This Summer I'm Going To...

...train for a triathalon.
...work a nine to five job.
...kick up the piano skills.
...study art history.
...finally read that book on philosophy that I bought.
...run daily.
...plant a garden.
...go on a mass of photo excursions.
...expand my music collection.
...relax.
...follow baseball.
...take kung fu again.
...enjoy last months with friends.
...finish my eagle project.
...write more often.
...finish Sandstorm.
...go to several key concerts, i.e. Guster, August 9
...read more.
...watch every movie I own but haven't seen (in truth, most unlikely, thanks to the constant trickle of Netflix -- Considering, you know, I have to watch a movie a day just to break even...)
...drive/be driven to locations as little as possible.
...play a lot of golf, darts, cards, and pool.

...fail to accomplish most, if not all, of my goals.

A Play On Words

I already have to pick my classes for next year. It's just as hard as I thought it would be to narrow down the billions of classes I want to take into the one general education class I can take. I think I want to take philosophy or something similar. Something really foundational. Art history would be nice too. Or religious studies. Or some type of ancient literature class. I have so many required classes with which the only decision I can make about them is whether I want to do them first semester or second semester. It'll be good though.

I finally started my Eagle project for real. I never got around to having it approved by the troop or anything, so now that it is I can finally do some real leg work for it. I'm doing this mini-documentary about organ donation. It should be pretty, you know, worthwhile. I didn't want to do one of those Eagle projects where you paint a fence or something. So, of course, I had to make much more work for myself then was actually necessary. At least it should be mildly enjoyable.

The movie is going extremely well. Like, sweet. Everything coming up is scheduled in stone. The only thing that worries me even slightly is the huge chuck, 10 scenes or so, that takes place in the hospital that we still haven't done. Like, they're not 100% required for the film, but they're defenitly the comedy meat of the movie, so I'd really like to make sure they actually get accomplished. I'm not sure where we're going to do them or when or with who. So, yea, some planning is required.

I don't really like school anymore. Like highschool. I'm really excited for college. I've sort of deverted all my academic enthusiasm for next year, which seems economical, considering I don't care much for what and how we learn in highschool.

I'm getting a film camera soon. So, I can get acclimated with it before next year.

Knock on Wood

Bang, Bang You're Dead is over. The College Board no longer has a strangehold over me. Do you kn0w -- do you know what this means? Sandstorm is in high gear. Consider this next few sentences a general announcement to all people affiliated with the film. From now on, from today until Wrap Day on June 23, we are filming everyday we possibly can. For the sake of discussion, it's probably better to think that we'll be filming as opposed to, say, not. To be even clearer, the question you should you ask me is not 'are we filming today,' but 'what are we filming today!' Let's go! Oh, and by the way, we're 56% of the way done with filming, if you wanted to know. Or, rather, we have footage that corresponds with 56% of the words in the script.

School is nearing it's end. As far as I'm concerned it's over now. I have 12 vacation days left and I intend to use them. I was thinking about taking Fridays off. For the rest of the year.

Blah, blah, blah -- not my literary peak tonight. I'm tired.

Allegro Non Molto

I was just watching this weird show on television a few minutes ago somewhere in between regular low channels and YES (which was on because of the Red Sox/Yankees game yesterday) where a priest (Catholic, I think) dressed in like friar robes answers e-mails about controversial topics. The lady who wrote that anti-DaVinci Code book was on answering questions as well. It was intensely surreal. They kept on discussing the book like it was supposed to be sold, 100% fact, no nonsense. They act like Dan Brown is some monster out to destroy humanity where as, in reality, he's probably a reclusive writer who is as surprised by his success as anybody else.

I mean, I don't really care much for the DaVinci Code anyway, but I don't think it's particularly assaulting. They were encouraging people to avoid seeing the movie on opening weekend because "Hollywood only looks at opening grosses to determine" whether or not to make sequels (i.e. they are desperately trying to prevent Angels & Demons into a movie). First of all, I don't think Hollywood as a whole is so business illiterate that they don't look at the total gross for the movie (there are plenty of movies that did really well opening weekend and then fell off the map and there are just as many movies that were slow at first, but picked up steam as the word spread). Secondly, what are they worried about? Oh no! There's a movie that says something bad about the Church! Whatever will we do?

Biology turned out to be not so bad. I think I did pretty will. Today I had Economics exams all day. Macro was alright. Micro was really easy, so at least there's that.

Life without APs is going to be entertaining, I think. On Tuesday or Wednesday or something we went outside to the pond during Biology. Well, we didn't go with Biology. Just during. We sort of told Mr. Borland we were going, in the sense that we yelled that we were going to the pond into his office. I don't think he was there though. There was a gym class outside when we were wandering around. It was full of my favorite sophomores; well, technically, they're the only sophomores I know, but that's not to say they're not enjoyable people. Eric chased a goose, because it's Eric and he always chases a goose. Whether there is a goose to chase or not.

Yesterday was also the jazz band concert. It was a pretty good show, I guess. I can never tell. I just like jazz, good or bad -- it's just fun to be around. Exciting. I think that may explain the 4,000 jazz tunes on my computer/iPod. I played the ballad part of Channel One Suite on a keyboard. It was rather disappointing. It didn't even have enough octaves on it to play the low part, so I had to kind of make it up. I've been listening to "a lot" of classical music lately (thanks to Eric). He's got me on this music loan system. He gives me a CD and I get another one when I return the first one he gave me and so forth. I'll build a collection of classical music eventaully. So far it only consists of The Plants, Enigma Variations, and Vivaldi, but I'm getting there.

We don't do work in any of my classes anymore, except English, which consists of, perhaps, more work than before the exam.

