Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A brief, but joyful ode

I'm working on my speech!
Tra la tra la

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Miss America

I just finished watching the 2009 Miss America competition. Honestly, I used to think that it was just a stupid pageant with a bunch of idiots prancing around, but now I think it's more than that. They are intelligent, ambitious women who want to make a difference in this country. Sure, they do that ridiculous wave and cry a bit too much, but it's worth it if it earns them a scholarship and a chance to be a role model for millions of girls.

Tomorrow I'm off to my old school (St. John's) to judge the middle school science fair. It should be fun. A bit weird to be back, but fun.

Friday, January 16, 2009

It's not a snow day, it's a 'cold day'

This morning I woke up when my alarm went off at 6 a.m. Like usual, I rolled over and complained to myself about the early hour until about 6:08 when Amy came running into my room. "Holly! I think school's cancelled." That did it. I jumped out of bed (grabbing a blanket as I did so-mom turns the heat down to 58 at night) and ran to the living room. I had to watch Chisago Lakes Distric-Closed flash by three times before I believed it.

Frankly, I'm kind of upset school was cancelled. A lot of people had finals today, and it's sort of stupid that they had to miss them. Plus, the weather warmed up really quickly, and today ended up being a lot nicer than yesterday. Also I had a project for English due that I stayed up late working on. We were going to party!

Anyway, I ended up going back to bed and sleeping until 12:25. Not bad for a Friday. Then I went to the bank, picked up my senior pictures for the yearbook, and went to work.

I must say, it's very nice to not have to worry about homework or anything for the weekend, at least.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Remus Field Malone

There is never a duel with the truth. The truth always wins, and we are not afraid of it. The truth is no coward. The truth does not need the law. The truth does not need the government. The truth does not need Mr. Bryan. We are ready to tell the truth as we understand it, and we do not fear all the truth that they can present as facts. We are ready. We feel we stand with progress. We feel we stand with science. We feel we stand with intelligence. We feel we stand with freedom in America. We are not afraid. Where is the fear? We meet it. Where is the fear? We defy it.


That was part of my Great Speech (by Dudley Field Malone). It honestly gives me chills. I'm so incredibly excited to be at a meet delivering these powerful words. There's nothing better, folks, really.

On another note: I think I'm in love with the Remus Lupins. Thanks, Amelia! I haven't listened to all the CD's yet (though I certainly plan to give them all a try), but I kept going back to the Remus Lupins. They're so amazing. The only, only complaint I have is that the lead singer (who has a great voice, don't get me wrong,) sounds the same in every song. It would be nice if he would do some harmony, or if someone else would sing a few.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Great Speeches Army

Speech was fun today. Ross came to visit, so he was in the 'great speeches' room along with me, Ryan, and Clara.
It was nice to have him there. He really is the great speeches expert and gave us all a lot of advice, which was awesome.
It's kind of funny, but whevever I see the people who just graduated from CLHS last year, they always look so much older. College must just age you. Or maybe it's not college itself, but being away from home that ages you. Like you're forced to grow up and start taking care of yourself.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

We all want to change the world

I'm kind of in the mood to post, but I don't really have anything too interesting to say.

School was decent-the usual status. I woke up this morning when my alarm went off with the same "you've got to be kidding me" state of mind I always have.

1st hour: Math isn't really my favorite subject. I only manage to do well in it because I study VERY HARD for the tests. It's just not one of those things that comes easy for me. Anyway, we're doing probability, which I didn't get in 5th grade, and don't get now. What would make the class more fun would be if there was someone I could actually talk to. I'm kind of like a leper-I don't like/know anyone so I just kind of sit alone and silently do my work.

2nd hour: AP English, always a favorite. I didn't really like Mrs. Nelson last year, but she's growing on me. I think she's one of those people you just have to get in order to like. It's funny, because at the beginning of every class in English we ask for a mental snowday, and she always says no, but we always end up with one anyway because we don't really do a whole lot in the class. Most of it is individual work-reading and projects and things like that.

3rd hour: Band. Need I say more?

4th hour: War History-an extrememly enjoyable class. We watch a lot of movies, which is fun. Recently we saw Red Dawn, which a play on America's nuclear warfare fears during the Cold War. In the movie, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Russia have invaded America, and there's a group of teenagers called the Wolverines who rebel and begin sniping off enemy tanks and soldiers. It's really, really over-dramatic. As Mr. Deede put it, "It's so horrible, it's almost a great film."

