Bessstttttt :)

AP Lit test > AP Calc test
AP Lit essays > SAT essays
Elizabeth Barrett Browning > most anybody else*

After school was awesome as well. I did my government homework outside, while throwing a ball for Tag. Then I went to the backyard and alternately read my book while swinging, and chased Tag around the backyard-which-has-yet-to-be-mowed in my bare feet.
Mar.ve.lous.


Kathryne

*thank you, AP Lit test, for exposing me to poetry! would have been nice to study it... sometime... besides that one month at the beginning of this year.

...speechless...

I got a present for Kristen's birthday.

It was a *little bit* of a surprise.

Okay, so it might have been for my graduation, one month early, but... o.0

No, I'm not going to tell you what it is.

muahahaha.

AP Calc test tomorrow! Ever since I found out I had to memorize any formulas... I mean any... that I was to use on the test, including the integration tables, I kind of gave up on the idea of getting a really good grade and getting 8 math credits for college. Because I literally got through about 3/4 of the stuff I was supposed to for AB/BC Calc... that means all of AB and half of BC. Never got to infinite series, Taylor/MacLaurin, etc. sigh :(
But releasing myself of that pressure/expectation has made my life much better. Yay!
And the weather was pretty today :)

Kathryne

whew.

I woke up this morning and my hair looked better after sleeping on it than it did yesterday. That made me happy.

Then the Girls' Ensemble sang for the Lutheran church in which our school is housed. We sounded like 50x better than we did in practice, which is always good.
I haven't decided yet whether I like the liturgy. It definitely makes the sermon more formal, but that is so not what I am used to.

Then we went to lunch, which was lots of fun. Almost went to Qudoba until we found out Kirsten's family would be there... so we went to a local pizzeria and unexpectedly ran into Hannah's family. Really?! there are 6 of us, and lots of restaurants in the area. Kind of funny, actually.
Oh, and Megan? Your guilty face is really amusing. I'm still trying to decide if I should forgive you for that one comment... :P
Then we went outside and waited for people's parents. I, in my t-shirt and skirt, was apparently "shaking like mad" (direct quote... I didn't realize it myself, haha), so Doug lent me his coat. The sleeves came to approximately 2 inches past my fingertips, and the hem was well below my knees. I felt like a little girl playing dress up, but I was very warm, and it was apparently a "cute" (another direct quote, but I would imagine it just means "comical") sight.

Then I went home and studied for AP Calc to a mix tape by Sir Douglas himself. It was pretty epic, actually.

Then I got tired and decided to further immerse myself in popular culture, reading the second Harry Potter book at a solid 2.6 pages per minute. Not bad. It only took me 2.25 hours to finish. Those books have a lot of plot. All character development is derived from the plot. All meaning is derived from the plot. I would place Rowling opposite Victor Hugo for her writing style. Not better, but more suited to a short attention span. Along the food analogy, I would say these books are like slices of watermelon. Not unhealthy or bad tasting, but very quick and very light and with lots of sticky, sweet, watery juices.

Then I had dinner, talked with my parents about still needing to get a job for the summer, became momentarily distraught, distracted myself with more calculus, was summarily comforted, felt kind of sick about said comfort, was actually comforted by talking more with my parents, and here I am.

Kathryne

butterfly bites

today was lovely, I am sure.

as far as things happening it was not too awesome (Girls' Ensemble issues, mainly, not to mention I have THE most RIDICULOUS looking cast on my left hand), but I have been happy all the same. I don't understand why, exactly, but I am not going to be too picky.

the evening was nice. I laid out on my stomach on a blanket on the grass under our tree and did History/Math homework. the cat slept on my back for a while. and then there was small group, which does make me smile.