The computer I want to get is $500 cheaper than retail through NYU's computer store.

Tomorrow is opening night for Bang, Bang You're Dead. Come see it even if it is only to see the beautiful program designed by me. I'm kiddng. Well, not about seeing it. I want you (it almost sounds like I'm addressing an individual) to come and see it for the quality of the performance not for the quality of the program (although the program is exceptional).

I mean, I really did a good job on it. It's in colour and everything.

Tick. Tock.

Maybe it's just me.

Sometimes I come home to an empty house at night and it is really unnerving. I don't know what that means exactly as far as my ability to be independent. It's just so quiet. I'm not sure where my parents are, I was supposed to be at my mom's house tonight, but I decided to come here after youth group and no one's home. I can hear the clock tick in the other room. I'm thinking about turning on the television just so it's not so goddamn quiet. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Shut up! I don't know what it is exaclty -- not concern about my safety or anything -- it's just weird. Eerie. Unexpected. Tick. Tock. Goddamn. The dog is here, but she's flipping out. She is always flipping out when Dana is not home. Not helping. Tick-fucking-tock.

Well, I've been studying for Biology all day/yesterday. I think I'm as ready as I can be. I don't want to study anymore for fear of over-studying. I glanced over my review book again when I got home from youth group. Only took about twenty mintues to do it. I feel like I know enough to answer very many multiple-choice questions, but I'm nervous about the B.S. I'm going to need to come up with on the free responses. I feel like a warrior on the night before battle (it's adding to the tension at home) and I keep on thinking psuedo-profound bits of dialogue:

"I've done all I can, AP Biology. The board is yours. I stand down while I humbly await your response."

Not even psuedo-profound. I just imagine it with tense, but stoic music in the background and me calmly staring down the College Board representitive who was delegated to the one-on-one chess match I imagine the test is going to be. He's wearing a nice suit. I keep on thinking how much I'd like to have the suit he's wearing. Kind of modern looking. Damn you, College Board.

I wonder what the other kid's in AP Bio are doing right now. Studying? Resigned to failure? Relaxing in a semi-glaze of half confidence like me? Tick. Tock. What the hell.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Goddamn Chinese water torture.

Drinks on the House

So, 2 AP exams done, final round of the Cox Foundation scholarship, nominated for Best Supporting Male Actor. This has been a pretty awesome week. Understatement. The show also got nomianted for Dance, Singing, and Acting Ensemble. Jimmy got nominated for Best Lead Male Actor and Frankie got nomianted got nomianted for Best Featured Male Actor. Pretty excited. Seven nominations is a lot, I think. I think I'm not going to write an acceptance speech because it's win-win that way: if I don't get nominated then I didn't get my hopes up or appear arrogant by writing a speech, if i do win then I get to make a speech up on the spot, which seems like a great idea .

Today is jazz band. The end of the year jazz concert is coming up. That should be pretty cool. I haven't practiced my parts in a very, very long time, which is unfortunate since I've always played the piano part from memory and it might not be in my fingers anymore. I don't even remember where the music is. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to bang it out a couple of times before we start rehearsal tonight.

I've studied so much for Bio I think I might actually get a decent grade on the exam. If I get a 4 or a 5 it's worth ten credits next year. That'd be a nice boost to the credit total. I think it all counts as elective credit, though, which is unfortunate, but, well, whatever. It's not like I plan on having a problem getting enough credits considering I want to take everything.

Man, I feel like a major hypocrite. I think you can go back a few months in my entries and see me specifically write that I don't care about Stars of Tomorrow. I probably also said that I'll say I'm a hypocrite if I get nominated, so at least I'm consistent in that. I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about the show getting nominated than getting nominated myself. Although, both things are pretty sweet.

English exam today was pretty easy. I was trying to remember if I thought I did good on these exams at the end of them last year. I honestly can't remember. I just remember not being terribly suprised when I got the grade report. Well, maybe I was about physics. Honestly, I can't remember.

I've been reading a book on Adult ADD. People always tell me that I probably have ADD, and, even though I know that ADD has been a fad lately, I thought I'd check it out. Based on the book, anyway, I really don't think I have it. As a matter of fact, I don't think most of the people who tell me I have ADD know anything about the symptoms or characteristics of one who is afflicted. The "outbursts" that I tend to make are very rarely spontaneous and I've never felt like I had to make one. I usually think of something and wait for a good opportunity to say it. It's not really impulsive, I don't think. I guess it's hard to judge for yourself. Maybe I need to work on discipline a little bit, but I don't think it's chemical in origin.

Green Thumb

I guess I'm at one of those life thresholds now. It's quite excellent. I'm done with the first of five AP exams, essentially the beginning of the end of this year at school (and thus high school in general). I am ever so pumped about going away to school next year. I don't understand how people miss deadlines for things regarding college. I've been checking the mail box every day for my housing forms, I'm so excited. I mean, I should've worded that better because I've gotten the forms (a few days ago) and I've already filled them out, but you get the idea.

We've hit the ground running as far as Sandstorm is concerned. There's been a few minor setbacks but we're making sweet progress. My faith in it's completion is nearly restored. As soon as the final hospital scenes are completed and we have final plans for the camping portion of the movie I'll be much less skeptical. Not that I'm very skeptical now. It's just complicated stuff.

I've been studying biology like crazy. I'm actually enjoying it a lot. I keep on finding myself looking forward to studying/dreading stopping. I do not know what has come over me. It's a good thing, I guess. I am defenitly looking forward to the end of AP tests, though. Life shall be slightly more relaxed after that...especially during the day. Even if Sandstorm continues to become a bigger and bigger part of the day.

I think I'm going to make a vegetable garden. And I'm going to walk home from school from now on.