Did I fall off the face of the Earth? No, I joined Facebook

I looked over and noticed it'd been ages since I actually posted anything about me in a while...

But, I want you to know, it's definitely ENTIRELY not my fault =) Those who read the boards often may have noticed I haven't been on there very much... Of course, I've kinda been dying down on the social part of letterboxing for a while... Not to mention the other parts of boxing, too.....

But, like I said... It's not my fault... entirely... I won't blame it too much on life. That's definitely not it, I just got a Facebook account =) I prefer to keep it limited to only people that are relatives are friends nearly every day or they have been in the near past. I try not to add too many boxers because AQ is really where I can keep up with them =)

So... Moving on... What have I been up to? Well, school's been harder than the first two quarters, just as everyone who went here last year told me it would be... But that's okay because this quarter is going to be shorter than the other 3... We had a break that, other than summer break, will be our longest the whole year... My friends and I all referred to it as "Winter Break #2"...

Of course, it got really boring after a few days and it was just fine to go back to school =)

But wait.... I already covered this, didn't I? Yep, sounds familiar...

So, now I've started an SAT prep course at my school that meets every few weekends. But, I have to work on it everyday for 10 minutes on my own, but 10 minutes isn't too big of a deal.

Ummm... What else? Oh! I'm VOLUNTARILY (yes, VOLUNTARILY) reading The Catcher in the Rye and should be finished with it by tonight =) We're not reading it for class, so I can't get as much of the deeper meaning out of it, but reading for fun's not as bad as I thought a few days ago =) It's a very bizarre book, but all the different things that seemed kinda random are starting to connect, I guess... Who knows... Maybe I'll get more out of it by the end than I am right now =)

Other than that, nothing really is going on... Still loving the heck out of the hot tub =)

~BOB~

Hot in the Cold

Every kid/teen's goal in life is to get as much snow as possible so they get to miss school... Well, last night we got about 14 inches... And now, it's still coming down and it's over 20 INCHES!!!

So... what do you do when you're stuck in all that snow?

Well.... there's old TV game shows and Monk reruns recorded on the DVR...

Once I watched those, I had to do something... What better thing to do than...

HOT TUB?!?! =D

So, my dad and I were nuts enough to run out in only our bathing suits into the hot tub... And it felt good, especially with the snow dripping down on your head =)

...Until you had to get out... Those 5 seconds spent running around wet in only your bathing suit from the tub into the house truly sucked...

So... back to watching reruns from my warm house =)

Let it snow, let it snow, let schools close =)

~BOB~

Been Over a Month!

I've been thinking about what to write about on the ol' blog.... It's been over a month since I last posted... So... here's the month in review:

School... Homework's been calming down, but still a large load every night...

On Thanksgiving, I ran the annual Turkey Trot... I had a goal to beat one kid (probably my sister's age)... and..... I did... but barely! I was far ahead of him towards the end... Then he went full throttle to the point where I barely could keep up! My final time for 5 miles was 53:27 ... Not bad, considering I didn't train at all for it! ;)

I went to Kristi's Christmas... I helped the Interact Club earn money for it back a month or two ago and it finally came around. So... what is Kristi's Christmas? Essentially, a bunch of high school volunteers get a buddy (from an underprivileged family) for a day and help them pick out clothes, shoes, and other essentials at Target. Of course, there is a set amount of money each kid has, but it's kinda fun =)

And... I read two books for school... The first was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It was a major eye-opener and very interesting to analyze... The second one was Winterdance by Gary Paulsen. Winterdance was less enjoyable, in my opinion, as it often trailed off and I often got bored to the point where I couldn't stay focused.

Other than that, not much has been going on...

The hot tub has become almost a nightly ritual =) Ahhhhhhh.... =D

~BOB~

Another Few Weeks Gone

As Halloween draws nearer, the leaves are absolutely flying off the trees... The weather is cooler, and with that, the hot tub is even better =D

Last week, I didn't have much to say... It was an entirely boring week...

This week......... well...... Pretty much the same. But, there were a few things to talk about...

First off, CONGRATS TO GOOFY GIRL! If you follow the boards, she had a baby girl EARLY this morning... Like 2 o'clock early! Hopefully I'll get to see the new baby in January =)

Also, since you're looking at this post, you can see we have a new layout! No particular reason for the change... Just like to keep things fresh ;)

We also have a new poll... I don't plan to post the results... I was curious and I found the results pretty interesting. Thanks to all of you who provided answers to my question! =D

So.... let's seeeeeee..... What was real life like this week?!?!

