Garage

Hey, so one of the jobs I get to do is clean off the top of the garage!! I sound like a little kid, excited about some stupid thing. Yeah well too bad. So, I get to sweep off the top and clear out the gutters! I'll try to take some pictures and I'll write about it after.

30 minutes later:

Wow. Well, that was fun. First I had to climb up a somewhat-unstable ladder. My dad was holding it but still. He told me I would have to use my hands to clean out the gutters. I wanted to use a shovel or something, but he was like, "but your hands are better; you can just wash them off after". But first I had to sweep/rake off the roof. This was actually kind of fun. After a while my back really started to hurt from bending over though. I started with the rake. Avoiding the wires to a certain extent, I interrupted the compost piles of dead leaves, bligadesh and who knows what else. I'd rake from the back, going towards the end. Luckily it was on a slant, in my favor. It was fun. I had a good view of the neighborhood and took some pictures. Then I saw a bug. It was one of those several-legged creepy-crawlers that seem to move like a snake yet have those tiny legs that jiddle (new word). See, I'm not that wimpy. It's just...I dunno. I wasn't like screaming or anything, yelling, "OMIGOSH!!! IT'S A BUUUGGG!!!! I'M GONNA DIE!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!" Nah, I just kind of made this weird noise that started out as some gibberish then went to laugher (I was trying not to freak out too much). I'm just not that kind of person that doesn't mind having those bugs crawl all over your bodily-parts and have your own tv show about, well, bugs. So, yeah. I saw this rolley-polley thing (my favorite kind of bug I think- we would play with them in the sandbox at my preschool). So then after the rake, I started sweeping. We had this sort of "decapitated" broom; it had half of its shank (the part you hold) like sawed off. So I had to bend over and sweep off all the bligadesh and dirt. I had that one part in Bohemian Rhapsody stuck in my head; when the guy's like, "I am a poor boy nobody loves me" and the choir says "he's just a poor boy with a poor family". That went over and over in my head. I didn't really mind. So then I took more pictures. I saw Chester down there, sitting on the grass. He was so cute; it was like he was watching over me or something. I found this like gold necklace thing, which I threw down on the grass, along with a Badminton birdie. Then it was time for the gutters. There was more stuff in it now that I swept all the stuff off the roof. I just kind of decided that I would do it. I would be tough and ignore the fact that I was grabbing earwigs, dirt, poop, dead leaves and other bligadesh with my bear hands. I was not a sissy. I pretended I was grabbing baseball cards. Yeah! Baseball cards just magically fall into our gutter. But that didn't work so well. I was fine until I saw an earwig (or something of its kind). I made this weird noise that I hoped no one heard. It was almost like someone strangling a pony that had a carrot in it's mouth. It was like "eughsdgtjeuuugoopfhjasd" or something. I looked down and Chester was staring at me. I just gave him a reassuring smile to say, "Don't worry, dog, your owner isn't off her rocker. No, do not call the mental health society." I think he got it. So, I just dared myself to reach in their again with that earwig. My hand went down...ooog. Agh. THERE!!! Take that, you many-legged thing that is...a bug! I quickly threw the pile of bligadesh into the compost container. I didn't feel any legs. That was good. So, I continued on with this gross-ness. It was fun, though. The gutter wasn't even all that big. So then my dad took some pictures and I was pretty much done. Mhm. I carefully got down onto the ladder, muttering stuff like "oog, agh..." and made my way down to...the normal level. Then I washed my hands and got on the computer. Fun stuff. I'd do that any day.

I'll add the pictures later. There were some good ones.

Sigh

We're down to last few days. We have to get out of our house today. We still have lots of stuff to do. I've been helping a little bit, chatting and listening to Marvin. It's been pretty stressful and stuff. Our plane leaves on Wednesday at 9pm, so I still have time to see my friends. I will miss you all. My next blog post will probably be in France. Thank you for the comments and reading about this whole thing.

