Denny's Utopia || Version 2

It's late, and I have a dial-up connection now. It's horrible, I tell you. It moves at a snail's pace and is really annoying compared to Broadband Internet, which is not working at this moment in time.

In other news, I have an A- in Chemistry right now. I think Diederichsen did the math wrong, but I'm not going to complain. I worked so hard, and only for an A-. It makes me terribly upset, but I am pretty sure I can get that up to an A by the end of the third marking period. Other than that, my classes are looking up, except for AP Language, where I have a paper on The Sound and the Fury due on Tuesday. GHAPS gets Monday off for President's Day. Alas, another vacation! Kudos for now!

Den wrote on Saturday, February 16, 2002 at 12:41 a.m.

So, I have a B+ in Chemistry right now. I did poorly on one of our tests, and all of it, with some stress from AP English, is making me so overwhelmed. Today, Mrs. Shaw was commenting on how West Michigan is so worn out around February since it's not close enough from Spring Break but too far away from Christmas break! It seems as if it's all going to crumble now. I am keeping a solid A in Algebra II, which is sem-surprising, so I am considering myself having to have survived the transformation between Grover and Quick. I still think of my roomates in Grover's 6th Hr, and it saddens me they cannot join me in Quick's class. They're great people, after all. Anyways, I have to write a paper on The Sound and The Fury for AP English. Egad. Kudos for now, and Happy V Day!

Den wrote on Thursday, February 14, 2002 at 05:38 p.m.

KUNG HEI FAT CHAI Good luck in the new year! Everyone, Happy Chinese New Year! Xin Nian Kuai Le. All that good Chinese-y stuff. Chinese New Year is a great holiday, but it stinks we do not get a day off from school because of it. It would be wonderful. I went to school today, and it seemed to be like I was the only one who knew it was new year! Everyone was like, "Really? Oh my gosh. Well, Happy New Year." Yeah, but even my English teacher, who wrote, "Happy Fat Tuesday!" on the board, didn't even acknowledge the New Year. It was really saddening how terribly "white" Grand Haven is. Of course, I know Emma knew it was the xin nian. Anyways, everyone, Chinese, White, whatever--Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese New Year!

Den wrote on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 at 11:15 p.m.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve. It will mostly call for celebration at home and with family. Tuesday is New Year's, according to the good ol' Lunar Calendar. Anyway, because of such festivities and my overwhelming schedule at school, I probably will not update too much over the next couple of days. Just wanted to say--I'm not dead, just busy. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Sunday, February 10, 2002 at 11:32 p.m.

Controversy Apparently, the latest "dealie" as Tyler would say at Grand Haven is the GSA, which stands for Gay-Straight Alliance. Some students at GHHS are trying to set up the GSA in school, but recently, administrators have blocked attempts by students to form the GSA, which they say, "...would cause more harm than good." They just want to avoid another scandal like two years back during Diversity Day, where school officials were burned by allegations that gay men were brought into school, and parents were not notified. I agree with the Diversity Day controversy, but I am afraid my official position on the GSA is that I support it. If the club or alliance is completely optional, I do not understand why everyone is fussing over it. In fact, a GSA at GHHS would be semi-healthy for Grand Haven, acting as a steppingstone to spread awareness in the community. As a Christian, I do not agree with the plight of homosexuality, but I must admit that negative slurs such as "fag" are used too often in the hallways for Grand Haven. If the GSA is not formed, which I see no reason why it would not be, then something must be done. It is a problem that sooner or later needs to addressed, and the sooner, the better to avoid violence. Of course, I am sure the administration will still take an anti-GSA approach. Another comment to merge the GSA with EMBRACE, a diversity group, is unreasonable. The groups have two different goals. It would be completely ineffective. In addition, when people say that the club is focusing on a specific issue too much, what about First Priority, a largely Christian based organization? If a Christian organization is allowed in Grand Haven High, there is no reason why a GSA should not be allowed. There, that's Denny's official position regarding the controversy. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Friday, February 8, 2002 at 10:23 p.m.

Yeah...I have so much going on. It's another one of those days when I feel like bursting. So much stress. We're already in the fourth week of the marking period, and I am sooooooo stressed out! Chemistry is where most of my mind is; I already have an A- in it, and the test we took today was like a slaughter. Thank goodness the Algebra II test was not evil! I'm thinking about another movie this weekend with my friends, just for simple distraction. Next week is Chinese New Year. I can't wait. Anywhos, I have some e-mails to write and read. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Friday, February 8, 2002 at 03:24 p.m.

*Praying for Snow Day* Well, Mondays are probably not as bad as I thought. Despite a nasty pop quiz in Chemistry worth 28 points (egad!), I am in an optimistic mood after a fairly straightforward quiz in Algebra II. Our Algebra II test is Friday, and CP Chemistry test is Thursday. Hmmm. This will be another hectic week. Bucs' Blade applications were due today, and I handed mine in to CE, also my AP US History teacher. I sincerely believe I have what it takes to be on the Blade. It's wonderful. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Monday, February 4, 2002 at 05:04 p.m.

