2 WEEKS!!

Official countdown: 14 DAYS!!!!!! That's right suckas, I am leaving for Florida in two weeks. That's all. Two weeks and then I am free for the Summer. For the rest of the year. For eternity. Can life get any better? I think not. I am soo pumped right now!! I have been waiting for this for a couple months now and it's finally finally here. In preparation: I've been gathering the items necessary like my swimsuit, my tanning oil, my running shoes, my sunglasses, towels, cute dresses, cash mula, and a pocketful of joy. Haha not literally a pocketful of joy, but I know just how happy I am going to be down there!! 11 days of fun in the sun and when I get back? No worrying about being in school. No, far from it. I am going to be living the life: SUMMER 2010. How excited can we all get?!??! I don't know. I can get pretty dang exciting. It will be nothing but parties all day every day, oh and that suckish thing called working :( Did I tell you I have 2 jobs? Yeah...I am now working at OfficeMax AND Vanity. Today, was my first day of hell aka working both jobs in one day. I worked Vanity from 7-noon and Officemax 1230-330, and cheerleading 4-6. This upcoming week: Monday night, Vanity 5-7. Tuesday night, Officemax 4-9, Wednesday night, cheerleading 430-630, Thursday night, Officemax 4-9, Friday Officemax 4-9, Saturday Vanity 2-7. Saturday night, wedding for my dad's cousin, Sunday projects galore and cheerleading. Sound like an eventful week? Yeah, I'm thinking so too. What's even worse is that I have to finish all my final projects early, take some of my finals early, and get ready for Florida in less than two weeks. I guess it just kinda hit me today. I'm gonna be gone. But, there are so many things to do before I leave I don't know how I'm going to accomplish it all. I do know, however, that this next week I'm gonna have to rock the homework, get through the projects, and really buckle down for the short haul. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll get through...that is if Mr. Ayers would not give us so much dang stuff to do before the end of the year! I mean really we have three weeks and we still have to get through authors studies, video essays, and third term portfolios. Yowza that sounds like a lot!! PLUS: I have to finish a project for AP US History, write and memorize an oral final for Spanish, learn AND PASS my chemistry final, finish my experiment/make my display board/finish my project for AP Psychology, and learn the rest of math/be able to pass that final. So, I was thinking that when my AP exams were done, I would be done with school. But clearly, that was more than an understatement. So much to do, so little time! I'll get there with a little help from my friends. Sorry, I'm quoting movies now and simultaneously watching season finales of my favorite shows, and trying to work on projects, read, and do other homework. Now, I'm just rambling to get the rest of my words in for the week and I'm thinking this is enough so peace out g scout. One more week of blogging? Or two? I'm thinking just one.

Masectomy

Today, while working, I saw one of the scariest and most beautiful things I have ever seen that truly made me appreciate not only being in AP Lang and reading an essay about it, but being a woman and loving life. Today, I saw a woman with one breast. This was one of the most powerful things for me to see. Yeah, I've heard of breast cancer, I've even had an aunt who was diagnosed with it for awhile. She eventually came out of remission and she's doing okay now, but I know what it must have been like for her. According to http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/what_is_bc.jsp: Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Less commonly, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fatty and fibrous connective tissues of the breast. Basically, there is no environmental cause to breast cancer it just happens. About 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and the “wear and tear” of life in general. There's nothing women can do to avoid it. So shouldn't that make us all fear it? Yes, it really should, which is why I recommend getting a breast examination to make sure your health is A-OK. Anyways, there are several treatments to breast cancer, even including masectomy. A masectomy is the actual removal of a breast in order to prevent the cancer from spreading it. There are over 10,000 of these each year and women across the world lose "part of femininity" due to the cause. We all know that in this day and age, women idolize the perfect, slender, slim body with abnormally large breasts and a great ass. But guess what? No one's perfect. In fact, people are more beautiful when not perfect in my own opinion. But girls always want to be the prettiest one in the room. That being said, losing a part of them, their femininity, their breast makes them feel like less of a woman. I would completely understand the feeling. I know that while not having the best, I am blessed for what I have. I know that women with masectomies can feel like a worse person, and down on themselves, even depressed but this woman who came in to officemax today looked like the happiest woman alive. She was smiling, she was laughing, she was flirting with her husband, and she was at least 60 years old. With cancer plaguing the world, sometimes for people who get diagnosed its better to think about the quality of life, rather than the quantity of days. This woman inspired me to take a step back and realize, life is beautiful. No matter how you live it. Whatever you do, however, live it to the fullest..

Post=Party

I am officially DONE with AP Exams. Let the party begin!! I'm so happy I could scream. My exams were not even that bad. My AP US History exam was not too hard, it had lots of questions about doctrines and plans and everything and a couple of my essays involved the civil war and suburbanization and other junk that I knew alot about so I think I did really good. I took the weekend as prep time, even came home on Friday night and ended up studying til about 1 am. Took all day Sunday to study and Monday night also and finally, Tuesday. It felt like a cycle to me. Every morning for my exams I would get up, go to Panera, have a quick review session, drive to KTOS, take the test, get lunch, go back to school, go home, study, eat, sleep, repeat. But finally, I saw the light on Wednesday, at the mall, once I knew officially the stressful exams were over with. But I kind of got off topic on what I was going to talk about and that is the actual exams. For AP Pyschology, my multiple choice was not even that bad except a couple which I didn't really know. I think I did good on my essays, minus like a point or two from each, but overall good. For AP Language, the passages were super easy to read and understand and there's no doubt in my mind that I passed that one. My last essay was really fantastic, although I finished with practically 30 minutes left so I didn't really know what to do. So, I played with my chair by moving it up and down and such and did many other things too wasting the time. I can't tell you what the feeling was when that last timer went off but it was feelings of pure bliss. Now, I have almost three weeks before I leave for Florida, aka three weeks left of school and three weeks left of Hell. I am so pumped for summer and for Florida and for my senior year to finally begin! ONE MORE YEAR!:) I can hardly wait. I'm going to cherish every moment of it. Live life. Sieze all the days. Carpe me some diem.

