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Well my life in the past couple days has been flying by. Of course, Thursday did feel like Friday and Friday felt like some unnecessary day of school, but other than that time is winding down fast in my realm.

Notable: we had a full-scale drug bust today. It was intense. Like 20+ law enforcement vehicles, and several, rather cute, drug sniffing dogs (not that the dogs were high or something, but that they were seeking out drugs, not for the officers though, but like as evidence). It was very exciting. I’ve never been in a drug sweep like this so I enjoyed it. I guess it’s all truly about ‘experience.’

The mood this week has been for Spring Break and Spring Break only. So today, naturally, there were few people at school. Too bad I had a 6th period AP Gov test (she probably scheduled it like that on purpose). I actually did good on it (from my memory of how many problems I thought I got right). But that could be contributed to the fact that I actually studied…during 3rd period with Matt…because we weren’t doing anything in Physics II. Oh well.

Tonight I watched Minority Report for my third time. It’s so strange how each consecutive time I watch a movie my opinion about it seems to change, at least in some gradient. This time around I realized how strong the movie was musically and also how the lighting was perfect for the near-dreary future. Anyways, I thought it was incredible still. But I don’t think it was actually up to the 9.3 or whatever I gave it the first time I saw it. Probably more like a 8.7, yet still a ‘must-see’ movie.

And yet another reoccurring portion of my life is my inevitable effort to try and understand things. Not merely mathematical or scientific things, because that would not take long and then I would be ‘learned.’ But more so pieces about myself - why I act as I do, why I seem so frugal and tangibly led, and why I stress self-discipline and self-betterment so much in my life. It’s almost as if I was programmed this from birth. Or maybe that’s just how everyone is; we all must have our individual quirks and oddities. Whatever the cause or reasoning, I find that each day I am practically forced to try and understand myself better and at the same time attempt at bettering myself. And yet this seems almost a paradox - pay attention to my faults and fix them at the same time. I suppose time will be the judge and jury within the destiny of my life, of course divine will and personal choice play a large role. Nevertheless, I strive on, pursuing myself, wondering why my shadow seems to have the upperhand.

Crazy crazy week thus far.

First let it be known that senioritis has taken its inevitable toll on me. I’ve begun to, sadly, become apathetic to school work, but at the same time am realizing how important it is to be studious in my efforts. Such a strange ordeal. It doesn’t help to know that I have a 103.08% in AP Calculus because that just makes me want to slack off even more. I hate having senioritis, but I guess it’s best that I get it now instead of getting it back in my sophomore year or something. Yeah, this disease also ruins my ability to speak clearly and cohesively. Bah.

Thanks to the NAV Strike Force (now proclaimed the famous ‘War Corps’) Tony the tiger has been returned to its grateful home. The footage of the rescue was immensely moving and tear-jerking, especially the Greco-Roman wrestling part. Congrats and thanks to NAV!

I have plans to make the most of my Spring Break. It will include massive amounts of reading outside (wonderful relaxation also), spending time with friends and eating out, and the (name coined by myself) Movie Suicide. Movie Suicide will include a day at the Dollar Theater watching movies back to back to back to back to back. And I’ll do this Tuesday since it will only be 50 cents per movie. I can’t wait; I’m actually very much looking forward to torturing my eyes and back (evil movie chairs!) for 14+ hours.

Ok my brain is not working and I can’t think clearly with these visions of sugar plums and Movie Suicides in my head, so I’m gonna call this blog quits.

Friday was the Dixie Classic in Richmond. Our performance was mediocre, not enthralling but still better than most bands in Virginia. The awards ceremony was supposed to be very formal and “high-class”; the rules thing they passed out to the bands said very straightforward that bands were supposed to conduct themselves in a most professional fashion during the awards ceremony with absoutely no yelling and making lots of noise when they announce names etc. But of course, we were the only band that refrained from being completely obnoxious. The Long Island group caroused like they had the impression that loud noise somehow made their performance better; obviously that wasn’t the case. The JFHS Advanced Symphonic Band got a Superior rating, the Best Woodwinds Award, the Best Soloists Award, and the Honor Band Award which just means we were the big daddy, ultimate, awesome band there. It felt so good to beat those other annoying groups. Bah, I’m evil, but I love it.

The guy who was in charge of everything at the Classic looked strangely like the DiTech guy. I thought that was peculiarly odd, but nevertheless the irony still made way for our complete dominance in the awards.

