I've never actually watched the movie by the same name, but I still wanted to use this as the title of this post. XD

I am sure I have had a lot more than one missed call in my time, whether it be on my cell phone or on my home phone. For one thing, I don't really have my cell phone turned on most of the time, so it's highly likely that if you call me there, I won't pick up. D: And then I'll see your call four days later or something ridiculous like that. (Unless I'm staying home by myself, in which case it's better to keep my cell phone on to make it easy to stay in contact with my parents, so they know I haven't been kidnapped or that someone has broken into the house)

And as for the landline phone, I don't always pick up the phone. Oftentimes I just let it ring until the answering machine goes on and then listen so I know who's calling. It gets annoying when people call asking for my parents because they want to sell something to them or something like that. And it's also annoying when we get automated messages from the library or people running for political positions. (Well, I don't mind getting messages from the library so much. XD)

It was pretty funny because one time we were listening to the answering machine and then the superintendent's voice came on. He was encouraging people to vote for Measure B or something like that. My dad picked up the phone and said, "We've already voted for it," but the superintendent kept talking. That's when he realized it was just an automated message. (Well, I guess the superintendent is busy, so he can't really be giving personal phone calls.)

But hey, just because someone's got a lot to do or is a well-known public figure doesn't mean they can't take a little time out of their schedules. My math teacher sent an email to Steve Jobs to inform him about a problem. iPhones don't work around the area where my school is (actually, probably all cell phones using AT&T don't work in that area. How annoying).

So my teacher asked if any of us had parents that worked at Apple because he wanted us to get our parents to bug their superiors and somehow or other get Steve Jobs to reply to his email. He said, "If Steve Jobs sent me an email, I would reply to it!" And we were thinking to ourselves, "Yeah, but it's Steve Jobs".

But it turned out that Steve Jobs had read the email and had forwarded it to someone in a major position at AT&T (unfortunately I cannot recall who it is). This person then wrote back to my teacher saying that there was a tower planned to be put up later in the year, but it might be postponed. If necessary, a smaller mobile tower might be set up to give coverage to the schools. It's the kind that gets used when there are natural disasters or something like that. Apparently it's actually pretty big even if it's not quite a permanent tower. It would be pretty amazing if that happened. Kind of makes me think of the butterfly effect that was being talked about in language arts class, which is where something small can cause events to happen and eventually leads to something big happening. (I actually had a layout for the blog up before that was called the Butterfly Effect, haha.)

Labels: answering machine, apple, automated, busy, butterfly effect, cell phone, coverage, email, famous, hole, layout, mobile, movie, one missed call, parents, phone, steve jobs, superintendent, tower

Remember, if you will, the post Money Can Make or Break You. (Or read it for the first time.) My teacher called us students germ factories. I am really and truly getting to see how this is true. Lately, the weather has been rainy and cold, and sickness has been spreading like wildfire. Unfortunately, those few who got sick originally did not stay home like they should have, and thus spread germs further and further. I have been fine up until now, and actually in relatively good health considering my lack of sleep and deteriorating eating habits, but now I'm starting to feel a lot of discomfort in my throat. Although I haven't lost my voice or started coughing yet, it might be only a matter of time. I am as steamed as can be. Unless this is a late punishment for something I did, I feel as if I am being hurt for something when I didn't deserve it, if you catch my drift. I mean, I as well as the healthy students were just attending school like good children until we were cursed by those who insisted on not staying home.

I know there are many reasons for students not staying home from school. This became clear during French class, when my teacher even said, "You should be at home, not here." The kids cried out, "It's our Asian parents!" (Very stereotypical, but I guess it makes sense to them.) The teacher said, "You must make your...Asian parents understand that by going to school, you spread sickness to other perfectly fine people. We are all stuck in a small, confined space with the windows and door closed. There is nowhere for your germs to go."

Then a classmate presented a different argument. "Both my parents work," he said, "so I can't stay home." The teacher didn't find this to be a problem. "You are old enough to stay home by yourself." I think this is true. I just saw a young boy (I am guessing maybe somewhere from five to seven years old) riding his bike, by himself. He seemed fine. What a nice independent young man. XD

And then there is another category of people, such as myself, where it is the student who really didn't want to stay home. One of my friends fits in this category since she went to school despite her mother saying she could stay home if she wanted. But she, unlike me, is more dedicated, which is admirable. For me, it would be nice to stay home, but I think it is too much of a hassle. You have to make up tests and PE and other junk, and it's just not worth it unless I'm very sick.