ADDRESS

We have our street address for France. Here it is:

17, Avenue des Alpes, Apt. 1023
2e etage
F-01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE
FRANCE

Going-Away Party

Last night we had this going-away party. It was mostly for the families this time. I had invited a few of my friends. First Becca came. I spotted her white car driving past, and so I followed it around. It eventually got to the parking area and Becca hopped out. I met her grandpa, who complimented my smile. So then we just like talked. I had brought my iPod and speakers so we played some music. Then Gabby stopped by, left, and then Pascale and Hannah came. Then somewhere in there Oren and Anthony came. I socialized with like 3 adults. One was about the French experience, the other about tables, and the other about my music tastes. So we just hung out and walked around. I had a Dr. Pepper and a coke, and lots of junk food. I didn't actually eat that much, though. So when I came home I had ice cream. So then people started to leave around 7-7:30. Becca left at like 7:10. And then it was just us four: Hannah, me, Anthony and Oren. We acted a lot like...teen...agers. We sat on a bench and played telephone. Pretty pitiful with 4 people. Then we played catch with a football. Anthony and Oren both jammed their fingers. It was fun, I guess. I wish it was longer. Only 4 hours at this park. At the end I played catch with a baseball with Anthony. We just talked about stuff, like how it would be different when I came back and stuff. It's gonna suck. So then I got home and like no one was on chat. But I sent a very long email to Becca and I might put some parts of it on here. So, yeah. We have to majorly pack today. I think I have all my clothes done, and my carry-on items are pretty-organized. I need a new backpack. And then we have to pack up everything else in boxes. I hate packing. It's the 29th. NO..........................................

Idols

I have two main idols in my life. The first one is one of my best friends, Becca Bushman. I can't really imagine life without her. I know that sounds...too...generic or something, but she's the kind of person that calls me awesome even when I don't feel like I am. She stays up till midnight chatting about who knows what. And she cares. She'll help me with life's problems, and I can help her. Plus, she loves me for who I am. Becca will make me laugh all the time. She makes me think more about everything and is extremely deep. Her blog is one of a kind, inspiring me every time I read it. It's the kind of blog that really makes you think. I wish I was more like her. I once said, when I grow up, I want to be like Becca Bushman. Amelia Diehl can't live without her bud. Thank you Bec2a.

The other idol is this awesome guitarist who got second place in this national blues festival competition. His name is Alex Johnson. He's got that long blonde hair that makes him look all the more cooler, and he's got real skills for the guitar and drums. He has this camp called Rock Band Boot Camp, which is like my all-time favorite camp. He'll talk to you like you do in fact rock even if you're like the worst guitarist in the camp. He's just...awesome.

The pursuit

The pursuit is never-ending. And I'm not even sure if it exists, is possible to no longer be in pursuit. Because they do say nothing is perfect. But I don't want perfect. I want happy. I want contentment. I want to live outside it all. I want to think outside it all. You only live once. And it's too short to be sad most of the time. Go out there and do it. Allow yourself to be inspired, but do what you want. Be a leader and not a follower. Being weird is cool. Just be the human that you are. Think what you want to think and do what you want to do. There's no normal. There's just your life and how you want to live it. Think outside it all.

iPod!!! And more goosd stuff!!

So today I finally put some songs on my iPod (Marvin). I have like 800-something so far, but some of those I didn't really want and got transferred because we selected like the whole folder. But I'm still very, very, very happy right now. The first song I listened to was Martha My Dear by (who else but) the Beatles. I made an iTunes account and have bought about 15 songs. This is so cool, man. I still have about 4 GB left, and I will be deleting some still. Life is goosd. Heh heh heh heh...

I mean, aside from the packing and stress and more packing, this is really cool. My parent's paid for my iPod, and I am so glad. I just can't help but say heh heh heh heh...

