Llamas schaukeln meine Welt!

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:26:05 GMT

Right now I'm asking myself, is international travel supposed to be this stressful?

Of course.

Don't wait up for the next update. It's frustrating enough trying to figure everything else out.

On the plus side, I bought more stationery. Expect letters.

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:25:11 GMT

I saw Erik Keane at the mall today and said hello.
I can't believe I was so into him in freshman year, considering that he's neither preppy nor Jewish.
Whatever...

I also bought presents for the "Zwillinge" (twins), a cow puppet and book and stuffed dinosaur and another book. And the requisite copy of "Make Way for Ducklings," which should probably be elected to Congress or added on to the bible because it is just that good.

Thu, 24 May 2007 23:27:47 GMT

So I spent seven and a half hours scraping moss from in-between the stones on our patio, as per orders from my parents.

So you'd better tell them that it looks amazing next time you see it.

:-)

Tue, 22 May 2007 00:43:12 GMT

I can't believe my last update was in April. Maybe the summer will mean more entries? Nah, probably not.

So prom was a lot of fun, as evidenced by the 83572189759 pictures that have suddenly popped up on facebook. My hair had 60 bobby pins in it and it took me half an hour to get them out before going to bed. Afterward, my hair was more of a mane than anything else (thanks to 4.2352 gallons of hairspray previously applied to it). Perhaps pictures to follow in the future-we'll see.

Basically, I'm super glad to be finished with high school. I'm excited (and nervous) for Germany and excited (but not nervous because it's not for another 15 months) about Midd. It feels great to not have anything school-related to stress about for the first time in about four years. No grades, no summer assignments, no UTexas homeworks and German articles...now the "major issues" are...wow, not too much actually. Saving some money, but that was last summer like woah so I'm fine there.

PS-If you are LeeAnn and you have a mailing address, I will send you a care package with delicious and nutritious "rich people food" as well as clothing and paper plates. Maybe a magazine or two as well.

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:36:26 GMT

i am infinitely bad about updating this old thing.

and i really don't feel much like doing senior chorus, especially because of the stupid country song we're singing.

and i have a calc test on friday, which gibson conveniently forgot to mention until the end of class today.

my russian oral is tomorrow...completely prepared...to start speaking in german halfway through. my prof speaks german, so maybe i'll luck out and she won't notice the switch?

i can also say that i don't understand. as well as other slightly more intelligent things. i just have no idea about the furniture...i'll be ok if i don't get that one.

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:12:47 GMT

i hate homework like whoa

the final tally...

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:53:52 GMT

Accepted:
Middlebury
Wellesley
Goucher
UVM
Carleton
Holy Cross
Congress-Bundestag

Rejected:
Brown

Waitlisted:
Amherst (I don't think they appreciated the phone call I made a few weeks ago in which I "admonished" them about their silly choice to not provide decisions online to US residents...I pretty much told them I wasn't going to bother, since I'd already heard from five places by then :-) )

It's Congress-Bundestag '07-'08 and Middlebury '12. Holy shit I still can't say anything useful in German :-/

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:34:22 GMT

So today I received acceptance letters from Carleton, Holy Cross, and (officially, finally) from Wellesley.

I was also invited to the University of Vermont Honors College, but because of the pittance of a merit scholarship they offered, that's a no.

Also received $2500 National Merit thing. Which is cool and such.

And I decided that Amherst College is getting CROSSED OFF THE LIST because the admissions office has proven its infinite stupidity. Like, can anyone think of a reason why admissions status isn't given online when letters don't get mailed out until April 2, preventing a certain someone from knowing whether to visit when she's in New England anyway because she won't know until she returns home if she's been accepted or not? Well, it's quite officially dumb. But if they accept me and Midd and Brown don't I may consider retracting that last statement.

So yeah. Little bit of a self esteem boost.

LOL...thank you WVU for the safety tips

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:08:16 GMT

Dear WVU Students:

Spring Break is just around the corner, and we at Student Affairs want
to ensure that you have a safe and exciting time away from classes. Some
of you may be planning to travel to a tropical climate, take a cruise,
go to a ski resort, participate in a community service project, or take
a road trip.

