So long September

And the jailer man
and sailor sam
were searching everyone
for rock n' roll on the run
rock n' roll on the run

Ladies and Gentlemen, Nick Miller.
Thank you Nick for that wonderful performance.
A nd now for something completely different...

Well, there goes September '09. It's cooler now that its Fall, Cross Country is in full swing, we just had our second Pennyrile Meet in Academic Team, and we just finished our second month of school. Quite abit has happened this month, and its been about like swimming in an ocean trying to keep up with everything, all work and no place to stop and rest awhile. Soon we'll have fall break and I'll be able to take a rest from junior year, but there is still some swimming in store for me before I reach that log. I'll take any rest I can get, though I'll prolly be working through out fall break catching up in my Latin 3 which I have been neglecting. Besides that I'll prolly run, play guitar, and sleep. I'll basically do everything that I've been wanting to do instead of homework. Before that I'll have to continue plugging along, against the current, and try to stay more focused on school than girls and guitars. But then again, I am a 16 year old boy ... yeah, screw school!

Sit awhile and Think

Sometimes its really great to just find some place where you can be alone and think about things. I do this sometimes. I'll get alot on my mind, and I'll find someplace pleasant and think. I like to be outside when I think; go for a walk or sit down on a park bench or something. When I find someplace to think I'll try to relax and well think. I'll try to reason out the best ways to go about a problem or about what my views or the stand I'll take on a subject. I think this is a really good way to reason through things.

Sometimes I don't want to be alone though. Maybe my problem is that I'm feeling too lonely at the time and I want to talk to someone. Thats usually the time I'll talk to a close friend about something. This is usually good to unload and to get another's opinion on a situation.

Personally, I try to be self-made and fix problems on my own, so I'll usually start out thinking to myself and then if I want someone elses input I'll go to a friend. I really value my time to think very highly.

Substitute Teachers

I can't stand substitute teachers. They never know what they are doing and they always have such an attitude. They think that just because they are employed by a school system that they have authority over us. While this may be technically true the problem is that they do not have respect. I can't respect someone who doesn't have a clue what they are doing. I also can't respect someone that has attitude. So basically I can't respect subs.

Now I will admit that there are some cool subs out there. But they are the ones that let you do whatever you want. While these people are cool I still do not respect them.

So what could be done to fix this problem? Well basically nothing, that is unless teachers evolve a super immune system or more likely we just dont have class with out teachers. I like the last part. Get someone to come in and pop in a movie. It always works.

Fighting with Dignity

It is certainly easier to surrender shamefully than to fight with dignity, but when you do you always lose. When you fight with dignity you at least have a chance at succeeding.

I think of Cross Country, as usual, when I think of this situation. In a Cross Country race you are fighting two forces: yourself and others. First you must beat yourself, aka the little guy in you saying SLOW DOWN. Once you have conquered him then you can focus on others. To win against them you must break them before they break you. This usually means picking up the pace to something neither of you want to run and pushing and pushing until one of you gives up and slows down.

This is what I think of when I think of fighting with dignity. When you are pushing that other runner and yourself you have two options, you can give up and surrender in the which case you will be failing yourself and your teammates or you can fight with dignity and break the other runner. In races where I have surrendered I am overwhelmed with shame. I feel like a complete failure and I literally hang my head in shame the rest of the day. I can barely look my teammates or coach in the face because I failed them all. When I fight with dignity, however, I am proud of what I have accomplished. That is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

While it is easier to surrender, it is always better to fight and to have your dignity whether you win or not.

Through the Grape Vine

I find it odd that so many people love grapes but absolutley dispise raisins. I, personally, am a big fan of both.

I love grapes and how juicy they are and all. I love how one grape can be very sweet and the next almost sour. I must note that red grapes are much better than green grapes and that I would always choose red grapes over green ones as long as there are red ones to be eaten.

I too love raisins. They are chewy and sweet and just over all very delicous. I really have nothing negative to say about raisins. I love 'em.

Related to this entry would be grape juice and artificial grape flavors. Grape juice is awesome. Artificial grape flavors ... not so much.

Also, I read a statistic that said that the "Grape Vine" is 80% correct. So while some details may be messed up, about 80% of the original message should be true.

