MY NEW PROJECT- 8th Grade Journals Online!

I am going to post all 33 of my 8th grade journals on this blog. I wrote them in the school year of 1983-1984. I was only 11 years old when I went into the 8th grade. The journals are pretty hilarious. They're ignorant and yet, extremely pretentious at the same time. I hate to characterize myself stereotypically as a "JAP," but I guess I was. I was spoiled, and loved possessions and the finer cultural offerings of New York. I had few friends, but the few I did have were pretty creative, so there is some reference to pranks I pulled. Some highlights of the journals are "Breeding My Gerbils," "My Favorite Spectator Sport," "Dear President Reagan," and a few other gems.

As someone who has taught 8th grade English, I find myself wishing my own students possessed some of the descriptive skill and vocabulary I'd commanded in 8th grade. Overall, though, I can't help notice how infantile are the emotions displayed in my journals, compared to those of 8th graders today. I am not sure if it's because it was a different era (the early 80s), or because I was so much more immature than my classmates. I seem to have no motivation to do anything but fulfill simple childish fantasies, like getting a puppy. Only my descriptions of my New York haunts and a trip to Paradise Island hint at somewhat of a cosmopolitan existence.

In general, I was quite depressed through 8th grade. I didn't like to bathe. I was chubby. I was shy. I had no boyfriends. (Bryan notes that I was only 11 years old...true, I was younger than everyone else in 8th grade, but had the same pressures on me to grow up as my classmates did...I just couldn't deal with them.) 8th grade was a horrible year for me! I really wrote way too little about my personal issues, and way too much about teddy bears and animals. The journals display minimal self-reflection. Yet, that could also have been because the audience was old Ms. Ramsay, my English teacher. These journals were written merely to fulfill an English class assignment at Eastern Junior High School in Greenwich, CT. I chose neutral topics, and got the one-page journal assignments out of the way as easily as possible. By the way, in the second half of the year, I started getting D's in algebra, and otherwise disappointing my parents greatly. If someone had simply explained that I needed to pass algebra in order to become a veterinarian, I probably would have done my homework once in a while, judging from these journals!

(journal 1) Nijel Cyril De Slatse: The All-American College Patriot

Nijel Cyril De Slatse is a fascinating person. He was voted fencer of the year in his hometown of Gilroy, California, the garlic powder capital of the world. He has visited Disney Land [sic] 34 times. He was elected "Most Devoted Member of Clean-Up Crew" two years in a row at his home town high, Gilroy High. He has written to Dayton College, Wheaton College, Vassar College, and Fordham University. He was created by Janet Powers and I about 2 years ago. We first created Nijel to make people believe that he really existed. Some people believed us! Nijel actually wrote to some colleges. He received one reply saying that he was one of the most talented young students who had written to Dayton College so far, had written to Dayton College so far, and went on to ask him if he would please come to one of four seminars on entering Dayton College, being given at the Stamford Howard Johnson's. Nijel Cyril De Slatse is fun, and I hope Janet and I do more with him soon.

(journal 2:) My Favorite Place in the Whole World

Even though I was only there for 9 days, my favorite place in the whole world is Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas. I stayed at the Paradise Beach Inn. From the moment I got there it really did seem like paradise. When we got there we went up to our rooms. The only bad part of the vacation was that I had to share a room with my bratty older sister, Laura, who is 20. Our room had a balcony. It was right next to beautiful palm trees. There were ripe and unripe coconuts underneath them. Every morning I would wake up, very early, and go downstairs. I would usually take my sister with me. We would play shuffleboard or ping-pong. It was beautiful. There were a board and a table right on the sand, and they were shaded by many palm trees. Then we would eat breakfast in the outdoor cafe, right on the beautiful beach. Then we would go for a swim on the beach or in the pool (I preferred the beach.) The sand of the beach was pure white and extremely fine. The water was light green and clear, if you were in water up to your chest, you could see your feet. It was always the perfect temperature in the water. I didn't burn the entire time I was there. There were no rocks, crabs, fish, or seaweed in the water. There was a coral reef at one end of the beach. The wonderful things about Paradise Beach could fill this notebook, but I have to finish.

(journal 3:) What Will I Be Like When I Am an Adult?

