Rain Delay

Precipitation. Noah Webster and his pal George Merriam define it as " a deposit on the earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow." In the Great Dictionary of Ted Kuligowski, however, it is defined as "stuff that falls from the sky that makes people lazy and not wanna do anything." The dictionary has yet to be published, but it gets the job done. Regardless of what it means, it's a dull rainy day today. Based on my information from other states, it seems that this storm is pretty darn big. From Cedar Point to Scranton, it's been raining for a while. I'm looking forward to some eat-a-lot-and-watch-too-many-movies days.

Every year, my pool has a campout around this time of year. It's always a lot of fun; people bring tents, set them up around the grounds, and sleep over. They keep the pool open until 11, a lot of people are there, and it's a big social event. And I'm so glad I didn't sign up for it this year. Why? Because this year, it's a perfect storm for sucky campouts. Because of the insane heat over the last two weeks, all the grass died, leaving only dry dirt around the pool. Now, because of this oncoming rain, it's all going to be mud. Not ideal conditions to camp in. Oh, well.

Reflection

Whoops... yeah... I haven't checked this in a LONG time. Sorry about that. Not that anyone cares. It's an online method of boredom-reduction. It's mainly for me to write, because I like to and I don't that often.

Tonight's one of those late summer nights where everyone gets nostalgic. It's not so much "Boo-hoo, life sucks now that [insert name of previous friend here] is gone" as it's reflecting on the good memories from years past. When we played football and capture the flag in the neighborhood, before everyone had jobs and everyone was home over the summer, and before everyone took the whole "being a teenager" thing too far. I'm never really one to judge anyone, but I just wish people would think before they did something completely idiotic. There are a lot of people who got really screwed up (some more than others) in only about three years. It's sort of disappointing, really. Everything would be a lot easier if we were back in 5th grade, where grades didn't matter, girls were gross, and the biggest disappointment was when someone took apart the big Lego tower during indoor recess. I don't mind the fact that I'm in high school now, I just wish some things were less complicated, and I'm sure most people would agree with me.

DIVING!!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. The last few weeks before school lets out; the weather is warm, spring activities are ending, and DIVE SEASON STARTS. Tomorrow at 4:15 PM, I'll be at the pool with some of the coolest people you'll ever meet to start a 2-month period of practicing every morning and then competing Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Diving is one of the most unique sports out there for a ton of reasons. It's falling with style and grace, it takes more conditioning than most other sports, and the people who do it are really awesome. Plus, how many friends can you name who dive? Exactly. That's why, even though I have to wake up early almost every day during the summer, I don't complain; I look forward to it.

Hey, if you're looking for a great summer book, check out Improbable by Adam Fawer. I read it two years ago, and it is still the best book I've ever read.

Improbable is a 2005 science fiction thriller novel by Adam Fawer. It is the story of a gifted young man named David Caine, who has been troubled by debilitating epileptic seizures to the extent that his medical condition has thrown his life completely off track. He frequently gambles, and goes in debt to the local mafia.
During the course of the book, Caine undergoes an experimental medical treatment in an attempt to set his life straight. After the procedure, however, he discovers that he is able to make predictions using his enhanced calculative skills, and change the future based on his discoveries.

Plus, the cover art is pretty neat. It has a 3-D lenticular image on it which shifts based on your viewing angle. Funny thing is, that's what drew me to the book. I had never heard of it before; I just was in the library and I saw a shiny cover on the shelf so I took it, looked at the summary on the back, and I read it. 

Countdown to summer : 17 days

FlashForward and Lacrosse

Like many other TV shows, the final episode of FlashForward aired Thursday; however, while shows like Lost, 24, and Law and Order, FlashForward was only on for one season. I followed the show closely since the first episode back in September and got really into it, so it goes without saying that when ABC announced that it would not be bringing the show back for a second season, I was pretty upset. I feel like the overall plot was very well-written, the casting was great, and it could have been incredibly successful if it had more of a following. Based on the finale, it's pretty clear that the producers will probably try to get it picked up by another station for another season, maybe TNT or another cable channel. I hope it does. It was one of the few shows I've seen which actually made me think in order to understand everything.

This weekend is the NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Notre Dame is playing Cornell now, and Virginia plays Duke after that. Last night there were a lot of night-before festivities at the Inner Harbor as the teams arrived. I love how Maryland and Virginia are often considered to be the heart of lacrosse in America, because all the big events for the sport are local. If Virginia wins today, my dad and I are going to try and get tickets to the final on Memorial Day.

"My School's a Palindrome. What's Yours?"

So I'm here at Glenelg High School, Maryland's favorite- and probably only- palindrome. Why am I at such a uniquely-spelled place? For a Cappies-esque event for Howard County schools. It's an all-day thing. Sort of. We have to be here at 2, but it starts at 7. Yippee.

I had a baseball game this morning at 8 in Sykesville. We won 8-1. Not too bad.

TWO SUNS, TOO EASY: A credible consideration raised by David Jefferson and Ted Kuligowski

I have nothing to write about, seeing as it is 9:30 at night, I'm tired, and I just spent the past few hours writing. Sort of. Our assignment was to write a satirical argument about a problem in the world (reflecting A Modest Proposal). If you're interested, you can read it here:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWjFUO4vdop4ZGZ3ZjZmd3dfOGhta3dzNGQ4&hl=en

One Love

As you may know from reading my earlier post, I got a new phone a few weeks ago. Nice phone. I love it. Yesterday, the Android 2.1 update became available, and, of course, I downloaded it. It's a great update- nearly everything was changed for the better- but there was one problem: all my contacts got deleted. Luckily for me, user-friendliness is high up on the priority list of the makers of the Droid phones. All my contacts were backed up on my Gmail account, and were easily sent back into my phone in a matter of 5 minutes.

Guess who has a math test tomorrow? That's right. Me. And I'm ready. Hell yeah, here we go.

Both the Virginia men's and women's lacrosse teams won their first-round playoff games this weekend, their emotional first games since Yeardley Love, a senior on the women's team, was found murdered by her ex-boyfriend, also a lacrosse player, George Huguely two weeks ago. It's sad how, much like the Duke lacrosse case in 2006, the team, the players, and especially the sport are wrongly yet easily targeted by the media. Especially following UVA player Will Barrow's suicide last November, this kind of publicity isn't incredible for the healing and rebuilding process necessary for the team, the school, and the community as a whole. In Love's honor, the entire team wore a patch on their jerseys which had her initials and her number, 1.  And on the back of the men's blue warm-up jerseys prior to their game on Saturday, in bright orange text, the words "One Love." Love's roommate scored three goals in an incredible performance on Sunday afternoon.

