CSLC

"CSLC is hot to go, say H-O-T-T-O-G-O, ahoo! Hot to go! Ahoo, hot to go!"


This is the cheer that was echoing through the hallways of LBP school at this years' 26th Annual Canadian Student Leadership Conference! Where Canadian leaders throughout the country are selected to go, mingle, and learn how to be the leaders of tomorrow!


This is starting to sound dangerously like an advertisement/newspaper article, so I'm going to stop now.


Cliche though the words may be, they were true. They ARE true. And this year, our student council advisor picked two students from our school to go to CSLC. One of them was an eleventh grade girl named Abby, and the other was me.


It was the experience of a lifetime. Seriously, it was! This year, it was held in Montreal. I live in Saskatchewan! Mrs E, Abby and I boarded a plane at 6am last Tuesday. We flew to Toronto, then to Montreal. I had never ridden a plane before (that I could remember.) It was so cool! It's weird to think about how some people, businessmen and women, fly all the time for their job. When we boarded the plane, Abby and I were poking about everywhere. We flicked past all the things on the screen mounted in the seats, examined all the magazines and safety cards and took pictures and exclaimed and generally looked like the small-town hicks we are. Other people would take their seats, pull out a book or a Blackberry, and didn't look up or out the window when we were taking off.


I was imagining doing this all again in the future. I would so love to take a trip to Europe someday with my camera and tour and take pictures everywhere. The top three places I want to go are 1) Italy 2) Rome and 3) Greece. Someday I want to go to Australia, too. That would be such an amazing experience.


I decided I want to go to Montreal again too! In truth, we didn't actually see too much of the city. We spent most of our day in the school, which was so much fun. I met so many people, and it wasn't like a typical school where you have your ten or so people that are bursting with spirit. From there about half or more of the kids participate self-consciously in events, and the remainder are 'too cool' to look like they're having fun at a school event.


No. At CSLC (we called it see-slick), every single person was selected to go there because they are a good leader. Every person has made a difference in their school, and every person had school spirit enough for five. In the cafeteria, a table would stand up and chant, "WE'VE GOT SPIRIT YES WE DO, WE'VE GOT SPIRIT HOW 'BOUT YOU?" and point to the next table, who would try and top their cheer. We would get involved in huge circles playing games like Ninja and Pony (I'll explain later) and we were an enthusiastic audience. Seriously. We gave every speaker something like three standing ovations. We would stand when they entered the stage, we would stand again if they cracked a good joke, and again at the end.


This year, the theme was "Big Top" (that's "Grand Chapiteau" for you French folks) and they hired a performer almost every day. There were acrobats and jugglers, and this one guy named Scott Hammell whom I now adore. He's an escape artist! Ever heard of Houdini? He was like him. Honestly, I didn't know people still did that. But he got in the Guinness Book of World Records when he performed a crazy stunt. He was bound in a straitjacket, then wrapped in fifty feet of chains and secured with four padlocks. Then he strapped bungee cords to his boots, and was lifted something like 7, 200 feet in the air by an air balloon. He struggled out of it in 54 seconds. And he was only eighteen at the time!!


Needless to say, he's awesome. He performed this again for us, the straitjacket, chains, and padlocks, and even the hanging upside down. He had to pop out his shoulder to struggle out of the straitjacket-- it was somewhat disgusting. Ugggh.


Also, he's a hypnotist. I love hypnotist shows!! We had one at our school last year, but I was a freshman and too nervous to volunteer. I was too nervous to volunteer this time, too. I hope that, if we get a hypnotist again at Christmas, I'll get the guts to go up. He's also a motivational speaker for Free the Children.


CSLC inspired me so much. Before Montreal, I think my goals were something like this: 1) publish a book 2) play guitar. Something like that.


Now, my new ambition is to speak French. I'm seriously considering an exchange trip in grade eleven. Canada is a bilingual country! I want to be fluent en Francais et Anglais.