Wherever you travel this Spring Break, its possible you may find
yourselves in potentially risky areas or involved in unsafe activities.
We hope your Spring Break will not only be a memorable experience, but
also a safe one for you and your friends.

Although you are probably aware of the following precautions, please
consider using the following safety measures during Spring Break:

- Before you leave campus, unplug appliances and lock your doors and
windows.
- Leave phone numbers and the address of where you will be staying with
someone at home so you can be reached.
- If you are driving to your Spring Break destination be sure to switch
out drivers so no one gets sleepy while driving.
- When you arrive at your destination stay in well-lit commercial
areas, and don't explore remote areas.
- When you go out, be sure to lock your rooms and cars, and secure all
of your possessions. Hang a do not disturb sign on your door.
- Use appropriate safety gear before venturing out, such as seat belts,
life vests, sunscreen with at least SPF 15, sunglasses and a hat.
- If you choose to drink, please limit your consumption. Obey local
laws, choose a designated driver, don't swim or sit on balcony railings,
and don't leave your drink unattended.
- Practice the buddy system. There is safety in numbers, so stay in a
group. Go to parties with groups of friendsâ?¦..look out for each other
and leave together.

Spring Break is a time to make memories with your friends and family so
take lots of photos. We look forward to welcoming you back to campus,
relaxed and ready for a great finish to the Spring Semester.

Sincerely,

Kenneth D. Gray
Vice President for Student Affairs

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 14:45:45 GMT

Yesterday was my interview for Congress-Bundestag, so Dad and I drove to DC and went to this 4-H place that I missed the first time we drove past it because I was too busy looking at the beautiful houses around it and picking out the one I one day hope to live in. Anyway, the interview part was all right, but not super great because the first half was very typical, dull, but correct questions and I gave very typical, dull, but correct answers. Honestly, what do you expect me to say when asked why I want to go on exchange, that I want to spend a year drinking beer and going to soccer games or that I long to be immersed in another language and culture? There were about eight questions that asked some variant of that, eventually ending up with "What one item would you take with you to Germany?" (stationery) and "If you had to choose an object to represent yourself what would it be?" What? I had no idea so I said my planner because for the most part it is neat and orderly and organized but if you look closer there are lots of fun things in the margins and events scribbled in that tend to take precedence over, oh I don't know, calculus homework. Fortunately, things improved after that and I actually had a conversation with them (there were two of them! at once!) about our past exchange experiences and how cute my shoes were and important things like that. So all in all, I think it was all right.

Then Dad and I drove around a bit looking for somewhere to eat lunch and we finally found a parking spot and went to this Europeanesque bakery/cafe place and I ate awesome crepes with nutella in them.

Then we went back to the 4-H place and there was a presentation bit and question and answer segment. I'd be leaving on July 19, which is a few weeks earlier than I thought, so getting a summer job would be pretty much out of the question (since I could only really work full time in June). So I don't really know what I'm going to do about that, since having so much free time will we weird, but we'll see. And they could not accept me to the program and then there wouldn't be that problem in the first place. Again, I'll have to wait for that. Wow I can't believe college acceptances are in two weeks-ish, the 29th for Brown and 31rst for Middlebury and I have no idea for Amherst. I got in to the University of Vermont on Friday but it doesn't mean much since I'd already heard from Goucher and Wellesley and would more than likely pick one of them over it. So yeah, pretty much just waiting on Brown and Middlebury and Amherst...we'll see.

The only Ivy that's a color, too!

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:12:07 GMT

So on March 29 Diana is either taking me out to a (celebratory) dinner at the restaurant of my choosing or we're moping on my couch with Ben and Jerry's and chick flicks.

God, I hate making social plans based on my acceptance/nonacceptance status at said school, but what else can be done?

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 02:16:55 GMT

JETS was all right except there is something inherently wrong with voluntarily spending a Saturday morning doing math problems. Eww. The worst part was going on the tour and having to pretend to be interested in industrial engineering and chemical engineering and petroleum engineering. The petroleum guy talked for half an hour straight about how a petroleum engineer will always have a steady job and that he (or she-he was keen on letting us ladies know that we're allowed to play with oil rigs, too) is obviously very concerned about that environment. Yeah right. He also said renewable energy sources would never be worth pursuing...hmm.

