Um, woke up. Suits all day--cry, cry. Not as bad as tramping around the National Mall, though, so...whatever.
The seminar with the NSA was actually pretty cool (during it, I learned that the Patriot Act did not help them--HA!); afterwards, there were split individual caucus seminars; I regret that I did not ditch the 'Information Assurance Directorate' (which seemed slightly paranoid) for 'Cryptology', which turned out to be sexy, as I heard from so many. (And a thanks to JC for the packet--yay for codes!) The Biometrics one, however, made up for that; it was really, really cool. There are so many ways to encode information.... Whoo.
And afterwards, we were supposed to go to Northrop Grumman to learn about space technology. Well, evidently, one sick person meant that the entire seminar was cancelled. Fortunately, the NSA dudes offered us a tour at their Museum of Cryptology, which, despite being more of a roadside attraction that something massively awesome, was actually pretty interesting in terms of the history.
Stuff after that--dinner at some fancy place called H2O that had seriously the shittiest food ever; and then the Capitol Steps. These dudes were actually pretty funny--and the best part was that they poked fun at both sides so that no one could bitch about it afterwards. (My personal favorites: "Will the Real Dick Cheney Please Stand Up", the debate between Kerry & Bush--even though the actors really didn't resemble them, and the dialogue between the Clintons.)
And then we went to the memorials. I think that you have to be there to understand it, so I won't really say much--I was horridly depressed at how long it took the government to erect a WWII memorial (during W's term! WTF?!), and, even more so, I came to passionately hate that segment of the human race known as 'tourists'. These fuckers were talking even in the places with 'Silence, Please' signs!
Oh, and there was no Hamilton Memorial. (There still isn't, not that I know of.) Bastards.
(The sun looked really good tonight. I mean tasty-I-could-eat-this good. Mmmm. Big orange ball bursting with flavor--dripping juices.... I get so hungry every time I think about it, which is probably a bad thing. Oh well.)
6.30.2005
6.29.2005
Why I Want to be a Representative
Capitol Hill--we actually got to sit on the House of Representatives floor! See, this is actually really cool because it's the place where the State of the Union address happens each year.... Not to mention that the seats are very comfortable. Oh, and the place itself was gorgeous--seriously, the hallways and paintings were fairly impressive. I wish I'd had a camera (but if I had had one, then I'd really have needed the third).
Stuff and nonsense the rest of the time, though. I really blew my chances at meeting Senator Obama (who will be president in 2012!), having waited outside while a crowd spoke with him. Well, I got to see the back of his head as he disappeared into the inner chamber and didn't come out for our group visit....
Then I just kind of walked around and got really sore feet, at which point I decided to violate dress code by wearing *gasp* comfortable shoes.
Oh, and JD had to point out the tampon lying in the dirt by the pathway leading from the Capitol to the Senate offices. WTF?! That place is practically sacred!
Crossfire: sucky. When the two dudes started going back and forth without pause, and the one chick kept disagreeing with everything (including her own previous statements), JD, TB, and I had our own private little chat that the instructor tried to bring into the rest. The funny parts were when our completed discussions popped up 5 minutes later, and afterwards when we scared away T from CA and AV by pretending to girl-talk (we were really dicussing the adaptability of technology for interstellar and Earth usage).
Stuff and nonsense the rest of the time, though. I really blew my chances at meeting Senator Obama (who will be president in 2012!), having waited outside while a crowd spoke with him. Well, I got to see the back of his head as he disappeared into the inner chamber and didn't come out for our group visit....
Then I just kind of walked around and got really sore feet, at which point I decided to violate dress code by wearing *gasp* comfortable shoes.
Oh, and JD had to point out the tampon lying in the dirt by the pathway leading from the Capitol to the Senate offices. WTF?! That place is practically sacred!
Crossfire: sucky. When the two dudes started going back and forth without pause, and the one chick kept disagreeing with everything (including her own previous statements), JD, TB, and I had our own private little chat that the instructor tried to bring into the rest. The funny parts were when our completed discussions popped up 5 minutes later, and afterwards when we scared away T from CA and AV by pretending to girl-talk (we were really dicussing the adaptability of technology for interstellar and Earth usage).
