Poem: "The Mountainside Grave"

About two weeks ago, the student teacher for our Advanced English III class asked us to write a poem that somewhat mimicked the dialect of the poems of 17th century England and would include literary devices such as apostrophe, simile, metaphor, paradox, symbol, etc. My production, with the aid of my friend Matt (this was a group poem project), was the poem titled "The Mountainside Grave". The poem was successful. Not only did it earn us 100's, but she entered it into a small contest in which one of her AP English classes voted for the best poem. Two poems tied -- ours and one other; however we won with the best effort made toward our project. The reward: five bonus points on our recent test. On the side, I created a self-analysis of the poem (which wasn't required), which I will include below with the poem itself. I hope you enjoy the poem and understand its meaning. Enjoy!

“The Mountainside Grave”

Alas hear my final dying words
Frozen in time amongst mine rocky grave
Cavern trekked not two-thirds
To obtain the bloody gem thou crave

Three suns rose, have I set here
Warming my freezing passionate heart
Visions form of thou upon the pier
Farewells said before mine ship did part

Mine soul troubled by the dull fire
Precious pearl not yet born of womb
Father abandoned thou, do not admire
The traitor dreaming away to doom

One night prior a knapsack was found
Food n’ drink extinct to the bud
The rocks laughed from the ground
Their energies supplying mine blood

The blood gem flutters cross mine scope
Yet the diamonds reveal thee rounded form
Protruding abdomen like a mountainside slope
Hiding mine child, from winter storm

Oblivion reaches toward mine decaying living shell
Take me now to glorious heaven, or away to blood-shed hell!

Self-Analysis

Brief overview: The speaker ventured off on an expedition to the Alps in search of a prized gem. The speaker left behind his pregnant wife. The speaker only entered a cavern to begin a search when a rockslide trapped him. With the few materials he has, the speaker manages to survive for three days. During this time, the speaker reflects on the individuals that mean the most to him -- his wife and unborn child. The speaker feels guilty and believes he is betraying them to Death, as at this time, he knows that death is inevitable. The speaker addresses his wife and unborn child in the poem, which he wrote on a scrap material he had around the fire he created. In the last couplet, the speaker is so pained by the agonies of starvation, dehydration, and frostbite that he actually wants to die.

Stanza 1: The speaker creates the setting in this stanza. He lets the reader know that he is not in a good situation by the lines “final dying words” and “rocky grave”. In the last two lines, he is telling the reader that he barely trekked the cavern when the rockslide occurred, and then informs the reader of his objective: to obtain the prized gem.

Stanza 2: The speaker states that he has been set in his ‘grave’ for three days now. Even though his heart may be freezing from the elements, he is warming it up by thoughts of his beloved wife. He can mentally picture her the best from their last confrontation -- when he was leaving on the ship from England and she was on the pier waving farewell to him.

Stanza 3: Even though the visions may be welcomed by his heart, they trouble his soul. By the fireside, the speaker reflects on his unborn baby. At this point, the speaker is overwhelmed emotionally, knowing that death is inevitable. The speaker is so troubled that he comes to believe that he is a traitor to his child. The child will grow up fatherless while the speaker is ‘enjoying’ his time with Death.

Stanza 4: The speaker then mentions a side story on how he found a knapsack on the second day. The speaker hoped that the knapsack contained food and drink, but instead nothing appealing to the bud (taste buds) existed within. At this point, the speaker is somewhat hallucinating, and believes that the most ample object in the dwelling, rocks, are mocking him for his folly. The speaker ignores them, and instead believes that they are supplying his blood with nutrients that food or water would do. In this, the speaker is at a desperate point of survival.

Stanza 5: Continuing in his hallucinations, the speaker sees the prized gem float by in his sight. However, the many sides of the gem outline the figure of his pregnant wife. He emphasizes on the only detail the outline depicts to him -- the protruding abdomen that houses his child. In the last line, the speaker states that the womb acts as a shelter for his child from the elements -- which is a direct reflection on the wishes the speaker hopes for; to be in a warm and safe place.

Stanza 6: The speaker writes down his final words before death. At this point, the speaker feels that he is soon to die. He feels the force of oblivion tugging at his soul. Due to his pains from starvation, dehydration, and frostbite, the speaker wishes to die in the last line, and states that he doesn’t care where is final destination is -- he just wants the struggle to be over with.