Wanna know what I used to study??
www.apexvs.com

Graduation

This weekend is the start to the numerous amounts of weekends filling my schedule with grad parties and I can tell you that I'm not super excited to go to any of them. First off, I think they're super awkward because you usually only know the person hosting them and then you don't know alot of the people there or half the people there dislike you. AKA my situation because I have a couple hater seniors who will probably make things really awkward for me at the grad parties I plan to attend. I plan on going with a couple girls to different ones based on the ones I think I really need to go to. But anyways, second off I think they're awkward because you never know what to eat and how much to eat of it. I think the grad parties all have really good food but it's weird to just eat in front of people and I never if I'm eating too much. Third off, I don't even know they expect grad gifts or what but my bank account does not afford for like 20 people to be having a good time in college. I don't know, also, if my relatives and what not expect me to take them with me to the people they know parties or what. Like, our old neighbor Mags. But, I doubt it. Anyways, grad parties also means that graduation is comign up really soon. That excites me because I'm one step closer to becoming the head hancho. That's right, next year I will finally be a senior. The top. The unstoppable. The number one. The best. Ahh there's so many names that I could call it, but basically we're the sh**. I'm really excited. I can't wait to sit on the senior bench and be in front of all the people when I walk across that graduation stage. But, I have a ways to go before I get there. I have to pass all my AP Exams, take all my required classes, and of course have a blast with my last year in high school. I'm really looking forward to cheer season and hopefully trying out to become an Iowa cheerleader. But, I have to train alot in order to get there. Right now, I'm just living life and feeling free, 'cus that's how it's supposed to be. Anyways, I was pondering the thought of going to graduation to see all the seniors, but I doubt some would like that plus I feel like it's gonna be really hot and sweaty and for what? So I can take some pics with people I'm not even close to? Ehhh. I know that I can volunteer to work at graduation by passing out pamphlets but do I really want to be on my feet that entire time? I think not. Plus, I think that basically means I have to stay for the entire thing and I don't want to do that. The seniors are leaving in T Minus 15 days. Let's get pumped Class of 2011. Oh bee tee dubs, I lost the election for vice president :( ehh I thought I was gonna win but oh well. Guess, we'll have a shitty prom cus our entire class officers are all boys except one chick who basically can be considered a boy anyways. Whatever, it's the voter's choice and their fault when prom sucks ass. Not too worrried.

Money Shortage

The economy is not the hottest right now, I'm sure we all know. With many people considering our current time period as perhaps another great depression, it's gotta be tough on the president. Plus, our time is now called: Great Recession. This is basically caused by numerous factors. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010#Easy_credit_conditions, it's caused by:

1.1 Growth of the housing bubble
1.2 Easy credit conditions
1.3 Sub-prime lending
1.4 Predatory lending
1.5 Deregulation
1.6 Increased debt burden or over-leveraging
1.7 Financial innovation and complexity
1.8 Incorrect pricing of risk
1.9 Boom and collapse of the shadow banking system
1.10 Commodity bubble
1.11 Systemic crisis
1.12 Role of economic forecasting
2 Financial markets impacts
2.1 Impacts on financial institutions
2.2 Credit markets and the shadow banking system
2.4 Global contagion

Basically, our economy sucks butthole right now, as I'm sure we're all aware. Alot of people are suffering current job loss, lower income, and increased taxes. I know that my parents are not exempt to this. My dad's been slowly using nearly 5,000 of income each year. It's made us watch our money a little more. No more going out whenever we wanted, buying that great new pair of jeans, or a new household item we really "need." Instead, we've worked as a family, to decrease our spending. It all started with my mom beginning to watch Oprah and the famous "Suze Orman" supposedly America's financial guru who gives advice on how Americans can life a profitable life. My mom has read her past two books and she's been the driving force behind the movement in the Rolfes household. She's helped all of us by making more dinners for us to eat at home, by keeping groceries in the house, and by coming up with family events that are cheap and inexpensive. My dad's tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to quit his excessive spending on inadequate items and overeating outside of the home. He's cut down his fast food trips, but as a result increased his spending on other things. For example, yesterday for my mom's birthday he got her a new washer and dryer for like 1200 dollars. My mom cried she was so pissed. Basically, she's got alot of ambitious goals for home improvement, and she wants to achieve them before she dies. So, we've all suffered through the economic recession. Including, myself. I've told you about going to Florida on June 6th, so I've been saving all my paychecks to have enough money for down there. Keep in mind, however, that the cost of living is much higher than what it once was and I've found out the hard way money really doesn't grow on trees, nor, apparently does it grow in my bank account. Last night I went to Wal-Mart to get note cards and sharpies for my flashcards and my card got declined. It was embarrassing I'll admit and when I got home I changed my statement: 9.37. That's all I have in my account. FML. I looked through my purchases: gas, prom stuff, yada yada bullshi* that I really shouldn't have paid for myself. Anyways, it's whatever. Pay Day is Friday. Hallelujah.

First One!

