Oops!

Hello, all! So, I wrote this post last Friday... but just realized I hit "save as draft" instead of publish post... so here is my post from Friday, today! When I woke up this morning, I was blessed to discover I had pink eye. And yes, that is sarcasm. It has been spreading around the swim team and a lot of the girls have been out because of it. I guess it was only a matter of time before I got it. I still went to school though. I can't afford to miss any. So I made sure I never touched my eyes and washed my hands throughout the day. At practice, our coach actually told us he wanted us to throw out all our make up and not wear any for the next two weeks (that's when swimming will be over). I'm not sure how this will go with everyone. To be honest, I know I wasn't fond of the idea of throwing away all my make up. Girls, you know that stuff isn't cheap!

So I was watching the news tonight and they talked about all the snow New York has been getting. I had no clue they were getting so much but apparently New York City has gotten 19 inches!! Crazy, huh? And over 1,200 flights were cancelled because of the airport closing there. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, don't get me wrong, but good things come in small packages. That's what my mom always says. And this, is no small package. What's that saying? Too much of a good thing can be bad? Something like that. But this is definitely an example. I wonder how long the kids were out of school for this! But check out this picture! This would be so much fun! A huge snow ball fight took place in Dupont Circle in Washington but when I saw it I couldn't help but post it. Talk about your inner child! Everyone would have such a good time.

The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

Today will be a short summary. I've been trying to do them by sections in the book, or what makes the most sense. Because of (what I gather) governmental problems Baba and Amir decide to leave their homes and attempt to escape before they get sent to prison. They are in a car with a few other people being smuggled across the boarder. When they reach the boarder the driver supposedly has connections with the guards and will be able to pass easily. When they reach the checkpoint, a young guard demands time with the young wife in the car. Her husband begs and pleads to leave her alone, but without success. With that, Baba stands up and basically tells him off. The guard threatens to put a bullet through his head but Baba doesn't back down. Eventually, the guard gives up and lets them pass.

They finally arrive in Jalalabad and ran into a safe house. Here, the driver told them that there was no truck to take them the rest of the way, it had broken down. Baba asked why he hadn't told them this last week. Before he could even answer, Baba did, "I'll tell you why, because he got paid for his leg of the trip. That's all he cared about!" The driver sends them down in the basement where they discover there are about thirty more refugees. After a week in the basement, they received the option of going the rest of the way in a empty fuel truck. All the people except an older couple took the offer. In the tank it was hot and hard to breathe and so toxic that their eyes burned. After a long, unbearable trip, Baba tells Amir that they have arrived in the safety of Pakistan. All the passengers climb out. In fact, when they do one of the passengers in lying dead in his father's arms. They can't bring him back.

When I was reading this I couldn't imagine the struggle they went through to reach freedom. I can't imagine picking up and moving from the house I've grown up in. Moving from the friends I love. Leaving the sidewalk my name is carved in. It's all just something I can't grasp. Especially because of problems in the government. Moving for my dad's job would be one thing, but because of something I had no control in would be so hard to handle. Maybe he was happy to get away from the things that reminded him of Hassan and the winter their friendship stopped. There were no more constant reminders.

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Happy Hump Day!

Well, it's the middle of the week and it's gone pretty fast. Today was just like any other day: morning practice, school, afternoon swim and dryland, dinner, and now homework. In my ecology class, when we have extra time our teacher googles things we ask her to. Today, a girl asked her to google the worlds smallest pig, or the teacup pig. That led to the world's smallest horse and the worlds largest dog. So, here are pictures of all three.

Sorry they're placed so randomly, I couldn't figure out how to get them any better. So, on the far left is the Massif. Yes, that is a full sized horse next to it plus two humans. Then in the middle is the pig, obviously. I can't get over how adorable these are! They would be such fun as a pet. And finally, the world's smallest horse. In my opinion, its kind of odd looking. But at the same time crazy!

How about some more of The Kite Runner now? I know I can't wait to tell you more.

