PSYCHOBabble

Wow. It's been practically three years.

2011-01-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

My last post was near the end of 2009. 2011 just started two weeks ago. Between then and now, I've moved on to different websites, but with a sudden urge, I've decided to update this. I don't know why. Perhaps I've missed the simple life of blogging. The new site I've been on has been a bit hectic.

So what's new?

Sophomore year was pretty cool. I miss it, but it's time has passed. I started writing a story last summer. I've only the outline and it's already 30 pages long, I kid you not. There are some writing books that I find at bookstores that look like a great resource, but I don't have much money I can spend. That's because I going to Japan over summer break this year. Two weeks, just me and my friends on a school trip, touring Japan. I'm not sure where we're going exactly, but we might visit a high school in our sister city.

Why is it called a sister city anyways? Why not brother city? This goes along with ships and planes as well. People always refer to them as "she" instead of "it." Does it have to do with the males who are on the ship, I wonder? There are so many questions that pertain to the way things work, the way things are run.

I should stop my tangent there.

I should also get back to work. I have an interview Thursday, and I haven't set up my responses yet. All for now.

If it's Christmastime, how come I don't feel so Merry?

2009-12-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

(I'll try and keep this short. I'm on my DSi.)

It's the night before the eve, and I'm lying lazily on the couch. As I lay here, something at the back of my head is irking me, stressing me out. My tension's doing well however.

The Yuletide Log, the festive tree, the decorated house. My house has none of it. Christmas becomes just another holiday. I was just talking to a friend about this too. About how Christmas used to be the biggest time of the year, and you couldn't care less for it. It's a bit sad really. But maybe we've just become sad people.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that I'm obliged to get gifts for people, so they won't think bad about me. But wait, are you not supposed to care what other people think of you? The only thoughts about you that matter, are those who matter to you. Unfortunately, I run into errors of the process. 1. I can't drive anywhere, so I go on my parent's schedule, which clashes with my 'feelin' lazy' moments. I also do not want to go leave my house and go outside where it's colder-ish. And 2. I'm short on money. Many factors go into this: I have no job and/or I usually blow my cash on stuff for me, and I don't know how to budget. So I guess the main culprit is gifts. I would love to give, but I usually can't. I'm the kind of person who would just add their name to the tag. Bah-humbug.

But I want to change. New Years and my birthday are coming, so it's time for some resolutions, and I've started a list:

1. Be a better person.
2. Get fit and exercise more.
3. Save up some money.
4. Be more positive.
5. Be less lazy and don't procrastinare as much.

I'll leave it as that. I know that I might have to add more, so this is just kind of a rough draft. Guess I ran out of things to say, so Happy Christmas, and Happy Holidays.

I lied, I have a few more words to say but they can wait after Christmas. I'm just too lazy , but I'm working on it.

The last day before winter break.

2009-12-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

The room is filled with sounds, mainly voices overlapping each other. The projector screen is down, showing Up. The tinny voice places over all the chatter. People drink their drinks and munch on their snacks. Music plays from a phone behind me.

It's the last day before winter break, and the people in my Math/Chem classroom are hanging out. In my Humanities room, people who work on their work are present. I just remembered how good a movie Up was.

It's finally time for Christmas, almost. One of my friends got me a foam sword, while my other friend got me This Is Not a Book by Kari Smith. It's awesome, and I still have to do all of them. I did the endurance test, and lasted for 10 minutes since I was fixing my jacket and forgot to hold it over my head. I bookmarked the "conundrum" page, which is always interesting to watch people read it and try and find out what's "wrong" with it.

Finals were a bit of a nervous wreck, but I managed to pull through. Perfect score in Humanities, and I think I missed a few problems in my Math II exam and the Chemistry exam. But that's good enough.

On another note, I think I'm involved in a plagiarism incident. Details when they come about. I know that I was the one copied off of, and I didn't know that person copied. Just when you know a person.

A post in Humanities

2009-12-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

I’m in Humanities. With a computer out, I’m too lazy to get out my journal and write in it. Brooke’s talking about what she heard on the radio right now. Something about finals. Blah. Tests are so annoying.
So much pressure is put on these questions, but there is some leverage. I did all my work, or at least most of it, in Math/Chem, and the finals is only about 5% of my grade anyway. I’ll be fine. I’m not sure about the Humanities final though. In an outsider’s perspective though, I think it won’t seem as a lot. All we have to do is write 3 paragraphs about what we learned. We have all our resources, or I know I do. But, again, the pressure that’s put on us and the want for us to do well on these tests, it’s a bit nerve-racking.

My DP won’t work. Great. Apparently, it was working yesterday when Brooke was on it, and it was kind of working last night when I was editing it. Well, I was only editing the Globalization part on the Google sites part. But it was still acting a bit wonky then. Hmm… Computers are stupid. It’s a bit of a paradox if you think about it. We use and invent new technology to reach new heights. But sometimes, that is not enough, and so our creativity, or whatever else is in us, is stumped. So we have to keep inventing new things, while the old “new” things fall into the obsolete abyss. And the cycle keeps going. It just creates more and more waste and trash. Not to mention, we have global warming going on. It can’t be helped. I just hope they make something good out of Copenhagen.

Late Post: December 12th

2009-12-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

The following post was written on my dad's laptop up in Julian, CA. Details later maybe?

I just felt the need type something. The thing I hate about coming up here during winter is that it's too cold and too much of a hassle to actually go out and walk someplace. It takes too much effort to dress up appropriately, make sure you're warm, and have the right shoes. If I'm already wearing the right clothes, then maybe I could go. I still might need to ask my parents.

Sitting up here on the second floor is really interesting, compared to the lower floor. For instance, you're closer to the ceiling and right now as I'm typing this, I can hear the pitter-patters of the raindrops above me. It actually got so severe last night, I though I heard thunder. Another reason is the height limitation. The roof is just about 5 feet up from the floor, so we all have to stoop down. A bit of a bother really, but I don't mind that much. I'm still not that tall.

Speaking of height, I noticed recently that when at school, I'm now considered as part of the shorter sophomores. It's a bit annoying, but it can't be helped. I am only 14 after all. Everyone else in my grade is way older than that. I had two classmates turn 16 this week. So they can drive now, so what? I'm pretty sure being young has it's perks too. I'd write some down, but I can't think of any. Crap.

I think I've simply run out of things to say. Anything else I'd like to spill would be very personal, and we can't have that now can we? Who knows who would read this? Secrets aren't secrets if everyone knows them. It's intriguing to have a secret about someone, though. Especially if you see that person every day, [post ends here]

Thankful

2009-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving next week. I'm sick. That's basically the basic story developments of my life thus far. I'm working on Shin Kurone's cover of "HELLO!" from 876 Productions. I plan to do a duet, so it'll be interesting to hear my voice overlapped with my voice. Speaking of which, I have to update the other blog. I said I was doing Saihate, but I got distracted.

Speaking of music pieces, our music group in my music class is working on a Kokoro cover. I'm singing. :D But I'm sick, so it'll be a bit tough. I hope I get better by the end of the month. I'll ask my dad for acupuncture and all that other stuff. D:

The most recent song that I've been hooked to is Just Be Friends by Luka Megurine. But I listen to the Halyosy version more, because his voice is sexy like that. :D I'm trying to port it into English the way I did with Kokoro, but my lack of Japanese language skills cause me to be stumped. Was that bad grammar? I dunno. :p

The Global Owl Event is also going on in Mabinogi. I get to take care of one of Nao's owls. I have to feed it four times, for something to happen. But I only get food every irl hour. So I have to be on for four consecutive hours. The only problem is my brother. He wants to play too. I really want my own computer now. All for now.

5 Minute Post

2009-11-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Math/Chem is almost out. Thought I'd drop by and update for a little before I'm off to Table Tennis. All is well. I got unlimited texting a few weeks ago and am very content. The word texting is underlined in red in the text editor. How old school.

This morning I forgot some papers and burnt my leg on my bathroom heater. I had a dream where me and 3 of my friends got expelled. And I also had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go get some water. Now it's time to go. But it's alright. There's a meteor shower tonight! Keep your eye on the sky for any falling rocks.

7 Minute Post

2009-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here in Math/Chemistry. I finished my Myspace Project a little while ago and after a very unsuccessful browse though of the Project iM@S forums (most of the threads are blocked for some reason), I decided to write in here. Did I tell you? Look after the jump.

Ever heard of the Vocaloids? If you've read my past posts, you'd know what they are. But if not, they're singing synthesizer software where the user inputs notes nad lyrics, enabling it to sing. Now, UTAUs are the free, ghetto version. I, in fact, made one of my own. He sounds like a drunk retarded person, but he's a part of me, so I love him. One of my good friends Kelsey is finishing up his concept art in a couple days, and I've already made him sing some songs, though not very well. ^^;; Songs include: Go My Way!!, Melt, and Romeo and Cinderella. Now it's time to go. I will see you all later.

Fake Skydiving FTW

2009-08-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, some internetz. Gah, I'm probably going to be staying in here for another hour or so. Here being the front desk at the hotel I'm staying at. Right across from Disneyland. Well, what's happened so far? More after the jump.

First day of Universal Studios, we walk the CityWalk. Pics in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, and at GameStop. Then the big highlight: iFLY. Skydiving inside an air tunnel. After a brief intro, we donned our suits, goggles, and helmets and went into the chamber with our instructor. It was super fun; we got a dvd at the end. (: After hitting a few more shops, we go in. We take the Studio Tour. It was differenet from last time I remembered. They added stuff, took things out, and it was a pain to to pictures of. D:

Next, The Simpsons Ride. So much funner than the old Back to the Future one. The clips in line were pretty funny, and it made me appriciate Simpsons a little bit more (: Then back to the motel. Oh, the crappy motel. But hey, it's not a hotel so :p

The next day, I don't really remember now that it feels like it's been awhile. I know we watched the Terminator 3-D thing. We rode the Mummy and the Jurassic Park. I played DDR in the arcade and I did well, except for the last song, which I failed :p This guy gave me some pointers, which I took, but never really tried since whe went up next. He was really good too! Afterwards we went back to the motel to go pack.

Next was Medieval Times. We were supposed to go to Disneyland, but my aunt couldn't get us in since she was getting some of our relatives in. Anyway, on the way there, we actually got a flat tire, which took about 15 to 30 minutes to fix. We got inside, got paper crowns and assigned table numbers, and went inside the castle. After listening to the chancellor for a little bit, we went into the store section and looked at the horses. After a little while, the chancellor began calling out crown colors and letting people into the dining area/sand pit. Red, our color, was called last, but we went in enthusiastically.

We got in, got seated and waited. We sat in the second to last row, which meant that it took a little longer for our food to get to us but it was alright. What was cool about the food was that we got to use our hands, and there was no silverware, and everyone else was doing the same. There were 6 color teams: red, blue, yellow, green, yellow-and-red, and black-and-white. There was a small story of the prince going to go do a treaty thing with the next kingdom or something. So the knights were all introduced, all 6. Then some sort of tournament began. Everyone was all cheering and after some little skit, there was the jousts. When one knight was knocked off, the other would get off and would spar with swords or maces, and the like. There were sparks, so it was really exciting. In the end, the red knight came out victorious and got to fight with the prince against the main antagonist. They won, and then everyone went crazy.

(This post is really old, and I don't think I can finish it, so I'll just post it now.)

One new post.

2009-08-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hey all, its been awhile. So much has gone on this summer, I just have no time to update. And then there are times when I'm too lazy to update it. But cooling off in my room, I challenged myself to a post from my DSi. So here it is x]

So a couple highlights of my summer... Well there was Filipino Day at Soak City. It was fun, but not uberly fun like last year. Lots of cute girls and guys though. x] The wave pool was crammed as ever, and the ground burned our feet. I saw one of my friends there, and apparently my other friend was there too, but I never got to see him. So a few days later, me and my friend, Murse, went to go visit him. It was good to see him again. He got a hair cut and shaved off his mustache. It was a bit surprising, but I quickly got used to it.

A couple weeks later came Summer Bridge Training. I couldn't go on Tuesday because it was my bro's 5th grade graduation. (They sang 'The Climb' by Miley Cyrus. LOL) We even learned how to do Thriller! :D But the last day was the funnest, we played a bunch of these games and I even got to climb one of those fake rock walls. x] Apparently, I was really fast because I got to the top in like less than 3ish minutes maybe? I don't know, I wasn't timed :p The next week, the real thing went pretty well. The mini-lesson was okay, buy we had to do a bit of of our groups posters because we were behind a bit. But they presented well. Me and Denise weren't supposed to do anything, just supervise.

Then on Sunday, I met up with Anja and we went to Comic-con. While we waited for the trolley, Anja couldn't find her school ID (which she needed to trade in for a pass). So we got on, and thought about what we were going to do. We got off, and we decided to call Patrick, my former advisor, who was head of the comic club. He gave us a couple passes, mine had Justin Martinez, while Anja's read Marisol Franco, co-head of the comic club. Marisol had her own pass so it was alright. Once we got inside we checked some of the booths out, went upstairs to the cosplayers, and did this repeatedly. Me and Anja did Do-Dai and some random stranger took a picture of us. There were a lot of cool booths there, some with figurines, some with clothes. I bought a Domo shirt from the J-List booth for my brother. I wanted the hoodie for myself, but it was too expensive. Right by that booth was the Rockin Android booth, a group that distributes Japanese doujin games. Me and Anja got to play "Acceleration of Suguri" and it was really fun. One of the guys there offered us Suguri, Acceleration of Suguri, and 2 soundtracks for just $15! Automatically we said yes. Then more walking, and then we went to go watch a screening for Lucky Star. I wanna watch it again. x] I met some of Anja's friends who were cosplaying as Vocaloids. It was cool. I got a picture with a Haruhi cosplayer, and everyone kept taking pics of Anja. ("Oh! You're Rena from Higurashi! Can I take your picture?!") It was cool to watch all of it happen. I wanna cosplay next year, but costumes are expensive, and I'm practically broke :P I saw this one girl from my middle school and another guy from my middle school. I didn't get to say hi though; I was on the phone. When I got to the trolley station, the one that Anja and I got off of, I saw yet another guy from middle school that was there. I got on, and I struck up a small conversation with a girl and a small group of guys. It was fun, I like riding the trolley. (:

Well that's a lot of tryping, both on comp and DSi. I'll leave it at that for now.

Hello Again

2009-07-01T11:02:00.001-07:00

I am currently making a mix CD for the hell of it. Just though I'd let you know.

It's been summer vacation for awhile now. It's been good, but I've had those boring, hard-to-live-through spots. Anyways, on to recent events. A couple weeks ago, I went up to Escondido, to my aunt's house for a big cousin get-together/sleepover. It was fun, but I found out I had a stye in my right eye. :P We went up to a resort that we always go to and we took a dive in the pool. But we had to go to a smaller, not as fun pool because my cousin's membership wasn't high enough. :P One of the highlights of the day was when we left our cousin at 7-11. xD Details after the jump.

So we left my Auntie Dina's house and made a stop at Kathy's house for a sec. Then, what had happened was, we stopped by a local 7-11 to buy some stuff. We went in two vehicles: me, my mom, Julian (my brother), Kevin, and Kathy (both cousins) in my mom's car. The other car had Uncle Romy, Uncle Mon, Auntie Daisy, Christine, Sean, Michelle, and Ervin (all cousins). Me and Kathy got off and bought some Arizona (tea). My mom and brother got off too to get some snacks. While we were at the drinks and looking over them, Sean came over and passed up. We said hi, and he said hi. We got our drinks, paid, and left, thinking nothing about Sean. So we left unknowingly leaving Sean behind. We drove off for about 10 minutes, it seemed like before Kevin got a call from Sean. After Kevin told us that they left Sean, we started laughing hysterically, even though we knew it was kinda bad. But he was a big guy! I don't know how they could've not noticed him not in the car! So we all spent 5 minutes trying to call anyone in the other car, but no one would pick up. Eventually one of them got the news, and we drove on. We reached the resort and we caught up with the other car. They turned around, while we went up to the good pool. But we ended up going to a sucky pool. After some swimming, me, Kathy, Michelle, and Kevin walked a loooong way to go get tennis rackets. Kevin wanted to go get fishing rods because wouldn't have to walk farther, but there were no more rods left when we got there. So tennis courts and mini work out. Louis (Kathy's brother) and some of his friends came over and we all just played whatever. Then volleyball, and then we got home. I was texting Kathy's ex ever since after volleyball.

We set up tents in the backyard and we slept in them. I went to sleep at maybe 2-ish cuz I was talking to Kathy an Michelle. Kevin slept in the same tent as us, too. It got hot all of a sudden, and we all woke up. It was the next day, and my stye got worse, making my eyelid all icky-looking and puffy. Some of us went to church, while me, my mom, and Julian ended up going home. :p But we got some more Arizona on the way back! :D

All for now.

Finally a sophomore.

2009-06-16T15:02:00.001-07:00

Today started out all grey and drizzly. Was it an omen? Now that I think about it, I think so? So what's so special about today? Shouldn't you've seen the title a week ago. The answer is no, not really. My school is different, remember? Check the last post, and you'll see what I have to do to be a sophomore.

