Well...I guess it's been pretty much forever, right?  haha.  Well today was the last day of school (finally!!!) and that pretty much made my life!!  So we've been taking exams for the last like four days, which has been the epitome of LAME.  I fail at exams, mainly because I fail at studying altogether.  Haha.  Anyway, so I know two of my exam grades.  I got a 92 in English II (dang helping verbs list!) and I got a 95 in Physical Education.  I did that one in like 15 minutes.  It was so boring.  Haha.  Anyway, so today I got my laptop & I absolutely LOVE it!!  It's pretty much amazing.  =)  So that, of course, is wayy fun.  So now I finally figured out how to get my iTunes library on my new laptop, thank God.  haha.  That took pretty much forever!!!  But my laptop was supposed to be a surprise, so we haven't gotten the router thingy for the internet yet, which is why I can't use it in my room...only downstairs.  How lame is that??  But when I leave on Sunday I'll get to use it everywhere at UGA because I have the wireless internet card, so wherever there's a signal I can use it.  Word to that. =]  Haha.  That's fun stuff.  Also at like hotels & junk I can get signals...and in most restaurants.  That's neat.  Anyway, I'm loving it.  I just have to get used to the different key placements and whatnot.  (I keep hitting enter or caps lock when I want to hit shift.)  lol.  But for now, Erika's graduated and I've gotten one year of Pomp & Circumstance under my belt.  Haha.  No, graduation was okay.  It was a time to say goodbye...not only to the seniors, but to Mr. Piner.  I'll miss him as a friend for sure.  But I know that there's a lot of talent ready to come to SBHS, and I know Silver Bluff Bands can pull through whatever band director we get.  Cause that's just how we do things.  But my Aunt Wilma & Uncle Tommy (dad's brother & sister-in-law) are in from Indiana.  They got here today and we're expecting more family to come in tomorrow and then Saturday for Erika's graduation party.  Uncle Rocky and Aunt Doreen are coming up with their son Austin and my other cousin CLARK!!  Yay we're pretty excited about that one.  Haha.  No, I love my Uncle Rock and I can't wait until the family gets here.  The only crappy part is that I have to leave on Sunday to go to UGA (not that I'm not looking forward to it, because I am!!).  I just won't get to see everyone for very long.  Ugh.  Boo that crap.  haha.  But Uncle Rocky said he might be able to come to my camp concert.  WOOO!!  Anyway, I guess I'm outttt.

Word.

Dreams? Nightmares.

Mr. Piner's leaving Silver Bluff.

He told us today.  I knew when he called us to the bandroom, but idk how many others knew.  I'm not even going to say where he's going, because I'm not supposed to know.  But it made me really wonder.  I wonder why he'd do that to us.  I know he needs to do what's best for him, and I'm glad he is.  I just wish that there wouldn't be what's best for him.  He kept saying how much he cares about us & stuff.  bullcrap.  If he cared, he would've thought twice about going there.  Not that there's anything I have against the people there...but come on.  Isn't one enough?  Ugh.  I just hope we get someone who knows what he/she's doing.  I know I've had quite a few moments with KPine, but he's still one of my favorite people in the whole world and I'm going to miss him.  I won't miss him telling me I suck at bassoon (which he did, last Thursday).  I'm going to miss him being like my brother.  I'm going to miss being able to go into his office & just talk.  I'm going to miss his passion for music.  I'm going to miss him.  I couldn't help but cry when he told us.  I think I was the first person to cry, which was embarassing, but oh well.  Then other people did.  And he did.  idk if it was real or not.

idk what to think...idk if I'll do marching band next year, especially now.  I'm hoping mom & dad will let me go to MVHS.

How can it be that the person who pieced our dreams back together is now tearing them right back apart?

If I could ever wake up from a nightmare then I wish I could wake up right about now.

Don't stop believing...my Girl America.♥

Yeah, it's been a while.

Last weekend was the band banquet.  Lame...I still don't want to do it again.  idk.

