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.

National Junior Honors Society's Bloody Talk

I was forced into speaking at the National Junior Honors Society Induction Meeting. I would never choose to speak at something as big as this. Unfortunately, I was forced to, so I did not receive a choice. So since I typed it up I am killing two birds with one stone. Sorry Mr. T.

I used my Eagle project hours for my service hours for National Junior Honors Society. After an earthquake people sometimes have problems because they can not find a wrench to turn their gas off. So to solve this problem, I attached an emergency shut-off wrench to the gas meters of about sixty-five people. These people signed up at the Kaysville Crestwood Stake Emergency Preparedness fair. There were many steps to doing this project, which included: Acquiring names at the fair, buying wrenches, assembling wrenches, and installing wrenches. Many people helped me with my Eagle Project, these include: My mom, dad, brothers, friends, and many other scouts from the ward. The total number of hours spent on my project from these people was eighty-seven and a half hours. Now many people in my area will be prepared in an emergency.

The Utah House Field trip

The Utah House is an ordinary house that uses natural resources instead of gas and other types of energy providing mechanisms.

The Utah house receives its own water from the rain. From one inch of rain they receive nine hundred gallons of water. This house does not need to get water from somewhere else because they invented a way to catch the rain.

The Utah house heats its self from the sun. The sunlight goes through some hollow tubes and heat water. This water then is taken to a converter so that the Utah house can pick up the heat.

The Utah house is made for people of all ages and all abilities. Everything is made so it is easy for people with wheel chairs. This includes: tables lower, microwave lower, counters hollow underneath so a wheel chair can go under it, and many more exciting features. Everything is made so it is easy for elderly people. The shower has no lip. The tub has a seat so they can just whip their legs over.

All of the counters, carpets, tile, and furniture are made of recycled substances. One factory that recycles bottles recycles 14,000 bottles a minute! Some things are made of recycled glass.

The Utah house is made for many things: disabilities, age, and save our world by reusing substances. Because of science, our lives are made easier and better for the Earth.

Arches National Park Field Trip

Last week I went to Moab over spring break. I was able to hike trails that passed many arches and amazing sculptures.

On the last day I was in Moab, my family and I hiked Devils Garden. This trail passed and led to many arches. These arches and other rock sculptures were formed by water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement. In other words, these rocks were formed by erosion and weathering. Some of the arches that I saw on this trail were Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, Private Arch, and about 5 more that have not been named. All of these arches were different in their own way, there were no two alike. Pine Tree Arch was named because of the Pine Tree that was in the middle of the arch. Tunnel Arch was named because it was a wide arch that looked like a tunnel. Navajo Arch was named because it was a sacred place for the Navajo Indians. Partition Arch was named because it did not look like it was finished yet. Landscape Arch was named because it is very long (The longest span of all the arches in Arches National Park). Double O Arch is named because it consists of two arches, one on top of the other. Private Arch is named because it is very secluded, and very hard to hike to. All of these arches were named for their own spectacular reason. I really enjoyed going to Devils Garden to see all of the amazing rock sculptures.

Another day in Moab, we hiked Park Avenue and The Windows Section. Park Avenue was this hiked that brought you through a canyon. By going on this hike I learned that some rocks are softer than others so they break down easier. This canyon was formed by a wide river. I could tell where sea level was hundreds of years ago. After we hiked Park Avenue we drove over to the Windows section and many cool structures that have also been formed by weathering and erosion. These structures included the Petrified Dunes, The Great Wall, Rock Pinnacles, Balanced Rock, and Ham Rock. We then hiked to The North Window, The South Window, and Turret Arch. North and South Windows were next to each other, one north and the other south. Turret Arch was an arch that looked withered. It was tall but it looked like a balloon after a person inflates it. The last arch that we hiked to that day was Double Arch. This Arch consists of the tallest arch and 90 degrees later another arch. When we climbed to the second arch we were able to see the sunset. I enjoyed going on these hikes it was an education, enjoyable, and exercising experience.

