OH Homecoming.

It was my Senior year homecoming Saturday night. I think for every Senior it was bittersweet. I think it may have sunk in for a lot of people that its never going to happen again. So, you would think you want to get the drama and confrontations to a minimum. ohhh no that can't happen ever. My weekend was drama filled. I don't know what it is but it's something about having real solid plans that stresses people out and to lose their values. Talking about other people behind their backs and being rude to new people seems to be a common theme. Then again I suppose it's not only homecoming, but I think that homecoming just adds more fuel to the fire and everyone reacts at once. Luckily ill just brush it off and pretend nothing happened. It was my last homecoming no need to cause a scene. On a lighter note Homecoming despite the on going drama from it was fun. I really enjoyed spending time with my best friends afterwards. They are my favorite people and pretty much hilarious. But, who knows maybe Ill have another one :) Maybe ill get invited next year.

WOW! This is totally ridiculous!

Ok, so I am really upset right now. So, you know Rocklin Idol right? I worked my butt off to win and I was pretty happy and had lots of fun doing it. But then I went on the Rocklin High School webpage, and you know that banner picture thing on top of the website? Well, they had a picture of the winner for Rocklin Idol, but the thing is that it wasn't a picture of me, someone put another person on there. This isn't the first time something like this happened. Sophomore year, me and my lovely friend did a duet, but they only took a picture of her and not me. Then the musical this year, they never talked about me and talked about everyone else. Then, the dance show, i did this duet with my friend as apart of the dance and they showed her in the video only and not me. I don't want this to happen again. Its making me upset and hurt. Other things have happened too that go along that line and it really needs to stop.

What I've Learned So Far

I've been thinking lately about how much I have learned so far this school year. I feel like I have learned more than I did all last year and it's only been about a month and a half of school. So far, a few things I have learned are:

• How to salsa dance
• 4,700 years of world history
• The secrets of a stapler (if you press the button on the bottom then rotate the metal plate it will staple about 20 papers)
• That it is illegal to honk at someone unless it is preventing an accident
• Grande battements, chaines, pique turns
• How to get a fly out of a room (turn off all the lights and open the door and the light will attract it and it will fly out) 
• How to become a dictator (thanks to reading Animal Farm)
• 37 Spanish verbs and how to define and write a sentence using them in Spanish
• How stupid it is to drink and drive or drive recklessly (thanks to Red Asphalt)

I feel so thankful that I have the opportunity to go to a great school and take difficult classes that really challenge me. Knowledge is such a useful thing to have and people take advantage of opportunities to learn all of the time. Of course, I still dislike the process it takes in order to learn material but the feeling you get after is well worth it.

i "broke" my computer

yeahhh. defiinitely did.
i thought i was being all smart and had a good idea to save memory or something so i removed microsoft 2000 off our programs list because we have microsoft 2003 so i figured it didnt matter. nope. it mattered.
now we don't have any microsoft program access on any of the accounts and i swear our internet gets slower every day. we dont have dial up but we might as well because it took like five minutes for our home page to load and it when somthing finally loads most of the time it says it can't find yahoo as my home page.
ugh.
oh and we cant print anything either. dont ask me why all of this is happening because i pressed the little "remove program" button for one thing. SO, now we have to spend money to have someone come look at our computer because we have no idea whats up.
i have everything on my USB drive now and i have to do everything at school at break or in the mornings.
:/
i feel like "oops" won't even begin to cover it.
any ideas?

Tuition

So the UC tuition will most likely go up more than 30%. This is such a big price hike, and a lot of people are extremely upset, like the current UC students. With the state budget issues, it was expected that the prices would rise. But this seems like a LOT more than expected. Or at least a lot more than what I was thinking. But I guess in the long run, it will hopefully pay off. Students just need to decide whether or not their education at a UC is worth paying that much more. On the other hand, it seems like private schools are helping more with tuition costs. Maybe it just seems that way because all of the public schools are rising. But it does appear that the private schools are being gernerous and understanding about the financial issues so many people face.
I definitely still plan on applying to UCs, as well as the private schools. I just have to consider scholarships, and loans, and saving money, much more. But really, I was planning on doing all of these things anyway, and now I will be that much more motivated to find ways to save.

