Today I turn 17-years-old.
I feel like I am turning 35-years-old.
I want my childhood back :-0
Now I am off to do homework for the rest of the night }:-(
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A Month Passes Quickly
I have had great joy in allowing a month to pass without a single post here on The Minorcan Factor (NOT!) I have been fairly busy during this last month of my freedom (i.e. summer) School starts a week from this coming Friday, and believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to it. Yes, a high schooler that actually enjoys learning! Ha ha, we're not as rare as many people think we are. Here's just an update on the happenings in the life of HurricaneTeen in the past month:
Work at the local Publix Supermarket. Where shopping is a pleasure!!
Datil peppers produce nicely.
Datil peppers catch sick.
Datil peppers stop producing.
Volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities.
Sons of Confederate Veterans...Meetings...Cleaning up the Kirby-Smith House
Home-grown okra fried in corn oil.
Pilau.
Minorcan Clam Chowder.
Datil Pepper sauce.
Datil Pepper vinegar.
Any questions as to what culture I come from? No? I guess there never really were.
Right now, though, I am in Hurricane Mode, as I am tracking a Tropical Storm Dean that could threaten Florida as early as next Tuesday...but that is mostly speculation. This time of the year, much of my free time is devoted to tracking tropical sytems...If I began listing all of the websites I use to derive my "homegrown forecasts," it would take you quite some time to go through them. However, Dr. Jeff Masters' (not Minorcan!) blog is a great source for somebody who wants more in-depth scientific information about storms than The Weather Channel or even the NHC Public Advisories provide.
This past month, my family also gave up all hope of selling our house and moving somewhere quieter. I am fine with this, because I was tiring of all the people kicking me out of my house so they could look at it for a few minutes...This is especially undesirable when you are in the middle of cooking a pot of greens.
My parents have taken to my little Datil Pepper enterprise very well, and have agreed to allow me to place a greenhouse in our back yard. This will be very helpful when it comes time to plant this coming November. It will help to keep my seedlings nice and warm till it comes time to sell them in March...My days of lamps and plastic bags are over! Also, I will be able to load that greenhouse up with full-grown plants when I go off to college, keeping them nice and warm on those cold nights when I am not there to baby them.
A new discussion should be coming out from NHC about TS Dean any minute now. It looks weaker than it did this morning, which can be attributed to 15 to 20-knot wind shear, and probably the diurnal minimum. We should see him strengthen overnight tonight and through tomorrow as he moves out of the wind shear and into even warmer waters. This means it is tome for me to depart. Have a good day!
Work at the local Publix Supermarket. Where shopping is a pleasure!!
Datil peppers produce nicely.
Datil peppers catch sick.
Datil peppers stop producing.
Volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities.
Sons of Confederate Veterans...Meetings...Cleaning up the Kirby-Smith House
Home-grown okra fried in corn oil.
Pilau.
Minorcan Clam Chowder.
Datil Pepper sauce.
Datil Pepper vinegar.
Any questions as to what culture I come from? No? I guess there never really were.
Right now, though, I am in Hurricane Mode, as I am tracking a Tropical Storm Dean that could threaten Florida as early as next Tuesday...but that is mostly speculation. This time of the year, much of my free time is devoted to tracking tropical sytems...If I began listing all of the websites I use to derive my "homegrown forecasts," it would take you quite some time to go through them. However, Dr. Jeff Masters' (not Minorcan!) blog is a great source for somebody who wants more in-depth scientific information about storms than The Weather Channel or even the NHC Public Advisories provide.
This past month, my family also gave up all hope of selling our house and moving somewhere quieter. I am fine with this, because I was tiring of all the people kicking me out of my house so they could look at it for a few minutes...This is especially undesirable when you are in the middle of cooking a pot of greens.
My parents have taken to my little Datil Pepper enterprise very well, and have agreed to allow me to place a greenhouse in our back yard. This will be very helpful when it comes time to plant this coming November. It will help to keep my seedlings nice and warm till it comes time to sell them in March...My days of lamps and plastic bags are over! Also, I will be able to load that greenhouse up with full-grown plants when I go off to college, keeping them nice and warm on those cold nights when I am not there to baby them.
