This Is So Weird

I'm finished with high school. I graduated on Sunday, May 25, with honors.

And today I registered for college and set up my schedule for the fall semester. Woohoo!

College seems like it will be a fun challenge. My earliest class starts at 10 AM, so I don't have to get up super early for school like I've been doing for most of my life. I am taking a total of 14.5 credits this semester. I have a basic English and Math class, two History classes, a Wellness course, and Collegiate Chorale. Since I completed Spanish 3 (aka Spanish 1010), I don't have to worry about taking it this semester. Another nice thing is that I got the info I needed about the CLEP test, which I plan to take to fulfill my Foreign Language requirement completely. My Spanish teachers and I all think I am more than ready to do so. And if I do, that leaves room for choir again second semester.

The total cost for my classes is $1431. That does not include books, though. I will be buying those later on. I also really want to live on campus, but depending on how much money I receive from scholarships and grants and whatnot, I may not be able to make it happen this year. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky.

My orientation is on June 9, at which time I'll be given a tour of the campus and introduced to my resources and things like that. Pretty exciting stuff! I found out that at least three of my classes are actually in the building I went to this morning to set up my schedule. That's handy.

My academic advisor is really nice, too. She explained things very clearly and made the process go by quickly and smoothly. She answered every question I had in a way that was easy to understand (thankfully, because as a new freshman, I haven't really "gotten my college on" yet. Haha).

All in all, a great first experience dealing with college people for real. It is so crazy to be on the campus and look around and think, "This is my new school." :-)

Also, quickly, before midnight comes around in a few minutes...happy birthday to Kevin Eastman, one of the co-creators of TMNT! He is 52 years old today. :D

The Last Last Days

Well, that's all, folks! I did it. I am finished with high school from this day forward.

Today has been very emotional for me. I had to say goodbye to my favorite teachers and some friends I will probably not see again for a very long time, if I see them again at all. In light of all that, I want to take a moment to look back on how I thought this year would go - way back in August of 2013 when I posted "The Last First Days."

I thought that my choir classes would be awesome, and I was totally right. Halfway through the year in Mixed Choir, my teacher asked me to sing alto for the first time because she knew I had the experience and ability to help out the girls who were struggling on the other side of the room. Until that point I had never really thought about what it was like to sing alto, but once I got over there I realized it's harder than you think! Plus, holy cow, all the girls over there were SO much nicer than the sopranos. What an experience! I loved every minute.

I thought English would be awesome, and I was right about that, too. My first semester was awesome because I got to read a whole bunch. My second semester was awesome because I got to write a whole bunch. Best of both worlds, baby! This afternoon I stopped by to see my first semester English teacher (who had also been my teacher when I was a freshman) to say goodbye. She actually kicked me out because she was about to cry (after she gave me a grad card and a gift card to the bookstore on campus for my college this fall). Leaving her classroom was really hard.

Psychology (both regular and AP) was really fun and interesting, and I'm sure it will be very helpful in the future when I am writing novels (for character development and whatnot). Fun fact: I actually did not intend to take AP Psych at all at the beginning of the year, but I loved regular psych so much that I just had to keep going. (Besides, I really didn't want to take Web Animation.)

Now that I've taken aquatic biology, my mission is to sit down and watch Finding Nemo again. I bet I will know much more about the ocean now than I did when I was a kid! I was reminded of that movie so many times while taking that class, especially during the second semester, when we focused on salt water. Also, I had a major feeling of accomplishment today before I left for the last time.

During first semester, I was assigned to the brackish water tank. Our job was to convert the once saltwater tank into a brackish water tank so that we could have one for the class. We worked long and hard on it, but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. When second semester came along, I switched class periods (but kept the same course), so I was reassigned to a new, freshwater tank with my friend Katie. Meanwhile, my other lab buddies were still working hard on the brackish tank in another class period. Every week I would walk into the lab area and notice that our tank was not making much progress, and that the fish we had gotten for the tank were waiting to be transferred. It finally got to a point where I figured we would never get that tank taken care of.