The Kite Runner By: Khaled Hosseini Pages: 80-110

Alright, we left off with Amir and Hassan going through a rough period. After Hassan is raped, he separates himself from everyone, finishing his morning chores and then retreat back to his mud house. Over a week later, Hassan asks Amir to go on a walk. However, Amir turns him down because he was "tired." Hassan continued to encourage him to come with him, "It's a sunny day... might be fun to go for a walk." Again, Amir turns him down. Hassan questions if he has done something to Amir, "I don't know what I've done, Amir agha. I wish you'd tell me. I don't know why we don't play anymore." Amir: "You haven't done anything, Hassan. Just go." Hassan: "You can tell me, I'll stop doing it." Then, Amir goes off on him. It breaks my heart that Hassan continues to reach out to the boy who let him get raped. He still remains so faithful and loving toward his friend. Amir says, "I want you to stop harassing me. I want you to go away." Later in the spring that year, Amir even asks his father if he had ever considered getting new hazaras. Baba becomes angry telling him that he and Ali had grown up together, too, and he was family and would never leave.

A few days after that, Amir actually asks Hassan to go for a walk. He told him he wanted to read him a story. But once they got up on the hill, Amir picked up a overripe pomegranate and asked Hassan, " What would you do if I hit you with this?" Hassan stopped smiling, but didn't say anything. "What would you do?" Amir asked again. The color fell from his face. Then, Amir hurled the pomegranate at him striking him in the chest, which left a spray of red pulp on him. "Hit me back!" he yelled at Hassan, hoping for some retaliation to make himself feel better. "Get up! Hit me!" Then, Hassan did get up, but just stood there. Amir threw another at him, "Hit me back!... Hit me back, goddamn you!... Your're a coward! Nothing but a goddamn coward!" With that, Hassan picked up a fruit, walked toward Amir, opened it, then, crushed it on his own forehead, leaving drips of red to soak down his face like blood. "There," he said, " Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?" After, he turned and walked down the hill. Crying, Amir shouted after him, "What am I going to do with you, Hassan? What am I going to do with you?"

Amir's birthday is approaching, so Baba plans an extravagant party for him. Hundreds of people come, even though he knows half of them. Assef and the two other boys are there, too. Amir actually sees Hassan serving drinks to the boys, and that's hard for him to watch. So hard, that he realizes Ali and Hassan can't live there. He creates a plan: He takes part of his birthday money and an expensive watch Baba got him and planted in under Hassan's bed. He tells Baba that Hassan stole from him. Baba confronts Ali about it, and Ali says he will go talk with Hassan and then meet Baba and Amir in the study. Half an hour later, Ali and Hassan come to the study, puffy-eyed, and red faced, clear that they have been crying. Baba asks Hassan if he stole from Amir, he answers yes. It shocked Amir that he could lie for Amir without hesitation. But Amir realized, this was Hassan's final sacrifice. Hassan never lied, so if he said no, Baba would have known that Amir lied. Earlier in the book, Baba told Amir that the worst sin was theft, all other sins were types of theft. But Baba forgave him! Ali told him the news, though, "We're leaving, Agha sahib." Baba begged and begged them not to go, "I don't care about the money or the watch. I don't understand why you're doing this." Ali and Hassan had made up their mind, and asked Baba to drive them to the bus station. Baba began to cry, the first time Amir had ever seen him cry. Not only had he betrayed Hassan once again, he made his father's childhood friend and son leave.

I still can't get over Amir's self-centeredness. Hassan has always been there for him and made so many sacrifices and because he can't face his choices, he lies and betrays his friend for the last time. I love this book, it's so eye opening. Hassan is so loyal. I know I've said this is every post and I probably sound really repetitive, but once you read the book, you'll understand what I'm saying! I'm hoping later in the book Amir will be able to make good with his life, and make some serious changes.

Until the next post, I'll leave you with this challenge. Tomorrow, don't let every decision you make be about yourself. Think of someone else, and don't betray the people you love. Be a stand up character, and make sacrifices for someone else. Goodnight.

For You, A Thousand Times Over

Why hello again! I hope the rest of your day went well. Mine was pretty good I'd say. I finished school, went to swim practice, and then went to Starbucks with my mom, my friend Courtney, and her mom. We had a really good time and hopefully we'll get to do it again. So, where to start? First off, today in math we got off topic and I learned a few interesting facts, and don't worry, they're not math related. I can't remember all of them but one I remember is that if a person was talking on a radio frequency to someone on the other side of the world, that person would hear what they said faster than someone sitting on the other side of the room because radio waves travel at the speed of light. Crazy, right? Now don't take that word for word... it's been a long day and I might have messed it up a little bit.

