The driver's test that never was

Okay, I'll start by saying this...I hate the DMV even more now than I did before, as does my mom. It is truly the most messed-up system ever, probably even worse than the bus system at school, and let me tell you, that's saying a lot! lol. But anyway, I should get to the story...

Okay, so last week we e-mailed the DMV office asking to make an appointment for me to go back and take the test again. They're not open over the weekends, but we figured I could miss just part of one school day. So they scheduled me for Tuesday, March 31 at 2:00. So, my mom planned on picking me up from school at 12:15 today at school, so that we would have time to eat before we go, and arrive there 15 minutes early like they told us to. It was sprinkling a tiny bit this morning and we knew that the DMV people don't give tests when it's raining, but we figured that was only if it was raining pretty hard, plus my mom checked the forecast and it was supposed be pretty clear in the afternoon. So I went to school and went through my first two classes, English and math. It did rain a little during the morning, but it stopped after awhile. It was still gloomy outside and I hoped it wouldn't start raining again anyime soon. It got to be 12:15 and it wasn't raining so I went down to the office and met my mom, and we got in the car. I drove since we were in my car and I wanted to have practice before I took the test. I drove down to Arby's so we could eat something before we went. Then we left and drove down to the DMV. Along the way, it started sprinkling again. But we figured, surely they wouldn't cancel it over a little sprinkling rain? Well, we got there, and when I got up to the front of the line and told them what I was there for, the lady said, "Well, I don't know if we're going to be able to do road tests today because it's raining, but we'll go ahead and get you in." My mom and I just looked at each other like, "What?!" Well, I just went back there hoping they weren't going to cancel over a little sprinkling. I mean, seriously, people drive in the rain all the time, so why can't people take a simple driving test when it's barely raining?! Besides, if we're ready to get our driver's license, surely we would be experienced enough to drive in a little bit of rain. But anyway, I had to take the vision test again, and my heart sank when I saw the one and only Mean Vision Lady from last time sitting at the desk. But I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her get up and saw another lady replace her. So by the time it was my turn I got the other lady instead. And surprisingly, the numbers were a bit easier for me to see this time, so I got most of the numbers right, and if I did get one wrong, she'd just say politely, "No, that's not a 3, it's something else," and if I looked at it a little more, I could get it, and she didn't rush me or anything like :cough: some OTHER people might. haha. So I passed the vision test with flying colors, thankfully, and then my mom and I went back outside to the back of the building where three other cars were lined up, and pulled in behind them. We realized that they had probably had earlier appointments, but had to wait because it was *gasp* sprinkling. We sat in line for a bit, and to our dismay, suddenly the rain started coming down harder. Mind you, it still wasn't raining that much, and I could easily have driven in it, but we knew there was no way they were giving the test if they wouldn't even do it when it was sprinkling, and now it was actually raining. We would have just waited for it to stop, but here's the best part about their asinine rule: even after it stops raining, we have to wait until the road is dry! What? So what, do they actually send someone outside to touch the road and see if it's dry enough? Do we have to wait until the sun comes out and let the road dry for 30 minutes? So needless to say, neither my mom or I were the least bit happy. We figured there was no point in sitting any longer, because even if the rain stopped, who knows how long we'd need to wait for the darned road to "dry." By that time the DMV would probably be closing. So we decided to leave, but not before my mom had a few words with the people inside. I decided to stay in the car, because I didn't want to be in one of those awkward situations where you're just standing there while your mom is raking someone over the coals. My mom told me what happened though, after she came back out and we left. She told them how we had wasted our time driving down here and how I had missed school for nothing. I could only imagine how mad she was. Apparently, the lady she talked to argued back and said, "Well, why would you want your child driving in the rain?" And my mom was like, "Well, she's driven in the rain quite a few times, and she drove all the way down here in the rain!" Gosh, they act like we're driving in a hurricane or something. It's really not that dangerous to drive in a little rain! Wow, let me just say, that's one of the dumbest rules ever. So, thanks to that ludicrous rule, we again drove all the way out there for nothing, and I also missed half a day of school for nothing. I didn't really miss any work because I checked out after my two core classes (I have both my electives last) but it still counts as a "parent excused" absence, and now I only have two left before I'll have to have a doctor's note in order for the absence to be excused. I probably won't end up using them all, but still! All of this for nothing. Grrrrr.

