Hi guys! I finally got around to posting! Yay! Even if it was just because this game wants me to download a 800 mb patch. 800 MB! For a patch! And it first said it was going to bhe .76 or something. AAAAA! So apperantly it won't be done for more than an hour. And thats if I don't decide to download something else at the same time. Or play World of Warcraft.
I have decided to divide my post into sections. Above was the "random rants" section (although, as you will find, most of the post is random rants.) Now comes the....
Tech Section!
As we just got a new computer, we decided to donate or sell our older computer. However, to do that, you first have to take everything off the hard drive. The computer came with a disk to do that, so I popped it in. Did what it wanted, told it to do English, it warned me that basically life as we know it would end if I ran the disk, so I did, and it gave me a weird phrase in german. German! After I had specified English! AAA! And then it came to a command propt (basically how old computers work, you have to type in a command that it recognized.) And if I typed in something it didn't recognize, it gave me a phrase in german. Luckly, I had a handy german translator (on the internet) handy. No luck though. It didn't understand an important word. I typed it into google, and finally got an article about how to fix the problems. Apperantly lots of the computers by this manufacteror had this problem. Turns out you first have to go into a different command propt, type in some weird command, restart the computer, and then it would work. How the heck were you supposed to know that??!! So annoying! (end of tech section)
Travel Section!
As you know, I recently went to Ross Lake for a week. It is a great place, but getting there is a pain. About a 2 and 1/2 hour drive from Seattle. But you can stop by Cascadian Farm, which is a cool place with good ice cream, and this weird place with lots of rabbits running loose and cabins to stay at. We didn't stay this year though. Anyway, you park your car at a ferry dock (after driving over Diablo Dam, which is cool.) The ferry takes you up Diablo Lake, and runs twice a day. 9ish in the morning, and at like 3:30. And if you miss the late one, you have to wait till the next day. Not good. After the ferry ride, you haul all your stuff (there isn't any food there, so it's a lot) onto a flat-bed truck, which takes you to Ross Lake. Then, you get in a VERY fast boat, and zip across the lake to the resort. We stayed in a modern cabin, which has a full kitchen, two twin beds, and a bunk bed. Only one complaint: the shower was really annoying! It basically had three settings; Too hot, warmish, and cold. The ideal setting would be between "too hot" and "warmish" but it didn't exist. And then, sometimes "warmish" would dissaper. And, it was basically a fine mist. Argh! Oh well... Not a serious problem.
Hmm, pictures don't seem to be working... will try again later, could be because of the download. The lake is 20 miles long, and has many islands to explore. There are also great hikes, like one that takes you to the top of Ross Dam. It is amazing looking off the top down the spillway. Kinda scary. Long long long way down! My aunt came with two of her friends from her company, and we had fun meeting them. On the last day, we drove the boat over (you can rent little power boats; lots of fun!) to a point very close to the resort, brought plenty of food, made a fire at one of the campsites, and cooked breakfast. It is kind of a tradition. It was really good! And now, I am going to Italy soon. I was going to go with my mom and sister, but luckly I can leave a bit later with my dad on Sept. 5th and avoid having to spend a long time in Milan with my mom, grandma, and sister. Not all that fun sounding! And I should be able to occationally post from there. Yay!
Other section:
Anna? I thought you got back on sunday. But you posted on your blog... Are you back?
Weird, for some reason I though Ribbons lived far away. Silly me.
Anyway, thanks for reading, see ya later!
-El

Hello all!
Glad to see that you are back Anna. Any idea where Vanima went? She hasn't posted for a while... Anyway...
Ah, summer is fun. Even if it involves getting hit in the head with a metal rod countless times for three and a half hours a day this week. You could also call this sailing. But it is fun sometimes. finding a way to go upwind can be a pain, but just having fun sailing around is nice.
