What a Steel!

The vacation from which I have just returned was the best I have ever taken. There was so much to enjoy and so much that I loved about it. I experienced the thrill of parasailing, something I have marveled over for quite some time. I remember being in Ocean City and seeing the big parachutes in the air over the water, wondering how high up the people were. In the Bahamas, the water is clear. It is magnificently unclouded by anything, except the fine sand. It is so fine that you can not even see the grains. I compare it to Squand, that sand that is solid under water, but regular and dry out of it. It is so soft and smooth.

Anyway, the time came for my mother (who says she's afraid of heights) and I to get hooked up to the line, which was connected to the boat. We stood on the platform in the ocean, with some apprehension. We were all hooked up and we exchanged a glance of shock with each other. We semi-collected ourselves for the last time and then we were on our way up. Both of us thought we would be freaking out the whole time, but there was no time for that. There wasn't enough time before we were up to worry about anything. We just looked in awe at our surroundings- the see-through water, the endless horizon. We could actually see the whole entire island of Grand Bahama, which is only seventeen miles wide. We saw the other side and it was spectacular. When we returned to the platform, we could not believe what we had just done. Four hundred feet up in the air over water may not sound exciting, but it is and I highly recommend it.

The second best experience in the Bahamas was meeting the entertainment at Coconuts, the outdoor bar/sitting place. There had been a band there the previous night and they were OK, but not the best. This time there was a two-piece band with a drum set and a steel pan drum. Being a drummer/percussionist, I was immediately intrigued by the two. I was amazed at the steel pan. My mom went over to talk to the man behind it, Davie. I then heard my name being called. It was my mom and I went over to where she and Davie were talking. Davie asked my name and how I got started with drums. He then handed me the mallets, (which were just short sticks with rubber tips) and my whole face lit up. I could feel it. I just started whacking out some notes and it didn't matter what it was, anything sounds awesome on a steel drum. That was amazing. The drummer then stood up and handed me his sticks (which were regular drumsticks) and I took a seat behind the set. I played some standard beats because I couldn't really think of what to do. I was in such bliss. It sounded better than what I played on the steel, I'm sure, but the steel stood out. All this time, I had an audience. There were a good number of people sitting and mostly drinking. I did not care if they were paying attention at all, I had the best time. Now, I really want a steel pan.

While in Disney, before the Bahamas, my step-brother and I were wandering through Innovations. I think that is what it was called, maybe Innoventions. Anyway, it is a part of Epcot that has somewhat futuristic things to do sponsored by various companies. Most of the stuff though, is just really neat, like Segways. I got to ride on one and that was really cool. One area was done by IBM, the computer company. Their set-up was a video game, where you were the star. Small booths took our picture while we ran, jumped, and danced. Then we went over to an arcade machine and started playing. It was really fun, and you can even play it here. While waiting for a spot to do all this, the line lady who stood at the entrance of the area said, "Just a minute, then you and dad can go to booth number four." I didn't quite know how to take that. I hadn't shaved in a few days, so I did have some stubble, but not a lot. I couldn't really feel it, anyway. Apparently I look like I could have a son who is almost twelve. That means I would have to have been six or seven at the time of birth. I laughed and we just went into the booth.

Today, I was walking with my younger cousin who was riding his scooter around the block. Let me just say, I love that kid. He is hilariously funny. He makes the most random comments and does some really funny things. We went around the court and then on the way back down the hill, he fell off his scooter into the ivy in the neighbor's yard. I think he was exaggerating just a little bit, but I asked him if he was alright. He said "Yeah, I just tripped over this," pointing to a crack in the sidewalk. It was all good and we started towards the corner, then turned left to go up the street. About halfway up the hill, I told him to start over to the other side, so we walked across the street. He started to get a little pace, but he was careful and he kept his foot on the brake. A little ways down, he fell off again. He was on the ground this time, unlike the first spill. I asked him if he was OK and this time he wasn't. I knew it really was not that bad, so I ran over to him goofily. He started to laugh and he showed me his knee. "Now, you look like me," I said, showing him my knees, which had been beat up from the bottom of a pool. There was a lady on the corner who was spraying weeds. (That sounds good, a lady on the corner with weed. Let's try that again.) There was a woman from the house on the corner who was spraying weeds around her yard. (That's better, right?) She saw my cousin fall and asked if we needed a Band-Aid. I said, "No, we're right up here," gesturing towards my house. She said "OK," and we started for the house. A few steps later, I heard, "Happy Father's Day!" I turned back and thanked her and laughed to myself.

