Ah, chocolate. So delicious. I do like a lot of sweets, but out of the "candy" variety, chocolate is probably my favorite. (I say probably because there may still be more delicious foods out there, just waiting for me to try them.) Milk chocolate in particular. Dark chocolate's a bit too bitter (a lame attempt at wordplay there) and white chocolate's artificial... But milk chocolate is simply splendid. Right after winter vacation, I noticed that my parents had purchased a box of chocolate cookies, and I ate so many of them that I gained several pounds. (I still haven't been able to shed them. In fact, I gained weight again. I wouldn't care so much if it didn't mean that it makes my pants not fit so well.)

Too bad chocolate isn't really the best thing for your health. Recently we had to bring in food that we cooked to French class, as the product of a cooking project. Many of the foods were desserts, and most of those had chocolate in them. What's funny is that the very day that many of us brought in the chocolate foods, the teacher said that she'd just been to the dentist. He had not been happy with her teeth...because, apparently, she'd eaten too much chocolate.

I'm pretty sure my dentist won't be too happy either. He always tells me that I need to floss, and I realize that I really ought to...But I'm not good at it; sometimes it hurts, and it's a hassle besides. I wonder if I have cavities again? I never seem to feel any pain from them, so it always surprises me to find out that I have them when I see the dentist. Maybe it does hurt but the signals for pain haven't been reaching my brain.

I wouldn't be too surprised, because lately, I think I am somewhat of a masochist. Just the other day, in PE, I was playing soccer, and it got kind of wild. I probably could've stopped myself from falling, but instead I let myself fall to the ground. I hit the ground pretty hard, and I was asked the customary "Are you okay?" by several girls. But I actually felt better after getting bashed up, just as I enjoy feeling hungry and even having pulled muscles (if I pulled the muscle from a good run the previous day, that is, and not from being in a weird position).

Ah, but it is getting to be around time for Valentine's Day, and Singing Valentines and rose grams are going up for sale at my school. I wonder if anyone here gives chocolates for Valentine's Day? When I was in elementary school we'd give each other little Scooby Doo/Clifford/Spongebob/etc. valentine cards, with a lollipop or some other candy. But I don't recall ever seeing anyone give just chocolates for Valentine's Day, and certainly not hand-made ones in a heart-shaped container or anything like that. I guess it's either something kind of personal that you wouldn't do within sight of other people, or I've been reading too much manga and keep expecting people to behave like they're in Japan. (No White Day here, after all.)

I was reading one of the two Kaichou wa Maid-sama! side stories that comes after chapter 28, the one about Yukimura and his sister. I thought it was really a lot like a certain episode in Ouran High School Host Club, when Nekozawa isn't the princely big brother that the little sister wants. Well, Maid-sama and Ouran were both in the LaLa magazine, so I guess they would have stylistic similarities. By the way, I'm looking for good manga to read - either really funny or just something that would touch your heart, or both - preferably already finished (but not that old, at least in terms of art style, if you know what I mean). Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Labels: chocolate, cooking, day, dentist, food, gift, health, injury, kaichou wa maid-sama, maid sama, manga, masochist, ouran high school host club, pain, sweets, teeth, valentines, weight

Just the other day, I went to a different dentist than my usual dentist. I've gone faithfully to the same dentist for many years now, but recently a problem has come up. My dentist is also an orthodontist, and he says I need to get braces because two of my teeth are at odd angles and need to be turned so they are facing the right way.

My mom and I hope that if the braces really aren't necessary, then I won't have to get them, since it costs quite a hefty sum, and besides it is a big hassle (have to brush after meals supposedly, and the metal can irritate your mouth, etc.).

So we went to a different orthodontist, who I believe was recommended by my mother's dentist (I would go to my mom's dentist, except I would have to miss school, because of the hours kept at her office), to get a "second opinion" on the matter. He was okay, I suppose. First he had me move my jaw up and down and things like that to see whether my jaws worked fine. Function is all A-OK, which means my teeth can do their job. That's a relief.

I was sure then that I wouldn't need them, but the orthodonist said for the sake of looks, it'd be better if my teeth were moved forward, which would probably make them fit together better and also would supposedly cause my mouth to stick out more. This is because the area between my nose and mouth is sort of flat which people think makes you look old. Hello, I am supposed to be an old lady! 4 billion years old!!! And so the orthodontist said I should have expanders first since it would change my bone structure, and that needs to be done now otherwise my bones will fuse and it will be impossible to change. The thing is, my mom and I don't think it's a good idea to change your bones, I mean, it could have some unforseen consequences, and it doesn't necessarily make you look better. Besides, I couldn't care less about whether it looks nicer (sorry, Tom Cruise - by the way, he had braces) as long as it doesn't cause me to have headaches or give me trouble eating.

