Friday, January 30, 2009

Feeling not so wise...

Today I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled. I've spent pretty much all day asleep with ice packs strapped to my face. The pain was pretty severe when I first came home, but thankfully it's not too bad right now. I'm going to make this blog short because...
1. I don't want to gross anyone out with unnecessary details
2. I'm really hungry and am going to eat some soup

Scholarship Season Sucks

Everybody keeps telling me that scholarships are everywhere. They say that millions of dollars in scholarship money go unclaimed because students don’t even put in the effort to get them.
Well let me tell you, I am putting in the effort. It is so frustrating to apply for one scholarship after another, and being rejected for every single one of them. I have written about everything from patriotism to individualism and none of them as won me any much needed money.
I have friends who have athletic scholarships, and although I’ve been offered athletic scholarships, I don’t want to go to school based on who will accept me for my athletic ability. I want to go to school for academics.
You’re probably saying, why not get a job? I have two. Minimum wage just doesn’t cut it anymore for even the cheapest of schools. Not to mention a lot of my money is going towards gas and other important purchases. It’s been forever since I have been able to go to the mall, heaven forbid, and even think about buying anything.
All of this because of scholarships, and the lack thereof for average suburban white kids who "don’t need the money".

Congratulations?

Well, the new government stimulus plan has passed the House with a fair sized majority. The interesting thing was, the majority was purely democrats, the republicans gave exactly zero yes votes to the proposal. The funniest part is, they started to congratulate each other the next day about being so steadfast in their beliefs and getting 100% of the house republicans to vote no. So, basically, they were patting themselves on the back for losing by a little bit less.
Not that there attitude will matter in the long run, it's a pretty safe bet that their constituents, at least those that are experiencing hardship(so, almost all of them), will not appreciate that kind of partisan unanimity. They need help, and blocking all attempts at helping is not a good way to get yourself more votes. The weirdest part is that the democrats actually made a bunch of compromises to get republican votes. A large part of the bill includes tax cuts, especially for corporations, which is usually their bread and butter.
They may live to regret their stubborness though, because a large part of the bill involves upgrading infrastucture all around the country. And a few days ago, several states, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and more, found that their electrical infrastucture failed due to an extremely bad winter storm, leaving 100's of thousands without power. Some estimates say that the power won't be back until mid-February...in the middle of winter, that's not good.
So please, let the republicans to continue to play their shutdown game, the same game they've used since 1994 to stop democratic plans, because I promise that eventually, as people start to feel the pain caused by their inaction, the republicans will regret not giving the voters what they need.

Next Year

Even though its a little too early to start worrying about next year, the stress is already showing up. I recently got a job and I am wondering if I want to only work next year and not cheer, or if i should work only part time and still cheer. Also, I'm thinking about what classses I want to take. Should I go for the easy A's and relax senior year? Or should I challange myself to take AP classes, even though colleges only look primarily at my Junior year grades.... Its all a mystery for now. SAT's are coming up and I have already taken the ACT's but wasnt fully satisfied with the outcome. Another thing is COLLEGE.. I've had my eye on a few colleges for as long as I can remember. UC Santa Barbra would be my first college of choice, followed by Cal Poly and UC San Diego. Im still going to apply to a few state schools aswell. I have recently been considering Arizona State or University of Arizona.. not too far away, but beautiful campuses and good academics. Cheerleading is also another thing I am looking at when browsing colleges. I haven't made up my mind weather I want to try out for cheer or not, but I think I probably will. Atlest I have another year to figure thing out..

Senior BALL

Soooo I'm pretty stoked for senior ball this year. i went last year, and it was nice, just not the same without all my friends. It will be weird knowing it will be my last high school dance. Ever. Tear. I'm hoping to get a really awesome dress..and a party bus, chya.
I guess I'm just really looking forward to the end of the school year in general, but dreading it as well. Its just so bizarre that the end is near. I can't process it in my mind. I really just want to get out of this ridiculous school and never come back.

YEA.

i was watching the tyra show yesterday

and she had an "ask tyra" segment where audience members were given the opportunity to ask her anything they wanted.
one woman stood up and asked her a question, tyra interrupts the woman because she wants to stop and take her shoes off, weird #1. but then after she begins to answer the question, she suddenly is distracted again and has the camera zoom in on her foot, weird #2, in order to allow the entire world to get up close and personal with the dry skin on her foot. {now, earlier in the "Ask tyra" segment, someone asked her what her pet peeves were and she said when people double dip with carrots or whatever at parties.} so, as she's looking at her foots dry skin, she licks her thumb (practically slobbbering on it) and rubs it on her foot to try to get rid of the dry skin! when the camera finally pans out away from her foot, finally, and she starts talking again, BUT stops to interrupt herself [again] to say "EW I JUST DOUBLE DIPPED ON MY FOOT!!" and laughs hysterically at herself. weird#3




ohhh, crazy tyra.

81....80....79...........

That's right seniors, only 81 school days until graduation.

For some reason, the fact that we have so little time left has been hitting me especially hard these days. And I really could not be happier about it.
I'm not saying that Rocklin wasn't a good community to grow up in. As a kid I never had to worry about walking through the wrong neighbor or wearing the wrong color. It sounds silly, but for far too many kids, it's real. I had a happy childhood and I can remember running wild through my neighborhood without a care in the world. I've been very comfortable in this environment, even if I have been a little sheltered.
I've been in Rocklin since I was four years old. That's 13 years of my life, and I've been going to school with most of the same people since preschool. I'm VERY ready for a change of scenery. I can't wait to get out and experience different parts of the world, without parental supervison. I need to meet new people, try new things, and see the world from a different point of view. For me, graduation will not be the sad ending, it'll be the beginning of REAL LIFE.
But until then, I'll just sit here and count. 81........80.........79.........78...........

differences in semesters

Around this time last semester I was so motivated to do my school work and do good in every class. The moment second semester came, I just fell flat.
I dont want to say I have senioritis, but I think I may have senioritis... Everything that is assigned or expected of me I just shrug it off and act like it wont hurt my grade. Trust me it will, I just have yet to see the consequences. Monday, however is when the first second semester progress report comes out. Im not exactly stoked about that, but as far as my online grades go, it looks like I'll be fine. Maybe.
Although...Yesterday was the first time since the beginning of the new semester that I turned in an AP Stats assignment. And let me tell you, we get a lot of them. I think Ive figured it out though.
There is just something about this new year of 2009 that makes me want to relax, have fun, hang with my friends and do absolutely nothing. For a lot of last semester I felt like I was actually doing absolutely nothing. I got so used to that that now I AM doing nothing.
When I was a freshman at my previous high school, a teacher, Mr. Holmes, gave me a few wise words of the trade. He told me that if you try really, really hard the beginning of any semester, you can coast through the rest of the year. You will have too many points to your A-grade that a missing 20 point assignment wont do anything to hurt you. I have to agree, however he forgot just one little bit... Dont forget to try again for second semester.
I got into the mind-frame that coasting was all I needed to do, but really I needed to set myself back up for a new beginning. I dont know why I felt like I could just stop working, but it really, honestly sucks. Im digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole and I need to get myself out.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Superbowl!

So this Sunday is the superbowl and although it may surprise you I am not even about to lie about it. I am extrodinarily excited! I never pay much attention to football, that is except for one team. The Steelers!
A major component of why I am a fan of the Steelers is due to the fact that I was born in Pennsylvania, Butler to be specific. Which is aproximately a half an hour outside of Pittsburg, the city which the Steelers play for.
Over Christmas break I went to Pennsylvania and I was astounded at the spirit the fans have and express during the games. Ideally I would like to go back to my home town to watch the game, but seeing that is not happening if you are trying to find me on Sunday I will be watching the game :) If they lose, may you be warned I will be in a bad mood next week.
Go steelers!!!!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Classic Literature?

We are reading the acclaimed Wuthering Heights in AP English because it is "profound literature." However, I beg to differ. It is by far one of the most monotonous and meaningless stories I have ever read. I understand that it is famous for its passionate love story and depiction of the Victorian Era, but honestly, it’s just plain annoying. There is not one character in the entire story that I like, and that makes the reading impossible to relate to or even care about. At first Heathcliff was the epitome of the intriguing bad boy, but as the story moves on he evolves into an evil, revengeful man. And Catherine, what a sorry joke of a main character. She’s obviously a manipulative, whiny, self righteous little skank. She abandons her own feelings and throws herself into a terrible situation, and then cries about the horrible predicament she faces until she randomly dies mid-story. Oh, and she has a child right before death. That little fact was slipped in there in like half a sentence. By volume two, the entire story begins to repeat itself with new little versions of Catherine and Heathcliff. It is the never ending dreadful story that I look forward to never having to think about again.