Tomorrow, is Doom Day. Aka my first AP Exam for the year. I am pretty nervous because it is my history exam for U.S. History and the past two history exams I have taken I have gotten twos on. However, in my defense the last one I took I was all drugged up on pain killers because I had broken my ankle and I literally fell asleep during the essay. But that's besides the point. Anyways, this year I have gotten a ton better at starting studying early. A couple weeks ago I bought this huge review book at Barnes N Noble. Basically, it summarizes all the chapters of our history book, which I have never even read a single one, into 19 comprehensive chapters. I've read this entire thing and now I think I'm even more prepared. Last night, I stayed up until 230 AM working on flashcards that cover all the things I need to know. I know approximately half of them, which probably isn't best but with enough repetition I will learn everything I need to know. There's a huge issue, however, with my huge study plan for tonight: I'm scheduled to work. I have been trying to get someone to work for me for the past week now, and no one can seem to do it. So, I'm technically supposed to work but I really honestly don't think I can. I was gonna call in sick, but I've realized that that's probably not gonna work because all my managers know that I've been trying to get out of work, so therefore they know I'm not sick. I told one of my cool managers that I couldn't find anyone to work for me and of my plan to call in sick, but he told me that was a really bad idea because all the managers would be super pissed off at me and they would know that I'd be lying. This has put me in such a shitty position and I honestly don't know what to do. My cool manager offered me the fact that he could let me go early, but I don't know what he means by early. So, I texted him and we'll decide from there. I do know that I really don't care if my managers are mad because I'll be done with working at OfficeMax soon enough. So, any advice? That'd be great. Anyways, I'm not as nervous about this history exam just because it's less information to know. The past two years was very broadening and included the entire world. AP U.S. History, however, only deals with the U.S. thereby giving it less content with stuff that we know more about because it relates to us. In order to prepare tonight, I'll be taking my second practice exam along with learning my flashcards and probably re-reading old study guides and what not. If I don't get off work til 930, well I'm fuc*ed. So, still big dilemma. Anyways, I've realized I'm hardcore dragging this post out and for no reason, so I'm gonna move on to my next one in an attempt to get all three done. So, BYE!

practice tests (for all AP classes):
www.apexvs.com

Drama Drama Drama

I've talked about drama before, about how much I hate it, about how much I try to avoid it, and how much it always surfaces in the high school. Well, it resurfaced this past weekend, so unexpectedly, and so badly. So, I've been "talking" (term used to say almost dating/having a 'thing'/more then friends) to this boy named Brady from Marion. He's a sophomore but he's the cutest guy I have ever met and he's usually super sweet. We've hung out multiple times and I thought things were going pretty decent. And he thought so too, I mean he asked me to marry him on Facebook, and we were listed as married to each other, so he obviously wasn't too scared for other people to see that. I was relatively happy, I mean Brady has hurt me before by hooking up with another girl practically right in front of me. I forgave him eventually, and things seemed pretty good. A couple weekends ago my friend Abby got broken up with by her boyfriend. She was devestated, so I took her to a bonfire Brady had invited me to to take her mind off of it. I know, what a good friend I am. Anyways, I introduced her to lots of new, potential mates and I introduced her to Brady. No big deal, we had a good time, had a sleepover, and we talked about boys. This is when I told her about me and Brady and how close we were becoming and then I read her some texts from him saying he liked me and hoped things would work out and what not. I'd say it's pretty clear we were in the pre-dating stage correct? Correct. So anyways, she didn't seem to care because this past weekend I was supposed to hang out with her and Jordan, but I had to hang out with shelby instead. I got on facebook the next day and wrote on her wall and told her we really needed to hang out soon and sorry that I couldn't hang. Then, I creeped on the pictures she put up from the weekend, and gasped at what I saw. She only had abut 5454345 pictures of her and Brady, including one of them kissing. STRAIGHT UP KISSSING. ON THE LIPS. IN A PICTURE. FOR THE WORLD TO SEE! Slutty kinda? Yeah I think so too. Plus, she keeps saying how heartbroken she is over her ex-boyfriend. HA. Obviously not, because she's kissing another boy in a picture like two weeks later. And not only is it with a boy, it's with my boy. Or should I say was. Anyways, I commented on it and I was like hahahahah suppper cute abs :):):) and she commented back and was like it's not what it looks like! Haha wanna explain to me what it was then? Cus to me, it looks like your kissing the guy I told you I liked. Hmm weird. That's exactly what it is. I wished I could say something like that but instead I just didn't comment back. So, I'm like sweet life. I go to write on her wall and I see Brady wrote on it. So, I looked at their wall-to-wall (maybe a little creepy) and they were talking about playing tennis together the next day. So basically here's a recap of what happened: I told Abby I liked Brady, Abby kisses/takes pics of kissing Brady and puts them on facebook, Abby goes on a date with Brady, Abby doesn't apologize and neither does Brady. Cooool. It's funny because if I even took a pic with Cole (her ex) she'd be all on my case. It's one thing for her to steal him from me, eh not a big deal I don't need him I have other boys, but it's another thing to just not even do anything about it. So now I'm like what the heck! You're a bit**. I'm pissed off, I don't like her at the moment, and I am gonna take a picture with Cole soon I've decided and put hearts on it or something. Yep, I stoop to that level but only because she did it first. And if you're reading this Abby, F YOU :)

Midterms?