Boredom? Spontaneity? You Decide.

REEL BIG FISH

It's a band. Good band. Listen to them if you haven't before.

I'm sitting here with two notebooks on either side of the computer, a textbook to my right, and an empty Capri Sun thing to my left. Behind me is a window to the sunny, 70-degree spring weather that I'm missing out on. I try to ignore that part.

Today was an easy day, but it's seemed pretty long for some reason. I got up at around 10, drove to the mall to get some shorts, went to Chicken Out for lunch, then went to baseball practice. Still, it seems like it's really late. At least later than 4:52. I'm hoping to go outside at least once before it gets too dark and then get to bed relatively early tonight.

Hmm... Usually I attach a picture that relates to the posts to the end of these things; however, this was a completely random post, with absolutely no central theme. Therefore, I'll include this:

Cops and Robbers!

Just got in from playing cops and robbers with the neighborhood kids. If you've played it, you know how great it can be. If you haven't, you have been robbed (no pun intended) of a childhood, my friend. We've played it here in Terra Maria since I moved here in 2001 (the "originals" are in college now), and it's been more or less of a tradition every year. The bases have moved from porch to porch as people grow up and leave, but the game has yet to change: Robbers start at the porch of a house on the west side of the cul-de-sac, go out across the street, cops give them 30 seconds and then go out and chase them. Robbers try to get back to the porch without getting tagged; if they get half of their team in safely, they go back out. If not, the teams are reversed and the new robbers head out into the woods. The routes have been used and reused hundreds of times each, but the excitement of the game never goes away, and I think that's what makes it so great.

Ew. Tomorrow's Sunday. That means that the next day is Monday. You know what's no fun about Mondays? School. Oh well. We get out the 27th of June, I believe. It's not too much longer.

Welcome to (Virtual) Paradise

Today's May 14th. In twenty-five days, Green Day Rock Band comes out. It would be an understatement to say that I can't freaking wait. Problem is, it's only going to be released game-only; that is to say, it won't come with all the instruments as past games have. I'll either try to find a cheap set on eBay, or find a friend who'll be willing to sell me theirs cheap.

So my baseball game got rained out today. It was against the undefeated first-place team in the league, and we were all excited. Beautiful spring day at the start, but then it just started to pour. We were tied, 2-2, at the start of the third inning. I hope we make it up soon. It's sure to be a great game.

I went to Soft Stuff today with some of my best friends from middle school. Since they go to a different school now, we try to get together as much as possible just to stay up-to-date. Half the time, we don't get around to it, but our failures at least let us stay in touch. And when we do get together, it's great.

Random Fact: It's illegal for a monster to enter the corporate limits of Urbana, Illinois.

Woah, It's the 13th Already?

Wow. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been like crazy busy lately. But not to worry. I am still alive and well, even if your blog-post-reliant souls are not.

Well, what's going on in the wondrous life of Ted at the moment? I have an A in math (I know, right?), the Orioles are starting to at least win a few games, I have my permit, and I'm sixteen years old. Seems like a century since I posted last now, doesn't it? Or, at least, ten days. I have a lot of songs by Fun. stuck in my head at the moment, so I'm in more or less of an upbeat mood. And that's always good.

Music I currently like:
Fun.
Allison Weiss
Green Day
Driver F (Thanks Richard)
The Fratellis
Taylor Swift (Don't you dare judge)
State Radio

Music I don't currently like:
Stuff that's overplayed on the radio

DICKE LEUTE AUF ROLLERS

For those of you who don't know German, that means "fat people on scooters." When did I learn this? Spanish class.

In other news, I'm wearing socks.

Droid Does.

Hello people with eyes, and happy May third. It is currently pouring rain outside as I am getting ready for school, but that's okay. Why? Because my birthday is tomorrow AND I got a new phone yesterday. A Droid Eris. It's super nice. I'ce been playing around with it since I got it; in fact, I'm posting this from my phone. Let's hope it works :)

Kiss My Math

It's a perfectly nice day outside today; sunny, clear, and warm. I, however, am inside studying for math. Why? Because I have a big math test tomorrow. Chapter Six. Vectors and junk. They're pretty much rays with an identity crisis. My teacher even said, "They're like rays, only not." Real clear. Or einfach, as they say in Deutschland. One of the few German words I know. Anyways, I'm working on section 3 of 6 right now. I'm waiting for some friends to come over to work on this stuff, because as of now, saying that we have a vague understanding of it would be very generous.

Oh look, the sun just got brighter. Thanks, Mother Nature. I'm free yesterday, but you make it pour.

Spring Broken

Today is Sunday. April eleventh. Two-thousand ten. Which can only mean one thing: the last day of spring break. A day of mourning from kids all over the county. A day where "Crap! I have math homework?!?!?" can be heard from Centennial to Oakland Mills. A day when procrastination is more popular than Nickleback. Wait... bad analogy. It's more popular than the Killers. Much better. Bottom line is, today is a bad day for students all over.

On a brighter note, it's 66° out, sunny, and just beautiful. Great motivation to get that homework done early, right?

...not really. Hopefully I'll be able to get outside at least once today before it gets dark, though. After spending a week in southern Florida where it was 80° almost every day, I started to miss this Maryland spring weather.

While I was in Florida, though, I went to Tampa for two days. We saw that the Orioles were playing the Rays for their opening series, so we went to Tropicana Field to see Thursday night's game (the only game Baltimore has won this year). Tampa and St. Petersburg are some of the strangest places I've been to in a while. In my hotel, they were playing "Here Comes Santa Clause." In April. In Florida. On the way to St. Pete for the baseball game, we stopped at a gas station. Inside, they sold tasers. Okay, so they weren't the huge Taser-brand military-use machines, but they were personal electrocution defense weapons, and that's close enough for me. When we got to the stadium, I was excited because I had never been to an indoor baseball stadium before. We got our tickets, walked in, and all of a sudden, I was thrown back to when I was 6 years old. The entire place looked like a glorified Chuck E. Cheese. I understand they might be trying to be kid-friendly, but when you have flashing lights, game booths, and comic-book drawings of the players as superheroes every ten feet, it gets to be a little much. To add to the matter, Chick-fil-A was giving out cowbells as a promotion that night. There were 16,000 people in a dome raising Hell with Columbia blue cowbells. "More Cowbell!!!" the scoreboard constantly read, taking the quote from the famous SNL skit with Christopher Walken. Please, no more cowbell.

