Senioritis

Wikipedia had surprisingly elaborate definition of Senioritus:

"Senioritis is a colloquial term used in the United States and Canada to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school careers. By definition, Senioritis is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition such as hypothyroidism or insomnia but is typically said to include: slowness, procrastination, apathy regarding school work, a feeling of entitlement or privilege and a tendency toward truancy, malingering or feigning illness in order to avoid presence in a school setting, cognitive impairments, and changes in sleep patterns. Many high school students find themselves in a type of lame duck situation: their plans are made and a new chapter in their life is about to begin, so finishing the current chapter (the current term separating them from graduation) becomes just a formality or "holding pattern." Even though high school seniors tend to be the bulk of the victims, high school juniors and sophomores are also known to have it."

I'm pretty sure I was diagnosed with Senoiritus about half way through my freshman year. No joke. I guess school's not that bad, but I've been looking forward to graduation for a long time now. High school's frustrating. But that's not really why I'm writing this post. My motivation came more from the realization that I'll be graduating in half a year. I suppose I've always known high school would be over, but I feel like it's really snuck up on me.

My Senior Project presentation was after school Tuesday. I passed. It's done, all over, terminated, ended, compassed, completed, whatever; it's out of my life and I never have to think about it again. Why's a four to six minute presentation about your education, community service, and career plans such a big deal? Senior Project is one of few graduation requirements. Currently, I'm good to go minus credit in Economics, which I take next semester. I also need to finish out English and Government, but that's it.

On a more sentimental note, my last marching band competition was last weekend in Indianapolis. Unexpectedly, Page made semifinals. We left Wednesday after practicing two hours. Thursday we rehearsed all day, and Friday we performed for prelims at 4:30. Semifinals was the Saturday. I got home at about 4:30 this morning with a cold. It was a very emotional weekend. I, along with the other seniors, was consistently on the edge of tears. We cried a lot. I'm still suffering from the grief of it all being over. We're a really close group and I know I'll never be a part of anything quite like that ever again. I haven't graduated yet, but it sure feels like it.

Our band has this habit of writing something motivational on themselves before performances. Typically, I don't enjoy sharpie-ing all over my arm, but this performance was different.

Page High Marching Patriots

Class of 2008:

I love you guys.

Catharsis

ca·thar·sis: (1) the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions (2) the feeling you get after you've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last Harry Potter book EVER, for the first time.

Moot

I was browsing some other bookish blogs and I came across a link reading "Book Moot." I after asking myself, "What's a moot?" I clicked on the link with hopes of being enlightened. The blog defines moot quite well in its header. "The word moot is an archaic term meaning 'argue, debate, discuss.' In early English history, a moot was a meeting to discuss local affairs. Moot comes from the Old English gemot, meaning 'meeting.' " I'm definitely using this one next time I play Scrabble!

Merriem-Webster's Word of the Day: whammy

I learned a new word yesterday: whammy. A whammy is a supernatural power bringing bad luck, a magic curse spell, jinx, or hex, or a potent force or attack; specifically : a paralyzing or lethal blow. Although it is unclear where the word came from, it is assumed the word is a combination of wham and whimsical - "y". The word was popularized in the 1950s by the strip "Li'l Abner."

I learned all this from the Merriam Webster's Word of the Day podcast. Thumbs up to expanding your vocabulary. The podcasts are only about two minutes long. I've had a few eposodes on my computer for a while now, but this was the first time I tried listening to one. I really liked it. The podcast is lots of fun for word lovers.

Half-Birthday

According to Wikipedia, a half-birthday is "a day six months before or after the real anniversary of a person's birth" as well as "one of many unbirthdays, to use Lewis Carroll's term for any day that is not a person's real birthday."

Happy half-birthday Wrinkled Thought! =)

Mini Wheats Inspire Post

Reading the backs of cerial boxes has always been my favorite pastime. Yesterday, while stuffing my face with Frosted Mini-Wheats, I discovered what is probably the best back to a cerial box ever! (What makes a good cerial box back? Trivia. Riddles. Eliptical Illusions. Anything that makes your brain work. One of my favorite cerial box backs when I was little was the one on the Apple Jacks with all these mind games-- the classic "do you see a wine glass or two faces?" sort of stuff.) Well, the Frosted Mini-Wheats didn't have any Eliptical Illusions, but it did have fun vocabulary tidbits. They reminded me of my 'Utterances.' Here're the questions...

1. To savor something is to a) dislike it b) add salt to it c) relish it d) try it once
2. How would you feel about something salubrious? a) confused, it's confusing b) worried, it's harmful c) amused, it's funny d) good, it's good for you.
3. Which of the following would you whet? a) a field of grain b) a calf c) an appitite d) everyone, with a big water pistol

The answers were

1. c
2. d
3. c

and, yes, I did get them all right. =)

I learned a new word: Wiki

I was watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire on Wednesday night (a favorite past time of my boyfriend and I) and one of the questions was something like Which of the following is the word for a source of information that is able to be edited by it's viewers? The correct answer choice was wiki, which was also my guess. I thought wiki made sense because Wikipedia.com allows users to add, remove, or edit content. I'd always thought wiki was a made up word, but I looked it actually is Hawiian for "quick." Cool huh?
In case your eyes are as bad as mine, the circled text on the photo says, "anyone can edit."

I like these word posts. I think I'll do it again next time I hear a particularly interesting word. I'll call them utterances.