Not Allowed to Walk to School

I live in Hillcrest which is right next to the school. Everyday I used walk to and from school using the pathway next to the Hillcrest community pool and it would only take about 7 minutes. Trust me, I timed it. I loved walking. It was peaceful and gave me time to myself or to talk with friends if i walked with them. There has been a history of problems with this according to the Whitney Oaks Association. Yeah, I understand that they don't want people coming in from outside of the community to use it as an entrance to the school and that they don't want cars parking by the pool but am I really doing any harm by simply walking to school? My mother has been to board meetings and even made a petition but the Association looks pretty set on keeping us from walking. Now, they have a security guard and plan on closing off the gate. So, I have to waste time and money and take the lazy way by driving to school.

Senior Portraits - Finally!

Finally getting my senior portraits done this saturday :) I'm soooo excited to have it over and done with but I'm most excited for the actual experience of taking the pictures. I don't know how the whole process of changing clothes will go, but i'll figure it out. BUT now I have to worry about what outfits to use and how many and what accessories, and nail color, hairstyle, etc. Gah! I don't like having to deal with details like that!! And lets be honest here, Im not super photogenic in the way that I only like one out of every 20 pictures of myself. Granted, that's mostly probably just me being a self-conscious teenager, but its all the same. I have three outfits set so far, but now for hair.... my dad only wants my naturally wavy hair, but I want some straightened hair ones too... so now does that mean i try to bring my straightener and do it in the middle of the process?? blehh, that's probably the biggest problem/most stressful aspect right now (My dad wanting only wavy, but my mom and I wanting straight...)

A little frivolity

This is definitely less serious than the rest of my blogs, but something I've been contemplating as the warmer weather has been taking over the constant frosty mornings and snowy feel. Here are a few things that are going to keep me from going insane waiting for graduation, summer, my roadtrip with my cousins to my cousin Allison's wedding and Chicago, and CAL POLY! I officially accepted to Cal Poly SLO last week and can't wait to attend there in the fall and meet new people :) These pictures come from my favorite blog site, cupcakesandcashmere.com

{Shop-A-Matic gives diverse outfits for any occasion}

{Light and flowy outfits like this are so adorable and easy to do when sleeping in has become more important with senioritis}

{Blush colors are so easy to match and are becoming really popular (and for good reason)}

{Instead of the heavy holiday treats, opting for light and semi-healthy yet sweet desserts is perfect for spring and summer seasons}

San Diego

This past weekend I went on a journey to the wonderous, marvelous land of San Diego. On Friday afternoon I went to SDSU for the honors students reception. I didn't quite know what to expect from it, but it ended up being very beneficial. I felt that it was a unique experience to be able to hear from the actual students, advisors, and professors, instead of trying to learn everything from the web page. On Saturday was Explore SDSU, essentially an oppen house of the entire campus. I didn't expect that to be extaordinarily helpful and surprisingly it was! The whole campus was covered with tents, booths, and tables representing some of the clubs and programs on campus. I got to explore around some of the buildings and lecture halls and decided to sit in on a Biolgoy presentation. As of now that is my intended major, but after this weekend, seeing all of my options, it could change. SDSU has been one of my top choices since I took a tour of the campus spring break last year. As a student who has always been on the UC track I never expected to be considering a CSU so strongly, but there's just something about that school that pulls me in. Now to make a decision...oh brother :)

Senior Ball

I believe that most girls at RHS have their dresses already picked out. The thing is, I don't have my dress, but I have it drawn out. Yes, it is going to be custom made by my mom and I. I just love the fact that no one else is going to have my dress and I don't have to worry about any dress looking like mine or anything like that. It is going to be a short dress at the knee. I can't stand stepping on people's long dresses when I dance, and I wouldn't want to worry about people stepping on mine. The inspiration for my dress came from a designer called Alyce. She has her own website, and the category I saw my inspiration dress was under After Five. It's a whole new 2010 collection for prom/ball dresses. So, if you are still looking for a dress, look her website up and find where they sell them. Yes, they are really expensive, so that's why I am making mine. What you guys should also think about is making your dress too. It would be a problem if no one in your family knows how to sew, so I guess this doesn't apply to you. But, it will be a lot cheaper than getting a dress at nordstroms. But, if you are still looking for a dress and can't make one or find one that is inexpensive, try looking at Nordstroms Rack, Forever 21, and JC Penney. Other stores also have dresses that were styled in 2009 or earlier, so they should be less expensive as well. All of my dresses I have bought for dances in the past have been $35 and under, so listen to me!!! It also helps if you already have shoes or jewelry so you don't have to go out and buy any. And to prevent that from happening, just pick out your shoes and jewelry and pick out your dress based on the accessories you already have. I could go on and on about what to do for Senior Ball, but ask me if you have any questions, I'll help you out. But, don't ask me about finding a date, I can't help you there. :)

I am going to Cambodia!!!

