Sunday, June 26, 2011

Grading Scale

My report card for the semester just came in. It always entertains me, coming from a relatively successful family, to notice the grading scale on the bottom of the page. It looks like this:

A - Excellent
B - Above Average
C - Average
D - Below Average
E - Faliure

I guess the reason I find this so entertaining is that I look at a C as a "Failure". Here's my parents' grading scale:

A - What You Should Be Getting
B - Mostly What You Are Getting
C - Failure
D - Their Computer Must Be Broken
E - Don't Even Look At Me You Unworthy Child

As a mostly A-B range student, I'm TERRIFIED of getting anything below a solid B. B- is too close to C, which would earn me The Stern Look, and the "Don't You Want To Get In To Northwestern?" speech. The answer is yes, I do, and the reason this speech became one of my mom's weapons is because my councilor, John, outright told me that, because of my GPA (about 3.5, 3.6) it's an unreasonable goal to try to get in to Northwestern. When my mom heard that, her reaction was basically "challenge accepted!"...

He's not actually a bad councilor...He's just...depressing.

For the record, I only have one B this semester, and the rest are some variation of the letter A. In case you care.

The point of this post is to put it on record, right now, that I am going to get straight A's next year and I am GOING to get in to Northwestern, damn it!

So, John, challenge accepted!

Friday, June 3, 2011

A New Experiment, Also Chicago, Also The Red Sox

I'm doing an experiment called "see how long it takes for my keyboard to stop working again". Currently my keyboard is just randomly working. (Last summer I spilled root beer on my computer, and at some point in the middle of this school year it stopped working. It was quite sad.) I've had a desktop keyboard plugged into my laptop (making it quite un-portable) but the keyboard was shoved to the side so I could watch some videos, and I hit Apple-W on the laptop keyboard because it was available (even though I knew it shouldn't work) and SURPRISE it worked!

I know that was a really confusing paragraph, but the point is my keyboard has been broken and now it is not anymore. For the time being.

The keys that were broken, for your interest, were q, w, e, r, t, y, u, i, and o. every letter in the top row except p. "tab" worked, as well as the brackets and the backslash. It was just those nine letters that were failing.

Anyway, now I'm wondering how long it will last. This keyboard is a lot more easy to use than the desktop keyboard (the desktop keyboard is BIG and CLUNKY, and the laptop keyboard is sleek and elegant) and I'm hoping that the reversal is permanent.

Or at least semi-permanent enough to make it through July so I can bring my computer to Chicago with me without having to carry around a big clunky ugly fail keyboard.

(Hey did I tell you guys I'm going to Chicago this summer? I got into a film program and I will be acting ON CAMERA for a whole month! In Chicago(Evanston) Illinois!)

Hopefully I will be able to either get a new computer (unlikely) or get a more sleek, wireless keyboard to carry around instead of the BIG, UGLY, CLUNKY one I have now.

So there's that.

Also, I love the Red Sox. They are "my team". I had a dream that they traded Dustin Pedroia (my favorite player) to the Yankees (RIVALS). In my dream the Sox and Yanks were playing a game in my home town (neither Boston nor New York, so I don't know why that...dream logic, don't question it.) I had made a sign that says "I don't root for the Red Sox or the Yankees. Go Dustin!" and somehow Dustin Pedroia saw it all the way from home plate when he was at bat and he was like "dude, chick" and Wakefield was pitching and he was like, "dude, chick" too because even though now Dustin's playing for the Yanks he and all of the Sox are still the bestest of friends.

(My keyboard's starting to fail a little, ohs nos.)

So anyway after the game Dustin came up to me and he was like "hey, you're that chick" and I was like "In dreams I am unimaginably clever and everyone always loves me" and he was all "wow you're so clever!" It was actually pretty great.

Anyway, I think that dream may have come from when I asked my sister "What would you do if the Red Sox traded Jacoby Ellsbury (her favorite player) to the Yankees?" and she said "It would be so heartbreaking, but I would root for the Red Sox until Jacoby was up at bat, and I would probably cheer if he made a good play or something".

Now I'm rambling. I meant to simply introduce my love of the Red Sox and then move on, but I got stuck in the memory of my dream and there is no excuse for my behavior!

Anyway, the Red Sox are going to be playing the Chicago White Sox July 29, 30, and 31, and my film program ends July 29 (at night) so MAYBE we'll get to see my favorite team in my favorite town the day after I finish my summer program on acting, my favorite thing!

...I'm crazy.

We're done now.