Well, I mentioned the butterfly effect in my previous post. In a nutshell, it's where one small thing happens, which leads to another thing, and another thing, and another thing, until a really big thing happens.

Shirayuki no Kimi called me a young grasshopper. I was rather offended and retorted, "I'm not young!" (After all, young can be associated with foolish. Like how in French, it's better to be called Madame than Mademoiselle because of such associated meanings)

SnK: Fine, then, old grasshopper.
Me: Dead Grasshopper.
SnK: Decomposing grasshopper.
Me: Hm...Worm food grasshopper.
SnK: Bird poop grasshopper.
Me: Mom's head grasshopper.
It kept going for a little while until it got to "Juppie's photo grasshopper", "Internet grasshopper", and then "famous grasshopper".

I remember that when I was at Yosemite, there was a pretty entertaining riddle that was shared amongst us. It goes like this: There is another world behind a green glass door. But not everything can go through the door. Here's some examples:

Daddies can go through, but fathers can't.
Kittens can go through, but cats can't.
Veggies can go through, but vegetables can't.
Scissors can go through, but shears can't.
Wheels can go through, but tires can't.

If you've already heard this riddle before, I suppose it'd be pretty easy for you to come up with some examples of what can go through and what can't. But see if you can figure it out if you haven't heard this riddle.

I'm pretty bad at riddles otherwise, though. I usually have to have someone tell me the answers. D: Either that, or the riddles really are that difficult. (But then again, if you know the answer to the riddle it must seem pretty obvious.)

Anyhow, though, I have a lot of things I want to do this summer vacation. Since we're going on vacation in July, it's not a good idea to go to summer classes because I might have to miss some of it to go on the trip (and so it wouldn't really be worth the money paid, eh?).
- Do some painting (I never get around to it during the school year :( )
- Practice on the tablet (Haha, I used it to color one drawing, but that is pretty much the extent of what I've done.)
- Drawing by hand (need to learn to do side views. And work on an eye style, as well as hair.)
- Make an OC - Original Character. Already have two but I want to change their looks a bit. And decide on the last name for one of them.
- Take photographs
- Do a 30-day challenge on EA Sports Active (Ugh. My dad bought another video game on a whim. But this one really makes you sweat...Not like Wii Fit.)

Unfortunately, my mom thinks I should get studying for next year, since there'll be SATs to take and whatnot. But maybe I can evade it, somehow or other. ;)

Labels: 30 day, butterfly effect, challenge, dead, drawing, EA Sports Active, grasshopper, green glass door, OC, painting, plans, riddle, summer, summer school, tablet, vacation, video games, yosemite

One day, at lunchtime, I noticed that a few of my friends seemed to be writing on something. It was a piece of binder paper, and a girl was writing on it in cursive. Upon listening and watching, I realized that she was practicing signatures over and over again.

She was not just practicing her own signature. She also imitated the signature of one of her friends, and I think she got pretty good at it, because the person whose signature she was practicing writing said, "Now you write my signature better than I do."

It kind of made me think of how risky it can be to let someone get a good look at your signature. With practice, a person could probably replicate your signature pretty well. You either have to have a really wacky one or you have to keep it hidden from other people in case they feel the urge to forge it. Imagine all the things they could sign without your permission! And even if the person was caught trying to use your signature, it'd still be a big hassle.

Speaking of other kinds of signatures, I recently started submitting some of mine to some groups on DeviantArt. They're all pretty old by now seeing as I don't make graphics that often anymore (and when I do I am reluctant to post them on DeviantArt, because something I read suggested that perhaps it could be interpreted as art thievery if the artists making images used in graphics did not wish to have their art used in graphics). Well, I know that I have a long way to go (I've seen some people who make amazing graphics, and I applaud them) but it does tick me off a bit to be given criticism about older graphics, but I suppose it is better that I just swallow my pride. After all, I am sure no one is purposely trying to bring down my self-confidence, they only am trying to offer tips, so I figure it's just another challenge that I have to overcome. I would like to get back to making graphics more actively. Perhaps I should take a look at some tutorials. (The only thing is, I feel bad if I rely on a tutorial heavily since I feel like I'm doing nothing more than imitating someone else's graphics. But then again, imitation is one way of learning...After all, once you've improved you can then focus on developing your own unique style.)