And lastly, CCR's Heard It Through the Grape Vine is an amazingly awesome song. just sayin

Laughing

I love laughing. I especially love it when you're in a big group and everybody is laughing. Nothing can make you feel closer to a group then to be laughing with them.
Even if you aren't physically with somebody, you can still share a great laugh with them. One friend in particular (cough-marley) and I never fail to have conversations over aim where literally half of the conversation is "lol" or "haha". These conversations are never dull though, sometimes we might actually laugh about laughing so much.
Sometimes at Cross Country practice its like we can't stop laughing. Those are always the best practices. When we are all laughing, we seem to be closer than ever before and anything seems possible.
I also love when you get really tired, like around 3 o'clock, and you just start laughing at everything. That's always really funny, which just makes you laugh more.
Anyway, I really do like to laugh.

WHY ARE YOU YELLING?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO READ ALL CAPS WITHOUT YELLING IN YOUR HEAD? I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE BUT ITS PRETTY HARD TO DO. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE REALLY INTO A CONVERSATION. SOMETIMES WHEN I'M TALKING TO FRIENDS, ONE IN PARTICULAR, ON AIM THEY'LL LEAVE CAPS LOCK ON AND TYPE SOMETHING IN ALL CAPS. I NEVER FAIL TO READ IT IN MY HEAD LIKE IT IS BEING YELLED. I JUST ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS FUNNY. IT'S ALSO KINDA NEAT WHEN YOU ARE READING A BOOK AND YOU READ SOMETHING A WOMAN SAYS IN A HIGHER PITCH THAN WHAT A GUY SAYS, STILL IN YOUR HEAD. OR WHEN YOU ARE TALKING TO A FRIEND AND YOU THINK OF HOW THAT PERSON TALKS AND READ THE WORDS WITH THEIR VOICE. I DON'T KNOW MAYBE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS.

On President Obama's Speech

Today, in AP US History(APUSH), we watched President Obama's speech to students about how important our education is and how that we need to work hard in school. Personally I believe this speech was a waste of time, his and mine. I mean even though his speech might have affected some students, I think he basically told us everything we have ever heard. Besides that I think that the kids that don't care about school probably didn't listen, and the kids that do well in school probably didn't need to hear it because they are already knew everything he had to say. I found one particular part of his speech humorous, he said that in order for the US to be successful in the future the kids in school now had to work hard, (this is the funny part) he then proceeded to say that to fail in school would be failing our country, while this is true I still found it to be hilarious. Personally I'm really tired of school. The whole focus is on testing and grades rather than actually learning information. The sad thing is that it isn't that the school system is broken, it's that it works. But I don't really care, I know what I want, and I'll fight to get it.

race shirts

If you have seen me on more than one ocassion then chances are that you have seen me wearing a race shirt. It's just about all I wear, to be honest. Some people don't really understand it, and others just think it's annoying. Well, I really don't care. I don't just wear the shirts because it sets me apart as a runner or because I usually paid good money for them and I want to get my moneys worth out of them. The big thing is that each of my race shirts has a story behind it. For instance, whenever I wear my Owensboro Invitational t-shirt from freshmen year I think of how it was my first 5k. I missed the first 5k of the season because I went to my grandparents 50th anniversary instead. Everyone else thinks about Owensboro High School and wonders why I'm wearing a t-shirt about them. Another instance is my Apollo Invitational t-shirt; when I wear that shirt I think about how I rolled my ankle on my warm-up and didn't think I would be able to race, but did anyway and ran a pr (personal record). My Greater Louisville Classic t-shirt has a bad story behind it. When I wear that one I'm reminded about how horrible of a race I had and that I wanted my parents to take the shirt back because I didn't want to be reminded of how bad I ran. I could go on and on about all the stories behind every race ... or I could just wear the shirts and you can ask me yourself.

I want a Strat!

My favorite guitarist is most definitely Jimi Hendrix, and his guitar of choice was the Fender Stratocaster. It is only natural, therefore, that I would want a Strat. The problem is that a true American Strat that is brand new is going to run you about $2,000. I don't have $2,000. I'm sure that at some point I will have $2,000 to spend on a guitar, but for now I don't and I really wish I did because my Gibson Maestro just doesn't do Hendrix songs any justice. Now the truth is that I don't do Hendrix any justice, so maybe it doesn't matter that I don't have a Strat. That doesn't change the fact that I really want a Strat. You just need a Strat to do a song made with a Strat justice, especially one made by such a great guitarist as Hendrix.