That's actually part of some song lyrics. That's only because I really couldn't think of a title today. While I was at school I had plenty of ideas for what to write in my blog post but once I went home, the ideas just flew right out of my head. I don't know, maybe it's just change of atmosphere or short term memory, like Dory from Finding Nemo, if you've seen that animated movie.

I should talk about something from the post title, so I will. We used to read a book called Weighty Words in language arts class. (We haven't gotten to read it for a very long time, though; only just today did my teacher resume) Each letter of the alphabet has an interesting word. A story is written about it and is not obvious until the end of the story. I find this is a good way to teach people instead of memorizing vocabulary lists, which tends to make the students' minds degenerate. Or something. (My father used to teach, many, many, years ago. It was math, but I think he might still get what I'm saying.)

Much earlier in the year, we read a story about the letter E. An ant used to be famous for his speed. He ran a lot to get food. But later he discovered a more convenient food source, so he got lazy and stopped running around all the time. They called him an ex-speedy ant (like ex-husband, if you have been divorced), which led to the word, expedient. There's even a website called expedia.com, I think. Anyhow, expedient doesn't necessarily mean you are lazy, it just means if you have a harder way and an easy way, you'd take the easy way. So I'd like you all to call me expedient instead of lazy. XD

On to actual news. I have received my school yearbook for this year. They are not cheap, so I hope it is worth it this year. I'm glad the cover looks better. Some people thought the fake stain type things looked disgusting but I would say it's a big improvement from last year. The cover then was just blank white with some words. Not exactly something you want to look at, like the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Oh yeah, have you heard this rumor? I heard that if you stare at the Mona Lisa long enough, it seems like she blinks, winks, smiles, or looks at you. I heard this effect was achieved by da Vinci himself painting many layers on top of each other with oil paint, causing it to look like the painting can move when it really can't. That's really cool. I wonder if I could try it sometime. Maybe this summer...

...Since this summer I am signing up for summer classes, as always. My mom believes summer must be occupied with something since she doesn't believe in resting on your laurels. Oh, I should explain what that phrase means. In the past, laurels were an honor since you got them for an achievement, Roman senators used to wear crowns of laurels. Someone who is resting on their laurels is satisfied with what they have achieved. Which is kind of true for me, I suppose. I think I've come a long way personally. Nowadays someone who rests on their laurels is considered lazy. (I'd call myself expedient, but it's not suitable for this occasion.)

This year I have signed up for Japanese class and painting studio. I have decided not to take any real academic classes, since I think the purpose of summer vacation is to be what the name is - a vacation from the stress of homework and tests, and social mores of school. (Sometimes I confuse myself.) I really like artsy things, though I have to say I don't like how art teachers are so picky and critique every little thing. But I guess that's their job, so I should zip my mouth closed. Japanese is just a language that I find pretty to say. I would learn something else but they only offer so many languages there... I wanted some of my friends to come too, but they have different circumstances. Some of them are going somewhere (well, I am going to Australia, but one of my friends is going to Taiwan and Europe) and others have family matters (I believe there is resent about the Japanese invasion of Korea in the past century) and yet others don't even take classes during the summer. I have heard it is boring to stay at home during the summer but I seriously want to try it for once! I haven't done that since I was younger, I always was shuffled off to day camps and academic daycares/summer school like a toy nobody wanted.

Labels: ant, art, books, brain, expedient, forgetful, japanese, language arts, laurels, lazy, learn, leonardo da vinci, lyrics, mona lisa, painting, phrase, summer, unwanted, weighty words, yearbook

Well, maybe middle-aged, and not quite old. But the actresses in the movie Mamma Mia don't seem too young, except for the person who plays the part of the main character's daughter (the main character is played by Meryl Streep. Sounds like a married sheep to me, no offense intended) who is probably pretty young. Her eyes look kind of buggish in a way. But anyhow, back to the old ladies. There's Meryl Streep who has wavy blonde hair. Then there's another lady with glasses, and then a lady with brown hair who just scares me. They all do, really. Here's a link to a picture. Kind of scary. Click here

The movie itself is just wacky...I saw the three old ladies sliding down the banister of a staircase. Then there was this guy swinging his guitar back and forth like he was trying to hit someone. And then three old guys and a young girl leaped off of a cliff. They're all beach bums, no doubt about it. o_O;;

Today, by the way, is the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival in my town. Apparently, the city I live in is part of some sister city thing with a city somewhere in Japan (that's how come we have some cherry blossom trees around). The lame thing is, probably most of the cherry blossom trees are no longer in bloom. Due to our climate changing, spring starts a bit earlier than usual. But I guess it's still nice to see the festival is still going on. Last year I bought a necklace. It had a cherry blossom pattern, since cherry blossoms are one of my favorite trees (besides ginkgos, Japanese maples, and something else I already forgot). Actually, it was made of rice paper (the necklace pendant, not the trees XD) so that was interesting.

It seems like the Louvre museum in Paris, France is very popular. Louvre is an art museum and has things like paintings and statues. The statues are kind of creepy since they are often nude. -_-;; The Mona Lisa was on display at Louvre last time I went. (There was a story about how it got to be at Louvre, but as always, it's flown out of my mind. I think it used to belong to Italy.) Apparently 8.5 million people visited Louvre...Or so San Jose Mercury News says. Apparently the British Museum in London, England is also quite popular. I hope I get to see it. Even though I've been to London, we've just seen things like the Tower Bridge and a castle (there was a sign saying some queen got beheaded there. It was probably Anne Bolelyn or Catherine of Aragon or someone like that) and also Big Ben. We never got to see the museum. I want to go to the museums in London and see the Egyptian artifacts and stuff.

Whenever I walk by the hallway bathroom in the mornings, I always get hit by a waft of some foul, sourish sweet-smelling substance. My mom says it's my dad's shampoo. Maybe later, when the smell has worn off a little, I should go in and find out what it is. I don't think it's his mouthwash since he always used mouthwash (but who knows, maybe he changed brands or something, you can never be too sure). Anyhow, we have to get rid of that smell. It makes me grimace.

Labels: abba, beach bums, cherry blossom festival, foul smell, france, louvre, mamma mia, mona lisa, movie, necklace, paris

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