Read it? Well, if you're too lazy, it's my Transitional Interview of Learning. It's where we have to prep for it 3 weeks before, and then do it. Explanation after the jump.

A TIoL is basically just having an interview with one of your teachers about how you grew this year in the Habits of Heart and Mind. Well, that's what they said it was. It's different for every student, and the teacher. I got my Humanities teacher, and it was alright. I went in, prepped, waited with a tutor and friend for my teacher to come back from the bathroom. And then we got started. I gave my speech, the questions flew, mostly about me becoming a better leader, and then I waited for a few minutes outside. The result?

I passed. But barely. Only because I was nervous and I stumbled over my words a bit. She told me that I was a great student, and she liked the fact that I only wanted to be a leader so I can help people. She told me to be more myself and be more confident. It was great, I passed, and I got to play Mario Party on the computer x] So cool that our IT was okay with the idea of putting Project64 on the external hard drive.

Over the summer, I also get to become a Summer Bridge leader for incoming freshman. It's going to be in July, and it got bumped down a week or so, so it conflicts with Comic-con. But I'm not sure if I'm gonna go yet or not. :p

All for now.
(post started via school computer on Tues, the 16th, finished via DSi on Thur, the 18th.)

Almost done...

2009-06-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

School is almost over, only 2 more weeks left. I'm sitting in advisory right now, not really doing anything. Since my stupid Mini Mac says that it can't connect to Blogger, probably due to Parental Controls, I'll use this time to write something small.

School elections just came. Some people wanted to vote for "Rock" as a prank. I wanted to, but couldn't bring myself into it. Sorry ): But I really don't care who becomes president or whatever.

Since it's the end of the year, you'd expect me to have finals right? No, I have something to take that place. Transitional Interviews of Learning, or TIoL's for short. I have to give a 2 to 3 minute presentation about what I did over the year, then I get asked question about stuff I learned from this whole year. The interview takes about 10 to 20 minutes-ish. I barely remember what I learned, ugh..

That's all on my plate for now. Other than that, I might go to Comic-Con with a VIP pass. I'm sure yet though, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's gonna be my first one that I've ever been to. I was actually thinking about cosplaying as Kagamine Ren, but I decided not to. Why? Costume might cost too much, I don't want to wear a wig, or dye my hair, details, details.

The video game(s) of the moment right of now are Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Both fro DS, both borrowed from my friend Anja. Haven't played Trauma Center in awhile other than now, and I'm stuck in a temple in Hourglass right now. I'm gonna check for walkthroughs later maybe.

Last night was Exploratory Exhibition, where Multimedia/Art and Spanish classes showed off their work. It was for incoming freshman, and I saw a lot of people. It was kinda cool, seeing who's gonna be my kouhai x]

All for now.

Anyways,...

2009-05-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

So, for my memorial day weekend, I went up to Julian to go camping. Or rather, stay at an RV Resort. Now don't get me wrong, I love that place. In fact, I wish I was there right now. The atmosphere is just great, especially when you can talk with other people your age. Let me start from the beginning.

We left home about 15 minutes after my mom came home with my cousin. He came along too. Anyways, we left, and after some time of driving, we got at the ranch at around 10-ish. We checked in, and "moved" in to the trailer. We had a snack, and went to bed at midnight.

The next day, we just kinda got the feel of things. I walked around, saw a couple people. I wrote in my journal a bit, and read back at what I wrote, so long ago. I went swimming with my brother and cousin after lunch for an hour or two. I dried off, grabbed my DSi and went into the clubhouse for the Wi-Fi. I sat on the sofa, and soon after, another dude, about my age, came in and sat at the other sofa. We didn't say anything, just minding our business. Then other people came in. Turns out there was a Lakers game going on. So I decided I would watch it. The dude, left for 15 mins, grabbing something to eat, at which even more people started coming in. Then he came back and sat on the same sofa as me. We were all watching the game, and another dude, that seemed a few years older than me came in. Other people in the room included, a few Denver fans, one of which was very expressive, some middle-aged ladies, and some dads and young sons. Anyways, I was really into it, and I wanted the Lakers to win. So whenever the Nuggets shot I would always be like "miss!" under my breath. I guess the dude heard me and was smiling, when he was looking at me. x] Anyways, the dude got up and left, and my dad came in and sat next to me. I think he was for the Nuggets :p I left, took a shower and had dinner. Walked around a bit, hung around the playground, then went back in. I came in at the end of the 3rd quarter I think. I had to sit on the floor next to one of the ladies from earlier. I was muttering again, 'cept I was saying "shoot" or "hit," and the lady next to me smiled. So Lakers won. It was kind of like a weak "yay!" When they won. It was much more active when the Lakers actually scored. x] The room was full of "yes!" and clapping and arm thrusts. It was fun. I headed back to the cabin for a small break, then went out for more walking. We (me, my bro, and my cousin) walked places. First to the basketball courts for this astronomy thing. Then more places. Passed by a Shrek screening a couple times. Then back to the trailer and bed.

I think I bored you enough with all those details. I'll post about the next day later. All for now.

Here I am!

2009-05-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

I think I should stop writing blocks of text, and start writing little babbles. I mean, a babble is short, right?.

Anyways, this post is really just a break time in between my catching up on homework. I'm supposed to do two interviews for class, for an article. And it's due tomorrow. xp

In other news, Adam Lambert lost. I know I'm like a week overdue, but w/e. He's gonna go far. Like Clay Aiken almost, but bigger.

Check Twitter for my updates: http://twitter.com/tokome

Time to get back to work. More later maybe..

The Diary of a Young Girl

2009-05-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to be cross, love cannot be forced."
-Edith Frank, Anne's Mother

If Anne's mother hadn't been so stuffy, would she'd been loved by Anne then? Even during the camps, she saved food for her children. Would Anne love her then? Is someone obliged to love their child, even if the child does not love them back?

Out of all of what I have read so far, (which is up to Tuesday, 27 April, 1943), this quote sticks out to me because, it feels as if everyone deals with this. I myself have had my bout with my dad, preferring my mom. But of course, I still love my dad. And when I hear other people that go, "My mom's a b----!" or "My dad is such a -------" I feel a little sad. For the child, for the parent. Isn't is supposed to ban act of love, that they do the things they do? "We do it for your safety, because we care about you," you would hear the parents say. What they really mean is "Stop doing what your doing so I don't have to deal with it anymore." But if the person has a good heart, there is no under meaning. I understand that can get very annoying real fast though.

It's odd, how restriction is an act of love. You always hear, "if you love them you would let them go." Well the problem is, if you let them go, they're going to get into some kind of trouble. But too much restriction is a bad thing, don't you think?

Life now....and a few days ago.

2009-05-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry. I truly am. I think I got carried away with Twitter. (If you look, I've been twittering nonstop for the past week or so.)

So what's new about me? Well, nothing much. Except for I have a new phone now. A new LG CF360 in blue. Which matches my new DSi! xD I've been taking a lot of pictures with both, mainly my phone, and it's been real fun. For my DS, I got Rhythm Heaven, which is uber fun! Since it's my only DS game, it's all I play. I've gotten 30 medals, and finished all stages, but not perfects. And I even got it after my friend, Anja, who had it for a good 3 or 4 weeks before me. x]

Couple nights ago, I went to Seaport Village with my friend Denise, to take pictures for our photography SIG. It was really fun. When we were in the van, we would be on Pictochat, IM'ing each other. Apparently, there was an air show going on and there were a lot of people. And the airplanes that were flying were really loud too. Every 5 minutes, you would hear a loud "EEEERRRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!" We walked one side, which lead us out of Seaport Village, and in front of the Convention Center. We walked a little more then we started walking through this place with blocks of text on the ground. I took pictures of them with my phone. It turns out, we were in the Martin Luther King Jk. place. There was a playground, and hand busts that spelled out dream, and these 2 large statues too. I had to change film cans for it. x] Actually, I had my dad's old Nikon D90 (I think?). We headed back to Seaport Village, and we hit the shops. There was Knock Knock stuff all over the place, it was awesome! (If you haven't been to the website, go now! KnockKnockStuff.com) We went out to the large pier. I took a picture of a dog in the water, and I saw a message in a bottle too. Kinda makes me want to follow through with the message tied to a balloon thing. Then we went to a number of different places. A camera store, a windchime etc. store, the book store (with interesting and obscene things x]), and a few other places too. Then we went to Oggi's down in Chula Vista, and I got home around ehh 10-ish.

The night before that, I went to the mall with Murse and did some Mom Day shopping. We spent some time in Borders. I wanted to read the second and final volume of Suzunari! I also wanted to read Otomen Vol. 2, but we decided to go elsewhere. Murse found some items in a corner, next to one of those sofa chairs. xp So we walked around, looked at the carious going out of business sales. We met up with 3 girls, that knew Murse, and I knew one of them too, just not right away. We walked a little big, following them to get a new employee form, then we went to the food court. We hung around for a few minutes, then we went to Bath & Body Works. The girls had to leave, so we stayed behind. I got my mom a lotion/shampoo/perfume + scrubber package. Japanese Cherry Blossom flavored, it smelled more "pretty" than the other ones. I looked around the shop more and found a tester for some perfume. I tried it on my wrist, but the bottle was to close, so my wrist got all wet. I then proceeded to wipe the "pretty" smelly stuff onto Murse's jacket sleeve. x] We walked around a bit, looked into Hot Topic (where they didn't have cat ears ;p) and GameStop (where they didn't have any good DS games either). Then back to Borders for a bit. We spent some time in the Humor section, reading Chinglish and comics. I bought my mom a rotating picture frame that could hold up to 36 pictures. Murse wanted it but, I still bought it for myself. After buying all that stuff, I was broke, 'cept for a few coins change. xp.

I think I spilled my all of my recent events. All for now. Oh, btw, Happy Mother's Day!

Rhinoceros (Act 2) QQC

2009-05-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Quote: "All you get at the universities are effete intellectuals with no practical knowledge of life."
-Botard, Rhinoceros, Act 2 Scene 1.

Question!: What base does this statement act upon? Does Ionesco himself think that people who go to college are just characterless-sticks who don't know anything about the real world? I mean, I'm pretty sure in that time, there were people that graduated from universities who were well aware surroundings. [Note: the characters in this scene are arguing whether or not the rhinoceros from Act 1 really was real. Botard, the man who denies the existence of the rhinoceros is a former schoolteacher, who is a "See it to believe it" kind of man.]

Comments: I think Botard hasn't the right to say whether or not people who graduated from universities are dead people or not. The man is nearly 60, and things can change in a matter of decades. I wonder when he had to graduate from a university, his fellow classmates were people who only dug their noses into large, rather heavy, books and only knew about the real world from them. Kind of like in science fiction movies, where people live underground. You know, the ones who are always like "Oh I've heard stories about the surface. It seems interesting, but i like it better down here."

QQC: Rhinoceros by Ionesco

2009-05-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

”Justice is one more aspect of Logic.". -Old Gentleman, Rhinoceros

With this said, does this mean that Justice is merely an aspect of morality? If you think about it, Justice is deciding what is wrong and what is right, and doing something about it. Judges, court marshals, bailiffs, the courthouse. That's where justice is to be served. Now a syllogism: Justice is deciding and action. Justice is a step up of logic. So, Logic would be deciding and action. Does this mean, anyone can commit to justice, like judges? What is it that makes judges so high and mighty?

And now my comment. I guess if you look at every decision we have to make in our lives, there's always some form of login, then maybe planning. Take this, you see a carrot on the ground and a starving bunny in a cage with rabies in the corner. Do you give the carrot to the bunny? Or do you just leave it alone? On one hand, you do a good deed by helping something in need, point example Justice. On the other hand, you leave it alone in fear of getting rabies. Which would kind of count as logic.

Make-Ups

2009-04-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Me life is really busy (yeah, right) but still. I have presents! 2 "posts" after the jump. Click "Read More..."
Post 1, Page 1.

Post 1, Page 2

Post 2, Page 3

By the way, CST testing is back. Ugh, hopefully I can blog about that D:

Festival del Sol and the Mall

2009-04-04T10:38:00.001-07:00

~~So this post is two days late. I was tired, okay?~~ OK, OK, its more than a couple days late. So sue me for enjoying my break.

Anyways, we still had to build some of our roller coaster the day of the Festival, but we had like 4 hours, and we kinda finished. When we were presenting, the ball derailed when it started at the top of the hill, so we had to start from halfway down the hill. Then there was that drop before the loop, which we had to hold down because we forgot to attach it into our base. :p But it was cool, since I had like one other person there with me. :D (Thanks Yaz!)

Then there was the back stage where we had to inform people about the physics, marketing, and the process of this whole project. The only people I ever talked to were my parents, and some other people. Our tent was homely. :/ But that's because we couldn't make out banners since it was low-priority after all. Our commercial was icky after all, you couldn't hear much.

Then I had to stand in front of my graphic design piece and explain to people what it was about. I found out later that my dad took a picture of the other classes' collage but not ours. blehh... :p

Then my free shift. I waled around and saw some of the stuff the sophomores did, and what all the screaming was about. It was pretty cool. One class was doing some sort of poetry cafe. And one particular was going to be there. I wanted to watch, but I just moved on. I did my audience assessment, since my mom went to go get dinner during my GD shift. I hung out with some of my friends, then clean up.

Oh, gee. Bringing in all those tables and chairs. And cleaning up too. We still had to do some the next day too! Anyways, on Friday, I went to the mall after school. Here's how it went down.

Anja couldn't make it since it was too short notice for her mom to let her go. So it was just me and Denise. Michael went off to wait for us at Panda. Me and Denise walked over to Lhyka's house to get picked up by Denise's mom, so that Denise could drop off some of her stuff. Her mom's nice. She entrusted me, the youngest one, to keep Lhyka and Denise safe. lol. We met up with Michael then went to B&N, I think. It's been a few days, so I don't remember. We spent awhile in there, then I ran into Mikey. He joined our party, and we started walking around. I remember hitting Gepettos, and getting denied access to the chalk in the food court. We played a cat-and-mouse game with Mikey when we went into Macy's. He had my phone, so we decided to prank call him. We went up and down the elevator/escalators. We met up outside, then walked to Best Buy. I played a round of Mario Kart, then Rock Band 2. Then some more walking. We added another person to our party, a guy from Michael's and Mikey's class. We hit B&N, and me and the guys hit the relationship section. IDK why, but it was half-fun, half-weird. I started reading the first Haruhi novel, and I almost bought it too! But, I decided not to. Then I went home eventually. Michael's dad took me home. He's kinda hyper, but he's really cool. All for now.

Trains of thought

2009-03-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

A weak smile. Tired and sad eyes, with a dull glint of happiness. Clothes are worn, tattered. Shoes, falling apart. My hands balled into bloody fists, as I beat the crud out of my irritations. My お父さん, my current project, the less-than-happy state that has burdened my shoulders, not to mention the piano. This is a mental image of me. Look at it quick, because I hope that this picture will be gone, erased, forgotten.

Time is a funny thing. It speeds up and slows down randomly, sometimes during the most fun parts and the most boring parts, respectively. But nonetheless, randomly. For instance, I have a week to go before my exhibition, where my roller coaster is due. Seems like a long time, and that there's nothing to worry about, only that we're a bit behind schedule. But then, i;ve been reading this book called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which has been the most gripping read I've laid my eyes upon in awhile. Anyways, I borrowed it a week ago, and I'm already on the, I think, last part. Life and time conspire to give you the most longest and shortest time on Earth. You just have to figure out how long it is.

My body is tired, legs and shins sore. I guess my body isn't used to physical fitness in awhile. My neck and shoulders ache daily from lugging around a backpack with nothing useful in it. Considering the amount of things in it, which isn;t that much, it surprises me, comparing that my friend seems to have more things in her backpack than me, and it feels lighter. That's probably due to the giant log that I carry with me. Huh.

This Mac frustrates me. Parental controls suck and should die in a fiery pit of spikes, while being mauled by bears. I've probably said that before, but I just want to reiterate. I want a laptop, and I may be on my way into getting one. But then the always-confusing question pops up. Mac or PC? I miss playing mabinogi, and I'm tired of trying to find a PC game that's been ported to Mac. If only I had our Windows OS disk. Anyone want to lend me theirs?

つくられた。。。

2009-03-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

もうう。。。僕の体は本当にいたいだろう！でもさ、このテストはおわりだよ！だから、私わとってもうれしいな。The first even was a mile. 9:55. I was about to run another lap, but I forgot that I finished all 3 of my laps ^^;;. The first group had to start over though; they had to run 3 instead of 2 laps. Ray's bad. Then we went inside for the smaller stuffs. Basic rundown:

5'6"
112 lbs.
21 push-ups (one just to beat my partner by a little bit)
50 curl ups (partner did 60 so that explains the above...)
9" trunk lift
and I can reach my arms behind my back on both sides.

I'm pretty satisfied with the results. All for now, I'm tired.

Just a dew more days left...

