TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
(or how I was mysteriously absent from the internet for a number of days)

Sorrowfully, my computer was infected with the Blaster worm.  I know, I know -- I shouldn't be using Windows XP, I should have read their security updates, I should have gotten Norton AntiVirus sometime in the past two years.  Well, it was uninfected pretty easily, so I don't really have to think about my complete lack of defenses until the next bad thing comes along and eats my operating system for breakfast / lunch.

On Saturday, I went to Otakon.  In costume.  Yes, there are photos.  No, I do not know who has these photos.  No, you may not see them.  Halloween is on a Friday this year... I'm considering wearing it to school, minus the three ft. wooden / plastic / aluminum foil accessory.

The next day, I went to the fair and watched the royal court coronation (the tuxedos were graciously provided so that the male portion could look stunning without bumbling through a store on their own, go visit the sponsor if you ever need a tuxedo too).  Oh yeah... Sam won!  Everyone cheer and smile.  (Too bad I'm writing this fairly late, as the fair ends today...)

Monday and the other days are kind of blurry, as I don't have a written record and my memory goes about as fast as the dodos in Ice Age during the summer.  I do recall that throughout the past week, I purchased a ridiculous number of comic books and lent Wilma some while borrowing six books, myself.  All of the titles involved are irrelevant except:

I have Blade of the Immortal, Vol 9-11.

Blah blah blah, fixed the Blaster worm after taking several days to even notice that there was anything wrong with my computer, spent tons of my parents' money, may be gone all day tomorrow.  I'm tired of typing now, just wanted to make sure anyone reading this knows that I'm still alive.  Geez, four or five days isn't that long to be away, is it?

Since I've spent far too much time with my cell phone recently, I've discovered that I can download one ringtone from Ringster™ without paying.  I'm trying to decide between the Ghostbusters theme and Pink Panther.  Sure, there are other songs... say, several by The Police and a number of other television themes, but those two translate particularly well to MIDI-ish formats.  When I finally decide, should I spend 1.99 for one more ringtone, 6.99 for six more, or not waste anybody's money on such frivolities?

I worked a tiny bit on Le Petit Prince but I'm not enjoying it.  And I lied -- I still haven't started Faulkner, I did another chapter for French last night instead.

Why are layouts so annoying to make??  All the other sites keep changing their faces every few weeks, but I'm feeling uninspired and don't really want to mutilate any more images right now.  There's got to be a better way to put all the information on one page without abusing the sidebar cliché.

I don't want to think about the future.  If there's anyone left who hasn't seen Pirates of the Caribbean, though, please let me know.  (Is it still in theaters or should I just wait for the DVD at this point?)

If some people can mysteriously get depressed by the extended periods of darkness and cold during winter, I can very well feel my spirits dampened by summer's humidity.

The last functional car got a flat tire and is now unusable, diagonally hogging four parking spaces in the adjacent lot.  I certainly don't go out very often (and I can't even drive), but it's comforting to know that there is transportation awaiting.

I rewatched Hercules and Treasure Planet on DVD (thank you, free Blockbuster rentals) and they're both fine attempts, but Treasure Planet isn't going to be a classic.  Oh, how I loathe that robot with memory problems... Martin Short, you're going on my List for accepting such a voice acting role.  Oww... Hercules, on the other hand, seems created for a severely attention deficit audience.  (Is this all the US has become?)  Everything zips in bright "eye-raping colours" and the characters sing and dance like they are insanely caffeinated.  In the end, the cute references to the modern world mostly win out over the bad parts.

I (guiltily) find myself wishing that previous paragraph were (was?) in an <lj-cut> tag.

The pants I own do not have pockets.  I need to carry such items as my cell phone and my money wherever I go.  How can I carry things around without buying a whole lot of new clothing?

I haven't been doing much reading lately.  I haven't been doing much lately.

I really, really like air conditioning.

When did I run out of things to say?  By about, oh, the second entry.

Sharon (4:23:00 PM): where's your conscience?
Sheila (4:23:03 PM): i ate it
Sheila (4:24:35 PM): it tasted pretty bitter and useless

Min (4:23:54 PM): I happen to live quite homily with mine
Min (4:24:26 PM): We share the toaster on Wednesdays
Min (4:24:39 PM): We've equally divided up the time on the telly
Min (4:24:43 PM): And therefore, have no more spats

I clicked some link in a community LiveJournal today and had "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" staring me in the face.  And here I'd thought I escaped English class...

I finished reading Ender's Game.  Yay! very nice.  I'm not going to write about it but I love it very much.

I think I need to get back to studyish things before I take any more book recommendations, but feel free to leave some anyway.

I <3 Peter Pan.

Today is Fireworks Day ... The Fourth ... Independence Day!  Tomorrow's my birthday, and although I won't be having a party this year, I think, anyone who reads this is urged to have a joyous day in my honor, provided that it is without my participation.

It just doesn't seem comfortable that I'm turning 16 yet.  I still feel 13 or 14 and I don't know if I'll ever catch up to my chronological age.  I'm a little nervous about all this time passing without my permission.

