I'm glad I can cheer you up! A stuffed sheep? What the heck? xD Yeah, dA has many contests. I'm sure you'll find a good topic with a great prize.
Thank you very much for that. I've been afraid to drive since... well, always, but it really struck when I went to driver's ed. I'm feeling more confident now, so that's enough to get me through studies. I'm pretty excited about the comic. But I have to research more on the pirate era. I think it was in the early 18th or late 17th century, but the clothes my character wears looks a lot like he's in Washington's Army. Ah, Klement. He has the corniest, yet most motivational quotes I have ever heard from a teacher. Nat was right! She wrote in my sketchbook that I am now "entrapped in a world of craziness, and once you have Klement as a teacher, you never leave his classroom and its drawing glow until you graduate". I'm already excited to meet with everyone there again.

I went to a couple places for vacation. First was Arizona to meet with my brother and his family (Lucas is adorable!). Then we met up with them again in Oahu. This was a really fun family vacation. The siblings haven't been together in years! We were at the wedding last year, but things were so hectic, I don't count it as family time. Oahu is beautiful, the waters are so clear, it's just awesome! The surf however, was either weak, or dangerously strong with a really powerful current, so the fam chose not to surf (so sad). However, we snorkeled with Spinner Dolphins, Green Sea turtles, and a huge variety of tropical fish, which really made up for it (SAILING FTW!)! I took awesome photographs of the dolphins that I'll have to show you. Well, as awesome as a disposable underwater camera can get. :/ And I was surprised to learn that the sea turtles and dolphins swim near/at the power plant to relax and breed because the water is warmer. Yet so many environmentalists are against power plants! Weird eh? The same thing happned in Alaska with the oil pipes. See, the pipes are above ground so it doesn't melt the snow, but the animals huddle around the pipes to keep warm. Sorry, I got off topic
After a week, we island hopped to Kauai, which is really different from Oahu in topography. Half the island is barren from crashing waves and is very mountainous. They have something nicknamed "the Hawaiian Grand Canyon", which was beautiful. The other half of the island is swallowed up in vegetation. I guess it grows really quickly, because even the houses were constricted with vines, bushes, and other forms of tropical plants. Phew! How's that for a description? No, Jer doesn't have a dA. We used to share an account, but neither of us go on there anymore. We just talked about our summers on AIM and our stories came up. Her story is about a brilliant lawyer, whose life is turned upside down from a terrible accident (don't know what is is, though), and he becomes a "mad-hatter", who is obsessed with time. I think "running out of time" has something to do with his tragedy. It sounds interesting. Poor Geraldine- I made one connection/analysis with the villains from batman, and she thinks her idea isn't original enough. Not exactly fair, since it's still new and she has yet to develop it. Is everyone I know nowadays underestimating themselves?
Let's see... my schedule.
1st period is Spanish 3, 2nd is Algebra 2 with Cabral, 3rd is Chemistry with Payne (YAY! I keep hearing he's an awesome teacher!) 4th is US History with Okey (Another teacher from an honors class? WTH? I mind as well take the honors class!) 5th is English 3 with Mammola (I hear she's good), and Religious studies: Symbols & Ethics with Carey.

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I'm not ashamed to say that I'm an American who prefers fish sandwiches over hamburgers! Mmmm.... Ahi