The other thing I want to do is go on a trip to benefit a third world country. One of those trips where you travel to a place like Haiti or Thailand and build houses and make friends with orphan kids. I really want to do that now, maybe after I graduate I could do something like that. I should get involved with Free the Children. We had Marc Kielburger give a presentation to us. You may not know him, but he is Craig Kielburger's brother. This is the kid that started the foundation called Free the Children. Craig started this when he was, like, twelve years old. It's now international and has built 600 schools for children who had no way of getting an education.


We did get to see some of Montreal. On Thursday, we participated in an Amazing Race. IT WAS AMAZING. Downtown Montreal is so beautiful! The buildings are all old and brick, with carvings and cool windows. Tres belle. Someday I'm going back there, when I can speak French, and I'm sbringing a camera for more photography.


The last night of CSLC was sad. We had to leave all these new friends! And it wasn't like our provincial conference, when people lived two hours away, or four, or five. I said good-bye to people that lived in Quebec City, B.C., New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Newfoundland. We spent the last night running around and hugging everyone. I was sad, but it was nice, too. There was a dance, but me and three other people just hung out in the lobby of Palais de Congres and just talked. We told each other random facts about ourselves that we hadn't gotten to in the past five days.


It was such an amazing experience! I had never felt that feeling before. I guess it would be like if you moved to a new city, and you started at a new school and you could be anyone you wanted. I knew one person out of 700 teenagers there. I could be anyone I wanted to be.


Just as an example. In my town, most of the girls dance. It's just what you do. Ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, etc. I had been in dance almost all my life, but I quit this year. I just don't enjoy it. I'm now focusing on SRC, music, and volleyball. A lot of people in town, when I say "I'm not dancing this year," they just go "what?"


Because that's how a lot of people know me, I guess. But at CSLC? I never mentioned that I used to dance. They didn't know me as a former dancer. They knew what I told them about. We had an exercise when we had to say the things we were passionate about to a stranger in the audience. I turned to a girl beside me from Nova Scotia and said, "I'm passionate about art and music." Because it's true. That is what I enjoy. This girl didn't know that at home, I play the Sims 3 and used to dance and play volleyball and don't like math.


I'm home now, and I'm still feeling inspired. Instead of wasting my time today, I picked up my guitar and practiced for a while. The fingers of my left hand are sore now, but I feel satisfied. I learned something, I strengthened a skill, I didn't just sit and watch TV or waste time on Facebook.


So, I now know more about being a leader. I want to change my school. I want to learn a new language, and I want to help those less fortunate than me.


If you ever have the chance to participate in a chance like this, you shouldn't even hesitate. You should grab at the chance. It's in Newfoundland next year, in case you were wondering. :-)

A Life-Changing Experience Before 7 AM

A life-changing experience before seven o'clock in the morning is not quite as enlightening as you think it is. Really. It is not.

My iPod alarm gently shuddered with a harp sound. The strumming of a harp is melodious and lovely--once. It just repeated and repeated until I had to, like, get up and shut it off. Six am. NOT FUN.

I threw on some sweatpants and grabbed a stick of gum to qualify as breakfast AND brushing my teeth. I adjusted my sleeping-ponytail (which makes it sound more high-tech than it really is: it's just a wad on top of my head), splashed water on my face, missed and grabbed a bunny hug to cover my wet T-shirt, then went upstairs. My mommy drove me to school.

The school custodian was there, surprisingly early, and let me in. My buddy Konnor was in the Home Ec room already, waiting. I dumped my stuff in my locker so I won't have to later and we waited for everyone else.

They arrived. Then we got out the turkeys.

Yes: we were WASHING TURKEYS.

Ewwwwwwwwwwww.

Those gross, frozen birds are not that pinkish-beige raw-skin color. They're DISCOLORED, white and pink and blue like a bruise. And they're really, really cold. Washing them in cold water, as well, is FREEZING. But we're all from Saskatchewan, so we're used to it. Ha.

