Driving in rain

The rain hits my windshield like your head hits a pillow at night. The sound of the rain dancing across the windshield is a beautiful thing to hear. The gentle pitter patter of the rain landing on the top of the car feels as warm as being wrapped with a warm blanket and being led to a warm fire. As I drive, I'm more in awe of the rain than where I'm going; just the feeling of peace with the rain makes me want to stop and take it in, if I wasn't driving.

In fact, I just take a time to see how beautiful the surroundings are in the rain. To me, it's almost like heaven, just seeing the splendor of my surroundings; the leaves on the trees are collecting rain, the trees by the road make it seem like I'm driving through a valley, and the roads are silent, save for the windshield wipers going to work.

With my car's heat on and the overall darkness that came with the rain, it feels dramatic. Finally, I pull up and get out, with the rain blanketing me. Now, I feel that the built up drama has finally climaxed with me accomplishing my goal.

You know, to pick up the warm and scrumptious burgers for dinner.

The Little Town by the Sea

The little town by the sea was quiet. It always was.
It was a small town, so there wasn't much to do. Besides,
its main attraction was the rain. Ah the rain, the lovely rain.
The joke was that if it was actually sunny, it was cause to celebrate.

The residents went through their daily lives, shopping, eating.
They lived in their small cottages; they had cozy fires burning inside for them.
What was the purpose of these villagers? Life was simply simple.
Day in and day out, the villagers in this little town by the sea
Ate in those small restaurants owned by friends
And shopped in the small stores around town.
Finally, at night they relaxed by sharing a pint with their friends at the local pub.
All the while with the rain gently walking on the cottage roofs.

Why didn't they want to go to the bigger towns, the cities?
They simply were happy, living in a little town, by the sea.

Why you DON'T go to bed thirsty

I made the mistake last night of going to bed very thirsty, and let me tell you, it absolutely sucked. Not only was it warm in my room, but when you're thirsty, it's unbearable. What didn't help is that I actually had a dream about having a really sweet drink at a bar (I was legal in that dream), which set off additional thoughts about going to bars and drinks in general. Needless to say, I was really dang thirsty for the whole time I was trying to sleep. However, I finally bit the bullet and got up at 6 AM to get a drink of water. Crap, now I'm starting to get thirsty again. Be right back-I'm getting a drink!

Ode to the Past and the the Future

Do you remember what you were like in elementary school?
Where everything seemed to be magical?
When everything was innocent and fun?
Do you remember?

Well I do.

I remember hanging out with my friends at recess, having a blast on the playground.
I remember those kickball games where the "loser" was really the winner. Actually, there was not loser.
I remember sprinting out of the classroom to spend a happy 30 minutes in the playground.
For that matter, I remember walking through the woods in the back of the playground
Planning grand adventures in my head, and plotting them with my friends.

I remember the days when we were trusted to get up by ourselves, and walk to the back of the room
where we were able to get stuff from our backpacks. Ah yes, those amazing roller backpacks!

I remember having to walk in a line to traverse the halls of our mighty school.
As well as counting to see we weren't missing anybody.

I remember feeling ever so mighty when 6th grade year started You know,
how we were the bosses of Orange Hunt Elementary school, being sixth graders and all.

I remember sleeping over at my friend Dan's house. All the cartoons we watched.
All the video games we played. All the hours we spent being obnoxious kids.

Those were the good days.

Those days get rarer and rare as the years go by. But you know what?
They were the good old days. Days that sometimes, I wish I could go back to.

While I'm departing for college, I will always remember elementary school, aka the good old days. Days of innocence.

Remember how we all looked forward to growing up when we were in 6th grade?

I do.

Question

By any chance would anybody know if you went to see LB Theater's production of MacBeth this past year? Cause I'm pretty sure that I saw somebody that looked like you, and I recall that person wearing black and I think pink and black heels. And they looked pretty dang cute too. So yeah, can you answer this question of mine?

