Tuesday, September 7, 2010

How Do Salmon Jump the Waterfall?

I've always wondered about that. But my mishaps/adventures yesterday really made me think some more. So yesterday, for Labor Day, we and a lot of other families went up to Jones Bridge park or something and had a little picnic. Anyways, we were all playing in this shallow looking seemingly calm river. At first we stayed right on the bank. But then me, Ben, and this other kid (Peigy or something? O.o) decided to cross to the opposite bank (actually, they had already crossed once, they just invited me for the second time). So of course the water couldn't be shallow or even calm, the rocks were all submerged and slimy so one had to aim for the mossy steps. Obviously, being the dancer I am, I managed to keep my balance for about two seconds before crashing down again every time. Halfway across the river Ben finally told me the hard points but left some out to just tell me RIGHT BEFORE we got to them.
Then a lot of other stuff happened and we reached the other side. They each got a stick. And we all forgot about going to the bridge and so went right on back cause apparently the tide was rising. Something else they also forgot to tell me? Going back is about twice as hard. and for someone like me who found keeping from getting washed away the first time already beyond my skills, this was definitely not a piece of cake. So then a whole lot of stuff later which I don't really feel like elaborating on right now later Peigy (?) lost his balance during this really difficult part because he dropped his stick while jumping and tried reaching for it. Been grabbed it and was waving it towards Peigy (cause he was floating away) and he grabbed on. But then almost immediately dropped it again because his shoe was floating away. So swimming after his shoe, I watched in absolute horror cause I quite seriously thought he was going to die. Bobbing along for several agonizing seconds, he finally grabbed hold of some moss and hauled himself onto a rock. Ben yelled to meet us at another rock and so we went our separate ways-me with Ben (thankfully) and Peigy by himself (the poor child). Then after a little progress we were almost almost there, and as I watched Peigy he launched himself back into the river, this time for his other shoe. All that's needed to know is that he survived and we all made it dripping and freezing wet to the shore where I promptly proceeded to accidentally sunburn. That's the long and short of it in a nutshell and now if you'll excuse I must get some sleep. (Or maybe go watch Boys Before Flowers~).

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Drama~

I've found my heaven~
Okay okay, I'm just joking. But it is heaven for me right now, and I am in utter bliss. Dramas are the new definition of my life and I am in love.

**EDIT
10/21/10
Wow, I saved this post as a draft and then just completely forgot about it until now. Well, the moment's kinda over, but I still need to tell the empty audience of mine that I fell head-over-heels in love with the drama Boys Before Flowers. It was highly amazingly and there's anyone out there, you should definitely go and watch it right this moment.

Oh Wow.

School's started for a while now... There's so much I want to say, but no one to say it too. Starting over at a new school is really just taxing for a non-social student life me. I don't know anyone, and I think it'll be a long while until I will. But who would understand me? Not my parents, as far as their concerned I'm fine and school will always be the same. I feel desolate...abandoned, no one's there for me except for this blog... And this blog, can it ever talk to me? help me? encourage me? I'm thinking no. But this isn't what I came on to talk about, not to complain. I came to rejoice, but now even the little in my life that I can control has gone wrong. I'll come back later today in a better mood.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Oh Summer

Summer, my summer, where has thoust gone? Come back! I say, for summer cannot yet be done.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Now 9

Aww. My little brother's growing up... He's nine as of today. My parents gave him a new really nice bike and the Wii Sports Resort game. I get to play the game too though, so I'm happy enough. Coincidentally, my brother and mother's birthday are on the same day, so we went to a buffet to celebrate. I'll keep this post short, since I need (really really want) to go watch Harry Potter 3 (yeah, I'm just a little out of date, but I usually prefer to read, not watch... though I've developed a fond liking for movies).

So, and I just felt the need to record this little tidbit of information since I'm a pack rat (figuratively)and in the unlikely event that I ever go to the Pacific Buffet Sushi and Grill (located in Kennesaw next to Walmart and that other buffet we usually go to), then I'll be able to see if the conditions are still the same.

Anyways. At that buffet, I was immediately drawn to the unusual and striking entrance (by all means, I suggest that you try this buffet). As soon as I got inside the shop however, I was struck by the overwhelming sensation of a dream come true. For there in front of my very nose was a grand sushi bar, complete even with a very cute Japanese guy working behind it. I'd guess that he's a high school student or at most in college. Now, he was tall, athletic-looking, and amazing at skinning cucumbers (I know this because I watched him skin about five cucumbers in, say, around a minute. How's that for impressive?). Ahh, he just looked so relaxed and "at peace" standing there creating these delicious sushi combinations. I must have walked past that bar at least eight times trying to attract his attention, even if I only captured his gaze for a moment.

I have to leave now if I have any hopes of finishing the movie tonight, but you want to know the reason why I'm posting all of this? Why, it's just all to see if he's still working there if and when I go there next (my mom has promised me that when my uncle comes to visit we'll take him and my cousin there to eat, so then I'll be able to dream once more, perhaps at least. ;)

P.S Needless to say, the sushi he made was DELICIOUS.

Friday, June 25, 2010

I'm Still Alive!

...though covered with miscellaneous injuries and the such. I've come out of our ballet's mandatory four weeks of intensive summer training none the worse. However, following five hours of ballet for five days per week for four weeks, I have managed a bruised hip (actually from a fishing trip where I fell in the river but...), a pulled knee (...??), a sprained...metatarsal? (or something), and several bruises (resulting from pointe class of course). And so I just wanted to share with you that though I have been MIA for quite a while, I have indeed managed to live till the end. Aren't you proud of me, too?

However, buried within that proud accomplishment, I have also felt the need to reveal that today was not all that it should have been. Natural to gain injuries as these long weeks had worn on, I only wonder why this week was the week they chose to spring. All at the same time. I dealt with them as best I could, but today it was just nearly impossible to dance. Throughout the agonizing pain, I frequently found myself wondering if the teacher had chosen all the worst possible combinations for my leg. But yes, I did somehow make it through the day without too mush scolding. There is the one incident that brought me down more than just a little though. During modern today, I had waited forever waiting for the teacher to allow me to demonstrate a combination, and as my luck would have it, she allowed me to demonstrate the "skip-jump" (as I call it) combination. However, I already knew from my own practicing that if I attempted it my knee would buckle under, and so I swallowed my pride, and everything else I had, and told her that my knee was hurt, and someone else should demonstrate. And so someone else did. It really isn't that big of a deal, but the pain I had to dance through in the previous classes coupled with the fact that I could no longer perfectly execute my favorite exercise lead me into a shallow pool of sadness.

Signing off, your (hopefully) beloved author.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Karate Kid

Just got back from seeing Karate Kid!!! I totally did not know that it came out last Friday, 06.11.10, I thought it came out long long ago...how lame, right? I loved it though. Every single last bit of it. Jaden Smith is soo cute X3 And Jackie Chan is still cool as ever, even in his old age. I felt it was such an emotional movie, and the plot is amazing! I loved loved loved LOVED it. I am also really glad that I chose Karate Kid over seeing Prince of Persia and Toy Story 3 (which happened to come out today). I'm sure those are also very good movies, but Karate Kid just really touched my heart, and all the fighting in the movie can really not be described by anything other than just pure exhilarating and awesome! My only regret is that I did not have drink, but the only a minor thought, I'm completely and wholly satisfied by the movie, despite the fact that I forgot my camera and so thus could not take a picture of the humongo poster. I'd have to say though, I loved that little Cheng kid, too. He had such a cute little face and I loved his eyes. I think he's a really good actor to be able to have such determination and fury running across his face and even lingering deep in his eyes. I also just had to love his lilting accented Chinese, it was just too cute! X3 And all his evil actions and such? well, I blame all that upon his teacher, tsk, for the man to have misled such an adorable child, he deserves my revenge. I really MUST buy the DVD if and when it comes out...

