Western Zodiac and Bell Curves

First thing's first.  I arrived at school today and everyone was in an uproar over the change of the zodiac signs and I have two opinions on the matter:

First, I don't know much about it, but I heard it doesn't affect everyone and only affects those born after 2009.  Doesn't this prove that maybe there's something off about it? I sincerely hope there wasn't anybody who actually did anything drastic because of the sign change... like dump their boyfriend/girlfriend, leave their friends and become a plumber or something.  Seriously, these things should not be such a big deal.  There is bigger news to be worried about. 

A changing zodiac does not change who you are or your destiny.

Second: Who cares.  I certainly don't.  That whole thing was a bunch of phooey that was fun to read if it was free.

Finally, Bell Curves and High Stakes Testing.  Today, in Humanities class we learned that High Stakes testing doesn't actually get accurate results of someone's knowledge of a subject, nor does it allow people to see what a student's ability to work under pressure it.  It is, apparently, worse than it is good.  So why do we still do it? Why subject people to that kind of stress and anxiety for numbers that don't even matter?

And then there's the bell curves.  Apparently in Alberta they're looking for an average of 65%, which means that when one person gets 90, someone has to fail. 

To me, this comes across as a message saying that no matter how hard you try, if you are not the best at something you are not safe.  It doesn't matter how long or how hard you work, because your marks are already pre-determined so that everyone can have their happy median.

In a society opposed to communism, doesn't that sound a bit... communist? "We just want to make it so that the most people pass" but then the people who DO work hard and who DO need these marks for their university might not get it because their mark is adjusted by... Oh, I don't know... up to five percent?

That's a dangerous business.  What about people with parents who expect nineties?

What about those people whose well beings depend on these good marks?

I think... it's despicable, that even in order to succeed you need to step on someone else.  It takes away the individual effort and makes it into something determined by the success or failures of others.

What's the point? I mean, I could try as much as I want but it doesn't matter.  It's not like I'll fail if I get an 80 or a 90 but when you're a percen where every percent counts it really sucks. 

New Year, New Neglect

I'm so sorry, Blog.

Remember the days, when I whispered sweet nothings into your ear? Those promises of glory and regular updating?

Well, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.  Tough.

So, it's the new year.  In fact, nine days into the new year, and this is what's on my mind:

-Scholarships
-Holyshishkabobs Diploma Exams

It's a good thing I got the other two issues resolved and now I am no longer worrying or stressing out about those.  But... DEAR LORD, WHY IS THIS SO... SO DIFFICULT?

I'm not so worried about my English diploma, as it is my best subject and I also have a second chance five months down if I'm not satisfied with my grade.  But the Math diploma might just kill me.

My parents keep yelling at me to study, but I don't have my study material yet.  We just finished our last unit (Thank God) and now we're moving onto review as soon as we do the unit test.

Everyone tells me that diplomas are just as easy as every other final we've ever done, but it's not the difficulty of it... it's the bloody weighting! Five months of work, tests and assignments makes up fifty percent and then three hours in the morning of a day where you probably never slept the night before makes up the other fifty.  Who came up with this? They should be pelted with rocks until they are seriously bruised.

Other than that the due dates for many, many, many scholarships are coming up.  I'm really starting to think I should have taken my parents advise and looked at them sooner. 

All I can do is put my faith in God and pray for the best. 

~~

Other than that, this weekend was nice.  My friend and I went to a going-away party for the Japanese exchange student at our school.  Wow, it was really cool.  She was surprised, because it was a surprise party, and we all had an excellent time.  She even got her parents on skype and we got to talk to them :) It was amazing.

Although, I didn't have much to say, which made me realize I really need to work on my conversational Japanese.  I suck.

I kind of feel... regret... about not having spent more time with her.  I think I took for granted the fact that she was there and while we weren't exceptionally close friends she was still there and I could still say hi to her and hold a conversation with her.  I'm going to miss her when she's gone.

She keeps telling me I should come to Japan and visit her.  She also tells me that there's a lot of money to be made in becoming an English teacher in Japan.

Watashi wa Nihongo o benkyoushimasu!

I must! :D

Anyway, that is all for now.

Stress and No Work and Also Boxes and Rant Topics

So, break is here. Huzzah. Massive celebration all around.