We had to REACH IN (Mrs. Edwards says it's the stomach, but...) and pull out its guts. A lot of interesting, purplish-dark red shapes came out. We had to rinse it off and pat it dry, inside and out (inside, you can feel the pattern of its ribcage. UCK.) and put it in the pan and slide it in the oven. Then we scrubbed. For a long time.

We are roasting the turkeys today, so the whole high school will smell glorious!

The things I do for the SRC.

Our Christmas dinner is on Tuesday, our last day of school before Christmas holidays. That day, we also have Formal Day (so everyone's pretty) Santa Pictures (with our IA teacher) and the hypnotist (!). I saw a hypnotist last year, and it was HILARIOUS. And a little creepy, and excellent. This year the hypnotist calls volunteers up by class, so since I'm a freshie, I probably won't be hypnotized this year. But I love to watch!

Anyways, now I know how to gut a turkey. I can use this skill forever. But you know what?

I think I'm actually a vegetarian.

Blossoming Love

I understand now. True love. I have found it, and I have the symptoms. Racing heart, dreamy feeling/expression, and the unconquerable urge to be near them at all times.

"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey=my true love <3.

My garage band teacher, Mr. M, is educating the whole band in vintage music. Classic rock. On the keyboard, I can now chord for Sweet Home Alabama, Hotel California, Brianna, and this other French song we're playing for the two French-exchange students from Quebec in our class. Alex sings and is also the volleyball captain, and Guilliame (francais for William, I think) rocks out on guitar. Especially the guitar solo in Hotel California.

I love high school so much. It's glorious. I play flute in band, keyboard in g-band, and I had the lead in Junior Drama, which we performed x3 last Tuesday. Schoolwork is going pretty good. I'm a generally good student, but I was struggling with organization. My binders aren't a hellhole of papers, exactly, but if I have an SRC meeting or volleyball game after school I tend to forget my homework. For me, school is more challenging with organization than work.

Oh. We're moving. We're selling our house in town to move to an acreage. I have mixed feelings about it. I'm not opposed, but I'm not peeing myself in glee, either. My room has bigger windows, which is nice. My room now has a tiny, prison hole window in the corner. It's depressing. Also, I bought new bedroom furniture from Ikea during Thanksgiving weekend in Calgary. It's dark, black-brown Hemnes and is rather enchante. However, since we're moving someday, I can't construct it in my room if we're just going to pack it back up. So I'll be glad to get that back up. Also, I will like being able to have a horse. I love horses and riding them. The girls in my family, my lil' sister Kloey especially, is salivating for a horse to ride. Landon wants a quad. Carson wants Lego. I want a goat. They're so charming. However, they're munchy. So the odds are questionable.

There are things I'll miss about town. There are things I'll adore about the acreage. It will be exciting to move. Also, this will be a good lesson for me. In working.

My New and Awesome Playlist:

OLD SCHOOL

• Don't Stop Believin'
• Hotel California
• Time Warp
• Jessie's Girl
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot
• Africa
• Juke Box Hero
• Sweet Child O' Mine
• Billie Jean

I learned that Africa is a remake of an old song.

I love music. I can't imagine a world without it. I can't imagine someone who doesn't like music. Heck, I can't imagine someone who can't make music. I have been able to read notes since I could read, practically. I feel sorry for people who can't. I have such a mishmash of songs on my iPod. It's glorious. Phantom, Foreigner, Sound of Music, Grease...plus modern songs, like Papparazzi, Lovestruck, Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift. I love most kinds of music.

I'm going to Chorus Line tomorrow. I don't know much about it. Should be fantastic. Haven't seen a musical since Phantom of the Opera. I doubt it'll be quite that marvelous, but you never know.

Okay. I do know. It won't be as good as Phantom. It could be close.