6.28.2005
Ow, These Shoes Hurt
Speech by the Surgeon General: Vice Admiral Richard Carmona, which, we agreed upon later, was far more a biography and far less informative. However, I did admire him for admitting that the future of free healthcare in America was not good, considering what the priorities are right now.
Anyway, we had a class photo taken afterwards at Grant's Statue, which took nearly a century because of trying to get 320-ish people lined up by height and then sorted...and people kept coming late.... And the worst part was my shoes, which were the businessy type and not meant for a) walking through dust and b) standing around in.
After that ordeal (in which I discovered how embarrasingly short I am, except not really because I was in the wrong section), I went to the Smithsonians with JD (CC & SH abandoned, as the two of us walked way faster). Saw the Hope Diamond and pretty space things, of which I definitely have photos.
Another seminar--also not that great, because the dude babbled more about education & went more for recruitment than actually talking about anything real. Oh well, oh well.
The crossfire session on chemical & biological weapons could have been way better. Either I or the other dude was totally uninformed (I'm pretty sure it was the other dude, because I had to research this shit); I seriously had a better time talking to the FBI agent who was the instructor afterwards.
And then caucus meetings, which ended up in three of us researching, some horrid European War, and eventually bedtime. (I hadn't discovered the swing sessions at this point.)
Anyway, we had a class photo taken afterwards at Grant's Statue, which took nearly a century because of trying to get 320-ish people lined up by height and then sorted...and people kept coming late.... And the worst part was my shoes, which were the businessy type and not meant for a) walking through dust and b) standing around in.
After that ordeal (in which I discovered how embarrasingly short I am, except not really because I was in the wrong section), I went to the Smithsonians with JD (CC & SH abandoned, as the two of us walked way faster). Saw the Hope Diamond and pretty space things, of which I definitely have photos.
Another seminar--also not that great, because the dude babbled more about education & went more for recruitment than actually talking about anything real. Oh well, oh well.
The crossfire session on chemical & biological weapons could have been way better. Either I or the other dude was totally uninformed (I'm pretty sure it was the other dude, because I had to research this shit); I seriously had a better time talking to the FBI agent who was the instructor afterwards.
And then caucus meetings, which ended up in three of us researching, some horrid European War, and eventually bedtime. (I hadn't discovered the swing sessions at this point.)
6.26.2005
SNAPO
Hehe...funny brand name...which probably means I should give it a TM or something. Whatever.
Sunday: woke up nice & semi-late, did stuff--the Crossfire, which was supposed to be all serious debate, began with us CA-ns discussing earthquakes and ended with us talking about our favorite teachers, at which point the discussion leader had us go around and name what we would like to see in the headlines in a perfect world.
I don't want to see headlines in a perfect world. After all, there would be no need for a media because information would be so readily available.
Oh, and then we went to the Smithsonian Dulles Air & Space Museum, which was very sexy. Oh, just remembered--I have to find the 3D glasses I took from the semi-shitty $6 simulator!
That's a story I would rather tell in pictures, of which I took a lot before realizing that I had a whole week ahead of me (and which was probably the reason for me now needing to mooch off of friends' pictures).
Eh--nearly missed the shuttle back from the Pentagon City Mall because JD and I were buying CDs--Sam Goody does sell stuff for under $10! HOLY SHIT! And...yah, not much after that, besides the seminar led by a slightly paranoid dude whom I think could have done a much better job emphasizing the importance of stopping cyberterrorism by turning it into more of a cause than just another thing.
Sunday: woke up nice & semi-late, did stuff--the Crossfire, which was supposed to be all serious debate, began with us CA-ns discussing earthquakes and ended with us talking about our favorite teachers, at which point the discussion leader had us go around and name what we would like to see in the headlines in a perfect world.
I don't want to see headlines in a perfect world. After all, there would be no need for a media because information would be so readily available.
Oh, and then we went to the Smithsonian Dulles Air & Space Museum, which was very sexy. Oh, just remembered--I have to find the 3D glasses I took from the semi-shitty $6 simulator!
That's a story I would rather tell in pictures, of which I took a lot before realizing that I had a whole week ahead of me (and which was probably the reason for me now needing to mooch off of friends' pictures).