Well, I guess that's enough ranting. lol. On the bright side, I at least did get to have some curly fries, which I love and haven't eaten in forever, and we also stopped at Kohl's on our way home and I found quite a few summer clothes there. So yeah, that was good. Later. :)

Much better day

Well, today was a lot better than yesterday! Today I actually didn't have to sit in a parking lot for 3 hours and bake in the sun. lol. My mom decided we'd drive out to the DMV again so I could practice driving on the same route that I'll have to drive on again when I go back to take my driver's test. Since we were already driving all the way out there, we decided we'd go get pizza for lunch at a place called Bellacino's. We used to have one close to our house, but unfortunately it closed so we only go to the one on the other side of town if we happen to be all the way out there, which isn't very often. So, we drove up to the shopping center where Bellacino's is, only to discover that this one was now closed too. I'm so sad, Bellacino's is all gone now! :-( It was one of our favorite places to get pizza. We were already out there, so we had to find another place to eat. We saw a Nothing But Noodles, Jason's Deli, and Panera Bread, and decided on Jason's Deli. My stomach had been so ready to have pizza, so I decided I'd still get my pizza fix and ordered a mini pizza from the "Junior Meals" section. Of course, it did say "ages 12 and under" but I can get away with ordering stuff of the kids menus since most people who don't know me actually think I'm about 12. lol. Sure enough, the guy taking our order didn't even bat an eye when I ordered, or ask how old I was. lol. They even still gave me one of those silly little cups! A lot of the time if I order something off the kids' they still give me a regular cup, or they at least ask me which cup I want. Of course I would have prefered a regular cup over the little cup that had a bunch of little dancing vegetables with faces on them, but it's not like anyone I know was in there, so I didn't really care that much. I figured if that's what it took to get my pizza fix, it was worth it. lol. So we waited a little bit and then our food came. My pizza was actually a pretty decent size- it was about the same size as those personal pizzas they have at Pizza Hut. I tried it and I thought it was quite good! It definitely wasn't just some little frozen pizza they pulled out of a box, they had obviously actually made it. And you can also get free ice cream out of their ice cream machine, but we decided not to have any since we just had ice cream last night. So yeah, we had a good lunch at Jason's Deli!

So then we drove back to the DMV, and I got in the driver's seat and drove around that same route that I'd gone on yesterday. Ugh, going through the parking lot took me back to that extremely embarrassing moment from yesterday. Gosh, I really hope when I go back that I don't get that same lady again, because she'll probably remember me. haha lol. But anyway, I practiced my left turns a bit and also made sure I came to a complete stop at the stop signs. So I'm hoping that with a little more practice I can go back and pass the test in a few weeks!

Driver's license (or not)

Well, last Friday I got out of school for spring break, so that was really awesome. My spring break has been pretty good. I haven't done a whole lot, but it's been nice not having to worry about school. And the weather has also finally gotten warm! On Wednesday I went and played mini golf with my friend and her family. It was a lot of fun! But sadly, I can't say that today was so much fun! It's yet another really long story for me to write, so brace yourselves, this is going to be long. ;-P