On the bus trip home, it was again the infamous annoying sophomore who made the most noise. So this poses the question…why do sophomores make the most noise on bus trips? I’ve come to this conclusion: freshmen are more likely to feel subjected to punishment if they open their mouths in a disorderly manner, so they normally will keep fairly quiet while quasi-simulating the sophomore’s frenetic ways. The juniors are getting up in age and have begun to understand the concept of maturity and are also at the point of knowing that the responsibility of proper conduct falls heaviest on them due to the fact that the seniors will crush them if they get out of line; so they talk amply to each other without making any unnecessary disturbances. Seniors of course are most likely asleep because they will work the next morning, or they talk to each other; seniors feel little need to make a show by being loud or obnoxious because they have innately been given glorious privileges that they wish not to spoil. Yet sophomores, drunken with their one full year of high school experience, are everlastingly urged to make a scene in hopes of getting attention, and maybe some girls; it is the sophomore who is so lustful over his status over freshmen that he must do whatever possible to make that chasmatic difference known even if it means stupid feats of strength or, most likely, stupidity. This discourse was brought to you by Ryan and by the conversation between myself and Jeremiah who mentioned he likes to make his blogs very thorough in meaning and commentary.

Also Windows is really starting to suck on our home computer. Some programs simply won’t work any more, even the basic and all-important Word. ::sigh:: if only I had a Mac.

Saturday evening I spent with Mark. Incredible conversation. With both of us in a highly volatile ‘transitioning’ phase in our lives, it was a mutually comforting thing to be able to share our stories and offer each other hope through our circumstances. We also watched one of my favorite films, About A Boy.

Today I went to Brentwood Community Church. I enjoyed it very much. The enormous concentration of college life also made it fun, but inevitably somber because somehow all college kids go through this phase of either conscious or simulated soberness once they get away from home. It could be that they are just trying their best to hide the volumptuous amount of alcohol they consumed the night before, but in this case I’m not sure what it was. Regardless, and back to the point, I really liked it and plan to go back. Shout outs to Kelly and Keri!!!

I went to today. Thanks goes out to Jamie for saving me 20% on everything!

My blog titles are starting to become poetically confusing, but just try and understand them anyways.

My sickness is just finally beginning to show signs of weakness as a week has passed by. However these brutal trombone quartet practices are really bad on my throat, especially in this condition, and so I leave those without the ability to talk. But nevertheless, the practices have been going great and I’m still feeling better bit by bit.

I’m very much enjoying my research into the life, times, and meaning of that short-lived genius named John Keats. Must-read poems include Ode On A Grecian Urn, Ode To A Nightingale, and Hyperion.

For some political outlooks, I’m very pleased to see Baghdad freed. I was watching the video of the Iraqis pulling down the huge Saddam statue in Baghdad and I felt extremely glad for the people of Iraq. After so much worry about how the people would react once the Coalition forces reached Baghdad, it put me at peace to watch the Iraqis in celebration. I can’t imagine having to live in such fear and uncertainty. I thank God that this war was quick, precise, and ultimately effective. Now time for some rebuilding and renewal.

The Connotation for today is initially bewildering. But after a long deliberation in CollEng, we affirmatively came to that deduction about senior awards. Enjoy.

“The ‘Most Confusing Superlative’ is actually the ‘Most Ironic Superlative’ which happens to be the ‘Shortest Superlative’ because it’s longer than the ‘Longest Superlative’.” - Me, Karl, Tony, and Dief’s conclusion 4/10/03 about the senior superlatives. I still think the best one to receive is the ‘Best Superlative.’

As the war heats up and Saddam gets his…regime…kicked things in my life are reaching some strangely cubistic stability.

My desire to try out new ideas within my faith in God have truly allowed me to understand myself better and take more indepth analyses of my being. This sounds like a technical thing, but it’s basically just me listening to soft music and thinking about what I want to be like in the future and how God fits into my ‘life dream,’ perse. I am finding so much comfort and awkward realism in the poetry of John Keats. I came across his work within my research paper in College English. Keats has some fascinating sense of realism and a struggle to desire things that will last. While I’ve yet to find any reference to him being a Christian or having some deist belief, Keats understands the basic truth that we will never escape the clutches of inevitability and finality. I am looking, from the viewpoint, into myself to see what I truly am living for. What am I becoming?

This is not to say I’ve been depressed or something about the mishaps of my life. No, in fact, I’ve found solace and encouragement from friends and my faith. People like Rianna and Jeremiah influence me in phenominal ways, showing me that progression is to be desired more than perfection. So I can honestly say that life is better than it was. Beauty is truth, truth beauty. And that is the only thing that really matters.

Sunday I went to see Two Weeks Notice with Kristine. Great movie! I’ve yet to see a bad Hugh Grant film. Acting is simply near perfect and humor is more than effervescent from the beginning. And great commentary and conversation with Kristine during the movie made it even more enjoyable. 6.7 out of 10.

Monday, after finding out that our SMG group is ranked 100 out of 102, we have now begun a new plan of trying desperately to lose as fast as we can before the deadline (4/17/03) comes to a close. So far, we losing with fashionable style thanks to great sells and poorly timed buys.