Yeah, and it's only been, what, three days? Go me.
That's not to say I have a whole lot to actually talk about, but I suppose it's the thought that counts. Let's see...what's been on my mind lately...I'll pick three.
1) Math sucks. I don't care HOW much you tell me it's an 'exercise for my brain', I'd rather go read a book and exercise my brain that way, thank you very much. All you people who want to be engineers, go ahead and have fun with the quadratic formula and graphing equations and vectors and stuff, but I plan to WRITE, therefore I need about grade 6 math and I'll be quite happy. Oh, and then there's the universities-like-math school of thought. WHY? WHY do they like math? What's so impressive about playing with numbers for years on end that they like it at universities? I've been playing piano for ten years, and I think that shows a lot more discipline and commitment than math does. I also know stuff like, oh, how to spell and use grammar and punctuation correctly. All that to say - I hate math. And math hates me. And I am saying goodbye to math forever as soon as I possibly can.
2) On a happier note, I'm remembering my view on post-secondary education and life after high school as it was about this time last year, when the thought scared me silly and I had no desire to even converse on it. Last year was also the year I was in band, and the year I discovered I didn't want a career in music (yes, the two are related), which may have helped that along a bit. And I mean, it's not like I have every facet of my life after school planned out, but I know a lot more than I did, and it doesn't scare me like it used to. So I suppose that's a good step in the right direction. I like knowing what I'd like to do, and even if most of it right now is just dreams, it's certainly better than nothing.
3) And finally, and somewhat randomly, I've been really thankful for friendship lately. Over the weekend I had so much fun meeting people and discovering people with the same passions as me and finding that I'm not the only crazy one out there. There have been times where I've felt that I don't quite fit with the friends I have, and most of this year has been discovering that I don't need to fit. They'll love me anyway, and fitting has nothing to do with it. It reminds me of a conversation we had at the youth retreat about confidence - when you're self-assured and real and you, people won't care what kind of clothes you have or what you look like. Because by being confident and not caring what others think and knowing that above all, God will love you no matter what and in the end nothing else matters, you're beautiful inside and out. Easier said than done, but it's very important to always remember.
And a couple random things...I haven't heard about my job application at the library and I'm getting rather antsy. Could you guys pray that I get it, please? This is a bit of a rare opportunity and I'd love it if I could work somewhere I enjoy. Random thing #2 - so you probably remember the short story I wrote a while back, for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. I'm pretty sure I didn't make it on a national level. The list they posted on their site doesn't include Canadians at all, but I think if I won my name would be on there. I'm okay with it, though - I didn't expect to even get past the first level, so it's all good. Random thing #3 - this is my 200th blog post. *celebration* Random thing #4 - I edited my profile. Rather more accurate now.
I think that's all.
is now ~Melda (because I answer to that anyway)
"Will, don't stand on the popcorn."
17 April 2008
14 April 2008
Yes, all RIGHT
I would like to begin with a pointed look in the direction of The Violent One Who Knows Who She Is. Okay, I'm posting, already.
I do think it's a bit excusable that I haven't been posting much (um, at all) in the last month or so. My life's been mostly made up of school and studying for Great West, which was this last weekend. I mean, much as I love quizzing, I'm pretty sure most of you don't want to read about the latest chapters I quoted, or how many times the word 'deceived' appears in Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians. But Great West is over, so I now have actual news.
The weekend was pretty hardcore. We arrived Thursday evening at about 5:30, and waited around for the other Western Canadian quizzers to arrive (there were 25 of us) and then had pizza together and sat around talking while Sandy (Hoppus) tantalized us by not telling us what teams we were on. So we ate dinner, and then all had to introduce ourselves (name, church, grade, length of time you've been in quizzing, and the superpower you'd most like to have. Thank you Rob for the last one. Mine was to change into fictional characters at will) and THEN found out our teams. The way it worked felt quite a bit like picking teams in the playground. Every coach had a list of who was on their team, but they all took turns reading one at a time. Guess who got to get picked dead last?
That would be me. Irritating, I tell you. Most supremely irritating. But I did find out eventually. Then we played huge-sized full-contact Dutch Blitz with cardboard 2' x 3' cards, which was AWESOME, while the coaches had their meeting, and afterwards went to our billets. I always like billeting, it's fun. These people had an amazing grand piano in their living room, too, and I played it. Fun stuffs.
So next day, Friday, we got to the church (which was Foothills Alliance in Calgary, by the way) and had a practice mini-tournament. I actually did fairly well, as did our team. So that was fun. After that, we went to Chinook Mall for lunch and bowling. I lost bowling, but since I do it about once every three years, no huge surprise there. Then we got back, and after dinner and the arrival of the other districts, hardcore quizzing started.
