I have never thought that anyone is too old to play dress up. As a person who loves (notice the present tense) to pretend, imagine, and dress up, and has never really grown out of (what people might call) child's play, a Renaissance Festival results in a lot of fun for me.
This particular Renaissance Festival is about fifty minutes away from the city in an open field. There's a small castle gate that marks the entrance, and inside, we were immediately met with the sounds of some bagpipes. We stopped to look in some little shops (Ye Olde Jewelry, Magyk Cloaks, etc.) and then made our way to the joust. We got there a little late, so we didn't know what was going on. I should probably add at this point that it was raining. Though, of corse, it started to clear up right as we were about to leave the festival.
We left the joust and went around shopping again. I love seeing the little stores that I wouldn't get to see anywhere else. There was a leather shoe store, a store that sold metal scented roses, and a fairy store. The people in the stores were all dressed up in clothing from the Renaissance. Though my dad did point out that around 90% of the population during that time was probably wearing rags, not cloaks and fancy dresses. I did see a guy dressed like a flagellant though, so I was weary and didn't talk to him.
After looking at some of the stores, we went to go see my favorite part of the Renaissance Festival, Cast in Bronze. The act consists of a guy playing a medieval instrument that is sort of like an organ, but instead of the sound coming out of pipes, every note you play on the keyboard hits a different bell. The instrument weighs about 4 tons, and has about 40 or so bells in it. It's absolutely huge, and absolutely wonderful sounding. The instrument itself is called a carillon, and it is the only instrument of its kind in existence.
We then had food, and while we were sitting and eating, the bagpiper came to our section of the festival and started to play a medley of Star Wars and the Star Spangled Banner.
All the time that we were at the Renaissance Festival, my dad and I kept on bringing up a scene from The Big Bang Theory where the characters all go to a Ren Fest. Then Sheldon ruins the fun (like he always does) because he states that it is an inaccurate festival. But then, Raj, Howard, and Leonard convince him to go back, dressed as Spock (yes, from Star Trek) and pretend to be Spock investigating what life would be like during a Ren Fest.
Throughout this whole festival, there were people dressed up. They were wearing all these cloaks and cool outfits. A couple of years ago, when I first went to this festival, I wanted my own outfit to wear for later years. I asked my mother to create one for me, and not surprisingly, she hasn't (though she did promise to make me a cloak about five years ago and she still hasn't, so I could probably get her to make one for me. It would be extremely useful during Harry Potter Day at school), so I should probably get to making one for next year's festival.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Underwater Music
Today I went SCUBA diving. I haven't done this in a while. The last time I went diving was in August, and it felt really nice to get back in the water. We are going diving next weekend. We're going to a place in Ohio called Gilboa, where we will take part in an underwater haunted quarry. I don't really know what it's going to be like, but it sounds like a lot of fun. While we're there, I will go on a total of four dives, and one (I'm really excited about this one) will be at night.
We got home from SCUBA at around four-thirty, and since then, I've mostly been doing homework. More like I've been trying to do my homework, but I forgot my chemistry notebook at school that has all of my notes from a lab that we just did in it, and the lab report is due on Monday. I hate this kind of thing. All day on Friday, I kept reminding myself to put my chem notebook in my backpack, and then I completely forgot at the end of the day. I could have sworn that I put it in my backpack, but apparently I didn't. Thankfully, I have a free period before chemistry on Monday, and I can do it then. That is, if my lab partner doesn't send me the measurements that we took, and I really really really hope she checks her e-mail and sends them to me because that will make my life so so so so much easier.
The thing is, I never forget things. (Let me correct myself before my mother contradicts me on this matter) I never forget assignments. Really. I forget like once a year, so I really really hope that this will be that once a year, so I don't have to forget another assignment until my junior year.
On another, happier note, I'm going to the see the Matthew Morrison sing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in about an hour and a half. Matthew Morrison is a singer and currently starring on the television series Glee, a show that I tried to watch, and then failed. I put effort into seeing the first half of season one because a friend asked me to, and then I just quit after that. It was awful. But I do like Matthew Morrison. Apparently he's going to be singing some selections from his new album (the album has broadway music on it). Sounds like fun.
While I was underwater today, I kept on humming the songs that were stuck in my head (I always have songs stuck in my head, as my friends know). I didn't really know if the people around me could hear me, because I wasn't humming that loudly. But I kept on thinking about music that is underwater. There's a radio show that I listen to, Adventures in Odyssey, a Christian radio drama that is mainly focused for 8-12 year olds, but it's still fun to listen to years later, in which there is a scene in one of the episodes where a character named Wooton is talking about a band called the Pool Boys, who sing songs underwater. I always thought this concept fascinating. First of all, it's hard to sing underwater. Second, I don't know of anyone who would listen to songs that are sung underwater. I wouldn't be able to distinguish between a good singer and a bad singer. But if Matthew Morrison was to sing underwater, what would it sound like? Would it sound different if I sang? What would the underwater guitar or the underwater drum set sound like? I don't know. We should test it out.
We got home from SCUBA at around four-thirty, and since then, I've mostly been doing homework. More like I've been trying to do my homework, but I forgot my chemistry notebook at school that has all of my notes from a lab that we just did in it, and the lab report is due on Monday. I hate this kind of thing. All day on Friday, I kept reminding myself to put my chem notebook in my backpack, and then I completely forgot at the end of the day. I could have sworn that I put it in my backpack, but apparently I didn't. Thankfully, I have a free period before chemistry on Monday, and I can do it then. That is, if my lab partner doesn't send me the measurements that we took, and I really really really hope she checks her e-mail and sends them to me because that will make my life so so so so much easier.
The thing is, I never forget things. (Let me correct myself before my mother contradicts me on this matter) I never forget assignments. Really. I forget like once a year, so I really really hope that this will be that once a year, so I don't have to forget another assignment until my junior year.
On another, happier note, I'm going to the see the Matthew Morrison sing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in about an hour and a half. Matthew Morrison is a singer and currently starring on the television series Glee, a show that I tried to watch, and then failed. I put effort into seeing the first half of season one because a friend asked me to, and then I just quit after that. It was awful. But I do like Matthew Morrison. Apparently he's going to be singing some selections from his new album (the album has broadway music on it). Sounds like fun.
While I was underwater today, I kept on humming the songs that were stuck in my head (I always have songs stuck in my head, as my friends know). I didn't really know if the people around me could hear me, because I wasn't humming that loudly. But I kept on thinking about music that is underwater. There's a radio show that I listen to, Adventures in Odyssey, a Christian radio drama that is mainly focused for 8-12 year olds, but it's still fun to listen to years later, in which there is a scene in one of the episodes where a character named Wooton is talking about a band called the Pool Boys, who sing songs underwater. I always thought this concept fascinating. First of all, it's hard to sing underwater. Second, I don't know of anyone who would listen to songs that are sung underwater. I wouldn't be able to distinguish between a good singer and a bad singer. But if Matthew Morrison was to sing underwater, what would it sound like? Would it sound different if I sang? What would the underwater guitar or the underwater drum set sound like? I don't know. We should test it out.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Amazingness of Google
Our topic today is Google. More specifically, our topic today is about the amazingness of Google.
The internet is an awesome place that is abundant with information. There are whole webpages devoted to random things like grapes and candles. The information is right, literally, in front of us. We just have to access it.
I love google. I love how it will answer any question you have. I love the existence of googledox and YouTube. I love how that when I'm bored, I can type in sentences to google such as, "can you really," and see the top most asked questions on google, such as, "can you really have breakfast at Tiffany's." A couple of weeks ago, I typed in "what should I take to," and google filled in the rest of the sentence with "sniper school." Sniper School!!?? There's a school for snipers??
There is also the amazingness of google maps.
Last year, when my friends and I were bored in jazz piano class (a class, I should point out, which was not really a class at all, but more of a lets-watch-Batman class) we would look up our houses, or places we lived. My friend Elisha had lived in New Jersey, so she would show us her old house or her old school. I would show her the places I had been in Japan, and digitally take the route I took from my house to school every day. It was a very surreal feeling.
Now, apparently, google maps is so advanced that I can actually see the landscape of an underwater coral reef without going there at all. A couple of years ago, my family and I took a trip to Heron Island, and island that's only a mile in length, and sits on top of the wonderfully vibrant and colorful sea life that surrounds it. The island had no cars, no internet, and the people who worked there were either researchers, or people who staffed the hotel. I had to ride a two hour boat ride (a very bumpy ride that made my mother throw up) to get there. It was a beautiful place. The ocean was a shocking blue, the sand was pure and white. It seemed so laid back. We went snorkeling, we took walks around the island, and it was wonderful. Now I can go there without really going there at all. I can click some buttons and see the sea life that I flew 12 hours on an airplane to go see. I don't know if I like this or not. But now that I think about it, it seemed inevitable. I could probably access google space, if I wanted to. I could probably see Saturn and Mars. I don't know, I haven't explored it that much. I just have one question. Will google maps give me directions to underwater landmarks?
The internet is an awesome place that is abundant with information. There are whole webpages devoted to random things like grapes and candles. The information is right, literally, in front of us. We just have to access it.
I love google. I love how it will answer any question you have. I love the existence of googledox and YouTube. I love how that when I'm bored, I can type in sentences to google such as, "can you really," and see the top most asked questions on google, such as, "can you really have breakfast at Tiffany's." A couple of weeks ago, I typed in "what should I take to," and google filled in the rest of the sentence with "sniper school." Sniper School!!?? There's a school for snipers??
There is also the amazingness of google maps.
Last year, when my friends and I were bored in jazz piano class (a class, I should point out, which was not really a class at all, but more of a lets-watch-Batman class) we would look up our houses, or places we lived. My friend Elisha had lived in New Jersey, so she would show us her old house or her old school. I would show her the places I had been in Japan, and digitally take the route I took from my house to school every day. It was a very surreal feeling.
Now, apparently, google maps is so advanced that I can actually see the landscape of an underwater coral reef without going there at all. A couple of years ago, my family and I took a trip to Heron Island, and island that's only a mile in length, and sits on top of the wonderfully vibrant and colorful sea life that surrounds it. The island had no cars, no internet, and the people who worked there were either researchers, or people who staffed the hotel. I had to ride a two hour boat ride (a very bumpy ride that made my mother throw up) to get there. It was a beautiful place. The ocean was a shocking blue, the sand was pure and white. It seemed so laid back. We went snorkeling, we took walks around the island, and it was wonderful. Now I can go there without really going there at all. I can click some buttons and see the sea life that I flew 12 hours on an airplane to go see. I don't know if I like this or not. But now that I think about it, it seemed inevitable. I could probably access google space, if I wanted to. I could probably see Saturn and Mars. I don't know, I haven't explored it that much. I just have one question. Will google maps give me directions to underwater landmarks?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Studying for History
Today, thanks to all of the Jewish people in the neighborhood, I don't have school. It turns out that today is Yom Kippur, the most holy day of the year in the lives of Jewish people. The theme of Yom Kippur is repentance and they have to fast for twenty-five hours.
I like not having school on Wednesdays. It makes the week less intense. I got to sleep in this morning until 8:45, which is something of a miracle in my case, because I usually end up waking up early on weekends as well as on weekdays.
At around 11:00, I started to do my homework. Aside from a small breaks at around lunchtime and two, I have been studying all day. I have my first big history test on Friday, and I'm kind of freaking out about it.
