Today has been a chilly day. There are clouds in the sky for the first time in a week or so. I can't remember a year when there was such cold weather at this time in June.

Maybe this year is meant to be different. There was rain later in spring than normal. The reservoir is full and beautiful and reflective. But not everything is good about such change. Different weather is bad for some fruits. I heard that cherries were more expensive this year. And my mother worries that our persimmon trees will not yield much when the time comes to harvest their fruits because of the unusual weather.

But this chill, though it is June, makes me wonder if perhaps the summer will end early this year. My dad dismissed the idea, saying something like "The summer really starts with July 4th" which I don't really understand (I mean, only the USA celebrates Independence Day). There was already a warm spell back in May.

I read the book Sisters of the Sword: Journey Through Fire. The main character, Kimi, is driven by her desire for revenge, but she is told that she should not be filled with so much hate, that it will consume her and lead to her defeat. But in the book I am Apache, revenge seems to be embraced, as warriors set out to avenge their loved ones, who were killed by Mexicans in a surprise attack. I've heard the phrase "revenge is sweet", but is it really? If you kill someone, your hands will be sullied by the blood, and you may forever live with the guilt. And it would not bring back the people that you have lost. But perhaps you must kill someone for the sake of the future and of other innocent people - if you don't kill the person, it is not far-fetched to think he or she will go on to take more lives.

I've also been watching an anime; the name is Ef: A Tale of Melodies. It is a disturbing story, but at the same time it also intrigues me. One of the characters said that he wondered why a person would be born in the first place if they would die. He said that there isn't any point in starting fights that you know you will lose.

But I think that because we are alive, there must be something out there for us to accomplish. I don't think life is meaningless just because we know it will come to an end, for some sooner than others. We still think of things that are temporary as important, like youth, passion, friendship, and dreams. It's up to us to make these things permanent. If two friends swear to be BFFs and support each other when times are rough, then the promise is not broken.

As I am now, I am weak. I don't have thick skin, so the words of people pierce me more deeply than any physical injury. But I still want to become strong. I'll fight every day, even if it's an uphill battle, even if I die and am forgotten. I am alive, so I'll do what I can. There are days when I'm lost in a sea of misery. Days when who I am and who people think I am are different; days when what I want to do and what I need to do are unbearably far apart. But I'll fight on. Even if I'll die trying.

Labels: ability, books, death, different, dream, ef a tale of melodies, fruit, I am apache, journey through fire, life, purpose, reservoir, revenge, sisters of the sword, strength, summer, temporary, weather

I just finished a book called Sisters of the Sword: Chasing the Secret recently. (It's the sequel to a book, simply named Sisters of the Sword). It would take a long time to explain what was happening in the book, so I'll just give you info based on a need-to-know basis. Basically, a girl called Kimi, her sister Hana, and their friend Tatsuya are running away from their training school because Kimi's murderous uncle is there and chaos has ensued. Tatsuya spotted something that he thought was a ninja behind a rock. Here's a part from the book.

"He's not moving," Hana whispered. Her gaze was fixed no the flat rock, where the shadow warrior's head was just visible.
"Perhaps he realizes we've seen him?" Tatsuya suggested. "He knows there's no point trying to hide."
...(skipping a paragraph)
We inched closer, and I saw the shadow take shape. His clothes were bumpy, almost a green color. One more step and I laughed out loud. The shape behind the rock was non ninja. It was a bush, small and round, rooted into the rock!
"Kimi!" Tatsuya motioned for me to be quiet, but it only made me laugh harder.
Tatsuya shot me a furious look. "This is no time for laughing, Kimi," he whispered. "You don't understand how ruthless ninja are."
I grinned back at him. "Well, if that's true, it will be the first time I have met a ruthless thorn bush."

It's easy for a book to grow dear to me if it has some comedy in it. Another book that had an interesting part in it was the book Vive la Paris (unfortunately, it doesn't take place in Paris, but the main character is named Paris). Paris's piano teacher, an old lady, said that they could go to Paris, France, by just walking a few blocks. She took some glasses and scribbled over them with a marker, and had Paris put them on. (Hence the saying about "rose-colored glasses/spectacles", meaning someone sees things in an optimistic light or sees things as better than they really are)

Paris asked if she would need a toothbrush since they would be going to Paris. The old lady replied that they could just buy one later, it was better to travel unencumbered. Paris probably didn't know what that word was, because she thought to herself, "Why would you need a cucumber to travel anyways?"

At the moment, I can't really think of other books I would like to mention for their humor, so instead I'll point out the weather. It's still January, but it seems to be warming up (though it can be cold one moment and warm the next, depending on whether the sun comes out from behind the clouds). I've seen flowers blooming and I noticed some of the squirrels are looking pretty plump (then again, it never gets REALLY cold around here, and besides it would be easy to find things things to bury for when they're hungry in my backyard). I wonder if it's already springtime this year? It seems early to me, but maybe I'm not the best judge of these things.

In French class, we read about flea markets in our textbook, so the teacher talked a bit about markets and she asked us what experiences we had. Several students agreed that speaking English means you'll get ripped off...Their parents tell them not to speak, otherwise they'll be asked to pay a higher price than someone who seemed to be a local. Although I don't like the idea that people are being cheated out of their money because of their ignorance, I guess the shopkeepers have to make a living, and it's easier to fool a tourist. I mean, even if the tourist knew it was a bad deal, they might buy it anyway, because one of the general mindsets is, "I'm on vacation. Since I'm here, I shouldn't waste it. I shouldn't let money stop me from doing things since I won't get that opportunity again soon." (Unless you go to a place pretty often.)

Labels: books, bush, chasing the secret, cucumber, market, maya snow, money, ninja, paris, rip off, rose colored glasses, sisters of the sword, spring, tourists, travel, unencumbered, vive la paris, weather

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