I sometimes wonder what my life will be like when I am an adult. I think I am either going to become a cellist, bassoonist, lawyer, or linguist. I don't think that I will be a very agressive [sic] person, I never really have been. If I can't get one of the jobs listed above, I think I would want to be an ordinary housewife with two or three children. I would probably belong to a choral society and art society or two, maybe be on the board of a local symphony orchestra. I would want to get married and have kids even if I wasn't a housewife. My dream house is a dream apartment. At my camp, Camp Mohawk, I met a girl named Jennifer Watts. She lives in New York, and has a nine room apartment, with an upstairs and a downstairs (which are fairly expensive in New York.) She actually goes to school with Tatiana von Furstenburg, Diane von Furstenburg's daughter! I definitely want to live like that when I grow up-- very rich. But what if I never marry and I end up poor? Well, let's hope for the best! I hope if I never marry to get rich, I have a really good career to get rich on my own.

(journal 4:) Eigth [sic] Grade So Far

So far, eigth [sic] grade has been very good. There is one major setback, though. In the first week of school, I had about two hours of homework every night. I think that's very unfair. Last year, by the end of the year, we did not have nearly as much homework as in the first week of school in eigth [sic] grade. This week I have almost four hours of homework every night. I am not slow at homework, either. I think Eastern Junior High should ease the transition between seventh grade work and eigth [sic] grade work. So far, I've had no trouble opening my locker, unlike last year. I do not like having my locker downstairs. Almost every single one of my classes are upstairs. So far, most of my teachers seem pretty fair. I am in orchestra, so I can't have study halls. That annoys me, since I have so much homework. It seems as though most of last year's seventh grade is on Cluster 3. I like having most of my friends in my classes. It has been apretty good year so far, and I hope it continues this way.

(journal 5:) Young Artists' Philharmonic

Young Artists' Philharmonic (YAP), is a group of junior high and high school age students who live in the Stamford area and want to be in an orchestra other than school. There are also the younger orchestras Young People's Symphony (YPS) and Young String Ensemble (YSE). This year they are adding a Young Flute Ensemble (YFE). This is my third year of being in one of the orchestras. My first year I was playing cello in the Young People's Symphony. I was in both the Young People's Symphony and the Young Artists Philharmonic in my second year. This year the music is simpler than last year. Our orchestra consists of about 100 students. We have all four instrument groups in our orchestra. I love playing in an orchestra where all the children are at a high level, because they sound professional. We give three or more concerts a year. Last year we played in the Stamford Town Center and in Stamford's Pink Tent Festival. Last year the Young Artists Philharmonic went to Montreal. I decided not to go, but when everyone got back they said what fun it had been and I wished I had gone. This year I am an assistant teacer under Miss Hymes, the conductor of the Young People's Symphony, and Mrs. DiFranco, the conductor of the Young String Ensemble. The conductor of the Young Artists' Philharmonic is Salvatore Princiotti, who conducts the advanced group of the Greenwich Arts Camp, teaches orchestra in Darien, and gives private lessons to many students. He is a fine conductor.

(journal 6:) My Classes

So far, all my classes are pretty good. I think my advisor base teachers, Mr. Bernier and Mr. Micik, seem really nice. For first period, I have science with Miss Frasier. She seems like a good teacher, and I'm sure science will be interesting. Then I have social studies. I know that it's going to be a terrible class. I think the new critical thinking program is stupid. No one is learning anything at all. For one assignment, we had to write our hypothesis on how geography affected the South. Mr. Zboray said we could write anything. He handed them back, and many people got bad grades because their assignments were too long or too short, or they weren't what Mr. Zboray wanted. Our assignments are like that every night. You know about 3rd period English. Mrs. Hamm is an excellent algebra teacher. She explains everything fully, and is strict but fair. I have Mr. Kent for French. He may be a good teacher, but I don't like him at all. I had him last year too, and I don't think that's right. I wish I could take Latin. I like Home Arts, and Miss Oleksak is weird but nice. Orchestra is good, but Miss Helland is really weird. Gym is okay, but I don't like that we have to stay on the 7th grade curriculum (since I'm in orchestra.) So far, all my classes are pretty much fun.

(journal 7:) Breeding My Gerbils

I have two gerbils named Abaduscadabadusadusbusbaliusabuzzybabbaloobabbaloobabbalooandabuzzybabbaloo (Lil' Abner) and Baby Pompadour. As you can see, I named Abner when I was little. They are male and female, respectively. I'm not sure about it. They are adorable. Today I was thinking about putting them together and having a batch of tiny baby gerbils. There are some problems. Problem #1: I got Baby Pompadour from school, and there she got in a fight with her brother and chewed up his ear. I am not sure whether or not she would get along with Little Abner. He is helpless because he is so incredibly stout. Problem #2: I don't know whether or not Baby Pompadour would make a good mother. You can tell from observing her that she is very stupid. She is also very young. Problem #3: I'm not even sure of what sex the gerbils are. (Major problem.) I think that Lil' Abner is a male, and Baby Pompadour is a female, but I don't know. There are some good things, like I lowered Baby into Abby's cage, and they rubbed noses. I hope they get along.

