And if I ever lose my hands, lose my plough, lose my land, Oh if I ever lose my hands, oh if.... I wont have to work no more. And if I ever lose my eyes, if my colours all run dry, Yes if I ever lose my eyes, oh if.... I wont have to cry no more.
High Point! High Point! High Point! Can you believe it? Nope, nope I can't. Third year in a row I whip out the race of my life during that damnéd 100 free. 55.34! That's fast, dude. The only time I've swam faster was during State last February. That 3rd turn is my fav =) And Swimmer of the Year, doncha know. Tied, actually, with Abby. And though I am a little jealous that I have to share it, I don't actually mind. She deserves it just as much as I, and I did feel bad for pushing her out of the High-Point contention during event #60. Funny how you learn the event numbers once you start coaching. It's stylish for little kids to write event numbers on their arms in Sharpie during events. So I when I say "what are you swimming?" and they shove their hand in my face, I have to figure out what events #32, 52, and 82 are (25 free, 25 back, and 100 IM for girls, just FYI =)
But now it's over. I thought I would make it through the day without crying, because I was actually quite happy with the turn of events. But then Spencer said something like "Good luck" instead of "Good job" at the end of the meet (it was on purpose) and it hit me like a truck. And Peter was the only one who noticed, and I don't even like Pete that much. But then I recovered. And I wasn't around when they announced my swimmmer-of-the-year award, which is good, because I might have cried then, too. And then I went to dinner with the Mesa kids, and saying goodbye to them got me a little teary, too. Tonight is the banquet, and I do hope I don't make a fool of myself. Betcha I will, though. I love summer league swimming. Thank goodness I didn't join year-round during those winter months of sophomore year. That would have been a distaster. =)
Me and you and you and me No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be The only one for me is you, and you for me So happy together
I said my first official "goodbye" today. And I know that for a lot of my friends, they're won't be an official goodbye. Like Billy. I don't think I'll see Billy in the next 2 weeks to say goodbye to him. snap! But I took Joy out to ice cream, as she is leaving for Switzerland on Thursday. And it was quite lovely. Except we walked out to the parking lot together and hugged and she said "good luck" and I said "I'll miss you" and we hugged again and smiled. and I put on my sunglasses, so if she happened to turn around, she wouldn't see my eyes sparkle with tears.
Sometimes I think that's one of the reasons I swim, is that no one can tell your crying when you swim
Speaking of swimming, tomorrow is the final finals! Gah! And I'm so excited/nervous/happy/content. This has been one of the best summers of my life. And it's all going to be over tomorrow (well, sunday, really, after the banquet). But I'm seated first in the 100 backstroke and 200 free, and third in the 100 free. IT ALWAYS COME DOWN TO THE 100 FREE! I hate it. But, you know, at least I don't swim the 50. Can you imagine that pressure? One mistake and *makes a cutting of the throat motion* your out. Now, in the 100, you can make two mistakes =) okay, so here's a question. how come Abby is so unpopular? I mean, we're certainly not friends, but I don't have any strong negative feelings toward her (besides wanting to beat her, but that's just competition. Sarah thinks I'm competitive, and I'm not actually all that competitive. she needs to hang around more athletes I think) but other people really dislike Abby. I wonder why... But for those people, for those people who threatened to kill me if I didn't beat her *coughKellycough* or whose eyes flash whenever they see her, or those who threaten to kill HER, I'll beat her for you. I've beaten her the last 2 years, I think I can do it again =) (PS- someone told me she wasn't in shape! Liar liar pants on fire)
Why can't the moon stay full forever? Wednesday's bad but Friday's ain't much better Why can't the moon stay full forever? Right now she's got nothing on her mind
Haven't updated in a while, I'm afraid. That's no good. But here I am, posting. And here's what's going down, dawgs. A list of things I've learned this first half of July
Playing monopoly with boys is a great way to get them to talk. Carson came to visit us this last week, and he must have said a total of 50 words to be in 5 days besides when we played monopoly. He got really into that. Plus, it was fun. It was the first game of monopoly I'd finished in a long time. Probably only the second or third in my life that has actually ended. But I was bankrupted first, and then angie, and Carson won. It was the Star Wars edition, which made it even better. =)
Despite my dislike for airports, I much prefer sitting there for long amounts of time waiting for flights than being late. I guess I already knew that, but Angie and I flew to Virginia on the 5th and being in an airport reminded about how a) boring they are and b)how being late stinks
Pottage pie is actually pot-pie. I don't know why they called it Pottage pie in Colonial times, but they did. It's pretty delicious
I hate screaming girls. Again, something I already knew, but it's good to reaffirm beliefs.
