171.

Mr. Brack was back today! He brought in this frame with all these pictures and told us about the wedding. They're going to Jamaica over Spring Break! I showed him the picture on the white board from my camera since it was already gone, and he asked me to send it to him hahah.

So at break we all went over to Pioch's office, and he sat us down and told us that basically the last bonus round wasn't supposed to count for so many points, and that basically put Bryanna's team behind us by three points. Basically, to be fair to them, he was going to give them a new bonus round, and he had all these other bonus rounds from past years, and picked one at random by rolling a dice. And what they ended up with was "science," which ended up just being naming the female of an animal. Which was so simple, I mean. Chicken - hen, horse - mare, fox - vixen, pig - sow (and another one I forget now). It was really disappointing, but I think we all already had some time to get used to the idea that we weren't moving on, so it was alright. Just wasn't meant to be.

Anyhow, with us now out of the running, we got to go and watch the other teams, so I went and watched Ken and Ned's match against Margy's team. It was pretty obvious the guys were gonna win, but it was still a good match. There was one question that was like "'I'll Be There For You' is the theme song to which sitcom?" and Ned said "Sex in the City," and there was just this outburst of "NOOOOOOOO." Hahahaha.

17O.

We lost today. I knew it was a bad sign when we found out we were in Johnson's room again, but asdf. We were against Bryanna Noda's team, and I think we really either underestimated them or got overconfident from yesterday. The questions were so much harder -- I hardly knew anything -- and they were getting all the lightning rounds (basketball teams, song artists). It was even more frustrating, since Johnson and Masters are less-than-competent proctors, or whatever you call them. They took so long to ask the actual questions since they kept talking amongst themselves, and they kept throwing out questions for stupid reasons. And then at the end, they said we were tied. Johnson gave us one last question, Bryanna Noda's flag shot up and she answered "Julius Caesar," and it was over, and I just had this sick, sinking feeling in my stomach. When word got around, everyone was shocked, like that first day when we thought Ned's team lost, except this time it was real.

During 5th, Kelly told me that apparently one of the bonus rounds -- the one that Bryanna's team had tied us on -- wasn't meant to have been scored as highly as it was, so there was still hope. We looked at the brackets after class, and there was an apology from Pioch saying he had personally counted all the points and that the correct teams were moving on, and there was a post it by our names saying to see report to his office tomorrow at break, presumably for a tiebreaker.

I had the matches recorded, so my team met up in the library afterwards, and we rewatched it, and Jasmine tallied up the points, and reported that we had actually won by a good 12 points. And then we went over to find Pioch and tell him this, and I forget exactly what he said, but he essentially said that he couldn't use the recording as proof because it was showing us favor over the other teams, and the other teams didn't have tapes to prove anything. So we were all kind of disappointed, but when I went home to rewatch the video, I tallied it up and we had tied after all.

169.

I was sore as hell when I woke up today. My arms (especially forearms!), back, and neck were dying!

Brack wasn't back yet, but I guess zero period drew this on the white board! I thought it was so cute hahah.

I forget who this was from; probably John or Brett lol. Stupid.

We were in Johnson's room today (I know! Asdf!), and we beat the other team so fast (I think we won by 70 or so points, and it was so awesome because there were a couple of questions that they reused from last year, so we could totally anticipate the answers hahah), so we ran over to see how Ken's team was doing hahah. They won, naturally, but I think we still did better than them. (x

168.

I woke up around 6am to cries of something that sounded like a young child being murdered in the woods. So needless to say I was just lying there in my sleeping bag for a while going wtf. We were all planning to get up early and go watch the sunrise, but it was so cold out and we were so tired that no one bothered to do so hahah. I'm really glad Mom talked me into bringing my huge mauve (or whatever color it is) jacket, because I layered pretty much everything I had, and actually wasn't entirely freezing at night (I hear Dinuk didn't even bring a sleeping bag LOL, that guy came totally unprepared hahaha). Also, if it's possible, my voice was even worse than it was yesterday.

After we had breakfast and packed up all our stuff and all the tents, we headed out to the beach for canoeing! (: The people gave us some quick instructions on how to use our paddles and such. They made me borrow some shoes cuhs I was wearing flipflops, and they also made me stick all my stuff in this red plastic bag they had, even though I said I didn't mind getting my purse a little wet, and I felt like I was just running back and forth borrowing stuff from them lol.

I was partnered up with Jen. Jane and I both really wanted to take our cameras out with us (me for my blog, naturally lol) even though Jen warned that they'd probably get ruined. We had our cameras in plastic bags and then I had mine in a pocket in my vest and Jane put hers in one of those red plastic waterproof bags. And then one of the instructors (I think his name was John; he had a blond goatee lolll) asked if anyone had a waterproof camera or digital camera he could use to take pictures of us at Estabrook's request, and Jen told me to give mine to him, since we could definitely trust him not to flip over or get it wet, and it turned out to be so lucky I did, because he got some really great pictures for me!