A new discussion should be coming out from NHC about TS Dean any minute now. It looks weaker than it did this morning, which can be attributed to 15 to 20-knot wind shear, and probably the diurnal minimum. We should see him strengthen overnight tonight and through tomorrow as he moves out of the wind shear and into even warmer waters. This means it is tome for me to depart. Have a good day!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Finding hidden treasure...right around the corner!
My parents tell me from time to time that I have too many hobbies: Kayaking, hiking, growing vegetables, meteorology, geneology, castnet knitting, storytelling, The War Between the States, reading, writing, blogging...the list goes on and on. I suppose they are correct; I often have so many things I need and want to do that I simply don't know what to do with myself! Well you can go ahead and tack on another thing to that list:
Geocaching.
I was reading through SophieMae's Florida Cracker Crumbs blog a few weeks ago, and I came across her link to geocaching.com. I'd heard of geocaching before, and I had always thought that it would be intersting, but never had the chance to try it out...So I thought I would go check out the website and see what I could do.
This seemed to have opened up a whole new world to me! A search revealed over 3000 "hidden treasures" within 10 miles of where I live, one of which I actually walked by many times every day at work, oblivious. "Geocaching" is the use of a GPS to find caches ("hidden treasure") in some remote and some not-so-remote areas of the world. It combines being outdoors with a sense of discovery: Two of my favorite things! I was immediately hooked.
I excitedly entered the coordinates of a few caches into my GPS, and away I went! Here's some of what I found (more to come later today):
If you like the outdoors, and love adventure, then you will love geocaching. This sport is becoming accessible to most folks now that the price GPS devices are dropping so quickly...The Garmin eTrex Legend that I bought less than 2 years ago for $180 can now be bought for less than $110. So go out and find yourself some hidden treasure!
Geocaching.
I was reading through SophieMae's Florida Cracker Crumbs blog a few weeks ago, and I came across her link to geocaching.com. I'd heard of geocaching before, and I had always thought that it would be intersting, but never had the chance to try it out...So I thought I would go check out the website and see what I could do.
This seemed to have opened up a whole new world to me! A search revealed over 3000 "hidden treasures" within 10 miles of where I live, one of which I actually walked by many times every day at work, oblivious. "Geocaching" is the use of a GPS to find caches ("hidden treasure") in some remote and some not-so-remote areas of the world. It combines being outdoors with a sense of discovery: Two of my favorite things! I was immediately hooked.
I excitedly entered the coordinates of a few caches into my GPS, and away I went! Here's some of what I found (more to come later today):
If you like the outdoors, and love adventure, then you will love geocaching. This sport is becoming accessible to most folks now that the price GPS devices are dropping so quickly...The Garmin eTrex Legend that I bought less than 2 years ago for $180 can now be bought for less than $110. So go out and find yourself some hidden treasure!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Global Warming and Al Gore
I found an excellent article about Al Gore and "global warming" today. You can read it here. The following is my personal opinion on the crossing of science and politics, which is exactly what has happened on the issue of global warming.
As a blooming meteorologist, I have great interest in the SCIENCE of meteorology and climatology. Being a true scientist, it sickens me to see the ways of science cross with the ways of politics. Crossing these two fields is like trying to cross a datil pepper with a satsuma...It just doesn't blend! Science is all about trying to solve the mysteries of the universe through unbiased research and experimentation. To be a scientist, one must approach an issue completely unbiased, and answer one's questions ONLY through research. When science intertwines with politics, though, it is corrupted. If a person has a preconceived political belief and tries to "prove" it right using "science", the person is not performing true science. Their preconceived political notion clouds their judgment, effectively preventing them to see all of the evidence that both sides of the issue present. The scientific study of global warming has been infiltrated by politics, and one can see the fruit that this cross-pollination bears: It's bitter, sour, tainted. Politics MUST be separate from science, or scientific "fact" will be based only on belief, and not on the natural ways of the universe.
