Yea! Censorship!

Okay, so not really. Censorship is a horrible thing, and that includes blocking of websites.

The current company that my school is using for internet filter is getting ridiculous. This site is blocked because it's a "personal page" along with many other sites. We are unable to use Google Images, and a few other sites that we used to use for research. It's not like I'm against filters because I want to be looking at inappropriate websites, but I just think it's stupid that we're not allowed to go to basic sites that are completely harmless. And this whole thing is just making us students smarter. We've discovered the wonders of proxies, and we use them a frequently. When they block one, we just find a new one. At first, we were able to change small things in the web address and get to the site, but they figured that one out pretty quickly. Rumor has it, though, that our tech teacher is mad about all the new filters, so they'll be switching companies next year. I really hope that turns out to be true.

I realize that a lot of students hate their classes for various reasons or another, but you know it's sad when the nerdy kids start hating a class too. I'm really, quite honestly, a huge nerd, but my English class is the worst class I've ever been in. The teacher has no discipline, and I find it to be quite pathetic that I feel like I'm just as competent at English as she is. We're starting our Senior Project to fulfil our graduation requirements, as well as a massive project on The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. It's too much work, especially when you consider that we have hoemwork from other classes as well. I myself am having a difficult time balancing my college level calculus course, English, and all of my extracurriculars. Senior Project is a total joke, and I really don't want to waste my time on finishing assignments that aren't even going to count towards my actual Senior Project next year anyway. I just love how my teacher pulled me aside the other day in class to ask me if everything was okay because I had an F in her class, which is very unlike me. I really wanted to tell her that I had an F because I hate her class and it bores me to tears, but I just kept my mouth shut. Luckily, she's going to let me turn some of the stuff in late. Maybe being one of the goody-goody nerd kids is paying off. I think they're too afraid to be tough on me and let me fall on my face because I did so well before and it must mean they're doing something wrong. I guess that maybe I'm sick if them giving me slack. Our school has allowed that far too often throughout my schooling, to a variety of students, and it certainly hasn't done us any good. Only one more year of it...

You should go see The Invisible in theaters. A big group of my friends and I went and saw it last night, and it was really good. We all left depressed, but it was good. Justin Chatwin, the actor that played Nick, was pretty good. A little stiff, but good.

Es muy bien...

Okay, so I don't know what's really good, but I just felt like having that as the title. :)

So, ^this^ is the new header I'm going to be trying out. I'm not really sure if I like it, but I think it will be better than the generic one that they give you. I should be getting a MacBook in a couple weeks, and I'm aiming to get PhotoShop, so I think I'll design a new one then. But until then, this will have to do!

Okay. But there's a slight problem. I can't figure out the editing stuff. Grrr. And all of the editing tutorials that I'm attempting to read are making me utterly confused. meh. :(

What is up, my spitches?

So, I spent a few days in Reno, Nevada. I was there for the 2007 Society for Range Management High School Youth Forum, where I got to go on some tours, sit through workshops, and present a paper about western juniper... It wasn't exactly loads of fun, but it was definitely mind-expanding and interesting. All that stuff on the hill tops? JUNIPER. Muy mal.

After Reno, I headed over to San Francisco, CA. I'm in the process of visiting colleges, just attempting to get a head start, so I visited UC Davis. Um... Not my kind of school. They had an Ag program and everything, but the hippie commune was definitely not something I liked. Well, I'm not trying to be mean, but it was just not my thing. Oh, and the HUGE amount of bicycles... A little strange. Bikes are great, but there's a line, and they've crossed it...

After visiting UC Davis, I went to Fisherman's Wharf in downtown San Francisco. I've never been that far south in California before, but I instantly fell in love with San Francisco. It's almost like a cross between Seattle and Portland, but ever-so-slightly different.

The next day we went to Palo Alto to visit Stanford University. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I knew that I liked the place... Definitely different than UC Davis. The campus was absolutely GORGEOUS. I did visit on a day where we had 75 degree weather and it was exceptionally bright and sunny (this is a big thing coming from Oregon), but even if it were raining, it still would have been beautiful. I'm used to the rain, it really doesn't bother me. The tour was really interesting, and I can honestly say that I will be applying there this fall, for sure. My dad doesn't like the fact that it's a private school, and he's not too covinced that they have great academics, but they have amazing academics, and financial aid exists for a reason. Fit is going to be a big thing when it comes to picking a school, and I could definitely see myself going to Stanford.I'm certainly going to be heading back down to the area though. I want to do an overnight visit at Stanford to make sure that I really like the place, and there are still schools further south in California that I need to visit. So, that's when I'll go to the Exploratorium, the San Francisco Maritime museum, and spend more time down on Haight Street (Oh yeah. Forgot to mention that I went to Haight-Ashbury. And went shopping. Awesome.)

Overall, it was a good trip, and pretty relaxing. I really needed a relaxing vacation. Well, I still probably need a longer one, but a short one was nice. I'm still kinda laid-back tonight, which makes me happy!

More pictures later...