I have another big race behind me. I walked straight from the pep rally on Friday to the family vehicle, and spent the rest of the evening brooding about how miserable the run would be today, only leaving the house to go back to school to find my English textbook. I tried to divert my attention by making a mix cd, which I had originally planned as ( Read more... )

I can't tell if my town is rolling in its sleep or waking from a long slumber. Last week was crazy here: a murder in a nice neighborhood, car wrecks, (probable) expulsion, ethnic friction...and yet nothing has really changed in the larger scheme of things. The same despot is in the mayor's office, sprawl continues to eat up countryside, test scores ( Read more... )

I finished Mrs. Dalloway. I would have mentioned reading it before, but I seem to jinx my chances of finishing a rough book whenever I talk about it too soon. Now that I know all of these Westminster residents of the 1920s, I can't say that I envy them, though I felt all along that I was there with them, and can at least admire how the author's ( Read more... )

The yard was green, dewy and overgrown. When she opened the door, I could see several cats scurrying behind her. I started to recite my salesman spiel, but the woman cut me short. As she leaned forward, over my head and the concrete stoop, the shells and beads in her necklaces rattled. "Your strongest piece in your portfolio this year will be your ( Read more... )

The lighthouses and anchors in the executive office had disappeared, and in their place were motivation posters: Discipline, Determination... Coach Mc' and the new principal stared back at me and brought four years of uncertainty to a close ( Read more... )

I was shamefully excited to see all of my (favorite (relatively speaking)) teachers. Mrs. G'dw'n told me that she didn't mind my late night call, and thought my idea for starting a student political organization affiliated with one party or another could be a good idea. Mrs. C'lv'rt and I discussed our R&S plans ("Yeah, I've been meaning to drill ( Read more... )

I had the intention of going to bed at a reasonable hour last night. But then again, I hadn't exercised at all since early Friday, so I was shaking with pent-up energy. There was some kind of jam band concert on KET at 3 AM, which almost drew me in, until I switched over to FOX, and found ... Air Bud: World Pup. I was about to change the channel ( Read more... )

Somehow, the fifteen hour drive passed quickly. I guess finishing Brave New World, reading the current Rolling Stone, parts of USA TODAY, Life of Pi (my first time (It was an amazing read - if I can use that word - with the universal scope of Candide or Le Petit Prince)), and OEdipus the King (a second time), explains most of the missing day. Being ( Read more... )

I'm not sure if going to the races at Saratoga changed my life, but it was worth the cultural experience. It seemed like the sort of place where you could pick up at least three habits in a day if you were really trying ( Read more... )

After five weeks at "camp", the summer camp exhibit at the Adirondacks Museum was entertaining. Children singing songs around the fire played in the background, while visitors looked at khakis and dresses, banners and badges embroidered with the names of vaguely Indian or Hebrew settlements (at one point in the 30s, one of the lakes had more than ( Read more... )