Well, let's just say my mom and I basically spent our entire day at the DMV today to get my driver's license. And I certainly hoped that after all that waiting, I'd pass the road test. We got there at 8:00 in the morning so that we'd be able to get an appointment. Luckily, we got there early enough and they gave us an appointment. However, they were already full for road tests so they told us to come back at 1:00 for the next batch. But, they went ahead and took my papers and wrote some stuff down, and also gave me a vision test. Unfortunately, the older lady giving the vision test wasn't exactly that friendly. As I sat down she immediately said, a bit intensely, "Have you taken the test before?" So I answered no. She then told me to look through this weird little machine and read the 6th line of numbers to her. For the first part, I could see it with both eyes, so I did fine. Then I had to just look through my right eye, and again I did okay. Then came the left eye. Uh-oh. Back when I was in 3rd grade, they had told me that my left eye was a bit weaker than my right, but since I could still see fine with both eyes they decided I didn't need glasses. But somehow these driving people think that I'm going to be driving around with one eye open. Perhaps they're afraid that I might be dressed up as a pirate on my way to a Halloween party and have an eyepatch over one eye? Really, that's the only valid reason I can think of. But anyway, as I looked through again with just my left eye, I started to panic. I couldn't see one single number. It was so blurry. I tried to read them the best I could, and Mean Vision Lady didn't make things much better by saying things like, "Just try!" and "You have to be able to read these to take your road test!" Eventually she led me over to a different machine. I'm not sure what the purpose of this was, but luckily I was able to read at least most of the numbers, so she finally said, "Okay, that's good enough."

So anyway, we drove all the way back home and then all the way back out. We arrived at the huge line of cars waiting to test. I'd say when we got there about 10 or more cars were already in front of us, and then a few more pulled in behind us. Then, one lady regulating everything went around to all the cars and told us she wanted us to move out a little bit more to make a wider space so that more people could get in line. The poor guy driving a truck in front of me was in a really weird position and had to do all kinds of backing up and moving forward, and he nearly hit some cones. He had a crazy hysterical mother in the front seat yelling at him. Gosh, I felt bad for him. But anyway we all finally got situated. You know, you'd think it'd be a little easier for them to just put up a sign telling people where to stop, rather than have the lady go around to every single car and tell them. But whatever, I guess I'm crazy. What was even better was that there were only two people giving road tests, making things even slower. So we sat in the line of cars, occasionally moving up a few feet. An hour passed. Then another hour. Then about 45 more minutes. My mom and I always rejoiced at the sound of someone's horn honking, because that meant that they were going. For some reason the first thing they asked you was to honk your horn. But anyway, we finally got close to the front of the line. Truck Boy with the Crazy Mother was still in front of me, and then there was just one more person in front of him. We were happy to be this close to the front, only to have our hopes crushed when it looked like the two women giving tests were now getting their "break." We saw them both walk off in different directions and they didn't come back for at least 15 minutes. But finally, they came back. I had been extremely nervous when we first arrived, but after sitting in the hot car for awhile and baking in the sun to the point that I was getting sunburned, I pretty much just wanted to get the test over with and get out of there. But, as we approached the front of the line that sick feeling returned to my stomach. Finally, it came to be my turn. The woman came up to my window, and she at least greeted me and asked how I was. Okay, good, I thought, at least I'm not stuck with someone like Mean Vision Lady. THAT would be a nightmare. My mom got out of the passenger seat, wished me luck, and said, "Don't be too nervous!" Oh, how I wish I could have followed her advice, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from shaking. First, the lady of course told me to honk my horn, which I did with no problem. Then she told me to put on my left turn signal, then right, and then push the brake after she walked around to the back of the car. So I did. Then she walked back around and went and stood a little ways over to the right. She was pretty far away from the car so I started to worry about not being able to hear what she told me to do next. So sure enough, she said something and I had a bit of trouble making out