Silberhaus Kid Chapter 1

Clara loves being at parties. I admit that I like them too, because most of the time there are other boys there, my friends. Clara, though, likes parties because she can pretend she's a grown-up, a woman. The adults play along, calling her sweet and young lady at first, but then she can stand with them and dance with them and participate in their conversations. I'm not really jealous of that; my pals are more interesting than the adults are, but I do wish my parents trusted me more. Sometimes it is my fault that they don't, but most of the time I think they don't trust me because I don't act like an adult, and Clara does. I don't know if they've looked around recently, but most twelve and thirteen year olds don't act like adults. So, I think I have the right to be offended that my parents don't trust me simply because I'm not Clara.
That Christmas Eve, before the party, Clara asked if she had to wear her party dress. "It is beautiful," she said, "But it is for a child."
I saw Mother almost give in, almost let her "grown-up girl" wear one of Mother's old dresses from when she was fourteen or fifteen, even if it would not fit Clara perfectly. But Father said, "No, Clara. Not yet. This is a Christmas party. Stay a child. Let us give you one last doll."
Clara quickly agreed, the perfect daughter, just like always. I was thrilled to see her lose a fight, but it was not as sweet as I thought it would be. Mother, left to her own devices, would have said yes, and Father had only said no because it was Christmas.
It did not occur to me that Father had also denied Clara a different dress because he wanted a perfect Christmas party, complete with gifts, a tree, dancing, small talk, drinks, and his children playing with other children.
The maids and butler had been busy all day, as had the cooks. Everyone had been busy, for that matter, it seemed, though I had no idea what anyone else was doing. Everything I could think of that needed doing was being done by the maids, butler, and cooks. But, as normal, my parents had to pretend to be busy doing something, and like the little grown-up that she was, Clara copied them and did the same.
I, however, did nothing more than dress in my suit, the one that Father likes, right before the party. It is gray, with a lace collar and cuffs. I knew the other boys would be wearing their sweaters, but Father never let me. He always said that the host had to be the best dressed. I didn't even bother to ask if I could wear something different. I'd heard him say, "No!" too many times.
When I walked into the ballroom, the tree was decorated and lit, garlands were strung throughout the room, and there were presents under the tree. I went and shook a few of them -- was this one a drum? A doll for a girl? Candy?
Then Clara came in with Mother, and I quickly stopped shaking the presents. Mother would have scolded me sorely had she seen. She was in one of her most massive outfits -- her favorite hoop skirt dress. It was a faint brown with copious amounts of lace, pearl white buttons, and ice blue ribbon. Clara was wearing her party dress. It was cream colored, and when she spun, the skirt spread out wide and spun with her. If you looked closely, there was a design of roses in the fabric, and the skirt was woven with pale pink, green, and silver ribbons. The collar and dress edges all had lace, and there was a bow in the back of the dress. I didn't see why it was Clara's favorite party dress, because she couldn't breathe in it at all; she had told me so once, when Mother and Father were not listening.
Clara, forgetting to be ladylike, ran towards the Christmas tree. She stood on tip toe, so that she could see all of it; she's so short, only 147 centimeters tall. "Oh Mother!" Clara said. "It's beautiful." Clara spun around, her skirt flying out. "The whole room is!"
"And Clara, Clara, look!" I said, unable to help myself. "There are so many presents!" Clara and I had always had that in common -- an eagerness at the idea of opening presents.
But Clara was being snobbish and grown-up again, so she just said, "Of course, Fritz. It's Christmas."
"Just a few moments ago, you were enchanted by the tree," I told her. "Why why are you so indifferent now?" I hated it when Clara did something like that. It made me unsure -- was she my sister, or was she there to constantly patronize me?
But Mother intervened, of course, standing up for her precious daughter. "Now Fritz," she said with her sugar coated voice, "Don't fight; it's Christmas Eve."
I didn't say anything, but a fight is two people, not one.
Clara stuck her nose up in the air and swept out of the room behind Mother. But they soon came back, and they were followed by Father and the first of the guests, the Adler family, Herr and Frau Adler and their daughters Marlene and Sieglinde. Clara and the girls were huddled together, talking quickly and gesturing and smiling and hugging each other. Marlene was twelve years old, and Sieglinde was ten. Neither one of them seemed to want to grow up as quickly as Clara -- thank goodness; at least all girls weren't like that.
I waited impatiently. Why did the first family to arrive have to be all girls?
