Hands-on chemistry

Once upon a time, Jessica was nearly engulfed by noxious fumes.

Another upon a time, she sat at her computer recalling this incident and listening to ZZ Top and Boston at the SAME TIME!!!

Well, swim practice was today, and it went well UNTIL we were doing some 50’s alternating back and breast. I felt some sort of tingling in my throat, like I had inhaled helium or something (Not that I do it on a regular basis). However, I didn’t really take it to mind. I just thought that I was winded, and wherefore drank more water.

But THEN we were doing a 500 free and that’s when the same helium-intake-type feeling came back into my throat. But this time it was much stronger, and it was causing me to cough every time I tried to hold my breath. I kept swimming, hoping that it would pass, but it only got worse every time I breathed. I was about to stop and drink some (more) water when I saw that Kara was also slowing down in front of me. She was coughing too! We both decided to stop for a moment to catch our breath(s?) before continuing. Behind me, Jared was coughing a little but continued on. I concluded that there was some strange killer disease spreading or that some toxic gas was floating around.

After a slight recovery, Kara and I swam another (slow) 100 and had to stop again. Coach came over and asked what the matter was, and we explained our identical symptoms. It turned out Kara’s throat had started feeling helium-ey around the breast/back set, too. Coach looked concerned and told us to only swim the rest if and when we felt like it, and then he went to go investigate the situation.

Well, 150 yards and a whole lot of coughing later (exhibited by everyone but Nathan, who now claims he’s immune to everything), Coach told every one to go ahead and get out; the chlorine level in the pool was too high. Not dangerously high, but high enough to make everyone start coughing after a little over an hour. Coach tested it and said it was a “5.0”, which would be fine, if it were an outdoor pool. But a safe level would have been “2.0” for an indoor pool. He contacted the main people who rent the pool and informed them. The President-guy said that the team that swims in the morning could only swim an hour because of the fumes (I think they usually swim two and a half hours or something).

Anyway, Coach didn’t say the chlorine level would be all the way down by tomorrow, but I sure hope it’s at least relatively so.

In other news, the hot water heater at the pool has died, resulting in -41 degrees Fahrenheit showers of which no one partook because they all went home in fear of hypothermia.

I’ve got to go now, but I’ll write later!

~Jessica

Packs and Lenny Krayzelburg

Hooooo-boy, I’m tired. And I have to go do it all again tomorrow.

Yes, it was 55 degrees today again. It felt colder. I used it to my advantage, though. We had hard sets (well, harder than usual, anyway) and since I didn’t get too hot, they were easier. There was no humidity in the air (duh) so I could breath fine (except when I got out of breath).

But I’m sleepy. *snore**snore**snore* I’M AWAKE!!! I have a poster of Lenny Krayzelburg now. Cool.

So, we did 12 50’s on the :50. Fun. I like the new Weird Al CD. It’s totally emosewa. I have a two-pack if I flex really hard. It would be really cool if, in a few months, I got a four-pack. Or a six-pack. Or a 12-can box of Mountain Dew. Or I joined a wolf pack. Or played on the Wolfpack. Or maybe I should just get out more.

I am writing a new song. I would post the lyrics on here except a) Why would YOU like to know them? b) Legal reasons (dude, I could sell it or sing it or something) c) It’s not done yet d) I don’t think I would anyway.

Those are very good reasons. Adieu.

~Jessica

Soccer, Swimming and Doughnuts

Well, I was reading on Spice Line that there is a Soccer Club for highschool s. You know, a kind of place that’s no-pressure, where you (actually) learn skills and stuff for soccer. This would be good for me especially since I used to play soccer a lot with my neighbors. I don’t suppose I was that good, but I enjoyed it and would like to try it out again.

However, I have *cough* checked my schedule and, while I am free on the day it’s on, I already have 7,000 other activities every week (as mentioned before) and I am quite certain that my parents would either die of exhaustion or just get really mad at me for…well, several reasons.

