Morning-Afternoon: Work. (I hate getting up at 5:30 A.M.)
Evening: Digging through college papers for Orientation info.
Hurrah for digging through papers!
Obviously, it was a pretty exciting day… Right?
Summer is here. Again. And similar to last summer, this summer is also another “final summer” for me. It’s the last summer I’ll have at home before leaving for college.
Wow, college is only three-months away. And I’m less then three-weeks away from orientation.
Whoa.
Technically summer started a couple of days ago– last Saturday, to be precise. I didn’t graduate from West until Monday, and then I had Bear Bash on Monday night… which lasted well into Tuesday morning (I didn’t get home until 6 in the morning).
Tuesday was a totally wasted day; I didn’t wake up until 1 in the afternoon, and I didn’t really do anything after that.
Wednesday was slightly more productive. I went into town, picked up my work schedule for this week, and bought an iPhone 4. Oh, and I also filled up my car with gas. Yep, definitely did that too.
Today was fairly unproductive; I met up with Kelci for lunch, mowed the lawn, and… well that’s it, really. Like I said, it was fairly pointless day. It was super windy, and nobody really seemed available to chill.
Basically, the past few days have been a total letdown from the awesome nights of partying last weekend. For my loyal readers who’ve been tuning in since last year, this really shouldn’t be much of a surprise– my day-to-day summer life seems to be pretty uneventful, and mostly filled with me bitching about how I wanted to do more. So yeah, nothing new, right?
WRONG. This summer is different. I learned a few things from last summer– most notably, that life requires action. Complaining about how boring life is will only make the situation seem more bleak. You have to get out and make the most of life. Don’t expect things to happen because you want them to– make them happen yourself.
This summer, I plan to do that.
So here’s to a better summer– a summer filled with memories that I’ll fondly look back on and say, “Well, at least I didn’t bitch for three-months straight that year.” 
Stay tuned,
- Will
Tags: class of 2011, June, june 2011, OP13, pre-college, summer, summer 2011, summer before college, the final summer, twentyeleven, twentyeleven.org
It’s hard to believe that in a mere four-days, I will be on an airplane en route to the Bahamas. It’s been almost three-years since my last trip to the Caribbean (we opted for Jamaica last time), and in that time I think I’ve matured a lot. I’m excited to get out, hit the beach, and have a good time. The only thing that’s keeping me from feeling 100% excited about leaving is the looming threat of a week’s worth of homework when I return from paradise.
Which is totally understandable– everyone hates doing makeup work (especially when they’re returning to a frigid wasteland after spending a week on the beach). But I think what scares me more is the fact that I’ve been bogged down with a full-fledged case of Senioritis for the past few weeks.
That’s right– I said a fully developed case of Senioritis.* I’m not talking about the petty feelings of laziness you experience during the end of your Junior year, shortly after finishing your term paper. I’m talking about a total mental shutdown, where all desire to complete homework is totally lost. It’s not that I don’t think I should do my homework– I just have zero-motivation to do it. There are better things to do after all, like watching Skins, Jersey Shore, or the Office. Or maybe playing some GTA IV and Halo: Reach on my 360. Or plodding out a blog post on one of multiple poorly-updated blogs. 
Do I feel guilt for slacking? Definitely. I know that I should be doing more, but I don’t feel like doing more. I just want to hang out with my friends and enjoy the next couple of months.
This has obviously led to an increased fear that I will procrastinate the hell out of my makeup work, which is not a pleasant way to enter a “relaxing” vacation. I would prefer to enjoy my time in the sun rather then stress out over the pile of Stats homework waiting for me at home. I’m trying to get some advanced makeup work from my teachers, but I’m not sure if it will get me far. I’m planning on asking a few friends to keep me updated through e-mail and Facebook while I’m away.
The only thing that should keep me from staying up-to-date with my work then is the fact that I’ll be within walking distance of beaches, bars, and casinos… 
INFO on scheduled 2011 updates: I’m planning on restarting TFS as a daily blog immediately following graduation. Round II should be much more interesting as it will contain my preparations for moving to the dorms, Summer Orientation at MSU, a few road trips (that will actually be fully documented this time), and more. (I’m excited to purchase more random college sh*t. It won’t seem as weird to be buying my dorm stuff a few months in advance instead of over a year in advance, but I don’t think that will bother me.)
I’m considering posting while I’m on vacation, but that seems like more of a twentyeleven affair… Time will tell.
