Skydiving?! Um...What?

So my boyfriend is turning 18 soon, and he wants me to go SKYDIVING with him on his birthday. Um, what?! I'm deathly afraid of the heights and the feeling of falling. Is he kidding me?

Should I go? I've always wanted to give it a try and see what its like. AHHHHHH I'm scared!

Six Flags?

First of all, I hope everyone is having a wonderful break. Mine has been full of excitement and fun. Yesterday, I went to Six Flags one last time before the end of the season. I thought it was going to be impressive considering this "Holiday in the Park" was supposed to be. Nope. As my friends and I entered the park, it looked like the normal Six Flags. The only difference was a giant tree in the middle of the park and some holiday music. It was no big deal, honestly, but they seemed to advertise something far more exciting than what they gave. We explored the park after riding some rollercoasters and discovered that half of the parks rides werent working. They were all closed. It was completely stupid. So we just rode coasters the rest of the day.

Overall, Six Flags was fun, but there would have been so much more to do if the rides were working. Oh well, next season should be better.

San Fran

San Francisco is my favorite city on this coast, and my second favorite overall (New York is first). It's a great place and I love the atmosphere, architecture, and general large city feel, which I otherwise would need a flight to get. On Tuesday I went there. It was a really nice mini vacation, and I saw all of the tourist spots as well as some more obscure locations in the city. There was great food too. I had coffee at the Ferry Building, lunch at this Indian place, and ice cream at Ghirardelli Square for desert. Great time overall.

Passion

My oldest brother, Ben, he is passionate about baseball. He would rather play baseball then do anything else in the entire world. Time and time again, he has sacrificed his education to jump college to college, all so he can play ball.

I admire him so much for this. He isn't the biggest, or the best, but it is what he loves to do and won't stop at any cost. He keeps trying. Perseveres relentlessly.

My cousin Hope, she is passionate about piano. She only started a little over a year ago, but she is some kind of prodigy I guess.

So, what fuels passion? Do you have to be talented? Or do you just have to love whatever it is you are doing?

I wish I had a passion. Or at least a hobby..

I play tennis, but it is nothing like the way Ben plays baseball. He plays because he lives for it. I play because.... well, to be honest, I don't even know why I play. I'm not even slightly athletic.

I tried to play piano, but practicing felt more like a chore than anything else. I am far from musically inclined.

Hopefully, one day, I will find something that I am both good at, and I enjoy doing.

Break,Part One: Sad Chica

Break has been rather boring for me.
I (as usual) have my lovely older sister (not really) Arisa Horigomi with me. She is from Japan, and is planning on staying here in the USA to work...So I don't really know what to call her. She's very sweet, and my Japanese is definitely better :) Her english is excellent; she is attending SF University...yeah.

Um, haven't done much. Gained 1 pound, which I am desperately trying to work off.
Eat a lot. Party not a lot.

Tired.

Crushing on a guy who lives far away. Facebook communication is not working..I'm a very sad chica right now. (sigh) I knew these things were impossible! Gah!

Feeling rather hopeless with the rest of the human race.

So I'm stressed. and tired. And bored.

Ugh...I can't wait to go back to school.

Time is Flying

This break is going by so fast!! I wish it would slow down. It doesn't feel like we are given enough time to just hang around and relax. Maybe I'm just comparing our break to college students breaks who get about a month off of school, but I feel like we just got out of school. I can already feel the tension and dread of going back to school. I guess I better make the best of the rest of our break last...

Wisdom Removal

Last Monday, at the beginning of break, I had surgery to have my four wisdom teeth removed. When I woke up with heaps of gauze and blood in my mouth, I was loopy from the sedation drugs. As my mom was taking me home I was staggering around laughing and saying delirious things. I informed my mom that "Drugs are bad" and talked about how there were two of everything and asked if I would get to see the kitties in my barely understandable drugged speech. The nurse said we should have brought a video camera.

Upon our arrival back home, the effects of the sedation began to wear off and the whole situation quickly began to seem less funny to me as the pain started to set in. I sat on the couch, napped, and iced my swollen face that whole day. In the next couple days, my face continued to swell and it took around two days to stop bleeding completely. I didn't take pain pills because they make me nauseous but there wasn't much pain after that first day.

I enjoyed a number of soft foods with my impaired chewing ability. It was all applesauce, ice cream, soup, jello, and yogurt for a few days. I mostly sat around watching movies for quite a while. Though I felt quite lazy and useless that first week of break, it was nice to relax after such a hectic semester.

Murphy's Law in the Holidays

Continuing the pattern of holiday-related posts:

This year, my extended family did not give me any gifts wrapped in boxes or bags. Being older, the gifts that people give me seem to be, generally, much less fun to unwrap. I get a card from each aunt and uncle, with a gift card or money or the like inside. So this year, I was excited when my favorite aunt, the one whom I am partially named for, told me that she had something for me that would break the tradition of my other gifts.

I'll be honest, I miss the old days of tearing apart the wrapping paper, I think all of we older kids do, and watching my three younger cousins, I experienced a wave of nostalgia. But, I reminded myself, even though what I get is not quite as personal or shows all the effort of a gift that someone has picked out or, heaven forbid, a hand-made gift (people just don't put the personal touch into their gifts anymore, and that's a bit sad to me. ah commercialization!) Anyhow! Auntie Britt had told me that she had a wrapped present for me, so I'd have something to unwrap, to add to the pile of discarded holiday paper!

But nope! One of my other Aunts had opened up my present, well, at least she apologized wished me a Merry Christmas when she handed me my unwrapped bracelet?

Haha, ah well, it could have been much worse. A few years ago, when we had all gathered for a cousin's birthday, an uncle decided that the best way to rid us of excess wrapping paper was to throw it into the fireplace. Needless to say, we enjoyed our cake out on the lawn while the fire department made sure things were okay inside. Another Murphy's Law family get-together, another happy Christmas.

The Etiquette of Receiving Gifts

There's an etiquette to giving gifts and there is an etiquette to receiving gifts, too.

I realized this on Christmas morning when I opened up a package from my grandma. Tucked inside sheets of white tissue paper, four necklaces lay before me..one for me and my three sisters. We were all speechless...

We thought they were some voo-doo tribal jewelery from years ago. They are not pretty and I can appreciate a wide variety of art. None of us are sure we will um..have the perfect ocassion to wear them. We aren't sure where they are from. I kinda have the feeling my grandma was trying to clean out her drawer. Maybe she made them when she was an artist.

I'd consider re-gifting them, but how would I possible explain where I "bought" them? And re-gifting is really only polite when
a) the item is brand-new
b) the person will actually like the gift

Hmm..at least I have a white elephant gift for next year. As I put it in my thank you note, the necklaces are "artistic and unique." At least they came with a Nordstrom gift card :)

CHRISTMAS

December 25 of the year 2010 was such a joyous and cheerful day that I'm kinda sad it's over. That waking up on Christmas morning feeling is priceless, and hasn't lost it's magic despite my not being a little kid anymore. There was so much cheer and love in my family that day that the presents were just an added bonus. I would have been completely content with just spending the day with my family and loved ones :) But when I unwrapped my new hot pink camera that morning, a smile was permanently attached to my face. Along with this awesome gift I got the new Taylor Swift CD "Speak Now" that I had been dying for, some clothes, rainboots, and tall black boots just to name a few. Oh and how could I forget the shake weight I got?? Haha :) So after presents with just my family in the morning it was time for my grandparents, uncle, and cousins to come over. We spent the afternoon eating and enjoying each others company during this most wonderful time of the year. Seemed to go by so fast this year, and I can't believe 2010 is almost over! But at least the holiday season is still alive with New Year's to look forward to!

Real or Fake?

So my favorite show right now is 16 and Pregnant on MTV. I think its a really great show I feel that it is showing us teens with out kids that parenting, especially at a young age, is not as easy as it looks. I think that it is capable of preventing teenage pregnancy around the U.S. However in some cases I feel that it could promote it because young teens are watching this show and seeing how some of the girls on 16 and pregnant are also getting on to a similar show teen mom, they might see this as stardom. I think that some girls are so desperate for fame that they would be willing to get pregnant at 16, just so they could get their 15 minutes of fame. Hopefully this is not what the world has come to.

Even though 16 and Pregnant is supposed to be a reality show I don't feel that parts of the show are entirely real. On every single episode there is always a scene where the pregnant girl is chatting with her friends and her friends are always just awkwardly drilling her with questions. The questions vary from "what was your reaction when you first found out?" "Are you and ___ still together?" "What are you going to do after the baby is born?" "When are you going to come back to school?" You get the gist, I don't know about other people but when I'm with my friends we have a conversation we don't usually awkwardly ask each other a million questions. That part of the show just seems like MTV planned for the girls friends to come over and told them what questions to ask. Overall the rest of the show seems pretty real which is good.