Then the maids brought in the Hofmanns and the Jansons. "Erik!" I said, and a boy in a red sweated turned and ran to me.
"Fritz!" he said. "Did you see, the Jansons are here! Robert and Lukas!" Erik was ten and talkative, but a fun boy nevertheless. He was always smiling and laughing, and it was hard not to laugh with him.
Robert and Lukas walked over to where Erik and I stood in front of the Christmas tree. Robert was my age, and Lukas was two years older. "Merry Christmas," I told them.
Erik's face creased into a smile. "It is Christmas tomorrow, isn't it?" he said.
Robert nodded. "A party tonight, a party tomorrow...."
Lukas groaned. "Oh great, I forgot about that," he said. "We're hosting our whole family tomorrow. Grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, great uncles, great aunts, cousins -- everyone! There will be people there whom I have never seen before!"
"You'll know everyone here tonight," I told Lukas. "But if we dance, we'll have a problem. There will be five boys and six girls."
I looked around the room. The grownups were all over the place, sipping wine and talking quietly. The three girls were on the couch, still talking with animation.
Then I saw someone come running into the room, and Lukas groaned. "Fynn?" he said. "Did he have to come?"
"His sisters are Clara's best friends," I replied. "Hello! Fynn!"
Fynn was eight, and he annoyed all of us. He was six years younger than his sisters, who were thirteen year old twins, and was spoiled because of it, even more spoiled than my not-so-dear sister.
"Hello," Fynn said. "Is everyone here yet?"
You snob, I thought, but I shook my head. Robert said, "We're waiting on the Schmidts?" I nodded. "Then Karina is coming!" he exclaimed.
Erik rolled his eyes, "When's the wedding, Robert?" Robert blushed, and everyone laughed, even Fynn.
"You aren't gong to have to wait long, brother," Lukas drawled. "There she is." Karina and Herr Schmidt had walked in and were talking with my father. Frau Schmidt had already joined my mother and Frau Jansen.
My father turned around and clapped to get everyone's attention. "Thank you," he said when the room became silent. "Now that everyone is present, I thought the children might begin the dancing. Clara, come."
Clara nearly jumped off the couch, but then she took those small and mincing steps all the way to Father. She smiled up at him. "Might we do a polonaise?" she asked.
"Just what I was thinking!" Father said, his voice booming. He motioned to me. "Come, Fritz, and partner your sister."
"No," I said. Of all things! It was Christmas, for goodness' sake! I never danced with Clara; not at lessons, not ever. Most of the time we couldn't stand each other, and whereas Clara could hide it, I just had to avoid her.
"Fritz, dear, dance for us," my mother said. "I know you like it."
"I won't dance with her," I said stiffly, and Clara glared arrows at me.
Father's eyebrows went up, and a storm raged on his face -- I had broken the perfectness of the party. He marched over, took my arm, and dragged me to Clara. I reluctantly offered her my hand, not wanting to make more of a scene, and she took it with a smirk. At every opportunity I got, I glared at the girl. Why did my parents favor her? I hated that! I always had!
The others all paired up. Robert took Karina, one year his younger, and Lukas partnered one of Fynn's sisters, Annika. Erik quickly grabbed Sieglinde Adler, his age and height exactly. Marlene Adler found herself curtsying to Fynn, who bowed and said, "I'm the best dancer here," so ostentasiously that Marlene's face turned red as she tried not to laugh.
Marika, Annika's twin, was the girl without a partner. Seeing this, my father stepped in and offered the tall girl his hand. She took it and whispered, "Danke." My father nodded, and Frau Jansen began playing the piano.
I really do like dancing, so I enjoyed it, even if Clara was my partner. I delibrately stepped on her toes a few times, knowing that she would be too ladylike to return the favor. At the same time, I was annoyed; why hadn't Father danced with Clara and let me dance with Marika?
Once upon a time, Clara and I got along. But then she realized that she wanted to be a lady long before anyone else became one, so she began practicing and acting grownup constantly -- when she was seven or eight years old. Me, I wanted to stay a boy for as long as I could. What's the use in trying to grow up? Magic happens to kids; adults can't see it.
We danced some more, though we didn't change partners. There wasn't time to -- the only problem with Frau Jansen at the piano is that she finishes one piece and then almost immediately starts another. But after we had dance twice, Mother said, "And now us," and all the adults followed her onto the floor as the children stepped to the sides.
"Who will play the piano?" Frau Jansen asked, standing up and straightening her skirt.
Mother looked around the room. "Let Clara," she said, and my sister's face lit up. She sat down on the piano bench as the adults lined up for the Viennan waltz.
"Why Clara?" Erik whispered to me. "You play better than she does."
"Thanks," I whispered. "But my parents can't see that. They just know that their precious young lady is a good piano player; they don't see that that young lady's older brother is even better."