(journal #8:) My Birthday

My twelfth birthday is coming up on October 1st. There are many things i want. I generally want teddybears and videogames but generally not real necessities. I am upset because I am not as excited as I used to be when I was younger, near my birthday. My heart used to leap when I thought about my birthday, and now I can't get a flutter. I still remember my sixth birthday. It was a wonderful birthday. I woke my mother at about 6:30 in the morning. We [went] upstairs, and the large dining room table was covered with gifts. Most of the gifts weren't important, but it still felt great. My second birthday [was] fun, too. My whole family was at my birthday party expecting cake. As soon as the cake came, I stuck my face inot it and started eating. I've seen movies of it. I hope I get psyched for my birthday soon.

(journal #9:) What do I Want My Child to Be Like?

I'm sure of what I want my child to be like. I want a girl, and I don't really want a boy, but whoever I have, I want them to have black hair, dark brown eyes, and a dark complexion. I want my child to be intelligent, but not overly intelligent. If I had a daughter, I would name her Cassandra, and if it were a boy, I would name him Mark.
I know what kind of parent I am going to be. I am going to be aggressive but still listen to my child's opinions. I want to be a loving parent, but I do not want to be always paying attention to my child, because (s)he would become attached to home, and would miss it too much if they went to camp or on a trip. Of course I am not planning to have a child soon, but it's funny to think about it.

(journal #10:) How I would Feel if I Found Out I Was Adopted

If I found out I was adopted, I would be very angry at my parents for keeping it from me. My mother had a ceserean [sic] operation that was scheduled for October 1st. I often wonder what my birthay would be if it weren't scheduled. I used not to sympathize with people who wanted to find their real mothers, but now I understand. A mother is much more important than a birthday, and I often wonder what my real birthday is. I don't know if I would look for my real parents. I don't think I would be courageous enough, because I would be afraid of what I might find. Children who look for their real parents are cruel to their adoptive parents, but if my parents told me I was adopted, when I am twelve, I would be very angry.

(journal #11:) My Favorite Spectator Sport

My favorite spectator sport is tennis. It's a lot of fun to watch. I especially like to watch John MacEnroe. I watched him play at Wimbledon, and I could hear the umpire, and not a sports caster. I heard every obscenity that John uttered. A couple of times I saw him throw his tennis racket down on the grass court. The officials couldn't decide whether he was thrusting the racket on the ground because he was angry or because he wanted to ruin the court. They decided he was just angry at himself. They fined him about seven hundred dollars for audible obscenities, so John stopped making his obscenities audible. You could see his lips moving while he was cursing to himself. After I watch John McEnroe [sic], I like to watch Ivan Lendl, because he's so polite. I really love tennis. It's aerobic exercise, but it's a lot more fun than running. I think I should take up tennis seriously.

(journal #12:) My Pets

In this journal entry, I will write about my three pets, Sailor, a male dog, and my gerbil mates, Lil' Abner and Baby Pompadour.
I bought Sailor at the Elmsford Dog Pound about four and a half years ago for twenty dollars. He was about to be put to sleep. He is adorable. He looks like a puppy because his head is so large ad his legs are so short. He has never bitten anyone, and is very sweet.
I got Lil' Abner about four years ago. His fur is incredibly soft. He is shaped exactly like a sphere. He only eats oily sunflower seeds.
Baby Pompadour is about eight months old. She is very sweet. She is thin and cute. She is very timid, and runs into the hole that she makes whenever someone opens her cage. She would never bite. I hope that one day Lil' Abner and Baby Pompadour have a batch of adorable baby gerbils.

(journal #13:) New York, one of my Favorite Cities

I love going into New York. My family and I have lived here for 9 years, I have gone into New York about 200 times, and there is still nothing I like to do better when I have a whole day free.

My favorite thing in New York to do is go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Even if everything I see I have already seen again and again, I still love it. I guess it's just a feeling of freeness I get when I am there. I have time off from my family and can do whatever I want. I love the Astor Court. Sometimes I sit for hours in that one beautiful place. I also love all the very valuable jewelry, the Temple of Dendur, and the European Art by artists like Renoir.