There are only a few problems. Due to drama, I'm stressed. And also, I have not been working lately. Why? Because I live in Northern Alberta. The plains! The Prairie Ice Box! Where the weather is usually colder than minus twenty.

You know what that means? Yeeeessssss, no work for me! The car wash closes at temperatures colder than minus twenty... and though I do not look forward to working, I have so far lost four shifts. That is a minimum of 160 dollars. My paycheck is non-existent at this point. This means I get to go find myself either A) A new job or B) A second job.

Or my parents could win the lottery.

Either or.

In other news, I have been thinking about what I would like to rant about for Rant Like Rick. I want it to be a humorous topic and also an original topic. I thought about doing one about Facebook but that's only been done six million times. The winner last year did one about Facebook, so I'm sure they're getting tired of that, as well. This also leaves out graduation and choosing a university.

I thought about doing one about boxes, but being totally serious about it. Or there's always the good old toaster dial rant, which I still admit is genius.

Or I could even try with the Blu Ray rant. :/

It's So Close to Break I Can Almost Taste It.

Here I was the other day talking about blogging every day and it's been... probably a week since I last blogged.

I have to make this one quick, because school starts soon and I have to get going.

So, yesterday I was at the car wash, as usual on a Tuesday, and I have been seeing this pattern with customers that goes a little something like this:

Customer: I'd like a car wash
Me: Sure, which one would you like? *Points to sign with washes on it*
Customer: *Mind explodes* W-what? *Twitch* More than one? Ummm... uhhhh.... Oh God, I hate decisions.  You can't just pick one for me?
Me: -_-; Just pick a wash, it's not that hard.

It's actually kind of funny how long people take to compare the different washes even though they're all essentially the same, except they get more soap and water as they progress into higher prices.

~~

Other than that, I'm slowly getting everything I need done this week done.  I finally finished the newspaper articles for social studies.  I should have finished the personal response for English last night, but I didn't have the time :/ I figure I can churn something out this class and finish everything else tonight.... Slowly but surely finishing up.

Every day I wake up tired.  I can't wait for break... it's so close, yet so far away.

I Should Start Blogging Daily

Not only will it help with my writing skills (which, believe me, could use all the help they can get), but it would also serve as a good hobby. 

I've been trying to think of a good idea to write for a short story for a contest at the library.  The theme is gifts, and while it seems easy enough, I want to take it out of the realm of simply gift giving and make it something more meaningful.

After reading the "Machine of Death" my eyes have been opened to the multitude of possibilities for exploring a topic.  There is more to a gift than giving something.  And if something has been given, does it need to be physical? They don't necessary have to be giving or receiving a gift, but an onlooker of an exchanging of gifts.  The gift could come with fine print.  There are so many possibilities, and yet my mind is limiting me to the simple aspect of receiving a gift.  Why?

Also, I signed up for Figment.com.  I wrote a short, nearly-400-word long story for the flash5 contest, and I already have a follower.  The only problem is that in that contest there are so many people have entered it that my entry has been drowned by the mass of others that seem to keep appearing every ten seconds.  :/ I only had one person look at it before it got forgotten.  How sad.

I was reading a couple of posts from the journal entries we did for English class.  One of the students in my class has been posting all of his on the blog our English teacher started, and boy, are they ever clever.  Not only are his throughts well organized but he's an amazing story teller.  I want my journals to be more like that.

Anyway: Hello, procratination.

I'm supposed to be writing two newspaper articles about events that took place years ago and apply/discuss the principles of liberalism in each one.  I pick one subject and write two articles on it... why? So I can write it in two different points of view.

I decided to do the New Poor Law, because it was first on the list, and I also found it kind of interesting when I looked at it.  So, there we go.  I guess I will have to do the newspaper article in the POV of the poor and the POV of the rich, and somehow relate it back to liberalism.

I like Social Studies, I just don't like its projects :/

Cellular Facebook and Stress.

Whoever deemed it appropriate for most phones to have a Facebook application was an imbecile.  I use it every once in a while, but it is a gateway into obsessive documentation.  Does anyone else find it creepy that one can now use Facebook whilst using the facilities?

Not that you couldn't do that before with laptop computers, but not as many people take laptops into the bathroom as they do cell phones.