But before all that happened, my day actually started with a failed fishing trip. Early this morning, I slept (finally) at 2 AM then got up at 7 (in preparation for the fishing trip of course), woke my dad 53 minutes later, and left the house at 8:30, finally arriving at 8:51. Anyways, skip all the other stuff and we arrive to where there's am ant crawling on my leg and I can't get it off, so I get frantic and start shaking my leg and hopping. Of course, I was standing on the banks of the Chattahoochee, and was too close to the water, so there was algae growing underfoot. So I slipped and fell in, but hey, at least the ant was gone!Soon after, right as we were leaving since we concluded the fish just wouldn't bite today, I started having a nose bleed. Just a thin trickle really. But then as we were heading toward the bathroom to get paper towels, blood started gushing out. So when we finally got back home and I had to start preparing for ballet, I was lightheaded, sleepy, and in throbbing pain. Not such a great morning.

Then at ballet nothing much happened, except I had decided yesterday to stop accidentally giving Austen the cold shoulder, cause I don't really mean to, but it always ends up seeming as if I do. Take yesterday's incident for example... Anyways, so today, right before modern stared, he was "flirting" with the C class girls (one level under us, I'm in the B class), when he walked by me, I looked at him (he's really quite handsome, and no, don't just go around assuming the world is "gay"), and then suddenly he stopped in front of me and Vanessa. We stared at each other for a while, then he cracked a smile (OMG, it was almost a shy little smile, I think it was kinda sorta maybe cute) and waved to me. So swallowing my instinct to turn my head and look at the wall or ground (that's what I did unintentionally yesterday...), I instead gave a little faint-hearted wave and attempted a small smile. Apparently this was enough to encourage him. He left to chat with Matthew for a second, then say bye to the C's, and then on his way back to the opening, he passed by me and Vanessa again and put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I'll see you later", with a smile again, and left. At this point Vanessa told me that Alexandria had given a certain wide-eyed very peculiar look. I'm feeling slightly scared at this point... But this scenario might be hard to imagine, so I'll describe the positions. Matt was taking out the trash from the teachers bathroom beside the waterfontain. Vanessa and I were farther back in the building, next to an opening in the wall. She was leaning against the wall, I was facing here talking. Alexandria was across the opening from us, on the left side if you're walking in from the direction of the office. And, the C's were sitting farther down the hallway we occupied, to the left of me, and the right of Vanessa and Alexandria. So now that that's all cleared up... WHAT SHOULD I DO??? HAHAHA Haha, ha ha ha...ha...h....aaah (voice trails off completely at this point)

Good day to you too...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Ch-Ch-Chi-CHICKENS!

I WANT MY CHICKENS!!!

PLEASE MY COUNTY AND CITY< ALLOW ME TO KEEP SOME PET CHICKENS...

WHYYYYY

Good Morning Call

A really good manga, too, and just as worthy as any of the others that I have posted about to receive a lengthy summary and gallery of pictures with careful descriptions of all the characters. However, with ballet and all going on, I'm alot more busy and tired than I had ever thought I would be. But I've felt the need, that even though I can't write summaries and character summaries, to tell all in the world that this is one manga also quite worth reading. It's a wonderful shoujo manga but sadly I only have time to disclose one photo here and a short short SHORT summary here.

Synopsis (short, very very short that is, version)-
The story is about Yoshikawa Nao, an ordinary schoolgirl. Since she lives too far from school, she decides to rent an apartment. But when she comes to the apartment, she finds that it is already taken by Uehara Hisashi, a popular boy at her school! So Nao and Hisashi decide to live together.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Frisbee, Whipped Cream, and Water Balloons

Long story short, that's exactly what Gretchen's party today was. Exactly that. It was a really fun 4 and a half hours of my life, and though it caused my mom to excessively yell at me for having a whipped cream scent and not giving her clear directions, being able to see my friends was clearly worth it. Especially Brain...especially Brian. A few highlights that were really unbearably funny? Well, for one, there was when, after our whipped cream war, we were washing off with water balloons and a hose, Brian and Jeffrey whipped off their shirts because they didn't like being wet. Lol. But anyways, Brian seriously DID NOT LIKE being stared at half naked. Hahahaha. He's so funny. I swear though, that kid can only get cuter and cuter. Oh yeah, and before I forget, I really need to proclaim this to the world: "Jeffrey has ABS!!!". Yep. Well. That's it then ^-^

Monday, June 7, 2010

Oh My.

Just found a really little teeny tiny baby rabbit in our backyard. My dad somehow managed to catch it with a butterfly net, and right now it's sitting in a box with carrots and leaves stuck in with it. I really really want to let it out, the poor thing is in shock. But rabbits have been plaguing my mom's vegetable garden for years and so my mom doesn't want to let it go and eat her plants. My dad doesn't care, and so he's totally fine with leaving it in shock. I'm so so so afraid it's going to die. I can just imagine it's little heart beating and beating with ever increasing speed, I mean, if I were that little rabbit, I'd have died of fright already. But now the question is what to do with it. My dad said to keep it as a pet, but I'm afraid it'll die since it's not moving, and I don't think it'll eat if it's really in shock. I'm trying all I can to let it go, but what can I do???

My poor little Timothy DX

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Gah

Ballet...

five hours a day
five days each week
four weeks this summer
around 100 hours in total!?!?!

oh sweet life, spare me...

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Finally.

YAYYYY!!!!!! I finally finally feel like I can enjoy by summer now ^-^. The thoughtts of school are still there but they no longer haunt me. I've been partying (Nathaniel's party yesterday and then Katherine's party on the 12 of June ;D) and burying those thoughts. Now is the time for the commencement of rest of my life!

Which also means I'm starting to think more seriously about my future and get going through the stacks of work that I should have learned, but will now have to waste summer learning cause I didn't. But hey, work is good. Work means I can't think about other stuff...such as Sammy...and school...Ugh. And of course that just set my mind back on that. I'll go read some more manga to try keeping my mind off those little subjects there and maybe start planning Azn Fest V (or is it X?).

(For your health, only the fist and foremost paragraph is intended to be read. For those not strangers to rants, then know that the second paragraph is only to be read AT THE READER'S OWN RISK. Thank you very much for your business, come again.) ~The above warning is meant to be written in a slightly formal fashion as I have taken over my dear Yuanhan's advice in which he states that formal writing has often helped him fill, though often also ineffectively, the hole in his heart. As this is the method he has been relying on in recent times, I have chosen to do so also both for his above stated reason and as a show a support to him though also as a request that this unique technique will work. Au revior~

Cheers ;)

as if I can say that happily now...

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Seven Days

Title: Seven Days
Author: Tachibana Benio

Summary: Bright and early one Monday morning, Shino Yuzuru asks Seryou Touji out on a lark when they run into each other at the school gate. Seryou, who's immensely popular, has the odd habit of going out with anyone who asks him out first at the beginning of the week, then promptly dumping them at the end of it. "Anyone" apparently includes male upperclassmen like Shino, and as a boyfriend, Seryou is perfect--unfailingly thoughtful and kind. Shino, obviously, has no intention of being in a serious relationship with Seryou. It's not like it's actually love or anything like that. ...Right?

Favorite Character: Unfortunately I seriously COULD NOT decide which boy I liked better in this manga. So, I'll do a little description of both the boys.
First we'll see Shino Yuzuru-
Shino has the good looks and personality to match with, or so most girls in his school thinks. Heck, he is one of the stars in the school’s archery team. However, once the girls began dating Shino, they break off soon enough. After they actually witness Shino’s true self they realize that he’s sloppy and unrefined…in short he’s not the prince that those girls dream of. Girls can be superficial, eh?
Seryou Touji-
Seryou on the other hand, is a different story all together. You see, it is well-known around the school that he is willing to date anyone for a week as long as she (or he) confesses to him on a Monday. Once the seven days are up, he will decide whether to continue dating that person or not depending on whether he feels something towards the other person.

