Pancake Supper

School - We had the NJHS Picture retake today during 8th period. Then, there was a baseball meeting about tryouts and general rules and stuff like that. That went well also. We have 32 people signed up for the two teams. So, cuts will be made, like last year. I've been practicing all off-season long, so I think I have a pretty good chance of making the team. Tryouts are two weeks from yesterday. Can't wait. So, tonight was the Youth Group Pancake Supper. All the members are servers and cookers. I was a waiter and didn't stop moving until 1 1/2 hours after I started. I loved it. Catherine and her friend William were there, along with Mike, Abby, and Jay. It was crazy. Emily wasn't there, though. Bummer. After I got back I IM'd Matt and we quizzed each other on the Huck Finn Test tomorrow. We both went 8 straight correct answers in a row, so I see A's in our future. LOL. Anyways, this Saturday my mom and sister fly out and there is a PLC (Patrol Leader's Council) meeting. Sunday is church. Friday, my exercise poster is due in Health Class. Long week. Later.

Monday

School - We are now studying Rap in Music Class. It was pretty fun. Then, we had a history test in History Class tha was okay. George thinks that he got 100% and I think that he ccould be right. English we analyzed Huck Finn more and talk ed about the novel. We started learning about Cigarette smaoking in Health Class, too. WE have our National Junior Honor Society picture retake this afternoon. Then, there is a Junior High Baseball meeting after school. Can't wait for the season to start - March 13! My mom and my sister fly out to Savannah, Georgia his Saturday for Jessica's spring break. Mine starts April 7th. Going to Utah to Mountain Bike, whitewater canoe, hike, and rockclimb baby! Should be a blast! Well, got to go to school (NO TWO HOUR DELAY) My sister has one and so do like 3 other school in the county. Oh, well.

Rite-13 Ceremony

Well, I had my Rite-13 Ceremony at Church today. It was okay. Catherine and I had to stand up in the front of the church and recite a psalm and that's about it. Afterwards, Mike, Catherine, Emily, Aubrey, and I chilled in the Rite-13 room. It was crazy. I took a lot of pics and we had a lot of fun. Then, went out to dinner at Panda Heaven. It was really good. Really don't want to go to school tomorrow. I need a couple more days off! Oh, well. Anyways, Did anyone know that there is something called a "Monster Thickburger" mad by a fast-food chain called Hardee's that contains 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat?! DAMN!!! They have a total of 5 sandwiches over 1,000 calories featured on their menu. It's crazy. America is so fat. You'd think we'd turn it down a bit, don't you think? Well, I'll leave you with that thought. Talk to you later.

CBH Concert

today I got to help out Kevin Leiby with his Eagle project. We got to scrub the walls of the library in preparation for waterproof painting. It was pretty cool. August and I took a lot of pictures. I won't post any now because they're not uploaded from the camera yet and I'm too lazt to do it now. Anyways, Mike came over at around 3:45 and we went on the computer and played SSX Tricky. Then, we had dinner. After dinner, we headed over to the Hard Bean for the concert. I took a total of 83 pictures and 5 videos. It was crazy. We had a really great time. The band was awesome and a ton of my friends and classmates were there. So, then we dropped Mike off at his house and came back here. Tomorrow I have the Rite-13 Ceremony and Swimming afterwards. Should be really fun. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends to live my life with.

Friday

School - Got a bunch of grade sheets back in school today (mid-quarter, already). History I have a 96%. In English I have a 94%, and in math I have a 97%. I'm pretty happy with those grades. So, tonight was the rehearsal dinner for the Rite-13 ceremony. It was pretty fun. We had a good dinner, and Father John said some prayers and we had a really good time. Then, we practiced the ceremony that will be held in Church on Sunday. We had a fun time. Tomorrow, I'm helping Kevin Leiby (Jimmy C.) with his Eagle Project from 10:00 - 12:00 AM. Then, Mike's coming over and having dinner with us. Afterwards, we're going to the Comic Book Heroes Concert. Talked to a friend from Ligonier Camp online. He's cool. Anyways, Church on Sunday with the ceremony and then, Math homework and Health homework. So, a busy weekend. Looking forward to it.

