Much easier to read

Here's the schedule. :) I'm taking Ecology, Public Policy, Singing, the purple block is my free period, and French.

http://www.tnsk.org/Schedule2009.htm

Xine is Christine, like Xmas and Christmas. haha

Monster post of the new schedule (haha puns)

I woke up yesterday and felt a little sick. I shrugged it off, still feeling stuffy the rest of the day.

This morning I woke up really sick. I don't think it helps that I was surrounded by sneezers, snifflers, and coughers yesterday. I thought "If I'm careful I can get out alive." The constant phlegm-stirring coughs emanating from Flora was really reassuring. But after some Airborne, several tissues, and a butt-load of food I'm as right as rain, if rain was actually right.

I probably shouldn't use the words "butt" and "food" in the same sentence. :/

I'm about to give you way too much information about TNS, but I'm so enthused that I can't stop. haha

Yesterday was the school's planning day. About 11 students attended, which was a great turnout. That's more than a third of the school. We believe this year we'll have between 28-32 students, a lot better than the 22 we had in July, but a little less than last year.

I'm amazed at how incredible TNS's program is. School hasn't even started yet and I can already feel an inner leader in me attempting to claw its way to the surface. The discussions and activities that we participated in were almost completely student-run, it's such a nice change of pace from the zombie-mentality inducing effects of other schools.

The curriculum at TNS has changed several times since June, but they've finally decided on the one that shall be used this year.

For who it may concern, this is what my schedule looks like:

We have a half an hour of advisory every morning except Wednesday.

First block is Ecology, second block is Public Policy, third block on Mondays/Thursdays is Singing and on Tuesdays/Fridays is a free block. After that on Tuesdays/Fridays I have French. (Mondays are Committees and Thursdays are All School Meetings)

Committees are like clubs. Some of them are necessary, like fundraising, and others aren't, like the yearbook committee I'm thinking of starting. It's about keeping the school running by democracy and the students, so it's great that they allow time in the actual school day instead of forcing students to stay after.

All School Meetings are great. They talk about how to help the school and/or make it function better, current events, they even give compliments, which is like thanking people.

"Compliments to Flora's advisory for running the booth at the fair all on their own."

"Compliments to Ross's hair, just 'cause it's awesome."

"Compliments to Jen for designing the friggen SWEET costumes, they make me feel pretty." (a boy said that haha)

During discussions they have a gesture called "Sparkle" where they wave their hands (it's pretty much jazz hands) when they like something that was just said. Such as if Landon suggested an ingenious idea to a problem, Cody could wave his hands, showing that he likes what Landon just said/agrees with Landon while being silent and not interrupting him. If I'm not mistaken it's American Sign Language (ASL is offered as a class :)) for "Applause".

Wednesdays you don't have to go to school. They leave that open for apprenticeships, self-directed learning seminars, art and photography classes, greenhouse/gardening classes, independent studies, gateway preps (you complete gateways to move up to the next phase/grade), and senior projects.

Gateways are what you complete to move onto the next phase/grade. They're like examinations, except you just have to demonstrate that you know the skills and/or information you've been taught, not take an hour long test that doesn't pertain to the study sheet the teacher gave you. It's just you and the teacher, no pressure, because you can re-do it whenever you feel like you're ready. There are gateways to meet the Maine Learning Results for all core subjects like math, science, etc. Every student they've ever had has met the results, it's such a great system.

Senior Project is a big cookie. Seniors work on it all year long. It's a presentation of some sort about a passion of theirs. Some kids who really like art create an exhibit that's showcased in museums or in their own homes. One students built the greenhouse and set up the garden. There really aren't any limits. And the project is kind of optional, but most students want to do it because it's about what they love. It furthers their knowledge of what they hope to do the rest of their lives or maybe just their beloved hobbies.

For those who are interested in apprenticeships the people at the school personally help find a suitable place/person for the student to learn from. Sara (she's also a redhead haha) is working at a tea shop which is run by an extremely knowledgeable woman, because Sara really likes tea and growing the plants for the leaves and such. (She also goes to Flora the vegan social studies teacher's farm, because the teachers are chill like that.)

