Elementary Functions Fail

"Is there anything the Math and Science Department could have done to improve your math class experience this fall?"

Sigh.
Where should I start?
No matter: only one class and a final left!
Then Math shall be effectively obliterated from my life.
Forever, Amen.

The Water Spilt Poem

Please, oh please, still work

Even after this initial

Moment

Of testing

Because otherwise

I will be sad indeed

~ Yes, even you work, little tilde key

Or whatever you are called

@ the 2, the water seems to have not had effect

Tab ahead seems to be functioning

AS DOES THE CAPS LOCK

Hurray!

Videos

Okay, so Isaac has discovered our video camera. And now, if you are so inclined, you could come over and watch countless hours of. . .

me making pies in the kitchen
Isaac and I drinking a blueberry smoothie
Isaac singing "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar
Isaac and Elizabeth light saber fighting
Isaac snitching from the pies I just made, and me yelling "Don't touch the pies!"
Isaac talking about the "Democratics" and the "Publics," in a British accent
About 30 minutes of our carpet

And so much more!

Breaking News!!!!

Hmmmm.

Hello.

My name is Becky.

And this is my brio.

And that is the Italian word for life.

Oh right. Breaking news.

My favoritest cousin is back!

Wahoooo!

His name is Ben.

And he can count to ten.

Can I borrow a pen?

Just for a lend.

My good friend Glen.

Or I'll throw you in the lion's den!

Amen.

God Bless America!

He calls me "Mom" and "Cutie Pie" - they all do. The people - I think they're jealous. Just 'cause I know the Secret. We don't have much time. If we work together, we can save the world. lalala.

All right. Now think of something really awesome.

And cube it.

And multiply it by two.

Now imagine it riding on an elephant.

A pink one.

And now imagine it had a son.

That's even cooler than it.

Now imagine Ben.

Same thing, right?

I'm just warning you - you have brought this "upun" yourself.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

I know, "write"?

Peace out, y'all.

Has anyone seen my horn?

Windows Live – What is this?

Wow, so I recently decided that, since I am the proud owner of three, count them three e-mail addresses, I would try to be all nifty and smart and get them all sent to the same account. Then, I discover this amazing this called Windows Live, which just combines every thing you could ever hope for! And do I sound like an annoying infomercial yet? Anyways, I’m writing this using “Windows Live Writer” . . . I have yet to discover all it’s amazing tools, but I do see a little picture button over there on the side. Let’s see what that does. Would you look at that! It lets you add a picture! And you can even drag the picture around the page and change its size and all sorts of incredible things! Rounded corners!!! Oh my. This is almost as cool as Mum teaching me how to text last night. I’m lovin’ it – moving into the 21st (or wait, is it 20th? I can never remember how that works) century step by step. Watch out world, here I come!

No, I did not have caffeine tonight, why do you ask?

 

-Rebekah, the ridiculous

Post-Semester Room Organization Statistics

Empty Folders - 12

Folders with Meaningful Papers - 2

File Folders with School Papers, labeled and organized by class - 5

Books to Resell before Saturday - 3

Notebooks of Blank Lined Paper, with all meaningful papers ripped out - 3

Stack of Miscellaneous, yet to be Organized Papers, as measured in inches - 2

Walmart Bags Full of Rejected Papers - 3

Number of Documents in "Becky's Documents" to be Sorted Through - Yeah.

Loads of Laundry I Could Do with all My Dirty Clothes Right Now - Not Telling

Back to Work!

Of Purple Time Eating Monsters and Poetry Writing Sea Creatures

My May is being rapidly consumed by large, purple monsters who like to gnaw away 17-year-old ladies and their time. I do not have time to go into detail at the moment, but look for a l-o-n-g post from me sometime in the few days or so, delving into the intricacies of my thoughts and life these past several weeks. A quote and picture, to tide you over:

"Poetry is a diary kept by a sea creature who lives on land and wishes he could fly."

- Carl Sandburg

Our Afternoon

As I took a short break from the massive rearrangement (did I just invent a new word?) that is currently taking place in my bedroom (the air of which is thick with bug killing powder), this scene greeted me downstairs:

Grandma and Grandpa were peacefully relaxing in the living room, reading and resting in front of the fire-place.