Anyway some people I know feel that the show is completely fake and everyone on the show are just actors. Who knows? Either way the show is extremely entertaining and I will continue to watch it even if its all fake:)

Break

After a week of finals and test, it is finally time to relax. Break starts in a few hours and while waiting all we have to do is sit through classes were most of us are doing nothing; some of us however, have a test or two but otherwise it is smooth sailing. After weeks of studying it is all done and we are free for two weeks.

snowboarding

this weekend i went snowboarding with my brother and his best friend which was all together just interesting. i wake up and look out my game room to see that my neighbor across the street had received a devastatingly bad/good (depending on your point of view) T.P.ing job. the trees were literally covered in toilet paper. then i went to get ready for the trip. we packed all our gear into his truck and then left. i was surprised to see a woman sitting in the front seat of the truck and it turns out it's his step mom. now, i'm not one to make judgements about someone i didn't know so i said hi it's nice to meet you, but after driving for 3 hours i woke up to discover that her bad directions had gotten us lost on our way to North Star. now being the patient i am i was okay with it, but when nature called and i had to pee i got on the irritable side. now we spent the next 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get where we're going. now with a very sore butt and the need to pee like a race horse i began to lose it a bit. however, fate was on my side and we were only 30 minutes away from North Star. when we got there we were so stoked we immediately hit the lift where we then met this guy named Josh. this was a cool guy he helped us learn tricks and all kinds of nifty things. then he showed us all the best runs which made this just a helluva time. by the time the park was closed we had made it safely to the top of the mountain for one last run. when it was all over we returned home exhausted and slowly drifted off into dream world where it still felt as if i were on a snowboard still.

fml

alright now i have just been told i have atypical pneumonia and i have no idea what that means but pneumonia is pneumonia. life sucks right now with the mind numbing headaches, the pain in my chest from coughing so much, the cough itself, the fever, etc., and to add the finishing touch i cannot come back to school on doctors orders so i have to find a way to figure out how to make this all work so i can take all of my finals for all of my core classes. wish me luck.

Matching

so today is the second time this week in Journalism that me and Franchesca are matching. and its only wednesday. Pretty weird huh? idk whether to think she dresses like a guy or I dress like a girl. She pulls off the looks better then me so I have to give it to her. Nice job Franchesca! today we our matching with our black Peacoats and on monday we were matching with a white and grey striped top. Who knows what friday will be like.

Christmas Caroling

Last night, I went Christmas caroling with the amazing SMOSS club and I have to say it was pretty great. About 12 of us met up at Holly's house, although probably only 5 actually attend SMOSS meetings and thats because they are officers. Then, off we went singing (not so greatly, I might add) from house to house. Overall, the reactions from the people were great and some even gave us candy. The main goal of going caroling was to ask people to leave donations of books for our Thunder Galleria booth on their porch for us to pick up but we also succeeded in having a blast and putting smiles on stranger's faces.

Finals

I am completely dreading Monday! Why you ask? Well, because Monday I have a Chemistry test and if I don't get an A on it I wont have an A in the class anymore. To make it worse I have a Spanish test on Tuesday, A Chemistry final on Wednesday (yes that's right 2 chemistry tests within 3 days), both a Spanish and World History final on Thursday, and a math final on Friday!

Sounds like an excellent week right? Its going to be completely stressful! The main reason for that is because so many of my grades are on the verge of an A. So basically I have to ace all these finals. Hopefully knowing that after all these tests, I will have a nice relaxing break to look forward will motivate me! Anyway good luck to everyone else who is stressing about finals! Were almost done with the first semester!!

Presentation disaster

Today I did my Identity speech for Advanced Language arts. Lets just say it didn't go well. I actually was supposed to go next class but a kid ended up being sick so at the last minute my teacher emailed me telling me that I had to go today in place of him, and I have that class first block.

So just imagine getting all your stuff ready for school so relieved that you don't have to do your speech then all the sudden you get an email saying you are expected to go in literally 10 minutes. Thankfully my speech was already written because originally I was scheduled to go today then someone wanted to switch with me so I woke up this morning expecting to do my speech on Tuesday but no, some kid who was "sick" messed everyone all up.

I actually considered pretending that I didn't get my teachers email, but me being the kind, honest person that I am, decided that I didn't want to mess the schedule of speeches and frankly I just wanted to get it over with.

So there I am at 7:35 reading this email at home, totally freaking out because I didn't really practice my speech all that much. I was planning on memorizing it this weekend but obviously that didn't happen. So if this morning couldn't get any worse I end up having to run to class with a huge poster in my hands.

And all that running with the poster was all a waste, because I was so nervous that I actually forgot to put my visual up. So when I get to the part in my speech where I talk about my poster, literally all that was going through my mind was... Ohhhhhhh Crap! so I ended up walking to my desk in the middle of my speech to get my poster. Kind of weird that I forgot to bring it up with me right, I mean its only a huge poster!

So anyway hopefully my teacher takes into consideration how last minute this whole presentation was and doesn't grade me to harshly!

ap world lecture and vampires

Another AP world post. . . kinda

Yesterday was the ap world review session thing. Very helpful I might say.

Went home, watched the sing off. Okay, that is truly an amazing show. That and VAMPIRE DIARIES! Yesterday it was on and I was mooning over DAMON. That my friends is a fine man.

Beautiful. Pure beauty. For those of you who don't watch this show... watch it. It's freaking amazing. I mean even if you don't like the mythical vampire cliche plot, just watch it to look at the beautiful men. Mute it if you have to but just look at them. Great show. Got really creeped out by yesterday's show but I recovered. Now I have to wait a whole MONTH for the next episode...

ap world

Yesterday was the perfect example of my stupid procrastination skills. AP World World that Trade Created due today and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it. Not good at all.

Learned my lesson. But it's all good. Not really though because I only got about 5 hours of sleep. I'll have to work on that...

The good thing is that I'm done. And now I'm off doing my ID project for Hurrianko. It's an okay project. Not too hard. I mean we just have to talk about ourselves and trust me, society today has conformed into a society that is massively obsessed with ourselves so this ought to be quite fun :)

Working in the library right now. Will probably enter another blog right... now.

I Hate Sick Days

While many of my peers may enjoy sick days, I absolutely dread them. I feel as though I am so so behind on so many things and it does not help that I had to take a sick day just a week and three days before the semester ends. On top of it all, I have about fifty relatives coming over tomorrow for a family reunion. As much as I love my family, the preparation for this weekend is always a little stressful. My mom and I have become in charge of buying everything to make the tamales, anything Mexican themed, and Christmas presents for the younger kids. Oh and don't forget cleaning that is regulated by an almost OCD mother.
But now I have time to do all these things while I'm sick. Ugh.
Or...maybe I will just catch up on homework and watch TV. Ya I think that's what I will do haha. I've already watched a ton of TV that I recorded from yesterday. I decided to honor my favorite celebrity's death last night so I recorded every John Lennon program I could find. So today I have watched about three biographies about him, A Hard Day's Night, and Imagine. That actually has been pretty fun.
But thank God tomorrow is Friday. I will be back at school and ready for the weekend and then the final week of school before CHRISTMAS BREAK! :)

Mumford & Sonssssssssssss

La la la la la so there's this band called Mumford & Sons and I can honestly say I've never been more obsessed with any band or artist ever. I literally cannot stop listening to them. Sadly they only have one album and a few EPs but I definitely have them on repeat constantly. I'm actually really scared for when listening to them nonstop will catch up to me and I'll finally get sick of them. It's basically four English guys named Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, and Ted Dwane. They are all amazingly talented because they all play multiple instruments. In an interview, Lovett said they basically take a song and decide what instruments it needs, then learn the instruments required. Their sound is very folky rock and I can't get anough of it. Their poetic lyrics and amazing harmonies are just aaaaah. I would die to see them live but they are taking a break from touring :( And sadly they were just in SF a couple months ago! Oh well, I'll just have to settle for listening to the same like twenty something songs on repeat.

Blogs are the best academic distraction

Trying to put thoughts on paper can be so hard. Even after having written so many stories, I can't say my fingers always dance across the keyboard with incredible ease the moment I open my laptop. That would be nice, but it isn't realistic. That's why taking a look at the blog is a good five minute break: reading what other people is inspirational and entertaining. Clearing my mind via posting is homework, too. Double-win.

Blogs are just really great for when you need to vent and relieve stress...

Junior year has been off to a bad start, but thank goodness it's halfway over. You know, for a while, I thought I was the only one who cried myself to sleep, or cried at the thought of homework and AP tests, but this week, with finals coming up and teachers piling on the projects, it has become more apparent to me that there are a lot of people who care very much about their grades who are also struggling. Just like me they cry over a failed test and don't get any sleep and I seriously just want to give them a big hug and cry with them.

This has been the worst year so far academically. Socially, I guess, too since I don't really have a social life anymore. I guess failing every AP math and AP chem test (math and science being my favorite subjects)has really taken an emotional toll on me. Subconsiously, these "failures" have made me come to think I actually am a failure. I hate how hard I am on myself, but I can't help it. School was what I was good at, always getting straight As, and now I feel as if I don't have anything going of me. My confidence has really been hurt. For example, I don't want to be a doctor or a math teacher anymore because I obviously don't understand mathematical or scientific concepts anymore. I've become afraid of hard work and stress because of what it does to me.

But we have a week and a half left. So for everyone else who feels this way and who may have even more weight on their shoulders than I do, here is an inspiring quote that I heard Mrs. Cutts say today: "Think of stress as being a huge wave and your're on a surf board. The bigger the wave, the better the ride."
Happy almost winter break! Two weeks off with 2011 just around the corner. Hopefully next semester is a better chapter in all of our lives.

ahhhh I feel much better now:)

Qualified enough yet?