The end is near

Ok, we're down to like 5 days. Till I leave this house. I've been packing, hanging out with friends and dreading the trip. Man, this really sucks. A whole year without Chester, without Becca or Anthony or Erez or Oren, with having to speak French almost 24/7 and no eighth grade, no graduation, no band, no friends, no Chester again, and a whole new sucky life. Don't get me wrong, some of it will so frickin' awesome. But I will miss so much. At least I got an iPod. It came yesterday. I named it Marvin. It's the one nano, green with 8GB. We got it for the same price as a 4GB because its refurbished "used". It was my dad's idea. But I haven't been able to turn it on. Maybe I need Itunes first. So, yeah. I still need to pack up the books, the rest of my room, and some more clothes. But I'm sorta, kinda maybe almost done. This sucks.

Softball

So, I just got back from my second (and maybe last) softball game. Sigh. We set a record! For our team, anyway. The score was 27-1. I batted two times, and both times I struck out. The first time I was just being an idiot. I swung at pitches way above my head because I was so excited to hit. The second time was the ump's fault. Dude, those last two pitches which he called strikes were WAY outside, man!! I was like, what the F? They were way over across me. I mean, the ump must have been like blind. So, I walked back complaining to my dad. And it's ironic, those two strike-outs, because the same thing happened both times: Leslie (a pretty good player on our team who also calls people "Son") stole to third base, and I was up with two outs. The opposite happened in my first game (I was on third and Leslie got out). I played catcher for like 3 innnings and did pretty well. I almost caught this ball for the last out (it was foul) but then it didn't quite fit in my glove. I was so mad. Oh, but then it was funny this one time when I was catching; the bases were loaded, I forget how many outs, and someone from the bench yelled (to the batter) to get a home run. Then the coach was just like, "Cut it out" or something to say "no". I almost started laughing, and I exchanged smiles with the pitcher. It was funny, trust me...so, yeah. We were playing some Slauson players. They were pretty good.

Will update later.

Top of the Park

TOP LEFT: The cranes at Michigan Stadium. TOP RIGHT: I just thought it was funny that one of the flavors was "blue" (yes, yes I KNOW it means blue-raspberry) BOTTOM LEFT: there were these guys holding signs. That one says friendship. There was another one on the other side that said character. BOTTOM RIGHT: That's pretty much the view of Top of the Park.
This post is the re-write of another one, because that one got deleted. This one isn't as good, but whatever. Ok, so I biked there. With Zach and my dad because my mom was already there. It was a nice time to ride bikes; clear sky, not-too-busy streets and just my handlebars and a good time in front of me. We locked our bikes, while some rockabilly/country band was blasting in our ears. We met up with our "church" friends and while my dad talked to him about checking and my interest in hockey, I snapped some pictures. I was so hungry and eventually got my dad to stop talking after a while. My dad and I got burritos and chips, and walked to the grass to sit down. As we left the food place, I spotted Shelby (an old hockey teammate who despised of me) and she gave me her usual sneer. I just walked on by. So we ate. I ate almost all of my burrito, and gave the rest to my mom. Then it started to rain. Just a very slight dropping of drops. A new band got on. They were from Austin, Teh-haus. The singer and guitarist was a lady and she had some good hands. I took a video, just standing right in front of the dancing place. I didn't really care if people were staring at me.There were some guys dancing and stuff. So then I got bored and biked home. It was great. The time of day when you expect a cool breeze, yet your arms feel warmth. I rode on the sidewalks, and thus had to say several "excuse me's/sorry's" to get by some people. It took this group of like 3 college students to finally, finally notice the bike behind them. The advantage of living where we do was that you literally just go straight down a few blocks. So that's what I did. I was thinking about songs I could hum, and I got "Can't Stop" in my mind. I only knew like the first line, so I just hummed the rest. It was awesome. I would make these pained noises after a while, from the pain in my legs, which I hope nobody heard...so then I got home and got on the ol' computer. It was fun.

I'll add the pictures later.