2009-03-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was an off day for me. Both "off" as in "no school" and "not right day." Lemme explain.

You know how we got a new Mac mini right? Well, I'm only allowed to use it for 3 hours. Add along no games to play, and almost NOTHING to do, it was pretty boring. Not to mention I'm already behind one and maybe another reading journal. Anyways, my time had come, as do all time limits within all bounds of humanity. The usual gray box popped up, showing me how much time I had left, and the option to give me more time. Well, in order to add more time, I needed an admin's (dad's) password. And I had it. So I took the chance. Couple hours later, I get busted, and yelled disappointment after another, I get banned off the computer for a week. There you have it. I wish I could talk about last night since it was the bomb, but I might not have enough time here. maybe some other time. Here being the Apple Store in the mall near my school.

So, after all that, I have a present for you. Click for more...

I tried my hand at a cover of a song. I think it turned out okay. Listen to it...

Mini Sports Festival!

2009-03-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today was advisory olympics, and they were hella fun. We had a 3 win, 1 lose, 1 tie record. Anyways, there were 5 games, and I guess I'll fill you in on them.

First Game: Dodgeball
Vs: Tator's Tots
What Happened: It was the average game. I got hit in the arm eventually. James was one of our targets. We won, taking down either Jon or Gary at the end, I can't remember. We played a second game, just for fun, since we had time. I got hit in the face/shoulder. It stung for about 5 minutes, before I was fine again.Then I got hit in the arm again. :/ But it was still fun.
Result: Win!

Second Game: Project "Funway"
Vs: Rod Squad
What Happened: We had to create a new spring fashion out of the materials they gave us. These "materials" were: toilet paper, small paper cups, pipe cleaners, paper plates, duct tape, tin foil, some other kind of tape (the tan one, I forget what's it called", and I think thats it. Ours wasn't as great as theirs, but we still won anyway ^.^ The reason why was because they put makeup on Rod, which was illegal, since they weren't given makeup. but it was funny though. Rod, in a tin foil bikini. We basically dressed up Cassandra with a toilet paper top, an earring with 2 cups, a duct tape belt with cups on it, and tin foil wrapped shoes. When they told us that we won, there was a moment of silence, expecting the "Just Kidding" part. Then things got loud. But we marched out of the room happy.
Result: Another Win!

Third Game: Balloon Popping
Vs. Ted Titans
What Happened: In this game, we were supposed to pop the other team's balloons before they could ours. Whoever was left standing wins. At first, we thought that we had to pop our teammates' balloons, according to Ted, but he was wrong. It was fun. I didn't pop anyone's though. I got popped by this tall dude, which made me not so happy. I liked watching though. Monica even got cornered by 4 people! And she escaped! Go Monica! But then, because of her knee, we had to do a head count. It was 5 (or 4 excluding Monica because of her knee) against 5. We still called it a draw though.
Result: Draw...

Fourth Game: Volleyball
Vs. The Fishermen
What Happened: It took place in a room, with the wall collapsed. In it's place, there were 3 tables, separating us from them. We had to sit on the ground, staying in our spots, hitting a large beach ball back and forth. If it hit the ground or any wall, except the dividing wall, it was out and the other team gets a point. Best two out of three. WE won all games. :D We switched sides for the second game, though. It was fun hitting the ball back and forth, sounds more fun than it seems. I remember when I served the ball. I hit it over, then they hit it. It hit a corner on the ceiling, since there are pipes and lights above us, and it plummeted straight down onto the ground. Point for us! Toriaezu, it was close the 3rd round though. A point vs. two points left. And we still won x]
Result: 3rd Win!

Last Game: Pictionary
Vs. [Wagner's Advisory]
What Happened: WEll, the last event. Pity. It was so fun too! Except for the part where we lost. And they called us out for using a symbol, when they clearly used arrows and even talked when drawing. Then there was the time when Rey had to draw out "Mad cow disease." WTF?! How the hell are you supposed to draw that out?! We ended up losing by 2 points. And another thing. That guy must be deaf! I mean, when Marco was up drawing the detective-dud, I clearly said "DETECTIVE!" out loud. Ehh.
Result: Lose >.>

And there we have it. My first ever advisory olympics. Shame we didn't go against someone who made my hiccups go away x]

"Meatballs or Chicken Dumplings?"

2009-03-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile.
Did I mention that I got a new Mac Mini?
Don't squabble. Macs and PCs are both awesome,
both in their own little way.
This isn't a poem,
by the way.
Just in case you were wondering.
I just wanted to press the return key more.
Is that title weird?
My mom was asking hat over and over for like 5 mins.
I meant to post yesterday.
But I got distracted.
Yesterday was Creative Expressions.
We're doing a new project for
Festival del Sol.
Ceram wrap figures.
I was the model.
Fun.
My leg and chest were both wrapped
in various layers of ceram wrap
and packaging tape.
"I'm flat chested!"
That was fun.
People were staring.
I took it in, smiling.
We even got a picture for the yearbook.
:D

Today, was a work day.
We got things done.
Then I stayed after school.
For about half an hour.
Waiting for my mom
so we can do SLCs.
They were alright.
Patrick and Marisol were staring at me
when I was talking in Tagalog.
Being stared at is fun.
Unless you're in a box
called a "classroom"
and random people
called "visitors"
are watching you,
hands cupped around their eyes
monitoring us like prey.

And thus ends my rant.
Till next time.

Oh by the way.
I'm currently obsessing
over Portal right now.
Even if it is old.

"And when your dying
I'll be still alive."

Reading Journal: Goblet of Fire

2009-03-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

"A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast with Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. Harry could see at once why Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr. Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so throughly that he could have passed for a bank manager; Harry doubted even Uncle Vernon would have spotted him for what he really was."

Well, I guess this is a good example of "Don't judge a book by it's cover" shtick. I could totally imagine someone appearing in front of 10 people in robes, sticking out with his fancy "normalness". And then of course, the movie adaptation of this book is currently airing on TV as I type this, and I watched the flashback Harry saw that had Crouch in it. He looked odd. In a way, it's hard to explain. But then again, movies are never as good as the books.

I wonder who J.K. Rowling based this character off of, if any at all? It'd be a bit hard for me, because I rarely interact with old men in suits and ties, pretending to be ordinary, when they're really one of those people who are say, more gifted than us "normal" humans. But then again, I'm not that "normal". Take the fact that I would rather spend my lunch hour out in the rain, enjoying the cold, wetness of Mother Nature, rather than being cooped up in a small, warm room, with loud people. So anyways, does this particular person influence Rowling in anyway? I guess, I'll never know...

Grades came today...

2009-03-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today was a fairly good day. School was the usual mix of frustration and boredom caused by our classes, while my friends kept me preoccupied with other things. x] Today in Philosophies, we discussed about being ourselves, in a way. First we made a spider chart thing, where we put down our most important traits. Then watched a thought experiment. It went kinda like this: What would happen if an exact same clone was made of you, with the exact same atoms. Which one would you wake up as, the original or the copy? And what would you choose? Your favorite thing shown before you were copied? Or a new item shown to "you" went you awoke? It was a bit confusing, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.

I came home today. Well, obviously. xp Nothing special really happened. I'm playing Ocarina of Time right now, and I'm stuck under the well. Not stuck, stuck, but not knowing what to do stuck. But I've been reading about THE iDOLM@STER gameplay in an English guide. :O Seems interesting. I want the game to America more than ever now. Anyways, I was watering the plants today, when one of the plants got caught on my pants, but I didn't notice. I kept walking and it got knocked over. What's worse, my dad just came from picking up my brother. He didn't mind, but he did ask why I was using my mom's earphones, instead of mine. Seemed like he cared about that more :/ He complained about how the earbuds he bought me last summer were too new. Pfft. And so my grades came today. At first, I thought they weren't the straight A's I usually got. And to add to that worry, my dad teased me about getting a C on my report card. I checked, and everything was fine though. x]

Now for a classic. Kinda. x]

2009-03-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

"They headed down to breakfast, where Mr. Weasley as reading the front page of the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow and Mrs. Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a love potion she'd made as a young girl. All three of them were rather giggly."

-Chapter 3, The Dementor from The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Now my question is this. What's so giggly about making a love potion? Is it the idea of making someone fall in love with you? Or is it the person who you're giving the love potion to? I wonder what it would be like to be under a love potion? I've read other things about love potions. Like how there this one guy who wanted this one teacher to fall in love with him. So he got either one of her students or son, forgot which, and asked them to bring a lock of the teacher's hair to him. The child went and asked for it and, suspecting what the man was up to, she gave a lock of cow's hair instead. The man took the hair, drank the potion, then had a cow chase him throughout the town. The end (:

And for my comment. I don't believe in love potions, because love wouldn't be real if it was "made" like that. If you really loved them, you would want them to be happy, and go love whoever they would want and accept that. That's what I usually tell other people who like someone, but isn't interested. But then again, it'd be nice to have the love of your dreams suddenly fall in love with you ;D

Start of a weekend. A boring one at that.

2009-02-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

Lo and behold, Saturday has finally come. But the thing is, it's actually pretty boring. I mean I love weekends. No school, no lessons, no crap. Well maybe at home. I get up at like 9-ish today to play some OoT for a few. The Water Temple bugs me. Like a lot. Then all of a sudden my dad's like, "Go vacuum the car!" And so me and my brother go clean the car, while my dad just watches like he's the big man in charge. In charge of doing nothing! xp So anyways, then brunch. Then some laundry. Then some piano-playing to get to my mom's laptop. Which I am currently using. Unfortunately there is a time limit, which sucks.

Why can't I have my own laptop? Oh, that's right. It's because I'm broke-ish and my parents blame me for breaking computers so they won't let me have one. Well I'm saving up. In fact, I may have about close to $200, somewhere in my wallet, room, or in the house. Maybe if I do that change jar thing that other people do. They end up having a lot more money than expected. Now for choosing. Mac or PC? Oy I hate choosing. I love Macs for their indestructible-ness, but PCs have everything I want to do. Should I do BootCamp on Mac, or just play it safe on my PC? Argh. I'll think about it later.

In other news, I may have told you about Toradora!, a new anime that came out late last year, and is now nearing completion. Watch it! I recommend it. Slice of life, drama, romance, hilarity. All in the works. It's gotten sooooooooooooo GOOOOOOOOOD. Synopsis of the first light novel volume can be found on my school DP, here. I used it as a subject for my book review. :p

Yesterday, I had to stay after school with one of my friends. It was fun. We were supposed to be working on our light boxes for certification in our Math/Physics class, but all the teachers were out at a meeting. So we just walked around and talked. We argued how much the tool booth for the exit near here was. It was $3! Even Mike, the guy I carpool with, said it. We also talked about lying to people. We kept walking past this one classroom because someone was there. I ended up saying hi to him when he was leaving. I felt proud of myself. He did a double-take back at us then kept walking. He came back for something then passed us again, and I think he was trying to avoid eye contact. x] Anyways, I feel good (:

How to Sleep in Class

2009-02-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

Reading Journal time!!! Joy, I know x| Anyways, this is actually a sub-section under "How to Survive a Boring Class" from the same book I did it on last time, "The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht. Why, I did it on this book, is because I don't have anything else to read, and this book it thiiiick. x] Anyways, the selected guote from my reading is:

"Assume the Napping Position
-Place your thumb under your chin, supporting your jaw.
-Rest your four fingers on the side of your face.
-balance your head on your hand, keeping it upright.
-Place your notebook open and in front of you; hold a pen in your hand, to look as if you are ready to take notes."

Now my comment is:

I remember doing this, actually. It was during a tour in New York. Looking back on it now, I probably missed out on a great experience, but at the time, it seemed like it wasn't. During the tour, we were supposed to take notes. Well I already had enough notes and the tour didn't feel half-over yet. What added to the sleepyness was it was a rainy day. And I was wearing my hat AND my hoodie sooo... I Pulled my hoodie over my hat, cradled my head on my hand, balanced my binder on my lap with a pen in my hand, and looked down. Voila! Off to sleep. And I didn't even get caught. *smug face*

But, wait! here's a question!

What happens if you get caught? And worse, what if you get called on? I guess I have kind of a solution. Check the board real quick and scan over what's the general topic, or what the recent topic was. Then ask "What was the question again?" After the question, mumble something that sounds something like the answer to buy yourself some time. Look at the notes of people around you, which indicate that you shouldn't sit next to someone who doesn't take notes. Now after this time, you have two options. If the question isn't that heavy on your grade, it would be okay to say I don't know. Now if it is heavy, say..."I don't know." I know it's the same thing, but if it's a rare occasion that you're caught then I figure it's okay. But if this is a repeat offense, then it's down on yourself >:) Have a nice day.

Once in awhile...

2009-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

...I'm going to stop posting up blogs, then unexpectedly post one of these up to notify you, my readers, that I, in fact, am not dead. And then ramble on about what has happend over the past few days, then come in the small trickle of posts. Wait a few weeks, then it repeats. You might be getting tired of this, but I have no choice. My life, especially my school life, has got me too worked up to barely even post up a reading journal. I know you guys probably don't like them, but I also havet odo them for, you guessed it, school. It's been running my life more and more, and eventually, I won't be able to post up any more entries. Sad faceeeeee. ): But, I promise, I will try my best to find some time in my busy life to pop in and tell you guys what's going on in my life. ;)

So anyways, the day before I left Palm Springs, we went up a mountain on a tramcar, which was super uber wicked fun! There were five towers and everytime we would pass one, the car would sway and every one would go "Wooooooahhhh!" I have a vid of the ride up and some of the ride down since my camera ate my batteries. I'll put it up on YouTube, hopefully, soon I guess. We had to wait an hour for our tramcar though, there were so many people. And couple of them were pretty cute too. x]

When we got up top, we walked down a wide winding path, which was covered in snow and ice! But my snow gear kinda looked dorky :p They were my dad's, as always, but I had a good time. But we kept taking pictures on the way down, which took forever. But we eventually got down to the ground, and then it was play time! My aim is pretty bad...^.^;; I made a wall, but it kinda died. I kicked some chunks of ice that my dad got pics of, but the camera was slow so it only took like a few pics. We then played a bit more then came down.

And for today, we were supposed to have advisory olympics today, but our school couldn't rent the nearby park for today so we just had an ice cream social where me and my friend were gazing at someone. x] Which reminds me, that same friend got a Wreck This Journal like mine, from my other friend and there was this one page where we had to lost it. Well, my other friend took it and gave it to that someone. She was totally red, but it was hilarious. I was kinda jealous, how come I don't have confidence like that? >.< I sent that person a message awhile ago, but they still haven't replied yet. -_- I thought they did though, but it was just my other friend. :p All for now.

What to do in case of...

2009-02-16T14:54:00.001-08:00

For this reading journal post, I chose to do it on The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht. Why? Well, it was the only thick book that I brought up with me in Palm Springs, so I figured, What the hey? ONe of the more interesting scenarios, not that they're ALL interesting, is How to Jump from a Building to a Dumpster. One of the warnings say:

"The Dumpster may be filled with bricks or other unfriendly materials. It is entirely possible to survive a high fall (five stories or more) into a Dunpster, provided it is filled with the right type of trash (cardboard boxes are best) and you land correctly."

Well this is interesting. I mean, I feel much safer that I now know how to jump from a tall building into a dumpster. Just think of all the times that I can use it. Hmm, but I guess i need to live in a high-rise apartment building. If I get married, I can jump into a dumpster when my mother-in-law comes to visit. Or if the building is on fire, or would the dumpster catch on fire? Well what else could be safe to land on? I know for sure not rocks or glass, feathers are okay. What about styrofoam? Its hard but it's not dense and might break under impact and sudden pressure. Old carpets? Newspapers? I wonder... The MythBusters should try this out x]]]

In the desert. I think

2009-02-13T20:45:00.001-08:00

Well here I am in Palm Springs for the weekend. I'm staying in a cabin with my family till Monday at this place that was supposedly the same as this one campground that we usually stay up in Julian. Turns out we were kinda wrong. This lot of trailers and RVs looks like a trailer park. And the buildings are so ugly :pp Our cabin is just across the road from wither the office, the clubhouse, or maybe both. Our cabin is also near a playground and pool. I don't expect to go swimming, since it was raining on the way here. Oh, and instead of being 5 miles from the closest city-town thing, its actually 45. I hate typos. And for my first hour here, I am less than impressed. I am far from it. I expected more trees. Ugh. I mean our GPS itself got lost, partially because there was a road closure to get here. The upstairs has a little more standing room, but the railing is waaaaay too low. Someone could trip and end up falling onto the first floor. There are two small mattresses upstairs, but there are stains on it.I'm afraid of what they are. Thankfully, my mom brought some covers. There are some cobwebs in a corner, and the bathroom has barely enough wiggle room. I have to stay here until Monday. At least I have internets. :D

I had to leave school early today to get here. But we ended up getting a little side-tracked. We went to the library nd borrowed a couple books. Then we picked up my brother, had lunch, packed up the truck, and waited. We left at around 4-ish. My friends called. Full of squeals, they were giggling over this one guy that I've been meaning to talk to for awhile. They think he's really hot. x] I sent him a YouTube message the other night, and he still hasn't responded. Oh well, I can wait. Well, all for now. Nothing else to rant on about.