Amanda Wong
- Sports Editor of the Flash
- Member of the Grant Board of Placer County
- Ambassador for the Placer County Youth Commission
- CSF
- Progressive Youth League
- Multicultural Club
- Student Senate
- Hero Club
- SPP Core Team member

And hopefully Link Commissioner. I am applying (ack) this year, and am very nervous...I found out that I'm going against BRANDON YOSHIDA who is smart and more qualified than I am. Definitely nervous. And he's already had experience in ASB...Oh well. I don't care if I don't make it. Actually, I do. But well.

Whatever happens, happens.

Crazy Week

This week- Four basketball games, four pre-game meals, four shootarounds, two practices, an AP World project, a Alegbra II test and homework, a Chemistry test and homework, a language arts essay, I have to read To Kill A Mockingbird, I have to write two stories in Journalism, my Pops hates me right now and ya know what? I don't really care,
 

I'll Figure it Out

Is stress genetic?
I wonder, because my mom and brother are often up half the night stressing about things that aren't even worth it. But my dad, my other brother, and I rarely ever stress.
People always get mad at me because they always want to have a preset plan, and I tend to take the, "We'll figure it out," approach.
I always just assume things will work out I think, just because they always have.
One day, something is going to go terribly wrong because of my lack of planning skills, and maybe then I'll learn to not just count on things to work out in my favor.
But until then, I'll just make my way through life figuring things out one obstacle at a time.
Mr. Sturgeon says I can blame it on my premature prefrontal cortex. Or something.

:?

This week has been kind of bad its been long and its just been really boring and just cold. I wish there was something exciting I could say about this week but there just isn’t anything I want to or have to talk about.

Crunch.

Currently my brain is crunchy. No, not literally crisp and crinkly; it is like someone microwaved it then baked it. Now I feel like I'm talking about food. God, I'm hungry. See what I mean?

Lately, I've been really stressed out. I have two tests this week (Spanish and Math) then a big AP World final project due Friday, then an AP World test next week. I have a project running with the Placer Herald for the grant board I'm involved in, and although I'm supposedly an ambassador for Placer, I have not attended a single meeting (although I have joined one of their conferences) and am not sure of my role in the whole deal. It's as if Life has handed me a plate full of stress and asked "Oh, would you like some fries with your stress burger?"

On top of that, I have gained weight. Ugh.

I suppose this is what they call "the crunch week", the time before the semester ends. However, I'm more than tired and crunchy. It seems as if all i want to do is sleep and eat, and am losing my love for everything else in life. I feel as if I am constantly hungry and achy, and as if my time is just being used and used and used some more. Stress....Ugh.

So, Life?
I would like to order Peace with a vanilla-strawberry milkshake. Thanks.

My First Game

Tuesday was my first home varsity basketball  game and it was one of the sickest things ever. From pre-game meal to shootaround and coach's pre-game speech it was really easy to get hyped. Then, outside the gym in the locker room getting ready and getting pumped, that was easy! then we came out to the cheering crowd and it was all business from their. We handled Florin 71-49 and now i can't wait until our next home game

Calculus BC

Is so stressful! I certainly do love the teacher and my peers...but there's just so much to remember.

There is a test today and I just don't feel ready for it. I mean I studied...a lot. I studied mean value theorem, Euler's method, volume techniques, surface area, integrals (including all the techniques such as partial fractions, u-sub, integration by parts, etc.), improper integrals, and logistics.

With so much studying...why do the tests always seem so hard? The answer to this is stress. Stress releases cortisol which inhibits the transmission of glucose in your brain. So the idea is to not stress for a test right? But...how do you do that? I have no idea...

So...wish me luck in my mathematical endeavors today. And just remember that when you are taking a test...relax and don't stress yourself out! You'll end up doing worse...goodluck!

The Day of Tues

Nothing exciting ever really happens on a Tuesday. It is a day that is often overlooked, since it's not really at the beginning or the end of the week. However, this past Tuesday my mom and I decided to appreciate this neglected weekday. Last Saturday we saw Harry Potter while my cousins and aunt saw Tangled so we decided that it would be fun to go see it sometime soon. Having completed my homework early for once, Tuesday seemed like the perfect day to go.

At around 4 in the afternoon, we made popcorn at home and put it in large ziploc bags to smuggle into the movie in order to avoiding paying 5-6 dollars for popcorn. We headed out to Blue Oaks (so happy there's a theater so close now) and bought tickets for the 4:45 show. Since it was a weekday, there were only elderly people and some parents with very young children there. Munching on our illicit popcorn, we sat near the back row and watched Tangled in 3D. It's one of the cutest movies I've ever seen and really funny too! There were probably about 10-15 people total watching the movie.

We left at around 6:30 and drove to the Fountains for some shoe shopping. It was like a little winter wonderland town there, all decked out for the holidays. We stopped by DsW shoes and after that Payless before heading home. My mom had just bought a new electric griddle that day and we tested it out by making pancakes for dinner. Yum! For the rest of the evening we relaxed, drinking tea and watching Frasier on Youtube haha. I probably could have used this time to study for the numerous upcoming tests, but I'm glad we took advantage of this Tuesday for some valuable mother-daughter bonding time. Who says no one ever does anything on a Tuesday?

Turkey Day or Christmas

it seems like every year people start setting up Christmas before Thanksgiving. But now days they are having stores get out all of the Christmas stuff months before thanksgiving even takes place. But some people are even celebrating Thanksgiving the day before just so they can be more rested for the black Friday sales. But many still spend the day with their families on Thanksgiving so the holiday has not completely disappeared yet. But it raises the question does Christmas shopping take priority of spending time with your family?

Change

For the first time in my living memory, I'm going down that path that so many of us have taken. I'm moving. I will still be going to Rocklin, I believe, but our family is looking for a change of pace after 13 long years in this house. I love it, and I will miss it. Right now, it's decorated for the holidays. It's hard to believe that this is my last christmas here. There are so many memories here. Out front, I can see where I first rode a bike. I learned to read here. There have been good times and bad, but it is the only home I've ever known. Earlier, there were strangers in my room contemplating living in my home :/

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I didn't really do much. I hung out with some friends on the first weekend. i also rearranged my room and got a couch so now all i have to do is save up for a new tv.That was pretty fun. Then i just chilled until Wednesday. then I went to my grandmas and i got to drive half the way there that made that day pretty special. it was kinda scary driving on the freeway but i did pretty well. my mom put on the hazard lights while i was driving which was kind of embarrassing but she turned them off after 10 minutes. then at my grandmas we had thanksgiving and then we went to my other grandmas house to hang out on friday. on the last weekend i just relaxed until school.

Life. At the Moment.

So I like love reading this blog, maybe because people really interest me. Fascinating. There's so many now to catch up on because of Thanksgiving break. Not to mention it's extremely entertaining to ramble on about my life on this website.

Sooooooo we're back at school. MEH. But I missed our lovely pod, so the morning has gotten off to a pretty good start despite the fact that it's a Monday AND a silver day. Double whammy of horridness.

I'm thinkin everyone's feeling the day-after-break-not-wanting-to-be-here-feeling that we all love so dearly. Ashley's hair looks pretty amazing today. Brit is making a chain out of green streamers as we continue the Christmas spirit. Not to mention we've spent most of the period so far as a pod therapy session hashing out our relationship problems. I seriously don't want to leave this class. I'm enjoying relaxing here and easing out of the best break ever. This week is going to be perhaps the busiest week I've had in a while, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. Yeahhh I procrastinated homework until yesterday, and ended up at midnight like half way done with The Scarlet Letter rereading the same paragraph over and over again because I could not retain what I was reading for the life of me. So I went to bed, knowing I'll have to finish it eventually. And I just now remembered I have a vocab quiz 6th period I have yet to study for. All I have to say is thank goodness today is a minimum day.

Just Complaining

Winter. I used to like the season, but this year it's not that fun. Today was the coldest day of the year (so far). It's 37 degrees or so outside. So cold :( And my skin and hair are getting really dry. And it's just hard to think. It feels too cold, but it's not so cold that we can really wear huge huge jackets. I have a high cold tolerance, so it's just uncomfortable, but still...And then this year, I have so much homework too. Gah. I know we just got off Thanksgiving break, but I can't wait till it's Winter break. And the thing about Rocklin is that it doesn't snow, so it's not like we can make snowmen or anything. So it's not even a fun cold. It's a boring icky cold. When I was younger, I used to complain so much to my parent's about Rocklin's lack of activity compared to San Jose, where I used to live. But I always prefered the winter to the summer because of the temperature. But this summer was relatively cool, so I didn't mind it so much. But now it's winter, and it's so cold! Argh. And now I have to be at school, where I almost tripped on some frozen leaves. Great. I wish it was still break, and I wish it wasn't so cold.

My mom would say something like "Do you want some cheese with your whine?"

