A much-anticipated first

- I just signed up for my first run! Only a 5K (3 miles, roughly), but I figured I'd start out with a shorter run rather than leaping in headfirst and signing up for a half-marathon. So, obviously, I'm pleased with myself... and I can't wait.

Hiking pictures

We rarely take pics while we're hiking (unless F or Rebecca has the camera!), but here are a few random pics.

Gateway Park, Ft. Collins:

The place was perfect for shooting a fantasy movie. Crystalline lake nestled 'midst the rocky hills and mountains, surrounded by the varied greens of pine and fir, with bounders strewn over the ground like pebbles... very picturesque. If only Z would have stopped screaming - argh, did those hills carry an echo!

Z's pitching a royal tantrum in that picture, but hopefully you can't tell. Dad had his hands full on that hike, let me assure you!

After a good, long hike, we were all exhausted - except for Zita. After being carried for most of the hike, she was just getting started.

Rebecca at Lory State Park, Ft. Collins. Yes, we climbed past all those hills in the picture.

McCormick's Creek State Park, in some tiny city in Indiana. I loved that place; no other people around. Just us, the trees, and a million gray squirrels that loved to chitter at us.

LESS THAN A WEEK....

'Til I'm in Washington DC, surrounded by fellow lovers of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony, and learning as much about sacred music as I can possibly hold in my head!

*dances around* Haha, I can't wait! I'm looking forward to the plane flight, too - I think it's a total of about 4 hours, one way. I'm looking forward to a lot of writing and/or reading during those hours... not to mention the time that I'll have to spend waiting in the terminal.

So, yes... the music colloquium at CUA starts next Tuesday (19th). I'll be flying to Chicago the day before, then hopping on a flight to DCA the next morning - I think that's what the plan is, anyway. After that... ahhh... inundation in Catholic sacred music. *huge grin*

The only downside: the day that I get back, we have relatives arriving from California - which means that we're working like crazy to get the house clean before I leave for the colloquium. Though, I guess that's more of an upside than a downside, since I've never seen the house this clean since we've moved into it...

This is a definite first!

I've finally read a book that was worse than the movie based on said book. The book: "The Princess Bride". If you ask me, the movie was great; the book left a lot to be desired. My advice to anyone considering reading that book - stay content with the movie, because the book isn't worth it.

So, to repair the damage done to my avid love of book-reading, I read "Wolf-Speaker" by Tamora Pierce and am in the middle of "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke... both of which are excellent, in my humble opinion. Two totally different books, but they're both great in their own way.

Technology is taking over.

Hah. Well, I can attest to that... I'm still trying to break my computer addiction. Or, well, my internet-addiction, I suppose I should call it; I use my computer for writing, but I don't count that as computer time. But, even though I've been trying to break away from the computer, I still spend at least an hour and a half on it EVERY DAY! Agh. And now I'm blogging, which is on the internet... I'm ranting about how much time I spend on the internet, while being on the internet. My gosh.

On a similar note... my 4-year-old sister Zita just came up to me and said, "I need to check my email."

Summer break, HERE I COME!

WHOOO! School is over, I have my final grades back, and it's time to kick back and enjoy the surf! (Too bad I'm a thousand miles from the nearest beach. Ah well, I can fantasize.) But hey - there's still biking, hiking, running, writing, reading, dog-training, dog-walking, playing with the dog, re-varnishing my desk, cleaning my room... and a million and one other things to do!

I am so ready. I have a bike to ride, a car to drive, a dog to walk, and a computer addiction to break - all in all, it's time to enjoy life again instead of slaving away for my teachers. Haha, I feel like hiking a 14er!

Chaos, craziness, and confusion galore...

That's synonymous with college applications, of course!

To sum up the past week: Mom and dad made the spur-of-the-moment decision that I should go to CSU this fall, not next fall like I was planning (yes, they got my consent on it too, obviously). My SAT scores are good enough, my GPA is phenomenal for an entering freshman, I'm already taking organ lessons with the professor who'll be my teacher, I have more than enough credits to graduate... the only hitch: my application is due THIS WEEK. I've missed most of the scholarship and financial aid priority deadlines. And I have a music audition in a week and a half!!!

Yikes. So yes, I'm practicing piano/organ between 4-5 hours a day, already wrote up my essay, need to write a resume, need to fill out the application and get it in ASAP.

Not to mention that my neighbors are moving out today and mom volunteered me to help, I still haven't gotten my driver's liscense (needs to happen soon), I just got glasses and am still getting used to them, and astronomy finals are coming up.

Craziness abounds...

New shoes!