Stuff

So, here is some info-rmation on stuff:
The school starts on August 29th, and there is also a test that day to see like where they should place me in school. I think some of it might be for English, so I can't fail too much. So, also I saw a movie today with Becca, Nick and Anthony. It was Get Smart. I think the commercials made it look both funnier and stupider than it actually was. I mean, the plot was way too generic and you could predict almost everything. I mean, after Steve Carrell got a female partner, you knew there was going to be a kiss (at least) or something. It was funny, but not hilarious. The jokes were thin and Steve Carrell wasn't at his best. Basically, I say don't mess with the classics. The new Pink Panther just sucked and I mean, ugh...so, yeah. That was ok. We got popcorn and I drank cherry coke. Man, I hadn't had that stuff in a while. So that was pretty cool. And then after that we hung out (the group minus Nick) at my house. I also had my french tutor (LAST TIME!!!) and that was the same ol' boring french..lessons. So, after my dad takes a shower we are going to Top of the Park again for dinner and stuff. More later.

Nothing: Real or Fake?

So, as I was talking with my friends in Gmail Chat, one of them asked what we were talking about in private chat. I told him "Nothing, actually". But then in private chat, I started talking about nothing. Nothing, to me, is one of the coolest words. Does it's meaning exist? Is it possible to have/look at/think about/do/etc. or just Nothing? It was such a compelling idea that my 2 friends and I decided to write a post about nothing. I believe that it's definition is in different "frequencies", per say. For example, to say someone has "nothing in their house" would mean that they have little possessions inside or around their house. But they do not have "nothing", because that sentence implied that they do in fact own a house. So, does nothing exist? That question, let alone the answer, is debatable. How can you have all of everything exist and not nothing? Or vice versa. I think that the definition of nothing is too complex and actually impossible for a human to understand. For instance, humans could not live before the Big Bang. NOTHING could live before the Big Bang. NOTHING existed before the Big Bang. This is impossible for us to fathom because to experience nothing would be like to equal nothing. Therefore, we would not exist in nothing. I think that, in a way, us humans sort of "cheat". Using the word "nothing" to describe an absence of thought, being, or existence (all of those to an extent to which human minds can comprehend), as well as to describe something of little or no importance, and the opposite of something, as opposed to immediate non-existence that is NON-comprehensible to human mind. So, in a sense, nothing does not exist. But to imply that it does not exist would imply that it is nothing. So, therefore nothing is nothing, which is true. Us humans, being both very stupid and yet incredibly smart, have no nothings. Perhaps nothing existed before the Big Bang, like I said, and perhaps nothing exists now, it's all a figment of our imagination (ah, but someone could say to that, "That's nothing!" to say that it doesn't mean anything, and is not true, but HOW WOULD THEY KNOW?) but that is perhaps unlikely. That thought still exists, though, because nothing can exist in thought, yet thought can exist in nothing. I think humans will still debate about nothing for millenniums, yet it will be a quiet debate; existing only in wandering minds, hoping to discover, or fathom nothing. But, if they were to fathom nothing, perhaps it would not be important, because, after all, it is "nothing".