In Moab, I was able to see many things. I am grateful that my parents decided to go there instead of to an amusement park. I look forward to go there again.

Moab

This week was awesome. I was able to go to Moab, and go mountain biking and hiking. Monday and today we spent all day traveling, packing, and unpacking, but the rest of the week was a blast.

Tuesday we spent riding a bike trail that my little brothers could go on. This trail is named Bartlett. This trail was really hard because we missed the unmarked trailhead. We thought we were on the right trail until we had gone about five miles in ankle deep sand too deep to pedal on, so we walked most of the way. This trail was only meant to be an eight mile loop, but it ended up being a 15.4 mile bike ride. On the way back we found the trail head so we did some of the bike trial. I was pretty disappointed because we road in sand for miles and miles and we did not see anything but desert.

Wednesday was a million times better because we did this trail called Porcupine Rim. This trail was basically three miles strait uphill then the last twelve miles were downhill. The first three miles took us a very long time because our neighbors that were doing this with us walked every hill. Most of the time they did not even try the hills, but when we made it to the top and saw the spectacular view I knew it was worth it. Downhill was very fun I reached some pretty high speeds and I was only thrown over my handlebars once. The trail of the last two miles was about five feet from a cliff. It was scary to think that if I were to fall to my right I would probably keep falling for a few hundred feet to a painful death on a rock in the sunset. Most people would think that sunset is beautiful, but for me it could have been death. When I finally made it to the road I was happier than a tornado in a trailer park. I was just relieved that I had not fallen off of the cliff.

Thursday was a small bike ride for the little kids because Tuesday did not work for them. This was a slower day, which was good because my legs hurt from sunburn and bloodies. This trail was good for the little kids though because it was fairly easy with hardly any hills, and they were all disappointed that they were not able to go on the bike ride the day before. After the bike ride, we went hiking to a few arches and we even caught the sunset through the back arch of the double arches.

Friday we went on a twelve mile hike this took almost all day. We were able to see tons of arches even including Landscape Arch and many more. Because we had so much time, we were able to hike the primitive trial that most people do not travel. Many of the things a lot of people haven’t seen including: Private Arch, and many more arches that were not named. This is really cool because a lot of people will not slow down to see stuff they just want to see the most important stuff.

I really enjoyed my trip to Moab. I liked my trip to Moab more than my trips to Disneyland, Disneyworld, or any trip like that. This trip I did not need to stand in lines, there was no schedule, and we were completely flexible. These three things made this vacation a real vacation.

Springtime

I could not believe I messed up my streak once again. I was planning on writing all of my blogs on week days, so that I would be able to have my whole weekends for just fun. Of course I was procrastinating maybe that is why I forgot, or I may be really bummed out that the ski season is over for me.

Last Saturday was probably the last ski day this season for me because the snow is melting. Last Saturday there was fresh powder, but by the end of the day the snow was crap. This really made me depressed because I could not make it this Saturday or next week, so there will most likely be no more snow in two weeks from now. If there is any snow there probably won’t be very much and it will be really crappy.

At the beginning of this week I was feeling good, and happy that my incisions from surgery taking out my appendix were feeling all the way healed. I decided to do some intense workouts for track, and I felt normal. However, when I woke up on Thursday my incisions were hurting intensely. I was really bewildered why this would start hurting out of no where, so I took the rest of the week off of track. I am hoping that my incisions will stop hurting, so that can do some intense bike riding in Moab this week.

I am very excited to mountain bike because I have not done any since last summer. This has made me really rejuvenated for next week. I am really sad about skiing, but I am excited about track coming up and mountain biking.

Last time I went mountain biking I went to slick rock with my brother and sister. We had the time of our lives battling the heat after running out of water. We made it alright safe and sound, but this year I hope it won’t be as hot, and I hope we don’t run out of water. My sister will not be coming to Moab with us because she has school this week.