Homecoming Plans?

So two weeks ago I asked my friend to Homecoming and she said yes. Unfortunately, that's where the plans have stopped. It is the Thursday before Homecoming and we have barely talked about plans, such as where we are going to dinner, if we are going to dinner, or even if we are taking pictures. We still have not even got tickets yet. I don't think this is either of our faults but i know we need to figure this out soon.

This is alot different then my Homecoming plans my freshmen year because me and my date had plans two or three weeks ahead of that Saturday. I think the difference is that freshman year I went with a group who had a "leader" who set all the plans and made the reservations. Oh well, I'm sure the plans will be made.

Getting the Hang of It..

After like a month and I don't really know how long now, I'm finally starting to adjust to this school of yours. Its about a hundred more times strict though! I got 6 hours of detention for random tardies when I was only 3 seconds late to class. In addition to that, I still got a load of make up homework all the way up to my neck. However, I finally met some friends and I don't feel like a total loner anymore. The lunch here is better too, you guys got REAL meat.

Homecoming is almost over. Yay.

Am I the only one who is glad homecoming week is almost over? Everyone gets to dress up to show their school spirit, woohoo! If I had any school spirit, I probably wouldn't be so eager to get the heck off this campus every day. Since I feel like ranting a bit, how did sophmores get stuck with Frontierland? If you're going by the original Disneyland, the only things in Frontierland are Thunder Mountain Railroad and the boat ride. Everything else is either in Adventureland, Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Critter Country, or New Orleans square. WHY????

Rocklin Idol!

Hello RHS Blog Friends! I am too excited for homecoming week that it is a bit scary. The most fun I've had so far though was Rocklin Idol. I remember doing it last year (my sophomore year) and I didn't go on to any rounds. I started to realize that all this was, was a popularity contest. Then they announced it again this year for homecoming week! I was pretty darn dang ecstatic. I just wanted to go on to the next round and I would be totally satisfied! The cool thing is that did happen to me just today and I am so satisfied that I am happy! I'm happy I got to show the talent I have to the whole school and I love all of them for applauding for me to win the first round and go on to the next. I felt so loved! Everyone else did amazing! We have so much talent at Rocklin High and it would be so awesome if there was a way we could show everyone's talent that they have. It feels great to get known by something you love to do. I can't wait to go on to the next round. It should be way more fun than last time!

Controversial Concert in Cuba

Today in AP Spanish we watched a news clip about the Juanes concert that was held in Cuba on Sunday, September 20. Juanes is the most popular rock artist in Latin America. Juanes, along with several other popular musicians, organized "Paz Sin Fronteras," or "Peace Without Borders," a free, five-hour concert in Cuba. Over a million Cubans attended. The concert was very controversial since Cuba's goverment is communist. Many Cuban exiles were opposed to the concert because they feel that Juanes was legitimizing communism. However, Juanes said he was there only for the music, not for political reasons. He said "Music should travel like air, it should reach everywhere."

I think that the Juanes concert was a good thing. Despite the fact that Cuba is communist, Juanes made it clear that he was not there to support the government, but for the people. I think that his concert actually brought a taste of freedom to the Cubans-a taste of the freedom of speech- because music is a wonderful way of expressing ourselves.

Blogger like Facebook?

I was just thinking, is there anyway to stay current with comments on your post or a post you have commented? (like facebook). If anyone knows of any little notifications, please let me know :) thanks!

College stuff

Hmmm, I'm really thinking I should get a start on all my college stuff. I wrote the UC personal statements, but I havn't really gotten around to much more than that. It's just all so dull, writing the same stuff again and again. It's also kinda nerve racking, if I get anything wrong, then I'm pretty much screwed over for at least a year, and a very important year at that.
But I do think that I'm going to force myself to do as much as possible this weekend, although I'm not applying to that many private schools, so I suppose there isn't THAT much that I can get done right now. Really need the UC and CSU apps to come out, then I'll have everything I'll need and will just spend a week or 2 going through everything and getting it all done.

Busy Week!!

