The Protuberance

Have you ever had your strap twisted on your backpack? This is how it feels when I wear a backpack because of the protuberance on my shoulder. This past summer, I went on a backpacking trip to the highest point in Utah, King’s Peak. It was awfully uncomfortable to wear a backpack, due to the protuberance on my left shoulder. This protuberance on my shoulder is, of course, from breaking my collarbone.

It all started with an awesome, but exhausting day of skiing. We made it down the mountain, it was the end of the day, and we were happy to see that the lift was still going to accept passengers for five more minutes. My dad, two of my brothers, my sister, and I all had an exhilarating day. We were also all exhausted, but most of us thought it would be fun to have another run. Because my little brother did not want to go on another run, my dad said that he would stay with our younger brother while we skied another run. Now the only family members skiing were my older brother Jorgen, my older sister Brittany, and I. We were excited to go on a run with just the three of us, so we decided to make it memorable by trying something new. Particularly memorable, it was!

Although we did not realize it, we had already broken the big three rules of skiing, which include: do not ski while drowsy, do not split up, and do not try something new for your last run. If you ski while drowsy, you could run into a tree, into a skier, or off a cliff. It is very foolish to ski while sleepy. You should not split up because leaving your dad, especially when you are young, is stupid. If something happened to you, no one would be able to take care of you. If you try something new for your last run, you might crash into something. At the end of the day most people are tired, and they are not ready to be looking where the cliffs are. So basically, we were doing exactly the wrong things to be doing at the end of a ski day, especially this ski day.

We were trying something new. We had to work incredibly hard to traverse over to this hill that looked like fun, but when we finally made it there, the hill was the biggest, steepest, and scariest hill we had ever attempted to ski on. The hill also had moguls, which are lumps of snow that vary in size that are formed from skiers turning in the same place.

It was starting to get late, so we thought our dad would be worried. Because we started going down the hill really slowly (especially my sister), my brother, Jorgen, went to tell my dad that we were safe, and would be there shortly. After Jorgen took off, I became more confident. I decided I was going to go super fast. I was pro, zigzagging down the hill, until I caught my ski’s edge on a mogul. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air on one ski! Then all of a sudden I did not feel too good.

My goggles were filled with snow, and my left arm hurt to move. I did not feel like moving, so I did not. Apparently, one of the ski patrolmen saw one of my skis flying, so he called a toboggan for me. Meanwhile, the ski patrolman put my arm in a sling, and told me I would be back to ski next week. He took me down the hill in the toboggan. It was cool to go so fast lying down.

My dad was happy we made it down the hill alive. We made our way to the car, and drove home for dinner. When my mom found out, she wanted to take me to the hospital right then, but my dad thought I would be fine. My mom always wins, so on Monday, two days later, we went to the doctor. We waited for what seemed like forever before going in to see the doctor. When we finally saw him, he took some x-rays of my collarbone, and said it was indeed broken. I thought this was cool because I had never broken a bone before. However, my excitement shortly ended when the doctor came in with a sling and told me I was not receiving a cast, so I could not do anything active for six weeks.

I was miserable because I was out for the best part of the ski season. But the worst thing that happened was at school, when my little brother told on me when I was playing football a week later. My mom lectured me a two hours about why playing football was not good for me, but as a fourth grader I did not understand why playing football with a broken collarbone was such big a deal. I have never wanted to break a bone since.

This experience taught me I did not want to ever break a bone again because of how painful breaking a bone is. I still remember how painful, and tricky it was to dress with only lifting my arm eighty degrees. I am still reminded when I wear a backpack that I do not want to break a bone again. I have learned my lesson; I know I will never break the three most important ski rules. I want to make wiser decisions in the future, so I will not go through this ordeal again.

My Teeth

Everyone knows the horrible feeling of food caught between teeth. The food bugs the crap out of a person until he finally is able to release the tension.

