Anyways, six days after all that jazz, I got my senior ring. :) It is quite beautiful; a lot smaller than I expected it to be but still very pretty and I’m thankful that I got it. That day was also very boring because none of the teachers wanted to do anything and about half the student body wasn’t even present.

Chris, Tyler, & I with senior rings! So blingalicious!

So then our winter holidays commenced. A few days before Christmas my mum bought me my present: a thirty-two gigabyte iPod Touch. It’s so pretteh!! And actually holds ALL of my music!! I bought my homecoming dress as well (but I’m not revealing what it looks like) and got some presents from friends. Katelynn got me 14G gauges, which didn’t hurt me to put in like I suspected they would. Tyler got me a super cute black tutu with a little bow on the front; and Kristen gave me her black and pink tutu. Derrick got me a The Devil Wears Prada shirt and some nail polish. Kayla got us best friend necklaces, the two halves of the yin yang symbol. I was very very happy with my presents. :D

I also got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Katelynn because my parents were in the woods. That involved a lot of family time, and it kinda made me sad that I didn’t have a big family to spend Christmas with, but I’m thankful for what I have. And I stayed happy because I got to eat a lot of Kristen’s deviled eggs, and oh my God, she makes the best ones ever. I played the Wii for the first time too! Kristen got it for Christmas. I played at least four hours of Just Dance in total, haha. It’s such an amazing game because it is SO fun and works you out SO well.

After Christmas was all over and done with, I spent a lot of time at home. Bored. Very, very bored. But I made it through that and went to Katelynn’s again for New Years Eve and stayed until the weekend was over. New Years Eve was…strange. Remember forever ago when I mentioned Jesse? (No, reader, not hot Jesse from Rapides. Derrick’s best friend Jesse.) Remember how I said  I had a crush on him? Well…I never really got over it. And guess where I was New Years Eve night? His house. Before you freak, Katelynn and Derrick were with me. It was an easygoing time; we walked to a church to swing but got shut down ’cause they were wet, and watched Anchorman, and did a few fireworks. No, nothing happened between us. I was a little disappointed, but what can I say? :P

At around one in the morning on New Years Day, Jesse drove us to Alex and Andre’s house. I’d been hearing about those guys for a while; Derrick apparently likes to jam with/is in a band with them, so it was cool to meet them. They’re twins with the coolest last name ever (Arceneaux) and I’ve decided if I can’t be with Jesse I’m going to marry one of them so I can have the coolest last name ever too. :P We played Rock Band and talked for a long time; everyone was amazed when I played the drums on Rock Band, even though I only played on medium. Eventually my new friend Shelby (Jesse’s other bestie) brought Katelynn, Derrick, and I back to Katelynn’s apartment and we had a slumber party. :) Katelynn passed out at five, Dare at six, and me at seven.

My New Years resolution for 2011? Be happy. How’s that going so far? Brilliant. If you cut out my school day today. But I’m gonna get to that.

Does anyone remember my 2010 resolutions? ‘Cause I sure as heck don’t. I just had to go back like four pages in my blog and find them. Let’s take a look:

Lauren’s 2010 Resolutions
- update my blog at least once a week. (Didn’t happen.)
- start driving and start recycling. (Didn’t start driving, but I did start recycling cans.)
- lose enough weight to be satisfied with my body. (Umm. No. Just no.)
- drink less soda. (For half of the year I didn’t drink soda at all. Then I started again.)
- reach a 10000 gamerscore on Xbox. (Mission accomplished.)

Back to 2011 now. When I woke up later that day, Katelynn and I walked to Shipley Do-nuts and bought a dozen. Awesome way to start your day. Katelynn cooked veggie lasagna, we watched some movies, and then went back to Alex and Andre’s — where I saw the two of them unleash on some instruments. Holy crap. They’re both very very talented guitarists and drummers, and Andre can slightly even sing. Plus Derrick was screaming along with another guy, Jordan, and I was just amazed. Katelynn and I spent the whole episode staring at them from a huddle on the couch. Then we all watched the big MMA fight. Yeah, I totally just don’t even, but it was actually kind of interesting. Eventually I went back to Katelynn’s and stayed the night again, and I added the twins on Facebook and asked Alex to teach me how to play the drums. Haha. He said he would try the next time I see him. :)

And as soon as the New Years fun was over, it was time to go back to school. I think it’s utterly crazy how teachers can fall right back into schedule as though school was never out, while the student body is dragging along the halls like zombies. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I stayed after school for YACA (the art convention) work. Aaliyah, Kayla, and I are making a tabletop sculpture out of office supplies of a tiny playground. It’s gonna be epic.