I guess I'm just complaining , but still. It's so cold :(

The pressure is on

I guess I just lost track of time from being sick. I looked at my planner while I was writing down my assignment for our writing group. There are only 15 school days left. There is not going to be enough time until the semester ends. 19 short days to read 5 books, take the ACT, complete a book review, do CSF and NHS projects, get my story together for the print issue. 3 math tests, daily track conditioning, an essay, and who knows what else will crop up. Rally my energy, focus my attention, and wish me luck. Gulp.

shopshopshop shop stop stop! eh, nah. shop shop

IF UR WONDERING WHAT IS THE BEST STORE TO HIT UP ON BLACK FRIDAY IT IS GOODWILL. 50% off of dirt cheap= basically free stuff. My friend Lindsay and I basically went on Wednesday night to hide all the stuff we wanted so we could come back Friday morning and get it all. And I went multiple times, to different goodwills. I got so much stuff it was great. My favorite purchase was a big olive green coat for $5 and a racoon tail hat for $3. Also, the second time I went with my friends Alexis and Jayce, whose birthday was on friday, so we asked the goodwill people to announce it over the loudspeaker and they did and she pretty much turned bright red it was great. Then after we went to get frozen yogurt at OMG! yogurt and we had everybody in the place sing to her and we caught it on video that was great too. And the guy let us get free yogurt and candy! hahaha Fabulous black friday. Oh, and I got a mac!! hooray and it was a great deal. Bargains are ze best

Back

Sigh. We're back. Today at school there is frost outside, and I am still enjoying this lovely sinus infection. Its nice to be back in the pod, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not really feeling school right now. This break was not relaxing at all. I laid around coughing for two weeks. Turkey and mashed potatoes really don't taste that great when you don't have use of your taste buds...

blog blog blog blog

This year my family and I decided to go up to northstar for thanksgiving instead of doing the whole thanksgiving dinner thing, which we postponed until friday. I had a lot of fun snowboarding with my brother and his girlfriend, even though I prefer skiing. I definitely got stuck in powder waist deep THREE DIFFERENT TIMES it was bad. The more I tried to walk away the more I sank deeper! and I ate snow pretty bad this one time in particular. Afterwards we all went ice skating & had a snowball fight in the rink. And I had one of those delightful waffle things they sell that are basically hot, delicious ambrosia. FUUUN stuff

Makeup strike

This whole weekend I was too lazy to wear makeup or change out of my pajamas. And I really enjoyed it. Not the whole laying around being lazy part (although that part wasn't so bad either), but the whole not giving a care about how I looked.

It's a real hassel. Hair, makeup, and putting together and outfit is half an hour out of my morning that I could be using to sleep in! Plus, now with these hectic three weeks ahead of me full of last minute projects and finals before the end of this semester, looking good is going to be the least of my worries.

So you know the whole No Shave November? Well, I admit I did not take part in that. Trying to look like a prehistoric caveman/woman really isn't my thing... but I do admire those who did it. The whole idea of not caring how one looks is very refreshing especially in a place like Rocklin where looking good all the time seems to have become everyone's first priority. So what about a No Makeup December?? I know, I know, there are already plenty of girls who don't wear makeup at all and I truly admire them for that. In fact, my best friend doens't wear any makeup ever unless I do it for her, and yet she looks gorgeous. I really think she was my inspiration. So for the next three weeks, I will not be wearing makeup to school. I hope in the end I learn that I don't need makeup to feel good about myself. If anyone is willing to try it with me feel free! And I hope guys realize they are not included in on this one...

Goodbye

Right now, I am reasonably mentally able. I am aware of my surroundings and capable of somewhat advanced thought. Not for long, though.

At 6:00 AM tomorrow, my alarm clock will prematurely end my sleep. And it will continue doing so for three weeks. The world will have to deal with my limited mental capacity until December 19, when I actually sleep. See you later!

Thanksgiving Disaster

Thanksgiving was interesting... and bad. Too me it just seemed like everyone was in a bad mood. For one, my grandma had just had a stroke, two, my aunt broke her leg and three, my great grandma got in a car crash. She drives recklessly! Anyway all in all it could've gone way better! Never the less, the food was still freaking amazing and the next day when we went back for leftovers everyone was mellowed out and a whole lot less irritable

Flickr

I love this website; I really enjoy photography although I am pretty amatuer. Atleast, I'm in Photo 1, but that doesn't mean I have absolutely no experience.
Add me on Flickr!

Early Christmas

Today my family got out all the decorations and got our house spruced up for Christmas... my favorite time of the year. We decorated inside, brought in the tree, put up ornaments, the whole nine yards. It was great and just a reminder of how much fun this time of year is; not to mention all the great sports. I mean, c'mon the NBA, College Basketball and the NFL in full swing... How much better can it get? That's right, it can't. So, I know i will, but you enjoy this season while it lasts because it goes all too soon!

This Break

I did not do any homework. Damn.

leftovers

Nobody ever really knows what to do with the thanksgiving leftovers. I cant believe anybody would even want to keep the leftovers after eating so much of it the day before! It's crazy, somehow we're the ones who get stuck with the leftovers so everytime I look in the fridge I die a little inside when I see the turkey meat. However the best leftovers are the cranberry sauce and pies. I plan on being put in a diabetic coma by the end of the night. I don't mind as long as I go out satisfied.

Tis The Season To Be Stressed Out

This time of year is suppose to be the happy and filled with Christmas cheer. Yet, until Christmas break, its only filled with stress and frustration for me. I have been dreading these upcoming three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Its always filled with tons of projects and tests that teachers cram in before the end of the semester. Even though I have good grades now, who knows what they could look like by the time Christmas break comes. Last year at this time was one of the worst times in my high school career. Not only was I overcome with stress, I was constantly getting sick and missing school. I got an inner ear infection that caused me to have vertigo, which is where the room looks like its spinning and makes you so dizzy that you are constantly throwing up, definitely not a fun thing to have. This happened the week right before break which is arguably the most crucial. Just this week, I have four tests and an essay due. So wish me luck and hopefully this time of year will be a little more cheerful this time around.

Blogging

This is a blog about blogging.

I am sitting here with a glass of egg nog...blogging.

I am blogging whatever comes to mind. Blogging is a beautiful thing. Because there are no set rules...I mean think about it. I can type about anything, formal or informal, in whatever manner I decide and I cannot be told that I did anything wrong.

So go on guys. Try it out. Go and blog to your little heart's content.

Cousin #1

So finally at the age of 17 I have met my first cousin. She visited this break, on the day she reached the landmark age of five months. Her name is Olivia White...and she is absolutely adorable.

Weighing in at an impressive 17 pounds (90th percentile for weight), and measuring up to the 95th percentile for height...she is a big girl. But in the best way possible, since it is all still baby fat.

At first she was apprehensive around me, crying on contact and such...but I would say she has come quite a long way. Now she is on her blanket on her back, demonstrating the extreme flexibility of babies as she grabs both her feet and puts them up to her head, smiling all the while. Every so often there is also a little noise leaving me to wonder what she could possibly be saying.

Well off I am. Going to go get some more quality time with her before she flies back to her home in Washington tomorrow. Who knows...maybe there will be more cousins soon.

Oh, Suzie Snowflake.

So, I've taken up piano. And I'm actually pretty excited about it.

But NO ONE is as excited as my mother.

See, when she was little girl she played piano. When she started taking lessons, she envisioned her playing christmas carols while the entire family gathered around and sung along. Instead, whenever she would play, she would hear all the doors in the house closing so they wouldn't have to listen. Apparently this has given her some kind of complex.

It started with her living vicariously through my piano playing. She sits there and watches me when I practice, and fancies herself some kind of expert although she hasn't played since she was 12. And she kept trying to print out some song called Suzie Snowflake that used to be her favorite. Last night she found it on youtube and insisted I listen to it.

But now, she has taken it to an all new level. Today she printed out the sheet music for at least 7 different christmas songs. When I refused to learn Jolly Old Saint Nicholas for her, she took it upon herself. It's pretty awful.

I love my mom.

Who do I want to be?

People are always asking what I want to be when I grow up.

"A journalist?" they ask, shocked. I guess I don't seem the type.

I remember being a little girl, mouth full of frosted flakes, eyes glued to the TV. But unlike the average eight year old, it wasn't cartoons that drew my attention. It was Good Day Sacramento.

I watched with complete admiration as Sandra Furlong met people with fascinating stories, tried new and exciting things, and then promptly reported back to me. I wanted to go to the places she got to go, talk to the people she got to meet, and know the things she had the privilege of knowing. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a broadcast journalist.

Since then, I've wanted to be an interior designer, an astronaut, and nearly everything in between, but somehow it always comes back to journalism. Who knows, I could change my mind a trillion more times before I decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. After all, I'm only 16.

Tricking

Tricking is a relatively new underground sport that emerged from sports karate tournaments. It involves martial arts kicking, twisting, and flipping in a creative, flowy way. Trickers combine moves such as aerials, backflips, gainers, and various kicks and into combos that are really cool to watch. In essence, trickers are modern day ninjas. Many have experience in martial arts styles such as karate, taekwondo, wushu, capeoira, kung fu or gymnastics and tumbling though many excel without any previous experience. Some extremely skilled trickers include Anis Cheurfa, Michael Guthrie, Vellu Saarela, Scott Skelton, and Jeremy Marinas to name a few.