The end.

Bullies?

This blog is going to be embarassing.
Although it does break up my current theme, which has been repetitive-sounding "looking forward" rants.
This is especially embarassing because I am a Senior, and supposed to be elevated in status above all the other classes. Theoretically. So don't judge me.
However, there is a herd of freshman boys, who, whenever they see me, or I accidentally get in their way, taunt me. With their stupid looking mop-like hair cuts, their saggy clothes and sneering, immature faces. In a herd, they have alot of power. Even though they're only about up to my shoulder, as they haven't gone through puberty yet.
Like I said, they have power in numbers.
Especially because any mature remark to defend myself turns into another taunt aimed at me. I can't reason with them in any way, they're about five years old mentally. I feel the urge to sink to their level to fight back, and often just walk away to avoid getting suspended for delivering what should be justice.
They are my little brother's former friends, who have deviated from normal human beings and become homeless skateboarding fiends. I would use stronger language, as I'm thinking it, but I guess we're supposed to edit ourselves for a "school-affiliated" blog.
I can't quite voice how much I detest them.
They really, really need to be put into their place.
Because to be perfectly honest, they really make me feel like crap.
And that is NOT okay to do to anyone, especially someone who is older than you by 4 years.

Pink Pather 2

When I heard that another Pink Pather movie is coming, I went crazy. All the Pink Pathers have been amazingly good. The Pink Diamond was absouletely hilarious. I am looking forward to the Inspect the Unexpected. Jacques Clouseau (played by Steve Martin) is a classic. The character is so stereotypical of a French person, but yet it is so infused with humor and wittiness that it is too hard not to laugh.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Out of the Loop

So even though missing school from time to time is a big relief, missing it for a week just plain sucks. I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat and throbbing headache. I layed back in bed, and ended up not getting out until like yesterday!!!!! It was possibly one of the most horrible weeks of my life.
I had strep throat, which if you haven't had it is one of the worst sicknesses, which made me not eat hardly anything because I couldn't swallow. I then couldn't get up because I was so light-headed from not eating. Basically, it SUCKED!
After calling around I figured out everything that I missed, which is a never-ending list. It sucks being in high school, because even when you're absent, all of your teachers expect you to have the work you missed done in like a day. I miss having about a week haha.
On the bright side, I got to watch the entire presidential inauguration. I never pay much attention to the news (sorry Nichols) so it was really interesting for me to actually sit down undisturbed and watch it.
Today was my first day out of the house and it was pretty much amazing. I almost passed out, but I made it. I also ate something besides chicken noodle soup or bread (no butter) for dinner. And so far, my stomach doesn't hurt. :]
The lesson of this is, don't get strep throat. And don't miss a week of school if you can help it. I missed out in journalism, and I'm sorry I wasn't there. I also missed yearbook, which is NOT GOOD right now, considering we have deadlines in like two weeks. Wait, one week!!!! AHHHH.
Thats all for tonight. :]

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Inauguration Recap

Some tidbits about the inauguration: 
- Obama is now are president (for those who don't know) 
- President Obama did NOT screw up when being sworn in, it was indeed the Chief Justice 
- Mrs. Franklins hat with the giant bow tie was supreme in size and was pretty stupendous if you ask me. 
- The National Anthem was sung very well, glad to see it being sung the way it is supposed to rather than having an American Idol star trying to get famous in the lime light and carry on his/her voice in notes similar to how long I am carrying on this sentence. 
- I made sure I picked up the newspaper that day with the headline being "Obama Takes Power" which I value greatly. 
- If you visit websites such as foxnews.com then you will surely see racist comments by users underneath stories related to Barrack Obama. 
- While having the first Black President may be considered historic to us, it obviously did not reach everyone. ^^^
- Although many may not like Obama, please keep your death threats and lies about the election being 'set-up' or 'staged' to yourself, you redoinkulous idiots. 

Crazy Driving Stories

If anyone reading this could give me some ideas that would be great:

We need some driving stories ( like tickets, accidents, the driving test) for the newspaper issue.
So if you know anyone willing to share their embarrasment, send them my way???
Thank you!

Goodbye Alyssa

Last week was runaway week. It seemed to go really well until it hit 2:35 on Friday afternoon. The rally had just ended and we were let out for the weekend. You would think I would have been excited. There was a dance that night and it was the start of a three day weekend. However, I was more upset than happy because it was Alyssa Buchanan's last day here at Rocklin High School. Alyssa had to move to Reno, Nevada to live with her mom. She will be attending Reed High School for her second semester of her junior year. It feels horrible to be so far from a friend. Lucky for her she already knows people in Reno and will be going to school with her boyfriend. It just seems so strange and hasn't really hit me that she is gone. Cheer is too quiet and lunchtime is boring without her. She was one of my close friends and was the one who always made me laugh no matter what. I've known her since 7th grade and for her to not be here just doesn't seem right. I feel like a part of my life is missing. Luckily she will be attended our junior prom with my group of friends and she plans on coming back next year to graduate at RHS. However, I know she really likes it up in Reno, so hopefully she wont decide to never come back. So far I have stayed in touch with her and I heard all about her new school up there. I think we are good enough friends to stay close and she promises to visit every couple weeks.

Reading Dreams

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Reading Dreams

Last night, I had one of the craziest dreams I ever had in life. This is nothing new when you have watched all the Blade series in one night, but it still manages to be unique. It all started when I was running and suddenly fell into a marsh. There was a dead, bleeding fish on the other side of the marsh bank. Then I saw a group of people fighting over the fish until one of them ate it raw. Once I saw them they started chasing me. I ran through the marsh with my waist deep in this dirty water. Then I fell over and they stated to eat me. This is when I woke up at 6:50 in the morning and ran to school.

Posted by Albert T. at 7:55 AM
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The New Year

For me the new year is a chance to make new resolutions and start fresh. I did everything I could possibly do during winter break, I did. These first days of school are a chance for me to show and complete my New Year's resolutions. I hope that I may be able to fulfill them. The first of them being that I wake up earlier and try to get to school five minutes before the bell. My second resolution is for me to maintain or get all A's. I personally do not have any more other requests than that. I got a lot of books(10 of them) and then I bought 5 more with the money that I got. I love reading so I guess that is what I will be doing a lot of during this year.

Posted by Albert T. at 7:53 AM

AP Classes

This year, AP classes are meeting way ahead of schedule. Last year, i met with one of my AP classes on the last days of the school year.

I'm really thankful that they are holding the meetings before i plan my senior year schedule. Now i get to see what the course and teacher will be like before i sign up for it.

I'm thinking about taking AP English and AP Econ my senior year. It will be interesting to go to the meetings and see if this is something i really want to commit too.

I'm not that worried about AP Econ but i heard AP English will be difficult and i'm very happy to get a heads up to whats going on in the class before i'm signed up for it for my senior year.

I finished The Catcher in the Rye

And it was interesting. Unlike a book I've read before I'll give it that. I suppose I don't give Holden enough credit because of his constant complaining and droning on and on about one subject. Then I think about it on a different level; we all complain, we all have those days where anything and everything bothers us. Gets on our last nerves and makes us just want to cry. I have those days, I just don't share them like Holden does. And I guess there's a reason I don't voice every opinion I have: it gets annoying. I'm more accepting of this book after I realized how closely he relates to every teen's innermost thoughts, but the thought that this could be made into a book? It's kind of crazy, the idea of me just sitting down and writing all about my pet peeves and experiences within three days, then making it into a book. Who knew? We can criticize Holden as much as we like, I know that I have, but it's because he is telling the bare truth and nothing but. No frills and decorations on the story like we are used to (and enjoy). It's so unnatural to our minds because we aren't used to someone telling us straight out what they hate. I'm not saying it's a great thing, but if you find yourself hating the book, think about why, and you may realize it's because it relates to what you feel so much.

SNOW DAY!

