Contacts

So, I'm pretty much blind. I never could see the board well in class but I didn't make it a big deal beause I did NOT want glasses. Well, I went to my sports physical two weeks ago and basically failed my eye test. They sent me to an optometrist where they examined my eyes. Finally, Wednesday I got my contacts. I could only wear them for three hours the first day, five the second, then keep adding two hours each day until I get to twelve hours. There are soo many rules to contacts. You can't sleep or swim with them, theres a right and left contact (with no way to tell them apart), they could be inside out and you wouldn't know, and if they are even just a bit dirty it will hurt so bad that you won't even be able to open your eye to take it out. Plus, they are super uncomfortable and just a hassle altogether. Definately not looking forward to wearing them, but I guess it will eventually become part of my everyday routine.

Gimme Samoa Swing Music

For the welcome back dance, my friends and I dressed up as girl scouts. Our teal vests were decked-out with patches and we wrote "Troop 2012" on them with puff paint. After having a picture-taking pre-party out on the Whitney Oaks golf course, we played "big booty", snacked on cookies, and warmed up our dance skills. My troop then packed into three mom-driven SUVs and drove to the dance. Making a grand entrance, the sixteen of us filed one by one out of the three cars. We went into the gym and squeezed our way to the middle of the dance floor, where we got our groove on and had a blast for the remainder of the night. My favorite part was when Mr. Thompson said, "everybody, grab a friend's hand," and out of nowhere a swing song came on! Me and my friend Dani discovered that we had some awesome swing skills, and people even started making room around us. By the time the song ended, we were definitely ready for another swing song. Too bad they followed it up with the "Cha Cha Slide".

King Tut

So it seems like the King Tut field trip is going to happen. I am so excited that we are going; San Francisco is one of my favorite places to go. The first time the exhibit was in California was when it came to LA four years ago, but I didn't get a chance to see it. Egyptian culture and their monarchy has always fascinated me and I plan on going to Egypt sometime. Mr. O'Donnell is planning the trip and is trying to let kids who are not in AP World have the option of going. So if you are interested go to the AP World History web page and fill out the form (you are not obligated to go if you fill it out).

A Right of Passage

Last night was the Junior Class Ring Ceremony. I loved it! I am so happy to have finally gotten my ring...it had been so long that I forgot what it looked like. It was such a special ceremony, with great speeches by Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Huber. Unfortunately, only about 50 Juniors showed up to the ring ceremony. I was really surprised because I expected more people to be there, since this was our passage into becoming upperclassmen. Despite this, I enjoyed the ring ceremony. After talking about link when we were freshmen and what high school is about, I realized how far I have come since I was a freshman. I really agree with Mr. Thompson about how getting your class ring is a "right of passage" for your junior year....I just can't believe that I have a meeting for caps and gowns this year!!

Broken Collarbone.

So i play competitive softball, my team is called the California Breeze. We travel a lot to different states and go to nationals every year. This year nationals was in South Dakota, and it was quite the experience. Well it was a friday, July 31st, and we were playing against a team out of Georgia during the afternoon. The game was tied zero to zero. I was playing second base and there was a runner on first. The ball was hit to me, so the runner on first was running to second. As i went to field the ball the runner ran into me and i did a 180 and fell on my shoulder. I was out there on the field for 25 minutes, and then they decided that they needed to take me to the Emergency Room. So they took X-Rays and told me that i had broken my collarbone straight through. I was really sad, because i couldnt play the rest of the tournament, but then my teamates called telling me that they had won the game. All thanks to Lauren Orozco who hit in the winning run =). But it ends up that i have to wear this brace for 2 more weeks. so excited, and a great way to start off my senior year...not.

Stocks!