I have been doing Taekwondo since I was seven years old and recently became interested in tricking in late 2008. In 2009, I took some tumbling classes, joined my karate school's demo team, and started learning a few tricks from my taekwondo instructor. I don't have much time to practice very often so I'm not that good, but tricking is something I want to pursue. This sport is definitely becoming more mainstream as shown in a number of commercials and videos, for example Chris Brown's 'Yeah' music video. Trickers push the supposed limits of gravity and physics with what they do. I recommend checking it out on Youtube.

Danielle, My Twin :)

Danielle Huddlestun and I are twins. It kind of scares me how much we are alike. Our personalities, classes, activities, and friends, are all similar. Even our ideas for blog posts are the same, hence we are both blogging about being twins. I was about to write practically the same exact thing that Danielle posted earlier but I just read hers and decided to change mine up just a tad. She told you how we are alike so I will entertain you with the story of how we found out we were twins. So lets start from the beginning. Once upon a time, I heard of this girl named Danielle Huddlestun who was in my journalism class and thought that she seemed like a pretty cool person and that one day I could see us being friends, little did I know just how much we were alike. One day, we were paired up to work on the print issue together with another certain someone. It was during this time that we realized that we had similar personalities and the same sense of humor. That summer we both volunteered at summer school. And after dance parties, making Janis mad at Thunder Galleria meetings, trick or treating together, watching videos together on Youtube, and laughing at the HR Pufnstuf theme song, we have discovered that we are twins. The end.

I'm happy break is over...

Its the last day of break and surprisingly I'm excited! I had a great break, getting to relax and have fun with friends was nice, but I'm ready to go back to my normal schedule. I cant wait to go back to school and see the friends that I didn't hang out with over break, I miss my teachers, and just miss being in a classroom overall. I know it's super weird but I'm looking forward to tomorrow way more than I should.

I cant really explain my longing to go back to school... maybe its the fun of getting my self ready in the morning(over the break I didn't really focus on how I looked), maybe its just not being able to see ALL my friends, or maybe its just that it feels weird not doing my normal everyday things.

Anyway, overall I had a great break but I will be very energetic tomorrow!

See you guys then!

Books

I finally managed to secure a copy of Catcher in the Rye yesterday and I started and finished it in a few hours. I wasn't expecting anything exceptional, with my past experience with school literature only a select few novels have been any good. But Catcher was pretty good. I got stuck into it after my soccer game and when I was supposed to be reading Scarlet Letter I caught up with the life of old Holden Caulfield instead.

The pro's = I finished it so I don't have to read it later; it was homework to read half of it by the semesters end; it was a good book.
The con's = I should have been reading Scarlet Letter; I didn't read Scarlet Letter; I might not remember anything about Catcher in the Rye for the test

I have tried multiple times to get stuck into Scarlet Letter but to be honest, it's a dry, slow book. I swear the first 500 pages are describing this Hester lady standing around with a baby and an A on her dress while a whole bunch of people just stare at her all creepily. Then she goes back to jail. I am seriously considering just reading the SparkNotes but I'm sure I'll finish reading the book eventually. It will just take alot of convincing myself and alot of time.

homework. done. now what . . .

i'm done with the homework I had to over break and I feel kinda pumped!! I think I will go watch something now since I feel so accomplished. Get smart, ghosts of girlfriends' past, failure to launch, pride and prejudice, friends, or grey's anatomy... I'm thinking an episode of grey's anatomy and ghost of girlfriends' past. Chick flicks, I know, but I'm in love with them. What can I say. I'm kind of just trying to type more to fill up the space to consider this a blog... Oh! I have to make a cake for someone right now so that ought to be fun. and a cupcake for someone too. maybe some piano. or hot cocoa. oh hot cocoa. Okay, I'm just rambling on now so I'm going to cease this terrible habit. Maybe.

Procrastinating and it's Benefits (Or Not)

Okay. Here we are. It's November 28th, the last day of Thanksgiving break, the last day of this wonderous week of freedom and what have I done to myself? I have procrastinated. That's right, I have had anentire week of no school and I have managed to leave all of my homework to the very last two days of break.

It was only yesterday that I realized that I have work to do. So I searched my closet for the bag I hadn't touched since last Friday and dumped out all my papers and folders and books. Turns out I actually had alot of work to do. Thank the holy lord above that I took that stuff out yesterday because if I had done it today I would be in serious panic mode right now. But it will be okay now. I finished my essay, math, psych and reading and now I'm here working on this blog.

Maybe I should be ashamed(doing both blogs on the last day and all), But I can't seem to bring myself to be. I had a nice break, not thinking about any of this school stuff until now, so I'm almost okay with spending the remainder of my time on this. Besides, I should probably get ready to go back to studying late and waking up early. If only school was an after lunch thing...

Black Friday

So, I will admit it. I am the average, materialistic, shallow American that is obsessed with Black Friday and all the wonderful deals it has to offer. And that is why I was so willing to wake up at 3:55 AM on Friday morning, make a quick pot of coffee for myself and the two friends that were coming with me, and head to Walmart.

Walmart is every consumer's dream. They have EVERYTHING, and that's what makes Black Friday shopping there so perfect. However, just being there amongst hundreds of deal-hungry shoppers is definitely dangerous.

I stood by what they call "pallets" (just basically boards containing multiple products that are up for grabs) for about 15 minutes, nervous about being so close and nervous that I wouldn't be able to get one. However, as soon as 5 AM struck, all the bags were ripped off and everyone struggled to grab one. I got my Sony camera, successfully, and headed back to our shopping cart. My friend came back a couple of minutes later, saying that she had been shoved in her struggle to get a camera, but some kind lady who had five in her hands gave her one.

An employee whom I had waved to earlier walked up to me a couple minutes later and handed me another camera, which apparently he had "set aside" for me (I'm not sure if that's even legal). So now we had three cameras, and we only needed one. We made two shoppers' mornings that day by giving them away.

After getting the cameras, I ran around looking for the Sony iPod dock I had seen in the ads the previous night. Even though we weren't there right away, both my friend and I managed to grab one.

I spent a large amount of money that morning, but I realized that it isn't all about what you buy. It's the experience, the sort of adrenaline rush I get just from being there. And the quizzical, yet hysterical looks on people's faces when you run through the parking lot shouting, "I LOVE MATERIAL POSSESSIONS!!! AND I LOVE PHYSICAL BEAUTY TOO, BECAUSE IT'S WHAT'S ON THE OUTSIDE THAT COUNTS, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HEADED TO ULTA NEXT!!!"

Last Day of Break

It's the last day of break and I am so sad to see this break go. I truly enjoyed myself everyday of this break. The last week of school I was so incredibly stressed because I was in charge of taking care of my little brother until my Dad got home from a business trip in the Bay Area, so this break was much needed. Friday night, Dad came home and we celebrated by watching my absolute favorite Christmas movie, Elf. :) After a cozy night with the family, the weekend brought in the craziness of the holidays.
On Saturday, I had two friends come over to work on a Spanish project. The girls had never made tamales before so I had them come over so we could all gain our "culture points". It was really nice sharing with my friends a little bit of my Mexican culture and a Riofrio Christmas tradition. Later that day, my best friend and I made cookies as well. With tamales and cookies as gifts, I went and visited my friend who had just come home from the hospital Sunday morning. It made me happy to see him laugh as my Dad handed him a Scooby-Doo blanky because he somehow earned the nickname Scooby on my Dad's baseball team.
That weekend, I also saw the new Harry Potter. I had a lot of fun seeing the new movie theater and sitting in their new comfortable leather chairs, but I have no idea what actually happened in the movie. I had not seen the past six movies, so I was certainly lost. I think I may have actually fallen asleep a couple times. Don't think that it was a bad movie because I am in no way a credible source as far as Harry Potter goes. I just never really got into it. Of course, over the dinner table on Thanksgiving my uncles were raving about how the great the movie was. My dad just had to put me on the spot, telling them that I had seen the movie just days before. Now my uncles were discussing every detail with me although i had probably slept through it all haha.
Black Friday I learned a lot about myself. I did not go out early in the morning but my Dad did. He went to Best Buy and bought my brother a 36-inch flat screen TV, while he returned home with nothing for me. I became jealous of my little brother. I could not believe that the child who was always getting in trouble and often had poor grades had received such a big gift. But I soon realized that I should not be jealous of material things and instead be happy for my brother and know that there are bigger things in life to be grateful for than flat screen TVs.
Yesterday, I attended a beautiful wedding of someone whom i barely knew, but still had a great time. I always enjoy an event in which I dress up. After the wedding, my family headed over to Il Fornaio for a great Italian dinner. This is when I felt that the holiday season had really began, hearing the soft Christmas songs and seeing the glow of Christmas lights above my head as I sat with my family.
Now I am sitting in my room pondering why this break had to come to an end. School is still a day away yet I totally feel the stress of reality again. Tonight I get to write a speech and be prepared to present tomorrow, finish a 540 page AR book, and make a poster for a Spanish project. Yay! See everyone tomorrow! :)

My Grades

So basically, my grades are horrible. Completely disgusting. I looked at them today, expecting them to have risen after teachers added more stuff, but they went DOWN.

