What a show

Well, the school variety show was last night. And what a show it was.

But during school, I had almost forgotten that it was the day of an A Honor Roll pizza party. I couldn't believe how soon it was. (The last one was last month.) They had pizza and soda for all (I had two slices and a regular Coke), and the best part was, the principal didn't ramble on too much like he always does.

I didn't go home after school, as I had heard that we were going to be practicing right up till showtime. Well, we actually didn't practice much. Instead we just sat around and generally loafed. Some people might have practiced (some of the dancers never took a break, it seemed), but myself and the people I hung out with generally loafed around until the show. Ms. Perlowski, the teacher in charge of the production, bought pizza for us (I decided to have another slice).

In the hour or so before show was to begin (at 7:00), we were in the band room (in the auditorium, behind the stage) practicing our acts. Well, I wasn't, because I had set my guitar backstage already. I didn't even really have anyone to hang out with, as my partner, Andrew, was working in the sound booth and serving as the assistant director of the show. So I paced madly. (Okay, I wandered aimlessly, but madly nonetheless.) I get nervous easily, I guess. I was really nervous because I had only recently learned the song ("Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton) I was going to play with him.

Finally I got on, and he met me backstage a few acts before ours. We set up our amps and everything. I had started to cool down, but playing for an empty room is much different from playing for a real audience. We worked out that Andrew would do most of the talking when introducing the song (I would limit myself to "Hi.") He was going to say, "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Andrew, and for those of you who do know me, I'm Andrew."

Only when the curtain opened did I realize that the house was packed. Andrew delivered his joke but did it so passively that I thought no one heard. Then he began to play the opening lick, but something was wrong. His guitar was way too quiet. He didn't know how it could happen; someone must have messed with the amp. My guitar ended up overpowering his, and even though he told me during the song to turn it down, I didn't have the opportunity to turn it down much. I tried to play more softly, but then I would risk the pick slipping out of my sweaty fingers. So I was alternating between playing more quietly and holding onto the pick. Audience members later said that they could hear his guitar, but that mine was louder.

Initial reports (i.e., acts that had gone before us) had said that the crowd was tough and that there were hecklers in the front. If there were, they didn't really bother us. During the song, which was nice and slow, some people waved their cell phones, which I thought was pretty funny. When we were done with it, I began hearing chanting from the audience: "Jordon! Jordon! Jordon!" I didn't sing at all; I wasn't even playing the lead. It was the weirdest thing. I was wondering who did it, because I couldn't really see; the lights were too bright.

I felt a lot better as I got back in the band room. I stayed there for a while, until I meandered out near an entrance of the building. I was waving at a security camera (a fun little thing I like to do) when someone saw me through the clear glass doors and waved back. I realized that it was a girl from my English class. I went out to say hi, and she said that I was great, etc., etc. I asked if she was the one who started chanting my name. She said yeah. I figured.

Over time, people kept disappearing after their acts went on. They shouldn't have left, I figured. They couldn't. We were all supposed to go on at the end for a big dance number. I realized a lot of them were standing next to the stage (off to the side), watching the acts. The third to last act was a doozy. Apparently, at last year's show, some students made fun of the teachers. So the teachers got back this year by doing a skit where Ms. Perlowski played herself and some of the teachers played dumb, ignorant students. Even the principal got in on it; he slept at his desk most of the time.

The second to last act featured the great Sal singing "I Will Survive." Sal is one of those kind of dense but really funny types. He's also a real ham. I'd say his act was the highlight of the show.

The last act was some Hispanic girls dancing. When they went off, the music continued and all of the cast came on and started dancing. Then the crew (including Andrew) came on. And I think some audience members snuck onstage as well. It was a bit crowded up there. A few people tried to start moshing, knocking down some lights in the process. Then the curtain closed, and that was it.

