Everytime we say goodbye...I die a little

Ah, yes... my favorite class is over. I was really depressed Monday night and Tuesday morning, now I don't feel anything. I guess I will go to joy next over no more writing assignments, but I doubt it. The class was too good. The teacher was too good. My only consolation is that he'll teach again. I know the title was a little dramatic, but its from a song that I happen to like. Not that I'm actually dying or anything, far from it, but I hate saying goodbye, or not even just that, I hate leaving something I like. Hmm...Who doesn't?

After all of that I'm still not finished with Gatsby! On Monday night we watched the movie version (With Robert Redford, a YOUNG Robert Redford, he was really good, and he looks alot like Brad Pitt, only in a good way. There was a dessert we used to make a long time ago, called "the next best thing to Robert Redford," but Mom decided to change the name, because Robert Redford "played in a lot of bad movies." So the dessert was changed to "The next best thing to Rush Limbaugh," courtesy of my oldest brother, but I was left with the impression that Robert Redford was a really bad guy. But now I've seen some of his movies, I know he really is a good actor! And pretty darn cute too). Anyway the movie version of the Great Gatsby was really good, probably one of the best book-to-movie movies I've ever seen, along with The Chronicles of Narina. So I'd like to see it again, and then I'll have to revise my paper on it, after Mr Smith gives it back and then help lead a book club discussion on it in February. Then I'll be done. I hope. I really love the book, and I know I'll be able to visit it again and again, but for now, I'd like to done.

I'm thinking of erasing all that I've written and starting again, because none of it really came out right. How do you know that I havent done it already?

Just for fun I'm going to make a list of "Things to Look Forward To," to help me get through.

-Getting finished with school tomorrow so I can start packing up stuff
-Being DONE with a ginormous chemistry test on Friday
-Packing, and watching Star Wars over the weekend
-Worship on Sunday
-Having a weekend alone while Mom and the kids go to a swim meet
-The Book Club discussion
-Going to Messiah with Mrs Martin and Mackenzie
-Being done with the SAT and the ACT
-MOVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Going to the Highland Study Center Conference with the McMahans (I CANNOT WAIT!)
-Being done with chemistry class
-Deciding on a college and a major
-Graduating!

Yep, theres my next couple of years, or like year....

The Good life: Minimum hard work and extra relaxation?

Eh, according to BF Skinner it is. But what's life without good ol fashioned hard work? Isnt that what people thrive on? What is it, when a culture tells us the opposite and people spend thier whole lives working hard, so they don't have to work? What does that tell their children? And how do those children respond?

They respond by doing nothing. Hmm... I wonder why!!!!


Do you ever get one of those children's songs in your head and can't get it out for like 2 years? Haha, maybe not that long, but it feels like it. At first I had the Wiggles song, "Fruit salad, yummy, yummy," in my head and that was due to a visit to Texas like three years ago. Now I have the Wiggles song, "Oh me oh my, he barks all day and night." Rrr.. I gotta stop letting the kids I babysit watch the Wiggles. It's not good for my mental health. I feel like there really is a dog in my head barking all day and night and preventing me from sleeping. Since I've been sick, my sleeping schedule is all wacked up, and I end up sleeping during the day and laying awake at night. It's not good- maybe something a little Ambien can knock out though. Ah, to live in the age of drugs. Friday night I had a horrible ear infection- it was like white hot, night marish pain unceasingly. So I took a narcodic pain killer, which HELPED (not took away) with the pain, but made me sicker than I was before I got the ear infection. But thank goodness for more drugs who will knock out a sinus infection and the ear infection.

Ever since Christmas break, I've been completely addicted to the Basement Tapes. I think the first four or five were the absolute best, and I keep hoping each tape will be as good as those. They are good, and I have definantly learned a lot, but I wonder why I keep putting another one in the CD player. Maybe I just need to soak up some head knowledge, although they would say thats completely not the point of the tapes. Anyway, there was this discussion on food, and he was commenting on the fact that we thank God three times a day for food, which we dont do for anything else. And when someone comes over, we offer them food and drink, but we don't offer a shower. So he goes to say what if we did offer someone a shower, and it'd be like when someone came over he'd say, "Can I get you a shower?" Or, "I've got a nice shower going, would you like to join me?" hehe

Anyway, I thought that was funny.Hmm.. I wonder if that tells you a bit where my mind is- nah. But it was funny at least. Four theological guys sitting around talking about theology- and they end up talking about showers. They're great. Once again they've RAISED the bar for the kind of guy I'm looking for. And I thought it was raised as high it could go with Mr Smith......

"Can't repeat the past? Of course you can!" -Jay Gatsby

As much as I love the book The Great Gatsby and how much of an excellent teacher Mr Smith is, I am getting tired of it. Of course that could be due to the fact that I haven't had a writing class in like four weeks, and I haven't been around Mr Smith's contagious love for the book-or that I have had the weight of writing a literary anaylisis on it over Christmas break. I find for me, writing is really hard to get started. Especially when a subject is already chosen for you. Not that I dont like the subject, but analyzing literature is a brand new experience for me, and definantly out of my writing comfort zone. So I'm really looking forward to Monday's class to fall in love with the book again and have a fresh zeal for Mr Gatsby. Until then, writing about him is rather painful.

I feel I should writing something meaningful because the past week has been chucked full of meaningful stuff. All the way from my sister and her husband moving, to learning the worldview of Adolf Hitler and Alfred Hitchcock (hey- they have the same intials), to desping television enough to take the TV out of my room (thanks the the basement tapes guys), to recording Romans 7-10 on a digital voice recorder. Hmm...meaningful. But at 10 pm on a Thursday night, after just watching "Dancing with the Stars" which was rather disapointing because I didn't know any of the "Stars", I dont like feel like being smart and serious.

I've got a couple books going, and they are calling my name and I feel I must answer, for they keep me from being lonely. Amoung them are "Black," "The God who Pursues" EXCELLENT book!, The Great Gatsby, of course, and 2 Samuel (The best one, obviously). Coming the mail any day are "Looking for God in Harry Potter" (btw I just finished rereading the Half-Blood Prince- you get SO much more out of it reading it a second time) and "Day by Day with John Calvin." I was also thinking about starting "The Old Man on the Sea" or by the Sea or something by Ernest Hemingway, in addition to reading, "Artemis Fowl," with Matthew and the first "Elsie Dinsmore" with Jenny Beth. Yeah. That's why I haven't posted for awhile! It could be due to the fact that I also have watched alot of movies.

Over Christmas break at Sarah's we watched, "The Polar Express," "Dumb and Dumber," "Charlie and the Chocoalte Factory-the new one" "The Princess Bride," and Sarah has 3 DVD's of Friend's episodes and on Christmas night Sarah and I watched "The Ring." Oooh..creepy stuff. She said the second one is alot worse...I dont know if I'll watch it or not. Much more of a Chick-flick kinda person. Oh yeah and we saw "Narnia" right before we left. GREAT movie!!

On my cousin's blog he had a funny quote that I'll end with for now. "The pen is mightier than the sword, and much easier to write with."