So much has happened in the past few weeks since I last posted that this will be a very long post by the time I am done (if I have the stamina to recap all of it).

Obviously, we are only a handful of days away from graduation, which, in itself, is an extremely scary thought. I don't know if I'm ready to leave the school with its red doors and tri-coloured lockers, the place that has become so familiar and so dear, despite all of the long hours and sleeplessness associated with it. I know everything about that school, from the band hall to the Oracle room, and I feel so comfortable there with all my friends that I know and love. Which, is probably a reason why it is time for us to leave. Time for us to seek new challenges and place ourselves in situations in which we are not comfortable and struggle through them. I'm really bad with letting go of things and moving on, and this applies to school as well. I'm the only editor, well I guess "former editor," who isn't absolutely overjoyed with being done. When our last issue came out and we were doing critique as we always do (where we go through all the pages and make comments about the production and what to improve on and what was good), Anita wasn't there and so it was just me leading the discussion. At the end of the whole thing, when I guess I was making "closing comments," and all the senior editors were celebrating being finished, I said slowly, "Good last issue guys. It's been--" and just broke down into tears. No one could believe it. Jordan actually asked, completely incredulously, "Wait. Is she crying?" like it was the last emotion a person should be feeling at that moment.
I guess the paper just meant a lot more to me than it did to them, which was obvious throughout the whole year just by the amount of effort I put into it compared to them. I was talking to Sarah on the phone last night and to make conversation and because I'm extremely attached to it, I was asking her about how layout and Oracle are coming. She told me about news and then I asked, "What about opinion?" my beloved page, she snapped back, "Okay. It's not even your paper anymore. You don't have to be checking up on me."
I know she meant it in her joking but rather tactless, Sarah way, but it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. I thought, first of all, I'm just making conversation and it's not like I'm chastising you or anything, and second of all, it will always be my paper. Yes, it will move on without me and I will move on without it, but it will still be the Oracle and I will be still be one of its editors in chief. Maybe I'm just possessive. *shrugs*

I shall now go into recap mode! Let's start with that first (and most dreaded) one of the rites-of-passage that occur in the last part of senior year:
TROY TECH FAIR
I was really angry the night before, scrambling to put together my board. I had taken the AP Spanish makeup exam (WHICH I DID RIDICULOUSLY POORLY ON ALL BECAUSE OF NERVES! GAH!! THAT FIVE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!) from noon to 4 PM that day, and had agreed with Anita and Jordan to meet them at Jordan's house after my test to make the board together. When I got out of my exam, I called Anita and she said, "Oh I typed up everything already, so all you need to do is assemble it."

She always has the nicest way of putting things. She is truly the Mistress of Euphemisms. Oh wow there's a pun there. PUN DANCE! I came home and downloaded all that she'd written. It consisted of "THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER," our names, and two sheets of paper about what we'd done. To fill an ENTIRE DISPLAY BOARD? WOMAN. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
After spending a ridiculous amount of time covering the whole board with the Orange County Register newspaper, I called Anita and asked her how the hell I was supposed to make an entire display with what she'd given me. She suggested a bunch of really good ideas about what else we could write, and I asked her, "So can you write those right now and send them to me?"
"Oh. I just started my Spanish project." That Spanish project was due the following day and we had had three weeks in class to work on it. WTF. But obviously, by saying that she was basically telling me to write it.
And so I did. And made the whole freaking board. And had to put Jordan and Anita's names on it as well. That was LOVELY. And then the next day during the actual fair, someone asked her, "Oh so did you make this?"
"Oh well, Elaine and I made it together. I did all the writing and she did all the gluing."
Well that makes me sound SO intelligent now doesn't it?

But onto the actual fair! Unlike previous years, it was NOT sweltering hot but actually rainy and cold, which made it actually quite bearable in the gym all day. THANK YOU WEATHER GODS!!! Thanks to the Troy Tech Gods (more like Ms. Downum), Yogin's display was right across from mine, and Danielle's was not far, which resulted in lots of traveling and face-making. When I was actually at my board, I talked to Sachin half the time and then random members of the Oracle staff who all came to say hi, which was nice. And the cookie that came in the snack bag was really good. :)
Vicki and I went out to lunch while all the fools suffered taking the makeup AP Government test mwahaha. It's okay Yogin. You were missed. Vicki got mixed Sprite/Coke even though you weren't there.

The highlight of the day was dinner though. Not only were we given free food that was actually quite delicious, it was raining and everyone was there and we danced (more like I did) in the rain! We took lots of silly photos and Yogin ate too much salad as usual and then stole Alison's camera and started taking random papparazzi shots of Amy Schmelka.



Whee how I love my silly friends.

I shall continue this recap in another post so it doesn't get too long and tedious. :)