Also, the guy who came up with the idea of buttonless televisions was also an idiot.  Considering that one of the great problems of the nineties was laziness and remote-losing, who's idea was it to eliminate the only thing to change anything on the TV screen without a remote? It's not even a matter of who's lazy and who's not anymore: the problem is that there are no buttons to push!

~~

In other news I just want to purge my mind of all thoughts. 

School, work, grades, clubs, homework, graduation, lifeguarding, university choices, money, etc. 

I am so stressed.  And I feel ridiculous saying so.  I'm sure there are plenty of people with more on their plates than I... but I think I have a problem handling all of these things.  I wish it could be one or the other: Job or School.  I would gladly choose school over a job, but no.  Being a student is a full time job, adding more jobs on top of that... it's... augh.  Albeit I can do homework at my job, but usually the last thing I want to do after a day at school and a last block of idiots in Spanish class is smile at a bunch if idiot customers who are just wasting the time I could be using to study/do homework/get whatever relaxation I can. 

If I could quit I would.  I need the money for the potential Japanese trip, though, and insurance.  My mom might also be piling on my cell phone bill as well.

Life is hard.  Sometimes I can't wait for this part to be over.

This is supposed to be the best year of my life.  I have a lot more freedom, and I'm really enjoying that part, but when I get back into the swing of things with school and stuff... I just don't know what to do.  It's only been a month and I feel overwhelmed.

It's onlt been a month and I'm already freaking out about my grades not being over ninety percent.

I wish things didn't have to be so difficult.  I envy my dog.

God

I went for a walk around the lake with my friend yesterday, and I got on the topic of God.

It excites me to no end, because she recently accepted Christ as her saviour :) So now I have a close friend who feels how I feel about these sorts of things whom I can talk to whenever I want.  Not that I didn't have friends like that before, but they go to different schools :/

Anyway, we were talking about God and why he doesn't come down and talk to us in person.

She said "Because then it would be too easy.  It would be like using a walk-through on Phoenix Wright."

And the game analogy made perfect sense :P Video games about lawyers: More fun than you might believe :)

Then I talked to her about her begin a Catholic and what that was all about and she explained, after which we got into a long discussion about women and the bible and how they were and are viewed.

First of all: The Apple.

Yes, Eve may have eaten it first, and she may have gotten Adam to do it, but it was his own weakness that led him to take a bite.  Not only that, but you could also say that Satan was, in a way, leading Adam astray through Eve.  So, though she was the first one to do so, I do not think it's fair to place the entirety of the blame on her.  It is partly Adam's fault as well.  He knew better, he could have said no.

SAY NO TO FORBIDDEN FRUIT, KIDS.

Also, when it comes to creation, God created "Man" in his own image.  But does that mean that he created Adam with two legs, two arms and a face? Does that mean that God has two arms, two legs and a face? And, dare I say it, is that the reason God gave Adam his "Jewels"? Does that mean that God looks like a man and that's how he created Adam?  Is that to say that Men are somehow better than women in the fact that they look "more like God"?  To me, I think God is bigger than two legs, two arms and a face.  I think he's bigger than our imaginations have room for explanation of his physical appearance.

If you look at the difference between a man and a woman's outward, physical appearance there are only two: (And I'm pretty sure you can guess what these are).

So, being that there is such little difference, what did God mean by creating "Man" in his own image?  First   of all, I think "Man" is referencing to "Mankind" and by "his own image" I think it means more the spiritual aspects than the physical.  After all, didn't God breathe life into every one of us? Aren't we all a piece of God in some way? Creating man in God's own image... to me, that is saying that "Mankind is essentially good."

So, since the "image" isn't at all physical, I don't think this means man is any closer to God than woman.

Finally: Why Jesus came down as a Man.

Well, if you think about the time when he came down, and how women were received, it makes sense that he wouldn't come down as one.  I think of it more as strategy.  Jesus wasn't the perfect man or anything, but doesn't it make sense to be a man in a man's world? Why would he handicap himself and potentially have no one listen to him if he came as a woman? I mean, some people still didn't, but yeah...

I don't think of it as male superiority in this case, but God knows how people work... And back in that time, women weren't all that influential.

So, that's pretty much all we talked about.  Just because we got into the topic of how women were seen as temptresses because of the apple thing, and not as equal in value as man because man was created first "in God's image."

Well, you know what they say... God was saving the best for last :P