I just got my new cello a couple days ago, so I have been trying to adjust to that. It is really big! Nice full tone though. Hopefully, my teacher won't be mad that I didn't finish the etude I was working on, cause of the new cello. My lesson is tomarrow. Wish me luck. Lol, he is actually really nice. I am playing this really fun Hindemith piece that sounds weird, but after a while you realize it is really cool.
I'm listening to "I will survive" Not excatly my favorite, except for the fact that Kim Jong Il is singing it. That makes it worth it. For all of you who don't know him, he is the preseident/dictator of North Korea. Very funny.
First I was afraid/I was petrified/I kept thinking I could never live without you beside my side/
Anyway, our renter just brought over 6 York Peppermint Pattys, some chocolate applesauce cake, and printer paper. Yum (except fot the printer paper.) First, an explanation. We bought this property about 6 years ago. Just a little dilapidated house on it. We renovated it, and lived in it as we built our house. So now we rent it out. A couple from Hawaii who just moved here are staying in it. They are pretty nice. I went over cause the woman had gotten a DVD stuck in her DVD player. I couln't do all that much, but showed her how her computer could play DVDs through the TV as well. Anyway, she gave us the food for me doing that, and the printer paper cause she used our fax machine to fax a bunch of stuff. She is really generous. And has a golden retriever that is nice but not really trained.
We are going to Ross Lake for like 4 days on friday/saturday. Should be fun. It is this 20 mile long lake that leads into Canada, and there are some cabins that actually float on top of the lake on massive logs that we stay in. They are next to the shore, but physically over the water. It's really fun, as you can rent a little speed boat and explore all these islands, and go on lots hikes and fun stuff. The problem (besides there not be internet, lol) is that they just have snacks/candy there, so you have to bring all your food in. At least there are refrigerators. It's just like two hours or less from Seattle, but once you get there you have to ride a passenger ferry, then a truck, then a speed boat to the "resort." Quite a trek. They have two large "peak" cabins, and to get one you basically have to kill a family that has it sceduled for some time, but we managed to get one in the fall, so that is later. We are staying in a smaller "modern cabin" this time. Then we get home, and two days later we leave for Italy. For three weeks. Which should be fun, but I will miss the beginning of school, and I won't be able to post much. There should be Internet cafes there though :) So I can tell you guys what I am doing.
When do you guys start school? Anyone excited about it? (with the exception of Anna, who was petting her books, so we know where she stands) I am kinda excited, but most of my friends are now in high school, so I won't see them much. And now all the scary little 6th graders will be 7th graders, so I will have classes with them. :( Not that younger people aren't bad, they can just be annoying.
Anyway, I should get ready f0r sailing. See ya!
-El

Hi guys! I thought that having 20 comments on my latest blog post was a good signal that it was time to post again. So here I am. Today, I lounged around, and then went to the doctor for a yearly check-up. Easy enough, except for the fact that it took a hour and a half and I got two shots, one in each arm, inches away from my shoulder. Now my entire left arm is sore, and I can't do anything with it. :( So I couldn't practice cello.
The trip to Belleview a couple days ago wasn't too bad, and we got to go to the Belleview Mall after. Not a huge amount of fun stuff, just Gamestop and the Apple store. They had 30" moniters in there! For computers! (for those of you wondering what the big deal is and stating the fact that they make way bigger LCD TVs, I say this: TV's, even high definition ones, have WAY less pixels than computer moniters. omewhere around half as many. So if you plugged a computer into a TV, it would look really bad. But these 30" moniters have SOOO many pixels, they look amazing. I really want one!) But they were wasted on those Apple computers, without any games. They would look awesome for games, or watching moves, or stuff. But there is the little problem of a $2400 (don't quote me on that, just a estimate, + or - $400) price tag :( And the fact that I would have to have a $5000 computer for it to really take advantage of the moniter. hat type of computers do you guys use? As for me WINDOWS!
