It wasn't really thin, actually. It was pretty thick. The ice I'm talking about here is the ice in a local ice rink.

I haven't gone ice skating for a long time. I think that the last time was probably at least a few years ago, if not more. I'd been meaning to go, but I never got around to it. (I wanted to go in the summer because it would be a nice way to cool off. However, my parents are working, and I am not allowed to go far by myself, so unless there was a holiday like Independence Day, there was no chance. And if it was a holiday, it would probably be crowded)

I was surprised by how many people were at the rink. My dad says that it was less than average, which I think is even more startling. Most of the people there were young people (I mean people who are young enough not to be in college yet, and such). In fact, I saw a couple of people I recognized, such as a girl who is a friend of the person I walk home with, and some classmates of mine.

It was really awkward getting started. I could only stumble along, clinging to the side of the rink. This didn't work too well because there isn't much of a handhold. I've heard there are rinks out there that actually have a wooden bar running around the perimeter so you can hold on to it, but here all you can do is try to hold on to the half-wall (on top of it is some glass since the rink is sometimes used for playing hockey). It was especially hard considering that the gloves and mittens we had brought for ice skating did not allow my fingers much flexibility.

After a while I kind of got the hang of it, just keeping my feet parallel, and occasionally kicking the ice with my left foot to keep me moving. Sometimes I messed up my footing and I'd flail about wildly before managing to get my balance. My dad and I are afraid of falling, unlike the little kids (who dash about and all, and some of them cry when they hit the ground) and the other young people, so we can't go so fast.

Since it's the holidays, once in a while the rink's lights are turned off and the strobe lights (is that the right term? Don't know what to call them) went on, and it was sort of like a disco, in a way. The young people gave a cry of delight, but I said, "Noooooo!" When it's dark and there are colorful lights moving around, I get a little distracted from my skating. Besides, I heard people who have seizures don't react well to things like that. (But I guess it's pretty unlikely that someone with epilepsy would've been there anyhow)

Less than two hours after arriving, we left the rink and went home. I expected to be able to skate longer than that, but it is surprisingly tiring, particularly for people like me who haven't gone skating for a long time. My dad said it was good we left early, otherwise our legs would be really tired at nighttime. This turned out to be true, and I felt discomfort during the night from my aching legs...

My mother has lately been trying to get me to shop for my Yosemite trip. Most of the 8th grade goes on a trip to Yosemite each year. It's meant to be educational, since we'll be in the great outdoors, but really people are just excited to be away from home, in a place that snows (Yosemite does get snow, after all, but it doesn't snow where I live). I'm really not that excited about the trip, because...
1. I've never slept in a sleeping bag.
2. I don't know if I can handle the hiking. (I'm always paranoid, thinking I will fall to my death. And I hate going uphill.)
3. Apparently we don't get to use the new cabins, which upsets me. (Are they not ready yet? Or do they just not want to let us stay in the new cabins?)
4. I don't want to get attacked by a teacher. (One of my old teachers often goes on the Yosemite trip and he sometimes destroys kids. No joke.)
5. Carsickness! It's a several hour drive just to get to Yosemite, and it's uphill. I will probably be pale and half-dead by the time we arrive. (It is unlikely that I will upchuck because I have self control and try to avoid throwing up. Haha!) I'll probably have to take medicine for motion sickness, if that helps any.

However, it might be fun, because I'll have plenty of photo opportunities, and I did enjoy science camp. Science camp was what I went to in fifth grade, since everyone in the fifth grade went. We stayed in cabins (but we slept in beds) and we hiked around. It was a lot of fun, actually. The food wasn't too bad either. I guess you never know. I'll have to find out in March.

Labels: cabins, carsick, falling, hiking, holidays, ice skating, lights, people, rink, science camp, seizure, sleeping bag, sore, trip, trouble, yosemite

Seems to me like the fire department doesn't have enough to do, at least in San Jose. I saw a fire station there because I was visiting my mom's office. There were Christmas decorations up - some snowmen (fake, of course, because we don't have snow here), wreaths, and such assortment of things. I guess being a fireman is sort of like being a soldier. You're either bored or scared all the time. (You'll be waiting to be deployed, and then once you're going to have to fight it's very dangerous) I heard that firemen end up spending time playing cards and things like that, until a fire happens and they have to slide down the fireman pole. I wonder if it's true?