what she said. I thought she said something like, "Go to the left". So I moved the car forward to the left a little. It kind of made sense to me since that was the way we had to go out of the parking lot, plus the lady was standing over to the right. Maybe she wanted me to come forward and she would get in the passenger seat. Boy, was I wrong. The lady's eyes went wide and she said, "I didn't tell you to move the car!" I just stopped and sat there dumbfounded, my face turning bright red. It seemed like she knew that I couldn't hear her, because she came back up to the car and told me again. Apparently she was telling me to put on my left turn signal again. So, sheepishly, I put on the signals and pressed the brake again, and then she got in the passenger seat. Luckily she wasn't too mad about what happened, and she even made a joke of it and said, "Were you just going to run me over?" Well good, at least she wouldn't hold an eternal grudge against me for supposedly nearly running her over. I just managed a sheepish smile and said, "I'm sorry, I misheard you." I was still so embarrassed though, and wanted to sink into the floor of my car. So we drove a bit and she asked me to do a few things and make a few stops and turns. Most of that went okay. I was worried about the three-point turn, which I had just practiced for the first time last weekend, but luckily I actually did okay on that. I did end up having a problem on a few parts though, which is what apparently made this turn out to be fatal (don't worry, I'm not speaking literally here). She asked me to pull up right next to the curb and park as if I was parking on a hill. Okay, this scared me. I hadn't practiced this before, and my mom and I had only briefly talked about it before I left, because they never gave us a paper telling us what they'd be evaluating us on until we got there. You'd think maybe they'd want to post that on their website so that maybe people could actually know what they're looking for and practice, but naw. That would make things waaaay to easy. So I just did what I could remember. I knew I had to turn the wheels a certain way, but I wasn't sure which way. So I just kind of turned them in a random direction, and then put my parking brake up, which I knew I was supposed to do. Well, I later found out that I hadn't turned the wheels the right way. We finished the 15-minute drive and parked back at the DMV. The lady finished writing a few things, and my heart sank when she said, "Well, you'll have to come back another time and take it again." Then she started rattling off all of the things I needed to work on. Basically, it was just the parking on a hill, and she also said that my left turns were a bit too wide. She also said that I had to work on stopping at stop signs. I didn't understand this since I always stop at them. She then said that I don't always come to a complete stop and that sometimes I do a rolling stop. Then I kind of realized what she meant. Well, I really do stop at stop signs. But usually what I do is stop, and then inch up a little bit more so that I can see better if anyone is coming. I don't really see what's wrong with that, especially since I never inch past the stop sign or all the way out into the traffic. It's better to actually be able to see if people are coming! But anyway, somehow that counts as a "rolling stop", so that was another fatal mistake I had made. I had to go back in the building and get my mom, and I won't lie, I was pretty upset. Not so much upset that I didn't have my license, but more upset about the fact that we had sat in that stupid parking lot for the whole flipping day for nothing. My mom assured me that it was okay, and that a lot of people don't pass on their first try, especially since no one knows what to expect since we don't know what they're going to ask us to do. Well, I suppose she was right, but still. I wanted to just have it all over with! Now I either have to wait until the summer to go back, or I'll have to miss a day of school, because they aren't even open on weekends. My mom says she thinks we'll just go back on a school day, but we'll just have to pick a day where I don't have any tests or anything. And luckily, my mom found out that instead of going over there and sitting for hours, we can just call them ahead of time and set up an appointment, so at least we probably won't have to go through all that again. Ahhh. I'm just glad now to have the whole thing over with, even if I didn't end up getting my license and I'll have to take the test again. At least now I know exactly what they'll ask me to do. And at least we're going to go get ice cream tonight, so maybe that'll cheer me up a bit. :-) So yeah, I know this was an extremely long post, but I at least tried to make it somewhat entertaining, partly for your sake and partly because I always like to be able to at least find a little humor in a frustrating/embarrassing situation. So yeah, I guess that's it for now! Later. :)