It's bad enough that there's a bug going around (two of my teachers are ill and one is recovering). But it's even worse that there was a CHICKEN POX warning. My teacher asked a student to run to the office to get some papers to pass out to us. When the papers arrived, he asked us to raise our hands if we had ever had chicken pox. There were only a handful of students who did (perhaps five? Six?) and they were all male. My teacher seemed surprised. "More of you should've gotten it." (Hey, is he suggesting that we're bad for NOT getting it?! Nah, that can't be :p) When I told my mom later, she said, "Of course we wouldn't, there's a such thing as vaccination." (But if that's the case, did those victims of chicken pox not get properly vaccinated? Or did the vaccination fail to work?)

Then the message came in saying that four students in my grade at my school had gotten chicken pox and that we may have been exposed to the disease. Within 2-3 weeks, infected people would start to show symptoms. I was immediately scared because one of my worst fears is disease (particularly something like chicken pox that would really, really force me to stay home from school, and it would cause trouble for my parents since they would have to stay home from work to take care of me). Then again, if I did actually get chicken pox, then it would protect me from getting it again. (Apparently, if you have chicken pox once, you're safe from it, because your body can recognize it and exterminate the virus quickly)

I guess now is the time to quote Thomas Paine's work called "The Crisis"... "These are the times that try men's souls." (And women's, and children's.)

Labels: asian, chicken pox, danger, disease, germ factory, immune, infection, make-up, parents, quote, school, sick, sickness, sore, the crisis, thomas paine, throat, vaccination

Uh, no, I haven't been trying to mix blood and water together in a glass or something like that, don't worry. I'm not one of those people who does things at home when they were told "don't try this at home".

What I mean by blood is heritage. Genes. Posterity. The person or people that will carry your torch when you no longer can. For several years, I have thought that if I decide to raise children, I want one of them to be an adopted child. I once said so to my grandmother, and she reacted in a way that I found strange. She seemed repelled by the idea, even a bit angry. Back then, I didn't know why. But earlier today, my mom gave me some information.

My mom said she didn't understand why I wanted an adopted child. "If you want children, couldn't you have some of your own?" she asked. (She thinks it's reasonable for people to adopt children if they are unable to get pregnant.) Personally, I think adopting children is good because...

1. I read somewhere that siblings that aren't related by blood get along better. (That means I could have one child of my own, and adopt one child.) I think that's good, if it's true, because kids often feel unhappy or underappreciated if they are compared to their siblings. One of my friends says she feels her mother is easier on her sister. I don't want my children to treat each other badly and resent each other.

2. It is helpful in reducing world population. If I had a child, I'd be adding to it, but if I adopted one, the population wouldn't change because that child is "already there". I'm really upset about overpopulation. In fact, I sometimes think of drastic schemes to reduce it. (Like researching diseases and creating or finding one that could just infect people I don't like, and not hurt others. This way criminals and people with irksome personalities could be removed. But I guess then someone would say, "You have to give them a second chance! They can change!")

3. Orphans seem more exciting. Probably actual orphans would find this offensive since it is not a good thing to lose your parents (unless they were really terrible ones). But still, you see orphans in books and movies and all, and that is because they're more interesting. Imagine, if I had an adopted child who was orphaned, they could write something dramatic for their college application.

Then I asked my mom what my grandma found wrong with adoption. My mother responded that it was simply the old beliefs of China. Bloodline is very important (such as having sons to pass on your last name) and so having an adopted child isn't good since they have, really, no relation in genetics (unless you were to adopt a relative, or something?). Also, my mom said that sometimes adopted children lead troubled lives. She knows someone who adopted a child who sometimes gets very angry and needs to be taken to the hospital to be calmed down.

The problems started with acne. The boy reached the age where he was going through puberty. His mother figured it was okay to let it be since his father had acne when he was that age and had grown out of it. However, although his parents didn't mind his face because he was, after all, their son, the boy feared that his classmates would keep away from him because of the acne on his face. He grew very sensitive about it and resented his parents for not taking him to a doctor (I mean, then he could've gotten some medicine. I heard his acne was pretty bad, worse than average) and even struck his mother. Sometimes he would get into a real frenzy and he'd be taken to the hospital to be electrocuted or some other cruel and unusual thing to calm him down. But such effects are only temporary, after all, and so he also grew to hate the hospital because of what was done to him there.

This did make me a bit more wary, but I still will not change my mind about wanting to adopt a child. I think this kind of situation can be prevented if you are very aware of what your child is thinking. I know probably even if a mother asked her child what he or she did at school, he or she might still respond, "Oh, nothin'," or "the usual". Even if it makes you appear bossy and annoying, you should try to worm it out of your child. You should keep everything out in the open in your family. But don't tell your child's problems to other people. Otherwise, I bet anyone would feel like they have to keep things to themselves if they don't want the whole world, or at least the people whose opinions they care about, to know.