Until Next Time,
- Will
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* With that being said, I will note that I’ve begin to emerge from my deadly case of Senioritis over the past few days. I discovered a new method of note-taking known as Cornell notes that has given me motivation to pay attention in class again. (Apparently changing up an old routine makes education a bit more bearable…)
Hey Everyone,
I would like to start this post off by recognizing that I have noted in past writings on this blog that once August 26th came around, I wouldn’t be posting anything new on here. I know I said that back then, but we live in the present and by the time I click the publish button this post will already be in the past. So if you’re irritated, confused, or surprised about a new post being on here, just deal with it.
Moving along, let’s get to the reasons why I felt compelled to plod out another post on this blog instead of the shinier, newer twentyeleven project blog:
Reason #1: I feel like the twentyeleven blog is more of a group blog than a personal blog. While I’ve posted “personal” stuff on there in the past, I’ve always felt that it’s never received much of a response from the readers. The twentyeleven project is (and always will be… I think) “my baby”, but I also realize that I’m not the only person posting on there. Some content is just meant to go on an individual blog and other content is great for the group blog– that’s just how it is.
(I also feel that the people who come to this blog are more likely to be interested in my more personal posts than they would on the twentyeleven blog because this is my blog. People come here to read what I write. The twentyeleven audience is slightly broader and generally seems to like short, humorous posts than long-winded rants about the triviality of life.)
Reason #2: I feel like my last post left the reader stuck on a cliffhanger, and I tried to sell the twentyeleven project as some sort of half-assed sequel to appease the loyal readers. That’s not what the twentyeleven project is. The twentyeleven project is totally different and unique in many ways. I would even say that it’s better because it has different viewpoints on life and different authors who write unique content. I’m not trying to sell the twentyeleven project to you here either– I’m just trying to say that it’s more than it might have been initially perceived as.
Also, because I feel like I left you guys stuck on a cliffhanger, I felt it was important to fill in some holes and also update you on what I’m doing now.
Reason #3: I wanted to write the post to let you know that this blog is not dead yet. I know that it’s called The Final Summer and that I originally planned to only blog during the 2010 summer, but plans change. I plan to continue blogging on here next summer (before college) and perhaps even during the school year. I’m still going to be involved with twentyeleven though, so we’ll have to wait and see how everything pans out…
So, now that you know why I’m writing this post on here instead of the twentyeleven blog, let’s get to the post:
November is nearly over. Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas is creeping around the corner. I’ve been listening to Christmas music for two-weeks straight, and I’m nearly ready to rip my hair out the next time I hear two different versions of the same Christmas song in a row (there’s nothing quite like jazzy Jingle Bells followed by an instrumental-only Jingle Bells followed by the traditional, classic-version of Jingle Bells… I swear, listening to excessive amounts of bad Christmas music breeds serial killers).
Black Friday is also next week. I’m closing AND working a 10+ hour shift. Friday is going to be one shitty day.
School is going OK. Having an early-out is awesome and terrible at the same time. While getting out an hour early is nice for multiple reasons, I find myself increasingly less motivated to do much of anything. It’s difficult to motivate myself to do homework, and I often leave my backpack in my car and just finish up my work in other classes.
It’s definitely senioritis, but is this as bad as it gets, or will I become even more unmotivated? Honestly, I’m not sure if that’s possible. My priorities in life seem to revolve around hanging out with friends, girls, satellite TV, the twentyeleven project, and applying to colleges– but even applying to colleges has become tiresome.
College applications are pretty easy, but they are something you have to sit down and commit yourself to finish. You also have to turn them in on certain deadlines, and some call for turning in test scores and transcripts, which requires more clicking and phone calls. It really isn’t that hard, but when all you want to do is absolutely nothing, it seems hellishly difficult.
And that’s just it– I honestly have little desire to do anything. I look forward to sleep because my bed is comfy and I always feel tired. I look forward to the weekend because I’m glad to be out of school. I know that I should be doing my homework, filling out college apps, and studying more, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Not a lot seems to matter these days, though. It feels like I’m just passing time until next year. I attribute this to my strong desire to be “independent” and my brain feeling largely unchallenged. To execute this point, I go to exhibit A: my college essay for AP English. I spent very little time on my essay and still managed to pull out a 90%. I will say that blogging definitely helped me prepare for such a feat, and writing about the mundane (something we were encouraged to do) seemed almost like second-nature. I’m still shocked that I managed to do so well with such little effort, but I guess writing all summer actually paid off for something in the end (…and you thought blogging was pointless…. Pshhhhhhhhhhhh).
