Note - this is a stress rant. Enjoy.

I am officially going to die before I turn eighteen due to stress and general inability to cope with vast changes and responsibility.

Everyone I know is having 'The best senior year ever!!!'  HOW DID I MISS THAT SIGN UP SHEET?!??!?!?  It's either 'I have so much free time!' or 'Do you have a grad dress yet?' or 'My courses are so easy!' or, my personal favourite... oh, wait, no, I HATE THEM ALL, because they give me nasty headaches and pangs of jealousy.  I am taking the least amount of academic courses I ever have this year at a grand total of 8 (I took nine, maybe 10, in grades 10 and 11, respectively), and my extra-curricular is only soccer twice a week and music twice a week, but go right on ahead and slot in babysitting twice a week, grocery shopping, volunteer hours, cleaning, family stuff, lifeguard training, friends, and bathing, and I AM SO BAFFLED AT HOW I'M ALIVE.  And to top that pie of wonderful off, I have to look into cars, jobs, and universities.  Is there a way to hire a trained monkey to do half of this for me?  That would be freaking epic.  If anyone wants to get me that for my birthday next month, I would be willing to marry you (unless you're a girl, in which case.... you can pick something else).  Or, if the monkey thing doesn't work out, a cloning machine would be thoroughly welcome.  I can handle everything other than university and all that it encompasses, including cars, jobs, bursaries, scholarships, etc.....  just so you can tell the monkey seller so that I get the right one :-P

I've never been a note writer, but I have piles and piles of them to organize my thoughts now....  Note to Self #1:

UNIVERSITY -
 - Look into scholarships and bursaries
 - Figure out what you want to do at uni
 - Choose 2-4 uni's you like
 - Make an appointment with a counselor at your top university RE: $$, courses, and high-school prerequisites
 - Universities must be close so I can live at home
 - I don't want to have to sell a limb to get into one (though seeing as TWU is my top, I might have to)
 - And most importantly...

TRY NOT TO DIE BEFORE YOUR EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY DUE TO STRESS AND GENERAL INABILITY TO COPE WITH VAST CHANGE AND RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have found some epic bursaries/scholarships (or any, really), pleasepleaseplease email them to me, even if you feel awkward doing so.  I will be eternally grateful, and you my prevent my premature death by helping me out here!!!

What happens in Fall.....

Hi.  My name is Caitlin, and I'm a Gleek.  Glee has started again, and I almost cried when I had to miss the second episode for my AED class (which I passed.)  That's what I call devotion (or having no life)!  But Glee is just one of the many things I LOVE about this time of year.  The leaves are turning, the light is so perfect for photography, piano lessons have started again, and I'm covered in bruises, as I should be in the soccer season.  Life is good.

I'm starting my second month of grade 12!!!?!  I'm impressed with myself that I managed to live this long....  I've done a lot of physically stupid things, been far too cheeky for my own good, and because of such things, I think I only lived because I ran away fast enough ;-)  And now in 9-ish months I'll be graduated and preparing for university.  I'll be only the second person on my mom's side of the family to ever have attended university (no pressure)!  University is stressing me out.  I'm too old to play Barbies and hide-and-seek, or make mudpies in my best dress (wait, I don't own a dress....), or go around believing that anything bad that happens can be fixed by my mom or dad.  I know that they're still there to support me, but I do miss the ol' safety net!

I'm taking History 1 this year!  We've only had 2 classes, but I'm really enjoying it so far.  The second class was the best....  mostly because two guys who could come last week showed up.  And they turned out to be extremely attractive.  (So much for being able to concentrate in THAT class....)  Naww, all it means is that I have to blow their doors off and get a way better score than them on the exam.  Because, you know, that's totally the way to win a guys affections.  None of that through his stomach crap :-P  And I almost fell out of my seat when one of them walked in... I've met him before, at recitals and stuff (same piano and theory teachers), but I've seriously seen him EVERYWHERE over the last month.  Walking through Wal-Mart, small out-of-the-way bookstores, and somewhere else I can't remember.  Crazy.  One major downside - My mom's in the class with me, which will make it hard to enjoy my classmates.  Urgh :-P

My nephew went home from the hospital two weeks ago!  The poor sweetheart's been in the hospital since his birth, exactly a month and a half.  He's doing really well in his own home, and he can already flip himself over onto his tummy!  'Atta boy...  So we went over right away to see him, and I finally got to hold him!  We had a solid 2 hours of cuddling to catch up on lost time.

So little in his big crib!

                                                   He was super awake after his very first bath at home :-)

I was messing around in Photoshop and Illustrator today after I finished my homework, and I found a kit online that pretty much lets you make your image look like film.  I downloaded it, and I knew after I opened it that I would be totally willing to marry the teen-aged guy who made it.  No hesitations whatsoever.  It was just that freaking awesome.  If you have Photoshop, download it! (but don't you dare take my man :-P )  http://coltonrabon.com/index.php?/resources/light-leak-kit/

I'm going to learn this piece, I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6s49OKp6aE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWAPnA5xvv4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SwfwMxUVGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOxE7IRizjI&feature=fvwp&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OczRpuGKTfY&feature=relmfu