The seniors have started their big semester project of investing "money" in the stock market. I'm pretty excited about it. It's teaching us real world skills which will doubtless come in handy one day, plus its a competition, and it will be fun to win. It's also pretty awesome to have 100 grand. Fake money or not, I really, really enjoy the feeling. I've even made a few hundred dollars already. Of course, the rest of my class has made more than a few hundred dollars, but still, its interesting to see money just grow like that. Well, good luck to everyone in AP Econ.

soccer tournament

So my soccer tournament ended up being really interesting. Were a C division team and had to verse against A division teams, which were really hard. We got creamed all of the game but its ok because we must have taken at least six of there girls out. Tension rose when we were losing badly. Since some girls like to push, we push back twice as hard. This girl tripped me and i came and elbowed her in the ribs, which she was crying to get off the field. Later after the games i decided to work at the snack bar for community service. I sat there for 2 hours doing nothing. All the games were over and there were no people at all, so it was a waste but i got my service hours. woo!

Now that I'm a senior...

I guess that everything has been a little bit more relaxed. I'm taking an easier 6-class scheduele, and I guess it's going to be a good year from what I've seen so far. I really don't have anything more to say in the way of school... So I'll get on the better stuff.

If you know me, I am a gamer. I play World of Warcraft and Rock Band with some of my time. I've taken the time on WoW down by a huge number, but I've been playing Rock Band a lot more with some of my friends. I like to play on the expert drums, and my friend Justin plays on the expert guitar. We're actually looking for 2 more players who play on expert guitar/bass and expert vocals so we can start a decent Rock Band and work on that for a bit. So if you know anyone who is like that, send me a message or send them my way!

That's really all I have to say for right now. SENIOR POWER! :D

WANTED: sewing machine

sooo i had the random idea in the last week of summer to make my own homecoming dress, right? well turns out i didnt think about how much time and effort it takes and how my mom would have to help me A LOT. and i have the pattern, the fabrics, and matereials and everythign i'd need to do it, [except a sewing machine] but now i only have like a month to do it and i can tell its pretty much not going to happen. :(
but at least now i can do it for hearts, right? except i still need a sewing machine.............

not to mention i hate my schedule. AP classes = bleh.

ohh senior year

It's so far been fun, but SO STRESSFUL! Just thinking about college apps and scholarships and federal grants...ahhhh! Butttt homecoming is coming up soon, my last one!:( that definitely adds to the stress, but it's going to be so fun and seniors are completely going to dominate :) With all of this stress probably most seniors are feeling right now, I just want to say breathe. It's hard to take my own advice, but it helps. Most of us have jobs and AP classes, more than usual, and of course as I said before, the dreaded college applications. There's all of this stuff going on outside of school for seniors that I never even realized, so I just hope we can all keep our heads on straight and totally enjoy senior year for all it's cracked up to be! Hey, at least we have less classes right?:)

The Wedding :)

So on Friday I left right after I got done with my three classes to go home and get ready for my friend Miranda-Lynn's end of summer wedding. My first observation of this whole situation is how it feels to have one of your friends getting married...yes she is twenty-one not seventeen like me, but still I have been friends with her for years. To my knowledge none of my friends are planning on getting married right out of high school, but still isn't it strange (for lack of a better word) that my friends and even myself legally could get married in a mere matter of months?! Now no worries as far as I'm concerned, I just wanted to take the time to point out the fact that legally people can become married at what I view as a very young age. The wedding took place in Grass Valley at the historic Empire State Mine/Park. The setting was BEAUTIFUL! The entire ceremony felt like it was a scene from a fairy tale movie. The two met at my church, Sunset Christian Center. As a commitment they made to purity, the two shared their first kiss in front of everyone at the ceremony (although the bride was extremely sly and covered their faces with a wooden fan). The ceremony was followed by the reception at the church. It was a nearly perfect wedding, every girl's dream.

The time has come

August sixteen has finally arrived. Actually the word finally makes it sound like I wanted it to and as you may guess, that is not the case. It is time for school to start again. In a matter of twelve hours I will be waking up and getting ready to embark on the first day of my last year of mandatory gradeschool. I have come to realize that this day and this time in my life are very symbolic of change. With all new experiences and unknowns headed my way it is time for a lot of things. It is time for senior year. It is time to decide a pathway to head down for my life. It is time to take advantage of all my time and opportunities. It is time to think out of the box. It is time to get ready for my own life. It is time :) There is no time like the present.

