Yay! No disasters occured to stop us, and we made it to Maui!

HighPoints:

• scuba diving with the nosefishes (which we later learned were actually called unicornfish... but I think nosefish suits it better. Unicornfish suggest elegance... nosefish suggest...however you would describe this dude. Trust me... they're even funnier looking in real life.)

• scuba diving with the hawksbill sea turtle we found...I'd hazard a guess that he was about a meter and a half long. Mom actually got scared of it and swam off becausehe "looked at me." Dadnamed him Howard. (We didn't see any Starfish, but if we did, Dad would have named it Ringo... free cookie if you get that joke right away (unlike me. Ooh, parentheses within parentheses!))
• being thouroughly embarassed while my parents insisted on buying me a lei and taking a bajillion pictures.
• watching my brother gracefully barf over the side of the restaurant after we both ate the same meal (I felt no ill affects whatsoever.)
• Teaching abovementioned brother how to tell the difference between male and female sharks at the aquarium
• chocolate coconut pie, and endless alcohol-free pina coladas
• boogie boarding at the beach...if you learn how to do it right, those things will carry you about 30 meters and dump you right back on saidbeach.
• It was WARM! There was SUN! I had forgotten about the concept of "warm", what with the recent weather...

Not exactly high points, but still smile-inducing in retrospect (why? No idea.)

• trying to sleep on an overnight flight back. Airplane seats are not ideal in comfort in this respect... and is it just me, or do planes become several degrees colder at night?
• Finding room in a mild state of uncleanliness... except for the dirty diaper that got left in my bathroom, which was a bit more than "mild"...
• Seeing a hungry Dad go insane after two nights of "disappointing food"... I was sure he was going to punch the waiter near the end... but he did scare pedestrians by yelling warnings at them as he walked out. (Dad, like sharks, must be kept well fed if you are concerned for the health of the surrounding animal life.)

Fun? Yup.

As some of you from the pre-xroads days may remember, I was supposed go to Hawaii last year, until my grandma died. (See post from a while ago, and bemoan the horror that is my little brother.) Well, it's a year later... and we're trying again!

As it stands right now, I only have one grandparent left who could possibly die and make us cancel the trip, and that seems unlikely due to the fact that she's happy, healthy, and too busy partying with her boyfriend in Las Vegas every now and again to think about dying on us (unless she gets eaten by a rabid slot machine). If you don't hear from me for about a week, it means that the rain finally cleared up and we finally got out of here. (If not...ARRRRGGGGHHHH! There is an anti-Hawaiian conspiracy in the palace!)

Speaking of little brothers, my little brother has since become my big brother. My FREAKIN' HUGE brother, actually. It can give me piggyback rides now, and often does so enthusiastically, in order to show off to its friends.

Him: Hi, guys! This is my sister... she's older than me!

Me: Yay! It's useful now!

And happilyCotTing again now that the second season is out!

In approximately three hours, I will be exactly sixteen years old. (No way to code that in a way Internet stalkers won't figure it out...oh well.) Luckily, so long as it's your birthday, they don't care if you technically aren't quite sixteen. They'll still let you take the driver's test!

So, I took the above mentioned test. After showing them my I.D., having my photo taken, and taking a vision test, I had to write the knowledge test. You need at least 80% to pass this test. They throw in several misleading questions, and in several, they give two or three right answers, and you have to guess which is the most right. It was difficult and confusing, and I had the feeling that I was getting too many wrong...but I passed! On the way home, my mom pulled over on our street and let me drive home. After proudly pasting my L sign on the car's rear and making sure I had the piece of paper that now serves as my license until they mail me my real one, I did so, slowly and cautiously, and noting with interest that you need more gas to go up hills. When we were about to turn into the driveway, my mom said, "put on the turn signal." So I flipped the turn signal on-no lights blinked, but the windshield wipers came on!

Some tips for people who are about to get their class 7L license:

• study like mad. Read the book from cover to cover, then take an online practice test. Repeat until you'd rather gouge your eyes out than read the effing book again.
• Bring something to do. There will be other people doing various things having to do with their license, and you will have to wait in line.
• Make sure you look presentable. The photo on your license will be constantly at your side for a year (if you live in BC).
• Allow your eyes to adjust to the machine when taking the vision test. You aren't going blind out of panic or anything-this is normal, and it will be okay in a few moments.
• If you do flunk your test-don't worry. Only half of the people taking the knowledge test pass the first time. I read the book three times and took six practice tests, and I still just barely scraped by. It's the most difficult test I've ever seen. If you make it past the first ten questions, you're doing fantastic! It's just that they want you to study this stuff until it's burned into your subconscious neuropatterns (the things you see when you squeeze your eyes shut really tight), because you're about to start operating something that, in the wrong hands, is essentially a large speeding projectile of metallic death. And...
• If you are taking your test right on your birthday, like I did, don't eat too much chocolate beforehand. The massive caffeine headache makes it a little harder to concentrate.