Now, this isn't the type of manga that I usually read, but I found the cover and title very interesting, and once I started reading, well, I just could not stop. I can almost guarantee that anyone who tries this manga will not be disappointed. I had read this manga expecting it to be decent at best, but this was way beyond decent...it was AMAZING!! It has been out for quite a while now, but I really don't understand why it's not famous. However, I strongly encourage those of you out there to help make it more famous, spread the news through all your friends. This book is really just one of the best, there's no other way to put it. Read it and maybe you'll see it my way. =)

Soo....

What exactly is there to say? A few days ago I found my second grade prince on Facebook, I was sososo happy. Then I sent him a message and told him hi and stuff and that he looked cute. I was seriously in the seventh heaven of paradise when he replied and we had a nice little chat/conversation going. But then we got on the subject of his old friends and stuff and well, I'm sorry to say, but this is the truth, I really just wanted to keep him to myself and keep him from contacting any of his old buddies, I was afraid that he'd then stop contact with me. However, though I answered his questions in the most roundabout ways possible without lying, eventually he friended three of the oldies that I'm also friends with and now he hasn't responded to my latest message and I'm feeling so jealous and no doubt he's also sent friend requests and stuff to the other peoples and UGH>>>. I oh so wanna talk to him but really? He stopped replying, so I don't want to annoy him or anything but I can't stand this anymore. WHAT DO I DO?!?!?! UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH...NOOOOOOO WHYYYYYYYYY NOOOOOOOO UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay fail, that's a lot of spam type stuff up there, but I just had to have one post at least where I could let out my feelings like that. But seriously, why why why, do I always have the failest of failing bad fail luck? Ugh. I'd just managed to friend him and talk to him for a coupla short little days and now nnnnnooooooooo. Okay, no more spam from me anymore. But I ish sooo jealous and just when I thought life was going back to a flowery sunny little summer filled with breezy goodness and pools, this giant typhoon blows in and ruptures my pool and the rain drowns and kills my flowers while all the fresh sunshine that is just beginning appear is quickly cut off by the dark looming clouds and I can't take it anymore, these metaphors aren't going anywhere anyways, but how else am I to express anything without letting out bloodcurdling screeches of extreme jealous and burying my very being inside a dark dark smothering volcano of envy, hatred, whatever. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, it just feels like my fingers are frantically typing now but for lack of actual words to say. So before I get any further in another series of terrible metaphors of despair or whatevernot, I'll just sign off for now and come back when I feel more like talking about whatever the subject was originally about. But for now I'll just leave saying this: IloveyouKansasandIwassohappywhenIfoundyouagainandyouwereohsocuteandyouwerenicetooandIwasjustohsohappythatwecouldactuallytalkandstuffbutnowI'mliterallydieingfromjealousyandcauseIdon'twanttoshareyouwithanyonebutwhatamIsupposedtodo?Youwon'tevenmessagemeanymoreandI'mlonelyandgettingdepressedandIneedtostoptypingnowcausethisisgettingwaytolongbutIreallydon'twanttostopcauseIhaven'tfinishedrantingonaboutyouyetbutsinceIhavetoI'lljustfinishwithsayingthatonceagainILOVEYOUisaboutthemostcoherentthingIcansumupofmyfeelingsrightnow. <3

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Is It True?

My mind seems unable to accept the fact that I will most likely never see most of my friends again, especially Sammy. It seems that only once it's 6:50 on Monday morning and I'm still sleeping in bed will I actually accept this fact. My life feels so empty right now, I can't stop thinking about that hug. Though only a few seconds at most, it occupies too much of my thoughts. I miss everyone oh so dearly already but the image of him in his brilliant turquoise shirt continues to drive all else out of my mind. I just feel so...lost now. I can't think of what the future can hold right now, all I can do is cling to my memories, but then the image always melts away into that embrace... I can't think, I can't do anything. All I can do is despair. Somehow, I will meet him again, I don't care if he doesn't like me in that special way, I'm gonna at least accomplish the status of "friends". But that memory...it keeps going back to that...both hot and cold at once, I wanna feel that again, I wanna feel the smooth curve of his chin, the soft brush of his cheek, the gentle fabric of his shirt, the soothing warmth from his body, which felt indescribable in terms of words. The feel of his arms, that wonderful sheepish grin on his silly face. Ugh. That gleaming crown of golden hair. I'm absolutely starstruck. I keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I had done something different, been more bold, or tried harder at school, I would have been rewarded. But alas, of course maybe it just wasn't meant to be. I won't give up just yet, but even lost in memories, I just can't help but wonder...

Friday, May 21, 2010

Washed Away

Got back from Kelley's party and went to take a shower. I feel slightly better now that the soothing warm water has washed away the last (hopefully) of my tears. Imma go watch my end of year slide show now. Maybe that and a nice sad story with loud music will be able to drown out my sorrow...Wish me luck.

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty, We Are Free At Last!

Yeah, today was the last day of school. Officially, our reign as the top of the chain of middle schoolers has come to an end. Now we have to start over again from the bottom of the high schoolers. Today was a pretty nice, normal day. Me, Jessie, Yvette,, and Sophie were all really hyped up from our sleepover last night (WHOLE other story, it was really fun though), and started the day off eating raman and having lots of fun. I bagged two cookies and brought them with me to school. I also brought a Mickey Mouse shaped cookie that we had made last night for our math teacher, who LOVES sugar and all things Mickey Mouse. So I walked in the door with Sophie and when the teacher saw the cookies, she was like, "chocolate chip cookies! are those for me?" (and remember, this is a person who teaches a very monotone and robotical class, so I was really shocked). So then I gave it to her and told her it was a chocolate chip Mickey Mouse shaped cookie and she just SPAZZED. That was the beginning of the day.

The rest of the day flew by pretty quickly. With only the moments where I gave Alex his cookies (X3) and then later his photos (later I also gave Yvette, David, and Brian theirs) standing out in my mind. But disaster struck when we went to watch the customary slideshow. I realized, "THAT I HAD NOT SIGNED IN SAMMY'S YEARBOOK THIS YEAR. NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! *about to shoot myself* UGH". Me and Kelley laughed through the slideshow, but when we got up for dismissal, we found out the Yvette was the first to start blubbering, causing the others around her to also break out into tears. I didn't...

Anyways, I fought my way through the crowd and presented a new box of "Five" gum to Matt R. He was all like "o.o really?? for me?". And so I nodded my head and asked him for a hug in return. He paused in leaping over a chair, hugged me, and we said our goodbyes. Next I went to deliver Yvette and Brian's photos, where I found that Yvette was completely red-faced with tears streaming down. Then I noticed a small circle of girls scattered and crying, tears dripping onto the floor. But I didn't have time to worry over that yet, I had just spotted Sammy's brilliant blond head bobbing up and down in the sea of peers. Muttering hurried goodbyes, and distributing hugs, I quickly made my way up to him. He was talking to another guy so I waited, and thought, and then I went up to him after the guy walked away and asked him for a hug. A sheepish expression crept onto his face and the smile that I like so much came with it, the same smiled he had worn the night of the dance, when I confessed. So he said, "sure", opened his arms and I walked in. My head came up just to his chin in that warm embrace, I tilted my head slightly, so I felt the warmth of his wonderful chin resting on my forehead. He hugged me for a pretty long time, at least longer than some other people that I'm actually good friends with, but that might have just been my imagination, in which case, I now know how it feels to have time stop because of love. I hugged him tightly, burying my face against the folds of his brilliant turquoise shirt, wishing the moment would never end. Every detail, every sound, I noticed. But all good things have an end, so of course this did, too. His arms at last loosened, and though I really really wanted to just hug him all the tighter, I knew that it was time to let go, and with it, my past. But I can still remember, how in that moment, as he hugged my, his cheek brushed against mine, ahhh, the wonders that the very thought brings. And that little notion that movie makers have that surroundings just blur into nothingness when with the one you like? Well, it's true, completely true. In that moment, I seriously did not care who saw me. I seriously could not tell what was happening around us, who was who, or even 2x2.