Really? No, I wish Rocklin would have snow days but we are kind of missing an important key to that.
So Laura Cantu and I decided to have our own "snow day" on Saturday the 17th!!!
How?
By going to Soda Springs and taking lessons for first time ski/snow boarding! It was very exciting. I was VERY nervous! That mountain looked and was HUGE!
So as I take my skiing lessons, and Laura had her snow boarding lessons, my instructor said I was ready to go up the chair lift and head down my first ever run!
Getting a little too nervous, mostly about the chair lift, I attempted to relax myself with small talk as I waited to arrive at the top of the mountain.
Personally, I would have liked a seat belt, safety bar, maybe even a harness to keep me from falling, but I guess Soda Springs would like to think otherwise.
So I got off the lift just fine and headed over to the start of the mountain with my instructor. All I learned was "pizza" (the way to stop) and that I need to bend my legs. Nothing about going side to side or anything.
So the plan was the ski, stop, ski, stop, ski, and that was just it. I, after moving no more than ten feet, got WAY too much speed and couldn’t stop my momentum.
I didn’t know how to slow down, I was starting to go unfortunately too fast. My legs were starting to burn and about the half way mark down the mountain I got low enough that I was wrapping my arms around my boots trying to push my ankles out to slow down.
It still wasn’t working.
So I gave up on stopping and just moved my skis straight.
I was approaching the "SLOW" sign, I quickly sped by it. I was already on the flat land where people were waiting for others or getting inline for the chair lift.
Speaking of line for the chair lift, I was racing towards that too!!!
The bars were spaced just right but the road would hit me in somewhere around the neck or facial area…not good.
I wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, so I quickly decided to lay back dragging upper self.
My skis and knees were still controlled, going fast, and luckily for once, going straight.
I was looking up at I sped under both the chair lift lines, past back, and into the muck at the furthest part you could possibly walk!!!
Yes, my first run EVER down the mountain wend from the top to the very bottom, under the chair lift lines, and into the muck…all without falling!
I was terrified!
Not wanting to go up again with fear that I wouldn’t be able to stop, Laura convinced me, and I learned on my own how to stop!
It was amazing and not once, did I ever fall!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Owl City

Now, I've never been a big fan of the electronica style of music, but recently I discovered a band who fits under this genre and whose music I really enjoy. Owl City is a one man band who works on his music in his basement. It's all very synthesizer based, but the vibe you get from the music is just really happy. I was listening my personal favorite "West Coast Friendship" on repeat yesterday, and now on websites like MySpace and Facebook you can listen to the entire CD which is nice before buying it.
"West Coast Friendship" has a very bubbly, vivacious sound to it, and the lyrics are really beautiful too.

I would write more, but I should probably get ready to head out for school.
Today should be a very very long day. 2 tests - in a row! I'm excited...

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Uhh... Kinda freaking out.

Okay, so my high school years haven't been too great or anything, just saying because of my home life. Dealing with divorce and stuff like that, most teens my age deal with it. So, my mom has been dating for a few months. Yeah, its kind of weird and all, but on Christmas eve this year, I find out that my mom is engaged... Uhhhhh okay.....

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for her completely. Its just like... Whoa.. ya know? Eh, Ill get used to it sooner or later, its just like *BOOM*.

Let the Right One In

This is for all of the "Twilight" fans out there...
I'm not gonna lie, I like the books for what they are: Romance. And I'm stoked that vampires are "in" again (I think the last time they were cool was during the early 90's- with shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the 80's with all those wonderful sci-fi fantasies). Im a hard core nerd and my parents should receive most of the blame...
But I'm currently reading a great book and although it's got a large component of romance it is truly a vampire book and in the genre of horror. So for those of you who can't get enough of Edward Cullen, I TRIPLE DOG DARE you to try "Let the Right One In" for a drastic change.
The novel originates from Sweden, where has recently been made into a movie. You can find the book in just about any book store in America now, but because the movie is foreign it wont be playing at the average Century or UA. You'll have to go to the Crest or the Tower.
The book is about a twelve year old boy who is constantly bullied. That is until a strange girl moves in next door and a series of bizarre murders are consequently committed. Oskar and Eli become friends quickly, although she only hangs out at night...
I will give a warning though: this book is not for the faint of heart. It is not only gruesome in a bloody vampiric sense of the word, but the book (so far) has also delved into psyches of sex offenders, murderers, disturded children as well as adults and the occasional bully. The extreme violence is appalling, not only seen in murderers and vampires but in kids as well...

Sunshine

I absolutley love how it is so sunny in January! I've noticed that in general, it almost makes people happier and more cheerful, just as colder weather could put people in less pleasant mood. Over the weekened, I played a few good hours of tennis with my friends. Yesterday I was very thankful for the sunshine because my aerobic walking class got to go on a good off-campus route instead of doing yoga inside. I wasn't cold when I was walking home. Swimming after school has been so much nicer this week than it was the week before. For sure, winter is my least favorite season, but I'm so content with the weather right now, it's like it's not even winter. Let's hope the weather stays like this! :)

January 09?

School's back in full swing which means we're that much closer to summer/senior year, but then again we're that much closer to AP tests and dances like junior prom that everyone, including me, seems to be talking about a lot. Doesn't really feel like Runaway week either. I'm excited for the dance and all, but the last dance was really horrible, since there were only like 30 people there, and I paid fifteen dollars - biggest ripoff of my life. Anyways, the only thing I'm really excited about Runaway is the getting ready for the dance part and taking pictures with my friends. It's weird how dances become so unimportant as I grow older, but dances like Prom and stuff become the biggest deal ever. If guys just took control of the situation and did it soon, everyone would be happier, but then again we're in high school so asking guys to do that is too much. Either way, this semester is going well so far, but my affinity for silver days has increased and blue days have become more dreadful. I feel ready to graduate which sucks because I have a year and a half... but then again I'm going to enjoy staying sheltered and spoonfed for another year and a half. Either way, everyone should try and live up the rest of our time here, and not make dumb decisions that more and more people seem to be making these days. Anyways, this semester is looking up, which makes me a little less stressful which is always a silver lining.

2nd semester

Going into the last semester of my senior year I thought there would be less work. I already have an ap econ final, stats quizzes non stop, and pointless reading in english. It seems too early to be having big tests that will make or break my grade for the rest of the year. This week doesn't even feel like a spirit week at all. I don't know if this is true or not (it better not be), but i heard that students can't bring people that are not in high school to dances other than senior ball or homecoming anymore. If that is true there will definitely be less students going to the dances. Things just get more strict as the days go by. Oh well, in about five months seniors will be out of this place. :)

American Idiots

I watched some of American Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday night. These two nights kinda changed my opinion of the show. Don't get me wrong: I like the show, but I'm not as into it as I was last year or a few years ago. There are too many idiots that come onto the show just for attention or to make a fool of themselves; so many to the point it's no longer funny. I doubt half of them are even seriously auditioning or are seriously interested in the show. While some singers like the bikini girl were ridiculous, there are some auditions worth watching. The blind man was very inspirational and the show needs more people who are accompanied with a purpose to audition outside a craving for national fame.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Mallory's Update

College update:

Eeek. Ten more weeks until UC results begin to pour in.

Unfortunately, stress continues to dominate my life. That may not be a surprise to some, but I expected 2nd semester to be a completely different atmosphere for me academically. With college applications out of the way, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't stressed. For someone who strives for the best possible circumstances, I am not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel just yet. To be quite honest, I do not think I will be relieved until June 5th.


About 2-3 weeks ago I think I spent AT LEAST five hours on my laptop every day, attempting to pour my heart and soul into everything. I have always loved writing, but when I have to write about myself, it's just gross (although I may be writing about myself at the moment, this is my "casual" style...college apps, on the other hand, are a lot deeper).

I am aware that everything with college is out of my hands. That's sort of the problem though---I feel powerless, and I'd rather feel in control.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Second Print Issue

New Issue of the Flash out Today!

Yay! Rocklin's Second Issue of The Flash is awesome. I am so grateful for our really talented staff this year and our hard work put into this issue. I really like the cover, because it's really creative, with the map of RHS, Rocklin colors, and pictures of students within ROCKLIN. All of the stories have very creative angles and show how amazing the students of RHS are. I am looking forward to what other creative ideas our staff can come up with for the next issue.