As a blooming meteorologist, I have great interest in the SCIENCE of meteorology and climatology. Being a true scientist, it sickens me to see the ways of science cross with the ways of politics. Crossing these two fields is like trying to cross a datil pepper with a satsuma...It just doesn't blend! Science is all about trying to solve the mysteries of the universe through unbiased research and experimentation. To be a scientist, one must approach an issue completely unbiased, and answer one's questions ONLY through research. When science intertwines with politics, though, it is corrupted. If a person has a preconceived political belief and tries to "prove" it right using "science", the person is not performing true science. Their preconceived political notion clouds their judgment, effectively preventing them to see all of the evidence that both sides of the issue present. The scientific study of global warming has been infiltrated by politics, and one can see the fruit that this cross-pollination bears: It's bitter, sour, tainted. Politics MUST be separate from science, or scientific "fact" will be based only on belief, and not on the natural ways of the universe.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
A Pictoral Summary of my life this summer...
That's me in the penguin suit.
As soon as the shutter clicked on this picture, this little wild hog darted into the woods.
Withlacoochee River
My Sons of Confederate Veterans camp's color guard...No, I'm not in this picture :-D
School never truly ends.
They keep me sane.
TO BE CONTINUED...AND MAYBE I WILL MAKE IT INTERESTING NEXT TIME!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Busy
I am stopping in very quickly to inform all of you that I am indeed still alive, and that I have been slightly busy lately. I was off volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities this past week, catching sick in the process, and am now packing for a trip to South Carolina for a retreat for teenaged Christians. Hey, I'm not complaining, I had a great time at camp, and I will construct a post about it soon. I didn't expect this summer to be quite this hectic...
On another note, not only did I become ill while I was at camp, a couple of my Datil plants dropped some new growth and a couple really nasty looking pods while I was gone. I suspect Phytophthora Blight, though I hope that is not the case because it could be passed on to future generations through seed...That would not bode well for my future spicy endeavors. A couple of this year's newborns are also infested with aphids that I must take care of before I leave. I don't feel like doing any of it, but I have a long list of things to do before I leave tomorrow morning. Ugh.
Have a good week!
On another note, not only did I become ill while I was at camp, a couple of my Datil plants dropped some new growth and a couple really nasty looking pods while I was gone. I suspect Phytophthora Blight, though I hope that is not the case because it could be passed on to future generations through seed...That would not bode well for my future spicy endeavors. A couple of this year's newborns are also infested with aphids that I must take care of before I leave. I don't feel like doing any of it, but I have a long list of things to do before I leave tomorrow morning. Ugh.
Have a good week!
Monday, May 14, 2007
The End Is Near
Yes, I can feel it!
I can taste it!
...The end of the school year...
SOOO CLOSE!!!
Exam week is in full swing, and I am studying my hind quarters off for the dreaded Precalculus exam on Wednesday. Ugh.
Thursday will be the last day of school for me, but I have an event in Ocala from Friday-Sunday that will have me occupied (don't worry, you'll hear about it.) So do not expect any posts from HT until next Monday...I will post again afterward; including the Florida Cracker play.
The good news is that my blogroll has now expanded one line to allow for the indroduction of Rural Wat, a blog that I have been enjoying very much for a couple weeks now. Be sure to check it out; especially if you like swamps.
Also, if would be nice if my fellow Floridaphiles will visit and encourage the new guy on the block, Scott, at Florida Native Musings. I'm sure you will all agree that it's much easier to maintain a blog when you know you have people out there actually reading it!
Well I am off to increase my hygiene points with a hot shower :-D
Have a good night!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Defending Florida's Cracker Culture
This is for my fellow Crackers out there...It would be great if you could just take a minute or two and put your two cents in here, at my former English teacher's blog. A student wrote the original post, which I responded to, and there were some....uh....ignorant people that responded to my response. I think it would be great if we got a couple non-students in there to respond and explain to these people that the Florida Cracker culture is not based on "oppression and enslaving people."
I am off to watch Gods and Generals for the quintillionth time.
Good night!
I am off to watch Gods and Generals for the quintillionth time.