But then the magic disappeared, the back of turquoise shirt disappearing into the crowd again as I walked away. Alot of hugs later, I found out that even though I really wanted to cry, I just could not. Only after I got home did I actually started crying (we had a half day of school today, ended at 12:30). My friends alternated between trying to make me feel better and making fun of me on the bus (about going to Campbell). Anyways, to sum it up, I'm really happy about Sammy hugging me, but I'm also equally sad that he's going to Wheeler after all and I'm going to Campbell. Also, leaving my friends is going to be really harsh and tough, but I have to go to Kelley's party now, so I'll try to be happy for another night and make some more fun memories. Byebye for now, going to go get ready for Kelley's party. PARTY!~~

Friday, May 14, 2010

Just Dance!

Sooo...today was our eighth grade dance. And, IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Everyone there was "formal' though the posters all said "dressy/casual" and Yuanhan and a group of friends dressed up as the mafia, he as their leader and they as bodyguards. Ahh, they all looked so cute in black suits and then randomly colored ties^^. And then I convinced him to go get pictures with Mary in the photo booth and then I got him to give her a rose. Kya~~~

Alot of friends started giving flowers and acting all storybook-like and I'm proud to say I conquered a little hill of mine too at the dance today. After 17 minutes of careful thought and a great bucket load of courage later, I finally walked up to Sammy in the last minute of the dance and...confessed. But of course something always goes wrong with everything I do. The music was really really loud (another reason for not walking up earlier was because I seriously didn't like some of the music, yes I'm a romantic freak) and so he actually didn't hear me the first time. Like, he looked like he knew what I was talking about but didn't really hear the words and just wanted to make sure or something. And so I had to say a condensed form a second time. But then...I just waited a second and LEFT. I talked to some friends and they were so shocked that I just LEFT after my confession. But was I not supposed to? Was I supposed to stay?? I'm so confused. I also don't really know his reaction. It was dark in there and there was a lot of background stuff and confusion, but I could swear that he almost looked amused. But not amused like he was laughing at me. Rather, he just had on a half-smile and a very peculiar expression that I can't describe at all. But I'm really proud of myself for finally telling him, now i can rest in peace. However, now there's a really serious question that my friends have asked, HOW AM I GOING TO FACE HIM ON MONDAY??? I mean, I kinda just left him after telling him and then ran away. After a weekend, it'll probably be even more awkward. And, since I left, will he ever give me a response? Even if he rejects he I still want to hear it from his mouth. A friend asked if I wanted her to find out for me on Monday, and I really want her to, but then wouldn't it be more awkward?!?! Ugh, I really really want to know and I'm so afraid that he'll just never tell me and shun me or something. I'm so paranoid and unreasonable, cause in the back of my head I've already known what the answer would be for three years already. But that's the only bad part of the dance, everything else was GREAT! No, scratch that, that little scene was definitely not a bad part of the dance, I'm really proud of myself for doing that, I would do it again if I ever got the chance to go back, and it in no way spoiled my evening.

Ahh, wish we could have stayed there forever~

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Finals Already

Only in eighth grade and finals already? Here's my punishment for taking all the ninth grade courses offered. Good thing some of the finals are able to be exempted, or else I would seriously die. but other than finals these two weeks we also have End Of Course Tests, projects, essay, power-points, and more tests to get ready for the finals. Among all this, our teachers have mixed in yet more homework. No wonder I have no more time to blog lately.

But on a happier note, the eighth grade dance is this Friday and I'm actually looking forward to it, though I'm just going alone. But now I've gotta go do all that studying for those finals I mentioned, bye for now. ~~

Monday, May 10, 2010

Disney!!!

I got back from Disney yesterday night at 11:10. It was an eight hour drive there on Thursday night at 10:30 and then another eight hour drive back yesterday. By the way, YESTERDAY I TURNED FOURTEEN!!! =D

Anyways, Disney was wonderful!The first thing we did there at 8 in the morning on Friday was our orchestra workshop, the whole reason we were there in the first place. It was reallyy tiresome, but worth all the fun we had later. Btw, our director's son had the same birthday as me.

Right after our clinic was over, we went straight into seven hours of fun in Epcot. At first, our group was huge. Me, Yvette, Alex, Brian, Steven, Matt An, Chirsty, Mary, David, and Joon were all one group. But Brian, Alex, Matt, and David all wanted to get to Test Track as quickly as possible. Hopefully before the people on the boat got there (since when was this all a race?). So we all took off running in that direction, however, Steven and I were taking pictures along the way and got separated from the runners. Chirsty and Mary were even farther behind us and then went to the bathroom without telling us. What I didn't know was the Matt was also racing in front of everyone else, and that Yvette and David were close behind but couldn't see him. This left Brian, David, Joon, and Alex running in the middle. Somehow, our giant group had separated into a couple of smaller groups that didn't meet the standards (one group consists of four people, Mrs Culley's rules).

Later, Chirsty and Mary caught up with me and Steven and I led them off towards the general goal, Test Track. But Mary and Chirsty didn't want to run so somehow we lost them again, even as I called Yvette and then Brian and all met up again under Test Track. Then we all went and got fast passes and then waited in line. Of course, me and Yvette not being extreme roller coaster people, we started hyperventilating and getting all queasy, especially after seeing the video in the briefing room. Seriously, the video was SCARY. Of course Yvette and I at together, clutched each others hands and began to scream when we sat down. I mean seriously, we had a group of eight, but one car only seats six, so if your group kicked you out and you were on a car of strangers wouldn't you be scared stiff? Maybe not, but let me remind you, we're really not roller coaster people. We were all still on the same entire coaster at the same time, but we weren't on the same car as anyone we knew and that was scary, only seeing the back of their heads for comfort. But then (because it's two rows of three seats) me and Yvette also sat next to this eight year old Spanish boy and he wasn't scared at all. He spoke with a really funny accent and I got Yvette to try and converse with him in Spanish since he really wanted to talk to someone in Spanish (Yvette takes Spanish I take French). He really eased my fear, I mean I can't really be scared when there's this eight year old just sitting next to me laughing right? But Yvette still screamed and while I didn't scream I did have to clutch her hand tightly while on the scary parts.

I don't really remember what happened after this, the day was just too strange. I only know that somehow our group separated again into fours when Brain, Alex, Joon , and Steven left us in front of an ice cream shop when they went to find something to eat. So me, Yvette, Matt, and David walked around and enjoyed the sights, ate lunch in Japan (I had Shrimp Tempura Udon, it was decently good)with Chirsty and Mary until they left us in search of ice cream, then walked through Morocco, the US, and a jumble of other countries and arrived at Norway. Here we got some huge ice cream cones (well, they did, I got a lemon slushie) and dripped ice cream everywhere. We got in line for Maelstorm, called our chaperons to tell them we couldn't meet with them, that we were in line, and then everything went wrong. Yvette and Matt were washing hands with water from a water bottle as I stood in line and David searched for a bathroom he never found. David and Yvette came back to line but Matt was waiting for David who actually was already back. So then me, Yvette, and David went on the ride. But Yvette called Brian to tell him to look out for Matt if he saw him, Brian told his chaperon and me and Yvette were claimed guilty of the whole incident later. The ride turned out to terrible and we stumbled out to find Matt sitting there. Oh well.

Our fast passes were valid by this time, so I called Brian and met up with their group again under Test Track. We went on it again, but it just wasn't scary any more, nor was it any good inn the experienced eyes of the boys, who deemed the wait time too long to go again. So I suggested we try Soarin' which Mrs. Culley had actually recommended to another group, and off we went again. Then after an eighty minute wait we finally got in and it was pretty good, just not enough for such a long wait. Later a lot of other random things happened and somehow me and Yvette left the group and Mrs. Mullis caught us wandering around and then Mrs. Culley sentenced us to an early curfew of 9:05 which left us with no time to eat after we got back to the hotel. Somewhere later in this story we called David and he agreed to buy and deliver food for us but he never made it even after we left a list of items and money outside our door (he gave the money back later). And this was all just day ONE. Gosh that was a lot.

