31/31

Done for March!

Today is the last day of the March SOL challenge. There is a lot I could write, but this is my last one for March 2014. Over the past thirty one days, I have challenged my self in time management, and of course different ways of writing.
Memoirs, reading blogs, and SOL entries alike were written everyday for all of March. My inspiration was my vast catalog of pictures on my computer and some from close friends. Most of the time I talked about vacation experiences, but as I got later into the slices I chose to put variation in my blog by just free writing about small things.

Also I would choose some things from past experiences but later I posted from that day and found the little things that I could slice about. Some days it was a nuisance that I had to blog and comment, and other times it was a way of escaping the things around me. It was a stress reliever. If something was bothering me I would sit down and let it out onto the page. Most of the time I deleted it when I was done, but it was a good way to calm down and let my emotions out. SOL's were really neat because you would take time out of your day and just write. I could be about anything, and my different posts were interesting to compare.
Some of my friends might think I am crazy about loving this assignment, but it was really fun in actuality. There is so much I could write for this last post, but nothing spectacular stood out. My fingers hit the keys as I say goodbye to the SOL. It isn't the end for them, just for the challenge and the ones in March.

photo credit: http://www.elkriver.k12.mn.us/webpages/weatherford/photos/33198/Writing21.jpg
 

30/31

I woke this morning over heating. It is normal for Florida, but I have to adjust to the heat. It is late morning already, but my eyes are still heavy so I have to practically drag myself out of bed. The humidity is over whelming and soaks down to the bone. I grab a quick breakfast, and hop in my aunt's car to go to a local park in Miami. My family and I have always gone to Florida for at least one break and we always have fun. Ever since I was little, I loved climbing Banyon trees with my family. The branches and trunks are intertwined, which is a natural playground for small kids.

Later we headed out to Tampa. On the way we had to stop to buy Pastalitos, which are the most amazing cuban pastry. They are a flaky danish about eight inches long, that is covered in a thin layer of sugar. The inside can be filled with a variety of things such as guava and cheese, but my favorite is just cheese. The car pulls up to La Palma and as we walk up, we both agree that I have to order in spanish. "Cuatro pastalitos con queso pro favor." She just nods and pulls the out with tongs and places them in a paper bag. "Llevar?" she asks have smiling. Mom asks if she speaks english but she just shakes her head and says no. I don't know if I completely believed her because as we left she said "goodbye."I laughed a little and pulled out the first pastalito and hopped in the car. My first bite isn't filled with thick cheese, but it was sweet and flaky which was still delicious.

29/31

I say goodbye to my dad, and grab the suitcase. My mom, my sister, and I walked into the airport to fly to Florida for our short week of spring break. Today happened to be my little cousin's second birthday and we would go visit them later, but for now I needed to get through the day. We get through security, and jump on the train to get to gate C49. Once we are there we leave my eight-year old sister with the luggage while my mom and I get food for the plane ride. I take a twenty from her and head over to La Casita for tacos, and she heads over to some healthy place. We meet up at McDonald's and grab Hannah's lunch then head back to the gate.

As we approach people are lined up at the posts, and we panic. "Mom, they are boarding." Both of our faces turn pale as we race to make the plane and grab Hannah. She isn't at the place where we left her, and we look up at the sign. It says Washington and we relax because it isn't our flight. "Wait, if it isn't our flight, we went to the wrong end!" Mom yelled. She checks her watch and we only have five minutes. We race across the airport with tacos, salad, and McDonald's in our hand trying to make out flight. Gate C49 hangs above our head as we speed walk over to the back. Hannah is still there with her headphones on playing on her I-Touch, completely un-aware of what was happening. I practically pick her up and grab my suitcase as they were boarding A. "Mom, what number are we?" I ask worrying a little. "A49, so we have a little time." I can breath now but nothing has ended. Finally, we sit down in our seats and I pick up SkyMall. My heart is still racing, but I try to relax and look at the strange pictures of inventions that SkyMall has to offer. The plane starts to pick up speed and we take off. I can relax for a couple of hours but then I have to help my mom get across Florida.

28/31

Personally my favorite color is blue or turquoise. My friend Julia hates the color blue. Really hates it. lately she has been going on about variations of blue, that are not actually blue. If she points to navy blue, it is actually "navy green." This is the same with all kinds of blue, blank green. I love that color but she tells me that it is too mainstream and that everyone loves blue. I can't really disagree with that because blue is mainstream. Everyone loves the color blue, so she decided not to. Blue is a soothing color for example it is the color of the ocean. It is a calming place, and a calming color. It is also the color of the sky. When I get stressed or annoyed sometimes, I would look up into the blue sky. The clouds would pass by, but it is still relaxing because it is blue. Some people don't like blue, I guess that is alright. I have to except people, and they should except me.

photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy9DOi3x6bSUuT1KIhRdSBOTADH963GnEod5Et636hac-T09puk4R_uVYq6k9FxQxqCL1zpw8aCTos7v6Vbv0382v3m0gjV0ND3LlwaKXA9zWEGHa1X-LdZGiZHBpl1hSqizTRce2lpE/s1600/blue+sky+ocean+(9).jpg

27/31

Why did I have to wear Uggs today? The one day of winter/spring they are not useful I decide to wear them. The hike up "Castle rock" (not really castle rock but another one that looks like it) was easy at first, and then it got steeper. Every now and then I would look back and the busses would look a lot smaller. It didn't seem that we walked that far, but from the bottom looking up, it was a long way. The trail didn't take that long but when we were at the end, I didn't know how much my shoes could take. Most of my steps were shaky and my feet felt like they were going to slip out from under me. Uggs have no traction and are definitely not ideal for hiking up a small mountain.

The wind blew really hard at the top, and it made it really hard to eat my yogurt. As people were finishing up lunch, others got up to play sardines and camouflage. "...29, 30. Ready or not here we come!" We were playing in a dessert like area so there weren't many hiding places. All of us ran at once, and who ever go to the person last lost. I needed to reach the other side and beat the last person, and I willed every step to be flat and stable. Small rocks were in the path which were awful for shoes without traction. I see her behind the bush and, second! I am safe and my shoes are fine.

The last part of the hike was about 20 cement steps up to the top of the plateau, and then we would get a great view. All around me there were mountains, and large objects that were small from where I was. We weren't supposed to get too close for safety reasons, but we were allowed to lay down at the very edge if we wanted to. I chose the farthest corner that over looks a big street and a river. It was really peaceful at first, and then three more people sat down next to me. I didn't mind, I just sat there and watched the cars pass by. Of course when you are up high you have to spit over the edge, and watch it fall. It is just something you have to do. I carefully lean over and spit, and watch it hit a rock at the bottom. Abby saw this and wanted to do it too. She leaned over ready to spit. I was about to tell her to wait until after the wind stopped, but it was too late. She spat and the wind blew it right into my face. We both laughed as I took my hand and wiped what ever I could onto her sleeve and heard her squeal as she backed away. Day trips were fun, and this one wasn't even over.

26/31

The last day of matrix was very satisfying to me. My first period class was Magic 2 and it was a performance oriented class. For those of you that don't know have really bad stage freight. Tuesday the 26th came too soon, and I was left un-prepared in front of forty people. The act was split into three parts because I did the act with Haley R. and Lydia Loof so I didn't have to do as much. It wasn't trying to get out of doing the work, it was more needing someone else there to help me with my stage freight. My first part was to mention the fact we only had one scarf, and invite Vaughn to come help us get a new one. My next part was to un-do the scarfs that were tied together, but somehow "magically" they were still tied just not to each other. Everyone's eyes were on me because this was the last part of the trick, and the hardest but easiest to mess up. I just looked at what I was doing instead of at the audience and the next thing I know there is applause and I am sitting back down. A heavy sigh escapes my mouth, and I realize I am only 1/3 of the way done with my matrixes for the day.

In the hall people kept telling me what a great job I did, so I said thanks and kept walking trying to forget about the performance. I put down my winter jacket in the art room, grab a smock, and sit down with my printing folder. Today is the last day, so we all have to exchange prints. I printed eleven copies of one of my prints and signed them to give out. It was kind of relaxing, because I had to stamp each one and the sequence was kind soothing actually. The black roller glided over my small stamp, which was pressed against the paper. Over and over again, I was sort of lost in process. By the end of class my hands are stained with ink from this print, and a few other ones. I'm glad the class is over, but at the same time I wish I had more time.

25/31-Book blog

This week I read Lunch Box Dream by Tony Abbott. It was a quick with around 200 pages, but really well written read and I am glad I read it. Some people say that the story didn't pull together, but I liked it. The main character is named Bobby, and he has an older brother and a mother. They all go on a trip which starts as dropping their grandmother off in her car. The plan was to look at Civil War cites (which Bobby and his brother loved) and then fly back home on their first airplane ride. There are some plot twists that make them end their trip early, but it turned out alright in the end. This book also looks at racism and segregation, which was really neat and interesting coming from different perspectives. It is more or less a reality fiction book. It was based in the 20th century when segregation was happening, and it goes into a lot about that subject. I really liked this book while others may not, and I think anyone could read it in our class or in AS. I hope you take my suggestion and read it!

Photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQvINcwYobMgTN3OQzOPeY3Wcy0bO-xHS1ItDDmPerMaXJN4c89Y1KXWPh9SgoUG1g_MvehKyR4Hy9O_kB92fQ6QgnU7U5n95oKkJIlkLsdkBER_GzP8xDZ2bUcPob7F9kh0oVgEy9CM/s1600/abbott%20lunch.jpg