Hmm, I haven't decided where to adopt a child, though. Maybe I'll go to China and adopt one of the young girls there. (There are more girls in orphanages and stuff than boys, because you can only have one child in China unless you pay the fine or something, and people prefer to have a son. Especially in the countryside, because sons will stay and work, but girls will marry off) I mean, I might even be able to find someone who looked like me. (But then it would be harder to explain to them that they are adopted since they'd be saying, "What? But I look like Mommy" or "I don't remember any other parents")

Labels: acne, adoption, blood, children, china, daughter, disease, family, lineage, orphan, parents, population, pregnancy, problem, relationship, relatives, rivalry, secret, siblings, water

This has nothing to do with how children used to quit school around the age of 12 and go work in mills, where they would get into some tragic accident, like being maimed by a machine gone rogue. (I'm glad to see child labor is forbidden now. However, I wanted to work during the summer, so I can save up cash, but was never able to because I was too young.) Instead, the children are the very same people I go to school with.

I am always really paranoid when we're playing sports in PE. I've had bad luck over the years, what with various projectiles hitting me in the head. The first time I remember was back in 1st grade. Ironically, it happened while I was trying to do something good. I saw a ball that had rolled under a bush and was stooping to pull it out when a football came from behind and hit me in the head.

I can't remember much of the other incidents, except for the ones in middle school. I was played lacrosse, which is one of my favorite sports, actually, and I got whacked in the face with a ball. That was bad enough, but in the same day I was also hit in the leg. During this school year, we were playing volleyball and a volleyball that had strayed from a different court hit me in the head. (As far as I know I have not gotten a concussion from all the pounding my head has received, but I could've lost some brain cells. Terrible.)

I still can't really figure out how to hit a volleyball correctly. The few times that I successfully hit it, I usually hit it around my wrist area, which makes it sore and red. I am afraid I will injure myself if this keeps up. What part am I supposed to use to hit the volleyball? (Basketball is easier for me than this, at least I can catch the ball, even if that makes my hands dry and dusty.)

For some reason, whenever I am in a certain PE teacher's class, I always get injured once. When I had him in 7th grade, I twisted my ankle because I was rushing while doing warm-up exercises, and then I tripped and landed rather awkwardly. (You would think I would have learned my lesson, but I still rush when warming up. Not a good idea, so I advise you "don't try this at home".) The other time I was injured was last trimester, when I was trying to get up the stairs quickly but didn't lift my leg high enough on a step and fell, scraping my knee. I didn't feel any pain at first, so I didn't realize it was bleeding until it was pointed out to me. It started to sting after a while when I was putting water on it. It kept on bleeding, which is disturbing. Eventually I went off to get a bandage so it would stop bleeding.

I guess I'm not doing as badly as others, though. One day, at brunch, I noticed my current PE teacher pushing a kid in a wheelchair to the school office. A teacher called out to him, "Stop hurting the kids!" in a joking manner. However, I suspect a lot of people get injured in his class. We used to have two students who were in some way or another unable to do certain activities. One of the students isn't in the class anymore, though the other still is, but she does exercises with a medicine ball.

Despite my paranoid tendencies, I've always dreamed of having an exciting life, like living in a new place, or living a life fraught with danger, such as going sky diving often or rounding up mustangs (...are there still any mustangs out there?). I'd like to try going in a hot air balloon someday or going surfing. There's a lot of things I want to do, and so I feel frustrated at times because I believe that my life isn't thrilling enough. And at other times, I am too lazy and I just like it the way it is. I wonder if I might have multiple personalities or if it simply depends on my mood. (For instance, I am overall more of a pessimist than an optimist, though I can be either. If I have just suffered from many bad scores in a row in school, then I'll be pessimistic, but after a while I start to have hope again, and become more optimistic. After all, I really hate it when people act like all hope is lost, so I would be a hypocrite if I acted like that myself, so my consciousness gives me "pep talks".)

