This weekend, I went camping :D It was with my scout troop, Cadette Troop 4194, the guys of our LD, 680, and the seniors (a.k.a. college/high school kids) who we didn't see much of-- which shouldn't surprise us; they've got better things to do.
Anyway, the campsite was down in San Clemente-- San Onofre State Beach. It was really pretty, as my father and I commented, but when we saw the campsites, we LAUGHED. They were puny-- almost the size of Amy's room! And that's just sad. xD Two parking slots per campsite. There wasn't any grass, either, or closed showers-- just beach showers xD
I came on Saturday, whereas most came on Friday, so I missed a lot. But we went down to the beach on Saturday to play games that the guys came up with-- which, although they should have been fun, weren't-- for the girls, at least. With football, we ended up watching the seniors play volleyball because it was more fun than playing football.
We went down into the water :D I was the only girl who soaked herself completely (which was kind of upsetting, since I was the only one wet and miserable later). The beach had lots of rocks-- some were the size of my head. The waves kept pushing all the rocks at peoples' feet, and it hurt D: But one of the leaders, Tr. Long, taught us how to skip rocks :D That was pretty cool.
Anyway, I checked up on a DBSK-dedicated blog, and the cover for the Secret Code Concert Tour Final at the Tokyo Dome is out! It's a picture of the concert, with all these laser lights and everything (probably from Xiahtic... which I really want to see). It could have been prettier, but that's okay. Link: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmHzCDZiT3SIFaqfBGMOJJ7du2pS-NphvL7k61nuD_jBQbV6qt6qt2xsbaMA62CBouzNid14-uVqRvtdCYhHUhrC1vay-LnwRBn1KlgSfQjfKBrjaBewL5EA0b5D4X6FnaTqQAJC0g8O2/s1600-h/l_p1020461316.jpg I really want this DVD... the lineup for the concert is just AWESOME. They had six encores, and a double encore-- Love in the Ice! <3>
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
... ow....
Oww.... it's so hard to type....
I got my blood test today... and I don't like needles... T_T
When I got in the room, my dad yelled at me to turn off my MP3 player. Well, with that, all my consolation disappeared in the blink of an eye. I glanced at the papers next to my arm. It read: "Specimen collection for: Sarah Ho". I went pale. "Specimen collection!" I wailed. "It makes me sound like an animal."
As I sat there, wailing, my sister had her test. She stood up as if nothing had happened, the band-aid on her left arm.
"You're done already?!" I squawked.
She nodded. To my horror, the lady who took her "specimen" called to me, "You're next."
I turned to my dad and sister. "They're going to take my specimen!" I wailed.
The lady laughed. "All right, then; I'll use a baby needle for you."
I think I was supposed to have been insulted, but I felt grateful instead. xD;;
Anyway, Arlene told me that donating blood was like that, but longer. My dream of donating blood has been abolished by my fear of needles. -sigh-
At least the lady didn't miss, like the people did last year! :D
I got my blood test today... and I don't like needles... T_T
When I got in the room, my dad yelled at me to turn off my MP3 player. Well, with that, all my consolation disappeared in the blink of an eye. I glanced at the papers next to my arm. It read: "Specimen collection for: Sarah Ho". I went pale. "Specimen collection!" I wailed. "It makes me sound like an animal."
As I sat there, wailing, my sister had her test. She stood up as if nothing had happened, the band-aid on her left arm.
"You're done already?!" I squawked.
She nodded. To my horror, the lady who took her "specimen" called to me, "You're next."
I turned to my dad and sister. "They're going to take my specimen!" I wailed.
The lady laughed. "All right, then; I'll use a baby needle for you."
I think I was supposed to have been insulted, but I felt grateful instead. xD;;
Anyway, Arlene told me that donating blood was like that, but longer. My dream of donating blood has been abolished by my fear of needles. -sigh-
At least the lady didn't miss, like the people did last year! :D
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Grunting Really Works!
Today, Coach Lou (I finally got cleared!) taught us (the Varsity girls-- apparently, I'm #3 singles now :D MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!) breathing exercises. We breathe in when we turn, and out when we hit the ball. And today, we were doing backhands. At first, I was focused on hitting the cone-- keeping my shoulders turned and my feet sideways so I wasn't off balance; all that jazz. And then, Coach brought up the breathing exercises again.
"I want to hear you guys grunt!"
