ksdlksnkdlnklsdn fuck blogs

why did I spend my time bragging about my AP exams like some sort of nub? $50 i'll come back to this in like five years and realize this post was retarded as well.

FOR THE RECORD
-The internet never forgets
-Fuck the creationists?
-The pirate pope IS pirate catholic
-FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Hm. So I just went through and reread my archives here. A lot has changes in three years.

Seeing that post from the end of first semester freshman year really brought back a lot of memories, a lot of good nostalgia. I don't think I've ever been that enthusiastic about life before, and maybe that's the feeling I'm subconsciously trying to recreate this final year in high school. I have been more active in my activities, doing more of what I think feels right, and just taking life by the horns and doing whatever it is you do to something after you grab it by the horns. As I said before, "nothing's gonna ruin [this Christmas]", as at that time I had for the first time ever actually done well in school. And though I didn't mention it at the time, I had become agnostic by then; soon I would become atheist, yet another major change. The following semester brought more academic success, yet also more social failure. A failed crush on a girl named Alex, and some friends rejecting me, ultimately caused me to shy away from being social for a whole year. Even with this foresight, I still envy that ambition for life I once had.

I was recently looking at the report card from the first semester of my sophomore year. It had all As, except for a B in AP Euro (on which final I got an A). This made me recall how ecstatic I was at the time. It was not merely because I had gotten good grades. For the first time in my life, I proved to myself that I could succeed in difficult classes. I was smart, capable, and fairly independent. This was such a powerful affirmation of existence in general that I pursued school with a revitalized zeal. I went on to get a 5 on the AP Euro exam after months of much studying. On top of that, I began pursuing numerous independent courses of study: calculus, chemistry, and Latin.

Things have changed so much. And here I am, in my senior year, about to head off to college in about 8 months. And I look back on these years in high school, and recall all the good times, the bad. The new experiences, significant personal changes, all of which have had an enormous impact on me. Yet, has there been much of a change? I think ultimately my goal all along has been not to be accepted, but to accept life with a passion. I recall my enormous zeal for video games of years past, and all my social flounders, and academic successes. And for what has this all been? Perhaps some level of self-fulfillment. Ultimately, to say I have done that. I know what it's like. And it's not all bad.

Okay, so I'd be fooling myself to say that the same things have motivated me consistently for three years. I've changed a lot (for the third time). I'm thankful for my own changes, containing a mixture of disillusionment and enlightenment. I've sort of halphazardly gained some important life lessons. I never went about saying "Hey, I wanna become independent now!" or "Hm, I should definitely think about a major life change." They just sort of happened. And, well, I've turned out okay. I'm on the verge of being independent from my parents, and am about to pursue my own education. For what goal? Perhaps merely a professorship, perhaps for knowledge. To those of you who aren't yet seniors in high school, I think my advice would be to live life as you see fit. Pursue opportunities if you want--or don't. Don't get wrapped up in trivial stuff, just use the time however you think is good. Don't be afraid of living, and regret what you never did or should have done. There's plenty more to live, and it's quite the experience.

Hm. So I just went through and reread my archives here. A lot has changes in three years.

Seeing that post from the end of first semester freshman year really brought back a lot of memories, a lot of good nostalgia. I don't think I've ever been that enthusiastic about life before, and maybe that's the feeling I'm subconsciously trying to recreate this final year in high school. I have been more active in my activities, doing more of what I think feels right, and just taking life by the horns and doing whatever it is you do to something after you grab it by the horns. As I said before, "nothing's gonna ruin [this Christmas]", as at that time I had for the first time ever actually done well in school. And though I didn't mention it at the time, I had become agnostic by then; soon I would become atheist, yet another major change. The following semester brought more academic success, yet also more social failure. A failed crush on a girl named Alex, and some friends rejecting me, ultimately caused me to shy away from being social for a whole year. Even with this foresight, I still envy that ambition for life I once had.

I was recently looking at the report card from the first semester of my sophomore year. It had all As, except for a B in AP Euro (on which final I got an A). This made me recall how ecstatic I was at the time. It was not merely because I had gotten good grades. For the first time in my life, I proved to myself that I could succeed in difficult classes. I was smart, capable, and fairly independent. This was such a powerful affirmation of existence in general that I pursued school with a revitalized zeal. I went on to get a 5 on the AP Euro exam after months of much studying. On top of that, I began pursuing numerous independent courses of study: calculus, chemistry, and Latin.