Day Two. We got up at 6:45 and made it to Animal Kingdom at 7:30 ish. Immediately our group raced towards Mount Everest and got fast passes then rode it since the line was short. In total, counting the times we waited, used fast passes, and went single rider, we rode Mount Everest eight entire times. I'll just say it now that I'm really proud that I never even screamed once the entire trip. However, I do feel really bad for Alex since I made him sit with so many times and I grabbed his arm. I hope he doesn't hate me. I mean, I don't think he does but he did seem a little annoyed at the end and sat with Joon, but I'm sorry.

At Animal Kingdom we also rode the river rapids thing once and then we left for Magic Kingdom at 2:00. Sophie's really mad at me now since apparently she had my birthday gift with her but we never got a chance to meet up with her and Georgia's Mathcounts groups. So she was going to give it to me today at school but then I skipped (>.<""). Anyways, at Magi Kingdom we ended up running across the park multiple times between Space Mountain and Splash Mountain (why in the world were they on opposite sides of the park??) and even though it was extremely tiring it was also really fun so that more than evens it. At 8 that night we left early and went back to the hotel to eat and relax. And I guess that concludes day two. Wow that was so short in comparison to day one. I guess I'm just getting too tired to type.

But then lastly there's Day Three. May 9, 2010. That's my birthday.. Now I'm fourteen and really quite proud I conquered a lot of my fears that day. Our little group went on Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios two times and then on the Rocking Roller Coaster five times. Luckily these two rides were literally right next to each other. On the Rocking Roller Coaster I conquered my fears of: heights, the dark, roller coasters in general, extreme high speeds, and being upside down. Quite nice to know I've grown a little. Unfortunately, I never did find a cake that day in Disney, but my friend's birthday wishes made up for that. Ahh fun. My summaries just got shorter and shorter.

Wish we were still there, but nothing lasts forever, can't even believe that I skipped school today (ugh, so many finals that I had to escape from) but I definitely have to go back tomorrow and make up all those tests as well as the ones scheduled for tomorrow. Ugh. I have to go study for those now I guess. Wish me luck! <3

**EDIT**
-5/12/2010-
BTW, I need to remind myself to remember what happened on the Tower of Terror. That first ride where I was sitting between Alex and Brian and that thing happened. Probably just me overreacting or something and imagining things, but I really think it happened but I don't know how to ask anyone about what they think of it cause it would definitely be too awkward. But I really need to think this over and see what I think really happened and if it happened the way I think it did or because he just felt bad for me being so scared or something. Cause here's what happened. Mr almost hugged me on the ride. Like, I was hyperventilating and extremely scared and I was like "Ahh, I'm really really scared. Alex, give me your hand?", and then Brian leaned over and looked like he was about to hug me, I mean, his arms were opening and he said "it's okay Sharon, I've got you". But then just as he did that I leaned over Alex and grabbed his hand and so Brian returned to his previous position with a little kinda disappointed sounding "ohh". Anndd, now I think Alex might possibly dislike me now for forcing him to ride on so many roller coasters with me and then grabbing his hand the whole time. Even though he did look pretty happy at the first ride, by the end of the third day he said something like 'what? but I've already gone on like fifty rides with you, I'm gonna go with Joon on this one.", so what am I supposed to think? My friend Kelley said he probably liked it and wouldn't think of disliking me for it or anything, but now I'M CONFUSED. What am I supposed to think of all this? Just someone tell me nothing happened how I think it did though there's so much I proof that everything happened exactly as I saw I mean, I'd be kinda happy if it did since I've liked Brian and Alex in sixth grade, but then everything would be so complicated. I mean, Brian likes Yvette (or so says Yuanhan) and Yvette likes Brian (or so says Yuanhan, but they did both sit together on the rides, Yvette ditched me for him and that's the only reason why I was sitting with Alex to begin with) but they both won't admit it (apparently, this is, again, from Yuanhan, so it wouldn't make any sense for Brian to hug me or anything unless he felt sorry for me or it was an act of chivalry or something. And then Alex, I'd love it if he did like sitting with me, but if that was true at all then it was completely dispelled by day two, I was probably way too clingy and forceful. but I was scared, so there's my excuse. And I would hate for Alex to hate me cause he's a really god friend so if this trip changed our friendship then I'll be really sad. But somehow this little "edit" part of my post has grown really long so I'm gonna leave and go try and figure out the situation again. I'm a failure, but I seriously believe what I saw and really really need a reasonable explanation for all of this. Ugh. I need serious help. -.-"

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Oh So Tired...

just got back from our ballet recital, err, spring concert (jeesh teachers, why change the name all of a sudden?). sososo tired now, can't even think right i'm so tired. today was just too stressful, the stakes to high to even think about falling. ugh. my day started with rehearsal from 9:45 to 12:56. Then i had about two hours to get SOME homework done a least and then i had to go have my piano lesson and then eat my lunch at almost 4. after all this, at 5:15 i had a "warm-up class" which was more like a death class, everyone was panting and gasping and all red in the face by the end of it all. right after this of course we had the actual recital itself which required another flurry of perfect hair, hairspray clouds, hurried makeup, quick changes, my point shoe ribbon completely just popping off, the main curtain falling instead of lifting, butterflies in the stomach, needle stabbed in the ankle, and whatever else happened in the mass air of nerves we all sat bundled in. ahh, it just doesn't get any easier no matter how many times you do it. in fact, i think it gets harder, each time has to be better as we advance through the levels soon, when/if i get to the apprentice one/student ensemble then i'll have my very own little solo, which would be just horrifying to mess up in. happy to report though that my relation with my fellow students has shifted slightly in a good very good way. i've started talking more and now matt, ahem, i'm sorry, *matthew (elizabeth appeared to have a problem with me calling him matt instead of matthew even when he says he doesn't mind...children these days), has actually started kinda sorta including me in his conversations and questions now. all in all, today was a wonderfull ball of hysteria with just the right touch of everything. so many wonderful things happened, i saw soo many wonderful dances and solos, austin talked to me again (only after i said after i had been kicked out of my dressing room only to find him sitting outside, there's a huge story about this that doesn't really relate to anything but would be wonderfully funny if i do remember this some years later), got this bouquet of beautiful brilliant blue flowers from sophie who complimented me by dressing semi-formally for a change (btw, as thanks for giving her some tickets, or maybe just as a whim, she never told me which, she's taking me to church tomorrow with her!!! =D). i'm so happy now^^. but i do need to go now, recital...SPRING CONCERT...isn't over yet this year, there's still the one last show tomorrow.

P.S-whoops, forgot to mention something about our really pretty dresses this year. it's a wonderful midnight blue and definitely the best dresses we've ever had. ahh, just so fun. >.< i still can't get over the excitement of a successful performance even after, what, six years now? but i really do need to go and sleep or i'll be dead on stage tomorrow, or even worse, could i possibly fall asleep in church tomorrow? ugh, scary thought...and on this note let us depart. wish me luck for tomorrow! =)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Walton Color Guard

The prestigious Walton color guard came to our school during gm class. A few days before the Pope color guard had been here, but proudly and quite truthfully I can say that the Walton color guard is of course the better. In fact, their winter guard dance was so good today, I was tempted to go to Walton after all just to join.

After the company danced, they again let us onto the floor to try out the equipment. I screwed up all my courage and went. IT WAS GREAT!!! The most fun I've ever had ding a single thing. At first I was so scared about throwing the flag up and then catching it, but then I tried it once, somehow managed to catch it, and from that point on was hooked. In total they had time to teach me three throws, we were starting on a fourth when they had to gather all the equipment. While I had my instructor person to myself, Yvette, Katherine, Kelley, and Gretchen all had to share one, one that was considerably less experienced than mine I must say. Only now do I realize how luck I was.

The feeling I experienced right after a successful toss and catch was incredible. It really makes me wonder how awesome it would be if I could do it all the time, and better yet, as part of the Walton color guard. I was so caught up in all this that I even went and asked the organizer if I could join Walton's color guard even if I was going to a different school. But of course not. One can't have all the good things in life.