If you have your music...

Yeah, so I'm a bum and found my copies of the winter concert music. And I have a few original copies. Yeah...

Another discovery from last night

Guess what I found? My old travel journal from about seven or eight years ago when we first went to Germany! And as a bonus to add to my nostalgia, I actually wrote it in cursive, which was when we actually were being told that yes, we'd need cursive for the future (boy does that seem like a funny joke now). I wrote an updated entry in it, basically saying that I was super happy to see it again, and that it was far too long since I last wrote in it. I mean, it really was like running into a long lost friend, after being convinced you'd never see them again. And come to think of it, I actually do remember writing those entries AND I actually remember those events that I wrote about, with the pens on the two miniature Swiss Army knives that we'd picked up at the top of a mountain in Switzerland! Man, the memories are coming back now! As my favorite travel author, Paul Theroux (check him out, by the way), once said, "every arrival is a departure". Right now, that's the case, as I'm being hearkened back to the good old days, and going back to my youth. It's a warm feeling, reminiscing back on the old days.

Some things that I wrote about:
-Arriving in Frankfurt, and Mr. Miller driving us about 40 minutes-1 hour south to Heidelburg. We met up with our friends who were living on the military base at the time, as my friend's mom was (formerly; she ended retiring a few years ago) a colonel in JAG. Their house was pretty cool to live in, as was being on an overseas base in Germany; the base was quiet yet cozy, plus there were some foreign soldiers living there too.
-Going to Heidelburg Castle with the Millers
-Going on a cruise and ending up at this little town called St. Goar., which was super relaxing. I remember it raining and just feeling so at peace. Oh so I just read what I wrote, as I evidently thought that I could control the rain, and I can explain that. So, I had a sense when it was going to rain, if I can remember correctly. Or it might have been one of my weird "rituals" where if something happened, then by golly it was going to rain.
-Going to this ridiculously huge pool. I mean, it was like an indoor water park and everything. Even now it still is really impressive to think about.
-Playing Tony Hawk's Underground. Yeah um, no comment on that right there. It was something to do at the Miller's house, honestly.
-Spending a few hours in Strasburg, France for lunch. It really was a nice city, and we went to this little Chinese cafe, cause that was the only place we could communicate with (read: my mom speaking Chinese).
-Going to Bern, Switzerland. Again, it was a beautiful city.
-Sleeping in a barn for a night in this super small village at the foothills of the Alps in Switzerland. I wasn't happy with it at the time, as I wanted to sleep in the car, but now that I think about it, it was really freaking cool. Plus I had goat's milk for breakfast.
-Going through this never-ending tunnel on a mountain road. For at least 20 minutes, we were in that tunnel. It was a bit scary too, but once again it's cool to think about.
-Going down the salt mine in Salzburg, Austria. That place was amazing! Plus we slid down the slide there, and it was neat!

Cleaning up my desk and rediscovering my youth

So last night I got my laptop confiscated by my mom on the grounds that evidently I haven't cared enough to clean out my room. Which is why I couldn't blog about what I found while doing a massive cleanup job of my desk and my shelves last night. First of all, I dumped all of my high school stuff out, which felt liberating. It definitely was a relief tossing out my AP Stat stuff (it felt like I was getting my revenge for the suffering I endured during the course of the year). Anyways, it was not too bad to be able to throw away my middle school stuff, except it was a bit neat to see the progress I made since 7th grade. No, throwing away my elementary school stuff was hard. At one end, it was so long ago that  really shouldn't have bothered hanging on to that stuff for so long. On the other hand, it's nice to be able to cling to a piece or two of nostalgia; something to remind me of how innocent and (surprisingly) how school actually wasn't that bad, and actually sort of fun. Now that I think of it, I remember how fun the kickball games were at recess, hanging out with my friends, especially at recess, the renovation at Orange Hunt, sleepovers at my best friend's house, how I loved to draw pictures of Eeschwee, my stuffed animal cat; man, I could go on and on about all of this stuff. Sadly, I've tossed out most of that stuff, but I kept what appears to be my early elementary school history notebook, complete with a semi-ripped cover with my various drawings of Eeschwee; holy crap, I do somewhat remember drawing that way, way back!