Science Olympiad parties are so much fun. Too bad I was one of the few sophomores there. Oh well, it's just that I'm their same age. That's right; age wise, I am a freshie. Anyway, on Friday, after the movie (not the greatest I've seen), we went to Caroline's, and on Saturday, we went to Caroline's again! It just shows how much better my life would be without homework. So worry-free. Yeah, so Caroline's was fun. Unlike other SO get-togethers, we did not play Truth or Dare. Instead, the trademark of Caroline's parties are Catchphrase, a game perfect for anyone who enjoys English and gestures. Ah. It was fun. Good stuff. We should all do something every weekend. With that comes the tumbling halt of a four day weekend. Ick. Snow days are so great. Sleep. That covers it all. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Sunday, February 3, 2002 at 06:49 p.m.

Random thoughts. As everyone knows, today was another nice snow day for us students attending Grand Haven Area Public. :) It's nice, really. The weather was not actually that treacherous today, unlike yesterday. The sun is out! Whoa. Excuse me while I faint.

I have been more and more worried about school. Unfortunately, it has gotten to the point where I cannot stop thinking about it. That's why, tonight, I have planned to go see a movie with my friends. Hopefully, as it has been able to do in the past, the movie, A Walk to Remember, will help me get my mindset away from school. I just want a weekend to myself, and it seems like this is it. Because of it being another snow day, I pratically have no homework, except for some stuff for the Science Olympiad and an application for the student newspaper at Grand Haven, the Bucs' Blade. I guess most of the reason I am worried about school is Algebra II. Mr. Quick is certainly much different than Mrs. Grover, and I'm just going to say he runs a much tighter ship. It almost makes me want to go back to Mrs. Grover's class, where everything was so simple. Her nine question quizzes were always so predictable. I only got three B's on tests/quizzes in her class throughout the semester. It's not like I didn't learn. But, I am certain with Mr. Quick, although his tighter ship takes some more time to get used to, I will definitely learn more. He is a great teacher, or so I am assuring myself. His quizzes are so tricky and mind-baffling hard. Also, another reason why school has me worried is GPA and class rankings. The overall goal of my hard work is be able to provide great things for myself when I grow old and decrepid and for my future family. When I get my degree from whatever college or university, I will get a job, and spend hours working away, knowing I am securing a future for all my loved ones. Idealisitic, isn't it? Well, one thing that measures my ability to achieve my long-term goal is grades. If I get A's now, and be at the top of my class, I will get into a great college, and if all goes well, the grades will be A's in college, and I will get my degree. Then I'll get a job and work. It's all this cycle. The first step is my A's now in high school. The reason I tested out of Civics/Geography was to not only to boost my G.P.A., but it would give me college credit and, most importantly, I would learn. However, even with my hard, desparate work, whatever I do is not good enough. I am ranked second in my class, to Elizabeth O'Neill. She's a great person, and I know her personally. However, she is partially home-schooled and only takes four classes, three of which are AP weighted on the 5 point scale. I take six classes, and only two of mine are on the five point scale, so I am second in my class. It's a horrible feeling, like I'm being cheated. I know, I'll just cry you a river. No matter what I do, it's not good enough. Egad.

Another addition to the stress factor is my friendship front. I love being around my friends; they are all buttresses of moral and emotional support. However, recently, I have lost one, and I strongly believe it is not my fault whatsoever. I just all adds up, and I feel like I am holding up too much weight and I'm going to crumble soon. Ahhh, A Walk to Remember better help distract me. If not, the popcorn should! All you GH students, enjoy your snow day. Kudos for now.

Den wrote on Friday, February 1, 2002 at 02:58 p.m.

Tenemos un dia de nieve! Whooohoo! It's a snow day. It's so retarded sometimes. I woke up promptly around 5:55 AM. No problem. I turned on the television and the list of +200 school closing ran across the bottom of the screen. Grand Haven was not cancelled. Drats, I thought to myself, and went to get ready for school. I had breakfast while closely scanning the bottom of the screen, and I went out to wait at the bus stop. It was final; Grand Haven was in session. Everything said so, including the Tribune's Tribtalk, WZMM 13, etc. I walked outside, half disgruntled, half mad because of the Algebra II quiz today. I went out to the bus stop, waited patiently. The bus wasn't coming...oh that's okay, it's probably late because of the nasty weather. Meanwhile, my Chemistry binder, which is too large to fit in my backpack, developed a light coating of frost. I think the Nutterbutters in my lunch were frozen. Our dear neighbor, Jack, came out and told us that school was cancelled. Of course, I did not believe him, but at that point in time, I felt like screwing school all together. I completely lost patience and drugded back home, somehow, in the half foot of snow or whatever. I finally got home--my pants soaking. All my papers in my Chemistry binder looked more disgruntled than I was. I turned on the tv, went online, and called Mrs. Palmer, a really nice school official, to find out what was going on. WZZM 13 was still running the schools, but they were in the Z's, so it would take sometime before they reached the G's. I called Mrs. Palmer, who told me that school was indeed cancelled; she just received a call from the school district about five minutes ago. Note: this was at about 7:20 AM, about 40 minutes before school is scheduled to start! What's up with that? How come they cancelled so stinking late?

Den wrote on Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 02:28 p.m.