Just a small update...

2009-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

My first blog post in a while. Well just wanted to say that whoever has internet is a lucky bas-I mean-person. And for those who have a laptop, you guys are also under that banner. Anyways, due to the lack of internet and the rise in frustration torwards technology at my house, I have been forced to create a podcast. I'm not saying that podcasting is bad or anything. I'm the problem. Lots of ums and pauses. I'll work on it though. So that means more podcasts coming. I'll post it up when I have a chance too, since I'm at my cousin's house, and the podcast episode is at home on my external hard drive. :p Hope you guys are enjoying my Gaia journal posts (found on my 100th post).

Reading Jouranl for Ender's Game

2009-02-07T18:05:00.001-08:00

For today's reading journal, I've chosen to do it on a book I just finished a few hours ago called Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. The following post has a few spoilers in it so if you would like to read this book, I recommend for you to not read ahead. And the quote I choose to share with you is:

"If we had kissed, it would have been the miracle to make us human in each other's lives. Instead we killed each other. But still we welcome you now as guest friends. Come into our home, daughters of Earth; dwell in our tunnels, harvest our fields; what we cannot do, you are now our hands to do for us."

These are the words thought, yes thought, to Ender when he discovered the pupa of the unborn Bugger queen. This was after the climax ofthe story and very well near the end. Ender was the one who wiped out the Buggers, and for the Bugger queen to forgive them was just unbelieveable. I mean, the third war in which the buggers and the humans fought, led by an 11-year-pld is pretty amazing. Does this mean that when she hatches that the buggers and humans won't be fighting each other? What will they do now that the humans have inhabited their old worlds? The book was kind of long, but it kept me reading. I look forward to reading the other 6 books in the series. If I have time of course (:

Screwy internetz and old friends.

2009-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am annoyed. At my computer. For those who talk to me, you probably know why. If you don't then here is my issue with my computer: the internet does not work properly. Other the past few days, my internet had started to shut off and on randomly. It drives me insane. Well, my dad bought a new router so I'm trying it out now. Well when I try to go on either meebo, Myspace, or YouTube, Firefox crashes. My mood becomes ()!*&$)(!*&)Q(*#$&!!!!!!!! Another computer frustration is how buggy it just is. Like how I just tried to open iTunes because it didn't come up when I plugged in my iPod, the window didn't even come up yet and it's telling me that it had to close because of some kind of error. WTF? And now Windows Explorer just crashed on me. Twice in 5 minutes. I really hate this computer. I wish I had a new one. Maybe i'll just get my own laptop instead of a DS or a PSP. But which to choose? Mac or PC?

Well, enough ranting. How was my day you may or may not ask?It was fun really. I got to see some of my friends again from elementary school. It was fun. I got to meet up with not only one of my old classmates, but two of my old friends too. And it turns out one of them is bi. Which brings up the total up to 3. We played Brawl, talked a bit, ran around the lock a few times and then came in to play Mario Kart. Then I went home around 6:30ish.

This post was actually made for yesterday, but my computer was of course being buggy and restarting itself. Can't see why they don't just buy me a new computer...:p

[reserved for 100th post :p]

2009-01-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

~~i forgot about this. in fact i wasn't even expecting it. it's already been 100 posts since i started this blog, and maybe it's already been a year. i'll reflect more later. i have school right now ;)~~

Time flies by so fast. It's so hard to realize that it's already been 100 posts, no a YEAR since I made this small little blog back in 8th grade. I remember I would just post up little random babblings of my life, nothing special. I look back at the past year in thought, "Oh yeah, I remember this." With so many things going on in our lives, it's always important to look back at your life and relive your life's plot up to the current moment. Blogging has taught me a lot of things. What you write goes on the internet, which means anyone can read it. I wasn't really expecting someone in Japan or the Philippines, or even somewhere in Europe to read my blog. My friends both old and new, I won't forget, and I'm really forgetful, thanks to this blog. But of course with the friends I've had/have, you can't really forget them. Still can't believe it's been a year. 365 days. 52 weeks. 12 months. A YEAR. I contemplate the last year with a smile. A lot of good things happened. And I'll be glad to say that I will be able to report more happy moments in my life. But I also want you to feel sadness from this blog, as any should, to keep it real. My grandma passed away last week, but I still see her in dreams. She does well. Some of my friends left my school, which is tragic, but I see them again every once in a while. No matter how sad it gets, there's always a silver lining to find somewhere in the midst of the depression. Nothing can really sadden me for an extended period of time.

As a gift from me to you, I'll give you text files of my blog from my early middle school days, when I used to use Gaia Online. ~~It's on private, but I'll make them available soon.~~ My old Gaia blog is now available for those who want to read it. The posts are from late 7th grade to early 8th grade I think. Read it here.

Happy 101th Post! now a reading journal...

2009-01-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy 100th post! Too bad it's a reading journal. Oh, well. I'll make it up somehow. So the book I'm reading right now is The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket. The sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. One of the pieces of the reading that I enjoyed was:

"Waiting rooms, as I'm sure you know, are small rooms with plenty of chairs fo waiting, as well as odd, dull magazines to read and some vapid paintings-the word "vapid" here means "usually containing horses in a field or puppies in a basket"-while you endure the boredom that doctors and dentists inflict on their patients before bringing them in to poke them and prod them and do all the miserable things that such people are paid to do." More...Now this of course has nothing to do with what was going on other than the fact that the Baudelaire siblings wanted a waiting room to sit in so that they wouldn't have to endure waiting through the blazing heat for their tongs to finished heating up to white-hot. Well my question is this. What if there was a painting of a beach? Or the chairs were all armchairs with cup holders? And the magazines are all new, and exciting? Would it be some sort of alternate universe for a waiting room? Well, whatever. I like Snicket's little random rants in the middle of the reading, just to explain something with a faulty explanation. I think that it influences my writing style a bit, because when I write, it ends up being a tangent like this.

Reading Journal Again

2009-01-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

What I read out of this whole weekend, was what we were assigned. It counts though, right? So what I read was The Peek-a-Boo World, from Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman. I was too lazy to write out the whole title. So in this chapter, Postman talks about the history of media, from the invention of the telegraph to the TV, how it make everything all random and such. One quote for this theory would be, "The abundant flow of information had very little or nothing to do with those to whom it was addressed; that is, with any social or intellectual context in which their lives are embedded." This is how it is now, actually. The conflict in Gaza, has little to do with us. (If I offended anyone, I didn't mean it.) But sometimes it does. Like President Obama and the bailout plan. One thing i like about this author is his writing style. He asks, "You may get a sense of what this means by asking yourself another series of questions...I shall take the liberty of answering for you: You plan to do nothing about them." The author is witty, and when you feel like you're drifting off to sleep, he unexpectedly says something witty. He mentions how photographs gives us even more random facts about life and that gave birth to crosswords, radio quiz shows, and TV game shows. He calls the "electric conversation" a "peek-a-boo world" where we don't have to do anything, and yet we're entertained. Radio, film, TV, the works. One of my favorite quotes from this text was, "As some psychiatrist said once put it, we all build castles in the air. The problems come when we try to live in them." Which reminds me of this one Studio Ghibli movie, Laputa: Catsle in Sky, no durr. I wonder if the author had any castles in the sky when he was younger. Was part of the castle to make this book? I don't recommend it only because it drones on, but for how long I don't know. In fact, I may be wrong about it. But, I thought this chapter was okay.

Passerby. Another ranting poem.

2009-01-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

First day, new faces
Fresh start, strangers
Weird, interesting places
A passing thought, for a passing peer
Who is this person?

Midday, time to eat
Sat with new friends
Then I saw you with yours
Wanting to meet you.

Everyday, I would see you
Wondering who you were.
After a month or two
I finally got your attention

"Hey, I have that same shirt!"
You looked at me, I looked at you
I stared, but I didn't speak
Too shy to relay my thoughts

College trip, that one day.
There were spots on one bus,
but I said it was full
Just so I could be on the same one with you.
Then of course my friends were on that one too.

Before we drove on, chatting with my friends.
I stared at you. And you stared back.
I didn't realize it, but I came to my senses.
I turned away, face red on the inside.
Flustered, embarrassed.

I kept sneaking looks at you,
All during the whole trip.
Wondered if you had any interest in me
As much as I had in you.

Then the time of midday.
When I got the chance to talk to you.
A simple sentence, a joke.
You smiled but kept silent.
It felt like half an hour,
when you finally walked up and left.

Did I bore you?
Do I look too geeky?
What did I do?

The day went on
With a tour of the campus
I stayed with my friends,
While you stayed with yours

I started walking fast, an instinct I had
And then I heard your voice
I kept my head down, staring at my shoes
You were talking with someone,
I couldn't help but smile at how funny you were.

I walked on, trying to act natural.
The tour ended, we walked back to the bus.
I talked with my friends, had fun.
The real fun was the trip back home.

Truth or dare for a few hours.
Even the teachers were enjoying it.
You were dared something outrageous
And you refused, another funny moment.
I learned your name, and kept it in my heart.

Now, months later
I still think of you, and so does my friend.
I'm fighting for you.

「ホントにキミがスキなんだ」
「やっぱりキミがスキなんだ」
「神様」
「勇気のカケラはどこにあるの？」

本当だよ

ついに土曜日！やった～！

2009-01-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

I did plan on having this post in Japanese, but I was too lazy to look up all the things I didn't know about, so it would make sense. Well it's finally Saturday, after a not-so-long, not-so-short week. Yesterday, I signed up for 2 elctives instead of an elective and sport or two sports. I feel fat... Anyways, I wanted to do both Music and Creative Expressions, which is like art, but they were on the same day. There wasn't anything interesting for our other choice-class day. I chose Games, games, games, where you just play card or board games all period. Not much but I might switch to Robotics since a couple of my friends are there. Nothing really major happened this week. Turns out two of my friends are like me. x) Actually, when I was telling one of my friends, and she told me, another one overheard and started talking about it to my other friend and was being dumb about it. Uhm, I guess I've been going on AIM more than ever now, but not a lot of people are on. And I've been checking my Myspace more and more. It's odd, I used to not be like this. I guess people change.

imogenheap is love

2009-01-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

「Media」は何ですか？

2009-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Media. It means so many things! Like "McDonalds" or "Imogen Heap" or "Harry Potter" or even "Chowder." Media is advertisements to articles, books to magazines, you get the idea. To me, media is something we process, something that influences us. It tells us what to eat, what to do, what not to do. If the news say we can't eat chips anymore because they lie and say it'll kill us (which eventually they will, if you only eat that for the rest of your life) then we won't eat chips anymore. Media is bigger than us, even if it is just a picture or sound. As humans, we tend to think and reason with ourselves, using media as evidence to fight for one thing or the other thing that we want to do. It manipulates us. What we wear is media, what we eat is media, what we live in is media. All of it. Pictures after the jump.

Stupid filters

2009-01-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Now that my POLs are done, I can finally kick back and relax; do whatever I want, right? Not completely true. The only option, since our Director wants us to look productive, we can only go on computers as of now, instead of play cards or board games. And since my computer use consists of watching videos and listening to music, and maybe even the occasional blog reading, I can't do ANYTHING! I want to sock the guy in the stomach that came up with the Internet filter. GAWD, there's nothing to do. I was going to read AppleMilk1988's Japanese blog, but I'm not sure of the exact URL. "To Google, and away!" said by my friend Anja. Well when I search up "applemilk", it's blocked. WTF?! What's so wrong about it? Do these people have like nasty minds or something? So now I can't read it. These filters are too strict! I am sick and tired of coming to school and using the internet only to have the dreaded gray and red screen come up and stop whatever I was doing. It's annoying! /annoyedrant

Lets start again

2009-01-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

You might've noticed that the last two posts aren't really my style. A poem and some other thing that I can't remember; some New Year's celebration. So lemme tell you whats going on in my life so far: I'm 14 now, which means I'm the same age as some of my classmates, for now at least. I was watching Eagle Eye when the new year came. We watched the ball go down of course, but it kinda felt odd watching it, the ball being in New York and all, being 3 hours ahead of us. And I'm guessing the West Coast is probably the last people to celebrate New Years, but I'm not sure. But hey, I'm alive aren't I.

Anyways, school started again. POLs were stress factors. They're just a presentation in front of a few people and my teachers about how we "grew" in the habits of the Heart and Mind. I passed, yay! Other people didn't though, for dumb reasons like not sounding like themselves or not having enough evidence. So yeah, that's past.

The reason behind my poem last time, was because my friends transferring to a different high school. His mom's pissed because our school doesn't have proper P.E. which is like total bull. He's a great guy, even if he is a little on the dark side. The story kind of tells our story. Just yesterday, we went to watch Bedtime Stories, and stayed at the mall for like 5 hours. We played Egyptian Ratscrew in the manga section of Borders. The cards are from Hot Topic and have Domo on them, awesome! He keeps saying he's going to leave, but he's at school the next day. So now he tells us that he's going at the end of the semester, which is next Wednesday. Sigh.

I don't think I have anything else to talk about now. But I did find a new, well new to me, webcomic. http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.html. Go to the first strip by mashing at the left arrow until it stops. All for now.

Gone. A ranting poem.

2009-01-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

We started out silent
Never speaking to each other
Having only our iPods to listen to

Then he left us alone.
20 minutes. Then it happened.
We became friends, just like that.

Another person to have random babbling with
Another person to have inside jokes with
Another person to have a laugh with

Weeks passed then months.
We seemed to get closer and closer
My views changed

A new person, you became
I wanted to be with you
But I had others

Now you're gone
A gaping hole in my body
It's your fault

You left us
I don't hate you
I hate that you left us

Feelings cloud my mind
I like you
That way or in that way?

But I can't
You aren't like that
But I kind of am

We were so close
It seemed like it
But were we really just friends?

Who's going to ride the car with us 2?
Who's going to fill the void that you created?
Who's going to be you?

Now you're gone
One less smile in our trio
An empty seat

"I feel a weakness coming on"
"I don't want to feel like this
So it's all your fault."

But I don't blame you.

Journal post of readingness of the weekend.

2009-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

For my reading journal this weekend, I chose to read a short story retold by Eric Carle called the Wild Swans, originally by Hans Christian Anderson. I like this story in particular because it has those basic fantasy elements, but Carle tells it in a way that isn't too fictional, and it shows off his writing style. The story goes like this......There was a king with a queen with 11 sons and a daughter, which is kind of disturbing, once you think about it. They were very happy, but the queen died. So he remarried a year later. But that queen was a witch who wanted the king for herself. I don't know but it sounds like she didn't get enough love and/or attention when she was young, and now she's acting like a spoiled brat. When the king was away, hunting with his friends, the queen turned the sons into swans and told them never to return. The daughter, Elisa, became depressed. So then her father sent her off to another country, so she can learn about them and get over her depression. But the evil supposedly attention-deprived witch of a queen told the man driving the carriage to dump her in the forest and leave her there. Which was what he did. Naturally, she started crying. But then, she must've been a good girl or something, nature came to her aid.

After gobbling up an apple and a nut and finding a cave to sleep in, and a river, she stayed there for years. One night, in her dreams, a fairy told her to follow the river downstream. She went and waited till sundown. Then you'll never guess what happened. 11 swans came and turned into the same 11 brothers that she lost that one day. They were very happy, and they decided to take Elisa to the main land again. They made a net and put her in, and flew out to sea. It turns out that they only stay as swans when the sun is up, and it takes 2 days for them to reach the mainland. Shouldn't their wings be stronger? I mean it has been several years since she was dropped off at the forest. But a swan can only fly so far. They reach a rock then stay the night. Then they go again. They reach the mainland and stay in a cave where the brothers have been staying. Again, the fairy appeared. She told her to make shirts out of nettles for her brothers, so that they can become whole again. But she couldn't tell anyone about it or the deal will break. Kind of reminds me of Howl's Moving Castle, a movie by Studio Ghibli. A young girl was turned into an old woman by a witch, but she couldn't say anything since there was a spell on her. It hurt, but she persevered. (Oh geez, the habits are really catching up with me...)

Unfortunately for her, she was taken, or rather kidnapped, from the cave by a hunter/prince. She still made the shirts but she still didn't tell anyone. She runs out of nettles and goes to the graveyard, a place with monsters, to get more, but she is followed by the prince and minister. They think she's a witch just because she's going to a mysterious place and gathering nettles, which backs up my "People are stupid" theory. She has a trial and all they say is "You are a witch, you die now." (Another point for my theory) She can't say anything still so she goes to jail to await her fate. She completes 10 of the shirts and another one with out sleeves. Then she goes to the stake. But before she is burned, she throws her brothers their shirts. The youngest one takes the sleeveless shirt, which makes him still have his wings. She confesses about the evil queen and her brothers. The people believe her and the wood from the stake pile became a rosebush. She and her brothers go into the castle.