Also, Tuesday and Thursday, softball tryouts were held. Yes, tryouts. Coach Smith posted the results on his door this morning. Was I on the list of EIGHTEEN players that made the team? No. Was I even on the list of the FOUR alternatives that will play if the other eighteen players’ grades are too bad? Yes. At the very bottom. Thank you, Coach. Thank you for judging us based on two very short days of practice and your memory from last season when I absolutely sucked. Thank you for never attending any of our fall ball games, where you could have seen a significantly improved Lauren playing on that field. Thank you for saying that out of twenty-two players, I am the least talented, when I know that’s a lie. Thank you for being the first person to ruin my New Years resolution.

Yeah, I was very upset. I cried, complained to some friends, got it all out, ya know. I’m unaware if I’ll even play next year, because I won’t have the chance to get any better now, unless it’s through fall ball again, and once again, he won’t come and watch us play, so he’ll think I still suck… So. My aforementioned senior ring I just got with “LAUREN #9″ on one side angers me now. Good stuff.

I’m going to stop typing very soon, but I just want to say one last thing: I got a bunny. Well, technically, I didn’t get her yet, but I do Monday. :) My mum bought it on a whim today because she said she knew it would help cheer me up. She’s a Netherland dwarf bunny, so she’s gonna be so tiny and cute and I’m so excited! I need a name!

From the way Mum described her, I think she'll look like the gray and black one on the left. SO CUTE!

Alright, I’m done now. I hope my readers (lol, as if I have any) enjoyed this epically long update. Later!

truly yours,
.chizuru

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Now playing: Stone Temple Pilots – Plush

But there is a lot of good news to share too. Such as YEC! It was the Sunday and Monday of our Thanksgiving break, and it was awesome. Ryan Fontenot, the preacher, was really good and to-the-point. We got to see Joe Castillo do sand art. Have you ever seen that stuff? It’s freakin’ amazing. Just the way he transformed one scene into another was mind blowing. There was a two-piece comic group called Far From Ordinary and they were hilarious — and then they would suddenly get serious and make it about Jesus. Epic. Plus music by the Stephen Miller band (Very nice) and MercyMe (Not so very nice). Not to mention I got to hang out and bond with Tyler, Chris, Eric, Kalyn, and Jessie. Plus I got this super fantastic hat!

Me with my hat in a tunnel that Katelynn and I explored later. :)

Please try not to be jealous. Then…my sickness returned. Thursday I came down with the worst cold physically possible. By sometime next week, when I was back in school, my throat was hoarse and I sounded like a man. Then I missed school Thursday and Friday because I started running fevers. And this week I missed school two hours of Monday, and all of Tuesday, Thursday, and today because of fevers. Yep. I broke down and cried Thursday because I was super stressed; I was so worried that all my grades were going to drop since I was getting so far behind, and I was mad at myself for being sick for so long and not being able to get better. :/

Well I finally went to the doctor today and he thinks I have mono. And he sent me to the hospital to get a blood test done to prove it. I’ll know in a few days. I almost cried again when he told me that, because I was so ready to get better, and mono doesn’t get better. It’s incurable and I will have relapses for the rest of my life where I will feel just like I’ve been feeling for the past two-and-a-half weeks. And yes, I’m contagious when I’m relapsing. But it’s only orally contagious, so don’t worry, friends; unless you’re kissing me or drinking after me you won’t have a problem.