Today, we had a walk through homeroom to recieve our grade report for the current term. Amazingly called, a midterm report, since we're half way through the final term of this year. It's weird to think that my junior year is 5/6 of the way done and in like five minutes I'll start the beginning of the end. Besides the fact that my senior year is looming closer and closer, my grades kinda-sorta SUCK currently. I blame it on my trip to Florida. This was at the beginning of the third term, therefore I missed three or four days of all my classes and lots of new material. As a result, I tried getting caught up but also tried to stay ahead and that was an epic fail. I forced myself to think I was ready to take half the quizzes and tests that I wasn't, and as a result did poorly on all of those. Being the beginning of the term, there was no other things in the grade book besides these bad scores, so I got really bad grades the first couple weeks. Slowly, I worked myself out of it and am still progressing. That doesn't mean that my grades have necessarily seen the best improvements and I'm still working to get them back to normalcy. So, right now, I'm looking at some low B's and A's. Eh, that's pretty bad for me. My GPA is still a 3.8, so that's really good compared to other students but not that good for me. I do really need to keep working but I just can't seem to motivate myself. With Florida only like thirty some days away, the anticipation is EATING ME ALIVE! I'm going crazy thinking I only have a short amount of time before the best time of my life, and it's really hard to focus! But, my AP Exams are coming really quickly too. I have my first one next Friday for AP U.S. History, one that I'm not necessarily too worried about because I've been reading a review book, along with taking practice exams online and in this review book. Plus, we're doing a review project for everyone to learn what they need to about a certain era. We've had a couple hard tests in there, which is mygrade is like a B, but by the end of the term I guarantee an A, because he said we're going to have lots of extra credit and easy projects. In AP Lang, I failed some in class essays and multiple choice shit so I had a D, but got it raised to a B with blog checks. Still think I could get at least a B plus for the term, but right now I'm rockin that 86 percent. In Spanish, well that's just stupid because our teacher gives us tests over the hardest and most randomest stuff that she never really has taught us. She has literally turned my love for Spanish off, and now I'm not even sure if I wanna take it next year, I mean really what's the point? Anyways, I've failed some tests in there so I have a B in there, which I'm hoping to raise to an A by the end of the year. Chemistry I'm doing just fine in, got that rockin 95 percent and not worried at all. In AP Psychology, I have a B plus because I'm getting points off like each week for daily grades although I have no idea why cus I always participate in class and stuff. Whatever. And in Algebra 2, well I just straight up don't understand half the stuff we've learned and are currently learning and I really have been trying to come in for extra help, but it's gonna be hard for me to whip out that A by the end of the year. So you know my grades are okay for now because it's just midterm, but I really have to do some work to get them up by the end of the year.

Want to visit my grades? Well here's the website:

www.powerschool.org

Psycho Library Lady

So, I'm sitting here waiting to give my speech for Class of 2011 Vice President. I'm in the library at our school, and am minding my own, sitting, being quiet, and now doing something productive. My cell phone was sitting on the table while I was chilling on the computer, deleting my junk e-mails and reading the funny ones forwarded from my little sisters. I wasn't making noise, said hello to a couple people I knew in the room, but all in all I've been keeping to myself. Anyways, this bit** library lady walks up to me and tells me to put my cell phone away. At first I thought it was a joke, so I kind of laughed it off since I didn't really know this teacher, but then she told me I would have to leave and couldn't tape my speech if I didn't put my cell phone away. For one, it's after school so it really shouldn't matter. If I didn't have to wait to tape my speech, I would be on my way home or something of the nature in an area where I could use my cell phone. For two, it's not like I'm staying here to do work. I explained to her when I entered here that I had to wait to do my speech, meaning I was staying here solely for that purpose. I sat down at a computer because it seems like the only thing to do in this boring place, and I logged on and began checking e-mails and grades. So, after I had put my cell phone away she decides to yell at me for working on something not school related. Seriously? Get real here lady. First off, it's after school therefore I don't have to do what you say just because I'm using something of the schools and there's no reason why you shouldn't let people do what they want to on the computers. For some less fortunate people, this may be the only computer access available to them and they probably don't want to spend it doing pointless classwork. So lighten up. Second off, if I don't have any other homework what on earth do you expect me to do in this boring place? You act as if I actually want to go pick out a book and begin reading, besides I'd rather not pay a late fee or something ridic such as that for only attempting to waste my time for twenty minutes before I go. You may be thinking I'm overexaggerating a bit, or that perhaps the lady isn't as mean as she sounds, but I'm definitely not the only one she's yelled at. She walked over to a kid whom she knew by name and told him he neeeded to stop watching Youtube videos, he told her he was listening to music and she said that's fine but you don't need to be watching the music video either and if you don't start being productive, I'll make you leave. HA. Then, a kid takes out his phone and stands up, as if he's ready to walk out, and she says you have to walk out of here and not come back if you're going to use your phone. No phones allowed. He told her he was a freshman (okay, yeah he lied) and that he was waiting for his mom to call to let him know that she was there. She said that that was just too bad. Wow really? It's funny how the schools supposedly want to participate in the "No child left behind" program, allowing kids access to computers, well guess what lady? Let kids be kids and do what they want on the computer. I honestly think this lady is just hard because she doesn't have an actual teaching position and instead she has the pathetic position of head librarian. Well she's not going to be the boss of me I'll tell you that much. I'm opening up some Youtube and texting away!

Spring Cold

So we've all heard of the usual wintery cold that plagues nearly half of America each winter season comes about, but not many have heard of a spring cold. Well guess what? It's here and it's attacking. At least me. I'm currently coughing all the time, my throat is so sore and swollen, and my nose is stuffed. Pretty typical of a cold right? Yes, right only a couple kids think I have allergies. Got me thinking: allergies are usually a seasonal thing right? Right. Well, this cold came about when Spring came about. Allergies cause irritation to eyes right? Right. Well, my eyes have been a little puffy and red, and a bit sensitive EVER since i got this cold. Allergies also happen when pollen count is high right? Well, guess what? The pollen count in Cedar Rapids is raising the roofs currently. So, maybe, just maybe, even though I've never had them before I just might have allergies. It's a scary thought for me simply because I'm kind of a worry wart when it comes to health. If I have allergies, that probably also means that the symptoms will return. While I obviously know I will have a cold again, I don't want to have it each and every time a new season rolls around. Thinking I should go to the doctor right? Wrong. My parents are a bit cheap and money is tight and I just don't think a doctors appointment right now is what is needed in the budget. So, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I've been drugged up on cough drops, been taking ibuprofen, drinking lots of fluid, espescially with Vitamin-c (like orange juice and vitamin water), and been careful not to expose myself to any cold weather. But nothing's changed. It's been about two weeks now and I'm beginning to get worried. If I truly have allergies, I need to be on some medication. But what kind? I'm not the best at taking huge pills nor am I good at slurping down nasty cough tasting cherry medicine. So, I'm stuck world. Can anyone diagnose me? Tell me what I need to do? I don't know, but I wish that I could feel better. And, prom is just a weekend away. I don't wanna look sick for pictures nor do I wanna sound like this nasaly mess when talking to people at prom. So clear me up! I'm doing what I can mother nature, now you do what you can! Please and thank you :)

--Kiona

P.S. The picture above is a nasty cold. Not half as bad as mine, but see what I could amount to?!

