Spring Break

Well, I had spring break this week. I didn't do much except some cleaning, a little cooking, some yard work, a little writing, and beginning research for my upcoming science project. I spent Wednesday finding sources and most of Thursday looking them up and examining them. On Wednesday, I did some yard work and then cleaned the church. On Thursday, I made banana bread with some bananas that were going brown. On Friday, we got up early and went on a field trip to downtown Atlanta to see the King Tut exhibit and the Terra Cotta Army exhibit. The King Tut was interesting, though a rip-off. Besides standing in line for twenty minutes while they let other people go in before us, there was nothing of King Tut to show the people, except some artifacts from his tomb. We didn't get to see the mask or the mummy, which bummed a lot of people out. Still, we got to see Egyptian artifacts and statues of various pharoahs and important people. Dad and I had fun examining the faces and determining what the person looked like; some looked Indo-European/Caucasian, some looked African, some looked Asian, and some were mixtures of the three. It is interesting to think of all the different genetic material of the pharoahs and how Egypt was controlled by so many different ethnic groups. The Terra Cotta, while shorter, was just as fun, especially because no one has seen the army before. They brought in about seven or eight actual warriors, several things buried in the area, and then bits and pieces of the warriors. It was amazing to see the detail done on each warrior and how they are all different. The Terra Cotta tickets enabled us to see the Louvre exhibit (which was small) and some of the High Museum. We saw some nice sculptures, though it seems the majority of them done between the late 18th to 19th centuries are of semi- or fully nude people of both genders. There was one small statue that made us look away and say "um, ok, let's look at something else with clothes on." Otherwise, there were some nice sculptures and a few nice landscapes. Everyone had a lot of fun with the revolving doors in the museum. I wish I could have taken pictures, but they were not allowed at either place, so sadly I have none to share. It was a fun yet tiring afternoon though. Less than an hour after we got home, I went to the monthly college/singles' dinner at the Strevel house and stayed until after 11 PM. I had a good time, and I wish they had them more than once a month. All in all, a good yet busy day.

Otherwise, nothing interesting happened over spring break. The weather was in the upper 70's for most of the week but has cooled back down to the 50's. A few other things have happened. First, Mandy has renamed the hamster from "Foolishness" to "Chloe." Chloe has still not calmed down and is still very skittish, always trying to get out of her cage or get out of our hands. It's odd, but I would think she would have gotten used to us and to the cats by now. Still, she's a cute, fluffly hamster. Second, I applied for my traveling passport this week. I keep forgetting to mention that I'm traveling to Europe this fall with Grandma Gail and Great-Aunt Susie. I'm really excited about it, and I'm looking forward to seeing new sights that mostly only Dad has seen. I'm going to Italy, Switzerland, and France on the trip and will be gone for three weeks. Anyway, I applied for my passport last week, and I think the meeting went well. Third, I got my grades back for those two government projects, and both were A's. I'm relieved about them, though now I'm worried on why my team members for the group project haven't told me what I'm supposed to be doing for a project due on Wednesday. Fourth, Sarah and I are getting stoked about our Celtic Woman concert that's coming up in just over a week. We've been planning it for months, and now it is almost here! However, I'm still a bit worried. They performed a group rendition of "Danny Boy" on TV recently, and I watched it. The song has always been sung by Meav, Hayley (both of whom left), and Lynn, all of whom are sopranos. Nothing compares to Meav's gorgeous, emotional version, and the group rendition just didn't click. I'm not sure why, but I could tell from the performance (not sure if it was live or not) that the group doesn't sound the same anymore, not since the departure of Meav, Orla, and Hayley. I hope the concert goes well, but I hope it's well-worth it and I don't kick myself for trying to find a way to see their "A New Journey" concert a few years ago. Oh, well, I should stop worrying and just enjoy the upcoming show. Then I can complain on whether it stank or whether it will leave me in wonderful muscial withdrawl like so many other fans have spoken about after concerts.

Well, I should get off to bed. I've got things to do tomorrow, and I want to be rested for Sunday and for getting back into my schedule.