I have loved skiing and Mountain Biking so much because it is active and I am able to be with my family. My family is pretty big being a family of 8, so we have the time of our lives every time we do something together especially when we are skiing and mountain biking. I love my family and look forward to do stuff with them every time that we do stuff.

Spring time brings many things every year, but it also destroys things. Spring time brings: soccer, mountain biking, boating, running, camping, and many more exhilarating adventures. Spring time destroys: Skiing, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, and other exiting adventures. Spring time is a sad, but great time because it destroys some of my favorite sports, but it also brings amazing, exhilarating sports. I am ready for this spring.

Honors English

I am very grateful for Honor’s English even though it has been very difficult. Last term I failed the accelerated reader test on The Great Expectations twice before I passed. I hated that book like I had ever hated a book before, but Honors English has taught me a lot. I have become a better writer and reader, than I was at the beginning of the year. I recently noticed that because this has helped me so much, I may have even done the requirements for Honors English this term even though it was so hard.

I am writing this blog to say that Honors English is worth it. I know it may not seem like it when you are stuck reading one of Charles Dickens’s books, but it has been worth all the work. I have made it most of the way through this year, I can see the finish line. This is very exciting because I have become tired of writing so many blogs, staying up late trying to write a perfect essay and keeping up with the discussion boards.

Last term I procrastinated, and was about five weeks behind. This was a terrible experience when I finally wrote all of these blogs. I finally finished last term with my more than 2,000 word blog about my experience with my appendix. Right now I am already behind by one day. This blog should have been done last night.

I could not believe I had already messed without even working my way through the first week! Now I am going to try something new. I am going to write my blogs before the weekend, so that I will not have to worry about them later in the week. I am hoping that this will work, so I will not be a lazy butt, procrastinate, and rush to write everything at the last minute.

At the beginning of the year it took me a long time to write my weekly blog. Now, it seems as if it hardly takes time at all. The funny thing is, at the beginning of the year when it took me forever to write my blogs I was on top of things. Now, that I can do blogs in less time it seems like I am never on top of writing my blog. I am always writing these late, and I am sick of it. I hope I will actually keep up with the class now. I guess I will probably be hurrying stuff in at the last second anyway, but it is worth a shot.

This term, I am excited that I am not going to be forced to read a never-ending novel. The book this term looks better than great expectations. I am both excited and sad to be at the beginning of the end of junior high. This is one of the few things that I will be glad to miss because I will not have to worry about this every single week. Every year school becomes harder, so I guess I can not be too happy about this because writing blogs will probably be replaced with something harder. Honors English has helped me a lot, so if anyone is debating on trying out Honors English next year I would say try it.

Pip's Ruined Life

Great Expectations is a book about a poor boy, Pip, that has everything he has ever desired until he meets a girl, Estella, that tells him he is common, so he tries to impress the girl. He receives a benefactor that makes him rich; Pip thinks his benefactor is the girl’s mom, Miss Havisham and the gateway to earn the girl. The girl’s mom turns out not to be his benefactor, and he does not earn the girl (until after her second marriage in the alternate ending.) One theme that this book expresses is to be grateful for what you have. Pip seems to know that he should have stayed with Joe and Biddy, and been grateful for what he had.

Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practice on when no other practice was at hand; those were the first smarts I had. But, sharpest and deepest pain of all—it was for the convict, guilty of I knew not what crimes, that I had deserted Joe. (Great Expectations, Abridged Version, Book 2 Chapter 38 p.843)

Before this passage, Pip was just informed that Miss Havisham is not his benefactor. This is a catastrophe because Pip thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor. If Miss Havisham had been his benefactor, Miss Havisham may have planned to set up Pip and Estella. At this point of the book, Pip realizes that he left his perfect life for nothing; the life he thought he left for Estella. He had been tricked and played like a chess piece by Miss Havisham and Estella. Now Pip thinks that he should have stayed with Joe and Biddy, but Pip deserted them, and ran off to become a gentleman. Becoming a gentleman to impress Estella was so important to him, that everything else was clouded. Now that the cloud is gone Pip looks back and sees that he has accomplished nothing. Pip is discontent because of his decisions, but he can not change them. Pip now wants to apologize to Biddy and Joe, but he needs to take care of the convict first. At this point in the book I finally feel like Pip is taking the right turns.