I think that people at my dad's work also have too much time on their hands. We went into a building that I haven't been to before, which has a cafeteria, because my dad was going to show us the new Cisco Systems jackets that just came in. I was pretty stunned by the cafeteria since it was bigger, or at least seemed bigger than my mom's workplace's cafeteria. Anyhow, apparently Cisco has a small company store in the building which sells all sorts of weird things, like pens, gifts for a baby shower, birthday cards, and even stationery (it wasn't exciting, though, so I decided not to buy any). I was not impressed by the Cisco jackets (the sleeves were kind of long for me, which is typical, and I wasn't interested in being free advertising for Cisco. Sorry, Cisco Systems. XD) and so eventually we didn't buy anything else at the store either.

Apparently at Cisco, at least in the relative area where my dad works, there is a cat club. The Cisco Cat Club takes care of stray cats by feeding them and also giving them to prospective cat owners (my dad's friend's cat was obtained in this manner, actually). Around Christmas to New Year's, Cisco will be having a forced shutdown - in other words, they make the employees use up their vacation time, and so nobody goes to work. The Cat Club was concerned about what would happen to the cats, since no one will be there to make sure they have enough to eat, so they actually set up a schedule where people actually drive to the company to feed the cats. I thought that was really extreme - here you have the chance to take a break since Cisco is making you use your vacation days and you're still going to work anyways, because the cats need to be fed.

I think my mom's group has been demoted. At her company, people are put into groups, and these groups work on different products for the company. Well, my mother and her group were on the second level of the company's building, but now they've been moved downstairs. I told my mom that she was demoted, and she sort of denied it but sort of didn't, so I'm kind of confused. Now she is in a spot near a door. It's convenient for getting in and out of the building, but it's annoying because you can hear it every time someone opens the door.

I noticed that someone had put a sign on the door saying "No Smoking within 20 Feet of the Door". It has been windy today, and people were concerned that the smokers' cigarette smoke would be blown inside when the door was opened. After eating lunch, my mom and I returned to my mom's building and saw a smoker, quite close to the door. Ugh...Maybe they need a much, MUCH bigger sign. Or a punishment. Sometimes people think rules are meant to be broken. (I heard this saying that some teenager said, "When teenagers see fences, they climb them," regarding a fence that had been erected around something to keep people out)

I just saw something really awful on television. There was a well-known song about Santa Claus playing, except in an unusual-sounding fashion. Then there was a deformed, monster-like Santa Claus on top of a roof. He smashed the chimney and climbed down the chimney. Upon seeing the cookies put out for him, he gobbled them up, even smashing the plate... Then some green dudes (elves?) with black sunglasses starting shooting at him. He fell over and a strange doctor sort of guy came over and gave Santa a shot with a syringe. Santa shrank a bit and turned into the normal Santa. It made me very angry seeing people ruining my image like this. Santa is by no means evil and violent and thus you should not shoot at Santa.

Labels: army, boredom, cat, Christmas decorations, cisco systems, club, company, demotion, door, fence, firemen, free time, holidays, jacket, santa claus, smoking, soldiers, store, teenagers

This Halloween we still had a lot of leftover candy from last year - both from my trick-or-treating and also from just candy we bought but never ate. I thought we should've given it to the trick-or-treaters, but my mom said it wasn't healthy to give people stale candy, so she dumped the candy! D: What a waste. I mean, my mom even left the lights off in the house so no one would ring the doorbell.

It was fun going trick-or-treating, though. I went over to my friend's place around 6:10 or 6:15. Her other friend was there since she'd slept over at her house (I didn't attend the sleepover because I really, really can't fall asleep at other people's houses). We tried to get pictures of the three of us, but we would blink, or someone would get cut off, even if we had her sister take the photo. Anyways, I saw my friend's dog there. Her dog's name is Lucky, and he's really cute! I think he's a mixture of a German Shepherd and some other species of dog which I'm not sure of.