I think mom was right when she said that I should hold on to some of my stuff, just so I can remain, in a way, linked to the past. One of my first orders of business is to haul out some of the things that I had to fight with myself to throw out, out of the recycling bins. Now that I think of it, I'm a moron for even throwing some of that stuff out-stupid me. But really, time can't really erase all those memories, and I'm definitely going to hold those memories with me in my heart for as long as I live!

New Phone Update

So apparently my whole family is getting new phones via our impending switch to Verizon, from Cox. And I'm not getting an iPhone or Android phone. Bummer. Well to be fair, Verizon does have a ton of phones to chose from, so all is not lost. I mean, whatever phone we all get can't be as bad as a prepaid Tracfone phone that I've had for the last four years. But yeah, I'm still kind bummed that I will not be receiving an iPhone or the Droid phone.

A Summer Night

What to do on this fine summer night?
I could read some of the new books that I bought yesterday evening
I could listen to music on my iPod
I could play video games until my eyes go blurry

But no, I'm talking to her.
Talking about life, talking about being bored, talking about how we're both awkward.
It's actually ironic-I'm never bored when I'm talking to her.
I feel happy, talking to a fellow bored person.
Literally, the hours pass as we talk. And I enjoy it.

On this summer night, one of many, I find myself
Enjoying having a conversation
With her. About nothing, really.
But that's why it's awesome. It's about nothing.

Well, I'm glad I'm NOT in this country...

And that would be the "Democratic Republic" of the Congo. Note that the parentheses are in there only because it's a "democratic republic" in name; it's one of the most corrupt and poor countries in the world. Anyways, I was reading Chuck Thompson's book, "To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism" (interesting book by the way, but it might be a bit crude for some, as a heads up). He went to the D.R.C., for a month, in the part that I read, and the second part is him going to India, for 31 days. Basically, he survived the heat, extremely corrupt cops (he basically had to bribe the crap out of the cops and other government officials to travel the country), disease, prostitutes (apparently they're rampant in Africa-it's their way of life, having sex), and other things. His handler dude also wasn't the most trusty worthy as well. But Mr. Thompson survived in his month long quest to find the funniest joke in that country, so that was interesting to read about; if you care to know, it basically was how a French engineer willingly volunteered to come back to Africa, and got screwed over. In conclusion, thank god I didn't have to go there, much less live there.

Hi there Rachel

This is just to say hi. Glad you're reading my blog and all, cause lord knows I need the traffic. By the way, you need to keep up writing stuff on your blog, cause when I stalk it, there's nothing new there. Sad day. And if you see this, PUHLEASE comment on my stuff. Mucho gracias. =)

And you're really good looking. Don't argue, you are. With a cute smile and an awesome laugh. Yup. =D

Damn Fly

The freaking fly that's been obnoxiously hovering around my room is going to die. Painfully.

UPDATE: According to my computer's clock, it's 7:59. I have not yet killed the bastard, but he's left my room. Good riddance. 

Travel Documentaries Rock =)

I'm currently watching Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's documentary, Long Way Round, about how they drove their motorcycles across the world, through Europe to Russia, where they flew to Alaska, then drove through Canada where they finally stopped in New York, where they thus flew back to London to complete their journey. I read their book about it, but it's really neat to actually be able to see their videos of it; I can compare what I read to what I see, and it's interesting to see how I imagined it to what actually happened. I strongly recommend checking it out, cause it's neat stuff.

My Hamlet Shrinklit/Rap (with spoilers)

So this was my Hamlet shrinklit that I did way back when in third quarter. And by the way, it'd meant to be read in kinda a rappish short of way, like a song almost. And yes, I know that if you read it without thinking it as somewhat song-ish, it doesn't rhyme. Enjoy!