This passage has painted a picture in my mind because the passage describes things so well. In the first sentence, “all a mere dream” says that Pip imagined Miss Havisham being his benefactor, so that he could marry Estella. By saying this, I can see Pip in one of his dreams imagining Miss Havisham telling Pip she is his benefactor. Dickens could have written something like “Miss Havisham not my benefactor,” and he could have left the rest for us to imagine. In the next part of the first sentence, “Estella not designed for me,” adds more by saying that Estella was never for him, and never will be. It says that Pip and Estella are like a screw and a nail, a screw is designed for a nut, not a nail. “Satis House” is a place for people to become like gods. “Satis House as a convenience” means that he was not there to become like a god, he was there for others’ convenience. “A sting for the greedy relations,” means Miss Havisham has relatives that all want some of her money. These relatives thought that Pip was receiving money from Miss Havisham, so it was hurting the relatives and helping Miss Havisham to see Pip receive money. “A model” is usually something that sits on a shelf and no one plays with it, cares about it, or feels bad about it. “A mechanical heart” is a heart that can be repaired and a person can leave it alone or pick up on it whenever they have time. “First smarts I had” says that Pip is actually thinking right for the first time. “Sharpest and deepest pain of all” says that the pains for Pip’s actions were very terrible, sharp things hurts and cause deep cuts. “I had deserted Joe” means that Pip left Joe without even seeing if Joe was okay. Any reader could receive the same pictures painted in their mind that I received because this passage is described so well.

The tone of the passage helps convey being grateful for what you have. The tone in this passage is Pip being unhappy because he has finally looked back to see that he did not make the right decisions. At the beginning of the passage, Pip is going through all the things that will not receive, for example: Estella, Miss Havisham, and being godlike. Later on in the passage, he realizes that he has been tricked and played, so now he does not know what to do. In the end of the passage he is thinking, “Oh no! I deserted Joe and Biddy.” In this part of the book he is very depressed and angry at himself for leaving Joe and Biddy. Pip is depressed that he left his perfect life, and wishes he would have been grateful for what he had.

This book is a perfect example of why a person should be grateful for what he has. If Pip had stayed with Joe and Biddy he would have been content because he had everything he ever wanted. Before he left to become a gentleman, he had a future wife, a best friend, and the job he had always wanted. After he left to become a gentleman and found out his benefactor’s identity, it was unclear what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Before, Pip really had everything he wanted, but Estella told him he was uncommon. Pip should have just been grateful for what he had and ignored Estella, but Pip did not and he ruined his life until he found out that money does not buy happiness. In the passage he finally realizes that Estella is not for him, and he should be grateful for what he had, and now what he has.

In this part in the book Pip knows he should have been grateful for what he had. Because Pip learned to be grateful for what he has, he was able to move on, and do many things, including; helping the convict, helping Herbert, and apologizing to Joe and Biddy. Because Pip learned to be grateful for what he has, he was able to mend the problems he caused.

Appendicitis

It was Saturday night; I had just finished a great day of skiing, complete with my first perfect 180! I finished my homework by about 11:30, and made it to bed before midnight. Unfortunately, I was woken up about every hour by my brother’s lamp (which he had left on when he went to bed after me), but I was too tired to get out of bed to go turn off the lamp.

At about 6:00 I made it out of my bed and turned off the lamp, but the victory did not last long because at 7:00 I woke up and filled the entire toilet full of diarrhea. Then I was able to get back to sleep, but at 8:30 I emptied the rest of my stomach into the toilet.

At 9:00 I decided I could not sleep anymore because I was in so much pain. I took baby steps all the way to my parents’ room, but the door was locked so I did not go in. I went back to the couch and carefully laid my body down on the couch until my mom came out about a half hour later. When she saw me, she was very concerned and gave me a couple of things to drink to see if they might help me. But, I threw them up rather quickly right after drinking them.