WARNING: BIEBER

I got home from Florida this evening. I'm sore from the car ride. I was looking forward to SNL tonight, until I remembered... tonight's Bieber night. Ugh. Justin Bieber. Why is he so successful? He's like 5. In one of his songs, he sings, "When I was thirteen, I had my first love." Hey, Justin, how about you save that song until you're actually thirteen? Luckily, Tina Fey is hosting. She's probably the only person on the planet Earth who can single-handedly  counter Justin Bieber.


I don't know why this in italics. My computer is making it do it, and there's no way I can fix it. So just deal with it. Thanks. 


Everyone has friend problems on occasion, and it's never fun. Losing a friend, especially those extremely close to you, is one of the worst feelings in the world. Still, no matter how hard it is, we all eventually move on, and it all works itself out in the end. "When a heart breaks, no it don't break even."


HA. Gotcha. That song is ridiculously overplayed. I wouldn't really put a line from it in this post. Rest easy, friends.

March Madness... In April

So yeah, I know I haven't written for a while. But you know what? I'm in Florida, it's sunny and about 70, and I don't care.

I always complain about not seeing movies. It's an exaggeration, of course, but when you look at classic movies that literally everyone has seen, I'm left out. "Hey Ted, don't you just love [big name movie title]?" "Well, [question-asker] I haven't exactly seen it." "WHAAAATTT??? YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!!!!" "Put it on the list, buddy."

Well anyways, it's Final Four weekend, and yet again, I'm at my grandparents' house in Naples sitting by the pool. Could it get any better? Doubt it. Butler just beat Michigan State in a low-scoring and extremely frustrating game. The Bulldogs pulled it out in the end, though, and that's all that matters. Now it's halftime of the Duke-West Virginia game. Even though I live in Maryland and have been brought up learning to hate Duke, West Virginia is even worse. And hey, they're they only ACC team left. Go Devils.

Hey guess what? I drove for the first time today. My grandpa asked when I got my permit. I replied, "In a couple weeks."

Wanna hear a joke? It's Friday!!! Okay, it's not a joke, but if I asked you "Wanna hear what day of the week it is?," I doubt you would have been as excited.

Ahh... field training. As I stated before, I work as an umpire for the local little league. Last night was field training, when we all go out to the field so the newbies can get some hands-on experience making calls and standing around. As a level 5 this year, I just have to be there to kind of "teach" the level 1's what to do. In the HCYP umpire system, the level 1's are the lowest of the low: pick up trash and equipment in the shed, sweep up dirt on the floor, and pretty much do all the dirty work. Good news this year! We're getting paid in cash! Better news: We get free snowballs! Not so good news: We still don't get free hamburgers. Even though they're the same freaking price, we still only get our hot dog and soda per game.

Hot Hot Heat. Favorite band at the moment.

You may notice that this post has no title. This is because last night I was up until midnight writing an English paper. I finished the paper in about 45 minutes, but then was up for about another half hour attempting to come up with a title (That, and the fact that I was distracted by the Xavier/Kansas St. basketball game). I finally got one, but I've used up all of my title creativity.

Spring!

If, while reading this post, you notice any similarities to John Quinn's latest post, which I just read, you can be assured that this has nothing to do with it.

It's 63° out, it's sunny, I'm sitting here watching spring training baseball, and everything about life right now yells "spring." I can't help but yell back. Spring is probably my favorite season of the year. Sun, warmth, colors, my birthday, and, best of all, baseball. The Major League season kicks off in eleven days, and you can bet I'm going to be in front of my TV watching. Now, you may argue, "Oh, but Ted, baseball is so slow and it's boring and it takes no skill at all and you have to wear tight pants to play." Well, try playing it. It's fast, intense, and takes more skill most people think. Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest jobs in all of sports. When you think about it, reacting to a small white ball with a circumference of 9 inches and then bringing a bat around to hit it back all in less than a second seems a lot more complicated. Also, one of my coaches in the past told me something that I'll probably never forget. Baseball is the best sport out there for one reason: It's the only sport where every player needs to be at the top of their game at all times, because you never know who it'll come down to in the clutch. In football, with a minute left and the score tied, what do you do? You hand the ball off or pass it to the best player on the team. In basketball, down 1 with 2 seconds left, you give the ball to Kobe or LeBron. You can't control who will come up to bat with a man on third and two outs in the ninth. And that, my friends, is what makes baseball great. That, and the fact that I make great money doing what I love by umpiring for HCYP.

Return of the Tedi

I'M BACK!!!!!!!

This is my first post-Oklahoma! blog post, and I was up late last night working on an English research paper, so please forgive any lack of literary expertise shown in this post.

The show was great! If you saw it, you either loved it or fell asleep because it was almost three hours long. If you didn't see it, I hate you forever and the only thing you can do to lessen that hatred is to tell all your friends to follow this blog.

You know what I realized today? In The Wizard of Oz, you know, when they're singing "We're Off to See the Wizard," most of the stuff they sing about is based off of generalizations and assumptions. They hadn't met the guy yet, and they're singing about how brilliant of a guy he is and how he's got more wizarding skills than Harry Potter on 'roids. When they finally get to the Emerald City and meet him, he's a huge disappointment. You don't see them singing about that on the way back, though.

Got the new Pokemon game the other day. SoulSilver. I beat the fourth gym in math today. Don't judge.

Widget

A Capella, Fellas.

Recently, due to excessive boredom, I've spent most of my time on YouTube. For the most part, I've been watching a cappella groups do arrangements of popular songs. Everything from Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something to I'm on a Boat by comedy group The Lonely Island. I think it gives any song a unique quality not found in any other kind of music.

My mom's all excited because American Idol contestant Lee Dewize is from her hometown of Mount Prospect, Illinois. She says since it's a small (smaller that Ellicott City) town, she wouldn't be surprised if he lives close to where she grew up. Pretty cool. I like him, too. He's one of the better singers. If you ask me, the talent this year on the show isn't amazing compared to previous years.

One more dress rehearsal tomorrow, then our performance! You should come. All four days.

Coughcomeseeoklahomacough

I was up until midnight last night doing research for English. Five sources. About Catcher in the Rye and censorship. Which we did almost a month ago. We've almost completed an entire book since then. So going back to Catcher for a huge research paper isn't exactly the most fun thing ever. Especially when I have no free time at all because of Oklahoma! (Which you should come see). Bottom line: Staying up late on the one day of the year when we decide to get rid of an hour of the day... sucks.

Math test went well today. I knew how to do everything for once (yay!) and I drew very detailed pictures for the word problems, just because I could.

Guess what? The new Pokemon games came out today. I'm fifteen years old, but who cares? I want that game.

Lauren Ferguson. Know who that is? Yup. The girl from Facebook. Turns out she's real. And she's in Maryland this weeeeeeek!!!! She came to school today and I was able to see her for the first time in like a yearrrrrr and it was greattttttttt.

