K3- Carpe Dium...note no colors :O

Seven hours

As Bartholomew lay sleeping in his nautical themed room, he can't help but think about the day of fun and enjoyment that will occur. He looked at the clock on his nightstand, next to the picture frame of himself and his father and mother out on the docks where their family's boat, titled Carpe Dium, stay all night long. The clock read eleven o' clock. Bart was so excited that he couldn't keep his eyes closed for more than five minutes. So he tried to think of the upcoming day. He thought about the sun's rays shining down on him, warming every inch of his face. Then the cooling breeze that begins as the boat rushes forward, as if trying to reach the open waters as quick as possible, refreshes the sun's harsh embrace. This combination of hot and cold helped Bart close his eyes and helped him fall asleep...for now.

Four hours

Bart awoke once again, and this time he looked at the clock to see that it is only two o' clock in the morning. He didn't know what else to think about to get him to sleep. Unfortunately, the only memory Bart could think of was his last few moments with his mother. Bart remembered her short white hair as it moved in the wind while the boat was in motion. Then he recalled the hospital bed where she laid the last few days she was alive. This thought stimulated his memory of her monitor buzzing one of the most depressing noises imaginable. This put Bart back to sleep, in tears.

Five minutes

The excitement in Bart's eyes as he lifted his tired lids from a few hours of sleep almost jumped out of his head. He rubbed his eyes and cried a little. This time, last year, was when his mother would walk into his room, sit on the bed, and place her hand, lovingly, on his head to wake him up. It has been pretty difficult for Bart and his father to cope with their loss. They used to go boating together, as a family. Then the door opened suddenly and Bart's father walked in to see Bart in tears. His father quickly went to Bart and hugged him. They both cried a little more but realized that she wouldn't want them to cry over her, when there was a boat on the docks and a sea of exploration just waiting for them. They knew exactly what she would say if she saw them like this; "Boys, let's seize the day!"

K2- Why Winter?

As the cold, dry weather of winter fell upon the coast, many flee in the hopes of finding warmer weather. The fall season gives them a chance to prepare for the long journey ahead, despite its frightful and persistent need to complicate one's flight. I've always wondered what it would be like to stay behind and endure the bitter chill of Mother Nature's breeze. I wonder how some tolerate the harsh weather at its severest, when it seems almost unbearable to live at the warmest point of the day. I would never have the courage to stay behind. I couldn't forget the warmth of the sun and the perfect time of day to soar through the clear blue sky. When there isn't a cloud in sight and there's just a small gust of wind to rest on when you're gliding through an endless space of blue is the most fulfilling experience of one's life. There's no enjoyment in the vigorous strain of escaping the callous season in fear of the horrifying realization of possibly remaining in this deserted wasteland of white ground and grey skies. I almost don't even want to wait for the fall season to begin. Why wait for the winds to get colder and colder as time passes on? Why not just begin the journey to happiness and freedom from the winter as soon as possible? If I were to pick the perfect time to soar, I would've left yesterday. Even though it's only the month of August, I'm already feeling a gust of the changing seasons. I can't wait for another month just to train for the flight. We've been flying our whole lives! How could we prepare any more for this trip? I don't understand why they all want to stay for the primary chill of winter, when we could just skip it all together.

K1- True Story!

This is the sad, true story about Brian Stoldt. This picture was actually captured at the very moment. Obviously the man looks exactly like Brian so there's no denying that that man in the picture is he. Anyways, it all started one rainy afternoon in Small Town U.S.A on Elm Street where Brian Stoldt sat alone in a chair. This chair was a very pale grey color, symbolizing the loneliness throughout the household. Brian just sat there motionless in his chair. The only light in the room came from a small lamp which was placed on a stool, next to Brian's chair. However, the light seemed very dull, almost as if the sadness in the room was on its way to destroying the only speck of light and happiness in the house. The house never used to be this sad. The Stoldt house used to be a range of colors varying from bright blues to radiant reds. The house began to darken most likely when Brian's family went on vacation. Brian didn't want to go for some reason. I don't think we will ever know why. Anyways, Brian continued to sit in his chair until he heard a slight squeak. Brian looked around and began to feel paranoid. Then he heard the squeak again, only a little louder as if the noise was getting closer to him. All Brian could think of was that a burglar or a monster was coming to get him. He wouldn't admit it, but he was convinced that it was a monster. Then he looked down at the ground and screamed as loud as he possibly could. He swore it was a giant rattle snake and jumped from his grey chair. The "rattle snake" went under the rug next to the chair, so Brian took the opportunity to...run away. He got all the way outside, then realized that his actions weren't very manly. In fact, he wasn't even remotely brave. So he returned, cautiously, back into the house with a baseball bat he got out of the garage. However he saw the "snake" move under the carpet and he dropped the bat and ran to the chair. The "snake" was coming closer to him so he picked up his chair and threw it at the "snake." Unfortunately he missed completely and he cowered in the corner. When he looked to see if the "snake" was still there, all he saw was a little white mouse sitting next to the rug. This is when Brian realized that the "rattle snake" he thought he saw was just a tiny little mouse. This was really embarrassing for Brian, so he shooed the mouse outside, and he cleaned the room up. After the room was all clean, he decided not to tell his family of what happened. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that there were a few kids hanging outside his house and captured this picture which proves this to be a really true story, no matter what Brian says!

