Do not ask about the subject of this post, because (as is the case with most of the stuff I say here), I have no idea
what I am talking about. Shall I continue? Yes? Good.

Today I woke up at 5:00 am, not because the school had abruptly altered their bell schedule, but because I had my
little heart of cheese set on traveling with a bunch of hyenas to Albany, a three-hour bus ride away from here, to
watch a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest. So, I woke up, groggy as usual, prepared to fight a grisly duel
with any who chose to stand in the way of me and my quest to discover the truth behind Shakespeare's
words...whatever that means.

Anyway, so I woke up, got out of bed, and headed into our small, cluttered, yet entirely comfortable and warm
kitchen, debating whether or not to nibble on a doughnut. I decided not to, since I tend to have a severely weak
stomach in the morning, not to mention the horrendously long bus ride awaiting me. So I packed two plain cake
doughnuts (the kind that come in a box with powdered sugar and cinnamon ones, too) into my dad's quaint little
cooler, threw in some Handi-Snacks, and was prepared to...

Check my email. Yes, my dear friends, check my email. My friend Forrest had promised the night before, via a
tapped telephone conversation, that he'd email me if he felt well enough to embark on this hideous journey with me.
He hadn't emailed me, so I yelled as loud as I could, "A PLAGUE UPON HIM, OH HE THAT DOST DISMAY
ME!" (No, actually, I didn't say that, nor did I think it. Well, until now, that is. However, I thought it added a needed
touch of dramatic flair to my tale.)

Of course, left without my buddy, I sat alone on the bus. I didn't see anyone who ever talks to me, let alone anyone
who would want to talk to me today. So I sat against the window right behind the heater, which would later prove to
be a nearly-fatal decision. I sat there, cooler in tow, thinking of nothing other than how stupid it was that I was there
all alone, and I would be for the rest of the day, from 6:00am to 7:30pm. I sighed, and as the bus rolled away from
my Ivy League high school (haha), I tried to think positively.

Well, there's some reason I'm on this trip alone, I kept saying to myself (I know there should be quotes there, but
hey...deal). So, I focused on thinking of nothing and just took in the scenes I saw out my slightly-mildewed bus
window. First there were weed-infested lawns, then there were fast food boxes, and then there was the wide,
rip-roarin' country trail...or freeway, rather. I began feeling sick while looking at line after line of bright white paint
pass below me, so I focused on things farther away.

It was quite dark outside at this point, but as the hours slipped away, I watched the sky lighten from dark violet to
violet-blue to twilight blue (there's a difference in my world) to indigo to...OH MY GOODNESS! Out my window, I
saw a clear space between two gently rolling hills, which gave enough room to showcase a most beautiful sight.
There, in the distance not so far away from me, was a hill between those other two hills. However, this particular hill
was unlike any other I'd ever seen before. The sky above it shown with a radiant, golden light...a kind of light that I
had never seen, nor can explain. I've never seen a sunrise, and while this really wasn't one, it made me think of
one...kinda. The golden light shone off of the bottoms of the clouds, causing a look so gorgeous that I only wish I had
had a camera, or that I could paint to recapture that wondrous moment. Anyway, so the golden clouds were above
that hill, and surrounding the hill like embracing arms were two thin tendrils of icy blue fog. Looking at that hill, I felt
like something had lodged itself deep within my heart. Without realizing what I was really doing, I found myself
wiping a tear from my chin. I lifted my finger, looked at in disbelief, and then watched that hill until it slipped away
behind our bus. (I don't remember crying, but obviously I must have. Then again, if some of you had seen that sight,
I'm sure the same thing would have happened to you.) Looking at that more-than-picture-perfect scene, I suddenly
thought how bizarre it is that some people can look at things on this planet and not believe in something more
powerful than humans...it was awe-inspiring, and that spectacle literally took my breath away.