This may have been my busiest week so far!! With Monday being a minimum day, I had off campus practice for cross country at Cavitt. It was really nice to get away from Rocklin to run, on a trail by Folsom Lake. On Tuesday, I went to a pasta feed for cross country. This was really fun, as it is where everyone of the xc team gets together, to load up on carbs before a meet. Wednesday was our first league meet of the year. I love cross country meets, and cheering on our team. Yesterday was not bad, but with all of my homework, it was stressful. This morning was my favorite part of the week, because we had morning practice! I love running in the morning, in the cool, crisp morning air. Afterwards, we went to Starbucks for breakfast, which is what everyone looks forward to at morning practice. This week has been fun, but I am glad to get a break this weekend and relax!

not feeling well

So I have a feeling this is going to be a very bad weekend. This morning I woke up and I think I am going to be sick all thru the weekend. Unfortunately I have too much homework and other things to do to just stay in bed. I dont really want to miss a day of homecoming week but I think I will. On the bright side at least I be able to sleep in this weekend. I don't think this blog is long enought so now I am just going to list off random things I did this week. The season premire of Gossip Girl was on Monday and House is on this Monday. I just had my first test in APWH which I am pretty sure I failed.

CAR! :)

I have had my license since last December and until last Saturday night I didn't have a car of my own. I live with my dad and we always have had a truck. I didn't really mind sharing the truck with my dad because I know and appreciate how much he has done for me over the course of my life. It also worked out fairly well last year, I really only needed the car in the evenings anyways because I had to be at school all day long. I also drove the truck to school for four months because my grandma was out of town at her second home and my dad could use her car. This year is a bit of a different story, I get out early and arranging transportation became a pain. But not anymore! My dad bought me a bug :). It's a 1999, it's silver, cute,and classy. Slight problem...it's a stick. Yes, by now (having the car almost a week), I have learned to drive a stick but I am absolutely terrified of what could happen. My wish at the moment...to never stall out ever again in my life time. Simply said...thanks to my wonderful dad I have a car that I love :)

Writing your name...writing your personality?

Sure, we all know "you can't judge a book by it's cover", but you certainly can judge a person from their handwriting. That's right-the way someone writes can reveal a lot about their personality and ambitions. Handwriting analysis is real. It's used in courts, the FBI, etc. Handwriting analysis has been one of my hobbies since last year when my dad talked to me briefly about the subject. Now, I've learned so much (and still there's so much more to learn!) about lettering, slants, spaces, signatures, etc. I've analyzed my own handwriting and my friends' (when they ask me). It's so fun! I feel like a detective and a yearbook/journalism nerd at the same time! Hahah This is a VERY basic link you guys can try just for the fun of it.

Interactive T-shirts

This boy in my Spanish class, Daniel, was wearing a really cool t-shirt today. It had a picture of a drum set on it and when you press each drum/ cymbal it made that noise! I had fun playing with it in class but I felt bad that I was basically poking him over and over haha. And then I guess I felt like seeing how it worked so took off the velcro part and almost broke it. (Oops!) I looked up the t shirt online and found the website that sells that and other cool interactive t-shirts! They have one that lights up when it detects wi-fi, and another that has an equalizer on it. (Those bars that go up and down with the beat of the music.) They are sold at thinkgeek.com. I really want to get one!

Harry Potter

So a little over a month ago we were visiting family in Maryland. My cousin Amber, who is 15, was reading a Harry Potter book for what she claimed was her fourth time. One dull day after we got back to Rocklin, I remembered that my brother owned the whole series and decided to start the first one. I suddenly realized what all the hype was about, I finished the first one that night and immediately started the second. I texted my cousin Alicia that lives in Rocklin and asked her if she had read them. She told me that she had happened to have gotten the first one as a gift and had started it the day before. About a week later school started and I got a lot busier. I have school, then tennis immediately after, followed by loads of homework. Despite this, I always find time to read my Harry Potter books. Alicia finished the series, since she is 23 and has more time on her hands, but I am already on the 5th. We are now trying to get my uncle to read them, and we believe if we get him to read up to the third it will be smooth sailing from there :)

NEW CAR!!!!