Kathryne

change

1. Back from Europe
2. Back on the internet
3. Seriously jet-lagged
4. Sudden distaste for American-Italian food
5. Officially attending University of Notre Dame next year
6. Sprained and/or fractured my wrist* when I skipped the 8:30 service this morning to eat and go hiking... karma.
7. Otherwise, really enjoyed the 6:30 sunrise (c.f. #3) and 10:30 regular Easter services
8. THIS WEATHER <3
9. Is it not frustrating yet wonderful when someone much cleverer than you articulates an idea you already had but in a more beautiful way? (see: C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, "Time and Beyond Time")
10. Must have lists of 10. So here are some pictures. (click to see larger)

Kathryne

*It was actually really funny. I was doing just fine... in my ankle-length skirt and flats, along nice little ledges of mud approximately the width of my foot... until we got to a wide flat easy part. I stepped over a log, onto some leaves, and fell completely flat on my side/face/leg in less than a second. I'm pretty sure it was the least graceful thing I could have done, and, to top it off, afterwards one wrist bone was (is) pointed about 15 degrees from where it ought to be. As I said... KARMA.

weather

I like the rain.

I like spinning around in the rain.

I like playing with my dog and chasing him barefoot in the rain.

I like camping out in my treehouse with my thesis book and listening to the rain.

It rained today.

I am happy.


Kathryne

highlights + world domination

Highlights of my day:

• Not finding even a decent pair of tennis shoes and sweatshirt for Sports Day (school spirit week), and so deciding to be ironic and wear my Bookworm shirt and a skirt and heels.
• Watching Caleb slide his lunchbox across the table over near to me so that we can sit together and discuss our plans for world domination. Our triumvirate will consist of him (executive brute force), Megan (diabolical and charismatic genius), and me (contingency-planning and law-constructing).
• Mrs. B looking me in the eye as she returns my Glass Menagerie vs Hamlet essay and saying, "This is the best essay I have ever received from a student." VICTORY.
• Daddy's flight to China has been POSTPONED because of snow!! So he will be here for small group, which is awesome.

And for now, I am achey and have chills, so I think I will not try to write my History/Literature/Thesis essays due this week and instead do Math homework (which does not require coherent sentences anyway)... and then go to bed.

Kathryne

planning

I am looking forward to tomorrow... small group :)
I am looking forward to Wednesday... college interview !
I am looking forward to Thursday... I get to sleep :D
I am looking forward to Friday... NO SCHOOL and Swing Dance! Could it get any better...? (that is, if Christine came back, it could not get any better. But I will bring MRWP :P)
I am looking forward to Saturday... going to see Glass Menagerie at UDel ! ! ! !

As for today, I smiled when the Government midterm I thought was today was made into a take-home, open-book exam due Monday. And the Literature essay I thought was due tomorrow is now due next Monday.

And I fixed my school's blog layout!

And there might be an ice storm tonight causing mass power outage and slick roads. Hopefully just enough for a two-hour delay so we can still have school and small group.

Kathryne

traipsing through a winter wonderland

My fairy place takes on a whole new nature (NOT A PUN, I just can't think of another word) under the snow. I love it. I almost fell into the water a few times. It was just warm enough that it kept flowing, even under the 10-18 inches of snow covering it.

Note the bamboo. Still green. And not a dusty blue-green like most evergreens... a really intense green. You can't see it very well in this picture.

<3

Kathryne

snow day!

slept in.
so happy.
did schoolwork.
but not too much.
ate pasta! again! yes!
worked on thesis... sort of.
finalized some college stuff.
can I not be done with this now?
fractional exponents are deplorable.
overall, very good day, and tomorrow
should be even better for budgeting of time!

Kathryne

un-productivity

"So, Daniel, how's school going?"

"Oh, it's great. I start in about a week."

(truer words rarely spoken)

I need to get more motivated. Truly, I do.

However, today the distraction is one for which I can forgive myself. I was not on Facebook or email or anything at all all afternoon/evening, which is unusual for me. It was people. Which was lovely. Playing games and eating food and talking... then small group... then Big Boss, Little Boss with Kristen & David & Daniel. I won! surprisingly.

However, I suppose that if I am going to allow myself good distractions I must cut out the bad ones entirely, since they can no longer claim to exist for their mere value of being distracting. You know? Like, sometimes you need a distraction, so you take anything, even something totally addictive and time-wasting like sitting around on the computer. But then when a GOOD distraction comes up, like doing things with people you actually care about and can see and hear and feel, you feel like you've already spent your distraction-budget and now need to go about filling your work quota.

