School Africa Project

    At school we had a massive presentation about African countries.  Each student from our wing got split into groups, not according to the classes we're in, but randomly.  I was chosen by my group to create the landscape platform represented by our country, Botswana.  It was pretty fun to create all the biomes on it in science class, where all the other students chosen to make the landscapes for their countries were.

    During our presentation, one in which the whole wing (four whole classes) was packed into a two-room space, I got to show my landscape to half the seventh grade.  The English teacher asked me to twirl in front of everybody after I'd done it to open my part of the presentation.  She just thought it was cute, I guess.  Everyone laughed at me, but not in a cruel way. 

    My English teacher is pretty for an older teacher.  She has beach blonde hair and likes to wear tight clothes.  In English she teaches us about root words- how collections of our words in English originated from Greek or Latin ones.  Many of our words are combined from different roots, like photography (photos + graphos, or something like that).  There's a girl I used to sit by in this class.  I was always amazed at how fast she could read.  I always tried to keep up with her during reading time, but never could.

    My favorite class is Social Studies.  The teacher is funny and the subjects we learn about are the most interesting to me.  When he had us take a pretest on African countries, I correctly located 53 out of the possible 55 countries on the map.  He couldn't believe it, so he asked me to bring the map over to him.  In front of everyone, he sarcastically said after looking over it:  "Ok, now for the rest of us humans..."

Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64 is rocksome and I have new favorite game: Mario Kart 64.  It’s the most fun-filled, shell-smashin’, banana-bashin’, speed-racin’, spin-out-swirlin’, 3-dimensionally majorly exceptionally incredibly fantastically glamorously giddy game in the history of mankind.  From the sunny shores of Koopa Troopa Beach to the deadly Toad’s Turnpike, from the choppy Cocoa Mountain to the chaos of Bowser’s Castle, and from the labyrinthine Yoshi’s Valley to the dazzling Rainbow Road, you’ll get shell-shocked into one shell of a time.

My two favorite courses are Luigi’s Raceway and Bowser’s Castle.  Now you’re thinkin’ Luigi’s Raceway? It’s the most boring, generic course ever.  But I beg to differ, my friend. Try going backwards for 50 laps using Bowser and demolishing everything in your path with stars and lightning bolts.   The destruction is wild, rampant, recalcitrant!  Knowing this, need I really explain why I love the Bowser Castle in this game?   I purposefully get 5th place or worse over and over just to play it again.  As the course weaves its way through the castle, a dark estrangement welcomes you to that evil myopia of moving objects and dastardly fire-holes.

One time I was Donkey Kong and I got a star and right before Luigi got thwomped I blasted Toad all the way to the moon.  With him screaming Aaaaaaaaaaah! and my Donkey Kong bursting through the thwomp over Luigi who was howling in pain over and over, the hysterical laughter that sprung from my mouth is a priceless moment in the history of my gaming.  Add all this to the funny sound effects, the glorious music, and the diversity of the levels... This game is making me go bananas!

Segue to the hippin’ and hoppin’ NBA Hang Time, a quirky game that does 2-on-2 NBA basketball in street-game format, where no fouls are called and anything goes.  This game makes me laugh just as much as Mario Kart; you can push players down, dunk flamboyantly, and jump higher than a fuckin’ puma cat, while all through the game there’s an animated announcer spouting calls like, He’s unconscious! or That shot could have killed somebody!

I can’t forget about the first N-64 game, simply known as Mario 64.   I think it’s better than all the platform games combined.  What you do is jump into castle paintings and you’re transported to the worlds inside the paintings and you have find these stars hidden inside them.  This game has a special place in my heart because the last few levels really blow me away.  On the third floor of the castle, you have to climb inside this giant clock tower with over-sized gizmos, and there’s a couple of heavenly rainbow worlds where you get to fly on magic carpets and hop over obstacles suspended in the air.   With spellbinding music, the best graphics ever, and a vast enemy ensemble, I predict this game will be one of the all-time greats for many years to come.

The Track Comeback

In my first ever official track race I ran a 6:15 mile.  Mom talked me into joining the school team because she thought it would be good for me.  I was put on the junior varsity squad because I'm only a seventh grader and can't really compete with the bigger, faster ninth graders.

The greatest thing about my first race is that I came from behind on the final lap to barely beat out this kid from the other school.   It was a battle of wills down to the wire.  For once in my life, I triumphed.  Everyone was watching me dig in deep, give it my all, mustering a hidden strength they didn't know I possessed.  They'd been screaming at me to pass him the whole time, so I did, with every ounce of effort that I had.  I'd been about five feet behind him for most of the race.  On that final lap, the coach got right up in my face as I passed him, injecting me with the extra encouragement I needed to catch him.

Several people congratulated me after I beat him, but not my friend Will.  He just shrugged it off like it was nothing.  And why should he?  I finished behind him and got third in the JV race.  I should have been the one congratulating him.