NJHS

School - George and Ben know what I'm about to talk about: Math class was hilarious! The three of us sit in the front of the class. Mr. Minear had his book open while he was doing problems on the board. Everytime that he would turn around, I would but a mrker in the binding of the book. Then, he would absentmindedly put the marker to one side when he got back to the book. I got up to six markers, so he had a whole pile next to his book and he didn't even notice. Then, I ran out of markers. So, when Mr. Minear wasn't looking, Ben took the whole pile back and we started over again. We got 11 markers before the bell rang. It was great!
I got inducted into the National Junior Honor Society today. There was a ceremony at the end of school and we were called up one-by-one and given a certificate. It was pretty cool. I finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn today. It was actually a pretty funny story once the satirizations are pointed out to the reader. Anyways, First-Aid test tomorrow in Health Class. Full weekend, (refer to previous posts). Well, talk to you later.

Scout Leadership Dinner

School - We had our fashion show in Spanish class today. Danny dressed up as a female prep with a pink Ralph Lauren polo and Hilary's mini-skirt with Under Armour skin-tight pants underneath. It was hilarious. He had this really girly walk, too. We caught it on tape and were going to put in our Senior Video (YEAH 2010, THE DECADE ENDS WITH CLASS). It was great. Had another Math League test today, also. That was okay. After school, I did my homework and trained on the stationary bike for 25 minutes. I averaged 16.9 mph which is really good. Then, Mike picked me up and we went to help park cars at the Sheraton Hotel for the Boy Scout Leadership Dinner. That was pretty cool. Friday night is the Rite-13 rehearsal dinner, and the Blue and Gold Dinner. I'm trying to fit in both. Saturday night is the The Comic Book Heroes concert. I'm taking Mike with me, and it's gonna be crazy. I'll bring my camera, don't worry. Sunday is the Rite-13 Ceremony and swimming at the Body Zone. Also a camera day. So, busy week. Can't wait.

Mike's House

Went over to Mike's house today. We played some SSX Tricky then went on the computer. I made him a Myspace and It's lookin pretty cool. Anways, school, tomorrow. Can't wait (sarcasm). MathCounts and OA service tomorrow and NJHS Induction ceremony Wednesday. Rite-13 Ceremony on Sunday. Grand Slam on Wednesday. Packed week.

Skiing

Yesterday - Jessica had her party with four of her best friends. They went out to dinner at Stokesay Castle, but the food was really bad. Oh well. Then, came back and played games until 11:15 PM. Went to bed. Today - Got picked up by Mike at 8:30 AM. Andrew was there, too. It was really cool. WE hit the terrain park and all of the Black Diamonds in Bear Creek (they all sucked). I grinded a ton of new rails, including the Log, Flow, Superman, and one without a name. It was crazy. Then, Mike rode Andrew's snowboard and Andrew rode Mike's skis. It was really funny, but Mike was really good on the snowboard. I took a bunch of pics and here are a few. Hope you like them.

Hospital

I shadowed my dad at work today. It was a long day, too. His first case was a narrowed fistula which took about 30 minutes. The second case was a clotted graft which took over 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then, we ate lunch and I met Ollie and his mom, who is a Spanish interpreter at the hopsital. Then, my dad performed two kyphoplasties which went pretty well. then, the graft patient had to come back in to have an anyurism looked at in his arm. The whole day was very busy. The techs were very nice and helpful, and I had a really good time. Izz MkIzz (Mike)invited me to go skiing with him at Bear Creek on Sunday after church and then go over to his house on Monday. It's gonna be awesome! I aquired some more comments and friends on Myspace and then sent out an emial to some Order of the Arrow members about a service opportunity. So, overall the day was great! I actually got to see what my dad's work day is like from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Tomorrow is my sister's party and Sunday is church. And skiing at Bear Creek. Monday is Mike's house. It's gonna be an awesome.