Now I need to go clean my room and read another chapter of Catcher in the Rye (aka the-only-book-I've-ever-read-more-crude-than-Native-Son-ICCCCKKKKKK) before bedtime.

CIAO.

Kathryne

PS- if you're wondering, it was a snow day

MLKJr Day

Today I ran errands. And did some thesis work (note to general population: Catcher in the Rye is similarly crude to Of Mice and Men or Native Son. WHEEEE. I'm seriously tired of this.)

Then I dropped off Amy's birthday present... finally :) along with a CD of some of Regina Spektor's wackiest, most-obscure demo tracks, I made this...

...which sums up life most beautifully.

And now it is snowing.

Can you say 2-hour delay?!

Kathryne

tuesday

I dislike Tuesdays. There is not much to look forward. So I made myself something to look forward by dressing myself in ridiculously saturated purple and hot pink and sparkles and my yellow-polka-dot hairbow (and it does NOT look bad! this was an accomplishment)... and then it snowed like a half inch and nobody came to small group. BOOOO.

But this is an Optimism Initiative, so... um...
I started piecing together my scrapbook?
And my cat let me pet him without biting me.

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

Thankful

...for grandparents, who always seem to have the best-smelling hand soap
...for feeling satisfied with the Common App and never bothering with it again
...for fluffy hair that doesn't make my head hurt
...for GRAETERS <3
...for a good excuse to listen to Christmas music (as if I've needed one for the past month)
...for fantastic friends who don't always take me seriously
...for rain that looks like glitter on the front lawn

:)

Kathryne

Gray Day :)

The Good: These past few days have been decidedly gray. And I like them. It's like The Secret Garden, or those Beatrix Potter videos, or really any film that takes place in premodern Britain. It's quite nice, at least, when I am wearing gloves and a sweater.

The Bad: Math.

The Random: Dug through my computer archives to find something to post on Awesome Possum. Found some surprisingly good poems I wrote in elementary school. I think I was a better poet then than now.

Kathryne

PS~ Lit assignment! it's finished!

From the YouTube description:

This is my first attempt at a semi-surrealist film. It is based on the fifteenth stanza of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself."

Music is the beginning of Cry of the Heart from Michael W Smith's "Freedom."

EXPLANATION:
As this is surrealist, I cannot fully explain it (*devious laugh*). However, note Whitman's ending comments in stanza XV:

"And these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them,
And such as it is to be of these more or less I am"

He comes to the forty-six people described in the stanza with open, empty hands. Not one of those forty-six is a poet or anything like Walt Whitman. I think he is trying to make the point that the others mentioned ARE Walt Whitman. And Walt Whitman IS them. He comes with nothing of his own, wanting to absorb the feelings, thoughts, and habits of the others.

Black & White PARTAY

While my voice was incapacitated, I did almost win Twister... not that those two have anything to do with each other.

One game I beat David because he was nice to me and didn't totally push me off the board, and the championship round it took 5 minutes to get down to the two of us, and then probably another 5 with just us. And it was INTENSE. And David is very skilled. And I am very fortunate. But he did win. Then all of my arms/legs/hands/feet/fingers/toes were shaking and I couldn't breathe normally for about 10 minutes. I must be out of shape. (And while David was not in quite so bad a condition, my hair did look better than his when it was over :P)

So there was lots of Twister, and lots of food, and lots of talking.

lol, cartoon about secret identities:

(look familiar? haha)

Kathryne

PS- glove substitutes:

you can only imagine the rest of my outfit...

beach :)

went for a walk with my mommy today... then it rained... but it was cool. the birds were sitting on the umbrella we (illegally) hid under during the worst.

Kathryne

rain :)

it rained today.

I like rain.

it makes me sleepy, though.

I'm going to sleep now.

Kathryne

LA!

CYMA is tomorrow!!!!!

meeting today only psyched me up even more.

Also, it was Tag's 2nd birthday today, so he got to eat a snowball and some of Kristen's cappuccino milkshake... for the record, golden retrievers get REALLY hyper on caffeine.

Kathryne