First Day of 8th, Last Year at OMS

Please Note: I have not had a chance to update the blog in a few weeks due to the fact that there was a bit of an issue: school.  So bear with me.

I missed the bus.  Plain and simple the worst way to start your first day.  Fortunatly, I managed to make it to school on time.  The first day always consists of listening to pep-talks (lectures) by faculty, getting your cluster, sitting for three hours in home room, and filling out piles of paperwork.  This does not make a good first impression, especially for the 6th graders.  Now, if you’re in 8th grade, you’ve made it.  You’re the biggest and baddest in theyou are school during your 8th grade year.  Then, you are abruptly dumped into highschool, to be the young ones again for the next three years.  Do we think about this though?  No, not until the last week of school at least, just in time to spoil the summer. Another boring First Day activity is taking your math assesement.  You are given and hour and a half to complete 6 problems.  Needless to say, it took me all of 6 minutes to complete them.  Then, another hour and 24 minutes to spare, with nothing to do.  Fun.  The only good thing about the 1st day is that all of the 8th graders get to have lunch together.  So now I’ve made it through my first whole week.   It’s not bad, except for the 4 HOURS OF TEDIOUS HOMEWORK A NIGHT!  But I will learn to deal with that.  And supplies?  Binders and notebooks for each subject, a folder for each binder, pencils, pens, markers, GAH! I don’t even want to talk about it.  So, I won’t.  In fact, I’m going to go busy myself by watching the Emmy’s (as there is nothing else on).  And, of course, wonder why, oh why, Ryan is wearing cowboy boots (it’s cause he’s short).

Smiting Humans 101

The number 1 way for someone up there to smite us humble humans is to make the temperature soar to a stiflingly hot 100 degrees.  In fact, the other day, the temperature was a mind-numbing 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit.  At temperatures this high, the tar on the streets melts and sticks to your $65 BMX shoes.  Then, you track it inside, and it ruins your floors, incurring that wrath of your parents.  Another thing the heat does is soften any gum that is on the sidewalk (but what kind of loser spits gum out on the sidewalk anyway?).  That way, it too gets stuck to the bottom of your $65 BMX shoes.  This happened today to one of my friends.  He got gum on the bottom of his shoe, which in turn transferred it to his board.  We took it back to my house, where we successfully removed the gum from his skateboard, but we were unsure about how to do so with the shoe.  We ended up using my belt sander to remove the gum and a layer of rubber from the bottom of his shoe.  Success!  Another result of the heat is laziness.  While I was up at the center today, a woman called 911 because she was having a baby.  The fire fighters and EMT’s drove the 50 feet to the center from the station.  They could have walked there in half the time.  Then again, they were a little late getting out, as they were in the middle of grilling up a nice steak or five, but that is off topic.  So whenever the next heatwave hits, avoid sidewalks (might have gum), and streets (might have wet tar).  Also avoid culinary obsessed EMT’s, and crabby pregnant women.  On second thought, don’t even leave your house.  It’s not like you have anything to do with your summer anyway…

Maximum Security……Daycare?

I was sitting in the local laundromat the other day (yes, the laundromat.  It’s spring, and you are going next Sunday so shut up.) observing the world, when I noticed that the church next to the laundromat runs a maximum security prison, er, daycare.  There is this little playground fenced in with heavy duty chainlink fence, and for every one kid out there, two teachers are present.  When these kids go on walks, they are put on leashes.  When they go for rides in the strollers, each child is required to wear a 5-point locking racing harnesses.  There has been one lapse in security, however.  A woman (hopefully the mother), left with a little boy (hopefully her son).  One of the teachers had to chase the woman down the street to get her to come back.  Surprisingly, even after all of these safety precautions, the kids seem quite happy.  They are all having fun.  This raises the question, do inmates at a maximum security jail have this much fun?  And I suppose they do.  They harass eachother on a daily basis and work on making shivs out of razors and toothbrushes.  So, in hindsight, yes, maximum security institutions can be regarded as fun.  But don’t go trying to get in one.  We are talking about jail and daycare, neither of which are appropriat places for anyone from the ages of 7-21 years of age.  Remeber that, and if you don’t, you might find yourself in a maximum security daycare (a.k.a prison for the minor leagues).

Did I Say Public Affection Was Okay? I Meant No Way!

Yes, we have all seen them.  That one couple that always has to lay around on each other kissing in the middle of everything.  Now, my views on this are that it is okay, but only in your house or a pool cabana.  Just don’t let anyone see you.  Ever.  This leads into another topic of discussion.

Public Lounging

Too many teenagers think that it is cool and okay to hang out in public areas such as Arlington Center.  Since this has caused some problems in the past involving the police, the ‘popo’ (hip, teenage slang for police) have stationed a patrol car there to keep an eye on things.  The fact that they are doing this is making some of the local teens unhappy.  They claim the police have no right to do that.  This is a quote from a local dude (the original definition of dude was, “a dud with an attitude).

“Them popo don’t got no right sittin’ there and watchin’ us like we is some convicts.  We ain’t done nothin’ wrong.”

This is an actual quote.  This is also completely untrue.  Use this equation to decide for yourself…

T=Teenager;  D=Drugs;  P=Police;  A=Arrest

(T+D=A)=P

Think about it.  Really, do.