I like this version of the story, half because I like the art that Eric Carle does, half because I like the way I told it. Another half for the story itself. It's wierd how people are programmed to judge people based on their actions and even color! I really want a shirt that says "My opinion? People are stupid. Have a nice day (:"

Books, books, and more books.

2008-12-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

As I just remembered here is the book list for books I plan to read over break. (Click read more ↓)

-The Tale of Despereaux
-The Diamond of Darkhold
-and possibly Toradora! the light novel Vol. 1

Yay books!

First and Last-Minute Memories

2008-12-20T23:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the last day for HTH to stay in Mater Dei, and I have to say, I'm going to miss it a lot. The one brick wall, the oddly divided window panels, the space under the stairs, the space of the classroom, so many things to miss. Especially the view from the second floor. Oh, I should've taken a picture of that one corner landscape!

One of thing that I'm going to miss most would be the slab we ate on during lunch, by the lawn on the school. Then there's the field, so half-dead with brown grass. Running barefoot across it during The Bee. Then there's the back hallway where we used to eat until Ray kicked us out. The haunted house exhibit, the radio station that came that one day and mostly everyone ignored it. I remember talking to Michelle the first day of school asking where my class were. I remember telling Patrick that I might not be in that class, and everyone laughed. Then my transfer to Team Vista. Or rather, Team Vista Spanish.

The Spanish music video, the Creative Expression sessions, the Egyptian Ratscrew games, the lunch in the rain, I've been through thick and thin with Seton Hall and I'm gonna miss it. Like those last memories of the half end of school. Ted telling everyone to settle down, the "I've never ever" game which I might have lied on ;), and the uncovered truths and hilarious dares: Daniel's proposal to Kay, Josh sniffing Anja's hair like a stalker, and Mallory jumping into Ted's arms. xD All these memories are priceless, and I will very much miss our old campus.

And with that I bid Mater Dei, adieu.

Lunch in the rain

2008-12-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today's lunch has got to be the most awesomest one ever! No it wasn't because I had my favorite food or because lunch was extended so that we wouldn't have 4th and 5th periods. It was simple. It was raining. And I was in it. And it was FUN! First, me and my riend Denise had our lunch in Kay's classroom, then we went outside. We took the back hallway to the front staircase, and we kinda just hung around a bit, talked. After that, we went out to the courtyard and walked back to the classroom. We met Sebastian and Caitlin on the way there and we went over to the concrete slab that we usually sat on. It was so cool because the security lady was in a yellow poncho and she was just watching us in the hallway, all wierd like. Denise and I headed upstairs for a little while to check up on ourselves in the bathroom, then we went back down. A Mater Dei kid was staring at us from his classroom. x] Then we went back in and showed people how wet we were, and Kay was smiling. Then we went outside again to get wet even more, then we found Holly and told her that we went out in the rain, (as if it wasn't obvious enough) then she told us we were AWESOME, and then we talked to Ted, then class started. One of my friends told me that I looked like I got hazed with a swirly. x]

Then after school, I jumped in a huge ouddle and everyone stared at me funny and I got my friends wet x] The end.

P.S. I LOVE YOU! x]]]]]]]]] (inside joke)

Overdue Post: Debate Day

2008-12-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hello all, this post was actually to be done yesterday, but I slacked off. But I deserved it! The debate was tough!

So ma and my mom are driving, and I come in at like 8:20, because we got lost. After a pep talk from Kay and her sister, we were off to our first debate round. Walking around in my suit kind of made me feel like a freak show because every single person was staring. It was the first time that made me feel like I was a high school student x]

Vs. Stud Muffins GS

Me and Anja were the Negative team, up against Gary and Luis (one of my Spanish music video partners), who were doing Nuclear energy. It was cool and our judges were nice. It was funny because during Cross-Examination, I kept writing questions on sticky-notes and giving them to Anja while she was questioning them. x] We were kind of unprepared for the rebuttals, but we did okay. But Luis just blew us away when he was giving the last rebuttal. He was so passionate andit seemed like he was strongly for nuclear energy. Then our round ended, both teams got constructive critisism and almost everyone on bothe teams but me had to go to the bathroom. This round and all our other rounds ended really early actually.

Vs. Stud Muffins BP

Then we were Affirmative against Josh P. and Arielle. We did pretty well, but I think all of us kind of lost it when a class came in and everyone was just staring at us. We were like, "ZOMG, middle schoolers, looking at us like O.o" Then after what seemed like forever, they gave us applause and left. Anja's mom who was watching us told me and Anja that one kid was really into the debate and when they left, he said" Tell the Democratic team, good luck for me!" We kind of had some trouble because while we tried our best to respond, the Negative team barely said anything, and it didn't give us a lot to work off of. Round ended early and it was off to lunch.

Lunch

Me and Anja came a little early, so we kind just hung out awhile, till Holly told us that there was pizza, so me, Gary, and 2 other people went to get the pizza, and we were almost in trouble because we weren't allowed in the judges' area and we had to pass through. It was good.

Vs. Stud Muffins BF

Then we were Negative against Catarina and Desiree. It was fun and they got in trouble because the kept laughing when I was giving one of my speeches and I was all like "Wind turbines are UGLY." I guess me forcing myself to be more passionate just made me look more like an idiot up there. One of the judges was really cool, because he joked around a bit and he even made the otehr team apologize for laughing when I was talking. Sure, everyone else did, but that was like, "Ha ha, okay back to buisness." We finished early as usual and we went off to our next round.

Vs. Stud Muffins DP

Finally, the last round, Affirmative against Mariah and Caitlin. We did okay, our judge didn't really say anything and he wasn't timing us or anything. But they like creamed us during Cross Examination. But I kind of reflected Caitlin's questiong about plants and photosynthesis. I don't remember how it went, but I do remember saying, "So you're saying that humans have the ability to do photosynthesis?" It was fun, and we were really friendly to each other afterwards.

Finals: Flying Pigs BJ vs. Stud Muffins AK

The finals was a round where it would determine who was going to be put in 1st and 2nd place. Same with the Semi-Finals, but with 3rd and 4th place. Nothing really to report, but we did try to go see the Semi-finals during the Finals, but Kay wouldn't let us.

Awards

It was fun. I was kind of actually suprised to get another award other than participation. I got the 3rd Place Speaker Award, which was so cool. It means that I had the 3rd most speaker points, because during our rounds, the judges would fill out a ballot where they would give us points on how well we did and who they would vote for. I had a jelly donut afterwards (:

Then I went home to change, and I went to Mallory's party. It was fun, we played white elephant, had a piggy-back ride race, played charades, and talked to other people. It was fun (:

OK, another reading journal entry

2008-12-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

I finished New Moon yesterday while sitting in a Supercuts for like 2 1/2 hours waiting for my turn. Fortunately, I got my haircut and finished the book. The ending was all mushy-gushy as always but the fact that people were killed back in Volterra kind of looms over that.

When Bella first saw Edward about to walk out in the sun, he was shirtless right? Then after they went down into the drain, he was still shirtless right? And then right before they left and he got that cloak from that one dude, he STILL was shirtless, right? That's a bit odd, even for a vampire. But I'm not a vampire so I wouldn't know. I felt so sad when those tourists came in though. especially that old woman with the rosary. Do they become vampires afterwards? Or do they just die? Then the trip back home. I guess Bella's too tired to notice some of the probably gawking-at-Edward drooling girls. x] Alice was awesome yet again, but I don't think I would want to get her angry. I mean, she's one of those people who would look all happy all the time, and when you got them upset, she would give out this freaky aura that tells you that something is wrong. Very wrong. Kind of like Mori the butler from the Haruhi Suzumiya series.

Aro and the other we're kind of cool I guess. In my mind, they were the show-offy too gorgeous-to-be-true albino stuck-ups. Then there was that one human woman. Kind of odd, but I guess she was just a really minor character. Course she could've been substituted with a vampire, but that would take away some answers.

And of course, Jacob. The bike part was hilarious in my view. Charlie just screaming, no, bursting with anger. And when Edward kept answering Jacob's answers before he said them was funny too. So yeah, the two odd vampire-human couple are gonna get married. I think. Their child is going to be interesting to look at.

And by the way, I'm taking a hiatus from this series, only because I want to take a break from vampire love and delve into something else. The Mars series looks interesting...

The Weirdest Dream

2008-12-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I had a weird dream last night and here it goes:

I was somewhere watching TV, and I saw this mob on the news. The mob was HUGE! Like, the camera from the chopper couldn't fit them all. Then terrorists came out and started shooting people! Of course it was all bloody and everyone started running away. The camera zoomed in on Obama, who for some reason was in the mob, and Ted and a couple other people. And they got shot. I was like, "No way!" And throwing kind of a fit in front of a TV. Then the point of view went to Nicholas Cage looking like Old Snake, who had to get some files in a folder in a burning high-rise hotel, next to a laptop. He gets in, gets the folder and exits to the hallway outside the room. There he is greeted by Naomi and they move to the catwalk staircase that old buildings have in case of fires. She offers him a way out then everything goes black.

Now, he, or me now, is in New York city trying to get on a bus. I think Moseby from The Suite Life came in and tried to get a bus to stop but I don't remember so clearly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, protesters holding picket signs were trying to tell people to not buy Pokemon stuff. W argue with the protesters, saying how little kids love them and the merchandise was perfect for Christmas and then get on a bus after the first one skipped up. The bus somehow made the transition to an amusement park ride you would find in a park. The track was a desert jungle. Lots of trees but lots of cacti. I rode it twice with my cousin, I think, then got off met with my friends, saw a computer with Holly's DP on it and went to a bathroom. There was a big muscular guy going into a stall and my friends we're peeking in for some reason. The stalls were really long, like it would be a mansion hallway length to get to the toilet from the stall door. There would also be benches on the way there, I guess if the person had the full-bladder tolerance to be tired. Then I woke up (:

Oh yeah! I got a haircut today, but I have no pictures x] You'll get to see on Monday though :D

'Tis the season to panic...

2008-12-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Oh, jeez, I'm not gonna finish, I'm not gonna finish, I'm gonna fail, I have so much to do, will I get it done in time?

Do these thoughts sound familiar to you? It does to me. Remember my scrapbook project for my East Coast Trip back in 8th grade? Well, now I'm handling more projects than last time. 2 more bringing it to a total of 3. Joy. My Spanish project was a music video that took me 3 hours to edit which gave me a mondo headache afterward. Kind of like my 8th grade music video project but more stressful. However, we still managed to submit it on time and it was good.

Then there's the Math/Physics wind turbine project where a couple of my partners have some issues about the specifications about the turbine. We decided on a blade design, so that's good. Me and my other partner have practically don't have anything to do, since we can't exactly construct our blade without a mold and liquid fiberglass. I was looking at more Hashima (or Gunkangima) Island pictures, and set one as my background. xD

For Humanities, we have a debate/exhibition coming up at a middle school near my house. It's not as far as my high school so I'm good. Me and my partner are doing good, but there are some things that we can catch up on.

And now for the real reason I created this post: my group's music video from Spanish.

LoGiCal FaLlAcIeS

2008-12-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling hungry or tired? Then why don't you come down to the sea and eat a pineapple? They are rich in nutrients and eating it will make you have beautiful skin and beards and goatess and sideburns and all that other good stuff.

BUT WAIT! I thought pineapples give you a bladder infection?!

That's true! Don't be fooled by an apple with a 'pine' in front of it, that causes bladder infection! Eat a book instead! You'll be smarter and you will an extra toe! You will know everything that the book had. Even what was in the index and what the little crumbs in the spine came from! So what are you waiting for eat a book today! Call 1-800-555-BOOK for your free laptop and insurance consultation.
See? Like this baby! He's on the road to a smart and a healthy bladder life!

------------------------------------------------

This has been an example of a Logical Fallacy. This one is an example of Straw Man. It's when two people are arguing, and one arguer distracts the other by completely missing the point and not acknowledging the other's argument. For example, Person A says that wind turbines are expensive. Person B knows that wind turbines are expensive, but instead, he talks about how wind turbines are good for the environment and ignores the argument that wind turbines are expensive. Think about a dog that wants a bone but is distracted by a car or cat.

Hooray for Anime!

2008-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am once again, posting up another blog post instead of doind homework. (: But that's what later is for! It's not important in the current time frame anyways. But this post will be about an anime that I found that is really ROFL funny. YOu heard me. Not "haha" funny. Not LOL funny. But ROFL funny. But since it's still airing, I think that it could bump up to ROFLMAO material.

The anime is called "Toradora!" and is a slice-of-life, shonen anime. The main character, Takasu Ryuuji, is a normal guy, but his peers are always avoiding him because he has eyes of a delinquent. All he wants is a girlfriend, particularly a girl in his class named Minori. But then on the first day of school, he bumps into Aisaka Taiga, or her other name "the Palmtop Tiger." Small in stature, she is the real delinquent. She angryly pushes Ruuji out of the way, and catch up with Minori who is apparently her friend. Later, it's revealed that Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji's friend Yuusaku. After a game of cat-and-mouse with a wooden sword at Ryuuji's apartment, the two agree to help each other in order to get each other's friends hearts.

The series actually originated from a light novel, much like the Haruhi Suzumiya series, and is available to read, on Baka-Tsuki.net. The anime is fairly new, only to have the 10th episode release on the 5th. Or in other words, this Friday. But since fansubbers, have to get to it and translate it, I need to wait a little longer to watch it. But hey, it's worth the wait (:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

2008-11-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

Hello people of the internetz! Because this font looks appealing to me currently, I have decided to keep it. (:

Anyways, happy Thanksgiving everyone, hope you fill yourself to the brim with turkey and stuffing ;) I am currently at my auntie's house in Escondido right now, and my ither cousins just go here. There's an annoying beep going off in the kitchen, but I'm sure it's not the turkey (: Or maybe it is? idk. XD I will be sleeping over here the night, along with my brother and one of my cousins, if not all of them. I'm still kind of sick, not as stuffy a nose and slight coughs. I sleep better at night. But it's been raining a lot lately, which equals the cold in early morning, which kind of brings me back to earth, just barely. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, and in fact it was rainging on the way here. But then of course there was a 3-car accident that clogged up the freeway, and held us up about 15 minutes, but whatever. Sadly, my parents are working today, but I'm happy and thankful that at least I have my cousins and brother. x]

Last night, I downloaded the Super Mario Galaxy OST, and I like it. The tracks range from half a minute to about 4 minutes. I downloaded the Platinum Version, which has all 82 tracks from the game on 2 CDs. I've been listening to it all since last night, and I barely reached the half-point song, without skipping any songs. There are a couple that I listened to again, only for the pure enjoyment of the track. (LMAO< my brother sounds tone deaf, trying to sing Dirty Little Secret x], he's playing Rock Band with some of my cousins upstairs, sorry. /random tangent) I like the music which makes me want Super Mario Galaxy even more, even though I borrowed it from my friend andfinished it. x] Still haven't found out the red star's secret or finished all the Purple Comets. Maybe I'll add that to my ever growing wish list :D

Happy Thanksgiving, have a good turkey day, where ever you are :)

Kyou wa kinyoubi....

2008-11-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

[This blog post was meant to be written in Japanese, but the dumb school computers won't let me access the language bar]

Today is Friday. It's almost the start of Thanksgiving vacation. Yay! I get to sleep in. I don't think I have anything coming up, so yeah I'm good. But I have to stay after school today to shoot our dumb Spanish music video project. Blaaah. It's lunch time and I'm in Kay's class. Nothing interesting right now. But we're going against Raul (who owes me $2 for the glowsticks I gave him) and Manuel (who's in my group for the Spanish music project video thingy). My other teammates are Mallory (who I met during NYSLC) and Josh B. (who sits next to me in Spanish). Hooray for random facts! I think it's almost time to go, because lunch is almost over and people are coming in to the classroom. So this was kind of like a small update right now. (:

BTW, Denise says "Hi" and "What's up" and "Tee hee." xDDD
Anja says, "Bye-bii!"

I is a sickly child

2008-11-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hello readers. :) I am alive and wanting to say that I have not become a mindless zombie that only puts up school work on his originally personal blog, which it still is. I have come to inform you that I have caught something bad. C.O.L.D., otherwise known as Coughin' On Life Disease. Or the flu. Or whatever it is. I don't know what it's called right now, neither do I care. I developed this irritating sickness sometime over the weekend, and it's only taken it about 4 days to cause me to become sluggish and slumpy-state. I actually want to keep going to school so that I won't have to make anything up, but my cold is really persistent and tempting to give in to. I would love to just stay in bed for a whole day, lying in the snot and germs that create my currently aggravated state. :p

In other news, I downloaded a new album called GAME by Perfume, a J-pop, electropop girl trio. I have to say, having Yasutaka Nakata as their producer could've been the best thing that they could've ever done. At first, I only liked Perfume a litle bit because their beats were all wierd and unfamiliar to me. But then Yasutaka Nakata from the duo capsule came aling, and it just skyrocketed. I'd love to give a link, but I kind of downloaded it for free. And I used BitTorrent, which is like a multifile downloader, so yeah. But then again, who doesn't? I love the song Puppy Love. The chorus is so catchy!