I have to know practically everything about Medieval Europe. That includes things like Thomas Aquinas, The Hohenstaufen Empire (which is just fun to say) the Hundred Years' War, and the fall of Constantinople. These things aren't that hard to keep straight, but don't even get me started on the monarchies of France and England, and that's not even mentioning all of the Popes of the Medieval Period. Why couldn't they all have had different names!? It's very difficult to keep straight Pope Gregory IX from Pope Gregory XI, and I don't even know who Pope Gregory X was. Then there's all of the Philips of France, the Henrys and Edwards of England, and the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire that I have to learn.
It is fun though, to learn about all these people and what they did. I also get kind of amused when people fight for power. I was very amused when I learned about the Golden Bull, which was when the Luxemburgs of the Holy Roman Empire set the number of electors of the emperor to seven people, completely eliminating the papacy from influencing the election. I am also amused by the names that are associated with the kings of France. There's Philip the Fat, Louis the Quarrelsome, etc. How terrible would it be to be remembered as "Louis the Quarrelsome?" I would want to be known as Aki the Valiant or Aki the Good. John II (he was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War) was known as John II the Good. I would just despise being known as Aki the Quarrelsome or Aki the Terrible (like Ivan the Terrible)...
The thing is, the test is only 35 questions, and they're all multiple choice. It doesn't seem that bad, but I'd much rather overstudy than understudy. That's true for any type of examination. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go learn about Muscovite Russia.
I like not having school on Wednesdays. It makes the week less intense. I got to sleep in this morning until 8:45, which is something of a miracle in my case, because I usually end up waking up early on weekends as well as on weekdays.
At around 11:00, I started to do my homework. Aside from a small breaks at around lunchtime and two, I have been studying all day. I have my first big history test on Friday, and I'm kind of freaking out about it.
I have to know practically everything about Medieval Europe. That includes things like Thomas Aquinas, The Hohenstaufen Empire (which is just fun to say) the Hundred Years' War, and the fall of Constantinople. These things aren't that hard to keep straight, but don't even get me started on the monarchies of France and England, and that's not even mentioning all of the Popes of the Medieval Period. Why couldn't they all have had different names!? It's very difficult to keep straight Pope Gregory IX from Pope Gregory XI, and I don't even know who Pope Gregory X was. Then there's all of the Philips of France, the Henrys and Edwards of England, and the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire that I have to learn.
It is fun though, to learn about all these people and what they did. I also get kind of amused when people fight for power. I was very amused when I learned about the Golden Bull, which was when the Luxemburgs of the Holy Roman Empire set the number of electors of the emperor to seven people, completely eliminating the papacy from influencing the election. I am also amused by the names that are associated with the kings of France. There's Philip the Fat, Louis the Quarrelsome, etc. How terrible would it be to be remembered as "Louis the Quarrelsome?" I would want to be known as Aki the Valiant or Aki the Good. John II (he was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War) was known as John II the Good. I would just despise being known as Aki the Quarrelsome or Aki the Terrible (like Ivan the Terrible)...
The thing is, the test is only 35 questions, and they're all multiple choice. It doesn't seem that bad, but I'd much rather overstudy than understudy. That's true for any type of examination. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go learn about Muscovite Russia.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Aki's Emmys
Aki has deemed the Emmys last night as unsatisfactory. This is a complete list of winner's in Aki's world. Note: This list only includes categories that Aki watches. There may be some instances of write ins. TV programs that are written in italics are write ins.
Programs
Outstanding Drama Series: Downton Abbey
Outstanding Comedy Series: The Big Bang Theory and Psych (Yes, in Aki world, a tie is allowed)
Outstanding Miniseries or TV movie: SHERLOCK: A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA*
Outstanding Reality Show Host: Tom Bergeron of Dancing with the Stars
Acting
Lead Performances
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Brendan Coyle in Downton Abbey**
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: ??
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Caroline Catz in Doc Martin
Supporting Performances
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Rob James-Collier in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Joanne Froggatt in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Simon Helberg in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Mayim Bialik in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: MARTIN FREEMAN in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Una Stubbs in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Directing
Outstanding Directing: Paul McGuigan for Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Writing
Outstanding Writing: Jullian Fellowes for Downton Abbey
The Additional Aki Awards
Outstanding Adorable Character: Daisy Mason in Downton Abbey
*Aki is very irritated that Sherlock did not win any awards in the 2012 Emmys
**Aki has deemed that John Bates is a very very central character in Downton Abbey, and thus awarded Brendan Coyle the award
Now I know that there is some bias in this list of people I think that should have won the Emmys last night. But still, come on, Sherlock didn't win a single award!!!??? My dad did tell me that I should be ready for disappointment for these things. Practically every show that I watch is on this Emmy list.... (except Dr. Who, because I've only watched the first and second seasons)
Programs
Outstanding Drama Series: Downton Abbey
Outstanding Comedy Series: The Big Bang Theory and Psych (Yes, in Aki world, a tie is allowed)
Outstanding Miniseries or TV movie: SHERLOCK: A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA*
Outstanding Reality Show Host: Tom Bergeron of Dancing with the Stars
Acting
Lead Performances
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Brendan Coyle in Downton Abbey**
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: ??
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Caroline Catz in Doc Martin
Supporting Performances
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Rob James-Collier in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Joanne Froggatt in Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Simon Helberg in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Mayim Bialik in The Big Bang Theory
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: MARTIN FREEMAN in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Una Stubbs in Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Directing
Outstanding Directing: Paul McGuigan for Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Writing
Outstanding Writing: Jullian Fellowes for Downton Abbey
The Additional Aki Awards
Outstanding Adorable Character: Daisy Mason in Downton Abbey
*Aki is very irritated that Sherlock did not win any awards in the 2012 Emmys
**Aki has deemed that John Bates is a very very central character in Downton Abbey, and thus awarded Brendan Coyle the award
Now I know that there is some bias in this list of people I think that should have won the Emmys last night. But still, come on, Sherlock didn't win a single award!!!??? My dad did tell me that I should be ready for disappointment for these things. Practically every show that I watch is on this Emmy list.... (except Dr. Who, because I've only watched the first and second seasons)
Sunday, September 23, 2012
My Bucket List
These are just some of the things I would like to do sometime in my life:
1. Climb a hoodoo
This has become an obsession of mine lately. I don't really know where it came from, but when I thought of it, I knew that I wanted to do it. I still want to do it. I don't really know how to climb a hoodoo, or if it's safe to climb a hoodoo, or if it's even possible to climb a hoodoo, but I will at some point in my life be on top of a hoodoo, and it will feel amazing.
2. Spend a night at the museum
Yes, I have seen the movie, and no, I did not think it was all that good, but I still think it would be fun. Practically all the other teen docents at the Natural History Museum think we should have a night at the museum. How epic would a game of hide-and-go-seek be??
3. SCUBA dive with a whale
This, I know is actually possible. There's this place in Okinawa, where my mom was born, where you can go swim with a shark whale. It's going to be fun and amazing, and I am going to feel tiny next to that whale. It's 12 meters long!!!
4. Go to all 7 continents
This is something that's on a lot of people's bucket lists. I think it's because a lot of people like to travel, experience new things, and most of the people who like to travel want to make it to Antarctica someday. I think it'd be fun to visit Antarctica. I want to see the penguins.
5. Learn how to do all these things: morse code, juggle (to the point where I can juggle chainsaws or something just as intimidating), play the bagpipes, learn how to properly strum a ukulele (because I'm really really bad at it), tune a piano (so I don't have to pay someone two hundred dollars to do it every year, and because I think it'd be a cool job in college. I'd prefer doing that over working at McDonalds), and the splits (I used to be able to do the splits, but if you could see my flexibility level now, you'd never believe it).
6.Compose a piece on the piano
I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike.
7. Fly
I know that it's physically impossible, and if you really want to, you have to buy all this gear, it's expensive, and the danger level is really really high. I just want some form of safe, flying mechanism to become cheap so I can fly places.
So that's my bucket list. I guarantee myself that I'll think of something else to add to it just as I publish this post.
1. Climb a hoodoo
This has become an obsession of mine lately. I don't really know where it came from, but when I thought of it, I knew that I wanted to do it. I still want to do it. I don't really know how to climb a hoodoo, or if it's safe to climb a hoodoo, or if it's even possible to climb a hoodoo, but I will at some point in my life be on top of a hoodoo, and it will feel amazing.
2. Spend a night at the museum
Yes, I have seen the movie, and no, I did not think it was all that good, but I still think it would be fun. Practically all the other teen docents at the Natural History Museum think we should have a night at the museum. How epic would a game of hide-and-go-seek be??
3. SCUBA dive with a whale
This, I know is actually possible. There's this place in Okinawa, where my mom was born, where you can go swim with a shark whale. It's going to be fun and amazing, and I am going to feel tiny next to that whale. It's 12 meters long!!!
4. Go to all 7 continents
This is something that's on a lot of people's bucket lists. I think it's because a lot of people like to travel, experience new things, and most of the people who like to travel want to make it to Antarctica someday. I think it'd be fun to visit Antarctica. I want to see the penguins.
5. Learn how to do all these things: morse code, juggle (to the point where I can juggle chainsaws or something just as intimidating), play the bagpipes, learn how to properly strum a ukulele (because I'm really really bad at it), tune a piano (so I don't have to pay someone two hundred dollars to do it every year, and because I think it'd be a cool job in college. I'd prefer doing that over working at McDonalds), and the splits (I used to be able to do the splits, but if you could see my flexibility level now, you'd never believe it).
6.Compose a piece on the piano
I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike.
7. Fly
I know that it's physically impossible, and if you really want to, you have to buy all this gear, it's expensive, and the danger level is really really high. I just want some form of safe, flying mechanism to become cheap so I can fly places.
So that's my bucket list. I guarantee myself that I'll think of something else to add to it just as I publish this post.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Bad Wolf
Do you remember when I said that I probably wasn't going to watch Dr. Who? Well, apparently I lied.
The odd thing is, that I knew this was going to happen. Right after I published the post, I thought that it would be funny if I did end up watching the show, and that's exactly what happened.
I don't know why, really. But somehow I continued to watch it, and then I watched some more, and now I've finished season one.
However, I don't think I'm going to talk that much about my thoughts on the series. I wouldn't be watching it if I didn't think it was good. No, today I'm going to talk about whether I could be a companion to The Doctor.
I've actually thought about this a lot, and I believe that I could be a companion to The Doctor. I know that I would be able to travel through space and time, fighting Daleks and other aliens. I think it'd be fun.
Some might argue that it's not worth leaving everything I know, that it's not worth leaving friends and family, but that's the sort of life that I've had. I'm used to uprooting, moving schools, and having to make new friends. WT is the tenth school that I've been to, and that has required a lot of uprooting and meeting new people. I'm not saying that family and friends aren't important, on the contrary, I think that family and friends are pivotal to our lives.
However, I also believe that adventure is something that most of us do want. It's something that I love. That's why I love SCUBA diving and that's why I want to climb a hoodoo someday. The desire for adventure is something that sparks our imaginations, and I am a firm believer that imagination is very very important in childhood, and in everyday life. With The Doctor, I could get as much adventure as I want. There are planets to explore, aliens to meet (and destroy), and new things to experience.
There is the fear factor to consider though. There are some really creepy aliens that invaded the world of Dr. Who. But I do think that I'm afraid of much less than what normal people are afraid of. I think it's because I'd much rather know what the creepy alien is than run away from it because it looks weird.