50 school days left until graduation! And this summer, my mom is turning 50. So the combination of these two events, my graduation and my mom reaching the big 50, made us want to do something special to celebrate! Our first idea ended up not working out. We had decided on doing a triathlon, but my mom started having back and hip problems so we can't do that anymore. But, an even better opportunity came our way.

This summer (June 25-July 11), my mom and I are going to Cambodia. We are going on a mission their with a team from our church. Every day while we are there, we will be doing a kids camp for children in Svay Pak, Cambodia, a hot spot for child sex trafficking. These children are as young 4 years old and they have to go through horrendous sexual abuse every night. It is really unfathomable. But amidst all of the horrific things they must endure, there is an organization their called Agape International Missions that is working to bring hope and change the lives of these children. Barb Wilson, the leader of the team we are going with, went last year for the fist time. She said one of her big fears was not being able to handle getting to know girls that are so abused. But now she can't stop talking about the children and how their lives are being changed. I can't believe I get to be a part of this! And then the last day we are there, we get to throw on a party for the girls in ARC, a high-security house for girls rescued from the sex trade. Wow!

Retirement Home Party!

Last Friday, we had our CSF spring project at Casa de Santa Fe. We did a St. Patrick's Day themed party. There was live music, cookies, games and socializing time. It was overall a huge success. All the people there truly enjoyed the string quartet and piano.

This was a great experience, as it was something I've never done before. After music and cookies, everyone broke for either games or to stay and talk to some of the CSF volunteers who helped. I sat down to talk to a man sitting on the couch alone. At first, he did not really feel like talking, but after a few minutes, he started telling me all kinds of interesting stories from when he was younger and about his children and grandchildren. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes, and I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk to him. It was so interesting to hear what he had to say, and I hope I will be able to go back sometime!

China's Coming

So I just read an article on the New York Times and it appears that for the first time ever, high-tech research firms and top ranking scientists are beginning to move from the U.S. to China and not the other way around. Of course, there are still more Chinese that come to America then Americans that go to China, but the fact that people are beginning to consider China a nation of innovation and research is significant. It goes to show that they are on a track to becoming a very powerful world economy and even a full on rival for the U.S. economy. Now personally I am not yet convinced that the Chinese economy can remain self-sustaining in the long run. No one is allowed to have an 8% annual growth in their GDP with the consistency that China has had, no one. It seems to me that they might end up crashing and burning, but I could easily be wrong. Either way, if things don't change quickly, then there will be a new contender in global R&D very soon.

The time has come, once again.

After about two years of waiting, my prayers have been answered. Serj Tankian is going back on tour.

About one year after I saw him in concert with my cousin, I was thinking, "Hey, he puts on an amazing show. Lets see if he has any concerts in California coming up!"
None. This was until Thursday of last week, when I was extremely bored and decided to look on a ticket website for a concert date, and he's going to be in Los Angeles on July 30th.
Jeez, I got so excited, and I still am, because I was promised tickets as soon as he decided to put a show on in California, so it's safe to say I will be going.

ROAD TRIP OVER SUMMER! YEAH!

spring!

so i just realized that next week is our last week of school until spring break. Its really scary to think about because after spring break we count down the days until summer! Then after summer im officially a senior! Im trying to go on vacation over spring but i dont exactly know where to go yet. I really wanna get a few friends together and go to seattle because it is so pretty and i went last spring break and i had the funnest time. Spring break is coming so soon i need to make plans ASAP or ill be staying home all week :( and if i stay home ill have nothing to do because my TV just broke! Well hopefully i will be able to do something fun.

Calledge

Only two weeks left until I know exactly where I will be going for the next four years of my life... and I just realized that I will be surrounded by my entire extended family when I'm receiving the news. So that could be either blissful or tormenting.
I was glad to let this issue slip from my mind but as soon as the UCLA letters went out it reminded me that it was formally starting. I wish everything would just come out at once so the good news could come at the same time as the bad.
But I am looking forward to going to Louisiana for Spring Break! But it's less of a break with all the "senior" things I need to accomplish throughout it, like Assist-a-Grad, etc. At least it's distracting.