Later my friend's sister's friend, plus her brother and older cousin, came over. We trick-or-treated with them for most of the time, but then they had to go home. The cousin was just there to watch them, I believe. It's great going trick-or-treating in a group. The young people sure are energetic, though. My friend's sister and her friend often ran ahead, and I had to try and keep up since I didn't want to get separated from them. It must be nice to be young... *looks off into the distance*

I didn't get that much candy this year because I didn't go to as many houses, as we kept skipping houses here and there. We couldn't go in some directions because my friend's sister's friend and her brother only knew how to find their way home from certain locations. Something to do with their father's jogging course or something. o_O;; But anyways, the three of them (since their cousin is included) left a bit earlier than us since their parents said they had to be home at a certain time or something.

There weren't that many people out there, actually. It was disappointing. We did see a few people. One of them had a costume that looked sort of familiar to me. The others I was trick-or-treating with didn't know what it was, even when he pulled out an orange mask...Then I realized it was a character from Naruto. (Didn't know the name because I've only watched the show once D: ) Anyhow, the reason why there were less people was apparently because of the swine flu scare, people think they'll get sick from meeting someone who has the swine flu. Ugh! Just get a vaccination and don't worry! (Even if no one knows for sure whether the vaccine works, I'm sure it must, because they test it beforehand, and it's not like swine flu is AIDS or cancer or something)

Looks like the holiday is over for this year. But Thanksgiving and Christmas are yet to come, and then the New Year after that. (Oh, did you know, Halloween used to mark the New Year for the people who built Stonehenge in England? They considered the new year to be the end of the harvest or something) I don't really do much for holidays, but if you do, then it's good for you to be able to look forward to something. (: Brightens up your life, and all that. It'd be boring if the only difference in the days was the seasons.

Labels: candy, costume, dog, energy, group, halloween, holidays, leftovers, lucky, naruto, new year, photography, stale, swine flu, trick-or-treating, waste

...For my poor Christmas tree, which perished on Thursday, July 2, 2009. The tree had probably already been dead a long time ago, since it isn't one of those "live Christmas trees" (you know, a small one in a pot which you have to take care of during the year and hopefully it'll grow big enough to be ready for Christmas next time since it's too small to really hang decorations on) but I still feel like it was a funeral. Even though I didn't look at the tree much besides when I'm practicing piano and my eyes are wandering, it still became something familiar in my house. Now that it is gone, there is a lame, regular plant in its place.

The reason why my father dragged the tree outside, rid it of its branches and leaves, and cut it to pieces to put in the Yard Waste bin, was apparently because it was a fire hazard. The tree has been there ever since Christmas, more than half a year ago. It is now very dry and so my parents worried that if we leave the home it could catch on fire and burn the house down. (Our insurance doesn't cover the whole house's cost, so it wouldn't be worth it) And yet even though I never gave the tree a name it was in a strange way dear to me.

I have turned to a bundle of yarn for consolation. Yes, yarn. After reading a book I developed a minor interest in sewing and figured someday I might try it. Maybe in the summer, seeing as there isn't much for me to do during this hot, boring season. I have purchased a bundle of light blue yarn. (We have some other yarn at home but I think all we have is some pink yarn) It is quite soft and I am almost reluctant to use it, but then, it would be nice to learn how to sew. My mom knows how, or at least so she says.

Other things I did today were visit the San Jose library, and also buy a bike at Target. We normally go to the library on Saturday, but seeing as tomorrow is the 4th of July, the library will be closed. As for going to Target, I already have a bicycle, but since I have taken my mom's one, we had to get another one. I used to have a smaller bicycle but I find that the one I usually use now is easier (at first it was hard to use because I was too short but now it's about right). Luckily we have a coupon and besides it's on sale this week. My mom wanted the purple color but they were sold out already (apparently it's a new color and very popular) so we had to get a pink bicycle instead. My mom thought it would be okay to use a male bike but I figured it would be a little weird. Have you noticed the difference between male and female bikes? (Besides how they usually have different colors. Take a look at two bikes or find pictures and you'll see what I mean. That bar thing that runs from under your handlebars to under your bike seat has a different shape.)