Thinking back to tossing the flag just brings such delight. So happy that I could catch it and turned out to be good at it. My helper, Jessica I think, said that I was really good and the whole thing and should join the color guard at Walton. I almost cried when she said that. I love life.

I need to go buy a flag for my very own, cheer myself on in the backyard or something. =D

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Ah Right...

Forgot to say, if anyone actually made it through reading all that (it's really not that much, so interesting once you actually start), then I'm extremely proud of you! I would highly recommend you to research him, he is just a fascinating person. Especially his quotes. =) He has the best quotes ever and seem to make him more real, substantial, but yet still admirable and a great hero that's REAL to look up to. I hope you like him, too. ^.^

My Crush is Dead

This is Horatio Nelson. He's my long-time crush, except for the little fact that he is dead. This picture is of him at age nineteen. There's an interesting tale behind it. Captain Horatio Nelson, painted by John Francis Rigaud in 1781, with Fort San Juan—the scene of his most notable achievement to date—in the background. The painting itself was begun and nearly finished prior to the battle, when Nelson held the rank of lieutenant; when Nelson returned, the artist added the new captain's gold-braided sleeves. Another fact to love about him. And he's an actually cute famous person, too. Love this guy. =D

Since I'm so obsessed with him, I'll even that this space on my blog and post all these interesting facts about him beginning with his early life:
Nelson attended Paston Grammar School, North Walsham, until he was 12 years old, and also attended King Edward VI’s Grammar School in Norwich. His naval career began on 1 January 1771, when he reported to the third-rate HMS Raisonnable as an Ordinary Seaman and coxswain under his maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, who commanded the vessel. Shortly after reporting aboard, Nelson was appointed a midshipman and began officer training. Early in his service, Nelson discovered that he suffered from seasickness, a chronic complaint that dogged him for the rest of his life. Ahaha. =) He was this great naval commander but got seasick everytime. makes me laugh every time.

This is from the Battle of Cape St Vincent:
Nelson was victorious, but had disobeyed direct orders. Jervis liked Nelson and so did not officially reprimand him, but did not mention Nelson's actions in his official report of the battle. He did write a private letter to George Spencer in which he said that Nelson "contributed very much to the fortune of the day". Nelson also wrote several letters about his victory, reporting that his action was being referred to amongst the fleet as "Nelson's Patent Bridge for boarding first rates". Nelson's account was later challenged by Rear-Admiral William Parker, who had been aboard HMS Prince George. Parker claimed that Nelson had been supported by several more ships than he acknowledged, and that the San Josef had already struck her colours by the time Nelson boarded her. Nelson's account of his role prevailed, and the victory was well received in Britain: Jervis was made Earl St Vincent and Nelson was made a Knight of the Bath. On 20 February, in a standard promotion according to his seniority and unrelated to the battle, he was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue.

Battle of Santa Cruz de Tnerife:
The battle plan called for a combination of naval bombardments and an amphibious landing. The initial attempt was called off after adverse currents hampered the assault and the element of surprise was lost. Nelson immediately ordered another assault but this was beaten back. He prepared for a third attempt, to take place during the night. Although he personally led one of the battalions, the operation ended in failure: the Spanish were better prepared than had been expected and had secured strong defensive positions. Several of the boats failed to land at the correct positions in the confusion, while those that did were swept by gunfire and grapeshot. Nelson's boat reached its intended landing point but as he stepped ashore he was hit in the right arm by a musketball, which fractured his humerus bone in multiple places. He was rowed back to the Theseus to be attended to by the surgeon. On arriving on his ship he refused to be helped aboard, declaring "Let me alone! I have got my legs left and one arm." He was taken to the surgeon, instructing him to prepare his instruments and "the sooner it was off the better". Most of the right arm was amputated and within half an hour Nelson had returned to issuing orders to his captains. Years later he would still excuse himself to Commodore John Thomas Duckworth for not writing longer letters due to not being naturally left-handed.

Battle of Copenhagen:
On the morning of 2 April 1801, Nelson began to advance into Copenhagen harbour. The battle began badly for the British, with HMS Agamemnon, HMS Bellona and HMS Russell running aground, and the rest of the fleet encountering heavier fire from the Danish shore batteries than had been anticipated. Parker sent the signal for Nelson to withdraw, reasoning:

I will make the signal for recall for Nelson's sake. If he is in a condition to continue the action he will disregard it; if he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat and no blame can be attached to him.

Nelson, directing action aboard HMS Elephant, was informed of the signal by the signal lieutenant, Frederick Langford, but angrily responded: 'I told you to look out on the Danish commodore and let me know when he surrendered. Keep your eyes fixed on him. He then turned to his flag captain, Thomas Foley and said 'You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes.' He raised the telescope to his blind eye, and said 'I really do not see the signal. The battle lasted three hours, leaving both Danish and British fleets heavily damaged. At length Nelson despatched a letter to the Danish commander, Crown Prince Frederick calling for a truce, which the Prince accepted. Parker approved of Nelson's actions in retrospect, and Nelson was given the honour of going into Copenhagen the next day to open formal negotiations. At a banquet that evening he told Prince Frederick that the battle had been the most severe he had ever been in. The outcome of the battle and several weeks of ensuing negotiations was a 14 week armistice, and on Parker's recall in May, Nelson became commander-in-chief in the Baltic Sea. As a reward for the victory, he was created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, on 19 May 1801. In addition, on 4 August 1801, he was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Hilborough in the County of Norfolk, this time with a special remainder to his father and sisters.

Battle of Trafalgar:
At four o'clock in the morning of 21 October Nelson ordered the Victory to turn towards the approaching enemy fleet, and signalled the rest of his force to battle stations. He then went below and made his will, before returning to the quarterdeck to carry out an inspection. Despite having 27 ships to Villeneuve's 33, Nelson was confident of success, declaring that he would not be satisfied with taking less than 20 prizes. He returned briefly to his cabin to write a final prayer, after which he joined Victory’s signal lieutenant, John Pasco.

Mr Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet "England confides that every man will do his duty". You must be quick, for I have one more signal to make, which is for close action.

Pasco suggested changing 'confides' to 'expects', which being in the Signal Book, could be signalled by the use of a single flag, whereas 'confides' would have to spelt out letter by letter. Nelson agreed, and the signal was hoisted.

As the fleets converged, the Victory’s captain, Thomas Hardy suggested that Nelson remove the decorations on his coat, so that he would not be so easily identified by enemy sharpshooters. Nelson replied that it was too late 'to be shifting a coat', adding that they were 'military orders and he did not fear to show them to the enemy'. Captain Henry Blackwood, of the frigate HMS Euryalus, suggested Nelson come aboard his ship to better observe the battle. Nelson refused, and also turned down Hardy's suggestion to let Eliab Harvey's HMS Temeraire come ahead of the Victory and lead the line into battle.

Victory came under fire, initially passing wide, but then with greater accuracy as the distances decreased. A cannon ball struck and killed Nelson's secretary, John Scott, nearly cutting him in two. Hardy's clerk took over, but he too was almost immediately killed. Victory’s wheel was shot away, and another cannon ball cut down eight marines. Hardy, standing next to Nelson on the quarterdeck, had his shoe buckle dented by a splinter. Nelson observed 'this is too warm work to last long'. The Victory had by now reached the enemy line, and Hardy asked Nelson which ship to engage first. Nelson told him to take his pick, and Hardy moved Victory across the stern of the 80-gun French flagship Bucentaure. Victory then came under fire from the 74-gun Redoutable, lying off the Bucentaure’s stern, and the 130-gun Santísima Trinidad. As snipers from the enemy ships fired onto Victory’s deck from their rigging, Nelson and Hardy continued to walk about, directing and giving orders.

Shortly after one o'clock, Hardy realised that Nelson was not by his side. He turned to see Nelson kneeling on the deck, supporting himself with his hand, before falling onto his side. Hardy rushed to him, at which point Nelson smiled

Hardy, I do believe they have done it at last... my backbone is shot through.