Good-b--

IN MEMORY OF SWIFFER WETJET

My plocaustomus died today. For a bottom-feeding algae sucker, he was a kind-hearted fish and was as attractive as they come.

Fish #8 hit the toilet today. Ouch.

However, Christine, Coraline, and Sephora are still kickin' it. YAY.

Bottom of the Food Chain

That's where I am right now. "Fresh Bait," is what some of the big, scary seniors were calling us today. But I don't really care, because I'm in high school now!!!

YEA! It was a very awesome, interesting day today. I entered the school with some of my friends. Kensey and Aaleah and I were too frightened to go by ourself. Because honey, that's just askin' for it. We all went to Kensey's before school, because we were there by like, eight fifteen, because we were hyper. Kensey's parents were at work, so I mused aloud: "You know, it seems a tad dangerous, doesn't it? Three out-of-control freshies ALONE in this fragile house?"

They agreed. All summer I had been bopping up and down with hyperactivity and bubbling excitement for high school. But I must confess, I was nervous as I walked up there. It was kind of uncomfortable strolling the hallways. Although we weren't really "strolling". We were kind of walking quickly with our shoulders all tensed up. Kensey was in a different homeroom. But it wasn't really frightening, because our school is fairly small. 160 students. We know everyone. Plus, my parents are teachers--kindergarten and 11-12 ELA--so most of the teachers have came and partied at our house. It's a little weird, but not bad.

Aaleah and I were in Mrs. B's room. I'm initialling, because I don't wanna be held responsible for cyber-stalking and whatnot. So, we hung out in the classrooms, because we're not cool enough to roam the hallways.

Yet.

Mrs. B gave us about six different colored papers, and then handed out our locker combos. We practiced on them. It was hard. Maybe I'm just a dork. Or unintelligent. Probably. But anyways, Aaleah is right next to me, which we thought was cool until we both tried to put our stuff into our lockers at the same time. Bang, bang, rattle-bing-bang. Ow.

In ELA, Mrs. T asked if anyone knew the longest word in the English dictionary. I knew it. She asked, and I said tentatively, "floccinaucinihilipilification?"

She smiled. "Can you say that louder?" And I did, and I could spell it, too, but I didn't tell her that. I don't like to show off (huge lie.) Ha ha. She showed us on the board and la-la and then we went to an assembly and the SRC gave us Survival Kits. It was a paper bag with Ivory soap, mini-deodorant, hairspray, female stuff, shampoo, bandaids, and a sucker. I think it's their subtle way of telling us we stink.

In high school, you get an extra-long lunch hour and only five periods all day. Five that are one hour long. There are three in the morning, and two in the afternoon. I love it. It makes the day seem shorter.

In the afternoon, we had PE with Mr. C. He cheerfully guarenteed that we would be in better shape by the end of the year and would also spend a lot of class on conditioning. A.K.A., we're all gonna die. But all we did was play swampball for half the class, and it was fun, though I realized I was in worse shape than I realized. I'm going to hurt. But Mr. C is a firm believer in fitness, and he's been my ball coach before, and he's a cool guy, and fitness is a great thing to do. I don't like it, but I do want to get in better shape.

Last class was Health with Mr. A. We discussed what surprised us about high school, what is better in high school than elementary, and vice versa. Then we did a trick question test, with questions like "how much dirt is in a 3x4x2 hole?"

Obviously, you have to multiply the height by the width and add the length to get the volume. Like, duh.

I know no one actually cares about this, but I figured I'd give you the rundown anyway. I finally settled on a "style" for my blog. I made a new header. I was all inspired after Jehsyka's "Shades of Gray," which I loved. It works for her. But I like dramatic black, but I love color as well.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to actually work tomorrow. Have fun at school, all! It really is awesome!

Midsummer Haze

Blogging life has been slow lately, and I haven't had any action on my Comments page. I thought you cared!! Wah!!

