I Don't Mean to Brag, But...

Tomorrow is Raton High School's graduation! Many young adults will soon be headed towards college and work and new cities, my cousin Danny among them.

It's crazy to think that it was already five years ago that I graduated! Since then, I've taken some college classes and I got a job, and to be honest, I've done a lot of growing up. Some things I can state exactly, like getting my own place, and some things are more abstract and hard to describe exactly, like state of mind and maturity.

So in this time of graduation and college acceptance letters and job applications, I think we should all take into consideration even the smallest accomplishments! It doesn't have to be something absolutely huge and life-changing to have a positive effect on your life.

So I have compiled a short list of "accomplishments" from the past few years. They're mostly for fun, but my point is still valid.
(yes, some of them are just plain stupid... they're the best ones!)


Winning my 5th grade spelling bee!

I won with the word "clingy". I still have the trophy! And, may I say, I'm still a pretty awesome speller.


Battling mental health problems... and winning

True, this is an ongoing battle, and always will be. But still, I'm on the winning side. And anymore, it's not so much a battle as a lifetime relationship. We will always know and work around each other, but as equals.


My silver medal in P.E.

Seventh grade! In mid-school the teachers could give medals to the students who did the most. This was just plain amazing because I did almost NOTHING in P.E. all year, but instead hung out with the teacher a lot. I am an awful athlete, but I did at least try all the activities...


Voted "Most Likely to Set a World Record"

8th grade! I think, more than anything, it had to do with the fact that "Record" is my last name, but it was still exciting. And who knows? Maybe I will!


Longest Consecutive Time Logged in at ACE Hardware

This was a great number of years ago! I think the final count was just over 1000 hours... I came in once and did some computer work and forgot to clock out. Then over a month later I came back to work a little more and was like... whoa!!


My 8th grade math teacher holding up my math binder in each and every one of her classes as the perfect example of what a math binder SHOULD NOT look like

One of my proudest moments. And I wasn't even trying!!

Chasing my dream of being a writer

Yes, this blog is definitely one of my tools! Practicing and getting in the habit of writing. But lately, I've been working a lot on a few story lines for potential novels. Exciting, exciting!


Just plain living!

Self explanatory... learning, growing, living! And I really love this song...

Congratulations grads of all ages!

Sarah

The Thrill is Gone :(

As you may have heard, the great B.B. King passed away yesterday, May 14th. He was 89, and I know he'd been suffering from diabetes and heart problems for a long time, so it's not really a shock. But it's still sad!

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many people who DON'T know the name "B.B. King". His accomplishments are really too numerous to list! Countless awards and honors, and an incredibly successful career.

I actually got to see him play live a few years ago, with my dad and sister. He really did create magic with that guitar, Lucille! The way he played was effortless; it seemed as natural to him as breathing. His fingers lightly skimmed the smooth neck of the guitar, knowing just the right places to touch. He rocked his head back and forth, feeling the music flow. His voice was amazing, too. The perfect mix of sweet smoothness and gritty feeling. Almost the entire time he played, he had a smile on his face. There is no doubt that he did what he loved and loved what he did!

I didn't know he had died until I got to work today and my dad told me. He always has his Sirius radio playing on his computer and he had on a Blues channel that was playing only B.B. King, as a tribute. My Uncle Jeff and cousin, Brian, came back to the parts counter for a few minutes, and my dad found one of his favorite B.B. songs, one featuring Eric Clapton, and played it. During the song, we were all quiet, smiling. The guys all took off their hats and we listened together.

But even though B.B. King is now gone, his music certainly isn't. That's one of the amazing things about music- it will outlive us all! And not only will it live on, but it also evolves. New people hear it, get inspired, and come up with music of their own that is truly individual, yet leaves just a taste of the original behind.

For example! You may have already seen this, since I posted it on my Facebook a few weeks back. This is from the movie, "Amadeus"- the scene in which Mozart dictates his Requiem while Salieri records the music on paper.

