Merry Christmas!

Haha, it's kind of late right now (okay, realllyy late). But still. :D I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas today. Truthfully, Christmas day has never been special for me - in fact, it can be quite boring since all the shops are closed. But I was smart because I went grocery shopping on Christmas Eve so that I could make my brother and sister lasagna. Making lasagna is fun and I like how you can virtually add any ingredient you want. I prefer my lasagna with plenty of mushrooms and spinach~ yum!


Different angle, with some cheese sprinkled on top.

I meant to finish Orange Days by watching the final episode today, but there were some complications so I watched Security Police episode 1 instead. It stars Junichi Okada. <3 He's beautiful. The drama is pretty good so far. Lots of (literally) ugly bad guys. Okada plays Inoue Kaoru, an officer who is a part of the security police. He is cool when he takes down bad guys, but his character is extremely eccentric (I've been meeting alot of strange characters in Japanese dramas lately). Many people have good intuitions, but his sixth sense seems to be sharper than others. He also has moments when he "spaces out" but he can always spot a bad guy in the area from their movements. Inoue can also sense when a person has ill intentions or malice.


Here he is, spacing out. xD

I'm also watching Galileo, another Japanese drama that involves mystery. I can only catch up on watching dramas during long breaks. :D I have so many things I want to do over the break that I'm not sure if I can accomplish them all. Here are some of the goals I hope to reach by the 14th of January:

1) Complete all homework assignments.
2) Work on school projects.
3) Study for the SAT.
4) Revamp the entire Love-Train network.
5) Bake yogurt cake.
6) Learn how to use the sewing machine.
7) Draw.
8) Brush up on my Japanese! じつは日本語あんまり知りません...-_-;

A few days ago, my sister taught me how to crochet! I can do it (sort of) but I need alot more practice if I want to make amigurumi...*o*

Again, I wish everyone a safe and happy winter break!

I Can't Subtract.

[During an experiment at Physics EA class, period 1.]

Judy: What's 25 minus 15?
Me: 15! No, wait...10!
[pause]
Judy: ...Isn't it 5?
Me: ...
[Ryan was listening to this.]
Ryan: You guys are in PreCalculus, right?
[Judy nods.]
Me: -_________-

Adventures with Gingerbread

Last Sunday, Erica and Jenni helped me bake gingerbread cookies for the Japan Trip Craft/Bake Sale which takes place the next day. With the recipe taped on a kitchen cupboard, I handled the wet ingredients listed in the recipe and Jenni took over the dry ingredients. Halfway between mixing and stirring, Jenni discovered that there was not enough flour at Erica's place. We looked at each other and then at the pouring rain out the window. Erica got her slippers dirty and I got my socks wet, but we didn't let that stop us. xD We walked back to my place to get more flour and continued on with our baking. :D

Baking is definitely a tricky process. The dough refused to cooperate with us. Erica's sister had warned us that because Hawaii's weather is slightly warmer than most places, the dough will be softer. I let Jenni do the rolling because I always get the dough stuck onto the pin. I don't know how she does it. @_@ I wish I had more patience! We made three batches of cookie dough - two for cookies and the other batch for making gingerbread houses. =) We kept rotating them and putting them into the refrigerator in hopes that the dough would harden. Chilling the dough did not make too big a difference as it was still difficult to cut out the shapes, but we tried out best. After cutting out the shapes, Erica carefully transfered them onto the pan with a spatula. We decided to make gingerbread men, Christmas trees, and snowmen. :D I decorated the gingerbread men with m&m buttons and used a toothpick to make a face. Poking holes for the eyes and mouth was fun. =)



Cookies don't normally expand, do they? These did. There was no trace of those scrawny little gingerbread men we cut out - out of the oven, they're big guys. When they were baking in the oven, Erica peeked through the lit window and exclaimed that some cookies were sticking to each other. This worried me. But when we took the cookies out of the oven, we smiled at the sight of gingerbread men holding hands. <3

"Aww, they're friends!"

One batch of cookies came out a honey-golden-brown color. The other batch was a darker shade of brown. Erica worried that we burnt them. I joked that we could still sell the burnt cookies by saying that we added cocoa powder to that batch. XD But they tasted alright~

Jenni was evidently very enthusiastic about making gingerbread houses because she brought lots of candy to decorate them. I did not have any candy at my place so I brought mixed nuts (cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, you name it) and animal crackers. ^^;;; I haven't made gingerbread houses since elementary school. I used to make them using milk cartons, graham crackers, frosting, and gummy bears. Reminiscing triggered something in my mind. A sudden realization hit me!

Everyone I know uses graham crackers to construct their houses and I have never seen anyone use real gingerbread. @_@; But I guess the name works better. Graham cracker house doesn't sound as pretty.

We were all pretty excited to be making our first gingerbread house from scratch and with real gingerbread. I happily thought to myself, "These will be genuine gingerbread houses, not fake ones!"



Making gingerbread houses from scratch is no doubt a difficult task. It is no wonder people used graham crackers - they are easy, convenient, and uniformly shaped. We had to cut out dough with a knife to make the rounded corners straight. My gingerbread house kept falling down. The trick is to be persistent...and to stick it into the freezer before it falls on you again.


Presenting the gingerbread house before it goes into the freezer.

(I only notice now that one side of the roof was lopsided. Oh well.) The frosting hardened pretty quick and I was eager to start the decorating~! I started by slithering frosting on the gingerbread and sticking snow caps onto the roof.


Me & Erica's gingerbread house (left) and Jenni's (right).

Jenni decorated the top of her roof with peppermint kisses and used cereal to create the look of a tiled roof (she loved the idea after seeing it in a Martha Stewart magazine). I wanted to give my house color and variety so all four sides were decorated differently. Erica helped me decorate one wall with a variety of nuts (Jenni commented on how they looked like bricks), another wall with a candy cane, the third side with red & green gum drops, and the fourth side with peppermint kisses.


Isn't it pretty?

I propped a "reindeer" on top of the house for a finishing touch. (In actuality, I have no clue what animal it is but it passes for being a reindeer. ^.~)


Finished product!

Weak

Yikes! I didn't realize that my last post was in October and that it's almost the end of November! How time flies! Not much is new with me. I had a sore throat last Friday, which developed into a cold and a slight fever on Saturday. I called the library to tell them I was not feeling well. Instead, I chose to stay home to do my English homework (part of my never-ending list of work to do). I guess that wasn't such a bright idea, though, because I fell off my chair when I was typing the revision of an essay. I mean, what kind of idiot does that?! I scraped the part of my arm that is a little above my elbow. Ouch!

On Sunday, I was especially stressing in the morning because I felt horrible and sickly but I had a lot of studying to do and oh no why can't time stop just once? But no, I still had to study, sick or not. I didn't want to fail...I grew up having that to be one of my biggest fears. I took A LOT of different pills (for sore throat, cold, fever, etc.) and studied in vain. My head was pounding slightly and I was feeling incredibly weak so I laid in bed for a while. After napping for an hour or so, I woke up with my head spinning more than ever. I hate that I can't take naps in the afternoon when I feel tired because I always wake up with a headache.