Eragoin's Journal #1: Whelpling, GSI Meeting, and Raiding 101.14

'ello mon! It be Eragoin here, reportin' to ya from ma headquarters in Da Broken Isles. Honestly, the whole troll accent thing doesn't cut the cheese for me. Sure, we may talk that way, but us trolls need to push past that barrier and write like some noble human living in the rich quarters of Stormwind -- wherever that may be. I hate getting mail from my buddy trolls and I can't understand a thing they say because it's written with the worst grammar. C'mon guys! Didn't you learn anything in the Orgrimmar Academy? I guess Mrs. Blackeye didn't cast hellfire on you enough.

I'm here today to tell of an epic tale that involves yours truly. Okay, maybe it wasn't epic, but it sure was to me anyway. I guess that's all that matters. Ah, don't bite my stylus! Oops, I have a tendency to write down whatever I say aloud, so please don't mind that remark. I don't have an eraser on me. My new pet is sort of irritating me. All I hear are flapping wings reverberating throughout my ears and I can barely concentrate -- hence my poorer than usual grammar usage. Ah, yes. I received a new pet today. Even though it looks fearsome (yet cute), it can't aid me in battle. I'll have to keep my rare saber cat, Rhornin, for that task of combat. Before I reveal what my pet is, let me tell you of my legacy of trying to obtain this . . . thing.

I was walking through Orgrimmar for exercise (I've been gaining weight from eating too much grilled squid) when I passed by the bank and noticed that I had mail. I reached my hand into the mailbox and felt a large bulky object. It was composed of a large bundle of papers, bound together with mageweave string. The weekly newspaper, Warchief's Digest, arrived. I eagerly pulled out the bundle and scanned the front page. Nothing interesting. Alliance raid killed twenty peons at Razor Hill, Cairne Bloodhoof had a child, and the Health Department for the Horde! issued a warning that the sludge in Undercity was building up in the canals. What else was new? The most interesting article was that Durotan's ghost was sighted in a bikini off the coast of Westfall, splashing in the water among the murlocs. The following article then stated how the journalist who published the above article was beheaded on the account that his false claims offended Thrall. However, in the economy section of the newspaper, a notice was printed on how a rare item was said to be held by the blue dragonflight members at Lake Mennar in Azshara. The item was in fact believed to be a caged whelpling that the dragonflight were experimenting on with artifacts that were found in the old Highborne ruins. The article went on to say that adventurers should seek out this pet before Azuregos finds out what his kin are up to, and would possibly kill the young whelpling to put an end to their experiments. Also, it stated how the Horde should obtain this pet before the Alliance finds out about it and retrieves it first. I threw the newspaper aside, ran into the bank to retrieve my armor and weapons, called my combat pet Rhornin to my side, and ventured off to the forgotten lands of Azshara.

Once I arrived in Valormok, I realized how stupid I was not to find out directions to this lake that the article mentioned. I asked the locals, but they were too arrogant and asked for gold in return for an answer. I wasn't going to be weak and ask for directions by paying up (a tip that every man should apply), so I called my black war raptor, mounted up, and went off to . . . somewhere. I never felt so lost in my life. I was ganged up on by nagas, pinched by crabs, clawed by giant flying two-headed things, and pounded by some large rocky mountain giants. It wasn't fun. Night was falling. I was tired, exhausted, and beaten up. I nodded off to sleep while my mount did the venturing for me. I started to dream of my love, when all of a sudden . . . 'Splash!' I woke up in a large puddle of water. My raptor fled, due to its extreme fear of water, and my pet Rhornin rushed to my side. I didn't care, really. I could've fell fast asleep floating in that lake . . . lake!? I looked around at my surroundings with newly awakened eyes and realized that the crater I was in was indeed Lake Mennar. I could tell based on the description that the article had: Old ruins litter the environment of the lake . . . and indeed they did. All of a sudden, I heard a grunting sound. My pet sprang into action. I turned around and saw a large blue reptilian-like creature marching toward my party in the lake. It had a large spear and wielded strips of plate armor. With the light of the two moons, I could see the multitude of razor-sharp teeth that lined its mouth. Rhornin bit and clawed at the strange creature. With instinct, I pulled out an arrow from my quiver, grabbed my crossbow, and fired away. Then repeated the process over and over. The blue scalebane was doing its toll on my pet, so I channeled the energy to heal my pet. Then, I sent an arcane shot directly toward the chest of the fiend. This didn't do any fatal damage, but it only made the dragon aware of my presence. However, my dual steady shots did the trick, and the dragonspawn marched toward me, spear pointing directly toward my heart. I had to act quick! I slapped myself in the face, and fell down into the lake, feigning my death. The gullible dragon believed that I killed myself. Therefore, it turned around and resumed its attack on my pet. I sprang up from the lake, charged toward the fiend, and struck it in the back with my axe with the power of the raptors. The scalebane fell. The victory wasn't easy, and I was able to conclude that these dragons were elite beasts. Thankfully it didn't spray me with the fire that burns within it, like the fantasy books used to say. Wait, weren't there different types of dragons? Ah, I forget. I examined the corpse for any possessions, but only found a handful of silver and copper and some freshly cooked meat that it must've been saving for later. This dragon wasn't the one holding the whelpling, but there were probably many more left to kill until I found my prize. I took a quick nap, awoke at dawn, and charged at a mageweaver. Only I wish I knew that I would be fighting here for days.