For the first couple of months I'll be taking a required SDLS for incoming students on Wednesdays from 9:00-2:00. It's about moral/ethical problems and writing about them. Such as "Is stealing always bad?" (it seems like is has a little but of Psychology thrown in for kicks and giggles). I think it sounds cool. :)

For ten minutes everyday after school we clean up the place, since there isn't any custodial staff. Doing chores is lame, but when you're with your friends it's alright, so I don't mind. When we were talking about cleaning most of the students seemed to be nonchalant, as if every teenager should be taking charge on a regular basis and it would be strange to rely on a janitor for their own mess. They take pride in being independent and taking care of not only the school but the Earth as well. Even the redneck-est of men felt ashamed when he accidentally put a paper bag in the trash, only to take it out moments later and place it in the correct recycling bin.

PLUS they have a compost! It's so oddly wonderful to go to school and be cooking tofu (totes vegan) stir fry using vegetables from their garden with your principal, who you call by her first name. I don't know any of the teachers last names. haha

Getting back to my schedule...oh God I get side-tracked so easily. I've always been interested in flora + fauna and the environment, especially how we're destroying the planet that we were blessed with, so I'm glad I'll be able to educate myself by taking Ecology. That's a really long sentence... Oh well too late now.

Public Policy is a required class, but you only have to take it once throughout high school. It's about getting involved locally, state-wide, and even sometimes nationally. It looks into the government and how we have a say in what goes on. The really cool thing is that it's actually doing something. One of the students who took it last year did a lot of work on getting the equality bill passed in Maine. I can thank her when I marry the love of my life, be it man or woman. :)

Ecology and Public Policy are both classes that change after Session 1 because I have them every morning.

I'll refuse to stay on topic by explaining Sessions. There are four of 'em. Session 1 goes until November/December, Session 2 goes until March-ish, Session 3 is most of March, and Session 4 is 'til the end of the year. Session 3 is three weeks long and is called Intensives, where people usually travel around the world, the country, or the state and do something big they've been planning for several months. Some students decide to just stay at home, though.

Back to the ranch (such a Bruce Lewia expression), I'm excited for singing. It's going to be acapella and we'll be singing a wide range (haha more puns) of genres, including some contemporary music. The teacher's not only going to help with voice strengthening but she's going to tackle performance anxiety, which I greatly need assistance with. I'm very thankful. :)

So on Tuesdays/Fridays I finish Public Policy at 11:50, and then because of lunch, my free block, and then a regular ten minute break in between each class, I don't have to go back to school until 2:00. That's more than two hours that I get to drive home and then chill, make some lunch and take a nap, finish homework that I didn't do the night before, even laze in front of thetv while I unwind. Ahh the perks of being senior. Can I get an amen?

Singing changes after Session 1 because of the arrangements for the instructor (which may be switched) and my free block changes after session 2 because I don't have it every day. I have it half the time I have Ecology and Public Policy, but it goes a whole extra Session so it's all the same time. It's like late start Wednesdays at KHS and how it affects the first two blocks (which are longer than the others) so it all evens out...sorta.

Then after my free block I have French, which I'm excited for. It should be refreshing after all these years of Spanish. I can't wait to be able to correctly sing Coeur de Pirate songs. haha

After those TNS offers classes to the public. I'm going to take ball room dancing. I've always wanted to learn how to Salsa and Tango, and waltzing reminds me of the Harry Potter Yule Ball so that's a definite plus. haha

Speaking of Harry Potter, Christine (one of my favorite teachers) said "I'm in a Harry Potter mood because I just reread the series, and I think an inter-advisory competition would be great!" Then Ross replied "Like the House Cup?"

"Yeah! And we can add and dock points for behavior."

"Like professors and prefects?"

"Yeah!!! And whoever wins the activities garners points."

"Like the Quidditch Cup?"

"YEAH!!"

I love her. She's so happy but still very mature, it's hard to find people like that these days, because gaining maturity usually has the consequence of losing your inner child. She's the super cool English teacher. Ross is the teacher for random subjects ranging from Philosophy to Japanese to World Religions to Robotics, since all those things are so similar. He graduated from Bonny Eagle a few years ago.

I realize now that I'm rather fond of all the teachers except Ruth. She's the only old one (Marylyn the principal doesn't count since she acts so youthful). Luckily Ruth's the math teacher, so I won't ever have her. haha triumph! That sounded mean. :( sorry!

Due to the fact that I'm giving all you pretty people a quick rundown of how the school works, I might as well explain phases. This is why I'm writing what has got to be my longest blog post to date. haha

In order to graduate students move through phases, not grades. There are three phases, I, II, and III (to point out the obvious). Incoming students start at Phase I, which is for students at the very beginning, so it mostly consists of freshmen and sophomores and the occasional junior. I'm gonna fit in great.

