4/21/14-4/25/14

4/21/14

Monday marks my long descent into my venture of relaxation and fun. Or so I thought it would. As a soon found out, with finals the very next week, I couldn't afford to not study. So I spent my dreary day with my nose in my spring break packet, and studied away. I was an okay day. I wasn't terrible wrong. In fact, it was quite relaxing as I got a chance to finally relook some of the concepts in which had become a blurred memory over the months. I, infact, wouldn't have minded spending my entire week like this. Spending my time like this is...freedom. I don't have to be anywhere, I can lounge around in my pjs, and I can hide away in a place where no body knows. I find it liberating, and I don't quite understand why staying home and studying has such a negative stigma. I digress though. I was a rather long day, surprisingly.


4/22/14
I new adventure a hoy! Today, a couple of my friends and I went thrift shopping! It had originally been meant as kind of a casual trip between a friend and me, but it escalated to another three ish people aboard the S. S. thrifter extravaganza. No problem there though. We went around downtown San Jose this time. First docking feature was a local goodwill which was...goodwill. Kinda over priced, but I'm an extremely cheap person, so I guess I can't really tell the difference. Next, we went over to a vintage-furniture-knick-knack store. It was actually kind of scary to be in there because there were lots of dolls. Oddly enough, there was an abundance of Cabbage Patch kids chilling about under the dim light on a fancy, lace doily. Needless to say, we left that store after a little while. It was like walking through a house of mirrors in there, as there were a countless number of reflectable features, but walking outside proved to be like walking through a savaged jungle as I stumbled upon a dead bird. I've also stumbled across roadkill many times at EV. I say we either have rabid squirrels or wild golf carts. Anyhow, we made it to another store. This one wasn't quite a thrift shop though. It's a place that buys and resells clothing. I think it was okay there. Meh. The third stop was one my friend recommended and yeah. The day ended and I went home to study more.


4/23/14

On this wednesday, I continued to study, but in the morning, I made waffles out of my circus animal waffle maker my aunt got me. It was fun. I was walking about my house as I munched on my monkey and stumbled upon a dead cocroach. I made a mental note, and whaddaya know? Half the day was already over. From there, I continued to study and complete my spring break assignment.

4/24/14

Today would be my absolute last day to get my AP problems due, and so I really did try to finish them all. However, it took much longer than one would expect and I stayed up until two in the morning finishing it up.

4/25/14

I would be going camping today, so as a responsible member of society, I went to costco in the afternoon to buy supplies and had thai food for lunch with my mom and my sister. Oddly enough, it rained. I think I could use some of that weather now. In anycase, it was a bit of a rush, but I was eventually all packed and ready to go hitch a ride with my carpool. The three of us had been swirving around for a good half hour before we were suddenly directed to the exact same starting point. Talk about gps malfunction. On of the members began to feel queasy, but it was getting dark and we needed to get there so the rapid swirls continued. Eventually we got there and it was damp and cold. Not quite what you would expect from a mid-spring day, but I digress.

4/03/14

This rendition of Shakespeare's iconic A Midsummer's Night Dream is though loosely based off of the original, full glory play, still follows suit with many similarities. Of course in "Get Over It", staring Kristen Dunst, the movie also contains many differences. For instance in this version, it's made to seem very modern. It takes place in a high school in the 2000's, not Athens during down yonder the years. In addition to that, there are no such things as SM strip clubs (probably) or TV talk shows. There are no record stores, high school basketball teams, speakers, and what not. But of course, that's all to make due for the adaption. After all, it is a high school based movie. Those are minor details, as they can't include such trifles as what was apparent during the age of the play. A bigger so difference would be the character interactions and portrayal. So, yes, they do intertwine in a big love square, but it doesn't quite end so nicely. In the beginning, it seems that Hermia's counterpart is much to eager to rid herself of the baggage she calls her boyfriend. She then decides to go out with the Accented guy. English names are hard to define. The all sound the same and therefore, I do not know any of their names. I'll address them by the color of their hair and gender. The brunet is suave and probably wealthy just as Demetrius is in the book, but he turns out to be a bit rotten in the end, resulting to petty measures. In the play, Demetrius does go out with Hermia in attempt to move up the social class ladder. However, I still saw him as a confused but still nice chum. He is later caught with Hermia's best friend, Maggie. They does somewhat follow along side the book, but then does that mean there are two Helenas? If Felix's little sister is indeed Helena, then it would seem she overall represents the character, a little shy, watching the one she loves from afar. yet she lacks the cowardly feistyness of the actual Helena. Not only that, but she ends up with Lysander. And Lysander does not end up with his Hermia. Over all, these differences are what sets this movie apart from being a blatant copy of the play, but it can still be connected relatively easy. For one, they are both putting on a play within the movie/play. It's a romantic comedy fighting over a single girl. Though it eventually leads to become a fight for Lysander-which does actually occur in Shakespeare's version. It is indeed a musical, much like the play back in the 1500's. Though the singing is by different people at different parts. Over all, they still have bits of playful faeries using magic to toy with them, but I never really got the sense of enchantment...much like the actual play. In the end though, regardless of differences, they all end up happily ever after...somewhat.