In the afternoon, Jenny and Zane left to buy Zane a suit. It was a miracle that my parents didn't bother me so I was able to concentrate on studying for my Chapter 7 & 8 Physics test in peace. And a miracle happened because I could actually concentrate (or maybe it's just the pills doing the magic, hehe). It's always very hard for me to read my Physics textbook. I dread it because I never understand what I'm reading. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and discipline to go through it. =) After five hours or so, I felt confident that I would do well on the test tomorrow. At night, I started studying for the Chapter 3 math test. I stayed up a little later than I intended because I saw some pictures of Dong Bang Shin Ki and I simply could NOT stop myself from going through them and saving them. I swear, the fangirl in me took over my body.

Me, "Go to sleeeeeppp! You have a test first thing tomorrow and you're sick."
Fangirl, "Wow, lookit how big these scans are!"
Me, "Look at the time. You have school tomorrow."
Fangirl, "Oh my gosh, not only pictures of Jaejoong, but all the other members too! <3"
Me, "GO TO SLEEP!"
Fangirl, "Har har, Micky looks weird in this picture."
Me, "..."

The fangirl won and I had to wait until she was satisfied with all the pictures she saved before going to bed. @_@

My fever is gone now (I think) but my cold is still there because I had to blow my nose multiple times during the test. My friend (who sat next to me) also caught a cold so we were both blowing our noses, lol. It seems like I just have to get sick at least once a year or something...and I'm especially vulnerable in the winter. (What is wrong with me! I live in Hawaii!)

I hope everyone else is taking better care of themselves than me! Take care!

Lee Junki Appearance @ HIFF

Lee Junki made a special appearance at the 27th Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival last Friday, October 19. He was presented with the "Rising Star" award at the U.S. premiere of his latest movie, "May 18" at the Hawaii Theatre.

I did not expect to get to see Lee Junki because 1) I found out last minute, 2) Tickets must be sold out, and 3) Tickets must be expensive. But no, tickets were not sold out and tickets were only $12. Yay!

The movie did not start until 8:00 pm, but there were already long lines of people waiting when my friend, my sister and I showed up at 6:00 pm. Standing in line was a horrible experience because we literally had to smell poop (this was an area where homeless people dwell) for more than an hour. We passed the time talking to another wonderful Lee Junki fan standing in line with us. Although we all just met, we got along very well because we fangirled together had similar interests. We even exchanged email addresses before exchanging names! ^___^

At around 7:30 pm, the lines started moving, a black limousine drove by, and screams erupted. I ran to the front. At first, I couldn't see anything because there were so many people, but they all held their cameras and phones up, snapping away so I knew he was in the crowd somewhere. And then I spotted him! My heart nearly stopped.



It is not that I was particularly in love with him (I am now), but the experience of seeing him in real life, and not on television or in pictures, is staggering. He was just as beautiful and handsome pretty as he is in pictures, if not more. This was my only shot of him standing outside because people were blocking my view. =(

We were lucky to snag seats in the front, where we met more Lee Junki fans. Again, we spoke like old friends. (Fangirls unite!) It felt like forever before Lee Junki finally appeared on stage. Along with the "Rising Star" award, he was also presented with a bowl made of koa wood.



I felt very happyyy for him! ^^ He began his speech with the traditional, "Aloha!" His accent was fobby, but so adorable. <3 There were two translators: English and Japanese. After he said one line, he would wait for the English translator to finish her translation. He then opened his mouth to say his next line when he was interuppted by a man saying, "Wait, wait. Japanese first." IT WAS SO CUTE. <3 He forgot that there was a second translator more than once. xD

The movie experience was not as wonderful. For starters, the theater experienced some "technical difficulties." I couldn't believe that they experienced problems on such a night. ^^; There was no sound in the beginning. The sound came back on when the movie started but we found something new to complain about: the quality of the film was bad. The movie looked like it was being played from the computer.

"May 18" started out good. I loved the first half in the movie...and it is entirely coincidental that Lee Junki starred in only the first half. Or maybe not...? I really enjoyed the scenes between the brothers, Jin Woo (Lee Junki) and Min Woo (Kim Sang Kyung). My favorite scene is the bicycle scene (people who watched it should know what I'm referring to). I won't describe the scene because I know I will take the humor out of it.

I did not understand some parts of the movie very well because I was not familiar with the historical context behind the movie. I did some research after seeing the movie (*coughcough*) and the movie basically recounted the Kwangju Massacre in Kwangju, South Korea that lasted for ten days from May 18, 1980. The movie focused on the people caught in the upheaval and presented a shallow portrayal of the events. All of the soldiers were "evil" and all of the civilians were "innocent." I only got to see the civilians' side of the story. I found it horrifying to see so many innocent civilians getting beaten to death by soldiers. Somehow, watching this sort of violence on screen feels even worse than watching soldiers kill with guns or cannons. Women and children were not spared.

During the movie, I cried during a scene where a dad gets killed while trying to tries to save his son during an attack. The next scene showed Jin Woo trying to help an injured person. He also gets shot in the process. These scenes were heart wrenching. However, I felt that the biggest flaw of the movie was that they over-victimized the civilians, making it seem somehow phony. I think the filmmakers tried too hard to gain sympathy from the viewers which played down their effect of pathos rather than playing it up. To appeal to the audience's emotions, "less is more." I found a few scenes that were unnecessary and could have been removed. In fact, I think the movie would have been a lot better if they removed the third of multiple scenes of Chang Su's blind mother crying for him and the scene where a little boy cries for his dead father. In another scene, the civilians started dying one by one as they battled against the soldiers at the City Hall. One guy starts to say his name on the walkie-talkie and is later joined by others who go down. The talking scenes went on for quite a while and I felt that they were overly redundant. I do not mean to sound heartless, but it felt like too much.

The movie did hold surprises for me. I never expected to see Jin Woo killed off so early in the first half of the movie because he was our star. <3 It was also the first time I've seen a movie in which the main hero (Min Woo) of the movie dies (and it was a very senseless death, too). In fact, all of our main characters die except for Shin Ae, our leading girl. =(

If the movie weren't so shallow and if a few scenes are deleted, I would have like it a lot more.

...But I'm happy because I got to see Lee Junki. <3

Feeling Junk

** Sorry if there's pidgin (local slang used in Hawaii) here. There is no better words to use.

Yesterday, Zane got his own American Savings Bank account. It may be stupid, but this made me feel junk. I went through a lot of (unnecessary?) trouble just to get an account there, even had a few strings pulled because my mom's friend worked there. But Zane gets one just like that, with the snap of his fingers. It's not like I'm feeling resentment or anything of that sort. Of course not - I'm very happy for him. But that doesn't change the fact that I feel junk. It seems that I always end up taking the hard way out when there is an easier path to follow. It sucks.

