Attack of the Clones -- Or, Scheid Diesel Extravaganza

Woo! Busy week, I have had. I will get onto it as soon as possible, but firstly . . .

Happy birthday, Hannah! I'm sorry I couldn't do anything fancier. I had wanted Sloshy the Kappa come and play the bagpipes, and Almondo do a dance, but Sloshy can't play the bagpipes and Almondo says his dancing expertise isn't suitable to be viewed by our young audience. (Whatever that means.) But I just want to say I appreciate all you do, and I am very, very happy to have "met" you. I hope that this blog continues for a longer time so I can continue to read your inspiring words and learn about your mad cooking skills.

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Okay, so this post will be a catch up of sorts. I have been really busy this week, as stated previously, and I actually forgot that I had a blog. Woops! Thank goodness Hannah posted, or else we would have had the longest hiatus ever thanks to my absence. Here are some things I did:

1. I started my college classes

On Tuesday, I started my college classes. I am a student! Huzzah, hurray and all that! I'm enjoying my experience so far. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I'm getting the hang of it. Of course, because I'm me, I have run into a few complications.

My microcomputers teacher said on Tuesday that all students should arrive fifteen minutes early to boot up their computers and deal with technological issues. So I thought, fine, I can do that. So I get to class the following Thursday, and to my surprise I see that the classroom is full of students. Instantly, I figure I'm late and I dash inside. I sit down. As I am pulling out my things, my teacher (Let's call him Qeetfranklin) walks up to me.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello!" I greeted.

"I do believe that you're in my next class," he said.

Oh. Now everything makes sense.

"Yes sir. Sorry sir," I said. And I dashed out as fast as my legs could carry me. Strangely enough, I wasn't embarrassed at all. Either I have matured, or I have formed some kind of cocoon around myself that protects me from caring what other people think about me. So I stand out in the hall, shifting from foot to foot, and a fellow student turns to me.

"Don't worry, I did it too," she said.

"Oh, yes! I mean not yes. But I'm glad I'm not alone."

She shrugged.

"Hey, he said to arrive early."

My sentiments exactly.

In other college news, I have a mini-speech due Tuesday. Wish me luck. I will let you know how it goes. Probably. If I remember. So far, classes aren't hard at all. We'll see if that changes.

2. My Guinea Pig Went Passive Agressive on Me

YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT MY GUINEA PIG FATONE BECAUSE HE IS AN ANGEL AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND THEREFORE YOU SHOULD LOVE HIM TOO SEE IT'S PERFECT LOGIC?!!?.

Anyway, I have a guinea pig named Fatone. I keep him upstairs in the living room. We ran out of food for him yesterday, and upon realizing this he decided that he was dying of starvation. That morning, I came up to him and he stood up on his hind legs and wheeked at me for several seconds, pleading me for food.

"Sorry," I said.

I walked away. Every time I would pass his cage, he would continue to yell at me. Finally, I yelled at him to shut up, and he did so because he loves me and he does what I say.

But then I come back later and look in the cage. He was curled up in a ball, his steely gaze cast up at me. And his whole body vibrated with anger and he let out a slow, steady,

"Bdddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....."

Overall, I was very offended that he would treat me this way. I tried to give him broccoli, but as soon as he tasted it, he froze, ran into a corner, and made horrendous gagging sounds.

We got him food, and he's back to normal, but I don't want to see him in one of those rages again.

3. I went to a teen volunteer party

I volunteer at our local library, and every year the library has a get-together to celebrate the accomplishments of the volunteers. I had a really good time, I must say. We all got prizes and I received:

1. 2 tee-shirts
2. 2 pencils
3. several rubber rings
4. a couple of book marks
5. An inflatable elephant
6. a betta fishtank

Not a bad haul, eh? Now I just need to convince my parents to get me a betta, and I will have yet another ultimately-useless-but-lovable pet to eat up all my money and time. I look forward to it so much.

Also, I volunteered the second most hours this year. 39 hours and 35 minutes. I lost to another girl by five whole stinkin' minutes. I was kind of sad because this was my last year as a teen volunteer and I had wanted to go out with a bang, but ultimately I am just happy to have been a help to my community.

I also wrapped a tee-shirt around my head and put my elephant on top to create the best hat ever. I don't have a picture, but you probably don't want to see one.

4. My Online School started

Because of an error, I got enrolled in my online school a week and a half late, and as a result I am now thirty lessons behind. Yay. I started working away at it this morning. Looks like I'm going to have a full weekend.

5. Made a new friend

I now have a new walking buddy. Hello there, Ayrton. You should read my blog.

6. I started driving more

It is so much easier to drive an Audi than a giant, hulking van.

7. The Scheid Diesal Extravaganza started

The SDE is an hilarious and infuriating event that takes place in Terre Haute every year. Guys in giant trucks come from all around the country to show off the smoke-spewing glory of their engines, and to stare at other trucks. That's it.

But because of this, the traffic gets horrible, and the air turns a dark gray because of all the smoke that gets spewed out of the exhaust pipes. Not to mention, because they like to show off, these guys drive way above the speed limit and careen everywhere. It makes driving an actually dangerous affair. And these guys don't even care. I heard one guy say, "why do the cops give us tickets if they want us here (for the business our presence brings)?"

Really, diesel guy?

REALLY?

Another funny thing is that all of the guys are clones of each other -- to be expected for a convention -- but they way they saunter around with their ciggarettes hanging limply from their mouths and in their flannel shirts makes me giggle.

I also don't really get what the fun is. YAY! Your car spews more smoke into the atmosphere than the average vehicle! Let's all line up on the road and watch other gas-guzzlers drive by!

And that's what they do.

That's just a small portion. This line goes on at least a block longer than this.

That's about it! Almondo, take us away!

ALMONDO: Wait, why am I dressed in a toga?

*Shrug*

But if you are, you should dance.

ALMONDO: Ugh, fine.

(ALMONDO dances)

YAY! Happy birthday, Hannah!

Esther