In which I graduate from High School

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My high school had some... issues. Oh, no one shot up the halls or anything. More like a disorganized lack of consistency.

For starters, they changed how class ranking was calculated halfway through my Senior year. Now, the system they changed it to made sense, but it would have been nice if they'd grandfathered current students in -- or at least warned us prior to the last semester we were there.

My overall ranking was #1 in the class before the recalculation. It dropped to #3 after -- nothing to sneeze at, to be sure, but let's be honest. Colleges don't care that you're #3. They don't brag about #3 in their brochures. And as a result, they're not going to be throwing money at #3 to come to their schools.

(To be fair, this wasn't really a danger for me. In addition to my rank and the GPA that came with it, I had a high SAT score and a metric buttload of extracurriculars.)

But the positions of valedictorian and salutatorian were not based strictly on class rankings. Anyone who was eligible -- a certain class rank and/or GPA and/or grade in English class and/or recommended by a teacher -- could submit a speech for evaluation. If a speech was accepted for the next round, the student would get it back with some edits and be invited to audition in front of a panel.

My valedictory speech was, admittedly, not amazing, but my salutatory speech turned out very well. I broke down the lyrics to our alma mater and outlined how they paralleled our high school experience. It was part English essay, part sermon, and more than a little idealistic (far more so than my actual high school experience!), but it was good, and the judges thought so, too. I was named salutatorian.

My peers made no effort to be subtle: I could quite clearly hear their whispers that J should have been named salutatorian, but at least A got to be valedictorian like she deserved (A was ranked #1 in the class after the recalculation, and A and J had been my main competition from the beginning).

I took chorus as a full-credit class all four years of high school -- I was one of the first students (at least since the school was consolidated) to do so. One of my classmates was also taking AP Music Theory, and one of her projects was to compose an arrangement of the Star-Spangled Banner. She and several of her friends were then chosen to sing at graduation. They were not picked based on voice part -- it wasn't like they chose first soprano, second soprano, first alto, and second alto. They were not auditioned. And it was not a matter of choosing all Senior choir members, or all Senior chorus students. I honestly don't know why the teacher allowed it, but I do know if there had been an audition, I would have been notified.

I may have concluded incorrectly, but A was one of the girls who was included. A, who deserved her speaking role far more than I did, according to the other girls chosen to sing. Interesting.

Well, never mind. Come graduation, my speech was met with receptive silence, and hers with restless whispers.

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In which I don't argue

I've lately caught myself regularly declaring, "I'm not arguing with you." If you know me in real life, you may have heard me say this to you.

I've isolated three different ways I tend to say it, so I thought it might be nice to translate for you.

I'm not arguing with you. I'm just saying.

Usually, this comes up when you've made a particular point and I agree with it. I'll typically start my rebuttal with something like, "Well, I agree, but I can see their point," and proceed to play Devil's Advocate. This is usually quite interesting for both parties, but it does have the potential to get heated -- which it shouldn't, because a) you don't have to convince me, since we already agree, and b) I don't want to convince you, since we already agree. Therefore: I'm not arguing with you.

You know what? I'm not arguing with you.

We disagree about something trivial. I'm not going to convince you; you're convinced you're right. You're not going to convince me; I'm convinced I'm right. But in real life, it makes absolutely no difference who is right, so why, exactly, are we arguing? I'm not giving in, but if you choose to believe I am, that's fine. I'd rather stop this stupid fight than win it.

I'm not arguing with you. It was just an idea.

I suggested something. You responded, "Well, why would I want to do X?" I don't actually care that it was meant as a rhetorical question; I'll tell you why you might want to do X. But that doesn't mean you have to; I'm just answering your question, not trying to convince or strongarm you. Now that you've listened to my side of it, go ahead and say no. It's fine. It was just an idea, not an argument.

Is there a phrase you find yourself using? What, exactly do you mean by it?

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In which I write personal ads.

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Havi at The Fluent Self has a weekly ritual in which she posts personal ads for the things and people she wants and needs in her life. I love the idea, so I am heretofore going to rip her off.

Prolific communicator with endless opinions seeks same for pen-pal relationship. Let's keep the centuries-old tradition alive and count among the last great correspondents.

Topics unlimited. I am not easily offended, but be sure you are likewise and can take what you give. Sample topics might include books recently read, life lessons learned from daily tasks, updates on major milestones, progress towards goals, and explorations on topics not discussed in polite society.

Regular correspondence is a must, although "regular" may be defined as anything from a short note once a week to an encyclopedic missive twice a year. I tend toward the latter but am flexible. Ideally, holiday and birthday greetings would be included in the correspondence (but would not count toward the "twice a year missive").

The ideal candidate already has my home address, as I do not give it out online. I begin all replies immediately after receiving a letter; long responses will take longer to finish.

No dabblers, please. Apply by post; I have sent letters that have received no response, and would like to weed out such candidates.

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Something completely different...

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Well, the poll was fun, wasn't it? It completely broke from the original spirit of this blog, but... well, the point was to tell stories about my life to prove that my boring life is not, in fact, boring...

And I sort of ran out of stories. At least, I think I did. If you know of anything that fits the criteria that you think I should write about, let me know.

In the meantime, let's make sure life doesn't get boring. I've got some stuff in mind coming up that also breaks from the original spirit of the blog, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. And, as always, I am open to suggestions!

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You chose our wedding song!

Thank you for all your votes.

Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" won, if you were wondering. This is a good thing, as we were already practicing it with our dance instructor!

And not to worry if one of your favorites didn't make it. We're going to be forwarding some of these options to our band, so they may make an appearance as well.

Thanks again for playing. You were a HUGE help!

Help us pick our wedding song -- The Big Show!

With commentary by Chris!

And now we are in the finals, featuring two of the strongest vote getters throughout the tournament, Stand by Me and Just the Way You Are. Just the Way You Are is probably a better song to dance to than Stand by Me as it has a slighter better pace than the very slow Stand by Me. However, they are both fun songs with a good message. You cannot go wrong here.

Although my vote is for my man Billy.

Help us pick our wedding song -- Round 4

Cover of The Thing Called Love (Director's Cut)

It's the Final Four! Just as a disclaimer, there is a chance we'll end up going with a finalist instead of the actual winner, but trust me, you guys are huge help.

Oh, another tough one.  I love I Believe in a Thing Called Love -- and based on the results of previous rounds, you guys do, too.  But Just the Way You Are has been really strong throughout as well, and, as much as I hate to say it, is probably the more appropriate song.  I'd have to lean toward Billy Joel, myself.  But you're not me, so we'll see where this goes.



Stand by Me enters the Final Four as the leading vote-getter through three rounds with 20 votes. It has won by at least 4 votes in every round, including by 5 in the last two rounds, one of which featured the #1 seed. Stand by Me is a strong, fun, and solid song, and is worthy of being here.

Hanging by a Moment is #3 seeded song, and the only truly seeded song to make the finally 4. However, it has squeaked by the last two votes with 1 point victories (including one which was at first a tie). This is also a very strong song and worthy of being here. Who wins, the highest seeded song left or the leading vote getter?