Things have changed so much. And here I am, in my senior year, about to head off to college in about 8 months. And I look back on these years in high school, and recall all the good times, the bad. The new experiences, significant personal changes, all of which have had an enormous impact on me. Yet, has there been much of a change? I think ultimately my goal all along has been not to be accepted, but to accept life with a passion. I recall my enormous zeal for video games of years past, and all my social flounders, and academic successes. And for what has this all been? Perhaps some level of self-fulfillment. Ultimately, to say I have done that. I know what it's like. And it's not all bad.

Okay, so I'd be fooling myself to say that the same things have motivated me consistently for three years. I've changed a lot (for the third time). I'm thankful for my own changes, containing a mixture of disillusionment and enlightenment. I've sort of halphazardly gained some important life lessons. I never went about saying "Hey, I wanna become independent now!" or "Hm, I should definitely think about a major life change." They just sort of happened. And, well, I've turned out okay. I'm on the verge of being independent from my parents, and am about to pursue my own education. For what goal? Perhaps merely a professorship, perhaps for knowledge. To those of you who aren't yet seniors in high school, I think my advice would be to live life as you see fit. Pursue opportunities if you want--or don't. Don't get wrapped up in trivial stuff, just use the time however you think is good. Don't be afraid of living, and regret what you never did or should have done. There's plenty more to live, and it's quite the experience.

It's been way too damn long since I posted here. That goes without saying, though. The last few months have been quite rewarding for me. Why is this? For the first time in my life I have completed a semester of school of which I can be proud of, and it feels great. Like that feeling you get after playing Metroid Prime for a long time, marveling at it's beauty, and thinking, "Wow. This is a damn good game. I'm having a lot of fun." Evidentally, working hard at school wasn't as hard as I made it out to be. The move of my computer to my room probably helped this a lot.

So, one semester down. One more to go. Then three more years after that. Can I do it? You bet.

So... what does this mean? Probably nothing, except I did really good, and I can be proud. That's all there is to it. Oh, and I regain a bit of trust from my parents, as I don't have to hide my grades from them, even the (not so often occuring) C. This is because there's nothing to hide.

That's my own gift to myself this season. As for Christmas itself... well, it's been good. It was a TAD disappointing, but that's mainly because the "big daddy" of my gifts was given BEFORE Christmas, so what I get on Christmas almost makes it seem like I got jypped. No, no. I'm not being ungrateful, far from it, in fact. I'm quite happy. It's just that pre-Christmas gift getting that sometimes makes Christmas itself seem disappointing, even though you got a really super cool gift before hand, and some assorted cool things on Christmas itself.
Of course, this isn't the true meaning of Christmas. We all know what that is. However, I'm only human, and admit it. It would be pretty boring hearing me rant on and on about the true meaning of Christmas instead of posting what it was that made Christmas worthwhile and fun, which is why this other stuff was added to our various modern holidays; So people would look forward to celebrating these events instead of being bored to tears. Kind of like an incentive.

I've rambled enough. Here's my haul, order which I received them.

PRE-Christmas gifts (take a guess what this means).

1. Best Buy $75 gift card, from my Grandpa Allen in Houston. Yes, he treats me well. Seeing as I don't see him often, he's really great in compensation. I really wish I could see him often, as he is a cool guy. Big thanks to him. No doubt, I'll probably use this for Metroid Fusion and maybe one other game tomorrow.
2. A pair of Bugle Boy jeans that need to be hemmed, and a Christmas ornament. This is a typical present from Aunt Marie. After the church service each year, it's a (hated by me and my dad) family tradition to go over to Aunt Marie's house and have a little social time. Me and my brother usually get some article of clothing and an ornament. No matter how many jokes I make along the lines of, "I wonder what it is..." I still get the "glare" from my mom. The one that says, "Stop being rude." The one that makes my spine shiver with the feeling that if I don't shut up, I'll get a LONG lecture in the car. I avoided this lecture. In any case, the rest of last night went well. I mainly played Tetris on my GBA.
3. Archos Jukebox 20 Gig MP3 player, from my grandparents and my parents. I love this thing. I'll get it to work soon. God knows how long I've wanted this. No more CD player batteries. No more 20-200 song limits. 20 Gigs of musical bliss. BIG thanks to my grandparents and parents for this gift. Once it begins working, I'll adore it. The fact that I did good in school probably contributed to my relative's willingness to get it. Oh, and the cheap price tag. Just so you know, I try to play out my Christmas list strategically, so price is a factor when making it up.

Christmas at HOME!