Swine flu is pushing through my school, horns first! I've had a few people in some of my classes get it, so it's moving closer..... Honestly, I'm not really worried about getting it... Even though it won't be particularly nice with my asthma, I refuse to let the media hype get to me...

And, like last year, there are multiple diseases going around at once... My sister had a fever all week (except today), so I had to be careful... No worries there. I steered clear of her all week.... Believe it or not, it wasn't hard to stay away from her ;)

I don't have a costume for Halloween either! And it's tomorrow!?! AGGG!

I felt bad when people showed up today wearing banana suits, tin foil suits, gorilla outfits.... Even Darth Vader outfits... The full ones!

That's okay... My mom said she could buy a plain white shirt that says "COSTUME" on the front just for me ;)

...I wonder how much candy I'd get if I went trick-or-treating ;D

We had a lot of finals this week... The quarter officially ended today. The tests were all pretty easy.... Then again, the tests here aren't really a challenge...

So.... that just about covers it...

Get a ton of Caramel Apple Pops for me! I LOVE THOSE THINGS! ;D

~BOB~

A weird week

The week after a bomb threat isn't usually too crazy, right?

*obnoxious buzzer noise* WRONG!

This week has been CONFUSING beyond any other since school started! Allow me to explain...

If you don't already know how my schedule works, I have orange and blue days. Orange has 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th periods. Blue has 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th periods. 7th period is half the length of a normal period because we have it on both days...

So, Friday when we had the bomb threat, it was a blue day. As a result of the evacuation, the day wasn't completed and classes got behind.

Monday was off.

Tuesday was orange.

And... Wednesday was considered Blue. However, we did not get to go to our classes that day because of PSATs (which caused us to get farther behind).

So, today was orange (even FARTHER behind!) and tomorrow is blue.

BUT, tomorrow we won't even come close to catching up in my most important class of the day because we're having an assembly during that period! Which means I am going to have a ton of homework to make up for time in class missed.

So, as you can imagine homework has been confusing for me and I'm not really sure exactly where I'm at...

But, there is an advantage! Because teachers are trying to keep classes from both days at the same pace, I've had much less homework =D

PSATs were not too bad... Except for the reading assessment... Reading's never been my strong point!

And..... THIS WEEKEND'S THE BIG EVENT!! The weather's looking pretty crappy, but heck with it! I'm from Oregon! The rain is part of me! ;)

Dixie and Mama Wolf are coming up for the weekend... Fun =)

And, lastly... If you haven't checked out my DSi "artwork", here's the link ;)

I have added more since I posted the link last on my blog =)

http://letterbob.webs.com/art.html

I feel a good hot tubbing coming on tonight! Rainy and cold outside feels even better when you get in... Getting out.... Well, that's a different story ;)

~BOB~

How is Bob?

Well, it turns out that last week was just a week where teachers were trying to get everything crammed in before progress reports... And, as a result, I had a lot of homework last week and early this week.

So... now that we're done with cramming everything in, I've been much better. Not perfect, but better... I'm less stressed and enjoying the hot tub more than I've needed...

I finally got to finish my Kodak Method tutorial and I think it turned out well... I had a lot more pictures to put on the second page.... Unfortunately, my computer and camera are spazzing out and they appear to have been lost in digitality (yes, I know that's not a word) ;)

AND... I'm getting excited for the event up here on the 17th of this month... Why? Well, number one: it's an event... for letterboxing! How can you not love it? ;) The person who's hosting it came over earlier this month and is PUMPED... I mean, this woman is very excited! And that makes me excited for it too =D

And, number two: Dixie and Mama Wolf are coming up! That is sure to be a very good time ;) I'm sure we'll have some good stories to take away from it... And some stories like Dina's car story ;D

Well, hopefully nothing too humiliating... *muttering to self* darn tick... ;)

In other news... I mentioned having joined a club called Interact at my school. It helps the community... not much else to it =) I've been named Chairman of Beauty ;D Essentially, I am in charge of figuring out who waters the plants we planted last Saturday on what days. It only lasts for a few weeks, so I only get to remain Chairman of Beauty for a little while...

We're also preparing for Spartan Fest (my school is home of the Spartans)... It's an event where we sell food and drinks and everyone has a fun time... So, why are we selling things there? To raise money for an event in December called Kristie's Christmas, an event where underprivileged kids get to spend a certain amount of money on whatever they want at Target. People who have went said it really makes you realize how lucky we are and that these kids who have so little value their siblings and parents over themselves. Many of them get toys for their siblings and things we'd consider basics, like clothes.