After being a student in germany
Hamlet came back to Denmark; he did see

His father, in the form of a ghost,
When Claudius, his uncle, occupying the king's post


Seeing the ghost, to Horatio does Hamlet confide:
I will avenge my father, but my time I will abide

Meanwhile young Hamlet dons a disguise
Pretend he's nuts and leaves people to surmise

"What's up the prince? Is he mad"
The prince is a loon! So, so sad!"

And to prove his point, Hamlet goes to run
Into Ophelia's room at night, for some "fun"

Unexpectedly into her room he did blitz
Looking crazy; she was scared out of her wits

Polonius and Claudius went to spy
On the "crazy" Hamlet, to verify

That the young Dane, heir to the throne
Went: no more Ophelia, he's starting to bemoan

However, their suspicions are denied, as they hear and see
Hamlet shout, "Get thee to a nunnery!"

Later, in the chapel, there was the king.
In the shadows lurked Hamlet, waiting to sting

But he cannot, because Claudius would be invited to go to heaven,
While the Prince, our hero, would experience Dante's inferno, in total seven.

Though later, whilst in his mother's room,
There is an intruder, whom Hamlet gleefully sends to his doom.

Is it Claudius? He hopes it is so.
But it was Polonius. Whoops! Oh no!

The friends, Rosencranz and Guildenstern, were sent to accompany and spy
On Hamlet on their trip to England, where he is to die.

Meanwhile Laertes has returned from France and some joy
Only to see Ophelia crazy and his father dead; no more happiness he can enjoy

So he conspires with Claudius, they plot
Hamlet's death; poisoned swords and wine, just one shot

When Gertrude, she is distressed, does intrude.
Says Ophelia has drowned, a victim of abuse so crude.

Her body is taken to the burial ground and to the grave
Where hamlet and her brother Laertes rave

Over who loved her more; indeed, fists were thrown.
All this while they competed for love, over her bones.

At Elsinore, the castle, Laertes and Hamlet prepare to fight a duel
A duel that begins the descent into death; all for honor, that deadly jewel.

Nobody expected Hamlet to last; though he took them by surprise.
His sharpness, brighter than anybody in the court, was part of his clever guise.

For he hit Laertes not once, but twice. Now, Claudius dropped the poisonous pearl
Into the cup; sadly, Gertrude took a good ol' swig, and then did a swirl.

The play then takes an ominous twist; First Hamlet is tabbed then Gertrude is dead-
What was meant for the prince was drunk by the queen instead.

Now Hamlet is angry, and he stabs Laertes. Guess who he is now going to kill?
Claudius. "Finally, my plan has come to perfection. My father's wish, I have fulfilled."


"Nobody else left in nobility than me. Sadly, I'm about to expire."
Fortibras, the liar, takes the throne with no one left. "Oh Hamlet, it's you I admire."

"He was a noble man, but the last of his kin, there is nobody left,
Treat him with honor, his life is bereft.

I, having no opposition, in the face of these events, the wake
The Danish throne, I will take."

Words of Wisdom, courtesy of Mr. McCabe

When I got back my capstone paper for AP Lit last Thursday, Mr. McCabe wrote this on it, and I really thought that it was solid advice. In referring to my paper tying in my life's current progression with the novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, he said, "Yours [life's journey], like K+K's, is a search of courage and for self-keep on this journey (it's hard to read his handwriting, so I guessed at what word he said). It never ends-at least for the smartest and the wisest!" It's true, and I really want to hold that knowledge with me; lord knows I'm going to do so.

