Quiet Thursday Nights

It's a little strange, I've had a lot of low-key nights this week.  Probably because of the various tests.  I had my Statistics test yesterday (I got 156 out of 200... I'm still debating whether I should retake it because if I take it again and I do worse, the second test is going to be the one going in the grade book...) and I had French yesterday and today (I feel much better about that one).

The music department has been especially fortunate this year.  My school district was nice enough to give us money (after a number of teachers got together to write a statement for this grant), so we've been able to get a lot of new things. Among those new things are 120 musicians chairs (they help support musicians better-- posture and all), a shiny new bass clarinet (for those of you who don't know, that's my instrument, and being the only bass clarinet in my group, I automatically get it!  No fighting with my invisible stand-partner!  Did I mention that I named him Reginald?  His full name is Shiny Reginald.  He's beautiful and he sounds excellent!), a baritone sax, an entire new section of French horns, and a number of other instruments that aren't tubas or flutes.  So we've been incredibly fortunate-- everything is so nice and perfectly functional!  People (only a select few) have been bitter about the chairs because now that can't slump in their spots as comfortably).

This afternoon, I received an email from the digital library (it's through my county, so I'm not sure if anyone outside of my county would have it, but check your library) that I was able to "borrow" Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs!  Last I checked, I was number 200-something out of more than that, so I was anticipating that it would take much longer for me to be able to read this book (can you call it a book if it's on the computer at this time?).  Any way, I've downloaded it and that has been my project tonight.  Yeah, I could have worked on finishing Sweet and Sour Milk by Nuruddin Farah, but I prefer Miss Peregrine much more.  I only planned on starting it (like, maybe ten or twenty pages) but I ended up finishing forty-one.  It's that good!  I can't wait to review it, though actually posting it will take some time.  My plan is to develop a bit of an arsenal of reviews and then schedule them.  I have two thus far and a large pile of shorter stories waiting patiently next to my bed.  I've discovered my cure.  I think I'll be posting reviews again in no time!

I've discovered that there's nothing more relaxing than the sound of rain.  There's this website called RainyMood.com where you're able to listen to the sound of rain and other parts of a storm as long as you please!  I've been listening to it for several hours.  It's like white noise at the end of a VHS tape, but so much better and less annoying.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to my school's Sadie's Dance with my boyfriend.  It's going to be my last year going, so I'm a little sad, but more excited.  He's coming to my house after school, so there's a possibility of pictures.  But no promises.  He not too pleased when I take a large number of pictures of him and I absolutely hate it when he takes pictures of me (they always turn out terribly, and it's not just the camera phone-- I just don't take very good pictures.  I can never remember how I smiled before braces, so it's always awkward).

Any way, I just wanted to update a little.  Please enjoy the rest of your evening!  I'm going to get back to reading!

Thanks for... reading :)

--Jude