Talent Show!!!

Hey all! Next week on Tuesday and Wednesday will show our school's annual talent show. Right now, people are still auditioning till after school on wednesday. There are going to be dance numbers, singing, and other specials performances. I am so excited to perfrom. Since it is my senior year, I want to make it memorable. I'm singing a song that I believe a lot of people don't know, but I love it! Ticket announcements should be made soon! I hope there will be a lot of people coming and make both nights full houses because it's fun to perform in front of big crowds. Well, I hope you all can make it. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!

Origin of the pineapple

I was eating a pineapple earlier this week and I realized what a strange fruit it was. I wondered what gave it such a unique flavor and why it is called a pineapple if it does not taste like pine or apple. So I looked it up.
I first discovered that a pineapple is actually a mass of berries fused together. And that is why those giant leaves are on the top.
As for the name, it dates back to the 1600's. Christopher Columbus had brought the pineapple back from Guadeloupe, in the Carribean Sea, to Spain. The Spanish people had never seen anything like it, but thought it resembled a pine cone. They accordingly named it "Pine of the Indies." But when the English took a look at it, they thought it was tasty like an apple, so they referred to it as an apple. So they combined the spanish term "pina" to the english term "apple." Pineapple!

Portland....Seattle....

Recently I visited Portland and Seattle to look at some colleges, but to be honest, I was more excited about seeing the cities. Somehow I have never been to Oregon and Washington before, and I was ready to go. The first 10 hour drive was....long. But it was interesting seeing Oregon, even if just through my window. I really liked Portland itself. The rivers that run through the city and the bridges crossing them everywhere are gorgeous. It seemed like there was a lot to do too, not just in the city but in the outer areas; outdoorsy stuff too. U of Portland was really nice, it was outside of the main city, but it had a very laid-back atmosphere. We then began the short 2 hour drive to Seattle. Seattle was stunning. As we walked down the street - heading to the flagship Nordstrom(!) - there were drummers on the street, musicians everywhere. It seemed so exciting and youthful, and I could see myself living there someday. The next day we visited the school, which I liked, and then began the drive home. Somehow I convinced my parents to drive all the way through (I really wanted to sleep in my own bed), and after some rain on Mount Shasta, we ended up in Rocklin just a little past midnight. I ended up really liking Portland and Seattle, and even if I do not go to school there, I think I have found two more cities to add to my "places to live" list.

Technology and the Next Generation

I just recently read an article on Yahoo about when kids should start to use their own cell phone, have a computer, and TV and the results were pretty interesting.

The figures were based off of a survey of 1000 people, and included parents and other adults without children. With age range from 9-18 years old and out of the three separate surveys, 61% thought that kids ages 13 and up is appropriate for a cell phone, 31% believed that kids by the age of 9 should have their first computer, and 27% thought that nine-year-olds should have their own TV.

(Here's the link for all results) http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/161576

Most of them I wasn't really surprised, but the computer one scares me. I remember I didn't really even use a computer at all until I was at least 12! I know that parents can put those parental blocks on it and such, but there is still so much stuff out there on the Internet that kids could get into.

It would also be interesting to see what the results would be for electronics such as an iPod and video games. I just hope that future generations won't be corrupted by too much technology at too early of an age, which will just make kids "grow up" or face reality too fast.

Consistency

I figured I should probably explain why I'm starting to get a reputation for "consistency."

Be mindful that I don't intend for consistency to be exercised in a bad habit. I do embrace change and I do appreciate creativity. Inconsistency is okay if it's a part of improvement.

Sure, consistency can mean wearing the same shirt everyday, or even the opposite of imagination. To me, though, it means something worth much more.


Consistency is...
telling a story the way it is. Telling the truth. Being HONEST.

Consistency is...
things making sense. For example, if someone wanted to improve their grades, but always watched TV instead of making the extra effort, then why are they upset with their poor grade? Consistency is LOGIC.

Consistency is...
Staying true to yourself, your family, your friends, your beliefs. It would be inconsistent to pretend to be someone's friend one minute, but betray them the next. Consistency is LOYALTY.

Consistency is...
Following through. Being dedicated. Say I agree to do my part of a school project, but I flake. That would be inconsistent. Consistency is DEPENDABILITY.

Consistency is...
saying what you mean and meaning what you say. This compliments honesty. To think one thing but verbalize the complete opposite is pointless . Consistency is SINCERITY.