I decided to go back to bed to see if I might feel better while my family went to church. While they were gone, I tossed and turned and I could not get to sleep. It also felt like I was starving to death.

When I heard my brothers rushing through the door because they were happy to be home to eat, I decided to go back upstairs. When I made it upstairs I was out of breath and I felt like eating something. So, I asked my little brother to make my most favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich with some milk. Half way through the sandwich I felt sick and I did not feel like finishing it. So, I decided to lie back down on the couch and wait for this sickness to go away. My stomach was hurting like none other and I did not feel like I was going to live through this (but of course I did because I am still here).

I was very thirsty so my mom had me drink a sip of Gatorade every 10 minutes. I was watching the clock like an eagle and as soon as it turned to the exact minute I would drink my desired sip of Gatorade. But as this continued, I felt more and more sick. The pain started moving from the center of my stomach to the right side of my pelvis.

My Dad was gone because he received a new calling and he was sorting things out. My mom was freaking out that I was going to die (just kidding, not really!). So, my mom called my Dad and told my Dad to come home and get me. While my Dad was coming home I had another barf attack.

When my Dad came home, we rushed our way to the hospital. My mom decided to come with us because she wanted to know what was happening. The car ride was very miserable. When we finally arrived at the hospital, I was just happy to be there. My Dad got out of the car with me and we went into the hospital. (My mom parked the car.)

Because my Dad is a doctor, it seemed like I went right in to see a doctor. (But, my mom says it wasn’t quite that fast.) When I told the doctor my story, he said that it was the perfect story for appendicitis and if I were his child I would go straight to the operating room. Next they had my blood drawn which was very sweet! (I liked how it felt and plan to give blood as soon as I am old enough.) The truth is it felt like peeing out of my arm, and everybody knows that that is refreshing. Then they put an IV in me which they kept in my body for quite some time.

They had me change into some clothes, special clothes that I could only wear in the operating room—if you call them clothes. These clothes were basically a piece of cloth that went over your front side with some knots that tied in the back.

The most uncomfortable experience at the hospital was moving from one bed to another. I had to move onto a moving bed to go to the operating room. When I got into the operating room, I had to move from the moving bed to the operating table. This was move number two. The last thing I remember about my surgery was the doctor putting some sleepy medicine into my IV and saying you are going to get pretty sleepy about right now. I was out.

When I woke up, I was being rushed through the hall to my room where I would spend the night. I was very cold. When we got to my room I got to experience moving from one bed to the other bed again. I finally thought I would have my good night’s sleep. But in the hospital it is difficult to have a good night’s sleep because my legs were constantly being squeezed to prevent a blood clot and a nurse was constantly coming in to make sure I didn’t pass out and to check my blood pressure.

The nurse said if I needed to use the bathroom I should ask for her help. Not wanting her help to use the bathroom, as soon as she had left the room, I asked my Dad to come and help me go to the bathroom. My Dad was a substitution for my abs because I could not sit up. As soon as I was on my feet I felt like the floor was going to come out from underneath me and again I needed to take very little baby steps.

I was very tired and I just wanted to go to sleep. It seemed as soon as I would close my eyes the nurse would be waking me up at my side and making sure everything was O.K. At about 6:00 I thought I finally got some good quality sleep, but then unfortunately a different nurse came in and told me what to do for breakfast.

Because it was 7:00 I could now order breakfast by dialing 7700 and tell them what I wanted for breakfast. Room Service! When I finally figured out how to work the phone and I called Room Service, there was a recording that said, “Room Service can not help you right now, it is not in our hours, we will be open from 7 am to 7 pm.” I didn’t know what was going on because it was already 7:15 so I decided just to wait a little bit longer.

Unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom again. It took me forever to get out of my bed and take those little baby steps over to the bathroom and the urine felt like it would never stop. When I got back to my bed and I felt like a new man.

