i can has depth perception?

driving at night = >.<

when the lights are staggered just right and your eyes are blurred just enough that you cannot tell if the green light or the red light is the one directly in front of you = >.<

BUT HEY it's New Year's Eve. I did have fun today. Vandalism is good exercise :P

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Find something better to do on New Year's Eve.
2. Develop a sense of direction greater than what I have.
3. Develop depth perception greater than what I have. Don't die.
4. Learn how to be passionate.
5. Travel the world. (or, just make good use of my time in EUROPE ...!)
6. Make lists exclusively of either 3 or a factor of 50 (but not 1 or 2).
7. Read every single book C. S. Lewis ever wrote.
8. Learn how to play an instrument like guitar, banjo, ukulele, or the like.
9. Use every page in the Christine-book. EVERY. ONE.
10. Do most everything more, better, faster, truer. Except Facebook, which I ought to do less.

THE END.

Of, like, everything.

This list.

This post.

This day.

This year.

This chance for me to prove my normalcy.

Just kidding, y'all wouldn't believe I was normal even if I bought Hollister jeans and straightened my hair and got straight Bs.

Kathryne

Lord of the Rings...

IS COMPLETE. la!

I mean, it's been completely written for more than half a century, but I finished reading it today :)

It was very good. I found very few parts I could have done without, or that I found unnecessary or unhelpful. This is high praise :P

Also, had a lot of fun taking pictures today. But I cannot say what they are for or show you any, because they are surprises. WHEE!

Kathryne

inanity + hermitude

two of my favorite words :P

first, inanity (this is addictive)

second, hermitude (NO, HE HASN'T DIED YET. who is "he" anyhow and why are you trying to make this difficult for me?!)

Kathryne

le finis. + et al.

finished and REALLY turned in college apps, this time.

working through LotR. very good stuff.

played Scrabble with David and didn't lose (although, we didn't exactly finish the game).

played Boggle with David & the family and lost horrendously.

I still like Boggle. even though I rarely win. and by rarely I mean practically-never.

Kathryne

bookish

Today I wrote.

And today I read.

And today I FINISHED Native Son (loathsome thing).

And today I continued the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is not half so inane as certain acquaintances of mine would make it out to be.

And it was marvelous. Why cannot Christmas break be just a little bit longer?

Kathryne

people.

I think I might be a closet extravert. People make me so happy.

playing games with David & Blake & Mark & Kristen

making Christmas presents for ... other people ...

and, the highlight of my night... talking to Christine! on the phone! for a long time! EEEEP!

imdone.

notreally.

istillmissyou.

:')

likelegit.

Kathryne

:)

Today David, Daniel, Blake, Mark, Kristen, and I went to go caroling at Walgreens! ...if you could call it that. We all went and sang sort-of-in-the-same-key for Drew, who had to work 9am-6pm. poor guy.

'Twas fun.

And talking with Christine <3

OHRIGHTANDITWASCHRISTMAS. :P

My family looked through about 5 reels of my grandparents' old slides. My grandpa was in the Navy and has some really cool pictures, like ones he got when his ship went through the eye of a hurricane and the wind was down enough that he could get the camera out but the waves were still giant.

Kathryne

Christmas Eve, and what Christmas is all about

Today, I...
-finished Christmas shopping
-continued Christmas making
-began Christmas wrapping
-sang O Holy Night for Christmas Eve service... after a week of laryngitis/cold... and didn't fall on my face!
-saw David's haircut and almost fell on my face :P
-talked to Christine! briefly, but whatever.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!



Kathryne

Perfect.ish.

-last day of school yesterday? yesss.
-concert practice for 4 hours? awesome.
-starting one song... for the first time... 20 minutes before show? cool.
-Christmas concert? fabulous.
-cast party, eating cheese and warding off Doug's awkward comments? delightful.
-school Christmas party? better than actual classes.
-re-watching Christmas concert? a few painful spots of dissonance, but otherwise wonderful.
-Winter Solstice bonfire? superb.
-Christine not there for any of it? TRAGIC.

imissyou.

Kathryne

week in a small school

This week I have been reminded over and over again the wonderful things about a small school... mine, in particular. Let me walk you through my week...

• Monday, forgot it was picture day. So my Literature teacher traded shirts with me... yes, she wore my red uniform polo and I wore her white oxford that was perfectly matched to the chapel uniform I was supposed to have worn. How many teachers will willingly wear their student's ugly uniform shirts? Not many, at all.
• Tuesday, was tired and slept through Math and Physics. Because I am in a single-person math class... no make up work, at all! wheeee! :)
• Wednesday, my Latin class got to bring in blankets and mugs for tea... and we drank tea and played Scrabble. Including the teacher, there are 6 of us, so it was perfect. Now we are making it a pre-test tradition.
• Thursday, we got out of school two hours early. I couldn't go home until 3 anyways, so for an hour and a half I just hung out with my Headmaster and wrote a blog post on my laptop.
• Today, I got almost every girl in the school... and every female teacher but one part-time-r... to wear pigtails for PIGTAIL DAY! I love pigtail day. It's the Friday before Christmas break, traditionally.
• All week, my Girls' Ensemble (which Megan & I get to lead/direct/organize, because of the whole small-school-small-music-program thing) has been doing impromptu rehearsals during lunch and then eating our lunches during 4th period.