I also love the world outside the museum. I like going to the theatre. I just saw Brighton Beach Memoirs, and I am going to see another play (I haven't chosen which one yet) in two weeks for my birthday.

I love just walking around Manhattan.

(journal #14:) The Magazine Drive

This year I sold seven magazines in the magazine drive. I only sold five magazines last year. On the first day of the drive this year, I sold three magazines. I sold them to two neighbors and my mother. I brought the subscriptions to school the next day, and they fell out of my notebook. Someone found them and brought them back to me, but two checks were missing. I went to first period science, and Miss Fraser's phone kept ringing. She kept on answering, but no one was on the other end. She finally sent Alex Ahrens down the office to see what was the matter. Then an announcement from Mr. Miller came on, asking Miss Fraser to pick up her phone. It didn't work. It ended up that someone had found my checks. The next day I sold four magazines to my parents. I got a weepul, jelly beans, a pennant and a giant sugar daddy.

(journal #15:) Alfred

I am obsessed with teddybears. I have two bunk-fuls of them. They are all adorable. I have some recent additions to my collection. My most recent addition is named Alfred. He is six inches long and about three inches wide He is hand-made from dark brown velvet. His arms and legs are specially sewn on so they can move. I got him at the gift shop of The American Museum of Folk Art in New York City. He looks like an old fashioned teddybear. He also looks like an old fashioned Winnie-the-Pooh. I got very worried because little Alfred was recently lost for a few days. I found him stuffed in a plastic bag from New Haven with some books in it. I love Alfred. I hate to have favorites, but if I did have one, I think he would be it.

(mislabeled journal #15:) My Family History (abridged)

Most of my roots are in Austria and Germany. One set of my great-grandparents were born and died in Austria. Another set were born and died in Poland. Another set were born and died in Germany. I'm not sure bout the other set, but I know one was named Ida Myer, and was born in Germany and died in New York. She died when I was 4. I'm not sure of any of the others' names. My mother's mother was born in Vienna, Austria, and my mother's father was born in Poland. They met when my mother's father was studying medicine in Vienna. When WWII was about to start, my grandparents sensed trouble and came to the U.S. My mother was 10 months old, and very sick. She took her health tests to come to America several times, and didn't pass. My grandparents were about to leave her with my great-grandparents when she passed. My father's father emigrated from Germany and met my father's mother. They were distant cousins. My father lived on Bainbridge Ave. in the Bronx until he was 21.

(journal #16:) Bassoon

I have been playing the bassoon for about four months. I love it. It sounds really nice, and is easy to learn. I really like my teacher, Joyce Kelly. She is Mr. Mathes' sister in law (she is the identical twin of his wife). She is a very good teacher. Over the summer, I took bassoon lessons with Mrs. Kelly's son in law, Thomas David Ellis (T.D.). He was a pretty good teacher but had no teaching experience and lived all the way in Portchester.

The school owns the bassoon I use, and I don't have to rent it. It is a quality bassoon, but is in pretty bad shape. Soon I'll join the band, but I don't really want to, because it means getting up early. I love the bassoon, and hope I continue to play for a long time.

(journal #17:) Latin

I am hoping to take Latin next year in ninth grade. I think it would be an interesting and useful language to learn. There are a lot of things written in Latin, and I think that it would be fun to be able to read all of them. I would stop taking French, which I think is boring. The only trouble is that you have to be really smart and do really well in language to take it. Last year in French I did really well and got all A's, but this year I'm not sure I will. I got a low B on one quiz, and I have not been doing too well on homework. Mr. Kent is a very easy grader, hough. I like Miss Bock (I don't know her married name) a lot better. I'm praying that I can get into Latin next year.

(journal #18:) Ninth Grade

I am not sure of my plans for ninth grade. I definitely want to stop taking woodworking, metal, art, and home arts. I CAN'T STAND woodworking and metal. I don't like them, and I am very bad at them. My mother is an artist and it is surprising that I am not talented at it, but I'm not, and I wish I were. I think that it's fun, but last year I couldn't produce anything nice or on time. Home arts is not that hard, but it's not very interesting. I might take it again next year, because it would be easy to get a good grade in it. I would take all of these classes if I only had a study, but I don't, because I'm in orchestra. I am pretty talented in mustic[sic], so I am going to take that again. I might take typing or performance. I hope I decide on my classes and get what I want.