1/10/14

Limerick
There once was a merry, mad man
who, for a phone, used a drawstring can.
refusing to change
old-fashioned and strange
was the merry, mad man named Stan.

Free Verse

From Start to Finish

She walks the glitzy guilded avenue.
Sauntering down her fate
She dreams of dreams so whimsical
Until she steps off the slate.


He skips to a tune of great trepidation
Running down the lighted lane
Engulfed in a crowd of passion
Until the game ends.

It claws a story of saddness
A voice hoarse and rash
It sheds a tear of happiness
Caught up in last night's mess.

They step towards the lighted prism
A path so blinding bright
Doors slowly closing in
And they wonder where their life has been.

2 in 1

It is known that not all students learn the same way. In asia, conditions such as autism are not reconized as a serious issue. Many of those children are forced to learn the same curriculum as the other students. These students often have a much harder time keeping up. This results in mockery, as these children are considered nothing more than stupid. This leads to bullying which ends in nothing but hurt. So yes, students with special needs should get the attention they need. However, isolation leads yo nothing but misunderstandings. Childen should learn to value each member of scociety. Therefore, though their classes can be different, they should be together in the same facility.

1/16/13

What a warm day it was today! Warm in terms of the temperature and warm in terms of the smiles. Today, Miss Kritzeck's fifth period class went to go join the special ed's physical education class. At this point, the sun is shining and we're energized after a quick lunch break, so it's time to rock and roll! We started off the period with doing some good ol' stretches-followed by a lap around the track. Now, I guess in any case, I wasn't wearing the right type of shoe for the occasion, so I kept it slow and talked to some of the other students along the way. Bright and chipper as ever, we exchanged pleasantries and bounced bad jokes off of each other. We then followed suit with a drill where we would get comfortable with a small blue ball. We started off with rolling the ball back and forth. Then slowly, the class changed positions from a sit, to a kneel, to a pushup, finally to an upright position where we practiced catching and throwing the ball with one hand. Needless to say, hand-eye coordination is not my strong suit. However, even if I couldn't catch, my two other group mates and I joined hands to compete against the extremely athletic S-man! As the girl next to me said, we totally won.
Winning against someone or not, this day was a victory on our part as we managed to go through the day and hopefully, make a difference. In this case, I hope we were able to make the students in that class happy by adding a hint of spice to their daily life. In any case, if we didn't then they surely made a difference in my day as I had much fun hanging out with them-despite the hardening of my heels and the over bearing sun shining above us.

1/14/14

This, included here, is an example of an ad aired by United Airlines during the summer Olympics of 2012. This is a very well put together ad as it posses persuasive strategies such as "big names". The big names here are the Olympic athletes. At the same time, they employ the tactics of Ethos. They build a sense trust by displaying that their customers range from famous celebrities to normal families. They also establish that they've been flying for so many years, which also goes along with logos. For pathos, they show that you would want to fly with them because everybody idolized the athletes, so they too want to partake in the experience. All these strategies tie into their claim; that thet're America' s most trusted airline.

1/08/14

Here, I include a slam poetry session featuring the theme of bullying.

1/06/14

New year, new me!

Well, not really. Though, I guess one can say that my prior year wasn't the best in terms of improvements-to say I regressed into a perhaps lazier and more blank minded person. Never mind all that though! For this is the year of change. I promise to mend my ill work ethics and replace them with a more alert and responsible mindset. My goal this year is to finally get on track with school.

Aside from an academic point of view, I'd also like to put more time into my hobbies which have taken a bout neglect as a result of my schoolwork and poor time management because without these little, stress relieving habits, I feel as if I'm loosing a part of what makes me unique. Aside from my extra-curricular activities, I'd like to put more thought into my health as this marks my last year taking PE. Without a designated class to get me moving, I fear I'll be condoned to a life of schoolwork. So it's important to me to start some new healthy rituals that will hopefully carry on in the years to come.

I've learned that often when one bites off more than one can chew, the end result is nothing short of disappointment. So, until I've accomplished all my new resolutions, this shall be it. After all, though the start of the new year is a wonderful time to start a new batch of habits, it's not the only time one should choose to reflect and improve themselves.