New Opportunity

Today, I have an interview at a clothing store at the local mall. I'm super excited because I frequently shop this place anyways and to get a job there, would just be very ideal for me. In preparation, I've picked out the cutest dress I've ever seen that, coincidentally, I got from Vanity to wear with cute shoes I also, coincidentally, got from there. I've prepared mental answers to the questions I assume they're going to ask and I've allowed myself to remember everything I have done in case they ask about qualifications. Everything seems so right with getting this job, except for the miniscule detail, that I already HAVE a job.

Okay, so yeah I'm only seventeen years old, a junior in high shcool, and not alot of spare time, but that doesn't mean that I can't have two jobs. I know many of you out there are thinking I'm pretty crazy and trust me last Summer I would've said the same thing. But here are the things I've considered to open up my mind to having two jobs. For one, I'll be going off to college in one short year. Planning on going to University of Iowa, where it's approximately 20,000 a year. That's kind of a lot coming from a family of four children, the other three being in elementary and high school too. It's going to be a financial burden on my parents as is, so why not help them out a bit? I figure if I can retain the two jobs, I could save up up to 5,000 dollars. Second off, it's only for the summer. While I'll never forget the significance of my first job at the beloved OfficeMax, it won't matter to me anymore because at the end of the summer, I plan on getting rid of it that is if I get the job at Vanity. Because I not only will like the job more at Vanity, but it will be more beneficial to me because I'll be needing new clothes and what not and I can just get them there. So basically, I'm pretty stoked and I kinda have to go get ready for it so I guess I will let you know how it goes! My interview is at 3:30! WISH ME LUCK :)

here's the clothing store website:

www.vanity.com

Hoping I get some prettty sweeeet discounts!

Drunken Feet

This morning, I woke up to my father shaking me, telling me to get up and get ready to go. I rolled over to look at the clock and see that it was only 6:15, and yet I was waking up even though I wasn't going to school. I got up and out of bed, dazily brushed my teeth and combed my hair, threw on my comfortable clothes and headed for the car. It was 7:00 when we were officially on the road. This is only after my father and I stopped at IHOP for breakfast. One of my favorite parts of going on trips with him is that he never fails to do something fun for food and we always end up at a good place with good food and good conversation. But on the road, I attempted to finish all the homework I let slide last night in an attempt to get my mind off the inevitable: the whole reason we were on this trip. After two years, we arrived. The exit sign had the blue H on top, it made me shiver. We pulled in to the parking lot and began walking in. It look so sickly and bad, and I immediately had an upset stomach. We walk in, up to the second floor, and approach her. She's sitting there, almost in tears, looking worn out and fatigued. This was my grandmother and we were at the hospital for a cancer appointment she had. My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer last year, it was a devestation to the entire family so it was more than bliss when she was in remission only five short months ago. But I guess, as the saying goes, happy times don't last forever. Sure enough, after we had assumed that all the bad stuff was out of her system, even more was there for the next appointment. This time, it was in her legs, her shins, and her tailbone. She was heartbroken as I'm sure you could imagine and so was the entire family. Today, she had a doctor's check up to see what the next steps were. Lately, she's been doing some chemotherapy, only not as much, because her body is becoming too weak for it. Before we got there, she had gotten some bloodwork done and when we arrived we went into the doctor's office and sat down to hear the results. In this small little room, with a bed much like a doctor's facility, was my father, me, my grandfather, and my grandmother. We all sat down as the doctor did some procedural stuff, checking her pulse and what not, and then it was time for the news. The doctor, Dr. Merchant, told us that the platelets in her body were low, meaning her immune system was very weak and it was possible that if she caught something she could be done for good. This was upsetting news for all of us but that wasn't even the worst of it. He asked her what her symptoms were prior to the results, and she had told him she was having much pain in her legs, had lots of hot and cold flashes with over 102 temperatures, and numbness in her feet. She said she felt like she was drunk and that it was an effort to get up and put one foot in front of the other. The doctor told us later that these symptoms were signs of the cancer he had expected all along only this cancer spread to her brain and even the strongest chemo could not help her. This is when he began to tell us that it was better to simply consider the quality of life, not the quantity. He told her that the cancer was advancing quickly and that her body was too weak for more chemotherapy. They could still do it, but he didn't know how much it would do for her. He told her that she should enjoy the days because eventually, there weren't going to be many left. And just like that, he left the room. It was heartbreak. There was silence in the room and everybody looked like there had been a large electric shock. We all began tearful, we hugged my grandmother, this woman once so full of life and now so little left to her. It was a sad experience, one that I will never forgot. My grandfather is probably the worst. He is so discombobulated, I don't know what he's going to do. I'm praying for both of them. Today, was a sad sad day for the Rolfes family. Please Grandma Edie in your prayers...