I think I'd love it. Actually, I know that I would love to be a companion of The Doctor.
The odd thing is, that I knew this was going to happen. Right after I published the post, I thought that it would be funny if I did end up watching the show, and that's exactly what happened.
I don't know why, really. But somehow I continued to watch it, and then I watched some more, and now I've finished season one.
However, I don't think I'm going to talk that much about my thoughts on the series. I wouldn't be watching it if I didn't think it was good. No, today I'm going to talk about whether I could be a companion to The Doctor.
I've actually thought about this a lot, and I believe that I could be a companion to The Doctor. I know that I would be able to travel through space and time, fighting Daleks and other aliens. I think it'd be fun.
Some might argue that it's not worth leaving everything I know, that it's not worth leaving friends and family, but that's the sort of life that I've had. I'm used to uprooting, moving schools, and having to make new friends. WT is the tenth school that I've been to, and that has required a lot of uprooting and meeting new people. I'm not saying that family and friends aren't important, on the contrary, I think that family and friends are pivotal to our lives.
However, I also believe that adventure is something that most of us do want. It's something that I love. That's why I love SCUBA diving and that's why I want to climb a hoodoo someday. The desire for adventure is something that sparks our imaginations, and I am a firm believer that imagination is very very important in childhood, and in everyday life. With The Doctor, I could get as much adventure as I want. There are planets to explore, aliens to meet (and destroy), and new things to experience.
There is the fear factor to consider though. There are some really creepy aliens that invaded the world of Dr. Who. But I do think that I'm afraid of much less than what normal people are afraid of. I think it's because I'd much rather know what the creepy alien is than run away from it because it looks weird.
I think I'd love it. Actually, I know that I would love to be a companion of The Doctor.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Bowl of Water is Addicting to Watch
Don't worry. I'm not breaking any type of rule by blogging during school. I have a free period right now, and I finished all the work that I have to do. Though admittedly, I always have AP Euro homework. I have a test on the medieval period next Friday, and I'm already freaking out about it.
I'm sitting in a study room in the library with my friend Anastasia, and I can't stop looking at this bowl of water. Hanging from the second floor ceiling, there's a brass circle with an "x" inside it. Then, hanging from the middle of the "x," there is a copper pot. It actually looks more like a cauldron. Also hanging from the brass circle are some clear strings that are connected to a glass bowl. This glass bowl hangs above the library entrance on the first floor.
That piece of creative art has been there all year. Though when I asked people about it, they said it was new this year. But there has been a new addition to this piece of creative art.
There is water dripping out of the bottom of the cauldron. The water droplet falls about three feet, and then makes an awesome ripple in the water that's already been collected in the bowl. It's awesome, and I can't stop looking at it.
I don't really know what it's for. It seems like the water falls once every second, so maybe it keeps time. Maybe when the bowl is full, it signifies that it's time to leave.
The problem is how to get the water out of the bowl. It's not in a place where any normally sized person could reach it, so there might be an issue regarding that. Then, how do you fill the copper pot so it can keep on dripping?
It's also really entertaining to see the people who are interested in it. People walk out of the library, look up, see this wonderful bowl full of water, stay there a few seconds gazing up at it with their mouths open, and then just continue walking. Teachers and students alike have been staring at it. Then there are the small number of people who think that it's stupid and don't appreciate little things like that. I think that's sad.
It's something that's so simple. Yet people think that it's amazing. I don't know why, but this bowl of water is addicting to watch.
I'm sitting in a study room in the library with my friend Anastasia, and I can't stop looking at this bowl of water. Hanging from the second floor ceiling, there's a brass circle with an "x" inside it. Then, hanging from the middle of the "x," there is a copper pot. It actually looks more like a cauldron. Also hanging from the brass circle are some clear strings that are connected to a glass bowl. This glass bowl hangs above the library entrance on the first floor.
That piece of creative art has been there all year. Though when I asked people about it, they said it was new this year. But there has been a new addition to this piece of creative art.
There is water dripping out of the bottom of the cauldron. The water droplet falls about three feet, and then makes an awesome ripple in the water that's already been collected in the bowl. It's awesome, and I can't stop looking at it.
I don't really know what it's for. It seems like the water falls once every second, so maybe it keeps time. Maybe when the bowl is full, it signifies that it's time to leave.
The problem is how to get the water out of the bowl. It's not in a place where any normally sized person could reach it, so there might be an issue regarding that. Then, how do you fill the copper pot so it can keep on dripping?
It's also really entertaining to see the people who are interested in it. People walk out of the library, look up, see this wonderful bowl full of water, stay there a few seconds gazing up at it with their mouths open, and then just continue walking. Teachers and students alike have been staring at it. Then there are the small number of people who think that it's stupid and don't appreciate little things like that. I think that's sad.
It's something that's so simple. Yet people think that it's amazing. I don't know why, but this bowl of water is addicting to watch.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Movie Theater Disappointment
Ok. I should be seeing a free screening of Perks of Being a Wallflower right now. I'll tell you why I'm not seeing it.
You know how airlines actually sell more tickets than there are seats available on the plane? This is done so that the airplane is sure to be full, and it saves money in the end. Some people don't end up coming, so it usually works out. But the thing is, they only sell about two or three extra tickets.
This is what the movie theater decided to do. Except, instead of selling two or three extra tickets, they sold about twenty. Actually, the number might have even been more. Mr. Bachner said when I went to go get my ticket that he only gave out about fifty tickets of the one hundred he was supposed to give out. So potentially, the theater sold seventy extra tickets. They gave tickets to other places too, I guess, which filled up the theater.
The movie was supposed to start at 7:30. I got there at around 7:17, which is a reasonably early time before the movie starts. I met up with my friends, Summer and Akeyo, who had already been standing there for a couple of minutes. They told me that they were waiting to see if there were any extra seats in the theater because the theater was full. The ticket-checker person that checked the tickets asked us to stand in a line, and we all sort of jumped into it. Then, as if we weren't mad enough about what was happening, the manager-person came out and told us that only five people could get in. She said the people who had arrived first, which included Summer and Akeyo but not me, could get in to see the movie. I guess that's as fair as you're going to get in this situation. Everyone else from school was sort of just left there. We were told we could wait for the next screening, but she didn't know when it would start.
I waited around for some more information. I saw a friend from CAPA who is dating a freshman from WT, and she told me what's happening there. I was also informed by the freshman that not many people like our grade. Ah well. I guess I'm used to that from middle school.
The manager-person then came out again and said that she would let us see another movie tonight of our choosing, since we couldn't get into Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I didn't really want to go see another movie. I was excited for Perks of Being a Wallflower. I finished the book!!! I gave it a 5 star rating!!!! Plus, all the other people I knew had friends with them, and I didn't feel like going to see a movie by myself. So I left.
I'm mad, I suppose. I don't think it's fair. I don't. And the manager-person didn't even apologize.
Even though I am mad, I don't think that it's something to get too worked up about. I'll go see the movie another time. I'll write my review then.
You know how airlines actually sell more tickets than there are seats available on the plane? This is done so that the airplane is sure to be full, and it saves money in the end. Some people don't end up coming, so it usually works out. But the thing is, they only sell about two or three extra tickets.
This is what the movie theater decided to do. Except, instead of selling two or three extra tickets, they sold about twenty. Actually, the number might have even been more. Mr. Bachner said when I went to go get my ticket that he only gave out about fifty tickets of the one hundred he was supposed to give out. So potentially, the theater sold seventy extra tickets. They gave tickets to other places too, I guess, which filled up the theater.
The movie was supposed to start at 7:30. I got there at around 7:17, which is a reasonably early time before the movie starts. I met up with my friends, Summer and Akeyo, who had already been standing there for a couple of minutes. They told me that they were waiting to see if there were any extra seats in the theater because the theater was full. The ticket-checker person that checked the tickets asked us to stand in a line, and we all sort of jumped into it. Then, as if we weren't mad enough about what was happening, the manager-person came out and told us that only five people could get in. She said the people who had arrived first, which included Summer and Akeyo but not me, could get in to see the movie. I guess that's as fair as you're going to get in this situation. Everyone else from school was sort of just left there. We were told we could wait for the next screening, but she didn't know when it would start.
I waited around for some more information. I saw a friend from CAPA who is dating a freshman from WT, and she told me what's happening there. I was also informed by the freshman that not many people like our grade. Ah well. I guess I'm used to that from middle school.
The manager-person then came out again and said that she would let us see another movie tonight of our choosing, since we couldn't get into Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I didn't really want to go see another movie. I was excited for Perks of Being a Wallflower. I finished the book!!! I gave it a 5 star rating!!!! Plus, all the other people I knew had friends with them, and I didn't feel like going to see a movie by myself. So I left.
I'm mad, I suppose. I don't think it's fair. I don't. And the manager-person didn't even apologize.
Even though I am mad, I don't think that it's something to get too worked up about. I'll go see the movie another time. I'll write my review then.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Book #31: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I have wanted to read this book for a long time. I had heard about a year ago that it's a really good book. Then, the movie's coming out, AND I GET TO GO TO SEE A PRE-SCREENING!!!!! I was excited when I actually got the ticket this morning, and I am now super super super excited now that I've finished the book.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is about a freshman boy named Charlie. He's sort of a child when he enters high school. He meets two seniors, brother and half-sister, named Patrick and Sam, who become his best friends. Charlie also has a teacher named Bill, who lends him books to read and then asks him to write essays about them outside of class. He decides to learn as much as he can by "participating" in life, and this book is the result of his experiences. It's written in a series of letters, addressed to a friend, and it's very similar to a diary. I just assumed that, the way the book was written, the letters were addressed to the reader, but from reviews I've read and stuff, that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm not sure.
I thought it was amazing.
It was a very honest book. Or at least, Charlie was honest. He didn't seem to hide anything, or seem to dull the truth at all. I loved the characters, except maybe Mary Elizabeth because she talked to much, and didn't care what Charlie thought. My favorite character by far though, was Bill. It was awesome the way that he treated Charlie and pushed him to read more and write better essays. I especially liked the part when Charlie went over to Bill's house, because it was very touching. I guess I just liked their relationship.
I also liked Charlie a lot. I liked the way that he was so selfless. He didn't want to see his friends get hurt, and when they did get hurt, he would go and help them. Charlie wanted to be a good friend. He didn't push anyone to be his friends, and he understood why people acted different ways. He understood why Susan had changed over the summer and he understood his sister.
I loved the book, and hopefully I love the movie. The movies are never ever ever as good as the books, but I can always hope that they'll be. It's got a 7.7 out of 10 on IMDb, so I think that it'll be good. I'll probably end up reviewing the movie as well.
Perks of Being a Wallflower gets 5 stars out of 5. This doesn't happen very often at all. That privilege goes to the group of amazing and wonderful authors that includes John Green, Veronica Roth, John Green, Markus Zusak, John Green, Orson Scott Card, John Green, and now, Stephen Chbosky.
In other news, my Spanish teacher didn't tell our class (of three people) that we are going on a field trip tomorrow. Now I get to miss my two favorite classes, English and Sculpture. He didn't tell us!!!! He gave us no information, no nothing!!! I'm mad.
Also, my parents got new credit cards today. My dad's has an American flag on it, while my mom's has a Japanese flag on it. Wow....