On the comment sheet I said that the competition could be improved by inclusion of a petting zoo featuring llamas and alpacas.

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:15:33 GMT

I got in to Goucher! Yay!

And they're giving me merit scholarships! Yay!

FREE PRADA SHOES!!!

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 02:40:44 GMT

Black leather pumps with a squarish toe and about a 2.75 or 3 in. heel. Women's size 10, which is a men's size 8.5*.

*(If you are one of my male friends and want these for your own use, I will also bake you a supremely gay butterfly-shaped cake for your coming out party at no extra cost.)

PS-I don't want them because they make my feet look veiny.

coldness

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:12:32 GMT

I finally stopped being cold, at least for the time being.

I don't feel like going to Russian class...eh. I know I will anyway. The genetive plural is pretty much impossible, and I'm glad English and German are word order (and not inflected) languages. Boo.

Diana's cake is awesome but we couldn't bring it to her last night because the roads were bad. Arrgh.

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:09:10 GMT

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

This is exciting...I love the Princess Bride.

CBYX and Middlebury

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:31:48 GMT

So I just got an e-mail from CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, a program where I'd be going to Germany for 11 months next year at the government's expense) saying that they liked my application and want to interview me! Apparently about half of the people who interview are given the scholarship (50 of 100ish, so about half, yah) and it would be extremely cool to get it, although whether or not I'd go also depends on where I get accepted to college and what not. So many "ifs" right now are driving me insane, but homework is a certainty and not an "if" which means I still need to do it in a few minutes.

If (another one!) you can't tell, I'm feeling really spacey right now. I had an unpleasant morning and felt very irritated and irritable, like Amy-itis or some such disease, and the day didn't improve when Panera was too crowded to get lunch there and I ended up going to Starbucks and eating not-as-good food while drinking far better coffee. However, robotics was better than I had expected because it just was, and Gibson pushed back the due date of required homework 8 so I can pretend not to care at all until at least Sunday, and I'm on a JETS team with people who are turning out to be cooler than they once seemed (although one will never improve, and I'm certain of that).

My Middlebury interview yesterday went really well but wasn't as much fun as my Brown one. It was helpful and informative, but also much more formatted-ish than other ones I've had (including my on-campus one) but I'm guessing that my CBYX one will be fairly formatted and it's nice to have experience (or so "they" say). Anyway, I'm going to doodle on a piece of paper and call it Calculus, and do the same in a different notebook and call it Stats, then run or walk on the treadmill and call it a day.

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:39:59 GMT

It is extremely cold and I'm starting to wonder if I should have applied to college somewhere where it's warm. Like California, or maybe Hawaii.

So is anyone else watching the Miss America pageant on TV tonight? Because I am so there.

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:34:42 GMT

I'm none too fond of Gibson's new system in Calculus, where we have homework due online every other day. I forgot to do the one that was due last night at 9 because I usually do homework on Saturday nights and Sundays (insert comment about me being a loser here) and I keep trying to tell myself that it's not that big of a deal (it was only three problems) but since I'm me, that's not okay. Whatever. I wanted to bake something earlier but we don't have any eggs and it's way to cold to drive the explorer anywhere, since it still shakes and threatens to die while I'm going down the road even if I let it warm up for a while. Argh, that silly car.

I haven't heard back from anywhere I applied for a job, so if anyone hears of a place that's hiring that wouldn't be completely awful to work at please let me know.

I have another Middlebury interview on Wednesday! Hopefully it goes as well as my Brown one.

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:02:09 GMT

I haven't updated in, like, forever.

College apps are finally finished and for about fifteen minutes I had no idea what to do with all of my newfound free time.
Until I remembered school.
And robotics.
And that I hadn't been running in about a month.
But mostly that I was sucking at seeing friends and hanging out, which is something I plan to do much more of this semester.

Okay?