For more information on cancer, visit:

www.cancersucks.org

Justin Bieber

Yes, we all know this young superstar currently sweeping the nation and many girls off their feet with his super awesome love songs and rocking music videos that portray his beautifulness. okay, he may only be 13 but he's quite attractive for his age and his voice is so cute and little. Yeah it's probably true that he hasn't hit puberty quite yet, but who cares? with a voice like his, I'd date him in a heartbeat. anyways, me and Kylee are sitting here listening to his songs like "Never Let you go", "Baby", and "One Time". He makes our hearts melt. He sings to girls in his music videos. I want to be one of those girls. And then that also got us to thinking that our love lifes suck because they're non-existent. So we've decided that Justin Bieber is our new boyfriend and we want a guy just like him. There's this boy that I know by the name of Brady Randy who seriously looks like a mixture of Justin Bieber and Ryan Scheckler and he's probably one of the cutest boys I've ever met in my entire life. And currently we're in the "talking stage" as teens like to refer to it as. Anyways, I'm getting really off topic because my main topic in this blog was to talk about Justin Bieber and how he is my love. Sometimes I wonder if he writes his own songs, I hope he does. Second off, I wonder if he really experiences the things that his song portrayals. In some of his music videos, he's singing to girls and crying that they're gone or happy that they're there. Is it possible for someone his age to have already gone through a number of relationships equivalent to me? Yeah probably. I wonder if he actually has a girlfriend. It'd be nice to know if I ever have a chance with him, besides that being a little pedafileish of me. There's this new contest where you can win a private, backstage concert with him. He could honestly melt my heart away if he sang to me. Is that my type? Do I like the rockstar looking guys? It's pretty possible. If some guy sang to me, playing his guitar, like any other girl I'd freak about but the music type person is really not for me. But that's okay, I'll make some exceptions for Mr. Bieber. So Justin if you're out there and reading this, pick me for the concert, I promise I won't dissapoint!

P.S.-I guess there was an internet rumor that he died?!?!?!?!?!?!!? Don't worry folks, it was all a fake just because he hasn't been on his twitter in 14 hours?! Let the kid rest guys. It's seriously 14 hours. haha.

My Frustrations

Several things currently upsetting me.....


1) So we've been using this program called Google Docs for our class essays this term. It's a relatively new and easy program to use and thus far, I've been pretty happy about it. Until I attempted editing one of my class mates essays and found it impossible to keep the same font color. This means that everytime I want to make a comment I have to go up and click different font color and if I think about what I want to say too long, it goes back to being the same black color. It's frustrating, time consuming, and it really pisses me off. It probably adds an extra like 20 minutes to the editing process. Yeah, gay. But I guess now you can insert comments, so hopefully, fingers crossed, things will be lots easier for me.

2) Shady ass friends. It's impossible to believe my supposed "best friend" talks probably every rumor I hear about myself. I don't even know what to say or do or confront her or what. She denies it. She acts like nothing is wrong and really, lots of things are wrong with it. I can't trust her, first off, and second off she's just been a b***h to everyone. Whatever, so over it.

3) My job sucks monkey butt. I work like 20 hours a week, yeah gay I know but I've been attempting to save up for my trip to Florida in June. On Monday I worked and didn't feel good, puked at work, and my gay manager still wouldn't let me go home. I swear I could be dying there and they'd still make me work. Plus, they yell at me when I do my hw there or read but it's so boring and there's never anything for me to do so I'm not sure what they expect me to do. Plus, they keep telling me to read up on our rewards program and get it figured out so I can tell people more about it. Okay, you go to www.officemax.com and see if you can figure it out, it's frickin impossible.

4) I had to pay for my own prom dress. Okay, yeah it was only 27 dollars but when times are tough, hours being cut at work, and me trying to save every penny for Florida, I really shouldn't have to pay for a dress. Especially when it was only 27 dollars. So, I've decided I'm getting really nice shoes for it. That should make up for me paying for it.

5) My grade in AP Lang is a D and is bringing my grade point average down to about a 3.5. Not acceptable for a 4.1 student. So Ayers, I would really suggest doing something that could give our grades a boost. I know it may be a bit too much ask but if you could give us some participation points, anything, that'd be great! Thanks!

6)So friday, I had to stay home all night because I had the ACT in the morning so I didn't get to do anything with my friends at all. Then, Saturday I worked til 8 and got to go out for like 3 hours tops and it was a gay night. And now I guess I have to babysit Saturday night, when I work Friday night also. So FML.

7) My boys basketball squad for cheerleading is a joke. We have three flyers and three bases. how do they expect us to make that work? There's three of us always doing the work, three always going up in the air, it's gonna suck so I'm looking for a change there and also a change in the coaches cause I hate them.

8) I just realized I'm out of lunch money. It's bow tie pasta today. That's my favorite. Dangit, I can't eat. I'm gonna mooch off someone.

VOTE 4 ME!

So, today as we were sitting in AP US History, discussing random things, speeches came on our television for student government office positions next year. The usual "leaders" of our class are in fact attempting to hold the offices for student government. President: Amy Hanson. No surprise there. She's been the class president the past three years, she runs for every office, she's the perfect child as I like to refer to her as. And I mean no satire in there. So, it didn't surprise me. However, then Sydney brought to everyone's attention that that means we have to have a new class president because, as the rules state, Amy can't hold both offices. Now, I don't think I've ever told you that I was the secretary of our class when I was a freshman and was defeated sophomore year, losing by one vote. But, since then, I haven't run again just because I don't want to go up against someone super smart again and lose. It's embarrassing, it sucks, and I just don't feel like putting myself through that. That being said, when Sydney made this comment I didn't think anything of it, simply because I decided a while ago I wasn't going to set my self up for disaster anymore. But then, Sydney makes a comment to me that I should run for class president. I laugh it off, instinctively, saying that it's pretty propostorous that I would do that and then it got me thinking: maybe I really should. I'm good at leadership positions, Ihave lots of good ideas, and I'm good at incorporating others opinions into it. Plus, the biggest job for this year will be Prom and god knows I could do lots with that. Hell, this will be my second year going and it's a senior prom. I've been to them, I know what it's like, and I feel like I could make ours a memorable night for all. That's why, I've decided, that I'm going to run for class president. Yes, this means that I have to give a speech shown to the entire school but hey that's okay, I can handle it. I've done it before and I'll do it again. So anyways, VOTE FOR KIONA FOR 2011 CLASS PRESIDENT :)

ACT?

ACT.