I recently joined Facebook, and have "friended" all these people from Pomona. It's weird, having my first impression of someone what they write in there "interests" column and if they look nice in their picture. I don't know if I like it. but, hey, 1/3 of the freshman class has signed up for facebook. That's quite a lot, actually. and about 1/4 of my high school class is on it, too. craziness.
We went to virginia to visit the Nichols. It was quite entertaining. What did I learn from this trip, you ask? That creepy houses are absolutely fantastic. That I love thunderstorms. That friends are great. That I am, and probably always will be, a party pooper. That I like roller coasters (especially Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens) It was a blast and a half
Meadows sleep over was last night. It was quite entertaining. We had a scavenger hunt and played capture the flag (I love capture the flag. Why don't other people like it. It's the best game EVER) and kissing rugby and everyone slept outside and Shane woke us up with a rooster call and a start-horn. twas great fun.
Her face is a map of the world Is a map of the world You can see she's a beautiful girl She's a beautiful girl And everything around her is a silver pool of light The people who surround her feel the benefit of it It makes you calm She holds you captivated in her palm
I went to see The Devil Wears Prada yesterday with Ellen, Mags, Angie, Alexa, Mom, Ruth, Brenda and Sue. It was quite entertaining. Alexa had just seen it, and then as we were all leaving our house she hopped into the Prius and watched it again for the second time in 6 hours. funny. It wasn't THAT good. Actually, for most of the movie, I was just feeling really bad for Andy. But it turned out okay in the end, I guess, eh? It was very similar to The Princess Diaries if you ask me. Unfashionable girl meets high-minded, powerful woman (queen or editor-in-chief), who changes her into a style-conscious self-assertive person who almost losses all of her friends (and flirts with a handsome "popular" boy, while estranging her best friend who is also good friends (or brothers) with her previous love-interest) And then, in the end, she turns away from the "popular" crowd, keeps some of her fashion sense, and regains her lost friendships. In Princess she stays a princess, while in Prada she quits her job in a touching scene where she throws her sidekick into that famous Parisian fountain. whew! I enjoyed it, though.
Yesterday was the Mesa/Meadows meet, which was very entertaining. I was so nervous beforehand, though. It was one of those lie-in-bed for >hour with terrible butterflies in your stomach with nothing to think about except what could go wrong. And nothing, really, could have gone wrong, I was just worried . But, of course, once you get out of bed, and start doing things, rather than thinking about them, the butterflies go away. But the meet was great. I swam fabulously, kinda (2:09 in the 200, 1:04.2 in the back, 56.6 in the 100 free) and got to hang out with both teams, and most people seemed okay with the fact I was wearing green and red. Marc gave me a few evil stares, and after my 100 free informed me that I breathed off my turn. =) But they were really cute- several Mesa kids cheered for me during all my races. It made me smile. And Amy gave me advice on my stroke, which was great. Dan, though he wasn't in a great mood during the meet, was also very nice to me. They made me a poster! It was great. In the very beginning of the meet, though, before the medley relays had even started, I overheard Shane talking to someone- he said "I would never consider approaching a Mesa swimmer in their senior summer..." like it was a bad thing. That put me in a funny funk for several minutes, but then I had a posse of Mesa swimmers cheering for me, so that cheered me up. I'm very glad I swim for Meadows, but Mesa, I think, is the best place to coach.
