Over the weekend, my grandma called and invited us to spend the winter holidays with her in South Africa. This was great news to me — I get to spend weeks lying in the sun, playing on the beach, having real fish & chips, seeing mountains all around me, experiencing an interesting and totally different culture, and of course, seeing my family.

On the other hand, it also means that I will miss some school. The trip to South Africa is expensive and it takes a long time to get there. So, to make it worthwhile, you have to go for at least three weeks.

Many Uni students probably already know about the boys cross country phenomenon known as "team justice," or formally known as the treat squad. While to most people, it may just look like fun and games, there is a deeper camaraderie involved.

First, let me list off a few nicknames: Turtle, Buck Wild, Nate Justice, Desert Eagle, and the Duke of Duty. While some nicknames are used more than others, a few have really stuck. During practice, I've rarely heard teammates not call Ziran Shang "Turtle" or Nathan Smith "Nate Justice."

Ah, yes. I have finally reached the pinnacle of the high school experience. It only took five long, long years.

From what I hear from the Class of ‘07 and the Fox network, senior year is nothing but nonstop fun, start to finish. And while there is still a very large amount of time left in the year (I think Joe Leigh has an exact countdown), it’s looking like that is probably not the case. It’s not that this year is so terrible per se, but it just seems like I’ve been through it all before.

[Note: By running this blog entry, the OG is not endorsing the practice of self-piercing. Students should be aware of the dangers of self-piercing, and we urge students to obtain parental permission for all piercings. This entry is a descriptive account of one student's experiences and should not be taken as anything beyond that.]