How you doin'? Looks like ya got some blood on yer face there. Lemme get it for ye, with ma axe!

Four different types of dragons dominated the surroundings around the lake. Mageweavers, Scalebanes, Magelords, and Dragonspawns housed themselves in this secluded area of Azshara. Day after day, I repeated a usual routine. Wake up at dawn, kill until dusk, and then go to bed. Occassinaly I broke up the mundane ritual by taking any worthwhile items that I found from the dragon's corpses to the auction house in Orgrimmar. Let me tell you, the only thing that kept me going were the pretty pennies that I was making from successful sales. I feared that I would put the blue dragonflight of the region into extinction, but after days of killing them, they just seemed to be coming back from the grave to avenge their death. Honestly, I swear I counted over two thousand kills once. Two weeks passed until today. Today was the day that would make my life happier.

I was starting to get bored with this constant fighting of the same enemy. I was starting to doubt the claim of the newspaper. I mean, this was the same paper that said that Thrall's father was catching some rays and eating some murloc fin soup in Alliance territory. C'mon! Sometimes a blood elf paladin or a orc hunter would stop by to kill some, but they soon left after a few kills. I began to get really nervous of retrieving my prized treasure when a human mage came onto the scene. The Alliance knew about the whelpling! If the Alliance flocked here like they do when somebody informs them that the Horde is raiding somewhere, then I knew that I would have a crowd here soon. I slew the dragons faster, looted their corpse, skinned them for their leather, hide, and scales, and went onto the next one in record timing. I became so used to looting them that I was surprised when I saw a rather bulky container held by one of them. A new item. It happened a lot, especially when a rare weapon or piece of armor was found. But this wasn't anything that could be wielded. It was a cage! And inside the cage was an azure whelpling, begging to be let free. I rejoiced at the sight that filled up my scope! I quickly opened the cage, and to my joy and surprise, the azure whelpling did not flee from me, but rather stayed by my side as if I tamed it. I had a new companion!

Picture of my new band. From left to right: Eragoin, Blu Glu, and Rhornin.

I had the azure whelpling. Finally. And it was mine. Temptation to sell the lil' cutie for hundreds of bags of gold at the auction house soared out of my mind. I couldn't break the bond that the two of us had. Our souls were bound as one now. Let me tell you, I couldn't have been happier leaving Lake Mennar for the last time, riding on the back of my raptor while my azure whelpling fluttered closely behind me, avoiding the whipping tail of my mount. I'm not going back to Azshara for a very, very long time.

Quite frankly, I obtained Blu Glu, which I named my whelpling based off the ice cream brand created by those goblins at Mirage Raceway that they discontinued, right before my guild, Gnome Squishing Inc., had a scheduled meeting. I couldn't bask with Blu Glu in the rays of the sun for long, as I had to stop off at the auction house, repair my armor and weapons at the local gunsmith, and fly to the inn at Ratchet for the meeting. I was the first there, of course. I had nothing better to do with my spare time now that I had the only thing that was my goal. I got drunk off of some ales at the inn, took a nap on a straw bed laid out on the floor, and started to dream of my love, when . . . "Eragoin is a jerk." I jumped up, wondering who said my name and described me in such a rude manner. There in front of me was an orc hunter. His tusks shined in the firelight of a nearby torch, and I realized that I forgot to receive my monthly waxing.

The crew discussing politics over a few tubs of mead. New candidate for warchief? I don't think so!

This orc was one of my fellow guild members, Urcuzyoda. Behind him in the background, I noticed a female blood elf who was another guild member, Esotericsyn. May I add that the guild meeting was only for the ranks of high warlord and up, and there was only a handful of us at the meeting. Others that came included Tyregen, the guild leader, Hoogie, the co-guild leader, and Tatankh. Sorry if I forgot somebody. My mind isn't the best. In this meeting, we discussed possible guild events, such as a triathlon, scavenger hunt, lottery, instance runs, and raids, bank access, in which we voted to give the peons of the guild access to the first tab of the guild bank, and discussed recent guild conflicts that have been happening. All in all, it was a very successful meeting, until . . .