YAY!!! My organ shoes came in today... and they fit! These are probably the nicest shoes I've ever had, and *gasp* the first pair of women's shoes I've gotten that actually FIT! Now I don't have to play in duct-taped, falling-apart shoes that I've had for almost 7 years (YAY!). Can't wait until the next time I practice organ so that I can try them out...

The joys of...... nothing!

Hehe... I have nothing on my mind... no schoolwork, no chores, no scheduling... no guilt about homework that I haven't gotten done yet... no random thoughts flitting through my brain... NADA! It's awesome! It's so nice to be able to think about zip. *stares at ceiling in pure bliss*

Strange?

I haven't been able to write much lately - matter of fact, I was so caught up in my classes that I went for several months straight without writing. And when I finally do get to write, what comes out of my tormented, overworked, school-ridden brain? This.


Insanity was pleasure.
Kiandi threw himself over the edge with a shriek of pure rapture, plummeting down into the darkness of the abyss with the grace of a dragon in flight. Engulfed in blackness, his body plunging ever swifter towards the bottom of the rocky chasm, his mind ready to be exploded into a million pieces when his body splattered on the ground below… this was joy. Mindless, idiotic, insane joy.
Kiandi’s last thought before he hit the ground was a wish that this could have truly been his final moment.

How weird is that? That's got to be the strangest thing I've written yet... but... it's interesting, and reflects the chaos in my brain (no, I'm not suicidal - but the part about mindless, idiotic, insane pleasure sounds nice right now). Crazy.

Perfect timing

The bad news: we have the flu (not the stomach flu - we have the real thing, influenza). Six out of seven people in this house were sick yesterday - me, Dad, Mom, Beck, F, and Z. Only Martin's stayed well so far. The good news, though: Nobody has had it for more than three days. I had it very mildly yesterday, but am fine today (whew!) - then Beck and Dad had it for three days each, and F and Z are somewhere in between.
What was bad about it was the timing. The morning that me and Mom got sick, my dad had a crisis at work and had to be working from home all day, even though he was still sick. I also happen to have an astronomy test on Monday, and wasn't able to study with any of my classmates because I got sick. Meeeeeeh.
But hey, I'm well now, so - yay!

SAT

My scores just came in...

I'm not happy with how I did. At all. I was barely above average in math, and my critical reading + writing sections could both stand some improvement. My scores will probably be okay for any college I'm considering, but... aaaargh. I could have done so much better.

I'm going to see if I can take it again.

Striving for:

This is what I'm always trying to accomplish, yet never seem anywhere near to achieving:

My chores are done, my room is nice,
The kitchen is spotless and smells of spice;
The house is clean, I can enjoy relaxation,
My work is finished - time for a vacation.

The greatest gift ever given...

The Holy Eucharist

That is God. Jesus Christ is there present, in his full body, blood, and soul. He is present physically, in his full humanity and divinity. Through the powers bestowed upon the priest in his Ordination, what was ordinary bread and wine at the beginning of Mass is transformed into the physical flesh and blood of Jesus during the Consecration. Though it still maintains the appearance, taste, and texture of bread and wine (the "accidents" of bread and wine, as defined by Church doctrine), it has been completely transformed into Jesus' body and blood.

I receive God every week. Every time I go to Mass. For a time, I'm a tabernacle, because until the last particle of the Host dissolves, I'm holding Jesus Christ inside me. What thing on this earth can ever be greater than that? It's... almost incomprehensible. Jesus Christ has, for mankind, taken on the appearance of bread and wine so that he can be with us in the fullest way possible. Apart from Creation, or the Redemption, this is God's greatest gift to humankind. He's given (and giving) Himself.

I asked the question a while back on a previous post: "Why am I a Catholic?". Well, even if I hadn't already reasoned that the Catholic Church is the ONE, TRUE, HOLY, and APOSTOLIC Church, that the Catholic Church has the Truth in fullness and entirety, and that the Catholic Church is the one and only Church that Jesus Christ founded - I'd be a Catholic because the Catholic Church has more than any other Church has. It has God. And I can worship Him, and touch Him, and see Him every single time I go to Mass.

That's why I'm a Catholic.

Revelation!!!

NOW I know why I have problems with my computer sometimes!

Cars and I don't get along.

-- Not if I'm in the driver's seat, anyways.

Being a student driver sucks. Seriously. All right, so I can drive on the streets, but still..... I have so much left to work on. I always - always - start cutting my turns too late. If I pay attention to one thing (say, staying the speed limit), I lose attention and let something else slip (like missing my turn?). Not to mention the fact that I'm a total moron and can't remember to take the parking brake off if I'm driving mom's car (the parking brake on that car is messed up... you can't tell when you're driving if the parking brake is on or off). And better yet, I have a driving test in 15 days. Oooooooh boy. And if I manage to fail a driving test, I'm going to practically murder myself.