Phase II is almost all juniors and seniors. This is the advisory I'm going to be put into because Christine thought this is where I would be most comfortable, since I'm thinking about doing 3-4 semesters before I graduate instead of just 1 year. I'm gonna be a super senior, it'll be sooosick! There was a girl who just graduated from her five years at TNS and she taught an AP level Soviet History class. Now she's going to Mt. Holyoke, therefore, she's wicked smaht. My nanaattended college there. :/

Phase III is made up of students thinking about graduating close to the end of the year, so it contains the seniors, the possible super seniors, and the random "wth are you doing here?" junior.

Each phase has an advisory, Phase I has two just because that's where the majority of the school is placed. I'll either have Flora (the newly-wed vegan one) or Christine (<3)

OMG I forgot to tell about the most Harry Potter-ish part of the school!

There's this system they have called "4 corners". It's pretty much having the disgruntled sorting hat placed on your pretty little head while you sit awkwardly on a stool in front your magical schoolmates who aren't paying attention, except there's no pms-y hat, no stool of doom, and no magic.

Darn it.

There are four categories: Action (Gryffindor), Caring (Hufflepuff), Meaning (Ravenclaw?), and Structure (???). Most of the school is Action. There are some Caring, but almost no Meaning and/or Structure. Good thing google already knows I'm going to be in Caring since I puff your mom's huff.

Then, based on what you fit best into, you find people of other houses--I mean categories--to function well with. There are groups of four people called Facilitations, and during meetings one person is the Facilitator, one is the Note Taker, and I can't remember the other two for the life of me. haha

I've been told on multiple occasions that it's "cliche" to like Gryffindor, but this just totally re-affirms my belief. I want to be like all the Action people! They're all people I admire greatly. If I had to change myself, I would be more leader-ish/public speaker-y. Hurray for words that actually exist!

So I'm pretty much going to Hogwarts...psh I wish.

One time when Wolfie was still around I was 11 and hadn't received my Hogwarts letter, and he had just turned 10. We both hoped that he was a muggle born and would get his letter next year. He didn't. Oh the woes of life.

Just read the monumental poop story

I had such a good day, which made up for the disappointing people to people sleepover reunion.

I thought I wasn't going to see anybody after I left Kelsey's house this morning because we got about 4 and a half hours of sleep and I believed this would make me crabby, but SURPRISE SURPRISE. Caitlin texted me proposing an all day Harry Potter movie marathon and I couldn't resist.

We only got through the first two ones because we left for a few hours to get sewing materials for the wonderful birthday gift Alienor (<3) got for me. :)

The p2p reunion didn't live up to any great expectations, but there was a couple moments where I was having fun. An example would now be one of the best poop stories in my arsenal.

Note: don't read if you're eating.

Travis and Jim were climbing a tree, and after they were about 80 feet up they decided to just chill for a while before Jim suddenly rushed down. Travis followed suit. Once Jim was on the porch he asked Kelsey where her bathroom was. After he had been gone for almost 10 minutes Travis told us he said "Trav, I gotta go poop."

Travis: He is going to work in there!

Troy: Well now it's going to be really awkward when he comes out.

Then Jim entered the porch. With a plunger. "Where can I leave this to dry?"

I can't remember the last time I thought something was so disgusting and so perfect at the same time.

"I ate 20 wings last night, at least I cleaned up...Sorry I just made things incredibly awkward for everyone."

In all honesty I almost wish I hadn't gone. It was a lot of trouble, as sleepovers usually are. Only about 10 people showed up. Plus I had to hide the fact from dad that we drove to ihop and back, and by "we" I mean a teenager drove.

Dad's brother Allen died in an automobile accident where teenagers were being stupid and drag racing. They hit him and he died instantly. He was a great man, definitely my type of guy. I never got to meet him, but my dad sometimes talks about him. He was totally non-conformist, everything he did I admired greatly. He's one of my biggest role models. I cry for him a lot.

I was actually planned to be born the day he was, June 24th, but I came early. My mother, father, and half-sister were all born on the 24th of a month. I'm the oddball. In all honesty my dad doesn't know that mom picked out Elana as my middle name because it's as close to Allen as she could get without being obvious. Dad wouldn't have approved of the name if he knew that it was acting as a tribute to my late uncle.

r.i.p.