Well, incidentally, it was my turn. In my Ralston days, I liked to grunt when I hit, but got a lot of mocking in return, so I stopped. That time, when I hit the ball, I let out a funky "puh!" sound, and laughed. I didn't see how my shot went because I was too busy laughing. Coach called us (the Varsity Singles people) to the net.
"Did you see that shot?" he asked.
"... No," I admitted. "I blinked, and missed it."
He frowned. "Oh, that's a shame. You know, that was a really good shot. Did you see that?" he asked the other two, Priscilla and Melissa. They both nodded. "It was fast, and--" he pointed to the cone he had set up above the net-- "almost hit it. It was off by like, an inch. Now, we've hit about twenty balls, but none of them had gotten that close."
After that, I started grunting. It caught the Doubles girls' attention, and they started laughing. I didn't really care anymore; it gave me good results. Pretty fun ;D
But OH, my GOD. It was so effin' hot out there today. When I came home around 5, the temperatures that I saw on building marquees ranged from 92 to 107. Imagine the temperature at 2:00 PM-- the hottest time of the day. D: And that's when we started practice again.
And in the morning, we ran like, eight bleachers. -sigh- We're probably going to have to do more next week, or maybe tomorrow, while I'm gone.
So tomorrow, I'm taking a blood test. And for some odd reason, I have this inability to tolerate needles, period. I mean, cross stitching and knitting needles are fine, but like, needles that go in your skin. -shudders- I think I might faint tomorrow. And I had shots yesterday, too. D:
OH YEAH. Yesterday, I went to a physical therapist (remember that minor accident I was in a while ago? Apparently, my dad's back is hurting from it), and they told me that my back muscles are kind of weak, so I have to exercise it by standing up straight, with my shoulders back. -sigh- They're getting sore; those muscles....
He (the physical therapist) cracked both my back and neck twice. My neck feels kind of stiff, but my back's fine. :O
Registration is next week! <3>
"I want to hear you guys grunt!"
Well, incidentally, it was my turn. In my Ralston days, I liked to grunt when I hit, but got a lot of mocking in return, so I stopped. That time, when I hit the ball, I let out a funky "puh!" sound, and laughed. I didn't see how my shot went because I was too busy laughing. Coach called us (the Varsity Singles people) to the net.
"Did you see that shot?" he asked.
"... No," I admitted. "I blinked, and missed it."
He frowned. "Oh, that's a shame. You know, that was a really good shot. Did you see that?" he asked the other two, Priscilla and Melissa. They both nodded. "It was fast, and--" he pointed to the cone he had set up above the net-- "almost hit it. It was off by like, an inch. Now, we've hit about twenty balls, but none of them had gotten that close."
After that, I started grunting. It caught the Doubles girls' attention, and they started laughing. I didn't really care anymore; it gave me good results. Pretty fun ;D
But OH, my GOD. It was so effin' hot out there today. When I came home around 5, the temperatures that I saw on building marquees ranged from 92 to 107. Imagine the temperature at 2:00 PM-- the hottest time of the day. D: And that's when we started practice again.
And in the morning, we ran like, eight bleachers. -sigh- We're probably going to have to do more next week, or maybe tomorrow, while I'm gone.
So tomorrow, I'm taking a blood test. And for some odd reason, I have this inability to tolerate needles, period. I mean, cross stitching and knitting needles are fine, but like, needles that go in your skin. -shudders- I think I might faint tomorrow. And I had shots yesterday, too. D:
OH YEAH. Yesterday, I went to a physical therapist (remember that minor accident I was in a while ago? Apparently, my dad's back is hurting from it), and they told me that my back muscles are kind of weak, so I have to exercise it by standing up straight, with my shoulders back. -sigh- They're getting sore; those muscles....
He (the physical therapist) cracked both my back and neck twice. My neck feels kind of stiff, but my back's fine. :O
Registration is next week! <3>
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
-gags-
So today, practice was pretty... intense, I guess?
We started hell week, so our running's gotten a bit harder. For instance, we ran two miles-- the Varsity girls called it a Chapman lap-- and today, we ran 5-4-3-2-1 like, six times. -gargles-
The bad thing about this drill is that you're sprinting across condensed laps, while stopping in between. For the 5, you're essentially sprinting across 5 courts. On the 4, you sprint 8. The 3 is worth 9 courts. The 2 is the same as 8 courts, and the one is 6 courts-- except you sprint all the way, at your hardest.
After I do those, I get the urge to chuck (my slang for throw up ;D). And today, I really had to chuck, but no matter how much I gagged, nothing came up. It felt horrible.