Spanish Honor Society

Well, tonight was quite nice because I actually had no homework. It was also the night of the induction ceremony for all the foreign language honor societies. You can get in it if you've taken 3 years of a foreign language and have always maintained an A. So, I went ahead and signed up for Spanish honor society. They don't really require much from you, except at the end of the year before final exams, they want you to tutor a student who needs help.

So, this morning I went to a "rehearsal" for the ceremony at 7:25 a.m. Basically, all they did was put the German, Latin, French, and Spanish honor society members in line alphabetically, and then we just sat there for a minute, and the Spanish teacher who is the leader of the honor society came over to us and had us practice the short poem we had to have memorized for the ceremony. I was like, "I got up at 6 a.m for this?!" lol. We really didn't do anything. lol

So tonight was the actual ceremony. When my parents and I got there, I dropped my maraschino cherries on the refreshment table (we all had to bring it a food item, lol. The cherries were for this Spanish drink called Sangria- the non-alcoholic version, of course) and quickly found these two girls that I know so I would have someone to talk to while we were waiting. We stood around for a little bit, and then they finally started lining us up. Of course, the Spanish people had to be last. lol. Finally we all went into the auditorium and sat down. So the German people were first. I was worried when I saw that they all had to light candles and hold them (I have a pathological fear of flame). I saw how close to each other they had to stand with those burning candles. I made a mental note to myself to remember to push my hair back behind my back, because I certainly didn't want the flame to ignite my hair, which is starting to get long again. We went through the same ritual with the Latin and French people. I noticed that both the German and French people had to repeat a phrase in their language as they were lighting their candle. I figured we weren't doing that though, since no one had told us we would have to do that at the rehearsal that morning. As far as I knew, all we were doing was reciting a poem and saying the oath alltogether. I certainly hoped we didn't have to say anything individually, because I pictured myself being so nervous that I wouldn't be able to make out what our mentor was telling us to say, and having no idea what to say. And not to mention I'd be freaking out over the darned candle at the same time. Well, it came time for the Spanish people to go up, so we all walked up on the stage in alphabetical order. It turned out that there were so many people in the Spanish honor society that thankfully we didn't do the candle thing- it would have taken way too long! The president, vice president, and treasurer lit candles but none of the inductees had to. I was so relieved about that. I was towards the end of the line and there wasn't room for us on the stage, so some of us ended up having to form a second line behind everyone else. Since practically everyone else is about a foot taller than me, it wasn't that easy to see me. This ended up being a good thing, because even though I had memorized the poem and had it down completely, the president of the honor society started reciting the oath and telling us to repeat after her, and I couldn't hear a darn thing she was saying, because I was on the opposite side of the stage. I stumbled over the words quite a bit, but thankfully, I don't think too many people could see me. So, I finally received my award! So yeah, I'm now in the Spanish Honor Society. Whoo. lol. I'm glad the ceremony didn't turn out to be too bad!

Well, I've really gotta get to bed, so that's all for now. Later!

Back

I know, I know, it's been forever. lol. I have been a little busy for the past week or so though. But I really need to spend less time on facebook, because I've been neglecting the blog. :P

Ok, well, let's see. I shall start with an update on school. Well, my classes are going pretty well. With my luck, both my English and math teachers decided to give us a ton of work at the same time, so that's why I was busy. But whoo! I finally have my research paper done and I don't have to worry about it anymore! Ahhhh, it's such a relief. :) And luckily I've been able to maintain an 85 average in Algebra II even though I'm terrible at math. lol Peer helping and art are good too. In peer helping we're working on this skit we're going to perform about internet safety. In art, we're doing something really hard called a still life. It's basically a bunch of random objects scattered around on the table, and you have to use this little viewfinder and draw what you see through it. Yeah, it's definitely not easy. lol. But luckily, my teacher was able to help me a bit today so I feel a lot better about it now. :) And currently at school, we're doing those graduation exams that I talked about last year. Well, I passed all of them last year, and it's mostly sophomores who are taking them, and also the juniors and seniors who haven't passed them yet. However, apparently they couldn't decide what they would consider as their passing score for the biology test, so they're now making all juniors take it again! So, this Friday I have to take biology, and that's it. But seriously, you would think they would determine their passing score BEFORE they give the test...but maybe I'm just crazy. I'm a little worried though because I don't remember much from biology, which I took the first semester of 10th grade. It's even worse for the people who took it in 9th grade, because it's been at least 2 years since they've had biology! But yeah, hopefully that'll go okay. :)