A little while after walking home this Monday, I came home to find that my Mom had gone out to do some errands. So, I sat on the couch and finished my homework, and about an hour and a half after I walked in the door, my Mom came in and told me to help her with the groceries. I walk outside, and in the driveway is a 1996 MAZDA MIATA DARK BLUE CONVERTIBLE! I told her about 3-4 years ago that I want a Miata as my first car, and she came through and delivered. It surprised the heck out of me, and now I can't wait to go out and drive it in a bit. I just need to learn how to drive a stick, now... It's a little tricky, the first day I stalled the car twice driving to KFC and back (oops). Eh, I'll get the hang of it... eventually...

Right-handed, but left-brained

Lately I've been fascinated with the idea of right and left parts of the brain. I took a test online and it said I was 74% "left-brained" and 26% "right-brained". I'm right-handed, although not entirely. For example, when I cartwheel, I like to cartwheel with my left foot in front. The right part of the brain is wired to the left side of the body and vice versa. Anyway, back to the meaning of the "left" and "right" brain results. The left brain is the part of the brain that is associated with patterns, logic, facts, analysis, observation, details, and objectivity. The right brain focuses more on feeling, creativitity, perception, subjectivity, looking at the "big picture", visual and nonverbal information. If anyone would like to take the test, here is the link: http://similarminds.com/brain.html Let me know what your results are!

P.S. I think this is going to be one of my web stories :)

Maid Of Honor.

So, this weekend was fun. I went up to Mt. Shasta where my grandparents live and spent the weekend up there with my family. We spent all day saturday up there, and went quading in the meadow thats behind my grandparents house. We came back sunday and got into rocklin around noon. And then we had to go meet my sister at David's Bridal because she's getting married in May. All afternoon i was trying on bridesmaid dresses, and my sister was trying on wedding dresses, and she looked beautiful. Im really happy for her and the guy that shes getting married to is really nice, and treats her like a princess. Although im kinda nervous for her wedding because im her maid of honor and i have to make a speech in front of over 170 people. And knowing me..... ill probably trip walking down the isle.

ohhh jobs

Jobs are extremely difficult to find these days especially when your only 16 years old. I have turned in probably over 100 applications and no calls back. I would call and speak with the managers and all they say is "were not hiring". So a few months ago i got a interview for cool river pizza. i was so excited, so i did my interview and everything and i didnt get the job. It turns out my good friend got the job instead. Then i turned in this application to be a receptionist and my brothers friend over heard and he turned in a application to the same place too. I called back to the manager and they said they were setting up interviews for next week and they might call me. The week came and they called my brothers friend for a interview! I was so upset but im still trying though. Both me and one of my best friends have interviews for party city next week so im hoping both of us will get the job! Hopefully i will get a job soon.

Oh, Reader's Digest...

Even when I was little I was amazed by how unfunny these supposedly "hilarious" jokes in Reader's Digest always were, but this one takes the cake.

NPR was reading and reviewing "Reader's Digest's 10 Funniest Jokes in America" and out came this jewel:

#1A man is walking in a graveyard when he hears the Third Symphony played backward. When it’s over, the Second Symphony starts playing, also backward, and then the First. “What’s going on?” he asks a cemetery worker.

“It’s Beethoven,” says the worker. “He’s decomposing.”

After the joke was told, the panel on NPR crashed the drums in that hokey, old timey way after a punchline; they agreed that "if you say a line and any one of the people at the table says barump-bump, that is the ultimate dis to do that because you just did a bad one-liner."

Other jokes followed that weren't as horrible, though, such as:

#2 A priest, a minister, and a rabbi want to see who’s best at his job. So they each go into the woods, find a bear, and attempt to convert it. Later they get together. The priest begins: “When I found the bear, I read to him from the Catechism and sprinkled him with holy water. Next week is his First Communion.”

“I found a bear by the stream,” says the minister, “and preached God’s holy word. The bear was so mesmerized that he let me baptize him.”

They both look down at the rabbi, who is lying on a gurney in a body cast. “Looking back,” he says, “maybe I shouldn’t have started with the circumcision.”

#3 Every ten years, the monks in the monastery are allowed to break their vow of silence to speak two words. Ten years go by and it’s one monk’s first chance. He thinks for a second before saying, “Food bad.”

Ten years later, he says, “Bed hard.”

It’s the big day, a decade later. He gives the head monk a long stare and says, “I quit.” “I’m not surprised,” the head monk says. “You’ve been complaining ever since you got here.”

