Tired...
Updating for the sake of updating...
Update May 1: I did update some of these! I have practice in, like, a minute, so I must RUN!!
The following points will be touched on next update when I have time:
Hailstorm
A hailstorm rolled through Jeddah, and it was almost MAY!! Wow. I woke up at 4:30 AM, as it was very windy. I looked outside, and there was lots of thunder and lightning. Very pretty. But when the storm got worse, I decided to wake my mom (I'm not a big fan of thunder - big sound, scary). We were watching as, at about 4:45, the sky opened, and a torrent of rain came down to flood the earth. And I mean FLOOD. For about a week after, there were fetid pools of backed up sewer water in the streets (Jeddah doesn't have proper drainage systems, as it only rains seriously about once a year). We were amazed. Cats and rats and elephants went running for cover. Alright, well, maybe cats. I don't think we have any wild elephants anywhere nearby. :P Anyway, at about 5 AM, suddenly, there was HAIL!! first, we heard loud clinking sounds, like really hard rain, hitting the windows at the back of the house. We didn't dare go look, because we thought that we might lose a window at any time, and didn't want to be there if/when that happened. When we finally did look, we saw hailstones a little bigger than my thumbnail sitting on our patio. Very strange. One of my buddies had the sense (or lack thereof?) to go and scoop some up and put it in his freezer. I just stayed inside, where it was warm, and dry. 45 people died in this hailstorm: houses were washed away in the African quarter (the poorer quarter), other people were beaned by hailstones, and yet others drowned in the floods. Welcome to Jeddah, when it rains.
Screaming at K
He deserved it. I started to shout at him, because he was being an irresponsible little prick during practice time, and it was affected everyone else. When I asked him why he was doing what he was doing, he said (as if it was obvious), "Because I want to". So I said the first thing that came to mind: "K, you're an asshole!" but my tone of voice wasn't malicious or anything - it was more like a surprised sort of: "oh! now I get it!"
Nationals coming up...
Nationals will be soon. It'll be in Jed. I have most of my events planned out - I'm nervous though. My times haven't improved as drastically as they did last year -- however, last year I wasn't trying to graduate from high school. So...
It'll be kinda sad. It'll be the last nationals of some of my friends... I dunno when I'll see them next. But I'm very focused. There's a swim meet this weekend - I guess this is sort of a prayer request, although I don't usually make them... I really want to do well in the 200 breast and 100 free races. :S
High school diploma package...
It arrived on Wednesday, and i found it by chance on Friday. Major freak-out ensued. I guess I was sort-of in denial about the whole graduating thing. I filled it out yesterday, and I'm praying that it gets to the school by the 6th of May. It was a student survey that I had to fill out - which was totally stupid. They asked all these judgemental questions about whether I got into all the colleges I applied to (doh), and which colleges I had applied to, and what I was planning to do after graduation, etc. I was tempted to reply "None of your business" to all of them.
Then there was a form for graduation gowns. I left that blank. I'm not going to mah prom or graduation... which seems sucky at first thought, but when I stopped to realize that I didn't KNOW anybody in my graduating year... well, prom in a foreign state, with no friends would be kinda flat. Anyway, I'm going to have my own little grad party, and I'm going to have some "High school graduation glamour photos" taken.
- Some pictures that were forwarded to me of the sandstorm that rolled through our city a few days before the hailstorm.
So stay tuned. :P
Till then...
Cheers,
Arassi
Update May 1: I did update some of these! I have practice in, like, a minute, so I must RUN!!
The following points will be touched on next update when I have time:
Hailstorm
A hailstorm rolled through Jeddah, and it was almost MAY!! Wow. I woke up at 4:30 AM, as it was very windy. I looked outside, and there was lots of thunder and lightning. Very pretty. But when the storm got worse, I decided to wake my mom (I'm not a big fan of thunder - big sound, scary). We were watching as, at about 4:45, the sky opened, and a torrent of rain came down to flood the earth. And I mean FLOOD. For about a week after, there were fetid pools of backed up sewer water in the streets (Jeddah doesn't have proper drainage systems, as it only rains seriously about once a year). We were amazed. Cats and rats and elephants went running for cover. Alright, well, maybe cats. I don't think we have any wild elephants anywhere nearby. :P Anyway, at about 5 AM, suddenly, there was HAIL!! first, we heard loud clinking sounds, like really hard rain, hitting the windows at the back of the house. We didn't dare go look, because we thought that we might lose a window at any time, and didn't want to be there if/when that happened. When we finally did look, we saw hailstones a little bigger than my thumbnail sitting on our patio. Very strange. One of my buddies had the sense (or lack thereof?) to go and scoop some up and put it in his freezer. I just stayed inside, where it was warm, and dry. 45 people died in this hailstorm: houses were washed away in the African quarter (the poorer quarter), other people were beaned by hailstones, and yet others drowned in the floods. Welcome to Jeddah, when it rains.
Screaming at K
He deserved it. I started to shout at him, because he was being an irresponsible little prick during practice time, and it was affected everyone else. When I asked him why he was doing what he was doing, he said (as if it was obvious), "Because I want to". So I said the first thing that came to mind: "K, you're an asshole!" but my tone of voice wasn't malicious or anything - it was more like a surprised sort of: "oh! now I get it!"
Nationals coming up...
Nationals will be soon. It'll be in Jed. I have most of my events planned out - I'm nervous though. My times haven't improved as drastically as they did last year -- however, last year I wasn't trying to graduate from high school. So...
It'll be kinda sad. It'll be the last nationals of some of my friends... I dunno when I'll see them next. But I'm very focused. There's a swim meet this weekend - I guess this is sort of a prayer request, although I don't usually make them... I really want to do well in the 200 breast and 100 free races. :S
High school diploma package...
It arrived on Wednesday, and i found it by chance on Friday. Major freak-out ensued. I guess I was sort-of in denial about the whole graduating thing. I filled it out yesterday, and I'm praying that it gets to the school by the 6th of May. It was a student survey that I had to fill out - which was totally stupid. They asked all these judgemental questions about whether I got into all the colleges I applied to (doh), and which colleges I had applied to, and what I was planning to do after graduation, etc. I was tempted to reply "None of your business" to all of them.
Then there was a form for graduation gowns. I left that blank. I'm not going to mah prom or graduation... which seems sucky at first thought, but when I stopped to realize that I didn't KNOW anybody in my graduating year... well, prom in a foreign state, with no friends would be kinda flat. Anyway, I'm going to have my own little grad party, and I'm going to have some "High school graduation glamour photos" taken.
- Some pictures that were forwarded to me of the sandstorm that rolled through our city a few days before the hailstorm.
So stay tuned. :P
Till then...
Cheers,
Arassi