Right now the State of the Union address is on. I'm sorry, but right now I just want to watch normal t.v. In my opinion, it's pointless. At the moment they're comparing how it's like a high school dance because everyone sits with their "dates." They're talking about how people are sitting with people they wouldn't have expected. Really? I'm missing the regular shows for this? President Obama just walked into the building and I think he's shook, shaken, I'm not sure what the right word it, 100 hands. It's kind of funny, the audience is still clapping for him and it's been at least 3 minutes. Ah, he's finally arrived to the front of the room and now... let the fun begin. Now he will give a long speech with many applause breaks about the things he plans on doing. Most likely? He will do half of them. As with any president, nothing presonal Mr. Obama.

The Kite Runner By: Khaled Hosseini Pages: 1-80
Oh? You wanted more commentary on the address? Sorry, for once homework is more important than T.V. Okay so The Kite Runner. It's a great book. My friend and teammate Chelsea actually just texted me asking to borrow it. Maybe my blog is useful after all? It was funny because I didn't even know she had a blog or had been reading mine. I was excited to know that she was,though. So the beginning of the book starts with background information on the boys and some memories. It's 2001. A man named Rahim Khan calls Amir from Pakistan asking to meet. He is Amir's father's good friend. He is almost like another father to him and Amir is actually much closer to Rahim Khan than his Baba, or father. Then the background info starts: Amir's mother died while giving birth to him. He has grown up a lavish and wealthy lifestyle thanks to his father. He even has Hazara's, or servants. The servants are a father and son, Ali and Hassan. Hassan is just younger than Amir and they are like brothers. They grew up spending their days playing and creating mischief.... until the winter of 1975. You see, Hassan's mother left him and his father when he was only 6 weeks old. Ali is a Hazara, which from my understanding isn't a servant, that's just what most Hazara's are. His wife, Sanaubar, was a "beautiful but notoriously unscrupulous woman who lived up to her dishonorable reputation." She ran away to be a dancer just after she'd given birth. Ali and Hassan are Shi'a and Amir and Baba are Sunni. That alone creates cultural differences. Not to mention the fact that a servant will always be thought of less, no matter how close they may be. But anyways, Amir and Hassan fed from the same breast, played in the same yard, and Hassan and Ali actually live in a small mud hut in the corner of Amir and Baba's mansion. At the end of the second chapter, this passage appears. I didn't realize how significant it was, until later in the book:

Hassan and I fed from the same breast. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words.

Mine was Baba.

His was Amir. My name.

Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975-and all that followed-was already laid in those first words.

The question you are all asking yourself: What happened in the winter of 1975?! I'm getting there, just hold on. I'm sorry Mr. Hill, but I'm about to skip a lot of summarizing just because I want to get to the best part. Readers, the whole book is interesting so far, it all leads up to the best part, frankly, I just can't remember all the little details and what happens first. So, kite flying is very popular there. Huge tournaments are actually held for them. Boys soak the string of the kite in ground glass and the object of these tournaments is to cut the string of the other kites using skilled maneuvers. Obviously, you want your kite to be the last one in the air. Once the kite is cut, it begins to fall from the sky and kite runners, thus the name of the book, run after it to catch it. Hassan is a very talented kite runner and always has a sense of where it will fall even before it floats that way. The book tells that usually neighborhoods held their own competitions, but this year was going to be the biggest competition in 25 years. Like I said before, Amir and Baba don't have the best relationship. Amir feels like Baba blames him for his wife's death and if he killed her he could at least be something like his dad. But he's not, he's the complete opposite. Amir's plan is to win the competition and have Hassan run for the last kite to get cut down other than his. When he returns home with the winning kite in his hand, his father will have to be proud of him. Long story short... after hours of competition, bloody hands, and tired legs, Amir tricks the last kite and cuts it down, winning the competition. And Hassan knows what to do. He takes off running for the kite. An hour or so later, when Hassan hasn't returned, Amir goes out to look for him. After asking many people if they had seen him, he finally wanders down an alley where he hears talking. He sees the three neighborhood bullies cornering Hassan. The demand that he gives them the kite. It's tournament etiquette that once the runner has touched the kite, none of the other runners trying to get it can take it from him, it's his. So clearly, they are breaking the rules. When they ask for it, Hassan replies, " Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite." Assef, the pack leader, says back,

A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog... but before you sacrifice yourself for
him, think about this: Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why
he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you
when no one else is around? I'll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you're
nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he's bored, something
he can kick when he's angry. Don't ever fool yourself and think you're something
more.

