I found the coolest online music player today. You, all my tech-y friends, probably heard of it long ago, but I'll tell you about it anyway because I'm excited. (Besides, you may have forgotten.)

Pandora Radio

It's just so awesome. You simply enter a few of your favorite songs or artists, and it automatically tailors music playlists to your individual tastes (or moods). You can even ask it why it chose a particular song, and it will tell you something like: "We're playing this track because it features a horn ensemble, background string section, orchestral arrangment, jazz-pop style, and strong melodies." Or it might say something about "disco grooves and a dynamic male vocalist." Whatever you like, chances are they've got it. Oh, and did I mention that it's free?

So. Hah. That's my cool find for the day. Or maybe even for the week! :D Go try it out.

I received an interesting phone call this afternoon. It turns out that the father of one of the homeschool graduates last Saturday is an Army recruiter, and he evidently wants me in the Army. Unfortunately for him, I have no desire to enter the military. I wouldn't even survive boot camp! (Wouldn't that be pitiful? Then what would I do with all that tuition money they're supposed to throw at me?) :P At least the man was nice enough. Maybe too nice. He was very enthusiastic, and he made a point of remembering a lot about me from the graduation ceremony. He said that he took notes after he noticed what a gold mine he was sitting on -- or rather, watching walk across the stage. (My words, not his...hehe.)

Anyway, I refused his offer politely, needless to say. At the same time I wondered just how much interest he had in me -- for who I am, not just what I can offer him personally. I guess I'll never know. Some people have good intentions, others don't, and sometimes it's just hard to tell the difference between them.

I did it: I graduated!!

Ah, I'm finally getting myself back to normal. This week was just really weird for me...I guess because of all the emotional upheaval last weekend. It takes me awhile to readjust.

Tomorrow evening is the graduation party. I can't believe it's arrived so soon! I'm really looking forward to it -- to seeing old friends, eating lots of cake and punch, laughing and enjoying the celebration...

Hmm, now I've got to go work on the name placards for our display tables, and I have to finish getting all of the stuff together that's supposed to go on my achievements/awards/random stuff table. Yay.

Life Comes at You Fast

Yes, if I've learned one thing over the past year or so, it's that life does come at you fast. This last week has been weird. One day I'm ecstatic, the next I'm depressed. Unfortunately, today is one of the depressed days -- probably because I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed again. It's to be expected, I suppose, after the stress from last weekend.

For most of the week, things were going wonderfully...school was coming along well, the preparations for the graduation party were manageable, and my friend had an awesomely fun party at her house. Things started to get a little iffy on Saturday, though. It was insane...with a Mary Kay training class in the morning, which made me late for my orchestra rehearsal, which wasn't all that great anyway. I had to skip lunch and eat later, and then I ended up having about 5 minutes to get ready at home before leaving for Spider-Man 3 that night. It was well worth the hurry, though; we got there early enough to get the perfect seats, and the movie was incredible. It wasn't until I got home that things really changed. Mom told me that Grandma had left our house with Dad's cousin, gotten home, and then fallen as she was climbing onto the front porch. Dad didn't get home from the ER until 2am...

We soon found out that she had broken her hip, and it would have to be surgically repaired...or rather, replaced. I was the only one who made it to church Sunday morning, and I felt really weird all morning long. I couldn't really talk to anyone without feeling like I was about to burst into tears. Rev. J prayed for Grandma and our family during the pastoral prayer, and it was a huge comfort to be reminded that God would take care of everything for our good. Dad was already at the hospital by the time I got home, and by the time the rest of us were ready to join him, we were all at our wits' end with one another. Stress does crazy things to people. Things worked out better than we could have hoped that afternoon, though. Her surgery went very well, and she was alert and joking around soon after. Right now, she is already able to walk, and she'll start physical therapy in a couple of days at the rehab center. Dad saw her today and said that she looks and sounds better than she did when she was staying at our house last week! Needless to say, we are very thankful that God has blessed us with this healing.

Now...since a lot of that stress has dissipated, we have other things to focus on, like this graduation party. Things are not going exactly as we planned, and I've had my share of disappointments so far...but maybe things will work out eventually.

I should go work on some other things...phone calls, school, slideshows, and stuff...and maybe I'll write later.

~Grace

Procrastinating...

I guess I don't really have much to say; I just don't want to start reading "Paradise Lost." Today's British Literature assignment looks like the most grueling one I've had so far...all kinds of Biblical references, reading guide questions, and page after page of poetry to stumble through. *sigh* I'd much rather be studying Shakespeare than Milton...