Co-ed Cheer Practice

For the past couple of weeks we have been having practice with some of the boys on campus for the Runaway rally this Friday. So far so good but it can get a little hectic. At the beginning of the frist week I thought we were going to get nowhere with the routine but as we get closer to Runaway everything is starting to come together. The routine is very good this year and should look extremely good Thursday at the home game and Friday at the rally. There are approximately 17 boys being in the routine with the cheerleaders. Hopefully everything goes well and we have an amazing performance.

Honor Band

Last week, I did the Capitol Section Honor Band with three other people from symphonic band. It was the second honor band I have done in high school. Probably the millionth Becca has done though! I had a great time! I had to record a CD at the end of Thanksgiving break and then a few weeks later I found out I made it. Monday of last week was the first day, where we did live auditions for chairing, got our music, and had a short rehearsal. Then on Thurs we had a 3 hr rehearsal, Fri an all day rehearsal, and Sat a rehearsal in the morning and the concert in the afternoon. It was a great experience, and I learned so much from the conductor and from the other students I played with. The music was really hard!! But I was able to play most of it! It was a ton of fun, and once again, I learned so much!!

Friday, January 9, 2009

late

NNOOOOOO why am i always late to school now? Something has got to be wrong with my alarm because twice in one week is kind of bad. and i dont even feel any less tired in the morning. I cant even tell if im just sleeping through the alarms or if they actually arent going off. if im sleeping through them, i have no idea what im gonna do since ive already set three different ones to wake me up in the morning.
ive got to figure it out, but right now i dont think its effecting my grade too too much. maybe in a week.
aww, i just realized im probably getting detention right now.

Houston, We Have a Problem

The economy seems to be spinning out of control, and it's not slowing down. The unemployment rate just hit 7.2% in the nation, the highest its been in 16 years. In the month of December 524,000 jobs were lost, which brought 2008's total to 2.6 million. This brings the total up to 11 million jobless Americans, which wil obviously create a major problem for everyone. Some predictions say the unemployment rate could hit double digits sometime in the future. That is very very bad, and will draw out this recession, making it a lot worse.
Hopefully, President-Elect Obama and his team will be able to turn us around, but even if they do manage to put a successful plan together with Congress, most suspect that it won't have any major effects for months to come.
The record for the longest recession since the 30's is 16 months, and since this recession started December 2007, we are already on track to break it.
So, hopefully this new administration will be able to do something, but even the best plan will take months to have an effect, so I suggest that you brace yourself for some hard times.

Econ!

New semester for seniors means you're either switching from government to econ or vice versa. I'm going into econ, and quite frankly, I'm excited! I thought government wasn't too difficult...just a little boring. I'm interested in what's going on in the world today, it seems like everything we learn in our classes doesn't pertain to that. I mean come on, history IS history. Math is math. Lame town. I think Mrs. Crowe is a good teacher and I'm actually interested in her lectures. Sorry guys. The only thing I'm not really looking forward to is the essays..probably gonna bomb those. Oh well.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My "Soccer Mom"

Have any of you ever needed that extra someone to drive you around, make you food, or needed someone you can spill your life's proprlems to? Many look to their mothers for this duty, and don't get me wrong I do, but I have realized that I have another "soccer mom" in my life.
I bet you can't guess who it is. It's my cousin Grant who graduated last year. I know you are laughing at this analogy right now, but in all honesty that is what he is like for my cousins, friends, and even myself.
The way he takes care of all of us, he might as well begin the adoption process.

Prince Ali!

Mighty is he!
Ali Ababwa
Strong as ten regular men, definitely!
He faced the galloping hordes
A hundred bad guys with swords


Aladdin is da bomb.
And this part will FOREVER be stuck in my head.

Boo, January!

"January virtually has no redeeming factors." -Mr. Casey Nichols

I could not agree with this statement more. January sucks. There is simply nothing good about it. It is cold. It has no holidays. It has no substantial breaks from school, except for the depressing end of winter break. A new semester starts and you realize that there is still so much to be done before summer. Out of state college applications are due. There is also January 7th, which for some reason is always the worst day of the year. Anddd there is only thirteen weeks left of life in the yearbook world. Overall January stresses me out. And that's all I have to say.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A Dangerous Turn

Short blog.
I don't know how many of you are keeping tabs on the war in the Middle East right now, but it's taken a very scary turn.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053800.html

The impacts of these latest attacks could prove to be detrimental for all countries in the Middle East. I feel like all nations and conflicts that take place there are merely a ticking time bomb...

Senior Discussion

In Mr. James' AP English class, we often explore broad-minded topics that would be considered advanced, to say the least, for any high school class.
I love this about it- he always genuinely listens to us all, letting our minds run free. We've already tackled several mind-boggling topics, including philosophy and other schools of thought.
The other day, however, he asked us what it felt like to be Seniors here. Or something of the sort.
To my genuine surprise, my fellow classmates, who I formerly saw as complacent and agreeable, starting voicing my mind. They confessed their deepest angers toward the administration... why we aren't an active Senior class, what they thought really went wrong the past few years we've been here.
I was astonished.
They said that we've had our rights stripped away, we didn't want to be told what to wear, do or eat. It made us, the budding adults, angry. They stated possible reasons for the "trash" problem. That it wasn't our fault for not teaching them, but the administration's fault for turning us away from the school with their rules and regulations.
Within Journalism these four years, I've written several articles highlighting the issues I heard commonly brought up. To be honest, I didn't know I had an audience.
I thought most RHS students were the brainwashed type, whose rights are toyed with by all sorts of authority.
I was proven wrong, and I'd like to thank all the thinking members of my Senior class.
I finally have pride for my class.

Capitol Section Honor Band

It’s my last honor band of my high school career :( and it’s breaking my heart. These next few days are the only reason that I am still enrolled in band, so I’m going to make the best of them.
To attend one of these, you have to record an audition tape with the required scales and audition piece and send it in on December 1. If picked, your tape is ranked and then in January you have a live audition.
This year, Capitol Section Honor Band’s live audition took place on Monday.
Being that I now have my license and I have now attended this honor band for seven straight years, it was finally time to take the trip to Cosumnes River College alone. Following my dad’s instructions, "get on 80, go straight, and take Cosumnes River exit," I was ready to head out.
No problem, right? WRONG!
I leave around 3:30pm expecting to arrive around 4pm with an extra hour to spare preparing for the audition. Singing along with the radio, my nerves finally were calming down after my clarinet’s screw came lose 30 minuets prior to leaving causing a large part of the keys to come off!!! Yes, I cried. But luckily my dad fixed it. So I’m heading down the freeway, thinking about maybe getting food since I’ll be there early and won’t be home till 10:30pm. I’ve driven down this many times so my surroundings are failure to me but I just couldn’t remember exactly to what destination it was, that this road would end.
After a while of driving, I passed Davis, Dixon…farm land…VACAVILLE!!!
Yes, Vacaville! I drove all the way to Vacaville!!! My audition was starting soon and I was over an hour past Cosumnes River College! No one in my family was answering their phone till I realized that Monica, my older sister, was still at work so I knew she could answer her work phone. Luckily, her computer was still on and was able to give me directions back.
But honestly, Vacaville? Really? I couldn’t believe I forgot to take Capitol City FWY, and did just what my dad had said, gone straight.
So after panicking, calling my friends who are already there, and driving…well…safely, I actually made it on time-ish.
It was a great story to tell the three men who judged my audition. My feed back was great, "GPS system," was a lot of what I was hearing.
After getting 4th chair, 1st part, I was pretty excited that though my clarinet had broken and I got terribly lost, I did pretty well at my last honor band of high school :)

Welcome home!

ahhhh, where to begin?



About ten days ago my family came back from a Christmas vaction to see our family in Ohio. After being cooped up with my family for ten days straight, I immediately went out to see my friends. After about an hour, I get a worried phone call from my mom telling me that she and my dad are at the Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic with my cat, Jack, because he has a gaping hole in his back leg that's leaking pus and blood. They were at the vet for over three hours while they cleaned his wound and assessed his infection. $400 later, he came home with a little green bandage and some antibiotics. I've been taking him to the vet every few days to get his bandage changed, except for when he rips it off, and I have to hold him down and fix it myself.