I got a new racket... I joined the JV Bandwagon and got a red Dunlop from coach Lou. I'll have to pay for it ($75), but I think I can get it myself. It feels good, and it's nice. :]
Our JV Girls' coach, Richard (I don't call him coach Richard 'cause he's only two years out of high school, and I knew him as a senior), left Grove's JV girls for Santiago >_> He says they're really girly compared to us.
"The Santiago girls, if they haven't seen each other for like, a day, go, 'Oh, my god! I missed you so much!' and start hugging and crap. I mean, you guys do that, too, but not very often. Dude, I see you guys do like, freakin' chest bumps and crap." (Here, Arlene and Christine high-fived.) "You guys are freakin' manly." xD
We started hell week, so our running's gotten a bit harder. For instance, we ran two miles-- the Varsity girls called it a Chapman lap-- and today, we ran 5-4-3-2-1 like, six times. -gargles-
The bad thing about this drill is that you're sprinting across condensed laps, while stopping in between. For the 5, you're essentially sprinting across 5 courts. On the 4, you sprint 8. The 3 is worth 9 courts. The 2 is the same as 8 courts, and the one is 6 courts-- except you sprint all the way, at your hardest.
After I do those, I get the urge to chuck (my slang for throw up ;D). And today, I really had to chuck, but no matter how much I gagged, nothing came up. It felt horrible.
I got a new racket... I joined the JV Bandwagon and got a red Dunlop from coach Lou. I'll have to pay for it ($75), but I think I can get it myself. It feels good, and it's nice. :]
Our JV Girls' coach, Richard (I don't call him coach Richard 'cause he's only two years out of high school, and I knew him as a senior), left Grove's JV girls for Santiago >_> He says they're really girly compared to us.
"The Santiago girls, if they haven't seen each other for like, a day, go, 'Oh, my god! I missed you so much!' and start hugging and crap. I mean, you guys do that, too, but not very often. Dude, I see you guys do like, freakin' chest bumps and crap." (Here, Arlene and Christine high-fived.) "You guys are freakin' manly." xD
Monday, August 24, 2009
I Don't Want to GO!
I don't want to go to freakin' FOOTHILL. -gags-
'Kay, so my parents want me to go to FOOTHILL, for reasons completely beyond me, and guess what? I don't want to go. No, no, no.
FIRST OF ALL, I hate their tennis team with their hoity-toity, I'm-a-freakin'-white-girl-with-a-tennis-mom attitude!
SECOND OF ALL, even though I know someone there, I don't like her. She had a little "accident" involving water, if you know what I mean, in my BRAND NEW TENT on my SLEEPING BAG in the MIDDLE OF A WEEK-LONG CAMP IN FIFTH GRADE. When my friend and I told her to clean it herself as penance, she made her mom do it. GAH. And she never said sorry! SHE JUST GIGGLED. Heck, I know we were in fifth grade, but that's just ridiculous. I am not going to the same school as her.
THIRD OF ALL (and probably the most important reason), I don't want to leave all of my friends D: ALmost everyone I know and love goes to Grove. If I got freakin' FOOTHILL -spits-, sure, I start new, but I don't want to leave D:
FOURTH OF ALL, I've got too many things I was supposed to do in Grove! I was supposed to beat Priscilla and Melissa and become #1 Varsity! I was supposed to play Watts and be #1! I was supposed to win the League Single's title! I was supposed to be first chair in GATE High School Orchestra! I was supposed to be #3 in the school (after Julie and Henry, of course)! It won't be the same at freakin' FOOTHILL. -gags-
ok jnkl; jmndklsjkl;jdkls' jsck jklc' jfkl
NO FOOTHILL. NO. GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVIL LITTLE F-------.
'Kay, so my parents want me to go to FOOTHILL, for reasons completely beyond me, and guess what? I don't want to go. No, no, no.
FIRST OF ALL, I hate their tennis team with their hoity-toity, I'm-a-freakin'-white-girl-with-a-tennis-mom attitude!
SECOND OF ALL, even though I know someone there, I don't like her. She had a little "accident" involving water, if you know what I mean, in my BRAND NEW TENT on my SLEEPING BAG in the MIDDLE OF A WEEK-LONG CAMP IN FIFTH GRADE. When my friend and I told her to clean it herself as penance, she made her mom do it. GAH. And she never said sorry! SHE JUST GIGGLED. Heck, I know we were in fifth grade, but that's just ridiculous. I am not going to the same school as her.