Hassan says, " Amir agha and I are friends." I can hear him saying it, too. Scared, cornered, and unsure about what hes saying. Timid, of course. But I think he knows Assef is right. Nonetheless, Hassan refuses to hand over the kite. The consequence:

Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look the lamb.

The sad thing? Amir was there, and didn't even stop it. Hassan waddles home where Amir is waiting for his. He sees the blood dripping from his inner legs, and pretends to not notice. After that, Hassan rarely leaves the hut. And Amir is glad. He can't face what he did. They eventually stop talking and barely even see each other. Oh yeah, Amir's plan works, and his father is so proud and they grow very close for a few months until their differences take control again.

I've read past this, but I feel like I've been writing way too much for one post so I think I'll save some for tomorrow. I hope you all read this book. I've actually gotten teary-eyed while reading it. And all I hear in my head is, "For you, a thousand times over." Hassan's loyalty is crazy. I honestly don't know if I could do that for anyone, as sad as that is. It's crazy to even think a boy his own age would do such a thing! It's sad to think those things go on. I really am blessed to live the life I do. Enjoy your night, and see you tomorrow! And goodnight, Chelsea :)

Current: 192
Total: 310

Update From School

Well, it's third period on Tuesday. That means etymology class. Today we were given the opportunity to blog in class. So far my day has been rather uneventful other than the fact I was late to my first period class. I'm not sure if my teacher counted me tardy or not, with my luck he probably did but it's my first one this semester so I guess I can afford it. In my Latin class we had to create a poster over the military. I guess it's supposed to be almost like an Uncle Sam's "We Want You!" poster. Part of the assignment was coming up with a "catchy slogan" for our title. Mine was "Simul Sumus Magni!" aka together we are great. I know, I could have done something a lot more creative but that's what last minute thinking will give you. However, I made up for lack of creativity there by making my poster have pop up flap... type things, ha. There are a bunch of pictures that represent the subcategories to meet the criteria and under them is the information. Clever, in my opinion. Okay, only 20 minutes left in this class.

Maybe I'll give you a heads up as to what is to come tonight. I start reading The Kite Runner as you learned from my post last night. As of now, I'm on page 110. I love this book so far. I've actually had to put it down because I'm getting so upset reading it. It's a very captivating book and really brings out your emotion. That is, if you are anything like me. The main reason its hard to read for me is because so far it's a story of two boys relationship. They live in Afghanistan and one is a son of an extremely wealthy man. The other, his Hazara, or servant. Hassan, the Hazara, is extremely faithful to the wealthy son, Amir, which eventually leads to his rape. The worst part, all I hear in my head is Hassan saying to Amir, "For you, a thousand times over." He would do anything for Amir and the sad thing, Amir just uses him. Yes, he loves him like a brother, but because of the social standings they both have, it is impossible for Hassan to be anything other than a servant to him. Sigh, it makes me sad just thinking about it.

I'll give you more details tonight and catch you up to chapter ten where I am currently paused. But until then, enjoy your Tuesday, wherever you are.

Let's Catch Up

Hello again. It's been a while, I know. I need to find time to do my blogging but I've really been struggling. Okay let's see. Where should I start to catch you up? How about Wednesday last week. I woke up for morning practice and while walking to my car almost fell flat on my face! An unexpected, or at least I wasn't expecting it, freezing rain storm had passed through over night causing the driving to be quite slick. I managed to get out of my neighborhood and that's where the trouble started. Not only did I slid while trying to turn out of my neighborhood, but as I was driving a salt truck was sliding toward me. We all know my little car would be no match for a large truck like that. On top of that, my car was having issues with the defrost at that point and it was still raining so the ice was covering my windshield to which I reacted by pulling my car over to the side of the road. I was scared to get out and scrape them off again, so naturally, I called my mom. Sorry about that 5 am unwanted call, Mom and Dad. At this point I'll admit I was crying and my mom told me not to worry either her or my father would come get me. So, I sat there waiting for someone to come and take me home and I'd just crawl right back into my warm bed. That's not exactly what happened but nonetheless shout out to my dad for saving me. Ten minutes later he came to my rescue! I didn't see it, but he told me later that night that he actually fell while trying to get to my car. God bless the fella. He cleared the ice off my windows, and said he'd follow me to the pool and the continue to go to work. Unfortunately, that didn't help for long. The ice covered my windows again causing me to drive with my head half way out the window, yes, it sounds funny but let me tell you it was COLD! Anyways, school was cancelled that day, obviously. Friday and Saturday I had a swim meet. I felt pretty good about how I did, winning four out of the five events I swam.