ANYWAY, to make a long story short, it amazes me how much time and money people are willing to spend on animals. I've always been an animal lover, but this incident has tested my patience and my wallet. But..I love that cat, for some reason, and I'll keep doing this until he's better.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Scrabble

Oh what a glorious game it is.

No...seriously.

It's strangely addicting but always entertaining, and a good tool to strengthen vocabulary skills. A good player will usually score 300-400 points in a game. I don't think I've gotten to the 400 point yet, but I'm getting there. I think playing against one person is better than playing against three or four, its more intense and generally faster. Although i do enjoy the occasional crossword puzzle, scrabble will always hold a special place in my heart. I played it on Christmas Eve with my brother and dad..and my brother did the word "footed". That's not a word, right? haha. And i was playing with him and his friends the other night, he decided to land "Jedi" on a triple word score. Um excuse me? a bazillion points? and since when did we add star wars words to the English dictionary? i think never. But uh, if any of you nerds are interested, ill play you. That means you Nichols.

:)

Monday, January 5, 2009

getting lost

about two weeks ago i was given the job of driving my dad off at the airport on january 4th (yesterday). so 12.30 rolls around and we head to the airport. im familiar with the freeway for about 15 minutes after you get on at the merging by the mall, but after that i didnt have a clue where i was going since it was only the second time ive driven there, AND the last time i was there, my brother drove with me so i had some help on the way there. anyways, as my dad and i are driving hes pointing out to me what i'll be looking for on my way back since i'd be driving alone this time. when i drop him off and he says "now what are you looking for on your way back?" i said "5 South, then 80 East" like he had me repeat in the car. so i get onto interstate 5 fine, then as i start seeing signs for business 80, i move to the right one lane, then another. but i wasnt paying attention to when it was coming up and i panicked and moved over one more, and i could have made it if someone in a small red jellybean for a car wouldnt let me over. SO, i still ended up a lane away from the exit, and missed it. so now i have no idea where im going so i just decided to get off somewhere and figure it out. i ended up going all the way to old sac, and missed the J street exit so i got off at the O street exit. i drove around for a little bit then found some yellow bridge and i figured it probably was leading to the freeway. after 10 minutes of that with seemingly no sign of freeway in sight it turned a corner and i was back on 80, except i had less than a minute to get over and exit. five minutes later i was passing IKEA and like 45 minutes later i found the douglas blvd exit.

this should be the part where everything goes fine and i get home 20 minutes later. NOPE. its the part where im pretty sure i ran a red light: coming from the direction of the mall, i was at the intersection where you get on the freeway (where this lovely adventure started a good two hours earlier) and the light turned yellow and i wasnt sure if i would make it if i kept going so i slammed on the brakes, and the car didnt stop until it was waaaay past the line and after my complete stop, the nose was like 5 feet into the intersection. panicking again, i just hit the gas again without thinking and sped through the light, even though it had just turned red a second before that.

$328 fine ??

Working

Over break, i worked pretty much everyday. I even worked on Christmas and on new years eve. I love where i work, dont get me wrong, i have the time of my life. but, the people that go to the movies on holidays are ridiculous!
I am not joking when i say that xmas movie-goers are so concerned with themselves on Christmas, and i hate them. We sold out nearly every show of the christmas movies including marley and me and bedtime stories, causing a slight shortage of seats next to each other in the auditoriums. People are such a-holes about this though. They will purchase tickets in advance on fandango or something and arrive 10 minutes before the show starts expecting to find seats. i dont think so. People seem to think that because they buy tickets, they are guaranteed seats next to each other, no matter what, like we are some sort of theatrical theatre with assigned seats. no.
On Christmas evening, one couple was so upset by their not being able to find seats with the rest of their giant family that they told one of my managers that she had "ruined their Christmas." Really now? How ridiculous do you have to be? And where did the holiday spirit go? Let me just say, they were not the only family yelling and complaining.

Happy New Year!

I was in Oregon for New Years and my aunt had a party at her house. We all played American Idol karaoke and watched Gilligan's Island. Karaoke was really funny, and my aunt sang Paint it Black like 15 times. It was probably the best News Years I've ever had. Over break we also had an Alfred Hitchcock marathon.

I fail at life

So, right after I posted my last blog on my semester resolution about not being in plus period ever again, Nichols read off the list of plus period victims. Sadly...I was definitely one of them. It's the first day of the semester! This is not okay. I've decided that the plus cycle is just stupid, and students should always know when grades are turned in for the new cycle. It's really frustrating thinking the plus grades don't go in until next week when they really don't. I need to stop failing my classes.

Break is over....

I cant believe I'm saying this...but exactly 5 months from today is GRADUATION!!!!!! It seems so weird to say that. But then I have a 4 month summer break. It's going to be so weird being here for so long on summer break, then having to start school again. And everything seems to be real all of a sudden, senior ads, announcements, and I get to choose my dorm room in a month!!!!!!

Well, winter break seemed like it was never going to end, then all of a sudden I'm back at school. I don't know if I want any of this to end yet....but oh well.

The Flash is on Facebook

Over break, I set up a facebook account for our newspaper. For now, just the staff is added as friends. So, for the staff members who have a facebook account, I will verify the friend request. For those staff members who don't have a facebook account, please set one up for updates. Again, until later, only staff writers are added as friends. Thanks!

P.S. I am very excited for our print issue to come out. I think the people feature is a great idea that will attract even more readers. In fact, for the first time, someone actually asked me when the second issue was coming out :)

21

Two days after Christmas my brother turned 21. It was really funny, actually. He left teh house around 8 at night to meet up with his friends in Elk Grove. Apparantly, they went bar hopping, but i dont think he would really remember.
The next morning, it was the greatest moment in family history. He was abandoned in our living room, without his car, without his phone, pants and shoes missing, wrapped in towels with a brownie tin filled with vomit on the floor. Not to mention, my brother had a huge gash above his eyebrow. My parents took pictures.
From what he recalls, he can only remember the first bar, and one drink at the second. My brother found out that he had barfed in his new car and his friends said that he had puked on himself so much, they all had to strip him down and hose him off in the night. Sounds like a night he was lucky not to remember.

His other friend turned 21 two days later...

My Break

My break was rather relaxing. Almost too relaxing. I didn't accomplish much the whole time..but got some good quality family time in. Overall, i thought Christmas was pretty boring. Unlike most people, i didn't go anywhere, or visit any family. All my family lives in Iowa, we never go there for Christmas. Most of my friends were either out of town or working during break, so we didn't really hang out that much, sadly :/
The good news is i got a lap top for Christmas, completely unexpected. That was a nice surprise. Me and my girlfriends did a gift exchange on Christmas eve eve eve. Hahaha.
New years was a blast...had a bon fire in my court and just chilled. Not to mention my Dad blowing off fireworks through a carpet roller that supposed to be a "bazooka".
I'm just glad the mall in uncrowded now and i can stop shopping. Adjusting back to the school atmosphere might be a little difficult. Oh, and I'm starting a new job soon. I'm hoping to save up some money.

Hopefully this year will be better than last.

Last Semester

Today is the first day of my last semester of high school. The sound of that is absolutely insane. It's slightly terrifying, but mostly it's the most exciting thing I have ever thought about. I remember my first day of school like it was the other day, yet here I am about to graduate and go start my life. It's overwhelming. I just applied to Northwestern University last week and right as I hit 'submit' reality smacked me in the face. I was applying to the school, if I'm accepted, I'm going to in a heartbeat. I might be moving to Chicago. Just the sound of it is so strange. Growing up feels unreal, but at the same time I couldn't be any more ready to be on my own in life. Exactly five months from today and I am finished with high school. Forever.

Semester resolution

I'm pretty sure that during first semester I wasn't in plus period for like two cycles. So this semester I have made it my goal to never ever be in that ridiculous hell hole ever again. Especially only for failing yearbook with a 23%. That just isn't okay. At all. So I plan to keep my grades above the C level at all times. I guess we'll see how this works.

Sky Zone

On Saturday on went to Sky Zone for the first time. It was so fun with all of the room to jump on the trampolines and do flips and jumps off the walls. They also have a separate area for dodgeball, and basketball. It was amazing to watch the people who could backflip 2 or 3 times off the wall, because I don't think I would have the guts to do that. After about an hour of jumping, it is really fun, but tiring. I will definitely go their again soon.