THIRD OF ALL (and probably the most important reason), I don't want to leave all of my friends D: ALmost everyone I know and love goes to Grove. If I got freakin' FOOTHILL -spits-, sure, I start new, but I don't want to leave D:
FOURTH OF ALL, I've got too many things I was supposed to do in Grove! I was supposed to beat Priscilla and Melissa and become #1 Varsity! I was supposed to play Watts and be #1! I was supposed to win the League Single's title! I was supposed to be first chair in GATE High School Orchestra! I was supposed to be #3 in the school (after Julie and Henry, of course)! It won't be the same at freakin' FOOTHILL. -gags-
ok jnkl; jmndklsjkl;jdkls' jsck jklc' jfkl
NO FOOTHILL. NO. GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVIL LITTLE F-------.
First Win since Santiago!
YUS. I've got good news, today! <3
Today, I won my first singles match since Santiago! And that was like, a month ago! :D I played Christa, one of the four candidates for #3 Varisty Singles-- the four are Christa, Hanin, Paula, and me. I've beaten Christa and Hanin already, and I'm playing Paula. If I can beat all three, I think I'll be able to take the #3 Varsity spot (YES!~). If I can beat Priscilla (she's going to be either #2 or #1), then I get her spot... If I can beat Melissa (whatever Priscilla isn't), then I get her spot, too. I really want to play on Varsity freshmen year.
Anyway, my score against Christa was 6-3. I was up 5-1, but I lost two games and the score rose to 6-3... I should've won 6-1 :S I got too cocky, I guess.
After practice, Arlene suddenly said, "Sarah, play a singles match with me." o_O;; Well, ookay. So I did. ... -sigh- Arlene = total domination. 1-6.
I probably should have just blocked all her serves and shots. She was killing every ball she got, which meant that, if I had just blocked it all, she would have self-destructed eventually. Her serves were... -shudders- They were so good. I thought Christa's was pretty good (they had me at the baseline whereas, with most serves, I could stand in no-man's land and still return), but Arlene's serves had me like, five feet behind the baseline. I felt like I was playing Tin again. -shudders-
Arlene tried to console me. "Relax. Don't worry about it; I serve better in singles, anyway." No kidding. >_>;;
At least I got a game off of her. When I told him my score, Jonathan was like, "Hey! That's pretty good!" o_o;; He lies. I should have been able to play better.
At the end of the match, two people from tennis, Lindy and Christine, told her she was giving me no mercy (which I actually appreciated... now I know how much I have to improve), but Arlene said, "She's actually playing better singles than I am. I'm just killing every ball I get."
I felt kinda-sorta-not-really better. :S But hey. At the beginning of summer, I would have been BAGELED (0-6). I got a game off of her today. My next goal? Beat her ;D
... I'm listening to my cousin's music... and Doraemon's theme song is on... It's a bit disturbing. xD;; But it's cheery <3>
So my 49 days of veggie-based eating has been put on a one-day hiatus. This morning, my mom made PHO. At tennis, fellow vegetarian Tiffany told me to not eat the pho. But what am I to do?! The Vietnamese in me pines for the pho! If I don't eat it, I'd feel absolutely horrible for the next few days because I didn't eat the pho D:
But then again, I probably gained like, 5 pounds xD My mom put too much in our bowls. My cousin said, "No matter how much I eat, it never seems to disappear!" xD Well said, chi Xiu :]
Speaking of my weight, I'm actually comfortable with it now. Since tennis, I've lost 15 pounds, and it hardly goes over 120 anymore <3>
OH YEAH. The last time it went over 120 was last night. 120.7 xD Then, today, we ran two miles at tennis. Arlene thinks it was 2 1/2 miles; she said she couldn't possibly have taken 28 minutes to run 2 miles. I took around 22 minutes :D I'm getting better at long-distance running. Or maybe it was because I had my MP4 player and was listening to SHINee and a bit of DBSK the entire way..... Yeah, that was probably it xD My MP4 player likes to play SHINee songs o_O;; For some odd reason, it doesn't really like to play DBSK. :S Darns.
Today, I won my first singles match since Santiago! And that was like, a month ago! :D I played Christa, one of the four candidates for #3 Varisty Singles-- the four are Christa, Hanin, Paula, and me. I've beaten Christa and Hanin already, and I'm playing Paula. If I can beat all three, I think I'll be able to take the #3 Varsity spot (YES!~). If I can beat Priscilla (she's going to be either #2 or #1), then I get her spot... If I can beat Melissa (whatever Priscilla isn't), then I get her spot, too. I really want to play on Varsity freshmen year.