In other, other news, I am going on a field trip! In about 2-3 weeks, I will be visiting "Knight & Carver wind turbine blade repair and construction facility and the downtown library! Yay for libraries. And yay for wind power! *cough* blaargh. :imd: xPP It's going to be interesting, at least that's what my gut tells me.

To close off, I will present to you a video of what sounds like Palin singing. But if you maybe surf around YouTube, you can maybe find the original clip without the background music. I found two versions: one that just has text (which is greatly edited! and highly recommended), and another one that has an intro by Katie Couric (is that her last name?) Enjoy.

Love how she just goes "Oh!" right in the middle xDDD

Waste into energy. Wierd huh?

2008-11-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

Wheelabrator Technology Inc., a US company uses a special technology where they turn your waste into new renewable energy where you can use it to power your car and maybe your home as well. They produce steam and electricity by burning large amounts of trash and waste to make the energy that you may be using today, and probably for the past 100 years too.

This kind of reminds me of Back to the Future (I'm not sure which one) when the scientist dude takes some of the kid's trash and puts it into a coffee pot looking thing which makes the car run. I was like, "Woah flashback!"

I, myself am a bit skeptical because if we burn a lot of trash, sure we get rid of our trash, but what about the smoke and pollutants released from burning the trash? Do they contain it and hopefully turn it into oxygen, since it is a waste product after all, or do they just release it into the atmosphere? It's great and all that we're treasuring someone else's trash but, what about the air? This is part of the reason global warming exists! So is there another way to burn the trash? Actually, I'm a little curious as to how they make trash into energy. I wish I knew (:

Wreck This Journal

2008-11-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

For my reading journal this week, I chose to do Wreck This Journal by, again, Keri Smith. In fact, I just got the book Friday night, at the Borders in Plaza Bonita. You might think, "How can you read a book like that?" Well, it's simple. You read the prompt, proceed to do it, then look over what you did, or repeat it (if permissible). Some of the prompts that maybe is a one-time only thing, would be to write one word over and over again. The word that I chose was: again. A random word right? But, I was listening to my iPod, and the song "Again and Again" by The Bird and the Bee came up, and I thought it was "Perfect Timing", (haha, song joke, by Orba Squara). And so I wrote the word "again", again and again. But, after 10 minutes, I got bored with my pencil. So then, I got up and went on a scavenger hunt looking for colorful pens, markers, and anything else I could write with. After 15 minutes of pillaging my house for writing utensils, I went back to my sofa chair in my living room, and continued to write "again", again and again. Then after 35, 40 minutes, my 2 pages of repetitive wording was complete. I have posted up a picture for all to see. The clamps on the sides were to keep the book from closing by itself.

Another prompt was "Make a sudden, destructive, unpredictable movement with this journal." Since there was nothing to fill out or up, I have been doing this throughout the whole weekend, and you may see me throw this book across the room in one of our classes too. Then there was, "Climb up high, drop the journal." Which I did yesterday, first thing when I went over to my cousins' house, I sprinted to the backyard, went up the metal stairs, then peered over the side of the balcony to see if my brother and cousin had a good view of where the book was going to land. Then, 3, 2, 1, and drop! The deed was done. It was fun! But I've seen a video on YouTube, on how someone went up on the roof and did it, so I'll be looking for a 10-story building next time (:

Some prompts that I'm looking forward too, are the ones that have to do with tying the journal. There's one where you tie a string to the journal then drag it behind you while you go on a walk, and there was one where you swing it wildly, letting it hit the walls. Sounds like so much fun, but I need a room, where I won't hit anything hung up or put against on the wall, ie pictures, bookshelves, entertainment systems, TVs, etc, etc. I might put up some videos of me wreching my journal, so stay tuned (:

Guerilla Artistry

2008-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

I, having being influenced by Keri Smith, one of the best artists out there in this big blue ball called Earth, have taken steps to become a guerilla artist.

Basically, what it is, is like being an artist and posting up your art (i.e. sticker art, flyers, little bookmarks/good luck charms/words of wisdom in a book you borrowed from the library) in "public" places. A good example would be chalk drawings. You can put it up for anyone to see, but it can be erased, so what? It's art. And all things come to an end sooner or later. I don't know why, but I think that I am suited for this job. It sounds fun, and I can "work" whenever I want to. But, unfortunately, no one pays (not that I know of anyway), so I'm gonna put it aside as a part-time job/passion/hobby. But I think, that I might be able to do this once I reach retirement.

I have already started: a piece of paper with a doodle and a few words of wisdom on the back, stuffed in the pages of...248 and 249 (just had to check) of my cousin's copy of Twilight. Wonder who's gonna find it, and actually going to "pass it on." Who knows, maybe one of you will eventually see my "art."

Twilight Again

2008-11-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

My first reading journal for this project will be about Twilight. Like last week. But it's gotten really interesting! I'm at chapter 20, so if you haven't read that far, this post will probably be full of spoilers.

The baseball game kind of amazed me, and it got me thinking, how are they going to pull this off in the movie, successfully? With the hard hits and the fast runs, it might be just a little bit hard. Then there was Laurent and James and that other woman. James, being a tracker, is trying to kill Bella. So now, Bella has to leave Forks to safety. I felt a little bit bad for Charlie, because You could tell he really liked her, as a daughter of course, and to have one of your young just suddenly leave in the middle on the night with barely any reason, I could see that he was horrified. Then at the Cullen's house, or mansion, whaever you want to call it, that wimp Laurent doesn't even heglp much. All he says is, "Oh, I'm sorry that my leader wants to kill Bella, but I can't stop him. Good luck though, I must be leaving", or something like that. And he just runs. I was like WTF? He should've given some sort of weakness or stayed for support or something, but instead he just runs off like some scaredy-cat. So now, I'm at the part where Bella, Alice, and Jasper are in that hotel room, but it kind of sounded like a motel room from the way she described it, "Bolted lamps, the curtains made from the same fabric as the bedspread." And I don't know why, but it feels to me that Jasper and Alice are a bit too stiff. Like they don't show any emotion. I know they've done this before, but are they used to it? Do they really care Bella and Edward, or are they just saying it? I kind of have to agree with Bella on not trusting them.

I was kind of intrigued on how you would have to kill a vampire in this universe. "Tear it to shreds and then burn every piece." It sounds interesting. What if there were zombies too? Anyways, I wonder if they really take down James, and I want them too without loss of Bella's or the Cullen's life. I guess I'll have to read in order to find out! :)

/spoilers

Hello PPL!

2008-11-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

This post was written in an Apple Store near school :) Which is awesome because it's on a super huge screen where people might be able to read what I'm writing x] I'm wickd tired right now because we had to walk here with all my stuff. Which will be my lame excuse for any spelling errors in the following post. Ugh... :imd:

I've been meaning to write one of those personal, whats-going-on-with-my-life posts. And here it is.

Earlier this week, I had SLCs, which is like open house night where we show what's going on in our classes. It was okay. My dad kept complaining about my handwriting and writing over my stuff, but w/e. ^^;;

Then there was election day. I was really indifferent, but I was kind of leaning towards McCain, only because my parents were rooting for him. But I'm just as happy that Obama won. It was cool. It's too bad that I don't get to go to his inaguration since I've already been in DC this year. So yeah, it's cool.

I have a 4-day weekend coming up, perfect for procrastinating, being lazy, and sleeping in (: I have lots of homeworks, another surge due to projects. Heehee.

Oh by the way, I'm an Ouran Host Club manga fan now. (: I saw the anime and I liked it, but I felt it was lacking. Then my friend lent me the manga. I finished volumes 1-10 in about 5 days. I liked it that much. Kyoya and Tamaki are totally GAR for each other x] Anyways, I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to read the other ones. 11's out, but 12 and 13 aren't translated yet. I could check onemanga.com, or .net whichever it is, but it's better to read it in a manga volume. I'm actually reading legal for once ^^

And so ends my life update, will probably not post again unless for school soon. Looking forward to the next time you read this.

EDIT [@ home]: The boba at Toll house sucks. The mango smoothie boba I got didn't even taste like mango. And my friend's green apple had a coffee taste to it. The boba was all hard in teh middle too. Waste of $6 T-T

Twilight...

2008-11-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have started reading Twilight. But I'm only like on the 3rd-ish chapter. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the book. Bella and Edward make an odd pair. It's always interesting to see them bicker almost constantly. Seeing how their Biology class is almost the only place where they actually interact with each other is funny. Sure they have stuff outside that class, but that's where it all started. And Bella herself is a genuine character. Like how she acts and thinks, it isn't the same as how I would think. I kind of like the cold actually. I think it's funny how she thinks that Edward just automatically hates her after being glared at with pitch black eyes for so many times.

At first I was a bit skeptical. I mean I know that the books about vampires and stuff, but the beginning was so ordinary. But then it hits you. Like the parking lot scene. I was like, "WOAHH!!! Super Edward to the rescue!" x]

I'm at the part where Bella just turned down Eric, a boy with "skin problems and dark hair" to a dance where the girls are supposed to ask out the boys out. Is he trying to imply something or does he really like her that much? xD Then there's Jessica and Mike. Awkward... Kind of feel orry for them. It's kind of like a love triangle with extra lines and stuff. So with the number of people, I guess it would be an incomplete love pentagon? Since Edward's line is only pointed towards Bella's at the moment, it doesn't seem like he has anything against Mike and Eric. Oh! And don't forget about the guy who almost ran over Bella, Tyler. But then again, he's only trying to make up for what he did. Or didn't do. Or...I'm confused... But anyway so it would be a hexagon then. I like hexagons, you always see them in future sci-fi movies and stuff.

P.S. Happy November everyone!!! It's time for turkeys now!

Flickr, people!

2008-10-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but here it goes anyway.

There's this website called Flickr, which is kind of like an online photo gallery that you can see and make. I have an account, linkage at end, and my pictures are mostly decent (: If you're really interested in photography and would like to show other people your work, create an account! It's easy, especially if you have a Yahoo! ID, which it uses. You don't even have to use pictures. It can be random sketches, drawings, messes, what have you. Anything that can be scanned/taken a picture of is elligible for uploading on Flickr. So check it out sometime.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tokomexd

Maya Angelou's "Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now"

2008-10-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

A quote from said book, that I found:

"...Life is an ongoing adventure...The truth is we know nothing...in fact, we ourselves will arrive whole and alive at the end of our journey. Life is pure adventure..."
-Maya Angelou

I found this to be a fitting quote, for what, I'm not really sure. I like the quote and it kind of relates to my "Explorer of the World" book because both have you looking at the world more differently. You take things and turn them in to art, or you take the world and turn it into your own little kind of adventure story. Take a drive to work for example, sure you find it boring, especially when you hit traffic. But if you turn up the tunes, rock out, and wait for it to subside, you could say you had somewhat of a good time. An adventure which you took an obstacle and turned it into something good. If you really want an adventure though, take a different route, and don't be afraid to get lost. Unless you really have to be somewhere and you have to be there on time, otherwise try to get there on time. I don't want anyone blaming this blog for saying that it's okay to get lost, which it is on some cases, but still I don't want to leave you readers with something misleading.

Anyways, life really is an adventure, whether you see it like it or not, it's your say. You don't need imagination because you don't have to pretend. It's already there, ready, waiting for you to take it and mold it into something worth your while. Have a good life.

MOAR Reading Journal...

2008-10-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of personal, non-school related posts, but these days, there's a lot going on at school. And I kind of forget about posting on my blog when I'm on because my tabs from the last session keep me preoccupied. Anyways, enough babbling (but isn't that why I have this blog? ^^;;).

For the RJ today, I found two news articles online. Well, one of them was found in the newspaper that my dad showed me. Both have to do with Japan.

Japan's online social scene isn't so social

This article's about how in Japan, nobody opens up on the internet. And I don't blame them. I mean, sometimes I use a fake name, age, location, etc. on some of the sites that I go to. The article mentions a couple websites, like YouTube, MySpace, Match.com, mixi (kind of like a Japanese MySpace). Oh! And 2ch(annel). But in my opinion, they didn't include Nico Nico Douga (kind of like a Japanese YouTube, mentioned in a past post). So yeah, I think it's normal for one to have privacy because of what someone said, "If I say too much, the wrong people will read it – it could get ugly." I think that it's interesting that only 40% of Japanese women are willing to put up their picture online.

Then the one that I found in the paper:

'Virtual murder' in online game lands Japanese woman in jail

I was cracking up! Now, zi've played MapleStory before, and I found it just a bit dull. But it was a great RPG, like many others. Now the story goes that a Japanese woman had her in-game avatar "married" to someone else's avatar. But when she suddenly found out that they had become "divorced" without any warning, she grew angry and went on the man's account. And killed the man's avatar. I'm not sure whether it was through monster or a PvP (Player vs. Player, I'm not sure if MS has PvP, but I'm too lazy to do research). And so she gets arrested for some violation of some sort. (I read the article a couple days ago, but I can't remember what the offense was) There were mentions of people who have been arrested through some sort of involvement on a game. Like how some lady from Denmark was arrested for plotting the kidnapping of her Second Life boyfriend. Freaky much! I mean that's a bit far, couldn't you just meet them at a local coffee shop (Denise, Anja, Monica, and anyone else. DO NOT LAUGH!) ?

And so ends my reading journal for tonight. I'll try to post some more life-related stuff next time!

Reading Journal Again!

2008-10-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

For my reading journal, I decided to do another manga series. I kept reading it at an on/off rate, only because I have like two volumes. Anyways, it's called Konjiki no Gash Bell (judging from the kanji I would roughly translate the title to Gold-colored Gash Bell, but it's known as Zatch Bell here in America.) and it's about a genius boy named Kiyo(-maro in the Japanese version) who gets a gift from his dad. The gift is a kid. Wierd, right? What's wierder is that the kid can shoot lightning from his mouth, and he came with a mysterious red book. It's really interesting. See, his dad found the kid, Gash (or Zatch) in a forest and he sent the kid to Kiyo to help him make more friends, since Kiyo being a genius and all, is kind of a sociopath. The lightning that comes out of his mouth is triggered by a spell from the red book. Later on in the series, the two learn that Gash is really a demon boy from another world, or dimension, or what have you, out of 100 kids. The kids are sent to the human world to fight one another with their colored spellbooks that only their masters can read. The only one left out of the 100 kids will be crowned king of the spirit world. It's a little bit sad because there are some kids that Gash made friends with and they were demons too. The girl was really sweet and lived with a girl who was kind of like a big sister to her. But when her spells were read, she became a monster with sharp knife-like claws that would hurt anything in her path. Another kid was found by this one dude and the guy used the kids for robbery and hurting people and stuff. That was Gash's and Kiyomaro's first real demon battle. In the end, the enemy's book always gets burned by Gash's attack. When a demon's book is burned, the child is then disqualified and then sent back into the demon world.
A running gag, I guess it would be called that, would be one of Kiyomaro's classmates, Mizuno Suzume (Suzy in the English version), always somehow gets involved in some of the little side stories that Kiyomaro and Gash have. Like when Kiyomaro was hospitalized after a demon attack (the owner, Sherry, decided to leave them and come back another day) and a kid in the hospital hid the red book. Suzume was sent by Kiyomaro to go find the red book, which I think is a stupid decision because A) she had to ask the nurse three times on how to get to Kiyomaro's room, B) She got easily distracted by getting a balloon from a tree for a patient, and C) When she was young she tried helping a younger child get home, she got distracted when she found a cat in a box floating down the river, completely forgetting about the other child and then ending up in the police officer's station at 8 at night 20 kilometers from where they started. But of course it's okay since she's always so happy. she kind of reminds me of me, happy, and (somewhat) energetic, getting distracted easily, and being a ditzy airhead most of the time. xD
And so ends my journal entry. Check it out, if you're interested in the supernatural shonen series. Please buy the books if you can to support them, but if not, check out onemanga.com and look under Zatch Bell. (:

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2008-10-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Right now, from my living room, I see a huge plume of smoke. The sky has spots of brown from all of it, and helicopters, ambulances, and fire trucks are going off in the distance. Morse High School has been evacuated, and Fulton Elementary kids have day-care centers that were moved to the front of the school. Boone Elementary is still in session, which means no early release for my brother, they are deemed safe where they are. O'Farrel Charter School is okay, school police there checking things out. From what I saw on TV, one side of the canyon has been put out, and the smoke is turning white, meaning that the fires will die out soon. I took some pictures from my backyard, though they are very very amateur-ish. It looks safe, so I'm not worried.

Homework

2008-10-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is something that really isn't like our school. Vocabulary. Funny word ain't it. But here's something that is. Homework on our blog. And so, I will post 3 pictures about 3 words from our vocabulary from the play "Our Town" by Thorton Wilder.

Number 1: epitaph
"An inscription of a dead person (usually on tombstones)"

Number 2: muse
"To ponder"

Number 3: languid
"Slow, sluggish, listless, or weak"

I hope you've enjoyed this presentation of three word.