I've got to rest up tonight, because tomorrow morning I'm going to a math competition at FAU. My geometry teacher from last semester asked me to be in it, and seeing that there were large cash prizes, I decided to go for it. I know I won't have a chance, but she seemed so happy when I said I'd do it. Probably because I turned down the last competition she asked me to be in; that was about a month ago. I'll be in it with my friend Mark, who's a real math genius. (The teacher actually told me that if Mark couldn't go, she wouldn't bother going either.)

After that I'm going to Mark's for a card tournament. That'll be so late at night that I probably won't even go home. So I'll pretty much be out all day tomorrow. It should be fun.

Hey everybody, I finally got Skype. Today I tried plugging in a headset to use for this internet telephony program, but now I know why not everyone uses Skype yet: PC audio is a freakin' nightmare! My dad ended up plugging it in the right way, so I'm good to go for some PC-to-PC conversations. I realized when I first logged in that I have nobody to talk to! My Skype name is fanofthefabfour, if you want to talk. I seem to have absolutely nil free time lately, though.

Like ligers? I bet you do. They are indeed real. Read about -- and see -- some more cross-breed animals.

Variety show

It's been a very busy week; I've hardly had time to blog. (I have 10 minutes to write this post.) That's mostly because I've been at rehearsals for the aforementioned school variety show, in which I'm playing the guitar. The show is tomorrow night at 7:00, but I won't be leaving school beforehand, so I'll pretty much be at school from 6:45 A.M. to, say, 10:00 P.M. Yay. I've pretty much got the song down (it's "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton). It should be good, considering I'm not singing anything.

Let's fly through some Ask Jordons!

bobbijo: how much is a red sealed 5 dollar bill from 1953 series b

Off the top of my head I'd say about $6-$9, depending on condition. And cool name, by the way.

T O N i: hey whats up do you like chiken?1

liek yEaH!!!!1 lol

I'll have to try this: How to Extract DNA from Any Living Thing. My biology teacher would be proud.

Skype! Skype!

Recently I read an article about an Internet phone service called Skype. It basically allows you to talk to other people like your phone, and it's free. The sound quality of PC-to-PC calls is supposed to be very good and depends only on the equipment you and the other person have.

They also have some interesting paid services. SkypeOut is a service for which you buy credit; it allows you to call real phones. The rates don't seem too bad, but I don't pay the phone bill. A lot of major countries, including Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, the 48 United States, and U.S. mobile phones conveniently have the same rate, €0.017 per minute. On €10 you can call these countries for 9 hours and 48 minutes (actually there's a tax thrown in there, so probably less). The most expensive country, it seems, is East Timor at €1.345, including that tax thingy. That's awfully cheap for a small, remote, fledgling nation.

The SkypeIn service (€30 per year or €10 for three months) gives you a real phone number so real phones can call you. With it comes the ability to send and receive voice mail for free (it's pretty much a necessity if you're going to have people calling you who don't know if you're online or not). But you can get voice mail by itself for €15 a year or €5 for three months.

I'm thinking that Skype could be the next AIM if more people became aware of it. Besides speaking, it does have instant messaging, anyway. I want to get Skype, but I need a headset first. I think we have one lying around somewhere. Once I get one and start using it (mission: find someone who uses Skype) I'll let you all know how it is. (Hey, if you're a Skype user, let me know and maybe we can talk.) If anything, it would be good for talking to those distant relatives.

My sister was shocked yesterday to discover the following article on the web site of the local newspaper. It seems that a man who goes (went) to my church sexually abused some girl. I knew the guy, too. Well, I don't think I'd ever met him, but I would see him there every week and everyone knew who he was. He is (was) a Eucharistic minister (a lay person who distributes the Eucharist), I believe. I did know his daughter, who must be six or seven now.

I wonder if I knew the girl who he allegedly abused. Probably not. That would be kind of scary, though.

Betcha they won't be mentioning this at church today.

Have you been lucky enough to have had your picture taken with a celebrity? Submit it to CelebSafari and see other people's celebrity photos.

A happy ending?

As promised, an important development in choosing my classes for next year.