Anyway, my score against Christa was 6-3. I was up 5-1, but I lost two games and the score rose to 6-3... I should've won 6-1 :S I got too cocky, I guess.
After practice, Arlene suddenly said, "Sarah, play a singles match with me." o_O;; Well, ookay. So I did. ... -sigh- Arlene = total domination. 1-6.
I probably should have just blocked all her serves and shots. She was killing every ball she got, which meant that, if I had just blocked it all, she would have self-destructed eventually. Her serves were... -shudders- They were so good. I thought Christa's was pretty good (they had me at the baseline whereas, with most serves, I could stand in no-man's land and still return), but Arlene's serves had me like, five feet behind the baseline. I felt like I was playing Tin again. -shudders-
Arlene tried to console me. "Relax. Don't worry about it; I serve better in singles, anyway." No kidding. >_>;;
At least I got a game off of her. When I told him my score, Jonathan was like, "Hey! That's pretty good!" o_o;; He lies. I should have been able to play better.
At the end of the match, two people from tennis, Lindy and Christine, told her she was giving me no mercy (which I actually appreciated... now I know how much I have to improve), but Arlene said, "She's actually playing better singles than I am. I'm just killing every ball I get."
I felt kinda-sorta-not-really better. :S But hey. At the beginning of summer, I would have been BAGELED (0-6). I got a game off of her today. My next goal? Beat her ;D
... I'm listening to my cousin's music... and Doraemon's theme song is on... It's a bit disturbing. xD;; But it's cheery <3>
So my 49 days of veggie-based eating has been put on a one-day hiatus. This morning, my mom made PHO. At tennis, fellow vegetarian Tiffany told me to not eat the pho. But what am I to do?! The Vietnamese in me pines for the pho! If I don't eat it, I'd feel absolutely horrible for the next few days because I didn't eat the pho D:
But then again, I probably gained like, 5 pounds xD My mom put too much in our bowls. My cousin said, "No matter how much I eat, it never seems to disappear!" xD Well said, chi Xiu :]
Speaking of my weight, I'm actually comfortable with it now. Since tennis, I've lost 15 pounds, and it hardly goes over 120 anymore <3>
OH YEAH. The last time it went over 120 was last night. 120.7 xD Then, today, we ran two miles at tennis. Arlene thinks it was 2 1/2 miles; she said she couldn't possibly have taken 28 minutes to run 2 miles. I took around 22 minutes :D I'm getting better at long-distance running. Or maybe it was because I had my MP4 player and was listening to SHINee and a bit of DBSK the entire way..... Yeah, that was probably it xD My MP4 player likes to play SHINee songs o_O;; For some odd reason, it doesn't really like to play DBSK. :S Darns.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Vietnamese Tongue Twisters
For the past few days, we've been doing funeral services for my grandmother, and, by Buddha, those mantras are freakin' TONGUE TWISTERS. D makes a "yeh" sound, and Đ makes a "duh" sound, so in the mantras we were reading from, it was going like "A di đà di ri đà ri da đà da" at like, freakin' 220 bpm D: I just gave up after the first day.... it was so hard... <<>
Also, we're supposed to wear white/black or all black (concert dress, lolz). I've been fine until today, but I ran out of concert shirts and pants today, so I've resorted to wearing pants that I REALLY want to wear in public, but my mom hates (it might be my chance today!) and a black overcoat/shirt o_O It's actually cooler than it sounds, haha.
Yesterday, my aunt made SPAGHETTI with GROUND BEEF D: For all the little meat eaters ;A; Since I'm going vegetarian, I have to stick with the stupid mushroom ones >_> You have no idea how tempting it is...
Today, if I can get through it without eating meat, would be day 5 out of 49. 44 days left to go... My mom suggested that, since I'm "young and need the nutrition", I eat vegetarian for four days, then regular for three. THat's a good idea, I guess, but I want to get through a week without meat first. Wish me luck :D
Also, we're supposed to wear white/black or all black (concert dress, lolz). I've been fine until today, but I ran out of concert shirts and pants today, so I've resorted to wearing pants that I REALLY want to wear in public, but my mom hates (it might be my chance today!) and a black overcoat/shirt o_O It's actually cooler than it sounds, haha.
Yesterday, my aunt made SPAGHETTI with GROUND BEEF D: For all the little meat eaters ;A; Since I'm going vegetarian, I have to stick with the stupid mushroom ones >_> You have no idea how tempting it is...