1. First gift I opened was from my parents. I got three Strathford sketchbooks and this Derwent sketching collection. It has some stuff like graphite and water color pencils. I'll probably give these a whirl soon.
2. Second gift was also from my parents. This was a bag of clothes. What I got were these red ... I think nylon pants. They have these zippers halfway down the leg. There was also two plaid over shirts, and this jacket of sorts.
3. Probably my second favorite gift from my parents. Anyone who has the aforementioned MP3 player knows the headphones with it SUCK. I was disappointed when I didn't get my desired headphone type in the jukebox, thinking I WOULDN'T get them the next day. I am happy I was wrong. I got a pair of Koss headphones. These are the ones that are sans a headband, and just attach to the ear. I'll get used to them soon enough. I can already tell I love them. Go parents.
4. A new pair of sneakers. My parents got me Nike Airs. They are a tad... odd. I liked my old (weed-cutter hit) sneakers better. Oh well. I hope I get used to these, I really do.
5. Bag of stuff from my great-grandmother (Grandmom) in Houston. There was a sweater-shirt, some mittens, and some other stuff. This other stuff included a scope. Like a unocular (is that even a word?). It's weird. It took me a while to figure out what it was. She should really label it next time. The other thing in this bag was a Christmas card with $10 inside. Wee.
6. Lastly, I realized there was stuff in the stocking. I swear, me and Robert couldn't tell. AT ALL. There was a bag of three graphite crayons, "kneaded rubber" (eraser), one big mechanical pencil which supported different lead thicknesses, different containers with lead of different thicknesses, and some blending stumps (for graphite/charcoal stuff). More art. Wee.

Over the unplowed roads and through the traffic, to grandmother's house we go!

1. The one gift I get to open early. The stocking. Inside was a box of Lifesavers, a bunch of Lowrey's Beef Jerky (I LOVE THIS FUCKING STUFF), and a package of Twix single bars. Grandpa knows what I like.
2. Then when everyone comes, I go to the living room and we open presents. Well, I was waiting for a bit. Only the little kids and Uncle Lawrence were in there. We were waiting for everyone else to come. Uncle Lawrence gave me his present a bit early. It was, indeed, cool. It was the GBA version of Link To The Past, appropriately titled The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past and Four Swords, one of the GBA's killer apps. A remake of one of my favorite SNES classics. Finally, my GBA will get some attention.
3. OK, now we begin opening presents. My first gift was from my grandparents. It was a box. What was in the box...? PAIN!* PAIN! in the form of a few-sizes-too-small blazer jacket. Oh, and a pair of pants.
4. Next gift was cool. My Aunt Jennifer/Uncle Jimi/Cousins gift to me was the two CD set of Orbital II and In Sides, both by the (very excellent) group, Orbital. I highly suggest you check these guys out. It was funny, though. About a week ago, she was on AIM, and I sent her a revised Christmas list, with some new CD's I wanted. She told me today that as soon as I linked her, she clicked the link and purchased this one. I can't wait to hear this. Big thanks to her and her family. I finally own an electronica CD. Two of them.
5. Next gift was from my grandparents. It was a Kung-Fu hamster. It's nifty. I take Tae Kwon Do and all... I think it's pretty cool. It's basically a hamster in a gi which moves it's little hamster body with a ball-and-chain to 'Kung-Fu Fighting," originally by Carl Douglas. You know how those toys are, though. The songs usually a bit remade. Like, shortened to the most famous lines in it then resung by a more appropriate voice. It's still cool.
6. I liked this next gift. It was a wooden rack. It wasn't just any, though. It had a picture of a generic person, probably portraying me, as a little gold figurine on it, doing a sidekick. It said "Tae Kwon Do Stephen" on it. Below the main part were many long strips of wood, with different colors painted on them. Each color represented a seperate belt rank at my Tae Kwon Do dojo. You can clip old belts on them. This is great. I've been needing one for a LONG while. Big thanks to grandpa. He KNOWS what I want.
[edit]
7. SURPRISE GIFT! JUST NOW! Grandpa just pulled three more gifts from behind his back! Number one was this Metroid Prime/Fusion neck thingy. Like a necklace. But with a strap. This was cool. Next is this limited edition Metroid Fusion Cell Art, 2484 of 6000, with the purchase of Metroid Fusion, which brings one final thing to the overall haul. Metroid Fusion for Game Boy Advance! WHOO HOO! I love this Christmas! These three gifts have topped the entire day off perfectly! He told me how he got these. Great GOD, they are COOL! Today has been a much more joyous day than I've said above, or will say below. Now, I can get yet ANOTHER game of my choosing with my gift card! Whoo!
[/edit]
8. $5 from Granny.