Something to think about

As my friend Alex said last to me, what she said sums up my thoughts on graduation. I told her that I was happy to graduate yet I was bummed that I was going to miss marching band. She said that while I wouldn't miss the commitment to it, I'd miss the fun of it; the friends, the trips, etc. It's totally true, I am going to miss seeing the new marchers/freshmen, the initial stages of the drill, and more importantly, being innocent and having that fun. Heck, I'm even gonna miss the times we get screamed at for not hustling or working hard enough. I know that I'm reminiscing a ton, yet I really am gonna miss it. It's like something is empty in my life now, as it's the first time in five years that I won't be going to marching band camp in August; instead, I'll be in school at Mary Washington. And it's not just marching band, it's just Lake Braddock band in general. Seeing the people I know after a long summer, it's not going to be there anymore, as I'll be a freshman in college. Maybe I'm afraid of breaking away from tradition, or anything else. Anyways, I'm going to miss the joy of marching band, and all the amazing times. Actually, I'm going to miss seeing the freshman grow up before my eyes, which honestly is the thing I'll miss the most; it was a blast these last few years being a part of them growing up. Anyways, best of luck to you guys for the future of the Lake Braddock Marching Band!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!

Call me the most recent graduates in the Lake Braddock Class of 2010! Oddly enough, while I'm excited, I still cannot believe that I graduated.

Game 3, the turning point

His team won the first two games of the series, so there was pressure on the other team to turn around the series with the two games at their rink. Aaron once again knew that he'd be the focal point, as he had helped to shut them down. Now, it was going to be an all or nothing game, as his team would potentially take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series; he knew that it was going to be an all out war to win the game tonight.

In the locker room, iPod headphones in his ear, music blaring, Aaron was getting mentally ready for what he knew would be a real battle tonight. Guys running him over in his crease to throw him off, plenty of screens so that he couldn't see what was going on, and anything and everything he could think of-all of it he was about to face. He knew that this would be a series

From the opening faceoff, his pregame worries came true. Their first goal came off a deflection from the forward infringing on Aaron's living room, the crease. The next goal came from a shot that a defenseman took while Aaron was faliling around, hoping to actually see the puck. To Aaron's credit, he had faced an astounding 35 shots in the first two periods, so he wasn't doing necessarily bad; he just gave up two hard goals by a hungrier team. Besides, in the frantic scrambles in front of the net, the two on ones, three on twos, three on ones, he had held his own.

After two crazy periods of nonstop, frantic action, the scoreboard read: "Home-2, Away-1". Between the periods, Aaron was preparing himself for the third period, which would be the critical period of the game, even the series.

His team came out of the gates, firing everything on net. They knew that this would be a huge period for the whole series, and that they could essentially win the series in the last 20 minutes of this game. However, the opposing goalie had been playing spectacular, as he had only yielded a single goal through the first 40 minutes. In his own net, Aaron was silently praying for an equalizer goal, as he desperately hoped that his team would bail him out for his earlier mistakes, mistakes that had put them in a hole.

With five minutes left in the game, the scoreboard still read 2-1 in favor of the other team. As each second wound down, Aaron gradually got more nervous; he was blaming himself for the loss, as he probably should have made just one more save.

One minute left on the clock. The puck was in the other team's zone and Aaron was on the bench for an extra attacker. The critical moment was there-would his centerman win the faceoff? The centers were square to the faceoff dot, waiting for the ref to drop the puck, jostling around for the key position. For Aaron, time seemed to slow down as the puck fell to the ice. Then it all seemed to unravel. His center lost the faceoff, as it was sent back to the defenseman. The defenseman  then waited a little bit, made a pass to the forward, who then skated past Aaron's defensman, and shot it into the net.

On the bench, Aaron just sat there, stunned. "It was all my fault that he scored. If I hadn't sucked and stopped those two goals, we never would have had to resort to pulling me for an extra attacker and he never would have had an empty net to shoot in."

Final score, Home-3, Away-1. The series now was 2 games to 1, with another road game. Would the next game bring a win? Or another loss?

Funny sign I saw on a car on the way back

There was this car in front of me on the parkway that said, to this effect, "I don't carry money on me, my kid plays hockey". Thought that it was funny, yet it's totally true.