Incidentally, the districts involved were Western Canadian (Alberta), Canadian Midwest (Saskatchewan/Manitoba), Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon) and Rocky Mountain (Montana). I am being entirely truthful when I say that Canadian quizzers PWN. Anyway, Friday night was VERY intense. I've never been at a quiz meet that intense before. It was kinda tough, cause I was finding it very hard to get up and the one quizmaster dude-who-ruined-CVR-question (*mutter*) rather irritated me. But once I got into it, it was okay. Our team didn't do so well here, but that was okay too.
As you can imagine, I was pretty tired Friday night. Saturday there was more quizzing in the morning and early afternoon. The way in which it all works is rather complicated, but our team ended up 12th out of 15 at the end of the day, which was good, because we'd been 14th before the last two quizzes. One of the Western Canadian teams made finals, and the top two quizzers were from Western Canada, which was occasion for much pride. Then we all had supper, in the parking lot of another church because we got locked out, and Foothills Alliance needed us out so they could have their Saturday night service, and went swimming before we headed home.
And I was pretty much exhausted, but it was an unbelievably fun weekend. It's so neat to get to know all the elite quizzers that you always thought were so big and important, and discover that they're really just people like you. I'm SO going again next year. Oh, and pics HERE.
Happy now, she-who-must-not-be-named? :P
-Sil
"Take the average amount of pro football interest in an American city. Multiply by three. Then stick an 'I <3 FACIAL STITCHES' bumper sticker on it. That's hockey in Canada."
I do think it's a bit excusable that I haven't been posting much (um, at all) in the last month or so. My life's been mostly made up of school and studying for Great West, which was this last weekend. I mean, much as I love quizzing, I'm pretty sure most of you don't want to read about the latest chapters I quoted, or how many times the word 'deceived' appears in Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians. But Great West is over, so I now have actual news.
The weekend was pretty hardcore. We arrived Thursday evening at about 5:30, and waited around for the other Western Canadian quizzers to arrive (there were 25 of us) and then had pizza together and sat around talking while Sandy (Hoppus) tantalized us by not telling us what teams we were on. So we ate dinner, and then all had to introduce ourselves (name, church, grade, length of time you've been in quizzing, and the superpower you'd most like to have. Thank you Rob for the last one. Mine was to change into fictional characters at will) and THEN found out our teams. The way it worked felt quite a bit like picking teams in the playground. Every coach had a list of who was on their team, but they all took turns reading one at a time. Guess who got to get picked dead last?
That would be me. Irritating, I tell you. Most supremely irritating. But I did find out eventually. Then we played huge-sized full-contact Dutch Blitz with cardboard 2' x 3' cards, which was AWESOME, while the coaches had their meeting, and afterwards went to our billets. I always like billeting, it's fun. These people had an amazing grand piano in their living room, too, and I played it. Fun stuffs.
So next day, Friday, we got to the church (which was Foothills Alliance in Calgary, by the way) and had a practice mini-tournament. I actually did fairly well, as did our team. So that was fun. After that, we went to Chinook Mall for lunch and bowling. I lost bowling, but since I do it about once every three years, no huge surprise there. Then we got back, and after dinner and the arrival of the other districts, hardcore quizzing started.
Incidentally, the districts involved were Western Canadian (Alberta), Canadian Midwest (Saskatchewan/Manitoba), Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon) and Rocky Mountain (Montana). I am being entirely truthful when I say that Canadian quizzers PWN. Anyway, Friday night was VERY intense. I've never been at a quiz meet that intense before. It was kinda tough, cause I was finding it very hard to get up and the one quizmaster dude-who-ruined-CVR-question (*mutter*) rather irritated me. But once I got into it, it was okay. Our team didn't do so well here, but that was okay too.
As you can imagine, I was pretty tired Friday night. Saturday there was more quizzing in the morning and early afternoon. The way in which it all works is rather complicated, but our team ended up 12th out of 15 at the end of the day, which was good, because we'd been 14th before the last two quizzes. One of the Western Canadian teams made finals, and the top two quizzers were from Western Canada, which was occasion for much pride. Then we all had supper, in the parking lot of another church because we got locked out, and Foothills Alliance needed us out so they could have their Saturday night service, and went swimming before we headed home.
And I was pretty much exhausted, but it was an unbelievably fun weekend. It's so neat to get to know all the elite quizzers that you always thought were so big and important, and discover that they're really just people like you. I'm SO going again next year. Oh, and pics HERE.
Happy now, she-who-must-not-be-named? :P
-Sil
"Take the average amount of pro football interest in an American city. Multiply by three. Then stick an 'I <3 FACIAL STITCHES' bumper sticker on it. That's hockey in Canada."
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