It sounds like we'll probably be attending that as a group. I like the idea =)

So... that's pretty much it for now. Thanks for reading =D

~BOB~

I can't take it anymore!!

WARNING: VENTING IS CONTAINED IN THIS BLOG POST!!!

I can't freakin' take it anymore... I am so sick of my brat of a sister Caroline....

She has driven me into a new lane of annoyance. She will not stop whining! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!

Some of you may remember my post a few weeks ago that contained some information about a fight we had. And, just like I did that day, I lost it today too...

I had asked her a simple question and she blows up on me. And, I blew up on her. My mom luckily calmed us down before we got into it too badly... She threatened to send us both to our rooms. I hollered back, "Good, because I'm already going there. I can't take this brat anymore."

I ran upstairs with my binder, huge textbook, and the laptop and closed my door, hoping to get some freakin' peace from the girl...... I was just hoping for a few seconds she would shut up and get over her huge self impression of "look at me, I'm miss perfect!"......

.....And yes, I did get a few seconds here and there... (And those seconds were heaven!) But, the rest of the freakin' time I had to listen to her moan and groan and whine and yell at my mom about her homework... (If I were my mom, I would have slapped the b#&$@ across the face by that point)... After listening to TEN FREAKIN' MINUTES of the constant whine in her voice (which, I'm not sure if I've mentioned I HATE enough), I finally put down my pencil, ran to my door, opened it and screamed in just about the loudest voice I ever have produced "CAROLINE!!! CUT THE WHINE OUT OF YOUR VOICE!!!! I'M FREAKIN' TIRED OF LISTENING TO IT!!!"

....and something along the lines of essentially "shut up already!"

I'm tellin' ya what folks... I'm just about ready to explode...

Oh, and you'll LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this: She then spent the next five minutes whining about how she's sick of me...

Ohhhhhhh..... myyyyyyyyy...... goshhhhhhhhhhhhh.... Are you kidding me?

Okay... Done venting... *sigh*.......

~BOB~

P.S. Yes, it is a good night for that hot tub! ;)

The Tub

I have to scream it to the world: I LOVE MY HOT TUB!!! You may (or may not) have noticed that on my AQ profile I have written the words:

"Hot tubs may just be the best things to hit the Earth!"

It's true... don't doubt it for a second! ;)

It has magical powers... Until another person (or other people) come in and start conversations... Unless it's something I want to talk about, it drives me insane!

Anyways... moving on...

This week has increased a bit in stress level... My homework load got a few hours (each night!) heavier and the club I joined actually did an activity... Anyways, I'll get to that... But first, some of you may notice that I changed my picture on my profile page...

If you think that, you'd be.... WRONG! I actually changed profiles, not just pictures... My old account was of an e-mail I created probably 4 or 5 years ago and it just didn't represent me anymore... So, I changed it! =)

So, nothing big... but I wanted to inform curious minds (if there are any that were wondering about the minor change) ;)

Sooooo....... let's get back to the school topic...

It's getting harder... It's actually.... *GASP!* a bit of a challenge! ;)

They have forced me to step outside of my safe, relaxed zone and pushed me into the area surrounding it, called....... the evil homework zone... uuuuurrrrrrrrgggggg...... EVIL, I TELL YOU!

Especially on the weekends... I'm learning to get over the homework load in the middle of the week, but I still cannot get over the fact that they're giving us homework on our days off... and I'm not talking about a simple five minute assignment... I'm talking about 4-5 hours each weekend...

But, not much I can do about it, so oh well...

I've been sticking with the same 3 people since the first week of school... I feel like it'd be hard to really see and build a friendship with people outside the people in your classes or at your lunch... So, I don't have any outside people in my classes/lunch

...Plus, I wouldn't exactly define myself as an extremely social person...

Moving on... Today was fun... and, I'm not saying that in a sarcastic way, either ;)

The club I joined is called the Interact Club... It's wired with the Rotary and this is the first time they have done it at this school in 8 years... We help the community... Locally, Nationally, and Internationally... And today we helped locally by participating in the school beautification day. We got to plant some flowers in front of one of the entrances of the school... Orange and blue, our school colors (of course) ;)

I don't know what made it fun, I just enjoyed it... It felt... good.... *GASP!* ;D

So.... not much else to the day other than homework... This weekend, I have to study for 2 tests (and potentially a pop quiz)... Then, I have chemistry homework (chapter review), reading 68 pages in a book, and finishing a project... Sounds like fun, right ;)

Oh yeah, and you'll laugh at this...... I actually have....... PE homework ;) And, no, I'm not talking about running or anything physical. I have to know 4 muscles' names by heart by Tuesday...