J3-Dance Moms

So I've decided to write my choice blog about the T.V. show "Dance Moms." I'm watching this show right now, and I have to say that it's rough. It's about a group of dancers that are ages 5 to 12 and they have a really intense coach. However, the coach isn't the bad part. Rather, the moms of the dancers are the most annoying group of selfish people I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I think that the coach is crazy too, but the moms just annoy me so much. I have to blog about it. Well, the most annoying mom on this show is Chloe's mom. By the way, I understand that you won't know who I'm talking about, but I need to vent about this. Anyways, she is so ridiculous because she complains about how her daughter isn't the best dancer and that this other mom is saying that her daughter is better. The only thing is the other mom's daughter is better because she has beaten every other girl week after week. The thing is that Chloe's mom overexhaggerates saying that Maddie (the better dancer) isn't as good as Chloe. Well, that makes sense because Maddie has beaten Chloe in every competition they've had. Wow Chloe's mom, wow. Well she's the most annoying, but there is Peyton's mom who basically had to scream her way in. (P.S. I'm really sorry for all this confusion!) So Peyton tried out for the dance crew, but didn't make it, so her mom runs in to Kathy, who is the dance instructor, and yelled at her saying that she's blind and made a huge mistake and wouldn't stop complaining. Oh my goodness, just deal with the fact that your daughter is not a good dancer and get her into a different dance crew, where you don't have to buy your way in! These moms reallly irritate me and I can't stand watching this show anymore, but nothing else is on!

J2- Mrs. A

My favorite teacher when I was in 4th grade was Mrs. Anderjeski. I wasn't really fond of her when I first had her as a teacher, but she is the reason I have my dog, Harley. Well, her neighbor technically did, but she brought the idea up for the class. One day she asked our class, of about seven students, if anyone was interested in getting a puppy because her neighbor's pure bread Doberman had a litter of puppies. I went home that day and literally begged my mom and dad to get one of the puppies. After awhile of begging and begging and begging, my parents finally agreed to get a puppy. We went after church one Sunday to see the puppies and my mom claimed that we were only going to look at the puppies, which I knew was a lie. Usually when my mom says we're just going to "look" at something we will buy it. So when we got to the house, the neighbor led us to a shed where all the puppies were. I've never seen so many cute puppy faces at one time ever in my life. Anyways, we looked at all the puppies and they were all a dark black color, except for one puppy that was light brown. When we saw that puppy my mom, being a cheeseball, said that she knew that was the puppy. So we ended up taking that puppy home and naming him Harley. We've had him for eight years now and he's the greatest dog I've ever had. I realize that this blog kind of got off the subject of who my favorite teacher is, but I only liked Mrs. Anderjeski because she helped my family get Harley. That is kind of mean. Well, I did like her as a teacher, but not as my favorite teacher ever. Alright, I've completely gotten off the subject of favorite teachers.

J1- I Can Be Your Hero Baby!

Heroism is a very simple word, yet its meaning is anything but simple. A hero can be anyone from Batman to a person saving a cat from a tree. Heroes don't have to have superpowers or save innocent people from evil villains. They could just be ordinary people, like policemen or firemen. I think that the main attributes in heroism are courage and compassion. It may sound a bit lame, but I think compassion is really important because if the person doesn't care, somewhat, about whom or why they are saving someone, then they won't try their hardest and will most likely give up on helping that person. The real heroes care about what they do, like how policemen genuinely want to help the community and protect the people in it. A hero also needs courage because it's really difficult to risk your self-image or even your life for someone else. You might not even know that person, which makes heroes more than courageous. With this definition, I'd have to say that my personal hero is my mom, Liz Breyer. She is just so...cheese ball like. I say this because she is so cheesy in all of her jokes, which make them hilarious. Her voice whenever she cracks a joke usually goes up a couple octaves and that adds to the hilarity of the joke. She's so funny and she cares about everyone. She will help anyone with anything and she won't ever ask for anything in return. She is also the best mom in the world, and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom. She has influenced everyone she meets in a positive way because she genuinely cares about everyone she meets. She is the nicest and sweetest person I know and I would be honored and completely grateful if I could become one third of a mother, and a person that my mom is.

II-Skiing Championship 2012!

This year, the Physical Education Department recieved brand new television sets that have the kinect sports on them for each class. This year, Mr. James Helmicki hosted the school's first ever Skiing Championship. It was the most talked about event in the history of Alden High School so far. Each of Helmicki's classes were entered in this competition. Each person played at least twice because a person would be eliminated after two losses. However, a person would have the opportunity to make it to the top three positions with one loss. There were a lot of tears shed and a lot of hearts broken.