Aside from school, the weather has turned to poo which means that I won’t be driving to school anymore. My mom has to drive the Focus now because her car doesn’t handle well in the snow (convertible + snow = fail). So now I have to ride the bus in the mornings and probably ride the bus back in the afternoon. The benefits of having an early-out now turn into mostly negatives, as I’ll be sitting around at West for over an hour waiting for the bus to show up. I’ll spend another 40 minutes on the bus during the ride home. Hopefully I’ll manage to work out some sort of a deal with someone who would be willing to drive me home in the afternoons, but for now it looks like I’m going to be the big kid on the Twinkie again… and I’m not looking forward to it. Aside from feeling like a total loser because I’m a senior riding the bus, I’ll also lose my extra half-hour of sleep and arrive at West a half an hour early. I’ll also have to deal with annoying underclassmen and spine-altering bumpy bus rides.
The only bright side of being on the bus is that I’ll be able to talk to Kristin again. We haven’t talked much since this summer and it’ll be nice to catch up. I’ll also probably have some nice bonding time with my iTouch during the chilly morning rides.
I look forward to the Spring– when I can drive again.
Until the next post,
- Will
P.S. I’ll eventually fill in all the holes from my vacation this summer… Eventually. For now you’ll just have to wait.
It’s 2:02 A.M. in the morning on August 25th. In a mere twelve hours, I will be at work. In twenty-six hours, I will be getting up for my first day of school as a Senior.
Today was a day of celebration. My teeth were finally liberated from their metal jail of braces after three years of torture. I enjoyed a few hours without any hardware in my mouth. Life was good. I went back to the orthodontists’ office a few hours later, and left with uncomfortable retainers. My bottom teeth have a small wire glue on the back. My top teeth are stuck in a plastic-shell retainer 24/7 and my bottom teeth are in a similar retainer at night. I’m wearing both retainers right now and it feels like I’m wearing a football mouthguard. My tongue keeps rubbing against the plastic, tasting the foreign object in my mouth and notifying my brain that there’s an intruder.
It feels like I’m drowning in a million things that I have to do. I have to finish my summer reading for AP English. I have to catch up on blog posts. I have to get ready for the twentyeleven project. I have to go to bed early so I can hope to sleep well during the first few weeks of the school year. I have to get ready for school. I have to get my clothes ready. I have to get used to getting up early for school. I have to fill the car’s gas tank. I have to e-mail people… I have to go to work tomorrow.
It just seems like time is running out. Like there is some deadline I have to meet with a ton of things to do, and if I fail, shit is going to hit the fan. It’s like a mental ulcer that keeps nagging me to keep moving.
Tonight, Jon, Kristin, Anne, and I went to Breakers to play pool. It was incredibly relaxing. Worries seemed to fade away for a couple of hours. We played a few pathetic rounds of pool and had a hell of a time. Kristin had to leave earlier then the rest of us, so the remaining crew went to the movie theater. We made a quick pit stop by the gas station for snacks, and then went to Vampires Suck. After the hilarious movie, we went to iHop to talk about what’s ahead (aka School). It ended up being one of the most hilarious conversations I’ve had in a while. I’ll never look at corks the same again…
It was nice to just escape for a while. It probably seems stupid for me to feel so stressed after coming home from two weeks of vacation, but it’s not. Everything piled up at once after I came home. It seemed incredibly overwhelming at first, but now it seems somewhat manageable. It’s just another day in the life of an angst-ridden adolescent I guess.
That’s all for today. Tomorrow’s post will be one you won’t want to miss. I’ll also try to post the missing updates ASAP. Life is busy, and time is money. Thanks for reading, and remember to comment.
- Will
Today is the first day of the six-day road trip. We began in Billings, and I drove three-hours straight to Butte, MT. We stopped in Butte for gas and other essentials, then went back on the highway. My dad drove the rest of the way to Missoula. When we arrived in Missoula, it was in the early evening, around six o’clock. We planned out most of the trip last week, so we didn’t schedule any hotel reservations ahead of time. We drove around Missoula in search of a place to sleep for a little while, and then checked-in at a local chain-hotel.
After we settled into the hotel room, we decided that it would be best to reserve our hotel rooms ahead of time for the rest of the trip (assuming we could). We reserved our rooms for tomorrow and Tuesday, and decided to wing the rest of the trip. We’re going to Silverwood tomorrow, and Seattle on Tuesday.
We changed our plans a bit so that we would definitely arrive in Billings by Friday night. I’m planning on doing a presentation for the twentyeleven project on Saturday (in the morning and the evening), so it’s imperative that I get back to Billings on Friday. We’ll also have more time to check out Seattle and the coast because of a few minor changes. Life is good.
After making reservations and slightly altering some trip plans, we decided to hike up to the M. It’s a fairly steep and zig-zagging trail, but also very rewarding. You can see the whole city from the trail’s high points, and I was able to take a few nice pictures of Missoula.
