Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Getting ready for November

Well the later part of October was certainly busy, but good.
Microbiology continues to dominate my life, but on the plus side Spanish is remarkably easy for a 7-credit class. Plus, any class that gives you extra credit for having TWITTER has to be awesome, right? Speaking of which, I did finally break down and get twitter, but just to keep in touch with a certain friend of mine, and of course, for Spanish.
Of course, I also am fully back into the swing of debate, and have never been happier. :D

This past weekend was the Gig Harbor tournament - season opener, and I tried LD debate for the first time ever. My coach, being the wonderful woman she is, threw me into JV so that was a disadvantage, but I did as well as could be expected. Duo was another...um...yeah never mind.
Impromptu was lots of fun, I had Mitch in all three of my rounds which made each round exponentially more interesting but didn't help me win - or did it? 2 of the 3 rounds I actually beat him placing 1st to his 2nd. It was fun to reconnect with him, and also with Ariel, Kate, Vincent..etc. I love my debate friends, it sucks that so many of them are applying to out-of-state colleges.
I am reminded at the oddest times that this blog is, in fact, public, although I really don't understand why anyone would want to read it. That being said, I am omitting my...more personal opinions on certain people. :D
As far as the debate team this year, I think we have a really good team, and the freshman definitely have a lot of potential which I think will really rebuild the team when I and Ali leave. I would really love to coach a team of my own someday, although I just know my kids would hate me. I have a feeling I would demand a lot, but who knows - I might just be one of those awesome coaches that everyone loves (like my coach.) At the very least, I'd love to judge the high school pool.
I talked to a Kamiak college debater who was one of my judges and she really cautioned me against college-level policy unless I want to go into politics because it's all messed up. Which I should have seen coming, but which still sucks. So I think if I do end up doing college debate I would love to do parli, and I know the UW has a parli team. Gonzaga, however, just does competitive policy, so I don't know...

As far as life life, I'm basically fed up with most of my friends from sthme/yfl at the moment. But then again, keep in mind I often get fed up with people/get tired of socializing. I'm a very independent person, which is why I still sometimes think about the religious life. I have no idea what my vocation is, because I love children but I just couldn't see myself as a parent. I do want to get married, but kids kind of go along with that. However, I could end up joining a religious order, but I just don't know about that. Fortunately I don't have to make those decisions for a while, and for now I'm just buckling down trying to finish out senior year without any drama or stupid decisions (*cough cough Birmingham & Vegas) Once I get to college I can relax, get a job, start enjoying life and not working too hard. That's actually how I've positioned myself - all my hardest classes I'm taking now, so by the time I get to UW I will have only 4-6 more classes to take so I can really concentrate on getting some life experience for nursing school.

On a beautiful ending note, http://emailsfromcrazypeople.com/2009/10/27/persistence-doesnt-always-pay-off/#more-291
Really reminds me of this one guy Isaac...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

More useless crap...

I am feeling especially amazing today because I had my first microbiology midterm and completely showed it who's boss. I had at least 4 friends who specifically didn't take micro at EdCC because the teacher here has such a reputation for being tough and she even told us herself that she is known for giving hard tests plus there were like fifty billion (slight exaggeration, more like a few dozen) bacteria that we could have very easily have had to identify a picture of, correctly name, state their method of reproduction, habitat, metabolism, diseases they cause as well as any unique characteristics. In other words, kill ourselves.
However, while the test was completely thorough, I really felt like I did well and after talking to one of the best students afterwards about it I am confident I did pretty well. The great wave of relief is so sweet, so welcome, so refreshing.

Now I have a week and a half to write two LD cases (AFF and NEG) on Resolved: Public Health Concerns Justify Compulsory Immunization using philosophy such as utilitarianism or independence or categorical imperative.
I love my life...

In other news, I got tonight off from Spanish class so I'm going to celebrate that by not going to YFL. We also got our kitties neutered yesterday so they are now a few stones short of a vegetable garden. I also judged the Kamiak Novice Tourney on Saturday and survived through Extemp, Imp, PF, and HI. The end result:


Yeah. It was fun though, and I loved seeing all my old debate friends again. Judging PF was pretty fun - my friends Sean and Vincent came and helped me/passed notes to each other about how the novices were pronouncing Nuclear wrong/ mourned with me the absence of any mention whatsoever of anarchy throughout the round. The resolution was about frikin FAILED NATIONS for cryin out loud! Hellooooooo...
I'm also finishing up my college applications - I think all that is left is to send in my high school transcripts and of course hit "Submit" for my applications. A stoic gesture marking the end of high school, the onset of senoritis, and the beginning of thinking about life after grade school. Sometimes I can't wait and other times I feel like just yesterday I was starting 1st grade.

In keeping with the theme from September's post I will also include some of the top movie's I've watched in the last month:


The Sasquatch Gang (2007) PG-13 Comedy, ****/*

Starring no-names and dorks, this Napoleon Dynamite spin-off is absolutely hilarious. Join three loser teenage medieval swordsmen, three loser 'gang' members, and two...just plain losers. Also joining the cast is Sophie, the kind-of girlfriend of the least dorky swordsman, who has been made fun of for being fat one too many times and has had her jaw wired shut. By FAR the best part of the movie are the two loser losers, who remind me of Uncle Rico in his early years and a druggie surfer. The only way these three groups of people relate is A) they're all loser and B) they all have a hand in the 'mysterious' Sasquatch sighting. If you liked Napoleon Dynamite this movie is for you, otherwise you're wasting your time.


State of Play (2009) PG-13 Suspense, Political Thriller ****

Starring Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) the movie is fast-paced and thoroughly intriguing. It's one of those movies where you give up trying to figure out the puzzle 5 minutes into it because it's way too confusing and just sit back and enjoy the twists and turns. Crowe and McAdams play investigative journalists looking into the death of an aide to Senator so-and-so. Affairs, corruption, secret friendships, pride, and counter-investigations all play into this awesome movie. It had all the makings for a Bourne or Oceans finish until...it didn't. The ending had enormous potential - everything was leading up to a huge explosion, but instead there were just a few shots. Still a great movie.


Still of the Night (1982) PG-13? Suspense, Mystery, Thriller ****

Meryl Streep dazzles the screen as only she can in this Hitchockesque thriller. As twisted and creepy as any authentic Hitchock, she delivers a spotless performance as a young girl working at an auction house with too many secrets. Roy Schnieder plays a psychiatrist who realizes someone is out to kill him after one of his patient's dies. How Streep plays in is anybody's guess and there was one scene I was literally hanging on the closest arm I could find because it was so suspenseful! The ending was awesome in that you could clearly see all the pieces fitting together, but fell short of the five-star Hitchock thrillers. It was about as good a try as they come, and I would definitely recommend it.