Good night!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Tomorrow's Looking Very Swampy
This is where I will be tomorrow...Quite possibly into the nighttime...Finding the inspiration for the final portions of my play about Florida Crackers in the 1800s. It's due Friday, and it WILL be posted on the internet on Friday. I shouldn't need a kick for this one, but thanks anyway Paint...I know you want to kick me.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Currently...
Those two pictures are probably a better description of what my life if like right now that what I could write on here...I know, it's not angled right...Turn your head 90 degrees to the left :-D
I am commencing preparations for exam week, which is quickly approaching (just over 1 week!) and I have a lot of preparing to do! The good thing about that is that school is almost over, and I will be free to excercise ALL of my creative thought on here!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
"Florida Attacks"
So, I had something happen yet again today, something that has been plaguing me increasingly over the past two years or so. This something is a thing that saps my strength and completely prevents me from concentrating on anything else.
...Yes, it's love...
A spurt of loving pessimism (ha ha) that I have come to know as a "Florida Attack."
Sometimes these Florida Attacks can be good (such as when I strike inspiration in the swamp), and sometimes they can be bad...
Today's was bad, and, as usual, it happened at a bad time.
I stepped out of my 5th period class into a choking haze of smoke blown down from the land of Georgia (God help them.) As I began my daily walk outside toward my 6th/7th period block class, it hit me like a sack of p'taters....
I can't really descibe the feeling. Just thoughts like "Once it's gone, there's no turning back," and the likes of that.
I walked into my freezing cold chemistry classroom and immediately went back outside to lengthen my walk and to think.
...What I thought...I can't put on paper (er, keyboard?) right now, so you will have to wait on that...
However, it did succeed in putting me in a bad mood all throughout 6th/7th block, to the dismay of the people sitting around me (sorry, guys.)
When I walked outside to the parking lot after my Chemistry class period was over, I was beginning to cool off. I was just glad the school day was over and I could go home and have some time alone. Then I heard the THUD and BEEP, BEEP, BEEP sounds of construction (the developer's word for "destruction") behind my school, and this set me off on another loop. My school is currently situated in the middle of the woods, in the remnants of this once rural area of my county. That will not be true in a few years, as the expansive pine plantation surrounding my school are slated to be clear-cut for yet another development.
As these thoughts ran through my mind, I spotted a raccoon wandering in the palmettos just outside of the parking lot, and I thought Where is HE supposed to go? Where's a cracker supposed to go? I suppose we're both slated for extinction, just as that development is slated to destroy.
Just another day in the life of a Floridaphile.
Wow, this post was so horribly written, it ought to not even be posted. However, I must put it out there. This is the way we humans think sometimes.
...Yes, it's love...
A spurt of loving pessimism (ha ha) that I have come to know as a "Florida Attack."
Sometimes these Florida Attacks can be good (such as when I strike inspiration in the swamp), and sometimes they can be bad...
Today's was bad, and, as usual, it happened at a bad time.
I stepped out of my 5th period class into a choking haze of smoke blown down from the land of Georgia (God help them.) As I began my daily walk outside toward my 6th/7th period block class, it hit me like a sack of p'taters....
I can't really descibe the feeling. Just thoughts like "Once it's gone, there's no turning back," and the likes of that.
I walked into my freezing cold chemistry classroom and immediately went back outside to lengthen my walk and to think.
...What I thought...I can't put on paper (er, keyboard?) right now, so you will have to wait on that...
However, it did succeed in putting me in a bad mood all throughout 6th/7th block, to the dismay of the people sitting around me (sorry, guys.)
When I walked outside to the parking lot after my Chemistry class period was over, I was beginning to cool off. I was just glad the school day was over and I could go home and have some time alone. Then I heard the THUD and BEEP, BEEP, BEEP sounds of construction (the developer's word for "destruction") behind my school, and this set me off on another loop. My school is currently situated in the middle of the woods, in the remnants of this once rural area of my county. That will not be true in a few years, as the expansive pine plantation surrounding my school are slated to be clear-cut for yet another development.