Saturday, January 3, 2009

There are no words

Status: watching Little Miss Sunshine (love this movie)
Location: the couch

THINGS I DID TODAY
1. Woke up infernally early
2. Went to my sister's volleyball tournament in Osseo
3. Drove Amy home through blizzard conditions. Thank goodness for the GPS.
4. Changed the colors on my blog. The black, white, and red was a little too emo.

THINGS I NEED TO DO LATER
1. Work on my final projects (yes, ma'am, that's a plural)
2. Take a shower
3. Read (I'm reading an amazing book right now-WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE. It's hilarious. The movie is pretty good, too.)

Friday, January 2, 2009

There's nothing new under the sun

Just because I want to write but can't, I'm going to draw back on old stuff again. Sorry. These are beginnings to stories I never wrote. Please keep in mind that some of them are very, very old. I've been not finishing stories for many years now.

First, there was nothing. Then light appeared. It seemed to creep up slowly, smothering the warm, dark carpet. I flipped onto my stomach and let my cheek hang off the pillow as I tried to return to my dream.

He and I stared blankly at each other, me pressed against the wall in an attempt to get out of the way, and him still clutching the doorknob as if loss of contact would keep it locked forever. "There's no way out?" He asked briskly.
"No." We were doomed.
I sank to the floor and looked around the room. Toilet. Sink. Tub. There were no resources, no possible means of escape. His back thumped against the door as he sat down across from me.


Helen looked up at Mother, who was wringing a Kleenex in her hands and staring intently at the never-ending gray highway, which separated their neat green lawn from the tumbledown Mullet farm.

It’s funny how things you look forward to seem to shrink as you near them.

It’s a chilly June morning and I’m burrowed under my blankets like my dog, Leech does when he hears the word V-E-T. I wake up to a scuffle outside my window.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Summer Chronicles

I was just looking back through my old Microsoft Word documents when I found this. I wrote it last summer as a series of little blips. I was kind of hoping they would turn themselves into a story.
Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because I think they're funny. It's interesting how things that seem like the most important things in the world can seem so stupid a few months down the road.
I think the writing is okay overall-maybe a little heavy on the adjectives, but that has always been an issue.
So here's a little treat from last July:


All the ugly things in the world came crashing down as Gus Molina shouted at me. I was glad for her sunglasses; glad I didn’t have to see her flat brown eyes burn.
The rest of the saxophones peered through their sweat at us. There were a few tentative giggles-no one knew yet if this was a joke.
Gus’s volume increased, then. “I’ve been in marching band for four years, and we have always played with the brasses. We are brasses. You need to accept that and move on. We play with the brasses.”
I didn’t know what to say. So I just remained still, like an animal playing dead in the jaws of a predator.
Now Mollie was there, holding her sax in one hand, swinging her sunglasses in the other. She may as well have been wearing a cape and tights. “Gus, what is the matter with you? You need to apologize to Holly right now.”
Gus studied the oak tree across the street. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
I stared at Gus’s ear. “It’s fine.” No it’s not.
Gus raised her chin. “But I know I’m right.”
I looked at Ryan. His mouth was open, and his reed was hanging out, dripping blue drops of saliva onto the pavement. I watched the drops turn black and run together into a small puddle, before slowly trailing to the curb.
There was the metallic clank of a tenor saxophone, and Gus was gone, walking swiftly towards the school with a triumphant gait.
The altos and I looked at each other.

Mom picked through a piece of walleye, pinching the tiny bones between her fingers and scraping them onto a napkin. “So, Matt, who died today?”
Dad’s face was sunburned, and the top of his head shone with reflected evening sunlight. “Just some guy on TV. They’re sure making a big deal out of it, but he’s no one worth getting your undies in a bundle over.”
Often things that are not remotely funny, like death for example, can be the funniest things in the world. Amy and I thought so, and we laughed until we cried into our coleslaw.
Later, when the kitchen was empty but for me, and a pile of greasy, menacing dishes, I felt sorry, and vowed to say a prayer for the TV man who had died. I thought I’d thank him for giving me the best laugh I’d had in a long time.

It was one of those nights when the world seemed to be full, and perilously close to overflowing. I had marching band the next day, during which I had to face Gus, play Hot Hot Hot memorized, and become a fearless leader. Thinking about these approaching events rattled the globe a bit, and a few drops splattered into space and were gone. There was only pale blue where New Zealand used to be, and Antarctica was barely clinging to the ocean. But we can only move forward, and so I put the world back onto my shoulders, finding it even heavier than Atlas did, and took a step.