200 Books in 2008

Well, I think I read 200 books in 2008.
It's kind of hard to tell, because my list is on paper, and it seems like I'm constantly having to cross books off because I read them twice this year.

But I am looking over the list, and I'm pretty sure that I read 201 books this year.

One of the biggest surprises for me looking over the list is that this was the year I got hooked on Ann Rinaldi -- I thought that happened in 2007, but it actually happened in January 08.

The main reading "challenge" I undertook this year was my attempt to read four Shakespeare comedies in a month this summer. *grin* That was a success, and I'm glad I did it. I loved Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. Comedy of Errors had a good plot but for me lacked an interesting character, and Midsummer Night's Dream had a ridiculous plot (I think that's what makes it hilarious) but great characters.
And now I am reading As You Like It, mostly because it is often grouped with Twelfth Night and Much Ado as one of Shakespeare's "joyous comedies."

Best books that I have read this year (in no particular order):
1. Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, First Meetings, and Ender in Exile.
I considered just saying Speaker for the Dead, because I think it was the best of all of these, but then I realized that I would end up listing CotM and EiE anyway, so I decided to list all five of these Ender books by Orson Scott Card. I actually also read War of Gifts this year, but I didn't like it much, so it isn't on this list.

2. Much Ado About Nothing
I adore Beatrice and Benedick both, and their "merry war" constantly makes me laugh. To add to that, the movie by Branaugh was excellent. I think Claudio was stupid for not trusting Hero, but that's my only problem with this play.

3. Twelfth Night
I'm not too big on the Antonio storyline, but other than that, this play rocks. I still have Orsino's speech from the beginning memorized, and Viola/Cesario is a strong heroine/hero. There's also Feste, the fool -- I really like him. Throw in the Malvolio plot...oh yeah.

4. This I Believe II
My library doesn't have This I Believe I, which is unfortunate, because after reading II, I really want to. This was a collection of This I Believe essays, and the book as a whole was very inspiring.

5. The Wanderer
This is by Sharon Creech, and it was one of my favorite books before thie year, but I can't help but list it. Sophie..*cries*

6. The Three Musketeers
I love Dumas' tone in this book -- conversational, interesting. He's the same way in Count of Monte Cristo, which I'm reading now. I need to read this book in French...

7. Single Shard
I devoured this book. I knew I liked Linda Sue Park, but this is beautiful.

8. The Cajun Night Before Christmas
Okay, okay, this is a picture book and probably shouldn't count, but I couldn't resist. Who can get tired of Papa Noel saying "Me, I ain't goin' back by the way that I came," and calling for his alligators Gaston, Tiboy, Pierre, Alcee, Ninette, Suzette, Celeste, and Renee?

