Nephews, November, and Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Seeing as it's already half way through November [or at least it FEELS like it...], I figured it's about time for a day off from school. Wish granted, there was no school today. It's not even Thanksgiving holiday either! Supposedly the teachers needed yet another debriefing on how to deal with us, so we got the day off. I was absolutely ecstatic, seeing as how the past week has been so incredibly stressful. You wouldn't even believe how much junk a teacher can pile on you, and expect you to spend at least two hours per day on their subject alone. Try managing that with six subjects. Not that it can't be done.

November happens to be my least favorite month of the entire year in Idaho, simply because it's so blasted cold outside. Also, there are very few things interested enough that happen in November to even keep my attention, one of which is the annual Tran-Siberian Orchestra concert, which for the past four years I have faithfully missed. Don't ask me why, because every year as it advertises through the city of Boise I fully intend to purchase tickets before they're completely sold out. Sadly however, I forget to purchase in time, and the show sells out before my very eyes. Tragic. I know.

Luckily, my sister, niece, and three week old nephew stopped by today while I was working on my homework. That brightened my day considerably. I can't even express how jubilant I was to open the door after the doorbell had been activated six million times to have to look down to the three foot level and see my niece in a pink sweater with pigtails in her hair, with her mom and little brother following closely behind. Also to my great delight, they brought the newest in the Horseland adventures. Of course they are insulting to the intelligence, but they contain a multitude of memorable quotes in excess. Ones such as one rich snob saying to the other "Just because we're both rich doesn't mean you know what I'm going through," another being "...So the I was totally afraid that I'd have to take my limo to school, and the other kids would think I was a snob...." Simply delightful.

It's been rumored that the English language is difficult to learn because of all of it's stupid idioms and word antics and such. I concur, mainly because it's the only language I've been required to learn thus far in life. Supposedly the spoken portion isn't enough, and we're required to learn to actually write well in it, which I suppose has merit, but is unbelievably boring, when you're forced to sit in a class filled to the brim with oodles of kids stuck in the same situation. It's not that we don't write well [some of us], it's that the state feels the need to require at least 12 years of English [and study of literature] in order to prepare us for the real world. But really, unless we're going into a Language career, is there really a need to be able to interpret Shakespeare to the proper extent, or to be able to find the meaning of a clandestine piece of poetry? It may sound like ignorance, but in all reality, I find no need to have more than a medium level of knowledge in a subject, unless it's a] pf interest to me, or b] if I plan on having a career in that area. Vocabulary is an entirely different flavor of education though. I firmly believe that all people should be educated and have a firm foundation of vocabulary, so we can have intelligent conversations, in something that the average nomenclature. However, there are some words that are absolutely useless, unless applicable to a situation or field of study. One such word would be pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which happens to be not only the longest word in the English language, but also simply a ridiculous way of saying the diagnosis of a lung disease cause by the inhalation of silica dust [as told by http://dictionary.reference.com/]. Although vernacular is a blessing, it can also be a curse, if no one around you has the same vernacular, so you either have to dumb down yours, or just not talk to them. Both disadvantages. However, seeing as company with incredible vocabularies have arrived, I suppose I'll be off to have a deep philosophical conversation, or two. :D Cheers!