I crave some more ordinary freedoms, too, like being allowed to wander in the neighborhood by myself. I can only go outside for a short distance (like maybe across a street or two) and for a short time without supervision. When I was young, I always thought my parents were overprotective. I wasn't allowed to walk home until 7th grade and even then I always walked with my grandma (and later my acquaintance/friend/neighbor/companion? I can't come up with the right term). I felt that I was deprived of things, and I still am not allowed to ride a bike home. Although my parents' grip on me slackens over time as I supposedly mature (who knows if I really do? D: ), riding a bike home is still something I am not supposed to do. (But then again, it's also inconvenient. I would have to put my bike in the car when my parents drive me to school; Besides, I'm not really a great biker, even if I can ride a bike. I fell of my bike recently because I saw someone else coming and panicked, trying to give them space. And when low branches stick out over the sidewalk, I panic, and try to swerve, but then I fall off)

I once read an article in the Time magazine about how parents are really overprotective nowadays. The percentage of students walking or biking to school dropped, despite the fact that crime rates have gone down, so it's safer nowadays. And some parents are really focused on what's "best" for their children, which could mean making them study a lot, and asking schools to have more classes and less free time (sometimes this means not having as much PE, too, hence higher rates of obesity). Even though parents care a lot about their kids, it seems it can sometimes harm them rather than helping them. Will you really be fine when you are independent if you are used to being taken care of by my your mother and father? (Not a good thing if you run home every week to make them do your laundry for you. Of course, there might be shared washing machines available for you to use) Is keeping a tight leash on people good for their lives or will it stunt their growth? The key is to find the right balance between the two. To know when to let your kids decide for themselves (and maybe learn the hard way, but that's life) and when you should direct them...It's a tough judgment call.

Labels: bike, blood, child cruelty, danger, head, injury, job, life, optimism, overprotective, parents, pessimism, physical education, sports, success, time, walk

Executive toys are basically things that people who work in corporations might keep on their desk. These items are nice to look at, or can be used for amusement, or something along those lines. (Note: This is my own definition of it, so I'm sorry if it is rather awkward) The typical executive toy would be Newton's cradle. A basic one is pictured below.

Though I don't have one myself, I think that basically, you pull back a ball at the end (either side should work) and it will hit the other balls, causing the one at the other end to move. I'm not sure how this works but I'm going to guess it's transfer of force. (You should look it up for an explanation, I'm afraid I only have the vaguest ideas)

The executive toy I have in mind, though, is a Galileo thermometer. I had one delivered to my house just recently. It comes with not only a thermometer but also a barometric ball. (Barometers are used to measure pressure in the atmosphere) Basically, it looks like the picture below.

I really like the Galileo thermometer because it is shiny and has nice colors. I am fond of glass and such things in general, since they are shiny objects. Of course, it's more accurate to use a regular thermometer than a Galileo thermometer, but a Galileo thermometer is fun... I guess.

Yesterday, my parents' friends came over to our house. It seems like practically anytime there is a holiday, we'll go to someone else's house or someone else will come to our house. I guess it's because only holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year actually mean the adults get a day off. It's more convenient that way (especially since my mom's friend lives in Pleasanton, California, which is not that close to where I live). My mom's friend would like to go to Yellowstone National Park, and she wanted my mom to come along, but it would be a problem because I get motion sickness from driving so easily. There is no way to fly directly to Yellowstone, so it would definitely mean a road trip. Hearing my mom's friend say it would be hard to manage because of my carsickness made me feel kind of guilty (and also a little exasperated, because it's not like I can help getting carsick!) so I said to my parents, "Well, you can just go without me," after all the guests had left. But my parents said they didn't need to, because they had already been there.

I always get annoyed because my parents have been to places that I haven't. I want to travel all four corners of the globe (not that there are corners on a sphere), but there's still many places I have yet to go. Well, my parents have been to many states in the USA that I have NOT been to, like Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota (and they got their Master's Degrees in North Dakota), Minnesota, Indiana, Utah, Arizona, and Texas. They traveled to those states when I was not yet alive. I feel like I've missed out on a lot.

There is something that has always troubled me, and that is my childhood memories. I am talking about the ones that go pretty far back, as in my toddler years. I don't seem to have any memories of my parents. This is surprising, considered that I was not an adopted child (I'm too similar to my dad for that to be true D: ), and so I must've spent at least some hours of every day with my parents (even if they were both working so I had to spend time being babysat or at preschool). I mean, family is important, so shouldn't I remember them? The only relative I remembered, oddly enough, was my grandma. For some reason I have this memory of her holding me, on a beach in Hawaii, with the sun setting. But although I have photos of my parents and I, I can't remember it at all... The human mind is a mysterious thing.