And That brings me to today. Right now I'm at the library because our computer isn't working. You know, I expected more from librarians. Not to be rude. I finished Hole in my Life and started reading The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini. I'm really into the book, too. I have to say thank you to you, Mr. Hill. You've given me a reason to read again. That sounds really inspirational and all but I literally mean a reason. I have to do it. But I'm not complaining, I've branched out alot. So anyways, librarians. I asked this lady to help me find some books because I thought she might have some good suggestions, being surrounded by books all day all. But no, she told me to look at some paper and follow what it told me to do. I was hoping for a lot more, to say the least. But it's okay I'm sure the Homestead lady's will help me.

Okay, readers! Final summary of Hole in my Life. Jack goes to court with his lawyer and the court finds him to be very "uncooperative and unwilling to tell the truth", as the book later quotes. The judge rules the case a 5010B and the gaurd takes him to a holding cell. On the way out, his father walks in and he wears anguish and pain on his face. Jack learns that 5010B is a youth sentence which meant he could go to prison for 60 days to 6 years. He is transferred to what is like a mid way prison, before he goes the his actual prison. There, he sees the aftermath of his friend's Lucas's rape during their first night in prison. Lucas was a man who Rik, Hamilton, and Jack sold drugs to who got caught. Its one of the many eye opening stories of the book. Once he gets to the actual prison, the doctor sees lice in his hair, which turns out to be the biggest blessing. He is "forced" to stay in a bright yellow hospital cell, but we find out that being in that solitary cell was what saved him. The day he is free to go back into population, he asked the doctor if there are any openings to work at the prison hospital. It turns out that the last X-ray tech had tried to escape that day and was now in what they called "the hole", or the bottom level of the prison were the worst criminals went. So Jack is given the job which means he gets to keep his cell. He learns a lot working there and gets to see first hand what prisoners can do to eachother.

Now you probably want me to skip to the happy ending and his release from prison, and I'm not going to argue with you. Here it is straight: He creates his own type of escape plan. No, not the kind where he digs a tunnel through the wall and breaks out. He proposes to his case worker, who in turn relays the deal to the judge that if he gets into college, he can get out before his two year sentence ends. The court agrees as long as he gets a job and has a place to live. Both of the arrangements are made and he is released. Jack goes to college and works at a Christmas Tree farm. The end of the book is... ironic in a way I guess. He ends his story telling the reader about the similarities he notices with prison life to his new life. Just small things, like how when he works as a night gaurd at the college he has to punch his time card, and he always yells, "COUNT" just like they did in prison. The other last few pages are the same. They talk about how he doesn't want to undig all the bad he used to have in his life leaving the reader satisfied and optimistic.

Like I just said, I felt good knowing that he stayed on the right path after his release. It seems to me like he managed to do what he always wanted to: go to college to become a writer. I'd like to think all prisoners turned out this way. But they don't. They aren't the lucky ones. The ones who have lice and with a strike of luck end up staying away from the corruptness of the prisoners. And in a way, he manages the prisoners dream, escape.

Goodnight everyone!

Long time no posts!

Wow. Has it been a week already? Remember that part in my first post where I said time willing I would post as much as I could? Well, it was one of those weeks last week. The one where you feel like you can never get your head above the surface. Ha, thats ironic because swimming is the main reason I feel like this. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I love my friends there, the excitement when you're winning a race, and the feeling of accomplishment when you realize your hard work has paid off. But, the season is wrapping up. Only less than a month left. So my coach has been pushing us harder than ever. Which translates into me being more tired than ever. It would be nice if everyone at my school swam, that way teachers would give us less homework during the season, but of course that isn't how it is. I've been bombarded with homework, studying, swimming. Sadly, blogging was pushed down to the bottom of my to-do list. But here I am, Tuesday night, and I'm supposed to have 3-4 posts by tomorrow, and I only have two.