My other foreign friend, Jordyn Catencamp, does not have her phone. She's a loser. Not really. But kinda.

Hmm... I don't have any homework tonight... this isn't good... I feel like I'm forgetting something...



...oh well.

Procrastination, Reprise

Now is a perfect time to reiterate my point which I made earlier about procrastination: DON'T DO IT. It's sad, really. One would think I would learn from previous instances, but nope. It's 9:23 PM on a Sunday, and I'm still finding sources for my English research paper on Catcher. Due tomorrow. You know, I shouldn't even be on here. Oh well. 

I found a new band I like today. They're called Oedipus. I found them on Facebook out of pure boredom. I searched "Oedipus," and they came up first. Their description on their page makes me happy:

"Oedipus seems pre-destined to kill convention and marry progressive heavy rock with an artistic twist that most certainly makes their sound rise high above the dull roar of mainstream modern rock."

Also, their EP Covetous has a great cover which, alone, may prompt me to get it:

 

DESPAIRRR... OEEEEDIPUSSS... LAIUUUSS...

Move Over, Jaws...

According to IMDB, Malibu Shark Attack went down 91% in popularity this week. That makes me sad. Although it's a terrible movie, it's one of those terrible movies that's so bad it's hilarious. It's number one on my list of favorite bad movies, right in front of Ping Pong Playa. One day, I just want to get together with a bunch of friends and watch really pathetic movies. If that ever happens, these two have to be part of it.

You know who's a great band? Jet. Just putting that out there.

While I pride myself on the unknown music in my collection, I'm not afraid to go mainstream every once in a while. So even though I have music by bands such as Broadway Calls and the Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers, I also have a ton of stuff by well-known, often-(and unfortunately-)cliched bands like Green Day and blink-182. I was talking to one of my friends the other day in school about the Green Day concert I went to over the summer, and he said "I don't like them too much. Too many people like them." I respect his taste in music and all, but what does that have to do with anything? Too many people? Since when was there a limit on how many people can like a band? I don't know, maybe that's just me.

In other news, "smh" has replaced "lls" as the stupidest IM abbreviation of all time.

Wanna hear a joke? Auto-tune.

A Quick One While He's Away

Yeah so it's 5 minutes to midnight and I just got home from Alice in Wonderland. Pretty great movie. Not overly Tim Burtony. I like his stuff, but sometimes it can get a little too much. I'm tired and I have rehearsal at 9:30 tomorrow until like 6 I think. So Internet, I'm really happy for you and I'mma let you finish, but I need some sleep. Goodnight, hormigas.

[Title Left Blank For Literary Effect]

"Today, I found out that the people I grew up and live with weren't my parents, the people I rule are dying from a plague, I killed the king (who turned out to by my real dad), married the queen (mom) and had kids with her, then got angry with myself so I gouged out my eyes and was banished from the city I ruled. FML."

Yup, we're reading Oedipus Rex in English now. I like it. It's especially enjoyable because we're reading it/acting it out in class, so there's no real homework for it. The opening scene is pretty much CSI: Ancient Greece. I wonder what song by the Who they would use for the title sequence...

Oklahoma! is coming down to the final week, and it's gonna be great. I made a mistake on a previous post about the Sunday matinee time. It's at 3:00, not 1:00. You should still come. You'll love it.

Tomorrow, I'm going to see Alice in Wonderland with some friends. It's supposed to be amazing, and I'm really looking forward to it. Random fact: Tim Burton lives in a manor-house in our friends' community in England. I feel special.

Smile!

After almost three years, I finally got my braces off today. Oh my gosh, what a difference. My teeth look so good! I stopped by CVS after my appointment and got a big bag of Swedish Fish. Why? Because I could (Not that I never ate them with my braces ON). I ate about half by myself, and then shared the rest at Oklahoma!. But YAYYYY I love my new teeth!

Today was just an incredble day all around. Got my braces off, did well on a science test, went outside in the BEAUTIFUL almost-spring weather here in Maryland after school and played with a Frisbee, hooked up my old Gamecube (which I've kept in my locker) to the TV in the auditorium and had a big winner-goes-on round of Mario Kart during our free time at rehearsal.

Baseball season is starting up soon, and all I'm hearing on local radio stations is optimism about the Orioles. "People have come to just cast out the O's quickly, but when we get to the World Series, it's gonna be huge." Now don't get me wrong, I love my Orioles. Favorite team in my favorite sport. But still... I'm not going to go that far as to say this'll be their year. Every year, they get "star" pitchers that'll "save" their franchise, but end up screwing them over by the All-Star break. In my opinion, the O's can't move on until Peter Angelos leaves. He's a terrible owner, and I think anyone who follows baseball can see that.

Cruisin' Down Rainbow Road

Guitar. Half-eaten plate of pasta and sausage. Phone. Remote control for television. Precalculus textbook. Science fair binder. Backpack. Sports Illustrated. Torso mannequin. Internet radio. These are some of the random items surrounding me at the moment.

Due to the massive amount of free time we have at Oklahoma! rehearsal, at least five people brought in their Nintendo DS today so we could have a massive tournament of Mario Kart. I wonder if Nintendo has ever gotten in trouble about that game. I'm sure PETA would have more than enough to say about throwing turtles at other drivers with malicious intent. Also, something tells me that eating mushrooms to go faster wouldn't fly too well with the DEA. I guess things are different in Japan.

Again, come see Oklahoma! next weekend: 3/18-3/20 @ 7:00 PM and 3/21 @ 1:00

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

I think it's kind of incredible how much we take some of our best friends for granted. We all know who they are. The people you spend the most time with, laugh the loudest with, talk the most with. But to me, I think the most defining quality in a best friend is your ability to come to them about anything. Someone you can complain to, someone you can rejoice to, someone you can talk to when you're having the worst day of your life, someone you can talk to when you're having the best day of your life. Unfortunately, we often overlook this trait in our friends. Even so, we all have these kinds of friends. Take five minutes to think about what those friends do for you, and what life would be like without them. Maybe even say thanks, if you're feeling up to it. They're as important to your life as your family.

WOAHklahoma!

So as of today, there's a grand total of TWELVE days until Marriotts Ridge High School puts on Oklahoma! March 18th is opening night. Today's rehearsal was from 9:30 to 5:00. Now, don't get me wrong, we got a lot done (we put together the platforms for the pit and other miscellaneous set items), but the only time we actually did scene-related stuff was for the last hour, when we worked on scene changes. I think tomorrow's rehearsal will focus more on the rest of it. Let's hope it all comes together by the 18th.