Labels: adoption, barometer, brain, carsick, executive toy, family, friends, galileo thermometer, grandmother, hawaii, memories, newton's cradle, parents, travel, united states of america, yellowstone

I thought of this while I was reading a book called The Outsiders for school. The book is about the 60's, and it takes place in Oklahoma, I think, or somewhere around there. The main character is a boy named Ponyboy, who is part of a gang made up his two brothers and his friends. Well, I'd never really read this kind of book before, so I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but it turned out to be better than I expected. Ponyboy and his brothers are fond of chocolate, and Ponyboy's brother said that if there was a such thing as a chocolate cigarettes, Ponyboy would've had one made. (By the way, Ponyboy is an avid smoker. One time he went to the countryside and a man told him, "You shouldn't be smoking." Ponyboy looked around for a No Smoking sign and didn't seen one. "Why not?" asked the confuzzled Ponyboy. "Well, uh...You're too young," said the man. Ponyboy was surprised - Ponyboy is only 14, by the way.)

Whenever I see people with lollipops in their mouths, I think that they're smoking at first. I saw a book full of pictures of flashy outfits people in Japan were wearing. (There were some things that looked fairly normal, but some of the outfits were pretty strange.) I saw lollipops in their mouths and assumed they were cigarettes at first but it turned out that they were lollipops...Whew.

I remember when I was young I used to just stick a carrot in my mouth and pretend I was smoking since I never want to try it for real. It's way too easy to get addicted to smoking so it's just better not to ever do it. Good people get ruined by smoking.

I overheard two of my classmates talking. One of them said, "A man walks into a bar." (He's telling a joke.) So the other guy said, "So?" And the one telling the joke said, exasperated, "Don't you get it? You're so slow!" Basically, in this joke, a man doesn't walk into the kind of bar where you drink alcohol. He walks into an actual bar. Now that would hurt. (I only understood the joke because I had heard someone else tell it before)

Anyways, back to The Outsiders...There was something in the book that I found interesting. Ponyboy, as he narrates the story, mentioned that he liked Two-Bit's mom because she was humorous, but not lazy like Two-Bit. (Two-Bit is a joking guy who likes school for some weird reason and is in Ponyboy's gang) Then Ponyboy said Two-Bit's mother let Two-Bit get away with murder. Ponyboy was making Two-Bit's mother sound like a good person, so this was a bit of a shock. That's a very interesting parent there.

I've been wondering about something for a pretty long time now. One time I was at school, because I heard there was free ice cream (but the line was too long. Just earlier there had been a dance so many students were at the school). A woman asked me, "Are you J?" (J stands for the name of the person, I didn't want to reveal her name) I said, "No," and moved on. I bet that person didn't know how J looked or something - I mean, I don't wear glasses. Anyhow, J is of Korean decent. And people sometimes think either that I look Korean or my dad does. (Then again, maybe it's because some people aren't good at telling, people occasionally ask me if I'm Japanese) Plus, both my mom and dad's last names are Korean last names. It's sort of uncanny. I keep wondering if I could be Korean instead of Chinese but all my relatives live in China. Then again, Koreans once came from China. I mean, even the language has some similarities, and names for nobility used to be taken from Chinese. I'm always been curious about where I really come from. (Well, Africa originally, it can be traced back there, even if people insist they aren't from there, like my dad said the aboriginals in Australia said they were from Australia, not Africa, even when DNA tests were taken) I wonder if there is a way to find out. It would probably take a long time trying to trace it all the way back. I mean, for one thing, China has a huge population, so would there even be any documents? And it would be written in Chinese (Mandarin) so I wouldn't be able to read it...

Labels: africa, bar, chinese, chocolate, cigarette, heritage, joke, korean, lollipop, name, parents, ponyboy, smoking, the outsiders, two-bit

I am not saying that the magazines themselves are really lacking or something, but it is just...Well... A lot of magazines and newspapers and other sources of information seem to be filled with bad news. The only magazine I have that is decidedly optimistic is Ode, which we subscribed to with our mileage. (If you fly a lot with an airline, say for example, United, then you might be able to rack up "mileage", a kind of points, and if you get enough you can use it for things, like getting a free flight somewhere) We had to use the mileage or else it would disappear, so my mom wanted me to pick magazines to subscribe to, since magazines don't use much mileage. Back to Ode, though; apparently they call themselves a magazine for "intelligent optimists".

Currently I am subscribing to the magazines Newsweek, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, and Nintendo Power. I don't mean to offend the folks working for Newsweek, but I am not too fond of it. It seems to have a lot of news about politics. The only things I find interesting are the comics (which are politically-themed), the Indignity Index (which features some rather not-so-good things public figures have done), and the occasional article, like this article I read about how Microsoft is losing out to other companies ever since Bill Gates stepped down from CEO or whatever.