And then today came along. I went into the lab one last time to feed the fish in our freshwater tank, and on my way back to the classroom, I saw our fish swimming happily in their new home. A huge sense of relief and pride washed over me. We did it. It took an entire school year and a lot of hard work, but we did it. Our fish are living in the school's only brackish water tank. Finally.

Made me feel good. :-)

As I predicted, Algebra II was VERY difficult. I was not sorry or sad at all to leave that class. I will miss the teacher, but not the course. I never want to see another Algebra II textbook again. I am DONE. (And surprisingly, despite how much I have struggled this entire semester, I felt pretty good about my final exam when I left this afternoon.)

Spanish III was amazing. I learned a lot in that class. I am happy to say that I can now hold a conversation in Spanish without much of a problem, and I can read and write in the language extremely well. Senora Good was a great teacher. I missed Senor Montano, but Senora was awesome.

So, all in all, a great senior year! Hard, but worth every minute. The last couple of weeks have been pretty emotional and stressful, but it's all over now. All that's left is to graduate and receive my diploma on Sunday! (And remember, way back in August during my first week of school, I was Leonardo! :D)

I believe that's all I have for you as far as school updates. I'm done! Crazy! All of my finals went well, some better than others, but I think I may have even passed my Algebra II final, so life is grand!

...now what do I do?

Tomorrow I have nothing going on. No school, no homework, no baseball games, no hangouts...just me. I have been considering going to see the new Godzilla movie in theaters. I might do that. Who knows? Friday I have graduation practice and then a hangout with my friends immediately after, Saturday my grandparents (mom's side) are arriving for my grad party that evening, and then Sunday is the official graduation.

It all happened so fast.

                                 (This is a picture of my high school.)

2 Days Left (And Nerd Rage!)

Hi, I'm Kathryn and I'm a cartoon nerd...and I'm angry! AGH Nerd Rants! (Sorry Andre, had to steal your thunder for a sec.) Anyway, I'll get to that in a moment down below. First I figure you all would like some school updates.

Well, folks, this is it...tomorrow and Wednesday are my last two days in high school. I am taking finals both days. Tomorrow consists of Choir, AP Psych, English, and Spanish finals. I attend classes like normal, only I take finals in those classes while I am there. First hour choir will bleed over into second hour AP Psych, but my teacher told me I actually don't have a final in there, so when I arrive tomorrow all he will do is sign the form that says I'm all good. Then I go back to choir and take a breather for a while, since I'll have already done my work for that class.

English is going to be an easy final because all I have to do is turn in my project (which I am only 20% finished with as of right now...and it's due tomorrow...remind me why I'm typing this blog post again?). My Spanish final is another one I'm not really worried about. I've always done fine in Spanish and probably always will (which is why I plan to CLEP test out of it at the college).

Wednesday I don't have to come to school until about 11 AM, since I'll already have finished my finals for periods 1-3 the day before. I have a final in 4th period that will be fairly easy. Then I will have about 1 hour and 45 minutes to chill until my last final of all time...Algebra II. (Help.)

Then I'm outta there! It's a bittersweet feeling, honestly, because of course I'm excited for graduation but I'm also sad that I'm leaving high school and a lot of my friends behind when I go to college (most of my buddies are not seniors like I am).

OK! Moving on to...NERD RAGE!

So yesterday Nickelodeon released a new episode of TMNT 2012, called "Pizza Face." I have one word to describe this episode: creepy. Absolutely creepy. I haven't been this freaked out by an episode since "Parasitica" way back in Season 1. Here's an idea of what the episode contained:

Can anyone say, "What the crap?" Because I will NEVER look at pizza the same way again now!

Now it's time for...NERD RAGE!