It's nothing major, I just giggle a bit at the thought of having to do PE homework ;)

That's all for now! I need a hot tubbin' ;)

Not much is going on...

Things have been pretty boring... Not much is new at school. I'm finding my way around without a map (for the most part) and I have established a sense of direction. I've met a few people... not too many... But, I don't really care either way...

I'm getting used to my schedule and my teachers and this idea of two different schedules that each rotate every day. (It's hard to explain and understand, so don't really try to understand) ;)

I am somewhat enjoying my classes, somewhat not... I'm learning a ton in English (Pre-Advanced Placement), in both reading and writing. It's a hardworking class as we have a hardworking teacher. There's a lot with infering and literary terms.... I'm not a big fan of reading, but I guess I'm going to become one in this class ;) As far as writing, if I have a prompt and have to turn it in, I can write it and can include great details in a great format... (Here, not so much because it's my blog... I don't really want to spend hours writing a few paragraphs... sorry) ;) But, everything can be improved... and I'm very much learning she's looking for something different and better than what I'm presenting. Good. I won't be bored like I was last year.

My computer class seems like somewhat of a repeat of what I took the final term of last year... but, that's okay... It's a slack period, I guess ;) Plus, we're dealing with a different software from last year and we have to come up with our own designs... So, it won't all be new ;)

P.E.'s alright... It's not very different from last year except it sounds like we'll be playing a lot less of Basketball (sweet!! I'm not a fan of the sport). A quarter will be health and a quarter will be Driver's Ed... P.E. is the other two.

Spanish 1 is alright... It's not a great class, but it's not bad either... It's not that fun, but... I guess it's essential... *sigh* Oh well...

I'm in Chemistry, which is alright... Never have been a big fan of science (except when I was a little kid)... I'm also in Algebra 2 after I skipped Algebra and moved straight into Geometry last year... And, the review we've been doing is very, very simple. I breeze through it and can actually do the assignment during the break we have before the class and before she re-teaches it.

So, enough about my classes. Homework isn't as bad as I expected, but it's more than I had last year.... Oh well...

Enough about school in general. Tomorrow's Friday! Yay! The weekend =D

Since I last posted on my blog, I haven't been in the hot tub... I'm hoping to get in tonight.... Ahhhhh.... ;)

I also got a new video game for my Nintendo DS (yes, the video game nerd I used to be still shines through at times) ;) So far, it's pretty fun. It definitely requires some creativity and experimenting... For those who may have heard the name, it's called Scribblenauts. Very fun =)

And, my sister's attitude has improved a bit =) Thanks Dad! =D She still over-reacts a bit, but she's learning to get over it a bit more.... Yesssssss... I know, hard to believe, but true ;)

And other than that, not much is going on... I just wanted to post something on the blog. I haven't posted on it in a few days. You guys must have been getting bored without it ;D

~BOB~

Thoughts... Experiences... Life

If you have a hot tub, you know how good it feels after a long day. It relieves stress and you just feel good when you touch the warm water... Then the jets kick in... Aww yeah... That's niiiiiice =)

Well, we got a hot tub last summer shortly before we received news we were moving... So, last week my dad finally installed it..... and we can't stay away... I absolutely love it... And it's great thinking time... =)

My dad and I have talked about what the future holds for the family and what we're going to do this year... And... I HATE it.... It completely sucks that we have no idea what the future is going to hold... There are so many chances. So many "what if"s and it is annoying the crap out of me...

One day we are thinking along the lines of staying here, and the next we're considering another opportunity my dad's been offered....

And, of course... I want to move back to Oregon... not just anywhere in Oregon: where we were before- Seaside. I want to have started and finished at the same high school, even if I didn't spend all my time there...

I want to see my friends again. I want to be back in the spot I thought I'd be spending the rest of the teenage part of my life in.

It's not that I don't enjoy Virginia... It's just that I don't feel I have a point in being here. It's a phenominal place for history. I enjoy the fact that there's so many interesting parts of our country here, but I feel like I'd much rather be in a place I love than a place I think is just so-so...

School's getting a bit better... Getting more used to my surroundings and the idea of a true high school class. But, at the same time, I'm just not enjoying it as much as my old school. It certainly is a different experience of high school...

I'm going to be taking Driver's Ed as part of my PE class, and I got behind the wheel in my dad's truck last week. I find it a bit difficult (especially staying in my own lane and slowing down before I turn). But, it's a bit fun... I guess... ;)

There are a lot of chances that we have in the next year. It's difficult having so many different possibilities... but, the hot tub will work it's magic ;)

~BOB~