Wednesday, August 15, 2007

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!

Monday, August 13, 2007

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.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

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.

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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
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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. =)