Today was a day for little victories and little failures -- everything in moderation. It's strange how life sometimes works that way. Typically on a day like today, my mood fluctuates between disappointed and mildly pleased, usually settling about now for a not-so-happy medium of depression and blahness. Surprisingly, I'm feeling rather contented, despite the rather unproductive flatness that hung about today.

Little Failure No. 1:
I didn't get to bed quite as early as I would have liked last night (tonight is looking to be about as bad), which meant that I slept later than I would have wanted to. Sarah came in around 11:00 and said that I should get up so that we could go to the barn. I determined to do so, but then I decided to stare at the ceiling while I created a mental schedule for the day, and that was a mistake because it left me still prone in my warm and comfortable bed. Beds are so very nice to fall asleep in, aren't they?
It was about 12:00 the next time Sarah came in. I dragged myself out of bed (having, of course, totally forgotten the schedule I had set), threw on some clothes, and headed out to the barn, ready to ride.

Little Failure No. 2:
I didn't ride.

Little Victory No. 1:
We went out to lunch at Applebee's instead.

Little Victory No. 2:
I did not say anything snide or reproachful to Jan, even though I wanted to. Just because you are old and crabby does not mean you are allowed to be mean to service people. They are just trying to do their jobs. When they make a mistake, they are not trying to deliberately offend you. They are really sorry about it, too. I should know. I am one! When I get a customer like Jan at Starbucks, I am sad about it for a long time afterwards. And we make mean remarks about customers like that, too. Sometimes we do funny impersonations. Well, wouldn't you?

Little Victory No. 3:
We went to T.J. Maxx after lunch and I tried on a bunch of stuff. Most of it didn't work out, but I got a new pair of jeans for $16.99. Actually, Mom paid for them, even though I have been a Legal Adult for almost a month.

Little Victory No. 4:
Mom and I went to the barn after we got home. Whiskey was a little annoyed because the horses were going out when we arrived, and he had to stay in. But I won him over. After I brushed him I went out and longed him for a while. I made him go over the ground poles even though he didn't want to. (This is more impressive than it sounds. Most avoid the ground poles by going short.)

Little Failure No. 3:
I still didn't ride.

Little Victory No. 5:
Mom and I went to the mall while Sarah was at agility. I tried on sundresses at a couple stores and bought one at Belk's. It was only $24.99. Actually, Mom paid for it, even though I have been a Legal Adult for almost a month.

Little Victory No. 6:
We met Sarah at Outback for dinner. I changed into my new dress in the car in the parking lot because I was bored of my old one.

Little Victory No. 7:
Mom asked the waiter about this white peach sangria that Jan keeps going on about, which we were confused about because we didn't think Outback served a white peach sangria. The waiter said, "We don't have a white peach sangria."

Little Victory No. 8:
I told Sarah a lot of Interesting Information that she will need to know as a future Starbucks partner. Like how to do a lobby sweep. And other cool stuff.

Little Failure No. 4:
It was not very interesting dinner conversation.

Little Failure No. 5:
When we went to Starbucks after dinner, the barista didn't double-cup my short steamer. Even though you are so obviously supposed to do that with ALL SHORT DRINKS because the sleeves don't fit. But whatever.

Little Victory No. 9:
I decided to write a journal entry. This is an accomplishment since I haven't written one in a really long time, even though it is really boring.

Little Failure No. 6:
I am probably not going to get to bed any earlier tonight than I did last night.

Little Failure No. 7:
I totally forgot that I was supposed to call Beth today until just now.

Little Victories No.s 10, 11, and 12:
I have a lot to look forward to this week. I don't have to work again until Saturday, which means I can stay in Blacksburg until Friday morning. Then we're going to the Carbon Leaf/Pat McGee Band concert at Wolftrap on Friday night. And as of yesterday, I don't have to go to work at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning like I was scheduled to do. I'm working 2:00 to close instead, which also gives me a few extra hours. Also, the shift, Tim, requested me for closing because I'm awesome. :)

BREAKING NEWS: DC to be safe again at last! :)

dance dance dance

School's been in session for three weeks. Nineteen days, actually.

