Shona Domhnach agus fáilte go dtí mo bhlag! I was just awarded the Versatile Blog Award by Sayoko from http://truetomoko.blogspot.com/ . Thank you SO much Sayoko! It really means a lot to me!
So now for the requirements:
1. Must State Requirements
(no really?)
2. Thank the Person Who Awarded You
Go raibh míle maith agat an méid sin, Sayoko!
3. Pass the Award on to Five Other Bloggers
Congratulations to:
1. Charlotte and Zoe
2. Breá
3. Samantha
4. The Dolls of Happy Valley
5. Elizabeth
3 1/2. Notify the Awarded Bloggers by Commenting on Their Blogs
4. Share Seven Unusual Things About Yourself
Alrighty, here goes!
1. I know how to swear in four different languages.
2. Two years ago, I was a red panda-witch for Halloween.
3. My roller skates used to be Mam's, and are almost 40 years old.
4. 21 is my lucky number.
5. Even though I've been living in America for three years, I still have a really strong Irish accent.
6. Ever since what happened to me back in Ireland, I've had huge trust issues.
7. I screamed when I realized that I got this award!
That's about it for now! We're having Spirit Week at school soon, so I'll be sure to post about that!
Slán!
~Saoirse
Dia duit gach duine! Fáilte chuig mo bhlag! Yesterday, I started something I've been dreading for months--school.
The thing about school that was different this year, though, was that a part of me (a VERY small part of me) was actually excited. I would be going to school with people from the past, present, and possibly even future! I couldn't wait to meet other kids who time traveled or had parents who did, and was also beyond excited to time travel to important events in history. Actually experiencing something will be so much more fun than reading about it in a textbook!
That morning, I slipped on my blue summery dress, knowing that it may be the last time I wear it this year. I threw my matching shoes in my bag, and double-knotted my roller skates before heading for the door. Right before I left, Mam snapped a picture of me with her phone.
When I arrived, Kaya and Josefina were waiting right outside the MTTB's rusty steel door. "Hey!" I called as I came to a stop in front of them. "Have you been inside the classroom yet?"
Josefina glanced down at her feet. "Yes, and it's very nice, but..."
"But we're the only students!" Kaya interrupted. My heart sunk. We wouldn't be meeting kids from other time periods, or any new kids at all?
Josefina noticed my disappointed expression, and quickly started to explain, "But, there's one girl from the 19th century who's stuck in the middle of a war right now. Her parents have been looking for a way to keep her safe, and a few of the 1800s scientists are trying to convince them to let her come to school here. The teacher said that she may even be here by November!" Josefina's enthusiasm and genuine smile raised my hopes a little bit. November isn't THAT far away. It's already almost October!
"Well, I guess that isn't too bad..." I said reluctantly. "Have you met the teacher yet?"
Kaya rolled her eyes. "He's been WAITING for you to get here! Can we please go already?" She grabbed both my and Josefina's hands, and pulled us inside.
We passed the front desk and headed left towards the wing marked "Present". Down the hallway we went, until we finally reached the very last room.
One side of the room was entirely made of glass, and the rest of the walls were an artificial white. Four rows of four desks took up most of the room, with black counters in the back and on the right side. In the front of the classroom was a large, messy desk and soft twirly chair, with a spotless whiteboard behind it. A balding man with a thin sole patch, no older than forty, was writing on it in big cursive letters. Wellcome! i'm Mr Linch.
The three of us noiselessly sat down in the first row. "So you must be Saoirse?" He asked in a pleasant voice. When I nodded, he pointed to the whiteboard. "Quick! Name something that's wrong with that sentence."
Surprised, I panicked and looked for the most complicated error I could find. "Umm...you need to put a dot after 'Mr'."
Mr. Linch turned back towards the whiteboard and corrected his sentence so that it said, Wellcome! i'm Mr. Linch.
Next, he turned to Josefina. Calmly, she said, "Welcome should only have one 'l'."
Mr Linch corrected the sentence again, and it now said, Welcome! i'm Mr. Linch.
"Kaya, your turn." He said in a tone that matched his smile. Kaya squinted at the board. "You spelled Linch wrong?" She offered.
Mr. Linch shook his head. "I think I know how to spell my own name right!" He exclaimed.
Kaya sighed. "Well I don't know, it looks like you didn't know how to spell 'welcome'..." She stared at the sentence for another few seconds before shouting, "Capitalize the 'i'!"
Mr. Linch gave her a high five and changed the sentence. Welcome! I'm Mr. Linch.
After school let out, Kaya, Josefina, and I discussed our first day in the parking lot. "So Kaya, is it possible that you may have actually enjoyed school today?" I teased.
Kaya shook her head stubbornly. "I'll admit that it's better than last year, but there's no way that I'll ever, EVER, like school. Ever."
"Well, you still have 10 more months to change your mind!" I taunted. Before she could react, I skated down the road at full speed, not looking back. Kaya may be fast, but no one's faster than I am on roller skates!
Slán!
~Saoirse
Dia duit gach duine! I finally have all the pictures from my fifth--and last--day at Rangeley!
