My classes are.. easy. And boring. It’d be nice to be challenged once in awhile. The only class where I have any trouble is Spanish 2, because almost half the class is already fluent. Theatre isn’t as great as I hoped it would be; seven or eight people transferred into the class that was audition only to begin with. The quality has certainly declined. I auditioned for the fall show but only made production crew; the final cast was rather surprising. I wasn’t all that disappointed; my friends were more annoyed about my not making it than I was. Instead I frantically prepared a song for an audition for the community theatre production of Cinderella. Somehow I managed to throw something together in 2 days, though my brother accidentally took my music folder in his guitar case and I had never sung my song with accompaniment, and I made a decent role in the chorus.

I’ve been playing the piano for a few months, and while I’m still rather dreadful, my progress has been quite noticeable. My teacher was moving me along at a swift pace and I really enjoyed it. However, he’s cancelled Friday lessons, which was really my only free day. I think I’ll be calling my friend Patrick’s (not the same Patrick as my brother) teacher to see if he has any openings.

So what have I been up to all this time? Schoolwork, obviously- I’ve had tons of English work, but it’s actually been pretty interesting; a new dance class that’s a lot tougher than last year (it’s great!); I’ve taken up running, and I really enjoy it now that the weather has (finally!) started to cool (ever so slightly).

On the 24th and 25th of September my parents and I drove to Austin for the Austin City Limits music festival, and it was truly one of best experiences I’ve ever had. I got to spend both days with Patrick, who I hadn’t seen much of since he goes to the other high school. We saw two of our favorite bands, Death Cab for Cutie and Rilo Kiley; we were blown away by the amazing Decemberists; we listened to some stuff we didn’t know as well but enjoyed anyway- Ambluance Ltd, Eisley, Bloc Party, Built to Spill; and fried to a crisp under my (black) umbrella listening to the sad but inspired tunes of the Arcade Fire. Half of my body is tanned- it was one of those little fold-up one-person umbrellas, so my left side was burned while my right was nice and shaded.
We were expecting torrential rain and wind from Rita that weekend, but as it took a turn to the east we instead experienced record highs- it was 108 at its highest on Sunday! I drank at least six bottles of water and still felt dehydrated. It was worth it though, and I really hope I can go next year as well. Of course, it only made me miss Patrick more- talking in person is definitely preferable to chatting online or stumbling over sentences on the phone (Caitlin+telephone=many unpleasant silences)

So I guess I’ve been pretty busy just with life. I’ve got the PSAT tomorrow, though this one won’t count for anything (I’m a sophomore). I was seriously considering early graduation, but I don’t think I should pass up the opportunty to take AP Calc, AP Chem 2, AP Bio 2, and maybe Anatomy and Physiology. If I really want to be competitive for a position like the Dean’s Scholars at UT it’ll be necessary to be prepared with numerous science courses.

I’ll be excited to see the play at my school, though I’m not in it- my friends Caroline, Nanci, and Liz have major roles for the first time and I can’t wait to see them onstage. I’m glad to be back into singing, myself; Cinderella should be an enjoyable production.