Nationals

I'm home.
Ani=Exausted.
More later, I have to go get ready for church.

Report From Nationals

So I'm sitting here on the bed typing this from Delaware. It's been a weird trip so far. We left Utah at about 11:00 Saturday night and arrived in NY at about 5:15 (3:15 Utah time)in the morning. Sunday was pretty miserable driving around. I've also come to the conclusion that I HATE humidity. My hair has been frizzing like no other and I can't breathe. We left Addison, Clark, and his dad in philly yesterday, then we drove to newark Delaware, just about 45 minutes from our rounds, versus staying in philly like most everyone else, a 2-3 hour drive.
We had our first rounds today. Some of the HI's were absolutely amazing. Unfortunately for me standing wise, one of the guys in my last round was the 2nd or third place winner in HI last year (for those of you who have seen them, it was the guy who preformed "click clack moo, cows that type"). The only problem was that there was no air conditioning in the rooms that I was in, so I nearly died of the heat. For prelim rounds we only have three rounds left tomorrow, but it should be interesting to see if any of us make it into qualifying rounds. From what my dad heard from Addison's dad today, they have a pretty good chance of making it into qual rounds. I just hope for all of our sakes that there's air conditioning tomorrow or we may not last another day.
We also spent time up at my grandparent's place (who live in delaware) and have so far preformed my HI for them three times. Madi, the little girl my grandparents are taking car of, loves goldilocks and the three bears and kept asking to see it again. I felt much like a dancing poodle in a circus.
As for right now it's time for me to head to bed but I should be able to post/answer e-mails tomorrow and after that if we can get internet connection in philly.

Numb

I really don't know what to say or how to feel right now.
I don't know how many of you know the Banta family (Chantelle, Devon, and Zach were all at lone peak last year). Mrs. Banta was good friends with my mom in High school and they have remained friends to this day.
Earlier today my family got a call from a very frantic Mr. Banta, desperate to talk to my mom, who is an RN. My parent's weren't home so I asked for a message. I was told that Ammon, their 5 or 6 year old, had been in an accident and was really hurt. I called my parents, relayed the message, and thought pretty much nothing of it until my parents called back. my dad informed me that Ammon had been riding a go-cart down their very steep hill and had crashed. I was told that he was being flown to Primary Children's and that his was not breathing and did not have a pulse when he was picked up. My dad said that he and my mom were heading up to Primary and asked if we would go over to their house and make sure the kids were all ok and see if we could do anything to help. We walked into an empty house. Chantelle had apparently driven all the kids up to Primary (which, knowing Chantelle and how she reacts to traumatizing stuff, must have been a very rough ride)
I just barely received a call from my dad telling me that Ammon had died. Apparently he broke his neck when he hit and died almost instantly. And all I can think is that he's my little brother's age, who I can easily see in the exact same circumstances. I don't know how I would be able to handle it if it had been Samuel, or Miri, or Thomas, or Joseph in that situation. To top it all off my parents and I are supposed to be leaving for Philladelphia tomorrow for the National Debate Tournament, and I don't know if my mom will be coming with us. It's scary for me to think that instead of attending a graduation party tomorrow, I might be attending a funeral.

*rolls eyes*

This is an e-mail I've just recieved:

Dear Beloved,
Due to the sudden death of my husband General
Abacha the former head of state of Nigeria in
June 1998, I have been thrown into a state of
hopelessness by the present administration.I have
lost confidence with anybody within my country.
I got your contacts through personal research,
and had to reach you through this medium.
I will give you more details when you reply.
Due to security network placed on my daily
affairs I cant visit the embassy so that is
why I have contacted you.
My husband deposited $12.6million dollars with
a security firm abroad whose name is witheld for
now till we communicate.
I will be happy if you can receive this funds
and keep it safe I assure you 20% of this fund.
I will need your tel/ fax numbers so that we can
commence communication. Please reach me via my
private email address of:
*removed for the safety of your computer and mine*
Please expedite action and please keep this
transaction very confidential.

Yours,
Hajia Mariam.