I have 3 weeks to get everything back to normal. 3 weeks is not that much time, and I'm certainly stressed that I'll fail at every opportunity I have to redeem myself. It's basically just a huge gamble at this point-- if I do well on the finals (huge Chem final and concept final for Calc), then I get an A. Simple as that. If I do terribly or just average on the test, I either stay at my current grade or drop even lower. It's so much pressure, and now I'm just wishing I had focused more for these last couple of months so I wouldn't be in this situation right now.

And look at me now. I'm procrastinating. This is the reason I'm doing so horribly. I just don't have the motivation to work harder, and I somehow feel like everything's going to be OK.

So good luck to everyone who's experiencing the same thing. I really do know how you feel :(

RANDOM FACT OF THE DAY: SHARKS ARE FISH.
Nona Bhatia and Tony Ortega just had this debate while we do our homework (Nona was right).

Elisabeth, My Twin :)

Seeing as me and Elisabeth have so many things in common, it is obvious that we are twins. To begin with, we have the same hair straightener. We are also both in newspaper and the SAME spanish class. Our extended family does not live close to us, and in fact, live on the East Coast. We dressed up as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The poor people on Halloween could probably not even tell us apart... :) We both have brown hair. We like to watch HR Pufnstuf. We both like Stanford. We both went shopping on Black Friday. We are both on Thunder Galleria board of directors. We are/were on Honor Guard! We bonded because we met a specific person...who shall not be named here :) haha We were both volunteers at the summer school. To top it off, a lady at summer school called me Elisabeth and started talking to me because she thought I was Elisabeth. We are definitely twins! YAY! :) We even have twin telepathy because we decided to blog about the same thing. :D

Black Friday

So....waking up at 7 in the morning for black friday was not worth it. I couldn't find anything. There weren't that many good sales. And if there was, I didn't feel like standing in line for half an hour. My day consisted of..shopping for things that weren't even on sale, that was about 2 hours. I then met up with one of my friends and we hung out at McDonalds for 3 hours, mainly because our friends were working, and they all took their breaks during that time. After that our friend got off work and we walked to the same stores, because there were only 4 good stores in the mall. We were at the mall for 7 hours. But I have to say, the best part of my day was when we met Ryan Higa. Ryan Higa is a famous youtube person and was at the mall on Friday with Dominic Sandoval/Dtrix from So You Think You Can Dance and Quest Crew. We found out from one our friends that they had seen them, we wanted to meet them, so we decided to try and find them. The friends that had seen them in the beginning, decided to follow them for us and we basically went in a circle trying to find them, but we finally found them in Jamba Juice where we got to take pictures. In the end, my day turned out pretty well.

Yes, I am sure I want to be a nurse

I cant count how many times I've been asked if I am sure I want to be a nurse. I am absolutely certain that yes, I want to be a nurse (and a medical journalist, as well).This decision has definitely narrowed down my choice of schools, since not every school has a nursing school. Just as I am about to send in my first nursing app, I reflect on my reasons...

1. There's a shortage of nurses. An expected 150,000 in the next 15 years to be exact.
2. Health care is a field that doesn't go away...and won't with the current obesity trends.
3. Flexible schedule, and not bad pay, either.
4. A good mental challenge, especially since each day is not the same.
5. It's a job where I'm on my feet (good for someone like me who can't even sit through a movie)
6. I can work with people face-to-face AND work in a lab. Balance.
7.I can use my linguistics :)
8. I can write for a health journal
9. I can work with babies, children and adults.
10. And the greatest reason of all: helping other people live a higher quality of life.

Mrph.

My house feels really empty. For the past week, my family has had my good friend and adopted sister (not really) live with us for the holidays. Her name is Arisa. I met her last year, over Christmas break, in Japan when I attended her high school for 2 weeks. Yeah, I speak enough Japanese to get by...
We dropped her off at this adorable bright-yellow house near San Francisco State, where she is living in the basement. It was a little cold down there, but it had a renovated kitchnette and everything, so I'm not too worried about her. She is a freshman at SF state right now :)
I completely adore her. She's really pretty and smart, speaks Japanese, cooks, sews, and has nicer handwriting than mine. Her only fault is that she can't do math very well. (sigh) Neither can I.
Over break, she was staying in my room, so I haven't been able to sleep in my bed for a week. But since it's her, I was fine with it. I wish she was still here- I would trade my room if she could stay another day. Oh well, I know she's got school...
Gah. So I guess I'm just lonely and really lonely right now.

Procrastination At It's Finest

So I had the best Thanksgiving break EVER up until now. Today is my day of torture. I went into this break thinking I didn't have too much homework and I'd just do it all on Sunday and it won't be that bad. I must have failed to open up my planner and actually read all I wrote that I have to do. I have SO MUCH. Yet instead of actually getting to work I'm checking email, Facebook, etc. and just freaking out about how much I have yet to accomplish. I'll probably end up staying up late tonight reading, writing and scrambling to finish everything.

I have to read three books in the next few weeks. Starting with The Scarlet Letter. It's kind of a hard read because of the language used, but it's not too bad once I sit down and force myself to read it. Plus, a while ago I made a list of books I want to read before I die (because I'm a nerd like that) and this is one of the ones at the top of the list, so having to read it for AR is a win-win for me personally. But it's yet another thing I have to do, and it's stressing me out. I miss the days when I could just read for the fun of it and not have a time limit or have to take a test on it.

So I'm definitely feeling the pressure. Wish me luck as I begin to immerse myself in homework.

Time

So I think I have decided that I am not ready for Christmas at all! It feels like these past months have gone by so fast it's just overwhelming. Just a second ago it was Thanksgiving now there's Christmas music and decorations everywhere. I think time just needs to slow down a bit.

I love Christmas and everything, but Christmas just reminds me that a new year is coming up, and its seems like my life has flown by so quickly! I'm already half way done with High School. Which reminds me that in 2 more years I will be going away to College and have to be on my own, I don't think I'm ready for that.

Anyway I just wish time didn't have to fly by when you're having fun.

Obama+Basketball=12 Stitches

Every time I hear this story on the news or radio I can't help but laugh! As all of you should know, our 44th president, Mr. Barack Obama, received 12 stitches after playing a friendly pick-up game. It turned out to be a not so friendly game in the end when he was rushed out to his shady black SUV's (I don't know cars) and was looked at by the medical units on standby.
The culprit was a fellow man of the state, Ray Decerega, from Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. I was reading an article earlier that I found most amusing. This passage in the article contained innocent humor if you will - "Maybe he was telling the President something. Communicating, if you will, of sorts, that Immigration reform has not moved fast enough. This has been our humor segment and hope none of you take this seriously. If you have… find something else to do." Cracks me up everytime.
Whether it was intentional or not, it left Obama with a busted lip that will remind him to remind him to play it safe in the future...

A Very Potter Thanksgiving

In light of the recent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, my entire Thanksgiving Break has been characterized by frequent viewings of the Harry Potter movies. I watched the first and second movies a few days ago, and the third today. I saw the Deathly Hallows on Wednesday after watching the sixth and also saw the seventh again today. It's really fun to compare the performances of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson over the years. They've changed so much from the adorable, slightly cheesy actors they were back in 2001 to the mature, experienced actors they are today. I personally believe that the seventh movie most closely exemplified the book out of all of them which I am glad for because it was my favorite book. There were scenes that were exactly the way I had imagined them while reading (I won't give away any spoilers...Dobby was amazing).

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I've read the series around four or five times, seen the movies quite a few times, and I own all the books and dvds. It's basically the most genius series invented in my opinion and J.K. Rowling is an incredible writer. I'm super excited for the release of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in July. It's also kinda depressing to think after the completion of the seventh movie, there will be no more new Harry Potter releases. But alas, one can always take a trip down memory lane and reread the series or rewatch the movies.

Hobbies

Everyone needs a break once in a while, and thank goodness our school gives us quite a few. It's hard for us when we start feeling rundown and overwhelmed as we progress further into the year, but a nice one-week break like this Thanksgiving break is just what I needed to relax, set new goals, and regenerate. So in all my spare time I realized I was bored and came to a conclusion - I need a hobby.


I need to do something that makes me happy and something I like enough to stick with. Here are some ideas that I plan on tackling one at a time:

Learn guitar - I have the piano down, so I think it's time to master a new instrument.
Cooking - It's a life skill we'll all need to learn eventually and I think it would be a good idea to start practicing now.
Reading - I miss it. I haven't done much reading since school has been in session. I'm reading The Color Purple for AR right now and it's incredible. My first project is to finish the Harry Potter Series.
Fitness - STaying in shape isn't only good for the long term, but also for the short term. When you are healthy and fit, your mind functions better and plus, you feel great!


With all this plus homework on my plate, I don't think I will ever hear myself say I'm bored again:)

Christmas Music and Hot Cocoa

I am sitting at my desk, working on my UC app, sipping hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music. I love how it feels like it is truly time for Christmas now. This has been a very nice and much needed break. I saw HP 7, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. I am typically not a huge HP fan, but I thought this movie was really well done. I went out shopping yesterday for black friday, and I had so much fun. It is so festive at the mall. I also enjoyed our photobooth adventure. :)
However, I am really beginning to anticipate the return to school. That is always the hardest part about going on break! I think that it will actually be manageable, because college apps are wrapping up and so are classes. I'm hoping for the best!