True Friends

I have a friend that has been playing football for years now and he is quite good at it. And he is such a great honest and trustworthy friend. When I was hospitalized this summer with chronic migraines from a clogged Basilry artery he was in the hospital multiple times to be with me the five days I was there. Now that I am ok, he has developed much of the same symptoms I had! I heard over twitter (spanks2) that he was in the hospital and needed someone by his side. Immediately sadness came over me and I rushed to my phone to call my girlfriend and Randy to see if they would go with me to visit him in Sacramento. They of course dropped everything and came along. In his room he had four other people that were there with him. I was so happy to see so many true friends of his. We stayed and talked to him for an hour or so then it was time to go. I wish I could have stayed all night with him, he spent the night by himself. They believe he has the same issue that I had so I will be with him step by step to help him along the way. If you are there for your friends, they will always be there for you. That's how you determine if you are a good true friend or not.

School = DEATH

So im pretty much really disliking school. It really feels like there is no point anymore. I mean I am a senior and I come to school until 12:05 to me it feels like a huge joke. The only thing I like about school is seeing my friends but I could always do that out of school. I dont know if it just because I have been in a weird mood lately and just overall grumpy or if I really am over this whole High School thing. I'm ready to start my adult life more then ever right now. The stresses of life are really getting too me. I have to worry about college and how to pay for it and what I want to do when I grow up. I think that maybe another reason why I am over school, Im already applying and preparing to go away to college so it just feels like it is time to leave. All I know is i have 164 school days until I walk at graduation and I cant wait.

STRESSFUL SENIOR YEAR

Sure they say senior year is fun, but until I became a senior I couldn't fully capture all of the STRESS! I didn't really understand before why seniors were freaking out about applying to multiple colleges and universities, I figured hey! I apply to one college, all the information can just go to all of the other places. But there are so many different requirements for different types of schools, it's almost impossible to keep track! UC and CSU differences are so immense, how can we be sure what place is right for us? And what about early admission? How do we know for sure if that's what's right, we are trapped if we do it, but at the same time maybe it's a good idea... So many thoughts are going through my head, and having to get scholarships and FAFSA stuff doesn't make anything easier. Some scholarships on zinch.com seem so easy to achieve, but how do we know if we get them or if we have to sign anything or go through the school? College is a whole new world, one that's already starting, and I sure hope I'm ready :/ So far not so good, but after November things should get a little easier for all of us... And by a little I mean a very very little, scholarship time will pick up after college applications, a whole other story. Oh to live in the days when college applications were a mere fantasy. But then again we only have one year left! So all of this stress is definitely worth it... If I get accepted to the places I apply. Breathe all of you seniors, we all need to remember to have fun, our last Homecoming is approaching rapidly and it's our last chance to go to float construction and go to a Homecoming rally and game and see the halftime show as a RHS student. We all need to make the most of this time, even if we want to scream with our stress!

Coincidence?

So I was reading the Sac Bee in class and I come across an article titled "3 convicted in plot to blow up plane" and of course it struck my interest. Three years ago, August 2006, three men were caught attempting to bomb airliners in what would be known as the deadliest terrorist attack since 9-11. Since then, four more men pleaded guilty to having been apart of the conspiracy. Apparently the men were trying to assemble bombs in the airplane toilets using soda bottles with hydrogen-peroxide based explosives injected into them.

And this story brought me back to an unusual occurance that happened in my own life. Well I'm more of a secondary source because my mom was the one who experienced it first hand. I was still there, but I didn't know about it until later.

Summer of 2004, my parents and I were flying back from home from Heathrow, London. We were not able to get seats by each other, so my mom sat in a separate section of the plane, while my dad and I sat next to each other. After the flight, my mom told us that there was a suspicious man sitting behind her with no carry-ons. He was stiff and sitting very still in his seat. He had his hands folded in his lap, his eyes looking down upon them. Every hour on the hour, he would get up and use the lavatory that my mom was sitting in front of. Everytime the man went into the bathroom, she would hear a continuous scratching on the wall. So eventually, my mom decided to walk into that bathroom and inspect. In a small corner behind the toilet, a piece of the wall was missing. It looked as if it had been torn out. This got my mom worried so she told the security on the plane about that man. They kept an eye on him, and the man stopped using the lavatory.

