Blagh-ing

Yep. Say "blagh", just like "blog", except with a sigh.
The school year is coming to an end. On Wednesday, to be exact.
This year has been a very...interesting year for me. I realized, about halfway through the year, that this has been my first year being "the new kid" since third grade when I went to school for the first time. And honestly, I'm not one of those people who can walk into a new place and automatically feel at home. It takes me a while...quite a while, actually, to really get comfortable in a new place. And this year, it seemed to take me a really, really long time. I mean, in third grade, for the most part, it was really easy to make friends. Even if they weren't the forever kind of friends, they were the friends you could hang out with on the playground and share your third-grader secrets with.
Ninth grade is a different thing, entirely.
Making friends is more about relating to another person than sharing your cookies with them (of course, sharing never hurt anyone :))
So now, I find myself at the end of my first year of High School. I feel like I've only just gotten settled, and now it is all coming to an end.
That idea is sigh-worthy, right?
But instead of being upset, I would rather rejoice in the fact that God has blessed me with these last couple of months. I've made friends, I've become settled in a place that I'll be returning to, and because of those things, I've been able to let go of what used to be.
I'm coming to the end of this year honestly feeling like I'm ready to move forward in my life, as opposed to dwelling in the past.
.......................................................
Yeah, this sounds super inspirational, eh? ;)
Anyway! Summer is upon me, and I'm almost ready to embrace it. A summer...full of Algebra 2.
Oh dear...now that is a sigh-worthy thought.

True Story

So, tonight, I went to a concert, by a band by the name offfffff. Rush Of Fools. That's them up there. Minus the guy in the middle...the one with the beanie ;)
Anyways! It was most definitely the best thing I've done in a very long time. The music, of course, was awesome (check 'em out here) but they were also very hilarious.
They came out and played a song, and then they were introducing themselves. Wes, the lead singer, (the guy in the black vest & tie up there ^) launched into a story. About airplane toilets?
Yep.
Here is, or at least, as close to as I remember, the dialogue that ensued.
"So, we flew out here from Birmingham, Alabama, and we were on the plane and I got up to use the bathroom, or shall I say, lavatory. And you know, the toilets are just way too loud, like, louder than anything you're gonna hear tonight. You know, you kind of have to cover your ears. So anyway, the lady comes out and she goes 'I know! They're just so loud aren't they!' and I was like, 'Yeah'. Anyway, you know, people basically hate bands on airplanes. Here we come with all our guitars and our gear, and we're just taking over the overhead compartment. And people always think we're coming to play music on the plane, but the only music we'll be playing is the music coming out of our headphones! So, the flight attendant asked if I was in a band, and I was tempted to say that we were just the roadies, but she was nice, so I answered 'Yes' and when she asked what the name was, I said Rush of Fools. Well her mouth dropped open and she said 'Nuh-uh, you are not Rush of Fools!' and I was just like 'Yeah..we are' so the flight attendant said she listened to our music all the time, and she had seen that our gear said Rush of Fools, but she thought that we were just, like, pretending to be Rush of Fools"
Then, the lead guitarist, Kevin, (the one in the plaid vest up there ^) goes,
"But we said that nobody would be that lame as to pretend to be us."
So...that was kind of long...but...that's the point. It was a long story...but does anyone see the point of talking about a loud toilet? Haha.
And then, they went on with their introductions,
"We aren't professionals up here, we're just up here to worship Jesus with you, and you know, we're not rock stars...we're just a bunch of...well, nerds and geeks. And we're also rednecks from Alabama. So as you spend more time with us tonight, you'll start to hear our twang come out."
Then, they were done talking, and they played some more music. Which was, again, awesome. I'll tell ya, I seriously have not heard a band that sounded so good live before. They have real voices. Not sound doctored in the studio.
Anyways, they finished with their song (Undo, my favorite song ever) and the guy, Kevin, asked everyone to sit down, and started talking to us. It was a really good, deep, spiritual discussion. And he was saying something about the "simpleness" of it all, when he stopped, looked at the lady who was signing for the deaf people, and asked
"Is simpleness a word? (Which it is, by the way) I'm sorry...can you even sign that? I was just talking and like...put the word together...by the way, I just wanna thank you sweetheart for doing that, let's give her a round of applause...man, I really wish I could do sign language." Then...he put his hands out in front of him and started, like, waving his fingers around, trying to do sign language.
"Yeah, I really wish I could do it! Oh...FOCUS KEVIN!"
Best.Thing.Ever.
More music...and during one of their songs, there was this really weird noise, and when the song ended, the drummer, Jamie (the one all the way on the left), and the bassist, Jacob (the one all the way on the right) were talking to each other and pointing, and Kevin and Wes asked what the sound was, and Kevin goes:
"Yeah, we were just having a good time and all the sudden there was some weird noise! Like a...turkey on fire...with a four year old little girl chasing after it!"
He looked at Jacob, (who, at the concert, had blond on the top, black on the bottom of his hair) and goes...
"well...he is a turkey on fire! I'd be running if I had that hair too!"
Then...he laughed...and started saying something about giving Jacob a personality complex...and everyone was all quiet, and Kevin keeps laughing and says:
"Oh! Awkward moment! Man, I love awkward moments so much!"
Awkward much? :P
More awesome music.
And then they were saying something about the drummer, and Wes said
"His name is Jamie, but we all call him Jan for some reason..."
And Kevin says
"True story...we do call him Jan."
BAM. There ya go, that's why it's called "True Story" and if you're really close to me...you know that that is one of my most-used phrases. Yeah, true story. ;)
So, sadly, the concert ended, but then we got to go to the lobby anddddd....meet them! Oh yes. Life goal completed right there. To meet someone famous. We (My sister and I) got autographs, and a picture taken. Yesss.
So, that was really long. Sorry about that. Seems that once I find something to write about, I just can't stop! But anyways, it was really fun. And their music is amazing, and they have really deep-rooted in the Lord that shows through their music. So check them out!
True Story!

I'm Blogging From...

...New York, at 6:49 in the morning, after three hours of sleep. Oh yes, this should be an interesting post.
Well, I came to New York (not NYC :)) with my sister to surprise my cousin, and surprise her we did. Somehow, we managed to make it up here from Maryland without her knowing. We got here around 10 at night when she was still babysitting, and along with my Aunt, hatched a super awesome plan...
When she was almost home, my Uncle took my sister's car and left.
My sister and I hid in my cousin's room...in the dark.
And I wish I could say that she walked right in her room and that was that...
But of course, I can't. :p
We stood in her room (in the dark) for about five minutes until we heard her walk in the door. So we were all tensed up, our hearts beating like crazy. Anddd...she had to go to the bathroom. So we're waiting...waiting...she comes out, and starts doing something else. (Insert a dramatic eye roll or two here)
My Aunt tells her that there's a package in her room with no return address and to go get it, so eventually she walks to her doorway...and...s t o p s.
Naturally.
She's standing there, right in her doorway, talking to my Aunt. I was so worried she had seen my sister and was just stalling so that she could ruin it (Just the type of thing she would do)
Well anyway, she starts walking in the door and...finally.
We jumped out and scared her so horribly...she jumped back in the hallway, grabbing her neck (I guess she thought we were axe murderers...who knows)
And we all laughed.
So...here I am, in New York...I find it sort of (when I typed "sort of", it was in a British accent...proceed to read it that way if you like :)) ironic that I'm up earlier than I would be if I were in school...
But anyways, I should go...and work on my research paper. Or at least try to. I might crash here at any second ;)