The Marriotts Ridge Madrigals will be on PBS at 6:30 PM. Three minutes. Pretty cool.

What's up with this recent flood of stupid Facebook fan pages for pictures? Some guy must have figured out how to set it so only fans can see content, and then that information got relayed to some idiot who decided to put a Photoshopped picture of Justin Bieber in makeup on a page and simply said "I LOL'D." I feel sorry for the makers of those pages. They really must have no life.

Not cool. It's now 6:32 and the only thing on PBS is some guy with long hair playing Metallica on violin at a concert. That is definitely not what's supposed to be on.

Hot Tub Time Ma- What???

Good day today. Great day, actually, especially after yesterday. Look at it this way: it's like watching Titanic and then Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure immediately after. Huge dramatic change. Good change, though. Not bad change. Bad change isn't that good. That's why it's called bad change. Bad change can lead to good change, though. That's why bad change can be good sometimes.

What's up with all these bad movies coming out? I honestly have no interest to see any of the upcoming movies, with the large exception of Alice in Wonderland. Hot Tub Time Machine? Come on. Have they run out of ideas for movies, or are they just lazy? I could come up with a better plot than that. Sad thing is, people are going to go see that, love it, tell their friends, and it'll end up an incredibly successful movie. All because some camera guy's four-year-old nephew was probably acting like his hot tub was a spaceship or something, then... BOOM! Pathetic epiphany.

This weekend is gonna suck. Saturday I have rehearsal from 9 to 5. That's like a freaking JOB. Plus, there'll probably about 4 hours during which I'm not doing anything. What am I going to do? Some of us were talking about bringing a Gamecube and playing Mario Kart, but that's good for only, what, 2 hours? I guess we'll be able to figure it out from there.

In eight days, my friend from Texas comes back to Maryland (she moved there in middle school). Yup, she's pretty cool. Good looking too. Can't wait.

Upset.

My life isn't so great right now. Well, it's not as much my life as it is my friends' lives. I'm both incredibly gifted and somewhat cursed by my strong emotional attachment to my friends. My emotions are often influenced by the moods of my friends. I can talk to them about anything, which is great, but it's also kind of disappointing sometimes. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense, but I'm just trying to say what I want to say. Frustration, boredom, tiredness, disappointment, jealousy. We all feel these at some point in our lives. Nothing to freak out about, but not the best either, especially when they're all at once. I guess I'll just get some sleep tonight and hope that tomorrow is better.

A Series of Unfortunate Math Tests

I'm sick. I'm tired. I have two tests tomorrow. One of them is on stuff that makes no sense whatsoever, even after learning about it for weeks, studying for two hours in the textbook, and looking it up on YouTube. Precalculus is probably the worst class of my day at the moment.

My phone is pretty much broken. Luckily, I have a warranty on it. So I'm probably just gonna go in and say I lost it so I can get a new one.

This Sunday, I have Oklahoma! rehearsal from 3-8. Not my idea of an incredible weekend. The show is coming along, but to put it lightly, it still sucks. But it'll get there. You know what you should do? You should come see it. Marriotts Ridge High School. March 18-20 at 7:00. March 21 at 3:00.

Well, I'm bored and I don't feel like writing a ton. Goodnight, faithful reader. Congratulations on your literacy.

"AWESOME!!!"

IHOP
Articuno
Kryptonite
Liberate
Pikachu
Algernon
Oogenesis
Fever
Wrath
Chocolate
Agnes
Austere
Neophyte
Beta
Atticus
Corpse
Aubrey
Crowbar
Calculus
Brine
Psyche
Cruisin'
Liam Neeson

You may be saying to yourself, "Ted, what was that list of random and exotic words?" Well, those words were just some highlights from my list of words you can spell using the symbols on the periodic table. The full list has 76 words. I've come up with these words during biology and precalc.

I'm 100% caught up with FlashForward now. Too bad it doesn't come back on until March 18. Thankfully, The Office comes back this Thursday. I can't wait.

All-State was amazing. The talent was great, I met some new friends from all over Maryland, and I had a great time overall. Hope I make it next year.

So I have a math test on Thursday. I wouldn't be so worried about it if I knew how to do the stuff. Ugh. 

Random fact:
If you move South America on top of Africa and then turn it counterclockwise, it makes A FREAKING T-REX HEAD

Are You In Good Hands?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALL-STATE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since my choir is performing at the convention center in Baltimore, I have to get to the hotel early, do my part check for all-state at 9 (and hopefully pass), and then walk over. Assuming I do pass, my weekend will be spent at like 8-hour rehearsals to practice six or seven songs and perform them on Sunday. Crazy time, but so much fun. I was in Junior All-State (7th-, 8th-, and 9th-graders) last year and it was incredible. I'm assuming that everything at Senior All-State is gonna be better. Just like in Texas. But not so southern.

My friend John has decided to follow in my footsteps and revive his failed blog from two years ago. He's good at writing and stuff, and has a...unique sense of humor, to say the least. Check him out at http://myboringlife-john.blogspot.com/.

I took a field trip to the Capitol with my government class today. We took a 20-minute tour of the building itself, then we went to see Congress. First, we went to the House of Representatives. A Representative from Illinois was talking about terrorism, then a Representative from Florida talked about health care. Man, you never hear about those topics in this country. Then, we walked across to the Senate, where we sat in silence for about ten minutes until Pennsylvania Senator Robert P. Casey came out and started talking. It was a great experience altogether, and I have a (somewhat) greater appreciation for our government because of it. Doesn't mean I'll watch C-SPAN instead of ESPN from now on.

It was my Illinoisan friend's birthday yesterday. Happy birthday Cailey. It was two of my friends' birthdays today. Thanks for the pie. It wasn't my birthday. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.

In all, I went to school two days this week. I never went to math. Let's hear it for rotating schedules!

Because of All-State this weekend, I'm not going to post anything for until Monday. Possibly Sunday night. Don't count on it, though. For all of you who have a blog addiction, get some help. Please. You're hurting more than just yourself. Think about how it affects your family and friends. Do the right thing. I believe in you. I also believe in Harvey Dent. Goodnight, Gotham City.

Wrath of the Teenage Girls

The 2009 movie Avatar was both a revolutionary movie in terms of CGI capability and a box-office success like no other. Director James Cameron (of Titanic and Terminator fame) first developed the story in 1994 by writing an 80-page screenplay for it, with hopes of a 1999 release, directly following Titanic (1997). However, he did not feel that the technology at the time was advanced enough to fully convey his vision of the film. After fifteen years, his movie was finally released, raking in $24 million domestically in the first weekend alone, and $242 million worldwide, making it the highest-selling movie in history. One month later, though, Dear John topped it with $36 million. Thank you, teenage girls of the world, for totally destroying James Cameron's dream.