Last Friday I missed school because my Uncle Lloyd died Monday.  I have to be honest; going down to Cairo, GA for the funeral was the best thing that's happened to me in a while.  All of my mom's dad's side of the family lives down there.  (she has brothers & sisters by her mom and some by her dad...her dad's kids are the sane ones.)  So anyway, Friday was the funeral.  There was obviously lots of hugging and crying and meeting people I've never met and others I haven't seen in YEARS.  So that was weird.  But Friday night after the funeral we had a party.  It was SOOOO much fun.  Uncle Rocky said Uncle Lloyd would've wanted that.  :]  So that was like amazing fun.  But after the funeral we first went to my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Johnny's house for dinner and I left early with Uncle Rocky and Aunt Doreen to go get Uncle Rocky's car.  & it is SOOO cute.  haha.  He got a 2007 Honda Civic.  It's adorable.  I'm stealing it.  So anyway, on the way to his house for the party, we talked a lot...it's been a while since I've seen him.  So that was amazing.  We talked about Uncle Lloyd and about life and pretty much everything.  I miss him SO much.  So then we got back to the house and it took everyone else over an hour before they left Aunt Jackie's, so we got really close.  It was nice.  I miss him.  So anyway, he asked me to come down for the summer and stay with him and Aunt Doreen and his kid Austin.  I can't wait for that. =]  I enjoyed seeing all our family and I got close to all the cousins again.  That was fun because when we were really really little we used to be inseperable.  haha.  So that's fun.  I think Clarky-Poo (my cousin) is coming to spend a while here over the summer while I'm in Cairo.   I'm sure they'll enjoy that.  haha.  But anyway, I realized that I felt like I really belonged there...I did NOT want to leave.  It's like...all the family I love is there.  And I want to go back so bad.  I wish we lived there with all of them.  I love it there.  It's my favorite place ever.  I never want to be anyplace else.  But it's not really the area that makes it...it's the people.  I love them and I can't wait to go back.  We had to leave Saturday to be at the banquet.  I was really sad.  I was upset like the whole night after that.  I was like crying and stuff, which is weird, I know, because like...I just got close to them like the day before.  But that's why...I got close to them, only to have to leave.  But mom knew I was upset so we talked about it.  She said she thinks it's really cool that I'm getting so close with Uncle Rocky because he's just like her dad, who I never got to meet, since he died just before I was born.  She said they're both the kind of people you want to hide behind when things get bad.  I agree.  She says when you're with them, you feel like nothing bad could possibly happen.  I agree with that, too.  Mom wanted to call him, but it was really late after we got done talking so I told her not to.  The next morning he called and he said that he'd been missing us too and that he wanted to call, but didn't know if we were asleep or not.  haha.  I love him.  The whole time we were there he was like "Yall can't take Amy home...she's living with us!" haha.  I miss it.  But I'm so glad I went there, even though it makes me so sad now that I'm no longer there, because it was really a happy experience.  It's sad that it took a tragedy to make my family realize we need to get together more often, but Uncle Rocky said that Uncle Lloyd was probably happy that this happened.  It makes me happy to know people care about me. <33 I miss Cairo.

I can't wait until UGA SMC. <33 36 days left until camp. :DDD

School right now really sucks.  idk how I'm going to make it through the rest of the year...ugh.  Oh yeah, and Mr. Piner really ticked me off because he blamed me for something I absolutely DID NOT do. (it's something serious...) So I got griped at or whatever and then he realized that he had misinterpreted something and blown it WAY out of proportion.  So yesterday when I was getting blamed for it when it never happened, I was like so mad I was shaking and crap.  Well, then he realized his mistake.  So I figured he'd at least appologize, right?  WRONG.  That makes me mad.  >=|  Oh yeah, and I told him that I'm not sure if I'm doing marching band or not this year and he got really mad and said that he'd make me quit concert band if I quit marching.  That's NOT cool.  Dad wants to move me to MVHS...I say let's go.

Anyway, I love "Girl America" by Matt Kearney. <33 LYRICS!!
My girl America is just a youth in this world
Her smile is more precious than the sparkle of pearls
And though her age reads shes just a young girl
Age behind her eyes show the pain that she's swirled
Through the hand that's been dealt though it's quiet as kept
The weight was all felt last night as she slept
And as she crept into the dreams of the things of her past
seems to have grown so fast, way beyond her own class
though they're right there with her, hers brothers and her sisters
A natural born leader even when her peers diss her
My girl, she's at a crossroads, people praying for her
Some are preying on her magazine ad's, sex, drama, smoking marajuana
Longing for a father to call her 'daughter'
She's part of a generation longing for reconciliation
And this future that they're facing and this poison that they're tasting
My girl, I know it's love that your chasing

My girl America's crying when she's lying on her bed at night
I can see that she's screaming when she's dreaming for freedom
My girl America's dying while she's trying hard to stop this fighting
Don't stop believing, my girl America

Boys with hungry eyes have been knocking at her door
Telling her that's whats she's for, trying to rob her at her core
Then leave calling her a whore, but still she knows there's more
I know she knows there's more because there's a voice she can't ignore
'Cause it was founded in the foundations, from the day of her creation
In God we trust engraved in the treasures of her nation
And the void the boys can't fill
With the tippin' of the bottle or the poppin' of the pill
But still most of her friends don't care as they glare
ready to drown the funnel as they frown down the funnel
As the stumble and they tumble breaking down into rubble
My girl America, can't you see
It's not the circumstances that determine who you're gonna be
But how you deal with these problems and pains that come your way
It's for you that I pray with hope for a brighter day
So I say, your deliverance is comin'