Yesterday morning I went into the Guidance department before school. Ah, cheery Guidance, only here to give me a hard time, right? Of course not. Guidance counselors are there to help you whenever you need it!

With that in mind, I asked the lady at the desk, "Can I get a form to see a guidance counselor?"

"No," she said.

Hummina-whaat? Did she just say I couldn't talk to a guidance counselor? I felt threatened by that statement! But I didn't ask why, I think. I pressed on, though.

"It's about changing my schedule for next year," I said, or something to that effect.

She directed me to the office of one of the guidance counselors, who basically told me that there was nothing he could do at this point to change my classes because he didn't have the authorization code to log in, and that it wouldn't be till next week. Down the hall another guidance counselor (I think she was actually my official guidance counselor, based on my class and/or last name) said that I needed to have my changes in course requests in writing, signed by my teacher (presumably only the teacher involved).

Armed with knowledge, I went to my first period -- World History -- and asked my teacher to switch me out of her AP European History class. She asked me to do the writing and just have her sign it. I did. She asked me why I didn't want to go for AP Euro, and I told her that I didn't really like her class, it was too much work. She said that AP Euro was basically this class but with more reading. Considering we hardly do any reading at all, it couldn't be that bad. I told her I would rather go for AP Psychology. She said that that class was only going to be a semester long, and not a whole year as previously thought. She said she wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to do. She signed it and told me I was making a mistake.

The words kept haunting me: "You're making a mistake." No one likes to be told that, especially if it might be true. If she's not lying, I figured, it can't be that much work. And she will cook a dinner for her students before the AP exam, which determines if you get the college credit. But the main thing was the revelation that AP Psych was only going to be a semester. That means it would only be one of my electives and not both. (Remember when I picked a garbagey class for that last spot? Well, I hope I like journalism. Actually, I think my English teacher teaches it, so I'll have to ask her how it is. It can't be that bad if it's from her, but it's probably more writing than I'd want. But I'm going to have to write anyway, because all my other classes will make me write too.)

Taking only AP Psych means I would only spend one semester in an AP class, and it would be my only one (if I had my way). Having only one AP class -- and just a semester-long one, at that -- would belittle me in the eyes of my peers. (Heck, everyone in my history class was egging me on to take AP Euro after I defiantly said that I wouldn't. They had all given in to the teacher's urgings and wanted me to do the same.)

I told her later that I'd think things over again. So here in front of me I have this handwritten note to Guidance, written in my crummy printing and signed by the teacher. Should I choose to turn it in? We'll see. But the decision seems to have become a lot less difficult.

Ask Jordon!

stephanie: what is some secret stuff you dont want to tell your boyfriend but you need to.

I'll answer your question before I say a few things.

First, I might have thought this was fake if it weren't for a particular search query that resulted in a hit for this site a few minutes before this Ask Jordon was sent.

Second, I can't get over the fact that I keep dispensing love advice here. I guess people figure by reading my site that I'm so cool, I must be in a relationship. The girls must be fawning all over me, right? I'm reminded of a quotation attributed to humorist Dave Barry: "I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me."

Third, your answer. There are quite a few secrets you might not want to tell to your boyfriend. There are some ones that would seem rather obvious to me sitting at the computer typing away. For example, if you're allergic to a certain food, make sure he knows that before he makes you a romantic meal. (I dunno, it might be a secret. Better than dying of exposure to peanuts.) If it's more serious of a secret, like you've got the hots for someone else, you've got to let him know, because he won't take kindly to your cheating on him.

Actually, if you actually want to make it work, there should be no secrets. Tell him all of them. If it means that you could break up, then so be it, I guess. It would be better than living a lie.

And finally, as a word of caution, don't go all "heartbreaker" on him, that'll probably just make him depressed and he'll write songs. Hey, I'm just trying to make the world a better place.

(These suggestions are not intended to replace actual advice. As a girl, always consult another girl for relationship advice. I cannot be held responsible for broken relationships as a result of your revealing any or all of these secrets that might or might not even apply to you.)