9. All of the Murderous Maths Books
I can't choose one, but I read all of them this year. I must admit, I like the ones after Do You Feel Lucky? better because they have Brett and Lil.

10. Be Careful What You Wish For
This is a collection of short stories about wishes, and I really like it. I read it over Spring Break, and I believe I read it three times that week. *grin*

11. (last one, I promise) A Wind in the Door
This is the sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. I've read the first three books in the quintet, and this one is definitely my fav.

Worst books that I have read this year (in no definite order):
1. Redwall
This is a bit surprising. However, when I reread this book for the first time in 4-5 years, I discovered that it was not well written. Jacques has improved a lot as a writer.

2. Les Penguins
That is my French NaNo of 2007. It's terrible. That is all I shall say. It is less terrible after editing, but still.

3. Tara Lipinski: Triumph on Ice
Icky style, probably because it's Tara dictating to someone.

4. Trouble About Wednesdays
Erm...just not good.

5. Daphne's Book
See note on Trouble About Wednesdays

6. Romeo & Juliet
First of all, I don't like this play. Second, I had to read it in English class at school, which makes it torture. The Odyssey was bearable because I like that story, but this?

7. The Silver Pencil
Very little plot...

8. What's a Girl to Do?
This is an interesting book (about dating...*rolls eyes*) but at first, the author tries too hard for the tone she wants, and then she goes off on random tangents. By the end, the reader knows her far too well, and if you disagree with her viewpoints (which -- guess what! -- I do) then it's difficult to like her, because her life seems to revolve around those viewpoints.

Most ...Interesting?... books I read this year (in no certain order)
1. L'etranger (translated: The Stranger) by Albert Camus
This book was well written. It got its points across, sometimes subtly, sometimes not, but it did it the way Camus wanted it to. I know the main character is supposed to be annoying, but as a writer, that annoys me even more than I think it annoys most people. How could Camus stand to write about this guy? I know I couldn't, and most of my friends couldn't. Camus is a better writer than us, but still...
And I'm not big on the whole existentialism thing. So.

2. The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry
Well written...*shudder*

3. Witch Child
I did not appreciate what I viewed as a lack of resolution...sometimes I can handle that, because I see that there is a resolution, like in L'etranger...but here...

*bows* And that is the end of my 2008 Book Post.

That Silberhaus Kid

Why is it that when Clara talks about magic, everyone listens and says how creative she is, but when I tell of it, everyone tells me to stop copying off of Clara? I'm not copying; I'm telling the story straight. Clara has it right, too, but that's her side of it, the reality that she saw. It wasn't her imagination, and it wasn't mine either. This is my side of the story, and it's just as real as hers.
My name is Fritz Silberhaus, and Clara is my sister. That Christmas Eve, she was twelve years old, and I was eighteen months older than she was, a proud thirteen-year-old. The family was holding a Christmas party, and all of my friends (and Clara's) were coming. But the story actually starts before the party -- Clara never tells this part. But me, Fritz? I do.

(I'm still playing with this idea...it's based off of The Nutcracker)

Jump Rope

I am sick, and even if I had my jump rope here at my grandparents' house, I probably couldn't jump for long considering how hard it is to breath. Yet, I feel the need to jump rope -- to find the beat, to whisper a poem to myself, to fly over that curly piece of tough whatever that thing is made of.
Or even just holding that weighted rubber would be nice.
But I am sick, and I am at my grandparents' house. So I could not jump rope -- even if I had my jump rope.

But I can still write That Silberhaus Kid and read Count of Monte Cristo, so it isn't too bad.

English Teacher

I don't like her much. I don't know if I've mentioned that here or not, but really. I don't.