The sirens rang in Ratchet. Or at least, the siren mute to the ears of the Alliance. To the Horde, it stated that our people were being attacked in the town. Tyregen quickly rushed out of the inn. I followed him, including the other members of the party. A night elf hunter was causing trouble in the streets below the cliff that housed the inn. Tyregen, Urcuzyoda, and I were powerful enough to take down this opponent in only a few hits. Yet, the night elf's spirit kept on combining with its body, even after death, and he prolonged his rage to attack a few more of our people. The meeting was disrupted a lot because of this foe, and others came to help him, including a very strong hunter. However, Gnome Squishing Inc. saved Ratchet from these fiends. The bruisers of the town, however, kicked us out for fighting, so the meeting was forced to end.

The raid group on the ship heading to Rut'theran Village. For the Horde!

Sadly, the most epic portion of my tale of today must fall short. My hand is numb from holding this writing stylus, and let me tell you, three fingers isn't easy to write with. Tyregen, Hoogie, Urcuzyoda, Raizar, another hunter from the guild whose name begins with an 'H' (blast my poor memory!), and several other recruits we picked up on the road went on a raiding spree! We gathered at Splintertree Post in Ashenvale and marched to Astranaar, the local night elf community, to raid the town. We pretty much burned the town to the ground, killing every night elf that came into our path. All of the guards of the town couldn't bring us down in wave after wave of attack. Once we were successful at this destination, we continued down the road into Darkshore where we planned to raid Auberdine, and then take a ship to Rut'theran Village outside of Darnassus, which resided in the great tree of Teldrassil. Well, that sort of worked out. In Auberdine, we were ambushed by two strong hunters and a rogue. We weren't wiped out by them , however, and instead killed them whenever they came into reach of our position on the docks, where we waited patiently for the boat. Once the boat came, we flocked on it to venture off to Rut'theran Village. It was strange, however, how the boat had no crew or captain. Once we arrived at the village, we fought some guards and pushed our way toward the portal that would teleport us to Darnassus. However, between the guards and the citizens of Darnassus, we were overwhelmed, and butchered by their blades. All in all, it was an amazing time, even though we died.

Blu Glu: I shall call them, Mini-Mis!
Eragoin: How original...

I shall conclude this journal entry with a picture. The picture on the left shows an army of Blu Glu's in Shattrath City. Don't ask how it happened, because I won't give you time to. Let's just say that when a goblin asks to you a cloning device on you, don't do it. Instead, offer to use another living thing. If I thought one whelpling was annoying enough, then I must be going mad. Thankfully, the others are off sleeping in a cage at an auction house display near you.

As they say in Silithus, "I'll buzz ya later, mon."

Suddenly I'm Not So Young

Wow I want to write really bad suddenly. :P Um, I have a lot on my mind but I probably won't let myself share it all here. Thankfully I am in a little better mood than I was earlier today. -sigh- Anyway, I have been very busy. Busy is good, I guess. I realized again this evening how much I like organization and having a set plan of things to do and stuff to accomplish, on a list sort of, and it feels good to work towards crossing things off that "list." School and activities outside of it have really be occupying my time. I am shocked I have come to some sort of stage now where I am more so one of those people that have a list of "stuff" going on. :P For one, I am now a member on the school committee for an AFG program. They meet once a month. They as in other teachers, the principal, and a few other important people like a lawyer and a college professor. [That's all I can really remember.] I had fun my first time and was warmly welcomed. The meeting sort of focused on school issues, beliefs, mission statements, and what a graduate should "truly be." The student half was encouraged to get involved and share some of our opinions, especially when we were split into groups. It was pretty great. :) And to think this invitation for me only came about from a simple article I wrote for my Journalism class. :)

Aside from that, Drama is baaaack! I am pretty excited. Sure, the first two meetings/practices we had this week involved mostly arguing and disorganized conversation, but I think there is still hope and nobody should give up on us. :P To set the record straight, we are not doing Cats, but a night of broadway related idea. I cannot elaborate much at the moment, and I'd rather not anyway because that would give away many good ideas that were brought to the table. That way the show can be a surprise. I am a pretty optimistic person, however, and think that if we can pull this off, it will be one of the most creative and entertaining shows in the area. Truly. :) I'm so glad to be an actual member in the show this time though. It is incredibly flattering to receive compliments from the director that I am doing a wonderful job with the dancing, per say. I mean, [this is where I get pessimistic], I think I probably look like a thin flapping stick, so nobody better expect me to have some hidden talent out there, but it is just so fun and well, I get caught up in the moment, ya know? :)