Last night, I found out that Zane wasn't even taking the PSAT! I was so shocked and I really couldn't believe it. But Jenny was all like, 'whatever' about it and said, "Doesn't matter because he's going to college."

This made me feel junk too. I was really stressing yesterday and doing some last minute cramming for the test because there was never any time for me to study before. Now it's like all the studying I've been doing is for nothing.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

Long Overdue Post on Fall Break

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. My sister hogs the computer way too much. For evidence, you go to her websites and see that they are updated more frequently than mine. And...I've been busy. I planned to write about my fall break, but that was more than a week ago now. I don't quite feel like blogging too much about it now. Still! I have pictures! So let that be the excuse for this overdue post. =)

Sunday (Oct 1)
I went out with Jenny and Zane for lunch and a little bit of shopping. And just because I want to show off my lunch:



Tokyo Shoyu Ramen @ Mikazuki inside Shirokiya



Monday
I planned for this day weeks before fall break started. My friends and I were all stressed from school and work so I figured we could all use a little cheering up. Although we see each other every day at school, it's not the same as getting together just to have fun. And I mentioned before how a friend neglected all her friends because of her boyfriend...well, this was a girls-only-fabulous-fun-day. This means he CANNOT come along. He actually called while we were putting cucumbers on our faces, but my other friend snatched her phone away. xD We baked matcha roll cake with azuki beans and gave ourselves the "beauty treatment" (my ideas).



Matcha roll cake w/ azuki beans & apple cider


It tasted like a dream come true...


Just b/c I like this shot and you can't really see our faces...(I'm in the middle.)


Tuesday & Wednesday
Work @ the library.

Thursday
I went bowling to celebrate a friend's birthday. I hit a strike, but suffered from a mysterious losing streak afterward. I was doing fine in the beginning, but after lunch, I got zero after zero. o_o; Hm. Bad luck sushi?

Friday
This was the longest day. I set my alarm to wake me up at 6:10 AM, but I forgot to put in a CD so I woke up 20 minutes late. On Friday, I was supposed to go hiking at Diamond Head with Erica and the Vietnamese Club. I'm not in the club, but I'm going anyway just because Erica invited me and I've never been to Diamond Head. *smiles* Erica estimated to be finished with the hike at 12, everyone was telling me how we had to climb a 100-step staircase, and Ha complained that her legs were killing her. All of this made me think it would be a long and difficult process to get to the top.

The hike was actually slightly disappointing for me because it was so short. It was an easy hike - not challenging at all. The trick is to watch your feet. The path is rocky so you can easily trip, fall, and break your back. And the infamous stairs! Not difficult at all! A hundred steps are nothing! ;D (I know my sister will have something to say about this...tsk,tsk.)

The view at the top was spectacular. There were many Japanese tourists and I heard someone exclaim, "Sugoi!" Sugoi, indeed! :D I made a gallery of this trip and you can view it here. (If you go to the Photography page, you would notice that there are two more galleries - 6 & 7. I'm going to put that up later because there are too many photos to deal with right now.) The first shot in the gallery was taken before our hike. Erica spotted a stray cat so I snapped a picture of it. Erica was second to take out her camera, but one picture was enough to scare the cat away. XD Sorry, Erica! You can have my picture (just ask)! I also have a picture of stairs in one of the shots...people told me that was the 100 steps staircase, but they were mistaken! Those were NOT the staircase...there were actually three sets of staircases. Thankfully, I did take a picture on the real staircase:



Erica (in pink) and me on the 100-steps staircase.


We finished the hike three hours before 12 so our "lunch" became our "breakfast." XP

I say this is a long day because I also went out later that night with an old friend from elementary school. <3 I've never attended a "First Friday" before. "First Friday" is an event that happens on the first Friday of every month. Galleries in Chinatown/Downtown are open for public viewing. There is much entertainment such as live music. Many shops and restaurants are also open. =3 We went to the The Arts at Marks Garage and I really liked this piece:



I don't remember the title, but it costs $1800.

It is an interesting piece, but I would rather use my money for the Japan trip, hehe. ^^ I also took pictures of paintings but those didn't come out well due to the glare of the lighting. My favorite place was the Ramsay museum. Ramsay is an AMAZING artist and I'm officially a fan now. I'm sad that I can't find any of her works online so I can't show you guys. =( What sets her apart from all the other artists is her extraordinary attention to detail. When I first entered the museum, I noticed that there was a magnifiying glass hanging next to each peace of her artwork. I found the sight to be quite comical...but you can only truly come to appreciate her fine lines when you view them up close. It's astonishing.

Here are some other pieces that I liked:



All of the members of the Chinese zodiac!


A close up of me!


Cute teacup set.


I really liked that teacup set...I thought it was irresistably cute...simply adorable. This was at the grand opening of a new furniture shop called [area]. I'm sure it was unaffordable so I didn't bother looking for the price.



Pretty vase.


I fell in love at first sight with this gorgeous vase at the shop "into" (yes, it's called into), but pictures don't do justice. -_-

It's getting really late now so that's all for now. Good night!

Adventures at the Library

Here I am, taking a long little break from homework to give you guys some insider scoop on the library! How exciting! No, actually, I can't give away too much. I don't think I feel too stressed yet with all the work I have. At least, I hope not. o_o;

Today is my fourth day at work, making it 7.5 hours. *smiles* At first, I really wondered whether the job was worth all the trouble that I went through to get it (that definitely caused me alot of stress!) I spent two weeks with trips to and from the Federal Credit Union, pulled strings to get an account at the American Savings Bank (my mother's friend works there, thank goodness), visited the Satellite City Hall twice to get my state ID (they were closed on my first trip there so I only got to pick up an application form), and filled out fifteen forms.

But I think this job is good for me. It's probably going to be the easiest and least strenuous jobs that exist out there. My supervisor, Kristine*, is one of the most eccentric people I've met, but she's very kind.

* name change

I got hired to be a student helper at the Social Science & Philosophy section. It consists a small staff of only five people. I've spent the past few days under "training" but I can't wait until I'm done with it so that I could actually help out with some real work. Kristine constantly tells me how her supervisor has really high standards and expectations. Hearing this makes me want to show her that I can do a better job than any other previous student helpers they've had. I want to exceed her expectations.

Most people find having a job at the library boring, even my friends who work there. Maybe I'll get bored later on, but I've done this for three years in Middle School (I was one of the nerdy cool kids in the Library Club) and it wasn't bad.

Yesterday, I had a tour around the third floor (staff only) of the library and was introduced to many people. I got to peak across the hallway to the busy director's office. Kristine showed me the "most important room" - the lunch room. It was connected to a spacious kitchen. There were three refrigerators, three microwaves, a stereo, and a toaster. She tells me this like I'm expected to remember the number of appliances the lunch room contained. The quirky thing about the lunch room were the puzzles. There were hundreds of boxes of puzzles...!

