School: cool?

I'm adjusting to school pretty well. One thing I forgot to mention the day before yesterday is that we have a new principal (maybe because it was inconsequential to my day?). Mr. Bell, who had been the school's principal long before my freshman year, has retired. Over the summer, his replacement's name surfaced: Mr. Gordon. Last week, Ms. Vazquez vouched for him but didn't go into specifics. I thought that that was interesting because she had had a different opinion of Mr. Bell.

On the first day, Mr. Gordon appeared on the morning TV show that our school produces. (That's right: we're not Channel One sell-outs... yet.) He basically introduced himself to us. I have to say that he does seem more dynamic than Mr. Bell. He's even come up with a motto for this school year: "Above and beyond." I guess he'll use this platitude to justify every decision he makes. He doesn't seem that bad, though. I've seen him around at lunch, and supposedly he's sat with students and chatted it up with them. Now there's a principal who keeps it real. Most teachers and assistant principals, to say nothing of principals, look down their noses at students. (Mr. Firestone, who used to sit with me and some other people at lunch, was an exception. Unfortunately, he's gotten a job at another school this year.)

It's sometimes fun to see what policies are enforced at the beginning of the school year; usually, the dress code is on the administration's collective mind for a few weeks, and then they forget that you're showing too much skin, young lady. But this year, the big issue was the third floor of the building, particularly, an intersection in the center that involves three hallways and a wide flight of stairs. Apparently they decided that there was too much congestion in that area between classes. Possible solution: accept fewer students? No, no. Just change the traffic patterns and everything will be better, they thought.

The first day of school, the announcement came that if you're on the east or west wing of the third floor, you can't use the flight of stairs in the center of the building. I had to go from one wing to the other on the way to my second class, so I just ignored the policy and went ahead. Yesterday, though, they had people stopping people from going through. So in order to go across the building, I first had to go down a different flight of stairs to the second floor, go across the second floor to the middle flight of stairs, go back to the third floor from there, and continue on my merry way. Doesn't sound too hard, right? Well, it shouldn't be -- unless everyone else is trying to do the same thing. I barely shuffled through the crowds fast enough to make it to class on time. Compounding my fear was the fact that the school has adopted a draconian late policy for this year.

Yesterday afternoon, the Pompano Pulse reported that the restriction would be lifted because it created more problems than it solved. This morning it was officially announced. That's a big relief.

In other news, Ashley (whom I had the pleasure of meeting last week) sent me a MySpace message saying that she's not into me and that she wasn't showing anything to indicate such a feeling. I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion. I think a lesson has been learned here: No one is that into me. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Man... it's really hard not to be self-deprecating when stuff like this happens to you all the time.

Tired of looking bad in pictures like me? Here are 5 Steps to Being More Photogenic.

The Fallacy Files is a good place to find flaws in the ways people present their arguments or attack their opponents' arguments. There's a large list of common logical fallacies, complete with examples and explanations. Unfortunately, the navigation is horrendous.

Three years ago: "I don't think the four of us have ever practiced together."