That's it. Pretty good haul, eh? I'll probably take pictures soon.

Some other notes to add.

On Christmas Eve morning, it snowed. It snowed all day. It snowed until the night. It was beautiful. I love the snow. It feels so tranquil. I love having snow on Christmas Break. I can savouir the mood instead of going to school and freezing my ass off at the bus stop. I do hate the snow, though. Shoveling it. Around 3 to 4:30 PM, I shoveled the driveway. I took an hour break, and when I come back, the all I shoveled was recovered. I gave up, and continued playing Flash Flash Revolution. Soon, we went to service. I had to scrape off the windows of the car and warm it up. I hate doing that. I really do. I discovered I hadn't fully turned on the car. One more thing. I don't know what we're paying taxes for if they don't plow Clayton or Manchester roads. AT ALL. I know, I don't pay taxes, but my family still does. We had to drive all the way to service on unplowed roads. They began plowing AFTER the snowing stopped. Pshaw, I say.

On a happier note, Justin's birthday party was fun. Justin Horner's, not Wandell's. We mainly played lots of games throughout the night, and saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers the following morning. He was a bit freaked by Metroid Prime, however. Ah well.

Speaking of which, Metroid Prime is probably my new favorite game of all time. Very deep, very innovative, and a huge kick in the face to those who doubted Nintendo's original decisions. I loved every minute of it. My first time through the game I beat at 20:38, with 98% item collection. I'm trying to get the last Missle pak so I can see the best ending. Then I'll need to find and scan four unscanned enemies and one unscanned research. My best guess what the research could be would be the Phazon Pool in the final battle. That thing rules. I don't know, though. Don't tell me. I'll find it on my own.

Life's been going good for me. Very good. You can see this so very evident. I'll be practicing new drawing and writing styles soon. I'll be trying to post here ore often. I'll try and play some good new games. I will also keep up with school. This makes me feel so good.

Looks like Charlie posted a bit himself. ... And I disagree. Then again, I'm not too informed about the situation and avoid politics as it is. From what I DO understand, I highly disagree with Lott's stance on stuff. Segregation is crazy, in my opinion. And it might look the republicans look bad, but think about it this way. How many republicans do think like Lott these days, anyways? People should be able to decipher the difference between Lott and other republicans, anyhow. I'm glad he was noble and stepped down. He saved a bit of dignity for himself, in my opinion.

[edit]
So, what's it like altogether? REALLY great Christmas! Probably the best one I've ever had, hands down. Probably the best semester of school I've ever had, hands down. Probably will continue to be that way. Things are REALLY looking up in my life as a whole! I love this school year, I love my life. Great God, things have NEVER looked or been this good in my entire life. Music, games, and an ambition for school. Sorry if this seems like I'm overzealous. It's just so damned true! Looking back a bit, I really think this could never be truer. Not only that, I think it will get better. I'm not saying everything before this year was bad. It's just been the highest point in my life so far, I think. Well, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! Have a great one! I know I did, and nothing's going to ruin it.
[/edit]

I went to my rival school's Homecoming Dance (Marquette)