The 12-year-old was pulling the 6-year-old through the house, on his stomach, with a white rope. I think the 6-year-old was laughing.

The 4-year-old was sitting on the couch in the living room, calmly catching up on the news in WORLD magazine.

I love my life.

:D

Confessions of a Perfectionist

Abby and Zeke are in Fine Linen Drama's production of "The Pirates of Penzance," and have been rehearsing every Saturday (and some Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays too!) for the past few months.

Much to my consternation, at all of the past few rehearsals, there have been 2-7 people carrying around their very own cameras, snapping shots of whatever they please - you'd think that the era of digital cameras had just dawned or something! Now, I'm not going to lie, this makes me quite frustrated - I miss the theater days when you could wear whatever you wanted, not fix your hair or makeup, and not expect to see your photos all over facebook and the blog world the next morning (or even that same evening, depending on who it is that is taking the pictures).

Okay, I was just teasing. I love the fact that people take photos of the rehearsals - especially since I am much too lazy to bring my own camera and snap a few shots. However, I wasn't teasing when I said that there are a lot of people taking pictures. And, because of our modern-day social networks, namely facebook and blogs, these photos are available for "stealing" whenever I would wish.

But (and here comes both the confession, and the perfectionist part), I cannot for the life of me, bring myself to sort through the photos and post any! Why, you might ask? Several reasons:

1. There are simply too many. I think I could probably find about 20 different close-ups of Nathan Brown singing on stage, taken by 3 -4 different photographers. Now don't get me wrong - I have nothing against looking at Nathan Brown (he makes a rather dashing Frederic, in my humble opinion), but in my perfectionist world, I could not simply pick the first one I spotted. Rather, I would feel compelled to compare each of these photos, and pick only my very favorite one to post on my blog. Can you imagine, going through that process with each and every one of the lead roles, as well as each scene!? Ahhh!

2. Chronological order is also incredibly important to me. So is organization in general. Umm. . .like incredibly important. Like. . . I wouldn't ever, ever imagine posting random pictures from the scenes if those photos weren't organized by scene, in the order in which they happen. This takes time, and patience, especially because it is sometimes hard to determine which scene photo comes from. I get a headache even thinking about it.

3. Then there is the fact that, after the performances, we will have so many more pictures. . . and guess what - these are going to be of exactly the same people, the same songs, and the same scenes. However . . . the actors and actresses will be in costume, with props. The set will be beautifully painted and the lights will be working as fully intended. So why take the time to sort through rehearsal pictures, when I can wait and do the same thing, but have the result be much more aesthetically pleasing?

4. But the first, primary, and most incredibly compelling reason - I'm lazy. :D

Check out the Nisbetts' blog, The Riefers' blog, and Ashley's blog if you want a sampling of the photos that are out there. I'm going to work on compiling and posting sometime in the near future, once I conquer my laziness.

Your favorite perfectionist,
Becky

A Nothing day

Today was a Nothing day

I slept in (till 8 at least).

I didn't get showered and dressed until nearly 11.

I only got in my car and drove somewhere 4 times today (and once was an accidental time, which gave Sonja the opportunity to "save the world." Thank you darling.).

I saw only 9 people aside from my family - most of them were kind, loving, and enjoyable to be with. Some were not. Some did not affect or influence my life in any way, shape, or form.

I ate a bowl of ice cream.

I cleaned my room, but shall continue to procrastinate at the task of doing laundry (yes, Alida, the basket of stinking clothes remains in the closet. Would you come over and wash it for me? Tuesday maybe?).

I enjoyed observing Zeke and Mum play a competitive game of Ticket to Ride.I caught up on e-mails and homework (mostly at least).

I scheduled out tomorrow, and very much non-Nothing day.

I contemplated the meaning of life.

I was overjoyed to see Abby take the initiative to clean and vacuum the living rooms and office. Good job, hun!

I resolved to take a nap - I failed.

I suggested that Mum take a nap - she failed (but not for lack of trying).

I talked to Dad on the phone, and spent time wishing he didn't have to be half-way across Missouri today.

I heard about a strange weather forecast. . . surely not snow?

I watched Isaac do gymnastics with the couch pillows - I requested that he not jump directly on the couch springs.

I spent some time researching variations for french braiding - I tried a new one on Abby. I wished she had a little bit longer hair.