My High School Hockey Career is Over

It's over. My high school career is over, and it ended on a comeback to tie Madison 3-3, after being down 3-1 after the first two periods. While it wasn't a win, it wasn't a loss either, and honestly, that's fine by me; I'm actually proud of the way we came back, and technically we would have won had we not have had a goal waived off. Though my legs weren't there, so I really didn't skate at all, and I'm kinda bummed. Fittingly enough for this season, I took a hooking penalty, which gave me 8 penalty minutes for the season. While we couldn't get the win, it was a fun game, and really, that's all I wanted-having fun in my last ever high school hockey game.

Now that my career is over, I just want to say that no matter how many losses I've had or the few wins that my teammates and I squeaked out, it's been an amazing time playing playing with you guys. We were like brothers out there, shedding sweat and enduring those rough times. All of the locker room conversations before and after the games were a blast too! Though for the most part of my career were losses, just being able to play the sport I loved for my school (and for a pride for the Reston Raiders), that was the best part! On and off the ice, it was a memorable run; who can forget coach buying us pizza for "only" losing 9-0 to Broad Run, the times we actually won (all two of them for Lake Braddock hockey), having Coach Hyjek, Clay, Beau, and one of our moms ejected from the same spring league game 8th grade year, and anything and everything in between. God bless you guys for helping to make my high school experience the best years, and it was amazing playing with every single on you. While I don't know how much I'll get to play beyond this point, or even if I'll be able to continue with my career, it's been an amazing ride, and I'll always be extremely grateful for going out with a bang! Thank you guys, thanks for giving me a great high school experience. 

First upset of the World Cup!

Switzerland-1, Spain-0. Yes, you read that right. The Swiss beat the Spanish. It's the second or so loss for Spain in 49 matches. And the Swiss still have yet to give up a goal in 490 minutes (hope I don't jinx them).

That One Moment

I really want to tell you.
Tell you that I think you're cute.
But I don't know how, or even when,
I'd be able to tell you.

It's awkward to say it.
I mean, I've seen all of the pictures of you on Facebook.
And you are really cute. Sorry it's random and/or awkward.

But I'm desperate to let you know-I think you're cute.


There really is no chance to tell you in person; we don't really know each other
And I'm desperately hoping for that one moment,
When you're by yourself, walking in the hallways
And I'm (oh man) walking in your direction. You're so close.
As my heart is beating nervously, I try-I try.

To summon up the courage, to say

"I think you're cute".

If you're reading this...

If you're reading this, then I have one thing to say. If you're Mary L., you're a great person who everybody loves, and you're cute (don't let the haters drag you down). If you're Rachel A., you're pretty and that is a fact. If you're Rebecca B., thank you for reading my blog and thank you for giving me feedback on my poems and whatnot.

New Zealand vs. Slovakia

As I'm writing this on a laptop in my third period APES class, the New Zealand-Slovakia match just concluded. New Zealand scored with about a minute or so left in the game, in stop time no less, to tie the game at 1-1, which is what the final score was. Winston Reid scored a header and he went nuts, as he took his shirt off and ran around in the corner. Great stuff, though I'm bummed that I didn't get to watch the whole game.

And on an interesting note, the group (don't remember the letter) that has Slovakia, New Zealand, Italy, and Paraguay, all of them have ties and one point. Ouch. Then again, they're all on equal ground to advance, on paper.

What's that feeling when you're proud, happy, depressed, and anxious?

Just now I was watching the band's annual yearbook DVD that captured the whole marching band season. So what? Well, just watching it makes me realize how much my time in the Lake Braddock band program really has meant to me. I mean, it just seems like yesterday that I was going out for my first day of band camp, scared out of my mind for it all. Now that I'm a senior, I really feel nostalgia for all of the good times at games, camp, the various bus rides, the trips, you name it. We grew up in those four years, and that was an amazing thing; I truly got to see how far I've come as a person. Just seeing your underclassmen friends grow up, too, before your very eyes, that was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had, and knowing that I've made a difference in their lives, now that is special. I'm gonna miss you guys, but god bless you all for the amazing four years spent with you, and here's to the future!