Journalism Teachers

If anyone caught it over the break, there was an article int he Sac Bee. In the past in California Journalism teachers could be held accountable for what their students wrote. Teachers could be fired if they refused to censor their students. (This reminds me of some things that Mr. Hurrianko told my class a few years ago).
Apparently, this is no more. Not to say that we can write whatever we want now. But our teachers will, hopefully, no longer have to suffer the consequences of the hubbub that our stories may stir. This supposedly new rule is backed up by the first Amendment- the freedom of speech. How can it be that it has taken us this long to realise this right? Not to mention this "new" freedom is only in California- and we are among the most liberal states in America.
This freedom affects us and our teachers incredibly- protecting us both. Although at RHS there seems to be very little reason to fear censorship via threatening teachers. But we should all be very aware of our rights, both as students and individuals.

Tahoe Drive

So…my car is a 1988 Acura Legend. It lacks one windshield wiper, a head light, glove compartment, that storage thing in the center, airbags, air conditioning, and just recently got a driver side window! It does not have all wheel drive and very poor, not ABS, breaks. During break, I attempted to make a run up the mountain to Tahoe and my car…made it! It was a shocker to all those who A) know how I drive and B) know my car. It was great though! An amazing experience, just the drive alone. I enjoyed it. My windshield did ice up and the wiper made it worse, than putting water on it didn’t help. But I solved that. Overall, I had this terrified picture in my mind of what it was going to be like driving over two summits…yeah, didn’t even realize I hit the top when I started going down. It was nice though, a really nice drive.

Christmas at my Grandparents

My family went down to Los Altos Hills for Christmas, (Bay Area) like we usually do every year. The weather down there was really nice, not nearly as cold as it has been in Rocklin. It was nice to see all of my relatives because I only get to see them a few times a year because of how far we live from each other, plus most of my cousins are in college. So, Christmas Day for me was nice to get a break from the busy life in Rocklin.

Christmas Break

I went to Oregon for most of Christmas Break. They got a record amount of snow this year so I got to go sledding and catch a cold and all sorts of snowy fun stuff. Me and my cousin also went to the movies like every other day because we were bored of staying in the house, and we saw Marley & Me, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds. I cried like a baby during Marley & Me, and I thought Seven Pounds was a really touching story. We also played Wii Fit Yoga every night for like 3 hours to make up for all the highly nutritious stuff we consumed at the theater. I got to spend a lot of time with my family which was really great.

Drudgery and Doom

Hooray for the first day of school after the Winter Break of 2008. I can't say that I'm too happy to be back, but this will be the beginning of the last half of my high school career. That blows my mind. I've always been dreaming of college, but now its going to start becoming a reality. But I still have classes to pass, and there is much, much work to be done.

2009 is also here. Everyone's glad that 2008 is over, what with the recession and all. Yet I can't say I'm all to eager for the future. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it feels as though even tougher times are ahead. I hope President Obama and the new administration brings a fresh outlook and a newfound sense of purpose and hope to the world.

So. Off to school we go, then?

Let's do this dance.

Visiting Uncle Gary

I’m sitting in the backseat of my dad’s rented Honda accord when he announces that we are going to be visiting Uncle Gary. It’s the Tuesday before Christmas, and my father has picked my sister and I up to spend the day with us. My parents are divorced, and I don’t see my dad that often, maybe once a month. It used to be every other week – but things change.

I digress.

We went to Marshall's, perused the already picked over shelves and the marked down prices for a pack of Goldtoe Socks, grey sweatpants, and a grey sweatshirt, a stainproof hoodie with a zipper.

We headed off towards Citrus Heights, where Gary’s retirement home was located. It wasn’t located in the best of neighborhoods, but it wasn’t too terrible either.

I was nervous walking up. I hadn't seen Gary very much since his stroke, and I was concerned whether he would recognize me or not, or even want too see us. We strode to the door, trying to find a way in, when we saw him.

He was sitting in his wheelchair right next to the sliding glass doors, and, my dad, being the prepubescent man-child that he is, banged on the window and shouted "HEY THERE UNCLE GARY!"

At first he waved us away, not recognizing us and thinking we were hecklers. But then he did double take.

And that man's beaming smile nearly broke my heart.

He let us in and showed us to his room. His collection of clocks staring at us from dozens of places throughout his apartment, Uncle Gary opened his gifts, which weren't even technically wrapped, just stuffed inside the Marshall's bag. He kept muttering "Hey", his speech pattern defined by that singular greeting, his bald head bobbing up and down as he tried to show us his appreciation for the gifts. Trying to make conversation, he pointed out that his electric scooter was broken, but with his lack of communication skills I never truly figured out what was wrong with it.

After an hour, my dad decided we had spent enough time watching old westerns and trying to converse with my great uncle. Gary led us out, staring after us as our car drove away.

My dad told me later that we had been the only ones to visit Uncle Gary this Christmas season.

That drove me to tears.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Fruits and Vegetables

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to eat just fruits and vegetables? I don't mean being vegetarian either. Nothing but fruit, vegetables, and water. No pasta, no bread, nothing else. Let me tell you something, it's difficult.
I am participating in a corporate 21 day fast with my church. It is a "religious" endeavor, if you will. Although it is going to be a difficult challenge for me, and quite a different start to my year than those in the past, I'm excited about it!

Sacramento Kings-losing fans?

The Sacramento Kings are really not having a wonderful season, but my friends and I are some of the few loyal fans left who still watch the game anyway to show support. Today I pulled out the Sac Bee and saw a picture of an empty Arco Arena. Clearly, fans are no longer as excited to attend these games, which says a lot because Sacramento is known for it's huge, passionate fan base. I think it was strategic to invite Olympic Champion Michael Phelps to the December 28 game vs. The Celtics. I really wish I could have gone to the Celtics game to see Michael Phelps because he answered personal questions on swimming. Some of my swim coach's friends went, however, and said it was a nice addition to the game, despite the fact Phelps did not allow any pictures or autographs. Although this was pretty much the worst game in Kings' history- the game announced it had it's second best turn out of the season with 16, 029 fans who were probably more excited to catch a glimpse of a "fish out of water" than watch another frustruating basketball game. Currently, statistics show a typical game attracts less than 12,000 fans on average. Of course, the more It's going to be interesting to see what else the franchise does to keep fans coming back- that is, if there's still any left.

It's hard to believe

ONE SEMESTER until I am a senior. One semester until I have to put all of those college application worries onto paper and send them in. One semester until I watch the only people older than my class walk across the field for the last time. One semester until lunch will never be the same without everyone there...The next New Years I celebrate will be that of my graduating year. Wow. This year has been the shortest and probably weirdest of all, and although there were definately rough patches, I hate to see my Junior year go by so quickly. I already miss the thrills and stresses of building (the winning ;)) Junior float. But wait, we still have more to look forward to at least! Um, JUNIOR PROM! Thank God, and I am actually really excited about it. The invitations are coming in two-three weeks and they are gorgeous and fit our theme wonderfully. We are already going to taste test with Thompson this month for our menu, so it's wayyy sooner than I realized when he brought it up. And we are compiling our Junior Year CD with a cool leather case too for the gift. It'll have about 18 songs that came out our Junior year plus our JP theme song. A nice change from picture frames hopefully! Oh and Runaway, it'll be fun having the theme cereal haha. Andd of course Hearts-A-Fire and Sadies, so our second semester should be just as eventful as our first, especially for the upperclassmen. Just don't go by too fast pleaseeee!

We are back to school in about 13 hours

I really don't know how long it is but it is within some hours. A few long months until our next REAL time off which will be around Easter this April. It was a decent time off though, but I still want a few more days off. Miami lost, which is pretty much balls if you ask me. But enough of the Shinnannigans, I have to get some sleep tonight for a long day tomorrow. 

The Home Stretch/ Milk.

I know that lately it seems like all I can blog about is my expiring high school career, but that's simply because it is all I can think about.
To be honest, I'm thrilled about going back to school tomorrow. Not for school's sake, but my own. This is the last semester of pre-determined public school I will endure for the rest of my life.
As for my break, it was incredible. I always love staying up all night nearly every night, and I got to do just that. Also, Christmas is my absolute favorite part of the year.
But more than anything, I thought about next Christmas, where my break will be quite a bit longer and different than this years'.
Sorry all you high school lovers, I wasn't made for this.
I am the class of 09', and guess what: it is 2009.
I've talked to a few of my fellow Seniors, who like me enjoy chomping at the bit, and they agree that it came quickly. We've all spent so long talking about it, imagining it, and planning it... but now that it is close enough to smell, it seems unreal.
Unreal in the best possible sense, I mean.
Unreal as in a dreamlike state has decended over me as I begin the drift into my final months.
So RHS tomorrow- I have one thing to say. BRING IT ON.