Well, I guess it all goes back to that whole "small fish in a big pond" kind of feeling. At times I can be quite overwhelmed by how many amazing people there are in the world - or, on the other side of the coin, how many really harsh people there are (and I'm not talking about what I mentioned in the previous paragraph in this case). But seeing a lot of talent can inspire me to try harder too, so it doesn't always have to be something harmful. And perhaps by having to deal with unpleasant people will help me to harden myself and get "thick skin". I only hope that things can turn out well in the end.

Labels: art, challenge, criticism, danger, deviantart, feelings, graphics, harsh, old, people, problem, pros and cons, safety, signature, style, thick skin, tutorial, unexpected, world, writing

This is a phrase that I learned from orchestra, which I used to take back in 6th grade. I think it was on a wall hanging that my teacher had.

Music didn't used to be a big part of my life. Sure, I'd always heard classical music and the sort of music my dad listened to (John Denver, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, and so on). And I started taking piano around the age 5 or 6. But at first it wasn't a big deal for me. It grew in importance only after time passed.

We would take music just maybe once or twice a week in elementary school. Mostly we sang, but occasionally we got to play the drums or xylophones, and I always loved that. I thought it was fun - it was something I didn't get to do often, unlike piano, which I had to practice everyday, and I was frustrated by playing piano. I had already accomplished my original reason for starting, which was playing the song Fur Elise (it's really not that hard a song, but it's pretty famous). I was not too good at controlling my temper (and I'm still having trouble in that regard...) so sometimes I would get violent and try to punch the piano or scratch it. Usually resulted in me getting hurt. One time I got mad at Bach (sorry, Bach, but I can't say I'm the biggest fan of your music) and tore part of my book. Not a good idea. Now I can't really put it back together.

I wasn't really a prominent singer either. I suppose I wasn't the worst (no matter what you think, there are always people better than you and always people worse than you, simply because we're all different, and anyways, how good your life is also depends on how you perceive it) but I wasn't the best, either. I mean, I couldn't hit certain pitches and I just really hate it when I'm trying to sing something and it sounds off tune and messed up. I suppose maybe if I practiced very seriously I could improve it, but I'm a lazy person, and anyways I wasn't really considering a career as a singer.

But in seventh grade, I started to listen to music. If you've watched anime, you've probably noticed that there are opening and ending songs, and there's also insert music you might hear during episodes. After a while I started a playlist, and that's when my exploration of music really accelerated. I didn't even listen to English songs much before, but then I started listening to music in Japanese, and even a little in English and Korean. (No French yet, I'm afraid, but maybe someday I'll try it out)

I didn't used to enjoy playing the piano so much, but now I do. I feel like it's a way to unwind at the end of the day by hearing something nice that you yourself worked hard to create (by practicing all these years). And it's a good way to relieve stress, at least for me. I think music is how people who can't necessarily put their thoughts into words express themselves.

I feel guilty because I used to be so mean to my piano. I was often frustrated by not being able to get a certain part right or not being able to play loudly enough (my hands were small - and they still are - and I didn't have much muscle strength). It seems funny now, because I hear the younger students of my piano teacher have trouble making a loud sound on one of her pianos, but I thought it was fairly easy. I suppose they'll be able to handle it when they're older.