Eh--nearly missed the shuttle back from the Pentagon City Mall because JD and I were buying CDs--Sam Goody does sell stuff for under $10! HOLY SHIT! And...yah, not much after that, besides the seminar led by a slightly paranoid dude whom I think could have done a much better job emphasizing the importance of stopping cyberterrorism by turning it into more of a cause than just another thing.
6.25.2005
The Four-Hour Two-Hour Flight That Ended Five Hours Later
(Last) Saturday really, really, really, really, really, sucked major ass.
Read the title again.
Well, basically some jerk screwed up the part about moving the airplane away from the gate, so there was first a half-hour delay to see what the problem was, then three more half-hour delays to fix the problem, which meant that only around half the people left the plane...for a half-hour...and I wasn't one of them.
Let it only be said that I was incredibly shitted out about having decided to a) bring a book I had read at least eight times, albeit my favorite book, and b) not bring my trusty but slightly large CD player.
Well, I landed. And waited, waited, waited...blah blah blah...luggage...the only upshot was that I got a free smoothie.
Oh, and there was an option to switch flights for a free ticket. If I'd taken that, I would have reached the fucking D.C. airport before the flight I was on that was scheduled to leave an hour earlier.
So, yah. Stuff and nonsense...settling in...meeting one roommate who was nice enough, but a bit of an airhead (as opposed to valley girl), then...Caucus 2. I think "Raucous Caucus" is a bit of a misnomer because it didn't cover half of what we were like.... Yah. Poor D(tM)F and J--our instructors--DF was always so optimistic and always happy, and J was really quiet. Seriously....
Read the title again.
Well, basically some jerk screwed up the part about moving the airplane away from the gate, so there was first a half-hour delay to see what the problem was, then three more half-hour delays to fix the problem, which meant that only around half the people left the plane...for a half-hour...and I wasn't one of them.
Let it only be said that I was incredibly shitted out about having decided to a) bring a book I had read at least eight times, albeit my favorite book, and b) not bring my trusty but slightly large CD player.
Well, I landed. And waited, waited, waited...blah blah blah...luggage...the only upshot was that I got a free smoothie.
Oh, and there was an option to switch flights for a free ticket. If I'd taken that, I would have reached the fucking D.C. airport before the flight I was on that was scheduled to leave an hour earlier.
So, yah. Stuff and nonsense...settling in...meeting one roommate who was nice enough, but a bit of an airhead (as opposed to valley girl), then...Caucus 2. I think "Raucous Caucus" is a bit of a misnomer because it didn't cover half of what we were like.... Yah. Poor D(tM)F and J--our instructors--DF was always so optimistic and always happy, and J was really quiet. Seriously....
6.18.2005
STUPAK
Weird license plate I saw today.
D.C. tomorrow. Lovely little Shoe Creature's words: "Remember, don't kick idiots...except Dubya!" I've influenced her well. Heh heh heh....
One week away from THIS PLACE! Yaaaah! Not sure if the parents will survive, though. They're, to put it this way, terrified.
Nrk.
D.C. tomorrow. Lovely little Shoe Creature's words: "Remember, don't kick idiots...except Dubya!" I've influenced her well. Heh heh heh....
One week away from THIS PLACE! Yaaaah! Not sure if the parents will survive, though. They're, to put it this way, terrified.
Nrk.
6.15.2005
What I Learned in Kindergarten
Pissing off the teacher enough gets you bumped up.
Clay smells icky, and getting the flu helps you avoid it.
There are times when illness can be a blessing.
No, they don't read chapter books.
Red is a color.
Blue is a color.
White is a color.
The games are incredibly low-level.
Hey, not bad for two days.
Clay smells icky, and getting the flu helps you avoid it.
There are times when illness can be a blessing.
No, they don't read chapter books.
Red is a color.
Blue is a color.
White is a color.
The games are incredibly low-level.
Hey, not bad for two days.