As these thoughts ran through my mind, I spotted a raccoon wandering in the palmettos just outside of the parking lot, and I thought Where is HE supposed to go? Where's a cracker supposed to go? I suppose we're both slated for extinction, just as that development is slated to destroy.
Just another day in the life of a Floridaphile.
Wow, this post was so horribly written, it ought to not even be posted. However, I must put it out there. This is the way we humans think sometimes.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Tick, tock, tick, tock
HurricaneTeen is waiting for his brother to send down the cables required to upload pictures from his camera. He is getting impatient. When he gets them, he will have lots of pictures for you.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A Victory for Minorcan Heritage in Florida
The St. Johns County School District is constructing a new middle school on my family's old land grant in Mill Creek, FL. The school is located in the World *choke* Golf *gag* Village, and will serve those residents and the kids from the rural areas (the remaining portion of our land grant) surrounding it.
I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.
At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School
Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School
....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...
I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.
Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being forced out to make way for fairways and "World Golf."
You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.
I'll have more on this tomorrow with:
I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.
At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School
Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School
....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...
I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.
Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being forced out to make way for fairways and "World Golf."
You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.
I'll have more on this tomorrow with:
- The significance of Pacetti Bay.
- My comments on "World Golf Village" beating out "Ward's Creek"
A Victory for Minorcan Heritage in Florida
The St. Johns County School District is constructing a new middle school on my family's old land grant in Mill Creek, FL. The school is located in the World *choke* Golf *gag* Village, and will serve those residents and the kids from the rural areas (the remaining portion of our land grant) surrounding it.
I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.
At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School
Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School
....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...
I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.
Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being pushed out for fairways and "World Golf."
You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.
I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.
At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School
Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School
....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...
I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.
Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being pushed out for fairways and "World Golf."
You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.
Friday, April 13, 2007
HurricaneTeen Has Made History
I believe I made history a couple weeks ago while I was in St. Augustine (what better place to make history???)
I (think) I was the first person EVER to come home from a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting and immediately watch hockey thereafter.
Please tell me if you know of anyone who has done this. I am considering contacting Guinness World Records (okay, not really.)
Speaking of hockey, it's playoff time in the NHL, and my Pittsburgh Penguins are in contention. I'll keep you posted on how badly we get our behinds whipped (we have a VERY young team.)
Speaking of being very young, I am going back down to Flagler Estates tomorrow to scout out some more property to buy. Yes, I just might be making mortgage payments when I am 16-years-old. All those years of penny-pinching and saving money appear to be paying off.
Goodbye, my friends. I must get to bed early if'n I want to be up at 5:00 tomorrow morning! Fare thee well!!
I (think) I was the first person EVER to come home from a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting and immediately watch hockey thereafter.
Please tell me if you know of anyone who has done this. I am considering contacting Guinness World Records (okay, not really.)
Speaking of hockey, it's playoff time in the NHL, and my Pittsburgh Penguins are in contention. I'll keep you posted on how badly we get our behinds whipped (we have a VERY young team.)
Speaking of being very young, I am going back down to Flagler Estates tomorrow to scout out some more property to buy. Yes, I just might be making mortgage payments when I am 16-years-old. All those years of penny-pinching and saving money appear to be paying off.
Goodbye, my friends. I must get to bed early if'n I want to be up at 5:00 tomorrow morning! Fare thee well!!
Friday, April 06, 2007
FloridaCracker, I feel your pain...
If you read FloridaCracker's Pure Florida blog, you know that he recently completed his huge series of essays required to attain a certain certification for teachers. I am feeling quite overwhelmed right now, just as he felt (so overwhelmed, he actually GAVE UP BLOGGING for a while!!!)
My predicament is very similar in that I have a big story (somewhere around 20-40 pages) due Monday for my creative writing class...And I have a whopping 3 pages written.
The story is supposed to be a kid's story using creative and/or humorous writing as a way to teach specific morals, without the kids even realizing they are being taught. Sounds a lot like Brave New World, eh?
I chose to write about my dog's life on the street, in which she traveled the country on the rails as a "hobo puppy." I have had such a lack of motivation, though, that I do not enjoy working on it that much.