My piano has always been there for me, ever since I first obtained it so many years ago. It's always been sitting in the same spot, patiently waiting for me to play it. If I were to tell my problems to it, there is no risk of the piano telling anyone else or being repulsed by what I say. (Though it might look a bit funny, if I were talking to an inanimate object. There are psychologists near my house, after all.) That does make me concerned, though; if I go to college and I can't live at home since it's far away, what can I do about the piano? Should I have it moved? (But if I lived in an apartment or dorm, it'd probably take up too much space.) Or do I have to give up playing the piano? The latter choice seems painful. (I don't want to have to buy a stand-up piano just for when I'm away from home, however, so I don't see what I can do about it.)

Not long ago, I read a bout called A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. It's not a difficult book to understand, but I thought it was pretty nice. What piqued my interest was that the main character plays the organ. I've never played the organ and have always thought of it as an antiquated instrument seeing as I've only really seen it in old churches and other historical, touristy buildings. Apparently, the organ needs to be turned on and various rhythm styles (this leads me to think it is actually kind of like a keyboard...). I've never met anyone who has played the organ, so I'm really curious about it.

Labels: a crooked kind of perfect, anger management, anime, bach, best friend, book, challenge, college, expression, fur elise, instrument, moving, music, organ, piano, school, self, singing, strength, stress

That is what the city of Vancouver was described as. Last night was the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Vancouver is apparently one of the most populated places that far north. I have visited Vancouver once in the past, years back, when my family was visiting my dad's friend's family. I can't remember that much about it anymore. I guess I was too young back then to appreciate the beauty of Canada anyways. I'd like to visit Canada again, but I'm not sure when I'll get a good opportunity.

My memories of that time are really quite hazy because I thought I had visited a tower in Vancouver. However, that had happened in Seattle, not Vancouver. I remember that my family was going to eat lunch in the restaurant of the tower (Space Needle, I believe it was called) but there was too long of a waiting time so instead we went to a small shop where I bought a bagel. It was a good bagel, I recall.

Well, I should probably get back to the subject of the Olympics before I lose my thought process. I watched the people representing each country walk in. Everything was announced in French first, then English, which I was pleased by. There aren't a lot of countries interested in the Winter Olympics compared to the Summer Olympics, but I'm still excited by it.

I noticed that some countries seemed to have a lot of people, like Russia, Germany, the USA, Japan, Canada (but of course, they're the hosts!), and so on. On the other hand, some countries only had one or two athletes. And India, despite having such a huge population, still had very few athletes (though there was a decent crowd for China). Is India not that good at sports or something? D: I do hear that they play cricket, though. But that's not really a winter sport.

I'd really like to go the Olympics myself sometime. Particularly the Summer Olympics. It's true, you can easily watch from the comfort of your home, and the camera can get closer to the people than you would be able to from your seat in the actual stadiums, but it would be nice to really be there. To really see and hear everything for yourself and to be able to look wherever you want, not just what the camera shows you. And to really be able to wave back at the athletes as they come walking out.

You know, I've dreamed of myself doing athletic things like skating or running. But I wonder if I'd ever be able to achieve such a thing.

I once said that I was interested in becoming a janitor to my parents. I think being a janitor is a noble job. You keep schools and other public places clean, even though it's hard work that must constantly be done and not necessarily for a great amount of pay. In fact, I would rather be a janitor than a soldier. A soldier is a noble job too. But I think sometimes when you get out there, and kill innocent people, and see people's fear, and be horrified by death and starvation and disease, it wouldn't seem so spiffy. I would think, "Is it really worth it for the 'great good' to be doing this? People are really, really suffering."

My father told me that he didn't think I could be a janitor because I didn't have the stamina. And he even went so far as to say that my talents would be wasted if I became a janitor. That may be so, but it was discouraging to me. I really hate to be told what I can't do. People's expectations and words can really build fences around you, fences that are barbed and would injure you terribly to climb over. But I guess that's part of what makes it exciting to chase your dreams. It's showing people that you can do things no one thought you could ever do and overcoming challenges to become a better person that is so great, kind of like people who are addicted to getting adrenaline rushes... I want to do something amazing, to leave my mark on the world, or to at least feel a sense of self-accomplishment. I think just having a small taste of victory would be enough to make me feel like life was worth living. Perhaps being a janitor doesn't seem like the most stunning, life-changing job, but you never know. One of my school janitors was able to run a 4:25 mile, back in the day. I could write a book about my experiences. I could start changes in the school The possibilities are endless. How else can a mountain be made out of a molehill?