Here Kitty Kitty :P

Along with decorating the house today, I made a new friend :)
I was sitting there, about to put on some music in my living room, when I saw this cat walking outside my house. No collar or anything. My mom explained to me that this cat always is walking around the neighborhood, but she thinks the owners moved and left it behind.
Now, I'm an animal person and I definately felt sad for this poor kitty. So I went outside and gained the trust of this little cat.
I gave it some food and water and watched it. This cat ate this huge bowl of cat food within seconds. I could only imagine that it probably hadn't eaten in a while.
My mom asked if it was a boy or girl, I hadn't checked yet. I don't think I want to :P I feel like I would be violating the cat, ha-ha.
However, the cat keeps coming back now. Throughout the day, I see it sitting outside our front window, just chilling there and looking around.
I went outside to see it and it ran up to me and purred. I feel like a good person (:

Madness!

So it's the day after Thanksgiving, and I expected to be able to sit around the entire day and continue digesting the food I ate from the previous night. However, my mother is the complete opposite. I wake up this morning and the first thing she tells me is, "Get some clothes on, we are decorating the house today."
My first response was, "Decorate for what?"
Her first reply was, "For Christmas, duh!"
Therefore, seeing as how she is my mother, I was forced into decorating the entire house with Christmas decorations.
Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, BUT ITS THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING! ITS NOT EVEN DECEMBER YET! Can't I just have a breather? I'm still ridiculously fat from all the food I stuffed in my face. But I guess that's no excuse for my mother.
It's 3:12pm and she is building our fake tree right now, and I can't even imagine what might happen the rest of the day.
Happy Holidays?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love this time of year. So much. Thanksgiving was AMAZING. Ate way too much, but hey that's what you're supposed to do. My boyfriend and I walked at the Run to Feed the Hungry yesterday morning, which was a blast despite the below freezing temperatures that early in the morning. Then "linner" as we call it at my grandma's in the afternoon nourished my craving for the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner: stuffing and pumpkin pie! It went by so fast, and I'm sad that this wondrous week of break is almost over. All more the reason to soak up the last 3 days we have left! But now that Thanksgiving's over, it's time to move on to the next holiday which to my greatest pleasure is CHRISTMAS! My family is the kind of family that wakes up the morning after Thanksgiving and decks our entire house in Christmastime accessories. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to get everyone for Christmas...I'm not dedicated enough to brave the crowds at 3 in the morning to get some deals on Black Friday, so maybe I'll end up making gifts for my family and friends. It's the thought that counts right? So now I'm off to cover my room in lights and put up my little pink Christmas tree in anticipation for December 25th.

But there's no way my decorations will look as amazing as THE POD'S!!!! :D

Holiday Time

The temperature is 34 degrees outside, daylight savings time is over, and Thanksgiving is digested. It's officially the holidays. Over the next month, stores will offer deep discounts, a festive air will be about, and, most relevantly, the stress of the first semester will end on the 18th. I'm ready.

Black Friday

So many sales and discounts for tomorrow: Black Friday. Last weekend my friends and I were looking around the mall for things to buy for the day with the biggest sales of the year. I couldn't really find anything, but I'm going shopping for Christmas gifts. I think 4 AM is a little early to be shopping around....so we are still going early but not that early. Hopefully it won't be that busy.. I just hope most stores affected by the fire will be open to shop tomorrow!

Not a Harry Potter Fan

I never fully understood the point of being a Harry Potter fan. I know it is popular and adored and admired internationally, but I never really connected to HP. I read three books in elementary school and saw a couple of the films, I think.

Anyway, I saw HP a few days ago with my boyfriend. Brace yourself: I didn't like it (and it was MY decision to see it). I know, I'm strange. Maybe I would have liked it if I read the book? Maybe it was just too dark for me? Too much "magic" and creatures? I don't know. It wasn't bad, it was just okay and overrated. My boyfriend, having no interest in HP either, thought it was "somewhat good", but only "somewhat". (Thankfully there is another person who doesn't obsess over HP (or Twilight) like me!)

Thankful for so much more though...I had a great time in Napa this week, learned some more Spanish, I get to spend time with my grandma tomorrow, and I'm making a pumpkin cheesecake with my little sisters today! Happy Turkey Day everyone! :)

The Holidays :D

So basically, the holidays are off to an incredible start. As of Thursday night, I am soooo ready for everything these two breaks are going to give me.

It started with the midnight premiere of Harry Potter, which was amazing. I couldn't have been more thrilled, and half of the experience is just waiting in line for 7 hours. My friends and I went to Starbucks while we were waiting, and one of us was dressed like Filch. He was absolutely filthy and was wearing a torn trenchcoat, and we had one lady who had basically asked us if he was homeless. But anyways, we ended up running around the parking lot and just generally twitching from the excitement of Harry Potter. The movie ended up being so amazing, and I'm so incredibly disappointed the next one isn't coming out until July.

And then it was Friday, the rare "Holy Friday" that occurs right before a break. I had a Calculus test, which was basically the only downer, and I was extremely delusional from the 1/2 an hour of sleep I had the night before, but other than that, it was one of those TGIFs. A couple of my friends dropped by to give me some early birthday presents, and it began to pour down rain (which I love), and that was the conclusion of my day.

So basically, Christmas is in 30 some days and our pod looks absolutely AMAZING. I'm ready for this.

Longest Week of My Life

This truly has been the most stressful longest week of the year. First of all, I made the mistake of letting procrastination get the best of me. I put off an essay and a project until the night before they are due. So last night I scrambled to get a fifteen page project done. If I fail this project, I fail the class. Way too much pressure for the week before break.
Next I was all stressed out for a family friend who is in the hospital. Monday night, I couldn't get any sleep because I was worrying so much about him. Now he is doing fine, so that takes a little stress of my shoulders.
Lastly, my Dad is away on business in the Bay Area. This means heightened responsibilities for me because my Mom works late. It has been so stressful walking home, which is farther away than I would have liked. The most stressful part of this ordeal is taking care of my little brother. I seriously think it would have been easier to take care of a little kid than my teenage brother. At least I wouldn't be pressured into taking him for late night Red Bull runs or worrying about where the heck he is after school. I seriously have so much respect for kids of single parents after this week.
Now the week is coming to a close, and I have to admit things are getting better. All my projects are turned in, Dad is coming home tomorrow, and the break is beginning. I am so excited to hang out with friends. I already have the whole weekend planned out with one of my best friends. I am so excited because we are making funfetti cake cookies for our friend in the hospital, tamales with my Grandma, and just chilling for the rest of the week. So ready for Thanksgiving break!

25 Hours

One thing that I really do not understand is how any student could possibly struggle to meet the minimum 25 hours of community service before graduation. Of all the graduation requirments at Rocklin, this requirement should be the one that students find easiest to meet. There is a huge variety of community service oppurtunities available in our area, some are even at school, yet some people don't even manage to spend a little more than a day helping others. To enjoy community service you need to find something you enjoy doing, a cause you feel passionate about or a group of people you want to help. With clubs like Interact, Key and S-Club who supply community service projects there is no excuse for not getting enough hours to graduate. Just on the week of break there are many oppurtunities for helping people who are less fortunate; Interact club is helping the River City Food Bank get back on their feet on Tuesday and the Red Cross is serving Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. So if you find yourself unable to meet graduation requirments because of community service, don't expect any sympathy.

Biology

So this morning I set my alarm to go off at 5.15, however, I did not get up until 6.00. I had to go to my biology retake test at 6.30 this morning, so this was quite irritating because I did not get my green tea this morning. When I got there and I realized that once I got the test, I was going to do worse on this test than on the original, much to my dismay. So that was the beginning of my day.
BUT, today is going to be a good day anyways because it is Thursday, HOPE day. I love Thursdays.
Anyway...I was bored so I started looking up on the internet, "things to do when you're bored" and I found this great idea. I'm writing a list of 20 things I like about someone and giving it to them, which is so fun for both people!
That's it for today.

Don't Fear the Scanner

"Touch my junk, I'll have you arrested". John Tyner's statement to an airport security agent patting him down raised many concerns yesterday about new security tactics used by the TSA, as well as the full body scanners he declined.

Depending on the person, one's concern about the new, extensive pat down search may be justified. However, the full body scanners that are featured in the media should not be given such suspicion as they have since they were introduced. One of the claims, that the scanners give too much radiation, has been declared fallacious by multiple agencies. The other, of privacy, is a null point.

Yesterday was also my birthday, which marks the anniversary of a day on which countless nurses would have seen me naked. The same is true for everyone who was born inside of a hospital, or most of the U.S. population. Since then, routine check ups have had the same outcome. A TSA agent, in a separate room that does not have a view of the passengers, is no different from a doctor.

This is true because full body scanners can stop terrorism. The would be "undiebomber" would have been caught at the gate had they been used. Luckily, in this case, the bombing did not materialize because passengers were able to overpower the terrorists. But luck is not a secure platform. Brief nudity is a small price to pay for safety.

Facebook "Friends"?