Anyway, once we got to Albany, we had to partake in some acting workshops, which I despised with a passion.
There was one activity I hated so much that I almost cried, yet somehow managed to keep my tears in this time. It
was a "fun" game where you were supposed to link arms with someone in an attempt to prevent a chosen "runner"
and "tagger" from meeting each other. Well, I was the "tagger," and I was running after the "runner," trying to tag
him. Things were going just swell until a duo ganged up on me, brutally shoving me into a wall. The guy and girl that
did it were people I'm not too fond of, but I brushed past them and went about my merry little way. I hadn't gone
more than five steps when they slammed into me from behind. I pivoted towards them, finding myself not facing the
one duo, but four. They all surrounded little (and I do mean LITTLE) me, trapping me in a circle. At first, I laughed
along with them, showing what an excellent sport I was, but then they all just kept slamming into me, laughing, calling
me names (some which I can't repeat), and they wouldn't let me out. I told them that it was just a game, and since I
am small, could they at least cut me a little slack here, please? They kept slamming into me, and I have the bruises to
prove it. Even the teachers laughed. I felt like...well, I felt really bad, and it's mostly because they weren't laughing
out of fun or sport, they were laughing AT me, and I don't honestly think anyone has ever laughed AT me before. I
admit, one of the four duos may have just been laughing to laugh, but the remaining three were laughing AT me, and
it made me feel like...well, really bad. Somehow I got out of it, and the instructor guy at the workshop came up to me
and said, "They only did that cuz they know you're fast." I agreed with him, but inside I thought, "Yeah, right...I'm
barely 5'1" tall and I run an 8 minute mile...ooo, yeah, watch out for Andrea, she's a speed demon, ya know."
Anywho...that's enough of that...it just doesn't feel good to be laughed at because you're small and/or because of
your status or whatever reason. Don't ever do it. That experience made me realize how NOT to treat people, so in a
way, I'm glad it happened.

After the workshop, I bummed around with a freshman girl I had never talked to before. We ate lunch in a park
beside the most wonderful man-created stream I have ever seen. It was cold outside. We talked about
things...school, driving, guys, the usual. Then we walked down to some stores, preferring the stationary, book, and
hippie shops cuz they're usually the most interesting. The stationary store sold packs of 12 pieces of paper for $3.95,
so we left. The book store turned out to be a children's book store, and while I am fond of Clifford the Big Red Dog,
I don't think I'd spend $7.99 on a paperback book about him. Then the girl and I hit two or three hippie shops, and I
don't mean that in a bad way. They all smelled like incense (sp?), and they all scared me. They sold things like
"power crystals," Tarot cards, really nasty bumper stickers, see-through shirts, platform bowling shoes, and "dresses"
that looked more like sleepwear, if ya catch my drift. I got really scared at one where a girl asked me, while I was
looking at some nifty silver figurines of fairies, if I realized that certain goddesses were fairies. I was like, "Umm,
nope. Didn't know some people believe that. Interesting," then I grabbed my companion and fled the store before I
got myself into trouble.

The play itself was very good. It was Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the scenery was EXCELLENT, stunning,
and beautiful. The actors were all very talented individuals, and I actually understood what was going on throughout
the play. If you don't know what it's about, read it or see it, cuz it's really good. At intermission my little
friend/companion and I, having been seated next to each other, scoped the place for guys. I saw one promising
individual with cute little black wire-framed glasses and a letterman's jacket, but he saw me staring, so I got scared
and quit looking. The play was excellent...blah blah blah.

Anyway, yeah. That was today. Aside from that, I am taking the SAT test May 5th, and while I have borrowed a
preparatory book from the school counselor and have signed up for two email lists/site tutorials, I still can't master
the art of the wondrous analogies. Those things are just way too hard, and who knows what words like "effervescent"
mean out of context, anyway? One tip in the book I borrowed says that if you "say the word in your head, and it
sounds like a bad thing, it most likely is." WHAT IS THAT?! It all depends on HOW you say it, doesn't it? Oh my
goodness, I am SO going to do poorly on that thing. On my PSAT, I got the top 4% on verbal, and top 14/16%
(something like that) on the math and writing skills.

Anyway, does anyone have any SAT test-taking tips I could use? I am so nervous! I only have a month to prepare!
ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Anywho...that's me today. I am going to have three day's of homework this weekend. Yesterday for being sick,
today cuz of the play, and Friday for a TAG meeting. Yay...and I haven't written an essay for TAG like I was
supposed to. Oops. And I wish I wasn't in the play cuz I have way too much stuff to deal with, both school-wise and
emotionally.

~Den-"this was a huge post, wasn't it?"Kara