Alright, you're probably wondering why I inserted a random Pure Michigan audio track. The reason: I love it. I love the way it focuses on the simplicity of life. The silly excitement when a child learns they have the day off to play in the snow: sledding, building forts and snowmen, and of course the classic snowball fights. But more than that, and it may sound creepy, I love this guy's voice! It's calm and soothing. Yes, that may sound odd. But it makes me want to go to Michigan and go back to the simple days of being in elementary school! So, congrats Pure Michigan, your commercials are working.  I wanted to post this last Wednesday when we had a snow day, but was too busy. I know, I know. Busy on a snowday? But yes, I had practice still and my mom wanted to return some clothes at the mall, so my day was pretty busy in reality. I didn't even go outside other than walking in and out of buildings. We had a two hour delay today, too. Because of this, I caught a snippet of Regis and Kelly, the morning t.v. show. I'm sure you've all heard, but Regis is done after this year. So, in honor of you, Regis, I thought I should post your picture so my followers can acknowledge you.

Hole in My Life: Pages 57-118
And now on to my assignment. Last time we left Mr. Gantos, he was in Key West preparing to go back to St. Croix. That seems like forever ago to me because--spoiler alert-- I'm now reading about Jack being scheduled for his court hearing and about to be on his way to becoming an inmate. But let's rewind, he's moved back with his family and is having a hard time adjusting. He misses the freedom he once had and St. Croix isn't exactly the vacation hot-spot. There are many racial problems and the natives are becoming increasingly angry toward the white men who are making them work for little profit. Then Rik, another St. Croix inhabitant, comes along, and asks Jack to make a special crate for him that contains secret compartments. At first, Jack assumes he's just smuggling Indian artifacts or pottery, but obviously, he finds out later that he is a dope smuggler. Now, this isn't where Jack's involvement in this crime ends. Rik asks Jack if he is willing to help Hamilton, Rik's partner, sail a boat to New York where Rik will be waiting for them. The catch? As Rik says,

 " We have two thousand pounds of hash buried somewhere. I need to fly to New York and arrange the deals, and we need someone, you, to help Hamilton sail the boat to Manhattan, where i'll be waiting. Your job is just to get the boat there, and for that you get ten thousand dollars. Cash. Of course, we can't pay you until we've made some deals, so you might have to stick around and help out a bit."

Jack's reaction?

"All I heard was the number- ten thousand dollars, cash. This was the jackpot. The answer I was looking for. My exit from St. Croix and my entrance to whatever good school would have me."

So, obviously Jack agrees and they set off. Along the way, they go to the island and dig up the hash, wander into military waters (remember this for later), and almost run out of fuel, only to be saved by some Japanese sailors that almost ends in Jack's death. No, they don't attempt to kill him. I'll let you read to find out how though. They arrive in Manhattan and struggle to find a place to dock the boat. They check in at a hotel, and set out to sell they drugs. Successful, of course, they have almost sold all of the stash and Jack is ready to put this behind him. He is constantly paranoid, feeling like he is being watched. Rik and Hamilton were preparing to leave the hotel to sell the final couple of hundred pounds. They told Jack to stay at the hotel. With his spare time, Jack planned to go down to the front desk and ask where Thomas Wolfe, a writer who had stayed in this same hotel, had roomed. However, as he was on the landing, he heard the confrontation. FBI agents were now struggling with Hamilton trying to arrest him. In a stroke of genius, Hamilton shouts,

"There they are! Those are the guys who own the boat" 

He's talking about the boat that the agents have been watching. The only problem with the people he pointed at? After the FBI men let him go and he runs off, they realize that those men, too, have been hired to watch Jack, Hamilton, and Rik. The FBI agents rush out to catch the runaway. As you might have guessed, they're successful. Jack has managed to get away. He takes a train back to King's Court, the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and plans to hide out there for a while. He thinks he's safe, but not for long...

This book is an easy read! It's interesting and hard to put down, especially now. Reading it, I have to know the rest of Jack's story! I wouldn't say that I can directly relate to it, but I can imagine how he feels. Here he is, a young man just trying to earn some money so he can conquer his dream. Ten thousand dollars is serious motivation for committing a crime. Turning the offer down would be quite hard. So I can't say I blame him, he had good intentions. He just has bad luck, right? I know it was wrong, but I can't help but feel some sorrow for the guy.

