Americans in 1962 and is basically a coming of age story that unfolds quickly. The characters are great, the music is great...what's not to like?
I don't know if there is anything I can say about Phantom of the Opera. The music is centered around a main instrument: the organ. The soundtrack is unforgettable. I happen to have a copy of the libretto, so I plan to read it and perhaps will comment more when I have gone through the score.
*Edit:* Today (December 28) I have read the libretto. It is an excellent musical! The music is suberb, and the singing especially is very good. My favorite song is "Wondering Child/Bravo, Monsieur". It is a bit hair-raising.
Enjoy the musicals! The best music, in my opinion!
Your banana, Audrey
Monday, December 26, 2011
I Learn to Bag Food
Hello, World!
At the church I attend, St. Augustine's of Benton Harbor, there is a food pantry every other Monday. Normally I don't go volunteer because I either a) have rehearsal, b) have homework, or c) have rehearsal. Today, it being the best time of the year, I decided to donate my time.
The church isn't really big, so the food pantry is downstairs after a blessing upstairs by the pastor. After that, the families are released, ten at a time, downstairs where all the food is. They pick up what they want in cloth grocery bags, and then go over to a bagging table where volunteers transfer the food to plastic bags and then other volunteers help carry the food (if necessary) to the peoples waiting cars. Its quite the process.
I was at the bagging table. When I first got there, me and the other volunteers took all the plastic bags and put them in piles. Then, we doubled each bag so that they didn't break under the strain of the food (most of it canned). We then piled up into the church and stood in the aisles while the pastor gave a blessing and introduction of the process. We headed back downstairs, and soon the people came in.
The majority of the people were African Americans. My little sister announced (thankfully not loudly), "There are more blacks than whites so black people are poorer than white people." I think I could have slapped her, but my mother saved her and carefully explained that no, the reason most of the people were African Americans was because this was in Benton Harbor, and the majority of the residents here are African American. And this coming from a little kid!
All in all, I have been doing a lot of volunteer work lately (I'm very involved with Key Club at SJHS) and find it very rewarding. It's not rewarding in money...but in a different way, that may be better than money...
Your banana, Audrey
At the church I attend, St. Augustine's of Benton Harbor, there is a food pantry every other Monday. Normally I don't go volunteer because I either a) have rehearsal, b) have homework, or c) have rehearsal. Today, it being the best time of the year, I decided to donate my time.
The church isn't really big, so the food pantry is downstairs after a blessing upstairs by the pastor. After that, the families are released, ten at a time, downstairs where all the food is. They pick up what they want in cloth grocery bags, and then go over to a bagging table where volunteers transfer the food to plastic bags and then other volunteers help carry the food (if necessary) to the peoples waiting cars. Its quite the process.
I was at the bagging table. When I first got there, me and the other volunteers took all the plastic bags and put them in piles. Then, we doubled each bag so that they didn't break under the strain of the food (most of it canned). We then piled up into the church and stood in the aisles while the pastor gave a blessing and introduction of the process. We headed back downstairs, and soon the people came in.
The majority of the people were African Americans. My little sister announced (thankfully not loudly), "There are more blacks than whites so black people are poorer than white people." I think I could have slapped her, but my mother saved her and carefully explained that no, the reason most of the people were African Americans was because this was in Benton Harbor, and the majority of the residents here are African American. And this coming from a little kid!
All in all, I have been doing a lot of volunteer work lately (I'm very involved with Key Club at SJHS) and find it very rewarding. It's not rewarding in money...but in a different way, that may be better than money...
Your banana, Audrey
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