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is about a freshman boy named Charlie. He's sort of a child when he enters high school. He meets two seniors, brother and half-sister, named Patrick and Sam, who become his best friends. Charlie also has a teacher named Bill, who lends him books to read and then asks him to write essays about them outside of class. He decides to learn as much as he can by "participating" in life, and this book is the result of his experiences. It's written in a series of letters, addressed to a friend, and it's very similar to a diary. I just assumed that, the way the book was written, the letters were addressed to the reader, but from reviews I've read and stuff, that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm not sure.
I thought it was amazing.
It was a very honest book. Or at least, Charlie was honest. He didn't seem to hide anything, or seem to dull the truth at all. I loved the characters, except maybe Mary Elizabeth because she talked to much, and didn't care what Charlie thought. My favorite character by far though, was Bill. It was awesome the way that he treated Charlie and pushed him to read more and write better essays. I especially liked the part when Charlie went over to Bill's house, because it was very touching. I guess I just liked their relationship.
I also liked Charlie a lot. I liked the way that he was so selfless. He didn't want to see his friends get hurt, and when they did get hurt, he would go and help them. Charlie wanted to be a good friend. He didn't push anyone to be his friends, and he understood why people acted different ways. He understood why Susan had changed over the summer and he understood his sister.
I loved the book, and hopefully I love the movie. The movies are never ever ever as good as the books, but I can always hope that they'll be. It's got a 7.7 out of 10 on IMDb, so I think that it'll be good. I'll probably end up reviewing the movie as well.
Perks of Being a Wallflower gets 5 stars out of 5. This doesn't happen very often at all. That privilege goes to the group of amazing and wonderful authors that includes John Green, Veronica Roth, John Green, Markus Zusak, John Green, Orson Scott Card, John Green, and now, Stephen Chbosky.
In other news, my Spanish teacher didn't tell our class (of three people) that we are going on a field trip tomorrow. Now I get to miss my two favorite classes, English and Sculpture. He didn't tell us!!!! He gave us no information, no nothing!!! I'm mad.
Also, my parents got new credit cards today. My dad's has an American flag on it, while my mom's has a Japanese flag on it. Wow....
Monday, September 17, 2012
Going Back to Middle School
We didn't have school today. It's Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, and since we live in a neighborhood that is 40% Jewish, my school decided to give us the day off. The middle school I went to wasn't off for school though, so Jacob, Sarah, and I decided to go and visit.
We walked into school, signed the visitor booklet, and then started to make our way around the school. Since it was lunch time, not many teachers were in their rooms. We would have started off seeing Ms. Coyne, the English teacher, but she wasn't there, so we first saw Mrs. Patton, the history teacher. Mrs. Patton is awesome. She's such a good teacher, and she's really nice. We talked to her about high school, and what's been going on since we left. Apparently last year's class wasn't as rowdy as we were. No surprise there. We were a grade that didn't know how to channel our energy into learning.
We then stopped by Mr. T's room. He was our amazing math teacher. He was helping out some eighth graders though, so we didn't get to talk to him that much. The eighth graders were complaining about rate-distance-time problems, and how they didn't understand them. Looking back, I remember hating them as well, but the further you move on in math, the more difficult your biggest problems become.
We then went to see Magistra, the latin teacher. She's semi-retired though, so she only teaches in the mornings. She had already left, so we left a note for her on the white board.
We went to see other teachers as well. We saw Ms. Coyne, who asked us to tell the students she was teaching some advise about choosing high schools. Then we saw Señora, who told us that she hasn't had students as good as Jacob and I since we left, which was really nice of her. We also saw Mr. Jenkins, who told us to go see the new preschool, and I saw Mrs. Trahan, the lower school science teacher. She was also my volleyball coach in seventh grade.
It was really nice to see old teachers again. There were some new teachers sprinkled in there as well. Mrs. Peterson moved off to Hawaii, and I don't really blame her. Living next to a beach? How awesome would that be?
We walked into school, signed the visitor booklet, and then started to make our way around the school. Since it was lunch time, not many teachers were in their rooms. We would have started off seeing Ms. Coyne, the English teacher, but she wasn't there, so we first saw Mrs. Patton, the history teacher. Mrs. Patton is awesome. She's such a good teacher, and she's really nice. We talked to her about high school, and what's been going on since we left. Apparently last year's class wasn't as rowdy as we were. No surprise there. We were a grade that didn't know how to channel our energy into learning.
We then stopped by Mr. T's room. He was our amazing math teacher. He was helping out some eighth graders though, so we didn't get to talk to him that much. The eighth graders were complaining about rate-distance-time problems, and how they didn't understand them. Looking back, I remember hating them as well, but the further you move on in math, the more difficult your biggest problems become.
We then went to see Magistra, the latin teacher. She's semi-retired though, so she only teaches in the mornings. She had already left, so we left a note for her on the white board.
We went to see other teachers as well. We saw Ms. Coyne, who asked us to tell the students she was teaching some advise about choosing high schools. Then we saw Señora, who told us that she hasn't had students as good as Jacob and I since we left, which was really nice of her. We also saw Mr. Jenkins, who told us to go see the new preschool, and I saw Mrs. Trahan, the lower school science teacher. She was also my volleyball coach in seventh grade.
It was really nice to see old teachers again. There were some new teachers sprinkled in there as well. Mrs. Peterson moved off to Hawaii, and I don't really blame her. Living next to a beach? How awesome would that be?
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Everything We Want in Life is Right Outside Our Comfort Zone
Today I went to Kennywood....again. But this time, I went with different people. I went with my friends Jacob and Sarah (we all went to middle school together, and Jacob and I now go to the same school).
I didn't know what I really expected from this trip. I knew that Sarah was afraid of heights, so there was no way that she would go on a roller coaster ever, but I didn't really know what I expected out of Jacob. I guess I assumed he wouldn't like roller coasters either, so I was preparing myself for a day of looking at these rides and not getting to go on them.
That's not what happened.
Jacob, at the beginning, was willing to go on a ride called "The Racer" because he had been on it before and was willing to try it again. He also said that he was willing to try other roller coasters, but if he wanted to go on the "Phantom's Revenge" and this was a BIG if, then we'd have to work up to that point (the Phantom's Revenge is the biggest ride at Kennywood). Every roller coaster would have to get more and more intense. We started with the merry-go-round.
After we got off of the merry-go-round, we headed toward The Racer. The Racer isn't my favorite ride at Kennywood, mostly because it doesn't go high and doesn't give you the butterflies in your stomach. But we went on it anyway. The line only had about twenty people in it, but while we were waiting, Jacob got more and more nervous about getting on this roller coaster. He asked all of the questions, "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" but eventually got on the Racer, and what do you know, he loved it so much that he wanted to do it again. I was happy that he liked the ride. It meant that I could probably get him to go on more intense roller coasters.
We stopped at the Potato Patch and got some fries. Kennywood is famous for it's french fries. Sarah then proceeded to accidentally dump a whole lot of salt on my fries, and I had to put a lot of ketchup on them so they wouldn't seem as salty as they really were.
I then convinced Jacob to get on the Thunderbolt, a ride that is a little more intense than the Racer. It's pretty similar though. It's just a tad bit bigger. He then asked the questions, "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" He proceeded to ask the questions multiple times. When we got on it though, he loved it, and of course, we had to go do it again.
After that, we got some food, and then we had to decide what we were going to ride next. By this time, Jacob had agreed to go on the Phantom's Revenge. He was just absolutely terrified of how high it went. We were debating whether to go on The Exterminator or the Phantom. Jacob was still a little unsure, but I told him we were going on the Phantom and headed toward the entrance of the ride. I didn't expect it to work, but he followed me and we got in line. Sarah waited with us for about half of the time, but there's this one part in the line where you have to stand on a little bride overlooking the path that leads to another section of the park, and she didn't want to be somewhere that high.
This time the questions of "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" were said much much more often. Then there was constant babbling about I don't even know what, and then I said something that I wish I would have said earlier in the day. I told him that everything we want in life is right outside our comfort zone. I paraphrased it, but it was a quote I had on my calendar last month, and I thought it was appropriate at the time. I guess that calmed him down a bit. But we got on the ride after about half an hour of waiting. I love that ride. It's so much fun. Jacob liked it too, and of course, we had to go ride it again.
Yes, everything we want in life is right outside our comfort zone. We should all keep challenging ourselves to do new things. I know that when I'm ready to climb my hoodoo, I'll be standing at the bottom, looking up, and thinking about how crazy I am for doing this. I might even think about not doing it. But I won't walk away, because I know that when I get to the top, I will see the most beautiful view ever.
I didn't know what I really expected from this trip. I knew that Sarah was afraid of heights, so there was no way that she would go on a roller coaster ever, but I didn't really know what I expected out of Jacob. I guess I assumed he wouldn't like roller coasters either, so I was preparing myself for a day of looking at these rides and not getting to go on them.
That's not what happened.
Jacob, at the beginning, was willing to go on a ride called "The Racer" because he had been on it before and was willing to try it again. He also said that he was willing to try other roller coasters, but if he wanted to go on the "Phantom's Revenge" and this was a BIG if, then we'd have to work up to that point (the Phantom's Revenge is the biggest ride at Kennywood). Every roller coaster would have to get more and more intense. We started with the merry-go-round.
After we got off of the merry-go-round, we headed toward The Racer. The Racer isn't my favorite ride at Kennywood, mostly because it doesn't go high and doesn't give you the butterflies in your stomach. But we went on it anyway. The line only had about twenty people in it, but while we were waiting, Jacob got more and more nervous about getting on this roller coaster. He asked all of the questions, "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" but eventually got on the Racer, and what do you know, he loved it so much that he wanted to do it again. I was happy that he liked the ride. It meant that I could probably get him to go on more intense roller coasters.
We stopped at the Potato Patch and got some fries. Kennywood is famous for it's french fries. Sarah then proceeded to accidentally dump a whole lot of salt on my fries, and I had to put a lot of ketchup on them so they wouldn't seem as salty as they really were.
I then convinced Jacob to get on the Thunderbolt, a ride that is a little more intense than the Racer. It's pretty similar though. It's just a tad bit bigger. He then asked the questions, "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" He proceeded to ask the questions multiple times. When we got on it though, he loved it, and of course, we had to go do it again.
After that, we got some food, and then we had to decide what we were going to ride next. By this time, Jacob had agreed to go on the Phantom's Revenge. He was just absolutely terrified of how high it went. We were debating whether to go on The Exterminator or the Phantom. Jacob was still a little unsure, but I told him we were going on the Phantom and headed toward the entrance of the ride. I didn't expect it to work, but he followed me and we got in line. Sarah waited with us for about half of the time, but there's this one part in the line where you have to stand on a little bride overlooking the path that leads to another section of the park, and she didn't want to be somewhere that high.
This time the questions of "why am I here?""why am I doing this?" and "what if I die?" were said much much more often. Then there was constant babbling about I don't even know what, and then I said something that I wish I would have said earlier in the day. I told him that everything we want in life is right outside our comfort zone. I paraphrased it, but it was a quote I had on my calendar last month, and I thought it was appropriate at the time. I guess that calmed him down a bit. But we got on the ride after about half an hour of waiting. I love that ride. It's so much fun. Jacob liked it too, and of course, we had to go ride it again.
Yes, everything we want in life is right outside our comfort zone. We should all keep challenging ourselves to do new things. I know that when I'm ready to climb my hoodoo, I'll be standing at the bottom, looking up, and thinking about how crazy I am for doing this. I might even think about not doing it. But I won't walk away, because I know that when I get to the top, I will see the most beautiful view ever.