Today, if I can get through it without eating meat, would be day 5 out of 49. 44 days left to go... My mom suggested that, since I'm "young and need the nutrition", I eat vegetarian for four days, then regular for three. THat's a good idea, I guess, but I want to get through a week without meat first. Wish me luck :D
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Vegetarian > Vegan
Today, I was told that there is a difference between vegetarians and vegans. Personally, I had always thought there wasn't any difference, but this is how my aunt Michelle explained it:
"Vegans are so boring. They can't eat eggs, they can't eat all this stuff." xD It does sound pretty boring; I love eggs <3> vegan. Remember that, kiddies.
The reason why I brought it up is because, as part of my late grandmother's will, I'm going vegetarian. :D This is my third day of eating vegetarian-- three out of forty-nine.
I'm actually looking forward to it. It'll be a nice change of pace, if not challenging. And today, aunt Michelle drove us to her house to eat (she's going vegetarian, too). Dumplings, salad (BALSAMIC DRESSING <3>never gets dirty. It's almost freaky. And he's a fluffy dog, and his tail is like.... WHOOOF. Puffed up like a pufferfish.
On another note, I got a good piece of writing criticism today :O Aunt Michelle told me that my writing doesn't really flow. She says that in the story she read, the sentences didn't really make sense. They weren't like... they were kind of unrelated, she meant. I think I'm going to have to work on that a lot more.
... OH MAN. If you guys have ever seen those awesome electric flyswatters... Excuse the redundancy, but they are just so freakin' awesome. My sister swung one a few weeks ago and caught a fly, and kept shocking it. When we finished with it, it was fried to a crisp. xD It was so cool.
By the way, we got in a mild, mild accident today. As we were getting onto the freeway, this lady-- I don't know what she was thinking-- walked across the freeway entrance while A) there were cars going through it; B) there was no crosswalk; and C) with a stroller. THe car in front of us braked, and we braked-- we didn't hit the car in front of us... that is, until the person behind us couldn't brake fast enough and bumped into us. And because the motion transferred to us, we bumped into the person in front of us. T_TT Go figure. We're all fine, though... just a bit freaked out about the sudden stops and stuff.
"Vegans are so boring. They can't eat eggs, they can't eat all this stuff." xD It does sound pretty boring; I love eggs <3> vegan. Remember that, kiddies.
The reason why I brought it up is because, as part of my late grandmother's will, I'm going vegetarian. :D This is my third day of eating vegetarian-- three out of forty-nine.
I'm actually looking forward to it. It'll be a nice change of pace, if not challenging. And today, aunt Michelle drove us to her house to eat (she's going vegetarian, too). Dumplings, salad (BALSAMIC DRESSING <3>never gets dirty. It's almost freaky. And he's a fluffy dog, and his tail is like.... WHOOOF. Puffed up like a pufferfish.
On another note, I got a good piece of writing criticism today :O Aunt Michelle told me that my writing doesn't really flow. She says that in the story she read, the sentences didn't really make sense. They weren't like... they were kind of unrelated, she meant. I think I'm going to have to work on that a lot more.
... OH MAN. If you guys have ever seen those awesome electric flyswatters... Excuse the redundancy, but they are just so freakin' awesome. My sister swung one a few weeks ago and caught a fly, and kept shocking it. When we finished with it, it was fried to a crisp. xD It was so cool.
By the way, we got in a mild, mild accident today. As we were getting onto the freeway, this lady-- I don't know what she was thinking-- walked across the freeway entrance while A) there were cars going through it; B) there was no crosswalk; and C) with a stroller. THe car in front of us braked, and we braked-- we didn't hit the car in front of us... that is, until the person behind us couldn't brake fast enough and bumped into us. And because the motion transferred to us, we bumped into the person in front of us. T_TT Go figure. We're all fine, though... just a bit freaked out about the sudden stops and stuff.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
On a More Cheerful Note...
I haven't formally introduced myself yet, have I? How rude of me.
My name is _________, but you can call me Sora. Sorry; I'm a bit paranoid about leaving my real name out in the open. Stalkers and such. I'm fourteen years old, and am about to enter high school as a freshman... or as I like to say, fresh meat for the seniors. -shudders-
I'm really connected to music and art in general. If you take away music-- not just piano and violin, my two specialty instruments, but even contemporary music-- you take away my entire life.