(journal #19:) My New Stuffed Animals

For my birthday, I got three new stuffed animals: 1) Fleagle the Beagle 2) Immer the bear and 3) Grandpa Snuffles. I picked out Fleagle the Beagle on my birthday at FAO Schwarz in New York. I had been to Dreamgirls earlier, and wanted something that cost ten dollars there. My father said he would give me the money, and I could spend it at any store I wanted. Fleagle cost $9.95. He has big, floppy ears, and paws, and has a big nose. He is very soft. Immer is a white Steiff bear. I got him for my birthday because I really wanted a Steiff bear. Grandpa Snuffles is a funny old chap. He is really cute and cuddly. He is the 5th member of my Snuffles family: Mama Snuffles, Papa Snuffles, Baby Snuff, Valentine Snuffles, and now-- Grandpa Snuffles. I love him. I love them all.

(journal #20:) My Family

My family is an unusual bunch. There is my dad (Robert), my mom (Diana), my sister (Laura), and me (Amanda). I hate my sister, and I hate my parents too, but at least my parents can be okay sometimes. My sister is a jerk She is twenty years old, and is in her junior year at Yale. She is going to major in history, can you believe it, HISTORY? Her weird boyfriend is currently taking time off from school to work on a newspaper in Tennessee, and trying to decide whether to become a journalist or a chemist. I'll feel very sorry for their kids. My mom is pretty nice. She is very lenient. She sometimes acts like she is having a nervouos [sic] breakdown. My dad is not lenient at all, but can be pretty nice. My family isn't the greatest, but they'll have to do.

(journal #21:) Piano

I have been playing the piano for about one and a half years. I don't really like it that much. I hate my mean teacher, Mary Radcliffe. She always yells, and is supposed to be a good teacher, but I don't think she is. She always makes me feel terrible. She is very snobby, because she is very rich, and is also the president of the Greenwich Symphony. I'm not very good at piano, and at recitals I'm always playing what the six year olds play. I started to learn the piano because I thought I might be a cello teacher, and I would want to accompany my students with the piano. I don't like playing the piano or even listening to it. Since I HATE my teacher so much, I pray that my mother will let me stop lessons as soon as possible.

(journal #22:) Shana

I [sic] long time ago, I fell in love with a sweet, loving dog named Shana. She always used to come and play with my dog, Sailor. They became good friends. One day, Shana disappeared. Her family gave up after a while, and moved to Maryland. We missed her. After six months, the once plump, now fit golden retriever had come back home! Someone had obviously taken care of her. We decided to look for a good, loving home for Shana, because her family had moved to a rented house where they couldn't keep dogs. She ran away from us, too. We found out that an old couple had found Shana at night in the Caldor's parking lot. They wanted ot keep her. I don't know what happened to Shana after that.

(journal #23:) Bagel (or Binky)

I love with all my heart a dog named Bagel (by me), Binky (by my mother), a beagle. He used to come and play with Sailor. We never knew his owner, but we knew he treated his dog badly, because every night, Bagel howled between about 12:00 and 12:30. We often had to let him in for the night. One day he developed a terrible eye infection. We had to take care of him. We rinsed his very swollen red and green eyes. One night we heard a man calling, "Bob", which happens to be my father's name! We figured out he must have been calling Bagel. We heard a cut off yelp from him. We saw him a little after that, but then he disappeared. He must have been taken to the dog pound.

(journal #24:) My Bum

I have met many bums in New York, and they all scare me. My family and I were recently in New York. We were trying to get to an art supplies store when we passed over the Bowery. We had stopped because of traffic, and my father's window was open when a funny looking old man walked up to my father's window. He asked for money. My father said no. The man pulled a gun on us. It was miniature, but I thought it would work. The man started saying things like, "pow, pow, one shot will kill you, you'll be dead." I guess he was embarrassed. He walked away. I was really scared!

(journal #25:) Other Bums

I have seen many a bum. I am really scared of bums who want to clean your car, because they are usually younger and stronger than the others. Once I was on a train about to leave from Grand Central Station, when a bum (actually he really wasn't a bum, but he was asking for money) got on. He gave a speech to the passengers about how he had lost his job, his wife was sick, and he needed money to "help feed his children." He sent a paper cup around to collect. My mother put in money! Another time a bum asked my father for money was when we were on The Bowery (again.) A man came up to us who looked very strange. He had on a ripped red down jacket, to match his eyes. His whitish-blonde hair stuck straight up. He asked for money. My father said no, and he walked away, giving us a strange look.