See. I’m talking like I already know I have it, and I don’t. But if I don’t have it why in the heck have I been sick for so long? :/ But the good news is I got a doctor’s excuse for all the days I missed, so hopefully my teachers will be a little lax on letting me turn my work in…

Other than that, what’s been up? Nothing much, methinks. ‘Cept I went to that Q93 concert with Romance on a Rocketship and Taylor Mathews. I kinda got sick in the midst of it so it wasn’t that enjoyable at all. But both of my babies sang beautifully. :) The people on the floor are crazy though. I mean, seriously, women in their forties yelling at you to back off because they were in front of you to see Emily Osment just need to chill out… It was intense. I don’t know if I plan on trying to crowd the stage at one of those concerts again.

Payten’s Halloween party = epic…except for the part where I cried my eyes out because Aaron got wasted and smoked a cigarette. Drinking? I don’t like it. Smoking? I HATE it. We went and talked about it and he promised that he would never smoke again, and I hope he keeps the promise… It’s very important to me… But other than that, it WAS a fun party.  A lot of people showed up, and I danced and chatted it up all night.

Birthday party = also epic. Very small, yes. It was just Katelynn, Tyler, and Aaron over at my crib, watchin’ zombie movies and eating the cookie cake that Tyler made for me (decorated with a cute chocolate icing smiley face in the middle). We also went to LEW, the lake by my house, where we played with the fishies and saw a dead alligator and baby ducks. Katelynn got me a Hoops & Yoyo card and some silly bands, Derrick got me an Asking Alexandria wristband, Chris got me an Abbey Road poster, and my parents got me a Pierce the Veil shirt. Katelynn spent the night.

Halloween = not so epic. I went trick-or-treating with Katelynn, Derrick, Dave, Audra, Juliana, Taylor, and two other guys. Yeah. I don’t talk to any of those people, ‘cept for Katelynn and Derrick, and occasionally Dave. We went to this rich neighborhood. So you think we’d get an amazing haul, right? WRONG. I could hold all the candy I got in both of my hands. But my costume was really cute. Alice in Wonderland. :)

Didn’t go to the fair, didn’t go to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, didn’t go to the MAiZE. But October was still a good month.

I have nothing to do at my house anymore as well, because the AV cord to my Xbox broke and my Internet died. So I just kinda listen to music and sit there and try to get out of the house whenever I can. I refuse to sit at home and die of boredom — like my parents do.

And besides this, not too much has been goin’ on really. I got a boyfriend. Aaron, yes. Which is slightly unexpected but still very nice. :) We’ve only been dating for four days, so there’s not much to say about it. Buuut you can expect to hear more.

As for my weekend, it was actually rather eventful, but tons of my tiny ticks kept happening and I eventually just got pissed. I stayed at Kayla’s house; Friday night we stayed with Baska/Barbora, the foreign exchange student from Slovakia, and Saturday we went to the mall (I got The Devil Wears Prada booty shorts! For five bucks! Finally!), and Chili’s, the movies, and Hastings with Regan and Tyler. We saw Takers in theaters. Not exactly the best movie.  And Win was texting me throughout this all.

So the aggravating parts consisted of Win’s texts, Nick texting me saying that he was eating a steak and letting the blood run down his throat whilst I was eating at Chili’s, and arguing with Kayla about listening to Taylor Swift which ended in us ignoring each other for the rest of the night. And then the week started. Aggravating teachers, aggravating tests, aggravating RYLA luncheon. Ya know, RYLA, the summer camp I went to that no one I met there still talks to me, save Nick? Then on the way back to school with Kayla and Regan, more Taylor Swift on the radio…so I pulled out my iPod and ignored them the rest of the way. Not like they were talking to me anyway.

And then yesterday. Multiple friends of mine using the s-word that annoys me so. Even though they know it makes me cringe and sometimes even cry. I finally just started ignoring everyone that said it. Tyler (one of the people that was saying it) and I are still not talking, because he told me at church last night that he didn’t give a crap that I was pissed at him. Also, Nick apologized for the steak comment, saying it was just a joke, then went right back into chewing me out and telling me to stop acting like he’d punched me in the ovaries.