So this got us thinking? Could this have been a test run? To see how far they could get? Ever since then I've been afraid of planes.

But things got even scarrier. We arrived in San Francisco that night and drove home. The next morning, we wake up to the news of the London Bombings.

After the flight, the man disappeared, but he must have been somewhere in San Francisco. The men convicted on Monday of the attacks were planning on bombing a flight from London to San Francisco, similar to our flight.

Tuesday when I read this article, everything just fell into place. We told the story to friends and family but never thought of taking it to the police. But at least the men were caught before anything happened. From this I learned to report anything that makes me suspicious no matter how small because it could save thousands of lives. This may have been an insignificant observation, but now that I think of it, it may have been more than just a coincidence.

Tomorrow is September 11. God bless America.

Things to be done

Yesterday was a great day. The mock trial team got a lot of sign ups for the club, which we really needed. There will probably be a lot of people who signed up who will probably end up not coming because of sports or laziness, but there were a lot of potential candidates. :D
It is going to be an interesting year because Mr. Grace is our new advisor this year and a lot of former members dropped out so it will be new to a lot of people. It think it will be a good thing because it will allow the team to have a new start, so I am not too worried. We are also supposed to be getting an assistant advisor who teaches law, so that will be helpful. I am very nervous about being a lawyer for the first time, but it will be good because I need something to do.
Which brings me to my next point, I am now vice president of culinary club. Last year culinary club didn't really do anything, but this year we are going to make plans to do things throughout the year so people will stay with the club. And we are going to get more people involved. Last year it was described as a "bring food and eat club," but we are going to try to get people more involved this year.
There is some other stuff I joined, but I will have to wait until the meetings.

Big Business

It's always easy to hate on big corporations. Walmart is the best example. People love to hate Walmart. It destroys all competition in its path, leaving a wake of closed small businesses behind it. But one has to appreciate the genius that is Walmart. For a corporation to be able to squash everything around it and climb to the top is quite a feat. The prices at Walmart are unbelievable, because they have such an amazing standing in the consumer world that they are able to demand low prices from their producers. If it weren't for Walmart, many people couldn't afford the things they can now. Yes small businesses are nice, and personally I don't care much for shopping at Walmart, but don't hate just because they are the best at business.

Useful College Info

Today, during my English class, we went down to the Tech Lecture Hall to listen to Mrs. Cutts talk about college. The presentation lasted almost the whole period, and it was definitely worthwhile. She explained the requirements and information for the CSUs and UCs, answering all my questions and giving other helpful information for choosing which schools to apply to. Even though it made me really freaked out about how soon the applying process is, it made me so much more relieved to get the answers I needed and make everything more organized. I think now once I start to write my application and scholarship essays, it will still be pretty stressful, but I think I will be able to focus more on getting what I need for college than before hearing the presentation.

The New Freshmen

It is crazy just thinking about all of last years' seniors that are leaving now for college. They have always been there, always one step ahead of us. We had them to ask questions to, go to for school help, and to look up to. I can't even say how many times I'm sure I bugged some of my really close friends, asking them nonstop questions about classes, applying to college...pretty much everything. But now they are freshman. They will be the new kids on campus, and we, the new seniors, are left to take their place at RHS. Maybe it's just me, but I do not feel like we are the new seniors. I just hope that when people ask me questions like the ones I used to ask, I can give them the right answer. I still don't know the right answers myself. But hopefully as the year goes on, I can give advice that will help others like last years' seniors helped me. And I know I will still be calling my friends in college, asking about what to do next.

yes, i really am blogging three times in a row

this one's funny, so its on the brighter side of things

my boss duct taped my face. :))

i was at work this past tuesday night, closing with my boss, david, the only guy that works at our store (Carter's). i was taking all the empty shipment boxes out to the dumpster like i do every night, but there was 10 times more this time because we had ceiling-high shipment. anyways, i came back inside from the last trip and he had turned the lights off in the back so i couldnt see much at all. got my stuff from my locker, and started walking to the hallway that leads from the back to the actual sales floor. as i walk thru the door, i ran into something that i thought was a spider web. an extremely sticky, gigantic spider web. turns out after i took a sec to figure it out, he had put 3 strips of clear packaging tape across the doorway right at the height of my face, and i walked straight into it. it was hilarious once i realized it wasnt a spider web. i laughed really hard for 15 minutes.