Yep. Wouldn't trade it. Concert Monday. I feel sick. But not head-cold sick... more the kind that I can fake/sing my way through; I just feel tired.

I'm actually pretty exhausted...

Feeling weary, and the worst part is that I'm doing it to myself. Physically and spiritually, which is worse.

Kathryne

tech week

'tis tech week.

no, I am not in a play.

nor am I a legit dancer.

but I am in 4 vocal groups.

2 of which have a concert next Monday.

1 of which I am directing/coordinating/stuff.

sooooo 6 practices/week and a 2:30-7pm dress rehearsal?

sign me up.

and don't expect posts this week. it may not happen.

I Learned...

"git," "gat," and "sate" really are words. thank you, Boggle. I still think you're fun, even though I lose miserably every time.

Kathryne

O Come, O Come...

One of my new favorite pieces of the mimes. It was really cool.

I've been working on Christmas presents all day... and eating chocolate... and listening to Regina Spektor, because I haven't in a while. Found some new songs, actually.

I Learned...
Chinese students know 3 languages fluently by the time they graduate high school... the local dialect, Mandarin Chinese, and English. Some also take other languages like Arabic, Russian, etc. Crazy.

Kathryne

So many reasons to celebrate!

• Four-hundredth post, right here!
• "Hundredth" is an awesome word to spell.
• Shopping with Kristina and Kristen... spending hours in thrift stores... Oh, Shabby Button, how I <3 thee.
• Swing dance at Lancaster! My first time! Actually, my first time dancing anywhere but church's swing... literally... unless you count my house when nobody but Kristen and I are home ;)
• Fell half-asleep on the way home, to the sound of squeaky windshield wipers and David saying something about lizards to which Kristina replied with something about crickets... David says I was asleep and dreaming, but I'm pretty sure I'm right.

I Learned...

A lot about following. Like, up until now I knew the cues and then what I was supposed to do next after that cue, but tonight I was dancing with a whole new crowd. Usually I dance with the same 4 people all the time. I know the moves they know. Mostly. But I certainly don't know any more. And tonight I learned a little more about how to simply follow and trust and not try to figure out what the cue means before acting (because that will only bring about back-leading, which is baaaad).

Kathryne/Katie/Kate/Kat/Katya/Katyenka/Kathy/Kitty/Kit/Trina/Tina/Nin/Katelyn/etc...

chipper :)

I have decided : I like the Charleston. And I like actually dancing at swing dance. It's a good feeling. Maybe I should leave early more often.

(Math: I dance more in the beginning, always. If I leave at 8:30, that means I probably spent about 75% of my time actually moving. If I leave at 10:30, it might be more like 30-40%. And did you know that 84% of all statistics are made up? but I'd say I'm close.)

And then when I ride home I can stare up at the clouds like the congealing, curdling clumps of brownish charcoal that they are. It's rather pleasant.

I Learned...

You should expect college interviewers to talk to you about politics and religion.

Kathryne

"You have a soft ear."

Field trip to Gettysburg :)

I Learned...

I do often stick my foot in my mouth. Regardless, Kevin and Dan both eat their feet and ankles on a regular basis without a second thought. And if you prompt them to that thought, neither one seems to see the problem with it :P

Kathryne

more music stuff.

No school today, so... much-needed extended choir practice! and then more singing, and practicing O Holy Night (and that stupid high note... I AM NOT A SOPRANO!), and then Daniel's recital. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

My impressions, in order:

The Haydn Sonata- I could tell right away that this guy was a perfectionist. I mean, the piece itself does not lend so much to emotion or meaning per se, but more of the technical accuracy and precision. When he messed up a little at the end, marring this perfection, the whole enjoyment of the piece was lost to him.

The Fantastic Dances, Op. 5- Loved these. Kristina told me an interesting thing about them... that they were written during the Communist Regime and were semi-censored, except that Shostakovich stuck "acceptable" stuff at the end. How do you censor music with no words?

Gnossienne No. 1- Daniel's piece! I enjoyed the contrast between this and the first... while Daniel's hands weren't jumping like hyper bugs so much and doing so many technically impressive things, it was clear that the purpose of the song was the subtleties and emotions.

Ophelia's Song- Vocalists from here out. She was definitely a full lyric or dramatic soprano... sopranos tend to turn flat, and she didn't pull the runs with enough lightness or agility to be a coloratura or light lyric.