(P.S.: If you didn't catch that Avatar was just complete propaganda against the U.S. involvement in the Middle East, watch it again. It's completely true.)

Today was Mads Fest in Howard County. All the madrigals from all over the county come together in a competition/festival thing. Three songs per group, short clinic thing by guest adjudicator from Towson University, repeat. Not too bad, though. Saw some great performances. Got to see my friends from other schools perform. Got to miss school.

I get to miss school Thursday and Friday, too. Thursday, I have a field trip to D.C. to the Capitol. We take a tour (yawn) then we get to see the House and Senate in session. Pretty cool. Again, I get to miss school. I'll take it any day. On Friday, we're performing at some clinic in Baltimore for music teachers across the state of Maryland. My director is amazing and has some connections, so he's pretty much showing off, saying, "If you do what I do, this is what you'll get." From there, we walk over to the hotel for All-State. 26 people from my school made it, so it should be a fun weekend.

I just found out today that ice skater Evan Lysacek and gymnast Nastia Liukin are dating. Which means Lysacek isn't gay. Woah.

The United States beat Canada in hockey last night. Were you watching? Thought so. Even if you don't follow hockey at all, you could appreciate the close game and the performance by the U.S.

Weezer. You love them. Don't deny it. That is all.

My video for Spanish was finished today. It's the best. Ever. Once it's up on YouTube, I'll post the link. Until then, goodnight.

Do You Believe In Miracles?

I haven't written in a while. I truly apologize to all those who have developed an addiction to my blog and are now suffering from withdrawal due to my temporary hiatus. Consider it rehab.

I finally got my Zune working. This is my first week with music in about two and a half months. Words cannot express how amazing it feels to listen to simple three-chord punk music again. Here's a sequence of events from when I ordered my Zune to when I got all my music onto it:
1.) Order on 2/7
2.) Stuck in customs in Anchorage, AK.
3.) Arrives on 2/16
4.) Computer does not recognize Zune
5.) Laptop does not install software
6.) In the process of restoring the laptop to factory settings, battery dies, screwing up the computer.
7.) Install Windows 7 onto laptop.
8.) Zune and software install properly, but I can't move the music.
9.) Music is put onto an external hard drive, brought to the laptop.
10.) Music is moved successfully, Zune syncs, Ted has music.

Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, when the amateur United States Olympic hockey team defeated the powerhouse Soviet Union team of professional players in what is often considered the greatest upset of all time. The reactions of the crowd, the country, the team, and Al Michaels (Do you believe in miracles?! YES!!!) have developed a legacy of their own, but people often overlook the fact that that game was only a semifinal; they had to beat Finland to win the gold medal. You can't help but wonder, What would have happened if they had lost?Would we still look back on the game against the USSR with the same joy and pride as we do today? Fortunately, we don't have to (the United States won 4-2). Even thirty years after, looking back upon the game still brings an amazing sense of joy to Americans and only brings one word to mind: Miraculous.

Another Snowy Day. Surprise.

Fidel Casbro
Broseph Stalin
Brozo the Clown
Napoleon Bronaparte
Shaquille Bro'Neal
Broasis
Bro.A.R
Apolo Anton Brohno
Alex Brovechkin
Bro Theismann
Shoeless Bro Jackson
Seth Brogen
Bro Montana

I ordered a Microsoft Zune HD on Super Bowl Sunday. On the website, it said "Order by midnight PST on 2/7 to ensure 2/14 delivery." Today is 2/15. Now, one day doesn't mean that much to me, especially with all the snow we've gotten. Still, I decided to call up FedEx. Apparently, my Zune is in a big crate with other orders from Microsoft.  This crate is stuck in Anchorage, Alaska because Microsoft in China messed up some paperwork. Now it won't pass through U.S. customs. If all goes well, it should get loaded on a plane at around 4:00 this afternoon, and I'll get it by 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Last night, I downloaded a Taylor Swift album. Does that make me any less of a guy? I don't think so. Even if it was the platinum edition.

Olympic men's hockey starts tomorrow. I'm REALLY excited. People criticize the Winter Olympics a lot, saying that they're not as exciting as the Summer Olympics. I think that they have the potential to be much more exciting, depending on what sport you're watching. Of course, you're not gonna see great down-to-the-wire action in ice dancing, but already we've seen some pretty good endings to both the men's and women's moguls. In the women's, Canadian Jennifer Heil executed an almost flawless run which landed her in first place with only one competitor left, hoping to become the first Canadian to win a gold medal during a Canadian Olympics. However, these hopes were crushed by American Hannah Kearney, who stole her spot atop the podium within five minutes. The next night, another Canadian, Alexandre Bilodeau, was in the same position: a perfect run as the next-to-last competitor. Guilbaut Colas, from France, went down the slope in an incredible time, nearly two seconds faster than Bilodeau, but it wasn't enough. Colas landed himself in sixth place, leaving Bildeau in first and ending the Canadian drought. I don't know about you, but I'd take that over a complete blowout by Usain Bolt any day.

It's snowing out. Again. How is this much snow possible? Come on. It's Maryland, for crying out loud.

Boredom Strikes Again

RAMIREZ! TAKE OUT THAT AC-130 WITH YOUR TACTICAL INSERTION!
RAMIREZ!  DESTROY THAT NUKE WITH YOUR AKIMBO THROWING KNIVES!
RAMIREZ! FOLLOW MY BLOG!

As the week slowly draws to a close, I find myself having less and less to do. Because of the holiday on Monday, I have three days left until I get back to school. I finished all my homework about a week ago, so I've been bored lately. My Zune, which I ordered on Sunday (my iPod Touch broke over winter break), hasn't come yet, so I'm without music for the most part. Our three-month trial or HBO and Cinemax ran up last week, so there aren't many movies to watch without actually going out and paying 10 bucks to see one. And even Call of Duty gets old after a while. I'm feeling a Star Wars marathon one of these days.

I have the chorus to a song written so far. Verses suck. I'm just going to leave it as-is for the time being and write more as I get more motivation.

I was going through my Facebook pictures earlier and came across something I made a couple months ago. I think it accurately reflects my thoughts at some times. Here it is:

Yup. See it. Live it. Love it.

O Canada, eh?

Well, the snow stopped. Finally. The roads are plowed, places are open again, and driveways are shoveled. Still, there's hardly anything to do. Right now, I'm eating sushi, playing Call of Duty, and writing songs. Why? Because I can.

