Camp out!

Last weekend was the brownie & junior camp out for the girl scouts. The girls are getting older now, and it's fun to see how they've grown. There was a pool party and a midnight swim. We ate lots of burnt marshmallows, some inside smores. Made some crafts too. Water balloons galore, some of which may have been thrown or popped on yours truly. Here are some quotes from the lovely little ones:

"I'm making out with my marshmallow!"

"Frankenstein lived in a field full of flowers with a pet deer named Hippopotamus"

"I'll have a buzz-weiser"

"We're doing that dance... what's it called... that Michael Jackson dance!"

"You guys are too old for bathroom buddies! I bet they're just too good of friends..."

Plus all the calls of "EMILY!"

All the brownies bridged up to juniors, so now they're back together as one whole group. I'm going to miss them all next year. Even when they make fun of me. (I tripped a lot, over many different things.) Oh and a tip: don't try to put up other people's tents when they are not around, though it does give people watching some entertainment. And thanks to Sheila, she made it a wonderful event. 

La Canción: Thriller by Michael Jackson. For the brownies, because they could not stop doing the thriller dance during the entire camp out; their way of acknowledging his death. 

Oh Hermaringen, Oh Hermaringen...

I. HAVE. A. HOST. FAMILY. But I don't really know much about them. I'm going to be in Hermaringen, Baden-Wurttemberg. My host Mom's name is Sabine Wirth, and I'll have a host dad and three host siblings. Ahhhh, I'm so excited! I'll make a longg boring post with more information about them when I have it. I found the town's webpage though, so if you want to check it out here's a link: Hermaringen (It's in german but translators help ;)

Anyways, back to the boring old Newport-ian life, plus an adventure in Concord:

• I got one of the fuzzy things that goes in your saxophone like Raynalde's at a music store! Maybe my saxophone will be happy now :)
• I need a ukulele and to learn how to play it. (after the guitar of course...)
• While waiting in concord Alison and I hung out in Eagle Square, she drew pictures, and I wrote bad and absurd poetry. Here's the one about a whale eating owl (Alison said I couldn't write one about that):

"My owl is friendly

He almost never bites

Except when a medley

Of whales give him frights!"

Yeah, that's not the worst either...

• I don't want to give up vegetarianism. I feel nauseated anytime I think about eating meat. 
• The lilacs are destroyed. (well "pruned" actually, but it's still sad)
• There was an advertisement/game about beating up Obama. How disgusting. 
• When I was mowing the lawn today I found a Jesus figurine whose head was chopped off. I couldn't find the head, so it must not have been me.

La Canción: On Planet Earth by Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Because Dorothy told me to listen to her, and also, my ukulele desires. 

Minor Musical Difficulties

No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to get any  calluses on my fingers! I've been practicing my guitar quite a lot lately, and none seem to appear. But otherwise I have been improving a bit, but still I can barely play anything - which is terribly sad. And I still don't know anyone who can teach me the piano. 

I got some books for my sax, in case where I'm going next year they don't have a band so I can still keep my playing up. The thing is, now that I've looked at these books, I have no desire to play anything in them whatsoever. It just looks so boring, even though I know it should help. On the upside, I bought some stickers to spell out "King Dagobert" and put them on my case. I was hesitant to put stickers on it, but its so banged up now it doesn't matter. I think the stickers are made for mailboxes, but whatever.

I have no idea how many or how not so many times I should post on my blog.

Song of the Post: In the Forest of the King. The third movement of this is where the name of my saxophone came from :)

Petey the Puffy Poodle

My neighbor's cat, Petey, has recently been shaved. Again. Petey is convinced that he is part of my family and lives on our porch. He tries to jump into our house at any possible chance and almost came to Bar Harbor with us once. Every year, starting two or three years ago, she shaves him - mostly. And he ends up looking like a poodle. Which is better for him in the long run probably, because it gets rid of the huge mats in his hair, and makes him cooler for summer, but he looks ridiculous. Even Petey notices, he kind of slinks around right after it happens and tries to hide like he's embarrassed. But he's still a sweetie anyways. Petey the Puffy Poodle, now that could be one of those alliterations, like "Peter Piper" or "Fuzzy Wuzzy". But the best one I know is in spanish: "Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico con un pico pica papas Pepe Pecas". We translated it and it went something like this: "Pepe Freckles picks potatos with a stabbing thing with a stabbing thing picks potatos Pepe Freckles". ;)

Now for other recent adventures:

• I have developed a new love of bullets! So I'll use them quite frequently now, but this probably won't last for long.
• Alison wanted her hair dyed red again, so I put highlights in for her :) And, though I am not the best at this, I wouldn't say it looks bad at all.
• As I was walking down the street with Rocco, a car drives by. It starts barking at us and all I see is an old man with his mouth open. I thought he was barking at us and gave him a strange look. Turns out there was a dog in the backseat barking at us, and it was not in fact the old man.
• I have been attacked by dragonflies. I was walking up to the pinnacle, and then out of nowhere these two dragonflies come straight for me, one from each side in military fashion. It was like they planned the whole thing out!
• There is a snapping turtle next to you.
• My diet for the last few days has consisted of mostly eggplant.
• Singing is good.
• I tried a new thing today: Spicy Thai flavored chips. And when they said spicy they meant it!
• I'm trying to decide if I want to put a song at the end of each of my posts. Sort of like a "Song of the Day" or "Song of the Week" type thing, except more like a "Song of the Post" thing. I'll start it and then see what happens.
• It is not a crime to comment on my blog, I promise! If you are reading this feel completely free to comment, it will make me actually know if its being read. (and you don't have to have a blogger account to comment) Thanks!