Next subject. I saw Milk at the Tower Theatre in Sacramento on Friday night. I might write a story on this, so I won't say much. I was very glad I did not see this movie at Century, a hypocitical Cinemark theater. (The CEO donated a hunk of money to the Yes on 8 campaign, and Milk honors the legacy of Harvey Milk, our late hero when it comes to gay rights).
In other words, if I had, I would have demanded my money back.
However, as it was, I was driven to tears. It was much different than expected, but worth the drive and the money.
And I feel much more potent than ever about my beliefs and battle I am fighting for equal rights.
It fueled me.
And I love fuel.

Bond

I know it's been out for a while now, but I finally got around to seeing the new James Bond movie last night and I would have to say that it was pretty good. The last two movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace(really weird title by the way), don't seem to be traditional Bond movies, but that doesn't bother me because I'm not a big fan of the older ones. There are pretty much no gadgets in the new movies and Bond himself is a lot more ruthless.
That's actually why I think Daniel Craig is the best Bond, he plays the character as a sociopathic/homicidal maniac, which is what you would expect from a government assassin who goes around killing half the people he meets. He doesn't feel empathy or compassion, he just does what he need to do. And that makes it entertaining, adds action and, most importantly, makes it believable. The older Bonds were too nice, I was never convinced that they could get the job done in real life. But I could definitely believe that Daniel Craig could go out on top secret missions and do what needs to be done, even if that means blowing up whole buildings single-handedly.
So, it's definitely a good movie and if you haven't seen it then I would highly recommend it. It's also the first Bond sequel ever, and ties up a few of the loose ends from the last movie.
So check that out when you have time, and have a great last day of break!

tomorrow's school?

Wow. Reality check. Tomorrow I have to wake up early...Haven't done that since...december 19th. I've been sleeping in till one or two pm every day, going to bed at 2 or 3 am and I've been loving it, and the fact that tomorrow's school is making me worry a little, just because I have no idea how I'm gonna wake up at my usual 6:40am, let alone go to sleep earlier tonight. These two weeks FLEW by...not that I didn't enjoy them, they were great for relaxing and not caring about anything, and the minimal amount of homework I had was fantastic, but they can't be over already. I guess that's what happens with all breaks, but this year is going by faster than I thought, and I'm not sure I like it very much. Next year, I'm going to be a senior..when did that happen? I'm excited and all because its SENIOR YEAR, but I remember freshman year like it was yesterday and the seniors seemed so much older then. Either way, hopefully next semester is much better than the one that just happened in all ways. But this break was definitely better than I thought it was going to be. I read for pleasure which was nice since I didn't have time to think for myself last semester, and the Twilight series is great. I wish there were more than 4 books, but then again how long can Meyer stretch it out...but it was definitely a good use of my time. Then I got sick, which sucked, but it's better than being sick at school and not getting better for a two weeks instead of one.
It's just weird that in 24 hours from now I'll be coming back home after school tomorrow, and getting back into a routine I've forgotten about in the short 14 days. Oh well...spring break will come before I know it.

So I finally read Twilight...

I did, it's true, and I have to admit: I LOVED IT.
I really didn't know what I was getting in to, and I was actually really hesitant because I don't love the idea of a girl who's life is all about another guy. She isn't happy unless she's around him and she has to be with him 24/7. I would find that completely annoying. But I started reading and I actually really enjoyed how their relationship progressed! It was extremely interesting at first to see how he reacted to her (hatefully) when she moved to Forks. And then he just had this draw toward her and was almost bipolar and wanted to save her whenever she was in danger (which was a lot). Their romance proceeded really quickly, and there were always random little surprises Edward brought to the table which was a nice break from the typical love novels we read where they are all over each other. He keeps his distance, which is interesting. I think the best part that separates this book is that it always has that air of suspense and danger, because we never know if Edward's craving will become too much and he will decide to devour Bella. Different, no? The huge chase by the vampire in the last third of the book was also admittedly very exciting, and once again a good break from all the focus being on just Bella and Edward's love affair. Good thing there are three more books, though this second one is making me really sad so far :(. I say give it a chance, there's so many things you don't expect in this book, that you're bound to find something you enjoy about it. Obviously, since it's claimed to be the next Harry Potter...

For a Friend

Senior year is not quite what I expected it to be.
I heard from all my older friends that first semester senior year is a pain and that second semester senior year is a general breeze. With all my college applications (I know, I know. I'm like the umpteenth person to mention college apps in a blog. I promise that's not what this is about) out of the way, I'm ready to move forward to second semester, but first taking the look back at first semester.

Like I said earlier, senior year was certainly not what I expected. I don't ultimately know what I was expecting. Maybe something along the lines of hanging out with my friends and making all the memories I could in our final months together in the same place. In some instances, that's been true. I've gotten a lot closer to some of my already close friends and made some very close new friends, which is great. However, what's the most shocking and perhaps what is disappointing me, is how I'm also slowly growing apart from friends who I used to consider closer than close. I've never been one to just let a friendship disappear into thin air and I always thought that college would be the ultimate test of time to see which friendships make it and which don't. That sounds awful, but after moving around, I've seen quite a few people who just can't make long-distance friendships work. And I never thought the friends I've made over the past 2 and half years would be like that.

But it's happening. And that kind of scares me. If I can't even maintain a friendship with someone who lives 15 minutes away, what's going to happen when we move 8 hours away? Or across the country? I understand that losing and gaining friends is a part of life, but that doesn't make the fact any easier to bear and swallow. I'm making an extra effort now without college applications to distract me to try and maintain those important friendships, at least from my end.

Here's to making it work for this final semester.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

New Semester

Tonight is our last night of break...well, in a way it is. It is our last night of freedom, a night, which in my opinion should be taken advantage of. Although we dont go back to school tomorrow, tomorrow night does hold the sorrowful title of a "school night". For most of us, our parents will make us not only be home early, but also go to bed early because we need to get a "good night's rest".
But why go through all of these preparations for just another day of school? Well, it's a new semester, it's a oppertunity to start from scratch and make the most of the remainder of our school year.
I like to think of it this way, all of us have 100 percent in our classes. If we put in the effort, we have a good chance of ending up successful. It's also a good oppertunity to set goals for yourself for example: getting good grades, or having more fun. Although I have no desire to go back to school I am excited that we have a fresh start!

Music and Memories

Right now I'm listening to "The Promise" by When in Rome. This song is the closing song to Napolean Dynamite and it reminds me of memories I have with a good friend (who happens to really like Napolean Dynamite). But it's not the only song that revives old memories. In fact, I try to attach a memory (any emotion) to every song I hear. It's hard sometimes, because I cannot always think of something that happened that would fit the song perfectly, but when I do, it's great! Sometimes the memories aren't always happy, but most of them aren't like that. Whenever I hear that song on the radio or in a movie (or wherever), it can cheer me up. Little did I realize music was so powerful.

WILDCARD WEEKEND

MMHHMMMM. I'm pretty pumped right about now cause my Dolphins are playing tomorrow against them Ravens. Whoo babe. Did anyone hear about that comeback story?? 1-15 last season to an 11-5 division champion?? The only reason I don't want tomorrow to hit is because that will be one day closer to school. Feel with me, no one really wants to go back. I mean haha cool first day type feeling but I know after that Im gonna be on autopilot for the rest of the year. GO FINS.

