Okay, so I’ll try to make this short, since I’m trying to write two entries tonight. Anyway, this past weekend (May 23 – May 25), I was in Anaheim, CA for the 2002&ndsah;2003 ACSL competition. We ended up being directly across the street (no joke) from Disneyland, so we got to see the fireworks both Friday and Saturday.

We flew out Friday morning, and had basically an entire night to prepare for the competition on the next day. So that’s what we did all night, until about 11PM. We prepared as best we could for the following morning.

So the next morning I had breakfast at McDonalds and we went to Troy High School to set up computers and get registered, which happend at about 7:30. The competition started at 8:30 when we were given the programming problems. I took the easiest one (took about 30 minutes, tops), and the other people divided up the other easy ones (we only had 3 computers, but 5 people). I also did about 2/3s of the solving on the hardest one, where we had to write out the result of a truth table for a boolean algebra infix expression. It involved expression trees (which I’d never done before), and then an evaluation algorithm. Recursion was our friend. So we solved all of our problems, and were one of the few teams to get a perfect programming score.

Then we had the written part, on which I guessed for several problems (since I’d run out of time). I only missed 1 problem. Our team, as a whole, only missed 6 points, leaving us with a total of 114 points.

So we played frisbee for about an hour and a half after the written portion (I did omit lunch between the programming and written parts). That was a lot of fun. Whee!

So we went back to the gym after that, and sat through the awards ceremony. My entire team got books of some sort for getting 10’s and higher on the written part. I got some C++ algorithms books. They’re semi-neato. But the best part was waiting for the team standings to come out. 2nd and 3rd place differed by only a point. But we had tallied up our points, and we creamed 2nd place by 7 whole points. (in this tough competition, 7 points is a lot). Needless to say, we were extremely happy, since Enloe hasn’t won any division in quite a long time.

So then we came home on Sunday. My bad storytelling skills are showing, but that’s about the extent of the trip. I could say a lot more (we saw The Matrix: Reloaded at 10:30 Saturday night, so we didn’t get to the hotel until 1:30, but it was fun), but I don’t have the time.

And until later, I’ll just say it was great fun, winning was just a plus, and I’ll talk to you all later! Bye!

Yeah. Between two periods, Wind Ensemble and German 3, I’ve gotten to know him. So I only ever see him in class and stuff, but he’s still pretty cool. He’s rather close to the musical equivalent of a swiss army knife, being in chorus and band, and he plays lots of instruments, albeit I have no idea how well.

Oh, and complaining about APUSH has been the other reason I’ve known him… sorta. Unfortunately he’s not in marching band or anything, so I can’t say much about marching band, like I usually do. But he was in Crazy for You and the student version of Les Miserables. All I can say is… wow, he did an incredible job in both (especially since he did them both at the SAME TIME!).

Okay, that’s about all I can say for now. Later!

I’ll have to disagree with you here, Daniel. As with all things at Enloe, being the “bottom dweller” in the Wind Ensemble is a hard-earned title. Auditions always turn up the best, but only a play-off in band can determine who the bottom dwellers are. Ideally, we wouldn’t know that’s what it’s for. We’d try to do our best. The first few people out would get labeled as the worst.

I happen to belive that I would be in the competition for “the utmost shit of the Enloe wind ensemble.”

Okay, on a more positive note: You’re not as bad as you think, and neither am I. It’s just that we’re all perfectionists (trust me… why do you think the “lines will never be straight” was directed at me?). But we have to accept that there’s always someone better than us. We just need to try as hard as we possibly can. In the upcoming years, under Mr. Hunter’s poor direction (in my opinion), we need everyone to try their ABSOLUTE HARDEST. No matter how bad you think you are, you can always improve, despite any beliefs to the contrary.

Look up. There are always people better and worse than you are. The same goes for me, and for everyone. To improve the wind ensemble, we just need commitment from everyone; we are an ensemble, so when we fail as an ensemble, the ensemble is to blame, not individuals. Maybe an individual made a mistake, but we never caught it in rehearsals, nor did we try to help whoever may have made the mistake (if inexperience is their problem). The decline of the Enloe band program is an ensemble problem as well as an individual one; though, it cannot be solved without commitment and help from BOTH the ensemble and the individual.

Have a nice day; hopefully next year will be better!

This is a random rant, just for miscellaneous updates.

I’ve updated a lot, including the addition of this post. I went for a whole month without posting much, but now I’ve started again. I’ve got a lot to do this weekend, and hopefully I’ll be able to manage. I’ve still got two AP Exams left to take, and then I’m up for Enloe exams. But after all the examinations, I’ll be home free for the summer. There is a god!

Anyway, I’d really like to not take any guff for the stuff I write here. Generally, this is an outlet for me to vent, like other people. But sometimes I solicit discussion, and then it’s cool. Actually, there are a lot of times where I hope that someone will talk with me about stuff without explicitly stating it. That’s generally because I want to talk with a specific someone, but don’t want to say it directly to anyone (to that person or otherwise).

That sounded vague. Oh well, I hope you know what I mean. You could summarize the last paragraph by saying: I’m too shy to start personal discussions with other people. Right. That’s about all of my rant for today.