I'll bring my camera to Skiing, Church, and Mike's house so look for pictures.

Thursday

School - We finished the Amadeus movie in Music class. Then, we did some more lit. analysis on Huck Finn in English Class. We have our fashion show on Tuesday in Spanish. It's gonna be crazy. Took my health quiz which was pretty easy. We had a National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) meeting yesterday to practice for the induction ceremony on Wednesday. I'm being inducted! Later, I had my sports physical for baseball. That went fine. Then, on my Myspace for a while. Got a ton of comments yesterday about my new pictures. Also, a lot of regular comments. Today - I'm going to the Hospital with my dad to watch him perform a kyphoplasty. Then, coming home and chillin. Jessica's party tomorrow and church on Sunday. It's amazing to believe that I still have sore wrist muscles from rock climbing. Well, talk to you guys later.

Rock Climbing

School - We had PSSA's again. Today was the informational prompt. It was okay. I got a pretty good five paragraph esssay out of it. Finished another Five paragraph essay on racial prejudice in Huck Finn last night. I think it's good. I also had to type up a paper for Spanish. Took the science test, which was very easy. We have a math quiz today. And, we have a health test today on how to treat different burns. Last night the troop went rock climbing at Reading Rocks. It was crazy fun. We were climbing a ton and I did a lot of bouldering! Of, course I hardly have any feeling in my arms because Bouldering is all arm strength. Anyways, there was pizza and Gatorade and lots of cool stuff. I had to belay a lot of the little kids, though. That hurt my shoulder muscle (deltoids) a ton, so they're pretty sore this morning, also. Last day of school today! Four day weekend! Skiing at Bear Creek! It's gonna be awesome! Well, nothing Friday (maybe ski), Jessica's party on Saturday, Church on Sunday, and nothing Monday (maybe ski). It's going to be a great weekend. I want everyone to have as much fun as I do!

Valentine's Day

School - We had the PSSA's in school today. We only have to take the writing part now. Today was the informational prompt. It was "What are the Qualities a Teacher Should Have?" It was really easy to write a five paragraph essay about that. Anyways, study hall was fun. We listened to music on Mr. Rada's laptop. And in Health we practiced performing First Aid for bleeding. So, school was pretty cool. I bought the E2c earphones tonight. They're awesome! They sound like a whole stereo system in one little bud. Well, they're really cool. Tomorrow are PSSA's again. Then, off Friday and Monday for the weekend! Can't wait! I need to catch up on sleep, though. Well, should probbly go to bad now. Talk later.

SAT Scores Are In!

School - We have PSSA Writing Assessment tests tomorrow and Wednesday. More tests. Speaking of tests, I got my SAT scores in!!!! Compared to 18 year old seniors, I got an 1860 on the new SAT (and a 1280 on in terms of the old one)! That's an 84 percentile in reading and an 85 percentile in math! I went up 38 percentile in reading all thanks to my english teacher Mr. Comerford. And I've been reading a ton lately. Math went down a tad but I'm better than cool about that. I feel awesome. Plus, I just got back from Grand Slaam and batting practice. It was an on-off day but I got a 39 in the game, which is really good. Four day week! And then a 4 day weekend! Can't wait. Hopefully I'll be skiing this weekend. Can't wait to hit the terrain park. And guess what?! Ligonier Camp is coming to Reading Area! Goin to see them (duh!) and bringin a friend (and I get a free t-shirt for that). Killer day. CHEERS!

Sure E2c Earphones

Well, I've been moody again. I went out to lunch at this small local diner with my family and afterwards went to an Audio/Video Store. They have to craziest home theater set up inside (suggested retail $35,000) and the coolest screen (suggested retail $15,000). Anyways, I was looking for a pair of earphones for my iPod. The man there suggested the Sure E2c earphones. I tried them an thought that they were a bit tinny. The man said that it might have been due to the earphones not being pushed in deep enough into the ear canal, so I'm gonna go back and try them out again later. If anyone has any experience with these or any other E series earphones, please comment your thoughts. Also, if you have any other suggestions, please comment. Thanks.

