This morning I made a most horrifying discovery. My mother was working from home and decided we ought to do a bit of spring cleaning in my bedroom, so we took the pillows and covers off of my bed so that they could be washed or aired. When I looked at the black sheet that is under my mattress...I saw little white things covering it. At first I was just disgusted, thinking it was just dust, pillow fluff, or perhaps my own dead skin. But then I took a closer look and noticed that a few of the little tiny white things were moving.
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Labels: bed, bed bugs, bugs, cleaning, dandruff, dead, decay, dust, dust mites, food, house, insects, larvae, problems, rotten, signs, skin, termites, white

The story goes that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden up until Eden was convinced by a snake to eat an apple from a tree. She wasn't supposed to, so she and Adam were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. (Well, I'm no expert, so if you really want to learn more about the "first humans", ask someone else.) But it looks like such a thing could happen for robots too.

I've heard that artificial skin that can actually feel is being developed. That's all well and good, but then I was watching the Colbert Report on TV, which is something rare, considering that my dad has not watched either the Colbert Report or the Daily Show for a long time, and because I myself hardly ever watch TV, at least the channels (I do watch anime on DVDs, but that's about it). He was saying that if robots could have skin, then that would mean they could be naked, which would then me they could feel shame, like humans do.

There are some stories out there about things that aren't human but which are similar to humans or want to become humans. For instance, there's Chobits, in which there are Persocoms, which are designed to be like humans but aren't human. And then there's Eureka Seven, which I just finished last week (good anime, by the way, although 50 episodes is a bit longer than I prefer, but it was worth it). Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't watched it and don't want to see a spoiler. Eureka, one of the main characters, isn't human; she's actually a Coralian, made by the Scub Coral, an intelligent life form which is not human.

I wonder if we're ever going to make something that is so close to being human that we can't really tell it apart from a human. Anything is possible. I wonder if that would actually happen in my lifetime. Or if it would happen many years from now. Or maybe never, after all.

Anyhow, when I was watching TV, I was pretty bored. I don't really understand how people can watch a lot of TV. It seems too passive. I hate sitting there doing nothing and then getting annoyed by the commercial breaks. I mean, even at school, I have to keep my hands busy. I often do homework in class, which I don't advise that you do, because sometimes the teacher will actually teach something and then you'll miss something important.

But anyways, TV was such a bore. Maybe I'm not watching the more interesting channels; I kind of left it up to my dad. The only channel that I like a lot is HGTV, mostly because of the interior design shows.

I watched some Friends, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (which apparently I'm not, since I don't know which Great Lake bordered three specific states. But then I'm not sure if knowledge of facts is necessarily the right way to judge someone's intelligence. People use the word "smart" pretty loosely.) and Don't Forget the Lyrics. When it comes to game shows, I'd prefer to watch Deal or No Deal, but my dad says it might not even be airing anymore. If anyone knows whether it's still going, please let me know.

I have, however, started watching the Korean drama Boys Over Flowers. I don't usually watch dramas, because they tend to be long and cliched (it's quite common to see a rich person fall in love with a poor person in dramas :\ ). But since I recently finished Code Geass and Eureka Seven, I had nothing to watch, so I figured I might as well give Boys Over Flowers a try.

I'm on the second episode now. It's been pretty entertaining actually. I didn't expect much. (The person who said that if you expect nothing, you'll never be disappointed, is quite wise. I tend to keep my expectations low so that I'll only have pleasant surprises...Unless something is really terrible.) That curly-haired guy is such a jerk, but I guess that's what makes it funny. Especially when the protagonist goes and kicks him in the face. I'd like to do something like that. (But then, instead of being cool, it would land me in trouble. C'est la vie...)