Oh. I picked up a Canker sore somewhere. Will: I know how you feel, now! And I can’t wait for it to go away. It seems to have gotten slightly better today. Oh well, only time will tell.

That’s truly it for today! Goodbye!

Okay, so the week’s finally over. My exams still aren’t over. We’ve begun the push for the last few weeks of school (two to be exact, if I am not mistaken). Anyway, that’s not why I decided to post this article. So here goes!

So band today was a lot of fun. Even though we didn’t do anything, it was fun. The Seniors got up in front of the class and delivered their Senior Wills. The ones who prepared were really funny, and the ones who didn’t… were funny too (just not quite as much). There was one notable exception to the Senior rule… Laura. Now that all of Wind Ensemble knows where you’re going next year, I guess it’s okay that I can say that it was you to whom I referred earlier.

Anyway, three people included me in their wills, as far as I can remember; if I forget something I was left, please let me know!

Anna left me the playground at the park. I guess it means I need to get out and have more fun… well, I’ve been trying!

Then, Jonathan McDaniel left me with the forever-crooked lines in marching band… they’ll never be straight. True! True! I knew I rubbed off as a perfectionist last year. But perfection is the only way! Oh well, we’ll se how that turns out next year.

Finally, Laura, who was given a time slot by Mr. Hunter, since she will be at NCSA next year (good luck, and have fun!), gave me “keeping her distracted from her homework.” That came off in, ahem, questionable ways for some people, like Steve. It was meant in good humor, I know. I wasn’t offended (actually, I think I was the only person smiling or laughing when she said it. I thought it was funny; nobody else seemed to…).

Thanks everybody. To the seniors and those not returning next year (to be all-inclusive), I will miss you all very much. You have all been assets to the Wind Ensemble, and we will be hurting without you next year. To all the seniors, good luck in college, and I hope you continue your studies of music. To Laura, I hope you have fun next year, and are able to recapture the best attributes of Enloe in your new setting, and extend that list to include the best of NCSA. From everything you’ve told me over this year, I certainly hope you’re able to find some things that you tried repeatedly to find at Enloe, but weren’t able to find (or not for very long, at least). Goodbye and adios; may our paths cross again!

And back to Enloe-land. I made Wind Ensemble, which was probably a given, but I managed to beat Ralph, which was my only real fear. Both Luke and Andy made Wind Ensemble too. There are some people that made it that make me question Mr. Hunter’s decision-making abilities, but that’s not my domain, nor can I do anything about it now. But the bigger sections, like Clarinets and Trumpets, at least, look like they’re going to continue to kick ass. I think Alison made Wind Ensemble too, but I don’t know who else is in the Flute section, so I can’t make any generalizations about that section. I know nothing about low brass, so I can’t comment on those.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say. To use someone else’s words: Peace Out!

Later, dudes! (and/or dudettes!)

Okay, so this is just about an ex-post-facto article, but I’ve finally decided I don’t care what anyone thinks of me posting this here. With that out of the way, I’m going to say what I set out to:

So I can’t pinpoint exactly when I first met her, or started talking to her. It was, to the best of my knowledge, sometime in 10th grade, due to C&C. But I want to say otherwise, because she was in the other class, so I never really saw her except when she worked on projects with Robin, who I knew very well, because she was in both C&C and Advanced Math with me. Now I don’t have any classes with either one. Laura’s in Wind Ensemble too, but that doesn’t really count, since there’s no time for cross-room talking or anything like that.

So, getting to this year. I really started talking to her during marching band, since it’s almost a requirement that you talk to everyone in your class during marching band, no matter how directly or indirectly. Anyway, it evolved into late discussions at night of rather unusual topics. And, in accordance, I got credited with distracting her from homework all the time; I’m apparently good at it. Though, I thought I was bad at making small chat. My only forté seems to be sarcasm.

So, complaining about AP English, Marching Band, and Wind Ensemble were the only ties we had this year. She’s leaving for NCSA next year, and hopefully she’ll have fun there. So I’ve known her for about a year now… maybe two, if you stretch it. And that’s about as much as I can say.

Ironically, I’ve written more here than I have elsewhere, even though it seems (to me, at least) there was less to talk about. Oh well. Maybe Laura’ll read this. Who knows? I’m sorry I couldn’t say more, if you do read this. Maybe if you do, you could tack it on as a reply!

Bye, everyone!

Ah, the memories begin. But, some memories I’ll have missed out on completely. But as the end of my junior comes to a close, I can’t help but look back. It’s been a different, harder, more trying year—both academically and socially. I’ve talked to many new people, while I have stopped talking to many other people. I have had the best time this year; Marching band bombed out, but I made up for that by making All-District and All-Carolina, of which the former never happened—a tragedy, if you ask me.

However, I need to get lots of people to sign my yearbook this year. Some more so than others, as this is essentially the last year I will see them. Not just in school, but basically forever. I won’t reveal who he or she is, because I’m not sure if he or she wants his or her name to be revealed in connection with not returning to Enloe next year. Of course, this said person will be missed, but we must all move in our own separate directions sooner or later; this person is just leaving us sooner, rather than later.