This is a song by probably my all-time favorite band, Children of Bodom. They use some of the same music to create something new; something different.

B.B. King might be gone, but I'm sure future musicians will continue to view him as an inspiration for a very, very, very long time.

My condolences go out to Mr. King's friends and family! The whole world will miss the talented musician he was, but I'm sure it is nothing compared to losing the actual person he was- the father and friend.

Sarah

Life's Mysteries... Solved!

I feel like trying something a little bit different today... some reader involvement! I am going to write out a few actual "mysterious" experiences from my own life and see if you can figure them out! I will have the solutions down below, but give them your best shot and let me know how you did. Good luck! ;)

Scenarios:

1. My dad is an avid, talented cook. He likes to plan the meals he will make a week or two in advance! He enjoys sitting in front of the TV at night, surrounded by pets, and writing out his menus. His cats, especially the extremely fluffy Bill, enjoy sitting on various surfaces such as nearby tables, the backs of chairs, or even my dad's head and shoulders as he writes. His dogs enjoy the fruits of his labors! They usually get a taste of my dad's meals on their dinner crunchers!
Currently, my dad writes his menus in notebooks or spare sheets of paper. For a while, he tried using a small, magnetic marker-board that could be hung on the fridge, but was small enough that he could (and usually did) just leave it on his chair-side table. However, he began having weird problems with the marker board: he would write out his menus day by day, and the words would quickly fade! There was nothing wrong with the markers or board he was using, and it wasn't in the sun, or any environment that would bleach the words away.

Question: WHAT was happening to my dad's marker board?

2. Quite a few years ago, I decided to get my most recent tattoo. It's on my arm and it says, "We all carry these things inside that no one else can see," which is a quote from the Bring Me The Horizon song, "Chelsea Smile". Anyway, I finally made up my mind and I was so excited, I decided I HAD to tell my dad right then and there. It was nighttime and he was sleeping deeply, so I shook him awake.
"Dad! Dad, dad, dad!" I said excitedly. "I think I'm gonna get a new tattoo before school starts! It's a quote from a song."
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and frowned. He doesn't like tattoos anyway, but more than annoyed, he seemed downright confused.
"What?" he mumbled. "But... WHY? You're... you're not even religious!"

Question: WHAT ON EARTH was my dad talking about?

3. Kittens can really be a handful! Especially when you're really smart like me and get three at once... mine are called Sheldon, Amy, and Three! When they were babies, they climbed on everything, as opposed to now, when they climb on.. ALMOST everything.
Anyway, our story begins on a beautiful summer evening almost two years ago! We (Me, Otis, cats) were still living in our house out of town, and I had the house's windows open as far as they would go to let some cool summer night air in through the warm, stuffy house, with just the screens in place to keep bugs out and cats in. I had on a bunch of fans to circulate the air, and back then I still insisted on closing my bedroom door at night, so Otis and I might get some peace from the little terrors. When I went to sleep, everything was normal- the gentle breeze and quiet drone of fans pulling me into sleep.
WHAM!! I awoke with a gasp right after three in the morning to an awful ruckus.

Question: WHAT did Sheldon do now?

Answers:

1. Bill's fluffy butt was happening to the marker board! It took forever for us to catch it, but apparently old Bill enjoyed sitting on it often enough that his fluff was erasing the words!

2. The combination of my very excited mood and his sleepy state led him to mishear what I told him. He thought I said, "It's a quote from a psalm!" Perhaps the better question about this scenario was why I felt the need to wake him up to tell him that, instead of waiting a few hours...

3. The crash was Sheldon climbing on the window screen... and the screen falling through! I slammed the window shut and ran outside as fast as I possibly could, convinced I would never see my poor kitten again! About six seconds later, a terrified Sheldon flew around the side of the house into my arms, and believe me, he told me ALL about it!


So... how'd ya do??

:)

Sarah