In other news, I received my cousin's iPod today!!! Yay!!! THANK YOU NATE!!! I'm installing iTunes right now, but since I have my computer regional settings on Japanese, it's all in guess what...Japanese. But, I could understand the katakana, and there wasn't a lot of Kanji (the ToA I didn't even look through) so everything was alright. Yay! THANKS AGAIN NATE!

Reading Journal!

2008-10-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today's entry is about How To Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith, the same person who did Wreck This Journal, which I just bought today. It's kind of like one of those prompt books that gets you writing, but only different. It's one of those books that make you listen and look and use all of the other senses in the world to "explorer the world." Each prompt is listed as an "Exploration", followed by a prompt, an alternate prompt, a picture, and a quote from someone that relates to the prompt. There are 59 prompts in total and an extra spot to record and document whatever the prompt requires. I, however, bought a journal along with this book, and I will be using that. It will also be alternately used as a public journal, one for random lists, notes, and doodles that I make. I already wrote in it, describing our "first encounter" at the book store. I like the design and I think it fits me so I bought it.

Anyways, I look forward to doing some of the interesting prompts of this book, which means all of them (:, and I look forward to jotting down my writings in my new journal. I think a journal's a precious thing to have, because it serves many purposes, and maybe I'll collect journals and fill them out on my own. That is, if my life ever has anything more interesting to write about that is blog material or the I have no access to the internet, be it grounding, or the death of the internet (both of which is very impossible, since I am a good child with computer access in many places :D) an there ends my book journal/journal tangent. I hope you enjoy (:

WAAAAAHH! I'm swamped!

2008-10-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is too much! A Spanish presentation about me, which makes it seem like I'm conceded, but I'm not, a haunted house exhibit for Math/Physics, where I am kind of at a loss at what we're to do, and the life and death project for Humanities, where I have to read a big-butt packet on the death customs of China. All has got me up to my neck in work and I can barely keep my head above everything. The presentation in Spanish is tomorrow, and I barely have what I'm supposed to say. I'll practice later.

Meanwhile, I have discovered NoiseBot.Com. A cool place to get cool shirts. I think most shirst are under $20 without tax and shipping and handling. If you see me with a sheet of paper, scribbling away at something, it probably means that I am thinking of a new slogan for a t-shirt, which they pay $50 for a design used on a shirt. (:

Small update for now, but I might have more stuff next time.

Reading journal: Queste

2008-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

(I've already read this book before but only once so I'm rereading it.)
Queste is the fourth book of the Septimus Heap series. The series itself is about a young boy, Septimus Heap, who is the seventh son of a seventh son, believed to have great magical power. His adventures range from trying to protect Princess Jenna (who is his step sister. Septimus's dad found Jenna on his way back from the forest the day Septimus was pronounced "dead" in order to take him and Apprentice him to DomDaniel, the evilest Darke Wizard.)

In Queste, he has just come back from the past as being sent back in time through a looking glass, plotted by the ghost of Queen Etheldredda to make her the eternal ruler of the Castle. Jenna, Nicko (his brother), and Snorri Snorrelssen (a young Northern Trader girl who came to find the ghost of her father and become a trader herself) go back in time to find Septimus and save him but when it's time to return, Nicko and Snorri are left behind and the glass from which they came shattered from the pressure of Time.

So far, as I've only read the first 6 1/2 chapters, Merrin, a boy thought to be Septimus Heap (the Matron Midwife who took Septimus accidentally had her baby taken away from her, instead of Septimus, where he would become part of the Young Army for the first ten years of his life), has just left The Observatory, the hideout up in the Badlands that Simon Heap, Septimus's eldest brother turned bad because he wanted the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Apprenticeship and it was given to Septimus not him, so he turned to the Darke side, now owns. Merrin takes the Two-Faced Ring, a ring that belonged to DomDaniel, in order to "Darken the Destiny of AnOther", i.e. Septimus, for "stealing his name".

It was funny to read about him putting on the ring because it got so tight that his thumb became blue and purple. Serves him right, that does. Then he goes off and eventually he reaches the Castle. But it's night and the drawbridge is up. So he stays at the Grateful Turbot, an inn filled with ghosts who either have perished from the yearly Big Freeze, had an accident on the river or the One Way Bridge, or anything else. He goes in and meets Olaf Snorrelssen, Snorri's father, who has Appeared, as a ghost to the Living for the first time, and offers him accompanyment to the Castle. It's funny of Angie Sage, the author, described Olaf's preparation for his first Appearance. His head was gone, he had a hole where his stomach was, and on the way back to the Grateful Turbot, he half-Appeared, like showing some stuff but not others, making him look like some demented victim of a massacre or torture session.

Now, Merrin is at Number Thirteen, Wizard Way, Magykal Manusciptorium and Spell Checkers, which is like the human printing press/copy machine of the Castle, applying for a job as a Scribe, a copier. Beetle, the boy who is in charge of the place until Jillie Djinn, the Cheif Scribe, returns. I haven't read past the starting of the application, aka Stating his Name, but I bet it's going to be good, him trying to be dark and all.

Look what I found!

2008-10-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

(For those who don't know)

"Everywhere, like such as , and..." XDDDDD

A Blue Ribbon

2008-10-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today at school, we had an assembly. Our first ever, and it was great. You know it starts off happy, but then it sort of went into a melancholy kind of state, you know? We had 2 guests who were part of the Blue Ribbon Difference Makers Organization, a group who help kids achieve their goal and make them feel welcome. We all got a blue ribbon ourselves that said "Who I am makes a difference." and it made me feel good. I didn't wear it yet though, and I still haven't worn the one that's given to me. We all talked about our dreams and the troubles we've been through and what really shocked me was how everyone had stories to tell, and they were comfortable saying that in front of a huge crowd. I'm glad I came to this school actually. I was going to speak but we ran out of time.

I want to acknowledge all my friends that I've made in the past, whether I'm still friends with you or not. Leila, Rachael, Marc, Mico, Chalisa, Lauren, Anja, Luke, Miranda, Denise, Gina, Monica, Michael. All of you guys and all the others are what keeps me going. I want to give you all a blue ribbon and that you guys keep going for your dream and know that me and every wearer of the blue ribbon are rooting for you, cheering you on for your dream. You do make a difference in people's lives, like me.

To my readers, thank you for visiting this humble blog. Whether you are a veteran reader, or just cruising this blog for the first time, you guys also make a difference. Just knowing that somewhere out there, someone's reading my blog and it makes me happy to know if someone cares for me or my stories.

Everone has a story to tell, listen to them. It helps both you and the person. Make someone feel better about themselves.

Nerd Day! and comp problems...

2008-09-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

やった！今日はオタクの日！でもボクのシャツとパンツは普通.あとね，この日ひ楽しかった。そうか！ボクの数学物理学の先生は設立がボクの本！ボクがうれしいです。ありがとう，テッド先生！よかったね。
ボクのコンピュータは遅いと迷惑。いつも「エラ！」と「コンピュータバイルス設立する！」　これはぜんぜんだよ！このバイルスファイルは「ノアックセッス」。ボクは新しいのコンピュータが欲しいよー！明日はピアノのレッスン。それがもっと嫌い！ボクは疲れた。「もたくさん」と「止まれ！」が欲しいに生活を叫び声する。でもこれは不可能。ｗｗｗ　ボクが音のようにキョン，でしょう？

Ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｂｏｔｈｅｒ　ｔｏ　ｔｒａｎｓｌａｔｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ．Ｙｏｕ　ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ　ｗｏｎ’ｔ　ｕｎｄｅｒｓｔａｎｄ　ｉｔ．ｂｕｔ　ｇｏ　ａｈｅａｄ，　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｎｌｙ　ｗａｙ　ｙｏｕ’ｌｌ　ｂｅ　ａｂｌｅ　ｔｏ　ｒｅａｄ　ｔｈｉｓ．Ｕｎｌｅｓｓ　ｙｏｕ　ｓｐｅａｋ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｕｒｓｅ．（Ｉ　ｋｉｎｄａ　ｈａｄ　ａ　ｌｉｌ　ｄｉｃｔｉｏｎａｒｙ／ｔｒａｎｓｌａｔｏｒ　ｈｅｌｐ．）

（　＾．＾）／やあ！またね！

おまけ：空耳ケキ (Soramimi Keki; Fancy Hearing Cake) by Oranges & Lemons
Here's practically a song about random things. Like me!

(Mini-tribute for the series ending T_____T)

Making Fiends

2008-09-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Couple nights ago, I found out about Making Fiends (a web cartoon by Amy Winfrey) thorugh a commercial on Nicktoons Network. It's a cartoon about a super optimistic girl named Charlotte and a "fiend maker" named Vendetta. For more info, go to makingfiends.com. Other info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Fiends_(web_cartoon)

I love it so far. The cartoon premieres on October 4th at 11: 30 (PT) I can't wait!!!

Reading Journal: Azumanga Daioh Vol. 4

2008-09-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

For my reading journal, I decided to read Azumanga Daioh, Vol 4, the last one for the series. I had to admit, I felt a little sad when I found out that this was going to be the last one. The series is about Mihama Chiyo, a 10 year old who becomes a freshman, and her friends. Each volume shows a year in the high school, 4th being senior. It was interesting to watch them on their trip to Okinawa, and I cracked up at the parts where Sasaki, a "cool", quiet girl ho really loves cats, just melts when she's with the Iriomote cat, the only one who hasn't bitten her throughout the series. Then they takes their university entrance exams. I laughed at the part when Tomo, the loud, obnoxious one, started asking trick questions and Osaka, the dumb, transfer student from Osaka, got them all right. Then the graduation, which I almost cried at. Chiyo gets the highest grade point average award and Osaka and Tomo start a standing ovation. I connect with the characters, even the teachers, because there's a litle piece of me in them and to find that there won't be any more of their little "adventures" makes me a little sad.

Laser Tag Friday

2008-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

So yesterday after school, we had our first Advisory after school activity, which was Laser Tag. It was fun. I got there 3rd, and it was me, Marco, Andres, Tony, Max, Patrick (our advisor), Fernanda and 2 of her cousins. We were playing against a little kid's birthday party, which was a little unfair, because they had more people plus 3 adults who are actually good. The little kids kept attacking in swarms and it was annoying, but I got 8th out of 18 in my team. Yay! ^.^ But we lost by a couple thousand points. xp. I was so tired after the game because I played a quick round of DDR and it turns out it was 4 songs, and I was dead.

Afterwards, we had dinner. We were going to eat at Olive Garden, but it was an hour wait. So we ate in the mall, which was across the street. Patrick and I ate at a Chinese place, while everyone else got Mexican food. The food was icky but I still ate it anyway. Then we talked for a bit, went into Comic's N' Stuff, then went back to the laser tag place and waited for our parents to pick us up. In the end it was really fun. THANK YOU MR. PATRICK!!!!!!

Overdue...

2008-09-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile now, but I'm back for as long as I know. I'm usually dead during the first half of the week, and the pile of homework, waiting to be let out of my black hole known as my backpack, will make a good blanket for me.

No. Not really. x]

But seriously, I'm a bit stressed, and everything's just become a big blah. And my Spanish project is overdue, with my issues to that about to boil over. And then there's Math/Physics, where I'm afraid whether or not our bridge can at least hold up the bucket, more or less hang on to the sides. Humanities isn't all that peachy too, but there are a lot of laughs in that class, and that I'm okay with. (:

Nothing else to talk about, I'll leave it at that.

In Other News...

2008-09-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today, I had a piano recital. We were late, though, and my brother didn't get to play Star Spangled Banner as planned. The place was SD Piano Hall or something that sounds like it. We proformed in a smallish room, and mostly the preformers' families were in the audience. I was really nervous when I went up, I almost forgot the names of the pieces I was gonna play when I was introducing myself to the crowd, but overall I did good. Then we had "snakes" afterwards everyone finished. We even got certificates! x] (BTW, in the invitaion/info paper, it said "Snakes will be served afterwards." An obvious typo). The pieces I played were Czerny # 27, 28, Moonlight Sonata, Pink Panther, and Soshite Itsumo no Fuukei (which I mildy screwed up on).

それじゃ，またね！

Reading Journal for Breaking Thorugh FINALE

2008-09-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

The last journal entry for this book, for I have finished it. Yay! Really good book. And it's prequel wasn't so bad either. Anyways on with my thoughts...

To me, the best part of the book was when he went to college, which was practically the end of the book. I could understand his tension between him and his father, while not really the same predicament, but me and my dad can get into disagreements sometimes. But it was cool how he got all those scholarships though. But one thing that kept me thinking was when he put place of birth, he didn't put the real one, and I thought, how would this affect him? Would they take away his money, or expell him from the school?

The part where Panchito's dad cut off his finger was a bit of a shock to me. I mean, at one second, he's happy, then out of the blue, his younger brother comes out and says that their dad cut off his finger. I was like, Woah! That was random. But it was kind of expected as good things don't last long, and were bound to end. While his happiness of him being Class President didn't exactly end, however, the finger incident really dampened that mood.

Then the Rotary Club. Two words: that sucked. Big time, especially for Panchito, because, I can imagine going in front of a whole bunch of people and just coming out with nothing. I remember when I went up in front of the class in 8th grade, most of the words that I said were "Erm", "Uh", or the most dreaded "..."

That about ends the book for me. Also the above three events mentioned are out of order. Of course the ending did not happen before the Rotary Club incident or the Finger Amputation.

Intervieww :)

2008-09-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes, I mention my friend Leila? (Like the last post) Well I decided to interview her for her view on immigration.

What personal experiences have helped you develop your perspective on immigration?
As an American citizen, it would be unfair for people who have worked hard...to become low class people, just to have someone else take this work.

How do you feel that illegal immigrants are not/impacting your community and/or the US?
They aren't impacting, like they aren't doing anything horrible, but it's hurting the economy because,

they work for cheap, and instead of spending money here, they send it back to Mexico and prices go up due to a failing economy.

Do you think immigrants should have any rights? Why or why not?
At first, not many rights, but they do have their basic human rights given by the 1st Amendment. But, they shouldn't be able to vote or have a say in our government. Work for citizenship, then have they should be able to vote.

How would you feel if there was no border?
[The US] would become more chaotic, there would be more Mexicans to take money from us without

anyone stopping them. If they immigrate legally though, that would be totally different. The border keeps everything in check.

Do you think that the government should take more or less action on illegal immigration?
They're already doing a lot of action, but they aren't doing it right. They could deport them, but also have better border control. They need to take action torwards controlling the border.

What do you think about the border patrol?
They aren't doing a great job, like they're supposed to, as many illegal immigrants are freeloading off of us. They're either not stopping them, or failing to do so.

When you hear the phrase "jumping the border", what comes to mind?
Illegal immigrants mainly from Mexico.

Do you think illegal immigrants should be deported?
Not neccesarily. I mean, they should be given a chance to clean up and try to get citizenship, but if they don't then they should get deported.

If you were in charge of immigration in America, what would you do?
I would set up seminars near places where illegal immigrants are located to help them try to get citizenship, but if that's no use, then deport them.

How do you think the US would change if you let anyone immigrate without having to go through a process?
It would be more chaotic. There wouldn't be a fair say in the government, because the only people who can vote are citizens. Illegal immigrants are like vacationers; you can't just go to another

country and vote there. The US might actually be even run by an illegal immigrant, which would be bad, because the US is a world power.

How would you feel if you were an illegal immigrant?
I don't really know. I guess I would feel bad for having to freeload off these people, where I don't have the best life back in my country and I have to support my family. I would try to get citizenship, and I'd want my family to move to the US.

Do you feel everybody is an immigrant? Why?
Yes, everyone is an immigrant or a descendant of one, because you wouldn't be here if there was no immigration unless you're Native American

Are you related to any immigrants? Where are they from?
Not anymore, my great-grandma was from Poland, but she passed away.

Do you like immigrants who come to our country?
Yes I do, in fact, my best friend is an immigrant [from Switzerland]. I think it's cool to have immigrants here in the US, but it's bad if they come here illegally. "Don't freeload!"

Would you have the guts to immigrate illegally?
No, never, personally because I'd become a hypocrite and it'd just wrong because other people had to earn their way into society.

Why do you think people immigrate illegally?
They can't always afford to immigrate legally.

Have you immigrated from somewhere? How old were you? What were your thoughts back then?
No, but relatives have.

Unintentional Hiatus Broken!

2008-09-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Yay! My internet's working again! There was a trojan proxy thing that was making it bug out and I was getting pissed. But now it's okay (:

So on Saturday, I went to Torrey Pines beach with my cousins. First we went boogie boarding, then we made little sand castle cities, and we threw little sandballs at them to demolish them. It was me, Michelle, and Nate against Kevin, Julian, and Ervin. We kept losing, but it was fun. (I accidentaly trampled on one of our castles, oops ;; ) Then we buried ourselves except for Nate.

Now, school is okay, we have like 3 projects in Spanish, Math/Physics, and Humanities. Tough. Meh. Little update, enjoy (:

BTW, this post is dedicated to all of my friends I made at Kroc, especially Leila, who made me write this x]

Reading Journal 2

2008-09-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

For this journal, I will only talk about some excerpts of the 13 chapters I have read. (Summer Skirmishes to Junior Scandals).

