drano.

after school today i walked into my bathroom,  looked in the mirror, and noticed a ladybug attached to my shirt. it wouldn't have been surprising if i'd been standing on the ladybug infested field at bonanza, but in my house? kind of a shocker. in a drastic measure i flicked it off into the sink. not having the patience to walk upstairs and set it free, and not having the heart to kill it, i chose the slightly less cruel path of action and rinsed it down the sink. little did i know, apparently i was in need of a lesson on karma. a couple hours later, after enjoying some jamba and a beautiful day at rainbow park, i rushed home to get ready for my track meet. and there, crawling around my sink, was the ladybug! it had traversed its way up the pipes and back to freedom all on its tiny little insect legs. i was impressed, but slightly creeped out. don't judge me for what i did next. as i said, i was in a rush. but impulse told me to turn the faucet on again and run it for longer. clearly the little bugger would be happier in the adventurous lands of the sewer! so i left, a little nervous that i'd come home to an army of ladybugs in my bed waiting to attack. when i got home three and a half hours later, who do you think was doing laps at the bottom of my sink? the red champion himself. i figured that if it was in love with me that bad, the least i could do was give him (everyone knows ladybugs are menfolk) a chance at freedom. and so i named him Drano, and bequeathed unto him one of the holes on our backyard putting green as a home, where he now proudly resides, a stronger bug for the hardships he's endured.

need further proof i'm kind of a freak?

i slept like a baby last weekend through a night of 45 mph winds on a cow pie covered dirt bed in a sleeping bag that barely kept me warm. my first pioneer trek was one not soon to be forgotten! spent a brutal night laughing with these three girls, then kori showed up in the morning fresh from gv prom to sing us into good spirits as we crossed and re-crossed rivers, pushed and pulled our lovely handcart up hills, and mostly just tried to keep up with the boys who insisted on doing most of the work. what on earth would i do without men in my life? i'd be utterly useless. and far less entertained. overall, i enjoyed myself very much and certainly came to feel for those inspiring saints who first came westward! wind was probably nothing compared to what they dealt with. i am undoubtedly in awe of each of them.

today marked a sad commencement of something that has played a vital part in shaping my last four years of athleticism. as of today i am no longer a member of the bonanza high school track & field jumping team. although i am a captain on said team, i didn't quite qualify for regionals this year, so my season ended with our meet today. i was thinking i'd be somewhat overjoyed to get back the freedom of my afternoons, so i was surprised when i got real depressive walking to the car after doing my last official jump ever and then talking to coach robertus for a while. i love track! i love the jumpers, we have the most fun of anyone out there, and i'm going to miss that. 

despite my shortcomings in crucial areas such as speed and strength, i've come a LONG way from freshman year, and somehow managed to become a pretty solid contributor. consistent at best, but sometimes that's all we needed. i am an average athlete. but i excel at being average. that's been one of my self-discovery type things over the years. i have learned from lots of experience that i am happy being undistinguished as long as i'm doing it to the very best of my capabilities.

so here's to getting burnt at meets, being shown up by every black girl in las vegas, backflips on the high jump pit, sand-filled running shoes, "may-suring" out our approaches, practices when coach tried to act eighteen again, fighting for one cool down lap, awesome sock tan lines, peeling oranges in the stands, dying of laughter, and trying to make these weak ankles do something decent with their lives. i'll miss it all.