Then I dialed room service again, this time it worked. I asked for two bagels, a popsicle, and some apple juice. As you can see, this is a very balanced meal (so says my mom, not really…). The meal tasted very good because it was my first real meal since Saturday night that I did not throw up.

The nurses came in and told me I could go after they told me all the stuff I could not do. I can not do any sports for two weeks, I can not do anything active for 2 weeks, I can not lift 10 pounds for 2 weeks and I have (can) miss school for 5 days.

By this time, I was feeling more comfortable standing up than I was sitting down. But because we were in the hospital we could only leave by going out of the hospital in a wheel chair. During the wheelchair ride, every little bump felt like I was having a seizure.

When we finally made it into the car, I felt like I had just conquered the world, but unfortunately the pain had just started compared to how bad the bumps were in the road. Each bump in the road felt like I was getting shot over, and over, and over, and over again in the stomach. My mom tried to help me and avoided some big bumps in the road and she might have been a bit of a road hazard because another driver became angry at her. This driver honked at her and it was pretty funny.

Then we went to Walgreens and ordered the prescription. Then we went to Bowman’s to get some popsicles. (My mom went in the store and I waited in the car.) When I finally got home, I felt that the pain was decreasing because there were not any more bumps! This is where I am right now, in pain. This is my story about getting my appendix out.

3/11/10

On Monday (when I wrote the first part of this) I did not have any medicine because my mom and I forgot to get some. By the afternoon I felt terrible and I could not do anything. At that time I knew why people steal prescription medicine. This would be because it relieves so much pain. I feel so much better when I take my medicine then when I do not take my medicine.

This whole week has been different than any other week in my entire life. I am able to sleep in on everyday of the week. I can watch movies whenever I want. I can barely walk. I can not laugh without intense pain. I can not talk loud without intense pain. I can not even go to the bathroom without intense pain. When I flex my abs I have intense pain. Most everything I do I have intense pain, but this pain would be worse without medicine.

This week I can eat anything I want. Popsicles are very good. Bananas are good too. Yogurt is also very good. Now I can eat most anything without it hurting. Earlier in the week that was all I wanted to eat. On Monday morning in the hospital I had a bagel, popsicles, and some apple juice.

My mom cares very much about what I eat because she has learned so much about what foods can help you and the foods are really bad for you. This week she let me eat anything even if it does not balance, if it has a ton a food coloring, or even if it is packed with preservatives. I have really enjoyed eating any food that I want to without worrying if it is good for me or not.

Because I am in French III, Mrs. Comiskey invited me to come to the French plays today. The French plays were very funny because the actors did such a good job. I was going to be in Cinderella and Snow White.

In Snow White, I was going to be “Happy,” one of the seven dwarfs. This play turned out very good especially because the play was not ready last Friday. The actors did a very good job, and pulled it together very nicely.

In Cinderella, I was going to be one of the ugly step sisters. One of my friends that is also a boy was the other ugly step sister. I am very grateful to the person that filled in for me in Cinderella. She was a girl so that might have been uncomfortable for her because she was an UGLY stepsister.

I have also enjoyed spending more time with my five year old brother. He has a funny mind with a huge imagination. One thing he does is point out the obvious, and most of the time this is pretty funny. One example of this is when we were watching the plays. After the first scene in Cinderella he pointed out that one of the ugly step sisters is really a boy. It may not sound funny now, but it made everybody laugh around us. I even started to laugh, but because of my pain I stopped. My little brother is very funny. It is fun to play games and do other things with him, especially when I am not feeling good.

Downhill Snow Skiing

Many people do not realize there are different types and techniques of downhill snow skiing. The first type of skiing, rock skiing, is at the beginning of winter when the ski resorts have enough snow to ski. Many people have a fondness for the second type of skiing, powder skiing, these skiing days are right after a snow storm. Groomed skiing, the third type of skiing, is for those skiers that love speed, and for beginning skiers. Spring skiing is the last type of skiing; this is the skiing in the spring. There are many types of skiing, and they are all thrilling.