Snow

We got like 8 inches of snow last night! I probably won't have school on Monday because they haven't even started plowing the streets yet and it's still snowing. Hopefully that means that I can invite Mike to go skiing at Bear Creek on Monday. They got 10 inches up there. It's crazy. I can't wait to see how high the jumps are; they're gonna be crazy high! Anyways, I couldn't go to church today because of the snow, which is disappointing because I had some videos that I wanted to show Emily and Catherine. They're of George and Sam doing a duet of a song that George wrote. George is on the guitar and Sam is on the banjo (lol). It's really funny. Too bad I can't show it to them. O well. I'll show it to them later. I worked on my Myspace a little. Check it out. I only have 32 friends as of right now, though. It's crazy to think of Sam with like 117. Crazy. Well, got to go eat.

SNOW!

The Insider

I just finished watching The Insider with Russel Crowe and Al Pocino. It is a movie about a former executive at a big tobacco company who reveils that the company is enhancing Nicotine so that people become more addicted to it. Crowe plays the exec. and Pocino plays the "60 Minutes" reporter trying to get Crowe in for an interview. Crowe has signed an agreement of confidentiality and is pressured not to talk, but risks everything to tell the world that there are health risks to cigarettes. He gets bashed and threatened but Pocino is always there to protect him. Crowe loses his house, job, wife, kids, and reputation just for this, but Pocino sticks with him. Then, CBS is afraid to air the interview that Crowe went out on a limb to tape. Crowe fights against his superiors because he knows how much Crowe has gone through to "blow the whistle" on big tobacco. Finally, the interview airs.

This shows me an aspect of society that I don't see very often today. Sticking up for what you know is the morally right thing to do. Politicians are swayed by campaign donations, money, and the promise of political support. They no longer look at what is the best thing to do for the people that they are supposed to represent. Americans are giving up their rights for so called security. Benjamin Franklin once said, "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." We need to look back at the fathers of our country to remind ourselves why America was created in the first place. Learn from people like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Monroe, Madison, and all the others about what it really means to be a "servant of the people."

MathCounts

Well, the competition went pretty well. I got ninth out of about 120 students in the county and the team got second out of 20 teams. It was pretty cool. IT'S FINALLY SNOWING! Going skiing on Monday if there's no school (optimistic). Going to pick up a pair of headphones later today. Working on English homework. Peace.

Mr. Minear

School - Math class was really funny. I drew this perfect (well almost) picture of Mr. Minear. Check it out next to his real picture at . Other than that, I got a 50/50 on my Health test. We started a first aid unit which will be easy for me because of scouts. The rest of school was pretty normal, no wait. Shieldsy had a shadow to day named Mary. She's Caitlin Moser's sister. Her, Shieldsy, Matt, ZAch, and I all went to study hall in the library and talked about funny stuff. It was crazy. MathCounts competition tomorrow. Hope it snows a lot! Except that Catherine and Mike have a date to go to the movies together and the snow would ruin it. Well, I have two, five-paragraph essays due and 75 pages of Huck Finn and all the Study Guide questions to go along with them. Talked to Emily and Catherine online.

<3 to you.

Thursday

School - I took my health test today. It wasn't that bad, but I'm really glad I studied for it. Got a ton of homework in English. Anyways, my sister was in the Regional Spelling Bee and wasn't eliminated until the second-to-last round. Well, this weekend, while all my friends are skiing at Jack Frost in the Poconoes, I'll be in a testing room doing math problems. I wish so much that I was with them. I'd give up math for skiing anyday (as you know from my header). Too bad. Well, baseball practice tomorrow and I'm going to ride again. Training, training, training. Can't live with it, can't do all you want without it. I still have a sore Lattisumus Dorsi, and I don't know why. It could have been from skiing but that was last Saturday.

I took the time out of my day to thank the Lord for the great family and friends that I have. Without them, life would be impossible to live. I want all of you to take time out your day today to thank God for what you have. Don't take them for granted. Tell them that you consider their being in your life a pleasure. Let them know that they are appreciated.