Labels: adam, artificial, boys over flowers, chobits, colbert report, drama, entertainment, eureka seven, eve, garden of eden, human, korean, lifespan, original sin, shame, skin, television, time, TV

As the STAR tests are coming up, I have been going over some released questions from previous years to try and refresh my memory of the various subjects. (STAR stands for Standardized Testing And Reporting. It is a test taken in California.) I was rather concerned about science especially, because the last time I took the science STAR test, I didn't score as well as I had hoped. And my science teacher had said it would cover science from grades 5-8, which was of great concern to me since I don't really remember much of what I learned in elementary school anymore. All I can remember are vague names and ideas, like Ohlone (a Native American tribe, if I remember correctly), the Revolutionary War, and something about the organs of the human body. I keep thinking of the word spleen, for whatever reason, but I have no idea where it is, what it looks like, or its function anymore.

I was going over the language arts released test questions, and there was a part from How I got to Be Perfect, written by Jean Kerr (at least, that's what I think, I was rather confused by the content of the heading, but anyways).

"The dog that gave us the most trouble was a beagle named Murphy. As far as I'm concerned, the first thing he did wrong was to turn into a beagle. I had seen him bounding around on the other side of a pet-shop window, and I went in and asked the man, 'How much is that adorable fox terrier in the window?' Did he say, 'That adorable fox terrier is a beagle'? No, he said, 'Ten dollars, lady.' Now, I don't mean to say one word against beagles. They have rights just like other people. But it is a bit of a shock when you bring home a small ball of fluff in a shoebox, and three weeks later it's as long as the sofa.

Murphy was the first dog I ever trained personally, and I was delighted at the enthusiasm with which he took to the newspaper. It was sometime later that we discovered, to our horror, that - like so many dogs - he had grasped the letter but not the spirit of the thing. Until the very end of his days he felt a real sense of obligation whenever he saw a newspaper - any newspaper - and it didn't matter where it was. I can't bring myself to go into the details, except to mention that we were finally compelled to keep all the papers in the bottom of the icebox."

I find it rather interesting reading the stories from past STAR tests. It seemed like there was quite a bit about the dangers of the sun. There were advertisements for sunscreen and how to apply it, as well as advice for how to avoid being damaged by UVA or UVB rays. I don't put on sunscreen as often as I should...Although I may not get sunburns that much, it is possible that I'll end up with skin cancer and wrinkles, which are both problems that don't show up right away. (Then again, my skin already has problems and my hands are quite wrinkly - although I was told that had to do with my hands being small so the skin is not stretched as tightly across my bones)

This morning I was thinking about something that I hadn't thought of for a while. It started out with me wondering if someday I should take Oral Composition (though the idea was soon dismissed in my head, for not only do I still lack confidence in my public speaking abilities, I also would be behind those who had taking Oral Comp in 9th grade, and anyways I was planning to take Photography soon as I had the chance). And then I remembered that I had seen a kid in PE who looked kind of like someone I used to know. I would always stare at the back of his head until he turned around so I could see his face. And even though it was impossible for him to be that person (since this boy was in a lower grade) I always waited and looked, and was greatly disappointed. I wonder why? I guess I'm still really stuck to my past. I wish I could have those carefree days back again. I haven't seen a person who I was friends with in elementary school for so long. Perhaps he moved...But I am sure he must still live fairly close by, for I thought I saw him at Target once. (If you want to see people you know, go to Target, the library, or the San Francisco Airport. I've seen many acquaintances at these three locations.)

Labels: beagle, dog, elementary school, familiar, friends, health, interesting, memories, memory, moving, newspaper, people, recognize, science, score, skin, STAR testing, sunlight, training, wrinkles

That kind of rhymes, considering the way that Yosemite is pronounced.

I've been wondering for a while now why Yosemite is pronounced the way it is. It's pronounced like "Yo-seh-mi-tee". I think that's rather misleading. On the lost and found sign for the Yosemite trip, Yosemite was misspelled "Yosemity". So wouldn't it make more sense to pronounce the name "Yo-seh-mee-teh"? But I suppose what makes sense isn't necessary how things work out.