Last week I chipped one of my teeth doing something stupid that I now regret. Because I may loose this tooth, the dentist put cement between my teeth to hold it in place from moving. This cement is not only harder than food; it is permanent for six weeks! This cement on my teeth is rough, and is like licking the sidewalk twenty-four seven. The cement is not only in one place it is on both sides of one of my front teeth. The cement also makes me look funny, not that I didn’t before. This past week someone even asked me if I have been flossing. They said it politely to me, maybe telling me they thought I had some food caught in my teeth (like I wouldn’t feel it). I am really feeling like grabbing a saw, and sawing right through the cement. I guess I cannot be too mad because I only chipped one tooth. But to tell you the truth, I AM MAD! It really bugs me for my appearance, the way it feels, and the random things that are said to me.

To My Sis

My sister says I only write well when I am mad. So it is probably a good thing that I am mad that my tooth was chipped, that my French teacher is still teaching, and many other pertinent blogs I have wrote. I guess I can only truly express myself when I am mad. It is really easy to write when I am mad. The typing and the words just flow when I am mad. I guess I need to work on expressing myself when I am happy. My sister says I should right about happy things. If I wrote about happy things all the time I would be gay. I am not becoming gay to improve my writing. Sorry to all those that read my blog. A.K.A. Brittany. Sorry Brittany. Even though I am not sorry to not write about happy things. You probably did not mean that you want my to write all my blogs about happy things. You just do not want me to always look at the dark side, and go hang myself. I will tell you one thing, I am not going to commit suicide. I love my life my life is good. I have so much fun in life. It would be stupid to do something like that. This part is to you Brittany. I love you. You are my favorite sister. You help me everyday. We are going to have so much fun this summer when you babysit for mom and dad. We will also have fun on our amazing family trips this summer. Thanks for being such a great example. Because you don’t want me to do angry blogs, I am going to write about how my teeth bug me.

Some Thoughts On Walk Two Moons

Imagine your mother disappeared when you were young, and no one believed she would return. You did not desire to listen to anyone because your dad and everyone else was always trying to tell you that your mother would not return. This is Sal’s story, written by Sharon Creech. One theme Sharon Creech, the author of Walk Two Moons, presented in this story is, “don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” I think this book is exciting, and has some thought out themes, even though it is said to be a “girl’s book.”

Walk Two Moons has an interesting story line. It is about a girl that desires to have her mother back, and will not listen to others. Her grandparents take Sal, the girl, on a long car ride from one side of the country to the other. During the drive, Sal tells a story of one of her closest friends. By telling this story, she becomes closer to her family, and starts listening to people she would not listen to before.

Walk Two Moons developed many different and exciting characters. Some of these characters are Grandma, Grandpa, Sal, Phoebe, and Sal’s dad. Grandpa and Grandma are two people that bond with Sal the entire journey. When Sal tells the story of one of her closest friends, Grandma and Grandpa interrupt Sal many times with many funny and interesting remarks. Grandma and Grandpa are distracted easily when they drive on the road trip, for example: if they see a lake, they need to go swim in it. Grandpa and Grandma are very adventurous. Phoebe is Sal’s best friend, and she is very much like Sal, for example: they lose their mothers, they do not like to talk about losing their mothers, and they do not communicate very much with their families. Phoebe is also very different than Sal, for example: Phoebe was very rude to her mother, was not grateful until she lost her mother, and she makes things up about people before meeting them. On the other hand, Sal loved her mother from the beginning, was terribly sad when her mother left, and defends people she doesn’t know. Sal’s dad wants the best for Sal because he cares about her. He tries to talk to Sal, but Sal usually rejects her dad. Sal’s dad is very friendly, and just wants the best for Sal. Sal is also very determined. She desires to have her mother return. When she realizes that her mother is not coming back, she listens to those around her. Sal is very mature in the end of the book, and she finally listens to what people have been trying to tell her. Sal’s character is very bewildered most of Walk Two Moons, but by the end of the book she is not confused at all. All the different characters in Walk Two Moons play an important role.