Consistency is...
treating others the way you would want to be treated. We're all humans, therefore all worthy of RESPECT.

Hope that clears things up a bit.



Tell me what you think.

Missing My First Day Of School

This may sound crazy, and in a lot of ways it is. I have never missed a full day of high school. Or as a matter of fact junor high, and pretty much none in elementary school either with the exception of having pink eye and chicken pox. I am heading to San Diego next weekend to go visit SDSU and I will have to miss school on Friday. I guess I'm not really missing school when I'm flying down to go to school there for both Friday and Saturday. I was admitted into their honors program and the information lunch is on Friday March 17. Seriously why couldn't they have waited one more week until it was our spring break. Oh well...and the following Saturday is a prospective freshman open house. I'm excited :) I also found out that SDSU had over 61,000 students apply and this year they are expecting the enrollment of one of the most academically prepared classes they have ever had. I'm excited and I'm definitely leaning towards going there next year :)

SJCC!!

Im headed to San Jose City College for my third visit! This time with Chris Clowdus! I am Stoked! Chris and I are going to meet with football coaches and see our new appt.! The coaches are looking for jobs for me and helping me find an appt.! They are so helpful. I cant wait to rep the purple of the SJCC Panthers. I will be majoring in journalism when i start there! Weird choice, huh.. Well I'm excited, and hope il be home in time for my basketball game tonight at cal fit. Oh! and by the way, La Vic's is the best burrito ever! If you ever go to San Jose go there and get a burrito with orange sauce! Come watch me play ball at SJCC next year!

-Davis Spaid-Banks (Young Wideout)

Oscars.

I have to say I definitely have an awards show fetish. Something about them just gets me so excited. Whether its the fashion, the actual awards or the celebrities, who knows, but I look forward to them for weeks ahead of time. The Grammys is by far my favorite because of the amazing performances, while the Oscars or Academy Awards are my least favorite (and happen to be on tonight). This is most likely because I have only seen two or, at the absolute most, three of the movies that are nominated and because it mainly appeals to older audiences due to the older celebrities that star in most of these movies. I only hope that Sandra Bullock wins Best Actress for The Blind Side because I thought she was amazing in it. Well, I'm off to finish homework and go sulk about the end of awards season.

Sick again

This is the third time I've been sick this school year. And I've noticed a trend. When school work starts to pile up, I start staying up later and later to finish it. This time, I stayed up until one in the morning and then woke up again at five studying for an AP world test that was moved forward from Thrusday to Tuesday. So I crammed. Whenever I do this, I guess my immune system shuts down. I was also hanging around friends who have recently been sick, so it was easy for me to catch their bug. And this is about the worst week for me to be missing school. We are coming down to the end of the quarter, so teachers like throwing in all these last minute tests. I'm missing a math test, chem test, and English test. I also won't be at school to help my print issue group finish our page.

But at least I ended up scoring well on my AP world test:) So was it worth it?

no...

I'm just sick and tired of school affecting my health. I'm ready for another break please!

Blog all you want, so long as it's not during Journalism

Maybe it's just coincidence, but every time I try to log on to the blog during Journalism, I can't because of some internet failure warning or something. However, whenever I'm in another class and I have the time to blog, or I'm at home, I can get into the blog. Isn't the blog supposed to be posted on by JOURNALISM students? So why can't we get in during JOURNALISM? Another thing. Why did I even notice this? I have no life.

We're all going to Die!!! The Movie.

Just saw 2012 last night. It was pretty good movie. Cool special effects, a bit of humor, loss, sadness, family, and the idea for the best amusement park ride ever. There's a part near the beginning of the movie where there is a family in a car that is basically driving through a maelstrom of catastrophes, dodging cars and explosions and chasms and whatnot, and for some reason it just struck me as being a really cool theme for a ride. Maybe I'm just crazy. Scratch that, I'm definitely crazy. Still, I think I could be right about this one.

Not that long left.

Woah. I have realized it is March 2010 I have Three months until graduation. Things are going to go by so fast now. Jr prom tickets arent for sale anymore and its almost time for senior ball tickets to go on sale. I still dont have a dress or a date but im sure things will work out. Its time to make a decision for college and all the Seniors are stressed out about scholarships and turning things in, when in all reality it should have been done weeks ago. The time to pack up all our rooms and move or not move ha is coming faster than we even know. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. but I suppose it is all part of growing up.