But then again, I can't complain too much. Because I've barely been online, either. My excuse? I don't have Wireless for my laptop up at the cabin. To check my blog, I would have to a) give up watersports time to sit inside, b) fight my way through the lineup to actually reach the computer (I have a big family), c) Wait for 3.5 hours while Google loads up or d) all of the above.

Good news? Miriam's Isle is going awesome! I really have it going along nicely! I have 136 pages AND COUNTING!! I'm really really eager to finally write THE END and to upload it to Lulu and have it bound and published. But I know it won't really happen that fast. Hopefully, the first draft (or "exploratory draft", as Laini Taylor puts it) can be complete by the time school starts. After that, I'm torn. I might want to immediately dive right back into it, adding and subtracting scenes, developing the plot lines a little more, making it perfect. I also might want to just shove it in a drawer for a month and come back later. Perhaps I could do a combination: the burning desire for the finished product might be gone, but I could idly skim through it and ask people's opinions. Give myself a little time off. That would be nice.

Man, I'm excited for school. Jeez. I shouldn't be. But I am! I'm going to high school! It's exciting!

We just had a lot of company up here. One of my cousin's friends, Neva, was also a part of it. I like her. She has a wicked camera, with one of those 2000 dollar telescope lenses or something. The other family visiting, some family friends, also have a photographer daughter, Meghan. We went on a nature walk and she showed me some of her pictures. They were awesome. She has a really good eye.

This inspired me so much I took a bazillion pictures on a solitary walk by myself and also on a boat trip up the creek. I picked and sorted and found about five that turned out nice. I like to edit them on Picasa, making them more interesting. I would LOVE to show em' to you, but THEY'RE ON MY COMPUTER, not the slow family computer. I hate this computer. I hate the crappy moniter and the clacky keyboard.

Oh well. I also decided I want to attempt to find a vintage wardrobe. I did a lot of research on my laptop (there's a tech guy up here that let's us borrow his wireless but he's not here) and I love it. It's so unique. And cheap, if you dig for stuff and thrift stores. I plan on doing that. I mean, at Value Village you can get a lot of stuff for 75 bucks. At another store, you could get a pair of jeans and some socks for the same price.

So, when I figure out how to use an old-fashioned cable to hook up my computer to the 'net, I'll show ya'll my beautiful pictures. It could be later today, actually. I've never made two posts in one day before. That would be interesting.

Bye, all, as I leave you groping for clarity in the midsummer haze.

School's Out For The Summer!

As of Wednesday, June 24th, I was no longer a resident of the Elementary School. I
am now (almost) a "High Schooler", as stupid and/or younger kids say.
I really hate when people use terms such as "Grade Sixers," the "Preschoolers," the "Grade Threeers". Especially when peeps my age say that crap.
Also on my list of pet peeves:

• "I SEEN". UGGGH!!!! I hate it!! Everyone says it!! And now most of the people I know say it just to annoy me. "I seen this guy..." "At recess I seen..." grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
• When people write and use the wrong homonyms. Their, they're, there, your, you're, etc. I also hate the wrong punctuation.
• "Funner."
• Wrong abbreviations.
• Just plain misspellings.
• Pickles.
• Old grouchy guys that smell funny and seem to run everything.
• Snobby women that think they know everything. (Orthodontist nurses, substitute teachers, etc.)
• Warm milk. Warm milk is supposed to be soothing. But it tastes like crap.
• When people don't brush their hair. It's yucky.

I cleaned my fish tank today. I removed 1/4 of the water, scrubbed their plants and their t.rex skull, and stirred up the yellow and blue rocks littering the bottom with a giant spoon. All their old crud and food stirred up, swishing Christine and Coraline into spinny currents and turning the water opaque. So I left them, and let the filter do the job.

Yesterday at swimming lessons I got to swim in my clothes. It was fun. Except it thundered, so we all had to get out. Wet, too-tight shorts riding up your butt as you sit on the grimy ground talking about hypothermia is not a glorious experience.

Ciao, bella.