New Hobby

For AP Spanish, I had to make a collage of photos from my summer. I was never really a photographer to begin with, but the assignment allowed me to discover how much I really enjoy the art. I'm going to buy my OWN digital camera soon from the money I earned lifeguarding this summer. First, I think it would help me as a journalist to improve my picture-taking skills. And of course, it's fun to have a camera when I go places with friends. It's just amazing to think you can capture an exact moment in time. Pictures, like the one to the right, inspire me. (Far from photographing at this level!)

Goodbye Summer. Hello Sophomore Year.

I wish so much that it was still summer! My summer was so relaxing and exactly what I needed after a stressful year and before an even more stressful one. I'm just not ready to be a sophomore! I have kept the thought out of my head that school is about to start as long as I could but I thought today would be a good time to start thinking about it. My classes are going to be so hard with so much homework and on top of it I have to start working on driver's ed sometime soon. On the other hand, I am excited for this year. It will be nice not being a little, neive freshman and actually knowing what's going on. My schedule is perfect, but hard. My classes have pretty even level of hardness between blue and silver days. It is weird because I have only one girl teacher and thats Ms. Huber for dance. Luckily, I haven't heard anything bad about my soon-to-be teachers. Even though I'm kinda excited I would do anything to turn back time and make it summer again!

Why I like Arden

I went down to Sacramento yesterday to visit Arden Fair for the first time in a very long while. I thought there would not be too much there and I would just end up going back to the galleria, but I was completely wrong. Arden has some very redeeming qualities.

First of all, the galleria is huge. There is nothing wrong with having a big selection, but it can get overwhelming. It is hard to navigate and there are some stores that many people in the Rocklin, Roseville, Loomis, etc. would never need to go into. High end gardening anyone? Arden is very small and practical. It has the same popular stores that the galleria has. I feel sure that I will not get lost.

With it being so huge, the galleria also attracts many people. Too many people. You would think that with so many stores people would be evenly sprinkled around the mall, but they are not. They are in crowds. There are still a lot of people at Arden, enough to have to wait in line to buy something, but not enough to where you will get hit by a stroller or tote in the passing.

There are no kiosks at Arden, which means that no one is shooting fragrance in my face as I walk by. Arden also has a cool merry-go-round that makes noise and has lots of sky lights to make the mall light up.

So, overall, I prefer Arden because it is more my style. The only downside is that the food court is all junk. But, I can eat when I get home.

Time to relax

I finished my world history homework today and I am ready for period three!! Overall I thought the homework was very interesting and easy and fun to do. The only parts I did not like were the block paragraphs that talked about the many possibilites that may have happened, but no one is really sure because it is based on another empire's account or something similar to that. It was very difficult to choose what to outline. Or maybe I was not supposed to outline those parts at all. I suppose that is history for me. But I like solid facts, which is why I like science and will make it into a profession. : D

I can not wait to say hello to everyone tomorrow!! I have been waiting for this day to come all summer long! Productivity- the soul of life.

Sophmore Year

I am so excited school is starting tomorrow, I miss everyone and I can't wait to see my friends again. A few days ago when I went to go pick up my schedule I completely forgot where my homeroom would be even though I had photo 1 in the next room. So weird how you can go to school everyday and then still forget things over summer. Unfortunately, there are a few classes where I don't have any friends so I will just have to take Emily's advice and try to be more outgoing. I am positive this excitement over school will only last until Tuesday when I wake up at 6 and realize I will be waking up at 6 for the next 180 school day. Oh, well only three more years.

So Soon?!?!?

Summer went by waaaaaay too fast. I swear, it seemed much shorter than all my previous summers. It's weird, i didnt even do that much. I pretty much spent my time doing whatever popped into my head first (that can actually lead to some surprisingly entertaining days). But no more, my last high school summer has come to an end. Next year i'll be getting ready for college, so it just wont be the same. I suppose it'll be alright, i had fun over the summer, and i did get some stuff done, so all is well, i just dont want it to end quite yet.
On the up side, this year looks pretty epic, only 6 classes!!!!! YEAH!! And im gonna try to squeeze in a lot more stuff this year, i wanna make senior year as awesome as possible, even if it kills me.
Also, anyone else gonna die getting up early tomorrow? I was going to try and change my sleep cycle for the impending change, but i just, sorta, never got around to doing that. So yeah, tomorrow morning will be fun, but tomorrow evening, lol, I will be exhausted. What can i say, getting up at 11:00 feels good.
Well, I guess I will see you all tomorrow.....at 7:45, nooooooooooo!