My mom and I would prefer to have Time magazine, but my dad wanted Newsweek, so we got it. I have discovered that although my dad means well, he doesn't have the greatest judgment. When I was younger, we were looking for a Game Boy to buy and my dad said we should get the Game Boy Advance. That turned out to be a bad move because the Game Boy Advance doesn't have good lighting, unlike the Game Boy Advance SP (and DS, which hadn't come out yet at that time), so it was always hard for me to see what was on the screen. (By the way, the Game Boy is not well-named since it is kind of suggesting that boys are the only gamers, which is not true)

The reason why I mention Time here is because I just checked out an issue of Time from the library. I was looking for an article for Current Events (where we present an article we found in the news in front of our class - all science-related because we do it in science class) and I noticed an issue of Time magazine, the November 30, 2009 issue. There was an article about how parents are overprotective of their kids and how maybe it's time we loosened up a bit, so kids can learn to do things themselves. So I checked out the issue. I really like that article. It has some funny parts, like when it mentioned how suddenly strollers needed the label REMOVE CHILD BEFORE FOLDING (that's because parents got really paranoid).

There was also another article in Time (same issue) that I liked, and that was an article about Zynga. Zynga is a company, started in 2007, which makes games for social-networking sites. Some of the games include Mafia Wars, Cafe World, Zynga Poker, YoVille!, and Fishville. What amused me was the mention of Farmville, which was apparently similar to a popular Chinese farming game called Happy Farm. Hmm...My dad plays an online game where he waters his plants, steals other people's plants (gasp!) and keeps all sorts of fauna like squirrels and peacocks. I can't help but think it's really funny that my dad plays Happy Farm.

I also checked out the December copy of Cat Fancy magazine, since I don't have a subscription to it. Even this magazine has some gruesome aspects. There was a section about holiday safety for cats, and in it said, "When I diagnose cats with kidney failure from lilies, people tell me they've never heard that before." Lilies? You know, the flowers? Well, apparently they are dangerous to cats. And chocolate is also bad for them. So are nuts, splintery bones, and onions and garlic...Apparently, onions and garlic are bad for the red blood cells of a cat. The article may be helpful, but it seems to frighten you into keeping your cat safe. I mean, your cat being electrocuted by chewing on the Christmas tree lights doesn't sound too nice.

Well, the real disappointment in the magazine wasn't the fault of the magazine. It was all because I got it from the library. I wanted to rip out the poster of a kind of cat called a ragdoll. It has blue eyes, which I really like, and also, it kind of resembles my dad's friend's cat. Then I realized that it was a library copy so I couldn't rip it out. I was really crestfallen. (P.S.: Today's icon is NOT a ragdoll.)

Labels: 2009, cat fancy, christmas lights, game boy advance, garlic, happy farm, indignity index, lilies, newsweek, november 30, ode, onions, overprotective, parents, poster, ragdoll, safety, time, zynga

Today, I had my third encounter with someone who had I believed to have died - er, moved away. I saw him twice before. The first time, RaHa (Those are the first two letters of his first and last name, to protect his privacy, I suppose) had stopped his bike and was doing something. I think he was going to use his cell phone or maybe he forgot something or perhaps he was counting cars. I have no idea. The second time he was on his bike, pedaling home presumably. This was interesting, because where he was going signified he went to my school, and I had not seen him at school. (In fact, we thought he had moved away before entering middle school) And then I saw him today, in the lunch line, and the lunch lady was telling him what he could get at the salad bar, since he didn't have enough $$$ or some other problem. So now the truth has come out: THE DEAD TRULY CAN COME BACK TO LIFE.

Recently I have found out about two websites, FMyLife and MyLifeIsAverage. Let's not mention what the F stands for in the first website. Anyhow, both these websites contain little "stories" from people. It's usually negative things on FMyLife and just weird things on MyLifeIsAverage. I came up with my own, though I am not planning to submit it to either of them.

Today, I was in my classroom minding my own business. I looked out the window and saw a girl walk by. She was holding a toilet seat and looking at it.

Actually, I think that toilet seat is the hall pass for one of the classrooms... (Whether it is a real toilet seat I am not sure about) And I remember it was a helmet of some sort that was the hall pass for orchestra/band. All my teachers this year have very ordinary hall passes, though. What a shame.

My history teacher mentioned something today which I wish that I had been able to put in my previous post "the bond between parent and child". He said that people tend to raise their kids the way their parents raised them. Even if you may deny it, saying "I'm going to be nothing like my parents!" it often turns out that you are like your parents. My teacher himself came up with a prime example. When he was young, he would wrestle with his father for fun. His father would say, "Get off my back, Evelyn!" and then Mr. Brown would say, "I'm not Evelyn, I'm *insert his name here*." This happened again with Mr. Brown and his son. His son wanted to play horsey so he climbed on top of his dad's back. Then Mr. Brown couldn't resist saying, "Get off my back, Evelyn!" and his son said, "I'm not Evelyn, I'm *insert his name here*." By the way, if you don't understand "Get off my back, Evelyn" it's apparently something in a movie, which I haven't watched.