My current music obsession lies in the Korean and Japanese music industries (sorry... I guess I'm not American xD). My favorite Korean artists include TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki (THSK) as my number one, closely followed by #2 SHINee, my third favorite 2PM, faaaar back as fourth, 2NE1 (the only girl band whose songs I can actually tolerate), and waaaaaaaaay behind is Big Bang (sorry, VIPs. Love them, but they're just not my favorite. Hope Daesung heals from his accident without any problems <3>
So you might have noticed that TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki was in both Korean and Japanese. That's 'cause they're freakin' AWESOME and dominate both countries, as well as China ;D THey've had six #1 singles on the Oricon (the official Japanese ranking chart), and... I hear the Cassies (their record-breaking fanclub) are trying to make their newest single, Stand By U, a number one, too o_O Love them to death. Especially Changmin <3>
RANT ALERT! TAKE ALTERNATE ROUTE!
GAAAAH. STUPID SME. Their agency, SM Entertainment, was discovered to have trapped all of their artists-- including SHINee D:-- in six-to-thirteen year contracts, having them sign as MINORS, which they can't do! Three of DBSK's members-- Micky Yoochun, Xiah Junsu, and Hero Jaejoong-- are currently suing them to drastically revise their contracts. I wish them the best of luck >:( SME, you suck... even though you're a factory of pretty boys who can dance and sing (LIKE DBSK AND SHINee <3)
RANT OVER. RESUME READING.
Aside from music, I really like to write. Short stories, journal entries... blogs... I like any form of writing, as long as I can manipulate my words in an eloquent fashion. Like that. xD Right now, I'm working on a novel that I hope to get published. If I can't, that's fine. I mean, I'm still young; I can work on my style and my writing because I know I still have a long way to go. It'd be freakin' awesome if I could get published.
Another passion of mine is tennis. Though I'm not a die-hard tennis freak like some of my friends, I really like playing tennis. I'll work as hard as I can to get into Varsity freshman year, and I hope to win League as a Varsity Singles player and get my name up on the wall ;D I hope to beat my sister in a match someday... it would be even better if I could 6-0 her ;D
A personal dream of mine would be to someday, become a world-renowned marine biologist (my childhood dream <3)>
My name is _________, but you can call me Sora. Sorry; I'm a bit paranoid about leaving my real name out in the open. Stalkers and such. I'm fourteen years old, and am about to enter high school as a freshman... or as I like to say, fresh meat for the seniors. -shudders-
I'm really connected to music and art in general. If you take away music-- not just piano and violin, my two specialty instruments, but even contemporary music-- you take away my entire life.
My current music obsession lies in the Korean and Japanese music industries (sorry... I guess I'm not American xD). My favorite Korean artists include TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki (THSK) as my number one, closely followed by #2 SHINee, my third favorite 2PM, faaaar back as fourth, 2NE1 (the only girl band whose songs I can actually tolerate), and waaaaaaaaay behind is Big Bang (sorry, VIPs. Love them, but they're just not my favorite. Hope Daesung heals from his accident without any problems <3>
So you might have noticed that TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki was in both Korean and Japanese. That's 'cause they're freakin' AWESOME and dominate both countries, as well as China ;D THey've had six #1 singles on the Oricon (the official Japanese ranking chart), and... I hear the Cassies (their record-breaking fanclub) are trying to make their newest single, Stand By U, a number one, too o_O Love them to death. Especially Changmin <3>
RANT ALERT! TAKE ALTERNATE ROUTE!
GAAAAH. STUPID SME. Their agency, SM Entertainment, was discovered to have trapped all of their artists-- including SHINee D:-- in six-to-thirteen year contracts, having them sign as MINORS, which they can't do! Three of DBSK's members-- Micky Yoochun, Xiah Junsu, and Hero Jaejoong-- are currently suing them to drastically revise their contracts. I wish them the best of luck >:( SME, you suck... even though you're a factory of pretty boys who can dance and sing (LIKE DBSK AND SHINee <3)
RANT OVER. RESUME READING.
Aside from music, I really like to write. Short stories, journal entries... blogs... I like any form of writing, as long as I can manipulate my words in an eloquent fashion. Like that. xD Right now, I'm working on a novel that I hope to get published. If I can't, that's fine. I mean, I'm still young; I can work on my style and my writing because I know I still have a long way to go. It'd be freakin' awesome if I could get published.
Another passion of mine is tennis. Though I'm not a die-hard tennis freak like some of my friends, I really like playing tennis. I'll work as hard as I can to get into Varsity freshman year, and I hope to win League as a Varsity Singles player and get my name up on the wall ;D I hope to beat my sister in a match someday... it would be even better if I could 6-0 her ;D
A personal dream of mine would be to someday, become a world-renowned marine biologist (my childhood dream <3)>
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Just as Sure as the Sun Rises, Someone is Waiting for Her
Today, my grandmother, Vo Thi Thieu, lost her life to breast cancer.
