Usually the term is spring cleaning. But it's not spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, and so I have changed the term to suit my needs. My mom suddenly got it in her head to sort through old, unworn clothes and decide whether to give it away or keep it. Because of sentimental reasons (and because I "don't have a charitable bone in my body" D: ) I still insist on keeping clothes, but my mom eventually persuaded me to give away some of it to my relatives or donate it. I know no one in my family can wear the clothes since there is no one young in this house, but it's still kind of sad.

I remember one time I was suddenly interested in the bathroom sink. I grabbed a rag and started cleaning it, as well as the two knobs for the temperature and the spout. I have been planning for a while to do some interior decorating in my house but I never got around to it. I wonder if this is yet another plan that is going to be put off again and again?

Apparently there is one person in my class at school who has a job, but it's not really an official one. Since he plays golf, he cleans up the ranges by picking up the golf balls. It takes maybe forty-five minutes according to him. And then he gets free golf that week. It actually saves his parents hundreds of dollars. I think he gets free drinks too. Sounds pretty nice to me, having a job like that.

Another good job to have (I am talking about when you are young, and don't have a college degree, and can only work part-time) would be the movie theater. My teacher's son used to work at the theater and I think he got to see movies for free... But I heard he wouldn't eat the popcorn there ever again after he saw how it was made. My teacher says it is very unhealthy since they dump a lot of butter on the movie popcorn. Are you allowed to bring your own popcorn? Carb free popcorn helps you to relax, according to a book I glanced at back in cooking class last year, so that would be a good idea.

I had been thinking of taking on a job at Jamba Juice when I am old enough, because you can get a free smoothie every shift or something like that. But I am a little worried about how loud it would be, what with several blenders going at once. Still, the smoothies are a real temptation. I will still consider it for possible part-time jobs (like during the summer, I am too lazy or too busy to work during the school year).

In French class (yup, yet again) we were given the assignment of making posters that said J'aime le Français, and I wasn't sure how to go about it, so I decided to use my trusty GIMP and the computer. I'm so glad that GIMP works. Too bad it doesn't have anywhere near the brushes it used to. (I keep them backed up on my hard drive so if I want to use a brush in GIMP I can simply copy it from my hard drive to the GIMP's folders. That way my computer doesn't get too slowed down) But I found out something cool - that you can use the Photoshop brushes in GIMP. Just download and move the abr file into GIMP's brushes folder and voila! I wouldn't have been able to use the Eiffel Tower brush I found otherwise. You can see the poster that I made if you CLICK HERE. Click on the image to expand it to the full view. By the way, J'aime le Français means "I like the French" or "I love the French".

Labels: autumn, brushes, cleaning, clothes, french, gimp, golf, interior design, j'aime le français, jamba juice, job, movie, photoshop, popcorn, sink, smoothie, theater

I am so tired again this morning. As usual, I woke up early even though I should've slept in (I woke up before 8 am, I think. I must be too used to school). Even though I was really tired from my mom's friend's little private party, it seems like my brain still thinks I need to wake up for school. No wonder my head hurts - my brain is overworking itself on the weekend, and no one pays it, and it doesn't get to retire until I'm super old. XD

Last night we drove for an hour just to get to my mom's friend's house. It is because my dad is bad at navigation, but he is the one who almost always drives... And since I was crabby because I wanted to stay home, I refused to help. I was getting carsick, so when we arrived, I was placed on the couch. I call the host "Soup Chicken" because her the first part of her name is Soup, and the second part of it is pronounced similarly to Chicken!! Soup Chicken has her mother at the house. Soup's mother gave me this weird sort of massage and put some suspicious medicine. It actually helped me feel better, though.

Once I was back up on my feet I was told to go upstairs and "play" with Soup's daughter, whose name is Sara. Normally, I really hate the children of my mom's friends, but since Sara talks a lot, I don't need to do much besides make a few comments and ask a few questions here and there. We get along well because Sara is simply very good at filling the silence. XD This is only the third time we saw each other but we are just about friends now.

Sara told me about the neighbors' dogs. There is a dog called Bear who is HUGE (I saw him before I went into their house), he is mostly black with some other colors. Sara says he looks scary (he is actually considered SMALL for his species!) but he is really very playful and sweet like a puppy. Then there are two other dogs, called Cocoa and Latte. Apparently they are tiny, only as big as one of the floor tiles in Soup Chicken's kitchen, but they are very well-behaved and smart, and can walk without a leash - but they'll come running back if you call them. The two of them always go places together. The way Sara talks, I bet she really wants a dog. So do I, but my mom keeps saying "You can have one once you're an adult." Anyhow, there is one last dog Sara talked about - the DOG AT THE END OF THE STREET. He is small like Cocoa and Latte but very territorial. Sara has a brother, and her brother looked at the dog suspiciously, causing the dog to begin barking in a high-pitched fashion. Apparently, if you even ring the doorbell, the dog will come running and will try to break down the door to bark at you. The owner has to put her leg in the way before she opens the door so the dog won't start attacking.

This is really going to be a long post, so bear with me. After eating some pumpkin ice cream pie, my family left because our home is far away from Soup Chicken's house. (She lives in Pleasanton, CA, which is at least 45 minutes drive from our place. Her neighborhood is called Ironwood and it is filled with nice houses - and dogs!) On the drive back, my dad and I were telling stories and arguing, as usual. My mom laughs sometimes but mostly she thinks we're crazy. And my grandma, always the quiet one, was silent practically the whole time. My dad wants me to write down his "new famous quote". Here it is, below. He obviously thinks highly of himself.

"I'm so good, I'm too good for myself."
And since he likes French movies, I'll translate it into French for him.
"Je suis tellement bien, je suis trop bien pour moi-même."

Labels: autumn, Dogs, friends, parents

Yikes, I completely forgot about making an entry yesterday! Whoopsy-daisy. But I guess it's not a big loss because I doubt anyone reads this anyhow. XD

It was so hot today! Summer is already over but this autumn has been fairly warm so far. This afternoon, I practically got fried walking home. I really wish my parents could home to pick me up, but since they are too worried about the safety of riding a bike, and I'm not old enough to drive, I have to walk.

I started reading a book called The Boys of San Joaquin. I think I've heard of the place San Joaquin before. I think it's somewhere in California? Near/in the Central valley or something? I don't know if I've been there but the name really does ring a bell. But then maybe it's because I live in California.

Labels: autumn, bike, blog, california, danger, post, safety, the boys of san joaquin, walk

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