I feel like crap for not blogging in so long. Unfortunately, the lack of time I have to sit and type up a blog post has been scarce the past month (In all actuality I just never had the will to sit down and blog, though I did have some free time). Regardless, it’s about time I wrote a lengthy blog post on any number of topics. The last time I blogged was mid-April, a few days before my Band/Music trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. So, let’s start there…

Music Trip 2009: Williamsburg, Virginia

Last year our band trip was to Washington, DC, which was actually quite fun (despite being my third time to the area in a few years). Festivals of Music, which is the group that decides to host these musical (band and choral) competitions, moved the location down only a hundred miles or so to the Williamsburg/Virginia Beach area. As some of you may remember, I was down in the exact same spot back in October for a family function, so it seems like I am stuck venturing to the same locales that I have previously visited. But I digress… the trip as a whole was fun. While I had to wake up pretty early every morning (including the 4am wakeup and 5am arrival to school on the day we left), I wasn’t that tired and in a pretty good mood. That being said, some things happened (well, didn’t happen) that should have, mainly out of my own ignorance and procrastinator mindset. At the end of the day (well, weekend), it was a fun trip, and I even purchased my own Indiana Jones (-esque) hat.

Preparing for the AP Exam

Once I got back from the trip, I realized that I had to refocus on the tasks that were at hand. The main project was the AP United States History exam, which would test me on a college level. Luckily, I am pretty good at history. That being said, once again, my procrastination pushed me to the limit, as I did not start studying (in any real substantial form) until the day before the exam (Friday, May 8th). When it came to test day (ironically the same day as the next event I will talk about), I was mentally prepared as well as I thought I could be. The test, in all honesty, was not that difficult. I nearly ran out of time (55 minutes) on the eighty multiple choice questions (which, regrettably, were not in chronological order), but I had ample time when it came to writing the three essays in Part II. I think the time limit has passed, so I can discuss exactly what the essay questions were.

Document Based Question (DBQ): “During the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, slavery expanded throughout the United States. But, at the same time, a large number of slaves were granted their freedom. Explain this situation in detail.”

Thematic Essay (#2): Discuss the reasons for strained relations between the colonies in the United States and Britain during the 1750’s-1775.

Thematic Essay (#5): Discuss the social conditions for two groups of Americans (Japanese and African) on the home front during the Second World War.

All in all, the test was a lot easier than I anticipated, which was nice. We had our in class final (eighty multiple choice questions) last week, which I truly thought was harder than the AP Exam itself, and I got a 99% (with a two or three point curve), which was a total shock, so maybe I did pretty good on the multiple choice on the actual AP Exam. Oh well, I will find out in July I guess!

Junior Prom 2009

So, Prom. After dealing with a whole year of harassment about who I was going to take from my friend Rod (the God), it came down to a week and a half before the actual Prom that I decided to ask someone. That being said, my previous choice was willing to go with me (as she had said “Connor, just do it already”, though by some unfortunate circumstances, I never asked. That being said, I did ask someone who actually wanted to go with me from the beginning, so I didn’t go alone (didn’t want to be a loser, ha).

In the end, looking back on it, it was fun. Me and a few friends (well, 10 of us in total) chipped in for a limo which took us there, to a diner afterwards, and then back home. Not bad for eighty four dollars per person. While there was some drama, as always with these high school events, things ended up working pretty well in the end. Though, that story does not have an ending yet, and I am not sure if it will anytime soon. I’ll explain that whole situation at another time.

Web Projects, the Like

Finally, it has been a while since I last updated you guys on my actual coding/web projects. To be frank, I haven’t really done anything substantial over the past several weeks, even the past two months, though I decided to make significant headway in that regard this past weekend. Town Hall is no more, I am sorry. But, the new (new, new) version of Town Hall, called Rewritten, is in the process of being developed. I have worked up a whole new design for the project that is much simpler, as well as more appealing to the eyes. I have added some color variance in the “table” view on the index pages (main index, topic index, etc.) I am also building the system from the ground up with a new template/theme system, unlike the previous version of Town Hall. Hopefully I can finish this version sometime before summer’s end, so that way I have a truly finished project.

I also plan to start up work again on Masked Media, once I get around to pushing Town Hall near a semi-complete stage. As for what Masked Media will do/host, I do not know. That being said, I am considering acquiring a few Game Maker-related news sources (including two video podcasts/shows), as well as looking for some indie film makers who want to showcase their short films, and/or start a new show on the network. What about show for me? Who knows, it all depends on how much free time I have.

In conclusion, the past month and half have been quite crazy, yet fun for me. With only fifteen days of school left in the year, I really do hope I can push out some crazy school accomplishments. My biggest regret this year has been my school grades: my worst year of school ever. Why did it have to happen in the most important year (Junior) of my career? Who knows, but I really want to change things. I’m going to finally get around to getting my driver’s license and lifeguarding certification in the next month or two, so I can get a job and earn some extra cash this summer. After summer’s end, there is only one more year of school left until I graduate. God help me. I have no plans for the future, so I hope I can start planning soon before I procrastinate myself out of a college education!