6.03.2005
G•R•A•D•U•A•T•I•O•N
The first time I heard the phrase 'swimming upstream', I was in my first-semester, freshman year Intro to Graphics class with Ms. Galfano, who mentioned it because I was moving backwards through the crowd to get something I'd forgotten. The last time I heard that phrase was as we seated ourselves before Commencement last night; two guys were moving through the crowd to find their seats near the back. Between those two times, there is a great deal of white space, like in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (which I totally loved and wanted to have buttsex with...no, that's a little weird). I have forgotten many things, like...well, how am I supposed to know what I've forgotten?
I do know, though, that I've changed since then: there's actually a genre of music I like now, I no longer disapprove of low necks, I officially despise bras, I've mentored people (really, really! Shut up, XS who isn't reading this anyway!), and, well, I'm far more aware of the world. I was a freshman in 2001, and since then, I have learned to despise the U.S.'s negative and patronizing attitude towards the rest of the world. I have found people to love and hate, I have discovered that there are some teachers--and non-authority figures--I can trust. I learned to hug people last night...and half lost my voice screaming with euphoria dampened by the fact that I knew I was going to graduate since I was in first grade, and also literally dampened with the fact that it was raining through the entire ceremony (my cardboard cap was convoluted at the conclusion of Commencement). Well, it felt good to know that I could finally talk to my teachers without the fear of expulsion, on the same level (or at least approaching--it's impossible to be as intellectual as some of them). When I return to NNHS, I can look around and laugh at all the petty problems the froshies and sophies are bitching about. I will feel as if NNHS is a personal friend, intimate and comfortable because it is so much smaller than the University of Chicago.
I think that I would be more apprehensive about graduation and leaving familiarity behind if I hadn't left familiarity behind so many times--elementary school (I went to two), middle school (I moved to Warrenville before seventh grade and actually started late; in sixth grade, I switched classes after a week), and now high school. There is no one who completely knows me, perhaps not even myself, because no one has spent so much time with me. I know that there are people who can provide snapshots of me at different ages, can say what I was like (and I'll bet that loquaciousness will be common to every description); but no one can provide a complete evaluation of how I have changed, least of all myself. But that is the way it must be; I can think upon it later as I continue at the University of Chicago with a few, but not many, familiar faces.
Anyway, that's the nice, introspective commentary. I will now brag about how sexxy it is to no longer be in school, after having spent 62.5% of my life as a student (yes, there is a discrepancy; 12/18 is not 62.5%).
I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK!
I do know, though, that I've changed since then: there's actually a genre of music I like now, I no longer disapprove of low necks, I officially despise bras, I've mentored people (really, really! Shut up, XS who isn't reading this anyway!), and, well, I'm far more aware of the world. I was a freshman in 2001, and since then, I have learned to despise the U.S.'s negative and patronizing attitude towards the rest of the world. I have found people to love and hate, I have discovered that there are some teachers--and non-authority figures--I can trust. I learned to hug people last night...and half lost my voice screaming with euphoria dampened by the fact that I knew I was going to graduate since I was in first grade, and also literally dampened with the fact that it was raining through the entire ceremony (my cardboard cap was convoluted at the conclusion of Commencement). Well, it felt good to know that I could finally talk to my teachers without the fear of expulsion, on the same level (or at least approaching--it's impossible to be as intellectual as some of them). When I return to NNHS, I can look around and laugh at all the petty problems the froshies and sophies are bitching about. I will feel as if NNHS is a personal friend, intimate and comfortable because it is so much smaller than the University of Chicago.
I think that I would be more apprehensive about graduation and leaving familiarity behind if I hadn't left familiarity behind so many times--elementary school (I went to two), middle school (I moved to Warrenville before seventh grade and actually started late; in sixth grade, I switched classes after a week), and now high school. There is no one who completely knows me, perhaps not even myself, because no one has spent so much time with me. I know that there are people who can provide snapshots of me at different ages, can say what I was like (and I'll bet that loquaciousness will be common to every description); but no one can provide a complete evaluation of how I have changed, least of all myself. But that is the way it must be; I can think upon it later as I continue at the University of Chicago with a few, but not many, familiar faces.
Anyway, that's the nice, introspective commentary. I will now brag about how sexxy it is to no longer be in school, after having spent 62.5% of my life as a student (yes, there is a discrepancy; 12/18 is not 62.5%).
I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK! I ROCK!