Whenever you swim, please remember this the best Keep your legs together when you swim butterfly Hold your breath on your finish, tuck your chin to dive And most importantly, please remember to streamline off the walls
That song is to the tune of "Kindergarten Wall" by John McCutcheon. I made up the lyrics, though, in a daydreamy state coming home from my hike today. We went to Brainard Lake and hiked to some lakes. It was quite entertaining. Beautiful weather, too. In Boulder today it's 92 degrees, which is much too hot for me, thank you very much.
Tomorrow is the Mesa vs. Meadows swim meet. As I am coaching for one team and swimming for the other, it'll be very interesting. We're kinda rivals, and the little kids aren't quite sure what to make of it. Mackenzie made me a shirt that says "Kristen is netsirk" which is a fabulous connection that no one will understand. But I will, so that's okay. I have to find some red shorts to wear. Green on top, red on the bottom, and perhaps a red bandana to tie it all off. I'll let you know how the meet goes. I'm swimming the 200, 100 and 100 backstroke. woot!
Angie, Ellen, Julia and I went to the Sand Dunes on Monday. Twas bundles and bundles of fun. I was quite impressed by the pure amount of sand. And that we could just walk where ever "curiosity took us" and get lost in the middle of this giant sand box. The first night there was a tornado south of us, we could see it, and the winds were really strong, but no one told us to be careful. =) We camped and ate pasta and s'mores and hot chocolate. I loved it. The sand farted, by the way. It's completely true- when you stepped on it at a cetain angle, it went "fhhhbbbt" It was great. I want to walk all the way across the Sand Dunes- wouldn't that be amazing? Unfortunately, there really isn't a road on the far side of them, so you'd have to walk across them, and then walk several more miles to a road. Hahaha, not fun.
Welcome to the human race With its wars, disease and brutality You with your innocence and grace Restore some pride and dignity To a world in decline
I always get very confused when people talk about second and third cousins and cousins-removed and so, after a final-straw encounter with a friend, I decided to take matters into my own hands. The handy-dandy Wikipedia (note to population: never site wikipedia in an essay for school. This is not a mistake I have made personally, but it should be known that it is no looked well upon by those citation-sticklers) explained to me the difference between second-cousins and second-cousins-thrice-removed. Please review the Cousin chart if you, too, are suffocating in guilt over not knowing this important fact.
Yesterday I went to a Mesa meet instead of a Meadows meet. It was fun- I bonded with the kids. woot! We won handidly, of course, and there were only a few slip-ups. A 200 free relay small disaster occured, but that's alright. Poor Bridger- I'll make sure he swims it next meet. =(
I swam across I jumped across for you Oh all the things you do Cause you were all yellow
I love my job. Really. It's probably the best thing I could be doing. I'm training the future swimmers of America- the state qualifers and the olympic relays and the world record holders. All right-so none of them will probably ever swim at a national level, but you never know. It's really fun. And I love my co-coaches. Amy is probably the nicest person in the world, and hilarious and smart and just great in general. Today she gave me the best compliment EVER and it just seemed like she was telling the truth. I didn't stop smiling for the rest of practice. =)
We're watching the soccer World Cup on spanish television (because we get 5 spanish channels, and not ESPN) and the commercials are all for American companies (vehix.com, State Farm insurance) but they're in Spanish. The McDonalds commerical was actually pretty neat. =)
Your Birthdate: January 14
You work well with others. That is, you're good at getting them to do work for you. It's true that you get by on your charm. But so what? You make people happy! You're dynamic, clever, and funny. And people like to have you around. But you're so restless, they better not expect you to stay around for long.
And that we could just walk where ever "curiosity took us" and get lost in the middle of this giant sand box. The first night there was a tornado south of us, we could see it, and the winds were really strong, but no one told us to be careful. =) We camped and ate pasta and s'mores and hot chocolate. I loved it. The sand farted, by the way. It's completely true- when you stepped on it at a cetain angle, it went "fhhhbbbt" It was great. I want to walk all the way across the Sand Dunes- wouldn't that be amazing? Unfortunately, there really isn't a road on the far side of them, so you'd have to walk across them, and then walk several more miles to a road. Hahaha, not fun. 