So that’s it. I have an early start tomorrow, so I’m going to go to bed now. More posts soon…. stay tuned.
- Will
P.S. Thanks for reading! 
Tomorrow is the Epic Summer Road Trip. The main event of the Summer of 2010. A few stops on the trip include: Missoula, Seattle, Portland, Cape Disappointment State Park, Idiotville, Silverwood, and Couer d’Alene. Time to get excited, folks. This is what the entire blog has been leading up to… The last hurrah before school begins. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
As with any trip, packing was required. Packing up all of my clothes for the trip was pretty easy. Packing up all of the tech and books I’m going to bring was fairly easy, but slightly more difficult. Most of my stuff was already packed up from the trip I took to Fairmont a few days ago, so it wasn’t too much of a hassle.
I went into town to buy a few new books to keep myself entertained during the dull moments of the trip (if they ever occur). I bought 1 Hour Website and HTML, XHTML & CSS For Dummies from Barnes & Noble. I ran straight back to the Geek section and camped for a while. I wanted to buy more books, but the geeky-book budget was restricted (that, and all the books in that section were $29.99 and up.). I still need money for the trip, and I also need to buy school clothes… And I won’t get a paycheck for a couple of weeks… So yeah. I need to save some $$$.
The 1 Hour Website book looks OK, but not exactly what I need. I haven’t had much of a chance to dive into the other book yet, but I will soon. I still need to finish The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging though…
So many geeky books, so little time…
I’m currently in the process of scheduling a date for the twentyeleven project’s creators’ presentation… Everyone has different schedules, so it’s been fairly difficult to nail down a time and date when everyone is available. I’ve decided that I’m going to have to do two meetings, one in the morning and one in the evening, so that everyone can get the proper info. I still need to put some finishing touches on the booklet I’ve been writing for the meeting, and I also need to wait for the dry-erase board, stand, and markers to ship. Everything should be pieced together by the time I get home next Friday. I need to call Off the Leaf on Monday to reserve the rooms for the meetings, and then life will be good. I’m excited to get this project going already. It’s going to be a nice transition from blogging everyday to blogging semi-weekly. I’m sure school will give me plenty of fodder to write about though.
So that’s it. I really need to get to bed now (it’s 1:46 A.M.) because I’m getting up early for the trip tomorrow. Lots of miles to cover, not so much time. I’ll be checking out Missoula’s campus on Monday… Crazy. Thanks again for reading, and stay tuned over the next couple of days. This is the main event, folks! Look for pictures, podcasts, and content galore as I post from the road.
See you then.
- Will
I recently purchased The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging from Amazon.com, hoping that it would give me a few tips on the finer side of blogging. I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’ve plowed through most of the beginning and it’s already left me with a lot to talk about.
First of all, this book has a definite bias toward liberal-views. It’s fraught with unnecessary political commentary. I realize that this shouldn’t be that surprising as The Huffington Post website is described on Wikipedia as a ” liberal/progressive American news website and aggregated blog”. Yet, after reading that description of the website behind the book, the book still seems excessively political. It’s a guide to blogging, not a guide to blogging about politics and “the Bush years”.
I would not describe my political views as conservative, nor would I describe them as liberal. However, after reading a mere 28-pages of this book, I feel incredibly conservative. The book begins with an introduction where the author describes setting up an anti-NRA website– which immediately sent me into an uproar as I happily own and use several guns for recreational purposes. However, this seemed to be a random occurrence, so I let it slide. I was still in the introduction anyway, so the rest of the book could be different… right?
Wrong. The book discusses the removal of a Republican Senate Majority leader (he was a sleazebag), some negative-references to “the Bush-Cheney years”, how the Republicans used the internet in 2004, how the Obama campaign used the internet in 2008, and still others. I bought this book expecting to get some tips on blogging! Leave the politics where they belong– on your own damned website!
Despite this, the book has managed to suggest a few helpful tips with a side of humor. If the political side-comments aren’t so frustratingly reoccurring, I might enjoy this book.
Another random quirk of this book is its use of the word “she” when talking in the third person. It caught me off guard a bit at first, as I’m usually used to seeing “he” in these situations. Looking back on it, it’s kind of ridiculous to go to that effort to emphasize a side agenda. I believe women deserve equal rights with men, but seriously? IT’S A BOOK ON BLOGGING– QUIT PUSHING AN AGENDA! GAH!
The fact that they used “she” instead of “he” when making third-person references does not bother me. What does bother me is that they’re pushing an agenda that ultimately has no place in a book that’s advertised as a guide to blogging. I want tips about blogging; do your part as a writer and leave your bias at the door. This isn’t an opinion column or a blog– it’s a guide to blogging. Get it right.