The point is that the all-around awesome Allen died because of teenage drivers. This is why dad doesn't let me ride in a car with a teenager driving. It's so stressful, he called me twice while we were at ihop and I was sure that he had found out that Kelsey's parents hadn't driven us. Fortunately when he picked me up later I managed to avoid the topic.

It's become extremely apparent that this issue is plaguing me. Life would be so much easier and I'd be a lot happier if I could just ride with one of my friends driving rather than be an awkward, hassle-causing party-pooper because my dad forbids me this right. But I can't do anything about it, that's like me smoking a cigarette after Papa died of lung cancer. It would be an insult to his memory if I stood up to dad. I might just have to tough out one more year until I move out of the house and can make my own rules.

Oh well. Can't do much about it. The reunion was good closure, though. Now I can finally move on.

In other news, vh1's 40 hottest hotties of the 90s jingle is stuck in my head. I like it. A lot.

If I could meet Neil Cicierega, I'd haha my butooty off

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-a8USS84F4

I've always wanted a friend so dull, monotonous, and utterly boring as Snape is portrayed in the Potter Puppet Pals series. I'd laugh to my heart's content. That's why I secretly like eavesdropping on others' conversations and cracking up, because usually the topic is surprisingly average and induces me with the gigglies.

But all my friends are awesome, so that didn't work...

The New School is losing one of the two science teachers due to the lack of students enrolling this year (because the economy sucks), which means the schedule's going to be reworked in a couple of weeks. Every other subject only has one teacher, so it was a dead giveaway that a science teacher was going to have to leave. Now I have no idea whether I'll be able to take chamber choir or not. I heard from Steph Lewia that Mr. Murray's going to be replaced by an attractive Black guy. How racially diverse for the bunk! Way to go Mr. Lewia.

Grammy's doing better! It's been two months since she left her house to have the heart surgery, and for a while things were looking pretty grim. But now she's doing fantastic, she can actually move her legs and she might be coming home soon. I'm so happy!

I'm teaching myself to juggle.

My yoga class is starting up again tomorrow. I might be joining a health club to support my yoga teacher.

I'm about to watch the first Harry Potter movie, back when all the little tykes were absolutely adorable. When Wolfie was still around we promised each other we'd have an all day Harry Potter fest where we would watch all the movies in a row together. He was going to make his special, organic, super healthy popcorn. I miss him a lot.

I'm really excited for school to start and for the retreat (every year TNSK starts by doing something fun, in this case white water rafting, so that the students get to bond). I had a dream about an anonymous male TNSK student, clad in skinny jeans, the other night. My hormones really liked it. haha

Mom keeps bugging me to clean my room and it's starting to get on my nerves slightly. But I'm trying my best not to say anything about it.

My insanely accurate horoscope started this week by asking "Are you looking for a fight this week, Gemini?" so I'm trying my best to be a lover, not a fighter. I forgot how madly enamoured I am with Across the Universe until last night. The Beatles are amazing, my parents are so lucky they got to grow up when they did.

I have all my hours done on my permit. I just need to do some parallel parking practicing (ppphaha like potter puppet pals...) then I'm going to send out for my date. !!!

Enya is fantastic, she's been a favorite of mine and mom's for years now.

There's a The Academy Is... concert in Boston on November 5th. Does anyone want to go? I'd invite my friend Sara from the trip because her favorite song is The Phrase That Pays. Anybody who can dig their older stuff is good in my book, even if it is a hit single. Me and some bestieswent to the mall the other day and I finally got a band tee-shirt of theirs. <3

At the mall we went in an intensely wonderful tea shop. I can't wait to brew the tea I got tomorrow!

Look up The Conqueror Worm by Edgar Allen Poe. It's amazing.

I just got to see my dad today. :)

Alright, the stream of consciousness is finished. Just wanted to provide a little update of Sara's life. Now onto Tom Felton and the ginger!

Why not

Both my nana and my grammy got sent to the hospital yesterday. Dad and I visited Grammy (my mum's mum) today and afterwards she said "Pray for me, loves." I did.

Suck on that James haha

http://www.personalitylab.org/tests/ccq_hogwarts.htm

There, a more in depth, "this is gonna take forever" sorting quiz. I still got Hufflepuff...

At least do the quiz at the end if you don't want to read the whole thing haha

I don't know what's going on anymore. Or rather, I've realized I never knew, not really. There were a few things I thought I was sure about, but now that's all out the window.

If you asked me a month ago about God I'd reply "I'm Atheist." because we don't have a whole lot of proof.