I looked at the incomplete pile of returned basketball uniforms - I looked away, leaving them neatly stacked in the living room.

I laughed with Mum about the fact that this day, we were allowed to be sick - it was on the schedule.

I wondered what Andy was up to tonight, and if he ever reads my blog (he doesn't).

I had the brilliant idea that I would perhaps go to sleep before 10 o'clock, as a spectacular end to this Nothing day.

Good night! Hope you have a Nothing day in your future that you can enjoy to it's fullest.

(Photo, compliments of Mark)

The Dinner Bell

If you have ever been at our house, you have probably been aquainted with our various "bells."

There's the little one out by the shed that is quite high-pitched and useful for just about nothing. (Except hanging the key for the shed on it!)

We also have the "U" and "D" bells. Those are wireless doorbells - the buttons are installed in the kitchen and the parts that you plug in (that actually make the chiming sound) are located in the upstairs and downstairs hallways. The idea is pretty much the equivalent of those little bells they had for servants. . . and Mum and Dad are the rich aristocrats, while us kids are the servants. They ring the bell, and we are to come to the kitchen from wherever we are in the house.

And of course, our ancient dinner bell - I think it's a cowbell. The name pretty much says it all . . . we ring it at dinner time and everyone is supposed to come running.

However, when I make dinner, I have my own special bell - the smoke alarm.

Okay, so last night was the first time I have ever made it go off. . . but it was a good one. I had some bread broiling in the oven, and, neglecting to set a timer, I forgot about it. It caught on fire. The whole event was quite dramatic, although would have been far more interesting/dangerous had Mum not been there to extinguish it. I don't think I could have pulled the pan out of the oven and manuevered it into the sink with as much poise and dexterity as she did - it was amazing.

That said, I learned a valuable lesson - always make enough food for a meal so that, if one course burns beyond recognition by some strange twist of fate, you will still have plenty.

No, I did not take pictures.

L-A-M-E

I just realized that I hadn't been out of the house from Sunday at around 10:30 am till today (Wednesday) at around 3:30 pm. Wow. That is 78 hours . . . if I counted right. That is a long time. No wonder I am feeling so strange!!

I did manage to go out cross-country skiing at 3:30 today . . . but wow.

I am l-a-m-e!

Abby, you win. Hands down. ;)

Oh Isaac . . .

As I was coming upstairs a moment ago, I ran into Isaac - he was trying to lug a huge, antique suitcase of ours down the stairs. I stopped him, and asked where he was headed. He solemnly responded, "I'm going to war."

My room has now been turned into a library. He just informed me that he is "one of those bad guys who don't follow the rules in the library" and then gave me $200 in fake bills as his "payment to go to war. So that, in case I die, my parents have money to buy a cradle."

For Joel. . .

So while we are on the topic of randomness . . . When Renee was over at our house yesterday, and we were inspecting each other's toes, she said, "Oh, I have something to show you!" She started rolling up her jeans, and showed me some pretty wicked awesome bruises on her knees. I was, naturally, quite horrified . . .until I remembered how they came about.

Last Friday, at the CHESS skating party, several of us started a game of tag as we were skating around. I was not "it" and so was peacefully minding my own business, skating in circles, when I see Renee flying across the rink - she went across right in front of me and cannon-balled into Joel Nisbett. He was standing next to the wall, and before I knew it, he was hitting the wall, and both of them were on the ground. I can imagine that his bruises are at least comparable to hers. I'm not really sure what got into her. . .I mean, she was "it", so I guess that is some excuse. :) And I'm pretty sure she succeeded in her goal of transferring the title of "it" to him. . . And she definitely succeeded in providing entertainment to everyone who observed it.


So here's to Joel - proof that her craziness did not occur without consequences. lol.

Of Fingers and Toes . . .

Okay, so randomness once again pops up in our lives . . . strange how that happens so often among home schooling families. :) Sunday night, our family enjoyed an evening of pie-eating and games with the Nisbetts. During a game of "Switch if. . . ", we discovered which of us have a second toe that is longer than our first toe. We then launched off into a discussion about how some people have longer ring fingers than pointer fingers, etc, etc. . . . a discussion which was continued this morning with the Pettijohn kids. Fingers and toes are such fun, aren't they?