In order to fuel my creative thoughts and help me focus, I had planned on going out to my #1 place of inspiration...The swamp. But........get ready.......are you sure you're ready??......hold onto your seat because you may just fall out of it when I tell you.......I DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT. I know, the end is near. Since when does HurricaneTeen not feel like going out in the swamp?? Ugh, maybe I am just too ready for the school year to end.
So why does a person who loves creative writing so much have so little done, even though he has had a week now to do it? Well, in the past couple months I have been in a writing lull (hence the lack of blog posts), and I do not find myself enjoying it as much as I usually do. However, I feel like I am pulling through, and I think I am ready to get cracking.
My goal is to get ten pages done tonight, bringing my total to 13, and if I don't get that done, I will feel that I let ALL OF YOU down...So if I don't have that amount done by my next post (tomorrow) PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me some encouragement and/or a scolding. I REALLY need it.
Thank you.
(And I am not kidding...YELL at me. I am going to tell my parents to do the same.)
And the fact that I am working from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, then I have church till 11:30 does not help my situation, either. But I WILL get it done!!
Now I am off to write before I get distracted.
Good night !
My predicament is very similar in that I have a big story (somewhere around 20-40 pages) due Monday for my creative writing class...And I have a whopping 3 pages written.
The story is supposed to be a kid's story using creative and/or humorous writing as a way to teach specific morals, without the kids even realizing they are being taught. Sounds a lot like Brave New World, eh?
I chose to write about my dog's life on the street, in which she traveled the country on the rails as a "hobo puppy." I have had such a lack of motivation, though, that I do not enjoy working on it that much.
In order to fuel my creative thoughts and help me focus, I had planned on going out to my #1 place of inspiration...The swamp. But........get ready.......are you sure you're ready??......hold onto your seat because you may just fall out of it when I tell you.......I DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT. I know, the end is near. Since when does HurricaneTeen not feel like going out in the swamp?? Ugh, maybe I am just too ready for the school year to end.
So why does a person who loves creative writing so much have so little done, even though he has had a week now to do it? Well, in the past couple months I have been in a writing lull (hence the lack of blog posts), and I do not find myself enjoying it as much as I usually do. However, I feel like I am pulling through, and I think I am ready to get cracking.
My goal is to get ten pages done tonight, bringing my total to 13, and if I don't get that done, I will feel that I let ALL OF YOU down...So if I don't have that amount done by my next post (tomorrow) PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me some encouragement and/or a scolding. I REALLY need it.
Thank you.
(And I am not kidding...YELL at me. I am going to tell my parents to do the same.)
And the fact that I am working from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, then I have church till 11:30 does not help my situation, either. But I WILL get it done!!
Now I am off to write before I get distracted.
Good night !
Wow...Amazing parallels...
The Old Elm Tree by the River
By: Wendell Berry
Shrugging in the flight of its leaves,
it is dying. Death is slowly
standing up in its trunk and branches
like a camouflaged hunter. In the night
I am wakened by one of its branches
crashing down, heavy as a wall, and then
lie sleepless, the world changed.
That is a life I know the country by.
Mine is a life I know the country by.
Willing to live and die, we stand here,
timely and at home, neighborly as two men.
Our place is changing in us as we stand,
and we hold up the weight that will bring us down.
In us the land enacts its history.
When we stood it was beneath us, and was
the strength by which we held to it
and stood, the daylight over it
a mighty blessing we cannot bear for long.
By: Wendell Berry
Shrugging in the flight of its leaves,
it is dying. Death is slowly
standing up in its trunk and branches
like a camouflaged hunter. In the night
I am wakened by one of its branches
crashing down, heavy as a wall, and then
lie sleepless, the world changed.
That is a life I know the country by.
Mine is a life I know the country by.
Willing to live and die, we stand here,
timely and at home, neighborly as two men.
Our place is changing in us as we stand,
and we hold up the weight that will bring us down.
In us the land enacts its history.
