I often feel that I am in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some may dispute it, and remind me that I live in the Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the electronic world, not to mention that my neighborhood is one renowned for its school district (and according to my father, who has been to Taiwan, even the people there know that our town is home to excellent schools) and my town is the headquarters of a very famous company. But for me, those are not the things that make a place the place to be.

Only a half-hour's drive away is the city by the bay, the place that Tony Bennett, according to his song's lyrics, left his heart: San Francisco.
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Labels: beach, california, city, confusion, de young, islands, lost, memories, museum, ocean, pier 39, places, san francisco, seashells, silicon valley, surprise, travel, treasure island, tulips

When I was on my school trip to Yosemite National Park, I spent quite a bit of time with a classmate from 7th grade. We had been friendly then, but not particularly close - we don't eat lunch together or have any of the same classes, so the most we really did during this school year was wave when we saw each other. However, on the Yosemite trip, I was in the same hiking group as her, and since that made her in the same rotation as me, I stuck with her whenever I could. (After all, I couldn't really stay with my cabinmates what with them being in a different rotation.)

Well, one day, she asked me a question out of the blue, which she had thought up spontaneously, "Do you know what the difference between a main friend and a best friend is?" It was one of the oddest questions I'd ever been asked. I'd never heard the term "main friend" before.

The girl considered main friends to be people who you spend time with on a regular basis - your usual group of friends - while she thought of best friends to be people who you were with practically all the time. She said that she hadn't really ever had a best friend. She asked another girl the same question that she'd asked me and got pretty much the same interpretation.

I, however, had a different opinion. I agreed with what "main friends" are, but I thought "best friends" were not necessarily the people always by your side. I thought best friends were people who you could really trust, who you really felt in tune with. People who you feel you can always be yourself around and they'll still like you for it. (Which begs the question: If you put on a mask when you're around your friends, are they really your friends at all?) The girl who asked me the question says she thinks that the two people who were my cabinmates were my best friends. Are they? I hold them in high esteem and I am with them every day (well, besides the weekend). In her definition of a best friend, they are my best friends. I would like to call them my best friends in my definition too, but I'm still considering which of the friends I have had are really, really best friends.

Anyhow, something interesting went on at school the other day. There were assemblies during the day because the son of one of the teachers was visiting California for a performance. He is part of a group of musicians called the 5th House Ensemble. There are a total of 10 musicians, but we only saw 3 of them since 7 were not available to come to our school. The teacher's son plays the piano, while the two other people who came played the cello and flute. They talked about how music is connected to imagery, and they played us some pieces. Then they asked us to pick the picture that we thought best suited the music out of four options.

The options were:
- A picture of nighttime and two people dancing
- A picture of a dog wearing a little costume
- A picture of a cafe at nighttime (it was a painting by Vincent Van Gogh)
- A picture of...Well...It was rather abstract.

Unfortunately, many students thought it would be funny to pick the picture of the dog, even though it really had little relation to the music (the music was dark and brooding and intense, and perhaps the fourth option would have suited it best). But I suppose the kids should have their fun while they're young and have more chances to.

The last piece played by the 5th House Ensemble was a song that is supposed to make you feel like you're underwater. (Sadly, I don't remember the name of the composer, though I believe the part of the music we heard was called The Sea Nocturne or something along those lines) Performers of this set of music put on black masks, shine blue light on themselves (today's performers just showed an animated image of the ocean), and use their instruments in odd ways. The cello can produce a sound that is somewhat like the sound seagulls make. Glass can be placed inside of a piano and a chisel can be used to hit it, but we didn't get to see the fancy stuff with the piano because it only works with a grand piano and the school only has a stand-up kind. I'd like to try it at home, but the piano player said it wasn't a good idea, and you'd have to do it a special way anyhow to avoid damaging your piano.

Their profession is great. They can do what they love and make money off it. While I was at Yosemite, the chaperone and hiking group leader encouraged us to follow our dreams, and not take on a job that we feel like we have to, such as for money's sake. And they said that if you can get a job that you love and that pays you a lot, then that's great. (But of course there's a lot of cases in which you can't have both.)

Labels: 5th house ensemble, best friend, career, dog, dreams, friends, friendship, imagery, instrument, job, main friend, money, music, ocean, people, picture, question, school, van gogh, yosemite

Last weekend, my family was going to visit my mom's friend's new house, and since the University of California Berkeley was along the way, we decided to pay it a visit.

That was my second time visiting UC Berkeley. The first time was quite a while back, and I don't really remember it anymore. So it was basically like going there for the first time.