And of course, there has been craziness with all of the testing going on, especially since the people at my school aren't exactly that organized. Well, first of all, we have some people testing in the library. Everyone is so caught up in getting good test scores to make the school look good that they've gone completely insane to make sure there aren't any "distractions" to the students. Okay, no distractions would be a good thing. But guess what they consider to be a "distraction?" People simply WALKING past the library. I mean, gosh, if someone testing hears footsteps in the hallway, it might make them mark B instead of A! Also, we have to turn the bells off until everyone is finished testing. Yeah, the first thing I'd think if I was testing and heard the bell ring is, "Oooooh! It's a bell! The same one that I hear every single day between every class!" and then be so distracted that I'd mark the wrong answer. So as a result, all the teachers end up dismissing their classes at all different times because we have no bells. Also, since we can't walk past the testing areas, they rope off the areas so that no one can walk there. Our school is already overcrowded enough, but now since some places are blocked off and everyone is forced to take the same route to their classes, it's ten times worse. Last year when I was walking down a stairwell that was extremely crowded because everyone had to take it, I literally nearly got knocked down and sent flying down the staircase...okay maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I really did almost fall down! lol. It's just ridiculous. Also, last Friday when they were testing, I had to go to the nurse during one of my classes to take some medicine, and of course, since it's right by the library, I couldn't get to it. I had no idea what I was going to do. I would have just sneaked past, but the other day the assistant principal had announced that if we DARED walk in the restricted areas, we'd be suspended. So that kept me from trying that. Luckily, a lady was sitting in a little office right by that area and saw me, and she asked where I needed to go. I told her and luckily she said I could go ahead and go. But of course, she had to add, "Just make sure to be quiet!" Yeah, of course I was planning on doing backflips across the hallway or singing on my way to the nurse.

And also today, my math teacher was one of the proctors for the exam, so we were told to go to the gym, where all of the classes whose teachers were giving the test had to go. That is normally my 2nd block class, but during grad exams they switch the class order around each day to make sure we have enough time in each class. So we actually had our 2nd block during the time that's normally 3rd block. And 3rd block is when we have all the lunch periods. Well, the P.E. teachers told us to go to whatever lunch period we normally go to. We all assumed that meant go to the lunch that we always have, every day. I normally have 4th lunch, but I decided to go ahead and go to 2nd lunch because I was hungry (lol), plus my friend had that lunch. The teachers didn't have any way of knowing what our real lunch was, and it's not like it really mattered anyway. Before I left, I remembered seeing my math teacher talking to one of the P.E. teachers and then leave, but I didn't think anything of it. After I got back from lunch, I was talking to my friend Shaun when suddenly my math teacher came back, saying that her class needed to come back to class. Apparently they were done with testing. I was sad that we actually had to have math class, but luckily there was only about 30 minutes of the period left. lol. But anyway, I got down from the bleachers, along with a few other people from my class. There were some people who still hadn't come, so my teacher asked where they were. I told her that they might be at lunch if it was their normal lunch period. A few people from our class were still sitting in the bleachers, and they told our teacher that they hadn't eaten yet, because they had 4th lunch. Then our teacher suddenly went insane, saying how they should have eaten in 1st or 2nd lunch. We were all really confused because no one had ever told us we needed to go to an earlier lunch. At this point I was REALLY thankful that I hadn't decided to wait until my normal lunch period to eat. My teacher just told us all to go back to class, and when she came back to the room she was irate. She started yelling at us and again saying that they told us to go to 1st or 2nd lunch. And everyone insisted that no one had told us. I can only assume she must have been telling the P.E. teachers to tell us that when she was in the gym before. But we all knew that either they didn't tell us, or they didn't make the announcement clear enough (everyone in the gym was talking, so for them to tell us something like that, they would have had to get everyone's attention and get them to stop talking so they could tell us). We told our teacher this, but then she said we still should have known since all math classes have 2nd lunch. But the P.E. teachers had told us to go to whatever our normal lunch is. The way they said it, anyone would think that they meant the lunch that you have every day, not the lunch that the class you're in right now would have. But of course our teacher was still mad even though it wasn't even our fault...gosh. She said we should have known just because we weren't on a "normal" schedule. Oh well, she was in a better mood by the end of class at least. lol. Luckily we finished notes early so the people who hadn't eaten yet were allowed to go to lunch. But seriously, if we hadn't been able to finish early she was really going to make all those people starve...geez. Seriously, our school needs better communication!

So yeah, that's all the craziness that's happened at school. lol. I can't wait until after Friday, because it'll finally be spring break! I'll get a break from homework, projects, and all this craziness! lol.

Dance is also going well. Last week during our class times they took all our recital pictures in our costumes. They all went well, I just hope I didn't blink in any of them. :P But yeah, I can't wait till May when we'll have the recital!