Hmm...I feel like I have so much I want to say but not the energy to type it into words. For example, life. My future life. Within the past month, there has barely been one day that has passed where I haven't thought of, or spoken about college plans, career interests, adult life. Pretty much makes me sick, really. :P -pause- Yep, still feeling sick about it, lol. Scared is probably what, but I just feel so jeegjgfgkdskigkdfnfklndsfm about everything like that. I do enjoy talking about it though, it helps a bit. It just really has been a huge topic of conversation a lot lately though. Last night, I described the road of my life as being extremely foggy. If only I can clear through that fog, maybe I'd feel better, knowing what is actually right in front of me. Then I could figure out whether I needed to turn left or right to reach the dream deep within me. =/

WoW Ramblings: Big Weapons n' Dragon Farming

Right before I logged off of World of Warcraft tonight, a thought came to my mind. On my way to Valormok in Azshara and while still in Orgrimmar, I saw somebody put up an epic item in the trade channel and said after it, "pre-TBC ftw!" I figured that the item was most likely a level 60 epic then with that concluding statement, and confirmed my hypothesis upon examining the item stats. The epic was [Anathema], the shadow staff rewarded from the priest epic quest widely sought after pre-TBC. However, not until I tried the staff on me did I finally realize something. Why were all the main epic weapons before The Burning Crusades monstrously huge? Not that I ever owned an epic weapon from The Burning Crusade expansion, but just from walking around and spotting a large variety of 70's in major cities, I never exactly saw a gigantic weapon. Just a week or two ago, I remember looking at pictures of warrior/paladin two-handed swords that were probably the length of their body. And of course, they were level 60. Maybe such as how Blizzard got rid of the 50-man raids in the expansion, they also got rid of the 50-man length swords, staffs, etc. However, these large weapons must be an Azeroth thing. With the introduction of Wrath of the Lich King, we should expect weapons such as the Ashbringer and Frostmourne to appear, which are large weapons.

So why not create other products mimicking them in size? If anything, why doesn't Blizzard try to revise the weapons of yesteryear? Make a serious update to blacksmithing by introducing ways to improve older weapons (and same may even go in terms of armor for their relative skill in the production of that type). Make the engine so that the materials would be challenging to gather, and would require high-level content to do so, yet the outcome will be rewarding. That way, it may scare some away so that everybody isn't lazy and they acquire the easy-to-get weapons to improve them to 'pwn' in battlegrounds, arena, and world PvP at level 80 without ever doing an 80 raid/instance. I don't know, it's a risky sketch of an idea. Just a thought there rotting away in my mind.

For the past week or two, I have been farming like crazy for a noncombat pet in Azshara. The pet is the extremely rare [Azure Whelpling], obtainable from the blue dragonflight members around the ruins of Lake Mennar. Yesterday I calculated (from taking a total of eight different pieces of data provided by MobInfo2 [four different types of dragonflight times two different levels each]) that I have killed 1850+ mobs already. Yes, my luck is bad. Very bad. So far I got a ton of green items, two blues, a million stacks of rugged leather, thick leather, worn dragonscales, and blue dragonscales, and a variety of other white items: all destined to be sold for a good sum at the auction house. Being a skinner and a herbalist, I benefit greatly from farming in this area. Sungrass, dreamfoil, purple lotus, etc. all inhabit the path I take to go in and out of my farming area, and skinning the dragons is great money. Rugged leather goes for a pretty high price on my server -- approximately four to six gold per stack. I normally come out of the place with five to six stacks too. Sadly, I never leave with the pet I'm seeking. I shall continue the farming effort, however. Maybe I'll have enough for my epic flying mount by the time it drops.

That's all I'll leave you with for today. Even though I have much more to say, I'll save it for another post at a later time. Until then, have a good one.

Snowflake Drama

I think I stole Steve's blog motivation today because I suddenly have a burst of blog writing energy! :P As I look over my shoulder, out into the large field all I see is white. [Haha..I lie. It is night now so I just see black. Wow..major opposite.] But when it was daytime, all I saw was a fuzzy white blanket, honestly. That is because we got this delicious snow storm today. As of ten minutes ago, we have eight inches in my backyard. Before we measured it I took a guess of eight inches and booyah I was so right! :D Nice guess huh? School was cancelled so I spent my day doing random activities.