Just the acronym gives a bit of the shivers. Why? Perhaps because it determines the fate of my success in applying at colleges, perhaps because it only means the world to my mother and father to do well on it, perhaps because there's possibility that if I do bad, I could end up in no college, living on the streets, as a hobo, lifeless, collecting plastic cans and using newspaper as means of a blanket. Okay, maybe that's a bit overboard, perhaps a little insane but the ACT means alot alot alot. Mostly to my parents, but also to me. The ACT is a standardized test that tests your knowledge on subjects like english, math, reading, and science all in one. The ACT can be scored from a 1-36, and it is possible to get a perfect. A good score, I'd say, is a 30, and I'm hoping to meet or even excel that goal. I've been doing several things to get myself prepared: I've been reading some books, practicing math problems, and reviewing my science notes from previous years, but the most important thing I've done to prepare myself is taken the practice test questions to the ACT website: www.act.org. This website has been like an online study guide for me. I've practiced each of the sets of questions multiple times. It's good to say that I initially got a majority of the answers right my first time but even better that I read through why I got them wrong several times to understand what I was doing wrong and make sure I don't make the same mistake when practicing or on the test. Tonight is Friday, the night before the exam, and I'm pretty nervous. I got some fuel food for the morning however. Like toast, a banana, and an egg because it's full of protein, potassium, and the fuel I need to keep my brain working for a couple hours at 8 am in the morning. Yeah I know it sucks having to wake up that early on a Saturday morning and even worse that it's at school but I'm actually just ready to get it done and over with. Once I'm done with this, I can focus on studying for my AP exams which are coming up just around the corner, which I've discussed with you previously. Anyways, tonight all I have on the agenda is studying, eating, studying, cheer tryouts, eating, studying, sleep. All in that order. No, I'm not going out despite the fact that it is a Friday night, a weekend night, instead I am what some people may call cramming but I generally call reviewing and preparing. For me, this feels just right and what I plan on doing the remainder of the evening. So while all you other cool cats are out there painting the town red, I'm sitting at a home like a good little student attaching my eyes to a 10 by 10 screen, answering test questions, OH JOY.

One, Two, Three

"Success is a journey, not a destination."

--Ben Sweetland

I use this quote because I view these tests not as destinations, but as journeys....
Today, I registered for not one, not two, but THREE AP Exams that I'll be taking in just one short month. First of all, It's amazing to think about how quick this year has come along to its culmination and it's weird to think that just eight short months ago I was beginning my junior year of high school. But perhaps the scariest thing is that next year I will be a senior in high school and thinking about what college I plan to attend. But let's not dwell upon the scary things, instead I'll focus on three main things: Ap Language Exam, AP Psychology Exam, and AP US History Exam.

First and foremost, I'll discuss my feelings about taking AP Lang. exam since blogging principally deals with this class. Over the year, we've learned a vast amount about composition of language. We've discussed things like: tone, syntax, and semantics. We've read several essays and composures by authors from the past and authors of the present and we've discussed the meanings, the purpose, the views, the arguments, the persuasion, comprehension, basically everything you need to know AND MORE about essays and reading in general. We've written a couple essays, done a couple projects, and written alot of notebook entries. Overall, I think I've benefited from this class and formed reading habits essential for college level classes I'll be in next year. The exam, however, brings me a little grief considering I've either failed or almost failed all of the in class essays we've taken, and failed or almost failed all the multiple choice questions we've taken. I plan on practing these a bit more by finding a copy of an old test online and perhaps going to Barnes & Noble and getting what's called a "POWERPACK". I get this almost every year for the exam I plan on taking and it includes: two full length tests, study plan, large timeline, and 2,000 flashcards going over terms and concepts of the class. They are usually very beneficial to me and I learn alot by using these so hopefully, fingers crossed, if I can buckle down and begin studying up on my terms, practicing essays, and reading a bit more for the reading comprehension section, I should be okay.

AP Psychology is probably the class I'm least worried about because the terms and concepts are relatively easy. My one issue is the chapter dealing with brain anatomy, because it's hard to remember everything and where things are in the brain, what the systems are, their functions, everything. That's why I found a diagram online that I printed out and have been studying. I also have a PowerPack for this class, have taken a couple practice exams, and this is the one book that I have actually read. I understand alot of the stuff, because it relates to me or is easy to relate to and therefore, this class brings me no worries.

AP U.S. History. There's much to say on this class. The past two years, I took AP history classes also, and recieved twos on the exams. History has never been a super easy subjet for me, but I figure there's nothing to figure out. It's just alot of memorization and grouping and what not. Plus, this year I was blessed to have Mr. Benedict as my teacher. While a funny guy, he knows when to get down to business. He gives us plenty of extra credit opportunities, he makes us keep up on study guides, lets us watch movies, and lectures in a fun and effective way. This year, I feel as though I finally have a chance on this exam because there's less material and more of it that I've learned. I've been preparing for this by reading this large packet that Benedict gave us, have been taking practice tests online, and attempting to go over my study guides.

All in all, it's going to be a long month I'm well aware. It's going to involve a lot of hard work and studying on my part, alot of Friday and Saturday nights home (okay, maybe just a few), and a lot alot alot alot ALOT of reviewing. I just have to keep at it and keep my goals in mind for the future. I think I can pass all these exams if I put my mind to it. In fact, I know I can!

Thunderstorms!