My girl America's crying when she's lying on her bed at night
I can see that she's screaming when she's dreaming for freedom
My girl America's dying while she's trying hard to stop this fighting
Don't stop believing, my girl America

Faith like a child from your first birth
You left it in the dirt on your worst hurt
And I see each tear in every scar
The hands that have held you where you are
And I can see we've strayed so far
A king born under that morning star
A crown of thorns that was placed to erace
Each tear that touched your face
His palms and sides were pierced with speres
He hung in love just to draw you near
My girl not of tis world
Can't you see this is where we started

My girl America's crying when she's lying on her bed at night
I can see that she's screaming when she's dreaming for freedom
My girl America's dying while she's trying hard to stop this fighting
Don't stop believing, my girl America

My girl America's crying when she's lying on her bed at night
I can see that she's screaming when she's dreaming for freedom
My girl America's dying while she's trying hard to stop this fighting
Don't stop believing, my girl America

His palms and sides were pierced with speres
He hung in love just to draw you near
My girl not of tis world
Can't you see this is where we started...
Where we started....where we started, my girl America

So I guess I'll do an update since I'm all alone.  Mom, Erika, & Lauren went prom dress shopping and Hannah's with one of her friends.  Whatever. 

But anyway.  We went to festival yesterday.  It was kinda fun.  We had to be at school at the regular time to rehearse and then leave at like 9.  Well I got there late because I had to finish curling Lauren's hair and then she left her euphonium at home and we had to come all the way back and get it after we dropped Hannah off at JMS.  So whatever.  Then I had to go turn something in to Cajigal, causing me to be even later.  But whatever.  So I go sit down on stage in the auditorium to practice & of course Ryan and Travis are being idiots about my being late, but whatever.  I pretty much hate that whole band.  But then we finished rehearsing & got on the bus.  I sat beside Whit. (duh, she's my bus buddy! haha) So we got to Ryan's in Columbia or whatever and ate.  That was fun. (Mr. Piner sat by me...dang.  haha.)  But then the band started acting like morons so we left.  It was time to go anyway.  But then we got to the school and sat on the bus for a while. (& people were like being jerks bc I got to take my bassoon to my seat with me to ride the bus just bc that's what Mr. Hood makes me do...but whatever.  I hate them.)  Anyway.  So then we got off the bus & put our instruments together and everything and learned that the percussionists had forgotten their music folder at school.  They had put Luke in charge (huge mistake) of bringing it and he had left it in the bandroom.  So the whole band is freaking out because we suck anyway and we can't afford mistakes.  So they call the school & try to have Mrs. McDougall fax the music to Airport HS.  Well, she sends someone down to the bandroom to get the folder and it's been flung all over the room by Piner's other classes.  So they get what they can find and she faxes it.  Well, they only got some, so the percussionists were making copies of and cutting up scores during warm-up as we're all freaking out.  So anyway, then we get on stage.  So we play the march and it went well overall.  Then we get to Heaven's Light.  Well Alisha has a really pretty solo and she was like way sharp the whole time.  It was terrible.  Then it just got worse from there.  So then we played Dialogues, which we've only played through about 4 times and the percussion section is featured, but they don't have music so they try to remember it.  It was pretty bad.  Then Sammie completely misses the first note of her solo and Amber does too.  It was just terrible.  But anyway, then we went to sightreading, which went well overall.  Then we take the picture and dude gives Mr. Piner the results and leaves.  So then he tells us that we got 2 IIs on stage and a I.  And that we got 2 Is in sightreading...everyone was all quiet and when he said the sighreading scores, but I screamed because I'm smart and can do the math. Everyone else waited until he says that we got an overall I.  haha.  But then Kendra was like "We got straight superiors!!" & I was like "yeah right..."  but then we get on the bus, at which time we are informed that someone stole Mrs. Janice's (whit's mom's) purse off the bus.  Ugh stupid band kids.  So yeah then we go back to the school and come home.  the end.

But anyway, so I went to JMS's rehearsal Tuesday.  Mr. Hastings was there to help and they sounded SO good.  They're amazing.  <3 those kids.  So then Mr. Hood was supposed to take me & hannah by cafe on the corner, which he passes on his way home, because it was dad's birthday and they were all eating there.  However, at 8:30 Mr. Hastings takes us because this kid's parents still weren't there.  So anyway, it was neat talking to him on the way.  He's really cool.  I like him a lot.  But he was telling me how much his kids love concert band and it was so neat.  I wish SB kids cared about something other than marching band.  I like concert MUCH better, but I'm the only one.  So anyway, that was a fun day.

Anyway, I guess I'll go find something else to do.  Maybe I'll practice, considering I have a concert Monday night...that'll be fun.  We'll actually sound good on Heaven's Light. (ASU CWS, not SB)  I love that band.  I'm going to miss it now that it's over.  :[

peace&love&music