Except, I did, for a few blissful moments on Friday right after she gave us our essay topic for our midterm exam. It's one of the greatest questions she could have possibly asked us over what we had learned this semester, because I can answer it so many different ways and support every single answer.
"Who do you think is most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Explain your response."
Traditionally, I would say the Nurse and Friar Lawrence, but for the sake of brevity, I decided to go just with Friar Lawrence.
I adore this topic. I can go on and on about it for hours. It's one of the very few things I like about Romeo and Juliet -- this, the prologue, the biting of the thumbs scene, and a couple of random quotes.
The reason I like it so much is that I don't like any of the characters, so I feel no shame in blaming any of them -- the parents, Friar Lawrence, the Nurse, Friar John, Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Benvolio, Tybalt, the servants, Rosaline, the apothecary...or even something abstract -- the feud, Romeo's "love" for Rosaline.

I think I could even blame the balcony. Or that ring that Juliet gave to Romeo.

Anyway, I temporarily loved my English teacher for giving us that topic. The rumor going around was that the topic was something about comic relief. Ick. This was much better.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Things I learned in 2008, one for each month:
I can write in French.
I can write in Spanish.
When you are given a life jacket, put it on.
Rejoice in your small victories.
Public school is not private school, and it is definitely not home school.
People don't know much about home schoolers.
The strangest things make you friends with a person.
Reading for fun is what is going to make me continue to enjoy reading.
NaNo is an even crazier mission than I thought.
Ask the seniors; they generally know what's going on.
I no longer have a buzzer phobia.
There are a lot of problems with the public school system.

I'm looking at those, and I realize that though I say there is one for each month of the year, most of these I learned within the past four months -- the four months of school that I have had. Actually, the only one not from those months is the first. That I learned in June.

I'm sure I learned something in the first half of the year, and I'm sure they were important lessons. Things like "you have to choose" and "working hard pays off" and "the unexpected that sounds bad can be the best possible thing to happen" and "goodbyes are hard but necessary." And -- oh yes -- "New can be good," in reference to the new NaNo regulars. But these past four months have been so interesting that 11 of my 12 had to come from there.

So, with that thought...
Merry Christmas, everyone.

3 Down...0 To Go?

It's true.
I finished.
Without NaNoing at all on the last day of the month.
WOOHOO!
Now this would be party time. *goes off to make lots and lots of donuts*

Oh wait, who needs donuts? I have Death by Chocolate from Rumpy's in Gainesville! *grins and goes off to eat more Death by Chocolate and other strudel delicacies*

Forums and 2 More Days!

My mother finds them strange and entertaining.
I was reading some of the topics and replies out loud to her...

For everyone who has not finished NaNoing yet -- you have two more days! You can still win!
(Oh. Right. That includes me. *grin*)

2 Down, 1800 Words To Go -- Plus a Pep Talk

As of last night, I have been the winner of my English NaNoWriMo novel, Memory.
So I have finished Memory and Mil Voces, leaving me with just Le Mouton to finish. I'm looking forward to finishing it. (Notice how confident I'm being? Notice? Notice? I have 1800 words to go. Uhuh...I did 1700 today plus I had to type up another 500...so that should mean less work tomorrow and Sunday, right? Oh yeah, but I have some homework to do. Oh well. I can finish that.)

And now for the pep talk, because I was inspired by the 25 or so that participants have gotten this November.

This is the 10th anniversary of NaNoWrimo, and Sunday will be the 10th anniversary of the Last Day of NaNoWriMo.
This was my 3rd NaNo, which, in comparison to some people, makes me fairly inexperienced.

But really, after 3 NaNos, I must know something, right? Maybe. At the very least, I know what I have learned.

1. I can write with or without an outline. I can write with or without any idea of where I am going. Thank goodness.
2. I can write good stories. And I can write bad stories. And I can write good parts in bad stories and bad parts in good stories.
3. Don't edit right after writing.
4. Don't edit while writing.
5. If you can't remember a character's name, give him/her another one. Let it be George, if you must.
6. The past participle of the verb dire is dit.
7. The past participle of the verb metrre is mis.
8. A series of short stories may be easier to write than a complete novel, but easier does not increase your chances of finishing.
9. November does not always cooperate. But then, sometimes it does.
10. Winning and finishing are both nice. Doing both is better, though doing both in November is not necessary.
11. Whether your word count bar shows it or not, in some ways everyone wins NaNo.
12. That means that in some ways, everyone loses too.
13. But despite all that, there is still an unlimited supply of virtual cookies available.