"To keep sanity," Kristine tells me.

There was even something called a "cot room" in which there were two beds for workers who weren't feeling well, are tired, or haven't had enough sleep. o_o;

"You can practically live here!" Kristine jokes.

Throughout the tour, Kristine kept warning me of safety precautions. In fact, she is so paranoid that I find this her caution to be peculiar. Maybe something has happened to her in the past that caused her to be this way. While we were on our way to a staff-only elevator, she tells me to make sure the door latch is shut behind me. Her eyes widen as she exclaims, "Who knows when a drug addict may slip in!" She goes on to explain that if they find the door to the staff room open, they might sneak in and try to find anything they could use to sell so they can buy more drugs. Kristine looked dead serious, but I can't help finding the scene comical. I can't imagine what a bunch of old, dusty, about-to-be-discarded books and ballpoint pens might be worth. She also tells me, "When you see a strange man in the elevator that just gives your skin the tingles, you trust your instincts and don't go in the elevator with him!"

I hope none of the things she is telling me will make me into a paranoid freak (I'm paranoid enough already!)

She continues talking about meeitng strange, scary, and dangerous men as we walk down another bare hallway to another room. A man walked by in the middle of her rants. Kristine looks up and exclaims, "Oh, Charles! Let me introduce you to our new student helper."

Charles smiles and says, "You're telling her that I'm scary and to stay away, huh?"

Kristine replies, "Oh, goodness, no! I was just telling her..." She explains what she has been telling me for the past half hour while Charles nods his head in swift motions. "Oh, Charles! I wasn't talking about you!"

I don't remember this episode as well anymore so the description is not very good, but it was extremely funny and we all had a good laugh out of it.

Today I learned that there was more to being a student helper than just shelving books and keeping the place neat and tidy. They have other little tasks to do behind the staff room door. I've even learned of things that "are not to be revealed to the public." (Like top secret entrances to the library before it opens to the public!) *smiles*

P.S. Did I ever mention that in my time spent at the library, I've come across many interesting book titles? Here are a few:

- "A Manual for the Police Officer: How to Handle Abnormal People" (spotted on first day)
- "Spies and Provocateurs: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Persons Conducting Espionage and Covert Action"
- "Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters"
- "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History"

I make it a game to spot one everyday! It'll be something I can look forward to keep myself amused.

I'm a Nutcase. Really.

I AM SO STUPID.

I can say I'm the stupidest person in the world and it wouldn't be an exaggeration. I'm sure you can't help but agree after you read this post. So don't if you still want to believe in me.

I don't know why I kept screwing up today at school. But I did. Over and over again.

It began first period (Physics EA). The teacher gave us a pop quiz (our second one already!) It's funny how I just learned how to "vector" in PS over the summer, yet I can't make any sense of vectoring in Physics.

I started stupidly at the problem on the blackboard for half an hour, trying to graph vector A = 5m 40 degrees W. I thought to myself, "Is it 40 degrees in the direction of the protractor or the graph?" I got really confused because south would mean I had to turn my protractor upside-down. But the protractor's "west" would become the graph's "east." Which direction was I supposed to follow?

At first, I felt confident that I would figure it out eventually. Perhaps it was a temporary brain fart and I would start to understand after I relaxed a bit. Relax I did not and nothing came to me. Minutes passed by and I still had no idea. I kept drawing, erasing, redrawing, and erasing. I gave up on the graph after a while and decided to proceed on to the calculations. But I couldn't do those, either! Maybe an hour passed before I noticed people around me using their notes. >__> I quickly grabbed my own notes from my binder. Alas, I didn't even understand my own notes (you must be thinking how much more hopeless can this girl get but oh boy, she can!) I suddenly felt that old panic that came back to haunt me.

I was in the fifth grade, staring at the horrendous "F" sitting on my test paper. Yes, that infamous "F" that preyed on so many students. I had never been a victim until that day. And to this day, it was still my only "F." You might be wondering what kind of test it was, coming from the girl who worked so hard to receive A's from all her math tests, even when one problem's calculations took up an entire page. It was the most horrible kind of test: street maps that required labeling of all sorts. I had to do a map of my own neighborhood. I didn't know what was considered the "back" or "front" of my home, nor what direction school was from home. Back then, I had a big problem with "north" and "south." To this day, I still can't make any sense of directions. It's so confusing!

Getting back to Physics class...the teacher was nice enough to let everyone take the quiz until the end of class. I gave up a while after the bell rang and tried my best to hold back tears.

My last period of the day was English. I did not turn in the homework that I worked so and on last night because I apparently left it at home. I thought I remembered putting it in my binder, but I guess it was only my imagination. This is another problem - sometimes I can't differentiate what really happened and what I only thought happened. There are many times that I don't know dream from reality.

(As I write this, I'm starting to think I'm more of a nutcase than I thought.)

As I have mentioned before, English is currently one of my worst subjects (it didn't used to be). In class, Mr. Nickelsen would pass out different articles that we had to interpret through SOAPS (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker). So far, I haven't been able to get any of my responses correct. I either didn't understand the text, or I misinterpreted it. When we were assigned to read, "Once More to the Lake" by E.B. White, I was excited because I thought that this was the first time I truly understood the essay. I was proud of my answers, no bull-shitting necessary. But I didn't have it with me in class.

Our English class starts everyday with some journal writing. The teacher explained that he will check and grade our journals every five entries. Well, today happened to be the fifth day. And no, I didn't leave my journal home like you might have guessed. And I did write my fifth journal. We turned our homework in at the end of class and I was in a frenzy trying to find my homework (the one with the answers that I'm so proud of and the one I printed twice so it'd be perfect). I was a mess. Friends tried to help me look for it, but it couldn't be found. I was so upset that I gathered everything on my desk and left the classroom. I also stuffed my journal in my bag. On the very day we were supposed to turn them in.

No, it wasn't that I didn't realize I had it. I realized just in time, actually. I walked across the football field, opened my bag, saw the journal, muttered, "Oh shit," and ran back across the field to the English building. When I reached the building, I was devastated to find the door closed and locked. I knocked in vain and looked around me. There were other students hanging around nearby. I asked them if they by any chance knew where Mr. Nickelsen went. After all, they were right in front of his door and might be waiting for him, too. Nobody knew and one girl even asked, "Who's Nickelsen?" I paced back and forth in front of his door, debating whether I should wait in case he comes back or just leave. After a few minutes, I decided I waited long enough and left.

Now that I'm sitting nicely back at home, I hit another terrible realization. Guys, I'm really much more stupid than you think. I'm so stupid that it's unbelievable and telling this to others would only sound like fibbing.

The closed classroom that I furiously and embarrassingly ran back to was not my classroom. Not at all. You see, the English building has two sides and I had run to the wrong side of the building. The two sides look identical and I often get them mixed up.