I’m going to continue reading this book, even though it manages to frustrate me endlessly. Blerg.
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A summer-reading reminder postcard came in the mail while we were away on vacation. I still need to start my assignment… I don’t think it’s that difficult, but I might start tomorrow. I still need to pack for the road trip to Seattle (we leave on Sunday) and buy a few random things (camera batteries, car stuff, etc.). I’m excited for the trip. It’s crazy to think that it’s already here, and that six days after I get home I’ll be going back to school.
Back to school… damn. I actually have to start going to sleep at a decent hour instead of the usual 2:00 A.M. time. I’ll also have to get up at around 6:00 A.M for school. That’s a scary thought.
Well, I’m gonna get going. Happy Friday the 13th.
- Will
You know what’s better then sitting in a hotel room for 75% of the day while your on vacation?
If you said, “Basically everything,” you’re correct!
Today sucked. As much as I enjoy sitting on my ass at home, sitting on my ass on vacation is even less enjoyable. We planned to go swimming at the pool earlier in the day, but the weather wasn’t being cooperative. It was too cold and windy too swim, so we decided to relax inside the hotel room for the day. Later in the evening, some of my parents friends came to the hotel and we all went to dinner in Anaconda. Inside the restaurant, there was a makeshift arcade with a Foosball table. We played a couple of games on the shoddily-built table (I suck at foosball), ate our meal, and then went back to the hotel. We then went down to the pool and swam around for a few hours. The pool was pleasantly empty when we arrived. After swimming, we went back up to the hotel room and it was time for bed.
Day over.
I did manage to take a few pictures while I was trapped… err, I mean relaxing in the hotel room. I tested out the panorama mode too. Check ‘em out.
The panorama mode creates a subtle fish-eye effect.
Sunny skies… windy & cool weather.
That’s it for today. Look for a new post tomorrow. Remember to leave your comments, questions, feedback, etc. Thanks for reading!
- Will
Today we went on a hike to Lake Mystic in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area. We had a big breakfast at the restaurant inside our hotel, gathered our gear, and started the drive to the summit. It was a long and bumpy drive. When we finally arrived, the mosquitoes swarmed and feasted on our flesh until a cloud of bug repellent was released into the air. The bug spray provided temporary relief from the blood-hungry insects, but after it’s effectiveness wore off, they attacked with a vengeance. During our short reprieve from the irritating wildlife, we grabbed our packs, changed from shoes to hiking boots, and started up the hill. The trail was fairly steep, and we took short breaks often. All of us are out-of-shape, and my parents and I aren’t used to the increased elevation (Billings is 3124 feet above sea level; Anaconda is 5335 feet above sea level), so hiking up a very steep hill wasn’t a piece of cake. In addition to this, all of us were lugging backpacks filled with fishing gear or food (I carried a backpack filled with water bottles and a CZ .22 rifle on my shoulder). I also brought my new camera along. I snapped a lot of nice pictures of the forest we were hiking in. I also took a few nice pictures of the wildlife we encountered.
We hiked up the trail for nearly two-and-a-half hours until my parents begin to worry that we were on the wrong trail. When my dad and my grandpa looked at the trail on the map, it appeared to only be two miles long. It seemed as if we’d hiked well over then two miles. My dad told us to wait and he would hike up the trail and see if he could find any sign that we were close to the lake. He dumped his gear and began to hike up the mountain while my mom and I rested on some boulders near the trail. He came back a few minutes later with disappointing news. The trail changed from a straight trail to switchbacks, and he feared that this was a sign that we were on the wrong trail. Feeling tired and a disappointed, we began a speedy descent down the trail. We made the trip down the trail in less then half the time it took us to hike up. When we finally reached the truck, we seen two people with horses heading back to their trailer. My grandpa asked them if they had been up the trail we attempted to hike, and if it was the trail that led up to Mystic Lake. They replied that they had gone up the trail, and that it did, in fact, lead to Mystic Lake. They also told us that it took them three hours to reach the lake on horseback. They told us that we were fairly close to the end of the trail when we stopped and turned around, and that we totally epic failed. Game over.
After the hike, we drove around the forest for a while. We stopped at a fishing access area to fish a bit before nightfall, but the mosquitoes swarmed and sent us back to the truck. We went back to the hotel, and went to sleep.
Thanks for reading the blog. Remember to leave your comments, questions, suggestions, etc. below.
- Will
P.S. This post was delayed temporarily due to uploading difficulties. Please excuse the delay. Thanks.