Anyway, enough of the weird computer stuff. How are you guys doing? I have decided to post a questionarre, so when you comment, answer the questions by copying the whole questionarre and pasting it int your comment, then taking out my answers and filling in your own (as well as anything else you want to add.) Just a way to get to know you better (note: this is not an entirely hand made questionarre, most of the stuff is, um, "borrowed" Mostly from my mother's sister's husband's sister's daughter, Morgan. Really.)
Who picked out your name? My parents
What's your nickname? El, Otter...
Single or taken? Single
What color are your eyes? dark brown.
What size are your shoes? not sure.... >
How tall (or short)? 5' 6"
What is your worst quality? Hm, bugging my sister? I daydream alot to, but wouldn't regard it as bad....
Hair color? Really dark brown, people sometimes think it is black. Do you wear contacts? No
~*FAVOURITES*~ Favorite Drink? Spiced apple cider with whipped cream
Favorite Month? January! Oh Yeah!
> Favorite Food? Italian. It is heavenly if made well. And Mexican! Favorite Board Game? Risk...
Favorite band? Don't have one!
Favorite day of the year? Holidays
Favorite Animal? Chihuahuas, Chameleons, and Rats
> ~*YES OR NO*~ > > > You like someone? Yep!
You can keep secrets? Other Peoples? If they really want me to? Oh yeah. Mine? A couple people get to know
You dance in front of the mirror? AHHH! No!>
You've been hurt seriously? Stung by yellowjackets twice, fell on my face on concrete. Ow! Dislocated both arms. What fun!
You're willing to try new things? Some (not much)
> > ~*RIGHT NOW*~ > > > > What are you wearing? A red long sleeve shirt, Jeans, 2 bain-aids
> What are you listening to? My dad and sister talking (he just got home, yay!)
What are you eating? Nothing
How's the weather? Clear and dark. Kinda cold.
> What's on your mouse pad? The touchpad is black (you should be able to have a picture on it)
> What books are you reading? Timeline
~*OTHER QUESTIONS*~ > > > >
Have you ever fallen asleep in school? Not in School, in orchestra though once. Conducter was talking to violins as always ;) someone in the cello section hit me with thier bow on the foor to wake me up, lol
> What movie do you really want to see? Any Mel Brooks movie
> Where would you like to travel? Italy, France, Hawaii
If you were a crayon what color would you be? Blue. Boring old me. Lol
Tell me if you like this!
Lego, ya, it would be great to join TYS, I have been talking to my parents about it. And yes, I do have two pictures of you playing dog. He He He (evilish laugh) I can send them to you if ya want. Also, I completed the (very extensive) form for TYS. Yay! Now I just wait 24 hours and call them... and complain about thier form... lol. Not sure if my parents are sure about doing it though. What orchestra were you in last time? Where do you think you will be this season?
See ya!
-El

Hi guys! This is my first real post, so forgive any breaches of the "Blogger's Code" or whatever it is. The problem is, when I am most motivated to post, I am working on something like Algebra that I can't just quit. Oh well.
I am going to go get a new cello soon, which I am pretty excited about. It is going to be from the Carlsen Cello Foundation. They loan young cellists cellos. I currently have a great 3/4 cello from them that I really like, and I am kind of sad to give it back. Hopefully, the full size cello I get from them will be even better. Almost all the cello teachers I have met at music camps this summer, as well as my own teacher, say I need a new cello!
I am really glad I am home for a while, as I have been going a bunch of places this summer. Almost immediatly after summer started, I went to Pemona to attend NCI, the Nation Cello Istitute. Just a little after that, I went to Laughing Horse Festival in Ellensburg, which was great. I can't wait until I can go again next year! Then Crecent Lake, which is a wonderful vacation spot. Now I am home for a few weeks, which is nice. Then off to Ross Lake, and a day after we get back, Italy! For three weeks! But I am going to miss the beginning of school, which won't be great :( Oh well.
One of my friends is moving to Olympia tomarrow, which is sad. I met him through homeschooling, and have known him for two years. They decided to move a while ago, but now their house sold and they are leaving. :(
Well, hope you liked my first post, and I will try to regularly update this. See ya!
-El