I've had this link in the queue of featured links for months, but coincidentally it's relevant to today, which is Earth Day. Ever seen that famous photograph of the earth? See, it's so well-known that I don't even have to describe it for you. It's just "that picture." When you think of seeing Earth from outer space, that's the image you think of: a view of Africa, the Middle East, and Antarctica.

The photo, gracefully bestowed the official title "AS17-148-22727" by NASA, is commonly known as "The Big Blue Marble." It was taken on December 7, 1972, on the last manned lunar mission. Since then no humans have gotten far enough from Earth to get such a view. Anyway, here's information about The Big Blue Marble.

The best thing about the photograph, which may just be one of the most widely distributed images in history, is that, being the work of a U.S. government employee (specifically, an astronaut working for NASA), it is in the public domain. You can pretty much use and modify the image at your will.

Some variety

Yesterday my friend Andrew asked me to be in his act for the school's variety show (the talent show was cancelled and now they're having a variety show -- no, I don't know the difference). He said that he was going to be playing the guitar with someone, but the someone ducked out for some reason. I obliged to replace whoever it was and provide backing for Andrew's rendition of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight." I had never heard the song, but he said it wasn't that hard and told me to bring my guitar for a practice tomorrow (today).

Today has been yesterday's tomorrow, so I brought my one of my electric guitars to school. As is custom for when I bring large things to school, I asked my first-hour teacher (my history teacher) if I could keep it in her room. She said it was okay, so I did. But when I came back after school, her room was locked. I had to go down to the office to ask for someone to send a guy to the room to unlock it for me. I went back to the room and behold, there was a guy. So I got my guitar and met up with Andrew. We went to the auditorium, and he was carrying a cage his bird, a lovebird named Chickenhawk. (He had brought it for a biology project.) It turns out that the girls really dig birds. Well, the ones we passed by did, anyway.

So we got in the auditorium and while I was standing on the stage, I got a really good view of the auditorium. It's a really small one -- it can only seat about half the school, and we're a small school -- but I never really grasped how tiny it was. Maybe it's an optical illusion from seeing the stadium-style floor escalating as it goes back, but the room seemed really, really tiny.

Anyway, I grabbed a seat in the audience like everyone else and generally got a feel for things. I knew some of the people in the production. Andrew seemed to be running around a lot; I assume he was part of the crew. At least one of us knew what was going on. I felt nervous, but it wasn't like the nervousness of picking classes (um, I'll get to that later). It's a sort of excited, confused nervousness, the kind I only get when I'm about to play a gig with my band. It's confused because I wasn't sure how we were going to go on and whatnot. I would get this feeling before playing in the two talent shows that we rocked at our old school. The latter of the two was the last talent show I had been in.

Later he told me that we should practice before our act came up. I thought it was a good idea, considering I didn't know the song. We exited stage left and ran through the song once. It wasn't hard at all, but I still needed to look at the chords. When we came back to the stage, we left our guitars out, with cables plugged in all ready to go.

Later, when our act came on, all we had to do was grab our guitars, plug them in to the amplifiers (big ol' Fenders!) on either side of the stage, and wait for the curtain to open. After a bit of struggle (my amp wasn't working; Andrew determined that something was plugged in to the wrong input on the thingy that goes on top of the actual speakers), I set the music on the floor so I could see it while I was playing, and we began. Well, Andrew began by performing the opening lick solo, and I joined in the second time he played it. And then the lady running the show said, "That's good, okay." We must have gotten in eight bars, but she was in a hurry to run through all the acts. So we packed up our guitars, and seeing that I was probably late for my ride to pick me up, I scrammed.

There are going to be more rehearsals on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school. The variety show is Thursday night. As a result, I probably won't have time to get online on those days (gotta do that homework, y'know), but there's always hope.

I was going to fill you all in on the latest developments in choosing my courses for next year (brace yourself for a surprising twist!), but I need something to write about tomorrow. Besides, that subject has dominated this blog for over a week. The title of this post just says it all, doesn't it?