Rock skiing is at the beginning of the year. On the slopes, in the rock skiing season, there are many rocks; this is how rock skiing earned its name. These rocks are bad for skis because the rocks scratch the skis, slow skis down, and sometimes they even break the skis. Lots of people do not like skiing during rock season because of the damage to their skis, especially if they have new skis. Rocks make it so that the snow is not very good. In rock skiing, there is not enough snow to cover the rocks. There is usually only about three feet of snow. Even with the small amount of snow, many people are excited to go because most people have not skied in about eight months. After rock skiing, comes the desired powder snow.

Powder days are the most desired over all other types of snow. Powder skiing is most longed for because it is most challenging. Challenging things are usually more amusing because they are not simple. Challenges make things more exciting; for example, repelling off a cliff, water skiing, a game of soccer against an equal opponent, and running a race are all exciting challenges. My brother Daniel said, “Powder is fun, but it is very challenging to keep my balance.” On powder, snow skiers need a different ski technique. Skiers need to lean back so the tips of their skis do not become swallowed by the powder. Powder also increases risk. One major risk is avalanches. Some skiers trigger avalanches and are killed. With equipment now available, skiers are able to find some other skiers that become trapped in avalanches. In the middle of a ski season if it is not a powder day, then runs are groomed.

Groomed runs are for beginners and for racers. Groomed runs are usually easier than runs that have not been groomed, like black diamonds, or double black diamonds. Groomed runs are especially good for those skiers that are learning, but are also amusing for those that love to reach high speeds. My brother David said, “I love to stay on the groomed hills because then I can go as fast as lightning.” My brother David is a beginner that likes to race down the hill against his other brothers, so groomed trails are perfect for him. Groomed trails are usually clear from any trees or rocks, and are safe for all skiers to go on. When skiers ski on groomed hills, they lean forward in their boot; this is a little different than skiing in powder. This helps the skier accelerate and go faster. After the good winter months are over, and then spring skiing starts.

Spring skiing is the last month of skiing. In spring skiing, there are some major risks. Because it is so hot in the spring skiing months, many skiers do not wear coats. If skiers do not wear a shirt, they could easily hurt themselves and earn themselves some road rash. Spring skiing brings other risks besides road rash. In the morning the snow is just fine for a few hours. After lunch, in the shadows, there is always ice, and everywhere else the snow is melting. The switch of the two surfaces can cause some major skiing accidents. Spring skiing requires a different technique. This technique is to go slower. Once the conditions are bad, skiers can become injured pretty easily. Going slow is just common sense. Spring skiing is unlike the other types of downhill snow skiing, spring skiing is the only type of downhill skiing that is in warm weather.

All types of downhill snow skiing are exhilarating. Rock skiing is amusing because rock skiing is the first time skiers ski in about eight months. Powder skiing is entertaining because powder skiing is challenging. Groomed skiing is exciting because groomed skiing is speedy. Spring skiing is recreative because spring skiing is the last time to ski before the season ends. All of these types of skiing are invigorating.

Super G vs Downhill

The super g and downhill are very similar, but there are some big differences. In a super g race there are not as many gates as in the downhill. This makes it so they are able to go faster. In the downhill they spread water out to make the snow icy. In these events it is almost like skiing on a sheet of ice. Skies are longer so they are more stable. I really enjoy watching these events because I am a skier. I know how hard it is to ski that fast and to turn that fast without losing speed. My dad use to ski race, he really enjoys watching these ski races. I guess his excitement to watch the races has rubbed onto my brothers and me. We all like to watch these events. It is fun to go skiing and to try out the moves of some of the Olympic athletes. Super g and the downhill start some excitement to go skiing more. I love to watch the super g and the downhill.