I am going out to rent Hairspray tomorrow. Being the devoted Zac Efron fan I now am, I am really anxious to see him in that film. When it came out in theatres around the time of HSM 2 I was not interested in it at all, but because I am now what better weekend to check it out? You can probably expect my next blog entry to be a mini-review of it. :) Ever since I've become a Drama Thespian I really find myself being fond of musicals and movies, and of course, plays. I always enjoyed them here and there in the past but recently I find myself very very interested. :P Hairspray, for example. I was rattling off the names of the actors and actresses that are in it like the back of my hand and I never even saw the movie yet. Either I am paying better attention or my interest is causing me to store that kind of information now. I mean, two plus years ago I watched very little movies because they all bored me and I never had a favorite actor. Look at me now. Zefron's my boy and I can't wait to take someone to see his upcoming movie 17 Again in theatres in a few months, and then I'm sure I'll eventually see his other three films in progress which include "Me and Orson Welles", "High School Musical 3", and "Footoose" is a possibility too. =P Woah. Why do I know all this? xD I feel in-tune with Hollywood. :P

Alright back on topic. Speaking of what my friends and I call d-ma [aka drama], this week that was supposed to include practice almost every day including tomorrow all came to a sudden halt when literal drama pursued. My school's drama club was originally practicing to perform the play "A Chorus Line" in a few months. We had already been working on it for a good two weeks without script copies. Here's what I got out of what happened. We had practice on like..Tuesday night I think it was? After our half hour to change, eat, and stretch, the drama director called us over and we sat in a circle around her as she began telling us some news. It was bad off the bat. :P She said that we can't do A Chorus Line any longer. If you don't know, that play is highly inappropiate in its original form and we had planned just to change the necessary words/lines, which would have been fine. I think the director was waiting on the scripts to come or something and they weren't so her and the principal called the company. See, I guess when a school does a play they have to buy certain rights for the scripts and agree to some copyright stuff and this can all be done through the company that owns the play and its scripts. While on the phone with the company, the person on the phone made it perfectly clear that with their script there is to be absolutly NO editing of any sort and it would have to be performed in its originality. Obviously the school board and parents wouldn't allow such. You may be thinking, "well how would this company even know if we changed the lines?" They probably wouldn't, but it would be too much of a risk and one the school does not want to take because what if someone sued or something..y'know? There was also no other school version of A Chorus Line, so the only option was to really choose another play. The rest of that night was spent with everybody yelling random musicals out and just everyone discussing possible options. It was exciting actually. xD Sadly, when someone mentioned HSM the idea was literally murdered. -sniff sniff- :P I knew that'd happen anyway so I kept my hopes low on that one. ;P Nothing was decided that night but the most popular musicals the majority really liked including ones like Aladin, The Lion King, Footloose, and Cats. I thought the Lion King would be pretty awesome, especially considering it was my first and favorite movie ever. I liked Aladin for a split second because I love the songs, then I realized how little parts there sort of are, so I revoked my vote. :P Footloose would rock my socks too. Cats was a crazy out there idea that someone mentioned as a joke but when it came up half the crowd roared and started screaming "OMG YEAAAH!" Especially my friend so I sort of am at blame as being one of those that freaked out too. xD

There are so many factors that had to be taken into consideration though in order to even think about a play. Props, costumes, cost, cast, and audience appeal are just to name a few. Rumors said that when the director had her meeting, Cats was agreed upon. However, I have not received any official email confirming this so it really could be anything. I have to say that if we did Cats, it'd be very time consuming and difficult but probably one of the greatest times of my life and if I thought drama was fun now it'd be even more so just getting to be there and learn the songs and dance. My naaaaaame is Cat, I am born kittttty. xD -meow-. I love Mr. Mistoffolees, Macavity, Jellicle Catssss....ah! :) Anything would be cool though. Fun fun! :) I'll write again soon. And boyyy, it is still snowing so steady! I lovvee it.

Lunar Eclipse 2008

Click to Play

My little video on the lunar eclipse that took place on February 20, 2008 between 9-10+ PM. It was a chilly night outside, so please don't mind my shaky hand. I don't really have much of a steady hand in the first place. Also, I say 'solar eclipse' at the start of the video. Don't kill me for that either. I'm very well aware that no sun is involved -- I'm just used to saying and thinking about solar eclipses more than lunar ones.

Enjoy and have a good one.