Sophomore?

I had this nightmare last night that I walked into Journalism and realized...

I had only made 2 blogs this summer... time just flies when your having fun right? So here is my third blog to finish off the summer.

I have a feeling this year is going to be a lot better than freshman year. Everyone says, though, that sophomore year is nothing special because you're no longer an excited new freshmen, but you're not an upper class men yet either. It's like your trapped in between. So does that mean it's not going to be as fun? For me, so much is going to be going on this year. I'll be turning 16 getting my license, and hopefully getting a job. I'm not going to be I'm apart of the journalism team this year:) I'm taking a dance class (I've always wanted to learn). I'm going to join more clubs this year because I have better idea of which ones sound like fun. I like all my teachers and I have a lot of classes with my friends. I'll be golfing more because I fell in love with the sport over the summer... and soooo much more. So I don't know everyone else is talking about...

Although I'm extremely sad Anna and Megane are leaving to go back home to France, I can safely say I welcome school with open arms. I'm excited to be able to see my friends everyday and I admit, it's partly because Rocklin has a great environment and is just a great school in general.
This year is going to be amazing! and I will make sure of it.

Au Revoir summer :(

It is the last Saturday of Summer 2009, and as I type this, I have two girls from France sitting in my room. Anna is sitting on my bed trying to read the third Twilight book in English. Megane is sitting in my chair reading from her translation book, "These are my children," and "Do what you are payed to do." I don't know why she chose those phrases to practice, but she's learning something right? They also enjoy looking through the yearbook and calling dibs on the cute boys... and don't worry. We leave time to practice our French and English too.

I am going to say it right now. This has definatly been the best summer of my life and I owe it all to them. We get along so well, and everyday we do something fun. I never knew there were so many fun things to do around Rocklin, but I think it is because they just make it that way. However, the time we have together is just too short. They leave for France on Tuesday.

Do you know what that means?

The last day we have to spend together, I will be in school... blech...:(

And we have asked many times, "Can we bring our foreign exchange students to school?" because there is a whole group of French foreign exchange students whose host families go to Rocklin High. So what are they all going to do while we are at school? It is their last day! They love it here and they can't even spend it with us. I doubt it would happen, and of course the school has their reasons which I can't argue with, but wouldn't it be the perfect experience to show the French students what an American high school is like?

We spent our last Saturday together in Tahoe. We went for a hike, then ate Sunnyside Burgers and Hula Pies, and dove into the lake. Ces't tres froid! At the bottom of the lake (in the shallow end), we spelt out "Salut Tahoe" with rocks. I hope the waves don't wash it away...

We still have some time to spend with each other before they must leave. THey invited me to come visit them in France next year, so I will be able to see them again. We will be friends forever:)

Au revoir summer 2009...

Summer School!

As I look back, I’ve realized that I had a really good summer this year! One of the many highlights was when I volunteered at Breen summer school. I worked with kids in kindergarten through third grade who had autism. I loved this! I will never forget I was working at a station and this really small kindergartener walked up and sat next to me. I smiled and he said, “Hey, you have silver teeth just like me!” with a huge grin. Or how this little girl used to walk up and give everyone hugs all the time! And of course the Octopus song! They used to pick that as their song of the day all the time! We used to take field trips every Wednesday. One day we went to The Pizza Place and all the kids got make their own pizzas. It was so adorable how each one carefully crafted their pizza into a masterpiece. All of the kids had a love for life and very happy hearts, which made it a pleasure to work with them. I miss them! I also made new friends there, which definitely added to the experience. I really want to do it again next year!

Popcorn anyone?

There's probably already a review of each of these three movies up here already, but I'll throw in my two cents worth just for the heck of it.

Up was a decent enough movie, but it wasn't nearly as funny as I thought it was going to be for some reason. The funny parts it did have were good though, usually involving the little boy scout kid, or the talking dogs obsessed with squirrels.