The water was so cold when we first got in; I totally wasn't expecting to get as wet as I did! As soon as we left the shore, we met this rush of waves that just like pushed some people overboard and my shorts and legs were completely wet!

It was so much fun canoeing and being out in the water! It was so gorgeous too. Jen and I kept falling behind for some reason (we're too weak!) hahah.

We got to go into all these caves; I can't say much about them besides the fact that it was dark and kind of damp, but it was pretty cool just being in there.

That's Estabrook's cousin (I think her name was Donna?) and her son Andrew.

The instructors had told us that some caves were gonna be kind of narrow and have sharp rocks on the sides, and that the current would push us against them, so we would have to use our paddles to push against the walls and direct ourselves in the right directions. Anyhow, in the first such cave that we went in, Jennifer lost her paddle lolll.

Some of the caves were really low, and then even lower when the tide came in! I got kind of scared in this one, because the water rushed in so fast, and I totally thought we were gonna get our faces smashed on the roof of the cave! We just had to lean back and push ourselves out with our hands lol.

Ehehehe Ned looks so awkward with his helmet.

So they found this dead jellyfish somewhere (the stingers were gone), and everyone was just passing it around LOL. Kind of gross if you think about it long enough. It just felt like a glob of slime hahah.

Guano!

We went back to shore shortly after this picture, and had lunch. And then we went back out with our canoes lol. I was hoping the John guy could take more pictures for us (and he did too I think, he held onto my camera cuhs he was planning to) but then I guess he had to go take another group out, so one of the other instructors returned the camera to me. Still, I'm really glad I got him to take pictures for me, especially since Jane's camera was ruined! Apparently her and Tiffany's canoe flipped over at some point, and water got into the red bag, and then there was a hole in the plastic zip-lock bag, which sucks! She managed to save her memory card though.

Anyhow, we were canoeing for about another hour or two, even. Jen got really tired and I was just like paddling by myself for like twenty minutes! Needless to say we were really behind. But I got such a great workout with my arms today! Seriously, I love canoeing! If I could do something like that regularly I totally would. I didn't even get sunburned from it because I loaded up on so much sunscreen before hand hahah. Learned my lesson from yesterday!

Anyhow, our guide would tell us about birds and such as we saw them; like there was this one bird that could dive underwater and catch fish, and people in some Asian countries domesticated it by putting a ring around its neck so it couldn't swallow the fish. And I thought it was really funny because afterwards we'd be talking to Dinuk (he didn't go canoeing because I think he just got surgery on his back and his mom didn't want him to go) and he'd be telling us about these birds (since he's like a bird expert!) and he'd tell us the exact same thing! Hahaha.

After we went canoeing, we were just relaxing and waiting around for our boat to come pick us up. We found a frisbee just lying around, so we were throwing it around between me, Ned, Katie, Katie, and Alex. And I forget who threw it, but it ended up going into that muddy area right there, and Ned went to get it, and the most hilarious thing ever happened. I guess he was walking on the dirt part to the middle, and it was wetter than he'd thought, and all of a sudden his foot just sank in, and when he pulled his foot back up, his shoe was still in the ground! And at this point we were just dying laughing, and he just hopped back over and Katie had to go fish it back out for him! So amazing hahaha.

After that, I was sitting on the rocks with Ned and Alex, and then later Andrew came along, and then a little later we dragged Dinuk over to take some pictures, and there was this sea lion that we kept seeing in the same general area that they kept calling Dennis. And then after a while I figured it probably wasn't the same sea lion we kept seeing because it would show up all the way on the right and then again a few minutes later all the way on the left and so on lol.

Everyone was pretty exhausted on the boat ride home. There were so many more people there than when we had come to the island too, so we couldn't even sit inside, so we all just kind of huddled together outside.

Katie Burke's mom picked us up, and I went in their car with Katie, Katie, Brandon, and Angie again. We had talked about having dinner with everyone altogether, and I'm not really sure what happened, but we went to In-and-Out, and there were so many people so we went via the drive-through, but we saw Ned and Alex going into the restaurant, and that's the last we saw of them, because afterwards we just headed home hahah. Pretty much everyone fell asleep except for me and Angie, although I was exhausted. When I finally got home, first thing I did was head for the shower. I've gained a new-found appreciation for showers. And trashcans. Can you believe there were no trashcans on the island.

167.