I went to fye yesterday and sampled some of their songs to decide which ones to download and I grabbed "Message in a Bottle" when I got home.

Regarding non-school summer literature, I read To Kill A Mockingbird recently.  I've been told to read this book quite a number of times by every sort of person, but I wasn't expecting much.  Someone, I don't remember who, told me that I wouldn't necessarily enjoy it, but that I really ought to read it and that I'd see why later.  I have to agree: it's an important book, and Atticus Finch is the best character in any school reading list novel, but I didn't find it enjoyable; well, except for the extended trial scene, that was pretty nifty.  Additionally, I didn't like the novel's basic surface story, but I skimmed some SparkNotes, which made everything better.  Harper Lee has a really sharp perception of good and evil in the world and the events used to show their conflicts are the most realistic I've read (which, you know, isn't saying much at all).  One thing, though: someone needs to explain to me the appeal of reading fiction in which the characters are very poor.  I see why there always must be conflict, but do they really need to struggle with money at the same time?  It just makes the entire story feel unnecessarily heavy.

Also from yesterday: there's an It's Academic super bowl between the Baltimore, Washington, and Central Virginia areas!  And I watched it!  It was so cool, Holton Arms won!


My brother has a dancing hamster that sings the Marines' Hymn... nice...

Some people demonstrate what the rest of us ought NOT to do, and give movies a bad name along the way.

My mom tells me that I ought to get out there and do something with my summer.

.....

Who's up for laser tag?  For operating hours and an address, Shadowland does have a web site.  As I have no idea what I'm doing for the next two months, I'm free almost every day.

I have seen the coolest bedroom ever.  It is full of books, all kinds of books, and complete sets of encyclopedias.  There's a small closet (looks as though it's under a staircase, but it's not) which contains more books!!  Absolutely brilliant.

By the way, haven't I always had infinitely small handwriting?  Someone please back me up on this.

PS - Stop calling me Sheila!  Stop calling me Shagun!  These are two very nifty people, but I am neither.  Also, where does Sandy's little sister get off stealing my name?  She's younger, so it was mine first.

I now own Blade of the Immortal, Vol.8: The Gathering.

Also, my stupid headache won't go away.  Argh I hate the heat and summer in general...  I can't stress how seriously I'm thinking about moving to Canada (or at least far northern US) solely because of the cooler climate.

Ewww humidity sucks dehydration sucks... *faints*

I got an A in English!!

That is, even without double A-ing it.

"I wrote about Lord of the Flies and Kennedy; 'Choose two literary figures and one historical figure that represent leadership' . . . Heil the Ungodly, Communist state of Massachusetts!"

Man, I'm jealous.  Why can't we write the county exams instead of these silly written-by-teacher things?

Teachers thought they used humor more often then they actually did.

This is borderline blasphemy, but... I kind of enjoyed my English exam.  (We'll see what I say when I get my grade tomorrow, but I'm relishing the shaky sense of accomplishment for now.)  That French exam, though... I comprehended about 4 words from Mme Nugent through four or five mini-dialogues.  Whoops?

As much as I want 10th grade to continue, the past few weeks do make me want a few weeks off.

Just because I like keeping the expectations high doesn't mean that I can't make mistakes once in a while.

Willa and Meg and Alina helped absorb my panic following my Math exam (on which I am convinced that I got a B, which is not good enough; why are double A people even panicking?  The only reason I was worried was because my A depends on the exam).  At least I got to go home early today.  I want to take my Chem exam--

*snaps out of exam daze*

*proceeds to indulge in the luxury of reading non-reading list literature for hours on end*

To everyone stuck at RM for the 7th period exam, I wish you a hearty "HA-HA!!" from my comfy executive chair at home.

P.S.-- I got a 28/30 on my last Interlude Culturel test of the year!!  If you haven't been taking these tests as well, you probably can't begin to fathom how amazingly good this is.

I've got a song stuck in my head.  It's all Sheila's fault!

School is over and exams are here.  Did I mention how much I hate borderline grades?  Granted, it's different whether it's A/B or B/C, etc. but it's still stressful.  I wish we weren't doing a group project for AP US, why should other people be punished for my last minute laziness in one of my better classes?

But most of all, I'm sorry that I've been whining so much lately because life is good, even if fantasy is better.

I've rarely known what I'm talking about less than I do right now.

Last year I got As on every single exam except for English, in which I managed straight Bs... I really miss those wimpy county exams right now.  We shouldn't be doing a group presentation, I don't like Powerpoint, why are we doing a presentation?  Those exams last year were really easy.  I think I wrote more for my P.E. final than for my Biology final.  I wish my Chem exam grade and my Math exam grade could be switched, I'm scared of IB Pre-Calc.

Blair's exams: 1, 2 / 3, 4 / 5, 6 / 7, 8
RM's exams: 6, 7 / 4, 5 / 2, 3 / 1

Why's Blair's exam schedule so strange?  I think ours makes perfect sense, but I may be the only one.