My Favorite Cart
Today, I was at the Carnegie Museum, like I am most Saturdays, and I decided what my favorite teen docent cart is.
I actually have two. But I like them for two different reasons. I like the Cretaceous cart, and I also like the Africa cart.
I like the Cretaceous cart because we get so many people. There are a lot of kids, and they all really want to touch the T-rex tooth. That's my basic reason. We have some good stuff on the cart, some fossilized plants, fossilized dinosaur poop (that's the one that gets the best reaction when you tell the person what they're holding), and a T-rex brain. I just like it because there's so many people. It's on the first floor in the Dinosaur Hall, and it's one of the first exhibits that the people go see. That means that the kids aren't tired and whiney, and everyone has a longer attention span.
I was on Africa cart today. I love the Africa cart because we have so many instruments. We have a djembe, some moroccos, and other little instruments that are really cool. We also have an elephant ear, a giraffe thigh bone, and some animal skulls. The thing I don't like about Africa is that we only get like twenty people during the whole visit. It's in a small corner of the museum, it's really dark, and not many people make it to that part of the museum. The people who do, though, are the people who are really interested in the stuff and they are very in-depth people who ask lots of questions, and it's fun to answer them and sound really smart.
The cart also depends a lot on the people you work with. Last week, when I was on Africa, I was with some people who obviously didn't want to be there, but today, I was with a girl named Emily (a different Emily from the usual Emily that I talk about) who was very very talkative. I discovered that we liked the same kind of music, and that we both freaked out when the iTunes free single last week was Amsterdam by Imagine Dragons.
I've definitely said this before, but the teen docents are really really nice. They're also really interesting too. I was on the polar world cart one time, and I was with this guy named Luke who makes stop motion movies. How cool is that!!??
P.S. I'm on page forty of Perks of Being a Wallflower. Apparently I'm about thirty percent done with the book.
P.P.S. I've been trying to publish this post forever. I keep clicking the "publish" button, but I keep on getting an error...
I actually have two. But I like them for two different reasons. I like the Cretaceous cart, and I also like the Africa cart.
I like the Cretaceous cart because we get so many people. There are a lot of kids, and they all really want to touch the T-rex tooth. That's my basic reason. We have some good stuff on the cart, some fossilized plants, fossilized dinosaur poop (that's the one that gets the best reaction when you tell the person what they're holding), and a T-rex brain. I just like it because there's so many people. It's on the first floor in the Dinosaur Hall, and it's one of the first exhibits that the people go see. That means that the kids aren't tired and whiney, and everyone has a longer attention span.
I was on Africa cart today. I love the Africa cart because we have so many instruments. We have a djembe, some moroccos, and other little instruments that are really cool. We also have an elephant ear, a giraffe thigh bone, and some animal skulls. The thing I don't like about Africa is that we only get like twenty people during the whole visit. It's in a small corner of the museum, it's really dark, and not many people make it to that part of the museum. The people who do, though, are the people who are really interested in the stuff and they are very in-depth people who ask lots of questions, and it's fun to answer them and sound really smart.
The cart also depends a lot on the people you work with. Last week, when I was on Africa, I was with some people who obviously didn't want to be there, but today, I was with a girl named Emily (a different Emily from the usual Emily that I talk about) who was very very talkative. I discovered that we liked the same kind of music, and that we both freaked out when the iTunes free single last week was Amsterdam by Imagine Dragons.
I've definitely said this before, but the teen docents are really really nice. They're also really interesting too. I was on the polar world cart one time, and I was with this guy named Luke who makes stop motion movies. How cool is that!!??
P.S. I'm on page forty of Perks of Being a Wallflower. Apparently I'm about thirty percent done with the book.
P.P.S. I've been trying to publish this post forever. I keep clicking the "publish" button, but I keep on getting an error...
Friday, September 14, 2012
Preview of the Weekend
I didn't post yesterday because, one, I didn't really have anything to talk about, and two, when I got back from my piano lesson, I was just too tired to do anything but sleep. It was one of those days.
We have a three day weekend. Monday's off because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. I love living in a town with an abounding number of Jewish people, because we get these days off that other towns and other people might regard as really random and strange. For example, we have next Wednesday off because it's Yom Kippur, another Jewish holiday that I will not be able to explain very well. The internet should have an introduction to the Jewish culture for those who aren't Jewish. It would be extremely helpful.
Because it's a three day weekend, I felt like I had more time to do things with friends. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Carnegie Museum, then on Sunday, I'm going to Kenneywood. Monday, since the middle school I went to doesn't have off, I'm going to visit with my friends Jacob and Sarah. I thought that I would have all this time, and then the teachers decide to give us more homework.
Maybe it seems like a lot of homework when it actually isn't. Let's see. I have a worksheet that I have to finish for Chemistry. It'll be easy, it's a review of conversion factors, and I think it might have some sig fig problems on it. Then I have an English assignment due on Wednesday. I have to research a monster and write three paragraphs about it, then be ready to present it to the class. Oh, and I also have to read a poem at the beginning of class on Wednesday. Ms. McDermott (my awesome English teacher) also told us we have an in-class essay we have to write on Friday, so that will be fun....not. I have to get ready for that too.
Then AP Euro! This class get's it's own new paragraph because there's so much work I have to do. I have to take my remaining notes on chapters ten and eleven. That will take forever, and then, I have to write a Document Based Question (DBQ). It's basically a paper, but we use documents that we're given in order to prove our point. We'll be given a DBQ on the AP exam, so we're practicing for the test in May.
Also, today in announcements, Mr. Bachner said that he had 100 free tickets to an early screening of Perks of Being a Wallflower!!!!! I'm SOOOO excited, I got a ticket, and some of my friends and I are going. That's next Wednesday, but I still need to read the book. I got it today, and hopefully will be able to finish before Wednesday. I don't know how it'll go though, I'll keep you updated.
We have a three day weekend. Monday's off because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. I love living in a town with an abounding number of Jewish people, because we get these days off that other towns and other people might regard as really random and strange. For example, we have next Wednesday off because it's Yom Kippur, another Jewish holiday that I will not be able to explain very well. The internet should have an introduction to the Jewish culture for those who aren't Jewish. It would be extremely helpful.
Because it's a three day weekend, I felt like I had more time to do things with friends. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Carnegie Museum, then on Sunday, I'm going to Kenneywood. Monday, since the middle school I went to doesn't have off, I'm going to visit with my friends Jacob and Sarah. I thought that I would have all this time, and then the teachers decide to give us more homework.
Maybe it seems like a lot of homework when it actually isn't. Let's see. I have a worksheet that I have to finish for Chemistry. It'll be easy, it's a review of conversion factors, and I think it might have some sig fig problems on it. Then I have an English assignment due on Wednesday. I have to research a monster and write three paragraphs about it, then be ready to present it to the class. Oh, and I also have to read a poem at the beginning of class on Wednesday. Ms. McDermott (my awesome English teacher) also told us we have an in-class essay we have to write on Friday, so that will be fun....not. I have to get ready for that too.
Then AP Euro! This class get's it's own new paragraph because there's so much work I have to do. I have to take my remaining notes on chapters ten and eleven. That will take forever, and then, I have to write a Document Based Question (DBQ). It's basically a paper, but we use documents that we're given in order to prove our point. We'll be given a DBQ on the AP exam, so we're practicing for the test in May.
Also, today in announcements, Mr. Bachner said that he had 100 free tickets to an early screening of Perks of Being a Wallflower!!!!! I'm SOOOO excited, I got a ticket, and some of my friends and I are going. That's next Wednesday, but I still need to read the book. I got it today, and hopefully will be able to finish before Wednesday. I don't know how it'll go though, I'll keep you updated.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Of Monsters and Men
Today, Apple announced their new iPhone 5. I'm don't think I'm going to judge it until I actually go see it and try it out at the Apple Store. However, I was watching the iPhone 5 video that's on the Apple website, and it featured the music from my favorite band ever. After I noticed that, I couldn't pay attention to what the guy in the video was saying, and started to sing along to the song (titled Dirty Paws). Anyway, after that, I realized that I hadn't really talked about what bands I listen to and what kind of music is currently on my iPod.
My favorite band ever is Of Monsters and Men. I love love love (coincidentally a name of one of their songs) their music!! They're originally from Iceland but they sing in English. My dad calls them "The Vikings," which would be a cool band name for a band from Iceland, but I like Of Monsters and Men better. Their song lyrics are amazing and not the typical type of lyric that you hear all the time in pop songs. From what is on the radio right now, it's a really really nice change. They've only released one album so far, but that album, titled My Head is an Animal is SO GOOD!!! Every single song on that album is awesome. My particular favorite is From Finner and Dirty Paws. I think I like From Finner because it's about being far from home, but also being so so happy at the same time. I like Dirty Paws because it's a quirky song. There's story to it about a pet dragonfly and a forest of bees that declared a war. Even though I say that those two songs are my favorite, really, ALL of the songs are my favorite.They're just that good.
My second favorite band right now is Imagine Dragons. I don't remember how I came across their music, but when I did, I fell in love. I love the song On Top of the World. I love the whole clapping thing in that song, and the lyrics. Someday, when I climb the hoodoo that I'm going to climb, I'll go up there and listen to that song. I think it will be appropriate.
Then there are these other songs that I like, like Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine and Anna Sun by Walk the Moon. There also happens to be a lot of Ingrid Michaelson in my music library and a lot of Regina Spektor.
So yes, that's my taste in music right now. Of corse, it's subject to change, though I don't think that Of Monsters and Men will ever be anything but my favorite band ever.
My favorite band ever is Of Monsters and Men. I love love love (coincidentally a name of one of their songs) their music!! They're originally from Iceland but they sing in English. My dad calls them "The Vikings," which would be a cool band name for a band from Iceland, but I like Of Monsters and Men better. Their song lyrics are amazing and not the typical type of lyric that you hear all the time in pop songs. From what is on the radio right now, it's a really really nice change. They've only released one album so far, but that album, titled My Head is an Animal is SO GOOD!!! Every single song on that album is awesome. My particular favorite is From Finner and Dirty Paws. I think I like From Finner because it's about being far from home, but also being so so happy at the same time. I like Dirty Paws because it's a quirky song. There's story to it about a pet dragonfly and a forest of bees that declared a war. Even though I say that those two songs are my favorite, really, ALL of the songs are my favorite.They're just that good.
My second favorite band right now is Imagine Dragons. I don't remember how I came across their music, but when I did, I fell in love. I love the song On Top of the World. I love the whole clapping thing in that song, and the lyrics. Someday, when I climb the hoodoo that I'm going to climb, I'll go up there and listen to that song. I think it will be appropriate.
Then there are these other songs that I like, like Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine and Anna Sun by Walk the Moon. There also happens to be a lot of Ingrid Michaelson in my music library and a lot of Regina Spektor.
So yes, that's my taste in music right now. Of corse, it's subject to change, though I don't think that Of Monsters and Men will ever be anything but my favorite band ever.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Dr. Who???
My friends have been trying to get me to watch Dr. Who for forever. So many people talk about the show and I've heard many many things about it. I don't really know anyone who has seen the show who doesn't like it.
I watched the first episode of season 1 (when I talk about the show, I'm talking about the modern version, not season that aired in the sixties) about three years ago, at my friend Sarah's house. I was over there for a sleepover, and she said that it was good show and that we should watch it. So I did. I watched the first and second episodes of season 1. I thought it was an ok show, I didn't think there was much to it. I think I just thought that it was odd. I mean, mannequins walking around London....what???
