High School Scheduling

Today, 4/21/07, was a Saturday, so I was able to sleep in until 10, which still isn't as late as I would have liked to have slept. However, my dad made me get up so we could work on the garden shed or something like that (I was still half-asleep so I don't remember). We didn't get around to it though, as I goofed off for a bit, and then took a shower. By the time all that was done, it was 11, and we had to be at my future high school (I'm in 8th grade now; this will be the school I will be starting at in the fall) at 12:30 for scheduling and registration. We left at 11, though, so we could ride the public transit's bus system and get a feel for which bus I will be taking, etc. We finally got to the school at 12:20, which was actually a whole hour earlier than my scheduled appointment time. We had gotten there early so as to have time to meet my mom and go over some things. But as soon as my mom got there at about 12:35, we went in. It was very loosely scheduled, obviously. First, my parents signed up for the parent network and some other stuff, such as email updates. Then, one of the counselors who was manning the booths took my Social Security number, name, parents' names, and other information. She also signed me up for proficiency tests in math, Spanish, and band. Next, we went to a booth where a lady signed us up for the Snake Road Adventure Center outing, which is a time for all the freshmen to meet each other and "bond." She also assigned me times for my proficiency tests. After some quick organizing, we were done. There was a green festival outside, and because the weather was so nice, we decided to stay. There were a lot of vendors with booths who, it seemed to me like, were more looking for visibility/business than actually talking about being green. For example, there was a booth promoting free trade. Because free trade is really green. There was another booth for the Urban Wildlife Coalition, with people giving you material reading, "What to do if you encounter a dead or injured possum," and "Everything you ever needed to know about raccoons." Now I support being green wholeheartedly, trust me, but you need to show me the solar panels, the fluorescent lightbulbs (Which, by the way, they did have, and were giving away for free. That booth was the ONE good one), the hybrids, the buses running on biodiesel, the fuel cell cars, the Mercedes' with BlueTec diesel, the wind powered farms. These are the things that will produce results. "Yeah, well, you know, free trade supports sustainability, which in turn promotes environmental friendliness" doesn't cut it for me. Prove that! Show me results! Show me action! Anyway, all this resulted in a pretty boring afternoon at my future school. After this fest, I got back on the bus with my dad (my mom left via car) and went home to my dad's to eat a quick sandwich. Then it was off to rehearsal for Don Wisconsin, a show that I'm doing at a local storefront theater that I have been involved with since '03 (a span that amounts to 8 additional shows for my resume), and that I also have been a company member at for one year as of April 18. I had a rehearsal from 4-6, and then a meeting to discuss the Cobbies, which are the theater's version of the Academy Awards, honoring shows done at the theater over the past season(s). After a 20 oz. Iced Mocha at the coffee house down the street, I came home to my dad's and helped bring deck furniture up from the basement. I played around for a few hours, played a game of "Sorry" between my dad, my cat, and my dog (I played for my cat, Dusty, and my dad played for my dog, L.D., which stands for laugh dog because she made me laugh the first time I saw her), which ended in Dusty getting first, my dad getting second, me getting third, and L.D. getting fourth place, and then went to a local Jimmy John's to get a sub for dinner. However, because Jimmy John's was closed (it was now 9:30) we went to a Chinese place, after a quick detour to Walgreen's so my dad could get a prescription. I got two orders of potstickers. I figured I should get two since they were appetizers, and I wanted a full-scale dinner portion. Later, it turned out I would only need one order. On the way home, we saw a Maserati, but I couldn't look at it for long, as the walk light was about to turn to "Don't Walk." As we walked up to the curb, I noticed a guy in a camouflage army jacket. However, I didn't think anything of it, as you can get that stuff anywhere, even if you're not in the armed forces. I have this thing that I call parrot talk, where I will just rattle off whatever comes to mind (i.e. Something I've just read about or seen) to my mom or dad. Well this time, I had been thinking of Cobra II, a really excellent book that I've been reading about the Iraq war. It's probably my favorite book ever, but I've put it on hold for a while now as I have to read "Black Hawk Down" because I'm doing a research paper on the event of the same name. Anyway, I said Diwaniyah, a town in Iraq that inadvertently became a sanctuary for the paramilitary, now-defunct Fedayeen that haunted the supply lines of the Army and Marines in their march north to Baghdad and forced a pause in all northward movement so as to concentrate on eliminating the threat in the rear, a problem that could have been solved if the 4th Infantry Division hadn't been floating in the Meditarranean, waiting for a non-existent front to open from Turkey. When they finally did get all the way through the Suez Canal, up the Gulf of Oman, through the Strait of Hormuz, into the Persian Gulf, and to Kuwait, it was too little, too late, although it's hard to call the Army's most technologically advanced infantry division too little under any circumstances. Anyway, I could go on forever about that, but I need to keep this a diary about my life, because as much as I'd like to talk about what I think about the state of events, I know what my own views are, so I don't need to restate them to myself (Remember: I'm writing this with the idea that my audience is Future Me). Getting back to my parrot talk, I kept saying names of towns in Iraq. When I got to this curb where the guy in the Army camouflage was, I said Fallujah. All of a sudden I hear, "Were you just talking about Fallujah? Lemme show you something." This guy pulls out his Army ID badge. Turns out he was in Fallujah in November '04, but now is out and doing fine, although he did comment on how he still hasn't gotten any benefits. Typical. He said his jacket was an actual, real, authentic jacket, but not the exact one he wore. Turns out he's now a very staunch anti-war guy, which is great to see. Anyway, after that, I got home, ate, and now am here, ready to go to bed. I think that pretty much sums up my day in a nutshell.