Honestly. I don’t know what peoples’ problems are. All of my friends, save Katelynn, tell me that I’m always angry or upset. I am not always angry or upset, and if I am, it’s because they made me that way! It’s true that I have a lot of ticks, but they all know them and still choose to use them against me and get mad at me when I get mad at them. And since when is telling a vegetarian that they like the feel of the blood of an animal running down their throat funny? And since when is it nice to say a word that makes your friend want to cry? And since when did everyone fall in love with Taylor Swift’s God-awful voice and oppose changing the radio to a station everyone can enjoy?

On the brightside, we had three softball games Monday night. We lost all of them, but playing was so much more fun. There was no anger on the field. And I got to play left field in both of the Varsity games. It surprised me, but I enjoyed it. I can’t wait for the season to start. Also, I’m co-president of Beta Club this year with Kayla. OH, and Win stopped stalking me already and started stalking Sammie. :P So my life is semi-stressful but at least I keep busy.

Backtracking a bit, I went to my first ever football game Friday night. Woohoo. Katelynn took me; it was Pineville vs. Ouachita. Pineville won. Not that we even payed attention to the game at all — except when the cannons fired when Pineville made a touchdown. I jumped every time… But it was eventful, because I got to meet Katelynn’s now-boyfriend Dare and some of her Pineville friends, including one of Dare’s besties that’s a total cutie and I maybe kinda have a crush on. -shifty eyes-

Then I went to Gonzales over the Labor Day weekend with Katelynn and her dad and sisters. We stayed at her uncle’s house from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning. Some of the most eventful moments include buying matching Jesus T-shirts, pwning and finishing Dante’s Inferno, getting ice cream from an ice cream truck, and walking down the road in the darkness talking about life.

Jesus Tees! "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." - Luke 23:34

Super amazing Choco Taco I bought from an ice cream truck!

Aside from all of the super cool events mentioned above, Katelynn and I did not have too much fun. Everyone else was drunk and/or playing cards or football pretty much the whole time and we were too cool to take part in any of that.

When we got back to Alec on Monday, Katelynn and I went to the movies with Dare and his aforementioned cutie friend Jesse. We watched The Last Exorcism, and…it was probably the worst movie I have ever seen. Ever. It had a terrible ending and the scariest part was the slaughter of a cat. After the movie we went to the mall and chilled in Spencer’s and Hot Topic. By the way, I am so happy that we have a Spencer’s now. They have some epic stuff in there — and no, I don’t mean the sex toys. Then my mum called and ruined the fun by saying she was waiting for me at Katelynn’s. Sad face.

Anyways. Yesterday there was a LifeShares blood drive at Rapides. And I was hella excited. I found out that it was now possible to donate at sixteen with parental consent, so I jumped on the opportunity. Got my permission slip signed, went and bought an ID… (Which also reminds me, I’m now an organ donor! Yay. That was one of the things on my to do list.) So I get to school yesterday and I’m all excited and whatnot. I even drank sixteen ounces of water like I was supposed to, and I hate water. I go up in the auditorium, fill out my forms, get my finger pricked and my blood pressure checked, hand my forms to this lady, and she’s all like, “You can’t donate blood because you recently pierced a part of your body at home, grrr!”

I was pretty pissed, because I was looking forward to it. And because my mum is gonna get pissed when she finds out. But it’s whatever. I have to wait until July 25, 2011, before I can donate. :/ And I wanted one of those super hardcore T-shirts so bad!

Anyways, this blog is titled school is kickin’ my booty. Which means I’m gonna wrap this up and go do my homework before it kicks it even harder.

And since I keep up with America’s Got Talent, I have to say that I just got done watching the second half of the semifinals about an hour ago. And I’m nervous about who’s going to win, because there are so many good acts. I really really really love Fighting Gravity, Taylor Mathews, Prince Poppycock, and Michael Grimm. But honestly, if I had to choose my favorite, it would be Fighting Gravity. What they do is so unique and so interesting and they really deserve to win. But I’d totally pay to see any of those four (if I had money).

I haven’t been totally inactive on the Interwebs. Quite the opposite, actually. I recently started using my Tumblr to post random things that I come across that make me smile. If you have a Tumblr, you should totally follow me. :) CLICK HERE FOR MY TUMBLR!