AniMaster Steve: Back
LittleOD2: Hey! Welcome back!
AniMaster Steve: I was prepared for the suckiness. It wasn't as sucky. :-P
LittleOD2: Yay! :-P
AniMaster Steve: I did the best dances.
AniMaster Steve: For example:
LittleOD2: Question... did you and your date go with romantic interest in mind, or did you just go for the heck of it? :-P
AniMaster Steve: During one song, I did a REALLY low Russian dance while clapping my hands above my stomache and below my back.
AniMaster Steve: Heck of it,
AniMaster Steve: Another example:
AniMaster Steve: Slow song, I break danced... again. Only this time, I screamed out "MONKEY BURNER!"
AniMaster Steve: Repeatedly.
AniMaster Steve wants to directly connect.
LittleOD2's software does not support sending and receiving IM images.
LittleOD2: I'm sorry, Steve, but that ruins it for others who are trying to have fun
AniMaster Steve: I was away from everyone :-P
LittleOD2: Alone? :-P
AniMaster Steve: Like,s econd floor, with my date's friends. :-P
AniMaster Steve: Another example:
LittleOD2: I'll be honest with you: I would have been embarased if I was up there with you :-P
AniMaster Steve: I did some of the best disco dancing this side of Missouri.
AniMaster Steve: I did some of the best overall dancing. :-P
AniMaster Steve: I was a dancing MACHINE! :-P
AniMaster Steve: Then during the lasts ong I did a flip and my back went out. :-P
AniMaster Steve: I TRIED to do a flip :-P
LittleOD2: I still would probably have been embarrased :-P
AniMaster Steve: So I went and got a drink of water, and massaged my back. Some girls at the end of the hall were ORIGINALLY gonna go to the bathroom, saw me, were like "What the hell is he doing" (massaging my back and drinking water), and walked away :-P
AniMaster Steve: My date actually said she had a great time with me :-P
LittleOD2: That's good :-P
AniMaster Steve: She even said I was better than one of her other friends she's good friends with (Kyle) :-P
AniMaster Steve: Then, she drove me home :-P
AniMaster Steve: That was funny. :-P
AniMaster Steve: Dale laughed at my stories I told :-P
AniMaster Steve: And I was trying to explain how to get home. I got Phillips 66 mixed up with Amoco and Fritz's mixed up with Fitz's :-P
AniMaster Steve: Fitz's mixed up with Fritz's*
AniMaster Steve: We talked about Kayla (You remember me telling you about her once) and we all agreed on one thing:
AniMaster Steve: She needs to be slapped. :-P
AniMaster Steve: And she's insecure. :-P
AniMaster Steve: And etc. :-P
LittleOD2: The dancing would have scared me, but I think I would have had fun otherwise if I were to go :-P
LittleOD2: Because I won't be able to go to my Homecoming :-P
LittleOD2: I'll be in Chicago! :-P
LittleOD2: One girl asked me, and another asked me indirectly :-P
AniMaster Steve: Oh, and I heard Eminem's Without me for the first time :-P
AniMaster Steve: Catchy, but incredibly painfully sucky ;-p
LittleOD2: ... Only for the first time? :-P
AniMaster Steve: Yes. :-P
LittleOD2: Did you like it? :-P
AniMaster Steve: Or...
LittleOD2: No kidding :-P
AniMaster Steve: ...At least I KNEW it was taht song
LittleOD2: Like most of his songs :-P
AniMaster Steve: I caught the words "Without Me", and was like "Heeey... Kyle, is this Eminem's Without Me?" and he was like "Yeah"
LittleOD2: Yeah, it becomes pretty obvious :-P

I'd type more about it, but I'm incredibly lazy.

I modified my links bar. I should probably get a new template soon. Sla.

Remember yesterday? I was going to post some more about what I did? There's been a change in plans. Instead, I, finally realizing something I should have realized long ago, dedicate one post to the events which happened 1 year, 12 hours, and 27 minutes ago.

Even a year after 9/11, we've constantly said "We won't forget." And if there is a way to show it, it's by proving that. Not by just by saying we won't forget. But by taking measures to make sure we don't.

It was a sad event, 9/11. We know. But the experience we have gained from it is invaluable. Even after our initial mourning, shock, and astoundment, the knowledge of what took place still held us in disbelief. But forgetting about 9/11 won't make it better. All it would do is make us lose the memories of the events. The experience of it. The stories you could tell to future generations. All of it would be gone. To forget about it would only weaken the resolve that America as a country has against all opposing forces.

So remember that. Remember that even though America may just suck, it's the best country in the world. We have prospered the most. Our lives change and advance daily. We may not have infinite resources, but we're dealing with finite resources, and America has probably made the best overall experiences from those.

As a nation, we must not forget who we are. We are part of one of the best nation's in the world. Individually, every one of us might not be able to do a thing. But when the people of our country come together into such a unity as this, we become unstoppable. I don't become unstoppable. The whole community which is America does. We have freedom. The terrorists tried to take that from us. They tried to take our art, our technology, our beliefs, our individuality. We struck back at them with incredible force. A battle they will never forget. Each one of us individuals came together to prove to the terrorists this concept. And should any other nation or group oppose our views and decide to take action, they shall suffer much as the terrorists who attacked our nation one year ago did. That's what America stands for. Freedom.

As repetitive as it may sound, the more we tried to hide this idea, the more we let the terrorists win. Our goal is to show the world what freedom is like. What it is America stands for. A unity of people. A government for, of, and by the people. One which we can practice our ideas and express ourselves without fear of degradation or destruction.

We are America. This is what we stand for. This is who we are. NO ONE will prevent us from believing this. NO ONE.

THIS is what we must never forget.