I leave you with this quote I said the other day:
"Life isn't black and white. It's all about the colors that you paint it, in your own unique style."

Scouts

School - Today I got a ton of homework all around. Three essays, Huck Finn reading, and much, much more. We're watching Amadeus in music class. It's a pretty good movie about Mozart's life (not a documentary). I have a big health test tomorrow. It's on all of the medical names for bones (Shoulder blade=scapula; collar bone=clavical; etc.), the major muscules and their medical names (calf=gastrocnemius; lover back=lattisumus dorsi; etc.), and the Cardiovascular system. Plus all the types of physical fitness, heartrates, and more. Had scouts tonight. We worked on CPR and splints. A couple of the dads told stories of how they saw a guy brought back by CPR. It was pretty cool. Got invited to work at the Scout Leadership dinner as an OA member. Saturday (while the troop will be skiing at Jack Frost :-() I'll be at a MathCounts competition. Sunday is church. Grammy's tomight. I'm gonna watch about 1/2 hour of them. Well, they start at nine so I got to run. Later.

Training

Just got off the stationary bike. I have to train for my MOUNTAIN BIKING TRIP over spring break. It's gonna be the best! About 3-4 times a week I ride the stationary bike for around 30 minutes and I average about 16-17 miles per hour. If you're thinking right now "Oh, that sounds easy.", think again. I am in the hardest gear and it hurts towards the end. Anyways, I finally got out of my mood swing. It is clinicaly proven that exercising improves one's mood. I think I just validated that proven theory. This session also helps to train for baseball season. Can't wait for that to start. Anyways, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.

Tuesday

School - Got our music quizes back and I got a 100. And I got my English test on the backround of Huck Finn back with a 95%. I'm happy. I got the album By the Way by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's amazing; every song is a new feeling. Buy it, you won't regret it. I connected with an old classmate of mine who moved 3 years ago named Alexa. She lives in Florida and found my Myspace. It was pretty cool to have someone remember you from that long ago. I got my retainers switched to night only, which is great. I've been having a mood swing lately that's made me slightly depressed. I don't know why. I have an awesome life with great people and places to go to if I need them. I guess I miss outside contact. I realized that I've been kind of in my own world lately, and I've missed out on the real one. I plan to change that.
I don't like when people are mad at me. I always try to create an understanding and make things right again. That's me.

Monday

School - Today was pretty good. Spanish was pretty funny, because we showed our catalogues in class. Ours was so funny because George, Sam, and my pictures were on the front of the paper. We're all wearing Sam's sports jacket and we look very classy. We found out that we only had 9 pages when we needed 10. Anyway's, math was really boring because all we did was go over homework that I understood, but no one else did. Talked to Emily for a while. We have PSSA's next week in writing. We have to write a five paragraph essay: one persuasive and one non-fiction. I loathe standerdized tests. Finished reading Huck Finn, the section we were supposed to read. Got to go. Talk to you later.

Super Bowl

The Party was awesome! Ton of people were there: Danny, Pat, Mike, Tanner, Mike, Blake, Jakie, and Sammy Morello (who I haven't seen in like 2 years). It was a crazy party, too. The Super Bowl was won by, who else, The STEELERS! We knew it the whole time. Anyways, I have to go study for a test today, so I'll post tonight.

Sam's House

George, Sam and I worked on our Spanish project at Sam's House. It looks so cool. We had a lot of fun taking pictures with my and Sam's cameras and taking videos of George playing his song on the Guitar (Sam on banjo,lol) on my camera. Crazy times. Church was cool, too. Party tonight! I'll blog about it either tonight ro tomorrow. I know some of the pics are sideways. Deal with it.