I'll be honest, the first time I watched this episode I thought something was up with Leo's voice, but I didn't really pay much attention because I was more focused on the story and what they were saying than how they were saying it. So it completely slipped my notice. But today...the second time through...I was like, "That's not Leo. It doesn't sound right."

So I looked it up. And guess what I found? Jason Biggs was kicked off of TMNT and replaced by Dominic Catrambone! WHAAAAAA?!?! Since when?! Why?? Right in the middle of a season? Seriously, Nick, Jason Biggs made me love Leo like I never have before, and you're taking him away? WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME?! D:

This will take some getting used to. Changing a voice actor is no small thing. I mean, look at Sonic. Jason Griffith was completely different from Jaleel White, and Roger Craig Smith is completely different from Jason Griffith. Changing the voice means changing the character at least a little. For some it's not such a big deal, but for others it is! Dominic has 3 episodes to impress me, and "Pizza Face" was one of them. If he fails, it's on like Donkey Kong! (Yes, a Mobian just made a Mario reference. Blech.)

URGH. Nickelodeon...why you do this?! *sigh* Adios, Jason Biggs. You were awesome.

One more thing: in case you missed it, I received a bunch of new info about Sonic Boom! Check it out in the previous post!

Now...I'm up, over, and gone!

Sonic Boom: News Haul

Remember how I was saying that I didn't have any new info about Sonic Boom? Well, that was before I discovered a huge ton of news that had been floating around without me knowing about it! Boy, am I out of the loop. (Note: If you're hoping for info on the video game, you won't find much here. I am not a gamer, so I really only search for stuff related to the TV show.)

First and foremost, characters. Obviously everyone knows that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy will be featured in the new show along with Eggman (and Burnbot...haha). I have done some research, however, and found that Orbot and Cubot are also confirmed for this series. That's about all for definite characters, though.

So what about rumored characters? If you've read any of my previous blog posts, you know that my favorite Sonic character of all time is Shadow the Hedgehog. Well, rumors have been floating like crazy that he will be in the new show, and while I can't yet confirm it, I'm definitely crossing my fingers. I really hope Shadow will be in this show! Here is one artist's idea of what he may look like:

I have also heard rumors that Team Chaotix will be in the show. Being a total Chaotix fan, I think that would be awesome! *plays their theme song* Other rumored characters include Silver, Blaze, Sally...and Marine?! That's right! Ever since the release of this photo...

...Mobians the world over have wondered if this is Marine, a character from Sonic Rush Adventure. I don't know how she is in the game, but in the current comics, she is kind of an annoying character. She has a good heart, though. What do you think? Is this Marine, or a brand new character? At first I was like, "Eh, I don't think it's her." But then I compared the two:

And decided, "How can this NOT be her?" You be the judge.

TOYS!! I was so excited to see these new items coming soon! More figures for my collection! Here is what the prototype toys look like:

Now for some info concerning the series as a whole. There have been some rumors going around that the Chaos Emeralds will not be in this show, nor will the Chao. My question is...how can you not at least have the Emeralds? I mean, it's been done before. Just look at SatAM and AOSTH. But since Sonic Underground back in the 1990's, Chaos Emeralds have always been a huge part of both the shows and the games. It seems odd that they would take them away, but in all fairness, I suppose the creators did say this show was going to be more along the lines of an AOSTH series than an improved Sonic X.

Finally, the release has gone from a vague "Fall 2014" to OCTOBER 2014. Five months away...and my birthday month! I am super excited about this show! I can't wait for more info...including more trailers, confirmed characters, possibly a preview of the theme song...? How much do you want to bet that it's a modern remix of "Sonic Boom?" I would not be surprised.

Well, there you have it, Mobians (or soon-to-be-Mobians)! Sonic Boom is up and coming! Stay tuned for more information over the next few months. You can bet you'll be hearing about it all right here! :D

4 Days Left

I was going to do a "5 Days Left" entry, but I had stuff going on and I just completely spaced it. So here I am today, able to count the number of days I have left on one hand.