Star Trek was probably the best movie that I saw, with lots of action sequences, a few funny jokes here and there, and a really big change for the entire Star Trek series.

I saw G.I. Joe the other day, which was a pretty entertaining movie. The movie was very close to being one big action sequence, which probably helped it out, because the story wasn't exactly the most original piece of work in the world. An interesting little thing about the movie was how many people from the first two Mummy movies were in it. There were at least four, including Brenden Frasier, who was uncredited.

I live where again?

This has been a really weird summer. I am not exaggerating when I say I think I've been out of the house more than in it. It's either Monterey, my cousin's house, my grandpa's house in Grass Valley, or Reno, Nevada. I'm not complaining, but it feels kind of weird.

LINK

This year, I volunteered to be a Link leader and help a group of freshmen. It is my 3rd year with the program, and it has been rewarding showing the incoming freshmen the campus and offering advice about what they need to know to be successful and get involved. It is nice because this year, my Link partner is someone I know really well, and I am now only too familiar with the activities, so it will be a lot more fun for the group. Our theme is candy, so we made candy necklaces and we might also have the logos of different candies for each of us. Helping with this program made me realize just how fast high school has gone by, and how I really want to make my senior year the most memorable. It seems so soon I will be saying goodbye to RHS and everything will change.

Got my Schedule :)

It is quite an overwhelming experience to walk onto the Rocklin High School campus, knowing that it is indeed your last year of high school. I remember going to schedule pick up day as a freshman and being so nervous and excited at the same time for the year to come. I have come to the realization that those mixed feelings about going back to school will always be there. They are there from your first day of preschool all the way until now. As humans we don't know what is coming our way, we don't see into the future, although we can make educated predictions. This year is different than the others for many reasons, such as applying to colleges, looking for a job in the current economy, and only taking six classes. Although I know the circumstances, the change ahead is a mystery...Personally, I am a person who thrives on fresh somewhat subtle changes. I know a lot is headed my way I'm excited to see what is in store for me, but dont get me wrong...the unknown makes me a little nervous at the same time.

And it draws to a close...

For me it's almost like the closer the end of summer gets, the longer the days stretch. Time is a funny thing.

From about first to sixth grade, a year was an eternity. After 365 days, you would be so radically different from your former self that you could hardly understand how you were capable of making decisions on your own. After all, 10 is infinitely superior to 9--you've finally reached the decade line.

Then life started speeding up and little things started not to matter as much. You broke up with your boyfriend, so what, it would probably blow over in thirty days (except for those few who felt as if they had to succumb to the stereotypical "ex" role--a surprising few). In middle school there was always hope for the future. You had six years left, five years left, for all you know everything in your life could change. And for most of us it did. I can remember being terrified I'd lose my friends once I got to high school, because I had heard so many myths about it. I wish I could have told myself that friendships happen organically. People I didn't know in middle school have grown into my closest friends, and the people that you truly want to hang on to don't just disappear without adequate reason. If they change, chances are you're likely to change too. If I was still at the same level of mental functioning that I was in middle school, I would have a very different set of friends that I would probably be just as happy with.

Freshman year came and went. I was incredulous that people could profess to "hate" freshmen--there was nothing wrong with me. I was outraged. It was ageism. And then June rolled around and the disgust clouded the new Sophomores' faces: "Oh, no. I couldn't stand the sevvies. I can't believe we have to deal with them again," while still looking forward to seeing the friends you had made in 8th grade PE, where you actually had to wait behind the yellow line.

Sophomore year was the turning point in my life, I think. That was when I officially begin to classify myself as an adult. At that age, I believed myself informed enough to vote, logical enough to buy a lottery ticket, conscious enough to be trusted buying something off HSN or skydiving. And certainly capable enough to make a decision about getting a piercing or tattoo. Sophomore year was the point where you could split off your adulthood from your former self. It was okay to mention how dumb you had been at the seventh grade dance where you forgoed dancing to eat candy off the table, when you hid in the library from someone asking your friend to promotion, where you had garnered 10 behavior slips and failed every life science quiz you took (yes, that was me).