These are the pains with which we must all deal. Not only are some of my junior friends disappearing, but all of the seniors I know are leaving, because they’re graduating and going to college. Life will be very different next year, without another class to look up to, to ask questions, to ask for reassurance. We will be at the top, a place which I am not sure I’m ready to fill. As a senior, people look up to you (sometimes), and I’m just not sure that I would want people looking up to me, since I have my own set of flaws… don’t we all?

I guess it’s the hard truth that with good memories come the tough ones. However, I still believe that for true friends, there is no farewell. Thus, only the test of time will reveal with whom I am truly friends, and with whom I am merely acquaintances. To all whom leave the Enloe family this year, I bid my best wishes and godspeed; may this world bear many fruits for you, and may it also spare you the heartache of tragedy.

And with that, I must close. The anonymous person to whom I refer most likely knows who he or she is, and understand that you will be missed—just as you wished; everyone is important in his or her own way, and I want you to know that your presence and importance have impacted a great many people, and it will be cherished forever, and its vacancy will be felt. I sincerely hope that I may have touched your life, just as you have touched both mine and ours, speaking as the “Enloe family.” Adios… but not farewell.

Enloe has brought me many great beginnings and endings, though I have never shared in some beginnings, in which I would like to have shared, but those same beginnings sometimes result in harsh endings, which I am wryly glad I have thus avoided. (Some of you may deduce of what I speak, and kudos to you; I’m purposefully speaking vaguely. I made a single attempt to dive into this pool of beginnings and endings, but my attempt resulted in a slightly painful “crash-and-burn” on the side of the pool; my attempt had gone widely astray, yet somehow I did not see before I jumped…) Alas, how do we define success without failure?

And on this note, I must end. One thing that I should have learned long ago—don’t sack your social life for things that look good on a college application. Most of us will get where were trying to go without too much trouble, and you’ll miss the social life you never had, if you focus too much on college… I have been slightly afflicted by this, but I have attempted to minimize it’s impact on my life… These are the best years of our lives!

Without further ado, and until we may meet again, I bid everyone a good night, godspeed, and the best of luck with whatever life throws your way.

Okay, so I’ve been busy all week. So has just about ever OTHER Junior on the face of Enloe. Errt; that didn’t sound the way it was supposed to. So, a quick rundown of my exam schedule: IB Math (Monday/Tuesday), AP Comp Sci (Wednesday), IB Enviro (Wednesday/Thursday), and APUSH (Friday). The first three were not as hard as I expected. APUSH wasn’t so bad either—the multiple choice was bad but we got VERY lucky for the DBQ.

So we got out late (12:35), so we still had to go to lunch (at least I did, as I hadn’t brought anything to eat!). So by the time I got back, I had missed 7th period. What a shame—I missed a quiz and a skit. shrug

So I sat through English, in which we did those interviews. Interesting. I got up there in the second group and we only got asked two questions: “What are the 3 characteristics someone would use to describe you?” and “What have your extracurricular learning experiences been?” That wasn’t the exact wording, but it’s close enough.

So after finishing my Cookout shake (from lunch, that had to sit under my chair during English), I went to the band room, and talked to Will and Robert about the APUSH Exam. There seemed to be a general consensus that we got lucky. So I got a drink and was talking to Manu about the APES review packet that we’d sent out. Someone was dumb enough to show him that we had copies of test questions (and answers). Way to go, brickhead (whoever it was…). And Laura told me she read this site last night because I was sleeping so I wouldn’t crash ‘n burn during APUSH, and couldn’t “distract” her… whatever that was supposed to mean (especially after 11 PM…)

Anyways, I got to my car, and Jordan had his hood up. Not a good sign. At all. So, being both nice and intrigued, I hung around to try and help, along with James (Hutton, I believe). It was really weird. His car wouldn’t start… The obvious answer “well the battery is dead!” But it wasn’t, all the instruments (gas meter, temperature, oil meter, etc…) came on, along with the radio and air conditioning fans. The engine, however, wouldn’t turn over, so we figured it was a problem with the starter. We checked the fuses and such, since those had apparently been a problem before, but we didn’t get anything out of that.

So now on to our “problem solving.” Jeremy Schwartz passed us, and stopped for a bit. He was like “why don’t you call AAA?” And we were like “OH!” So Jordan did call (since none of us knew he had it…), but they couldn’t come out until 4:15! With stickshift cars, you can start them by getting them rolling and letting out the clutch (the motion forces the engine to turn over and start). So we put his car in “1” (it was an automatic), just to try it. We pushed it all the way down Locke, and it didn’t help. So then we had to push it back up. We parallel parked a dead car.

So we went into the school and tried to figure stuff out but we couldn’t so I just left him and James at Jordan’s car, since they were going to get a later ride with James’ or Jordan’s parents, nobody was sure yet. I hope they both got home, and that Jordan’s car issue gets resolved ASAP, because it sucks to not have a car. Especially during AP Exams.

Whew, and that has been my day so far. I don’t think anything else interesting can possibly happen today.

P.S. My dad gets back from California today, so that’s nice (he’s only been gone since Wednesday, so it’s not a big deal).

Bye!