I did start fall softball practice as well. We had practice Monday and Tuesday from 3  to 5 PM. We have so. Many. Players. It’s unreal. But a lot of them are saying stupid things like “Umm, it’s too dirty” so I don’t expect them to be around for long.

Well I just noticed it’s way past my bedtime, so I’m gonna catch you guys later. Just a note: don’t expect me to post this weekend. I’ll be in Gonzales with Katelynn!

The line-up was: David St. Romain (didn’t care), Emil (super cute and catchy), Trey Thomas (nice voice), Cupid (Cupid Shuffle FTW), Anna Margaret (definitely didn’t care), Romance on a Rocketship (really good), and The Ready Set (super amazing to watch; very energetic). The concert was set to start at 7 PM but didn’t start until around 8.15 PM. Half of the 7000 people that were there left after Anna Margaret sang lip synced. Romance on a Rocketship was good; I thought that all of their songs were going to sound like “Skin & Bones” but they didn’t. They actually have some rock-ish songs. And I also didn’t know that Kasey Smith (his alias) used to be the vocalist of the hardcore Christian bands Here I Come Falling and Agraceful, so I’m going to check out those bands.

I went pretty much just to see The Ready Set and of course he was last and I had an extreme headache by the time he went up. But it was worth the wait. :) I heard a few of his songs that I hadn’t heard before and liked them, and I got to jam to “Spinnin’” and “Love Like Woe.” He is so cute up on stage! He bounces around so happily all the time, and he’s so short and adorable~

And I totally didn’t think about it while I was there, but now I’ve realized that going to the concert was a good thing in more ways than just the musical way. It showed people that Louisiana (Cenla in particular) isn’t just a big population that doesn’t want to have any fun. Seven thousand people came out and supported the music scene! I think that maybe, just maybe, there will be more concerts held in Cenla in the future because of this event.

Anyways, onto other topics. Anyone been watching America’s Got Talent? ‘Cause I sure have. The season is going so great this year that I have no idea who’s going to win, but I have two acts that I really like: Defying Gravity and Taylor Mathews (honestly NOT just because he’s from Louisana; I adore his voice). Semifinals tonight! It comes on in a few minutes so I’m trying to finish this blog up as fast as possible!

I got my schedule changed yesterday; I got out of Allied Health Services just like I asked to and I’m in Psychology now — and I convinced Chris and Tony to get in too. :) So now there is a grand total of four people taking it! Haha! My schedule is as follows:

1 – Intro to Business Computer Applications, Woods.
2 – Algebra II, Gaspard.
3 – Psychology (Advanced Placement), Montelaro.
4 – Chemistry, Manual.
5 – American History (Dual Enrollment), Lee.
6 – Spanish II, Rodriguez.
7 – English III, Ferrington.

My schedule makes me sound all smart and hardcore and whatnot. :P I just really wish I had Mr. Toal instead of Mrs. Gaspard, and that I didn’t have to take IBCA. The only reason I’m taking it is because I want to qualify for TOPS just in case I go to a college in Louisiana; otherwise I’d be looooong gone. Ms. Woods is just super insane as far as her journal writings go (ten points off for not using the word “going”) and I will fail at typing if we have to type with pieces of paper over our keyboards and our wrists constantly elevated. I dunno about you, but I can type at about 80 words a minute with my wrists resting and my back slouched and my fingers not on the home keys. So suck on that.

Otherwise school is going good. Took a pretest in Spanish II yesterday and today, and I have two tests tomorrow in Chemistry and Algebra II, but it’s easy stuff. I’m so ready for clubs to start! This year I’m gonna try to be in: Art Club (running for office), Beta Club (running for office), COPE, FBLA, Spanish Club, and Student Council. I also plan on managing soccer and playing softball.

Which reminds me, practice for fall ball starts next week. Already! I can’t believe it. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out for me this year.

But I must bid thee farewell, because America’s Got Talent is officially on the air and I must go watch. Later!

truly yours,
.chizuru

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Now playing: In This Moment – Gunshow