Soon I'll be going on a school trip to Yosemite, where we will spend our days hiking and writing in our "journals". There's a lot of things that I needed to buy for this trip, because I'm not much of an outdoorsman. In fact, I've never really been camping out in a tent, seeing as my mom prefers civilization (and I guess I would really miss indoor plumbing, myself). But it'd still be nice to just try it, you know? For the sake of having that experience. It's not good to judge something you don't understand.

There's a whole lot of things that I needed to buy for Yosemite, including...
- A sleeping bag (I almost never sleep at other people's houses)
- Hiking boots
- Waterproof pants
- Waterproof jacket
- Snow gaiters (well, I guess I don't REALLY need them, but they're useful to have. They're like half pant legs that you can put on.)

There's probably a few more things that I have forgotten to mention. But anyways, I'll probably never use most of the things I bought for Yosemite after I come back. We don't really go hiking much in the first place (probably because I didn't like to do it...Too hot outside, I usually burned up my energy in the beginning through running, etc. Not that it isn't nice once in a while. In science camp back in fifth grade, we had the chance to hike alone, and it was really relaxing).

One of the things we needed to get was a bandana. Apparently, when we're out hiking, we'll stop to eat lunch, and we'll be using the bandanas as "plates" for our food. I set to thinking about bandanas.

Bandanas seem to have many uses. They can be used as hankerchiefs if you have allergies, you can wear them to look sort of like a cowboy (and you could also wear it if you're sick or people around you are sick as a kind of mask), you could put them on your head...I'm not sure if people usually do this, but somehow or other I got the notion that people who have gone through chemotherapy and thus lost their hair tend to wear bandanas to cover their heads.

To me, this gives the bandana a lot of meaning. The bandana is a sign of struggle, showing the battle between people and cancer and their fight to survive. It is a visible symbol of pain, fear, and desperation. At the same time, bandanas also show hope - a little hope that a person will pull through, fight off the cancer, and be able to resume living their life again. Maybe things will never be the same. Perhaps the scars, physical and mental, will always be there. But it's something precious, getting to have a second chance.

Bandanas are pretty cheap to get, but they're not necessarily useless. I hope you're paying attention things and what kind of purpose they really serve. I guess that's what teachers mean when they're saying, "You should ask under the surface questions!" You should still pay attention at school, even if you find it boring, because you never know, something important might be said.

My history teacher sometimes tells us stories, such as about having to transport a cake, being a valet, gambling in Las Vegas, and so on. He says we should pay attention since there is something to be learned from his stories; they're not just for entertainment. I think I might want to be a teacher sometime.

Here are some of my possible careers:
- Writer (well, that may have to be just something I do in my free time, what with the "starving artists" thing)
- Photographer (again, only if I can make a living off of it. Nowadays lots of people have huge Nikon or Canon black cameras)
- Interior designer or travel show host (too bad those jobs aren't that common)
- Ice cream shop owner (or some other kind of shop, with yummy food XD)
- Fashion designer (it'd be fun to come up with things, and I'd like to steer people away from those really low colors and tight clothing. x_x )

Labels: bandana, camping, cancer, career, chance, chemotherapy, future, hiking, hope, learn, outdoor, science camp, shopping, sign, significance, struggle, symbol, trip, useful, yosemite

Yes, you heard me right. Magic is based on math! So says my math teacher.

I know this is the third post in a row mentioning him, but there's always something or other happening in his class. xD Today we were having short class periods at school because we had an assembly. There's been a lot of anti-bullying activities going on at my school these days, and so we had an assembly. I believe I have been to them in the previous two years I've been at this school, too. This year the theme was Balance of Power. It was talking about how people pushed others down so they would tip the balance to their side, but in this way, the other person loses... And stuff like that.