--------------------------------

On the good side, though... I can drive on the freeway. It's a whole lot easier than city driving (no stop lights!! WOO!!), just because there's not as much to watch out for - you just focus on a few things and you're good. And I drove to Nebraska and back over this past weekend to pay my boyfriend a visit, so I got plenty of driving time in on the freeway between Ft Collins and York, NE. Oh, and I even got to hit over 95 mph......... yeah, I know I was speeding, but I had a good reason. Had (yes, that's "had") to pass a semi AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Not a stunt that I will ever duplicate again unless I have to, though.

Why fantasy novels rock...

... It's the CREATURES, dude!!!

Haha, yeah... In my mind, it's the creatures that really make a fun fantasy novel.

Sure, you're probably thinking... "vamps, werewolves, dragons, dryads, goblins... so how does that make or break a story?" Well, I'm not really talking about those kinds of creatures. I'm not saying that dragons or werewolves aren't awesome - quite the opposite, they're popular for a reason! But it's the unique creatures, the ones that the author has made up to fit their own little fantasy world, that make reading a fantasy novel really cool.

One of my favorite examples of this is Kate Forsyth's novel "The Witches of Eileanan". I was kind of annoyed with the main character (she was described as spunky?? Are you kidding me?!), the writing style made the story hard to follow, and the neatest character of the bunch was getting tamer, not the other way around! But I couldn't put it down because her creatures had totally captured my attention. Though they didn't play a huge role, she'd populated her world with elven cats, dragons, Mesmerds, and all sorts of other interesting animals. By far, I'd have to say the Mesmerd was my favorite... a swamp creature with big eyes, a bunch of arms, wings, marsh-grey skin, (overall, it looked like a sleek, oversized Gollum... a bit) a breath that kills, and a mission to steal young children - how could that not be riveting?

So yeah... I'll admit, some of my stories are just excuses to make up my own fantasy creatures. Preyteons, Satarri, Kine, Kridh' - ah, I have so much fun with them. And even the creatures that aren't totally my creation are fun to play with, like weredragons, wind dragons, sprites, shapechangers, Elementals, and vampires... I could go on and on, but you've probably heard enough.

Try it sometime... just pull out a piece of paper and start sketching, or watch a movie and let your imagination run wild, and see what sort of crazy creature you can come up with!

The SAT is OVER!

WHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! *combined shriek of joy and sigh of relief* Man, I'm so glad it's over with... actually, I kinda didn't take it seriously enough. And it didn't help that I had two power bars right beforehand... I was fidgeting whenever I wasn't totally focused on whatever test section I happened to be on.

Anywho... as far as I how I did, I'm not very happy. I guess it went all right... I had no problem with the verbal/writing/reading sections, but math.... I think I blew it. I don't think I'll score well. I had one section where my brain just totally froze for two whole minutes. I get my scores back on the 29th of March, I think, so we'll see just how bad I did... I sincerely hope I didn't do as bad as I think I did. As far as the essay, well - we'll just say, it could've been better. I finished it on time, but had absolutely no time to proof what I wrote; I put my pencil down after the last sentance just as the time was up. I don't even remember what I wrote, the time went by so fast.

So yeah.... I really, really, REALLY hope I did well... if I didn't, that means a retake, because I NEED a good score - something I know I can get, but just... eh... I don't know. I still can't believe that my brain froze during a math section, and I'm worried about the essay... aaaaah... I need to stop thinking about it. I'll find out my score soon enough.

This is tragic.

4 days.

It's half a week until the SAT. Crazy thing is, I'm not nervous yet... maybe a little, regarding the essay, but overall, I'm feeling fine with the whole thing. I wish it wasn't at 7:30 in the morning, though - but hey, at least that means that I'll be getting it over with, first thing.

Practice done to date: 10 lessons of algebra II, 2 practice essays written, and 2 novels read. My astronomy homework has been taking a big bite of out of the time I can spend practicing for the SAT, darn it.

6 days and counting...

I have less than a week until the SAT. I'm not nervous about it - I know that if God wants me to do well on it, I will, and if he doesn't... then I won't. But I'm still studying like crazy for it.

Practice that I've done to date: 8 lessons of math (including some trig), 2 practice essays, and one novel read (that's my way of studying for the verbal sections - reading, reading, and more reading).

Keep me in your prayers, please!