It was a returning cancer; a recurrence of a similar illness back fifteen years or so. It was something I didn't remember.
But today... if I forget what happened today, then I'm definitely not as grateful to my grandmother as I thought I was.
My grandmother was a faithful Buddhist monk. In the fourteen years I knew her, I can't remember a time when she ate meat. Every day, she prayed for at least three hours-- one in the morning, noon, and night. She raised me. When my parents went to work and my sister went to kindergarten, my grandmother stayed at home with me and taught me my ABCs, how to read, how to add.... I'm so thankful for that. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be as smart as I am today, nor as polite. Whenever other monks came over, she wouldn't let me go play unless I had properly greeted them, and made sure I minded my manners when speaking to my parents. I think it's because my grandma didn't raise my cousin Ben that he's so rude now... he's only six, and he cusses. A lot.
Out of all 14 of her grandchildren, my sister, brother, and I were fortunate enough to be raised by my grandmother. The reason why people can tell our parents, "Oh, your children are so good," is because my grandmother raised us. I truly believe that.
And, in a way, I think she's happier now. When she moved to America around eighteen years ago, she was mourning her husband... my grandfather that I never knew. She must have missed him terribly. And back in February, when she had water in her lungs and almost died, she was in a lot of pain. I remember standing by her bed with my sister, holding her hand-- the one that wasn't all swollen from the spreading cancer-- and chanting Buddhist prayers. I remember seeing a few tears slip from her closed eyes as she convulsed. When she came back from the hospital after that, she was alive, but I think she was dead inside. After all, she couldn't do anything-- she couldn't walk, she couldn't take care of her beloved garden, she couldn't stroll around the house she had bought with her own money. All she could do was rely on someone else and watch TV. And she must have been in a lot of pain.
I wrote an obituary for her last night, while I was praying for her, but the paper is gone... someone must have thrown it away. I was going to make it the first post here, but I guess that's impossible now.
But... I think I can sleep easy tonight. After all... someone is waiting for my grandmother, eagerly watching for her. And I think I can relax, knowing that she won't be alone.
Just as sure as the sun rises, someone is waiting for my grandmother.
It was a returning cancer; a recurrence of a similar illness back fifteen years or so. It was something I didn't remember.
But today... if I forget what happened today, then I'm definitely not as grateful to my grandmother as I thought I was.
My grandmother was a faithful Buddhist monk. In the fourteen years I knew her, I can't remember a time when she ate meat. Every day, she prayed for at least three hours-- one in the morning, noon, and night. She raised me. When my parents went to work and my sister went to kindergarten, my grandmother stayed at home with me and taught me my ABCs, how to read, how to add.... I'm so thankful for that. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be as smart as I am today, nor as polite. Whenever other monks came over, she wouldn't let me go play unless I had properly greeted them, and made sure I minded my manners when speaking to my parents. I think it's because my grandma didn't raise my cousin Ben that he's so rude now... he's only six, and he cusses. A lot.
Out of all 14 of her grandchildren, my sister, brother, and I were fortunate enough to be raised by my grandmother. The reason why people can tell our parents, "Oh, your children are so good," is because my grandmother raised us. I truly believe that.
And, in a way, I think she's happier now. When she moved to America around eighteen years ago, she was mourning her husband... my grandfather that I never knew. She must have missed him terribly. And back in February, when she had water in her lungs and almost died, she was in a lot of pain. I remember standing by her bed with my sister, holding her hand-- the one that wasn't all swollen from the spreading cancer-- and chanting Buddhist prayers. I remember seeing a few tears slip from her closed eyes as she convulsed. When she came back from the hospital after that, she was alive, but I think she was dead inside. After all, she couldn't do anything-- she couldn't walk, she couldn't take care of her beloved garden, she couldn't stroll around the house she had bought with her own money. All she could do was rely on someone else and watch TV. And she must have been in a lot of pain.
I wrote an obituary for her last night, while I was praying for her, but the paper is gone... someone must have thrown it away. I was going to make it the first post here, but I guess that's impossible now.
But... I think I can sleep easy tonight. After all... someone is waiting for my grandmother, eagerly watching for her. And I think I can relax, knowing that she won't be alone.
Just as sure as the sun rises, someone is waiting for my grandmother.
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