Ich Liebe Dich- She was even flatter, and it was kind of an awkward performance. She had her right hand in the air and her left hand by her side, fiddling with her fingers at a very fast pace. The entire time.

annddd then there were a lot more I don't feel like summarizing... or, all of them, at least... I'll go by name.

Kyrstin- She was the best to listen to. Nice timbre and color in her voice. HOWEVER, she forced her vibrato (like Charlotte Church... wiggle-chin, much?).

Adam- So very fun. He did all songs from musicals... very comedic. He's a tenor. He ended each of his three songs on big, dramatic, high pitches with well-controlled, tight vibrato. And a tomato face.

Alyssa- The program says she is a soprano, but she did not show it off in her song selection. They were actually kind of... nondescript.

Victoria- Meh. She had some serious breath control issues. She appeared to be very, very nervous.

Conor- When I saw he chose songs by Ben Folds and Jason Mraz, I could picture him... shoulder-length-ish hair and a preppy-grunge sweater with a smaller voice. I was right. He had his left hand in his pocket with the thumb sticking out (which is a major indicator of confidence, as opposed to the thumb in the pocket and all others out, which indicates discomfort), and the other fiddling frenetically with the hem on his right pocket.

Genevieve- She held her harmony nicely? Didn't sing much.

I Learned...

I have a high G in my range and it sounds decent... hallelujah and finally.

Kathryne

Best Day Ever!!!

I feel like Rapunzel in that new movie, Tangled, when she's swinging by her hair around that tree just squealing. Because I found out that, since the heat is broken at my school (ohmygoodnessitissoooooocoolllllddddd), we have no school tomorrow! AND that I forgot about the half day on Friday! I, like, will get to finish everything this week! Everything-everything. Every college essay, done. Every school assignment, done. :D

I Learned...
*sings* no school, tomorrow! no school, tomorrow! no school, tomorrow, even though it didn't snowww!!! :D

Kathrynbe

Dinner :)

We had 17 people over for dinner tonight. Yyyyyikes.

It was fun. The food was really good.

I Learned...

I ought to play Boggle more often. I need to work myself up to a level at which I can actually be competitive. For competitive I am truly not, right now.

Kathryne

Sunday Evening Service :)

I had a pretty good day today. Remembered just how difficult Christmas carols really are... and how fun, when you have them down. Especially in four-part harmony :D

There were two exceptions. Christmas Offering (Casting Crowns) and Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. Those were not so difficult in the hold-the-pitch-and-hit-the-notes sense, but they certainly had their challenges (I dunno... playing piano, and singing, simultaneously, by myself, in front of people that I know, for the first time in my life, maybe?)

I Learned...

Madeline L'Engle has some seriously odd ideas about theology.

AND that I need to stop singing so much. Recently when I go to type words like "some," out comes "song." And words like "mermaid" come out like "melody." It's bad.

Kathryne

cyclopes...es

* )

...content cyclopes...

o)

...happy cyclopes...

O)

...cyclopes getting excited...

D(

...angry cyclopes...

:P

Today... I played for the Christmas Tea... went shopping... found a dress! with sequins! that still miraculously looks sophisticated! (or, as Kristen said, "like the Eiffel Tower!")... got some stuff done, but not too much... overall, very chill day. I needed that.

I Learned...

Amazon has a lot of awesome free downloads of Christmas albums. And equally as many not-awesome ones.

Kathryne

weird day

It was long, long, long. Almost fell asleep a few times.

I feel accomplished, though. I finished another college essay, did my Old Man and the Sea reading, and practiced Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence for Sunday.

And then there was swing dance.

Doug is the most hilariously awkward person I know.

Colin's math jokes! <3

And Livi's pepper joke... haha

I Learned...

I feel more awake the day after getting 5 hours of sleep than after getting 7.

Kathryne

rest

Today I have only Physics homework and college stuff. And that makes me happy. And I got to write a blog post on Veloquence :)

So now I will do my Physics and write my third Lafayette essay and then I will sleep. Sleep also makes me happy.

And the scroll button on my computer mouse works now. This also makes me happy. whee.

I Learned...

Implicit differentiation is a lot easier than my Calc 1 book taught it. I would explain, but I really don't feel like it. And nobody would read it.

Kathryne

Rachel's face

"My face is going to be two thirds of Congress!"

best class.

My friends are entertaining. Especially when sleep deprived.

And according to Sparklife, Dan scored, like, 3 awkward points.

According to me... let's just say that that class involved a lot of blushing and wishing I knew NORMAL people, and then realizing how boring that would be.

I Learned...

A college "essay" might mean 250 words, and 1700 characters is not that much space to write.

Kathryne

PS- :))) Everybody come to the Christmas Eve service... one of them, they're at 6, 8, and 10... I get to do O Holy Night, and I am psyched. It's a gorgeous arrangement. Really simple and classic, not overdone or odd like the Point of Grace one. Or maybe I'm just a hymn snob.