Chickpea Paste

Commonly referred to as "hummus," I had some for the first time last week. If you're anything like my friends, the following two thoughts are now running through your head:

1. What? A hummus virgin? How absurd!
2. Mmm. Hummus.

I agree. Hummus is pretty darn delicious. I did harbor some serious doubts initially but I sucked it up finally tried some. I am now shamefully and at the same time shamelessly addicted. I've been experimenting with different vegetables and am proud to say that my intake of cucumbers have skyrocketed the past few days. I'm also planning to buy a tub for my personal fridge. My anticipation is overwhelming right now.

Oh goodness, hummus.

As with most things I eat, I of course questioned, "What the heck is hummus?" Turns out, ground up chickpeas, which led me to question, "What the heck are chickpeas?" Someone at the lunch table replied, "They're kind of like round pinto beans, but with appendages," with alien appendage hand motions included.

Horrified by eating appendag-ed food, I searched chickpeas on Wikipedia to discover that they just look like round beans. Thank goodness.

I Am Such a Good Person

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 6:00 AM. Not only did I wake up at 6:00 AM, I woke up at 6:00 AM to go swimming. Not only did I go swimming, I did so because a friend wanted me to do so. I am possibly the best person in the world right now. For the time being, let's ignore the small, masochistic part of me that found the idea of forcing myself to wake up during the god forbidden hours of dawn to douse myself in cold, cold water mildly appealing. While we're at it, let's also ignore the parts of me that saw a good blog entry in the making.

The last time I was in a pool was the summer after 8th grade for summer gym. The last bathing suit I owned was from Limited Too. I hate water--minus drinking and showering. I hate the beach. I hate the rain (unless I'm inside). Get the picture?

But, I swam anyways (Did I mention that I am the greatest person ever right now?), and to my pleasant surprise, the whole ordeal went relatively smoothly and enjoyably. It also helped that I got some prescription goggles for my near-blind eyes. Prescription goggles are awesome. They help me see, and I hate not being able to see.

After swimming a whopping 12 laps, I felt pretty empowered and very, very cool. I was also very excited about spending the rest of my day bragging to people about what a good person I was. However, my armpits and abs hurt like fiery doom. So much, in fact, that I could not push down the ketchup pump during breakfast for my eggs. In fact, they hurt right now as I write this entry, so I'm just going to stop typing now and go hunt for more things to do that will make me a fabulous person.

Greetings

I am very self-conscious about how I start and end all my conversations. Consequently, I am always on the lookout for cool, interesting ways to say hello and goodbye.

I originally started with the good ol', traditional "hello." I then went through a "yo" stage quickly followed by a "hey there" stage. Now I kind of like "hey you" except it makes me feel like I'm being too intimate with people I don't feel very intimate with. Then I discovered "heyo." It's kind of hip-sounding, casual, slightly uncommon. I don't remember who I filched this from, but hey (hi? hello? hey you?), thanks.

When logging off, a simple "bye" works nicely most of the time. If I get bored, I'll switch it up with an occasional "good bye." If I'm feeling cosmopolitan, I'll try "adieu" and if I feel like acting more chill than I actually am, I'll go with a "later" or a "peace." I particularly like "peace." I usually find people who sign off with a "peace" very cool. I don't know why. One day, I'll conduct a legit study on all of this and figure it out.

Senile Moments

I wish I had more of them. Let me explain. Traditionally, a "senile moment" is when someone forgets an obvious fact or a train of thought. For example: Where are my car keys? Oh dearie me, they're in my hands!

I am now redefining senile moments as the following: when a younger person has a brief moment of insight beyond their years.

I have very few of these senile moments. Even the few that I think I have, my delusional brain probably made them up. I'll be momentarily convinced that my superbly mature brain is much too sophisticated and wise to be stuck in a seventeen-year-old body in a seventeen-year-old world. Of course, this is hardly ever true, but thank goodness teenage angst is only temporary.

I'd like to think that this post is a senile moment. It's probably not, but I suppose it's a worthy effort anyway.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations I find totally unnecessary:

Come = cum
That = tht
When = wen
What = wat
Have = hav
I = i
Today = 2day

Don't use them people. One extra keystroke isn't going to kill you. Unless you have carpal tunnel. If you do, then I forgive you.

Home Stretch

For the great majority of seniors everywhere, we are in the home stretch. The final lap in the 4693 K marathon. College acceptances are slowly trickling in along with a scholarship here and there. The standardized tests are finished and the scores, good or bad, are unchangeable. The "Submit" button has already been pressed and as the Tralfamadorians would say, "It has already happened."

The home stretch is awesome. It's time to finally take my seat on the seniorits train that I've had reserved for the past 3 years. It's a time to celebrate Friday nights with coffee and tea, remember what "reading for pleasure" means, sleep, and saunter around school as the big, bad senior.

It's also a time to screw up. Don't do it. Have fun, relax, cash in on that long-deserved luxury of not caring. Just don't overdo it.

Make It

I recently signed off one of my e-mails with "Have a good day." Right before I clicked the "Send" button, I replaced the phrase with "Make a good day."

I think days are made, not had.
The same principle applies to years.

So everyone, make a good year.