Now I know that I've been sheltered my whole life. I never gave religion a chance. If my dad wasn't as Atheist as Tyra Banks is crazy then maybe I would have been raised differently. One ordinary day mom requested that I pray for someone (she asks this a lot) and I stated "Mom it makes me uncomfortable when you say things like that, you know I don't believe in God." She looked hurt for a moment, but at the same time it felt like the right thing to do. I only ever enter a church for a chamber choir concert, I've never read the bible, why would she expect me to pray on a daily basis?

But I've come to the conclusion that there was always a little part of me that thought "If there is a God, I don't want to offend him by not believing." because that's how my mind works. I think of others first. After Ronette died I cried for weeks. I clearly remember me saying "Please, God, she deserved so much more than this. Make sure she's happy and safe in heaven. Thank you so much."

I always wondered what came over me. I would always "pray" for a loved one when they passed away, but the rest of my life I pretended as if he didn't exist. But I certainly don't want him to retract his blessings on Cunie and Sophie and Dede and Bootsie and Papa and Allen and Ronette and all the wonderful beings that are missed, so a small part of me will always believe. I'd much rather protect those who I love and believe in something that may or may not exist than curse them because I'm too ignorant to even consider that God may be real.

r.i.p.

I hope in my life I experience several different spiritualities and religions, maybe even find one that's right for me.

Another thing I'm confused about is love.

I'm quite confident that most high school relationships move too quickly. Maturity hasn't fully set in, and two people start saying "I love you" meaning "I'm in love with you" shortly after they start a relationship, or even right after they start dating. Friendships are formed that create a foundation for love that they build upon since we're always around the same people.

But many students don't realize the difference between love, infatuation, and lust, which leads to downfall in several relationships.

I'm a believer in don't start a romantic relationship with someone unless you can consider marrying the person, or at least spending the rest of your life with him/her. At the same time I think that people's minds and views and desires are always changing, and seem to plateau after they've matured to their personal, full extent.

I also don't believe in sex before love. I'm grateful for pre-marital sex, otherwise I wouldn't be here, but in all honesty my parents certainly weren't in love when I was conceived. I was accident, and now I'm just a really lucky bastard. Literally. If I hadn't come into the picture my parents wouldn't have dated for more than a couple months. They're just two different people that didn't work out. I feel bad, because my parents don't get along, but they put up with each other for my sake. They even feign friendship when we're with company, and I thank them for that. What they've done is incredibly self-less.

This leads to another point. Abortion. I value life, I'm a friggen vegan, and if I did someday get pregnant before I was ready I probably would keep what could possibly turn into a baby, just because it might have a chance. Contrarily, I'm pro-choice.

Mom told me a story about when she was in school several decades ago. A popular girl stole her boyfriend and she ended up pregnant because of it. Abortion was outlawed in America and several other countries at the time, so the boyfriend's family had to pay the girl lots of money so she could fly to Japan, have the operation, and fly back.

My mum was going to abort me, but two days before she decided against it. She felt that I was special. I'm not sure if I lived up to her or anybody's standards, in fact I'm pretty sure I haven't and won't until I'm older, but the point is that if she had doubt in her mind while on a plane to Asia she probably would have gone through with the operation for all the hassle she had gone through and I wouldn't be here blogging at 2 in the morning.

It's kind of hard for me to not be pro-choice. The last thing I want to do is be ungrateful for what I was blessed with.

But I think that making love is one of the most intimate things you can do with someone, why would you want to do this with someone you don't fully care about? Isn't that like cheating love? I'm scared that someday I won't be strong enough, that I'll be pressured and I'll go against my views because I'm afraid of loss and rejection. Hopefully this won't happen, but it's a definite possibility, and I can already see myself regretting how much of a wimpy pushover I am.

I admire chivalry, and having the courage to do what's right. Like Gryffindor, but for real. Because we all know Hermione probably should've been in Ravenclaw, but she was one of those lucky souls that could've fit into two houses so that there'd be a popular series to make millions. That's why Giligan never made a boat to get off the island.

I'm always in friggen Hufflepuff. What's up with that? I'm not smart, not brave, not cunning, so I was put in the reject house. The "wellll since you're already here you can stay, but you kinda suck" house. It wouldn't be as fail-tastic if someone else was sorted accordingly, just given the circumstances it makes it seem like I wouldn't fit in Hogwarts at all. haha

http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/HarryPotter/Docs/Quiz-House.html

What'd everyone else get? Anybody join me in the loyal, dependable, hardworking ranks? :)