Now that I'm in high school, I realize how much of a big deal it is to everyone who watches it. I feel like now it's following me. I see Dr. Who t-shirts and TARDIS mugs. It's just so loved by so many people, that I wanted to know what's so appealing about it.
So I watched it. I watched episode four and five of season 1, and I'm halfway through the sixth episode (my first encounter with the Daleks-weirdest enemies ever, because they seem so comical).
INTERLUDE: I should probably tell you what TV shows that I watch. I watch Psych ( I love Psych), Downton Abbey, Once Upon a Time, and I sort of kind of watch The Big Bang Theory. I'm getting through that show really slowly. I like it, but it's not streamable on Netflix, which makes everything harder.
The thing is, I didn't think that Dr. Who was all that bad. I don't love it, but I admire the idea of the show. There are A LOT of plot holes, which bother me immensely, and I think that's why I haven't really continued watching it.
I don't think that I will watch it, that's the thing. I guess I'm missing out. But then again, any show is like that, and that's ok. As long as I'm not spending my life in front of a TV screen.
Right now, I'm excited for Once Upon a Time to come back on at the end of this month. Though if they don't start answering some questions and if Rumpelstiltskin doesn't get as much screen time as he deserves, I'll stop. I would hate for this show to turn into another Lost.
I watched the first episode of season 1 (when I talk about the show, I'm talking about the modern version, not season that aired in the sixties) about three years ago, at my friend Sarah's house. I was over there for a sleepover, and she said that it was good show and that we should watch it. So I did. I watched the first and second episodes of season 1. I thought it was an ok show, I didn't think there was much to it. I think I just thought that it was odd. I mean, mannequins walking around London....what???
Now that I'm in high school, I realize how much of a big deal it is to everyone who watches it. I feel like now it's following me. I see Dr. Who t-shirts and TARDIS mugs. It's just so loved by so many people, that I wanted to know what's so appealing about it.
So I watched it. I watched episode four and five of season 1, and I'm halfway through the sixth episode (my first encounter with the Daleks-weirdest enemies ever, because they seem so comical).
INTERLUDE: I should probably tell you what TV shows that I watch. I watch Psych ( I love Psych), Downton Abbey, Once Upon a Time, and I sort of kind of watch The Big Bang Theory. I'm getting through that show really slowly. I like it, but it's not streamable on Netflix, which makes everything harder.
The thing is, I didn't think that Dr. Who was all that bad. I don't love it, but I admire the idea of the show. There are A LOT of plot holes, which bother me immensely, and I think that's why I haven't really continued watching it.
I don't think that I will watch it, that's the thing. I guess I'm missing out. But then again, any show is like that, and that's ok. As long as I'm not spending my life in front of a TV screen.
Right now, I'm excited for Once Upon a Time to come back on at the end of this month. Though if they don't start answering some questions and if Rumpelstiltskin doesn't get as much screen time as he deserves, I'll stop. I would hate for this show to turn into another Lost.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Twelve
First I must apologize for not posting yesterday. I completely forgot, and that's really odd for me because this has been something that I do pretty much every single day, and to forget....it felt weird.
Today, my loyal and wonderful readers, I must talk about a brief moment of stupidity I had when I was in sixth grade. This will all be clear at the end of the post, don't worry.
We were in science class, and were studying units under the guidance of a teacher I shall call Mr. J. Mr. J was well known for the amount of notes he made us write down in class. He would give us a piece of paper with all the notes written down on it, and tell us to copy it into our notebooks. The amount, looking back, seems like nothing at all, but to a sixth grader, two pages of notes in one day seems like a mountain load of work. He also was known for the generous, .1 of a point he would give as extra credit points on exams.
Well, we were sitting in class, and Mr. J. was talking about the importance of units. He was talking about how units make everything clear in science and how the unit is just as important than the actual number.
I made the wonderful mistake of zoning out while he was talking about this. Maybe it was only for a few seconds, but still, I did.
As Mr. J was finishing up his whole spiel about units clarify everything, he decided to give an example. He called on me, and said, "Aki, go get twelve."
I looked up, and responded, "right now?"
"Yes, right now. Go get me twelve."
"Really?"
"Yes. Go ask Mrs. Jackson at the front desk for twelve." He seemed to be very annoyed at the fact that 1) his long speech about the importance of units had obviously not sinked in, and that 2) I was being this dense.
"Ok," I said, got up, left the classroom, and headed for the front desk. As I was leaving, I heard a lot of giggles coming from the room, and I wondered why.
When I arrived at the front desk, Mrs. Jackson had just finished up a phone call. She looked up, and said, "can I help you Aki?" It was a small school, so Mrs. Jackson knew everybody.
"Yeah," I said, "Mr. J would like me to ask you for twelve." She looked like the most confused person on earth.
"What?"
"He wants twelve." I was very determined to get twelve for my teacher, and do it fast.
"Twelve?"
"Yes, twelve." I was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that she wasn't just handing me twelve. She was taking a very long time. She looked at me, thought for a few seconds, then,
"Um.....ok.... well, here's a ruler." She handed me a metal ruler, which units were in inches "and here's a calendar." She handed me the school calendar. I might stress again that she looked very very confused.
"Thanks," I said, and started to walk away, but before I could, she said,
"And tell Mr. J that I have aspirin for him if he needs it."
I was starting to walk back when a girl in my class, Claire, came running up to me and said that Mr. J wanted me to come back. I nodded and told her proudly that I had acquired a ruler and a calendar.
When we got into the room, there was a lot of conversation going on. Mr. J, who looked very amused, looked at me and asked what Mrs. Jackson had given me. I gave him the ruler and the calendar and said, "She was very confused about what you were talking about." He chuckled a bit and told me to go back to my seat. He then continued his long speech about units.
Today, we were sitting in chemistry class. Dr. Horton, our teacher, announced that our topic for today would be units. She went up to the board and wrote: 12
To which I answered, "twelve what?"
I have learned my lesson.
Today, my loyal and wonderful readers, I must talk about a brief moment of stupidity I had when I was in sixth grade. This will all be clear at the end of the post, don't worry.
We were in science class, and were studying units under the guidance of a teacher I shall call Mr. J. Mr. J was well known for the amount of notes he made us write down in class. He would give us a piece of paper with all the notes written down on it, and tell us to copy it into our notebooks. The amount, looking back, seems like nothing at all, but to a sixth grader, two pages of notes in one day seems like a mountain load of work. He also was known for the generous, .1 of a point he would give as extra credit points on exams.
Well, we were sitting in class, and Mr. J. was talking about the importance of units. He was talking about how units make everything clear in science and how the unit is just as important than the actual number.
I made the wonderful mistake of zoning out while he was talking about this. Maybe it was only for a few seconds, but still, I did.
As Mr. J was finishing up his whole spiel about units clarify everything, he decided to give an example. He called on me, and said, "Aki, go get twelve."
I looked up, and responded, "right now?"
"Yes, right now. Go get me twelve."
"Really?"
"Yes. Go ask Mrs. Jackson at the front desk for twelve." He seemed to be very annoyed at the fact that 1) his long speech about the importance of units had obviously not sinked in, and that 2) I was being this dense.
"Ok," I said, got up, left the classroom, and headed for the front desk. As I was leaving, I heard a lot of giggles coming from the room, and I wondered why.
When I arrived at the front desk, Mrs. Jackson had just finished up a phone call. She looked up, and said, "can I help you Aki?" It was a small school, so Mrs. Jackson knew everybody.
"Yeah," I said, "Mr. J would like me to ask you for twelve." She looked like the most confused person on earth.
"What?"
"He wants twelve." I was very determined to get twelve for my teacher, and do it fast.
"Twelve?"
"Yes, twelve." I was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that she wasn't just handing me twelve. She was taking a very long time. She looked at me, thought for a few seconds, then,
"Um.....ok.... well, here's a ruler." She handed me a metal ruler, which units were in inches "and here's a calendar." She handed me the school calendar. I might stress again that she looked very very confused.
"Thanks," I said, and started to walk away, but before I could, she said,
"And tell Mr. J that I have aspirin for him if he needs it."
I was starting to walk back when a girl in my class, Claire, came running up to me and said that Mr. J wanted me to come back. I nodded and told her proudly that I had acquired a ruler and a calendar.
When we got into the room, there was a lot of conversation going on. Mr. J, who looked very amused, looked at me and asked what Mrs. Jackson had given me. I gave him the ruler and the calendar and said, "She was very confused about what you were talking about." He chuckled a bit and told me to go back to my seat. He then continued his long speech about units.
Today, we were sitting in chemistry class. Dr. Horton, our teacher, announced that our topic for today would be units. She went up to the board and wrote: 12
To which I answered, "twelve what?"
I have learned my lesson.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Most Intense Game
I was at the Carnegie Museum today, and played one of the most intense game of cards I have ever played in my life.
Let me back up.
I volunteer there from eleven to four, and in-between, from one to two, we get an hour long break. I don't know why it's so long. Honestly, I thought half an hour was long, and most people don't know what do do with all of this time. I guess some people go out to Subway to eat, but the rest of us stay at the museum wondering what we are supposed to do.
Anyway, I was up at the office, getting my lunch, and Peter and Erin were just finishing up a game of cards. Peter was frustrated because there are only so many card games you can play with two people, and asked me if I knew any card games. I said I knew Egyptian Ratscrew, and he got really excited and asked me if I wanted to play. I love Egyptian Ratscrew, and will never turn a game down, so I played.
This is where I say that it was one of the most intense hours of my life.
Peter is really really fast at playing his cards, and even faster at slapping the cards when the time is appropriate, and even sometimes when it's not appropriate. Brandon, the intern who watches over us, slapped in and played as well. The competition between him and Peter was.....wow.
There are moments of loss, and there are moments of gain. There was a time when we kept on putting down face cards, and the pile in the middle became huge. Eventually, I put down my jack, Brandon couldn't produce a face card, and I won this ENORMOUS pile, full of face cards, and it was sooooo exciting!!!
There are also moments of stupidity, when it was just down to Peter and I. I put down a five, Peter put down a queen, and I then put down I five. Then, I was in the middle of putting the next card down in order to get a face card, but stopped, thinking wait, that's a sandwich. I wanted to slap it, but I also had this card that I was going to put down in my hand, SO I HESITATED AND PETER SLAPPED THE PILE!!! I could have put the card down and avoided that whole situation, but ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!
Also, there was a three minute argument when Peter and Brandon slapped the pile at the same time, in different places so their hands didn't overlap. They fought about who should get the pile for three whole minutes before they decided that they should call it a truce.
This lasted for the whole hour of lunch. There were moments where we got so loud that it's a wonder we didn't get told off or anything. By the end, we were so jittery, that I was still a little jumpy even after I finished playing.
I love the volunteering that I do. There's no way other places have more fun and better people than we do.
Let me back up.
I volunteer there from eleven to four, and in-between, from one to two, we get an hour long break. I don't know why it's so long. Honestly, I thought half an hour was long, and most people don't know what do do with all of this time. I guess some people go out to Subway to eat, but the rest of us stay at the museum wondering what we are supposed to do.
Anyway, I was up at the office, getting my lunch, and Peter and Erin were just finishing up a game of cards. Peter was frustrated because there are only so many card games you can play with two people, and asked me if I knew any card games. I said I knew Egyptian Ratscrew, and he got really excited and asked me if I wanted to play. I love Egyptian Ratscrew, and will never turn a game down, so I played.
