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.