I kind of worried that it would be like betraying Stanford, because I heard that Stanford and Berkeley are rivals in football...But I do have to check out other colleges, after all. :p

The campus is different from Stanford, that's for sure. Berkeley is fairly close to the ocean, and so it has a cool, fresh sort of feel. Stanford is drier and it has palm trees and such. And Stanford looks rather symmetrical. Click here for a picture of Stanford. Click here for a picture of Berkeley. Stanford appears to have Spanish architecture whereas UC Berkeley looks kind of...Greek, perhaps, with those columns? D:

Unfortunately, since I went there on the weekend, some buildings were closed, and it was rather quiet around the school, at least in the buildings. But outside there were students going on their laptops or relaxing. I saw people playing frisbee, walking their dogs (well, maybe the people walking their dogs were just people who live in the city of Berkeley), and people kicking a little beanie or bag kind of thing around. (I found this really funny because in the Sims 2 University expansion pack, you can do that very same activity)

It seemed like a pretty relaxed atmosphere, and it seemed I didn't feel as sick when I could feel the refreshing sea breeze. Maybe living by the ocean would actually improve my health and perhaps cure me of allergies...And there would be nice photo opportunities. When the sun was setting on some water it was really stunning. (But I was in the car, on the highway...I couldn't stop to take pictures)

Ah, yes, and my mom's friend's house...It was located in a nice place. From the master's bedroom, you almost have a view of the water. I bet if they lived a bit farther down their street they'd have a splendid view. Their house is big and pristine. It's neat and there are fake flowers (which are not as good as real flowers, but still pretty, and they don't die...) placed around the house. My parents think it's too big, but I'm the kind of person with a "bigger is better" attitude towards houses... XD

One of the most memorable parts of Berkeley, anyways, before I forget, was the Sather Tower, otherwise known as the Campanile. It is open for certain hours each day, so if you pay a small sum, $1 or $2, you can go up to the top in the elevator. (It is free for students of Berkeley, though.) I went up there around 4 pm, so while I was looking at the splendid of view of the surroundings, suddenly, a really loud clanging sound resounded in my ears. It was so loud I covered my ears. The sound came from the bells of Sather Tower, and as I was right next to them, they seemed very scary indeed.

But the view is really good from up there. It was a nice day, and you could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance... I'd like to live in the city of Berkeley. It seems like a beautiful place, even if the population is a little big for my liking.

Labels: architecture, bells, berkeley, california, campanile, golden gate bridge, health, house, ocean, photography, sather tower, sims 2, stanford, university, view

It seems to me that time makes all the difference sometimes in the mood of a person. A prime example is my history teacher. Last trimester, I had him for the first period of the day, but now I have him for second period. It's only about an hour difference, but it matters quite a bit. In first period, he tended to be more bad-tempered, though occasionally he did seem in a good mood. In second period he is more talkative and generally more pleasant to be around. Well, they say teenagers' brains don't truly wake up until around 9 or 10 am. Maybe it applies to adults too.

I was pretty annoyed at the homework I received recently. For two of the questions, we are directed to look at page 222 in the textbook. We are studying the Constitution, but page 222 talks about Mormons. (I tried checking the section of the textbook that is about the Constitution. There's not much info) I guess it's referring to the old textbook. It annoys me that we have to use this thinner, lamer textbook. But there's not much can we do. (I heard that California uses a different science textbook than the rest of the USA, and my teacher last year said the national textbook was awesome, and I am upset by this)

I am displeased with the education system in the USA. It is true that some of the best colleges in the world are here. I mean, one of my friends moved to China many, many years ago, and her sister got into Harvard. Clearly, they'd rather come to the USA for college than stay in China. D:

So, to rectify this problem (I am practicing using my vocab words this week, that's why I used such a strange word), I have decided I am going to attempt to move to another country. Preferably, one in Europe, because there are generally higher life expectancys, average incomes, and living conditions overall over there. I have also considered Japan because the Japanese live the longest on average despite the fact that there are smokers (French live pretty long too, though). A woman could live to be 86 on average whereas in the USA, women on average only live to be 80. I tell you, you can do many things in 6 years of your life! So I could be saving myself if I moved. The problem is that the USA does make a hefty sum of money. Liechtenstein, Qatar, and Luxembourg have a much higher GDP, though. (I've been to Luxembourg, personally, I thought it was nice, but there are apparently many pessimistic people there, though Japan seems to have many pessimists according to the Wii Everybody Votes poll)

I was thinking of perhaps San Marino. People speak Italian there, which means I might have trouble getting along at first, but at least French and Italian have some similarities. (One time I was reading a description of some brushes, but it was in another language. I tried to use Google Translate "French to English" - didn't work. Tried "Spanish to English" and didn't work either. I was confused, so I did "Detect language to English" so it would do the work for me. Turns out it was Italian...)