Jess and I spent our last day at Rangeley swimming at Rangeley Lake. It was HUGE! There were also a lot of waves and creepy crayfish, so Jess and I didn't spend too long swimming. When we got out, we dried off on two forest green chairs overlooking the lake.
As I wrapped my 70s style towel around my shoulders, I thought of everything Jess and I had done here this past week. Sure, we had had some...erm...a lot of arguments, but overall I had a ton of fun! "I can't believe we're going back home tonight!" I complained. "It seems like we just got here."
Of course, Jess didn't have any interest in my nostalgia. She just rolled her eyes and whined, "Yeah, well, at least YOU don't have to fly all the way back to Michigan!"
I was about to retaliate when Jess jumped off her chair. She pointed to a thin path that led into the woods. "I wonder where this goes?"
She began jogging down it. "Come on Saoirse! Let's investigate like Nancy Drew!"
I began to mindlessly follow her, but stopped as I realized what I was doing. What if we ran into a coyote? Or a bear?! I suddenly became very reluctant to "investigate" this suspicious looking path.
"Wait Jess!" I called. "What if we get lost?"
Jess just laughed and continued walking. "We're not going to!" she shouted over her shoulder.
Not wanting to be alone, I hurried after Jess. The path twisted through the sparse forest and sometimes disappeared all together. I walked right on Jess' heels, occasionally stepping on them, until we came to a small clearing right at the edge of the lake.
I squealed with delight. "It's like a little beach! Omigosh, it's so CUTE!"
"Wow Saoirse, take a chill pill," Jess teased, sitting down on a large driftwood log. She patted the space next to her. "Come sit!"
We sat in silence for a while, until Jess finally spoke. "You know how earlier you said that you can't believe we already have to leave?"
I nodded, not knowing where this was going.
"Well, this past week was really a lot of fun. Maybe I'll come visit again next summer?"
I grinned. "That would be awesome!!!"
And that's the end of my Rangeley series! I hope everyone enjoyed seeing Jess' and I's adventures!
~Saoirse
Dia duit! Tá sé Meán Fómhair! Sorry I haven't posted more about Rangeley in a while--I've been so busy with school shopping and last minute summer chores! School starts soon, and I'm really nervous! My dad says that, so far, Kaya, Josefina, and I are the only kids enrolled at the Southern MTTB School for Higher Learning, but that we may get new students throughout the year.
Anyway, Jess' and I's fourth day at Rangeley was extremely uneventful. I woke up expecting sunlight glaring at my from my bedside window, but instead heard the heavy pitter-patter of rain. I groaned and threw a pillow over my head, trying to drown out the noise and pretend I could see the vast blue sky.
Unfortunately, my fantasy didn't last long because Jess wailed, "Yay! Rain! Now we have an excuse to watch more Dawson's Creek!"
I, for one, didn't want to watch more Dawson's Creek! I had no idea what the characters were talking about half the time, and Jess refused to explain it to me. I would have much rather sunbathed by the water than sit in a dim room watching a TV show that I hadn't even seen the first two seasons of.
After we got dress, Jess and I peered out a window, hoping to see a light drizzle instead of the heavy downpour I was expecting.
Another groan escaped as I witnessed sheets of rain pelting the ground so quickly that it made my head spin.
Suddenly, Jess screamed.
"What?!" I shouted back. I had never heard Jess scream so terrifyingly before. I thought 14-year-olds never got scared?
She shook her head reluctantly. "It's...nothing. I don't want to scare you, too."
Now I was starting to get goosebumps. "Tell me! I'm 11! I'm too old to get scared!" I lied.
"Oh, alright..." Jess sat down on the couch, and motioned for me to sit across from her. "Last night I had this dream," Jess began. "It wasn't an ordinary dream. I think it was one of those future-telling dreams. I've had them before. Like, one time, I dreamt about my English teacher getting a heart attack, and the next day..." She paused, letting me fill in the blank.
"Anyways," she continued, "In my dream, it was raining really hard, just like it is now. Then, suddenly, the lights started flickering. On and off and on and off." I jumped because, just as she said that, the lights went out. Then back on. Then off. On and off. On and off. Just like she said.
Jess smirked menacingly and kept telling her story. "Then, the phone will ring, and no one will answer..." Again she paused, her hands behind her back, her eyes dark and threatening. I chewed on the inside of my lip, willing the phone NOT to ring.
Riiiiiiiiiiing
A glass-shattering scream echoed around the room. I plugged my ears and begged whoever was screeching to stop. It was only after my voice grew tired that I realized it was me.
When my ears stopped ringing with the high-pitched noise only a terrified little girl can make, I noticed that Jess was...choking? She was doubled over, shaking, her mouth wide open, tears coming out of her eyes. She wasn't gasping for air. She was LAUGHING!
"Jess! What's going on?" I demanded. Still laughing, she pointed to a light switch behind her that was just out of my sight from where I was sitting, and pulled a cellphone out from behind her back. I sat there, completely still, as my mind slowly connected the dots. Anger started bubbling into rage, which simmered into disgust. "JESS!!!" I shouted, running out of the room.
Just before I was out of earshot, I heard her call back, "What? You've never seen that episode of Spongebob before?"
Slán!
~Saoirse