This is where I say that it was one of the most intense hours of my life.
Peter is really really fast at playing his cards, and even faster at slapping the cards when the time is appropriate, and even sometimes when it's not appropriate. Brandon, the intern who watches over us, slapped in and played as well. The competition between him and Peter was.....wow.
There are moments of loss, and there are moments of gain. There was a time when we kept on putting down face cards, and the pile in the middle became huge. Eventually, I put down my jack, Brandon couldn't produce a face card, and I won this ENORMOUS pile, full of face cards, and it was sooooo exciting!!!
There are also moments of stupidity, when it was just down to Peter and I. I put down a five, Peter put down a queen, and I then put down I five. Then, I was in the middle of putting the next card down in order to get a face card, but stopped, thinking wait, that's a sandwich. I wanted to slap it, but I also had this card that I was going to put down in my hand, SO I HESITATED AND PETER SLAPPED THE PILE!!! I could have put the card down and avoided that whole situation, but ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!
Also, there was a three minute argument when Peter and Brandon slapped the pile at the same time, in different places so their hands didn't overlap. They fought about who should get the pile for three whole minutes before they decided that they should call it a truce.
This lasted for the whole hour of lunch. There were moments where we got so loud that it's a wonder we didn't get told off or anything. By the end, we were so jittery, that I was still a little jumpy even after I finished playing.
I love the volunteering that I do. There's no way other places have more fun and better people than we do.
Friday, September 7, 2012
The Room of Chaos
On Wednesday afternoon, I didn't blog, because I had something very important to do: I had to clean the living room and kitchen area. I was cleaning it for the arrival of Ma.
In her absence, it wan't in the best of shape. It wasn't in the best of shape even before she left, but we had to make it clean so that she wouldn't come home to the messiest room in the world.
I cleaned for two hours. TWO WHOLE HOURS!!!! I placed everything in what I deemed the "proper spot." I knew this probably wouldn't turn out really well, because my mother sometimes has a way of organizing that I just don't understand. It seems to me that the supplies for the mixer should go next to the actual mixer, and the salt should go with the condiments, but apparently they should both go on the kitchen counter.
There was also the issue of things that I just want to throw away. There's a whole corner of the kitchen dedicated to these little containers. From yoghurt containers to random little boxes, my mother is saving these to put seeds in in order to start her garden. Need I remind you that gardens are usually started in the spring, which is more than a half a year away! I don't believe that we need these containers in the first place, because seeds are meant to be planted in dirt.
So when I was done on Wednesday, the kitchen and living room looked immaculate. It was beautiful. The only thing on the table was a centerpiece, while everything else was put in its proper spot. I shall say it again; it was beautiful
My mother came back yesterday, and when I got home, there was a pile of things on the counter and the floor!!! The counter, that just 12 hours earlier had nothing but a beautiful centerpiece on it. Then, as I said yesterday, there was gift-giving, and cooking, and now the kitchen looks just like it was BEFORE I cleaned it. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!! It's so frustrating. I just look at the kitchen now and think, whoa, it used to be so beautiful and pristine, and now it looks like a group of kindergardeners were let loose in this room!! There's just too much stuff!!!!!!!!!!
Today, in Chemistry class, Dr. Horton, our teacher, talked about entropy. Entropy is the tendency for everything to move toward a state of chaos. She talked about how a very clean room is unstable, because it doesn't take much effort at all for it to become messy.
I just thought that that was an appropriate topic to cover, considering what I had recently gone through.
In her absence, it wan't in the best of shape. It wasn't in the best of shape even before she left, but we had to make it clean so that she wouldn't come home to the messiest room in the world.
I cleaned for two hours. TWO WHOLE HOURS!!!! I placed everything in what I deemed the "proper spot." I knew this probably wouldn't turn out really well, because my mother sometimes has a way of organizing that I just don't understand. It seems to me that the supplies for the mixer should go next to the actual mixer, and the salt should go with the condiments, but apparently they should both go on the kitchen counter.
There was also the issue of things that I just want to throw away. There's a whole corner of the kitchen dedicated to these little containers. From yoghurt containers to random little boxes, my mother is saving these to put seeds in in order to start her garden. Need I remind you that gardens are usually started in the spring, which is more than a half a year away! I don't believe that we need these containers in the first place, because seeds are meant to be planted in dirt.
So when I was done on Wednesday, the kitchen and living room looked immaculate. It was beautiful. The only thing on the table was a centerpiece, while everything else was put in its proper spot. I shall say it again; it was beautiful
My mother came back yesterday, and when I got home, there was a pile of things on the counter and the floor!!! The counter, that just 12 hours earlier had nothing but a beautiful centerpiece on it. Then, as I said yesterday, there was gift-giving, and cooking, and now the kitchen looks just like it was BEFORE I cleaned it. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!! It's so frustrating. I just look at the kitchen now and think, whoa, it used to be so beautiful and pristine, and now it looks like a group of kindergardeners were let loose in this room!! There's just too much stuff!!!!!!!!!!
Today, in Chemistry class, Dr. Horton, our teacher, talked about entropy. Entropy is the tendency for everything to move toward a state of chaos. She talked about how a very clean room is unstable, because it doesn't take much effort at all for it to become messy.
I just thought that that was an appropriate topic to cover, considering what I had recently gone through.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ma's Back (with Pens)!!!
Yes, she's back!!!!! The whole household seems more relaxed now that she's home. I missed her a lot, but now that she's back......the world is right again.
I did enjoy the time that I spent with my dad though. We were a little rebellious, doing some things that might have gotten some raised eyebrows from the mother. We went to Chick-fil-A twice, and bought ICE CREAM!!! Ice cream buying is a rare occurrence in the Nace household. To have two flavors in the house NEVER happens, and now we have mint chocolate chip and peanut butter!
Since Ma came back from Japan, she brought back the AMAZING stuff. Mostly though, she brought back pens and pencils. I ADORE pens and pencils. Ever since I was introduced to Japanese stationary, I have loved writing utensils. When I was in fourth grade, I wanted to be a professional stationary consultant. Yes. I'm not kidding.
The photos are of the pens Ma brought back. My favorite brand of pencil is Pilot's Dr. Grip mechanical shaky pencil. The Dr. Grip pencils are the three pencils on the very left. The four next to those are multi-colored pens, but the ink is replaceable. If I ran out of one ink, I could just (cross the ocean on an airplane) and buy another color. It's also good for the environment!!!
You may be wondering what a purple Spiderman has to do with all of this. I asked my mother to get me a planner, so I could write down my homework. She came home with a planner, WITH A PURPLE SPIDERMAN COVER!!!!!! SO COOL!!!
She also brought back stories of her seeing her cousins and all her relatives. Also, apparently a dream of hers came to life the other day. She was working in her favorite childhood bakery as a favor for (and this is where it gets complicated) her ex-sister-in-law's (who is a really good friend of ours) friend's mother. The stories won't stop coming. She also told me that I am able to live another dream of mine when we go back to Okinawa. I CAN SCUBA DIVE WITH A WHALE SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will be one of the coolest moments of my life. That, and when I'm on top of a hoodoo.
I will say this again, but I am glad she's back. I hope she doesn't go off like that again for a long time.
I did enjoy the time that I spent with my dad though. We were a little rebellious, doing some things that might have gotten some raised eyebrows from the mother. We went to Chick-fil-A twice, and bought ICE CREAM!!! Ice cream buying is a rare occurrence in the Nace household. To have two flavors in the house NEVER happens, and now we have mint chocolate chip and peanut butter!
Since Ma came back from Japan, she brought back the AMAZING stuff. Mostly though, she brought back pens and pencils. I ADORE pens and pencils. Ever since I was introduced to Japanese stationary, I have loved writing utensils. When I was in fourth grade, I wanted to be a professional stationary consultant. Yes. I'm not kidding.
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You may be wondering what a purple Spiderman has to do with all of this. I asked my mother to get me a planner, so I could write down my homework. She came home with a planner, WITH A PURPLE SPIDERMAN COVER!!!!!! SO COOL!!!
She also brought back stories of her seeing her cousins and all her relatives. Also, apparently a dream of hers came to life the other day. She was working in her favorite childhood bakery as a favor for (and this is where it gets complicated) her ex-sister-in-law's (who is a really good friend of ours) friend's mother. The stories won't stop coming. She also told me that I am able to live another dream of mine when we go back to Okinawa. I CAN SCUBA DIVE WITH A WHALE SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will be one of the coolest moments of my life. That, and when I'm on top of a hoodoo.
I will say this again, but I am glad she's back. I hope she doesn't go off like that again for a long time.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Table Topics
Today on the bus home from school, I was talking with some friends about speech class (a class that I'm not in, but will have take some day). Apparently in that class, the teacher pulls out a card from the table topics game, and makes us talk about that subject for a minute. This speech has to be organized, and not seem like you're just badgering on stage. I looked online to see what kind of things I could end up talking about, and I thought that I would answer some of the questions here. The answers are short and abrupt, but I did spend a lot of time thinking about them.
These questions are from the original table topics game.
1. What did you get into trouble most when you were young?
Not practicing piano. This was a grand theme in my childhood. If I didn't practice......something bad would have happened. It's still a theme today, though this time, the wrath doesn't come from my parents, it comes from my teacher.
2. In your opinion, what are the seven wonders of the world?
The Great Barrier Reef, Angkor Wat, the Northern Lights, Machu Pichu, Stonehenge, the Alps, and Antarctica
3. Which historical sporting event would you like to witness?
The first ancient olympic games held in 776 BC
4. Which is more important, intelligence or common sense?
Common Sense
5. If you could do something dangerous once with no risk what would you do?
I would climb a hoodoo, stand on top of it, and watch the sun come up. Then I would stay there all day and wait for night, and then look at the stars.
6. Where would you live if you had to leave this country?
I would go to Tasmania, Australia, because for one, it is very pretty and green (and has a lot of wide open spaces), and two, there are a lot of sheep there. Sheep are adorable. Also, it's an island, so you could go to the beach if you wanted to.
These questions are from the original table topics game.
1. What did you get into trouble most when you were young?
Not practicing piano. This was a grand theme in my childhood. If I didn't practice......something bad would have happened. It's still a theme today, though this time, the wrath doesn't come from my parents, it comes from my teacher.
2. In your opinion, what are the seven wonders of the world?
The Great Barrier Reef, Angkor Wat, the Northern Lights, Machu Pichu, Stonehenge, the Alps, and Antarctica
3. Which historical sporting event would you like to witness?
The first ancient olympic games held in 776 BC
4. Which is more important, intelligence or common sense?
Common Sense
5. If you could do something dangerous once with no risk what would you do?
I would climb a hoodoo, stand on top of it, and watch the sun come up. Then I would stay there all day and wait for night, and then look at the stars.
6. Where would you live if you had to leave this country?
I would go to Tasmania, Australia, because for one, it is very pretty and green (and has a lot of wide open spaces), and two, there are a lot of sheep there. Sheep are adorable. Also, it's an island, so you could go to the beach if you wanted to.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Wide Open Spaces
Today, Jacob wrote a three part series on why he loves astronomy. I guess you could say that I was inspired to write a post similar to his. It's not about astronomy though. Actually it's more about something that I long for. I long for wide open spaces.
A couple of months ago, I posted an entry about a childhood dream of mine. The post is here, but today I thought that I would go a little more deeply into why I want to live in a cabin in the woods.