So why does it feel like it's been six years since Labor Day?

And incidentally, in echo to Anna's entry, isn't senior year supposed to rock?

Maybe that pleasure's reserved for people who didn't take five AP classes, who aren't having friend drama, who have time for luxuries like sleeping and eating, and whose marching band isn't staffed mostly by people who don't know what they're doing and lead by certain student leaders who, quite frankly, belong in a mental institution.

Monday comes too soon.

Prom was so much fun. :)

The DJ sucked yet again, but I was too busy having a good time to care.

I was really tired at after-prom, though. But I thought they did a really good job of organizing everything this year.

I hope the pictures turn out well. ;)

In other news, I am SO over school. Why does the end of the year always drag out so PAINFULLY? I am going to make a list to vent my frustration:

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING MY LIFE MISERABLE A LA MOMENT:
1) I'm still tired from staying up all night on prom and can't seem to get enough sleep.
2) Binky was getting better, but now he's getting worse again. I'm now blasting him with Maracyn, Maracyn-2, Maracide and Melafix. You'd think all that would cure whatever it is he's got, wouldn't you?
3) I am a horrible person and forgot to tell Sarah about the orchestra concert, which is tonight. Just ask the people to whom I was complaining about it all day today. Sorry, Sarah.
4) I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach about next year's student leadership in band. Need I say more?
5) I am a horrible person and still have not called Perazzoli.
6) I have two relatively huge projects due at the end of the week, one of which I have not started and the other of which is far from completion.
7) THERE ARE STILL TEN DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL.

On a brighter note, I made a new icon! ::points:: It cheers me up somewhat, being all Daniel Powter and awesome and everything.

:)

"After all, what Moussaoui's defense team is essentially alleging is that Moussaoui is not as morally culpable as he might otherwise be, because poor Muslim immigrants are not capable of controlling their rage. It is a profoundly anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant position. The abuse excuse is always a two-edged sword: It might help a particular defendant, but it is bad for the groups to which that defendant belongs, and it is bad for the society that loses the capacity to demand personal accountability from all its members."
--Slate

Hmm.

In other news, VAUGHN IS ALIVE!!!
::dances::

And hey, less than two more months of school!

Life is good.

I'M SO BORED.

AND MY STOMACH HURTS. MAYBE I SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD THAT LAST LATTE.

WHY DID MY TEACHERS GIVE ME SO MUCH CRAP TO DO OVER SPRING BREAK?

AND BY THE WAY, OTANI, I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT I FEEL VERY ILL-PREPARED FOR THE AP LANG AND COMPOSITION EXAM. UNLESS, OF COURSE, THEY ASK ME TO DESIGN MY VERY OWN MEDIA CAMPAIGN. END RANT.

Oh, wait. Not end rant. Pet peeve alert -- why do people use the phrase, "No offense" or any of its slimy siblings? IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CAUSE OFFENSE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. IF YOU DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE CAUSING OFFENSE, DON'T TRY TO PRETEND YOU DO. Too many people say "no offense" as an easy way of being abrasive -- but in moderation, so it's okay! Not. Either be a man about doling out criticism or RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN PATHETIC FEAR OF CAUSING OFFENSE!

I am basking in unproductivity.

Well, actually, that's not true. Today I:
1) Cleaned the house.
2) Got about two hundred POUNDS of winter hair off of Whiskey.
3) Rode.
4) Made two LiveJournal icons.
5) Wrote this entry.

But I am basking in school-related unproductivity. Which I am enjoying. Hence the basking.

I'm not even sure I know what I'm doing for half my assignments. But this is failing to worry me, because I have... six whole more days to do them. ::sigh:: Actually, knowing me, I'll probably end up doing them Sunday night.

Tim's coming tomorrow night to re-shoe Whiskey, since the horse who never loses shoes decided to start now, when I'm here to ride for once. Today's ride was pretty unbalanced. ;)

Twenty-three minutes until freedom.