So the question of the day:

Is your second toe longer than your big toe?

And is your ring finger, or pointer finger longer?

Josiah said he thought that which finger was longer indicated one's aptitude for different subjects. . . I think he said that if your pointer finger is longer, you are more inclined towards English related things, and if your ring finger is longer, Math and such is your tendency. The theory held up Sunday night - I think that all the Nisbett boys had a longer ring finger, and I had a longer pointer finger. ;) Go figure. . .

Oh, and for the record, my answers are: shorter second toe, and longer pointer finger.

Can't wait to hear what your answer ! (. . . actually, I can because this is just stupid and pointless. lol.)

Cheers,
Rebekah

Toes, Toes, Toes!

Whose toes are these? Can you guess? (The possibilities are Renee, Becky, Zeke, Isaac, Alex, and Julie)

1.

2. & 3.

4.

5.

6.

Toes are fun

Fingers of my Very Own

Take a deep, deep breath!

You caught me. . . I am procrastinating! To be perfectly honest, most of my longest and best blog posts come from complete and total procrastination. I think it's because of something my Mum always has warned us against - Disobeying is still disobeying, even if the other thing you are doing is a good thing. ;) But as I am 17 and master of my own destiny (or at least pretty much free to decide how to spend my time), I'm not disobeying. Just procrastinating.

So I have this huge duffel bag, an over-stuffed cloth Aldi bag, and several "carry-ons" to unpack, and one very scattered and messy room to tidy up, and three very late Christmas gifts to finish. But instead of doing those things, I spent my evening, 1.) playing Blurt with Zeke and Abby, 2.) taking a bubble bath, 3.) making myself a scrumptious cup of tea, 4.) unpacking our family camera, 5.) unpacking my iPod and setting it on my radio docking station thingy, with the shuffle on the genre "soundtracks" (Mark McKenzie heaven!), and 6.) crawling in bed with my laptop and cup of tea, downloading 171 photos from our trip, and getting ready to edit and post the ones that I want you to see! If all that isn't procrastination in its highest form, I don't know what is.

I will take a deep breath (as the title of this post suggests) and begin the saga of "The Hall Family Christmas vacation 2008" (right after I find my computer charger in this messy room of mine. . . oh, I think it's in one of the unpacked bags. lol). Before you start reading, I suggest you take a deep breath too. . .

You faithful (and probably fellow) procrastinator,
Rebekah

*Well, I have finished my posting. You can start right below this one, and work your way down - I put them in backwards order, so that by starting with "St. Paul - Monday and Tuesday" you will be in chronological order. Enjoy the photos! This only took about 3 hours, but I am exhausted. In the words of Dr. Suess ". . . and now my story is all told." Merry Christmas everyone.

Oh the Woe!

Oh the Woe of being sick!

The feeling that surely, surely

Your stomach really would feel better

If it were not on the inside.

Oh the Woe of being sick!

The knowledge that truly, truly

Your head will not blow into as many pieces

As it is currently threatening to.

Oh the Woe of being sick!

The moaning, and groaning,

And hacking, and coughing.

The clearing of throats, and the blowing of noses,

Which echoes across the sanctuary

So early each Sunday morning.

But oh the Woe of being sick,

Which is so easily forgotten!

By the sipping of Seven-Up,

The nibbling of Saltine crackers,

And the coziness of sleeping in the afternoon.

The company of fellow sick ones,

Who are oh so eager to play games,

To cuddle,

And to bring the sick bucket when needed.

The End.

When I go to college, I most certainly am going to pack a "sick basket."

It will contain the following:

a 2 liter bottle of 7-up

a box of Saltines

several tea bags

an old, 1-gallon, plastic ice cream tub

a letter from Mom

several Tums (simply to remind me of my family, who believes that Tums are the answer to everything)

Libeth

a deck of cards

a sleeping bag and pillow (so that I can sleep on the bathroom floor)

Rebekah Grace,

your slightly goofy,

and mostly feeling healthy again

Friend

What now?

This was an optional assignment in my Driver's Education program:

"Stand a baseball bat on the ground in front of you. Place your forehead on the flat part of the handle and spin around the bat 10 times. Now try to ride a tricycle around your block. How is your reaction time? Are you a safe driver in that condition? How does that relate to drinking and driving?"