Labels: children, death, fmylife, get off my back evelyn, hall pass, history, lunch line, method, moving, mylifeisaverage, parents, return, school, seat, toilets

That bond is a very important one, one that many people have. The bond differs from person to person...I have read or heard about pretty close bonds, and I wanted to share them.

My dad watched a movie called District 9, about aliens who landed on Earth, in fact, near Johannesburg, South Africa, I think. I was pretty freaked out by the movie since the main character had something happen to his arm and started turning into an alien little by little or something... We call the main character the "sweety man" because in fact, in the movie, he had tried to tempt out an alien child by saying "It's the sweety man!". So now we're addicted to saying "sweety man". But anyways, the point is, that even the aliens cared a lot about their children. It was the sweety man's job to move the aliens to a new camp outside of Johannesburg, so then he tried threatening to take away an alien's child unless they moved to the new camp. The alien, who was previously calm, then became very worked up and upset.

And then there are cats and their kittens. My dad's friend is getting a cat soon, from a "cat club" that was set up at my dad's workplace, what with lots of stray cats hanging around Cisco's buildings. Apparently someone who helps take care of the cats came up to my dad and said he was very worried about the mother of the cat that was getting adopted. He said the mother was fretting and stressed because she didn't know where her child had gotten off to suddenly. My mom thought the solution would be for my dad's friend to adopt the mother and its child (but I doubt their family was planning to get two cats). Either way, I hope that the mother cat can see her child again. If she did, then she would know her child was safe (and hopefully happy and well taken care of) and then she wouldn't have to worry.

Guardians aren't always in the form of parents. Sometimes grandparents serve as the parental figures. I started reading a book, and when the mother of the main character's friend mentioned that not doing something would be like child abuse, then the grandmother of the main character allowed the main character to do something that she'd forbidden until then. The grandmother was always concerned about someone taking her granddaughter away from her, because they might think she was too old to take care of a child, or something. So hearing "child abuse", even if the person only meant it figuratively and not literally, probably made alarm bells go off in her head.

But sometimes the relationship between parents and their children are...less than perfect. A good example is Alice and Kev (yep, that's a link, click on it!), a story about a homeless girl and her father, created with the Sims 3. Unfortunately there isn't really an ending to the story. But it's pretty cool, seeing a video game being used to tell a compelling story.

Labels: alice and kev, aliens, bond, cat, child cruelty, children, cisco systems, club, district 9, grandmother, homeless, parents, relationship, sims 3, sweety man

My mother has abandoned me again. It's only for two days, but I kept wailing and trying to grab her arm and things like that. She managed to evade me, saying that I should turn on my cell phone and she would call me later. I would've gone to the airport and seen her off but she is with a friend/classmate/other kind of acquaintance. The lady kept smiling strangely at me, and she asked me if I remembered her and things like that. (Probably not. I didn't retain any memories until preschool, and I usually forget who my parents' friends are unless they are people I see frequently) If I had gone with my mom, my mom would've been pretty distracted and I wouldn't be able to talk to her one last time before she flew off to Las Vegas. (She's going there to meet up with some other friends she hasn't seen in a long time.) Also, I would've had to act smiley and nice for the lady-that-I-don't-remember-anymore, because they sometimes saying things like "You've grown so much" or "How old are you" or something. So maybe it was better not to go. But still, it's really quiet here. All you can hear is the sounds of birds outside.

I don't really understand what is up with teachers. They seem very laid-back, particularly the PE teachers and my science teacher. For instance, Mr. Brown, my science teacher, was sitting in his chair with his feet propped up on the counter, answering questions about Human Growth and Development. Since there is a door or something connecting our classroom to the neighboring classroom, another teacher, Mr. Aochi, came over and started talking to Mr. Brown. They said things like, "You want a refresher?" (while holding up a bag of coffee beans) and "Twist my arm" (which I assume means "Yeah, thanks, go on ahead") Then Mr. Aochi tried to describe a flower, and Mr. Brown said, "Oh, you mean gardenia." In the meanwhile the students were talking amongst themselves. I wondered, WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO CLASS?! It must be hard to get teachers fired unless they really do something wrong, like handing out permission slips and taking students to 7-11. (A teacher once did that. Mr. Blair, my history teacher, admires that teacher.)