Broken Heart.

Here, Roberto goes dating. But his girlfriend has to break up with him because he's Mexican, and her parents don't like Mexicans. Load of crap right? I think so too. I mean, just because someone's a different race, doesn't mean you can't love someone. To quote someone, "I think that if we have interracial babies, racism will be no more." (-KevJumba, YouTube, slightly paraphrased)

Turning A Page

Panchito goes to college. Really he visits a college with his class. I wonder if Panchito does go to college. Will his dad let him? What about Roberto and work? Coming from a family where both of my parents went to and graduated from college, I don't really share this feeling that Panchito. So in conclusion, I don't have much thoughts on this chapter.

Los Santitos

Panchito joins a club and helps create a canned food drive for the poor. This kind of reminds me of my elementary school, where the whole school donated food. I think it's cool of him to care and help others even though he isn't exactly rich himself. Whenever I hear "club activities, I'm always reminded of the SOS Brigade. What's ironic though is that he does it to help the poor, but when Christmas comes, the Salvation Army gives them some of the food from the drive that Panchito help set up. Nevertheless, the whole family is happy.

Junior Scandals

Panchito participates in a talent show kind of event at his school, and he decides to sing a Spanish song. I like this chapter because, it sort of reminded me of when I sang in front of my Humanities class. I haven't actually been in a telent show before, however, but I think singing in front of a group no matter the size, can give you major butterflies in your stomach.

That's it for now, hopefully I can write more next time.

Breaking Through Ch. 1-6

2008-08-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

So today's post will be homework. Woo. But hey, I'm enjoying this book, so count it as a recommendation.

Breaking Through by Fransico Jimenez is a memoir about a young boy who is at first an illegal immigrant. At first you may think, oh illegal immigrant, did he steal jobs or something? or something of the sort. But I felt connected to Panchito (the boy) in some way. When I read about him, I actually have pity for him when he has to work, or get angry at his dad for acting like there's a bee in his pants.
So at first, Panchito crosses into the US with his family, and lives his life for a few years. Until he gets caught by la migra, or the border patrol. What gets me wondering though, is when the officer said that we was turned in by "someone of his own." I started wondering during that part. Could it have been Mr. Ito, the cropholder? Or maybe one of their neighbors? But I had no time to play detective, because I wanted to read more.
So then the family goes back to Nogales, where they spend a couple nights. The family gets a check up in the US then decide to go to a relative's place. Mom and Dad talk about it and decide to let Panchito and his older brother, Roberto, return to the US to continue school. I couldn't imagine just abandoning my family like that, and taking my younger brother with me. I started thinking about everything else. Taxes, chores, and I have to send some of my money from my job to help out my parents. I admire the two because they are really sacrificial, and I don't think that I would've been willing to do that. But I felt good about Panchito, he got to go back to school and see his friends again. I was also amused at the parts where he started learning about rock n' roll. And the dances and class presentation of Elvis was cool.
Then the rest of the family came, eventually and it was a happy reunion. I could feel the warm and fuzziness coming from the scene. Dad apparently, was "hexed" which was to blame for his bad back. But like Panchito, I was a bit skeptical about the whole process: a tent full of incence, flowers, and holy cards; drinking tea that makes you drowsy; and stripping to your waist, getting a massage faced-down, being chanted on, and then puking up blood... I don't know, it all seems weird from my perspective. But it was good to hear that Dad was all better again.
Now, though, Panchito, Trampita (another brother), and Roberto all have to work in a strawberry field now, that Dad now looks after. I feel a bit sorry for Panchito and his brothers during this part because they all have to do manual labor, and it's really tiring for them and affecting Panchito in his studies. But, it can't be helped; they need the money. They start by pulling weeds, then hoeing the seeds in. But the seeds won't grow so they fumigate during the night. Turns out they killed the plants, and Dad's devastated. Now I feel sorry for him.
Later, Roberto and Panchito ask to go to the Vet's High School Dance, but Panchito gets yelled at for being "disrespectful" by asking if they could go while the Dad was thinking. At that part I was like, WTF? I mean, just because, your little strawberries won't grow, doesn't mean you have to take out by lashing at your kids and restricting them, when they've never done anything wrong!
Then Panchito "graduates" from Junior High, and I feel good about this. It was sad though that his parents couldn't come, but I could see that it meant a lot for Panchito to have his dad give him a special medallion and put some aftershave on him. And then I can't read chapter 7.

All in all, I've really enjoyed this book and I feel like I can connect to the characters. I look forward to reading the next parts.

Start of the Weekend

2008-08-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yay! Froday! Finally, after all that work. Okay, not so much. I mean, the only "work" was the tests we did today in Spanish and Math/Physics. God, my brain is fried and dead. Humanities was OK, we worked on our Portfolios and did other stuff that I'm too tired to remeber. "Cept that we gave speeches and we took an assesment about the person that inspires us. Ugh. If you're somehow reading this Ms. Wood, I want you to know that I wrote about YOU! Feel even more special :)
So after school today, there was this social partay, at the park near the school. It was really fun, cuz I went with my friends. We went on the swings, then started to roll down the hill. The first time, my arm landed in a mud hole, near a drain grate, and my arms started itching. xD Then I called my friend from my elementary school to come over. We met up and caught up on things, and she brought her friend along. Then I went bobbing for apples. It was fun and I think some water came up my nose. Eww. But I got one! Then my friend came over gave it a try, while getting his head dunked by various people. Then we did a water balloon toss, resulting in a soaked me. Then some other stuff, and then getting wet again. Then I rode home with my friends dad, and now hear I am. Actually, I was here ever since 6ish, but whatever. xD

Update from home at nite

2008-08-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanna share a vid with all.

Poor bee x]

I changed my layout. How does it look? Comments? Question? Concerns? Comment!

P.S. I finished setting up my Spanish notebook! Yaaaay! Sorta. I did all the odd page numbers and then I got lazy. :p Like a panda bear! :D Kinda.

Hello from High School!

2008-08-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm already in high school, ever since a couple days ago. It's pretty cool. We get to call the teachers by their first name, we use our fingerprints to get our lunch, and Advisory is pretty fun. We actually can start an electives class, and for those who know me, you'll probably know what I'll do ;) I guess I can be the teacher.

So yeah, anyways, in Humanities, we have to set up a blog. Lucky for me, I already have one set up. Can you guess which one? Yes. This one. So yeah, some of my posts might have random things saying something about a book or something. Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez. It's really interesting, actually.
What I'm not used to is having a binder for each class we have, which is about three. But still, my backpack is kinda heavy for some reason. I was such a dork, I titled my Math/Physics and Humanities binders in Japanese. x] Ha ha...

Attention Mario Kart Wii Players!

2008-08-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

I made a lil playlist for the tracks of Mario Kart Wii, created out of boredom, and I'd like you to judge it.

Link

Leave reviews in comments!
MKWii number: 1633-5586-1977

Songlist:

Mushroom Cup

* Luigi Circuit
murmur twins - yu_tokiwa_djw
* Moo Moo Meadows
Uncle Chicken's drag rag - Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
* Mushroom Gorge
Under the Sky (Ryu☆ Remix) - Minami Sayaka (BeForU) with platoniX
* Toad's Factory
Happy Life Generator - capsule

Flower Cup

* Mario Circuit
smile - miru_maki.gjw
* Coconut Mall
Dough Nuts Towns Maps - Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
* DK Summit
CANDY GALY by Risk Junk-G
* Wario's Gold Mine
FOE - IOSYS

Star Cup

* Daisy Circuit
Ocean Blue Sky Orange - capsule
* Koopa Cape
5iVE STAR - capsule
* Maple Treeway
candy cutie - capsule feat. Sonic Coaster Pop
* Grumble Volcano
A - DJ Amuro

Special Cup

* Dry Dry Ruins
Saikyou Pare Parade - Hirano Aya & co.
* Moonview Highway
Wild Girls on Circuit - Puffy AmiYumi
* Bowser's Castle
We Come Alive - Gammer & InEffect
* Rainbow Road
Fleeting Fantasy/Over the frail dream - phantasma

Shell Cup

* Peach Beach (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)
SUGARLESS GiRL - capsule
* Yoshi Falls (Mario Kart DS)
Oyome ni Shinasai - IOSYS
* Ghost Valley 2 (Super Mario Kart)
You're My Angel - DJ Zitkus
* Mario Raceway (Mario Kart 64)
Kaeshite! Knee Socks - Aya Hirano & co.

Banana Cup

* Sherbet Land (Mario Kart 64)
Milky Blue - YMCK
* Shy Guy Beach (Mario Kart Super Circuit)
You Should Drink Cucumber Flavored Beer - IOSYS
* Delfino Square (Mario Kart DS)
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N - Puffy AmiYumi
* Waluigi Stadium (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)
Nijiiro - DJ YOSHITAKA feat. G.S.C. license/in the sky - Ryu☆

Leaf Cup

* Desert Hills (Mario Kart DS)
God Knows... (Euro Mix) - DJ Bouche
* Bowser Castle 3 (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
U.N. Owen Was Her? - COOL&CREATE
* DK's Jungle Parkway (Mario Kart 64)
Nice Buddy - Puffy AmiYumi
* Mario Circuit (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)
RINGxRINGxRING - OSTER project feat. Kagamine Rin

Lightning Cup

* Mario Circuit 3 (Super Mario Kart)
Elevator - Perfume
* Peach Gardens (Mario Kart DS)
Killer Tune - Tokyo Jihen
* DK Mountain (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)
Panic Racer - YMCK
* Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 64)
Itteyoshi - IOSYS

"Sad?" Update

2008-08-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

Remember that last post? Of course you would, it was the last post. Well, I found a translation for it. It's still beta, but I think it's good enough.

and another one, just found.

Does this make you sad?

2008-08-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Some people might be familiar with the software, VOCALOID by Yamaha. For those of you not, it's basically a singing program where you type out the lyrics to a tune you played out on a virtual keyboard. Anyways, probably the most popular character from VOCALOID is Hatsune Miku, a character part of the VOCALOID2 character series. A lot of people from Nico Nico Douga, a Japanese YouTube mentioned before, have made covers and original songs. Here's one, that may put you in a saddened mood. I don't have the lyrics, but I think it's about Miku singing about how she can't sing like a real girl and so she gets uninstalled.

In other news, I'm going camping with my family and a couple of my cousins up in the mountains. Gonna be gone for 4-5ish days, August 20-24. And I go back to school the day after we get back. ugh...

(If you didn't notice, this post was probably a measly update with something random to distract you. Enjoy (: )

Happy Returns

2008-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

After having a month-long hiatus, I think it's time for me to put up another post. I was originally going to do a vlog, but my mom's camera kept dying after 3 mins. -_-; So about my grandma's ceremonies, they went pretty well. I got to carry the coffin, and I saw some of my cousins from upper Callie. I was going to do a sermon, but for some reason, I couldn't move. My cousins, and me and my brother sang, and some of my relatives spoke. I wanted to, but I didn't want to interrupt the Pastor.

So today, I had my first eye exam outside of school, and I, and the doctor, have to say that I have perfect 20/20 vision! My brother on the other hand, also has 20/20 vision, however, he can also

use reading galsses you find anywhere, but it really isn't recommended. It was a bit odd though, first I had to stare at a red dot that kept moving. Then, I had to focus on a small house, like it was far away. Afterwards, I had to stare at a green light for what seemed like hours. After, I went to watch my brother in the other room take another part of his test, which was then my turn. It was weird. I had to look at letters through this sight thing and the letters were on a mirror, its hard to explain, sorta I just don't wanna type it all ;;. Anyways, I also did the "Which one looks blurrier?" thing with the "L

ens One or Lens Two" thing. So afterwards, I put on some 3D glasses and I had to look at pictures that "popped up" at me.

Then, I had to do a color-blind test I guess, you know the one with a number inside

a different colored circle. I got all the numbers right, I think, but me and my brother saw 2 different numbers when doing it. I saw 74, while he saw 71. Odd.

I'm also thinking of changing my blog's name. I was thinking Psychobabble for a title. Any suggestion? Just comment. I'll put up a poll soon.

Tearful Sorrows

2008-06-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Last night, my grandmother passed away. It was a peaceful death, but it was a depressing one. Yesterday, all the adults were scurrying about, saying things and going to the hospital. I had no idea what was going on, and I was offered to go somewhere with my uncle, who was going to the hospital at the time, but I declined, not knowing where he was going. Afterwards, my dad picked my and my brother up from my cousin's house, and everything was just all weird. My mom called when we got home, telling us to go to the hospital. My dad told us to grab a jacket, and I asked what was happening.
"It's your grandma," he replied. I asked her condition and he replied, "Not good." I was crestfallen, afraid of what was next, even though I already knew at the pit of my stomach. When we arrived, one of my uncles escorted us in, even though it was only one person at a time. My uncle told them that she was dead already, and they let us in. We rushed to her bed and we saw, two of my uncles, and me mom, sobbing, next to my grandma. Me and my brother looked and we embraced our mother. We all cried, and talked for a bit. She was already admitted to the ER around 12 or 1, (it was around 6:45-ish by the time we got there) and the doctors came in and talked to her. They said, "Ma'am, how are you?" She nodded. Then another question, "Do you know where you are?" "Hospital." They did checks and the felt her abdominal area all enlarged. They talked about putting her on a machine when her heart stopped, and she said, "Why? I'm healthy enough." She was also asking for two of my cousins. One in Florida, and she also got to talk to her on the phone. The other was my baby cousin, who didn't come until later at night. My mom left when the doctors were talking, and when she came back, her eyes were already pointed toward the ceiling.
Some of my relatives from Escondido came. My cousin came through the curtain and I just hugged her, sad. She looked at my grandma and she started sobbing as well. Soon, 3 of my cousins came, and they were sad as well. We were escorted from he room to a waiting area while they cleaned her up. Some people didn't talk, and the others just talked softly, outside. I sat there, thinking of my grandma, all the times we had together, not believing that she was gone. But yet her yellowed skin, gaping mouth, and bluing tongue was stuck in my mind, like it was saying, "It's true she's gone." We were then brought to a room where we could see her. My uncle left to get my auntie, who left early from work I think, and my cousin who was taking care of my baby cousin who also came. Some of us, including me, left to go eat at a nearby restaurant. It as odd that when we got there, most of the songs playing were all sad songs. We came back and looked at her more, and pondered. We said a prayer and left. Me and my cousins were disturbed at the fact that she was put in a body bag, making her look like she was a victim of a crime scene. We gathered outside, and the adults were talking about what was next. We went to my cousins house, then went back to our house.
It left me wondering everything about my grandma, how she was and how she really cared, even though we didn't see it sometimes, she really did.

RIP Ignacia M

Recent Mishaps

2008-06-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting in forever. This past 12 days, some of my relatives from Florida came over. It was fun and I will go briefly as to what happened during their visit, and a little before that time:

We went to SeaWorld and it was so fun. Shipwreck Rapids, Shamu, Clyde and Seamore (sp?), Journey to Atlantis, the Dolphins, everything! We got soaked a mighty couple of times too.
My cousin from Florida and a couple from here watched Get Smart. LMAO-funny, especially the last parts.
I got interested in the Septimus Heap series, really good if you like magic adventure books.
I just got Mario Kart Wii. My friend code is 1633-5586-1977. I suck though :p
I'm starting to play Trickster Revolution, by Ntreev, the same people who did Grand Chase, as I mentioned awhile back. I like it more than GC.
My relatives just went home today. Really sad, but the rest of the family (2 older siblings + my cousin's bf) are coming in September.

I think that's about it. Keeping it short, because I want to play Trickster. Look up Tokome, if you play.

Early Morning Post: Last Day of Middle School

2008-06-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

So the day is finally here for me to accept my certificate and move on to high school. It feels weird, and I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now: melancholy, happy, confused. I guess it's just a part of the whole experience. As I look back to the beginning of 7th grade, it seems just like yeterday I was on the bus on the way to my first day of middle school. The many things I've encountered while I was here and the friends that I've made have been and will be unforgettable. What makes it harder is that this school right now is going to be closed, which is a bit of a bummer because, I looked forward to all the future generations here. Doesn't mean that the buildings won't be here. Everything's going to be brand new.

The ceremony itself is really something. Though the practices we held really didn't help at all... ^_^' An hor and 30 minutes of sitting there watching other people recite their speeches and grab their diploma/certificate things. This is really something, but I'm sad because everyone is going to a different school than me. Oh well, I'll have to make do.

Twitter!

2008-06-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

Notice on the top, under my profile, there is now a Twitter badge. Just signed up today, now everyone can stalk me! Nah, I can block any followers, though :p.
After cooling off in the hot tub (haha, oxymoron) then [look at twitter for whats next], it isn't so hot anymore :)

Escondido

2008-06-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm at my auntie's house right now, waiting for my other cousins to come over and start...something. I'm a little in the dark about the details, but I think it has to do with my relatives coming over from Florida. It's so hot here! Ugh, I'm about to melt. But the goods thing is we might be able to go swimming later. All for now.