I didn’t realize how badly I needed a vacation. I’m seeing a general improvement in my studies now - even hearing the word “studies” fills me with an unimaginable joy and indescribably feeling. It’s as though I could take those “studies” and gobble them whole, as though they were a form of fine cuisine. And yet, they do feel filling, as holding a brand new book does. If you know this feeling, then you must be an avid reader, because there isn’t another feeling like holding a brand new book. The smell of it, the look of the text that has not yet been blotted or spoiled by human hands, as library books have. Library books feel dull and empty, as though their life has run out, but new books from the store have a magic within them. It’s a magic that says, “This book is my book. The knowledge within is mine alone to consume, to drink in its entirety.” Likewise, the thought of “drinking” the contents of a book also brings a pleasurable feeling. Oddly, I’m finding knowledge, much like books, once again tasty.

That being said, I have no grades to back up the claims that things are going better. I feel good, and it’s becoming hard to shake this good feeling. I want to write, I want to draw, I want to sing, I want to learn physics and reap the benefits of polar equations in math, which I in part already know due to interest I had in them last year. My SAT scores are rapidly moving upward from the scraggly PSAT scores in the beginning. Raw scores of 37 have become raw scores of 45; 590’s have turned into 670’s, and so on. For grammar, I scored only a 730. “Only a 730?” Well, I enjoy being a grammar Nazi. A 750 would be nice. A 700 or better would be nice in math. A 700 or better would be nice in Critical Reading. Right now, I need to work on Critical Reading, and even those scores aren’t that bad. But it’s the worst out of the three - which is shameful, considering it’s an English subject and I’m a thriving AP student.

There are no words to express the gratitude I feel towards some of my teachers right now, such as my math teacher, who has pardoned my test retake until Monday. The amount of makeup work piled on top of me, if it were visibly crushing me, would seem like an unbearable load for any man to withstand on his own, but I’ve been managing the best I can - tomorrow I’m taking the Physics exam I missed due to the snow day two Wednesday’s (well, three now) ago. Right now, I should be doing my art project, three sketches, all of corners of rooms, but an urge to write a post came over me, and my fingers took on a will of their own.

I’m not actually consciously writing this. You see, I’m in a sort of trance - I probably won’t know what’s on the page until I look back at what I just posted. “Why did I press Publish?” I will ask myself. “What did I just put on the page?” I think Catherine, from the Myst series, while talking about her Age, puts it best: “Some of it I can’t remember writing. It’s almost like I stop thinking and just… write.”

I’ve developed a further interest in the Myst series and it’s subplots, languages, and writing style. The language of the D’ni is most interesting, because it is fully developed. The stroke of the characters, the designs of the calligraphic figures, are all exquisite and beautiful. The language is phonetic, so it sounds natural, unlike American English, which sounds confusing and overly complex. I’ve never known a fictional language - with the exception of Tolkein’s Elvish -to be so fully developed and widely studied. In fact, the study of D’ni dates back to 1990. Interest in the language has waned, but there are still many scholarly figures who are more than happy to help a tyros learn the basics of the language.

And for Christ’s sake, I really want to record that Golden Sun soundtrack, but haven’t the time. Really, you have no idea how badly the urge is burning within me to find time to record this soundtrack. Record five tracks per day? That doesn’t satisfy me. It takes too long. I’d rather have a good, alloted time, just for recording, and get as much done as possible. I’ve been listening to the old soundtrack, the bad quality of the sound files just screaming out loud to be re-recorded, and now, more than in recent times, I want to start the project where I left off.

I’m overwhelming myself, though. I should take a breather and get what I need to do done; even if I feel full of vigor and excitement, there is no excuse to overwork myself. I’ll only build up trouble that way. So I will wait until I feel confident in my free time, which will more than likely occur next week during HSPA testing. Periods are half as long, and chances are there won’t be massive amounts of schoolwork to occupy my time. Then again, I’m in the mood to prepare for and create an English essay. Good thing that I have one due Friday!

On that topic, my research is about Stem Cells, and let me tell you - the stem cell debate is over. Now that they’ve figured out how to create uniparental embryos which cannot actually become a human being, yet are able to grow fully functional stem cells, insane Christians can’t argue that a potential life is being murdered. Thus, stem cells will more than likely see a gigantic growth in the near or semi-near (far?) future as the research becomes less and less controversial.

I’d love to write more, but I really must get to work. Time to draw some “wow”-inducing room corners. Is that an oxymoron? I’m not entirely sure.