So here we are in my family trying to make the decision. Should we go for it or not? It might be worth it considering that your smile might be nicer and then you could get a job or something. D: But then again, it might not be worth it, and that is the question. (Kind of like "To be or not to be")

Recently I found out that one of my teachers is an only child. It was before school started, and I had time to kill before first period. I went inside early because my teacher stuck his head out the door and said, "You can come in, you know." (I was standing outside reading a book) Well, I started doing the DO NOW (the teacher usually has a topic for us to write about in our notebooks. Let me give you an example: "List: What were the strengths and weaknesses of both sides in the American Revolution?" or "According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the purpose of government?) and then he came by and asked, "Do you have any older brothers and siblings?" So then I said, "No." Then he thought for a bit and asked, "So are you an only child?" To which I replied, "Yes." He asked me what I felt like being an only child, and I meant to say that I felt like my parent's expectations were all placed on me, like a burden, except instead I said something else, which the teacher misunderstood, because he thought I was talking about chores. o_O;; He said, "I know what you mean. I'm an only child, and I always had four times the chores as everybody else." And then another student, who was also in there early because he usually is, chimed in, "I'm not an only child, but I'm the oldest child in my family, and it's like that for me too."

And then my teacher said that how many siblings you have, and whether you're the oldest or youngest or middle or only child, could have an effect on your personality, and he said it would be interesting to find out about the families of the students. I think that'd be interesting too. But unfortunately we have to concentrate on learning the Constitution at the moment. D:

Labels: appearance, bone structure, braces, constitution, cosmetics, decision, dentist, do now, expectations, family, function, jaws, only child, orthodontist, personality, siblings, teacher, teeth

One of my friends always needs to be occupied somehow. If she's not kept busy she will descend upon your belongings. I have managed to appease her with a book but who knows what will happen tomorrow because I have finished that book and won't be bringing it to school again. D: Lately I have been working on something called a budget project, in which you make up four or five people to create a family, and then have to use a certain amount of money to rent a house, get a car and furniture, find a job, and feed and clothe all of the people. I am in charge of the food, so I have been looking over grocery coupons and fliers to try to find deals. (All the same, I ended up spending hundreds of dollars XD) Whenever I leave my pencil case out my friend starts rifling through it, or she takes the scissors and cuts up scraps of paper, or she "blows up" my backpack (as it is a roller backpack, that is basically pushing down the lever when it is up). I don't mind too much as long as she doesn't cause any serious trouble, but still I must be sure to keep a secure hold on my belongings.

Another friend of mine is less restless in comparison, but still enjoys poking around. She is a fan of sharp things, so she likes inspecting people's teeth. I think she ought to be a dentist or something. She likes swords, too, particularly katana swords. And if I have noodles as part of my lunch, if I give her permission, she uses the fork to separate the carrots and olives from the noodles, and then sorts the noodles by color (green, beige, and orange). Actually, the lunch looks more artistic that way, but not very appetizing.

Anyhow, as the blog post's title mentions dogs, I figure I ought to talk about them, namely the chihuahua (pronounced "Chi-wa-wa"). Back in fifth grade I remember my teacher would pronounce it the way it looked, so he called it "Chi-hoo-a-hoo-a". I thought of them since my history teacher mentioned it. (Yes, my history teacher is rather talkative...) The name actually means rat dog. My teacher doesn't like them since they are small and might even try to attack you, they bark so much and in a high-pitched way. He only likes the ones that are lazy and don't do much. He should probably get a cat, then, and not one of the hyper young'uns.

This week has been STAR testing week. STAR stands for Standardized Testing and Reporting. It's the annual test for all California students from second grade to eighth grade. (I presume that once you reach high school you can only take finals and SATs or something.) The eighth graders have six days of testing, but we only have four. The school class schedule is messed up now. We have a testing period that's practically two hours, and then thirty minute periods. It feels odd. I also have less homework (I've already done it, mostly, so I just have the budget project and a PE muscle drawing right now) and I fear I will lose my time management abilities because of the weirdness of school.

Lately at school the PE teachers have been discussing drugs, alcohol, and smoking. The first day we started going over it, my PE teacher asked us to separate to the two sides of the gym depending on whether we were affected by tobacco or not (meaning someone in our family smoked, or something like that). I should've gone to the Affected side, since several male relatives of mine like to blow some smoke. Then Mr. Robinson announced he was giving us a sermon (no, not the religious kind) called "How to Be a Loser". He said the very first step is to hang out behind 7-11, because there is bushes and stuff there so people can illegally smoke cigarettes. My teacher said he was very disappointed since one day he was jogging and saw a girl who used to be one of his star students, doing a rather suspicious activity back there. She pretended nothing was going on and said hello to Mr. Robinson, but he didn't reply, having seen the smoke billowing out from behind her back.

Labels: alcohol, belongings, chihuahua, Dogs, drugs, friends, lecture, noodles, projects, restless, smoking, state testing, teeth

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