Walk Two Moons is very intriguing. Walk Two Moons is intriguing because of the exciting events; some of the exciting events in Walk Two Moons include: people going to the hospital, runaways, death, and a road trip. Also, Walk Two Moons is intriguing because of the morals; some of these morals are: don’t judge, have faith, and listen to others. Without morals, the reader would not have a reason to read. For example, why would we care if a vicious relative of a dog ate some bacon? But because of the moral of hard work, and giving it your all, we care that the big bad wolf ate some pigs. Walk Two Moons is interesting because it has intriguing morals and exciting events.

Walk Two Moons reminds me of some ideas. One idea that Walk Two Moons reminded me of was the book Harry Potter. In Harry Potter, Harry loses his parents, and he has a difficult time making it over that mountain in his life. In Walk Two Moons, Sal has the same problem of making it over the mountain that was created by the loss of her mother. Also, as I think personally about Walk Two Moons, it helps me make it over the difficult times in my life. This book reminds me of the times I feel depressed. During these dreadful times I will not talk to anyone. I am too stubborn to listen. This book reminds me that I should listen, even when I do not have the desire to listen.

Walk Two Moons is an exciting book. Walk Two Moons has influential characters, important morals, and reminds me to listen to others. I strongly suggest this book to anyone, any age, and any gender (not just females.)

Pretending To Be MRT

I wrote this for my discussion board this week. Because it turned out so good, I decided to use it for my blog this week. I am very glad Mr. Thompson was my teacher this year. It was fun pretending to be him.

Dear Rex,

You made it to the end! Good job! I am very proud of you for completing all the work for Honors English. Your blogs have shown much improvement, but sometimes you struggle with deadlines.

Rex, you have shown me that you are strong. You completed Dickens, and you passed the AR Test (After the third time, but you still passed). Dickens is very challenging, and this is one of the main reasons that so many students dropped out (About half of the students dropped out). I am proud that you have not given up. When The Great Expectations was hard, you could have given up. When you did not pass the first time on the AR Test, you could have given up. When you were five blogs behind, you could have given up. When you do not have time for Honors English, you could have given up. I respect anyone and especially you for being strong.

This year you have been very good about turning things in on time except the one time that you were five blogs behind, but you caught up after your busy life, and you even wrote an extra two thousand word blog. You turned in all of the big assignments in on time without complaining. You find time to reply to the discussion boards, write your blogs, and your big assignments. This year you have excelled at turning in most of your stuff on time. Jorgen had a history of not turning stuff in on time, and Brittany was perfect because she never did anything wrong, but I would say you are between Brittany and Jorgen on that one. I am glad that you have put out the effort to turn in you assignments on time (Even though this one is late, but you woke up early to do it).

I was a little worried about your writing at the beginning of the year, but you have shown much improvement. Your first blog was terrible (Sorry to say, but that’s the past so don’t worry about it.).Your first blog was like fingernails on a chalkboard, or elementary writing. It just hurt me to read your writing. Now, I am excited to read your writing because it is exciting to read, especially your blog about your surgery. You don’t just finish your assignments; you show your best writing all the time. I am very proud at how much improvement was shown this year.

Rex, I am ecstatic to say that you earned yourself an A, as did everyone that completed all the requirements for Honors English. Those were all the requirements for Honors English, so you could do no more. Good Job on staying through to the end!

Your coolest teacher,
*<%^)MRT

Transition Spring-Summer

Rush here, go there, now run there! This is how my life is like close to the end of the fourth term. Spring!

Spring is here.

Wow! I looked out my window, and I saw popcorn popping. This is amazing. I guess it has been here for a little while, but this is the first time that it really settled in.

Birds are back. I love birds. All the different colored birds are pretty sweet. The other day I saw some birds that were yellow and black. They looked so sweet.