Even though the snow isn't causing as much of a hassle as it was, say, five days ago, there's still over three feet of it everywhere. The kids in my neighborhood did the only logical thing to do: have a snowball fight. No matter how old you are, there's nothing quite like pegging one of your best friends in the face with a baseball-sized chunk of cold, wet snow.

With all this time off, I've had time to read most of Catcher In the Rye. Not just because I have to for school, though. I've actually really gotten into it. Granted, I doubt I would've gotten around to reading it if it weren't required, but I like it nonetheless.

The opening ceremony for the Olympics are tonight at 7:30, and an estimated 8 billion people worldwide are expected to watch. To compare, this year's Super Bowl, which was the most-watched TV show in U.S. history, drew in 106 million viewers. Multiply that by around 75, and that's about what you'll get for the Olympics tonight.

Let's here it for Canada, eh? Now that the Olympics are going to be held in Vancouver, dare I say that people will actually care about it? It's certainly gotten a lot of attention lately, especially in the previous few weeks. I guarantee that last year at this time, around half of the nation's population had never even heard of Whistler. But here's to Canada for finally making a name for itself other than hockey and maple leaves.

Simple.

Not much to write about tonight. I'm just kind of in an all-around good mood. Sort of... sentimental, if you will. I think everyone feels like this at sometime or another, and it's hard to really dislike it.

With every breath that I am worth here on Earth,
I'm sending all my love to you.

Who dat say they gonna write this blog? Who dat? Who dat?

THREE FEET OF SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. Thirty-six inches of frozen water falling from the heavens and piling itself across the east coast. This snowpocalypse has caused trouble everywhere it's hit, including cancellations of events, delays and closings of school, and a WIDESPREAD INVASION OF SNOWMEN!

We were off school today. They canceled it for tomorrow this morning, too. It's supposed to snow 3-8 inches tomorrow, starting at noon. Any chance of going in Wednesday is pretty much shot. Thursday is a half day, with very little importance. If Wednesday is called, I'm guessing Thursday will too. Then no school Friday. I'm going out there and saying it now. We're not going in at all this week.

I woke up this morning at 9:15, went downstairs, and ate breakfast. Raisin Bran. After that, I got on the computer to check my email, expecting to see my daily Pearls Before Swine strip there. Instead, I got a pleasant message from my science teacher describing the assignment we have over this break. I'm angry. I don't want to learn about meiosis when there's snow outside. Therefore, I won't. Not today, at least. I want my Pearls.

So... anyone ever heard of a hockey team called the Capitals? Thought so. They're at the top of the National Hockey League, nursing a 14-game winning streak. Their next three games are on the road (Montreal, Ottawa, St. Louis). If they win those, they'll tie the NHL record set by the 1993 Pittsburgh Penguins, with a win over Buffalo to break it. It's been a long time since I've been proud to be a fan of a local team, but this year I've found myself wearing my UVA and Caps apparel with a great sense of pride.

I'm not sure if you watched that football game last night, but wow, was it good. It was a hard-fought game by both sides, and the Saints came out on top. Unless you were a lifelong, hardcore Colts fan, how could you not root for the Saints? They were America's feel-good story, and even President Obama chose them. Drew Brees proved himself to be, without a doubt, one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game today, and the city of New Orleans finally has something to cheer about. Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints (besides the Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Panthers)? That's right. No one.

That's MY Tosis!

Sitting in science. Supposed to be doing a worksheet on stem cells. No one is working. Ha.

X Marks the Spot. Not cos24°.

MEGAN FOX.

Now that I have your attention, it's February 3rd. Although it'll be two days after Groundhog Day, we're watching the movie Groundhog Day tomorrow in English. Something about the call denied in the hero's journey. I don't really care why we're watching it, I just know that I don't have to worry about doing much work early tomorrow morning.


Another Wednesday. Another night of chorale. Another set of oddities. I've just come to expect them now.

I don't enjoy math class. Precalculus, period 4A, Mrs. Barbieri, room 330. All the way on the third floor. I always go the same way up, so today I decided to take a different staircase. I got lost. Change isn't always a good thing. I got lost in my own freaking school that I've been in for over a year and a half. I want my old staircase back.

The one thing that's unique about having a three-story school building is the workout you get by going from class to class. My schedule is:

Third floor (English);
First floor (FOT);
First floor (Mads);
Third floor (Math)/Second floor (Bio);
Third floo (Government); and
Third floor (Spanish).

"Up and down, up and down, I will lead them up and down." One of the only quotes I remember from A Midsummer Night's Dream from last year. Puck said it. Up and down, up and down. Now, I am in no way out of shape, but by the time I get up to my class, I want a rest more than I actually want to learn. Up and down, up and down.

My electric guitar has a string broken and I haven't yet gotten around to replacing it, so I've been playing my acoustic a lot more lately. In fact, I've been playing guitar in general a lot more lately. Before Oklahoma! rehearsal every day, there's about a half-hour gap until we actually start, so I've been going to the guitar room and just playing there. I may not like precalc, but I love music. Unfortunately, I've been without an iPod since the start of winter break. I went sledding with it in my pocket, it worked fine when I got home, but the next day it just decided to stop working. I'm considering getting a Zune HD to replace it, though. 10 bucks more, but twice the memory. I just need my music. Every time I get on the computer, my iTunes shortcut calls to me, "Ted! Ted! Sync me! Listen to me! Love me!" Okay, no. It can't talk. And if it could, I'm sure it would be much less cliché. It would be cool.

Throw Up Your Arms Into the Sky

Today was a good day. My classes were easy, I didn't have much homework, and I leveled up three times in Call of Duty. Okay, no, I'm not THAT obsessed. But seriously. I did.

In other news, Punxsutawney Phil's 2010 prediction was that we're in store for six more weeks of winter. And of course I believe this, because, like Facebook and Michael Martin, America's favorite Pennsylvanian sciaphobic groundhog is always right.

My English homework for tonight is to write a detailed paragraph about how we were personally "enlightened" from reading Siddhartha. Because it was just that life-changing of a book. Jeez. I honestly have no clue what I'm gonna write about. But I do know one thing- it won't be true.

For Christmas, we got an Internet radio from my grandparents. It picks up the live feed from any radio station that broadcasts online. I found some '90s station from somewhere in Miami that I absolutely LOVE. A lot of Green Day, a lot of Offspring, a lot of blink-182, a lot of Nirvana, a lot of Bush, a lot of Cake, a lot of other great music.

AMERICAN IDIOT IS GOING ON BROADWAY ON APRIL 20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I can't freaking wait.