NO MORE AP STAT!!!

Today was my "final" for AP Stat, and we did nothing. This is significant because I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO AP STAT ANYMORE, I'M DONE WITH THAT CLASS FOR FOREVER!!! I feel...liberated...like I'm free...and my soul...it isn't crushed anymore. I-I-I'm happy. The class of doom...it's over. I'm...free!

(Yes, you might have been able to figure out that I'm SUPER happy to not have to go to AP Stat anymore)

Game Two

Heading into game two of the series, Aaron knew that he'd be facing a barrage of shots once again. He knew that he was lucky to have gotten a shutout, as there were several frantic moments in front of him where he was sure that the puck would have gone past him; though he knew that as a goalie, luck was your biggest friend, and he should be very thankful for that. The better question was, would luck stay with him for game two?

Right away, Aaron was tested. Each shot he faced was from different angles and different skaters-they never stopped testing him. Finally, they cracked him. One of his defencemen was caught pinching too far up, which resulted in a two on one situtation. While the other defenceman tried to slide in front of the pass, it was to no avail and the opposing forward rifled the shot over Aaron's glove for a goal. He was disappointed, but he quietly turned around, pulled up his mask, and took a sip of water from his water bottle; from experience, he'd learned to not let a goal get to his head, much less a hard play to stop.

Fortunately for him, his teammates were doing their part in the other end of the rink. Eventually they scored the equalizer, and Aaron breathed a sigh of relief in his mask.

As the time ticked down, the score remained tied and Aaron was making save after save. When the buzzer sounded, it was time to go into overtime, where there was no limit on how long it'd take for a winner, and it was open for somebody to be a hero. Who wanted it more?

As sweat poured down his face, Aaron was ready for it. Overtime was his favorite part of being a goalie, as you were the person who had the fate of your team in your hands. The first shot he faced, though, gave him a little alarm, as it would have went in had it not have gone wide; in his head, he was thinking "oh shit, that was too close". Later on though, he would have another test, one that would be potentially decisive. Somehow, there was a 3 on 2 barreling down on him. He faced another odd man situation, and he was feeling it. One of the forwards skated towards him to try and get a screen, while the other two were setting up. His defencemen were covering the two skaters, when all of a sudden, the forward with the puck let a shot go. Aaron put himself in position, when the puck hit the stick of the forward standing in front of him. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the puck flew through the air. "Oh god, where's the puck. Where is it?" he was thinking. The crowd became deathly quiet as they awaited the results of the shot.

"And the puck.....IS SAVED BY CARTHAGE!!! OH WHAT A GLOVE SAVE BY THE GOALIE, AARON CARTHAGE! HOW DID HE SEE THAT?!?!"

Through the mask, Aaron smiled.

About two minutes later, his teammate, one the leading playoff scorers, scooped up a loose puck, dangled two defenders, to get a breakaway on the other goalie. Like Aaron, the goalie had been having a monster game. However, the similarities of making the saves ended when his teammate shot the puck five hole to end the game. Two-nothing in the series, two more games to go.

Introduction for story I'm working on

His Bauer pads were marked up, with all the shots that he'd faced throughout the course of the season. Many a shooters were frustrated with those indentations in his pads, while others got to avoid seeing that, as they got to see the puck hitting the back of the twine. Those black stains on his pads were a badge of honor to Aaron, and he took pride in his dirty looking pads; rightfully so, as he was the best goalie in the league in terms of goals allowed and save percentage, due to his cat-like reflexes and his lightning quick glove hand, though that statistic would be tested tonight.