Fortunately, we have the results of a few of Mr. Helmicki's classes that partook in these festivities. On Day 2, two classes took place during block 2 and 3. The first place champion of the block 2 class is Samuel Vogt, followed in second with Dylan Phelps, and third place with Adam Strasser. These were very close matches and Sam Vogt did indeed do a backflip when he realized he won the Championship. When block 3 came around, there was a whole lot of smack talk between the competitors. However, the actions spoke way louder when Brandon Wizack became the champion of his class by a landslide...literally! All jokes aside, the second place winner, Dante, played a tough match. He does have the ability to say that he beat Tom Widman, however. One class on day 3, block 3 partook in the challenge of Skiing. This all freshman class brought out the success of John Kiener, who took first place. In second place, the first girl to make it to the top 3, Nuwer (unclear on the first name) came out very close. Then Morgan (unclear on the first name) achieved the third place spot for his class. The final day of these championships was Day 1 with two classes block 1 and block 3. Block 1 was probably one of the closest matches of the entire competition. The first place champion of this block was unknown. However, second place winner, Brian Stoldt, claimed he was a little guy and only won by "three thirds" of a point. He was pretty distraught by the loss and began to cry. He wouldn't admit this, but unknown sources came forward to elaborate on the story. He could state the third place winner to be Tyler Glaser. And finally, the final championship was block 3. This was a very decieving round, for the favorite to win the whole thing was Phil Bifulco going into the finals without a loss. However, he didn't think about his opponent, Amber Breyer, Gym Class Hero. She went into the quarter finals with one loss against Phil, so confidence was pretty low for Amber at this point. Then the final match came down to Amber Breyer and Phil Bifulco battling to the death, metaphorically speaking. Amber had to win two games to be called champion because Phil hadn't lost yet. Instead of whining and complaining, Amber Breyer never quit and continued on to win the Championship and become the first female to do so. It was a very close game, however. Phil Bifulco did indeed win the third match out of four. While he bacame second place, Alexis Barabas took third place to end the Helmicki Skiing Championship of 2012.

1-5-12 She Never Cries!

So I believe that there are two highlights in my holiday break. This first highlight occurred on Christmas Day. My older sister Allison is not much or a "cryer." This is saying a lot because my mom will start crying at a movie, show, or even a commercial she has watched for a mere two minutes. Allison probably got my dad's emotions, along with his back hair. Anyways, back to inability to cry. So last year Alli's boyfriend, Jared, got her a diamond necklace for Christmas which made her cry. I, unfortunately, missed this occurrence and was pretty disappointed in it. So this year, Alli really wanted a Mac computer. However, after all the presents were sorted and opened, there was no computer for Alli. She didn't notice and didn't care that she hadn't received a Mac for Christmas, but then my other sister, Andi, pointed out one more present that was hiding underneath the table in our living room that was for Alli from Santa. So Alli opened the present and found a brand new Mac computer that she had asked for. Then the unthinkable happened and Alli began to cry. I actually got to witness this rare occurrence and I have to say, it was pretty amazing. It was like watching a beached whale helped back into the ocean. Yes, that was a little cheesy, but this was a cheesy moment! Just when I thought Alli was actually a sensitive person, she said, "I don't know why I'm crying! I guess I only cry when I get really expensive things." And Alli went back to her life. Another experience I had was New Year's Eve...by myself. It was really fun being by myself at midnight without a television on. My sister Alli fell asleep at about 8:30 p.m. while my other sister Andi fell asleep at 10:30 p.m. It was the highlight of my new year. I would just like to say now that the last two lines were completely sarcastic in case you were unaware.

1-5-12 Amber's Bucket List!

If I had to choose three things to do before I die, I would definitely have placing first, second, or third in a cheeseburger eating contest. I just think that be awesome to be able to tell people. Plus, I believe if it's a big event, you can get an article in the newspaper. Speaking as a member of the Online Publishing Newsroom, I know how big of a deal that would be. I would also like to take a cruise to an island and swim with sharks. I don't know why, but when I watch Shark Week, it always looks so cool when there are people that just sit at the bottom of a shore and have sharks swarm them. They even get to feed the sharks sometimes. I would imagine that there would also be a rush of adrenaline I'd feel, which would also be really fun to achieve, no matter how scared I would be. And the final item on my bucket list would be to go to the Super Bowl at least once and see either the Buffalo Bills or the New Orleans Saints win. I know the Saints already won the Super bowl once, but I like Drew Brees and it was really fun watching them win on T.V. I think it'd be way cooler to see them play in person. I'd also like to see the Bills play in the Super Bowl in person because I'm from Buffalo and it's kind of a given I love that team. Although it's a little farfetched, I'd still like to see it happen at least once in my life. Oh man, I just thought about the chance that both the Saints and the Bills make it to the Super Bowl and have to play each other. I'm not sure which team I would root for more. It's a tough call, but I think I'd want Buffalo to win. I do love Drew Brees and the Saints team, but it's just un-American to not want your home team to win the Super Bowl.