Can't Quite String Together a Coherent, Long Train of Thought

I'm semi-officially a senior in high school now. Summer vacation has started. I should be freaking out over both of these things, and figuring out how best to get maximum enjoyment out of my summer.

Instead, I spent two hours yesterday cleaning up after previous renters to make a house ready for new ones. Ew. Certain things I'd really prefer not to clean up, and someone else's nasty kitchen or odd-smelling bathroom are definitely high on that list.

On the upside, there's a pool party this afternoon. I love having so many friends with pools. It means I don't have to pay for a pool pass, ever. Maybe, if I go swimming enough, I'll even discover a heretofore latent ability to *gasp* tan. Unlikely. But whatever.




I discovered a lava lamp in the attic today. Yes, it's now in my room. Shut up, it's blue and purple and highly distracting. I spent half an hour earlier just watching it. Lava-stuff goes up... Lava stuff goes down... Lava-stuff goes up... Lava-stuff goes down... Then I distracted myself from that distraction by trying to figure out the relative density of the lava-stuff in heated and unheated forms, compared to the liquid in which it floats. Then I realized I had to factor in cohesion of the lava-stuff to itself, and how much it weighed, and measure the time it took to float up and down, and while I was searching for a stopwatch I realized exactly how bored I am. And how much of a nerd I am.

(No, of course that didn't stop me. As far as I can tell, if the water at 50 degrees C has a density of 988.1 kg/m^3, then this material has a density of roughly 900kg/m^3 at the same temperature. When unheated, I'm thinking it's something like 1050kg/m^3 or more. Of course this is probably all wrong, considering some research I did, which led me to realize that the water isn't pure [duh], so that density is off and therefore so is everything else. Plus I have no clue what the wax is, etc. etc. There's only so much Google can help me with. But it was a pleasantly nerdy distraction from my distraction from my distraction.)



I just realized my soda is the same color as my lava lamp. Interesting.

Pools and Lack of Murder

So today a short story I wrote for La Stranezza's 365th post went up. You can read it here. To anyone who made it here from there: Hello! I admire your taste.

Yesterday, I learned four very important things:

• The SAT is a long test, and when they suggest you bring snacks, it's a very good idea to do so. It's hard to concentrate on the proper way to avoid splitting an infinitive when you're hungry.
• There is nothing - nothing - better than a heated pool, except a heated pool at ten o'clock at night while there's a fireworks display going on down the road and you have a perfect view of said display.
•  There is very little worse than getting out of a heated pool at eleven o'clock at night after the fireworks display, when it's barely fifty degrees out, and discovering that your towel is soaking wet.
• But then there were butterscotch-fudge brownies, so it was all good.
•  Driving home after late-night pool parties sucks, and getting lost is inevitable. And when you call for directions, you will be laughed at.

In any case, yesterday was fun, up until the getting-lost-in-the-maze-of-twisty-little-back-roads-all-alike bit. But as I was not killed by a hook-handed mass-murderer, I'm going to call it a win.

This didn't get me.