From the very onset of the game, Aaron knew that the opposing shooters would be coming with a vengeance, and that he'd be facing a cascade of shots. With each save, with each cry from the announcer screaming, "save by Carthage!", his confidence grew. He got to a rhythm, he was in the zone; each shot that was thrown to him, he made the save look effortless. The crowd was into it too, as they went nuts with each and every save of his-ditto for his teammates, and they fed on that energy. Finally, his teammates opened the scoring twelve minutes into the second period; Aaron did a little fist pump when he saw the red light go on in the other zone.

Despite facing 47 shots at the end of the game, Aaron had made 47 saves, none better than his glove save on one opposing forward, which prompted one announcer to proclaim, "that's just highway robbery right there!" For the three star selections, Aaron was selected as the first star, to thunderous applause from the home crowd. Game one was over and his team up one-nothing in the series. Hopefully, he thought, his masterful performance would continue to what he hoped would be three more games only.

Teaser for something I may want to write about

Aaron was fidgeting in the net, which was normal for him; after all, he was the goalie. Though really, when you're the starting goalie in a big game like this, you tend to fidget. Throughout warmups and at the start of the national anthem, he was quietly meditating to calm his nerves. The biggest game of his career was ahead of him, and he wasn't about to lose it due to faulty nerves.

Fighting the butterflies in his stomach, he made save after save in warmups; the nerves hadn't yet gone away, but he was feeling better. When the time was up to start the game, Aaron retreated into the haven of his net, pulled the mask with the dragons painted on it, over his playoff beard. He muttered "game time baby, time to be the difference maker", steeling himself for the barrage of rubber he was about to face.

BEEEP! The buzzer sounded. Who wanted to win more, and who would step up? Aaron's team wasn't the best in the league, but they had fought and scrapped to get to this point, the championship game, and Aaron had contributed to that run, going 8-2 in his last two series. However, all that was thrown out the window for this final round of the playoffs; in the championships, nothing from the past mattered unless you won it all at the end of the day.

Yearbook

Today I got my (senior) yearbook. No biggie, right? Well, just flipping through it makes me realize how much memories I've made in high school, and especially more so of how much I'm gonna miss it and all my underclassmen friends. It just makes you think, seeing what other people have done and are doing, as you have to wonder, "What if I did something different in my life? Where would I be at this point in life if I just traded one thing for another?" I guess I may be haunted at all the potential that I might have had at various points in my life. Well you know what, all that conjecture is nice, but I would not trade who I am at this point in my life; life is too short to wonder who you might have been and where you might have gone. Besides, I'm content with who I am.

Getting back on track, it really has seemed like time has gone by. I mean, it only seems like yesterday how I was nervous to start high school, and now I'm so close to graduating. Last year, I recall seeing the seniors graduating and thinking "it's my turn to do that in a year", and now that's coming; it's scary to think about. Also, I remember the seniors from spring hockey and them taking their last shifts, and just wondering about the emotions running through their heads, knowing that potentially it was their last ever shift in hockey. And in two more games, that's going to be happening to me; yikes! You don't really think about those things when you don't appreciate the magnitude about them, and now, I really do think about it.

Talking about the yearbook, it reminded me about all the memories I've made and shared during the last four years of high school. I would just like to thank everybody who's been a part of that. Without all of you guys, I don't know how high school would have turned out, and I really truly want to thank all of you. To all of my underclassmen friends, I'm really gonna miss you. I don't know how much I'll be able to talk to you guys and spend time with you all, but I'd like to give a hearty thanks to all who may be concerned, for helping make my four amazing years in high school amazing! I'm gonna miss you guys like crazy. Thanks all, and I just want to say you're amazing people and I love you guys.

149!

Today in AP Stat I was testing my knowledge on how many countries I know, and it turned out that I knew 144, out of the 195 total countries in the world, give or take at least 5 countries that I should have gotten (darn it!). But just now, I retook it and I know 149! I'm a bit bummed that I couldn't quit remember 5 or 6 countries. Oh well, now to go back and practice for it (wow that's nerdy, isn't it?).