I swear. If Joyce didn't guide walk with me to class everyday, I would have walked into the wrong classroom!

A Lost Friend?

This morning, I woke up feeling groggier than usual. I couldn't find my comb, my eye glass case, and a great number of other items. Things always seem to mysteriously disappear from our room! I was filled with depressing thoughts on the bus ride to school. The sadness that I've kept inside of me all this time was just itching to burst out any moment, but I held it in and tried to think good thoughts.

When she came to the cafeteria, she gave me five blueberry cupcakes as a part of my late birthday present. I felt very grateful for them because I didn't like today's school lunch. She also wrote a letter apologizing and acknowledging the fact that she didn't even wish me a happy birthday. I was surprised and almost felt like crying.

All of this time, I couldn't help feeling extremely hurt and bitter. We drifted apart when she got a boyfriend. Whenever I try to talk to her, I can't because her boyfriend is always there interrupting our conversation with rude and sarcastic remarks. He clings to her 24/7 and I rarely see her alone anymore. When we all sit together with other friends at lunch and in class, she talks to other people. It almost seems like she's ignoring me. The only time she does pay any attention to me is during US History class because I'm practically the only person she knows (aside from one or two other girls). It made me feel like I was below others on her list and that she would rather talk to other people. It is like I'm her last resort because there is no one else to talk to. Maybe having a boyfriend means neglecting your friends a bit. I know it's not intentional, but it did hurt. She has been aloof and distant, especially on my birthday. On the morning of my birthday, she only spoke to a friend sitting across from me and then left to sit at another table with her boyfriend. No "hi" or "good morning." I made an attempt to be friendly with her in Physics class by pointing out that we were both wearing yellow, but that was about it. She didn't talk to me AT ALL. Maybe she doesn't even realize that she's been cold, but I really felt like I'm not her friend anymore. Friends know each other and all of a sudden, she seemed like a stranger to me. Do I really know anything about her?

Today was slightly different. For the first time in what felt like years (it was actually months), she sat next to me at the lunch table and watched me eat her cupcakes. They were incredibly moist and I like how she was generous with the blueberries. <3 Her boyfriend wasn't at the table because he had cafeteria duty so we could actually talk.

She tells me that it's difficult to juggle having a boyfriend and friends at the same time. Well, she has obviously chosen her boyfriend over her friends. I've never felt so neglected before.

I miss the old days.

Sixteen Years Old

This Thursday was my sweet sixteenth. I don't understand why turning sixteen is supposed to be special because mine was not special at all. I don't feel any different, and only a handful of people remembered my birthday. Everyone else (including my entire family) forgot. At times, I even forgot my own birthday because it was such an ordinary day. I know it is my fault for not telling them, but it would be weird to say, "It's my birthday." I truly don't mind, though. I was only hurt that one of my "close" friends did not even say hi to me on that day, much less wish me a happy birthday. I hate boyfriends because they get in the way.

Today was a nice and relaxing Saturday. My older sister treated me to a late birthday lunch at Dreamers Home Style Cafe, which is becoming one of my favorite restaurants. I love the decor and the nice ambience it carries. They offer many common dishes, but their food always has this unique taste that I can't quite pinpoint. Anyway, I'm not a food blogger so I can't describe it. All you need to know is that it was good and I ate like a pig. =)

I realize I haven't blogged since school started. I'm busy, already! Harhar.

--
My new classes:

Period 1: Physics EA*
The teacher is Ms. Rasay. We were already familiar with each other's faces because we've seen each other during the Engineering Expos. All we needed to learn were the names. I don't know if it's some sort of curse at this school, but all of the science teachers I've had so far have bad English! During my freshman year in Biology BSCS, my teacher was Ms. Hu. She had a horrible Chinese accent. During my sophomore year in Chemistry EA, my teacher was Ms. Trinh. She had a horrible Vietnamese accent. And this year? She's Filipino. With a horrible Filipino accent. Class didn't start off too well for me...I think she pinched me on the first day of school because I didn't know the radius of a hydrogen atom. ;o;

Period 2: Graphics Communication
Hmmm, not much to say about this class except that the work is easy and that the teacher reminded me of Mr. Oshiro, my wood workshop teacher back in Middle School.

Period 3: Travel Industry Management
I really regret taking this elective. ;_; I'm stuck with a bunch of loud and immature sophomores and I don't have a single friend here. A boring class.

Period 4: Pre Calculus EA*
I'm already expecting to have a hard time in this class. ><;;; I think I failed the first quiz. *sigh*

Period 5: AP English
I haven't had a decent, proper English class in four long years. Seriously. I was itching to finally learn something! Although this class is difficult, I don't hate it. =) I actually enjoy it because I like the teacher and my classmates (many of them are from my World History Honors class last year). I'm just so eager to improve my vocabulary, reading and writing skills!

Period 6: US History
It is just my luck to be stuck with the strange teacher that talks about sugar and peeling corn. I think we're doing the Civil War.

*EA = Engineering Academy
--

I also added a new gallery in the Photography section. They're pictures of Waikiki again, only this time there are more beach shots. My personal favorite shot is the first one. =)

Last Day of Freedom

What I did over the summer:

1) Went to a sumo tournament with my sister and an old friend. <3
2) Watched and finished the anime, Daddy-Long-Legs.
3) Successfully baked mango-banana cupcakes.
4) Drew 2 pieces of CG art and my first vector piece.
5) Volunteered at Panya's 10th Anniversary Party.
6) Cooked.
7) Read four books (on my 5th one now): "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown, "Daddy-Long-Legs" by Jean Webster, "The Samurai's Garden" by Gail Tsukiyama, and "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson.
8) Watched four movies (Swing Girls, Waterboys, The Illusionist, Dirty Dancing).
9) Read 28 manga books.
10) Made a new layout for Musical Chairs.
11) Made felt plushies.
12) WAX & Lee Ki Chan concert @ the 6th Annual Korean Festival.
13) Car wash for Japan trip fundraiser.
14) Finally tried a shot of wheatgrass juice @ Jamba Juice. DX
15) Almost literally smacked into someone famous at the mall!
16) Drew JaeJoong.
17) Learned 48 Japanese vocabulary.
18) Ate kiwi fruit for the first time and it's yummy.
18) Tried foccacia bread for the first time and it's yummy.
19) Tried wasabi for the first time and it's not yummy.
20) Made Junsu doll (see above). <333

I hope tomorrow will be a great day and that the new school year will have good things to come.

You're just too good beautiful to be true...

...can't take my eyes off of you.

Here's a quick update to announce the addition of a new portrait!!! I can't believe it has been more than a year since the last one.

