islanded in a stream of stars

I just got my AP scores back-they're all 5's! How the heck did that happen with calculus?!
[/gloating]

And apparently I can read at 475 words/minute with a 64% comprehension rate, which sounds a little low for me. You can take the test here.

( Random memes )

You know you haven't been studying for your AP Euro exam when you start laughing at the word "Quadripartite" (refering the 4-way division of Berlin) really loudly. And I better shut up before I get really scary and my brain starts leaking all of this knowledge out before the test.

I know I brought this upon myself, gah!

I don't know how to end this entry elegantly, so I'll disobey journalistic style and end with a quotation:

Context: I'm helping some juniors study for AP US History:
Me: I just love McCarthyism.
Friend: What?!
Me: They had the best anti-communist slogans! Are there Bolsheviks breeding in YOUR bathroom?

Am I always this flippant? Come to think of it, don't answer that last question.

Quadripartite really is a funny word!

Calculus AP exam first thing tomorrow morning!

Why do I still not quite understand how to figure out the volume of a solid of revolution in terms of dy?!

You know you need a social life when you dream about the object of your film score fangirlish idolatry. And it's a pessimistic one involving Caribbean revolutionaries. Must I be this cynical even in my subconscious?

On a very different note: it's sort of scary to know what was on my future classmates' college applications and have no idea who they are as people.

But on the bright side, the guys who will be my future classmates seem to be impressed that I know so much about James Bond. Go figure.

I can't possibly imagine why people at the gym give me strange looks when I do my Euro history reading while running on the treadmill. Wouldn't it be really boring to stare at the walls the whole time while sweating it out?

The college decision issue is much trickier than I initially bargained for, but I'm hoping to send in my enrollment forms by Monday. I'm having some major committment issues at the moment.

( And a few promised On Her Majesty's Secret Service screencaps for dancing_avenger )

I've been rejected by Harvard and Columbia; I'll hear back from Stanford tomorrow afternoon but I'm not hopeful at all.

Edit: I've also been rejected by Brown. Ah well.

Another edit: Make that four rejections; Stanford rejected me, too.

So much for trying not to disappoint my family. But I really shouldn't be complaining as I do have some nice choices as is. Really, there are many many many worse things that could be going on, and there's no point in wasting my time over things that I can't control anymore. I should stop making such a fuss about this.

Last edit: So overall, I'm deciding amongst Wellesley, USC and Scripps.

P.S. Sophia, thanks for the Victoria Holt novel; I could really use it. Hopefully I'll start it this weekend.

Finally, a non-angsty entry!

Woot! I've received a full tuition scholarship at the University of Southern California (USC) and a half-tuition scholarship plus an official acceptance at Scripps College. Apparently I made the happy shriek of a small dying animal upon ripping the envelopes open.

Yes, I really could use a social life. And no, I still have no idea where I want to end up. I hear back from four remaining colleges on the 30th, so I'm waiting that out before I even begin to decide.

( And this cartoon is for Sophia in particular )

I'm heading off to Scripps tomorrow, so I won't be able to get back to anyone until Sunday afternoon. I'm currently hoping that the funky nerve above my right eye won't start randomly twitching on me again when I am sleep deprived and uber nervous.

On another note: many apologies to various friends who have IMed me; my MSN Messenger keeps randomly logging me on when my computer's on while I'm not there. I swear I'm not trying to ignore you; I'm currently trying to figure out what is going on with that program. I actually log on to IM at most five times a year.

Useful lesson of the day: Never mix anything meant for a blender with a tablespoon, especially for a milkshake.

Useful observation of the day: When the moon is out you can actually see where you're going when dragging out the trash instead of tripping over random things and seeing your trash can rolling down the street. And the stars are quite pretty. That's what I missed this past summer, except for the nights of the meteor shower-not being able to see what's up in the sky due to light pollution.

Not terribly useful realization of the day: I'm going to really miss dinnertime conversations with my family when I'm in university.

I've attempted to figure out the key components of said conversations-I can't think of any dull at-home dinnertimes in just about...ever. They seem to usually compromise of the following, among other topics:

-three references to a Pink Panther/Mel Brooks (almost always Young Frankenstein, but the Producers and Blazing Saddles have been known to appear as well)
-my mother waxing (slightly) melodramatic about her experiences with hospitals
-my mother and me speaking in at least two strange accents
-my mother remarking about how strange I am
-my mother wondering why my friends are crazy
-my objecting to my mother's claims that I meet too many crazy people
-my mother expostulating on why all of us belong in the local insane asylum
-my pondering aloud why we aren't all in the insane asylum
-my father relating some obscure occurence during my childhood to avoid any awkwardness and succeeding slightly
-my father scheming of ways of using various kinds of military technology to get rid of random bugs around the house
-my mother looking guilty about having stuck me in daycare for roughly ten years, though mostly not on a full time basis
-my parents quizzing me about my friends' and classmates' college decisions
-my father making some sort of reference to World War II out of context
-my mother complaining that my father rerecords way too many Band of Brother reruns
-my mother claiming that she is an alien
-my discovering that I have even more cousins than I thought previously (the official count is at 28)
-my discovering that someone in my family has some sort of freaky medical condition
-my father asking for his daily serving of phosphoric acid (a.k.a. Coca Cola)

And I seem to have gotten into college. Sort of-it's mostly implied. I only figured that out about thirty seven minutes ago. But the mail has made me happy today.

Today we had a surprise visit from my godparents and their two daughters! We went out for dim sum and Chinese grocery shopping in the Chinese village near my dad's old workplace. There was the ubiquitous yet amusing ordeal of having family friends accept/diss my college application choices ("Havahd? You mean that crumbling brick institution up Mass Ave?" Then imagine that paired with a slightly North Carolinan accent.) but thankfully we didn't dwell on that so much this time. I'm fully convinced that my godfather is the wittiest, raunchiest Catholic who bears an eerier resemblance to James Earl Jones/Colin Powell in existence.

This time I actually got to talk to Kathleen and Sarah who seem to be really interested in tamagachis, those beeping digital pet things that were really popular when I was in elementary school. It's just a little freaky to see those two interested in all of the things that were popular when I was their age; am I really that much older now? At least we didn't have any of those awkward "I have no idea what to talk about" silences, and Kathleen thankfully hasn't reached tween angst yet. Not only that, but they make all of the snarky comments about dried squids and mysterious mushrooms that I'm too shy to say. I'm glad that they're still willing to confide in me. They're the closest I have to sisters, and I'm going to miss them wherever I end up for the next four years.

Next Tuesday I'll be seeing Katie, a family friend's daughter who's currently going to Wellesley with cutemew. Imagine a prom queen crossed with a jock and you'll have a superficial impression of her. I still remember when I slept over at her house every few weeks and her dad, Uncle Henry to me (the only Chinese Kentucky farmboy I know), would always tease me about my dislike of cauliflower. And every time I went Katie would insist on painting my nails a very bright color and blast bubblegum pop music-those sleepovers were my first introduction to the Spice Girls-as we waved our fingers in front of her dinky tabletop fan. Their adopted orange tabby cat had a rather luxe penchant for lobster. Sadly, I haven't seen Katie since I was thirteen; the last time I tried to organize an outing with her she forgot to show up. We haven't really had any big summer barbeques with them and my dad's other friends since then, either. Needless to say we're not exactly close anymore, but I'm curious to see how she's doing now. I hope that lunch next Tuesday won't be too awkward.

Random note to self: Stop looking at so many online course catalogues of places where I probably won't end up. If only that seminar on death and dying in Romantic compositions didn't satisfy my fetish for fatalistic Romantic music...