This was twice in one month that someone thought I was a father. I had the same amount of facial hair as last time, so that wasn't what made her think it. At least this time, my "son" was younger; he's only five. That means that I was thirteen when he was born. I find it all very amusing, but at the same time, perhaps a little scared. There are people out there that think I could be a father. I am very honored by this, of course, but I'm just eighteen now. Hopefully, when the time comes for me to have my own children, I can be a great father to them. I pray that God gives me all the skills necessary to be a great one. Happy Father's Day to all the real fathers out there and to the future ones, too.

And They Have Guns...

This vacation has, so far, been the best I have been on. I believe we're talking best of all time here. We'll just have to see when it's all said and done. Speaking of what's done, I have experienced the riches (believe me, they're quite rich) of Disney World and the wetness of Wet 'n Wild. However, the journey getting there had its own ups and downs. One such instance occurred in a small period of time, when I was driving.

I only drove for about two and a half hours and, on the way to lunch, I encountered first-hand the classic "moron". After I got off the exit, I started searching for someplace to eat. Burger King was the first place we saw, so I started in that direction. I had to turn left in order to get into the parking lot and there was a lane for doing so. I made my way into that lane, but before I got to the line where I would wait for no opposing traffic, it appeared- the "moron", also known as "idiot", "imbecile", or the descriptive "stupid". (Note that any of these words may be combined with other names, depending on the subject at hand.) This particular moron came from in front of me, crossing his lane and entering my left turn lane. I was about half way to the line and he was about to occupy that same space. I immediately started braking and I threw my arms (both of them, probably not that smart) into the air and shouted "What are you doing!?" I knew that the moron could not hear me because loss of hearing is characteristic of morons. I continued with verbal assaults at his intelligence, however not with a horn. The horn would do nothing but scare the moron even though he couldn't hear very well. The moron finally realized his errors (there were multiple) when he was about ten feet from my vehicle and swerved back into his habitat, wherever that was.

Then, not even a minute later, another moron appeared. It is somewhat abnormal for morons to be near each other because of all the stupidity. They don't realize how dumb they are and will begin attacking each other. They are too dumb to learn that they need to stay together for their own good. Anyway, as I entered the parking lot, the second moron was there, blocking the entrance. I could not get past it. She would not move, but she could see that I wanted her too. She tried with all her heart (because there is no brain) to get out of my way, but to no avail. Again, it took a moment for her to notice her mistakes.

I evaded the morons as best I could, but they did get me in the end. Thankfully they were not the armed kind. A lot of ads for shooting ranges and gun shops were heard on the radio. I just kept thinking "And these people have guns." It would have been so much worse if the morons were armed. They could have killed themselves, or even others such as myself or my passengers. They are everywhere and we must all keep our eyes on them if we don't want to become one of them. Here's to a moron-free vacation and life for all of you.

What's Going On?

Well, what? This past month of May has been a very busy one, and it will not slow down until after I graduate, which is this Friday thankfully. Yes, high school is all over for me on June fifth. It has been a great four years, and I am ready to move on for the most part. I am done with all of the repetitiveness of high school, all its drama and annoying people. However, I will miss some people, like the ones who I have been with for four years. I was going to talk about this later, but I'm just kind of rolling into it.

The people that I have seen every day of my four years of high school, in my Agribusiness/Animal Science class, are some great people. I have had the pleasure of getting to them them quite well and four of them hang out with me pretty regularly. Did I mention that my whole class is girls? Yes, everyone, except me, is female. That fact has really not posed any problems with becoming friends with them. I have/had a couple of guy best friends that I was close to, but I do not see them often, so we have drifted apart. I now seem to spend my time with girls more often than guys which, if I had not gotten to know the girls, would have been weird. And of course, there's my wonderful girlfriend who I love to be around. I really do not know what else to say, except that these girls have made high school better and I will miss them.

In other news, I kind of need a job. I have applied at Chuck E. Cheese and Target and have not heard from either of them. Well, I did get an e-mail from Target saying that they could not offer me a position. That was two hours at Target wasted. I went back two days later to find out that their "Now Hiring" signs really mean "Cashiers Wanted" because that was the only position open. I tried to apply for that, but the machine said that it already had my application stored. I do not know if that means that it applied for cashier for me, or it just denied me. Anyway, I might go and see if Chick-Fil-A is hiring. I saw on snagajob.com that they were hiring, but I do not want to join the site just to apply. On their website, it just said call the location for which you wish to apply. I might go there tomorrow and see. I really do not want to be a cashier. I can do it, but it just is not enjoyable for me. If that was not my duty all the time, I could do it, but I definitely do not want to be only a cashier.

As my high school career comes to a close, my college career will begin in a few months. My major is Criminal Justice with the option in arts, I think. There was an option in legal studies, but that's more law jargon and stuff that does not interest me. I am still unsure about a career, but I can figure that out later. I do know that I am excited for the future opportunities that will be coming my way, and I will remember high school as a time that helped make me into the person I am today.