Softball

So, today I had my first softball game of this season. My team (the Bulldogs) had played oen before this, and lost 23-3. This game, we lost 18-2. And here's how:
I really did not want to do this. I HATE softball. I mean, last season I think our team won maybe one, but I'm not sure...So, I wasn't too optimistic this time. Oh, and to make matters worse, this one girl from my hockey team was on the other team. And she was good. So, as I was walking to our team's bench, I was talking with my mom, saying we should just forfeit. But then, of course, she said we couldn't. And shouldn't. So, to make matters even worse, Coach decided that I had to bat first. I'd rather die. And then I saw the starting pitcher. She was no joke. Here's how my hell went:
I stepped up to the plate, with cheers ringing in the back of my head from my teammates. There was the dirt, the plate, the bat and the ball. The pitcher wound up, and I kept trying to concentrate; deep breaths. It seemed low, but obviously the ump disagreed. Strike one. Man, that was like below my knees!! Ok, so I tried to shake it off. More cheering. I was lucky on the second pitch; it was a ball. Ok, so 1-1.The next one I swung at. It was a foul ball. Ok, 1-2. Crap. I hated this. I hated batting. I hated softball. The next one was a strike. Batter out.
See, I don't mind getting out. I just hate, hate those words: Strike three, batter's out. And I think I could feel some tears coming on. Nah, I'm not the type to bawl or anything, and I'm no sissy. But, still it's an old habit. So, then I cheered on my other teammates. After like 2 innings, there was no score. I played catcher for like 5 innings and my legs were SO FRICKIN' SORE. I stretched them, but it was so frickin' annoying. Plus, the ump would be irksome, talking to me about such and such. Our pitchers were doing pretty good, and only a few stole. Oh, and it was really awesome: my second at-bat, I stole 2 bases after a walk and ALMOST got home, but there were 2 outs and our batter struck out. Oh well. Then, my last at-bat, I was up against my old hockey teammate as the pitcher. She was quite good. I swung at the first pitch and hit the ball. I couldn't see where it went, though because of the darn sun and thought it was foul. it wasn't and went right to the area between pitcher and 3rd base, where the pitcher caught it. Oh well. So, I think I played a pretty good game, but then there was this one play that really ticked me off. I was playing right middle (that doesn't sound right, but whatever). So far, no hits got past into the outfield. Mostly it was walks. But then, there was this one hit that the shortstop got, where it got thrown to first base but missed the first-baseman and then it got really wild. The other team was running like hell, somehow our catcher took off her helmet, got a rock in her face, the pitcher almost had control but then for some reason, the ump just decided not to call time, and the other team scored like 4 runs. I was like, what the frick! I mean, we had possession! But they kept running! OMG, I hated that ump...but when are umps ever good?

Ok, so yeah. That was my game. Then, after that I went to Top of the Park, which I have to write about later.

Insirations

After a human is thrust into this unknown world of mystery, they have to make choices. Choices about what to do, say, think, feel, etc. There are more humans around, of course, to help, challenge and inspire the other humans. As we live our lives, there are millions of things to do. Millions of people to make you think a certain way. Millions of things to make you do, or think something. There's also then something called the Butterfly Affect. Say a butterfly flaps it's wings or doesn't at a certain time; those air currents (or lack thereof) could make a tsunami or something. Maybe if you do one thing, it will create a different affect than if you do something else. Whenever I do something small like that (such as picking up a pencil) I try to think, do the other thing, no, no, do the OTHER thing. Then, if I pick it up, I'll wish I didn't to see what would happen. But of course that's impossible. In my life, I have two main inspirations: music and my friends/family. Take, for instance, the title of this blog. There's a picture of Miles Davis, one of my favorite musicians. I love jazz. I play trumpet. Miles Davis inspired me to become better, maybe even famous at trumpet. I love music. Who doesn't? I mean, how can people live without The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Cream/Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Louis Armstrong or Tally Hall?? I know almost all the Beatles' songs and can sing along and have memorized Tally Hall's songs. OK, you know what? I don't feel like writing everything down right now. SO, I'll update this later, ok?

Ugh.

See, now like all my friends have blogs. Yes, this is a good thing I suppose. I just...I mean you want people to read what you write. You want people to care, pay attention about YOU, what YOU did. I always try to read other's stuff before doing my blog and commenting. In seventh grade, I wrote a poem about envy. I envied these other people in my class because they were much better than me at poetry and writing. But envying is almost mean. I don't envy my friend's blogs. I don't. Sure, some of them have really awesome, awesome posts and ideas. I would never have thought of some things they say. But I don't want to be annoying or anything. They are just being them and I'm being me. Everyone's different, everyone is them. I guess I'll just try to be me. Not try any harder than usual to express myself. But then, what if being me isn't enough? What if I don't belong with such awesome people? I feel insecure I guess. People tell me I need more self-confidence. I think maybe I'm just over-reacting; everything is just so...annoying right now, what with us moving and everything. Ugh. Thanks for commenting, all that did. I really like comments. I don't even know. What I'm saying. Ugh, it's just...I feel like deleting my blog because it's so boring, stupid and generic compared to everyone else's. But I won't. Because since when was it a competition? Since when would my friends not care? I guess I'll just keep doing what I do, keep being me and not try to compare myself. I'll try. And I'm sorry.