Does anyone REALLY know 300+ people? I remember when I first got Facebook I didn't understand how people could be friends with so many people, and I still don't. Sure they go to the same school as you, but you never talk to them...at all. They are in your class but you never say hi. Everytime someone adds me, I always hesitate to add them, my friend always makes fun of me for it. She says "Just add them, as long as you know who they are then its fine". I wouldn't want them to have access to my information. It may seem harmless but you can't be too careful. I don't really add people unless I have talked to them at least twice and who I know I will talk to in the future. I sometimes add people who are old friends, but at the same time I don't even talk to them on Facebook.. I think its funny when I deny people's friend requests because sometimes they re-add me. Do they want to be my "friend" that badly? I remember when I first had my 100th friend (which wasn't too long ago)... for some reason I didn't want 100 yet, I kind of wanted to delete people who I don't talk to anymore lol . I don't think its that bad, I just like to keep my friends close I guess..

Sick Days :/

Some people would say that they love sick days. Because they get to sleep in, and skip the drudgery of yet another day of high school. I do not count myself amongst their ranks. This week I haven't been feeling well, and have stayed home both on Monday and today. I do not know whether or not I will be back for the remainder of the week. While some people are fine with exchanging their physical well-being for a few extra hours of sleep, I must dissent. I feel more stressed out when I'm not at school getting things done, because all I can do is worry that I might be falling behind. They say that if a fish stops swimming, it dies. While I might not go that far, when I'm not at school, I definitely feel as if a bit of my purpose is missing. I don't have a job, my seasons of sports are over (well, the 14-day off-season is half-way done), so school is really the main thing dictating my life. Without it I feel, well, empty. It takes sick days to realize just how much I push myself and value my education, for better or for worse.

HaPpY! :)

Lately I have been realizing that the little things are what truly count. The small, seemingly meaningless things make the most impression. When you have a bad day, and look back upon what upset you, it is often too many little disappointments that add up to your unhappiness. On my last blog, I said I was going to try and stop to enjoy more things, and not let everything fly by. I am glad to say that I have been relatively successful :) I do tend to get caught up in the stress of everything, I can't seem to help it. However, I have noticed that I have made time and have been a lot better at relaxing and enjoying the good moments that are there!
Today was a great day. It began with a surprise at my car :) hahaha! And then continued with becoming an honorary member of the dolphin pod...who have amazing Christmas decorations!! I would definitely have to say that my card was my favorite :) That was hilarious!! Then the day continued to wonderful times at Thunder Galleria inventory.
Overall, days like these really make me realize that the stress of everything is not so bad. Even though college applications, scholarships, and AP classes are difficult, there is still plenty of time to enjoy yourself.

Nature's Surfers

Beautiful. Just beautiful. I think this is so stunning. This photo inspires me to
-learn how to take better pictures
-travel to New Zealand and Australia
-see more orcas, sharks, and dolphins and learn more about them.

Sometimes I wish I could just swim all day long.

Christmas Spirit :)

I'm absolutely convinced that our pod is freakin' awesome. I was sitting here, just another morning. when Erika Strickler walks in with $20 worth of Christmas decorations that she bought at the Dollar Tree. Decoration time? I say yes.
So here we are, decorating the pod with all sorts of knick-knacks and Frank Sinatra singing to us.
I can't wait for when its December. I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

This is how I feel.

It seems like so many people lose sight of who they are when they get caught up in the hype of trying to impress those around them. I have always believed in the power of one's words. Own them. I want to know people for who they are, not what they can afford or what image they can put up. I am impressed by people who are not afraid to be themselves, I envy those who speak honestly and whole-heartedly. I avoid those who believe they are hidden behind their possessions.

Do not follow fads to fit in, please be who you are intended to be! Speak how you wish to be heard. Allow yourself to grow so that your mind may be extraordinary, and your words truly beautiful.

Does altruism really exist?

Altruism-acts of being selfless. I learned the word last year in Mr. Pereira's class. Just a few days, ago, someone asked me if I thought it existed.

But of course...what else explains things like donations? Mission trips?

This Rocklin alumni told me it did not exist. He's a psychology major in college and explained that people are always motivated to do something in their self-interest.

This is where we started thinking. In the midst of blaring music began a deep, thoughtful discussion.

I was with one of my best friends, her boyfriend, and a friend of a friend (the alumni). My friend, currently an AP Pysch student, thought about it while her boyfriend and I remembered learning from AP Econ this year that rational people do things in their own self-interest.

Sure, some people volunteer just for the sake of their college apps. And some people donate for tax-write offs.

But what about people who give just to give? Do they do it because they want to experience that joyful feeling of giving? Can someone give just to help people out when there is no effect on them? I'm going to be thinking about this a lot during the holiday season...

Sick....again.

I have a problem. There must be something wrong with my immune system because it feels like I am always getting sick. Whenever something is being passed around you can almost guarentee I'm going to get it. Not only do I get sick alot in general but it happens especially when we have a break from school. So, not surprisingly, thats exactly how I spent my four day weekend. I guess being sick during break is better than having to miss school but its terrible when all my friends are enjoying the wonders of being on vacation, I'm miserable lying on my couch flipping through TV channels with the Kleenex box always within reach. I just hope that I will get over this and will be as healthy as can be for Thanksgiving break.

Idealistic Pride

NOTE: Before you read this,I would like you to know that,although I am a strong pacifist, I am not intending to insult you or your beliefs and opinions.

As many of you know, Black Ops came out on November 9th. In an attempt to bond with my father and younger brother, I brought it up while making dinner last night. Big mistake.

My brother's face lit up and he begin jabbering about it. I have no clue what he said, but somehow it turned to the fact that the "enemy deserve to be killed". Well, as I said above, I am a pacifist. And I said something to the effects of "Well, you know, the enemy doesn't deserve to be killed. This reflects negatively on them and their people in the real world, and how would you feel if these were Americans they were fighting??". Yeah. Bad move on my part...

My dad snapped. He went on a mini-rampage about how I think everyone is too peaceful, and how I'm too P.C, naive,stupid, and un-patriotic. Ugh.

This hurt my feelings. My dad doesn't understand, but that really hurt my feelings.

I am a peaceful person. I admit that freely. I believe in the opinions of everyone, freedom, and worldwide love.

I'm pretty much a hippy.

But still! Is that wrong? To love everyone no matter what? To believe in the good?I believe in it. The capacity to be good is in almost everyone.And so I ate, went to bed, and pondered (as I have a habit of doing) Life.

I think that if we are ever to have peace, it will be through idealism and love. There is nothing good that comes out of killing, hating, or prejudging others. Absolutely nothing good. The only way we will ever achieve peace is if everyone can look at a complete stranger and think "That is someone like me". Because everyone is humna, right? Everyone has a past full of mistakes and triumphs. So if we can say that the world is like a family, full of people who love each other, than we can have world peace. It's basically taking the Barney theory (I love you, You love me) to a international level.

And I'm proud of it too.

To the Dads all over the world- I hope that someday, you can see that all the world really needs is love.

Like the Beatles, right? All you need is love.

the note.

Monday seemed like an average monday at school, who knew that it become more then just average. After I left school I went to go get my haircut in roseville with my mom an then headed to whole foods market in the fountains. it seemed like everything was going great until I got home. I get out of my car and head to my front door. When I get there I find a note that was stuck in between my door. it read "Ashley wanted me to give this to you..." it was written in my best friends hand writing. Ashley has been my girlfriend since the beginning of eighth grade and we've been together ever since. I open the note and I couldnt even finish the first sentence. I skipped straight to the last sentence and it read "I cant be your girlfriend anymore, Love always Ashley." Her and her friend traded phones that day on purpose so I couldn't get a hold of her. Her note said she wasn't happy with me anymore. The worst part is is that she had my best friend deliver the note to my house. She didnt even have enough courage to at least talk about it with me. next month would have been our two year anniversary which happens to fall on my best friends birthday.

Choices

Today, I discovered the true meaning of life. It is not something that you achieve easily. It is not something that allows you more freedom. It is not something that is simply there as we grow older.

It is something filled with choices and decisions in our lives. The paths we take and the decisions we make dictate the outcome of our life. If this is so, how do you know if you made the right one?

I was given a choice: to play basketball or to not. Since I was in 2nd grade I have been on the court. But, I held no true passion for it. You know that feeling you get when you do something you love that gives you that rush of adrenaline or the feeling where you are just floating above everything and everyone? That's the passion you have for something you love. I never felt this for basketball.

So, this year, I chose not to play. The first actual decision I made for myself without anybody leaning me to oneside. I made the choice but after I decided upon it, I felt a sense of disappointment from the people around me. I thought I made the right decision. Did I?

For the first time in my life, I did something that I wanted to do, but somehow what I wanted to do was not good enough for the people around me. This leads me to ask: Is it me who is being selfish or is it they that are being selfish?

I replayed this question over and over in my head and I came to a conclusion.

Life, later on is going to have the same hard questions in life that will make choose one thing or another. I will have those who doubt my decision but I have to face up to the disappointment. I will have to look past all the doubts and look into what I believe. I am being selfish with my decided choice, but they are being selfish for feeling a disappointment in me for not fulfilling what THEY want.

The choices we make in life should be for us. Not for the people who we feel obligated to. The true decision to whether to do something or not lies within us and our beliefs. If we make the wrong one, we get up and try again the next day, month, or year. We simply face the adversaties that obstruct our path to greatness and happiness.