So I woke up at like 4:30am for Santa Cruz. Tiffany picked me up (although I might as well have just gone with Mom, since she was like ten minutes late lol) and we drove over to North. And then everyone was already in their carpools and ready to leave, and Estabrook split us up into cars. I went in Angie's car (actually, I didn't really know who Angie was until this point lol) with Katie, Katie, and Brandon. And Angie's boyfriend, who reminded me a lot of Jeff Cruz, and who I actually thought was coming with us, but I guess not, (but it says a lot about a guy who's willing to wake up at four just to see his girl off lol). Anyhow, my voice was really going out. My throat had been sore since Thursday, and then yesterday I was already losing it a little (but it had gone out just enough so that I sounded sophisticated lolll), and it was just bad today. So it sucked, but I had to pretty much be all anti-social for the majority of the ride cuhs I couldn't talk, which sucked lol. But then I figured out how to talk a little so my voice wasn't completely cracking; it just sounded like I had a really deep voice lol.

The sun was rising as we pulled into Ventura Harbor; it was really pretty. (:

We played a lot of cards while we were waiting to board, and after we boarded.

And then at some point I think someone said something about dolphins and we all went outside to see (we didn't see anything though), and then we were all like, ~ mesmerized ~ by the water and just like. Stared at it. For an ungodly amount of time lol. The waves would splash up really high sometimes; a few times Ned put his hand out and all this water ricocheted off it and splashed us. |:

... And then we saw a whale! :`D It was really far away and my zoom isn't quite strong enough, but Dinuk got some really good shots.

Channel Islands, Prisoners Harbor. (:

When we got there, we formed a line and passed everyone's luggage to shore. From there, we got three wheelbarrows and dumped all the tents and heavy equipment on there. And then there was some extra space, so I took advantage of it and dumped my bag on there too lol. Estabrook pulled Jen aside and whispered someone to her, and then said that she could bring someone along, so she dragged me lol. We grabbed our stuff and walked on ahead, and then Jen said that Estabrook was gonna take the group into this little cave and we were supposed to hide in there and jump out and scare them lol.

... Except she forgot where the cave was, so we ended up just hiding behind a sign. |: And then when they passed by, Jennifer threw her sleeping bag at them and jumped out lol.

Estabrook: Yeah they all went in the cave and I thought 'ohh this is gonna be good!' And then you didn't jump out. And at first I didn't know what happened. And then I was worried about you. And then I forgot about you.

We went over to our campsite and set up all the tents; ours is the biggest. (8

It was funny cuhs all the guys had so much trouble hahaha.

There were ladybugs everywhere! O:

Anyhow, after everyone got everything set up, we went hiking.

Me, Tiffany, Jen, and Estabrook all kind of fell behind cuhs we were walking with Angie and she had some trouble going up the steep hills with her braces.

Estabrook would stop every now and then and point out some plants.

Those yellow flowers are mustard, no relation to the kind you put on a hot dog apparently lol. But it was really pretty. We stopped (and fell behind some more lol) to take all these pictures. (8

After the mustard field, we came across this area, which is where we stopped to have lunch. Everyone pretty much shared everything lol; Ned had these "Onion Blossom" Pringles and we were all like ... what the hell is this! LOL. They were really strong. xD

The view was gorgeous. (:

After lunching we hiked some more. My feet were already so sore by this point lol. We were heading towards this secluded bay, which according to Jennifer had naked people lolll.

Damn me for closing my eyes on an otherwise perfect picture. |:

No naked people, but it was really pretty there. We were all exhausted at this point, and so we were all sitting down by the edge of the cliff. And. I don't know, we just kind of stayed there for like half an hour, just meditating or napping or something hahah. Afterwards, we headed back to the campsite. My feet were in excruciating pain lol.

Home sweet home. (`:

Jen and I were outside the tent at one point, and she was like "LOL omg, I was looking at our tent, and I thought that net in the middle was some guy hanging there" LOL. And then we made all these Cry references and called it Absalom. xD

Cleeearly I did not use enough sunscreen lol. But what the hell is which these shapes on my arm!

Everyone just collapsed in their tents for a bit, and then we all gathered around the picnic tables and played cards and whatnot. After some time we went and got some cookware from the island people.

Again, much sharing. (: Dinuk totally didn't even have food LOL so I gave him a sandwich (since Mom gave me like, friggin five; seriously, she made me bring so much food xD).

As we ate and as we finished up, we played all these games like In My World and Snaps, and it was so funny because we did a few that were really easy, and Brandon and Ashley wouldn't get any of them lol. We did all this prep for Mind Madness too hahah. (x

Also around this time, Brandon asked if I lost my voice. To which I responded "... Yes Brandon, I don't actually sound like this." To which he was a douche and periodically told me to shut up cuhs he hated hearing my voice LOL douche.

When it got dark, around 9-ish, we all went over to the beach and huddled around the benches and told ghost stories. Or really it was just Megan telling ghost stories since no one else knew any. And then I told one at the end about the Monkey Paw that Borland told us back in 7th grade. Too bad it wasn't super scary, cuhs my hoarse voice was perfect for this lol.

... And then on the next table Ned was telling perverted/racist/women jokes lol.

After a while, we all made our way back to the campsite. I looked up at the sky and there were millions of stars out, and it was just gorgeous. And then I really wished Kent was there.