This is a pretty clever idea. A 21-year-old college student named Matt Cooper is running for President of the United States in 2020, when he will be old enough to be eligible for the office. When I came across this site a few months ago (I find these links months in advance), I had just been thinking of doing the same thing in 2024, when I'll be old enough to be the White House's resident.

This hurts

As part of the never-ending saga of choosing next year's classes, the other day I made my course selections. Yesterday, it was. I mentioned before that the class-picking system is all computerized now. So what they did was they took us into one of the rooms with computers and had us log into the school district's web site and pick our classes. Yes, that was something I could have done at home. But did I know that? Not really.

So here I was. I had to make the decision of which AP class to take. I stuck to my guns (not literally) and went with AP Psychology, rather than AP European History, in spite of the chiding from my classmates and teacher. This, you see, is my ideal schedule: the one I want!

1. Chemistry Honors
2. Pre-Calculus Honors
3. Spanish III Honors
4. English III Honors
5. Business Computer Programming II
6. American History Honors
7. AP Psychology

I noticed when I had originally logged in that my geometry teacher from last semester had recommended me for AP Calculus AB (don't know what those extra letters stand for). Having had a teacher's official recommendation (via the computer system), I had no choice but to select this class. Also my history teacher recommended me for AP American History, which, with specific instructions to administration, would later be changed to AP European History because the computer system wouldn't accept the latter's course number. You and I and she know(s) that I don't want to take that class.

And due to the computer system being dumb, I had to pick eight classes, even though AP Psychology would count for two and thus would fill two slots. So I had to put some garbagey class in that extra space with hopes that it'd get crowded out. I chose Journalism I (newspaper, as opposed to yearbook).

So this was the horrendous schedule I had to submit. (Cue the blood-curling shriek.)

1. Chemistry Honors
2. AP Calculus AB
3. Spanish III Honors
4. English III Honors
5. Business Computer Programming II
6. AP American History
7. AP Psychology
8. Journalism I (Newspaper)

AAAAaAaaAAaaaaahhhhh!!!!! That's not what I want. So yesterday I went to my geometry teacher and asked her to change her course recommendation. She had said that it was automatic; that a computer determined what my next math class should be. I watched as she changed the recommendation to Pre-Cal Honors, and I was relieved.

Oh, but it gets better worse. Because when I logged in to the school board's site today, I got this message:

"YOUR COURSE REQUESTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY YOUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR."

And then this, as if to pour salt on the wound:

"IF YOU NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE TO YOUR COURSE REQUESTS PLEASE SEE YOUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR."

Yes I need to, computer bub! AP Calculus, it turns out, wasn't changed at all! And the thing is, the guidance counselors do anything but give you guidance. I have never had them help me once. If I took my case to them, they'd probably just say "Well, I think you can manage taking three AP classes if you put your mind to it. You're a very bright student. Why, T.J. Swannick* here is taking eleven." They wouldn't give me any sort of guidance at all. I know what I want: I want the schedule that I want, and that's that.

I guess I'll have to talk to them, though. I'm pretty sure I know who my guidance counselor is. She'll probably say, "Oh, sorry, you can't change your classes, but I think you can manage taking..." I'll try to get my point across, though. The sooner I do this, the better. I just don't know how to get in touch with my guidance counselor.

In any case, I'd better straighten out my severely screwed-up schedule or I'll probably end up doing something rash. Maybe some Ask Jordon will calm me down.

louise : i have a 16hh mare thoroughbred shes lovely nature, brilliant in every way all she needs is somone who will bring her on(schooling) are you interested

Are you kidding? You're talking about a horse, right? I'm no country-boy. I've only even ridden a horse once.

Nathaniel: Jordon what blog software can I use to auto post while I am on vacation like PLAPS?