While I was at Yosemite, I led a very different lifestyle from what I live at home. I spent much more time outside moving around. I almost always wore multiple layers to keep myself warm (except for the times that I became hot from hiking and skiing). I had to get used to having a heavy backpack on my back (I know you're not supposed to pack a lot, but I brought anything I thought I might need, like extra socks, a rain poncho, and gaiters - I never even used the gaiters), since usually I use a roller backpack. I had to adjust to having little sleep and to constantly having dry skin. (But some of my skin problems weren't as bad at Yosemite. My mom says it was because I took short, cold showers, which is better for your health, not like the warm, long ones I take at home)

And all this exercise was a good thing. It helped me build more strength, and I was surprised at how long I lasted, even if I wasn't a fast hiker. It's weird, but I had a different sort of appetite at Yosemite than I have back home. At home I get hungry quite often and I end up eating too much (better keep me away from the almond crunch!), but at Yosemite I sometimes lose my appetite, while at other times I am just moderately hungry, and don't eat very much, but it's enough. And I had to eat celery, which I never ate back home (it's not too bad, I guess, I always thought it must be terrible since people eat it with PEANUT BUTTER and I'm allergic to that). All this exercise made me lose some weight and made me feel better about myself since I could eat more and know I would burn it off, so I wouldn't have to worry about rationing myself (which I've been doing unsuccessfully, I always end up with too much food in one way or another. Eating is something of comfort, after all).

When I got back home, I realized how little exercise I do in comparison. In Yosemite, we might stop once in a while, but other than that we spend a lot of time standing or walking or climbing up something. At home, I am indoors a lot, sitting down, doing some work that requires me to stare closely at something, rather than getting natural light, which is better for my retina or something like that (I can't say I know the specifics about eyes, so don't ask me). And I actually eat more at home, or at least it feels like that. I wish I could always live the kind of lifestyle I had in Yosemite, being active, and being in the outdoors. That's where we are all supposed to be, but us humans have built walls around ourselves, put roofs over our heads, surrounded ourselves with technology to make our lives easier. In some ways this is good and in others it is quite saddening.

I hope that I never forget the experiences I had at Yosemite. I think it may have been one of the only times I ever really got close to nature. One day, when we were hiking at nighttime, a chaperone told us all to turn off our flashlights, be quiet, and stand still. We looked up at the sky, and it was amazing. The sky was really dark, and it was speckled with beautiful white stars. I have never seen so many stars at one time in my life, because in the town where I live, you can't see so many of them (unless you go out late at night, which I don't; in Yosemite it was only maybe 9 pm when you could see all those stars). Humans have affected the world so much that it becomes harder to see stars, but at least now I know there are still havens, still precious places where you can see night the way it is supposed to be seen.

I'd like to get a telescope. With one, I could take a much closer look at the night skies. I have heard that there are times when you can see other planets, such as Venus, and I want to try that. And there's eclipses, too; I didn't pay all much attention to them in the past. But now I think I'd like to see one sometime.

There are so many marvelous spectacles I have yet to witness in the world. I wonder if I will ever get the chance to see them all. I once heard that there were two people who were hospitalized because of problems with their noses. One had his/her problem fixed, and left the hospital. The other had some sort of terminal illness, so he/she traveled and did things that the other person didn't do (and probably never would). Sometimes you have to realize how little time you really have left on the Earth to make full use of it.

Labels: appetite, backpack, change, eating, health, humans, indoor, life, lifestyle, nature, night, outdoor, pronunciation, shower, skin, sky, stars, time, weight, yosemite

I mentioned briefly that I visited Petsmart in my post on January 17, 2010. When I was younger, I always wondering how you should pronounce Petsmart. Is it Pets Mart, or Pet Smart? I still am not sure. (I should probably wait for a TV commercial, if there is one, so I can hear how it should be said.)

While I was there, I noticed that there was one koi in a tank full of a different kind of fish. The koi looked very stressed and was trying to swim away, but it couldn't because it was only in a small tank, and it's impossible for it to break through tank walls to get to other tanks and back to safety among its own kind.

Since I'm on the subject of fish, I recently bought two fish from Petsmart - a greyish koi with a weird yellowish splotch on him, and an algae eater (my dad wants one, probably because he hopes it'll clean the tank for him, and anyways, since we have a "Petperks" card - it's like a store membership - we get a discount). The algae eater, as is their nature, found a place to stick on the tank, and didn't move until later, while I wasn't looking. He moved to the underside of this fake rock decoration we have and I didn't see him until I took a closer look. And the grey koi seems to be doing fine. It's my original fish that were troubling.