Pinch and a Punch, First of the Month

So, it's February 1st. The first day of February. A Monday. I don't enjoy Mondays. You don't either, do you? Didn't think so.

Last week we got a new TV for one of the rooms upstairs that we just redid. We haven't put cable on it, so I'm doing my homework with the soothing sounds of Judge Judy in the background. Stupid Lady GaGa-haired girl who's blaming her boyfriend for using one of her debit cards for gambling, because he "has a gambling problem." However, she didn't remember that she gave him the PIN number to use it. Oh, by the way, she got arrested a month before that for selling crack. So, who's guilty? Stupidity, that's who.

It snowed Saturday night. It wasn't too much- about 5 or 6 inches- but it made everything outside look nice. They're calling for more snow tomorrow. But they're just weathermen.

I stayed after school for about an hour today, because we were supposed to be working on a movie for a Spanish project. Unfortunately, one of my partners was at the dentist, two more had a football meeting, and the last one just left because no one was there. So my friend Brady and I went around school looking for something to do. We found some guitars and started playing. His taste in music is probably the best of all my friends. His iPod is mostly smooth English/indie alternative stuff, and who doesn't like that?

I started this blog about two weeks ago. Seems like I started a trend, because every day now I see people posting links on Facebook to their own pages. Copycats. No matter what anyone says to you, I'm the best.

Last night, I was switching between the Grammys and the Virginia/North Carolina basketball game. I couldn't watch the Grammys much, though, because I was furious that the sellout Kings of Leon beat out both Green Day and U2 in Best Rock Song with their awful overplayed attempt-at-a-hit-single Use Somebody. They also won Record of the Year. If you agree with these awards, please enlighten me. The good news is, Taylor Swift took home three awards, Green Day won Best Rock Album with 21st Century Breakdown, and VIRGINIA BEAT NORTH CAROLINA BY 15.

I've been trying to write a lot more than when I started, because my friend Alyssa, who thinks she's all that (and sort of is), complained to me one night after reading my posts, saying that they weren't long enough. So, Alyssa, I'm going out of my way to write more stuff. JUST FOR YOU. So you better be happy with this.

The Beatles and George Clooney Are Both Mentioned. Read.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Math homework.
GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!!!!!

From that lame attempt at a joke, you can probably guess what I'm doing at the moment. If you can't, then GET OFF OF MY WEBSITE. My math textbook thinks it's clever by giving us about 6 trick problems which cancel themselves out and equal 1. I applaud you, DeMana, Waits, Foley, and Kennedy, for your futile attempt to trip me up.

To make things worse, Joe Jonas is the guest judge on American Idol. I wonder... If the Jonas Brothers had started on a major record label instead of being used as Walt Disney's slaves, would people have any more respect for them? I'm not saying I'm a fan of them; I'm just trying to say that there have been a TON of other successful boy bands. To name a few:

-Backstreet Boys;
-*NSYNC;
-New Kids on the Block;
-BoyzIIMen; and
-THE FREAKING BEATLES

I guess when it comes to these, you either love 'em or hate 'em. Except for the Beatles. If you hate them, again, GET OFF MY WEBSITE.

Ted Fun Fact #249: I sing in my school's madrigal choir.

Every Wednesday, all the singing groups come together and we sing as the "Chorale." I'm not a mean person, and I'm sure anyone could tell you that, but I'm honest. And the kid who stands next to me in the Chorale (who will remain anonymous) can honestly not sing for his life. It makes things a lot more difficult, to say the least. I don't know if he thinks he's good or if he just needs a fine arts credit.

Anyways, if you'd like to see our spectacular Madrigals, tune in to Maryland Public Television on March 6th at 6:30 PM.

"THE MARRIOTTS RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF TERRY EBERHARDT, WILL PERFORM WITH NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED COMPOSER TIM JANIS IN HIS NEW “CELEBRATE AMERICA” MUSICAL SPECIAL ON MARYLAND PUBLIC TELEVISION MARCH 6TH AT 6:30PM."

"Tim Janis, well known for his “Music with a Mission” has worked on many philanthropic projects with artists such as Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Andre Previn, and The New York Philharmonic. He has also produced fund raising programs for PBS with George Clooney and James Earl Jones. "

Paul McCartney.
Billy Joel.
Ray Charles.
George Clooney.
Darth Vader's Voice.

Those people want you to watch. So does Joe Jonas. If I were you, I would do it. You don't want millions of teenage girls across America to slaughter you with their bedazzled Hannah Montana replica microphones.

SidD'OH!tha

pro·cras·ti·nate

v. pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing, pro·cras·ti·nates

v.intr.

To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.

DON'T DO IT.

A few weeks ago in English class, we were given the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Whether you are familiar with the novel or not is not important. What is important is the fact that we were also given a sheet of paper with sixteen journal entries we were to write by January 27th. At the time, January 27th was weeks away. Now, January 27th is tomorrow. I reached into my backpack, pulled out my blue Staples notebook, and looked in it to find only two of the entries completed. Because of this, I'm upstairs working on writing the other fourteen while listening to some pretty good indie music on WVFI, the college radio station for the University of Notre Dame. I can't help but wonder if Mr. Hesse had ever considered naming one of his kids Kamaswami. I'm sure someone has done it. Today, I found out that there's a kid at my school named Awsum. Pronounced "awesome." I think that's pretty flippin' awsum.

"If I call it soccer, will he still understand what I'm saying?"

It's late. It's a school night. I'm not looking forward to four days of educational work. Nonetheless, I will force myself out of my warm bed at 5:45 tomorrow morning, just as I will for the other 179 mornings when we ignore that ever-so-tempting offer to stay in bed in order to do that thing they call learning.

Well, I just got home from Clyde's in Columbia, where my mom, my sister and I (my dad is stuck at home sick) met a friend from England, who was here on business. If you didn't know, I was born in England, in a little town called Cheltenham. The food was excellent, and I realized how much fun conversations can be when you're with someone with an accent and a knowledge of a foreign history.

As they say in England, goodnight.

Let the Sunshine In

This morning I woke up feeling sick. I guess it's somewhat fitting, seeing how it's a pretty miserable day out. Don't think we'll be going to Virginia today for my grandma and cousin's birthdays. We'll probably try to get down there next weekend at some point.

On a lighter note, I found out how to add music onto the blog! So stay a while and enjoy the playlist.

Beginner's Luck

Hello, online community. I'm Ted. I made a blog because I like writing, I like the Internet, and my friend told me it would be cool. At this point, I'm still trying to figure out how it all works, so please forgive my overall naiveté relating to this website. With that aside, I'm kind of excited about this. It's a pretty cool experience. Looking forward to posting more stuff.