Some of them allow you to edit the timestamp on the post so that it shows up later. I know WordPress does.

donald bezance: Was Ivy Baker Priest Ex United States Treasurer Born in Middlesbrough [England uk]

Apparently not. According to various sources, she was born in Kimberly, Utah (USA), on September 7, 1905.

Anyone who's used Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox knows about the famous "Book of Mozilla" egg hidden in these browsers. (If you don't, well, read about it). Here are some extracts from the Book of Mozilla, consisting mostly of unofficial passages in the fictitious Revelation-esque book. The three "official" verses (found in the aforementioned browsers) subtly snub Netscape/Mozilla's main competition, Microsoft Internet Explorer. Take this one, which can be found in Netscape 7.2 and above, Mozilla 1.5 and above, and all versions of Firefox:

Unofficial verses aren't as delicately crafted. Take this unnumbered verse:

By the way, if you have Netscape, Mozilla, or Mozilla Firefox, just enter "about:mozilla" (no quotes!) in the location bar to see the Book of Mozilla egg.

* A real person. Never heard of him, but he's supposed to be ranked #1 in the class.

When I grow up (Part II)

Since Thursday, I've been thinking slightly a teeny bit more about careers, career options, colleges, curriculum, and so forth. Well, yesterday I filled out my course thingy for next year. Yes, folks, I'll say it: I picked AP Psychology. Will it be easy? Ha! But will I like it? I hope so, because instead of having it for just a semester, it'll be all year.

So why, Jordon, why? Maybe it's because I know and like the teacher, having had him for two courses previously. There's no way I'd go into AP European History even if you'd given me a million dollars and a pony. Anyway, I need to have two electives, and this year-long class counts for both of them (all the other electives suck). And also it could be that I like the subject. Yeah, I guess I do.

I really do need to think of a career path, though. As I've always said, people without career goals become waitresses. And I don't know about you, but I can't stand cigarette smoke. I really need to take one of those career aptitude tests. It looks like there are ways of taking one online, but I wouldn't trust any of them. I'd have to take one in real life. Anyone have any ideas?

Anyway, I thought more about being a writer. But writing is hard. Heck, everything is hard. Why bother with anything when there's nothing I like. I don't even like to read. Well, I do, but I don't know what I like to read. Take today for example: in English I had to check out a book from the school library. To do a book report on. (Now you know why that's my favorite class. What other high school student is doing a "book report"?) Well, I couldn't find any that I liked. They all stunk.

But anyway, this isn't about finding out what I like to read. It's about what I want to be -- something I'm just as in the dark about.

Writing is hard. Any writer can tell you that. So why should I bother, if I'm not even sure that's what I want to do? Even if it was what I wanted to do, what if I wasn't good at it at all and I couldn't improve so I just had to give up? Then where would I be? I'd be by the off-ramp of the freeway selling flowers, that's where! And I'd have to lie and say I'm a homeless vet, because "homeless writer" doesn't tug the same heartstrings.

In my ideal world, everything would be figured out. I would love my job and make a decent amount of money at it -- enough to go on vacation, say, across America. I'd live somewhere with a pleasant meteorological and political climate. I'd have enough money to defray the cost of running this hugely popular site. I'd be happy and healthy and live in a good house with a good wife who would be charming and smart and give me sweet, sweet lovin'.

So, anyone wanna give me some writing tips? I'm thinking fiction here, like that last paragraph.

Anyway... Each day really is a new day for a Briton named Clive Wearing, as this article explains. Wearing suffers one of the most extreme cases of amnesia ever recorded; every moment is like waking up for the first time since a virus destroyed part of his brain 20 years ago. He can't remember much except who his wife is. Interesting read.

A new car!

On Thursday my parents got a new car. No longer do we have our Volkswagen New Beetle. My parents traded it in for a 2004 Chevy Impala. It seems good in every way: good size, lots of space (you can fit lots of bodies in the trunk!) and (presumably) safe. I haven't actually ridden in it yet, though. Maybe tomorrow.