Friday, January 2, 2009

catcher in the rye

i cannot stand it.
i have liked, to say the least, every single curriculum-assigned book i've had since seventh or eighth grade, including lord of the flies in 8th. dorky? probably, but i don't mind. but Catcher In the Rye is by far the worst book i've ever had to read - it's excruciatingly boring. "Phony" is said more than the word "the" in this book. he repeats himself and rephrases it. he is completely infatuated with the girl he knew when he was younger, Susan i think. nothing is happening other than him not sleeping, going to bars, smoking a thousand cigarettes a day, lying, lying, lying, telling the reader about his endless list of pet peeves and hates, and telling us about his family - mainly his little sister. the entire 26 chapters of this book takes place over three days, and he does just about the same old, predictable stuff every day. my guess is nothing new and intriguing happens until the last 5 or 6 chapters. i'm on chapter 17. :/

New Year's Tradition

For a long time, my family was never quite satisfied with the way we celebrated New Year's.  We always did different things, went to different parties, but never liked it.  Then one year when my younger brother and I were both in elementary school (I was probably in about third grade), my parents decided to have us each invite a friend over to spend the night on New Year's Eve.  When we were younger, my parents would set the clocks back two hours so that when it was really 10 o'clock, we thought it was midnight, and we'd go out on our court banging pots and pans and yelling happy new year.  I didn't even know.  But now we definitely stay up later, and we actually go out front and bang pots and pans at midnight.  We also drink sparkling cider and do crackers.  They're these little things that you pull open and they have a dumb little toy, a paper crown, and a joke inside.  Pretty cool, huh?

A day at the kitchen table...

Today was kind of a weird but fun day... I spent it at the kitchen table!  I woke up at 11 and ate lunch.  It's kinda fun eating lunch when you wake up... and then I decided it was time to fill out my Spartans and Mexico packets.  My church sends hundreds of people to Mexico every spring (thankfully this year our spring break is on the same week as the trip unlike last year).  The trip is mostly for high school and college students, and of course adults too.  This year, probably about 850 people will go (yeah, it's a lot!).  We partner with Mexican churches to reach the  Victoria valley with God's love through tons of different teams. There's a drama team and a sports team, and lots of other teams that do things like building houses, day camp programs for kids, working in orphanages and a women's shelter, and providing people with food. It is an amazing trip and always one of the highlights of my year!  So, naturally, filling out the application made me excited.  Which meant I pretty much spent the entire day filling out the applications and texting and talking to ppl over the phone about going to Mexico.  I have some friends who I really want to go this year who have never been before.  I hope they go!  Not only do you impact others on this trip but you are impacted too!  It's awesome!  Oh yeah, I also worked on an AP US outline (at the kitchen table).  But then I realized it would be dark soon, so I called up my friend and we went on a run.  Which was not at the kitchen table!  And now I'm on the computer– not at the kitchen table!  

Oh yeah.  I forgot to say what Spartans is.  It's the team that goes down a couple days early to set up camp.  That was the other application I had to fill out.  Hope everyone has a great weekend before school starts up again!

I am Legend 2?

I heard a rumor that there was going to be an I am Legend 2 and Will Smith is going to be in it. If you haven't seen I am Legend, I would stop reading right now because i am about ready to say what happened in the ending.

I got online and started looking for information on I am Legend 2 because I was curious to see how Will Smith will be in the 2nd one seeing he died in the ending of the 1st one. Anyone who has seen I am Legend knows he couldn't have possibly survived.

Most of the information I could find was rumors, but i did find that Warner Brothers green lighted the I am Legend prequel with Will Smith and Francis Lawrence returning as the director.

Supposedly it involves Will Smith trying to protect a small band of survivors who he ultimately fails to save. It makes sense that it would be a prequel because it would be before his death but I think it would only be repetitive because you already know that Will Smith eventually dies in the end.

I read rumors about the producers abandoning the idea of the prequel and moving on to a sequel, but who knows if those rumors are true. I personally hope it will be a sequel because i am curious to see how Lawrence would have Will Smith in it, but i doubt it could be done in a way that wouldn't be ridiculous.

Either way, I would watch the movie when it came out. As of now, I am Legend Prequel is suppose to come out in 2011, but i have serious doubts it will ever be made.

My Christmas

Christmas vacation is coming to an end and I have to say i have had an incredible time. As usual, I'm not ready to go back to school and i have been shoving all things school related out of my mind for as long as possible.

Christmas time, at least for me, is the most wonderful time of the year. I got to leave early on the last day of school before christmas break because my Auntie and Uncle decided to take my entire family to a time share up by the bay area. For those who don't know what a time share is (I didn't) its basically a mini house, It had a kitchen, living room, and several bedrooms. At least that is how this one was. It was fabulous! I spent most of my time there soaking in the hot tube and in the heated pool. There was also a game room with pool, ping pong table, air hockey, an arcade room, and a work out room. I ran on the treadmill in my slippers. It didn't work out very well. I also learned how to play pool and hold the stick thing right. I surprisingly even made a few good shots. And I met a couple of really cool people. It was so much fun and I really wish i could go in the spa right now.

When i got back, there was only 2 days before christmas and i had done almost no shopping done. Luckily i had time to leave my house between cleaning and cooking and finish my christmas shopping. Christmas day was perfect as usual. My uncle, auntie, cousin, and grandma were all at my house for christmas day and then after we had opened our presents and had christmas breakfast we went down to my sister's house for another round of food and presents. It was so much fun, and the only thing i regretted was that christmas was already over.

Common Sense

Everyone says everyone else should have it, but don't you think government officials should be among the first to have it? As pitiful and funny as it is, most American officials fail to name the party representatives of the House and Senate? I am shocked because authority is supposed to set examples and teach the rest of society how to be ideal. But after a while, I honestly think the government is just a mask trying to keep its own people down and uninformed.

Valkyrie

"Valkyries are the handmaidens of heaven who choose the righteous and take them back to heaven." This is what Hitler tells his future assassin Count von Strassenborg. The Count has realized that he can only serve Hitler or Germany, not both. After he is wounded in Tunisia, he returns to Berlin and joins fellow conspirators. The date of the assassination attempt is set for July 20, 1944. In a state of panic and confusion, Strassenborg hopes to dismantle the SS and install a government that will end the war. Suspense, action, and a thriller that should be watched by all. In an unexpected twist, Strassenborg convinces the world that not all Germans were as mad as Hitler.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

HACKED

So, after returning from a week long International Convention with my lovely youth group, I found a not-so-lovely surprise tonight. As the regional Communications VP, I am responsible for managing our regional website. Tonight, I received a phone call from my friend in New Jersey, who is the Comm VP for his region.

"Have you checked your regional web page recently?"
"Uh. Not in the past day and a half. Why?"
"Well.. you might want to. You got hacked."
"WHAT?!"

Lo and behold, our two beloved regional websites were hacked by pro-Palestine groups/individuals. Being the amateur web manager that I am, I have absolutely zero idea how to fix this and have contacted all the expert people from the International office. I will hopefully have it fixed by tomorrow.

There is little doubt in my mind that the person responsible was influenced by the current conflicts occurring in Israel and Gaza. While some may say I am biased towards supporting Israel (and maybe I am), I still think that this kind of free speech and act of protest is disgusting. I am ashamed for not being able to fix it and disgusted by the images and words this hacker put on my website. I sat at my laptop, literally staring at the same image hoping that I could figure out to fix it. I'm trying my hardest to forget what I saw, but I don't think it will be quite that simple.

And this isn't the first time this has happened either. The web page was also hacked by anti-Israel groups last year. It's an ongoing battle. Passwords can be changed but there will always be someone desperate to make a statement. The important thing, I think, is to not let it get to me. Regardless of the message, these statements are insulting, the means in which it is accomplished is insulting, and I'm disgusted with the overwhelming amount of ignorance that can still be found in the world today. But the important thing is to work and fight past it. If it's not a hacker on a website, it's graffiti on a wall. And if it's not about Israel, it's about some other form of hate.

What a wonderful way to start the new year...

Chocolate!

Basically I havent eaten chocolate in a year...well that is until 12:00 last night! I can't believe that I actually managed to go a whole year without eating ANY chocolate, and I mean any chocolate at all. No chocolate ice cream, milk, candy, or anything else that contains any shape or form of chocolate.
If you haven't figured it out yet, not eating chocolate was my new year's resolution last year. And i believe for the first time in my life I successfully carried out a new year's resolution for an entire year. People told me that after a while I wouldnt want it anymore...but that definitely wasn't true. I wanted it all year, even more so as I approached the end of my committment. I even had a full-length dream about a chocolate chip cookie!
I love chocolate and I decided to give it up as a way to prove that I could use self-control to accomplish anything that I want in life. Even if that's a stupid reason to give something up, I'm very proud of the success that I achieved.
Eat chocolate! It's delicious :)