(journal #26:) Sailor

I love my cute dog, Sailor. I not [sic] sure when I got him, but I think he should be about five and a half years old. He still is as adorable as a puppy. His eyes are big, and so are his ears, which are also floppy. Hi legs are very short, and his body is long. His tail is longer than his back legs, which are longer than his front. His fur is very soft, but the fur on his ears is extra soft. From what I have written so far, you can probably tell that Sailor is a mutt. His coloring looks almost the same as a german shepherd's. He also looks like a sheltie. He is sweet and affectionate, and has never bitten anyone. I hope he lives for many years to come.

(journal #27:) Puppy for Christmas

I really want a puppy for Christmas. My mother sort of wants one too, or is willing let [sic] me get one, but whenever she has brought up the subject to my father, he has said that he doesn't like the idea of my getting a puppy. I have told my parents that I want a puppy or nothing for Christmas. I even made them sign a contract saying that I was going to get a puppy or nothing for Christmas. The reason for this is that if I don't get my puppy, I want to feel really guilting about it. [sic] I'm not sure, but I think that I can handle not having any presents for a year. I really want a puppy, and hope that I don't get nothing for Christmas.

(journal #28:) I'm Definitely Getting a Puppy!

I'm very happy, because I'm definitely getting a puppy! My parents said that first I have to show that I will be responsible enough to take care of a puppy, which I think will be fairly easy. I know my basic duties. 1: housebreak puppy. I think I know how to do it. If the puppy goes to the bathroom indoors, scold him (or her) and put it outside. When it looks as though it's about to go to the bathroom, put it outside. 2: exercise. I know I would have to walk my puppy two or three times a day, which doesn't bother me 3: regular feeding times. I know I will have to make regular feeding times for my puppy, with plenty of snacks in-between. I can't wait to get my puppy!

(journal #29:) Names

I have three names which I would probably name my puppy. Cecil or Bayard is what my puppy will be named if he is a boy. Cecilia is the name I like for a girl puppy. I don't know why I like Bayard. I heard it a long time ago, and ever since then, I've thought it is a good name for a dog. It sounds cute, calling in the park-- "Here, Bayard." A few years ago, I fell in love with Cecil. I think it would be really nice to name my puppy after him. I wish that I could get Cecil himself! I think that all these names are cute-- "Here Bayard, Here Cecil, Here Cecilia, and I don't know which one to pick.

(journal #30:) Breeds

I'm not at all sure of what breed of dog I want. I would want a healthy puppy, and the only way you can really be sure of a dog's good health is to buy it from a breeder. Breeders breed very expensive dogs. That might mean not getting any other Christmas presents! I don't think I could take that! Mongrels usually have good dispositions, which would be good, because my puppy would HAVE to get along with my dog, Sailor. We bought Sailor for twenty dollars at the Elmsford Dog Pound. He was going to be killed, along with about twenty other dogs. He is a sweet, cute, smart mutt. I guess I would want another mutt.

(journal #31:) Dear President Reagan,

My name is A[...] W[...], I live in Greenwich, Conn., and I am 12. If we dont [sic] agree with another government, does that give us the right to attack them? How do you know that the Cubans' weapons were going to be given to terrorists and used for the death of American medical students? We have defense weapons, don't we? Attacking a nation occupied by Russians is very dangerous. The communists are extremely powerful! If we had a disagreement with the Canadians, would you attack? It wasn't wise of Americans to go to school in an area occupied by communists, but they were there. You should have had peace talks with the Grenadian government. President Reagan, I don't think you spend enough time on your California ranch.

(journal #32:) Journals

I'm glad we didn't have to do journals for very long. I am pretty bad at them, I can never think of a subject, and it takes me forever to do just one. I don't know which I like better, getting five journal entries done each week, and not having to do journal entries for very long, or writing two journal entries each week, and writing journals for a longer time. I guess I like to get it over with. I haven't written about many different things this marking period. I've written about places, puppies, dogs, and toys. I'm going to have SOO much less homework!! YEAH!! Sometimes I enjoy journals, but I'm glad that they're over with.

I hate George Carlin, and I'm pregnant

George Carlin is like Bush: he makes fun of things that are absolutely valid and true, such as, in this case- playing Mozart to developing fetuses. It's like denying global warming. It's been proven that children recognize music they hear when they are in the womb. So, particularly by playing Mozart, who is probably the greatest classical tonal genius who ever lived, it is very reasonable to expect that a child will have a heightened understanding/ head start in the area of music. George Carlin makes fun of Mozart because he speaks to an uneducated, dismissive audience that likes to make fun of what they do not understand. I don't like him, but he's a fairly good marketer. Like Bush.