Short Track Vs. Speed Skating

Short track is my favorite Olympic sport because the race can change in a split second. Apolo Ohno is one of the athletes that races short track. In a lot of races he waits in last place, then when the time comes he just skates around everybody. Apolo has a lot of experience because he has race so long. Apolo has race against some of the other country’s Olympic coaches. Short track is different from speed skating because the skaters are on the ice at the same time. Lots of time this person that wins is the only person still standing. If one person looses their balance then it is just a domino effect backwards into the wall. In short track athletes wear helmets because they are in more of a danger to crash then in speed skating. The athletes in short track are often shorter, than in speed skating. This allows the athletes to be able to move around better. In speed skating they want long legs because long legs help an athlete acquire more speed. In speed skating only two people perform at once. In short track 4-6 people are skating at the same time. In speed skating they receive one chance to earn the best time. In short track two people qualify out of every race until they have the final people. In short track more people fall down then in speed skating. Short track is more exciting to watch then speed skating because each race is different. Short track is the best Olympic sport!

Keep Moving Forward

An athlete is running very fast and is about to make a new world record for a marathon. This athlete is five feet from crossing the finish line when he trips and becomes unconscious and falls into a coma. When this athlete wakes up he finds out he did not win, but decides to keep trying. Lots of athletes have faced defeat, but those that keep going will continue to be better and may actually win.

Snow cross is one of the Olympic events. In this event snow boarders race to finish first while fighting the other athletes. These races are very unpredictable because anything can happen. The athlete that starts in last may end up in first by the end of the race, or the person in first may take off and the other athletes may not have a chance. These athletes train four years sometimes to just face plant it right on the first hill. One example of this is Lindsey Jacobellis. Four years ago she was on her way to win a gold medal. She made it to the finals. Lindsey got in head of everybody and was going to win, but on the last jump something went wrong. Lindsey fell and she got passed. Lindsey Jacobellis still earned the silver medal, but this proves that if one little thing goes wrong then the gold medal can vanish before an athletes eyes. This year on one of the first races Lindsey Jacobellis lost control and got disqualified. There are other athletes that have too lost with the slightest movement. Many athletes also lost by crashing in the women’s downhill.

On the women’s downhill a few days ago many athletes were falling. The women that raced in the downhill only received one practice run. They practiced before it was icy, and because of this many athletes crashed. Most of the athletes that fell, fell on the last jump. These athletes would catch more than expected air and landed wrong. Some of the athletes prepared for the crash and new what to do. Other athletes were thrown around and it looked pretty painful. There were also some athletes that crashed in other places. One of these athletes was pulling out, lost balance, and crashed even before the first gate. It is sad that these athletes train so hard for four years, and crash so they do not even get a chance. Many snowboarders also crashed and lost their dreams.

Many of the athletes were falling on the half pipe this year. The snowboarding half pipe is about 20 ft tall this year. Many athletes landed one jump slightly wrong and got marked down a ton for it. Shaun White four years ago took a pretty hard fall by hitting his head on the side of the half pipe. Shaun White did not give up. He did another run and earned the gold medal. In the past four years Shaun White has become better even so that this year he earned a 48.3. He received a 96%, which is an A. Shaun has created new tricks one consisting of two flips and three and a half rotations. Shaun White is amazing, and anybody else can be if they set their minds to it.

Ski Jumping

One of the events in the Winter Olympics is ski jumping. The athletes have very long skies to make them more arrow dynamic in the air. They also have special binding to let them flex closer to their skies. The athletes also have a little wider skies to help them catch the wind. When ski jumpers jump at the Olympics they jump more than a football field. These athletes probably feel like they are a bird flying over everything. When athletes ski jump they only have the opportunity to go off the jump two or three times. If these athletes messed up on their landing they would most likely die. The gold medalist for today is Switzerland's Simon Amman. He also won the gold medal in the Olympics for 2002, but did not come close to placing in Italy four years ago. It was not much of a competition for him today when he finished far above the others. Many other athletes did well, but they did not have a perfect jump like Simon Amman. Ski jumping was a sport that was very fun to watch. Ski jumping looks very fun because it looks like athletes are flying with nothing to stop them.