He had been hit by a marksman from the Redoutable, firing at a range of 50 feet. The bullet had entered his left shoulder, pierced his lung, and come to rest at the base of his spine.

Nelson was carried below by a sergeant-major of marines and two seamen. As he was being carried down, he asked them to pause while he gave some advice to a midshipman on the handling of the tiller. He then draped a handkerchief over his face to avoid causing alarm amongst the crew. He was taken to the surgeon William Beatty, telling him

You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live. My back is shot through.

Nelson was made comfortable, fanned and brought lemonade and watered wine to drink after he complained of feeling hot and thirsty. He asked several times to see Hardy, who was on deck supervising the battle, and asked Beatty to remember him to Emma, his daughter and his friends.)

Hardy came below deck to see Nelson just after half-past two, and informed him that a number of enemy ships had surrendered. Nelson told him that he was sure to die, and begged him to pass his possessions to Emma. With Nelson at this point were the chaplain Alexander Scott, the purser Walter Burke, Nelson's steward, Chevalier, and Beatty. Nelson, fearing that a gale was blowing up, instructed Hardy to be sure to anchor. After reminding him to 'take care of poor Lady Hamilton', Nelson said 'Kiss me, Hardy'. Beatty recorded that Hardy knelt and kissed Nelson on the cheek. He then stood for a minute or two and then kissed him again. Nelson asked 'Who is that?', and on hearing that it was Hardy, replied 'God bless you Hardy.' By now very weak, Nelson continued to murmur instructions to Burke and Scott, 'fan, fan ... rub, rub ... drink, drink.' Beatty heard Nelson murmur 'Thank God I have done my duty' and when he returned, Nelson's voice had faded and his pulse was very weak. He looked up as Beatty took his pulse, then closed his eyes. Scott, who remained by Nelson as he died, recorded his last words as 'God and my country'. Nelson died at half-past four, three hours after he was shot.

This is but a severely shortened version of the grand deeds of Horatio Nelson. Many battles he was also involved were not recorded here. He was a true hero who died a hero's death. He left this world with many accomplishments, much more than the average man can claim or his/herself.

Nelson was just about the bravest person ever to walk this earth. His quotes are the very essence of strength, ideals, and humor all combined in a perfect combination. Hey Nelson...

I HEART YOU <3

=D

Monday, April 26, 2010

It's Still Here...

that iPod...
is STALKING me.

it won't leave my field of vision and keeps clouding my thoughts with its shiny presence.

everyone is like "keep it, are you stupid? the principal won't know who's it is. just KEEP IT. I'll even let you borrow my wire to recharge it..."

so...

what should i do? Good Samaritan or personal interest plus logical choice? grrs...iseriously hate hard decisions, someone make it for me?

naahhh...apparentl life just can't be that easy...

Manga Tutorial: Lesson One B

Next we will draw some male eyes. Male characters are sometimes neglected by fan artists, because many fan artists have trouble drawing guys. They really aren't that hard, though, just different. Most male eyes are more thin and narrow than female eyes, though there are several exceptions. This particular eye (which I think belongs to Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi) is narrower than other female eyes, without being so thin that it looks like it belongs to a more shady, suspicious character. ^_^ Begin by drawing a thick, very slightly curved line. Its almost horizontal, but still has a slight curve to it. The edges should curve inwards a little, more so on the left.

Lightly draw two diagonal lines, starting from the edges of the top line, to help define the lower part of the eye. The lines are almost perpendicular to each other. Don't make them too steep or too flat, or the size of the eye will be off. Draw the lower line of the eye, using the guidelines to help you position it.

Erase the guidelines and draw the iris. The iris is a perfect circle, but is paritally covered up by the eyelids. Do not draw the iris so small that you can see the entire thing (unless trying to convey a strong emotion like surprise or anger)

Male characters have light glares in their eyes, too, though they often are not as large or obvious. Draw one oval light glare on the left side of the eye, and a pointed one on the right side.

Draw the pupil benath the light glares and shade heavily, especailly if the character has darker colored eyes. Draw the eyelid and eyelash. Male characters tend to have darker, thicker eyebrows, so make sure they aren't too thin. Don't worry if the eyes look too 'girly'; often times its hard to tell if some eyes belong male or female characters. Some styles of eyes are interchangable and can be used for either gender.

Once you have the right eye drawn, you're probably going to want to draw the left eye, too. All you have to do is draw the mirror image of the exact same eye. The placement of the second eye can be tricky, though. Anime eyes, no matter what style, are always drawn about one eye length apart. The distance may be a little more or less, but one eye length is a good measurement.

You probably are not always going to draw your characters facing towards you, though, so you'll need to know how to line up eyes at different angles. Always draw guidelines to help you position the eyes, until you are really good at it and no longer need them. You don't want the eyes to be off-center. Notice that in this picture, the right eye is smaller and flatter than the left since it's further away from you.

The previous two posts are all made with help and information fromManga University with special thanks to Julie^^.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Manga Tutorial: Lesson One

So I've decided that in addition to reviewing some nice mangas, I'll also start giving out some drawing tips. We'll start with the eyes today. As we all know, the eyes are the most distinguishing feature of anime characters. So to be succesful as a manga artist, you need to be able to define your individual characters, give them expression and personality. The eyes are the most reasonable place to start you on your career.

Lets begin with the most basic and common of anime eyes, the large female type. Start off by drawing a line that curves upwards, and is slightly thicker at the highest point. This eye will be on the right side of the face, so make the left end of the curved line higher than the right. The top of this particular eye (Lina Inverse's eye, actually) isn't a perfect curve; it is slightly angular. Some styles of eyes are nearly perfectly curved on
the top.

Next, you want to draw in the lower part of the eye. To help you place the lower half, lightly draw diagonal lines pointing down, starting at the edges of the top part of the eye. The steepness of the slope of these lines will determine how large and wide the eye will be. If you look at the other tutorials on this page, you will see that the steepness of these lines varies. Using these lines as a guide, draw the lower part of the eye. It should slope down to the right a little, and should be thicker at the right corner.

Erase the guidelines and draw a long oval within the eye. Some characters have large circles for irises, but this particular one has thin ovals. You can adjust the shape so it's wider, if you like. Make part of the oval obscured by the upper part of her eye. With all styles, the complete iris is rarely visible; part of it almost always is concealed by the border of the eye.

Next, draw the outline of the light glares. Anime characters' eyes should always have at least some sort of shading. Anime females in particular tend to have really heavy shading and lots of shiny areas. Make sure you choose a light source, and stick with it throughout your picture. For example, since the light is coming from the left in this picture, I have to make sure all the highlights on the rest of the picture originate from the left, or the lighting will be inconsistent (unless I'm using multiple light sources, but I won't get into that). Draw two long ovals: a large one on the left side of the iris (which overlaps the outline of the iris, as you can see), and a very small one on the other side of the eye.

Next, draw the pupil underneath the light glares. The highlights are always on top; never draw the pupil on top of the light glares. Draw the eyelashes, too; with this particular eye, the eyelashes are a series of spikes coming off of the top-right part of the eye. Make the spikes follow the curve of the eye, so it looks like they are coming off of the eye; don't just draw zig-zag lines sticking out of her eye. ^_~ Also, draw the eyelid on the left part of the eye. Its just a thin, curved line originating from the top of her eye.

And there you have it ^.^, you've survived drawing your first manga eye. Obviously with more practice you'll become better at it.



Okay, now we are going to draw another style, one that isn't as common. This eye is much more slender, elegant, and realistic looking, and is used in more serious anime and manga. Begin by drawing a long, slightly curved line. The left side should be lower than the right, and the line should curve in sharply at the left edge.

To help you define the sides and bottom of the eye, lightly draw two diagonal guidelines that originate from the edges of the eye. Unlike the previous tutorial, these lines are not very steep; the more horizontal the lines are, the smaller the eye will be. Don't make them too flat, though, because you don't want this eye to be too squinty. Using the guidelines, draw the bottom line of the eye.

