F.Y.I

DEBATE
Well, the tournament was supposed to be a short, one day only thing. I was trying out a different form of debate, that i have never done before. I went to the tournament that was qualifying. I ended up winning enough to go on Saturday, and compete in the finals. I went to support the older debaters and fill spots for our team. I made it pretty far, but another team that actually did this debate all year, and who were seniors, won the tournament. It was a lot of fun though. I received many compliments on my speeches, and speaking skills. I'm told i have a nice tone of voice and clear speaking that is very professional. HA! i guess competition brings out another side of me =)

My arguments for the affirmative was basically that corporations have a responsibility and legal obligation to its employees. When an employee looks for a job, 55% agree that the pay isn't all they look for. Other benefits upon retiring are also a factor in their decision. When a corporation commits to these benefits, such as a pension, it makes a contract between the corporation and the individual. Not committing to their prior commitments would break that contract and therefore advocates breaking the law because the law encourages contracts.

My negative was more tricky. So i looked at the benefit of not committing to pensions. I said that it can 1, help society as a whole, because the corporation in case of bankruptcy can stay in business with the pension funds, and therefore keep the flow of income circulating in the economy. When a large corporation fails, is puts the economy is huge debt. This is by far worse than losing a commitment of a pension. And 2, it can actually benefit the employee. In the case of bankruptcy, the employee would be better off without a pension then without a job. The company can still give their employees some sum of money, but not the entire commitment.

So that's basically my arguments.

UPCOMING EVENTS

4/22- Volunteering at Bedford animal shelter
4/26- Leave for South Padre and compete there for choir
4/29- Return from SP
4/30- Academic Honors Ceremony
5/2- Black Sabbath Concert
5/3- Teen Court Awards Banquet
5/5- Choir Banquet
5/7- Volunteering at teen court
5/14- Choir Concert
5/18- Billy Bobs

IN OTHER NEWS...

* I bought a dress for choir banquet. Its bright green and sparkly. Its so pretty! I got gold sparkly shoes and jewelry to go with it. Choir banquet is known to be like "mini prom", sometimes better. I'm excited about that. I will get pictures!

* I received the "Undergraduate award" at my school. My very intelligent PAP teacher nominated me, and my academic honors got me it! I don't know what to expect when i go to receive it, (April 30) but my parents are invited and supposedly its a big deal. I'm just glad such a great teacher chose me out of everyone else. Shes such an inspiration.

*Teen court banquet is coming up, and they do hand out awards. I'm not sure if i will get one, i doubt it! But last year i got one " ready for duty".

Sorry its so long. That's it for now!

Love, Candy Girl

April Agenda

Ahh April. One of the most busiest months all year. The month to cram in TAKS testing, choir competitions, debate competitions, teen court axillary board and teen court training, banquet preparation, UIL, and more. Next month around the last week im out for summer! But may is also very busy. Tomarrow i have a debate tournament. Im doing a new form of debate: Public Forum. Im nervous because the resolution is kind of hard to debate both sides and ive never done this form of debate. The resolution is : United states corporations should honor all prior commitments to employee pensions.

My pictures are when i went to my best friends christinas house to hang out and be silly.

well i will talk later, im off to the gym!

Excellence

Today was the first time being back in choir since our competition. We got to read the judges comments and hear the recording of when we sang.

First, we listened to the recording of my JV choir, the one with the boys. We got a 1 in concert. (Which is the best you can get). I thought we did okay, not amazing though. The comments from the judges were nice, as they are when a choir is good.

When the boys went to lunch, the girls then listened to our music and read the comments from the judges. This was from "select women" choir. JV girls and chorale girls mixed before school to work on the music, the top two choirs in the school. This performance i, as well as everyone else was impressed with, so you can imagine the excitement i had waiting to hear how we did. We received straight 1's, and the best we could. I listened to our performance, and studied it attentively. We did such a beautiful job. Our amazing choir teacher, who has been a teacher for 19 years told us that the comments we received were some of the best he has ever gotten. He then read the talented judges comments. Some of them were "Excellent, refreshing, and emotionally inclined. What an amazing group." and "Thank you for making my day with such a beautiful job." My favorite, and perhaps most amazing comment from an experienced judge, was "After seeing this performance, i am inspired to go back to my hometown and start teaching again, to teach music as passionately."

-On a lower note, choir auditions for next year are on Thursday! They are extremely nerve racking and difficult. The first part of the audition, is you walk in a room with both directors and a piano, and you sing multiple ranges on the piano. Then, you sing "My country tis' of thee" in different pitches.
The second part, is you have 30 seconds to study a piece of music, and walk into a room with a person and a video camera, and they record you as you start singing the music you just got with dynamics, perfect pitch, rhythm, notes, vowels, breathing, and tempo. That is hard. On top of that, my teacher said that it is at its hardest this year in my choir--great. I am trying out for a senior choir that is an "AP" choir (Advanced Placement)-so wish me luck!

Laughing Required

I went to my friends house to work on a project. She is so fun, and acts just as American as me. Her origin is Bangladesh. Together, we are HILARIOUS. So, when i went to her house, she decided it would be funny if she dressed me up as a middle eastern woman. I think its funny. I look like a fag. haha, good times though!

Practice makes Perfect

I competed in choir UIL today and yesterday. I am in two choirs. I am originally in JV Mixed. But i meet and combine with the Chorale girls after and before school. So i competed in a tough competition today and yesterday. The judging was strict. Yesterday i competed with the chorale girls, making us "select women". The scoring is from 1-4, 1 being the absolute best. Out of the whole day, only two 1's were awarded. (there were about 40 other schools competing). Our songs we sang received a 1. Straight 1's to be exact. Then we competed in sight reading. Straight 1's in that too.

Today was with my JV Mixed. (boys included). The judging was the same. We got straight 1's again, in music and sight reading. The choirs i was in were the only choirs in the school to receive straight 1's and get a sweepstakes.

It was fun. We worked our butts off! I love singing, and i feel as if i have improved since the beginning of this year. We have real talent. And i guess all those morning rehearsals worked! Our spring concert is going to be impressive. We sound great! Hard work pays off!

Brotherly love

I love my baby brother Tommy. He has his moments, where i want to put duck tape over his mouth and tie him up, but for the most part hes my little angel. Hes so tough. Hes more of a man than most men! He loves to dirt bike, learn, play, and talk. lol. He even skate boards. I love you Tommy!

I'm getting my report card on Thursday. I'm not too excited about it, but I'm not worried. I know i did well. I'm especially happy that i brought my grade up in science. Last report card it was my lowest grade. Now, a 100 is going on my report card! I'm very determined in succeeding. I do believe you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, as long as you make it achievable.

Which brings me to my day.

I feel as if i am maturing everyday. I'm switching way of seeing the world from a child's eyes, to an adults. I'm seeing the world as it really is. And that scares me. I can rant all day about the effect of the attacks of the world trade center, war in Iraq, and the advances that are being made today. Or, the convergence of technology and events that allowed many other economies such as India and China to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing. This gives them a huge stake in the success of globalization. There is so much more i don't even have enough hours in a day to write it. I love history, and it is amazing to see history repeat itself. Sadly enough, us Americans, especially in school, are not prepared for whats coming. We are at the top of a downward slope, and its all downwards from here. Globalization, people. And we're not ready for whats coming. I'm inspired to write a book on these affairs, but i certainly wont write one on the concept because my credibility wont get me far.

I will further my insight with this subject, and you will probably hear it often. but i think that's enough for one day. Happy Monday! Try to get through the rest of your week! =)