Comments and criticisms are welcome (but not criticsms about JaeJoong!) =)

I might edit this post later because it's so short. ._.;

"...dancing in summer paradise"

Yay! The new layout is finally up! ^^ I think the previous one has been up for more than a year already...longer than I thought. My summer vacation is almost over so I finished the layout just in time. How does everyone like it? The layout design is pretty simple, which gives more emphasis on the layout image drawn by me. I realize that out of the four years of this website's existence, only two layouts featured my artwork (including this one.) Haha, I guess I really suck if I couldn't even stand my own drawing. Since I made this one, it must mean I'm proud of it (the other layout featured a portrait I drew of Keita Tachibana, which I considered to be my best). ^^ You can learn more about the layout on the Information page and more about the drawing here (it is listed under Digital Artwork/CG Art).

I also spent most of this morning revising the content (I always seem to do this when I put a new layout up) so a few things have changed here and there. *smile* I also finally separated the Artwork section into two separate pages: Traditional Drawings and my Digital Artwork. If you take a look at my old artwork and the recent additions, you can see a huge gap in the time difference. It has been about a year since I made any new additions! Shame on me! I'm glad that I was at least able to complete one of my goals to draw this summer. ^____^

Camp Erdman: Last Day (Part 6 of 6)

Continued from the previous post...


The third day was only half day and we had to go home. Nobody wanted to go home. Everyone wanted to stay longer. I felt the same. Why couldn't we have just stayed until the weekend at least?

I didn't know when I woke up, but I knew what woke me up. My aching shoulders. On the previous day, I didn't feel any pain except for my hands so I couldn't imagine hurting anywhere else. I realized that my upper arms and shoulders hurt. When I tried moving my legs, I realized I had two bruises on my left leg (I don't know how it got there). I slept all night curled up in a fetus position so I tried to stretch a bit. It hurt to stretch. I laid in bed, listening to the noisy birds chirp. Boy, were they loud! I was wondering if anyone else in the cabin was awake, but it seemed to be only me. I rushed to the bathroom to pee and jumped back in bed. I wondered what time it was. Out of all the students, only two very smart people thought to bring watches: Hoang and Michelle. I didn't know there wouldn't be a clock. The batteries in my watch were used up anyway. I lay in bed for a while and closed my eyes, trying to get a little bit more sleep. Eventually, I heard the noisy kids from an elementary school walk by our cabin. I should have known that it was time to get up at this time. If they were up, we should be up too. I had no logic and no common sense. I continued to lie in bed.

Everyone ended up oversleeping. We were late for breakfast. It was my fault for no waking everyone up. Some didn't even get the opportunity to brush their teeth! Breakfast was the classic scrambled eggs, sausages, and rice combo. After breakfast, we were given time to go back to our cabins and pack our things. After packing, we had some more "quiet time."

After the writing, we met at Crosson Hall and sat in a circle. We took out a piece of paper and wrote our name in big letters at the top. The paper got passed around the circle and each person wrote a nice comment about that person. We did some more picture taking before we left. It was a really quick leave. Everyone was really sad.

My overall camp experience was amazing. The actual experience somehow felt different from what is being written here. Undergoing all those challenges made everyone bond at camp. I like how everyone at camp are such fun people...!

In my opinion, camp itself wasn't so great. I did not expect the camp staff members to be the way they were. To put it in a nice way, I guess I can say they were very "laid-back." They did their job, but they didn't seem too...enthusiastic. I don't know - that's just my impression. I can understand if they aren't because they probably have to do the same things over and over when some silly school kids come to visit. They are used to the stuff we did and they are probably bored with it, but they should at least try harder to be more into it because it was a new experience for us. I learned to trust Luli, but I found some of the other staff members to be quite unfriendly.

I guess the challenges we had at camp made it interesting but I think it was more the people that made being here at camp awesome. During the discussions, everyone opened up and said how they felt. We were becoming more familiar with each other. We created many memories and if we joked around, nobody would understand unless they were one of us. I can't put this feeling in words. But it's easy and simple enough to say that I had a blast at camp.

Que Sera Sera*

*To explain the title, I've been listening to the song (Doris Day and Pink Martini's version) and watching the drama. All three are <333!

Gosh, I haven't updated the artwork section in the longest time...and Inspiration is supposed to be an artwork site. *slaps self* Even though my left hand (my drawing hand!) is all swollen and puffy from the stupid mosquito bites I received at the library the other day, I shouldn't use that as an excuse. Oh no, I'm here to finally bring you some updates!

I finished my second CG art this Tuesday. You can view it here. Comments are also made on that page.

My sister and I have also been making some cards for the craft fair to fund for our Japan trip next spring. I really hope they will sell...!


My sister makes the cutest cards!


The cards I made...

The card on the right is the first one I made. I also took a close-up of the drawing I did. You can view it here. ^^


Pretty girls in kimonos.
We also made bookmarks from a kit provided by Oda sensei. The quality of the paper was outstanding. I was so nervous when I was using them that it was the first time I cut so straight using scissors! The one on the left is made by my sister and the one on the right is made by me.

And some pictures of what I cooked up this past week:




My lunch today.

If they happen to look random, that's because it is. I always cook with whatever ingredients I can find in the kitchen. And if you're wondering why noodles all the time, it is because we have a thousand packets of noodles simply waiting to be used!

A Lonely Summer

I haven't blogged in a while. It has been a little over two weeks since school ended. Having no real friends is depressing but I tell myself I am independent to make myself feel better. =)

Since summer began, there has been a major change in the pace of my life. Sometimes, I find it boring. At other times, I am perfectly content with all the free time I have to relax and do what I want. I now have the chance to work on some handicraft (my new obsession hobby) and practice my culinary skills. I am far from being adept in either areas, but I'll try to master them the best I can. My lovely sister already made a bunch of lovely softies! She recently finished Usotsuki to accompany Warumono from Aranzi Aronzo.


I designed some cards using my original art. These are prototypes that I gave to Oda sensei for approval to sell at the craft fair. I still foolishly cling to the hope that I can make enough money to go on the Japan trip.

I don't feel like saying much else. Pictures will suffice.



Does she look like Nyozeka?

Working hard and diligently studying Japanese.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Mango-banana Cupcakes

Innards

------


Ehhh? What is Usotsuki doing, ogling at my new Evan CD?!


Uh oh. Warumono is getting some funny ideas. I knew I shouldn't have left Death Note lying around.

You can't take your eyes off them for even one second. Please excuse me while I make sure these bad boys don't make any more trouble. =)

Camp Erdman: My Misery and the Stars (Part 5 of 6)

It has been a while since I made another camp post. Sorry for taking so long! I'm sure nobody cares by now, but I will finishing up since the next camp post will be the last part.

Note: Looking back, this affair was extremely embarassing for me so I wasn't sure if I should post it. But I have decided to be honest with all the events that happened during camp, even of the things that I am not proud of. This was the only one time I felt unhappy during camp, but it helped me to grow stronger. I think that if this happened again, I would have acted differently.

Continued from the previous post...