When I was five years old, my family and I moved to Colorado Springs, CO. Colorado Springs is famous for its skiing, its mountains, and its Air Force Academy, where my dad was teaching at the time. I guess you could say that I was "surrounded by nature." I quickly learned that the Rocky Mountains were to the west. Every day, I would get up, go to school, and see the mountains towering behind the school building.
I loved it there. There were trees in my backyard, and most of the days I remember revolve around blue skies. There were no huge skyscrapers, or anything between myself and the mountains.
Colorado Springs is where my imagination flourished. I would have countless stories in my mind about witches, princesses, or just normal people going on adventures. It was a place where I could breathe. It was a place that was simple.
I don't know what my occupation will be in life, but whenever I think of my future, I'm in a place surrounded by green fields and trees, and beyond them, mountains. I'm always in my kitchen, holding a cup of tea, and looking through a window, watching as the sun comes up.
So yes, I want wide open spaces, and I miss wide open spaces. I want a place where I can go outside and dance in the rain, roll down a grassy hill, climb a tree, or even just sit under a tree and read a book.
I want to go out west. I've sometimes dreamed that I could go on a road trip, maybe with a couple of friends, and explore the west. There are places out there, not penetrated by skyscrapers or factories. Those places are the places that I think are beautiful. Those places are the places where I want to go.
A couple of months ago, I posted an entry about a childhood dream of mine. The post is here, but today I thought that I would go a little more deeply into why I want to live in a cabin in the woods.
When I was five years old, my family and I moved to Colorado Springs, CO. Colorado Springs is famous for its skiing, its mountains, and its Air Force Academy, where my dad was teaching at the time. I guess you could say that I was "surrounded by nature." I quickly learned that the Rocky Mountains were to the west. Every day, I would get up, go to school, and see the mountains towering behind the school building.
I loved it there. There were trees in my backyard, and most of the days I remember revolve around blue skies. There were no huge skyscrapers, or anything between myself and the mountains.
Colorado Springs is where my imagination flourished. I would have countless stories in my mind about witches, princesses, or just normal people going on adventures. It was a place where I could breathe. It was a place that was simple.
I don't know what my occupation will be in life, but whenever I think of my future, I'm in a place surrounded by green fields and trees, and beyond them, mountains. I'm always in my kitchen, holding a cup of tea, and looking through a window, watching as the sun comes up.
So yes, I want wide open spaces, and I miss wide open spaces. I want a place where I can go outside and dance in the rain, roll down a grassy hill, climb a tree, or even just sit under a tree and read a book.
I want to go out west. I've sometimes dreamed that I could go on a road trip, maybe with a couple of friends, and explore the west. There are places out there, not penetrated by skyscrapers or factories. Those places are the places that I think are beautiful. Those places are the places where I want to go.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Museum Hopping
Since I volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I can get into all four Carnegie Museums for free. I can also take in friends and family, so today, my dad and I went to all four museums. Overall, I saved $120 that we would normally have spent for admission.
We started with the Andy Warhol museum. I am not the biggest fan of Andy Warhol. Actually, I'm not really a fan of his work at all. I think it's mostly because I don't really enjoy modern art. However, we went in and looked at two exhibits. One was just an introduction about his life, and the other was a gallery of his early work. The reason I say that I don't enjoy modern art, is because, and I agreed with my father when he said this, it doesn't really show an immense amount of technique. I could throw a bunch of paint against a wall, and potentially sell it for a million dollars. I enjoy artists such as Norman Rockwell, Dali, and I particularly enjoy deception art (I don't know if that's really a thing, but there's a book on it, and I really enjoyed it. It's called Masters of Deception), because it shows a bunch of technique, and it isn't something that I can do. There, we spent seven dollars for parking.
Next was the Science Center! If I had been to the Science Center before, I don't remember it. Today, though, my dad and I went to see the robotics exhibit, which was so much fun! I love watching robots, and what they do. I especially enjoyed the robot that would show you how much heat you were emitting, and I enjoyed the robot that would arrange these little dots in a picture that you could draw onto a screen. Essentially, it would recreate your drawing. I also really enjoyed the "Robots through Time" part of the exhibit, which showed robots in movies from the 1920's movie Maria to C-3PO in Star Wars. We spent whopping two dollars at the science center, again, for parking.
Then we went to the Natural History Museum. My dad wanted to see the new exhibit that the teen docents created, and I wanted to see it as well. I was there on opening day, but we were so busy with people that I didn't get to see the whole thing. It really isn't that big at all, mostly there's just a wall with posters and zines that we made. It's much bigger on Saturdays, because we have a zine making station, along with some interactive games.
We then went to the other side of the building to see the Art Museum. There, we saw some of James Whistler's works. He did etchings, and I thought they were pretty cool. My dad thought that seeing 120 pictures of boats that he etched was a bit too much, but I like boats and oceans and bridges, so I was fine with seeing all that. We then wandered around looking at the art and talking about why we don't really enjoy modern art. At the Natural History and Art Museums, we spent one dollar on parking!
The total amount of money we spent was......ten dollars!!!! YAY!!!! Saving money, AND getting to play with robots is awesome!!
P.S. I would also like to point out that this is the 50th post that I have made. YAY!! It has been a lot of fun, and it's not stopping here.
We started with the Andy Warhol museum. I am not the biggest fan of Andy Warhol. Actually, I'm not really a fan of his work at all. I think it's mostly because I don't really enjoy modern art. However, we went in and looked at two exhibits. One was just an introduction about his life, and the other was a gallery of his early work. The reason I say that I don't enjoy modern art, is because, and I agreed with my father when he said this, it doesn't really show an immense amount of technique. I could throw a bunch of paint against a wall, and potentially sell it for a million dollars. I enjoy artists such as Norman Rockwell, Dali, and I particularly enjoy deception art (I don't know if that's really a thing, but there's a book on it, and I really enjoyed it. It's called Masters of Deception), because it shows a bunch of technique, and it isn't something that I can do. There, we spent seven dollars for parking.
Next was the Science Center! If I had been to the Science Center before, I don't remember it. Today, though, my dad and I went to see the robotics exhibit, which was so much fun! I love watching robots, and what they do. I especially enjoyed the robot that would show you how much heat you were emitting, and I enjoyed the robot that would arrange these little dots in a picture that you could draw onto a screen. Essentially, it would recreate your drawing. I also really enjoyed the "Robots through Time" part of the exhibit, which showed robots in movies from the 1920's movie Maria to C-3PO in Star Wars. We spent whopping two dollars at the science center, again, for parking.
Then we went to the Natural History Museum. My dad wanted to see the new exhibit that the teen docents created, and I wanted to see it as well. I was there on opening day, but we were so busy with people that I didn't get to see the whole thing. It really isn't that big at all, mostly there's just a wall with posters and zines that we made. It's much bigger on Saturdays, because we have a zine making station, along with some interactive games.
We then went to the other side of the building to see the Art Museum. There, we saw some of James Whistler's works. He did etchings, and I thought they were pretty cool. My dad thought that seeing 120 pictures of boats that he etched was a bit too much, but I like boats and oceans and bridges, so I was fine with seeing all that. We then wandered around looking at the art and talking about why we don't really enjoy modern art. At the Natural History and Art Museums, we spent one dollar on parking!
The total amount of money we spent was......ten dollars!!!! YAY!!!! Saving money, AND getting to play with robots is awesome!!
P.S. I would also like to point out that this is the 50th post that I have made. YAY!! It has been a lot of fun, and it's not stopping here.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Kennywood Trip #2
Last month, I went to Kennywood with a friend of mine, Emily (though in that entry I called her Kit, because I was going to do the whole pseudonym thing, but that didn't turn out well. Her name is Emily). That trip didn't exactly go as planned, because it started to drizzle, then rain, then pour, and then the park shut down. We got a refund ticket though, and we decided that we would use that ticket and go today.
I had two goals in mind for the day; have fun, and get some Dip 'n Dots ice cream.
Last time, because the weather was so terrible, the park was completely empty. Today though, it was nice and sunny, so there were a lot of people. And what happens there are a lot of people in the same place? You are bound to see some people you know. Yes. The people from CAPA still seem to be following me. I saw two people from CAPA, one an instrumental major, and the other, I think is a vocal major. I also saw my middle hitter from my 14s volleyball team. AND I saw Jacob's kindergarden buddy, Jarrett. Even though he was Jacob's kindergarden buddy, I still loved him because he knew how to play chess, and he was adorable.
Since the park was crowded, there was a lot more time waiting in lines. I don't really enjoy queuing (a fun British word to say and to spell), but once you ride the ride, you know that it was all worth it.
At about one in the afternoon, we got Dip 'n Dots. I absolutely LOVE Dip 'n Dots. Last time, the Dip 'n Dots store wasn't open, but this time it was, and I got cookies 'n cream flavored ice cream. At around three, it got really really hot, so we went back to get some more.
After that, we met up with Emily's family. Her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents were there. Her cousin Colby is absolutely adorable. He is four, which is the age where I think all children are adorable.
At around four, it started to sprinkle. It was really nice, actually, because it cooled me off from a really hot day. Then at around six thirty, it started to rain a little more intensely. Emily and I were in line to get on the biggest roller coaster in Kennywood, the Phantom's Revenge, when they decided to close the ride. We had ridden all the other rides that we wanted to ride, so we decided it would be a good time to leave. We didn't want to get soaked.
I am home right now, and I am exhausted. It's amazing what a day of walking around can do to you. Thankfully, it's a three day weekend, so I have time to recover. Tomorrow, my dad and I are going to go museum hopping. We're going to all four Carnegie Museums in one day.
I had two goals in mind for the day; have fun, and get some Dip 'n Dots ice cream.
Last time, because the weather was so terrible, the park was completely empty. Today though, it was nice and sunny, so there were a lot of people. And what happens there are a lot of people in the same place? You are bound to see some people you know. Yes. The people from CAPA still seem to be following me. I saw two people from CAPA, one an instrumental major, and the other, I think is a vocal major. I also saw my middle hitter from my 14s volleyball team. AND I saw Jacob's kindergarden buddy, Jarrett. Even though he was Jacob's kindergarden buddy, I still loved him because he knew how to play chess, and he was adorable.
Since the park was crowded, there was a lot more time waiting in lines. I don't really enjoy queuing (a fun British word to say and to spell), but once you ride the ride, you know that it was all worth it.
At about one in the afternoon, we got Dip 'n Dots. I absolutely LOVE Dip 'n Dots. Last time, the Dip 'n Dots store wasn't open, but this time it was, and I got cookies 'n cream flavored ice cream. At around three, it got really really hot, so we went back to get some more.
After that, we met up with Emily's family. Her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents were there. Her cousin Colby is absolutely adorable. He is four, which is the age where I think all children are adorable.
At around four, it started to sprinkle. It was really nice, actually, because it cooled me off from a really hot day. Then at around six thirty, it started to rain a little more intensely. Emily and I were in line to get on the biggest roller coaster in Kennywood, the Phantom's Revenge, when they decided to close the ride. We had ridden all the other rides that we wanted to ride, so we decided it would be a good time to leave. We didn't want to get soaked.
I am home right now, and I am exhausted. It's amazing what a day of walking around can do to you. Thankfully, it's a three day weekend, so I have time to recover. Tomorrow, my dad and I are going to go museum hopping. We're going to all four Carnegie Museums in one day.
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