any ideas on one to get him back with??
open to suggestions :)

brother

AP Psych went to the computer lab yesterday to do some tests online about your happiness and one of the surveys asked a question that was something about who in your life makes you happiest or something and my mind instantly took me to my older/only brother. i was kind of shocked and it definitely threw me off guard. i mean i love the kid but i didnt know i thought he was the happiest thing about my life right now. but its been in the back of my mind since then.
but now that ive thought about it more, it makes sense. the usual stresses of friendships and relationships this summer probably just makes me feel like i can relate to him about all that and what he went thru his senior year. we've become a lot closer since his senior year came and went too. probably because of the whole moving out to college aspect and we knew we'd see each other a lot less. idk. its been nice having him home for the past two or three months.
just a thought.
maybe what we all think is important in our life right now is only what we imagine make us happiest, when really its the unexpected, hidden things that make us happiest.
?
apparently thats true in my case anyways.

eh.

my dad's moving 2/3 across the country to iowa for work :(
i'll only get to see him for 3 weeks every couple months. we've done this before when he worked in NY but we got to see him for a week every month so i don't think i'll like the change. at all.
on top of that, theres scholarship apps, and essay writing for applications. and official transcripts to request and pick up, and starting projects and big assignments in our classes.
im a whole lot closer to hating this year this week than i was last week. i want second semester already. i want to be in my early 20's and already be in college, have everything figured out, have a job, and know whats going on with my "future" (that word makes me cringe). its just all annoying.
im definitely going to make sure im out this weekend for sure to at least ensure that i dont go insane. a movie, the lake, tanning outside, whateve. ill be outside for a day or two.
frustration - the word of the day.

San Diego

Tomorrow I head to San Diego to the first time in many years. We are going because my dad has to work the Chargers game tomorrow night and we thought since it was a three-day weekend, we might as well tag along. My dad has an interesting job where he overlooks all the food service at places like, but not limited to, the River Cats stadium, the Sacramento Convention Center, the Arizona Cardinals stadium, and the Chargers stadium. It always fun to go watch the games or go to other functions when we are able to. Besides the game, we don't have much planned. Since there are many colleges in the area, we will probably take a look at a few. The one I am most interested in is UC San Diego. Even though I'm just a sophomore I get such a thrill from looking at colleges and thinking that I could be going there in less than three years. Over all, it will be so nice to get away. It's only been three weeks of school and I'm already done with it. I just can't wait for tomorrow!

The Power of Tea

I love cheesy titles...

My mission this year and this past year has been to discover the absolute best flavors of tea on the market today. I have tried literally hundreds of kinds of tea--local markets like Nugget and Whole Foods tend to have the best selection.

A few of my favorite types have been:

-(A classic) Tazo Diet Giant Peach Green Tea: You wouldn't expect it but Diet actually tastes much better. This tea tends to show up at Starbucks.

-Fuze Black & Green Tea: This one is just wonderful. I used to love their Green Tea until I tried this, absolute heaven in a bottle. (Save mart)

-Pureleaf Sweetened Iced tea (all kinds--Nugget)

-Sweet Leaf Mango Sweet Tea: all the flavors are delicious but this is my favorite. (Nugget, Whole Foods)

-Passion Tea: I'm sure everyone knows about this one, but it's a classic, I have to throw it in here. (Starbucks)

And if you want to try something really odd, I suggest Kombucha at Whole Foods in grape--it's a fermented tea with live cultures inside of it that does something really wholesome and pH-neutral to your body, etc., you can have the earthy organic people explain it to you, but it has a definite tang to it and it's fun to drink in small doses.