1 Down, 2 To Go

I just finished my Spanish novel with a word count somewhere between 3,137 (according to Word) and 3,145 (according to NaNo).

Which means I've finished 1 out of 3. The shortest one.
Now I get to write for the rest of the day and all of Wednesday and for about three hours on Thursday (on the way to my grandparents' house) on my French and English nanos. Plus off and on for about an hour Tuesday night at Bible study where one of the girls would be very angry with me if I wasn't writing and I hadn't won yet. She's really gotten into me doing this. Which is good. I like encouragement.

If I'm not finished by the time we get to my grandparents' on Thursday, then I guess I'll have time on Friday and some driving time on Saturday. But I really want to get done before that, because the website is atrociously slow on the 29th and 30th.

Off to write...

Academic Team

Yes, yes.

We had a competition yesterday. We found out about it on Thursday. Which was somewhat difficult. But we have now won three games all year. And lost...nine.
3-9. That would be winning 25% of our games.

We played four games in the round robin part...and we won one of them. Woo, 2nd game we've won this season! (not counting that game we won by forfeit)
Never mind that both of those wins were against the same team. That doesn't matter so much.

But anyway, we won one and lost three. One of the teams we played won all of their games. I'm not sure about the 3rd team we played. The first one we played lost all of their other games.

But, because the tiebreaker to get into the DEs (single elimination tournament...using the fencing term) was based on points and not head to head, we got into the tournament and that first one we lost to did not.

Then we lost again to the team that we had already played who had won all their games. Curiously, they're our rival in football. We beat them in football every year.
Well, they certainly made up for that yesterday.

Still Behind...But Less So

Well, now not only am I ahead by 255 words on my Spanish, I'm ahead by 141 words on my French.
Still behind by 3000 or so on that English...but hey. I see one of my NaNoing friends tonight, so at least I can tell her that I'm behind on me English, not one of my non maternal language ones. Besides, now I'll almost certainly be not as behind as she is.
I'm not sure how well this is going to work, though, because I'm refusing to sleep tomorrow night until I have 30,000 words. Except I don't refuse very well.

Behind

The title is probably an understatement.
So today I'm supposed to hit 28333.3 words on that English NaNo...I'm sitting at less than 25000.
Oh wait, I wrote during lunch today...I might actually be up to 25000 now. Yay!
But I'm behind by about 1000 words on my French NaNo.
I'm ahead by 255 words on the Spanish.

So, total, I'm behind by somewhere around 4000 words, but since I'm ahead by 255, that makes it slightly better.
Note that slightly. It's important.

I also have solutions for a math competition due next Monday, so for two days this week I'm officially abandoning NaNo. Just for two days, though. Really.
Besides, week two is always the hardest. And week two is OVER. Welcome in week three, where things get interesting again.

And the ideas are coming in and lightbulbs are coming on (unfortunately, I can't draw lightbulbs) and I'm making random charts all over the place that no one else seems to understand...but guess WHAT!
That's okay. When everyone stares at me, that's okay. I NaNoed during three of my six classes today, plus lunch, and I told one person about NaNo.
*goes to update stats sheet*

It has a lot of tally marks on it now...especially in the people I told about NaNo column and the early mornings column. Though compared to some people those mornings weren't that early.

Anyway...that was just a NaNo update.
I love November. NaNo, Thanksgiving, Nutcracker rehearsal (this year, that means marching a lot-- go soldiers!), my mom's birthday, heart of the Academic Team season, Advent getting close, winter trying to come or fall being nice (that winter one this year)...

Oh yeah. It's a great month. The best.

Guess What!