Skiing

Bear Creek was awesome. It was the second best skiing time of my life. Mike and I only skiied one run the whole time: The Terrain Park. We had a route that we took every time: 9 jumps, 2 poles (grinding), 1 picnic table (grinding). It was crazy! One jump, we got about 22 feet of air (NO JOKE!). It was sweet. I did a crossed eagle for the first time and a grab for the first time. It was the best! (The first best time in my life was a week in Santa Fe, NM last February where Brent and I skiied the whole mountain; every run, every hidden forest, every secret chute, etc.) Church tomorrow and party in the afternoon. Super Bowl! Steelers! Just added my Myspace to my link list on the right. Don't worry, I'll still blog on this. Myspace isn't even a blogging site. Anyways, I finished my PSSA Writing Test sample: a five paragraph essay on pursuasive writing. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Bear Creek

School - Same old, same old. I have to know every bone and muscle in the body by Tuesday for Health. I already am really good with the bones, but the muscles are hard because we have to know the latin names. Anyways, had an english test today. 8 short answer questions, 5 points each, which means if you mess up one, you bomb the test. My dad had a cool case today at the hospital (he's an Intervential Radiologist). Gun shot would to the left side of the neck. Hit the Vertebial Artery, which brings blood to the brain. The guy was knock door-to-door trying to get someone to call the police. 40 mins later someone did. My dad wasn't the one who did the procedure, but his partner did. And he did an awesome job! The tricky part was that if the artery was blocked the the junction of the left and right arteries, it would cause a stroke. The left Vertebrial Artery was ruptured and had to be blocked without cutting off the right one. He did it perfectly! Anyways, the guy is doing great! Lucky guy. So, changing gears, skiing tomorrow at Bear Creek with Mike, Jessica, and her friend. It's gonna be a blast! Church on Sunday, and Super Bowl Party at Izzo's. I predict Huck Finn and a five paragraph essay in my future.

Thursday

School - Not much happened. Just a normal school day for me. I got some more of my science project done last night and read some more of Huck Finn. Spanish class was really funny again: Sara Erika, Sam, George, and I were cutting out clothes from a magazine. Then, Sara started to switch head and clothes and it all got out of hand. Bottom line, We're going to have to go to Sam's house to work on the project. Looks like it's going to rain tomorrow, so I think Skiing would be hard. Unless it's snowing at the ski area. Anyways, Emily called last night and we talked for awhile, then I went to bed. Baseball practice today, Skiing (maybe) tomorrow, church and a movie (maybe) Sunday. Got to go to school. See you guys.

Wednesday cont.

School - Science we worked on our research partner (Patch) on our work papers. We're almost done with our Classical Music notes in Music and are going to move into Classic Rock. It's gonna become really awesome after we start that section. Have to read a lot more of Huck Finn (about 110 pages) by next week, which wouldn't be so bad if I weren't coveredd in other assignments. Like today, had school from 7:34-2:15, MathCounts from 2:15-3:00, George was over from 3:00-4:45, Grand Slam from 5:00-6:00 (with travel), Dinner from 6:15-6:45, and scout meeting from 7:00-8:45. Then, I do homework. Where am I supposed to fit Huck Finn in. Anyways, Grand Slam was good. Got a bunch of rounds in. My swing is awesome, if I may say so myself. Anyways, have to eat or I'll starve (yeah right, ONE). Later.

Back again at 8:45, back from scouts. We had a pretty good meeting. Tonight was the Order of th Arrow (OA) elections. The OA is an elite group of scouts who are dedicated to cheerful service. Tonight is the night which we elect new members into the Order. 2 out of the 3 made it in. As the newly appointed OA Representative, I helped with elections and other stuff that I won't go into detail about. Mr. Lutz gave a great speech on the Constitution before the elections, too. Mike might be coming skiing with us at Bear Creek on Saturday, and I'm trying to set up a movie on Sunday with Youth Group. Church and the Super Bowl party at the Izzo's on Sunday. Another crazy awesome weekend planned. Can't wait!

Wednesday

School - Spanish class was awesome. George, Sam, Sara, Erika, Suzy, and I searched Pete Minear on Google Images. The pictures we found are above. Say hello to my math teacher. All we did in Spanish was search the names of teachers in google. I'll post more later because George is here and we have to work on a Spanish Catalogue. Later.