Well, there you go Mr. Hill. Time to move on to my AP Lit essay. Enjoy your Tuesday night!

Ah, Monday

To some of you, that may be a happy word. Some of you like the thought of getting back into the weekly groove. However, I like the weekend. You wouldn't guess from the name of my blog, now would you? To me, the weekend means finally slowing down. No more waking up at 4:45 for morning practice, no stressing over homework, no boring classes where falling asleep is inevitable. Unfortunately, Mondays have to come. But how about a quick fact about today, January 10th? Did you know: on January 10th, 1776, Thomas Paine published his famous pamphlet "Common Sense", or that in 1861, Florida seceded from the Union, or maybe more pertinent to our time, today was the day NBC announced their plan to move "The Jay Leno Show" to 11:35 p.m. and make "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" the new 12:05 a.m. show? Just a few fun facts I thought readers might enjoy.

Now, I'm supposed to name this post "Reading" and go on to summarize my book. But come on now. For some reason, I feel like something more creative would mask the fact that this may be boring. Maybe something like "Jack Gantos: Drug Smuggler to Award Winning Author" would be more enticing and trick readers into thinking what I'm writing isn't just an assignment. I'm not sure. You know, now that I think about it, my only "readers" are my sister and Mr. Hill. So maybe I should follow the assignment and not worry about whats going through their head when they read the title of today's post. After all, Mr. Hill did make the assignment. He should know what he's getting himself into. Then again, he did say we were the ones who decided if this was a "lame" assignment or something more. I think I'll choose to make this something more that just another assignment. I was, in reality, very excited after publishing my first post. Ask my friends. I think I talked about my blog more than anything else today. My dad even said it was "cute." Maddison knows thats saying a lot.

Mr. Hill, in hopes of making you happy, and satisfying my conscience telling me to title this something more creative, here is my subtitle.

Reading: Hole in My Life By: Jack Gantos Pages 3-54


This book is broken into three parts. The first, is his life in Florida, his history of frequent moves, and brief high school experiences. The second, as far as I've read, is his move to St. Croix and the start of his smuggling journey. Maybe he gets caught and goes to prison in this section too? I have yet to find out. And so, I can only assume the third part is about jail, and/or his life after. To be honest, I'm going to summarize less than what I've read in order to reach the minimum of three posts per week. So here it goes: the book starts off with Gantos talking about his personal experiences growing up. He talks about his dad, and how he had an eye for criminals. He could point out who had been in jail, and who was heading down that path. Gantos writes, "Dad's keen eye for spotting criminals of all stripes was impressive. But it wasn't  perfect. He never had me pegged for being one of them."  He goes on to tell how his family moved from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico because of  his Dad's construction job. He left his friends thinking he would never see them again. But once they moved and realized Jack wouldn't be able to enter public school due to the fact he didn't speak Spanish, his parents arranged for him to move back to Florida and live with some family friends to finish his senior year. Unfortunately, that living situation didn't work out. And instead of ruining the story for you, and frankly I don't feel like writing it all out, he ends up spending the rest of his senior year in a run down motel.

He works hard, though. Spending time doing extra reading and brain storming about topics for his own stories. Jack even makes plans to go to college at the University of Florida in Gainesville. However, once he visits, he realizes its just like one big high school. Deterred by that, and the fact that his family is now broke and he can't afford schooling on his own, Jack makes a new plan: he will move back to St. Croix and help his father. Hole in My Life tells one more adventure Jack takes before moving, though. Long story short, his friend Tim Scanlon needs a place to stay for a few days (he didn't want his parents to know he was in town), they get extremely high, come up with the crazy idea they should sell drugs, go to a school in Tallahassee where Jack expects to get "the score", but instead, his two hundred dollar investment goes bad when Tim gets caught by two security guards. But no worries, he spends his last few days in Key West riding out a sudden tropical storm, visiting famous writers homes, and attempting to write about... a sea turtle in Ernest Hemingway's pool? Quite the story, huh?