The money is not too bad and the HDI is fairly high. The USA's HDI is .950, I believe. Norway has the highest...And Australia is second highest! Maybe I should move to Australia! They have cool accents there, and they speak English, and besides they make a good sum of money. Also, there are lots of beaches because most people live along the coast anyway - probably too dry and desolate in the middle of the continent - and I love the beach. I want to live near there. The sound helps me go to sleep quickly. That's why I fell asleep quickly the time I slept near the ocean in Japan, even though I was on a futon on the tatami mat. (My mom couldn't fall asleep as fast, apparently she expected it to be painful, or she had back pain or whatever)

I also slept well in Australia despite the dramatic time change. That's surprising. When I went to China the second most recent time (the most recent time I went to China was last winter), I got sick from lack of sleep. I fell asleep during the day and woke up at night. But I wasn't supposed to sleep during the day, so my grandma woke me up on purpose by using an annoying talking stuffed animal. You know, the kind where you press the belly and it talks... -_-;;

Labels: australia, college, education, europe, gdp, hdi, italian, language, lifespan, misinformed, mood, ocean, san marino, sleep, time, time zone

Earlier, on the weekend, I was kind of upset at seeing the state of my lawn. Apparently since my dad's friend was housesitting but didn't flush the 'shrooms out, a lot has happened to the grass during our absence. Mushrooms are over the place. Some are fat white ones, most of which my dad had removed. Others are newer. For instance, the little blackish-brownish ones. They're cute, but they're taking the nutrients that the grass needs. D: We're not trying to grow a mushroom garden. I bet Mr. Brown (crazed science teacher) would be better at dealing with it.

Which reminds me, Mr. Brown really is crazy. Like today in the class. We were supposed to be studying cell reproduction under a microscope. But then since people saw his desktop background, which is some dead scorpions on a rock, he ended up telling his scorpion story. He showed us pictures, and told us about a trip to...South America, I think it was. (Mr. Brown says teachers get more free time during the summer than other working folks so he can go on longer vacations.) First he said something about capital cities often being lame and ugly, then he showed us photos of volcanos, lakes, and the bungalows which you can rent out. Apparently they have solar-powered hot water, "outdoor bathrooms", and environmentally friendly houses. So that's cool. (The outdoor bathrooms, by the way, is really you can take a shower outside by pulling something and a veil will fall around you so you can shower outdoors. I thought that was weird.) And he also said he was reading in the evening when he saw a spider.

Mr. Brown is by no means scared of spiders, but it had fangs on it, and it was pretty big. Fangs are dangerous since they might have venom or something. So he went and smacked it with something to kill it.

Then he was about to go back to reading when he saw a scorpion. He took a picture first (which was a bit blurry/shaky because it was a close-up, and when the camera zooms in you go "Whoa!" sometimes), then killed it. He saw more scorpions, which he killed and tossed outside. Finally he killed what was supposedly all of them (his fiancée didn't like the scorpions). The next morning he gathered up some of the dead ones and took a photo of that. So that's what inspired his desktop background.

- - - - - - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

...That aside, I had a weird dream last night. Most of it I don't remember any longer. I do know my dad was there (a surprise, since my family usually isn't in my dreams). We were on this ship of sorts. There were several "waiting rooms" on each side of it. You were supposed to sit there while the ship sailed to wherever we were going. I think we were somewhere in California. Anyhow, the waiting room we were in was really crowded. Not much places to sit left. So I wanted to go to the one on the other side that had extra space. But the ship was shaking and it was too dangerous.

My dad went away for some reason or other. I got bored and went out of the waiting room since it was shaking less now. I went and explored the place. I know I went to the ship bathroom for some reason. (I don't remember much about that.) Then I went outside, carrying some of my stuffed animals. o_O I sat down at a place in front of these...platforms protruding from the ship. Apparently you could go onto this platforms. Maybe for a better view or if you wanted to dive off the boat.

I was sitting and relaxing in front of the platforms (there were benches along the sides of the boat) with some other passengers when the weather all of a sudden got stormy. (Despite this, the traffic lights on top of the platforms still showed a green light, which meant you were allowed to get onto the platforms) A huge whirlpool came out of nowhere and started forming, pretty close to the boat. Maybe it was a hurricane or typhoon or something. I got freaked out and made sure my stuffed animals didn't fall off the boat. The whirlpool seemed to stand up in a way, and roll to the left slowly like a wheel. Then the whirlpool broke apart and turned into regular water. The storm clouds disappeared and the California sunshine was back.

I woke up soon after and don't remember the rest of my dream except my dad, steaming mad, found me, and scolded me for wandering off. That was really the strangest dream so far. I don't understand what it means, but it could be discouraging me to go on a cruise ship in Europe...Despite how confusing dreams are, they actually have great meaning.

Labels: boat, critters, dream, family, fungus, leisure, mental, mushrooms, ocean, story, teacher, vermin, weather

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