Recently I have taken a renewed interest in Ouran High School Host Club. Apparently it has come on DVD to North America and so my mom was lucky enough to find Part 1 in the library (part 1 contains episodes 1-13) so I've been watching it while I exercise, read books, or just when I'm bored. I've been wondering if I should just try harder to find a good Ouran theme for my blog, and then always have Ouran icons. It would be pretty cool and once I did find a nice Ouran theme. The only problem is, with that layout, you can't see the name of the blog title. It's really a shame.

Labels: anime, bike, blog, christmas, danger, death, fire, holidays, independence day, july 3, layout, library, ouran high school host club, sewing, tree, yarn

My mother is eventually going to catch me and force me to do the extra math work she assigns. I really do not look forward to it. I don't feel any particularly urge to be a hard worker, as I do not have much of that "inner drive" some people seem to think I have. Really I just want to enjoy myself while I'm still...young.

Anyhow, happy Lunar New Year to everyone! (I think it's really tomorrow, but the weekend is a better time to celebrate than Monday, if you ask me.) I didn't really do anything, myself; just got some money from my parents. Some people actually have a feast and people coming over to party and all. But I guess in the USA not as many people celebrate it seriously.

My parents were watching the Lunar New Year celebration on television. My father says that people in China look forward to the new year, like people in the US look forward to the Super Bowl.

Anyhow, the celebration thing they have (it's basically some entertainment such as acting, dancing, singing, etc.). Some celebrity guy called Jay Chou was singing earlier, along with a little boy dressed up in a miniature version of his outfit. The little boy was pretty odd...I think he was singing some kind of rap music. o_O

I was really upset earlier today because my GIMP broke down. (For those who don't know, GIMP is an image editing program which you can download on the Internet.) I was making a banner and I forgot to save it. At first I was in misery, then I went back to the computer and made another banner, which actually turned out better than the first one I made. The only bad thing, I guess, is that I wasted so much time that I could've spent doing other activities.

Labels: error, gimp, holidays, jay chou, math, music, new year, television, torture

Indeed, time is ticking. Christmas will pass in a flash, and then we'll have New Year's next. And it'll be 2009! Which means a long time until the next summer Olympics. (Hmm, and I'll be in high school a few years from now.)

My head was hurting when I woke up, so I just stayed in bed for a while, being lazy. Finally my mom got me out of bed because she wants me to choose clothes for our vacation, and also to cook breakfast (I am doing one of my Home Cooking Projects now since they are due in January). I made some pancakes but left the mess for my mom to clean up. But it's okay because she liked the pancakes. It's the first time we ever made them in this house.

This morning, I saw my dad ironing some of his shirts. I was shocked because I never really see him wearing any of those shirts. All he does is wear suspicious shirts with holes or jackets from Broadcom (which is my mom's company, but the jacket is too big for my mom). And I remember recently I saw my dad using a thread and needle to repair buttons on his shirts. This was shocking too because I have not much knowledge of sewing/crocheting/stuff like that, but HE CAN DO IT AND I CAN'T?! (Dad says he decided when he was young that he would become a person who could function independently.)

Since we're leaving home tomorrow, I decided to open one of my Christmas presents and leave the other two for after I come home. (It's pretty pitiful, but I only have three presents this year. :( ) It's the Sims 2 expansion called Apartment Life. I was happy since I'm collecting the expansions. (So far I have University, Nightlife, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, and my new one.) I've just installed it today and I plan to play it a lot while I have the chance.

In Animal Crossing: Wild World (I have had this game for years and years now, but I still play it to keep my flower gardens alive), I've been trying to build snowmen, since I like getting "payment" for it. But I always either make a snowman with a too-big head, or I can't find enough snowballs, or something. It's such a pain.

It's about time to eat lunch now. I usually eat lunch earlier than this, but I was occupied on the computer. (I had been planning to find an icon for my Blogger profile but I spent too long and I ended up saving a bunch of images to my computer. Hehehehe.) So now I find it's already an hour past noon and my lunch may be getting cold. Better get going.

Labels: computer, family, food, holidays, sleep, video games

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