Every day that goes by you feel more and more mature, more capable to make decisions than you were yesterday. I wonder if this holds true for the rest of my life. I wonder if I will be 42 someday, looking back at this post and thinking how naive I was, how much smarter and how much worldlier I am then. I probably will.

But for now I feel as if I am trying my hardest to understand what I haven't understood so far, and that's all you can ask of anyone, really.

last week of summer!!!!

LINK, my summer class final, homework, painting the parking lot, its all at the same time! most of last week and definately all of this week i'll be up and out of the house by 8 and i wont get home until 8.

im suppose to be doing hw this week, and i still dont even have an AP Chemistry book so i really dont know how that summer homework is going to work out and whenever i sit down to look at the AP Calc hw, i have no clue what addition even is.

ohhh, summer amnesia, good times.

i looove LINK. i think freshman are so tiny when they first come to high school because they're all worried and nervous. its funny. i was like that too though.

i have red and white house paint in my hair from parking lot painting, still stained on my legs, arms, and hands too. and the bottom of my feet are jet black from being barefoot the whole time. just dandy, even after two showers. :/ bleh.

my final is almost done for my summer class and i really like it! and im kinda sorta proud of myself for learning all of the web design stuff.

and im suppose to work three nights this week, AND do school shopping too. very doubtful.

Command Line

Recently, I have began to realize how useful the command line is. For a recent project of mine, I had to set up a web server using Ubuntu Linux Server Edition. When it had finished installing, I got a prompt on a black screen saying "pete@67-107-13-195:~$" I realized that Ubuntu Server Edition does not come with a GUI, or graphical user interface. Instead, it expects you to type in everything that you want to do, not using your mouse at all.

I was forced to expand my knowledge from just knowing the commands "ifconfig" and "exit" to knowing how to install programs, create and edit files, change settings, and more. I now realize why many "computer geeks" prefer to use the command line to navigate their computers, rather than a GUI. The command line allows you to directly change settings and know exactly what you are doing. It also makes installing programs much easier by typing just four words, rather than going through endless menues, trying to find what you are looking for.

I still perfer to use the GUI for web browsing, games, and normal everyday use, but when it comes to troubleshooting and server administration, I will without a doubt choose to use the command line.

Julie and Julia

Today I went to go see the movie Julie and Julia that just came out yesterday. I read a review for it before I went and they only gave it two stars but I would definately give it three. I really enjoyed it. I felt it could have been shorter because it tended to drag on at parts but it proved humorous and entertaining. The movie switches back and forth between the lives of Julia Child, an American woman living in France that decides to go to cooking school and eventually writes a successful cookbook, and Julie Powell, a working, married woman of modern times who is looking for something to help her escape everyday life so she decides to work her way through Julia's cookbook and write a blog about it. Even for someone like me who did not really know who Julia Child was before seeing the movie, it was still interesting. Both Meryl Streep and Amy Adams do remarkable jobs playing their characters. Julia Child seems like such a fun, and carefree person and learning about her through the movie got me curious, so I typed her name into youtube and watched a video about her and that really made me realize how amazing of an actress Meryl Streep is. Also I googled Julie Powell and came up with the real Powell's actual blog. You have to do a whole lot of searching to find the ones on Julia Childs recipes though.
To check out the real blog Julie Powell wrote you can go here: http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html

New Favorite Book

OK, so I've been doing a fair amount of reading over the summer, most of it for AP English, and I have found a absolute gem. The Poisonwood Bible is quite possibly the best book I have read, ever. It was one of the choices we had for our summer homework, and while required reading usually eliminates a lot of the excitement from books I read (I don't know what exactly it is, just something about the "required" part that makes it less fun), the feeling quickly passed with this novel.
It is essentially about a Baptist family that takes a one year trip into the Congo in the 60's in order to convert the masses. But, it ends up being so much more than that. The book makes clear what happens when one culture or belief system decides that it is superior to another. Nathan Price, the patriarch of the family, is blinded by arrogance and stupidity, and attempts to force his way of life on the Congolese, ignoring the traditions (most of them there for a very good reason) of the native Congolese and often risking the well being of his own wife and daughters. In the end, he pays for his foolishness, but he still tried with all his might to win over the Congolese because his path was the true path.
The book also goes into describes the consequences of this sense of moral superiority on a larger scale. When whole nations, most notably the United States, feel that they know what is best for all the peoples of the world. In the end, countless lives are broken due to interference by nations like the U.S., who are often only serving their own interests while veiling their true motivations behind "the fight against communism."
This book will force you to think about yourself, the possibility that you have been complicit in atrocities, regardless of whether you were actually involved or are even aware of their occurrences, and the meaning of values and traditions. Much of this book focuses on the fact that many follow the belief that their set of values, and their set of traditions, is correct, and that those who do not follow them are either evil, or simply backward fools. But in reality, no one is right, society develops along its own path for a reason, and different traditions exist because they work in a specific set of circumstances.
At any rate, it's an excellent book, and at some point I would highly recommend that everyone gets around to reading it. Just make sure you have plenty of time, because like I said, it's a thinker.