So, I was thinking. Maybe I could stop swimming on Wednesday or something and then I could do soccer on Fridays. I wouldn’t feel as guilty about stopping one day of swimming if I were doing something else athletic. It’s technically cross-training. I get to run and…well, stuff. Maybe I should go buy some new shoes first. I need some anyway.

Buuurrrr. I can’t believe we had to swim today. It was 55 degrees (Fahrenheit, unfortunately) outside and Coach promised us that if we didn’t complain about the water being cold, then he would let us (Silver) out 15 minutes early. We didn’t, and he did. So it’s all good. I just feel really sorry for anybody who swam this morning. It was forty-something, I think. I would die of hypothermia.

Well, I’m absolutely starving. I ate cereal for breakfast (yes, I have a strange obsession with talking about what I eat), then some pretzels after swim practice, then half a bell pepper while doing my science. It’s dinner time but the casserole isn’t quite ready, so I must wait.

I feel very un-fat right now. As a matter-of-fact, I feel like I need to eat about 17 doughnuts right now. So I’ll go get a bag of Sweet 16, then go to Krispy Kreame and get another one (glazed with sprinkles) and then I will have approximately 17. But the Sweet 16 don't count as 16, because they’re little. So I’ll go BACK to the store and buy another bag. Then I will sit down, eat them all and become very sick. When I am well again I will probably ask for a cookie. If you give me a cookie, I will probably ask for some milk. If you give me some milk…

Um, never mind.

Well, I’m going to go pace around the kitchen as my body mass deteriorates. Bye!

~Jessica

Swimming Scholarship...? Nah...

Sorry. Sorry for not writing in a very long time, anyway.

I’m an extremely stubborn person. If I don’t like it, it really doesn’t get done unless somebody threatens me. Fortunately, I’ve become more optimistic and as a result I like more things.

One thing I still don’t like, however, is listening to my father rant and rave about how I can be better at…well, whatever he finds that I should be better at. I mean, I know that I need to improve on a lot of things. I also understand that he’s older and more experienced in everything. But I want to do my own thing. I know my weaknesses and I want to figure out how to overcome them myself. I don’t want a third party to help me out.

Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too??

There are several things I, myself, would like to improve on. I would like to be more time efficient, for one. Being a very hyper person naturally, I love staying busy. But lately I’ve become much more busy than usual. I swim 3 days a week, I babysit, I do bookkeeping for my dad, I have Bible study and improv and, most of all, school. I’ve found that practically every spare moment has to be devoted to some sort of school. Right now I should be reading about Kidneys (yay). But instead I’m sitting here listening to Pink Floyd writing about how I SHOULD be more time efficient.

Well, good luck with that.

So, my dad’s latest crazy idea is that I should get a swimming scholarship.

Smells like Nirvana to me. He’s on a plane and he can’t complain. Whoohoo.

Okay, enough randomness (for the moment, anyhow).

So…gosh, the Nirvana guy is really selfish…FINE!!!! Anyway…swimming scholarship. Uh…well, that rules out Georgia Tech. Not that I wanted to go there anyway (no offense, but the only thing I can think that is exceptional about Georgia is that it’s on the way to Disney World).

YAY!!! Aerosmith!!!! Every emo teenager should let go and rock out to Aerosmith sometime.

I suppose it is completely logical for me to get a swimming scholarship. After all, my motto is, “It’s not impossible, you just haven’t done it yet.”

CALL ME THE BREEZE!!!

Oh, alright, I admit it. This isn’t a blog entry, this is a radio commentary. Now, back to the commercial.

So what if I started swimming on a team only last December? I’ve been told I have potential. I don’t know about you, but I really would like to loose 3 seconds off my 50 by at least the end of next summer. Even though I still won’t be exceptional, but I know I am perfectly capable of it. I may die in the process, but WHATEVER!!!

Remind me that I said that in about a year.

Anyway, I need to go do homework (aka extra school).

~Jessica