Labels: aiming high, bagel, canada, challenge, countries, dreams, glory, hard work, india, janitor, limits, memories, mountain, olympics, potential, seattle, soldiers, vancouver, winter, wish

If you have the game Wii Fit on your Wii, you can choose the male or female fitness trainer. (Both are pretty weird. I think the girl is better, since that's the one I picked.) While you do yoga and strength training, she constantly lectures you. She might say "This exercise is popular because it tones your arms" or "You're a little shaky. Focus on stretching your spine" or "Good job! You're pretty strong." It gets annoying after a while, hearing her blab on. They even have subtitles on the screen that you can't get rid of, for people who are deaf. (If you're blind AND deaf, like Helen Keller, then you can't play video games anyhow, seeing as touching the TV screen does no good)

Sometimes, to make the game seem more real...If you have a female trainer like me, once in a while, she'll be replaced by the other trainer, the male one, for whatever your first yoga/strength training activity is. I would assume it is vice versa if you are trained by the guy. The first time this happened to me, I was shocked and laughing at the same time, and then I couldn't concentrate for a while.

If you play a long time, you might unlock the three challenges - Pushups, jackknives, and plank. (In case you don't know, a jackknife is where you lie down on the ground, bend your knees, and then come up in a V shape, then go back down to the ground. Feels like a sit-up.) At first it's really amusing when you beat the trainer. She'll go "I'm not giving up yet!" or "It looks like that's all you can do" or "Still with me? Do 10 more" or "You win this time!" One day I tried to challenge her and she refused, saying she wasn't feeling up to it. I was pretty steamed, since this is the first time any video game snubbed me like that. XD

Anyhow, I ended up doing 100 jackknives and 180 seconds of plank. The plank was especially hard and after I was done, I felt my arm. The muscle in it (is it the bicep? or the brachialis? or maybe the tricep?) was really stiff and hard, since it had been strained. Probably I'll wake up with pains tomorrow, if experience tells me correctly.

I forgot to talk about Friday, so this is a good opportunity. It was a pretty miserable day for me. I didn't have a good test score, due to a lot of silly mistakes in math. Then Mr. Robinson the PE teacher was supposed to do weight and height measuring, but our class, 4th period, didn't get to because he had to leave and buy pizza for his champions (whoever does the most jumpropes and pushups or something. I've always been intimidated by those people). So instead we went over to Ms. Rawson's class and played a weird game. Two people face each other in pushup position. A blue ball is placed between them. When someone gives the signal, both people try to grab the ball with one hand while not falling down. It all relies on whether you have a fast reaction time. This must mean I'm not an old lady yet, so that's a relief.

Afterwards we ran for a bit and then went up to the giant green field. We had to do an odd kind of relay. You roll on the grass from the first cone to the second cone, then run from there to the small backstop cage thing, and then you have to "crab-walk" to the third cone (it's like you go on the ground with your knees bent and hands supporting you, and move in the direction of your back) and finally "bear-crawl" (walking on all fours) to your teammates. I didn't think it was too bad besides being exhausting until it was lunchtime and I was feeling strangely itchy. I couldn't stop scratching and soon the places where my arms and legs bent were pink and funny-looking. On my arm, a tiny circle of skin had risen up like it was swollen. I didn't want to poke it since it looked dangerous. Maybe I'm allergic to grass. (Next time I have to tell the teacher. I'm only afraid they'll think I'm making an excuse, like those boys who go to the bathroom a lot in class to avoid it)

Labels: allergies, challenge, exercise, lecture, missing, pep talk, pizza, reaction, refusal, relay, trainer, wii fit

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