6.01.2005
Seniors? Try immature SHITS.
Okay, I'm going to rant my sorry little ass out. And I will also swear my sorry little ass out, because I'm just a little...ah, what's that phrase...?
And with good reason, too.
So today was Commemorative, which is the school's thing for the students (the thing for the parents, a.k.a. Commencement, is tomorrow), and we were just sitting there in crowded seats wearing fucking choir robes and skullcaps with cardboard attached. Which, obviously, sucks to begin with, considering how we were in the damn fieldhouse, meaning that the AC wasn't available.
Anyway, presentation--so-so, singers here and there, videos with sound distortion (go TN!), and speeches that I could barely hear...not because the sound reproduction sucked (which it kind of did), but because of these complete fucking ASSHOLES sitting right behind me. I mean, fuck ADD/ADHD--I have no sympathy, considering how it wasn't required--but these people talked every FUCKING moment of the entire program. I mean, they talked through Mrs. Quinn crying, they talked through Nolle's animation...they didn't shut their fucking ignorant white shit traps once. Oh, and for Dünf's totally awesome speech based off of Marc Antony's speech in "Julius Caesar", they had no clue what was going on...because, obviously, they were BABBLING while Dünf explained it. I mean, seriously, SHUT UP for those of us with BRAINS, you fucking shits!
To make things worse, the fucker behind me spent half of the time grating his shoes on my seat. I mean, seriously, I wanted to coordinate with my friends sitting next to me and turn around at the same time, giving all of those shits the finger. Or, if possible, I wanted to write "Shut the fuck up, you white shits!" and hand it to them.
Oh, and then there was the entire "Heh, I wanna do that chick...lookit her tits...ah, wtf is she talking about?? What a bad singer!" Seriously, it's one thing to go around saying you're a horny bastard--as my friends and I were discussing (a possibility for a speech: "Well, Class of 2005, let's admit it: we're all horny bastards!")--but it's another thing to keep yapping about sex and...well, let's just say that this was one of the few points where one of the guys whispered, "Shut up!"....
I hate bastards like that. I mean, they're GRADUATING. Show some fucking respect!
Okay, I admit, I may be slightly biased because of all their immature, racist shit about Asians.
And with good reason, too.
So today was Commemorative, which is the school's thing for the students (the thing for the parents, a.k.a. Commencement, is tomorrow), and we were just sitting there in crowded seats wearing fucking choir robes and skullcaps with cardboard attached. Which, obviously, sucks to begin with, considering how we were in the damn fieldhouse, meaning that the AC wasn't available.
Anyway, presentation--so-so, singers here and there, videos with sound distortion (go TN!), and speeches that I could barely hear...not because the sound reproduction sucked (which it kind of did), but because of these complete fucking ASSHOLES sitting right behind me. I mean, fuck ADD/ADHD--I have no sympathy, considering how it wasn't required--but these people talked every FUCKING moment of the entire program. I mean, they talked through Mrs. Quinn crying, they talked through Nolle's animation...they didn't shut their fucking ignorant white shit traps once. Oh, and for Dünf's totally awesome speech based off of Marc Antony's speech in "Julius Caesar", they had no clue what was going on...because, obviously, they were BABBLING while Dünf explained it. I mean, seriously, SHUT UP for those of us with BRAINS, you fucking shits!
To make things worse, the fucker behind me spent half of the time grating his shoes on my seat. I mean, seriously, I wanted to coordinate with my friends sitting next to me and turn around at the same time, giving all of those shits the finger. Or, if possible, I wanted to write "Shut the fuck up, you white shits!" and hand it to them.
Oh, and then there was the entire "Heh, I wanna do that chick...lookit her tits...ah, wtf is she talking about?? What a bad singer!" Seriously, it's one thing to go around saying you're a horny bastard--as my friends and I were discussing (a possibility for a speech: "Well, Class of 2005, let's admit it: we're all horny bastards!")--but it's another thing to keep yapping about sex and...well, let's just say that this was one of the few points where one of the guys whispered, "Shut up!"....
I hate bastards like that. I mean, they're GRADUATING. Show some fucking respect!
Okay, I admit, I may be slightly biased because of all their immature, racist shit about Asians.
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