As for the PE teachers, they get paid as much as regular teachers, but they have way less assignments to grade - only tests and projects and possibly notebooks, if they even assign them at all. Oftentimes teachers talk to each other. Mr. Robinson usually talks to Mr. Murray, while Mr. Nakamura usually talks to Mr. Blair (and sometimes the female teachers, Mrs. Jennings and Ms. Rawson). We used to have another teacher (though I am not sure if she gossiped during class as well) called Ms. Hanohano, except she moved away to Arizona or someplace like that.

I heard some strange news. Apparently not only is there a new principal next year, but another PE teacher may be on her way. I am not sure of her name's spelling exactly. Besides the fact she is female I don't know anything about her. I guess it's a good thing to have another PE teacher at the school because otherwise we have practically 40 students to a class (using up ALL the painted white numbers on the ground). Still, I am anxious to know who is this teacher and whether she is nice, or if this is really just a weird rumor.

Labels: chat, confusing, friends, gossip, mom, new, noise, old folks, parents, PE class, phone, pretend, questions, quiet, school, talking, teacher

Today we went to the library and then to Great Mall. We had to return a lot of library books and DVDs because they'll be due during the time we're gone on vacation. D: I feel sad returning them, but at least that means I got to use the electronic machine outside the Cupertino Library. That is always lots of fun. It's more enjoyable to use the check-out machines, though. On the second floor, the check-out on the left side makes noises, like a slot machine. XD

After that we headed to my dad's office, which was a surprise since it's the weekend. Apparently my dad was supposed to bring home some headphones or something but he forgot to do it yesterday. While we were there I got some pencils from the break room. My dad said it's a good life to work at Cisco Systems because you can check stocks, look at PGA Tour's website, drink coffee, have free pencils, and eat ramen. (Which leads me to the next paragraph.)

For lunch, we ate at a ramen shop, called Maru Ichi. (According to dad, it's the favorite ramen shop in the Bay Area) I had some shoyu ramen and so did my mom. My dad had kuro ramen. (I think kuro/kuroi means black, so that's why the soup looked black.) It was really good, and I even got a bit of ice cream. What was really funny was the ice cream came in a plastic cup. On the cup it said "Warning: Contents hot". I hope ice cream will always be a cold treat.

After that we headed to Great Mall, which is apparently close to my dad and mom's workplaces. (My mom says years back, she used to go there, until she realized she wasn't going to buy any clothes anyways.) At first I didn't remember it but after I went inside I recognized it, even though I haven't been there for a few years. I mostly just go to Valley Fair or Vallco/Cupertino Square. (If you live near me, you may know what I'm talking about. These are malls, by the way.) The stores have changed, though. And it was really crowded in there. Lots of people are doing holiday shopping since they think they can get good deals at this time of year.

Even a year later, Hollister and Abercrombie still creep me out, but since my mom's friend thinks I should get a heavy jacket there, my parents dragged me in. The dim lights, pants that have holes in them, and giant black-and-white pictures are disturbing. Worse, the Hollister fitting rooms have no benches and are really small, so they look like jail cells...

I got really thirsty and my feet hurt from walking around too long. My mom wanted to use the bathroom, so we went to my dad's office a second time so she could use the restroom. XD In the meantime my dad and I went to get drinks in the break room, but the refrigerator broke on the first floor so we had to go upstairs. It's a good thing that they have elevators because I am bad at using stairs.

Labels: clothes, library, office, parents, restaurant, shopping, work

This is a really pretty image (I think it's meant to be a desktop background). I found it when I was browsing for a new header image. I'm too lazy to edit one myself. I should, though. Maybe it would actually look okay.



Soon as I finish that banner of mine, I'll put it up. In the meantime, I am just going to talk to myself again.
Last night, I was talking to my dad on Skype (this Internet phone-ish thing, basically). I hear some rustling sounds, and ask my mom if it's raining. She says it's just very windy. When she looks outside, she realizes that I was right. (Maybe I ought to be a meteorologist, or that could be a backup job)
I keep asking my parents what their salaries are. I'm just curious, that's all! Honest! But they think it's suspicious, and tell me I don't need to know. I try all sorts of tricks to make them accidentally tell me, but they're smarter than I thought. (Note to self: Stop underestimating intelligence of parents. Just because my dad sends emails and drinks free coffee all day, doesn't mean they're stupid)
It was really funny yesterday when I turned on my Wii to play some Wii Fit. When you don't come on for three days, your "Mii" (character you make and select) falls asleep and snores. The whole family was snoring. (I think it's just because my dad is gone, though. But he'll be back tomorrow.)

Labels: graphics, parents, video games, weather

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

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