When we stood it was beneath us, and was
the strength by which we held to it
and stood, the daylight over it
a mighty blessing we cannot bear for long.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
So What's HurricaneTeen Been Up To?
I cannot believe it has been so long since I have posted.
Time flies faster every day, doesn't it?
Well, I've been conjuring up a lot of schemes lately, so I have been busy...and this is the latest:
Time flies faster every day, doesn't it?
Well, I've been conjuring up a lot of schemes lately, so I have been busy...and this is the latest:
- School
- Swamp Trekking (post about this soon)
- Reading
- Castnet Knitting (post about this soon)
- Hanging out with friends (post about this soon)
- Tending to my Datil Peppers (post about this soon)
- Buying a piece of land in Flager Estates (post about this soon)
- Starting to work A LOT more to help pay for the above plan.
- *Trying* to get a second job as a reenactor in St. Augustine...more on this, too.
I am going to get to writing these posts TONIGHT so I can post them in rapid succession (one every two days!)
...But first...I must go study for a precalculus quiz tomorrow and take a shower...School and hygiene take precedence over blogging...
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Short Swamp Spulunkering
After school yesterday, I went out into the swamp for a little relaxation time and to break in my new (used :-D) pair of Civil War Reenactor's boots. The green is starting to come back on the trees, and the flowering plants are starting to pop up! It has always been my philosophy to look down at the smaller things in order to see the real beauty in nature. Sometimes while we're out searching for that big cypress tree, or that huge gator, or some other big thing, we pass by the beauty right under our noses. That is what I often like to focus on in these swamp trips, so that is what you will see here...Things we may otherwise overlook, but still hold great beauty. (NOTE: If I am mistaken in my identification of some of these plants, PLEASE tell me. The only way to learn is knowing when you're wrong!!)
Swampbottom Skyscrapers
Net Fern?
Durbin Creek...Still too low for an enjoyable through kayak trip. It's been nearly a year since our last full trip!
There's more pictures...But I am tired...And we are turning forward the clocks tonight...And I am going to church early tomorrow...and then taking a kayak trip on Sixmile Creek. So I must hit the hay. Have a good night!
Friday, March 02, 2007
A POST!! And a great quote.
I know, I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger lately. It's already been over a week?!?! Well, I will be back soon enough; I have just been lazy lately.
My dad pointed me to an article in the Florida Times-Union about one of my favorite bands, Mofro. Mofro hails from north Florida, and they (specifically the lead singer and songwriter J.J. Grey) are Floridaphiles like me. They often sing about Florida and its ongoing destruction, and the destruction of the simple way of life in general. One quote in particular stood out to me, and I thought "I HAVE to post this on the blog!" Here it is:
"I asked Grey how he would describe Mofro's sound and he said, 'I'd have to throw in towel on that one...In the end, I'd just say it's from the South, because that was where I was born and raised. That doesn't make me better than anyone else, and it certainly doesn't make me any worse. It just makes me who I am."
Amen, Mr. Grey.
You can hear some of Mofro's songs here, here, and here (my favorites are "Lochloosa" "Fireflies" and "Florida." Be sure to check those out, and be sure to check out their newly-released CD, Country Ghetto.)
Have a Dixie Day!
My dad pointed me to an article in the Florida Times-Union about one of my favorite bands, Mofro. Mofro hails from north Florida, and they (specifically the lead singer and songwriter J.J. Grey) are Floridaphiles like me. They often sing about Florida and its ongoing destruction, and the destruction of the simple way of life in general. One quote in particular stood out to me, and I thought "I HAVE to post this on the blog!" Here it is:
"I asked Grey how he would describe Mofro's sound and he said, 'I'd have to throw in towel on that one...In the end, I'd just say it's from the South, because that was where I was born and raised. That doesn't make me better than anyone else, and it certainly doesn't make me any worse. It just makes me who I am."
Amen, Mr. Grey.
You can hear some of Mofro's songs here, here, and here (my favorites are "Lochloosa" "Fireflies" and "Florida." Be sure to check those out, and be sure to check out their newly-released CD, Country Ghetto.)
Have a Dixie Day!
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