As I read this first section, I couldn't help but think about the life I have. I can't imagine struggling just to get an education. Jack Gantos spent his senior year in a motel, whereas I, God willing, plan to spend mine in my two story house. It's funny how little my world is. I don't even think I realize how 10 miles away, there could be another Jack Gantos, someone struggling to make ends meet. Maybe I could help? Sometimes I think just smiling at a stranger, or asking a someone who looks sad if they need to talk is enough, but maybe its not. Jack made it on his own though, right? I guess I'll find out as a read the rest of the book.

Well, let's hope that wasn't as boring as I'm afraid it is. Maybe some of you will pick up this book next time you're at the book store. I'd certainly recommend it.

Hello. Bonjour. Hola. Jambo. Bon Giorno.

Hello, reader! Welcome to Waiting For Saturday. This blog, created as an assignment for my high school's etymology class, will encompass a variety of posts. My hope, time willing, is that I will be able to post a collection of different things each week, from my obsession of the day, to things I ponder on, or even just random tidbits of information I learned. As well as fulfill my assignments. To tell the truth, I have to admit my blog was inspired by my older sister, Maddison. She is now 25, living in Washington, D.C. Also, at one time, a Homestead student, then later Depauw University attendee, and now awaiting the news of her, fingers crossed, acceptance into Graduate School. Anyways, she also has a blog, named Waiting For Sunday. As you probably have realized, my blog's name is almost identical: one part joke, one part my lack of creativity to think of a better name. At first, when Waiting For Saturday came into my mind, I thought my sister would be upset, claiming it was too close to hers. But to my surprise, she supported the name with quite the bit of enthusiasm. Quoting her blog, Waiting For Sunday was, "Named for the day of the week set aside for reflection, prayer, quietness, recuperation and good company, Sunday is often the day I most anticipate." 


So, reason would say that I named my blog Waiting For Saturday because, as a teenager, eager to live life and explore all it offers, Saturday is the day I look forward to most. Although, it is more than likely occupied by a swim meet, a subject I'm sure will often be referred to, I do anticipate those rare Saturday's when I, of course after begging the parents, am allowed to go have fun with my friends. Of course, only until 11:30, being my curfew. And don't think this is flexible... beyond reason. Yes mom, I did just admit you are lenient to a certain point and I am so very grateful for that.  


So, last night, being one of these blessed nights, I went bowling with a few of my friends. Myself, my boyfriend, and two other couples all joined together at a local  bowling alley and had a great time showing off our skill, or lack there of. To my pleasant surprise, I turned out to be quite the bowler, scoring a total of 129. And no, that is not the total of my two games together. Truthfully, I scored 74 my first game. But hey, everyone needs to warm up, right? As my bf and I were sitting in his car in my driveway talking, I received a text from my mother, "It's 11:31- where r u?" Sigh. First of all, my mother can't text very well. I guarantee it took her a good 30 seconds to write that, with her texting lingo and all. I find it funny that just after a minute past my curfew she texts me. However, I am glad she gives me rules because I know I would have a rough future ahead of me living on my own if I didn't have guidelines now. I was home on time though, just ask my twin brother, Taylor, who I caught spying on us through his bedroom window. He claims he was just "getting a blanket", but last time I checked, the blankets aren't in the window sill. We had a good laugh about it, though. 


As I scan over this entry, I can't help but wonder what my teacher, Mr. Hill, is thinking. He probably is saying to himself, "When is this girl going to stop talking about her weekend and start covering the assignment?" I'm sorry, Mr. Hill. You probably wouldn't guess, as I am quiet in your class, but once I start talking, you might as well find a comfortable position and get ready to hear my life story. I think I get that from my Grandma. Over Christmas break, I asked her how she met my Grandpa, her husband, and her response was an over an hour story. I expected it to be a thirty minutes at most. But I can't complain, as we dried dishes and I listened to her story, I couldn't help think to myself how much I admire and love her. She's the most tender-hearted, loving lady in my life. There I go again, getting off topic. I'm supposed to be giving a summary of a book that I'm reading right now. I could do it, too. But I'm not sure where to start really. I have it opened in front of me. Page 82. I have to read 100 pages for the week. I'm quite proud of myself for actually reading so much already. Jack Gantos is making it easy though. Hole in my life is the title of the book that I'm reading. Instead of doing my summary, I think I'll give you the book's one line summary, and come back later to finish. "The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer." 


Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! I'll see you tomorrow. Eh, technically not see, but you know what I mean!