Okay, this is about that fine arts meet last Saturday.
We finally won our first game!
(Actually, it was technically the second game we had won, but that other one we won by forfeit. Cause the other team didn't show up. So yeah...no. This was our real triumph.)

It was our very first game of the day, and we dominated. Between me and another literature geek, we DID IT. (the other two kids on the team answered a couple of questions and really did well for us in the freakishly hard written round. But in the oral, it was all LG (literature geek) and me.)

After that, we proceeded to lose the other two games in our round robin and our first game in the single elimination bracket, in other words, our ONLY game in the single elimination bracket.
But hey. The team we beat ended up as the 4th seeded team, and the other two teams we played ended up 1st seeded and 2nd seeded. Since we were 7th (of...yes, that's right, 7), we had to go up against that 2nd seeded team...again. I don't remember which time we did better. It didn't really matter, cause we felt like total winners anyway. It was GREAT.

I mean, how can you not feel like winners after (a) getting up to be at school at 7:30 am, (b) realizing that because the bus barn is locked you have to smush together in a teacher's car and you also have to wait out in the cold and wind for said teacher, (c) you win your first game of the season, (d) you eat at Steak & Shake instead of delivery pizza, and (e) you laugh way too much?

OH yeah.

November 1st approaching...

In my time zone, NaNo begins in 7 hours and 12 minutes.
Whoa.

I also have a Fine Arts meet...which means I have to be back at school in 14 hours and 40 minutes, though I don't think the meet starts until 9:00 am.

Basically, I have two big events in my life to frantically prepare for tonight, which means I'll be ignoring those Chemical Equilibrium two column notes that I should probably be working on.

But it's worth it. Really. I mean, the day before NaNo and an Academic Meet? Who wants to do homework on that day?

Not me.

NaNoWriMo

It is October 25th.
A week from today is November 1st.

NaNo is only a week away!
I have five characters who need outlines, and I've only finished one of them.
I've only started on three others.
So that leaves Jeremy...the only things I know about him are that (a) he works with the other chars needing outlines and (b) he is attempting to write a science fiction novel.

I found out on Monday that one of my friends at fencing is also participating in NaNo! It's her first time, and she's frustrated because she has just figured out that in Chapter 33 she has to kill one of her favorite characters.
(She's overpreparing, by the way. She insists that everything she has is just a basic outline, and I believe her, but really.

First Academic Team Meet!

It's on Monday.
And then we have that Fine Arts meet on Saturday.

*has strong desire to rock the computation problems*
The only issue with that is that I make an abnormal number of mistakes. Usually with negative vs. positive, for some reason.
Oh well. Competition is different.
And I'm not the least experienced person on the team anymore! I'm only the second least experienced. (and there are four people on the team)
Yay.

And now I have to go watch the end of College Gameday, then do homework, do some USAMTS, and study for Academic Team.

Oh! Another thing about that!
We now have practice four times per week. *happy* That means that everyday except for Wednesday, I get to go hang out with two or three other kids and one/two teacher(s) for an hour. And answer trivia questions about everything -- from math to literature to vice presidents to mollusks.

(Yes, mollusks. There was a whole lightning round that we did on Thursday about mollusks! Honestly!)

Glory. I love this stuff.

Whoa.

So I wrote about the Bible study I'm doing, and I wrote about how it talked about pride and that I'd been thinking about pride.
Then I went to Elevate (youth group) last night, and guess what we talked about?

Well, okay, it wasn't pride. But we talked about loving people we dislike, even if they don't change. This also fits in with the rivalry thing that has been floating around in my head.
I'm hoping that with all this extra help coming from everywhere, I will get this figured out. Glory.

Bible study

The one the group of girls that I'm a part of (I don't really feel like a part of it, but I go, so it counts) is doing a study by Beth Moore called Stepping Up...and it's about the Psalms of Ascent.
That is, Psalms 120-134.

