Asheville Cougar Classic (and whatnot)

So, I thought Marvin Ridge High School looked like the school from High School Musical.

Asheville High School kinda looks like a castle. It's really pretty.

Myers Park debate team went there yesterday for the Asheville Cougar Classic debate tournament. We placed 5th in the sweeps, and a lot of people placed individually. I didn't, but that's alright-- I really learned a lot. (I also hit the top two placed debaters. -_-) Anyway. We left at 6:30, and got back around 11:30. I'm starting to feel really really sleep deprived right around now.

I was in Novice LD again, and there were over 40 people in our division only! My friend Lisa got 3rd :) And we took a lot of photos, and I met a lot of people on the team.

I just wish the warm ups were a little less loud and embarrassing.

"I am a mother pheasant plucker." <---Seriously? Who came up with this?

On another note, today was Thanksgiving Sunday. I feel bad for those turkeys-- I bet half the turkey population dies during this week in November every year.

Marvin Ridge Debate Tournament

I went to my first debate tournament last Saturday, on Halloween.
Oh darn, I missed out on all the free candy...
I'll live.

Anyway, it was at Marvin Ridge High School (which looks like that high school from High School Musical, if you ask me... It has a REALLY nice facility.), and it was a Novice/JV Tournament--for first time and generally less experienced debaters.

And for my first time debating...

I really learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Many of my friends from middle school were on other schools' teams and we were able to catch up on what has been going on in our lives. And the debates themselves were exhilarating, but nerve-wracking. I had an adrenaline rush every single time I opened my mouth. AND, I got 3rd place!

The resolution was: "2009 September/October Topic Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate." for my event, which was Lincoln-Douglas. Now I'm working on the the next resolution: "2009 November/December Topic Resolved:Public health concerns justify compulsory immunization." for my next tournament in Asheville: the Asheville Cougar Classic. Wish me luck?

Oh, and by the way, I placed 3rd at Marvin Ridge-- not THAT bad, right? :)

DIVING.

Is dangerous?

I'm on my school's diving team, and my parents are constantly insisting that diving is dangerous--that people have gone blind and have weird bone structures because of diving. A lot of my friends are also warning me about hitting my head on the board...

But it's so much fun I can't help but look forward to diving season!

And besides, check this article out:

"Decking myths about diving."

http://www.denverpost.com/youthsports/ci_9580234

I mean, diving can't be half as dangerous as motorcycling or something... Right?

The week before Midterms is brutal.

You'd think that because midterm week is next week, teachers would ease up on giving tests and quizzes and other evaluations this week. Oh. Don't forget the projects.

So far this week, I've had:

Monday: a Physics Quiz, a Freshman Seminar public speaking evaluation, a timed 800m run, my informative speech project was due (with the outline, cited sources page, and visual aid).

Tuesday: another Physics Quiz, my World History Greek Alphabet project was due, as well as my World History notebook

Wednesday: a Physics Test (!), a World History public speaking evaluation

And for the rest of the week...

Thursday: SAT List 6 Quiz, World History Greece test

Friday: Into Thin Air Test, Freshman Seminar Midterm (not so sure about this one.), and probably another Physics Quiz, knowing my teacher.

And I thought Midterms were going to be bad.

I just realized how amazingly fun middle school was.

High schoolers are weird.

So some of the kids at my school decided to have an unofficial scooter day last week. I guess they thought they were pretty cool, zipping around on scooters to class? :)

When my mom was dropping me off at school, she said, "High schoolers are weird."

Take that, high schoolers, my mom thinks you're weird!

Well, turns out that the scooters were illegal on school campus.

There were around a hundred scooters in the confiscation room that day.

HAHA.

Yo Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone

I have a CD at home. It's old, and battered. I've listened to it, literally, over a thousand times. I've downloaded its contents down to an equally loved iPod nano,  however for some reason I prefer listening to the music through the speakers of a CD player that has been around since before I was born. 

A former teacher once told me that music is something that is best appreciated with the ears, without the use of other senses, but I think I may have to disagree. When I listen to Yo-Yo Ma playing Ennio Morricone's music, I think I can almost feel the music moving like water--when you try to hold it for too long, it just trickles out of your hands. I can see the colors and images of the music, of the notes, of the melody. 

Watch these videos, and see if you can hear/feel/see what I see. :)

Thanks to zuccherohk for these videos.

Sleeping

Sleeping is good.

But for some reason, instead of waking up in my bed in my room upstairs, I found myself on the floor in the downstairs living room clutching my koala bear.

Just thought you might want to know.