In school news, I got the solo for "Touch the Sky" that I auditioned for, so I sang the mass number solo on Tuesday for my last high school choir concert. I cried a lot that night. As soon as I exited the stage after my last song, I went backstage to get my purse from the choir room and started bawling. Lucky for me I have a lot of awesome friends who were there for me. I got hugs from pretty much everyone. Some teachers I don't even know told me I sang well. Luke carried me across the parking lot to my car since it was starting to hurt when I walked (thanks to my shoes).

It was a great night, however emotional and saddening it was. The next day I turned in all of my music and sight reading, and now I am able to keep my choir folders permanently. I finished my last bit of music theory today, so I'm all caught up and ready to take my final. I will have tomorrow and Monday as a sort of study hall to catch up with other classes if needed.

Math is still being a pain, and at this point I highly doubt I can bring my grade up from where it is, but I have less time than everyone else to get that done. We are getting ready for our final. I can already tell by the review worksheets that it's going to be a really hard test. Yikes.

Now for nerdy news!

Still nothing for Sonic, but TMNT 2012 aired a new episode on Sunday, titled "Newtralized!" I won't give everything away, but prepare yourselves...Slash returns! The Newtralizer can speak (voiced by Danny Trejo)! And are Raph and Casey about to have a falling out? Better watch it and see for yourself!

THIS JUST IN: Tiger Claw returns?! That's right! "The Wrath of Tiger Claw" is coming at you...I don't know when. The date hasn't been set yet. But that's just like them...they give us a bunch of awesome episodes, make us wait forever, and then give us one totally worth waiting for! Anyone else excited for his return? :D

Aside from the obvious, I am currently watching a TV show about one of the cartoon characters I grew up with: Mumfie! Who knew he had his own TV show? I thought he only had a movie!

My brother keeps getting onto Netflix and seeing Mumfie there almost every day...and being the 13-year-old boy he is, he's like, "Who watches this stuff?"

What can I say? I'm still a kid inside! Besides, Mumfie is a sweetheart. So is Scarecrow (still my favorite character).

That's about it for now. I'll be back soon with more school updates. My last day is May 21 - this Wednesday! Eeek!

10 Days Left

Holy crap, you guys. Now I can count the number of days I have left in school with my fingers! Yikes!

In school news, I tried out for the senior solo for "Touch the Sky" from the movie Brave. I was one of seven people, since only seniors were allowed to audition and most seniors already tried for and received a different solo. So yeah. I may actually have a chance this time. It would be cool to get the solo for the mass number at the end of the concert.

I am getting as much help in math as I can, since I only have 10 days and I really want to get my grade in Algebra II from a C to a B- at least. It will look better on my record and help my GPA. (Plus I've never gotten lower than a B- on any report card in my life.)

Now for the nerdy stuff. Nothing new for Sonic quite yet...I'm keeping my eyes open, though. I've heard rumors that Shadow is going to be in the new TV series. I certainly hope so! He's my favorite character!

No new trailers or pics for the TMNT movie, but the new episode of the 2012 series aired on Sunday, titled "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman." And to quote the Black Nerd on YouTube, "Gee, I wonder what this episode is about?" It was really good, and SUPER funny. Holy cow. I almost choked on my popcorn at one point because I was laughing so hard.

I don't know if you all remember the Baxter Fly from the original 1987 show, but this version of him is a lot more realistic. And creepy.

On a side note, while looking for stuff about Ratchet and Clank on YT, I stumbled across Sly Cooper and his video games. He is also about to hit the big screen (in 2016). He seems like a modern Robin Hood...kinda.

Speaking of Robin Hood, I watched it last night for the first time in years. Now that I'm older I appreciate it a lot more. The love song in the middle doesn't seem so boring anymore. Haha :-)

Anyways, there you have it: nerdy update for today. See you all next time!