Of these, the only one that I was familiar with was Psalm 121. Yesterday and today the homework was about Psalm 131, which was really cool, though it was the shortest one. The first verse was especially interesting because it talks about pride, and I've been thinking about pride quite a bit, especially the type of pride that causes rivalries. I was involved in multiple rivalries last year during Mathcounts season, and since I'm no longer a Mathcounts participant I think about the competition differently now. I think a lot about those rivalries, especially the one that is still living.

My friend that goes to school with the person with whom I have this rivalry says that he was really mad when I did better than he did at State Mathcounts. I do not know if this is true -- she dislikes him more than I do. But it doesn't feel right to still have this rivalry, and since I have not seen this person since April and don't know if I'll ever see him again, it isn't exactly easy to end.

Have I mentioned that Fall Break feels like homeschooling?

You know, it really does. In a lot of ways. Procrastination especially.
So tomorrow I need to do Bible study and that chemistry that I neglected today. And I really need to get on NaNo!
But since I have nothing between lunch and 6:00, I'm good. Lunch occurs from about 11:00 to whenever we get home, which is usually 12:00 or before, so really. I promise. I'll be on.

And this time I won't procrastinate, just so that I can keep that promise.
Ah, November is getting close...
And I have an Academic Team competition on October 27th.
I also have one on November 1st, which is annoying because if I didn't, I could start writing at midnight. But no. I actually need to sleep that night. *makes face*

Fall Break!

I'm trying to get most or all of my homework done today, on the first day of fall break.
Ah, it is nice to feel homeschooled again, even if it's just for one day. I cannot explain how much I have missed waking up after both of my parents have left the house, alternating school work and the internet and other distractions, sneaking pieces of chocolate, eating lunch in front of a computer, being home alone for most of the day...

This is so amazing.
I suppose I should go write up my lab for chemistry now, since I have the lab to write up and those problems to do...though I can of course combine this homeschooled feeling with the public schooled feeling and take some of my chem in the car to jazz tonight, which is a new habit of mine.

Like I said, I should probably go write up that lab. But after I do, I'll go on NaNo. And I'll post.

Even though I haven't actually been writing much lately, I've felt like a writer. Is that weird? Is it the feeling or the words that make a writer?

I should be doing my Bible study...

...but I'm not.
It's actually a really good study, about the Psalms of Ascent. But I'm posting here because I didn't post yesterday.
Supper is almost ready...

25 Words that Connect Us

So I found this on another blog...www.successful-blog.com, I think.

I take
one handle -- You take
the other
Spin The Rope
one two three
Together, in time.
one two three.
Now the world can jump.

The idea is to, in 25 words, describe connectedness and other related themes.
That first try (October 11th) was 31 words.
The second try (October 12th) was 24 words.
The third try (October 13th) was 26 words.
The fourth try (October 14th) was actually 25 words! WOO!
Time to start revising it to hit 25! *happy*

Wow...

So I returned to NaNoWriMo yesterday after a 12 or so day absence.

Anyway, various informations about this blog. *glares at computer* Don't tell me informations isn't a word!

1. The Official Name of this blog is One Blue Jump Rope. This is the name because I love my jump rope very much. In August of 2007, the maestro of my fencing salle forced me to jump rope for ten minutes every time I went to fencing. I found it difficult at first, but slowly it became something I felt comfortable doing. One day, I could only find one jump rope and was surprised to find that it was weighted. After that, all ropes felt too light.
This led to my mother buying my precious Blue Jump Rope.
In February, I was headed to a math competition, and it was suggested that I take my jump rope to calm down between rounds. It worked to an astonishing extent. I was hooked, and since then I have not gone to a competition without my weighted Blue Jump Rope.

2. I am Hexadecimal, commonly called Hex, or I am numberdance, usually called #dance. I am a fencer, dancer, writer, math-doer, engineer, and roller coaster rider. I am also Christian. I have been, in my life, private schooled, homeschooled, and public schooled.

3. On this blog I will post various rantings, numerous stories from real life or not, elegant math solutions, and the beat of my jump rope.