Journal Entry from 12-7-06 (While at panera writing college essays)

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:01:29 GMT

Dear College:
I feel ill. Filling out your application make my intestines loop around my stomach and slowly asphyxiate it until the landscape of my internal body systems is covered with acid precipitation in the form of gastric juice. (Like, clouds of it.) As much as my spleen and kidneys pretend to appreciate the shower of a pH low enough to corrode aluminum and destroy the wetlands, rain forest, whales, etc., my lungs, heart, and brain are all struggling. Maintaining consciousness is just so difficult for them these days. By now, it's quite awful; we might have to amputate.
I would like to offer you a treatise of compromise in order to preserve my life and sanity, which is in your best interest because, generally speaking, it's difficult for the dead to pay tuition. So considering my recessive genes (blue eye, red hair, tongue-rolling ability) I should be Affirmativeactioned into your institution immediately. In return for this service, I promise to pay full tuition and represent you well on all possible playing fields: the science lab, the lecture hall, the bedroom...(psyche)...anyway I think you as great intellectuals have pretty well gotten the proposal. Idea. Thing.
Have a happy holiday season and remember than Santa and/or the Chanukah Fairy only visit good admissions officers who accept Amy Prescott.

Love and a half,
Amy

To continue the insanity...

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 01:25:27 GMT

...I woke up at 2:45 this morning thinking that it was December 31rst and that I hadn't done my application for Amherst.
I am such a freak.
I didn't fall asleep again until 4:45 and waking up at 5:30 was incredibly unfun. I did make a delicious drink this morning, which was basically hazelnut hot cocoa with lots of coffee in it, too. It kept me caffeinated throughout Calculus, which was first math on Monday morning, and also through Stats, which was second math on a Monday morning but not nearly as bad as the first because the Poisson Distribution is quite cool. I still have tests in both of them on Friday, so everyone please kindly come to the assembly Friday morning to celebrate the awesomeness of the girls cross country team, and please divert the attention of school officials in such a way as to prolong festivities and eliminate exams on probability distributions.

Um, I found my red notebook in my locker and felt unequivocally lame for the first freak out of the weekend. At least not having it got me started on my Collateral Reading.

If Collateral Reading were a person, he would be a waste not only of space but also of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and, in smaller amounts, phorphorus and nitrogen. He (and he would be biologically male) would contribute more to society as glucose or starch or maybe even as an amino acid (if we added some sulfur to the mix).

I think I'm done for now.

really awesome. not.

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 01:35:42 GMT

So I lost the notebook that has most of my first drafts of college essays and pretty much everything I've done in the past week or ten days. And that's really super horribly bad, considering that tomorrow I was planning on spending seven or eight hours at the library/starbucks doing my English papers and writing and editing essays, and now...I don't want to start from the beginning but I might have to, and it might actually be better. Like, with my first PLME essay, the style was off and too complicated and sounded very typical and boring, very abnormal for anything I'd write outside of English class, and starting from nothing again might do me good. But I have three weeks, two for CBYX, and I don't want the tone of everything I write tomorrow to be too discouraged. So. The only possible place is in my locker, which would be so lame because finding it there on Monday morning would come with the realization that I panic too much and have become completely neurotic in the past several weeks.

I really hope no one else found it. I mean, I used it as a diary sort of thing and wrote in really poor German and complained about work and made lists of things to buy at Target and wrote down the story about the one time this cashier girl at Shop and Save was getting ready to go off shift but re-opened her lane just for me so I could buy a box of tampons. And I don't want to expose most people to things like that, especially not now since I'm already moody and volatile and my average mood at any given moment is a combination of desperation and frivolity and too much stress and lack of sleep and forgetting the last vowel in the Russian words for "eleven" and "twelve." Plus, it had a copy of Dave's edit of my PLME essay, the one where he said lots of constructive things like how I'd have to sleep with someone in Brown's admission office to have a shot at getting into the program with an essay in such a sorry state. Obviously he was joking, but I still don't want someone along the lines of, oh, my parents reading about silly things like that and blowing them out of proportion. It would only justify their decision in once more leaving me with a babysitter for the weekend when they went away.

Anyway, one of the ideas Allie had while reading over drafts yesterday afternoon was to have me type prewrite-ish things in the LJ window so I wouldn't be afraid to keep things "casual-confident" while writing. That's mostly just a warning against future incoherent drafts.

My Brown interview...

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 01:18:11 GMT

..was an hour and a half of sitting at the Blue Moose drinking coffee, giggling, and talking about being nerdy.

Basically, it was awesome.

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 21:45:42 GMT

I think I'm probably one of the only people to ever be attacked by a treadmill.

At least, one of the only ones who has lived to tell about it...