I have two fish tanks. In the bigger tank, I have a big white koi (used to have orangey-red parts, but it faded with time...Really weird) and a red and black koi. Yesterday, I noticed the big white koi (I did name him/her - I actually still have trouble telling the genders apart - Pumpkinflash, but we don't really use the name) was acting funny. It kept swimming around frantically and it would sometimes go up to the water's surface and seemed to be making nibbling motions. The red and black fish eventually did that too, but I think it's more likely that it was just imitating its friend. I suspected that the white koi must have choked on a pebble, because koi try to glean food from pebbles. I tried to scare it by flicking my finger against the tank, thinking it would spit out the rock if it got frightened (I used this technique for a fish I used to have, to save its life, since it was really and truly seeming like it would die, except I used a net to chase it) but it didn't work. At least the fish seem better today, maybe the white one digested the rock...Wait...Then that would be really weird. o_O;;

My mother read in her Chinese newspaper that an old lady, apparently a doctor of some sort, recommended eating meat for breakfast, fish for lunch, and something light for dinner (like rice soup). Not eating much for dinner makes sense, I suppose, seeing as you shouldn't eat much before you go to bed. But I tend to eat something light or sugary for breakfast, meat for lunch, and fish for dinner. Guess I have everything reversed. I wonder whether the lady in the newspaper's suggestions would really work, though, or if it only benefits the health of some people. My mother always reads that newspaper, and probably has for a long time. She also reads books about fitness and cooking and such things. My dad says that she keeps reading cookbooks and never really cooks the foods in them. XD

I'd like to make something based on a recipe. I really haven't cooked in a long time; barely at all ever since I moved on from Cooking class in 7th grade. I wonder if I should use one of my recipes that I obtained from that very same class. We made a coffee cake once and it was pretty good (it doesn't taste like coffee at all, it's just called coffee cake). I don't know if we have the cake pans and ingredients, though. I guess I'll have to find out sometime.

Today in debate club, the topic kind of changed until it was about how unhealthy America is, what with so many obese people, while in other countries peoples are reduced to making mud pies. There were more people than usual in debate club since it's been raining hard nowadays and students just want shelter from the rain. One boy said that people keep looking for a perfect, easy way to lose weight. But he said that if you're not rich, it won't happen. (Because then you could afford to have that surgery to remove some of your fat and skin) If you run out of your Nutrisystem food your eating habits aren't going to change. He said that you must simply eat less and exercise. And other students suggested vegetarianism but then there were people who protested saying they couldn't live without their meat. (And I can't, either, sadly) Besides, meat does have its benefits, like protein. Even eating other protein foods or supplements isn't quite the same as the real thing.

That reminds me, my mom said that one of the possible reasons why my skin is sensitive and tends to get itchy or infected easily is because I don't get enough zinc. She said that peanuts might have zinc, but since I'm allergic to peanuts, I can't get much zinc. There's only a limited variety of nuts I can eat - almonds and pistachios are the only ones I've confirmed to be "safe". I wonder if I'm destined to have skin problems forever.

Labels: choke, coffee cake, cooking, debate club, eating, fish, food, koi, meal, meat, newspaper, nuts, peanuts, petsmart, protein, recipe, rocks, skin, weight, zinc

On the school announcements on Friday, one of the announcers said that it was To Write Love on Her Arms Day. During that day, you could write the word love on the arms of your friends. I have heard of To Write Love on Her Arms, because I saw it on a banner someone made once, but I had no idea what it really was, I actually thought it was a song... -_-;; It isn't a song at all. In fact, it's an organization. One of my classmates said that the organization was started because there was a girl who was depressed, she probably had wanted to commit suicide or hurt herself, and to help her, people would try to show that she was loved and wanted in the world, and now it's really major.