Not Your Average Church

For the past three years, I have been helping out with lots of tech stuff at my church, Bayside of Granite Bay. Over this time, I have done countless things usually never happen at a church. These random things include being tied to a hanging truss by my belt loop, having a Christmas tree gaff taped to my head, accidentally pantsing a new person, and getting locked in a celling. All of these were unexpected, and sometimes a bit painful, but not as much as what happened to me one Saturday night. I was innocently walking around before church service and out of nowhere came large metal pole. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground with blood streaming out of my lip. The kid that had hit me with the metal pole blamed me for the incident because I apparently shouldn't have been standing where I was. I rushed off to an emergency medical clinic, got four stitches in my lip, and was back at church before the service was over. I still have a scar where I got hit with that pole.

The Resistance

Muse, a popular European alternative band, is releasing a new album in September. Muse has been my favorite band ever since my friend introduced me to it a few months ago. As much as I like their music, I am slightly unsettled by the direction that their new album is taking. From the beginning, Muse's lead singer, Matt Bellamy, has written songs with either no theme or a pointless theme, like aliens taking over the government or puppies being genetically engineered. However, judging by the first two singles from The Resistance, this new album seems to be full of Bellamy's conspiracy theories.
 

The first single, United States of Eurasia, is basically Matt Bellamy criticizing how the United States treats other countries. The song is about how Bellamy thinks that the US is trying to take over all of Europe and Asia. He says that the US is punishing people for “unproved crimes” and that they are starting wars about nothing. The second single, Uprising, he says that the US government is hiding “the truth” (whatever that may be) from its citizens. Bellamy claims that the government promotes drugs to keep us “all dumbed down.” One of the lines from the song, “rise up and take the power back,” is an example of Bellamy's repeated claim that the government has taken all power from its citizens.
 

Muse is still one of my favorite bands, but I hope that their future albums do not continue this theme. I want the old Muse back.

Disneyland!!!

So right now I am in a hotel in Anaheim and tomorrow will be my first of three days at Disneyland. The last time I went there was a really long time ago when I wasn't even tall enough to go on all the ride so I am really excited to go. I spent yesterday and part of this morning in San Diego. I went to Sea World and a tour of UCSD, unfortunatley I didn't get a chance to go to the beach but the weather was really nice there. I might go to LA on saturday but the verdict is still out, hopefully before I come home I will get a chance to go to see Little Tokyo in LA.

Life as a Twin

I get asked a lot what it is like having a twin brother. Usually, I respond by saying that I don't know what its like not to be a twin and that I'm just used to it. Well, I can't say that its not weird having your brother with you at school and having some of the same friends as him. Growing up we did everything together. We had the same preschool, kindergarten, and first grade class, and had the same friends, and even had some matching outfits. Due to the fact that we were always together, we were both pretty shy. After we got split up in school in second grade, we branched out especially because we just moved here to Rocklin.
I believe that twins have a special bond that other siblings don't and it is something that I can not put into words. Of course we still fight. Our mom told us that during an ultrasound, Chris punched me and I kicked him back. And he finds the greatest pleasure out of annoying me but for the most part we get along.
As I am writing this he is gone for the weekend and the house seems extremely empty. Having him away makes me realize how thankful I am that I have Chris. He is always there for me to talk to and fun to be around.