Erase the guidelines and draw the outline of the iris. If there were no eyelids, the iris would be a perfect circle. However, since the iris is bordered by the eyelids, the top and bottom of the iris will be hidden from view. The iris should not be so small that you can see the entire thing (unless you wanted to convey certain emotions like anger or surprise, but that is covered in another section).

Next, draw the light glares on the iris. The placement is the same as in the previous tutorial, but like the iris itself, the glares are much smaller and more circular. Draw the eyelid above the top line of the eye, as well.

Draw the eyebrow and shading in the rest of the iris. Remember to draw the pupil beneath the light glares, and to make it stand out from the rest of the eye a little no matter how darkly you shade the rest of the iris.

Here are a variety of other styles of female eyes you can make using the same methods. Try to see the differences between each style, as well as the similarities. Though the shape and proportions change, the top border of the eyes is always thicker, there are always multiple layers of shading on the irises, etc. Some of these were sketched fairly quickly and are a little messy, but I hope they are still helpful.

We'll do the male eyes tomorrow. See you then^^.

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers?

Does this age-old law still hold true in our modern society? Anything we find, is it really okay to keep? For instance...I found an iPod at Chinese school today, and now it's in my bag.

Is that really okay? I feel guilty just thinking about it...

But there's no name, nothing, and it was on the ground after everyone had left the building, unfortunately, that includes the teachers.

Aishiteruze Baby

Title: Aishiteruze Baby
AKA: I Love You Baby
Author: Yoko Maki

Summary: Aishiteruze Baby is a shōjo manga series that revolves around the life of Kippei, a popular high-school playboy who flirts with any girl he sees, without thinking about their feelings. His life is turned upside down when one day his aunt abandons his five-year-old cousin Yuzuyu at his house. Kippei is assigned the task of taking care of Yuzuyu for the time being, and he must learn how to become the "mother" she needs. As Kippei learns how to care for Yuzuyu, he also learns to care for Kokoro, a quiet girl at his school, who helps him out.

In Japanese, aishiteru ze (愛してるぜ) is a casual, masculine way of saying "I love you"
(The above pic makes a great wallpaper if you need one.)

Favorite Character(s)
Definitely Kippei and Yuzuyu in this one. There's no competition against them. Kippei starts out as a total playboy but then as he spends time with Yuzuyu has his cokking skills and personality changes a lot towards the better (yes, cooking skills and personality really did go together, trust me on this). And Yuzuyu on the other hand... Yuzuyu is sooo cute, it should be illegal to be that cute. Kawaii^^.

Have fun reading this one, it's another great read. But then again, i do only post what I think is good... I don't see the point in recommending something bad to anyone. Oh well, go have fun now. =D

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Hana Kimi

Title of Manga: Hana Kimi: For you In Full Blossom
Author: Hisaya Nakajo

Summary: Mizuki Ashiya a Japanese girl who lives in America has fallen in love with Izumi Sano, a Japanese high jumper who goes to the all boy high school Osaka Gakuen. So what's a smitten teenage girl to do? Dress up like a guy and hope you can get into the school of course!
When she gets there, the biggest shock of her life is that she and Sano are going to be room mates! Then begins the cutest love story of the ages while other guys start to question
their own sexualtiy.

Favorite Book Quote
"What is with Greenpeace anyway? Who wants to live in harmony with nature?! I lived in harmony with nature and it gave me a rash!" ~ Dr. Umeda, Page 145, Hana Kimi vol. 6, By: Hisaya Nakajo

Favorite Character
Shin, Izumi's younger brother, is actually my favorite character. He
doesn't appear much throughout the manga, but the few volumes that he dominates are very important to a subplot. He helps build Mizuki and Izumi's relationship closer and reveals more about Izumi's previous life. There's more to it but I won't be a spoilsport. Go Shin!


~~~~
This is the perfect manga for those who need a first manga to start. Good for multi-manga readers as well. Probably those 13+ would find this most enjoyable. This is with my highest recommendations. Grade: A+

Good readings to you. =D

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Same Old, Same Old...

these days, i've been feeling slightly depressionalist. life just seems so monotoned, and i must confess that for perhaps a year now i've had no interest in my own life but rather only of books and any good manga that i happened to have been reading. pouring over the characters and plot of these stories often interested me more than my own life did. i even began trying to match my life to another story, for a long while forcing myself to believe in wishes and magik. allowing my true life to become interlinked with some daydream that i created, refusing at times to get up from bed in order to stay in the world of dreams slightly longer, risking my own health in order to stay up late and read and read and create fantasy worlds of my own. it was around this time that i truly started trying to catch sammy. in fact, i used all methods known, showering him with candy (...), talking to him more (are we even "just friends" YET???), and changing my personality multiple times (from sullen to cheerful and pessimist to sunny and flowery), obviously, none of this ever worked, causing more harm than help and causing me to spiral further into this confession that i am writing now. i started listening to popular music, to fit in with the "in" crowd. trying all the drastic situations i read about in manga and trying to maintain hope that i was in fact making progress when there were of course no signs at all. telling myself that a miracle would happen, allowing my grades to dip and pursue him fully, thinking that life would all be just a walk in the park and that we were "meant to be". taking any trace of friendship or conversation to be a sign that things were starting to work out, that everything would have a happy ending in the end.

obviously, noting ever worked out, no miracles happened, and i was left much worse off than when i started. true, i started in sixth grade, trying to become friends with yvette by sharing a mutual interest in something. but then i fell to addiction as she stepped away, into the clean, pure world that i had left behind. as my life fell to pieces and i realized new lies, i found that though i had always thought myself a strong will, it was in fact nothing against its biggest enemy, like a newborn against zeus. i could will myself to do nothing, to stop nothing, my own mind had become poisoned, a prison that chained my body. i could neither stop reading manga or sleep earlier. in time, even my passion for books faded, only manga sustained me. this does not mean that i ever let my grades drop below an "A" average in any class, but the will to fight was gone, i no longer competed with classmates, never challenged myself if possible, life was an absolute torture. i was aware of all this, all the wrongness and harm to myself and only myself, but i couldn't stop. but then as my grades continued to drop, i turned to a new comfort, food. i'm not FAT, yet at least... but i have uncomfortably gained maybe five pounds in the past year and no longer am a slim figure perfect for the world of ballet, the one place where i really fit in with the rest.

i say i try to resist the temptations of food and manga, and sometimes i do. but more often than no i would rather release myself to my longings and punish myself another time.

but the world is different to me now, a new wind has blown in and joined the mix. by going to this new high school where i know absolutely no one, i have lied and lied about my one true reason that really pushed me into going. i am ashamed that it is so. but i cannot deny the truth. the truth is that i need to start over my life, build new friendships and new study habits, new ways of thinking and new ways of living. having this goal afore me inspires and pushes me to new heights. for all to see here, i admit everything...

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Day Of Bread.

No...the title really has nothing to do with the post. At least, not this one, maybe in the future I'll have an entire post just about the delights and wonders of bread. But that's a post best saved for another day, if ever...

What with ballet performances popping up everywhere and high school coming just around the corner, my time to blog, scarce to begin with, has now dwindled down to completely nothing. What should I start with today? The ever so awaited ending to the endless CRCTs? A science project in class with a partner I don't know that involves causing a bear to disappear? Or should I, perhaps, mention my dancing life, soon to take over both my social and academic world all happening as my closest confident takes leave from dancing next year? Or maybe I should start with yesterday, when the "first day of the rest of my life" start. But I don't think I'll talk about any of this things... In fact, I will now contradict my previously typed words and save the end of this here short post for my "Tales of Bread". Yes, I know, charming title, and of course I have no idea what its pages contain. So let us lose ourselves in the world of BREAD. There's oh so many different variaties. For instance, there's shortbread, sourdough, rye, multi-grain, whole-wheat, honey-oat, and oh so much more...

However, it seems that nothing about eiher my life nor bread will be further released here, the time has come for me to say "goodbye" for the day.

~Tchao