Unfortunately, someone commented that a lot of people just thought it was fun to write on each others' arms and didn't understand the meaning of this. It's bad to write on people's arms in the first place. I was once told that every time pen ink touches your skin, you lose a very tiny part of your life (not even a full second). That could be an exaggeration, but it's probably still not good to have ink on your skin, it might seep inside you, and some chemicals could make you sick if you had too much ink, or whatever. But the idea of To Write Love on Her Arms is admirable, nevertheless.

Currently I am reading the book Little Men by Louse May Allcott. I remember having written a post about Little Women in the past. It was a lot of fun writing the blog post in a more fancy way of speaking. I wonder if I should attempt that again sometime, maybe with a different style of writing. (I won't write in caps lock or in different colors, or with chatspeak, or with overuse of punctuation, because that kind of thing just blinds people)

My mom and I are still struggling to make a decision about whether to have braces still. Well, we're probably going to be going to the orthodontist I visited for a consultation (the one who isn't my usual dentist - my usual dentist, however, is also trained in orthodontics) because there were folks who recommended him, except for my mom's friend, who said, "Oh, THAT old man?" when my mom mentioned his name (interesting reaction, is it not?). The main decision now is whether I should get these things called "expanders". The orthodontist suggested that I should have them in order to apparently make me look better, and also because he plans to have my teeth moved so that they will be leaning outward a bit - it might help the gaps in my teeth disappear, or give me an overbite, which apparently is considered good-looking. I like my teeth just the way they are, though. I feel like I won't be myself anymore if I have braces and expanders and change the shape of my jaws. I've never been particularly religious but I do think it was karma and things like that which caused us to have the kind of brains and personalities and bodies that we have, and you shouldn't mess with the larger powers at work! D:

Just the other day, I finally got Ouran High School Host Club Volume 13 from the library. I hadn't read the manga for a while because it takes time for the English translations to come to the USA, and even more time for the library to buy them. It's really annoying, as I don't like to read manga on the computer. You have to click to flip the page and plus you don't get to read the author's comments and stuff (sometimes manga-kas write something, like some personal info or questions from readers, on the side of the page or on the bottom of the page) since it's still in Japanese, the people who translate manga for online readers don't always translate the author's comments...

I'm mentioning this because I noticed something. It said near the back of the manga, where there's a drawing by the author and some notes thanking people who helped or family and things like that, it said it was signed September 2008. Do you see that?! The English version didn't come out for sale until November 2009! It took more than a year! Us folks in North America are getting everything late. ;_;

Labels: author's comments, expanders, ink, late, little men, love, orthodontist, ouran high school host club, skin, song, to write love on her arms, writing style

I didn't really go outside today, except for piano class and a little bit of fresh air. I wonder if my skin will turn all white and pale form staying inside too much. Not so far, but then, I'm still young, or so my parents insist.

I finished reading a book today, Artemis Fowl. It was pretty interesting, but took longer than I expected...But I guess I'll end up reading the rest of the series anyway...I wonder if I read too much? The kids from school last year thought so. But my mom would rather have me read newspapers instead of novels. D:

Anyhow, I wonder if anyone really reads this blog? Maybe I should let people know I actually made a blog. Otherwise, I'll end up talking to myself, like those folks in the insane ward of the hospital. x_x

Labels: artemis fowl, blog, books, bookworm, myself, newspaper, pale, piano, skin, talking

I'm so glad it rained today! It's been so long since the last time it rained (February? March? Maybe somewhere around there?) that my skin has been dry for a long time. I've always suffered from skin problems, even in my baby pictures. When I was still really young, I smiled, but when I got a little older I had a terrible rash on my forehead and I cried in all the pictures. XD

We went to the flea market this morning, and I bought an orchid. I like to spend my money, even if whatever I bought wasn't particularly useful. D: Then it started to rain, and my mom and grandma got really scared by it. I guess my grandma is scared of the sun, the rain, dogs, cats, ants... Maybe it's partially genetic.

Labels: crying, dry, family, fear, genetics, orchid, picture, rain, rash, skin, spending money, the treasures of weatherby

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