A class picture behind the campfire.
After doing the skit, late night snack (this time it was pizza) and "discussion," we made our own campfire. It took us a long time to get a fire going. It is silly how people get fires started unintentionally and here we are trying our best to start a fire! It was really difficult. Once we successfully made fire, people took turns to say a speech. We took some group pictures behind the fire and then went star gazing.

I was looking forward to star gazing until the teachers told us to lie on the sand. As prissy as this sounds, I don't like the idea of getting my clothes dirty, but I reluctantly laid down on the gritty sand. We were bunched up like a pack of sardines, touching shoulder to shoulder. The night sky was magnificent. I think this was the first time in my life that I saw so many stars in the sky. I only recognized the Orion belt. It was nice for a little while, but in time I wanted to get back up. The teachers wanted everyone to stay down. Suddenly, I felt someone on top of me. It was Juri! I realized that she was making her way across the sand, just rolling on top of us. That crazy girl. I thought she was the only one until another person tried it. And another. And another. Finally, even Ms. Nakamura rolled on top of us! Sam grew excited and decided to try it, but she rolled off course. It was hilarious. I don't know how long I laid down there, but it felt like forever. I think we must have laid there for an hour. Michelle showed me her watch and it blinked 10:40pm! We laid there long after that, me waiting patiently for us to go back to our cabins.

I loved the night sky, but I was freezing. I wasn't wearing my jacket in an attempt to keep it clean but with insane people rolling on top of me, my efforts were wasted. I tried to concentrate on the stars, but my vision grew blurry, even with my glasses on. People started singing random kiddy songs and Disney songs. It went on and on. I wanted to go, but I stayed because everyone else was having such a great time. I wasn't sure if they wanted to leave yet. Some even suggested lying in the sand until morning. I panicked and hoped they weren't serious. I tried waiting some more until I was absolutely stiff from the cold. I was feeling extremely uncomfortable and I felt my muscles tense up. I tried telling myself to stop being such a spoil-sport. As Janelle would say, I should "chillax." Loosen up. Try to enjoy myself. But I couldn't. I tried to rest my legs, but it was hard. I felt like Jack and Rose near the ending of the Titanic movie. Stiff and cold in the middle of the ocean. When I couldn't take it anymore, I forced myself to sit up.

Eventually, everyone got up and slowly walked back. It was hard for me to move in the sand. I felt drunk. When we went back to the camp, I couldn't hold back my tears. I really wanted to shower first, but I was scared of being selfish because I wasn't the only one who was dirty. Ha insisted on going first so I went second in a different bathroom. I finally got to relax when I got in the shower. My arms finally loosened up but my hands were still shaking and I dropped the showerhead I was holding. I then realized that my entire body was shaking. Not only that, I usually take baths so I wasn't used to the showers. I tried to calm myself down. Now I feel embarrassed for acting the way I did. I don't know what went wrong. Why did I have to be like that? I guess I can handle only so much after one day. Jenni was very understanding and asked if I were okay since I broke down crying in front of her earlier. I wanted to stay up a little later to write, but it was past midnight. The girls planned to have a "Project Runaway Show," but we were so tired and exhausted from the day's events that it wasn't held. Some immediately went to sleep. I lingered around longer, talking to Jenni and eating. I don't know when I finally went to sleep, but it must have been morning. That was a first since I have never been able to do this at home.

They're Not Fat, They're Muscular!

Today, I went to the 2007 Grand Sumo Tournament with Sarah and Jenny. I had won three tickets through Shirokiya's 2007 Grand Sumo Tournament Coloring Contest. Let me first say that I had no interest in sumo, really. It was the $50 Shirokiya Gift Certificate that caught my eye (think of all the free food!) I entered the contest even though I did not expect to win. It was just for fun. But I won, so I'm very happy. =)

At first, I did not know what to do with the tickets I received. At the time, I knew nothing of sumo except that they have many crazy fans in Japan. Yes, apparently they do have their share of fangirls (think fangirls with their favorite popstars). I did not understand their obsession because wrestling wasn't my thing. My reasoning was that I should give the tickets away to someone who truly loves sumo and who deserves them...alas, I found no such person. Now I can honestly say I'm very glad I did not give them away. =)


Spotted two!

Before the tournament began, Jenny, Sarah, and I were scavengering outside the Blaisdell Center, looking for something to eat and drink. The food and drinks were way overpriced ($2.50 for a water bottle!)...but we were hungry. Jenny had a chili hotdog for $4.50 and I had three small pieces of inari sushi for $2. While we were waiting for Sarah as she stood in line to get a drink, we spotted two sumos! They were putting mustard and ketchup on their hotdogs. Sumos eating hotdogs instead of chanko-nabe! How exciting! Of course I had to bust out my camera before they could get away!


We're finally here!

Uwahhh...I was so excited. The sumos came out to do a few warm-up stretches before starting.


Betcha can't do this.

Whoa...dude...everyone started clapping right away. =D


Introducing all the sumos...

They're all coming out. I don't know who's who, but whatever. The robes are pretty.

After introducing all the sumos, the host announced that it was time for some, "comic sumo" - things that the sumo wrestlers cannot do. I am sorry I couldn't catch any pictures during this event, but it was very entertaining to see. There were two sumos (a really skinny one and a really big one) that demonstrated what went against the rules. They did all sorts of funny things to make the audience laugh.


Push, push, push...!

After the comic sumo, a bunch of young'uns came out to strut their stuff. =3 Everyone seemed baffled but delighted by these little guys. The host announced over the speaker that they were the keiki (children) of Hawaii...so they're locals, not sumos-in-training like I originally thought. xD When they first put up the smallest little guy up on stage, he tripped backward. He was obviously scared. It was funny to see them all go up one by one, trying to challenge the bigger guys. There was one particular boy that was really aggressive and he pushed and pushed, struggling to get one win. The sumo was eventually "pushed" out of the ring so the little guy won. The above picture shows one kid who pushed and pushed, but failed to make the sumo budge. Many of them were also twirled in the air by the sumo. xD It looked fun but scary at the same time.


Charging all at once.

After all going up one by one (some with repeated tries), they were allowed to charge at the rikishi (big guys) all at once. What a sight to see!

The preliminary round and the first round began after a short intermission.The preliminary round consisted of six matches and the first round sixteen matches. I fell in love with sumo after watching a few matches. The experience was not what I expected.

I thought that sumo was just a bunch of fat guys goin' at each other...it is so much more than that. In fact, the matches hardly seems to last more than a few seconds. Sumo is a very old and unique sport that managed to maintain its formal rituals and etiquette from the past. It was all these rituals that took longer than the actual matches! They would crouch in the dohyo (the ring), clap to dispel the evil, and of course, wave a sea of salt across the dohyo. Not to mention, I find it funny how they sometimes seem to be throwing the salt in the gyoji (referee's) face. Then sometimes they'd glare at each other some more (thus, exciting the crowd) and grab some more salt to throw at each other purify the dohyo. And then the match would begin. It took a long time. xD


Takamisakari.
A sumo that I can remember in particular was Takamisakari because he was the crazy, riled up one. Before a match would begin, he would always go crazy, shaking his head and his body angrily, glaring at his opponent, and throwing salt aggressively across the dohyo. Takamisakari was remembered because he always made a scene. Frankly, I didn't know what his problem was. Perhaps he just wanted to excite the crowd (he did this succesfully). He seemed very boastful and cocky so I was glad when Ryuo, my second favorite sumo, defeated him in the second round.