EDIT: I wrote this, then ran off for a few hours to discuss tommorow's birthday yarn crawl with my mom (see previous post for a hint of what that might mean), so by the time this was actually posted, I'd been sixteen for ten minutes. Hee hee...

I finished the sweater I knitted for my cousin! Yes!

But now I have to give it up... I worked on it for two months... and it turned out so nicely, and pretty... I never should have tried it on. It fits beautifully, and it's comfy to boot. I'm staying up late just so I have an excuse not to take it off and trade it in for pjs.

It's made in a mostly purl stitch, with vertical knitted dashes, and raglan shaping. I had to teach myself how to crochet a bit, too, for the keyholes in the neck and cuffs. I also worked over the raglan seaming in crochet, and it looks SO GOOD, considering I've never crocheted before. The bottom, neckline and cuffs are made of cotton-ooh, cotton!

If you understood anything I just said, you're a fellow knitter. I'm glad you exist- I don't know anyone else who knits; not even my grandmother since she and her boyfriend went to Vegas. I'm glad she's having fun.

Oh well. I'll make myself a sweater someday. Until then, I have to make some baby things for another cousin's son/daughter, who should be arriving in March. Goodbye, comfy keyhole sweater...have a good life in Vancouver... learn lots in college...

I just realized a fantastic use for blog entries. They serve as a fantastic journal, that no family member can access and no puppy can eat. Anyhow...

I got the results of the callbacks. I am a Junior Girlfriend. Wooo!

I knew I wasn't going to get a major role; not because I stink, but because there are several older and very talented girls. There aren't even enough main parts for all the older girls. It wouldn't be fair to them if some little 10thie got a part; this is the last musical they'll ever do.

Actually, I just tried out for main roles just to get experience for next year, when I actually can get a main role. I expected to just be part of the Chorus. Instead, I got a step up from there! I am officially very pleased with myself.

Well, rehearsals for Show+Dessert night have started. It's a fundraiser that the drama, band, and art departments all work together on to raise money for fine arts scholarships. This year, the acts are based on the nine muses of greek mythology-what a boon for me, the Class of the Titans fan! Hence the name- Inspired aMUSEments. I get to switch back and forth between playing two very large instuments in the band- within 2 seconds. Fun, or a pain in the neck? I may never know...

And speaking of muses... I love their names. One girl who's experienced at ballet did a dance for Terpsichore, muse of dance. She was excellent...Terpsichore would have been proud.

I'm actually considering naming one of my daughters Terpsichore one day, although I'd probably just call her Terri sothe kids at school wouldn't tease her for having a weird name. It'd be fun if she asks what she's named after... I'd tell her to look it up herself and laugh at her look of surprise when she found out...

I probably won't name her that, though. I think it's just an impulse brought on by an awesome theatre performance, and my current love of greek mythology. We'll see. It is a nice name, though...

Other muses:

Calliope: Epic song

Euterpe: Lyric song

Clio:History

Erato: Love poetry

Melpomene:Tragedy

Polyhymnia:Sacred song

Terpsichore!: Dance

Thalia: Comedy

Urania: Astronomy

Hmmm... I guess I am doing blog posts. But only when something uberexciting is happening.

This year, our drama department is doing "The Boyfriend," a spoof of all the happy little tap-dancing musicals that came out after WWI. It's set on the Rivera in the 1920's. This year, I tried out for three parts. I got callbacks for two! I was so shocked, because the main roles almost always go to 11th and 12th graders because they won't be around much longer, and I'm only a 10thie. I don't think I'll actually get the parts, because I'm still up against older girls. They'd probably only give me the part if I acted so well it made them want to send me to Broadway. Still, there's a chance!

I'm being called back for:

Madame Dubonnet, the headmistress of the finishing school whomeets the father of her favorite student and realizes thathe is her "petitPercy",who she met while he was in the army. She has fun rekindling her relationship with him. I also have

Lady Brockhurst, an sternish English lady who has to keep her eye on her husband, who loves the "scenery" on the beach that consists mostly of girls in bathing suits. (I get to go "HUBERT? HYOOOOO-BEEEERT! Where are you?" in a really stuffy old English lady accent! I't so fun!)

This actually happened to me. I kid you not.

I everyone gets a week off in BC for remembrance day. For fall break, my family and I were going to Hawaii. We'd booked the flight, rented the car, even tanned ourselves up.

Three days before we left, my grandma died.

Instead of going to Hawaii, we went to a funeral. For those who've never been to a funeral, I'll sum it up in one word :boring.Very, very boring.

I sat there for three hours while my parents talked to people I'd never seen before and will never see again. My brother was just as bored as I was. Unlike me, however, if he gets bored, he doesn't sit quietly with a glazed look in his eye; he tries to annoy me instead.

(Punch in arm) I'm not touching you! (Another punch) I'm not touching you! (Pokes me in head) I'm still not touching you!

In hindsight, I really should have drop-kicked him across the hall and said, "I'm not touching you either."

I remind you, this went on for Three Hours.

This has got to be the worst thing that's ever happened to me, which shows that I lead a very happy life. There are tons of worse things in life than a cancelled vacation and a boring funeral.