I just have to get used to saying "im-PAL-uh" (with "pal" as in "you're my best pal") instead of "im-PAWL-ah," which is how I would say it otherwise. I'm under the impression that the former pronunciation is correct, for the car, at least (but Answers.com tells me I'm right).

It'll probably be the car I learn to drive in. Oh, the future memories...

Google Maps is making a splash across the Internet for the ability to view color satellite photos of lots of places. (It's not new, people!) I was reading this article about interesting things found in satellite images when I wondered what my school looked like from overhead. I went to Google Maps and found an interesting view. The photo was taken while the new campus was being constructed, circa 2003. It was apparently on the afternoon of a school day, as buses can be seen on the track. Here, have a look.

In the photo, the third floor of the new school building hasn't been built yet; the very large art room (just above D Building) is currently connected to the rest of the school by a wing on the third floor that extends out to it.

Of the buildings I've labeled in red, only the gyms (and the portables, I think) remain. The rest were demolished last summer. They're currently building a parking lot there (or expanding the existing one, if you look at it that way). The "School District Offices or Something" and A Building are not part of the school, so they're still hangin'.

Anyway, I thought that was pretty interesting. I guess Google Maps is cool after all.

Cool video: An a cappella group called Redefined sings and acts to a medley of old Nintendo theme songs [embedded MOV file with sound]. Very funny and impressive, considering that the Super Mario Bros. theme song is very hard to sing (and is accordingly one of the most butchered melodies in the history of music). Be sure to watch as well as listen. These guys are great!

When I grow up

Since my last post I've been thinking a teeny bit more about classes, colleges, careers, and other important things that start with the letter C.

I've determined that before anything, I need to choose a career path. My sister's friend mentioned that he was planning on becoming a teacher. I thought about this and remembered that about a year ago I had felt an inkling to follow that path. Being a teacher would be kind of cool, but I don't know why. They get no respect, and it follows that they don't earn enough money. Besides, I'd be the kind of teacher who has no patience and bores his students to death. And what would I teach? I don't have a clear front-runner of a favorite subject. Whew, glad I convinced myself out of that one. Thank you, logic!

Some people might suggest for me to be a computer programmer, but I can honestly say that I don't want my 9-5 job to be sitting in front of a computer. Besides, everything that can possibly be programmed (a) has already been done by someone else, or (b) is too hard to try. In a similar vein, I know a lot of people would suggest for me to be a web designer. That just goes to show that many people I know have heard of my site but few have seen it.

Scotto's job seems kind of neat. I think he helps find missing kids. How rewarding! But I don't know what sort of education that requires. Maybe he can fill us in.

My mom and dad don't seem to have chosen very good fields. My mom does electronic-type things, but she's been laid off a lot (I can name five of her employers from the last 10 years or so). My dad works at a car dealership and seems to have the opposite problem (namely that he can't find a good job). He recently told me that the car business is not a good one to be in nowadays.

Well, we've done all this eliminating. What do you like, Jordon?

Well, Jordon, I like nothing that could possibly ever make me money. The only thing I really have left is playing the guitar, and though a career as a musician would be cool, I'm a terrible player (considering how long I've been playing) and I don't like what everyone else likes.

Oh, there is one other thing. Writing. Yes, I have thought of writing as a career. Sometimes I get a great idea in my head for a piece of fiction. The only trouble is, I can't translate it to paper. I asked my sister's friend (the one who wants to be a teacher and, I shall now mention, a writer on the side) for some tips for writing. He replied: "What sort of genre? Giving you tips on fantasy would be no good for a mystery novel." That pretty much turned me off right then and there. No writing for me. Writers make less than teachers, anyway. I wish my sister's friend good luck.

I need to -- no, I really need to take one of those career test thingies. Soon.

Don't Ask Jeeves. Ask Jordon.

dina: how do you make a guy really like you

It may sound cheesy, but just be yourself. Personally, I like it when girls be themselves, especially if part of their being consists of liking weird nerdy guys. But seriously. Be nice, I guess. Just do a little something nice. People always remember the nice things you do for them, even if you don't. It's true. Maybe then he'll notice you and sparks will fly, yadda yadda...

