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May 9, 2008

Hiiii!!!!! Last time's entry turned out just right, so I'm writing again. (there was recently a problem with journals, dontcha know!!)

This is Friday afternoon for me, and I'm so glad to be home and sitting down because our regular bus driver couldn't be here today. Another driver offered to take us, but he didn't know the route. He dropped us off quite a bit off couse, but he says we should have hollered when we got to the right stop. Well, MEH!! He just kept on driving when we were at the stop. I didn't have to walk all the way home, but I'm still weary.

In Spanish class today we had Culture day, which is pretty much a fun day when the students bring snacks and soda to class and we watch some music videos in Spanish. I brought cups. But the snack pickins' were pretty slim. Oh well. And my newest assignment for Spanish is to do a music video with a group. I'm supposed to make sure to check my email often this weekend and stay after school with the group Monday afternoon. I can do this.

Actually, less than an hour after doing the last entry some four days ago, my parents informed me that for a special family outing we were going to a rodeo. Initially I did not want to go. The last time I went to a rodeo it dragged on forever and I was so bored and it was really cold. I don't find rodeos that entertaining. It was my little sister that gave me this message, so I told her I'd give it a pass this time. Later, when I was playing Star Fox downstairs, my dad found me down there and told me that it was actually mandatory. Well, I could have whined, but I just decided to go and bring an alternative form of entertainment. I brought my notebook that I'm writing a story in, and the book I'm going to do my English book report on, The Red Badge of Courage . Actually, when it was finally time for the actual RODEO, I had some fun watching (It was an indoor stadium. It didn't get that cold.) But we went early to get good seats, so we had to wait a long time before anyone was doing anything.

I got a third of the way through the Red Badge of Courage, and outside they were serving a lunch and barbecue, so we went out to get something to eat. I had a hot dog, some salad, some fruit, an orange soda and a tiny bit of coleslaw. The coleslaw turned out to be gross. My dad said Alabama has better coleslaw. Anyway, in this rodeo they got the youth of the audience involved twice. First the kids 5-8 had this candy hunt on a bit of tarp, then the kids 9-12 were chasing a tiny steer with money taped all over it all around the arena to grab some money off. My brother got a JACKPOT. He got off a whole mane made of fives, ones, and tape! When we were going home, it turned out to be worth 50$. But Jake said he wasn't going to spend it because it was like a badge of glory. But two of the fives were tainted, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, eventually they actually had some cool things to watch, but mostly weird. There was an event where some girls had to get off a fast-running horse and run over to a tied-up goat and tie up three of its legs as fast as they could. The goats didn't look wounded, just traumatized. They had some horses doing a flamenco-type dance, and of course the obligatory bullriding and bucking broncos. The horses have these things called 'flank straps' tied around them at the seam between the belly and the back legs. The horses hate how a flank strap feels, so they buck to try and get it off. But the announcers were aware of how some people would see this as animal cruelty, so they let us know that when they're not in the rodeo the horses are extremely well treated. A few gallons of grain a day, well groomed, and they work for about 20 seconds every year.

Well, whatever. I'm glad I went for three reasons: I got good food, I got to go on an outing with my family which we overall enjoyed, and to get to the rodeo and back we drove through a canyon with some excellent scenery. But seriously, rodeos are weird.

Anyway, I had to do an SEOP at a different school today. For my sophomore year I've been attending my city's high school, which was the same high school my older siblings attended. But a while ago I thought about it and decided the good ol' city high school wasn't quite right for me, so next year I'll be going to a much smaller high school with my friend. This new high school is adjacent to the campus of the college my mom teaches at. The math and science curriculum are excellent there. I got checked out of school for a while to get my schedule sorted out.

:p