I'd say the most meaningful part of that assembly (which was basically two woman coming and playing a premade video on a huge screen formed by three separate screens) was near the end, when a man who had no legs and arms was in the video. Even though he has no limbs, he can still do things like surf and play golf and he travels around and speaks to people. I thought it was amazing that you can do so much with yourself even with such difficulties as that. And there was something that he said...Not sure exactly, but I think it was something like this. "There's no point in being complete on the outside if you're broken on the inside." (I really wish I had clearly remembered his name so I could attribute it to him...All I remember is that it was Nick something... o_O;; )

Anyways, though, let me get back to the whole point of this post. Since the classes were so short, we didn't learn the next lesson in geometry today, but instead the teacher showed us a card trick which he was practicing for his next class. He would pick a card from his deck. Let me explain...If he got an 8, he would put two more cards on top of it. Then he'd make a second pile. Maybe if he picked a 3, he would put seven more on top. (If he picked a King, Jack, or Queen, then he'd just put it back or put it aside) He'd make, say, eight piles like that. Then he would take away five of the piles. And he would flip over the top card of two of the three remaining piles. If he got a 4 and a 9, then he would take 13 cards from the five piles that he'd take away. And then... Ack! I forget the rest! Now all I remember is that he flips over the the first card of the only pile he has not turned over the first card of, and he would get a number that he had already expected to get.

My teacher says that this works because of algebra, so if we want to figure it out, we can give it a try at home. He showed the trick twice, so it's not luck, anyhow.

Before I forget, I heard some good news on the announcements at school today. One of the counselors, Mrs. Brown, said that they had decided to make an exception and allow us to wear masks. (See previous post, about the guardian angel and such, for more info) Just so as long as I don't wear it in class - it might creep the teacher out - it's fine to bring it. Mrs. Brown also talked about some events going on tomorrow in celebration of Halloween. (In fact, the long run that was planned in PE class was moved to Monday so we can wear our costumes. They want to encourage school spirit, and all) She said to watch out for her husband, Mr. Brown, because he was good at bobbing for apples. Hmm. I've never actually bobbed for apples. I've only read about it in kids' books and stuff.

Labels: assembly, balance of power, bobbing for apples, bullying, card, classes, complete, good news, halloween, handicap, magic, mask, quote, school events, trick, useful, video, week

Yup, a backscratcher. Very useful things, they are. You could use them as pointers (like during a presentation; I would've liked to do that, but I don't know if I can bring a backscratcher to school since it might look like a weapon, we aren't even allowed to bring scissors according to the planner, so I'm already breaking rules) or you can use them as canes (if you have a very long one?) or you can use them to save someone's life. Like if someone is hanging onto a cliff and you can't reach them with just your hand, you could use your backscratcher as an extension to your arm. ...Or, of course, you could simply scratch your back with it.

I do realize that starting off a post with backscratchers is really something kind of weird. But I had trouble getting my creative juices flowing. Now it's coming easier to write since I'm managed to start off.

I have not talked about what anime I was watching for a pretty long time, so I will now. I have been watching Aria the Natural. It is the second season of the Aria anime series (the first season is Aria the Animation and the third season is Aria the Origination). What interested me about this anime is that it's set in a world called Aqua. People had actually filled the world with water. And a famous city in Aqua is Neo-Venezia, a city that was made to be like Venice, Italy. I have wanted to go to Venice someday and I find the idea of navigating a city by water charming. Maybe I'll even try to dress up as a gondolier for Halloween. (Ha! For me, that would just be wearing a red and white shirt, and black pants, and a hat, like the "gondoliers" in the Venetian Las Vegas hotel)

Recently my history teacher was talking about Push and Pull factors. These are reasons that make someone want to leave their country. Push factors are things that the person doesn't like about the place they live. (It could be the government, or having religious persecution, or maybe not enough food like the potato famines in Ireland) Pull factors are things that draw a person to a country. (It could be job opportunities, or family already living there...Or something else. Take for example a family living in Iran. They aren't being persecuted for their religion but they didn't really have a choice what religion to have either. So they moved to the USA so their children could make the decision for themselves)

That makes me want to ask you (just as I was asked to do for homework, to talk about this with my parents), why did you, or your family, or even ancestors a long time ago, move to where you live? Was it because of push factors? Or pull factors? Or both?

Labels: anime, aria, backscratcher, choice, costume, halloween, immigration, italy, pointer, pull factors, push factors, savior, useful, venice, weapons

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