That's Embarrassing

Yesterday I was at the mall just walking around when suddenly i spotted the most awesome T-Shirt ever created. I bought the T-shirt that features a silhouette of Andy Samberg, of NBC's "Saturday Night Live", on top of a yacht with the words "I'm on a Boat!" in large letters. Feeling good about my choice to use my last 20 dollars on something so often I left the mall with the thought of wearing the shirt on Monday. So did others.
I arrived at school and right away I received numerous comments on how people liked my shirt. Letting this go to my head I started bragging about my shirt to my friends. On my way to P.E. i spotted my friend walking ahead of me so I called out, "Hey, look at my new shirt!" When he turned around he was wearing the same shirt. Needless to say i was extremely embarrassed. Worst yet, I spotted another kid with the same shirt as me. Looks like I won't be wearing this shirt any time soon.

The New Kid

I am the new kid, 17 year old senior coming from Elk Grove, California not even a week and a half ago. Imagine coming home one day only to find about 20 empty cardboard boxes in your room and your parents are like "We're moving to Rocklin! Isn't that exciting? You haven't seen your house yet but I'm sure you will like it. Say goodbye to all your friends and quit your job because we are going to be living about 45 minutes from here." I'm not going to lie, I hate it here. I know maybe four kids which is pretty sad for a senior because I'm supposed to be graduating with all the friends I have known since the playground era. And to add on to all of this, I cant wear the collection of hats that are just picking up dust in my room now because this school is strict about everything. I'm very sad to say that I have become one of those kids that I used to make fun of at my old school.

The Matrix

I saw another movie! Now this is an accomplishment in itself because I hardly ever watch movies, let alone science fiction movies or R rated movies. But my AP English class watched The Matrix last night because apparently it comes up a lot in discussions during class. I thought the movie was really good! And I was kind of surprised that I liked it so much because science fiction and violence is just not really my thing. But the movie had some good aspects to it for someone like me who doesn't really get the point of sitting in front of a screen watching people shoot each other and being controlled by computers. For one, the movie made me think. Think about stuff having to do with ignorance is bliss, truth, pain, making decisions, and fate. Unlike many other movies, the characters in The Matrix weren't shallow and the movie's message was much deeper.

Senioritis

I woke up today and it felt like a Monday. Sunday's usually consist of me waking up as late as I can possibly sleep then doing my loads upon loads of homework. Which is exactly what I ended up doing yesterday. It did not feel like I went to school at all. Senioritis is in full effect. It's like a disease that will consume my whole entire soul until it makes me not care about anything anymore. I refuse to let myself get to that point. Even though I am always tired lately and can barely manage 3 classes a day, I refuse to submit to the usual complaining people go through. If you just listen to your friends talking, at least half of the conversation is someone complaining about not getting enough sleep, or their newest "drama". In reality though, life is good. I get out at around noon every other day and my amount of homework is minimal compared to years past. I have a wonderful family and friends. The last thing I need to complain about is being tired. Then again, isn't that what everyone else does?

"FAME"

Coming out September 25th, the Friday before the homecoming, the most exciting movie of summer should be coming out. FAME! Fame is a musical based on students who go to an arts college and do their singing, dancing, etc. Some of the few actors portrayed in the musical are Kherington Payne (from So you think you can dance), Collins Penne, and Debbie Allen ( famous choreographer). I know this movie is going to be the best, especially for me because I do all of the things these actors do in this movie. This musical should be WAY better than high school musical. As much as I love to watch HSM, this movie looks like it will be more realistic and more uplifting to kids who have a passion for singing, acting, and dancing, as myself. When I was watching the previews of this movie, it reminded me of the movies Center Stage and Camp combined together, because in both of these movies there was passion for pursing their dreams in the arts. Hopefully this movie will push me foward to do what I love to do and help me get to a state of mind of which I can believe in myself and that I can do anything to complete my goals.

FAME"

Painless Dentist Trip

A few weeks ago I went to the dentist to have some cavities taken care of. My mom was telling me all about how it would hurt some and then my mouth would be really numb. So then I went into the dentist's office. He gave me a few shots to numb my mouth, but it didn't hurt at all. Then I got to pick a movie to watch, got some video goggles and headphones, and started watching O Brother Where Art Thou. I was almost at the end of the movie when the dentist told me it was time to go. I was really surprised that I hadn't really felt any pain over the course of a couple of hours.
When I got home, I drank some soda to get the numbing stuff out of my system, and it was weird because even when there was soda in my mouth, I couldn't tell. I just wanted to write this because going to the dentist for a filling ( or four at the same time, in my case, ) doesn't hurt a bit.