Some birds are bad though. On one of the trees next to the walkway to my porch there is a nest of some magpies. The nest is massive. One day the tree was normal. The next day there was a monstrous nest. Those magpies really worked hard. Magpies are really mean though, so I almost went out to destroy the nest.

With the birds came the flowers, shrubs, and the trees. Those are cool too… I guess.

Spring brought track. Track has been the best this year. I am glad I did it. Because I am a ninth grader, I am one of the fastest in my school. Being a ninth grader has many advantages, including: taller than those that haven’t hit puberty, more experienced than those that haven’t ran track before, and we are just cool because we are.

Yesterday I did very well in my track meet. I broke my personal record by thirteen seconds in both the 1600m and the 800m. Now, I am down to a 5:42 and a 2:32. I am very happy about how well I performed.

Spring brings the end of the school year. I am very excited to go to Davis High, but I am bewildered why some of my friends are going to Layton High. Davis is so much cooler than Layton, and most people are going to Davis. Davis is cooler because most of the sport teams are better, it is richer, and the academics are better. The only thing that Layton has on us is acting. Acting is not even that cool. Sorry to those that like acting, but it is true.

The end of the school year brings summer. I am excited to train with the Davis Cross Country Team. Davis always has a very strong cross-country team. Cross-country is always so much fun. We have the opportunity to be at practice at seven in the morning. It is also fun to beat your own personal record. This year my goal is to break nineteen minutes in a 5k.

Summer is an exciting time of year because there is no school. No teachers are around telling you to do your homework. No body is on your case for bad behavior. No schedule telling you where to be when. Summer is something I call freedom. Summer gives a person freedom from the yearly schooling and I am not rushed, not pushed, I can do whatever. Summer is freedom, peace, wonderfulness, sweetness, carless, no schedule, no teachers, and no homework.

French Teacher

Where has the whole school year gone? It seems like just yesterday I walked into school for the first time as a ninth grader, king of the school. I am now looking forward to high school, but I will be one of the youngest. Yesterday I noticed that we only have five weeks left of this school year. That means that I only have 11 real days left with my French teacher. Yeah!!! My French teacher is a seventy-nine year old lady that thinks she is the coolest person because she cut off her toe, so it would fit in her ski boot better. That isn’t even the scary part. My French teacher doesn’t know what she is doing, and she always makes sick-minded jokes. I did not even know people that old could be sick minded. Whenever we are ready for a test she never gives us one, but when we are not ready that is when she gives it to us. She is also very sexist, and that is the very reason that there are only seven boys while there are nineteen girls in French III. She is also only four feet tall, so when we sit down we are about her height. The other day in French class somebody shot a paper dart at her. The person did not get caught even after the twenty minutes she spent trying to find out. She told us in French that we better tell who it was, but none of us saw the person shoot the dart. She made us write the name on a piece of paper. All of us just wrote I don’t know. She was very made at our dishonesty. It was weird, awkward, annoying, and any other thing you may call it. On all my test scores she always adds up the points wrong, or marks something wrong on my test and right on her favorite students. I really like French, but I dislike the things that my teacher does. My French teacher keeps going on and on and on about that she is only teaching three classes next year. This would mean two periods of French I and one period combined with French II and French III. She says that this is like teaching geography in one corner and US history in the other. The principal says we need at least 30 and maybe even 40 in these classes. In high school they have about forty in each class. She keeps on freaking out. I do not feel sorry for her. I wont be dealing with her next year. I hope I will forget. My French teacher’s grading scale is 95% for an A and everything is impossible. She has ruined so many people’s 4.0 and she doesn’t care. She says they should have tried the whole time. This entire school year we have made it through two and a half units, but we still need to do three whole units with the last eleven days of that class. I just hope that because of her procrastination my class will not receive a load of homework. She used to say it is against her religion to give homework on weekends. Now, it seems like she tries to give homework on weekends. I just hope that I will survive for the rest of this year with this four foot, toe cutter French teacher.