Chem Weekend

Moles. Ions. Gases. Volume. The joys of AP chemistry. :) I think I've spent so much time on chemistry assignments since my 11th grade year of school started that I am more than just friends with chemistry, it is like family. And then, once I complete the current assignments, wherever I go, whoever I talk to... I am asked questions about the chem on how to do this and if this sounds right and man oh man. I really doubt if I've gone a whole day without talking about chemistry since September...hmm...maybe Christmas break? =P The reason this blog is going to end up so chemistry-focused is because this four-day President's holiday weekend from school pretty much centered around the two big chemistry assignments we were given that are due tomorrow, the day we return to class. One involved a take home test covering material from the last three chapters we did. The other task was to type up my formal lab report on a lab we did to find the molar volume of hydrogen gas. With an introduction, conclusion, and explanations, mine was seven pages long! :P

Thankfully I finished up yesterday, leaving me with my last day off to do what I'd like. I'm proud of myself for not being such a procrastinator. Despite being busy with chemistry, my weekend wasn't half bad. I had play practice on Saturday which is always fun and throws that twist of musical songs and dance into my usual routine. xD I did stay up really late every night this weekend letting out all sorts of crazy pent up energy I had from focusing on so many serious assignments during the daytime. Long, late night conversations, even about chemistry, makes my life go 'round. =P

In the midst of my chemistry work-attack, I took quite a picture portraying my organized, yet cluttered desk. [oh yeah! I just used an oxymoron...my English teacher would be proud. :P] It really adds a visual with all those papers, notebooks, textbooks, worksheets, and pencils even.

Now just for a quick WoW update from myself, I have been having a blast on that game. Truly! :) Sure, I am doomed to lose my bet to a boy named Craig, but I got to level 15 [16 is probably within my grasp tonight] and that is an accomplishment for me anyhow. :P I have been in new lands and it is exciting. I think I understand the game better too. It's so silly to think how gullible I was to fall into liking this game when I remember being reluctant to even show interest when my friends first started playing it. =P I have to end here now, it is time to compare chemistry answers. See! I am always surrounded by chemmmyy. :P Have a fantastic week and study your chemistry boys and girls!

Friendships Always End

There is a phrase out there somewhere in the universe that goes along the lines of the following: "Good friendships never end". If you were to ask me my opinion on that quote a few months ago, I would respond that it was somewhat true, and that good bonds with others can only be broken by death (however, in spiritual terms, the bond would still exist in the afterlife). Nowadays, I look at that quote and laugh in some mad, manic way. Of course good friendships can end. It happens everyday in the world that we live in. Wouldn't divorce be a good example? What friendship is greater than the love between two individuals? Isn't it strange then how it can so easily be broken? If I were to speak in chemistry terms here for a second, most friendships are dipole-dipole forces -- strong but weak. They're fragile. Add enough energy and they can be broken and change over to some other phase. However, some friendships are hydrogen bonding. They're a special type of dipole-dipole force that exhibits stronger bonds. They can also be broken and mingled with, but the energy required to do so has to be of a greater magnitude. Think of the energy to not be measured in Joules, but to be the x amount of conflicts that exist that can threaten the strength of a friendship. Therefore, when I say that more energy (conflicts) is required to break the bonds between molecules (friends) exhibiting hydrogen bonding, you may be able to understand the whole theme that I'm trying to explain to you then.

We're all going to have to be shipped somewhere else in the world, especially if you're a teenager nearing the end of their days in high school. You may go off to college, a technical school, or not attend any post-high school education altogether, and in those years of your life be without the friends you had in high school. That's common. People move on and create lives of their own, void of more than three-fourths of the people they grew up with. Sure, you may be best friends with somebody now, but will you even know them personally twenty years down the road? It may be considered a broken friendship, or a forgotten friendship, but nevertheless, that friendship didn't exactly last forever. Did it? No, it ended. When we're shipped out into the world, the U.S. Postal Service might as well take us through a system of conveyor belts and stamp 'Fragile' on our foreheads. We are extremely fragile at this point in our lives. The friendships of our past will not be sustained, and will change no matter what happens. You may still be 'best buds' with a friend of yours years after graduating high school, but when a husband or wife enter your life, and then children, and the same may go for your friend, I doubt you two will be hanging out a lot. Right now, being a high school student, the only thing that keeps best friends from being together seems to be jobs. Well, add spouse, kids, kids' kids, and more to the list that already has jobs, and you're going to see how much time you'll spend with a friend of yours in ten to twenty years from now.

This has been my honest opinion on matters that have been bothering me lately, and the chem twist was added as I have three AP chemistry assignments due for Tuesday and my head is filled with ions gone wild.

Have a good one.