I'm currently freaking out right about now, because there's a huge thunderstorm happening in Cedar Rapids at the moment. I've not only been listening to thunder booming for the past twenty minutes, seen lightning brighter than white, but listening to my sisters scream and my dog cry. You can tell I come from a family who HATES thunderstorms. It's natural for people to be scared of thunder, in fact it's one of the most common phobias the world knows (according to my AP Psychology book). And likewise for me, I dislike and in fact dread them alot. This dreadful day of doom started at precisely 10 AM this morning when I first realized it was raining hardcore outside. But that's after the fact that it was wet outside and smelled like worms, yuck! Anyways, the weather was all sorts of whack today. It was rainy and cold when I got out of bed this morning so I dressed for the occasion in a sweatshirt and jeans, but when I got out of school the sun was shining, it was probably 70 degrees, and I was sweating my booty off in just my tshirt and jeans. I went tanning, came home, did homework, got ready for cheer tryout clinics, and went. I got there, worked for about an hour and at 6:30 happened to peer outside to see the sky pitch black. I was a little bit freaked out, but I didn't allow myself to panic until I realized the other girls in the gym were panicing. What scared me the most was that once they dismissed us, and I was walking to my car, the sirens started going off. I can tell you I jumped a bit and my heart skipped a couple beats because I was outside during a siren. Sirens usually mean really bad storms are about to hit and therefore advise people to go inside to a safe shelter, not near windows. So being outside during one of these wasn't one of the most comforting thoughts in the world. Anyways, I ran to my car, blithering like the other people surrounding me, jumped in, and sped home. It was funny going down 42nd street, watching cars hit probably 60 miles an hour in a 35 mile hour zone, and even funnier that a cop was driving and not pulling anyone over for this because he too wanted to get home. So, I got home just in time for the sirens to stop and everyone in my household to return to a sense of normalcy. But, as I sat down to start doing my homework, I saw the bright lights followed by the rumbling and I immediately stiffened up a bit. I've been working hard at my homework for the last two hours, attempting to study and blog and what not, while my computer is located next to a central window in the house. The laptop and my seat have shaken a couple times, as well as the entire house. It seems to me when thunderstorms roll around, things get all out of whack. I can't concentrate. I can't sit still. I want it to all be over with, but the noises and the rumbling and the lights, it doesn't stop. Maybe that's why I hate thunderstorms: they're too powerful. Either way, I'm getting scareder and scareder by the moments I pass writing this blog and watching the storm through the window, so I'm going to sleep it all away, and when I wake up there will be beautiful rays of sunshine.

Easter Sunday

We all love egg hunts, whether we like to admit it or not. Even in my grown teenage years, I love the annual egg hunt our family does every Easter Sunday. Because it gives me a chance to feel like a kid again and I'll take any of those opportunities as they come knocking. Anyways, this Easter Sunday is a bit more complicated than most, mainly because I'm split between two family gatherings. It's not always easy trying to fit in a couple Christmases and holidays and what not, being in a family with my mother and step father and being in a family with my real father and his side of the family, but I've always learned to manage. This time, however, things aren't so simple. With my step-dad's Easter today, I knew I wasn't going to make it and that's because I have to work at two. So unfortunately, I'm missing one. Then, tomorrow, I can either go to my real dad's side of the family's Easter or my mother's side of the family's Easter. I know that each of my families love me unconditionally and they will be happy with whatever decision I make, but it's so hard to choose! I don't want any of the members of either family feel as though I don't love them and I mean of course it's not a matter of who I love more, it's just what I feel is best for me. That's why I've made my decision to stay with my family and go to my mother's side of the family's Easter. This is because 1) I'm alot closer with this side of the family, 2) I haven't seen alot of them in a while 3) I have alot of fun when I'm at my Grandma's. It's not like any of these reasons aren't true for my dad's side, but I do see them because they all live relatively close. Well, closer than my Grandma's and I see my cousin almost twice a week because we work at the same place and also because my dad, my real one, is a complete dickhole as I may have previously mentioned and I just don't feel like spending a day being around him. I know that's harsh and rude but it's just the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. I'd rather be away from him for as long as possible until I've come to terms with the fact that he'll never be the father I always wanted and needed. He was supposed to get me shoes for my birthday and we still haven't even gotten them. Plus, he owes me $50 from Christmas that he NEVER gave me. So basically, I just don't wanna deal with him. And he'd be all lovey-dovey and that's just not me, especially not with him. Anyways, I'm excited either way for tomorrow and wearing my easter best. Haha okay kidding because I treat Easter like Christmas and wear sweats and what not. But I'm also most excited for the Easter Egg Hunt! Now if you'll excuse me, I hear some coloring eggs time calling my name!

PROM

So last year, I had a somewhat-wonderful somewhat-awful experience at Prom. First off, I was only a sophomore and at our school it's a senior-only prom unless you get asked by a senior. I wasn't super good friends with any of the seniors, I mean I knew a couple and I was close friends with a boy named Tyler Auman (which I have referred to in the past blogs), whom surprisingly asked me to Prom. I was super pumped and knew that I would have a good time with him. However, I broke my ankle like a week before so I ended up on crutches for the night, which is why it was somewhat awful. I tried my best to not let it get to me and I perservered and ended up having a decent night despite what had happened. Anyways, this year I also didn't think I would get asked to Prom. I mean, sure I'm friends with more of the seniors then I was last year, but still not any close friendships like the one I had with Tyler, but just general friends with alot of them. Of course I've got some haters out there, aka some senior girls who just don't like the fact that alot of the senior guys may be somewhat attracted to me. Who cares? I've never really let it get to me much, because after all it just looks better for me to be the mature one, especially when they're the older ones. Anyways, my point is: I got asked to Prom again this year. It was by Kevin Moore and while it didn't match up to quite the level Ty had got on by asking me it was still pretty cute. Kevin and I have been good friends since freshman year. We talked somewhat then, but we decided being friends was better for the both of us. While me and Kev have grown apart the past couple years, I still consider him a good friend and apparently he feels the same about me too, since he asked but he asked by putting a sign in my locker that says: Kiona, PROM? -Kevin. I was super surprised and very excited and immediately said yes but then I started thinking and I've got ALOT of work to do in just one short month. I have to get a dress, go tanning, get my hair done (which by the way I cut short so Idk how that's gonna work), and get shoes! It's alot on my plate if you ask me, especially because the next month or so I need to be working hard to pass my 3 AP exams, but I think I'll be okay. I'm pumped anyway though for Prom, but I have to go because dress shopping is calling my name!

Here's a link to a place that I plan on getting my prom dress at:

www.debs.com