It's kind of nice when McCullock isn't here. We've got Mr. Cool Sub whose name I don't know but who doesn't seem to care that nobody's doing anything except mess around on the internet. ;)

::dances::

Jill Carroll released!

Raise your hand if you hate Paris Hilton.

Seriously.

We used to drive this blue ridge laughing...

Friday nights are the best times in life, when the stress of the week starts to unwind and with nothing but a blissfully unproductive three-day weekend to look forward to.

Of course, the day didn't start well. I had lots of things going on in school -- black days are so much work -- and I've been running increasingly short on sleep all week. At least I had the prospect of the weekend to get me through... I don't think I would have survived if it hadn't been Friday. And then almost the first thing my mom said to me when I got home was: "I need you to straighten up Sarah's room." Cue teenaged surliness.

And my dreams just grew back to normal-sized...

I'm going to go play Final Fantasy VII in bed and listen to Ben Lee. Someone needs to call me tomorrow so we can figure out movie times! :)

I had something of a revelation yesterday, when I was depressed about being depressed on a sunny Friday. Last weekend, when I was in Blacksburg, I was riding and sort of feeling like it wasn't going to be a great ride, and I suddenly realized, "This ride can be as good as I want it to be." And it was totally true -- I set my mind on it and I ended up having a great ride.

Well, yesterday I realized that that applies to life in general. Every day can be as good as you make it. It's part of taking control of your life, of taking hold of that gun and learning how to pull the trigger so that each night you can sleep with the knowledge that YOU are in control. It's part of "No one can make you feel bad without your consent." Life can't get you down -- unless you let it.

It's probably something that's been obvious to everyone else -- but it's a big wow moment for me. I know, I know... blonde. Shut up.

This ride can be as good as you want it to be.

CARBON LEAF IS COMING TO TECH. <3<3<3 I AM SO THERE. YOU PEOPLE SHOULD ALL COME TOO.

SAYS IT ALL, REALLY.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
--Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

( do you thumb your nose at me, sir? )

"...And likewise it seems kind of silly to exhort you to look, if you should suddenly start receiving mysterious letters of courtship, for possible inkstains on the fingers of the fellow you quarrel with the most."
--Crown Duel (Sherwood Smith)

( because otherwise I'll have to do history homework... )

In other news, my iPod is (sort of) broken! And my Districts audition was, frankly, dreadful. And I'm sick. Even I know when optimism is no longer logical. ::sigh::

It's FRIDAY!

You scored as El Zorro. Zorro is the bane of the corrupt officials of Old California, a Spanish Robin Hood, a cavalier caballero who robs from the rich, gives to the poor, and always leaves his trademark "Z" behind as a reminder that when the people need him, he will always appear on his black stallion. </td> El Zorro 96% Maximus 63% William Wallace 54% Batman, the Dark Knight 54% Indiana Jones 46% Captain Jack Sparrow 46% James Bond, Agent 007 29% The Terminator 21% Lara Croft 21% The Amazing Spider-Man 8% Neo, the "One" 0% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Yay!

...okay, so I was trying really hard to be Zorro. But the picture makes me happy. Anyone who has not yet seen The Legend of Zorro should drop everything and run out to his nearest movie theater, because it is amazing. But you should watch The Mask of Zorro first. Otherwise it would just be confusing.

I had my third driving lesson today. I always dread them, even though they're really not that bad. Had to go on Fox Mill again today--::shudder::. And I missed rehearsal to go, too, 'cause I signed up for the lesson before I knew about rehearsal. So I missed working on Phantom... -__- Oh well, we'll probably play it at least twice more before the concert. When Bergman lets you play popular music, you really know it's of a pretty high caliber.

NaNoWriMo progress--
Just copy and paste the following into your signature or html:

2,396 / 50,000 (4.8%)

Hey, at least there is progress. However slight.

Maybe I'll get there by next May... ;)