#500

With today being a snow day, I figured that I would post a blog as I have been inactive for a pretty lengthy time. However, upon logging into Blogger, I noticed that this post would be post number five-hundred. The big 5-0-0. It gives me the goosebumps in a way just thinking that BFBv.2 already has 500 posts! It could've had a lot more if, for example, every blog author posted once or twice a week, but sadly that does not happen. Actually, I think Chase disappeared from the face of the planet. He better bring me back some artifacts from Mars then, whenever he comes comes back to Earth. But I understand that motivation is a hard thing to come by, especially when it comes to writing. And blogging is mostly pure black-and-white text unless one has pictures or multimedia to throw into the mix. I would love to make a few posts that are just videos, but I'm really not an interesting guy to just sit in the camera and talk. Mostly because I get distracted or I forgot where I was going with a point. No, I don't have ADD (I hope). I'm just not good at impromptu.

Right now I'm starting to feel sick. My nephew stayed over last night as he couldn't go to school as he had an ear infection and possibly no school altogether. I didn't feel like doing much online yesterday, so I spent the majority of the day with him. He found an interest in the site ChallengeYou.com, in which you can make and play mazes. Anyway, the bottom line is that he's sick, my father is now sick, my mother is starting to feel sick, and I believe that I'll be the next victim. Which is bad. Very, very bad. Why? I have three AP chemistry assignments to do for next Tuesday: big homework assignment, a lab paper on molar volume, and a take-home test. And let me tell you this right now if you're in a grade lower than 11th and never had a take-home test: they're much harder than any test that you'll ever take in-class.

I'm sorry for the short and low quality entry, especially with it being the 500th, but I can barely type, my head feels foggy, and my ears are actually starting to hurt. Have a good one, as I sure as hell won't.

Here's to Life

I've been so busy lately, so I feel tired today. I've been listening to the band, "The Refreshments" lately though. Apparently they are an older band whom I knew of but have now been reacquainted with. :P I think you should listen to them if you haven't, they are soothing. :) In fact, the title of this blog has lyrics dedicated to my favorite song by them. Let's see, it's been about two weeks since my last entry and I am sure I have numerous things to speak of.

I got a part in the school play! A small part, a speakless part, but a part nonetheless! xD The day we found out who got what parts was very exciting. My best friend got the lead role, believe it or not. :) I am so incredibly excited for her. It's so amazing but she deserved it, she is the best dancer in the school and since the musical we are doing is mostly dance well, what could be better?! She always is full of spunk too and will do a wonderful acting job. ;) We've had two rehearsals so far and more coming. It is like taking a dance class for two hours after school. We've mainly danced so far, almost learned the first song through. The music is fun and I love being apart of it as well as having the chance to learn the dance. I'm really trying my best and was really surprised when given a compliment from our drama director that she remembered when she was in bed the night before that she meant to tell me that I am doing a really good job. =D It made me feel really good. It's so fun spending time with my friends there too. The play starts out with everyone dancing together because it is auditions. Then the main characters in the play get chosen out front and the rest of us [me included] get cut. =P It's different knowing that the night of the performances I am going to be on stage for a little bit instead of crawling out inbetween scenes when the lights are out grabbing props and doing technical stuff. =P It will be fun to wear a costume and have to pretend I am a serious dancer yearning to make broadway auditions but then act upset when I don't get picked. xD I'll probably mention something about how Drama goes in every entry I post from now until May. (;

Last Friday we didn't have school because of ice or something. I went to my friend's house for a while and we watched the video that was taped of my friends and I ice skating on my birthday. It was really great to see again because that was an awesome day. :) We played Grand Theft Auto and danced awhile when I was there too. I went shopping last weekend and realized how much I'd like to buy a new bathing suit. A real pretty one, but without strings. Plaid would be terrific, of course! ;P hehe.

Last night I went to the Penguin's ice hockey game with my friend Nicole. :) It was so much fun! I love the arena and there was a lot of people there. I always thought watching ice hockey was fun and last night's game was exciting. I liked sitting up high and watching the puck fly across the ice and see the players slam one another into the plexiglass. My favorite part was when the Penguins scored [they won by the way, 3-0]. When they scored, the goal would light up and the whole arena would be a huge roar, then music would play and everyone would pump their arms, clap, and cheer. It was so exciting hahaha. =) Afterwards I sleptover Nicole's house where we ended the evening playing karaoke and guitar hero again then watching The Office until we fell asleep. It was great! (:

I'm looking forward to the 4-day weekend we have coming up. I want to go somewhere or do something although I'm not sure what yet. I can always play WoW, hah. ;) I'm going to play some soon actually. Last time I played was probably one of the most fun times I've had playing the game. I love how I got to fly around and explore new areas I had not seen before. That, along with the swimming, is probably my favorite aspect of the game. Well I guess this concludes my entry for now, I have some stuff to do. :)