If that doesn't work, try being someone else who gets all the guys.

Hmm, it appears that The World of Stuff listed on BlogShares. BlogShares appears to be some kind of fantasy stock market with blogs instead of companies. It doesn't appear that anyone has bought a share in this site, though. Heh, figures.

I put the "um" in "curriculum"!

Well, the school year is almost over, and you know what that means (or maybe you don't): it's time to pick next year's classes. I was particularly stressed last year over choosing an elective. But as I advance in school, there are more options for me, so now I get to be stressed out about everything! They've changed they way you choose your next classes, though. Last year they gave you the list of courses, you checked the ones you wanted (or had) to take, and you went around to your current and former teachers for each subject (we're on the semester system) for them to initial their approval of your next class in that subject.

This year, the teachers do the recommending online (through the school district's "Virtual Counselor" system), and they beat you to the punch (yesterday when I logged in, I was able to read my suggestions). I guess when we actually meet with our guidance counselors to officially pick our classes, we'll be allowed to pick a less advanced class than the teacher's recommendation. I hope so, anyway, because I'm being recommended for three Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and you can really only take one per year if you don't want your head to explode into thousands of little chunks.

My history teacher wants me in her AP European History class and has recommended me for it. NO!!!!!! I WILL NEVER, NEVER EVER HAVE A CLASS WITH HER AGAIN!!!!!!!! My geometry teacher from last semester has recommended me for AP Calculus. Methinks it would be a good idea to take pre-calculus first. My Algebra II teacher this semester has recommended me for an AP math class, but gave no specifics. And my psychology teacher from last semester wants me in his AP Psychology class, but gave no recommendation -- probably because there are only eight recommendation slots and two are filled by math classes and another two have history classes (AP American History because AP Euro is not currently taught, and the system's default suggestion of World History Honors -- a class I'm taking right now).

Anyway, the big question here -- besides my elective(s)... jeesh -- is what AP class I'm going to take. I'm going to have to take one, because if I don't, people will be ask why didn't I take an AP class and I'll have to say to them that well, I just didn't want to, and they'll say, man, you really should, because colleges like that sort of thing and ow, stop punching me in the face!

If I hear one more word about what colleges like and don't like, that's what'll happen to the nearest bystander. The colleges can't like students who take AP classes; they count for college credit, and so every AP class you take is a few thousand dollars less for them. I'm convinced that it doesn't matter whether or not you go to college. Unless your daddy's rich, your going to end up poor either way. Don't go to college and you won't get a good job. Go to college and you might get a good job, but at a fantastic expense that you'll be paying off for much of your adult life. If you seem to have more money because you went to college, it's an illusion.

I really, really, really, really, really need to decide what classes to take by next week (for that is the deadline). This is very important. My next year, the junior year, is the last one colleges will look at when -- ouch! Now, in your best British accent, say with me: "He needs to sor' ou' his priorities."

Ask Jordon all night long...

Ryan: The Simpsons or Family guy?

Well, I like both.

sweet pea: how much is 4 drachma

Nothing. The Greek drachma has been replaced by the euro and ceased to be legal tender in 2002. Drachma coins could still be exchanged for euros at a fixed rate until 2004.

Only in America: Teacher pulls chair from under student who refuses to stand for the national anthem. The teacher had had a history of such activity, so another student in anticipation secretly videotapes the whole thing. Result? The student operating the camera gets suspended for 10 days. And that's it.

The claim was that the teacher's constitutional rights were violated when he was filmed without his own permission. Why are your rights only violated when you get caught doing something incriminating? I have a good mind to file a breach of privacy lawsuit for being videotaped in every classroom, corridor, and cranny in my school.

A reader of that article pointed to a state law stating that students have to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. But no mention was made of the national anthem.

By the way, watch the video linked from the article and see the whole incident for yourself.