Song of the Post (or maybe a better name suggestion?): Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes. I just heard of them today, and I quite enjoy it. :D

Sorry for the absurd longness of this post!

School's Out for Summer...

Summer is here! 23 days until camp, 81 days until DC, and 84 days until Germany! But I am officially on summer break now, I finished my last final today, for psychology, which took me FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. I've never spent that long on a test in my entire life. Actually I've never really studied hard for a test either, so maybe that's why? I guess I shouldn't study any more. 

I have a few big goals for myself this summer:

• Learn German (especially important)
• Learn to play the guitar 
• Read Huésped (a book I bought myself in spanish)
• Don't die of boredom
• Hike a lot
• Spend lots of time with my friends before I leave them all for germany

A Walk Along A Winding Path

The weather today was just lovely! I wish everyday was like this (minus the excessive amount of mosquitos). I took Rocco for a walk up to the pinnacle and it was gorgeous. I actually put bug spray on for the first time this year, and for some odd reason the bugs didn't bother me so much ;) Oh, and Anthony just got his first girlfriend! Sixth grade relationships are soo cute. 

Yesterday I went up to Lebanon for driver's ed and Alison came with me to observe (which we need six hours of and is quite idiotic 

to tell you the truth, what else have we been doing all our lives?). I drove on the interstate and up around Leb and West Leb, and then back on the interstate. On the way back, Alison fell asleep! Quite good observing I would say. But actually, that speaks pretty well of my driving! Only a few more hours of driving and observing and I'm free to try for my license, which I will hopefully have before camp starts. And contrary to what I had previously thought, I might be able to drive after I get my license, because the insurance company might require me to be on the insurance. And, unlike before, my mom said I would be able to get it anyways! So I might be able to 

drive a bit this summer, we'll have to see. 

Lately I've been feeling as if I'm purposeless, and that everything is ending. Which I know isn't true since I have camp in July and then GERMANY in August, but I guess my feelings can't figure that out. I keep thinking, oh this is my last so and so for over a year, this 

is my last this or that for over a year, over and over so much. I'm quite horrible with endings and goodbyes. If you ever feel the need to see me cry, just go to closing campfire at camp, the probability is quite likely. One thing I truly do hate. Just like the song Who can sail without the wind? "I can sail without the wind, I can row without oars, but I can't part from a friend I love without shedding tears". 

Bleckity Bleckity Blehh.

You know how sometimes there are just those bad, icky days? Well, today is one of them. It is a Monday, though. Anyways, I was feeling sick, just bleh, and the only thing I was really looking forward to was playing my sax in band. And then spanish ends and its time for band! But what is this? No saxophone? I left King Dagobert at home. Lovely. First time all year, the second to last week of school. Thankfully Morgan let me borrow the Duke of Kingsington for the second half, and that basically made me realize how badly I need to get mine cleaned and some new pads too. 

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is people being sexist, mainly the pet peeve being on the part that all men, or boys, are stronger than women or girls. Even when people don't realize it. I was eating lunch when Zach comes in, a senior guy, and a teacher (who had been in there the whole time I had) asked him to help her bring out some big heavy boxes out to her car. And its not like I never help her, or he just helps her all the time. No. She asked him because he was a guy. And though after I pointed this out, and even though it was a more subconscious decision it still irks me. Sometimes I'm even stronger than the guys asked! For spanish once the same sort of thing happened, with three guys and me, and I went with them to carry some boxes anyways to prove my point, and two of the were weaklings that couldn't carry very much at all! Gahhh. But I will stop the aggression here. 

I was reading This Is Your Brain On Music (Daniel Levitin) and it is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. And I'm not one for non-fiction usually. Ich empfehle es! I haven't quite finished it, but at one point it even made me want to be a composer. Except I could never compose anything, because I am NOT artistic. Though it would be cool. I wouldn't compose it about normal things like the usual composers do, I would make it a story about something unusual like, I don't know, a rat in a sewer maybe? Or an island forming! That would be amazing. I can see it all in my head, just not on paper. But I do highly recommend this book, it is quite thought provoking.

And on a light note, the trees are green and the sky is blue, and soon enough I'll be out of school and off to camp and then Germany! Nine actual school days left for me I think? This will be the end of my life as I know it, or at least thats what I've been told. The last nine days. Oh wow. I better enjoy them! Well, I'd best get a move on it then! Ciao!

The First... Ever!

Hey.... uh, everybody?

So this is my first blog, if you haven't already figured that out. It being created primarily on the fact that I'm going to Germany next year! So to be short, I received the CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) Scholarship for a year in Germany. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten my host family yet, but I will continue to wait. Oh, and I get to fly on the most brilliant day of September 11th! Yay! Anyways, this blog isn't only for Germany, if all goes well hopefully it will continue on después (and before as you can clearly see).

Oh, and an extremely saddening thing I found out today! I taught Health Rocks (a class about not doing drugs and such) with Leanne and Elyse about stress and how to deal with it. They had all the normal things that stress them out ("them" being fourth graders), siblings, homework, school, friends, chores, parents, and then seventh highest on the list, the shocker: MUSIC CLASS. How appalling! Though some of the lists had much worse, and very depressing things on them that I will not mention because they are quite private. But one girl did put TV on her list, which drastically impressed me. Thank God (even though she might not exist, but I might as well thank her anyways) that some children are not falling for its brain numbing pull. 

Well, I think that is all for now, sorry this is such a lame post. Maybe with practice it will get better? Had to start somewhere, and seeing how this one looks, I can't see it getting much worse (which means it can only get better!) Adios, I need to go do some things with Schizophrenia.