The question is why in the world would you entrust $12.6 million dollars in the hands of a 17 year old?

assorted angst

*warning* the entry that follows contains certain angsty comments. Read at your own risk.

So yeah. Today was not a good day. I signed up for packets at ALLC on tuesday, pretty much finished one today, went to finish it/test at ALLC and I didn't have time to test. not good. My mom reamed me good about having a whole weekend wasted as I didn't get another packet, plus I was stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home, plus I hate ALLC. As I have to do 28 packets this summer in order to graduate next year, it's highly unlikely that I will be able to spend time with anyone. Gnar.
I feel really bad about not hanging out with everyone. More than half of my friends just graduated and I will likely not see them much in the coming years, if I see them at all. I wasn't able to make it to graduation as I didn't have a working car at home, which I feel horrible about. *sighs*
...gnar

Personal Philosophy

For my final in US history I'm required to write up a personal philosophy. I've just spent the last few hours doing it and am actually pretty proud of it as a rough draft. Any corrections would be welcome, as well as comments on whether or not it is "me".

At first glance I am 17 year old girl with blond hair and green eyes. Surrounded by people and looking like a whirlwind in all the activities, friends, and individual pursuits. In a word, I am eclectic. Every compassionate word, supportive family member, generous gift, willing help, and tolerant friend I have ever been gifted with has been tornado-spun into who I am today, and who I will remain throughout my life.
Like that self-same tornado, I am constantly in motion, and most likely will be until the day I die. I love seeing the world from every angle I possibly can, wether it be through the window of a tall skyscraper in a busy city, or looking up at the sky, lying in the long soft grass of a mountain meadow. I live in a state of constant wonder at the world, then riotous insistance that I can do anything it can do. I believe myself physically invincible and am sure to declare a rematch when bested in any trial of strength. When told I cannot do something it becomes my highest priority to prove that statement wrong. However, when a pursuit loses its challenge I soon become bored, running off to meet my next adventure with open arms.
I thrive on tension and believe I work best under pressure. I cannot think of a big school assignment that was not done in the haste of a frantic burst of energy right before its due date. I procrastinate like no other, and can constantly be found in the middle of the night by my computer, typing away. Somehow I manage to scrape while remaining in a constant state of crisis.
In my youth I had a dress up box containing every possible costume you could imagine. If I didn’t have a specific costume for the person I wanted to be, I made one up. Though my dress up box has been passed down to my younger siblings, I have never grown tired of becoming something else. I feel at home on the stage, whether preforming in front of thousands of people, or sitting by myself, looking out into an empty audience.
In my life I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic Gymnast, a Nurse, a Military Officer, a Dancer, a Stand Up Comedian, an Astronaut, a Firefighter, a Politician, a Psychiatrist, a Lawyer and a Motivational Speaker. For the future my life will most likely fall into one of two extremes. One, I go off to college, meet the man of my dreams, live as poor as church mice, forsake my career to raise a family, and look back on that choice with no regrets. Or two, I become an old maid, growing older and richer every minute, delighting in saying whatever I feel like, while knowing that my family has to put up with me so I will generously pay for dear Suzie’s piano lessons.
The latter might be a bit of a problem as I am not what you would call cultured. All the fancy appearances and the hierarchal games of society matter nothing compared to the tiniest tear shed by a loved one. No sprig of parsley or fancy arrangement of a plate of food makes a difference to me unless it tastes as good as it looks. I believe that no person is too far gone to be loved and to give love. I’ve seen the face of a relative on the news in handcuffs, accused of being a villain, and now can see the world of the media with more objectivity.
It is my ultimate dream, regardless of whatever else happens in my life, to one day, after my death, pull down the book of time and see how my small whirlwind life changed the course of a universe. Chaotic and strong, joyful and blunt, I hope to have truly lived.

I had my dad read it to editi it before I finalized it. He had tears in his eyes as he told be that I've gotten a lot of my personality from him. A chip of the old dust devil in a way.

ok, one more

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it.

In this moment, you think of love as something you can get or discard anytime. You're feeling self centered.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?