I've been itching for a new layout, and tonight I finally decided to take the time to make one. It's about as simple as I can get without being boring. I love it. FYI, the title bar line is from MTV Diary, and the page title is a song by The Ataris. It just seemed appropriate. I still love Fearless, especially after just finishing a four-book run, but I needed a change.

I was a little rushed this morning, but not late. It was cold again, so much so that I was surprised not to see my breath when I exhaled. We reviewed for Monday's test in PreCal. If I can just remember all my algebraic tricks, and the double-angle and half-angle identities, I should be good.

RP is... the usual. Ms. Comerford nitpicked my Chapter One rough draft, so I made the changes she asked for, and then she deducted points for making the change! See, I moved the "hypothesis" heading to the next page, so it'd be with that paragraph. She took off two points because it made my first page bottom margin too big. So I moved it back, and she took off a point for having the heading separated from the paragraph! RP exasperates me more and more every day.

Mr. Witko was annoying again in Geology. If one intends for one's students to fit a lot of information onto a pre-made outline, one should leave enough space on the outline for the student to write it all in. Common sense, no? At least there was no semi-orgasmic moaning today.

Ms. Sheehan and Mr. Belanger finally got around to assigning us tutoring days. I got stuck with Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is unfair because we're supposed to do it twice a week, so the people on Monday/Wednesday are more likely to get a day off. I can deal, though.

I got 44 out of 50 on the multiple choice in Adkins! Yay! I knew I felt good about that. Now, I'm just hoping I didn't screw up my essay. I feel a B this quarter -- two B's, really. That's not fabulous, but acceptable. It's not an easy class. I also found out today that Mr. Adkins never sleeps in, even on weekends, and that he used to drive a truck delivering ice (like, to fast-food places) to earn money for college.

Ms. Sim distributed the copies of Hamlet we ordered and gave us a quiz on part four of "The Knight's Tale." She was so disappointed that Justin didn't get a perfect score. It's like she doesn't care about the rest of us, but she counts on Justin to ace it. That's kind of sad. I sense so much favoritism in her, but that's only an asset when she wants to have a productive discussion. Some people aren't really knowledgable, opinionated, or passionate enough to contribute to the discussion. That's just the way it is.

Mr. T was back today, but I didn't have a ride, so I had to come home. The pest control people finally came. The guy left a bug trap in my room, which is almost scarier than me fending off the bugs myself. He said they're good for crickets and spiders (shudder), though, so I'm game.

My dad and I almost bonded over dinner tonight. I found out that he only really likes cornbread, even though we have all kinds of bread. He made his version of soul food: ham, cornbread, macaroni, and greens. I tend to shy away from anything green, but I still liked it. He's a good cook. And when he's not dealing with the rugrats (because, being away from us so often, he's apparently forgotten how to deal with small children), he's much mroe amiable. I still miss my mom, though.

There's no Friday Five questions this week (gasp!), so I'll answer the set from September 19th, submitted by the glorious Rajni.

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
I am currently hooked on Mandy Moore. I love her personality, her style, her voice, her music, her movies -- if she could dance, she'd be a demigoddess to me.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
I find Macy Gray's voice abhorrent, but Britney Spears gets on my nerves, too. She can't really sing! All her songs are, like, 30% her, 60% tech tricks, and 10% misguided fans. And she claims to be a singer/dancer, but admits that she rarely sings and dances at the same time when she performs. That sucks.

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
Yes. See #1.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
Only one. *NSync, April 2002. It was awesome.

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
I rarely download music, because I'm wary of file-sharing, and my computer and connection speed are so hopelessly slow. I once made a compilation of my favorite songs from old CDs, and I still love listening to it. I don't think downloading the music is necessarily wrong (especially if you don't get it from someone else's computer), but making and distributing copies of it is sketchy. And selling copied music is wrong. I think the RIAA is taking its business rather harshly, though I understand why they're doing it.

---