Another formidable sumo wrestler was Kotooshu from Bulgaria. By far, he was the tallest (at 203 cm!!!) and one of the strongest sumos that went on stage that night. To sum it up in one word, this guy was scary.

Wakanosato was remembered for being the sumo wrestler with his own group of cheerleaders. Whenever he came up, they would start chanting his name and clapping in rhythm.

During the first round, the match that impressed me the most (aka the most memorable one) was the fourth match, between Ama (peaceful horse) and Chiyotaikai. Ama was smaller, but he managed to outwit his opponent, snatching victory before anyone could blink. As the tournament went on, I found myself cheering for this guy. He had technique and he was agile. Despite his obvious talent and skill, I felt a little scared for him because his opponents were always bigger than him. But he would come through every time. I loved watching his matches the most because he always made the most impressive wins. One of the more exciting matches was when he went against Kotooshu, the biggest sumo in the tournament. Ama managed to defeat him, proving technique over power. Ama slowly passed through the second round, third round, the semi-finals...and finally onto the final round to compete against the yokozuna, the highest title holder!

The current yokozuna (highest sumo rank) was Hakuho and get this: He's my sister's age (22)!!! I had no idea sumo wrestlers could be so young. XD Throughout the entire tournament, I've been watching him. For some reason, I get the feeling that he is the most clear headed one. He never seems overly aggressive nor boastful. He remains calm. The matches with Hakuho were also suspenseful because he never wins right away. During his matches, he always wins at last minute. Whenever he'd seem to lose, he would turn things around. For example, there was one time when he was pushed to the edge of the ring. It seemed like the end for him until we saw him lift his opponent off the floor and slam him down on the floor. Not only is Hakuho intelligent, he is also very strong.

I had always liked watching Ama. I was very proud and happy to see that he was able to make it to the final round. During the finals, the two sumos left were Hakuho and Ama. Both of these rikishis were very admirable. You can just feel the tension rising. Who would win???


Ama vs. Hakuho.

Hakuho won. I liked them both so I was happy whatever the outcome may be. =)

After watching the rikishis for five long hours, my whole perspective changed. They didn't even look fat to me anymore. The amazing strength and power they demonstrated throughout this event just proved to me that it was all muscles and nothing else. I am a step closer to understanding those crazy fangirls who think of their favorite sumo wrestler as the most eligible bachelor in Japan. I can understand why people love sumo. =D I came as a clueless spectator, but now I truly appreciate sumo. This amazing experience really opened my eyes to the beauty of this 1,500 year-old traditional Japanese sport.

Last Day of School!

Whoo hoo! I have said this many times, but I want to say it again: I still, still, still can't believe it is summer already! For the first time in a long time, I won't be taking summer school. I regret this a little (but only a little) since the majority of my friends are taking summer classes, but I really don't want to bother with it this time. xD Jenny makes a good point - there is no rush to go to college. Why don't you just enjoy your high school days while it lasts? I just experienced how fast the years go by. Two more years is nothing. Gosh, the very thought of graduating so soon is a bit scary. I plan to quit the Engineering Academy in my senior year because I find that being an engineer is not me after all. The electives I signed up for the next school year are "Graphic Technology" and "Travel Industry & Management." I feel like I'm going in all directions, but I like that I have a chance to explore my options. ^_^

This whole week went by slowly. There were more parties than classes actually being held in school. On Tuesday, my special history class planned a surprise party for Ms. Naks. We had two other teachers help us with the plan, but I think Ms. Naks knew that something was up. How can it not be obvious with twenty-something people in on it? During lunch recess, we had Ms. Asato pretend to ask Ms. Naks to watch her class while she goes on an errand. That gave us some time to prepare.


People went absolutely crazy.

Again, my pictures do no justice. The class was a mess as we flew streamers around and over the lights. The resulting clash of green, blue, yellow, pink, red, and lavendar looked like a gigantic spiderweb...a colorful one. Then we blew up balloons and hung some of them on the streamers. Hoang made four big banners...crazy girl.


THE head.

People who watched our play might recognize this. This was the mannequin-styrofoam head that Rachel, Juri, and I bought at Party City from all the way over in Waikele. We used it in our last scene in the Witch Hunts. Rachel's "head" was chopped off by the guillotine but curtains close before the audience sees. Then the "head" was thrown out onto the stage from behind the curtains. In the first two performances, the head got stuck in between the thick, heavy curtains. I wanted to get it right for the third performance so a precaution was taken. I took the initiative to throw the head out myself. However, I went a little overboard because the head flew right off the stage. -____-; Ah, well. The head is special to us all because of all the memories it holds. We decided to sign the head with a little message from each of us to Ms. Naks.


Uh-oh, somebody better help her.

Haha, I told Angie to smile for the camera but she looks like she is getting strangled by the big spider web. XD

When the bell rang for class to start, we told Ms. Nags (Nagareda) to blindfold Ms. Naks. We closed the lights and the whole class crouched down, ready. When she entered the class, the lights flipped on and everyone jumped up to yell, "Surprise!" while balloons were thrown at her. We gave her leis and then I gave her the doll I made. Then we had what seemed like a photoshoot session because thousands of cameras were flipped out and started flashing away for about ten minutes.

I said, "Don't you feel like a celebrity? XD"

Earlier, we had arranged our desks in a circle around our classroom. After the picture-taking session was over, we each stood up to say a little speech. Mine was crap because I can't say anything right at the right moment. Half of the girls in class started crying because that day was our last class together. Although I'm an emotional person, I wasn't one of them because I was not in the mood to shed tears.

We then grabbed some food while we watched a slideshow that Sam and Julia had prepared.


Going clockwise: Ally's chicken katsu, Hoang's mom's fried rice, my pasta salad, and Jenny's mom's mochiko chicken.

Note that the above picture only shows my first plate. ^^; Don't worry, I won't bombard you with any more pictures because the dessert pictures came out ugly (there were TWO cakes, toaster strudels, and cinnamon rolls). All of the food was deeeelicious and my favorite was Hoang's mom's fried rice. I think it may be the best fried rice I've eaten...no kidding (I've eaten fried rice at many places). At first, I was skeptical because I could see that there was pepper sprinkled all over it, but I found it the spiciness of the dish to be perfect. It complemented the rest of the flavors. The ingredients looked ordinary (like all other fried rice) - spam, egg, and cabbage...so it must be how the dish was prepared that made it taste so good. I want to ask Hoang more about it next time so I can learn to make it for myself. ^.~